Disclaimer: See Chapter One.
Warnings: See Chapter One.
A/N: Allo everyone! So it's been a while but not too long...well I don't think that long *looks around*. Anyway, I'm on vacation this week so I'll have some time to work on some of my stories and hopefully I can get out a couple of chapters. Not to mention, release a story I've been working on for like a little over a year now *sweat drops* but let's keep our fingers crossed haha.
Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 14: An Offer You Can't Refuse
Joann slightly limped up the steps until she entered the room where Yukina had been kept during the battle, which had happened not even five minutes earlier. She walked in and saw Hiei glaring at Yusuke.
"I saw it on the tape." Yusuke said with a cheeky grin.
Joanna blinked at the two for a moment before realizing Yusuke must have confronted Hiei about Yukina.
"Hn." Hiei grunted with annoyance.
"So...?" Yusuke began.
"Yukina doesn't know, and there's no reason she should." he said with a dry voice.
It seemed he knew what Yusuke was going to ask.
"We have different mothers and she's an ice maiden. They're suppose to keep to their wintery realm." Hiei said before huffing.
Joann walked more into the room, a bit confused. She could have sworn Yukina and Hiei had different fathers but the same mother. She shrugged before walking over to where Yusuke stood.
"It's been two years since I learned she was missing...after the little fool snuck off to frolic with some animal." Hiei continued with a snort, "No doubt that's when the brokers got wind of her."
Yusuke nodded before glancing at the bandanna covering the fire demon's third eye.
"Did you, by any chance, acquire that evil eye to find her?" Yusuke asked.
"Feh!" snorted Hiei before giving the detective and the girl beside him a glare.
In a flash, he was gone.
Yusuke shook his head with a grin. He turned to look at Joann and jumped.
"Damn it Joann! We need to find you a friggin' bathroom ASAP. I swear I'm gonna have nightmares..." Yusuke growled, turning away from the still bloody looking girl.
Joann sighed with a roll of her eyes.
"Seriously, you are overreacting..." she began before noticing her reflection in a near by mirror.
She blinked at her reflection for a moment before her eyes widened.
"Holy shit it's Bloody Mary!" she shouted while pointing at the mirror.
"No. That's you idiot." Yusuke said with a sweat drop.
Joann blinked again, noticing the figure in the mirror was doing the same thing. She made an 'o' with her mouth before sweat dropping and scratching her head.
"Well, I guess I'll go find a bathroom..." she laughed nervously.
Yusuke glared at the girl.
"Finally!" he growled.
Joann couldn't help but continue her nervous giggle before leaving the room to find a place to wash her face. It wasn't long until she had cleaned off the blood. It seemed Yukina did an amazing job at healing the two cuts she had across her face. There wasn't any scars or any evidence she even got hit in the face.
Joann let out a relieved sigh before wincing at the pain in her gut. She pulled up her shirt and stared down at her stomach. There was a fist size (Toguro sized fist) bruise on her stomach. She winced at how horrible it looked, not to mention felt. She couldn't let either of the guys see or know about it.
She pulled down her shirt, trying to make sure the area was fully covered, but not pressing too much against the injured area. It would be sensitive for a while, that was for sure.
Once Joann was done, she went back to the room where she left Yusuke. Yusuke was there talking with Kuwabara who looked sad. She frowned before noticing Yukina wasn't in the room.
'She must have left.' she thought before letting out a sigh.
Her sigh seemed to catch the boy's attention as they turned towards her.
"Much better!" Yusuke said with a relieved sigh.
Kuwabara frowned as he looked at Joann. He quickly looked her over, seeming to see if she had any more injuries. Joann could feel his eyes scanning and instinctively wrapped her arms around her stomach and looked away.
"Yeah, well, you were right about getting nightmares." she said before laughing nervously.
Yusuke raised an eyebrow at how she was acting. He turned to Kuwabara who was still studying Joann. Yusuke pursed his lips together before snorting.
"Well, we're done here. So let's get outta here and get some grub." Yusuke said before starting to walk out of the room.
Joann let out a relieved sigh before unwrapping her arms from her stomach and followed behind Yusuke. Kuwabara followed close behind. The group left the mansion in silence and headed home.
~A few days later~
Joann yawned as she walked besides Kuwabara, who had been mopey all weekend. It was now Monday and time to go to school. She had tried to have things go back to normal but nothing she said could get the carrot top out of the 'mood' he was in. It was starting to become annoying at this point.
Even hanging out with Kuwabara's three friends was uncomfortable. They didn't seem to notice or figure he was just in a funk. But no matter what they did, he didn't seem to cheer up. Joann did her best but gave up trying the night before.
If he wanted to be depressed and mope around the house, then who was she to stop him. She let out another yawn as she held tightly to her back pack, which had the one strap on her shoulder.
The two ran into Kuwabara's friends, Yusuke, and Botan. Botan was wearing the school girl uniform for their school and made Joann snicker a bit. She felt the look suited the blue hair deity of death.
The group walked in silence. After a while, Kuwabara's three friends began to get worried for their leader as they walked to school. The three noticed their leader's mood hadn't improved from the last time. He was even walking a bit ahead of the group, which was unusual as he would like to walk along side Joann or Kirishima.
Kirishima leaned into the rest of the group, while still walking.
"Why'd ya suppose Kuwabara's been so wound up lately?" he asked.
"Yeah, he's sure been quiet the past coupla days." nodded Okubo.
The trio leaned closer as they walked, not wanting their leader to hear their discussion.
"Five hundred yen says it's a new image." Okubo betted.
Joann snorted at the idea of Kuwabara going emo. She couldn't see it.
"Four hundred yen says he saw a downer movie." Sawamura said with a confident nod.
Joann shook her head. She expected something better from the man who read more manga and watched more anime then she had; which was saying a lot.
"Eight hundred yen says he was dumped!" Kirishima said with confidence.
Joann sweat dropped.
'We have a winner.' she thought before letting out a sigh.
"Awright, betting's closed boys." she said as she pushed between the three with a shake of her head.
Behind them, Yusuke and Botan were also discussing Kuwabara's mood.
"Kirishima's pegged it." Yusuke said with a nod.
"Huh? He wasn't dumped." Botan said with a raised eyebrow.
"But his ice maiden's gone home to the glaciers." Yusuke said while leaning in closer to the deity of death.
In front of the two, the three boys were giving Joann a weird look. Joann noticed and tilted her head.
"What?" she asked.
"Are you okay?" Kirishima asked, concern on his face.
She blinked at him.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, Kuwabara isn't the only one acting weird." Okubo said, also looking concerned.
Joann blinked again.
"You've been kinda outta it too." Kirishima said with a nod.
"I have?" she asked clearly not knowing what they were talking about.
"Did you have a fight with Kuwabara or something?" Sawamura asked, lowering his voice and leaning closer to Joann.
"Huh?!" Joann said a bit too loudly.
It was loud enough to stop the conversation Yusuke was having with Botan. Not to mention, Kuwabara faltered in his walking to glance back at the group.
Joann couldn't help but blush a bit in embarrassment.
"Why would you think that?" she said in a whisper to the three boys.
"Well, Kuwabara's mood and you acting a bit...well..." Okubo began, trying to find the right words.
"Jumpy, on edge, a bit aggravated..." Sawamura began.
"Ok, ok. I get it." Joann said with an annoyed glare.
"So..." Kirishima said, gently elbowing her in her side.
She hissed as the bruise still hadn't healed.
Kirishima's eyes widened before pulling away.
"Are you ok?" he asked looking more worried.
Joann sweat dropped. She mentally cursed the Toguro brothers. Not to mention her ability to sense people's emotions. If she hadn't gotten paralyzed by the pure hate and blood lust, she might have been more cautious.
"I'm fine. You're elbow is very pointy..." Joann said with a nervous laugh.
Yusuke seemed a bit interested in the conversation. He had wondered if Joann was really fine after the Toguro fight. He had seen her get pretty banged up by the Toguro brothers. He began to look her over, trying to see if she was showing any signs of being injured.
"I've done that before and you didn't hiss then." Kirishima said, narrowing his eyes.
"Did you get hurt or something?" Okubo asked concern in his voice and eyes.
"Ah..." Joann said not sure what to say.
"Did you get jumped or something?" Sawamura asked, leaning in closer.
"Does Kuwabara know?" Kirishima asked, glancing over towards their still moping leader.
That would certainly make him upset if Joann got hurt and he couldn't defend her. She probably even yelled at him and claimed she was fine. He could totally see that happening.
"No!" Joann said with wide eyes before covering her mouth.
This made Kuwabara stop and turn to look at the group behind him. He blinked his eyes as he stared at Joann.
Yusuke had missed the question, as Botan had begun to talk again and was growing upset that he wasn't listening to her.
"No, it's fine! You're over thinking it." Joann said while waving her hand in a dismissive motion before laughing a fake laugh.
Everyone sweat dropped as they watched her.
It was here Joann noticed they had reached the school.
"Well, I gotta get my books. Later!" she said before running.
"Hey, wait Joann!" Kirishima said.
Kuwabara watched her run past him and into the school.
"Huh? What just happened?" he asked, turning to his friends.
They looked at each other. They weren't sure if they should worry their leader with their theory. If it wasn't true and she was just in a mood like their leader, then he would get upset for no reason.
"Not sure." Okubo said with a shrug.
Yusuke furrowed his eyebrows as he watched Joann vanish into the school.
"What was that about I wonder..." Botan said obviously confused.
The group stood there for a moment until the first bell rang. They followed Joann's example and ran to the school.
As the day went on, Joann had forgotten about the conversation. She was still feeling a sting in her stomach but there really wasn't anything to do about. She could ask Botan to heal her. However, she was uncomfortable the last time the blue haired woman had healed her.
Joann decided to go to the nurse's office and laid down for the rest of the school day. She even missed lunch. She had to explain her stomach hurt and was given some medicine to help, which it helped with the pain. She ended up sleeping until the school day ended. She would have continued to sleep if the nurse didn't have to wake her up.
Joann didn't feel like explaining why she wasn't at lunch, although she was sure the teacher told the carrot top she had gone to the nurse. If he even asked anyway. He might have not even noticed with the mood he had been in. She let out a sigh before heading out of the building.
"Oii Joann!"
Joann stopped before seeing Yusuke rushing up to her.
"You weren't at lunch or any of the classes. Did you play hooky or something?" Yusuke asked with a raised eye brow.
Joann couldn't help but snicker.
"If I played hooky, you wouldn't have seen me leaving." she laughed.
Yusuke sweat dropped before laughing.
"True. But seriously, where were you?" he asked.
Joann sighed before starting to walk, causing Yusuke to walk with her.
"I wasn't feeling too good so I slept in the nurse's office." she said with a shrug.
Yusuke frowned before glancing down at her side. He was debating if he should.
The two continued to walk, in silence, until they were a good way from the school.
Joann liked hanging with Yusuke. She felt they had a special bond. She didn't feel anything romantic towards the guy, but found him more like a brother. She felt comfortable walking next to him, not saying a word.
She was thinking about what to say to the guys the next time she saw them. She had to come up with a good excuse so they wouldn't worry and not find out about her actually being hurt.
All of a sudden she felt a pressure on her stomach. A sharp pain went up her spine and caused a shout of pain. She jumped away from the pressure and held her stomach. Small tears appeared at the corner of her eyes as she closed them and began to hiss.
"So you 'are' hurt." Yusuke said, holding up his finger, which had been the pressure on her injured stomach.
Joann winced at both the pain and from being found out.
"Hiei is wrong, you are a good detective." Joann said as she opened one eye and tried to give a smile.
Just stood there with a raised eyebrow, his finger still in the air.
She sighed before feeling the pain subside. She uncovered her stomach and was able to open both of her eyes.
"Yeah...Yukina only healed my head. But I didn't need anything else at the time!" she said, even though she knew that was a lie.
"Bullshit." Yusuke said while crossing his arms, "Besides, I'm sure Botan would have healed you if you asked."
Joann couldn't help the small blush that crossed her cheeks before looking away.
"Yeah, I thought of that too but I didn't want to bother her..." she said.
Yusuke raised an eyebrow at the reaction. It was odd but he shook his head. He could figure that out later. What was important was figuring out how bad her injury was and if there were more she was hiding.
The two stood there, Yusuke looking at Joann, who was still looking away. The sidewalk began to get a bit crowded as more students and adults were heading home, or to their jobs.
Joann let out a sigh before turning back to Yusuke. She had to say something. She was about to say something until something or rather someone caught her attention from behind Yusuke. She blinked for a moment before recognition hit her. Her eyes widened and fear crossed her face.
'I didn't think it happened this soon!' she thought as she took a step backwards.
Yusuke noticed her reaction and turned around. His own eyes widened. There, mixed in the crowd was a healthy and alive Toguro.
"Heigh-ho. How's it going?" smirked Toguro as he was closer to the two.
Yusuke clenched his hands.
"You! But you died!" he said with a growl.
In a blink of an eye, Yusuke had a slash across his chest, only ripping the shirt he was wearing. His eyes widened at the fast movement and how it was unnoticed by the many people that were around the three.
"Come with me. We need to talk." Toguro said before disappearing into the crowd.
"Damn it!" growled Yusuke before following after the big man.
Joann cursed before following close behind Yusuke.
~10 minutes later~
The two followed the strong aura to an abandoned building. It didn't took long to find the huge man standing in the middle of a room at the first floor of the building. The building didn't look sturdy, which was probably why it was abandoned.
Joann and Yusuke stood ten feet from Toguro. They all looked at each other in silence.
"Our first encounter..." Toguro began, breaking the unnerving silence, "was not on the up and up. Thankfully, that is over and done with."
Yusuke frowned as he clenched his fists.
"Now, I'd like to discuss something personal...a secret between two men and a little lady, so to speak." Toguro added while glancing at Joann.
Joann shivered as she could feel the power. However, she couldn't feel any emotions coming from the man. He seemed to be calm, which was very unnerving.
Yusuke growled before shifting into a position to make the man focus on the raven haired teen and away from Joann.
"You got a point? Get to it." Yusuke growled, putting his hands into his pocket.
Sweat began to glisten on his forehead before slowly dripping down his face. His body began to shiver as if on it's own.
"Heh..." Toguro snickered as he noticed the small tremors, "You scared of me?"
Yusuke clenched his teeth and tried to get himself together.
"Heh! Don't kid yourself." Yusuke said, trying to sound brave.
His voice wasn't shaky but his body made up for it.
Joann took in a deep breath before calming herself. She needed to stay calm, for both her and Yusuke's sake.
"Tough guy, huh?" said an amused Toguro.
"Well...your instincts know otherwise. If you could learn one thing, learn to recognize danger." Toguro said before his body began to glow, his aura seeming to grow around him.
A slight breeze began to swirl in the small room. Joann could feel the power growing rapidly and could feel a lingering emotion of excitement and fear. Fear from Yusuke and the excitement from Toguro.
"You are both strong and will get stronger. That's why I thought I'd show you..." Toguro began as he flexed his muscles.
"The real me!" he shouted as he grunted.
Toguro's muscles grew as he roared. The whole room was filled with a powerful aura. It felt as if Joann was being suffocated by the aura, as if the entire room was filled with the aura and had no room for Yusuke or herself. She felt herself getting short of breath.
The power grew more and the small breeze became a gust of wind that swirled around the room and pushed both Yusuke and Joann back a bit.
"It's all about muscle mass. In our first fight, I was probably 20%." Toguro said with a smirk.
Yusuke gasped while Joann couldn't help but gulp. Her stomach began to feel as if it was pulsing. She wrapped her arms around it as it began to hurt a bit.
Toguro continued to concentrate a bit more before letting out a sigh of relief.
"Phew...I'm now up to about 60%. I could level this building in three minutes!" Toguro said as he stood tall.
His shirt was ripped off as his muscles had ripped it while they were growing. It reminded Joann a bit of the Incredible Hulk. Even his muscles looked as big as the green superhero.
Yusuke face was covered in sweat as his eyes were wide with fear. Joann shivered as she felt another blast of excitement from Toguro. She felt him look at her which caused her to freeze in fear.
In a flash, Toguro was gone. Yusuke's eyes widened more before he turned around to see the man standing right behind Joann.
Joann was standing up straight with wide fear filled eyes. She could sense the huge man right behind her. Her body involuntarily shook.
Yusuke's eyes widened as he felt his body freeze. He kept telling it to move. To rush the guy. To get Joann out of the man's reach. However, he was frozen to his spot.
"In two months, a tournament will be held." Toguro began while he looked dead into Yusuke wide brown eyes.
"Wealthy humans who get their powers from the dark world sponsor teams, of five demons. The strongest and most skilled. The humans do it for money and thrills...we demons do it for blood and pleasure." Toguro said as a sadistic grin crossed his lips.
Joann felt the pure blood lust at those words and couldn't help the small whimper that left her lips. Yusuke was only able to clench his fists, trying to make himself move.
"I extend to you, Kuwabara, and this girl..." he said before putting his giant hand on top of her head, as if petting an animal.
"an invitation to compete."
Yusuke's throat, which had been closed during this ordeal, created a growl that caused the man to stop his petting. A grin crossed his lips before pulling his hand away from the girl's head.
She had felt the huge hand touch her head and felt her body begin to spark. She could feel it about to surround her before he removed his hand. She had let out a sigh of relief at the loss of that huge hand.
"Refuse and I will kill you and the girl right now." he added, looking Yusuke dead in his eyes.
Yusuke felt his fists twitch. He was trying so hard to move but his body was still terrified.
Joann felt herself wanting to pass out but couldn't because of the fear of being killed.
"Get in shape. Your lives on it...as you will be fighting to the death!" Toguro said before both he and his aura vanished.
Joann let out a breath as her body began to sway. She could feel her body wanting to collapse. The lack of sleep wasn't helping. It seemed harder to keep her self standing.
Yusuke stood there, his own body swaying. He felt exhausted as much as Joann and could feel his knees about to give out on him. He looked over at Joann who was the first to collapse to her knees.
The jolt from the fall caused her stomach to fill with pain. She couldn't help but let out a painful cry. She was on her hands and knees and breathing heavily, trying to calm herself down and ride out the pain in her stomach. The only good thing from the pain was it kept herself from passing out. It was literally a wake up call.
Yusuke, at hearing the pain filled cry, snapped out of his fear and exhaustion.
"Joann!" he shouted before finding the strength to go to her side.
He was on his knees and looking her over.
"Are you ok?" he asked, his breath still a bit shaky from calming down from being scared.
Joann groaned as she closed her eyes.
Yusuke's body trembled as he was growing pissed. He couldn't do anything. His body just froze and he couldn't even stop the guy from touching Joann. A girl who he felt was like she was part of his family; like a sister!
He began to rub her back while she tried to get back her breath.
Joann relaxed at the touch and the calming and loving emotions emitting off Yusuke. It seemed whatever powers she had developed during her time in this world had grown stronger. But with no training, it was harder to control it.
After some time, the two were both able to stand up.
"Yusuke..." Joann began, catching his attention.
"We gotta kick his ass." she said with a small smile.
Yusuke couldn't help but stare at her for a moment before laughing. She began to laugh with him for a bit until they calmed down.
"You're right. We will kick his ass." Yusuke said with a nod.
'I just need to train and I know who to go to...' he thought.
The two walked together, in silence until they arrived at Kuwabara's house.
Joann nodded at Yusuke, who gave her a thumbs up before going to the only person who could help him train.
Joann watched the raven haired teen leave before letting out a sigh. She turned towards the house and took in a deep breath before entering.
Once she entered, she headed straight to Kuwabara's room. She was about to knock when she heard voices on the other side.
"So that bastard's really back huh? Damn..." Kuwabara said.
"Yes. I don't even know how he knew of me or where to find me." Kurama said, concern in his voice.
"That bastard..." Kuwabara growled.
"I'm sure he has already 'invited' Yusuke by now." Kurama said, his voice turning thoughtful.
"Where's Joann?" the redhead asked.
The room went silent.
Joann figured that would be her cue and knocked on the door.
She heard a yelp from behind the door and a thud. She blinked at the door before letting out a giggle.
"It's just me." she said, trying to hold back her amusement.
After a few noises, the door swung open.
Kuwabara looked at Joann and looked ready to say something. However, he stopped. He looked at her for a moment. She looked like she had been through Hell. He shook his head.
"Where were you? I figured you headed home after school since I didn't see you." Kuwabara said with a frown.
"I was with Yusuke..." Joann said, standing in the doorway, fidgeting.
Kurama stood up and walked to the door. He gave the girl a good look and frowned.
"I'm going to assume he approached you and Yusuke as well?"
Kuwabara looked at Kurama before turning back to Joann, his eyes widen.
"Yeah..." Joann said with a nervous smile while scratching her cheek.
"Kinda ran into him while hanging with Yusuke."
"Are you ok?!" Kuwabara said, looking her over.
At Kuwabara's intense stare, Joann couldn't help but blush and look away.
"I'm fine...It was more emotional trauma than physical. By the way..." she said before looking at Kuwabara with a serious face.
"We are also invited to the Dark Tournament."
Kuwabara looked at her, not sure what she was talking about.
Kurama's eyes widened.
"But why would he invite you, Joann?" Kurama asked with calculating green eyes.
"He saw potential in me during the fight." Joann sighed, before gently pushing at Kuwabara to get out of her way.
"I need to sit down." she said as she walked past the two boys and sat on the bed.
The two boys looked at each other.
"You're not entering." Kuwabara said as if he was commanding her.
"You think I want to?!" she growled.
However, mentally she knew it was something she had wished. Who didn't want the opportunity to fight alongside the boys at the Dark Tournament? It was any anime fan's dream! But actually being there and presented with the 'golden ticket' made her regret ever wishing it.
Both boys were a bit taken aback. They thought she had volunteered. She had been willing to jump in and fight. Every mission she had gone on had been her being gun-ho on fighting. So to hear she wasn't even interested had shocked the two boys.
"Well then don't do it." Kuwabara said.
"He'll kill me if I don't go." Joann said with a sigh before covering her face with her hands.
Kuwabara stared at Joann for a moment with wide eyes. Kurama narrowed his own, feeling a bit pissed.
"By the way..." Joann said, uncovering her face to look at Kuwabara, "You are also invited."
Even though she had said 'we're invited', she assumed he mistook it as meaning Yusuke and herself.
Kuwabara stood there in shock. He shook away the shock before puffing out his chest.
"I'll be ready then. I'll make sure he stays down this time." Kuwabara growled.
Kurama looked away in thought.
"I had a feeling he would invite Kuwabara-kun." he said before turning back towards Joann, "I didn't anticipate him inviting you Joann."
"That is actually the main reason I came over." he said, turning towards Kuwabara.
Kuwabara blinked at the red head.
"Oh?"
"Yes, I was coming to offer some training for the tournament. It will be held in two months." Kurama said with a smile.
Kuwabara blinked at Kurama before nodding at the red head with a determined look.
"Sounds good with me."
"I'm going to warn you. I will not take it easy on you just because you are a human." Kurama said with a serious look.
"That's fine by me! The harder the training the better I'll become!" Kuwabara said clenching his fist in the air.
"Could you help me too?" Joann asked.
The boys turned towards her, seeming to have forgotten she was in the room.
"You're not fighting." Kuwabara said with a tone that sounded like it was final.
"Didn't you hear what I said?" Joann growled, standing up, "He will KILL me if I don't go!"
"I can help you train too." Kurama said with a nod.
"Kurama!" Kuwabara growled while turning to the red head.
"She needs the training. We will be surrounded with demons who will go after her." Kurama said with a frown.
"Like I'd let any demon touch her." Kuwabara growled.
Joann couldn't help but blush. Her heart sped up a bit and she couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach.
"There will be moments where she could be alone, where none of us can be there to protect her." Kurama said with a serious look.
At those words, Joann began to feel a bit mad. Not at what Kurama said, but at how pathetic and weak she must have appeared to have the red head even say that, not having faith in her to defend herself.
"Even if I'm not there, she can protect herself until I do get there." Kuwabara said matter a factly.
Joann blinked at Kuwabara. He seemed to think she was capable of defending herself. Sure, he said until he got there. However, she agreed. With how she was now, she could only defend herself for a limited time.
"She doesn't have any spiritual energy." Kurama said with a shake of his head.
Joann opened her mouth.
"That's not true. She has enough spiritual energy to make not only a weapon, but a shield and even a force field!" Kuwabara said, his voice sounding like a proud father bragging about their kid.
Kurama blinked at the carrot top for a moment before turning to look at Joann. Joann stood there with wide eyes.
"I can make a force field?" she asked with wide eyes.
Kuwabara anime fell, while Kurama sweat dropped.
Kuwabara quickly stood up and huffed at Joann.
"You did it while we fought the Toguro brothers! Don't you remember?! You would have been sliced in half if you didn't have it!' Kuwabara shouted in disbelief.
Kurama stood there in thought.
"Joann, what do you remember of the fight with the Broker brothers?"
Joann looked at Kurama before trying to think.
"Well...I remember feeling an overwhelming power of blood lust and greed and other emotions. The next thing I remember was Yusuke slapping me out of whatever trans I was in." Joann said with a shrug.
There was an awkward silence in the room.
"Urameshi did what?!" Kuwabara growled.
"It worked?" Joann said with a sideways grin, "Don't be too mad with him."
"Why that little..." he grumbled.
"What do you mean by other emotions?" Kurama asked, ignoring Kuwabara, as well as Joann's comment.
That was something he was going to talk to Yusuke about at a later date.
"I don't know how to explain it...It was just an overwhelming presence of emotions that I couldn't process, ya know? It kinda happened back at the Four Saint beasts actually..." Joann said in thought, "Like when you were fighting Genbu. I could sense his blood lust. It was so powerful I couldn't move."
Kurama looked away in thought.
'Is she an empath?' he thought before glancing back at her.
"How long have you felt emotions?" Kurama asked.
Joann thought furrowed her eyebrows. That was the question that had been plaguing her own thoughts. She knew back home, in her 'reality', she would sense people's emotions or know when someone wasn't happy. She could read people and would use the information to figure out how to help them.
Here, it seemed that simple 'power' had magnified to hundred percent. She couldn't really pinpoint when it had grown but she heavily noticed it right before the Four Saint Beast mission.
"I'm not too sure..." she began before looking down at her hands as she sat on the bed, "I think it happened during that mission, the Four Saint Beast mission I mean."
She looked up with worried and confused eyes.
"I seem to mostly feel the negative emotions and certain ones over power my senses and cause me to freeze or semi pass out." she said before letting out a sigh.
"What about the shield or weapon you made?" Kurama asked, trying to figure out all the details so he could help her with training.
The more information he could get on what powers she had developed, the easier it would be to figure out a way to train her in those abilities. It would be tough as there were only three months until the tournament.
"Well, the weapon and shield was just a couple of days ago, during the Yukina rescue." Joann said with a shrug.
"And the force field?"
"That I didn't even know I could do." Joann said with a sweat drop.
Joann blinked as her mind seemed to remember something.
"Wait! No I've made a force field before! It was when those punks, disguised as Yusuke and Kuwabara had attacked me and the guys! I was able to protect myself and Kirishima from getting attacked! I forgot until now!" she said with a bit of excitement.
"Wait, so you've had the force field since then?!" Kuwabara said with wide eyes.
"It was so quick, I kinda forgot. Plus I wasn't sure if it was a one time thing." Joann said with a sideways grin.
"How do you ferget about having a frickin' force field?!" Kuwabara growled.
"I don't know! I mean everything happened so fast!" Joann growled back before pouting.
Kurama watched the two with a slight sweat drop.
'If I do train them, it will be an interesting two months...' he thought.
"Well..." Kurama began, catching the two's attention, "I think it would be best if we work on helping you control how those emotions affect you. It would be a great asset but a hindrance if not properly trained."
Kuwabara and Joann looked at the red head.
"Yeah...I guess..." Kuwabara said with a frown, "I still don't like the idea of you entering this thing..."
"I told you I have to go." Joann said with a frustrated sigh.
"I know that. Doesn't mean I like it any less." Kuwabara growled.
"I suggest," Kurama began again, catching their attention again, "you two get some sleep. I'll be back tomorrow morning; early."
"Huh?" Kuwabara and Joann said as they blinked at the red head.
"Why?" Kuwabara asked.
Kurama couldn't help but chuckle.
"We only have two months for training. We must make good use of what time we have."
"Sounds about right..." Joann said with a nod before letting out a yawn.
Kuwabara and Kurama couldn't help but chuckle.
"Seems like it really is bed time." Kuwabara chuckled.
"Ahh shut it." pouted Joann before yawning again.
"I'm gonna take a shower first though..." she said before standing up.
Kurama nodded.
"I'll be back tomorrow around 5am. Make sure the both of you pack enough clothes and other necessities that will last for the two months."
"Eh?" Joann said with blinking eyes.
"Whu?" Kuwabara said with blinking eyes as well.
"In order for me to train you both to your full potential, we'll need to go somewhere secluded, away from people and others." Kurama said with a serious look.
"Well, I guess that makes sense." Kuwabara said with a nod.
Joann pursed her lips. She remembered that Kuwabara had trained a bit with Kurama and possibly with Hiei before the tournament. The show never went into any details but the little clips that were shown was the training took place in a wooded area. Even Hiei was in the clip.
Joann took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out.
"Alright. I'm ready for this." she said with a nod.
Kurama gave her a warm smile.
"Just make sure you get a good night sleep."
Joann smiled back and gave him a thumbs up.
"Got it! Now off to shower and then pack." she said before grabbing some clothes from her drawer.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow Kurama." she said before giving him a quick wave before leaving the room.
The two boys stayed quiet in the room for a moment, listening to Joann's footsteps walk away.
"Kurama."
The red head turned to Kuwabara, who looked serious.
"She can't fight in that tournament."
"I know, but it would be best to at least help her get some control on her powers. It must be taking a toll on her." Kurama said with a sigh.
"What do you mean?" Kuwabara asked as he furrowed his eyebrows.
"What she is experiencing is similar to your sixth sense. Instead of spirits or energies, she is sensing emotions from other people." Kurama said.
Kuwabara raised an eyebrow, not seeming to see what the problem would be.
"Have you ever sensed a spirit or many at once, to the point you felt overwhelmed or even close to being paralyzed?" Kurama asked.
The red head had seen Kuwabara's sixth sense in action, not to mention his ability to manifest objects with his reiki. However, he didn't know how powerful the carrot top really was or what kind of abilities the carrot top had.
Kuwabara thought about it before his eyes widened. There was a time, not too long ago, he would become paralyzed during his sleep by how powerful his sixth sense was attracting spirits.
"Yeah, I had a lot of problems with my sixth sense not too long ago. That was one of the reasons I went to see Master Genkai. I wasn't even there for the tournament she had, just needed help with my power." Kuwabara said with a nod.
Kurama raised an eyebrow at this new information. He had thought Kuwabara had went with Yusuke or had gone for the same reason as the raven haired detective.
"Well, think of that energy but as emotions. Sadness. Anger. Hate. Imagine how it could overwhelm a person if they were feeling all of those emotions, even more, at the same time? It's actually impressive she could even move during my fight with Genbu. Especially, if that was when it first became active." Kurama said, finding a bit more respect for the girl.
Kuwabara frowned. He wondered why she hadn't confided in him about this. If she was having trouble with controlling something that was eerily similar to what he had gone through, something she had helped him before he went to Genkai. Well, he was a bit hurt that she hadn't asked him for help.
"Even if she doesn't end up fighting in the tournament, it would still be best for her to train and help her be able to not have those feelings overwhelm her. She probably feels like she is being a burden every time those feelings take over her and paralyzed her." Kurama said as slowly realized how serious her training was needed.
Kuwabara seemed to realize the same as he nodded.
"Alright, but we aren't letting her fight." Kuwabara said with a final tone to his voice.
"I agree." Kurama said with a nod.
The two stood in silence before Kuwabara yawned. Kurama couldn't help but chuckle.
"I guess that is my cue to leave. Goodnight Kuwabara-kun. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Kurama said with a small wave.
"G'night Kurama." Kuwabara said with a smile as he waved back, watching the red head leave his room.
Kuwabara let out a sigh before sitting on his bed.
'This is gonna be a long two months...' he thought before laying back and looking up at his ceiling.
'But no matter what, I'll make sure Joann won't fight. I will protect her.'
With that last thought, Kuwabara closed his eyes and fell asleep.
(End of Chapter 14)
Again, sorry about the long wait on this one. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'll start working on the next chapter and I hope I can get that out soon. Like I've said before, there are at least 50 chapters written; all long too. So I'm just using them as an outline and re-writing the entire chapters as I go. This chapter was so different from it originally was, not even including it being an insert fic haha. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review!