Okay! Now we start the training and we reach the plot point for DDR…oh, I gave it away. Oh, well, it's not like you know it entirely, right? So, anyone know word etymology pretty well? Here's a created word for you to figure out, and I give lots clues in the chapter. So tell me: What does "chronodom" mean, literally?

Chapter 11: The Chronodom

Kurama

Koenma's tiny legs ran quickly, trying to keep up with Bri and I. Once I'd known where we were going, the task was simple enough. I knew Bri was trying her best not to laugh at the little toddler form Koenma usually had. His little pacifier was in his right hand, a very stark display of his otherwise calm visage.

If his father caught him in the act, I knew all three of us would be in danger. But there were few other places where Bri and I could practice alone. Where, if she did manage to turn her powers all the way up, the only person she could possibly harm is me. And Gina had taught me how to turn her powers down if that became the case.

Genki had been correct. Dream energy and spirit energy were very much alike, especially in how it was used. By manipulating my own energy into a kind of dimmer switch, I could help Bri control her energy without teaching her how. As Genki had said, however, it would be best for Bri to discover it as well.

And that meant teaching her how to harness her own energy.

This would be difficult, considering how far out of control with her own mind she really is. As I said before, Bri has many things in common with Yusuke and Hiei. Bri's control over her power was about the same as Hiei's control over the Dragon of the Darkness Flame prior to his training in the Dark Tournament. Why had my memories gone back to that time? It's been months since we were on Hanging Neck, and yet…

"Are you all right?" Bri asked.

I forgot just how powerful she is, even at the lowest rungs of her power. She doesn't even realize the extent of the power…and yet she is so helpless, like a kitten with four broken paws, still blinded and deaf. At least she would be able to see and hear once this training is completed. I hoped it would be enough to protect her at least on the surface.

I would have to make up for what she lacks in strength. Well, our whole team would, I suppose. At last, I answered her.

"Yes, I'm fine."

And I'll feel better once we are in our training location.

"How long do you think you'll need?" Koenma asked, pulling to a stop outside of a single, plain white door.

"A year, maybe two," I said softly. Bri threw her gaze toward me in shock. I explained quickly. "This room cuts time down. In reality, we will most likely be in there a week or two."

"Won't we change?"

"Our physical bodies will not age," I shook my head. "But normal functions in what we do in there, like muscle mass, hair, and food consumption, will change us."

"And what exactly are we going to do?"

"Train."

She sighed and nodded.

"Okay, then, I guess. Anything I should know?"

"Close your eyes until I tell you to open them," I said. "The light is almost as bright as the sun at first."

Koenma opened the door and we closed our eyes. I took her hand and together, we walked into the Chronodom.

Bri

How was I ever going to survive locked in a place with only one other being (a guy, no less) for a year! Kurama was used to it, he's five hundred fifteen years old. He probably was alone for a lot of it, too. When he finally let go of my hand and told me to open my eyes, I nearly freaked out. Well, actually, I did.

"Who are you?" I asked.

Because in front of me was not the Shuichi/Kurama I knew, but a grown man with long, long silver hair and cute little white triangle ears and a white, bushy tail. He also had very slim, golden eyes and a knowing smile on his face. Somehow, I knew this was Kurama, but still, I needed clarification.

"The effects will wear off soon," he said. His voice was deep, soothing, and a little on the dangerous side. And downright sexy to boot. "I looked at the light. I'm still Kurama."

I blinked up at him curiously. "Then this is your…form, right? The one from the past, before you were reborn as Shuichi?"

"Correct."

Hot dang. Whoever heard of a foxy man? I certainly never had. Oh, well. I had no chance whatsoever of being Kurama Youko's girlfriend, anyway. Human or fox form. He was too dang sexy either way (though the red hair was cuter). What was I thinking, Kurama sees me as his little sister!

God, help me.

After a few moments, though, Kurama's hair turned back to red and he shrank a few inches. His golden eyes widened, then turned their rightful green. Suddenly, the normal, oh-so-adorable but unattainable Kurama was back.

"That was interesting." I blinked. "Whoever knew you to have such a deep voice?"

He chuckled. "Thank you." He paused a moment. "You should change."

I was still in my torn and bloody pajamas.

The room beyond the white door was simple, almost a normal living room. There were two armchairs, one red and one blue, a television, and a little yellow coffee table. Off to another side of the room was a simple table with two plain wooden chairs. The only thing that I saw different were the walls.

They were covered ceiling to floor in clocks.

Each clock had a number and a letter, and a little digital day calendar beside it. There were two openings in the wall besides the door through which we had come, one that led to a kitchen and another that led to a single other room. A bunk bed sat against one wall here, and I tossed the bag that Botan had given me on the bottom one.

"The door in the living quarters changes to suit your needs," Kurama said, gesturing to another door opposite the beds. Besides the beds were a desk and two bureaus. This room, too, was covered in clocks. "What would you like for lunch?"

"A turkey sandwich sounds good," I said, shrugging. "I don't know what's in that kitchen."

"Anything you tell it," he said. "This place is called Chronodom. It permeates all time and space, and yet is confined right here. It does what you tell it to. Like a computer."

"Oh. Hmm. Interesting. And we get to use it how?"

"Koenma might get in trouble for letting us," Kurama admitted, a little sheepishly. He was cute with that look on his face… "But he thinks we have no choice. It takes time to learn what you need, and it's time we do not have."

"If you say so. I'll go change."

I will admit, even I was a bit suspicious of exactly how much time we had. Even a week might be pushing it. And to say I wasn't thrilled to have to be in this close proximity with Kurama would be an understatement. I'd only known him a few weeks, and we were both fairly reclusive when it came to our real selves. We didn't exactly trust each other, and now we would have to live together.

What had possessed me to want to go to Japan?

Oh, yeah, Keiko and me had always wanted to go to Japan. I wanted to know more about the people and the culture and the food. Mostly the food. She wanted to know more about her native country. Keiko always wanted to learn more.

I miss you, Keiko Sawaguchi.

After I'd changed into jeans and a blue t-shirt, I re-entered the bedroom. Most of the clocks had vanished, with the exception of one. It was the same in the living room and the "kitchen". The kitchen was a simple place—a table and two chairs and a white board countertop furnished with a black marker. Kurama was already eating rice, steamed broccoli, and Japanese-style curry vegetables and beef.

"Just write what you want on the counter," Kurama said, gesturing with his hands. His chopsticks, as usual, were at the top of his plate when he wasn't using them. Kaasan had taught him manners like most kids are ingraded with the alphabet in the U.S. He added one other warning to his words. "Be specific."

I wrote: Pan fried chicken. Mashed Idaho potatoes with sawmill gravy. Chucked and buttered corn. Glass of Sprite.

Sure enough, a platter with said items appeared on the countertop. Except the corn. It must not have understood what "chucked" meant in farming terms. It literally "chucked" the corn at me, stalk and all. Kurama ducked, then returned to eating as if nothing had happened. Well, I shouldn't say that. He was grinning broader than the Grand Canyon.

"I told you."

"Well, it's not my fault the thing doesn't know what 'chucked corn' is. It just means it isn't in its husk!" I ate my lunch without corn, needless to say.

"You really told it to—" Kurama started laughing before he could finish. I glared at him until he finally spoke again. "I'm sorry!"

"Oh, well," I sighed. "I could get used to that. Without the glitches, of course."

"Don't worry. I asked for a chopsticks stand and all it did was make the chopsticks stand." Kurama smiled. I returned his smile.

"Well, all I can say is that this is some good sawmill gravy. At least they know what that is. The world isn't over yet."

And then, all too soon, it was time to begin the training. Kurama opened the door I'd used to change into my clothes. That time, it'd just been a small, blank room. Now, it was a little bigger, with a red curtain separating me from the other side of the room.

"To get a handle on any kind of energy, you first have to be physically able to handle it," Kurama said. "Your chosen exercise seems to me to be the game DDR."

"Yeah. It's fun." I shrugged. "What's that got to do with controlling my powers?"

"For now, everything."

He swept the curtain back, revealing a machine that looked very much like an unmarked DDR machine.

"This is a game from the demon world very similar to your DDR," Kurama said. "It's meant for beginning demon children all the way through to master swordsmen. This is how we're going to train your body to physically be able to handle your own power."

"How similar are the songs?" I asked. Most DDR songs were rock or pop, though some delved into others like hip-hop and Latino.

"Very."

He stepped onto the left-hand pad and pulled me onto the right by my wrist. The touch sent a tingle up my arm, but it was short lived. The machine started up and spoke in perfect English.

"This is an import," Kurama explained. "There are some demons that are allowed to live in Wyoming in America. They like to let human children try the game."

"Are you sure you're going to understand everything, then?"

"Yes. I was in America for a long time."

The machine interrupted. "What level?"

"Start on two, Bri. That's similar to Light or Standard on DDR."

"Pick a so—Itsumo no Hitomi." Kurama chose the song faster than I could see the screen.

A bass line began in the background, and then a young female demon with pointy ears similar to Kurama's came onto the screen. She sang in a sweet Japanese voice, but I could translate all of her song. My favorite part (up, right, horizontal, right, right, down) was this:

Can't seem to understand

What I'm fighting for

My lover's arms are closing

Can't breathe anymore

Is this what love is

Or is there something missing

In his Forever Eyes

In his kissing

Forever Eyes…

I liked that song. She described Kurama perfectly, except, well, he wasn't my lover. He was barely my brother or a friend. Yet it seemed like an eternity since Takenaka left us and I unpacked in my new guest room in Nemoi. I missed the trolley and the feel of the air as we walked to the bullet train.

I even missed the dimwit, Yusuke.

And I hadn't even been here a day.

We played song after song after song. Kurama seemed to know them all, always getting high scores. I lost some and won some. By the time I realized that Kurama was just going down the list, I asked when we were going to stop.

"When you can't dance any more." Was his cryptic answer.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Getting stronger is about pushing your limits," Kurama answered. "When these songs are done, and you get them all down, we're going up to the third level. Then we go up more, until you can't keep up with them anymore."

Oh, okay. Until I couldn't move my legs any longer. Sounds good. Hey, wait, what about water! As if he read my mind, Kurama spoke again.

"If you get thirsty, let me know. We'll take a break."

And we kept on dancing.

By the time Kurama finally said we could quit, it was a couple hours past noon and I knew I was dehydrated. I should have taken a break, but those songs were so inspiring and interesting, I just couldn't. I couldn't see straight and I nearly fell over getting off the dance pad. Kurama helped me out of the room and back into the kitchen. He handed me a bottle of water, which seemed to never end.

After I finally caught my breath, I spoke.

"Okay…now what?"

"Can you dance anymore?"

"No!"

"Then nothing at all," Kurama sighed. "Until you're stronger, you can't try and harness your own power."

"Why not?"

"It would destroy you from the inside out."

"Oh. Ouch."

He smiled. "Soon you will be able to dance all day long, with only small breaks."

"Why did you choose the dance machine to train me?" I asked. "Why not running or martial arts or something?"

"You enjoy it."

"Well, yeah, but I thought you weren't supposed to have fun."

Kurama chuckled softly. "Whoever told you that?"

"No one. I just was under the impression…"

"There are few people with full choice who choose to do something they dislike."

"What, you mean to tell me Hiei likes being the Hn-meister?"

He laughed. "Hiei is very different from most people you know, Bri. He does enjoy his training, yes. Don't ask him to admit it."

"So it's fun to him," I grinned. "That's interesting. Say, you never told me how come you and him were involved in Yusuke's spirit detective work."

"I suppose not."

He didn't seem too eager to explain.

"Come on, Kurama. It's not like we're going to be doing anything else for a while."

For a moment, he didn't speak. His green eyes were distant, thoughtful, and pained. He rose from the kitchen table.

"This will take time."

I followed him. "We've got plenty of that."

We sat in the living room. And he told me.

He told me how Kaasan was sick, so sick that Shuichi could only think of one way to make her well again. How he joined Hiei and another demon, and together, the three of them stole three ancient artifacts. He had the Forlorn Hope.

"Why's it called that?" I asked. "Such a sad name."

"Indeed. The mirror acts on the full moon. It reflects the heart's deepest desires and grants them, with a price."

I drew in a breath. "The wisher's life?"

He chuckled. "Even at low power, you can sense it. Yes. I was willing to give up my own life again, so that my human mother could live."

"Uh, Kurama? You're alive. Kaasan's alive. What happened?"

"Yusuke appeared the night I made my wish. He asked the Forlorn Hope to take his life instead. The mirror decided to reward his noble act and grant the wish without taking either of our lives."

"Wow, dimwit to the rescue."

Kurama smiled. "I assisted Yusuke in retrieving a sword that Hiei stole. When we were turned in, Koenma suggested us assisting the spirit detective as our punishments. We worked out our terms, but I simply cannot leave my friends Yusuke and Kuwabara. I think Hiei feels the same, though I doubt it would be wise to ask him."

I smiled. "That's great. Tell me more about your missions! I want to know everything."

And he did. Well, I think he told the less-life-threatening parts, because somehow I doubted that the rock monster simply stayed down. Rocks that move usually are pretty hard to beat, at least in my experience.

What experience?

I don't really know.

And then he started talking about some weirdo named Toguro, who challenged Yusuke to a fight in the Dark Tournament. Instantly, I remembered the man that Kurama had fought, the one with the blond hair and the one with the black hair. Somehow, I knew they were actually one person. He was still talking about getting to Hanging Neck Island when I tentatively interrupted.

"Hey, Kurama?"

"Are you getting bored with my—"

"N-no, it's nothing like that," I shook my head quickly. "It's just…that was the place where you got hurt really bad. Isn't it? Against that guy with the blond hair?"

He tried to mask his quick intake of breath, but I caught it. I was right.

"D-Did you beat him?"

"I killed him."

He was avoiding the question. "Did you beat him?"

A sigh. "No. By a…technicality, in the rules, Karasu won. Even though he was dead. It was the first time in Dark Tournament history that the one left alive lost." He smiled weakly.

"Why is it that I expected that?"

"You probably sensed it."

"I don't want to sense it, Kurama!" My hands flew around me. "I want you to be able to tell me or not tell me about something of your own free will. It's like I'm stealing all the answers without even trying to. And I don't want them."

"Maybe you'll be able to turn the powers off completely, when we're through. I don't know yet. I'm not familiar with them."

"Gina said it had something to do with my dad."

He was silent.

"I don't even know my dad. My mom's not even my real mom. I've never met either of them." I looked at the ground. When I looked up again, I smiled at him. "Thanks, Shuichi. Let's go eat dinner."

The challenge again: What does "chronodom" mean literally? I'm sorry about the DBZ time chamber thingie…I couldn't help it, and I wanted to get the story moving a little faster… I don't think it's possible to fall in love in a few weeks. So, if I give them a year together…Let's see what happens.