Thanks to all reviewers.

CHAPTER NINE
In which nothing greatly important happens

"I see you brought back the time machine," Vegeta said, stalking towards Shadow.

"Shadow, is this who you stole the time machine from?" Kurama asked.

"Actually, I think it might have been his son..."

"HEY! I'm talking to you!" Vegeta snapped. Shadow snapped to attention.

"Yessir?"

"I don't know who you are, but--"

"I can change that," Shadow said, walking towards Vegeta. "Let's get to know each other." She locked her arm around his and attempted to lead him away, however all it resulted in was a punch in the face. She slid back and ended up at Saitou's feet.

"Hello, tall insect man," Shadow said woosily. Sanosuke laughed.

"Shadow, are you okay?" Hiei asked, darting over to her.

"I am," she said, jumping up. "And now I want revenge. NOBODY HITS ME AND GETS AWAY WITH IT! NOT EVEN SOME SPANDEX-MAN!"

She stomped towards Vegeta. Once she was a few inches away from him, she stopped and pointed to her boots.

"Steel-toed," she said, smirking.

"That's nice, girl, but nobody steals from me, kicks me, or calls me spandex-man and gets away with it. And if they do all three..." Vegeta said, letting his threat hang. Shadow smirked, tilting her head slightly.

"Let me guess. I'm doomed?" she said in a British accent again.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"YAY! DOOM!"

She then kicked Vegeta in the nuts and tore off down the street as fast as her legs would carry her. He had recovered in minutes and went after her, shooting energy and flying and all that fancy shmancy crap he can do.

Half an hour later, Hiei was carrying a severly mauled Shadow into the basement infirmary. Kurama trailed after him with a Ziploc bag full of purple-tinted goo. Eclipse was left to make the 1880 group feel comfortable. She let them into the living room and said, "Make yourselves comfortable, don't blow anything up, and avoid closed doors," then went and played video games in Shadow's room.

Now, leaving a group of people from about 124 years in the past in a living room full of modern technology is stupid. The first thing that happened was the phone rang. It rang, and rang, and the entire group stared at it like it would blow up any second. Finally, Saitou walked over and tentatively lifted the reciever.

After a second, there was a voice. "Hello? Hello? Shadow? Eclipse? Come on, stop playing jokes!"

Saitou's eyes widened and he put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he said cautiously.

"... What the hell? Who are you?"

"I think... that's none of your business..."

"Oh my God! Shadow has strange guys in her house who won't even introduce themselves! Wait until Hiei finds out about this!"

There was a loud click and after a second the phone started buzzing. Saitou pulled it away from his ear and stared at it, not exactly sure what to do with it. Kurama walked into the room.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"It was ringing," Saitou said. Kurama sighed and took the reciever, put it to his ear, then hung up.

"Who was it?"

"I don't know."

"Ah."

"Kurama-san, how is Shadow-dono doing?" Kenshin asked.

"She'll be fine. Believe me, she's been worse."

"Oh... Does she fight often?"

"Not really, but she does other things that end up with her mauled. Like... ticking off the local forest creatures. She got chased by a bear once when she woke it up from hibernation, and when it caught her, it beat her up and hung her by her shoelaces in a tree. When Hiei found her, he just sighed and walked the other direction. So this isn't that bad. She'll probably be awake in no time," Kurama said. Suddenly, she was behind him.

"KONNICHIWA, SHUKUN KITSUNE!" (Good day, Lord Fox)

"Shukun Kitsune?" Sanosuke muttered.

Shadow hugged Kurama.

"Shadow... You're... er... I can't... breathe..." Kurama said, prying her arms away. Hiei walked up the stairs from the basement and grabbed her by the back of her shirt as he walked by. She was dragged off Kurama and plopped on the floor, staring up at Hiei.

"KONNICHIWA, SHUKUN RYUU!" she screamed, rolling over and putting her forehead on Hiei's boot.

"Shadow, you're scaring our guests," Kurama said, grabbing the back of her shirt and pulling her to her feet.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to go look around to see what havoc has been wreaked while I was gone," Hiei said, walking up the stairs.

"Kurama, do me a favor and take these people somewhere and explain time travel to them," Shadow said, pointing at the group she had dragged out of 1880. "I kind of just threw them into the time machine and said we were going to 2010."

"Why me?" Kurama asked.

"Because you're a friggin' GENIUS!" Shadow snapped. "You should know these things!"

"Well, yes, but..."

Shadow grabbed Kaoru, Yahiko, Megumi, and Kurama and dragged them to an empty room. "I think they deserve to know, because who knows how long they're gonna be stuck here before I can get another time machine. Catch them up on the latest technology."

She slammed the door and walked back to the living room. Perching on the back of the couch, she looked at the five guys left.

"So, you people got names?" she asked. "I think you already know I'm Shadow."

"Hai, we know. And we do have names," Kenshin said. "I am Kenshin Himura."

"Sanosuke Sagara," Sano said.

"Seijuro Hiko. The thirteenth."

After that, they hit a brick wall and Kenshin had to introduce Saitou and Aoshi.

"Soooo..."

Shadow was trying to think of something to strike up a conversation when the front door burst open and Kuwabara walked in. His jaw dropped.

"FIVE! I knew there was one unknown guy, but five? And Hiei's no where to be seen! What the hell can you do with five guys!"

"A lot of stuff," Shadow said, smirking. "But all I'm planning on doing with them is letting them stay here until I find a way to get them home, baka. What did you think I was gonna do with them? Breeding stock?"

All five guys stared at her in horror, not to mention Kuwabara, whose jaw was inches from the floor.

"So, why'd you come here?" Shadow asked.

"Well, I tried calling... but some guy answered..."

"Uh-huh."

"Soo... Where's Yusuke?"

"Home. He went home the second we got back to our time."

"Oh... So where's Hiei?"

"He went upstairs to see what kinds of havoc I had wreaked on our house without him around. Of course, he didn't bother looking at the broom closet in the hall... That's the only havoc I remember... So, if you're just here to look for Yusuke, are you gonna leave now? Cuz he's not here," Shadow said.

"Uh..."

"SHADOW! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS STUFF IN YOUR ROOM?" Hiei screamed from upstairs.

"WHAT STUFF? BE MORE SPECIFIC!"

"THIS BOX! THIS OUIGIE BOARD THING!"

"THAT'S MY PSI-CHICK STUFF! LEAVE IT ALONE! ONLY I CAN USE IT, IT MIGHT BITE OFF YOUR HANDS!" Shadow screamed. She ran up the stairs an into her room, loaded all the stuff into a box, and shoved it back into her closet.

Meanwhile, Eclipse was sitting in front of the video game system, completely oblivious to anything but the little blue hedgehog running around gathering rings on the TV screen.

"SHADOW!" came Kuwabara's voice from downstairs.

"What's Kuwabara doing here!" Hiei asked.

"He called and one of the 1880 guys answered the phone and he thought I was cheating on you, so he came over," Shadow said, walking out of the room. Hiei trailed after her.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT, BAKAYAROU?" she screeched.

"Where did these guys come from, anyway? And... how did Hiei get back? And Yusuke...? Weren't they gone?"

Shadow let out a disgusted groan. "Hiei, you go explain." She pushed him to the top of the stairs. "Go!"

"Uck. Fine." Hiei walked downstairs and Shadow followed.

"Okay, here's the deal, baka," he said. "We were kidnapped and put in 2010. Shadow came and 'bravely' rescued us, killing several people and stealing a time machine in the process. So now we are back and you are doomed because that is never happening to me again, so you'll have to put up with me until one or the other of us dies. Okay?"

"Oh. Okay."

"Now would you be so kind as to leave my house?" Shadow asked.

"But that didn't explain who these guys are..." Kuwabara said.

"They were kidnapped too, and before we could get them back to their own time the dude who I stole the time machine from came back and took it and his father tried to beat me up but ended up as a blob of goo in a Ziploc bag in me freezer," Shadow said.

"In 'me freezer'? Don't you mean 'my'?" Hiei asked. Shadow gave him a death glare. "I just meant... last time I checked, you weren't like... Irish or British... or whatever country talks like that..."

"Irish, I believe. So anyway, Kuwabara, that's why these guys are here, and I barely even know their names, so there is absolutely nothing going on between us. Okay? I'm all for Hiei... Mind, body, and soul," Shadow said, throwing her arm around the little demon's shoulders, just to freak Kuwabara out. "Mostly body."

Hiei decided to play along and he wrapped his arms around Shadow's waist and pulled her close to him.

Kuwabara and the entire RK gang stared as Shadow and Hiei leaned toward each other to kiss. Their lips were inches apart when Kuwabara couldn't stand it anymore.

"PLEASE STOP!" he screamed. Shadow and Hiei both burst into hysterical laughter at the look on his face. Quickly, Shadow produced a camera from somewhere (dunno where... a pocket, maybe) and snapped a picture.

"That's priceless," Shadow said. "I can only imagine what you would have done if we had actually kissed."

"Died, maybe," Kuwabara said.

"Really!" Hiei said hopefully.

"Please don't!" Kuwabara said, knowing what was going through Hiei's mind. "I'll just go insane."

"Damn. You'd probably be even more annoying insane than you would be sane... If you are sane..."

"He's sane. I'm the lunatic here," Shadow said, grinning evilly.

"True enough. Now, Kuwabara, if you don't mind, GET THE HELL OUTTA MY HOUSE!" Hiei screamed. "I'm sick of looking at your ugly face."

"Hey! I'm not ugly!"

There was dead silence for a few seconds before Shadow, Hiei, Sano, and Hiko all burst out laughing. Of course, laughing is against the law for Saitou and Aoshi, and Kenshin isn't big on making fun of people, so... They didn't laugh.

"You guys are so cruel..." Kuwabara said, sulking out of the house.

"WOO! HE'S GONE!" Shadow said, jumping up and down.

"You were right, Hiei," Sanosuke said. "Kuwabara is stupid."

"No, ya think?" Shadow said.

A little bit later, Kurama came out of the room Shadow had forced him into, along with Kaoru, Megumi, and Yahiko.

"All caught up? Good, now give a guided tour of the technology in this house so they don't blow anything up," Shadow ordered. Kurama glared.

"No."

"NOW, LACKEY!"

"You do it, Shadow. Or have Hiei do it. It's your house."

"So?"

"So you know better what to tell them then I do!"

"Okay, fine. Guys, listen up. Stay in this room and do not touch anything unless I say you can. At all times," Shadow said. "We're working on a way to get you home as we speak. Okay? So you should be home soon."

"Good!" Yahiko said. "This place is too strange for my liking."

"Yeah, shut up kid. If I went back to your time I would think your place was strange too!" Shadow snapped. "For your information, this house is highly wonderful and that's mostly just because I live in it. I make it all worth the while."

"Yeah right! An ugly girl like you?"

Sanosuke, Kaoru, and Shadow all hit Yahiko in the head at the same time and he fell to the floor with swirly eyes.

"I'M NOT UGLY! I'm perfect," Shadow said, fluttery stars and whatnot around her as she struck a pose.

"Baka risu," Saitou muttered. Shadow blinked, staring at him cluelessly.

"What did you call me?"

"Baka risu."

"Why...?"

"Because you're a baka."

"That's doesn't explain the 'risu' part..."

"You look like one."

"I do not!"

"Don't take it personally, Shadow. He's got nicknames for everyone," Sanosuke said. "Most of them are animals."

"BUT I'M NOT SOME ACORN-GATHERING RODENT!" Shadow screeched. "I DON'T LIVE IN A PARK! DO I LOOK LIKE I LIVE IN A PARK? DON'T ANSWER THAT!"

Just then, Eclipse came down the stairs, walked through the room without even noticing the people standing around, and went down the hall into the kitchen. Shadow continued screaming and yelling until Eclipse came back through with a whole block of cheese in her hand.

"And that one is nezumi," Saitou said, noticing Eclipse.

"Eclipse is?" Shadow said.

"Huh?" Eclipse said stupidly, looking up. "I is what?"

"Nezumi," Hiei said. "Saitou is giving people nicknames.

"Oh. How creative. But I don't think I have anything in common with a mouse."

"Well I don't think I'm anything like a squirrel, but hey, if it makes tall insect man happy, we'll just go along with it, right?" Shadow said sarcastically.

"Yes, of course. Who is tall insect man?" Eclipse asked.

"Him," Shadow said, pointing at Saitou.

"Okay. I'm going to go play video games and get fat, all right?" Eclipse said.

"Get fat? Dude, you already are fat," Shadow said.

"Hey!"

Eclipse then proceeded to strangle Shadow. Everybody stared. Finally, Hiko snapped out of it and pulled the girls apart.

"Behave, bakas," he said, dropping Eclipse onto the couch and pushing Shadow backwards into Hiei. "Pathetic."

"AM NOT!" Shadow snapped, lunging at the tall man and attempting to strangle him. Of course, she wasn't strong enough, and he just stood there until Aoshi was so kind as to pry her off and 'accidentally' 'drop' her on the floor.

"I feel sexually outnumbered," Shadow said, looking around and counting. Eight guys, and, counting her, four girls. "The guys outnumber the girls two to one. I claim Hiei and Kurama!" She jumped up and locked arms with the two demons. Everybody stared at her cluelessly.

"Shadow...?"

"Oh, never mind," Shadow grumbled. "I'm going to my room."

"NOOO! I'm playing video games in there!" Eclipse whined.

"Too bad," Shadow chirped, running up the stairs.

"Actually, she looks a little like a monkey, too..." Saitou said absently. "Risu-Saru?"

"I like it. It suits her. Squirrel-monkey," Hiei said. He grinned.

"I AM NOT A SQUIRREL-MONKEY!" Shadow screamed from upstairs.

"YES YOU ARE!" Hiei shouted back.

"BLEAH!"

"WHATEVER!"

"DON'T WHATEVER ME!"

"I WILL IF I WANT TO!"

"HIEI JAGANSHI, DON'T GET SMART WITH ME!"

"IF I WERE, HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?"

"WHY DOES EVERYONE SAY THAT?"

Shadow came thundering down the stairs and lunged across the room to tackle Hiei. Saitou watched her curiously.

"It's hard to decide what to call her... Now she reminds me of..."

"Saitou, why don't you just call her 'oban' and get it over with?" Aoshi asked. Shadow froze and slowly turned to look at him.

"What did you say?"

"I said--"

"I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!"

"Oo"

Shadow pried herself loose from Hiei and lunged at Aoshi, falling short several feet by ramming into Sanosuke.

"Really, I think Shadow is a lot like a psychotic goat pumped up on drugs," Hiei said to Kurama.

Kurama sighed. "Why don't we just call her Shadow and leave it at that?"

"Kurama! I love you! You said it perfectly!" Shadow said from where she was sitting on the floor at Sanosuke's feet, unraveling a thread from the bottom of his pants. She jumped up and hugged him.

"Sure, okay, Shadow... Um... I suggest you stop hugging me and start thinking of a way to get these guys home, like you promised," Kurama said, trying to pry the girl off of him. She was stuck to him like a suction cup, with her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"Shadow, let go! Kurama is right."

"OKAY! WE'RE OFF TO VEGETA'S HOUSE!" Shadow said, letting go and running out the door.

"Vegeta's? She's gonna go back there after she trampled him into goo?" Hiei said, staring after her in horror.

"We'd better go with her," Kurama said.

"Yeah. You guys stay here, and please, don't touch anything if you don't know what it is..." Hiei said to the RK group. He and Kurama ran out the door and down the street after Shadow, who was running in circles because she wasn't sure she knew where she was going.

"This way, Shadow," Kurama said, steering in the direction of Vegeta's house.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW!"

"He knows everything, Shadow. Surely you've realized that already?" Hiei said.

"Oh. Then, this way it is!" Shadow chirped, running off.

Hiei and Kurama exchanged glances (which plainly said "Oh my God, she get stupider every day.") and followed.


Well, that's another chapter dished out to the world... I think after I finish the story (there's still a chapter or two left, though), I'm gonna post some bonus/blooper chapters. Like, "outtakes" from the story. Hee hee. Maybe I'll make another chapter kinda like the intermission but... at the end of the story. Like, an "end of the story" party. And I apologize to the people who like Trigun and Inuyasha, cuz I barely had them in this story at all. I haven't really seen enough Inuyasha to know Sesshoumaru's attitude and speaking and stuff, Inuyasha and Miroku... Half the time I forget they were there, as well as Vash and Wolfwood, too... I should write a Trigun fic. Should I?