A/N: So that day off that Team Urameshi had between their fight with Team Rokuyukai and Dr. Ichigaki's Team… What if Botan and our favorite fire demon had a bit of an encounter?
Note: The dots are shifting back and forth between present and Botan thinking back to remember what happened to her earlier that day.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters!
"I can't do this!" Botan fumed out loud to herself with a frustrated expression.
She was alone in her hotel room that she shared with Keiko and Shizuru for the Dark Tournament. The ferry girl stared out the window with a scowl and chewed on her lip in irritation.
"He needs to stay away from me!" she babbled out, starting to walk circles around the room.
Botan jumped when she heard the door open and her eyes went wide as she saw Keiko and Shizuru walk in.
"What're you doing in here?" Shizuru asked with an odd look.
"Botan you've been acting strange!" Keiko said worriedly, "Is there something wrong? You can tell us you know!"
Botan let out a nervous laugh, "Oh my! Of course not! I'm just peachy!"
Shizuru rolled her eyes, "Yeah… whatever you say."
….
The team had been on the island and already won their first match against Team Rokuyukai. After that was when Botan's dilemma had occurred. Kurama, Yusuke, and Hiei had all pulled off marvelous wins but Hiei was the only one who appeared to be severely injured after the fight. Botan was worried about his arm after he had released the Dragon of the Darkness Flame for the first time. The ferry girl noticed he could barely move his fingers and his skin was dark; appearing very burnt. The fire demon played the injury off as though it was nothing but Botan as well as his teammates could tell he wasn't being completely honest.
…..
"I wonder what the guys are up to?" Keiko wondered out loud.
"They're probably outside messing around in the woods," Shizuru shrugged.
….
After Yusuke's fight with Chu the team had earned a much deserved day off. That day, Botan had woken up early and wandered out into the hotel hallway where she saw Hiei and Kurama leaving their room. She had chased after them to ask how they were doing and if they were recovering from the previous day.
…..
"Botan! You're spacing out!" Keiko exclaimed.
"Let's leave her to her thoughts, whatever she's thinking about it's obviously bothering her," Shizuru said.
Keiko nodded slowly, "Alright, let's go see what the others are up to."
Botan watched the two girls make their way to the door.
"If you need to talk," Keiko started, "We're here to listen."
Botan smiled, "Thanks girls! I'll be sure to keep that in mind!"
Keiko and Shizuru left the room and Botan sat down on the window ledge; thoughtful once again.
…
Botan had called out to the two demons she was chasing after and they paused.
"Botan?" Kurama questioned her.
"Hello you two! How are you feeling today?"
Hiei curled his lip at the girl and Kurama smiled back at her, "I'm feeling fine after a night's rest, however, I can't say the same for Hiei."
Botan's eyes went to the fire demon who snarled at his friend.
"Do you have something you want to say? Fox?" Hiei barked out.
Kurama shook his head, "I think you're being incredibly dense, you should rest for our upcoming battles, not be going out to train."
"Hiei!" Botan pointed her finger at the small man, "Think about someone other than yourself! Your team needs you!"
"Back off!" Hiei snapped, "It's none of your concern what I do."
…..
Botan frowned, Hiei could really be a jerk and she didn't understand why he acted the way he did sometimes. She stared out the hotel window and looked down on the street below her that was bustling with people.
…
It was midday when Botan decided to go on a walk through the woods so she could find her way to the cliffs that overlooked the sea. The ferry girl had thought it would be peaceful to watch the waves hit the shore and smell the salty breeze. As she got closer to the infinite body of water she heard agonizing screams of pain erupting in the distance. Botan rushed toward the noise and slid to a stop at the edge of a cliff looking down on the water. Her eyes grew large when she noticed the hunched over form of Hiei on a rock that was protruding from the sea.
"Hiei!" she cried out instinctively.
Botan saw the fire demon's back tense as he turned his head slightly; one crimson eye catching a glimpse of her.
"What the hell are you doing out here?" Botan heard him snarl out viciously.
The ferry girl took a step back as a small amount of fear welled up inside of her. Hiei looked like a cornered wild animal and frankly it was scary.
"I didn't know you were here for your information!" Botan retorted.
She watched as the fire demon stood slowly, allowing his right arm to dangle limply.
"Hiei! Your arm!" Botan quickly exclaimed with concern.
Hiei let out a 'Tch!' and leapt back up onto the island with a small grunt. He landed smoothly beside her and let out a small gasp; falling to one knee.
Botan instantly knelt beside him, one hand on his bare back, the other on the ground so she could lean over to see his face. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise as she noticed the sweat dripping from his forehead and his clenched jaw.
"Are you in that much pain?" she asked him quietly.
"It's nothing," he grunted, trying to pull himself away from her.
She leaned back as he stood, holding his right arm with his other hand. Botan couldn't believe that it was still black and burnt looking. He didn't appear to be able to use it at all.
"Can you hold your sword?" she found herself asking him.
Hiei turned quickly on her, backing her up against a nearby tree, "It's none of your business woman."
…..
Botan frowned, snapping out of her thoughts as she heard the door jiggling. She turned from the window and saw the handle quickly wiggling.
"What on earth…" she mumbled, getting up to go to the door.
She jumped in surprised when she heard a loud crack and the door swung open. Her heart dropped when she saw who was standing in the doorway.
"Hiei?" she squeaked out.
He silently entered the room and slammed the door behind him harshly.
"What are you doing?" she asked, taking a few steps back until the backs of her legs were pressed against the window sill ledge.
Hiei said nothing and took slow predatory steps toward her. Botan summoned her baseball bat and waved it in the air.
"You'd better stay back!"
Hiei let out a small chuckle and smirked at her darkly.
"You certainly weren't acting this coy with me earlier."
Botan gasped and her cheeks instantly flushed.
"Stay away from me!"
She swung the bat directly at the fire demon's head and Hiei reached up; snatching it in the blink of an eye. He crossed his arms and stared at the girl in front of him who practically had herself pressed flush against the window trying to put as much distance as possible between them.
"Why did you do that?" Botan asked.
"Do what?"
"You know very well what you did mister!" Botan snapped out, "You… me… that clearing in the woods…"
Hiei let out a huff, "It wasn't anything you didn't want, you seemed perfectly fine with it."
"Well sure I did! It was…" Botan started and cut herself off in embarrassment and then said, "It doesn't matter if I was fine with it! It was morally wrong! I'm a ferry girl and I'm from spirit world… you're a-"
"A demon?"
"Obviously!" Botan rolled her eyes.
"Rules are made to be broken," Hiei shrugged, "I don't feel sorry for you, or your bruised morale."
"You insensitive jerk!" Botan snarled.
"Would you like to continue?" Hiei asked in a low voice with dark eyes.
"Continue?" Botan squeaked out.
…
"You should let me try and heal that," Botan said nervously, looking to the side as her back pressed uncomfortably into the tree bark behind her.
Hiei leaned in close, "I don't need your help, I'm fine."
"You can't even use that hand!" Botan argued.
The ferry girl cringed as the fire demon gave her a wicked smirk, "Would you like me to prove you're wrong?"
"I don't like where this is going," Botan mumbled.
"That's not a 'no'," Hiei stated, slamming his left and able hand roughly against the tree above her shoulder.
Botan was breathing quickly and her heart was pounding nervously in her chest. She couldn't help but feel energized by the scene before her. She was alone with a dangerous demon near the edge of a cliff and pushed up against a tree at his mercy. She could hear the water hitting the rocks roughly and a slight breeze blew through the trees and grass behind her.
"Hiei… your arm, let me try and heal it for you," Botan said barely above a whisper; reaching for his blackened hand.
Her fingers wrapped around his upper forearm and she lifted the limb slowly. Botan couldn't believe how horrible the skin looked in its charred state. She lightly dragged the tips of her fingers over it in the direction of his hand. Hiei instantly let out a loud hiss and she froze; looking at his face. His eyes were practically blazing and she shuddered; letting out a nervous breath. The blackened skin was rough and incredibly hot under her fingers as a healing aura emanated from her hand.
"Stop," Hiei ordered her.
Botan quit moving and paused, waiting to see what the fire demon was going to do.
"Let it heal on its own, I don't want or need your help," he told her.
"Hiei! That's just silly!" Botan complained, "You're hurt!"
The fire demon ignored her and leaned in; roughly capturing her lips with his own. Botan let out a muffled cry of surprise and he pulled back.
"Now I'm going to prove you wrong, just as I said," he growled out lowly.
Botan's lips were parted as she stared at the demon in front of her. He had an almost feral look about him and adrenaline course through her body.
"Hiei, this isn't right…" Botan trailed off.
"And?"
Botan opened her mouth to explain why but no words came out. Her eyes went from side to side in confusion at the overwhelming feelings she was having.
"Stop being so controlled, it's just you and I out here, no one is going to see or hear what we do," Hiei told her.
Botan reached out and put one of her hands on Hiei's chest which sent warmth instantly up her arm. The ferry girl bit at her lip and made a split second decision, leaning into the fire demon and kissing him sweetly. Hiei grunted underneath her light pressure and grabbed the nape of her neck; tugging her in to deepen their contact. Botan moaned into his mouth and he let out a deep growl that she could feel rumbling though his chest into hers. She felt the demon lightly touch her hip with his injured hand and she grabbed at his wrist without thinking. Hiei's body tensed and he let out an 'ah!' when her fingers squeezed the tender skin.
"I'm sorry!" Botan exclaimed, pulling back with a horrified look.
Hiei took a couple of steps back and his eyes went to the blackened hand than he lifted slowly. The ferry girl watched as he tried to move his fingers which only twitched slightly before he bared his teeth in pain. Shock shot though Botan as she realized what had just conspired between the two of them. She stumbled away from the tree and Hiei stared at her with an odd expression.
"I'm going back to the hotel," she mumbled, taking off into the forest.
….
"We can't Hiei," Botan suddenly said, snapping back to reality after recalling their earlier encounter.
"So you've suddenly discovered your morals again?" Hiei asked sarcastically.
Botan stared at the demon who at least had a shirt on this time. He had his cloak wrapped around his short form and his hands shoved in his pockets. The ferry girl wished she could see his forearm and hand but it was obscured by the long sleeves of his coat and his pocket.
"Stop looking at my arm woman," Hiei growled out, "It's not your problem."
"Well excuse me for being concerned!" Botan exclaimed, her nose shooting up in the air.
Hiei braced his body and pounced on the girl in the blink of an eye so she had her back pressed on the floor. Botan struggled against him and he grinned at the panic in her features.
"Hiei! Stop it! We aren't doing anything else naughty together!"
The fire demon paused and frowned, "Do you consider what we did earlier to be naughty?" he asked seriously.
"Well… yes!"
Hiei shook his head, "You're such a naïve ferry girl, we did nothing that would be considered as such."
"How can you say that! I- I kissed you!" Botan sputtered up at him.
Hiei let out an annoyed huff, "You're an idiot and obviously a virgin."
Botan's cheeks lit up and she angrily spat, "How rude!"
There was a knock on the door and Botan's face paled. She started flailing under the fire demon who refused to move from on top of her. The ferry girl watched in horror as the door opened slowly and Kurama poked his head into the room.
The fox's elegant eyebrows shot up and a small smile spread across his lips, "You must be feeling better Hiei."
"Shut up!" Hiei barked out.
"When you're finished," Kurama said, "We received the bracket for our next set of matches all the way through the finals."
Botan grabbed Hiei's cloak and the fire demon stood up; pulling her body up with his. He swatted her hand away before she was upright which caused her to fall back onto the floor ungracefully.
"There's no need to finish, I didn't start anything," Hiei told the fox demon as he walked toward the door.
Botan watched the door slam shut and she sat in the silent room alone for a few minutes before letting out a relieved sigh. The ferry girl didn't want to admit it but Hiei could be strangely attractive when he wanted to be. He was a mysterious bad boy and she found it hard not to get sucked into his alluring yet for the most part unknown identity. Botan stood slowly and walked to the door; grabbing the handle. She was going to find Shizuru… she wasn't much of a drinker, but after today, she definitely needed one.
A/N: And that's it! Just a little short I thought of while re-watching some Dark Tournament episodes! Thank you for reading and reviews are always nice!
