A/N: Hello once again, FanFiction Enthusiasts!
It's really difficult to make chapters out of our roleplay. It just sort of keeps rolling along since we were not writing it with "episodes" or "chapters" in mind. This makes the flow strange when we're trying to put it in this sort of form as really it's best read just kind of all in one go.
Symbols Guide:
* : Written by CM; She writes for Akari and Hiei
3 : Written by Star (supposed to be the 'heart' symbol, but FF doesn't like the 'less-than' sign, so it's a 3 instead); She writes for Toriko/Shikiyoku and Kurama
~!**!~ : A universal transition between scenes or characters, sometimes used to indicate a passage of time, but most often used to transition between major scenes that are happening. As the story progresses, this will evolve into mainly separating the (usually two) scenes happening between authors/characters.
As a general rule, anything in italics is thoughts.
Unless it's used in a sentence like this, which merely indicates emphasis.
"Quotations are usually reserved specifically for telepathic dialogue being transmitted from one being to another, but sometimes this can also mean a character isn't being careful about what they're thinking and anyone with telepathy in the nearby vicinity can listen in without taking any effort."
The only exception to that last rule is for the Shiba Inu dog, Nabu. All of his "spoken" dialogue will be in italics and quotations, but is communicated through body language or dog-like noises, so unless a character is able to translate those they are unlikely to pick up on what he is saying any more than the average person might understand his general moods like aggression (bared teeth, ears back) or excitement (wagging tail).
Previously on Yu Yu Hakusho!
As Akari and Kurama remain captives, Akari manages to flitch a seed from Kurama's hair while it appears he is asleep,
though naturally the avatar was fairly aware of it and did in fact simply let her snatch it.
~!**!~
Meanwhile Nabu is desperately attempting to find Akari and ends up running into Yusuke and Keiko,
the first of which runs off to see if he can find Kurama
and the second of which runs after Nabu who is leading her to the park.
~!**!~
Toriko woke up next to Hiei and remembers nothing of the night before.
After Hiei dumping her in the tub and Maneshi assisting her in bathing,
Hiei carries her back to her bed and shares sweet snow with her.
She complains of being useless to which Hiei replies,
"Then be useful and eat, fool."
"That's not what I meant and you know it." Toriko grumbled again. She paused for a moment, feeling that her muscles had relaxed a bit, though not enough to be moveable. It would take more heat than Hiei's cloak had to offer to release their tension. She could, however, feel the blood being staunched from her wounds where Hiei had dressed them.
"How did this happen...?" She had only meant to say the question within the confines of her own head, but she asked it so quietly that she thought perhaps he hadn't heard. Not that she expected an answer from him, but if she was going to be in pain, she at least wanted to understa-
No. No, she didn't. She didn't want to know. Toriko squeezed her eyes shut and tried to distract herself by shifting a little on the bed, earning herself a solid pound of pain that shot through her nerves and cut off any thought processes she had. 3
Hiei made no indication that he heard Toriko at all, not even her first reply to him when he'd retorted about her being useless. He sat in silence, shoveling another large spoonful of Ice cream into his mouth and simply letting it sit on his tongue, freezing his teeth and numbing his tongue altogether as it melted in his mouth, leaving bits of strawberry pieces in his mouth and a smooth liquid. After a minute, he swallowed that mouthful and hung his empty spoon in his mouth, now deciding he was done with it and wondering if he should put it up, or continue offering some to Toriko.
The silence in the room was almost uncomfortable now, all of the sudden. He resisted the urge to shift his weight, making himself sit still as his own eyes closed briefly, listening to the world outside of this room, outside of the house altogether. Cars, people, animals. They were everywhere, busy, while Hiei simply sat here, doing absolutely nothing aside from watching over Toriko.
He pushed that thought away and slowly peeled a bit more ice cream from the tub, intending to offer it to Toriko, except her eyes were closed.
"You should rest," he said suddenly, yet not moving from his spot at all.
~!**!~
Nabu sped off at his greatest speed, only slowing down once when he looked back and saw the girl following him falling a little behind. But after that, he continued on until he reached the park gate, at which point he stopped and waited for the uniform-clad girl to catch up. Despite his heaving little chest and his shaking little body, he turned and began trotting again, leading her right to the spot where Akari's scent disappeared, where he promptly sat on his rump and looked up at her expectantly, not making a sound other than his heavy breathing that occasionally made him wheeze or huff from the lack of oxygen.
Please, understand this is where she was last… *
Keiko slowed once she saw Nabu sitting down, starting to look around her for any sign of...whoever it was they were searching for. Keiko laughed nervously to herself and squatted down in front of Nabu.
"You know, I get this strange feeling you can understand me." She reached out tentatively, unsure if the dog would accept a pet. "Because before we left that place back there I had this urge to ask you where you last saw her." Keiko laughed for real this time, though it were nothing more than a small chuckle. "Funny, isn't it? Talking to a dog like that."
~!**!~
Toriko opened her eyes and felt conflicted at the sight of Hiei before her.
On the one hand, she desperately wanted to ask after his thoughts. On the other, she wasn't sure why he was still around. Her eyes glanced at the tub in his hands. Surely it wasn't for that. He could probably get some of it anywhere he wanted.
...what did he want from her?
For her own part, Toriko did not feel tired, just...in lots of pain.
She had a sudden desire to reach out to him, but thought against it, instead gathering her strength together and pushing herself up from the bed, her muscles quivering madly.
She even went so far as to stand up, though she knew the ability to do so would be brief indeed, and she took the cloak from her shoulders, feeling strange standing there in front of him in just a towel, but not thinking he would care or notice.
Toriko knew taken even a step would be impossible, so she satisfied herself with tossing the cloak over Hiei's shoulder. Her legs collapsed underneath her, though it appeared that she simply sat back down on the bed, hands on either side of her thighs and her head hanging down.
She knew her face was stricken with the pain of what she'd just done but she didn't want him to see so she took a moment to recover her facade.
"I'm sure you have much better places to be than here." Toriko finally said, breaking the silence once she knew she had her voice under control. 3
Hiei watched Toriko carefully, taking in every tremble her muscles made, every flicker of pain across her face as she moved. The amount of effort he could see it took her almost made him interject.
Almost.
Despite the change in her that sparked the movements, Hiei remained where he sat, not really worried about the girl who forced herself up, just to toss his cloak at him before sitting back down. He considered it pointless, but figured to her, it was likely an achievement with how weak she must feel, how much pain she was in.
He moved only to throw the cloak around his own shoulders, where it belonged, before resettling back into place silently. Even after she spoke, he didn't move. Not at first, anyway.
"You're right," he said finally, gathering the spoons and the ice cream tub together in one hand, "I do." And with that, he stood and vacated the room, leaving her alone while he merely put up the ice cream and tossed the spoons in the sink, with no real intentions of leaving the house. None at all.
However, what he'd do now, he wasn't sure. He could go back, but a part of him figured she only wanted to be alone for a bit. The thought did nothing to him, not even piquing his interest, so he simply stood there in front of the sink, considering options.
~!**!~
Nabu huffed, his little heart pounding a million miles an hour, or so he guessed. And when the girl crouched before him, talking and reaching as if to pet him, he leaned his head into her hand, seeking comfort from the person who seemed to have understood him perfectly throughout the time he'd been trying to break through to the other one.
He made a small bark sound that, really, held no actual meaning when she spoke of him understanding her, but otherwise didn't react to anything else aside from scooting closer and laying in front of her, eyes on the spot where Akari's scent ended as if, maybe if he stared hard enough, she'd suddenly appear there. *
~!**!~
Yusuke didn't slow down until he reached Meiou High's school yard, his eyes briefly scanning the crowd of kids that were still mingling about, preparing for the after school activities.
He dashed inside the building, running down the hall, not really sure if he should call out Kurama's name or not. He certainly didn't know where to start looking.
"Excuse me, young man!" A severe-looking teacher stepped in front of him and Yusuke skidded to a halt. "You appear to be in the wrong school."
"I'm, uh," Yusuke resisted the urge to deck the adult on principle, "I'm looking for, uh," For some reason Kurama's human name escaped him. "Akari. I'm looking for Akari." He settled on using the girl's name instead.
"Akari?" The teacher's eyes narrowed, "And what would you want with her?"
"Look, it's really important." Yusuke said through clenched teeth, "I need to talk to Akari."
"I think you need to leave the school grounds, young man. Go back to your own school and stir up some trouble there."
Yusuke's teeth were grinding together and he closed one hand into a fist, fighting back his desire to knock this stupid teacher out so he could continue looking elsewhere.
~!**!~
Toriko didn't understand why her heart sank at his words. Of course he had better places to be. She'd seen that look on his face when he was just sitting there. She just didn't know why he hadn't left before she mentioned it.
She heaved a sigh into the empty room, trying to rid herself of the sudden melancholy that settled over her. There was nothing wrong! Stop feeling so depressed!
It wasn't working.
How about stop caring? Think you can do that? She asked herself.
Not likely. She had no idea why he acted so strangely around her all of a sudden. Practically nice, really. Where she mostly remembered his cold and distant attitude, moments ago he'd been practically flirting with her over sweet snow for crying out loud.
Without the warmth of his cloak, she felt her muscles tightening again and let out a long suffering sigh, staring blankly at her matching bandages on either arm.
She remembered that she might have the strange heating device downstairs, the one that was similar to a long sock, but had rice or something in it. You put it in the microwave and then it retained the heat for a while.
It was kind of small though. She really needed one for her entire body.
Toriko sighed again and stood up, not bothering to change into the nightdress that Hiei had picked out at random and put on the bed for her since he'd left anyway, and leaving the room with the towel still wrapped securely around her body.
Each step was like crunching down on top of so many searing coals, or walking across a bed made of nails. Excruciatingly painful.
Toriko let out one silent grunt as she came to the stairs and walked down them with great effort and willpower.
She stumbled when she reached the bottom, grabbing frantically for the wall and instead ending up leaning against it, eyes closed and breathing heavy. For good measure, she just let her shoulder slide down until she sat on her knees on the floor. Taking a moment to quiet down and gather herself again. 3
Hiei had stood there, weighing his options for a few minutes before he made up his mind and pulled a chair out from under the table, sliding his slim frame into the seat and sitting back with his arms crossed over his chest. If he wasn't there to offer assistance, he fully expected Toriko to attempt doing things on her own. Of course, he didn't exactly believe she would make an attempt down the stairs because of her wobbly knees, so he slipped away into his own thoughts for a minute.
As he'd just witnessed a few moments ago, it appeared Toriko did not share memory with Shikiyoku, which was slightly problematic since she might continue to ask about the night before and all of the wounds she had acquired. And the fire demon wasn't happy about that, since the last time she'd realized she had been attacked she simply passed out in the bathroom, leaving him to deal with a very robust demoness.
He had no idea what would happen if she knew what he did. Would her human half simply… disappear? Is that even possible? He didn't even have a clue.
In the back of his mind, Hiei registered a sound over by the stairs, but he didn't feign away from his thoughts. If it had been important, he would've felt urgency in the bond, which he now assessed before returning to his thoughts briefly
~!**!~
School hadn't been released for long, and people were everywhere, each person going to a different place than another. While one was headed to the Chemistry lab, another would be headed to the musical department. While one went home, the other went on search for a teacher or a friend.
But not this boy. Today, he had plans to head over to the arcade. Ever since Aminuma had been beaten by Shuichi, he'd been trying to best the time in which his class rival had defeated the child. Even now, he was determined to begin predicting how the game would go, playing with the puzzle in his mind- who needed the actual game, right?
Not me, he thought to himself smugly as he walked, book bag in hand.
But there was a disturbance in the air, and the closer he got to the door, the worse it got. The atmosphere was thick, and the hall was quiet. His first instinct was to pause and listen, but there was nothing more than silence still, so he rounded the corner.
His eyes set on the back of his homeroom teacher, whose broad shoulders were bearing down on none other than Yusuke Urameshi. It wasn't hard to deduce the situation.
"Mr. Shinbara," he called as he approached, eyes steady on his teacher who turned to meet his gaze, "There's a disturbance up on the third floor. I assume you're in charge, since the Physiology professor is out today?" He paused, glancing at Yusuke. "Don't worry about him. I'll see to him personally." *
"Kaito!" Yusuke exclaimed cheerily, approaching the dark-haired boy, "What's up, man? Haven't see you in forever!"
~!**!~
It was the first time that Toriko felt thankful for her apparently high tolerance for pain. It was the only thing that let her stand back up again with just a quiet sharp suck of air as her muscles kept protesting. She tried to keep focused on the end goal here which would result in what she hoped would be some relief.
Get some heat. Get some heat. She tried repeating to herself over and over to block out more of the pain, her eyes squeezing shut as she leaned away from the wall. She didn't even want to consider getting back down in the bathtub because of what happened earlier, though the idea of laying there either in hot bath water or letting the shower pour over her was appealing, and her thoughts touched on Maneshi briefly with concern.
Geez, this hurts. She pushed herself away from the wall, mind already made up that she wasn't going to consider how she got the wounds. They were here, simple as that, and she was going to strive to take care of it. Despite every part of her body screaming that she shouldn't be able to move, much less walk around.
Toriko stubbornly ignored the pain and stood tall, one hand holding the top of her towel in place as she walked with relative normalcy-albeit at a rather slow pace-towards the cabinet at that end of the kitchen and opened it, reaching up and pulling down the heat pack she so desperately desired and closing the cabinet again. She walked a foot or so to the left and opened the microwave over the stove, placing the pack in and closing that door as well, setting it to run for over a minute and pressing 'start.'
Her arms fell after that small strain and she grimaced, planting her hands on the edge of the stove and looking back and forth between the bandages as her arms began shaking and she could not stop them. She sighed and waited for the microwave to finish. 3
Hiei sat in silence, chin on his knuckles and elbow on the table's wooden surface, not paying any attention to his surroundings at all. His thoughts were consuming him, centered around the past twenty-four hours. How had yesterday gone from stealing ice cream and making snide remarks to saving a life? His eyes slid closed, as if he'd been staring ahead at the front door this entire time, his breathing evening out as he fell further into his thoughts.
What in the three worlds was he going to do about this situation?
~!**!~
The dark-haired male stopped in front of Yusuke, looking at him curiously. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?" he finally inquired, having caught none of the conversation with him and the teacher. "You only come over here when there's trouble. Didn't pick another fight, did you?" Of course, he was taunting the boy, but whether his tone gave that away or not…. that was a different story. *
"Trouble. Yeah." Yusuke gave what would have been a nervous laugh if he didn't know how true Kaito's statement was, "Look, I'll just lay it out. I think Akari's missing. Like, kidnapped missing. I was hoping to find Kurama and ask him when the last time he saw her was."
~!**!~
When Toriko reached in to touch the finished heat pack, she felt dissatisfied with the temperature of it and closed the microwave door again, punching in another minute and a half onto the timing and starting it up.
Her stomach growled angry.
"Really?" She looked down at it, slightly perturbed at how hungry she could feel considering the pain that ravaged the rest of her body.
Sighing, Toriko shuffled her way over to the fridge and opened it, the hum of the machine filling the room as she peered inside. The cold made her body tremble as it washed over her uncovered and already shaking limbs.
She reached for a middle shelf almost automatically, looking for a snack that she knew was there, but her hand missed and she frowned, bending down a little more.
The had been a crate of strawberries there the last time she looked, but it was gone. She blinked in thought. She didn't remember eating them.
Her sigh was heavier this time. There wasn't really much else she could just grab, and there was no way she could actually cook anything in her condition.
Toriko took an experimental sniff to see if anything stood out, and her eyes widened as she flinched back, not expecting her nose to be enveloped with the strong scent of open fish.
Still sniffing, she pulled her head out from the fridge and followed it-now that she caught the smell she couldn't get rid of it-finding that the smell did not originate from inside. The fridge door started to close automatically as she made it over to the trashcan and opened it, raising an eyebrow as she saw the various bits of trash, as well as the fish she sought, that definitely had not been there the last time she threw something away.
She really didn't want to think about this right now, letting out another exasperated sigh. 3
~!**!~
Kaito raised a brow at the immediate response, or lack thereof, from the detective. However, when he suddenly said the name Akari, his brows raised further and his lips formed a frown at the words. "You mean the demon who was with Sensui?" he clarified, not really having learned her name aside from the fact he was in the same class as himself and Shuichi. He'd been puzzled by that turn of events, but figured now wasn't the time to inquire.
"What makes you think that?" He glanced behind him, suddenly realizing she hadn't been in school today, along with the redhead. "I mean, I figured Shuichi was her keeper. Why don't you ask him." *
"He's not her keeper he just-" Yusuke shook his head. He could explain later, "Well, I was planning on it, but I ran into you first. Know where he is? Or even better, have you seen her today?"
Kaito's brows went from hiding in his hair to forming wrinkles between his eyes, turning his forehead just a shade of red. He thought about the information he'd just gathered, realizing that Shuichi only missed school during Cases, and on those instances, wouldn't Yusuke be with him?
"Neither of them showed up today." he finally informed, crossing his arms over his chest, feeling a disturbance in the air. "I assumed he was with you, saving the world again." *
Yusuke blinked as he tried to process what he'd just been told.
"Oh." He managed to get out. Akari and Kurama missing? Today was NOT his day. "Don't tell me that Toriko's gone too?" He seriously hoped it wasn't the case, but there was a chance she would know where one or the other were at of the two people he now found himself looking for.
~!**!~
Toriko felt like she suddenly didn't want to know. Didn't want to question it, didn't want to ask. Didn't know why she didn't want to ask, for that matter. But felt strongly that the subject should be avoided.
She closed the trashcan back up and promptly turned away just as the microwave began beeping again, traveling over to it and retrieving the heat pack.
Its length and size let it rest over her shoulders, around her neck, rather easily without further attention and because of the immediacy of the heat. She knew that after a time her skin would likely turn pink from the exposure, but for the time being it felt amazing and she wished for the second time that she had one giant heat pack, like the size of a body pillow, that she could lay down and cuddle with.
The image in her head suddenly shifted and instead of the body pillow, it was Hiei, all nice and warm, and Toriko's eyes grew big and she shook her head violently in an attempt to rid herself of the picture as she felt her entire body flush with embarrassment at having thought up such a thing.
Well, if you hadn't given his cloak back, you'd be in the next best thing. She said to herself as she moved back out towards the living room area, cheeks still pink.
"It wouldn't matter anyway," Toriko argued out loud, "Because the cloak doesn't hold the heat for that long and Hiei-" She cut herself off, nearly choking at which side of the argument she'd just taken with herself, and the image from before snaked back into her mind's eye.
She cleared her throat and said nothing else, finding the entire situation ridiculous, though the blush across her skin gave indication otherwise. 3
Hiei, if he hadn't known any better, would have thought he'd fallen asleep. However, his senses were beginning to open up to his surroundings again, his thoughts trailing away to nothing important. He simply didn't feel like dealing with troublesome things today, so he made a point to push them away.
After a few moments, something grabbed his attention and caused his eyelids to slide open, his crimson irises sliding over to the girl he hadn't realized was in the room. Her ramblings, though he didn't hear the actual words, had pulled him from his reverie of quiet peacefulness.
"Even when alone, you can't keep your mouth shut," he said simply, more taunting than anything. "Too bad. Must be odd without any comforting silence."
~!**!~
Kaito thought for a moment, mentally picturing the classroom he'd been in all day long. In each seat was the person assigned, except exactly three seats had been vacated. His eyes focused again on Yusuke, his frown deepening. What was he getting at? Surely not all three of them were missing. They'd have to be really smart to get around Shuichi, maybe not so much for Akari except for the power he'd learned she had. "She wasn't here either." *
Yusuke groaned, "You've gotta be kidding me." He had no idea where Toriko lived, but he was certain Kurama would. And his house wasn't all that far away. "Well, thanks anyway Kaito. I'll go see if Kurama is at home." He turned to leave.
~!**!~
Toriko froze in place, every hair on her body feeling like it stood on end the instant she heard the voice from behind her.
And not just any voice, no of course not. His voice.
She felt as if her blush couldn't get any deeper.
Her mind blanked, save for the picture that she just couldn't get rid of, but the leg with the wrapped calf shook with the effort of holding her in place and she took a step forward after a moment of pause, completely ignoring the jab the fire demon made at her and continuing to walk in the direction she'd started, over to the living room and the basket of dirty clothes she spied laying in front of the wide, open closet with the washer and dryer within them in the corner of that room.
She felt very aware of her lack of glasses now, as well as her hair that was just beginning to dry and laying around her shoulders, and so she said nothing even when her mind caught up with her.
Toriko reached the basket and dropped to her knees beside it, legs giving out underneath her just as she did so. She lifted an arm towards the clothing, again shaking with the effort, her other hand clutching at the towel covering her thigh. 3
Hiei's eyes slide the other direction, away from the girl he'd addressed and to stare at the wall, knowing that the only window in the room was over the sink, and curtained. He almost thought about going outside, but when he considered it, the scene from the night before flashed before his mind's eye and he visibly cringed, making himself focus on the heat he could feel radiating around Toriko.
But then he let his mind wander to other things, suddenly curious of what the others were up to. However, he pushed the sudden impulse away, shifting in his chair again so that he faced the part of the room where Toriko had disappeared from. He listened to her movements, but didn't get up to go check on her. Why would he, when she could simply call for assistance should she need it?
As if she would call for his help. The logical part of his mind reminded him that she wouldn't ask for help unless absolutely necessary. The thought made him scoff and lean back in the chair, arms crossing over his abdomen and eyes looking to the part of the room he'd last seen her. Oh well. If she needs help, she'll call. *
Toriko shifted through the pile of laundry with one aching arm as she knelt there on her knees-ignoring any bloody things she found there-almost absentmindedly since her mind was actually straying back to Hiei now, her former awkwardness and blushing over with.
Why was he still here? Shouldn't he be out doing...other things? Whatever that encompassed. There was certainly nothing interesting around here to keep him, she thought to herself. So why hadn't he left like she expected? Especially considering his words when she suggested it earlier.
She finally found what she searched for and pulled it from the recesses of the basket. The summer dress was plain and sleeveless and went just past Toriko's knees. She'd only worn it once, so it wasn't terribly dirty.
After Toriko slipped it over her head and pulled it down, her arms seized up and she fell against the wall with her shoulder, grimacing again, the wall feeling cool against her cheek.
She squirmed around a bit as she managed to get the towel to fall off from underneath the dress, pulling it out and leaning back up against the wall, breathing heavily.
Next problem? Getting back upstairs to fetch her glasses and put up her hair. And having something on under the dress would be nice.
She couldn't stand up. Her jaw clenched tighter as her legs twitched, having already done much more than they ever should have been able to. Her arms felt in similar straits.
Toriko thought about Maneshi, laying upstairs on the bed, and forced herself to her feet. At the very least, she needed to see him, check up on him.
She slipped back down the wall, her legs simply refusing any command she gave them, unable to think through much else but the cloud of pain that darkened her vision as she hunched over.
~!**!~
Yusuke put his arms up behind his head as he walked away from Kurama's house and began to wander aimlessly down the street.
His mom had answered the door and let Yusuke know that Kurama had called her and mentioned a school trip.
"School trip" was usually code of "Helping Yusuke Save the Human World." But, as Kaito observed earlier, Kurama was not actually with Yusuke, though it wouldn't make much difference to Kurama's mom.
Yusuke grumbled incoherently to himself about the entire situation.
He had no idea where Toriko lived. Neither Kurama nor Akari were at home. And he'd completely forgotten to say something smart to Keiko like "meet me at the park in an hour." Oops. 3
~!**!~
Hiei listened to the silence of the house, waiting just as patiently as he could, knowing there was no way Toriko would be able to do much more than what she'd already done. In fact, he was mildly surprised that she'd even moved around as much as she had.
His eyes slid closed as he stifled his amusement, glancing now towards the stairs that would lead to the second floor of the house. He didn't know what drew his attention to the stairs, but he didn't linger on it, instead turning back to view the other side of the room again. She still had yet to call on him, which wasn't surprising at all.
He heaved a sigh and stood, making the chair squeak against the floor as the legs scraped the wooden floor. He considered his options, wondering if he should check in or wait, to prove his point. Unsure of what to do, he found himself only standing there, debating with himself.
Another sigh, and Hiei was moving through the kitchen and to the living room, deciding he'd sit on the couch instead. Might as well, right?
~!**!~
The warm summer air whipped at blue locks, worry making Botan's oar speed up through the earth's clouds, both hands securely keeping her in place as she zoomed down where she knew Yusuke should be. And as she had known, he was leaving Kurama's house, where the ferry girl knew for sure the redhead was not.
"Yusuke!" she yelled over the wind that roared in her ears. "We have an issue!" With that, she swooped down and landed on her feet, making the rest of the way to the boy at a run from the five or so feet she'd landed in front of him. *
"If you're here to tell me something about someone being kidnapped, you're a little late." Yusuke raised an eyebrow at Koenma's recent habit of slowness. Things in Spirit World must be busy.
~!**!~
It took another minute or two for the pain to lessen again, enough that Toriko could form a coherent thought. Even when clearer, they still rested on getting back upstairs, at least to Maneshi if nothing else. Since nothing else seemed physically possible for the moment.
She used the wall for support again, sliding back up it and leaning her body weight against it, turning around and facing towards the stairs.
Her vision closed in again and she stopped, one foot that had been lifted to take a step coming back down to the floor. She blinked several times and took a deep breath, keeping careful observation on the darkness at the edges of her eyes and debating whether or not she needed to stop again and sit down. Crawling upstairs was also a thing, though she immediately dismissed it. She wouldn't resort to that until Hiei decided to leave.
Her jaw tightened again. When he decided to leave. She had an eyebrow quirk angrily once as she closed her eyes and fought off the fainting spell again. 3
Hiei heard slight movement somewhere in the house, but it stopped shortly after and he wondered just how long she was going to make herself suffer like that. He realized that he was practically being a worry-wart over this, almost driving himself insane over her. Why? Why did he bother? As Shikiyoku had said at one point, she was more a nuisance than anything, something for him to keep tabs over constantly. He earned nothing from this agreement that he'd made that left him sitting here, badgering himself.
Pathetic. he thought to himself, eyes sliding shut as he realized just how off-kilter this woman made him. How on this plane of existence had she managed that?
He suddenly stood, unable to take it any longer, and he walked through the house until he found Toriko, leaning against the wall. He crossed his arms over his chest at her, irritated that he'd put himself into a bad mood from his musings. After all, the only way to figure out how she had made him this way was to assess every single moment. But he couldn't do that. There were too many things going on.
"Give up?"
~!**!~
Botan frowned, resisting the urge to smack him for interrupting her. But, she wasn't surprised that he'd already gotten the gist of what was going on. How much had he figured out before now, anyway?
"Listen," she began, out of breath from her haste, "Koenma was doing routine checks on the energy in the area, like always, and then he realized Akari wasn't in town. Her tracking device, at first, wasn't able to be seen on the monitor." She paused to take a breath, then continued hurriedly, worried for the duo, "So Koenma looked for you guys on the screen so he could figure out where you were to let you know, and Kurama's is gone too! His energy is just… missing. Nowhere."
She took a deep breath again. "And that's when Koenma sent me to get you. He's trying for the tracking device again, but he thinks both Akari and Kurama are in the same place, with that demon you said you could never find! But that's unheard of! A demon hiding energies!" By this point, she began babbling, unable to help herself. It was simply a nervous habit. *
Things were at least a little...clearer than when he'd started.
"And Toriko? What about her? She wasn't at school either. And do you know where Keiko is? I told her I'd find her as soon as I figured stuff out." Yusuke was ready to get back into action as soon as Botan pointed him in a direction.
~!**!~
Toriko's eyes flew open again and rested on Hiei. She stood up straighter, getting away from the wall and shoving away the pain that threatened to overhaul her system and simply shut her down. She could still see darkness intermixed with stars dancing at the edge of her vision and she could not get it to go away.
It did take her a minute to register that he'd actually said something. A question.
"No." Her eyes narrowed, the stubborn streak that assisted in her ability to ignore her pain flaring out from within her. If she had been able to even take another step, she would have right then, just to prove her point, but her body was very quickly nearing its limits.
Just try to do something about it. She continued glaring at him, daring him to come closer. 3
Hiei's own eyes narrowed, mirroring Toriko's narrowed gaze. She was challenging him, and he didn't even have to read her mind to know that much. And his jaw flexed, muscles protruding in irritation at her. Why wouldn't she just give up and sit still somewhere? Stop driving him insane!
But she shouldn't be able to do that. Before now, no one had been able to make him act like this. That thought made his jaw flex again, teeth gnashing together. Well, too bad.
He suddenly reached for her, knowing even if she wanted to, she wouldn't be able to get away. He grabbed around her waist and hefted her over his shoulder, one arm secured around her to keep her from falling. Without another thought, he turned and headed back up the stairs.
~!**!~
Botan stopped talking as soon as Yusuke spoke up again, her head tilting to the side. "Toriko? Oh, she's with Hiei, at home. Koenma thinks he's taking precaution against the enemy." She paused again, trying to remember where Keiko had been. "OH! Keiko is at the park! She hasn't left in about twenty minutes, maybe longer." *
"Toriko's around. That makes one less thing to worry about." Yusuke commented, "Let's get to the park. I don't want Keiko to start to worry about me too."
~!**!~
Toriko's eyes widened when she saw what Hiei meant to do, but it wasn't as if she could fight him off.
"N-no, don't tou-" He cut her off as he lifted her, the heat pack falling off her shoulders and to the floor. This time she did release a cry of pain that led to her breath coming faster as her vision completely blacked around her for a moment and she felt herself go limp. She bit her lip to stop another similar noise of protest that threatened to be jostled out of her mouth.
He probably didn't care that it hurt anyway, so she tried to stay quiet. And for that matter, she probably should have stayed in bed. What confused her was that he even bothered. Weren't there other, more important things he had to do? Why did putting her back to bed rank as the thing he should be doing at this very moment? She would have managed by herself. Maybe. It just would have taken a while. 3
Hiei stomped his way up the stairs, not making any indication that he heard the sound Toriko made. He simply continued on up the stairs and into her room, standing before her bed for a minute, actually considering just plopping her down, but decided against it and simply bending so that he set her on her bottom on the bed. He released her and stood up straight, eyeing her for a few minutes, suddenly realizing she had changed from only the towel to a dress. The pattern captured his eye, but only for a mere second before he crossed his arms over his chest again, waiting for anything she might have to say.
~!**!~
Nabu didn't know when or how, but sometime in the past few minutes, he'd landed himself in the lap of the girl who had followed him to the very spot Akari had disappeared from. And, as he had realized only recently, Flowers too. But those thoughts were slightly dimmed with the gentle petting he was being given by the girl, his head on her thigh as she stretched her legs out on the grass. He watched her, curiously wondering what to call her by.
Smart rang loud in his mind first, but that wouldn't do. How could he tell Akari about a smart girl named Smart? That seemed to defeat the purpose.
He thought harder on the subject for a while before Loudmouth and another person suddenly came into his view, making his ears perk up in hopes that maybe, just maybe, he'd found something that Nabu hadn't. But while that was true, it wasn't the type of news he'd been looking for.
The atmosphere was thick with several emotions, making the pup's ears lay down again as he listened to the three people talk, Loudmouth explaining the situation that the newcomer had informed him of.
"Why would someone take Akari and Flowers?" He whined out, his chin laying on the arm of the girl who was now standing, holding him in her arms. "That isn't fair." *
"So what now?" Yusuke crossed his arms over his chest.
"I don't know." Botan put a thoughtful finger up to her chin.
Yusuke practically fell over, "Whaddya mean 'you don't know'?"
"Just that!" Botan provided.
"Well, when was the last time anyone saw the two?" Keiko piped up.
"I saw them last night. We parted ways after a..." Yusuke's eyes flickered over to Botan and he laughed nervously, scratching a finger at his chin, "Oh yeah, you don't know about that, do you?"
"Know what?"
His face grew briefly more serious, "Toriko got kidnapped last night."
Both Keiko and Botan gave a small gasp, and Yusuke quickly waved his hands in front of his body in an attempt to reassure them.
"We rescued her."
"We?" Botan's eyebrows rose.
"Yeah," Yusuke began to tick off his fingers, "Me and Kuwabara and Kurama and Hiei and Akari." He looked back up at them. "In fact, that's the last time I saw any of them. After we got Toriko back."
"Hm. I don't know how Koenma is going to take this. He hasn't been on the ball lately." Botan noted.
"You don't say?" Yusuke's sarcasm was not lost on the Reaper.
"He's seemed like he's had a lot on his mind." Botan suddenly brightened with an idea and she snapped her fingers, "That's it! Maybe he's found something else out for us! We could start there!"
"Maybe." Yusuke appeared doubtful.
"Well, it can't hurt anything." Keiko gently placed Nabu back on the ground and brushed her skirt off absently, grabbing her brown satchel. "I think I'll just go home though. There isn't really much I can do and I'd probably just slow you down." She turned to go, throwing her bag over her shoulder and looking over at Yusuke, "You'd better find them, though. Or I'll be mad!" She waved her other hand as she walked out of the park.
~!**!~
"You should have just left me there." Toriko mumbled, refusing to look up at the fire demon who still stood over her. If her arms had been working, her hands would have been fiddling with the pleats in her dress. "I would have managed."
It didn't make a noise this time, but Toriko's stomach queased around her middle.
How on earth can you be hungry right now? Toriko asked herself. Another wave of pain making her shut her eyes and furrow her brows together. She lost her breath for a moment, gasping once, as she felt like she could black out at any second.
While Toriko did not look back at him, Maneshi still lay on the bed in the exact position Hiei had put him down in, and his breathing had not slowed. His eyes were half-lidded and in pain, and he didn't even flick his tail at them when they came back into the room. 3
Hiei didn't reply right away to the girl, simply standing there and staring at her with frustrated eyes and a tense frame. He wasn't sure if she was being stubborn, or stupid. Perhaps both, but he struggled with that internally for a moment before simply agreeing, both.
His mouth opened, his mind working as he wondered how he would be able to get her to simply stay still and recover, because he sure as hell didn't want to keep doing this for the next few weeks. "If you're unable to recover, then what the hell makes you think you'd be of use?" He hadn't meant to be so harsh, but his irritation at her was more than he'd expected.
Or maybe he was irritated at himself for not having answers.
"In order to be of use to anyone, you have to be in at least moderate condition. This is not moderate condition, and the more you act like a nuisance the longer it will take for you to become useful, as you so earnestly seem to believe you have to be." *
Toriko was taken aback by how harshly he spoke to her, mostly because it revealed something she'd never considered before.
He cared.
On some level or another at least, and she felt rather assured that he likely didn't understand it himself. He didn't seem the type who 'cared' very often and probably wouldn't know the meaning of the word in relation to something other than the katana he wore.
This knowledge left her speechless for a moment, the shock sinking in the more she realized how true it had to be. Why else would he still be around? She fully expected him to leave her alone, and as strange as it seemed that he would worry over her, even if just a little bit, it changed her attitude almost immediately.
Her shoulders relaxed just a little, the tension there accentuated by her stubbornness.
"Y-yes, Hiei." She stammered in agreeing with him, her voice sounding small to herself. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be a bother. You can go if you want. I'll lay down and rest. Promise."
She did in fact want to be useful, and it struck her as odd that she also in those moments realized that she wanted to be useful to him. She could find absolutely no source for these feelings except somewhere within her that told her he hadn't asked anything of her yet, hadn't given her some task she could fulfill for him, and it left her feeling useless and unwanted.
So...maybe it wasn't that he cared, she tried to reason with herself since the idea seemed so very foreign. Maybe it was that he hadn't found a use for her yet and just viewed her as something in the way. Something that he, for whatever reason, looked after without gaining anything in return simply because he didn't know what to do with her. And it frustrated him.
Toriko's head reeled in the midst of these weird thoughts that she felt were coming out of nowhere. What had happened to only worrying about if she had her hair in place for school? Or if she'd forgotten to read the chapter for the next test? This all felt like a little much. 3
As the fire demon stood there, blood boiling and thoughts churning, he could do nothing more than just wait for her reply. However, when she did give her reply, he somehow felt as if it weren't enough, as if the amount of effort he'd put into making sure she stayed in one place, even simply staying in the house with her, was not so easily repaid with a promise.
Internally, he scoffed at himself. His crossed arms tightened, making the veins in them pop, not that she would notice for the sleeves of his cloak.
Maybe it was because he'd been in the house all night and almost all day that he felt this way. What was the term? Stir-crazy? That, coupled with the fact that she hadn't listened to him until now, must have created this effect on him. That was the only logical reason. Right? It had to be.
Hiei didn't realize he'd receded into his own thoughts for longer than a minute, leaving him standing silently in front of Toriko for longer than necessary. His eyes refocused on her and he, for a moment, had nothing to say. He'd gotten the answer he'd wanted.
So why wasn't he leaving?
Hiei moved, deciding that while he wanted fresh air, going outside didn't seem like something he absolutely wanted to do. So, he found the window on the opposite side of the room, unlatched the lock and opened it before settling himself down on the windowsill.
The feel of the breeze and the sun on his face was refreshing, making it suddenly much easier for him to think. He felt like he'd run himself ragged, so without hesitation he leaned his back against the windowsill and let his eyes slide shut, though he wouldn't sleep.
~!**!~
Akari didn't know how long she'd been awake, but since falling asleep and waking up herself and Kurama, she hadn't slept. She'd tried to, even lay in the dirt with the bugs crawling around her, watching the darkness over her hoping it would make her feel even more tired. But no matter how long she lay still, her eyes wouldn't shut for long.
Even now, as she lay on her back, toying with the seed she'd stolen from the fox demon across the room, she felt a yawn coming, but her mind was working. Her muscles were tired still, but her brain continued to turn over and over different things.
At this very moment, she found herself nervous. And the more her unease escalated, the more she rolled the seed around and around in her hand, her arm extended in the air as if she could see the small object in front of her face instead of the crushing darkness.
When Toriko had been kidnapped, this gang had done whatever they pleased to her. Hell, they'd even tied her to the ceiling's metal beams, where her blood would drip right on the heads of anyone who passed underneath. She'd been a wreck of the worst kind, defiled by Enma knows how many.
But her and Kurama were left alone. Neither of them had been touched other than however the hell the two of them had gotten here. Why? Were they waiting for something else, someone else? Her hand stilled, the seed having fallen to her chest when she physically reacted with a small jerk. After a moment, she forced herself to retrieve the seed and roll over onto her side.
Maybe she was overthinking it.
Then again, when did captives ever go unharmed?
Stop it. She let out a long breath of air, very slowly exhaling. This time, when she put the seed in front of her eyes, she put it close enough to just make out the small object and forced her thoughts to it. Now that she concentrated on it instead of their predicament, she wondered how the hell she was going to give it back. Surely the redhead kept careful inventory of such things, right? She rolled over again, this time so that she faced the side of the room Kurama was on.
Maybe he wouldn't notice. *
~!**!~
Otento sighed as he walked away from the throne room, his feet making silent steps on the red carpet that led towards the main hall and his exits of the palace.
"Problem, sir?" Terepo asked quietly.
"Only a minor setback." Otento waved away Terepo's concern. "Nothing we can't accommodate for."
They only got a few more steps before Otento heard the sound of feet coming from behind and only a moment later a voice called to him.
"Otento, was it?"
Otento turned around and recognized the youthful looking demon, his mind immediately recalling the image of the throne room with its high ceiling and empty length that towards the back of the room where two ornate thrones sat side-by-side just at the top of a series of several steps. This demon had been lounging somewhere along the stairs in the midst of what Otento presumed were his brothers and sisters, their father seated sideways lazily in the King's throne above them.
As the demon got closer, he stopped, his spiky orange hair sitting a few inches straight up off the top of his head. His face seemed rather brooding and full of melancholy and he regarded Otento with solemn eyes and a reclusive expression.
"I apologize for my father's rejection." The demon inclined his head slightly in official greeting. "But I would assist you if you think you might find my services useful."
Otento tossed his white-blonde hair lightly to remove it from his eyes and said nothing as the demon appeared to want to say more.
"I myself can only do a trifle, but my twin sister would surely join us and we stir much trouble together."
"And where is this sister of yours?"
"Unfortunately, she is elsewhere." The demon apologized, "But I can give you a taste of what we offer. I know she will not refuse a bit of fun."
"Hm." Otento intoned noncommittally. "I suppose a demonstration of your power can do no harm." He thought of the two whom he had locked up. "If you will come with me...what was your name again?"
"I am Gashiru. My sister is Gekijou."
"Excellent. If you can do even just a little of what I think you can do, we might be better off than previously."
Terepo had already began muttering the chant that would take them to the depths of the cave he knew Otento would wish to travel.
"Come here, Gashiru. Let's go somewhere that we might bear witness to your abilities." Otento held out a hand as if to shake, placing his other hand on Terepo's shoulder.
Without hesitation, Gashiru grasped for Otento's hand firmly just as Terepo finished the incantation and waved his hands.
It took not a second for the three of them to reappear within the deep darkness of the cavern in which Otento had secured the true Youko.
Otento released Gashiru's hand and lifted the other from Terepo's shoulder.
"Now. Let us see what you have to offer. Not on us, mind you. But on the two contained within." Otento put his hand in a pocket and fished out a small orb and he activated with his demonic energy. It lit up and brightened the room with light, a yellow glow bouncing off of the walls, and then hovered in the air at Otento's shoulder.
He next pointed to the other side of the room, where they could dimly make out two other red-haired demons lounging on the ground.
Gashiru raised an eyebrow but said nothing, stepping towards them before coming to a sudden halt and raising his eyes as if he could see the barrier that held them.
"There is something here."
"Ah, yes, just a minor precaution."
Gashiru shook his head, "I can do nothing. It is in the way."
"That is easily taken care of." Without further consideration, Otento waved a hand and the barrier came down.
~!**!~
Toriko kept her head down after speaking, watching Hiei's feet move away from her and hearing the window open after a moment.
She couldn't help closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of the outside air. She always felt so closed up in the house and that window was usually left open for that reason.
Of course it made it easier for people to come through the window-
That train of thought came to an abrupt halt in Toriko's mind, her thoughts almost immediately switching in self-preservation to Maneshi who had at that moment let out a weak noise from somewhere behind her.
For him, Toriko again found herself able to fight through the pain, and put her hands down on either side of her body and lifted herself backwards onto the bed, her arms trembling and giving out almost immediately.
Maneuvering around as best she could, Toriko got turned so that she faced Maneshi, who was actually standing, his head held low and almost touching the comforter and his tail drooping onto the bed. His legs were shaking as if he had a chill and he tried to take another step forward towards her just as she reached him and laid down on her one shoulder, collapsing onto her side.
Toriko gathered him up into her arms, he gratefully relaxed into her embrace, and put her head on the pillow at the top of the bed.
Both of them were breathing hard again, but the furry little bit of warmth which Toriko's arms now encircled also managed to begin purring almost violently at her, curling up into as small of a ball as he could manage.
As Toriko watched him, wishing she could move to pet him but finding that her body now completely refused to obey her commands upon laying down, she felt her own emotions settling back down into a lull and her breathing became easier. She still could feel each muscle seizing up with tightness and pain, which cause her entire body at times to spasm violently, but having the creature nearby calmed her a great deal. 3
Hiei felt his entire body relax against the wooden frame of the window, the breeze that blew through the window gently swaying the end of his cloak that hung over the windowsill edge. He could even feel it move through his thick hair, making individual strands dislodge from their normal place to move with the wind. His skin felt warmer, and for once, the sound of birds didn't irritate him in the slightest. In fact, it was a soothing sound.
His eyelids slid open and he glanced towards Toriko out of the corners of his eyes, noticing that she was doing as she'd said she would and was laying down, the small ball of fur known as Maneshi curled up with her, their breathing equivalent to one another. Satisfied, his eyes turned to the outside world, watching people move about the sidewalks and creatures move about, doing whatever it was they did during this time of day.
~!**!~
The only sound was that of the trio's slow breaths and footsteps, three pairs of eyes trying their hardest to see through what at first was darkness. "Too bad we didn't think of flashlights."
"Kuwabara, I swear, if you-"
"Boys, enough!"
Silence again ensued, only broken by footfall and breathing as Yusuke lead the way through the small cave. Or perhaps it was more of a tunnel, since it hadn't branched off into a fork yet. They'd been walking for at least ten minutes, and he thought for sure he'd kicked the same rock a hundred times. But what bothered him most was the actual silence. No one was there to stop them from wandering around.
"Are you sure this is where the tracker said they were?"
"For the hundredth time, yes Yusuke! That kind of equipment doesn't have many faults."
"Except that it took an hour to find and-"
"That's what happens when you go underground!"
"Guys, sh." Kuwabara interrupted, his skin crawling and his gut rolling. Did he just hear something?
"Sure, you're the loudest-"
"No, listen."
Silence, and after a few minutes, a voice could be made out somewhere in the distance. Without prompting, all three of them picked up the pace, no longer saying anything and relying on the element of surprise as they roamed closer, trying to listen for how many people they were up against.
"...it's in the way."
"That is easily taken care of."
There was a stirring in the air, a change in the atmosphere, and Yusuke decided that now was the time to act, while the people inside were distracted. So, he stepped into the lit room, a grin lighting his features in the darkest of ways.
"Well, I didn't think you'd start the party without us! Come on, at least let the guests in on the fun!"
"Urameshi, look." Kuwabara muttered, nodding to his right where the detective laid eyes on the two very people he'd been looking for.
But he didn't look long. "Aw come on, you're getting boring."
~!**!~
Akari hadn't reacted at first to the muffled noise she heard, until it turned to voices. She sat up abruptly, suddenly unsure which way she was facing in the room and which way to turn to view the threat that she couldn't sense.
But she didn't have time to see if Kurama was awake, because in a matter of seconds, light flooded the room, banishing most of the darkness and making her blink rapidly to adjust. And before she knew it, she was on her feet, facing the people in the room and her mind turning over and over.
And she positively jumped at the loud voice of Yusuke, who had somehow escaped her senses in the moment. A small breath of relief left her without her realizing it.
"You're late, detective."
"Yeah, sorry about that." *
Shinbara - (as shimbara:) family or surname
Gashiru - to well up; to be overcome with emotion; to be close to tears
Gekijou - violent emotion; passion; fury
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star