Parties Shouldn't Be Cursed

L.A.: Every other week. See, I did it.

Amu: Let's see how long this will last.

L.A.: Anywho, I hope you enjoy!

Review Replies:

Angel of Randomosity: Thanks for the review! Sira's not gonna get it. There was nothing sketchy about a random lady in a shadow world offering to help you for a unspecified favor in return. Nothing sketchy about that at all.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, they would have been much more miserable than they were.

Tori blinked a couple of times as her vision cleared of spots. One minute she was in the Toymaker's grasp terrified that he was going to squeeze the life out of her, then the next, she was standing in Koenma's office.

Koenma looked positively stunned to see her. Yusuke and Kuwabara stood on either side of him. Apparently they had been fighting, because Yusuke's fist has stopped an inch from Kuwabara's face as they both stared at her in surprise.

"Uh…"

Tori turned to see Sira standing a few feet away from her. In her hands was the music box. "How?"

Koenma pointed behind Tori. "Don't let him escape."

Tori turned to see the Toymaker, now his normal size, trying to slip out of the office. He only made it a few steps before a rose whip wrapped around him, stopping him in his tracks.

Tori followed it back to Kurama. He and Hiei stood on the other side of the room. Thankfully, they didn't seem to be frozen anymore.

"Party pooper," the Toymaker mumbled.

"You better be glad, we don't pummel you, you freak," Yusuke said as he cracked his knuckles for emphasis.

Koenma turned to Sira. "Place the music box on my desk gently. We don't want it activated again."

Sira nodded as she set it down on his desk. Apparently she was glad to be rid of it as well.

Tori frowned. "How did you get the music box?"

Sira winced. "I just found it. It must have fallen out of his shirt pocket." There was something in her voice. Like she as holding back something. Tori tried to catch her attention, but Sira wouldn't meet her gaze. "Got lucky, I guess."

Koenma's eyes narrowed as if he had sensed something. "Very lucky indeed."

The Toymaker struggled in the vines.

Koenma turned to him. "Take him to holding. We'll question him later."

Kurama nodded as he and the boys left with the Toymaker. It wasn't until the Toymaker was out of sight, that Tori finally relaxed. She was going to have nightmares for sure.

"So, what are you going to do with the music box?" Sira asked.

Koenma eyed the music box warily. "We're going to put it in the vault for now and double security."

Tori raised an eyebrow. "You think someone's going to try and steal it?"

Koenma frowned. "Maybe. Objects such as this had been catalogued and stored in the Vault a long time ago. The fact that one like this was still out there is very odd."

Sira smirked. "One slipped through the cracks?"

Koenma clasped his hands in front of him as if he was deep in thought. "Maybe. But I'm more concerned that it was here already."

Tori's eyes widened. "You mean someone snuck in and took it without you knowing?"

Koema nodded. "I think an itemization is in order." There was a dark look on his face. As if he were holding back something.

Come to think it, why was he telling them all of this? Tori frowned. Koenma had never been this forth coming in their previous encounters. He always kept his cards close to him. So, why was he being so chatty now?

There was a knock on the door.

They turned to see Botan pop her head in. "You wanted to see me?" Her eyes landed on Sira and Tori and she broke out in a smile. "You're okay!"

"Judging from the fact that you and the others are here, I take it the world is back to normal?" Sira asked.

Botan nodded. "Seems when you grabbed the music box in your first battle with The Toymaker, whatever was causes the time glitch ceased to exist."

"So, they're connected?" Tori turned back to Koenma.

Koenma had his hands clasped in front of him. "Perhaps." He sounded distracted, as if his mind was on something else. "Botan, can you see them home?"

Botan nodded. "Sure." She motioned them to follow her.

As Tori followed Sira and Botan out, she risked one last backwards glance at Koenma. He didn't seem to be aware of their presence anymore. I wonder what's on his mind?

"I guess our Christmas party's a bust… again," Sira said once they where in the hallway.

Tori shrugged. "Are you surprised? It seems like every time we try to plan a party in this world, shit hits the fan."

"Well, at least you can say your parties are never dull," Botan said with a sheepish grin.

Sira clinched her fists. "That's it. Botan, tell everyone to come back to Kuwabara's. We're going to have a kickass party."

Tori raised an eyebrow. "Won't Shizuru be pissed if we hold another party without asking her?"

Sira shrugged. "It's not like she's going to be there. She's never around. I think she's avoiding us because she hate us."

Tori had the feeling that Sira wasn't far off on that thought.

Botan winces. "We still have to process the paperwork. It could be real late."

Sira's eye twitched. "I am not going to let our parties remained cursed. We are going to have an epic party even if it kills us."

"It already tried to kill us," Tori said, "you sure you want to tempt fate?"

Sira glared at both of them. "Do you want to tempt the fate of our friendships?"

Botan winced. "I'll let them know. We'll be over as soon as possible."

Salvaging the party was difficult to say the least. Somehow the cinnamon buns had burned and the ice had melted in the punch watering it down. Half the gift wrap was strewn across the floor making the apartment look like a disaster area.

Tori sighed as she shoved some of the gift wrap in a trash bag. "Are you sure this is really worth it?"

Sira nodded. "In more ways than one."

"Care to elaborate?"

Sira sighed. "Apparently trying to follow our original journey isn't working. Every time we try, it seems everything takes a 180."

"Don't remind me." Tori shivered. "I'm going to have nightmares about the Toymaker for weeks."

"So, maybe we should be more proactive." Sira said, "try to write the story in our favor."

Tori raised an eyebrow. "So, since our parties are cursed, we should try to have a party that goes off without a hitch?"

Sira shrugged. "You never know. It could work."

Tori eyed her skeptically. "And this has nothing to do with your pride?"

"Maybe," Sira said. "But we're dealing with the butterfly effect here. Apparently we already screwed ourselves because we peed in the wrong toilet. Why not screw with everything else?"

"You're still obsessing about peeing in the wrong toilet, aren't you?"

Sira clenched her fists. "Stupid time law. It's too damn finicky."

Tori chuckled as she scooped up another ripped gift wrapping paper and stuffed it in the trash. "So," Tori said causally. "Want to tell me what you were keeping from Koema earlier?"

Sira stiffened. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Tori really didn't understand why Sira was being so secretive. The girl had never been good about keeping secrets about herself. Her expressions always betrayed here. "You were obviously hiding something from him."

Sira shifted uneasily.

"I'll be your best friend."

Sira smirked. "You already are my best friend. And no, I wasn't keeping anything from him. I honestly have no idea how I got the music box. It had to have fallen out of his pocket."

Tori frowned. There was a hesitancy in her voice. As if she was still hiding something. "But-"

"Just drop it, okay?" Sira said, a little to harshly. She must have realized her mistake because she forced a grin. "Sorry, I'm just tired and want to move on."

Tori nodded. "Yeah, I get it." Tori forced a grin back. "Let's have that curse free party."

Sira looked relieved. "Definitely."

As Tori went back to cleaning she couldn't help but notice that even though Sira was only a few feet away, Tori had never felt further from her in her life.

Surprisingly, the party went off without a hitch. Apparently karma decided that they had had enough drama for a while.

Sira had been right about suggesting the party. Everyone seemed to enjoy the temporary stress reliever. Everyone that is, except for Hiei who had chosen not to show up. Tori had a feeling Hiei's form of stress relief was him sitting in trees and sulking.

It didn't take long though for her headache to flair up again. When she found a good break, she excused herself to grab some Tylenol from her room and headed to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

After taking the pills, Tori leaned against the counter, savoring the few minutes of isolation as her head dully thumped.

"Head still hurting?"

Tori turned to see Kurama enter the kitchen. "Pretty sure it's a concussion."

"You should probably get that looked at."

Tori shrugged. "Why? All they are going to tell me is that I have an concussion. Take medicine and bed rest." Tori smirked. "Stuff I already know."

Kurama leaned against the counter beside Tori. "True."

They were quiet for a minute.

Tori shyly cut her eyes up at him. "I'm scared." She said quietly.

Kurama turned to look at her. "What?"

"I'm scared that they'll tell me it was more than a concussion." It was the first time she had admitted it out loud. Ever since she couldn't read the signs though, it had been nagging her. "What if the inability to read the signs is something more?"

"Do you still have that problem here?"

Tori slowly shook her head. "No. I could read them here."

"Then you're probably fine. Shadow worlds can affect people in different ways." He smiled at her warmly. "Just give it time."

Tori smiled back. "Thanks. That makes me feel a little better." And she meant it. Kurama always had that ability to make her feel better.

Kurama continued to stare at her.

Feeling self conscious, Tori looked away. "What?"

Kurama blinked as if he was coming out of deep thought. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something."

"About what?"

"Before…the adventure that we had with you that I can't remember. We're we close?"

Tori felt her cheeks redden. "What makes you say that?"

"It's strange but I feel comfortable around you. That I have to keep an eye on you." Kurama frowned. "Why is that?"

The urge to tell him the truth was almost overwhelming. She could feel it pressing at the tip of her tongue. However, when she looked back at him, she felt her motivation drain away. If she told them they had been together, then he might feel some duty to maintain the relationship. Not for love, but for some memory he couldn't even recall. It didn't sit well with her. She didn't want it to be like that.

"Tori?"

Tori forced a grin. "We were just friends. That's all." And despite knowing it was the right answer to say, Tori could still feel her heart breaking.

L.A.: Okay. If, by some miracle, I can keep this schedule, I can hopefully have another chapter the week after next.

Amu: Good luck with that.

L.A.: Aren't muses supposed to be positive?

Amu: Only when you feed them properly. I haven't have pie in weeks.

L.A.: I'm ignoring you. Anyway, you know what to do. READ and REVIEW!