The Biography of Hiei and Botan : Nightmares
A/N: Thank you, those of you who did review. I only got five reviews for Chapter Three, so please, if you read just drop a little review. I don't care if it's half of a word long, just as long as I know that you want me to continue. Thank you. Please Read and Review!
I
Notes from Botan's Journal (Spirit): My nightmares are getting worse. I can hardly sleep anymore. They started after Hiei told me all about the Christmas Massacre.
How could Rekai do that?
Why... why would nigens be so... judgmental?
I thought... I thought we were kind and fair.
I guess I thought wrong.
I keep on dreaming about getting killed by demons that I have never seen before... but every single time I wake up, I feel like I know him.
Hiei... Hiei might be able to help me... but I'm afraid to ask him. What if he thinks I'm stupid? Well, this whole thing is stupid. It's stupid. It really is.
But what if it's something more?
What if it's not just a dream?
Maybe there is a reason that it feels so real.
Kurama (kitsune): Hiei has come to me exactly seven times for help. The one time he came to me, I remember clearly. It was a rainy April Thursday afternoon and I making tea when I heard hard knocking on my door.
I got up and walked down the dark hallway to the door, and hesitated before opening it. When the door swung inward, I blinked at the image before me, wondering if it was a mirage or not.
Hiei was soaking wet, his hair and clothes clinging to his body. His eyes were not narrowed or wide, but I could see the fear in them.
In his arms was an unconscious Botan.
He walked past me and when I finally snapped to my senses, I hurried into my kitchen. Hiei had laid out the ferry girl on the table, his eyes locked onto her face as a deep frown began to settle onto his face.
"Fox. I need your help."
Those words are very rare. 'I need your help' does not come often from Hiei. In fact, I might have been the only person he has ever said it to. My eyes were on Botan as I opened my mouth.
"What happened?"
Hiei took off his cloak, a puddle growing at his feet. He stepped towards the table, and he pointed with a clawed finger like a teacher would point to a specimen.
"She was talking to me. But she wasn't all there." He lightly touched the dark rings under her eyes. "These weren't here the last time." He then moved to her cheeks. "See this, they are pale with red points in the middle." I saw that his hand was shaking. It couldn't have been from the cold. Hiei doesn't get cold. "She just... fainted. Out of nowhere."
His voice was so flat. Those blood red eyes of his never left her face.
"What do you want me to do about it?"
That got his eyes to break away from Botan. His piercing gaze almost sent a chill down my spine.
"Fix her."
I might have chuckled at his wording, but I saw the concern in his eyes. It made me anxious for Botan, wondering if she really was alright.
"Okay, well, let's see..."
Koenma (Son of God): I forced Botan to take a vacation. Weird, I know. You should have seen her, though. The dark rings under her eyes. She could barely stay awake at work. Cup after cup of coffee... and I had seen her with caffeine patches on her arm.
It wasn't healthy. She had to get some rest. So I told her to come back when she was fully rested.
Notes from Botan's Journal: Today is the day. I have to do it. Koenma has even made me go on temporary leave. It has to stop now.
I haven't slept in over two weeks. I can't. If I do... I might not wake up. I feel like something dark is creeping up behind me whenever I fall asleep. It's getting closer every single time.
So I tracked Hiei down. I found him training, and he never stopped. Never looked at me.
"What do you want, baka onna?"
It was raining, and I was cold. I sneezed as I hugged myself, trying to keep warm.
"H-Hiei... I need you to do me a f-f-favor."
He still kept on training.
"Favor? For a nigen? Don't make me laugh."
I was blinking slowly, and I couldn't feel anything anymore. A part of me must have given up because the next thing I know, I'm falling. My eyes just rolled up and I made this weird choking noise.
I never hit the ground.
I felt Hiei's arms around me. He was shaking me, calling out 'onna' and 'baka, wake up'. I only managed to say a few words.
"Don't... don't let me... sleep..."
He kept on shaking me, saying my name this time. I blacked out, his voice still in my ears as I drifted off to my worst nightmares.
Kurama: I brushed her bangs out of her eyes. My hands pressed themselves to her cheek.
"She has a fever." Hiei watched me work. I pulled out a paste. I opened her kimono up, just so a good portion of her chest was visible. I saw Hiei tense out of the corner of my eye. I pressed an ear to hear her breathing. "Her lungs are beginning to fill with fluid. Nothing too serious, but just in case."
I spread the paste out on her chest. Instantly I could hear the ease in her lungs. I had a slight relieved smile on my face.
"Fox... what happened?"
I almost rolled my eyes.
"I should be asking you."
Hiei glared, crossing his arms.
"That's not what I meant, baka kitsune!" There was a long pause as I pressed my lips to her forehead, testing how hot she was. Pretty damn high. "I just wanted to know if it was... my fault."
I shrugged as I put a cold, wet cloth to her forehead. I pulled out a small bottle, and added it to the newly made tea. I pinched her cheeks in between my fingers so her lips would part. I poured a little bit of the hot liquid down her throat.
"Ask her."
Hiei looked away as I pulled her kimono back up, tucking it back in.
"Hn."
Rekai History Expert (spirit): All the souls of the nigens killed were immediately destroyed. If any soul, no matter how slim the chance, were able to recall its past, the information would prove to be chaotic.
As far as the records show, no soul remains.
Notes from Botan's Journal: I saw the demon again. I was crying, in my dream, but I said nothing as he approached me. I only squeezed my eyes shut as he drew his sword.
When I snapped back to consciousness, I saw Kurama hovering over me, his red hair falling into my face. His green eyes were puzzled as I jolted up, our foreheads colliding.
He backed up, rubbing his cranium. My eyes squeezed shut, blocking out the tears. But as soon as I fell into darkness, I could feel sleep tugging at me. My eyes snapped open as I panted. I could feel my stomach twist and gurgle. I prayed that I wouldn't throw up.
That was when I heard an unmistakable tenor voice.
"Onna." My eyes, glassy and hot, turned to Hiei Jaganshi. "What happened to you?" I vaguely heard Kurama excuse himself from the room. My hand was pressed on my pounding heart, my mouth open. I had to swallow saliva constantly. "Was it... because of me?"
Enma (God): The spirits of the Christmas Massacre would not have been able to survive after such a terrible past experience. It had nothing to do with conspiracy or propaganda. It was for the safety of the souls themselves and everything around them.
Nothing more.
Kurama: I hung just outside of the kitchen. I listened to their voices. Their whispers started out low, but then grew to a frantic beat. Botan started to cry. I could smell it in the air. I only could hear one sentence clearly, and it was Botan's voice.
"No one else can help me. Please, I'm begging you."
II
Notes from Botan's Journal: I shook my head. It wasn't Hiei's fault. But I needed to know why I was having these nightmares. My hands shook as I clasped them together, my voice a hoarse whisper.
"Please help me. I have these... terrible nightmares... only you can find out why!"
Hiei glared at me.
"I'm not some toy you can go and cry to. They're just idiotic nightmares. Get over them yourself."
I lost it and began to sob. If he couldn't do this one favor for me, then I knew I was going to lose my mind.
"It's not just an ordinary nightmare!" My eyes were tightly shut, my face heating up. "When I wake up, the dream is more real then the world I end up in! I feel like when I sleep I'm really awake. When I'm awake, it's all just a dream to me!"
Hiei froze. I opened my eyes to him edging closer to me. Those blood red eyes. I'll never forget them.
"Hn. Fine, baka onna." His hands swiftly untied his headband. My eyes couldn't help focusing on his Jagan Eye. "Close your eyes." I obeyed and was startled when I felt his hands on the sides of my face. "Try not to think too much, baka."
Ayame (spirit): When I first met Botan, the first thing that threw me off were her eyes.
Not their color. Not their shape or size.
But their emotion.
I shook her hand and introduced myself. I expected, from her eyes, to meet a very quiet and misunderstood ferry girl. Instead, she grinned and flushed with the excitement and joy of meeting someone new. It was completely contradictory to her eyes, which are the main way to look into a spirits' soul.
She had the saddest eyes I had ever seen.
They were curved slightly downwards. My mother called them mourner's eyes.
Kurama: I peeked around the corner when their voices ceased. My eyes only found them closer. Botan's eyes were closed. Hiei's Jagan Eye was glowing and from the looks of it... he was touching the ferry girl. I hadn't seen a sight like this since... since... I can't think of anything.
Notes from Botan's Journal: I was thrown into a dark abyss, and somehow, I could tell that I was unconscious. I suddenly felt a cold chill wash over my entire body. I thought I heard Hiei's voice say, 'Onna', but I was probably mistaken.
I fell and when my eyes finally regained their vision I saw a little girl run past me. Her breathing was very labored. It sounded like she was crying. I was going to follow her, but Hiei appeared at my side, his eyes cold as he shook his head slowly.
We entered the room she had been in, and we both went to a window. Outside was pure chaos.
Villagers were screaming, running out of their homes. Dark shadows pounced on them swiftly, silencing them. My eyes were redirected as Hiei squeezed my wrist and pointed. A man and woman were escaping. Whenever a shadow could from for them, the man would hold something up, and a bright light would knock the shadow back.
Hiei leaned closer to me.
"That's the work of a priest."
Genkai (nigen): Sad eyes? Yes, I noticed it in Botan. Some people just have them, so I didn't think anything of it.
Kurama: I went into the kitchen. The two were too deeply lost to have noticed me. They were so still, and that was when I realized that Hiei was out cold, yet he was still standing. Then I saw his Jagan Eye.
Oh.
He was reading her mind. His hands were at her temples, and he had sent her into the recesses of her own mind. Then Hiei must have gone into a deep level of REM himself. I shivered as I saw his eyes moving under his eyelids, his lips twisting into a frown.
What could possibly be in Botan's mind that would intrigue you, Hiei?
Notes from Botan's Journal: Hiei was frowning as he dragged me out of the room by my wrist. Me moved quickly down the hall where the little girl was.
I could only she a soft shadow of her. She was struggling to get a cross off of the wall. A Christmas Tree was next to her, sparkling in all of its glory. She hiccuped and wheezed out soft, desperate words.
"T-They l-l-left me..."
Hiei's eyes narrowed. We both understood in a flash. The man and woman who had been running had been her mother and father. They had left their daughter in order to save their own souls.
Even I couldn't help the flood of loathing that seeped through my veins. That was when a crash was heard behind us. I whirled around to see a party of demons. My eyes widened and my blood turned to ice as I recognized them.
They were the demons from my nightmares...
My eyes began to roll back into my skull and my knees grew shaky, but harsh hands were on my shoulders in an instant, squeezing them painfully.
"Stay with me onna, we aren't done yet."
I forced my eyes to open, shrieking when the demons ran at me, passing right through me like I was a ghost. I was able to turn and I saw them corner the little girl. Her back was still to us, and I saw Hiei slowly tensing. He looked... excited and yet dreadful at the same time.
"Little girl, we will spare you if you give us the whereabouts of your Father."
The girl's shoulders flinched as she heard the dark and scary voice of the demon who was dressed in noble armor. His voice wasn't comforting in any way. It dripped with the thirst for blood.
She turned slowly. For many moments I couldn't breathe.
The little girl, staring at the demon, had blue hair and pink eyes.
The little girl... was me.
Koenma: We found Botan's spirit out of nowhere really. I remember Dad and I were just doing our work as usual, and one of our assistants came in. He was smiling when he told me that he had just gotten his hands on the purest soul he had ever witnessed.
I got out of my seat, not able to believe it. A soul... more pure than me? Not likely.
However, when he showed me Botan, who gazed around with curious eyes, I saw it. She was... as pure as a nigen soul could be. She hadn't sinned... at all. It was incredible. My Father and I leaped on the opportunity, and that was the day that I enlightened Botan to everything. She learned how to ferry soul, and we became friends in minutes.
She was the perfect soul.
Notes from Botan's Journal: I... the other me... didn't say anything as the head demon took a menacing step towards her. She closed her eyes and squeezed the cross in her little hands. I wanted to tell her to give away her parents. To tell her that they were cowards.
Her lips remained tightly shut. Her... I mean, my... pink eyes opened and were full of fear and dejection. The demon pleaded with her, and for the first time, I heard deep sorrow in his voice. A stabbing pain deep inside that he couldn't get rid of.
"Please... your Father killed my only love." The little me sobbed and let out a shrill wail. "Just tell me where he is, lass, and I swear, I will let you live."
I watched myself back up against the wall. Her... I mean my... little hands were trembling and the cross fell out of it. My mouth was open, and I couldn't have been older than eight years old.
"I-I... I-I..." The demons were on their toes. They wanted to know where the priest who killed the Queen was. I watched myself break into hysterics. It sent chills down my spine. "T-They l-l-left m-m-me."
The King's eyes were wide. I saw his arms flex in rage. I watched myself look up, saliva dripping out of my mouth and pink eyes red with tears. The King's eyes traveled to my hands, which were bleeding from the sharp edges of the cross.
"Little girl, if you are lying–"
"WHYDIDN'T THEY LOVEME?" I grabbed Hiei's hand out of pure shock. My little voice... so resentful and hurt. Her hands pressed themselves to her eyes as she convulsed with the pure loss of her Mother and Father. "I-I was g-g-good... I was a g-g-g-g-good little g-girl..."
I looked away, my eyes stinging.
"Lass–"
"Wasn't that good enough?" She looked up to the demons. "I... did I do something... to make them mad?"
Hiei and I watched as the King kneeled down before me, placing a massive and clawed hand on my trembling shoulder.
"Little lass, don't you ever say that."
I knew that I heard him. My eyes still darted around the room, something darker than fear in them. I felt Hiei stiffen. It was self-loathing. A hatred so dark and so deep... it was most likely masochistic. That was when I saw the blood on my little face... from the cuts on my hands.
"I... There is nothing left." My small fists were clenched and she looked up into the King's eyes, purity still in my eyes even as darkness consumed me. "Kill me... please..."
"What? No, lass, I cant–"
"They l-l-left m-me..." My pink eyes were so cut off from the world... I couldn't have heard the screams outside. Or the sound of flames crackling the villagers house. "They didn't... they didn't love me..."
Hiei's hand tightened around mine.
The King stood up from the floor. His men were deathly silent. He pulled out his sword. My lungs froze. The smaller me closed her eyes, tears falling down her bloodstained face. My pink lips opened and she began to sing.
"Come to me children and follow my way..." It's melody... chilling and familiar. The King gripped his sword with both hands. "With all my power, I'll show you the way..." Tears were running down his face. "Into the world of darkness magic..."
He swung his sword, and my eyes wouldn't close as I saw my own, little head, fly off, my body collapsing into a heap on the floor, landing at the base of the Christmas Tree.
Kurama: I saw Hiei jerk awake. He stepped backwards so quickly that he tripped and fell. Botan woke up, crying. She wasn't sobbing, but her hands were shaking as she pushed her hair back.
Hiei, still on the ground, was shaking badly. He tried to make it stop, crushing his hands under his knees, but his entire body fell to it.
Notes from Botan's Journal: I came to, my lungs burning and tears falling from my eyes. I was pale and feeling sick to my stomach. Witnessing yourself die... is never a pleasant experience.
I saw Hiei on the ground. He was shivering and when he finally looked at me, I saw disbelief in his crimson eyes. He wasn't afraid of me... it was more like he was afraid for me.
"Onna..." His hands trembled. "No wonder... your eyes... are so sad."
III
A/N: I had to leave it off there. Now... PLEASE... if you read it, just tell me if you liked it or not! Please! I really want to know what other people think of this writing style and the plot. Do you like it? Is it too dark, too scary, too fast, or too slow? Or do you like it just the way it is? Please, if even the smallest thing is sticking out to you, just tell me. Please, review.
P.s. The song the younger Botan was singing was D.H.T's Magic Melody. I was listening to it while I wrote this chapter, but the song itself will prove to have meaning to it later on.
P.s.s. Europe is amazing!