Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don’t Let Me Fall ❯ Confusion and Secrecy ( Chapter 3 )

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Before she could bug him any more, Hiei scooped Botan up and started running as fast as he could to Kurama's house. Since Hiei appeared to be a mere blur to the human eye when running at his top speed, they were there in a matter of seconds.

Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall

Chapter 3: Confusion and Secrecy

When Hiei and Botan arrived, they were on a high branch in the tree that grew right beside Kurama's bedroom window. Hiei dumped Botan unceremoniously and she looked down at the ground warily.

"Uh, Hiei? Why are we in a TREE?!"

"Be quiet and stay here. They're inside."

Ignoring her many protests and questions, Hiei opened the unlocked window to the kitsune's room and walked inside. Before she could try to even follow him, he exited the bedroom and went downstairs to the living room, where he found everyone gathered.

Hiei was going to launch step one of Botan's plan. He knew Koenma was here, so he decided to use a little persuasion to make the god see things his way. Hopefully this would help speed up the whole process, which meant Hiei could stop pretending to love the girl sooner. Of course, being the stubborn guy that he is, Hiei didn't tell Botan what he was doing.

Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked up at him, not expecting him to come in from upstairs. Before any greetings could be exchanged, Koenma immediately started questioning him.

"Have you found her? Where is she? Is she okay?"

Hiei glared at the godling and answered, "No, you baka, I have not found her. Do you see her with me?!"

Koenma frowned and said, "Can't you use your Jagan or something to find her?"

Everyone else, which included Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama since the girls had long since been sent home for some much needed sleep, looked at Hiei, hoping he would be able to find her. They were all anxious about Botan and had worried about her well-being ever since she went missing. Of everyone there, they had expected Hiei to be the first to find any kind of clue to her whereabouts since he had use of the Jagan.

"You fool, I have already looked and she is nowhere to be found."

"THEN LOOK AGAIN!" Koenma ordered.

"She'll be found when she wants to, so quit this incessant searching already and be patient!"

This made the other Spirit Detectives wonder if Hiei knew more than he let on. If Botan had been kidnapped by some strange demon, like they thought she was, of course she would want to be found. But Hiei made it sound as if she were hiding somewhere, which he couldn't possibly know simply from the information they received from Koenma.

Koenma gave Hiei his best death glare and warned, "If I find that you're hiding something, I swear you will be put in Reikai prison for a whole millennium with absolutely no parole whatsoever!"

Hiei just glared back and answered, "Your petty threats hold no meaning to me. Why are you so upset? This isn't the first time a ferry girl has gone missing. Unless, of course, there is something going on that you're not telling us..."

Now, everyone knew for certain that Hiei had found out something about Botan. But this statement also made them wonder if Koenma was keeping secrets as well. What the demon had said made them realize that Koenma did seem awfully worried about Botan, more so than with previous missing workers.

Kurama in particular wanted to know what it was that Hiei found. Of course, the fox had also sensed how much more worried Koenma was than normal and was naturally curious about it. The kitsune was not about to be left out on this interesting information and planned to find out from Hiei soon enough, even if it did require bribery or blackmail.

Yusuke asked, "What the heck is going on?! What do you two know that we don't?!"

"Yeah, if you know where she is, shrimp, you better tell us!"

"Please tell us, Hiei, is Botan all right? Is she hurt?"

Hiei ignored everyone and only paid attention to the god before him. "Godling, call it off or I swear I will tell everybody what happened, and I doubt highly that you want some of these fools to know."

Of course, what Hiei meant for Koenma to call off was the prearranged wedding.

"Call WHAT off?!"

"Okay Hiei, you know something we don't, so spill already!"

Koenma's eyes widened as it dawned on him that Hiei knew about the wedding and Botan's refusal. The godling would be absolutely horrified if everyone found out the truth before he had the chance to make Botan his bride, so, for now, he had to play Hiei's little game and go along with what the fire demon wanted.

Koenma gulped nervously and said, "Hiei, what do you want from me?"

"Leave her alone and none of this ever happened."

"I can't do that, as you should already know." Koenma, hoping to change the subject, then asked, "Why do you suddenly care, anyway? Were you not the one who didn't want to search for her?"

"That is none of your business, godling. Go back to Reikai and wait for us to come to you."

"...Fine," Koenma agreed reluctantly.

"Wait, wait, wait! Who's 'us'? What's going on?!"

"Hiei, are you referring to Botan? What did Koenma do to her?"

"Why are you two being so secretive?! We all know you're hiding something, so just tell us already!"

Before anything more could be said, something, er, someone, practically flew down the stairs and attached itself to Hiei, hugging him from behind.

"WHY THE HECK DID YOU JUST LEAVE ME THERE?!! And you didn't even explain what you were doing!!! Don't you have any manners-"

"BOTAN?!!!"

Botan looked up with her arms still locked around Hiei in a fierce bear hug and seemed to notice everyone else for the first time. She smiled sheepishly and said, "Oh... So that's what you meant by 'They're inside...'"

"Did I not tell you to stay there?!" Hiei said through gritted teeth as he tried to control his temper, watching all of his efforts to help Botan go to waste. Everyone else stared wide-eyed at the blue-haired girl, still wondering what was going on, how she got inside, and, more importantly, why Hiei hadn't killed her yet for hugging him.

Koenma felt overjoyed at first, relieved to see his beloved safe. But then he remembered the reason why she disappeared in the first place, and he scowled deeply, wondering if HIEI was the one she was in love with.

"Botan," Koenma greeted her coldly.

Botan released the annoyed fire demon immediately as soon as she saw Koenma and greeted him just as frigidly, "Koenma."

"I will be expecting you back in Reikai to discuss our previous arrangements," Koenma told her as he turned and left before anybody could do anything to stop him.

"What the heck was that all about?!" Yusuke asked Hiei and Botan. Everyone else turned their attention to the mysterious pair.

Botan pretended to not know about anything and told them, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes you do!"

"Something's going on between you, the toddler, and the shrimp!"

"Why did Koenma suddenly leave? He had been very worried about you, and now that he knows you're safe, he just leaves? And he didn't even ask where you went or anything."

"Not to mention, you and Hiei seem pretty close, ne? Normally he would kill anyone that hugged him like you did, but he didn't seem to mind."

Botan looked at Hiei purposefully, trying to make him realize that this was the time to pretend to be in love. Hiei noticed this and reluctantly decided to go along.

"Should you tell them the news, or should I?"

"Hn."

"Fine, I will then!" Botan announced as she turned to look at everyone. "Hiei and I are in love!!!"

Everyone stared wide-eyed and slack-jawed at this preposterous declaration. Nobody was willing to believe for even one moment that Botan and Hiei were a couple.

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"The shrimp, in love? Yeah right!"

Kurama said nothing as he looked at Hiei, trying to figure out the fire demon's feelings on the whole thing from his body language. Unfortunately, Hiei seemed to know what he was doing and made sure that he kept a blank face and did nothing to give away his true opinion.

The fox noticed this, so he decided to take a more direct approach and asked, "Hiei? Do you have anything to say for yourself? Is what Botan said really true?"

Grudgingly, Hiei looked at him and answered, "...Yes."

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama couldn't believe it- Yusuke and Kuwabara because they considered Botan and Hiei to be exact opposites who wouldn't fall in love if they were the last two beings left in the three worlds, but Kurama doubted them for a different reason. He knew that something was going on between Hiei, Botan, and Koenma that caused all of these strange things to happen, but so far, the clever fox hadn't figured it out yet.

"I don't believe it! Since when?!"

Botan smiled and answered truthfully, "Since today!"

"You're kidding. That's impossible!"

"Prove it!"

"How?" Botan asked.

Yusuke smirked evilly and said, "Do something to Hiei that he wouldn't let anybody else do unless he loved them."

"Uh, like what?"

"I don't know, kiss him or something."

Hiei glared at Yusuke and said, "What did you just say?! I don't have to prove anything; my word should be good enough for you, ningen."

Yusuke seemed unfazed by this and grinned wickedly. "Seeing is believing, ne?"

Botan didn't seem to mind his request at all and asked, "Okay, so how do I show you?"

"Kiss Hiei, and if he doesn't kill you, then that's proof enough."

Shrugging nonchalantly, she answered, "Okay."

Hiei's body tensed as Botan leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She had wanted to do this for so long, ever since she discovered her true feelings for the fire demon. The best part was that there were witnesses, so Hiei could deny that it happened all he wanted to but Botan would have evidence.

Hiei felt like killing Yusuke for making them 'prove their love' when all he wanted was to see an embarrassed fire demon, but Hiei had to restrain himself so that everyone believed that he truly was in love with Botan. Hiei had to exert even more self-control when Yusuke and Kuwabara started laughing after seeing this public display of affection between the unlikely couple. Eventually Kuwabara's face turned red from laughing so hard, and Yusuke was rolling on the ground in mirth.

Botan glared at the two laughing boys and summoned her metal baseball bat [like the one she used in the Makai insect episodes]. Hands on her hips, she warned, "You had better not be laughing at me and MY fire baby!"

Suddenly, Yusuke and Kuwabara forgot what was so funny. Yusuke got up from the floor and Kuwabara gulped nervously, his face visibly pale. They backed away very slowly, suddenly extremely aware of how dangerous females can be when angered.

"Uh... W-we weren't laughing at you..."

Botan rushed forward, ready to attack with her metal baseball bat. The two frightened boys ran like they never ran before, afraid of what might happen if they dared to stay and endure her fury.

While Botan was busy attacking the frightened pair, Kurama dragged Hiei upstairs to his room before the fire demon could do anything. After shutting and locking the door and windows to make sure Hiei wouldn't escape, the curious fox asked, "Okay, what's going on?!"

In response, the fire demon glared at him defiantly and stayed silent, as if to say that he would never tell.

"Hiei, you know good and well that I'm going to find out sooner or later, so you might as well tell me now and make it easier for both of us."

Hiei knew that this was true, but if the fox wanted to find out anything it be from Botan. Knowing Kurama wouldn't rest until his curiosity was satiated, Hiei said, "Let me talk to her first. There is no telling what that baka onna will do if I say something without her consent."

Both youkai knew this was very true. Botan is known for hitting people with her oar and her metal baseball bat. In fact, her two weapons are just as feared as Keiko's infamous slap.

Kurama nodded understandingly and told, "Stay here. I'll be right back."

The fox turned and left the room, leaving Hiei there alone. The fire demon considered escaping, but he knew that Kurama and Botan would eventually find him. When they did, they would both be mad enough to do something crazy to him, like tie him up with thorny vines and hit him on the head with the hilt of his own sword.

Moments passed before Kurama reappeared with Botan in tow. The blue-haired girl had just cornered Yusuke and Kuwabara, and was about to teach them a lesson they wouldn't soon forget before Kurama arrived. He had dragged her back here, despite her many protests.

After making sure to lock the door once more, Kurama told the pair, "Okay, you two had better tell me what is going on. I'm not an idiot; I know there's more to this whole incident than you two 'being in love'."

Botan glanced at Hiei and asked, "Can we trust him?"

In reply, he simply shrugged, as if to say 'whatever, I don't care.' Botan, who had yet to understand the mystery that is Hiei's body language, took this as a yes and began telling Kurama everything that had happened, starting with when she first fell in love with Hiei all the way up until the present.

After the tale, the fox decided to be nice to them, and help them with this whole Koenma incident. He knew that Botan had already endured plenty of torture and Hiei was about to live through his worse nightmare, so he refrained from teasing them about these recent events.

"If ever you need some assistance, please come and ask me. I'm more than willing to help."

Suddenly, Kurama found himself backed into a wall with Hiei's sword at his throat, and Botan standing nearby, baseball bat in her hands. Hiei glared at the cornered fox and growled, "If a single word of this gets out, I will rather enjoy torturing you to death. Is that understood?"

Kurama smiled, thinking that death threats were so typical of Hiei, and promised that he would keep his mouth shut. The fox knew of Hiei's strict honor code about not harming helpless beings, especially teammates, so he didn't fear that Hiei would kill him. Botan, on the other hand, may or may not be ruthless enough to do something like that. Kurama seriously doubted the former ferry girl could murder him just for telling people her little secret. Then again, females can be unpredictable at times, even for century-old fox reincarnates.

After hearing the fox promise several times that he wouldn't tell anybody, Hiei let him go. Kurama, being the polite kitsune that he is, asked them if they wanted to spend the night, since it was already so late. Botan accepted his offer immediately so Hiei decided to sleep in the tree beside the bedroom window.

The next day, Hiei woke up to find himself sleeping on the floor in Kurama's room. Looking beside him, Hiei found Botan cuddling up to him, still fast asleep. The fire demon began to become nervous as to why he couldn't remember moving from the tree to Kurama's room.

"Oh, so you're finally awake."

Hiei looked up to see Kurama standing in front of him, staring down at the pair.

"Why the heck am I in here?!"

"Don't you remember? You fell out of the tree and I had to drag you up here!"

Actually, that was only partly true. What had really happened was Kurama only had two places to sleep, either his bed or the floor. After an argument over who would get the bed, Botan finally told him that she would sleep on the floor only if Hiei would too. Kurama was glad to be able to sleep in his bed, so he 'accidentally' pushed Hiei off the tree and dragged him upstairs. Thankfully, the fire demon didn't wake up during this whole process.

Hiei sat up and shook Botan's shoulders none too gently, trying to wake her up. The former ferry girl opened her eyes slowly and immediately shut them again, still half asleep, and snuggled closer to Hiei while mumbling about how she was in the middle of a nice dream.

"Get up, you baka onna!"

Kurama chuckled as Hiei tried to force Botan to get up. The fire demon shot an angry look at the fox, not appreciating the laughter. Finally deciding to take a different approach, he stood up and went to the bathroom, returning with a glass of water. Hiei poured the water out, spilling it all over Botan and the bedroom floor.

Botan immediately sat up, water dripping off of her, and said, "HEY! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA!"

"We need to leave for Reikai, so get up already!"

Kurama left the room momentarily and returned with two towels, one of which he handed to Botan. He used the other to clean up the water from the floor. "You know, Hiei, you didn't have to spill it all over the carpet!"

"Hn," he answered, as if to say 'That's what you get for laughing at me.'

After Botan finished drying off the best she could, still mumbling about how fire demons shouldn't interrupt people's pleasurable dreams, they told Kurama their goodbyes and left the fox's house. Once outside, Hiei lead the way to an abandoned building and Botan activated the Reikai portal that was there. They both stepped through without a word, ready to face Koenma at long last.