Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or the characters


"Are you sure you want to go through with this?

"The fusion between you and the Jagan eye will be much more painful than you can imagine.

"I have to lock you down to the table to keep you from ripping out your own eyes. I have earplugs for myself."

"Hn, I won't say a word. Just do it."

"Everyone screams. The only question is what will you say."

"Yukina!"

Hiei sat up in bed, breathed heavily while sweat poured from his body. It had been quite a while since he had that dream, since before Yukina's rescue. Yukina…she was safe now, back in the ice world. And where was he?

No really, where was he?

The fire demon could hardly remember how he ended up in some Human World home. He sneered as he tried to remember the last twenty-four hours when something did, in fact, hit him.

He had been outside in the rain; that he could remember, and that's when he was found by the annoying ferry girl. She marched right up to him, no fear at all. The thoughts cut off in his head, and Hiei shook his head. He could never understand that woman…weak and powerless, yet stupidly brave.

She told him that Spirit World had a safe house, an apartment in the city, and that she was going to stay there and he was welcome to join her. After all, she couldn't make the trip back to Spirit World in the storm, and he was a fire demon and could easily get sick in that weather. Hiei followed her to the location, passed out, and apparently woke up from his terrible nightmare. It left him feeling bitter.

He realized that the door was open, and a light was on, and mentally cursed himself. It was possible he woke the woman up, and he would most likely have to face her nosy musings. Unfortunately, he was wide awake now. At least the rain was slowing down. Maybe he could leave, now.

So, he grabbed his cloak and sword, exited the room, and found Botan alone in the kitchen area. She poured hot water into two mugs and then looked up at him and smiled. "Well," she said humorously, "that must have been a doozy of a dream. I heard you calling out, but I couldn't tell what was happening. I had a dream myself. I thought we could both use some tea. It's chamomile."

Her voice was too damn cheery for the middle of the night. Hiei really didn't want to stay, but he figured he could drink the stupid tea and the rain would subside by the time he was done. He took a seat at the island across from Botan as the two began sipping their hot drinks. The fire demon liked hot drinks, and they didn't nearly burn his mouth as what happened to the woman as she choked on her tea a little bit. "Excuse me," she offered up for her idiotic display.

"Hn."

The two of them sat in silence. The ticking of the clock was the only background noise, plus the occasional sipping of tea. Hiei glanced at the clock, eyes narrowed. He didn't understand the human concept of time, the numbers, what they meant. All he knew was that it was night, and he should be sleeping, but one of the damn dreams that always haunted him managed to seep back into his subconscious. He wondered if he'd ever be free of them.

"What do demons dream about?"

Silence ensued after the question, and so for a moment Hiei believed he was just hearing things. When his stoic eyes met Botan's, she silently implored him to answer her question. The demon scoffed. "Nothing a mindless ferry girl like you would understand." He could tell he angered the woman and smirked. For some reason, it amused him to ruffle her feathers from time to time.

She sat up and crossed her arms indignantly. "Well, that wasn't very nice. I was just wondering what demons dream about, if it's different from what humans dream about, or spirit world officials even."

Hiei outright laughed at that before he grew serious again. "Please. Demons dream of death, ferry girl, what else? Humans, I don't know or care what they dream of. You 'spirit world officials' probably dream of clouds and rainbows, among other useless, pointless garbage."

Botan was fuming, but she wasn't going to tell Hiei that she dreamed about just that a few times before. No, those dreams were not what she was talking about or even comparing. She wanted to know something more than that. Then she remembered what Hiei said about what demons dream. "So, you were dreaming about death, then?" she questioned curiously.

Hiei's eyes narrowed. So, this was her ploy to get him to open up about his most private thoughts. He then smirked as he came up with an idea. "Does that frighten you?" he asked, his eyes set on her with a predatory look.

Botan swallowed nervously but then shook her head. "No. I just…you clearly haven't died before, so why would you dream of death?"

His smile revealed his fangs and he chuckled. "Perhaps I wasn't dreaming of my death, woman. Perhaps I was dreaming of yours."

"Uh," Botan squeaked out before she shamefully looked down to her cup. "I don't remember how I died, Hiei. How could you dream about something like that?"

The game was over as soon as the ferry girl revealed that information. Hiei hoped to dissuade her from asking more questions. He hoped that the indirect threat would shut her up.

He didn't expect something so unbelievably deep to leave her mouth.

Botan sighed again and then looked up at the ceiling and growled in frustration. "Agh, alright!" she shouted before she slammed her mug down on the island. Hiei was taken aback by the display, but he appeared unmoved. "Okay," she whispered. "I…I was only asking what demons dreamt about because I wanted to see if they dreamt like I did. You were right. I have normal, fluffy, weird, strange, magical dreams, but I also have this terrifying, recurring nightmare. I…I wanted to know if that happens to anyone else."

Hiei didn't grace her with a response, but if he had it would have been the affirmative. His nightmares were proof of that.

It was silent between them once more, and to Hiei's chagrin, the rain picked back up again. He glared out the window and scoffed before he crossed his arms. "Are recurring dreams memories?"

A frustrated sigh left Hiei beside himself. He figured the ferry girl was done with her tirade. His attention went back to the ticking clock. "Sometimes," he offered, hoping that would be enough.

Botan nodded. "Then…maybe I do remember how it happened…"

"How what happened?" Hiei growled. He didn't want to engage her, but she'd keep him up all night with this if he didn't force her to say whatever the heck it was that was bothering her.

"My death," Botan replied calmly. "Every so often, I have this same dream where I was outside running around, playing with some children I don't recognize and a dog. The next minute, I slip and fall, and then I land in a creek. I splash and splash, but nothing happens, no one comes, and I just look up seeing layers of water and the bright sun, and then I wake up gasping for air."

Hiei glanced over at the ferry girl who seemed to ponder this dream further. Then he remembered something he heard once before when he was trapped in the Spirit World prison, before the woman ever came to strike a deal. "Doesn't Spirit World erase the minds of the spirits they hire as ferry girls? Fill your head with nonsense that keeps you working smooth and efficiently?"

"It's not like that, Hiei," Botan answered. "They allow us to keep our personalities, but yes they erase our past memories. I don't know why. If we died, wouldn't it be better for us to remember the feeling to help someone else through it? That might help in dealing with spirits like Yusuke who refuse to believe they're dead."

Hiei's eyes narrowed. Why was this woman asking such deep questions? Why was she questioning her own world?

His eyes widened…

Did they screw up in erasing her mind, leaving her with very foreign memories? Is that why she came to him to ask his opinion? Because she wasn't just a mindless, spirit world drone that answered to Koenma's every whim? Did she really remember her own death?

Botan was caught in her own thoughts. If she really was having recurring dreams about her human life, did it mean she had unfinished business? What would it be? What would happen if anyone in Spirit World found out she had these dreams? She figured Hiei was a safe person to ask. He didn't like Spirit World or answer to Koenma unless it was a mission. They developed some form of trust the day he helped her during the prison break and, in turn, how she convinced Koenma to use Hiei as an asset. So far, Hiei had proven his keep when he assisted Yusuke with the Saint Beasts. She didn't think he'd tell anyone. She feared what would happen if she were wrong.

"The Jagan implant."

"Huh?"

Botan looked over to the fire demon, surprised he said anything. Hiei sighed and looked at his still steaming cup. "You asked what I dreamt about. The Jagan implant. I've had the dream before among other recurring dreams. They're all memories."

The ferry girl relaxed slightly, surprised that Hiei shared anything with her that personal. It also made her realize that he didn't intend to tell her secret, and she would have to keep his quiet. Botan was a blabbermouth, but with serious things like this, she was always able to keep quiet.

The two of them finished their drinks and then went their own separate ways. At the same time, they both lied down in their beds in the separate rooms and both reflected on these recurrent dreams of theirs. However, Hiei was thinking about Botan's, and she was thinking about what his was like despite the limited information she had. Both shook their heads before they attempted to sleep once again. The sound of the rain and the effects of the chamomile aided them back into slumber.


A/N: I just want everyone to know, this won't be a daily thing, updating this story I mean. It's just been working out that way. I've been getting these random little ideas in my head, and I want to get them written down right away. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. If anyone else has an idea for something, let me know and I'll see what I can do, but keep it within the rating please! I will not be upping the rating for any reason.