Silver

Summary: When Kurama gets afflicted by a deadly curse, Botan is the only one capable of curing him. Forced to go back in time to save him, Botan meets THE Youko Kurama. He's cold, belligerent and cunning. The best she could hope for is to settle the mission while trying to get him to at least stop looking like he wanted to kill her.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Chapter 5

"Um, Youko-"

"That's Youko-sama to you," Youko cut Botan's nervous sentence short, causing the ferry girl to draw her lips tight into a thin and patient smile as she watched him push himself off of the ground and trudge his way towards the snowy white lilies aligning the walls surrounding the entrance of his chamber.

Knowing that he wouldn't harm her because he was in need of the pendant, Botan decided against addressing him with the embarrassing affix and opted to go on instead, "Anyway, as I was saying, Youko," she paused and observed with a self-satisfied smirk lingering at the corners of her lips as the fox made a small irritated grunt from the back of his throat. After a second, she proceeded, "I was wondering if you could let me, er, you know, go to the river or something? I need to wash my clothes-"

"If you actually reckon that I would permit you to step even one foot out of this space, then you are gravely mistaken. You're more of an ignoramus than I thought," his scoffing, derogatory remark once again put a halt to her request. He didn't bother even justifying her with a brief glance as she expelled a horrified and offended gasp, more preoccupied with feeding the lilies before him his Demon Energy than the disgruntled woman behind him.

"Excuse you, but just in case you forgot, you're the one who smeared all that blood all over my kimono, buster! And I'll have you know that I don't appreciate you calling me an idiot!" she roared with uncurbed anger, prompting the fox demon to press his ears tight against the top of his head, a deep scowl on his lips as her bellow threatened to rupture his more sensitive ear-drums.

"I had never once addressed you as an idiot, you insufferable dunce. Need I remind you that I said ignoramus?" came his sarcastic and dry retort, even though he himself was aware that those two subjectives had similar meanings regardless. He felt the need to ruffle her feathers, especially when she ruffled his first.

"Need I remind you that those things are the same difference?" she responded in kind, annoyance shining through as she glared daggers into his strong back.

He didn't offer a smart wisecrack, and instead shrewdly decided to pay no heed to her. After a while of him ignoring her, Botan eventually relented, exasperation scurrying under her skin but remaining in her system nonetheless as she sought to recollect her composure. Once she did, she crossed her arms over her chest, levelling him with a clinical gaze as he eventually spun around to face her again when he was done tending to his plants. He spared her only a short-lasting and aloof glance, patently not at all threatened by her supposedly menacing stance. Although, aware of the fact that she wasn't going to budge unless he complied, he let out a loud and defeated sigh before once again flopping on an unoccupied space across from her on the ground.

"You can't stop me from leaving if I want to," she snorted at him once he finally sat in front of her, one leg bent to his chest as his elbow found solace on situating on his knee.

His handsome features contorted into a patronizing sneer, the patronizing flicker in his gilded orbs palpable as he droned, "I can, actually. In case it slipped your mind, I'm a master at plant manipulation." He halted mid-sentence to point his clawed thumb over the lilies he had been catering to earlier, eyeing in mild amusement as Botan's eyes broadened in mute shock at their now increased size. The flowers, once an unsullied white, were now a pitch black shade as they greeted her sight. "If you even attempt a foolish escape, those dear lilies of mine will not hesitate to harm you. Of course, I gave them specific orders not to kill…but I can't guarantee that they won't take a limb or two."

Botan threw him a withering look. "If you do that, I might actually die," she tried to reason with him, even though she was quite positive that he possessed his own countermeasures for such a scenario.

And of course he did. "Nice try, but that's not a basis for concern, I'm afraid. I'm fully capable of utilizing other tactics to my advantage in order to keep you alive if it really comes to that," he bluntly told her, the lopsided smirk on his full lips broadening an inch as he gave out an uncaring shrug of his right shoulder.

"Figures you would have a few tricks up your sleeve," she bitterly spat at him before slouching her stiff shoulders down in slight defeat. Pursing her lips, her once blaringly angry voice was now a lower octave of uncertainty as she spoke, "Then what about food? I don't think you'd want to eat grilled meat all the time."

He quirked an eyebrow at her, somewhat entertained by her endeavors to convince him to provide her some form of leeway in her current predicament. Not that he was planning to offer her any chances at freedom, of course.

He feigned consideration as he applied a mock tilt of his head in a thoughtful fashion before finally tartly articulating his answer, "Hm. I'm quite fine with that notion, to be perfectly honest with you."

Botan made a sound that echoed between an exasperated sigh and a startled gasp before she cried out her protest, "But I'm not, you jerk! What about me?"

Youko gave her a look that seemingly radiated off genuine shock, as if he truly hadn't contemplated what her needs and desires were. She didn't expect any more though, so it didn't came that much as a surprise when he regarded her with an odd expression as if she had just grown an additional couple of heads on her shoulders.

"What about you?" he asked her back, his voice almost laughing as if he presumed it to be humorous that she would even assume that her wants would be up for discussion. "You eat what I hunt, woman. You should be grateful that you don't even have to perspire any effort into procuring your food as I'm doing all the laborious work," he continued for added emphasis, the tune of his baritone a chastising one as if to remind her that she ought to feel blessed in such a situation.

Botan looked at him as if he had a few loose screws in his head. He disregarded the judgemental stare she pinned him with and went on to throw out a so-called suggestion, "If you really find our meals to be mundane, perhaps we could alternate between cooked and raw meat. I don't really care either way, I still have quite the preference for the latter after all."

The ferry girl's lips tugged down into a tighter and deeper grimace as the revelation finally hit her that his mind really was already decided on the matter. For someone who was no doubt actively conjuring up ideas in his head on how to sneak his way into her good books so that he could acquire The Augmented Necklace from her, Youko was a strange combination of hostile and civil, and a peculiar blend of cruel and a little – only a little – benevolent. One would assume that if he really was that desperate to win her favor in order to snatch the ancient artifact, he could treat her in a manner that was a lot nicer.

She took in his quiet posture as silence hung in the air, his aurelian gaze no longer on her as it fixated on the flickers of flame of the firepit in between them. A sun-orange hue from the fire reflected on his striking features, further accentuating his masculine complexion and prompting his already shimmering pools of gold to appear a more alluring shade. His eyes were void of any emotion, seemingly a blank canvas as they appeared to focus on nothing in particular. He looked as if he was floating somewhere far away, his mind drifting somewhere else the longer the disquietude in their surroundings lingered. Youko seemed to be wavering slightly, and his stature, although undeniably powerful and terrifying, also appeared to harbor undertones of a loneliness and solitude too deep for normal people to understand, but nowhere near convoluted enough for her, the Deity of Death itself, to be unable to comprehend.

…Then again, perhaps this was the only kindness he could savor for her. For someone who often deemed others as either pawns in order to reach his goals or even sources of entertainment for some form of hunting game, this was probably the most warmth he could supply her with. For a demon whose only view of the world was of monotone colors, with the occassional red of ichor and gore from time to time or the sparkles of treasures in a few instances, he most likely knew of no other vibrance. The fact that he allowed her to be spared was a big enough compromise for him, the prospect that he even had enough faith – coerced faith due to the circumstances cirling the pendant, but still – to let her stay with him the entire time, even if it was simply to keep an eye on her, was already a display of his own twisted, complicated attempt at goodwill, despite the ulterior motives behind it.

Botan was all too aware of the reality she most likely wouldn't have survived in her human vessel if she had been wandering around aimlessly in the woods. Demons didn't have a care in the world regarding whether to hunt at night or in the day, but the former was an unspoken preference for a majority of them nevertheless. If she had been outside still, she would have ended up as either food or simply killing practice for other demons, even if Youko hadn't decided to ruthlessly butcher her first. She would be forced into taking her spirit form in order to survive, and that itself would have allowed her no opportunity to undergo her mission.

Granted, the Wish Mirror would most certainly allow her some rewinds if such a thing were to take place, but there were understandably limitations – and she wasn't sure if she wanted to even try testing those limits, especially when Koenma still hadn't informed her of the exact numbers yet. Even as Death, it wasn't as if she was incapable of perishing – as rare and scarce those occurences were, they regardless existed. She was uncertain of the side effects of pushing the mirror too much, but she was at least positive that she didn't want to tempt fate.

In a way, she really did ought to be grateful for him borderline forcefully kidnapping her, even if it was messed up in a lot of levels. Although his refusal at permitting her any freedom was frustrating and to a larger extent, petrifying, at least she was in his presence most of the time – and that bestowed her with plenty of chances of trying to gain his trust bit by bit, no matter how difficult such a feat would prove to be. After a while, she was sure that he would grant her more liberties – maybe. Hopefully.

And with that thought repeating itself in her head, and a heavy sigh, she relented. "Fine. Have it your way. It's not like I have any choice in the matter, now do I?"

He nodded his head once in slight approval, his mouth slanting up into a pleased smile. "At least you're wise enough to oblige, woman. I suppose you're not that naïve then." Or so he said. She suspected he was just relieved that he didn't have to waste another second humoring their so-called discussions though, if his condescending remark at the end wasn't ample giveaway.

"Stop calling me by my gender," she sounded an indignant huff. "I have a name, mind you. It's Botan, in case you forgot."

"I do not really care, in case you forgot," he retorted in the same fashion, though his voice was a far calmer and disinterested tune than the feistiness overtoning hers. "I may call you whatever I like, because you seem as if you're obviously going to call me as whatever you'd prefer as well," he went on, not-so-subtly referring to his previous demand for her to gesture him with a more respectful affix.

She pressed her lips tight. "I am not going to refer to you as Youko-sama, of all things. I don't do that unless they hold some sort of superiority over me. And I mean in the rank sense, not any other aspects," she added when she discerned him parting his lips open to utter an objection, most likely in the form of him reminding her that he was, in fact, greater than her in terms of strength, wits and a lot of other respects.

Youko blinked at her words. For a moment, he mulled over what exactly her profession was in life, considering that her syllables were an indirect implication that she had some sort of higher-ranking figure. However, a moment later, he swiftly brushed aside the curiosity, deciding once again that it was of no importance what her personal life before becoming his captive was. What did it matter, if he was going to feed her to his Ojigi plants once he had gotten the pendant?

But as he scrutinized her appearance, he perceived the difference in the look in her pools of amethysts in comparison to the other humans he had came across. Her purple-tinctured orbs were a vibrant sparkle, dancing with a beautiful glow that even he was nearly captivated by. Yet underneath her bright eyes laid a certain wisdom and despondency that only those who had lived an unbearably long life and looked death in the eye countless times would attain. He would know, because the darkness and emotional baggage swirling latent underneath her irises bore a striking resemblance to his.

She was probably many things. But a human she was not, he was certain of that at least.

Despite his slight piqued interest, however, he also knew that there were reasons behind her shrouding her true identity in mystery – reasons that he was more than confident that she wasn't going to divulge in, even if he resorted to torture in order to either gain a semblance of any valuable information for her, or to merely force her into yielding the necklace to him. He couldn't simply kill her in a senseless fashion, because the pendant could only be given to him after acquiring her permission. Without her passing it on to him willingly, he wouldn't be able to procure it at all as it would meet its doom along with its owner. Besides, torture was out of the question from the very beginning – even if he were to petrify her out of her wits, this woman at least had the steeled resolve not to falter in spite of whatever extremes he would attempt to pull. And without her willing consent, his efforts might as well all be for naught.

All in all, to put it in simpler terms, it meant that he would have to play along with her demands, at least a little.

After a little bit more time contemplating it, Youko then reluctantly informed her, "On second thought, perhaps I'll try to obtain some vegetables and fruits from time to time. And a bit more cooking utensils, if you really wish for them that badly."

Botan's eyelids fluttered into a sluggish but astonished blink at his sudden change of mind. His voice was a conspicuous hint of hesitance, and his words bubbled out of him in a slow and nearly forced out manner, as if it took him all the willpower he could summon to enunciate them. But a warm smile soon found its way on the edges of her lips, the ferry girl somewhat glad that he was at least considering her needs this time around.

Her earlier defeated posture dissipated, now replaced with a more cheerful stance as she clapped her hands together in a gleeful manner. "That's good! And since we're on the topic anyway, mind thinking over your decision of keeping me locked here forever…?"

He ignored the last word. He couldn't – or didn't – even want to imagine having her in his domain for the rest of eternity. He would perish from all the insurmountable stress. Scrunching his nose in noticeable disgust, Youko spared her a brief glance that seemed to spell ire as he formed a blatant and acidic response, "What are you, a hopeless dolt? I told you, that's not up for negotiation. I cannot – and will not – risk you fleeing. Furthermore, now that you're aware of where my cavern is, I would have to either eliminate you right on the spot or detain you here for as long as I wish."

Well, she had already foreseen that nevertheless, so it wasn't as if she was that shocked by his denial to begin with.

That said though, she still jutted her lips forward into a pout as she quietly murmured, "It's not like I'm gonna alert anyone else about where you sleep, you know. Besides, you have your trusted and useful plants around to safeguard you, no?"

"That doesn't matter," he scoffed at her before regarding her with a scathing stare. "Do you really expect me to put so much trust in you that effortlessly, woman? After having just met you? I am not a fool, and I will not let you treat me like one."

With a loud sigh, she threw her arms in the air in defeat before slumping on her back against the ground. "This isn't a fair relationship. The power imbalance is a bit overwhelming," came her exasperated but teasing groan as the words rippled out of her.

Youko sounded a revolted grunt, and she imagined him wearing an equally repulsed scowl on his face as his repugnance manifested itself in his rich and smooth baritone, "Are you delusional? We're not in a relationship. As if I would be fascinated by a cretin like you."

At this point, Botan had lost count on the different insults he had showered her with in such a short period of time. Out of sheer desire not to be called a diverging equivalent of an idiot, Botan quelled the snappy retort threatening to slither up the back of her throat in favor of taking in his room.

There wasn't much furniture in there, safe for what seemed like a makeshift bed made out of leaves and branches, with the mattress on top suspiciously bearing a similarity with a gigantic-sized flower petal when she thought about it. There was also a wooden-constructed study desk and chair at his right bedside, the rose-outlined lamp serving as a source of light on said desk a brilliant neon scarlet. Veins adorned various places on the walls, ceiling and floor, with the occassional different types of flowers she was entirely uncertain were dangerous or not toward her scattered all around the chamber. Numerous rows of books decorated the bookshelf one corner of the room, the wooden frame threatening to break from the force of the books cramping themselves in the limited space. As such, there were more dispersed in a discarded mess all over the ground, with a bunch of equally discarded papers joining them.

There was another, considerably smaller shelf higher up on the wall, with this one conserved specifically for a few flower pots here and there. She couldn't detect any possible area he could have hidden his prized treasures in, therefore she concluded that he must have placed them in a much safer, and secluded space somewhere in the cavern. That said though, she noted how big his home really was. Aside from the plenty more areas she was certain she hadn't explored yet – or was even allowed to take the leisure time to explore, in fact, because she wasn't confident to what degree he would permit her access exactly – she perceived that both the hot spring and his chamber were larger spaces than the room she occupated in back in the ferry girls' headquarters.

But in the midst of all that, what caught her eye the most was the telltale, faraway but undeniably palpabe sign of a faint glimmer of a necklace dangling over the shelf stuck to the wall. She recognized it immediately as Kuronue's pendant, unsure how Youko could have claimed it in his possession after the bat demon's demise. He could have gone back to check on his friend, and this could have been in Kuronue's hands when he did, so he probably took it for himself in order to keep it as a memento of the only ally closest to what he could call his peer and tight-knit companion. When she thought about it, Kuronue was most likely the only other person he actually had a sliver of compassion and care for, and thus his death must have landed a striking blow on his emotions more than she might have expected. In all likelihood, it also prompted him to be more closed off than before, and that made him even more susceptible to giving into his demonic instincts.

…Botan wasn't sure why she was giving him so much credit. But this was the fox that would soon merge with her friend, Kurama – who was one of the bravest, kindest and most honorable men she had ever met. She felt as if she should have some faith that there was some good in him somehow. Before meeting Kurama and Hiei, she was one of many who held demons in contempt, which was not all that uncommon considering they were taught to consider demons as their never-ending foes over and over again until those teachings were completely ingrained in their minds. But she realized now that it was ignorant to even assume that they were incapable of feelings, and as such, it would be once again ignorant for her to even assume that Youko Kurama was void of any emotions – no matter how much he tried to display such a heartless bearing in front of her.

Even if he was a monster, she knew that it wasn't all that he was.

"Woman. Are you still conscious? Or did your brain cells overload from the chain of events?" Youko's ever deprecating tune reverberated in her ears, drawing Botan out of her thoughts.

The ferry girl pushed her torso off the ground, once again endorsing a sitting posture as she shot him an icy glower. Her mouth tugged down into a thin line of muted chagrin upon meeting the patronizing undertones in the smirk curved at the corners of his lips. "I'm alive, okay? Stop downgrading me so much," she groused under her breath.

"Well, you've been incessantly silent for the past few minutes." He shrugged his shoulders, but the smirk lingered. His voice was a little teasing and more than mocking as he echoed, "I reckoned you fainted from all the information permeating your peanut-sized brain and was only checking on you out of concern and generosity."

"Concern and generosity aren't exactly the words I would think of when I look at you," she snorted at him, but shrewdly ignored the withering look he sent her in return as she went on, voice and stature defensive, "I was only thinking, okay?"

He made a face. "You're capable of coherent thoughts?"

"Well, that's rude," she sounded another indignant huff, this time levelling him with a heated glare, the scowl evident on her lips now deepening into a deeper scowl. "I'm not that stupid, mind you."

To her dismay and annoyance, Youko dismissed her with a nonchalant grunt and an equally nonchalant wave of his hand. "Say whatever you like, but my conceptions of you remain the same." There was a brief pause as he considered something before continuing on, a slight repressed curiosity patent in his tune, "That said though, what were you musing about?"

Another scoffing sound blared from the back of her throat. "Oh, so now you're interested in me?"

"Silence," he growled, the sound low and feral, and unadulterated irritation seeping through his baritone as he enunciated, "I was…simply curious. That's all."

She blinked at him, confusion pooling in her head. However, the touch of bewilderment was shortly replaced by a surge of panic as the revelation sunk into her skin that if she asked about Kuronue's pendant that it might trigger bad memories from the fox's subconscious. As frustratingly insensitive he was, Botan still didn't wish for him to be in a constant state of sorrow and self-blame.

"Er, nothing," came her awkward and unconvincing answer. Despite trying her best, her eyes involuntarily swept over the pendant once again. It was brief, but Youko caught the glance regardless.

And just as instantly, his taunting posturing faltered, giving way to a more solemn demeanor as the lopsided smirk on his features wavered into a small frown. But before she could utter anything out – not that she knew what to say – Youko briskly cut her short,

"Go to sleep." His voice was a hushed whisper. Barely audible, almost vulnerable. On the surface, his words echoed as a firm demand. But underneath, she could perceive just a tiny bit of emotion as suppressed sadness scratched through.

Botan noted that she wasn't that drowsy, but she nodded her head and complied regardless. Then, when he formed a makeshift bed with some large piles of leaves for her, the ferry girl quickly scurried to conceal herself under the petal-shaped duvet he created for her. She attempted not to look, but in the last, fleeting glance at the fox that she permitted herself, Botan discerned the faint sight of his lips quivering before he pressed them tight to quell a silent cry.

Botan wasn't all that knowledgeable when it came to who Youko Kurama really was. None of their friends were, in fact, as Kurama tended to keep his alter ego's identity to himself and thus had never disclosed any personal details regarding his fox form. But she was aware at least of the fact that there was more to Youko that what met her eye.

After all, the look he had before she averted her gaze and forced herself to sleep wasn't the kind of expression a monster others had deemed him as would wear.

WonderfulDemon123, RadianceU, Howdy Aamy, Guest- Thank you for all the kind reviews. I'm sorry but I can't exactly respond to all of your feedback due to a bit of a headache at the moment. However, I promise that I'll start responding to your reviews again in the next update! Just know that even though I'm not replying to feedback in this chapter, that I appreciate all the effort and time taken in leaving reviews all the same. Much love to all of you and take care :D Thank you again for all the love and support!