Wow, are we really all the way on Chapter 13 and nearing 200 reviews? I didn't expect this story to be so long, but somehow the ideas kept on flowing and surprisingly, I've still got a bit more in store for you guys! Thanks for sticking with it til now.

Chapter 13

"I suppose it's only okay with him because things are different between us."

Ever since those slightly ambiguous words passed from her lips, Yusuke had become uncharacteristically silent. It seemed as though he had retreated into some distant and far corner inside of his mind that Botan could not hope to reach. The brazen detective was never one for indulging in pensive thought, so the fact that he was mulling over her words so intently worried her.

"Hello? Earth to Yusuke?" she sang, waving a hand in his face in a lame attempt at pulling him out of his stupor.

"What?" he asked, his brown eyes breaking from their glossed over state as they pierced her with a perturbed glare.

"I said that I'm going to go back to help the others and you should do the same, unless you want them to think that you're slacking off."

"Yeah, alright," he agreed, shoving his hands in his pockets and following her far too obediently for her liking. She glanced back at him quickly, noticing the way his gaze was averted and the slight tug that pulled his lips downward. He almost looked guilty, but of what, she was not sure. He had already apologized to her and she had no idea what else could have been weighing o his mind so heavily.

They entered the main room and instantly caught the scrutiny of several questioning eyes.

"What?" Yusuke asked, clearly affected by the sudden attention placed on him.

"Did you do something thoughtless again?" Keiko accused.

"…No?" Yusuke responded, sounding more confused than offended at the sudden allegation.

"Are you sure?" Shizuru pressed.

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared back at them edgily.

"Look, I apologized to Botan and then we got to talking about… stuff. End of story!"

The others all looked over at the ferry-girl for confirmation and she nodded quickly.

"He's telling the truth," Botan attested.

"Now I'm confused. We all thought shorty was acting so strange because Urameshi did something stupid again," Kuwabara muttered.

"Alright, I'm gonna need you to stop and rewind all the way back to the part where you guys start making some damn sense," Yusuke demanded.

"It's Hiei," Shizuru informed calmly. "He was on edge when he returned and we assumed you were the cause."

"Gee thanks," Yusuke bit out sarcastically.

"Did he say or do anything out of the ordinary?" Botan asked concernedly.

"No, he just finished cleaning the weapons and then left," Yukina divulged. "But I could sense that he was deeply troubled over something."

Botan's brow furrowed as she frowned. She honestly thought she had calmed Hiei down with their chat earlier, but apparently there was still something bothering him.

"Perhaps Hiei just had a lot on his mind," Kurama explained, his eyes resting on Botan pointedly for a few belated moments.

"Yeah, makes sense," Kuwabara agreed, before meeting Kurama's eyes with a nod.

The two had obviously reached some sort of mutual understanding and within that look, they were able to exchange an entire private conversation. It was strange, but Botan somehow felt that she was a small topic within their silent discussion and she couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

"Do you two know something that the rest of us don't?" Botan inquired, hands on her hips. "It isn't nice to keep secrets, boys."

"No, it's nothing like that," Kuwabara said, laughing nervously. He turned his back to the girls and began sweeping the floor with renewed vigor.

Amethyst eyes narrowed in suspicion. She was just about to pester the psychic for further answers, when Kurama's calm voice infiltrated the silence.

"We should return to the task at hand. We still have a fair amount of ground to cover."

His words drew Botan's attention to the disorderly state of the room and she realized that he was right. She pouted unhappily, but followed his suggestion and began tidying up the area. The curiosity was biting at her, nipping at her heels and begging her to investigate the mystery behind Kuwabara and Kurama's guarded secrecy, but her natural curiosity was counteracted by the more ominous and foreboding sense of dread that had taken root in the pit of her stomach during her earlier conversation with Yusuke. A small part of her knew that she might not like the answers she was seeking and so she pushed Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama's strange behaviors to the back of her mind and catalogued it for another day.

Instead, she chose to focus on the one person who had taken up most of her thoughts lately. Hiei left so suddenly and without any apparent reason, leaving Botan to wonder if he was alright. She hoped he wasn't still angry over what had happened earlier. It was so hard to read him sometimes.

Hiei had never shown much concern for her well-being in the past and the fact that he had taken such an offense to Yusuke's mistreatment of her spoke volumes about their shifting relations. Botan was not used to having someone defend her so openly and it warmed her heart. It was a stark reminder that he cared about her, even if it wasn't in the same capacity that she cared about him.

She smiled as she reflected on the past few weeks. Hiei had done so much for her without even realizing it and she knew exactly how she would pay him back for it.

After the main room was finished, they had each been assigned their own areas in separate locations of the temple. Yusuke's room was still as untidy and unkempt as it was from the moment he entered it, but that was to be expected. He was far too distracted with more pressing issues and he decided that the cleaning could wait.

He plopped down on the floor, sitting cross legged as he recounted the day's events. Hiei throwing a temper tantrum was one thing, but to do it because he was concerned about Botan was about as unexpected as you could get considering Hiei was both extremely antisocial and emotionally stunted.

As if that wasn't enough to throw the already jilted detective for a loop, Botan decided to obliterate the last modicum of his sanity when she admitted that she and Hiei had kissed, not once, but twice and she liked it. It was pretty obvious that the ferry-girl was harboring feelings for Hiei and something strange was starting to take root in Hiei as well.

A wave of guilt flooded over him when he realized that this whole thing was his fault. If he had never devised the bet in the first place, then Hiei and Botan would never have had the chance to form such illogical ties. But that was never his intention. The bet was originally supposed to be something humorous and interesting to pass the time. Botan was supposed to drive Hiei nuts and the fire-demon's ego would finally deflate a little. Instead, the situation blew up into what it was now and somehow Hiei and Botan had become victims of a very cruel joke that he had instigated.

The only others who were up to speed with the current events were Kurama and Kuwabara. They had known about the bet from the start. Kurama tried to warn him against starting such a precarious arrangement and in true Yusuke fashion, he was too concerned with enacting his harmless prank on his unsuspecting friends to care about Kurama's reservations. Kurama must have known that someway, somehow, someone would fall for the other and the plan would be screwed; he always did possess the uncanny ability to predict the way that future events would pan out. Yusuke should have listened. He should have heeded his friend's advice.

If that wasn't bad enough, Kuwabara had also caught on to the truth and tried to warn him.

It was pretty pathetic, actually. He was the one who started the bet and yet he was the last one to realize what was really going on. Kuwabara and Kurama had taken to exchanging private looks with each other when they thought nobody noticed, but Yusuke's sudden clarity allowed him to see right through them. To anyone else it would just look like a passing glance, but Yusuke and he could almost hear the faint whispers of their wordless conversation; the silent understanding passing between them.

They did the same thing earlier when Hiei overreacted and at first, Yusuke didn't know what it meant, but now, it was so damn clear. They had been in on this little secret for a while now and he was the only one who was ignorantly oblivious to the obvious truth unfolding in front of his eyes. He was starting to feel like the Kuwabara of the group and it was just about time that he remedied the situation.

He stood up and strode next door with a renewed sense of purpose and determination.

"Yo, Kuwabara," Yusuke yelled. "Let's have a little chat."

Yusuke peered inside the room and immediately noticed how much cleaner it was than his with a frown. Keiko was seriously going to kill him when she saw how little progress he made in his area. Shaking the disturbing thought out of his head, he set his sights back to the psychic.

"Now's really not a good time," Kuwabara said, dusting the window ledges.

"Too bad, 'cause we're gonna do it anyway," he ordered.

"Can't it wait til after? I really want to finish this!" Kuwabara complained.

"Considering it's about the bet - no, it really can't."

Kuwabara seemed to understand the urgency and followed Yusuke's lead, grumbling the entire time about 'bad timing' and Yusuke's lack of work ethic. Yusuke pointedly ignored him as they walked down the hallway, searching for the area that Kurama was assigned to at the other end of the temple. They both entered unannounced, and upon taking in the sight of the newly cleaned area, Yusuke noted that he would have to work double time in order to avoid incurring Keiko's wrath later on. Boy, could she get scary and violent when she was angry.

"Is something the matter?" Kurama asked.

"Yeah, we're in some serious shit," he announced moodily, drawing the attention of the others. "Well, I guess I'm in serious shit, since I'm the one that started this, but Kuwabara went along with it and you sat back and let it happen, so I say we're all in this shit together."

"Heh, you think he's finally snapped?" Kuwabara asked Kurama.

"I think Yusuke's finally realized what we have about Hiei and Botan," Kurama responded.

"Oh, took him long enough," Kuwabara mumbled, to which Kurama could only nod in amusement.

"Ha-ha," Yusuke barked without a single trace of amusement, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Let's all laugh at the detective for being the last to know the freakin news of the century!"

"You gotta admit, Urameshi, it did take you a really long time to figure it out," Kuwabara all too willingly pointed out.

"In my defense, this is Hiei and Botan we're talking about. He's all gloom-and-doom and she's all sunshine-and-rainbows. That's why the bet was so ingenious at first… but now, it's all gone to shitsville!"

"Well, Kurama thinks that the situation isn't completely hopeless yet," Kuwabara offered.

"Best case scenario: Botan never finds out and she and Hiei live happily together like a cheesy Disney movie. Worse case scenario," Yusuke paused, shaking his head. "I don't even want to think about it. Let's just say it'd be bad."

"Perhaps we should try to gage their current states before we jump to conclusions," Kurama advised.

"Botan's obviously got the hots for Hiei," Yusuke revealed.

"Are you sure?" Kurama asked.

"Yeah, she practically confessed it a few minutes ago," Yusuke replied with a grin.

"And I think that shorty is starting to care about Botan," Kuwabara pointed out.

"Caring for someone and falling for them are two different things," Kurama noted. "You have spent the most time around both of them. Can you discern which one Hiei is experiencing?"

"I can't say for sure," Kuwabara started, rubbing his chin contemplatively. "I only picked up on really little things, like the way he looks at her when no one is watching. Even the way he talks to her seems different than usual."

"Kinda seems like you've been watching the guy a lot, Kuwabara," Yusuke inserted cheekily.

"Shut up Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted, his face completely red in embarrassment. "If you're not going to take this seriously then you should just go."

"I am taking it seriously. I told you that Botan has feelings for Hiei and I've even got some other information concerning Hiei that could help us out. You haven't really given us much other than the way he looks at her or talks to her. Hell, Hiei looks at and talks to Yukina differently but he definitely isn't hot for her."

"Hey, leave Yukina out of this! And stop wording it like that!" Kuwabara warned.

"Wording it like what?" Yusuke asked, raising a brow in confusion.

"You always make it seem like Hiei would never fall for Yukina - like it's something disgusting - but Yukina is the sweetest, purest, most beautiful girl in the three worlds and shorty would be lucky to kiss the ground she walks on!" he proclaimed.

Yusuke grimaced, turning away in an attempt to remove himself from the conversation.

"Kurama, you handle this… I think I just threw up in my mouth."

Kurama's expression was neutral as he set his emerald gaze on them.

"Yusuke brought up a valid point; we do not know the extent of Hiei's affections for Botan. We should not make any further moves until we know if it is platonic or not," Kurama noted.

"It's just a hunch, but I think he could be feeling more than just friendship towards her," Kuwabara suggested.

Kurama nodded, before looking over at Yusuke.

"You said that knew something about Hiei?"

Yusuke hesitated for a moment as he remembered Botan explicitly telling him not to repeat her words to anyone else. He fully intended on keeping it a secret, but in dire times such as these, promises had to be broken.

"Botan said he kissed her the other night," he revealed reluctantly.

Kuwabara's eyes widened almost comically as his mouth hung low in disbelief. Even Kurama looked taken aback and Yusuke grinned at his ability to not only provide such valuable information, but to ruffle their feathers a bit while he was at it.

"Yeah, it was a huge shocker for me, too. Hiei doesn't seem like the type to just kiss people out of the blue," Yusuke said.

Kuwabara was still reeling from the news, while Kurama seemed to be in deep thought.

"If his feelings run deeper than just friendship, then perhaps Hiei will break the bet himself," Kurama contemplated.

"You really think he would do that?" Kuwabara questioned, finally pulling out of his shocked state and shooting Kurama a disbelieving look.

"It's a definite possibility," Kurama maintained. "He has surprised us all in the past; it would be unwise to underestimate him now."

Hiei wiped a hand across his sweat filled brow, breathing heavily. He had been pushing his body to the point of exhaustion for the past few hours in an attempt to clear his overloaded mind from the unwanted emotions, memories and thoughts. He threw himself into a flurry of movements, much too fast for most eyes to catch as he willed each unwarranted thought to flee from his body. The exertion should have been good for him, but it was appearing to be futile. While his body slowed down under the strain of his training, his mind started to race even faster than before.

After leaving Botan to talk to the detective, Hiei wanted nothing more than to exit the compound entirely, but his sister had asked him to clean the weapons and he resolved to do so. As he rushed through each item, he could feel the stares of the others on his back. They had all witnessed his outburst and they were no doubt wondering what was going on. He could not afford to give them the answers that he did not have. When it had to do with the woman, the answers to the most simple of questions always seemed to elude him greatly.

Why did he overreact?

It was because he cared.

But why did he care so much about a simple ferry-girl?

He did not know.

What did these newfound feelings mean in correlation with the terms and conditions of the bet?

He was unsure.

What was he supposed to do now?

He had no idea.

The thoughts were jumbling so incessantly; crashing into each other and jarring his mental state to the point of insanity.

He didn't think he could face the woman if he saw her now. He just needed time to be alone; to think clearly without the scent and sight of her muddling up his thoughts and clouding his judgment.

She had the strangest affect on him.

She had warped his thinking in such a short span of time. But it didn't simply end there. Those betraying thoughts were churned out and given life as they bled into his actions causing him to do strange and uncharacteristic things.

He had never cared about another woman other than Yukina before. He didn't know what to do in this case. No matter how hard he wracked his brain for answers, the solution was nowhere to be found and he had become tired of thinking. It's all he had been doing since he entered this bet. He was tired of the internal battle raging on inside of him. He didn't want to think anymore, about her, about the bet, about anything. So, as soon as he was finished the weapons, he left. He threw himself into a rigorous training routine, but even that wasn't enough. His muscles quivered under the intensity of his movements but his mind continued to race.

He needed an escape – a brief respite – from the crowded musings of his mind otherwise he would go insane. Physical exertion was not enough; he needed something that could numb his mind entirely, and he knew exactly what would do the trick.

It would be crude and temporary, but it was all he had.

Kurama was startled by a loud crash as something barreled into his room. He was suddenly thankful that he had left his windows open in the August heat – if not, he would be stuck with broken shards of glass and a whole lot of explaining to his mother, who would have no doubt been distraught over the sudden intrusion.

The tension in his body dissipated once he recognized the energy signal and realized who the intruder was.

"Hiei, what could have possibly possessed you to break into my room at this hour of the night?"

"It's still early," the fire-demon said simply.

"Did you have to make such a noisy entrance? What if my mother had noticed?" Kurama asked, turning around to find the light switch.

"Who cares," Hiei snorted.

Kurama flicked the lights on, his eyes prickling as they forced to adjust to the sudden brightness. He blinked the weariness away and focused on Hiei, his eyes narrowing once he noticed exactly what was in the fire-demon's hands.

"Are you drunk?"

"No," Hiei said, concealing the bottle behind his back. It would have been a comical sight if it had been anyone else, but Hiei was not one for drinking himself into oblivion.

Despite his stark denial, the truth was obvious in the fire-demon's lidded eyes and the scent of alcohol that stained his clothes and breath. He made some rather unsteady and staggering movements in an attempt to balance himself and Kurama frowned.

"Stop looking at me like that Kuruma," Hiei slurred, pointing a lazy finger at the fox. "I'm completely fine."

"It's Kurama," he corrected.

"That's what I said," Hiei maintained defiantly.

Kurama sighed.

"How much did you drink?"

"Only a few bottles. This human liquor is pitiful," Hiei replied, staggering towards the nightstand and slamming the bottle down on the as if it were the source of all his troubles and problems.

"What's got you in this state?"

"It's that damn woman."

"I thought you two were on good terms. What's the matter?"

"She's in my head and I can't get her out. She's everywhere I go."

Kurama watched as Hiei took an uneven step forward, his expression conflicted and confused.

"Occupying my thoughts and making me worry," he mumbled under his breath. "Making me care."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Kurama asked. "Caring about a friend?"

"It's more than that," he ground out.

Kurama remained silent, giving Hiei the time he needed to gather his thoughts.

"Even if she's not around, I can feel her, right here," Hiei confessed, smacking a hand to his chest sloppily. "And I can't get her out."

He gave Kurama one final look before collapsing in exhaustion. The room became eerily silent as Hiei slowly drifted into unconsciousness on the floor, but Kurama could still hear the startling confession ringing in the air. It was plainly obvious that his affections were of a romantic nature, even if he would never openly classify them as such.

When the fire-demon accepted the bet, a slew of scenarios entered Kurama's mind, but none could have prepared him for the sight of an inebriated Hiei. It was understandable that the usually detached demon would have trouble coping with emotions that he had never experienced before and he could only hope that Hiei would deal with things the proper way. Hiei was his friend and he wanted to believe that he could choose to do the right thing, no matter how many times Hiei had chosen otherwise in the past.

A few hours later, Hiei awoke, blinking blearily as he sat up. His head felt as though it was in the process of exploding. The pain swelled up and sharpened intensely in a painful crescendo and every move he made only served to ignite the piercing sensations. The glare of the sun intensified his discomfort and he averted his eyes. As he stood up slowly, ignoring the throbbing pain, he surveyed his makeshift futon on the floor and realized that he was inside of Kurama's room.

"You're finally awake," Kurama noted.

"What happened?" Hiei asked, surprised at the sound of his coarse voice.

"You came to me at four o'clock in the morning, drunk out of your mind and at your wit's end."

That explained the debilitating headache and lack of memory. He remembered being called over to the old psychic's house, where his sister had roped him into cleaning the weapons. Then a rush of images and sounds returned: Yusuke hitting Botan, his own subsequent reaction and the disconcerting revelation that followed. Hiei had never been one for diluting his problems with alcohol, but he had reached the breaking point. The alcohol was a temporary reprieve; it helped him forget the disturbing reality of his situation, if only for a moment.

"Take those, it will help with the headache," Kurama instructed, motioning over to the nightstand, where a glass of water and two aspirin lay.

Hiei obliged, chasing the pills down with the glass of water. It was a shame that he had come to Kurama in his weakest hour. He would have preferred it if no one had seen him this way, least of all a know-it-all fox. He wondered what he could have done during his intoxicated moments with a frown. Judging by the carefully concealed expression Kurama was donning, it was something incriminating.

"You managed to pick up one of the most potent spirits," Kurama said, showing Hiei the emptied container. "It wasn't intended to be consumed unless it was diluted and you said mentioned that you had more than one bottle."

"I'd prefer it if you skipped the lecture and jumped straight to the point," Hiei said. "You've got that look on your face… the one that suggests that you were right about something and instead of skirting around the topic, I want you to tell me exactly what it is."

"You confessed something to me last night."

Hiei stared at Kurama blankly, before his features scrunched up in disgust and a wave of nausea passed over him. He had seen many men make fools of themselves while intoxicated. Some became violent. Some become infinitely more stupid. Some became overly affectionate with others, spouting nonsense that they wouldn't normally say. Hiei couldn't remember a single incident from last night and if he was following Kurama's cryptic words properly, then that could only mean one thing.

"I'm not attracted to you no matter what I said when I was drunk," Hiei began flatly.

Kurama's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"I assure you, I wasn't the one that you confessed your love for last night."

"What?"

"Though, to be fair, you didn't exactly use the word love. You only exhibited some of the symptoms."

"Stop speaking in riddles, I don't have the patience for your mind games," Hiei ordered impatiently.

"You came here to tell me about Botan," Kurama calmly replied. "You said that you considered her as more than a friend."

"…No," Hiei denied firmly.

"Hiei-"

"You said it yourself, the liquor was potent enough to get me drunk. Whatever I happened to say was just nonsense conjured by the drink."

"You and I both know that's not true."

"It is true," Hiei said stubbornly, feeling the desperate need to prove himself rising and overtaking him. "I'm going to see this bet through until the end and then I'm going to go back to demon world. Everything will be the same, except I would have just proven to those fools that once more, I can overcome anything."

"Hiei," Kurama began, standing up from the chair. "Don't do this."

"Forget whatever it is that you thought you heard, Kurama," Hiei spat. "None of it was real."

The fire-demon exited through the window before Kurama could say anything else. It was one thing to realize that he had cared for Botan enough to make him reconsider the bet, but for those feelings to cross into territory that he had never felt before was another matter entirely. He didn't even want to think of what his drunken confession to Kurama could really mean.

Botan steeled herself as she looked up at the red sky. The air was heavier here, as though it were weighed down by some oppressing and unknown force and she could feel the bloodlust stretching across the land, carried by the wind. Although she had landed in a relatively peaceful area, the undercurrent of violence and distress brewing underneath the surface still prevailed. Demon world was much scarier than she expected.

But the ferry-girl was a woman on a mission and she couldn't back down now. It started the first time Hiei had ever told her about his past and the subsequent story of his hiruiseki stone. She wished he could find it again, but Hiei had no intentions of searching for it. The more he renounced the stone, the more the desire to find it built up. She began running various scenarios in her head and she started researching leads as to where the stone could be. The tear gem was so small and demon world was so vast. She searched through maps, transaction details and historical records over the past years, but hadn't been able to find much. When Makoto arrived, she was afforded the chance to learn two things: one, as a child, Hiei actually did value the stone and two, the last time he had it was somewhere near the Forest of Pain. She was determined to find it and with her trusty spirit detective items, her mission might just be possible.

Botan was able to find a portal that left her on the outskirts of a thriving village. It was a relatively peaceful town, one that officials from Spirit World gathered in order to exchange valuables for information on the current factions within the demon world. As she fiddled with the compass, she took note of her surroundings and committed it to memory. She would have to return to this spot in order to pass through and return to the Spirit World again.

Next, she pulled out a strand of aquamarine hair. She had stolen it from Yukina's hairbrush yesterday while they were all cleaning the temple. It was sneaky and underhanded, but Botan pushed forward in the hopes of enacting her secretive plan. She placed the strand of hair inside of the little compartment within the demon compass and closed the lid. The compass' range was limited, so she took to the skies and flew around aimlessly, hoping that the compass would react soon.

It was a long shot, but Botan figured if she used a sample of Yukina's DNA, then perhaps the compass would find similar traces of DNA within their mother's tear gem. She knew nothing about the intricate qualities and components of tear gems, nor had she understood the science behind how it was produced, but Yukina was the strongest link. Ice maidens produced asexually and as such, Yukina would be the closest DNA match to their mother.

She felt like she was flying around for hours when the compass finally picked up on a signal, pointing east. Her features lit up and she picked up the speed, hoping that her efforts would pay off. The compass led her to a large castle of sorts. She could see a large army in the distance and she decided to fly as high as she could to avoid catching their attention. The compass's signal had pointed straight towards the castle, so she flew inside through one of the back windows and quickly dispelled her oar. The dark interior stretched on forever and she was glad that she had a guide in the form of her compass. It would have been all too easy to get lost among the many walkways and rooms. She heard footsteps scuffling and quickly hid around the corner, waiting for them to leave.

She could practically feel the power pulsing within this place; it almost felt as though the building were alive and could swallow her whole at any minute. She gulped, pushing the fear aside. She simply had to find the stone and get out safely.

When the coast was clear, she decided to make her way down the hallway silently. She hadn't even made it two full steps when she felt the blood run cold in her veins as a clawed hand shot out and grabbed her upper arm.

"And where do you think you're going?" a voice hissed.

Botan gulped and turned horrified eyes to the green demon who had detained her. His eyes stared at her in an unmercifully cold manner. He was wearing chest armor and Botan realized that if she could just summon her metal bat with her free hand, she could probably get in a good hit to the head and make her escape while he drifted into unconsciousness. Unfortunately, her left arm was soon gripped by another clawed hand. She turned to find herself flanked on the opposite side by a red skinned demon wearing the same type of armor and a stoic expression.

"I'm not sure how she got in here, but let's have some fun with her before we get rid of her," the green one, who Botan classified as a 'Mr. Disgusting Pervert' said, his voice gratingly high-pitched.

Botan let out a revolted noise and tried to squirm out of their hold, but it was no use.

"No," the red one said in a low timbre. "She could be a spy for Yomi or Raizen. We should interrogate her."

"Come now, can't we talk this through peacefully? I'm nobody's spy, I just came here to-"

"Silence!" the green skinned pervert screeched. "You gave up any and all rights you had once you entered our great lord's territory."

Botan continued to thrash about violently as they dragged her further and further away from the direction that her compass was pointing.

"At least let me explain!" she yelled out, drawing the attention of a few other demons as they ambled down the halls.

"Shut up!" the pervert barked.

"Stop," a voice called out form the darkness as a figure appeared.

Botan turned to find a younger looking demon with blue skin approaching them and she felt a little relieved by his presence.

"Thank you, I was hoping we could talk this through civilly-"

"Hold your tongue," he said firmly, turning towards the other men. "Take her to Lord Mukuro directly."

"But why, Satoru?" the green one grumbled. "Mukuro doesn't need to be bothered by such insignificant and weak intruders. Let me deal with her."

"Because she is not of our world and, as such, must be deal with properly," Satoru answered.

"What do you mean?" the red skinned demon questioned.

"Take a look at her; she is clearly one of Koenma's ferry-girls," Satoru replied, his tone distasteful.

"How could you tell? I thought I had disguised myself so well!" Botan moaned.

"It's your spiritual energy. Your very aura is different than that of a demon or apparition," he answered. "Besides, no demon dresses like that."

Botan gave him an affronted glance, before looking down at her sporty, yet stylish outfit.

"And I put so much effort into it, too!" she pouted.

"Now, quiet down. Mukuro will be the one pass judgment on you and I guarantee it won't be pretty. You should have never trespassed in the first place," he said, walking ahead.

Botan protested at first, but stopped struggling when she noticed that they were leading her in the same direction that the demon compass was pointing to. With any luck, they would be taking her straight to the hiruiseki stone.

Satoru opened the large doors and the two minions forced her inside.

"Lord Mukuro," they all addressed in reverence.

Botan let out a gasp as she lifted her eyes to rest on the form of the revered demon who, until now, she had only heard of by chance. Before she was afforded a proper view, the demons bowed in humble respect, forcing her into a slight bow as well before standing up again. As they all stood up, she was finally free to set her sights upon the great Mukuro, seated on the large throne. The demon donned loose clothes, a simple pair of white pants and a purple and gold trimmed vest over a long sleeved white shirt. A strange mixture of bandages and wards obscured everything on the demon's face except for a single ominous eye.

"We found an intruder lurking around the area and while it would be quite easy to dispose of her, we thought it best that you decide what to do in this case, seeing as she is a being from the Spirit World," Satoru announced.

Mukuro's visible eye passed over Botan critically.

"You thought correct. If we harmed her, it would give the Spirit World a reason to come muddling about in matters that they have no say in. What business do you have here?"

The chillingly cold and mechanical voice was devoid of emotion. It echoed and bounced off of the walls of the vast room and a sense of dread crept upon Botan. Surrounded by demons and standing in front of quite possibly one of the strongest demons in demon world, she realized just how weak and vulnerable she was.

"Well, it's not business per se," she started, once she had found her voice. "I'm actually here as a favor for a friend. You see, he lost something very precious and I have reason to believe that it might be here."

"You expect me to believe that you ventured all the way into my territory for a lost trinket?"

There was a slight edge to Mukuro's tone that put Botan on high alert.

"Oh no, it's not just some sentimental trinket," Botan explained hurriedly. "It was a very precious stone that is specific to his race of demons; one that can't be replaced, because it was produced by his mother and she is long since deceased."

That seemed to catch the demon's attention, so Botan continued, hoping to capitalize Mukuro's sudden interest in the topic.

"It's called a-"

"Hiruiseki stone," Mukuro finished, standing up slowly.

"Yes," Botan said, nodding hopefully.

"You may all leave," Mukuro told the guards, waving a shackled hand at them dismissively.

They dispersed obediently and Satoru afforded them one last nod of his head before closing the door shut. Botan's attention returned to Mukuro, who walked over to Botan in smooth and long strides. Botan straightened her posture and tried to appear unaffected when Mukuro stopped directly in front of her and pinned her with a serious look.

"Continue."

Botan couldn't remember where she had left off, so she decided to say the first thing that came to mind.

"It's imperative that I find this particular hiruiseki because it isn't just any ordinary stone; it's the special tear produced during child birth," Botan informed.

"And how did you know that it was here?"

Botan held out her hand.

"This demon compass allows me to track down any demon by placing a sample of their DNA into the hidden chamber. I used a strand of his sister's hair in the hopes that it would detect a strain of DNA or familiar energy. It was a shot in the dark, but the energy signal was faint enough to lead me here."

"And why would an emissary of Spirit World go through all of this trouble for a demon?"

"He's my friend," Botan said. "I'm sure you're well aware of what happens to males born to the ice-maidens. He never knew had the chance to know his mother, but I hoped that I could at least find her hiruiseki stone to bring him comfort."

"This emiko of yours must be weak if he needs something as insignificant as a tear gem to comfort him," Mukuro responded disapprovingly.

"Oh, Hiei isn't weak. He's already tamed the fearsome dragon of the darkness flame and even has mastery over the jagan eye. His physical strength and mental fortitude are both quite impressive and he is an excellent swordsman," Botan defended, her features splitting into a soft grin as she thought about the fire-demon. "He's honorable and noble, in his own way, and he's got a very strong and brave heart. He can be quite stubborn and caustic at times, but he's one of the best people I know."

Mukuro was silent and Botan started blushing when she realized that she had begun to ramble.

"Hiei has already told me multiple times that he doesn't need the stone. He is perfectly capable of going on without it. I'm the one who wants to return it to him, because I think it can provide some form of closure for him. Closure from a tragic past," Botan explained. "Do you still consider this to be a weakness?"

"...No, I don't," Mukuro replied honestly. "The stone gave me comfort during turbulent times as well."

"It did?"

Mukuro's confession shocked Botan; she did not expect the demon to reveal something so private.

"Yes, but that was a long time ago and I don't need it anymore."

Mukuro revealed the sparkling hiruiseki stone; the same brilliant and opulent gem that Yukina sported around her neck. Botan's eyes widened. She could hardly believe that she had found it and that the demon lord was handing it over so willingly.

"Take it and go," Mukuro instructed, pushing it into Botan's hands.

"I can pay you, of course," Botan said, fishing in her bag to find some currency.

"Do not insult me. I'm giving it back to you so that you can return it to its proper place."

Botan froze, her heart filled with a newfound respect and admiration for the demon before her. She looked up at Mukuro with a beaming smile.

"Thank you Lady Mukuro."

"Lady?" Mukuro echoed.

"You might have all these dense boys fooled, but I know a strong and influential woman when I see her, and I must say, you've done an excellent job for yourself," Botan said with a wink.

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

Botan put on her kitty-face and smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I guess I am guilty of flattering you a little bit, but it's not unwarranted! You've got strength, poise and a beautiful soul."

"A beautiful soul, you say?" Mukuro recited, somewhat unconvinced. "You deduced all of that in the short time you've known me?"

"Well, you haven't killed me for trespassing, you decided to hear me out and you've even given up the stone that was once so valuable to you. If that isn't a testament to your benevolence, then I don't know what is."

Mukuro laughed bitterly.

"You truly are a strange woman. Now leave, before my so called benevolence runs out."

"Thank you," Botan said gratefully. "I won't forget your kindness."

Hiei's drunken episode produced more problems than solutions. Kurama had somehow believed that Hiei was in love - or was at least displaying the signs of falling in love - with Botan. The idea was absurd. Love was something outside of Hiei's realm of capabilities and for good reason. He did not know how to love, nor did he ever want to learn how to love. It was far too complicated, far too messy and far too emotional. It was a catalyst for weakness and vulnerability.

He might have done some deplorable things in his life, but he would never stoop that low.

He dug his hand inside his cloak pocket, pulling out the photo booth pictures from his second date with Botan. They had built up a strange sort of camaraderie between them, but like all things, it would end. He needed to harden his resolve and destroy any sentimental attachments he had formed for the ferry-girl. If all went according to plan, he would be free of her and this world in its entirety in the span of two short dates.

All he had to do was let go of her.

His fingers itched to tear the flimsy piece of material to shreds and leave no trace of the picture, but he could not do it. Something was holding him back and he couldn't quite identify what it was.

A buzzing at his side captured his attention.

"Hi Hiei!" she sang, her cheery voice emitting from the small device at a louder volume than he expected. "I just wanted to see if you were planning on attending Genkai's birthday party tomorrow."

"I wasn't planning on it."

"But Genkai was your teammate!"

"She was," he agreed. "But the old woman and I have no connections to each other now."

"Don't be like that, Hiei I'm sure everyone is expecting you to be there."

"I don't care about what the others want."

"I'm sure Yukina would be happier if you came, too," Botan crooned.

"Don't bring her into this," he said moodily.

"Well, I want you to be there, if that makes a difference," she admitted easily, without a shred of hesitation. "That's why I called you in the first place. To make sure you would go."

"Why?"

"Because it won't be the same without you."

She spoke as though he was an integral cog in the machine that made up their ragtag group of humans, spirits and demons; as though he was a fundamental part of her life, but-

"I won't be around forever," he claimed.

Botan paused contemplatively, a hint of sadness and regret reflected in her eyes as she accepted his words.

"That's exactly why you should make an effort to be around while you're still with us," she compelled.

He didn't answer when he realized that the party would most likely be his last opportunity to be among the entire group together again. After this, he would complete his remaining two dates and then he would be gone. He would only return to check on Yukina from the shadows and he would have no reason to see the rest of them again.

"So, promise me you'll go?" she urged with a hopeful smile.

He stared back at her, his expression unreadable as finally acquiesced with a silent nod.

This would be the last time.

I ended up splitting this chapter into two parts because the original draft (which included the party) was way too long (13K word count) and felt like it had too much going on at once. The next chapter will cover the party and will contain lots of H/B goodness, I promise. It is about 95% done, so once I've given everyone enough time to catch up to this chapter, I should be able to release it.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it despite its lack of H/B interaction. Please drop a note and let me know what you thought!