Hi! I'm back, finally! Sorry for the long delay! I got kinda caught up in my other story, 'Prisoners.' That story's finished now, so I can devote some time to this one. As for the whole contest thing I did...OH MY GOD!!! At first I was planning on using all the ones that were given to me, but now I don't think I can. I'm sorry, really, really, REALLY sorry, but I got like twenty entries and that many more characters would only confuse the heck outta both you and me. So please try to understand and forgive me for not using your characters. I did, however, find one entry that really stood out to me. It was one of the first, from a reader named Explosion who gave me an idea for a team of three thieves. So, let's give Explosion a round of applause and START THE FIC!!! ^_^
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Hiei returned from the kitchen once the other's had stopped laughing, and Yusuke ran out of 'sweet snow.'
"It's your turn Neiko," Yusuke said as he gasped for breath that he had been deprived of during his laughing fit.
Neiko picked up the dice and dropped them to the board. They all leaned in close to see what the board would say.
"They grow much faster than bamboo;" Neiko read out loud, "Take care or they'll come after you."
"More plants?" Yusuke asked, but his question was immediately answered as long, gnarled vines shot out of the wall and wrapped themselves around the six friends standing in the room.
"The hell? Kurama! Why can't you stop these things?" Yusuke yelled, trying to wiggle free.
"Yeah, and why didn't you stop that yellow pod thing that was trying to eat Keiko?" Kuwabara chimed in, trying to slice his way free with his spirit sword.
"These plants from the game...they won't obey me!" Kurama shouted back, wrestling with his own vine.
"Shit, this is bad," Yusuke mumbled as the vine began to constrict, squeezing his body.
"H-help!" they all heard a voice choke. They turned to see Neiko, a vine closed around her neck, and growing ever tighter. She clawed at it furiously, but it did no good. Kuwabara hacked at every vine in sight and Hiei did the same, but they grew back too quickly for them to get free. Neiko was beginning to turn blue, they had to do something.
Yusuke had had enough. He gathered energy around his fist and pointed it at the room in general.
"Shot Gun!" he yelled as loud as he could.
Small beams of energy flew all around the room, ripping yet more holes in the walls, but most importantly, severing many of the vines. In fact, the blast destroyed enough vines for Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama to wrench themselves free with ease. Yusuke and Kuwabara ran to Keiko, their combined efforts finally freeing the girl, while Hiei and Kurama worked to untangle the half suffocated Neiko. With a final slice of his sword, Hiei severed the vine around Neiko's neck, the last vine, and she fell forward gasping. Kurama caught her and the six of them hurried outside.
Once they were safe outside, they turned back and were shocked to find that Yusuke's apartment complex was now nothing more than a mass of choking vines. There were so many vines around the outside of the building, in fact, that it didn't even look like a building anymore.
Yusuke sighed. "We had just better finish this before my mom gets back from whatever party she spent the night at."
Kurama nodded, thinking of the sad shape of his own house.
Suddenly, there was the whirl of a motor, and they all turned to gaze at the street. They watched silently as a motor cycle passed, one monkey seated on the handle bars while two more hung from each side. They stared silently until it had passed and they could no longer hear the gurgle of the motor.
"Hey, guys?" Neiko asked hesitantly.
"Yeah?" Yusuke asked.
"Did you just see three monkeys go by on a motorcycle?"
"Yep."
"Good."
There was silence for another moment, then Kuwabara looked around nervously.
"You know, maybe we should get inside. I mean, with the lion, and the monkeys, and the bats, and the stampede, and the hunter...it might be safer inside. Especially since we can't kill these guys," he said.
"So, are you volunteering your house for demolishing next?" Yusuke asked sarcastically.
Kuwabara paled. "On second thought, right here is good too," he said.
Yusuke laughed and picked up the dice.
"Yeah, whatever Kuwabara," he said as he rolled.
They all watched anxiously as the dice stopped on a three and a one, totaling four, and Yusuke's black elephant moved four spaces down the board. They held their breaths as the sinister words appeared and Yusuke read them out loud.
"Their boisterous laughing does provoke; in this adventure they are no joke. Crap, now what?" he said, straitening and looking around cautiously.
An echoing, skin curling laugh echoed from the ally behind the vine covered apartment complex. The group stood their ground, and peered cautiously over to it.
"Run," Yusuke said, taking a step back. He knew from experience with the lion that he couldn't kill these things, and he didn't like the thought of being attacked by something he couldn't kill.
Three figures bolted out of the darkness towards them, laughing sinisterly.
"RUN!!!" Yusuke shouted again, this time taking Keiko's hand and running full force. The other's were soon behind them.
"What are those things?!" Kuwabara panted.
"Hyenas!" Neiko yelled over her shoulder at him.
The eerie laughing of the hyenas grew louder as they closed in on their prey. Yusuke searched the streets frantically for a place to hide. Then, as they turned a corner, the bright red lights of the 'Target' sign came into view.
"Come on!" he shouted, "We'll lose them in there!"
They ran for all they were worth through the parking lot. Once or twice one of them almost tripped, only to be caught and yanked back to their feet by the members of the group closest to them.
This particular Target store was old and in disrepair. The automatic doors didn't work, and so customers had to do it the old fashioned way and actually reach out a hand and pull the doors opened. Needless to say, no one wants that much exertion when entering a store, and so this wasn't the most popular store in town, which was good because it left less people for the hyenas to decide to chase once the group was inside.
Hiei made it through the almost empty parking lot to the door first. He tugged it opened and bolted inside. Yusuke grabbed the door next and held it opened while the others ran inside. Finally, he threw himself into the store, pulling the door shut behind him.
The hyenas had never seen glass before, and the first one ran full force into it. With a startled yelp it jumped back, circling the clear force field suspiciously. The other two hyenas rammed their heads into the reinforced glass doors as well before they were satisfied that they could not go through it. With one last laughing cry, the hyenas turned and left to chase a car that was backing out of its space in the parking lot.
The group sighed in relief and relaxed, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Neiko all sinking to the floor in exhaustion.
"Good thing that isn't a 'push' door," Yusuke said.
Neiko's eye's widened as she looked up into the parking lot again.
"They might not have been able to get in, but I think he can!" she cried, pointing.
They all turned to look and jumped to their feet when they say the hunter walking towards them from the parking lot.
"Shit," Yusuke swore, taking a few steps back, along with the rest of the group.
A hyena ran up to the hunter, followed by the other two, ready to bite his leg off. But he calmly pointed his rifle down and blew the wild dog's head off. The hyena fell to the ground, dead, and the other two ran off whimpering.
"No fair! How come he can kill them and we can't?!" Kuwabara cried.
"Because both the hyena and the hunter were from the game," Neiko pointed out.
"Oh," was all Kuwabara said.
"We should go hide," Keiko said quietly.
"Never," Hiei spat.
"Oh, and you think it would be more dignifying to get your head splattered all over the wall like that hyena?" Neiko cried.
Hiei sighed. She was right. He hatted that she was right. But she was. He couldn't kill the hunter, but the hunter could kill him. That didn't make his chances too promising.
"Fine, we'll hide," he said in almost a whisper, and the six of them all darted off find a hiding place.
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Sorry I made that big deal about the whole contest thing when it wasn't even in this chapter. Oh, well, it will be in the next one. So, hope you enjoyed, and don't hate me for the cliffy, or the shortness, I just don't have any more time to write tonight. Please review! ^_^
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Hiei returned from the kitchen once the other's had stopped laughing, and Yusuke ran out of 'sweet snow.'
"It's your turn Neiko," Yusuke said as he gasped for breath that he had been deprived of during his laughing fit.
Neiko picked up the dice and dropped them to the board. They all leaned in close to see what the board would say.
"They grow much faster than bamboo;" Neiko read out loud, "Take care or they'll come after you."
"More plants?" Yusuke asked, but his question was immediately answered as long, gnarled vines shot out of the wall and wrapped themselves around the six friends standing in the room.
"The hell? Kurama! Why can't you stop these things?" Yusuke yelled, trying to wiggle free.
"Yeah, and why didn't you stop that yellow pod thing that was trying to eat Keiko?" Kuwabara chimed in, trying to slice his way free with his spirit sword.
"These plants from the game...they won't obey me!" Kurama shouted back, wrestling with his own vine.
"Shit, this is bad," Yusuke mumbled as the vine began to constrict, squeezing his body.
"H-help!" they all heard a voice choke. They turned to see Neiko, a vine closed around her neck, and growing ever tighter. She clawed at it furiously, but it did no good. Kuwabara hacked at every vine in sight and Hiei did the same, but they grew back too quickly for them to get free. Neiko was beginning to turn blue, they had to do something.
Yusuke had had enough. He gathered energy around his fist and pointed it at the room in general.
"Shot Gun!" he yelled as loud as he could.
Small beams of energy flew all around the room, ripping yet more holes in the walls, but most importantly, severing many of the vines. In fact, the blast destroyed enough vines for Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama to wrench themselves free with ease. Yusuke and Kuwabara ran to Keiko, their combined efforts finally freeing the girl, while Hiei and Kurama worked to untangle the half suffocated Neiko. With a final slice of his sword, Hiei severed the vine around Neiko's neck, the last vine, and she fell forward gasping. Kurama caught her and the six of them hurried outside.
Once they were safe outside, they turned back and were shocked to find that Yusuke's apartment complex was now nothing more than a mass of choking vines. There were so many vines around the outside of the building, in fact, that it didn't even look like a building anymore.
Yusuke sighed. "We had just better finish this before my mom gets back from whatever party she spent the night at."
Kurama nodded, thinking of the sad shape of his own house.
Suddenly, there was the whirl of a motor, and they all turned to gaze at the street. They watched silently as a motor cycle passed, one monkey seated on the handle bars while two more hung from each side. They stared silently until it had passed and they could no longer hear the gurgle of the motor.
"Hey, guys?" Neiko asked hesitantly.
"Yeah?" Yusuke asked.
"Did you just see three monkeys go by on a motorcycle?"
"Yep."
"Good."
There was silence for another moment, then Kuwabara looked around nervously.
"You know, maybe we should get inside. I mean, with the lion, and the monkeys, and the bats, and the stampede, and the hunter...it might be safer inside. Especially since we can't kill these guys," he said.
"So, are you volunteering your house for demolishing next?" Yusuke asked sarcastically.
Kuwabara paled. "On second thought, right here is good too," he said.
Yusuke laughed and picked up the dice.
"Yeah, whatever Kuwabara," he said as he rolled.
They all watched anxiously as the dice stopped on a three and a one, totaling four, and Yusuke's black elephant moved four spaces down the board. They held their breaths as the sinister words appeared and Yusuke read them out loud.
"Their boisterous laughing does provoke; in this adventure they are no joke. Crap, now what?" he said, straitening and looking around cautiously.
An echoing, skin curling laugh echoed from the ally behind the vine covered apartment complex. The group stood their ground, and peered cautiously over to it.
"Run," Yusuke said, taking a step back. He knew from experience with the lion that he couldn't kill these things, and he didn't like the thought of being attacked by something he couldn't kill.
Three figures bolted out of the darkness towards them, laughing sinisterly.
"RUN!!!" Yusuke shouted again, this time taking Keiko's hand and running full force. The other's were soon behind them.
"What are those things?!" Kuwabara panted.
"Hyenas!" Neiko yelled over her shoulder at him.
The eerie laughing of the hyenas grew louder as they closed in on their prey. Yusuke searched the streets frantically for a place to hide. Then, as they turned a corner, the bright red lights of the 'Target' sign came into view.
"Come on!" he shouted, "We'll lose them in there!"
They ran for all they were worth through the parking lot. Once or twice one of them almost tripped, only to be caught and yanked back to their feet by the members of the group closest to them.
This particular Target store was old and in disrepair. The automatic doors didn't work, and so customers had to do it the old fashioned way and actually reach out a hand and pull the doors opened. Needless to say, no one wants that much exertion when entering a store, and so this wasn't the most popular store in town, which was good because it left less people for the hyenas to decide to chase once the group was inside.
Hiei made it through the almost empty parking lot to the door first. He tugged it opened and bolted inside. Yusuke grabbed the door next and held it opened while the others ran inside. Finally, he threw himself into the store, pulling the door shut behind him.
The hyenas had never seen glass before, and the first one ran full force into it. With a startled yelp it jumped back, circling the clear force field suspiciously. The other two hyenas rammed their heads into the reinforced glass doors as well before they were satisfied that they could not go through it. With one last laughing cry, the hyenas turned and left to chase a car that was backing out of its space in the parking lot.
The group sighed in relief and relaxed, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Neiko all sinking to the floor in exhaustion.
"Good thing that isn't a 'push' door," Yusuke said.
Neiko's eye's widened as she looked up into the parking lot again.
"They might not have been able to get in, but I think he can!" she cried, pointing.
They all turned to look and jumped to their feet when they say the hunter walking towards them from the parking lot.
"Shit," Yusuke swore, taking a few steps back, along with the rest of the group.
A hyena ran up to the hunter, followed by the other two, ready to bite his leg off. But he calmly pointed his rifle down and blew the wild dog's head off. The hyena fell to the ground, dead, and the other two ran off whimpering.
"No fair! How come he can kill them and we can't?!" Kuwabara cried.
"Because both the hyena and the hunter were from the game," Neiko pointed out.
"Oh," was all Kuwabara said.
"We should go hide," Keiko said quietly.
"Never," Hiei spat.
"Oh, and you think it would be more dignifying to get your head splattered all over the wall like that hyena?" Neiko cried.
Hiei sighed. She was right. He hatted that she was right. But she was. He couldn't kill the hunter, but the hunter could kill him. That didn't make his chances too promising.
"Fine, we'll hide," he said in almost a whisper, and the six of them all darted off find a hiding place.
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Sorry I made that big deal about the whole contest thing when it wasn't even in this chapter. Oh, well, it will be in the next one. So, hope you enjoyed, and don't hate me for the cliffy, or the shortness, I just don't have any more time to write tonight. Please review! ^_^