Okay, here's chapter nine.
I own nothing but my own characters... Chrissy, Kirsten, and Tearra. Please, Read and Review.
Tristan, Rock Lee, Yusuke, Sango and Kaylalla entered the clearing, where they saw a man lying unconscious on the ground. Tristan leaped off the Demon Fire Cat almost before it even touched down and raced to the man's side. "Good. I don't know him, but he's wearing an Oricalchos stone. That means he's a bad guy. Looks like he lost the duel. I wonder who beat him?"
Tristan nodded and held up a card that was lying at his side. "Yup. See?" In behind the seal they could see the man, his face twisted in terror, trapped within the card.
Sango blinked. "Weird... I haven't seen anything like that before..." She was cut off when Kaylalla growled slightly and turned. Sango held her giant boomerang ready when four boys who looked exactly alike leaped through the trees, carring people on their backs. When the boys landed and set their cargo down, three of them vanished in puffs of smoke, leaving one.
Sango, Lee and Tristan all smiled.
"MIROKU!!!"
"SASUKE!!!"
"RYU!!!!"
Tristan raced up to a white haired boy. "Man, is it good to see you! So you saw the seal too, huh?"
He nodded. "Yes. The spirit in my item detected it first, and then we saw it descending from the sky. Who was dueling?"
"We don't know. We just got here. Someone won, and the bad guy's lying over there," he said, pointing at the unconscious figure.
Miroku looked at Ryu. "You said that whoever lost the duel would lose their soul?"
He nodded. "Yes. The Seal of Oricalchos will not leave the field until someone's lifepoints hit zero, and will leave with the losers soul."
The monk stepped up to the man and crouched at his side. His eyes went wide, seeing the card. "You're right! He is nothing more than a souless vessel now!"
Rin came forward slowly. "So... he's not going to wake up?"
Tristan frowned. "Not unless we can put a stop to Dartz."
Tearra blinked. "Weird. I've never heard of a card sealing your soul before..."
Once again, they were cut off when Kaylalla turned and let a small growl rise in her throat, as more figures leaped into the scene. This time they were riding on several identical boys with red hair, dark circles around their eyes, and a huge container on each of their backs. Again, as soon as the passengers were set down safely, three of them vanished in a puff of smoke, causing another reunion.
A blonde girl's eyes went huge and she charged forward. "TEARRA!!!"
"KIRSTEN!!!!" The two of them almost bowled one another over.
"DUKE!!" Tristan and Ryu said in relief.
"HEY!! Finally, I find someone!!"
Sango and Miroku looked on with Rin in shock. "K... Kikyo?"
The others turned in shock. "WHAT?! I THOUGHT YOU SAID KIKYO WAS DEAD?!" Sango and Miroku's travel companions said as one.
The beautiful woman nodded silently. "I am. I was killed fifty years ago. My body is a poppet of sticks and mud, given a soul. That is all that allows me to walk among the living."
Yusuke didn't seem to care either way. He gave a huge smile to the one person he knew. "Yo! Koenma!"
The Otherworld second in command sighed and gave him a wave. "Hi, Yusuke."
Duke looked at the man lying on the ground and his features set. "So, that's one of Dartz's men, huh? Who did he duel against?"
Tristan and Ryu shrugged. "We don't know. Whoever it is has moved on."
Tearra looked at Kirsten. "Have you seen Chrissy?"
The blonde shook her head, a sad expression on her face. "Maybe she was here and we just missed her or something."
Tearra sighed. "We can hope."
Miroku whirled. "A powerful demonic aura is approaching! Be on guard!"
The fighters taking positions in the front, the normal humans quickly stayed back and held their breath, as a tall figure with flowing white hair and a VERY handsom face stepped from the forest, a small ugly green form at his side.
Looking around the group, Rin blinked and then broke out into a huge smile. "LORD SESSHOMARU!!! MASTER JAGEN!!" She raced from behind her friends and raced to the demon and his servant.
The little green man breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Rin!! You're safe! Thank goodness!"
She nodded, a smile on her face. "Uh huh! These nice people all took care of me!"
Sesshomaru gazed cooly down at the little human girl, just a hint of fondness coming into his expression, before looking back at the others. "The monk... and demon slayer."
Miroku nodded to him, relaxing his stance only slightly. "Greetings, Sesshomaru. Do you intend to bring trouble, or can we safely drop our guard?"
He looked at them cooly. "We are all in the same situation, and so I will allow a truce between us until we have returned to our own world. You and Inuyasha have nothing to fear from me... For now. And besides, we should not fight amongst ourselves when Naraku is here as well."
Miroku and Sango's eyes went wide. "NARAKU IS HERE?!"
He nodded calmly. "I picked up his scent yesterday, but I lost it in the mountains east of here this morning. And I saw the strange disturbance in this region a short time ago and came to investigate." He sniffed the air. "Inuyasha was here. So was that Wolf Demon, Koga. I also smell a fire demon and three Kitsune's."
Rock Lee, Sasuke, and Gaara exchanged a look. "Naruto must have been here. He has the spirit of a nine tailed fox sealed within him!" said Rock.
Sango nodded. "One of the other fox demons must have been Shippo."
Yusuke grinned. "And I'll just bet that the third was Kurama!"
Sesshomaru frowned thoughtfully. "There were also many humans here as well. Over ten of them." He looked at the unconscious human lying nearby on the ground. "What is it that has happened here?"
Tristan, Duke and Ryu stepped forward. "I guess we'll have to explain that," Duke said. "The three of them went into Dartz and Duel Monsters, and the Seal of Oricalchos.
He nodded when they were finished. "I will travel with you and we will find the one responsible for bringing us here." He turned to the unconscious man. "Turn away, Rin," he said calmly, holding up a finger and allowing an energy whip to come into sight.
Miroku rushed forward. "Sesshomaru! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
The demon looked at him calmly. "This man attempted to steal someone's soul. Here he is, now helpless. Would you rather I leave him to rot?"
Duke and Tristan paled a little. "Okay... that guy's kinda scary..."
Kirsten blinked. "Just KINDA?"
Tearra, however, was looking on with a wide grin on her face. "He's... so COOL!!!!"
Even Ryu looked at her with a shocked expression. "You're nuts," they said as one.
Sesshomaru looked at them all and then simply allowed his whip to retract once more. "Very well. Who am I to care if a human suffers? Let's go."
Sango and Miroku sighed collective sighs of relief. Then the demon slayer looked at the small cat on her shoulder. "Kaylalla! Find Inuyasha!"
The cat gave a little mew, jumping off her shoulder and transforming into her adult form, taking several of the newcomers by surprise. Then Sango mounted the beast, Miroku getting on behind her and they all set out, following the cat.
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Kurama carried the sleeping woman in his arms as they continued on their way. They walked for a few hours before they decided they had best rest for the night. Kurama offered to stay with Chrissy to keep an eye on her, checking her temperature and using his plants to heal her injuries.
Yugi and the Pharaoh both came over, kneelingby where Kurama was seated beside the girl. "How's she doing?" asked the former.
Kurama smiled at the two of them. "Her fever is going down. I think she needed this rest. She should be fine."
The Pharaoh smiled in relief. "Good. She should not have been forced to endure that hardship. But luckily, she was strong enough to defeat Gurimo in the duel."
"I'm still wondering," Kaiba said as he approached, Mokuba at his side, "how she got a Blue Eyes White Dragon in her deck!" He looked at her arm. "Where's her duel disk and deck anyway?"
Kurama smiled. "Ishizu helped me take it off her earlier." He picked up a bundle of cloth. "It's wrapped in this."
Kaiba was very tempted to take the satchel and grab her deck, but knew he would never get away with it if Yugi and the Pharaoh were standing there, for one, and for another, despite the fact that he didn't know Chrissy that well, he knew it wasn't directly HER fault she had one of his cards in her deck. He would just talk to her about it later.
Inuyasha came forward then, and blinked, smelling the girl. "Huh? Strange... she smells... different somehow now..."
Shippo came up to him. "What do you mean she smells different?" He smelled her. "Well, she smells a little funny, but she still smells like a human..."
Inuyasha shook his head. "I mean she smells different from earlier. Maybe that weird duel circle seal thing did something to her."
Kurama blinked and looked up at him. "She does still have a fever. Maybe you're picking up on that."
He blinked. "I guess that could be it..." He shrugged. "Whatever." Then he blinked, seeing Koga holding Kagome's hand in his own on the other side of the encampment. He snarled. "Excuse me... I've gotta go on a Wolf hunt..."
Shippo looked up at Kurama. "So... she's going to be okay?"
He nodded, a gentle smile on his face. "Yes. She will be just fine."
Mokuba sighed in relief. "That's good. She hasn't even come across any of her friends yet. It's no wonder all the stress is getting to her. She's stuck in the middle of all this with a bunch of people she hardly knows. And she doesn't have any power to defend herself. She has to depend on other people."
Hinata approached Kurama, holding a bundle of herbs. "I found some more herbs, if you should need them," she said in her shy manner."
He smiled at her and accepted the bundle. "Thank you very much, Hinata."
She blinked shyly. "Um... have you seen Naruto?"
He nodded. "I believe I saw him talking with Joey and those kind people with the dark skin on the other side of the encampment."
She nodded. "Thank you," she said as she bustled off.
Only moments after Hinata had gone to find her crush, Chrissy let out a small moan and opened her eyes slowly, blinking when she saw Kurama's handsom but unfamiliar face smiling down at her.
"Well, you're certainly having a run of bad luck... or should I consider it good luck since you're still with us?"
She blinked again. "Are you with that other group that showed up while I was dueling Gurimo? The Pharaoh's group?"
He nodded, a gentle smile playing on his lips. "Yes. My name is Kurama, and I am a fox demon in human form. I used my abilities to heal your injuries. How do you feel?"
She took a deep breath and sat up slowly, allowing him to give her a hand. "I'm just a little stiff... and I have a headache. Other than that, I feel fine."
She blinked in surprise when a tiny form jumped onto her lap. "That's good! I was getting worried!"
Chrissy looked at him for a moment and then fingered a fluffly tail attached to the boy's backside. "Um... is this a tail?"
He grinned and nodded. "Yup! I'm a kitsune. My name is Shippo. I'm friends with Inuyasha."
She couldn't help but smile at his cuteness. "It's nice to meet you, Shippo. My name is Chrissy, but I have a feeling you already knew that."
He grinned and nodded. "Yup."
Then she heard a cry off to her left. "Hey, she's awake!"
Turning, she saw Mokuba, Kaiba, aYugi and the Pharaoh approaching her. Mokuba gave her a hug immediately. "I'm so happy you're okay, Chrissy-san! I was worried about you!"
Kaiba said nothing, having his arms crossed as he looked down at her cooly.
The Pharaoh knelt down to her level. "Are you feeling well?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I feel much better now."
Yugi smiled at her. "You did an awesome job in that duel! That last move you made was totally awesome!"
Kaiba took this time to clear his throat. "Speaking of that last move... I still want to know how the hell she wound up with a Blue Eyes White Dragon in her deck! I own the only three in existence!"
The Pharaoh looked at him, his face set in a frown. "Kaiba..."
The CEO snorted. "Relax, Pharaoh. I'm not going to try stealing it, but if I ever get my deck back, I intend to get it from her!"
Chrissy blinked. "You want that dragon I played in my last turn?" She shrugged. "We don't even have Duel Monsters in my world, so how about this... just let me hang onto the one I have in my deck for now, and I'll just give it to you before me and my friends return to our own world? I won't need it there, but I might still need it here. Does that sound okay to you?"
Kaiba's eyes widened, as did the others. "You would... give it to me?"
She shrugged. "Sure, why not? Like I said, we don't have Duel Monsters in my world, so there's no real point in my keeping it when I get back." She looked around herself a moment. "Where is my deck and that... what did you guys call it? A duel disk?"
Kurama smiled gently and unwrapped the package and removed the deck, the Pharaoh and Yugi kneeling at her side to have a look at her cards for themselvse. Shippo jumped up on her shoulders to have a look for himself, blinking curiously as he looked at the illustrations.
Yugi smiled broadly, spotting a card. "You have the Dark Magician! He's my favorite card!"
Chrissy smiled. "Really? I actually had him in my hand and was trying to figure out a way to get him onto the field before Gurimo decided to summon that Black Demon's Dragon."
The King of Games smiled at her. "If you like, I could give you a few pointers when it comes to dueling in case you should have to do it again."
She blinked again, and then smiled wider. "Really? That'd be awesome! I just hope that if I DO wind up dueling again, that it'll be without that weird Ori-whatchyamacallit magic card."
Yugi chuckled. "The Seal of Oricalchos?"
She nodded. "Yeah, that's the one. I think I've had enough stress staying here without almost losing my soul."
The Pharaoh nodded. "Yes. Inuyasha has told us much of what has happened to you. And Kaiba informed us of how he first met you."
At that moment, they heard the hanryu yelling on the other side of the clearing. "Don't tell me you actually LIKE that creep?!"
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh, grow up, Inuyasha! We're friends! Besides, you have to admit that Koga has helped us out against Naraku many times in the past!"
"You mean he's gotten in my way! I could have handled those times on my own! Half the time, I'm the one who winds up rescuing him!"
She sighed. "Please... my little brother's more mature..."
Inuyasha humphed, crossed his arms, and turned his back to her. "Well, if that's the way you feel... I guess Kikyo's cuter anyway..."
Kagome's expression went flat. "What?"
"... not to mention she's much more refined, and has a bigger rack..."
Kagome snapped. "SIT BOY!! SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT!!!!!!!!"
With each word that came out of her mouth, the necklace around Inuyasha's neck flared and before they knew it, the half demon was lying face down in a crater.
Shippo sighed and shook his head. "THAT he had coming..."
Chrissy blinked. "You said it..."
Hiei seemed to appear out of nowhere at their side. "That guy really is an idiot, isn't he?"
Shippo sighed and nodded. "He is... but he really DOES like Kagome. I think they fight so much to show their affection."
Chrissy rubbed the back of her head. "That's sweet... I think..." She looked back at Inuyasha who was still lying face down in the crater. "You'd think they wouldn't fight what with everything they've been through together..."
Shippo shrugged. "They have their moments. But Inuyasha can be a real idiot..."
The Pharaoh chuckled. "Well... getting back to the deck..."
Chrissy listened intently to several pointers that they gave her, and as they clarified several rules of the game. They explained the advantages that the Seal of Oricalchos gave to her opponents, since all of Dartz' henchmen possessed one.
About an hour into their discussion, Joey and Naruto approached them. It was pretty obvious that they were becoming fast friends. "Hey, there! What's up?"
Yugi smiled at him. "We're giving Chrissy a few pointers on dueling in case she has to do it again."
Joey grinned broadly. "Really? It's too bad none of us have our decks, or we'd be able to give her a few practice duels."
Chrissy looked down at herself and grimaced. "Um... not to change the subject or anything, but... are there any lakes nearby? I could really use a bath."
Koga snorted, coming up to them, Kagome in tow. "You almost lost your soul and you're worried about getting yourself cleaned?"
She frowned at him. "I'm covered in dirt and blood, and my hair hasn't been washed in almost a week! My trip in the river does NOT classify as a bath!" She looked at Kagome. "Do you have any shampoo and soap?"
She nodded and gave her a smile. "Sure! It's in my bag. I could use a bath my self... and a change of clothes."
Chrissy looked down at herself again, taking in the tears and holes in her clothes now. I wish I had another change of clothes myself. I don't think yours would fit me, though..."
She smiled. "I might be able to find something. I have a shirt that's loose in the chest area on me, so it might fit you. And do you mind skirts? That's all I really have with me."
She scowled slightly. "I guess I could live with it. I'll just try to mend my pants when I get the things washed and dried."
Koga snorted. "Well, there's a hot spring over that way... just a few yards into the trees," he said, pointing over his shoulder.
Sakura, Ishizu, Tea, Hinata and Botan seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Did I hear something about a bath?" Sakura asked.
Tea grimaced, looking down at her own clothes. "I know I could use one. You mind if you have some more company?"
Chrissy and Kagome smiled. "Sounds like a plan! I've been wanting to have some time with just the girls for a while anyway. I was starting to go nuts, being stuck with guys all the time." Chrissy cast a glance at the males in her presence. "No offense."
Yugi and the Pharaoh simply smiled and shrugged, while Kaiba just grunted and closed his eyes, his arms crossed.
At that moment, Inuyasha made his way to his feet, his expression less than impressed. "Kagome..." he growled.
The girl yelped a little, grabbing Chrissy and dragging her to her feet. "Hey, Inuyasha! I'd stay and chat, but we girls are gonna have a bath! Don't even think of following me or you'll get so many sit commands you..."
The necklace flared and he did another faceplant.
She winced. "Let's go..."
Chrissy's hand was over her mouth, trying to conceal her smile, while Joey and Naruto roared with laughter.
The girl's all vanished into the trees, Kagome hauling her enormous backpack.
Yippee!! Chapter nine is UP!! In the next chapter, the girls bath... what do they wind up talking about...? BOYS OF COURSE!!! R&R!!!!
