Summery; Warning; Disclaimer: See First Chapter.

Wolfie: Yeah, I'd love to get that much snow too! I'm kinda surprised no one's asked me where they all live yet, but relieved - I have no clue! O.o Ah, well...heh-heh-heh...

lilxangelxsweetz: Hope ya like the lemon, even if it IS with Sesshomaru and Tori! (winks) You'll be getting something good veeeery soon, trust me. No, seriously, trust me! I'm the writer - I know, damn it!

Please review if you read. Comments, ideas, suggestion are welcome. If you haven't already, vote for your couple and guess who the stalker is.

"Is Sesshomaru back?" Tori wondered, as she heard someone pounding on the door. Bat once again in hand, she was shocked again – this time seeing Bankotsu at her door.

"Hey, Tori," he greeted her, still slightly out of breath. "I'm fine – I warmed up running up the stairs," he assured her, seeing her worried face, "Where's Sesshomaru?"

"Gone," she glared at him, seeing him looking around. "Is that the only reason you came – to make sure Sesshomaru wasn't trying anything?"

"N-no!" Bankotsu stammered, surprised by her sudden outburst, "I was going to come sooner, but Jakotsu was just about ready to break my kneecaps to keep me inside."

"I'm glad he did," she nodded, locking the door for the umpteenth time, "Sesshomaru almost didn't make it. He left a little bit ago, to check on Rin and Inuyasha."

"Hey, Kirara," Bankotsu looked down at the cat, who was rubbing against his head.

"I'll get you some dry clothes," Tori offered, as he sat down. "And a blanket. Obviously, there's still no power or heat, and the sun's not helping much."

"Yeah, I know," he agreed, looking at the un-shaded windows, "Trying to get solar heat, huh?"

"It ain't working too well," she sighed, "Obviously. Here." He caught the pair of socks and sneakers she tossed his way easily, and slipped into them.

"So, I hear that cells are working," he mentioned, "Hiten called us."

"Yeah, Renkotsu called first and surprised me," she grinned, "And then I called him, and Sesshomaru decided to take off. I'm glad you showed up – surprised, but glad. Everyone's still stuck inside with all this snow and ice, and I don't really know anyone in the building."

"I met a girl named Lila on the third floor," he said, "I climbed in her window. She seemed to know you."

"Oh, yeah, she's a nice girl," Tori nodded, "I writer, a believe. Or an editor…or both, I'm not positive. I've only met her a couple of times. Hungry?"

"I ate before I left," Bankotsu shook his head, "I'm good."

Tori nodded, and sat next to him on the couch – where only hours earlier, she had come dangerously close to the brink with Sesshomaru.

"Here's a blanket," she offered, and passed him a comforter, "I stripped all the beds."

"I bet they're more comfortable," he said casually, and caused Tori to drop her papers she had been picking up. "Sorry – I didn't mean anything by it," he added hastily, lying slightly.

"I figured. You just surprised me, that's all," she grinned at him, stacking her school stuff on a table. Returning to the couch, she grabbed Kirara – still wrapped up in a scarf – and climbed under the blankets next to Bankotsu.

Grinning, he suddenly stuck his head underneath the blankets, and pulled her after him.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded, panicking a little. He began to laugh, and she stared at him.

"Remember when we were littler, and the four of us'd play 'tent' by climbing underneath blankets like this all day?" he reminded her, "Renkotsu was positive we were crazy. Maybe we were…"

"I don't think so," she argued, and suddenly pressed closer to him. "Body heat," she explained, popping her head up from the blankets and flushing slightly.

"Of course," he grinned at her again, and wrapped his arm around her tightly, pulling her closer. They remained like that for a while, not even talking – the only noise came from Kirara's purring.

"I gotta eat something," Tori said, standing up and stretching, "I'm sure you're hungry by now too, right?"

"Yeah," he admitted, letting go of her reluctantly. Following her to the kitchen, he picked up her cell phone. "Lemme call Jakotsu and let him that I made it okay."

"Go ahead," she agreed, staring into the fridge. After a few moments, she pulled out potato salad and chicken legs. "We can eat it cold," she shrugged, as Bankotsu hung up.

"Sounds good to me," he nodded, taking a paper plate from her, "Pile it on."

"Get it yourself," she grinned, as the phone rang. "It's probably Sesshomaru or Inuyasha," she explained, picking up. "Hello? Hey…yeah, Bankotsu's here now. He got here after you left. Okay…thank Rin and Inuyasha for letting me borrow you…cut that out! Bye," she shook her head, hanging up.

"I take it that was Sesshomaru," Bankotsu said, gazing at her intently.

"Yep," she nodded, "He was just letting me know he got home safe. Hey, where's my share?"

"I left you some…kinda," he laughed, handing her another serving. Rolling her eyes, she snatched it from him and balanced on one of the several bar stools. Passing Bankotsu a fork, she proceeded to dig in.

"So, have you gotten any work done at all?" she asked good-naturedly, as they cleaned up. He gave her a look that plainly said he hadn't. "I didn't think so," she laughed, and shrugged helplessly. "I tried…"

"Well, it's not like we're gonna have classes for a while, anyway," he pointed out, "Everything's shut down – it's ridiculous. You'd think the town would have been better prepared for a storm."

"Well, it's not like we get storms of this magnitude every year," she argued lightly, "Besides, it's kinda fun – as long as I'm not stuck here alone."

"Same here," Bankotsu agreed, "Jakotsu said he's planning on heading to the Taisho's for a while. Apparently, Miroku and Sango got to the Higurashi's before the storm started, along with Sango's kid brother."

"At least everyone's grouped together," Tori pointed out, "Can you imagine being alone with no contact with the outside world?"

"Cell phones," he objected.

"Battery life, Bankotsu," she reminded him, "Cells aren't eternal, remember? Or else I'd have called someone right away to talk. Anyway, it's not the same." Having finished, she squirmed back underneath the blankets, and Bankotsu followed suit.

"Don't you have any board games?" he complained a bit later, "I'm fucking bored!"

"I dunno," Tori shrugged, "Probably. Lemme go look."

He waited as she looked through the closet for something to do, and groaned when she returned with a puzzle.

"Not those damn things again…"

"Hey, I like 'em!" she informed him, "You know that!"

'I don't have the patience!" he protested.

"Oh, you have the patience to play 'Risk' for hours on end, and have staring matches with Hiten and the others for who knows how long, but you can't put together a simple puzzle?" she teased.

"That's…different!" he continued, "Besides, that's not some fucking simple puzzle! The damn thing's got over a thousand pieces!"

"It'll help pass the time," she said firmly, placing it on the coffee table, "That's all we've got, Bankotsu. Puzzles, puzzles, and more puzzles."

"Love those choices," he muttered, but climbed onto the floor.

"Only half-way done?" he groaned, almost two hours later, "I'm going to go insane!"

"Well, let's try the radio," Tori suggested, "Maybe we're getting a signal again."

"Yeah, right," Bankotsu muttered. His pessimism proved to be correct – all channels were dead.

"So much for that," she sighed, "Can't say we didn't try."

"No more puzzles…please!" he groaned, eagle-spread on the ground. Tori looked at him, and shook her head, laughing.

"You're such a baby," she teased, and stood up. "All right, all right – more puzzles. So, what now?"

"How about…twenty questions?" he thought, and Tori gagged.

"Oh, please. Try again."

"Solataire?"

"That's the sign of a desperate mind, Bankotsu."

"Staring match?"

"Sad…"

After fifteen more minutes of thinking up games, he was out of ideas.

"Fine then. You think of something!" he snapped, crossing his arms, "I'm out!"

"Stop sulking, Bankotsu," she soothed, but still giggling at his suggestion of 'Go Fish'. "I think we're stuck with the puzzle, believe it or not."

"Crap…" Bankotsu sighed, but resigned himself to his fate.

"What time is it?"

"Ten minutes later than when you asked me – four-thirty," she informed him, "Cool your jets. Go walk in the snow, if you're desperate."

"I hate sitting still!" he protested, now pacing the room. Tori regarded him calmly, mentally amazed at how different Bankotsu and Sesshomaru were – especially in the patience department.

"Really? I couldn't tell," she said wryly. He stopped short, and gazed at her.

"Sorry, Tori," he sighed, and flopped back down on the couch.

"I just checked – no one's on TUIM," she told him, "Either their computers are dead too, or they're conserving their battery power like I am."

"I guess…let's finish the damn puzzle," he suggested, and was provided some comfort when he saw he eyes light up.

"Oh, good. I've never gotten to finish this one," she told him. Inwardly smacking himself, Bankotsu went to help her re-start their work on the huge puzzle.

"Still not melting," she groaned that night, finally getting a radio signal. "No damn power or heat yet, either. We're not supposed to get 'em back for at least two more days, they said."

"This sucks," Bankotsu agreed. Renkotsu had called earlier that day – if he had been surprised that Bankotsu was there, he didn't show it – and had said he would be at least another week, due to business and the storm.

"Man, it's getting even colder, now that the sun's gone down," Tori shivered, drawing the curtains closed.

"Isn't Renkotsu's bedroom the most insulated in the flat?" he thought, "It doesn't back up to an outside wall, and it's completely enclosed in brick, right?"

"Yeah…" Tori said, apparently guessing Bankotsu's thought. Without another word, they scooped up the radio, cell phone, Kirara, and the blankets, and rushed to the back room.

"Much better," she sighed, as they sat on the stripped mattress, shoes off. "Well, not much, but it's definitely warmer in here – or less cold," she admitted, correcting herself.

"See? I'm useful in so many ways," Bankotsu teased her, and glanced at Kirara. "Looks like she's happy, too." Kirara mewed in response, having curled up in Renkotsu's still-packed gym-bag.

"I never said you weren't," Tori protested, adjusting the pillows they had snitched from the beds and closet, "Don't put words in my mouth, Bank!"

"Then can I try something else?" he asked, his voice suddenly quieter. Tori tensed up, and he grinned at her. "Gotcha," he poked her, half-sorry that he had been.

"Not funny, Bankotsu!" she glared at him, and smacked him with a pillow.

"Don't make me tickle you," he threatened, "I know your weak points, Tori."

"Oh yeah? Try me," she challenged, at ease again.

"You asked for it," he grinned, and lunged. His hands roamed her body, tickling her most sensitive areas until he had her laughing hysterically underneath him.

"Enough! Enough!" she panted, "I give up, Bankotsu…cut it out! Please!"

"All right," he agreed, but didn't roll off like she expected him too. Tori's eyes met with his, and she saw something in them that she never had before.

"Bankotsu…?" she whispered.

"Tori…I'm such an asshole," he murmured, lowering his head. Their lips met, and Tori felt like her body had been lit on fire.

Hee-hee...I told you guys so! I said the reviewers made the choice - and Bankotsu's winning, hands-down. Sorry for those who wanted Sesshomaru and Tori...I kinda did too, but I promised. Besides, this is good too. (whispering) I actually was going to do Hiten, but...ACK! (ducks chainsaw) Okay, okay! GEEZ! Anyways, lemon/lime's coming up - I'm not sure which yet. REVIEW!