(3-12-05) Thanks for your reviews everyone! I have over 220. I'm so happy! This chapter's short, so I'll post Chapter eleven... Probably on Monday. My birthday! March 14th!

It seems some of my punctuation is going missing... Whenever I cut off or interrupt a sentence with two dashes, it erases them. Also, my usual thing to show location change or passage of time seems to be gone. (An underlined dash). If you see missing dashes, do not tell me about it in a review. It will just make me feel like I have to export and edit the whole chapter, andI'll pelt you with flaming potatoes. I don't have time for that (editing, not pelting you with potatoes. I always have time to hurt someone).

CHAPTER TEN
Enter: Scheming Bitch

The phone ringing and an odd nagging in the back of her head woke Shadow up around noon on Saturday. She lay there for a minute, blinking, before she realized the nagging was Hiei's voice, "Pick up the phone, Shadow. It's me. Wake up, and pick up the goddamned phone.", and the phone was ringing. She slammed her hand on the object that dared to interrupt her sleep, put it to her ear, and said, "I see you survived the night."

"Yes, I did," Hiei's voice replied from the other side. "Kyoukan-san's letting me come home. You wanna come pick me up or am I walking?"

"Kyoukan?"

"Yeah. Captain Mouken Kyoukan-san, my second boss. You gonna come or do you want to sleep? I don't mind walking."

"Do you mind riding my bike? I'll get you if you don't mind."

"Fine. Whatever."

"I'll be there shortly, then."

"Okay."

They hung up. Shadow jumped up and darted upstairs, throwing on her motorcycle gear. As she ran by Ryu's door, she knocked and shouted, "I'M PICKIN' UP HIEI, BE BACK IN FIVE MINUTES!"

By the time he opened the door, he heard a motorcycle engine fading in the distance.

Hiei leaned on the edge of one of the officers' desks, watching him play cards with a colleague. Peering over their shoulders, he gave advice without their opponents seeing. Barely two minutes after he'd hung up the phone, Shadow came in the door. He smiled. She went to him and hugged him.

"C'mon. Is there anything you need to sign or anything before you leave?"

"Nope. Let's go."

"Ja mata ne, Hiei," the officers said. He nodded and followed Shadow out of the station and into the sunshine.

"Jeez. I hate prison," he muttered, breathing deeply. "Especially when it smells like ningens, their disgusting habits, and Karasu."

"Yeah. Welcome to the outside, where it smells like car exhaust, asphalt, and shit," Shadow said. "Hope you haven't eaten lately, I've got to get home in a minute and a half."

"Why?"

"I said five minutes, I meant five minutes. Hold on tight."

Hiei wrapped his arms around Shadow's middle. She flew out of the parking lot, bent low over the bike, dodging through traffic, until she reached home. Hiei lunged off the bike and was gone the second she stopped it. Grinning, she looked at her watch. Excellent. Five minutes, on the dot.

She'd returned to the living room and was sitting on the couch in her skanky leather with Ryu nearby looking uncomfortable when Hiei walked in. He stopped when he saw Ryu.

"Yech. What's he doing here, Shadow?"

"Parents kicked him out. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not like it matters."

"I'll leave if you want me to," Ryu said. "I mean... I'd like to stay. Shadow's a great cook and she's good at cards, not to mention she looks really sexy in that leather" Hiei turned a cold gaze on the boy and his eyes widened. "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yes," Hiei said, his voice matching his icy glare.

"It's okay, Ryu. I don't blame you," Shadow said. "I know I look great. You want me to go change so you don't have to be all tense like you are?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes. I'll go change." She got up. Hiei followed her upstairs. In her doorway, she paused and turned. "Can I help you?"

Hiei pressed his lips against hers. "I missed you," he said quietly. She grinned.

"I missed you too."

"Karasu was being an asshole. He wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't get any sleep."

Shadow chuckled a bit. "Go to bed, then."

He didn't move.

"You know, you got awfully offended at what Ryu said downstairs," she teased. Hiei frowned.

"So?"

"Why?"

Hiei shrugged. "Did it bother you?"

"Nah, it's kinda cute." She smiled. "But you can't bite off everyone's head when they say I'm attractive. They're bound to. I am."

"You're pretty full of yourself, if you ask me," he replied, smirking a bit. "Anyway, I kind of like having other people compliment you. It just makes me all the more pleased that you're mine."

Shadow smiled. "I'm yours, hm? Well, I'm happy to be..." She kissed him. Pulling away all too quickly, she grinned at the look on Hiei's face and shut her door. He let out a startled yelp.

"Shadow!"

"I'm changing!" she called back. "Leave a message!"

Hiei just groaned and walked away. He'd barely reached the top of the stairs when Shadow came flying out of her room, slid, and fell, ending up sitting on the floor behind him. He looked down.

"Problems?"

"You left! You weren't supposed to leave, you were supposed to stand there."

"I didn't get that memo!"

Shadow sighed. "We'll have to work on that."

"How about we work on it - whatever it is - when Ryu isn't here anymore," Hiei said in a lowered voice.

"Ah, yes. Forgot all about him."

Hiei rolled his eyes and went downstairs. Shadow trailed after him, complaining about him rolling his eyes at her. Downstairs, Ryu looked at the two, blinking, and examined Shadow's extremely baggy black outfit.

"So..." he started hesitantly in the silence. Shadow burst into song and ran away. Hiei sighed and kind of just... rolled... over the back of the couch, ending up lying with his head on the pillow. Ryu blinked, staring at him. When he didn't move for some time, the boy got up and went to his room.

Eclipse and Kurama, meanwhile, were having just as much fun. While Kurama sat in the garden he kept in the backyard, Eclipse was sleeping up in his room. Why she was in his room, he wasn't sure. He'd gone downstairs for breakfast, come back, and found her there. In the mean time, he was trying to figure out what to do today. He wasn't sure he could sit and watch TV all day, and that was surely what Eclipse planned to do (should she ever wake up, he added as an afterthought). Perhaps he'd go to Shadow's, as he did almost every weekend.

"They'll probably be all over each other, Shuuichi. You don't want to go there," Youko nagged. Ignoring him, the redhead got up and went inside to the phone. He dialed Shadow's number and waited for somebody to pick up.

Ring...

Hiei heard the phone ringing, but he didn't want to answer it.

Ring...

He wanted to sleep. It was probably Kyoukan, calling to make sure he made it home okay. Freak.

Ring...

Well if it was, he could call back later. If it's important to them, they always call back.

Ring...

Ryu came down the stairs and looked at Hiei. "The phone's ringing," he said helpfully.

"I know," Hiei said, voice muffled in the pillow.

"Oh." Pause.

Ring...

"You gonna answer it?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Who is it?"

"Don't know, don't care."

Ring...

"Oh." He waited another second, then went back upstairs.

Kurama sighed. Nobody was answering. Maybe Shadow had gone to get Hiei? He heard another ring, counting it as the seventh.

"Face it, Shuuichi. Hiei came home and now they're having sex."

"Would you SHUT UP, Youko! They aren't to that point in the relationship yet!"

"What makes you so goddam sure, stupid boy?"

"I'm the stupid ningen with the emotions, right? I understand them better than you."

Shadow flew in the front door, into the living room, over the couch, around it, and back in to pick up the phone in the dining room.

"If you want me to pose for porn, I'm gonna sic my husband on you. If you're selling something, come to my door; the weasels are hungry. If this is a wrong number, you'd better hang up. If this is Kurama, he'd better say so. If-"

"It's Kurama," the boy said quickly. Shadow smiled brightly.

"Hello! What do you want?"

"Why'd the phone ring so many times before you answered?"

"How many?"

"About eight."

"Oh. Well obviously nobody wanted to answer it, then."

"I just called to see if Hiei was home yet."

"Yes, he is. He's asleep on the couch."

"Oh."

"We're not having sex."

"That's good to know."

"Ryu's here."

"That's nice. Would you be having sex if he weren't?"

"Only if Hiei pounced on me and totally initiated the entire thing."

"Oh, that's reassuring," Youko hissed. "If Hiei wants sex, Shadow will comply. Demons can only hold their lust for so long, you know."

"SHUT UP, YOUKO!"

"Okay... Let's hope that doesn't happen, then," he replied.

"Not soon, at least," Shadow said. Kurama winced.

"I'm gonna forget I heard that."

"That'd probably be for the best."

There was a pause.

"So how's Eclipse doing?" Shadow asked.

"She's asleep."

"But... it's, like, something o'clock..."

"Yes, it's afternoon. I know."

"I'm surprised you haven't gone and dragged her out of bed."

"I did. She didn't wake up, so I put her back."

"Ah. If you want her to wake up, mention food."

"Well it's actually rather peaceful with her asleep. She's actually been pretty asleep since last night when we were watching a movie. I had to carry her upstairs and put her in her bed. Even you don't sleep that much."

"No. Only with Hiei." Up until now, her voice had been more or less a monotone, but after 'no', the evil grin was apparent in her voice.

"Would you stop saying such things! I know you're intentionally saying stuff like that to put thoughts and images in my mind and to pester Youko, so stop it!"

"But it's funny."

"Not it's not!"

"Yeah it is. And it's true." Pause. "Sort of." Pause. "I could sleep forever in his arms, but he doesn't sleep that long." Intentionally melodramatic sigh.

"Shadow... God..."

"Yes I am."

"Whatever. Look, I'm gonna go wake up Eclipse. Maybe we'll drop by later."

"Feel free. Maybe you can distract Ryu and me and Hiei can"

"Bye, Shadow," Kurama said, and hung up. Shadow frowned.

"Rude young man. What was he, raised in a barn?" She hung up and went to the living room doorway. She crawled into the room and slithered up the back of the couch like a snake, raising her upper body up without the use of her arms, and sneaking up to peek over the couch at Hiei. He was curled up on his side, sleeping peacefully. An evil grin appeared on her face and she slithered onto the back of the couch. Perching there like a cat, she reached down and jabbed Hiei in the side, in the sensitive spot below his ribs. He yelped and fell off the couch. Without his meager weight to counter Shadow's also meager weight, the couch was top-heavy and since Shadow wasn't concentrating on balance, it fell right over backwards. Shadow went flying and hit the wall with her legs up in the air. Hiei got up and stared at her, blinking a couple times, then righted the couch and climbed over it, waiting for her to fall off the wall. After a minute, she landed on the floor with a thud.

"Y'know I was already awake, right?" Hiei said dryly.

Shadow stared up at him. "You looked pretty darn asleep."

"I woke up when the phone was ringing. Listened to your conversation with Kurama..."

She turned slightly pink and smiled. "Really?"

"Yes. You could sleep forever in my arms, hm?"

"If you'd let me."

He paused. "Get rid of Ryu and feel free."

"But... What, am I just gonna tell him to leave?"

"Why not?"

"That's rude!"

"Since when do you care?"

Shadow blinked. "Good point." She got up. "I'll lie."

"Go for it."

Shadow grinned evilly. "What should I say? Hm..." She snapped her fingers and pointed at the couch. "Lay down and look sick!"

"What?"

"Lay down" She pushed him towards the couch. "close your eyes, look asleep. Look sick."

"I don't know how"

"Just do it."

Shrugging, Hiei lay down on the couch. Shadow threw a blanket over him, then tucked it tightly around him.

"Curl up and close your eyes. You're sick."

She darted upstairs and composed herself before knocking on Ryu's door. It opened.

"Oh, hey Shadow. What is it?"

"I think you should go home," she said.

"What? Why?"

"Hiei's not feeling so well, and it might be contageous, y'know? He doesn't really feel like having company an' all... Sorry."

"It's alright, I understand. I'll find someplace else to stay."

"I hope you're not offended."

"No, it's okay! To be honest, I don't want to be around him if he's sick either. I'll go to my friend's house or something."

Ten minutes later, Shadow was seeing Ryu out the front door. He'd used their phone to call a friend, and the said friend was now waiting for him outside the house. It was a girl, Shadow could tell that, but she couldn't tell who. Then Ryu was in the car, gone, and she shrugged, going to Hiei. He opened one eye to look up at her.

"Am I still sick?"

"Only if you really are," she said. He yawned.

"Not sick. Tired."

She smiled and lay next to him. "Sleep, then."

"Well?"

Ryu looked at the girl in the driver's seat, then looked away. "Y'know, Arisa-san, I... I don't think this is right."

"What do you mean? Ryu, you know it's right. Hiei Jaganshi is obviously hiding something, and so is that bitch Shadow. Once we find out what, we expose it and Shuuichi Minamino will want nothing to do with them anymore. He will be all mine."

Ryu looked out the window at the trees outside. Arisa had pulled off onto some little back road where nobody would find them (it was typically only used nowadays for teenagers to drive into the woods for privacy). She was waiting. He shifted nervously.

"I don't know..."

"Have you forgotten why you agreed to this?"

"No, Arisa-san. I haven't forgotten. But..."

"What did you find out? Tell me, or those photos will be plastered all over the internet."

Ryu sighed. "Well... When I got there yesterday... Hiei was in prison."

"Whoa, what? Why!"

"I don't know why."

"But you said on the phone"

"Yeah. He came home. He just had to spend the night."

Arisa smirked. "Well then, isn't that interesting... What else?"

Ryu shrugged. "Shadow's got really skanky tight leather. She doesn't seem in the least uncomfortable wearing it around Hiei."

"Hm... So there's a relationship there? Did you find anything to prove it?"

"I'm not sure there's anything between them. It's just how Shadow is. She's not afraid to flaunt what she's got."

Arisa snorted. "What's she got that I don't?"

A brain, Ryu thought sourly. Beauty without 50 pounds of make-up and diet pills. However, he just shrugged. Arisa was silent for a minute, then said, "What else? You came to school with them one day this week. You were at their house, but you didn't tell me anything. What happened then?"

The boy hesitated. Being on the wrong end of blackmail really sucked. "Um... Then?"

"Yes, Ryu. Something happened you don't want to tell me?"

"No, nothing happened."

"You know, maybe your mother would like to see those pictures..."

Ryu's eyes widened a bit. "No!"

"What happened? The truth."

"They... um... camped. In the forest. Sort of."

"Sort of? How do you 'sort of' camp?"

"Without a tent..."

"They slept on the ground?"

"Hiei... he, um... got real mad about something Eclipse said and stormed out... And Shadow followed him... And they weren't back by the time I fell asleep. The next morning, they were back, and Shuuichi was there too."

Arisa frowned. "So they went and had sex in the woods? That's creative."

"I don't think they had sex."

"Really? Sex is so much more damaging than just coming back, though." She shrugged. "Thank you, Ryu. You've been helpful. I expect you'll continue being helpful?"

"...I guess..."

"I knew I could count on you." She leaned over and kissed him.

(Ack. I feel unclean now. I'll leave their activities to your creative mind.)

I honestly did feel really disgusted after writing that last part... WHY DID I WRITE IT? I don't know.
I'm writing chapter eighteen right now. If I have 221 reviews now, on only nine chapters, how many will I have by the time I get to chapter eighteen? And I'm not sure how near I am to done... Chapter eighteen, believe it or not, is still only January. I have a good half a year to write! AGH!