Saeka324: Bleh....sorry it took me so long to update. My sister told me I was spending too much time on the computer and I needed to go have a life. Erm, she also threatened to unplug the computer, so I went away and had a life, lol. She said that ff.net was loading spyware on the computer (--wouldn't surprise me--), and was making it slow. O.o (--stares at computer made in 1989, and has a Pentium One processor--) Pssh, yeah, right. She just kicked me off so she could use the computer and not have a life for a few days either. 0o;; So, having a life shouldn't take the erm (--cough--) two weeks it did for me to update, right? Yeah, well, that is right. You see, my birthday happened somewhere in that time, and my dad bought me Prince of Persia: Sands of Time for our xbox. Needless to say, because the game is so good and it had a cool story line, I, uh, didn't have a life for about five days until I beat the game. Speaking of which, if anybody has a copy of that game, what in the hell was up with the damn ending??? How dumb was that?? I mean, c'mon Ubisoft, I know you wanna leave room for a sequel in such, but (--sniffs--) I WANTED TO SEE FARAH AND THE PRINCE GET MARRIED, DAMMIT!!!

Anyway, (--back to the regular Saeka-chan--) After I beat the (--bleeped--) up game, THEN, I decided to come back to the story, lol. I PROMISE THOUGH, CAUSE I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER, I'LL MAKE THIS CHAPTER LONG! Though that might take a bit longer too, cause I have the attention span of a rodent and can barely watch TV for more than fifteen minutos before I get bored.

H'anyways, tank you to all the wonderful people who reviewed!! YAYNESS!! And erm, (--coughs expertly--) I promise for real that it really will make sense in this schapiter! INQUISITIVE PEOPLE ROCK, DISTANT VOICE!! (--high fives for inquisitive people--) And, well, we're just gonna assume Yuseke is dead right now. I don't feeling like dealing with him at the moment.

I'm also gonna take Hfkhan23 advice and make Botan and Hiei get together (-- because I'm madly in love with that pair--) and have some Kurama/Botan thingies happen too. And uh, I promise it'll happen in this chapter too.

TANK YOUS TO ALL THE WONDERFUL REVIEWERS!! (--hands out cookies--)

Well. (--cracks knuckles--) I've promised a lottta things were going to happen in this schapiter, so, uh, I guess its gonna be kinda long. H'okay, let's get this show on the road.

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Chapter Three: Parties Galore

Botan's POV:

Looking at myself in the mirror, I felt overdone. (--damn, I've been staring at this sentence for like, an hour. I'm gonna go watch Kill Bill. Maybe that will give me inspiration--) Okay, after some thinking and an hour and a half of watching Japanese gang people get cut in half by Uma Thurman, I now know what to do. n.n. Let's start this over again. Don't be surprised if it sounds random.

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The REAL Chapter Three: In the Lonely Glow of Morning

The warm sounds of midday enveloped Botan like a gentle summer breeze. This was her favorite time of day. The time of day when morning and evening melded together to form a splendid musical array sounds and visuals. Everything seemed perfect in the glowing light of noon. The sun shone cheerfully into her room, making her light blue hair shine as the sun warmed her body. Leaning out against the windowsill, Botan smiled dreamily. The gentle breeze lifted her hair off her neck, causing the sounds and smells from outside to float around loftily in her room. She drank in the summer smells and noises: the laughter of the children playing on the street, the calming smell of the magnolia tree in front Mamoru's house.

She frowned. Mamoru. The name seemed like a bucket of cold water on her peaceful mood. He was trouble from the first day I saw him, Botan thought ruefully. Strutting around Koenma's office like he owned it, telling him exactly what the Shadow Lord wanted and was going to do. I remember walking into the room, and seeing him bent over a map, trying to fill Koenma's head with nonsense and battle tactics. Mamoru shimmied and slimed his way up the corporate ladder of Spirit World, doing whatever he felt possible to get to the very top. And once more, she thought angrily, he betrayed Koenma's friendship. My Koenma-sama.

Suddenly, the warming light of midday didn't appeal to her so much as it did before. Grimacing at the shrill laughter of a child, she pulled the large bay windows closed, clutching at her forehead. Don't think about it, she urged herself as she perched uncertainly on the edge of her bed. That will only make it worse. Trying to her mind off things, Botan got up and began to pace the bedroom. Tonight's the night. Ripping open the closet door, she saw a selection of dresses hanging oh so unobtrusively. With a shaky hand, she reached out and touched a crisp, blue-colored one. Snatching her hand back as if the dress bit her, she frowned. There was something about the color, she mused, something that reminded her of a sinister evil.

"Botan, I—"

The door banged open. Botan gasped, and her whipped around. There, standing in the doorway, was a tall, dark figure. His eyes glowed and eerie blue as he reached into his robes, and pulled out a gun. He cocked it, and aimed it straight at Koenma. "Die you slimy son of a bitch," he gritted out.

"No!" Botan screeched.

A shot rang out. Koenma was dead.

Gasping on a sob, she clutched her head and tried to still the feral beating of her heart. Her knees gave way under her, and sweat broke out on her brow as she tried to gulp air in and out of her lungs. That blue, that cold dark blue of a winter's sky, was the eye-color of Koenma's killer. Why must it come back to haunt me? Botan thought as she groped for the door handle. Her chest heaving, she somehow managed to pull herself back up. Its part of my past now, no matter how dim and shadowy that past may be. Swallowing her tears, she reached out and grabbed the treacherous dress. Holding it between her fingers as if it were a dead rat, she moved over to the far side of the room and chucked it out the window.

That chapter of my life's closed now. She told herself again as she watched the dress flutter down to the street. No more, will I think of his eyes when I see the golden color of sunlight, or how they crinkled up at the edges when he found something amusing. No more, will I think of his beautiful and delicate smile when I see someone smile themselves. No more, will I think of his huge and loving heart whenever I see someone bend out of their way to help another person. No more, will I liken the soothing sound of his voice to the way the wind ruffles the trees.

No more.

A tear slid down her cheek as she closed the windows shut again. No more. Feeling weary and tired, Botan ran some water for a bath, and began to get ready for Mamoru's party.

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Later that Night

Placing an uncertain hand on the polished mahogany banister, Botan nervously looked over the large crowd of people that had filled Mamoru's house for the night. The women all wore attractive cocktail dresses, the men encased in prim black suits. Mamoru's home itself had been transformed during the few short hours it took for Botan to get ready: the cool wooden paneling of the room shining with golden highlights from candles, the large bay windows reflecting the beautiful silver light from the stars, with every spec of dust cleaned up by a careful hand so that no corner of the house could be considered "dirty". The sound of laughter and the tinkling of china lured her down the stairs, though her hands trembled finely from what she was about to do. As a steward swept by with a platter of wine- filled glasses, she hastily snatched one and tried to calm her nerves. Easy does it, Botan, she told herself as she made her way around the party. You know what you're supposed to do. Do it! Spotting an impeccably dressed Mamoru around a large crowd of people, she drained her glass and set it on a side table. Straightening out her dress as she moved over towards the group, she noticed her hands were shaking slightly.

"Ah, Botan!" Mamoru grabbed her arm and dragged her over towards the group. "You are looking most ravishing tonight as always, my darling." As if noticing what she had pulled on not so long ago for the first time, she looked down at her dress. She had carefully selected a formfitting black dress that had been trimmed with pink sating around the bottom and top, and edging the waistline to form a flippy bow at the side. Her long blue hair hung in gentle waves to her waist. Teardrop earrings and a sliver chain that hung around her neck completed the outfit. Though Botan quite didn't notice it, she did look as Mamoru had described her: ravishing. "Botan dear," Mamoru said, gesturing over to a very beautiful and bored looking woman, "This is Lady Winters, she's the wife of that fine gentleman over there, who oversees the troops in battle."

Plastering a fake smile on her face, Botan offered graceful hellos to the small group of people. Not so oddly enough, they all seemed to be taking a large part in the resistance. And Botan had to pretend she was happy to see every one of them. She noticed the man standing next to the Lady Winters had cool, confronting blue eyes. Those eyes...she mused. The eyes of Koenma's killer! It was all she could do not to pull out the dagger she had stuck in her dress and cut the man into pieces as thin as winter sunshine. "Simply dreadful," Winters, the man with those calculating blue eyes said in a crisp tone as he sipped his wine. "And to think that people actually support his ideas."

"Most unbecoming," a tall man who arranged battle tactics pointed out. "The idea that he wants to rid the world the humans is simply preposterous. Dumb and weak they may be, and utterly insignificant to life, but still, I believe it is out job to protect them."

"Now gentleman," Mamoru began, "I do quite believe that this fight is for a reason other than saving the pathetic humans. We are nonetheless saving ourselves? No need to try and be gallant in this kind of situation."

"Of course, Mr. Mamoru, but you do understand that if he assumes power it will just be then end of the world but of every thing we see? Everyone who was against him will be put in chains and forced to work as their slaves. Still, we must try to be able to protect the humans as much as we can. They are here for us to protect, not to pay the price of our failures," said a poetic looking man elegantly dressed in a black tux.

"Well, if you ask me, this whole war is part of the Shadow Lord's pathetic attempt to be the dominant male," said Winters.

"Crudely put, Winters, but I guess you are marginally correct," Mamoru agreed.

"You tell me, Mamoru, would it be so hard if he would just see that his efforts are pointless? All they would do would be, as you all quite know, nothing. Didn't his mummy ever tell him 'you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit'?" Winters mocked.

"Why does he even want to take over both worlds?" asked Lady Winters, who believed the whole war was pointless because it put a damper on her use of her husband's money.

The group chuckled. "The usual reasons, my lady," a stocky man ventured. Botan remembered him being introduced simply as Aki, who was in charge of rallying the remaining demons and apparitions for battle. "Dominance, power, money, all of those things I presume."

"Excuse me, gentleman," Botan finally interjected, "but I think that he's doing this for something other than the shallow reasons you mentioned, Mr. Aki."

Frowning, Aki looked unhappily towards her. "What do you mean by that?"

Gulping, Botan tried to think up a good reason. "Well," she began, "I quite imagine that perhaps he's doing it because he believes the way Spirit World is run is wrong."

There were loud gasps and one of the men choked on his wine. "Excuse me," he said in an outraged tone, "but do you understand what you're saying?"

"You must of heard wrong," another one said in a chiding tone, as if he were talking to a child. "I don't think you quite understand the situation, Ms. Botan. You see, the Shadow Lord can't be doing this simply because he doesn't like Spirit World or how things were done, he could have simply filed a complaint. You must not understand, dear. One only does the things he does if they are severely disturbed, not merely upset."

Welcoming anger began to replace the nervous feeling that had ridden Botan all evening. "Perhaps," she said through clenched teeth, "He had already filed that complaint."

Mamoru chuckled, and lightly stroked her arm. It was all Botan could do not to cringe as his clammy and unwanted touch ran up and down her arm. "She's completely clueless gentlemen, she doesn't know what's going on. After all, she is a women."

If everything they had said before hadn't angered her, that last remark certainly did. Jerking angrily away from him, Botan scowled at the group of people. "No, I do believe you're right, gentlemen," she gritted out, "he did not file that complaint. He was merely too much a man to approach the problem as you gentlemen probably would never do."

Aki flushed profusely. "You are most trying my patience, Ms. Botan. I find it hard to keep reminding myself that you are a lady and should be treated as such. If not a very dumb and misguided lady."

It was Botan's turn to flush. "The Shadow Lord is doing what he is doing for a reason. I believe that it would be slander to call him all the nasty terms you men did. Maybe you're just afraid that he will win this battle, and every last one of you will have to pay for your sin against him. History is written by the winners, gentlemen, and perhaps it is that very reason why you are afraid to lose this war. If and when the Shadow Lord does win, I for one, will not be stupid enough to deny him the right to sit and the throne."

"If I am hearing you right," Mamoru said slowly, "you are inquiring that the Shadow Lord has every right to be ruler as our Lord Koenma did."

Botan shuddered at hearing the name, though she quickly controlled it. "And I do believe that you have heard me correctly."

"Good God!" someone uttered in shocked accents.

"She must be mad!" someone else said.

The reference to the shaky board of members had some desired effect on the people that had crowded around at the first notice of raised voices. After all, they were losing a war, and most put the fault solely on their shoulders. The poetic looking man stared at her with his mouth agape, and Lady Winters excused herself with a sniff. The others though, pressed closer still to hear what was being said.

"You're wrong, Ms. Botan," the stocky man asserted, puffing out his chest until he reminded her of a pigeon. "You really are quite wrong in your assessment."

"Oh, but I quite beg to differ," Botan fired back in a bit off tone. "The Shadow Lord has fought quite bravely for what he believes in, and is trying to make something right in the world. Kings should not be appointed by divine right, ladies and gentlemen, as a ningen king Louis XIV once exclaimed, but by how they find a way to fit themselves into the world. I believe that the Shadow Lord is making every possible thing he can to do that, and he has my support."

A hush had fallen over the room now, and all eyes were staring in her direction. Many guests were angry; others shocked. Winters, who had remained quiet through most of the discourse, mainly because he was too shocked to speak, finally chose that moment to say something. "Ms. Botan, I beg you, please—do not say any more."

She looked boldly at him. "And, pray tell, why not, sir? Is it because what I say you find unpleasant but true?"

"Good God, no!" His eyes shifted left, then right. "It's just...well...others are listening."

"And as they should be!" she declared. She smiled, no more than a barring of teeth. Strangely enough, she saw him catch his breath. Yes, he was most definitely listening to all she had to say. At least for this moment. "But, certainly I hope most desperately that there are others here who would listen to me and share my opinion."

"Yet the war," someone said.

"Well, I believe it's a waste on our time. We are getting exactly what we deserve for patronizing people so. And it is time that all who run our world realize that now. People must understand that our dear King Yama cannot rule us forever. It simply is not possible. We don't need the pointless war to drain our resources and money. It is obvious that our Koenma was fighting for a lost cause." Oh, how it pained her to say that!

A well-dressed man whom she had noticed earlier spoke in the silence that followed her words. "I think, madam, that what you are saying borders on treason."

"You are mistaken, sir, for I have said nothing more than the truth, and have offered my opinion where it was just due to these men." The men quickly stepped back when she gestured to them, obviously fearing that they would be associated with her.

"No, Miss Botan, I believe it is you who are mistaken. Your words are treasonous, and cowardly as well. I think it is time you left."

Her hand itched to slap him. Somehow, she managed to restrain herself by gnashing her teeth and digging her fingernails into her palms. "Leave?" she gritted out. "Merely for just expressing my opinion?"

"An opinion, which is highly unpopular at the moment madam."

"The truth often is. It is an opinion," she continued darkly, "that is much in favor with some people."

"All of which who are not present at this party," the stranger pointed out, "and your opinions are severely out of line. It is your opinion that shows how weak you are in going to the Shadow Lord's side."

"Righto," Botan said lowly. "And I assume it is you who decides what it is and what it is not to be treasonous." She was growing quite angry now, and began to wonder absently who this man was.

"Hardly that, madam, but I do know something about politics—something, I fear, that you do not." There was very nervous laughter at this. The man's lips were smiling, though his eyes were violent and stormy.

Botan drew herself up furiously. Her back stiffened to be ramrod straight. Turning around to Mamoru, she gnashed out, "Thank you for a pleasant evening. I had a wonderful time. I'm so glad you invited me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I wish most to return to my home."

Mamoru nodded, still his cool and calculating self. "Of course. The pleasure is all mine."

Some primal instinct told Botan she had to flee. Nervously, she looked toward the door, and made her way around the masses of people. All of them parted instantly, shamelessly muttering behind their hands things like. "....treacherous twit...." And ".....Koenma told me the girl could never be trusted..." and more importantly, "She is a woman. What do you expect...?" At her wits end, Botan grabbed a random coat from the aghast butler, opened the door, and fled into the cool night air.

A cool breeze blew along the street, and she breathed deeply, feeling incredibly shaky now that she was alone. She stared down at her hands. They were trembling, and she held them against her body in an effort to keep them still. It had been so hard to speak out against the king and son she loved, and to direct all that praise to the very man she hated. It had been so hard to speak out as she had faced the animosity that filled the room. And this was only the first night. What would they think later? Would there be a later? She could not bear to give it thought at the moment. She was just thankful it had been over for the night.

She was almost home when she heard a small rustle in the bushes next to her. Wouldn't that be funny if it was a mass murderer, she thought humorlessly as she stopped to stare at the crackling bushes. It surprised her how much she wished it was, just so that it would end her pain. Depressingly, it turned out to be Mamoru. "Will you just leave me in peace?" she said bitterly as she turned around.

Mamoru chuckled. "I had come to congratulate you on your most marvelous performance. You should be celebrating, my darling. Aren't you happy?" he said mockingly.

Botan scowled angrily. "Oh yes, most happy. I have denied everything I've ever believed in tonight, have made a mockery of myself, dragged my name through the mud, and slandered Koenma sir and his majesty. Yes, I'm just peachy keen!"

Mamoru gently took her hand. Shockingly, he pressed his lips to the back of her palm and murmured, "Please do not be angry with me, my pet. It is all for a greater cause."

Snatching back her hand, Botan furiously rubbed it against her clothing to get rid of the feel of his unwanted touch. "I just want to be left alone," she said desperately. Nonetheless, he placed his cold and unfeeling hands on her shoulders and whispered delicately into her ear, "I was very impressed at how did tonight, my darling. That well-dressed gentleman who asked you to leave was Yama's personal advisor. No doubt the news will be passed onto him."

Burying her face in her hands, Botan felt a massive wave of pain. Her heart clenched in dread, and she feared she would begin to cry again. "Oh, Mr. Mamoru...I just want the hurting to stop. I want to go home. And I want to be left alone." Mamoru laughed gently into her hair. She shuddered, but had not the strength to pull away from his unrewarding caresses.

"And I want for you to be happy. You are doing what he would want," he said, tracing the elegant lines of her neck with his fingertips. Her shoulders tensed angrily, and she pulled away, her violet eyes glowing with fury.

"Don't you ever think that you would know what would make him happy," she bit out angrily, her eyes beginning to shine with something other than rage. Spinning on her heels, she ran the rest of the way to her house. And what made her fury and hurt complete was the way his laughter floated back to her.

She itched to kill him.

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Botan attended two more parties that week, and each one she became more bold and outspoken towards the Shadow Lord and his cause. And every time she left the party, she felt more and more drained and hurt. Soon, her invitations stopped coming completely. She received loads of hate letters and other such things, and every morning, Mamoru would stop by and give her a folder full of newspaper clippings slandering her and call her all sorts of nasty names for what she was doing.

Then, five days after the last invitation she received, her efforts began to pay off. When she walked down to the market one day, she heard something from the people she passed. People she once called friends didn't even return her happy greeting. Others saw her and promptly began to shamelessly whisper things behind her hands. At least those people were polite enough just to whisper. There were times when she feared to leave to house because of what other people did. Then, when she arrived there at the market, the man refused to serve her. Somewhat put off, she wandered back home, then noticed an official looking letter lying on the side table by the front door.

With a trembling hand, she nervously picked it up and slit the envelope open. Pulling out a single sheet of paper, she quickly unfolded it and looked at it for a moment before deciding to read it. The signature at the bottom was King Yama's. She scanned the lines quickly, then reread and reread the letter until its numbing words sank into her being. The letter asked her to resign her position as Pilot of the River Styx, and commanded her to leave Spirit World. She was "putting a damper on the war effort" as the letter so daintily put it. She had two weeks to put her things in order, and, if she had not left in that time, the King had no choice but to throw her into jail.

The letter fluttered out of her hand like a leaf flying on a gentle autumn breeze. Well, Botan, Mamoru's fool-proof plan has paid off in spades. I've accomplished what I've been told to do. Why does it leave me feeling so empty and cold? I'm doing this for a good cause, aren't I?

Aren't I?

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She stayed in the hallway until the light left, when she wandered upstairs to her room and began to haphazardly throw her belongings into bags. She was alone, and no one could possibly feel what she felt. After she managed to pack up all her belongings, she heard a sharp rap on the door. Sighing, she walked over, and pulled it open it to see Mamoru standing there with a young girl on his arm. The girl was beautiful, with large and haunted golden eyes, and long blonde hair reaching well past her waist. Her skin was pale and delicate, and she looked every inch the perfect woman.

"Botan," Mamoru began in a cool voice, his hand rubbing slowly up and down the girl's back. "I have come for your resignation. Your broom, if you please."

"What....?" Botan asked in a lost voice, frowning deeply.

"This is Miki, Botan, and she's going to take over your job of ferrying people to Spirit World. And we need the object of transportation."

"But...I...don't understand..." That broom was given to me by King Yama himself. He said it was mine forever...

"The broom, bitch," Miki said harshly, her golden eyes scowling with hate at Botan. "I need the damn broom. It isn't yours anymore."

Slightly taken aback by Miki's callous words, it took a moment for Botan to recover and fetch her broom from where it rested trustingly against the door. The wood felt cool and familiar in her hand. She stared at the smooth a gleaming paddle for a moment, trying to ingrain the feel of it into her memory. Her heart clenched at the thought of giving it over to the cruel Miki, whom she knew would never treat it as kind and gentle as she did. It's just a broom, Botan, she told herself as she passed it over to Miki, who promptly snatched it out of her hand. Oddly, a tear trickled down her cheek.

"Thank you, Botan. I do believe, that it is best time you left now. By the by, I noticed this on your front doorstep," Mamoru said, handing over a small parcel to her. "And, I bid you adieu, my dear Botan. I can't say it was a pleasantry working with you, but I daresay Miki will make up for it," he said, smiling down into Miki's eyes, who glowed at the fact of having Mamoru next to her. He kissed her nose gently, and Miki giggled.

Botan made a sound of disgust. "Get a room," she said nastily, and slammed the door on the treacherous Mamoru and his little whore. It sickened her to think that that was where the future of Spirit World would be. Leaning against the door, she pressed a hand to her forehead. And wept.

Bitterly.

It was some time later that Botan finally got around to opening the parcel Mamoru had left at her feet. Sniffing, she grabbed some scissors and hacked the package open. It was filled to the brim with foam peanuts, with a manila envelope resting delicately on top like a graceful dove. A line of bafflement showed up between her brows as she reached for the envelope. Curiously undoing the latch, she opened the folder and pulled out a thick packet stapled hastily together. A letter lay on the top. Scanning quickly for content, she gasped and almost dropped the letter. Gulping and with trembling hands, she reread the letter again, this time more slowly.

Dear Kind Friend,

The good Lord has heard of your plight in Spirit World, and would request your presence to help aide in the uprising against the tyrants who lay waste to our beautiful world. We would most kindly appreciate it if you came as soon as possible, so we will not have to give up your accommodations to another more willing person. You will find everything you need encased in the envelope, including tickets and personal transportations to get to the good Lord's realm. We will not name where it is to you for secrecy's sake, but rest assured that you will be taken care of on your trip. We trust that you intend to leave Reikai, and we have provided an escort to pick you up and transport you to an airport in due time. From there, you will travel to Tokyo International, where you will again be picked up, this time to be escorted by train to a private airport. You fly to the realm, and finally, your escort will leave you there to be in the hands of good Lord's personal assistance, of which who will take you to your accommodations and brief you about your job. The good Lord has informed himself that you will have plenty to keep you busy. We are ever so eagerly awaiting your presence in the good Lord's realm...

THE COUNCIL OF FOLLOWERS

With an angry sound, Botan took the letter in her hands in rent it into tiny pieces. "This is what your worth to me, you!" She yelled furiously at the pieces on the floor. And, to finish it, she stomped on them. "There." Groaning and wiping back a stray piece of hair that come undone, she delicately picked up the envelope again. She flipped through the packet and noticed her flight times from Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta to Tokyo Int. Sighing; she adamantly threw them on to the side table. She was just about to leave when she noticed another envelope, this one small and white undetectable. Her name had been written on the outside in a flowing script. Almost questioning herself if it was there, she carefully picked up the letter. Holding it between her thumb and forefingers as if it were a rat to be disposed of, she gently pried open the letter.

Unfolding the small letter inside, Botan looked over the hastily written letter. The name at the bottom almost made her faint.

Dearest Botan,

I know that you must be going through some difficult times at moment. I have eagerly been keeping up with your exploits in Spirit World from what newspapers I could scrounge up. You must be hurting terribly. I'm not sure why you chose to take part in this, but I'm sure the Shadow Lord will be happy to accommodate you. I will be picking you up and taking you to the realm, and I most eagerly await to see your happy face. You must give my regards to Koenma, Botan, for I could not make his burial. I know how much he meant to you.

Looking forward to seeing you again

--Kurama

The letter in her hand floated to the floor. Gasping on a sob, she quickly groped for the wall, feeling her legs could not hold her up anymore. Kurama, She though as she slid to the floor with her back against the wall. Drawing in hasty breaths, she drew her knees up to her chest. I'll be seeing Kurama again. Giving into the temptation, she buried her face in her knees and wept for her friend. As the clock in her entrance hall began to chime five in the morning, all that could be heard in the empty rooms of Botan's home was the gentle sounds of her tears. If anyone had come across her, do you think they would think her desolate, or even mad with grief? It was happiness Botan cried for, deliriously happy. Did it cross her mind what Kurama was doing being so close to the Shadow Lord? She cared not. It didn't matter. She had a friend again.

A friend, who could share her grief. And as the sun began to cast its warming radience over the land, Botan realized, that the glow of morning was never going to be quite so lonely ever again.

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Botan finished gathering her stuff together the very next day, and within hours, a tall and lean man appeared at her door. He told her his name was Hitori, and he would be her escort to ningenkai. They traveled in compainionable silence, and Botan soon found that she was grateful for the tall and silent Hitori. He was a loyal companion, and was there whenever she needed to talk to someone. He left her in Atlanta, seeing her off on her plane to Tokyo. Promising he would meet her in the realm, he left. The flight there had been unremarkable, to say the least, boring even. She was grateful to get off the plane. This time, a women, short and jubliant with laughing gray eyes picked her up, saying her name was Mina. She enjoyed Mina's happiness and endless joy, for it was a breath of fresh air on her desloate mood. Quickly befriending the girl, she told her all about her time in Reikai leading up to when she left.With a tearful goodbye, Mina saw her off from a private airport some hundred miles from Tokyo, again promising she would see her again soon. She boarded a small plane and flew south, though she did not know where. The flight was short, only an hour and a half, though it seemed like forever. Botan was chomping at the bit to see Kurama, and, as often happens when one wants time to fly by, it seemed to dragged down. Finally though, the endless plane flight finally came to the end.

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Looking out of the window as the plane began to descend, Botan saw the streamers of sunset across the ningenkai sky. It was a glorious sight, filled with a bright and wonderful colors, dancing delicately across the sky. Gently the plane touched down to the runway.

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Kurama's POV

She greeted me as if I had come back from the dead. I had waited for her on the small runway, and, when the doors of the tiny play opened, she flew down the steps and into my arms. I had forgotten how soft and gentle she felt, or how her tears seemed to warm everything they touched. She held me for I know not how long before she lifted her head and smiled a tearful smile. Her lovely amthyst eyes glittered beautifully, like a gem's radience as a light hits it. I wanted to stare into them forever, to obsorb her very presnece into my skin. She always brought a cheerful air with her, as her nature was gentle and kind. And, grasping her hand, I led her toward a car, where we drove off to meet the Shadow Lord himself.

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The Shadow's Lord Realm

Hiei's POV

I had recieved Kurama's letter sometime that morning, describing that he had picked up the girl and was going to bring her straight to her house instead of straight to me. Furiously, I had crumled up the letter. It always surprised me how much emtion I felt where she was concerned. I sat and brooded, wondering why I had called her to my side. Wasn't the whole reason I had adopted this ridiculous job was so that I could rid myself of her once and for all? I had made it a point to forget about her, or how her eyes lit up, or how the sun shone of her hair. Or--dammit, what am I saying? I don't care about her.

I've only called her here so I can rid myself of her once and for all.

Right?

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Saeka324: So, what do you guys think? I already made a ridiculously long author's note at the top, so I won't burdon you with more. I hope you guys liked it! Please.

Anyway, Ja ne,

Saeka324