Sorry it's been so long. This chapter took forever to write for some reason. And then my internet was acting funny. Anyway, here it is. Chapter 3. I hope you all enjoy it. Read and Review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

He has the spirit of the sun,

The moods of the moon,

The will of the wind.

-Julie Perkins Cantrell

Her breath puffed out in front of her in flimsy, white clouds. The fabric of her kimono was thick, but the chill that hung in the air had a way of soaking through the threads. She hesitated on the concrete in front of Genkai's temple. The elder psychic had made it clear on numerous occasions in the past that she was welcome any time of day, but she'd never felt comfortable just walking into someone's home. Oh, come on Genkai…Yukina…someone…

"Hello?" she called again. Usually, the soft cherry eyes of the ice apparition saw her before she could decide either to enter or wait to be noticed. That particular afternoon, however, she was nowhere in sight. "Genkai? Yukina?"

Another shiver crept through her limbs. She took a few steps forward and was raising her hand to let herself in when Yukina rounded a corner to her left.

Her vibrant, cherry eyes widened and a smile settled onto her lips. "Oh, good morning Botan. I hope you haven't been out here waiting very long."

Botan couldn't help but return the smile. "Not that long, really. How are you?"

She followed the aqua-haired apparition inside. The seeping warmth was instantaneous. "I'm doing very well. Thank you for asking. And you? What have you been up to recently?"

"Oh you know, the usual. Koenma's been giving Yusuke a few cases here lately so I've mostly been helping him, rather than ferrying souls to Spirit World," Botan explained. Yukina held the door for her as she passed into a sitting room. There was a kettle and several tea cups already sitting out on the table.

"Oh, yes," Yukina nodded, motioning for her to sit. She emerged with a new tea cup and filled it for her friend. "How is the woman doing? Faye, wasn't it? I hear she's still in Spirit World."

Botan took a sip and then set it down. She ran her finger around the rim without realizing it. "She's doing better. She was in pretty bad shape when we finally got her there but it wasn't anything life threatening. Koenma is making her stay until her ribs are completely healed and she's gained most of her weight back. She was in pretty bad health when we found her."

"That's terrible. Do you know who might have done this to her?"

"No clues," she shook her head. "The house kind of exploded before we could really look around."

"I'm just relieved that no one was hurt," Yukina sighed. "Kazuma told me that when the walls started to collapse, he was almost hit. I really would have hated it if any of you were hurt."

Botan nodded in agreement. "Was he the one who told you about Faye?"

"Actually, no," she shook her head. "Hiei stopped by a little while ago. He was the one who told me."

"What did he want?"

Her face fell, just a fraction. Most people probably wouldn't have noticed it. They would have overlooked the way her head dipped forward and her eyelids drooped just a little over red eyes that seemed to darken in the light. Her lips would pucker and curve down just barely at the edges of her mouth. The softest of sighs would fall from her lips as she hurried to hide the indications – to brighten her eyes and lift her head and tell them that she was fine.

Clearly, Hiei had come on behalf of Yukina's missing brother.

A brother who wasn't quite as lost as the ice maiden had been led to believe.

"He just wanted to give me an update on his search," she said. She lifted her cup to her lips to hide the frown that hadn't been wiped away completely. "I hadn't seen him in awhile and…well, he said he didn't have anything new. I really wasn't expecting there to be. Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder that this brother of mine doesn't care, that he doesn't want me for a sister."

"That's not true, Yukina," Botan shook her head. "You can't think like that. I've never met anyone as kind and compassionate and loving as you. You're beautiful, inside and out. He'd have to be a fool not to want you."

And it was true. Because as cold and harsh as Hiei seemed, she knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Hiei loved her, adored her. And his reasons for keeping his identity a secret, however misguided, reflected nothing more than an older sibling's desire to shelter and protect their younger brother or sister. Botan was not about to let Yukina think for one second that she was unloved; Hiei deserved that much, for good intentions at least. One of these days, he's going to tell her. I'll make sure of it.

"Thank you, Botan. That's a kind thing to say." Ruby eyes glimmered but no tears formed.

"It's the truth."

"She's right, you know."

Both pink and ruby eyes turned to Genkai's diminutive form in the doorway. She looked at them with tired, contented eyes and there was a small smile playing with her lips. She shifted her gaze to the ice maiden. "Yukina, I was wondering. Could you give us a moment alone? There's something I need to ask her."

"Of course," she smiled. "I think I'll take a walk. The air is so cold and clean."

The psychic took her place. She poured herself a steaming mug of tea and sipped from it. Her eyes closed. Botan watched, not knowing what she should say or if she should say anything. It was clear that there was something plaguing the woman's mind, but she hadn't the slightest inclination as to what it was. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Koenma is worried about something." Genkai spoke before she had a chance. Another long silence stretched between them.

"Wha-What do you mean? Has he said something to you?"

She shook her head. Her eyes were still closed. The spirit guide swallowed; her eyes slowly widened. In all the time she'd known the well-known psychic, she'd never seen her like this. It wasn't normal. The Genkai she'd come to love was strong-willed and sarcastic, with a sharp tongue and a clever mind. Now, though, she seemed…old, like the years she'd lived had caught up with her. "Genkai?"

"Botan I want you to listen very carefully," she said. The flicker of her usual, determined, witty self shone through. "While you and Yukina were in here, I was speaking to Koenma. He didn't tell me much, but I was able to infer quite a bit. Now I can't tell you everything, but I do want you to be aware that this is a significant threat – and it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better."

She paused and crossed the room to look out over the woods. "I'm getting old, Botan and though I'm not planning on surrendering to old age and all of its lovely, endearing perks, I am not so foolish as to think that I can still be as active in saving the world as I once was. Yusuke is a good kid, there's no denying that. Sure, he's stubborn and stupid and reckless at times but his heart's in the right place.

"I'm telling you this because I'm afraid for all of you. Yusuke and Kuwabara still have much to learn. Kurama and Hiei may know enough to help them survive but I fear that this is something greater than what any of them are ready for. I just wanted you to know."

Botan's voice failed her at first. Her mouth had run dry and her fingers curled into fists in her lap. She whispered, "What can I do?"

Genkai turned to face her. "You do what you always do. Give them hope, encouragement." She crossed back to where she had previously sat. "There was one more thing, though. Koenma asked me to tell you that he's decided, when the phoenix is allowed to leave Spirit World, he wants all of the boys to protect her. And that means staying in one place. He wanted to know if you mind having a full house?"

"Everyone staying at my apartment?"

She nodded.

"No, I guess not," her voice quivered. "Is he going to ask Yusuke, or should I?"

"That dimwit is coming to see me later this week," she said. "I'll ask him then. I'll make sure he tells Kuwabara. Koenma told me he's already spoken to Kurama about it, so that's taken care of. That just leaves…"

"Hiei."

Botan nodded to herself and raised her chipped tea cup to her lips. She drained its contents in a single swallow and cursed her luck. There were about a million ways that she'd hoped to spend her day. And she was fairly certain that that list did not include hunting down a certain crimson-eyed fire demon.

She found him in a tree.

His eyes were closed and his arms were behind his head – the picture of ease. She hovered on her oar as close as to him as she could without flying into the thick, sturdy boughs around him. "Hiei! You know I'm here, so look at me."

He cracked open one eye and peered at her with annoyed crimson. "Or what?"

She kicked at the air. "Fine, then, don't look at me. But, please, listen. Koenma wanted me to tell you and he wanted me to make sure you knew that it wasn't a request. He wanted you to know that, since Faye is still in danger, he's decided that all of you will be staying with her at my apartment."

Hiei made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat and glared ahead. "He has some nerve to think he can order me to do that."

Botan turned her eyes to follow his gaze. From their height, they were blessed with a radiant view of Mother Nature's canvas as she lifted her paintbrush to the sky. Pinks and oranges were strewn across the horizon. Smudges of purple and indigo wove themselves into the picture as night pressed in and around.

"Wow," she breathed. Hiei settled back against the tree.

"Hn."

She smiled, still absorbed in the spectacle before her. "You know, I never noticed it before but the red in the sky is the exact same color as your eyes…"

His head snapped towards her and she flushed scarlet. "I mean, um – "

She cursed inwardly and watched him out of the corner of her eye. He stared at the sunset again, his eyes wide and blinking. Then he smirked and closed his eyes, settling back into the positions she'd originally found him in. The sun dipped beyond their sight, the blue covering them in a curtain of night.

She sighed and whispered, "Please, Hiei, just say you'll come when Koenma lets Faye leave Spirit World. It's not worth anyone getting mad at you and it's only until the first of February." She paused and her typical bubbly, cheerful smile brightened her face. "Besides, this is the coldest part of the year. So you probably shouldn't be outside, sleeping in trees."

She gestured wide with her hands.

He popped an eye open again. "You sound like a mother hen."

She huffed, "I just worry about you all sometimes."

He flitted out of the tree and reappeared in a blur of black between the roots. "Don't," he said.

Then he was gone.

She hadn't expected him to take any of the things she'd said to heart. So she was taken by surprise a week later when, as the stinging pellets of freezing rain crashed to the ground, she heard an insistent tapping at her apartment window. She padded out of her kitchen and there was Hiei, looking at her through the pane of glass with his big, wide sunset, red eyes.

For some reason I think I could have done a better job. Oh well. Next time. Just to let you all know, I have not lost sight of where this story is going. Trust me, I do have a plan for it. If you all would review and tell me what you think so far, I'd really really appreciate it! Again, thanks for reading.