Fighting Back 2
Chapter 9: Release Me... But Stay Away
"Tori?"
Hiei emerged in front of the house, hearing screaming inside. He blinked.
"Who..."
He walked up to the door and opened it, peering inside to see two people race by, a twelve-year-old girl and a seventeen-year-old boy, yelling something about a remote. He entered, curiously watching them. Both froze when they saw him.
"Who the hell are you?" snarled the boy. Hiei glared back with as much intensity.
"I'm looking for someone important," he said.
"You won't find anyone like that in this house, dude," said the little girl, "And why are your eyes red?"
"I don't have time for this..." muttered Hiei, storming past them and up the stairs, ignoring the yells of the boy.
He closed his eyes. 'Her aura... it's here...'
He opened a door to see Tori huddled on the floor, crying, with another boy bent worriedly over her.
"Tori..." He snarled at the boy and pushed him away from her. "What'd you do to her?"
"Who are you?" snapped the guy, jumping to his feet.
Hiei opened his mouth to answer, but he heard Tori's voice behind him.
"H-Hiei?"
He turned back to her.
"Yes?"
She stared at him with wide, fearful eyes. Hiei cocked his head slightly, confused. Why was she afraid of him?
"What're you doing here?" she sobbed, "Why are you real? Why couldn't you just stay a dream?"
Hiei blinked.
"Tori, I've been real. It's HIM who's a dream," he pointed to the boy, "As is the rest of this world. Your mind has recreated this illusion from your unstable condition. I've come to release you from it."
"Why..." her shoulders racked, "This can't be a dream... no... maybe I'm just hallucinating that YOU'RE here! Maybe I was imagining the mark, too!"
"The mark?"
"Damn right, your stupid mark stayed on my neck!"
"I can't help that, you're mine, even in your dreams."
Tori fell back against her wall, crying. "Why..."
Riku stood up.
"Listen, jackass, I dunno who you think you are, but you can't come in and make my girlfriend cry without answering to me first!" He took a fighting stance.
"Girlfriend? Please," said Hiei, "What happened when you tried to kiss her?"
Riku glared. "That's none of your..."
"You got electrocuted, and do you wanna know why?"
"Why, then?"
"Because that mark prevents any other male from laying his lips on her except me. The demonic energy I put into it when I bit her creates an invisible forcefield around her that prevents such activity."
Riku growled.
"That's a lie."
"You saw it work for yourself, human. Don't test me, especially when it comes to my mate."
Suddenly, Riku began to emit blue light from his hands.
"No, I'd suggest that YOU don't test ME."
Hiei rolled his eyes.
"So what? I've seen that trick before..." He emitted flames from his own hands, "AND I know how to use it properly."
Riku glared and looked at Tori.
"So you DID go with another man..."
"No, Riku, I... he..."
"Well, I think now that you deserve to have that dream of yours fulfilled."
"Riku? What're you doing?"
"Say goodbye to everything and everyone you love!" Riku pressed both of his hands down into the floor and created an explosion, causing the floor to fall through. Hiei grabbed Tori in his arms and jumped down through the hole to prevent himself from losing his footing.
He looked around to see Riku dart through the door into the living room, and Tori's eyes widened as she heard another explosion outside and her sister scream in pain.
"PIPSQUEAK!" she shrieked, thrashing out of Hiei's arms and running to the next room.
Riku stood, panting hard, laughter emitting from his mouth as he stood over her sister's body. Her parents' car sat outside, flaming up.
"YOU SICK BASTARD!" yelled her brother, running for him.
Tori ran out into the ruins of her house, screaming at him.
"TAYLOR! STAY AWAY! PLEASE, RUN!"
Riku snagged him in a sphere of blue light, raising him up off the ground.
"You see, Tori, the pain of not being able to love the person you care about most? You will suffer as I am now. If I can't have you, then you don't deserve to be happy, either!"
He pressed his hand into a fist, and Tori screeched as her brother roared in pain. When Riku released, he fell from the air into a pile on the ground, never to move again.
"RIKU!" She ran forward, but Hiei pulled her back. She snarled and dug her growing fangs into his arm to release herself and bolted for Riku, her claws sprouting and tail forming.
Riku used his other hand to fling a burst of blue energy at her, but Hiei jumped in between them and punched through the attack, dissipating it.
"Tori," he said, putting his arms out and catching her before she could reach Riku, "This is all an illusion... just concentrate. Remember Yusuke's pranks? Kurama helping you with your math homework? Kuwabara and Yusuke fighting constantly? Remember Kagome, your best friend? Remember the fun WE had together, just you and me? How I wouldn't let you go to the market, but you did anyway? THAT is the world you live in, THAT is real."
Tori sobbed against his shoulder, nodding at his words. Slowly, the world faded into darkness, until only the little bed chamber of her room was left. Riku stood, glowering in the corner as he faded away.
"Tori... why didn't you stay with me?" he said, "I loved you so much..."
Tori put her head down.
"You killed my family... how could I love you after that?"
"I killed your family because you left me, Tori."
Hiei stood up.
"Just shut up, you're no longer wanted here."
Riku glared and looked at Tori. "Tori..."
She snarled at him.
"Sayonara, murderer."
Hiei took his sword and sliced through the last of the illusion, watching it disintegrate forever.
Tori sat on the bed of her mind chamber, drying her eyes. Hiei sat next to her and pulled her into his arms, but she quickly squirmed out and sat back against the wall, avoiding him.
Hiei sighed, "What'd I do this time?"
Tori looked at him.
"Who was that woman I saw you with? Do you really think you can just win me back like that after cheating on me?"
"Tori, I didn't..."
"You saw what happened with Riku, didn't you? You're gonna drop me and leave me with yet another broken heart to skip off with whoever the hell that was!"
"Tori..."
"Well, good riddance! I don't give a flying fu-"
Hiei snarled and pinned her against the wall roughly.
"TORI! I just came in here, risked my sanity talking to all of your personalities, and went into your little fantasy world JUST to save your goddamn life! DON'T even tell me I'm gonna leave you! If I really didn't care, I wouldn't have bothered, do you get it now?"
With that speech done, he yanked her into a hungry, bruising kiss, seeming to regain his composure enough to pull away softly and murmur against her lips, "Do you get it now?"
Tori sat in flat shock. Hiei's roaring lecture had shaken the nerve out of her. All she could do was nod to prevent him from going off again.
"I don't think of Mukuro in that way, and I can't explain why she did what she did, but I'm sorry you took it the wrong way. I never thought she'd pull something like that, I strictly told her that you were the one in my life, but she did it anyway."
Tori nodded again.
"So, will you come out?"
She nodded again.
"For God's sake, Tori, say something."
Tori shakily stood up. "What's there to say? Let's go find out what damage you've done by letting all six of them out."
Hiei blinked.
"What..."
Victoria was walking back in by the time they came out, sighing.
"There, now she can't take control again..." she glared at Tori, "Unless SOMEONE decides to conk out on duty!"
"Would ya give it a rest already? You KNOW I have a good reason! Besides, Ms. Escape Artist, why didn't YOU pick the lock and get out like you always do?"
"Because YOU didn't sound an alarm!"
"Like there IS one for suspecting your mate cheating on you!"
"There should be! You own this place, MAKE one!"
"All of you, back in your rooms NOW! Or you're going out into the great beyond! MOVE IT!"
The other five hurried back into their doors, closing them. Victoria stood, watching the two.
"So this is the new guy?"
"You've seen him before, don't act like it's new. It's been six stinkin' years, anyway."
Victoria sighed. "I know... but Yami..."
"No, I can't go to anyone else now, and especially not back to Yugi. If you want Yami, then find a way to teleport yourself into Yugi's mind, don't gripe at me about it."
"I know, you insensitive brat. See you whenever."
She walked to her room, closing the door. Tori locked the chambers with the keys and hung them on the wall.
By now, Hiei had teleported out while the ligress transformed back into Tori. She sat up, picking vines off her head.
"Ouch..." she muttered.
"You ok there, sport?" asked Yusuke, putting a hand on her head. Tori nodded.
"Yep, just tired."
"Having your energy used by a big cat would do that to you, I suppose, as would not sleeping for three days," said Kurama.
"TORI!" Kagome tackled her to the ground. Tori gasped for breath. "I thought we'd never see you again!"
Tori finally pried herself free and stood, suddenly falling backwards again onto her butt.
"Whoa... I don't think I can walk anymore..."
Kurama frowned.
"Hiei was in there a bit too long. Your semicircular canals probably just need a bit of rest."
"What does my balance have to do with his Jagan probing my head?"
"When people are under the Jagan's influence, it directly affects their balance so they can't run away. A neat little trick, but damaging if used too long."
"So... what you're saying is..."
"If Hiei had been in there about five minutes longer, you wouldn't have been able to stand up without help for a week."
"Fabulous... so how long right now?"
"Right now... you'll need a night at most."
"So, let's set up camp, then," said Kuwabara.
"Damn that Naraku," snarled Inuyasha, "I hate it when he uses these puppet things. Annoyed me in the past, and they still annoy me now."
They went back towards the forest and set up sleeping bags among the trees. Kurama recommended Tori sleep on the ground to help her balance heal.
Tori took the sleeping bag off her backpack and unrolled it on the ground, snuggling down into it. She'd forgotten how comfortable these things were...
Suddenly, she felt a small thump on the ground, and she opened her eyes to see Hiei's looking back into hers. He was lying beside her on the ground.
Smiling, she felt him nuzzle his head into her neck. She unzipped her sleeping bag and pulled him in next to her, giggling quietly. Hiei smirked and slid in, pulling the zipper shut behind him and resuming his activity of finding the right spot on her neck to put his head.
She sighed contentedly, feeling his pyro warmth fill the small space surrounding their bodies. Hiei held her tightly in his arms, murmuring almost silently, "You are mine, Tori... and have been for six years. I won't so easily relinquish what belongs to me, so I'd suggest you make any thoughts of leaving me scarce... and fast."
Tori opened her eyes and looked at him questioningly. His stern glare broke into a smirk and he kissed her, pulling her body into his.
Sleep claimed them both as the stars and moon revolved above their heads in the neverending cycle of astrological phases.
CHAPTER TITLE PREVIEW: The Villains Unveiled
