Something was up, I just know it, I thought as I walked up to the guys. Given the way the stood side-by-side, I knew there was no way I could avoid this either. Might as well bite the bullet and figure out what was wrong.
I stared at each and every one of their serious faces. "What's up?" I asked while trying to sound calm.
Kurama was the one that spoke. "Training starts tomorrow."
That's it? That's why I felt nervous? "Okay..." I said back, drawing out the word.
"It's not going to be the same, AJ," Kurama said. "This training isn't about getting used to your powers." I frowned at that. "You're going to have to learn how to properly defend yourself, and how to fight."
"What do you mean?" I asked. Why would I need to know all this?
"Do you remember that you were invited to the Demon World Tournament?"
"Yes," I said as I slowly narrowed my eyes at them. "By Mukuro." I had to force myself not to choke on her name.
"This isn't a normal invitation." He paused for effect, I think. "You have to do more than just show up. You'll have to take part in the tournament."
"Excuse me?"
"You're going to have to fight."
Hiei rolled his eyes which made me glare at him. God, he can be so irritating with that snarly attitude. He needed to learn to smile for once. All that negative energy is going to make him die early. So what? Another 2,000 years? Damn...
"Fight as in... other demons?"
"Yes. There are some who I know you can handle, I have no doubt about that. Others... Well, we're starting tomorrow for a reason."
Okay, the nerves are starting to kick in. I could feel my hands get sweaty and my heart start to beat faster but I tried my best to look calm and collected. It was only nine-thirty in the evening but the guys insisted that I go to bed. There was no way I could fall asleep now but I headed to my room regardless. As I started to remove my cardigan so I could get changed for bed, I felt something weighing down in one of the pockets. I reached in and felt... damn it, not again. My spirit of words... Okay. It's time to finally get this over with.
I pulled my sweater back on but kept the orb in my hand. At first I headed to the door but then thought better of it. I didn't want to run into anyone and have to tell them about this. Besides, they want me to be sleeping. So, like the rebel that I am-haha yeah right...-I headed towards the window. I totally felt like I was sneaking out of the house so I didn't get yelled at my parents as I started to climb out the window. Which I guess wasn't completely wrong...
When I made sure my balance was set, I jumped for the tree just outside my window. I actually landed gracefully for once, but that could be because the branch was only a foot away. Without pausing to think, I jumped down and headed towards the lake. I couldn't help but feel like I was being followed so I found myself looking back multiple times. Typical, I couldn't see anything so I just shook it off.
I knew I had to get this over with, so without delaying I turned to the nearest tree and threw the orb at the base of the trunk. All I could do was stand there and wait as I watched this weird liquid-like shadow raise up on the tree until it formed into what appeared to be half woman, half robot. So this was Mukuro.
"Aly-Jay, I hope this message finds you well." The sound of her voice caused shivers to go down my spine. "My name is Mukuro. It's nice to finally meet you. In a sense anyways. Unfortunately, I can't actually see you, or communicate with you. I understand you've grown up in a human lifestyle, so think of this as a voice mail, voice message? You get the idea, I'm sure." She paused for a second. "I've heard quite a bit about you, and if I'm being completely honest, I can't wait to meet you in person. There's been a lot of... rumours going around, and it's definitely caught my interest. A prophecy come to life, perhaps? Well, there's only one way to know for sure. You see, there's a tournament coming up in a year or so. Perhaps you've heard of it? The Demon World Tournament. I think it would be the perfect opportunity to meet you formally. I guess you can think of this as an invitation. Now, I'm sure I've wasted enough of your time. I look forward to seeing you."
I could only stand there as the shadow compressed down into nothing. She's heard of me? Rumours, what rumours? And where is this talk about actually fighting? It just sounds like she wants to meet me. I'm missing something... I can feel it.
I wasn't sure how long I stood there for, but it wasn't long before I realized I really should go get some sleep. With my mind numb, and over loaded, I headed back to the house, climbed through the window, and went to bed.
Three, maybe four, hours later, I woke up covered in ice cold water. I sat up gasping for air and completely alert. "What the hell?" I sputtered.
When my eyes finally adjusted, I saw Hiei standing in the middle of the room with an empty bucket at his feet. "Get up," he said as he continued to stand there. His expression was completely blank. Surprise, surprise.
I looked down at my soaked torso and lap then back at him. "Was that necessary?!"
"I said, get up." Hiei turned away from me for a second.
As I started to swing my legs off the bed, I caught a glance of the clock sitting on my bedside table. "It's four in the morning!"
I barely finished the sentence before Hiei threw something at me. "You have two minutes." And with that, he left the room.
Ass. As I glared at the closed door the time really started to kick in. I grabbed whatever Hiei threw at me and realized it was clothes. He had grabbed everything I needed for my training. Including my sports bra. I could only stare at it for a second. What do I make of that? One, how did he know where it was? Two, why even grab that?
Too tired to over-think it, I threw the clothes to the ground and went back to sleep. I had barely closed my eyes before I was splashed with more ice water.
"What the hell?" I yelled as I sat back up. I wiped my face to try and get some of the water out of my eyes. When they finally focused I noticed that it was Kurama standing there this time. "What?"
"Get up."
The look on his face and tone in his voice didn't make me question him. I quickly gathered the clothes from the ground and stood up. Kurama didn't leave until I paused when I reached down to the hem of my shirt. I changed as quickly as I could and made my way downstairs. Normally I would move rather slowly because I was so damn tired, but the look on Kurama's face had me hustling. I don't think I've ever seen him so serious, so... demon like.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs Yusuke called my name. I turned in his direction only to see an apple come flying at me. Thankfully I was awake enough to catch it before it collided into my face.
"Breakfast," he said. "Now sneakers. We're going for a run."
I frowned at him as I took a bite. "Don't you have to wait half an hour after eating?"
"Sneakers."
Whoa, what's with all the attitude? My frowned deepened as I held the apple in my mouth to put on my sneakers. None of them said a word as they lead me towards the forrest in the back of the compound. When I finished the apple and threw the core away for "composting" the guys looked like they were warming for a run. That's probably a good idea... As I started to warm up my legs, Kurama started to explain.
"We race. The last person to reach the top of the highest mountain has to do 200 push-ups."
They were off before I had time react in any way. Hiei was the first one gone, obviously, but the others weren't that far behind. Even Kuwabara wasn't that far behind from Yusuke. Before I got too far behind, I ran to try and catch up. I was already in the trees so I couldn't look up to see how far this mountain was. I could only hope it wasn't too far and that I could follow the guys. It didn't help that it was still dark out as well. I can't see shit!
After what felt like an hour-and yes, I was really feeling the burn-I tripped on a tree root. "Son of a-" I stopped mid-curse when I saw the root move. That's not normal... Oh, who am I kidding? This is Genkai's compound. I don't want to even start thinking about what would be in this forrest. And on that note, I was up and running in a flash. It's kind of funny what a little fear can do to you... not.
Just don't look back. Just don't look back. Just don't look back.
I didn't hear anything behind me so I allowed myself to calm down a bit. Unfortunately, that meant my muscles didn't have the will to fight either. Trying to ignore the pain, I really began to push myself so I could keep up with the guys. Speaking of, I looked up to make sure I was heading in the right direction. I couldn't see anyone. Crap... I looked behind me and I didn't see anyone there either.
Well... crap. Now what do I do?
At first I tried to see if I could catch a glimpse at the this so-called mountain but the trees were too thick and it was still too dark... or both. Damn it! Just when I was about to give up, I felt this weird tingle go down my spine. Something isn't right... In fact, I felt like I was in danger or something. I had to move. But why?
I took a quick look around and noticed this weird light in the distance. As it got closer, I noticed it had this weird blue tint to it. It actually looked like Yusuke's Spirit-gun. And it was coming at me, fast. What the hell? By the time I realized what was going on, I barely had time to jump and roll out of the way.
I was still on the ground when Yusuke came up to me. "No stopping."
"Was that your spirit gun?" I yelled back at him. The anger and confusion was really beginning to build up.
"There's no stopping. Now get up and keep running."
I got up and brushed myself off. "Okay, seriously, what the hell is going on here?"
Yusuke let out a breath. "You're going to take part in the Demon World Tournament. This isn't a little fight here and there. That fight I had with Yumi? It lasted [fill in the blank]. This tournament isn't going to be easy. This training isn't going to be easy. Now move."
I don't know what it was-exhausted, confusion, pain?-but I just couldn't bring myself to move. Yusuke brought up his finger and pointed it at me. I still couldn't move. It started to glow blue. That got my attention. I turned in the direction he was pointing at and ran.
I wasn't sure how long I ended up running for, but the sound of Yusuke's feet behind me never went away. It wasn't until the tree's finally began to lessen and the sun began to rise when I could finally see the guys up ahead. For half a second I thought I had finally caught up to them, then I realized they were just standing around... waiting. Damn... But Yusuke was still behind me so maybe I didn't have to do the push ups! DAMN, never mind.
Without warning, Yusuke flashed passed me and was beside Kurama in a second. Admitting defeat, and giving my legs a little rest, I walked the rest of the way. When I finally reached the guys, all I could do was pant at them. They said nothing in return. All they did was raise an eyebrow at me then look down at my feet. I sighed, and got down on my hands and knees. With the guys being total assholes, I figured I couldn't get away with whining...
Since I was tired beyond belief, I figured I could at least get away with doing the girl push-ups. When I started to lift my feet into the air, I heard Hiei say firmly, "No." I looked over at the guys in disbelief and saw something flash in his eyes. But it was gone before I could figure out what it was. Yusuke cracked his knuckles, Hiei pulled out his sword, and Kurama got out his rose whip. Kuwabara just stood there while trying not to look at me. At least one of them were still normal.
Refusing to make any sound at all, I adjusted onto my toes and started. It wasn't until I had reached the fifties when I really started to feel the burn in my arms. Eighties? I wanted to stop but the crack of Kurama's whip kept me going. Nineties? I couldn't even hold myself up anymore.
As I lay there, I heard Hiei step forward. What was he going to do? Chop me up? Fuck it, I was basically dead anyways. My arms and legs hurt so bad that they were basically numb. As expected, I felt the tip of his sword on the base of my chin. He dug it in and forced me to look up at him.
I felt a tear go down my cheek. I don't know why that happened, or how for that matter. All I knew was that I couldn't stop it from happening. While I could understand the harsh training, I couldn't understand why they were being total assholes about it. Yelling? Military, boot-camp thing? I get that. The threats? Attacks? Nuh uh. I'm done. I couldn't continue, both physically and mentally.
Hiei stared down at me for what felt like hours, but all of a sudden he just turned and left. With his sword no longer at my chin, my head just flopped back down onto the grass. I closed my eyes and just focused on my breathing. It wasn't long before I heard Yusuke and Kuwabara walk off. I didn't hear them speak but since these guys have known each other for so long, I doubt that they had to communicate with words...
I continued to stay where I was when Kurama came up to me. "I expect you can find your own way home." And then he was gone. Assholes. They were all assholes.
I don't know how long I was there for. Minutes? Hours? Days? All I did know was that I didn't want to move anymore. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be possible. Obviously there were demons and things around. If they came and I couldn't defend myself? Yeah, I should probably head back now.
After taking a deep breath... and another, I finally pushed myself up and got up onto my feet. My whole body was shaking from the effort of staying on my feet but the thought of being attacked kept me up and had me walking. I could only walk, however. I had tried to move a little faster, just in case, but my legs wouldn't listen. But there was good news. I wasn't attacked during my journey, nor did I feel like I was being watched.
It must have taken me at least two hours to get back to the house. When it finally came into view I could smell food coming from the kitchen. I noticed the window in the kitchen was open when I finally got close enough. The smell of pancakes, french toast, and eggs made my stomach rumble so loud and so hard that the pain almost matched the pain in my legs.
When I reached the door, I had to pause before I opened it. I made sure to take a couple deep breathes to try and calm my nerves. Sure this training was going to be tough, but I did not like the attitude and threats. Even though it was probably-hopefully- and act, I didn't want to lash out at the guys.
I didn't open the door until I knew I was calm enough but I still didn't think I was completely ready to face them. After I entered, I went straight up the stairs, ignored the guys when they called for me, and went into my room. Without even thinking about it, I went to my bed and flopped on top and refused to move.
A minute later-or was it 30 minutes, an hour maybe?-I heard a knock on my door. I refused to acknowledge whoever was on the other side of the door. They knocked again, and I ignored it. Finally, whoever it was, just simply opened the door.
"AJ?" It was Yusuke.
I didn't look over at him when he took a seat at my desk chair. I couldn't resist, however, when I heard him place a plate on my desk. Admitting defeat, kind of, I turned my head and saw a large pile of pancakes and french toast with a bowl of fruit on the side. God damn, I'm so hungry.
"We need to talk about your training, AJ."
I looked over at Yusuke for a second before looking back at the food. Like what? How much of a pussy I am?
"All of us understand that you're upset with us." Hah, yeah right. "Even Hiei, I think." Okay, now I know he's lying. "But you need to understand us. We need to be really tough on you. The type of battles you'll go through at the Demon World Tournament aren't anything you've ever seen before. Sure, you've heard stories but you haven't taken part of any of it. Seen it. It's going to be tough, and the demons there wont treat you any different." He paused for a second. "You know how I battled Yomi? It lasted sixty hours."
Now my focus on Yusuke. When he noticed that I was looking at him now, he continued.
"You need to realize, there are rumours going around now. Rumours about you." I frowned at that. "That prophecy about you? It's gone out now. All of us having being trying to keep it hidden, a secret. But there's only so much we could do. Demons are whispering and a few fingers are pointing at you."
I couldn't fight it anymore. There were so many questions going through my mind. "Me? Why me? It's not like I've come across many demons."
"Maybe not, but you have met one with a large reputation."
It took me a second to realize who he was talking about. "Hiroto?"
He nodded. "I don't know how much you remember about that day, but you basically destroyed everything, and I do mean everything. Anyways, Hiroto had built himself a reputation, so when people started to look into it when he basically just disappeared. Anyways, you're basically first in line of suspects."
"I guess..." This all seemed so unreal to me. It's one thing knowing that you're a demon, then realizing that you've got some unusual abilities. And now having to realize that I'm so "special" that there are rumours going around? So "special" that I get invited to this Demon World Tournament and have to actually fight? This can't be really happening.
"Anyways," Yusuke said as he got to his feet. "I'm sure you're really tired." No shit, Sherlock. "I'll leave the food here, and there's more downstairs if you need it. Just... be aware that we will be tough on you. We have to."
I took a deep breath before closing my eyes. Yusuke took that time to exit. When I knew he wasn't within ear shot anymore, I tried to push myself up. Thankfully, I waited because I couldn't fight back the groan of pain. I didn't struggle as much as I thought as I got up and headed to my desk. I'm pretty sure it's just because I was so hungry. My stomach was pushing me to keep going. Good thing to, the moment I put a strawberry in my mouth I let a small moan of pleasure. That was all it took before I started to stuff my face. Who needs to be a lady when you're all by yourself, right?
When I was finally done and felt like my arteries were official clogged, I grabbed my plate and took it down to the kitchen. Thankfully, the house was empty so I took my time washing my dishes. Since it didn't look like there was going to be any more training at the moment, I went back upstairs to shower and change.
Once I was dressed casually, I decided to see if I could find Yukina and see what she was up to. I found her at the front of the compound, cleaning one of the main, open, rooms. Holy crap, has she been doing all the cleaning by herself? Looks like I know what we'll be doing together.
"Oh, no. You really don't have to do that," Yukina said after I asked her where I could find a broom.
My reply started with my hands on my hips. "Yukina, if memory serves, Genkai left the compound to both of us. If anything this is my responsibility as well."
There wasn't much she could argue after that, so I found myself a broom and started to clean. Since most of it just involved sweeping and dusking, it didn't take long to get it all done. And I'm sure it was also because Yukina was keeping it clean as well.
"Please tell me that you don't just clean all day here," I stated when we were putting everything away.
"Oh no," she said with a gentle smile. "I actually spend a lot of time with the Kuwabara's."
"Oh really?" I said with a smirk and a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Mhmm," she continued, completely oblivious to my expression. "They've been really kind to me. When Kazuma and Shizuru found out that I wanted to stay in Human World, they basically took me in. I'm so grateful that they did. I've learned so much, the life style, the food, and the clothing." She gestured to her "human" clothes. "I can never find a way to thank them properly."
That actually got me thinking a little. "If you're staying with them, why are you still here, cleaning, and everything?"
She shrugged slightly. "This is my home to. And it's like you said. I have responsibility here."
Just as I was about to open my mouth to reply, I felt this weird sensation go down my spine. Yukina must have felt it to because she went as stiff as me and turned into the direction I was looking at; the door. The sensation was hard to explain, it kind of felt like some sort of demon energy but... not. Kind of like it went in and out, like they didn't have any control over it, or they were confused by it. Is this what the guys felt around me?
Curious, I headed out the door with Yukina right behind me. I slide the door open with just enough space for Yukina and I to poke our head out. Apparently the guys felt this energy as well because Kurama and Yusuke started to walk towards our new guests. There were two young guys, both looking rather nervous and confused. I could only assume they were friends by how closely they were together as they walked forward.
It was Kurama that spoke first, typical. "Can I help you guys with anything?"
They looked at each other before one of them spoke. "We're looking for Genkai."
"I'm sorry," Kurama said gently, "but she's passed away."
The guys looked at each other again. They were more nervous now. "Oh well..."
Before they had a chance to turn away Kurama said, "Perhaps there's something I could help you with?"
"I don't think so..."
"Are you sure?" Yusuke spoke up. "Genkai was a sort of... mentor to me."
That seemed to calm them down a bit.
"Perhaps you guys would like a cup of tea," Kurama said as he motioned to the room we usually host tea to our guests. "Aly-Jay, I think you should join us."
I went stiff again. How did he know I was listening? Scratch that... it was a stupid question. Without wasting any time, I stepped forward and followed everyone inside and started making the tea.
Kurama didn't waste any time and went straight to business. I wasn't completely sure what my role was in this situation so I figured I'd just listen to them as I prepared the tea. It was obvious that these boys-they couldn't be out of high school yet-were really uncomfortable about all of this. At first they bounced around the topic and avoided all eye contact, but Yusuke was losing his patiences.
Just as they were about the deny anything "supernatural" again, Yusuke looked dead in their eyes and flared his demon energy. Judging Kurama's face, I could tell that was not what Kurama had in mind but since it was already done, Kurama exposed his demon energy as well. Luckily, that got their attention and shut them up.
One of them opened their mouth to start talking but then thought differently. He looked over at me. At first I didn't understand the look on his face but then I understood. It was clear that Yusuke and Kurama were demons, but what about me? If they think I'm human then they didn't want to talk about this kind of thing in front of me, for obvious reasons.
Since the tea was finally done, I went over to the guys and placed the tray filled with tea and cups between them. As I started the pour the guests their tea, I looked over at them with a soft smile while they returned it with a narrowed expression. Not wanting to expose too much of myself, I smiled at them again and unleashed my fire demon energy.
I watched them noticeably relax, which was good. Since I wasn't sure how much control I'll be able to maintain without unleashing my water demon energy, I quickly brought it down to nothing. I still wasn't sure what my role was in this situation, so once the tea was out I went to sit off to the side and to the back a little. The guys didn't really call on me again so I just sat there and listened.
The whole conversation was about the guys reassuring these boys that what they're going through was normal, kind of. Their main guess was that they have demon blood in their ancestry, which was only confirmed when they revealed that neither of them know who their father is. With demons sneaking into human world, I could only imagine that some are getting a little... frustrated and need some kind of release. I had to fight back a shudder at the thought.
With that part done, they moved onto talking about training. Kurama made sure that they would try to visit the compound a few days a week after school. I wasn't sure who would do the training, especially since they seem so focused on torturing me.
It was almost two hours later when the boys finally left with promises to come back on Monday. I stood with the Kurama and Yusuke as we watched the boys walk away.
Kurama didn't speak until they were out of sight. "You're probably wondering why I asked you to join us, Aly-Jay."
I nodded.
"We see a lot of this at the compound. People seeking help once they realized that they're special or cursed somehow. I can only imagine that it's going to be getting a little worse now that demons can venture into human world freely. That's how Yusuke got his demon energy."
Yusuke nodded to confirm.
"Anyways, with you being an official owner of this compound, you'll be responsible for guiding and teaching these people. You'll teach them how to control their powers and how to use them properly."
"Excuse me?" I said before Kurama got too far. "I can barely control my own energy, let alone train someone on theirs."
"We'll help you of course."
Oh yeah, that makes everything better. I could only stare at Kurama. I wasn't sure their help would be a good thing, especially since their help meant utter pain. Needing to relax, I went back to the house to take a hot bath.
Perfect idea actually since my legs still hurt like no tomorrow. When I had the water running, I made sure that it was as hot as I could handle. The steam forming on my mirror as I started to undress was a good sign. As I finally climbed into the tub I realized I was small enough for this tub to basically be a deep soaker. Who knew my height was actually a good thing. When I finally settled down and relaxed I did the only thing I could; I half sighed, half moaned in pleasure.
