Again, this came from odd muse. Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer : I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Another World

Ethereal Affection

Normal POV

She carefully brushed the charcoal bangs from his face. 'Beautiful,' she thought and tenderly stroked his cheek. His fair skin and peaceful expression made him handsome and his closed eyelids made her imagine the shocking boldness of color beneath them.

Again, she caressed him. He stirred; turning his head slightly lower. She started to remove her limb, but saw he was still in slumber. Sighing, she continued her ministrations, never moving too close or too far.

'A few more moments,' she promised herself, indulging her temporary bliss. She softly smiled at the man's sleeping figure.

Another strand of hair fell and covered his face as he turned. This time, it was a white colored one. Sighing, she pushed the lock behind his perfectly arced ear.

To her surprise, his eyelids fluttered open and she pulled her hand away like she had been burnt.

He looked around the empty room; the moonlight peering through the shoji door provided him with light. She gasped to herself, staring into pools of deep crimson.

"Who's there?" He called out with a powerful voice, still examining the room for any foreign presence. She remained motionless, even though she knew in the state she was in, none but the dead could see her.

He laid back down on the futon, alert as ever. After a few moments, he shut his eyes again.

Inwardly, she let out a deep breath, her thoughts no longer in a jumble.

"You… really can't see me, can you?" She whispered sadly, her heart secretly crushed.

His voice was all she had imaged it to be; deep, rough, with a hint of coolness. Many times she had imagined a conversation with him, her night-time company.

And his eyes, she felt she could drown in them. She sighed contently, pushing back her own lock of hair which was of a light cerulean hue.

She glanced around, a silly sort of thing to do because no one could see her away, and leaned down closer to him. She could see all the small details of his face; his medium length eyelashes, smooth skin, and slightly chapped lips. Her heart felt ready to burst; it was the closest she ever had been to a living being.

She pulled away, her face beat red with embarrassment. She couldn't help but sneak another gaze at the creature, her eyes studying.

"I wonder your name… mortal." She talked like the grim reaper she was. He did not respond, not that she had expected to anyway.

A hair fell again, and she couldn't resist the urge of brushing it away. When her spirit made contact with his skin, she paused and left her spectral hand lingering on the side of his face.

She suddenly felt a breath caught in her throat. "I-I think I love you."

For a ferry girl to treasure a single mortal above the others, her mind screamed at her, is forbidden…

How… how could she have fallen in love? To a man she barely knew no less.

"W… hy?" She beseeched, but in vain. Foolish thoughts paraded through her head and she struggled to shake them away.

"I am a ferry woman, a disciple of Enma-sama!" She declared, half proud and half hateful of the fact, "I- I do not live for myself!" She sobbed; her tears sparkled and vanished in the pale moonlight. "All you would possess is the love of a ghost…"

He slept as peacefully as ever as she screamed at him. "… a-and to you, it that would mean nothing at all… wouldn't it?" She paused; her mind trying to sort her newly acquired emotions.

'Would this be known as 'unrequited love'?'

She recollected her wits.

"I wonder your name mortal, so I may remember it for all eternity." Still no response of any kind, she laughed cynically.

"I'm… really glad to have met you…" She nodded her head vaguely and smoothed out her pink kimono before asking. "Then, perhaps… in another world?"

She smiled wistfully, tears glittering in her eyes, and tilted his face toward her with her supernal hand; he slightly stirred.

"Yes, perhaps in another world…"

Silently, she leaned down and kissed him.

Another sad unrequited love for Hiei and Botan. Maybe it's because I'm reading all these sad fics I find on FF? Whatever. Please review.