The first time she met him, he scared the crap out of her. He was rough, he was tough, and he was mean. He growled at her, he threatened her life. But somewhere along the line, his bark became just that; bark. He had lost his bite, to her at least.
They say that the bark is worse than the bite, and it's true. But even his bark has lost the terror it used to instill in her. Of course, she'd NEVER tell the poor guy. He was humiliated enough by being forced to work on the team, imagine his shame should he find out that he couldn't even scare a girl like her!
She idolized him too much to bring him that much shame. It was just easier to act scared.
Yeah, she idolized him. Hell, she was fairly certain she was developing a schoolgirl's crush on him. But, again, that would shame him too greatly. And she could never do that.
To see his eyes become dulled, to watch the fire that burns inside him die would kill her. To never see his sexy, evil, cruel smirk again would break her heart. And Enma knows he'd never smirk at her, if he even looked in her direction, ever again if he knew what it did to her. Every time he did, she practically melted into the floor.
She knew her heart was his a couple days ago. He'd actually come to a party for once, and somehow Kurama had made her anti-social idol play truth or dare. That was miracle in itself, but what Kurama had gotten the boy to say...she almost thought it wasn't really her boy.
Up until that night, they had all thought that he hated them completely. You think you know some one, eh? He has a grudging respect for each of them. Yes, he still calls them names, and idiots and such, but he respects them all. Even her. He valued their friendship.
Her heart had fluttered in her chest so hard and she had never been so happy since she had died to hear such a small compliment.
Her heart would always be his. Too bad he only had a minimal respect for her. Maybe he'd have more respect if he knew why she refused to tell a soul her feelings and respect for him?
She respected his pride too much to test her theory though, so she'd probably never know.
Her blue hair fell around her body like a silken curtain as she sat on her bed with her legs drawn tight to her chest. Her heart sometimes ached as the realization dawned on her. He'd never know how she felt, and he'd never return those feelings.
But, even through the pain of a longing heart, she knew it would be worse if she told him. Because then her heart wouldn't be longing, it'd be broken. She'd take longing over broken any day. It's like choosing between a broken toe and an amputated foot. It's no contest.
Her window was open and letting the softest of breezes. The wisps of wind were warm, like the night and the day earlier. It was going to be hot for a long time. A week or two at least.
But she didn't mind. She could spend all the time in the world here on this hot plane, if she could only see him every now and then. And since she was living with his sister, she knew she'd see him daily. He was staying here every night after all. Now if that wasn't heaven she didn't know what was.
The bed sheets were warm beneath her, and she shifted so she was sitting on a different part of the sheets. The new spot was cool, but only for a moment. She envied the koorime asleep in the next room over. Ice demons weren't affected by the heat, but then, neither were fire demons. Or were they?
The warmth of the sheets began to irritate her skin and she carefully slid off the bed, putting her bare feet on the cold hard wood floor. Goose bumps rose on her arms and legs from the temperature change. With a light breath she walked carefully out of the room she was staying in, not bothering to grab her house coat, it was still far too warm to be using anything that thick and fluffy.
She slowly padded her way down the stairs, intending to stop in the kitchen and grab a bowl of ice cream. It was the perfect choice to cool her down, and the sugar would help to chase her idol from her mind.
She tiptoed past the living room, knowing that a certain someone was taking up residence on the couch. He would have just stayed outside in his tree as usual, but it was too warm, and at least in here he could have a fan blowing pre-cooled air on him. Or that's what his sister claimed.
Stepping gently over the floorboards she knew would squeak, she entered the kitchen with a sigh. Finally. She had been very tempted to take a peek at the sleeping boy on the couch. No doubt even he wouldn't sleep fully dressed. His shirt would have probably been taken off, perhaps even his thick black pants. She figured he seemed more like the boxers-type.
She shook her head of the mental image she had conjured and opened the freezer. The icy air swept over her and she moaned quietly. That was the stuff, exactly what she needed. Perhaps she'd take an ice bag with her when she went back to bed. Yeah, that'd be just what the doctor ordered.
She reached into the freezer and pulled out a small bucket of strawberry ice cream, shivering as the coldness of it spread through her fingertips and up her arms. She set the treat on the counter and closed the freezer, instantly missing the cold air it had generated.
She walked across the kitchen and opened a cupboard, searching for a bowl. The cupboard was empty. "They're all in the sink Botan-chan." She froze and looked back at the table in the middle of the kitchen. There, sitting in front of the bucket of ice cream was her idol's sweet sister, holding two spoons.
The house wasn't very dark, and she could see the cute little smile on her friend's face. "Oh Yukina, you scared me. I thought you were asleep." The koorime shook her head, her soft teal hair flowing like water with the motion.
"Sorry Botan-chan. It's just too hot for me to sleep." Smiling, she walked over to the table and sat across from Yukina. "I guess, since the bowls are all dirty, we'll just have to eat the ice cream out of the bucket, ne?" With a chuckle, Botan took one of the spoons from Yukina, "Yeah, it does taste better this way."
She peeled the lid off of the strawberry ice cream and dug her spoon into the sweet, soft, treat. Yukina followed and stuck the ice cream in her mouth first. "Mmmm."
As they sat there in the darkened kitchen, enjoying the icy cool treat, Botan couldn't help but think of the only person she knew to love the sweet 'snow' more then her. He was barely ten feet away, she could wake him up, ask him to join them. But would he? No. He'd just grunt at her, send her a glare and go back to sleep.
She smiled minutely to herself and stood up, "I should see if Hiei-kun would like some ice cream too. You know how he loves it." Yukina nodded, knowing that the dark, grouchy boy would refuse. If only because it was her friend the ferry girl who asked. But she knew how her friend treasured the chance to talk to the boy.
Botan stepped into the living room and walked slowly around to the front of the couch. She was surprised when a callused hand shot out and gripped her wrist tightly. "What do you want, baka?" His gruff voice splashed through her mind, leaving hardly a trace of any thought behind. Her heart pounded in her chest at his grip, it only hurt a little bit. "I was just going to ask if you would like some ice cream."
She kept her eyes trained on his face, not looking him straight in the eye, but not looking over his exposed body. Her theory had only been partially right. His shirt was off. But again, her respect for his pride kept her from ogling his beautiful muscles.
His lips slanted ever so slightly into his smirk and her heart sighed. He was going to say no, she knew, but at least she got to see him smirk at her. How she loved his smirk.
"Baka onna, if I wanted sweet snow, I'd just take it." She licked her lips discreetly, her mouth felt so dry. He was still holding her wrist. She sought out his eyes when his smirk grew. His deep red eyes swam with dark amusement and they seemed focused on something in particular.
She looked down at her nightgown and blushed ever so slightly. She had almost forgotten how short this one was. It was pretty much just a long silk tank top. "W-well, then I'll just go back and enjoy it with Yukina." She pulled her wrist out of his grip, missing the warmth even though she was already plenty warm.
She backed away from him and walked back into the kitchen quickly.
Yukina was giggling over the ice cream as she sat down, still blushing. "Oh Botan-chan, you forgot how little you were wearing, ne?" Botan nodded with a sigh, "Indeed I did." Inside she was grinning like an idiot. He hadn't exactly complained about her state of dress, had he? Her naughty mind conjured a picture of him touching her shoulder softly and she pinched herself hard.
Yukina scooped out some more cold ice cream still giggling at her friend. "Oh you are hopeless Botan-chan." Botan dropped her spoon on the table, her mouth open in shock. "W-what?" Yukina's laughter stopped, she knew she'd just said the wrong thing.
"Botan-chan," She started nervously, she had known for a few days now, she could easily see Botan's admiration of the boy taking up residence on her couch, "you are just so forgetful."
Botan hid her sigh of relief with a fake laugh, "Indeed I am." She could only pray that Hiei had gone back to ignoring them. Oh what would she do if he had heard that, and knew what she was afraid of saying? Ok, not so much afraid of saying, just too kind to say. It'd hurt his pride after all.
On the couch, with his eyes half-closed he heard their whispers, but his body was too warm for his brain to follow their meanings. He shifted uncomfortably on the leather couch, wishing he had taken off his pants, and pulled the bandana off of his forehead. It was just keeping in heat that he wanted to get rid of at the moment.
The fan blew cool air over him, but his body was just too warm for it to make much of a difference. He shifted into a sitting position and looked at the kitchen before standing up. Perhaps some ice cream would do him some good.
He stiffly stepped onto the tiled floor, walking over to the freezer first. He could smell that the ice cream they had out was strawberry. He only liked chocolate, because it was dark like him, but sweet like his sister. Sometimes, his demon senses helped him avoid awkward situations. Like peeking over the shoulder of the scantily clad ferry girl.
The tub of chocolate ice cream was almost twice the size of the bucket that the ferry girl and his sister were sharing, and following their example; he merely grabbed a spoon and sat down. It would be a waste of precious energy to wash out a bowl he would just keep refilling.
Botan looked at him nervously, and set her spoon on the table. "I should probably head up to bed. I have to meet with Yusuke and Kuwabara in a few hours." She did have to meet with the two boys, but she was fairly certain she wouldn't have to be in tip-top shape to deal with them this time. They'd most likely be too bored and hot to goof off any way.
But his eyes kept flickering over to her, and her heart was beginning to flutter. She had only asked him to join them because she had thought, and known, that he would refuse as he always did.
Yukina nodded, but Hiei scowled. She could only assume it was more about the fact that neither he nor Kurama were included in the meeting tomorrow then her leaving once he sat down.
"Good night Botan-chan." Yukina sounded a bit disappointed, but Hiei didn't say a thing. Botan put her spoon into the sink and walked back over to the freezer, "Is it alright if I take an ice pack with me? The heat is giving me a headache." Yukina nodded to her friend, and Botan grabbed one of the ice-cold ice packs before leaving the kitchen quickly.
Yukina turned to Hiei once Botan was gone and frowned. "You should tell her brother." She had known for a while now that Hiei was her brother, but by his request did not tell the group that she knew. He snorted and dug his spoon into his tub of ice cream, "Tell her what?"
Yukina smiled slyly and twirled her spoon around in the slowly melting strawberry ice cream, "That you are going into heat next week, and she's the one you want." He growled at his sister and shoved a large bite of ice cream into his mouth. He still had no idea what had compelled him to tell his sister about the dream he'd had two months ago, during his last heat.
She somehow managed to make him say almost anything. "That baka is too afraid of me to see that as a compliment, like it is." He could see the hint of fear in her eyes every time he was near her. It wasn't as strong as it used to be, but it was still there, and if his honor code weren't so strict, he could easily override whatever fear was left and just replace it with lust for a day or two.
"Oh, I don't think she's really all that afraid of you any more, brother." Yukina said knowingly before taking another bite of ice cream. By now her whole body was numbed and chilled. She finally felt tired. She stood up from her chair, the wooden legs scrapping noisily against the tiled floor. She put the lid back on the bucket of strawberry ice cream and set it in the freezer.
"She is afraid of me. Imouto, I can see it in her eyes." Yukina set her hand on her brother's shoulder sadly and whispered, "She is afraid. But not of you." Before leaving the kitchen and her brother to reflect upon what she had said.
The sun blared down from the sky angrily, burning everything it touched. And so, that was why two exhausted teenaged detectives of the spirit world were hogging all four of the fans Botan had set up in the living room. She was leaning against the decorative fireplace, a paper fan in her hand being flapped mercilessly in a desperate attempt to cool her down.
The boys were sitting on the couch that Hiei had occupied only a few hours before, both trying to ignore her.
"Guys!" She snapped, tired of being ignored, "If you don't start listening to me, I'm going to have to cut off the power to those fans and throw you outside into the blistering sun." That had of course caught their attention. Quite well too. "Hey!" "No fair!" She stuck her tongue out at them and pulled one of the four plugs, just to make sure they paid enough attention.
"Koenma wants to thank you for working so 'hard' to keep the unruly demons in line." She didn't know why they hadn't paid attention before. She wasn't assigning them a mission after all. It was a free vacation at a private resort outside of Tokyo. Reserved for spirit world employees.
"His idea of a reward is more work." She had to admit Yusuke had a point there. So far every time Koenma said 'reward' it involved more work. Usually for her though. "This time, Yusuke, reward means a 'free' vacation. The resort isn't very busy at this time of year. Do you not want to go to the Rekai resort just outside of Tokyo?"
The detective seemed to be teetering on the fence until she mentioned the word 'free'. And indeed, it was going to be completely free for them. 'Them' not including her. To be honest, Koenma didn't want to reward them yet. But she felt that they deserved it. It had only cost her most of the money she had saved from the last two hundred years of work. She figured if they were taking a break, they were doing it in style. She had rented out the whole penthouse floor.
The front door swung open, capturing the attention of only the two detectives. They were shocked to see Hiei storm inside, his face and neck sun burnt to a nice, bright red. Hiei's eyes skimmed across the two idiots and stopped on Botan. "It's hot outside." She glanced at him, and couldn't find the will to continue flapping her fan. His tank top clung to each of his muscles. His pale skin was tinged with an angry red from the sun and his lips were drawn back to the most devilish sneer.
"No one is in the guest bathroom, you can have a cold shower if you'd like, Hiei." She bit the inside of her lip to keep from running her eyes over his beautiful body, she knew he wouldn't appreciate it. Especially with twiddle dee and twiddle dumb in the room.
He nodded and stalked past her, his arm barely brushing against her, heading for the guest bedroom. That was, of course, the one Botan was occupying each night. He could see clothes strewn over the floor, and two damp towels clumped together on the end of the bare bed. His mind began to wander as he stepped into the bathroom. There was a fresh towel on the rack, but for some reason, he almost longed to use the ones sitting on her bed.
With a shake of his head, he undressed and stepped into the shower, turning the cold nozzle on full blast. He had forgotten about the heat outside for the moment, and had only turned on the cold water out of pure habit. It seemed that for months now, every time he spoke with Botan he needed a cold shower. That was probably how Yukina had begun to notice his affections for the girl.
Under his strict request, Yukina had been forbidden from informing Botan she was occupying his room. Every one was to believe that it was an unused guestroom. He didn't want anyone to think he was becoming tame. He was nothing if not proud and independent. And he was not nothing.
Botan could feel the odd looks that Yusuke and Kuwabara were giving her, but refused to blush and stutter. "What? Is it so odd that he has come to Yukina's house?" Kuwabara was fuming mad, he still didn't know that Hiei was Yukina's twin brother, but Yusuke could only shrug at that and agree. "I guess not."
"Kuwabara, stop moping please. I'm offering you two and your families a free vacation. Do you not want it or what?" She crossed her arms, still with out the will to fan herself. The two young detectives narrowed their eyes at her, "What's that supposed to mean?" She sighed in discontent and unfolded her arms so she could fidget with her tank top. "We only reserved the top floor, and I can't go to the resort. Yukina graciously offered to let me stay here with her."
Yusuke rolled his eyes and stood up abruptly, "What about Kurama and Hiei?" She twisted her shirt between her fingers and sighed, "Kurama doesn't want to leave his mother's side for a week, and Hiei wouldn't go if you promised him a license to kill without question." Well, he probably would have. What's one week of torture compared to the legal right to kill whomever he wanted with no repercussions?
"Keiko is going too, just so you know. And you are all going to enjoy this vacation, it cost me about eight million yen." For a minute, all that could be heard was the running water upstairs and several fans. "Eight million yen?!" Kuwabara said confused, "I thought you said it was free?!" "It is free. For you two idiots. And don't you even think about saying no, I won't get the money back any way."
There chapter one. I have plenty more already written.
When I was writing this (back before this massive heat wave we have right now) I felt like I was in a sauna. I was so into what I was writing that I felt like I was right there in the stuffy summer weather wit Hiei, Botan and Yukina.
To me, that means my story is well written; I hope you all feel the same!