Hey people, and welcome to BioPattern Rose chapter three! I'm glad I've been able to take it this far, I thought the fic would have fallen through by now.

I am one of those test subjects.

His words kept ringing through her head. Pink orbs focused on the road illuminated by twin yellow beams of light. Luckily for her, there was a full moon out tonight, so it wasn't as dark as she'd expected it to be, which made her drive home a lot less hazardous.

"Tired of waiting around for your claims settlement check? Do you feel the money you're getting just isn't-"

Botan turned the radio off. The commercials kept cutting through her concentration. Lazing around a curve in the road, her thoughts went back half an hour ago.

What? Botan stared at him. What did he mean? Demons used as test subjects? Was he saying the demons actually existed? Confusion muddled her mind, but shock cleared it up in record time, leaving her cold and silent. Silent, save for the one word that fell from her lips:

"…What?"

The boy, no, Kurama put the book down and turned the upper half of his body so he could face her directly.

"Allow me to start at the beginning, well, as much if it as I know. Since antiquity, humans have been fascinated by demons. Our mysterious nature and long life spans have sought out the need for understanding by those humans who were not busy trying to hunt down and kill us. However, as time passed, and we faded from culture, demons found themselves facing a dilemma: either fade away completely, or adapt and live on. Naturally we chose the latter, as any species will adapt regardless of it being a conscious decision or not. The majority of us began to live alongside humans, although we did not care for the air of your cities. Instead we chose to live in rural areas, some of us forming small villages up in the seclusion of the mountains. Time passed, medical science advanced, and humans became obsessed with their own racing clock of mortality. Not that I resent them for that; any creature will fight impossible odds to extend its own life, be it even by a few years. Grasping at straws, various people were called in by the lab to participate in tests in order to have their DNA extracted and examined, so Libra could further its pursuit for the perfect human being. One of the humans turned out to be a demon, which had been quietly living among humans for the past two hundred years.

"Once that piece of evidence had been discovered, the entire lab went into an uproar. The beginning stages of the Phoenix Project were being put into place. Stage One, being to find any demons, and get any available information from them. Enma ordered a pacifist approach: rather than just up and capture demons, the scientists would temporarily live among them, and get whatever information they could. Enma explained that they would be able to get further by obtaining information from demons if they were in a more comfortable environment."

The back of her mind was still trying to process that fact that she was sharing her world with demons, creatures that had once been spoken of as myth. However, if she needed proof, it was right in front of her if she dared to need it any further. Meanwhile, the immediate part of her mind was sifting through what had just been presented to her. So what she had seen on Koenma's desk earlier had been correct! Wait…in the report, it stated that the demon, Subject 0013, was being quarantined in the lab. So when did Libra begin to contradict its statement?

"I don't understand. Were what you just said the case, you wouldn't be here. What happened to make Enma change his mind?"

Kurama smiled as her question precipitated from her mouth to the surrounding air. It wasn't a sad smile, nor was it happy. It was empty, simply empty.

"Things went well for about a year. However, there was gossip among some of the demonic population. 'Why have humans suddenly found an interest in us after decades of leaving us alone? What is their motive? Is there a motive?' This distrust was the product of years of persecution before being utterly left alone. Eventually, rumors became rife, and then became fact, although there was no proof to back up their accusations. The verbal strife erupted into physical violence. Three of Libra's scientists were brutally attacked and had to be hospitalized. Afterward, there was much debate on what to do from then on. 'Demons cannot be trusted' was the belief that was centered in the minds of the humans; likewise the other party thought the same of the other species.

"One month and two more attacks later, Toguro, a friend of Enma's and a co-founder of the lab made the decision that instead of gaining information from living among demons, demons instead would be quarantined and tested. It was then that Phase One underwent a complete radical change from gaining information, to abducting various demons and bringing them here. All of these rooms you saw lining this corridor? Each and every one of them has a demon behind the door."

The outline of a two story house loomed out of the darkness, the white paint reflected brightly in the moonlight. Botan turned off the ignition, and unbuckled her seatbelt. A muffled click was the only sound heard in the surrounding area as she stepped out of her car, and gently shut the door. Her blue hair shone silver as she approached the house, and unlocked the front door. A darkened interior and the sound of working vents were her only welcome home. Some days it really sucked living alone. Tonight would have been a wonderful night to sink into her mother's warm, comforting embrace and talk the night away. However, those days were gone, and she would just have to make do with her own thoughts for company.

The room immediately brightened as Botan flicked on the lights. Shutting the door behind her, she shrugged off her lab coat letting it plop to the floor. Botan turned around to pick it up, but shook her head as she bent down. Screw it; she would pick it up tomorrow. A sudden weariness had sunk itself into her bones. All she wanted to do now was sleep. Instead, she resigned her self to plunking down on the couch to think everything over. After Kurama had finished telling her his tale, she had asked him if there was another way for her to get out. At first Kurama had regarded her strangely, but when he saw the frightened glance she shot at the door, he smiled and began tying the sheets from his bed together to make a rope so he could lower herself down to the ground below.

On top of the television, green numbers proclaimed the time to be half past eight. Keiko was probably studying if she wasn't getting ready for bed, and who knows what Kuwabara and Yusuke were doing. 'I just need something to get my mind off all this. I suppose I could finish my chemistry homework.' Sadly, twenty minutes, one textbook, and twenty Ksp problems later, her mind was still circling back to her monumental discovery at the lab. With a snap, she closed her book, and drummed her fingers against the table top. Her mother had worked at Libra. Did that mean that she had been a part of Project Phoenix? It was highly likely, and if that was indeed the case…

'Then that means Mom also helped in the abduction of demons. She too, kept secrets from me…'

The sudden realization of just how in the dark she had been ceased the movement of Botan's incessantly drumming fingers. Her mother, just like all those around her, had been hiding what was possibly one of the biggest secrets in all of mankind. Energy alighted each and every nerve, sending her whole body ablaze with vitality. Knocked to the floor by her sudden springing to the feet, the chair clattered against the tile, coming to rest after a couple defiant bounces on the kitchen floor. Pounding footsteps were heard in the one occupant house as Botan dashed into her parent's room, a place left untouched since her mother's death, tore open the first drawer of her mother's vanity, and began shoving aside various socks, bras, and other under garments, in search of one valuable key.

"Aha!"

She cried aloud to the empty room. Clasped in her hands was a small, black, leather bound book; her mother's diary. When she was little, she'd had a constant habit of going through dresser drawers, the reasons behind this odd phenomenon still unknown to both Botan and her parents. On a crisp day in October, Botan had discovered her mother's diary lying amidst the articles of clothing. Her mother had come in at that moment, and found her daughter sitting on the floor, idly flipping the pages of the small book she held in her hands, not really reading so much as staring at the words written on the page. Even though Botan had gotten a scolding after that incident, her mother had never moved her diary.

Now, she knelt in front of her mother's vanity, much in the same way she did as when she had been a small, innocent child. Moonlight beamed in through the window, softly illuminating every nook and cranny of the master bedroom. Her hands trembled as she went to open the long forgotten chronicle. She gulped.

"I'm sorry Mom, but I have to do this. Please forgive me."

The cover fell to the left and the first page stared at her blankly. Atop the page, the date read Jun 11, 1983. No good, she'd have to go deeper. Around ten pages and sixteen years later, according to the date at the top of her current page, Botan found the entry she'd been looking for:

Sept 18, 1999,

Today, I have seen something I believe no other living being, save for my co-workers, and those who lived decades ago have seen. Allow me to back up a bit before I begin this harrowing tale.

I started my job at Libra eight months ago. It is a wonderful job, and I love every minute of it. My degree is used to its full extent, and the pay is more than enough for me to support my daughter. I have been assigned to something called the Phoenix Project. Odd name right? Apparently, it is an operation designed by the head and founder of the lab, Enma, to genetically perfect the human body. At first I assumed I would be doing something as simple as testing and calculating the results from said tests that were being done on human beings. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was demons I was conducting tests on! When I first looked at the blood sample I had collected, I thought I was hallucinating. The deadly microbes I had injected into the small sample were being destroyed; a feat impossible for a human. I asked Enma what could be causing this, and in a serious tone he asked me;

"Riko, do you believe in demons?"

My look must have seemed incredulous, for he chuckled a bit. He proceeded to lead me into the east wing, talking to me all the while about what had been occurring before I applied to the facility. Apparently, they have been studying demons for a little over a year now, placing them in all kinds of tests ranging from combat to a simple blood test much like the one I had been doing.

On our walk, I noticed that that the doors in a particular corridor had large padlocks on them, definitely meant to keep someone out, or more like something in. I asked Enma what this could be about. Grimly, he replied that in the beginning stages of the Phoenix Project, some of the lab members had been brutally attacked. It was decided then on that demons were dangerous to be dealing with, but far too valuable assets to let go. Enma and Toguro compromised by abducting them to be used as further test subjects. I shivered as I looked at every door we passed. The weight of many eyes on me pushed deep into my soul. It was terrifying. No wonder they'd been locked up!

A few hours later, I finished with work and came home after picking up Botan from her babysitter. It is now eleven o' clock as I write this and it still boggles my mind to think I have been sharing my world with demons or the past 30 years!

True; everything Kurama had told her was entirely true. Not wanting to, but knowing she needed to find out more, Botan turned the page and read the next entry. She couldn't keep the shaking out of her hands.

Sept 27, 1999

Today I had the shock of my life. After getting to work, and settling into my usual routine (I am now quite accustomed to working in a dual species environment), I was called over to speak with the Co-director, Toguro. To be honest, I can't stand the man. He is quite cynical, and always speaks in a cryptic manner. He should have been a poet if he wants to talk like that, but anyway, back to the story. Toguro informed me that a new demon had been brought into the lab, and needed to go through a thorough starting examination. This for me meant another awkward health check, seeing as how I probably would be eyed up like a juicy steak or something even worse. Don't get me wrong, there are a few demons that are quite polite, and there are some that are (eerily) quiet. It's the others (mostly male) that don't know how to keep their eyes to themselves that get on my nerves.

I was directed to a room at the very end of the corridor Enma had walked me through yesterday. Upon reaching the door, I noticed that it had no lock. Quite odd, considering every door around me was secured fast, and was prevented from moving even a centimeter. Cautiously, I turned the knob, only to walk into what appeared to be an empty room, with a bed up against the wall directly opposite me. Sitting on the bed, was a boy about five or six or six years of age. The eyes that peered at me from between lines of crimson hair were the most brilliant shade of emerald I had ever seen. He smiled at me, and I smiled back, astounded that instead of a fully grown adult, a child was before me. At this, my motherly reflexes took over, and I began to talk to him. I greeted him with the usual chipper hello, and watched as he merely smiled at me once again. 'Maybe he's afraid of me.' I thought. Surely it wasn't that big of a stretch. Men dressed in white coats had drug him off from wherever he had been, only to place him in an empty room, at the end of a long, lonely hallway. It seemed only right for him to be frightened.

Shutting the door behind me, I walked over to the bed and sat down beside him. He watched me carefully, trying to appear nonchalant, but ready to bolt to the nearest corner of the room if I gave any indication that I was going to do him harm. I chuckled.

"It's alright. I won't hurt you, I promise."

He seemed to relax a little bit, and even giggled at his own foolishness. His eyes dropped down to the bed he was sitting on. I heard him mumble something, but I couldn't make out what it was. Curiously, I asked him what he had said. Once again, I was met with frightened eyes as his head flew up so fast I was surprised he didn't get whiplash. Smiling, I reassured him that in no way, shape, or form, would I hurt him. He calmed down some more, and repeated what he had said;

"Who are you?"

"My name is Riko."

I replied smiling.

"What's yours?"

His eyes once again dropped to the white comforter beneath him as he battled his urge to stay quiet and not say anything. After a minute of silence, he responded with;

"I have two names."

"Two names? What do you mean by that?"

He didn't answer me for about five minutes. When he finally responded, it was in a very quiet voice that I had to strain to hear.

"My names are Suuichi and Kurama."

"Oh."

I said, caught off guard by the childlike innocence in his voice.

"Is one of them a nickname?"

He shook his head.

"They're both my real names."

Okay…color me confused. I looked at him, trying to figure out what he meant, and how he could have two names. 'Could he be talking about his first and last name?' I wondered. It was possible, as little children are bound to say something like that in regard to their given and family name. However, one look at the little boy's eyes, and I could tell he wasn't lying. Knowing full well I wasn't going to be completing that starting examination soon, but not caring, I asked him what he meant. The little boy answered in the matter-of-fact way all children posses.

"I used to be Kurama, but then when I was four, this nice woman with long black hair named me Suuichi. So now I have two names."

"And who was the nice woman who named you?"

At this, his eyes became covered in solemn clouds of gray that darkened his eyes. Absently, he picked up a pillow and hugged it to his chest, bringing his knees up to rest against its softness. A lonely stare directed itself at the door across from us.

"She was…my mom."

"Was she a demon?"

He shook his head and squeezed the pillow tighter.

"No, she was a human."

"A human?"

'Is he a half-demon?' I thought. It wasn't impossible. Heck, if demons exist, then it's not a far cry to assume that there are half-breed children running around as well. In reply to my question, the boy simply nodded, and tried to sink further into the pillow he clung to. Poor thing. Reaching out, I gently placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"Can you tell me what happened to her?"

At first I wasn't sure if he was going to answer me or not. He just kept staring, and I began to wonder if he was going to start crying. Finally, after about five minutes of yet more silence, he said;

"She got sick… and wouldn't get better. She wouldn't go to the hospital either. I don't remember a whole lot, but I do know she died. Next thing I knew, these scary men in white coats came and brought me here."

I began to stroke his back in a small effort to comfort him.

"Why wouldn't she go to the hospital?"

A shrug was my answer, followed by;

"I don't know. She just said that she didn't need to go."

The answer was obvious: the woman didn't want to leave the boy for fear of what might happen to him. I became aware of the small frame beneath my hand had started shaking with silent sobs. Not even thinking, I pulled him close to and held him tightly while he cried. While I listened to the sobs slowly die, I felt bile rising up in my throat. What the hell had they been thinking? They had kidnapped a child, a frightened and lonely child who had just lost the only mother he ever knew! There was a grinding sound in my mouth as I gnashed my teeth together. Even now I believe what Libra has done is wrong; what in the hell possessed them to capture a small child and bring him here to face a life of never ending tests? While I sat there fuming, I felt the small body in my arms grow limp. The boy had fallen asleep.

Soft, slow breaths met my ears as I looked down at the small child nestled safely in my arms. However, as much as I wanted, I couldn't stay there with him forever. Carefully, so as not to disturb him, I pulled back the rumpled sheets and laid him on the plush mattress, neatly tucking him in. I felt it would be rude to just up and leave him, so without a care, I reached into the upper pocket on my lab coat, brought out a note I had taken earlier, and a pen, and wrote on the back, laying it beside his head.

Ten minutes later, Toguro accosted me, asking how the starting examination went. Knowing full well that lying would be highly unadvisable, I told him that I had been unable to rouse the boy, and despite all my efforts, nothing had worked. He accepted this as truth, informing me that they'd had to inject him with a powerful sedative before they had been able to relocate him. It took all my resolve not to throttle him. That bastard talked as if that boy was no more than cargo! I couldn't help it. I was pissed off at the lab, but more so Toguro and I could have cared less than if I lost my job (Not a good idea in retrospect). His back was to me, so that probably helped in giving me my courage (no WAY would I say something like this to his face. The guy was creepy enough), and snarled;

"He's a little boy. Just what the hell were you thinking? You took a child, a frightened, orphaned child, and brought him here! Of all places! Why?"

The behemoth stopped in mid-stride. Slowly he turned, and I am ashamed to say I flinched when I saw his face. Even beneath the sunglasses he always wore, I could tell he was angry, no he was furious. 'Oh hell. Riko, now look what you've done! You'll be lucky if you don't get fired on the spot!'I thought. Even standing five feet from him, I could see that his bottom jaw was locked. Oh so not good. His voice was low, but menacing enough to catch my ears;

"No matter his gender, no matter his age, no matter his circumstances, the fact remains that he is still a demon and therefore, is a test subject."

"So we just sit here, and hold him prisoner?"

A poisonous smile curled on his lips.

"Children are the easiest to mold."

Then, he turned and walked away, leaving me with one of his usual cryptic comments. I still feel terrible about leaving the boy (do I call him Suuichi or Kurama? I am still indecisive about that) behind, but I do have my own life, and my own child to attend to. I just pray that he'll be alright.

Botan yawned, and checked the clock above the vanity. The time read 9:45. Rubbing her eyes, she put the diary back, sent one more apology to her mother, and walked back to her room. It toook around a minute, but her eyes soon adjusted to the darkness around her, picking out her bed from among the mass of shadows. Too tired to get undressed, she simply yanked back the sheets, flopped down on the bed, and was asleep in minutes.

"Hey Hiro, may I ask you something?"

He glanced up from his cup of tea. Behind them, a group of teenage girls were giggling about a teacher or something related to high school. A waitress brushed past their table carrying three teas on the tray and a tart. Botan sat across from Hiro, gripping her cup in both hands as she stared down into the pinkish red liquid of her rose tea. After talking, and pushing, Botan had managed to convince Koenma to let her leave work early at around six o' clock. Hiro had had to leave earlier on account of his sister was flying in from Osaka, and he needed to go pick her up from the airport.

"What is it?"

She wasn't sure what exactly to say. The entries in her mother's diary coupled with her conversation with Kurama, the boy she'd discovered yesterday, had been quite the information overload. Her vision shifted from her cup to Hiro, back to her cup, and then back to Hiro. Sighing, she decided to hell with tact.

"Well…"

Of course that didn't mean this wasn't any less easy.

"I… I know."

"About what?"

Boy, did people love playing dumb.

"I know about the Phoenix Project. I know what it is, and that everyone from the lab, excluding me is involved."

Botan watched as Hiro paled slightly. Not giving him the chance to ask questions, she continued.

"I got lost last night after I slipped those faxes underneath Koenma's door. After pushing through various doors in the east wing, I came across the corridor where the demons are housed. At the very end, I entered into a room where I met a demon named Kurama. He was the one who told me about the history behind the Phoenix Project; later that night I arrived home, and checked through my mother's diary in order to validate my suspicions. So, my question is: why was I kept uniformed?"

For a long time, her co-worker just sat there, staring at her, then out the window to the left of the table. The sound of him heaving a heavy sigh met her ears.

"Well, the answer to that is simple Botan. You are far too young to be involved in our…more secretive matters. Libra operates both as a local laboratory and as a government facility. In all reality you're lucky to have gotten your job at all."

"But I've worked at Libra for the past nine months!"

"Botan, please try to keep your voice down. We can't afford to have this conversation overheard."

She could feel her nails biting into the flesh of her palms as she attempted to keep her temper in check. Gritting her teeth, she sucked in a breath and calmed herself down before she spoke. Hiro continued speaking much to her annoyance.

"Yes, I understand that you've worked with us for close to a year. I also understand that your mother worked at Libra for around ten years. However, I am not sure that this-"

"Koenma."

The steely, clipped sound of her voice slammed the rest of Hiro's speech up against a wall. The noise level in the café had risen a bit, so their conversation was masked much more easily. Her tea was going cold, but Botan hardly cared. She wanted on that project, and she'd die trying. Well, maybe not literally, but she would risk getting fired. Hiro's expression resembled a deer in the headlights.

"What?"

"You heard me. Try Koenma. See what he would say."

Normally, she was never this blatant, nor rude. It was quite out of character for her, but she wanted to get her point across. Light flashed across his glasses as the lab assistant pushed them further up his nose.

"Well…I suppose…I could try. I mean, Koenma seems to have taken a liking to you, and he kept you after that whole incident with the hospital fax."

"So you'd try?"

"Yes."

"You'd speak for me? On my behalf?"

"Yes."

"You'd get me on the Phoenix Project?"

"What part of 'yes' do you not understand Botan?"

Giddiness, elation, and overflowing happiness; these words don't even cover the feeling that swelled within Botan's chest. It was however, mixed with just a hint of pride. A flash of blue was the only warning Hiro got as Botan literally leapt over the table and glomped him. All thought later ceased as the blunette clasped her lips with his in a gratitude-expressing kiss.

"Oh! Thank you so much Hiro!"

Botan's pocket began vibrating. Curiously, and oblivious to the scarlet man sitting in front of her, Botan pulled out her phone and examined the text she had just received.

"Crap! I totally forgot about that seven o' clock study session with Keiko tonight! I'm sorry Hiro, I hate to cut and run, but I have to go. Thanks again, bye!"

With that, Botan turned on her heel, and high-tailed it out of the café to meet a very impatient Keiko. Meanwhile, back in the café, Hiro was finally able to regain the ability to think. Ah what a wonderful adaptation of man, thought! Stopped only by the soft lips of a girl! (AN: No idea why, I just had to put that in) The table behind them giggled, and one girl whispered about 'the shame of the cute guy being taken'. Once again, Hiro pushed his glasses further up his face.

"I guess I'll be talking to Koenma tomorrow."

Wait. On second thought, Botan had his number. Knowing her, she would try to call him right after her study session was over. Then again, knowing high school girls, she may just forget about it. Nah, this was Botan. No matter how scatter brained she was; if she wanted to remember something, she remembered it. It looked like he'd be heading back to Libra earlier than he'd expected. Hiro dug through his pockets, trying to locate his phone. When he found it, he pressed the green button on the top right.

"Hey sis? Yeah, it's me. Uh…dinner may have to wait a little bit longer."

Hiro spent twenty minutes trying to tune out his irate sister, and trying to figure out how to turn the volume down on the call.

I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little short. There will be more plot development, and Karasu may be mentioned in passing in the next chapter. Toguro may appear, I'm not exactly sure yet. There will be more appearances of Kurama though. Who knows? Maybe I'll get to squeeze in a tiny KxB moment.