Well, my muse has been nagging me so you guys get a quick update for once! And, yippee! It's a Hiei/Botan chapter! This couple seems pretty popular, actually, though this is my first time ever writing this pairing. I hope I did alright.
Scorcher
Hiei x Botan
"It's hot."
Actually, hot was an understatement, Botan thought grumpily. It was broiling.
Japan was in the middle of a record heat wave. You could fry an egg on the asphalt.
Temperatures were soaring into the high nineties, with heat indexes even higher due to the muggy humidity. A cloud of heat and steam had settled over the city, and most residents had decided to remain indoors on this particularly scorching afternoon, huddling around their air conditioners.
Botan and Keiko, however, were creatures of habit. Every Saturday for the past three months, the girls had met up to window shop and have 'girl time'. And little things like the threat of dehydration or third degree sunburns weren't about to deter them from this weekly ritual.
Which is why the girls were ambling slowly down the sidewalk, shoulder's drooping under the oppressive heat.
Botan reached up, wiping small beads of sweat from her forehead. Her hair was up in its normal pony-tail, but she had traded her pink kimono for a pretty purple sundress. It was a fashionable cut (Keiko had picked it out for her) that tied around her neck, and the flowy skirt of the dress stopped just above her knees. However, heat seemed to build up and become trapped between her skin and the fabric, and the deity had to stop periodically to shake the skirt out, trying to cool off.
"I know," Keiko sighed, stopping for a moment to lean against the shopfront, only to jerk back a moment later when the hot brick scalded her. Scowling, the brunette wiped her palms on her shorts. God, was there any part of her that wasn't sweating?!
Someone opened the door to the shop, and the girls froze, feeling the chill wind of wintry A.C. air blow gently over them. Immediately, they scrambled inside, sighing happily as the temperature dropped a good twenty-five degrees in a matter of seconds.
The air conditioner was obviously working overtime in here, and the girls appreciated every icy second of it. They stood near the door, both vying for the best position under the air vent.
"Oooh, this feels good!" Botan sighed, closing her eyes.
"Yeah," Keiko agreed, tilting her head back to let the artificial wind blow over her face.
"A-hem."
Both girls look up, blinking as a rather matronly woman frowned at them. She wore a name tag and obviously worked at the shop.
"Oh," Keiko faltered, looking at Botan. "We're, um, browsing."
The woman looked unconvinced.
"Do you have any money?" Keiko whispered to Botan. The blue haired girl frowned and dug around in her purse.
"Uh... I have a couple of dollars, but..."
The woman was giving them very dirty looks. It was obvious that the air conditioning was for paying customers only. The girls slunk out of the boutique and back onto the sidewalk. Immediately, the heat settled back around them, causing prickles of sweat to slide down Botan's spine.
"Guuuh," The deity groaned, "This is awful." Her brown-haired companion nodded in agreement, and they shambled along. After a minute, Keiko nudged her and pointed to the park across the street.
"Hey, I bet we can find a nice shady tree to rest under," the brown-eyed girl smiled.
"Good," Botan replied, rubbing the back of her neck. "Because heat makes me sleepy."
And it did. The sweltering temperatures made her feel lethargic and lazy. She wanted to find a nice cool patch of soft grass and just lay there until the sun went down and she felt more like herself again.
Keiko laughed and the girls stepped onto the neat little gravel path, following it under a large, wrought iron archway into the park.
It was a pretty park! The grass was a bright green and looked soft and springy. The trees were pruned and leafy and the flowers – despite the heat – were bright and dewy. Obviously, there were some very talented gardeners on staff here.
Briefly, Botan imagined Kurama in a pair of over-alls and gardening gloves, pruning sheers in hand and dirt streaking his face. The image made her giggle, because the thought of her fastidious friend in something so... well... frumpy was ridiculous.
"Botan are you listening to me?" Keiko sighed. The purple-eyed girl looked up, blinking.
"What? Sorry, Keiko."
"Bathrooms," Keiko repeated, pointing to the small brick building, neatly nestled away in a copse of leafy trees. "I really need to go freshen up. Why don't you find a bench in the shade somewhere and I'll find you in a few minutes?"
"Okay," Botan nodded, watching her friend stumble toward the restrooms. Sighing, the blue-haired girl turned and looked around, hoping to spot a nice looking place to rest. What caught her eye, however, was a bright, rainbow colored canvas top that shaded a cheerful green rolling cart. The man pushing it looked just as tired and hot as she felt, but he rang the bell with all the enthusiasm he could muster and the smile on his face was genuine. One look at the painted sign on the side of the cart was enough to make the deity break into an excited grin.
"Ice-Cream!" She cheered.
Five minutes and four scoops of strawberry later, Botan was wielding two large ice-cream cones.
She stood on the gravel path, smiling at the vendor as he rolled the cart away and licked the small rivulets of melted pink ice-cream that were already dripping down the side of her cone.
The deity looked around, trying to spot a bench where she could sit down to enjoy her treat. There was one on the other side of the path, a pretty wrought iron design reminiscent of the gate at the front of the park. She eyed it uncertainly. Given the heat of the day, and the placement of the iron bench directly under the sun, Botan decided she'd better not risk it, lest her poor bottom be grilled like a hamburger.
She decided on a large leafy oak, instead.
The blue-haired girl meandered over to the tree, sighing as she stepped under the cool umbrella of leaves and into the shadow the giant hardwood cast. It was only a few degrees cooler here than in the sun, but Botan felt like she had just stepped into an oasis after a long trek through the Sahara.
She sat down, her back against the trunk so she could see the gravel trail that disappeared into the the alcove where the bathrooms were hidden. This way she could see Keiko when the brunette emerged, and wave her down if her friend couldn't find her.
She brought her ice-cream cone to her lips, licking the sweet stuff slowly and relishing the cool feeling of it sliding over her tongue and down her throat. Botan was tempted to gobble it up quickly, but last time she had done that the deity had ended up with an awful headache that the ningens called a "brain freeze". It was a painful mistake she was not about to make again, so she tried to savor the quickly softening treat.
And Keiko had better hurry up, or her ice-cream would be nothing but a cone full of liquefied strawberry goo.
"What do you want?" A sharp voice prodded impatiently.
Botan jerked away from the tree in surprise, looking around for the source of the curt words.
"Up here, onna," it came again, sounding more brusque by the second. The blue-haired girl tilted her head back, blinking up at the leaves of the tree. On a bough high above her lounged a familiar looking figure, though she couldn't make out the face from her position. Still, there was only one person she knew who looked that comfortable sitting in a tree.
"Hiei?" She asked softly, a chill of fear sweeping down her spine. There was no reply, but the demon cocked a condescending eyebrow. Duh.
Before she could blink, the koorime was in front of her. She stared up at him, breaking out into a cold sweat as the crimson-eyed terror stared mutinously down at her. Silence stretched between them and Botan saw her life flash before her eyes.
"Well?" The demon inquired causticly, crossing his arms and glaring at her. Botan trembled.
"... Um?"
Hiei gave a long-suffering sigh, and looked at her like she was the most brain-dead creature he had ever come across.
"I assume you have some sort of mission for me?" The dark-haired man bit out. Botan straightened, smiling nervously.
"Oh! No I don't." She grinned.
"Then why are you bothering me?" He glowered. The girls' smile faltered.
"I'm not!" Botan insisted. The demon glared at her. "Err, I mean I wasn't trying to!" The deity tried again.
"It's just... I was out with Keiko... and she um... and it's so hot, I just sat down and... I... uh... I swear I didn't know it was your tree!"
Hiei, however, was no longer listening to the blathering ferry girl. Instead, his eyes were suddenly and intently fixed on the objects in her hands. It couldn't be...
"What's that?" He asked abruptly. Botan paused and blinked at him.
"Eh?"
The demon frowned and narrowed his eyes at her, then gestured to the cones in her hands.
"That."
"Oh," Botan breathed, looking at the confections as well. "It's, um, ice-cream?" Hiei's eyes brightened.
"Give it to me," he demanded, holding out his hand, his temper flaring slightly when the blue-haired onna hesitated.
"Um, it's for Kei--"
"Now," he barked.
"Okay!" Botan squeaked, handing him the untouched cone. The demon grabbed from her, his crimson eyes gleaming greedily and he dropped down next to her. Botan cringed away from him but he didn't seem to notice. The ferry girl considered getting up and running from him, screaming at the top of her lungs, she was afraid that might stir up some predatory instinct in him. So instead, she scooted as far away as she could without being conspicuous, and watched the youkai nervously.
"Sweet snow!" The demon murmured, bringing the pink cone to his lips.
"What?"
Hiei glared at the girl, upset that she dare ruin his enjoyment with her annoying voice. The frighting glare was negated, however, by the pink swirl of ice-cream around his mouth. The blue-haired deity sweat dropped and smiled tightly, returning her attention to her own cone.
Hiei furtively licked the strawberry flavored confection, his tongue darting out to taste the sweet, cold cream. Oooohh... It was so good... Personally, he was of the opinion that ice-demons had created the treat. Humans were too stupid to ever make something so wonderful.
Much too soon, the frozen delight was gone, and he was left with the sticky brown cone, which the demon did not find tasty. He turned his attention to the onna, glaring jealously at the ice-cream she was still enjoying.
Feeling eyes on her, Botan glanced over. The sight of an empty ice-cream cone gave her pause and she blinked. Had he already finished...?! It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. Seeing that the koorime wasn't keeled over, he obviously wasn't suffering from the dreaded brain freeze. Maybe being half ice-demon meant he was immune to such painful conditions?
The baleful glare the demon sent her had her nervously breaking out into a cold sweat again and she quickly turned her attention back to her pink goopy ice cream. Where was Keiko?!
Hiei, in the meantime, had fixed his intimidating crimson stare on the onna. Maybe if he wished hard enough, the ferry girl would burst into flames... His brow furrowed. Actually, there was something... off... about the girl today. It took him a minute to figure it out, but then he realized that she was not wearing her usual kimono. She was in ningen clothes. Ningen clothes, he discovered, his eyes raking over her, that showed off quite a bit of long, silky leg and smooth, creamy arms. A slight blush came to his cheeks. When had the onna grown... attractive?
Hiei blinked, giving himself a mental shake and returning his attention to her ice-cream, only to be distracted once more.
Botan's pink tongue absurdly reminded the koorime of a kittens', and he watched as if enchanted as she licked at slowly melting ice-cream.
Rivulets of the roseate colored confection ran down over her fingers and wrists, leaving a sticky pink trail along her skin.
The deity wrinkled her nose, noticing the mess as well.
"Gross," She sighed, "and I forgot to get napkins. I'm going to go to the restroom and wash my hands." And maybe find Keiko and strangle her, while I'm at it, she thought grumpily. After all, it was the brunette's fault that Botan was IN this scary situation! She began to get to her feet, only to be bowled over and pinned to the ground.
Hiei's hot crimson gaze fixed her in place as he loomed over her, but Botan squeaked with fear and looked up at him, her own eyes wide as she gazed at him nervously.
What had she done? He was going to kill her now, wasn't he? The demon pressed closer and she closed her eyes tight, waiting for the death blow to come. Or maybe for the sharp pain of his katana slicing cleanly through her neck. At least that would be a quick death!
Something warm and soft tickled her wrist – far from the pain she was expecting. What was...? She cracked open an eye, peeking up to see – Oh my god! Hiei was licking her! The deity froze.
Sure enough, the koorime's tongue was gently laving at the sticky ice-cream residue on her wrists. Botan wanted to scream, smack him with her oar, then quickly fly away to hide herself under Koenma's desk. Unfortunately the first one would probably just make the koorime angry, he was too quick for the second, and the third involved her having her wrist free of his steel grip. So instead of doing any of these (though she was still seriously considering shrieking like a banshee) she simply lay still and let the demon, well, lick her. After all, it didn't hurt or anything.
In fact... it...um.. well, it felt... kinda nice. In a weird, totally bizarre, this is Hiei kind of way. She couldn't completely relax – after all, that's what he was probably waiting for, and once she did, then he would slit her throat – but she found that she couldn't quite tense up, either.
If anything, she had to squirm slightly, because it tickled a little. It was completely ridiculous, because when did Hiei ever do anything to anyone that tickled? He didn't! He maimed! He killed! He burnt to little crispy bits! He – wooooah, was he sucking on her fingers?
Botan tilted her head, trying to get a better look. And yes, the koorime had taken two of her sticky fingers in his mouth and was slowly sucking the remnants of ice-cream off of them. The deity blushed, because this was beginning to feel a little too good. She quickly tried to pull her hand away – wrists were one thing, but finger sucking was rather personal – only to have the demon glare at her and bite down.
"Yowch!" Botan cried, blinking her purple eyes at him. "That hurt, you jerk!" she pouted. The black-haired youkai merely growled around her fingers.
"Then hold still, baka onna," he grumbled.
"But! But! You're licking me, you weirdo!" She groused, trying to pull her hand away again. He gripped her wrist tightly and glared menacingly at her. The ferry girl gulped nervously. Okay, maybe the "weirdo" comment had been a little much...
"You have sweet snow on you," Hiei said dourly, pulling her fingers from his mouth. "See?"
Indeed, there were still pink sticky trails down her hand.
"I can go wash up in the restroom." Botan pouted, "You don't have to lick me."
Hiei looked scandalized.
"You would wash off the sweet snow?" He refused to allow it, quickly popping her fingers back into his mouth and glaring as he sucked the sweet residue from her skin. Botan "eeped" and tried to pull away again. He pushed her down and kept her still.
"Hey! Hey!" She panted. "I am not your personal ice-cream cone, Hiei!" Apparently, the koorime begged to differ, and chuckled at her doomed attempts at escape. Really, the onna was damned cute.
"Ummm..."
The two froze, slowly turning their heads to see a bewildered Keiko staring down at them. A pregnant pause settled between the three, and all that could be heard was the sizzle of heat around them.
"I can come back later!" Keiko held her hands up and smiled nervously. Almost instantly, Hiei was on his feet, arms crossed and glaring at the two women. Botan was still sprawled on the grass, confused and blushing.
There was a definite pink tint to Hiei's cheeks, too.
"I don't have to explain myself to you!" He spat at the brunette. Keiko blinked.
"I didn't ask --"
"And you!" He growled, turning to the deity. Botan's lashes fluttered as she looked up at him. He paused for a moment, seeming to forget was he was going to say. "Hn!" he grunted, then disappeared with a soft 'woosh' of air. Probably gone on to inhabit some other unsuspecting tree. Both girls stared after the black blur as it zoomed away from them. After a moment, they looked back at each other.
"Um... I got you some ice-cream..." Botan said sheepishly, still blushing. Keiko eyed her, still puzzled. She reached down and helped the deity to her feet.
"You can explain later," the brown-eyed girl said dryly.
At the base of the tree lay two soggy, forgotten ice-cream cones.
Wah-hah-hah! I did it! I actually wrote something that was NOT K/B! I have NEVER written a YYH fic that didn't have at least some HINTS of K/B.
Now, whether I wrote a H/B to any success is a different story. So you guys tell me if I succeeded, okay?
And let me know what pairings and plot ideas you have!
Last but not least, please don't forget to review. :Flutters eyelashes: Puh-wease?
