Kiyoshi-neko - I've actually seen the fire thing quite a bit; never had a chance to use it until now, though. ^.^ Hehe, it's okay, I like long reviews; makes it look like I have more of them...>.>;; I love the plant thing myself; I was snickering to myself when I wrote it and scared my mom. Fun. You grew your bangs out too?? That's freaky! O.o *pokes* Did you streak your hair blonde? You...you found a mistake! *faints*twitch* It's geometry, I swear, it's warping my mind...*twitchtwitch* I had a dumb moment during the rhyming game - I couldn't think of any more rhymes for Becca and Kuwabara to break Yusuke's tie with. V.V I had to ask my mom. Sad. I actually honestly thought the ending sucked, but hey, at least someone liked it! ^.^; Nah, I don't plan on Becca and Hiei to get together...maybe let her have some sort of higher understanding of him, hence a more tolerating and companionable bond with him, but no romance. (That would be Kurama's job. ^.~) *puppy dog eyes* But I like long reviews...really...
I like this chapter too.
I slammed my thumb in my truck door.
It's swollen and purple.
Good thing I like purple.
Here's where my wonderful rating kicks in.
The next thing I knew someone was gently shaking my shoulder and telling me to get up like they would a little child. Well, I was extremely good at faking sleep, so I kept my breathing even and ignored him. Why? Because I was so lazy I didn't want to walk around all day, that's why! I realized that the cloak I had held in my arms was gone, but that was actually a good thing for the people around me, else I'd have buried my face in it and then...let's just say they'd never get me up.
The shaking got harder as I let my senses become more aware. Yusuke was talking to Kuwabara, who was yawning, and Kurama was the one that was shaking my shoulder. The fire was still going, and I could detect no sign of Hiei.
"What's the matter, Kurama; can't wake her up?" Yusuke asked with a chuckle.
"No; I hope she's okay."
"Let me try." Oh crap! Adolescent boy! My defenses had fallen before to one of my best friend's older brother. I mumbled something and stretched slightly to bury my face in my arm. There. Now they couldn't see me smile if I had to.
He poked my side, and I bit my tongue so hard it almost bled. He blew in my ear, and I bit my lip. He pulled at my hair, but not hard, so I didn't do anything. He clapped his hands next to my ear, and I shifted to hide a jump, but I didn't get up, so he continued. I somehow made it through a few more tests before he gave up.
Kurama's hand went back to my shoulder, and he shook me again. I decided to wake up. I inhaled deeply and yawned, then rolled back slightly to rub my eyes. I put on my glasses and sat up with another yawn.
"Are you okay?" Kurama asked, eyebrows knit in concern.
I sniffed and blinked. "I'm fine. Why?"
"Well, we were trying to wake you up, and-"
I giggled. "I'm sorry, I should've told you - I'm a heavy sleeper. Sometimes it takes me awhile to wake up," I apologized with a smile.
Kurama smiled in visible relief. "Well, that's nice to hear." He stood up, and I shuffled back from the fire a bit. "Did you sleep well?"
I knew that was coming! If I lied, then he'd wonder why I'm so tired today. If I told the truth, he'd ask me about it. So I compromised. "Sorta." I glanced at my watch; it was seven in the morning. Wow - I'd slept for four straight hours after...the cloak. I looked around; no one had one, and I vaguely remembered Hiei wearing one. But he seemed so...distant. Oh well; appearances can be deceiving. That put me at roughly six or seven hours of sleep, I figured. "So...where are we going?" I asked, stretching my hands over my head.
"We didn't tell you? We didn't tell you!" Yusuke said, blinking in surprise. "We're going to a portal that'll take us from the Makai to Earth so we can take you home."
I forced down a snarl and swallowed hard. "What does it look like?" I pushed out.
"Well, it actually doesn't look like anything. You can't even see them," he replied.
"So, a person could just be transported from one world to another and not know it?" Now he had my attention.
"Yeah. That happens a lot," Kuwabara said. "But they're usually in remote places, so not that people or demons get through them. The ones in highly populated areas to either world you have to cut with something sharp."
"Then how do you guys know where they are?" Could we end up in Antarctica?
"We actually don't, but Kurama and Hiei do. They live -used to live- here and-" I couldn't help it. My eyes bugged. Kurama and Hiei...were they demons?! They looked human...and oh my God...I ate food cooked by a demon...I was gonna die... "and...you didn't know they were demons, did you?" Yusuke finished flatly, slapping himself in the face.
No time for lies now... "N-no."
"Smooth move, Urameshi," Kuwabara growled. "Might as well tell her the whole story now."
Whole story? I don't like the way he said that. I put on a help-the-maiden-in-distress look.
"Well, it started a year or so ago. I jumped out in front of a car to save a kid's life and got killed in the process..."
So Yusuke told me everything. Kuwabara interrupted to add details about himself. Kurama interrupted to tell me what really happened when Yusuke got too carried away with himself. Hiei, who had brought back rabbits, looked like he could throttle all three of them. The story took so long we were walking again as they talked.
It was interesting, to say the least.
"-and here we are," Yusuke concluded gallantly.
I chuckled and applauded. "Well, that clears up a lot. Thanks."
"Well, that took long enough - we're almost there," Kurama said dryly. Suddenly he stopped seconds before a blade erupted from the forest. Lots and lots of demons started to surround us. Uh-oh. "Hiei, get her out of here!"
"What?!" came a furious voice behind us. Or was he above us...?
"You're the fastest and only one with a katana!"
Suddenly someone had me in their arms, and I was gone. I closed my eyes, hoping fervently that it was Hiei. Just as suddenly I was on my feet facing Hiei, who was facing a blank area in front of him. His katana flashed briefly in the light before stabbing the air in front of us. I was no expert with portals, but I knew what happened next wasn't supposed to happen.
The area in front of Hiei turned milk-white in a large oval shape, and it actually looked like a portal. But Hiei's arms were shaking, and he looked like he couldn't move. The beige oval suddenly got cracks in it, and black seeped out from the lines. It leaked down the white as though it were liquid, and the portal began to disappear where the black touched it. It melted back into scenery - I could see trees and grass again in the holes. Then, just like that, the portal was gone.
Hiei still hadn't moved.
"Hiei?" I asked uncertainly. I didn't like it. I reached out grabbed a hold of his shoulders. A yelp tore from my throat. It felt like getting hit by a strong hot wire fence, only without the breaks in the current. This probably hurts him more than it does me. I pulled the short demon towards me and away from the portal. His arms dropped limply to his sides, and I gasped as he fell against me. I staggered slightly in surprise, then hooked my elbows under his armpits. Hope demons wear deodorant. That was the only thought I could think as I stared in dumb shock as a sword swished through the air right where he had been standing moments before.
"Hiei!" I yelled. "Wake up!" The new demon turned to face me, and I pulled us back slightly. "Now is not the time for a nap!" My movement made Hiei's foot move, and if I thought he was heavy before, it was nothing compared to what it was now. I fell to my knees just as the sword swung in arc towards my neck. The female demon walked up to me, and as she did, I thought more desperately than I ever had in a pop quiz. I covered Hiei's ears with my hands.
My voice was only a note or two higher than Kurama's, low for a female but making for a nice alto. Now, this normally had nothing to do with one's screaming ability, but it seemed to with me. It was physically impossible for me to scream. I could manage a somewhat high shriek for a moment, but the best I ever got for a scream was a 'yell with a bite,' as my mom had said. I knew fully grown men who could scream in a higher pitch than myself.
Which was why I nearly pissed my pants when a blood-curling scream erupted from my mouth.
It would've made my always-screaming sister proud. The female demon hesitated and a few birds flew out of the nearby trees, obviously as startled by my outburst as much as I was. That was the only phenomenal thing that happened - the ground didn't shake, the air didn't pick up, and lightning didn't flash in the sky. The demon recovered herself and came closer. My voice rose a notch in stark fear as she lifted her sword. I had been screaming longer than I thought humanly possible without pausing for air when something long and thorny wrapped around the demoness. Blood flew, and she crumpled into pieces. My voice cracked then, and I began coughing, removing one of my hands from Hiei's ears to cover my mouth.
"Becca! Are you okay?" Kurama, asked wild-eyed and bleeding. I continued coughing but nodded. "Hiei..." he said quietly, green eyes wavering in concern. I shrugged, giving him an uncertain look as my coughing died down.
Moments later Yusuke and Kuwabara joined us. I inhaled deeply just as Yusuke moved forward towards the portal. "Stop! That's what happened to Hiei!" I yelled hoarsely. They stared at us then. Hiei was leaning on my chest, head right below and tucked against my chin, and the rest of his body laying across my folded legs and the ground. My arms were wrapped around him and clasped on his chest..
Why were they looking at me like I was doing something taboo?.
"I wish I had a camera," Yusuke muttered.
"That's not important now, Yusuke," a worried Kurama said. "What happened to him?".
"Dunno. It was like he was stuck. The portal..." I went on to explain. The three boys looked horrified.
Kurama and Kuwabara came over to me as Yusuke pointed his fingers at the portal. "Spirit Gun!!".
A ball of yellow energy shot out of his fingers, hit the portal, and ricocheted back towards him. He barely had wits to move as it barreled at him, past him, and disappeared.
"Houston, we have a problem," I murmured.
Yusuke looked at a watch on his wrist and pushed a button. "Botan? Oh! Koenma. What's going on? The portals are broken!"
"Something's crashed them, Yusuke. They're all down. Nothing and no one can get through them. All who've tried have either died or are seriously injured. We're looking into it as we speak. I take it you got the girl?" Yusuke nodded. "I'd send Botan to get her, but she's in a healer's clinic now for trying."
"So...what should we do?"
"Take her back to Genkai's, and we'll take care of her when we get the gateways fixed."
"Okay. Later." He pushed a button on his watch. "Well...without the gateways, it'll probably take two or three days to get to the temple. I think-"
Suddenly Hiei leapt to his feet, dragging me forward a bit before I let my hands go. His katana was firmly grasped in his hand even as he leaned back. "I bloody swear if you touch that fucking thing one more damn time I sure as hell won't pull you off!" I snapped so fast it took them all a few moments to sort it out.
Hiei hesitated, then sheathed his katana and stepped back. I heaved a sigh of relief.
I can honestly talk so fast my friends and sister can't understand me. My younger cousin and I have contests as to whose the fastest when we see each other. Loads of fun. Point? Yes, it is possible to talk so fast nobody can understand you, whether it's for fun, to confuse someone, or warn them. They WILL stop, not because they understood, but because they're trying to understand. I could become an expert in this area, ne?