A/N: Not much to say, I just got back into YYH and and I remembered how much I loved the two of them. So this takes place a while after Hiei and Botan get together, just thought about how it would go if they got a pet as most couples do after they've been together a while. Miki means "beautiful princess" if anyone was curious. She works hard to live up to the name.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any character's associated with it. This is a work of pure fiction.

Summary: A short drabble about Hiei/Boton. Hiei had said they couldn't have a pet. Hiei had said that. [...] So, if that was true: Why then, was Hiei standing in the doorway with a small kitten sleeping and purring in the palm of his hand?

VIII - Miki

VIII - Pt. 1

Hiei had said they couldn't have a pet. Hiei had said that. Hiei, the ferocious fire demon of the makai world, the leveler of battlefields- He had said they couldn't have a pet. They didn't have enough time for one he'd told her, and beyond that, ningen animals were weak and pathetic like their human counterparts. Nothing worth keeping around the house. Botan hadn't agreed with Hiei's sentiments but she had conceded to the fact a pet wasn't the best thing. Their lives were simply too unpredictable.

So, if all that was true: Why then, was Hiei standing in the doorway with a small kitten sleeping and purring in the palm of his hand?

That was most definitely on the top of Botan's list of questions. Unfortunately for her, Hiei didn't seem to be in the mood to answer any of her questions considering he too fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillows.

The kitten, far from looking scared or frightened in the hands of such a demon, curled atop Hiei's chest and resumed it's state of blissful sleep.

Botan choose to let the incident go, for the night anyhow. The pair looked too content to disturb.

...x...

In the morning Botan was greeted by the small tongue of a kitten licking her face. She laughed, picking the kitten up in her arms and cuddling it close to her chest. Hiei watched her from the other side of the bed without comment. For the most part Hiei looked on with little indication of his feelings in the matter. There was however, the small curl of a smile on his lips. That small wisp of a smile won Botan's silence for the second time. The fact that a kitten was sharing their bed with them was far more interesting than the question of how it came to be there.

...x...

The kitten, who came to be known as Miki, quickly became radically involved the lives of the demon and the ferry girl.

Where most would have assumed the kitten would become a hindrance for a speedy demon such as Hiei, Miki in fact seemed to become more of a friendly companion during his practices. Whether she was sitting apart from him in a nearby tree or on his shoulder, Miki kept herself close to him throughout the experience. Moreover, she seemed to find enjoyment in watching- and even occasionally accompanying his lightening quick movements. Hiei also appeared to enjoy the accompaniment. When he thought no one was looking, Hiei would slip Miki a small piece of fish earning him an approving chirp.

In regards to Botan, Miki spent much of her time playing in whatever room Botan chose to inhabit in the house. No part of the space seemed unfamiliar to her but Miki was content to wander so long as she knew Botan was close by. After a time which only Mi herself could determine, the small kitten would make her way up Botan's leg with the pricks of her claws until she had reached the ferry girl's shoulder. After that it was only a matter of time before Botan's attention was fully directed toward the small creature and her previous activity abandoned in favor of the kitten's small purrs of pleasure.

There were of course times when the couple had no choice but to leave the small creature behind in order to attend to their duties but even when she was gone from their sight she was never too far from their minds. Botan, the notoriously social butterfly she was, had made arrangements with their landlady for Miki's care and even adoption if worse came to worse and neither of them could return. An odd request for an average couple but, even without the whole picture, Ms. Inuzara, the landlady, knew something was different about them and so she accepted the terms of Miki's care. Botan would never tell anyone but on the way home from missions she tended to notice a spring in Hiei's step whenever they drew close to home. It seemed she wasn't the only one who missed their furry friend dearly.

Reunited with the both of them in the quiet of the evening Miki would place herself quite plainly between the demon and the spirit girl, certain that that was the spot designated for her. Hiei never corrected her and Botan thought the spot was quite fitting so she too never brought the placement of the kitten into conversation. Botan also never questioned why Miki had come to them or how. She knew Hiei had the answers but he hadn't told her so Botan knew it didn't matter. Perhaps it was a question of pride for him. After all, getting a kitten didn't seem to be the kind of thing that a fire demon would simply go out and do. Botan was happy just to have Miki in their life, she didn't need to know the hows or whys. Hiei had never been an open man, not even after all these years but Botan had learned to rely quite a bit more on what he did rather than what he said. Bringing Miki home, caring for her the way he did… That told her more than she could ever ask him to say.

Yes, having Miki was a very good thing, Botan thought as she leaned her head on Hiei's shoulder, slowly drifting off to sleep.

- TBC -

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