Hello, my lovely readers! I hope you enjoy part 3 of this short story.
Today's Prompt: Family
The end of another successful mission found the team and their assistant headed back towards the portal that led to the Spirit World. Hiei and Kurama walked ahead, talking amongst themselves, while Yusuke, Kuwabara and Botan trailed behind them. It was mostly quiet, the atmosphere calm and peaceful until Yusuke spoke up.
"Hey, you dropped something, Hiei."
Botan watched as the detective bent down to retrieve an object from the grass, his features lifting into a look of amusement as he straightened to full height.
"Well, well, well... what do we have here?" he began.
She let out a quiet gasp, her hand drawing to her mouth as she noticed the object resting between Yusuke's thumb and forefinger.
Kuwabara squinted.
"Is that a seashell, Urameshi?"
"Uh-huh."
The duo exchanged mischievous glances, before turning towards the fire-demon.
"You collecting seashells down by the seashore or something?" Yusuke taunted, resting his free hand on his hip.
Kuwabara snorted, clearly amused by the turn of events, as Hiei's posture tensed.
"Do you like to go frolicking in fields, too?" Yusuke pressed.
"I bet he secretly makes those girly flower crowns while he's at it," Kuwabara snickered.
"Boys!" Botan admonished.
Hiei said nothing, his energy rising dangerously around him as he snatched the shell out of Yusuke's grip and stalked ahead.
Botan turned to face Yusuke and Kuwabara, eyes narrowed as disappointment ran stern through her features.
"That was completely uncalled for!" she berated. "Must you always antagonize him like that?"
"I'm afraid your words are falling on deaf ears," Kurama interjected, motioning over to the duo.
True to his words, they were far too busy spouting out more wise cracks to pay attention to much else. Botan sent one last reproachful look their way, before summoning her oar and following after the simmering fire-demon.
The wind rustled through her clothes as she concentrated on honing in on the distinct feel of his demon energy. She wasn't exactly the best at sensing and locating others based off of their energies, but strangely enough, she could feel Hiei's in the distance. Following the trail, she eventually came across the black clad fire-demon.
Botan had expected to find him secluded in a dark corner of a forest or on the rooftop of an abandoned building, but instead, he sat on one of the wooden benches at the park.
"Took you long enough, ferry-girl," he said.
She blinked.
"You were expecting me?"
"I knew you would come," he confessed. "You have a bad habit of seeking me out, lately."
His words were not derisive nor did they sound as though he had meant them to be off-putting; they were simply fact. It felt like an invitation, so she smiled and took a seat in the empty space beside him.
Hiei was a lot calmer than she thought he would be. Scowl lines suspiciously absent, his features had smoothened out into a neutral expression. Though they were shaded under the large branches of a tree, the sunlight filtered through the leaves, highlighting the blue tones in his dark hair and the red of his eyes. He seemed so different from the man she once feared. So far from the closed off and dangerous ally she knew him to be. She wondered why she never saw him in this light before.
Her fingertips grazed over the tip of her necklace lightly - an action she had taken to doing so more often than not - as she turned to regard him.
"…You kept the shell," she mentioned.
Hiei nodded wordlessly in confirmation.
"I didn't think you would," she admitted.
Crimson eyes were fixed on a point in the distance as he spoke.
"I lost the first gift I ever received," he revealed plainly. "I didn't much feel like losing the second."
His words tugged at her heart and echoed in her mind. She had a feeling she knew exactly what he was referring to, but she had to be sure.
"What was it?" she asked. "Your first gift?"
He answered without missing a beat, eyes resting on hers evenly.
"The counterpart to Yukina's hiruiseki."
Her expression fell, heart sinking in her chest.
"Don't give me that look, ferry-girl," he scoffed.
"What look?"
"That pitying one."
"I'm not pitying you," she corrected. "I just felt sorry for you is all."
Red eyes sharpened under furrowed brows and she held her hands up in defense.
"What I meant to say was that I put myself in your shoes," she began to explain. "And I realized that I would be awfully sad if I lost something as dear as that."
He crossed his arms over his chest.
"Fortunately for me, I am not as emotional as you," he said. "I don't care about the things that have that been left behind in the past."
"Of course you do," she insisted, bottom lip pulled into a pout.
Hiei frowned at her stubbornly, crimson clashing against amethyst.
"I don't," he maintained.
Botan's expression softened.
"But it was from your mother."
"I didn't even know her."
"Still," she persisted knowingly. "It was the only thing you had left from her. I know how much that means. And Yukina told me just how special those gems were."
Hiei's mouth pressed into a line as he looked away, his silence more telling than any words he might have said.
"Do you ever think about her?" Botan pressed.
She half expected him to snap at her or to coldly reply that it was none of her business, but his shoulders fell slightly from their squared position and the furrow in his brow lessened considerably.
"There isn't much to think about," he answered eventually. "My first and only memory of her was brief and unpleasant."
Blue brows drew together as concern laced through her features.
"I'm sorry to hear that," she said softly.
"It's fine," he dismissed, averting his gaze once more. "I have long since made peace with it."
Botan's heart ached for him, but she pushed the hurt aside. It was clear that Hiei did not appreciate her attempts at sympathy or empathy and she did not want to offend him. Turning to face him, she met the fire-demon's unreadable expression with a bright smile.
"Even if you never knew her, I bet I could guess what she was like," she began lightly.
He glanced at her warily, confusion swirling in his red eyes.
"She was probably a kind and strong woman," Botan surmised. "And brave, too."
"How would you know a thing like that?" he challenged.
"Children are usually reminiscent of their parents, you know," she informed. "Yukina possesses an immense strength of character and an indomitable spirit. And so do you."
Crimson eyes widened a fraction, his features easing up from their set look of stoicism as he realized what she was getting at.
"I'm absolutely positive that she lives on through you. That's why I can safely say that she must have been extraordinary soul," Botan finished.
Hiei swallowed thickly, a flicker of something new running through his expression before his features hardened.
"You always say the strangest things," he replied. "I suppose it can't be helped, seeing as your head is always in the clouds."
"Maybe," she agreed with a nod, feeling oddly somber all of a sudden. "But unlike you, I don't have a family and I never will. Keeping my head in the clouds and daydreaming is quite literally all I am left with."
Hiei went silent at that; no cutting remark or reproach on his lips. He simply listened, soundlessly acknowledging her words. It gave her the courage to continue voicing the things she never said before.
"I know it's silly, but sometimes I like to imagine what my family would be like if I had one..." Botan revealed, eyes following her index finger as she traced random shapes into the wooden bench. "It just comforts me sometimes."
A few moments of quiet passed between them until Hiei spoke.
"They would undoubtedly be overly emotional, far too chatty and indiscriminately friendly like you are," he concluded.
Botan lifted her gaze to meet his eyes, a slow smile stretching out on her lips.
"You think so?"
"I do."
"I don't know... maybe they would be super serious and strict," she countered. "Maybe I would be the black sheep of the family!"
He regarded her with a skeptical raise of his brow.
"I seriously doubt that, woman."
Botan giggled, a warm and happy feeling bubbling up in her chest. Hiei held her gaze evenly, the corner of his lips quirking into the kind of smirk that he did not often reveal as the setting sun cast a soft glow over his sharp features.
She did not know things could be so light and easy when it came to the fire-demon.
She never expected that things could be like this at all.