Hazard

Disclaimer

I don't own YYH.

Eternity

Keiko was beyond happy to see her and spend the day with her. As they walked down the street with shopping bags in hand, they passed the park. Botan grew quiet, her eyes focusing on the ground so that she didn't look at that one place...

"Thinking about him, huh? You should talk to him, you know." Keiko took a sip of her coffee and shifted her bags. "Why are you upset? He has to care about you." The ferry girl looked up at her friend and tried to quicken her pace.

"Well... I-I guess that...he knew it wouldn't last so he decided to let himself..." She stopped. Her friend seemed to understand where the statement was going. "Anyway, let's leave that problem for later, okay? I have other things on my mind. Do you want to drag the guys to the movies later? I think it'll be fun!"

As she talked, I could tell that the recent events had taken a toll on her. She was such a strong-willed person that she didn't want to wait to immerse herself in her old routine. But she was off-balance. She probably did realize that it would take time for things to settle back into normality. However, her chances of a relationship with Hiei... I wasn't so sure that everything would work out in the end. Of course, being her best friend, I hoped for her sake that it would. I didn't have much time to adjust and the truth was that I was still in the process of accepting her choice of boyfriend. I had no intention of insulting Hiei but he certainly didn't seem like boyfriend material.

However, neither did Yuusuke... Speaking of Yuusuke, he seemed to accept the news the best out of all of us. He wanted to help the two of them get over the obstacles in their way. Unfortunately, it seemed like there were too many hurdles...and Yuusuke's never really been great in Phys. Ed, even though he fights demons and the toughest gangs in our area.

Well, I know that I can't do anything to help her out. I wish I could give her friendly advice but this is just something that is beyond that kind of help. They need to figure it out for themselves... But seeing her so upset makes me sad... I only wish that I could put my arm around her and tell her that everything will be all right.

...But I can't...

Well, they did wind up dragging Yuusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama to the movies with Yukina's help. They decided on a comedy, having the need for a good laugh. After it was over, they all walked out with grins on their faces.

"At least it wasn't a craptastic chick flick! When you asked us to come, we were all pretty suspicious." Yuusuke shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked next to Kuwabara and Keiko. Yukina was on the other side of Kuwabara and Kurama and Botan were behind the line. Suddenly, the ferry girl noticed the mini-arcade.

"I want to see if we can win some stuff out of the machines!" She grabbed Kurama's arm in one hand and Yuusuke's arm in the other and dragged them with her into the room. "Look! How cute is that, Keiko?" Keiko ran over, arm-in-arm with Yukina as Kuwabara tried to keep up. Botan was pointing to a small stuffed black cat with purple eyes and a red collar. Yuusuke rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"That looks easy to get. Here, let me have a few bucks." Botan handed him some money. "Let the master show you how its done!" He cracked his knuckles and tossed some money in the slot before taking the joystick and yanking it in the direction of the cat. A few minutes later...

"Thank you so much, Kuwabara!" Botan exclaimed as he handed the cat to her on his second try. Yuusuke had given up after she said she wouldn't give him any more money.

"Aw, it was nothin'." He said with a shake of his head. Then he noticed Yukina peering at something, her hand delicately pressed against the glass. "See somethin' you like, my snow princess?" She looked over at him with a curious expression on her face before smiling.

"I like that little bear in the corner." She pointed to it. It was a little brown bear with a white baseball cap, holding a small flag. He grinned and nodded as he stuck more money into the machine. "Oh, Kazuma, you really needn't try-"

"Nonsense, my little snow angel! I'd get anything for you!" His loud voice was beginning to attract attention, the girls noticed. Then they also noticed that Kurama and Yuusuke had vanished. When they went looking, they saw that the two were playing a different game. Botan smiled at her best friend, wishing that everyday could be same. However, she knew otherwise. Things would be different for her and Hiei both, if the koorime ever decided to talk to her. "Oh, yeah! So, Urameshi, now what? I'm better than you!" Yuusuke either ignored him or just didn't hear him...but Kuwabara felt as though he acheived a personal victory as Yukina held the little brown bear in her hands.

"Come on, let's get going. It's getting late." Keiko looked at her watch with a frown. Most of them had school the next day. "Yuusuke, did you even start your homework?"

Botan walked back to her place alone from Keiko's house. As she walked, she hugged the small stuffed cat that Kuwabara had won from the machine. Though she felt horrible, she had no real reason to cry. If anything, Hiei had given her a gift. A gift that she would treasure for eternity. Perhaps her time on Ningenkai was done...even though Reikai seemed so uncomfortable compared to it. But perhaps...she wouldn't stay on either. Perhaps she would treasure his gift in a place that she had always been curious about yet too scared to submit to. Her soul, her whole being, held a longing, even when she first died. That place...it was calling her. Would she ignore it as she always had? Or would she yield to its beckoning calls?
His name pulled at my heart urgently, as though questioning my loyalty to him. There was no way that I was betraying him if he thought I was better off without him. How could I betray him if I went to a place where I belonged? My mind refused the calling once more, refused to submit to the longing of a different world. Why should I leave just yet? Even though I considered it...even though it was so inviting, I still refused. I felt chilled at the prospect, though I hardly knew the reason. He wouldn't take me back. I told myself so many times that I've lost count.

Hiei wouldn't hold me, he wouldn't kiss me, and he wouldn't tell me he loved me. I was grateful to him for his gift to me. For the brief time of my - no...our happiness. Though he probably had and always will deny it, I knew he was happy. I knew because of the crimson Hiruiseki stones that I possessed. If he hadn't cared, then he wouldn't have cried.

If I passed on, I would never see him again. That thought alone was enough to turn that longing away. I loved him with all of my heart and, even if we couldn't be together, I wanted to see him...so badly.

She stopped walking and pulled the necklace with the Hiruiseki stone on it from beneath her shirt. No matter how hard she tried, he wouldn't leave her mind. Therefore, she had only one option. She had to see him. Looking around her, she realized that she was one of the only ones on the streets. It was beginning to get quite late. Turning around, she changed direction without caring about the time. Her eyes narrowed as she approached her destination at a run. The gates were locked... But that was fine. She had other ways to get in. Summoning her oar, she boarded it and flew over the gate, leaving the stuffed cat behind on the sidewalk.

Though it was dark, she knew exactly where it was. She knew the exact path to his tree, knew the exact branch on which he always slept. However, when she reached it, it was vacant. He wasn't there...but he would return, right?

"Hiei..." She got off her oar and sat down on the branch with her back against the trunk of the tree. There she would remain until he returned from wherever he was. "I'll wait... I promise..." After only ten minutes with the darkness pressed close around her, she began to drift off. She grew cold, sitting there without even a light jacket on. But she didn't care. No matter what, she would sit there and wait. And so, not too long after that, she fell asleep, dreaming of her sweet memories.

Shouldn't that baka onna be home by now?

He didn't think he had the courage but he found himself unable to remain away from her, even if it cost him his pride, some of which was still lost. He fidgeted. After the way he was around her, there was no way that he was staying away for good. After the way she made him feel, the way he felt when he was with her, he couldn't remain just friends. Even if he was the Forbidden Child, she didn't seem to care. All she wanted was to be with him. His crimson eyes narrowed when a figure walked by down below. Not Botan... He was waiting for her to get back to her apartment. It was getting late and still no sign of her.

Baka onna...where are you?

He was quickly becoming frustrated. Perhaps he should just forget about the whole plan. Perhaps she was better off without him. Maybe she had stayed with the detective's woman...that Keiko girl. He raced quickly to the Yukimura residence by way of the rooftops. He didn't sense her inside so that meant that she had left. Puzzled, he thought about his options. There was really only one, anyway. That was to go back to his tree and pretend that none of his little scavanger hunt happened. So, he began his short journey 'home' to his tree. At the gates, he caught her scent. His eyes landed on a small stuffed cat lying on the ground. It was covered in her scent. He picked it up and jumped the gate with little effort before racing to his tree. Her scent had vanished in that one spot. Upon reaching his tree, he planned to further ponder his discovery when he made another, more startling one.

"Botan?" She was asleep in his spot. She had come looking for him just as he had looked for her. And she had waited, as he had, only she had fallen asleep. He perched himself in front of her before poking her arm. "Baka onna, wake up." He set his hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. Her eyes fluttered open. "Botan." She gasped sharply and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Hiei!" Her movements had drawn his attention to the necklace she was wearing. However, he didn't have time to wonder about why she was wearing one of his Hiruiseki stones because she grabbed his cloak and pulled him to her in a firm embrace. He dropped the stuffed cat, forgetting that he even had it. His arms slowly circled her lithe form as she held him tightly. "I missed you so much. I had to see you! I couldn't be away from you any longer without...finding out how...you feel." She let him go, gently pushing him away to look at him. She could hardly make out his face in the darkness but she didn't care. He was there with her.

"I don't know." The answer was blunt but spoken accurately. He really didn't know how he felt because he had never felt that way before. He lifted one hand from her waist and gently touched the necklace she was wearing. She felt an ache flare through her body. Had he been using her for his own purposes? If he had...she didn't care. She just wanted to be near him.

"Tell me...what you do know." He was surprised that she had requested such a thing. Hiei knew next to nothing about emotions and feelings but he knew what he wanted. His crimson eyes nearly glowed in the darkness, his gaze meeting hers firmly. He was silent for a good few minutes, answers briefly flashing in his mind then receeding before he could grasp onto them. Then, finally, one stuck out from all the rest.

"I want to be with you." Tears stung at her eyes as she reached out to hold him once more. She smiled shakily at his answer. It was strange. She had never before wanted anyone to hold her so badly. He made her feel safe and he was so comfortable to hold. She shivered when she felt his hands on her back and his arms around her waist. "Are you cold?" He looked down at her, his body temperature rising.

"I'm fine, Hiei... Just fine." She looked up as he leaned down, his lips gently brushing her own. Before he had the chance to pull away, she freed her hands and wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. When she pulled away, he resisted briefly. "Are you all right?" He didn't say anything but turned his head away. After a moment of silence, she heard his quiet voice.

"You should go home. It's getting late." The way he said it made her open her mouth to protest. "Onna, it's getting late." She closed her mouth and nodded, summoning her oar. "Don't forget that ridiculous toy." When he said that, she looked down before jumping to the ground.

"I think you should keep him." She floated back up on her oar and held the stuffed cat out to him. He gave her a look.

"Keep him at your apartment, onna. I have nowhere to put anything." His voice was cold and it gave her chills. Suddenly, she grinned at him. "What?"

"I'll keep him in your room." She hugged the cat firmly in her arms. "So...I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" He nodded but said nothing as he made himself comfortable in his spot. "Good night, Hiei." He merely grunted his infamous 'hn' before settling in. She smiled and took off, eager to get to sleep so that she could wake up and see him again.

I wanted to hold him, to kiss him, to be with him. The kiss made me realize that I had to be with him, no matter what the consequences. He was withdrawn and often cold but those weren't exactly terrible things. I loved him because of him and nothing else. When I was with him in the beginning, my feelings didn't compare to what it felt like that night. The days were much brighter when I was able to see him. He stopped by before and sometimes after training. It eased my mind, making me confident that he was becoming more comfortable with staying with me.

The visits grew longer until one night...he didn't leave...

"Hiei, what do you think? I'm going to ask Koenma-sama if I can live here permanently, on Ningenkai. That way, even after Yuusuke's days as a Spirit Detective are up, I won't have to leave." Botan stared up at him, her gaze questioning. The koorime didn't say anything for a few moments.

"Will he allow it?" She grinned at him as though she knew the answer. "Well, onna? Will he?"

"He still owes me for his lack of courage at the wedding." His expression darkened at the mention of the event. She leaned up and kissed him softly, tightening her grip around his neck. When she pulled away, he gave her a look. "You don't have to worry about anything, my love. If I had married him, everything would have been a disaster. I wouldn't have given him an heir and Enma-sama probably would've banished me. I didn't even want to kiss him at the alter."

"Onna." His stern gaze made her smile affectionately. "Isn't that other ferry onna going to marry him, anyway?" She laughed before nodding.

"It didn't take him too long to ask her. Bet he figured if he waited too long, Enma-sama would've chosen another girl for him and he would've had to go through the same thing again." Koenma had told them that day that Ayame was going to marry him. "Glad that he's not rushing the wedding, though. He told me that the earliest will be six months, if not longer." Hiei didn't seem affected by the news. In fact, it seemed as though he didn't even care. "Hiei, what are you thinking about right now?" Her question was voiced only to break silence. She pretty much knew that he wouldn't tell her anything. One thing she always feared was not being able to tell how he felt about her. However, the fact that he visited her and spent time with her made it plain enough.

"Hn." He let a smirk ease onto his face as he closed his eyes. She stared at him, feeling her heart swell with joy at being so lucky that he was there with her. "Do you like weddings?" He asked suddenly. She cocked a brow when he looked at her. "Well, onna?"

"Yes, of course I do. But...when I thought I had to marry Koenma-sama instead of you..." Tears stung at her eyes. "I was heartbroken and sick with misery. I never did understand why it affected me so much. I never thought that I could react that way..." He frowned, staring at her. Perhaps if she let it all out to him, she would feel better. "When I looked at myself in the mirror, I thought it was someone else. It couldn't have possibly been me because the only person I could ever marry would be you...and we weren't getting married. I was so disgusted by my own behavior that I knew what had to be done." She paused, staring deep into his crimson eyes. "I had to be with you or I wouldn't exist at all. Hiei...you mean everything to me and so much more... I had to be faithful to you."

"Onna... Botan, I was at fault for that entire situation. If I had only...stifled my longing to know what companionship was like, neither of us would have been in that predicament." She smiled at him then.

"It was worth it, though. It all worked out, right?" He had to agree with her. The fact that she hadn't married Koenma was proof that it was successful. He felt his hand wrap around her waist, pulling her close to him. His lips touched hers in a soft kiss as he shifted so that he had better access to her. Botan let out a small squeal when she fell onto her back with him sitting on top of her. Hiei stared down at her, now hesitant to even let his hands rest on her body.

"You...are afraid of this?" Her eyes met his for a brief moment that seemed like an eternity. Then she smiled and reached up to touch his cheek.

"Not as long as its you, Hiei." He felt a heat flare through him at the tenderness in her voice and her sweet words. He leaned down slowly, pressing deliberately against her, aware of even the softness of her skin beneath the fabric of her clothing. His lips met the base of her throat before journeying up to her lips. He was sure she was the one that would never betray him. He was sure she was the one that would love him, give him everything he'd ever wanted... She was his solace and he wanted to be embraced by those slender arms for the rest of his life. It was then that he knew that he had found a place called home where he could remain for all eternity.

Alright, then! This chapter is finished. As for the fic itself, I'm not quite sure whether or not I'm gonna end it there. I was debating the issue of one last chapter to wrap things up... Anyway, maybe you can help me.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think about Hazard having one last chapter. Sorry to do this but I can't decide whether or not I want to end it like this.

Thank you all for your outstanding cooperation throughout this fic and I really hope to write more fanfics that you'll enjoy reading!

-Angel