I'm back, and to apologise for the delay it's a DOUBLE update! Also I promised I'd tell you what happened to Hiei and it turns out I couldn't do that with just one chapter… so here you are. Until I know what's going on with this answering reviews malarkey I'm not going to take the risk but thank you all so much for your reviews. Oh and I wanted to ask you, do you think this is good enough to put in my C2? I don't want to put a crappy story in there so unless it's unanimous I won't. I'm going to stop babbling now and let you read this (and Peeka-chan killed my EvilAlterEgo so she can't heckle) and once again reeeeeeeally sorry for the wait.

Do I look like I own Yu Yu Hakusho? Why thank you, but no I don't.

"Botan."

The ferry girl looked up from her agonizing, hastily wiping her tears away. Yusuke was still holding his wife to him, his back to her so that she could not see the expression on his face. His voice was calm.

"I'm sorry that you had to come all this way for nothing."

The leaden weight of her already heavy heart began to drag at her, muting any desperate response she may have made. The hopelessness of the situation had worn away her resolve. She hung her head in defeat. The finality in Yusuke's voice made it clear: there was nothing more she could say. She nodded gently, slowly.

"This was pointless wasn't it? I came looking for Yusuke… I never found him."

She didn't see the pained expression on his face as she said those words.

"Well… it was nice seeing you both."

Without another word the ferry girl walked silently from the room, a strange sense of unreality enveloping her. Automatically she slipped her feet into her sandals, conjuring her oar. Settling herself on the familiar wood, she sat for a moment. This… should not have happened. Not to these people. Her knuckles turned white as her grip tightened on the wood. Why? Why them? The people least deserving of this torment… she could not put this down to fate, for even fate was not this cruel.

"Botan."

She turned abruptly at the quiet voice to see Yusuke standing in the doorway. In the rising moonlight, only half of him was illuminated, the rest drowned in shadow. Yet somehow, the part of him that was illuminated, compared to the shadow just seemed… faded. He was staring at her with a strange look on his face. Was it… regret? Sadness? Resignation? She couldn't tell. She didn't know him anymore.

"I just wanted to say… I'm not the only one of us who's changed."

She could only stare as he stepped back into the shadows of his home, the delicate paper door sliding closed was with a small click of wood on wood. She carefully put the oar down in the silver grass, put her head in her hands and wept silently under the stars.

Kurama stepped lightly down the stairs to where he could see Touya standing waiting for him, and a red and white something lying spreadeagled beside him. He raised a delicate red eyebrow at the sight and shot a sideways glance at the impassive ice shinobi.

"Did you really have to knock him out?"

Touya returned his look with an expression of pure innocence which only served to confirm Kurama's suspicions.

"I didn't knock him out. I tapped him on the head and he fell asleep."

Kurama smiled pleasantly, "Of course."

Touya stood from the lotus position in which he had been resting, stretching and turning his head to stare out of the colourful landscape of Reikai, the River Styx wending its way through the pink and gold fields like a shimmering silver ribbon. This light was something he did not see often and he savoured it. The world of the shinobi, the ninja, was a place of darkness and death. Although, he smiled softly, thinking of Jin's sunny grin and wide mischievous blue eyes, one might not think it. He sighed, turning to Kurama and raising an eyebrow.

"Well?"

Kurama's expression became serious and he looked over the bright plateau, his emerald eyes distant.

"I need to find a few people and deal with some personal matters before I can act on what Koenma has told us."

Touya nodded, "What are you going to do?"

Kurama smiled softly and turned back to the ice master. "I need to beg a favour my friend." Touya searched the fox's face with pupiless eyes. "What do you need?"

Kurama smiled gratefully for a moment before becoming businesslike once more. "I will need you to remain in Ningenkai for a little longer, there will be a place for you to stay where you will be welcome. Heaven knows you both deserve a rest."

"Lead the way," Touya said decisively before glancing downwards. "Although I suppose we ought to wake Jin seeing as we can't actually leave without him…" With a sweep of his hand and a flare of youkai, a fine shower of snow fell gently over his snoring companion.

"JIN! WAKE UP YOU USELESS LUMP OF IRISH SHINOBI!"

"GAH!"

The wind demon jumped at least fifty metres into the air (although unlike many people suffering this sort of reaction after being violently awakened, he actually stayed there) and looked around frantically, ears twitching madly.

"Wha'? Where th' bloody hell am ah?"

"Jin!" Kurama called up, fairly used to this sort of thing, "It's time to go."

The wind shinobi blinked, nonplussed for a minute before grinning widely.

"Did yeh kill 'im?"

Touya looked sidelong at Kurama, also interested in what had become of Koenma. Kurama frowned pensively.

"No… to be fair he isn't entirely to blame... and it would be irritating having the Reikai forces sent after me. I have been… assured by Koenma that he won't breathe a word to his dear father about this little incident. If he does…" The two shinobi didn't need the kitsune to finish the sentence. Jin's grin widened.

"Le's be off then!"

Kurama smiled, "Er… Jin? You still seem to be a little aerially inclined."

Jin blinked. "Eh?"

Touya sighed. "Get down here you moron."

The wind master seemed to notice that he and his friends had been having a shouting match.

"Oh, righ'!" he grinned cheerily, dropping like a stone before stopping just as he hit the ground, the shockwave of his youkai ruffling Kurama's long red hair. Jin flipped upside down, smiling cheerfully.

"So, where we goin'?"

Then he remembered something and flipped upright, pointing an accusatory finger at the stony faced ice master.

"You HIT me!"

Kurama and Touya both sighed.

A sudden movement from the plateau caught all three of the fighters' attention immediately. Jin narrowed his bright eyes, his experienced vision he had gained from centuries of fighting from the skies easily picking out the figure riding what appeared to be an oar.

"Well tha's one fer th' record. Oi, K'rama, looks like tha' blue haired lassie your team used teh see."

"Botan?" Kurama murmured, peering down at the solitary figure. Touya looked at Kurama who had a pensive look on his face.

"Do you want to wait for her?"

Kurama considered this for a moment before nodding.

"I expect Botan has had more contact with our old friends than Koenma has, she may be able to tell us something he couldn't. I have a feeling we're going to need all the help we can get."

Touya nodded. Kurama's hunches were rarely wrong, if ever. Inwardly he knew how unlikely the situation was, two shinobi and the thief Youko Kurama working together, even trusting each other. It was odd how the direst of times could make the most bizarre things come to pass. After all, if there were no troubles then how could heroes be born? He shook his head and kicked himself mentally. He was thinking too much again.

Botan dragged her hand across her eyes again, fighting to keep her oar flying straight. She had nearly been thrown off in her distraction when she came through the dimensional tunnel. Her breathing was ragged, sounding harsh and loud in her own ears. She flew automatically, her mind in a daze, only her deep rooted ferry girl instincts keeping her from drifting away into the vastness of Reikai.

This feeling of utter helplessness, to help either her friends or her world, it tore at her, making her despairing heart ache with anguish. She had been too late; Yusuke could not be saved, and now neither could Reikai. She had failed. The burden on her heart dragged her down, so much so that she didn't notice she had reached land until she hit it a little faster than usual, making her stumble and trip, she closed her eyes and prepared herself for a painful impact, she found she had stopped falling.

Bewildered, she opened her eyes to find herself looking up into big bright blue eyes, twinkling in amusement. A pair of strong arms were wrapped around her shoulders.

"Now ah know a little sumthin' about flyin' lassie an' if yeh don' mind me sayin' tha' was a bloody awful landin'."

She blinked.

"Jin? Jin the wind master!"

The shinobi beamed, looking up and over her head, addressing someone she could not see.

"Will yeh listen teh tha'! A pretty lass knows mah name!"

"Konnichiwa Botan-chan," said a light, amused voice from behind her. Her eyes widened and she leapt up, hardly hoping to believe…

"Kurama!"

The fox demon was slightly surprised when she disentangled herself from Jin and flung herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Oh thank Kami-sama," she buried her head in his shoulder, the tears she had been trying to hold back flowing freely down her face. Jin and Touya looked on, confused. Jin looked slightly put out.

"Hmph, even when yeh save 'em they still go fer the fox," he sulked, "how's tha' fair?"

Kurama gently soothed the distraught ferry girl, "Easy Botan, what's the matter?" The ferry girl didn't reply, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Kurama frowned and led her over to the stairs leading up the gates of the Reikai offices, sitting her down. The ferry girl sat there, sobbing her heart out on Kurama's shoulder, the fox demon holding her in a comforting embrace while Jin fidgeted uncomfortably and Touya waited politely. Finally Botan pulled herself together, sniffing heavily and swiping at the tears still pouring down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she gave a tremulous smile, "we see each other again and I'm bawling my eyes out." She gave a little laugh, staunching her tears with her white sleeve.

"What brings you to Reikai?"

"Personal business," Kurama looked at her with concern in his deep green eyes, "what about you? What's brought all this on?"

Botan smiled faintly, sadly. "Personal business."

Kurama smiled faintly in return. "I see… hmm, how long has been now? Ten years?"

"Mm," Botan stared at her hands, slightly embarrassed. "So… what are you doing back in Reikai? I thought you were looking for Hiei?"

She did not notice the faint shadow pass over Kurama's eyes, "We are."

She blinked and looked up at him again, "Then why – "

"Well, we decided that if we were going to have a reunion," Kurama smiled cheerfully, "then we might as well invite the whole gang."

She stared. "Um… Kurama… you don't mean… I mean… well…"

"We were planning on dropping in on Yusuke and Keiko, it's been such a long time…"

"Kurama, no offence but, don't you think he'll take one look at you guys and Reigun the lot of you?" Botan said worriedly, "I've just come from speaking to him and – oop!"

She clapped her hands over her mouth looking guilty. Kurama shot her a sideways glance, smirking. "Oh? Has our angelic and ever-so-obedient ferry girl been going against Koenma-sama's wishes?"

"N-no… well… maybe… I didn't… that's not the point!" she snapped, flustered, "Yusuke hasn't seen you in ages, and after all, it was you guys who put the word around the demon world that he was dead to stop his enemies looking for him. You did a good job by the way, half of Reikai thinks he's dead too, oh and the rest of Ningenkai."

Kurama scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "Yes, I might have overdone it a tad, but it was so funny! I couldn't help myself."

"…Funny?" Kurama blinked innocently at Botan who had crashed to the ground with a little blinking question mark hovering over her head.

"Whatever is the matter Botan?"

"Oh nothing…" she sat up and looked at him seriously, "But really Kurama, I have been to see him and I tried to persuade him to come back to Reikai… I even told him that Hiei was missing…"

Kurama frowned at her, "What? He didn't know?"

Botan looked up at him, confused. "No, of course he didn't? How could he? He's been out of contact with Reikai for… Kurama?"

Kurama's eyes had closed and she felt his youki spiking angrily. What had she said?

"Koenma… really has messed this up very thoroughly hasn't he?" Kurama murmured softly, "Yusuke has no idea that Hiei went missing just before the attack on Kuwabara and Keiko."

"What!" Botan sat up, "But that can't be right! It was on the records! Hiei was in Reikai that day and he left just before the attack!"

"Hm," Kurama smiled grimly, "and where did those records say he went?"

Botan faltered slightly, "Well… back to Ningenkai…"

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Well then, wouldn't he have turned up to help out when Kuwabara and Keiko were attacked? Even if he didn't make it in time, he would have showed up afterwards surely?"

Botan stared at him, "Then… the records were wrong? He went back to the Makai?"

Kurama chuckled quietly but there was no mirth in the sound, "Not quite."

Her eyes widened. "But… then…"

"Hiei never left Reikai that day," Kurama said quietly, "Shortly after I spoke to him in Ningenkai, he was summoned to Reikai by Koenma. That was the last time I saw him."

"B-but…" Botan stammered, "But Koenma-sama said he had gone back to the Makai through a portal on Ningenkai after hearing about the attack, and that he – "

"Had tracked down the demon responsible and killed it. Yes… Koenma-sama says a lot of things."

Botan stared. "Then… the reason he didn't get there in time… was because…"

"Let us just say Koenma doesn't have things under his control as well as he'd like us to believe," said Kurama darkly, looking out over the colourful landscape of Reikai.

"He… he lied to me?"

"He lied to all of us Botan," said Kurama gently. She closed her eyes and buried her head in her hands.

"I don't… I can't… I…"

Kurama watched quietly as she wrestled with her emotions, guilt, anger, misery, the pain of betrayal, all wrenching at her heart. She pressed her knuckles hard against her temples. Why? Why, why, why? Always it came back to the same question… the one she couldn't seem to find an answer for, no matter how hard she tried.

"Why?" her voice was choked, muffled by her hands, "Why us? Why does this happen to us? To you? To him? Why?"

She jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see warm, gentle green eyes smiling down at her. For the first time, she felt another emotion curling within her. She wasn't really sure how to describe it and indeed, she hadn't felt it in so long… it was a feeling of warmth, of assurance, the steady, firm knowledge that, wherever she was… she was safe. Kurama smiled briefly.

"Because," he said simply, "we are the ones with the strength to overcome it."

He stood up and stretched, leaving her sitting, motionless at the bottom of the stairs.

"We're leaving now. It was nice to catch up Botan. Hopefully we'll be seeing you again soon."

"Mm," she said, staring off into space. He chuckled quietly and gestured to Jin and Touya who walked over, Jin yawning and Touya looking impassive.

"I think," he murmured quietly, "it's about time to go find the real Yusuke Urameshi."

Jin blinked. "Eh? Ah though' he was dead?"

Even the sound of Jin's head impacting with the rather solid stone of Reikai could not jolt Botan from her thoughts. She barely noticed as Jin, Touya and her old friend Kurama vanished into the coloured sky of Reikai. She sat, perfectly still, lost in her own thoughts. She had a moment out of time, a time where her world stood still even as everything else rushed by. She made her choice. Slowly she stood, turned and began to climb the stairs.

And on to the next chapter. Yay, I could finally say it!