Disclaimer: I only own the characters that aren't in the anime or manga.

This is my first HeixBotan fic. Since there aren't many of this coupling, I wanted to take a whack at this. As always, flames are accepted as long as you give me a reason for the flame. And, since this is a new fic, if you want me to take this down, I will.

Explanation: The first couple of chapters will show Hiei's past and it'll explain how the curse was put on him. Be patient and the HieixBotan fluff will come soon. Oh yeah, if you notice the title "Darkness of my Past" and you're a fan of Linkin Park, then you'll probably know the words. This fic is based around the lyrical idea of "Easier to Run" so if anyone wants me to, a songfic chapter may be in order pretty soon.

The metal of which the sword was made wasn't of particular quality, but in this fire demon's hands, it seemed to be made of something expensive.

"How much blood can a demon lose before they die?" he asked his prey. He smirked as his prey whimpered and attempted to bury itself into the thick layer of Makai silt. "You can't escape that way…I'll only accept death as a reasonable reprieve from my fun."

He cocked his head slightly at the lower-level demon he had chosen to hunt down. His ruby eyes cast an amusing gaze at the pitiful creature. One of its arms was already reduced to a bleeding stump and a large gash was placed across its stomach. The pinkish intestines were already beginning to peek out. If left to itself, it would easily die from blood lost or infection settling into the wounds.

He smiled. It would be interesting to watch this squirming bundle of organs die of either extremities but he didn't have the time for this. His ringleader would be displeased with him if he didn't return the object that was stolen.

"Now where's the Cheruvim?" he demanded. "You're already wasting my oxygen as it is."

"Please…I must return it to my master!" the demon whimpered. Its voice was barely audible.

"Return it? You stole it from Murasaki! Give it to me and I may spare your neck…"

The weaker demon began to sob. It was a pathetic sight. "I am to die anyway! Poor mistress…she wants it returned to help her child. She's a great lady…she'll punish you for this!" it screamed through its tears. "You'll pay, Hiei! You'll pay!"

Hiei narrowed his eyes at the demon. It was beginning to bore him. "Hn. As if that would stop me…or Murasaki for that matter.

"Go ahead and try to kill me. My time is due," the creature replied in a chocked voice. "But to get the Cheruvim, you have to go through Mistress Lanzet. It's buried within my soul. It'll only return to mistress in the end!"

Hiei wrinkled his nose in contempt. Why kill the thing when it asked him to? The whole point was to enjoy their squirming and their prayers to whatever god or devil they worshipped. When things wanted to die, the enjoyment was taken away. He took a step back and held the sword at his side. "I think I'll let you suffer… I'll leave you to choke on your blood. Have fun putting your intestines in."

He raised the sword one last time and widened the already large gash on the creature's stomach. As promised, organs spilled further out of the gash. He looked disgustedly at his bloodstained sword. He sighed and wiped the blood on the grass. Even though he was skilled with this weapon, it was heavy for him. He was built for speed and sneak attacks. A normal sword suited a more muscular person. He, Hiei, was short of stature and his build was lithe. He sheathed the sword and walked towards the abandoned house he and his fellow thieves stayed in.

"You didn't get it?!"

Murasaki's angry voice was nothing compared to his blows. He kicked Hiei out of the room. Normally an angry blow such as this sent him flying across the room and in a haphazard landing on his back. This time, he was still sent flying but he twisted his body in the air, helping him land in a less painful position. He stayed on his hands and knees, knowing that this left him in a less vulnerable position.

"Worthless child! I brought you in when your whore of a mother tossed you aside. I clothed your ungrateful back when she left you in tattered rags. I fed your sorry ass and this is the repayment I get?" Murasaki spat with his deep voice. The muscles in his arms rippled with his anger. His golden hair moved with his movements. "You couldn't get a simple object back from a lower-level demon."

He walked towards Hiei and landed another blow on the teen. "If I sent you to kill a human, could you not accomplish that either?"

Hiei stared defiantly at Murasaki. Murasaki had his own charming good looks. His features were shaped perfectly. Only one mark scared the perfection, giving him a deadly edge. A long scar ran from his forehead, down the right eye and cheek, stopping at a halt at his sternum. It gave him a perpetually angry look. His body was lightly muscled. A thick mane of golden hair fell to his shoulders in a silky wave.

"Are you going to look stupidly at me, child, or are you going to answer? If I made you kill a human could you? Or is that too great of a task?" Murasaki demanded, hearing nothing come from Hiei's mouth.

"I can kill them with ease, but you don't understand. You never give me a fucking chance to explain myself," Hiei said in a low voice. He pushed himself into a standing position and fixed his ruby eyes on Murasaki's cobalt ones. "You blow up in a second without even considering the possibilities." He took a steadying breath. "You sent me to retrieve the stolen Cheruvim but there was a catch. The Cheruvim was part of that demon's soul. When he died, the Cheruvim would just go back to the previous owner…his Mistress Lanzet. Whoever that is…"

Murasaki glared at Hiei in disgust. "You're only fifteen. At your age you should be dead and certainly not have the skills or gall to talk back to me…" His hands clenched into fists. "But…I'll give you another chance. We'll find this Lanzet woman and we'll take the Cheruvim back."

The fire demon lessoned his intense gaze and ran the back of his hand across his lips to wipe the blood that collected at the corners. Because he was the youngest of the entire ring, he got the brunt of every bad attitude. He acted as if the remarks Murasaki made about his mother didn't penetrate him, but it did. He wanted to know why his mother abandoned him. If she had stayed with him, he would possibly lead a happier life.

"Tomorrow, we'll find this bitch and kill her," Murasaki promised. He threw a bag at Hiei. "That's your food. And you might want to take some of the unicorn draught to get you fixed up." He surveyed Hiei's bleeding cheek without guilt. "If you're wrong about this, I'll throw you into a pool of hate fish with your limbs tied."

With this, Hiei was left alone. He climbed gracefully into a tree to open the bag. He nibbled on the bread and meat before taking the draught. He sighed and wiped the access blood from his cheek. He stared at his reddened fingers with hate growing. "As soon as I repay my debt to this bastard, I'm going to make sure no one makes me bleed while I'm forced to take it…" he vowed to himself. He sipped the draught and fell into a deep sleep.

"Wake up! This is a major mission! Get the Cheruvim back at no cost!" Murasaki barked early the next morning.

Hiei opened his eyes and blinked. The Makai sun had barely risen in the horizon. He groaned. It would figure that Murasaki would wake them up this early.

"What's so important about this thing! It's just some stupid statue of an angel!" one of the other members asked.

"I know that, Yoichi," Murasaki said stupidly. "Inside the statue, there's some sort of essence. Once we harness the power, we can rule all the worlds. No creature would stand in our way." He raised his gaze to Hiei in the tree. "He says we only have to find a woman named Lanzet who has the Cheruvim. Kill her, and we'll have it."

"I didn't say all that," Hiei said quickly. He jumped out of the tree. "But that sounds about right."

"But…" Yoichi began. "Can we trust him? He doesn't half enough brains to find his mother. He claims he can hunt things down, right?"

"Fuck off," the fire demon snarled.

Murasaki narrowed his eyes at Yoichi as well. "You don't have the right to insult him. I provide for him, I own him. Might I remind you that I own you as well?" He smirked at the squirming demon. "Exactly. Only I can insult him and beat him. Now, find this Lanzet woman." He pointed at Hiei. "He still reeks of the demon he killed. Hunt the remains of our prey down and we'll probably find Lanzet."

Yoichi took in the scent that was missed with Hiei's. He sniffed the air and led the procession.

A human woman with long brown hair tied in a ponytail looked down at the demon that lay quivering on the ground. She gasped, looking at the gaping wounds and the blood that had pooled around the body. "Who did this to you?" she demanded.

"The abandoned child…Hiei Jaganshi," the demon sputtered through a mouthful of blood. "He was searching for the Cheruvim, mistress."

Lanzet chewed nervously on her lower lip. "What happened to it? Did he take it?"

"No. It's in my soul. When I die, you can have it to heal your son."

"But…all your redemption in this world! What good will it be?"

"I won't go to the dark place, Miss. They say that demons like me who do good can be turned into angels in Reikai."

The demon smiled at Lanzet and he was gone. He had smiled his last smile. Lanzet watched as a small golden statue emerged along with the demon's soul. She clasped the Cheruvim to her chest. "Thank you…" she said in a small voice. She brushed the tears away and entered the small house. She placed the statuette above her sleeping son's head. She kissed him on the forehead.

"Just a few more hours of this near you and you should be fine." She stroked his feverish cheeks. "I've missed my little boy being a free spirit."

Murasaki kicked the door open. "Lanzet!" he called. "I seek a woman by the name Lanzet."

Lanzet hurried to the door. "Yes? That's me."

"Good. You have the Cheruvim. Hand it over."

"No! I need it to heal my little boy!"

Murasaki smirked. "Who cares about some human boy?" He glanced over his shoulder. "Hiei? Kill this boy of hers."

Hiei slid quickly into the room. He looked down at the boy. The boy was around his age. "He's suffering…the least I can do is end it," he thought. He took his sword and stabbed it easily into the human's chest. The boy's breathing stopped abruptly.

Lanzet stared at him. All these years of her working to save her son had been for nothing. All her patience was gone with Hiei's act. "What do you want from me?" she screamed with a mix of hysteria and emotional pain.

"The Cheruvim," Hiei answered easily. "You're a human. That gives us a right by evolution to take what we want from you." He held the sword at her. "Move over or die."

"Go ahead and kill me, but you'll never be able to use the Cheruvim. It takes a good intention to use any power it has." She sneered at him. "Kill me…I'll leave your life to be damned by this hatred. One day you'll find a reason to love and you'll remember me." She shook her bangs from her eyes. "Abandoned child…forbidden child…" she taunted hysterically.

"Shut up!" Hiei screamed at her. "My name is Hiei Jaganshi!" His teenage pride was already on the brink as it was. He didn't need a lamenting mother to rub her love of her child in his face. How dare she do that to him? He cut at her with the sword. In one blow, he killed her. He didn't have the patience to let the woman suffer.

Murasaki smiled. "Good job. Give me the Cheruvim."

Hiei held his hand out stretched to obey. The gold statue lit up for a brief second, and Hiei felt as if he had been zapped by electricity. He threw the Cheruvim at Murasaki and shuddered. "What was that?"

"Maybe the woman cast some sort of spell on you." The taller demon shrugged. "She said you'd find a reason to love some day and you'd remember her." He smirked. "As if you'd find someone to love…feh…"

The fire demon blinked at Murasaki uncertainly. He knew that he wouldn't have the heart to love someone, but still, who wanted a curse on them? He shrugged. "Hn. It won't matter anyway…"

There's the first chapter! Like I said above, if you want this fic taken down, then let me know! But if you want it down, pretty please give me a reason as to why you want it taken down!