WARNING: there's major sappiness and WAFF(warm and fuzzy feeling) in this fic (actually it sounds more like a soap opera to me) so be forewarned. I find myself incapable of writing anything close to funny, I'll try next time though.

DISCLAIMER: All YuYu Hakusho characters are created by Yoshihiro Togashi. Aya, Omi, Youji and Ken, no matter how cute they are (sigh!) belongs to Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiss. This struggling writer is merely borrowing.

"Kuso!" Must run. Fast. He no longer felt the asphalt against his feet. No longer did he care about the curious stares the people were aiming at him. He can't die. He took a swift turn to the left, right, pushed several people out of his way... desperately trying to disappear and lose his pursuer. To no avail. Still two pairs of feet beating against the ground. Still the flaming red hair and cold purple eyes. His assasin. Abyssinian. Not a very happy thought. He turned to another narrow alley, then another. He didn't know the weight of the information he carries within him. All that he knows is that the man is bent on having his blood on his katana. And from the looks of things, he doesn't seem to fit the man who can be asily dissuaded. For some strange reason, he felt like his pursuer was deliberately keeping up with him, but not really trying to catch up with him. From his assesment, he knew that his pursuer is well-trained and would've easily slitted his throat if he wanted to. No time to pray. No more explanations. He would just be some faceless dead body found in the gutter the next morning. Gutters. With his own guts mingling with the city's waste. Must run. Fast. He can't die.

Botan walked away from the ramen house with the sound of annoyance on her pace, an angry glare darkening her eyes from pink to purple. She has stormed out of the restaurant, having had enough with Kuwabara and Yuusuke's relentless insults and teasing. She could still hear their stupid remarks... It all started out with Kurama passing by the ramen house with a pretty girl, talking animatedly about something.Yuusuke andKuwabara oggled at the window as the couple passed by and watched them until they got lost in the sea of pedestrians crossing the street. Keiko curiously walked from behind the counter to the window and peered at what the two were fussing about. "Who's that with Kurama?" she asked. Botan raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Both Kuwabara and Yuusuke didn't even hear a word and was already exchanging awed remarks about the girl he was with. "Can you believe that guy? All this time he had me believing he's too polite to even ask any girl out on a date and now... that?" Yuusuke exclaimed shaking his head in disbelief. Kuwabara agreed, "That Kurama sure has taste," he said seating himself beside Botan who was silently sipping tea. Curious as she may be of Kurama's alleged new girlfriend, she suppressed herself from getting up and seeing for herself.Yuusuke took the other seat beside Botan, "yep. He sure does," Botan found him peering at her closely as she gingerly took a gulp of the warm drink. "Nani?" she asked. "I was just wondering... when are you going to land some decent guy?" he asked in all of seriousness. That question earned him a whack from Keiko, "Yuusuke no baka! That's none of your business!" While the two went on arguing about Yuusuke's intrusiveness, it was Kuwabara's turn to stare, his sister emerged from behind and whacked him all the same before he could put into words his thoughts. "What is it with you two? We were just getting worried about our little deity here!" Yuusuke growled, still soothing the bump at the back of his forehead. He saw a glare flash from both Keiko and Shizuru, "Hey, wait a minute! Don't tell me you've never wondered about that whenever I'm with you and Kuwabara's with Yukina!" Both Keiko and Shizuru were dumbfounded. "And now that Kurama seems to grow near the 'attached' market, we were just speaking out our curiosity... Ow!" he explained as another whack came from Keiko, who was now looking at Botan with reluctant curiosity. "I'm not on the look out for someone okay?" she answered in exasperation. "B-but... why?" Kuwabara asked. Again, Botan grew annoyed at the continued intrusiveness of the two. She smiled sweetly, "It may seem a hard concept to grasp for an egotistical buffoon head like you, but some people actually prefer to be alone." There, she thought, that should put an end to that.

"I beg to disagree," Shizuru stated quietly, blowing a puff of smoke. Botan flashed her a look of surprise. "Nobody chooses to be by herself because she wants to or enjoys it. Sometimes, people resort to not looking out for companionship because they fear rejection and some stop looking for that person because of fear that in the end... there might be no one there for them in the first place," she explained, then stared levelly at Botan, " so which one are you, Botan-chan?" she asked. At that question, Botan felt something sting behind her eyes and knew instantly that tears were on their way. How could Shizuru say such things to her? She thought she was on her side. She felt betrayed, angry and infinitely... lonely. Shizuru's words struck her, as if breaking through the sunshine she's created for her own private world, and piercing her heart. Which one am I? the question came swiftly and fierce, shoving the truth in her face. Painful and sad. Alone. "Y'know what? Maybe you should try being a little less ditzy around guys. Getting hooked does require using a liitle brain and a little refinement," Yuusuke suggested, he's already stepped away from Keiko's reach. Botan turned to him with stormy purple eyes, "I am not ditzy!" she shouted angrily. Yuusuke took a step back, not exactly looking for a third bump on the head. "And maybe, you should try wearing dresses sometimes," he reached up and yanked the tie that held Botan's hair up in a ponytail, "and you don't exactly look hot with a ponytail, y'know." Botan swatted Kuwabara's hand angrily, a second too late. Her hair was now tumbling freely on her shoulders, framing her furious face. Enough! She closed her eyes and calmly got up from her seat. She gave one final look at her four so-called friends, "Just because someone chooses to be alone doesn't give you license to think she's lonely and needs help from you," she focused her gaze on Shizuru who met her eyes unflinchingly. Then she stormed out of the ramen house, bumping into Kurama as she did so. The wind grazed through her hair, mercilessly tossing stray blue strands everywhere blocking her vision. Blocking the long suppressed tears freely flowing down her cheeks from the world's view. She's never had to deal with the truth she has long denied from herself, from everybody.

Until that moment when Shizuru's questions hit her with raw bluntness, her crafted world gave her enough solace to live with the notion that she'll probably never be able to find that which she couldn't name for she hadn't, no she refuses to acknowledge it may exist in her. She knew the answer to her questions the moment the words flew out of Shizuru's mouth. When each day of her life has been filled with nothing but visions of death, pain, agony... letting go, it was pretty easy for her to give up any hope on anything. She has surrendered to the fact that she has no control over anything and that at the blink of an eye everything ends. Everything shifts to the desires of a higher entity. What good will it do her to pour out all her love on someone knowing full well it would end sometime anyway? Besides, I'm the deity of death. What if I'm not meant for that kind of happiness? What if I'm not meant to be happy at all? she thought solemnly. What good will a search for that someone be if in the end you'd find yourself with that person closest to you: yourself? Botan heaved a sigh as she crossed the street, then turned up to a corner where there were far less people walking. She knew the direction of her thoughts were sucking her into a pool of depression. Something she has long ago given up for covering her pain with a masked smile, a fashioned laughter. She walked a bit further, waiting for an opportunity to bring out her oar and fly herself out of there. It was a beautiful night. One that seemed to have been arranged for a photo shoot or a painting session. At least the stars will always be there for me, she thought wryly, finding momentary comfort at the beautiful picture the sky presented her. She turned up to another corner then another, still gazing in amazement at how nights like these are oft taken for granted by ningens. You only notice because you have no life, was her last thought before a flash of blue caught her eye.

Before she could do anything about it, a young man, running opposite her ran into her literally. The impact sent them both to the ground, Botan's head hitting the concrete with a thud. "Ow! Watch it!" she exclaimed. The blue-haired stranger was already up and about the wind tousling his hair, concealing his face. He flashed her a glance before he sped on his way. Botan got up slowly and watched the running man when she noticed a disk lying on her feet. She bent to pick it up stared at it curiously before deciding to go after the man and return the disk. "Hey, mister! You dropped your... ugh." It all happened so quickly. The perfect night... the blue-haired stranger... the disk she bent to pick up... the knife that pierced her on the side of her waist... the arms that caught her falling body. Botan strived to keep her eyes open though she felt infinitely tired at that moment. Her vision was hazy, the stars already fading right before her eyes. A gentle touch urged her to meet a pair of violet eyes, narrowed somewhat and a complete picture of... confusion? Amazement? Anger? He was saying something, but she can't seem to make words out of his lips. Air seemed too thin for her to breath and the constant gentle shake of her shoulder seemed to lull her more to sleep. A few more seconds and she succumbed to its beckoning call.

Kuso! Aya cursed inwardly. He hesitated when he saw her standing in the shadows, her blue hair his only leading clue. He decided then that he'd stab him first with a knife in a relatively safe spot so as to impale him. Once he's gotten the disk from him, then and only then will his katana be of use. He had it all planned out. A mistake went unforseen. The woman in his arms attested to that. His fault. His mistake. Damn! Just what I need right now, he thought, placing two fingers on her throat to get a feel of her weak pulse. Blood gashed freely on her side pouring forth on his gloved hand. Quickly, he pried the disk from Botan's grasp then searched her clothing for some identification. He was surprised to find nothing and went on by contacting Omi. "Send for an ambulance in my location," he said calmly. "Did you get the disk?" Omi asked. "Look Omi, I've got a girl bleeding to death here, it would really help if you save your questions for later," Aya snapped. Yohji snatched the speaker from Omi while keeping an eye on the screen, "I didn't know you were partial to blue hair, Aya. Cute. Nice bod too," he said silkily, "maybe I should go down there and check on her." Aya was infuriated by Youji's apparent attitude over the situation, "I stabbed her. Now get that fucking ambulance here before she gets herself dead," he said curtly before cutting the connection off.

Kurama stared at the empty streets through the ramen house's window. Yuusuke and Kuwabara were already helping Keiko close down the restaurant, complaining rather loudly that they missed a certain TV show in helping Keiko. Shizuru was finishing her second pack of cigarette for the day on one corner. "Oi, Kurama! Why don't you quit moping around for that ditz and help us out here instead?" Yuusuke called from behind the counter. He hasn't stopped worrying over Botan since she bumped into him earlier. Kurama turned to check on the wall clock, it's already late. I don't like the feeling I''m getting over this. Something's wrong, he thought before returning his attention to the empty streets outside.He's already asked them what went wrong, but all he got were indifferent shrugs and diverted gazes. Yuusuke turned to Keiko, "why does he get to worry over Botan while I have to sweep the floor?" he wailed. "Stop whining," Keiko snapped, looking over at Kurama, guilt eating her from all over. Shizuru got up from where she sat and walked over to where Kurama stood. "You should be going home, Kurama. Shiori might be worried sick by now." she said. "I already called home. Where could she have gone?" he asked out loud. Shizuru blinked, his obvious concern over Botan's distress baffled her to no end. She knew her words scalded the deity and should feel a certain degree of guilt over what she said. But something inside her told her she need not apologize nor feel guilt. In fact, she felt a strange sense of pleasure over being the one to awaken Botan from her fantastical belief that she's destined to be alone. "Why are you suddenly so concerned over Botan?" she asked bluntly. Kurama blinked, as if asking the question to himself again. "She's a friend, Shizuru-san. We ought to worry about her," he said pointedly as though already aware that the elder girl had something to do with Botan's outburst. "I'm sure she's safe back in Reikai," she assured levelly, not giving in to his meaningful stare. Though she hated to admit it, Shizuru has a vague idea over what Kurama's so worried about. She too felt the imbalance... something did went wrong. "That's right Shizuru. Tell that to yourself until you yourself starts believing it," came the koorime's voice. Low and stealthy. Kuwabara jumped in surprise, "Yah! how'd you get in here?" he asked. Hiei just gave him a sidelong glance and his customary 'Hn'. He sat comfortably on one of the booths, his legs crossed, his katana resting on his shoulder. Kurama's eyes narrowed at the implication of Hiei's words, focusing a glare on Shizuru, "what does he mean by that?" Shizuru went on puffing her cigarette, weighing out her next words. Hiei didn't give Shizuru a chance to put into words what she has crafted in her mind. "Something happened to Botan," he said, his youthful face devoid of any emotion. Kurama clenched his jaw as he walk towards the cloaked figure on the other end of the room. Hiei met his emerald gaze, "she's on her way to the hospital as I speak." His jagan emitting a faint glow behind the bandages. Keiko let out a loud gasp and Yuusuke turned sharply at Hiei. "What happened?" Kurama demanded, his voice low, calm despite the rage he felt inside. Hiei smiled, "why don't you ask your friends here?" he asked. Kurama's eyes had a feral glow in them when he looked pointedly at Shizuru for some answers, "what happened?" he repeated. Shizuru calmly blew a cloud of smoke to the ceiling before telling Kurama what exactly took place starting from the girl they saw him with. Kurama closed his eyes, painting a mental picture of the events as he listened. "... then you came in," Shizuru finished. Keiko was already in the beginnnings of her apologies when Kurama cut her off by walking calmly to the door. The hospital his one destination.

***

I just wrote this as a little something for all those WK fans (esp. Aya Fujimiya) out there. If the storyline is too WAFF-y for the team's taste, it's okay lang. Arigatou for reading~

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