Dorobou

Disclaimer: If I owned it then there would be an American name on it! 3 Doors Down owns 'Kryptonite', take it up with them.

Notes/Warnings: This is a HieiBotan, you have been forewarned. Hiei is now, in his human form, nineteen, so he's taller than Botan.
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The seemingly endless army of demons charged the group of five that barred the entrance to the palace of the prince of Reikai, Koenma. Each member of the Reikai Tantei was panting heavily as they made battle with the opposing demons.

Urameshi Yusuke, the leader of this small band of heros, had kuro hair and cha eyes. The midori clad teenager pulled back his fingers to form a gun and put on a cocky grin, "Alright, you asked for it! Spirit Shotgun!" A large ao beam then shot out of his index finger. It ripped through hundreds of demons, obliterating the bodies or appendages of those too close.

Youko Kurama, the most intelligent on the team, was actually the kitsune demon Youko, who inhabited Suuichi Minamino, a teenage ningen otoko's body. His emerald eyes shone a stern seriousness, yet a bright curiousness as his rose whip lashed out at the advancing demons, cutting some clean in half. His thorny weapon kept several demons at a safe distance for fear of it's sharp lash.

Kuwabara Kazuma, by far the ugliest and stupidest member of the team, had materialized his spirit sword and was swinging it around wildly and dangerously. Yusuke and Kurama, the ones closest to the baka, steped farther away so they would not be caught under Kuwabara's mad swings.

Botan was the only onna on the team, demo had a mighty swing whenever she held her oar, or as Hiei prefered to call it, 'the flying contraption of death', as he had been on the recieving end of her wrath several times. The bubbly grim reaper had knocked several demons unconcious, but had failed to notice the demons that evaded her strikes.

The piecing scream Botan omitted when an aka demon wrenched her oar from her grasp thier final, and most hostile, team member. Jaganshi Hiei's katana flashed through the demon's faster than the now trembling diety could blink.

"Ahou ferry onna. Pick up your oar and fly inside to safety. You're too weak to be fighting off demons." the hi koorime shouted at her, his Jagan glowing a dark pa-puru from the center of his forehead. The screaming and armless demon in front of Botan then dropped to the floor, his chest exploding due to the fact that Hiei's Jagan had forced the demons heart to expand to larger proportions.

Botan wasn't sure whether to take offense at her teamate's half insult, or to give appreciation for his concern of her safety. The ferry onna quickly snatched up her oar anyway, clobbering several demons whom were too close to her. Botan, still swinging expertly at her ugly offenders, shouted back at Hiei, "I'm not weak! I can fight too, you know! Maybe not as strong as you, demo that doesn't mean I can't hold my own in a fight!"

The unlikely pair were surrounded, and now back to back. Still, through the din of Hiei's slashes and Botan's strikes, they traded insults as they fought.

"You're right for once, baka. You are not and never shall be as strong as I."

"Maybe not, demo I've knocked out twenty demons so far! And I've healed you two times already!"

I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind,

I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time

I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon,

I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah

"The center of a battlefield is not the place for baka healing ferry onnas! You should be on the outskirts, ready to heal us if we need it!" Hiei retorted through clenched fangs, blocking the thrust of a kii demon with a katana.

"And miss all the fun? Not likely! And my name is Botan not 'baka healing ferry onna'!"

I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon,

After all I knew it had to be something to do with you

I really don't mind what happens now and then,

As long as you'll be my friend at the end

"Hn." That was apparently the end of their verbal sensou. They silently fended off a large portion of the demons. Hiei, using his speed to end all of his small duels quickly, saved Botan in a secretive way whenever a demon managed to evade her wrath. His Jagan glowed as a demon to Botan's left fell to the ground in convulsions before his chest split in two.

If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman,

If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand

I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might

Kryptonite

Through the bouryoku, several demons had all attacked Hiei at once. The hi koorime, in a doryoku to protect himself, ripped his Jagan's focus from Botan. Her scream rang in his ears as he shoved his katana through a demon at the gut level.

Hiei spun around to glimpse Botan being carried through the mess of demons. A pa-puru demon grabbed him from behind, but soon paid for his mistake when Hiei shouted "Fist of the Mortal Flame!", and pulled a swift uppercut to the demon's deformed jaw.

You called me strong, you called me weak, but still your secrets I will keep,

You took for granted all the times I never let you down,

You stumbled in and bumped your head, if not for me then you'd be dead,

I picked you up and put you back on solid ground

"Hiei, help me!" Her shriek was the last thing thing that Hiei heard as his body went numb, every demon the Reikai Tantei had been fighting suddenly surging towards him. Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara crowding around the mass of demons that had surrounded Hiei.

If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman,

If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand

I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might

Kryptonite

Hiei's three team members fought from the outside of the the pile of demons around him. They only used their fists for fear of striking Hiei and killing him, or worse striking him with him still alive and they to face his wrath. Hiei, who was striving to escape and fetch Botan, started fighting wildly as he saw the leader at the edge of the mori, his midori hand clamped tightly around Botan's mouth. "Botan!" Hiei cried out to his teamates, unable to break through the wall of demons, "Rescue Botan!"

If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman,

If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand

I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might

Kryptonite, yeah

The two bakas and the kitsune had not heard Hiei's order, and still fought the demons from the outside. A sudden blow to his spine sent him to the ground, his katana flying from his hand to sever the offending demon's arm. The claws of the large ao demon stuck bloodily in his lower back, draining his strenth quickly. In a hoarse whisper he said, "Rescue Botan..." then blacked out.

If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman,

If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand

I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might

Kryptonite

A kuro hi then sprang from his unconcious body, devouring the demons all around him in a merciless burst of energy. Kurama, thinking quickly, shoved Yusuke, Kuwabara, and himself out of range of the kuro hi. He then stared at the piles of ash that were previously an army of demons. 'When did Hiei learn this ability?' the curious kitsune thought to himself in wonder.

Being as Hiei fell face first into the ground unconcious and then burst into a kuro hi, Yukina, who had been rushed to the scene, was unable to heal the hi koorime until he groggily rose his head an hour later. The kuro hi immediately dissolved as Hiei shot up, growling when he noticed the pain in his spine were the claws had been. They were gone now, having been turned into ash and then blown away as soon as Hiei's new ability showed face.

Yukina rushed over, her hands a glowing siro as a soothing feeling swept through Hiei as the grotesque wound on his back closed, leaving a scar where a gaping hole had been. Hiei gave his unknowing sister a small smile and whispered, "Arigatou, Yukina." The koorime nodded and moved away a few steps. Hiei grabbed his katana and glared at his teamates, "Well?" he asked grudgingly.

Kurama took a step forward and shrugged slightly, "What's there to explain? As soon as you fell that kuro flame destroyed all of the demons. We were lucky that we weren't caught by the blast as well!" Hiei growled lowly, the kitsune's words were only half true. He wasn't telling the angry hi koorime something.

"Not that! The ferry onna was abducted by the leader! Haven't you noticed her absence at all over the past hour!" Hiei shouted. His team members and sister looked surprised. Kuwabara was the first to speak when he said loudly, "We thought she went inside like you told her to!"

Hiei clenched a fist and looked at the ground, spitting out the words, "You know she never listens to me." Next to him, Yukina looked about to cry, demo held it in and asked meekly, "Are we going to get Botan-chan back, Hiei-san?"

Hiei sighed, "Hai, Yukina-chan, I'll get Botan back." Then an angry glare was sent toward Kurama, "Kitsune, over here for a moment." It was more of an order than a question, so Kurama merely nodded and followed Hiei out of ear shot of the fragile Yukina and the eavesdropping bakas.

"There's something you're not telling me, kitsune. And you know how I despise being left in the dark." Kurama flashed a grin at Hiei's bluntness, "Hai, that I am." Hiei growled, "Well then out with it, kitsune!"

"The kuro flame that shot out of your body. It's a new ability that you, incredibly, have unleashed. Apparently this ability has been activated by a dormant feeling that you have not been aware of until now. Do you know what this feeling is, Hiei?" An abrupt reply was all that was offered, "Hn. I am not in love with Botan!"

Kurama smiled, "So, you're using her name now? And I didn't say that you loved Botan, you're the one who suggested it." Hiei sent a glare at the kitsune that promised many tortourous events, and whispered dangerously, "So you saw her get kidnapped, then?"

"Iie, I heard you shout that she needed rescued again. And I would have gone after her if I would not have had to rescue Yusuke and Kuwabara from your new ability. After that I put the pieces together and knew you would go after her anyway. Besides, we were all afraid that if we left you alone that you would die or go into a coma." Kurama smiled, "The leader stole her from you. You go and steal her back."

Hiei merely nodded and ran in the direction that the leader took Botan. As he sped through the mori, the only image that played in his mind was Botan's zettai helpless look as the leader had carried her away. It only spurred him to move faster as he entered the Makai, too many aku things could happen to her here. And when he found Botan, her captors would be seeing Enma very, very soon.

Hiei's feelings were in turmoil as he considered when he could have possibly felt attraction toward the beautiful diety. "Botan...What are you doing to me?" he mumbled aloud.

Hiei slowed down when he heard the sounds of a demon encampment getting closer. It was dark in the Makai by the time he reached the source of the sound. He quickly leaped into a dense tree, watching the movement of the demon camp below. A large group of demons were bunched aroud their midori leader, who was showing something off.

A sharp cry that sent Hiei's blood boiling rang through the camp as the leader pulled Botan up from the ground by her hair with a forceful tug. Hiei silently promised death to the laughing demons, then hid his aura, waiting for sleep to visit the ugly encampment.

Soon, the only light that lit the camp was the dull shine of the moon and stars, the campfire long burned into embers. A shadow with blood shaded eyes crept behind the first sentry, drawing his katana stealthily. In a quick flash of metal, a hot rush of blood gurgled from the dead sentry's slit throat.

Within thirty seconds, the other sentries surrounding the camp befelled the same fate as the first, staining the Makai tsuchi with their demon blood. There were now only the sleeping demons that had not attacked Reikai, their leader, and the onna he had come to rescue.

Stepping over several unconcious demons, Hiei made his way to the bound and gagged diety. When he got within reaching distance he noticed the tell-tale signs that Botan had been crying and beaten. Her tightly shut eyes told him more than he wanted to know.

Hiei reached out to touch her shoulder, demo she shirked away from her friend's hand with a whimper. "Botan, it's alright. I've come to steal you back." Hiei whispered, smiling reassuringly when her lavender pools snapped open. He put a finger to his lips, and unsheathed his katana.

Once the ropes were free Botan tore the gag from her mouth and embraced Hiei tightly, tears running down her face, demo no sobs issuing from her mouth. The hi koorime stiffened at the touch but slowly wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

A cruel laughter rang through the camp, causing Hiei to push Botan behind him as he whirled to face the midori leader. Their leader's laughter soon awakened the sleeping demons, they stood up and formed a circle around the Forbidden Child and the grim reaper.

"The dorobou, Hiei Jaganshi. It is an honor." The leader's voice was abrasive to Hiei's ears. Botan quivered from behind her savior, causing Hiei to growl out, "You shall be sorry that you ever touched the onna." The entire camp shook with mirth as though Hiei's suggestion was absurd.

"Naze ka? Is she your mate? Hah, the great Hiei Jaganshi, the master of the Jagan and the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, mating with a ningen! You're a disgrace to your own kind, Hiei!" Botan clutched Hiei's right arm, causing his Jagan to glow. He growled, "I should be used to it now, I've been a disgrace to my kind just for being male. Demo, there is a new title that I have achieved quite recently. And I could not have uleashed it if you hadn't taken Botan in the first place. So, arigatou, I suppose. Would you like to witness, first-hand, the damage I can unleash with this new talent of mine?"

The kuro flame surrounded Hiei and Botan, harming neither, demo going completely out of control. It's long, dancing arms wrapping around the group of demons, cutting several off of their retreat. It's fury hovered over the terrified demons for a moment, as if laughing at them. Then, like a tidal wave, it crashed down on them all, devouring them entirely.

As the flame was sucked into Hiei's body again the piles of ash were snatched by the wind. Botan clutched Hiei's arm and squeaked out, "Hiei, where'd this new power come from? Hiei!" Hiei then started slouching in her grasp, but lowly whispered, "You." Then he fell back into Botan's embrace as she dragged him to her oar. Placing her arms around him, so he wouldn't fall, she flew back into Reikai.

Kurama and Yusuke quickly carried him inside the palace, Kuwabara tried to help, demo everytime the baka touched Hiei, the unconcious demon gave him a warning growl. As Hiei was carried to a vacant room several of the onis and other ferry onnas gave them strange looks. Demo Botan sternly glared at them all, sending a clear message that she wasn't in the mood.

When the Reikai doctor told the team that Hiei was merly passed out from fatigue, everyone sighed in relief. Botan walked with Yukina into the room and sat with her while Hiei rested. The pretty koorime was smiling brightly as she whispered to her brother. Botan tuned everything out, knowing it was Yukina's business, until she heard Yukina talking to her.

"Botan-chan?"

"Hai, Yukina-san?" Her best friend smiled and looked Botan in the eye, "What do you think of Hiei-san?" Botan blushed and looked away, noticing that Hiei was awakening. Yukina giggled slightly, "It's okay, Botan-chan. I will not tell Hiei-san."

"Tell me what?" Hiei's groggy voice cut through the conversation. Botan gulped and looked at him to find that he was staring at her intently. "Tell me what?" he asked again, a little annoyed now. Yukina giggled slightly again, "Glad to see you are awake, Hiei-san. I will get some tea for you now."

She then bowed and exited the room, smiling to herself. Hiei turned to Botan once more and asked gently, "Tell me what, Botan?" Botan fidgeted with her kimono, then whispered, "Yukina asked me what I think about you."

Hiei cocked an eyebrow, his eyes softening slightly at the frieghtened diety "There's no need to fear me, Botan. What would you have told her?" She mumbled out a response, too quietly for Hiei to hear. Hiei sternly looked at her, much like a scolding parent.

Botan sighed, "Alright, you're a dorobou." Hiei's eyes flashed with pain, demo soon hardened when he turned to look at the wall. Botan bowed her head and whispered, "You stole me back, and for that domo arigatou. " She leaned down then, near his face and whispered, "Demo you stole my heart as well." Then her lips pressed against his own, and Hiei could not have been happier.
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Japanese Dictionary:
dorobou - theif
Reikai - the spirit world
Reikai Tantei - the Spirit Detectives
kuro - black
cha - brown
midori - green
ao - blue
kitsune - fox
ningen - human
otoko - boy
baka - idiot
onna - woman
demo - but
aka - red
katana - Japanese style sword
ahou - silly
hi koorime - fire/ice demon
Jagan - evil eye
pa-puru - purple
kii - yellow
sensou - war
bouryoku - violence
doryoku - effort
mori - forest
kuro hi - black fire
siro - white
arigatou - thank you
hai - yes
iie - no
zettai - absolutely
Makai - the demon world
aku - evil
tsuchi - sand
naze ka - why
oni - ogre
kimono - a traditional Japanese robe worn by both sexes
domo arigatou - thank you very much

I hope you enjoyed this one-shot! I had to include "Kryptonite" in this, because it inspired the entire fic! Does anybody else like 3 Doors Down? Anyway, please review, arigatou for reading!