N is for Necklace

What was this stupid human holiday called again?

Oh, yeah. White Day (1).

He honestly thought holidays were pointless. Sure, demon world had them (and they differed from those of human world), but he never felt the need to partake in any of them, let alone celebrate them.

But nonetheless, here he was: in a shopping mall with Kurama, who had been looking at the cases inside of a jewelry shop, contemplating what he would get for Shizuru. The two had only made it official 6 months ago.

"No, no. Sorry," Kurama told the shop keeper as she took out a rather magnificently looking diamond and emerald studded bracelet, "But that is too much for her. She likes to lean more towards simple things."

Which was true. Shizuru did appreciate nice things, but she never had any need for them, nor was she the flashy type (unlike her younger brother, whom Kurama had found that he had just bought Yukina a heart shaped necklace, with the stones differing from rubies to sapphires. Hiei did not know this, of course).

"Ah!" the shopkeeper exclaimed, "but of course. I have some very nice silver and gold bands right here." And she unlocked another door.

Hiei scoffed at the all gems. Just shiny, meaningless tokens was all they truly were.

"Hiei," Kurama had looked up from a rather beautiful gold band, "Aren't you going to ask the shopkeeper if you can look at something?"

"Hn. No." Was the only response.

"Ah," Kurama shrugged, "That's a pity. I could have sworn you were thinking of buying a gift for somebody. White Day is tomorrow, you know."

"Feh. Why the hell would you even think that, fox?" The word 'fox' was set low enough so that only Kurama could hear it. The former thief merely gave a knowing smile.

"Because I've been observing the way you've been look at Botan, lately. One would almost think that you like her."

"Baka. I do not like that damned blue haired onna."

"But you appreciate her, don't you? After all, she has done some very nice things for you, and Yukina as well."

"I am grateful for some of the things she had done for me and Yukina, yes. But I do not like her."

Kurama merely smirked at this.

"Of course, Hiei. How silly of me to think otherwise," and he went back to eying the gold band.

Hiei, however, couldn't stop thinking about what Kurama had said. The baka onna drove him crazy, that was true. With her shrill voice, loud hair color, and by being a constant blabbermouth.

But she had, in the past, done some very nice things for him and Yukina. It was because of her that he had his own apartment (he had gotten used to the idea of a human bed, and found that he rather liked it, after a while). It was because of her talking to Koenma that he longer had to serve his time in human world, and could come and go as he pleased. It was because of her that Yukina now had so many friends.

He had indeed been grateful for all of this, for she had gone out of her way to do such generous things that nobody else would have done.

But, damnit. He did not like her. He tolerated her, yes.

"Perfect," he was snapped out of his thoughts by Kurama, "I'm sure she'll be very pleased with it." He was smiling as the woman put a gold bracelet with an intricate design into a red velvet box.

"Ready to go, Hiei?" Kurama asked, but Hiei shook his head, stating that he wanted to ask the shopkeeper something, and would meet up with Kurama later.

/The Next Day/

Everyone was celebrating White Day at Genkai's dojo. The old woman had been nice enough to offer it.

Everybody was there: Keiko, Shizuru, Botan, Koenma (who had come just for the celebration, aka wanted to get away from all that paperwork), Yusuke, even Atsuko (who had come sporting a new man in her life). Hiei had even come. He had disguised his presence as he wanted to make sure the "carrot haired oaf" didn't try anything funny with Yukina.

Botan had been sitting on the couch, having a conversation with Shizuru and Atsuko. Atsuko had been telling the both of them how she had met her new boyfriend, and was giggling madly about all the dates they had been on. She (Botan) had just nodded away, happily, occasionally giggling at something or another that Atsuko had said.

Just then, she saw Hiei at the end of the hallway. Smiling, she walked over to him.

"Hello, Hiei. Great that you could make it." He nodded in return.

"Oh. I have a gift for you. " And she pulled out a small box, "It's not much, but I hope you'll like it."

With surprise, Hiei took the box. He eyed it closely, turning it this way and that. Then, he untied the red ribbon around it, and removed the prize.

What he saw astonished him. It was a statue of a dragon, no more than four inches tall. The dragon had been carved from onyx, and was shellacked with gold, giving it a shiny, glittering hue. The dragon's eyes were made of small rubies. The dragon also stood perched on a black and white marble cube. In one of its claws was a black marble ball. At the end of the marble cube, were the kanji for Strength, Endurance and Pride.

"I saw this in an antique shop," she explained sheepishly, "And I…I thought of you. :

Hiei pocketed the dragon statue. He didn't exactly show it, but he truly appreciated the gift.

They stood there for a few moments, just staring at each other. For Botan, it was both exhilarating and uncomfortable. She had always thought Hiei was quite good looking, but the way he was staring at her? Well, he might as well have transformed into his demon form, and let all of those eyes stare at her.

He ended the silence, when he reached into his cloak, and pulled out a black velvet, oblong box, about seven inches long. He held it out to her.

"Hiei, what's…"

"Hn. Open it, onna." She opened the box, and gasped.

Inside the box, lying on a bed of silky white cloth, was a silver choker. The choker curved downward in triangular shape. In the center was an aqua colored stone. Dangling from the stone, were three tear dropped shaped pearls.

For Botan, it was like the ability to speak had left her, as she stood gaping at the choker. Where on earth had Hiei gotten the money to buy something so beautiful?

"Hiei…this….this is?" Was all she could say when the words finally found her. He merely smirked.

"Hn. Isn't it the custom of this holiday to give gifts?" At this, Botan squealed with delight, and threw her arms around him, the box and choker still clutched in her hands. . The demon tensed up, not used to such contact.

But then, his surprised gaze then turned into the smallest of smiles, and his eyes softened. This, he decided, wasn't so bad.

He put his arms around her in return, and in her ear, whispered, "Happy White Day, Botan."

1) White Day is a holiday celebrated in Japan, on March 14, and is similar to our Valentine's Day. It's where men give the women they love or care about gifts, such as chocolate, flowers and jewelry.

2) Onyx. No, not the Pokémon. I'm talking about the stone. Onyx is a gemstone, found in several regions around the world, but most commonly Brazil. The colors of the stone vary, including black, pink, red and green. Obviously, I chose black for Hiei. It is said that an Onyx stone can get rid of negative emotions.

Also, I know N is for Necklace is kind of a lame name for a chapter. But I am using the alphabet, and I have to come up with words that start with that letter of the alphabet (A is for Apple, B is for Boy….). The title is supposed to represent the choker that Botan received from Hiei. It is also supposed to represent Hiei acknowledging that he does care for her. I won't exactly say it's love, but the necklace is supposed to represent that there is something there.