Hello everyone! Thank you for reading this...I wanted to apologize for the wait that you had this time, but with midterms and spring break at my mothers without a computer, I was busy and I also had complications with family being in the hospital. All in all, this should have been posted last week, but I wanted time to revise and rewrite the last chapter (again) so that I could at least be satisfied with the way the story was coming together.
These chapters (and there were five, now two, in this update) are at least twice as long as normal and that's just cause I was too lazy to edit stuff out this time or to work on splitting the chapters into smaller pieces. So try to get through them and let me know if I should go back and shorten them.
Also, another note, when the e-mail reviews got backlogged on FF.net, they really messed them up. Instead of receiving the later ones when they "fixed the glitch" I got one review copied about fifty times. So, if there were any questions that don't involve giving away the ending, ask again!
For those of you reading the other two stories as well, I'll be updating I Thought Hell Was Supposed to Burn in a few days and Instincts will have a new chapter next week,...I guess that is all...
Enjoy this extra long chapter and review if you want! Remember, criticism is good. Flaming to be mean is bad...
Thanks!
( the very not dead but humbled author) Sylvannastar
Preparations
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Kurama returned to shrine without a thought of checking on his own family. Kagome was his first priority, not only because of Koenma's new assignment, but because her health mattered more to him then any thing else. Remembering to announce his presence this time, Kurama bypassed the window as an entrance and knocked politely on the front door. He smiled slightly when his acute hearing picked up the thrumming steps of the younger Higurashi sibling flinging himself down the stairs in an effort to be the first to the door. Standing slightly to the side, he waited for Souta to appear and invite him inside.
He was not disappointed, for no sooner had the door swung inward, then the excited child snagged him by the hand and dragged him willingly into the home. Souta chattered with great enthusiasm at the tall boy who had come to visit. "Shuuichi-san! I thought you might come by today! I saw Kagome's things were back this morning," he began.
Ms. Higurashi leaned through the doorframe of the kitchen, where she spent the majority of her time, to smile happily at the red head calmly standing in her hallway. "Good morning," she greeted him, with a smile so like her daughter's, Kurama automatically smiled back with a wide grin. "I'll call your mother and let her know you are here," she announced, somehow knowing that the boy had not informed Shiori Minamino of his whereabouts.
Kurama nodded his acceptance and thanked her. He knew his mother was probably worrying again, but Kagome had to come first now and for the rest the his life. She was the light he needed to lead him through the dark and save him from the troubled loneliness that had consumed him before she agreed to be a part of his life. Now, he needed her to be close to him, needed her to realize that she required his presence just as much.
Kurama took advantage of a lull in the one-sided conversation to ask politely, "Is Kagome home?"
Souta rolled his eyes and opened his mouth wide to bellow up the wide stair well, "KAGOME! COMPANY!"
Youko cringed at the decibel that the human child had managed to achieve and nudged the other half of his mind in annoyance. You know fully well that she is here. We left, ourselves, only a short time ago.
"I know that," he muttered out loud, and received a questioning look from Souta's bouncy form. He looked at the boy innocently enough to receive a shrug and a bland look in return.
"KAGOME!" the boy yelled again with out warning.
The ringing in his ears multiplied and Kurama rubbed his forehead with the back of one deceptively delicate hand. Youko grumbled in the background about the common courtesy lacking in children and imagining how his children would be perfect creatures full of charm and nobility to rival any blue-blood Youkai. Especially if they took after his perfect mate, ...Kagome?...Kurama blinked and rubbed his eyes before trying to focus again. Kagome sauntered down the hall in nothing but an oversized white t-shirt that you could see through enough to tell that her underwear was a unique shade of red, and with her feet incased in a pair of rainbow striped toe socks. She was scratching her head of bed tousled hair and yawning hugely.
She paused at the top of the landing and blinked sleep fogged eyes at the two human shaped blurs below her. "Eh?" she yawned again. "What is all the yelling about?"
"COMPANY!" Souta bellowed again without need, and raced up the stairs and past his sister's confused form.
"Company?" she repeated perplexed and glanced back down at the other figure. Her mind fully functioning now, registered the word, the situation, and the visitor before she turned a rather hideous shade of red. "K-Kurama? I wasn't expected you back so soon..." she tugged in embarrassment at the bottom of her shirt and danced on her toes as if the motion would relieve her of her sudden nervousness.
Kurama felt his mouth kick up at the corners against his will and gave in to the light chuckling that was a mere remnant of the belly laugh that Youko was threatening to shake from his more dignified counterpart.
Kagome took immediate offence and fisted her hands at her sides. "It's not that funny," she protested and tried and failed to push the tangled mass of hair into a more normal, if frizzy, style. She frowned at the chuckling red head and tapped her foot impatiently on the top step which only served to bring his attention to it.
Kurama swept his eyes down her bare legs and settled with amusement on the ugly knee high socks encasing each toe in a separate hue. "It's not?" he questioned her before winking at her flustered face.
Kagome blushed, knowing full well that she looked a mess and that the socks were a bit unusual. She wiggled her toes at him playfully and squashed her embarrassment for the moment. "I guess you should know," she whispered as if she was imparting a deeply hidden secret, and grinned when Kurama leaned forward to play his role, "I don't always look my best in the morning..." She nodded at his totally disbelieving look and wiggled her toes again before using her elevated height as an excuse to point her brightly colored foot under his nose.
Kurama couldn't contain the laugh that bubbled up out of him and grabbed the multicolored appendage in one hand and poised the other just under her knee in a light hold. "No?" he finally worked out between his and her giggles. "I think you look adorable."
Kagome grinned like a fool and tugged her leg from his grasp so that she could return to her sanctuary and prepare herself to face the world and all its demons...literally. Before she could ask him to wait while she showered and dressed, another knock sounded at the door.
Souta flung himself out of his bedroom and gained speed as he raced down the hall. He ignored the panicked look on his sisters face as he rushed to the door again. Sweeping past his cringing sister, Souta skipped every three steps and jumped over Kurama as he suddenly ducked out of the way. He reached the door with a loud thud and rubbed the stinging of his palms absently as he pulled the door open again to grin at the new visitor. Taking one look at the person on the other side, Souta turned around and belted out another chorus of "KAGOME! VISITORS!" Before scampering off toward the kitchen and safety from the dark look his sister was glaring down on him. He waved playfully at her as he rounded the corner and left the door wide open for the newest arrivals to step inside.
Kagome clenched her eyes shut and drew in a deep breath in an attempt to lose the blush she knew was raging out of control. She covered her face with one hand and peeked through the cracks between her fingers to find the amused gaze of a person she knew and the more bemused one of another she did not. Snapping her fingers back together with a groan of dismay, Kagome whispered, "Hello Hiei," and considered running to her room in embarrassment but figured that both the fire apparition and the woman beside him had already seen her and it would have been a pointless move.
Hiei snorted and led Yukina to stand next to the laughing fox near the bottom of the stairs. "What happened to you?" he asked bluntly.
Kagome dropped her hand to her side so that he could see the glare she aimed at him. It seemed to have no effect on the jagonashi, but the woman at his side fidgeted nervously with her aqua hair and the full blue sleeves of her traditional kimono. "Nothing," she replied in a clipped tone and tried to smile reassuringly at the other female.
"Don't bother lying. I can sense it, remember?" Hiei crossed his arms and looked her over. "You look like hell."
Kagome doubled her efforts at glaring and twisted her fingers together to relieve the purifying itch that had reflexively settled at her finger tips due to her anger. Kurama sobered and frowned at the shorter demon staring at the half clothed form of his mate to be.
"Well?" Hiei demanded relentlessly.
"I had a bad dream," she snarled and yanked her fingers through the knotted ends of her hair. "After Kurama left, I had nightmares about," she shuddered," Naraku."
Kurama sent her an understanding look and nodded his head toward the open doorway of her bedroom. "Go get cleaned up and dressed, love. We'll wait here for you."
Kagome smiled in gratitude and bowed slightly to the strange woman blinking up at her. "Please forgive me, I hope we can talk when I get back. It will be a pleasure to get to know you..." Kagome smiled at her and twirled around to return to her room before she embarrassed herself more.
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Yusuke rearranged Koenma's files for the third time that morning and stared at the same information that had been there each time. Trying a new shuffle and splay method, he randomly set out a handful of pages and started reading again. Yusuke dropped the stack of wrinkled papers back into the pile and spun around in the chair as he thought.
"Yusuke," Koenma whined as he entered the room. "Why are you here again? Don't you have a date or something?" he begged.
"Nope."
The chair made another circle in protest and screeched loudly, the hideous sound sending shivers down the spine of the young Reikai prince. "What ARE you doing?" he finally asked with a sigh.
"Working," the teenager answered and began to spin about in the opposite direction.
"Right. Go home, Yusuke." Koenma pouted beside the desk. "Let me have my chair and desk back."
Yusuke snorted but stopped the spinning so that he could stare at the diminutive figure of his boss. "No way. I intend to find out about the barrier and fix this damned problem once and for all." Yusuke was serious and pointed to the growing stack of files listing cases of low level demons living it up in the human world.
Koenma sighed and let his shoulders droop. He waved a dismissive hand at the Tentai and plopped on the floor where his stamp pad had made a temporary home while Yusuke refused to leave. Fiddling with the handle and remembering the good ole days where nothing but a few files passed his way on their way through routine paperwork, Koenma felt the weight of his age, which was significantly more then what he looked.
"Shouldn't you at least be preparing for the shard hunt that you are supposed to lead?" Koenma reminded the boy. "Have you even talked to the others?"
"Just Kurama," Yusuke shrugged. "Can't go anywhere till Kagome is ready, he said. I didn't bother to tell the others yet since Kurama made it known that Kagome wasn't going anywhere for a while yet." Yusuke whirled around in another circle as he turned the thoughts about in his mind. "Speaking of Kagome, what was it you needed to know about her and the barrier? Did you find any leads?"
Koenma jumped up and shouted in surprise, "That's right! I almost forgot that! GEORGE," he hollered for the blue ogre. He ignored Yusuke's inquisitive look and pounced on the innocent oni as he walked in the door.
"AAAHH!" George yelled and tried to shake the small prince off his leg. "Oh! Lord Koenma, you surprised me...What do you need?"
"The reports for barrier crossings," he announced. "What are the numbers?"
"Well, only three today, sir. About half of what we had yesterday and that brings the total to..." he started to count on his fingers and muttered numbers off under his breath.
"I'm not worried about totals. What I want is a comparison of the number of demons that have crossed recently to those of...say last week?" He stared expectantly at the skeptical face of his employee.
"I would have to check the status," he said and raised his clawed finger to his lips, "But it is significantly less..."
"Good enough for me!" Koenma cheered and released his employee's leg.
"Do you think that the barrier is repairing itself now?" George asked hopefully.
Koenma shook his head and shooed the reikai employee from the room with orders for what food to prepare for the day's first breakfast.
"What are you getting at?" Yusuke dropped his chin into his hands and fingered the warn papers again.
"Just an observation I made last time that Kagome was here in her own time..." Koenma grinned and called for his first tray of food for the morning.
"Which would be what?" Yusuke asked in agitation.
"Only that there is a correlation between Kagome's presence in the correct time period and the weakness of the barrier." Koenma shrugged and bounced impatiently on his toes.
"What is that supposed to mean?!" Yusuke shouted.
"I don't know," Koenma admitted and pointed out, "I think maybe that the barriers through time and space are related and that when someone or something is displaced from its own time, it effects the barriers between worlds too."
"You think? So this is all her fault!" Yusuke leapt to his feet.
"I didn't say that, Yusuke. It is just a theory and Kagome's time travel is just as necessary as your travel through realms. It can't be her fault if it was something that she was fated to do." Koenma rubbed his head and sucked on his pacifier to sooth his growing concern for the impending breakdown of the binding that separated the worlds.
"That's it?"
"Yeah."
"..."
" I know," Koenma shook his head and sighed at Yusuke's disappointed look. "But at least it's a start."
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Yukina and Kagome were laughing quietly at one another while the two boys stole nervous glances at them from time to time. "I knew that they would make fast friends," Kurama pointed out to the fire apparition seated beside him at the table.
Hiei rolled his eyes but kept a wary eye on the two females. It wasn't long after the girls had first spoken that he had realized that their fast friendship would be unhealthy for him and the fox..."Why do I get the feeling that they are plotting something?" he muttered to himself and eyed them suspiciously. He already knew that he could not get into Kagome' s mind and Yukina was too attuned to him for him to get away with invading hers. He scowled at their continuous giggles and nudged the nervous fox sitting beside him. "Is this normal behavior for females?"
"Do I look like I would know?" Kurama jumped at the contact.
Yes.
"Youko says 'yes' it is." He corrected himself.
"Hn." A short pause and more giggling put Hiei under the impression that something was going to happen. "Is this dangerous?" he asked.
More then you know...
Kurama scowled at the tense words that Youko uttered and merely nodded to the jagonashi at his side.
"Should we put a stop to it?" Hiei continued and joined Kurama in scowling at the two women ignoring them.
Full of questions today, isn't he? Youko smirked but kept a wary eye on the plotting females. In his experience, there was nothing more dangerous then a pack of women, and though there were only two present now, He knew that sooner or later, they would be joined by various others of the same sex for the sole purpose of finding ways to make men's lives miserable. He shuddered, thinking about Botan, Keiko and Shizuru making an alliance with the women shamelessly consorting in front of him.
"How do you suggest we do that?" Kurama leaned in to whisper.
"A distraction?" Hiei offered and fingered the hilt of sword absently.
"Perfect," Kurama grinned and took a few moments to compose himself before clearing his throat to get the girls' attention. "Kagome, what was it you were going to ask Hiei?"
Kagome looked up suddenly and seemed surprised to see them there. She blushed lightly and turned to face the two men trying to look innocent and unruffled. Suddenly serious she looked Hiei in the eye and spoke. "You offered me help once, I wish to know if you would still consider taking me as a student..."
Hiei narrowed his eyes at the request and thought about the implications of his past words and the need that she had for such training. Nodding once, he crossed his arms and leaned back into the chair back. He felt a sharp kick catch him in the ankle and he slanted a look at the innocent face of Kurama.
"Distraction!" the fox hissed quietly.
Hiei scowled and glared down at the wood grain visible on the table top. Before he could actually find a way to split the two women apart, Kagome offered him the perfect opportunity.
"When can we start?" she asked him excitedly and stared with her blue grey eyes sparkling in gratitude.
"Hn," he answered. "Now."
"Now?" she blinked and saw the surprise on Hiei's own face and hesitated. "You are sure?"
"Now," he repeated firmly and left the room in a flash of movement.
"Are you sure that you want to do this, Kagome?" Kurama asked her and pulled out the chair she was seated in so that she could stand to follow the fire demon outside.
"Yes. I have to do something..." she replied. The two others followed her from the house to the courtyard under the God Tree where Hiei was standing as he had been waiting for ages. She approached his still form slowly. "Ah, I don't own a sword...Hiei can you still teach me?"
"Hn."
After her last 'adventure' in the past, Kagome knew she couldn't put off training herself any longer. Her complete inability to fend off Naraku at all, proved her vulnerability in a way that she could no longer deny: experience. She tensed and touched the thin scar that marred her cheek. It marked her. Every time that she ever looked at her reflection, she would be reminded of that hanyou and her own helplessness.
Kurama ran his fingers over that same mark but the love in his eyes never wavered. "It's just a scar, Kagome. It only means that you have been through things that others haven't and had the strength to survive."
She smiled weakly at him and leaned into his touch. It wasn't his words that brought her comfort, but his faith in her ability to grow stronger from her experiences.
"Baka. What else would it mean?" Hiei scoffed.
At that, Kagome's eyes widened. Trust Hiei to find the bluntest way to dismiss a useless concern. "Yes," she nodded to herself. "I'm ready."
"Hn. Follow me," Hiei led her into the sunny courtyard. At their arrival, the birds hushed and the breeze died down. Thin waves of heat rose up from the stone foundations, making distant images blur and shimmer.
Hiei positioned himself across from his new human pupil and wondered what he had gotten himself into. He drew his sword watching her curious reactions. She was stiff with determination but she eyed the blade distrustfully. That, he decided, was the first thing that he would have to correct.
He marched up to her, ignoring the protective position Kurama and Yukina had placed themselves in behind them. The turned the blade around and thrust the hilt as the jumpy ningen staring in wide eyed fascination at the weapon. "Here," he muttered moodily.
Kagome gingerly took the sword, surprised by the weight of such a thin strip of metal. She held her knees together, feet splayed and watched him.
He glowered at her. "Have you picked up nothing after watching others fight for so long?" he ask her in disbelief.
She flushed red in embarrassment, then glared right back at him. "That," she practically yelled, "is why you are teaching me!"
"Oh, dear." Yukina covered her mouth with her hand. "They haven't even started yet..."
"No and with two stubborn tempers like that," Kurama sighed, " this may prove to be disastrous." Kurama turned his attention back to the loud pair, fascinated by the exchange between them. Youko was enjoying the scene and laughing uproariously in his mind.
"Hold it like this, Baka!"
"Like this?"
"Hell no! Not unless you want to kill yourself to save your enemy the bother!"
"This?"
"Kuso! Here, give me that!"
"No! I can get it!"
"Pathetic human, give it here!"
"No!"
THUNK
"Ouch!"
"....sorry...."
"At least you are holding it correctly now."
"I am? Hey! Kurama, look! That was almost a compliment!" Kagome cheered brightly.
Kurama bit back a smile and fought to hold in the laughter that threatened to spill out. Her exuberance was in complete contrast to Hiei's resigned bad temper, it was comical. He waved at her in acknowledgment and watched her turn back to Hiei.
"Now what?"
"Now," he snarled, "you hold it."
"I am holding it, Hiei."
"Until you stop doing it wrong, I'll have you stand there until it's reflex that you do it correctly!" he yelled.
"Hmph! Some training..." she muttered.
Five minutes later she started talking to herself. "Who knew just holding a sword could be so tiring..." she sighed. She started to shift her grip automatically.
"Don't you dare," Hiei said dangerously.
She scowled at him, but relented.
Another ten minutes passed in silence. Kagome desperately wanted to drop the damn thing and rub her arms. She grit her teeth instead and glared at the short fire demon that was conversing with Kurama and Yukina across the clearing. She could hear the occasional "hn," he contributed to the discussion.
"Bastard," she breathed. She blinked when he looked up at her, red eyes glinting. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" When the slightest smirk flitted over his stern features, she knew that he could hear her. "I won't give up, you know. I may not know how to use a sword yet," she whispered, "but that doesn't mean that I am completely defenseless. I have my own ways to get revenge." She was satisfied when he suddenly looked a bit worried. The look quickly vanished, replaced by his habitual scowl, and he turned his back on her. Kagome couldn't resist the urge and stuck her tongue out at him.
That is when she knew, it was going to be torture that would rival Naraku's sadistic pleasure to learn to use a sword from Hiei...
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Yusuke was finally convinced to leave the Reikai for his own realm and strode down the street with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He glared as he picked up the aura of several demons with his own half developed senses. Even after all that training, his spirit awareness was the only thing that still came hard to him. But that was what Kuwabara was for.
"Urameshi!"
Speaking of which, the orange haired human was shoving his way through the crowd to reach his team leader. "Yo."
Kuwabara fell into step beside him and tried to start a conversation that did not include fighting with the other Tentai. "Oi, where you been?" he asked.
Yusuke shrugged his shoulders and muttered, "Around."
"Doing Reikai business? Koenma still sending you out on shit missions?" he persisted.
"No," Yusuke scowled. "The puny bastard has us on leave until he knows what we are up against. Stupid demons invading my city..." he growled.
"Yeah, I noticed that there are a lot more of them than there used to be. They just keep coming... Maybe they aren't all bad, though." he sighed and scratched the back of his neck with blunt tipped fingers.
"Already had that conversation," Yusuke nodded. "You can count the number of demons that have the good of humanity on their minds on one fist."
"Yukina," Kuwabara reminded his friend quietly.
Yusuke stopped mid-step and blinked at his friend in surprise. "You're right," he agreed slowly.
"You don't have to sound so shocked," Kuwabara frowned. He hesitated with his eyes cast down until Yusuke resumed walking. "Hey, Yusuke?"
Yusuke stopped again and turned wide-eyed to face the larger boy. As far back as he could remember, Kuwabara had called him Urameshi. He knew then that something must really be bothering the other boy.
"What?" he asked.
Kuwabara slanted him a searching look. "You knew? About Yukina?"
"Yukina?" Yusuke frowned and then went white. If Hiei thought that he had told, then the little fire demon would have no qualms about flaming his ass and Hiei wasn't the type to give him the benefit of a doubt. "What do you mean?" he hedged.
Pinching his mouth into an angry line, Kuwabara grit his teeth and forced Yusuke to meet his eyes. "Did you think that I wouldn't figure it out?" he demanded. "What the hell kinda friend are you?!"
Yusuke sighed and turned to the side. "It wasn't my place to say. It was between them. Hiei didn't want Yukina to know."
"You could have told me!" he shouted and clenched his fist to wave it in the air at the other detective.
"And you would have told Yukina!" Yusuke accused and shoved the fist from his face. "You and your damn honor wouldn't have made it past the first time her eyes got all big and sad while her searching always dead-ended."
Kuwabara bit his lip and let his shoulders sag unhappily. "I feel like a fool. She probably thinks I am too."
Yusuke snorted and started walking again. "Normally, I would agree. But this is Yukina we are talking about. She couldn't hold a grudge against anyone. Hell, I don't even think that it is possible for her to dislike someone. And if the past two years are any indication, the girl likes you...for whatever reason..."
"Maybe," Kuwabara sighed.
"How did you find out anyway? Finally notice the way they kinda look alike?" Yusuke flicked his fingers against a wall as they passed.
"She told me."
Yusuke stopped again and faced Kuwabara. "She knows now too?"
"Hiei was there."
"Well, damn..."
"Yeah."
They continued in silence for a short time before Yusuke nudged his friend in the side. "Have you talked to her about it?"
"Some," he admitted and sighed loudly. "I'm okay now. I wasn't then, you know. Hiei and I don't actually get along too good."
Yusuke tipped his head in understanding and then tapped at the graffitied wall again. "Well, I need to do some training anyway. Lets go to the temple. Then I need to talk to everyone later about our next mission."
Kuwabara smiled in gratitude for Yusuke's unspoken support and picked up his pace considerably. "Okay. I wonder what she is doing right now. She always likes to watch us training..." he grinned and pushed Yusuke along.
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"Pick it up" Hiei told her with a scowl.
Kagome sighed but did as she was told. The short break had done her worlds of good. A quick bite to eat and a cool drink had improved her temper considerably. Yukina had offered to heal her, but she wasn't actually injured yet, just sore, and that would have been cheating.
"Good."
"Huh?" Kagome looked up. Surprisingly enough, her hands had automatically returned to the correct position. "Wow," she commented drily. "I can hold a sword."
"Baka," he said, a hint of good natured playfulness coloring his tone.
"Can we do something different now?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes. I will show you various stances," he announced. "Watch me closely."
"Why?"
"Why what?" he rolled his eyes.
"The stances; what are they for?"
Hiei shook his head, bemused by her question. "Because swinging a sword changes the way you balance your body. When the sword becomes an extension of yourself, you must compensate for that added length and weight."
"Oh."
"I have never taught a woman before..."he grumbled, trying to maneuver her into position.
"So?"
"So, men and women are different."
She giggled.
He glared her into silence. "A man's normal point of balance is here," he indicated his mid-section upward. "A woman's is in the hips. A lower center of gravity may make this easier for you."
"Hn," she agreed mischievously.
He glared at her innocent face and turned to the fox resting casually in the shade of the giant god tree. "How do you put up with her?" he grumbled to the red head. Yukina covered her mouth to hide her own grin and failed.
"Hey!" she protested. "At least wait until I'm not here to insult me!"
"What is the fun in that?" he snorted.
"Hn," she repeated mutinously.
"Just do what I do," he prodded her back into form.
She sighed. This was so much more work that what it appeared. Inuyasha just swung his sword around so easily...then again, she winced, maybe Inuyasha wasn't the best example of good technique. She began to match Hiei, move to move, and started to actually enjoy the dance.
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For the first time in two years, Genkai's shrine stood empty. Feeling bad for the depressed Kuwabara, Yusuke offered to do some sparing with him. He agreed, though it was with little enthusiasm, and began to have their first serious spar since before the second tournament.
Kuwabara had been steadily training himself since they had begun their jobs as detectives for Reikai and if there was one thing that kept him working to get stronger, it had been Yukina's constant admiration and support. It felt strange to him without her there, but he would not be bitter when she had finally found her family...even if it was Hiei. He didn't have to like it, but he could tolerate it without complaint.
He had grown more then the others thought, though it was well hidden behind his goofy appearance and gruff exterior. He was the most intuitive of the lot, Genkai had said it was because, like children, Kuwabara had not lost the innocence of his soul. Hiei said it was because he lacked intelligence. That might be true to an extent, but when it came to matters that Kuwabara judged to be of the highest importance, like family and honor, and holding standards for your self, he was the strongest of them. In a way, they had to respect him for that. Kuwabara would never sell out. Not for any reason.
And as much as they picked on him for it, they never wanted to see him without that confidence that came from both his naivety and faith in the good of the world. And in his eyes right now, there was doubt.
Yusuke winced as Kuwabara managed to throw some unexpectedly quick punches at him that he was not fully prepared for. Whether it was just the circumstances or if Yusuke just hadn't been paying enough attention to his comrade lately to notice, he knew now that Kuwabara's skills had improved immensely. "Whoa, there!" he protested and retrieved his balance before the other boy could press his advantage. "You've been working on those moves, haven't you?" he sounded impressed.
Kuwabara wiped at his pug nose with the arm of his shirt. "Yeah," he agreed quietly. "Yukina helps me..."
"Yukina?" Yusuke frowned. They were back to her again and the shadow still existed in his friend's eyes. "What does she do? Cheerlead?" he joked to lighten the mood.
Kuwabara grew very serious and refused to be baited. "She spars with me sometimes."
Yusuke fell flat on his face as he faulted in his lunge at the taller boy. "EH!" he spat out. "Yukina!?" he said clearly disbelieving.
"There are a lot of things that you don't know about her...or me." Kuwabara said getting a little angry at all the assumptions the team leaders was revealing that he had made. "She is sweet and innocent and perfect. Genkai taught her how to defend herself, though she admitted that she could never bring herself to actually harm someone, evil or not. She's stronger then she looks..."
"Apparently..." Yusuke sighed and shook his head. With all the secrets coming to light, it was proving to be a rather eventful day. Yusuke could only wonder what was coming next.