Here's the new chapter, brought to you by Kyoumi! Yay! Anyway, I've been writing a lot on my other fanfic, A Change in Our Future, so that's why I didn't update right away. Sorry. You should read A Change in Our Future! I want to know what you think! Oh, and review on here, too!

WARNING: This chapter may be uncomfortable to some because it contains partial nudity. Just a warning to you. It's nothing really bad, it's just there.

Chapter Seven

Once she was at her normal altitude, only a bit closer to earth so Hitsuji could breathe easily, she saw two small figures on the ground. Her hawk eyes could easily make out the shapes as Inuyasha and Kirara. This pushed her on faster making Hitsuji wrap his arms tightly around her neck, but not so much that she couldn't breathe. Hang on, we're coming.

- - -

Hitsuji tightened his grip slightly as Tori started to descend over InuYasha and the others. Soon enough she was level with Kirara, and looked over to see how the others were doing. Sango and Miroku looked tired and travel-worn, and InuYasha looked like he was starting to get a bit tired, too.

Sango looked over to Tori and smiled sadly, and then started to smile more when she saw who was on her back. Tori looked back at Hitsuji, just to check on him, and saw that he had fallen asleep.

InuYasha jumped over the trees, making it seem like he was flying. "Tori and Hitsuji have joined us, Kagome," InuYasha said to the miko on his back. She turned around and smiled a little bit.

"InuYasha, how much farther until we reach Shippo?" Kagome asked.

"There's a man up there. I think it's Kobun. We might reach him in an hour or so," InuYasha explained.

Tori looked around for the figure in the distance and saw that it was actually Kobun. She would have smirked if she didn't have a beak for a mouth... But she did have a beak, so she couldn't smirk.

Tori hated to do it, but she shook Hitsuji a little bit, waking him up. She started to go faster, her wings flapping quickly.

We're coming to get you, Shippo.

- - -

Because writing (and reading) about traveling for an hour is boring, Tori landed on the ground and let Hitsuji off. She transformed back and the others ran into the clearing too.

"I saw him here! He was here just a second ago! Honestly!" Tori said, looking around. "These eyes don't deceive me!" Tori pointed at her own eyes and growled.

Kagome took a few steps forward and stopped when she heard a strange sound. Everyone turned to look at her, and she looked down. She stomped her foot on the spot she had just stepped, and the ground made the sound. Suddenly, everyone was over there, trying to figure out what it was, and why there was such a noise.

Kagome was the one to find the rope that led to a trap door in the ground. She pulled it up and everyone started to go down there, curious about where it lead.

They could hear a sinister laugh echo off the walls; Kagome turned on a flashlight that she got out from her backpack. The light flooded the room (but not very much because it's a flashlight), and they all looked straight ahead, into Kobun's green eyes, and a strange pair of bright red eyes.

Tori gasped.

She uttered one word. "Ashi."

Tori started shaking worse than a Chihuahua in the middle of winter. Her legs gave out beneath her and she couldn't move her eyes away from Ashi's eyes.

Kagome saw Tori's reaction to Ashi and took a couple steps towards Tori. They heard someone snap their fingers and suddenly light filled the room, fire coming from the fingertips of Ashi himself. He had black hair that reached his shoulders with a couple of red bangs that matched his eyes. His nose was long and pointed and his teeth were huge and sharp. He wore a red silk kimono with armor on top.

"Kobun. Capture them, but leave Tori alone. She won't run again," Ashi said in a deep voice.

Kobun obeyed, lifting up dirt from the bottom of the cave and encasing everyone in rock, except for Tori. All that you could see of anyone was their heads, and though they struggled, it was useless.

"Let us go!" Kagome shouted, trying to break free. But it was useless.

"What reason do you have to capture us?" Miroku asked, a little more calm then anyone else.

"No reason," Ashi said, smirking. He was truly a man of few words.

Tori was still shaking when Ashi started to walk over to her. Kagome looked around and saw Shippo in the distance, caged up and unconscious.

Ashi knelt down and put a finger on Tori's chin and pushed it up so she would look at him. She looked straight into his eyes and pushed her teeth together, clenching them to try and keep them from clattering together.

"You're very disobedient... Though it may be annoying, it's also sexy," Ashi said, smirking. Tori's eyes widened. Ashi moved closer to Tori to try and kiss her, but at the last second she turned her head and he kissed her cheek.

Ashi pulled away quickly and laughed. "My, my... I think you need to be taught a lesson."

Tori muttered something.

"What did you say?" Ashi asked, teasing her.

"I said no," Tori said in a quiet, but firm, voice.

Ashi frowned. "No one disobeys me. You might get away with it once in a while, but constant disobedience. That's unacceptable. You're going to come with me and obey my every wish," Ashi said, starting to get a little bit angry.

"NO!" Tori shouted, bringing her right hand towards Ashi's face and hitting him with her claws. He flew across the room, surprised by the attack. When he got up there were four deep gashes in his face, and he was flaming mad. Tori had never seen him really angry before. Sure, she had seen him ticked off, but she knew that she was crossing the line.

Ashi stood up and glared at Tori.

"No one dishonors me!" Ashi roared at Tori, sending her sprawling backwards, her hands hitting the hard floor as she tried to crawl backwards. She knew that she couldn't get away, but she tried. Ashi walked over to her and pulled her up by the kimono she wore.

"YOU WILL OBEY ME!" Ashi shouted as he ripped off Tori's haori (kimono shirt). Tears poured down her face and she hiccuped as she cried. Tori, determined to stand up for herself for once, took her hand and stuck her sword-like claws through Ashi's stomach, making him step back.

"Master Ashi!" Kobun shouted.

"Stay back!" Ashi shouted at Kobun, clutching his stomach as he regained his balance.

"Dammit, I got a nosebleed," Miroku said, trying to see the blood underneath his eyes.

"Miroku! Now is not the time! Figure out a way to get out of here to help Tori!" Sango shouted at Miroku, anger flickering around her. Miroku was lucky that she was trapped in that rock.

Anyway, back to the story.

Ashi clutched his bleeding stomach and started to run towards Tori, fire coming from his claws.

Just as he was about to slice Tori to bits, one of the rock cages exploded and someone ran in front of Tori, hugging her to protect her.

Tori was knocked off her feet, the person who protected her still hugging her. She pushed off an angry Hitsuji, and he turned around to glare at Ashi.

"Ah, you worked at the palace, didn't you?" Ashi said, smirking slightly.

Hitsuji slowly got up and Tori gasped when she saw that Hitsuji's back was bleeding badly. Then, unexpectedly, Hitsuji jumped up and sent his foot heading straight at InuYasha. He hit the cage and it exploded like Hitsuji's. InuYasha went and broke open everyone else's cages and Hitsuji pushed Ashi and Kobun back farther into the cave. After chasing them back for a while Hitsuji ran back and got Shippo out of the cage and then ran at Tori, who was still on the ground without a cover for her chest, and he picked her up, running out of the cave.

Everyone followed Hitsuji as he ran with Tori, who held onto him as tightly as he held onto her.

- - -

Tori sat at the entrance of a cave that everyone was staying in, her back facing everyone who was sitting at the fire and hugging her chest. Tears still flowed down her face and she hiccuped every once in a while. They had just gotten there, and obviously Tori was very embarrassed and frightened.

"I hope she'll be all right," Sango said as she sat next to Miroku, who was unconscious and sporting many bumps and bruises. You can only imagine why.

"Me too," Kagome said sadly.

InuYasha had made sure to stay away from Tori, knowing how the girls would react, and also knowing that it would be really impolite. Even InuYasha wouldn't be that rude.

Shippo sat next to Kagome and was now wide awake. He had told everyone how he had been captured and that they hadn't done anything to him, just threw him in a cage. Kagome was obviously worried, and had given him extra attention and treats. InuYasha had been upset, so she gave him an extra treat too.

Tori hiccuped again. She felt something being put over her shoulders and looked behind her. She saw Hitsuji's scratched up face. He sat down next to her, only wearing an undershirt like InuYasha's.

"Thank you," Tori muttered, putting her arms through the sleeves. She tied the haori around her to keep it on and looked at Hitsuji. He looked at her, and she smiled, looking quite strange with tears still running down her face.

"It's no problem," Hitsuji said, blushing a little bit.

Tori hiccuped again and Hitsuji laughed. Tori blushed, but soon started to laugh with him.

Tori stopped laughing and looked at Hitsuji's back. "How's your wound?" she asked, pointing at it. The shirt he wore now was stained red, but now that it was more dry, the outside edges were brown.

"I'll live," Hitsuji said, smiling and brushing the wound off like it was no big deal.

"Thank you for saving me," Tori said.

Hitsuji looked towards the moon. "It wasn't a big deal."

Tori's eyes widened. "How did you get free from those rocks?" she asked, curious on this matter.

Hitsuji smirked. "When I saw him attack you, I suddenly became angry. Not just angry, but really angry. I had never felt that way in my entire life," Hitsuji said. "I acted on instinct, and I knew I had to protect you."

Tori's face was red by now, after his speech was finished.

"You had to protect me?" Tori asked.

Hitsuji nodded. "There was no question about it. If I didn't protect you, i knew you weren't going to live."

Tori was crying again, but for a different reason this time. She turned to look at the moon and smiled. "Hitsuji?"

"Hm?"

"I..."

"What is it?"

"I want to thank you."

Hitsuji laughed. "You just did."

"No, I can't express how much I want to thank you," Tori said, turning towards Hitsuji. He turned towards her, too.

Suddenly she hugged him, knocking him too the ground. She just lay there, half on top of him and half on the side, hugging his neck.

"Tori?" Hitsuji asked after a little bit.

"This is comfortable," she said, snuggling closer to him.

Hitsuji laughed a little bit and put an arm on her back.

"Yeah. It is," he answered. "Goodnight, Tori."

"Goodnight, Hitsuji."

OMG! I finally got the chapter done! Sorry it took so long... I had no idea what to write until a little bit ago. I thought it was a little bit scary! That was cute at the end, I thought. What did you think? Review please!

- Kyoumi