Chapter Ten: Aftermath

Botan could feel her body being overcome, her mind struggling to fend off the invading power of Tsarakino. She felt him worming inside her, gnawing at her mind and taking her body. Botan fell to her knees, losing control over her body, but managed to catch herself before she hit the floor. Her body was going, she was losing it.

She couldn't believe this was happening. She should have let Hiei fight him. She had tried to talk to him, tried to reason with him, and he was making her his slave for it. He couldn't be talked to. She knew this now, as she heard him laughing within her mind, heard his cruel, sadistic voice as he forced her down. She had thought he was doing this in anger, or in depression. Mistaken him for a torn soul, because she had focused too much on the concept of not having a place. But as she listened to him, she realized she'd been wrong. This wasn't about revenge or finding a place. He was enjoying this.

Botan fought him with everything she had. She pushed, she strained, she shoved with everything she had. But he met every effort with a stronger one. He was experienced, had spent the last three years breaking minds. She had never faced a mental invasion quite this strong. The only mental invasions she'd ever had were telepathic messages from Hiei, usually death threats, which–that's it!

"H...Hi..." Botan struggled to get the words out, before she lost her arms and fell to the ground. But her own thoughts betrayed her, the invader opening them as she formed them.

"Hiei?" he questioned in the space of her mind. "You think Hiei can save you?" He started to laugh, a horrible sound that echoed within her mind. "Hell, that demon would be more likely to kill you than save you. Just like he threatened at the Tournament, wasn't it? If...well, isn't that interesting..."

Horror gripped Botan, a horrible disgust and a feeling of violation filled her as she realized what he was doing. Yoshi was opening her mind like a book and reading her memories. He had violated the most intimate thing she had, her brain, and now he was poring over her life like a novel. Her emotions, her memories, her feelings, all laid bare for him.

"Get out of my head!" She screeched at him, pushing back at him with all the force she could muster. Having realized how deeply he was violating her, she was all the more determined to remove him from her mind as soon as she could. She struck as hard as she could, putting everything she had into taking back her body, but it was to no avail.

"Wow, you really are a feisty one," he mocked. "Don't fight it, sweetheart. You and I are going to have a lot of fun together." To Botan's horror, she could feel her body moving without her, the horrible invader moving her limbs to pick her up off the ground. It was in that moment that she realized she had lost, and fear began to set in. What if he never let her go? What if she was trapped, his forever because of her mistake? What if she–

"Tsarakino," she heard a voice. It spoke with a cold, harsh tone, one she would recognize anywhere. Standing in the doorway between this hall and the next was Hiei, and she had never been so glad to see him. Her hero had arrived.

"Well, now," Yoshi mocked her internally, reading her thoughts as she generated them. "Isn't that interesting? Hero? Him?" Her mood sank back down, and she decided to work harder at shielding her own thoughts. He could take her memories, or at least, she couldn't stop him from taking them, but her thoughts were her own precious space, and she wouldn't let him have them.

But she couldn't hide her feelings. She couldn't hide her body's actions, the way her heart started to beat faster when she saw Hiei. She couldn't hide the warmth that started to fill her or the smile that wanted to creep across her face. She could only hope he didn't notice, that he didn't misconstrue–

"Well now, I can honestly say I never saw this one coming." Oh, crap. "I mean, of all the guys you know, that jackass is the one you pick?"

"You don't–no! It's not like that!" Botan insisted. She was afraid of this, he was misconstruing. "I'm not...I mean, it's not that kind of–"

"Sweetheart," he laughed. "You can lie to your friends, you can lie to your boss, you can even lie to yourself. But you can't lie to me. I can read you like a book. You're in love with that hellspawn."

Outside, he allowed Botan's smile to complete itself. "Hiei," he turned her smile into his beloved smirk, curling one of her lips upwards. "There you are. I was wondering what had–"

"You're not Botan," he spoke directly and to the point.

"What?" Yoshi turned Botan's head back and forth, in an expression of confusion. "What do you–"

"I can see you. You're not her." The eyes could deceive, but Hiei had more than just regular eyes. His Jigan saw more than simple perception. As he looked upon Botan, his Jigan saw what his eyes did not, a glowing energy core radiating with her chest. He could see it clearly, the spark of Tsarakino's astral from, resonating from within Botan's body.

Yoshi narrowed Botan's eyes. It would appear that he wasn't getting out of this through subterfuge. "Fine," he laughed, a horrible, arrogant laugh, and Botan was surprised to find that her voice could make such an evil sound. "Fine, let's drop the charade. You can't do a thing to me, without harming your precious little girl here." He reached down, lifting up the jar holding the captive Jigan. "Just like the rest, you have no power over me. It's your move, Hiei."

Botan called to him, tried to call out to him, struggling against her captor to try and reach him. She was so close to freedom, if he could only help!

"She's calling for you, y'know," Botan could hear her voice speaking Tsarakino's horrible words. "She believes you'll save her. She's begging for you to help her, and she's frightened. Seems she's so in love with you that she can't even think straight."

Horror filled Botan when she heard those last words. The secret she'd been lying to herself about, the secret she'd been trying to hide was now coming through. She had no secrets form Tsarakino, and he had no qualms about revealing hers. Part of her felt like she was going to die right there.

"I know," Hiei responded, without emotion or inflection in his voice. This struck Botan by complete surprise, she had done a good job covering it up! Hadn't she? "And even if she is," Hiei spoke without even moving his lips, "she still doesn't deserve this." His lips hadn't moved at all. He was using his telepathy, speaking directly into their mind...her mind.

Yoshi took a step back for a moment, surprised by the telepathic contact. "What are you doing?" he questioned, uncertain now.

Hiei's voice resonated within Botan's mind once more, speaking directly to Tsarakino. "I am taking back something that does not belong to you." She could feel power growing within her, Hiei's power, helping her to force back Tsarakino. Hiei's Jigan began to glow with power, fueling his telepathic attack on Tsarakino.

Feeling empowered by Hiei's aid, Botan began to fight back again. She had found the strength for another push, with Hiei guiding the attack. Tsarakino began to feel the body fading from him, the control being ripped away from his grasp. He pushed back with everything he had, but he was facing a telepath in addition to the girl he had thought he'd crushed. "You can't..." he muttered within Botan's mind, "...she's mine...MINE..." His voice was strained and troubled as he struggled to keep his grip on her, but he was losing badly.

"She will never be yours," that cold voice emanated, just before he lost his grip entirely. For the first time, Yoshi could feel himself forced from the host he had taken, ejected powerfully from the body. His precious slave had been torn from his grasp, and he could feel a dull ache in his spark, a strange sensation he had never felt outside a host: pain.

Botan gasped and fell to her knees, the shock of having her body suddenly thrust back into her control surprising her. She was freed from his grasp, free of the terror that was Tsarakino. She spent a few moments, trying to compose herself on the ground. Then, in one swift movement, she lunged upwards, wrapping her arms around Hiei's neck and holding on tightly to him. She could feel herself getting emotional, could feel herself start to cry from the shock of what had almost happened to her.

"You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me," Tsarakino's horrible words resonated within her mind. "You're in love with that hellspawn." Hiei had done more than save her life. If it weren't for her, she would be a slave to that horrible, sadistic man. And in this moment of clarity, in this moment of pure, raw, unrestrained emotion, she couldn't lie to herself any longer. She felt it burning powerfully within her, and as the tears streamed down her cheeks, she found herself whispering the words she had been so afraid to say, before the time came that she thought she may never say them. "I love you."

Hiei pushed Botan carefully off of him, gripping her by the shoulders. His cold, dark eyes met her tearful, frightened eyes, and for a moment, he was stuck for a response. This girl was crazy about him. He could see it in her eyes, see the emotion burning within her soul. A moment passed, and then another. Finally, he spoke. "Come on, we need to get you out of here. You need some rest."

Tsarakino managed to pull himself back together fairly quickly. While Botan and Hiei were distracted, he drifted back towards the unconscious ogre he had taken control of before. His mind reeled with clarity at what he had to do. He could take no chances, not with Hiei. He needed to get what he was here for and he needed to vanish, and to do that, he needed the body he'd worn in.

A green glow emanated from the eyes of the ogre, and Yoshi was careful to grip what he needed beforehand, wrapping his right hand around the black vial in the pocket. He moved as fast as that accursed ogre could, while Hiei was still tied up with Botan. He only needed a few seconds, and had to count on the distraction to get his job done. Hiei spotted him just as his hand gripped the jaw containing the eye, and by that point, it was too late. With a frightened Botan still blocking Hiei's way, Tsarakino shattered the vial against the ground. He and the jar containing the Jigan were enveloped in the Black Mist, and were gone a second later.

Hiei was uncertain how to feel. He didn't really care about the treasure of the Vault. He, himself, had broken in to steal a demonic blade some time back, the crime that had put him against Detective Urameshi in their first meeting. He didn't know why they had wanted that treasure of the Vault, and a part of him felt a bit down about Tsarakino getting it when he had been there. He'd distracted himself and it had cost him the treasure. But even so, looking at Botan, still tearful from the shock, he couldn't shake this feeling that while Tsarakino may have made off with the treasure, he had managed to keep him from taking something infinitely more valuable.

--------------------------------------------------

"DAMMIT!" Yoshi smashed Atsuko's fist hard against the stone wall, inside the throne room of Tomorrow's Sanctuary. He was more angry than he thought he could be. "I had her, Fjerin, I HAD HER! She was MINE!"

"At least you managed to retrieve the Jigan," Fjerin responded. He was careful with his words, he had never seen Yoshi this angry. "There will be other opportunities, I'm sure. Phase One, at least, was a success." The demon held up the jar, with the horrible, disembodied eye resting within it. He could see the veins and tendons coming off the eyeball like tendrils, and a smile crossed his face when he thought of what would happen with it. "This will make a wonderful addition to Unit K."

Yoshi started to calm down at the mention of Unit K. The thought of the moment of its unveiling made him feel better. Botan had eluded his grasp this time, but now, he was determined to take her. A spirit that determined would be so much fun to break. "Unit K," he started to smile. "Unit K will be a proud moment."

--------------------------------------------------

The battle had ended by the time Botan mustered the strength to return to her work. Hiei had delivered her safely to her room, where she had spent her time resting and trying to come to terms with the shock. She had hoped Hiei would stay with her, but he had left as soon as she was down in her bed. She hadn't seen him since then.

Her footsteps echoed in the halls now, as she approached Koenma's office. She had questions on her mind, questions she needed to ask. She pushed one of the doors open, then slipped herself inside and approached his desk. "Lord Koenma?" she asked, a little bit nervous. He had sent Ayame to awaken her once more, which meant he wanted to see her as much as she wanted to see him. That was probably not good.

Koenma's chair turned to face Botan, and she was surprised to see his teenage form sitting behind his desk, rather than his toddler one. He usually only assumed this form when he was going someplace public. "Glad to see you're back with us," Koenma started. There was a tense air around him that made Botan nervous. When Koenma was this serious, things were bad.

Botan shifted her right foot behind her left. She was still not feeling 100, but now was the best time to ask. "Lord Koenma...I'm terribly sorry, but I have to know...why did we have a Jigan Eye in the Vault? It doesn't seem like that's something we'd be keeping."

"Me," she heard the voice before she noticed him, and it made her jump. Hiei stood back against the wall, next to the screen. He stepped away from the wall, walking towards the door. "They're trying to find a way to beat me."

Botan's confused expression shot from Hiei to Koenma. Koenma did not deny, however, and simply laid his arms down to rest on his desk. "That's not wrong. I've had my people experimenting with the Eye. Yes," he looked to Hiei, "we are trying to find a way to keep your power in check."

"But," Botan argued, "Hiei's one of us, isn't he? I mean, he's helped us a lot..."

Koenma shook his head, his eyes returning to Hiei. He watched as Hiei stepped through the door, not sure where Hiei was going but not sure he cared. He waited a few moments, until he was certain the demon was gone. "Hiei hasn't helped us, Botan. He's performing community service, and some of us are not convinced that he's really reformed. He is dangerous, Botan, even more so with that Black Dragon Hellfire technique of his. I've had my people searching for a way to nullify or, even better, remove his Jigan, in the hopes that it would decrease his power enough to make him more containable."

Botan couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But...I mean, I know he's a criminal, but I don't think–"

"I already know what you think," Koenma sighed. He pressed a button on his desk, and the screen flipped on. Botan turned to see herself, her arms wrapped tightly around Hiei, with tears streaming down her face.

She watched herself embrace the demon, watched her tearful confession. And as she heard herself say the words, "I love you," a chill ran down her spine. She turned slowly back towards Koenma, a look of nervous apprehension on her face. "That's...I mean..." A blush spread across her face, she couldn't deny what she felt.

"Botan," Koenma started, "Hiei is dangerous. He is a threat to everything we've worked so hard to build, and he is a powerful one. If we give him an advantage, give him an opening, I believe he will take it. I need for you to back off of him. I know you're feeling excited, and I know you've seen him do some good things for us, but he's still a dangerous criminal."

"But," Botan insisted, "I can't do that, Lord Koenma. He's...I don't know. I don't believe he's really like that anymore. He's changed, and I've seen it. I've seen what he's done. He saved my life, saved me from becoming a puppet to that horrible Tsarakino."

Koenma sighed. "Botan, please. I need you to do this. I have the responsibility of taking care of this realm as best I can. I can't let anything jeopardize that, I can't allow a criminal such as him to have such an opening. Don't make me do this, Botan. Please. I care about you too much to see you hurt like this."

"Koenma," Botan pleaded, "please...I know it seems strange, but my heart is telling me that what I'm seeing is real. I'm not going to give this up. I'm not giving up my heart."

Koenma sighed. Somehow, he knew this would happen, but he was still not prepared for it. You could never prepare for breaking the heart of someone you cared about. "Then I am truly sorry, Botan, but you have left me no choice. As of this moment, you are relieved of your responsibility as Yusuke's assistant. You will return to your ferrying duties for the dead, and are to have no contact with Yusuke or any of his people, especially the more demonic ones, for the duration of their time working for us. I'm sorry."

Botan could feel her heart beginning to break. Koenma had lowered the hammer, and there was nothing she could do. She could feel the tears starting to come again, and before she could get out another word, she turned and ran from his office. Koenma's word was final, and as the ruler of Reikai, it was law. Her mind raced for Hiei, raced through thoughts of him, and she couldn't understand why Koenma would do this. She knew Hiei wasn't trusted, but this was a level of distrust she didn't even know existed. Was she really the only one that could really see him? She didn't know. All she knew was she had never, in her entire life, felt this alone.

End Part One. Stay tuned for Part Two: The Lonely Souls.