A quick little vignette for you today. See if you can guess this chapter!

Ribbon

? x Botan

The Dark Tournament dome cast a large shadow over its lush surroundings. The island, which hours ago had been bustling with the sounds of cheers, boos, and fighting: mettle on mettle, flesh on flesh, and, in certain cases, plant on flesh; had gone quiet.

The fights had ended for the day and the crowd had emptied out of the dome to return home while the fighters had retired to their rooms in the hotel, resting up to prepare for tomorrow's finals.

Some of the observers still hung around, standing together in small groups and talking excitedly about the events of today's fights. They paused as a tall blue-haired girl walked passed them.

Botan had not returned to the hotel with the team. She, Shizuru, and Keiko had gone for a walk around the dome, ostensibly to look for an ice-cream stand but in reality they had wanted to talk about the fights out of the hearing of certain fighters.

"Did you see his ears?" Botan gushed, her purple eyes bright. "The cutest things ever!"

"And his hair!" Keiko added, giggling, "Oh my gosh, it looked soooo soft!"

Shizuru, walking beside them, took a drag on her cigarette. "Mmm..." She tilted her head back, blowing smoke upward. The two girls looked at her expectantly. "Yeah, I guess," the older brunette shrugged.

"You guess?" Botan blinked.

Again, Shizuru shrugged. Keiko and Botan looked at each other, then shook their heads.

The fights earlier had been intense, especially the last two. And especially, in Botan's opinion, the fight between Reverse Urashima and Kurama. Due to her station, Botan had already known that her red-headed friend harbored a particularly infamous youkai inside him. She just hadn't known how gorgeous said demon was. Other than for herself, Hiei, Koenma, and, of course, Kurama, the transformation had been a shock to the team and the veiwers. Heck, it had been a shock to her – she hadn't expected to ever see Youko Kurama, let alone see him forced out the way he had been by that strange, time-reversal mist.

And then watching him fight... It had been... frightening... Kurama's usual style was precise, quick, and elegant. Youko's was all that times ten. And the utter detachment in his sharp, golden eyes had sent a chill down her spine. Truly, Youko was a frightening adversary, one she hoped to never, ever cross – even if he was the most attractive man she'd ever seen.

The girls finished the walk in silence, each thinking about the events earlier, and the inevitable fights tomorrow.

Shizuru seemed especially distracted. She took a long drag on her cigarette and looked up toward the observation deck of the dome.

"Hey," She said, "I'll meet you back at the hotel... I think I left my sweater in the seats." Before her companions could reply, the older brunette had wandered off into the dome.

"She wasn't wearing a sweater," Botan frowned. Keiko shook her head.

"No... She's been a bit odd lately. I mean, odd for her."

"Yeah..." Botan tilted her head to the side. "I'm going to go make sure she's okay..."

Keiko held up Puu, who was squirming in her arms. "You do that. I'm going to take this little guy back to the hotel. Be careful, okay? Even though the fighters are back at the hotel... I don't like the look of a lot of the ticket holders..."

Botan laughed. "Oh, you worry too much! I'll be fine. And I have my oar, so I can always make a quick escape if I need to."

Keiko nodded. "Alright... I'll see you soon, okay?"

Botan smiled and waved. "Absolutely! See you Keiko!" And with that the blue-haired girl took off after Shizuru, following the path the young woman had taken.

The path up to the dome was dirty, littered with cups and trash – most of which had been trampled into the gravel. The entrance of the arena loomed before her, and it seemed bigger, somehow, now that the place was empty and silent. The deity walked past the turnstiles and into the dome. The place was deserted, but for her. She looked toward their seats and saw neither Shizuru or a lost sweater. The ferry girl frowned.

"Shizuru?" She called. "Shizuru!" Where had the woman gone? What if something bad had happened? There WERE demons wandering about, after all!

"Shizuru!"

"She's busy," Came a soft voice from behind her. Botan whirled around, clutching her heart, which was beating frantically against her ribs.

Five paces away stood a tall, dark-haired man. He wore a black trench coat with a red collar that flared up around his face like some kind of exotic flower. But what was strange was the shinobi mask that covered the lower portion of his face: from nose to chin. Intense blue eyes peered at her over the mask, and a small gust of wind lifted several black, silky strands of his waist-length hair. He pushed them back, still staring silently at her.

There was a certain crackling in the air, a spark of dark jukyuu that alerted Botan to the true nature of the man before her: demon.

Botan frowned, her heart still beating with a frenzy. She could not remember being this close to a strange, possibly dangerous demon. Alone. She shifted one hand behind her back, ready to summon her oar at any second.

"Have you seen my friend?" She asked pleasantly. "Tall brunette, uh, chain smoker?"

The demon narrowed his eyes.

"I believe I told you," Came his soft voice, slightly muffled by the mask he wore, "That she was busy."

Botan frowned and shifted uncomfortably and eyed the dark-haired demon suspiciously. "You didn't... Do anything to her... Did you?"

The youkai snorted and stood up straighter. "Why would I waste my time on someone as boring-looking as her? She is with Sakyo."

"Who is --" Botan began, only to end in a squeak as the demon suddenly loomed over her.

"You, however," Came his silky voice, "Look quite interesting..." He flashed out of view and Botan blinked, then panicked when she felt a warmth at her back. Before she could move, her hair-tie had snapped and her long blue locks fell down, framing her face and cascading down her back.

"What an unusual color," The youkai murmured, his fingers running through the soft blue strands. Botan flinched away, whirling on him.

"Woah, hey, you can't --" She was cut off again, this time by a small explosion near her head. There was a bright flash of light and a flare of heat and she jerked backward – into the demon's grasp.

"Hold still," He whispered to her, his silky voice cool and menacing, "Or I'll blow you up." He conjured a small, winged bomb for good measure. It fluttered around them in a zig-zag pattern and Botan watched it warily. Needing no further prodding, she didn't move as the demon ran his fingers through her hair.

"You are on Kurama's team," He said after a several moments of silence. Deciding that nodding her head would count as moving, and having no desire to be blown up by this strange demon, Botan responded verbally.

"Yes." He was doing something to her hair, she could feel it. It was driving her crazy. His fingers slid gently through the soft strands, pausing for a moment, then sliding through again.

"Do you... Know Kurama?" She asked in way of distracting herself from the... admittedly pleasant sensations.

"I am matched with him tomorrow," Came the demon's soft voice. Though she could not see his face (and even if she could, he was wearing a mask) she got the distinct impression that he was smirking.

"Oh... And, um... Did you see the match today?" She kept her tone conversational and the panic out of her voice. When the heck was this guy going to let her go?

He shifted slightly behind her. "Hmm... I left halfway through."

Botan blinked in surprise, tempted to turn her head to stare at the youkai. "What? But you missed the best part! You mean you didn't see when he turned into Youko?"

She felt the Youkai shrug. "I saw." He replied.

Botan frowned. "Then... you left after he turned into Youko? Why? That was the best!"

Whatever the demon had been doing to her hair, he had apparently decided he was done. He stepped around and gazed down at her, piercing blue eyes meeting flustered purple.

"It became boring." He cocked an eyebrow at the deity's confused expression and explained further. "Youko is dull... So... dispassionate... No fire..." A series of small explosions went off around them and Botan jumped. The demon set his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"Kurama's human side has that fire... and passion... that... vulnerability..." Again, she feel the demon smirking as he looked down at her. "And his hair," he said, "I really like his hair..."

Botan frowned at him, confused. This youkai was quite obviously unstable and the longer she was alone with him the more nervous he made her. She was fairly certain he could feel her nervousness the same way she could feel his jukyuu. It probably radiated off of her in waves.

There was a glint in his eyes telling her he was smiling. Again. He reached down, his fingers running through her hair.

"I like your hair, too," He murmured. "Such a pretty color... And so soft..."

She stared mutely up at him, unsure what to say. What could she say? 'Thank you' didn't seem to fit.

His fingers ghosted over her face, brushing over her forehead, her nose, stroking lightly over her eyelashes and finally moving softly over her lips. She could feel the warmth of his skin, and he seemed to be growing hotter by the second. She could swear his fingers were burning --

But it was nothing compared to how his mouth felt as it crushed against her own. She didn't know the exact moment he had removed his mask, all she knew was that he was suddenly kissing her. Hard. His fingers were in her hair, forcing her to tilt her head back and give into him. She made a quiet noise in the back of her throat but didn't struggle. The kiss was hot, molten, sending liquid fire through her. She could hear many, many tiny bombs going off around them, but the heat they gave off was nothing compared to this. Through half-lidded eyes she could see the dark strands of the youkai's hair as it tangled with her own. Slowly, his locks were brightening to a honey-gold color as his mouth moved insistently against hers. She tilted her head back further, reaching up and sliding her fingers into his hair, feeling the softness and the strange, pulsing power that wrapped around her.

And the kiss broke just as suddenly and she stared dazedly up at the demon. He gazed down at her, eyes bright as he slid his mask back on. He was pressed against her and several strands of his hair – raven colored once more – were still wrapped around her fingers.

Was THAT the fire he had been talking about? That heat between them when his lips had crashed down over hers?

He was smirking at her – she could see it in his eyes – and his fingers were brushing over her lips again.

"That passion," He murmured, "And heat... perfect... so... explosive..." He chuckled, and the sound was dark and rich, sending another shiver down her spine.

"Botan!" A voice called. Distracted, she looked up. Her red-headed teammate was just turning the corner into the arena, worry evident in his voice. She looked back toward the dark-haired demon, but he was already gone. All that was left behind was the faint whiff of gunpowder.

"Botan!" Kurama called again, moving swiftly toward her. She turned to her friend and smiled.

"Hey Kurama! Great fight today!"

The fox boy frowned, but thanked her. "Are you okay?" He asked. Botan blinked at him.

"Of course... I'm fine..."

The red-head frowned again. "I sensed jukyuu... I thought I saw... something..." He eyed her suspiciously.

"I was looking for Shizuru," She explained. "I saw her come in here..." She wasn't sure why she didn't mention the demon. But the experience had felt... personal... And she wasn't ready to think about it, let alone talk about it with Kurama.

He accepted her explanation at face value, though he did continue to cast her questioning looks as they headed back to the hotel. She chatted amiably, pausing when he finally spoke again.

"Botan... did you do... something different with your hair?"

She blinked at him. "Huh?"

He gazed back at her, green eyes curious. "You're hair... It looks different... I haven't seen you wear it that way."

Botan turned and looked into the window of one of the rooms, using the glass as a mirror. Her hair had piled onto her head, several long strands falling down to frame her face or curl about her neck. A black ribbon held the whimsical style together, tied at a bow just over her ear. She reached up, her fingers running along the black satin, feeling the silky surface of the ribbon against her skin.

That demon was truly insane. Holding her captive so he could style her hair? Absolute nut job.

She smiled. Kurama was going to have his hands full tomorrow, that was certain.

"Oh, I thought I'd try something new," She said, smiling at the red-head. He nodded slowly.

"Ah.. I like it..."

Botan giggled, running her fingers over the ribbon once again. She liked it, too.

Alright, for those of you who haven't guessed it: KarasuxBotan! Hooray for crazy demons with hair fetishes!

I liked this one, even though it ended up being shorter than my normal chapter standard by about two pages. Oh well, quality, not quantity I say! Please tell me what you think when you review, and don't forget to give me suggestions! I reply to all reviews.

Thanks, loves!