The next thing I knew, the car was stopped. My eyes fluttered open, and I frowned drowsily. Why were the seats so tall? I glanced down, and blinked rapidly. Yukina's knees. What the...oh. I'd fallen asleep and landed in the girl's lap. Half of me was on her, and my head was on Hiei's leg. Which was a rather disturbing thought, and I sat up. Through the rain, I could see the temple and wished, not for the first time, that there weren't so many freaking steps.
My movement and Hiei's straightening woke Yukina, who didn't seem to realize she'd slept on Hiei's shoulder. She yawned. "Goodness! We're back already," she said cutely. I chuckled and got out. She got out on my side and Hiei his. We jogged up the stairs as Genkai paid our driver, meeting the rest of the sopping team in the temple.
I flipped off my shoes and retrieved them before running up the stairs, barely pausing long enough to shut my door, throw my bags on the bed, take down my hair, take out my earrings, and grab a change of clothes before hopping into the bathroom.
"I take it things didn't go well," Genkai said, hearing the door slam.
"Yeah they did," Kuwabara said defensively. Kurama looked uncomfortable, and Genkai was beginning to frown. Seeing that things were going to get difficult, Yukina and Keiko left the room. The others sat around.
"Well...in a way," Kurama corrected. Genkai nodded at him. "She didn't wander off, but that's about it." He paused. "She didn't say hardly a word until after the movie, predicted the rain before the sky clouded, and got into a fight."
"A fight!" many voices echoed.
"Yes. With some big high school jocks. I was watching her, as you said to, Genkai. One of the gangs tried to kidnap her, but she slugged the leader. Probably would've pounded him if his posse hadn't jumped her. I had to pull her away, but she did an amazing amount of damage for such a short amount of time, and they could barely walk out. She was troubled by what she did, as though she couldn't figure out how she'd done it."
"She doesn't realize I started her training at an advanced level," Genkai muttered, shaking her head.
"That's how she stayed away from me for so long when Koenma made us fight," he agreed.
"She must be used to knowing she's weaker than everyone around her and doesn't know how strong she really is, then," Yusuke said, having one of his rare inspirational moments.
"You're right for once, Yusuke. I knew having an advanced teacher and being surrounded by powerful demons might mess with her mind, but I didn't know just how much. Maybe I expected too much of her," Genkai sighed.
"Maybe you're not expecting enough," Shizuru scolded, pulling out a cigarette. "The kid knows how much you judge her. She's an extremely observant girl. Maybe that's why she's like she is - she knows she's not what you want. She knows she's not enough for you. Living with that knowledge, how do you think you'd react to life?"
Genkai sighed again and rubbed her eyes. "Sometimes I think I have to pound her to make her understand something, and others I completely underestimate her. There is no understanding her. She's completely unpredictable. Unorthodox. I've never met a person like her."
"At least 'Night Rose' made her laugh," Kuwabara snorted.
"Oh, that was something; her and Hiei both," Kurama said, green eyes sparkling at the memory. "But then it just...stopped. Like she realized what she was doing."
"She actually stopped when she saw you," Yusuke said flatly, looking at Genkai.
"She was pissed," Shizuru snorted, running her fingers through her hair. "I think she tuned us out the entire time. It's weird how obedient she is, though. I mean, you made her do one of the things she hates most in the world, and she did it after merely saying no twice; never rose her voice or swung a punch or anything. She did stop talking," she added as an after-thought. "But it was like she was expecting something - a blow, a threat."
"Yeah! Why won't she talk about herself?" Yusuke quipped.
"Maybe she doesn't like to be reminded of the past," Kurama said quietly.
"Well, I think she needs to spill it out or it's gonna...uh...'s gonna..." Kuwabara stammered.
"Consume her. Not talking about her problems and not expressing her emotions is neither healthy nor normal, especially for a teenage human girl," Hiei finished quietly.
"Heh, you're one to talk, shorty."
A glare in his direction made Kuwabara wish he'd held his tongue.