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Sorry it took so long to update…life things! But now that certain life things are keeping me home, I've got some time to actually work on certain stories.

~Chapter 15 – The Rescue~

Botan breathed a sigh of relief once everything was all over and she was alone. The Case of the Saint Beasts had drawn to a close, and everyone was thankfully alive and well. It had been touch and go, though, for both Yusuke and Keiko. Botan was at least able to keep Keiko safe until the ferry girl had fallen. Botan looked out into Kuwabara's living room. Kurama was sitting there with the other redhead, just talking. A smile formed on Botan's face. It was thanks to Yusuke that she and Keiko survived, and it was thanks to many that Yusuke came back in one piece.

Blue brows furrowed when she realized one was missing.

The ferry girl was certain that Hiei had been present when they all arrived. Actually, after the group returned to Living World, they immediately headed to the school. Botan and Kuwabara both recovered enough to stand on their own which was good news because Kuwabara was the one who suggested taking Yusuke to his place. Botan remembered crimson eyes studying her, but she had been so focused on giving Keiko some sort of explanation as to why Yusuke had been involved in such a life-threatening task. She painted this wild picture about Yusuke doing community service with a regular detective to cover up anything about spirit energy and demons. Keiko bought the cover story which made everything easier for the ferry girl.

They retreated to Kuwabara's place so Botan could heal everyone once her own spirit energy returned. She was exhausted, now, physically and emotionally spent. The whole endeavor had been taxing.

"You shouldn't have done that."

Botan covered her mouth to prevent a scream from escaping when a voice startled her. She turned to see Hiei sitting in the open windowsill of Kuwabara's kitchen. His arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes downcast as he glowered at a spot on the floor. "Done what?" Botan asked. She didn't understand Hiei's cryptic words.

Red eyes narrowed as they cut through the ferry girl. "Any of it. You put yourself at risk for someone you don't even know."

Blink. Blink. What? Botan was surprised. She didn't expect the fire demon to go out of his way to talk about Keiko. "I don't see how different it was than when I protected her from you," Botan remarked innocently. "And I do know Keiko. I've been very invested in her since I was told to go to Yusuke with the ordeal to get his life back. It was all very complicated, and I learned a lot about Keiko and her relationship with Yusuke then." Her expression saddened, and she looked away to avoid Hiei's gaze as she added, "It wouldn't have been right to leave her on her own. Yusuke would have been devastated if anything happened to her."

A sharp jolt coursed through Hiei over the woman's defense, and he avoided meeting her sullen eyes. Since Botan didn't remember him and their connection, she wouldn't know that he too would have been devastated if she had perished. The fire demon had already lost her once, and even though she wasn't his now the thought of her dying again twisted him in such uncomfortable ways.

"If you're so intent on helping others, you should be more careful," Hiei remarked, his voice cold and callous. Deep down, he was concerned for his mate. She had been hurt by him and, now, by possessed humans. The detective's cases would only get harder. Fate definitely had a twisted sense of humor. Now, he was put in the position to help, keep the woman safe in exchange for freedom. Perhaps if he focused on that, being confined to Spirit World's rules and the human city wouldn't be as awful as he expected.

Botan remained quiet for a moment. Her breath caught in her throat and she hesitated to respond. Finally, she found the words, but she only managed to murmur them out. "Why do you care? You barely even know me."

Hiei's muscles twitched; his whole body reacted to the words. His eyes widened a fraction before he put forth his carefully constructed, impassive façade. "I don't," Hiei replied. "It was a foolish move on your part, and I refuse to pick up your slack."

Irritation flooded Botan. Her cheeks puffed up in aggravation, a habit Hiei had missed. This time, unlike their past, he was not poking fun at her, and he found no humor in this situation. "No one asked you to," Botan haughtily snapped. She took a deep breath to center herself before she flashed the demon a heatless glare. "Look, I don't want to argue," she said a bit more passively. "We're all on the same team now, and it would just be easier if we could all get along. Don't you agree?"

Hiei's expression softened a bit; his memories took him back to their childhood. Botan was always shunned, always alone, and she had to fight for herself, fight to survive. Cameron forced that upon her. Then, the bastard's sick game continued when he brought Botan into the stronghold and put her in Hiei's path. The fire and water demons forged an unlikely bond, became friends and lovers despite the force that threatened to tear them apart. Their whole life was a fight, and Botan was asking for a truce ahead of time.

What struck Hiei the most was the fact that she thought she had to ask this of him.

He didn't respond. Instead, he just disappeared from sight. Botan, left alone once again, sighed, this time due to a strange feeling in her chest, one that filled her with disappointment, deep sadness, and longing.

Well, that's certainly odd…

Hiei didn't think he'd ever get used to his new lot in life. Playing errand boy for Koenma was not what he wanted for his life even though this community service served his own motives. He would have to suck it up. However, after dealing with Cameron, Hiei really despised authority figures, especially one that wore the appearance of a child. Truthfully, Hiei knew very little about Spirit World, but from what he had already seen, this small ruler calling all the shots in Hiei's life really didn't know what the hell he was doing.

Sending the detective into the City of Ghouls and Apparitions blind was one of those bad calls.

"Ah, Hiei," Koenma spoke up once the fire demon entered his office, "good to see you. I'm surprised you came when I called."

Crimson eyes narrowed. Was this bastard really talking down to him? A sneer threatened to betray him, but Hiei tapered his reaction. "Did I have a choice?"

Koenma appeared bored, but he cast his judgmental gaze over his desk. "Not really, no," he admitted, "but you could have made things more difficult for me. I know this is the last place you'd rather be."

Hiei kept himself from rolling his eyes over the ignorant statement. After all, where Hiei hated Spirit World, his feelings could not be compared to the prison he and Botan had escaped. He kept this notion quiet, however. He wasn't looking to give out more information than necessary to the little prince.

When Koenma slid a videotape to the demon, Hiei merely glared at the thing before he looked to the ruler for an explanation. "I need you to drop this off to Yusuke," Koenma explained. "It's information on his next case."

"Why should I?" Hiei questioned, feeling off about this order. Didn't the prince normally send his mate to do this garbage? Hiei was not a delivery boy. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No joke," Koenma answered. A sigh escaped him. "Look, Hiei, everyone is out in the field today, and there is no one to get this to Yusuke. It's imperative that he receives this today."

Once again, Hiei felt the same nagging sensation claw at his mind. What kind of case was this that was so important? If it was another end of the Living World scenario, shouldn't he and Kurama be accompanying Yusuke instead of just giving him the information? Speaking of… "Why me and not Kurama? Surely you know he'd be more agreeable to serving as your errand boy."

Koenma steeled his reaction, but Hiei caught the flicker of surprise. "I couldn't get ahold of him." Somehow, Hiei felt Koenma was lying. "Normally, I would have. Now, just take the tape."

"Fine," Hiei finally surrendered. Koenma was giving the fire demon the runaround and Hiei knew it. There was something jarring about this who scene, something fishy. Koenma was up to something, but Hiei could not see inside the prince's head. A part of him nearly decided to use the Jagan, but he thought against it. If using the eye on humans was a felony, the fire demon didn't know how much more time would be added to his sentence for daring to impose upon the ruler's mind.

Hiei took the tape and disappeared from the room. Relieved, Koenma breathed out the breath he had been holding. "You handled him well."

"You think so?" Koenma replied as he turned to see Kurama come out from his hiding place. "We can only hope that everything goes according to plan."

"Do you think Hiei suspects anything?" Kurama questioned, although he already knew the answer.

"Probably," Koenma returned, "but he's so far from the truth…I think. Maybe you should have accompanied him to be sure."

"I believe we'll be all right," Kurama reassured the prince. "Hiei might sense something wrong, but he'll leave it to Yusuke to fix it."

A groan of uncertainty escaped Koenma. "I hope you're right…"

Koenma shook his head and leaned back in his chair. Honestly, he wasn't sure what Hiei would do. Kurama had earlier suggested sending Hiei with the mission information. This case was incredibly sensitive, especially with the fire demon involved. As it turned out, the details involved Hiei's sister…the one the demon had been searching for over the ages. She had finally been located, and it wasn't anywhere safe. An evil, vile human had her, and no doubt Hiei would go in ready to fry everyone involved.

Even if it would be just, Hiei was forbidden from taking human life.

Koenma felt the deep weight of guilt crush down on him. He knew Hiei's plight well, knew all about his connection with Botan from the start. After the prince learned what happened between the two when met up during Yusuke's, Koenma had become a bit worried for Botan's safety. In fact, the ferry girl was hurt by Hiei's actions, and her mate didn't seem to care much at all. Koenma worried until he heard that Botan had gone to visit Hiei. Everything seemed to be fine, but Botan still had no memory of Hiei and it was a volatile case. Part of Koenma, though, had wanted to test just how far his chief ferry girl would go to help the fire demon. Even without knowledge of who Hiei was, Botan stood up for him, and so Koenma trusted that his initial concerns were incorrect. Most likely, Hiei hadn't even expected Botan to selflessly offer herself up for someone else, especially Keiko, and he did what he did to save face.

The fire demon made his concern clear when he went to Botan after the Saint Beast dilemma.

The Spirit World ruler knew it was immoral to spy on his ferry girl, but he wanted to see how the two would interact. Hiei expressed concern even though he hid it well. It seemed that Botan putting her life in danger bothered the fire demon more than anything else about the case. Koenma thought back to how Botan died, how much this couple suffered in their virtually young existence. The prince felt pretty good, now, about putting Hiei on the team. It would give him and the ferry girl a second chance in some way.

Now, with the situation at hand, Koenma was worried that his decision to recruit him would lead Hiei to incarcerating himself…for good this time.

He could only hope that the demon would not watch the tape. Kurama just had to be right.

Hiei found Yusuke quickly; the detective was running towards his school. Yusuke could sense someone following him, but he relaxed when Hiei appeared before him. "Well, if it isn't my favorite, three-eyed demon," the detective greeted as if they were old friends instead of enemies. "What's up, Hiei? You're not stalking me again, are you?"

Hiei didn't dignify the comment with a response. Instead, he just held out the videotape from Spirit World, the one Koenma had tasked him to give. "Hm, what's that?"

"From Koenma."

"Koenma?" Yusuke repeated. "Isn't this Botan's gig?"

Even hearing the name of his mate from another caused a tumultuous storm of feelings to rage inside of him. Although afflicted by the strong tempest, Hiei haughtily replied, "I don't know. I'm following orders."

"You're following Koenma's orders?" Yusuke questioned with a disbelieving sort of chuckle. Hiei just stared at Yusuke as if something were amiss. The detective had every reason to be surprised. Even Hiei was uncertain as to why he was given such a menial task. Distrust flooded his system. Koenma must was keeping something from him. Maybe it was whatever was on that videotape that was now in the detective's hands.

No…Hiei was just being paranoid. There was no way Spirit World was that clever, unless someone else was whispering in the prince's ear. Hiei kept his expression neutral as feelings of betrayal yet again tore at him. Something was wrong. Hiei could feel it. What would Spirit World intelligence not want him to know, and why? He would have to keep a close eye on the detective to figure it all out.

"Something wrong, Hiei?"

Hiei just turned away and flitted out of sight – he didn't plan to go far – and left Yusuke to ponder the peculiarity of the encounter. "Strange guy…"

After school, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan all met up at the Kuwabara household. Kuwabara had already declared that he wouldn't get involved and risk his life beyond letting Yusuke watch the tape there. Yusuke didn't care either way. He just wanted to learn the details of his next assignment and get it over with. The the tape was an explanation by Koenma of details unrelated to the mission, and then, after showing the place they'd have to go, the details came in. It was a search and rescue mission; a girl was incarcerated by criminal scum. Everyone in the room felt ill.

"The captive's name is Yukina, and she's an ice apparition, very rare. Equally rare are the beautiful jewels she can produce which is why the criminals have captured her. They hope to profit greatly off of Yukina, forcing her to create these jewels at an unnatural pace, and by force…I mean torture."

"That's horrible," Botan murmured. Her heart felt immense pain while her stomach did flip-flops.

"You see," Koenma's message cut through her thoughts, "there is only one way to make the jewels. Her tears."

Botan recognized the stone. For some reason, she felt like she had seen something like it before, a long time ago on an old chain, but that didn't make any sense to the ferry girl. No, she must have seen a picture in her studies because the only fact she could recall was something more related to the case. "Yes, the hiruiseki stone. In the black market, those jewels sell easily for thousands."

Then, Koenma introduced the perpetrator, Gonzo Tarukane, and after he finally showed Yukina. Botan's breath hitched. The ice maiden was beautiful. Once again, Botan's body reacted harshly. How could anyone be so cruel that they would hurt an innocent girl? She looked young for a demon, harmless. The fact that someone would hurt her made the ferry girl's heart ache. She always saw death and destruction on a regular basis as someone who ferried the souls of the dead all the time, but it was cases like these that always left Botan reeling. For some reason, she felt strongly for this girl, more than usual, and she didn't know why. There was something familiar about Yukina, but Botan couldn't place her finger on it.

"That poor girl. I feel awful for her," Botan expressed. "We have to leave today."

Kuwabara stopped the tape and was instantly on his feet. "What's his deal?" Yusuke questioned. The redhead shook in place before he turned to his rival. Yusuke chuckled nervously. "You look miserable."

"I…think I'm in love."

"What?"

Kuwabara immediately wanted to leave and ran out the door without any sort of direction after his sister gave him money for the bus. Apparently, spiritual awareness ran in his family, so his sister, Shizuru, knew everything. When Kuwabara fled the scene to rescue the maiden, the elder Kuwabara suggested they watch the videotape again. This time, Yusuke and Botan realized there was more. The both blanched at the new memo, and they now realized why this mission was so imperative.

"This ice apparition is not just some Jane Doe. Yukina is Hiei's sister."

Botan felt paralyzed; her heart seemed to freeze too. Hiei had a sister? That was a surprise, and it was even worse that the girl was being held against her will and tortured. This is why the mission was so delicate. If Hiei got to her first, he'd damn himself by taking human life.

Botan was on her feet then; Yusuke called after her as she took off after Kuwabara. They needed to save Yukina, no matter the cost.

Neither Yukina nor Hiei deserved a life of incarceration.

Hiei couldn't believe it. After all this time, Yukina's whereabouts were known to him. How Spirit World found her when he could not was beyond him, but the fire demon truly didn't care. All he cared about was getting Yukina away from the despicable characters that held her captive. She did not deserve to be locked in a cage and tortured. The fury Hiei felt deep in his core could hardly be contained as heat exuded from his body and singed the foliage around him.

Yukina, I'm coming…

Yusuke, Botan, and Kuwabara got to the stronghold quickly. Before they even arrived at Tarukane's house, they were met with opposition. First, there were demons that took them on miles and miles away. Tarukane wanted no intruders lurking around. The crime lord was not about to make things easy for the group.

Still, they pushed on, and they were hardly having a difficult time. Compared to the Saint Beasts, these low-level demons were nothing.

Hiei kept himself hidden; he knew that if he revealed himself, he'd be stopped or held to Spirit World's standards. The fire demon was prepared to deal with the human filth how he saw fit. For now, though, it was best to let Yusuke and his human, oafish friend deal with the weaklings. Hiei would not want to expend his energy. He had no idea what kind of security that bastard, Tarukane, would have surrounding his sister.

When night fell, the group decided to lie low and camp out, and Hiei found himself keeping silent watch. His mind was spinning as he neared Tarukane's stronghold. It reminded him so much of the fortress where he had lived and served Cameron so diligently. He could hear Botan's voice which cut through his thoughts, animatedly telling stories to keep up the spirits of the two teens and distract them from the dire situation. They were just boys, and they were already seeing that the world was a cruel and callous place. The ferry girl didn't want that for them. The world had always been against the two fighters to start. They just couldn't lose faith now.

Her voice was soft and comforting as it had always been, and Hiei found himself in a struggle to keep awake. His eyes twitched as he forced himself to keep them open. It had been so long since he had felt comfortable and secure enough to give into a deep sleep. Maybe just a few minutes…

And then he dreamed.

Hiei was back on Shigure's operation table, his back pressed against cold steel. It was before the Jagan surgery. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Hiei grit his teeth but didn't answer at all. "The fusion between you and the Jagan will be much more painful than you imagine. I have to lock you down to the table to keep you from ripping out your own eyes. I have earplugs for myself."

"Heh," Hiei scoffed, "I won't say a word. Just do it."

He heard Shigure chuckle. "Everyone screams. The only question is what you will say."

The machine lowered, ready to cut into his skull, and Hiei kept his eyes on the moving parts. An image of Yukina as a younger child came to view.

Hiei snapped awake while he screamed his sister's name, breathing heavily. It took him a moment to remember where he was, the fire demon feeling completely disoriented. "Did you hear something?" Hiei blinked; Botan's voice rang in his ears. He looked down to see that the three were up, awake, and ready to press on to face whatever else Tarukane planned to send their way.

Well, at least Yusuke and Botan were.

"No," Yusuke sneered. "Will you get up, Kuwabara?"

Kuwabara did awake, and he yawned before he got a tingling sensation up his spine, a sensation that usually meant he was being watched. He turned his head to look to the tree where Hiei hid. The fire demon disappeared before the human could register him which left Kuwabara completely confused.

The whole day went by in a blur. Yusuke and Kuwabara reached Tarukane's fortress easily, even surviving the criminal's field of landmines. The two teens and Botan then entered and went through the motions of fighting and defeated the Demon Triad. It was when Yusuke and Kuwabara defeated those famous demons that everything escalated. Tarukane was scared. He was going to run with Yukina. The Toguro Brothers, two fearsome demons, tried to dominate the two fighters, and they had fallen albeit a bit too easily.

Yukina had been rescued.

Well, not yet. After the fight, Hiei finally made himself known, and Tarukane's guards readied themselves to attack the fire demon. Hiei dealt with them in the blink of an eye and stood face to face with Tarukane. He calmly spoke to the human, rage filling his soul with every word he spoke. He told the fool very simply that he saw why he could not find her and that Tarukane could not run from death. The human tried to reason with Hiei, tried to offer him his sister's tears which, in turn, made Hiei angrier and extremely volatile.

Violently, Hiei pummeled Tarukane. Every punch was like music to the fire demon's ears but still did little to soothe Hiei's spirit. He couldn't believe how disgusting Tarukane was, to actually talk about his twin as if she were an object and not the kind and innocent girl she was. Unbeknownst to Hiei, Botan spotted him and alerted Yusuke. He could hear them when they called him and tried to convince him to stop.

Hiei stopped just for a second; his eyes met Botan, but he looked away. His eyes were on the bloodied and beaten form of Tarukane. He grabbed the man by his collar. "They're just afraid of justice." Hiei pulled his fist back and mustered up all his strength. It was time to end this.

"No!"

Hiei was startled when his sister grabbed his arm with enough strength to halt him. She practically hugged his arm as she said, "Please. No more…I beg of you."

The soft lilt of the ice maiden's voice could not quell the burning flame inside of the demon. "Are you crazy? Is this not the man who tormented you and made you his slave?"

Yukina's eyes watered and she cringed. "He is. I have to bear that…but taking his life can't wash away all that he's done to me. It will only bring more pain, just more nightmares."

Hiei's gaze softened. His eyes, full of conflict and surprise, never left his sister. She looked so small and scared. The trauma she endured had been horrendous, and Hiei could see that she truly had enough. She wavered, but finally opened his eyes, their matching crimson orbs meeting.

"Please no more," she begged again. "I can't take it."

Finally, the tears fell and crystalized into precious gems. Hiei's faltered, and then he resigned himself to Yukina's will. "Understood," he replied with a bittersweet smile. "I won't make you cry. He's too worthless for that."

Yukina seemed surprised, then finally released Hiei. He dropped his fist and Tarukane as Yukina beamed brightly at him. "How can I ever thank you?"

Hiei didn't answer, but he felt a bit lighter after he made his decision. As much as Tarukane deserved to die by his hand, he'd let the human suffer. Besides, he lost everything, and now that Hiei knew where his sister was, he would never allow her to be taken by a monster —never again.

Botan had no idea what had been said between the twins, but she was relieved when she saw Hiei release Tarukane. She understood how furious Hiei had been towards the human, and if it wasn't something that could have him locked away for the rest of eternity, she would have looked the other way. The ferry girl was surprised by her own thought. Most spirits would not have thought as she just did, but a part of her knew it would have been justice served if Tarukane had fallen by the hands of the brother of the maiden he mistreated. He would get his just desserts in the end.

Everything turned out okay. Now, Hiei could be free, or as free as someone on probation could be, and he would be able to get to know his sister. Botan was so happy for them both.

Back with the twins, Yukina studied Hiei for a moment, and some strange awareness overcame her as she gazed upon the black-clad stranger. "You seem…familiar."

At that, Hiei made some sort of strangled gasp of surprise. He was completely unprepared for Yukina to have such a reaction. The fire demon stared at his twin with wide, unguarded eyes. She didn't seem to sense his apprehension. She just kept her curious eyes on his. "But I'm not sure why. Who are you?"

Hiei forced his impassive mask back on. At least Yukina didn't make the connection to who he was. There was nothing to worry about. Although it was the perfect opportunity to tell Yukina who he was, Hiei couldn't. Something inside him prevented him from doing so. "No one," he answered. He looked back out towards Yusuke, Kuwabara, and his mate. "Just a member…of the team."

When Yukina's attention shifted to the others, she exclaimed, "Oh no! I forgot about them." She then ran away, leaving Hiei alone. Or so he thought.

"I guess I didn't need to come here after all." Hiei's attention shifted to Kurama; the fox demon stood casually against a wall, like he had been there the entire time.

"How long have you been standing there," Hiei pondered. He wasn't too surprised that he hadn't sensed the legendary bandit enter the room. "Long enough, right?"

Without missing a beat, Kurama immediately answered Hiei's question with one of his own. "Why don't you want to tell the girl? She deserves to know she has a brother."

Hiei watched as Yukina approached the other three, a smile of resignation on his face. "She deserves to be happy."

Kurama chuckled over the irony. "I thought the two were the same."

Hiei closed his eyes and shook his head. "This is the way I want it."

"Is that how you want it with Botan, too?" Hiei flinched, expression sobering. How did Kurama know? "That peony certainly has an interesting scent."

"How long have you known?" Hiei demanded. His eyes remained on both Yukina and Botan below as his sister went to heal the redheaded human.

Kurama stepped forward and stood next to the other demon. "Since you were defeated by Yusuke." More silence followed the admission. Kurama cast his emerald eyes over Hiei's form, and the fire demon tensed under the scrutiny. "Why haven't you told the ferry girl that she's your mate?"

Hiei quickly turned to give Kurama a sharp glare. "You're speaking out of turn, fox," he angrily snapped. "Do not speak of things that you do not know."

"My apologies," Kurama stated, voice firm and cold as his eyes. "I should warn you, though, that with us assisting the spirit detective, you will be seeing Botan more and more often."

Hiei turned away; his eyes fell on Botan. "I know."

"Do you also know that her scent puts her in danger?" Hiei's fists clenched at his sides at the older demon's reminder. "If I could smell it with my weakened senses, then other demons will definitely know who she is to you. If anything, you may wish to warn her."

Abruptly, Hiei turned and walked away with the intention to leave the fox demon. He paused in the doorway before saying, "I do not wish to discuss this further," and then he disappeared from the stronghold altogether.