Dangerous Liasons:

Summary: There was nothing remotely right about the situation. It was clear he had only his own interests in mind, and she knew it was dangerous so... why didn't she put a stop to it? The truth was, she couldn't. [Contains content of a mildly sexual nature]

A/N: I wanted to write a YYH ONE-SHOT. Haaaaah... I have too many multi-chapters for this series, darn it! Okay... It's seems like I've done a lot of this lately, but I don't think I have, really (well, maybe). I like the kind of pairings that are sort-of forbidden but not quite so wrong. For example, my Inuyasha pairings: I write SesshSan, but not Naraku x Sango. Lesser of two evils shipping? XD ... But I didn't pair Botan with a villain! It's just... Y'know, probably something she shouldn't do... definitely something she shouldn't do.

Botan was assistant to the Rekai Tantei. Having a strong knowledge of the behaviors of youkai was in the job description. So, she knew there was a possibility of this happening. Even in the most intelligent, most reserved youkai- even in the most restrained, most disciplined among them, there were still strong primal desires. How else could one explain how even the calmest seeming youkai could possess such strong bloodlust- such powerful urges to kill?

It often surprised her how well Hiei and Kurama could keep the urges and desires so ingrained in their species in line. One would assume the both of them had complete control over the more primal sides of themselves.

However, one can only repress themselves for so long.

She had noticed Hiei behaving differently, but had thought little of it. Hiei was a mystery to all of them, so who was to say if his behavior was strange? Still, it had begun to seem to Botan as if all of these new behaviors were directed at her. She would feel his eyes on her and become frightened, but when she met those red eyes she saw no murderous intent in them. Those same eyes would roam every inch of her, it seemed, making her uncomfortable and confused. Botan would wonder if anyone else noticed this, but couldn't bring herself to ask anyone.

What if she was wrong? What if she was imagining things? Still, some of the signs were hard to ignore. He walked closer to her now, he belittled her less and less often, and the way he would look directly into her eyes when she spoke to him, or when he spoke to her, was a bit unsettling- but intriguing at the same time. His voice even sounded different, rougher, when they spoke- which was happening more often, as he seemed to be around her and the others much more often than usual. However, his behavior toward everyone else hadn't changed at all. The only person he treated differently was her, and that was as confusing as the behaviors themselves.

When it finally hit Botan what exactly was going on, she reminded herself that it was something all youkai had to deal with. It was a purely physical attraction that Hiei had no control over. Still, it was strange that his urges would be directed at her of all people. Perhaps it was the proximity. They worked together often enough that it might be explained away like that, but that still left questions unanswered. There was still the fact that he not only looked at her differently, he acted differenty and treated her differently. He was not as curt as he had been- though not by much. He would still call her on whatever silly or foolish things she might do, but with less annoyance and contempt- he seemed more exasperated with her than anything.

Botan found herself frequently embarrassed, though no one seemed to understand why. The way Hiei looked at her was as intriguing as it was confusing, and Botan would often find herself entertaining thoughts she should not have been having. Someone would constantly point out that she was turning red, and inquire about her health. Each time, she could practically hear him smirking. He would reach out, seemingly not thinking about it, then draw his hand back quickly, irritated, if someone looked at them. Botan could tell by his surprised expressions that she must have looked regretful when he didn't touch her. He would raise an eyebrow at her, and she would quickly come to her senses, looking away.

It was physical, and she didn't want that. She would remind herself of that constantly. She did not want to have a purely physical relationship with anyone, including Hiei. It was only after this thought that she would remember the real reason she shouldn't be desirous of him: for a ferry girl, any type of romantic relationship- physical or otherwise- was not allowed, least of all with a youkai. How easily she forgot that.

It was dangerous. That was another thing she had to remind herself of. Hiei was very strong, and had a reputation for using his strength without concern for those around him. Entering into a physical relationship with him would put her life at risk- she liked to see the best in people, but it was obvious his primal urges were overriding his brain, and he probably wouldn't think to be careful with her.

But why was she thinking about that anyway? Why think about the risk of something she would never do?

But the temptation was there. It was there in the fact that she let him reach out for her time after time, and would be upset when someone interrupted him. It was there when blood rushed to her cheeks from feeling his eyes on her. It was there when her breath quickened when he looked into her eyes. It was very, very there when he walked beside her and her heart began to race. It was there, and he knew it. That was the worst part. She knew he could sense the heat building inside her, hear her quickening breath and racing heart. She wouldn't be surprised if he could feel her resolve weakening.

Botan knew she was close to giving in, and began trying to avoid him. She would look away when their eyes met, walk faster when he began to get nearer to her, and talk to the rest of the group to keep her attention off of him. Hiei was frustrated by this, she knew. He was irritated that he had come so close, and was now being denied. Deep down, Botan knew that avoiding the situation would only make it come that much faster. Still, it made her feel better, thinking that she was doing the best she could to fight it. To do what she was supposed to do- to follow the rules.

As long as he couldn't get her alone, she would be fine. It wasn't as if she spent time on Ningenkai for leisure. Whenever they didn't have a mission she stayed in Rekai, and while she knew he was probably capable of getting there (he'd done it before, after all), she felt assured that he wouldn't risk it. So, she was safe.

Unfortunately, Hiei was not the type to give up easily when it concerned something he wanted. He doubled and redoubled his efforts to get her attention and to get her alone. It had gotten to the point that he really could touch her when he reached out, just before someone would turn and his arm would fall back to his side again. Her skin tingled where his hand had been. Her heart raced until she thought it might cease to function. This could go on much longer. It would go on much longer, until one of them gave up or gave in- and she knew Hiei's will would not be swayed.

Botan soon realized she was making things worse for herself: Hiei would not give up, and the longer he was denied the fiercer his desires became. His eyes burned when he looked at her. The situation would become dangerous soon. The stronger his urges, the more they would overpower his mind, making things very, very dangerous for Botan. She began to think there was no escape. No matter how much she avoided him, he would keep coming back. No matter how far she ran, he would pursue her...

... He was her friend, or at least she considered him a friend. Maybe that would cause him to hold back his strength- perhaps put her safety first? Botan cursed being in this situation in the first place as the inevitable drew closer and closer. It finally came down to the final decision: Give in now, or continue indefinitely. She would have to give in eventually, and some insane part of her mind wanted to. It screamed at her to ignore the danger. Ignore the rules! She wanted this as much as he did, her mind repeated. Her thoughts might have been at war with each other over whether it was right, but that, at least, they agreed on. She wanted this as much as he did.

She consoled herself, saying she didn't have a choice- but she did, and in her heart, she knew that. She could've kept going- could've asked for help! She knew now that she should've told someone long before. It was too late now. Between the both of them, the desire was too strong to stop.

So, in the middle of the night, under the light of the moon during one of their missions, Botan walked quietly away from the camp. He followed after only a minute later. Still, she kept walking further and further away from their encampment. Interruption wouldn't stop him, so it was best to be as far from their friends as possible. Hiei got impatient with her pace, and eventually picked her up and ran the rest of the way. His strong arms and tight grip excited and frightened her. Second thoughts plagued her mind, but there was no escaping now. She felt his ragged breaths on her neck as they slowed down. Her mind began to work so quickly that she couldn't understand her own thoughts.

There was fire in his eyes as he put her down, and her breathing was heavy even though she had been carried almost the entire way. She sent up a silent prayer, hoping that she would be safe through this, then abandoned all thought.

Thankfully, Botan survived the ordeal. However, she soon learned that the first time would not be the last time. Though the desire wasn't as urgent as before, she could still see it in Hiei's eyes whenever he looked at her. She often felt her knees go weak as she recalled the events of that night, then reprimanded herself. It was wrong, and it wouldn't happen again.

Botan had become quite adept at lying to herself.

He called her by name now, which surprised the rest of the group, though he acted as if he had always called her that way. It had now become clear to the others that he was acting differently toward her, but Botan tried her hardest to pretend that nothing had changed. Kurama, however, seemed to know exactly what had happened. He warned her that the road she was travelling down was dangerous, and would bring her nothing but pain- but Botan could step off that road as easilly as she could tell Hiei 'no'. It was no longer an option. She was trapped in a web of lust and lies. She had broken the rules, and could never take it back, so what did it matter if she continued to break the rules?

The only one she was hurting was herself.

It was strange how she could expect something, yet be completely caught off guard when it happened. She knew how youkai worked. She knew what Hiei would try- but the feeling of his teeth between her neck and her shoulder shocked her to her core. Every fiber of her being screamed no, but she couldn't get the word out of her mouth before he broke her skin. At that moment Botan hated Hiei. He had claimed her as his mate out of nothing more than lust, knowing the scar that would be left behind was like a noose around her neck. His selfish desires were going to get her killed, and she hated him for it.

Did he not know that this was grounds for execution? Did he think they would simply dismiss her from her service in Rekai because of this? She asked him, did he not know they would kill her?

A calm, unbothered voice informed her bluntly that Koenma and the rest of Rekai owed him for saving Ningenkai so many times. He licked the blood from her neck and swore that he would kill anyone that tried to harm her. As much as that might seem a romantic gesture, she knew it was nothing more than evidence of his possessiveness. Botan wept. Why had he not asked her? Why had he not asked if she even wanted this? Had he just assumed she would be okay with it?

To her surprise, he smirked. He informed her that she needed to do more research on youkai. What he had done would be considered a proposal. She could easily claim that some random youkai had bitten her, should the authorities of Rekai ask about the mark on her neck. The contract was not complete unless she reciprocated the proposal. She wasn't bound to anything. She frowned, telling him that it didn't change the fact that there was a fresh bite on her neck and that certain members of their team would know where it had come from.

Not that Hiei cared. Her reputation didn't seem to weigh heavily on his mind. Besides, Kurama already knew what they were doing when they snuck off at night, so what did one bite mark matter? There was no reasoning with him. He stared at her, eyes burning and asking a question he knew the answer to.

Botan had thrown caution to the wind enough lately that she thought it might never return to her. If she was going to keep breaking the rules, she was going to shatter them completely. No matter how little sense it made for her to do what she did next. No matter that life after that night would not be easy. Nevermind that, no matter how much Rekai owed the both of them, she was tying a noose around both his neck and her own. Sense? Reasoning? Foresight? Future? Right and Wrong?

Those words no longer existed.

A/N: I love this pairing, but it's really difficult to write them in a romantic relationship. Writing about the physical aspects is actually ridiculously easy... Does that mean I didn't expend much effort? Hrmm... maybe. I can see the relationship as kind of leading both of them off of a cliff. I can imagine all hell breaking loose after the events of this story, for both Hiei and Botan. I can see either one of them getting killed, or the lust fading and making them both (or at least Botan) miserable. For some reason, though, I imagine the whole thing working out by some sick trick of fate- and that might be the worst outcome of all. The problem is that they're living completely in the moment and have basically signed an unbreakable contract despite the fact that they both have extended life spans.

Actually, I feel really bad for Botan- especially considering the nature of the relationship. I mean, on Botan's side it's a mix of lust and fear- and that's seriously unhealthy. As far as Hiei goes, I really don't think he has Botan's best interests at heart. Who knows, maybe they'll work things out. That doesn't change the fact that the relationship has a horrible basis. Anyway, I think it's okay as long as you remember that it is an unhealthy, dangerous relationship and I didn't intend for it to be taken as anything else. I hope I was able to portray it correctly...

Oh gah- "Hey me, I wrote this!" I really think I got the ending wrong, but I couldn't think of any other way to end it! Gahhhhh... I really want to write sweet romance for these two (or anyone in YYH) someday, but I'm just not that confident in my abilities as a writer. I don't think I have what it takes to write them in a healthy relationship (plus it would take more than one chapter and I can't deal with Hiei for more than one chapter. I just can't. There are just characters you aren't good at writing, and for me that's Hiei).