Hey guys! I'm really getting into this now, so hurray! The updates may become a little more spread out though, because I'm also working on something original on the side. This chapter is a little longer, and stops at an odd place because I got caught up and just kept writing and writing until I was like, "Whoa, I gotta break this up." Alright, let's get this party started. Read and review, please!
The morning came too soon. Yusuke woke me by screaming in my ear, but I was too tired to react any way other than cracking my eyes open.
"Man, now I know why the old bat was so loud. This is fun." He grinned like a maniac. After he was sure I was awake and moving, he left.
I searched my closet for something that would be easy to move in but would also stay in place. Settling with a pair of too-long jeans and a too-big t-shirt, I made my way downstairs.
"Ah, Suteki, there you are. Let's get going." Kurama stood from his chair and sat down his cup of tea.
We didn't go outside, but to a back room in the part of the temple I never went. Weapons covered an entire wall, reflecting the fiery light from the sunrise peeking through the window.
"I'm not quite sure why Genkai put me in charge of weapons training." He chuckled, running a finger along a curved blade. "Kuwabara or Hiei would have been much better at it. I'm assuming she just needed to give me something to do so everyone could help. I guess we'll start with which weapon feels natural to you."
I nervously glanced between the wall and Kurama, afraid I would make the wrong choice. Then I began gingerly picking up a few things; a dagger, a sword, a scythe; but they all seemed to lust for blood and I quickly put them back. Memories of my father's neck pinned to a tree flashed in front of my eyes and I shied away from the laughing steel hanging before me. I was afraid I would become that monster again, and I thought that was what this training was supposed to prevent. Pursing my lips and desperately looking around for something without a blade, I found a dusty staff that was only slightly shorter than myself leaning in a corner. When I picked it up, it felt heavier than I first thought it would be. It was made from sturdy red oak and it was worn at the ends, like it was used as a walking stick for many years before it was stored here.
"You like the bō?" Kurama's voice startled me, I had forgotten he was even there.
"I-I think so…" I mumbled, guessing that the word he used was the formal name for the staff. All of a sudden he came at me as if to attack.
Instinctively I swung the staff out to his legs, but the sweep was sloppy and when it hit his calf I lost my grip. Kurama stopped and picked it up, tossing it back at me.
"You want to keep your grip firm, but flexible enough to maneuver around." I barely caught the staff, but managed to keep my hold on it the next time he attacked. I missed by a long shot, and glared at the wooden stick.
"Why won't it do what I want?" I finally voiced my irritation.
"It will, you just have to be patient. Here, practice some hits on this target." He maneuvered a rice filled dummy that was held up by a wooden platform into the middle of the room.
I spent the next hour trying to do as Kurama told me. Keep my feet shoulder-width apart, don't hunch over, use the staff as an extension of my arm; but I just couldn't seem to get it right. It was a welcome sight to see Yusuke come through the door to fetch me.
"You'll get the hang of it Suteki, don't be discouraged." Kurama gave me a reassuring smile and a comforting hand on my shoulder, and though I thanked him for his kind words, I didn't believe him. I left the staff leaned against the corner where I had found it and sent it one final glare before following Yusuke outside.
"Hit me!" Yusuke hollered for the hundredth time.
I growled, throwing a punch into his abdomen.
"Too weak. I didn't even feel that one through my jackets, 'Teki! Come on!" He shook his head. "Another forty."
I dropped down and started doing pushups. The overly enthusiastic black haired boy crouched beside me, putting a hand on my back and applying pressure. Breath puffed out from between my lips as I struggled against the extra weight.
"You're so small, that when you punch, you need to put all your weight behind it. But remember that because of that, you need to be able to keep your balance and recover quickly." As he talked, he absentmindedly started to apply more pressure. I started to feel my arms tremble, then they gave out completely. I was pushed face-first in the thick layer of snow and a groan rumbled through my chest. Even when I felt him stand I stayed.
He was right, Hiei was right. Kurama and Kuwabara wouldn't say it because they were kind, but I knew that they thought it as well. I was weak. Even when I tried my hardest, I couldn't get it right. I felt hands grip under my arms and pull me up.
"Hey, cheer up. Everybody sucks at first. Hell, Kuwabara still sucks!" He let out a boisterous laugh and ruffled my hair.
"Thanks…" I gave him a small smile, truly appreciative of the encouragement.
"Let's go warm up, I think that's enough of that for the day." He led the way inside. I sat and sipped a cup of tea while he gave me pointers. Well, he didn't really give me pointers, he just told me stories of his greatest fights. He even told of some of his early fights in the human world, some where he even lost.
"There you are! Come on, Genkai's joining us today." Kuwabara said after he poked his head into the room.
"Alright." I stood and followed him to a room that was similar to the one Kurama and I trained in earlier, but with no lights or windows. Before Kuwabara shut the door I caught a glimpse of Genkai sitting on the floor. Then it was dark.
"Sit." I heard her sharp voice bark at me.
"Yes, ma'am." I quickly crossed my legs under me and sat.
"Now, sit there until you can feel where we are with your energy and grab out left hands without hesitation." Silence blanketed the room, it was so thick I couldn't even hear their breathing.
I closed my eyes and tried to focus. At first I couldn't feel anything but the beating of my own heart. Soon though, I started to get a tickle of a feeling. I couldn't explain it, but now I had a general idea of where they were in the room. Kuwabara seemed to be the easiest to sense. He was in the far corner, and as the feeling sharpened, I could tell that his left arm was extended directly in front of him. I started to crawl forward, but it was odd follow a feeling instead of my eyes, ears or nose. The feeling quivered, almost extinguishing itself, but solidified as I stilled and regained my focus. I inched closer, ever so slowly, before reaching out and grasping at where his hand was supposed to be. I smiled, finding my feeling to be right and my hand hit his.
"Ah!" He let out a high pitched, though short lived, scream. "God, 'Teki, you scared the crap out of me."
"Sorry." I laughed softly, before turning my attention to another shape that was slowly forming, right behind where I just was. Genkai's shape was fainter than Kuwabara's, she probably had much more experience hiding her presence. I stared out into the thick darkness, waiting for her position to form fully in my mind. Her hand was held up above her hand. As quietly as I could, I crept over, taking her hand in mine once I was close enough.
"Very good for your first try, except that was my right hand." I heard her get up and open the door. Light pummeled my eyes, temporarily blinding me.
"Thank you." I beamed proudly. Genkai's praises were just what I needed after a long and disappointing start to my training. We walked down the hall towards the kitchen, Kuwabara prodding my side and telling me how great I did.
"I smell lunch. We'll eat and then…" Kuwabara stopped mid-sentence as he saw Hiei leaning against the wall, waiting. The familiar feeling of him slipping into the back of my mind made me tense, but then relax.
"Come on." That was all he said before he started walking outside, expecting me to follow. I sighed and ignored the growling in my stomach, trailing after the black haired demon.
We stopped in the middle of the forest, snow crunching under my bare feet. Should I have worn those uncomfortable and constricting shoes Keiko had bought me? I shook the thought from my head. The snow didn't seem that cold and if I wore them-
Hiei interrupted the mental debate by pinning me to a nearby tree. His sword was at my throat, just barely ghosting over the freshly healed scar. He was so close I could feel his warm breath on my nose. I wasn't scared, but I averted my eyes to show submission. Hiei wouldn't hurt me if I didn't fight back. He had too much pride to kill someone so much weaker than himself. Then unexplainable fear tickled the back of my neck. When my wide, golden eyes met his deadly crimson ones, he only said one word. That word made the tickle of fear turn into rampaging terror.
"Run."
The instant he let me go, I bolted. Hiei was going to kill me if he caught me, of that I was sure.
I ran so fast that my shirt snapped in protest, and the snow no longer crunched underfoot, because my feet barely touched it. The black trunks of trees were all Hiei, laughing at my fear behind taunting eyes. Ahead of me I saw a low hanging branch. Instead of ignoring it, I lifted my arms and winced as the bark stung my cold hands. Using the branch, I catapulted myself into the tree tops. I was surefooted enough to land on a branch much higher, and carefully started to weave my way through. If I could find a dense enough area, maybe I could hide there. Just as the comfort of having a plan was about to slow my racing heart, panic resurfaced. I started sprinting though the canopy. Sheer terror blurred my vision and froze on my cheeks. I could just feel the bite of his cold blade slicing through my neck or piercing my heart.
'I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die…' The frantic chant raced through my mind as I flew through the trees. 'I will not die!' Resolution replaced fear as I reached the clearing and leapt to the ground. I tried to find something to use to protect myself, but my mind was foggy. I tried to push the terror away, but it loomed there. There was nothing in the clearing to help me. I turned to start running again, but there he was, my Grim Reaper.
He could see the whites of her eyes from the edge of the clearing. When she fell to her knees, seemingly giving in to the fear, he pulled from her mind. The Jagan's new power to manipulate emotions was draining, but Hiei knew the girl couldn't do anything unless her life was in danger. He wasn't planning on using the power in the first place, but she felt no fear when he used physical threats.
She had been fast, and her stamina wasn't low. She had went at a dead sprint for over six kilometers. The only reason he was able to catch her was because of her hesitation in the clearing and the sluggishness the Jagan caused him.
Something similar to guilt washed over him as he watched her tremble, aftershocks of fear jolting through her. He was curious as to why he was feeling this, so he walked towards her and knelt down, resting one arm on his knee to balance himself. She had pulled her knees to her chest and had a dead look in her eyes. When he reached out, she flinched away from him. This only irritated the fire demon. He let out a low growl, warning her to sit still. She did, meeting his eyes with a look that was slightly less dead, but just as unreadable. His rough hand met her cold cheek, steam rising at contact. Hiei brushed his thumb under her eye, melting the frozen tears. A strange feeling pierced through him. Had the cold forced the tears from her, or had he? Suddenly he felt her hands grip his wrist. Immediately he thought it was a retaliation from what he put her through, some sort of revenge, but before he had time to react she pulled herself to him.
The arms that wrapped around him felt odd, like the hold was hesitant but firm. The body that leaned gently against his was too thin, breakable. The sudden movement left the hand that had been on her cheek midair. Hiei knew that he should shove her away, but the smell of vanilla and forest drowned him. The hand moved on its own and buried itself in her short brown hair. His eyes closed and his head turned to take in more of the intoxicatingly earthy scent. The tip of his nose brushed against the exposed flesh of her neck, and he could feel the pounding of her heart. At first it was fast and erratic, but slowly it calmed. Her forehead rested on his collarbone, but then she turned to lean closer, pressing her temple to the hollow of this throat.
When it fully hit Hiei what exactly he was doing, he gritted his teeth and stood, feeling a small thrill fill his chest as her hands slid down his back. He should have shoved her away, but he hadn't been able to force himself to do it. He looked back down at her, his eyebrows knitted together in irritation and glared at the pathetic so-called demon.
Blurring away and leaving the girl to find her own way back, he made his way into the temple.
"Where's Suteki? Her lunch is cold." Kurama sat in the chair, alone in the quiet living area, reading a book. When he looked up at the irate man across from him, an amused smile fought its way to his lips.
"In the woods. She's in heat." Hiei glared at the red-head when he started to chuckle. "You knew and didn't tell anyone." His irritation gave way to full blown anger.
"Why do you say that? Did something happen?" The fox demon feigned confusion at first, but when a deadly growl rumbled in Hiei's chest, he held up his hands in defense. "No, she's not in heat. Of that I'm sure. I spent over an hour with her and felt nothing of the sort. Yusuke didn't mention anything either. But maybe it's just extremely early and we didn't sense it." He tacked the last part on to try and calm the fire that danced behind Hiei's eyes, and it seemed to work.
Seemingly appeased, the shorter demon went into the kitchen to eat.