The Dating Game

I don't own YYH!

Chapter 9

As Botan flew through the blue skies, she couldn't help but think of Hiei. Things were going fairly well between the two of them. They had overcome a lot and even though their personalities were wildly different their little arrangement seemed to suit both of them well enough. Hiei had opened up to her and told her about his past - something she hadn't really expected ever receive an inkling of information on. He even helped to shed light on the Minako issue that Botan had been facing, and ever since the judgmental stares and comments hardly had any effect.

Things weren't always smooth sailing with Hiei, though. They had hit a few snags along the way – the biggest and most prominent one being the fight they had two days ago – but they were able to patch things up considerably well. She hoped that things could continue this way until their dating arrangement had run its course. Their double date with Yukina and Kuwabara was sure to test the very limits of Hiei's patience, but Botan felt that she knew him well enough by now; therefore she would be able to at least alleviate some of his anger.

Genkai's temple came into view and Botan was surprised to see Yukina waiting for her outside in unfamiliar clothes. The ice-maiden had replaced her traditional kimono with a long, cotton sundress. Botan recognized it as the very same item that Keiko had picked out for Yukina during one of their shopping excursions. The navy blue color suited her and the length was cut just below the knee. She had yet to see Yukina dressed in anything other than her traditional garb from her native land and as such, it was a pleasant surprise.

"Well, don't you look lovely," Botan praised as she landed on the steps and gave the girl a closer examination.

Yukina returned Botan's compliment with a shy smile.

"I thought it might be more festive to dress like a human would."

"It suits you perfectly," Botan reassured as her eyes passed over the girl once more. She noticed a silver chain with the most radiant hiruiseki stone attached to the end. It was larger than the ones she was accustomed to seeing, with a much more refined quality and translucent blue color.

"I've never seen a hiruiseki stone quite like that one. Is it one of yours?" Botan asked curiously.

Yukina shook her head, subconsciously reaching up and closing her hand around the stone.

"When an ice maiden gives birth she sheds a tear unlike any other. This was my mother's," she explained, opening her hand to allow Botan to view it closely.

"It's beautiful."

"Thank you. I was told my mother shed two tears on the day of my birth," she revealed. "My brother has the other one. I hope it brings him comfort in times of uncertainty, like it does for me."

"So you're saying your brother should have the same exact one as you?" Botan probed.

"Yes," Yukina answered with a slight nod. "Normally the gem would be one of a kind, but since we are twins ours are identical."

"Fascinating…" Botan said. "And you managed to keep it safe after all this time."

The words were left unspoken, but Yukina seemed to realize Botan's train of thought.

"It's all I have left from my mother since my departure from the ice village," she replied. "I couldn't let Tarukane or anyone else take it away from me."

Botan nodded sympathetically and she silently wondered if Hiei still had his. In all the time she had known him, she couldn't recall seeing such a beautiful item on his person. Perhaps he kept it hidden and safely stowed away somewhere, she reasoned. If Yukina ever saw it, she would be able to make the connection after all.

"Well, it's just about that time," Botan said as she summoned her oar. "Are you ready to go?"

Yukina nodded and watched as Botan mounted her oar. The ferry-girl patted the space behind her and beckoned Yukina to follow suit.

"Hold on tight," she said as they soared up into the sky and over the clouds.

"Would you stop that incessant fidgeting?" Hiei ordered.

Ever since they had arrived at the park, Kuwabara had failed to stay in one place or remain in one position for too long. He was constantly shuffling his feet, rubbing his hands together, pacing around and muttering strange things to himself. It was beyond annoying and Hiei finally had enough.

"I can't," Kuwabara said. "I've never taken Yukina out on a date before and I'm nervous. I want to make sure she has a good time."

"What?"

Hiei had only caught the tail end of the psychic's statement and he explicitly remembered Yusuke's crude way of defining a date. He said that it was a precursor to sex and if Kuwabara thought that he was going to engage in such activities with his sister, then the psychic was sorely mistaken.

"I just want to make sure she's comfortable and enjoys herself the whole time," Kuwabara clarified.

"If you put your filthy hands on her, I will kill you," Hiei warned.

"Same goes for you, shorty!" Kuwabara shot back defensively.

"What?"

"I see the way you look at her when no one's watching."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Hiei responded angrily, his tone clipped.

"Yukina deserves someone who will treat her with respect and devotion. A real man," Kuwabara said. "Not someone like you who will treat her like dirt."

"I agree."

Kuwabara froze, his eyes opening wider as confusion took over and replaced the anger that was once festering within him.

"…Up until now I thought you had some kind of sick crush on Yukina, but it sounds like you just don't want me to be with her," he said slowly.

Hiei's silence seemed like all of the confirmation Kuwabara needed and instead of riling up in anger, he only crossed his arms over his chest as a contemplative expression passed over his features.

"It's really strange to see you pulling the big brother routine," Kuwabara admitted. "Since when have you ever cared about anyone but yourself?"

Hiei chose to ignore him at that point, turning his head to look in the opposite direction. He had never been accused of being brotherly or anything of the sort and for Kuwabara of all people to be the first one to mention it was unnerving to say the least.

"Hey, I'm talking to you shorty!"

"I wish you wouldn't," Hiei replied monotonously.

"Look, I really like Yukina and I don't want anything or anyone ruining our first date. You just focus on treating Botan properly and I'll tell Urameshi that you passed the test."

Hiei's face remained impassive. Kuwabara had already made his first mistake of the night; he allowed his own insignificant feelings to rank above the validity of their bet. They were all making this too easy for him.

"Well?" Kuwabara asked. "What do you say?"

"Hn, you have yourself a deal."

Koenma leaned back into his chair as he carefully mulled over a document with impossibly tiny print. Although it looked like a very official and very important manuscript, he realized that the endless rows of lengthily worded sentences could have easily been condensed into a few short sentences in order to get the message across and save time. It looked like it would be another long night and he was in desperate need of a distraction.

The Prince immediately regretted his wish when he heard the doors to his office open and Yusuke strolled through casually. The teen never made it a habit of visiting the Spirit World; most times he had to be coerced into carrying out missions, so it was strange to see him here willingly.

"What brings you to the Spirit World, Yusuke?"

"I need a favor," he replied.

"I already told you, I can't give you another spirit beast," Koenma reminded him. "I don't care how unassuming and wimpy you think Puu is. The fact of the matter is: he is a reflection of your inner being."

"No, it's not that," Yusuke corrected with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I just need to use that creepy surveillance system of yours for a few hours."

The Prince froze in his stamping ministrations, moving his head upwards to view the teen with a raised brow. Although Yusuke gave off an unassuming and innocent appearance, Koenma knew better; when Yusuke was involved, trouble was sure to follow.

"It's not creepy and I know I'm going to regret asking this, but: why?"

"I set Kuwabara and Yukina up on a double date with Botan and Hiei. I figured it would be much less conspicuous and a whole lot more convenient if I could just watch it from here instead of spying on them like some kind of voyeur freak," the teen answered.

"Out of the question," Koenma said authoritatively, shaking his head for good measure. "My logging system is for professional usage only."

"Oh come on," Yusuke said slyly. "Don't act like you aren't curious to see how this will turn out.

"That's beside the point," Koenma stubbornly maintained. "I don't have time for these childish games."

Yusuke crossed his arms and gave the Prince an unimpressed look.

"So you're telling me you don't use this to spy on us when you're bored?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I actually do take my job seriously. I don't have the time or the interest to spy on you all."

"You haven't even tried peeping in on at least one of these hot ferry-girls you have flying all around the place?" Yusuke probed.

Koenma visibly tensed up, his shoulders squared and his gaze averted to the side.

"No."

"You're telling me that you've never used it to spy on Botan, either?"

A faint blush appeared on the Prince's cheeks and he shook his head adamantly.

"No!"

"I'm pretty good at telling when people are lying," Yusuke said, placing his hands on the desk and leaning in close. "You answered way too quickly and you're sweating way too profusely for a guy who is supposedly telling the truth."

"It was an accident!" Koenma confessed finally. "I hit the wrong button and she showed up on the screen!"

"Ha! I knew it you little pervert," Yusuke accused. "Hiei will be pissed when he hears about this, but I'll tell you what, you do me a solid and I'll keep my mouth shut."

"This is blackmail," Koenma frowned.

"I know and I'm perfectly okay with that," the detective grinned.

Koenma let out a sigh of defeat as he conceded and reached for the remote control. Yusuke pulled up a chair and positioned himself in the optimal spot for viewing the screen as Koenma pressed a few buttons on the remote control. Seconds later, the blank screen flickered on and they were granted the sight of the city block and a few familiar faces.

"I hope you boys weren't waiting too long," Botan said as she and Yukina walked over to meet Kuwabara and Hiei.

The two looked like they had just finished another one of their infamous squabbles, but Kuwabara's face quickly lit up at the mere sight of the object of his affections.

"Yukina!" he gushed, running over to her side immediately.

"Hello Kazuma," she said. Her voice hadn't strayed from its pleasant tone and decibel, but the smile on her face indicated that she was happy to see him as well.

Botan, however, was not as pleased by Kuwabara's greeting when she realized that she had been overlooked.

"It's nice to see you, too, Kuwabara," she said sourly. When the psychic gave her a half-hearted reply, she huffed and set her sights on Hiei instead. She quickly forgot her own irritation when she realized that Hiei was in a much worse position than she was.

He said nothing, but he did not have to; his rigid posture, clenched jaw and narrowed eyes were enough to convey what Botan already knew to be true. He was teetering on the edge of his own patience and he was sure to blow up on someone before the night was over. If he kept up his lousy attitude, it would become very uncomfortable and strained for everyone involved. Yukina would most likely misunderstand the cause of his ire and believe it was directed towards herself and Kuwabara. Then there was the matter of the psychic himself. He might start to get suspicious if he noticed just how protective Hiei really was of Yukina.

Botan spared one last glance in the other pair's direction, noting their positions. Yukina's back was facing them and Kuwabara was so completely enamored by the sight of the ice-maiden that he wouldn't have noticed if Toguro came back and was wreaking havoc on the city. She took this opportunity to pull Hiei away from the main path and a little deeper into the park's vicinity where they would have some semblance of privacy under the cover of the large trees.

"What the hell are you doing?" he nearly barked as he looked down at their interlocked fingers.

She let go and put her hands on her hips.

"That's exactly what I should be asking you, mister grumpy pants!" she shot back, hands on her hips. "You should really fix your attitude before Yukina takes notice of it and starts to feel as though she and Kuwabara are unwelcome in your presence."

The tension in his features lifted somewhat as her words sunk in.

"You've got to lighten up a little," she urged sympathetically, her amethyst eyes searching his intently. "Or at least pretend that this isn't the last place you'd rather be."

"Easier said than done," he replied tightly.

"It's actually pretty simple, you just have to act civil for one night. Even you can do that for Yukina, can't you?"

"Like I said, that's easier said than done," Hiei responded, looking away from her.

Botan took a step closer as a mischievous idea formed in the back of her mind.

"I'm sure if you cracked a smile she would be satisfied," Botan suggested. "Have you ever tried smiling before?"

He turned back to bark out an answer at her, but stopped abruptly when he felt her index finger press against the side of his mouth and push upwards. His eyes widened a fraction upon registering what she had just done, before returning their set narrowed position. He was glaring daggers at her, but it did not scare her the same way it used to. Perhaps it lacked the threat it once held or perhaps she knew him well enough by now to know that he would not physically harm her. She did not have much time to dwell on it because she knew that she had to act fast if she wanted to complete operation "make-Hiei-smile".

"Now, let's try the other side and see if we can get a full-fledged smile on that face," she voiced.

Hiei quickly snatched her hand and pulled it away from his face and caught the other one before it had a chance to finish its trajectory. Her teasing grin was quickly erased and a sinister smirk appeared on Hiei's lips, signaling that he now had the upper hand. He almost looked feral and for some strange reason, she felt like cornered prey.

"Let's not be too hasty," she advised, noticing the tight grip he held on her wrists. "It was only a joke."

"You should have thought it through before you started," he warned.

Although she should have been very scared at the thought of being at Hiei's sadistic mercy, she found her heart racing with anticipation. She gulped and tried to distance herself, if only to quell her rapidly beating heart, but his hold was firm and he looked as though he were enjoying the sudden role reversal.

"What are you doing?"

They both turned towards the direction of the gruff voice, only to find Kuwabara and Yukina staring at them in confusion. Hiei released Botan's wrists and took a step away from Botan as she pushed his hands in his pockets.

"Nothing," he answered curtly.

"We were just talking," she added, hoping that the sudden rush of heat she felt on her cheeks wasn't too obvious.

"It didn't look like that to me," Kuwabara said.

"Well we were," she answered quickly. "It was simply a nice and civil conversation between friends."

Kuwabara stared at them suspiciously, as though he wanted to say something else, but then shook his head and let it go.

"Alright, if you say so," he relented.

"Have you decided where we're going, Kazuma?" Yukina asked, her innocent question instantly dispelling the tension that had arisen.

"I thought we could get dinner first and then catch a movie after," he suggested.

"That sounds excellent," Botan replied, eager to get on with the double date without any more hitches.

Yukina nodded.

"I agree."

Hiei grunted in response.

"Is there anything you'd like to have, my sweet?" Kuwabara asked, looking down at Yukina intently.

"Why don't we try something new? Do you have any suggestions?"

"Hm…" Kuwabara paused, rubbing a hand at his chin. "I heard that there's this pretty good barbecue place nearby."

"Barbecue?" Yukina echoed in confusion.

"It's grilled meats with special sauces and lots of other things, too," he explained.

"It sounds interesting," Yukina said, her eyes drifting towards the other pair in a silent request for their opinions.

"Oh, of course, anything is fine with me," Botan complied good-naturedly.

Hiei once again grunted noncommittally and Botan nudged him.

"It will be sufficient," the fire-demon finally answered.

Yukina smiled and turned back to Kuwabara with a nod. He led her out of the park and further into the bustling city, with Hiei and Botan following closely behind.

"There, this isn't so bad, is it?" Botan said quietly. "I think we've gotten off to a great start already."

"You seem to be forgetting the rules of our agreement. You've already reneged twice."

"I don't follow," Botan said slowly.

"One of my stipulations was that you do not touch me and you've done so twice already," he reminded her.

"I was only trying to cheer you up and lighten the mood," she explained. "Besides, have you ever actually tried smiling before?"

"The answer to that should be obvious," he answered.

"Alright, maybe asking you to smile is pushing it," she admitted. "How about you think of something nice and pleasant and wipe that menacing scowl off of your face instead?"

"There's nothing pleasant about this situation," he replied.

"What about something funny?" she insisted.

He remained silent, so she decided to list off the first thing that came to mind.

"How about Kuwabara with silky long hair like Karasu's?"

He made a slightly disgusted face, but it was much better than that scary scowl, so she continued.

"What about Yusuke with Keiko's 'type A' personality?"

He kept walking wordlessly.

"Genkai with Lord Koenma's voice?"

Still no apparent reaction – she was getting desperate.

"…Kurama in a dress?"

He froze and gave her a strange look, before cracking the slightest hint of a smirk.

"You're incredibly twisted, woman," he finally answered.

Despite his offensive remark, she found herself smiling.

"That's much better, now you're sounding and acting more like yourself," she said.

"I don't see why you care so much," he replied honestly.

"I've told you before, Hiei. We're friends," she answered as if it were the most simplistic idea in the world. "If you're having a hard time with something, it's my duty to help you out."

He stared back at her with blank eyes and an unreasonable expression and she hoped that he wouldn't refute the idea of them being friends. Instead he looked ahead towards Yukina and Kuwabara.

"We've fallen behind. Keep moving."

They hadn't spoken at all after Botan declared that it was her 'duty' to aid him in times of need. He did not need help, least of all from a scatter-brained and often whimsical ferry-girl, but he knew her well enough by know to know that her intentions were pure, so he refrained from saying anything on the matter.

As they traversed through the heart of the city, the area surrounding them became increasingly livelier. The city lights were bright, the streets were crowded and there seemed to be some sort of commotion in every direction.

They arrived at the restaurant after ten minutes of walking and they were directed towards a table for four in a relatively less crowded area of the establishment. The lighting was dim and both the chairs and tables were wooden with some sort of polished finish. Unfamiliar scents wafted through the air and Hiei's eyes scanned over the various other tables, taking in the view of a number of unfamiliar human dishes. Although he would not admit it, everything seemed appetizing enough and Kuwabara had chosen wisely.

Hiei sat down in a chair on the left side of the table and Botan followed suit, taking her place across from him. Kuwabara moved to hold out a chair for Yukina, before finally taking his seat next to Hiei.

Their waitress, a brunette with an overly chipper smile, introduced herself but Hiei could not be bothered to remember her name. She had taken their beverage orders, Yukina and Botan both choosing some sort of fruity concoctions while he and Kuwabara opted for water. Once she was gone, they began scanning through the menu and Kuwabara gave detailed explanations of various items for Yukina's benefit.

"Everything looks so good, how can I possibly choose?" Botan said as she flipped through the laminated pages.

"The faster you decide the faster we can be done with this," Hiei told her.

All eyes turned to him and he only realized his mistake when his sister was the first to speak.

"Are you not enjoying yourself, Hiei? Maybe we should have chosen a different place," Yukina said, her brow furrowing slightly as she unconsciously shouldered some of the blame for Hiei's discontent.

He looked over at Yukina, his eyes widening a fraction as she stared back at him with crimson orbs that matched his own. He could see Kuwabara glaring over at him from the corner of his eye and he knew that Botan was probably watching them worriedly.

"It's not the activity that I'm opposing, it's the company," he clarified, glancing over at Kuwabara.

"Trust me, the feeling's mutual," Kuwabara replied huffily.

Yukina's frown deepened and Hiei visibly stiffened. He thought that she would take his words to mean that he did not have any qualms with her specifically, but for some reason it made her look even more troubled. Kuwabara opened his mouth to speak in an attempt to ease Yukina's discomfort, but Botan was the first to say something substantial.

"Oh, don't listen to them, Yukina. Hiei always acts like he would rather be any place else than wherever he is now, but I'm sure he's enjoying himself," she reasoned.

Hiei's eyes narrowed, although he was silently thankful for the ferry-girls' interruption.

"And Kuwabara and Hiei are actually great friends; they're just too embarrassed and too manly to show it," she finished.

"Woman…"

"Botan!"

"See? They're even reacting in tandem," Botan teased with a smile.

Yukina mirrored her smile and just like that the atmosphere had been completely turned around. Kuwabara's mood lightened upon realizing that Yukina was contented. He had that cheesy grin on again as he complimented her on her eyes, or her smile, or her beauty or something of that nature – Hiei couldn't be too sure which it was because he had already returned his attention to Botan.

He used to think that she was just a blabbering fool – the sort that didn't know when to shut up – but she had possessed an incredible amount of tact and sensibility when the situation called for it. She had an uncanny knack for dealing with others, one that she supposedly developed when dealing with the souls she collected and guided to spirit world.

Their waitress returned, snapping him out of his thoughts when she requested their orders. Botan settled on a seafood combo and with further explanation from Kuwabara, Yukina had opted for chicken based dish. After Kuwabara ordered a burger with multiple sides, Hiei had decided on the ribs. She then left, promising that the food would be ready shortly.

The minutes ticked by without any further confrontations. The conversation flowed naturally and Botan continually tried to keep him involved, getting his opinion and input on various things. She paid attention to him when it wasn't at all necessary and even more troubling was the way she had been able to read him without any verbal clues. She could detect his mood based on body language alone and she had a strange way of working around his disposition to ensure that the situation would evolve into something that they could all put up with.

Although he did not need anyone's help in any sort of way, he could not deny that it was her buffering presence that kept him from blowing up on Kuwabara every time the lumbering buffoon looked his sister's way. It was because of her that they had gotten through this dinner without any incidents.

"How did you enjoy your meal, Yukina?" Kuwabara asked.

"It was very good," Yukina answered.

"Did you want any dessert?"

Yukina nodded.

"I'd like that."

"Did I hear somebody say dessert?"

There waitress returned with that cheerful smile plastered on her face.

"Yeah, I think I'll have the fruit cobbler," Kuwabara answered.

"I'll have the same, please," Yukina added.

"Sure thing and what about you two?" the waitress asked, turning to Hiei and Botan.

"What do you recommend?" Botan asked.

The brunette thought for a moment before answering, "My personal favorite is the double chocolate brownie bliss."

"Is it sweet?"

"Yes and very decadent."

"In that case, do you want to share, Hiei?" Botan asked, looking over at him.

He looked over at her curiously and she continued.

"We can use two separate utensils of course. I know how much you like sweet things and I don't think I'll be able to finish it all on my own."

"Do what you want," he answered.

"Okay, well we'll have one of those," Botan said with a smile.

"Coming right up," the brunette said. She managed to clear the table by herself and hurry off while balancing all of their plates and silverware in her two arms effortlessly.

"Heh, so Hiei likes sweet things, huh?" Kuwabara mocked.

"Yes, I was surprised when I found out at first, too," Botan answered.

"That's pretty girly of him."

"That's rich, coming from the same moron who has an affinity for kittens and puppies," Hiei finally responded, his tone biting.

"Hey, that's perfectly normal!" Kuwabara defend. "There's something wrong with you if you don't like cuddly animals."

Hiei only rolled his eyes in response, realizing that any further talk with Kuwabara was completely futile.

Their waitress returned a few minutes later with the requested items and set them out on the table. Botan reached over and cut the oversized brownie in half and divvied up the fudge topped ice cream and whipped cream as well and they all dug in. He finished his half much quicker than her and when he looked over, he noticed her taking leisurely bites and savoring each morsel. The dessert was sweet enough to satisfy his strange new cravings, but as he looked over at the ferry-girl, he couldn't help but want more.

She noticed him staring and silently cut off a piece of her brownie, before scooting it over to his side of the plate with her spoon. His pride prevented him from accepting it at first, but the temptation was too great and he ended up eating it anyway. Perhaps when he left this world he would be rid of the embarrassing partiality towards sweet items.

The waitress returned the bill and set it in the middle of the table. Kuwabara picked it up and looked over the numbers before turning towards Hiei.

"So, how do you want to split the bill?"

"What are you talking about?" Hiei questioned.

"We can go half and half or would you rather pay for yours and Botan's meals only?"

"I don't have any human currency," Hiei replied plainly.

Kuwabara's face fell.

"Then how have you been taking Botan out all this whole time?"

"Well," Botan cut in sheepishly. "We didn't really need money for the first and third dates and while we were at the carnival, Hiei used his… persuasive skills to take care of everything."

"You mean he used his freaky third eye?"

"Kazuma," Yukina discouraged softly.

"If you miscall the jagan eye one more time, I can give you a personal demonstration of what it really is and what it's capable of," Hiei threatened.

"Hiei!" Botan admonished.

"I don't mind paying for Botan's, but Hiei is out of the question. He even picked all of the most expensive things!" Kuwabara declared.

"I don't care either way," Hiei said.

"Then I guess you'll just end up in the back washing dishes for the rest of the night," Kuwabara replied.

The two glared at each other stubbornly until the sound of a quiet giggle broke them out of their standoff.

They both turned to Botan who looked back at them innocently.

"It wasn't me!" she defended, her amethyst eyes turning towards the real culprit.

"I'm sorry," the ice maiden apologized, unable to hide the faintest hint of amusement from her smile. "I shouldn't laugh, but when you both fight like this, you remind me of two brothers."

Hiei was too shocked and too disgusted to say anything on the matter and by the look on Kuwabara's face, the psychic felt the same way.

"That's a funny way to put it, but now that you mention it, they kind of do fight like brothers would," Botan agreed with an affirmative nod.

"It makes me wonder how my own brother would interact with everyone," Yukina mentioned.

"I'm sure we would all get along because he'd be as good-natured and kind as you," Kuwabara said. "Not rude and temperamental like Hiei."

"Hn."

"But I'm really glad you're enjoying yourself Yukina. I'm sorry you had to see us argue," he apologized quickly. "I'll take care of the check, so there's nothing for us to worry about."

The orange-haired teen pulled out his wallet and slowly counted the bills. His expression soured a bit when he realized just how much he was dishing out, but upon seeing Yukina smile, his mood brightened as well.

"Thank you Kazuma," Yukina said.

"Yes, thanks Kuwabara," Botan said before whispering over at Yukina. "Although it would have been pretty amusing to imagine Hiei scrubbing a sink full of dirty dishes."

"I heard that, woman," Hiei growled, but Botan was too busy laughing away to care. Even Yukina seemed amused by the idea and Hiei could only glare at the ferry-girl for implanting such strange ideas in his sister's mind. As Hiei stared at her, though, his glare lessened somewhat and before he knew it, he had reset into his indifferent look. It was becoming increasingly harder to find reasons to hate the ferry-girl and that fact alone was troubling.

He sensed that he was being watched and when he turned to his right, he noticed that Kuwabara was staring at him curiously. When the psychic realized that he was caught, he stood up and cleared his throat.

"I'm gonna go pay," Kuwabara announced, before walking away.

"Well, then I'll run to the little girl's room," Botan said, standing up as well.

"Wait," Hiei told her.

"Huh?"

Hiei gave her a look and she immediately understood as her eyes rolled over to the ice-maiden.

"Yukina?"

"I'm fine. I'll just wait with Hiei until you and Kazuma return."

"In that case I'll be back in a jiffy!" she promised, sparing Hiei one last apologetic glance before scampering off.

When she was out of sight, Hiei turned back to face the table.

"How did you enjoy the barbecue?" Yukina asked, cutting through the silence.

"It was decent," he answered, lifting his eyes to meet hers.

"The taste is very different from what we have in demon world, but I enjoyed it."

Hiei could only nod in response. Being alone with his sister like this was a strange affair. He almost didn't know what to do. He took a sip of water and placed it back on the table, the ice clinking against the glass as he did so.

"I hope you aren't having a terrible time," she said quietly.

"It's fine. Don't concern yourself over it."

"Oh, but it does concern me. I want us all to enjoy ourselves, especially since we don't know how long our time together will last."

It was unlike her to say something so ominous and he frowned.

"I don't follow," he responded finally.

"I've learned that life is unpredictable and anything can happen. I never would have imagined that my quest for my brother would have led me to the human world, but somehow, I ended up here and I'm happy," she replied. "I've searched for him for so long and I never thought that I could feel at home unless I had my family with me, but I've got you and Botan and Kazuma and the others. I don't know how long this will last, but I decided to enjoy the time I have here and the company that I've found."

"So you've given up on locating your long lost brother?"

"No, and I don't think I ever will stop searching. But at least here, with all of you, I feel like I have a place where I belong."

He didn't say anything further, but he was content with her answer. She was happy here and with time she would forget all about her phantom brother.

"I'm sorry, I must be rambling," she said embarrassedly.

"Don't apologize. You've done nothing worth being sorry over," he told her quietly.

She smiled upon hearing his response and they settled into a comfortable silence that lasted until Kuwabara and Botan returned.

Botan was thrilled that they had gotten through dinner without much trouble. Hiei and Kuwabara never really did get along, but under the circumstances, they were doing just fine.

Now all that was left was to successfully get through a movie. They were currently standing in line and trying to settle on one of the movies advertised in the posters alongside the wall. The place smelled of salted and buttery popcorn, but she was too stuffed to even think of eating anything else for the remainder of the night.

"I've heard that all of the movies are pretty good, so I was going to let you girls decide on one of them," Kuwabara announced.

"Don't let the ferry-girl choose," Hiei warned. "She has a habit of gravitating towards anything romantic."

"Hey!" she protested with a pout. "I could have very well settled on a pulse pounding thriller, or a spooky horror story, or a side-splitting comedy. Honestly, you read one romance novel and your reputation is suddenly ruined."

Hiei only smirked in return.

Yukina started at the advertisements on the wall, her crimson eyes passing over each one slowly as she considered what they might mean.

"They all look interesting, but I've never watched a movie before so I'm honestly not sure which one to choose."

"Next in line," the man at the ticket-booth called.

"We're having trouble deciding," Botan said. "What do you recommend?"

"Well, I guess this might be a good thing, then. All of the 7:00 showings are sold out except for Haunted. If you want to see another movie, you'll have to wait until 9:30."

"Haunted?" Botan echoed apprehensively. "That sounds a little frightening…"

"I thought you said you could handle it?" Hiei challenged.

"I can," Botan lied as she fished around for an excuse. "But I'm sure that Yukina wouldn't want to watch something like that."

"I don't mind, really," Yukina answered honestly.

Botan gulped.

"Kuwabara?"

"Urameshi said this one was really good!" he said excitedly.

"…Hiei?" she looked to him, as if he were her last line of defense.

"We should trust the detective's recommendation," he answered passively, although she knew that he was just agreeing to spite her.

She frowned and muttered something incoherent under her breath as Kuwabara purchased four tickets.

"Do you want any snacks, Yukina?"

"Oh no, I couldn't eat another bite," Yukina declined.

"Botan?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

Kuwabara and Hiei both looked at each other before sneering and turning in opposite directions.

"Okay, then let's go find some seats," Kuwabara said, leading the way once more.

They walked through the carpeted floors and settled in towards the middle of the theater. Hiei took the aisle, while Botan sat next to him, followed by Yukina and Kuwabara on Botan's right.

As the lights were extinguished and the previews began to roll, Botan found multiple movies that she would much rather be watching. There was an action filled movie about superheroes, an animated tale centered on the lives of rather eccentric animals, a tear-jerking and inspirational true story and a romantic comedy: all of which were much more appealing than the dark and gory one that they were about to see. She glanced over at the others when the movie started and they all seemed fine. Her heart began beating in her chest when ominous music began playing and the tale unfolded.

Over the course of the movie, Yukina and Hiei stared at the screen unflinchingly. They really were related, she realized, as they watched with varying levels of interest: Yukina's peaked while Hiei's was borderline disinterested. They certainly didn't scare easily. Kuwabara was caught off guard every once in a while, but Botan was the only one who kept jumping and whimpering at every little thing.

At one point she had even covered her face in her hands and sunk low in her seat during a particularly scary scene. When she thought it was over, she uncovered her eyes and peered warily at the oversized screen as the movie played on. She let her guard down when it seemed as though the worst were over, but her relief was short lived when something scary jumped out and screeched in a high-pitched roar. Her hand automatically reached out and grabbed onto the closest thing she could find for comfort. Upon making contact, she felt the faintest hint of an electric shock run through her and she realized that she was holding on to Hiei's hand. She quickly remembered the incident they shared in the park earlier and her cheeks flushed, suddenly thankful for the cover of darkness that the theater provided.

As she looked over cautiously at Hiei to gage his reaction, she saw his eyes roll downwards towards their hands. When he made no move to berate her or remove her hand from his, she maintained her hold, her grip only tightening whenever something scary happened. After a scene or two had passed, Hiei finally spoke up.

"You're a ferry-girl," he said. "Don't tell me the spirits of the deceased actually scare you."

"In real life it's not a problem, but little demented children and vengeful ghosts are scary!" she defended.

A viewer seated in front of them turned around and stared at them indignantly.

"Would you shut up already?" he ordered, frowning at Botan in exasperation. "I can't hear anything over the sound of you crying over the movie. If you can't handle it, then leave!"

Botan was taken aback by his rudeness and before she could even think up a response, Hiei cut in.

"Turn around now before I give you a legitimate reason to complain," Hiei threatened.

The disgruntled teen opened his mouth to respond, but promptly froze once he took notice of Hiei's icy glare. It chilled the boy to his very core and he turned around without another word.

"Serves him right," Botan huffed, before her features softened. "Thanks for that."

He only made a dismissive noise in the back of his throat in response and she cautiously returned her attention to the movie.

"That was a close call," Koenma said as he let out a heavy sigh.

"Relax, you didn't actually think that Hiei would hurt the guy, did you?" Yusuke asked.

"Let's just say if looks good kill, we might very well be welcoming in a new soul at this very moment."

Yusuke laughed.

"Botan might have a big mouth but that guy was being a huge asshole," Yusuke said. "He's lucky she didn't have a chance to whack him with her metal bat."

"We should just be happy that it didn't escalate into anything further."

At that moment, the door opened and a blue ogre appeared, holding on to a tray of food.

"Koenma sir, I've brought your food. How are you getting along with those documents? The deadline is up in a few hours, you know," Jorge said as he entered the office.

"Pipe down, ogre," Koenma ordered. "This is getting good."

"Are you watching another mission?" Jorge asked as from his position in the doorway. He stepped further into the office in order to view the screen and pointed a clawed finger. "Are Botan, Kuwabara, Yukina and Hiei on some sort of undercover mission in the human world?"

"Even better, they're on a date," Yusuke supplied a wide grin spreading out across his face.

The ogre frowned over at the Prince and the detective.

"You said that you aren't supposed to use your logging system for personal matters!"

"Live a little blue-guy," he said dismissively, his eyes glued to the screen. "It's no fun if you always follow the rules."

"He has a name, you know," Koenma inserted. "And Jorge is hardly an advocate for following rules and order. I requested my squid on a stick fifteen minutes ago and he's only now bringing it!"

"The line was incredibly long!" he defended, setting it on the Prince's desk and turning to face the screen. "This is a huge invasion of privacy. Do you spy on the rest of us like this, too, sir?"

"Don't flatter yourself, ogre," Koenma answered through a mouthful of food, his brown orbs still glued to the screen. "This is just a one time occurrence."

"But what if Botan found out?" Jorge questioned nervously. "Or worse, what if Hiei found out?"

"So long as the three of us can keep our mouths shut then we have nothing to worry about," Yusuke reassured deviously.

The movie had ended and the lights soon returned. It hadn't scared him in the least, but Hiei noticed that both Botan and Kuwabara had gotten tense at certain parts of the movie. Yukina watched on with interest and if she had been scared at all, she refrained from showing it.

"That was awful," Botan complained. "I can't believe people actually pay to watch such scary things!"

"I thought it was very interesting," Yukina commented. "I especially liked the end."

"But that was the scariest part! They thought they got rid of the evil spirit, but it's actually still alive and it's gone on to possess their other daughter!"

"I suppose we have different tastes," Yukina said with an amused smile.

Botan nodded in response, before looking over at Kuwabara.

"Is something the matter? You're staring over at us strangely."

"Aren't you going to let go?"

Botan stared back at him confusedly, trying to make sense of what he was saying, but Hiei understood his vague question immediately. Hiei looked down slowly to confirm what he knew to be true: Botan was still holding onto his hand. He had gotten used to the contact over the course of the movie and so he made no move to pull away once it had ended, having forgotten that it was there in the first place. Botan must have taken notice of it at the same time and she quickly let go.

"Everyone's leaving, we should probably make our way out, too," the ferry-girl said, laughing nervously. She stood up and began trekking towards the exit of the theater.

Hiei spared one last glance over at Kuwabara before doing the same. As he followed Botan, he could still hear the remnants of Yukina and Kuwabara's conversation.

"Is something the matter, Kazuma? "You were staring at them as if something was wrong."

"No, everything is fine, my love," he replied.

Hiei frowned. To his prying ears, the teen didn't sound all that convincing. This wasn't the first time today that Hiei had caught Kuwabara staring at them strangely. It wasn't the fact that he was looking that bothered him – it was the way the psychic had stared at them. It was a bewildered and mystified type of look. As if the teen couldn't make sense of the world around him and there was something fundamentally wrong with the subjects targeted in his sights. Unfortunately for Hiei, he and the ferry-girl happened to be those very subjects.

He ran a quick playback of the night's events and could not discern the underlying cause for Kuwabara's odd behavior. Hiei had only acted as he was intended to according to the rules of the bet, so perhaps Kuwabara was just startled to see that he could actually pull it off.

In any case, the dreaded double date was over and the night was finally coming to a close. He had successfully completed four dates and had ample time to ensure that the next three would be fulfilled just as swiftly. It would only get easier from here on out and that thought was more than enough to quell the foreboding feeling that had suddenly crept over him.

And that's another date down! These things are becoming harder and harder to write. I wanted to update last weekend but just wasn't happy with what I had, so I had to redo it. xD I'm never ever happy with the initial draft!

Anyway, I hope you all liked it! Please drop a review and let me know what you thought.