Chapter 9

Yukina's Heart

Genkai's Woman

Third Person POV:

An older woman with faded pink hair, stood on a balcony looking out at her training room. To look at this woman was to see your typical senior citizen with wrinkles and a surly attitude. But if one really looked, then they would see her erect carriage and her disciplined posture. Needless to say, she was more than your typical 'old woman.' She was Genkai, the martial arts master and perfecter of the spirit wave technique.

Though back to the point. Genkai was staring down at the blue-haired young lady that was bent down scrubbing at her floor. And at this sight, she let a small grin grace her face. That particular young lady was a Godsend. She was sweet, kind, gentle, and eternally patient with everyone. Even those who didn't deserve it. However, Genkai's smile quickly withered back into her normal passive and almost apathetic glare. It would not do to let anyone see her beam like a new mother. It would tarnish her perfect image. Never the less, she climbed unto the banister and jumped, landing nimbly on the balls of her feet. The girl's head flew up from what she was doing and she looked... alarmed. "Master Genkai! Please be careful; you could hurt yourself."

The older woman laughed to herself, wishing that these kids had known her in her younger days when she would have jumped off the top of a building and land without a sound or a scratch. "Don't worry, kid. I'm not dead yet," she replied in a gravelly voice.

"Of course not, but you have to take care of yourself."

"I'm not going to sit around knitting sweaters and scarves all day if that's what you're thinking of." As Yusuke had so eloquently put it the other day. The boy had earned a well, aimed punch to the jaw for his insolence, and it had made the woman feel better.

Yukina laughed in her usual good-natured way. Nothing ever seemed to get her down. Well, nothing except for the lack of results from the search for her brother, but even that only put a frown on her face for a few seconds at the most. "Of course not. I could never think that about you, Master Genkai."

The woman rolled her eyes for about the thousandth time that day. Every time that she thought about those Koorime elders, it made her blood boil. The way they had this girl programmed was just plain wrong. "Drop the 'master' will ya? Makes me feel old." And no one would ever call her old. Or rather no one would live to brag about it.

By now, Yukina knew that she was joking, but still felt somewhat guilty. "I'm sorry M— Genkai."

The pink-haired woman nodded encouragingly as a thought occurred to her. "It's Saturday night. You should be out somewhere. Why don't you go find Kuwabara and get out of my hair for a while?"

"Oh no," Yukina gasped. "I couldn't leave you."

Once again, the old woman rolled her brown eyes. It was almost as though those kids thought that she couldn't be left alone. Just the thought was... offensive in so many ways. She may be old, but she was in no way, shape, or form helpless and refused to be treated as such. "Trust me, I can function alone. I've been doing it since before you were born," she chastised, though she sometimes suspected that the girl may just have lived longer. It was hard to tell with demons.. "Just go."

The young ice maiden tried to think of another reason for staying, but found none that would satisfy the old master. And besides, she really did want to go and see her dear friend, Kuwabara. "If you're sure..."

Genkai just responded with a glare that sent the younger girl scurrying out of the door. And as she left, the master allowed a wry grin to grace her face. Ah, those kids. They'd grow up to be something interesting. Too bad she probably wouldn't live long enough to see it. Ah well, as she'd learned, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

TWO HOURS LATER:

The door opened slowly, and Yukina shyly slipped inside of the dark room. "Genkai," She called softly, her bare feet making no sound on the wooden floor. "Genkai."

There was no response. And suddenly there was a tap on her left shoulder. "Aaaah," the ice maiden shouted loudly, her arms flinging out and making contact with something solid.

"Ow kid. It's me," the older woman said, turning on the light. And for the thousandth time, she felt her age. Usually, she could have jumped back and dodged that blow without so much as a thought. Though, she told herself that she could have jumped back; she just didn't expect Yukina to flail so much. But the young ice maiden did seem to be a bit... off-kilter after she got home from visiting Kuwabara.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, master Genkai," She said worriedly, grabbing the older woman's hand, and checking her over carefully.

"I'm fine. You didn't hit me that hard," She lied wondering how someone so kindly could have such a firm hand. "How was your date?"

The young girl blushed crimson. She was finally beginning to understand human vernacular, and knew exactly what was being implied. "It wasn't a date." At least that's what she told herself, and that's what se would continue to tell herself. So, Kuwabara held her hand in his... that didn't make it a date, did it?

"Whatever you say, kid, but I bet he doesn't agree," She paused. "So, how was it?"

"It was fun. We sat in his room and talked about things." And here she blushed again, leaving the old woman to wonder what they were talking about. Knowing Kuwabara, he was spilling his feelings of love to no avail from the lovely young girl.

"Things like what?" the master probed. As she would readily admit, she was extremely nosy. And that was putting it mildly.

"His homework."

And Master Genkai's eyebrows raised skeptically. It had been a long time, but she still remembered what it had been like when she was young. "Homework? You expect me to believe that all that you talked about for two hours was his homework?" Honestly, the games that these teenagers played. She supposed that they could call it anything that they wanted.

"We did," She protested and her older companion finally began to believe her. After all, the kid didn't lie. Wow... they really were slow now a days. "Kazuma's homework was interesting."

"Oh really. What interesting thing are they learning in the school system today? How to color inside of the lines?"

"No," Yukina chuckled. "Kazuma had to write a paper about their thoughts on life. And his was very good."

Genkai rolled her eyes. She knew that Kuwabara was smart, but she also knew that neither him nor the dimwit really applied themselves. They were funny and a dynamic duo, but not up to hard work. It was a part of their easy charm and 'grace', so the thought of their work being more than mediocre was almost unbelievable. "Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it."

Yukina beamed as she reached into her kimono and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. "He let me borrow it."

Once again, the old woman's brows rose curiously. Hmmm, she carries her dear friend's note right next to her heart. How sweet in a naive sort of way. "Let me see it."

Genkai took the sheet of paper and read over it. After finishing She was ... surprised. It was actually somewhat clever. In fact, he was almost living up to his true potential. A part of her wondered how Yusuke's was. Probably up to his usual standards. Or rather down to..."Surprising," She commented.

"Not if you know him." And only two people know him. Both Yusuke and Yukina. They were the only two who could really get close enough to him. Kuwabara was a man of layers, and it took a special person to unravel them. And goodness knew that the older woman had not the time and patience to do so.

"Genkai. How would you describe life?"

"You don't want to know." Her answer was simple, but her mind was racing a way at at mile a minute.

And the small demon replied, "Oh but I do."

Once again, the older woman chuckled. "Fine. Give me a minute to think and don't say that I didn't warn you."

"Life is like a piece of shit. It's dirty, it's stinks, and it takes up space, on the planet but gets better the closer taht you get to death," the old woman remarked angrily, as though life had some personal vendetta against her. Though, after all of the things that she had been through, perhaps she had the right to feel that way.

"You can't really mean that, master. Everyone has a different concept of life, but I doubt that that one is truly yours."

And of course, the young lady was correct Genkai was not the cold, crusty lady that one would expect. She hid her kindness from those who would misuse it, and from those who needed a push now and then. "Perhaps you're right," She admitted grudgingly.

"I understand that you don't want to say anything sentimental out loud. So, why don't we both write our perceptions of life?"

The woman sighed, but knew that her companion wouldn't give it a rest. The girl was stubborn like her brother, so she nodded in agreement to end this as soon as possible. The ice maiden grinned as she ran off to gather the supplies. She came back about five minutes later with a few sheets of paper and two pens. The girl gave her master one and settled down on the pine floor. Once again, Genkai sighed, but gave into the whims of her young assistant. "Fine. If it'll keep you happy and quiet." She'd never admit it, but she cared much more for the girl's happiness than her silence.

The young girl chuckled. As if she was ever anything other than quiet and reserved. Yet otherwise, she ignored the comment and began writing. Genkai rolled her brown eyes, but also started writing and was done rather quickly. "There finished."

"Me too," the ice demon replied. "Can I read yours now?"

The old woman released her paper and took her assistant's, curious about what the girl really thought about life. After all, She couldn't be quite as naive as She seemed. Though, if anyone could be that innocent, then it would be her.

Life is like The proverbial heart. It's beautiful, strong, and wholly what one makes it to be. What goes on in a person's heart effects everyone around them. Yet at the same time, everyone's heart is different. Some are filled with darkness, sorrow, and others are filled with joy, happiness, and pleasure.

I am a firm believer that no matter what one's heart is filled with it can be rectified. No matter how much evil, blackness, sorrow, or sadness taints the heart, a refreshing spring of love and encouragement can clean off any stain. Meaning that any 'bad life' can be made well again with nothing more than love and understanding. After all, love is the life blood that is pumped by the heart of understanding and distributed through to all living creatures.

Genkai was not surprised. Yukina was a intelligent girl with a very sentimental type of being. In her mind, every problem could be solved with love. And at times, Genkai wished that it was really true. She wished her problems with a certain male had been able to have been solved with love instead of death but it was much too late for that. Much too late.

Meanwhile, Yukina was reading what mater Genkai had written.

Life is like a beautiful woman. In her youth, she is radiant. Her skin is supple. Her hair is long, thick, and glimmers without her trying. Her eyes are bright and her vision perfect. Her body, curvy and supple with ever part pert and perky. She had nothing but energy and is always ready to go and do any and everything.

Everything is easy for her. She slides through life and life's activities as is it's nothing. Everything progresses as it should. She falls in love with a strong man who is as handsome as she is beautiful. Yet all of the while, she never truly stops and realizes that she is going to get older. Not until it actually starts to happen.

Her skin loses its elasticity and sags away from her body. Her hair turns white, thins and loses that healthy shine that she used to brag about. Her eyes have dimmed and became filmy without the same spark of excitement that used to be reflected there. Her body is no longer that perfect shape but rather a prison that holds her darkened spirit there.

Her energy is gone. Nothing is easy anymore. Each day she struggles with the tenuous hold that she has on control. Eventually, the man that she thought would always love her has left her because she is no longer beautiful. She is old. And she wishes herself away, always hoping and waiting for death's cool embrace and the chance to finally rest. Permanently.

Life. It's not easy and it's not for the faint of heart. Not everyone will have a great one. In fact, most people won't, but there's no reason to let it get you down. Remember, it's easy to lose it all, but it's harder to find yourself again. I would know.

Yukina finished reading, and felt tears spring to her eyes. As they exited her tear ducts, they turned into yellow Hiruseki stones which clattered loudly on the pine floor. She couldn't help but cry, because she knew this story and knew that it was so much more than that. It was the true events in Master Genkai's life. The events that turned her from sweet girl to sad woman.

The woman in question turned and gave her a slight smile before walking slowly to her room, where she sat on her pallet. Tears were building up behind her eyes, and she tried her best to keep them down, but the pain was too much for her. Those tears rolled out of her eyes and down her cheeks as she thought about those dark eyes hidden behind those dark shades. The times when he had held her close and whispered sweet words into her ear. The times when he had kissed her. The time when he had loved her. But those times were gone. Forever.

The tears steadily hit the pine floor as she sat there remembering. "Toguro," She whimpered. "I miss you, dimwit." And with that, she curled onto her side, feeling as though he were somehow with her.

A/n:

Whoo-hoo! My ninth Chapter! I hope that it was good, and that you guys enjoyed it.

I know it seemed kind of OOC, but I always imagine Genkai as being really soft when she's alone with Yukina.

Anyway, keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and remember to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;) .

Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!

Yours truly, madly, and deeply,

Einstinette