Here's part two! It doesn't tie into the HB week, but the next update will!

Hope you all enjoy!

In truth, a simple piece of jewelry could not accurately serve as repayment for what the ferry-girl had done for his sister. She had given Yukina a home; a safe place to belong, surrounded by the people she had admittedly become attached to. Hiei would be able to easily keep track of her here and he knew that she would be safe at the old woman's temple. What the ferry-girl had done for him could never be repaid, but he knew that he could not let this go without at least doing something in return.

Although he tried to ignore her more often than not, he had noticed more about her than he would have liked to. For instance, he knew for a fact that she was keen on the things that had caught her eye. He had witnessed her fawning over their mother's tear gem when Yukina told her of its significance. He had seen her smiling up at the twinkling stars at night. He had seen her captured by the colors of twilight as the sun set on the horizon.

So, when he spotted the amethyst stone in the jewelry store's display window, he did not have to think twice. The color was similar to her eyes and it shone just enough that he knew she would like it.

Procuring it was child's play.

Mustering up the will to actually give it to the woman was a bit more difficult.

Convincing her to keep it was even harder.

But the hardest part of all was processing the way that things had changed after gifting her with the trinket. She had taken to wearing it all the time and he was beginning to doubt that she ever took it off. Though it was a little unsettling, Hiei had eventually learned to deal with it.

What he still had trouble processing was the change between them. Her greetings became friendlier and more familiar. She smiled at him often, open and inviting and warmer than he ever wanted to experience. She even tried to strike up multiple conversations, despite knowing that he would not care for it.

He never would have come to expect that a simple gift would shift things between them to this extent, but it did. It was plainly obvious that ferry-girl was no longer wary of fearful around him anymore; she had let go of her previous reservations against him and had started to treat him like one of the others.

And that was how Hiei found himself accosted by her in the park one day, hand outstretched towards him with a grin on her face.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It's a cone shell!" she grinned.

"And why are you prostrating it in front of me?"

"Because I'm gifting it to you."

Crimson eyes continued to stare down at the blue shell in her upturned palm.

"What exactly do you expect me to do with a token like this?" questioned finally.

"You can do anything you want with it. I just felt like giving you something nice and unique, since you did the same for me."

"That was for a specific reason, woman. You do not owe me anything."

"I know."

"And if I accept this, then I will be in your debt again," he told her.

Botan's expression fell and she floundered for a moment.

"Oh, I didn't mean for you to... that wasn't my intention," she tried to explain with a shake of her head. "I was only trying to do something nice for you, Hiei."

"And I'm telling you that you did not need to," he maintained evenly.

"I wanted to," she confessed, fingertips grazing against her necklace. "I wanted to because you did something nice for me."

"It wasn't nice. It was my duty-"

"Even if it was an obligation, it meant a lot to me," she admitted, pale cheeks stained with color. "I don't have any money. I'm not a good cook like Yukina or Keiko. And I'm not as smart or resourceful as Shizuru, so this was the best I could do."

Hiei swallowed thickly, a strange tightening in his chest making it difficult to breathe. This only ever happened when the ferry-girl gave him far too much attention and he didn't like it.

"I searched all over the beach for it," she recounted with a grin. "I really think it's one of a kind!"

"..."

Blue brows crinkled in uncertainty.

"…Do you not like it?" she asked.

"..."

"Well, you're not obligated to take it if you don't want to," she said, lowering her hand. "It is just a silly cone, after all."

"It is silly," he agreed flatly.

Botan's eyes were downcast as she nodded in defeat.

"But I still want it anyway," he declared.

The ferry-girl perked up, brows lifting as she met his gaze hopefully.

"Really?"

"Yes," he said. "I will accept your token."

A smile slowly stretched out her lips as she handed the shell off to him, amethyst eyes lit up and shining as brightly as the gem hanging around her neck. Her expression had brightened so much so that Hiei was forced to look away as a strange warmth spread outwards from his chest. He closed his fist around the tiny cone, the weight of the exchange making his fingers tingle and pulse pound.

"Well, I had better get going," Botan said, summoning her oar. That exuberant smile was still on her face and he was sure it would remain there for quite some time to come. "I slipped away from work to find you, but I'm sure someone will notice my absence."

He nodded.

The ferry-girl sat on her oar, hovering a few feet above the ground as she waved at him.

"I suppose I'll see you around!"

He watched her shoot off into the air before looking down at the shell.

It really was a trivial little thing, but he pocketed it nonetheless.

Hope you all enjoyed! Part 3 will be posted tomorrow

(Psst! I also posted a little story called Growing Pains. Takes place in the Love You More AU and fulfills the prompt for Day 2 of the Shipper Week)