Chapter 8 - A Solution At Hand.

Music recommendation: Emilie Autumn - Faces Like Mine

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Crickets provided the music for this arranged gathering. Botan returned back to her seat on the tree stump after rising only a few inches off of it. Something seemed a bit different about Hiei this evening. There was no longer a critical, or even tormenting air to his mannerisms, or the way he looked at her.

"Going somewhere?" Even his voice sounded less cold. Almost inviting, persuading her to stay.

"No," was all she managed, watching, a bit puzzled. He came within a few feet of her, and she found herself looking slightly up at him. What was it about him that felt so different?

"Just what are you and Kurama up to?" A fine grin spread over his face, his eyes narrowed. Her heart beat intensified, it was the way he looked at her. But she remembered what Kurama had told her about trying to keep her mind focused.

"I need to talk to you, Hiei," she couldn't take it anymore, and diverted her eyes to the ground. "You see, I think this whole thing needs to be addressed. I want you to understand." Her hands were tightly clasped on her knees. "I think you should know that... I-ah,"

"You what," he said very smoothly, his voice enchanting. She looked back up at him to see him tentatively watching her, examining her every movement.

"Well, I think this whole thing started because I was concerned about you. After the first round, my intention was to try and help you in any way I could." Trembling slightly, her temperature rose so sharply it seemed almost like it wasn't quite a reaction to the words she spoke. "I know you've had a history of being ruthless and cold-hearted, but despite that you came to my rescue. I guess it was as much of a surprise as it was a delight." She continued despite seeing him watching her, intrigued by what she had to say. His gaze felt like it saw her soul, "and even though you were a bit harsh to me about... that. I realized that I was even more concerned about you during the fights yesterday." She sighed now having to come out and admit the way she felt, "I guess it must be something that just happened, but," she looked to the ground once more, breaking into a light sweat, "I think I might, maybe, fancy you a bit." She fidgeted nervously, tapping her fingers on her knees. As though looking up to see his reaction would kill her, she continued watching the dead leaves on the ground. Unbeknownst to her, he grinned down at her, not shocked at her admission. He had known by the way she imagined herself being so close to him when she thought no one else was aware of it. Not the graphic scene she had imagined just for the purpose of 'shocking' him. But the sensual closeness, rather, which she exposed only to herself. It was this desire, which she wouldn't even admit to herself until now, which had caused him to take interest in her.

Before Botan could assess the situation, Hiei was crouching right next to her. His right hand was rested against her leg which was opposite of him. Her stomach knotted, and she could hear her own heartbeat as she stared at his hand. This wasn't a product of the imagination, it was actually happening. His face was now more solemn when he looked up into her eyes. There was a slight pain in her stomach which started to develop either from nerves, or something else. "What do you suggest we do about it?" This low, alluring voice in which he spoke, and the implication behind what he said made her even more nervous. It was like a weight dropped in her chest.

"D-do," she stammered, becoming rigid at Hiei's left hand which brushed her hair from her face.

"Or do I already know," Botan jumped when she felt Hiei's left hand run up the inside of her thigh. He drew his face in closer to hers, their lips almost touching. Internally she cursed herself for wearing shorts on this particular evening. "Is this what you want," now he was massaging her thigh. As invasive as his actions seemed, it was as though he already knew the answer to his own questions. Perhaps it was what she wanted, and that is why she almost welcomed it. It was like he knew just what to do to get closer to her without getting smacked.

"Uhh, is this really.. Isn't this a bit rushed," she was, though nervously, trying to be friendly at the same time. As though ignoring her words, Hiei started running his idle hand up her stomach, fingers creeping up over her...

"Is this how you wanted to thank me?" He whispered in her ear. A chill ran up her spine, and she found herself having to stifle a giggle. As much as she thought she shouldn't do this improper thing, she found herself enjoying it, unable to pull away.

Just then something went terribly wrong. Botan jumped up, backing away form Hiei. He looked very confused at her sudden retraction. The toilet was calling, forcing her to cut this engagement short. Not wanting to simply run off, she came up with a spur of the moment excuse, "Uhh, sorry, I've gotta go. Maybe some other time," little did Hiei know how literal this was. Botan tore out through the trees as he watched after her, lost. He didn't understand why she had gone from seemingly enjoying him to running off as though she was repulsed. He wondered if he hadn't done something wrong. After all, it had been quite some time for the little demon. His eyebrow raised in contemplation. Maybe, he thought to himself as he scratched his temple, a new method was in order. Meanwhile, Botan's only concern was whether or not she was going to make it in time. Desperation provoked her to eye the trees as possible pit stops, but she scolded herself, running faster to the hotel.

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The first things Botan awoke to the next morning were a miserable feeling all through her digestive system, and the sound of all the other girls getting ready. "We're headed to see the guys. Come on Botan, you're coming with us." In all reality Botan didn't protest to Keiko because she had mixed feeling about going to see Hiei. She was excited at the prospect of seeing Hiei once more after what had happened the night before. On the other hand, it ended in disaster and she didn't want to give any of the explanations she probably owed. It started raining heavily and the semi-finals were postponed, as Botan learned on her way down to see Team Urameshi. Botan tried to cheer up, focusing more one the positives than the negatives. Everyone was still alive, the horrors of the semi-finals would not be for a few more days, and there had at least been some good things that came out of talking to Hiei. On the elevator, Botan looked over at the bottles of alcohol Atsuko carried with a shudder.

"Hey! It's us!" Atsuko had perhaps sampled the alcohol already to make sure it wasn't poisoned. Botan joked in the back of her mind as she tried to be just as equally optimistic, if nothing else, for the sake of the guys' spirits.

"We've come to pay you visit!" She found being cheerful once more quite refreshing. Kurama looked at her with a thoughtful expression, while Hiei was perched in a corner looking cross as usual. She laughed aloud, clapping her hands in front of her, amused by how much things hadn't really changed. Once everyone sat down to play cards, she laughed even more at the way Hiei refused, insisting he doesn't like to play. She shook her head with a smile, thinking that what had happened the night before could have easily fallen under the category of 'playing'. But when no one else was looking and he pointed at her with a malicious grin, her expression became one of overt surprise. She tried to act as though she was interested in the card game, and Hiei laughed to himself. Still too frigid.

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Thanks to you all for continuing to read ^^ I know this was quite a short chapter *shame* but for some reason this particular chapter kicked my butt, and was difficult to write. Plus I didn't want to disappoint anyone and not have an update for the weekend. Please be patient with me: )