Disclaimer: Don't own. Search as I might, I can't seem to find the rights to Yu Yu Hakusho listed on Ebay.
The Art of Reflection
Genkai used her pinky finger to make a show of cleaning out her ear while Yusuke watched, seated in front of her on the temple's wooden floor. It had been three years since the once spirit detective had undergone training in these woods, and despite the hardships, a part of him felt at home here. Even Genkai's harsh and sardonic voice had been missed, though Yusuke would never admit it.
"I must be getting more senile than I thought. My hearing's shot."
Genkai looked less than pleased, to which Yusuke was also accustomed to. He cracked a smile, yet his voice remained steady with his sincerity. "Yeah, you may be senile, but you're hearing's just fine. I meant what I said, I want to learn your aura reflection technique."
He had been recovering from receiving Genkai's orb at the time, but he had heard more than enough about it through the testaments and stories of others who had been at the Dark Tournament. It sounded like nothing she had shown him before.
Her response was quick and biting. "And what the hell are you going to do with it? Zap some demons out of bloodlust so that you can be king of the whole lot of them?"
Yusuke frowned, unable to simply say no. When pushed to breaking, he wouldn't rule out any technique or hair-brained scheme to try to pull the people he cared about out of the fire. Lately, he'd discovered even more people -and more worlds- to care about. Even Genkai had used this aura reflection thing as a fighting technique, so what the hell did she have a problem with? He shrugged, not entirely sure how to respond but ready with a retort nonetheless. "And maybe that's what I'll do. Who knows? But I want to learn it."
"No." Brown eyes widened in response to the woman's abrupt answer. She remained unfazed, pulling a cigarette from the foil as she spoke. "I told you before, Yusuke. You've completed your training under me."
Yusuke's hands balled into fists on his thigh in frustration. She hadn't even given the time to consider it! In the past, he simply had to show that he was serious about training. But now he had been quickly dismissed by someone that he had come to respect and rely on, causing doubts to surface and his temperament to heat.
"Come on!" Yusuke felt like screaming, and he wasn't sure that he didn't. He stood, thinking that he knew the answer to Genkai's behavior. A reason that caused him to boil just below the surface. "Is it because you don't see me as human anymore? 'Cause if so, that's a bunch of bullshit."
The woman's voice rose several fierce octaves, reminding Yusuke that she was still a force to be reckoned with. "Damn straight it's bullshit, you little brat!" She lit the cigarette irritably, using the ember end to point at him as she spat her words his way. "For one, you are at least part demon. Stop blaming the people around you for your circumstances- just deal with them. And secondly? You've learned nothing of the real world or of my perception of it to think that I give a rat's ass if you've got some demon blood or that of a unicorn. You could shit rainbows, and you'd still be an impetuous numbskull."
Despite the harsh nature of her words, Yusuke felt instant relief. If her views of him weren't so much based in blood after all, then it was just him and the old bat disagreeing on something. And that, he was used to. Yusuke deflated slightly, calming from the knee jerk reaction of being judged based on things that were out of his control. He had faced that his entire life, from the streets that weren't meant for a child, to those stuffy schools not meant for the streets. It still surprised him when he found himself actually caring what others thought; as rare as it was, there were people who's opinion he actually listened to.
As proof to Yusuke's slowly growing maturity, he took a deep breath and tried instead for a different way of putting it. She was either going to see where he was coming from and give in a little, or flat out tell him to shut the hell up. He figured it to be about a fifty-fifty chance.
"I want to feel it."
For what it was worth, Genkai's eyebrows shot up and a few of the weathered lines disappeared from her surprised face. "What?"
Yusuke sat back down again, curbing his frustration with a roll of the shoulders. "Energy. Aura. It was a weapon at first, you know? A way of hitting someone from a distance. I've always sucked at that sixth sense crap. There's just power, and not enough power."
The boy paused, pulling one of his lean legs up under himself. His eyes roamed around the room for a few moments while he searched for what to say. Not wanting to interrupt this rare display of communication, Genkai contented herself to taking a slow drag of smoke and savoring it silently.
"When I was fighting in the Makai, I blended my human energy with the demonic. For the first time in my life, it wasn't just more or less power. It was energy, as a living, reflecting, changing thing. It was human, and it was demon. Neither and both. It was...me." His hand came up to touch his chest in emphasis. "And if that's inside of me, it shouldn't hafta take a life or death situation for me to see it. There's more to it than that."
Her eyes were closed in thought, worried of what her face would show with them open. It's true that the spirit wave technique in its purest form hadn't been developed as a fighting technique. It was a core strengthener, a balancing of the spirit that connects body, mind, and soul. The power from such a technique could be used as an effective weapon, yet that was a near waste of its ability. She had assumed that all other venues would be lost on a person who thrived so much on battle. Yet here was her once pupil, gone through hell and back and exposed to terrible power, yet he still managed to mature into a decently aware individual. It was enough to make her proud, which was shown only in the fact that her voice lost its venom.
"You realize that the reflection technique isn't literally a mirror? I wouldn't advise using it against yourself."
Yusuke nodded. "Yeah, well, to be honest, I don't know much about it at all. But it's more than just throwing power at someone. It's...understanding it."
Another drag of tobacco had Genkai exhaling in a subdued chuckle. "Heh. Your ancestor must have been someone with half a wit."
Yusuke shifted his weight, pulling both legs out in front of him. His body language relaxed a bit as he responded, "Yeah. There's people who had a lot of respect for...wait!" His spine straightened to attention."You old hag, why the 'must have been?!"
Yusuke's metaphorical hackles were raised in insult, though his energy showed no actual malice. Genkai gave a small shake of her head. "Exactly my point, dimwit." She flicked away some ashes with a crooked smile. "But do you want to stand here trading insults all day, or are you actually going to do some productive training? This technique is going to kick your ass."
The burn from Genkai's playful insult melded seamlessly into anticipation as Yusuke hopped up from the floor. "Ha! Bring it, grandma! I think you'll find that I'm talented enough to train and insult at the same time."
Genkai rolled her eyes but began leading her once again pupil toward the back of the temple. It seemed that there was yet more to learn for the both of them.