AN: Lil DragonLex (otherwise known as Lexi) straps on black military boots. Sheaths two daggers and one long sword. A gun is strapped on the belt. Black cargo pants and a sleeveless shirt is smooth over. She steps out
Who is going to help me bash my computer because for weeks, it has denied me proper access to the internet?!
crickets are all that is herd
Come on people, without proper connection, I can't e-mail my beta, and I can't e-mail my beta, so that means that I can't give you better HieiBotan chapters to read.
an angry mob forms with clubs at hand
That's what I'm talking about!
Okay, I know that some people are worried that this story might end up a Koenma x Botan or a Kurama x Botan. So I will say this. No offence to KoenmaBotan lovers, but I flinch at reading stories with that couple. KuramaBotan I'm okay with. But I am 100 percent HieiBotan fangirl. But who knows what may happen in the end. You just have to keep on reading. So thank you to all of reviewers. Especially to Runaway Kogoro, because you gave me the motivation to start type way ahead of schedule. Sadly, I'm not happy with the way this chapter came out. Hopefully later I'll come back to it and revise it.
Pen Against Sword – My dear, dear beta. How I envy you! I don't have Kingdom Hearts nor do I have PS2. I want to play it though. I have a friend who does have both and I have a saved game there. But sadly, I don't go to her house often so I can't play it often. But I do have GameCube and I'm hooked on my Legend of Zelda. My e-mail still is messed up. But, I'm sure in two or three days, it will be better. So please be patient.
So, to end the long Author's Note, Happy New Year everyone!
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Hiei and Botan
He winced as he stepped inside of his room. He didn't want to, but it couldn't be helped. Besides, there was no one to prove or show that he was strong. He was alone in his room. No one went into his room save for three people other than himself. He would not allow anything else other wise. The room was his. His first one ever. So he kept it his scent dominate over everything else.
He dropped to his bed, back laying flat on the soft covers. Uncharacteristic for him, but he didn't care. He just wanted to rest for a while before leaving. Blood ran from his arms to the bed sheet. He didn't care. He also didn't sleep last night. Or the other night for that matter. It didn't affect his attitude or routine overall. He was a demon. He could have at least three nights without sleep and still have full energy. It was the worrying that got him.
He worried what she might say.
He gave her two full ningen days to think about his proposal. He knew that it was not an easy decision to make. She would have to think about thoroughly. Like he had done before he asked her. For about two months, the idea of having her as his mate seemed almost possible. Strange, but possible. Despite the fact that she was the type of person that he hated and that she was once a ningen. And that she can be annoying and too talkative. But nonetheless, there was something about her that he wanted.
Enough to want to make her his.
Or at least consider it.
He sat up and grab a cloth to wipe out most of the blood that cover his skin that made his wounds look worst than it really was. Yukina would over-react if she saw that much blood on him. He didn't want to worry her about something that wasn't that serious. He didn't want her to worry period. But she had made him promise her that she would be the one doing all his healings if he was still conscious and had even energy to travel to Ningenkai.
It was bribe, he knew. Yukina just wanted to make sure that he'd visit often and she knew that he would kept a promise if he swore. He would have visited often even he didn't swore. He swore anyway, if nothing else, then to please his sister, his twin.
With a last swipe of blood that ran down his fingers, he threw the cloth away and disappeared out of the room.
When he next reappeared, it was outside of Genkai's temple. He sensed her, Yukina, and Genkai inside. He knew that she would be there. She had yet to answer him, so it was only logical that she'd stay in a place that she knew that he would visit often to give him her reply. He jumped down from the tree he was standing on and called to Yukina with his mind. In moments, he saw her emerge from inside and walk up to him.
She smiled at him in greeting and frowned when she saw his wounds.
"Mukuro-san is training you very diligently," she commented as she placed her hands on his abdomen, healing the gashes there before moving on to his arms.
"Hn."
"But I am sure that it is working well for you," she added softly.
"I have gotten stronger." But not strong enough.
"And you will continue to do so," she smiled at him. He gave her a small smile in return.
She understood him. Without him telling her, she knew. There was no need for explanations with them. They were twins.
"Botan-chan is here," Yukina said, even though she knew that he knew. She removed her hands from his body, already done healing him.
"You know," he stated. She smiled.
He looked at her smile closely. It told him nothing of Botan's decision. Whether she accepted it or denied it. He knew that Yukina would not tell him. A small part of him cursed his sister. That part wanted to look into her mind and see what Botan's answer would be. But he wouldn't let himself do that and she knew it. The small part cursed her again. Damn her for being his sister.
"I'll go get her for you," she turned around to do as she said.
He watched his sister's back for a while before turning away. He felt his heart beat a little quicker than normal. After all, he was about to hear something that could change the course of his life for the next few weeks or life. She had to know what courting among demons mean now. He was putting his feelings and pride on the line just by asking her that one question. The kitsune would have told her everything she needed to know by now.
He saw the door open, and she stepped out. The afternoon sun danced on her hair with each step that she took. His heart didn't beat with affections for her. Not yet. There was still no bond between them. But his instincts whispered in his ear that that beautiful creature could be his by this time in the next month.
"Konichiwa Hiei," she said with that smile that she always had on her face.
He nodded his head in greeting to her. He never said hello as greetings. It only led to goodbyes. And to him, goodbyes were forever.
"I've thought about what you said," she said. "I've thought about it for a while. Kurama told me what to expect and what to do. And what could happen. I also spoke to Koenma about this." She didn't look at him in the eyes. She twisted her hands in nervousness.
Hiei retained himself from snapping at her and from looking into her mind to get her answer. He knew that she had to say this. Courting involved the two not just him. She was also risking her feelings.
"And I've decided," she continued. Inside he thanked whoever was listening that she finally got to the point. His heart stopped, waiting to hear her answer. "That I would like to be courted by you."
His heart started to beat again after he heard her answer. His instinct went wild with joy. Finally, he would get a mate. It was jumping way ahead of Hiei, but Botan is the closest person or demon that he had to actually having one. And, if the courting was successful, they would end up as mates anyway. He held himself from taking her on the spot. His instincts wanted to make her his by covering her with his scent. To show that he was happy with her answer, he smiled.
Granted that it wasn't big, it still made Botan happy. She never really saw him smile before. Seeing him smile like this, to her, made her want to bounce with joy. What made it even better was that she was the one who was responsible for making him smile. She vowed that she would do everything that she could to make him smile again.
He watched her eyes dance with happiness. His heart picked up speed. The bond was forming.
"During the mornings, I train with Mukuro. So that means, in the afternoons, I'll come visit you," he said.
"Hai," she said. She eyes were still lit up in happiness.
"Do you still have to go to work?"
"Iie," she shook her head. "Koenma gave me time off until the reunion party. So I have three months of vacation."
"Good."
Silence followed after that. Awkward silence.
"So, what do you want to do?" she asked, breaking the silence.
He turned around and walked into the forest. She hesitated before following after him. After a few minutes of walking through the thick forest, she began to tire. She didn't let it slow her down. She wanted to keep up with Hiei. Taking a deep breathe, she continued to move aside branches and tall grass aside. He noticed her tiring a long while ago. When she slowed down to a slower paced, he picked her up bridal style and ran the rest of the way into a clearing and then set her back down on her feet.
He sat down with his back to a tree while watching her catch her breath.
"You're out of shape."
She glared at him. "Thanks for telling me."
He smirked. "I was merely commenting."
She glared one more time at him and then sat down. "You're not going to patrol anymore in Makai?"
"For the time being, no."
"Did you like patrolling?"
"Whether I liked it or not is none of your business."
"Hiei," she said sternly. He looked at her. She had a look of a female demon who disapproved of what her mate was doing. He smirked again. She was going to make a fine mate, and she didn't even know it.
He shrugged. "It's something that I rather not do."
"Like you'd rather be sleeping in your tree?" she said amused.
"Many things are better than help baka ningen out of Makai."
"But there had to be some good times patrolling." Always the optimistic person.
He rolled his eyes. "Of course there are. Just last week, some baka ningen got himself lost and when I found him, every sentence he said ended with no da. And the day after that, I found his friend who screamed at every little thing that moved. We became such good friends afterwards that we exchanged addresses. And tomorrow, I plan on visiting his baka ningen house," heavy sarcasm in his voice.
"That must have been a fun week," she laughed.
"Baka ningen. He was begging to be killed with the way he acted," he muttered.
Her eyes widen. "But you didn't kill him, did you? You know that your not suppose to kill ningens. Or else you'll be put in Reikai prison," she said frantically. The scent of worry was covering her.
He snorted. "Of course I didn't kill him. Though the temptation to do so was extremely high."
It was her turn to roll her eyes at him. "You seem to be very chatty today."
He didn't answer her. When she looked to him to question why, she saw the look in his eyes. The look that said "you should know." Then it dawn to her. Kurama did say that part of courting was that the two people were supposed to talk to get to knew each other. Hiei was just showing her another part of himself that he didn't show just to anybody. He actually talked back. He didn't do that while she visited him in Makai before. Now he is.
She made a big smile with this new realization and began to talk about her day with Keiko yesterday. Hiei settled himself for a long afternoon. He would have to get use to this. Her talking, almost none stop. He'll learn to not nap at her to shut up like he's done so many times before when she was just visiting him.
For the rest of the afternoon, they sat there. Botan talking and Hiei… half listening. He walked her back to Genkai's when the sun was starting to set at a slower pace. For once, she wasn't talking. He was almost grateful for it. They listened to the leaves rustling by the wind and their footsteps crunching the grass.
When they reached Genkai's, Yukina met them at the door.
"Why don't you stay for dinner, Hiei?" she asked.
He looked over to Botan, who nodded her agreement. He looked at the sunset before nodding his agreement. Dinner was simple. Genkai went to bed right after dinner. Frankly, he couldn't believe that the old hag was still alive. Before leaving, he stood by the open door, watching the stars. He heard her come up to stand by him.
"What time are you coming tomorrow?"
"Early afternoon."
"Okay."
"Why are you not helping Yukina?"
Botan sweat drop. "She forbade me from helping her clean the dishes while you were still here."
"Hn."
He turned around to face her and lightly caressed her cheek for a brief moment. In the next second, he disappeared into the night. He left so quickly that he didn't see the blush form on her checks nor did he hear her heart beat race.
While racing through Makai's dark forest, he sensed a ningen lost. He quickly scanned the rest of the forest to see if there were any other demons that worked of Mukuro. There weren't any.
"Damn," he said. He went to the ningen. Before reaching the ningen, he slowed down to not frighten the human. He watched as the ningen scream at a falling leaf.
"YOU AGAIN!"
The next day, Mukuro punched him, unexpectedly and hard. He flew across their training grounds and slammed into a giant rock. The punch left his face bloodied and nearly broken. He struggled to get back up. When he finally did, he wobbled a little and resumed his fighting stance. Mukuro calmly walked up to him.
"You've had enough beating for one day," she said.
He shook his head. "One more time." He staggered.
"You're using most of your strength to stand. What strength do you have left to fight me?"
"I'll find one."
"No. I don't want my second in command to die using all of his strength trying to beat me. Leave. It's almost time to meet her anyway." Mukuro didn't leave right away like she normally did. She looked at him, with a calculating stare. He met her stare with his own. He never backed down. When seemed satisfied, she turned around and left.
He dropped to his knees when he was sure that he was alone. He punched the ground hard. He still wasn't strong enough. An hour later, he called to Yukina again in Ningenkai. As before, she healed all of his wounds. When she was done, they headed inside the house.
Inside, he found Botan pouring tea into Genkai's cup.
"You're late," Genkai said to him. Never looking up from her cup of tea.
Hiei snorted at her.
Botan smiled at him. "Hi Hiei."
He nodded at her.
Then his nose caught something. There was another male that was here. Recently. He was sitting close to Botan. A little too close. Hiei's eyes darkened.
Kurama.
But he would let it pass. He probably was there just for a visit. Botan would have asked him more questions about courting. Yukina would have been interested.
After listening to Botan and Yukina talk for a while, he said suddenly, "Onna, I want to teach you how to fight."