Unpredictable

"Talking"

Thoughts

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho!

Chapter 8: Party

--

Hiei had been awfully quiet during their ride to the Jaganshi Corp event and the silence was becoming unnerving. Not that Botan hated silence or anything, in fact on some occasions she even welcomed it! But this type of silence was different, it was thick in the air, and she was sure she could reach out and touch it as if it were tangible.

While it was true that Hiei doesn't speak all that much to begin with, he hadn't even spared a moment to discourage her hopes, insult her pride, or poke fun at her intelligence. Something was definitely off. Botan looked over to him and took note of his thoughtful expression. She wondered what he was thinking half the time, but knew she would never get a straightforward answer from him. All his thoughts were locked away in his mind and he'd be damned before he ever gave anyone a key or let them sneak a little peep.

I wish I had some sort of supernatural ability that allowed me to invade his mind! But if I don't have permission would that be considered as breaking and entering? She looked over at Hiei and narrowed her eyes a bit. She was sure if Hiei had that power he would abuse it, not caring about people's privacy or personal thoughts. But now she was being ridiculous, mind-reading and such didn't exist!

Shaking her head she sighed. It was so hard to read Hiei and if she wasn't gifted with mind-reading powers then the least he could do was voice his thoughts once in a while. Maybe he was just thinking of all the work he had to do in the morning, or Yukina, or the incident between Yomi and Kurama, perhaps? Little did the assistant know that she was the only one clouding up his thoughts at this very moment.

Botan opened her mouth to speak but then thought against it. He'd probably snap at her or brush her off, and her efforts would be in vain. Realizing the dismal nature of her situation she sighed again.

"Would you stop that?"

Botan perked up, glad that Hiei had actually initiated the conversation for once.

"…Stop what, Hiei?"

"That wretched noise you keep making. It's pathetic."

"Well someone's decided to be a grumpy-pants, today!" She huffed and crossed her arms in a lame attempt to seem perturbed. In fact she was happy that Hiei had stopped his brooding and said something, even if it was insulting.

Grumpy-pants? Now Hiei was sure his feelings for Botan weren't of the romantic kind. He could never in a million years fall for such a bizarre woman, unless he had gone mad too. And since he was damned near sure his sanity was still intact; his speculations of a possible romantic inclining towards Botan had dissipated.

--

Elsewhere the rest of the gang had already reached their destination. They were decked out in their formal wear along with the rest of the Jaganshi Corp employees. They found an empty table and claimed it as their own, standing next to it. Hiei and Botan had yet to make their entrances though.

"I take it you two will be on your best behavior tonight?" Kurama questioned, reassuring that his earlier warnings hadn't fallen upon deaf ears.

Kuwabara nodded with a pained look on his face as he recalled the memories of Kurama lecturing them.

"Yes," Yusuke began straightening out his posture and mimicking Kurama, waving a finger in the air condescendingly. "It would be in our best interests to behave like gentlemen tonight because Kurama's got the key to Shizuru's hotel-room- wait." He scratched his head in mock wonder. "Or was it the key to our freedom?"

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara protested trying to get the image of Kurama and his sister out of his mind.

Shizuru rolled her eyes and began digging in her purse for her trusty pack of cigarettes. They would be just the remedy she needed; after all a girl's got to cope with their infantile behavior somehow. After a little more searching she realized it wasn't there. Snapping her head up, she locked her brown eyes onto Kurama's with a deadly glare. He was holding her most prized possession in his hands, his emerald eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Damn it Kurama. Were you a pick-pocket in your former life or something?" Shizuru exclaimed with the faintest hint of misery in her voice, knowing she couldn't retrieve her cigarettes from the red head's swift hands.

"Perhaps." Kurama shrugged it off; sometimes it was all too easy for him to get his hands on things that didn't belong to him. He considered an attribute of his and he almost prided himself in his ability to procure things. He then pulled his communication device from his pocket tentatively. "Hiei did say he would be arriving shortly. I wonder what has caused his delay."

"He probably just stopped on the way to pick up his favorite worker, Botan," Kuwabara stated rather nonchalantly. There was no hint of mockery or ridicule in his statement, he simply said it as if he believed it were true.

"And what…" Yusuke loosened his tie, "makes you think our favorite ill-mannered boss would do something as chivalrous as that?"

Suddenly Kuwabara became serious. "You can laugh at me all you want, but I've got this feeling about those two. They're kinda like opposite ends of a magnet, always pulling at each other. They might not realize it now, but sooner or later they'll attract."

Yusuke snorted. "So now what, you've become a psychic or something? Hey you hear that everybody? Call 1-800-KUWA-LOVE because the Kuwabara love-line is now open, and if you're not satisfied with his readings you can just shove it, 'cause we're keeping your money!" He hollered obnoxiously.

"I knew you wouldn't get it." Kuwabara said flatly, not finding the humor in Yusuke's ramblings. "But you'll end up eating your words one day, I can promise you that." He crossed his arms and stuck his nose up in the air.

Yusuke rolled his eyes at Kuwabara's seriousness. "Okay so I can kind of see where you'd get the notion that they like each other, but come on. This is Botan and Hiei we're talking about. The attraction will probably fade once their initial curiosity wears off."

"Curiosity?" Kurama questioned.

"Yeah," Yusuke nodded with glint in his eye that almost reminded Kurama of a detective unraveling the truths of the latest mystery. "They're both so different from each other that at first they'll naturally be interested, but once the enigma wears off they'll move on. Think of it like a kid who sees that new shiny toy and wants it badly but after a few hours of playing with it, he tosses it aside with all his other junk. That's what they are to each other, shiny new toys."

"So you're basically saying they just want to play with each other?" Kuwabara asked before realizing the obscurity of his statement. Kurama and Shizuru ignored it, hoping Yusuke wouldn't make a big deal out Kuwabara's word choice, because they were somewhat eager to hear what Yusuke had to say.

"Well we all know his mind is in the gutter, but what I'm trying to say is I just can't see Hiei pinned down to any girl, much less our erratic, lovable assistant. And the broody coarse type doesn't seem like a very compatible match for Botan. Hiei may like teasing Botan but I think that's the farthest he'll ever go with her. He won't go out of his way to do anything nice or heartwarming for her and she'll realize he's not her type."

Yusuke paused to take in a deep breath and then dramatically slapped his hand down on the table with renewed vigor. "So if he walks through that door with her tonight then that means someone needs to rescue us all because Kuwabara was right and the world will end shortly after."

"I see." Kurama answered, taking note of both Yusuke and Kuwabara's perceptions. Why couldn't they be this observant with their work, though? Kurama was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Shizuru's voice.

"Score one for my baby brother. Better duck under the table and shield yourself from the impending doom Yusuke, because the world is coming to its end."

They all turned their heads to the entrance to see the hot topic of their entire conversation walk through the door, together.

Yusuke's mouth gaped open and Kuwabara couldn't contain his excitement as he taunted his black-haired coworker. "In your face, Urameshi! And the Kuwabara's come out on top again!" He high-fived his sister and then continued laughing and spouting nonsense.

"So what brings you two here, together?" Shizuru asked slyly as Botan avoided her gaze blushing slightly.

"Please, for the love of humanity, tell me you didn't pick her up at her place and drive her here." Yusuke sounded almost desperate as he pleaded with Hiei. Hiei just ignored Yusuke, shoving his hands in his pockets. His silence was all Yusuke needed to hear to understand.

Botan's brows furrowed in confusion and she put her hands on her hips, taking offense from Yusuke's words. "I don't see how giving me a ride here is such a bad thing, Yusuke. I may not be the best company but I'm not all that bad!"

"Oh no! It's not like that," Kuwabara put a reassuring hand on her shoulder jovially. "Urameshi just can't come to grips with reality, is all. Don't pay attention to him, Botan. You're my favorite person here, aside from my sis, of course."

"Why thank you Kuwabara. I always knew I liked you best!" She glared pointedly at Yusuke.

Yusuke just sat down at the table, sulking. "Damn it and I worked so hard building up my performance with the analogy and dramatic pauses and everything." He quickly shot Kuwabara a dirty look muttering something about the orange-head and his uncanny awareness.

"Now that you buffoons got that out of your system, I'm sure Kurama has warned you of the consequences you will face if you so much as breathe out of line tonight." Hiei cautioned sternly.

"Yeah, yeah, we heard it all already…" Yusuke waved him off too sullen to care. He leaned his head on his propped up arm and pointedly looked in every direction but the group's.

Botan made her way over to where Yusuke was seated and bent down so that she was eye-level with him. "Cheer up Yusuke, I know hearing me say Kuwabara's my favorite is a huge shock for you but if you apologize I'll take it back! Forgive me if my harsh words have pierced your sensitive soul." She taunted mischievously.

He turned around ready to chew her out and explain that he didn't care if he was first or last on her list of favorable people but the view he was greeted with melted away all his irritation. Botan's dress wasn't particularly low-cut compared to other dresses Yusuke had seen before but the way she was bending over gave him a very pleasing view of her assets.

"Botan all you'll have to do is stay like that and I'll forgive you for anything you've done in the past, present, and future," Yusuke admitted as he stared at her chest shamelessly.

Upon realizing exactly where his eyes were glued to Botan let out a small shriek and swiftly slapped him across his face. "You disgusting pervert!"

Yusuke nursed his sore cheek and apologized half-heartedly. "But what do you expect when you shove them in my face like that? It would be rude of me to look away when you so willingly gave me a good peep show."

"Please try to control yourself, Yusuke." Kurama admonished feeling the eyes of his workers boring into his back.

"Unforgivable!" Kuwabara shook his head.

"Boys will be boys…" Shizuru muttered rolling her eyes at Yusuke ignoring all the stares coming their way.

Hiei clenched his fists. How dare he look at her like that? He looked over to his fuming assistant and took note of the way her dress hugged every curve perfectly, and the manner in which the fabric was cut teasingly in all the right places. Suddenly he found himself almost taking Yusuke's side; she did look good in that dress and it would hard for any male to look away. Catching himself, Hiei quickly averted his eyes, deciding he'd rather not get slapped by Botan for eyeing her.

Too angry to notice that Hiei's eyes were on her like a hawk moments before, Botan took a seat away from Yusuke and the rest followed suit filling in the empty chairs around the table. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres were placed at each table and the light dimmed slightly giving everyone a relaxed feeling.

"So how do these parties usually turn out?" Botan questioned, taking a sip of her champagne.

Usually their parties transformed into a much less elegant event, but that was only because Yusuke and Kuwabara had a hand in it. Due to the restrictions Kurama and Hiei had put on them and the consequences they would face if they disobeyed, the duo had no choice but to comply. Cleaning toilets and scrubbing the bathroom floors was not a part of their job description, nor would they like to add it to their list of responsibilities.

"Have you never been to an event with that brat, Koenma?" Hiei retorted.

"Of course, but his parties are usually much wilder than this. I love them!" She beamed and took notice of all the weird stares her tablemates were giving her. "Uh… no, I didn't mean it quite like that! Livelier is the word I was looking for, yes that was it…" She scratched the back of her head nervously.

"Do tell, Botan." Kurama pried interested in the other company's escapades.

"Yes, I'm sure we'd love to hear about the drunken ramblings of Koenma. I wouldn't be surprised if he blurted out that he still uses a pacifier or something…" Yusuke coaxed.

"He does not!" Botan objected. She didn't appreciate when people talked badly about her ex-boss and best-friend like that, especially when he and his family had done so much for her. She could never repay them even if she lived a hundred lifetimes and would not sit around idly while he was being made fun of. "I'll have you know Koenma is the most cool, calm, and collected man in the business world…" her eyes drifted to Kurama, "aside from you of course. And if anyone insults him they'll have to deal with me."

"I don't know how you expect anyone to believe that load of bull, considering it came from your mouth." Hiei countered. He didn't understand why Botan got so ruffled when it came to Koenma. Did she have feelings for him, by chance?

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Hiei," Botan said while pouting. They all could be really insulting when they wanted to, couldn't they?

"Weren't you going to tell us about Koenma's wild raves?" Shizuru asked.

"Oh that's right. Well usually he just throws parties in fancy, upscale places. It's a lot like this one at first, actually, but by the end of the night most people are a wee-bit tipsy and just enjoying life! Everyone throws all their cares away and just become so cheerful and free! He figures the parties are good for making you forget all your troubles for one night, work-related or not."

"Yeah but I bet all those troubles come rushing back in along with the killer hangover you guys probably experienced the next morning," Shizuru said.

"Oh, I don't drink as fervently as the others… but I do imagine they'd have trouble getting up for work." She laughed thinking back on the days after the party and how sluggish most workers were.

Hiei was beginning to get sick of Botan's stroll down memory lane, worst of all he couldn't stand how happy she looked whenever she thought of Koenma. His blood boiled and he wanted nothing more than for her to stop talking about her ex-boss. If he didn't know any better he'd say he was almost … jealous. But that was impossible, because for Hiei to be jealous of Botan talking about another man, he would have to have feelings for her, and he'd already established that he did not.

This new feeling, which Hiei refused to acknowledge as jealousy, was not born from love, but from pride. Hiei was her new boss now and she would do well to remember that. She had moved on to bigger and better things when she left Koenma's side for the chance to work at Jaganshi corp. Koenma knew it and now it was time for Botan to realize that for herself.

Hiei stood up from his seat and strode toward another table, for the sake of mingling and letting his presence be known. As he walked towards the other table he muttered three words so low only Yusuke could hear. Yusuke would've sworn he was imagining things until he saw Hiei's smirk and his chocolate brown eyes twinkled with mischief as his own mouth quirked into its familiar devilish grin. 'Work your magic,' eh? If you want a party Mr. Boss Man, well that's just what I'll give you.

"Kuwabara bathroom break, now!"

Before Kuwabara could protest, Yusuke had already stalked off to the bathroom. "He probably needs a bathroom-buddy since last time he got hit on by one of the staff of this place." Kuwabara explained as he stood up.

"Yes but that worker was drunk because you two spiked all the drinks in the vicinity," Kurama clarified as Botan's eyes went wide.

Kuwabara scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, that's karma for you! I better go before Urameshi gets molested!" And with that he ran off leaving the rest of them to shake their heads.

--

"Kuwabara my most trusted buddy, it seems we've been given the OK to do whatever the hell we want tonight!" Yusuke threw his arm around Kuwabara's neck, pulling the taller boy down so he was at eye level with Yusuke. "That means we gotta go all out!"

"Hold up, Urameshi," Kuwabara said unhooking Yusuke's arm from around his neck. "I'm not getting dragged into one of your schemes only to get blamed for it again!"

Yusuke shook his head. "You're missing the point entirely. Hiei gave me permission."

"You really think I'll fall for that one again-" Kuwabara stopped short at Yusuke's expression. "Wait you're serious?"

A smirk appeared on Yusuke's face as he nodded slowly.

"I don't know what inspired shorty to let us do this, but as long as we can't get penalized, let the scheming begin!" Kuwabara shouted as they began their planning.

--

Kurama had taken Botan around the room to get acquainted with employees she may not have met yet. After greeting numerous workers, she began to make small talk with familiar faces that she came into contact with on a regular basis. No matter who she talked to the trend was similar; all of Hiei's employees were loyal to both him and Kurama. It was weird, considering Hiei was by far the most distant and hard-hearted person she had ever met. Where their loyalty came from was a mystery to her, but every single one of them felt like they belonged and that was something Botan had never seen in a company before, not even with Koenma. It was heartwarming, to say the least.

She had also learned both Hiei and Kurama had somewhat of a fan-club within the company in the form of most of their female employees. It disheartened Botan to know that all these women were here for Hiei, and he was aware of it, Botan was sure. Hiei wasn't daft and these girls weren't exactly subtle. Was it some sort of requirement that all of the women had to have a thing for either Hiei or Kurama, because if so she passed with flying colors.

Botan pouted a bit. Why did she have to be so stupid? Hiei was … emotionally unavailable for someone like her at least. She had grown fond of him rather quickly and his irate personality along with his many unfathomable traits kept Botan intrigued. At first she thought he was interesting; unlike anyone she had ever met before, but lately she began to worry more and more about him. And just when her feelings began to deepen, he began to do all sorts of nice things for her. It just wasn't fair!

"Botan- hey Botan, you ok?"

"Oh, uh sorry! I spaced out a bit!" In all her thoughts she had forgotten that she was in the middle of a conversation with one of her acquaintances.

"It's okay."

"Would you excuse me, I have to go to the ladies room!" She wandered off to collect her thoughts. The restroom was empty for the time being and she decided to use this quiet moment to force Hiei out of her mind. Just for tonight she wanted to forget all the drama at work and in her heart. She closed her eyes, willing herself to not fret over anything because tonight was purely for fun.

A few moments later her eyes burst open at the sound of fast-tempo music beating. She quickly ran to the door and opened it revealing a darkened room filled with strobe lighting coupled with a DJ and his DJ equipment. Botan pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming then stepped into the area.

"What on earth…" She muttered, puzzled at the radical transformation the room had taken in a matter of minutes.

"You like?"

"Yusuke, you did all this?!"

They were both shouting over the loud music system.

"With the help of my trusty sidekick, Kuwabara."

"But I thought Hiei and Kurama forbid you from-"

"-Calm down, we won't get in any trouble for this. I've got everything under control." He grinned at her. "Is this how your old company parties were?"

She nodded. "All we need now are the tipsy employees."

"I think we've got that covered, Botan," Kuwabara hollered from a distance as a few workers staggered around the place merrily.

"Boy you guys let loose faster than my old group," Botan muttered as the room became filled with laughter and ramblings. She turned to find that Yusuke and Kuwabara already gone to cause more trouble. "Boys will be boys… Shizuru was right."

--

Hiei almost regretted his actions when Yusuke and Kuwabara had "worked their magic," like he instructed. If only the fools jumped at all his commands like they did with this one tonight, he'd never seen them prepare and cause trouble so fast. In a matter of a few measly minutes they changed the mood of the party completely. Hiei had to give credit to his other workers as well. In the past they were notorious for their ability to get wasted in short amounts of time, but this has got to be an all time record.

This is the reason why Kurama was so against Yusuke and Kuwabara's interference. He knew better than anybody that their group of employees could let loose faster than the time it took Shura to start up some mischief. Some of the male employees even hit on Kurama, thinking he was a female and the females weren't any better. They lost all sense of the word 'boundary' when they were drunk and all their affections seemed to be for either him or Kurama. Not that Hiei objected having a meaningless night with a woman, but he made it a point to avoid doing anything with his employees. Involving himself with an over-emotional employee could just lead to future situations that he was not willing to partake in.

And so, Hiei was trying to make his way through the throng of people in order to avoid any unnecessary interactions, but as most things in Hiei's life, it did not go as planned.

"Mister Jaganshi!"

"Shit," Hiei cursed as he suddenly found himself surrounded by female employees.

One of them latched on to his arm. "Are you having a good time, sir?"

He removed Koto from his arm, or was it Juri, he always confused the two of them, seeing as they were equally annoying. As soon as the first woman was removed Juri (or was it Koto?) attached herself to his other arm. "Where's your equally sexy partner, huh?" She blurted out.

Kurama! That was it, Hiei would send them off to Kurama and he could be on his way to freedom.

"He should be over by our table, he can't hold his liquor in so he's probably giving everyone a strip-tease now," Hiei lied as he pointed his finger over to his table. When Hiei looked over in the direction his finger was pointing to, he froze and could not believe what he was seeing. Upon noting his reaction, the girls all turned their attention to Kurama and were shocked at the scene they witnessed. A few even screamed in terror. Hiei used the distraction to escape to the V.I.P room where he was sure he could find some peace and quiet.

Hiei had a feeling things were going to get much wilder and he did not want to be around to observe it. Although he knew letting the goons run amuck always ended in disaster, he could not bring himself to fully regret his decision. This was a matter of his pride, after all. He would show Botan that the moment she stepped through his office doors she had been upgraded from a meagerly subordinate to the most notorious tycoon's assistant, and if throwing a better party than Koenma was the key to enlightening her, then so be it.

--

Botan made her way back to the table to find Shizuru and start enjoying the party but the sight she was met with was an unexpected one. The taller woman had draped herself all over a confused looking Kurama. Botan's eyes nearly bugged out of her head, she could hardly believe what she was seeing.

"S-so when are we gonna stop playin' around and admit that we like each other?" Shizuru's normally calm voice was more carefree and slurred.

Ah, so Shizuru was an honest-drunk. Botan would have to remember that next time she wanted to get some information about Hiei.

"Shizuru, you're intoxicated." Kurama explained as he tried with all his will to keep his composure. This was not supposed to be happening! When he got his hands on Kuwabara and Yusuke… He didn't even have time to think of how he'd punish them because Shizuru had advanced further.

She draped her arms around his neck and leaned in closer and Botan's eyes widened even more.

"Please try to contain your-mph!" Kurama was silenced by Shizuru's lips and that was when Botan decided it would be best to quietly leave. She could've sworn she heard angry fan-club girls shriek when Shizuru's lips covered Kurama's, and she did not want to get caught in the middle of that.

As she walked away hurriedly, she wondered what Hiei would do if she got drunk like Shizuru and a kissed him like that. He'd probably push me off of him and then fire me. Ugh… wait no! I'm not supposed to be thinking about Hiei. Tonight is all about having fun!

No thinking about Hiei… no thinking about Hiei… no thinking about Hiei!

Throughout her mental struggle she hadn't realized the steady beat of the music was becoming fainter and the area around her was becoming more and more secluded. She kept walking oblivious to her surroundings until she found herself in a small, private room. "Hiei!?"

He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Hn."

"What are you doing here all alone? You should be enjoying the party!" She covered her mouth with her hand. "Oops! I-I mean… you should stay here. It's nice and quiet and nobody can bother you here!"

"Baka, you think I wouldn't notice what's going on in there?"

She laughed nervously. "At least everyone's spirits are high…"

"Remind you of your earlier days with the insolent brat?"

Botan nodded ignoring the insult he'd made about her friend. "I'd even go as far as to say you guys are even wilder than the others. You all sure know how to get drunk fast! I bet Koenma would've had a lot of fun…" Her eyes softened when she spoke of the son of Enma and Hiei could feel his blood beginning to boil again.

"Is he really as great as you make him out to be?" Hiei questioned advancing towards her.

"Of course, he is! Although he could act like a real toddler when he feels like it… but when he has work to do he transforms into a serious adult and no one can stop him! He makes us feel like we can do anything! And-" Botan was cut of mid-rant by Hiei. Hey, when did he get so close? Botan let out an "eep," as his arm snaked around her waist and pulled her against him.

"Well here's one thing I'm sure that he'll never be able to make you feel," Hiei began as he claimed her lips with his own possessively.

When the initial shock wore off Botan found that Hiei's kiss was anything but gentle, and yet it felt good. He broke the contact shortly after, his crimson eyes piercing her stunned gaze. "You're my assistant now," he began to walk off, smirking all the while. "It'll do you well to remember that."

Botan watched as he strode off confidently. "Just because you're drunk it doesn't give you the right to kiss whoever you want!" She yelled after him in vain, knowing he probably couldn't hear her anymore, more flustered than angry.

Unbeknownst to her, Hiei heard every word she said and his smirk deepened. He hadn't touched one alcoholic beverage the whole night.

--

Well, I wasn't expecting the party to become a whole chapter on its own, but it's all good. The idea for the party didn't come outta the blue, though. When I was working part-time at a business there was this event and everyone just let loose and got drunk, it was hilarious. I was like the Botan of the party (since I'm only 18 and not of legal age to drink) and left to watch everyone else make fools outta themselves, while making sure they got home safely at the same time. Then they all came back to work the next morning acting like their normal, professional, selves. I wonder how the YYH gang is gonna act the morning after? Haha.

There wasn't much unraveling of the many mysteries I left for you lovely readers, but at least you've got some new information like… the employees are loyal to the company… Botan holds Koenma in high regards… and Hiei and Kurama have their own little fan club, haha. Sorry if you're disappointed that I haven't given away lots of answers that are crucial to the plot. But, don't worry… one day… all these questions will be answered! And wouldn't it be great if we could call 1-800-KUWA-LOVE [er… so what if there's one extra number, its Kuwabara, he can do what he wants!] and have Kuwabara answer all our questions? Hehe. Anyways, thanks for all the reviews and continual support for this story! You're all amazing~ Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.