Title: Just One Night
Pairing: Hiei x Botan
Genre: Romance, hints of my attempts at humor
Warnings: OOC, implied sex Nothing graphic.
Summary: One night, they'd agreed. One night, and they'd never speak of it again. But it's difficult to forget, and someone isn't very good at keeping secrets.

Notes: Sorry this took so long in coming. Packing for college has made me plenty distracted. This'll be the last update for a while since I'm starting school soon, but please don't give up on this story. It will be finished.

Also, no one has said anything about my format being confusing, but just so we're all up to speed, the beginning of this chapter is still part of the flashback. There's a centered note that indicates when the story goes back to the "present," which is three months after the Dark Tournament. If I'm not mistaken (and I don't think I am, since I've got this story pretty much planned out), the last "flashback" scene will take place in the next chapter. Once again, any questions, just ask.

Finally, I'm glad you all seem to like this story. Truth be told, I'm actually a bit surprised, but I'm certainly not complaining!

Please accept my humble thanks. I hope I don't disappoint. ;)

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, it's still not mine.

The moment Botan stepped into the living room, she redefined everything she ever held "chaos" to be, because the ridiculous tableau in front of her had to be the only description.

Yuusuke was sitting on the maroon sofa, smirking in amusement as he watched Hiei attempt to strangle Kuwabara. The latter, whose face was rapidly turning the precise shade of her hair, was flailing on the ground, flailing his arms in an attempt to gain some sort of purchase. Next to them, or rather, on top of them, Kurama had developed a tic mark in his forehead, wondering how the hell he got himself trapped on a team with such children. He was currently preoccupied with prying Hiei's hands off of Kuwabara's throat.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Luckily, the sound of a slight cough saved her from having to make the choice. The Prince of Spirit World was standing in the doorway of their hotel room.

"Should I even ask?"

"Isn't it way past your bedtime?"

"Yuusuke, shut up."

Kurama, once again playing the role of mediator, interrupted their banter.

"Koenma, is there a reason you've come to see us?"

The Reikai Prince looked slightly startled at the interruption, but after one last jibe at Yuusuke, answered the spirit fox.

"Not really. It's just that—"

A sudden yelp from Kuwabara cut through the conversation. Apparently, Yuusuke had "accidentally" knocked an open can of soda onto the lap of the unsuspecting Kuwabara.

"Urameshi! Darn it! Now, I gotta go change."

After one last punch (which Yuusuke cleanly deflected), the orange-haired teen stomped off to his room to put on another pair of pants. Since no one else seemed inclined to, Botan rushed off into the kitchen to get some napkins to clean up the rest of the mess.

"Hey Koenma...we need five fighters right? For the match tomorrow, I mean."

Koenma quirked a brow in mild confusion, but swiftly brought it back down when he remembered what Yuusuke was implying. With Genkai's unexpected death, Team Urameshi was short one fighter. They would be in danger of disqualification if only four showed up the next morning.

"Ahh...right. That would be a problem."

Hiei tuned out the rest of the conversation after vaguely registering that Koenma would be their stand-in. His mind was still trying to wrap itself around the events of tonight.

But why?

No strings, that was the unspoken agreement.

Right then.

The only things he should have been concentrating on tonight were the Finals matches. They needed to play their hand very carefully if they wanted to win. He was cut off from his internal debate by the arrival of Kuwabara, now dressed in a white wifebeater and green, baggy shorts.

"Uh guys...I just thought of something."

"Congratulations."

"Shut up, half-pint! Anyway, where's Genkai? I haven't seen her since this afternoon. And did you guys get a load of that energy blast earlier? Whoo! I'd hate to be on the wrong end of that."

"Hn. It figures that a moron like you wouldn't pick up on it. You mean to tell me, that with all your 'spiritual awareness' you can't tell that she' been—"

"Sick. She's...sick, Kuwabara. She's resting with the other girls right now." Yuusuke's voice was quivering as he interrupted, but if Kuwabara noticed, he didn't call him on it.

"Sick, huh? Well shouldn't Kurama be healing her or something?"

"Yukina's taking care of it, Kuwabara," said Botan, from the kitchen door.

"Oh. Well that's good then, right?"

No one answered him. She took the damp napkins and proceeded to clean the now sticky-mess on the coffee table. Afterwards, she said her goodbyes, and walked off, presumably to go to (her own) bed. As soon as she was gone, Kuwabara picked up what Hiei had hoped was a forgotten subject.

"So, shorty. You and Botan, huh?"

Koenma's eyes widened and his mouth dropped.

"Whaaat?"

"...I thought we'd agreed to stop this nonsense. There's nothing between me and that ferry girl."

Kuwabara snickered.

"You're right about that, shorty. There was absolutely nothing between you and Botan when we came in."

Koenma's left eye twitched. He hated being out of the loop, and if the smirk that Kuwabara was sporting was any indication, this was big. He looked at Hiei, who was doing an admirable job at faking indifference. In fact, if he weren't clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, Koenma might have believed his muttered denials.

"Ok. What am I missing and which one of you did it?"

Reikai, three months later

He had to have known.

Koenma had been strangely wary of her since they'd gotten back from the Ankoku Bujutsukai. His teasing jibes about her being a ditz had all been replaced by careful queries about her mood. He was being almost...kind.

If that wasn't odd enough, there were times when she'd catch him looking at her, only for him to look away and snicker when she noticed and looked back at him.

Suspicious behavior indeed from the spoiled brat of Spirit World.

She was interrupted from her musing by the sound of a soft knock against her room door. She reflexively raised her hand to wipe away a few wayward tears and was pleasantly surprised to encounter only soft skin. As she walked over to answer the door, she mentally ran a check of who it might be. Koenma never left the office, except to go to the cafeteria and George was too busy running around doing his errands to have time to visit.

She opened her door to find none other than Ayame. The dark-haired, reserved ferry girl held senior rank amongst all of the grim reapers and she was someone Botan tried desperately hard to emulate when she'd first started working for the Koenma. She was soothing in the way that Yukina was; a long, cool drink of water compared to Botan's soda-pop personality.

"Oh! Hello Ayame! Would you like to come in?"

The other ferry girl shook her head and smiled gently at Botan.

"No, Botan, that's all right. I only came to tell you that Lord Koenma has been looking for you. He'd like to see you in his office, now, if you're not busy."

They both exchanged a look at this. Botan knew that "if you're not busy" really meant "get your butt here yesterday."

"Thanks for the heads up. Please tell him I'm coming."

As she straightened up her kimono, she couldn't help but wonder if this had anything to do with a mission for Yuusuke. It would be good to see them all again.

To see...him, again.

Botan shook her head to rid herself of the troublesome thought.

It was one night, Botan. Get over it and start acting like a grown-up.

If there was one thing anyone needed to know about Koenma, prince of the Spirit World, half-baby, half-man, it was that he hated taking orders.

Unless they were from his Dad.

Or from someone scary.

Who could hurt him.

Now granted, Yuusuke Urameshi could be any of these things—except for his Dad, and for that Koenma thanked...himself every day—but Koenma didn't think he counted. Street punk or not, Yuusuke was only his Spirit Detective, one whose very existence was possible, all thanks to him.

And Atsuko.

Shudder. That was one thought he did not need.

In any case, Koenma thought it amusing that Yuusuke could suddenly just call Koenma from his itsy-bitsy, Reikai-issued, compact-communicator and order him to send Botan to Earth so that they could have a party.

Ha! Who did he think he was?

God?

Please. That title was reserved for Koenma.

Ahem.

Getting back to his detective's order, the deity thought about his options. He could outright refuse, just because Yuusuke had taken that particular tone of voice with him.

Yeah, that'd show him! Who's the baby now?

And he would have, if he hadn't agreed with the delinquent in thinking that Botan had been acting very unlike herself in the past three months.

Koenma knew that, contrary to popular belief, Yuusuke Urameshi was not stupid. Idiotic, maybe. Brash, certainly. Even reckless. But he was not stupid. On the few times he'd seen her since the Dark Tournament, Yuusuke told Koenma, Botan had been zombie-like, even more dazed than usual and her smile had been lacking something.

Like authenticity.

A party, Yuusuke said, would be just the thing to get her back to her normal sugar-high, cheerleader self.

And by a party, Koenma thought, Yuusuke probably meant a Hiei.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

Koenma observed Botan approaching his desk through half-lidded eyes. She looked ok. Her hair was as bouncy as ever, pulled into its customary high ponytail. She was wearing her junior high uniform again, probably thinking to blend in with Yuusuke's school.

But Yuusuke was right. There was something missing in her smile, and in her eyes. He pulled out an envelope from the top drawer of his desk, and gave it to her, his eyes inscrutable.

Just give this to Yuusuke. Tell him it's urgent."

"Will that be all, sir?"

"Yes, Botan. And thank you."

She nodded her response. As she walked out, Koenma's eyes drifted to the envelope she lightly clutched in her palm, and he remembered the eight-word message.

Yuusuke—

You know what to do.

—Koenma

For Botan's sake, he hoped so.
Oh my...

Whatever are they planning?

Please review. I hope you enjoyed. ;)