Chapter 8: Ack!
Hiei just looked at Botan with a bewildered look on his face. He tried to say something, he just couldn't find the words. Finally, he spoke.
"Botan...I, I don't know what to say. No one has ever said something like that to me before. I...I...I think I'm going to be sick." He said as his body gave an involuntary lurch forward.
"I'm sorry I repulse you so much." Botan said in a hurt voice. Hiei shook his head as he crawled over to the toilet and vomited the rest of the blood in his stomach.
"It's not that you repulse me. It's that I'm sick." Was all he could say as he went into a frenzy of vomiting. Botan's eyes widened as she saw how much blood was coming out. She realized she had only just barely saved him. When he sopped vomiting, Botan helped steady him and said, "You're a mess. We need to clean up all this blood. Then you need to take a bath and while you're doing that, I will make us some food. Maybe that will make you feel better. I'll call you when the food's ready"
"Okay," Hiei said. They cleaned the bathroom and then he prepared a bath while she went to the kitchen and started looking for something that a demon would eat. She searched everywhere for something she thought he could keep down. Eventually she settled with soup. When it was done, she called Hiei. They sat down at the table. She handed his soup to him and expected him to eat it like a madman. So she was suprised to see him sit there and stare at it.
"It's not poison." She said. He nodded and stirred the spoon in it. But still, he did not eat any. Botan sighed and said,
"Hiei, please eat something. You've been worrying me all week. You must be hungry." Hiei nodded and slowly began to eat his food. When he was halfway done, he stopped.
"I'm full." He said. Botan smiled at him and said, "Do you want me to save the rest for later." Hiei thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright." Botan said, "I'll put it in a container for later." Then she sat down and said, "Hiei? Can I ask you some questions?" He just looked at her and nodded.
"Why do you act so cold to all of us? Do you hate us"
"No." He replied, "None of you need me, I'm useless to the team. And besides, they hate me"
"What makes you think that way?" Botan asked.
"The things Kuwabara says to me make me feel worthless. The way Kurama treats me makes me feel like a stupid child. The way Yusuke teases me makes me want to run away. The way you stare at me makes me feel like a monster. You expect me not to know hate in someone's eyes when that's all I've gotten from anyone for my entire life. That's also how I know, that you cant possibly love me. No one can love the Forbidden Child." Hiei spat that last part out.
"Well I do." Botan said stubbornly, "And if you don't believe me than it's your loss." With that she walked out onto the balcony. Hiei stared at her as she left. He had seen something in her eyes when she talked that made him feel...not so alone. Maybe even happy?
'That ferry girl will be the death of me.' He thought as he followed her outside.
Botan stared at the stars and began to get lost in her thoughts when an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. She was about to scream when a hand went over her mouth. Then her captor said, "I never got a chance to respond before...I love you too." Botan smiled as she leaned back in Hiei's arms and drifted off to sleep.