Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or the characters

Prompt: Laughter

Hiei coolly walked into the tea shop as if he wasn't just a one time visitor. There was something he needed to take care of. It had been three days since Botan's botched abduction, and Hiei wanted answers.

The day following the 'mugging', Botan made it clear she needed to go to work. She and Hiei argued about it for a hot second before Botan said she needed to make sure Ruka knew she was okay.

Hiei faltered when he heard this. "Why would Ruka think you weren't?"

Botan calmed too and said, "Because I never showed up to the date. Ruka's friend probably told her I never showed up."

"Ruka set you up," Hiei repeated for confirmation, a strange, unreadable look in his eyes.

"Um, yes?"

Hiei didn't mean to let any emotion show, but a satisfied grin appeared on his face. Botan unwittingly gave away Tarukane's accomplice. Ruka was definitely annoyed when Botan missed work because she knew Tarukane's game.

"Okay, go to work and make sure Ruka knows you're okay," Hiei surrendered, "but don't tell her about the mugging. Tell her you had second thoughts and decided to stay in."

"You want me to lie?"

Hiei shook his head. "She's your boss, not your friend. You don't need to concern her with the details of your life. In fact, you shouldn't share any details with her about anything."

Hiei didn't expect his words to get through to Botan, but he hoped she'd adhere to them. It surprised but pleased him when Botan told him later that she followed his advice. When Hiei asked how Ruka reacted to her presence at work, Botan, perplexed, said, "She seemed agitated…like she was afraid of something."

Perfect.

It was fairly early when Hiei arrived at the tea shop. The lunch hour neared, and the restaurant would be open soon. The agent smirked as he picked the lock and let himself into the place. He casually strode to a table, the one where he lunched with Tarukane and Zeru. Even the thought of the two vile men could do little to quell Hiei's good mood. All he had to do was wait for Ruka. His menacing gaze would do the rest.

About fifteen minutes later, Ruka arrived at the tea room. She slammed down a cup of coffee on her maître d' podium. When she turned around, her usually irritated scowl turned cold and panicked. Hiei kept his gaze hard, despite the satisfaction over having terrified the bitter woman.

Hiei knew what Ruka must think of his presence. The only logical explanation—now that Hiei knew she was Tarukane's accomplice—was that Hiei was there to punish her for her failure in delivering Botan to the bastard.

"I…" Ruka made out, her voice cracked. "I-I-I'm so sorry. I-I didn't think…she was supposed to be at the pickup site, I swear! Please don't kill me!"

Hiei said nothing; he continued to stare at the terror-stricken woman as she begged for her life. "I…I never failed Tarukane before, right? That has to count for something! Botan is the first woman he didn't get. I promise, I'll make it up to him. Please, tell him that. I'll make sure she's there next time."

Her confession became even more desperate, so Hiei let her continue. The more information Ruka revealed, the easier it would be to later prosecute Tarukane and all in his employ, this bitch included.

"Tarukane doesn't blame you," Hiei stated simply when the woman's confession ended and she began to whimper. Her fear pleased Hiei, especially because he knew how terrified Botan was after her would-be kidnapping. Ruka's eyes lit up with reluctant hope. She wanted to believe what Hiei told her, but she knew there had to be a catch. "However, you put a lot of faith into his assurances. You better watch yourself in this world. What goes around comes around."

Without sparing the stupefied woman another glance, Hiei left the tea room and let the door slam shut behind him. Once outside, he glanced around to make sure he was clear and then took out his burner phone. He dialed the detective; Yusuke picked up immediately.

"Did you get all that?" Hiei asked gravely.

"Yeah, nice work!" Yusuke replied. "I can't believe that woman would sell out innocent girls like that!"

Hiei shook his head and muttered into the receiver. "It's either them or her, and she knows it. Now that you have her confession…"

Relieved, Yusuke said, "Yeah, we can arrest her at any time. Mukuro wants to meet up with you first to determine next steps, but with Zeru gone, it looks like you might be climbing higher."

Although Yusuke couldn't see him, Hiei nodded in agreement. "Tonight I'll have my answer."

Hiei hung up and headed back to the apartment. When he reached his door, he could hear Botan humming from inside her own apartment. His neutral expression softened when he thought about the other night. After seeing her so vulnerable, and then talking to her after work the previous day, Hiei knew the attack affected her.

It was her day off today, Hiei recalled, and normally she'd be out and about. At least she sounded a little happier, though. It seemed that, true to her optimistic nature, she wouldn't let her ordeal affect her attitude. The notion both relieved and worried Hiei.

Botan could continue to press on and force herself to go through her daily routine. It would be dangerous to let her do so. If Tarukane struck once, he'd try again. A part of Hiei wanted to warn the woman, but he couldn't do that. Even her emotional friends at the police station had enough sense to keep the whole truth quiet.

For a moment, Hiei considered just returning to his apartment. It would be a better decision than what he really wanted. Even if Zeru's assault hadn't just happened two days ago, Hiei was certain he'd remember that night forever. It was just by chance Hiei happened to be returning home at the same time Zeru thought to attack. Even luckier was the fact that Hiei took a different route than he was used to. Something compelled him to go to that abandoned street. When he saw Zeru holding Botan from behind, threatening to cut her if she tried to run… Hiei saw red that night, and he basically threw his cover to the wind. If not for Yusuke's precinct, Hiei was certain he'd be six feet under by now courtesy of Tarukane. Hiei snorted derisively. That was if the bastard caught him off-guard.

Zeru was in police custody, in solitary confinement so that he couldn't make a phone call. Hiei was certain many of Zeru rights were violated, and the legality of holding him was probably called into question. Hiei was certain Mukuro knew what strings to pull to keep the mission on track. Still, he had a lot of questions to answer, especially the main one.

Why did he save her?

Hiei had an honor code, of course, but even though his colleagues asked him to look out for the woman, they would have understood if he chose to let it happen. It wasn't to say that Hiei was completely callous or unbothered by such heinous actions, but the mission to bring down Tarukane was the top priority for this very reason. When Hiei stepped in, his cover was blown. That was a fact. If not for some quick thinking on his part, the case would be damned. Other than getting Zeru into custody, Hiei knew he wasn't thinking during that whole ordeal. Well, he was thinking about one thing.

"I feel safe when you're around."

Botan's simply statement still haunted Hiei. The way she felt curled up against him was still fresh in his mind. He wanted to check on the woman. Truthfully, in the safety of their apartment building, he could, but the disturbing fact was he had plenty of reasons not to go to her. They were practical strangers, despite the recent time they spent together. If that weren't enough, the even more terrible matter was that Hiei actually felt emotion, not just to the situation but to Botan herself. He wanted to go to her, hold her, and reassure her, even though he couldn't guarantee her safety. It was all the more reason he needed to stay away.

Hiei was better than this. He knew not to get involved with anyone during these assignments. Worse, Botan was technically a victim now. The criminal he was pursuing was after her. He needed to remain objective and detached. Unfortunately, the line was already crossed which caused him to make a huge mistake that would have cost him if it weren't for an immense amount of luck that rained down on him that night.

The agent lingered on thoughts of what would have happened to Botan had he not taken down Zeru and rescued her. As his mind created images of a future that didn't occur, Hiei felt grief of all things. His heart felt numb at the thought of losing Botan. He shook his head as he struggled to bring oxygen into his lungs. Concern for a neighbor was one thing. The desire to help a victim, another. This…this was bad.

A moment later, Botan came out of her apartment with her laundry basket. She nearly crashed into Hiei. Surprise flickered in her eyes before she put on a smile. Despite her forced cheer, Hiei could see the bags under her eyes. She looked utterly exhausted; she probably didn't sleep at all last night. Hiei's expression fell, despite his normally stoic façade.

Botan noticed. "Is something wrong?"

Yes, Hiei wanted to say, but he couldn't tell Botan anything. Instead, he took the laundry basket from her. Botan blinked at him. Hiei took the basket so swiftly from her that she was completely frozen in place from astonishment.

"You look like hell." Botan's expression shifted from shocked to indignant. She was about to protest Hiei words when he added, "Go get some rest. I'll take care of this."

"O-oh," Botan stammered. She clearly didn't expect the offer. Truthfully, Hiei's body and mouth moved on its own accord. It almost felt like having an out of body experience while watching a train wreck. "I…thank you, Hiei. I…I am really tired. Are you sure?"

Hiei nodded stiffly, his hands tightening over the plastic in his hands. Botan took that as the signal to enter her apartment. Hiei waited for a moment to hear the sound of the lock. It never came, meaning Botan didn't think she needed to lock her door.

Hiei sighed, opened the door, and went inside. He grabbed her pile of keychains that only held the one key. Then, he pocketed the key and locked her door. As silently as he could, he closed the door without alerting Botan. Despite her foolish behavior, Hiei was determined to keep her safe.

As Hiei did the laundry, he reflected. He didn't know how to keep Botan safe anymore. The more he grew closer to Botan, the more he was drawn to her, the more danger she was in. Hiei knew it was unsafe, and that should have nipped whatever feelings arose in the bud. To be honest, the agent had no idea when he even started to feel this way. Had Botan's near-kidnapping not occurred, he still would have been oblivious to his own desires. His reaction to seeing Botan cornered by Zeru told Hiei all he needed to know. Even so, he couldn't allow himself to even think of the words. He could not let it become more real and tangible. Logically, he knew he was being ridiculous. Yet, if anyone asked him, he was certain he'd deny it. He would basically be lying if he said he felt nothing at all.

Later, Hiei went to return Botan's laundry to her. He unlocked her apartment door and waltzed into the place. He half expected to find Botan in the kitchen since it was near the dinner hour. It was completely dark in the room, but Hiei saw light trickling in from the living room. He closed the door and locked it despite his presence, just in case, and then headed to the other room.

The woman sat in front of the T.V. as she watched some mindless sitcom. Hiei stood in the doorway; he watched Botan to gage her mood. If the darkness was anything to go by, she was letting her experience and fears get the best of her.

Only she wasn't. Something completely ridiculous happened on screen, and Botan laughed like it was the most hilarious thing in the world. The laughter was like a sucker punch to his gut; the soft lilt filled Hiei, warmed his soul, but instantly he felt his stomach roil with anxiety. He shook his head, a silent reminder that he couldn't feel this way. It was time to return to reality.

"How can you find something to laugh about with what happened to you?"

Botan sobered, then jumped, startled by Hiei's voice. She tilted her head slowly and visibly relaxed when she met his gaze, their eyes illuminated by the television. The woman managed a small smile and patted the spot next to her on the couch. She noticed Hiei hesitate. With a sigh, Hiei entered the room. He placed the laundry basket beside the couch and settled beside his neighbor.

Once Hiei joined Botan, she answered his earlier question. "If I don't find something to laugh about…I'll just keep thinking about that moment over and over. I'll drive myself crazy if I do that."

Hiei scowled. "Maybe you need to in order to kick self-preservation into high gear."

Doe eyes blinked. "Huh?"

Memories of Botan's past behavior flashed in Hiei's mind, and a wave of anger washed over him. He tried to temper his demeanor, but he was certain he still had some bite when he said, "You put yourself at risk all the time. You always shopped at late night hours and acted like this city was the safest place in the world when it's not."

Botan nodded in understanding. Sadness flooded her for a moment. "I know… I really thought… I wanted to be strong enough and not burden my friends. I guess I did that anyway. They've all been taking turns watching out for me. I did tell them about the other night…"

"You did?" Hiei was surprised. He'd informed Yusuke first, but Botan had no way of knowing that. Originally, the guys planned to be covert about their protection. Part of Hiei expected Botan to keep quiet about the attack, regardless.

His answer was another nod. "I…told them that my neighbor stopped the mugger and stayed with me. They said they were thankful someone was there for me, but that they wanted to personally make sure I got home okay after work."

Hiei was satisfied with the fact that Botan was aware that her friends were looking out for her. It made it easier; everyone could now coordinate. It did surprise him, though, that Botan mentioned him to the others. She didn't know his true identity, the fact that he knew her friends and worked with them, so there was no reason for to mention a stranger aside from the fact that he was becoming a part of her life. No longer was he the enigmatic neighbor who kept her at bay. Somehow, Hiei went against all his training and mental warnings, and now Botan saw him as a trusted friend.

So many warnings rang out in Hiei's head. They demanded he pull away and leave her now, alone in the dark. Another part of him was winning the fight. It was the part that actually liked being around Botan. Hiei turned his head a fraction and gave Botan a sideward glance. She looked so calm in his presence despite what storms raged inside her. Sitting with her felt like a breath of fresh air. If things were different, maybe…

Hiei stopped that train of thought cold and wouldn't linger on it at all.

"They didn't have a problem with some stranger staying with you after you were attacked?" the agent asked to make pretend conversation.

Botan shook her head. "They were just happy nothing happened to me. If it weren't for you, who knows what could have happened."

Hiei grew somber. I do…

He let that dark thought fester but, after some time, he was warmed by Botan's occasional laughter any time something idiotic happened in her programs. Hiei was comforted by the sound, and he mentally cursed himself for his feelings. The woman's endless optimism was a draw. It was something, as loath as Hiei was to admit, he wanted to protect at all costs.

Review Responses

jtdarkman: Glad you got to catch up. I'm still working on catching up on all the prompts. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you for your constant support :)

Guest: Thank you!

Raye: Thanks so much for reviewing! Glad you're enjoying the story. Iced oatmeal cookies are delicious. They're one of my favorites ^_^