AN: Heh! Here is a Christmas gift for everyone (and if you do not
celebrate Christmas, this is a winter holiday gift for you instead)! Ah,
yes, for this particular chapter, I must apologize to Kurama and Botan fans
ahead of time. Please be patient with this chapter because it might lack
the desired amount of interaction between the favored couple. Oh, what is
it with Hiei and "sweet snow" (a.k.a. ice cream)? I do not understand where
the entire "sweet snow" idea came from!
hi ya: Yes, the borrowed names are from Grandia 2. And no, you are not making yourself look dumb. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you liked the last one.
midlight bunny: Thank you for the dating suggestions because now I have something to go on. The crisscross dress was something I have always wanted to do, and I am glad that I did it well. And the possessions--heh-- they were something new.
|-Steph-chan-|: Was the last chapter that emotional? Well, even if it was not, I am happy to know that you thought it was cute. Hope you keep reading!
JD Fielding: Heh, yeah, I know Halloween was a while ago, but then again, I am not following my original periodical chart that I had set up for myself (I originally planned to have a new chapter out by the turning of the month, but things are just not going like that). Ah, were the costumes amusing? I hope so because I just do not know how to add humor to my writing. I am one of those people who can laugh at any joke but cannot make up one of their own.
I am glad that I am making Kurama's more sensitive side, and I am even happier that I have someone wondering about my Soijiro character! But, I guess what makes me happiest is that I got to add a nice Botan and Kurama scene at the end! Well, now enjoy this chapter!
Sarah: You are welcome for the notification, and I hope that I remembered to send you a memo for this chapter as well. And thank you for you input; I really needed to know how I was doing with keeping the Yu Yu Hakusho characters in check.
Here is the Third Chapter, "Three Words, Confusion of Emotion".
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"This is speech."
'This is thought.'
//This is Youko or flashback.//
Once Loved, Never Forgotten
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
'//It is a pity her soul will not block out that memory just as it has her past ones.//'
When Kurama reached Botan, the young man asked, "Will you be all right, Botan?" He put a tender hand on top of her head, slightly petting her with his thumb. Botan looked up at Kurama, clung to him, and cried into his shoulder.
Kurama lowered his body to her level and could only hold the poor girl as she relieved herself. "I'm so sorry, Kurama," Botan apologized through her sobs.
"About what?" Kurama questioned, slightly bewildered.
"I'm sorry about being insensitive to your feelings when I wore those clothes yesterday night," Botan answered. "I was so selfish thinking about myself and not considering how you would feel. And when you asked me to change, I should have just done it instead of arguing. I should have understood."
"No," Kurama softly muttered, holding Botan closer. "No, you do not have to apologize about that, Botan."
"Kurama, I was so scared," Botan confessed as she cried into his costume. " I got scared when I couldn't control myself anymore. I was so scared that Ryudo would merge with you. I felt so scared when I thought about losing you forever."
"Botan," Kurama whispered, "if I ever broke any of my promises to you, would you hate me for all eternity?"
"Of course not!" Botan exclaimed, staring at Kurama with wide amethyst eyes. Her tears had suddenly ceased. "Kurama, I could never hate you for all eternity, and I know you never break any of your promises to anyone."
"How are you so sure about that?" Kurama muttered.
"Because you're Kurama," Botan smiled, wiping her cold tears off of her face. "I know in my heart you would never break a promise and never had, even at the near cost of your life. You're too honorable to do anything else, Kurama. And this is why I was afraid of losing you."
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"Are you sure about going tomorrow, Botan? Are you sure you will be all right being alone with him? You know that you don't have to, and even Youko is allowing this decision. I know that you and him do not have the best relationship between each other, so--"
Botan laughed at her friend's uneasiness as she placed a playful punch on her male companion's shoulder. "I'll be fine. Besides, he can't possibly be all that bad; and I know he isn't such a horrible person, since you're always spending some time and can put up with him. Anyway, you have to do something with your family, and I understand that. Don't worry about anything else but spending time with your little brother."
Kurama, who was currently escorting Botan to the Urameshi residence, was returning with the priestess-in-training from the Maikai portal after a successful day of Sacred Jewel shard hunting; the couple had been able to retrieve two shards that day. The Spirit Detective had just explained to Botan that he would not be able to accompany her tomorrow to Maikai for training and hunting. "But are you sure that--"
"Don't worry, Kurama! Just make sure you have fun with Shuuichi tomorrow!"
Kurama stared at Botan and smiled gently at her caring nature. Ever since the Halloween incident, the redhead Spirit Investigator had realized that Botan held no resentment towards him, for the past or present; and for her forgiving nature, Kurama felt thanks. He felt extremely grateful that none of Barako's hate had seeped into Botan's present soul. And, Kurama bashfully admitted, ever since the spiritual encounter a few nights ago, he and Botan had grown quite close.
//"I know in my heart you would never break a promise and never had, even at the near cost of your life. You're too honorable to do anything else, Kurama. And this is why I was afraid of losing you."//
'She was afraid of losing me that night, just as I was afraid of losing her,' Kurama grinned, glancing tenderly at Botan's cheery face. 'We felt the same way about each other when we thought we were going to lose one another.'
Botan felt Kurama staring at her intently, and while blushing, turned away from him without catching his observant green eyes. "Um, Kurama, have you seen Soijiro at school lately? Ever since Halloween, I haven't been able to come in contact with him and visa versa. I'm getting a little worried about him."
'//Ugh, did she have to mention him? This was supposed to be your moment, Syuuichi.//'
As Botan noticed a frown come upon her friend's face, Kurama replied distantly, "No, I have not seen Hatsume around recently, Botan. I think he is still at his family's mansion and temple and will not be back until the end of this month. I believe that his great-great-grandfather passed away recently, and the ceremonies are not planned to end until then."
"Oh." Botan was at loss of words, not knowing what to say about Soijiro's ancestor's death; after all, she had once been a Guide for the Dead and understood the emotional turmoil a loved one's death caused.
A friendly smile then appeared on Syuuichi's face, the human boy feeling a little sorry for dampening Botan's spirits. "But if I see Soijiro anytime sooner than expected, I will relay your sentiments to him, Botan. I am quite sure that he will be grateful for them, especially after a funeral."
'//Softy.//'
'Shut up.'
"Thank you, Kurama."
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. Next Day In Maikai .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"Are you sure we shouldn't have waited for everyone else?" Hiei demanded with a little frustration as he and Botan trudged through Maikai shrubs. The two travelers noted how Kurama had made traveling easier with his powers; alas, the fox demon was not with them that day. "I hope you're lying to me because I hate the thought being left alone in the middle of Maikai up against a Jewel shard-powered demon with only your capabilities to work with."
Botan sighed tiredly; Hiei had been asking her this question ever since they had entered through the Maikai portal, which was about an hour ago. "Thank you so much for your support, Hiei; and for the final time, yes, I am sure that we shouldn't have waited for the others because they aren't coming. Kurama can't come today because he has to do something with his little brother Shuuichi; Yusuke has his hands tied with some demon issues, not to mention Koenma, Keiko, and Atsuko are snapping at his heels about responsibility and other stuff; Kazuma is busy with school and work, and Shizuru isn't going to take any chances with his education."
"Feh, the carrot-top wouldn't have made much of a difference to our party anyway," Hiei spat, continuing to trudge through the woods. "I was only referring to the fox and Detective." After finding out that he would only have Botan for company in Maikai that day, Hiei had decided he would not talk to Botan's face or mention her name as punishment for not mentioning anything sooner. 'When I get back to the Human World, I'm going to kill you, fox, for not telling me that I was going to be alone with this woman for a day.'
"You should be nicer to Kazuma, Hiei," Botan grinned, giggling like the high school girl she was. She was beginning to get better at following Hiei. "You never know what Fate might have in mind for the two of you. You might have to put up with him the rest of your lives. In fact, he just might become your brother-in-law one day."
Hiei abruptly stopped in his steps and turned to glower at Botan. "A what?!" The sound of "brother-in-law" sent chills up Hiei's spine; any word that related the dimwitted human as a "brother" to Hiei certainly was vile and should be murdered. Well, Hiei thought so anyway.
Botan giggled at the horrified expression on Hiei's face, the girl remembering that Hiei had no idea about human customs, nevertheless their marriage customs. She also figured that now was not a good time to give the fire demon a tutorial either; she would let Kurama explain everything to Hiei later. "Never mind, Hiei. Never mind."
"Hn, we're here," Hiei muttered with slight annoyance as the two reached the edge of the demonic forest. Botan grinned as she gazed about the familiar view of Barako's Village.
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"So, the others will not be joining you in the search today?" Mimiru asked as she eyed Hiei cautiously through emerald orbs.
Hiei sniffed indignantly as he retreated to a nearby tree; he disliked Mimiru's presence more than he detested Botan's company, and Botan's company was barely tolerable. According to the fire demon, all holy humans, priest and priestesses, had a certain type of Spirit Energy that was unnerving to demons, and to Hiei, Mimiru's aura was no different from any other priestess. Two weeks before, Hiei had publicly professed his discontent with Mimiru and her being near his person; the raven-haired demon had also found it proper to add that if Mimiru or any other priestess neared him, he would kill all of their kind. The reason why Kurama and Hiei did not mind Botan, as she was a reincarnation of a priestess, was unknown to everyone but the two demons.
"No," Botan shook her head amiably. "They weren't able to come today due to their business in the Human World. Today is just Hiei and I."
"But then why did you come to Maikai?" Mimiru pondered curiously. Hinageshi's descendant was quite impressed by Botan's keenness. "I would think that without Kurama to push you around so much, you would take a day off when he is not here. I know many well-trained priestess that would if they were in your place."
Botan blushed as stared bashfully at the ground; both Mimiru and Hiei noticed the rosy tint in Botan's cheeks. "A few days ago, I promised myself that I would do the best I could to collect all of the Sacred Jewel shards as soon as possible," Botan whispered. "After what had happened on Halloween, I do not want to risk someone else's safety than my own when it comes to the Sacred Jewel. The Sacred Jewel of Four Souls is my responsibility, and I cannot allow others to be harmed from my carelessness."
Mimiru nodded in understanding. "Yes, Hinageshi came to me the other day, explaining what had happened on All Hallows Eve; the Five Villages had sensed a great distress during that holy day. It is understandable that a Jewel shard would have such negative affects on a human, nevertheless her soul. There is something, however, within this entire situation that puzzles me. How in the Seven Heavens did a Sacred Jewel shard enter the Human World?"
"We're still unsure of that as well," Botan sighed. "Lord Koenma has found no leads on the matter, and the newly commissioned Spirit Detectives have not reported any demons without authorization passing through the World barrier."
"I guess then, the Three Worlds are in more danger than we had perceived earlier," Mimiru muttered, closing her eyes in deep thought.
'Or maybe,' Hiei thought from his spot in the tree, 'maybe that bubbly, blue-haired woman has more enemies from her wretched past that we're unaware of."
"Hiei!"
Catching himself before he fell out of the tree, Hiei turned his attention to the Hinageshi-reflection. "What do you want, woman?!" the demon snapped.
"Kurama told me you were the one breaking our charms, incantations, and spells and stealing from our shrine," Mimiru glared. "Now that we know it is you, you better take care not to touch the shrine again; the new incantations we have placed over the shrine will literally burn your skin off."
"Feh." Hiei just turned his guilty back on the woman and continued to observe Barako's Village from his position in the tree.
"What exactly was he stealing from the shrine?" Botan whispered to Mimiru.
Mimiru chuckled bemusedly. "He was stealing 'sweet snow' from our ancestors' offerings, according to Kurama."
"Sweet snow?"
"Ice cream."
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"You were stealing ice cream from their shrine?! Hiei, how could you?!"
The fire demon was trying his best to ignore the loud-mouthed priestess, but to no avail. It was about this time where Hiei began cursing his sensitive demonic hearing.
"This is low, even for you, Hiei! I mean, that ice cream is for those villagers' ancestors! I mean--I know the ancestors aren't going to actually get the ice cream, but that doesn't mean you can just steal it!"
"Damn it, why did the fox have to back out today?" Hiei grumbled, using his razor-sharp katana to cut through demonic shrubbery. The petite fire demon was fighting his urge to use his demonic powers, torch the entire forest, and be rid of the pestering plants; of course, that would more than infuriate Kurama, whom the territory the two shard hunters were currently located and whose powers relied on Maikai's botany.
'Damn, this is third time you've screwed me over, Kurama! First you leave me alone with your woman for a day in Maikai with no one else, then you tell that other annoying woman about the sweet snow, and now you and your powers are giving me a hell of time! I'm going to get my revenge on you for this!'
Botan, now wearing her priestess uniform and armed with a long bow and a quiver of arrows, sighed as she decided it was her turn to ignore Hiei's whining. Instead, the girl began to concentrate on the faint sensation of a Sacred Jewel shard nearby. She could also sense a demonic aura manipulating the Jewel's power to its desires. "So, he learned how to control it, huh?" Botan whispered to herself. "Well, that's what he thinks."
"What are you muttering about, woman?" Hiei demanded with an irritated tone, the existence of a happy mood long dead.
"The demon with the shard isn't far off from here, Hiei; and, surprisingly, the demon has learned how to control his powers with the Jewel shard enhancement. What should we do to trap him?" Botan rather quickly explained.
"We'll figure that out," Hiei replied, unveiling his Jagan eye, "when we have an actual visual of him. You could just be sensing a decoy."
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"Woman, why in the world, if you don't want anyone to use the Jewel, are you collecting the shards for Kurama?" Hiei questioned. "You know he's going to use it like any other sensible demon. What's the point of your contradicting beliefs?"
Trying her best to understand Hiei's method of having a conversation, Botan thought of her reply. Botan laughed slightly sadly when she realized her answer as she tried her best to follow Hiei through the thick demonic bush. "Kurama and Barako died long ago because they fought over the Sacred Jewel, and now all Kurama has left of his past is that one Jewel. If I can collect all of the shards and be able to grant Kurama his wish, then at least one of the lost souls will have met its dreams and not have died in vain."
"You and your sympathetic emotions. They'll be the death of you one day, girl." Unexpectedly, Hiei shot out from the trees, landed next to and held out his arm in front of Botan, causing her to stop walking. Curious of Hiei's sudden actions, Botan threw the demon a questioning look. Hiei, not returning her gaze, threw a pebble at a mound of leaves at Botan's foot, setting off a trap. A large contraption, shaped like a dragons jagged mouth, jumped out of the ground, snapped once loudly, and crashed onto the ground. Botan paled as she realized if she had moved an inch more, she would have been gored in half.
"Er, thank you, Hiei," Botan blubbered.
"Keep your senses, sharp." Hiei glared at the trees surrounding them. "We're being watched. That Jewel shard of yours is closer than you think, girl."
"Heh, so you two are the Sacred Jewel shard hunters other demons are fearfully whispering about in the Underworld? Ha, a measly mortal woman and an incompetent fire demon who has given up his honor to be a toddler's slave?" The grating voice taunted and echoed through the trees, and the demon's Energy signature was hard to locate.
"I'm no one's underling, scum!" Hiei barked, disappearing into the dark trees with his sword unsheathed.
"And the demon who usually hunts with me is Youko Kurama, not Hiei!" Botan yelled after her friend.
"Would you shut up and do your job, woman?!" Hiei's voice snapped sharply at Botan. Realizing what Hiei was talking about, Botan drew an arrow from the quiver on her back and inserted it on her long bow. While looking around for the shard's signal, Botan was able to locate Hiei by his Demon Energy. Unfortunately, two minutes later, Hiei was thrust from the forest canopy into the leave-covered ground, a flurry of thorn missiles flying after him.
"Hiei, are you all right? How bad is it? Here, let me heal you!" Botan exclaimed as Hiei was hit with a few of the demon's poison darts.
"Get the Jewel shard, damn it!" Hiei grunted as he ignored his wound and headed back into the trees. "Forget about me! Just shoot that damn demon!"
Nodding, Botan quickly took her arrow, aimed, and shot it at the demon; unluckily for her and to Hiei's rage, she missed.
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"You know, Hiei, I could heal that for you," Botan suggested as she watched Hiei tear a strip from his raven cloak and use it to wrap his poisoned shoulder.
Sitting silently on a boulder, Hiei glared at the crimson flow from his left shoulder. Pressing the strip of ebony onto the scarlet liquid, the fire demon speedily wrapped the wound without so much as a wince from the pain. "I don't need your help," Hiei coldly responded. "Besides, in just a few more seconds, the poison will be useless against me, and the cut will heal soon enough. There's nothing for you to worry about except relocating that shard."
"Sometimes," Botan murmured, looking around the forest for a Sacred Jewel shard presence, "you and Kurama are just too much alike."
"And from the tone of your voice, I'll take that as a good thing," Hiei shot back.
"No, that just means the both of you have a hard time admitting your true feelings to and for your friends," Botan answered, still searching for a sign of the Sacred Jewel shard. "You and Kurama both have a hard time trusting other people, even trusting your friends. I know why Kurama is afraid of relationships, especially with women; the last one before his mother had nearly killed him. But regardless, Kurama has learned to love again. He's learned to love his human mother. You, Hiei, I just don't understand."
"Hn, and let's leave it like that. I would hate to be understood by you." Hiei blinked for a second and then stared at Botan in disbelief. "And since when do you, woman, have an understanding of Kurama's psyche?"
"Since I realized how Kurama is neither human or demon," Botan answered, now staring idly into the dark trees. Her shoulders slightly drooped, and Hiei noticed her form slightly withdraw. A wind began to blow, causing golden leaves to shower down around the pair. Still watching Botan intently, Hiei realized that the girl before him, the girl who usually had a happy expression on her face, looked lonely standing there.
"What do you mean 'neither human or demon'?" Hiei demanded, snapping himself out of his reverie. "Feh, Kurama is definitely a demon; after watching the Dark Tournament and the Maikai Tournament, you should know better that he is nothing else."
"No, Hiei, Kurama isn't a demon. You can just tell by the way he fights or looks at someone," Botan explained quietly. "But then again, you know he isn't human either. Kurama--Kurama has a lot of pain in his soul, a lot of sadness and many regrets. And only a few souls, human, demon, or spirit, ever harbor such emotions that Kurama carries and continue living."
"You have a lot of compassion for Kurama," Hiei muttered.
"Only because Kurama has compassion towards me."
The fire demon was stunned at Botan's response. What in the world did she mean by that? She had compassion towards Kurama because he had compassion towards her? Realizing he was staring at her with his mouth open, Hiei returned his face to a cold expression and glared at Botan. "Are you always this much of a pain during Jewel hunts?" Hiei demanded, finally done treating his wound.
Botan grinned despondently as she took a seat beside Hiei on his rock. "No. I'm usually worse when Kurama's here. And I know what you're thinking: it's a wonder Kurama's still alive when he has to defend himself and protect me while collecting the Jewel shards at the same time. Sometimes I wonder why he keeps on trying so hard."
Hiei felt a pang of guilt strike him, although he had no idea why. "No, I didn't mean it like that, Botan."
'Idiot! Why did you say that?!'
Botan gasped and gaped at Hiei as if someone had abruptly struck her. She looked like should could barely breathe. Hiei's expression suddenly grew stern with worry as he asked, "What's wrong, Botan?"
'Shouldn't have responded to human emotions.'
"You said my name. Twice now."
Hiei blushed.
'Stupid.'
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"Nice of you two to join me," a voice cackled as Hiei and Botan entered a dreary clearing.
The raven-haired demon and the teenage priestess immediately went on alert, the two drawing out their weapons. "Hiei, he has three shards," Botan whispered fearfully to her partner. "I didn't expect him to have found so many."
"Do you want to do this the hard way or the easy way?" Hiei growled loudly, slowly slipping his katana out of its sheath. "In other words, would you like to live with a few limbs or die without any?" The reflection of pale light off of the sword's cold steel nearly made Botan's heart freeze.
After six hours of hunting and searching, Hiei and Botan had been able to locate their elusive demon. His headquarters had been fifty miles east of Barako's Village, near one of Kurama's larger treasure caves, according to Hiei's memory. Further to Hiei and Botan's dismay, the demon was a Rock-tree demon (Botan had a bad experience with a rock-tree demon; luckily, Kurama had rescued her before any trouble), a low-classed one at that. Looking for this apparition had been rather tiring, and Hiei grew only more irritable has he grew tired.
"Ha, don't make me laugh, you midget of a demon," their enemy laughed, sliding with ease through the lifeless trees. "Your powers are nothing compared to mine."
Hiei's crimson eye twitched. "WHAT--DID--YOU--CALL--ME?!"
Botan laughed nervously as she was beginning to feel sorry for the shard-possessed demon. It was one thing to be a power-hungry, selfish demon that would die from its own greed, but it was an entirely different thing to be an idiotic demon that would die at Hiei's hands.
"I was going to settle with only taking the Jewel shards from you, but I guess I'll have to kill you now along with that mouth of yours," Hiei spat. "Prepare to die!" Using his lightning-fast speed and agility, Hiei made his way towards the insulting demon. Within a blink, Hiei had escalated thirty feet from the forest floor into the wry canopy. In less time, Hiei was slashing away at the tree-loving demon that quickly retreated into the dead vegetation.
"Where did that bastard go now?!" Hiei searched the clearing with his Jagan eye, but to no avail. He could not track down the demon.
"Hiei, watch out! He's above you!" Botan shouted out, pointing to the branches above. Following Botan's warning, Hiei dived down from the branches he was standing on and landed gracefully on branches a few feet below. He then turned, swung his sword, and prepared to block an attack; however, instead of an attack, Hiei was trapped in a dangerously colored bubble. After two seconds, the bubble disappeared, melding itself into Hiei's skin.
"What are you doing to Hiei?!" Botan demanded as she tried to free herself from the demon's bonds. Sneakily while her attention was short, the enemy had come around from behind and had tied Botan down against a petrified tree.
"Why, I cast a reflection spell on him, of course," the rock-tree demon smirked, tightening the vines around Botan. "Whatever attacks he performs on me will now be directly relayed back to him; whatever pain I feel, he suffers from as well."
'Damn,' Hiei cursed. 'So if I kill him, I'll kill myself. Dumb bastard.'
Botan's shrieks cut through Hiei's thoughts as he looked down at the trapped girl. Hiei felt his anger boil, realizing the demon's vines were beginning to cut through Botan's clothing. Already Botan's shoulder was dripping with blood, her blanche top soaked dark scarlet.
'Damn it!'
Right then, Hiei made a decision. Using his speed, he quickly charged at the point where most Demon Energy was radiating from, his sword ready in his right hand. Hiei slashed at the Energy; he winced as blood spurted from a deep gash that rapidly appeared on his left shoulder. "Got him."
Hiei attacked again, this time pain surging through his lower right torso. The rock demon screamed. Being able to see the creature clearly now, Hiei charged again. Coming from underneath the demon this time, Hiei slashed out at the midsection of the body. As the reflection spell was still cast over him, Hiei tried his best to ignore the pain and aimed for the wretched creature's internal organs.
Botan, finally freeing herself from the vines with her arrows and powers, ran towards Hiei's falling form; she hoped to catch him before he hit the ground.
"You're dead, demon," Hiei chuckled weakly as he let himself fall through the trees to the ground.
"I'm not the only one!" the beast shrieked as he summoned spikes from the ground with his remaining strength.
Turning his attention quickly to the ground, the fire demon spotted a speck of blue running beneath him and closer to the deadly spikes. "Botan, watch out!" Hiei yelled, panic strewn all over his face.
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"Thank you for pushing me out of harms way, but Hiei, you didn't have to do that," Botan muttered, the gentle humming of her healing powers vibrating in the background. The girl, after giving the corpse of the rock- tree demon a glare, smiled cheerily at the fire demon. "You would have saved yourself a lot more blood and a lot less pain. Besides, that demon would have missed me, and you wouldn't be lying here being healed so much by me."
Hiei frowned and pointed at the spikes at the other end of the clearing. "Are you stupid?! Feh, if I hadn't done what I did, you, like a bumbling idiot, would have jumped the other way onto those spikes and injured or killed yourself. Damn it, girl, if anything happened to you, Kurama would kill me. Hn, he'll probably punish me just for you getting hurt."
Within Hiei's statement, Botan had caught both his dry humor and small thanks. "Then I better not tell Kurama I got hurt, ne?" Botan grinned as she tapped Hiei's nose with a playful finger. "Don't want my new friend getting in trouble, do I?"
Hiei's crimson orbs went cross-eyed as he blushed at Botan's small gesture. "Argh," Hiei growled, grabbing Botan's wrist away from his face as soon as she was done healing him, "Come on, Mukuro is waiting for us at her castle."
"How do you know that?"
Hiei's Jagan eye stared at her through its cold orb.
"Do you even have to ask?"
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"Thank you for helping me today, Hiei. We got back three shards today because of you. Kurama will be really happy when I tell him. Thanks," Botan smiled as she gave Hiei a bow and a quick peck on the cheek. The fire demon could feel his face grow hotter than the Fires of Hell at the contact of Botan's lips against his flesh.
'What the hell--"
"Go home, woman, before Kurama comes here and thrashes the both of us. He's already going to beat me when he finds your shoulder wound," Hiei barely sputtered as he tried as gently as he could to push Botan off; luckily for him, no other demons were currently present.
"Sorry about that. I'll try keeping it from Kurama," Botan apologized with a grin as she ran toward the castle's exit. "I'll see you tomorrow with everyone else, Hiei! Bye! Have a good night!" After that was said, Botan was quickly met by one of Mukuro's soldiers for an escort to guide her to a gate connected to a Human World portal nearby. The priestess smiled as she left behind a radish-colored Spirit Detective.
A demon soldier from deeper in the compound suddenly ran to Hiei's side and saluted him. "Master Hiei, Lady Mukuro wishes to see you in her private chambers right a way. She says that she has some rather important topics to discuss with you." The lower-classed demon took another quick glance at his shorter superior. "Er, Master Hiei, are you all right? Your face, sir, it's--"
"Shut up!" Hiei barked as he stomped off to meet Mukuro.
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"So, how was the mission?" Mukuro asked lazily as she lied comfortably in her bed. "Did you and that girl recover any more shards today?"
"We collected three today, and all from one difficult demon. The bloody bastard paid dearly for being a nuisance, though," Hiei smirked as he remembered the pleasure of dismembering the creature. "He gave me four wounds and called me names, and he rightfully paid for every single one."
"I see that you're healed from three of your four wounds. Did the girl do that for you?"
Hiei glanced at the three wounds along his arm and torso. "Yes. Luckily for me, she mastered that skill a while ago or I would probably be dead from her trying."
The redhead lady chuckled. "I guess that's why your shoulder isn't healed completely. You decided to do that yourself, huh?"
Hiei suddenly grew curious and chose to change the subject. "Mukuro, why don't you go after the Sacred Jewel shards?"
"Why should I?" Mukuro questioned lightly in return as she wrapped her blankets about her. "There is just no point for me to go after such a small trinket. It's more work than it's worth, and you should know that from first hand experience, Hiei; and besides, what do I have to wish for?"
"Hn. After temporary power boosts from the shards, the entire world from the whole Jewel," Hiei whispered to the superior fire demon.
Mukuro tried to stifle a laugh as she returned her steady gaze at her subordinate. "That's a sentimental thought, Hiei, but what is the practicality in that? No, I'm happy with my share of Maikai, and I'm satisfied with my domain's heir."
Hiei blushed at Mukuro's compliment. 'Damn it,' the demon thought. 'I have to stop this senseless blushing; only fools turn red at words. Damn it.'
The demon Lady laughed as she remembered Hiei's reddened expression when he entered her chambers. "You look like an adorable human child, Hiei, when you're all red and hot after that ferry girl thanked you like that," Mukuro chuckled, smiling slyly at her estate heir, whom was in his regular position in a chair close by. "I've always had a soft spot for human children, Hiei; they're harmless yet still charming, like baby animals. We should invite that girl here sometime so you can blush more often."
"Hn." Hiei had now taken to a one-word language.
"Hm. What are you going to tell Kurama on your next visit to the Human World? Or are you not going to say anything at all to him?" Mukuro questioned lightly, the thought of the redhead Spirit Detective crossing her mind. The demon lady closed her cerulean eyes halfway in doziness. "Of course, he'll probably find out eventually. And I'm pretty sure that the Youko side of him is not going to appreciate you kissing his woman. I've heard from Yomi that Youko Kurama is rather possessive of those in his care."
"Hn."
'I didn't kiss that girl. She kissed me,' Hiei grumbled to himself. 'I don't know why I'm going to be the one getting a beating from Kurama. Blame it on his damn vixen for being so coy.'
"Did you enjoy the kiss from Kurama's girl, Hiei?" Mukuro inquired further, suddenly rising into a sitting position in her bed. Her interest in Hiei's love life had just been sparked, and the female fire apparition was eager to know Hiei's opinion.
"Hn." Hiei, unable to take further teasing from his leader, quickly stood up and stomped out of Mukuro's room and into his own room, a rosy-hue illuminating his cheeks through the entire process. Mukuro quietly laughed as she watched her flustered friend head toward his chambers; his scarlet face had revealed to her all the answers.
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
Hiei frowned as he tried to make himself comfortable on his couch and prepared for slumber; the day had been a hard one, no doubt of that. However, sleep was far from Hiei, as his injuries and troubles were keeping him awake: both compliments from Botan. Disdainfully glaring at the ceiling, Hiei snorted at the thoughts passing through his mind; a certain blue haired girl and that day's events kept flashing through the demon's head.
//"Hiei, are you all right? How bad is it? Here, let me heal you!"//
"Get out of my head, woman," Hiei growled.
//"Are you always this much of a pain?" Hiei demanded.//
//Botan smiled sadly. "No. I'm usually worse when Kurama's here. And I know what you're thinking: it's a wonder Kurama's still alive when he has to defend himself and protect me while collecting the Jewel shards at the same time. Sometimes I wonder why he keeps on trying so hard."//
//Hiei felt a pang of guilt strike him. "No, I didn't mean it like that, Botan."//
//Botan stared at Hiei as if someone had struck her. Hiei's expression suddenly grew stern with worry as he asked, "What's wrong, Botan?"//
//"You said my name. Twice now."//
//Hiei blushed.//
"Damn it."
For some odd reason, Botan's voice was echoing across and around the lightless room; the girl's voice had even gone as far to ring in the telepath's mind. Trying to block out the imaginary sound, the fire demon took one of his pillows and flung it at his head. Doing so only caused him to get a headache, another problem he currently did not need. Hiei groaned as he turned and laid on his right side, glaring darkly with crimson eyes at his black walls.
"The fox is going to kill me."
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
hi ya: Yes, the borrowed names are from Grandia 2. And no, you are not making yourself look dumb. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you liked the last one.
midlight bunny: Thank you for the dating suggestions because now I have something to go on. The crisscross dress was something I have always wanted to do, and I am glad that I did it well. And the possessions--heh-- they were something new.
|-Steph-chan-|: Was the last chapter that emotional? Well, even if it was not, I am happy to know that you thought it was cute. Hope you keep reading!
JD Fielding: Heh, yeah, I know Halloween was a while ago, but then again, I am not following my original periodical chart that I had set up for myself (I originally planned to have a new chapter out by the turning of the month, but things are just not going like that). Ah, were the costumes amusing? I hope so because I just do not know how to add humor to my writing. I am one of those people who can laugh at any joke but cannot make up one of their own.
I am glad that I am making Kurama's more sensitive side, and I am even happier that I have someone wondering about my Soijiro character! But, I guess what makes me happiest is that I got to add a nice Botan and Kurama scene at the end! Well, now enjoy this chapter!
Sarah: You are welcome for the notification, and I hope that I remembered to send you a memo for this chapter as well. And thank you for you input; I really needed to know how I was doing with keeping the Yu Yu Hakusho characters in check.
Here is the Third Chapter, "Three Words, Confusion of Emotion".
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"This is speech."
'This is thought.'
//This is Youko or flashback.//
Once Loved, Never Forgotten
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
'//It is a pity her soul will not block out that memory just as it has her past ones.//'
When Kurama reached Botan, the young man asked, "Will you be all right, Botan?" He put a tender hand on top of her head, slightly petting her with his thumb. Botan looked up at Kurama, clung to him, and cried into his shoulder.
Kurama lowered his body to her level and could only hold the poor girl as she relieved herself. "I'm so sorry, Kurama," Botan apologized through her sobs.
"About what?" Kurama questioned, slightly bewildered.
"I'm sorry about being insensitive to your feelings when I wore those clothes yesterday night," Botan answered. "I was so selfish thinking about myself and not considering how you would feel. And when you asked me to change, I should have just done it instead of arguing. I should have understood."
"No," Kurama softly muttered, holding Botan closer. "No, you do not have to apologize about that, Botan."
"Kurama, I was so scared," Botan confessed as she cried into his costume. " I got scared when I couldn't control myself anymore. I was so scared that Ryudo would merge with you. I felt so scared when I thought about losing you forever."
"Botan," Kurama whispered, "if I ever broke any of my promises to you, would you hate me for all eternity?"
"Of course not!" Botan exclaimed, staring at Kurama with wide amethyst eyes. Her tears had suddenly ceased. "Kurama, I could never hate you for all eternity, and I know you never break any of your promises to anyone."
"How are you so sure about that?" Kurama muttered.
"Because you're Kurama," Botan smiled, wiping her cold tears off of her face. "I know in my heart you would never break a promise and never had, even at the near cost of your life. You're too honorable to do anything else, Kurama. And this is why I was afraid of losing you."
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"Are you sure about going tomorrow, Botan? Are you sure you will be all right being alone with him? You know that you don't have to, and even Youko is allowing this decision. I know that you and him do not have the best relationship between each other, so--"
Botan laughed at her friend's uneasiness as she placed a playful punch on her male companion's shoulder. "I'll be fine. Besides, he can't possibly be all that bad; and I know he isn't such a horrible person, since you're always spending some time and can put up with him. Anyway, you have to do something with your family, and I understand that. Don't worry about anything else but spending time with your little brother."
Kurama, who was currently escorting Botan to the Urameshi residence, was returning with the priestess-in-training from the Maikai portal after a successful day of Sacred Jewel shard hunting; the couple had been able to retrieve two shards that day. The Spirit Detective had just explained to Botan that he would not be able to accompany her tomorrow to Maikai for training and hunting. "But are you sure that--"
"Don't worry, Kurama! Just make sure you have fun with Shuuichi tomorrow!"
Kurama stared at Botan and smiled gently at her caring nature. Ever since the Halloween incident, the redhead Spirit Investigator had realized that Botan held no resentment towards him, for the past or present; and for her forgiving nature, Kurama felt thanks. He felt extremely grateful that none of Barako's hate had seeped into Botan's present soul. And, Kurama bashfully admitted, ever since the spiritual encounter a few nights ago, he and Botan had grown quite close.
//"I know in my heart you would never break a promise and never had, even at the near cost of your life. You're too honorable to do anything else, Kurama. And this is why I was afraid of losing you."//
'She was afraid of losing me that night, just as I was afraid of losing her,' Kurama grinned, glancing tenderly at Botan's cheery face. 'We felt the same way about each other when we thought we were going to lose one another.'
Botan felt Kurama staring at her intently, and while blushing, turned away from him without catching his observant green eyes. "Um, Kurama, have you seen Soijiro at school lately? Ever since Halloween, I haven't been able to come in contact with him and visa versa. I'm getting a little worried about him."
'//Ugh, did she have to mention him? This was supposed to be your moment, Syuuichi.//'
As Botan noticed a frown come upon her friend's face, Kurama replied distantly, "No, I have not seen Hatsume around recently, Botan. I think he is still at his family's mansion and temple and will not be back until the end of this month. I believe that his great-great-grandfather passed away recently, and the ceremonies are not planned to end until then."
"Oh." Botan was at loss of words, not knowing what to say about Soijiro's ancestor's death; after all, she had once been a Guide for the Dead and understood the emotional turmoil a loved one's death caused.
A friendly smile then appeared on Syuuichi's face, the human boy feeling a little sorry for dampening Botan's spirits. "But if I see Soijiro anytime sooner than expected, I will relay your sentiments to him, Botan. I am quite sure that he will be grateful for them, especially after a funeral."
'//Softy.//'
'Shut up.'
"Thank you, Kurama."
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. Next Day In Maikai .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"Are you sure we shouldn't have waited for everyone else?" Hiei demanded with a little frustration as he and Botan trudged through Maikai shrubs. The two travelers noted how Kurama had made traveling easier with his powers; alas, the fox demon was not with them that day. "I hope you're lying to me because I hate the thought being left alone in the middle of Maikai up against a Jewel shard-powered demon with only your capabilities to work with."
Botan sighed tiredly; Hiei had been asking her this question ever since they had entered through the Maikai portal, which was about an hour ago. "Thank you so much for your support, Hiei; and for the final time, yes, I am sure that we shouldn't have waited for the others because they aren't coming. Kurama can't come today because he has to do something with his little brother Shuuichi; Yusuke has his hands tied with some demon issues, not to mention Koenma, Keiko, and Atsuko are snapping at his heels about responsibility and other stuff; Kazuma is busy with school and work, and Shizuru isn't going to take any chances with his education."
"Feh, the carrot-top wouldn't have made much of a difference to our party anyway," Hiei spat, continuing to trudge through the woods. "I was only referring to the fox and Detective." After finding out that he would only have Botan for company in Maikai that day, Hiei had decided he would not talk to Botan's face or mention her name as punishment for not mentioning anything sooner. 'When I get back to the Human World, I'm going to kill you, fox, for not telling me that I was going to be alone with this woman for a day.'
"You should be nicer to Kazuma, Hiei," Botan grinned, giggling like the high school girl she was. She was beginning to get better at following Hiei. "You never know what Fate might have in mind for the two of you. You might have to put up with him the rest of your lives. In fact, he just might become your brother-in-law one day."
Hiei abruptly stopped in his steps and turned to glower at Botan. "A what?!" The sound of "brother-in-law" sent chills up Hiei's spine; any word that related the dimwitted human as a "brother" to Hiei certainly was vile and should be murdered. Well, Hiei thought so anyway.
Botan giggled at the horrified expression on Hiei's face, the girl remembering that Hiei had no idea about human customs, nevertheless their marriage customs. She also figured that now was not a good time to give the fire demon a tutorial either; she would let Kurama explain everything to Hiei later. "Never mind, Hiei. Never mind."
"Hn, we're here," Hiei muttered with slight annoyance as the two reached the edge of the demonic forest. Botan grinned as she gazed about the familiar view of Barako's Village.
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"So, the others will not be joining you in the search today?" Mimiru asked as she eyed Hiei cautiously through emerald orbs.
Hiei sniffed indignantly as he retreated to a nearby tree; he disliked Mimiru's presence more than he detested Botan's company, and Botan's company was barely tolerable. According to the fire demon, all holy humans, priest and priestesses, had a certain type of Spirit Energy that was unnerving to demons, and to Hiei, Mimiru's aura was no different from any other priestess. Two weeks before, Hiei had publicly professed his discontent with Mimiru and her being near his person; the raven-haired demon had also found it proper to add that if Mimiru or any other priestess neared him, he would kill all of their kind. The reason why Kurama and Hiei did not mind Botan, as she was a reincarnation of a priestess, was unknown to everyone but the two demons.
"No," Botan shook her head amiably. "They weren't able to come today due to their business in the Human World. Today is just Hiei and I."
"But then why did you come to Maikai?" Mimiru pondered curiously. Hinageshi's descendant was quite impressed by Botan's keenness. "I would think that without Kurama to push you around so much, you would take a day off when he is not here. I know many well-trained priestess that would if they were in your place."
Botan blushed as stared bashfully at the ground; both Mimiru and Hiei noticed the rosy tint in Botan's cheeks. "A few days ago, I promised myself that I would do the best I could to collect all of the Sacred Jewel shards as soon as possible," Botan whispered. "After what had happened on Halloween, I do not want to risk someone else's safety than my own when it comes to the Sacred Jewel. The Sacred Jewel of Four Souls is my responsibility, and I cannot allow others to be harmed from my carelessness."
Mimiru nodded in understanding. "Yes, Hinageshi came to me the other day, explaining what had happened on All Hallows Eve; the Five Villages had sensed a great distress during that holy day. It is understandable that a Jewel shard would have such negative affects on a human, nevertheless her soul. There is something, however, within this entire situation that puzzles me. How in the Seven Heavens did a Sacred Jewel shard enter the Human World?"
"We're still unsure of that as well," Botan sighed. "Lord Koenma has found no leads on the matter, and the newly commissioned Spirit Detectives have not reported any demons without authorization passing through the World barrier."
"I guess then, the Three Worlds are in more danger than we had perceived earlier," Mimiru muttered, closing her eyes in deep thought.
'Or maybe,' Hiei thought from his spot in the tree, 'maybe that bubbly, blue-haired woman has more enemies from her wretched past that we're unaware of."
"Hiei!"
Catching himself before he fell out of the tree, Hiei turned his attention to the Hinageshi-reflection. "What do you want, woman?!" the demon snapped.
"Kurama told me you were the one breaking our charms, incantations, and spells and stealing from our shrine," Mimiru glared. "Now that we know it is you, you better take care not to touch the shrine again; the new incantations we have placed over the shrine will literally burn your skin off."
"Feh." Hiei just turned his guilty back on the woman and continued to observe Barako's Village from his position in the tree.
"What exactly was he stealing from the shrine?" Botan whispered to Mimiru.
Mimiru chuckled bemusedly. "He was stealing 'sweet snow' from our ancestors' offerings, according to Kurama."
"Sweet snow?"
"Ice cream."
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"You were stealing ice cream from their shrine?! Hiei, how could you?!"
The fire demon was trying his best to ignore the loud-mouthed priestess, but to no avail. It was about this time where Hiei began cursing his sensitive demonic hearing.
"This is low, even for you, Hiei! I mean, that ice cream is for those villagers' ancestors! I mean--I know the ancestors aren't going to actually get the ice cream, but that doesn't mean you can just steal it!"
"Damn it, why did the fox have to back out today?" Hiei grumbled, using his razor-sharp katana to cut through demonic shrubbery. The petite fire demon was fighting his urge to use his demonic powers, torch the entire forest, and be rid of the pestering plants; of course, that would more than infuriate Kurama, whom the territory the two shard hunters were currently located and whose powers relied on Maikai's botany.
'Damn, this is third time you've screwed me over, Kurama! First you leave me alone with your woman for a day in Maikai with no one else, then you tell that other annoying woman about the sweet snow, and now you and your powers are giving me a hell of time! I'm going to get my revenge on you for this!'
Botan, now wearing her priestess uniform and armed with a long bow and a quiver of arrows, sighed as she decided it was her turn to ignore Hiei's whining. Instead, the girl began to concentrate on the faint sensation of a Sacred Jewel shard nearby. She could also sense a demonic aura manipulating the Jewel's power to its desires. "So, he learned how to control it, huh?" Botan whispered to herself. "Well, that's what he thinks."
"What are you muttering about, woman?" Hiei demanded with an irritated tone, the existence of a happy mood long dead.
"The demon with the shard isn't far off from here, Hiei; and, surprisingly, the demon has learned how to control his powers with the Jewel shard enhancement. What should we do to trap him?" Botan rather quickly explained.
"We'll figure that out," Hiei replied, unveiling his Jagan eye, "when we have an actual visual of him. You could just be sensing a decoy."
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"Woman, why in the world, if you don't want anyone to use the Jewel, are you collecting the shards for Kurama?" Hiei questioned. "You know he's going to use it like any other sensible demon. What's the point of your contradicting beliefs?"
Trying her best to understand Hiei's method of having a conversation, Botan thought of her reply. Botan laughed slightly sadly when she realized her answer as she tried her best to follow Hiei through the thick demonic bush. "Kurama and Barako died long ago because they fought over the Sacred Jewel, and now all Kurama has left of his past is that one Jewel. If I can collect all of the shards and be able to grant Kurama his wish, then at least one of the lost souls will have met its dreams and not have died in vain."
"You and your sympathetic emotions. They'll be the death of you one day, girl." Unexpectedly, Hiei shot out from the trees, landed next to and held out his arm in front of Botan, causing her to stop walking. Curious of Hiei's sudden actions, Botan threw the demon a questioning look. Hiei, not returning her gaze, threw a pebble at a mound of leaves at Botan's foot, setting off a trap. A large contraption, shaped like a dragons jagged mouth, jumped out of the ground, snapped once loudly, and crashed onto the ground. Botan paled as she realized if she had moved an inch more, she would have been gored in half.
"Er, thank you, Hiei," Botan blubbered.
"Keep your senses, sharp." Hiei glared at the trees surrounding them. "We're being watched. That Jewel shard of yours is closer than you think, girl."
"Heh, so you two are the Sacred Jewel shard hunters other demons are fearfully whispering about in the Underworld? Ha, a measly mortal woman and an incompetent fire demon who has given up his honor to be a toddler's slave?" The grating voice taunted and echoed through the trees, and the demon's Energy signature was hard to locate.
"I'm no one's underling, scum!" Hiei barked, disappearing into the dark trees with his sword unsheathed.
"And the demon who usually hunts with me is Youko Kurama, not Hiei!" Botan yelled after her friend.
"Would you shut up and do your job, woman?!" Hiei's voice snapped sharply at Botan. Realizing what Hiei was talking about, Botan drew an arrow from the quiver on her back and inserted it on her long bow. While looking around for the shard's signal, Botan was able to locate Hiei by his Demon Energy. Unfortunately, two minutes later, Hiei was thrust from the forest canopy into the leave-covered ground, a flurry of thorn missiles flying after him.
"Hiei, are you all right? How bad is it? Here, let me heal you!" Botan exclaimed as Hiei was hit with a few of the demon's poison darts.
"Get the Jewel shard, damn it!" Hiei grunted as he ignored his wound and headed back into the trees. "Forget about me! Just shoot that damn demon!"
Nodding, Botan quickly took her arrow, aimed, and shot it at the demon; unluckily for her and to Hiei's rage, she missed.
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"You know, Hiei, I could heal that for you," Botan suggested as she watched Hiei tear a strip from his raven cloak and use it to wrap his poisoned shoulder.
Sitting silently on a boulder, Hiei glared at the crimson flow from his left shoulder. Pressing the strip of ebony onto the scarlet liquid, the fire demon speedily wrapped the wound without so much as a wince from the pain. "I don't need your help," Hiei coldly responded. "Besides, in just a few more seconds, the poison will be useless against me, and the cut will heal soon enough. There's nothing for you to worry about except relocating that shard."
"Sometimes," Botan murmured, looking around the forest for a Sacred Jewel shard presence, "you and Kurama are just too much alike."
"And from the tone of your voice, I'll take that as a good thing," Hiei shot back.
"No, that just means the both of you have a hard time admitting your true feelings to and for your friends," Botan answered, still searching for a sign of the Sacred Jewel shard. "You and Kurama both have a hard time trusting other people, even trusting your friends. I know why Kurama is afraid of relationships, especially with women; the last one before his mother had nearly killed him. But regardless, Kurama has learned to love again. He's learned to love his human mother. You, Hiei, I just don't understand."
"Hn, and let's leave it like that. I would hate to be understood by you." Hiei blinked for a second and then stared at Botan in disbelief. "And since when do you, woman, have an understanding of Kurama's psyche?"
"Since I realized how Kurama is neither human or demon," Botan answered, now staring idly into the dark trees. Her shoulders slightly drooped, and Hiei noticed her form slightly withdraw. A wind began to blow, causing golden leaves to shower down around the pair. Still watching Botan intently, Hiei realized that the girl before him, the girl who usually had a happy expression on her face, looked lonely standing there.
"What do you mean 'neither human or demon'?" Hiei demanded, snapping himself out of his reverie. "Feh, Kurama is definitely a demon; after watching the Dark Tournament and the Maikai Tournament, you should know better that he is nothing else."
"No, Hiei, Kurama isn't a demon. You can just tell by the way he fights or looks at someone," Botan explained quietly. "But then again, you know he isn't human either. Kurama--Kurama has a lot of pain in his soul, a lot of sadness and many regrets. And only a few souls, human, demon, or spirit, ever harbor such emotions that Kurama carries and continue living."
"You have a lot of compassion for Kurama," Hiei muttered.
"Only because Kurama has compassion towards me."
The fire demon was stunned at Botan's response. What in the world did she mean by that? She had compassion towards Kurama because he had compassion towards her? Realizing he was staring at her with his mouth open, Hiei returned his face to a cold expression and glared at Botan. "Are you always this much of a pain during Jewel hunts?" Hiei demanded, finally done treating his wound.
Botan grinned despondently as she took a seat beside Hiei on his rock. "No. I'm usually worse when Kurama's here. And I know what you're thinking: it's a wonder Kurama's still alive when he has to defend himself and protect me while collecting the Jewel shards at the same time. Sometimes I wonder why he keeps on trying so hard."
Hiei felt a pang of guilt strike him, although he had no idea why. "No, I didn't mean it like that, Botan."
'Idiot! Why did you say that?!'
Botan gasped and gaped at Hiei as if someone had abruptly struck her. She looked like should could barely breathe. Hiei's expression suddenly grew stern with worry as he asked, "What's wrong, Botan?"
'Shouldn't have responded to human emotions.'
"You said my name. Twice now."
Hiei blushed.
'Stupid.'
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"Nice of you two to join me," a voice cackled as Hiei and Botan entered a dreary clearing.
The raven-haired demon and the teenage priestess immediately went on alert, the two drawing out their weapons. "Hiei, he has three shards," Botan whispered fearfully to her partner. "I didn't expect him to have found so many."
"Do you want to do this the hard way or the easy way?" Hiei growled loudly, slowly slipping his katana out of its sheath. "In other words, would you like to live with a few limbs or die without any?" The reflection of pale light off of the sword's cold steel nearly made Botan's heart freeze.
After six hours of hunting and searching, Hiei and Botan had been able to locate their elusive demon. His headquarters had been fifty miles east of Barako's Village, near one of Kurama's larger treasure caves, according to Hiei's memory. Further to Hiei and Botan's dismay, the demon was a Rock-tree demon (Botan had a bad experience with a rock-tree demon; luckily, Kurama had rescued her before any trouble), a low-classed one at that. Looking for this apparition had been rather tiring, and Hiei grew only more irritable has he grew tired.
"Ha, don't make me laugh, you midget of a demon," their enemy laughed, sliding with ease through the lifeless trees. "Your powers are nothing compared to mine."
Hiei's crimson eye twitched. "WHAT--DID--YOU--CALL--ME?!"
Botan laughed nervously as she was beginning to feel sorry for the shard-possessed demon. It was one thing to be a power-hungry, selfish demon that would die from its own greed, but it was an entirely different thing to be an idiotic demon that would die at Hiei's hands.
"I was going to settle with only taking the Jewel shards from you, but I guess I'll have to kill you now along with that mouth of yours," Hiei spat. "Prepare to die!" Using his lightning-fast speed and agility, Hiei made his way towards the insulting demon. Within a blink, Hiei had escalated thirty feet from the forest floor into the wry canopy. In less time, Hiei was slashing away at the tree-loving demon that quickly retreated into the dead vegetation.
"Where did that bastard go now?!" Hiei searched the clearing with his Jagan eye, but to no avail. He could not track down the demon.
"Hiei, watch out! He's above you!" Botan shouted out, pointing to the branches above. Following Botan's warning, Hiei dived down from the branches he was standing on and landed gracefully on branches a few feet below. He then turned, swung his sword, and prepared to block an attack; however, instead of an attack, Hiei was trapped in a dangerously colored bubble. After two seconds, the bubble disappeared, melding itself into Hiei's skin.
"What are you doing to Hiei?!" Botan demanded as she tried to free herself from the demon's bonds. Sneakily while her attention was short, the enemy had come around from behind and had tied Botan down against a petrified tree.
"Why, I cast a reflection spell on him, of course," the rock-tree demon smirked, tightening the vines around Botan. "Whatever attacks he performs on me will now be directly relayed back to him; whatever pain I feel, he suffers from as well."
'Damn,' Hiei cursed. 'So if I kill him, I'll kill myself. Dumb bastard.'
Botan's shrieks cut through Hiei's thoughts as he looked down at the trapped girl. Hiei felt his anger boil, realizing the demon's vines were beginning to cut through Botan's clothing. Already Botan's shoulder was dripping with blood, her blanche top soaked dark scarlet.
'Damn it!'
Right then, Hiei made a decision. Using his speed, he quickly charged at the point where most Demon Energy was radiating from, his sword ready in his right hand. Hiei slashed at the Energy; he winced as blood spurted from a deep gash that rapidly appeared on his left shoulder. "Got him."
Hiei attacked again, this time pain surging through his lower right torso. The rock demon screamed. Being able to see the creature clearly now, Hiei charged again. Coming from underneath the demon this time, Hiei slashed out at the midsection of the body. As the reflection spell was still cast over him, Hiei tried his best to ignore the pain and aimed for the wretched creature's internal organs.
Botan, finally freeing herself from the vines with her arrows and powers, ran towards Hiei's falling form; she hoped to catch him before he hit the ground.
"You're dead, demon," Hiei chuckled weakly as he let himself fall through the trees to the ground.
"I'm not the only one!" the beast shrieked as he summoned spikes from the ground with his remaining strength.
Turning his attention quickly to the ground, the fire demon spotted a speck of blue running beneath him and closer to the deadly spikes. "Botan, watch out!" Hiei yelled, panic strewn all over his face.
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"Thank you for pushing me out of harms way, but Hiei, you didn't have to do that," Botan muttered, the gentle humming of her healing powers vibrating in the background. The girl, after giving the corpse of the rock- tree demon a glare, smiled cheerily at the fire demon. "You would have saved yourself a lot more blood and a lot less pain. Besides, that demon would have missed me, and you wouldn't be lying here being healed so much by me."
Hiei frowned and pointed at the spikes at the other end of the clearing. "Are you stupid?! Feh, if I hadn't done what I did, you, like a bumbling idiot, would have jumped the other way onto those spikes and injured or killed yourself. Damn it, girl, if anything happened to you, Kurama would kill me. Hn, he'll probably punish me just for you getting hurt."
Within Hiei's statement, Botan had caught both his dry humor and small thanks. "Then I better not tell Kurama I got hurt, ne?" Botan grinned as she tapped Hiei's nose with a playful finger. "Don't want my new friend getting in trouble, do I?"
Hiei's crimson orbs went cross-eyed as he blushed at Botan's small gesture. "Argh," Hiei growled, grabbing Botan's wrist away from his face as soon as she was done healing him, "Come on, Mukuro is waiting for us at her castle."
"How do you know that?"
Hiei's Jagan eye stared at her through its cold orb.
"Do you even have to ask?"
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"Thank you for helping me today, Hiei. We got back three shards today because of you. Kurama will be really happy when I tell him. Thanks," Botan smiled as she gave Hiei a bow and a quick peck on the cheek. The fire demon could feel his face grow hotter than the Fires of Hell at the contact of Botan's lips against his flesh.
'What the hell--"
"Go home, woman, before Kurama comes here and thrashes the both of us. He's already going to beat me when he finds your shoulder wound," Hiei barely sputtered as he tried as gently as he could to push Botan off; luckily for him, no other demons were currently present.
"Sorry about that. I'll try keeping it from Kurama," Botan apologized with a grin as she ran toward the castle's exit. "I'll see you tomorrow with everyone else, Hiei! Bye! Have a good night!" After that was said, Botan was quickly met by one of Mukuro's soldiers for an escort to guide her to a gate connected to a Human World portal nearby. The priestess smiled as she left behind a radish-colored Spirit Detective.
A demon soldier from deeper in the compound suddenly ran to Hiei's side and saluted him. "Master Hiei, Lady Mukuro wishes to see you in her private chambers right a way. She says that she has some rather important topics to discuss with you." The lower-classed demon took another quick glance at his shorter superior. "Er, Master Hiei, are you all right? Your face, sir, it's--"
"Shut up!" Hiei barked as he stomped off to meet Mukuro.
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"So, how was the mission?" Mukuro asked lazily as she lied comfortably in her bed. "Did you and that girl recover any more shards today?"
"We collected three today, and all from one difficult demon. The bloody bastard paid dearly for being a nuisance, though," Hiei smirked as he remembered the pleasure of dismembering the creature. "He gave me four wounds and called me names, and he rightfully paid for every single one."
"I see that you're healed from three of your four wounds. Did the girl do that for you?"
Hiei glanced at the three wounds along his arm and torso. "Yes. Luckily for me, she mastered that skill a while ago or I would probably be dead from her trying."
The redhead lady chuckled. "I guess that's why your shoulder isn't healed completely. You decided to do that yourself, huh?"
Hiei suddenly grew curious and chose to change the subject. "Mukuro, why don't you go after the Sacred Jewel shards?"
"Why should I?" Mukuro questioned lightly in return as she wrapped her blankets about her. "There is just no point for me to go after such a small trinket. It's more work than it's worth, and you should know that from first hand experience, Hiei; and besides, what do I have to wish for?"
"Hn. After temporary power boosts from the shards, the entire world from the whole Jewel," Hiei whispered to the superior fire demon.
Mukuro tried to stifle a laugh as she returned her steady gaze at her subordinate. "That's a sentimental thought, Hiei, but what is the practicality in that? No, I'm happy with my share of Maikai, and I'm satisfied with my domain's heir."
Hiei blushed at Mukuro's compliment. 'Damn it,' the demon thought. 'I have to stop this senseless blushing; only fools turn red at words. Damn it.'
The demon Lady laughed as she remembered Hiei's reddened expression when he entered her chambers. "You look like an adorable human child, Hiei, when you're all red and hot after that ferry girl thanked you like that," Mukuro chuckled, smiling slyly at her estate heir, whom was in his regular position in a chair close by. "I've always had a soft spot for human children, Hiei; they're harmless yet still charming, like baby animals. We should invite that girl here sometime so you can blush more often."
"Hn." Hiei had now taken to a one-word language.
"Hm. What are you going to tell Kurama on your next visit to the Human World? Or are you not going to say anything at all to him?" Mukuro questioned lightly, the thought of the redhead Spirit Detective crossing her mind. The demon lady closed her cerulean eyes halfway in doziness. "Of course, he'll probably find out eventually. And I'm pretty sure that the Youko side of him is not going to appreciate you kissing his woman. I've heard from Yomi that Youko Kurama is rather possessive of those in his care."
"Hn."
'I didn't kiss that girl. She kissed me,' Hiei grumbled to himself. 'I don't know why I'm going to be the one getting a beating from Kurama. Blame it on his damn vixen for being so coy.'
"Did you enjoy the kiss from Kurama's girl, Hiei?" Mukuro inquired further, suddenly rising into a sitting position in her bed. Her interest in Hiei's love life had just been sparked, and the female fire apparition was eager to know Hiei's opinion.
"Hn." Hiei, unable to take further teasing from his leader, quickly stood up and stomped out of Mukuro's room and into his own room, a rosy-hue illuminating his cheeks through the entire process. Mukuro quietly laughed as she watched her flustered friend head toward his chambers; his scarlet face had revealed to her all the answers.
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
Hiei frowned as he tried to make himself comfortable on his couch and prepared for slumber; the day had been a hard one, no doubt of that. However, sleep was far from Hiei, as his injuries and troubles were keeping him awake: both compliments from Botan. Disdainfully glaring at the ceiling, Hiei snorted at the thoughts passing through his mind; a certain blue haired girl and that day's events kept flashing through the demon's head.
//"Hiei, are you all right? How bad is it? Here, let me heal you!"//
"Get out of my head, woman," Hiei growled.
//"Are you always this much of a pain?" Hiei demanded.//
//Botan smiled sadly. "No. I'm usually worse when Kurama's here. And I know what you're thinking: it's a wonder Kurama's still alive when he has to defend himself and protect me while collecting the Jewel shards at the same time. Sometimes I wonder why he keeps on trying so hard."//
//Hiei felt a pang of guilt strike him. "No, I didn't mean it like that, Botan."//
//Botan stared at Hiei as if someone had struck her. Hiei's expression suddenly grew stern with worry as he asked, "What's wrong, Botan?"//
//"You said my name. Twice now."//
//Hiei blushed.//
"Damn it."
For some odd reason, Botan's voice was echoing across and around the lightless room; the girl's voice had even gone as far to ring in the telepath's mind. Trying to block out the imaginary sound, the fire demon took one of his pillows and flung it at his head. Doing so only caused him to get a headache, another problem he currently did not need. Hiei groaned as he turned and laid on his right side, glaring darkly with crimson eyes at his black walls.
"The fox is going to kill me."
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.