He watched, fist clenched, as her chest slowly rose and fell. A simple white robe hugged her shaking body and sweat collected all over her forehead, making those bright blue bangs stick to her skin. He reached over and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Mr. Hiei?"

Hiei tilted his head to the side, catching his twin's red eyes.

Yukina stood in the doorway, looking pensively between Hiei and a bedridden Botan. "Kurama says she will be fine…" Her voice shook a little, and her posture trembled. The possibility of losing Botan, her best friend, still sat fresh in her heart and mind.

Hiei nodded and when Yukina showed no signs of leaving, he offered her a seat beside him. Yukina took it, fingers tracing over her palms.

"Mr. Hiei?"

"What is it?"

"What will you do to the man responsible," his twin asked, her voice oddly sober and quiet. Hiei glanced at her, not at all surprised when he saw her eyes glowing a faint white. The room gradually grew colder and Hiei had to use his own energy to keep Botan warm.

"Calm down," he instructed, "or you'll freeze her."

Yukina quickly stopped and apologized.

"Don't. Your emotions are unstable. There is no need to apologize."

"…"

Hiei traced his thumb over the ferry-girl's hand, carefully using his claws to leave thin, red lines along her skin. He got no reaction from her, as expected, and it slowly ate away at his insides; knowing the person he wanted more than anything was out of his reach was frustrating. He grabbed Botan's hand with more force than he intended to, holding it, almost as if he believed she would disappear at any moment.

Yukina watched, swallowing thickly.

"You asked what I plan to do to the person responsible," Hiei muttered, voice dripping with venom. "Something that will guarantee me a spot in Hell."

A shiver ran down his twin's spine, but she didn't voice her opinion on the matter. She was scared she might agree with Hiei.

The two sat in silence for a while after that, just watching Botan's labored breathing. The twin's train of thought ran on identical tracks as they watched Botan: she looked almost ghost-like, with her hair sprawled out like that, and her pale skin glowing like a luminescent light. Both Hiei and Yukina found it hard to breath, watching the ferry-girl cling to life like this.

"She will be okay," Yukina muttered, almost like a prayer. "She will be okay. She will be okay… I have to believe that, because if I don't-" her voice cracked and something shiny clattered to the floor near her lap.

Hiei sighed. "I know." He turned, reaching out to wipe away his sisters tears. "Don't cry."

"I'm sorry. I know. I'm sorry. I-"

Yukina felt a sob rattle her small body. Hiei pulled her into a hug, unable to stop his body from acting out on it's own and she responded in kind by clinging onto his scarf. Both let their fears suddenly rise and grow like miasma. The atmosphere turned depressing, thick, and clumpy. Outside, the sky grew dark and off in the distance, both could hear Yusuke shouting, his voice intertwining with the storm and rain.

"I'm so scared," Yukina muttered into the fabric of his cloak. "I don't want her to die."

The thought was something Hiei didn't want to touch upton. If he didn't, he might lose himself and go one some mindless rampage. So instead, he rubbed her hair.

When Botan woke up, the first thing she felt was pain. Her joints were incredibly stiff and a horrible headache was starting to take root in the forefront of her mind. When she tried to flex her fingers, they felt numb and staticy. What happened to her?

…

…

…

Oh, right. Spirit world was attacked and Lord Koenma ordered her to find Yusuke. In her hast, she was struck down by… something, and fell unconscious. How she ended up in Genkai's temple was a mystery.

Blinking, Botan realized, was slowly becoming a challenge. Her body demanded more sleep— it needed to recharge and rest, but at the same time, she wanted to get up and move. How long has she been out anyway? Did she even deliver the news to Yusuke about Spirit World?

Botan decided to try and sit up, but that proved to be a bad idea. She moaned when her shoulders popped and her spine cracked. Why do I suddenly feel old?

Botan bit her lip and tried to lean on her elbows for support. "Oh! Ouch… Bad idea, bad idea."

Something off to her side shifted, but her mind felt too fuzzy to comprehend what it was. Botan awkwardly moved her legs, wincing when that same staticy feeling shot up her nervous system.

Okay. Let's not do that again.

Suddenly, Botan felt a pair of cold arms loop around her middle and someone pressing their face into her chest. The ferry-girl's mind stilled, ready to freak out, when a small voice reaches her ears.

"Your awake," the voice croaked, "you're awake, you're-" More crying followed the broken words.

Botan blinked.

Once. Twice.

Wait. "Yukina?"

Yukina tightened her grip around her friend, freely crying, tear gems clinking to the floor like rain drops. Botan wrapped an arm around her small friend, ready to tell her everything was going to be okay and that Yukina shouldn't cry over little ol' her, but words failed her when something warm pressed against her neck.

She blinked, her other arm to automatically wrap around the other person, wondering who it could be.

It wasn't until her fingers felt spiky hair that she realized it was Hiei.

Botan felt her cheeks darken in color. Oh dear…

Both twins clung to her tall form, pressing themselves against any sliver of her exposed skin. Yukina continued to cry, muttering something under her breath while Hiei inhaled her scent like it was air, his claws gripped the opening of her rob, clumping the fabric in his fist, his other hand creasing the small of her back.

Botan decided her questions could wait. Obviously whatever happened to her was nothing short of scary. So she held both twins close to her being, cooing soft words into their ears.