Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho
Botan walked out of the house and into the forest by Genkai's house. A nice walk would do her some good. She couldn't stand being in that house and trying to have a normal conversation with people. The one thing stuck on Botan's mind was the fact that Hiei just up and left without a word. She knew he was anti-social but she figured he had a little heart in him. Maybe she was wrong. The thought brought tears to the ferry girl's eyes. She wanted to believe Hiei had a heart but it was so hard when he didn't show it. She aimlessly walked around alone but unbeknownst to her she was being followed.
Hiei was jumping tree to tree following her. He was very silent and he knew she didn't know he was there. The fire demon didn't want to startle her so he would wait utnil she found a place to sit before talking with her. Not only that but he didn't know if he was ready to talk. Hiei wasn't one to know the feelings of love. Not sibling love, he knew that, but romantic love. He had never felt it before so how was he supposed to know if that was what he felt for Botan? Maybe he felt just a deep connection like he did with his sister. Then again he had heard the ferry girl and the fox talking in the kitchen and Botan did say she hadn't ever loved someone before so how did she know what it felt like? How was she so sure it was love?
Finally finding a place to sit, Botan sighed and plopped down beside the tree trunk and twiddled with the grass in thought. How long would it be before she could face Hiei again? She hated not being able to talk to him. 'Stupid girl! Why'd you have to go and ruin a perfect relationship?!' Botan was yelling at herself. She ripped the grass out of the ground and shredded it up into pieces and threw it to the earth in rage but the tears came. She knew the relationship she would have with Hiei would never be the same. Though she had tears in her eyes they refused to spill.
Hiei halted when Botan sat down and he watched her for a little bit. He watched as she ripped up grass and suddenly the smell of salt filled his nose. She was crying...or almost crying. As badly as the fire demon wanted to he wouldn't pry her mind for her thoughts. He would admit he was rather sad not having her talk to him at all like she would normally do. Hiei was rather angry at himself for how he left her in her state last night but he was afraid. For the first time in his life he was really afraid and he was scared he lost one of the closest people to him. She trusted him with everything, even her love, and he gave her a harsh rejection. Then the sudden smell of tears expanded and the sound of sobbing broke the silence. Botan was crying and Hiei knew it was because of him.
He leapt from the tree with silence and was by her side quickly but she never looked up and never stopped sobbing. The ferry girl must not have known he was there. Hiei didn't quite know what to do since he wasn't the best at comforting people. He leaned down and akwardly wrapped his arms around Botan. Her sobbing slowed and then ceased and her head titled to look him in the eyes. Quickly she looked away with a blush and her heart racing. It was not her eyes that held all the power every time for Hiei's eyes were filled to the brim with emotion at that second.
"What are you doing here, Hiei?" Botan asked while still in his grasp. Hiei shifted and set her into his lap and held her close. He didn't know if you could call the feeling in his heart love but it had many instincts and this is what he was told to do. The reaction he recieved when placing Botan in his lap pleased him. Botan gasped and blushed but hid her head in his chest. His heart was pounding 20 miles a minute...well it felt like it at least. She could hear his heart and smiled. Now she knew he really felt something for her. Though she looked calm her heart was beating just as fast as the one who was holding her.
"You're upset with me." Hiei stated matter-of-factly. Botan smiled gently and grasped his shirt and started messing with it.
"I am...but you're fixing it." Botan blushed while saying the last part. Hiei smiled a small smile and started to mess with her hair in his fingers. Maybe the feeling he had in his heart was love. He would find out with time but he knew that whatever the feeling was, when Botan was upset with him it caused him pain. It would make his heart constrict tightly and his breathing would grow weak when he saw her upset.
"What's the feeling of love?" Hiei asked after a little bit of silence. Botan sat in thought for a moment to try and come up with a good answer. She twisted the bit of shirt in her hands and thought hard about his question.
"Well...it's something you feel for another person. It's where you don't want them to be in pain but when they cause you anger you just want to grab them and choke them...and then when the thought hits your head you calm down and you know you could never do that to them. Then you want to just grab them and kiss them so that they lose their anger as well. It's not a feeling that can really be explained...you just know after a while." Botan tried her best to explain. It confused Hiei a little as to why you would want to choke someone and then want to kiss them afterward.
"So you feel like that toward me?" Botan nodded her head and snuggled closer to Hiei. He placed a hand on her shoulder and one on her outer thigh and pulled her closer to him and breathed in her scent. Now Hiei was almost positive it was love he felt for her. His fingers played with the ends of her hair and she sighed in contentment.
"I love you Hiei." Botan mumbled and then realized what she said and blushed and was about to pull back until Hiei held her still. If there was any time to let her know his feelings for her it was now. She heard him take in a deep breath and her heart began to beat faster and so did his.
"I love you too Botan." Hiei whispered to her and kissed the top of her head. Botan gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck while tears streamed down her face. She was so happy to finally hear him say those words. Not only that but he said them along with her name. Hiei just held her close and it felt right to him. He knew this was meant to be for the both of them and a revelation hit him. How could he not have seen it and Botan did like she did with many things? He chuckled and Botan pulled back with a confused face. Maybe she hadn't gotten it and the revelation hit him first.
"This is why you could catch me so easily in your eyes," Hiei said while looking her straight in the eyes. Botan held his gaze and each gaze was intense but loving. "The reason you could hold me still was because I wanted to be held still. I wanted you to capture me."
Botan smiled at him and hugged him close in a very gentle loving hug. With the look in her eyes he knew he hadn't figured it out before her. That was fine by him. He could learn many things with his ferry girl and she could learn much from him. They sat there just holding each other like new lovers always do as the forest leaves floated around them.
Well I'm sorry it was so short but my computer is going to be fixed and I had to type this chapter fast before I lost it. Well this isn't the last chapter and I hope you continue to read.