I don't own YYH!

Chapter 11

"We picked up readings of a foreign energy in this area. A demon must have breached the barrier," Botan informed. "Luckily, there haven't been any casualties yet."

She had called them all out early Sunday morning when Koenma had given her the order. Their reactions were to be expected. Kurama complied good-naturedly and even offered to find Hiei and bring him to the meeting point. Yusuke grumbled and complained; he claimed that this dreary and overcast weather was perfect for sleeping in, but in the end she managed to round him up. Kuwabara still looked like he was half asleep and had a nasty case of bed-head. Although the psychic never really needed much persuading to join them on missions, he seemed a bit hesitant this time around. Botan shrugged it off, thinking that he was just tired. Last but not least, Hiei wore his usual expression of indifference with just a hint of irritation. She knew that he hated most of these missions from Koenma, but he had yet to voice his displeasure, so she took that as a good sign.

"I wonder what kind passed through this time. One of those little imps who overtake humans or the soul sucking kind?" Yusuke questioned, always ready for a good fight.

"I'm not sure, Spirit World intelligence only suggested that there was a demon at play in the living world," she answered. "We weren't able to determine the type of demon or what their intentions might be."

"The mystery demon's supposed to be somewhere in this area, right? You sense anything, Kuwabara?" Yusuke asked, looking over at the psychic.

Kuwabara closed his eyes and concentrated for a few moments, before looking back at the group with a sullen expression.

"…I can't sense anything."

"Looks like our culprit's already moved elsewhere, then," Yusuke concluded, looking towards the rest of the group.

"No," Kuwabara said gravely, his gaze cast somewhere far off as he refused to look at anyone. "He might still be here. I just haven't had a good grip on my spirit energy, lately."

Botan frowned at Kuwabara's strange behavior, but it was Yusuke who took a step forward.

"What do you mean?" the detective probed, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kuwabara's eyes slowly traveled back towards them and he took a deep breath.

"My power... it started to fade after the Dark Tournament," he confessed. "I thought it was just some temporary effect from using the trial sword in that final match against Elder Toguro, but during our last mission I couldn't access any of my spiritual energy. I didn't want to say anything because I thought it would come back eventually, but I'm not so sure anymore."

"Your spiritual energy shouldn't just fade like that," Botan said concernedly. "Even after a grueling fight, a few days of rest should do the trick."

"Perhaps it's a mental constriction," Kurama suggested.

"Yeah, the same thing happened to me after the first round of the tournament. Maybe it's all in your head?" Yusuke tried.

Hiei refrained from saying anything and Botan realized that it was probably for the best. In some strange way, not saying anything at all about the situation was in Kuwabara's best interest.

"I don't know," Kuwabara said lowly, letting out a sigh. "But if my energy is low, then there could be something wrong with my awareness, too. I'm sorry guys."

"There is no need for you to apologize," Botan reassured. "Maybe Genkai or Koenma might have some answers."

"She's right," Yusuke said. "Besides, you've still got your fists and as far as I'm concerned, that's enough. Let's take down that demon first and then go to the toddler prince for answers on your spiritual energy dilemma."

Kuwabara nodded resolutely, some of the determined spark returning to his eyes.

"Alright."

"Guess it's up to you to do the honors then," Yusuke said, motioning over to the fire-demon.

"Hn."

Botan watched as Hiei wordlessly removed his bandana and searched for any signs of demonic energy. She noticed his crimson irises widen slightly and although he returned his bandana with careful and smooth movements, she could tell that there was something bothering him beneath the surface of his cool façade.

"I will handle this alone," Hiei declared firmly.

"Why should you get in on all the action?" Yusuke protested.

"There won't be any action," Hiei countered. "I'll deal with him swiftly."

"Are you sure?" Kurama asked, his gaze critical as though he were trying to figure out Hiei's intentions.

"Positive," Hiei reaffirmed confidently.

Some sort of unspoken understanding passed between them and Kurama relented.

"Before you leave, you might want to consider bringing Botan with you. Spirit World will want some information about the demon and she will probably be expected to report back to Koenma."

The suggestion startled her, but she supposed that he was right. This was a mission after all and if Hiei went alone and took care of it, there would be no way of gathering intelligence for the report that was sure to be requested.

"Fine," Hiei agreed.

"While you both deal with the intruder, we will return to Spirit World to see if Koenma has any idea about Kuwabara's spirit energy," Kurama stated. "Does anyone have any objections?"

"I'm on board," Yusuke answered easily.

"Sounds good to me," Kuwabara agreed.

"And, hey, if things get out of hand, be sure to contact us," Yusuke said, directing his words over at Botan, fully well knowing that Hiei would never take him up on that offer.

"Roger that," she said, watching as the three boys headed out to solve the mystery of Kuwabara's dissipating spiritual energy.

And then there were two.

"Stay close to me," Hiei instructed as he turned around and set his sights on the forest ahead.

"I will," Botan said, summoning her oar and looking over at the fire-demon. "Lead the way."

Hiei sprinted off, with Botan following suit on her oar. She wondered what could have had Hiei volunteering to see the mission through to its end on his own, but she didn't have much longer to dwell on it as he came to a sudden stop.

"I know you're there," Hiei said. "Even without the jagan your stench is enough to give you away."

A figure dropped down from the trees into a crouch. Botan landed and dispelled her oar, her eyes following the demon as he stood up fully and graced them with a smirk. He was medium build and around the same height as Botan. He looked fairly human and could have passed for one, if not for the fangs and green skin.

"Long time no see, kiddo."

His dark eyes, slightly obscured by the mess of black bangs on his forehead, were targeting Hiei with a nostalgic look. Botan leaned in towards Hiei, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Is he an old friend?" she whispered, eyes never leaving the green demon.

"Hardly," Hiei snorted. "Makoto is one of the bandits I first came into contact with after being expelled from the ice village."

Botan frowned. She remembered when Hiei said that he was only taken in by the bandits for one reason: his hiruiseki stone. They abandoned him when they realized that he was too strong for them. The thought alone made her anger flare up.

"You seem different, somehow," Makoto said conversationally.

The demon took slow and careful steps forward, before walking circles around them and examining Hiei with an analytical eye. Botan tensed, wondering if he would try to land a surprise attack at such close range, but Hiei didn't seem concerned.

"Stop that," Hiei ordered, finally seeming to grow tired of the other demon's antics.

"Your power seems to have decreased over the years and you're not wearing that stone anymore!" he pointed out, before giving Botan a grin. "He always used to show off that hiruiseki stone of his like some sort of prize. I can't tell you how many times the boss tried to swipe it from him. But the kid had an iron grip."

"What's your point?" Hiei asked gruffly.

"Looks like you learned a little subtlety over the years," the demon said. "It's better that way. Keep it hidden somewhere, so no one can take it from you. It must have had some sentimental value if you didn't sell it for the highest price."

"Hn. The stone is of no consequence to me now. In fact, I lost it a long time ago," Hiei said bluntly.

"You what?" the demon blanched.

"I was careless and lost it during a scuffle in the highlands. The stone fell off of the cliff and into the Forest of Pain," Hiei informed, before smirking wickedly. "You're free to go back and search for it, if you'd like."

"Oh no," Makoto declined, putting his clawed hands up. "I know better than to go there. Besides, I prefer an easy steal."

"You never change," Hiei responded.

His tone was scathing, but his glare lacked the fierceness it usually held. As Botan looked between the two and followed the conversation, her unease faded. Makoto was, dare she say it, sort of amicable. His stance was relaxed and his smile seemed genuine by the way it reached his eyes. His words were teasing and light - they didn't hold the promise of a threat or a hint of maliciousness. Most importantly, he looked at Hiei with a mixture of fondness and nostalgia, as though he really considered Hiei an old friend.

She felt her communication device buzz and she was immediately jolted out of her thoughts.

"I don't mean to break up the happy reunion, but Spirit World is hot on your trail," Botan cut in, causing the two males to look in her direction. "I'm afraid you won't be able to roam around this world freely for much longer."

"I've had my fun," Makoto relented. "I'm actually starting to miss home a bit, anyway."

"Since you haven't actually committed any crimes, I should be able to just send you back with a warning," Botan informed.

"He committed a crime by entering the human world unauthorized," Hiei pointed out.

"Hiei, you almost sound like you want your friend to be punished!" she rebuked.

"He's not my friend," the fire-demon countered.

Makoto laughed heartily.

"Some things really never change."

"Yes, Hiei can be quite abrasive and rude. Has he always been like this?" she inquired curiously.

"Since the day he was born," Makoto responded with a firm nod. "Even as a baby, he was always glaring at everybody!"

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Botan noted in amusement.

"Would you both shut up?" the fire-demon gritted.

"Oh, that's right, I shouldn't be fooling around. Time to get down to business," she said. "Sorry to be so blunt, but, other than breaching the barrier, have you harmed any humans?"

"No."

Botan wanted to believe him, she really did, but she hesitated.

"You can trust him," Hiei said suddenly, causing the ferry-girl to look over at him in surprise. "He was one of the pacifists of the group, preferring to do things without resorting to violence. It's probably why he thought he could stow away in this world and loot to his heart's content."

"Guilty as charged," Makoto admitted sheepishly.

"That's great, I'll be able to direct you to a portal back to the demon world and we can act like this whole thing never happened," Botan smiled.

"Don't allow your compassion to override your judgment," Hiei advised, stopping her in her tracks. "Spirit World is expecting you to apprehend a demon. If you return with nothing, what will that look like?"

Although his words sounded admonishing, she could see them for what it really was. He was looking out for her, in his own special way. A warm feeling settled over her chest and spread outwards, threatening to break the careful 'do-not-fall-for-Hiei' mantra that she had put into place. She could not allow her feelings for Hiei to dip into dangerous territory. It was hard to remain unaffected, but she managed to keep a straight face and ignore the tension in her heart.

"Demons pass over all the time. If we can get him back home without any violence, then Koenma will be pacified," she reasoned.

"Hn," he grunted. "If you say so, ferry-girl."

Botan couldn't help the way her lips curved upwards into a smile.

"Well, isn't that sweet? Looks like our little fire-demon's learned to show concern for someone other than himself," Makoto teased lightly. "You really have grown up over the years."

"If you value your life, you will keep your misguided opinions to yourself," Hiei snarled back.

Botan could feel the heat rise to her cheeks and she hoped that the others didn't notice it. Looking for any means of a distraction, she suddenly remembered that her communication device was still buzzing incessantly. Pulling it out of the folds of her kimono, she answered.

"Yes?"

"I saw the rest of the team return without you, Hiei or the intruder. Is everything okay?"

"Oh yes, we're fine, Hinageshi. We actually apprehended him and we were about to send him back," she reported. "I'm sure Koenma will want him returned quickly and without any trouble. Can you give me the location for the closest portal back to Makai?"

"You can count on me!"

Hiei didn't expect to see the bandit from his past suddenly make an appearance in his present. It could have been worse, though; it could have been one of the other, viler creatures he had come into contact with over the course of his childhood.

"The portal should be around here somewhere," Botan said as she searched for any distortions in the air. "Aha, found it."

Makoto took a step forward.

"Guess that's my cue to leave," he announced, fangs visible as he grinned widely. "It was good seeing you again, kid."

"Hn."

"And it was a pleasure meeting you, little lady," Makoto said, turning to wink at Botan.

Botan giggled and waved.

"Same to you. Take care now and don't get into any trouble!" she urged.

Hiei watched as the bandit passed through the barrier. It would be so easy to slip through himself and be done with it all, but he couldn't make an enemy out of the Spirit World a second time. His sister was under their jurisdiction while she lived in this world and, if it needed protecting, he would have to come back and work with them again. Besides, as he looked over at Botan, he wasn't so sure that he wanted to end their little game, yet. Freedom would come soon enough, anyway.

The portal disappeared once Makoto was safely on the other side and Botan turned to Hiei.

"He was nice," she said.

"You think everyone is nice," Hiei accused.

Botan shrugged, before casting him a more serious look.

"Did you really mean what you said earlier? That you truly don't care about your mother's hiruiseki?"

Hiei's brow furrowed. He wasn't expecting her to bring up this topic again. It was obvious that she simply couldn't let it go.

"I never said that I didn't care. I said that I didn't need it anymore."

"Really?"

He sighed.

"I tried to reclaim it, but my efforts were in vain," he confessed. "The stone is gone and I won't ever see it again. There is no use wondering about it uselessly."

"I see," she said with a nod.

"Why do you care so much?"

"Well I was just curious," she feigned innocently. "The stone was very important to Yukina, but you casually brushed it aside as though it were worthless."

"You're lying."

The woman was incredibly easy to read. Botan gulped audibly and he could see her trying to come up with a valid excuse for her curiosity.

"Tell me the truth, now," he ordered impatiently.

"Oh alright," the ferry-girl relented, sighing. "I wanted to see if I could find anything in our records back home concerning your stone. Hiruiseki stones are very valuable; there must be some trace of it somewhere."

Hiei was not expecting her to say that and as such, he wasn't expecting the suddenly tight feeling that gripped his chest when the weight of her words set in.

"Why do you care?" he asked lowly.

"I thought it would be nice for you to have it."

"I'm not asking you about the stone anymore. Why do you seem to care so much about me?"

"I…"

She looked flustered, guilty, almost as if she had been caught in the act of doing something wrong. Her cheeks darkened and she refused to look at him. He was sure that if he listened closely enough, he could hear her heart beating rapidly. He had asked her the same question before and she answered easily: because he was her friend. This time her reaction was strange, but then again, most things about this woman were strange.

"Forget it," he dismissed. "It's in your nature to be friendly and overstep your boundaries. It can't be helped."

She seemed to take offense to that, putting her hands to her hips.

"I wouldn't go befriending anyone, just for the record, Hiei. There is a very strict selection process."

He highly doubted that and gave her an unconvinced look.

"I'm serious! First and foremost, they have to be a good person," she said. "And secondly, we have to get along."

He almost scoffed at the idea. A good person didn't do what he was doing to her and their time together usually involved multiple squabbles. But he supposed if things had been different, if they had met under different circumstances, and if he wasn't using her for the bet, they could have been friends. In the remaining time that he was with her, he supposed he could be -

He stopped abruptly at that train of thought.

What the hell was he thinking?

Hiei remembered when he had first begun working as Spirit World's ally, he told Kuwabara that friends were just a crutch for the weak, and he still believed those words. Humans threw around the word 'friend' so easily, but it all boiled down to one thing: a stark reminder of weakness. A friend filled in the void that you were lacking. If you needed companionship, they were there. If you needed comfort, they provided it. They lent strength in times of weakness.

He had always been alone and the need for those things was not allowed in his life. He had always been enough.

But as he looked at Botan, he realized that those sentiments weren't exactly true. Kurama had been an invaluable ally. He had the tactical skill and calculating mind that Hiei did not. Hiei entered into an alliance with him, but even after that alliance was broken and they were both thrown into an even worse alliance with the spirit detective and the psychic, they had continued to rely on each other. In dire circumstances, Hiei had even come to trust the strength of Yusuke and Kuwabara, as well.

He had even depended on the ferry-girl, whether it be to keep his anger in check, to continue these dates or to just be there. She wasn't just the key to his freedom anymore. He had been relying on her more often than not without even noticing it. He supposed that meant that she was now placed into the same category of significance as Yukina and Kurama.

The thought startled him and he stopped walking as he felt a cold and heavy raindrop fall on his cheek.

"It's starting to rain," Botan noted.

He had barely heard her, as he was still caught up in the haze of troubling thoughts that were swirling around in his mind. They only seemed to appear when the woman was around, so perhaps her absence would bring an end to them.

"You should leave before the storm starts," he advised.

"You're right. It wouldn't be a pleasant journey if I had to pass through a storm!" she replied, summoning her oar and taking a seat.

He watched her numbly. If he was more self-aware, perhaps he would have detected the conflicting desires raging from within. He wanted her to stay just as much as he needed her to leave. It was strange and not something he wanted to dwell on in the moment, so he pushed it all aside.

"I do hope the weather clears up in time for the game, but I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we get there," Botan said as she hovered a few feet off the ground. Her smile softened as she looked at him and that strange feeling in his chest grew. "See you tomorrow!"

When she disappeared into the sky, he made the familiar trek back to the park and took shelter in one of the larger trees. As the darkened sky became illuminated with flashing lightning, he couldn't ignore the thundering in his own chest. The storm was in full effect now, but he hardly noticed as he raged his own internal storm; his thoughts were all clashing and going against everything he had ever stood for, all because of the ferry-girl.

The weather had cleared up considerably, to Botan's glee and to Hiei's dismay. He squinted as the sunlight shone down from the endlessly blue and vast sky. The area was festering with humans in every direction he turned. They came in swarms from the parking lot and were gathered in any corner and area they could find, all donned in their team colors and jabbering off enthusiastically. Some were listing off statistics and information about each player, others had gotten into a heated argument over which team would win, while a majority were chattering off to each other about topics that Hiei didn't care to understand. He didn't think it was possible, but it was even worse than the crowd at the carnival and Hiei wanted to curse Shuichi all the more for it. As they waited on a line to enter the dome, a wicked thought ran across his mind: if he burned the tickets to ashes now and pretended that he misplaced them, then they could find a much less grating activity to fulfill their fifth date. It would save him the aggravation and imminent headache, but as his crimson eyes flicked over towards Botan, he quickly reconsidered. She was in a state of awe, her eyes traveling over the mass of people and the stadium itself. As expected, she was unfazed by the overwhelming degree of scents, sounds, and sights. She had welcomed it all with a mixture of excitement, curiosity and wonder.

"Which team will you root for, Hiei?"

"The outcome doesn't matter to me."

"Well, I'm cheering for the home team. I'm already wearing their colors, see?" she said, pointing to her red t-shirt. "And it just so happens that you're wearing the opposing team's colors."

"It wasn't my intention," Hiei replied, glancing down at his blue shirt.

"How about we make a game of it, then? Whoever chooses the winning team, gets a prize of some sort."

Hiei scoffed.

"I don't like games, nor do I care for trivial prizes."

"The prize can be more abstract," she suggested. "If my team wins, you have to do whatever I say and vice versa. What do you say?"

He raised a brow at her.

"You would trust me that much, woman?"

"Of course!" she answered without hesitating.

Hiei didn't know if she was extremely foolish, extremely trusting, or if she was adept enough at reading him to know that he would not do anything that would potentially result in her being harmed, but whatever the case was, her answer didn't settle well with him.

"And besides, we each have an equal chance of winning. Who knows, you might be the one who had to do all the trusting in the end!" Botan winked.

Hiei crossed his arms over his chest. Hiei didn't know why he was even entertaining the idea of her silly little bet; nothing good came of gambling on an unsure outcome, but if he was going to sit through a baseball match, he might has well use this opportunity to finally gain some leverage on the very same woman who had been confusing him as of late.

"This bet seems one-sided, especially if you're so sure of your team's victory. You picked them for a reason; I would be a fool to bet against a sure thing."

"It's not really a sure thing, anything can happen," she said, a single finger raised as she spoke informatively. "For instance, maybe one team has more motivation to win. Or maybe some players are having an off day. But if you insist, then we can switch teams."

"Hn."

Botan must have taken his noncommittal grunt as acceptance because her expression suddenly split out into a wide grin.

"Let's shake on it, then," she urged, extending her hand forward. "To make it official."

He looked at her outstretched hand, wondering if it was really necessary to engage in such a trivial means of physical contact, before lifting his crimson eyes up to her face. She was smiling at him expectantly, encouraging him to follow suit. When their hands finally met, she shook it for good measure.

"No turning back now," she said in a sing-song voice, as she released his hand and moved in turn with the line.

They finally reached the entrance of the stadium and made it through the security checkpoint without much delay. As they traversed through the hallways, passing shops, kiosks and vendors, he could still feel the warmth of her hand in his. It wasn't the first time they had done this, but each time since then had been less of a mental shock and more of a physical shock. Something happened every time they touched and he tried to ignore it as he wiped his hand on his pants in a lame attempt to get rid of the foreign feeling.

"I think this is our row," Botan noted.

Hiei watched as she moved further in and frowned upon realizing that their seats were in the middle of the row. They would undoubtedly end up completely surrounded by overexcited humans on all sides and his long list of reasons to despite Shuichi increased by one. As Botan shuffled closer towards their seats, he heard a distinct whistle from the row behind them. A group of men were leering over at her without the slightest hint of subtlety or secrecy and Hiei's anger flared up. He clenched his fists, glaring over at them darkly and causing the trio to immediately look away.

He briefly wondered how many more years would be tacked onto his sentence for roasting a few perverts.

"Everything okay?" Botan asked, turning to him with a frown.

The ferry-girl was completely oblivious; she hadn't noticed a thing and Hiei wondered why he even bothered. Although they had entered this arrangement, they weren't really bound to each other by any means. If others were watching her, it should not have mattered to him, but he couldn't explain the fury that had overcome him the moment he noticed the other men.

He decided to dismiss the thought as he settled into his plastic seat. It wouldn't do him any good to dwell on it, anyway.

Botan looked around the area, her bright eyes scanning over the audience and taking in the colorful sights. The crowd was alive and electric and bursting with energy. Everyone from children to the elderly possessed a vital and unbridled spirit of love for the game and all that it encompassed. With each crack of the baseball bat, the contagious excitement swelled and she felt herself becoming swept up in they hype as the players scattered among the field.

For a moment, she allowed herself to think back and remember how frightening and dismal the atmosphere was during the Dark Tournament. The crowd was myriad of blood thirsty demons who cheered for violence and wished for the death of her dear friends. It was a stark difference from what she was experiencing now and for that, she was thankful.

Her gaze halted stopped on the scoreboard; noting that the two teams were currently tied. Her team was playing spectacularly, but so was Hiei's. They were evenly matched and there was no telling which side would come out victorious in the end. Botan snuck a glance over at Hiei, who was staring at the field disinterestedly. She had no idea what she would ask of him if she won, but it was always fun to leave things up to fate and see what the outcome would be.

The last player went up to bat and one of the runners was able to make it back to home base, tipping the game's favor over to Hiei. She couldn't help but notice the slight smirk on his face when he glanced at the scoreboard.

"So, how are you enjoying it so far?" she asked.

"It's repetitive and mundane, but if the red team wins, then I suppose it wasn't a complete waste of time."

"Uh, do you already know what your 'prize' will be?" she asked, unable to hide the nervous hesitation in her tone.

"You'll find out soon enough."

She resisted the urge to shiver at his malevolent promise. Why on earth did she think that it was a good idea to enter a bet with Hiei?

"It's that time again, folks! The infamous kiss-cam!" the announcer's voice cut through the speakers.

"I wonder what that could be?" she asked, turning her attention to the flashing screen. The camera panned over members of the audience, before finally stopping on two teens. The girl smiled shyly as the boy leaned in and kissed her, the audience hooting and hollering over the display of affection.

Hiei grimaced, lip curling in disgust.

"Oh... so that's what they meant by kiss-cam," she said, covering her mouth in surprise. "How embarrassing."

"Humans," Hiei scoffed in return. "Always turning everything into a big spectacle."

The next couple that was caught on camera seemed more than happy to oblige in the tradition, indulging in the affair a bit too enthusiastically. Botan was just about to look away, when the screen suddenly moved to a new target. Her eyes widened when she saw herself and Hiei staring back at her on the large screen and all coherent thought seemed to get caught in her throat when the audience started cheering for them to follow suit.

"Oh no… we aren't… we can't," Botan stammered to the unyielding crowd.

"Aw, are you two shy?" the announcer teased over the loudspeakers. "Come on, everybody; let's give our bashful lovebirds some encouragement."

The crowd became louder and Botan whimpered as she looked between the spectators and Hiei. He continued to stare forward, his eyes pinned to the field determinedly. He didn't even look bothered in the slightest and she wondered how he managed to stay so calm during a time like this.

The blood rushed to her cheeks and she could have sworn she heard the erratic thumping of her heart beating wildly in her chest. As she looked over at Hiei, the sounds of the crowd blurred and distorted into the background. A simple kiss was all it would take to quell the spectator's insistent cheering, but this was Hiei she was dealing with. He hated all sorts of physical contact and preferred to maintain a few feet of distance between himself and the rest of the world. Surely he would never go along with something like this. But the crowd was insistent. They kept cheering them on and Botan was beginning to think that perhaps one little peck wouldn't do any harm. They were pretending to date, after all, and she supposed following this one little custom fell in line with their arrangement.

Closing her eyes and puckering her, she slowly leaned in. When her lips landed on something soft and warm and produced a much better feeling than his cheek should have, she froze in horror and peeled her eyes opened slowly.

She was full on kissing Hiei and she was sure that death was sure to follow.

As the fifth inning ended, the camera panned towards the crowd.

"I love these clips!" Kuwabara said excitedly.

"I wonder about you sometimes," Yusuke muttered. "I'm gonna take a bathroom break, nothing interesting ever happens during these things anyway."

The detective stood up from the couch and exited the room, his footsteps padding down the hallway as he left.

Kuwabara wondered what sort of entertainment they would play next, but his excitement quickly deflated and his shoulders slumped when he realized that it was just the kiss-cam. He stood up from the couch, deciding to rummage the kitchen for some more snacks. He remembered that Shizuru always had the best cookies and chips on the bottom shelf, hidden behind the strange packs of organic powders and mixes. He glanced back at the television one more time to make sure that the kiss-cam was still going on, and froze when he spotted a familiar pair in the crowd. He rubbed his eyes a few times, hoping to dispel the image, but when the uncanny sight of Hiei and Botan remained engrained in his vision, he realized that it wasn't a hallucination.

Hiei looked unperturbed while Botan protested, trying to quell the crowd's excitement. After a little bit of coaxing from the announcer, she seemed to go with it. Kuwabara's eyes widened in terror as he watched the ferry-girl lean in closer towards the fire-demon. He shook his head furiously as Botan's lips neared Hiei's cheek and then the worst thing possible happened: when she was nearly an inch away, the shrimp turned towards her general direction and she ended up kissing him directly on the lips.

"Urameshi!" he bellowed, finding his voice once again.

He heard footsteps, but he didn't dare to look away from the screen.

"What is it?"

"B-Botan and the… the shrimp…"

"What the hell are you mumbling about?"

"… They kissed!" he exclaimed, pointing over at the television.

Yusuke glanced over at the screen and saw a brunette and a blond caught on in the middle of an overly affectionate kiss.

"Well, yeah, that's what the kiss-cam is for, doofus," Yusuke replied, unfazed.

"Hiei and Botan," he mumbled out incoherently.

"What?" Yusuke asked, starting to become irritated.

"I saw Hiei and Botan. They got caught on the kiss-cam and then they kissed each other!" Kuwabara wailed loudly. "I told you something weird was going on between them!"

Yusuke remained skeptical, crossing his arms over his chest as he let out a sigh.

"Are you seriously telling me that Hiei kissed Botan all for the sake of keeping up with a lame tradition, just because a few humans told him to?"

"No, she kissed him!" Kuwabara corrected loudly.

"Okay, now you've got to be kidding me."

"It's the truth!"

"First off, there's no way in hell that Hiei and Botan could have scored tickets to the baseball game. I would know, I've been trying for weeks. Secondly, Botan would never kiss Hiei. And thirdly, Hiei would never let her. So stop hallucinating and let's just watch the game in peace," Yusuke said dismissively as he flopped down onto the couch.

Kuwabara frowned as he glanced back at the oblivious detective. It was amazing how dense he could be sometimes, but if Urameshi refused to believe him, then Kuwabara would just have to talk to the only person who would.

When the camera settled on them and Hiei noticed their images displayed on the large monitors around the stadium, he cursed inwardly. Of course it would land on them; there seemed to be no end to his horrible luck. Even so, he refused to participate in the foolish human custom. Neither he nor the ferry-girl were human, therefore they were above it all. He could hear Botan's weak refusals and he knew that she was probably highly embarrassed, so he decided to let the moment pass and without acknowledging their situation at all. It would spare him the trouble and spare her any further embarrassment. He cast his sights upon the field, his mouth in a firm line and his expression neutral as he tuned out the sounds of the wild crowd.

When the announcer had teased them, he let it go.

When the audience began cheering for them to engage in what he thought was a perverse tradition, he disregarded them.

When he heard some of the people surrounding them smacking their lips together like uncouth animals in an attempt to encourage him to kiss Botan, he tactfully ignored it.

But when he heard a declaration from one of the men behind them, a fiercely possessive and white hot rage settled over him.

"If he won't kiss her, I will!"

That was all it took to unravel his carefully guarded expression and disrupt his air of casual indifference. Hiei knew exactly where the assertion had come from; it could only be the same fools from before. He turned to snarl at the man and was caught off guard when the woman's lips had captured his own. It happened so suddenly - it couldn't have been more than two or three seconds, but the moment was elongated by the foreign feeling. Just when he was beginning to make sense of what had happened, she pulled away.

"I am so sorry," Botan apologized quickly. "I was aiming for your cheek, but then you... and we..."

He said nothing as his mind replayed the memory of their kiss over and over again, his lips still tingling with the memory of hers.

"..."

"Hiei?" she tried feebly.

"..."

"Will you just say something for goodness sakes?" she urged loudly, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"It was a mistake," he answered. "Forget it happened."

"That's right, just a harmless mistake!" she agreed, far too hurriedly. "We can move past this without it being awkward, right?"

He nodded in agreement, but it was easier said than done.

Although he had never made it a habit of kissing his temporary lovers, he had locked lips with his fair share of women. But this was different. It felt infinitely better, despite the fact that it was just an innocent and short lived accident. He swallowed thickly and forced the memory away. He tried to focus on the game in a lame attempt to distract his wandering mind, but it proved to be little help.

The rest of the afternoon was a blur. He distinctly remembered that Botan tried too hard to pretend that nothing had happened between them and that was fine by him. He didn't need to be reminded of their shared encounter. His team won and he had won their little bet, but his mind was still reeling from all that had happened for him to properly relish in his victory. A treacherous part of his mind proposed he claim a second kiss with the woman as his one request and he cursed himself over his lack of control as they meandered through the crowd in order to depart the stadium. When they finally exited, Botan had gotten a call from one of the other ferry-girl's, requesting her presence. He was thankful for the turn of events, believing that putting some distance between them would free his mind.

But it didn't.

The solitude only caused his thoughts to wander back into dangerous territory.

The silence of the park was quickly filled with the echoes of the audience cheering for them.

A cool breeze floated by and he could have sworn that it carried the ferry-girl's flowery scent.

He licked his lips, the taste of her still fresh in his memory as the warmth of her lips returned to his again.

He swallowed thickly. He needed to stop this. He needed to get a hold of himself. He needed...

He wanted the ferry-girl.

Hiei cursed loudly, startling a few birds in the area and causing the tree leaves to rustle as the birds took flight. He had to put an end to this now, before it drove him crazy. Determined, he made his way towards the Spirit World. He didn't feel like dealing with the meddlesome stares of its inhabitants, so he located Botan's room window and made his way over to stand in the open space.

Her hair was down, framing her face and she was wearing an oversized sleep shirt that afforded a generous view of her long legs. She was reading one of those romance novels and she took a few seconds to notice his presence, before her eyes widened and she gave him a startled look.

"Hiei!" she gasped, shocked to see him. "I wasn't expecting to see you…"

He jumped down from the windowsill and stalked over to her, stopping her before she could do anything else.

"Stay right there."

She blinked in confusion, but obliged nonetheless, taking a seat at the edge of the bed.

"…Is everything alright?" she questioned.

"No, but it will be."

This would level the playing field. He needed to continue what she had innocently started back in the baseball stands. He had never denied himself of anything before and he did not intend to start now. Perhaps once it was over, he would stop having such strange thoughts. Or perhaps it was a control issue; she had kissed him without his consent and it didn't bode well with him. Whatever the case, he was ending this here and now.

"I don't understand…" Botan said quietly, her amethyst eyes searching his for some kind of explanation.

"Do you trust me?" he asked slowly.

"You know I do."

She answered without hesitation and something loosened in his chest. His expression softened a little, the tension in his shoulders easing.

"Then close your eyes and don't move."

The ferry-girl was clearly confused, but she conceded wordlessly.

As he looked down at her, he realized that this was the only way he could fix things. He would get it out of his system and go on like nothing happened. Their second kiss would be familiar and lack the mysterious appeal that the first one did and he would be over it. He would continue the last two dates and things would be fine.

With that final thought driving his actions, he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers experimentally. He expected her to freeze up or push him away, but he was wholly shocked when she began to respond to the kiss. He returned her cautiously light kisses with much more fervor, lips brushing against her soft ones feverishly as a low groan escaped from his throat. When he realized what he was doing, he pulled away and she was left staring at him wide-eyed and a little breathless.

That was much better than the first time and he loathed to admit that his fingers itched to grab her and start it all over again for a third attempt. His mind and body were betraying him and he had no one but himself to blame for that.

Botan's mouth opened and closed a few times, words failing her as she stared back at him with parted lips and flushed cheeks. The silence that stretched between them was new and unexplored territory and Hiei didn't trust himself to linger there much longer; it was much too tempting to make the same mistake twice. He turned away from her and took a few determined steps forward. Stopping near her window, he paused to glance at her from over his shoulder.

"Consider us even now," Hiei said lowly, before taking his leave.

Thanks for the kind reviews left so far. I'm sorry that I didn't have the chance to respond to everyone yet, it's been a hectic week. Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you thought!