Resonate

Chapter Six: A Very Handy Splinter

The deep darkness didn't bother Kurama as he walked across the grounds. His footsteps were soft in the grass as he made his way along the temple's immediate perimeter. A patrol wasn't called for, but sleep was evading him with a waspish fervor. Of course he knew why and that was why he couldn't will himself to relax. The night's cool air was a reprieve against his skin, a small aid in respect to his pounding headache. He slipped his fingers beneath his bangs and pressed them against his forehead with a sigh. It wasn't that he was stressed about the Spirit World thievery, while it was a concerning matter, he was far more perturbed by the stranger's abrupt arrival.

Stranger wasn't the right word and he knew it.

Glancing up, he spotted the soft glow of the Shisa. It was a massive figure, the dimensions of moderately sized vehicle although he was well-aware that it could potentially be larger. Kurama followed the guardian's position to see that it was stationed outside of the new arrival's window as close as it could be due to Genkai's boundaries. He didn't doubt for one moment that if the temple master gave it permission to enter that the beast would be loyally by the girl's side.

When he looked back, the Shisa was on its feet and before him, all blazing spirit energy and sharp teeth. The fox demon didn't step back or shrink under its glower. Instead, he simply met its furious glare with a somber look of his own.

"I understand your anger—"

The Shisa gave a nasty snarl in obvious disagreement, its claws digging into the earth.

"—I want you to know that it was not my intention for her to fall into any kind of harm or danger."

It snapped its jaws at him, stepping closer. The heat was radiating from it due to its mounting rage and raw emotion, the strength pushing Kurama's hair back away from his face. The heat stung his skin but he didn't flinch, holding his ground. While the beast didn't believe him, he absolutely meant every word. It wasn't his intention for her to fall into harm's way.

"I'm not the same person I was then," he continued. "I understand your distrust and I accept it. I only hope that someday you'll be able to regard me as an ally and not an enemy."

It gave a flare in energy and it was easy enough to read. It obviously didn't trust him, its anger unwavering, but there was an undercurrent of deep sadness that wasn't prevalent a moment ago. Kurama bowed his head in apology.

"I am sorry for your loss…"

Nora wasn't pulled away from the depth of sleep by the sunlight filling the room, but instead by the sound of knocking on her door.

"Nora? Are you awake?"

With a groan, she rolled over and kept her face toward the pillow so her words were heavily muffled.

"C'mon James, let me sleep in a bit…"

"Pardon me?" There was the movement of a door being opened and the girl lifted her head and groggily looked to see who was waking her up. Using a sleep-leaden arm to shove her messy hair away from her face, she was confused to see a delicate figure standing in the doorway. She noticed the mint green hair first and it took her a moment of blinking to clearly see Yukina looking at her curiously.

"Good morning, Nora. I hope you slept well?"

That's right. She wasn't at home in her own bed. It wasn't her brother James waking her up too early on a Saturday.

"Morning…?" she heard herself answer. The ice maiden gave a kind smile in return.

"Yes, it's morning," she said patiently, hearing the question in her tone. "Would you care for breakfast?"

Her stomach gave a grumble at the mention of food, making the demoness giggle softly at the sound, politely covering her mouth with her hand. Face growing warm with embarrassment, she got to her feet and made her way toward the hall, twisting her hair back into its usual bun.

"Oh."

Nora froze at the concerned sound, looking down at Yukina. Part of her mind was wondering what was the matter while the other half was noticing just how much taller she was compared to the ice demon. She was a tall for a girl in general and she knew that Yukina was portrayed as petite, but the girl only came up to her shoulder in height.

"Is something wrong?" asked Nora. Yukina tapped a finger to her lips in slight concern, studying her.

"Did you sleep in those clothes?"

Blinking at the odd question, she stole a quick glance down to see that she was indeed wearing the same jeans and white sweater from before. Well it wasn't as if she came prepared with an overnight bag but her cheeks flushed anyway.

"Um, yeah. Sorry if I look a bit wrinkly," she said, trying to joke. "I didn't really come with anything…"

Yukina gave a smile, her previous expression of worry melting away as she changed the subject.

"If you'll follow me, breakfast is ready."

Nodding in agreement, the much taller girl followed her quietly, her socked feet scuffing along. As they walked, she tried to take notice off her surroundings, now that she was in a more stable mindset. The interior of Genkai's temple wasn't what she expected. Actually, she didn't really have a particular expectation since she never really thought about it before. If anything, she thought there might have been memorabilia from events that happened in the manga or anime but the place was bare for the most part. While it was empty in the sense of a lack of possessions, it wasn't barren and absent in the way of being abandoned. It felt lived in.

When they stepped back into the main room, Nora was surprised to see that only the temple master herself was present at the table, sipping her tea just like she was the day before. Yukina gave a smile and gestured toward the table as she stepped away from her side, disappearing into the kitchen. Mouth suddenly dry, she mentally begged for the shorter girl to come back, left standing awkwardly between the two occupied locations.

"Sit down," grouched Genkai. Flinching at her sudden voice, she was grateful at the same time for some instruction and she promptly took a seat, hands clasped in her lap. She dared to glance at the woman but she didn't spar her a look, content with her drink.

Yukina, thankfully, returned and placed a plate of food before her, distracting her from the silence. The smell was inviting and her stomach rumbled loudly as the steam rose from the dish. Dang, she didn't even realize how hungry she was until that moment. The meal consisted of steamed rice, grilled fish, and miso soup. Despite her usual breakfast consisting of a granola bar on a good day as she was running late to class on most, she was not about to turn her nose up at any offered food.

"Wow, this looks great...!" she said in earnest. The maiden seemed a little surprised by the reaction but she smiled in response, pleased.

Genkai spoke up just as Yukina turned away and before Nora could take the first bite.

"Eat quickly. We have plenty to do today."

The girl blinked in confusion. "Plenty to do? Like what?"

"Less talking and more eating. Meet me outside when you're finished."

The cup was set on the saucer with a clink of finality and the older woman got up from the table and made her way outside without another word. Nora stared after her with an expression that clearly stated her bewilderment. What could they need to do? She thought that they would just want her to sit in a corner until Koenma reached a decision. Picking up the chopsticks, she did her best to eat the meal in a timely manner with her poor utensil technique. Why were chopsticks so difficult? Luckily, no one else was in the immediate area to see her struggle. Giving up halfway through her endeavor, she hurried to return her dishes to the sink and then turned heel to book it outside. She didn't want to be the one who made Master Genkai wait.

The air was wonderfully fresh against her skin as she slid open the door and stepped outside. She was out on some type of front porch and she had forgotten how high up the temple was from the ground. The tops of the trees swayed ever so slightly with the breeze and the forest's reach seemed to be endless. Her body came to a halt as she took in the scenery, a few strands loosened gently by the wind.

It was so beautiful.

There was so much clear blue sky overhead and the clarity coupled with the lush green from the trees, she could have sworn she was standing in a picture.

"We haven't got all day."

Startled, she flinched at the voice and turned to see the temple master suddenly beside her. The small woman was standing with her exact posture, her arms locked behind her back, knuckles pressing against each other.

"Y-yes ma'am," answered Nora with a nod. She expected the woman to speak again but in the next instant, she was looking at empty space. Gasping, she quickly looked around to see the small figure finishing her descent and waiting for her out in the courtyard.

"She's so fast…!"

"Come on now," she grouched.

Nodding again, Nora hurried down the numerous steps, taking care not to trip over her own feet and trying to be quick so not to be annoying.

Genkai kept a gimlet eye on her as she finally stepped away from the staircase, slightly breathless from the excursion doubled with her anxiety. She always had the bad habit of holding her breath when she was nervous. It wouldn't do her any good to accidentally make herself light headed.

"You're slow for someone so tall," Genkai commented.

"I-I'm a good walker, but yeah, pretty useless long distance," she agreed sheepishly. "I'm not really the sporty kind of person."

"Hm."

Though further confused, she kept her head respectfully lowered as she awaited the master's orders. She still had no clue what the pink haired woman had in mind. What could she possibly expect from her?

"I want you to call upon your energy."

The shock delayed the instruction from making sense to her right away.

"Wh-what? You want me to what?"

Genkai huffed in annoyance. "I want you to call upon your energy, spirit or demon energy, whatever you have. Manifest it for me."

"I-I don't—I can't—I mean, I don't know?" she stumbled with her words. "How do I do that?"

She didn't have spirit energy like Kuwabara and Yusuke, nor did she have demon energy like Kurama and Hiei. She was just a normal, boring person with no energy of any kind. There wasn't anything for her to call upon.

"Hold out your hand." Genkai held her own hand out, palm facing up and Nora was quick to mimic her. "Concentrate on summoning your energy and visualize it appearing in your hand."

She felt a shift in the air and she stared with wide eyes as Genkai's palm began to glow with a bright blue light. It started off as a shimmer, like a trick of the light, but it then grew in intensity, suddenly bursting with strength, crackling harshly like electricity. Her nerves were standing on end as she watched the phenomenon unfurl before her very eyes. Goosebumps broke out across her skin as she watched in awe as the energy was manipulated with unerring skill. This was spirit energy?

It was beautiful and terrifying all at once.

Just as the spirit energy reached a type of peak, it was snuffed out as if it had never been there. Not a single trace left behind. Did she even really just witness it?

"Wow…" she gasped. "That was…wow…"

Genkai scoffed. "Flattery isn't necessary nor will it get you anywhere." For some reason, she felt like the woman was slightly amused though her stern expression didn't actually betray anything.

"Now, show me."

Turning her focus to her own hand, Nora couldn't help but feel wholly inadequate in comparison. After seeing a display of energy that was nothing more than a mere flex of strength, how could she possibly do anything even close to that? Where was she even supposed to begin?

Taking a deep breath, she zeroed in on her hand and tried to call upon any type of energy at all. She took in the details of her own hand. Since she was taller than the average girl, she was used to her own hands being larger. Long fingers, neatly trimmed nails, skin so pale that she could see the blue of her veins latticework beneath the surface. She tried to picture an energy of some sort coming to life, trying to visualize the bright blue that Genkai had created.

Moments seemed to pass but her palm remained empty. Not so much as a shimmer.

"Hm."

Genkai's sound of interest pulled her from her concentration and she lowered her hand dejectedly. She felt flushed all of the sudden, having not noticed her exertion from focusing.

"S-sorry," she apologized. "I just…I don't know how…"

"Obviously," she tutted. Genkai stepped closer and Nora did her best not to step back on reflex. The sharp eyes studied her intensely, seeing something the girl probably couldn't understand.

"We know that you have an energy to call upon and a noticeable one at that," continued Genkai. "It's what alerted us to your arrival and also what summoned the Shisa to your side."

Nora felt a familiar warmth wash over her and she turned to look over her shoulder to see the Shisa approaching, as if it heard its name. It remained a fair distance away as it rested in the cover of the trees. She felt herself smile and she gave it a small wave like she had before. Somehow, she could've sworn that the warmth increased and that made her feel better, her shoulders a little lighter.

"Call for it."

Genkai's voice snapped her out of her daze and she looked to the woman, confused.

"Call it?" she repeated. "What? Wh-why?"

"Just do it," she instructed, her tone clearly stating that she was not in the mood to tell her more than once. Well she wasn't about to argue with the person who trained Yusuke Urameshi.

Turning so that she was facing the reclined Shisa, she hesitated for a moment, trying to brainstorm the best way to call it over. Should she wave? Call it by…name? Was that its name or its species? Would that be like saying "Here human, human, human"?

"Sometime today," grouched Genkai. "I'm not getting any younger."

Tentatively, she started to bring her hand up in another small wave and she took a breath and released a short whistle that raised in pitch near the end. Immediately, the Shisa perked up and looked right at her. The next second it had bounded over to her in a single leap and her loose strands of hair were pushed away from her face from the force of its energy.

"Whoa…hey there," she greeted. This time she wasn't worried as she reached out and it met her halfway, bumping its head against her opened hand. She smiled again as she softly pet it, its fire like body glowing brighter with the attention.

A loud voice quickly sliced through the lovely moment.

"Hey, what're you up to now, demon girl?"

Flinching, she turned to see Yusuke and Kuwabara making their way down the stone steps with minimal effort, landing easily on the courtyard's grass. She stepped closer to the Shisa, wary as she watched Yusuke. The guardian spirit must have picked up on her caution because it took a step forward, shielding most of her with it body and keeping close.

The spirit detective gave a humored grin at the action. "Heel boy, I'm not here to fight unless there's a reason too." Bright brown eyes glittered as he looked to her once more. "Is there a reason to, demon girl?"

"There should be a fight for your manners. They're horrendous," she heard herself snark back. Again, it was just something Yusuke was able to pull from her. She was a fairly quick-witted person but she didn't tend to show that side of herself until she was far more comfortable with the person. Well, then again, she technically had known "Yusuke" for years. Maybe that was it?

Kuwabara snickered and elbowed his friend in the side. "She's right, Urameshi. She and Keiko would make the perfect team."

Yusuke paled slightly. "Keiko already runs me ragged and now you want to give her an assistant? Give me a break!"

"What are you doing, dimwit?" interrupted Genkai. "Shouldn't you be on the hunt for Koenma's stolen treasures?"

"Eh, we've got some time. Diaper King's file hasn't come through yet," explained Yusuke, lacing his fingers behind his neck and leaning his head back. He didn't seem too bothered by the situation presented by the Spirit World ruler. Probably because he handled a similar case when he was a brand-spankin'-new detective and how bad could it really be?

"What're you doing?" asked Kuwabara, looking between the master and the newcomer. Nora took a breath and answered when Genkai didn't say anything right away.

"We're trying to call upon my…energy."

"And failing," quipped Genkai.

"Failing?" parroted Yusuke, looking confused. "But we know she can project it, she was practically a neon sign earlier—that's how we found her!"

"Good to know that you pay some attention, twerp. It's not a problem with the energy, it's a problem with pulling the energy forward."

"What kind of demon can't use their own energy?"

Flustered, Nora ducked her head and busied herself with petting the Shisa, the golden flames slipping between her fingers as the others argued, as her pulse picked up anxiously. She didn't see why they thought she could call upon any kind of energy. Didn't that make her less of a threat in the long run? Solidify her human status?

"Oh wait! I've got an idea!"

Without another word, Kuwabara darted back up the stairs and into the temple.

"What is he up to?" groaned Yusuke. Nora couldn't help but shrug uselessly in response. What was he thinking? Was there some way to force the energy she supposedly had to the surface? Or at least prove that she wasn't a demon like Yusuke was determined to believe? She glanced back at the detective, his laid back but gracefully posture, the dark hair pushed away from his brown eyes.

It twisted her stomach into knots knowing that a character she had grown up with and love dearly for years, ever since she was young, distrusted her to such a degree. She kept herself occupied by looking around the grounds, anywhere but at the two advance spirit energy users. She took note of how dense the surrounding forest was, the height of the trees making it impossible to glance at the mountains behind. Her gaze made its way back to the temple and she was surprised to see Kurama's figure step out onto the porch. Instead of turning away instinctively, she allowed herself to study him for a moment.

Kurama was always an interesting character in the manga and anime. She enjoyed him immensely but she was never really on the fangirl bandwagon. Yes, he was intelligent, frighteningly so, and kind as well as witty. Of course there was the obvious fact that he was unreasonably attractive, no one was going to deny that. She just never felt "connected" to his character. It was almost like even in the manga, he was still so secretive and reserved, only wearing a pleasant front for the sake of everyone. She felt she could relate to Yusuke and Kuwabara, and even Hiei had been a favorite of hers due to the whole "bad boy" appeal. Kurama was just…different to her…

As if he heard her thoughts, he turned his sharp green eyes to her and she was immensely grateful that Kuwabara opened the door at the exact moment. Her surprised expression could be attributed to the loud entrance instead of making eye contact with the fox demon.

"Found it!" he called for everyone to hear.

Relieved to have something else to focus on, the tallest team member made his way down to the courtyard in a few easy lopes. When he landed he wore the biggest grin on his face as he turned to face her, holding his hand out stretched.

"Here—this ought to help you out!"

She didn't know how to react as she looked at the offered item. It took her a second to find her voice.

"Um…how would this help me? By giving me a splinter?"

The item was a broken piece of polished wood, one end smooth and rounded while the other was jagged and splintered as if it had been broken with impressive strength. What good would a broken piece of wood do her?

Kuwabara's grin didn't lessen as he stepped forward and she dubiously held out her hand, feeling the smooth surface against her palm. Closing her fingers around the object, she looked up at the three, Kurama was still at the top of the steps, and awaited instruction. What was she supposed to do?

Genkai spoke up. "Go on. Try to summon your energy again. It's certainly worth a shot."

Taking another deep breath, she held out her hand, holding the broken piece tightly. It couldn't hurt to try, right? If anything, it would only further prove that she didn't have any kind of energy. That should make it easier for them to trust her, to get her back home, and for everything to blow over and get back to normal.

She closed her eyes and tried to picture any kind of vision appearing, imagining it flooding her hand like how Genkai's had manifested. There was a distinct pull from somewhere deep within her and her eyes snapped open and she stared in shock at the broken tool. Determined not to lose focus, she kept her concentration as she allowed the pulling sensation fill her.

There wasn't anything at first but she could feel something building. She could have sworn there was a shimmer cloaking the wood, a tingling in her palm. Thrilled by the development, she tried to push further which resulted in sharp sound and some type of golden light crackling around her hand. Startled by the sudden appearance, she dropped the wood with a yelp and stumbled backwards, bumping into the Shisa.

…It felt like the sun had melded with her very core…Everything was bright, vibrant, and glowing…

"Hmph," said Genkai, her arms folded. "Guess you can use your energy after all."

Breathless, Nora couldn't help but stare in shock, the wooden piece left in the grass, the three characters standing in front of her, studying, and she could specifically feel Kurama's heavy gaze on her from the steps.

"Oh…fantastic…?"

REVIEW! Sorry again for the long wait, life and writer's block love to tag team me which is always annoying.

Anyway! So this chapter we get a bit of development and it looks like with a little help, Nora can, in fact, call upon her spirit energy in a way. And what does Kurama know and why does the Shisa distrust him so much?

Your thoughts would be much loved as always and I hope you all enjoyed!