Chapter 9 – Mom and Pop

There was only one way to describe Leila after the realization that her stepfather was in human world—terrified. Even when Botan had sounded pleased at this development with saying something about how that gave them an edge now; the young woman just sat on the bed fear ridden. She couldn't even move. It made sense why her mother had bowed down so quickly when she had shoved her out magically. Lady Serena was going to bring Phobos here and make her leave with them.

That would mean that Phobos would attack Shiori. She knew a lot about her father. He loved making human's whimper in fear before taking it out on them. She pushed herself up from the bed startling both of the two. Kurama had been telling Botan to lie off of her and let her calm down.

"Leila, are you okay?" he asked, walking over to touch her arm. Leila jerked her arm away and walked past the two, stopping at the door.

"Tell Koenma I'll get Phobos and Serena to go back into the portal. You both don't need to worry about it." She said before disappearing out of the house as quick as she could. She was trembling with fear. Phobos had to be near. And he knew that she would try and run. What else was she going to do when the man that had tortured her for hours when she was little? But she had different reasons to do it now.

"Leila, wait." Kurama said from the front door. She had paused there to think of which way to go. She turned to look at him. He stepped forward and reached out to touch her cheek. It was the scariest thing of the night so far if one didn't count Phobos. "What are you going to do?"

"He's going to come here. When he doesn't feel me here he'll follow me. He won't bother with Shiori." She told him, their eyes locked. While he had taken her to the movies he hadn't taken her to any 'chick flicks' and thus she didn't realize the intent until it was already being formed. He leaned down and brushed soft lips against hers. A jolt of surprise and pleasure shot through her before fear. She jerked away. She didn't stay around to see the sadness as her reaction cross Kurama's face. She felt it just fine. She turned and ran away from the house.

While her human mind wanted nothing but to stay secure in his arms, she knew that wasn't a possibility. If her step-father found out about that, he'd use Shiori or Kurama to lure her back to him. While Kurama could easily have caught up with the sprinting girl, he let her go. He turned to Botan and demanded to be taken up to Koenma.

She ran. That's all Leila could think. The farther she got away from her new home the safer they would be. She eventually found herself in a clearing similar to the one that Hiei occupied. She turned in a circle fear suddenly spiking in the animals and her. She couldn't breathe; the fear was so thick here. He'd found her. She stumbled a few steps forward and turned around. Her head snapped from side to side before the fear increased, pressing down harder on her shields until they shattered as she was left defenseless against the fear. She screamed as the man stepped forward from the dark trees that surrounded her.

"Yes, Lei. Scream for daddy." The man said with a dark chuckle as she collapsed to her knees in fear. What else was she supposed to do? Her other emotions were dragged away and squashed by this fear he pushed towards her. Finally it got too much as he knelt in front of her and took her chin in his slip tanned fingers. She stared up at the man. His Greek skin gleamed under the moon as his dark brown hair curled around his face. He looked completely harmless—just a normal human. It was his eyes that gave him away though. They were pitch back and full of obvious delight in her fear and pain. She passed out as those eyes bore into her.

Nothing mattered in this darkness. All she wanted was to get away from the man that was causing the fear and anguish. And she had succeeded. But how long was it until he was able to wake her up? Would it take long enough for the Spirit Detective to get here and kicked Phobos back to Demon World? She winced as consciousness returned to her. She was tied up against a tree and the first thing she saw were her mother and father kissing. A young boy no older than ten stood next to them, busily studying a spider the size of his hand that was climbing up his arm.

Her mother pulled away from Phobos and turned to look at her with a look of glee. She had always known that it would come down to this. Her daughter always had been strong willed. Now after spending this time in human world, she had lost all the lessons she had been taught up to this point. With her will temporarily broken after Phobos had destroyed her shields, she would be more malleable than when she was a child. "Dear daughter, I'm sorry to say that you won't be fitting to serve a demon until you've been re-educated. And it seems that your father wishes to do the teaching." She said, stepping over next to her son—a true half demon. He looked up at his mother and then back at his pet demonic spider

"I don't want to be re-educated." Leila whispered. Her throat was killing her after her scream earlier.

Phobos grinned. He always liked fighters. They had something to protect which meant they had something they feared would happen to the protected. He'd find out what it was and force her to live through it. And if it was this world? Oh he could think of all sorts of things that he could do to the earth that would make her see just how stupid it was to protect it. He moved forward and she cringed from him. He wasn't even doing anything yet and her cringe made him feel almost giddy inside. This was his drug—this unconscious fear this his step-daughter was presenting to him.

She knew from the look that her father had that she had misstepped terribly. She'd given up some of her ground. He'd be able to use that against her.

Lord Koenma, if you are listening, please get your stupid Spirit Detective here soon. She whispered in her mind before working on rebuilding her shields. It would take a time but if she focused on them rather than her family, she might just be able to get them up. As the first block of her shield went up her father smashed it down by throwing a ball of fear at her. Irrational thoughts ran through her.

What if he's already killed Shiori?

What if he's finished off Kurama?

Would you shut up? We are on our way already. Your screams could be heard for miles by any telepath. Stall for another twenty minutes. He took you a pretty far distance away. Came a new voice, a voice that she worshiped and treasured at that moment. Hiei.

It gave her the strength to focus on her shields again. The fear was in her, but she wouldn't let it overrun her common sense. That was the killer. If she let him push that fear in her—

Her mind went numb with terror. Her brother had stepped forward and let the demon spider fall onto her body with a plop. It slowly began to search out its new home. If it was one thing that terrified her the most it was this spider. Normally, human world spiders didn't scare her in the least. They were ants compared to this spider.

Eight eyes focused in on her face and she bit back a scream as it started to move from her foot up her leg. It found easy purchase on the jeans and green shirt she was wearing. They were hand me downs from Kurama's mother, but they fit well enough. The spider was on her stomach, its pincers drawing most of her attention. Those front teeth could inject enough poison to kill her in minutes. She started to tremble. It froze though.

Her father floated closer, high on the fear he was feeling emanate off his daughter. Her brother was watching the spider, keeping it from moving forward with his thoughts until his father told him to let it go. The Spider started to turn in circles as if trying to find a new place to be. Phobos touched the girl's cheek causing her to jump, nearly throwing the spider off to her delight, but it still clung on.

As his powers soared as her fear increased as the spider sat on her stomach, he was curious as to find out what she was willing to protect. "Why won't you return home with us? If you promise to come back without a fight and promise to drop these foolish ideas of yours, we'll take the spider away and leave whatever you are protecting alone." He promised.

She slowly tore her gaze away from the spider and looked at her father. Memories of kindness from Shiori and Kurama filled her with strength to resist. She closed her eyes, blocking out the image of the spider. If she didn't see it, she wouldn't be afraid right? She could still feel it on her stomach and all she wanted to do was scream and scream and try and get the stupid thing off her. She tried to focus but then it began moving up over her chest and when it touched her chin with a hairy foreleg. She screamed, jerking her head away.

Phobos laughed and took the spider and gave it to his son who ran off to play with it some more. It was then, following her brother with her eyes, that she noticed the human that was hanging from a similar tree. Her brother ran over to her and her eyes focused on the brown hair and brown eyes. Keiko. What was she doing here? Leila started to try and get her bonds to free as her brother placed the spider on the ground underneath the young woman who screamed and struggled just as hard as Leila was.

"Keiko! Shush. Don't make any noise!" Leila called, ignoring her father who now seemed almost ecstatic with all the fear and then finding something that Leila thought was worth talking too. "It reacts to noise! The more you make the more likely it is to bite you. The same with movement!" Keiko turned her head to look at Leila, fear oh so plain on her human face.

It then occurred to Leila that this girl had the worst luck in the world. First Hiei attacks her. Then she had been chased by demon control homicidal humans who were being controlled by a demon that wanted to make Yusuke suffer. Now she was being terrified by another demonic bug that could make her its nest if it wished. She couldn't help it, a small smile splayed over her face. She would have to teach this girl how to stay out of trouble if this kept going on.

Then she felt the binding around her loosen just a fraction. Hope seared up in the back of her mind. She watched her mother watch her brother. So her attention was on him was it? She had recovered enough of her energy to throw up her shields to max force. However instead she slowly put them up, keeping the characteristics of fear on her face and body. As her shields went up, the fear dissipated and she was able to think straight.

First she had to get these bindings undone. Then she had to get that spider away from her friend. Last of all she had to get the two of them away from here as fast as she could. That was a tall order, but she thought she could at least do that and have Yusuke and the Spirit Squad, as she begun to call them, finish her father off.