Tori the Hanyou: All right! Chapter 18! This is the longest story I do
believe I've ever written, and it might be the first that I finish! (Checks
story list) Yeah, it will. Well, anywho, I've been busy writing these for
y'all, so here are the review answers:
Black Mage Tsucasa: Yeah, you can bet to high heaven she didn't! And boy, will Hiei feel her wrath in this chappie! Thanks for reviewing!
Choas Babe: Yeah, Kurama already did it.
pinkjingling: Well...first off, Kagome was expecting it. Second off, Kurama's gentler than Hiei, you gotta remember that. Third off, Tori trusted that Hiei wouldn't hurt her, and when he did by biting her, it not only hurt her physically, it startled her, and hurt her emotionally.
NOTE: Yeah, that Insert You of Kurama/You is FINALLY up! Plz go look at it! I'm very proud of it!
DISCLAIMER: Only own Tori and the ligress, NOTHING ELSE! Except for the artifacts, the plot, and the parody of Sk8ter Boi in chapter 8! So DON'T STEAL 'EM!
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Fighting Back
Chapter 18: After Effects
Tori awoke late that afternoon with a dull pain thudding in her neck. She reached up and rubbed it, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. What had happened? She felt the arms that were wrapped around her shift, and she looked up to see Hiei's sleeping face.
"Hiei?" she asked quietly. His eyes opened, and greeted hers.
"Oh, you're awake," he said. She nodded.
"What happened? My neck hurts," she said, rubbing it some more. He slowly removed her hand, and the memories of that morning came flooding back. He smirked. He might as well tell her now, while her body was still waking up.
"You don't remember this morning?" he asked innocently. Tori thought for a minute, before it came back, with another flash of pain, not only in her neck, but also in her heart.
"Oh, God...Hiei, what the hell did you do to me??" she asked. His smirk grew.
"You're mine," he whispered. Tori froze, raising an eyebrow at him.
"How so?" she asked suspiciously. His eyes bored into hers.
"Tori, I marked you."
It took about three seconds for those words to sink in.
"YOU DID WHAT???"
"You heard me," said Hiei calmly, the same smug look on his face, "And now you belong to me...forever."
Tori tried to get up, but her body didn't seem to want to respond. Somehow, her heart was in control instead of her mind, and her heart was being held where it was by Hiei. She felt faint. How did this happen? How did she LET it happen?? She looked up at Hiei.
"You marked me?? So, that...makes me..."
"My mate," finished Hiei, moving a hand up to stroke the mark he'd made. She rested her head on his shoulder, in a daze.
"Wait...this isn't adding up..." Hiei sighed.
"You know why demons mark someone, don't you? It's because they love that someone, and want to spend forever with them," he said softly, nuzzling her face. She felt the anger inside melt to love when he spoke those words. He'd get punished later...for now, while she was still weak, she'd let him act all romantic.
She smiled.
"I love you, Hiei."
"I love you too, Tori." He entwined her in his arms, and they rested like that for a long while.
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The group walked in to spy Hiei and Tori dozing on the sofa, and they froze. Silently, Yusuke crept up behind them. Kagome was about to tell him off, but Kurama gently covered her mouth.
"We'll let him find out," he whispered.
Yusuke's inquisitive brown eyes peeked over the back of the couch, and almost the first thing he noticed was the two fang marks on Tori's neck. Holding in a snigger, he announced right in their ears:
"HIEI! YOU DOG! WOOOHOO!"
The two leapt awake like surprised cats, and Tori leapt over the back to beat the shit out of Yusuke, despite her lack of energy; it seemed to have miraculously returned.
Hiei watched curiously as the two went at it, and Kuwabara attempted to stop them, but he wound up getting caught in it as well.
Kurama, Kagome, and Botan went about their business, as though three of their group members trying to kill each other was a part of everyday life.
Finally, Yusuke and Kuwabara managed to pin down the furious girl, and Hiei had to jump in and knock them off to stop the fight. She WAS his mate, after all. It was his job to protect her.
Kagome watched with amusement as Hiei pulled Tori back onto the couch with him, and she and Kurama joined them.
"So, Hiei, you've finally done it. I have to say, I'm very proud of you," said Kurama.
"Ok, Kagome, NOW can you tell me what's been going on?" asked Tori.
"Certainly!"
She and Kurama explained the entire demon mating process, which Hiei had recently performed on Tori over the past three days.
"Oooh, so THAT'S why he was acting like that," said Tori, looking up at Hiei. He smirked. "And fighting off Yugi was when he was fending off other males. I get it!" she said, snuggling up to him, "That was so sweet, Hiei. I just wish you would've told me instead of springing it on me like that, I was so confused!"
"He told you he was going to mate with you, didn't he?" asked Kurama. Tori thought for a minute, and then shook her head. Kurama's eyes widened. "You mean...Hiei...you marked her without her permission??" he asked incredulously. Hiei nodded proudly.
"That's hot!" piped up Yusuke, poking his head over the back of the couch again.
Hiei restrained Tori so she wouldn't go and pounce on him again, but Kagome was way ahead of her.
SMACK!!
"Mind your own business, Yusuke," she said.
"Speaking of marking me without permission..." said Tori, turning to Hiei, "YOU'RE GONNA DIE!!!" She tackled him, and yet another fight ensued on the floor. "Why the hell would you do that, you moron?? OW! Don't pull my hair!!" yelped Tori.
"I already told you why!! FUCK YOU, BITCH! NO BITING!!" snarled Hiei
"Aww, look at that. They're already fighting like an old married couple," said Kagome.
The two wrestled and fought for quite a while, until Hiei decided it was time to stop. With an animalistic growl, he pinned Tori's arms to her sides, his fangs against her neck. She froze, panting. He released her, and made her sit next to him again. This time, Tori decided to be compliant, knowing what was going on, and she was quite tired.
She sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder while Kurama and Kagome watched Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
"Feel better?" asked Hiei.
"Yup," replied Tori.
'Now, for 32,000 dollars, what is the Japanese word for demon?' came Regis's voice, 'Is it, A. Hanyo, B. Rekai, C. Yokai, or D. Fung Chow?'
Tori didn't care. She snuggled deeper into Hiei's neck, while Yusuke had 'fun' with the question.
"Umm, I'm putting my money on B," he said.
"Ok, Urameshi, you're lost. I'm guessing C," said Kuwabara.
"Bet you're wrong," muttered Yusuke.
"Bet I'm right!"
'Umm...I'll pick...B'
"Told ya!"
"Just watch, Urameshi!"
'...Oh...I'm terribly sorry...the answer is...'
Yusuke and Kuwabara watched.
'C. Yokai! Thank you for joining us! Let's go to the break! We'll be right back!'
"WHAT??"
"SEE?? HAHAHA! You should pay more attention in school, loser!" cheered Kuwabara, parading around the room.
"Sheesh, the guy gets one question right on a stupid TV show, and he's suddenly looking for a soapbox to stand on and preach to the world," said Yusuke.
Botan sat on her bed, reading A Separate Peace, while the two couples on the couch sat quietly, simply enjoying each other's company.
Kurama felt Kagome's head against his shoulder, and he gently smiled at her, embracing her deeply as Yusuke and Kuwabara went off to bed. Botan turned off her lamp, grabbing the remote and silencing the TV as she climbed into bed, going straight to sleep.
(The next morning...)
Kurama woke up Kagome the next morning by deviously stealing a kiss from her, making her eyes snap open.
"Morning to you too, Kurama," she giggled when he broke off. She glanced around the room. "I see we're the first ones up," she said, yawning.
"Want to wake them up?" asked Kurama, gesturing towards Hiei and Tori, who were peacefully slumbering.
"Hmm...I dunno...that's a tough one," said Kagome, "I like them better like that, they're a heck of a lot quieter."
Kurama chuckled.
"Well, since we gave Hiei and Tori that time yesterday, and Hiei took full advantage of it, I'd say we're going to have to make them come with us today. Besides, we could use their help," he explained. Kagome sighed.
"Ok, ok, I'll wake 'em," she said, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at the other couple, quickly putting her head back on Kurama's shoulder, and both pretended to be asleep.
"Wha...what the hell was that?" asked Tori sleepily as she pulled the pillow off of herself. She gave it a look and threw it back at Kagome and Kurama, not knowing that they were the ones who threw it first, and tried to go back to sleep, only to be greeted by the same pillow dropping onto her head after it hit Hiei square in the face.
Slight snickering and giggling was heard across the couch, and Tori growled, grabbing the pillow and two couch cushions, pegging Kagome with them before Hiei pulled her back into his arms, trying to drop back to sleep. It was only 6:00 in the morning, after all.
Somehow, that was Kagome and Kurama's wake up time, though, and they finally stood up, bringing the pillows with them, and whacking the other two to stir them.
Snarling, another pillow fight began, waking the other three sleepyheads in the rooms, who quickly joined in on it, getting everyone up. "Damnit, Kagome, can't you just leave us be for ONE more hour??" asked Tori, dropping on the couch. Kagome shook her head.
"Nope! We got an artifact to find! Now GET MOVING!" she ordered, trying to shove Tori off the couch. Tori firmly planted her feet in the floor.
"I don't take orders from ANYONE!" she said playfully, giggling as Kagome tried again to pull her off, to no avail.
"Anyone?" asked Hiei, coming right in front of her. Tori smirked.
"Anyone!"
Kagome stood back.
"Hiei, could you get her up? Sheesh, that girl's as stubborn as a mule!" Hiei gave her a knowing smirk, and nodded.
Tori crossed her legs and watched Hiei as he paced back and forth in front of her. It was all a game, but they were having fun. She giggled as he took her arm and tried to pull her up. But, she clung to the back of the couch with her other arm, and pretended to bite Hiei's hand to make him let go.
Botan shooed Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama into the other room while Hiei watched Tori try to pry his hand off of her arm.
"You gonna bite me?" he asked. She nodded.
"Yeah, what're you gonna do about it?" Hiei looked like he was thinking.
"This."
He pounced on her, wrestling her arm off the back of the couch. "Get up," he commanded as he picked her up bridal style. "Gee, Tori, I thought you said you didn't take orders from ANYONE!" he said.
"I don't! You cheated! That's a foul!" giggled Tori, trying to push away from him. He dropped her inside the bathroom door, shutting it.
"Thank you, Hiei!" said Kagome brightly. "You really ARE the only person Tori will listen to!" She winked. "Now OUT!" She shoved him into the boys' room, closing the door to let the girls get ready, all the while hearing Tori's angry yells of protest from inside the bathroom.
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The group walked down the street. Tori wanted to keep away from Hiei after that morning's incident, but she remembered what Kurama and Kagome had said about staying near her new mate's side for at least two days. 'Two days...' thought Tori miserably. She felt Hiei's arm snake around her waist. She tried to get it off, but he gave her a look, and she was forced to stay quiet.
Kagome was giggling inwardly at the two. Tori didn't like being stuck with someone for a long period of time, but Hiei was obviously going to try to change that. She thought for a minute, wondering if perhaps Hiei was one of those more dominant demons Kurama had been talking about. If that was the case...then poor Tori would have to get used to Hiei how he was. And that would mean almost no more freedom.
'Sheesh, and she never even had a choice on whether to be his mate or not,' thought Kagome.
Suddenly, a beeping was heard in Botan's direction.
"It's found something!" she cried.
Everyone hurried over. "It's over here somewhere!" Botan hurried down the street, everyone following. Tori looked around. This street sure was familiar... "Hmm...it's inside that building," said Botan, pointing to none other than...
"The Game Shop????" cried Tori. Everyone looked at her strangely. "This place belongs to Yugi's grandfather!" she said, "I can't go in there!"
"Well, if you wanna be out here, where he could probably get you easier..." said Yusuke. Tori glared.
"Sheesh, fine, I'll go," she snapped, reluctantly approaching the door.
Kagome warily stepped in the door first, looking around. There were a couple of people in there, and they were all standing near the counter. She walked in, gesturing for the others to follow.
The ringing of the bell as the door shut quickly drew attention from the counter. Kagome instantly recognized the people at the counter, who instantly recognized Tori.
"Tori?" asked Tea, "what're you doing here?" Tori noticed Tea's usually small purse had an abnormal bulge in it.
"Err...we're looking for something," replied Kagome.
"Well, come on in! I have many cards for sale!" said Mr. Moto brightly.
"No, not cards," said Botan sheepishly, "none of you would perchance have found a strange mirror recently, would you?"
Everyone seemed to glance at Tea, before quickly returning their eyes to the newcomers.
"Well...umm...I think I did..." said Tea, "but it's not exactly strange. It's just a normal mirror surrounded by diamonds."
"That's what we're looking for, I'm afraid," said Kurama. Tea backed up, suddenly tripping on a crack in the floor and falling backwards, only to be caught by Tristan. Tori thought.
"Have those kind of things been happening a lot recently?" asked Botan. Tea nodded.
"I seem to have been having really bad luck. I don't know why, I haven't run under any ladders, knocked over any saltshakers, come across any black cats, or broken any mirrors!" she said, "It's weird."
"What have you done in front of the mirror?" asked Tori, "Like, what have you said?"
"Well, umm...I don't remember..."
"When did you get it?" asked Kagome.
"I found it a couple of days ago."
"Who have you had conversations with whenever the mirror was out of your purse?" asked Tori.
"Well...I remember talking to them about it..." She pointed to the group behind her.
"And what have you said?"
"Hmm...I think we were talking about how much allowance we get..."
"And what did you say?" asked Kagome.
"I said I get ten dollars a week."
"And how much do you really get?"
"What? You're not suggesting I lied, are you??" asked Tea angrily.
"It would explain why you've been having bad luck," said Kurama.
"How so? People tell lies all the time, and they never..."
"That mirror cursed you," said Tori.
"What??"
"Tori, don't..."
"It's ok, if they know about Yugi's powers, they can take this kind of thing," said Tori.
"What kind of thing?" asked Serenity, speaking up.
"That is called the Mirror of Truth. Anyone who lies while holding it becomes cursed until they come clean with the truth. The more lies you tell, the worse it gets."
Tea stared with horror at her purse, quickly pulling out the mirror.
"Ok, ok, so how do I break it?"
"Just tell the truth, it's not that hard," said Hiei. Tea looked curiously down at the mirror.
"Ok...I don't get an allowance..."
Suddenly, the mirror shot out a burst of light, the diamonds reflecting it around the room.
"Whoa, pretty..." said Mai.
When the light subsided, Tori approached Tea.
"Ok, the curse has been lifted, we need the Mirror now." Tea watched her.
"Why do you need it? Do YOU wanna be cursed?" Tori rolled her eyes.
"Yes, Tea, that's exactly why we're taking it," she said sarcastically, "No! We're taking so we can put it in a safe place where no one else will find it and get cursed, ok?"
Tea looked from her to the mirror.
"Hold on. If I give you this, you're going to leave us again," she said, "and how do you think Yugi will feel?"
Tori sighed.
"Tea, I told you..."
"I don't care what you told me! I don't know when we're ever going to see you again! You vanished for six months, came back, disappeared for another day, and I don't know what you're up to!"
"Tea!"
"Tori, listen to me for once! I want you to tell us when you're coming back this time."
"I can't!"
"Why?"
"Cause I don't know myself! I'm very busy right now..."
"What? With your new boyfriend?" snapped Tea, nodding her head at Hiei. Tori glared.
"Hiei's got nothing to do with this right now...and he's NOT my boyfriend!"
A silence went over the room as Tori continued.
"He's more than that, so shut up and keep your nose out of it, got it??" Tea's eyes widened.
"He's MORE than your boyfriend??" she asked suspiciously.
"I said leave it alone!" snapped Tori. Hiei stepped up, taking her arm.
"Tori, I think you need to calm down..."
Kagome came up on her other side.
"Listen, Tori's not leaving yet," she said, "if that's what you're worried about. We really need that mirror, though, for everyone's safety."
Tea once more gave a hopeless glance at the mirror, before reluctantly holding it out to Kagome. With a betrayed glare at Tori, she turned and ran up the stairs behind the counter.
Tristan worriedly followed her.
"Sheesh, what's up with her?" asked Yusuke.
Tori approached Mai and Serenity.
"Tea still wants you to stay with us," muttered Mai quietly, "she was probably more worried about you than Yugi. That night...after you left...she cried a long time. Not even Tristan could calm her down. She said she felt like we'd betrayed you. But now, after seeing you again, she thinks you're the one betraying us."
Tori sighed.
"You really should be thanking them," she pointed to the group behind her, "If they hadn't forced me and Kagome to come along with them, I probably wouldn't have ever come back."
"Ok, that's number nine," said Botan, slipping the Mirror carefully into her pack.
"Let's go," said Yusuke, "We still got one more."
"One more until what?" asked Serenity.
Kagome looked at Tori. She sighed.
"Fine! Fine, we'll tell them!" she said.
So, Kagome and Tori filled in the group on all that had happened, and why they had the collars, and the artifact searching, excluding only the mating, with Yusuke piping in every few minutes.
They stood in shock when the story was finished.
"So...you've still gotta find the Blade thing?" asked Duke.
"Yeah..." said Tori, "and Kaiba's the one who's got it."
"That's why we're going to KaibaCorp now," said Kagome.
"Hey, wait, we can help," said Mai.
"How?" asked Yusuke.
"Tori's probably forgotten that we know Kaiba just as well...and probably better...than she does. If you guys need help, we're here."
"Ok, thanks, y'all," said Tori happily.
They all headed down to the large building, devising a plan along the way.
"We're going to have to split up, since it will seem suspicious about a huge group of people coming in to see him," said Botan.
"Yeah, you're right."
So, they split into four smaller groups: Yusuke, Joey, Tori – Serenity, Kurama, Hiei – Kuwabara, Duke, Mai – Kagome, Botan, Bakura (don't forget, Yugi, Tea, and Tristan aren't there)
They all climbed into the elevators, going to different floors to check things out. Suddenly, Botan stopped the elevator at one particular floor, before anyone left.
"Wait a minute! These will help!" she said, racing out the door into what seemed to be a supply room. She came back a few minutes later, carrying four walkie-talkies. "Here." She passed them to the four groups.
"Wait...how'd you know these were here?" asked Kagome.
"It says Supply Room on the button," said Botan simply.
So, everyone headed to different floors.
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"Mai! Can we stop?? We've been walking for hours!" complained Duke.
"Oh, quit whining! You're such a baby, it's only been twenty minutes," said Kuwabara. Suddenly, he stopped. "EEEE!"
"What?"
Kuwabara pointed in the dark hallway as a small thing raced across the floor, disappearing into a hole.
"You...were scared...of a mouse..." said Duke, sweat dropping, "Why did we get stuck with him again?" he asked, flipping his hair.
"Shut up, primadonna!"
"How about both of you can it before I rearrange your faces?? You're giving me a freaking headache!!" said Mai. They shut up.
(With the YJT group)
"See anything?" asked Tori.
"Nope. This hallway's deserted," said Yusuke.
"Like your brain? Don't forget we're on the top floor!" said Joey, "This is only Kaiba's floor!"
"Like I was supposed to know that, idiot?" asked Yusuke, turning to face him angrily.
"You wanna say that again to my face, weakling?" asked Joey.
"Sure, do, idiot, or should I say, MORONIC idiot, to quote Hiei..."
"Alright, that's it, LET'S GO! I've had ENOUGH of you!" snapped Joey.
"If you guys don't shut up, he'll hear us!" hissed Tori from way up ahead. The two gave each other glares full of fire, before reluctantly following.
"This isn't over," whispered Yusuke.
"No, we're taking it outside as soon as this is over," growled Joey.
Tori shook her head, hoping the others were having better luck.
(With the KBB group)
"Hey, you guys! Here's something!" called Botan. Kagome and Bakura hurried over.
"Whoa! It's a computer room!" said Bakura.
"A BIG computer room..." said Kagome. Botan walked in, looking around.
"There's no one here," she said, walking up to a huge monitor, "I wonder what he's been working on..." She pressed the mouse, and suddenly, a huge picture of the Winged Dragon of Ra flashed on the screen. She and Kagome nearly screamed, but Bakura examined the text on the card.
"It's Ra..." he whispered.
"Who?"
"Ra, the Winged Dragon of Ra. It's a very powerful Duel Monsters card."
"What the heck is that stuff?" asked Kagome, staring at the text.
"It's the Egyptian language. Not many people can read it," explained Bakura.
"Ok...so he's been staring at a dragon. What else?" asked Kagome. Botan flipped the screens.
"This." What appeared was a large picture of the Demonic Blade, followed by English text underneath it.
"It's explaining about the history of the Blade and what it can do," said Kagome.
"Well, we already know that! Tori got a taste of its power, remember?" asked Botan.
"Yeah, but this isn't helping much," said Kagome, "It's not like we can find the Blade in here."
"I don't see why we all didn't go up to the top floor to face Kaiba together and get it back," said Botan.
"Because, we had to sneak past the guards, which was easier with smaller groups," said Bakura.
Botan picked up her walkie-talkie and spoke into it.
"Tori, Yusuke, and Joey, do you read?"
"Botan, you don't need to use that," came Tori's voice, "but yeah, we read."
"We haven't found anything except the page he's been looking at for information on the Demonic Blade."
"Ok...so there's nothing on that floor."
"Nope."
Suddenly, Kagome got tackled from behind, being wrestled to the ground.
"OW! Get offa me!!" she cried.
Kurama heard Kagome's voice over the talkie, and grabbed it from Serenity.
"Kagome!! Are you all right??" he said. No answer. "Kagome!"
"We better get back to the elevators," said Hiei. They raced back in the direction they'd come.
"You can't touch my brother's stuff!" came the cry of a little kid. Bakura gasped.
"Mokuba!!" he said, pulling the furious child off poor Kagome's back. The boy stopped.
"Bakura?? Why are you here??" he said, "With them??"
"Mokuba, they're friends. We need something from your brother," said Bakura. Mokuba glared at Kagome and Botan.
"Why?"
"It's a long story. Do you know of a sword your brother has?" asked Bakura.
"Yeah, but why do you need that?"
"It's not safe with him," said Botan. Mokuba turned to her.
"How would you know?? My brother's got the highest security possible! There's no way anyone's getting it!"
"We don't mean that way," said Kagome, "hasn't Kaiba been acting strange recently?"
"Oh...well, now that you mention it...he's gotten meaner. He never wants to talk to me anymore."
"That's one of the Blade's powers. It can easily affect the mind of its possessor if that possessor happens to be human. It's going to kill him if we don't get it away from him," said Botan, "That's why it's called the Demonic Blade. Demons are only supposed to wield it."
"What're you talking about?? There's no such thing as demons!" said Mokuba.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and Kurama leapt in, in a fighting stance, his rose whip out, with Hiei behind him, sword drawn.
"Kagome!" he said, "are you ok? We heard you yell."
Kagome walked up to him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Kaiba's little brother attacked us," she said, gesturing behind her to the small boy staring at the newcomers like they were ghosts.
Hiei sheathed his sword as Serenity came in.
"Serenity??" asked Mokuba, "You're in on this, too??"
"Yeah. Mokuba, we need that sword from your brother, now," she said urgently.
Mokuba looked at Hiei.
"Is he a...demon?" he asked warily. Hiei's crimson eyes watched him curiously.
"That's not important right now..." started Kurama.
"Yes it is, he can hold that sword safely, can't he? That's what you were saying before," said Mokuba.
Kurama sighed.
"Yes, he's a demon, and I'm one, too..."
"You don't look like it."
"He doesn't need to," said Hiei.
"Ok, ok. But I can't give you the sword. Big Bro always carries it around now, kinda like he does." Mokuba pointed to Hiei.
"With a sheath?"
"Yeah, that's the word. He's up in his office right now, doing some research. I'm not allowed to bug him." Mokuba cast a downward glance to the floor.
"Ok, then, that's where Yusuke, Joey, and Tori are right now," said Kurama.
Botan spoke into her walkie-talkie again.
"Tori, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, what was all that before? I heard Kagome."
"She's fine. We've got a new lead. Kaiba's little brother has just told us that Kaiba always keeps the Blade in a sheath that he wears all the time. Are you anywhere near him right now?"
"Yeah, we're just down the hall from the office, according to Joey."
"Can you wait for us? We're all gonna have to come up there," said Botan, "We've also discovered something Koenma didn't tell us."
"What?"
"The Blade can only be carried safely by a demon. If a human holds it, it will slowly take them over, bit by bit."
"Right, ok. You guys hurry up here, or...HOLY SHIT! RUN, YUSUKE!"
"What? Tori!! What is it??" asked Botan.
"I ain't runnin'! He's not so tough!" came Joey's voice.
"Yeah! We can take 'im!" followed Yusuke.
Tori's scream was all that was heard before the connection shut off.
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Tori the Hanyou: Oopsie, didn't realize it went on so long! Sorry, but it went on to 17 stinkin' pages! A NEW RECORD!! WOOPEE!!! Well, this is a pretty bad cliffie, haven't done one in about...5 CHAPPIES!! ANOTHER RECORD!! YAAAAY! Okies, enough rambling, I'm gonna give u guys the preview, and then I'm outta here! CYA!!!
CHAPTER TITLE PREVIEW: The Last Artifact
Black Mage Tsucasa: Yeah, you can bet to high heaven she didn't! And boy, will Hiei feel her wrath in this chappie! Thanks for reviewing!
Choas Babe: Yeah, Kurama already did it.
pinkjingling: Well...first off, Kagome was expecting it. Second off, Kurama's gentler than Hiei, you gotta remember that. Third off, Tori trusted that Hiei wouldn't hurt her, and when he did by biting her, it not only hurt her physically, it startled her, and hurt her emotionally.
NOTE: Yeah, that Insert You of Kurama/You is FINALLY up! Plz go look at it! I'm very proud of it!
DISCLAIMER: Only own Tori and the ligress, NOTHING ELSE! Except for the artifacts, the plot, and the parody of Sk8ter Boi in chapter 8! So DON'T STEAL 'EM!
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Fighting Back
Chapter 18: After Effects
Tori awoke late that afternoon with a dull pain thudding in her neck. She reached up and rubbed it, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. What had happened? She felt the arms that were wrapped around her shift, and she looked up to see Hiei's sleeping face.
"Hiei?" she asked quietly. His eyes opened, and greeted hers.
"Oh, you're awake," he said. She nodded.
"What happened? My neck hurts," she said, rubbing it some more. He slowly removed her hand, and the memories of that morning came flooding back. He smirked. He might as well tell her now, while her body was still waking up.
"You don't remember this morning?" he asked innocently. Tori thought for a minute, before it came back, with another flash of pain, not only in her neck, but also in her heart.
"Oh, God...Hiei, what the hell did you do to me??" she asked. His smirk grew.
"You're mine," he whispered. Tori froze, raising an eyebrow at him.
"How so?" she asked suspiciously. His eyes bored into hers.
"Tori, I marked you."
It took about three seconds for those words to sink in.
"YOU DID WHAT???"
"You heard me," said Hiei calmly, the same smug look on his face, "And now you belong to me...forever."
Tori tried to get up, but her body didn't seem to want to respond. Somehow, her heart was in control instead of her mind, and her heart was being held where it was by Hiei. She felt faint. How did this happen? How did she LET it happen?? She looked up at Hiei.
"You marked me?? So, that...makes me..."
"My mate," finished Hiei, moving a hand up to stroke the mark he'd made. She rested her head on his shoulder, in a daze.
"Wait...this isn't adding up..." Hiei sighed.
"You know why demons mark someone, don't you? It's because they love that someone, and want to spend forever with them," he said softly, nuzzling her face. She felt the anger inside melt to love when he spoke those words. He'd get punished later...for now, while she was still weak, she'd let him act all romantic.
She smiled.
"I love you, Hiei."
"I love you too, Tori." He entwined her in his arms, and they rested like that for a long while.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
The group walked in to spy Hiei and Tori dozing on the sofa, and they froze. Silently, Yusuke crept up behind them. Kagome was about to tell him off, but Kurama gently covered her mouth.
"We'll let him find out," he whispered.
Yusuke's inquisitive brown eyes peeked over the back of the couch, and almost the first thing he noticed was the two fang marks on Tori's neck. Holding in a snigger, he announced right in their ears:
"HIEI! YOU DOG! WOOOHOO!"
The two leapt awake like surprised cats, and Tori leapt over the back to beat the shit out of Yusuke, despite her lack of energy; it seemed to have miraculously returned.
Hiei watched curiously as the two went at it, and Kuwabara attempted to stop them, but he wound up getting caught in it as well.
Kurama, Kagome, and Botan went about their business, as though three of their group members trying to kill each other was a part of everyday life.
Finally, Yusuke and Kuwabara managed to pin down the furious girl, and Hiei had to jump in and knock them off to stop the fight. She WAS his mate, after all. It was his job to protect her.
Kagome watched with amusement as Hiei pulled Tori back onto the couch with him, and she and Kurama joined them.
"So, Hiei, you've finally done it. I have to say, I'm very proud of you," said Kurama.
"Ok, Kagome, NOW can you tell me what's been going on?" asked Tori.
"Certainly!"
She and Kurama explained the entire demon mating process, which Hiei had recently performed on Tori over the past three days.
"Oooh, so THAT'S why he was acting like that," said Tori, looking up at Hiei. He smirked. "And fighting off Yugi was when he was fending off other males. I get it!" she said, snuggling up to him, "That was so sweet, Hiei. I just wish you would've told me instead of springing it on me like that, I was so confused!"
"He told you he was going to mate with you, didn't he?" asked Kurama. Tori thought for a minute, and then shook her head. Kurama's eyes widened. "You mean...Hiei...you marked her without her permission??" he asked incredulously. Hiei nodded proudly.
"That's hot!" piped up Yusuke, poking his head over the back of the couch again.
Hiei restrained Tori so she wouldn't go and pounce on him again, but Kagome was way ahead of her.
SMACK!!
"Mind your own business, Yusuke," she said.
"Speaking of marking me without permission..." said Tori, turning to Hiei, "YOU'RE GONNA DIE!!!" She tackled him, and yet another fight ensued on the floor. "Why the hell would you do that, you moron?? OW! Don't pull my hair!!" yelped Tori.
"I already told you why!! FUCK YOU, BITCH! NO BITING!!" snarled Hiei
"Aww, look at that. They're already fighting like an old married couple," said Kagome.
The two wrestled and fought for quite a while, until Hiei decided it was time to stop. With an animalistic growl, he pinned Tori's arms to her sides, his fangs against her neck. She froze, panting. He released her, and made her sit next to him again. This time, Tori decided to be compliant, knowing what was going on, and she was quite tired.
She sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder while Kurama and Kagome watched Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
"Feel better?" asked Hiei.
"Yup," replied Tori.
'Now, for 32,000 dollars, what is the Japanese word for demon?' came Regis's voice, 'Is it, A. Hanyo, B. Rekai, C. Yokai, or D. Fung Chow?'
Tori didn't care. She snuggled deeper into Hiei's neck, while Yusuke had 'fun' with the question.
"Umm, I'm putting my money on B," he said.
"Ok, Urameshi, you're lost. I'm guessing C," said Kuwabara.
"Bet you're wrong," muttered Yusuke.
"Bet I'm right!"
'Umm...I'll pick...B'
"Told ya!"
"Just watch, Urameshi!"
'...Oh...I'm terribly sorry...the answer is...'
Yusuke and Kuwabara watched.
'C. Yokai! Thank you for joining us! Let's go to the break! We'll be right back!'
"WHAT??"
"SEE?? HAHAHA! You should pay more attention in school, loser!" cheered Kuwabara, parading around the room.
"Sheesh, the guy gets one question right on a stupid TV show, and he's suddenly looking for a soapbox to stand on and preach to the world," said Yusuke.
Botan sat on her bed, reading A Separate Peace, while the two couples on the couch sat quietly, simply enjoying each other's company.
Kurama felt Kagome's head against his shoulder, and he gently smiled at her, embracing her deeply as Yusuke and Kuwabara went off to bed. Botan turned off her lamp, grabbing the remote and silencing the TV as she climbed into bed, going straight to sleep.
(The next morning...)
Kurama woke up Kagome the next morning by deviously stealing a kiss from her, making her eyes snap open.
"Morning to you too, Kurama," she giggled when he broke off. She glanced around the room. "I see we're the first ones up," she said, yawning.
"Want to wake them up?" asked Kurama, gesturing towards Hiei and Tori, who were peacefully slumbering.
"Hmm...I dunno...that's a tough one," said Kagome, "I like them better like that, they're a heck of a lot quieter."
Kurama chuckled.
"Well, since we gave Hiei and Tori that time yesterday, and Hiei took full advantage of it, I'd say we're going to have to make them come with us today. Besides, we could use their help," he explained. Kagome sighed.
"Ok, ok, I'll wake 'em," she said, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at the other couple, quickly putting her head back on Kurama's shoulder, and both pretended to be asleep.
"Wha...what the hell was that?" asked Tori sleepily as she pulled the pillow off of herself. She gave it a look and threw it back at Kagome and Kurama, not knowing that they were the ones who threw it first, and tried to go back to sleep, only to be greeted by the same pillow dropping onto her head after it hit Hiei square in the face.
Slight snickering and giggling was heard across the couch, and Tori growled, grabbing the pillow and two couch cushions, pegging Kagome with them before Hiei pulled her back into his arms, trying to drop back to sleep. It was only 6:00 in the morning, after all.
Somehow, that was Kagome and Kurama's wake up time, though, and they finally stood up, bringing the pillows with them, and whacking the other two to stir them.
Snarling, another pillow fight began, waking the other three sleepyheads in the rooms, who quickly joined in on it, getting everyone up. "Damnit, Kagome, can't you just leave us be for ONE more hour??" asked Tori, dropping on the couch. Kagome shook her head.
"Nope! We got an artifact to find! Now GET MOVING!" she ordered, trying to shove Tori off the couch. Tori firmly planted her feet in the floor.
"I don't take orders from ANYONE!" she said playfully, giggling as Kagome tried again to pull her off, to no avail.
"Anyone?" asked Hiei, coming right in front of her. Tori smirked.
"Anyone!"
Kagome stood back.
"Hiei, could you get her up? Sheesh, that girl's as stubborn as a mule!" Hiei gave her a knowing smirk, and nodded.
Tori crossed her legs and watched Hiei as he paced back and forth in front of her. It was all a game, but they were having fun. She giggled as he took her arm and tried to pull her up. But, she clung to the back of the couch with her other arm, and pretended to bite Hiei's hand to make him let go.
Botan shooed Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama into the other room while Hiei watched Tori try to pry his hand off of her arm.
"You gonna bite me?" he asked. She nodded.
"Yeah, what're you gonna do about it?" Hiei looked like he was thinking.
"This."
He pounced on her, wrestling her arm off the back of the couch. "Get up," he commanded as he picked her up bridal style. "Gee, Tori, I thought you said you didn't take orders from ANYONE!" he said.
"I don't! You cheated! That's a foul!" giggled Tori, trying to push away from him. He dropped her inside the bathroom door, shutting it.
"Thank you, Hiei!" said Kagome brightly. "You really ARE the only person Tori will listen to!" She winked. "Now OUT!" She shoved him into the boys' room, closing the door to let the girls get ready, all the while hearing Tori's angry yells of protest from inside the bathroom.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
The group walked down the street. Tori wanted to keep away from Hiei after that morning's incident, but she remembered what Kurama and Kagome had said about staying near her new mate's side for at least two days. 'Two days...' thought Tori miserably. She felt Hiei's arm snake around her waist. She tried to get it off, but he gave her a look, and she was forced to stay quiet.
Kagome was giggling inwardly at the two. Tori didn't like being stuck with someone for a long period of time, but Hiei was obviously going to try to change that. She thought for a minute, wondering if perhaps Hiei was one of those more dominant demons Kurama had been talking about. If that was the case...then poor Tori would have to get used to Hiei how he was. And that would mean almost no more freedom.
'Sheesh, and she never even had a choice on whether to be his mate or not,' thought Kagome.
Suddenly, a beeping was heard in Botan's direction.
"It's found something!" she cried.
Everyone hurried over. "It's over here somewhere!" Botan hurried down the street, everyone following. Tori looked around. This street sure was familiar... "Hmm...it's inside that building," said Botan, pointing to none other than...
"The Game Shop????" cried Tori. Everyone looked at her strangely. "This place belongs to Yugi's grandfather!" she said, "I can't go in there!"
"Well, if you wanna be out here, where he could probably get you easier..." said Yusuke. Tori glared.
"Sheesh, fine, I'll go," she snapped, reluctantly approaching the door.
Kagome warily stepped in the door first, looking around. There were a couple of people in there, and they were all standing near the counter. She walked in, gesturing for the others to follow.
The ringing of the bell as the door shut quickly drew attention from the counter. Kagome instantly recognized the people at the counter, who instantly recognized Tori.
"Tori?" asked Tea, "what're you doing here?" Tori noticed Tea's usually small purse had an abnormal bulge in it.
"Err...we're looking for something," replied Kagome.
"Well, come on in! I have many cards for sale!" said Mr. Moto brightly.
"No, not cards," said Botan sheepishly, "none of you would perchance have found a strange mirror recently, would you?"
Everyone seemed to glance at Tea, before quickly returning their eyes to the newcomers.
"Well...umm...I think I did..." said Tea, "but it's not exactly strange. It's just a normal mirror surrounded by diamonds."
"That's what we're looking for, I'm afraid," said Kurama. Tea backed up, suddenly tripping on a crack in the floor and falling backwards, only to be caught by Tristan. Tori thought.
"Have those kind of things been happening a lot recently?" asked Botan. Tea nodded.
"I seem to have been having really bad luck. I don't know why, I haven't run under any ladders, knocked over any saltshakers, come across any black cats, or broken any mirrors!" she said, "It's weird."
"What have you done in front of the mirror?" asked Tori, "Like, what have you said?"
"Well, umm...I don't remember..."
"When did you get it?" asked Kagome.
"I found it a couple of days ago."
"Who have you had conversations with whenever the mirror was out of your purse?" asked Tori.
"Well...I remember talking to them about it..." She pointed to the group behind her.
"And what have you said?"
"Hmm...I think we were talking about how much allowance we get..."
"And what did you say?" asked Kagome.
"I said I get ten dollars a week."
"And how much do you really get?"
"What? You're not suggesting I lied, are you??" asked Tea angrily.
"It would explain why you've been having bad luck," said Kurama.
"How so? People tell lies all the time, and they never..."
"That mirror cursed you," said Tori.
"What??"
"Tori, don't..."
"It's ok, if they know about Yugi's powers, they can take this kind of thing," said Tori.
"What kind of thing?" asked Serenity, speaking up.
"That is called the Mirror of Truth. Anyone who lies while holding it becomes cursed until they come clean with the truth. The more lies you tell, the worse it gets."
Tea stared with horror at her purse, quickly pulling out the mirror.
"Ok, ok, so how do I break it?"
"Just tell the truth, it's not that hard," said Hiei. Tea looked curiously down at the mirror.
"Ok...I don't get an allowance..."
Suddenly, the mirror shot out a burst of light, the diamonds reflecting it around the room.
"Whoa, pretty..." said Mai.
When the light subsided, Tori approached Tea.
"Ok, the curse has been lifted, we need the Mirror now." Tea watched her.
"Why do you need it? Do YOU wanna be cursed?" Tori rolled her eyes.
"Yes, Tea, that's exactly why we're taking it," she said sarcastically, "No! We're taking so we can put it in a safe place where no one else will find it and get cursed, ok?"
Tea looked from her to the mirror.
"Hold on. If I give you this, you're going to leave us again," she said, "and how do you think Yugi will feel?"
Tori sighed.
"Tea, I told you..."
"I don't care what you told me! I don't know when we're ever going to see you again! You vanished for six months, came back, disappeared for another day, and I don't know what you're up to!"
"Tea!"
"Tori, listen to me for once! I want you to tell us when you're coming back this time."
"I can't!"
"Why?"
"Cause I don't know myself! I'm very busy right now..."
"What? With your new boyfriend?" snapped Tea, nodding her head at Hiei. Tori glared.
"Hiei's got nothing to do with this right now...and he's NOT my boyfriend!"
A silence went over the room as Tori continued.
"He's more than that, so shut up and keep your nose out of it, got it??" Tea's eyes widened.
"He's MORE than your boyfriend??" she asked suspiciously.
"I said leave it alone!" snapped Tori. Hiei stepped up, taking her arm.
"Tori, I think you need to calm down..."
Kagome came up on her other side.
"Listen, Tori's not leaving yet," she said, "if that's what you're worried about. We really need that mirror, though, for everyone's safety."
Tea once more gave a hopeless glance at the mirror, before reluctantly holding it out to Kagome. With a betrayed glare at Tori, she turned and ran up the stairs behind the counter.
Tristan worriedly followed her.
"Sheesh, what's up with her?" asked Yusuke.
Tori approached Mai and Serenity.
"Tea still wants you to stay with us," muttered Mai quietly, "she was probably more worried about you than Yugi. That night...after you left...she cried a long time. Not even Tristan could calm her down. She said she felt like we'd betrayed you. But now, after seeing you again, she thinks you're the one betraying us."
Tori sighed.
"You really should be thanking them," she pointed to the group behind her, "If they hadn't forced me and Kagome to come along with them, I probably wouldn't have ever come back."
"Ok, that's number nine," said Botan, slipping the Mirror carefully into her pack.
"Let's go," said Yusuke, "We still got one more."
"One more until what?" asked Serenity.
Kagome looked at Tori. She sighed.
"Fine! Fine, we'll tell them!" she said.
So, Kagome and Tori filled in the group on all that had happened, and why they had the collars, and the artifact searching, excluding only the mating, with Yusuke piping in every few minutes.
They stood in shock when the story was finished.
"So...you've still gotta find the Blade thing?" asked Duke.
"Yeah..." said Tori, "and Kaiba's the one who's got it."
"That's why we're going to KaibaCorp now," said Kagome.
"Hey, wait, we can help," said Mai.
"How?" asked Yusuke.
"Tori's probably forgotten that we know Kaiba just as well...and probably better...than she does. If you guys need help, we're here."
"Ok, thanks, y'all," said Tori happily.
They all headed down to the large building, devising a plan along the way.
"We're going to have to split up, since it will seem suspicious about a huge group of people coming in to see him," said Botan.
"Yeah, you're right."
So, they split into four smaller groups: Yusuke, Joey, Tori – Serenity, Kurama, Hiei – Kuwabara, Duke, Mai – Kagome, Botan, Bakura (don't forget, Yugi, Tea, and Tristan aren't there)
They all climbed into the elevators, going to different floors to check things out. Suddenly, Botan stopped the elevator at one particular floor, before anyone left.
"Wait a minute! These will help!" she said, racing out the door into what seemed to be a supply room. She came back a few minutes later, carrying four walkie-talkies. "Here." She passed them to the four groups.
"Wait...how'd you know these were here?" asked Kagome.
"It says Supply Room on the button," said Botan simply.
So, everyone headed to different floors.
()()()()()()()()()()
"Mai! Can we stop?? We've been walking for hours!" complained Duke.
"Oh, quit whining! You're such a baby, it's only been twenty minutes," said Kuwabara. Suddenly, he stopped. "EEEE!"
"What?"
Kuwabara pointed in the dark hallway as a small thing raced across the floor, disappearing into a hole.
"You...were scared...of a mouse..." said Duke, sweat dropping, "Why did we get stuck with him again?" he asked, flipping his hair.
"Shut up, primadonna!"
"How about both of you can it before I rearrange your faces?? You're giving me a freaking headache!!" said Mai. They shut up.
(With the YJT group)
"See anything?" asked Tori.
"Nope. This hallway's deserted," said Yusuke.
"Like your brain? Don't forget we're on the top floor!" said Joey, "This is only Kaiba's floor!"
"Like I was supposed to know that, idiot?" asked Yusuke, turning to face him angrily.
"You wanna say that again to my face, weakling?" asked Joey.
"Sure, do, idiot, or should I say, MORONIC idiot, to quote Hiei..."
"Alright, that's it, LET'S GO! I've had ENOUGH of you!" snapped Joey.
"If you guys don't shut up, he'll hear us!" hissed Tori from way up ahead. The two gave each other glares full of fire, before reluctantly following.
"This isn't over," whispered Yusuke.
"No, we're taking it outside as soon as this is over," growled Joey.
Tori shook her head, hoping the others were having better luck.
(With the KBB group)
"Hey, you guys! Here's something!" called Botan. Kagome and Bakura hurried over.
"Whoa! It's a computer room!" said Bakura.
"A BIG computer room..." said Kagome. Botan walked in, looking around.
"There's no one here," she said, walking up to a huge monitor, "I wonder what he's been working on..." She pressed the mouse, and suddenly, a huge picture of the Winged Dragon of Ra flashed on the screen. She and Kagome nearly screamed, but Bakura examined the text on the card.
"It's Ra..." he whispered.
"Who?"
"Ra, the Winged Dragon of Ra. It's a very powerful Duel Monsters card."
"What the heck is that stuff?" asked Kagome, staring at the text.
"It's the Egyptian language. Not many people can read it," explained Bakura.
"Ok...so he's been staring at a dragon. What else?" asked Kagome. Botan flipped the screens.
"This." What appeared was a large picture of the Demonic Blade, followed by English text underneath it.
"It's explaining about the history of the Blade and what it can do," said Kagome.
"Well, we already know that! Tori got a taste of its power, remember?" asked Botan.
"Yeah, but this isn't helping much," said Kagome, "It's not like we can find the Blade in here."
"I don't see why we all didn't go up to the top floor to face Kaiba together and get it back," said Botan.
"Because, we had to sneak past the guards, which was easier with smaller groups," said Bakura.
Botan picked up her walkie-talkie and spoke into it.
"Tori, Yusuke, and Joey, do you read?"
"Botan, you don't need to use that," came Tori's voice, "but yeah, we read."
"We haven't found anything except the page he's been looking at for information on the Demonic Blade."
"Ok...so there's nothing on that floor."
"Nope."
Suddenly, Kagome got tackled from behind, being wrestled to the ground.
"OW! Get offa me!!" she cried.
Kurama heard Kagome's voice over the talkie, and grabbed it from Serenity.
"Kagome!! Are you all right??" he said. No answer. "Kagome!"
"We better get back to the elevators," said Hiei. They raced back in the direction they'd come.
"You can't touch my brother's stuff!" came the cry of a little kid. Bakura gasped.
"Mokuba!!" he said, pulling the furious child off poor Kagome's back. The boy stopped.
"Bakura?? Why are you here??" he said, "With them??"
"Mokuba, they're friends. We need something from your brother," said Bakura. Mokuba glared at Kagome and Botan.
"Why?"
"It's a long story. Do you know of a sword your brother has?" asked Bakura.
"Yeah, but why do you need that?"
"It's not safe with him," said Botan. Mokuba turned to her.
"How would you know?? My brother's got the highest security possible! There's no way anyone's getting it!"
"We don't mean that way," said Kagome, "hasn't Kaiba been acting strange recently?"
"Oh...well, now that you mention it...he's gotten meaner. He never wants to talk to me anymore."
"That's one of the Blade's powers. It can easily affect the mind of its possessor if that possessor happens to be human. It's going to kill him if we don't get it away from him," said Botan, "That's why it's called the Demonic Blade. Demons are only supposed to wield it."
"What're you talking about?? There's no such thing as demons!" said Mokuba.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and Kurama leapt in, in a fighting stance, his rose whip out, with Hiei behind him, sword drawn.
"Kagome!" he said, "are you ok? We heard you yell."
Kagome walked up to him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Kaiba's little brother attacked us," she said, gesturing behind her to the small boy staring at the newcomers like they were ghosts.
Hiei sheathed his sword as Serenity came in.
"Serenity??" asked Mokuba, "You're in on this, too??"
"Yeah. Mokuba, we need that sword from your brother, now," she said urgently.
Mokuba looked at Hiei.
"Is he a...demon?" he asked warily. Hiei's crimson eyes watched him curiously.
"That's not important right now..." started Kurama.
"Yes it is, he can hold that sword safely, can't he? That's what you were saying before," said Mokuba.
Kurama sighed.
"Yes, he's a demon, and I'm one, too..."
"You don't look like it."
"He doesn't need to," said Hiei.
"Ok, ok. But I can't give you the sword. Big Bro always carries it around now, kinda like he does." Mokuba pointed to Hiei.
"With a sheath?"
"Yeah, that's the word. He's up in his office right now, doing some research. I'm not allowed to bug him." Mokuba cast a downward glance to the floor.
"Ok, then, that's where Yusuke, Joey, and Tori are right now," said Kurama.
Botan spoke into her walkie-talkie again.
"Tori, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, what was all that before? I heard Kagome."
"She's fine. We've got a new lead. Kaiba's little brother has just told us that Kaiba always keeps the Blade in a sheath that he wears all the time. Are you anywhere near him right now?"
"Yeah, we're just down the hall from the office, according to Joey."
"Can you wait for us? We're all gonna have to come up there," said Botan, "We've also discovered something Koenma didn't tell us."
"What?"
"The Blade can only be carried safely by a demon. If a human holds it, it will slowly take them over, bit by bit."
"Right, ok. You guys hurry up here, or...HOLY SHIT! RUN, YUSUKE!"
"What? Tori!! What is it??" asked Botan.
"I ain't runnin'! He's not so tough!" came Joey's voice.
"Yeah! We can take 'im!" followed Yusuke.
Tori's scream was all that was heard before the connection shut off.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Tori the Hanyou: Oopsie, didn't realize it went on so long! Sorry, but it went on to 17 stinkin' pages! A NEW RECORD!! WOOPEE!!! Well, this is a pretty bad cliffie, haven't done one in about...5 CHAPPIES!! ANOTHER RECORD!! YAAAAY! Okies, enough rambling, I'm gonna give u guys the preview, and then I'm outta here! CYA!!!
CHAPTER TITLE PREVIEW: The Last Artifact