Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fighting Back ❯ Victory, or Not? ( Chapter 6 )

Tori the Hanyou: Okay, Chapter 6! I'm just here to say hi, and then it's on with the story, since I left you guys at a cliffy!

DISCLAIMER: No

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Fighting Back

Chapter 6: Victory, or Not?

"Hiei!" yelled Tori and Kurama. Finding renewed strength from that small victory, Sesshomaru grabbed Tori by the shoulder and pried her claws out of him. He bit through Kurama's whip. Kagome, seeing her friend was in trouble, shot again, only to have Sesshomaru catch the arrow in mid-flight. Instead of melting it, he held it to Tori's throat. Snarling, Tori moved super-fast, and grabbed the arrow with her teeth, snapping it. Sesshomaru moved his hand so it held Tori's throat.

He tightened it, making it harder and harder for her to breathe. Tori let her ligress out, and the ligress greeted Sesshomaru with a blast of psychic energy. She leapt at Sesshomaru's fallen form, and viciously attacked him, followed by Kurama's angry whip cracks. He held up an arm to defend himself, but the two were furious.

They were about to strike the final blow, when they heard a small voice, and a little girl raced in between them and Sesshomaru.

"Stop! Rin no like this! Please don't hurt Lord Sesshomaru any more!" Tori and Kurama froze, along with everyone else, at least the ones who were still conscious, or alive. She stared at the little girl, dressed in a tiny pink kimono. She couldn't be more than seven. She had dark, almost black hair and brown eyes to match. She was also crying. Tori took a deep breath and backed away, trying to keep her ligress from harming the girl in her lust for revenge.

Kagome walked up to her and knelt down beside her.

"Is Sesshomaru your friend?" she asked. Rin shook her head.

"Lord Sesshomaru is more than Rin's friend, he like Rin's daddy." At this Kagome's eyes widened. Little kids didn't lie, so why would Sesshomaru show compassion for a human, when he himself hated them to his last breath?

"What's your name again?"

"Rin."

"Listen, Rin, we need those objects that Sesshomaru picked up. They're not safe with him. We will leave you in peace if we can have those objects." Rin immediately hurried over to Sesshomaru, and gently took the Weather Staff out of his open hand, sliding the Blaze of Water Ring off his finger. She raced back over and gave them to Kagome.

"He had one other, but Rin no know where it is."

"Don't worry, I've found it!" said Botan cheerfully, coming out of the bushes with the Ocarina of Peace in her hand.

Jaken came out at this very moment.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" he cried. He hurriedly helped Rin drag Sesshomaru away.

Kagome took the objects over to Botan for her to put in her bag. Tori got up from her position against the tree and went over to Hiei's still form.

"Hiei? Hiei, say something," she said, slightly shaking him. He didn't move. Tori's shoulders slumped. What if he wasn't alive? Nobody could've survived a direct hit like that from such a huge bolt of lightning. She gently placed one hand on his, and looked at him with a pained face, closing her eyes. She felt slight tears coming on.

"What are you crying about?" came an annoyed voice. Tori's head shot up, and turned. Hiei was looking at her strangely. Tori felt a wave of relief rush over her, but she shook her head at his comment.

"Who said I was crying?" she snapped, standing up. She turned away as she felt the blush coming on. Hiei raised an eyebrow at her as she walked away. 'Was she . . .worried for me?' he thought.

Kagome dropped to her knees from exhaustion. They'd done it; they'd actually beaten Sesshomaru without Inuyasha. Kurama came over to her.

"Are you all right?" he asked. Kagome nodded. Kurama turned to Hiei, to find him sitting propped up on his elbow, watching Tori storm away through the bushes. He heard Kagome speak.

"Are you really a half-demon?" He turned to face her.

"Well, yes, in some way, I am," he answered, "but it's a really long story, and we've all just been through quite a difficult battle." He looked back where Tori went. "I do hope someone's going after her. She needs those wounds treated, and so do the rest of us."

As soon as he'd said it, Hiei got to his feet and walked through the bushes where he'd seen Tori go. "Well, that settles that little problem."

Botan was already at Yusuke's side, using her powers to extract Sesshomaru's poison from his blood. Kuwabara soon sat up in a daze.

"What'd I miss?" he asked stupidly.

"Try everything," said Yusuke, wincing as he sat up. He looked around. "Where's Hiei?"

Tori felt the pain of her shoulder beginning to increase as she headed through the bushes. She stopped in a tiny clearing, realizing she was being followed. She spun around, coming face to face with Hiei, and nearly falling over from surprise. Hiei waited for her to recover from her scare, and spoke first.

"You really should get those wounds healed," he said calmly. "Botan can get the poison out of your system." Tori didn't speak to him. She simply turned and continued walking, her nose in the air. Hiei rolled his eyes, and, super-fast, he appeared in front of Tori, blocking her way.

"Excuse me," said Tori smartly. Hiei continued to give her a calm stare. Glaring, Tori tried to push through him, but trying to do that was like trying to push through a brick wall. He held out an arm, stopping her. Tori gave him a tiny growl. "Don't make me hurt you," she said. Hiei smirked.

"You have no idea who you're messing with, do you?" he asked.

"Yeah, actually, I do, a stuck-up demon who could care less about anyone other than himself, and would much rather die before lending a helping hand," said Tori. Hiei continued to smirk.

"If I'm so selfish, then why am I helping you now?" he asked. Tori raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't exactly call this helping, it's more like hindering," she said. She tried to push past again, but winced when she put weight on her shoulder. She grabbed it, gritting her teeth. It actually hurt a lot more than she'd thought. But she wasn't about to go along with this stupid act Hiei was putting on.

Suddenly, she felt arms around her, and before she knew it, they were right outside where they'd fought Sesshomaru. She pushed away from Hiei angrily as she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. "Hey! I'll come back when I damn well want to!" she cried. In answer, Hiei gave a small sigh of exasperation, and grabbed her wrist, dragging her into the clearing, ignoring her yells of protest.

Kagome blinked as she saw her friend being pulled behind Hiei. He stopped, throwing her down against a tree.

"Do something about her, Botan," he said, flying up into the branches above Tori. She glared at him with the utmost hatred. To think he'd have the audacity! She let Botan get the poison out of her shoulder before beginning her own trek back to their campsite they'd stayed at the night before. Kagome packed up her bow and arrows, and turned to the others.

"Tori's right, in one way or another, we should start heading back if we want to reach our old campsite by the time night falls."

As they were walking (In Hiei's case, flying) Kurama asked Kagome a few questions of his own.

"So Kagome, how is it that you've become so skilled at archery?"

"When you travel through here, you gotta have some type of defense, you know," came Kagome's answer.

"And, what about that cat in your bag? Is it yours?"

"No, Kirara belongs to my friend Sango, whom you met back in the village, you know, the one with the giant boomerang?"

"Ah, yes, the violent one," said Kurama jokingly. Kagome giggled. He was right; Sango did tend to go over the line when it came to reprimanding Miroku. They both fell silent. Yusuke was watching them while walking behind, and an evil idea formed in his head. He suddenly strolled past them, giving Kagome a VERY good push, knocking her right into Kurama.

Kagome felt her face turn bright red, and she glanced up at Kurama, who'd instinctively caught her. He straightened her up, his face tinged with blush, too. He gave a stern glance at Yusuke, who walked on ahead, whistling You Are My Sunshine, a song Keiko used to sing to his body while he was dead (I know, it's not in the show, but I'm adding it in!). He sometimes heard her humming it when she was near him, and it gave him a warm feeling inside. It was kind of like their soul-binding song.

Kurama sensed the feeling of remembrance inside Yusuke, and left him alone. He saw Kagome's face etched with worry as she looked ahead into the forest. Where was Tori?

"Something wrong?" he asked. Kagome glanced up at him.

"You think Tori remembers where camp is?" she asked. Kurama smiled.

"I'm sure she's fine," he said. "But, there are a few things I'd like to know about her," he said.

"Like what?" snapped Hiei defensively from behind them, making them both jump. Kurama looked at Hiei with surprise. "What are you staring at?" asked the fire demon as he floated after them as they walked.

"Nothing, Hiei, but why are you suddenly flaring up like this? I thought you didn't care about her," he said in an almost singsong voice. Hiei glared,

"Who said I cared about her? I just thought I could probably answer your questions myself," he said.

"Ooo, and how would that be?" asked Yusuke, who'd been listening. Now Kagome looked at Hiei strangely.

"Yeah, what do you think you could answer that I couldn't?" she asked. Hiei suddenly flew up into the sky again to hide his blush.

"Oh, yeah, he's hidin' something," said Yusuke.

"Anyways, I was going to ask why Tori acts so defensive all the time. Did something happen to her?" he asked. Kagome looked down.

"It's a really long story," she said.

"We're not going anywhere," said Yusuke, falling into step beside Kurama.

"Okay, then, if you insist," said Kagome. She related the story of Riku, the murder of Tori's family, and the forced witness of her brother's death.

By the time she was done, everyone was listening, except Hiei, who'd already heard the story.

"Oh, the poor girl!" cried Botan. Kagome nodded, a small tear rolling down her cheek. Kurama put a comforting arm around Kagome's shoulders, ignoring the sniggers from Kuwabara and Yusuke. Kagome didn't even blush, she was glad for some small comfort. She didn't know what she'd do without her mom, grandpa, or Sota.

They reached camp before long, and Tori was out on her cliff again. Everyone left her alone, save for Hiei, who immediately flew to his perch to watch over her. The version of the story Tori told him hadn't been everything; after hearing Kagome's version, he understood her past a little better.

Tori stared out over the moonlit scene, the same one she'd seen the night before. She looked up at the moon, where the image of Taylor, her brother, shone. She looked down at her wrist, where a small gold bracelet with a book-shaped locket on it hung. She gently opened the tiny book with her fingernails to the minute picture of Taylor giving her a noogie, and they were both laughing. She looked over to the other side, where a tiny engraving was,

Victoria,

May we never be far from each other's side. Happy Birthday, and I hope that noogie I gave you didn't knock out TOO many brain cells!

From, Your Bigger (And Better, Always!) Brother,

Taylor

Tears sprang to her eyes as Tori closed the locket. It sounded just like him. Even though she'd avenged his death, she still couldn't get over it. She could still hear his voice yelling,

"Help me, Victoria!" as he was killed. She shut her eyes tight to block out the memory, but it came even clearer. Tears spilled down her cheeks as her fist trembled. She hated Riku, even though he was dead. In her mind, the ligress crept into her mind chamber to try to comfort her, though she couldn't hear much of anything. Her mind was flooded with those awful pictures.

All of a sudden, she felt tired, pressured by some kind of power that was overwhelming her. She couldn't figure out what kind of power, it was some haze that filled her head, blocking out the memories. She felt dizziness inside her head, and smoke clouded her inner vision, making her sleepy. Her eyelids drooped, and she lay down on the grass, asleep in a few minutes.

From his position in the tree, Hiei withdrew his outstretched hand. Knowing that Tori would be all right, he too fell into silent slumber.

Kagome sat beside the fire, staring into the flames. The whole time they'd been traveling, she thought she'd felt something (or someone) following them. Kurama watched her worried face. It wasn't right for such a pretty girl to be worried this much. He sat down beside her; thankfully Kuwabara and Yusuke were asleep.

"Kurama?" asked Kagome, breaking the silence.

"Yes?"

"Have you felt something, like we're being watched?"

"Actually, I've been feeling something similar to that since we left that village," said Kurama. Kagome shuddered.

"You don't think it's true, do you?"

"I hate to say this, but when you're getting what you call a 'gut feeling' like what you described, it's usually true." He looked around. "Actually, the one who's watching us is right in those bushes over there," he whispered urgently, gesturing slightly to his left. Kagome quickly glanced at the spot. She thought she saw white, but she wasn't sure.

"Is it Sesshomaru?"

"Use your priestess powers and sense the aura," responded Kurama. His caring and gentle gaze made Kagome feel safe, and she followed his instruction. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She felt the aura, demon, and human for sure. It was a familiar aura, only too familiar. Kagome snapped her eyes open when she realized who it was. Kurama sensed her fear. "What is it?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered. Kurama remembered him as the demon Kagome spoke angrily about. He was the one who she hated for some reason. He stood up.

"I'll be right back." He walked out in another direction. Kagome's eyes widened. Why was he leaving? She trembled as she looked nervously around, glancing every once in a while in the direction Kurama referred to. Suddenly, in a flash of white, Kagome felt herself being picked up bridal style, and soon she was flying through the trees. She couldn't scream; the wind took her breath away. She shut her eyes tight until she and her carrier had stopped moving.

When Kagome opened her eyes, they were in another clearing. When she turned to look, she nearly screamed, but a clawed hand covered her mouth. She was staring into Inuyasha's golden eyes. She only had one memory of these, the ones that were full of death, and she trembled again. She saw Inuyasha's hand come toward her face, and she at first winced, but she remembered. This was what she'd been trained for. She suddenly whacked out with her hand, slapping Inuyasha's away. She opened her eyes to glare, undaunted, into his.

"Kagome," he spoke suddenly, with words of gentleness that were totally not like him. This made her pay attention. "I . . .I can't explain or remember why you're so mad at me. What did I do to you?" he asked, with eyes of such innocence, hurt and confusion that Kagome forgot her anger, and began to believe him.

"You attacked me, Inuyasha. I saw you. You were with Kikyo, and . . ."

"Hold it!" he whispered sharply, "I was with Kikyo?"

"Y-yeah, don't you remember?"

"I don't remember anything, but you saw me with her? That damn BITCH!" he said angrily to himself. Kagome looked at him strangely. Now it was her turn to be confused. "Kagome, you probably don't know this, but Kikyo could hypnotize people to do her bidding." Kagome gasped.

"Wha-you're telling me she . . .MADE you attack me?"

"Yeah, I don't know how, but . . .Kagome, I would never hurt you! It's never crossed my mind to kill you, not even when we met!" Kagome gulped. So she'd been wrong this entire time. Inuyasha had never hated her, or wanted her dead. But, there was one thing holding her back from just flinging herself into his arms and crying how she'd missed him. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. She gently pushed herself away from him. "What is it?" he asked. With a pained face, Kagome put a hand to the collar on her neck.

"It's just that . . ." she began. Inuyasha looked curiously at her collar.

"What's that?" he demanded, pointing a clawed finger at the strange thing. Kagome sighed; she knew he wasn't going to like this.

"I've . . .been bound," she gasped out, putting her head down. Inuyasha's eyes widened.

"What? You don't mean bound as in . . .mating, do you?" Kagome's eyes widened, and her head shot up at his absurd thought.

"No, no! Not that at all! I'm just bound as in, like a dog with a leash," she explained. Inuyasha cocked his head. He'd only heard Kagome talk about this 'leash' thing once before, when she'd been angry with him, she'd threatened to get him one and put him on it. What disturbed him was that when he'd asked her what it was, she said it was something that kept the dog from running free . . .he didn't like the sound of it.

"But, I don't see anything that would be a 'leash'," said Inuyasha. If someone was trying to suppress Kagome's freedom, he wanted to know about it.

"This collar, it electrocutes me when I go out of a mile range of the people I'm bound to," she said.

At that moment, she heard something in the bushes. Inuyasha glared dangerously. Kurama stepped out of the bushes, looking at the two curiously.

"Have you resolved your differences?" he asked, as if nothing was wrong. Inuyasha stepped protectively in front of Kagome. He could smell the fox's scent, and it reeked of demon. Kagome gave him a reassuring pat.

"Yeah, Kurama, we're on fine terms now," she said. Kurama raised an eyebrow as he saw Inuyasha.

"Just how fine?" he asked, out of Yoko's curiosity.

"Why do you care, fox?" snarled Inuyasha. Yoko's interest was piqued. Over the time Kurama and Kagome had been together, he'd been really bonding with the girl, and found himself quite attached to her, in ways Kurama hadn't expected, such as romantically. If he'd have to fight with this dog for Kurama's possession of the girl, he'd damn well do it.

Kagome blushed as she saw the competitive look coming from Kurama. Suddenly, something hit her. That was what prevented her from completely loving Inuyasha again. It was Kurama! Somehow, without noticing it, she'd begun to like him more and more each day, until it had slightly gone over the line where she thought of him as just a friend. She realized she'd started to get feelings for him. She blushed at the thought as she realized that his competitiveness must've been caused by the fact that he had feelings for her, too.

Kagome stepped out from behind Inuyasha, and stood in between them, facing him. "What're you doing, Kagome? Get out of the way!" said Inuyasha.

"No, Inuyasha. I won't." Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her. Why did she always have to make these things difficult? She ALWAYS had to argue back whenever he disagreed with her.

"Why not?" he snapped. Kagome was getting angry. Now he was starting to get slightly freaky, and too demanding for her taste. Kurama wasn't like that at all; he listened to her, comforted her, and was all-out gentle and patient with her. He was the better match for her personality. She also knew he was hiding a few secrets she wanted found out.

"Because, I'm . . .not yours anymore."

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Tori the Hanyou: Well, how'd you like that? It was half Hiei/Tori, half Kagome/Kurama. I'm rather proud of it. Now, that's what I call assertiveness on Kagome's part, and Hiei didn't die, YIPPEE! Kurama and Yoko are sure gonna have a long talk about this whole loving Kagome thing . . .oh, boy, I don't wanna stick around for that . . .wait! I gotta write it! YIKES! Oh, well! See you guys next chapter!

~*Tori the Hanyou*~