Chapter Dreizehn

Where are they? Can't they save us? I need them, my heroes but where are they? Bubbles of pain and waves of hurt stabbed their souls, they were gone and nothing could be done to bring them back. The saviors needed a hero. They needed hope. Where are they? Can't they save me? Can't they see that the world needs them, my world needs them?

Botan woke with tears rivering down her face. She reached her hands up to wipe them away but when she saw the absence of the ring she cried harder. It was he, he had come to her. Hiei had taken her last hope from her. She knew that as long as she had that ring she had Hiei's love and as long as she had his love she had hope.

Kurama Knocked on her door for he could hear her silent sobs and smell her tears. She had been so strong and he knew it but he also knew that she was in as much, if not more, pain as they. "Botan please may I come in?" he asked and slid the door open when she ignored him.

"Botan!" His eyes widened as he saw her pain written on her face. He walks over to her and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Hey Kurama." She spoke brokenly

"Botan, What's wrong?" he asked looking at her solemnly

"Hiei." She spoke wiping away her tears violently. "He…" not being able to finish she held up her ring-less hand.

"I see." Kurama slid closer to her and pulled his arms around her. "He is just confused, you should try talking to him. Sometimes you need to be strong toward some people. You know how stubborn Hiei is." Kurama smiled when he heard her giggle in agreement. "We have all been through so much and this might be another, seemingly, impossible mission but as with our other missions, we will get through this." he looked down at his hands,

"I know Kurama but with the deaths…"

"I don't want to say this but we have to let this go. We can't focus like this. We need…sleep." Kurama looked away.

"Oh Kurama." Botan hugged him. "How can we let this go? How can you?" She tried to get him to face her but when she did she saw the farness in his eyes. He wasn't with her anymore. "Kurama? Kurama snap out of it." Botan grabbed his face and shook him lightly, "Please." He was unresponsive. "I know what I have to do. I will save you guys. Then we will be able to save the rest of the world." Botan pulled away from Kurama and left her room.

Outside Botan looked at the graves of her best friends, "Hey guys. I need your help now. Can you believe it…no, I guess not, I always need help." Botan spoke to them as if they were right there in front of her.

Behind Botan stood Yusuke and Kuwabara they looked on as they saw Botan talk to the dead. Soon Kurama and Hiei joined them, watching Botan with curiosity and wonder.

"You see the boys need our help, well my help. Losing you has really made them give up; I have never seen them like this. I guess I don't blame them. I lost someone really close to me too, only the one I lost is still here." Botan fought to hold back her sob, "some how you need to let them know that you want them to save the world, that there is still a reason to live. You would want us to move on and I understand that. They don't." She laughed ironically, "Hard to believe huh? Well I guess I should leave you to rest in peace. Have fun…wherever you are." Botan turned from the graves and gasped.

"You are absolutely right Botan, We were so ready to fight for revenge but when it came down to it, we couldn't, and well I couldn't fight because I believed that there was no reason to fight, nothing to fight for." Yusuke spoke

"Yeah, But there is something to fight for, the world." Kuwabara added.

"You did it Botan." Kurama smiled out at her as if his whole unresponsiveness act was just that, an act.

Botan smiled as Hiei only nodded. "So what do we do now?" Botan asked

"Well Botan lets review what we know so far." Kurama spoke as a drop of rain hit his nose, sliding down to the ground. "Let us get inside first."

-

"We know that Botan has the pacifier and Koenma and Genkai have gone missing. The Dark lord is or has recruited more than half the city into his army." Kurama said.

"So all we gotta do is find him and kill him. How hard can that be?" Yusuke jumped in.

"Think about it Detective. He will, first of all, send his army after us, and though I have no doubt that we can face those odds seeing as how they are all human, but we can't kill Humans remember." Hiei said

"Yeah. So we have to free all the enslaved humans first." Botan smiled, "one of us will have to get in there and see how it's done."

"I'll do it." Kuwabara stood up.

"Sit down before you hurt yourself." Yusuke said

"I will. I'm the oldest." He said

"Actually I am." Kurama spoke.

"Yeah but I've lived longer." Kuwabara said

"Hn." Hiei twitched and it took all he had not to rid the world of the carrot top's stupidity. "Let him." Hiei said and all eyes were on him, "What? I just think that if something happens to him, it would be an acceptable loss." He said

"Hiei! That's not nice." Botan yelled, "all four of you are needed but I do think that Kuwabara should be the one."

Yusuke sighed and nodded, "Okay but once you are in you need to tell us everything. And we will help you escape."

"Duh, Urameshi I ain't stupid."

"I beg to differ."

"Shut up shrimp!" Kuwabara exclaimed

Botan smiled. "My boys are back." She said to herself and tried to break the fight. "I know the lords rounds, so if we want him to catch Kuwabara without him thinking it is a setup we need to make it look like Kuwabara wondered out of the Underground city and he needs a disguise,"

"What did you have in mind?" Kurama asked.