J.J. - Sorry for the uber long delay. I don't even have a long chapter to make up for it. Yarr... But, thanks to everyone that actually cared that I took three months to update. I felt loved. But more so pressured to get an update in.

Blame da computer virus.

Anyway, thanks to you guys I'm officially Hiei plushie-less. The movie was in fact "Shall We Dance." It was the whole explanation of spanish dancing. And YES I slipped in a Zorro one too, so major kudos if you caught both. (-reluctantly hands out plushies-)


Chapter Eleven

The Contact

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Previous chapter (since I know many of you have forgotten):

She looked at Hiei's face just as they entered the bridge. He was entirely focused on said river, and she could literally feel his muscles poised beneath her. Her eyes widened as realization caught.

She didn't even have time to mutter an 'oh no', before they jumped.


Botan screamed. She could see the water rushing up towards them. It was probably freezing. They were going to crash, freeze and die, they were going–

She gasped as impact came, but to her surprise, it wasn't impact with water. Her grip tightened particularly hard on Hiei; she was sure she had severed one of his wind pipes or something. She dared to glance around, surprised to see the water still below them. She glanced back at her savior and current lever and finally realized that he was holding on to one of the bottom rungs of the bridge. They were dangling, suspended above the river below.

She would have expected, holding up both of their weight, that he would be shaking with the strain. But as she observed him, it became clear that the action was practically effortless for him. Incredible.

She gulped nervously, her arms beginning to hurt because she was holding so tightly to him. "Hiei–"

He hushed her harshly and she clamped her mouth shut in obedience. The air was tense with their silence, Hiei's expression tight with concentration. Just as she was beginning to wonder what could be the point of them remaining so still, the bridge began rumbling with the force of several cars speeding over it. Hiei grimaced a little, struggling to maintain his grip as wood vibrated in his hands. In seconds, the cars had passed and everything was quiet again, save for the distant noises of the city.

She glanced downward, paling a little at the river moving below them. "Now what?"

He gave a short chuckle that sounded anything but warm or amused. "You just keep holding on to me until I say different."

"Er..."

She gasped as their position suddenly shifted upwards. Hoisting them both up much like he was doing a regular chin-up, Hiei managed to pull their combined weights over the edge of the bridge. Shocked, and more than a little impressed, she watched with a dumbfounded expression as he stood to his feet, brushing at his ruined suit pants.

Panting slightly, he offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet when she wordlessly slid her hand into his. "Come on, they're going to realize we're not in the limo soon, and then they'll come looking."

Wordlessly, she followed him into the dank streets of the downtown part of the city. Hiei stuck mostly to the alleys, much to her dismay – she already felt damp and cold, not to mention severely freaked outl. She was about to suggest taking a bus home, when the roar of several expensive engines echoed down the deserted street.

Hiei's eyes flashed and he tugged on her hand again. "Move it!" He took off into a sprint down the sidewalk, and Botan had to run as fast as her legs would carry her just to keep up with him.

Rather than take the risk of crossing a busy junction on a red light, Hiei turned sharply down a set of steps. Botan yelped in surprise as her arm was practically ripped from it's socket at the sudden turn. The steps led down into an avenue lined with cheap, terraced houses. Not entirely sure if he was running into a dead end, Hiei carried on through the avenue at a steadier speed than before. The engines in the distance seemed to be multiplying, growing louder with each passing second, and Hiei was beginning to take random turns and corners in an attempt to find what he was looking for.

Botan looked around anxiously, breathing hard from the exertion of running. "Where are we going now?"

"Shh!" Hiei glanced in the direction of the intensifying sound of high-motor vehicles approaching at a speed far above the designated limit. He probably had less than three minutes to get off the road and find a place to hide.

Salvation came in a row of old, rusted garages.

Hiei signaled at Botan to remain quiet. She continued to watch Hiei in befuddlement as he walked alongside the garage doors, knocking on each one with a deliberate, hard tap. He suddenly stopped beside a grey door with peeling paint and knocked it again for good measure, listening to the echo inside. "Good," he said and quickly bent down to yank the door up.

Whatever lock had been holding it down snapped like a twig under Hiei's strength, and the door surged upwards to reveal a dusty, but very empty garage. Crooking a finger at Botan, the Koorime said, "Get inside, quick."

Botan didn't need to be told twice, and she hastily scurried into the murky shelter and peered around the gloomy interior. Hiei joined her a few moments later. Once they were both safely inside, Hiei tugged the door down - effectively plunging them into darkness.

A beat of silence passed as no one moved, breathed or said a word, and they listened as a group of four or five cars could be heard only a street or two away.

"Hiei, I–"

He made a noise to silence her. Out of the pitch darkness, a warm hand closed around her wrist and tugged her towards the back of the garage. There, she was sat down on the cold concrete ground with her back to the wall as Hiei settled down beside her.

"Can't we turn on the light?" Botan whispered.

"No," he responded, shaking his head. "Someone might see it."

She shivered, hugging her knees to herself. Stupid, skimpy college dress...

Suddenly, the rove of several cars parking along the alley came nearer, followed by shouts of voices. It was hard to discern what they were saying, but she did catch 'Jaganshi', 'bastard' and '...lost him...'.

They waited with baited breath until they heard the distinct sound of the cars pulling away again. Botan let out the breath she'd been holding in relief. It was scary to think that someone had actually been chasing them... and they had just barely escaped. And that had been so small feat, to say the least.

"Hiei..."

He made no response, but she felt him shift next to her. "What's going on?"

Nothing but silence. Impatiently, she persisted, "Hiei?"

Again, nothing but the cold air drifted between them. Finally, he said softly, "It's very complicated."

"I can see that," she bit off sarcastically. When he offered no further reply, she rolled her eyes and turned away from him. He obviously wasn't going to elaborate any further. She was freezing, and her head was now beating to the tune of a steady drum, the last minutes playing 'cops and robbers' taking their toll. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly to stop any tears. She was still angry at him for toying with her heart, whether he did it on purpose or not, and now she was angry because he thought she was ignorant and naive enough to not know that something was going on. She wasn't stupid. She knew it had to do with demons, the Toguro brothers, the bomb... did he think those things had just slipped right by her?

"You're shivering," he stated quietly.

How he could tell, she didn't know. They weren't touching, and it was still very dark. "I'm f-fine.." Her own stutter gave her away. Why hadn't she just brought one of her old jackets?

"Here..." He reached for her arm, but she tugged out of his grasp.

"I said I'm fine, Hiei."

"Don't be such a fool," he replied hotly.

She shifted farther away from him. "I don't need you to take care of me all of the time."

Hiei didn't answer, glowering at her in the dark. She was acting so immature. Couldn't she see that she could very well freeze to death wearing nothing but that dress? Well, it was certainly none of his business, and he wasn't going to sit there and argue with her over her well being. She could freeze to death for all he cared.

He sighed, slumping further down against the cold wall, his mood considerably worsened. Yes, it was apparent that despite everything that had happened, things could indeed get worse. He tried, mostly in vain, to make sense of the turmoil of thoughts in his mind. What was stopping him from just telling Botan what was going on? She had proved herself to be a trustworthy enough employee. He could at least grace her with the bare minimal so she wouldn't be so confused.

But telling her what was going on would mean telling her what he was. And she was scared of what he was– she was scared of him already. He groaned and pushed his hands into his hair. Everything would just be easier if she was gone.

"When can we leave?" Botan whispered.

"In an hour."

"That long!" Her distress was evident.

"We have to be certain that they're not paroling this street anymore," he explained.

"Then what?" she asked flatly. "We walk home?"

"No..." His voice grew considerably quieter. "I have a ... contact."

She accepted this answer and tried to curl into herself to make herself warmer. She had just started into another round of shivers when Hiei spoke, "Will you please come here?"

She was tired. Her mind couldn't handle the stress of being close to him. "What for?"

"You're going to freeze to death."

"What do you care?"

"I don't," he said, and she felt her mood blacken even more. "But I don't want an employee death on my hands."

She scoffed. "How tragic for you–" She gasped as two hands wrapped around her waist and she was pulled towards him. In seconds she was so close she was almost sitting on him, his arms wrapped around her. She went stiff as a board, her breath catching.

"Relax," he smirked. She had no intention of doing any such thing. "Give me your hand."

Reluctantly, she did so. She felt his fingers encase around her own. "Now, just close your eyes and try to put your mind elsewhere."

"But, it's dark."

"How observant you are," he said sarcastically. "It's to help you relax."

Skeptical, she raised an eyebrow (although he couldn't see), before finally closing her eyes. She did need to relax before her headache erupted into one of the dreadful migraines she was prone to. "Okay."

He began tracing circles against her palm. She admitted it felt nice, but she couldn't see how this was helping her to keep warm. Suddenly, as if someone had struck a match inside her hand, a warm fire seemed to literally spring from his finger and into her palm. The warm flame spread through her arm, as if it were traveling through her veins. She gave a soft, pleasured sigh as it slowly spread through every inch of her body, filling her with complete warmth.

The heat made her languid, and brought her exhaustion to the surface. It wasn't every day that she was thrown into such a crazy adrenaline-pumping chase. Her weariness was beginning to catch up to her, and Hiei's warmth was very soothing for her frazzled nerves. It was only too easy for her to lay her head down on his shoulder and fall into a light slumber, encased in the relaxing scent of a protective male and the warmth of his body.


Botan blinked herself awake, taking in her darkened surroundings. Her heart quickened as she realized she had no idea where she was, but slowly regulated to it's normal state as last night's memories came back to her. Judging by the faintest traces of light streaming through the top windows, they'd been there longer than the originally planned hour. She tilted her head up to look at Hiei, careful with her movements so as not to wake him. She couldn't help her lip curling upward a little. His head was drooped in sleep, lips parted slightly. His hair was slightly messed, and his previously crisp white shirt was wrinkled and twisted awkwardly around his upper body.

She knew he would never want to be described as such, but he was simply adorable. She wanted to touch him. Slowly, so as not to disturb the peace across his features, she brought a hand up to trace against his jaw line, his eyebrows, even his jet black hair, which was surprisingly soft.

And the bandanna.

She bit her lip, feeling curiosity itch at her fingers. But she drew her hand back. She could, but she wouldn't. She had curled deeper into his shoulder, deciding to attempt to go back to sleep, when the thought occurred to her that she was wrapped in Hiei's arms, and she didn't care.

It was like her frustration with him before had never even happened. Again! It seemed that no matter what disruptive event was hurtled at her, the subtle longing for him, the happiness she often felt around him, never faltered. Their relationship was a complicated twist of up and downs that never seemed to make any sense. She was so confused and tired by it all.

Love never was easy.

Her eyes flew wide at her own thought. Where had that come from? She couldn't... she didn't love Hiei.

...did she?

She shifted herself so she could look at him from an easier angle. After a painfully long moment of thought, she closed her weary eyes. Her panic, her shame, all the furious attempts at denial that would blind her to the truth—these things had drifted away with the cool night wind. She knew then, with a sudden, perfect, horrible clarity, that she loved him.

She lowered her her, her chest constricting. Tears blurred her eyes as she studied her trembling hands. She had fallen in love with a seclusive, cynical man who would never return her affections. Not only that, but she had fallen in love with a demon. The thought hit her with a sudden intensity that both terrified and shocked her, and she wrenched out of their comfortable position, stumbling uneasily to her feet.

The sudden loss of heat shook Hiei awake and he immediately tensed as he realized Botan wasn't near him. His nerves relaxed somewhat as he saw her standing a few feet away, but the strained expression on her face made it impossible to be fully relieved. "Botan?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice. "I think it's been an hour," she said tonelessly.

The fact that he could see her was proof enough that she was right. He regarded her suspiciously. "Let's... leave then."

She nodded vigorously, avoiding his gaze. He felt annoyed that he couldn't get over his concern about why she was acting so strangely, but it couldn't be helped. He sighed, giving her a flat look. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. Too quickly.

He arched an eyebrow. Her nervous gestures would suggest she had something to hide... but what could have happened in the mere time that they'd been asleep that would give her cause to hide from him? He debated on whether to challenge her dismissal for a moment, but with a grudging annoyance, decided against it. If she didn't want to tell him, then fine. She still wasn't his business.

He stood to his feet, letting out a small groan as a severe ache in his shoulders made itself known. He rolled the joint, stretching the rest of his sore, tired muscles as the final, hazy edges of sleep left him in prolonged fatigue. He could feel Botan's eyes on him.

"What?" he asked stiffly, bringing his eyes up to meet hers.

He expected her to blush and glance away. But she continued to stare, a listless look in her eyes. She gave a long sigh, that unnerving apathy still present in the violet eyes. "You mentioned a contact?"

Hiei struggled to come up with an immediate response, her actions confusing him to the point of temporary silence. "Er...um, yeah," He coughed slightly. He jerked his head towards the door, motioning her to follow him.

She took his lead to the gray door, standing a hefty distance away as he hoisted it open. A rusty sounding noise creaked it's protest as the early morning light spilled into the damp space. He turned to look behind him. Botan still had that distant look in her eyes, standing carefully to the side. She was looking in his direction, but she was looking through him, focusing on nothing in particular. Was she still traumatized from last night? Therapy bills once again flashed through his mind, as it seemed nothing short of intense therapeutic work was going to snap her out of whatever daze she was lost in.

"Botan..." He approached her, touching her lightly on the shoulder.

Her eyes focused again with a sharp intensity and she recoiled from him as if burned. He felt a small pang of hurt, quickly removing his hand.

"Sorry–" he began.

"Please," she interrupted in a small voice. She wouldn't meet his gaze. "Please... don't touch me."

Something other than anger seized him, whispering treacherous thoughts into his weary mind. It was a cold, familiar sensation, akin to loneliness, or despair. He was well acquainted with both. An unnatural tension rolled through him, creating a rigid posture, and he clenched his fists in a hollow attempt to relax himself. He offered no reply to her comment, turning sharply and walking into the dank streets with a curt, "Hurry," in her direction.

Her behavior shed a bit of light on her current feelings. He had not thought to view the previous night's events through her mind, but now that he had, he could only assume that she no longer held any doubts to the existence of demons. As if he could blame her; the happenings hadn't been... normal, to say the least. And with that knowledge would come a renewed sense of fear towards him. She had been frightened before, he could remember so clearly, and his heritage would only add another log to the fire.

He glanced absently behind him down the street and instantly cursed himself for his own thoughtlessness, turning fully around. In his mental dissection he had obviously gone a bit too fast– Botan was half a block behind him, shivering slightly. Another curse escaped his lips, this time simply for the cold-blooded creature that he had been born as.

She caught up, an embarrassed blush across her cheeks, her eyes downcast. "You didn't have to wait,"she muttered.

He didn't answer. He was somehow finding it difficult to speak to her. His eyes swept the dark, tattered buildings, familiarizing himself with their surroundings. He recognized the street names with a certain degree of surprise and guilt that they had really made fast time.

A soft sound of pain drove his attention back to Botan. She had a hand pressed to her head, one eye clamped shut in agony. He felt that familiar rush of panic overtake him before he was able to, with a good deal of self irritation, note his concern in a reasonable manner.

"Are you alright?"

Well, that certainly cleared up the matter of finding it difficult to speak to her. And usually he was so good at 'the cold shoulder'.

"Yes," she replied with a soft hiss. "It's just a headache."

For one brief moment, hope swelled, but it was quickly crushed, bringing him, if possible, to a lower state of despair. Could a headache be the problem to her avoidance of him? Of course not. And it only served to further piss him off to know that he would even entertain that excuse in the first place, for however brief.

"We're almost there," he said, to which she nodded silently.

If he could remember anyway... He began walking, this time at a slow pace, keeping his eyes trained for what he was looking for. It was this street, he knew, but he was finding it difficult to remember the entrance. He hadn't been there in so long... but he could remember that it was hidden, impossible to find for the uninformed eye. He suppressed a growl of frustration. It would make things a lot easier if he could use his Jagan eye. That was how he found it his first time after all, but with Botan right there...

Free peanuts.

He stopped so abruptly that Botan might have ran into him if she hadn't already been walking a good couple of feet behind him. He looked at the tattered sign against the grimy wall advertising the nut slogan. It was on the inside corner of a darkened alleyway and he had almost missed it. Almost missed it because she had distracted his mind (big surprise). Anger... was still slow in coming. Damn it. What he wouldn't give to have the ability to just get mad at her every once in awhile...

Reluctantly, he ran his fingers over the stone beneath the sign, feeling carefully... two over... distinct crack... There. Gritting his teeth, he gave a hard shove. The wall, or at least a small portion of it, shifted to his will, bending in. The hidden doorway revealed a small, sewage smelling tunnel.

"That's it?" Botan spoke from behind him, crinkling her nose.

He crooked a small smile at her. "That's it."

He began to make his way inside. "The floor," he said, bracing his hands against the inner walls, "is very slimy. Don't slip."

She frowned. "Gee, thanks."

He led her into the damp passage, checking over his shoulder to make sure she made it in alright. It was a very tight fit, and even he had to stoop a little to make sure the top of his hair didn't get coated with slime. There was two inches of sludge on the floor, seeping into his once shiny shoes with every step. Disgust and general nausea swept through him and he grit his teeth in an effort to forego any expletives that would express how he felt.

He heard a sick groan behind him. "I think I'm going to be sick."

He looked over his shoulder. She did look really pale... and green.

"It's not much farther," he muttered, turning his head forward again. Looking at her was making him want to relive his lunch as well.

He had been right. In a few minutes, the end of the tunnel was visible, but those few minutes seemed to stretch on forever, like a prolonged dentist appointment that really, really stank. By the time they reached the concrete door, Botan was struggling to walk straight. Her hand was still on her head, so he wasn't sure if it was due more to the sewage, or her headache. "Come here," he said and placed an arm around her waist to steady her. She didn't protest, leaning in to him for support.

Using one hand, he opened the door, pushing it open with the heel of his foot. From the door, there were several cement stairs, leading to another door, this one wood and not rotting. Instantly grateful there were only a few steps, he bent down and hooked his arm under Botan's knees, hoisting her up against him. She gave only a groan in response. She might have muttered something like, "I don't need help..." but he wasn't sure.

He knocked against the door and held his breath. He hadn't really had time to think of how she might respond to him suddenly showing up and...

The door opened, revealing a heavily clothed woman.

"Hiei." Her tone was flat and emotionless. No surprise, no wariness about the woman in his arms... nothing.

He gave a small, tight-lipped smile.

"Mukuro."


J.J. - Bum bum. But just know, I actually do like Mukruo. As a respectable audience member. As a fangirl... I say she's a heartless biatch and I don't know what Hiei sees in her. >

Next Chapter - Piano