Disclaimer: See Chapter One.
Added: I do not own, nor make a profit from the song: Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park. It is own by its respective owners.
Warnings: See Chapter One.
Added: A bit of blood and a bit extra violence then normal.
Word Count: 13,766
A/N: Hey yall! Sorry about this taking forever to post but I had to work extremely on this chapter. I changed so much and it took so much longer then I anticipated. It also caused me to change a bunch, as new ideas came and stuff. The next chapter will be worked on soon and I hope I can get that one out quicker then this one *sweat drops*
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this!
'Yoko' speaking.
Chapter 12: Testing the Waters
It was the next day. Kurama had showed up about fifteen minutes before five. Luckily, Joann was up already watching Kuwabara running around grabbing the rest of the stuff he needed.
"This is why I packed last night." Joann said with an eye roll but a small smirk on her lips.
"Shut it Carson-san." Kuwabara growled as he picked up some underwear and shoved it into the growing bulky suitcase.
Kurama stood next her with his own smirk.
"Remember it's only two months, not an entire year..." Joann added with a sweat drop as she watched Kuwabara grab a couple of more items before trying to close the suitcase.
Kurama joined Joann's sweat drop as Kuwabara, trying to close the suitcase, jumped up into the air and landed on top of the not closing suitcase. However, it only caused the poor carrot top to bounce off and fall onto the ground, his clothes springing up and falling all over the floor and on top of the poor teen.
Joann couldn't help but laugh at how anime the scene looked. Kurama covered his mouth as he tried to hide his own chuckle. Kuwabara just growled from his position on the ground, one of his underwear on top of his head.
"It's not funny!" he growled out as he stood up and began to pick up his clothes.
"You're right, it's not funny. It was hilarious!" laughed Joann.
This earned another growl from Kuwabara as he tried to quickly grab his clothes, piling them up into his arms. When he turned back around to pack up his suitcase, he found Eikichi sitting inside the now empty suitcase looking up at him. Kuwabara paused and looked down at his meowing kitty.
Joann awwed at the cute scene and walked over to the kitty.
"Sorry sweetie, but you can't come." she said as she held the kitty, who looked as if she was pouting.
Kuwabara stood in front of his suitcase holding his pile of clothes, some falling from his arms. It was here he realized he wouldn't see his beloved cat for at least two months. He didn't know how long the demon tournament would be but he figured at least a week. He let out a sigh before putting the clothes that were left in his hands into the suitcase. This time it was able to close, as it wasn't as much as he originally tried to put in.
Joann continued to pet the cute kitty but slowly she could sense the sadness coming from Kuwabara. She looked up and saw his body language was that of sadness. She pouted before bringing his precious kitty over to him.
"Hey, she'll be fine." Joann said before handing over his baby.
Kuwabara took his cat into his arms and hugged her to his face. The little kitty began to lick his face. He couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, your right. Thanks." he said with a grin.
Joann couldn't help but grin back with a slight blush on her cheeks.
Kurama observed the interaction between the two. He had heard, from Yusuke, that those two had strong feelings for each other, but weren't realizing it. Kurama had thought the same thing the moment he saw the two interact during their first mission against the Four Saint Beasts. He was confused as to why they both were holding back. He would pay a bit more attention to their relationship during the next two months and see what he could find.
"Botan is waiting for us." Kurama said, interrupting the two.
They turned around to look at the forgotten teen and gave him a nod.
Ten minutes later...
The three met the blue hair deity in an alleyway that wasn't too far from Kuwabara's house. Each of them were given a communicator to reach the Underworld if anything happened, they ran out of supplies, or needed to come back to the human world for a bit. After many hugs and best wishes from Botan, the three walked through a portal and arrived in the demon world.
Kuwabara and Joann were amazed at their surroundings. They felt they had walked into the middle of the rainforest. There were faint bird chirps, the sound of a running stream nearby, and the rustling of leaves from the soft breeze.
"Holy spit Kurama!" Kuwabara shouted, pulling Joann's eyes from the beauty around her to where the carrot top was staring.
In front of the trio was a huge castle. It reminded Joann of one of those castles you could still find scattered across Europe, minus the moat. It certainly looked as if the demons who built it took inspiration from the medieval human times. Although, it appeared to be a miniature size version. It was entirely made out of stone, which looked old but still in great shape.
The castle was as long as half of a football field and was just as tall as an indoor football stadium. The door to the big stone structure was 10 feet tall and looked like it was very heavy. There were carvings and other decorative structures all over the castle. Gargoyles rested at the top of each of the four towers that were at each corner of the stone castle. Joann instantly thought of the old Disney cartoon Gargoyles and debated asking the red head if they come to life at night.
Kurama chuckled from Kuwabara's reaction and the opened mouth Joann who was also staring at it. The chuckle broke the girl from her stare and looked over to Kurama.
"Damn Kurama!" she said making the redhead chuckle more.
"How the heck did ya afford this place?!" Kuwabara asked, his mouth still agape.
"If you remember, Yoko was a thief. He had stolen enough money where he could buy this castle from a demon who couldn't afford to live here." said Kurama.
"How much did you get for it?" Joann asked still in awe.
"That is information that is only known by my former self." Kurama said, however there was a twinkle of amber mixed in his emerald eyes.
"A real steal you mean." Joann said with a snicker.
Kurama chuckled.
"I guess you could say that."
Kuwabara shook out of his awe and grinned.
"Well, let's check this joint out!" he said before going over to the huge doors and pushed at them.
They didn't budge. The carrot top blinked up at the doors and pulled back, scratching the back of his head.
"Huh. I figured it'd be heavy but I didn't even feel it even give me resistance."
Kurama chuckled, causing the carrot top to look back at him.
"Being in the demon world, you need extra protection," Kurama said before walking over and standing next to the carrot top. "Especially since there are many thieves."
The red head seemed to have a snicker at saying the last line before giving the big door a rhythmic like knock. After a few moments, there was a loud creak heard before the doors slowly began to open inward. Kuwabara watched with wide eyes and his mouth open again. Joann watched with just as much excitement and awe as the carrot top.
Kurama seemed to enjoy impressing the two and smiled.
"Welcome to my other home."
The trio walked into the castle, after which the doors closed behind them. Kurama clapped twice and the room filled with lights.
The room was huge, looking like it was 30ft length by 30ft width by 20ft height. The height reaching 20 feet by arching upwards towards the middle. The highest point being 20 feet and had a beautiful chandelier hanging at that point. It was heavily decorated with gems and silver. It had silver chains connecting each light source, which were eight. There was a huge light source in the middle of the chandler which was made brighter as it was in the middle of a diamond shaped crystal.
Joann hoped it wasn't a real diamond because that would be too excessive even for Yoko. Well, in her own personally opinion anyway.
The floor was a greyish blue marble that covered the entire floor until it reached the set of curved staircases that were across from the doors. The curved staircase on the left had red carpeting and reached the second floor. The curved staircase on the right was a blue carpet and went to a third level. The second floor seemed to have three doors' one at where the stairway reached the second floor, one in the middle, and one more at the end of the floor.
Joann assumed that was the same set up for the third floor.
One the first floor, between the two oddly heighted staircases was a set of glass doors that looked to go outside or to a brighter room. It was hard to see from the distance the trio was standing.
To the left of the group was a door, as well as one to their right. Next to the door on the left was a huge decorative mirror that made the already big room look bigger. Next to the right door was a huge white piano that made the entire look complete.
Kurama had a smug look on his face as he watched the reactions of his companions. Kuwabara seemed to stick to one spot but his hand let his suitcase drop with a loud, echoed, thud.
Joann made Kurama chuckle as he watched her rush over to the mirror and stared at all the gold carved flowers; roses obviously. In a blink of an eye, she was over to the one staircase, looking up the winding steps and marveling at the beautiful red carpet, which had a design that reminded her of thorns curling upwards. She rushed over to the other and saw the same design in the blue carpet.
Joann turned around and looked over at the white piano. She walked quickly over to the instrument, which was the calmest she had since she entered the castle. She brushed her fingers over the instrument. It felt smooth, possibly vinyl.
"Do you play?" Kurama asked as he walked over to her, a tilt of his head.
He had dabbled but was able to play simple notes.
She shook her head.
"Not really..." she said as she pushed open the lid revealing the keys.
Kurama raised an eyebrow at how she was acting. It looked like she had been reunited with an old friend. She was touching the keys fondly as if she had fond memories. It made him even more curious to see if she could play the instrument. Joann could be humble at times and he assumed this was one of those times.
Joann touched one of the keys, having the note echo in the practically empty room. She ran her fingers of her right hand over the keys.
Kuwabara seemed to snap out of his stupor and watched as the girl slowly hit each note to a song he thought sounded familiar. Both boys watched as she pulled out the matching bench from underneath the piano and sat down. The two held their breath as they waited to hear her play. They had both heard her sing a bit and knew she had a really great voice. It would only make sense she could play the piano.
Kurama sweat dropped as Kuwabara anime fell as she played Mary Had a Little Lamb with just the one hand but very slowly, her feet pushing on the petals to extend some of the notes.
Joann only knew the one song. Her family had a piano that looked almost similar to this one, just black. It was also severely out of tune because every time she played the famous children's tune, it made it sound very creepy. She couldn't help but feel a bit sad as she slowly played the tune, hearing the happy tune instead of the creepy one her old piano would play. She sighed before pulling her hand away and closing the lid to the keys.
Joann turned to find the two boys looking at her, a bit worried. She blinked at them before quickly standing up and scratching the back of her head.
"Sorry. That's the only tune I know how to play." she laughed before remembering the last part of the room she hadn't checked out.
She rushed over to the window glass and pressed her face against the glass.
"Holy crap! It's a greenhouse!" she shouted before looking back towards the red head with an excited and wide smile.
Kurama had sweat dropped at how quickly she changed the subject but couldn't help but smile at the excited grin that crossed the girl's lips at seeing his greenhouse.
"I'm glad you like it."
"I love this entire room! No, this entire castle!" she shouted as she rested her hands on the handles ready to push them open into the beautiful room, but paused.
She didn't want to be rude. Although, running around someone's house as if they are three years old was pretty rude. Her mother would have had a fit if she saw her 20 something year old daughter acting like a three year old.
Kurama seemed to sense her hesitation and smiled.
"As long you and Kuwabara-kun are staying here, you are to think of it as your home and allowed to go anywhere...except the west wing."
Joann's eyes widened and turned around.
"Really?"
Joann noticed the amused look on the redhead's face before she laughed.
"Good one Kurama."
"Wait? What's in the west wing?" Kuwabara asked.
The carrot top had noticed how sad Joann had become as she played the usually happy tune. Even with the happy tune being played slow, he could hear the sadness as the girl played. He wondered what was about that song that made her sad. Did it remind her of her home? Was it a bad memory or a happy one that was sad because of her not being at her real home? His thoughts had been interrupted at the red head's warning.
He genuinely was curious and looked at a chuckling yet sweat dropping Kurama.
'This is going to be exhausting...' Kurama thought before letting out a sigh.
"I don't have a west wing, Kuwabara-kun."
"Then why aren't we allowed to go somewhere that you don't even have?" he asked blinking.
Kuwabara wouldn't have put it past Yoko to have a forbidden room. Considering all the things he knew about the red head's former life as the kitsune, not to mention how extravagant just one room in this castle, he wouldn't be surprised if that was were he would keep his most valuable items.
"He's referencing the line from Beauty and the Beast." Joann said with a laugh.
"Which, is one of my favorite movies so, double points to you Kurama." Joann said with a wink.
Kuwabara blinked before realizing his mistake and couldn't help but become a bit flustered.
"Well, considering what we've seen so far, I wouldn't put it past 'im." Kuwabara said nodding towards the redhead.
Kurama laughed again.
"Touche."
Joann had already turned back to the room and opened it up.
"One thing." Kurama said, catching the girl's attention.
"Just take off your shoes." Kurama said, pointing over to where he had placed his own shoes.
Kuwabara sweat dropped as he began to quickly take off his shoes. Joann blushed before rushing over and taking off her own shoes and putting them next to the redhead's brown shoes.
"I'm sorry." she said bowing her head.
Kurama chuckled.
"It's fine. You just got overly excited." he said with a smile.
Joann couldn't help but slightly blush at the smile. Kuwabara noticed and frowned. He felt a slight tightness in his chest. However, he shook his head. Kurama had noticed the look Kuwabara gave him. It looked like a hint of jealousy. He made a mental note.
Joann shook her head, clearing her embarrassment before rushing back to the open door of the greenhouse. She looked down as she opened the door. She noticed the marble looked like it was turning into grass. She knew it was just the marble ending at the edge of where the greenhouse started. It still looked pretty cool. She took in a breath before stepping onto the grass with her bare feet. She had even taken off her socks. She always liked the way grass felt on her feet. It was rare that she would take off her socks but grass and taking a shower was the only time she would do it.
Once in the room, Joann looked at her surrounding and gasped.
The room was filled with all different kinds of plants and vegetation. So many aroma's filled the air and her nose, which oddly enough didn't clash but complemented each other. It was a mix of the sweetness of fruits to the floral of the flowers. She walked around, finding there was a small path that lead deeper into the fairytale like garden. The trees ranged from pine to palm. The ceiling was pure glass and seemed perfectly lined up with sunrise and sunset. The temperature was perfect for the foliage and vegetation.
Joann didn't notice the boys had followed her into the room. Kuwabara was just as much in awe and looked around.
"I'm sorry to cut the tour short." Kurama said, catching Joann's attention, who was watching a butterfly fluttering over one of the flowers.
Kuwabara had been eyeing one of the apples on an apple tree.
"We only have two months before the tournament. I would like you two to get settled into your rooms and we can get started."
Joann's stomach growled, which caused her to sweat drop, while Kurama chuckle as Kuwabara's own stomach joined her.
"After breakfast." the redhead added with a chuckle before motioning the two to follow him back into the entrance way.
Kuwabara went over and picked up his suitcase, as did Joann; who dropped her's the moment they first entered the castle.
"The bedrooms are on the second floor." Kurama said gesturing towards the stairway to the left.
"The door to the right," Kurama said, pointing to the door next to the right staircase, "goes to the kitchen while the one to the left," he said gesturing to the one next to the left staircase, "leads to the dining room. That will be where we'll be eating our meals. If you want a midnight snack or something, you are allowed to make it in the kitchen but not eat in it." Kurama said, with a stern look.
Kuwabara couldn't help but gulp and nod. Joann nodded, but not as worried as Kuwabara. Kurama gave the two a smile before heading towards the stairs that would lead to the rooms.
"Wait, what is the third floor for?" Joann asked with a tilt of her head.
Kurama couldn't help but turn with an evil gleam, which caused both Kuwabara and Joann to shiver.
"You'll find out but not right now."
The two gulp before following Kurama to the second floor.
Once there, Kurama guestered to one of the three doors, the one closest to the staircase.
"The door here is my room. The other two will be yours. All the rooms are set up the same and have their own bathroom so it doesn't really matter which room you choose."
Kuwabara nodded and walked to the middle one.
"I'll take this one." he said before opening the room.
It was much bigger than he expected. It was 20 ft by 20 ft by 20 ft. Across from the door was a window that looked out over the greenhouse. The window had a thin curtain that was a very light pink color. They were pulled back so the green house could clearly be seen. It showed exactly how big it was and it looked like it took up the entire space of the castle. It appeared that only 50ft of the building was devoted to a person(s) living in the castle, while the other 100ft was for the green house. Kuwabara sweat dropped as he should have figured.
Kuwabara saw that there was a dresser in front of the window. The curtains just barely touch the top of the dresser, which was the same color as the curtains. Against one of the walls was a king size bed, in the style of a daybed. The bed was pushed, longways, against the wall. Pillows were positioned against the wall, making it look like cushions of a couch. The quilt that covered the bed was thick and had a softness to it. It was a very light color grey that fit with the off white color of the room. The pillows had a grey background with red roses and green thorns decorating the pillows.
Across from the bed was a door that lead to the bathroom.
Kuwabara placed his suitcase on the bed and looked more around the room.
There was a lamp between the bed and the dresser. It seemed that at sometime, Kurama or even Yoko, spent money to get electricity into the old building. The carrot top didn't even want to think about how expensive that had to be. The floor was carpeted and a light tan color.
"I'll let you get situated." Kurama said before nodding at Joann who held her own bag to her chest and nodded.
The two closed the door as they left. Kuwabara looked around, still trying to absorb everything. After a moment he began to put his clothes away in the dresser.
Kurama was right that the rooms seemed to be the same. One thing was Joann's room had the window to the greenhouse to the right of the door and another window that looked out towards the forest the castle was situated in.
Joann put her bag on the bed.
"I think I'm going to take a quick shower and then I'll head down." Joann said as she looked at Kurama.
Kurama nodded with a smile.
"There are already towels and other toiletries in your bathroom." Kurama nodded towards the other door in the room.
Joann smiled and nodded.
"Thanks."
Kurama smiled back.
"Of course. I'll make us some breakfast so be down in thirty minutes in the dining room." Kurama said before leaving, closing the door behind him.
Joann let out a sigh before putting away the items she brought. She brought three yoga pants, two tank tops, three jeans, four pajamas, socks, bras, undies, her Scooby-Doo blanket, Koga, her toothbrush, soap, shampoo, a nice dress (cause you never know if you have to go somewhere fancy), sneakers, slippers, and short heels.
She knew they were there for training but she would try to convince Kurama and Kuwabara, at some point, to take a break and have some fun. A break will be needed and most likely well deserved.
Joann let out a satisfied sigh before grabbing one of her black yoga pants and a white tank top. She opened the door to her bathroom and almost dropped her clothes. It was pretty big for a bathroom. It was a walk-in shower that had a sliding door. The sink was made of white marble and shaped as a seashell. There was a mirror above the sink that was white and had an ocean theme for the frame, of coral and seashells. The tile was white and black that reminded Joann of a chess board. The toilet was at the far end as if it was on its own island, the toilet paper was hanging from a stand that looked too fancy to be in any bathroom.
There was a rose colored towel hanging on the sliding door and a nice fuzzy rug that was white and in front of the shower and just as long as the shower. When she opened the sliding door her eyes widened. It looked like it wasn't just a walk in but could be a jacuzzi. The faucet was one of those that could detach from the wall and had a long hose.
She shook her head before reaching in and turning on the water. She turned it until it was the temperature she liked. She striped down and carefully entered the shower. Once in, she felt herself melt at not only the temperature but the force and amount of spray felt like little massages on her body. She looked at the faucet and saw it could be adjusted to different sizes and power. She couldn't help but be more than impressed at the bathroom.
'I think I'm going to like this...' she thought before starting her shower.
Twenty-five Minutes Later...
Joann was tying up her hair as she walked down the staircase. It was still wet but she didn't really care. She tied it up into a high ponytail and made sure it was tight. If she was going to be training, she didn't want her hair to get into her face. It had begun to grow a bit long and would probably need to be cut soon.
Joann walked into the dinning room and almost tripped. It was just as fancy as the rest of the castle.
It was a long room with a long wooden table in the middle. It was big enough to fit a total of 12 people. Five on each side and one at each end of the table. In the middle was a beautiful centerpiece that looked like some of the plants from the green house. The room was a pretty red color with a gold and silver design criss crossing along the red rug. The one side of the room looked out to the green house and the other side looked out towards the wooded area the castle was located. There was a huge picture at the far end, across from the dining room's entrance. It looked like a painting of Yoko with another person. The person looked familiar but Joann wasn't sure why.
It was a human looking man dressed in black. He had long black hair and a black hat that looked between a open back visor and an old cowboy hat. Some of the man's long hair appeared to be showing from the open part of the hat and came up into a high ponytail. Two long black strands came from behind his pointy ears. Some bangs covered his right eye a bit. What drew the girl's eyes were the beautiful black wings that were spread out in a proud pose.
"That was Kuronue."
Joann jumped at the voice, which was very close behind her. She turned and blinked up at the red head. He had a sad but fond smile on his lips. He was holding a big tray with food and some drinks on it.
Joann blinked at him for a moment before the name clicked. She turned back to the picture. She had always wondered if the bat demon was actually cannon, considering he was only featured in a movie. She heard that the demon wasn't even in the manga and had created a lot of debate if the movie was considered cannon or not. This proved it was cannon. Now if only their 'relationship' was an actual cannon thing...
She turned back to Kurama who walked passed her and placed the breakfast on the table.
"Yo, that smells great Kurama." Kuwabara said walking into the room.
"Yoinks! This room is huge!" Kuwabara said with wide eyes as he looked around.
Kurama chuckled as he looked at the carrot top.
"It's just a dining room."
"For the rich and famous." Joann said with a sweat drop, earning another chuckle from the redhead.
"Let's eat." Kurama said, guestering to the food.
It was a great spread. Steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish, and a green salad.
Living with Kuwabara, Joann was use to having some of these items for breakfast but only once in a while. Otherwise, it was mostly cereal and milk.
"That looks amazing!" Joann said as she sat down in front of one of the plates.
Kurama gave the girl a warm smile as he sat at the end of the table, on the end where the painting was hanging. Kuwabara sat to the red head's left while Joann sat to his right.
"Thank you Joann."
Joann nodded before breaking her chopsticks and giving thanks to the food.
The other two did the same and began to eat.
"This is delicious Kurama!" Kuwabara said with wide eyes before shoveling the food in.
Kurama was taking his time but laughed.
"Thank you Kuwabara-kun."
After a bit more eating, the trio slowed down to a relaxed pace.
"So." Kurama started, getting the other twos attention.
"Before we start training I would like to go over exactly what we will be doing."
Kuwabara gulped down some of his food before drowning some oj.
Joann just finished up her own food and nodded.
"We will get up around 5am every morning. We will eat a small meal before doing some stretches. Breakfast will be served at 5:30am. If you are late, you won't get any breakfast."
"What?!" Kuwabara and Joann said with wide eyes.
"At 6am we will work on some basic reki skills," Kurama said, ignoring the twos outburst.
"Those will pertain to focusing on your Spirit Sword Kuwabara and your force fields Joann." Kurama said, looking at each when he said their names.
"We will break for a small lunch around noon before going back to physical training around 1. We will focus on combat. We will stop around 6pm where we will have some dinner. Both of you should be in bed no later than 9pm so you get the 8 hours." Kurama said as he finished up his breakfast.
"Why so early? And is this seven days a week or six with a day of rest?" Joann asked, already feeling exhausted just hearing the red head list their schedule.
"We only have two months, but I do know the body needs a rest so we will do the physical training five days while the other two will be mental training."
"Mental?" Kuwabara asked.
"Yes. You will need to train both your mind and body when preparing for a tournament like this. A lot of your opponents will try to use mental tactics on top of physical. And you need to work on your emotional powers Joann." Kurama said, turning to a blinking Joann.
"You need to train yourself on controlling feeling others feelings before it overtakes you."
Joann thought about it. It was really a hindrance at how she kept freezing up every time the emotions seemed to overwhelm her. She nodded in understanding.
"So what are we doing today?" Kuwabara asked, a bit afraid at exactly what the redhead had planned.
"Well, I need to know what I'm exactly working with. So we will focus on learning what abilities you both have before I can really make a training regimen."
Both Kuwabara and Joann nodded.
It made sense.
"Since I know you have the Spirit Sword and a strong Spiritual awareness, is there anything else you have that I need to know so we can work on it?" Kurama asked as he looked at Kuwabara.
Kuwabara seemed a bit in thought.
"He can talk to people through their minds." Joann said.
"How do you know that?!" Kuwabara said with wide eyes, which looked a bit scared for some reason.
Kurama noticed the reaction and made a mental note.
"You talked to Yukina remember?" Joann said with a sweat drop.
It was actually a power she had forgotten he had until the Yukina mission. He had also talked to the group at the Dark Tournament when he thought he was going to die by Risho. It was a really good power to have in special ops.
Kuwabara seemed a bit relieved, which also got noticed by the red head. Joann didn't notice as she was trying to remember any other abilities Kuwabara had.
"He can also make anything, not just the sword." Joann said, now thinking out loud.
"Really?" Kurama and Kuwabara said.
Joann looked at the carrot top with a raised eyebrow.
"You don't remember the headband you randomly had on your forehead as you fought those guys? You know, trying to save Yukina?"
"Huh?" Kuwabara said scratching his head, "Headband?"
Joann sweat dropped.
'Guess he didn't realize it.'
"Yeah. It said I heart shape Ice Girl." Joann said, making a heart symbol with her finger as she said heart.
Kuwabara's eyes widened and slightly blushed.
'Did I really do that?' he thought.
"Looks like we don't know that much about you Kuwabara." Kurama said with a chuckle.
"You're telling me..." Kuwabara mumbled as he shook his head.
Kurama chuckled before turning to Joann.
"So, knowing a lot about Kuwabara's powers, what can you tell me about your own?" the redhead asked.
Joann blinked at the redhead before pursing her lips.
She really didn't know what she had exactly. She scratched her cheek as she looked away.
"Well, I'm not sure exactly what I have..." she said before looking back at a curious Kurama.
"But what I do know I have is a force field that appears when I'm in trouble, a shield that kinda does the same thing, a bo like object but it doesn't last too long, and I guess feeling emotions." Joann said, listing each thing on her fingers, counting four.
Joann held up her had showing the four.
"So four things that I know about."
Kurama nodded.
He could help her train the bo when he helped Kuwabara focus on making his sword stronger. The shield and force field he could help her train by having the two battle after lunchtime, which was his original plan.
The emotions was going to be a bit harder. He had to get a better hold on how strong her empathy was, if it was empathy.
"Why don't we try the non combat training today and tomorrow. After that, we can work on the physical stuff and start the schedule." Kurama said.
"How do you train for 'non-combat' stuff?" Kuwabara asked with a confused look.
"Well, let's clean up and then head to the greenhouse." Kurama said, picking up his tray and dishes.
Joann and Kuwabara did the same and followed Kurama into the kitchen. It looked plain compared to the rest of the castle. It looked like it was upgraded with the latest models of microwaves and ovens. There were three ovens and two had stoves on them. There was one fridge with a freezer next to it. There was a counter. There wasn't really much of anything else in the room. It looked only big enough to make food, which was probably why Kurama said not to eat in the kitchen. It would have been a problem.
The trio rinsed off their dishes before putting them in the new looking dishwasher.
"How often do you visit this place?" Joann asked with an eyebrow.
"I actually rent it out as a vacation house to some demons." Kurama said with a small smirk.
Kuwabara and Joann sweat dropped.
'I'm seeing more Yoko than Kurama...must be the demon world miasma or something.' Joann thought.
"Ok, let's go." Kurama said as he walked out of the kitchen.
Kuwabara and Joann followed him.
Once they got to the greenhouse door, Joann stopped and took off her purple socks. Both boys gave her a look that showed a bit of confusion mixed with amusement.
Joann stuffed the socks into the pocket of her yoga pants. She was happy she bought some with pockets. It was hard to find but she found it. She looked up and found the two boys looking at her.
"What?" she said blinking at them.
"Nothing." Kurama said before turning back around and walking into the garden.
Kuwabara just gave her the weird look a moment longer before following the redhead into the garden.
Joann huffed, a tint of red crossing her cheeks before following the two.
Joann went back to marveling at the beautiful garden. The trio walked for a bit before they reached the center of the greenhouse. It was a nice clearing that was covered in grass. The grass clearing was as big as one of the bed rooms.
Kurama walked into the middle of the clearing and sat Indian style on the ground. He guestered the other two to follow suit. Kuwabara sat across from the red head while Joann sat next to Kuwabara, also facing the redhead.
"We are going to mediate." Kurama said, having his arms rest, palms facing up, on his thighs.
"Mediate?" Kuwabara asked a bit confused.
Kurama nodded.
"I want you and Joann to clear your minds and focus on your breathing. It will also help when we do the physical training. Breathing exercises will not only help with calming your mind and open it up to your spiritual energies, but it will help your stamina while doing any physical training." Kurama said before closing his eyes.
"Now follow me."
Kuwabara and Joann watched for a moment before they followed the redhead. Their eyes closed and inhaling slowly yet deeply. They held their breath for three counts before slowly letting it out.
Kuwabara could feel his mind begin to clear. In this state, he could feel his spiritual energy surrounding his body. It felt a bit twitchy, as if it was fluxerating for some reason. After a bit more focusing on his breathing, he slowly could feel another energy. It felt like it was just at the edge of his mind. It wasn't Joann's as he knew how her's felt. It was also not Kurama's as he knew the redheads from hanging with him so much. No. It was a strong yoki presence but faint. It just teased his senses. It was as if mocking the carrot top by letting him know it was there but couldn't reach it.
Joann was focusing on her breathing. She had done some meditation back home. She wasn't too big of a fan of it but knew it was very helpful. It had actually helped her with her asthma. She was lucky that being in this world seemed to take away her asthma and allergies. She hadn't experienced either of those while here, let alone her period. She wasn't going to complain that was for sure.
As she sat there, letting her mind wander, she could sense something at the edge of her mind. It was an emotion she hadn't sensed before. It was strong but she wasn't sure from who or where. She peeked open one of her eyes and didn't see anyone other than the two boys with her. She frowned before closing her eye. She took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. It seemed to be coming from the direction of Kurama. But when she had first closed her eyes, she didn't sense anything from him.
Joann figured it was her empathy, as Kurama called it, kicking in. It didn't explain what emotion the redhead was feeling. The only emotions she had sensed since she discovered the ability were negative. She wasn't sure if this was a negative or positive. Another emotion popped up in her mind. It seemed to be coming from the direction Kuwabara was sitting. This one, even though she hadn't sensed it before, she could tell was frustration. She hadn't realized until this moment, that she had sensed this emotion off Kuwabara before. She just didn't realize she was sensing it.
She felt a bit bold and decided to try and figure out what that other emotion was coming from Kurama. She took in another deep breath and tried to concentrate on the redhead's direction.
As Joann focused on the emotion, she felt it slowly changing. It had started out as feeling warm, in a comforting sensation. However, it quickly turned to a burning sensation. One that felt like it was on the attack. It was a fierce emotion that felt as if it wrapped around her and was burning her with an emotion she wasn't sure. She could feel herself stop breathing and her entire body go stiff.
Joann's senses seemed to go into overdrive. Even though her eyes were closed, she saw a bright red mixed with gold. Her ears were filled with a hissing noise. She felt her entire body burning. She could taste something bitter in her mouth. She could smell a strong rose mixed with blood. All of her senses were taken over with this overwhelming emotion that terrified her.
"Carson-san!"
Joann's eyes snapped open. The moment they did she began to gasp as if she hadn't been breathing for minutes or an hour. Her eyes were wide and looking around frantically. The sensation of burning had stopped and she felt herself laying down, staring up at the glass ceiling. Her breath continued to be a bit ragged. It reminded her of a really bad asthma attack she had when she was younger.
'So much for not having asthma...' she thought as she felt her chest slightly tighten.
"Breath slowly Joann." Kurama said.
The redhead was leaning over the girl, his emerald eyes fill with both worry and guilt.
Joann looked up for a moment, slowly trying to slow down her breathing. After a few more slow breathes she was able to control her breathing.
"Are you feeling better?" Kurama asked, still showing a guilt on his face.
Joann slowly sat up, nodding as she did.
"What happened?" she asked.
"You just stopped breathing!" Kuwabara said, causing the girl to jump at how close the voice was to her.
She noticed Kuwabara was kneeling right next to her, as Kurama leaned back on his own heels in front of her.
Joann had a slight blush on her cheeks at his closeness , before shaking her head.
"Stopped breathing?"
"Yeah! You scared the spit outta me!" Kuwabara said, a sigh of relief mixed in his voice.
"I think I did the same, scared the spit out of myself that is." she said with a frown and a slight sweat drop.
"That might have been my fault..." Kurama said with a sigh.
Both Kuwabara and Joann turned to look at the red head with blinking eyes.
"How?" Joanna said at the same time as Kuwabara's "Whu?"
"What was the last thing you remember doing before you passed out?" the redhead asked.
"Well..." Joann started as she looked up in thought, pursing her lips together.
"I was focusing on something and then all of a sudden I felt like I was burning on the inside." she said before wrapping her arms around herself.
It wasn't a pleasant feeling and just thinking about it didn't make it any better.
"What were you focusing on?" Kuwabara asked, his eyebrow raised in interest.
"It was an emotion, I think. I never felt it before. I mean all I've been feeling so far has been negative emotions. So this one didn't feel like anything I experienced so far. So I wanted to see if I could figure it out." Joann said with a shrug.
"That was Yoko." Kurama said with a sigh.
"Yoko?" Kuwabara and Joann asked at the same time.
Kuwabara knew a bit about Kurama's past demon shelf, while spending the three days after the Saint Beast case with the red head; whilst Yusuke slept. However, he thought of Kurama just being a reincarnated Yoko Kurama, who still had the memories of his past life.
Joann couldn't understand for a moment before realization hit her. It was greatly suspected, among the fandom, that Yoko was a separate being within Kurama's human body. That the white haired demon didn't replace the human inside Mrs. Minamino. Rather, the two had become one being. It was popular with in fanfction that the two spirits shared the same body. That there were two separate entities in the red headed body. It had really taken off after Kurama's fight with Urashima, who was just an ugly version of Yusuke, and then again during his fight with Karasu.
The two just stared at the red head, who began to sweat drop at the stares.
"You see, I may be Yoko but I am also Shuichi. We are one and the same. You were probably sensing emotions coming from my demon side. I realized it the moment you focused on my emotions. We both have separate emotions and he began to feel attacked. So he lashed out without realizing it was you." Kurama said with a sigh and running his hand through his hair.
The two just sat there with blinking eyes.
"So you have a demon inside you?" Kuwabara said with wide eyes.
"Yes, in a sense." Kurama said with a small smile.
"Well..." Joann began, catching the two boy's attention, "I should have asked before investigating. I mean, I wouldn't appreciate it if someone tried to pry into my mind. So I'm sorry." she said with a bow of her head.
Kurama was a bit taken back. He thought she would have freaked out at learning that the redhead had a demon inside of his body. The fact Joann was never told about his past made the red head a bit suspicious. The only people who knew about his past, besides those in the Underworld; were Yusuke, Hiei, and Kuwabara. Joann had never been told unless Yusuke told her. Kurama wouldn't put it past the Underworld Detective to share that with her. The two seemed to be close. Kuwabara didn't even seem to know, proven by his question.
Kurama shook his head. He would have to talk to the girl later, in private. He gave her a warm smile.
"As long as you're ok, then no harm no foul."
Joann looked up at the red head before giving him a smile.
"Thanks."
Kuwabara sat there, a bit more confused. He was totally missing something. The only thing that he was getting from the whole situation was Joann accidently touched a nerve in Kurama's head. Not to mention, the redhead had a split personality where one of them was a demon. He looked over at the red head and sweat dropped.
'Note to self, stay outta his head...' he thought.
"I think that's enough mental training for the moment." Kurama said, standing up and stretching a bit.
Kuwabara and Joann followed suit and began to stretch.
"So what now?" Joann asked after a few more leg stretches.
Kurama looked at his wrist which had a nice black watch.
"I'd say we do a bit a sparing. It's still too early for lunch." he said, seeing that his watch read 8:12am.
They had been meditating for quiet a while it seemed.
"Alright!" Kuwabara said, excitement in his voice, causing the other two to sweat drop.
The carrot top called forth his Spirit Sword and swung it around before resting it on his shoulder.
"Let's go." he growled.
"Uhhh..." Joann said with a sweat drop.
Kurama chuckled before shaking his head.
"Not here. You never train where you meditate. We are heading to the training room." he said, a yellow glint mixed into his emerald green eyes.
Kuwabara and Joann couldn't help but gulp at the way the redhead said those words.
"Training room?" they both asked a bit hesitant.
"Yes, follow me." Kurama said, turning around and walking further into the beautiful greenroom.
The two followed right behind the redhead, Kuwabara putting away his sword. The three walked in silence. Joann looked around at the beautiful scenery. It was a perfect place to do meditation. After 15 minutes, they arrived at a staircase.
The two watched the redhead walk up the spiralling stair case. It looked to head all the way up to the glass ceiling.
Kurama stopped a few steps up and looked over the edge.
"Coming?" he asked, with a shine in his eyes.
Both Joann and Kuwabara gulped before nodding and slowly heading up the huge and long spiral staircase.
It felt like hours as the two climbed the staircase. By the time they reached the top, they were breathing heavily and had a forehead full of sweat. Kurama, who looked as if he didn't walk over a billion steps, stood in the middle of the room, waiting for the two to walk over to his location.
Kuwabara couldn't help but fall to his knees once he reached the top of the steps. He was breathing heavily. Joann wasn't any better as she faceplanted onto the ground, also breathing heavily. The sweat from her head started to get into her eyes and she couldn't help but groan.
"No time for a rest." Kurama said, standing in the middle of the room tapping his foot as if he was impatient.
"Just...five...min...utes..." Kuwabara breathed out.
Joann groaned out in agreement.
"Do you think you'll get even a minute at the Tournament?" Kurama said in a dark tone.
The tone made both Kuwabara and Joann shiver.
"Now get up." Kurama said in a tone that was soft but threatening at the same time.
Kuwabara grunted as he stood up. He had taken worse from Urameshi. It was just a bunch of steps! They couldn't defeat him!
Once on his feet he forced himself to stand up straight and walk over to where Kurama was standing. The redhead nodded as if pleased. He looked back at Joann who was getting up, be it slowly but was still able to stand up. As she stood up, she saw the beautiful greenhouse below her. She couldn't help but look down in awe.
"This is so beautiful..." she whispered.
"Are you coming?" Kuwabara asked, turning back to look at Joann.
He noticed her looking down. He blinked before looking down himself. He yelped before stumbling backwards on his butt. He screamed as if he was falling.
"What the hell!" he shouted, looking down at the green house that was at least 100 feet below where the trio were located.
Kurama couldn't help but chuckle.
"Yes, it is beautiful." Kurama said before turning to a terrified Kuwabara.
"And this isn't glass but a super strong plastic, mixed with a liquid metal only found in the demon plane. It is able to hold up to 100 tons of force." Kurama said as he watched the carrot top slowly change for terrified to in awe.
Joann stood up and looked around. They looked to be above not only the greenhouse but the forest the castle was located in. She walked towards where she assumed was a wall, outstretching her hand so she wouldn't run into it.
"It is only see through from the inside. If you were to look from the outside, it would just look like the top of the castle." Kurama said as Joann watched a few birds fly right past her while in the air.
"Awesome..." she breathed out before another bird flew right at her.
She yelped before jumping backwards just as the poor thing hit the glass like wall.
Kurama sweat dropped with a chuckle.
"Only draw back is that, I'm afraid."
Kuwabara laughed for a moment before getting a punch from Joann, who had quickly walked over to the two boys. She was giving the carrot top a glare that caused him to gulp.
"It wasn't funny. That bird could have gotten seriously hurt." she huffed.
Kuwabara looked down a bit in shame.
"Yeah, that's true I guess..." he said before turning to Kurama, looking for a way out of Joann's scowl.
Kurama chuckled before shaking his head.
"Well, it does happen a lot but they are perfectly fine. Otherwise I would get rid of this entire room." Kurama said, guestering to the rest of it as he walked away from the two.
After getting a bit further away, he turned around, taking out his rose whip.
"Now, let's fight." he said.
Before either of them could speak, he snapped his whip right at Joann.
Her eyes widened as she brought up her arms to cover her face. However, instead of her shield, Kuwabara's sword shot out and caught the thorns.
"What the hell dude?!" Kuwabara shouted, glaring at the redhead, who had a stone cold look on his face.
"You could have hit her!"
"That's the point." Kurama said before pulling back his whip.
Kuwabara, whose sword was wrapped up in the whip, yelped as he was pulled forward from the sudden jerk. He dispelled his sword and fell flat on his face. He let out a groan mixed with a growl.
"Why you little..." he growled as he sat up but yelped as the rose whip snapped towards him.
He barely rolled out of the way before getting whip on his back.
Joann had snapped out of her stupor at Kuwabara's yelp. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to form any of her spiritual items. But here she was, being thrown into the deep end of the pool and expected to swim. She gulped before focusing on her hands.
Kurama sent the whip flying towards Kuwabara, who was able to roll up onto his feet and jump away from another cracking attack.
Kuwabara took out his sword but knew it wouldn't help if it got caught again in the thorn whip's grasp. He glanced over to where Joann was and saw her standing there with her hands in front of her. He knew she still hadn't gotten a hold on her powers. So she could seriously get hurt if Kurama made contact with his whip. He personally thought the redhead should have spend more if not all amount of time helping the girl learn how to wield her powers. But no. The guy had to just thrown them both into a boss level like combat situation.
Kurama noticed Joann having trouble trying to call forth any form of weapon or defense. However, they didn't have time to start out slow and develop her power. She needed a crash course on the highest difficulty. Either she would get better from the experience or she would give up and just go out of formality. They could always figure out a way to have her sit out on the fights while at the tournament. There had to be loopholes to the rules.
Joann heard a cry from Kuwabara and saw the whip make contact across his chest, ripping his black tank top just a bit. There was a bit of blood, although it was only a scratch size amount of blood; so barely anything.
At the cry and the blood, even as little as it was, something seemed to snap inside of the girl. She felt her hands burning, she felt herself sensing an emotion that she was familiar with; fear. It was coming from Kuwabara. It wasn't as strong as it had been while he fought Byakko, but it was still there.
Joann realized, she needed to step up if she didn't want to be a burden or a hindrance at the tournament. Kuwabara had already protected her from the redhead's whip and could have been seriously hurt. Even if Kurama was attacking seriously, Joann knew it wasn't his strongest. He was much stronger and could do much more damage. She just had to suck it up and become the badass she always wanted to become.
She let out a deep breath before putting all of her energy into the palms of her hands, which were in front of her, closed fist and next to each other. Deep in her mind, a song lingered in the back of her head. She knew it was cliche. It was the most cliche song to ever think of at a time like this. But she couldn't get it out of her mind.
Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park.
Joann couldn't help but hum the tune as she focused on her hands. Slowly she saw what looked like sparks of purple and blue surround her hands. Warmth surrounded her hands as she felt the energy flow from what she would assume was her 'core' and go into her hands. The sparks began to get bigger until she felt them forming something in-between her hands.
Kurama and Kuwabara turned towards the girl at hearing the soft humming. They could feel a soft power coming from her body.
Kuwabara blinked at her and could feel the power slowly growing within her body. He could even feel the power fluctuating as if it was unstable. But considering she never really trained her spiritual energy at all, it was expected. But it was dangerous. He knew it could be dangerous, especially with no training.
Kurama seemed a bit impressed. He didn't have a strong sixth sense but could still sense the power that was coming off the girl. It seemed his plan of forcing her to use her powers was working. He turned his attention towards the girl and cracked his whip towards her.
At the crack, Kuwabara noticed the weapon heading straight towards Joann, who was preoccupied with her hands. He was too far to help her and if he tried to extend his sword, he could accidently pierce her with it. She was practically a standing duck.
"Look out!" Kuwabara shouted, out stretching his hand.
At the cry, Joann's energy filled into her hands. She pulled away her right hand while leaving her left in place. A glowing purple blue object to appear in her left hand, as if it was hidden behind the right as it pulled away. The minute the whip was right in front of the girl, the object became a bo-staff that was 3 feet long, a bit more than half her own size. It was slim and was light in her left hand. Right before the thorn whip could touch her, she hit it away with the electrified bo staff.
The whip went completely limp and landed in front of the girl who, like the other three stared at the unmoving whip. Kurama tried to move it but found it wouldn't even buge. It was as if the small bit of blue electricity surrounding the purple colored bo staff had stunned the whip. Kuwabara lowered his hand before slowly laughing, both in relief and a bit proud at Joann being able to defend herself.
Kurama seemed to snap out of his stupor and felt a bit annoyed. He was also proud of the girl. However, he wasn't ready to find her power to be able to nullify one of his most powerful weapons. He called it back, having it transform back into a rose. It looked a bit burned, as if electrified.
Joann had stopped humming the moment she had watched the whip fall to the ground. She was also stunned the most out of the three. She looked at her bo staff in awe. The blue electricity was even surrounding her right hand! She could feel the crackling and the warmth from the energy concentrated in both of her hands. She swung around the bo staff a bit, even twirling it like a baton between her fingers in her left hand.
"Holy shit! This is awesome!" she shouted as she was able to hold it in both hands and spin it around like a baton.
After a moment, she felt herself feeling a bit light headed. She felt a bit unsteady on her feet. The bo staff disappeared as she moved her hand to her head.
"Woah..." she said, as she tried to get her sense of balance back.
"Carson-san!" Kuwabara shouted, rushing over to the girl.
"It's Joann!" the girl growled, continuing to hold her head.
Kurama continued to stare at the char rose. It crumbled after a few moments. He felt a bit of sadness of the rose's death. Sure, he had more that he could use as a weapon, however it was still a bit painful to see a rose die.
"Are you ok?" Kuwabara asked as he rested his hand on her shoulder, to keep her steady.
Joann shook her head to clear it and found herself starting to become steady again.
"Yeah, I think so anyway..." she said before finding the carrot top standing extremely close.
She couldn't help but blush. This seemed to worry the carrot top a bit more as he moved his free hand to her forehead.
"Yer not gettin' a fever are ya? Yo Kurama! I think we should take a break!" Kuwabara shouted, turning towards the still mopping redhead.
Kurama snapped out of his thoughts and looked over towards his two trainees. He could tell that Joann was a bit worn out. If they continued his style of training with her in this condition, the girl might actually get seriously hurt.
"I agree. Joann-san should take a bit of a breather. It seemed swinging around all her concentrated aura was a bit too much for her." Kurama nodded before taking out a new rose.
"You on the other hand..." Kurama said with a demon-ish smirk.
Kuwabara couldn't help but gulp and sweat drop at the look before turning towards Joann, who was already on the other end of the room, sitting down against the see through wall.
"Good luck Kuwa-chan!" Joann said, waving her hand in the air.
Kuwabara's mouth fell open. She seemed to have enough energy to get herself the heck outta dodge. Then her calling him 'Kuwa-chan' hit and caused him to blush before growling, a bit embarrassed.
"Kuwa-chan?!"
A crack of a whip right in front of him, caused the carrot top to yelp and jump backwards. He turned towards Kurama who was walking towards the carrot top.
"We're not done, Kuwa-chan..." Kurama said, a small snicker at the nickname.
Kuwabara sweat dropped.
"I'm so doomed..."
Couple hours later...
Joann was able to refocus herself with a couple of breathing exercises, while Kurama and Kuwabara fought. Kuwabara was a mess around lunch time. Joann felt a bit bad, but she had never used her spirit energy like she had today. Every time she had used it, it had just happened. Today was the first time she actually focused on making an object. It was tiring that was for sure.
Kuwabara's body was full of nicks and rips in his tank top. He barely had a shirt left. The carrot top was happy he hadn't packed his favorite training top. He was starting to wonder if he should have tried to pack all the clothes he had originally planned to bring. At the rate this training was going, he wouldn't have any clothes by the end of the two months. He looked down at his lunch.
Kurama had cooked some mushrooms that were stuffed with breadcrumbs, diced peppers, and some diced onions. Alongside that dish was miso soup and a nice cucumber salad. It was fresh and filling.
Kurama had found the carrot top had given a good fight. He wasn't a slacker and had the endurance of the energizer bunny. He would keep getting back up, no matter how fierce the attack had been. Kurama had to tone down his attacks for fear of seriously injuring the carrot top. That didn't mean the redhead got away without damage. The carrot top wasn't holding back either and had gotten a few shots in with his spirit sword. He was even able to land a punch to Kurama's face.
Kurama rubbed the injured cheek. It was going to slightly bruise but nothing a little ice and herbs wouldn't heal overnight.
The trio ate in silence, too tired to eat let alone talk. Well, Kurama was not as tired as the other two but had found his training had taken a bit out of himself, more than expected. At the rate they were going, even the redhead would become worn out.
After lunch, Kurama told the two to shower and meet him back in the green house. Joann and Kuwabara were a bit worried but appreciated taking a bit longer of a break. Besides, a shower was always nice to have after any kind of exercise.
Kurama cleaned up the dishes and began to ponder over a new strategy. His mind began to wander as he rinsed off the dishes.
"At this rate, we'll all burn ourselves out." the redhead said aloud.
'Maybe you should take it a bit more slow.' came a voice inside the redhead's mind.
"Two months isn't enough time to take it slow." frowned the redhead as he opened up the dishwasher.
'True, but like you've already stated, you'll all burn out. It is obvious that the carrot top doesn't need much training in the physical aspect. Sure, he needs a bit more practice but nothing too extreme.'
Kurama nodded as if agreeing with the voice before closing the filled dishwasher. He turned it on and began to wash his hands.
'It is that girl that needs more training. Maybe you should call in your friend...'
"He wouldn't help." Kurama snorted after drying off his hands.
'I have a feeling he would. The carot top could train with that fire demon while we, or rather you train the girl.'
Kurama frowned.
"This doesn't have to do with how she tried to invade your mind?"
'Our mind...' came the voice before there was a pause.
"And?" Kurama said, raising an eyebrow as he left the kitchen to head to his own room.
He also needed a shower.
'There is no 'and'. With that kind of power, she could be more powerful than a level B demon. If it's not nurtured correctly, it could end up hurting herself or even others.'
"When did you care about anyone other than yourself?" Kurama asked as he walked into his bathroom.
'The minute that woman saved our lives. Now don't rub it in.' came a growl.
Kurama sighed before turning to the bathroom mirror. Instead of his own reflection, stood a taller man. He had long white hair with two fox ears sticking off the top. It was Yoko Kurama.
"Touché. But I doubt Hiei would 'waste' his time on helping 'humans', especially Kuwabara-san." Kurama said with a sigh, looking at his inside reflection.
'Have more faith in that fire demon of yours. I know you noticed he changed a bit since the Four Saints Beast case.'
Kurama couldn't help but nod in agreement. Hiei had been...'nicer' since that case. The redhead had caught the fire demon several times 'spying' on Yusuke and the others.
"Maybe..." Kurama said in thought.
Yoko just nodded.
Kurama nodded back before stripping and taking a shower.
Scene Change...
Joann let out a content sigh as she finished up her shower. She truly needed it. She changed into different pants, a different set of yoga pants and two tank tops on top of each other. After seeing Kuwabara practically loosing his tan top, she was worried about having her clothes ripped apart. She couldn't help but blush at the thought. It would almost be like a hentai. She slapped her cheeks, making them even redder, this time from how hard she had slapped herself.
"Bad Joann, bad!" she scolded herself before throwing her dirty clothes into a corner of the room.
'I wonder if Kurama has a washer and dryer...' she thought as she began to brush her wet hair.
Scene Change...
Kuwabara inspected his chest and arms. They were covered in nicks and cuts. Some were deeper then others. If it wasn't for his spiritual healing, he was sure they would scar. He was gentle to washing each wound, hissing every once in a while at the soap touching a really deep cut. It they continued with this type of training, he would end up being a pin cushion.
Kuwabara had to admit that he hadn't had such a tough time since the old days of fighting Urameshi. He didn't realize how much he missed fighting until you couldn't move anymore. Was he becoming a fighting junkie like his arch rival, or was he always one?
Kuwabara enjoyed the shower until it began to grow cold. He knew it had been long enough and turned off the faucet. As he dried himself off, he began to dread what the redhead had planned next. Sure, he was enjoying this type of training but even Kuwabara had a limit of how much he could take physically. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. He didn't look as bad with the blood and dirt washed away and the scars slowly healing.
He let out a long sigh before taking out some sturdy looking jeans. He looked through the clothes he had left and realized they wouldn't last if the training was going to be this hard. He let out a sigh and wore one of this white tank tops.
"I guess I'll need to go shopping after this is all over..." Kuwabara groaned.
Thirty-five minutes later...
Kuwabara and Joann had both gone back to the greenhouse and were waiting for Kurama. The two just sat Indian style and decided to practice their breathing exercises. After another ten minutes, they heard someone approaching. They opened their eyes to see Kurama walking over, dressed and with his long red hair tied back in a low pony tail.
"Good to see you're both doing the exercises." Kurama said with a smile.
He was expecting the two either late or to be sitting around doing nothing. It made him feel better with his decision.
"After seeing what the two of you can do, I've changed around our training schedule."
This caught both Joann and Kuwabara off guard and looked a bit worried at the redhead.
"Starting tomorrow we will be doing things a bit differently, as well as have half a day on Saturday and a full day off on Sundays. I realized I will just wear you both down to not being able to fight at the tournament."
Joann looked a bit relieved while Kuwabara felt a bit uneasy. That, to him, meant they would work extra hard during the 5 and a half days of training.
"So what are we doing?" Kuwabara asked, a bit suspicious in both his voice and his eyes.
Kurama felt a twitch at his lips.
'Seems the carrot top has a good sense of danger.' snickered Yoko's voice.
Kurama hummed in agreement before clearing his voice.
"That will be explained tomorrow. For right now, the rest of the day will consist of mediation and some tai chi." Kurama said as he stood in front of the two and gestured them to stand up.
Joann got up, excited at the new training routine. She wasn't sure what the redhead had in mind but she couldn't help but be excited. She knew her body wouldn't be able to take the non-stop physical training, which was the original plan for the five days and have the sixth be mental training.
Kuwabara stood up but was even more worried. He wondered if the change was because of how Joann had gotten so exhausted after using her spirit bo staff. If that was the case, that would mean extra training for Joann. He felt bad for the girl who was in the dark of the true evil of this kitsune.
Couple hours later...
The rest of the day had been exactly what Kurama promised; meditation and Tai Chi. By the time dinner time rolled around, Joann had been in a zen like mind state. Her spirit energy even seemed to be relaxed. Kuwabara had to admit, he also felt more relaxed and not as high strung.
After a hearty dinner, the trio went to their rooms and got ready for sleep.
Joann couldn't help but yawn and put on her comfy pjs. She pulled back her Scooby-Doo blanket and pulled Koga to her chest before turning off the light on the table next to the bed. She snuggled deep into the soft bed before her eyes closed...
Joann blinked her eyes and found herself in the middle of a stadium. She looked around at the empty yet full sounding stadium. It looked very familiar.
"No! Don't!"
Joann recognized that voice. It almost sounded like Yusuke's voice...
"Stay away!"
That one had came from Kuwabara.
She looked around as the entire stadium became pure darkness. She could feel a strong emotion engulf her. She had felt it once before. It had come from Younger Toguro.
Joann heard a squish before a scream echoed around her. She felt herself unable to move or make a sound. Suddenly, Younger Toguro appeared in front of her, his hands covered in blood. It was then she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She looked down and found a gaping hole in the middle of her chest. Her hands were covered in blood, her own blood, as it pooled out of her chest onto her hands. She looked back up to see Elder Toguro had replaced his brother and was licking away her blood from his thin fingers.
More screams echoed around her as her vision began to turn to darkness.
Joann's eyes widened as her own scream had awoken her from such a deep sleep. She sat up, holding her chest while her other hand was above her. It had formed a purple dome around her body, blue sparks covering the spiritual dome.
She was breathing heavily as her brain was trying to catch up with her eyes, trying to register her location.
All of a sudden, her door flew open. She screamed again and covered her head with both of her hands. The shield that had surrounded her began to grow to cover her entire bed, crackling as if threatening anyone or anything wanting to hurt her.
"Joann!"
"Carson-san!"
At the voices, Joann slowly uncovered her head and noticed the fear filled faces of Kurama and Kuwabara. They had been in deep sleeps themselves when they heard the scream.
The two had run into each other in the hallway before rushing to Joann's room.
They had felt a push of spiritual energy at the second scream that came from the girl. It pushed for only a moment before they were able to see Joann surrounded in a purple hue dome that had sparks of blue electricity covering the dome.
The two had shouted her name, hoping to get her attention. The two sighed in relief as the dome flickered for a moment before she brought her arms down and the dome vanished.
The two rushed to her bedside, Kuwabara on one while Kurama on the other.
"Are you alright?" Kurama asked, glancing over her body.
There were still a bit of blue electricity surrounding her body. He frowned. It seemed that her powers were growing a bit quickly, probably from all the mental training she had during the day. Kuwabara had told the red head a little after dinner that she hadn't had any proper spiritual training. Kuwabara had warned the redhead about this possibly happening.
Kurama knew something like this could happen, but felt that she would be able to handle it. She had stated earlier that she had formed a shield and dome a few times and called forth the bo staff once before. He thought it wasn't fully developed and was still early in the growth where it could be manageable. It looked like the redhead was wrong and Kuwabara was right.
Kuwabara reached his hand towards the girl's face, wanting to brush some of the sweat off the girl's face. He hadn't noticed the small sparks that lingered around her body. Right before his hand could touch her face, he got hit with a shock. It was something simliar to rubbing your socked covered feet across a rug and touching a door knob. He brought his hand back with a surprised yelp.
Joann brought her knees to her chest and looked around a bit scared. She was a bit more relaxed with the two boys next to her bed. It only help a little but it was just enough to calm her down. After a few more minutes, the electricity ceased. She didn't seem to notice the wided eyes of Kuwabara or the concerned look on Kurama's face. She closed her eyes and took in deep breathes.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered.
"It's ok." Kurama said, cautiously sitting on the bed.
It seemed safe.
Kuwabara felt a bit awkward. He wasn't sure why. He had slept in the same room as her before. He even slept in the same bed for kami's sake! He took in a breath before joining Kurama on the bed. Joann looked between both boys and couldn't help but blush. She pulled up her blanket to her chest and leaned back against the headboard.
"What happened?" Kuwabara asked, his voice soft and concerned.
Joann blushed more, this time in embarrassment.
"I...it..." she started.
She didn't want to share that horrible dream. It felt so real. The worse thing was she could feel the fear and anger. It wasn't there, she knew it wasn't real, but she could still feel as if it was all real. She shook her head, trying to calm herself down.
"A bad dream?" Kurama asked, giving the girl a warm comforting smile.
Joann couldn't help but slowly nod. That's what it was, really it was just a bad dream. A nightmare! Her stomach began to hurt. It felt like her stomach was telling her it was a warning. But of what? The tournament? No. She had seen those episodes a billion times. The only thing that came close to that dream was when Kuwabara was stabbed...
Her eyes widened.
Was she experiencing a premonition of Kuwabara getting stabbed by both Toguro brothers? But why was she bleeding? Was it her seeing it in Kuwabara's eyes? It wasn't like she could change that, right? It wouldn't be right to change that, right? It would be like how Yusuke saved that kid from getting hit by the car, but by doing so had made the kid walk away with a couple of scratches; instead of getting nothing. She could just make it worse if she warned them about the ending of the tournament.
Even so, why would she even get that kind of dream?
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kurama asked, putting his hand on her upper thigh, in a comforting manner.
Joann blinked at the hand before blushing. She knew he wasn't trying to hit on her but it still didn't make her feel any less embarrassed.
Kuwabara's eyes widened at the hand on Joann's thigh. He felt an emotion grow with in him that almost felt like jealousy...
Joann didn't trust her voice actually working and just shook her head.
Kurama stared intently into her eyes, looking for anything to give him a hint at what she could have been dreaming about. It seemed that she wasn't going to say anything else. He sighed before pulling back his hand and patted her head.
"You are safe here. No one can enter this castle without my permission. So try to get some sleep, ok?" the redhead said giving the girl a warm smile.
He gave her a couple more pats before standing up. Joann had turned completely red from embarrassment and ended up just nodding.
Kurama gave her another smile before turning to a stunned Kuwabara.
"We should let her sleep."
Kuwabara snapped out of his stupor before slowly nodding. He was in shock, just as much as Joann, at Kurama giving the girl a pat on the head. The kitsune was seeming to be a bit touchy, too much in the carrot top's opinion.
The two boys left the room, leaving the still blushing girl sitting up in her bed. She placed her hand where the redhead patted her and could feel the warmth from his hand still there.
'That wasn't awkward...' she thought before pushing herself underneath her blankets and pulling them over her head.
She needed to calm down and try to get some sleep. She wasn't sure what the training would be, but Joann knew the more sleep the better.
Outside the Door...
Kurama closed the door before turning to Kuwabara.
"Let's also go to bed. There is a lot I need to work on tomorrow." Kurama said before going back to his room.
Kuwabara watched the redhead until he was in his room. He looked back at Joann's door with a frown.
"Joann..." he whispered before standing there a moment longer, before heading off to his room to try and sleep.
(End of Chapter 12)
I hope you all enjoyed this!