Summery; Warning; Disclaimer: See First Chapter.
I'm on a roll! Be warned, there's a lemon in my next chapter. Please tell me if you think I should bump the rating up again - I don't want to be banned or have the story deleted.
lilxangelxsweetz and Wolfie: First cameo! I'll try to get you an a couple more, 'kay?
Please review if you read. Ideas, comments, suggestions, votes on couples, and guesses about stalker is always welcome.
"I didn't mean for you to wake so early," Renkotsu looked at the two teenagers, as they stood yawning in the main room.
"Nah," Hiten shook his head, trying to clear it. "I gotta get home early anyway, before Uncle Ginta gets there and eats everything in sight, and the storm hits."
"And I didn't want to keep sleeping after the two of you were gone," Tori added, and hugged her brother. "I'll miss you, Renkotsu. Come back soon, please."
"Of course," he nodded, opening the door. "I'll call when I arrive, all right? Be careful, Tori."
"Duh," she grinned, and locked the door behind him. Looking at Hiten, she shrugged. "So? What do you want for breakfast?"
"I dunno," he shrugged, and looked out at the dark sky. "You can't even see the moon or stars, it's so cloudy out. I'm thinking the sooner I leave, the better. You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not," Tori shook her head, "I don't want you to get stuck in the storm. We're supposed to get a load of snow – the weathercasters aren't sure how much yet."
"Hm," Hiten looked around nervously, "I really don't want to leave you alone right now, Tori. I'm inclined to leave a message for Uncle Ginta and tell him to just not wait for me."
"You only see him a few times a year," she prodded him, "I'll be fine, okay? Please, don't stay just because of me. I don't mind, really. If you're gonna beat the storm, though, you better hurry."
"All right," he said reluctantly, and headed back to his room to get dressed.
"Call me if anything happens, even if you don't think it's important," he ordered her, as he got ready to leave. "And call me tonight, just to be safe."
"Yes, dad," she nodded, grinning teasingly. "Calm down, Hiten. Worry about yourself some, okay? And be careful driving."
"You have enough food and stuff, right?" he continued, as she tried to get him out the door.
"Yes, Hiten," she nodded, "Renkotsu stocked up this morning, apparently. I checked. Please, I don't want you caught in a storm, all right? Be safe."
"Same to you," he inclined his head in defeat, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he rushed out the door. Rubbing her cheek in wonderment, she double-locked the door, and picked up Kirara.
"Looks like it's just you, me, and the computer," Tori kidded, but looked around anxiously.
"That's quite a storm," Inuyasha noticed, as they looked out the windows. "Looks like a white-out. Hope no one's stuck driving in this shit."
"Watch your mouth," Sesshomaru cautioned him, as Rin giggled.
"I hear much worse that that, Sess," she reminded him, and went back to her book. Inuyasha turned to the refrigerator, and took out another pack of ramen.
"Anyone want some?"
"I fail to see how you can eat that disgusting stuff," Sesshomaru sniffed, and retreated back to his bedroom. To his surprise, Tori had logged on.
LordYoukai: Hello.
JigsawPuzzle: Hey! I'm glad someone's on – I'm lonely.
LordYoukai: Ah, yes, NoCanDo informed me last night.
JigsawPuzzle: So, watchin' the snow?
LordYoukai: Indeed. There's quite a lot of it.
JigsawPuzzle: I just checked – we're supposed to get several feet. Hey, hold on, the phone's ringing. Just a sec.
LordYoukai: All right.
"Hello?" Tori picked up the phone. "Oh, hey, Hakkaku! No, Hiten went back home earlier this morning to meet his uncle there. I hope he got home before the storm kicked in…No, I'm fine, thanks. I've got plenty of stuff…Thanks for calling – oh, I've got a beep. Talk to ya later, Hakkaku."
Switching over from call-waiting, Tori answered the other line. "Renkotsu? Where are you…Austria? What the heck…it's storming there, too? Oh, you're stuck? Well, it's storming a lot here…Yeah, I'm good. Call me before you get back in the air, 'kay? 'Kay, bye. Love ya too, bro."
Hanging it up, Tori grabbed the portable extension as she returned to her laptop.
JigsawPuzzle: Sorry 'bout that. Bro called to check up – he's stuck in the airport at Austria, thanks to the storm.
GreatDog: that suxs
LordYoukai: What are you doing on here?
GreatDog: I'm done eating, LY, and now I've moved on to being bored. Is GM on here?
JigsawPuzzle: Nope, not that I can see. You can stay and chat with us, though.
LordYoukai: Shut up.
GreatDog: that's no way to talk to a lady, LY
LordYoukai: We're not being verbal.
JigsawPuzzle: If you guys are just gonna bicker, I'll get off. I've got work to do, you know.
LordYoukai: Fine.
lilxangelxsweetz: hey whats up? so bored...
JigsawPuzzle: Oh, are you new?
lilxangelxsweetz: yeah...ive got a storm too...hope i dont lose power...
LordYoukai: As do I.
JigsawPuzzle: Same here.
GreatDog: sorry JP. so, watchin' the storm too?
JigsawPuzzle: What else? They're saying this is the biggest storm to hit us in decades. Pretty neat, huh?
LordYoukai: I suppose.
JigsawPuzzle: Gotta love that enthusiasm, right GD?
GreatDog: yeah, i know
LordYoukai: Bite me.
GreatDog: don't tempt me!
Wolfie: Ha! I threw her off...finally! She's been logging in and out all day...
GreatDog: Huh?
Wolfie: Oh, sorry, my friend's over - lilxangelxsweetz. Constantly on...
JigsawPuzzle: Oi. Don't you two ever stop fighting?
LordYoukai: When we're sleeping, perhaps.
JigsawPuzzle: What about eating?
LordYoukai: Nope.
GreatDog: nope
JigsawPuzzle: Hey, I just realize – I have met your dad before, LY.
LordYoukai: Where?
JigsawPuzzle: My bro works for him. I went to a business party with him a year or two ago. I just remembered. Talk about coincidences.
GreatDog: there are no coincidences, only happy accidents
LordYoukai: You're quoting again. Stop it.
GreatDog: you ruin all my fun, ly
JigsawPuzzle: Wow, the storm's really picking up, guys. Uh-oh, the lights just fli
LordYoukai: Hello? Where'd you go?
GreatDog: she's gone; not logged on
LordYoukai: Tori? Tori, are you there? It's not funny!
"Sesshomaru, the wind just knocked out a couple power generators at the city's power source," Rin told him, peering over his shoulder. "Maybe Tori's section was affected as well."
"You mean she's stuck alone, without power, during a storm with a stalker after her?" Sesshomaru demanded, getting up, "I'm going after her."
"No fucking way!" Inuyasha protested, jumping up from his computer, "Sesshomaru, you've only been to her house once! How the fuck are you gonna navigate in a white-out?"
"I'll manage," he said stubbornly, shoving his siblings aside. "Get away, or I'll lock you both in a closet until I leave."
"But, Sesshomaru…" Rin pleaded, "Please, Sesshomaru! It's a death trap!"
"No more so than Tori's situation," he muttered, and Inuyasha had to agree with him.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Tori swore, as the power and heat suddenly shut down. Looking around in the dark, she quickly rebooted her laptop and shut it off, not wanting to waste battery.
"Kirara?" she whispered, feeling the floor. To her relief, her cat jumped onto her shoulder, mewing.
"Damn it…" she continued to swear – an area she was quite talented in, thanks to her cousin and Hiten. Due to the storm, there wasn't even any light coming from outside – not that there would be, since at six in the morning, it was still semi-dark outside during normal circumstances.
Fumbling around in the kitchen, Tori soon found a flashlight and spare batteries for it. Turning it on, she shivered when she realized how creepy the flat looked in the dark.
"Damn, it's cold, isn't it, Kirara?" she asked rhetorically, going to her room. The flat quickly turned cold after the heat was gone, and Tori pulled on heavier jeans, thick socks with sneakers, and a green sweatshirt over a white turtleneck and thermal shirt.
Wrapping Kirara in a scarf – luckily, the tiny cat was more than willing to snuggle inside Tori's sweatshirt as well – Tori flopped onto the couch, turning on a battery-powered CD player/radio, trying to get a signal. To her bad luck, everything was completely out.
Almost thirty minutes later, she jumped almost a foot in the air when she heard a knocking on the door.
"It can't be Hiten or anyone else…" she thought, grabbing one of Renkotsu's golf clubs he had left around, and creeping to the door. Peering out the peephole, she gasped in surprise, and flung the door open.
"Sesshomaru?" she exclaimed, dragging him inside and locking the door again.
"Took…you long…enough," he stuttered, stomping his feet.
"What the hell're you doing here?" Tori demanded, leading him to the couch, "You could have frozen! Why'd you come?"
"I was…worried," Sesshomaru said, managing a bit of dignity even while his face was blue. Tori inspected him with a worried look.
"Take your coat off," she ordered, rubbing his hands in-between hers.
"Why?"
"Because you're almost frozen, idiot," she informed him, and stood back up. "Don't take this the wrong way, but…strip to your underwear, Sesshomaru. I'm gonna run a lukewarm bath, to get your nerves warmed back up. It can't be hot – if you go from freezing to hot immediately, it'll permanently damage your muscles. Just do it, please."
Sesshomaru eyed her suspiciously as she rushed to the bathroom, and then sighed when he heard water running. Realizing the wisdom of her words, he heaved another sighed, and gasped at the sudden pain in his chest.
Grimacing, he walked into the bathroom clad only in his boxers. To his slight surprise, Tori barely glanced at his beautifully-chiseled body, and instead took his hand.
"In," she ordered, and helped him into the bathtub. Sitting on the rim, she continued rubbing his hands in-between hers. "I took several medical classes my last year of high school," she explained, "At the community college, just for the hell of it. Guess it's a good thing, huh?"
"Indeed," he nodded, relaxing into the water.
"Don't fall asleep," she automatically ordered, "So, why did you risk coming here?"
"You suddenly stopped writing," he told her, "You never do. And I knew you were alone…Hiten told me last night. And when Rin told me about the generators freezing, I was afraid that the stalker might take advantage of this…opportunity."
"I don't think even he'd be crazy enough," Tori informed him, and giggled. "I just realized what this looks like."
"It took you long enough," he said wryly.
"But I'm glad you were insane enough to come," she continued, "I was getting really creeped out. Tell me when you've got feeling back anywhere, okay?"
"My hands are tingling," Sesshomaru said, sitting up a little straighter, and Tori rubbed harder.
"When they start to hurt, put them in the water," she said, and he nodded. After a few more seconds, he slid his hands from hers and immersed in the bathwater.
"Does everything else have feeling?" she asked, honestly worried. A thought crossed Sesshomaru's mind, and he smirked.
"Well, my feet are fine, but…"
"Sesshomaru!" she shrieked in surprise, guessing what he was insinuating, "I should have left you to freeze, you pervert. If you're feeling better, get out and I'll get you some spare clothes, all right?"
"Fine," he nodded. After she closed the bathroom door behind her, he stood up and dried off with a towel. Taking the clothes she offered through a barely-opened door, he dressed himself in layers of clothing, and met her in the hallway.
With the flashlight lighting up her face, Sesshomaru thought she looked unearthly.
"What?" she asked, perplexed at his odd look.
"Nothing," he shook his head, "Is there anything to eat?"
"I think," she nodded, "Stuff that doesn't have to be cooked, I hope you mean. Yeah, I think we've got plenty of that."
After raiding the cabinets and digging out some jerky, the pair sat on the couch with Kirara curled up on Tori's neck, in silence.
"So…"
"What?" Sesshomaru asked, as Tori trailed off.
"I hope Hiten and the others are okay as well," she frowned in the glow of the flashlight, "I mean, this is one hell of a storm."
"I wonder how long it's supposed to last," he said thoughtfully. To her surprise, he suddenly put his arm around her and pulled her close. "Body heat," he explained, "The best source of heat."
"I guess," she nodded, and relaxed her head on his shoulder. Sesshomaru remained silent for several more minutes, before he listened to the little voice in his head again.
Sesshomaru's up to something...lemon ahead, people!