Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or the characters

Once everyone had heard the news, they all headed to the hospital. Shiori and Kazuya also came with Kazuya's son, Shuuichi. Everyone was in shock. No one could believe the news.

Everything had happened so quickly. After Officer Atsuko was shot, Toguro fled the scene. He knew he would not get a clear shot of Koenma now that there was commotion. She had been rushed to the hospital, and Genkai called her son, informing him that his mother was shot and told him where to find them.

He had hung up before he could get any details on what had happened or how bad it was. Keiko had been feeling better and offered to go with him, as did Kurama. The three immediately went next door to Botan's so they could get a ride over to the hospital. No one trusted Yusuke behind the wheel in that moment.

Everyone had been horrified by the news, but Hiei took it the hardest. Since he had woken up, something inside of him had been warning him away from the school. He had never expected anything like this happening. He still felt like there was a rock in his stomach, but the anxiety passed. He knew now, and he understood. Had he and Botan gone to school that day, she might have been in the same position.

She would have been killed, just like Tarukane had threatened.

As soon as he realized this, he grabbed her hand and pulled her close. He took her with him in his mother's car with his sister and Kuwabara when they went to the hospital. He had no intention of letting her stray too far away from him, not after this.

Yusuke was pacing around, still waiting for a doctor to come talk to him. Keiko tried to get him to sit, but he wouldn't have it. Hiei could only watch the scene as he still had Botan's hand gripped tight in his. He could not blame Yusuke for his restlessness. He had almost been in the same situation, and if it was Botan in that bed he wouldn't be able to be still.

Eventually, Yusuke paused in his movements and looked directly to Botan. His expression was both confused and calculating, and it surprised her when he asked, "Why did you say not to go to the school today?"

Botan's mouth dropped open as she tried to form words. How was she going to tell her best friend that Hiei had had a bad feeling and they all decided to stay in? She looked over to her boyfriend, who nodded to her. He didn't care if Yusuke knew about whatever this premonition had been. "Hiei didn't want us going to school today," Botan explained, not noticing her friend's anger. "He had a bad feeling and said we should stay home. Then we tried to call or text everyone we knew to keep them home."

Yusuke had barely heard that last part. His mind stopped when Botan said Hiei had gotten her to stay home. "You knew!" he accused, pointing at the other teenager. "You knew something bad was going to happen. What, did you know my mother was going to get hurt in the crossfire? What exactly are you involved with?"

Hiei had been a bit taken aback, but he again realized he would react in this manner. "I didn't know," he admitted. "I just woke up feeling like we needed to stay home. I can't explain it to you. Just…something felt off. I'm sorry about your mother. Believe me; I know that fear, but I had nothing to do with what happened."

"Do you know who does?" Yusuke questioned, still unconvinced of Hiei's innocence.

Hiei looked to his mother and Yukina, both who wore fearful expressions. They knew Hiei was about to tell Yusuke. He wouldn't keep information like that hidden. "Maybe we should go find a doctor to talk to," Kurama tried to suggest as a way to protect Hiei from doing something that would get into trouble.

"No, he needs to know," Hiei snapped at his friend before meeting Yusuke's gaze. "I have no proof, but in my gut I know that Tarukane is responsible."

"Tarukane? Who's that?" the dark-haired teen voiced.

"Our captor," Hiei scoffed. "The bastard is a mob boss who murdered my father, and he's been trying to get me to work for him, using Botan as leverage. He's been pissed off, though, considering I've exposed a couple of his operatives at school."

"Hiei, are you sure you should be telling him this?" Kuwabara interjected. "You could still be being watched."

"At this point it doesn't matter," Hiei growled, growing angry and clenching his free hand into a fist. "His mother was hurt. He deserves to know. Besides, it no longer matters if I stay quiet. The only reason I was even semi-listening to that bastard was because he threatened Botan's life. Now, it's a moot point."

Yusuke's expression grew grim and Keiko stared at Hiei with wide eyes. "Dad, what is he talking about?" Shuuichi asked Kazuya.

The father forced a smile. "Nothing you need to worry about. How about you come with me to get food and coffee for everyone?"

"Sure," the kid happily replied, oblivious to the tension still between the others in the room.

Once the boy was out of earshot, Yusuke spoke up. "What exactly are you talking about, Hiei? You're working for the guy responsible?"

"No," Hiei answered honestly. "Not yet, anyway, and now, not ever."

"Explain," Yusuke demanded curtly.

Hiei nodded. "Tarukane, like I said, is a mob boss. My father was his enforcer and wanted out. He was killed…" Hiei paused for a moment, still getting used to that development of his life. Reporting his life without any attachment was getting harder and harder for him. "Then, Tarukane shifted his attention to me. I got in a lot of fights throughout my life, and he apparently saw something in me that he wanted."

"What does this have to do with my mother or Botan?"

Hiei sighed and shook his head. "I don't know how your mother is involved, but Tarukane noticed my feelings for Botan."

"Whoa, what?" Yusuke exclaimed in disbelief. "Feelings? You're kidding me. After what you did?"

"Yusuke," Botan murmured softly as she inserted herself between the two. She thought her friends were finally getting over that day in the halls. Botan had already forgiven Hiei. She had forgiven him back when he told her the truth, because she knew he was only trying to protect her and not hurt her. "Just listen to Hiei, okay? You'll understand."

"Understand what, Botan?" Keiko asked bitterly as she glared at Hiei who remained as impassive as possible. "You were a mess because of him."

"No, not because of Hiei," Botan argued adamantly while squeezing Hiei's hand to reassure him, not wanting him to return to those feelings of guilt. "I was…going through a lot more than just that. Let's…please not revisit. Just listen, please."

Yusuke's expression softened slightly, though his eyes hardened again once he returned his gaze to Hiei. "Well, I'm listening, but for Botan's sake, not yours."

"Botan had been confiding her problems to me," Hiei explained, trying not to feel pain as he thought about her suffering. "Things were fine, and I was helping her through some of the stuff. She came over to the mansion one day to talk, and I had forgotten about the time. Tarukane caught the two of us in my room talking and apparently he could see my feelings before I even realized I had them.

"I didn't realize it until he threatened her life. He wanted me to stay silent on whatever I believed he did for a living. He wanted me in his business, and he also wanted me to stay away from Botan. Told me that if I didn't follow his commands…she would end up dead."

Botan placed her hand on Hiei's shoulder and forced him to look at her. She didn't say anything, but Hiei felt better just gazing into her eyes. She was still there, despite Tarukane. Thankfully, everything had worked out.

Hiei stopped speaking, so Botan took it upon herself to continue. "Hiei and I were walking to class when I spotted this guy who had shown up at my house telling mom that she was late on her payments and we were at risk of losing the house. When I pointed him out, it caught Hiei's attention and he saw that the man had a gun. All of the stuff he said was to push me away so that I wouldn't put myself in harm's way staying friends with him. He didn't mean to be hurtful, but he had been worried."

"Try terrified," Hiei admitted, shaking his head and looking to the surprised couple across from him. "That guy was the hall monitor that came over to us, and he told me that I wasn't even allowed to go comfort her after what I had done. It tore me up inside, even worse when I found out that Botan was actually-"

He stopped himself.

Hiei didn't know how much Botan had told her friends about her online friend. Botan saw right through his concern and smiled. "He found out that we were actually friends already, online." She turned to face the confused couple. "I used to see Shiori for therapy, and she introduced me to this site where people going through the same things could talk. Hiei and I had been talking on there, but we didn't know that. I was just Rocker Girl, and he was Pyro."

She frowned and looked down when she thought about the moment Hiei told her he found out. "When Ruka cut my hair, she made it sound like Hiei had allowed it to happen, but Hiei had no part in it. At the time, though, I needed someone to talk to. I felt like my life was falling apart. You all have no idea what's been going on. In just a few months, I got trashed by my father, told he wouldn't help with school. I had overheard that guy telling mom we might lose the house, and then we had to spend money on my hair and were late on the payment again. It turns out I have dyslexia, and I was failing Mr. Akashi's class and math."

Keiko's concern poured off of her in waves. "Why didn't you tell me you were having trouble in class? I could have helped you and-"

"Hiei had been helping me…and I've been dealing with some other problems and held onto a lot of self-loathing. I blamed myself for what happened in the halls, thinking I had chased him away with my problems. I thought maybe he had gotten in trouble for giving me the money to pay for the orientation fee for the college we both got accepted to."

"That's why you were taking all that money," Hina breathed out in relief, holding her hand to her chest. Her eyes met her son's. "I'm sorry for not trusting you, but with the drug problem at your school-"

"It's fine," Hiei said, cutting her off. Truthfully, he didn't want to think of the drug trade at the moment.

"Botan…you were going through all of this during all those weeks…" Yusuke stated. "Is…is that why you got pills from Shishi?"

Botan's heart stopped beating in that moment, her expression revealing pure fear. Hiei had attempted to avoid this whole topic altogether, but he had no idea Yusuke knew about the damn pills. "B-Botan?" he heard Keiko call out as Botan started shaking. The next thing he knew, Botan had thrown herself at him, hiding her face in the crook on his neck as the tears started to fall. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her and tightened his hold. This had not gone over how he expected.

"I don't want to talk about it," she managed to mutter against his skin, loud enough for her friends to hear. But that didn't stop the questioning.

"Botan, look at me," Yusuke pleaded. "I didn't mean to upset you, but is that why you took the pills?"

"I didn't take anything!" she shouted in anguish as her body wracked with sobs. "Please, let it go. I don't want to think about it. I was fine. Everything's been going okay."

"How did you know that Shishi gave her pills?" Kuwabara asked, stupefied.

"Koenma decided to have me watch him to get out of my detention for missing school the day I went to get Keiko's ring," Yusuke explained. "I caught him in the middle of a deal and he asked if Botan had sent me. I figured it out from there."

"You could be a detective."

Everyone save for Botan and Hiei looked towards the door of the hospital room to see Officer Genkai standing there calmly. "Of course, you're not all that bright. You've been standing out here thinking your mom was in major trouble. No doctors have come to you yet because everything is fine. Your mother was only grazed in the arm. You would have known that if you had stayed on the phone for more than two seconds, dimwit."

"Mom's okay?" Yusuke repeated, forgetting about the drug conversation entirely as he ran into the room.

Keiko glanced at Hiei and Botan and frowned. Something was tearing Botan up about these pills that she clearly didn't take. Part of her felt like, whatever it was, Hiei knew about it. He was holding her close to him, whispering reassuring words in her ear. She was cynical when he stated he had feelings for her friend, but then the past month flashed through her mind. Botan spent a lot of her time with Hiei and looked to him for comfort, and Hiei protected Botan, even defending her from the guys who beat on her. She could see it, now, in the way he held her and nuzzled his cheek against her. She could see it in his eyes as he looked into Botan's. Hiei didn't just have feelings for her friend. He loved her.

Hiei's focus was solely on Botan, though he did notice the others enter the room. Both his mother and Sakura remained in the hall with them. Sakura smiled sadly at her daughter and Hiei wishing there was something she could do or say to release Botan from the burden of her past thoughts.

"I…I didn't know he knew," Botan said meekly. "I-I didn't want them to ever find out."

"I know," Hiei replied softly. "But it's not like they'll throw it in your face. Yusuke bringing it up…he only asked because he was concerned about what you were going through. He wanted to know if that was what drove you to accepting the bottle. He doesn't know the whole story or that idiot refused to take them back."

"I have to tell them now, don't I?"

"When you're ready," he assured her, pushing her back a little staring intensely into her eyes. "And not a moment sooner than that."

Botan nodded, but she still felt so withdrawn. She had been doing well. The feelings of depression would come and go, but Hiei kept her active, not letting her focus on the negative emotions. "You'll be with me again, right?"

"Botan, after today, I'm not even thinking about leaving your side," her boyfriend admitted. His grip tightened around her waist and she could see his apprehension. She understood. Tarukane was literally gunning for her, now. They were going to have to be extra careful. It was a good thing that Botan didn't mind being so close to him. She rarely felt like he was being overbearing. They were both comfortable. The only time she felt upset about never being left alone was when she thought Hiei and her mother believed her to still be fragile. At least that had all been cleared up. Though she was still very upset, Botan managed to smile as she thought of Hiei's confession that day.

"You don't have to," she stated warmly, relaxing in his grip.

Hina and Sakura watched the two, knowing that the teenagers probably had forgotten they were there. Hiei led Botan down the hall a bit to look outside a big window. It seemed to raise the girl's spirits, especially with how beautiful the sunset looked. The two mothers exchanged their bittersweet expressions. "Is Botan okay?" Hina asked.

Sakura sighed, but she nodded. "It was a close call, though," the mother confided. "I'm sure it will come out really soon now that Yusuke knows about the pills."

"Was she really taking them?"

"No," Sakura answered firmly. "She was honest when she said she didn't take any. Hiei…he stopped her. She was about to do something terrible to herself, and he found out and came over to the house, getting the pills away from her."

Hina felt a jolt when Sakura told her this. "When was this?" she asked cautiously. Somehow, though, Hina knew.

"It was about a month ago," Sakura replied. She could see Hina's expression turn sour. The woman almost looked ill. "Are you all right?"

Hina shook her head. "That's what it was all about," she realized before she met Sakura's confused stare. "I don't know if you'd believe me if I told you, but I think my son had sensed what was going to happen.

"When their father was killed, I knew. I had felt it before it happened. I had a dream that conveyed him saying goodbye and to keep our kids safe, and then I learned he was killed. It was earthshattering.

"I believe Hiei inherited my sixth sense… I caught him having a nightmare a month ago crying out your daughter's name. He was crying in his sleep. I didn't know that she was going to try drugs."

"Hina…she wasn't going to 'try' drugs," Sakura told her, looking away. "She was planning to take the whole bottle…"

It felt like time had stopped around them as Hina absorbed that information. Botan had been planning to end her life? Hina didn't know how her son figured that whole thing out, but she was so glad he did, for his sake and for Botan's, and also for Sakura. Hina couldn't even imagine what she would do if either of her kids were in the same position. They were her life, and the woman was sure Sakura felt the same about Botan.

"Thankfully, it didn't happen," Sakura continued. "They've been telling me more and more of the story. The whole thing about them being friends online…Hiei figured out Botan was who he was talking to after that whole mess with Ruka. Hiei felt bad for how he treated Botan, and was keeping it quiet once he figured it out just in case Botan would stop talking to him. He didn't want her to be completely alone. Apparently, she messaged him on the site to tell him what she was going to do and he raced over. I've never been more thankful for how much he went through for her and the pain he must have been going through just because he felt guilt even though he was trying to protect her."

Hina glanced over at the teenagers again and saw Botan leaning her head on her son's shoulder. He grinned at her and moved her in front of him so he could wrap his arms around her. She couldn't even imagine the pain her son must have been going through, but at least now he and Botan were happy. This attack by Tarukane obviously wasn't going to deter her son from living his life. He was so much like his father, and that thought alone lifted Hina's spirit.

"So, you're really okay?" Yusuke asked his mother.

Atsuko just chuckled from her hospital bed, her arm in a sling. "I'm fine, son," she assured him. "I'm just going to be out of commission for a while."

"You're lucky it wasn't worse," Shiori stated with concern. "Is there anything you need from us? We can have Shuichi bring over meals and-"

"We'll be fine. I can handle cooking," Yusuke admitted.

"What happened, exactly?" Keiko questioned her future mother-in-law.

At that, both officers in the room shared a look. Genkai nodded to Atsuko, giving her silent permission to talk about confidential business. "We were at the school finding more students in possession of prescription drugs, and we were leaving with Koenma to get him to a meeting. He had been in his office getting ready to leave when I was walking back in. I saw the sunlight reflect against something and caught the shine of a gun and pushed your principal out of the way. I managed to get us both out of harm's way, but the bullet did graze my arm. Nothing fatal, but it hurt like a bitch. The painkillers they have me on are taking care of that, though."

"You sure you should be on those things?" Yusuke warily asked.

"It's fine, son," she said again in attempts to reassure her son. "These things are the least addictive ones they've got. I'm going to be fine."

"Good," Yusuke responded, taking his mother's hand. He normally wasn't very showy with affection. Even with Keiko, most of their best moments were private. The rest of the time, he teased her mercilessly. The fact that his mother could have lost her life that day forced him to make the exception.

"Are there any leads on who did this?" Kurama voiced, despite the fact that Hiei had voiced his suspicions.

"Not at the moment," Officer Genkai answered. "But I have my suspicions based on the bullet used."

With that cryptic announcement, the room grew eerily silent. Everyone wondered the same thing.

Did Tarukane really have a hand in this, or did Genkai know the real culprit?