I would like to thank xmiahimex for clarifying something. I've doublechecked with the manga, and yep, I was wrong. The proper spellings are Shuichi and Kazuma. Thank you for pointing that out, xmiahimex.


Chapter Six: The First Foray

As she floated over the murky swamp, Botan's mind went back repeatedly to just how she'd wound up in this foul-smelling hellhole. She was seated firmly on a long, wooden oar, one that she had used to fly on many times, both as a ferrier of the dead and working with Yusuke. She was dressed for the expedition, with black boots that came halfway up her shins accompanied by green pants that stuck down into the aforementioned boots. She wore a leather tunic over her torso, which gave her an adventurous look, if one did not count the pretty blue ponytail or the look of disgust on her face as she followed swiftly after Hiei. Why the hell had she volunteered for this? She sighed, thinking back once more on a choice she was beginning to think was a definite mistake.

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Kimiko had finally awakened, but questioning her had only turned up more questions. It didn't take a genius to tell she was scared out of her mind when she awoke in a strange house surrounded by boys. Kurama had managed to soothe her with his calm voice, familiar face, and a repetition of the words "It's just a dream", but even when she was calm, she became prone to fits of hysterics. She didn't know what was going on or what had happened earlier that night. All she reported was a strange feeling going over her body, and then she was saying and doing things that she didn't understand. No matter how hard she tried to fight it, she couldn't. It was like her body had moved on her own, and she'd become a helpless puppet inside of it.

She especially couldn't understand anything she had said about Yoshi Tsarakino or about the Tomorrow. And she was completely embarrassed about the way she had approached Shuichi, which she apologized profusely for. She also thought she'd heard the name whispered around school before, but she couldn't quite remember where from. This, at least, gave them a lead to go by, even if it wasn't much.

After Kimiko had been put back to sleep with Kurama's dream flower pollen, which would also serve to remove her memory of the night's incident, the meeting had concluded with the making of plans for the next day. Yusuke and Kuwabara were going to investigate the mystery of Yoshi Tsarakino and see if they could turn up anything. The name sounded human and it was familiar to Kimiko, so that almost confirmed that Yoshi was in fact a human, despite the apparent prejudices of the Tomorrow. Kurama and Hiei were initially planned to travel to Makai and find information on the Tomorrow and on Fjerin, but Botan had a different idea in mind.

Kurama had been made a more active target than Yusuke, and his words suggested that the Tomorrow had turned their attentions away from him. Taking him straight to Makai and handing him to them was probably not the best of ideas, so it would be better for Kurama to remain in the human world. He would, instead, join Yusuke and Kuwabara in their search for information, while Botan accompanied Hiei to Makai. Which, of course, was an idea that was put under much scrutiny, but she was fairly proud of how well she'd defended it. She had seen and memorized images of several members of the Tomorrow, and could identify them better than anyone. This was her reason that she stated for the group, and they had accepted it. But now, looking back...she should have let Kurama come instead. She didn't know what she'd expected to find while following after Hiei, but this merciless bog definitely wasn't it.

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Hiei trudged through the black sludge that had enveloped his boots without a care. He had seen and been through worse than a mere swamp, and had actually been through this particular swamp a number of times. Botan floated behind him, but her progress was stunted by the cracked branches of dead trees that stuck up from the sludge. Hiei walked beneath the branches without a care, but she was too concerned with staying out of the water to–

CRACK!

A smile crossed Hiei's lips for a moment when he heard it. He wasn't sure when he was going to hear it, but he knew it was coming. Botan had just struck a branch without noticing it. He ignored the splash she made as she hit the water, his mind was preoccupied with more important matters. Why had she volunteered for this? She had been surprisingly determined to come to Makai, and to make sure that Kurama did not. This was not a place for the spirits of Reikai, but it was more than that. Since the tournament ended, Botan had been pestering him repeatedly with questions, and seemed to be trying to follow him places. He had finally put a stop to it by threatening her with death, but now, here she was again. What made her so compelled to follow after him? That was a question that Hiei went over repeatedly in his mind, why would this girl keep chasing after him?

"Ow..." Botan muttered, as the disgust solidified itself on her face. The putrid smell was even worse down here, and now the horrible slime was soaking into her clothes. She was drenched in it, having landed on her butt, her chest just barely rested above the water. Her legs came up from it near the knees, then went back down into the horrible slime. It was surprisingly warm, something that didn't comfort her in the least, and she was relieved to find that at least it wasn't acidic. Still, this had just turned from a bad day into a worse one. "You could help me up, you know!" she called after Hiei.

"I could," the demon responded without even looking back, "but where's the fun in that?"

Forcing herself to move in the sludge, Botan climbed back up to her feet. She looked around for her oar, to get out of this crap, but it was nowhere to be found. Well, this was just great...her oar must have sank into the slime, which was far too thick to see beneath. Bits of mud and grime now clung to her face and hair, and her clothes were stained brown. She would be so glad when this day was over.

"Wait for me!" She called after Hiei, who had continued his progress unimpeded without even a glance back at her. She hurried through the sludge to try and catch up, but her boot caught one of the roots of a dead tree, which took her balance out from under her. With a shriek, she made a faceplant straight down into the mud, and was off her feet a second time.

Finally, Hiei stopped and turned his attention back to Botan. He watched her pull her face out of the muck, and smiled inwardly at the sight of her coughing up slime. He didn't know why she made such an effort to pursue him, but any and all anger were dissuaded by this sight. He had considered doing something about it before, but really, this was punishment enough for the poor girl.

"You should watch your back," Hiei commented before he turned back away from her, "some demons find this muck to be a delicacy, and will come running at the smell of it."

Botan froze for a moment. She was not a fighter, and she wasn't certain anymore that Hiei would actually protect her. What if what she'd seen at the tournament had been a lie? She started to wonder that, and the thought made her feel empty inside. Hiei hadn't really seemed to care for anything in the time they were in Makai. Maybe she had deceived herself. "...but...you'll protect me...won't you?" Her eyes pleaded, begging for the answer her heart said he would give. But that answer never came.

"If you are so weak that you can't take care of yourself, and so stupid that you would come into this place knowing that, then you deserve to be eaten." Hiei's voice was harsh, and although it carried no intentional malice, Botan could feel something inside her aching. She couldn't understand it, but it felt as though her heart was splitting.

Hiei started walking once more, expecting to hear the sloshing sound of Botan stumbling through the muck behind him. But he didn't, and that took him by surprise. He stopped, then looked back to find she hadn't even moved. She was on her knees, submerged to her waistline in the swamp. Her head was bowed downwards so he couldn't see her face. He'd never seen her like this before, she was usually so cheery, bordering on hyper. His eyes studied her, trying to determine what was wrong. She didn't seem injured, but...were those tears he saw dripping from her face?

Frustrated, Hiei turned to look away from her. She had brought this on herself with her idiotic games. Let her rot here in this swamp, then, he had more important work to get done. He started again. They were near the end of the swamp, it wouldn't be too far now. If she wanted to sit here and wait for something to take her, then who was he to argue? At least he'd have her off his...no...

He could feel something moving with his Jigan Eye, something stirring beneath the water's surface. Once more he turned back to Botan, and he could see it moving for her, the water rippling, coming for her. Something was moving in the deeper parts of the swamp, and she didn't even notice. Her face was buried in her hand now as she struggled to control herself. She didn't know why she'd started to cry, why his words had hurt so much, but she needed to stop this. She was completely oblivious to the danger she was now in.

Fine, let her rot, Hiei reminded himself. But he couldn't take his eyes off the rippling in the water. Something inside urged him to move, but he fought it. There was nothing in this for him, nothing...the creature rose, with a splash. A long, serpentine neck with gray, rubbery flesh, ending in a serpentine maw. The demon had yellow eyes that glowed in the gloomy atmosphere, and a jaw that opened larger than a human head. The neck was twenty feet long, keeping the head high as it loomed over Botan.

She had brought this danger upon herself, Hiei reminded himself, but he couldn't take his eyes off her. Her attention had been grabbed by the demon, and terror was visible on her face. She had slipped up badly, and she knew it. This thing was going to eat her, and she was actually afraid. She didn't have her oar, she didn't have a weapon, and she couldn't fight it. She tried to run, tried to move, but her position screwed her over. She slipped and fell onto her back into the sludge, and the demon opened its jaw to eat. She saw her life slipping before her eyes, and she knew she was finished. It opened its mouth wide, and then the head came down, and she knew she was dead.

SLASH

The creature ripped its head back, roaring in agony, as a slash appeared halfway through its neck. Botan stared, transfixed at it, and for a moment, she wasn't even sure she was still alive. "Move, you idiot!" Hiei cast at her, before he came back for another slash. Moving on pure instinct, even he wasn't certain why he was doing this. His katana flashed in his hands as he came back for another. The water rumbled beneath him just before a second head burst up behind him. Botan pulled herself to her feet just as Hiei's sword finished the job on the first, severing it. But as the head struck the water, a third came up, and a fourth. They were surrounded now by the demons...demon...it was difficult to determine whether these were individual demons, or different parts of the same.

Botan's hands ran frantically beneath the sludge's surface, looking for a stick, a rock, something she could use as a weapon. They may be surrounded but she had no intention of playing the damsel in distress. Her hands fixed themselves on something large and slick. She had found something rubbery, that felt warm to the touch. It was surprisingly large and–did it just move? That's...oh, crap, it's part of the demon!

Looking up, she saw the one she had touched, looming over her. A second came down to strike at Hiei, lashing with the rapid-strike of a snake's head. It was fast, but the fire demon Hiei was faster, meeting it in midair with the blade of his sword, which he struck straight down its neck. Its head split in half and it fell over, joining its brother in death. After this point, Botan couldn't even see him strike. He lashed back, leaping over her head and past the demon snake above her. She didn't even see his arm move, save for a light blur, before the top of the demon's head fell from its neck and struck the ooze with a sickening splash.

Hiei stopped now, turning his attention to the fourth snake head. Having witnessed its brothers fall, it made the wise decision and turned, attempting to flee. But Hiei was a demon who lacked mercy. It had come here, it had tried to eat him and Botan. And with the flick of his sword and a single leap, it followed its brethren. "Pitiful," he muttered as he stood over the body of the fourth snake.

Botan sat motionless now, trying to register what had just happened. Hiei's words to her had been harsh and painful, but...he had been there, regardless of what he had said. She would be dead now if it weren't for him, and that started to renew her faith in him. "Hiei," she began to speak, but he cut her off before she could get anywhere.

"Don't even start," his voice returned to the brusque tone he'd used before. "I only did that because I didn't want to sit through that idiot Koenma bitching about letting you die." His voice carried within it the same harsh tone he'd used before, but somehow, she couldn't feel it. Kurama's words once again echoed in her mind, and she could feel that it ran deeper. Hiei had saved her life, no matter what he said. She wouldn't forget that.