Night 1: Tuesday

"WHAT!?" He bellowed. Botan winced.

"It's...locked?" she stated hesitantly. "Er...heh...heh?"

"Baka, onna, I--" They were cut off when Botan's communicator sounded. She fumbled for her pocket and gave a quiet 'Bingo!' when she found it. Flipping it open, she was met with the sight of a frantic Koenma. As soon as he saw her, he looked visibly relieved.

"Oh, man! Botan! We've been looking all over the place for you! I have to tell you some things, so get down here...please?" At seeing her look, the last word was added hastily.

She brightened suddenly. "Koenma! I'm locked in this room with Hiei. I bet you can get me out!" He suddenly looked horrified. "Er...you can get me out, can't you, Koenma?"

His eyes were wide with fear and horror. Mostly, the fear was for himself because when Botan found out and had access to him again, things would not be pretty. Oh, no, not pretty at all.

"Uh...heh heh...er BOTAN!!! Have I ever told you how much you mean to me as a coworker and friend? Cuz it's true!" He was rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Wow! Thanks, Koenma! That--" She stopped. "Koenma?" She said very sweetly. His face took on a relieved tone.

"Yes, Botan?"

"You can't get me out of here, can you?" Koenma looked at her warily, shaking his head back and forth slowly. She smiled. And then...

Hiei silently counted to himself. 3...2...1...

"KOENMA!! GET ME OUT OF HERE, THIS INSTANT!! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!"

Hiei placed his arms behind his head on the soft pillows. Oh, yes. This was going to be fun. He wished he had some sweet snow to eat while he watched.

"Er...well, the thing is, Botan, that the door can't be unlocked for..." He mumbled something at the end that Hiei and Botan were unable to decipher.

"What was that last part?" Her blue eyebrow was twitching dangerously, candy eyes on fire. Hiei briefly imagined steam coming from her ears.

"Well...the door can't be unlocked for anyone, that is unless they're mortally injured or sick, then it will unlock by itself. It can't be unlocked for exactly...erm...heh heh...seven days."

Botan's left eye was twitching rapidly and a vein in her temple was throbbing. "And...why exactly is that, Koenma?"

"Well..." Koenma gulped. This was not going to get a positive reaction. "It's demon mating season."

"And this is relevant...why?" She bit out, eyes closing briefly in an effort to maintain control.

"The full moon comes out this week." He said in a very small voice. It was very quiet and she almost didn't hear. But, unfortunately for him, she had.

"WWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT?!?!?!?!?!?" The castle shook and birds in trees scattered. Then, her eyes widened. She sank to the floor right where she stood.

"That means...that means...that means..." Koenma looked worried and Hiei looked amused.

"That means that...I'm stuck in a room with...a...a...a..." She almost couldn't say it. Key word? Almost. Hiei's prompting was always the best though!

"A...a...a...a...a...a...a...a...a...a...a...a...a...a...a...a...a...a..." She kept repeating and it was grating on Hiei's nerves. His eyebrow started to twitch.

"Out with it, onna!"

Her eyes squiched shut and she blurted out, "A HORNY DEMON!!" Hiei and Koenma were stunned. Hiei looked like a fish. He was gaping and his eyes were wide. His mouth kept opening and closing. Koenma burst into raucous laughter. Hiei stopped gaping and growled. Koenma stopped laughing abruptly.

"I assure you, baka onna," he spat with fire in his eyes. "That I am not some low-class youkai who cannot control his primal instincts."

She gulped, having brought on Hiei's wrath. He stood there, giving hre his patented 'I-am-evil-incarnate' glare. If looks could kill, and Botan wasn't a ferry girl, then she would probably be the one being ferried.

Koenma burst into laughter again, but stopped when Botan and Hiei both yelled, "IT'S NOT FUNNY!!" Koenma grew serious.

"Botan, we will have you out in a week's time. Until then, Hiei, please keep your more feral instincts at bay."

"Hn."

"Botan, be careful. The process grows stronger as the week progresses. It is at its peak on the final day, when the full moon is at the end of its cycle and ready to reduce again."

"Don't worry, sir! I've got my trusty oar and my bat as well." She demonstrated by summoning both. He nodded. Hiei snorted.

"Like those instruments could keep me away."

Koenma's look was a grave one. "She better not have to use them, Hiei." Hiei glared. "What's he doing, now?" Koenma whispered, his eyes moving from side to side covertly.

Botan risked a look. "He's glaring," she said matter-of-factly.

Koenma nodded. "Well, best of luck to you, Botan!" And then he was gone, before Botan could utter any of the very convenient death threats that she had thought up. Oh, well, at least now she could think up more elaborate ones.

She sighed and leaned against the wall. "I'm tired." She had completely forgotten that she had to go to the bathroom at this point. "Where am I going to sleep?"

"Well, I am not moving out of this bed," Hiei said, fully expecting her to take the couch that was at the other end of the room.

"Fine! I'll be changing!" She huffed and walked over to the closet. She knew it was the closet because there was a large sign that said 'CLOSET' hanging on the door. She looked inside and saw nothing, but something pink caught her eye. She turned her head and caught sight of a pink satin pyjama set that she was certain hadn't been there before. She shrugged and grabbed it off of the hanger.

She traveled across the room, glancing at Hiei, seeing that he had his eyes closed, and then opened the door that was labeled 'BATHROOM.' She changed and came out. Then, a thought hit her. There was a way to get a good night's sleep and get back at Hiei! Two Kuwabaras with one stone!

She crept over to the bed, where Hiei had taken off his cloak and snuggled under the covers. He was breathing deeply and he seemed to be asleep. His chest was showing and she noticed that it was very finely toned.

Wow, he has a really nice body. Most women would kill to have a man with that body. She blushed at her own thoughts. She also noticed that his katana was in his hands. Apparently, his warrior spirit got the best of him, even if he was in a very secure area. She looked at him for a moment more, his breathing peaceful and his face lax. Most would say that his face was smooth and emotionless. Most were almost right. His face always seemed less harsh in sleep, though.

There never seemed to be any harsh lines in his face during the day, but when he was asleep, it always seemed that it had lost some type of sharpness. Almost everyone had seen him sleeping before. He slept in trees a lot and everyone in the Tantei had had to wake him up on occassion. Botan had just never really taken the time to study his face before now. He muttered something in his sleep and shifted, as if he could sense her eyes on him. He probably could with the Jagan eye protecting him.

She gently lifted the covers, knowing full well that he was a light sleeper. Who wouldn't be if you grew up in the Makai? She knew that she would probably be the same way. She very carefully, so as not to make the bed move to much and alert his very high senses, slipped in under the blankets. The bed was unusually warm. She wondered at that and then it hit her. He was a fire apparition. Duh.

Botan made sure that she was as far on the other side of the bed as possible, so as not to actually make physical contact with him, for that would also wake him. The covers were very warm and soon had her sleepy. Not only that, but for some reason, Hiei smelled really good. Not a cologne smell, she was sure that he wasn't a cologne person, but he smelled very strongly of sandalwood and some herbs that she knew but couldn't remember the names of.

Slowly, she drifted to sleep, breathing in the soothing scent of sandalwood. That was the last thing she remembered before she woke again, knowing that it was still nighttime. This time, she had woken for something she could not find the reason for. Then, she found it.

Something warm and firm was wrapped around her waist. She could feel something soft on her neck. It was warm and it kind of tickled. She slowly turned her head over her shoulder and came face to face with...

She held back a yelp of surprise. In her groggy state she hadn't even comprehended what the thing around her waste or the tickling on her neck could have been. Of course, as we all know and have probably all guessed by now, it was Hiei's arm around her waist and Hiei's breath on her neck. She very slowly, and very subtley tried to wriggle out from under his arm. She really did not want to be caught like this. She had planned to wake before him and be out of the bed by then, so that he wouldn't know what she had done. It would have been a personal, secret victory.

As she was almost out from under his arm, the breath was suddenly forced out of her as he pulled her flush against him, rather forcefullly I might add. Now, she was facing forward because she had been trying to nudge herself out backward. She was shoved against his bare chest, feeling very warm. She suddenly envisioned Hiei as a giant, very warm teddy bear and had to hold back giggles, lest she wake him. She tried again to get out of his grasp and the arm tightened even more. She sighed and relazed, his arm doing so too.

She was almost asleep again when her eyes went very wide. She felt something in her hair. Fearing bugs, but still fearing Hiei's wrath even more if he woke up and found himself like this, she reached a hand up very slowly, resisting the urge to shriek (bugs were reeeeeaaaaalllyyy not her thing), she felt to the spot and grasped...

She held back a yelp as she realized that it was Hiei's free hand. It was firmly entangled in her hair almost all the way to the roots. She sighed. She was going to have to get out somehow, but she would worry about that tomorrow morning. Besides, his...smell...was...really...intoxicating...