For Love: All Stories Have A Beginning

A/N: Hey there! Thanks for the reviews! Please keep on doing it! I hope that this story isn't too confusing since it's not in order. Tell me if it is, but hey, if Pulp Fiction can do it, so can I! R&R and Have Happy Holidays!

I

(Over one year before the First Chapter)

A murmur arose in the forest where Botan was in. She looked around. She was dressed in a pale yellow dress, and she was wearing high heels that hurt her feet. Her blue hair was down and she was wearing makeup, something she never does.

She felt Koenma tug on her arm, Ayame on his side.

"Come on, everyone, we just have to find a ring of mushrooms and we're set!"

Botan saw George and many more of the staff of Rekai. Actually, the entire staff of Rekai was there. She even saw Enma there. And why, you might ask, were all these people there? It was because of Botan. She had gotten the highest reward that a ferry girl could get.

It had no name. It just was said that Botan was the best, the purest, and the most spiritual ferry girl out there. Flattering, isn't it?

"Found one, sir!"

George was waving his big blue arms wildly. Botan smiled wearily. She didn't want to be at the party. Heck, she would rather be put down by Hiei for three hours than be a part of the ceremony, even if it was for her. She watched her boss go over to the ring and she gazed with interest. She wanted to see what he was going to do. She heard Enma chuckle as Koenma rubbed his hands together.

"Okay, everyone. We're going to have a night to remember!" The Prince held out his hands and held them over the ring of fungi. "By the power of Rekai, I demand that your true and most beautiful form be revealed!"

Botan didn't have time to blink, because her pink eyes were pierced with a white light. She gasped as she finally got her vision back. She was on a ballroom floor, but there was no ceiling, the stars still gazing down at them, twinkling merrily. There were strings of lights, but there were not lights... not electrical lights at least... just... spheres.

"Wow... I've got to remember that one."

Botan looked down. Her dress, which was once ordinary, was transformed into a lovely gown of beauty and grace. She had pearls around her slender neck and thin gloves were on her hands. Her breath was taken away by it all.

Music came, from what sounded like, the trees and the night air itself. Everyone danced, and everyone drank. It made Botan dizzy. She wanted to leave. She felt... suffocated. She didn't like her pretty dress or the jewelry. She was about to leave when she felt a large and powerful hand on her shoulder. A deep voice rang in her ears.

"Leaving so soon?"

Botan looked up to see Enma himself smiling down at her merrily, his eyes sparkling like the stars. The ferry girl stammered nervously.

"U-um. W-well, it looks like that, doesn't it, but I was r-really just-..."

Enma laughed casually.

"It's okay, Botan." The ferry girl blinked. Enma knows my name? "I understand." He leaned down even more so he could whisper into her ear. "You can leave." He patted her as gently as he could on the head. "Take care, and congratulations."

Botan whirled around, grinning as she was about to thank him, but he was already gone. The ferry girl frowned and walked out of the bubble that seemed to surround the entire hall.

Instantly, she could breathe easier. She sighed and walked out into the night. What a relief. I don't have to answer any more questions. I don't have to smile for the entire night so my face feels like plaster by the end. She did a little dance of happiness.

That was when she realized she was a bit far from the party, and she was shrouded in darkness. She whimpered as she stumbled over a root and she frantically felt around for a tree. She shivered in the dark, fear eating at her. That was until she heard a voice.

"What's an onna like yourself doing all alone in the dark?"

II

Hiei could feel that something was off. It sparked through the air like lightening. He followed it, and he heard a loud voice dashed with a bit of whispers. And that was when an incredible force threw the Koorime back.

What the HELL was that? Hiei saw a milky sphere. It was guarding a certain part of the forest, and it was unnatural. Well, it felt... odd. Very old magic. Hiei frowned as he touched it, and it actually burned his skin. A rare occurrence. Actually, it had never happened to the fire demon before. Hiei growled.

Must be some odd Rekai magic.

The Koorime waited around. He did want to know just who was responsible for this barrier. That was when he felt something exit the sphere.

It stumbled. It fumbled. It whimpered. It was scared. Hiei narrowed his eyes, the dark was no match for them. And Hiei was a bit shocked at what he saw.

Botan stood there, looking around wildly.

Hiei had never seen her like that before. Sure, he had seen her scared but... this was different. She looked like she was royal. The dress she wore was stunning. It fit her perfectly and it was matched her hair so naturally it was almost frightening. Her hair was down, and Hiei almost didn't recognize her at first. She was... dare he think it... beautiful.

"What's an onna like yourself doing all alone in the dark?"

He saw her look in his general direction, her pink eyes wide and frightened. She reached forward in the air.

"Hiei? Is that you?"

The Koorime smirked faintly.

"Hn. What do you think?"

She lunged forward and found his chest, grabbing him with a strength that Hiei would have never expected of her.

"Please don't leave me alone!" Hiei pushed her off, not too harshly and remained silent as he looked into her face, and he could tell that it was too dark for her to even see him. "I'm afraid of the dark..."

Hiei snorted at her idiocy. Baka onna. What kind of fear is a fear of the dark? Never the less, Hiei didn't like the fact that she couldn't see. He held out his hand and... spark! A crackling fireball lit up a bit of the forest. Botan's face was finally glowing as she smiled, the first true smile that night, at the source of light.

"What is that thing?"

Botan saw Hiei pointing a long claw at the ethereal sphere. She laughed and wrung her hands.

"Oh that! That is... well... it's actually a ring of mushrooms." She looked at Hiei, who was giving her death glare. "It is! I swear!"

Hiei's eye twitched, but he let the matter drop. The onna never lies. Not to him.

"Well, do you want to go back?"

"NO!"

They both were startled. Hiei had never seen her so fiery about something in her life. She was breathing deeply and a desperation blazing in her pink irises. The ferry onna herself seemed a bit shocked at her harsh reaction. She trembled as she moved a bit away from him, thinking that he was going to drag her back.

"Hn. Whatever."

Hiei turned to leave, but she grabbed his shoulder.

"Please..." The only reason the Koorime didn't shove her off of him was because he smelled salt in the air. "Don't... leave me... alone." She hiccuped. "Don't make me go back there."

Another long silence. They didn't look at each other. A light breeze moved their hair as they stood still in the woods. Without word or warning, the demon picked her up in his arms and was running through the countryside.

III

Botan screamed.

"HIEI? What are you doing?"

The Koorime growled at her.

"Shut up onna! I'm not staying with you the entire night!" Botan had to admit, that one hurt. "Just show me... where you reside."

Botan gulped as she nodded. She told him, and he took her to her apartment. He opened the window and carefully slid the both of them in. He let her ease herself out of his arms.

"Thanks."

Hiei didn't leave like Botan had expected. He looked into her eyes, and she tried so hard to read anything, but only he would know what lay behind those cold orbs.

"Why did you leave the barrier?"

The two acquaintances stared each other down, each one trying to figure out the other.

"Hiei... it was a party. It was in my honor."

Hiei smirked.

"Aren't you supposed to stay, then?"

Botan nodded, but she pushed her hair back, exasperated.

"Yeah... but..." She paused. Finally, she let it all out. "I hate it there!" Hiei's eyes widened slightly. "Everyone keeps asking me the same questions over and over! None of my real friends are there beside Koenma, Ayame and George, and they're always busy mingling!"

A tear of frustration went down her cheek, and that was when she gasped. She realized how loud her voice got and how much she started to shake. She brought a hand up to her face and she turned a bit red.

"I'm sorry. I... I got carried away."

She smiled a bit as she looked away from his startled eyes. The ferry girl shivered as she stumbled off to her bedroom. It was in the back of her mind that she might have scolded herself for being rude to a fair guest. Or the fact that she didn't even show Hiei out the door.

She sat on the bed when she heard a voice from her doorway. A tenor voice that she never forgot since the first time she heard it.

"Don't apologize, onna."

Botan looked to the door, but Hiei Jaganshi was gone.

IV

Life went on. Sort of. The party had been such a party that no one could recall the absence of Botan. Well, almost everyone. There had been one fellow, his name is really not that important, but what he started was.

This man, this spirit, was a commander of a small force in Rekai. He took one look at Botan and thought that she had to be his. He told himself that she would be unable to resist his good looks and good taste. So, he thought his night would be the night of her promotion party.

But she wasn't there.

She was, for about ten minutes, when everyone had a piece of her attention. He wanted all her attention on him. He only took his eyes off of her for one second, but then she was gone. The only thing he saw was a chuckling Enma.

So, the man decided to make his move and question her while she was working, retrieving a soul from the forest.

V

Botan trudged through the leaves and she finally found the body. She sighed and was about to relieve its soul when she heard a voice in her head.

Onna. Botan looked up. Did anyone notice your absence?

The ferry girl smiled faintly.

No. Not that I know of.

Hn.

Botan was about to continue with her work when someone appeared. And it wasn't Hiei. It was the man, and she knew that he wanted to "bag" her. Ayame told her to stay away from him. Botan knew why. He was so egotistical that he drowned in it.

"Hey Botan." The ferry girl was growing restless. "I didn't see you at the party last night. Where were you?"

The ferry girl bristled. She had didn't know how to answer that. She struggled, and she felt a whisper in her mind. She tried to hear the words, but she couldn't grasp them. That was when she felt an arm slip around her waist. She looked over her shoulder and down a bit to see Hiei. He didn't meet her eyes as he pulled her closer to him.

"Who are you?"

Hiei's voice was cold as ice, and the man bristled. Botan smiled as she leaned into Hiei, making it look as real as possible. The man cracked his knuckles, looking at Botan.

"Who is this loser?"

Hiei narrowed his eyes and licked his fangs.

"None of your business." He growled a bit, and Botan had to restrain herself from laughing. The way he vibrated when he made that noise tickled her. "But what you do need to know is that this onna is mine."

The man raised a hand, and Botan did one thing that Hiei would never forget.

She flinched and squeezed the Koorime's arm. She closed her eyes and pressed herself against him.

Now, don't get the wrong idea. The man had never harmed a blue hair on the ferry girl's head. Hiei knew that. Even he couldn't hurt the onna. His eyes turned so steely and cold that they could have frozen magma. He glared at the men. The point was that he scared the onna.

Botan felt Hiei disappear from her side. She opened her eyes to see the man on the ground, knocked out. A bruise was forming on his jaw. She looked at Hiei, who was shrugging on his cloak. He looked at the ferry onna. She smiled delicately at him.

"How did you know to come?"

He crossed his arms.

"You're emotions were in my head." He paused to fix his bandana. "You were distressed."

Botan frowned. Since when would Hiei care about her feelings and if she was happy or not. She looked at the man. That was when she realized that it was a burn on his face, not a bruise. Hiei didn't want that man to touch me...

"Um, Hiei?" The Koorime had started to walk away. He stopped and turned, his face emotionless, as usual. Botan walked up to him, trembling a bit. "Thank you."

Faster than the wind itself, the ferry girl swooped down and kissed the demon on the cheek. Hiei didn't have time to say anything, because as Botan moved to brush her lips across his cheek, she summoned her oar. She was flying into the clouds before Hiei had the chance to register what had happened.

The fire demon sputtered. He even blushed a bit. He snarled. He clenched his fists to hard that they bled. He was confused. He was angry. But, a small part of him was smiling. A smaller part touched his cheek, savoring the warmth that her lips left. The smallest part of Hiei felt a bit lightheaded.

VI

(Present day)

Botan looked up at the ceiling. She was paler and skinner now. Ayame sat beside her. The two girls were silent, listening to the noises around them.

"What do you think they are doing out there?"

Ayame turned to her best friend.

"They?"

Botan sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"There are more of them out there now." Ayame didn't know if she was scared or relieved. "Kurama... Yusuke... Kuwabara... and... and... someone else is with Hiei." A slithering was heard and a soft crack. Soft, but audible. "Did you hear that?"

Ayame nodded.

"What do you think it was?"

Botan shrugged, and she brought her legs close to her, her pink eyes not leaving the ceiling.

"I don't know." Another crack. "They are trying to find a way in."

Ayame looked as the top ferry girl of Rekai got up shakily, and Ayame instantly stood up and supported her. Botan looked at the walls, and she ran her hands over them. Her eyes closed and she put her forehead against the solid wall.

"Hiei..."

And that was when explosions were heard everywhere. Ayame flinched away from her friend and spun around in circles. The blasts came from... everywhere. Some were Makai grenades... but others... others were something else. Something stronger.

Botan still had her forehead against the wall, and she began to smile.

Crackles were heard. The concrete and marble shifted with deafening grinding. Enma opened the door, his face pale. Koenma and George followed him and they all looked to the ferry girl, who still had her eyes closed. Enma gasped. Koenma fainted. George whimpered. Ayame let out her breath slowly as she looked up.

The walls crumbled away from them. Light poured through and dust was kicked up. They were exposed. They were totally exposed. Fear pumped through them. Well, most of them.

A choked sob was heard, but that was when they realized that it was a laugh. A laugh of relief.

Botan had thought she would never smile again. She opened her eyes slowly, tears spilling out of them. The light fell on her and made her seem angelic as she stepped out of her prison, slipping on some marble.

But she never fell. Two strong arms supported her and she looked up into those red eyes that she loved to lose herself in. His skin faded from emerald green to a fair tint of peach. Botan felt hungry lips crash on hers, and she sobbed. She never thought she would fell his kiss ever again. She whispered against them, making him tremble ever so slightly.

"I missed you too, Hiei..."

VII

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Keep on reviewing! I know I left a teaser, but hey, I want reviews! I worked hard on this chapter to make it the best of the best. If you think so, tell me. If you don't think so... tell me! Happy holidays!

-mia

p.s. Can you believe that I actually used to like KoenmaxBotan? What was I thinking?