"Hey, hey, hey, watch what I can do," Yusuke tipped his head back and balanced a flask on his nose.

Hiei hiccuped and sipped his drink, laying on the table, "Your tricks don't amuse me D-deh-tective. "

Kurama giggled from his spot on the couch, his feet dangling over the top, his red locks brushing the ground as he watched them upside down, "Why doesn't it fall Yusuke?"

"Because I have skills!" Yusuke cheered, which made the flask veer and fall onto his lap, laughing.

Hiei started laughing hard when he rolled to see Kurama, "Fox," he hiccuped, "Why are you upside down?"

"I'm not upside down!" He pouted, which looked like a smile with the way he was sitting, "You are!" He pointed accusingly and tried to take a sip off his beer, splashing beer all over his face. He managed to get a gulp and started laughing, hard.

Hiei laughed and grabbed a handful of chips, stuffing them on Kurama's face, which just resulted in them getting in his hair and some in his mouth.

Kurama crawled off the couch and lay with Hiei on the floor, "What're you doing Hiei?" He asked quietly.

Yusuke lay down by the two of them and rested his arms on Hiei's chest staring at Kurama.

Hiei grabbed Kurama's shirt and pulled him close, "C'mon," he slurred, "We can all sleep here."

Kurama yawned and curled up on Hiei's chest too, "But you're little." Yusuke had to move enough to wrap an arm around the fox to avoid squishing him.

"Then we can lay on you!" Hiei pushed Kurama onto his back and snuggled up to him, grabbing Yusuke to haul him over. Yusuke rolled onto him and wrapped his arms around Hiei in return to secure them all together.

"If I weren't so drunk right now I'd say that was a stick Kurama." He commented.

"I love you guys," Hiei purred, "Stick or no stick."

Yusuke snickered and snuggled closer.

Hiei chuckled, "Fox, do you love us?"

"Love you? That's dangerous." He ruffled their hair.

"But I love you," Hiei whined.

"Oh alright," Kurama sighed, "I love you too."

"Good, Yusuke?"

"What," Yusuke shouted, sitting upright.

"Do you love us?"

Yusuke grinned and lay atop Hiei, "Yes."

"Good," Hiei nestled down with a hand on both of them, "You'd better." He yawned.

Kurama and Hiei fell asleep rather quickly.

Hiei groaned as he opened his eyes to daylight, wincing, "Ah, Fox, what the hell!" He covered his eyes, whimpering as the light pierced his skull like a knife.

Kurama yawned and looked about. "When'd we get outside?" There was a soft purring around them.

"No clue," Hiei sat up on his elbows but came face to face with the purring, jerking back, "What are these?" It was a little brown fluff sitting on his chest. He frowned and touched it, making it purr louder and scoot closer to his hand, "Fox?"

Kurama sat up and a white one squeaked as it fell to the forest floor. He frowned, studying it. "Oh shit."

"What?" Hiei asked as he sat up, cuddling the little furball.

Kurama looked about, "Um, Hiei, we're in Tribble."

"What's Tribble?" Hiei patted the little furball, making is squeak and purr.

"That furball, but also the name of this territory."

"And?" Hiei frowned, "Pick yours up, they're so soft Fox."

"Haven't you heard about Tribble?" Kurama picked up the tribble.

"No, I haven't." Hiei shook his head, petting the furball. It was so soft and felt comfortable in his arms, he wanted to sit there and pet it for hours.

"This whole area is under protection by these creatures," he held up the white fluffball. "They're actually very telekinetic and can create massive barriers around whatever they choose as their collective."

"Huh. How big is the territory?"

"It's the size of the island we're on." Kurama sighed and stood. "We are, well we're trapped, until these two reproduce."

"How long does that take?"

"They will only reproduce when we obtain 'true synchronization; with someone else." Kurama sighed heavily, "It's a fancy way for saying we're stuck on this island until we fall in love."

"Great." Hiei sighed and flopped down, making the tribble squeak.

"There are hundreds of demons stuck like we are in this territory." Kurama looked about, stuffing the tribble in a pocket.

Hiei sat up and sighed, "Great." Hiei glanced to his side and frowned, "Fox, we have company," he pointed at the two women approaching.

"Yeah, well, that fluff in your hand won't allow you to attack and won't allow them to attack either."

"What will it do, bite me?"

"No."

"What will it do?"

"Barriers. You'll just be isolated. Here, let me show you," Kurama pulled out his whip, and slashed out at Hiei, but the barrier shot up between them and it fell aside. He pulled the whip again.

"Hn," Hiei pet the fluffball, "I see."

The two women were at their feet by the time Kurama had his whip put away. One had a large set of horns on her head, decorated with chains and charms, her tribble in a purse on her hip.

The other woman stepped out behind her, a long braid down her back, and a happy grin on her face. She bounced up as the wind picked up around her and her ears wiggled, "Ooo, the little one's cute!"

Hiei stiffened as she flew around him.

"Calm down, you'll scare them," The other woman chuckled, brushing her blonde hair back, "Hello," she offered with a soft smile.

Kurama sighed, and smiled, "Hello."

"You're new here, we have a bit of a city here on the island, you have your tribbles too," She smiled, "We can show you to the city, we tend to wander around looking for new people to help," she offered her hand to Kurama.

The tribble in his pocket started making loud purring noises. Kurama shook her hand, "It's nice to meet you. I think we've had a practical joke played on us."

She shook his hand and chuckled, "Apparently so," she pulled a chip out of his hair and threw it on the ground, "I'm Kosami." Her tribble started purring loudly.

"Kurama."

Hiei sighed and pet his fluff, "So who's the other girl?"

"Oh me? I'm Daisy." She sat back in the air currents and smiled, "Who are you?"

"Hiei." He frowned when his tribble started purring and squirming in his hand.

Daisy squeaked and stood up from her leaned back position pulling out a tribble from her boob, "Would you look at that, It's found a match." She held it out towards Hiei and it started purring louder. When she moved it away, it purred softer.

Hiei frowned, "Fox?"

"No clue."

"A match," Daisy repeated slipping closer to him, "is when your tribble, and my tribble," she put them close together, "have found similar patterns in souls, and want you to explore a relationship."

Hiei frowned and put his tribble closer to hers, making it purr louder than ever, "Hn."

"And now if we try to separate," Daisy stepped back several feet and leaned, no energy used at all, but a barrier held her up, glowing behind her back.

"What happens if I throw the tribble away?" Hiei demanded.

"It makes a barrier around itself so you can't go anywhere but closer to it."

"Can we kill them?"

"Nope. They can't do anything but make barriers and breed, and yet, they can rule any demon."

"So they don't die?" Hiei squeezed his, hard, making it squeak, but his hand hit something hard around the tribble and he couldn't squeeze any more. It glowed, a barrier had formed in it's fur.

"Well they do die, but not very quickly, and only after they've bore children."

"That's why it's best to keep tribbles that like each other away unless you're certain you want to explore a relationship." Kosami offered.

"Which I am," Daisy grinned leaning over to smile at Hiei's height.

"I didn't agree to this." Hiei snapped.

"Oh well that's too bad, I guess I'll just have to hang around until you are."

"Fox, you think our tribbles like each other?"

"I have no idea Hiei," Kurama sighed heavily. "I'm still trying to figure out how Yusuke got us on an island."

"We were drunk."

"I, for one, cannot swim in the demon oceans drunk."

"The tribbles made a bridge." Daisy giggled.

"How? They don't have any hands!"

Hiei frowned and started picking through the fur, "How do they move?"

"All the ones who were going to die, flee into the ocean and their carcasses made a bridge."

"No one has really figured that one out," Daisy laughed.

Hiei sighed and put his tribble near Kurama's, waiting.

"They only do one at a time, which, honestly, is all for the better or you could have a whole cluster of people caught too close to breathe. They aren't that picky," Daisy pet her tan tribble.

Hiei grumbled and glared at the fluffball, "Let me go," he snapped at it.

"If that worked everyone would do it," Daisy smiled, "Come on, there's a village not far from here where you guys can get acclimated."

Kosami chuckled and turned, leading the way, revealing a long tail with a tufted end, "It's a nice village too."

"Oh yes, quite nice." Daisy agreed.

Kurama followed after Kosami staying out of his assumed range for the tribble in his pocket. "What are you Kosami?"

"Hm?" She turned to look at him, "I'm a dragon."

He paused for a moment, and the two of them were jostled to a stop. He sighed, "Okay, apparently we're a match too."

"Apparently," she chuckled, shifting to look at him, "What are you?"

"Spirit Fox."

"Ooh, really?" She grinned, "Foxes are fun."

"I'm glad you think so." He walked up beside her and looped his arm with hers, "I'd love to get out of here."

"You and I both," She chuckled, smiling at him, trying not to smack him with her horns.

"How did you find us so quick?"

Kosami patted her tribble, "These guys act like radars, they like finding new people, and we patrol a lot so," she shrugged.

"How long have you been here?"

"Oh, about a year now."

"Is that long or short?"

"Um, it honestly depends. A little long, but short compared to some people."

"What's average?"

"I'd say about a year and a half."

"Ah, so you're about due huh?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "I am. Hopefully your stay won't be that long," she offered with a smile.

"Hopefully." Kurama sighed and stroked the tribble in his pocket.

Kosami sighed, "There are a lot of foxes here, but I've never met another dragon."

"Are there really?"

"A good handful."

"Huh, I would have thought they'd all gone by now."

"No," she shook her head.

The four of them approached a large field filled with farms sporting all sorts of vegetables. Some fields were even out of season, with weather drastically different than it's neighbors. From the direction they approached, they were in summer crops while to the right was spring, and left was fall which they could see north and south of the field.

"If you're into gardening, this is probably the best area to do that sort of thing," Kosami offered softly.

"You just want me to stay," he teased. "Is this the hub for all food on the island?"

Daisy came up beside him and looped his other arm with hers, "Nope. A lot of people eat Tribbles too. They screw someone and eat the babies."

Kosami laughed, "Tribbles are high in protein."

"But you have to skin them first. The parents don't care so much about their babies as long as you don't kill all of them."

"The furs are all over the place, we actually have a few people who specialize in the fur and making clothes out of it."

Kurama chuckled, "That's odd. Hasn't anyone kept cattle."

Hiei sighed, "I don't smell cattle."

"Hm, stupid people."

"I actually ate some of the cattle we had here," Kosami chuckled nervously.

"You didn't breed it? Keep the population up?"

"We tried that. I think we have a small herd on the far side of the island, but we mostly eat vegetables and tribbles."

"Well what you do is you get a herd of about twenty or fifty unique cattle-breeds, and you rotate the breeding to get the biggest genetic diversity, and you breed that too, then eventually, you let the good breeders loose on the island and never touch them. They'll breed like wild and populate the whole damn place."

"I'll have to run that past Romi," Kosami chuckled, "He'll like that idea."

"It's not an idea, it's a proven method to repopulate herds."

"Either way, he'll like it."

Kurama sighed, "This, is not going to work if you're talking like that."

"Fox, if you want out, be nice to the dragon lady and you might get out, then you can kill her," Hiei huffed.

"It's not like we get a lot of intelligent people here," Daisy commented on his other arm, "We barely get any news in and out. You're the first new people here since, well, Kosami."

Kosami chuckled, "That's true, but if it makes you happy, Romi will like that method since his other methods have failed," She glanced at Daisy and laughed. Daisy scowled.

"How long do your tribble keep you attached?" Hiei frowned.

"Until they feel you're no longer a match." Daisy commented, letting go of Kurama to smile and come closer to him.

Hiei shied away from her, taking her spot on Kurama's arm, "Fox, I want out."

"I do too Hiei, but what do you suggest?"

Daisy came alongside Kosami and sighed, "I guess I'm coming on too hard."

"I think he's shy," Kosami offered, "Just take it slow."

Daisy nodded as they waded down the little trail through the crops. "We'll be inside the village soon. I'm sure there will be many people who would like to meet you."

"Fox, we could go out together," Hiei offered, "How do these things know when we're in love?" He demanded.

"Your soul resonance." Daisy replied. "It's a weird way to say the frequency your energy gives off. When you're attracted to someone, they harmonize, and when you're affected enough to no longer be attracted to them, it changes."

Hiei sighed heavily.

Kurama sighed as well, "It'll be alright Hiei."

"Keep saying that Fox." Hiei leaned against him, "I'll believe you when we get out."

"Alright folks." Daisy popped forward as they came up to the beginning of the village. "These here are the local farmers' cabins. They're rotated through as people decide to take up the noble act of feeding us all. On our left," she indicated the cabin, "We have our Summer cabin, and on the right," she indicated the cabin again, "Our Summer cabin. In the center of the village," she held up her arms like an airplane attendant, "We have a well for water, and a drain for sewage. All houses are equipped with all the latest in plumbing and electricity supplied from Electricity Village in the center of the island. This is Village Farm."

"Where's the place with people so we can get off of here as quickly as possible?" Hiei demanded.

"Oh, well people don't really coalesce on Tribble."

Hiei groaned, "Can I please kill something?" He fisted his hands.

"Have sex and you can kill some tribbles," Daisy offered.

"Not with you," Hiei snapped at her.

She pouted, "Alright, fine, but we're the first ones your tribbles decided to pair with, so you're going to have to at least give us a shot."

"I don't care! You were the first ones to find us!" Hiei barked.

"Hiei," Kurama put a hand on his shoulder, "Let's go training. Do you have somewhere we can train?"

Kosami sighed, "Good luck. Tribbles don't like physical fighting, so it might be difficult to do anything."

"It won't be physical fighting. It'll be flag fighting."

"Just any open space really."

"There's a nice sized clearing towards the center of the island," Daisy pointed towards the south. She kicked herself up into the air, "Hiei, I'll race you there."

Hiei glared at her.

"It's not like you can go without me." She countered.

Hiei growled, "I will find a way to kill this damn tribble of mine."

Hiei and Daisy raced to the clearing, which left Kurama and Kosami alone as they walked. "This is incredibly frustrating, but I understand where he's coming from, wanting to leave. The problem is that I don't think there is a way to do that without following the rules of the Tribbles. They're hideous beasts."

"They are a bit strict," she sighed, "I understand their mission, but they go about it so harshly it causes more frustration than anything."

"Yes, it is very true. How did you come upon Tribble?"

"By mistake mostly, I was just running around and thought, 'Oh, are there villages there?' and got myself trapped."

"When I was young everyone knew about Tribble. At the time, there had been an epidemic of the Tribbles and there was a massive effort to get all tribbles onto the island, to isolate the problem and stop the tribbles from taking over Demon World."

She laughed, "Oh dear, that's terrible. Well, you can take revenge on the tribbles," she shrugged, "Just eat their babies."

"It wasn't funny," Kurama scoffed, "It was horrifying. Many demons sacrificed themselves to the island project. They would come here and kill themselves rather than giving in to the demands of the tribbles."

"I'm sorry, at first it just sounds funny, imagining tiny fluffy tribbles taking over everything," She offered him a weak smile.

Kurama sighed, "No fighting in Demon World, no way to actually settle differences, no way to organize ourselves, no way to have easy access to food, and eventually, they would overrun us, they would out-breed us, and eat all of our food supplies."

"I understand why you did it, it just sounded funny, but I realize it is not." Kosami sighed heavily.

"It was the boogyman of my era; the Tribbles."

Kosami chuckled softly and shook her head, "Well I thank everyone who helped isolate them."

"If they've made a bridge, the efforts were in vain."

"You can wipe it out. I could probably wipe it out in my true form."

"Well if you get off of this infernal place, it's imperative that you do."

"I'm trying my best."

"How old are you?" Kurama asked gently as they came upon the clearing.

"Oh, seven hundred?"

Kurama nodded, "You're not too young, but not that old." He stepped into the clearing, "Alright Hiei. We fight with our hands, attempting to touch our opponent. Don't close your hand, and don't make hard blows. The one who lands a touch first, wins the round." Kurama offered bluntly, and stood at the ready.

"I like the sounds of that," Daisy commented.

Hiei sighed and got into a fighting stance, "I want to punch something," he chuckled, "But petting will have to do." He came towards Kurama slowly, his hands ready to touch if Kurama got too close.

"It'll take the edge off since you're using your mind the same way." Kurama attempted to assure him.

Hiei made a move towards Kurama, bolting forward to touch him.

Kurama side swept his hand and snuck out of the way. Hiei chased after him. The two went at it until Hiei managed to pat Kurama's shoulder.

Kurama dramatically screamed and fell to the floor with all the flourish of if Hiei had sliced him with the sword. Hiei grinned down at him and put a foot on his chest.

"I like that." He chuckled.

"I know," Kurama touched his leg, "Got you."

Hiei screamed and grabbed his leg, falling backwards, "Damn Fox!" He tried to glare but he was laughing.

Kurama laughed too and sat up, "We don't have to stress so much Hiei, we can just try to get through this in an orderly manner without losing our minds."

"Heh," Hiei rolled his eyes, "We'll see." He crawled forward to sit beside Kurama, satisfied for the moment.

"We've got this Hiei. We just have to find someone we love enough that the tribbles will let us go."

Hiei sighed and leaned against him, "I can't stay here forever Fox."

"Neither can I," Kurama replied softly, "Neither can I."

"When are these tribbles going to realize we don't like the women?"

"Oh," Kurama glanced around, "It seems they already have."

"Are they gone?"

Kurama nodded.

Hiei sighed, "Good."

"Actually, since they're gone and we're not purring," Kurama pulled out his tribble. "This little horror-shop can tell us where the next potential match is."

"Good," Hiei leaned over and pet it, "They're horrible but they're soft."

"They're telekinetic furballs. They didn't used to be telekinetic," Kurama stood.

Hiei pushed himself to his feet and brushed his butt off, "Let's get going."

"Agreed." He slowly turned in a circle pointing the tribble dead ahead of himself. It purred quietly a few times, then stopped, then louder, and stopped, and Kurama kept going until he had done a full revolution.

"Alright Hiei, you try yours. Find a direction it doesn't purr in, and then turn in a complete circle and identify where all of your potential matches are." Kurama pointed himself towards the south where the loudest purring was.

Hiei frowned and held his out, he did a full rotation and it purred a few times, once loudly, "Hn."

"Any of them in the south?" He pointed in his direction.

"One."

"Good, let's head that way then."

Hiei nodded and bolted.

Kurama followed after him at a run, and they soon came upon a somewhat larger village with laid brick paths beaten out of alignment from age. Hiei waited for him at the edge of it, and sighed when he got close.

"What is your tribble doing?"

Kurama pulled it out and did another circular sweep, "Well, we're in the right location." Flocks of demons were heading towards the center of town, so the boys joined in. What they found was a large market with pots, pans, bowls, and services being offered by everyone, sort of like a garage sale tent.

Hiei pulled out his tribble, "Let's see if we can track these people down."

"Yes, lets. I'll meet you back where we came in once I find mine."

Hiei nodded and headed off in the direction his tribble was purring the loudest. He came upon a woman wearing a long red coat with lightning blonde hair pulled back in a messy loose braid. She was focused on a display of metal wears rather than paying attention to the tribble which she had hanging on her neck. It was tiny compared to his, just a little ball half an inch in diameter with some fir sticking up..

"Hey," Hiei patted her arm. He wanted to get her attention as quickly as possible, see if she'd get him out of here.

She grabbed his wrist and spun on him, "Watch what you're doing mister!" she shouted angrily, the tribble purring loudly against her boobs.

"Hey! I want to get off this island as much as you do," He held up his tribble.

"Oh god, you're..." She groaned and rubbed her eyes, still holding his wrist. "Look, I need a new pan, and since we're apparently marked," she batted the caged tribble around her neck, "you're just going to have to come shopping with me. Thanks a lot dumbass."

Hiei grumbled, "I can heat food up."

"Yeah well so can I but the last pan broke."

"I'm a fire demon dumbass." He snapped back, smirking.

"So am I!" She snapped in return, glaring at him. She dragged him away from the stall and towards another one which had raw materials instead. "It's not like you're special or anything so get over it."

"Would you just get your damn pan!" Hiei barked at her.

"I'm trying! Those ones were all going to break just as quick. I'm going to have to make my own stupid fucking pan."

Hiei twisted out of her grasp and got her wrist, moving forward and collecting the materials himself.

"Let me go," She demanded, digging her feet into the ground.

"If you'd stop being such an ass I'd make you a pan!"

"I don't need you to make me a pan. I'm quite capable of doing it all on my own!" She yanked her wrist free.

"Well you're taking too long!" Hiei snapped at her.

"No I'm not!" She shouted back, "I'm going to actually get materials that aren't sub-par!" She pointed at white speckles in the materials he'd begun to collect from the vendor.

The vendor squeaked, "They are not sub-par just because they have a little silver in them!"

"Silver is a weak metal! I want iron and copper!"

"Well you won't find any better iron than mine, Trisha!" The man snapped.

"I doubt that Doriani."

"You can separate the metals," Hiei offered.

Trisha sighed heavily and looked him over, "Look, you're obviously new, just let me do this and stay out of my way for like, half an hour."

"Then hurry up! I don't want to be following you around for half an hour! Just get enough to make five pans!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have come so close to me!" She turned back to the vendor and began to pick through his iron samples, and then arguing about his copper until he brought up larger chunks of re-purposed copper, of which she took her pick. All in all, it only took five minutes for her to make her selection and the vendor, Doriani, was steamy by the time she was done.

"Come on, I need to go home so I can cast this." She started through the crowded walkway towards the north.

Hiei grabbed her arm, "No, we need to wait."

"What the fuck is with you and your obsession with touching me!" She snapped her wrist out of his hand and glared at him.

"You're so damn fast! I need to wait here for somebody."

She sighed, "Fine, who?"

"My friend." Hiei stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Her eyes softened, "You have a friend stuck here too?"

He nodded, "We can get out of this crowd, but we need to stay nearby."

"My house isn't far." She pointed towards a wall of houses all tucked in together without space in between.

"Fine, but long enough to drop everything off, I don't know how long he'll take."

"It needs to have time to cure, but we can watch the whole market from my roof."

Hiei growled deep in his throat, "Long enough to drop everything off and come back."

"Where is it you need to wait, Mr. No-Name?"

"Hiei. Outside this village, on the north side."

"Oh, that is a ways. Alright, we'll just drop it off." She agreed and, once more, resumed her march towards home. When they came to the building, she didn't enter from the front door, but slipped around the back and jumped off a fence to a second story window, slipping inside. The home itself was deceptively large-feeling, despite the cramped space. She had a large bay window in front, and stairs going down to a first floor, but a nice bed, and a bathroom were both part of the large second-story studio-like space, the bathroom behind a brief wall. She dropped the bags, and things in her coat, including some stuff she'd stolen from Doriani, on a table, and slapped a sutra on it from a pad in her coat. She slipped the pad back in her pocket and slipped out the window, jumping back down to the street.

Hiei sighed when they started walking. She wasn't coming onto him like Daisy had been, and he couldn't help but like that, he didn't want people chasing after him. She was quick to argue back, so she wasn't easily stepped on, but he had to wonder if he had the energy to put up with that. He watched her walk, and noticed her feet didn't sound the same when they touched down. One sounded heavier than the other. She'd had some kind of injury to her leg, but with the way she moved so quickly, it didn't seem to hinder her. He quickened his pace slightly to see the front of her, but didn't find much of interest.

"If you stare any harder I'll give you a need for an extra eye," Trisha taunted. Hiei knew it was an empty threat and she said it lazily like she knew he would know.

"I already have an extra eye," He offered back.

"I noticed," she huffed.

"What's wrong with your leg?"

"Nothing. My leg is just as good as your eye," she tapped it with a knuckle as she stepped, and it knocked like it was solid rather than flesh.

"It's heavier," he frowned, "It's a fake leg?"

She sighed and nodded, "Yeah. What about you and that eye? Is it not naturally occurring as well?"

"It was implanted a while ago," Hiei sighed.

"You picked up on my leg pretty quickly, how come?"

"I could hear it was heavier than my steps, how'd you pick up on my jagan eye?"

"You wear a bandanna."

"I could wear it for other reasons."

She laughed and shook her head, "Not that low. If you didn't have something holding it up, like, oh, an eyeball, then it'd fall in your eyes if you sweat too much."

"It does have a tie."

"Yeah, but nothing can tie that tight right there. Trust me, I used to try. Wearing something there is not a fashion statement." She frowned and considered him, "Unless you're drunk. If you're drunk it's usually a tie."

He chuckled and shook his head as they came to their waiting spot. He could deal with this, now he just had to figure out how to fall in love, "Why is your tribble so small?"

"I killed all the big ones." She gave him a toothy grin.

"Hn," he rolled his eyes, "How'd you kill them?"

"I fed them poison." She shrugged.

"You have some more of that?"

"Sure, but it'd be risky to feed your only tribble poison. When they're going to die unnaturally, they birth their babies, and that could be anywhere from three to ten."

"What if I just keep killing them?"

She held up the cage. "They just keep getting smaller."

"Do they eventually stop?"

She shook her head, "Think about it. Right now that tribble is pregnant with three to ten babies. Each one of those babies are also pregnant as soon as they're born with three to ten more babies. How could you stop that?"

"Inject poison into it?"

"Which makes it eject babies."

"And run?"

"How long have you been here Hiei?"

"Not even a day."

"That's how old that tribble is, and it is already containing you and causing havoc to your life. The ones that live around the edge of the island, where we need to cross to get home, are hundreds of years old. They just, spit out babies when someone crosses them, and those babies are stuck with you until you leave."

"Someone said you can eat the babies."

"You can, but they don't have much meat. The bigger the baby, the more meat, and they get bigger as they get older, unless you don't feed them. Another theory is that the more you feed them, the more pregnant they become, so if you wanted a really giant tribble, you'd feed it a lot until it was super big, and then love something."

"What if you starve it?"

She shrugged, "They just sit there, and purr."

"Hn." Hiei sighed and rolled his neck.

"I've had this one nearly three months, and it's never eaten a bite."

"Doesn't deserve food."

She nodded and looked towards town, "I completely agree."