Last Chapter...

Inside the closet, there was a locked door, solid walls, and cleaning equipment surrounded them, but those wouldn't be of any use to escape. Hiei sulked and pouted, rather cutely, and tears began filling Botan's eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening! All she wanted was a cup of coffee...

"Onna, don't CRY!" the fire demon groaned.

"I-I can't HELP IT! This is HORRIBLE!"

"We'll get out... eventually..."

"But we're helpless! If you knock down the door or bust a wall or do ANYTHING that could do any harm..."

"I know, I know, Koenma will have my head!"

"And I'm just... USELESS! I can't help at all!"

Sighing, Hiei sat down against the wall and looked around. What could they do...?

Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall

Chapter 23: Cured Finally

While Hiei and Botan were wasting away in the storage closet, Jin began following Shishi and Suzuka after the pair had mysteriously left the hotel. But it began looking pretty pointless after a while, especially when they passed the same building for the fourth time. The Wind Master assumed that the pair were desperately lost. Taking pity on the ditzy two, he stopped trailing them silently, appeared before them, and asked where they were going.

Shocked that Jin was there, Shishi's eyes narrowed suspiciously and he asked, "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I can tell that you need some directions to get there," Jin answered simply.

"We're not lost! Never in my life have I needed directions from someone such as yourself!" declared Suzuka, appalled at the very idea. Him? Lost? Certainly not!

Jin laughed at his bravado. "You don't have to lie. From one guy to another, I'll help you out, okay?"

"Absolutely not! We do not need your help, so if you will kindly go away and-"

"Where is Kurama's house?" Shishi interrupted his companion impatiently.

Jin raised a curious brow and pointed in the direction. Then, as they began walking, he asked, "Why do you need to go there?!"

"To claim what's rightfully mine, of course," Shishiwakamaru replied, a 'no duh' quality to his tone. When Jin looked confused, he continued exasperatedly, "Yukina has gone there, and I intend to get my fangirl back."

"Ah, of course," Jin said with a grin. "Can't lose one of the thousands of fangirls you have, can you?"

The bishounen sniffed haughtily. "Of course not!"

Suzuka nodded in agreement. "He has to prove that each and every girl matters to him, you know. Or else he might lose the annual demonic bishounen contest - that hasn't happened since Youko disappeared from Makai!"

With a chuckle, Jin replied, "I bet you're glad he's only got human fangirls now, eh?"

"Hmph. I'll prove to Kurama someday that I am the ultimate bishounen! Just you wait, Youko, the day shall come soon!" Shishi stated, a mad gleam in his eyes.

And to Kurama's house they went, as thoughts of fangirls and bishounen contests dancing through Shishi's vain head.

In Reikai, Koenma was at his office desk, writing busily. Shizuru stood behind him and watched. When they had arrived, they ignored the onis' pleas for Koenma to get back to work and shut themselves in the god's office, away from everything else. After discussing the matter, it was decided that the easiest way to do this was to send King Enma a report of the past days' events followed by a request to stay at Happy Island. Rather than face his father, Koenma opted for the easier way out by simply sending a message.

As she watched the god write, Shizuru's mind began wandering. She didn't belong in Reikai at all, with its onis, ferry girls, and gods. What right did she, a mere human, have to be here? And Koenma was hoping to marry her? Undoubtedly, that meant she would become a goddess and live her immortal life alongside him in Reikai.

But was that really what she wanted? She did have a life on Earth - family and friends to visit, a job to do, a home to live in. To abandon everything for a man she hardly knew or loved? Shizuru wasn't a hopeless romantic, ready to change her entire life for the sake of love. Many girls would kill for the chance to marry a god, but not her. She was satisfied with being simply Shizuru - the ningen woman with occasional run-ins with the supernatural and the caretaker of her brother, Kuwabara.

"Shizuru?" asked Koenma..

The girl jolted out of her thoughts and focused her attention on the present, realizing she hadn't been paying any attention to Koenma for the last few minutes. "Yeah?"

"I just sent the message to my father. All we have to do now is wait for a reply," Koenma told her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You seem... distracted." The god stared at her intently, wondering about her well-being.

"Oh, I was just thinking... Koenma, if we fell in love and got married, what would happen then?"

"The honeymoon, of course!"

"After that?"

" What do you mean?"

"Where would I live? What would my job be? What kind of life would I lead then?"

"Oh... well, I'm not sure. I don't remember the last time a god married a human."

"Then our relationship would be unusual?"

"No, gods have had affairs with humans since ancient times. It's just... gods dislike marrying humans. I assume it's because a lot of humans don't even believe in the existence of Reikai or Makai."

"What would happen to me if I married you?" Shizuru asked, plowing on with her questioning.

"Well, you would probably be given a choice - become an immortal and live in Reikai, or live out your days in Ningenkai and then live with me during your afterlife."

"Oh, I see..." Shizuru muttered, considering the options. The latter was more desirable, but would she find someone else to love by then? It was a difficult decision.

"Are you worried about it?" Koenma asked, concerned.

"A bit..." she admitted.

"Don't be. There's a chance we won't even get along with each other, much less marry. But if that does happen, then everything will be sorted out then. Right now, we should only be focusing on getting to Happy Island before thinking of the 'what ifs'," he reassured her. However, inwardly he couldn't help but hope that they would fall in love and get married.

"True enough." Shizuru smiled at him, slightly surprised at his mature attitude. Well, it seems the godling wasn't as babyish as she thought.

As the waiting dragged on, the two made small talk. Their discussion included a broad range of subjects, from weather to thoughts of Happy Island. Finally, an oni burst into the office with a reply.

"Koenma-sama!" the oni said. "Your father wants to see both of you right away!"

"Nani?!" Koenma asked, shocked. Why hadn't he simply written back?

"Hurry, Koenma-sama! He doesn't seem very happy, and it's best to not make him wait!"

The god and Shizuru glanced at each other. This was quite unexpected, to say the least. Without another word, the oni rushed them away to see King Enma...

Meanwhile, Kurama, Touya, and Yukina were at the fox's house. Upon arriving, they found a frantic Shiori in Kurama's bedroom. She had only entered to check on her son, only to find three unconscious teens on the floor!

Kurama couldn't believe he had forgotten that his family was supposed to come home so soon! Thinking quickly, he reassured her, "No, no, they don't need an ambulance. They're just three poor, homeless teens that I invited to spend the night. They must be very tired, so it's best not to disturb them."

"Oh! Those poor kids! Is there anything I can do?"

"Not at the moment, but I'll tell you when they need something, okay?"

"All right, then," Shiori said, albeit reluctantly. Then, with a goodbye, she left the room.

"That was... interesting," commented Touya. "Those three will be furious if they know you called them homeless."

"Yes, well, let's not tell them then," Kurama replied.

Then without further ado, it was time to wake the three. Kurama approached them apprehensively, not quite sure he was ready to face an angry Keiko...

Hiei and Botan were still stuck in the closet. All was silent as Hiei considered their options and Botan simply pondered the thoughts and actions of her beloved fire demon.

Suddenly, the ferry girl broke into giggles. Slightly annoyed, Hiei glanced at her and asked what was so darn funny.

"I just thought of the perfect way to compare you and Yukina!" she exclaimed, excited over her idea.

The fire demon wasn't amused. "Really..."

"Yeah, you two are like ice cream and french fries! Cold and hot; sweet and salty. Well, you're more sour than salty, but..." Botan explained. "Anyways, you're complete opposites that just go together perfectly!"

"Ice cream does not go with french fries."

"Yes it does. You're just too stubborn to admit I've come up with the perfect metaphor."

A small sigh escaped the demon. He needed to get out of here before her idiocy rubbed off on him. "Okay, that's it. Ferry girl, try to force the door open. If you press your weight against it, it won't be too hard."

"But, I can't! It'll NEVER work!" she replied. "Although, maybe if... no, never mind..."

"What?!"

"If you cured me, then I could probably open it no problem!"

Hiei would do anything in his power to avoid that. It's not so much the kissing that bothered him, but what may happen. If they were to kiss and he was cured, then...

There would be no way he could deny he was in love with Botan.

And when it came to those human-ish feelings, denial was pretty much the only response Hiei had.

"What do you say, Hiei? I know you won't get anything from it, but at least I'll be cured, right?" Botan reasoned, feeling hopeful. If anything could motivate him, it would be the prospect of escaping.

This was a bad idea... a horrible, crazy idea that made Hiei shudder... He knew something bad would happen, but there was nothing else that could be done.

Kiss her, and they might both be cured, which meant they could escape.

Reject the idea and be stuck here until who-knows-when, plus stay chibi for a long, long time.

He had come to Fate's fork in the road, and it was time for Hiei to choose his destiny.

"Fine!" he blurted out before he could think about it any more.

"Really?" Botan stared at him wide-eyed.

"Yes! Just... kiss me and get it over with!"

Nervously, Hiei watched as Botan moved closer, then leaned towards him. Their lips touched for a few seconds, and then the ferry girl, not wanting to make him more uncomfortable, pulled away.

For a while, nothing happened. But then, to Botan's surprise, they both began to grow... However, before Botan could say anything about it, they realized they had forgotten one thing about the pills: when they transform, it makes them fall unconscious for hours as their bodies got used to its new form.

The pair's last thoughts before fainting were that Hiei had been cured, which meant they were truly in love! For the ferry girl, this meant the fairy tale ending she had only dreamed of. But for the fire demon, this was his worst nightmare...

I apologize for how long I took to write this, and the shortness of the Kurama/Touya/Yukina scene. I'm trying my best! And I promise the next chapter will be posted sometime soon! (As in, within the year.... I'm sooo slow....)