Of Marigolds and Butterflies

Chapter 11

Murderous Aura

A/N: Slow-ass update. Haven't updated for 9 months. 2020 is crazy and there was a lot of commitments and my mental health to take care of. To be honest, I almost forgot what writing felt like until I entered a mini-poetry competition. Then I thought, okay let's update this fanfic. This fandom is really lovely and I still want to be a part of it, even though it is not my favourite anime (Hunter x Hunter is my favourite, still same writer I guess?). It's still my very first anime as a child and heck yeah Botan x Hiei is such an interesting pairing.

(Winter 2011)

"Hiei," Yusuke released Botan.

"Detective," he nodded back. Hiei stared back at Botan, but did not say anything. Botan was equally speechless. She could only look away.

Kurama was the first one to read the room. He knew that there was awkwardness that lingered in the air because Hiei and Botan have not talked since their child has passed.

"We finally found out why these foetus imps were attacking you and how to get rid of it," Kurama said, breaking the tension.

"Great!" she chirped, "let's get to it then!"

Kurama shared their findings regarding the foetus imp, their visit to the Glacial Village and instructions on how to destroy it.

"I see," Botan whispered, trying not to cry, "I can't believe that foetus imp ate my son's remains... I should have cremated him. My baby had gone through so much, even after death, there's still people who wants to hurt him."

"The foetus imp should be strong by now, so we need a body part from you and Hiei to make sure it dies. The harder it is to attain, the more the foetus imp will burn. Of course we can't ask of you to give up your heart or anything vital. I was thinking you can give up some of your hair strands? It has to be plucked out from the roots. Think you can do that Botan?" Kurama said.

"It doesn't matter what I have to give up, I want the foetus imp to die," Botan muttered, not sounding like herself.

"Whoah, whoah calm down Botan," Yusuke said.

"I'm sorry..." she stuttered, realising how bad she sounded, "it's just... I'm a bit... angry right now. It ate my son's remains. My baby! I just... and I felt so powerless. It's as if..."

"I let my poor baby die a second time-"

That hit home to Hiei. He felt furious. Furious at the foetus imp for disrespecting his son's grave, but he never had thought about it until Botan brought it up: he failed to protect his son again. While he was wallowing up in self-pity, there was a foetus imp using his son's remains as a way to gain energy.

"Do not apologise for how you feel. It's validated," Hiei suddenly spoke.

Knowing how that foetus imp does not simply die by ordinary means, Hiei would have burned that foetus imp again. And again. And again. Just to torture it.

Botan smiled at him, but was too afraid and surprised to say anything. He was usually the type of person to scoff at someone for being too emotional. Yet, this time, he wasn't.

Yusuke felt awkward, feeling the murderous aura from both of them. It terrified him. If it was Hiei alone, it would not have affected him. He's used to it. But to get a murderous aura from Botan... Scratching his head, he spoke, "yeah... it's nice fantasizing about destroying little imps and all, but we should be starting the ritual now, right? It might attack Botan again."

(Spring 2007)

"I don't care if my father gets angry at me, they deserve to know what going on," Koenma said adamantly. Ayame touched his shoulder in response, comforting him. He approached the podium, beyond it were the residents of the Spirit World, mostly ferry girls.

"I've come to make an announcement, against my father's wishes. Please hear me out-"

The rest of the Spirit World was stunned. Especially the ferry girls. Botan was more calm, given that she knew of the secret beforehand.

"Since the Golden Silence has been opened, the memories of your past life will begin to occur to you. So if you wish to discontinue the service of ferrying people because it gives you discomfort, I will offer you to be free spirits. It's the least I could do to prevent cases like Sayuri from occuring, since Ferry Girls can't cross over," Koenma offered, but his gestures showed defeat. The Spirit World will bear the consequence if there are insufficient people to ferry the dead.

All the girls looked at one another, indecisively. Sure it was bad news, but being a free spirit held uncertainty.

The Ferry Girls had been trained to do nothing but ferry the dead. What could they hope to achieve from aimlessly roaming around?

Determined, Botan raised her arm up. Koenma was stunned, but he did not interrupt her.

"Everyone..." she spoke, "it seems like a shock to us. Some of you might feel angry or upset, some of you may question what happened to your previous life; which is totally okay. We can try to look at our duties not as a punishment, but as a service. Imagine if there were no one to guide the dead - they will feel so alone! There might have been nobody besides us during our past lives, but all the more that we should help those that are in need. At the time of their deaths, they need somebody. Let's stay."

She gave a heartwarming smile to the crowd. Gradually, the rest of them nodded in approval and gave an applause. Koenma sighed in relief - no one was resigning.

It was all thanks to Botan's influence.

Yet, in the corner, Ayame watched her with bittersweet gaze.

Thank you, Botan. But I hope what you say holds out when your memories resurface. It won't be easy... I pray that you will be well, young one.

Botan knew she was dreaming. She was seeing things again.

A blue-haired woman with purple eyes was running away from a palace. She was wearing a gown. Apparently, the woman had ran away, just an hour before the ceremony. The moment the eunuch and maid servants left her alone, she sneaked away, never looking back.

The blue-haired bride entered the dark forest, where no sane person would dare venture to. Winter had begun and the woman mentally scolded herself for not thinking it through.

It was getting cold and dark. She was lucky that she was able to make some firewood.

"Tweak-"

The woman's ears went on full alarm. Did the emperor's soldiers caught up with her?

"Stop shivering, it's pathetic-"

A man with hair as black as night appeared. She could not see the rest of his features well due to the darkness.

"Relax. I am not one of them," he said.

"Well, well, look what we got here-"

"It seems here that you, woman, judging from that royal crest and that outfit, you're a runaway imperial consort," he continued, "you belonged to the Aoi village. They are recognised by their unique blue-hair and purple eyes. But most of them were wiped out when their homeland had met a horrid volcanic disaster. Which makes people like you valuable. If it wasn't for that disaster, my family of thieves would have massacred your tribe and sold your eyes and hair in the black market."

She sensed danger. "Leave me alone, please, I have food and some fur, I will give some to you. Just spare me," she pleaded.

"I'm guessing that the royal soldiers abducted you because you were the last few of your kind. Filthy-minded elites would fantasize to spend the night with a rare breed like you. Should've known that emperor of ours is just some perverted rich hound. Sating his lusts safely beyond the golden doors while we commoners starve. It's disgusting," he said, "but then again... You're probably worth the loot. I'm sure the emperor would pay handsomely for his newly favourite concubine. Or, I can turn you in to my family. That'll keep them out of my hair."

The woman held onto her shoe, pointing it at him. It was a pitiful attempt, that it almost amused him - save for the determined look in her eyes.

"Then, if you won't leave me alone, I'll fight you. I had escaped from the palace for my freedom. I'm willing to do that all over again, if it meant to be free from you," she warned, glaring at him, though she was shaking in fear.

He chuckled at the girl's foolishness yet courage. It reminded him of his rebellion against his family. "Fair enough," he said, "I'm a person who desires freedom too. Find a better shelter, woman. You'll die out here in the cold."

He turned and walk.

His crude words struck her. There was no way she will freeze to death. Surely he had to have his own camp somewhere.

"Wait!" she called out, "take me with you."

The man turned. He closed in on her, such that she could see the colour of his eyes - they were deep crimson. It was an odd shade, but it was not as if hers was anymore unusual.

"Only if you share your food and fur-"

"That is fine by me..." she handed a set of fur to him.

She smiled, "Uhm... What should I call you? My name is Charlene-"

"Hn, it's Vincent-"

This man and woman... kept appearing in her dreams. Was this her past life? Their story seemed to appear in her dreams in a random sequence, it was difficult to outline the story in a chronological manner. Though at least she got their names.

A/N: In the Philippines, Yu Yu Hakusho was very well-loved and popular around the early 2000s. They had it in the Tagalog dub, and it was named as "Ghost Fighter". They changed the Japanese names to English names. In the Tagalog version, Botan's name was "Charlene" and Hiei's name was "Vincent".