Chapter 11
Right away your training started. You were put through endless tasks of releasing and retracting your energy. You controlled your ability to fly as well as the output of power behind your attacks. The pains you felt grew less and less and you began to feel better. Genkai pushed you hard in the beginning. Koenma had gently ordered for her to keep on you with this. She listened there was no doubt about that. You often slept in the temple covered in bruises and cuts. Yusuke too helped in your training. You held practice fights with each of you testing your strongest attacks of late. Yusuke was so helpful with you. He assisted you in properly standing, kicking and punching. In a way, he had changed his outlook on you. He now saw a pupil. He never admitted this of course, his pride would not stand for it. But he reassured you all the same.
Eventually, Kurama, Kuwabara and Hiei were told of you. Eager to lend a hand, they all sparred with you. Hiei was the most ruthless. Many times you almost felt another surge of power because of him but held it back. It was as if the fire demon wanted you to unleash it. Nevertheless, you became stronger. Genkai was impressed by your progress and Koenma praised you.
Your powers complied more to your commands. Swirling white flames erupted from you, giving you the impression of being one mass of glowing fire. You could even move things and objects more efficiently with your thoughts than before. With more control, you even began to speak more English with the guys. You figured you were too tired from training to keep up the Japanese, and so you often reverted back to English.
Kurama understood you and even Kuwabara too. Yusuke still was rusty but studied in his free time (the time he was not with you.) Hiei still refused but by using his Jagan eye, he understood you mentally.
Soon, you and Yusuke were the ones called to stop demons running wild in Living World. The two of you worked together, your powers combining to form walls of spirit energy. The fight in Yusuke loved working with you. You proved to be an asset to the team now that you were in control. On special occasions, you would treat Yusuke and using your abilities, levitated him alongside you. Into the night you would soar high above the city. Sometimes you bumped into Botan ferrying souls to Spirit World.
Yusuke laughed loudly as you weaved and rolled in the air, the little kid in him thrilled. Nowadays, you were able to keep both of you up without much concentration. You remembered the days when raising a defense shield caused you to plummet to earth. Kuwabara begged for you to take him up, and you agreed. If only that he did not struggle too much. The look on his face when you came back down told you that he would pester you for rides to school.
Yusuke quickly put an end to those dreams. You didn't mind it. Hiei tested your endurance by challenging you to long distance races. The result was Hiei crossing the finish line, but you were not far behind. Many times you opted to fly, but with the fire demon you honored him by running on the ground.
You came in handy when called to handle a large job. When the boys were busy, you acted as their shied, encasing them in protective spirit shields. Demons soon grew to detest you and your name began to circulate in Makai. Yusuke's replacement, the next Spirit Detective, the White Flame Serpent, all of these names were synonymous with your name. You especially liked White Flame Serpent. When you questioned the Serpent part, Hiei informed you that when you used your energy, it surrounded and coiled languidly around you like a large mythological serpent. And it seemed fitting; if Yusuke's energy took the form of a bird or phoenix, yours appeared to take on the form of a serpent or dragon. Demons were addressing you and Yusuke as the Seiryu and Suzaku of the Spirit Detectives. You blushed and laughed at that. You also noted that the Saint Beast Seiryu was often associated with emperors. You told Yusuke this bit of information one night over dinner. Yusuke, upon hearing that the phoenix was commonly associated with the empress, set out to illustrate to you who played the role of the emperor in your relationship. A lesson you greatly enjoyed learning.
But you were also flattered that your energy was that intimidating and apparently famous.
You were eventually looked as being the second strongest in the group, second to Yusuke. Kuwabara grumbled at that but came to terms with it. You did not flaunt your status with the boys. To you they were all equal. You hated thinking that you were superior then they. You admired Kurama and respected Hiei greatly. Even Kuwabara you reviered in your own way. There were traits that earned it from you. And the guys liked the fact that you still saw them as comrades.
Then one day came that nearly set your progress back months. Out on a job with the boys, you had been stalking a demon rumored to have been able to project the darkest fears of the heart. It had been sighted, most appropriately, in an old Lunatic Asylum that had been built in the early 1800s. At first you had jumped on the chance to bag a demon of this power, but when you hunted the creature down in the eerie building evidence of its formidable ability began to form around you. Hallucinogenic images floated in the distance. The atmosphere grew black and cold. You saw haunting scenes of your dear friends murdered in most gruesome ways. Kuwabara, poor innocent Kuwabara, was disemboweled and quartered; Kurama was strung up by thorny vines like a puppet; Hiei's skin being flayed by his own sword. You felt your mind slip from the onslaught of horror. You began to disassociate yourself from the area containing these pictures. You frantically tried to keep your wits, but when you saw the image of Yusuke kneeling in front of the manipulative demon, his arms tied behind his back, his back marred from whips and chains you felt yourself act in panic and rage. Everything felt, smelled, and tasted real. The coppery blood, the putrid odor of fear itself rampaged through you.
With a blood-curdling scream, you went after the apparition of Yusuke. The demon's sword swung towards the detective's neck in slow motion. Your heart expanded and pumped rapidly in your chest. Your powers throbbed from your being in white hot surges. The ground shook and the demon snapped his head in your direction.
Your entire form was engulfed in blinding flames, your face a mask of revenge. Your body charged at the creature, rings of bright energy pulsing off of you. Wherever they struck left ash in their wake. The demon stared at you as if you were an angry deity; the warring dragon. Harnessing your power, you thrust your arms forward and released a wave of white flame and light. So bright and encompassing was this force that it scarred the very earth by which is traveled. Your voice took on an ethereal tone, almost echoing on itself as you screamed. Once enshrouded in your energy, the demon evaporated like steam. The darkness abated and you floated several feet in the air. Yusuke and the others stared at you and at once tried to calm you. Yusuke called out to you, trying to get you to hear his voice.
"(Y/n) it's me! Listen to me! It's over now, please come down," his voice was laced with concern.
Now that you had control over your incredible energy, you were in fact more dangerous. You coldly stared down at the pile of grease and ash that was once the demon. You looked terrifying there suspended by nothing. You appeared as the serpent many claimed you to be. White veins of light crept onto your skin. It took nearly ten minutes before you heard the calls of the detective. Blinking you shook your head and searched for him. When you caught sight of him, that he was alright, you lowered yourself to the ground. The guys ran over to you and you embraced them. Yes, you hugged Hiei, speaking into his black cloak.
"Holy shit! I thought you were all dead!" You whimpered.
"No, we're fine but that guy sure as hell isn't," Kuwabara gestured to the spot of pitch.
You pulled back from the fire demon and followed Kuwabara's pointed finger.
"Oh! I didn't mean to be so…destructive."
Yusuke cracked a smile and playfully punched your chin. "Are you kidding? That was awesome. But you did have us nervous there."
"Why?"
Kurama came forward with some herb for you to chew. "Here it will ease your fatigue. You took a long time to return to us. You must not let yourself become blinded by your power."
Taking the herbs, you placed them in your mouth. They tasted like peppermint. "What is this?"
"Just something I've been working on for my bio project." His green eyes glittered.
"It's good."
"Let get outta here before the cops come. I'm sure they heard the blast," Yusuke said.
In the distance sirens were ringing, signaling for your retreat.
Later that evening, you had bid the guys goodnight and went to your room in the eastern wing of Genkai's complex. Since the initial incident in your apartment, Genkai and Koenma insisted you stay here. So, at their behest, you moved your stuff to this room. It was a fine size with an attached bathroom. Undressing from your battle garb, you flung it over the back of a desk chair. Doing some quick back stretches to work out the kinks, you donned a simple large t-shirt you stole from Yusuke's apartment. You were not big on pajamas anyway. You approved of yourself in your mirror, Yusuke's shirt hanging loosely at your thighs. Brushing your teeth and hair, you readied for bed. The sliding of your door alerted you and you jolted around.
"Jeeze Yusuke! You scared the crap outta me." You heaved clutching your chest.
The dark-haired teen grinned and winked. "Nice shirt."
Rolling your eyes, you went back to situating yourself beneath the light covers.
"You were great today, you know?" He said removing his jacket.
Glancing up at him, you half-smiled. "Thanks. But I almost lost it again."
The teen came over and sat next to you, the mattress sinking with his added weight.
"Yeah, but you didn't. Stop being so hard on yourself. As my successor you need to have some of my badassness." He cheekily said.
You lightly pushed him. "Shut up. I have my own badassness. I don't need yours."
The teen raised his right hand and ran it through your hair.
You closed your eyes and sank into his touch. "Wanna do something fun tomorrow?"
Yusuke's thumb now grazed your cheek. "Sure. Like what?"
"Why don't we go to the amusement park? Ride the roller-coasters. I need some normal thrills in my life."
Yusuke's russet pools light up. "Yeah! It's been ages since I went!"
"Great! I'm excited," You said.
Yusuke leaned forward and kissed you. The feeling of his lips soothed you instantaneously and you returned the gesture. You loved his spontaneous kisses. It kept your relationship sizzling and active.
His smell wafted into your senses as you entwined your arms around his neck. The spirit detective took your waist and brought you closer on the bed. The kiss was slow and sweet. The kind you most enjoyed. Yusuke's gentility served to heighten your desire for him as it could only lead to him becoming rougher in your exploits. Your fingertips delicately touched the fine hairs on the back of his neck before burying them in his slicked black locks.
If there was one thing that drove Yusuke crazy, it was your hands gripping his scalp. He adored the sensation of your individual fingers in his hair, the thin pressure from each digit on his skin. Soft moans leaked from your throats. Yusuke angled his head to better fix his mouth on yours. The lazy motions with which he massaged your lips sparked electrodes of pleasure in your stomach. The teen lay back against your pillow, effectively bringing you down on top of him. His firm hands rested on your lower back and hips.
It was as if the spirit detective could not keep his hands off of you for any length of time. You knew his hands were itching to raise the hem of his shirt and stroke your flesh. You started lightly when his fingers hovered over the swell of your hip.
"Yusuke, we gotta stop. What if Genkai finds out?" You giggled smacking those curious digits away.
"So what? Grandma won't do anything."
From outside your room, her grumbly voice stated:
"Won't I dimwit? I think it's about time you went home anyway. Leave her alone before I come in there and pull you out by your ears."
Both laughing hysterically at the awesome timing, you pushed off of the teen's chest and digressed to getting under the blankets.
The spirit detective stood and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Guess this is goodnight."
"Yeah~ Until tomorrow. Night Yusuke."
He bent down and gave you a lingering parting kiss. "I'll text you when I get home."
"Ok."
As his silhouette faded from the slider, you fell asleep to his defensive voice against Genkai's "motherly" scolding.
