J.J. - New chapter, way late... don't kill me. . ;


Chapter Seven

Sleeping Troubles

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Footsteps. Unhurried, and sure footed. He always walked that way, like he knew where he was going all the time, like he owned the ground he walked on.

Gradually they grew louder, as he eventually came closer… Botan wanted to start running but she was torn. If she ran he would hear her, and he would know exactly where to find her. If she stayed, he might find her anyway, and it would then be too late to run.

The footsteps grew louder, and closer and she snapped her head towards the door she'd just come through. She felt a trickle of fear run down her spine.

He was on the other side of the door…

The footsteps had stopped and she didn't dare breathe as she waited. Was it too late to run? Did he know she was there? Was he even there, or was her mind playing tricks on her again? It did that a lot these days… Mostly because he made it that way…

She glanced down as the doorknob began to turn. She couldn't take it anymore - she took off in a burst of speed, running for all she was worth. She rounded the corner and placed her back tight to the wall. She was fearful, but excited at the same time. Her attraction towards him hadn't seemed to wear off. Her eyes shifted from side to side, unsure of where to go next.

She heard him again, coming after her. He wasn't walking anymore...

She sprinted off down the hallway. Her feet pounded against the ground, in time to her aching muscles and throbbing lungs that begged for her to stop. But she didn't relent. She couldn't let him catch her, she couldn't...

She froze, stopping in mid-run as she saw a shadow emerge at the end of the hallway, coming towards her. She started to panic. Should she run again? She could hardly catch her breath as it was.

He was here... There, in front of her...

She could feel him as always.

He looked at her, a triumphant smirk across lips that she knew only too well. She trembled faintly.

"Caught, aren't you?" His voice was a deceptive murmur. Her heart thudded almost painfully as the space between them became smaller and smaller. "But I think you enjoyed the chase." There was a caustic edge to his voice, something sharp and quick, dangerous in it's intensity.

She tried to back away from him, but her back ran into a wall. A wall that hadn't been there before, but she was hardly paying attention to architecture. He cornered her, placing his hands on both sides of her head, trapping her in. There was nowhere to go...

The music was there again. It came alive in the halls, filling her ears with the invigorating notes and her heart with the same passionate feelings.

"Give in," he whispered huskily against her ear. "Give in to me."

Despite the hot arrows of desire that seemed to pressure her from the inside out, she managed to murmur. "N-No..."

"No?" His voice turned callous again as he leaned away from her. In an instant, his voice lost all of it's seductive richness and he growled and hissed at her. His body morphed into that of the demon she'd seen in the book.

"Still no?" It screeched.

She screamed and it lunged at her, fangs open and claws out.

She awoke to her own screams. Upon realizing she'd only been dreaming, she sat up, clutching her blankets to her chin. She trembled, trying to calm her nerves.

"Hiei..."


Hiei is not a demon. Hiei is not a demon. Hiei is not a demon and you're being stupid.

Botan repeated the mantra to herself repetitively in her mind, staring at her untouched blueberry bagel. But as hard as she tried, she couldn't chase the thought from her head. She tried to tell herself the assumptions came from her dreams alone, but her mind kept flashing towards evidences that would suggest otherwise. The entire bomb incident had been all too weird to be entirely coincidence. Sensing the bomb, not getting burned... and he had healed in such a short time..

The dream. It had to just be the dream that was intensifying these thoughts. All night her dreams had been plagued with a similar concept to the first. Hiei was there, as commanding and predatory as always, and then he would turn into that demon from the book.

The book.

She finally remembered it. Specifically, how she had forgot it in the library. She stood abruptly to her feet, rushing from the table, leaving her friends to stare bewildered after her.

"What was her problem?" Shizuru voiced the unspoken concern.

"Yeah," Kuwabara looked at her bagel. "She didn't even touch her breakfast."

Botan searched everywhere around the leather armchair. She triple-checked the desk she remembered setting it on, but no matter how hard she looked, it didn't turn up anywhere. "Where is it?" she whispered frantically to herself, bending down to check under the chair again. All she found was the same dust and broken pencil.

She sat back up on her knees, beginning to wring her hands. She took a deep breath, unlatching her hands to push them through the air in front of her. "Relax, Botan."

Her nerves had been frazzled ever since her near sleepless night, accompanied with the increasing knowledge that something terrible was going on, something that had to do with demons and the Toguro brothers. She felt like she was going to snap.

Someone had taken the book. They were trying to hide something; something in that book. She had gotten the same feeling when she had come across the blocks on the internet. The one person she knew she should ask and could help her, she also knew was likely working on the force that was keeping this information from everyone else. No, Kurama wouldn't help her. But who else would? She had the feeling that Shizuru and Keiko would just think she was crazy, delirious from too much Windex fumes, if she told them.

Maybe she was. The thought entered her hazy mind with a deranged sort of humorous quality. She certainly felt like she was on the edge of her sanity. Perhaps she'd been thinking far too much about this issue, especially when it didn't concern her in the first place.

She was far from admitting defeat, but she did admit that she might need a break from all of her 'investigating'. With a small sigh, she decided to push it aside for the time being. Today, all she intended to do was clean the top floor and then take a long, well needed nap.


She was cleaning the bathrooms, hoping that a mediocre job would cut it. She had to use much stronger cleaning products to clean the bathrooms then those for the bedrooms, and she wasn't sure if her headache could take it anymore. She scrubbed Hiei's sink, letting a yawn escape. Today wasn't one of those 'get-done-early' days. If anything, her tired, stressed demeanor was making her slower.

Her hand bumped across a medicine bottle, spilling it's contents across the counter top. Admitting a silent curse under her breath, she quickly scooped them up in her hands, pouring them back into their container, grateful the counter had just been cleaned. As she was screwing the lid back on, she glanced at the label.

Her eyebrows furrowed together curiously. Sleeping pills? When had Hiei started using sleeping pills? She didn't go through the cupboards, so as far as she knew, he could have always been using them. Did he have trouble sleeping because of a disorder... or something else? She thought of her own previous night, haunted by nightmares.

She walked to one of the main cupboards and opened it, carefully placing the pills inside. Maid policy demanded that she close it immediately, but she let her eyes linger over the contents. The masculine bottles and products clearly stated that this was a male's bathroom. She was surprised to see only one bottle of cologne, and it looked as if it had only been used about five times.

The overpowering scent he seems to always carry about him must be natural.

She blushed quickly, shutting the door of the cupboard. She realized it would have to be though, because he smelled like a mixture of soap, pine and a musky, powerful aroma she couldn't quite place.

Done with his bathroom, she walked into the hall, yawning again. She felt a fresh wave of exhaustion overtake her. She nearly stumbled, but she managed to clear her mind and right herself. She couldn't keep cleaning like this; she felt like she was going to pass out. She glanced warily at the guest room that hadn't been blown up. If she was remembering correctly, the bed was still in tact.

Perhaps she could take a quick hour long nap, just to rejuvenate herself, before finishing the rest of the top floor. Almost wanting to cry at the prospect of some sleep, she went into the guest room, curling up on the bed. She didn't bother to take apart the folded bedding. She was comfortable merely sleeping on top of it.

She'd only been asleep for about five minutes when she awoke with a start, cold sweat forming across her face, the images of the nightmare flashing through her brain. She felt an overwhelmed lump form in her throat, her eyes stinging with unshed tears, but she forced herself not to cry. The lack of sleep was taking it's emotional toll on her as well. She knew it wasn't really a valid reason to break down in tears.

Oh, but it seemed like it! Would she ever be able to get a decent nights sleep, if these nightmares continued to prevent her from long-termed slumber? She froze, suddenly remembering Hiei's sleeping pills. They hadn't been over-the-counter, they had been prescription, but that didn't worry her. Even if they were really strong, she needed really strong right now. And all human bodies could tolerate only so much medication, so if it didn't kill him, it wouldn't kill her.

She rolled out of the bed and practically jogged back to Hiei's bathroom. She easily picked the bottle out of the cupboard, having just placed it there, and unscrewed the lid. She paused, debating on how many to take. She felt like she needed five, but natural caution and common sense warned her against it.

She only removed one with her still manicured fingers. She decided that if one didn't work, she could always come back and take another few. She popped it into her mouth, swallowing easily, never having been someone that needed water for pills. She had just begun screwing the lid back on the bottle when her mind suddenly felt as if two bolts of lightning had crashed into both sides of her brain. Her mind reeled and she took a few stumbling steps backwards. Everything began spinning in front of her eyes.

And then, exhaustion hit. She fell to her knees, her limbs feeling like they weighed one hundred pounds each. She suddenly felt so... tired... Struggling hard to keep her eyes open, she began crawling towards the door. She had to at least make it to a bed. But her mind felt so clouded, and a nice tile floor was perfectly comfy anyway...

Suddenly, she was alleviated as she was surrounded by strong arms and lifted up, her face buried in a warm, solid, chest. She wrapped one arm about his neck as he lifted her a little higher and then stood.

"Hiei?"

"Who else?" came the gruff reply above her. He moved around the bathroom a little more, and she barely heard a distinguished curse vibrate through his chest and throat. His grip on her became almost painful and he carried her out of the bathroom.

The stormed pace in which he moved was making it difficult for her to drift off into inevitable slumber, as much as she wanted to. The tension thrumming through his body should have alerted her to fact that he was in a fine rage, but all she could concentrate on was the thrumming in her own mind, urging her to sleep.

She felt him savagely kick open the door to a room, carrying her into what she recognized must be his own room, due to the dark colors swirling in her vision. He set her on the bed. She was at first very grateful for the nice mattress and pillow, but she was rudely prevented from sleeping once again as he took her face into his hands.

She could barely focus, but she slowly met his cruel gaze. "You stupid, stupid, woman," he hissed. She cringed. She couldn't have imagined a voice colder. It had lost it's usual richness and appeal, cutting into her mind like tiny daggers. It was also keeping her awake, much to her annoyance.

She tried to turn away, to wriggle away from him, but he only held tighter. "Look at me!" he insisted. She shut her eyes in defiance. That was all it took. She could feel herself drifting away from consciousness behind closed, heavy eyelids.

She wouldn't have thought anything could have brought her tumbling back to reality, but that same voice did. It managed to penetrate through her thick cloud of fatigue.

"Open your eyes, now. Look at me."

It was frightening. It stabbed her senses, as if forcing them to do his will. It was so powerful, it didn't seem like it took strength to obey him. Rather, it took strength to disobey him, and strength was something she didn't have right now.

She slowly opened her eyes to look at him. Hiei's crimson-hued eyes stared back at her, filled with torrents of things she couldn't understand in the least. "How many did you take?" he asked tightly.

It took her a moment to realize he was talking about the pills. "Only . . . only one . . ."

She'd obeyed the voice and now she couldn't hold up against the effects of the pill anymore. She passed into slumber like a train entering a dark tunnel.

Hiei slowly relinquished his hold on her, allowing himself to relax somewhat. Only one... She'd probably be alright. She'd sleep for a long time, to be sure, but if she was tired to begin with, it probably wouldn't send her into a coma because her body would absorb the rest.

However, probably was the operative word there. He couldn't be sure. The worry wasn't gone, but it had faded somewhat. He wasn't the type to experience large bouts of panic, fear or anything related. Anger, vengeance... those were more his style.

But this infuriating woman insisted upon making him feel those unfamiliar emotions. It was the second time. The first time, he'd found her in the guest room, sleeping in an awkward position on the floor. But this time, he'd been passing through the hall, and spotted her in the open door of his bathroom. At first, he'd brushed it off indifferently, figuring she was cleaning. And then he watched her fall.

In that moment, he had known intense terror. The thoughts that had circled through his brain at that moment even now made his mouth feel slick with the taste of fear. Was she ill? Was she having complications from old injuries? Was she dead? Now that he was able to look back upon his fevered thoughts, he realized that it had been foolish to assume she'd simply died, but that assumption had been a powerfully terrifying one. It had made his defenses, his thick barriers that he had built around himself the past week to ensure he didn't get too attached to her, crumble in an instant.

When he'd seen his open bottle of sleeping pills on the counter, his fear only intensified. He didn't know what had possessed her to take them, but he did know what they could do to a human body. Kurama, being the unofficial doctor he was, had created them for him after seeing how stressed and on edge he'd been. They were powerful, very powerful. Too many could have killed her. One had the possibility of sending her into a coma. He'd taken up to three a night, but of course he could handle them simply as sleep inducers. He was a demon. That kind of medication was only meant for the strong stability of demon blood.

He tugged a hand through his hair, glancing at her sleeping form. He would have to worry about this later. Right now he was already late for a meeting with Kurama.


He was trying very hard to stay focused. His poor assistant was probably about ready to stick him on caffeine pills with the way he'd been drifting off. He didn't need this right now. The full moon was less than three nights away, they had no lead on the Toguro brothers and Yukina hadn't called him back. And Botan seemed to add additional strain to everything, because he couldn't focus on anything but her. And now he'd likely killed her trying to get rid of some of the strain by actually sleeping at night.

Everything would be easier if she was gone.

It wasn't the first time he'd had that thought. But then he usually changed his mind because he'd realize everything would not be easier. The prospect of living entirely without her was not a very inviting one. Besides the fact that he'd still think about her all the time, even if she wasn't around.

There was no peace to be had anymore, not anywhere or in any situation. And more frighteningly enough, he was getting used to feeling like this. It was weakness, and he resented the thought of succumbing to it. Confusion, anger and even, disgusting though it was, a bit of lust.

He couldn't help the lustful part, unfortunately, but he thought he might be able to smother everything else with a thick coat of fake indifference. If he'd stop rushing to her rescue every time he thought she'd died (twice in two days already), then she would have no reason to believe that he liked her at all. Or he could simply tell her to her face, and she would grow to dislike him afterwards.

He imagined the scenario in his head. She'd be sitting somewhere, in her blue dress. If he was going to fantasize, he was at least going to have everything how he wanted it. He'd simply approach her and say, as coldly as possibly, that he didn't particularly like her and if she'd do her best to stay out of his way, that would be great.

And then... and then what would she say? He closed his eyes. She'd slowly rise to her feet, walk over to him and lace her arms over his shoulders. She'd speak softly, look at him with those kind eyes he was so unfamiliar with... 'Don't lie, Hiei,' she'd say softly, closing the distance between them. 'Don't ever lie to me again.'

His eyes flew open in rage, cursing viciously in every language he knew. Cursing because he knew his dream-Botan was right: lies were for the weak. He would have to face this.

But he couldn't right now. Not with all the difficulties piling up around them. He would have to wait until the full moon had passed. Assuming, of course, that he was still alive afterwards.

"I have good news," Kurama said.

Hiei glanced at him. "Oh?" Good news was something he hadn't heard in awhile.

"Okay, first of all, Yukina got your message and left a number for you to reach her."

Hiei didn't even try to hide the loud sigh of relief he gave. With Toguro suddenly deciding to strike, he wanted his sister where he could protect her. He'd call her later.

"And secondly, we have a small lead..."

Hiei felt his bad mood passing slowly. This was turning out to be exceptional news.

"...but you're not going to like it."

Or perhaps not.

Kurama sighed. "We found out where the Toguro brothers are going to be tomorrow night - one night before the full moon, I'm sure I don't have to remind you."

"And?" Hiei prodded when Kurama paused.

"And it's at the Moonlight Banquet."

If that name was supposed to be significant in some way, Hiei didn't catch it. "Okay... and how is that bad?"

Kurama shot him an irritated look. Hiei could tell he was suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. "That's Hiwatari's banquet. The one you declined invite to three times."

"Oh." Hiei's shoulders slumped. "That one."

He decided he considered it more bad news, than good. Going would mean having to swallow his pride and more irritating, it meant playing nice to that disgusting slob Hiwatari. Another unpleasant thought crossed his mind.

"So... I go, you stay here at the mansion..."

"Yes." Kurama looked amused and a little lost. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

"And I'm taking..." Hiei trailed off.

Kurama still didn't understand. "What?" At Hiei's distressed look, he realized what he was talking about. "Oh. A date? Well, I don't know about you, but I would take one, considering it's a formal, AKA take someone, banquet."

Hiei scowled. Kurama lifted a shoulder in a rueful shrug. "Look, I can find you a date. It's not that hard. You've have about twenty models that have been clawing at your door since you appeared in People magazine."

"No," Hiei said briskly. "I'm not going with some stick figure with too big lips that would probably be three feet taller than me anyway."

Kurama chuckled, raising his hands in defeat. "Fine, don't then. But I'd suggest getting someone soon."

"Who would you take?" Hiei asked through narrowed eyes.

In truth, Kurama thought he might ask Shizuru, but a devious plan formed in his mind upon seeing the suspicious look on Hiei's face. He smiled coyly, trying to look apathetic. "Oh, I don't know..." His eyes glinted as he looked at Hiei. "I think I would take Botan."

He got the reaction he expected. Hiei's eyes widened slightly and he gripped the pen in his hand so hard his knuckles turned white. In a moment, he regained composition of himself and gave Kurama a so-so interested smirk. Well played, Kurama thought, But I see through you.

"Oh?" He tried to remain cool and uncaring, but Kurama could feel the heat beginning to radiate from his body.

Kurama decided to delve into a point he'd felt like bringing up since he'd first made Hiei apologize to Botan. "You've got it bad."

"What?" Hiei demanded.

"She's got you strung tighter than I've ever seen you," he said with a little chuckle. "I've been with you through some pretty difficult circumstances. But you've never been like this."

"Never?" Hiei asked in angered disbelief, wanting a valid comparison.

"Never," Kurama said easily. "Even when Mukuro was around."

The heat increased a little, Hiei's visage darkening. Kurama spoke again, "It's happened, hasn't it."

"What?" he growled.

"You've found someone that's completely erased Mukuro from your mind."

Hiei's shock was evident, and Kurama readily prepared himself for the explosion, but it never happened. He was sure he'd heard incorrectly when Hiei said, "So what do I do about it?"

Kurama laughed. "You're asking me? How should I know?" He smiled amiably and shrugged. "Just be yourself."

Hiei gave him a disgusted look. "Thanks for the advice. Myself isn't exactly a pleasant companion."

"You mean you're an arrogant jerk sometimes?"

Hiei glared.

Figuring he'd better say something to ensure nothing got burned, Kurama pretended to think. "I've got to go. We'll talk later, after I tell Yusuke what a fool you're making of yourself."

Hiei came to his feet, presenting Kurama with a callous smirk. "Do it and you will be fired," he said almost casually. Kurama smiled and shook his head as Hiei walked out of the door, slamming it behind him.


It was late. Nearly, midnight actually. Hiei came back into the room, Kurama's words still buzzing in his mind. He chose not to flip on the main light, instead lighting a small lamp on his dresser that lit the room in dusky shadows. Lifting his gaze he looked over across his room, up to the large king sized bed in the center, raised on a small platform of a few steps. He could just discern the shape of Botan huddled beneath the blankets, the black gossamer curtains shading the details of her form from his sight. As he stared hard at her, his jaw tight, she turned in her sleep, her sigh only just reaching his ears, and flopped ungracefully onto her other side, muttering slightly.

He would have smirked at the sight if he had been able to find it within himself.

He couldn't.

He was worried because she was still asleep. Of course, the mannerisms she'd just displayed assured him that she wasn't in a coma, but that meant she should be awaking soon, not continuing to slumber. What had possessed her to take the sleeping pills in the first place? He wouldn't have thought she suffered from insomnia.

He walked to his bed and gazed down at her. He felt tired himself, but he certainly wasn't going to climb into bed with her in it. She didn't look like she'd be up anytime soon, either. Maybe she truly was as tired as he felt all of the time. He sighed, giving in to the fact that it would likely be a long, sleepless night for him.

She gripped his arm with sudden force, making him pause in his attempts to get off the bed. Her tears wetted the pillow as she was caught in the grip of some violent memory, her voice coming in strangled gasps, her eyes moving frantically behind eyelids closed in restless slumber.

She was having a nightmare. He reached a hand towards her, but paused as a name escaped her lips, a tortured, fearful whimper. "Hiei..."

He froze as the realization of her words hit him painfully. Was she . . . scared of him? Lots of people were. In fact, he could count the people not scared of him in some way or another on his fingers. But he hadn't thought that she...

He quelled the regret and self-remorse rising in his throat and gently placed a hand over her forehead. He used his Jagan powers to clear her mind, forcing her into dreamless slumber again. Her face relaxed and he removed his hand. He didn't like to use such mind powers against her again, for such a trivial matter. Before it was a matter of life and death, and he'd forced her to open her eyes and answer him before going into sleep. But now... maybe he was diluting himself into believing if he chased away her nightmares, she wouldn't have reason to fear him. But he knew one didn't create fear of someone out of subconscious thought alone. Something had to provoke it. Numerous things flashed across his memory that he might have done to provoke said fear from her. It had to be because of the book. While she might have thought she could tolerate himself as he was, he was probably utterly repulsive and frightening once she placed his true blood into view.

He wondered how she would feel waking up in his bed, and decided to transport her to her own room. He stood to his feet and gently pulled the covers back. He tried not jostle her too much when he hooked his arms under her knees and around her back.

Then it was just a matter of transporting her back to her own room. No one was awake, thankfully, but it was difficult to not run into anything when it was dark and he couldn't see his feet. She snuggled deeper into his hold. He flinched slightly at the affectionate contact, but kept his hold gentle as he carried her down the staircase and up the hall to her own room. Fortunately it wasn't locked and he maneuvered to open it without waking the sleeping girl in his arms.

He noticed that her room was significantly cleaner than he kept his own, and even though she'd only been living in it for a week or so, he could tell that she'd already personalized it with her own scent. That damn pleasant feminine scent of vanilla that radiated with softness.

He carefully set her down on the bed and drew the covers over her. She shifted in her sleep and snuggled into her pillow, murmuring a vague 'Thank you…" in her dreams.

"For what?" he snarled bitterly to himself. Not expecting a reply, he sighed and resisted the urge to brush aside the lock of hair that had fallen across her face. He didn't want to become a total mother just yet.

"Sweet dreams," he murmured softly before exiting the room and heading back to bed. Tomorrow he had a banquet to prepare for, not to mention getting Yukina settled in and he was already behind on sleep. And yet, he veered towards the music room instead of his own bedroom. A certain girl with a certain scent had just spent nearly sixteen hours in his bed. He knew he wouldn't get any sleep tonight even if he took ten of those sleeping pills. He sat down at the piano and began to play a dismal rendition of Prelude to Joy. He didn't know whether to feel accomplished or disgusted with himself when he managed to make such a song sound like a funeral tune.


J.J. - School, work, and multiple college courses are taking their toll on me, so I hardly have time to write anymore. But, I still push through for all you luffly readers. n.n; On that note, I would like to next introduce you to my review/hit ratio. For chapter six, there were 257 hits. Now, minus out all the times I, or other former readers, checked back to that page after reading, for numerous times... We'll say it's about 60 (and that's likely more than it is) so we're left with 200. I received 21 reviews for chapter six. So, roughly, one out of ten people who read my story leave a review.

Every now and then, please take the time to leave a review and tell me what you think of my story. You wouldn't think so, but reviews brighten my small, insignificant world. It's very discouraging to receive no encouragement or praise for your efforts. -.-; And for those of you that have reviewed– you rock. -hugsallaround-

RR: (Back by popular demand! -notreally-)

So Hiei and Kurama are still demons in this story, but does that mean that Botan has the ability to fly on her oar?

Nope. She just gets to be normal and defenseless. Muhahaha!

Botan: (-sweatdrop-)

But, during the full moon do the demons, ahem, feel more... lust as well as a violent instinct and more power?

O.o What! Who raised you, you sicko! Jest kidding– heh... me? (-blinkblink-) Include smooching passionately in the fanfic? Never.

Yusuke: She lies.

(-makes Hiei and Botan dolls kiss-)

Is Yusuke half demon? Love the way you described Hiei playing the piano. Makes me want to hear it! Oh man! What's Hiei going to do about Botan reading the book?

Yes, but he's currently unaware. Don't tell him.

Thanks, but like I said before, I get any music-describing talent from Mandy. She's amazing.

He's going to fire her of course. -.-;

Wonderful chapter. I was a little disappointed that Hiei didn't kiss Botan. But I enjoyed it all the same. gives a cookie

(-shrug-) At least I got a cookie out of it.

Yummy, yummy, yummy, yummy!

Hopefully this chapter was just as appetizing. n.n

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(Next chapter: Jealousy and Invites)