Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Dimensions ❯ Babysitting Duties ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter five is up! R&R Please!!

 

I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho... just Chantelle.

 

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The others came back a little over an hour later. Chantelle was still in her room, having some much needed time to herself, and Rinku had gone out into the living room and was watching TV when they walked in the door.

“How did it go?” Kurama asked.

Rinku grinned. “It went good! I had her laughing in no time! She says she's just the kind of person who likes to make people happy and that guys who are real strong make her a little nervous, but she's not actually AFRAID of us.”

Kurama smiled. “That's good. I didn't want her to think we would ever do anything to hurt her.”

Rinku nodded. “She knows that. She's just taking some time to her self in her room right now. I think she was getting ready to listen to some of her music when I left her alone.”

Hiei nodded. “Then we should probably just leave her be for a while longer. She's probably feeling a little crowded by now.”

The others nodded, when her bedroom door suddenly opened and she came out, a smile on her face. She blinked when she saw them acting as though nothing had happened only an hour before. They could see a darkening around her neck where the man had gripped her.

“Hey, guys! Have a nice walk?”

Kurama nodded. “Yes. You have beautiful countryside. We saw a rather large animal while we were out... I believe I've seen it in travel brochures before, but I can't remember what it's called... It had enormous antlers and stood almost eight feet tall...”

Her eyes went wide. “A MOOSE? You're kidding me!” She smiled. “Wow... we don't get too many of those out here... you guys must have lucked out.” Then she looked at the clock and frowned a little. “Hmm. I'm feeling hungry, but I don't feel up to cooking tonight...” She smiled at them. “Who wants to eat out tonight? I know a great restaurant in Morinville. They serve great food and the prices aren't bad either. And they also sell ice cream cones.”

Jin hesitated. “If yer sure you don't mind treating us...”

She waved him off. “I don't mind. As I said before, I've been looking for an excuse to spend some of that inheritance. I haven't even scratched the surface yet.”

As they headed out to the van once more, Kuwabara frowned in the back seat and conversed with the others quietly. 'Man, I feel real bad now. To think that a sweet girl like her was treated like shit by a bunch of scumbags. You'd think she'd be able to find a totally decent guy with her looks and that sweet personality. If I wasn't so caught on Yukina, I'd go for her myself...'

Toya nodded mentally. 'But her personality may be part of the problem. To the men she attracts, she would seem easy to control. However, she has a fire in her as well. I certainly don't think she's afraid to stand up for herself, especially after the way she told off that boy earlier. The poor thing simply doesn't have the strength to back herself up.'

Kurama sighed mentally. 'Well, at least as long as we're with her, she knows she will be safe. And we got rid of her previous boyfriend, and he will never bother her again, so at least she has some comfort knowing that.'

They reached the restaurant in only a half hour and were soon seated around two tables that had been pushed together. After a few minutes, they made their orders, trying not to overdo it for the poor waitress' benefit. She looked as if she was horrified at the amount of sudden customers she had as it was, and she seemed to be the only one on duty.

They engaged in light conversation as they waited for their orders to arrive and then they chowed down happily... all except for Toya and Hiei, of course, who only had some water. Then, when they were done eating, Christina bought them some ice cream cones, much to their delight. Once they were finished, she made a quick stop by the liquor store for Chu, buying him some hard liquor and another flat of beer, and then she filled the van with gas and they started for home again.

They spent the remainder of the day lounging around for the most part, until Chantelle decided she had best turn in for the night. It was going on one in the morning, and she took Rinku into her room once more and went to bed.

 

***

 

The next morning was the hottest day yet. It was almost forty degrees outside and Chantelle wore her new bikini top with short shorts, attempting to stave off the stiffling heat. She was so NOT looking forward to taking care of the chores today.

She moaned and seated herself on the couch, fanning herself as best she could. “This is insane! I'm going to die of heatstroke...”

Toya looked at her a moment and then stepped up to her, being sure to keep his eyes from wandering to her chest, aware of the watchful eye of a certain fox demon. “Here. This should help.” He placed a hand on either temple and she found her body coated with a thin layer of ice for a few seconds. Then it was gone as she sighed in almost delerious relief.

“Aahhh... that... felt delicious...” she said with a small smile on her face.

Kuwabara glared at the Ice Master. “Hey, why not spread the love there, Toya? I'm dyin' over here too, ya know!” he said. Both he and Yusuke had their shirts off and were nursing some ice water that Christina had given them.

Jin looked at Chantelle. “Doesn't this place have an air conditioner or something like that?”

She sighed. “This is CANADA... It hardly ever gets THIS hot out here. Most places in these parts don't have anything resembling air conditioning.” She sighed and started fanning herself again. “I'd suggest going somewhere, but we'd roast in the vehicle. You could probably cook eggs on the hood of the car on a day like today...” Then she moaned and forced herself to get to her feet. “Well... I'm not looking forward to it, but I've got some chores to do... Maybe I'll take the hose and spray myself with water or something...”

Rinku grinned. “That sounds like a plan! Give me a dose of that!”

The only ones of them that wasn't bare to the waist was Hiei, since he was a fire demon and not bothered by the heat, and Toya, who was an ice demon and could cool himself off easily.

Chantelle put together some cat food and a pitcher of fresh cold water for the kittens outside, threw on her sandals, and headed out, wanting to get this over and done with as quickly as she could. It was noon and she could almost see the moisture as it evaporated from the heat of the day. She quickly made her way across the yard and sighed relief as she was in the shade of the garage. She gave the kittens the food and water, watching all of them stick their faces into the water immediately. Not bothering to take the time to play with them today, she quickly made her way out to the garden and just turned on the hose, deciding the damn potato bugs and weeds could just do their thing today. The sun was insanely hot against her skin and she DID spray herself with the water... but was almost completely dry in a matter of minutes again. She filled the watering can with water, and quickly took care of the flower garden, and then went back inside, almost dying from the heat.

“Toya... could I please... get another dose of that ice?” she asked, her features flushed from the heat of the day, and her skin starting to turn red on her shoulders.

The ice demon smirked and came forward, doing his magic once more. Chantelle sat down once more, filled with relief.

Kurama, who was also bare from the waist up, peered out the window and blinked a few minutes later. “There is another vehicle pulling in.” he said, a contemplative frown on his face.

Chantelle moaned and got to her feet and sauntered over to have a look for herself. Then her eyes went wide, seeing the Blue Ford Aerostar van pull up in front of the house.

“FUCK!!!!! IT'S MY SISTER!!!!!” She cried out in alarm. She grabbed Jin's hat and quickly had him put it on and made sure Hiei had his headband on. “Okay... um... let me think... Alright! Listen up, guys!” She turned to them, her expression desperate. “From this moment on, as far as anyone is concerned, you guys are University students from Japan doing cultural studies and I'm letting you stay here as a favor for Professor Hopkins from the U of A! Chu, you're a professor, and Rinku, you're his son who both came along for the ride, all right?”

They all nodded quickly. A moment later, there was a knock on the door and a pretty young woman stepped inside, a little girl who looked to be around six years old and a two year old right on her heels.

“Hi, Channey! God, is it hot enough for you today?” she asked, an expression of disbelief on her face.

Chantelle sighed and nodded. “Yeah. I almost died taking care of the garden.”

Then the woman blinked, seeing all the men standing in the living room. “Um... who are they?”

Chantelle cleared her throat. “Laura, these are Students from Kiyoto University in Japan who are in Canada doing cultural studies for the summer. Professor Hopkins asked if they could stay with me while he tries to find a more permanant place for them. It could take a little while. This is Kurama, Yusuke, Toya, Jin, Kuwabara, and Hiei. Then this is Chu, a professor from Kiyoto University and his son, Rinku. Guys, this is my sister, Laura, and two of her kids, Diane and Sarah. Brad, her husband, is just getting the baby, Conrad. He should be inside in just a minute.”

Sure enough, a few seconds later a man with curly dirty blonde hair stepped in, holding a car seat with a sleeping infant. He looked to be only a few months old. Chantelle quickly made the introductions for him again, knowing that chances were, they'd meet again. Then she looked at them.

“So, what made you guys jump into that deathtrap vehicle out there and come all the way out here?”

Laura hesitated for a moment, and then she sighed. “Um... we need a favor from you...”

Chantelle moaned, having a sinking sensation she already knew what her sister was going to ask her to do. “What is it this time?”

She took in a deep breath. “Um... I have to go into the city to get some... minor surgery... and there's no one else to watch the kids right now. Everyone's on vacation, so...”

The girl looked at her sister warily. “Minor... surgery? What... for?”

Laura looked a little uncomfortable. “I'm pregnant again, and the doctor said I won't survive another childbirth, so I have to... get an... abortion.” she said quietly.

Chantelle sighed and looked at Brad who was looking decidedly guilty. “You couldn't wait the six weeks after getting the vasectomy, could you?”

He rubbed the back of his head and grinned a little sheepishly. “I never thought she'd actually get PREGNANT...”

“Um...” Chantelle leaned toward her sister. “Does... SHE understand what's... going on?” she asked, indicating Diane who was already smiling at Rinku and talking excitedly to him. The eyes of all the adult demons and two humans were on the two women and one man who were standing by the door.

Laura shook her head. “All we told her is that Mommy's sick and needs to see a special doctor for today. And that the doctor is going to make me all better. We didn't want to upset her.”

Chantelle sighed. “How long is this going to take?”

Laura looked at her, her expression serious. “Six hours AT THE MOST. I promise, there won't be a repeat of what happened with Kevin's birthday party.” She was referring to an incident that had Chantelle babysitting for them months before, while they had gone to a family friend's birthday party. Laura and Brad had told her that she would only have to babysit from seven to midnight, and they wound up not getting home until eight in the morning... leaving Chantelle with the children for over twelve hours.

Chantelle sighed and turned to her guests. She smiled a little sheepishly. “Um... you guys don't mind, do you?”

Kurama smiled gently at her. “Not at all. It would provide some entertainment, at the very least. And besides that, I absolutely love children.”

Laura leaned in close to her sister, not wanting to be overheard. “Um... those guys... they're... trustworthy, right?”

She nodded immediately. “Oh, yeah. They're good. You don't need to worry about them.”

She nodded, and then looked at the clock on the wall. “Well, we had better get a move on. My appointment is in just over an hour.” She looked at her sister seriously. “You remember the deal with Conrad, right?”

Chantelle grinned. “Of course. I'm gonna forget after only three weeks?"

“Alright. So long as you're sure. We should be back at around eight tonight. We'll try to be as quick as we can.” She smiled at the guys and gave them a wave. “Nice meeting you guys. I'll see you later.”

They all nodded, except for Hiei and Toya who just stood impassively off to the side with their arms crossed.

Then her sister and brother in law were gone.

Diane looked at her immediately. “Auntie? Can I play outside with Rinku?”

Chantelle stared at her in disbelief. “God, Kid! You actually WANT to go outside in THIS heat?”

She smiled sweetly and nodded.

Chantelle considered for a minute and then sighed. “Well, okay... BUT...” She pointed a finger at the two of them. “You're not going outside without sunscreen, a hat, and a bottle of ice water. I'm not going to let you burn or get heatstroke. The second that water's gone, I want you to come back in and get more.”

The two of them nodded immediately. Chantelle nodded and got a hat for Diane since Rinku had one of his own. Then she sat them down one at a time and rubbed suntan lotion onto them. “Also, if you guys start to burn, come back inside. This kind of heat could cause some serious damage to your skin, and I don't want your mother to kill me when she comes to pick you up.”

She nodded, her face serious. And then she smiled at Rinku as Chantelle handed the both of them a bottle of water. She looked at Rinku and Diane. “Okay, Diane, if you want to throw rocks, that's okay. But throw them DOWN the driveway or into the field. If I look outside and see you throwing any rocks in the direction of any of the buildings or the cars, you're in trouble, all right? Also, if you go to play with the kittens in the garage, play with them nicely. If you're rough with them and one of them scratches you, I won't have too much sympathy for you because you should know how to handle kittens right now. And finally... we have oil well workers going up to the well on a daily basis. I want you guys to keep an eye out. Not everyone heeds the sign dad put up in the middle of the driveway to tell them to drive slow, okay?”

Rinku grinned. “Don't worry! I can keep her safe!”

She sighed and nodded. “Alright. You two have fun.” Then she blinked and turned once more. “Oh, and Rinku!”

The little demon looked at her. “Yeah?”

“Diane's alergic to bees and hornets. Try to keep them away from her too. I could really go without having to make a trip to the hospital ourselves.”

He nodded. “You got it!”

Then they headed outside.

Chantelle fixed up a bowl of ice cream for Sarah, who looked like she was cooking and was already curling up on Toya's lap, either instinctually knowing that he could keep her cool, or just liking him for some reason known only to her. Conrad was still in the car seat on the couch, sleeping somewhat peacefully, although his chubby cheeks were flushed from the heat of the day.

Kurama took the opportunity to take a cool moist cloth to give the sleeping infant some relief, a small smile on his face as he looked at the tiny form.

Sara soon finished the ice cream and Chantelle put on a movie for her... the Lion King. She had wanted to watch Treehouse on TV, but Chantelle was too hot to put up with that kinda stuff. Her brain would leak out through her ears if she was forced to watch the kind of stuff that was shown on that station. And she was pretty sure her guests would have nightmares for weeks if they had to put up with it as well.

Conrad woke up after a half hour, and Chantelle sighed, taking care of his diaper and putting together two bottles for him... one was just plain water, and the other was baby formula. The baby slammed the water back and then did the same to the food. But then the kid was obviously tired, but too hot and cranky to get to sleep, and she nothing she tried would work. Toya smirked and held his arms out. “Allow me. I think I know how to take care of this.”

She shrugged and handed the infant over. After mere seconds passed, the child immediately quieted down and his eyes slid shut.

The ice demon gently laid the baby down on the couch once more. “There. That should do it.”

Chantelle smiled at him. “Thanks.” She took this opportunity to peek out the window and saw Diane playing happily with Rinku. He didn't seem to mind playing with her, and both of them were speaking to each other enthusiastically.

Moments later, they both came back in, their features flushed from the heat and holding up empty water bottles, politely asking for some more.

After they had their refills, and Chantelle quickly checked them over to make sure they weren't burning, she let them go back outside.

A few hours after the children arrived, Sarah seemed to take a liking to Hiei for some strange reason, and kept trying to latch herself onto his leg. He was at a total loss as to what he should do every time she did this, and caused much laughter from his companions.

Jin saved the fire demon on all occassions, scooping up the girl and grinning at her. She laughed in delight every time he did this and the game continued.

But just as Jin was scooping up the girl for a fourth time and Hiei was considering going outside to get away from the awkward situation of the child latching herself to his leg, they heard the roar of a large truck outside, which was quickly followed by a terrified scream from Diane. Through the windows, they saw an enormous truck go roaring past, well over the specified speed limit her father had placed in the middle of the driveway.

Chantelle was out the door in the span of a heartbeat. “DIANE!!!” she cried, Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama on her heels.

She almost fell over in relief when she saw Rinku holding the child in his arms, on the lawn. Obviously, he had just grabbed her and jumped out of the way. “She's okay! I've got her.”

Kurama checked the badly shaken girl over for a moment and nodded, confirming this for the girl. “She is alright. She doesn't have so much as a bruise on her.” He gently scooped the terrified little girl into his arms. She clung to him like a lifeline and was crying into his shoulder, trembling like a leaf. “It's all right, little one... You're safe...”

Chantelle's relief was quickly replaced by rage. The others came out, Toya holding Conrad in his arms, and Chu holding Sarah. The woman's expression was flat. “That asshole... he didn't even STOP!!!” She held up a finger and started up to the oil well, not caring about the heat right now.

The oil well worker that had almost hit her neice and Rinku was in his forties and was currently just climbing out of his truck when Chantelle approached him. The man barely had time to notice her approaching and see the enraged expression on her face before she tore right into him.

The demons and children were off to the side, watching wide eyed at the colorful language and the venemous tone to her voice as she dug into the oil well worker, who was about twice her size. Kurama gently set Diane down and covered her ears, while Jin took Sarah from Chu and quickly did the same. The woman was fairly roaring with anger, and let out threat after threat, many of which had the demons themselves wincing, and some of which were physically impossible, but the man she spoke to was looking more and more horrified by the second.

“.... and you can be FUCKING WELL SURE that I WILL be calling your boss and telling him about your total and utter disregard for traffic laws and the safety of children, you fucking asshole!! And I'm sure my sister will be calling your boss too, and she's not NEAR as nice as I am!! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!”

The man very meekly nodded. “Um... yes 'm.... I'm really, REALLY sorry about this, an' I promise I'll drive slow and keep my eyes open next time... Well... if there is a next time, I'll be way more careful!”

Her eyes were like a blaze. “Good. You had better.” Then she turned, her expression still livid as she passed the demons and children. They quickly followed her back to the trailer.

Diane had definitely had enough of playing outside after her close encounter with the truck, but was now calmed down nicely due to Kurama's kind words and gentle smiles. Chantelle called the man's employer and told him in a carefully composed voice what had happened, and told him that she expected the matter to be dealt with and that he would most certainly be hearing from the little girl's mother as well.

The rest of the time passed calmly, for the most part. Diane eventually fell asleep on the couch, leaning up against Kurama, Sarah sleeping soundly on Toya's lap. Conrad briefly woke up, needing a feeding. Toya calmly moved Sarah and took the child after to get him to sleep again, setting him back down in the carseat.

Laura and Brad returned at seven thirty, Laura staying in the van and Brad just coming in quickly to grab the kids, explaining that the doctor had recommended she not move around too much, and that she was in some pain due to the procedure. Before leaving, Chantelle told him what had happened with the oil well worker and his expression went flat as he seemed to calmly accept the number of the man's employer. He let her know that the man would most definitely be hearing from Laura.

After he left, Chantelle quickly cleaned up the messes that the children had left behind, Kurama wordlessly giving her a hand.

She refilled the pitcher of ice water that was in the fridge and looked out at the thermometer, sighing in some small relief when she saw the temperature had dropped to 'only' thirty degrees.

By the time ten o'clock came around, it had cooled down to twenty three degrees, much to everyone's relief.

She decided to have a nice cool shower before turning in for the night with Rinku.

The little boy curled up right next to her, both of them deciding that they could go without a blanket tonight.

 

***

 

Please R&R!! ^_^