Tender is the Night

AN: Actually, I had this for a while? Sorry, was on a vacation and I didn’t take my laptop. Not that it would have helped much without wireless. Again, thank you for the reviews! I love that people like this and take interest. :)

Disclaimer: Standard

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Tender is the Night

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With the click of the door, Botan turned back into the room, moving to the open window and peering up. She bit her lip slightly. “Shesh, that’s a long way up. No equipment either.” The glance turned downwards. “And if I fall from a couple of stories up, I’ll be lucky if I don’t die.”

“Backing out, onna?”

“I am not!” she protested quickly, drawing on a pair of gloves and levering up to stand on the windowsill, her arms holding on to the edges to keep her upright. “It’d be better if I had a map of this place though.”

Hiei appeared next to her on the sill, sitting with his legs outside the room and holding on to her knee as she swayed slightly from the added presence. “What do you need now?”

“Um...” A hand went to her chin as she thought. Botan recited a short list. “Power route, layout of the bedroom would be nice, camera location, and oh, bedroom too, since I’ve got no clue what window that is.”

“Second from the right, top floor.”

Pink eyes, now contactless, counted the five floors in between them. “Thanks,” she said dryly. She glanced back down as she felt something hit her palm. “What’s this?”

“Two-way radio. Yusuke gave them to me, so if they don’t work, blame that idiot.” Hiei was staring hard out into the night, looking at the lake in the distance. “Goes in your ear.”

Obligingly, she put it in, making sure it was clipped around the ear lobe securely. “And what else?”

The hand released her knee. “Now you get to work.”

“What?! You didn’t tell me the rest!”

“I’ll tell you on the way up.” The tone was dismissive. “I suggest you hurry. Fifteen minutes isn’t really that long, and we need to be back by then.”

Grumbling, she swiped a foot at him, only to miss and cling to the sill before he reached out a hand and steadied her once more. Sighing with reluctance, Botan glanced up, then began her ascent.

It really wasn’t that difficult, once she got the hang of it. Reach for another ledge here, then pull up. The ledges themselves where tiny, but if she clung, there was just enough room to be sure of her position before she reached for the next one. A thought ran through her mind. Hiei must have done this before to have been so assured that she could accomplish it herself. She wondered what a picture he would have made, hanging on to the side of the house and not knowing if he would fall or not.

Of course, the sinister part of her mind whispered, he could have just decided randomly to let her try it out first. A glance down had her head spinning, but also noticing his intense gaze as he watched her. The more critical part of her muttered. Jerk, she was probably his guinea pig.

“Why are you just standing there, onna?” The voice in her ear almost made her lose her balance before she remembered the radio. Trembling at the side of the house, she reached up and grabbed for the next ledge and ignored his question.

“How many more stories until I hit the top floor?”

The reply was short. “One. It’s to your right now, three windows.” The voice turned amused. “I hope you’re good at jumping.”

Annoyance came from her throat as she ended the climb up and looked over. Reaching out with one leg, she stretched as far as possible, then thanked whatever gods were listening as her foot hit the next ledge. No jumping for Hiei, that liar.

“What’s the matter, afraid of heights?” His voice was drawling, she could almost feel the smirk.

Botan swore she would beat it out of him when she descended.

But for now, she had other things to worry about. Sweat drifted down from her brow as she stretched for the next ledge. “Camera locations?”

The mocking tone broke off as they got down to business. “One above the window, two to the left, close to the safe, one fixed on the door. The one on the window sweeps, you’ll have to time it right.”

“‘Kay,” she replied easily, adding a little hop to the next window ledge and becoming more confident. Her fingers paused on the edge of the pane. “Hang on, are these locked? Don’t tell me I came up for nothing!”

Hiei rubbed his head, shaking it from the noise and rolling his eyes. “Baka, it’s not, I wouldn’t have suggested this route otherwise.”

A long pause. “Why? How do you know this?” She was overwhelmingly suspicious. It takes one to know one, they always say. What if he was just trying to set her up to turn her in?

“Look to your right,” he broke out, exasperated. “See that trellis? The lady uses it to sneak back into the house after finishing her business out in the gardens at night! Why would she lock her entrance in?”

“Oh.” Botan’s voice was soft, apologetic. “And so the camera...?”

“Right, why else would she have it on sweep?” There was an impatient sigh from below. “Get back to work, onna, ten minutes.”

“Sure thing!” Botan replied, smiling as she hesitantly pushed the glass forward. It moved with no resistance. Looking up through the top of the window, she waited until it was turned fully away from her, towards the wall, before darting through, closing the window behind her and rolling away. It swept back, covering her escape for now.

Her attention turned to the two cameras fixed on the safe. She’d have to set them on loop. A hand reached into the shirt for a strap over her chest and pulled out what appeared to be a PDA. Small and just right. This really wasn’t much for hacking, she wondered why Hiei had set it for her first job, but she supposed maybe she had to start out small to gain his trust for bigger jobs. Frowning she stared around the room.

“Power source?” The whisper had Hiei sharpening his gaze on the room. He couldn’t see her now, she’d better know what she was doing.

A quick recollection of the last time he had visited. Mental reconstruction of the room put the most likely area for the control mechanism... “Hn, check the nightstand, or behind the bed.”

“You don’t know?!” she hissed back, sounding thoroughly ticked. Botan got no reply. Sighing once more and giving up on her purposefully vague partner, she crept towards the bed, rolling under it to avoid the gaze of the cameras. Her hand felt it’s way up the wall, trying to avoid the bedsheets and cause movement to them. A soft sound of victory floated through the radio as her hand hit metal.

“Finished?” Hiei inquired from below, checking the clock. Eight minutes, she needed to hurry it up.

Botan was fiddling with the switchboard, trying very hard to get her small wire clamps to attach to the appropriate places without seeing the actual process. “A-almost,” she winced out, turning her wrist to a painfully degree. Right...there! “Bingo!” Smiling once more, she rolled out from beneath the bed again and moved over to the safe. “Now lets see, traditional turn style, hm, shouldn’t be too hard...”

“Seven minutes, onna.” The voice was testy.

“Be quiet, Hiei,” Botan responded automatically. “I’m working.” Her head placed itself against the safe, and she began turning.

On the first floor, Hiei was tapping his arm with aggravation. Damn, the onna had taken too long in getting inside, there was no way she was going to finish in time! Well, not enough time to get her supplies and get down. Waiting a few more seconds, he finally stood up and looked to the ledge above him. There was no help for it.

In the room, Botan was concentrating, listening to the ticks of the combination. One click. Gosh, she couldn’t remember when Kurama had set her on these. His softly smiling face as he shook his head over the follies of the rich. Two clicks. Hadn’t he said that tradition was their most common downfall? Combination locks always did set the heart aflutter, for both the wealthy and the thieves. Three clicks. It was no wonder that he had trained it to be her best friend.

The girl turned the handle, drawing out the prize inside. A box, not a small one, what luck. Quickly and nimbly she retrieved it’s contents, then set the empty box back inside, shutting the door.

A voice cut across her actions. “That’s it, onna! You’ve got two minutes to get out of there! Don’t make me come up there and get you!”

“Hiei!” She panicked, quickly stuffing the jewels down into the satchel across her chest and jumbling the contents there. “Hiei! I’m finished, just hang on!” A roll under the bed and the wires were freed immediately from endless practice. She rolled back out, took a gamble with only a brief look at the window camera, then dashed outside, shutting the panes behind her.

Balance was barely caught as she swayed for an interminable time. “Baka onna, be careful!” It was hissed out across her radio, as she trembled and tried to move from the ledge. “No jewels are worth your life, fool!”

She made it across the three horizontal ledges. “I’m fine,” it was a shaking voice, but satisfied. “You just scared me, that was all. How much longer have I got?”

He cursed from below as she lowered for the next ledge. “A minute,” he finally replied. “You’d better hurry, we’ve still got to get you dressed. We’re going to be late.”

“Hang on,” Botan breathed out, foot searching for the next ledge. Only two more, then a swift change. She’d make it.

Her mind was playing tricks on her. When she thought she felt pressure beneath the toes, she released, only to realize nothing was really there at all. “Wha-?! Whoa!!” Plummeting through the air... would three stories still kill her? Thought turned dreary in an instant before startled hands wrapped around her waist and tugged her forward. “Oophf!”

They shuddered at the sudden weight but remained strong around her, suspending her from the ground below. Her breath heaved against the chest she was pulled tight against. “Baka, baka!” Hiei was growling into her hair, the arms pulling her in tighter nevertheless. “Idiot! This is why I work by myself! You’re going to get us killed! Do you know how many people could have just heard your shouts?” A louder growl resounded against her, melding with her shivers of relief. His last words were soft, but pounded into her skull from their vibrations against her head. “Baka onna.” Shoulders slumped with relief that he had been able to catch her. Did she know how much she had made his heart stop right there? She had almost died! Or gotten seriously injured, and there was no way he was going to be a part of that. More muttered cursing as he pulled back and hurriedly hauled her inside the window.

Limbs were shaking and the first steps she took were uncertain. “Sorry. I’m so sorry, Hiei.” Pink eyes were filling with unshed tears. She had probably just ruined everything. No wonder he was so angry.

“Get dressed.” The voice was brusque as he pulled the bag from the corner and tossed it in her direction. Wordlessly, she pulled out her clothes and began changing, as he once again turned his back. Minutes passed in near silence, only the soft rustle of fabrics. When it stilled, Hiei looked back, to find her already in the blue dress and facing away from him. “Are you dressed fully?”

She nodded quickly, wig bobbing up and down for a moment, and held the bag out behind her. Hiei took it and dropped it out the window before grabbing her arm and nearly sprinting back down the corridor.

They made it to the party, in fact, with a couple seconds to spare, Hiei’s watch just a bit fast compared to their host’s. But they weren’t quite in time to save them the upraised eyebrows from their rumpled condition. Red eyes followed Nakano’s grin and belatedly Hiei jerked up the strap on Botan’s blue dress, the girl herself blushing furiously and averting her gaze. His arm was still around her almost protectively as he glared back at the man.

Nakano only smiled wider. “What’s this, Hiei-san? Honestly, I think we’d better send for the priest right away. I didn’t know you were so enthusiastic about your date.”

“Don’t you even dare,” he ground out in reply, hand clenching around Botan’s shoulder. From behind her husband, Nakano’s wife was sighing from the treatment ‘Amelia-chan’ was getting.

The large man chuckled briefly. “Doing it the other way then? Oh well, like mother like son, I suppose.” He laughed boisterously to himself, but surprisingly few people joined him, actually taking the time to become annoyed with their host. That was uncompromisingly rude, they muttered amongst themselves, and if not a slight against Hiei-san, who couldn’t necessarily deny it, then certainly against the lovely Yukina-chan, who loved her brother dearly.

Hiei himself never noticed their assistance, and it was only Botan’s quick hand at his shirt that kept him from launching himself at the man. “Let go, onna.” It was a threat without the threatening words, his tone instead promising consequences.

She refused to listen to them this time. “No, Hiei, no! We’ve won. Don’t give it away now! We’ve won here, just forget about it!” A low and rushed protest, but after a few moments glaring after the offended, he finally allowed himself to give in and be swayed by her words. Any attack now would present the opportunity for Nakano to be antagonistic later and perhaps suspect him first off when he found the jewelry missing.

Turning the woman loose, he picked up a cup on the table as the couple hosting the party turned to face the crowd once more. Nakano held aloft a glass himself, his arms encompassing the whole party. “Friends! I’m so glad you could be here to partake in our lovely celebration! Normally my wife and I enjoy returning to our lakeside home by ourselves each year, but this time we thought we’d include you as well! So, please, have a wonderful evening!” Cheers rang out as the toast was completed.

The short thief rolled his eyes, barely lifting the cup to his lips before handing it off to Botan to drink from. More like the fool just wanted to be assured that everyone knew he was around this season, so he had to be invited to each party unless someone was intent on giving him a slight. Hiei’s nose crinkled in disgust. What an idiot. He wanted, no, needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

Botan choked slightly on the drink as a sudden tugging came on her arm. She set the glass down hurriedly as she turned to Hiei. “What? What’s wrong?”

“We’re leaving,” came the short reply.

“But the bag-!”

She quieted as he looped his arm securely underneath hers then began moving to the stairs with quick steps. “On the way out.” His head barely nodded for the host. “It’s late, Bird-san has a plane tomorrow. We have to go.”

Nakano’s eyes let out the barest gleam, but he nodded in return. “Of course. It was a pleasure meeting you, Amelia-san. Do stop by with Hiei-san again.” Obviously he thought Hiei was lying. Which he was, but it wasn’t as if the shorter man cared by now.

The steps were almost flown up, and Botan barely retrieved her wrap from the man at the door before she was being tugged out of it, away and down another set of stairs. “Hiei, slow down, they’ll be suspicious!”

“Only of stupid things,” he shot back, annoyed. “They’ll think we’re eager to do something else.” He ignored her red face and startled expression, sprinting away at the foot of the entrance, reappearing in moments with the bag they had dropped out the window. Footsteps crunched on the gravel as they moved forward, Hiei hailing a cab that was waiting in the drive. The instructions to the hotel were given quickly as he pulled Botan inside and snapped the door shut.

Needless to say, with the current temper he was in, the ride back was quiet.

–

When they reached the hotel, things just seemed to get worse, however. Hiei cursed roughly at the sight of the police lined up outside. He paid the taxi driver before pulling Botan, not towards the building, but down an alleyway to the side. “Kuso! What the hell are they doing here?!”

Botan was peering out around the corner, watching them nervously. “How are we supposed to get in, Hiei? There’s got to be at least twenty outside!” Her hands were wringing themselves into knots at the thought of trying to break in.

To her right, Hiei was calculating quickly. They didn’t necessarily come because of the theft, it could have been any number of things. But best not be too foolhardy. He needed to get in there, they wouldn’t question his status for the moment, but it would be best if the woman did not enter like this. “Onna.” His voice came out of the dark. “Take off your wig.”

“What?” She blinked, confused, but complied. “The pins as well?” At his nod, those came out too and ended up being thrown by him in a nearby waste basket.

At her confused face to his outstretched hand, he explained. “They might have your description from the party. Cover your dress with that wrap thing and lets go.”

“And you?” she asked back, as he strode out of the alley way. Hiei just shrugged and she rolled her eyes. “Now who’s going to get us killed?”

Catching up quickly, they managed to stride through the police at the front with little problem, Hiei’s attitude of “you’re not worthy to even glance at me” perhaps forestalling the inevitable for the moment. But the front desk man caught him at the door, nervously switching his weight from foot to foot.

“Ah, Koorime-sama, I’m afraid that the police seem to think that this hotel is home to a criminal. Now,” he hurried on quickly, “it’s nothing for you to be worried about! And do rest assured that this hotel is always looking out for your best interest and if you would request it, we can even provide guards for your door. I’m sure this whole mess with the police will be cleared up as soon as possible and everything will be back to normal. In fact, the hotel is offering a complimentary drink at the house bar just for the trouble. And if there’s anything else you would need, do not hesitate to let me know.” He delivered the speech almost in one breath, obviously panicked that such a high paying customer as one of the members of the Koorime family would decide to switch to a different hotel. His smile was ingratiating as he tried to smooth everything over.

Hiei’s eyes narrowed, barely paying attention to all of the bluster. “Looking for a criminal? What do they think he did?”

The poor man shook like a wind-tossed butterfly. “Oh, you know, petty crime. I think it’s theft. The police never tell us anything important like that. But you can be assured that it isn’t murder!” Boisterous laughter that was very mismatched in a man who was sweating bullets and had red patches across his skin.

“Hn.” The shorter man’s mouth twisted slightly in thought as he looked off to the elevators. Theft did not sound good at all. They might just have to change their reservations. Though how the police had discovered their location so soon...?

The front desk man’s voice cut through suppositions. “And you, miss? All in all, I’m sure this must be a terrifying experience for you!” Again, the overdone and outused laughter. The only one it seemed terrifying for was the man himself. “If you’d tell us your room number, it’d be no problem for us to get an escort for you right away. I’ve got some men waiting for just that purpose in the back, our guardsmen.”

Botan fumbled on that one, uncertain what to say, but it became unnecessary as Hiei’s harsh glare turned back and the doorman found himself backing up a pace and suddenly flushing.

“Unless, of course... ah, with you.. um, I see...” Finally sensing the danger he was in from just remaining there, the man bowed quickly. “Please excuse me, Koorime-sama, I meant no intrusion.” And then he was flitting off again, that nervous bug, to observe the police milling and try to catch any more incoming guests.

The rolling eyes of Hiei were barely witnessed as he stalked off to the elevators with Botan following behind. Her eyes, when the door shut, were spitting fire. “Must you do that?! Now everyone we’ve met thinks we’re sleeping together!”

“It’s not my fault that you must look like a whore,” Hiei drawled, reaching towards the button plate.

It was only by the miracle of reflection in the shiny apparatus that he was able to catch the incoming slap. “You evil fiend,” she hissed back, trying to tug her hand away. “That was unforgivable.”

He stared hard back up at her. “Look, onna,” there was no apology in his voice, “I’m not giving off that inference, and if you’re not either, then it must be their stupid reasoning,” but perhaps it came with a compromise. Or at least agreement to hate others not each other. He ignored her huff of dissent and turned away face in favor of looking back to the elevator wall. “Now, what’s your floor again?”

Sighing, she shook off the anger. Getting into fights with him was just a pointless process, he’d never let her win, it could only be stalemate. “Um, five? Let me check.” He hit the button as she reached into the front of her dress and rummaged through the pouch secured there. Jewels hit her hands like a crystalline stream of money, but everything inside was that liquid fire. Botan frowned and rummaged some more, then looked up with growing horror, her face pale.

“Hiei.”

He was standing there, staring idly at the floor numbers click at the top of the door, tapping his fingers against his arm. No response.

“Hiei,” she tried again, sounding a little bit more pressured.

“What?”

Teeth raked across the lip before she dared continue. “I think I know how they figured out it was our hotel.”

A pause as his head came slowly down, to stare at her. He was figuring it out. “Onna...”

Her eyes were pleading. “It’s kind’ve both of our faults, as you scared me so badly on the job, but it seems... I seem... oh, Hiei, I think I dropped my key card in the room.”

He looked at her for only a moment before his eyes squeezed shut and his throat appeared to be fighting down curses. “You’ve probably just killed us.” He couldn’t believe this, how could one woman be so much trouble?! Obviously the gods were trying to prove something here. Yes, never work with another person. He’d never broken the tradition before, so look what happened when he did. Catastrophe!

“I- I can fix this though,” she put in from the side, looking hesitant.

“How?” Hiei growled back, not really believing it at all. First thing was first, he needed to get out of this hotel.

Botan took a deep breath, composing herself, then began ticking things off on her fingers. “Well, I’d have to hack their systems, gain control of the mainframe lists, then erase the fact that I was ever here and change the code to get into the door.”

Red eyes shot back across the elevator. “Who’s computer are you planning to do this on?” The lift gave a ding as they reached the fifth floor and both automatically pressed themselves against the sides, hiding from view of the policemen down the hall. Hiei continued in a raging whisper. “Because last I checked, yours is still in your room!”

“I’ll have to fix that first then, won’t I?” She gave a half smile, heart speeding up a bit at the thought, but ignored his temper. The doors slid slowly shut again and an elegant finger hit the top floor.

A hand caught her wrist as it began to retreat. “Onna, this isn’t a repeat of earlier tonight. This building’s huge and they’ll be able to see you from the ground.” His message was stern. “You will not be scaling the walls. If you think-!”

“Do you want to go to jail?”

Silence stretched as he glared furiously at her. Finally, he dropped her hand, turning away with resignation. “What are you going to do?”

“I’ll think of something,” Botan replied with more confidence than she felt. “Always did want to play McGyver.”

There was an uncertain pause. “What?” She held on to giggles at the thought. Hiei needed to watch more television. Muttering about baka onnas as the elevator continued, the older thief waited for the floor to hit the top number. They both became silent as the door chimed.

Then strode out to find even more police waiting.