.:. DISCLAIMER :. I don't own, so please don't sue.

Paksennarion- Something like that… ;)

Sunkissed Lavender- Don't worry, I'll be sure to update as much as possible.

Uten Naraba- I'm glad you like it.

Red Kitsune Flames- Then I shall be sure to update.

Pure Shikon- I'm glad you like the story.

LoneWolf and Hiei- I'm sorry, even my authoress powers cannot separate Hiei and Botan.

Akita Sohma- Okay… I will stay modivated.

BlackWolfofFire- Thank you, I'm so happy that you like it.

Astricjaster- Yeah, she is. But we all love her anyway.

Hiei sat on the bench where his sister was taken. He was a few hours early, but there was nothing more that he could do except wait.

Botan sat on one side of him, looking at her watch. It was twelve o'clock… in the afternoon. "Twelve more hours to go…" she said softly.

Touya and Hiei glanced at her. The fire demon spoke up. "You don't need to wait here with us…" Hiei said. "We will retrieve Yukina… you can leave."

Botan raised a quizzical brow. "And why would I do that?" she asked.

"Because I don't need any help." The fire demon answered.

The blue-haired woman looked enraged. "No help! Then why are you taking Touya?"

"Because Touya can fight for himself."

"But…"

"And you would just be…" Hiei stopped.

Botan clenched her teeth. "What Hiei? Just what would I be?" She dared him to answer.

Hiei accepted the dare. "A hindrance." He finished. "That's what you would be! You would only get in the way. You…"

Slap

Hiei's eyes were wide with surprise. Nobody had ever slapped him before.

Botan lowered her hand and stood up. "Just because I'm not as strong as you doesn't mean I can't protect myself!" She clenched her fist to relieve her pent up anger. "In case you haven't realized, I care about Yukina too! I'm not stupid, I know it's dangerous, and I'm going with you!" She turned around and began to stomp off."

"If you're so intent on coming with me then why are you leaving?" He yelled at her.

"We have twelve hours, Hiei! I'm going to get something to drink and calm down. I'm coming back, it's not like this bench is going anywhere."

"I'm not holding my breath!" The fire demon commented.

As Botan disappeared from sight, Touya grinned.

"What are you smiling about!" Hiei snapped at the ice master.

"Nothing much… I just thought that you were the type to avoid having crushes…"

Hiei glared. "Hn."

"But you could have handled that better…"

"Hn."

"Just because you're afraid…"

"I'm not afraid of anything." Hiei cut him off.

"Just because you're afraid you can't protect her doesn't mean you should start a fight to make her leave."

Hiei glared at Touya. "Shut up baka, you have no idea what you're talking about."

"Fine then, I won't bring up your little crush anymore."

"Hn…"

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9:30 pm

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Botan had rejoined them a few hours ago. At first she held a grudge but had fallen asleep, leaning her head against the back of the bench.

Hiei occupied his mind with possibilities of what would happen in the coming encounter with his sister's kidnapper. He made a list in his head about who wanted him dead enough to lure him with Yukina, it was a very long list. …Then he made a list about who actually knew that Yukina was his sister, it was a much shorter list. Most people who knew about his relationship with Yukina didn't hold any sort of grudge against him.

'What is it then? It's been nine hours and I still don't have any hint about who would have taken Yukina…' Hiei thought. 'Maybe if I focused a…' The fire demon stiffened as a weight pressed on his right shoulder.

He looked to his right to see that Botan had shirted in her sleep. Her head rested comfortably on Hiei's shoulder. And even though he frowned on the outside, he didn't push her away.

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11:50 pm

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"Ten minutes left…" Touya announced.

"Hn." Hiei replied.

"Are you going to let Botan come with us?"

The fire demon was silent for a moment, he looked at the sleeping woman who in the past hour had shifted again and had her head rest on Hiei's knee. "No…" he answered. "When the time comes, we just won't wake her up. We will retrieve Yukina and come back before she realizes that we're gone."

Touya sighed. "She's going to be angry when she wakes up…"

"Hn…" Hiei's hand traced along the side of Botan's face, something he would never do if she was awake. "It's a fair price to pay…"

They sat in silence until midnight.

A fog swirled around in front of them. A stranger wearing a white mask stepped out of the fog. "Hello Hiei…"

Hiei didn't recognize this person. "Who are you?" he growled.

"It wouldn't matter if I told you… you wouldn't know me…" the strange character said.

"Then why did you kidnap Yukina?" The enraged fire demon asked,

"Because my dear Hiei, I know you all too well."

0-0 We are nearing the end of the story. There are only three chapters left. I will try to update as fast as possible.