Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or the characters

Hey, everyone. Here's another suggestion from my friend dragoscilvio. It involves my favorite Broadway play (that I wish I could see, though I'd be disappointed that it's not the original cast). So, spoiler warning. If you haven't seen and hope to see The Phantom of the Opera and are unfamiliar with the story and wish to be surprised, don't read. I go through a great deal of the plot, up to the ending, so yeah. I only just thought to do a spoiler warning for that XD

So without further ado, Dream Big Sequence 2

"Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises." – Demosthenes

The sound of a high-pitched scream had thrusted Hiei out of his nightmares, and he growled over being disturbed. Crimson eyes blinked to rid himself of the last remnants of sleep, the fire demon rubbing a hand over his face as he scoffed. What was the woman doing? The scream did not sound like hers. Was that the blasted television? Why was it so loud? His eyes went to the clock and narrowed. He had only just come to bed a few hours prior in the middle of the night. The woman was never up this early, and she was usually very mindful of him as her "roommate," as she would call him. What was her deal?

The fire demon ventured from the room, hearing some strange, soft song playing. The lyrics seemed complex and dark. He couldn't help but focus on them as he made his way to the living space to confront the woman. "Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness wakes and stirs imagination." Hiei's brow raised in curiosity. He was now looking at the woman who was sitting by a box and listening intensely. "Silently the senses abandon their defenses, helpless to resist the notes I write, for I compose the Music of the Night."

As the song continued, Botan turned around and noticed him. She appeared shocked before she offered him a sheepish smile. "Oh, good morning, Hiei," she greeted. "I'm surprised you're up this early."

Right, she had woken him up. His lip curled back in a sneer. Of course she had to remind him. "I wasn't," he replied curtly. "I was awoken by a scream." He saw Botan grimace guiltily. Maybe she had been the cause of it.

"Sorry about that," Botan offered. "I wasn't really prepared for how the last song was going to end. I had trouble sleeping last night, so I finally just gave up and listened to this CD Kurama got me." She grinned at the fire demon. "It's a classic play that's on Broadway in America, The Phantom of the Opera." When Hiei didn't react she just continued. "In any case, since you're awake now, would you like to listen with me?"

Hiei's voice cut like a knife. "I have better things to do."

Botan's cheerful expression fell. "Oh, well that's all right," she murmured. I mean, I was the one who woke him. He probably doesn't want to be anywhere near me right now.

The stray thought was caught by the Jagan, and Hiei sighed in frustration, his crankiness not disappearing as he regrettably asked, "What is it about?"

Light returned to Botan's eye, the excited smile returning. "It's about this 'phantom' who lives in the shadows of an opera house, and he falls in love with this lovely singer and trains her under the guise of 'The Angel of Music.' When this well-known singer gets upset and quits the show, that leaves this young woman, Christine, as the one to sing her part. And that sets the whole story in motion as her childhood lover returns wanting to see her while the phantom, still hiding in the shadows, wants to enchant Christine and where I am now was just after he hypnotized her to follow him down into the catacombs where he's hiding, and now he's singing one of the defining songs of the play, 'Music of the Night.'"

Surprisingly enough, the plot did pique Hiei's interest, though if television at Kurama's house was anything to go by, anything with singing, those annoying musicals his stepbrother watched, were hardly worth it. Still, even though he had announced he had better to do, he really didn't. He figured it wouldn't hurt to listen to the story and see how it played out. To him, the phantom seemed like a relatable character. He entered the living room and sat down, Botan beaming at him as he did so.

"Would you like me to start the play over? We can read over the script together," she suggested.

Hiei shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

A few more songs and a murder later, and the story had done enough to completely capture Hiei's interest. This phantom character was as malevolent as they came. He was sinister and dark, a character the fire demon could admire. Though this play started out as a pathetic romance, it was slowly getting good, and Hiei was excited for the unavoidable confrontation.

"No more talk of darkness. Forget these wide-eyed fears. I'm here, nothing can harm you. My words will warm and calm you. Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry -your tears. I'm here, with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you."

Hiei sneered at the voice of the other man in the dark love triangle. After the murder had occurred, the woman, Christine, had her little mental breakdown realizing that she had been dealing with a sinister murderer. No she was begging her former lover her to love her and protect her from the one man who would do her no harm, the one who saw her as his light.

The fire demon's eyes went to the ferry girl, the blue-haired woman smiling at the song, no doubt internally gushing over the romance between the two. She was delusional like that, a hopeless romantic. This was right up her ally, though it was making him feel nauseated.

As their love song ended, the music silencing, the broken, eerie voice of the phantom sang once more. "I gave you my music. Made your song take wing. And now, how you've repaid me: denied me and betrayed me. He was bound to love you when he heard you sing. Christine. Christine."

The new couple began to repeat their singing, this time, the phantom unveiling his anger. Hiei smirked. Of course the man wouldn't have taken the competition lying down, and he caused a huge scene to boot, the chandelier crashing down according to the script. Botan's eyes were wide, but as soon as the CD went to the medley of instrumentals indicating the end of the first act, she breathed out a relieved sigh and smiled at Hiei. "Well, that was intense and a little unexpected," she stated, his expression remaining impassive. "But the music is amazing, isn't it?"

"Hn," Hiei grunted, shrugging. To be honest, if he had to suffer through something like this, he could admit that the music was at least decent enough to not grate on his nerves…except that song with that bitch, Carlotta. He hoped the phantom would slay her next.

Botan looked to the clock as the song was coming to a close. "Do you want to wait and have breakfast before starting the second half?"

"We've gotten this far," Hiei grumbled. "Might as well finish it."

The ferry girl grinned at him, and he had to ignore the way her expression had made his stomach roil with agitation. "Sounds like a plan to me."

The second half proved to be even more compelling than the first. It had taken place months after the destruction of the chandelier, and the phantom had seemingly disappeared, luring all of those among the opera house into a false sense of security. Everyone had been thrilled over the peaceful haze that when the phantom finally made his appearance at the New Year's party, everyone was horrified, including Christine.

The men had made a plan involving the woman to attempt to capture the phantom once and for all thinking they had the power, but the phantom had written a dark opera and had crafted it to fit his plans. He knew full well the intent that everyone had to have him captured. But everything was designed by the phantom to murder the male lead, take his place, and then escape with Christine. Of course, not everything went according to plan as his objectives became known and the woman who had kept his presence in the opera house hidden had finally betrayed the phantom and told Christine's lover, Raoul, where to find him.

Meanwhile, the most souring confrontation had finally happened, a musical and heart-wrenching conversation between the phantom and Christine. She had finally accepted that he was no angel of music, and she feared she would become a victim to his bloodlust. The phantom then fully confided in her the curse of his life, to be damned with his horribly disfigured face, a face that not even a mother could love, and how it forced him to live alone in the shadows. To say that the message had triggered Hiei to the point where he felt nothing but anger and bitterness was an understatement. Christine had felt much empathy towards the phantom, pitied him, and then her lover had caught up.

The phantom demanded Christine choose him in exchange for Raoul's life to which the other man begged her not to give in. Either way, the phantom would have her, willingly or not, and Christine had come to the realization that despite her despair over the phantom's tragedy that she had been deceived and had given her mind to a total stranger. She then had to make her choice.

And what surprised Hiei was that this woman full of kindness and light, one who had been against everything the depraved phantom had stood for, performed an act full of kindness and love to show the man that he was not alone. As a response to her truly gentle and caring gesture, the phantom chose to let her go. Bittersweet as the ending was, it made sense to Hiei. That was the natural course for the cursed and damned, to be forever alone. At least whoever wrote this piece knew of the true state of the worlds.

Botan had stopped the CD, though surprisingly a tear escaped her. Hiei's brow furrowed, and she met his perplexed gaze, chuckling weakly. "Sorry, I know how you feel about displays of emotion," she attempted to placate although Hiei never asked for an explanation.

"Hn," Hiei scoffed. "Doesn't matter. At least that wasn't the worst way to spend a morning."

"You liked it?" Botan asked, excitement clearly dancing in her eyes. "Oh, I hoped you would. So, what did you like about it? What was your favorite part?"

Hiei smirked sinisterly and admitted, "I really liked that phantom character. I was rooting for him the entire time."

"I thought you might," Botan replied, not sound of judgment. "To be honest, I was too. I guess that's why I'm a little sad over the ending."

The fire demon looked affronted. "You mean you didn't want her with that other bastard?"

Botan giggled and shook her head. "Not at all. You'd probably think I'm crazy, but I really wanted the phantom to truly find love. He deserved that much regardless. Everyone deserves to be loved."

Hiei didn't say anything. Instead, the conversation was ended, and the two decided to sit in silence reflecting on the play and their conversation before they moved on and Botan cooked them breakfast. Hiei was still bewildered by the ferry girl's thoughts on the play. He had expected someone as virtuous as her to be rooting against the evil and malevolent, but she proved once again that she was different from the other fools in Spirit World. Hiei wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that she was a part of their group which consisted mostly of demons by this point. It gave her different views that others in Spirit World would condemn in their stuck-up, condescending way.

Botan wasn't like that, and Hiei wondered how he hadn't seen that before this present moment. He should have given that he was the slowly becoming the one in their group that spent the most time with the woman. They had their moments, but the fire demon could admit that she wasn't the worst and most useless of their group (in his mind, that award went to Kuwabara). Botan was bright, vibrant, and kind as much as she was overly sentimental and klutzy.

And he was the one of whom she had chosen to award her kindness.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that she had ended up destroying his unwanted nightmares with her silly music and play. Despite his initial repulsion at wasting his time, maybe it wasn't such a waste. If anything, this "musical" had provided with an opportunity he would never have taken. It had given him this chance to see the ferry girl in new light as well as get to know her character. His mind decided that he actually kind of liked having this woman for a roommate.