Notes: Story written for the Secret Coconut, a fic exchange promoted by the community Saint Seiya Super Fics Journal. Many thanks to the admins who put on this lovely event, my recipient Silveropoly for the excellent prompt, and especially my wonderful beta Graphospasm and early reviewers The Countess of Monte Cristo and Stardust Imaginings, for giving me the nerve to go through with this.
(And to those who saw it there first, I've divided up the chapters differently.)

Continuity: English anime (set in the US).
Characters/Pairings: Shishiwakamaru/Genkai (Yukina, Six Fighters, Kurama)
Genre(s): Romance/Angst /Humor

It had all started while he was training under her.

Well, no. That wasn't true.

It had all started the first time he had fought her, at the Dark Tournament. He could admit when an opponent had been brilliant…and she had been, no question. His (rather grudging) admiration for her tactics, combined with his first good look at her younger form…well, Shishiwakamaru had been smitten (both figuratively and very much literally).

But he'd managed to convince himself that it was just a foolish moment, probably brought on by being hit too hard on the head.

That wasn't the hard part.

The hard part was dealing with the aftermath.

Shishi had spent years carefully cultivating his image—for he knew that winning the Dark Tournament was as much about making an exciting show as it was about raw strength.

Not that he was weak, of course. He had to back up the legend with something…but the legend was still the most important thing.

Or at least, it had been, before she ruined everything.

Now, most of his fans—fair-weather fans!—had abandoned him for better prospects, all because he had been beaten by the most powerful human psychic of demon legends. How fickle.

At least he hadn't lost all his fans. He still had some, enough to build on again. He could still turn this story his way, the fearless champion turned underdog, only to beat the odds and rise again…yes, that would do nicely. His erstwhile fans would love him, and come flocking back to him…

His thoughts drifted back to the Tournament, as he tried to spin the story to his favor in his mind. The entire thing was burned into his memory, so it wasn't exactly hard.

Well, except the part about spinning it in his favor. That was hard. Why had he made such an idiot of himself?

The most mortifying thing he had said rang across his ears, and he cringed.

I think I may have fallen in love.

Idiot. Why had he said that? That one was going to be hard to explain. Besides, she was definitely not his type.

If things had turned out differently for us…

How in either world could it have turned out differently? Even disregarding everything else, she was human.

…and if you looked like this all the time….

An old human. She couldn't even take on her younger form anymore, at least not at will.

…we could have been together, once.

That part was definitely the blow to his head talking. He'd blacked out right after.

Aren't I a lucky one?

Well, almost right after. Too bad it hadn't been a few seconds sooner. Then he wouldn't have her sarcastic retort stuck in his head.

It annoyed him.

It really shouldn't. Why should what she thought of him bother him? Her opinion didn't matter.

He didn't want to admit it to himself, but the fact that she hadn't taken his words as a compliment bugged him. He was young, and attractive, and any girl would be lucky to have him, so he couldn't stand it that any female wouldn't be honored to have his interest. Seriously, wasn't he the one who was above her league?

Shishiwakamaru viciously kicked an undeserving rock that found itself a little too close to being in his way.

He was not going to think about that anymore. No, he was going to find something to fight, preferably in the presence of at least a few members of his fanclub. That always improved his mood enormously.

It was always pleasant when people gave him the respect he was due.

Shishi sheathed his sword with a flourish, having just defeated yet another opponent without even breaking a sweat.

Dammit.

What was the point?

He'd always thought that it was his goal to effortlessly fight whomever he desired, to prove his greatness to the world.

But now that he had fought many opponents with ease, he didn't see the point. It was just…empty.

Where was the rush? The challenge? Where was the satisfaction of effort having paid off?

And no matter how many of these weaklings he overpowered, nobody was watching anymore. Not really. This was all old hat—he had already done all this. His next big step had been the Dark Tournament, and…well.

There were still opponents who were considerably more powerful than him, to be sure. But challenging any of them would be suicide, and Shishiwakamaru had no desire to die an untimely death before he could meet his destiny.

"Not bad."

Shishiwakamaru turned, confused. Not a fangirl—or fanboy, by the voice—and certainly not anyone looking for a fight…

"Kurama?"

The fox inclined his head.

Shishi was even more confused. Why was he here? As far as he could recall, they hadn't exchanged two words during the Dark Tournament, and their teams hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms. No, that wasn't quite true—Suzuka had given Kurama the fruit of the Previous Life Tree, which had helped him win several pivotal battles. But that was Suzuka, whom Shishi hadn't even seen for months. Their partnership hadn't really lasted past the Dark Tournament.

"What so you want?" He sounded rather petulant. He should be more careful about that. It wouldn't do to have years of careful image-building crumble with a few seconds of temper.

"I've been looking for you. You see, I wish to train six demons as my personal team under Yomi."

Well then.

"And you didn't have anyone better to ask than someone your team beat in the Dark Tournament? Don't you have friends you can ask?"

"For various reasons, none of my friends is…eligible. So, yes, I wish to ask our surviving opponents from the tournament."

"Hmph."

"It would involve a period of several moths' training under the psychic Genkai, and then moving to Gandara."

Shishiwakamaru's rejection died on his lips…and he wasn't quite sure why.

He really shouldn't want to see the woman who had defeated and humiliated him, much less train under her. Still, it would offer him a unique opportunity to gain strength, and then he could return to seeking his destiny as the greatest fighter ever to live…

Aren't I a lucky one?

Shishi ground his teeth. Would it really be worth it?

Kurama stood patiently, waiting for him to consider his options.

She was incredibly annoying. There was no getting around that. She would mercilessly mock people, and worse, she had the power to back up her threats. To someone as concerned with status as Shishiwakamaru, that was intolerable.

Still…

If he could bite the bullet and let her train him…much as it pained him to admit it, there was a great deal he could learn from her.

Aren't I a lucky one?

No. No way. There was no way he would submit himself to such indignities.

"Have you decided?"

"I'm in."

Dammit.

"So, dimwits, I hope you're ready for this. I'm still not entirely sure how fox-boy convinced me take on such a hopeless project, so I'm not in the best of moods. Keep up, shape up, or ship out. Choose the latter, and I'd be more than happy to help you out the door."

Shishiwakamaru ground his teeth, listening to that gravelly voice.

What the hell had possessed him to say yes to this idiotic proposal? Why hadn't he immediately corrected himself, telling Kurama that what he'd actually meant to say was hell no, you'd have better luck asking Makintaro?

Why the hell was he still here?

"I hope you weren't expecting much in the way of a welcome speech. Welcome to Hell, kids."

Wonderful.

And worse, he seemed to be the only one who wasn't excited at this prospect.

Suzuka clapped him on the shoulder. "Isn't this a glorious opportunity, my friend? Training under the renowned psychic Genkai, and then serving immediately under one of the Three Kings of Demon World? Why, by the next Dark Tournament, we'll probably be too strong to compete!"

"Aye, an' I be lookin' forward to a nice rematch with Urameshi!" said Jin, who was sort of bouncing in midair.

"Indeed, and I would be more than happy for a rematch with Kurama someday, under more fair circumstances," added Touya.

"I'm going to learn to use yo-yos with my feet!" shouted Rinku.

"WILL YOU SLACKERS GET GOING?" yelled Genkai, throwing a rock in the general direction of the group.

It hit Shishiwakamaru on the back of the head.

He stifled a groan.

The hell? I wasn't even talking…

She wasn't kidding about the training being hellish.

Shishi soon forgot what it felt like to go to bed without being utterly drained of his energy and sore in muscles he hadn't even known he had.

And the food sucked on toast.

No, if that were true, he would gladly have eaten the toast.

So why hadn't he left yet?

It wasn't like he couldn't. She'd made it more than clear that they could leave any time it got to be too much for them.

Which made it a challenge.

Shishi glared at the woman from behind her back.

Aren't I a lucky one?

Oh, he'd show her who the lucky one was!

Some distant part of his mind complained that that made no sense, but Shishi was enjoying his determined resentment far too much to care.

He glanced over again, watching as she yelled at Chu, telling him all the different ways he was screwing up.

He'd show her.

Shishi punched the training dummy again, and then kicked it.

He'd show her he wasn't as weak as she thought. One day, she'd acknowledge his superiority, his greatness!

He glanced over again.

"How the hell do you expect to land a solid hit if you can't even walk straight?"

"It's called drunken boxing! DRUNKEN boxing! 'Ow the hell else am I supposed to do it, crazy sheila?"

Shishi returned his attention to the dummy, and spent the rest of the training session muttering to himself in his head.

Unfortunately for him, some of that muttering made the mistake of escaping his brain by way of his mouth.

"Wasting time?"

The instant he heard the incredulous tone in her voice, Shishi regretted saying anything.

"You of all people…get over here and let's see how you fare without your fancy sword!" She smiled…not exactly a reassuring sign. "Hell, I'll even go easy on you and pretend to be an unpowered opponent—just try and fend me off without your pretty sword."

Before he could blink, she was bearing down on him from above with a war cry.

Shishi stumbled, trying to avoid her and get into a position to counterattack.

"It doesn't matter how powerful your artifact of doom or whatever is, if you don't have it on you when you need it. And if you think you always will, you're a bigger dimwit than I thought."

Hell, she wasn't even winded!

Shishi tried to call on his sword training—feel your opponent's movements, his old sword teacher had said—but without a hilt in his hand, he was completely off balance.

"HAH!"

The second war cry was the only warning he got before being kicked halfway across the courtyard.

"And that's why being proficient in the basics in important," said Genkai, hands clasped behind her back. "Anyone else care for a demonstration?"

Dammit.

Shishi was fuming.

Who did she think she was?

She'd humiliated him—again—just because he'd dared to question her teaching method! She'd made him look like both an idiot and a weakling, just because—!

…just because what?

Just because he'd been thoroughly trounced by an elderly human woman who wasn't even using her spirit energy?

Dammit.

He really was that weak.

Damn it all, why?

Why had she had to go and break down his comfortable illusions of greatness? He'd been perfectly happy relying on the power of his sword and the adoration of his fans. If only he'd never faced her at the Dark Tournament, he'd still have all that!

Until someone else defeated you, whispered one small part of his mind. Someone who might not have been willing to leave you alive on the arena floor.

I'd have defeated anyone else, griped the rest of Shishi, and he went back to punching the dummy.

Things only went downhill from there.

Of course he couldn't simply be left to sulk in peace.

No, now he was forced to work with the thrice-damned woman who'd ruined everything.

"What the hell is wrong with you, moron? That's the most half-assed attempt I've seen yet, and that's saying something!"

She was trying to get him to focus his energy into a punch, but he couldn't seem to work up more than a flicker.

"Why the hell should you care?" sulked Shishi. "I'm nothing but a 'half-assed dimwit'."

For a moment, she froze.

"Why should I care?"

Her eyes went distant for an instant, and then she was on him like a wild tiger.

"You are a half-assed dimwit! But I hadn't taken you for a quitter, too!"

Shishi stood stunned. What the hell?

Genkai's hand clenched, and she spun away.

"Suit yourself, prettyboy. If you don't want to try, that's your business. You know where the exit is."

With that, she stalked off to find a more attentive student, leaving Shishi staring at her retreating back.

Shishi stared down the steps carved into the mountain.

She was right—he did know how to find the hidden portal that could take him back to Demon World. Hell, he wanted to go back!

So…why wasn't he already there?

Shishi rubbed the heel of one palm into his forehead, trying to quell the whirling thoughts inside.

Dammit, he was not cut out for introspection.

Ok, it was the opportunity to gain some actual strength, away from his weapons. That was why he was still here.

So, if that was it….then what the hell else was bothering him?

Well, the fact that he'd had to admit to his own weakness still bothered him. That was another part of it.

But it wasn't really it.

Shishi went over the interaction again, trying to figure out what exactly it was.

She'd insulted him—par for the course. He'd griped back—that should have been normal.

But…it hadn't been.

He'd complained that she shouldn't care whether he put any effort in, and…

Her eyes.

That was what was bothering him.

For just an instant, he had seen something in her eyes—and, as he thought about it, he slowly realized that it was something strangely…familiar.

He couldn't explain it, couldn't fathom why that look had crossed her face, but there it was. He was having a hard enough time even simply describing it, but if had to pick a word, there was only one he could choose.

Emptiness.

Shishi went back.

He told himself firmly that he wasn't going to give them what they obviously wanted. No, he would show them what he was made of.

So he slipped back, finding the other five just gathering for lunch, and hoped to all three worlds that no one had overheard the exchange…and trying not to imagine Genkai's reaction.

Lunch should have been a welcome relief from such an uncomfortable topic of thought, but unfortunately for Shishi, the topic of conversation during that particular lunch was easily a close second in terms of discomfort.

Why the hell did they persist in rehashing their defeats at the Dark Tournament?

"An' then he jus' let me punch 'im in the face with me Tornado Fist, jus' so 'e could get in a kick! Crazy one, tha' Urameshi kid." Jin shook his head in admiration.

Shishi nearly shook his own head. Who admires someone for trying to kill them?

"Well, at least you got an actual fight," miffed Suzuka, picking at his plate. "I just got my face pounded into the rink." He glanced over his shoulder, rubbing his face, but Genkai was nowhere near.

"Hey! Don't feel too bad, mate, we all lost our fights, you know," said Chu.

"Hey! I won my fight!" complained Rinku.

"You fought Kuwabara!"

"I fought Kuwabara too," added Shishi, unable to resist the temptation to one-up someone, even if it was the child in their group. Pathetic. "I won in about two seconds, while it took you about twenty minutes."

"Aye, you won all right, right before gettin' beat by Genkai with yer own energy!"

Shishi crossed his arms, lips tightening at the jab.

I can't afford to waste my own energy, so I borrowed some of yours…

Greedy old—

"Has everyone forgotten that Kuwabara defeated Elder Toguro?" asked Touya, pulling Shishi back to the present.

"Eh, true, that," said Chu. "Wasn't he the only one he beat? Odd fellow, he is."

"Nah, he also beat Risho," said Jin. "An' good riddance, I say."

"You wanna know what's really odd?" asked Rinku. "That the only person on Urameshi's team to lose their fight in the finals was Kurama!"

That drew some laughter at the expense of their absent leader, but Shishi wasn't listening. He tuned out the rest of the conversation, focusing on his plate instead.

"Ugh, this is nasty," he muttered, picking at whatever the substance on his plate was supposed to be.

"I'm sorry," came Yukina's quiet voice from behind him, making him jump. "I'm not used to working with human food.

"Well, I hope you improve if I'm going to be eating it this whole time."

Yukina bowed her head. "I shall do my best."

"Good," said Shishi, turning back to his plate.

After lunch, of course, it was right back into training.

And of course it couldn't be something solo. No, apparently she'd planned a group exercise for that afternoon.

Fate's one bit of leniency came from the fact that Genkai said nothing about anything happening earlier.

"Ok, this is how this is going to work: I'm going to try to get the flag. You all are going to try and stop me. I attack whoever stands in my way. Got it?"

With various noises of various levels of enthusiasm, they acknowledged that they did, readying their stances in the formation they had hastily cobbled together. Actually, it wasn't really a formation at all—they were all just standing where they'd found themselves.

Genkai scanned them with a critical eye, and then closed her eyes and muttered a long string of words that involved a great many "dimwits", most of them "hopeless", and something about teamwork being just as valuable a trait to cultivate as constant suspicion.

Finally, with one last roll of her eyes, she addressed them directly. "Just try not to kill each other, all right?"

With that, she disappeared.

By the time their eyes had a chance to find her again, she was right in the middle of them.

Shishi flopped down on his bunk with a groan.

He was utterly drained, even by the standards of this place. What the hell was she doing, trying to kill them?

I attack whoever stands in my way.

Shishi's eyes opened.

Wait…hadn't he heard that line before? Some time that wasn't in the instructions for an amped-up game of capture the flag?

I attack whoever stands in my way. It just so happens that a great deal of those people happen to be demons.

Shishi suppressed a groan. Did everything have to lead back to the Dark Tournament? The last thing he wanted to think about was the way own energy had been stolen and used against him—!

Rage flooded through him as the memories strained to surface against his will.

I can't afford to waste my own energy, so I borrowed some of yours. I hope you can understand. I am a very busy old lady.

Why must his own mind betray him?! He didn't want to think about such a, such a…

How could you do such a vindictive thing to me, you second-rate thief?!

Yes, vindictive! He did have quite a way with words, didn't he?

But as much as he congratulated himself on his own sense of righteous indignation, something was…wrong. Just a little thing, maybe, but it nagged at his mind until he couldn't properly enjoy his outrage.

How could you do such a vindictive thing…

…such a vindictive thing…

Shishi's thoughts ground to a halt as something occurred to him that had never occurred to him before.

Vindictive?

In a no-holds-barred tournament like that one, where the only real rule was do whatever it takes to win, what did the word even mean?

She had been doing what it took to win.

Which was exactly what he had been doing. Well, trying to do.

Shishi frowned. But…he certainly hadn't been vindictive. He'd just been fighting to win.

But they had been doing the same thing.

So why was she being vindictive, while he was a rising star on his way to glory?

Shishi's mind searched for an answer, found nothing.

Searched again, found only the vague idea that he was him and she was her and it was different.

Shishi threw one arm over his eyes, while the other dangled uselessly over the side of the bunk.

Dammit.

He tried to back up, to ignore the conclusion that was racing up on him, but it was too late. The conclusion was as inevitable and inexorable as he had once thought his own rise to glory would be.

He was an idiot.

He'd always prided himself on being all things to all people, but…

Oh, hell.

He really was that arrogant, wasn't he? Really that oblivious?

"Dammit," Shishi muttered, clenching a fist.

He really, really wanted not to know what he had just realized. Couldn't he just forget and stay the same?

No.

A small part of his mind—probably the same traitorous part that had brought him to this point in the first place—insisted that it was impossible.

Why not? It was safe and comfortable in the little world he had built for himself. Maybe he could borrow enough of Chu's stash of hard liquor to forget the whole thing. Then he could stay the same as he had always been.

Did he really want to?

Shishi blinked.

Where had that come from?

Of course he wanted to stay the same. He was Shishiwakamaru, swordsman extraordinaire, semi-finalist in the Dark Tournament, object of adoration…

Shishiwakamaru, arrogant, callous bastard who couldn't think past the edge of his own mind…

Shishi squeezed his eyes shut and dug the heel of his palm into his forehead, trying to escape the painful double vision he had suddenly been endowed with.

He suddenly didn't know what he wanted. Hell, he didn't even know what he wanted to want.

Shishi growled in frustration and rolled over to bury his head under the thin pillow.

Why couldn't he just have gone to sleep?

Eventually, he must have, though he could only be sure of this by the fact that he woke up the next morning.

He woke up when he was called, just like every other morning here.

He got up, got dressed, and went off to start his training, just like every other morning here.

But he wasn't quite the same as he had been every other morning here. He knew it.

He knew it, and it annoyed the hell out of him.

So he did as he had always done when faced with anything the least bit annoying, bothersome, or unpleasant: He closed off his mind and utterly ignored its existence.

At least, that was the plan.

Anyway, he had plenty of other things to gripe about, such as the fact that he was now the only one to be handicapped by his lack of weapon.

Genkai had taken them all away for her idiotic "back to basics" routine, but that hadn't hindered Jin or Touya in the slightest, and even Suzuka, the weapons genius, could use all of his most important attacks without them.

Rinku had gotten his yo-yos back two weeks ago, and then some. Where he had produced those eight extra toys from, Shishi had no idea, but he had indeed tucked them between his toes. How he could even walk like that, Shishi didn't know either.

That left Shishi and Chu—and today, Chu was getting his alcoholic boosters back. Wonderful.

This was all obviously distinctly unfair. So naturally, he requested his sword back. Hell, after yesterday's fiasco, he even asked politely!

Genkai looked at him and shook her head in disbelief.

"No."

"And why not?"

She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead.

"You have to ask? It's because you're still a weakling, prettyboy. You apparently have no idea how much of an idiotic risk you're taking every time you use it!" Her voice was growing in anger. "Get your power level above that of your fancy sword's, and maybe you can have it back! If you can't wrap your head around that, then you'll have the dubious honor of knocking Yusuke off my 'top dimwit' spot!"

Shishi clenched his fists. He really, really wanted to retort, but if he did that, she'd probably just kick him out for real.

Besides, as bitter as it was to admit, she probably had a point.

"Fine," he said through teeth that didn't want to unclench. "I'll be back for it then."

With that he turned stiffly and did his utmost to make his retreat seem like a dramatic exit.

Well, at least he was hardly the only one getting on the wrong side of Genkai's rants. Everyone had gotten there at one point or another, and right now it was Chu, prompted, apparently, by his newly reacquired alcoholic assistance.

Shishi, still working on the stupid training dummies, was entirely near enough to hear the whole thing, so he made himself feel better about everything by enjoying the fact that someone else was currently vying for that 'dimwit' title.

He glanced over, watching as she yelled at him, telling him all the different ways he was screwing up.

"How the hell do you expect to land a solid hit if you can't even walk straight?"

"It's called drunken boxing! DRUNKEN boxing! 'Ow the hell else am I supposed to do it, crazy sheila?"

That was the gist of the argument, repeated in minute variations for the past fifteen minutes.

"How can that possible be an effective strategy?"

"D'you know anything about drunken boxing?"

Genkai paused, and to Shishi's surprise, she laughed. It was her usual rather harsh laugh, but it seemed to indicate actual amusement, and perhaps a sporting resignation.

"You know, I actually don't. Whatever people may say about me, and as busy an old lady as I've been, I'm actually not an expert in every form of martial arts that ever existed." She waved a hand in mock-dismissal. "Fine, stumble away. Don't blame me when you run into a wall."

Shishi looked over in surprise, only to see Genkai looking straight back in his direction.

"What do you think you're looking at, prettyboy?"

"Nothing!"

Shishi returned his attention to the dummy, moving around so he was facing away from the two.

Once again, words from the Dark Tournament rose before him—not her words this time.

His words.

I think I may have fallen in love.

And suddenly, he knew why his past self had said those words.

That realization didn't change anything.

Just because he'd figured out what had caused his reeling brain to spout out something that ridiculous didn't mean he actually agreed with it, and anyone who said otherwise was a fool. Not that anyone other than himself was exactly in a position to think anything about it, since he wasn't exactly going to mention it to anyone.

Besides, it wasn't even like it was that earth-shattering of a revelation. It was just a little thing, knowing which trait it was that had caused such an odd reaction. After all, it wasn't every day that a demon met someone so willing to be honest, even about her own flaws.

Well, that and the fact that her younger form had been surprisingly beautiful.

But none of that made any difference, especially not to the fact that he was mad at her for letting Chu win an argument, and not him.

So, no. No difference whatsoever.

That was why he was still thinking about it during lunch, with absolutely no idea what the conversation was about, and scowling into his soup without really seeing it.

At least, until he was rudely poked in the arm by whoever had taken the seat next to him.

"Aye, an' what did tha' poor stew ever do t' ye?"

Jin's ears were twitching, which only made Shishi scowl harder.

"Shut up, Jin."

His afternoon's training was, thankfully, solo.

Hell, he'd even moved away from the training dummies, not that his new training ground was any less ridiculous.

He'd finally got the hang of reinforcing his punches and kicks with demon energy, so if he timed it right, his punches could break solid rock. If he didn't time it correctly, he ended up with very sore fists.

So now he was in the middle of a bunch of rock pillars, trying to punch them down.

Wonderful. He'd always wanted to be able to beat up inanimate objects with his bare hands. And where did these things even come from? Did she hire someone to rebuild them after her students knocked them down? Did they serve any purpose other than being knocked down?

Wham. Crunch.

Another rock bit the dust, which might or might not be vaguely cannibalistic. What was the point of this again?

Shishi sized up another stone pillar, this time focusing on the fact that he was mad at Genkai.

Wham.

When he had gotten into an argument with her, she'd told him to leave.

Wham.

When Chu did it, she'd admitted that he was right.

Wham.

This was obviously the result of gross bias on her part, and had nothing to do with the relative merits of their arguments.

Shishi glared at another rock, trying to ignore the tiny idea fluttering somewhere in his mind that he might also be angry at himself.

He gathered up another burst of energy in his right hand, and swung back.

"Still working over here, slacker?"

Crack!

Shishi's hand hit the rock before he could tell it to release its pent-up energy.

Oh hell that hurt.

"I was doing fine before you showed up," he ground out, clutching his hand.

Genkai snorted. "If something like that can distract you enough to make you break your own hand, then I have no idea how you made it out of the Dark Tournament alive."

"I fought Kuwabara."

"Good point."

"And then you didn't kill me."

"An oversight on my part, obviously."

Shishi clutched his hand, gritting his teeth. Obviously.

Genkai sighed. "Let me have your hand, dumbass."

Shishi blinked. Why?

Without waiting for his permission, she took his hand and laid it on the ground, and then put her own hands over it with surprising gentleness.

"HA!" she cried, and a momentary glow surrounded his injured hand. When it faded, the pain faded with it.

Shishi blinked. He'd had no idea that the Spirit Wave came with healing powers.

"Work on your kicks for a while. And pay attention this time, prettyboy—if you do that again, you're on your own. I'm not as young as I used to be."

With that, she clasped her hands behind her back, turned away, and took a flying leap to the nearest rock pillar and off to whatever else she did.

Shishi stared after her, rubbing his hand absently. It still tingled where she'd touched him. Something was nagging at the back of his mind, begging to be acknowledged, but Shishi brushed it aside.

That woman was the most confusing person he had ever met.

The next few days were strange in their normality.

On the surface, everything was exactly the same as it had been: training from morning till night with breaks only for meals, frustration at being stuck at the same level of training, minor spats with teammates, nearly collapsing from exhaustion every night…

But every so often, something would give Shishi the impression that things ought to feel strange.

Like that moment when Genkai had said his technique was "marginally better." Far less than he deserved to hear, perhaps, but it still left him glowing with profound satisfaction.

Or the moment when she had said he might actually get his energy level above his sword's…and somehow, the fact that that had been followed by many an expression of disbelief only made it more satisfying.

Each time something like that happened, his words from the Dark Tournament came back to haunt him, and each time, he dismissed them with the thought that his present self certainly didn't agree with them.

And each time, it was the tiniest, most unnoticeable fraction harder.