Yami: Hikari's to busy bein' pissed off right now so I'm gonna do the talkin'!
Hikari: (yelling from the background) She Kuh-Bye-ed me! Mare Kuh-Bye-ed ME!!! Transcontinental I might add!!! I'ma kill 'er!!! (Proceeds to strangle pillow while chewing frantically on orbit.)
Yami: … Riiiiiggghhht… anyways! We don't own YYH, but we do own Rori!!! Enjoy lads!!!
Hikari: RAWR!!! (Spits fire.)
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They had been walking through Makai for two days now. It was tedious work, but the gates between Human and Demon world couldn't just up and move themselves for their convenience so the team had to travel close to a hundred miles to find Hakusai city. Rori had never walked for so long in her life and her feet were killing her, but she'd chew them off before she complained about it.
She had been surprised when they'd passed through the portal to this world and come to stand in nearly six inches of snow. In Ningenkai the air was just starting to turn icy at night. She also got a shock when she found out that the sun set around four o'clock human time and a dusky sort of gloom hung around the world until nine ish when it became completely dark.
"Aren't you freezing?" Kuwabara chattered, pulling his coat closer to his chest, shivering. Rori blinked up at the boy for a second. Cold? She hadn't really thought about that yet. She'd changed from her business suit to more suitable attire just before they'd departed and she now wore heavy blue jeans with a think black studded belt and a white turtle neck shirt under a black track jumper (both had been cut and modified so that she could wear them with her wings as she did not have to hide such appendages in Makai) with white runners to complete the outfit. Her hair was pulled up in a high braid, her thick rimmed glasses back in their snug position atop her nose.
"No," She finally answered. "Are you?" She got funny looks from Yusuke and Kurama, Kuwabara gaping in awe through slightly purple tinged lips. Hiei of course was unaffected by the cold altogether.
They walked until noon that day when they reached an abrupt halt in the snowy rock fields they'd been wondering through and suddenly found themselves in a thick forest. Soon they came upon a clearing generously shaded by the over hanging canopy which had shielded the ground from any snow fall. There they called for a break and the boys separated to find comfortable positions to rest.
"It's so quiet," Rori commented fluffing her feathers nervously as she observed the foreign scenery. The trees were huge; some of them unnatural colors like purple, azure and even a few blood red ones here and there while others hunched gnarled and twisted into sinister shapes that tricked the unfocused eye.
"These woods are probably the least populated in all of Makai. They're over run with Earth Movers so people tend to steer clear of the area," Kurama explained.
"Earth Movers?"
"Big ugly mole men who dig tunnels underground," Yusuke explained with his usual grin. "People end up falling through their tunnels and getting trapped."
"Oh…" Rori looked around again. "So if there are no demons around would it be alright if I took a fag?" Rori received three incredulous looks and one "WHAT?!" in response.
"A cigarette!" She sighed as they nodded in consent and she wondered through a short wall of trees and found a small clearing untouched by the snow as it was sheltered by a thin roof of tree branches. The ground was covered in plush purple frost covered grass gleaming in the day's premature setting sun.
For some reason, I was expecting Makai to be less… pretty. Rori thought as she flicked her lighter on and took a drag off the newly lit cancer stick.
"Onna," Rori nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard the familiar cold tenor voice appear behind her.
"What!" She demanded spinning around to glare at the fire youkai. No, those two days since their last… encounter had not soother her nerves. If anything she was becoming more agitated with the kajihenge with every passing second. She hated being confused.
"The kitsune sent me to make sure you didn't get yourself into trouble again," Hiei explained deliberately annoying her with condescending words as he referred to her first hour within demon world when she'd gotten separated from the others (How you ask? Who knows…) and ran into a small pack of reptilian demons.
"Well you can tell him to stop worrying. I'm not gonna walk headlong into trouble just because…" She had been walking away from him, intent on finding solitude when she took a step and the ground crumbles beneath her feet. She could only manage a sharp "MEEP!" before something grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, the ground giving way to a pit-fall several meters deep.
"What happened, what's wrong?!" The other three Tantei came crashing through the foliage at the commotion, weapons drawn. Rori blinked a few times before she realized what she was staring at. Hiei still gripped her wrist tightly, holding it awkwardly at waist height as he clutched her to his chest firmly.
"N –Nothing," Rori stuttered feeling her skin prickle with heat where the youkai held her. There was a long stretch of silence when no one moved as Hiei remained perfectly still staring down at her with a hard glare.
"Hiei," Kurama finally broke the awkward moment moving forward to place a hand on his shorter friend's shoulder. Kurama's wary gaze flickered to Rori as Hiei finally released her with a jerky motion and she blushed slightly. She'd forgotten about her lie to her best friend. Kurama had no idea that she and Hiei were sleeping together and so he still worried that Hiei might do something to her while he was in heat.
Ha, now there's irony for ya, she laughed cynically in her thoughts as she lit another cigarette (she'd dropped the last one when she'd nearly fallen into the pit-fall). The boys finally returned to a semi-relaxed mode and had just started wondering back to their resting places when a noise stopped them.
It was a distant scuffling and for a moment Rori strained to know where it was coming from. A clatter of sliding rock issued and the angel's heart thumped painfully with adrenaline as her silver eyes fell on the newly exposed tunnel. Oh, shit…
There was a short pop and a column of dust and dirt puffed out of the opening and into the chilly air. It quickly swept threw the clearing as a small breeze mixed it into the air making it hard to breath. When it settled again a new figure appeared crawling from the lip of the hole like the hell spawn it was. Rori's eyes widened at the beast as it scuttled to its feet breathing with a rasp.
It was tall and thick with a slightly hunched neck and beady black eyes, a small pointed nose, and speckled skin. Its front teeth were long and yellowish, protruding over its bottom lip as it smiled sickeningly at them. It was humanoid with hairy side burns that hung down several inches accompanied by long dust colored dread locks and hairy arms tipped with razor sharp nails that curled in like talons. Earth was smeared all over the demon's pasty yellowish skin and its ragged clothing held signs of many years of going unwashed.
"Hello there children," It wheezed looking around at each of them in turn. "Were you the ones that destroyed my tunnel?" He had a simpering voice that held false kindness in its scratchy depths.
Kurama, ever the diplomat, was the one to respond. "We are sorry for the damage, but it was an honest accident. We'll just be on our way," He quickly grabbed Rori's arm slowly steering her out of the clearing as he gave the others an urgent motion with his eyes to do the same.
"Now, now, no need to hurry children. Won't you stay for a friendly chat?" Rori could feel the youkai's malicious intent and grimaced at his smile which was anything but friendly. The Earth Mover took a step in advance and there was simultaneous reaction. Swords where drawn and Kurama's whip cracked warningly in hand as Yusuke took a step in front of the demon.
"Look pal, we said sorry, so leave before we break something a little more valuable then your stupid tunnel." The Mazaku warned, his curled fist glowing with a powerful aura. The Earth Mover merely smiled.
He tisked with his tongue before saying, "My, my. What rude children." He studied them with his beady eyes for a moment, the smile on his face faltering a little in concentration. "You're a strange pack. I've never seen so many different species travel together. A kitsune, an elemental apparition, a Mazaku, son of Raizen even, and a human too!" He sounded more intrigued as he named them off. "You must be the Reikai Tantei everyone speaks of." Then his eyes fell on Rori. The Tantei visibly tensed as the mole man stared intently at her.
"And what are you onna? I since no demonic aura around you, nor can a smell the reek of the Ningen on you." His smile returned with a hint of a leer. "I would be very interested in exploring the possibilities." Rori cringed involuntarily at the look in his eyes. His emotions carried his sick intent like a scent on the wind and alarms rang out in her head causing her heartbeat to quicken.
With out thinking, Rori cast a glance to her left and saw Hiei glaring murder at the Earth Mover. She felt a quick flit of security, sure that the fire youkai would do everything in his power to keep the appalling demon's hands off her, but the relief was short lived.
The Earth Mover suddenly razed his filthy arms until his hands where stretched out to both sides, palms facing them and then he brought his hands together in a thunderous clap and the ground exploded in a shower of rubble as the team scattered away from the attack. A piece of the up turned earth shot up between Rori and Kurama forcing the two apart as every one dodged flying debris for dear life. A sharp rock clipped Rori in the side of the face and she stumbled back as warm liquid ran down her cheek.
She could hear conflict through the haze of dust and smoke, but could not make out what was going on. "Hey! Where'd he go!" She heard Kuwabara shout just as she felt something materialize behind her. Without looking back to see what it was she attempted to make a run for it. Unfortunately she wasn't quick enough.
"Help!" She managed to sheik as the Earth Mover grabbed the end of her long braid and reeled her in like a fish. He was several inches taller than her there for was able to stand hunched over her. He forced the arm anchoring her hair to him into the hollow where her wings connected to her back forcing the feathery appendages down and away from her body, preventing her from using them against him. He snaked his other hand around her ribs pulling her to his body, his clawed hand grasping her breast painfully.
"What ever you are, you smell very inviting," He chuckled waspishly in her ear as the Tantei burst through columns of dust and rubble to freeze in front of the scene.
"Get your grubby hands off her you bastard," Yusuke shouted pointing his spirit gun at the demon, though the motion was an empty threat as he could not fire on the monster without hurting Rori too.
"Why should I? Are you her mate? Do you have some claim over her?" Yusuke arched an eyebrow at the question. Rori didn't have time to blush. She writhed in the man's grasp but only received a forceful squeeze in return. She gasped in pain as she felt one of her ribs groan under the pressure and stopped moving instantly.
"No… I do," Hiei spoke with deadly precision, stepping forward with a challenging stance. Rori's silver-grey eyes widened in shock though the other three boys had the decency not to react to the proclamation for it would surely give then away. It was a very clever fib... right?
"Really?" The Earth Mover asked skeptically. His smirk faltered slightly at the determined glare the little youkai gave him and he frowned. "Fine then. We'll just have to put that to test won't we?" He asked cockily, releasing his harsh grip on her chest and moving his hand to her turtle neck, preparing to snip away the fabric with his talons.
Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke all made movements to stop him fearing the bluff would be called once the act was complete, but froze when the tearing of fabric revealed her neck to their eyes. The Tantei as well as the Earth Mover stared in shock at the discolored skin on the girl's neck. There lay a purple-red splotch the size of a golf ball surrounded by freshly healed puncture wounds, obviously product of very sharp fangs.
Rori, who had absolutely no idea why everyone was staring at her hickey, took the chance to try and struggle free. She got so far as to remover herself from his slackened gasp but cried out again when he yanked her back by her plaited hair.
"It seems the short one was telling the truth after all. No matter, dear. There are ways of removing a mate's hold," He leered down at her again. Rori wasn't playing along anymore.
"Let me go you twisted bastard!" She demanded throwing a well aimed elbow into the demon's solar plexus. He gave a rasping yelp and she took the chance and snapped her wings open knocking the startled demon backwards. Without thinking about it Rori swiveled on one foot and arched her arm back.
She had expected only to push the Earth Mover back further seeing as her punches hurt about as bad as a mosquito bite, but was surprised when her fist burst into glittering white light and came down with a bang… literally. The Earth Mover shrieked in agony as the pure energy in Rori's hand seared not just his body, but his mind and spirit as well. Rori stared in astonishment at her own glowing hand as a weapon materialized there.
The demon lay on the ground groaning in pain, a long gash in his flesh sizzling with the heat of her attack. The white light dissipated and Rori was left holding a gleaming white-gold blade. The hilt of the blade was etched with ruins and symbols that swirled in dizzying patterns while the blade was etched to look like a feather, an iridescent white gem glistening like cellophane at the end of the hilt.
The demon let out an unearthly howl breaking the shocked silence as he slowly crawled away and towards the hole in the earth he had come from. Hiei was at him before he could issue a second call or escape back into the pit. He thrust his katana through the demon's throat and twisted until a satisfying snap silenced him permanently. The youkai twitched pathetically for a split second before relaxing into death's grip and was still.
There were a few incredulous stares exchanged before they heard another sound. From the depths of the pit-fall the Earth Mover now lay dead near came another scuffling sound and voices issued from below, raspy and gruff like the first one. More Earth Movers were answering the call. Hiei wasted no time grabbing Rori by the wrist and setting off at a dead run back into the forest, the other Tantei following close behind. They ran for nearly twenty minutes before they had to stop to catch their breath. Rori leaned heavily on her new weapon gasping for breath as the boys gathered near by, their breath dusting the cold dusk air in great white puffs.
"Hah!" Rori breathed in surprise when she felt rough hands come down on her head and yank at her braid. She reached back fighting them but could only whimper as she heard Hiei's sword slice through her thick mint colored braid. He pushed her coarsely to the ground and she stared wide eyed as he cast the severed end of her plait aside and glared at her.
"There's a reason no on has long hair around here," He snarled as though everything that had just transpired was entirely her hair's fault. Rori felt her eyes tear up as she cradled what was left of her once waist length tresses close to her chest.
There was a loud smack as a fist came crashing into Hiei's jaw sending him to Rori's level with bone crushing force. "You have no right to be angry at her!" Kurama yelled at the apparition, emerald eyes flashing gold with rage.
"Kurama, this isn't helping anything!" Yusuke shouted too, trying to pull the kitsune away. Kurama shoved his hands away and continued to glare down at the youkai now sitting on the grass covered floor looking dazed as he touched his bruised jaw.
"You swore to me Hiei, SWORE you wouldn't touch her." Kurama continued to shout. "You lying son of a bitch!" Mouths dropped open as the fox spoke the curse. Either Kurama was really angry, or hell had just frozen over (which was very likely as snow had just started falling from the gloomy Makai sky again.)
"Why do you care? It's none of your fucking business to begin with," Hiei growled back getting to his feat again.
"Yes, it is my fucking business because unlike you I'm looking out for Rori's interests!" Kurama retorted. Kuwabara's jaw nearly hit the ground as he and Yusuke continued to stare at the two friends go at it. Rori, however, was starting to get annoyed with this. There they went talking about her like she wasn't there again!!! Just when it looked like Kurama would throw another punch she stepped in. Reaching up to both of them she grabbed hold of their ears and pulled hard until they were forced to slouch down to her level.
"Enough! You two are supposed to be friends, now this is fucking ridiculous! What is this, some testosterone thing? Who's gonna draw blood first, is that it? Who's got the bigger piece? Well guess what lads! Mine's longer than both of yours put together so that make me top dog! I'm head bitch here so I call the shots, and I say CHILL OUT!!!" She yelled with such intensity that they were left staring at her in shock.
"Now," She said quieter letting go of their sore ears. "What the hell is all this stuff about claiming mates and shite? And I don't want half the story either!" She demanded pointing her gleaming sword accusing at Kurama.
The fox youkai sighed in defeat. "Hiei has marked you as his mate." Rori stared at all of their reactions to this. Kuwabara looked like he had just stepped into the twilight zone and wanted to get out again. Yusuke was staring from her to Hiei and back again with wide eyes as though trying to believe it. Kurama wouldn't look at her but Hiei was glaring at her, or was he searching her eyes for some thing, she didn't know.
"Is that… what this is?" She asked quietly pulling the torn neck of her shirt away to reveal the mark again. Hiei blanched noticeably, Kurama looked up from the ground and immediately obverted his eyes while Kuwabara made a scoffing noise and Yusuke yelled.
"Hey, woman. Put that away!"
"What?" Rori blinked in confusion. It was just a friggin hickey, so what?
"Rori, displaying your mate mark is the equivalent of stepping out into public naked," Kurama blushed as he explained.
"Christ!" Rori muttered quickly closing the rip and tying the frayed ends together as best she could. They couldn't have told her that first now could they? "So what does this mean then? Are we actually like… married or something?" She asked uncertainly. This was all way to weird for her right now. Why couldn't she be home worrying about Christmas exams or something equally as stupid?
"Well, yes, more or less anyways," Kurama said lightly. "Although since you aren't youkai, the rules don't apply the same way." Rori arched an eyebrow… rules? Kurama saw her confused expression and continued.
"A mate mark is like a wedding ring in that it binds two youkai together, but it's more powerful that that. A wedding ring can be removed, a marriage can end… mating is for life." Rori blinked a few times, confused.
"But… I thought that Earth Mover said there were ways of breaking the bond?"
Hiei scoffed in the back of his throat. "There is a way to end a mating... death."
"Oh…" Rori said dumbly. Well that just wouldn't do. "So I'm tied to Hiei for the rest of my life?" She wasn't sure that was a good or bad thing. Hiei suddenly looked at the ground again and Rori could feel his disappointment.
"No, it means that I am bound to you," He said quietly. Rori's brow furrowed in confusion again so Kurama elaborated.
"You haven't marked Hiei, there for you haven't committed yourself to him. This is where the rules get fuzzy. See, when demons mate for life they each place a unique mark on their partners to show that they are part of the other and vies versa, since you aren't capable of this you aren't obligated to him in any way."
Rori looked horrified as understanding dawned. Hiei wasn't allowed to have another relationship ever again, but she was home free? She suddenly felt overwhelmed with guilt. If she had just pushed him away that day… if she had kept control over her emotions they wouldn't have… if she had known… if… if… if.
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A/N: BUH BUH BUH BUM!!! The toll of doom is sounding for our heroes! What more could I possibly do to make their lives a living hell you ask? (Evil grin) Just wait and see. There will be absolutely NO Disney plots involved in this fic. It will be angsty, it will be depressing, and it will be AWSUM!!! XD
Hikari: Pleaz review if you wanna know how I'm gonna fuck with their lives next!
Yami: What the hell kind' a place is that to stop a chapii?!?! :O
Hikari: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I couldn't just let it run on for thirty pages now could I? The next chapii will be good though!!! OH THE DRAMA!!!
Yami: "Oo What the hell are you talkin' about woman?
Hikari: You'll just have to wait and see!!!! ;3
Yami: I loath you onna…
Hikari: I know, isn't it great?!?
REVIEW PLEAZZZZZZ! Or you won't get to meet my most awfully brilliant villain ever!!! Oh the evilly goodness! lol I love oxymorons… Ja Ne!
HIKARi
