For Love of a "Pet"

Chapter Seventeen

"But, Koenma, we need the water!" Kurama protested, fighting back a growl. He couldn't believe that the ruler of spirit world wouldn't help him. It wasn't like he was asking a whole lot. He wasn't even planning on letting Loki keep the water, but Koenma didn't seem to care.

He was in Reikai with Hiei, trying to talk Koenma into giving them the water from the Fountain of Dragons. Yusuke and Kuwabara were still out trying to find information on Loki or the girls.

"I said no," the toddler replied around the pacifier in his mouth. "And that is my final answer."

Hiei walked up to stand beside his friend and glare at the young ruler of the spirit world. "So, are you going to explain to Kaline and Cassie that you allowed Loki to do worse than rape them?" he inquired, tone dark and forbidding. He hated talking about what was happening to the girls, but if it helped save them, then he would do it.

"He's using whips and knives on them too," the kitsune added, voice filled with tension. He didn't want to think about what Kaline and Cassie were going through. They didn't deserve to be hurt.

Koenma swallowed nervously. "Well..."

"Cassie said that you gave her family permission to live in ningenkai, that she was on your side," the fire demon stated. "Are you just going to abandon her?"

"Um..." The toddler didn't know what to do. He wanted to help the girls, really he did; but his father would punish him if he let the boys give the water to the enemy. "I'm sorry."

"Fine," Hiei snapped, turning and storming out of the room. The redhead followed, his expression just as dark as the male koorime's.

"Oh, dear," Koenma whispered to himself as he sunk down into his chair. "I hope that they can find another way to save the girls." He leaned his head back, eyes on the ceiling. "Sometimes, Father, I hate your rules."



"Kurama?" Hiei made his name a question, and the kitsune knew exactly what he was asking.

"Yes, if we can't get our hands on it one way..." The redhead drifted off, knowing that the fire demon would catch his drift.

"Then we'll get it another," the black-haired demon finished.

Kurama nodded his head. "Exactly."



"Koenma, sir, your signature is needed on these," George stated as he plopped a stack of papers down on the toddler's desk.

The young ruler sighed and pulled out his stamp. He was about to begin stamping his signature on the papers when a siren began to blare and red lights started flashing.

"What is that?" Koenma demanded to know, frowning.

An oni burst into the room, his expression one of panic. "Koenma, sir, someone has broken into the vault!"

"WHAT?!"



Kurama and Hiei stood in the Makai forest in the exact location they had last seen Loki. The fire demon had his sword drawn and ready to strike, while the kitsune held the vial of water, trying not to appear worried. Green and red eyes searched the night-cloaked area for any signs of the enemy.

"How much longer?" Hiei asked, voice rough and cold.

The kitsune glanced down at his watch. "Perhaps ten more minutes before the three hours are up," he answered, not taking offense to his friend's tone. He knew that the fire demon was hiding his worry and fear behind a mask. 'I only wish that I could do the same.'

Silence reigned for a few minutes. "What if he doesn't bring the girls?" the male koorime wanted to know, eyes flicking from side to side as he remained on the lookout.

"Then we don't hand over the vial," Kurama replied simply. "And as soon as he hands over the girls, we kill him."

"Slowly and painfully," Hiei added with a malicious smile. The thought of killing the demon who had hurt Cassie was the only thing keeping him from going on the rampage. He was picturing a lot of blood and guts along with plenty of screams coming from the demon.

"Very slowly and very painfully," the kitsune agreed, similar images in his mind. "I have a few plant poisons in mind. The quickest, least painful one would send him through a week of agony before finally killing him."

The fire demon liked the sound of that. "What's the worst?"

"Three months of suffering before death," the redhead answered in a calm voice, as if he was speaking of the weather.

"Hn. Use that one."

After that, the two remained silent until Loki finally showed up. The acid green demon glared at the other two, expecting some form of foul play.

"Do you have it?" he inquired, sounding suspicious. He didn't trust the other demons.

Kurama briefly flashed him the vial that he held tightly in his hand. "Yes. Now, where are the girls?"

"Back at my mistress's place," Loki answered. "Give me the vial."

Hiei shook his head, red eyes dark and dangerous. "No. Not until you hand over the girls."

"I don't think so. If I hand over the girls first, then you two will run off with them and the vial," the many-armed demon retorted.

"I propose a compromise," Kurama stated, green eyes unreadable. 'We have to get the girls away from him at all costs.' "Let us exchange the girls for the vial at the exact same time."

Loki considered that idea for a moment, obviously debating with himself. "Very well. I will have to take you to them."

"Just lead the way, bastard, and we'll follow," the fire demon spat out, hatred in his eyes.

"So be it." The enemy just smiled and began to walk off.

Kurama and Hiei exchanged looks before heading off after him.



"Cassie, I wanna go home," Kaline whimpered, curling up into an even smaller ball. "I'm scared, I hurt all over, and I feel filthy. I don't wanna be here. I just wanna go home." Her never-ending stream of tears suddenly was accompanied by sobs.

The dark brunette curled up by her friend, making sure that she didn't touch the other girl. Kaline recoiled away from all physical contact. "I want to go home too." She rubbed her eyes, her face dry. She had run out of tears earlier that day. "I wish that we could find a way to escape."

"I don't know what I'll do if he returns." The blue-gray eyed girl buried her head in her arms, her whole body shaking. "I feel so hopeless."

Cassie couldn't think of a thing to tell her friend. She was all out of comforting things to say, and she felt the same way as her friend. Things were hopeless. "Hiei," she muttered brokenly, sniffling. "Where are you, Hiei? Why haven't you rescued me yet?"

"No one's coming to save us," Kaline stated simply. "HE is the only one who knows where we are, and he isn't about to go tell anyone the location. Face it. We're stuck here for the rest of our lives." She broke out in fresh sobs. "And if he's right and I am a half demon, then I'm going to be here for a very, very long time."

"Kaline... I'm sorry for not telling you, but you are a half demon. Your mother was a demon, and I was sworn to secrecy when I found out. Now... please stop crying. It's not going to help." The teal-eyed girl gave a small sigh. Kaline was completely broken and ignoring her whenever she said anything about her mother or hope. She was refusing to believe that she was anything but human, if only because she didn't want to spend practically an eternity with the evil demon.

'I can't really blame her for being this way. He has been much harder on her and used her more than me, that much I know. After all, he made me watch him do everything to her.' Cassie violently shuddered at all the memories, trying her best to will them away. 'She's nearly died a few times, and it didn't help that she kept trying to heal me as well as herself. Poor Kaline. I want to go home, too.'

Cassie sighed again as she eyed all of her cuts and bruises. She was not a pretty sight, but, then again, neither was Kaline. The lighter-haired girl didn't have all the wounds to show off because of her healing ability, but she was hurt worse on the inside, in more ways than one.

"Hiei!" she called out desperately, praying that he just might hear her.

'Cassie!' Hiei replied, sounding surprised. He hadn't expected to hear her voice. 'Are you still there?'

'Yes, yes I am,' she mentally called back, tears springing to her eyes. If she could talk to Hiei and just tell him a few things, then things just could turn out okay. 'Where are you?' She almost couldn't believe her good luck. Finally there was a small ray of hope.

'I'm coming to get you. Kurama's coming too,' he replied. 'Thank Kami the bastard isn't blocking off our contact.'

'I'll tell Kaline, but I don't think it'll do any good. He... he broke her,' Cassie informed the fire demon sadly. 'I can't even touch her. She's scared of everything, and she's lost all hope.' She paused before continuing. 'I almost did too.'

'I'm coming. I'll be there as soon as I can,' Hiei replied as soothingly as he could. 'Just stay where you are and try to stay out of trouble.'

She gave him a hollow laugh that he knew would haunt his dreams for a while. If Kaline was broken, then Cassie was close to it. 'I don't think that I can disobey. We're locked in this room.' She paused for a moment. 'Oh, and Hiei? Tell Kurama not to say the demon's name around Kaline. She... reacts every time she hears it.'

'I will,' the male koorime responded. 'And I'll be there as soon as I can.'

'Are you going to keep talking to me until you get here?' Cassie wanted to know, sounding like a child who was afraid of the dark, or in her case, a demon.

He sighed, not liking what he was going to have to say to her. 'I don't believe that would be wise. If Loki finds out...' His thoughts came to an abrupt halt when he sensed the girl shiver at the mentioning of the evil demon. She was terrified of him too.

'So you're going to leave me alone again?' The dark brunette sounded pitiful, lost, and forlorn.

'I don't like it either, but I need to deal with the bastard, and you need to talk to Kaline.' The fire demon almost sighed. He most definitely did not want to disconnect his mind from hers.

'Alright.' Cassie's voice was filled with tension, as if she was fighting back tears.

'I promise that I'll take you home as soon as I can.' His tone was firm and reassuring.

'Okay,' she replied meekly.

Hiei mentally cringed at that. The poor girls had gone through so much, and if Cassie was better than Kaline, then he most definitely didn't want to see Kaline. 'Take care.' Then, he cut off the connection.

Cassie turned her head to look at her friend. "Hey, Kaline. I just talked to Hiei. He says that both him and Kurama are coming. We're gonna be saved soon."

"No, we're not," she protested, still crying. "He'll just kill them before they can even get here."

"Ohhh... Kaline," the blue-green eyed girl said sadly, reaching out to touch her friend's shoulder. She wanted to comfort the other girl so badly.

Kaline jerked away with a cry of fright, her body beginning to shake even harder. She was beyond terrified; she was in a state of blind panic.

"Everything will be fine; it just has to be. You'll see," Cassie insisted. 'At least, I hope it will be. After everything we've been through, I'm not sure if we even have the right to hope.'



"Kurama," Hiei softly called over to his friend, knowing that telepathy around Loki was dangerous. "I finally talked to Cassie."

"You did? How is she? How is Kaline? Is she okay? How badly are they hurt? Are-"

The fire demon cut off the kitsune's never-ending stream of questions. "They're not good. Cassie's in pretty bad shape, and Kaline's even worse. Cassie acts like a frightened child in the middle of a nightmare, and she shudders when Loki's name is mentioned."

"And Cassie was such a strong person." Kurama drifted off, fear in his eyes. "Then Kaline..." He shook his head, trying to clear it.

"Cassie said that she can't even touch her," Hiei whispered. "And Loki's name causes some kind of bad reaction in Kaline."

The redhead's eyes went wide, but they narrowed in anger a split second later. "Loki is going to pay," he hissed, a dangerous look on his face.

The fire demon nodded his head in agreement, a similiar expression on his face. "Yes, he most certainly is."







CotA: Hey people! I finally got another chappie out. Thankfully, I'm a whole lot closer to the big climax. *cheers* But I'm still not sure how long this story will be. Oh, btw, I have a question for you, all my wonderful readers. I have at least three different YYH stories I could start next. The first two would be part of the Time series. One idea is to write a story about how Kaline first meets all of the spirit detectives as well as how she deals with all the evils demons they have to face. The second idea for the Time is a sequel to everything. There'll be some new enemies as well as a little history lesson about Kaline's parents and what Kaline is exactly. My third story would be an AU, which the summary is up in my bio. I'm gonna let you people choose which story I start next. I'm asking you guys now so I can plan out the story while I'm finishing up this one. That way, as soon as I'm done, I can start on the next one. Sound good? Cool. Well, the review responses are below.

Rei Akita: Good. If it wasn't getting interesting, I'd be worried b/c I wouldn't be doing my job right.

Yanou: You're partially right about Kurama and Hiei being able to "hear" Kaline and Cassie b/c they're soul mates, but there's a little more to it. Hiei has his jagan, which helps him, and since Kaline had the joys of giving Kurama all the same abilities as her when she healed him... Well, there you go. And I'm not telling who's gonna kill Loki. That's a secret. ^_^

Midnight: Yes, that chapter was long.

Lady Rose Jade: I'll update soon. Promise.

Luraia Soul: Yes, a big fight is coming.

SunSeeker: I always took kitsune to mean either fox or fox spirit, but thanks for correcting me. And I forgot that Kurama has multiple tails. Ooops. Ummm... I claim authoress powers so he doesn't have them in my story. ^_^;;

Sam: A Columbian necktie...? Ummm... okay.

Bijin-chan: *laughing* thanks for the laugh. I needed it. My homework load is huge right now, so updating may not come for a bit. *sighs* I hate homework.