Summer vacation's almost up; I'm very upset. I wish I had updated more, I apologize immensely for that. This chapter, I am ashamed to say, is short. I'm sorry for that too. Thank you to all you loyal readers and a greater thanks to those who reviewed. Please enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer : I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Hydrangea In The Rain

Chapter Ten : The Boy Named Hope

'Hope' is the thing with feathers-- That perches in the soul-- And sings the tune without the words-- And never stops--at all - Emily Dickenson

Normal POV

The wind cut sharply against her skin, and she realized the height she was at. Botan couldn't help but admire the beautiful mountainous landscape before her; she had never been beyond Japan and had only seen Mt. Fuji and Mt. Hiei.

Somehow she had already flown past India and was now soaring toward Tibet without her knowledge. She flew lower and decided to disembark in a park, after deeming it safe that is. With grace, Botan made her oar vanish and landed on her feet.

"T-that was amazing! How did you do that?" Her body froze over at the foreign voice. She slowly jerked her head behind her to find a little frail looking boy coming out from his hiding place behind a tree. He seemed young, but it was difficult for her to put an age.

"Um…" She scratched her chin with a dainty finger while trying to think of a good excuse. "…I'm… a witch?"

"Sure you are, and I'm the boogie man." He rolled his eyes, causing her to stare into them. They were of an icy blue and seemed almost transparent, as if they were fading away.

"Hm? See what you like?" She blushed and glared at him.

"How rude! You should be kind to your elders little boy!" It was his turn to glare.

"I'm no 'little boy'! I'm almost sixteen-!" He stopped suddenly and quickly gazed around, as if he looking for something. "Crap!" He scrambled around and tried to make it back to the tree, but not before giving Botan another fierce look. "This is your fault for making me come out of my hiding place!" He yelled trying to make it back up the tree. If she weren't so angry at the boy, she'd be laughing at how ridiculous he looked trying to scramble up the tree.

"Hiding place? Playing hide and seek I see. So you're a little kid after all." She teased while giggling. A faint blush spread across his face and he glowered at her.

"I told you, I'm not-"

"Hey! He's over here!" A female voice shouted and seemed to be out of breath like she had been running. Botan had to squint to vaguely see three figures in the far off distance. They yelled again, however she could not understand what they were saying.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap!" He muttered and once again attempted to climb the tree. He stopped abruptly and fell to the ground, coughing. Botan ran to the ill boy and helped him up.

"Are you alright?" She asked him and gasped in shock when she saw that his hands were covered in blood. "You…"

"Kibou!" Two nurses ran to his aid, one pushing a wheelchair. Quickly, they placed him in the chair and wheeled him away. Worried, Botan followed them.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I can't tell you anything unless you hold some relevance to him." She said in an odd accent, brushing the blunette off coolly as she continued to run. The ferry girl ignored her cold remark and looked up ahead to where they were heading.

It was a the relatively small building, painted completely white (though in a sloppy way) with a red cross and the word 'Hospital' in two different languages decorated in red, one in English and the other in, what Botan suspected to be, Nepalese. As they entered through the doors, she was pushed back by mobbing men in dirty white trench coats with somewhat rusty stethoscopes.

She watched them disappear down behind big swinging doors and a small red light lit up over the door. It flickered oddly, but was still able to light up.

"You know him?" A passing nurse asked and stood beside her.

"Um, sort of... Kibou, right?" She asked, repeating what the previous nurse called him. The other female nodded.

"Yep, been here almost all his life. Poor child, you're perhaps the first person to visit him, besides his mother of course." Botan couldn't help but empathize with him.

"What's wrong with him?" She was absently reminded of the blood upon his hands.

"Tuberculosis. It causes him to cough up blood sometimes, especially when conditions aren't too good."

"I see." She looked somber; her eyes had dropped a few shades of their originally bright hue.

"I think it's nice that he has a friend now." The female nurse smiled at her. "Because he's home schooled and practically lives in the hospital, he doesn't have much people to talk to."

"Is- is he going to be alright?" Botan choked up, tears swelling in her eyes as the red light above the room didn't cease. "They've been in there for a long time…"

"I'm sure he'll be fine... Why don't you come back tomorrow to visit? I'm sure Kibou would love your company."

"Eh? What are you doing here?" Botan sent him a sharp glare which the young boy ignored.

"She's here to visit you Kibou." The nurse smiled at him and motioned the woman in.

"Hmph." He huffed and crossed his arms, lying back on him pillow. "I don't need her here, Rakshya (1)." He pouted like a child.

"Now Kibou, be kind to your guest." The blonde gulped at the nurse's harsh tone that sent shivers down his spine.

"Y-yes ma'am…" All of a sudden she turned back to the ferry girl and smiled kindly.

"Please, make yourself comfortable and I'll get a vase for that." She pointed to the forgotten cluster of flowers lying in her hands.

"T-thank you." She replied quickly and sweat dropped at the nurse's swift mood change. With Botan's answer, she ambled out of the room, leaving the two others in an awkward silence.

Botan grinned unexpectedly at the boy.

"So you can respect your elders after all." He glared, but couldn't stop the blood from rushing to his face in an innocent blush.

"S-shut up!" She just giggled at his childishness. "So why are you really here?" The blunette puffed out a cheek in annoyance.

"What does it look like? I'm here to visit you!" His eyes widened slightly in surprise and she was reminded of the nurse's words.

"O-oh. A-alright, but don't complain if you get bored..." He turned away his face to look out the window. It was then she noticed how pale he was and how thin his hair was. "What's your name?" He spoke suddenly and broke her train of thought.

"Um, Botan." She answered quickly, forgetting that she had never told him because she had already learned his name.

"Like the flower?" He asked unpredictably, causing her to stumble on words.

"Y-yes. How did you know?" He shrugged nonchalantly and leaned back deeper into his pillow for better comfort.

"I'm Japanese. My parents moved here when I was just a baby, but wanted me to keep most of my heritage." Kibou explained, swiftly changing from English to Japanese. "If you couldn't tell that from my name, I'm very disappointed."

"That must be interesting; do you know why your parents moved here?" She continued in her native tongue, ignoring his last comment.

"My father was a botanist and wanted to study the vegetation of this area." He smiled when he finished, almost childishly. "Now that I told you about myself, will you tell me how you did that trick outside?"

"… Definitely not." He frowned again.

"Will you... at least take me flying with you?" She gazed into the dulling blue orbs, the odd feeling behind them too mature to be that of an average sixteen year old.

"No." He fell over her blunt answer.

"Wha-?"

"I brought you some flowers." She said, shifting the bouquet from arm to arm so she could show him, and changed the subject. He sighed, giving up his plan to get her to speak, and looked with humble interest.

"Osbeckias, luculia, and gentians... did you get them from the valley?" She blinked in amazement.

"Yes, I did. How did you know?" He picked a light colored flora from the bunch.

"These types of plants are common around here."

"You sneak out enough to know that?" He gave her a skeptical look before placing it back into the bundle.

"I told you, my father was a botanist, he marked all the types of flowers that grow wildly around here." Kibou said coolly, taking the whole batch from her to further examine.

"It must be nice to be able to learn from your father."

"… I guess so." His face showed no emotion as he spoke.

"What do you mean?"

"You have a real knack for prying, don't you?" He glared, but Botan remained unfazed.

"Yes; in fact I do."

"My life is none of your business." Her eyes slightly widened as she could have sworn his eyes were crimson and his hair was black and white. She rubbed her eyes to blur out the image.

"…" She sat in a nearby chair, causing Kibou to raise a brow at her.

"Aren't you leaving now?" He asked with a pointed stare. And she could see the present loneliness in his eyes, just as if she had looked in a mirror.

"No." She had become so transfixed by his familiar eyes, she had unintentionally replied very softly. He sneered at her answer.

"You don't want to stay with me."

"I know you have tuberculosis; I don't mind." His face faltered.

"What?"

"I said, I don't mind."

"You don't care if you die?" She only smiled lightly. "L-look, you don't want to know me." Her quizzical glance wasn't enough for him to continue, so she articulated her wondering.

"How come?" He licked his lips, as if they had suddenly dried up, his eyes grim.

"…. Because it will hurt a hell of a lot when I die."

(1) Rakshya is a Nepalese name and means protector, guard.

(2) Kibou means hope in Japanese, though I'm unsure if Japanese people actually name their children this.

I know you are getting restless with non HB action, but please be patient! I know this isn't the fluffiest of all stories, I'm sorry. And I know some of you are thinking "What? Another OC?" I'm sorry! He's the last one. Thanks again to those who reviewed, and I look forward to hearing more of your comments. Please review and thank you for reading my fic.