The Biography of Hiei and Botan : Forbidden Fruit
A/N: Sorry about the long wait. Fanfiction is being a jerk-face to my laptop, so I'm scrambling for other computers at the moment. So... here's the update that you have all been waiting for. Read and Review!
I
Enma (God): What happened that Christmas Eve going into Day was massive, unexpected, and against the Rekai way of life. Why do you think I am the way I am now?
Koenma (Son of God): I still have dreams of Rekai shuddering like a dry leaf on a tree. The sheer power it took to do that is... unimaginable.
Notes from Botan's Journal (spirit): I stared at the apple that was being offered to me by Adam. My mouth hung open, making me look like a fool. Adam must have sensed my hesitation mixed with fascination, because he put a sinewy hand on my shoulder, his body creaking.
"You have a choice, Daughter of Earth and Spirit." His beetle eyes softened. "What is being asked of you is a great gift... but also a burden. We understand if you do not eat the apple."
The apple was in my hand now. A part of me, a part of me that had been smothered with illusions, would have dropped the apple and politely refused. But... I knew that this was not just about me. All this.. The Queen, Enma, Koenma, had all been leading up to this moment.
Onna. I looked up, Hiei staring at me. Are you sure about this?
I already knew. I nodded.
"I accept."
Hiei straightened his back, gripping his apple tightly.
"As do I."
Adam and Eve smiled.
Yusuke (demon): I remember that I was sleeping, arms around Keiko, when a thunderous boom shook the entire temple. Keiko and I jumped up, hearts pouding.
Our first thoughts were, Oh Kami, it's an earthquake, but that was not it.
Not at all.
Rekai History Expert (spirit): History repeats itself. An age old saying that happens to be true. Lucifer was the first to go up against God. Although nigens know nothing of the following instances, God has punished others who try to overthrow him.
Pompeii.
Hurricane Katrina.
The tidal wave in the East.
All these events are not coincidental. They were the results of Enma's wrath.
Genkai (nigen): I was probably the only person on the planet who was not mystified by the phenomena that night. I'm old. I've seen a lot of things in my life. Sensui being defeated, Yusuke becoming a demon... a lot of sights.
But I have never seen the sky look the way it did that night.
Yukina (Koorime): No one noticed that Hiei and Botan were gone.
II
Notes from Botan's Journal: Adam took me over to the side of the tree, Eve taking Hiei with her to the other side. We did not eat our apples yet.
Adam sat me down on the water, settling himself so that he was sitting cross-legged in front of me.
"I am pleased with your decision." I bowed my heard in thanks. "Before you eat the apple and leave this place... I would like to give you... some words of advice."
I smiled, a nervous flutter bubbling in my stomach.
"I'd be honored to hear it."
He took my hands, and the water stopped rippling. It was like sitting on glass.
"You are about to embark on a journey that would destroy many." The water flickered to life with images of grassy plains and towering mountains. It was as if we were flying around all Three Worlds. "In order to bring inner peace to beings of all race... then you must know the History of the Three Worlds." Demons running away from Rekai officers. Rekai rising to power, posters of Enma's face stuck to the walls. Humans struggling to discover right from wrong. The Holocaust. The Vietnam War. The war in Iraq. "Wars plague all Three Worlds."
My head was spinning. I felt cramped. Like the Three worlds were closing in around me.
"But... what can I do?" Adam's head tilted to the side. "I'm just one person... I can't change the entire world!"
Kuwabara (nigen): The entire temple shook. I remember jumping up, seeing that everyone else was already running around, waking everyone up. Yukina ran to me, grabbing my arm. She was yelling something, but I couldn't hear her.
We all ran outside, Shizuru and Kurama first, Keiko and Yukina second, and Yusuke and I last. We stood in the cold, and that was when we realized that it was not the ground that had been shaking the temple.
"Yusuke, look!"
Keiko pointed up at the sky. Our heads fell back, starting at what used to be a clear ocean of stars and galaxies.
What we saw was... apocalyptic.
Clouds blackened the sky. Thick thunder clouds. They pulsed with light, but not flashes of actual lightening. The clouds were red. The pulsed with battle and life. That was when our eyes were torn away by a tearful voice that seemed to cut through all the chaos.
"Where's Hiei?" Yukina was panicking, shuddering as her chest rapidly rose and fell with her uneven breaths. "Where's my brother?"
Another loud boom crackled across the sky.
Tear gems clinked to the ground, hazel eyes locked on the violent turmoil of what used to be a sky.
Ayame (spirit): Koenma had burst into my room that night. He was in his pajamas, his eyes were all but tired. He ripped the sheets off of my body and pulled me up and out of my room.
Both of our hearts were pounding. As our bare feet slapped against the cold tile, I remember seeing others. Other ogres and ferry girls scrambling. Crying on the floor. Screaming for help.
Koenma brought us to a balcony that overlooked all of Rekai. The moment our feet hit the marble, a wave of heat washed over us. George had already been there, waiting.
"Ayame!" Koenma bellowed at the top of his lungs, the fiery wind tossing our hair and clothes about. "George!" The three of us clutched to each other, like passengers on the doomed Titanic. "Go get the Rekai Tentei!"
George (ogre): Ogres are stationed at the very base of the Rekai building. When the attack on Enma started, I guess you could say that I had front row seats to the entire ordeal.
When the first quakes began, all I was able to see was the ethereal white light. It took about fifteen minutes until the fire started.
Yukina: I hadn't cried so hard in my life after that night. My brother... he was gone... in this time of chaos. Deep down, I knew that he was involved. Him... and maybe Botan too...
But I still wanted him back.
Koenma: Ayame, George, and I were huddled on the balcony. The flames were licking at our ankles, howls in the wind screeching in our ears. Ayame was shaking, wide eyes set on the madness below.
"Go!" I screamed. I grabbed Ayame, twisted her around, forcefully tearing her eyes away. "We need their help! Go!"
As a whistling chunk of debris crashed eerily close to us, I pressed my lips against my assistant's. Our chest vibrated with the sounds of battle. I broke off our kiss and hugged George, kissing his cheek.
"Please." I backed away from them both. "Both of you. Go." Ayame was crying now, her fingers over her lips. George was sniffling and wiping his eyes with the back of his arm. "Go and don't look back."
Notes from Botan's Journal: Adam's shoulders sagged. His hands brushed over the water.
"Do not underestimate yourself." Pictures of the Pope, Primes ministers, presidents, and other leaders shimmered across the water's surface. "In a few moments, Botan, you and Hiei will have the power to influence these people, who in turn will influence the world."
My hands touched the water. Looming posters of Enma's face appeared under my fingertips.
"But Enma... he will not just let me... and Hiei go and do this. I can't pull the sheets over his eyes forever."
Adam sat back, his eyes cast downward.
"We know." The sparkling dust floated around us. In this tiny bubble of peace. "Enma must be removed from power."
My face paled.
"And who is going to do that?"
My stomach was sinking, knowing what Adam's next response was going to be.
"You are."
Yusuke: No one could move. All we could do was crane our necks back and stare, mouths gaping open at the turmoil that was taking place in our beautiful sky. Flames would burst through the clouds, sizzling for about one hundred feet... maybe more... before dying out. The smell of fire and smoke filled our nostrils.
It took me about five minutes to hear that someone was calling out my name. A few voices, actually.
I turned to see George and some ferry girl... I think it was the girl who always hung out with Koenma... running towards me. The girl was crying, George's eyes still a bit red. They panted, all of our attention on them now as they struggled to yell over the crashes of the sky towering above us.
"Koenma sent us! We need your help! Someone is attacking Rekai!"
Yukina hid her face, tear gems rapidly pouring out from the cracks between her fingers. Kurama shivered, hugging himself tightly. Shizuru and Keiko clung to each other as Kuwabara's face turned ashen grey. The girl grabbed all of the Rekai Tentei's hands, shoving Keiko, Yukina, and Shizuru away. It all seemed like a horrible nightmare, our hair being pulled by the wind as George had this miserable look in his beady black eyes. The ferry girl bowed her head, all of us joined by hands, and began to move her lips.
The ground fell out from under us, and we were flung into oblivion.
III
Kurama (kitsune): That night, after watching Hiei and Botan lose themselves to passion just outside of the temple made me begin to think as I lay in the darkness. What happened when Hiei supposedly came to me during that summer's evening? Did I forget something? What was he going to do?
My instinct told me that I had overlooked something incredible... and it has been haunting me ever since I saw the blood red nigen sky.
The Rekai Tentei stood outside in the now apocalyptic World. We were torn away from Keiko, Yukina, and Shizuru, Ayame pushing them hard enough so that they fell backwards. I remember how Shizuru looked at me. For that moment, before Ayame chanted a prayer to bring us to Rekai, it felt like she loved me.
But I might have been mistaken.
The next thing I knew, I could barely feel my spine as my toes turned ice cold.
George: We appeared on the ground, not in the building. My bare feet shifted over the debris of what used to be a beautiful tower. Pulses of light and fire made the air crackle loudly, our hearts stopping each and every time. I saw the look of terror in Ayame's eyes. A few years ago, I might have been fearful with her.
But I saw what was really happening.
There was a flash of white light, and a glowing being was thrown back into the building. I flinched at the harsh impact.
The fireball let out a scream, and flames began to shoot out of the ground.
It was the beginning of the end. An empire was going to fall by the end of this night.
Mukuro (demon): The sky of Makai was blood red as well. Demons were all outside, staring upwards. I shuddered as I saw the flames leap out of the clouds, dancing in an array of motions. I ordered my troops out of the building, and we began a march to the barrier dividing our World from Rekai.
Kuwabara: My entire body went numb at the violence. My eyes couldn't catch up with all the action... and my mind couldn't catch up with all the information.
Notes from Botan's Journal: Adam stood, pulling me with him. He towered over me, his long limbs willowy and creaking with his every move. My hand still held onto my apple.
"You can end Enma's reign, Botan." He moved to the trunk of the tree, reaching inside its trunk and snapping something off inside. He took out a long stick, about five feet long. "Use this. Carve it. Make it your own." I took it into my hands, running my fingers over its smooth surface. "This will channel your new energy and powers... and it will bring Enma down from his throne."
The water tickled my toes.
"Thank you." My pink eyes stared into his dark and shimmery beetles. "For everything."
Adam bent down low, so that his mouth was by my ear.
"You will not be alone, Botan." Eve and Hiei stepped out from behind the other side of the tree, Hiei having acquired a crimson cape. "Others will always be there to help you. You are never alone."
Adam returned to his place, and Hiei came to my side. He was silent, as usual, but his eyes would not meet mine. Instead, he shared a glance with Eve that only he understood. Eve turned to her counterpart.
"Is she okay with everything? Does she understand what must be done?"
Adam nodded, smiling at me.
"She does. She is ready. And what of the Son of Fire and Ice?"
Eve crossed her arms sagely.
"He knows what must be done."
I suddenly realized that even though I was about to eat the fruit of knowledge, a fruit that was to enlighten me, that there would still be mysteries in the Worlds that I would never be able to explain. Adam and Eve faced us.
"Ready?"
I turned to Hiei.
"Are you?"
The infamous demon thief nodded, and for a flash, I saw Hiei as a noble knight, willing to fight to the death for a cause that he believed in.
"Hn. You?"
I smiled sadly, my memories drifting back to my first death as a child.
"Since the day I died."
We both brought our apples up to our lips. Our teeth sank into them simultaneously, our lives changing with that single bite.
IV
Yusuke: I grabbed the ferry girl by the shoulders, shaking her.
"What do you want us to do? It's a fucking war-zone out there!"
A fiery rock shot out at us, and we all had to duck down, our chests pressed to the hot rock floor, in order to avoid it. She was sobbing, looking at the chaos that she was trying to prevent by dragging us into it.
"I-I d-d-don't know!"
I let her go, snarling. That was when I noticed that Kurama and Kuwabara were missing.
"Kuwabara? Kurama? Where the hell did you go?"
"Yusuke!" I looked up to a pillar that was almost falling down. "Up here!"
Kuwabara waved, Kurama nodding at me.
"What are you doing up there?"
Kazuma flashed me a cocky smile.
"If we're gonna do anything about this mess, we have to see what's happening first, right?"
I shook my head. Kuwabara... what a lunk-head.
"Don't wait up for me!"
I quickly jumped and started climbing, catching up with my friends. Each and every pull was one pull closer to finding out just who or what was behind all of this.
Koenma: I was standing on the balcony, watching Rekai fall to its knees, when shouts erupted from behind me. I whirled around to see papers flooding the hallways. I sprinted inside in time to see ogres and ferry girls sputtering, trying to get above the hoard of documents.
That was what got me to stop moving.
Documents?
I had never seen these documents before.
My entire body was still as I bent down, hands trembling, to pick up a paper. In bold print, the headline said: Queen of the North slaughtered. Pictures of her body were splattered all over the page. A chill that started from my thigh ran all the way up to the back of my neck. Priest commended for her murder.
Murder.
Commended.
At the bottom of all the pages were my Father's signature.
Kurama: Once we got to the top of the wobbly pillar, we had a great view of just who we were going up against.
There was a fireball. Literally. Just a being composed of fire. It darted about, shooting flames out of its fingertips. Then there was a person clothed in white, wielding a staff.
They were fighting against... we could not see their opponent. Not until it was hit... and that was when we saw the face of God Himself. He was growling, his face twisting savagely. Enma had changed, or maybe Enma was not all that I thought him to be.
What I saw that Christmas Eve was a chaotic God. A God of lies and anarchy.
That was when I remembered the Queen. Who Botan really was. How Hiei got involved, and had grown to care for the ferry girl's safety.
"Oh, Kami."
I couldn't help it. Those words fell from my lips. Yusuke and Kuwabara turned to me.
"What is it?"
"I know who they are."
Yusuke motioned to move on with his hands.
"Well! Come on!"
My green eyes flashed as another burst of fire erupted from the ground, the pillar shaking. It wasn't going to last long. Not if Hiei kept his actions up.
"It's Hiei... and Botan."
Notes from Botan's Journal: My blood was lit on fire. Just one bite, and I was screaming in agony. My nerves were being tortured... and I saw Adam and Eve through my leaking eyes. The water was swallowing me up. My hand outstretched, towards the surface. I screamed, only bubbles coming out of my mouth.
I wanted to go back. It was too painful.
Flashes of faces, people, places, images of everything was ripping at my eyes. My agony pulsed in my brain, information weighing it down. I curled up into a ball as I sank further and further down, clutching onto my skull. Nothing I could do would ease the pain.
My pink kimono was dissolving into the water. I could only see darkness. I had no sight. I could only feel. And what I felt was the staff against my body and the cold water that engulfed me.
I blacked out.
When I woke up, at first I was not aware that I was awake. My eyes were closed, but I frowned as my leg jerked up. It hurt. My eyes opened, and I instantly regretted it. The light of the fading sun hit my eyes. I rolled over onto my stomach, my fists and toes curling and uncurling. My head was still throbbing... and my body felt like it had been hit by a thousand sledgehammers.
My lips were open as I kissed the ground. I sat up and began to run my hands over my body. I couldn't believe that I was alive! I had lived! A dry shout escaped my lips. A shout of victory. I thought that the pain was going to kill me... and it didn't!
I turned, and I saw that Hiei was shaking. He kept on pinching his skin. His red eyes looked into mine.
I didn't have a chance to breathe before he had pulled me into a fierce hug. His hands were touching me, and I found myself returning the favor. His breathing was coming in fast shallow pants.
"Your alive." He was chanting. Over and over, between pants, he chanted. "I'm alive. We're alive. Are you okay? That hurt a lot... fuck... are you okay? Are you really alive? Am I really alive?"
I pushed him off of me just so I could see his face.
"We're here. It's over."
I kissed his cheek, and he still clutched my arms. A year ago, it would have been a warning to back off. Now... it was pulling me closer to him. He tilted his head and captured my lips in a kiss that defied the very laws of existence. He feverishly nibbled my bottom lip, then kissed my cheeks, my nose, my forehead, anything he could reach without letting me go.
At the moment, it didn't seem romantic. It was a way of celebrating that we hadn't died. That we were okay.
We were on the barren lands of Makai, the sun glaring onto our bare bodies. We hugged each other, not even noticing that we were naked.
That was when we heard a cough.
"Ahem." Hiei and I separated, squinting as we tried to see who was by us. My heart beat didn't even shudder. "It looks like you could use some help."
A person stepped off of what looked like an organic motorcycle. They bent down, and my eyes finally focused in order to see Mukuro's smiling face. She took her cloak off of her body and draped it around my shoulders.
"Thank you."
When I spoke, my voice sounded different to my own ears. The tones, pitch, and range were all the same... but there was something beneath it. A knowledge. A power that I did not possess before.
The demon stood, helping me up onto my shaking feet. She let me lean against her.
"It's the very least I could do for you." Hiei found his new crimson cloak and put it on. He handed me my staff. "You are going to save us."
She looked off into the vivid sunset.
"All of us."
V
A/N: Did you like it? Sorry about the long wait for the update, but I hope that this makes up for it! The next chapter is going to be of EPIC proportions, so please review and tell me what you honestly think! Did you like it? Did you hate it? Was everyone IC? Happy that Mukuro isn't the villain in this fic? Or do you just want mashed potatoes? Read and Review!
-mia