Step One: The Evening Begins
The heavy wooden door swung open, revealing Botan in a way that Hiei had never seen before.
Her typical pink kimono was gone but was not replaced with blue jeans and t-shirts as she sometimes wore when visiting the human world. In their places she wore a light skirt that stopped just above her knees, a purple so deep it faded into red. The unfamiliar pair of scandals covering her feet matched it perfectly.
Unlike the eye-catching jewel embroidered and silky blouses he could recall in both the human world and Makai, which were pretty enough and served their purpose of attracting attention, Botan had chosen a soft crushed velvet that caught the light and sparkled without the help of jewels or glitter. Set against a black background were randomly arranged splashes of yellow-greens and reds that shimmered like flowers dampened by dew. The wide collar showed off the pale skin of her neck and face, which seemed to glow against the enchanting colors.
Her soft blue hair was pulled into her trademark ponytail; he could see it sway over her shoulder, already swaying against her shoulders from her slight movements, weaving its own enchantment. Yes, that was the word to describe the brilliant sight before him. Enchanting.
Hiei suddenly felt off-balance and uncertain, a new and troubling experience for the self-confident fire demon. The book had not mentioned appropriate dress, and, ignoring the fact that he had no formal clothes (Such possessions are unnecessary and often problematic in the wilderness of Makai.), he had not given it any thought before that moment.
He had simply worn what he always did, a pair of black fighting pants and boots with a new grey-blue, sleeveless shirt. His long black cloak and snowy white scarf gave him some semblance of formality, but the sword at his side made him appear casual to anyone who'd spent any amount of time with him. He only hoped he had not offended Botan by not wearing formal attire; a possibility made more plausible through his ignorance of human customs.
But his fears were proved groundless as Botan did not seem at all concerned with his state of dress. Flashing him a brilliant smile, she stepped into the hall, closing the door behind her, a soft greeting floating from her lips.
His own responded with a slight quirk upward, unable and unwilling to hide this new enjoyment he felt from the situation.
"HIEI!" His own greeting died on his lips at the shrill, high-pitched screech echoing through the hall.
For the second time that day, Hiei almost flinched. His face fell automatically into an emotionless mask, his eyes hardening to chips of steadily darkening garnet. Unnoticed by even the most thoroughly trained eye, his stance stiffened from relaxed to guarded as he stared intently at the area just to the left of Botan; his acknowledgement that he had indeed heard the shrieking prince behind him.
Even without turning, Hiei could interpret every move Koenma made. He could hear the moderately loud tapping of his shoes against the marble floor, their song quickened by anger and frustration, their notes just a bit heavier than usual.
Again unnoticed to anyone, Hiei stole a glance out of the corner of his eye, to see that Koenma had indeed chosen his teenage-form, probably to seem more intimidating. Not that the prince could ever really manage that even with the power of the three worlds at his feet, but it was a bit easier to take him seriously when he didn't look ready for naptime.
It occurred to Hiei that he'd never actually seen Koenma angry before, and now the prince was positively livid. He walked with quick, graceful steps quite unknown to him, his light brown hair moving with the breeze of his movements, his dark brown eyes blazing. His long red scarf flowed behind him like a foreboding omen of misfortune. For the first time, Hiei could almost see Yusuke's favorite toddler as a figure of authority.
Of course, the effect was somewhat broken by the pacifier clutched savagely between his teeth…
"Do you have ANY idea how much damage your trip through Memory Lane caused?!" The prince shrieked, not bothering to wait until he reached the unflinching fire demon; though, his voice was steadily climbing to that range which only dogs could hear. Hiei's ears were beginning to ring as Koenma came to halt, body actually trembling with rage, before him. He almost considered showing some respect and turning to face the furious prince. Almost.
"Hn." He successfully kept his voice flat and bored, not at all willing to show that he was the least bit impressed with the fire he could clearly see smoldering in young prince's eyes.
Koenma didn't seem put off by his lack of response, continuing to plunge right through the lecture he obviously planned to give. Though, at the moment, that lecture seemed to merely consist of whatever happened to be running though his head with no real plan or order. "This is a very serious matter, Hiei! People have forgotten their birthdays, where they work, that they're driving…We've had twelve cases of completely forgotten identities!-"
"Koenma Sir," Botan interrupted sweetly, "Hiei and I were just about to go out, so if you could just continue this…conversation tomorrow…"
"-Twenty fatalities! These people weren't supposed to die for another s-You're going out?" Koenma interrupted his own rant, face bleached of all fury as his features quickly twisted into an interesting combination of shock and pleasant surprise.
"Mhm," Botan responded with a cheerful smile.
"Like…together?" The words came out slowly, as if his brain was having a difficult time keeping up with his mouth.
Botan nodded, her lips pressing together to keep the obvious laughter bubbling in her throat where it was.
"You're going to leave here, at the same time, willingly spend several hours in each other's company, and then come back? Together?" Hiei scowled at the prince's questioning. Why shouldn't Botan spend time with him?
But Botan merely lost the hold over her giggles breaking from their prison and spilling from her lips. "That's about the size of it," she managed to choke out.
"Oh." Hiei couldn't place the expression on Koenma's face, but he didn't upset with these developments, and all traces of his earlier rage seemed lost and forgotten. "Well, have fun then." The sentiment appeared to be an automatic response, but sincere at the same time.
"Thank you," Hiei grumbled out as the befuddled prince walked, much more slowly, back in the direction he'd come from, pleasantly puzzled expression still etched across his face. Botan's lovely pink eyes widened a fraction at his sentence, and he himself wasn't certain why he'd said it, gratitude was not a trait he was known for, but he supposed he meant it. She'd saved his ears (Which were still ringing painfully) from several hours of that torture, and there seemed to be a decent chance that Koenma had forgotten he intended to punish him at all. Besides, there was just something about Botan…She deserved to be thanked simply for existing.
The ferry girl shrugged off her surprise quickly, far more quickly than anyone else would have, and flashed his favorite smile, offering her hand. "No problem. Where are we going?"
His crimson eyes, rapidly brightening from bloody garnet to dark ruby, rested on her pale hand for several moments, memorizing the pattern of her skin, every curve of her slender fingers, before grasping it in his own, his skin appearing strangely tan in contrast with hers. As he began leading her back to the beautiful red and golden doors he'd become so familiar with that day, his eyes moved from their intertwined fingers to her sparkling pink orbs and he felt his lips curve into a very pleased smirk.
Ok, this would be loaded with a million 'I'm sorry's', except I don't think that I can really convey just how sorry I truly am for the lack of updates in the passed few weeks.
(Months!)
Shhhh! And I'm currently being distracted by a very bizarre conversation about the trials and tribulations of canned soup, courtesy of my best friend who shall remain nameless. In any case, I honestly do apologize for my seemingly abandonment of this story. What can I say, summer's over. My-best-friend-who-shall-remain-nameless, felt that it was best if I break this chapter up into two, so that just so that you'll have something. If you like this idea, thank him for that. If not, well, that's ok you don't know where he lives.
Also, do you think the story is…consistent. It's been a while since I've looked at it all together, and I'd like some direction on that.