Tori the Hanyou: Whoa, Chapter 20! Who would've thought I'd make it this
far?? (sniffles and throws confetti in the air) I wanna thank everyone who
helped me get here! Well, really, the only ones I can thank are the
reviewers, so THANK YOU ALL!!! (throws cookies and candy and ice cream to
them) Well, alls I can say is, I'm very grateful for all the support, and
here's Chapter 20, possibly going to be my favorite chapter, because of a
few certain events I have planned (smiles evilly). I know some of you are
gonna love them, so please enjoy them to the fullest, since this is
possibly the second to last chapter in the entire story (cries).
Review Answers:
Black Mage Tsucasa: Thanks! I love fighting scenes, too. I think that chapter was my best fight written!
Starangel4899: Heh, yeah, just hope your hyper state doesn't make you do anything weird... O.O;;;
UltaAnimeFangurl2004: Thanks! I'm sad for its end, but be sure to stay tuned for the sequel, which I STILL haven't thought of a name for! (Fumes)
Ruby-Jaganshi-2004: Yeah, sure, I'll keep my eyes out for it!
Kayzie Kaiba: Well, I'm glad to have such a dedicated fan, lol. My email is , FYI. Sadly, that was Kaiba's last bit in the story, so no; you won't be in future chapters. Maybe I'll find a spot for you in the sequel, if Kaiba's in it (thinks). Yeah, it's funny how those things happen. You must've recently seen the episode where Yami saves Tea from the robber (in one of Tea's flashbacks).
Blue-Eyes White Knight: Thanks! Be sure to remember what I told ya! You have great ideas!
Itsabobthing92: Hey! Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you took the time to look at my website, and I'll look at yours, if you give me the URL.
Blazingsunstar, pinkjingling: Thanks a lot!
Kaiba is sooo mine: I checked out your stories. They're pretty good! Never lose faith if things get you down, okies? Thanks for showing it to your friends!
Bleedingwolf7: Here ya go, lol! Thanks for reviewing!
DISCLAIMER: Nope, read last chapter's DC, cuz I'm not sayin it again!
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Fighting Back
Chapter 20: It Happens Every Time
Kurama wearily opened his eyes to an office ceiling, and something warm in his arms. He blinked a few times to try to shake the sleep off and raised his head to check his surroundings.
He was in a small office, filled with couches, assorted throughout the room as though thrown in there for storage purposes. He looked down to meet Kagome's sleeping face, and memories of what had happened earlier came flooding back to him. He snapped awake, realizing his actions, and immediately released Kagome, pushing away from her, only to clumsily fall off the edge of the couch, hitting the floor.
He sat up, rubbing the back of his head as he heard the broken snores of two certain boys who had been sleeping in skewed chairs. They sat up, blinking tiredly at Kurama.
"Hey, whassa matter? You have a bad dream or something?" asked Kuwabara, yawning. Yusuke stood up, stretching.
"Well, that was a nice nap!" he said. Kurama stood up from his awkward position on the floor, straightening himself out as he looked at Kagome. She seemed awfully tired to still be sleeping after what he'd just done. Then he remembered. The Blade had made him hypnotize her.
Nervously, he sat down next to her, placing two fingers on her forehead, and unlocking the mental spell he'd placed on her. He quickly stood up, backing away from her as though afraid of something, which didn't go unnoticed by Yusuke. "What is it?" he asked, "She's not gonna bite you or anything, if that's what you're scared of."
"No, it's not that," said Kurama, speaking for the first time, "I don't feel a need to tell you what it is at the present moment, either, so please leave the matter alone."
"Would you stop talking like my English teacher? You're jumbling my brain before it's even woken up," said Kuwabara.
"Is it ever awake?" asked Yusuke, seemingly surprised, starting his first fight of the day, which he won in a matter of seconds. "You're getting worse every time," he said, snickering to Kuwabara.
"What are you two doing now?" came Botan's voice from the door. The three boys looked up to see her standing in the now open doorway, giving the two humans a look that plainly said 'Would you stop acting like five year olds?'
"He started it," said Kuwabara quickly, and Yusuke shoved him, starting another tussle, which seemed to wake up Kagome, as well as the last couple sleeping in Hiei's choice spot: the corner.
Kagome sat up, staring curiously around.
"What the heck happened?" was the first thing to come out of her mouth. Kurama seemed to shift uneasily on his feet, drawing her eyes towards him. She'd never seen him nervous before. He was usually the best (besides Hiei) at hiding his emotions.
Tori sat up and stretched, yawning, suddenly feeling the pains of her injuries from the day before. Being thrown around on an asphalt roof wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing, and she quickly gripped her bruised arms, wincing.
Hiei was used to feeling the pain from his injuries, but Tori's obvious discomfort didn't skip his sharp, watchful gaze. He quickly sat up and removed her hands, exposing extremely nasty-looking black and blue spots.
While Hiei was checking on Tori, Kagome was having trouble figuring out why Kurama was avoiding her gaze. Yusuke and Kuwabara were throwing pointless punches at each other, and Botan was angrily scolding them.
Kagome stood up, walking up to Kurama, trying to see what was going on through his sad-looking emerald orbs. She gently placed her hand on his chin and tilted her head downwards so she could see him.
Though he didn't want to, Kurama snapped his head away from her before she could see. How would she ever forgive him for attacking her? If he told her, she'd never speak to him again! But if he didn't tell her...and kept hiding it...what then? He'd decided to take the chance.
Naturally, Kagome had positively no idea what was happening. The last thing she recalled from the battle was when she and Tori were charging Kaiba, and then everything went blank. She didn't remember how the battle turned out.
She gave up on bugging Kurama and instead went to ask Tori what happened. She of course was trying to keep her injuries hidden from Hiei's view, edging away from him little by little, while he was getting more pissed off by the second.
"Um, guys?" said Kagome, interrupting them. They looked up at her, and Tori quickly jumped up and walked over to her.
"Yes, Kagome?" she said, a little too eagerly.
"Erm, when are we going back? Didn't that Koenma-guy say to bring the artifacts back as soon as we had all ten?"
At this, everyone went silent.
Their adventure was over. All ten artifacts had been collected. Tori and Kagome were free, well, as soon as Koenma took their collars off.
Tori absentmindedly reached up and touched her collar. She'd forgotten all about it while they were in Battle City. She hadn't tried to run away, so the only time the collars had ever been used was when she and Kagome had first gotten them.
She remembered it vividly. Kagome's furious reaction, her even more furious reaction...and then she stopped. Hiei had been the one to put her collar on. She remembered the first time he'd looked into her eyes; the look had actually been something like pity. It had angered her tremendously. And now she was his mate...who would've thought?
Her shoulders slumped. What was going to happen now? She and Kagome would be free to go...except for their being mated to two demons. In Tori's case, a very violent and protective demon.
Kagome seemed to be thinking the same thing. What WOULD happen? How would Kagome explain THIS to her family? The only person Tori had to say it to was her second cousin, but Kagome had to face her own mother...
"Well, I'd say we better get going, then," said Botan half-heartedly. Tori looked up. Botan wasn't normally like this. It must've meant she was feeling pretty down.
"Yeah," she quietly agreed.
After checking out of their hotel and packing up their things, the group headed through a portal Botan opened up in the same alley they had entered through. Tori took one last look back at her old home before stepping through into the purple vortex, quickly followed by Hiei.
(At Koenma's office)
They all emerged into the familiar office building that Tori and Kagome had entered not...a month ago? It had seemed MUCH longer than that! Their whole lives had been turned upside-down in just one month?
Nevertheless, they walked through, dodging the stressed goblins and ogres, weaving throughout the many desks, finally coming to the large oak doors. Kurama pushed the doors open, and they walked in.
The room appeared the same as before, the single desk in the middle surrounded by mountains of paperwork. Someone could barely be seen behind more stacks that littered the desk surface.
"Erm, Koenma sir? We're back," called Botan. A small 'yikes', followed by a clatter was heard behind the papers, and a figure quickly stood up, approaching the group with the air of a prince.
"Ah, nice to see you back, Yusuke!" it said. Tori and Kagome nearly jumped out of their skins. "Tori, Kagome, pleasure to see you, too," said the figure as it noticed their stares. The person using Koenma's voice was possibly Kuwabara's height, with short brown hair and golden-colored eyes. The only thing that gave even a hint that he was the real Koenma was the pacifier still in his mouth, and the 'Jr' on his forehead.
Kagome was first to speak.
"Okay...who are you...and what have you done with Koenma?" she asked. He chuckled.
"Of course, how could I have forgotten? You two have obviously never seen me like this," he said. The girls nodded simultaneously. "Well, to put it simply, I use this form to take care of very important business. People listen to me better if I don't look like a baby." The girls didn't answer. "Well, anyway, back to what I was saying. I trust your mission was successful?" he asked Botan.
She nodded, taking her large backpack off and setting it on the floor. She pulled out the numerous objects that they'd collected: the Blaze of Water Ring, Ocarina of Peace, Hyper Bow, Boomerang of Summoning, Mirror of Truth, Tiara of Growth, Weather Staff, Eye of Invisibility, and Flight Pendant.
Koenma carefully overlooked each one. "Good, good, I see they weren't damaged. Father will be pleased to know these are safe," he muttered the last part. Botan looked curiously at him.
"Forgive my curiosity, sir, but why exactly did you want us to collect these? Were they stolen?" Koenma looked up.
"No. We never had these in the first place. Father wished for these to be collected so they wouldn't be used the wrong way." He looked at them again. "Hey, wait a minute! There're only nine here! Where's the other one?" He looked expectantly at Botan, who quickly smiled sheepishly.
"Oh! Forgive me! Hiei, bring it here!"
Smirking at the sudden panic of the 'toddler', Hiei stepped out from behind the others, pulling the Demonic Blade out of his belt and placing it on the floor with the others. Koenma nodded at it.
"Good, very good. Ok, well, that's it for now." He turned to Kagome and Tori. "I don't really think we'll be requiring your services anymore. You are free to return home."
The girls looked down, nodding. Koenma approached Kagome, holding his hand in front of her neck. Her collar expanded until it was back to its basketball size. He took it off her neck, and repeated the process for Tori, being a little careful, remembering the last time she was there.
Botan smiled at his reluctance.
"You don't have any need to worry about Tori anymore, Koenma sir!" she said cheerfully as he quickly pulled it over her head. "She's as tame as a kitten now, aren't you, Tori?" As if to support her statement, she came up and threw an arm good-naturedly around Tori's shoulders. Rolling her eyes, but smiling all the same, Tori giggled at the ferry girl's antics.
Koenma looked slightly relieved, and gave both of them a kind smile, before smirking at Kagome and Tori.
"I also didn't fail to notice that you girls have gotten very," he coughed, "well acquainted with the demons of our little group." He made a gesture towards his own neck, and both girls blushed, realizing he'd seen the marks, as well as stirring a few embarrassed emotions from Hiei and Kurama.
Yusuke and Kuwabara didn't bother trying to hold back snickers, but both of them were hit soundly over the head by Botan. "I really didn't expect something like that from you, Hiei," said Koenma, turning to the flushing fire demon. The pyre glared, and looked away angrily. "Which one's yours, Kurama?" he asked out of curiosity. Kurama turned red as well, but muttered Kagome's name. "Yes, I see how your personalities mesh. Very good. But Hiei...with Tori...I would never have thought! You two really seemed to hate each other when we first met," said Koenma with astonishment.
Botan saw the look of murder Tori had flashed in Koenma's direction, as well as Hiei, and she quickly cut in.
"I really think we need to get the girls home, Koenma sir," she said, hinting.
"Oh, yes! I agree! Well, I suggest you get home. Yusuke, I'm giving you a month of vacation to make up for the mission. Enjoy it, because I'm feeling generous today." And with that, Botan quickly ushered the group out the door, but Hiei refused.
"I have to talk to the toddler about something," he said quietly to Botan, who nodded and pushed the rest of them out.
When Hiei joined them, he was hastily stuffing something in his cloak. They opened a portal back to the city and jumped in.
(Near Higurashi Shrine)
The group fell out of the portal, well, at least Kagome, Kuwabara and Tori did. The others somehow managed to land on their feet. After a few colorful curses from Tori and Kuwabara, Yusuke said he was going home, and he'd see Kagome and Tori around. Kuwabara quickly followed him, and the girls bid them goodbye.
Kagome invited Tori over to her house for a sleepover, telling Kurama and Hiei to come too, so she could introduce them to her family. Hiei flatly refused, but Kurama coaxed him to at least sleep outside in a tree near Kagome's window. Hiei glared at him, but eventually agreed, since he'd be able to keep an eye on Tori from there.
Before they left, Botan told them to come to Yusuke's house the next day; she wanted them to join the boys for some fun on the beach. They agreed, and she stepped back into the portal, disappearing. Kurama walked with Kagome back to her house, Hiei and Tori following behind.
Kagome quietly opened the front door, peering inside.
"Mom?" she called. "Mom, I'm home!"
"Kagome???" came a young voice. A small boy's face peeked out from the stairs.
"Sota! Where's Mom?"
"Kagome! I can't believe it!" cried Sota, running down the rest of the stairs, bowling right into Kagome, crying. "You were gone for so long! We were thinking the worst!" Kagome's face softened to a small smile, softly stroking her brother's hair.
"It's ok, Sota, I'm home," she said calmly. He looked up at her, just noticing Kurama standing next to her. He jumped away, backing up.
"Wh-who are you?" he asked.
"Sota, I'd like you to meet Kurama," said Kagome. Sota stared in wonder. "He's a...friend of mine that I want Mom to meet."
"Mom's outside with Grandpa," said Sota. He soon noticed Tori come in the door. "Tori! You're back, too!" Tori smiled as the kid gave her a hug as well. She looked behind her to introduce Hiei to Sota, but the demon had vanished. 'Must not like crowds, can't blame him,' thought Tori.
Kagome led them through the house towards the back door, Sota tagging along, pressuring poor Kurama with about a million questions at once. "How long have you known Kagome? Why do you have such long hair? Why do you smell like flowers? Do you like my sister..."
"Hey Sota," interrupted Tori, "Have you been training hard?" She, of course, was talking about Sota's school bullies. The reason he'd been training with Kagome and Tori was so he could take on the kids that had tormented the poor guy at school.
Completely forgetting Kurama, Sota turned to her, nodding proudly.
"Yup! You should see what I can do to the punching bag now!" He jabbed his fists in the air, pretty quickly for a little kid. Tori giggled and stopped him before he got out of control.
"Ok, ok, we'll have a sparring match later, all right with you?"
Sota nodded eagerly, and continued rambling to Tori all that he'd improved on while they were gone. Tori listened, not failing to note the flash of black that had zipped by the window.
They came outside, Sota still babbling excitedly, asking Kagome's approval every few minutes, and she acknowledged him with a nod.
They soon came to the old well house, and Kagome pushed open the door, reeling back at the awful smell that had sprung forth from it.
Kurama and Tori quickly covered their oversensitive noses, and when they got brave enough to peer inside, Kagome sighed with great exasperation. Her grandfather was sitting near the open well, burning loads of different scent candles, as well as boiling a pot of some weird kind of herb, chanting to absolutely no one. Kagome's mother was trying to tell him to quit it, but he didn't seem to hear her.
"Mom? What the heck is Grandpa doing?" asked Kagome, her voice sounding contorted due to the holding of her nose. Mrs. Higurashi turned, nearly screaming.
"KAGOME!" She ran up the well steps, grabbing her daughter in a hug, nearly squeezing the air out of her. "Kagome! I was so worried about you!!"
"Kagome? Oh! I see my charm worked!" said her grandfather, stepping out of the old building, wearing weird-smelling robes and a funny-looking hat. "It's good to see you again, child!"
"Now, Grandpa! Kagome's had obviously a rough journey, and..."
"Actually, no Mom. I had a great time!" interrupted Kagome. It was at this point that Mrs. Higurashi took a look at the people who accompanied her daughter. Kagome nearly giggled when she saw her mother giving Kurama strange looks. "Mom, this is Kurama, a new...friend of mine," said Kagome quickly. Her mother continued to study Kurama's face, blinking every few seconds.
"Hm, honey, whatever happened to Inuyasha?" she asked, "I thought HE was your boyfriend!" Kagome blushed furiously. How did she know??? Tori seemed puzzled at this, too. 'Wow, moms really DO know everything,' thought Kagome.
"Well, uhh, things just didn't work out for us," said Kagome, "I told him we were through." Mrs. Higurashi nodded slowly, and glanced at Kurama again.
"Oh, well. I really liked his ears, but you sure got yourself a good one here!" she chirped, winking at Kagome and briskly turning to Tori, leaving Kagome to silently apologize to Kurama. "Hello dear! I sure haven't seen you around lately, either!"
"I was with Kagome," said Tori.
"Oh good! I see you kept her company! Well, are you two going to tell me about what happened or not?"
The small party went inside, with Mrs. Higurashi calling over her shoulder, "And for goodness' sake, Grandpa, change into some better-smelling clothes!"
Sota ran around, getting drinks for everyone, while Tori and Kagome relayed their story, all month, and poor Kagome had to explain the demon mating process to her mother...WITH Sota in the room.
"Oh, how cute! So you and Kurama are together permanently? That's quite fine by me; just make sure he takes good care of you, all right?" Kagome nearly fainted. How the heck was her mother taking this so well???? It just wasn't...natural!
Her mother didn't even mind that Kurama was spending the night! "Good night, then! I'm sure you'll be happy to be in your own bed again, Kagome!" she called after the three as they trudged upstairs, Tori carrying a sleeping Sota. 'You don't know HOW happy,' thought Kagome sarcastically as they arrived at the top of the stairs. Kagome directed Tori to Sota's room, where they laid him on the bed and left.
Kurama had opened the window when they arrived back in Kagome's room.
"I hope you don't mind. Yoko tends to get uneasy when windows are closed," he said softly. Kagome shook her head.
"It's no problem, I'm just glad Mom didn't blow up in my face for being mated to a demon. Heck, she didn't mind at all!" she responded. Kurama's gaze fell to the floor. Sure, her mom trusted him with her, but now, he didn't even trust him SELF with her. Not after what happened.
"Are you gonna stare at the floor all night, fox?" came an irritated voice from the windowsill. There sat Hiei, giving his usual annoyed glare.
"Hey, Hiei," said Tori. His gaze turned to her, and it slightly hardened.
"Come on," he said. Tori had just pulled some blankets out of the closet.
"What?"
"Don't play dumb with me. Come here," ordered Hiei. Tori glared at him.
"Why?" she asked, now irritated herself.
"Don't ask stupid questions."
"I'd listen to him, Tori," advised Kurama. She stood firm.
"I wanna know why. Is that so much to ask?" she responded.
"Yes," snapped Hiei, "now come!"
"I'm not your dog!"
"You're right, you're my mate." Hiei jumped into the room, and in one swift motion, picked up Tori and jumped back out the window into the tree, settling her in his lap, despite her silent curses at him, not wanting to wake up the other residents of the Higurashi household.
Kagome giggled.
"I don't think Tori will ever listen to Hiei without question," she said, smiling to Kurama, who gave her a half-hearted chuckle.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that. Hiei has ways of getting what he wants," responded the kitsune. Kagome yawned, lying down on her bed, happy to be home. After a minute, she opened her eyes, giving Kurama a questioning look.
"What's wrong?" she asked, "You can lie down."
To make her happy, Kurama obliged, gently taking her in his arms like he was used to.
After about half an hour, making sure Kagome was fast asleep, Kurama gently removed his arms from around her, sitting up. He was about to go get Tori's dropped blankets, when he felt a gentle hand caress his wrist. Quickly jerking his head behind him, he saw Kagome was giving him pained looks. "Kurama, why won't you tell me what's wrong?" She looked hurt, deeply hurt, the pain reflecting harshly on her usually happy brown eyes, making them appear not as her own.
This sudden change of attitude surprised Kurama greatly, so much so that it startled him into telling her.
"You see, Kagome...that day, when we were battling for the Blade, it seemed that I was taken under control by it. Well, I don't know if you remember or not, but when you and Tori were heading in to attack Kaiba, I...I..."
Kagome sat up, wrapping her arms loosely about his shoulders from behind, resting her head on the back of his neck, triggering more pain and guilt from Kurama's heart.
"It's ok, Kurama," she whispered.
"I attacked you. I attacked you, and used one of my most spellbinding mind tricks to lull the fight out of you, and continuously, I let my plant constrict you tighter. I fought to make it let go, but the Blade had control of me. I couldn't fight it, I just couldn't..." Kagome nuzzled her nose into his hair, his beautiful-smelling hair. "I'd never felt so weak and defenseless in my entire life," he whispered, ashamed. Kagome gently tightened her arms about him, and pulled her head from his neck to rest it over his shoulder, so her face was next to his.
"Kurama...no matter what...you should know that the bond between mates can never be severed, not by anything at all. You're one of the strongest people I know. You're stronger, even, than Inuyasha."
This brought back the memory. That fight between the fox demon and dog hanyou, it appeared vividly in the kitsune's mind. He sighed, remembering his victory, escaping with merely a cut on his left arm. He pulled back his sleeve to see that his demon blood had done its work. Not even a scar was left, only memories.
Sighing, Kurama suddenly felt Kagome's lips on his cheek. Smiling, she came in for another one, and he turned his head towards hers, forcing it onto his lips instead. He felt Kagome's smile, and he put his hand behind her head, turning towards her. Yoko playfully made him push Kagome back down onto her pillow, and he deviously pounced on top of her. "So, what they say about foxes is true," giggled Kagome as Kurama kissed her neck, wrapping his arms about her waist, "you guys really are as clever as you're rumored to be." Kurama silenced any more words from her by swallowing her mouth with his own.
(Outside)
Hiei flashed his glowing red eyes open as soon as he was sure Tori was out cold. He watched her for a minute, making sure her breathing was even and quiet. When he was positive she wouldn't wake up, he fumbled in his cloak for the thing he'd put in before.
His hand drew out its target, and he smirked at it. Forcing it to grow back to its basketball size, he quickly put it about Tori's neck, watching it shrink down to snugly fit where it was before. He remembered what he'd asked Koenma to modify about it. His eyes glanced evilly at her. She hadn't even noticed it was there again. She simply snuggled deeper into his embrace, nuzzling her nose into his shoulder, basking in his wild scent that had a pine smell to it.
Giving himself his own devious idea, Hiei gently lowered his head to Tori's neck. Glancing back up quickly, he silently drew out his rough tongue, licking her mark. Tori seemed to squirm uncomfortably as he traced his tongue up to her ear, nibbling the lobe, hearing her almost inaudible moan. He took it in his mouth, quietly sucking on it, listening for her reactions.
"Nicki, quit it..." was her wording. Hiei glanced at her, puzzled, but a quick mind read told him it was only her dog. Relaxing, he once more resumed his silent torture, giving her ear a bite. She gasped, but sighed as it was quickly forgotten by her dreams. Hiei soon found his tongue dragging its way across her face, and before he could stop himself, he'd taken her mouth in his, sliding his tongue in and playing with hers. At this, he heard and felt her moans, but quickly withdrew his head and closed his eyes as he sensed her stirring from sleep.
Tori opened her eyes wearily to see Hiei's restful face, and she marveled at the weird dream she'd had. Someone had been teasing her, and she couldn't see their face, but it scared her how real the feelings had been. It was almost as if she could feel the hot breath on her neck, giving her goose bumps. She HAD felt it. But, how could that be? "Jeez, I must really be losing it," she muttered quietly to herself. 'I sure hope Hiei doesn't find out, or that'll be catastrophic,' she thought to herself. If Hiei found out she was having dreams about being licked and teased, God only knew what evil little ideas would pop into his head. She was HIS property now, after all, and he could do what he pleased with her, but that didn't mean she wouldn't put up a fight. Giving a fearful look at the one who held her captive, she shuddered at the thought, before falling back into sleep.
Unbeknownst to her, these little thoughts hadn't passed the demon's mind reading, and he mentally smirked. Oh, if only she knew...
(The next morning)
Kagome awoke to the sun's light just peeking over the hill. She felt Kurama's arms gently draped about her waist, and she smiled at his sleeping face, gently raising a hand to brush a lock of his beautiful red hair away from it. His eyes opened to greet hers at this show of affection, and he leaned over to give her a good morning kiss.
The two soon got up, going over to the window, where Hiei and Tori were slumbering peacefully in the tree.
Kagome called out to them,
"Morning, sleepyheads!"
They both opened their eyes at the same time, giving her identical glares.
"Yes, they were definitely made for each other," said Kurama, chuckling.
"Come on! Remember, Botan wants us to meet the others at Yusuke's house to go to the beach! Move it!"
Two more glares were flashed, followed by two New York Hello's:
"GO TO HELL!"
Kagome sighed, going back towards her bathroom, where she filled a glass of water in the sink. Kurama smiled when he saw it, and stationed himself near the window so he could watch.
Kagome leaned out the window, throwing the water directly on both of them. That seemed to do the trick. Tori climbed out of Hiei's lap onto the tree branch, but Kagome quickly shut the window. Still growling and dripping wet, Tori leaped to the ground, landing on her feet. Hiei soon followed, and Tori told him she'd meet him at Yusuke's. He gave a small nod, and vanished.
(At Yusuke's house)
Kagome was last to arrive, and Kurama greeted her warmly. Tori had just gotten there, and she was eyeing the two new girls with utmost curiosity and suspicion.
"Oh, good timing, Kagome!" said Botan cheerily, "I was just about to introduce Tori to these girls right here." Botan pointed them out. One was slightly taller than the other, and she had short brown hair with eyes to match. The other girl had a sweet, caring aura about her. Her hair was a strange aquamarine color, and Tori didn't fail to notice that her eyes were the exact same color as Hiei's.
Kagome remembered the little talk that she'd had with the others about Hiei's sister, Yukina, and she guessed the girl was just that. The other one, she couldn't tell. Yusuke seemed to be very friendly with her, at least so she thought.
"Don't you DARE touch me, you pervert!" snarled the brunette. Yusuke jumped back a little ways, but he still had the same goofy grin plastered on his face.
"Whassa matter, Kayko?" he said in an all-too-sweet voice, approaching her again, "and here I thought you said you missed me." He put on a pout face, and Tori was trying her absolute hardest not to explode in laughter.
The girl called Kayko seemed to hesitate at this, but she soon shook it off and simply slapped Yusuke across the face. Kagome had a feeling that wouldn't be the first time that day she did it.
"Well, I say we get going now, or all the good spots on the beach will be taken," said Botan, ushering them out the door.
They all piled into a van, and Botan eagerly jumped in the driver's seat. Tori found herself squished in the back between Hiei and the green- haired girl from before.
As they were driving, or careening around the street, Tori couldn't tell which, the small girl spoke up.
"I don't think Botan introduced us. I'm Yukina," she said in a small, quiet voice.
"Hi, Yukina! I'm Tori, and this is..."
"Hiei, I know," giggled Yukina. Hiei continued his stony stare out the window, not even looking up when Yukina mentioned his name. Kagome was crammed on the other side of her, and Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Kayko were up near the front.
Tori and Yukina kept up a quiet, yet pleasant conversation on the way there, and Tori was warming up to the girl more and more by the second. Kagome was gripping the side of the van for dear life as it swerved dangerously around a corner. Hiei didn't even look up.
When they FINALLY arrived at the beach, Yusuke was first to leap out of the van like a scared cat. He glared at Botan as she cheerily came around to their side.
"That's it, Botan, NO MORE DRIVING FOR YOU!" he said.
"At least I CAN drive, Yusuke," snapped back the ferry girl.
"At least Kurama has regards for the speed limit!"
"I thought you LIKED going fast!"
"I do, only when it's ME in the front and I'm not getting thrown around in the back like a sack of potatoes!" retorted Yusuke.
While they were bickering, everyone had already taken the stuff down near the water and set it up. Tori and Kagome were the first to throw off their shirts and shorts, revealing bathing suits, and race for the water. Kayko and Yukina followed soon after, and the girls started a small splash war.
Soon, all the girls felt a huge splash hit them all, and they glared at none other than the four boys smirking at them. Botan was apparently smart enough to just lie on the beach and tan, but the rest seemed to be in for a huge event.
It was now girls vs. boys, as Kagome dove under to avoid a huge splash from Kuwabara. Tori dodged Yusuke's with ease, and she flipped onto her back, giving her legs an enormous kick, sending a wave of water right at the Spirit Detective.
The boys soon cornered Yukina and Kayko, and Tori and Kagome jumped in front of them to fend the boys off. The two smaller girls decided they didn't want to fight anymore, and they clambered out of the water quickly and hurried up the beach to where Botan was.
Tori and Kagome were now surrounded, and Tori held up a hand, calling time-out.
"Hey, wait a minute! This isn't fair! It's two against four!" she called.
As if hearing her, Kayko and Yukina called from the shore,
"Yusuke! Kuwabara! Come help us build a sandcastle!!" yelled Kayko.
"Come on, Kazuma!" called Yukina. The boys eagerly abandoned the water, making Tori clap a hand to her forehead.
"Great! They left us with the demons...they HAD to call the easy targets into shore, didn't they???"
Kurama and Hiei gave each other understanding nods, and they disappeared beneath the water.
Kagome and Tori looked around nervously, bracing their feet. Tori quickly dove away from Kagome, swimming out towards the deeper water.
Kagome watched her fearfully. 'Great...JUST great! She left me all alone!' She watched the water for any signs of red, signaling the presence of Kurama's hair, but there were none to be seen. She had half a mind to follow Tori, but the girl was already way out in the water.
Kagome continued her frantic search of the water, but nothing came up. She tried to keep her feet moving, but it wasn't quelling her nerves.
It wasn't long before two strong arms snaked their way around her waist, dragging her under completely.
Tori stopped, treading water. It was pretty deep out here. She slightly panted from the effort of swimming against the waves that threatened to throw her into shore. The water calmed out here, though. She glanced back at where Kagome had been, only to see that she was gone.
"Kagome??? KAGOME!!" called Tori. Nothing. She looked around frantically. Kurama must've gotten her, meaning only one thing... 'Oh, SHIT!!!!' she thought furiously, right before she saw a dark shape swim past her. Feeling the breath constrict in her lungs, her eyes widened big time. "H-Hiei?? If that's you, you'd better damn well come out now! You've scared the hell out of me, ok??? Come on!"
He didn't show. Tori began to grow worried. There was no way even Hiei could stay under this long. She chanced a glance back towards the shore, seeing if maybe he went in. All she saw was Yusuke and Kuwabara building with Yukina and Kayko. Botan was still on her beach towel. Kurama and Kagome were nowhere to be seen, either.
Tori grew panicked. Where were they??? The dark shape glided past her again. "Hiei?? DAMN IT, HIEI! SHOW YOURSELF!" Still nothing. She glanced around. Wait a minute...that shape was WAY too big to be Hiei... Her eyes widened.
As if on cue, a huge fin emerged out of the water, not ten yards away. Tori's natural instinct was to swim for shore, but her mind told it to shut up. The ligress drew out the claws, but Tori slackened her body, spreading her arms as far apart as possible, and floated on the top of the water. Her heart pounded, her body was twitching with the urge to swim to safety. Sadly, she would be swimming to her death if she listened to it.
The fin came closer...
Tori trembled. Her senses were exploding. 'RUN!' they were screaming to her. She gulped to try to calm her nerves, but nothing did it. Sweat beaded on her forehead from the hut sun, mixing with the salt water, dripping down her head.
Closer...
She felt her heart wrenching from the effort of holding still while God's Killing Machine circled her slowly... Wait, what had happened to Hiei, Kurama and Kagome?? Where were they?? Maybe she should call to the shore for help...no, it would pounce on her for sure. It was checking her out right now...at least she hoped so. Hopefully, she didn't look like a tasty seal. The fin stopped its stalking, prowling. It gave a huge swivel through the water...straight towards her!!!
Tori gulped. If it bit her, it was just checking her out, right? It would see she wasn't a seal, and she'd escape with only a bite, right? .... No. More like a missing chunk of her side, or an arm or leg. She trembled again. Where was Hiei? Her body's muscles tensed up with the 'fight-or- flight' response waiting. She'd slash the creature's eyes out first...no! What was she thinking?? This was a living creature! An innocent one! It was only looking for food...yeah, her!
So much for innocent. She stared as it drew closer at a painfully slow rate. Suddenly, it dove down. It was gonna get her from underneath! 'Don't move, you idiot!' she yelled to herself. 'RUN!' screamed her ligress. 'DON'T!' Tori screamed. Her heart was definitely about to implode, she knew it. She waited for the jaws to close on her...the sharp teeth to dig into her sides and rip out her flesh... 'Maybe that's what happened to Hiei...HIEI!' she screamed. If that thing had gotten him... A new instinct sprang up inside her.
If it had gotten Hiei...it'd pay. She'd wait for it to get her, and then she'd drive her claws into its heart, anywhere she could reach. She gritted her teeth, as a million different emotions swam through her bloodstream. Hate for this creature...pity for its innocence...fear for her own life...it wouldn't end. Her claws itched to dig into flesh...to hurt...to kill...to avenge her fallen mate.
She heard an audible roar under the water...wait. Sharks didn't roar! She was imagining things! Her fear was driving her insane! She closed her eyes tight...to wait for the impact...to wait for the fight for her life...
"ROAAAARRRR!!!"
Something slammed into her, wrapping itself about her tightly. She screamed loudly, knowing this was it. But wait...no pain. Was she dead already?? Was it that quick?? She felt fine. Something warm was wrapped around her. Was it possible she'd run into a toothless shark?? She slapped herself mentally.
Then she heard it...laughter.
Snapping her eyes wide open, she met Hiei's crimson orbs smirking with the utmost enjoyment at her. Her mouth dropped open.
She glanced quickly around. Kagome and Kurama were nearby, gripping a giant piece of garbage.... shaped like a shark fin. It all hit her at once...
"Did you like our little trick?" giggled Kagome with an evil glee. Tori was speechless. She whipped her head back to Hiei.
"I must admit, Hiei's roar was terribly frightening," chuckled Kurama. Hiei closed his eyes, and Tori heard it...a laugh. Hiei laughed! She stared at him incredulously. Hiei NEVER laughed! EVER! She thrashed out of his arms; treading water, staring at him, then back at the amazed Kurama and Kagome.
Her mouth opened and shut in silent words. Then the feeling came up...anger.
"YOU BASTARDS!!!" she screamed, pouncing on Kagome first. After beating the shit out of her, she could still hear Hiei laughing above the water.
He was next.
Angrily, she kicked off the bottom, shooting right at him, when she felt a hand grip her wrist. She whirled about to see Kurama. Never mind. She pounced on him, trying to beat him up as well, but he quickly slipped out of her grip, moving like the water itself. She glared at him, and then finally went for Hiei. He'd seemed to regain control of himself. But when she went after him...he was gone. She looked around.
Suddenly, she felt his arms about her own again. Gritting her teeth angrily, she whirled around to bite him to make him let go, when his lips met hers, making her freeze. His arms tightened about her, and she went slack, all anger draining out of her.
When he finally released her and they went up to the surface, Tori started giggling to herself. "To answer your question, Kagome..." she started. Kagome's eyes widened. "DAMN! How the hell did you guys pull that off?? I was totally freaked!!!" she yelled, laughing her head off.
Kurama cleared his throat.
"It was all Hiei's idea. I held onto his ankles as we swam, to give the impression that it was indeed a long shark. Kagome was on top of us, holding the 'fin'. Indeed, it was quite genius. But really, Hiei, why couldn't we have saved it for Yusuke?" he asked.
"Actually..." started Tori. They looked at her, "he doesn't quite know about it yet, does he?" They all looked in towards the shore, where the other five were busy, not even noticing the water. Evil smirks appeared on all four of their faces (yes, even Kurama's and Kagome's).
After luring the two unsuspecting boys out into the water, followed by scaring the shit out of them with the shark trick (now including Tori), resulting in Yusuke chasing Tori through the water, and Kuwabara going after Hiei, they all went into shore, exhausted. Yusuke had a few lumps on his head from when he'd caught Tori, and Hiei had beaten him up after losing Kuwabara.
They all plopped down on the shore, relaying the whole story to the other girls. Kayko and Botan exploded laughing when they told about how scared Yusuke and Kuwabara were. The two boys looked away, huffing grumpily. Yukina giggled softly.
Kayko stood up, looking out at the water. She walked carefully behind Yusuke as he was eating his portion of the picnic that Botan had brought.
"WATCH OUT, YUSUKE! SAND SHARK!!!" she yelled. Yusuke leapt into the air like a frightened cat, screaming. Everyone burst out laughing, even Hiei, which startled everyone except Kurama, Kagome and Tori. It was getting dark. Tori walked down towards the water, sitting down and watching the sunset. It wasn't long before Hiei joined her.
Even Yusuke and Kayko settled down and had a nice time together. Tori watched them carefully as they sat somewhere down the water from where everyone else was. She saw him holding her hand, and she smiled.
The sunset's colors reflected straight off the clouds, throwing fascinating palettes of blues, pinks, and reds into the sky, painting in a similar fashion to an artist throwing the buckets of paint across his canvas.
It was beautiful, so to speak. Kurama tightened his arm about Kagome's shoulders, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. She smiled softly, snuggling into his neck.
As everyone was preparing to go, Tori made to stand up, but not before Hiei pulled on her arm, dragging her into him, kissing her. As he let go, she giggled, playfully swatting his shoulder and shaking her head.
She went to go get Yusuke and Kayko, only to see them making out. So not to disturb them, she quietly backed away and hurried over to where the others were. She could see Kuwabara about to yell a stupid comment, when Yukina tapped him on the shoulder.
"Please don't, Kazuma. Kayko needs that," she said quietly. Kuwabara immediately shut his trap, but turned it on her.
"Anything for you, Yukina, my sweet!" he declared loudly. Yukina blushed lightly. Tori felt a slight growl from Hiei, but she quickly put her arm on his to silence him. She didn't know what he was so upset about. Maybe he'd once had a crush on Yukina? This puzzled her. Both of them looked very much alike, or maybe Hiei simply thought of Yukina as a sisterly figure. She certainly did. Yukina was very easy to get along with.
She shook it off, thinking to ask Kagome later as they piled into the van in the same seats as before. Yusuke and Kayko fell asleep on each other, and Hiei drew Tori close to him, closing his eyes. Tori smiled, leaning against his shoulder as she stared out the window at the starry sky. She felt eyes on her, and turned her head to see Yukina smiling at her. She softly smiled back. Yukina leaned her head against the seat behind her, closing her eyes. Kagome was already asleep against the far window.
Even Botan drove with the speed limit back to Yusuke's house.
Upon arrival, Botan awoke everyone with a start by screaming,
"WE'RE HEEEERRREE!!" Tori had half a mind to go knock Botan upside the head for that, but she decided to let Botan live tonight. She groggily clambered out of the van behind Yukina and Kagome, with Hiei following.
Botan went inside first. Yusuke went into the kitchen to grab a soda, and he noticed the note in his fridge. He yanked at it and scanned it over, heading back into the living room.
"My mom's sleeping over at a friend's house tonight," he announced.
"Oh, it's ok, Yusuke!" said Botan cheerfully, "We'll keep you company, won't we?" She turned to the others. A few short nods answered her. Apparently, everyone was still half-asleep.
"Whatever," muttered Yusuke, plopping down on the couch, "wonder what's on?" He flipped on the TV and went through the channels. Botan went to the cabinet next to the TV and started searching through the videos to watch. She flipped through the tapes, spying Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a few porn tapes ('GROSS!' she thought) until she noticed one particular tape in the back, gathering dust. She pulled it out, checking the side, and nearly burst out giggling.
"I never knew!" she mumbled gleefully to herself. She hid the tape inside the cabinet door, and whirled around like she'd heard something. She widened her eyes, staring at the window.
"What is it, Botan?" asked Kayko.
"I heard something outside," said Botan, putting a fake fearful tone in her voice. Kurama raised an eyebrow at her. "Why don't you boys go check it out?" she asked. Yusuke glared out the window.
"Better not be those Rekantei punks!" he snarled, jumping up, "I thought I taught them a lesson last time!"
Kuwabara followed him out the door, obviously eager for a fight.
"Better make sure they don't hurt themselves, Kurama," hinted Botan. Kurama gave her a suspicious glance, but went after them, practically dragging a protestant Hiei out the door.
As soon as they were gone, Botan launched herself at the VCR.
Kayko was looking fearfully out the window.
"Botan, was it a good idea to send them out at dark?" she asked.
"Oh, they'll be fine! I didn't really hear anything," said Botan, hurriedly pushing the tape in. Tori barely caught a glimpse of the label.
"Casino Talent Show Act," she read loudly. Botan clapped a hand over her mouth. Tori wrenched her hand away, glaring. "What's your problem??"
"I don't want the boys to hear it!" hissed Botan.
"The Casino Talent Show??" asked Kayko, "That was about four years ago! Why does Yusuke have a tape of one of the acts?"
"We'll see, won't we?" asked Botan with an evil glee. "Ssh! It's starting!"
She hurriedly ran around, shutting the blinds and turning off the lights, materializing a large bowl of popcorn out of nowhere and plopping between Tori and Kagome on the large sofa.
The stage started off dark, but a tune started playing, and a young voice singing. A dark silhouette stood on the dim light of the stage.
"Can you hear the music playing? Can you feel the rhythm swaying? Since the sound of dreams come truuue, and I can promise you that..."
Three other silhouettes jumped up next to the first, and they looked like they were dancing, and DAMN, they were good, their voices blending perfectly as all four joined for the next part,
"You are the one and only...and I'm the lost and lonely. We are the perfect dream come true," The first voice came out by itself again,
"And I can promise you that I,"
All four: "Hear the silly love song in my heart."
Suddenly, the lights came on, revealing them to be none other than...
"OH MY GOD!" yelled Kayko, "IT'S THE BOYS!"
As she said, ten and eleven-year-old versions of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei did a synchronized high jump kick in the air as they sang the next part together.
"It Happens Every Time, when I see you, it happens every time, when I think of you. It happens every time! Oh, it's magic, when we meeeeet! Baby, down on Dream Street!"
Yusuke and Kuwabara sang together for the next part,
"Let me take you by the hand and,"
Yusuke and Kurama did the next,
"Walk you down the Milky Way 'cause,"
Then Yusuke and Hiei did the last part,
"You make me feel I'm so aliiive!"
"Oh, I promise, baby, I,"
Kurama, Hiei, and Yusuke sang,
"Hear the silly love song in my heart!"
They repeated the chorus, and Botan nervously noted that the boys were right behind them, staring incredulously at the screen. Tori and Kagome were dancing to the music, giggling, as was Yukina.
When the chorus was over, Hiei sang next,
"Baby down on Dreeeaaam Streeeeeet!"
The others were singing the chorus behind them, as Kuwabara sang up,
"Baby!"
"It happens every time! Oh, it's magic, when we meeeet!"
Kurama gave a solo:
"Down on Dream Street. When I close my eyes, there's angels all around,"
The other three piped up:
"Singing a love song..."
Kurama sang,
"You know it happens every tiiiime, baby see, (Ooohhh,) ohhh, it happens every tiiime, ooooh! Oooooh!"
"It happens every time, when I see you, it happens every time, when I think of you! It happens every time! Oh, it's magic, when we meeet!"
Hiei sang again,
"Baby down on Dreeeam Streeeet!"
"It happens every time..."
Kuwabara piped up,
"Baby!! Ooh!"
"It happens every time! Oh, it's magic, when we meeeet!"
The music cut off, leaving a little bit for Kurama's finishing solo:
"Down on Dream Street...."
Everything went dark.
The girls burst out laughing.
"Weren't they sooo cute??" squealed Kagome to Tori.
"Of course they were! Kurama was really good!" said Tori, nudging Kagome, making her giggle.
"Hiei wasn't half bad, either," responded Kagome to Tori.
"Yeah, but who knew Yusuke could sing like that??" asked Tori, looking at Kayko.
"Don't look at me!" protested the brunette.
"Don't forget Kazuma!" piped up Yukina.
"Oh, yeah. I've never heard Kuwabara sing before in my life!" said Kayko.
"And he wasn't bad," quoted Kagome.
"Nope, not at all," agreed Tori.
"But Kayko, you have to agree," started Kagome, "Yusuke rocked, didn't he?"
Kayko nodded sheepishly, blushing. The girls gave another fit of giggles, when Tori noticed Botan's frozen figure. She looked paler than the fictional Grim Reaper.
"Botan? You ok?" asked Tori. She looked up; just noticing that the boys were giving the poor ferry girl glares beyond comparison.
When the other girls noticed their presence, Hiei spoke up, using his most dangerous tone,
"Botan...why did you show that?" he asked.
"I'd like to know that myself," muttered Yusuke.
Botan slowly turned around.
"Listen, boys, don't be so upset! See? They liked it! Didn't you, girls???" she squeaked, obviously terrified.
Kurama's look faded, before rounding it on Yusuke.
"I thought we agreed you were going to burn that tape," he said thoughtfully. Hiei's eyes flashed at the Spirit Detective now.
"Yes, that's what I recall," he said.
"Didn't you say you would, Urameshi?" asked Kuwabara. Yusuke's glare faltered, and he looked around nervously.
"Well, yeah...but Mom kinda hid it...I guess..."
"You're useless," snapped Hiei.
They looked back at the girls, who were now glaring at them.
"What??" snapped Yusuke, annoyed.
"Don't be angry at anyone! That was the best thing I've ever seen!" said Tori, standing up and marching over to Hiei, who turned away from her to hide his blush. "Hiei, you never told me you could sing!" she said, amazed.
"And Kurama, I loved your voice!" said Kagome happily.
"How come you guys never told us about this??"
"WE WERE TEN, OK???" snapped Yusuke.
"Actually, you and Kuwabara were ten, I was eleven, and Hiei was twelve, now that I recall," said Kurama thoughtfully.
"My most embarrassing moment ever," moaned Hiei, hiding his face in one hand. Tori tugged it away.
"More like your best!" she corrected.
"How the heck did you guys do this without me knowing?" asked Kayko.
"Well, we did it that weekend, we took the chance that people we knew would be in the crowd," said Yusuke.
"And now I regret it deeply," said Hiei, "Yusuke's mother was in the audience, and she videotaped it, somehow knowing we were going to perform."
"I told you, Moms know everything!" said Kagome brightly to Tori. She nodded in agreement.
"Whatever!!" snapped Yusuke, "I'm burning that damn thing right now!" But before he could take a step, Kayko had already ejected the tape, and held it protectively to her chest.
"No, you aren't!" she snapped. Yusuke marched up to her.
"Give me that tape, Kayko!" he said angrily. Kayko slapped him soundly.
"How dare you!!" she snarled, "You think you can order me around like that??? THAT'S NOT HOW THINGS WORK THESE DAYS, YUSUKE! The age when women were slaves is long gone!!"
Tori stared, shocked. She REALLY needed lessons from Kayko... Hiei watched her as she gathered this little idea in her head, and he flashed her a mental threat. She glared at him, but held onto the notion.
Yusuke rubbed his cheek.
"I knew hanging around Hiei for that long was a bad idea..." he muttered. Hiei smirked. He'd have to give Yusuke lessons on how to properly break a girl's spirit...once he broke Tori's, that is...
Botan looked at the clock. It was near 11.
"Yusuke, do you mind if we stay here the night?" she asked.
"Whatever," muttered Yusuke, yawning. Kayko glared at him as she gripped the tape tighter. If he thought he was getting it away from her, he was dead wrong.
Kayko went to the closet, dragging out blankets and old mattresses. She and Yukina would share the couch. She grabbed two of the blankets out of the pile and handed one to Yukina. Tori agreed to sleep on one of the mattresses, as did Kagome. Both grabbed blankets, and Yukina tossed both of them couch cushions to use as pillows. Kuwabara slept in the recliner.
Tori snuggled down into her blankets as Yusuke went off to his room. She felt extremely tired. What with the beach events, and then the Dream Street reenactment a few minutes before. It didn't take long for her to suddenly feel the intense warmth as the fire demon nestled down next to her, wrapping her in his arms.
Kurama had joined Kagome, putting his head against the back of her neck.
Kayko watched both couples, slightly shocked to see Hiei showing such emotion, and slightly regretting making Yusuke mad. She stuffed the tape under the couch and got up, tottering down the hall towards the bathroom to get some water. Suddenly, in the dark, she ran smack into something hard, bumping her nose.
"Oww!" she cried quietly, not wanting to wake the others. Suddenly, she felt a gentle hand on her arm, and a finger on her chin, tilting her head up to meet two sparkling brown orbs, filled with concern.
"You ok?" whispered Yusuke. She nodded sheepishly. She felt the hand on her arm slowly wrap around her back instead, and she soon felt Yusuke's gentle lips on her nose where she'd hit it. Suddenly, it felt a lot better, or maybe that was because her face was overheating from the blush.
She then felt Yusuke's lips part from her skin, and she felt a bit disappointed, until he'd caught her own in a kiss. His other arm joined the first one on her back, and he held her close, deepening the kiss.
When they pulled apart, Kayko knew her face was going to implode from the heat. She smiled softly at Yusuke through the darkness as he let go of her. She tried to back away from him, claiming she was going back to bed, but he held onto her.
"Yusuke?" asked Kayko.
"Don't leave me," he muttered, quietly. Kayko's eyes widened.
"Why don't you come back in with us? I was getting a little cold," she whispered. She could see his small smile through the darkness.
"Sure."
They went back into the living room, where Kayko grabbed the last spare mattress, as well as her pillow and blanket from the couch, and lay down on it, feeling Yusuke right behind her, holding her close to him. Smiling, both drifted off to sleep, unknowingly being watched by a certain smiling kitsune.
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Tori the Hanyou: NO! THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! Whew! Yeah, yet another new record! 25 pages! Amazing! I really hope I didn't lose anyone's interest throughout the chapter, cuz I loved it the best! It was loaded with fun stuff, as well as Yusuke/Kayko fluff at the end. Ok, y'all remember the pairing poll I had at the beginning of the story? Well, I have another one! Yippee! REMEMBER: These questions will affect how I do the next chapter, so I REALLY need your votes!! The poll will only be open for the first week after I post this, so votes on this are valid only until NEXT Tuesday, got it??
For the sequel to Fighting Back, I'm planning on putting a lemon scene somewhere in it,
QUESTION 1: Do you think I should put a lemon in the sequel?
Yes
No
QUESTION 2: If you answered 'yes', for the above question, which pair should I do it with?
Kurama/Kagome
Hiei/Tori
QUESTION 3: Where should the setting be? (Note: This WILL be a few years in the future!)
The Makai
College -- (I'm actually leaning more towards this idea already. I really like it, but I just can't decide)
QUESTION 4: This is a fill in the blank! I NEED HELP WITH A NAME FOR THE SEQUEL! I think I'll do it like this:
Fighting Back 2: (Fill in name of sequel here)
I already have a few ideas: (depending on the setting of the story, look at Question 3)
Fighting Back 2: Off to College! (or) Fighting Back 2: The Challenges of the Makai
Ok, ONE last thing, I promise!
I just recently put up some fanart of Hiei and Kurama on Mediaminer. If y'all wanna check them out (and maybe review them XD), go -This is Kurama's portrait. I don't think it's exactly right, but at least it looks like -This is a quirky little thing I did. It portrays Hiei with a searching -This is my Hiei portrait, possibly my best ever. I'm VERY proud of it, so PLZZZ check it -This is THE funniest picture I've ever drawn! In fact, I want it to be a surprise for y'all. I'll give you a hint: the stars are Hiei and Kurama.
Review Answers:
Black Mage Tsucasa: Thanks! I love fighting scenes, too. I think that chapter was my best fight written!
Starangel4899: Heh, yeah, just hope your hyper state doesn't make you do anything weird... O.O;;;
UltaAnimeFangurl2004: Thanks! I'm sad for its end, but be sure to stay tuned for the sequel, which I STILL haven't thought of a name for! (Fumes)
Ruby-Jaganshi-2004: Yeah, sure, I'll keep my eyes out for it!
Kayzie Kaiba: Well, I'm glad to have such a dedicated fan, lol. My email is , FYI. Sadly, that was Kaiba's last bit in the story, so no; you won't be in future chapters. Maybe I'll find a spot for you in the sequel, if Kaiba's in it (thinks). Yeah, it's funny how those things happen. You must've recently seen the episode where Yami saves Tea from the robber (in one of Tea's flashbacks).
Blue-Eyes White Knight: Thanks! Be sure to remember what I told ya! You have great ideas!
Itsabobthing92: Hey! Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you took the time to look at my website, and I'll look at yours, if you give me the URL.
Blazingsunstar, pinkjingling: Thanks a lot!
Kaiba is sooo mine: I checked out your stories. They're pretty good! Never lose faith if things get you down, okies? Thanks for showing it to your friends!
Bleedingwolf7: Here ya go, lol! Thanks for reviewing!
DISCLAIMER: Nope, read last chapter's DC, cuz I'm not sayin it again!
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Fighting Back
Chapter 20: It Happens Every Time
Kurama wearily opened his eyes to an office ceiling, and something warm in his arms. He blinked a few times to try to shake the sleep off and raised his head to check his surroundings.
He was in a small office, filled with couches, assorted throughout the room as though thrown in there for storage purposes. He looked down to meet Kagome's sleeping face, and memories of what had happened earlier came flooding back to him. He snapped awake, realizing his actions, and immediately released Kagome, pushing away from her, only to clumsily fall off the edge of the couch, hitting the floor.
He sat up, rubbing the back of his head as he heard the broken snores of two certain boys who had been sleeping in skewed chairs. They sat up, blinking tiredly at Kurama.
"Hey, whassa matter? You have a bad dream or something?" asked Kuwabara, yawning. Yusuke stood up, stretching.
"Well, that was a nice nap!" he said. Kurama stood up from his awkward position on the floor, straightening himself out as he looked at Kagome. She seemed awfully tired to still be sleeping after what he'd just done. Then he remembered. The Blade had made him hypnotize her.
Nervously, he sat down next to her, placing two fingers on her forehead, and unlocking the mental spell he'd placed on her. He quickly stood up, backing away from her as though afraid of something, which didn't go unnoticed by Yusuke. "What is it?" he asked, "She's not gonna bite you or anything, if that's what you're scared of."
"No, it's not that," said Kurama, speaking for the first time, "I don't feel a need to tell you what it is at the present moment, either, so please leave the matter alone."
"Would you stop talking like my English teacher? You're jumbling my brain before it's even woken up," said Kuwabara.
"Is it ever awake?" asked Yusuke, seemingly surprised, starting his first fight of the day, which he won in a matter of seconds. "You're getting worse every time," he said, snickering to Kuwabara.
"What are you two doing now?" came Botan's voice from the door. The three boys looked up to see her standing in the now open doorway, giving the two humans a look that plainly said 'Would you stop acting like five year olds?'
"He started it," said Kuwabara quickly, and Yusuke shoved him, starting another tussle, which seemed to wake up Kagome, as well as the last couple sleeping in Hiei's choice spot: the corner.
Kagome sat up, staring curiously around.
"What the heck happened?" was the first thing to come out of her mouth. Kurama seemed to shift uneasily on his feet, drawing her eyes towards him. She'd never seen him nervous before. He was usually the best (besides Hiei) at hiding his emotions.
Tori sat up and stretched, yawning, suddenly feeling the pains of her injuries from the day before. Being thrown around on an asphalt roof wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing, and she quickly gripped her bruised arms, wincing.
Hiei was used to feeling the pain from his injuries, but Tori's obvious discomfort didn't skip his sharp, watchful gaze. He quickly sat up and removed her hands, exposing extremely nasty-looking black and blue spots.
While Hiei was checking on Tori, Kagome was having trouble figuring out why Kurama was avoiding her gaze. Yusuke and Kuwabara were throwing pointless punches at each other, and Botan was angrily scolding them.
Kagome stood up, walking up to Kurama, trying to see what was going on through his sad-looking emerald orbs. She gently placed her hand on his chin and tilted her head downwards so she could see him.
Though he didn't want to, Kurama snapped his head away from her before she could see. How would she ever forgive him for attacking her? If he told her, she'd never speak to him again! But if he didn't tell her...and kept hiding it...what then? He'd decided to take the chance.
Naturally, Kagome had positively no idea what was happening. The last thing she recalled from the battle was when she and Tori were charging Kaiba, and then everything went blank. She didn't remember how the battle turned out.
She gave up on bugging Kurama and instead went to ask Tori what happened. She of course was trying to keep her injuries hidden from Hiei's view, edging away from him little by little, while he was getting more pissed off by the second.
"Um, guys?" said Kagome, interrupting them. They looked up at her, and Tori quickly jumped up and walked over to her.
"Yes, Kagome?" she said, a little too eagerly.
"Erm, when are we going back? Didn't that Koenma-guy say to bring the artifacts back as soon as we had all ten?"
At this, everyone went silent.
Their adventure was over. All ten artifacts had been collected. Tori and Kagome were free, well, as soon as Koenma took their collars off.
Tori absentmindedly reached up and touched her collar. She'd forgotten all about it while they were in Battle City. She hadn't tried to run away, so the only time the collars had ever been used was when she and Kagome had first gotten them.
She remembered it vividly. Kagome's furious reaction, her even more furious reaction...and then she stopped. Hiei had been the one to put her collar on. She remembered the first time he'd looked into her eyes; the look had actually been something like pity. It had angered her tremendously. And now she was his mate...who would've thought?
Her shoulders slumped. What was going to happen now? She and Kagome would be free to go...except for their being mated to two demons. In Tori's case, a very violent and protective demon.
Kagome seemed to be thinking the same thing. What WOULD happen? How would Kagome explain THIS to her family? The only person Tori had to say it to was her second cousin, but Kagome had to face her own mother...
"Well, I'd say we better get going, then," said Botan half-heartedly. Tori looked up. Botan wasn't normally like this. It must've meant she was feeling pretty down.
"Yeah," she quietly agreed.
After checking out of their hotel and packing up their things, the group headed through a portal Botan opened up in the same alley they had entered through. Tori took one last look back at her old home before stepping through into the purple vortex, quickly followed by Hiei.
(At Koenma's office)
They all emerged into the familiar office building that Tori and Kagome had entered not...a month ago? It had seemed MUCH longer than that! Their whole lives had been turned upside-down in just one month?
Nevertheless, they walked through, dodging the stressed goblins and ogres, weaving throughout the many desks, finally coming to the large oak doors. Kurama pushed the doors open, and they walked in.
The room appeared the same as before, the single desk in the middle surrounded by mountains of paperwork. Someone could barely be seen behind more stacks that littered the desk surface.
"Erm, Koenma sir? We're back," called Botan. A small 'yikes', followed by a clatter was heard behind the papers, and a figure quickly stood up, approaching the group with the air of a prince.
"Ah, nice to see you back, Yusuke!" it said. Tori and Kagome nearly jumped out of their skins. "Tori, Kagome, pleasure to see you, too," said the figure as it noticed their stares. The person using Koenma's voice was possibly Kuwabara's height, with short brown hair and golden-colored eyes. The only thing that gave even a hint that he was the real Koenma was the pacifier still in his mouth, and the 'Jr' on his forehead.
Kagome was first to speak.
"Okay...who are you...and what have you done with Koenma?" she asked. He chuckled.
"Of course, how could I have forgotten? You two have obviously never seen me like this," he said. The girls nodded simultaneously. "Well, to put it simply, I use this form to take care of very important business. People listen to me better if I don't look like a baby." The girls didn't answer. "Well, anyway, back to what I was saying. I trust your mission was successful?" he asked Botan.
She nodded, taking her large backpack off and setting it on the floor. She pulled out the numerous objects that they'd collected: the Blaze of Water Ring, Ocarina of Peace, Hyper Bow, Boomerang of Summoning, Mirror of Truth, Tiara of Growth, Weather Staff, Eye of Invisibility, and Flight Pendant.
Koenma carefully overlooked each one. "Good, good, I see they weren't damaged. Father will be pleased to know these are safe," he muttered the last part. Botan looked curiously at him.
"Forgive my curiosity, sir, but why exactly did you want us to collect these? Were they stolen?" Koenma looked up.
"No. We never had these in the first place. Father wished for these to be collected so they wouldn't be used the wrong way." He looked at them again. "Hey, wait a minute! There're only nine here! Where's the other one?" He looked expectantly at Botan, who quickly smiled sheepishly.
"Oh! Forgive me! Hiei, bring it here!"
Smirking at the sudden panic of the 'toddler', Hiei stepped out from behind the others, pulling the Demonic Blade out of his belt and placing it on the floor with the others. Koenma nodded at it.
"Good, very good. Ok, well, that's it for now." He turned to Kagome and Tori. "I don't really think we'll be requiring your services anymore. You are free to return home."
The girls looked down, nodding. Koenma approached Kagome, holding his hand in front of her neck. Her collar expanded until it was back to its basketball size. He took it off her neck, and repeated the process for Tori, being a little careful, remembering the last time she was there.
Botan smiled at his reluctance.
"You don't have any need to worry about Tori anymore, Koenma sir!" she said cheerfully as he quickly pulled it over her head. "She's as tame as a kitten now, aren't you, Tori?" As if to support her statement, she came up and threw an arm good-naturedly around Tori's shoulders. Rolling her eyes, but smiling all the same, Tori giggled at the ferry girl's antics.
Koenma looked slightly relieved, and gave both of them a kind smile, before smirking at Kagome and Tori.
"I also didn't fail to notice that you girls have gotten very," he coughed, "well acquainted with the demons of our little group." He made a gesture towards his own neck, and both girls blushed, realizing he'd seen the marks, as well as stirring a few embarrassed emotions from Hiei and Kurama.
Yusuke and Kuwabara didn't bother trying to hold back snickers, but both of them were hit soundly over the head by Botan. "I really didn't expect something like that from you, Hiei," said Koenma, turning to the flushing fire demon. The pyre glared, and looked away angrily. "Which one's yours, Kurama?" he asked out of curiosity. Kurama turned red as well, but muttered Kagome's name. "Yes, I see how your personalities mesh. Very good. But Hiei...with Tori...I would never have thought! You two really seemed to hate each other when we first met," said Koenma with astonishment.
Botan saw the look of murder Tori had flashed in Koenma's direction, as well as Hiei, and she quickly cut in.
"I really think we need to get the girls home, Koenma sir," she said, hinting.
"Oh, yes! I agree! Well, I suggest you get home. Yusuke, I'm giving you a month of vacation to make up for the mission. Enjoy it, because I'm feeling generous today." And with that, Botan quickly ushered the group out the door, but Hiei refused.
"I have to talk to the toddler about something," he said quietly to Botan, who nodded and pushed the rest of them out.
When Hiei joined them, he was hastily stuffing something in his cloak. They opened a portal back to the city and jumped in.
(Near Higurashi Shrine)
The group fell out of the portal, well, at least Kagome, Kuwabara and Tori did. The others somehow managed to land on their feet. After a few colorful curses from Tori and Kuwabara, Yusuke said he was going home, and he'd see Kagome and Tori around. Kuwabara quickly followed him, and the girls bid them goodbye.
Kagome invited Tori over to her house for a sleepover, telling Kurama and Hiei to come too, so she could introduce them to her family. Hiei flatly refused, but Kurama coaxed him to at least sleep outside in a tree near Kagome's window. Hiei glared at him, but eventually agreed, since he'd be able to keep an eye on Tori from there.
Before they left, Botan told them to come to Yusuke's house the next day; she wanted them to join the boys for some fun on the beach. They agreed, and she stepped back into the portal, disappearing. Kurama walked with Kagome back to her house, Hiei and Tori following behind.
Kagome quietly opened the front door, peering inside.
"Mom?" she called. "Mom, I'm home!"
"Kagome???" came a young voice. A small boy's face peeked out from the stairs.
"Sota! Where's Mom?"
"Kagome! I can't believe it!" cried Sota, running down the rest of the stairs, bowling right into Kagome, crying. "You were gone for so long! We were thinking the worst!" Kagome's face softened to a small smile, softly stroking her brother's hair.
"It's ok, Sota, I'm home," she said calmly. He looked up at her, just noticing Kurama standing next to her. He jumped away, backing up.
"Wh-who are you?" he asked.
"Sota, I'd like you to meet Kurama," said Kagome. Sota stared in wonder. "He's a...friend of mine that I want Mom to meet."
"Mom's outside with Grandpa," said Sota. He soon noticed Tori come in the door. "Tori! You're back, too!" Tori smiled as the kid gave her a hug as well. She looked behind her to introduce Hiei to Sota, but the demon had vanished. 'Must not like crowds, can't blame him,' thought Tori.
Kagome led them through the house towards the back door, Sota tagging along, pressuring poor Kurama with about a million questions at once. "How long have you known Kagome? Why do you have such long hair? Why do you smell like flowers? Do you like my sister..."
"Hey Sota," interrupted Tori, "Have you been training hard?" She, of course, was talking about Sota's school bullies. The reason he'd been training with Kagome and Tori was so he could take on the kids that had tormented the poor guy at school.
Completely forgetting Kurama, Sota turned to her, nodding proudly.
"Yup! You should see what I can do to the punching bag now!" He jabbed his fists in the air, pretty quickly for a little kid. Tori giggled and stopped him before he got out of control.
"Ok, ok, we'll have a sparring match later, all right with you?"
Sota nodded eagerly, and continued rambling to Tori all that he'd improved on while they were gone. Tori listened, not failing to note the flash of black that had zipped by the window.
They came outside, Sota still babbling excitedly, asking Kagome's approval every few minutes, and she acknowledged him with a nod.
They soon came to the old well house, and Kagome pushed open the door, reeling back at the awful smell that had sprung forth from it.
Kurama and Tori quickly covered their oversensitive noses, and when they got brave enough to peer inside, Kagome sighed with great exasperation. Her grandfather was sitting near the open well, burning loads of different scent candles, as well as boiling a pot of some weird kind of herb, chanting to absolutely no one. Kagome's mother was trying to tell him to quit it, but he didn't seem to hear her.
"Mom? What the heck is Grandpa doing?" asked Kagome, her voice sounding contorted due to the holding of her nose. Mrs. Higurashi turned, nearly screaming.
"KAGOME!" She ran up the well steps, grabbing her daughter in a hug, nearly squeezing the air out of her. "Kagome! I was so worried about you!!"
"Kagome? Oh! I see my charm worked!" said her grandfather, stepping out of the old building, wearing weird-smelling robes and a funny-looking hat. "It's good to see you again, child!"
"Now, Grandpa! Kagome's had obviously a rough journey, and..."
"Actually, no Mom. I had a great time!" interrupted Kagome. It was at this point that Mrs. Higurashi took a look at the people who accompanied her daughter. Kagome nearly giggled when she saw her mother giving Kurama strange looks. "Mom, this is Kurama, a new...friend of mine," said Kagome quickly. Her mother continued to study Kurama's face, blinking every few seconds.
"Hm, honey, whatever happened to Inuyasha?" she asked, "I thought HE was your boyfriend!" Kagome blushed furiously. How did she know??? Tori seemed puzzled at this, too. 'Wow, moms really DO know everything,' thought Kagome.
"Well, uhh, things just didn't work out for us," said Kagome, "I told him we were through." Mrs. Higurashi nodded slowly, and glanced at Kurama again.
"Oh, well. I really liked his ears, but you sure got yourself a good one here!" she chirped, winking at Kagome and briskly turning to Tori, leaving Kagome to silently apologize to Kurama. "Hello dear! I sure haven't seen you around lately, either!"
"I was with Kagome," said Tori.
"Oh good! I see you kept her company! Well, are you two going to tell me about what happened or not?"
The small party went inside, with Mrs. Higurashi calling over her shoulder, "And for goodness' sake, Grandpa, change into some better-smelling clothes!"
Sota ran around, getting drinks for everyone, while Tori and Kagome relayed their story, all month, and poor Kagome had to explain the demon mating process to her mother...WITH Sota in the room.
"Oh, how cute! So you and Kurama are together permanently? That's quite fine by me; just make sure he takes good care of you, all right?" Kagome nearly fainted. How the heck was her mother taking this so well???? It just wasn't...natural!
Her mother didn't even mind that Kurama was spending the night! "Good night, then! I'm sure you'll be happy to be in your own bed again, Kagome!" she called after the three as they trudged upstairs, Tori carrying a sleeping Sota. 'You don't know HOW happy,' thought Kagome sarcastically as they arrived at the top of the stairs. Kagome directed Tori to Sota's room, where they laid him on the bed and left.
Kurama had opened the window when they arrived back in Kagome's room.
"I hope you don't mind. Yoko tends to get uneasy when windows are closed," he said softly. Kagome shook her head.
"It's no problem, I'm just glad Mom didn't blow up in my face for being mated to a demon. Heck, she didn't mind at all!" she responded. Kurama's gaze fell to the floor. Sure, her mom trusted him with her, but now, he didn't even trust him SELF with her. Not after what happened.
"Are you gonna stare at the floor all night, fox?" came an irritated voice from the windowsill. There sat Hiei, giving his usual annoyed glare.
"Hey, Hiei," said Tori. His gaze turned to her, and it slightly hardened.
"Come on," he said. Tori had just pulled some blankets out of the closet.
"What?"
"Don't play dumb with me. Come here," ordered Hiei. Tori glared at him.
"Why?" she asked, now irritated herself.
"Don't ask stupid questions."
"I'd listen to him, Tori," advised Kurama. She stood firm.
"I wanna know why. Is that so much to ask?" she responded.
"Yes," snapped Hiei, "now come!"
"I'm not your dog!"
"You're right, you're my mate." Hiei jumped into the room, and in one swift motion, picked up Tori and jumped back out the window into the tree, settling her in his lap, despite her silent curses at him, not wanting to wake up the other residents of the Higurashi household.
Kagome giggled.
"I don't think Tori will ever listen to Hiei without question," she said, smiling to Kurama, who gave her a half-hearted chuckle.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that. Hiei has ways of getting what he wants," responded the kitsune. Kagome yawned, lying down on her bed, happy to be home. After a minute, she opened her eyes, giving Kurama a questioning look.
"What's wrong?" she asked, "You can lie down."
To make her happy, Kurama obliged, gently taking her in his arms like he was used to.
After about half an hour, making sure Kagome was fast asleep, Kurama gently removed his arms from around her, sitting up. He was about to go get Tori's dropped blankets, when he felt a gentle hand caress his wrist. Quickly jerking his head behind him, he saw Kagome was giving him pained looks. "Kurama, why won't you tell me what's wrong?" She looked hurt, deeply hurt, the pain reflecting harshly on her usually happy brown eyes, making them appear not as her own.
This sudden change of attitude surprised Kurama greatly, so much so that it startled him into telling her.
"You see, Kagome...that day, when we were battling for the Blade, it seemed that I was taken under control by it. Well, I don't know if you remember or not, but when you and Tori were heading in to attack Kaiba, I...I..."
Kagome sat up, wrapping her arms loosely about his shoulders from behind, resting her head on the back of his neck, triggering more pain and guilt from Kurama's heart.
"It's ok, Kurama," she whispered.
"I attacked you. I attacked you, and used one of my most spellbinding mind tricks to lull the fight out of you, and continuously, I let my plant constrict you tighter. I fought to make it let go, but the Blade had control of me. I couldn't fight it, I just couldn't..." Kagome nuzzled her nose into his hair, his beautiful-smelling hair. "I'd never felt so weak and defenseless in my entire life," he whispered, ashamed. Kagome gently tightened her arms about him, and pulled her head from his neck to rest it over his shoulder, so her face was next to his.
"Kurama...no matter what...you should know that the bond between mates can never be severed, not by anything at all. You're one of the strongest people I know. You're stronger, even, than Inuyasha."
This brought back the memory. That fight between the fox demon and dog hanyou, it appeared vividly in the kitsune's mind. He sighed, remembering his victory, escaping with merely a cut on his left arm. He pulled back his sleeve to see that his demon blood had done its work. Not even a scar was left, only memories.
Sighing, Kurama suddenly felt Kagome's lips on his cheek. Smiling, she came in for another one, and he turned his head towards hers, forcing it onto his lips instead. He felt Kagome's smile, and he put his hand behind her head, turning towards her. Yoko playfully made him push Kagome back down onto her pillow, and he deviously pounced on top of her. "So, what they say about foxes is true," giggled Kagome as Kurama kissed her neck, wrapping his arms about her waist, "you guys really are as clever as you're rumored to be." Kurama silenced any more words from her by swallowing her mouth with his own.
(Outside)
Hiei flashed his glowing red eyes open as soon as he was sure Tori was out cold. He watched her for a minute, making sure her breathing was even and quiet. When he was positive she wouldn't wake up, he fumbled in his cloak for the thing he'd put in before.
His hand drew out its target, and he smirked at it. Forcing it to grow back to its basketball size, he quickly put it about Tori's neck, watching it shrink down to snugly fit where it was before. He remembered what he'd asked Koenma to modify about it. His eyes glanced evilly at her. She hadn't even noticed it was there again. She simply snuggled deeper into his embrace, nuzzling her nose into his shoulder, basking in his wild scent that had a pine smell to it.
Giving himself his own devious idea, Hiei gently lowered his head to Tori's neck. Glancing back up quickly, he silently drew out his rough tongue, licking her mark. Tori seemed to squirm uncomfortably as he traced his tongue up to her ear, nibbling the lobe, hearing her almost inaudible moan. He took it in his mouth, quietly sucking on it, listening for her reactions.
"Nicki, quit it..." was her wording. Hiei glanced at her, puzzled, but a quick mind read told him it was only her dog. Relaxing, he once more resumed his silent torture, giving her ear a bite. She gasped, but sighed as it was quickly forgotten by her dreams. Hiei soon found his tongue dragging its way across her face, and before he could stop himself, he'd taken her mouth in his, sliding his tongue in and playing with hers. At this, he heard and felt her moans, but quickly withdrew his head and closed his eyes as he sensed her stirring from sleep.
Tori opened her eyes wearily to see Hiei's restful face, and she marveled at the weird dream she'd had. Someone had been teasing her, and she couldn't see their face, but it scared her how real the feelings had been. It was almost as if she could feel the hot breath on her neck, giving her goose bumps. She HAD felt it. But, how could that be? "Jeez, I must really be losing it," she muttered quietly to herself. 'I sure hope Hiei doesn't find out, or that'll be catastrophic,' she thought to herself. If Hiei found out she was having dreams about being licked and teased, God only knew what evil little ideas would pop into his head. She was HIS property now, after all, and he could do what he pleased with her, but that didn't mean she wouldn't put up a fight. Giving a fearful look at the one who held her captive, she shuddered at the thought, before falling back into sleep.
Unbeknownst to her, these little thoughts hadn't passed the demon's mind reading, and he mentally smirked. Oh, if only she knew...
(The next morning)
Kagome awoke to the sun's light just peeking over the hill. She felt Kurama's arms gently draped about her waist, and she smiled at his sleeping face, gently raising a hand to brush a lock of his beautiful red hair away from it. His eyes opened to greet hers at this show of affection, and he leaned over to give her a good morning kiss.
The two soon got up, going over to the window, where Hiei and Tori were slumbering peacefully in the tree.
Kagome called out to them,
"Morning, sleepyheads!"
They both opened their eyes at the same time, giving her identical glares.
"Yes, they were definitely made for each other," said Kurama, chuckling.
"Come on! Remember, Botan wants us to meet the others at Yusuke's house to go to the beach! Move it!"
Two more glares were flashed, followed by two New York Hello's:
"GO TO HELL!"
Kagome sighed, going back towards her bathroom, where she filled a glass of water in the sink. Kurama smiled when he saw it, and stationed himself near the window so he could watch.
Kagome leaned out the window, throwing the water directly on both of them. That seemed to do the trick. Tori climbed out of Hiei's lap onto the tree branch, but Kagome quickly shut the window. Still growling and dripping wet, Tori leaped to the ground, landing on her feet. Hiei soon followed, and Tori told him she'd meet him at Yusuke's. He gave a small nod, and vanished.
(At Yusuke's house)
Kagome was last to arrive, and Kurama greeted her warmly. Tori had just gotten there, and she was eyeing the two new girls with utmost curiosity and suspicion.
"Oh, good timing, Kagome!" said Botan cheerily, "I was just about to introduce Tori to these girls right here." Botan pointed them out. One was slightly taller than the other, and she had short brown hair with eyes to match. The other girl had a sweet, caring aura about her. Her hair was a strange aquamarine color, and Tori didn't fail to notice that her eyes were the exact same color as Hiei's.
Kagome remembered the little talk that she'd had with the others about Hiei's sister, Yukina, and she guessed the girl was just that. The other one, she couldn't tell. Yusuke seemed to be very friendly with her, at least so she thought.
"Don't you DARE touch me, you pervert!" snarled the brunette. Yusuke jumped back a little ways, but he still had the same goofy grin plastered on his face.
"Whassa matter, Kayko?" he said in an all-too-sweet voice, approaching her again, "and here I thought you said you missed me." He put on a pout face, and Tori was trying her absolute hardest not to explode in laughter.
The girl called Kayko seemed to hesitate at this, but she soon shook it off and simply slapped Yusuke across the face. Kagome had a feeling that wouldn't be the first time that day she did it.
"Well, I say we get going now, or all the good spots on the beach will be taken," said Botan, ushering them out the door.
They all piled into a van, and Botan eagerly jumped in the driver's seat. Tori found herself squished in the back between Hiei and the green- haired girl from before.
As they were driving, or careening around the street, Tori couldn't tell which, the small girl spoke up.
"I don't think Botan introduced us. I'm Yukina," she said in a small, quiet voice.
"Hi, Yukina! I'm Tori, and this is..."
"Hiei, I know," giggled Yukina. Hiei continued his stony stare out the window, not even looking up when Yukina mentioned his name. Kagome was crammed on the other side of her, and Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Kayko were up near the front.
Tori and Yukina kept up a quiet, yet pleasant conversation on the way there, and Tori was warming up to the girl more and more by the second. Kagome was gripping the side of the van for dear life as it swerved dangerously around a corner. Hiei didn't even look up.
When they FINALLY arrived at the beach, Yusuke was first to leap out of the van like a scared cat. He glared at Botan as she cheerily came around to their side.
"That's it, Botan, NO MORE DRIVING FOR YOU!" he said.
"At least I CAN drive, Yusuke," snapped back the ferry girl.
"At least Kurama has regards for the speed limit!"
"I thought you LIKED going fast!"
"I do, only when it's ME in the front and I'm not getting thrown around in the back like a sack of potatoes!" retorted Yusuke.
While they were bickering, everyone had already taken the stuff down near the water and set it up. Tori and Kagome were the first to throw off their shirts and shorts, revealing bathing suits, and race for the water. Kayko and Yukina followed soon after, and the girls started a small splash war.
Soon, all the girls felt a huge splash hit them all, and they glared at none other than the four boys smirking at them. Botan was apparently smart enough to just lie on the beach and tan, but the rest seemed to be in for a huge event.
It was now girls vs. boys, as Kagome dove under to avoid a huge splash from Kuwabara. Tori dodged Yusuke's with ease, and she flipped onto her back, giving her legs an enormous kick, sending a wave of water right at the Spirit Detective.
The boys soon cornered Yukina and Kayko, and Tori and Kagome jumped in front of them to fend the boys off. The two smaller girls decided they didn't want to fight anymore, and they clambered out of the water quickly and hurried up the beach to where Botan was.
Tori and Kagome were now surrounded, and Tori held up a hand, calling time-out.
"Hey, wait a minute! This isn't fair! It's two against four!" she called.
As if hearing her, Kayko and Yukina called from the shore,
"Yusuke! Kuwabara! Come help us build a sandcastle!!" yelled Kayko.
"Come on, Kazuma!" called Yukina. The boys eagerly abandoned the water, making Tori clap a hand to her forehead.
"Great! They left us with the demons...they HAD to call the easy targets into shore, didn't they???"
Kurama and Hiei gave each other understanding nods, and they disappeared beneath the water.
Kagome and Tori looked around nervously, bracing their feet. Tori quickly dove away from Kagome, swimming out towards the deeper water.
Kagome watched her fearfully. 'Great...JUST great! She left me all alone!' She watched the water for any signs of red, signaling the presence of Kurama's hair, but there were none to be seen. She had half a mind to follow Tori, but the girl was already way out in the water.
Kagome continued her frantic search of the water, but nothing came up. She tried to keep her feet moving, but it wasn't quelling her nerves.
It wasn't long before two strong arms snaked their way around her waist, dragging her under completely.
Tori stopped, treading water. It was pretty deep out here. She slightly panted from the effort of swimming against the waves that threatened to throw her into shore. The water calmed out here, though. She glanced back at where Kagome had been, only to see that she was gone.
"Kagome??? KAGOME!!" called Tori. Nothing. She looked around frantically. Kurama must've gotten her, meaning only one thing... 'Oh, SHIT!!!!' she thought furiously, right before she saw a dark shape swim past her. Feeling the breath constrict in her lungs, her eyes widened big time. "H-Hiei?? If that's you, you'd better damn well come out now! You've scared the hell out of me, ok??? Come on!"
He didn't show. Tori began to grow worried. There was no way even Hiei could stay under this long. She chanced a glance back towards the shore, seeing if maybe he went in. All she saw was Yusuke and Kuwabara building with Yukina and Kayko. Botan was still on her beach towel. Kurama and Kagome were nowhere to be seen, either.
Tori grew panicked. Where were they??? The dark shape glided past her again. "Hiei?? DAMN IT, HIEI! SHOW YOURSELF!" Still nothing. She glanced around. Wait a minute...that shape was WAY too big to be Hiei... Her eyes widened.
As if on cue, a huge fin emerged out of the water, not ten yards away. Tori's natural instinct was to swim for shore, but her mind told it to shut up. The ligress drew out the claws, but Tori slackened her body, spreading her arms as far apart as possible, and floated on the top of the water. Her heart pounded, her body was twitching with the urge to swim to safety. Sadly, she would be swimming to her death if she listened to it.
The fin came closer...
Tori trembled. Her senses were exploding. 'RUN!' they were screaming to her. She gulped to try to calm her nerves, but nothing did it. Sweat beaded on her forehead from the hut sun, mixing with the salt water, dripping down her head.
Closer...
She felt her heart wrenching from the effort of holding still while God's Killing Machine circled her slowly... Wait, what had happened to Hiei, Kurama and Kagome?? Where were they?? Maybe she should call to the shore for help...no, it would pounce on her for sure. It was checking her out right now...at least she hoped so. Hopefully, she didn't look like a tasty seal. The fin stopped its stalking, prowling. It gave a huge swivel through the water...straight towards her!!!
Tori gulped. If it bit her, it was just checking her out, right? It would see she wasn't a seal, and she'd escape with only a bite, right? .... No. More like a missing chunk of her side, or an arm or leg. She trembled again. Where was Hiei? Her body's muscles tensed up with the 'fight-or- flight' response waiting. She'd slash the creature's eyes out first...no! What was she thinking?? This was a living creature! An innocent one! It was only looking for food...yeah, her!
So much for innocent. She stared as it drew closer at a painfully slow rate. Suddenly, it dove down. It was gonna get her from underneath! 'Don't move, you idiot!' she yelled to herself. 'RUN!' screamed her ligress. 'DON'T!' Tori screamed. Her heart was definitely about to implode, she knew it. She waited for the jaws to close on her...the sharp teeth to dig into her sides and rip out her flesh... 'Maybe that's what happened to Hiei...HIEI!' she screamed. If that thing had gotten him... A new instinct sprang up inside her.
If it had gotten Hiei...it'd pay. She'd wait for it to get her, and then she'd drive her claws into its heart, anywhere she could reach. She gritted her teeth, as a million different emotions swam through her bloodstream. Hate for this creature...pity for its innocence...fear for her own life...it wouldn't end. Her claws itched to dig into flesh...to hurt...to kill...to avenge her fallen mate.
She heard an audible roar under the water...wait. Sharks didn't roar! She was imagining things! Her fear was driving her insane! She closed her eyes tight...to wait for the impact...to wait for the fight for her life...
"ROAAAARRRR!!!"
Something slammed into her, wrapping itself about her tightly. She screamed loudly, knowing this was it. But wait...no pain. Was she dead already?? Was it that quick?? She felt fine. Something warm was wrapped around her. Was it possible she'd run into a toothless shark?? She slapped herself mentally.
Then she heard it...laughter.
Snapping her eyes wide open, she met Hiei's crimson orbs smirking with the utmost enjoyment at her. Her mouth dropped open.
She glanced quickly around. Kagome and Kurama were nearby, gripping a giant piece of garbage.... shaped like a shark fin. It all hit her at once...
"Did you like our little trick?" giggled Kagome with an evil glee. Tori was speechless. She whipped her head back to Hiei.
"I must admit, Hiei's roar was terribly frightening," chuckled Kurama. Hiei closed his eyes, and Tori heard it...a laugh. Hiei laughed! She stared at him incredulously. Hiei NEVER laughed! EVER! She thrashed out of his arms; treading water, staring at him, then back at the amazed Kurama and Kagome.
Her mouth opened and shut in silent words. Then the feeling came up...anger.
"YOU BASTARDS!!!" she screamed, pouncing on Kagome first. After beating the shit out of her, she could still hear Hiei laughing above the water.
He was next.
Angrily, she kicked off the bottom, shooting right at him, when she felt a hand grip her wrist. She whirled about to see Kurama. Never mind. She pounced on him, trying to beat him up as well, but he quickly slipped out of her grip, moving like the water itself. She glared at him, and then finally went for Hiei. He'd seemed to regain control of himself. But when she went after him...he was gone. She looked around.
Suddenly, she felt his arms about her own again. Gritting her teeth angrily, she whirled around to bite him to make him let go, when his lips met hers, making her freeze. His arms tightened about her, and she went slack, all anger draining out of her.
When he finally released her and they went up to the surface, Tori started giggling to herself. "To answer your question, Kagome..." she started. Kagome's eyes widened. "DAMN! How the hell did you guys pull that off?? I was totally freaked!!!" she yelled, laughing her head off.
Kurama cleared his throat.
"It was all Hiei's idea. I held onto his ankles as we swam, to give the impression that it was indeed a long shark. Kagome was on top of us, holding the 'fin'. Indeed, it was quite genius. But really, Hiei, why couldn't we have saved it for Yusuke?" he asked.
"Actually..." started Tori. They looked at her, "he doesn't quite know about it yet, does he?" They all looked in towards the shore, where the other five were busy, not even noticing the water. Evil smirks appeared on all four of their faces (yes, even Kurama's and Kagome's).
After luring the two unsuspecting boys out into the water, followed by scaring the shit out of them with the shark trick (now including Tori), resulting in Yusuke chasing Tori through the water, and Kuwabara going after Hiei, they all went into shore, exhausted. Yusuke had a few lumps on his head from when he'd caught Tori, and Hiei had beaten him up after losing Kuwabara.
They all plopped down on the shore, relaying the whole story to the other girls. Kayko and Botan exploded laughing when they told about how scared Yusuke and Kuwabara were. The two boys looked away, huffing grumpily. Yukina giggled softly.
Kayko stood up, looking out at the water. She walked carefully behind Yusuke as he was eating his portion of the picnic that Botan had brought.
"WATCH OUT, YUSUKE! SAND SHARK!!!" she yelled. Yusuke leapt into the air like a frightened cat, screaming. Everyone burst out laughing, even Hiei, which startled everyone except Kurama, Kagome and Tori. It was getting dark. Tori walked down towards the water, sitting down and watching the sunset. It wasn't long before Hiei joined her.
Even Yusuke and Kayko settled down and had a nice time together. Tori watched them carefully as they sat somewhere down the water from where everyone else was. She saw him holding her hand, and she smiled.
The sunset's colors reflected straight off the clouds, throwing fascinating palettes of blues, pinks, and reds into the sky, painting in a similar fashion to an artist throwing the buckets of paint across his canvas.
It was beautiful, so to speak. Kurama tightened his arm about Kagome's shoulders, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. She smiled softly, snuggling into his neck.
As everyone was preparing to go, Tori made to stand up, but not before Hiei pulled on her arm, dragging her into him, kissing her. As he let go, she giggled, playfully swatting his shoulder and shaking her head.
She went to go get Yusuke and Kayko, only to see them making out. So not to disturb them, she quietly backed away and hurried over to where the others were. She could see Kuwabara about to yell a stupid comment, when Yukina tapped him on the shoulder.
"Please don't, Kazuma. Kayko needs that," she said quietly. Kuwabara immediately shut his trap, but turned it on her.
"Anything for you, Yukina, my sweet!" he declared loudly. Yukina blushed lightly. Tori felt a slight growl from Hiei, but she quickly put her arm on his to silence him. She didn't know what he was so upset about. Maybe he'd once had a crush on Yukina? This puzzled her. Both of them looked very much alike, or maybe Hiei simply thought of Yukina as a sisterly figure. She certainly did. Yukina was very easy to get along with.
She shook it off, thinking to ask Kagome later as they piled into the van in the same seats as before. Yusuke and Kayko fell asleep on each other, and Hiei drew Tori close to him, closing his eyes. Tori smiled, leaning against his shoulder as she stared out the window at the starry sky. She felt eyes on her, and turned her head to see Yukina smiling at her. She softly smiled back. Yukina leaned her head against the seat behind her, closing her eyes. Kagome was already asleep against the far window.
Even Botan drove with the speed limit back to Yusuke's house.
Upon arrival, Botan awoke everyone with a start by screaming,
"WE'RE HEEEERRREE!!" Tori had half a mind to go knock Botan upside the head for that, but she decided to let Botan live tonight. She groggily clambered out of the van behind Yukina and Kagome, with Hiei following.
Botan went inside first. Yusuke went into the kitchen to grab a soda, and he noticed the note in his fridge. He yanked at it and scanned it over, heading back into the living room.
"My mom's sleeping over at a friend's house tonight," he announced.
"Oh, it's ok, Yusuke!" said Botan cheerfully, "We'll keep you company, won't we?" She turned to the others. A few short nods answered her. Apparently, everyone was still half-asleep.
"Whatever," muttered Yusuke, plopping down on the couch, "wonder what's on?" He flipped on the TV and went through the channels. Botan went to the cabinet next to the TV and started searching through the videos to watch. She flipped through the tapes, spying Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a few porn tapes ('GROSS!' she thought) until she noticed one particular tape in the back, gathering dust. She pulled it out, checking the side, and nearly burst out giggling.
"I never knew!" she mumbled gleefully to herself. She hid the tape inside the cabinet door, and whirled around like she'd heard something. She widened her eyes, staring at the window.
"What is it, Botan?" asked Kayko.
"I heard something outside," said Botan, putting a fake fearful tone in her voice. Kurama raised an eyebrow at her. "Why don't you boys go check it out?" she asked. Yusuke glared out the window.
"Better not be those Rekantei punks!" he snarled, jumping up, "I thought I taught them a lesson last time!"
Kuwabara followed him out the door, obviously eager for a fight.
"Better make sure they don't hurt themselves, Kurama," hinted Botan. Kurama gave her a suspicious glance, but went after them, practically dragging a protestant Hiei out the door.
As soon as they were gone, Botan launched herself at the VCR.
Kayko was looking fearfully out the window.
"Botan, was it a good idea to send them out at dark?" she asked.
"Oh, they'll be fine! I didn't really hear anything," said Botan, hurriedly pushing the tape in. Tori barely caught a glimpse of the label.
"Casino Talent Show Act," she read loudly. Botan clapped a hand over her mouth. Tori wrenched her hand away, glaring. "What's your problem??"
"I don't want the boys to hear it!" hissed Botan.
"The Casino Talent Show??" asked Kayko, "That was about four years ago! Why does Yusuke have a tape of one of the acts?"
"We'll see, won't we?" asked Botan with an evil glee. "Ssh! It's starting!"
She hurriedly ran around, shutting the blinds and turning off the lights, materializing a large bowl of popcorn out of nowhere and plopping between Tori and Kagome on the large sofa.
The stage started off dark, but a tune started playing, and a young voice singing. A dark silhouette stood on the dim light of the stage.
"Can you hear the music playing? Can you feel the rhythm swaying? Since the sound of dreams come truuue, and I can promise you that..."
Three other silhouettes jumped up next to the first, and they looked like they were dancing, and DAMN, they were good, their voices blending perfectly as all four joined for the next part,
"You are the one and only...and I'm the lost and lonely. We are the perfect dream come true," The first voice came out by itself again,
"And I can promise you that I,"
All four: "Hear the silly love song in my heart."
Suddenly, the lights came on, revealing them to be none other than...
"OH MY GOD!" yelled Kayko, "IT'S THE BOYS!"
As she said, ten and eleven-year-old versions of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei did a synchronized high jump kick in the air as they sang the next part together.
"It Happens Every Time, when I see you, it happens every time, when I think of you. It happens every time! Oh, it's magic, when we meeeeet! Baby, down on Dream Street!"
Yusuke and Kuwabara sang together for the next part,
"Let me take you by the hand and,"
Yusuke and Kurama did the next,
"Walk you down the Milky Way 'cause,"
Then Yusuke and Hiei did the last part,
"You make me feel I'm so aliiive!"
"Oh, I promise, baby, I,"
Kurama, Hiei, and Yusuke sang,
"Hear the silly love song in my heart!"
They repeated the chorus, and Botan nervously noted that the boys were right behind them, staring incredulously at the screen. Tori and Kagome were dancing to the music, giggling, as was Yukina.
When the chorus was over, Hiei sang next,
"Baby down on Dreeeaaam Streeeeeet!"
The others were singing the chorus behind them, as Kuwabara sang up,
"Baby!"
"It happens every time! Oh, it's magic, when we meeeet!"
Kurama gave a solo:
"Down on Dream Street. When I close my eyes, there's angels all around,"
The other three piped up:
"Singing a love song..."
Kurama sang,
"You know it happens every tiiiime, baby see, (Ooohhh,) ohhh, it happens every tiiime, ooooh! Oooooh!"
"It happens every time, when I see you, it happens every time, when I think of you! It happens every time! Oh, it's magic, when we meeet!"
Hiei sang again,
"Baby down on Dreeeam Streeeet!"
"It happens every time..."
Kuwabara piped up,
"Baby!! Ooh!"
"It happens every time! Oh, it's magic, when we meeeet!"
The music cut off, leaving a little bit for Kurama's finishing solo:
"Down on Dream Street...."
Everything went dark.
The girls burst out laughing.
"Weren't they sooo cute??" squealed Kagome to Tori.
"Of course they were! Kurama was really good!" said Tori, nudging Kagome, making her giggle.
"Hiei wasn't half bad, either," responded Kagome to Tori.
"Yeah, but who knew Yusuke could sing like that??" asked Tori, looking at Kayko.
"Don't look at me!" protested the brunette.
"Don't forget Kazuma!" piped up Yukina.
"Oh, yeah. I've never heard Kuwabara sing before in my life!" said Kayko.
"And he wasn't bad," quoted Kagome.
"Nope, not at all," agreed Tori.
"But Kayko, you have to agree," started Kagome, "Yusuke rocked, didn't he?"
Kayko nodded sheepishly, blushing. The girls gave another fit of giggles, when Tori noticed Botan's frozen figure. She looked paler than the fictional Grim Reaper.
"Botan? You ok?" asked Tori. She looked up; just noticing that the boys were giving the poor ferry girl glares beyond comparison.
When the other girls noticed their presence, Hiei spoke up, using his most dangerous tone,
"Botan...why did you show that?" he asked.
"I'd like to know that myself," muttered Yusuke.
Botan slowly turned around.
"Listen, boys, don't be so upset! See? They liked it! Didn't you, girls???" she squeaked, obviously terrified.
Kurama's look faded, before rounding it on Yusuke.
"I thought we agreed you were going to burn that tape," he said thoughtfully. Hiei's eyes flashed at the Spirit Detective now.
"Yes, that's what I recall," he said.
"Didn't you say you would, Urameshi?" asked Kuwabara. Yusuke's glare faltered, and he looked around nervously.
"Well, yeah...but Mom kinda hid it...I guess..."
"You're useless," snapped Hiei.
They looked back at the girls, who were now glaring at them.
"What??" snapped Yusuke, annoyed.
"Don't be angry at anyone! That was the best thing I've ever seen!" said Tori, standing up and marching over to Hiei, who turned away from her to hide his blush. "Hiei, you never told me you could sing!" she said, amazed.
"And Kurama, I loved your voice!" said Kagome happily.
"How come you guys never told us about this??"
"WE WERE TEN, OK???" snapped Yusuke.
"Actually, you and Kuwabara were ten, I was eleven, and Hiei was twelve, now that I recall," said Kurama thoughtfully.
"My most embarrassing moment ever," moaned Hiei, hiding his face in one hand. Tori tugged it away.
"More like your best!" she corrected.
"How the heck did you guys do this without me knowing?" asked Kayko.
"Well, we did it that weekend, we took the chance that people we knew would be in the crowd," said Yusuke.
"And now I regret it deeply," said Hiei, "Yusuke's mother was in the audience, and she videotaped it, somehow knowing we were going to perform."
"I told you, Moms know everything!" said Kagome brightly to Tori. She nodded in agreement.
"Whatever!!" snapped Yusuke, "I'm burning that damn thing right now!" But before he could take a step, Kayko had already ejected the tape, and held it protectively to her chest.
"No, you aren't!" she snapped. Yusuke marched up to her.
"Give me that tape, Kayko!" he said angrily. Kayko slapped him soundly.
"How dare you!!" she snarled, "You think you can order me around like that??? THAT'S NOT HOW THINGS WORK THESE DAYS, YUSUKE! The age when women were slaves is long gone!!"
Tori stared, shocked. She REALLY needed lessons from Kayko... Hiei watched her as she gathered this little idea in her head, and he flashed her a mental threat. She glared at him, but held onto the notion.
Yusuke rubbed his cheek.
"I knew hanging around Hiei for that long was a bad idea..." he muttered. Hiei smirked. He'd have to give Yusuke lessons on how to properly break a girl's spirit...once he broke Tori's, that is...
Botan looked at the clock. It was near 11.
"Yusuke, do you mind if we stay here the night?" she asked.
"Whatever," muttered Yusuke, yawning. Kayko glared at him as she gripped the tape tighter. If he thought he was getting it away from her, he was dead wrong.
Kayko went to the closet, dragging out blankets and old mattresses. She and Yukina would share the couch. She grabbed two of the blankets out of the pile and handed one to Yukina. Tori agreed to sleep on one of the mattresses, as did Kagome. Both grabbed blankets, and Yukina tossed both of them couch cushions to use as pillows. Kuwabara slept in the recliner.
Tori snuggled down into her blankets as Yusuke went off to his room. She felt extremely tired. What with the beach events, and then the Dream Street reenactment a few minutes before. It didn't take long for her to suddenly feel the intense warmth as the fire demon nestled down next to her, wrapping her in his arms.
Kurama had joined Kagome, putting his head against the back of her neck.
Kayko watched both couples, slightly shocked to see Hiei showing such emotion, and slightly regretting making Yusuke mad. She stuffed the tape under the couch and got up, tottering down the hall towards the bathroom to get some water. Suddenly, in the dark, she ran smack into something hard, bumping her nose.
"Oww!" she cried quietly, not wanting to wake the others. Suddenly, she felt a gentle hand on her arm, and a finger on her chin, tilting her head up to meet two sparkling brown orbs, filled with concern.
"You ok?" whispered Yusuke. She nodded sheepishly. She felt the hand on her arm slowly wrap around her back instead, and she soon felt Yusuke's gentle lips on her nose where she'd hit it. Suddenly, it felt a lot better, or maybe that was because her face was overheating from the blush.
She then felt Yusuke's lips part from her skin, and she felt a bit disappointed, until he'd caught her own in a kiss. His other arm joined the first one on her back, and he held her close, deepening the kiss.
When they pulled apart, Kayko knew her face was going to implode from the heat. She smiled softly at Yusuke through the darkness as he let go of her. She tried to back away from him, claiming she was going back to bed, but he held onto her.
"Yusuke?" asked Kayko.
"Don't leave me," he muttered, quietly. Kayko's eyes widened.
"Why don't you come back in with us? I was getting a little cold," she whispered. She could see his small smile through the darkness.
"Sure."
They went back into the living room, where Kayko grabbed the last spare mattress, as well as her pillow and blanket from the couch, and lay down on it, feeling Yusuke right behind her, holding her close to him. Smiling, both drifted off to sleep, unknowingly being watched by a certain smiling kitsune.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Tori the Hanyou: NO! THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! Whew! Yeah, yet another new record! 25 pages! Amazing! I really hope I didn't lose anyone's interest throughout the chapter, cuz I loved it the best! It was loaded with fun stuff, as well as Yusuke/Kayko fluff at the end. Ok, y'all remember the pairing poll I had at the beginning of the story? Well, I have another one! Yippee! REMEMBER: These questions will affect how I do the next chapter, so I REALLY need your votes!! The poll will only be open for the first week after I post this, so votes on this are valid only until NEXT Tuesday, got it??
For the sequel to Fighting Back, I'm planning on putting a lemon scene somewhere in it,
QUESTION 1: Do you think I should put a lemon in the sequel?
Yes
No
QUESTION 2: If you answered 'yes', for the above question, which pair should I do it with?
Kurama/Kagome
Hiei/Tori
QUESTION 3: Where should the setting be? (Note: This WILL be a few years in the future!)
The Makai
College -- (I'm actually leaning more towards this idea already. I really like it, but I just can't decide)
QUESTION 4: This is a fill in the blank! I NEED HELP WITH A NAME FOR THE SEQUEL! I think I'll do it like this:
Fighting Back 2: (Fill in name of sequel here)
I already have a few ideas: (depending on the setting of the story, look at Question 3)
Fighting Back 2: Off to College! (or) Fighting Back 2: The Challenges of the Makai
Ok, ONE last thing, I promise!
I just recently put up some fanart of Hiei and Kurama on Mediaminer. If y'all wanna check them out (and maybe review them XD), go -This is Kurama's portrait. I don't think it's exactly right, but at least it looks like -This is a quirky little thing I did. It portrays Hiei with a searching -This is my Hiei portrait, possibly my best ever. I'm VERY proud of it, so PLZZZ check it -This is THE funniest picture I've ever drawn! In fact, I want it to be a surprise for y'all. I'll give you a hint: the stars are Hiei and Kurama.