Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fighting Back ❯ I've Made My Choice ( Chapter 7 )

Tori the Hanyou: Okay, I noticed a lot of you said you hate cliffies, and that I put too many, but think about it, if I didn't, the story wouldn't b that exciting, and you guys wouldn't b anxious about the next chappie! Oh, well, I'll try to cut back on the extremities of the cliffies, but I still think I need them to add some rising action and climax to the story. Anywho, since I left y'all at what you call a cliffie, let's just get on with the damn thing, lol!

DISCLAIMER: No

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Fighting Back

Chapter 7: I've Made My Choice

"What the hell are you talking about, wench? What do you mean you're not mine anymore??" asked the pissed-off hanyou.

"You heard me," said Kagome in a final voice. "Inuyasha, I just don't think we were meant for each other. I'm sorry, but this is the end of us."

Inuyasha's eyes glared.

"I'm sorry, Kagome, but I've already fallen for you, and I can't just let you leave like that," he said sternly, walking up to her. In an instant, Kagome's bow and arrows were out and aimed at him.

"Make one more move, mister, and you'll never get to see again!" she said angrily. Inuyasha froze. Kagome had NEVER purposely turned an arrow on him before! He turned his furious gaze at the kitsune behind her, who was giving him a knowing look. That had to be the one who'd stolen Kagome from him!

He shot past Kagome and flew at Kurama, claws extended. But, the instant he performed his Iron Reaper Soul Stealer, Kurama wasn't there, and about ten trees, standing behind where he'd been, fell. Inuyasha suddenly felt pain around his ankle, sharp spikes digging into it, and he was thrown to the ground. He spun around furiously to see Kurama with his rose whip out. The whip cracked, releasing him, and came in for another assault. Inuyasha leaped into the air, and pulled out Tetsusaiga. He slammed the sword into the earth using the Wind Scar, yet once again Kurama was behind him. Instead of the whip, though, he held out his hand, and a ring of roses appeared around him. Their stems were super-sharp spikes. He turned them so that the spikes were pointed right at Inuyasha, and launched them.

Inuyasha managed to dodge most of the attacks, except for three. One buried itself in his shoulder, one in his waist, and one in his leg. It hurt extra because of the thorns adding on to the pain of the stem-spikes. Inuyasha gritted his fangs, trying to keep from yelling out. He swiped at Kurama with Tetsusaiga again, but this time, managed a small hit on the kitsune before he escaped. Kurama felt one of the yellow beams hit his left arm, and when he landed, the cut was deep, and blood had begun to seep out. In revenge, Yoko decided to try taking over.

He shot at Inuyasha, changing the direction he was coming from numerous times, before getting close enough to launch a series of fast, powerful kicks in his face and stomach. Inuyasha doubled over, one hand on his face, another clutching his stomach, as Kurama leapt away to avoid a surprise attack. Inuyasha was about to rise again, when he felt the nausea of his stomach. Something was wrong. He finally saw, after many attempts to rise, that he'd been defeated. He lost the girl he'd vowed to protect. The very idea made him even sicker. He finally threw up, and collapsed on his back, the image of Kagome growing smaller and smaller as he sank into darkness.

Kurama watched him. Yoko was eager to finish him off, but Kurama decided he'd had enough. He turned to Kagome, who'd been watching the fight with wide eyes. She immediately rushed over and began fussing over his arm, but Kurama silenced her with a finger on her lips. Kagome blinked, and looked up at him. He was giving her his soft gaze, the one that made her heart melt. Yoko gave Kurama a mental push, and Kurama bent down, pressing his lips on Kagome's.

Kagome's eyes widened with surprise, but she soon yielded to him, leaning back into the kiss. Kurama put his hands around her waist, and Kagome relaxed. When they broke apart, Kurama smiled at her. Kagome smiled back, taking his hand, and they walked back to camp together.

The first thing that greeted Kagome when she got back was Kirara peeking out of her bag with a questioning look. Kagome giggled, taking the tiny demon in her hands. While Kurama went to check on the others, Kagome told Kirara everything that happened. The kitten chirped, happy that Kagome had decided.

"Yeah, and you'll get to go back to Sango when we get back to the village," said Kagome. Kirara nodded, and jumped back into the bag to go to sleep. Kagome looked up as Kurama came back.

"Everyone's asleep," he said. Kagome nodded. She looked at his arm.

"Here, let me help you with that," she said. Kurama nodded, and sat down beside her, allowing her to clean the wound with antiseptic wipes and wrap a thick, clean bandage around it. Kurama relished in her smooth touch, feeling her soft hands gently caress his arm. When she was finished, and had tied the bandage up snugly, she felt Kurama's gaze on her. Unable to help herself, she turned to greet his eyes, blushing as he came in for another kiss. He put one hand around the back of her neck, holding her face to his. When he let go, she climbed into her sleeping bag, while he sat behind her, to watch her while she slept.

~The next morning . . .~

Tori awoke early with a groggy feeling, the kind you get after you've been in a really deep sleep for over six hours. She rubbed her eyes and stood up, nearly losing her balance. Her instincts and body weren't fully awake yet, either, which was really weird. She was usually a very light sleeper, waking at the slightest suspicious sound. She looked out over the scene one last time before turning away to go have breakfast.

When she came in, she was bombarded by Kagome's eagerness to tell her what happened the night before. Tori didn't even get a chance to answer before Kagome had dragged her through the bushes to talk to her.

By the time Kagome was finished with her story, Tori's eyes were nearly popping out of her head.

"He kissed you?" she asked. Kagome nodded happily. Tori's look went to the ground. "Kagome, I thought we made a vow," she said quietly.

The happy look on Kagome's face faded.

"Oh, I forgot about that . . .but Tori, he's so nice, and gentle, and . . .he's definitely the better match for me than Inuyasha!" she explained. Tori didn't look up.

"Yeah, whatever," she said.

"Aren't you happy for me?" she asked.

"Well, I dunno, Kagome, I'm a little . . .um . . .surprised," answered Tori. Kagome's shoulders slumped.

"I know I'm not following our vow, Tori, but I really think this one'll work for me!" she said brightly.

"Yeah, ok. I approve," she said. Kagome's eyes went sparkly.

"Oh, I'm glad you see it my way! Now, what're we gonna do about you . . ."

"WHAT THE FUCK???????????" screamed Tori, interrupting her. Kagome looked at her.

"What? I think you need someone, Tori!"

"NO! Nuh-uh! Not no way, not no how am I going with another guy!" she said adamantly.

"Why not?"

"That's what my old friends said last time about Yugi! They thought he'd change me! Well, they were right! He made me worse!" she said angrily. Kagome gave her a sad gaze, looking to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," she said quietly. Tori realized she'd hurt her feelings.

"Listen, Kagome, I'm sorry, but I'm not going with anyone else. I've had two bad experiences, and that's enough for me," she said. Kagome looked up.

"Fine, I wont bother you about it anymore," she said quietly.

"Thank you," answered Tori. They went back to camp, where Tori finally got her breakfast, and they headed out, walking back to the village.

They traveled all day, and whenever Kagome said she was tired, Kurama would gladly let her rest. Tori smiled. From what Kagome had told her, Inuyasha never let her take a break when they'd been looking for jewel shards. She gradually began to accept Kagome's bonding with him. He did take better care of her than Inuyasha. Of course, all that she'd heard was Kagome's complaining about him, she'd never seen it herself.

They passed the lake where they had picked up the Boomerang of Summoning. Tori stopped to look out on its glassy surface, and saw that the sun was beginning to set. She called a stop, pointing to the sun. Everyone agreed to make camp on the lakeshore for the night.

As Botan sent the boys out for firewood again, Kagome readied the food. Tori kept glancing behind her at Botan's bag, where the artifacts were kept. She looked up at Botan, who was finishing watching the boys leave.

"Hey, Botan?" asked Tori.

"Yes?"

"Can I get out two of those artifacts to check out what they can do? It might help Koenma's research on them," she said. Botan smiled and nodded. Tori crept over to the bag. How Botan had managed to cram the Ocarina of Peace, Boomerang of Summoning, Tiara of Growth, Weather Staff, and Blaze of Water Ring all in there was far beyond her.

She dug until she'd found the Boomerang and Ocarina somewhere near the bottom. She took them out to the water's edge. She held up the boomerang and said, "Trumpeter Swan." Instantly, the Boomerang shot a beam of light into the water, and an enormous white swan emerged, rippling the glassy surface of the lake's calm waters. It stretched its long neck, flapping its white, graceful feathers before calmly swimming around in circles near the campsite.

Kagome cooed at it.

"It's sooo pretty," she said. Tori remembered her experience with the created killer whale, and recalled that the animals still had their natural instincts, except for the one about being afraid of humans. Apparently, the orca hadn't minded her at all, so she'd come up with that conclusion. That made the swan safe. Normally, trumpeter swans would try to attack humans with their wings. Getting hit by a single one of those wings that created a six-foot wingspan could knock a human unconscious or break their leg.

Kagome dug into her pack, and came out with a loaf of bread. She opened it, tearing a slice into little pieces before throwing them onto the water. The swan came over, gracefully dipping its neck into the water to gently scoop up the crumbs. It looked at the two girls peacefully with its small, black eyes. Tori then took a piece of bread in her hand, reaching out to the swan with it. The swan took the bread from her without biting her in the hand.

Botan came over and admired the swan before they heard the yelling, signaling the return of the boys.

"I'm telling you, Urameshi! I saw a giant monkey!" yelled Kuwabara's voice.

"Yeah, right, and Osama Bin Laden's a saint, Kuwabara, there's no such thing as giant monkeys!" yelled Yusuke's voice as they came into view.

"Don't make me hurt you two," threatened Hiei.

"Oh, look, Mr. Military's gonna kill us, Urameshi!" called Kuwabara in a tantalizing voice.

"Shut up, idiot," snapped Yusuke.

"I must insist that you two stop arguing," said Kurama. They came, dropping the wood near the fireplace, where Kagome soon had a merry little fire going, all the while ignoring the violent fight that was ensuing. Kuwabara and Yusuke had decided to go at it with their fists. Kurama eventually sent Hiei in to break them up, which he did with a mere threat that he'd give them short term memory loss if they didn't can it.

Reluctantly, the two ceased, to the relief of everyone. Tori, meanwhile, was experimenting farther down the shore with the Boomerang. She created one of her favorite animals, a gray wolf. It sat down and gave a long, sad howl that echoed through the trees. Tori felt her spine shiver, though she liked it.

"What was that?" asked Kuwabara. He looked around fearfully.

"What did it sound like, you fool? It's a wolf, for crying out loud!" snapped Hiei.

"Yeah, well I hate wolves," said Kuwabara.

"Get over it," said Yusuke. "We're in the forest, chances are we were likely to hear one sooner or later."

"Besides, I think it sounds pretty," piped in Kagome.

"Yes, I do too," agreed Kurama.

"Also, there's no need to be scared, Kuwabara, it's just Tori with the Boomerang. She's experimenting with it," explained Botan.

"Even so, why'd she have to make a wolf, of all things?" asked Kuwabara.

"Cause they're one of her favorite animals," said Kagome. "She also likes horses, orcas, lions, swans, falcons . . ."

"Are there a lot?" asked Yusuke, annoyed.

" . . .and dragons," finished Kagome. Soon, Tori came walking back to camp, the wolf trotting beside her. Kuwabara jumped when he heard it bark.

"Hey, you guys, what's up?" asked Tori. She sat down next to Kagome to eat dinner. Kuwabara watched the wolf, which in turn stared back at him.

"How's that thing gonna eat?" he asked gingerly.

"Actually, I don't think animals created with the Boomerang need to eat," answered Tori. To prove it, she held some of her noodles in front of the wolf's nose. It didn't even sniff them.

"Wolves don't like pasta, how's that prove anything?" asked Kuwabara. Tori glared at him.

"They'll eat just about anything edible," she snapped. To further prove it, she took a piece of chicken and held it in front of the wolf; still no response. "See? It didn't even sniff meat. These guys are created for protection or companionship, I think," she said. That seemed to convince Kuwabara enough, though he still gave it edgy looks. "From what I saw from that demon, if you touch the animals with the Boomerang, they disappear," explained Tori. She lightly tapped the wolf with the Boomerang, and it vanished.

After dinner, Tori leaned up against a big rock near the water's edge with the Ocarina of Peace. She was trying to block out the sound of Kuwabara and Yusuke's continuous bickering. 'Time to see if this thing works,' she thought. She'd played the ocarina for a long time; she had one at home that she was very good with.

She leaned back against the rock, shutting out the sounds around her, and began playing. It was a beautiful, yet mysterious tune that echoed across the lake waters. (If you've ever seen Pokemon the Movie 2000, it's the song from there. I know, many think Pokemon's stupid, but I like that song!)

Everyone perked up when they heard the tune. Yusuke and Kuwabara shut up, and suddenly, everyone felt calm. Tori continued playing. Hiei listened carefully for where the tune was coming from, and tracked it to the large rock. He peered over it, and, seeing it was only Tori, he sat down on the other side of the rock. While the calmness had only begun to affect him, everyone else was already nodding off.

He watched as Kagome laid down on her sleeping bag, Botan, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama were on the ground. The melody of the song hung in the air as it drifted about the lakeshore, encircling the group. Soon, though, the song ended, and Hiei snapped out of his trance before he fell asleep. He heard Tori sigh.

He looked around the rock at her. She was watching the water, apparently deep in thought. The half-moon glistened across the water, where Tori's swan floated sleepily on the surface. He came up and sat on top of the rock silently, so as not to attract her attention.

Tori saw images of Yugi across the water, some of them in his calm state, but, eventually, they began to turn into where he'd been angry with her. She narrowed her eyes at these. Then, Hiei's came up, to Tori's shock, and he blocked out the images of Yugi. 'Why am I thinking of Hiei?' she thought, raising an eyebrow. 'It's not like I like him or anything . . .'

'Yes, you do,' came another voice in her head. Tori withdrew into her mind, closing her eyes on the outside. She stood in her mind chamber, looking for the source of the voice, but the only other one in the chamber was the ligress. She looked curiously at the big cat as she watched her with a knowing gaze.

'Was that you?' she asked.

'Yeah, you didn't know I could talk?'

'Well, ya never exactly mentioned it before, and it would've been helpful in certain situations if you had.'

'Don't care, now, you know you like Hiei,' responded Ligress. Tori was still slightly baffled at her ligress's sudden revealing secret, but she had to protest.

'No, I don't.'

'*sigh* Don't make this hard, I live here, I know what goes on here, I'm telling you, you do!'

'So, how would you know that?'

'Aha! So you admit it!'

'DAMNIT! *grits teeth* I do not, you oversized furball!'

'That's a pretty elementary insult for an eighth grader, don't you think?'

'Grr, I don't care! Just leave me alone! I liked you better when you couldn't talk!'

'Uh, newsflash, I've BEEN able to talk, you just haven't known it until now.'

'Shut up.'

'Make me.'

'Forget you . . .' Tori emerged from her own mind, opening her eyes in a flustered manner. She was too frustrated to noticed Hiei behind her, until he spoke, startling her.

"Do you plan to sit like that all night?" he asked. Tori jumped about three feet in the air and spun around, glaring at him.

"How about I ask a question? Do you always sneak up behind people and scare them like that?" she asked. He looked as though he was thinking.

"Yes."

"Whatever."

"Anyways, where did you learn that song you were playing?" asked Hiei, sliding down off the rock right next to her. Tori blinked at him, scooting away. Apparently, the guy had personal space issues. She was finally far enough away to where she was comfortable, and answered him,

"I really don't think that's any of your business," she said.

"Fine, then. It was just a thought, I actually liked it," he said, standing up. Tori continued to glare at him as he went back to the others.

'Why are you so mean to him?' asked the ligress. Tori didn't answer. Instead, she slid down until she was lying on the ground. She rolled over and went to sleep, unaware of the demon that had crept behind the rock and fallen asleep against it to keep an eye on her.

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Tori the Hanyou: Okay, are you guys happy? No cliffies this chappie! But, the next chapter will keep you guys on your toes, I'm sure. From now on, I'll only be stating the title of the next chapter, to keep you guys interested, but first, I'd like to reply to some reviews I received:

Chocho- Congrats! You're my first flamer! I just got one thing to say, in relation to 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all', its 'if you don't like the fic, DON'T READ IT!'

Hittokiri-ningen-pyro-koormie: Just to let you know, I'm not doing votes anymore! The final post was on ch 4!

Blazingsunstar: have u noticed u always say the same thing? Lol! Not that its bad, I just thot it looked funny!

American Cowgurl: I'm glad u like! Yeah, next chapters already started! I hope ur hot coco doesn't make u do anything strange!

Suki no Kazu: OHHH! You have PUPPIES?????? I LOVE doggies! *ahem* sorry, I'm a dog/cat person, forgive me! And Kirara's still there, she just stays in Kag's backpack most of the time.

DemonLady1: I will!

eddie4: What is it w/ u and cliffies? And I don't put cliffies on EVERY chapter, in case u didn't reed the top, I put them in to make it interesting! Sorry if I seem mad, I'm not, its just I wanted to know why u comment on them so much, most likely cuz u hate em, I understand!

Ginny Brenn: Yeah, but just in case some bozos don't know what disclaimer means, I gotta restate it, lol!

InuBabe666: I'm sry, but Kag's with Kurama in this fic! But plz keep reading, evn tho the pairings aren't what u like!

EternalStarlight: thank you! I'm glad u like!

Choas Babe: lol! Yeah, they're stuck w/ the demons! Poor Inu . . .but don't worry! I WONT stick him with Kikyo! I HATE that! He'll just be single the rest of his life! It'll probably help in his battles; he won't have to worry about Kag!

Now, for the next chapter title: Chapter 8: Return to Battle City