Faded Memories
A night to forget

She wrapped her arms around her legs. The cold air was comforting against her burning skin. The old frustration came back and she glared silently into the night. 'Why does he have to be so stubborn?' She sighed and stood up, collecting her thoughts and stuff that littered the ground around her. The night had settled and fog was beginning to come in. Owls hooted and crickets chirped; the moon was less than comforting. It shone full and bright and the fog that misted it gave it an old and haunted look. The trees that surrounded her were pale and bare. Twig like arms stretched out towards the sky. Some drooped down, as if the weight of the night air was too much. They had been bare since August; it was now January. 'Too late to head back now.' She glanced around at her surroundings, 'Not much of a choice I suppose.' She picked the nearest tree and hopped up. The arms of the tree gave no comfort to her aging back; she didn't care. The pain was all she needed and she welcomed it.

The pale light of the dawning sun peaked up over the sleeping hilltop. It was enough to wake her up though. She yawned and stretched, not quite ready for the day ahead of her. Images of the night before brought chills to her spine. The air was already warm enough, yet she was shivering all the same. She remembered his smirking face and she glowered. 'You stupid fool!' She hopped out of the tree, stretched and then sat down. She wasn't quite ready to head home, to face the world yet. She sighed and peered up at the velvet sky. She knew she had to head home, but now wasn't the time.

It felt like an eternity before she stirred. The anger that had once resided deep within her soul was now subdued, for a little longer at least. She still wasn't quite ready to leave her meditating state, but her pupil would be appearing anytime soon and her not being there would leave a crater of questions. She rolled her eyes at the thought and slowly, almost rhythmically, pulled herself up. She gave herself one last, bone creaking stretch and pulled herself together.

At the first hint of an outbreak of running, her ankles resisted. They creaked, cracked and groaned under the relaxed state they had just been it. She ignored it. She kept on running and every time her ankles showed signs of weakness, she ran harder and faster. She imagined her in her younger form pulling up beside him grinning at the clearly annoyed expression he wore. He cursed and ran faster, and with no effort she pulled up alongside him once more. Inwardly she grinned, outside her face was expressionless, like a stone through many years of erosion. She wore the mask of erosion like a badge, her hair had lost its pink flair and her once calm, beautiful face now bore wrinkles. Aging had caught up with her, yet she did nothing to hide it. She was proud and let everyone know. She neared the edge of the cliff and peered down. The sun was fully inflated and cast an orange glow over the dense woods that spread out before her. The dojo was just beyond those lush trees. Her home, the place many lovely memories had once taken bloom. Those memories, now faded, kept hidden from the ever-prying eyes of the world.

"Get up slacker!" Her weary voice was carried up to the rafters by the draft of dense woods. "Aww, c'mon ya old hag give me a break! I just got over being ill!"
"I don't care if you've broken all the bones in your miserable body! You will train until I'm satisfied!" Yusuke groaned and staggered up. He was being pushed harder than normal. Concern briefly washed over his tough demeanor. He snagged a glance at his sensei, who was occupying herself with push-ups. He sighed and shook his head. He gave her an unknowing, sympathetic smile before clearing his throat to signal he was ready. Slightly raising her head she smirked. Dusting herself off and getting into her fighting stance she chuckled. Yusuke raised an eyebrow and stood opposite of her, also taking a fighting stance. Genkai shook her head and smiled. "I remembered the first day you came here. A cocky little jerk you were. No respect. You didn't care how strong your opponent was, you expected to mow them down and you showed no fear in letting them know. I was impressed with your skill, your attitude, however, disgusted me. I could tell by your body language that you were better than the rest, yet I was a bit nerved by your attitude. I knew you'd be perfect, but I wasn't about to take you in with that cockiness of yours." He grinned. "Yeah, and I thought you were some crazy old hag. I thought it would be a cinch to shear down the others, then take you. I could've sworn that I would've had your power in no time. As time grew I soon learned that there was more than met the eye. I had grown to respect you, to learn to listen and be taught. You have taught me so much, thanks." Suddenly he shook his head and stuck out his tongue, growing cross-eyed trying to look at it. "See?! Look at what you have down, you made me soft!" "Ha! You brought that on yourself." He tackled her and she kicked him off. As the fight progressed their power increased and then fight turned ugly. When it was all over you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the two if it hadn't been for the height. Rich, velvet colored blood covered their features. It felt good to finally be able to fight again. Genkai thought she'd never have this chance. 'I'm getting too old for this. This punk has to learn and learn fast...'