Finally got this chapter out! I've had it forever but never got it out because my computer broke AND I just moved. (Sigh) I thank all you wonderful reviewers and appreciate your kind, beautiful reviews. I'll try to update very soon.
Disclaimer : I Do Not Own Yu Yu Hakusho (sob.. please ignore me and read the story.)
Every Rose Has It's Thorns
Chapter Five : Catch Me When I Fall
Normal POV
Hiei walked back to the familiar temple, completely unaware of the damage done while he was out. Honestly, he hadn't known why he was so angry when he discovered the ferry girl's past. Well, he was probably the first person she's opened up to, showed her real face to, perhaps he should feel honored. He, actually, already felt honored and maybe a little of something else... He shook off the thought, but couldn't rid the feeling within him. He opened the door and spotted his twin sister crying on the couch.
"Yukina? Are you alright?" It wasn't until he stepped into the room that he noticed the conditions of the house.
"Ni-san?" She looked up hopefully, her shiny eyes catching his. "Ni-san! Ttthey t-took her!" The young koorime spoke between sobs and jumped to him, shaking him slightly.
"Who?" He watched her trying to suppress her tears.
"Yukina, I need you to calmly tell me." His voice came in a whisper, silently telling her everything would be alright. She relaxed and took deep gulps of air.
"Two ddemons took Botan away thinking she could produce crystals... They took her away before I could tell them the truth…" Yukina watched her brother's face harden. "I already called Kazuma... Are you alright Ni-san?" Hiei looked up at her familiar, worried expression and shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by an unmistakable bellow that came from everyone's lovable oaf. Well everyone but Hiei's.
"MY PRECIOUS SNOW BUNNY? I, KAZUMA KUWABARA, HAVE COME TO SAVE YOU!" He made a dramatic entrance by bursting through the door.
"Kazuma?" Yukina raised from her current position to greet the man who just barged in. His eyes resembled hearts as she came into his view. Hiei's eyebrow twitched and felt sudden motion sickness swell within him.
"Now if only someone useful came."
"What! You wanna say that again hamster legs!" Hiei's eyes narrowed into slits and was about to retort until a calming voice filled the room.
"Gladly."
"Can we save Botan before you kill each other?"
"Hn. On the contrary, kitsune, we both know I'd kill him." The bigger man fumed and lunged at the fire demon. Using his speed, he simply stepped back and extended his foot gracefully, satisfied after hearing a large 'THUMP'.
"Nice one Hiei!" The raven haired delinquent snickered from the doorway. Hiei resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Would you just use your stupid communicator to contact Koenma." It surprisingly came out as more of a demand than a question. He had also tried to make it sound as calming as possible, but no one was convinced. Yusuke fumbled with the contents of his pocket, taking out a small mirror compact while muttering.
"Geez, who put a bee in your undies?" Hiei growled inwardly. How he was surrounded by fools like them, he would never know. Yusuke flipped open the little device and a chibi face appeared on the screen.
"Oh, hello, Yusuke. I didn't give you a mission so-"
"Cut the chit chat pacifier face, Botan's been kidnapped." That got the toddler's attention as he sat up from his large chair.
"WHAT! Well can you describe her captors?" He listened cautiously.
"…"
"Well?"
"You see, I don't know what they look like!" Koenma did a face fault and fell over at his spirit detective's stupidity.
"Now they're a dead give away!"
"There were two big demons. One had yellow ruffled hair and small, black beadlike eyes. He also had a very spiky tail and red skin. The other had similar red skin, but no tail. Instead he had a beak like a bird with only one blue eye. His hair color was blue if I remember correctly…" Yukina's soft spoken tone informed Koenma. He nodded and began to search through his criminal files.
"Do you know why she was taken?" He inquired without looking at the screen.
"They have mistaken her for me and believe she is a koorime." She said, guilt and sadness present in her quiet voice.
"If they find out she can't produce a hiruiseki, they'll kill her!" Koenma spoke his thoughts while shuffling through papers. Hiei, completely fed up and most certainly not in the mood for his slow pace, clutched his hands into fists until his knuckles turned white.
"Well, Hurry. Up. Then." The venom laced in his words and his icy eyes signaled a silent threat. They demi-god panicked, speeding his pace ten fold. Everyone in the room stared at Hiei in shock, but wisely kept their mouths shut.
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Botan opened her eyes. She blinked a couple of times and started to take in her surroundings. She glanced around what appeared to be an old, rundown warehouse. She rubbed the back of her head, just over where she got hit. She pouted when she felt a bump. 'That's gonna be there for a while. Stupid bastards..' She stood up and looked around the cage she was placed in. The bars of the cage was covered with ice demon wards. The door busted open, creating an echoing sound in the nearly empty room. The two demons approached her, each carrying a weapon at their side. As they came closer, they split apart, revealing a much small demon behind them. Though he looked weaker than both of them, it was obvious he was the master mind of the gang.
"Well, it appears you're awake." He smirked malevolently. "Be a good little girl and cry for us, won't you?" Botan glared at him.
"I'm sorry, I don't waste my time on," She looked over his hidious, sad excuse of a face and body. She felt like gagging. "lesser youkai." She tried to put it as kind as possible, but at the same time, mean. He sneered at her.
"I would hate to ruin such a pretty face, but I will if I must." He snapped his fingers and the demons opened her cage. They lifted her off her feet and brought her over to the lesser demon. He pulled out a switch knife and clicked it open, showing it's shiny blade. He painfully ran it across her cheek, letting the blood stain the metal. When Botan didn't show a trance of pain, the demon growled in anger. He made a few slashs all over her body; her thighs, her arms, and on her shoulders. She watched him as he did this, not a trance of emotion on her elegantly pale face. The demon took on a frusated look and put away the knife, seeing it had no effect whatsoever. Instead, he revealed a long, leather whip and snapped his thin fingers. The each bulky youkai held one of Botan's skinny arms, holding her out as a target for their boss. He smirked at her and she just stared at him, not intimidated by his flashy toy. He cracked the whip, striking her on her thigh. The deep crimson liquid stained her pale skin, she had still yet to make a noise.
"Why won't you cry!" With each emphasis of a word, he would attack Botan with his weapon. He sliced her flesh, making more life fluid drip down her limbs. Botan smirked. The demon cracked the whip again, this time it grazed her temple. She let out a bored sigh. She licked the red liquid on the corner, allowing her tongue to taste the coppery substance.
"Please, if you're going to torture me, just don't speak. The sound of your voice hurts much more than that pitiful whip." She mentally thanked Hiei for that one.
"You bi-" The opposing demon lifted his whip for another attack. He stopped in mid-air when sudden bangs were heard below them.
"What was that?" The two youkai hold Botan up, dropped her on her rear. She cursed at them while she watched them disappeared behind the metal door. She got up, rubbed her sore bottom, and searched around for an exit. She found a reachable window and tore off the useless wards plastered to it. She gritted her teeth finding out that bars prevented her from her freedom. She went to the door and pushed as hard as she could. The lead-like doors creaked open a bit, just wide enough for her to squeeze through. She wiped the sweat from her forehead before venturing into the halls. She turned a corner and spotted a pair of demons, each no larger than her. They spotted her and grinned thinking she was an easy target, and she smirked also. Botan ran down the hall, allowing the puny demons to follow her. She turned, materialized her metal bat, and got into position. One ran up to her stupidly and she easily spun and smacked him on his head, positive she damaged his skull. She kicked his body aside and tauntingly motioned the other with her finger. He growled and advanced on her with his club, but was cut into multiple pieces before reaching her.
"I had him Hiei." Botan growled as her trusty bat vanished.
"Hn." He re-sheathed his blade. He looked at her badgered body and fought the urge to go on a bloody massacre. Instead, he mentally counted to ten and motioned her to follow him with his hand. She sighed, but followed him nonetheless.
"I didn't need you to save me." He ignored her comment, still fuming from the fact they injured her, and still led her to the others. She shrugged and followed him. Botan heard a low grumble from Hiei, something about slow baka ferry onnas, and he attempted to pick her up. This was where she drew the line, she batted his hands away.
"I'm fully capable of walking, I'm not just some useless danzel waiting to be saved." She grunted and Hiei finally snapped from his built up anger.
"Onna, you're more like that than you know!" He shouted at her, actually making her shutter away. Taking advantage of her useless state, her scooped her up in his arms and ran to the rest of the Reikai Tantei. Since the halls were empty, he knew all the demons were eliminated by the others. After a while, and after Botan stopped kicking, he found the rest of the group.
"Hiei!" Yusuke and the others were waiting at the bottom of the warehouse. "What took you so long?" He playfully slapped him on the back. Hiei shot him a look telling him to back off, which, of course, the reckless detective ignored.
"Why are you holding Botan?" Kuwabara pointed to the balled up girl in his arms. She was obviously scowling at something, and Hiei was certain she was faintly cursing at him.
"Because he's cold-hearted, son of a-!" Hiei pushed her face into his chest, silencing her. Botan frantically tried to push him away, mumbling something inconceivable. He pretended he didn't hear her.
"For reasons far beyond your comprehension." Kuwabara fumed and the gang sweat dropped. Ignoring him, Hiei stepped into the just made portal.
Botan's POV
Hiei carried me to Genki's temple without a word. I was showered with hugs and people asking if I was alright. Yukina was beginning to heal my wounds when I began to drift off in thought. Hiei's words. It was the first time I finally realized I was so helpless. Like a broken porcelain doll. It was also the first time I saw Hiei really angry at me, and I still didn't know what he was mad about. I've seen him angry before, but I never dreamed of those firey crimson orbs to be directed to me. It made me... sad. I haven't felt like that in a long, long time. She finished rather quickly and broke my moment of musing. I smiled and thanked her, noticing she was tired after using so much of her energy. I took a peek at the quiet fire demon. I noticed his piercing gaze affixed on me and I surprised myself by blushing a bit. Luckily, Yukina had fallen asleep and Hiei, tearing his stare away from me, went to put her in bed. While he was gone, I went up to my room on my own, not wanting to have contact with the koorime. I hated the way he made me feel, so vulnerable, so weak. It was only with him that I felt I need to be rescued. When I saw his black clad figure opened my door, I grimaced. He took a seat next to my bed, much to my dismay.
"Onna." I didn't respond and kept my mouth shut. "About what I said in the warehouse..." He paused and I thought he was apologizing, which was very unlike him. Instead his eyes turned hard. "I meant it." I snapped my eyes wide.
"Are you saying I need to be saved?"
"Yes." His firm voice bore into me. Then I faintly heard him mumble. "In so many ways." My eyes slightly widened.
"..." My mouth moved, but my voice refused to speak up. I gazed at his eyes. The look on his face dared me to lie.
"Exactly how do you feel right now?" I gulped. I didn't know why, I just did. Just be reminded about the searing pain in my heart sent my pupils dilating and my mind screaming for help. I felt the burning sensation in my throat and the swelling fluid collecting in my eyes, but I stubbornly refused to let them pour.
"It's fine..." I forced a swallow, allowing the sound of my voice to be audible. I unconsciously hugged myself for reassurance. I bit my bottom lip so hard, I just realized the taste of blood in my mouth. I used my shirt sleeve to soak up the incoming liquid. I never realized that my voice had decided to show up. "Is it healthy to know more than over a million deaths? Is it right to have seen them die before your very eyes?"
"Is it alright to bear it so no one else has to go through with it?" My eyes, if possible, widened even more.
"How-"
"Onna, though I never really paid attention to you, I always knew, by nature, you were a compassionate being." I blinked twice to register what he was saying. I chuckled a bit after.
"I never could get anything by you huh?" I let out a small, sigh and he leered at me.
"No one else could or can ever take it. So if I just went on like this, no one else would have to suffer." I kept my tone calm, perhaps too calm by the looks on Hiei's face. I started again, more blandly this time. "It's my responsibility to take it, so it's alright. I'm just glad people welcomed happy Botan so I never have to be afraid of being alone-"
"You're wrong." His eyes gnaw their way into mine. The menacing crimson color never faltering for a minute. It was such an alluring hue of ruby red, it was impossible not to get lost in the tinge of color. Eyes were said to be windows to the soul. If true, then Hiei must have the most divine soul in the three worlds.
"Na.. nani?" I flustered out and I tried to look away from his hypnotic irises.
"It's not your responsibility, it never was. They gave it to you and you took it without a word. You've always been alone, wither you liked it or not. So be yourself, frown if you want, laugh if you want, cry if you want." I felt the intensity of his stare fall off me and to the starry sky outside. He shut his eyes. "Yukina, Kurama, Yusuke, Yusuke's onna, the oaf's sister, and the ape himself. They all care, and they'll understand." For a second, I forgot I was talking to Hiei. The advice he had given me seemed almost, kind. No, completely and utterly caring. I never realized how much he had changed over the course of time. I licked my dry lips and spoke with a perched throat. I could feel anxiety, maybe even hope, pound in my once dead chest.
"... Even you?" His eyes widened a bit before they slowly shifted, once again catching me in the depth of his glance.
"Hai." I smiled and couldn't help but let the hot, steamy liquid roll down my cheeks. I touched them in sheer shock and chuckled at the irony.
"Its funny... It seems that when you're crying, that's when you smile the most..." And as each tear fell, the more relief swept through my body. I threw myself to him, hugging his unhumanly, warm body to my own. I cried into his shoulder, feeling the odd, soothing aura that Hiei seldomly held. He didn't mind the salty liquid staining his cloak and he didn't mind my soft weeps or my choked sobs. I was grateful that this wasn't some dream my vile mind concocted. As the tears slowed and time ticked on, I yawned. A wave of exhaustion, along with a wave of ease, swept over me, taking me completely by surprise. I didn't even feel myself lowered to the bed until I felt the soft material of the sheets against my cheek. I saw Hiei pulling the comforter over my tired body and I strained to moved my mouth. "Thank you..."
(A/N) I hope you all enjoyed that. I think I put Hiei out of character in some places, so sorry if you felt that. I would really like it if you review and told me your thoughts. I've looked at the number of hits for this story and looked at the number of reviews. I mean come on! Is it really that bad? Well maybe... Anyway, thanks again for reading and thanks to those who reviewed!