Means to an End

Botan was slumped before the grave of the life she had taken. She sort of wished that Hiei would have yelled at her for doing something so horrific to his one chance at happiness. Oh well she deserved it for being so weak, so easily taken over by darkness. She knew that she would never be the same for now she was a killer, she was not the Botan everyone loved and cared for. She was now one of the many demons they would hunt. She deserved to be locked up in spirit jail.

"Oh Nakia, I am so sorry." She whispered, "you saved Hiei back there and I know that doesn't make things better but I will find a way to make it up to you and bring you back." Botan looked down noticing something glow with the light of the sun. She picked up a few redish gems. "Oh no Hiei, I did this to you." she said putting the tears gems down. "I made you cry."

The Temple

"Okay so you said Botan wanted to meet us here." Yusuke said jadedly "where is she?"

"She will be here shortly, calm yourself." Kurama reasoned, perhaps he shouldn't have let her confront Hiei on her own. But if he knew Hiei and he did, then Hiei would not have harmed her…at least not physically.

"Hn." Hiei appeared before them and they stood in shock. Some how, if it were possible he seemed darker, sadder and angry. "What the hell, just ask that…"woman" to show us where this Haru guy is so I can kill him."

"Whoa now Hiei, we cant just go off killing people for no reason." Kuwabara said, "This isn't even your fight."

"Baka! It is my fight. That bastard took something from me and he will not live to regret it." Hiei said

"Hiei, I know how you feel, but killing the first person you see won't help." Kurama said and Hiei shot him a dark glare.

"Did we miss something?" Yusuke asked.

Just as it was thought that the tension couldn't get any higher Botan walked up the steps of the temple and looked down at the ground so as not to see the hateful stare of Hiei.

"It's about time you showed up." Yusuke said. "What is it you have to tell us?" Just as Yusuke ended the last question a dark cloud of smoke surrounded Botan and when it cleared Haru was standing next to her.

Botan backed up and shivered in fear. What was going on here?

"Ah, good job Botan my sweet. No that you have all four of them in one spot I can stop them for good." Haru said and help out a hand to them a dark energy flowed into his hand like a river trying to break free of fallen rocks.

The four Boys looked at Botan in pain and confusion and slight anger. How could she have turned on them this way?

Botan's POV

They looked at me, the looks given to a child rapist or something. Like I was the scum of the earth. The deepest and darkest form of betrayal but I had nothing to do with this. "Botan, how could you turn on us?" came Yusuke's hurt question. I shook my head, No "I didn't…" my words were cut off by Haru's energy rising causing my throat to catch my breath.

"See fox, now it feels? To be betrayed by a loved one." Hiei said darkly. I wanted nothing more than to slap him for even suggesting that I would do such a thing. Then I looked at Kurama, surely he would trust me, surely he knew that this wasn't what I had planned.

His eyes were colorless and had not shine for he was hurt and sad. Like the others. "Well, I see it now, I never did save you did I? You were only trying to get close to us again so you could lure us to one place." Kurama shook his head and turned away just as Haru's magic confined them to a black bubble. They were trapped in a barrier with no light, no way in, no way out.

Kurama. Kurama, no. How had things come this far? Maybe she should have left the missions to them. They were harder than she thought. Maybe she couldn't take care of herself. Maybe she should ask Koenma to let her move on, on into the world of the dead.

Normal POV

"Why have you done that Haru?" Botan asked with pleading eyes.

"They have turned you against me, despite my power. And you wanted to help them so I had to stop them for your sake. Not come with me…" Haru said dragging her away.

Dark Bubble

Hiei was slashing at the walls of the barrier finding that his efforts meant nothing he sat down. "That Bitch…" He said

Kurama gasped a bit but nodded "well what do we do now?"

"What? The great Kurama, giving up?" Yusuke said, "yeah we will get out of this and we will…" Yusuke gulped at what he had to say next. "Get rid of Botan," he said

"Wow." Kuwabara breathed, "Who knew that she would turn out to be our enemy? I guess one of us will have to do it. I can't you guys." he sighed

"I will kill her." Hiei said and the others looked at him. None, not even Hiei, wanted to kill her. Somehow when se was around they felt better, helped and happy. She had a way of bringing that out in them. "The old Botan is dead, this Botan is merely a shell and must be killed."

"If she would have just told us about her mission in the first place, we could have stopped this…" Yusuke ended