Dragon's Sacrifice 6:

Aoryuha

The rose whip shimmered around her wrist before it reduced itself to a single blood red rose held deftly between Kurama's fingers. He threw it towards her and she caught it in her injured hand, feeling the cool brush of its petals against the ripped flesh of her wrist. It was a thorn-less rose. She looked up to catch his bottle-green gaze and he flashed her a sidelong smile, she could not help but smile back in return. Her eyes shifted to fall upon a short fire demon that slowly advanced towards her.

The other was already making his exit when he heard the gruff voice of his friend called out,

" Undo whatever damage you've done before you leave."

It took Kurama less than a minute to grow one of his many useful herbs and bind it between bandages to her injured wrist. Years of practice from helping Hiei re-bind the Kokuryuha with the warded bandage enabled him to move with speed and precision.

"Seeing that you're back, we'll take our leave now. Try not to be too hard on her, she tried her best, and you…"

" I'll do as I see fit. I don't need you telling me what to do, or have you forgotten that already?"

In her kneeling position she sank closer still to the ground. She had never really been punished by Hiei, there was no telling what he could do.

The rest of the reikai tantei gathered up their stuff and slowly made their way back to the portal through which they came. All the while throwing concerned looks over their shoulders at her. All increasingly worried as they watched Hiei's ki rise around him. They knew he was not crazy enough to kill her and risk the wrath of reikai, but they would not put punishment pass him. With his years of hardship in makai, he could think up worse kinds of punishments than they could have nightmares of.

"Hiei-sama, I'm sorry I wasn't good enough, you taught me well I'm just not a good student, I'm sorry I couldn't…"

"Shut up. I don't want to hear your excuses."

He was harsh. So harsh. Somehow this felt worse than the slavery she was bound in before she met him, before he rescued her. His curt words hurt more her wounds, and somehow this pain seemed more terrible. She knew she was letting him down but she could no longer bite back the sobs that escaped her lips. Salty tears trickled down her cheeks, but she hurriedly wiped them away with her hands. She did not care if they stung her open wounds, she just did not want him to see them. It would only let him down more.

"I'm not angry."

He had been there a while, he was watching them spar while carefully concealing his presence by blending in with the residual ki energy of the area. She had held her ground quite well, even up to the last moment when she refused to give up. He was impre -no, satisfied with her performance. It was mor -no, the least he expected of her, since she was his pupil. But he revealed himself to save the trouble of having to wait for her to recuperate if the spar had continued and she got even more wounds.

Presently, he was a little at a loss of what to do. He was not really angry that she lost, after all it would be a little difficult for her to overcome masterful Ki-users when hers was still sealed away. Her sobbing seemed to subside a little but there was still the aftermath of hiccups to deal with. He walked over to her and roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her up. She limped a little on her sprained ankle and kept her eyes downcast. Bracing herself for the punishing blow she felt sure would follow, when she heard him speak softly,

" Go to the river and wash your face. Be back here in five."

He let go of her arm and disappeared into the cave.

Hurriedly she hobbled to the nearby stream and washed herself off, still a little shocked at what just happened, or rather what did not happen. When she returned, refreshed albeit still hobbling, she entered the cave, pausing a while to allow her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Hiei was seated cross-legged on the floor of their shelter. His breathing was deep and even and all his muscles relaxed. She crept slowly closer, not wanting to disturb him from his meditation, when his voice rang out in soft echoes through the cave,

"Get yourself seated. We won't be doing physical training today. You need to learn how to activate and control your ki."

She sat quietly across from him and awaited his next instructions.

"Close your eyes and relax. Quiet your mind and feel deep within yourself every fiber that makes up your being. Expand it to encompass the heavens but focus on nothingness. I want you to clear your subconscious of everything. Think you can do that?" Here he opened an eye to look at her.

Hesitantly, she nodded her head and proceeded to get into the proper state of mind.

The hours slipped away as the two meditated. Rather distractedly, he listened to the rhythm of her breathing. It was not long before she was drawing long even breaths. Her heartbeat grew quieter and fell into a steady beat. Slowly he opened his eyes and watched her carefully. Her posture was straight-backed, yet relaxed. Deciding not to break the calm, he undid the ward around his jagan and quietly slipped into her subconscious.

"Yukiko…"

"Sensei!"

she nearly jumped when she heard his voice in her mind.

"Shh… I need you to relax and recover your calm. It is very important."

"Yes sensei…"

slowly her breathing calmed again and her heartbeat slowed down.

"Yukiko…I want you to explore the deep recesses of your mind, and feel for a…second presence…"

Opening his eyes, he observed her as she broke out in a light perspiration. Emotions played across her face as she probed the secrets of her own mind when suddenly… a film of light surrounded her being. It shimmered and shifted between blue and white, sometimes flaring in a blinding flash other times it flowed over her body like a glowing silhouette.

Seeing this he closed his eyes again and entered her mind. He needed to instruct her on how to conquer the foreign ki inside of her and harness its energy, and offer any assistance should she need it. But the moment he entered her mind he was forcefully hurled out, physically thrown back from the force of her psychic struggle with the entity residing within her.

It was only a split second in its presence, but the sensation that coursed through him was intense. On entry he was met with an incredibly strong mental barrier. It was clear and cool, colder than ice and hotter than hellfire. As feeling came back to his limbs he realized he was covered in a thin layer of frost and some of his limbs were frozen. As his vision slowly came into focus he saw the intense energy that was spiraling around Yukiko. It was a sky blue that flashed and shone like starlight. Her eyes were open and she was floating just above the ground. The ground beneath her was frozen and the grass cracked and shattered from the extreme temperatures. Slowly she turned to face him. Immediately he sensed trouble. Summoning his ki he melted the frost off him and warmed his frozen muscles. The moment movement became possible he had put more distance between himself and her. Her aura was pulsating around her in time with her heartbeat, flaring and receding.

"Yukiko! Wake up! Control it, don't let it control you!"

Shit. There's no way she can hear me.

He sprang from his resting place to higher ground just in time as one stray tendril of energy whip-lashed the ground creating an unsightly gash on the earth, freezing the ground at the same time. As if on cue, the aura around her suddenly went wild lashing at everything around her, the trees mercilessly fell to her unyielding and overwhelming power. Slashed, smashed and splintered the noise was unbearable, the cracking of wood was deafening as the surrounding landscape was demolished. He had to keep running, it was powerful but until he was sure who or what he was up against he could not risk attacking.

As suddenly as the attack had started, it stopped. Hiding in the undergrowth, Hiei stealthily kept watch of Yukiko.

(yukiko's POV)

What the hell is going on? I feel like I'm floating. I feel so light and my mind is so woozy I can't think straight. There's something glowing over there…

"Come my child. I have waited a long time for this meeting. The Great Battle is not far off, you and I must quickly become one or he will finish you in one blow. You are no more than a glass doll without my power. Come child embrace your destiny with courage."

"What… are you?"

The entity seemed to be amused by her hesitance but still it glowed every more invitingly as it chimed out in a disembodied voice,

"A part of you, always a part of you. I know all that you've gone through, I've watched your fate unfold and it has not been my place to interfere, at least not until now. Now I will use you for my purpose, and you will use my power if you want to survive…no, if you want to validate your existence."

"I have tasted freedom, and I will never return to bondage, to be manipulated and used, never. You hear! Get out of my head!"

"I can't my dear, you were given to me before you were born to be my vessel. You were promised to me over 500 years ago."

"NO! I will not accept that I cannot chose my own fate!"

"Perhaps this reluctance is only because you do not understand that you too stand to gain from this pact. Let me demonstrate a fraction of the power you will not have at your disposal."

There was no acute pain, no unpleasant sensation, just an intense feeling of nothingness and panic rising in her like foul bile. She was floating, but her body felt like a suit she was trapped in, and unable to move. Like a passive spectator she saw Hiei get thrust back half frozen and covered in frost. She watched, confused and worried, but most of all incapable of helping as he struggled to recover and dash for a higher ground.

As she felt herself step out of the cave in pursuit of Hiei, she lamely noted that he was moving with a slight limp.

"Damn. Why does he have to be injured now of all times!"

"What was that my sweet child? I can hear your thoughts my dear. Injured, did you say? That does make the hunt a little bit unfair, but all the more interesting for the hunted don't you think? So be sure not to give away where you think your dear trainer is hiding."

As if on cue, the word 'trees' sprang into her mind before she could stop herself, betraying Hiei's exact location.

"You tricked me damnit!"

"Thank you dear, that was all the help I needed, now just watch and see how powerful you can become. I will exact some form of pay back for you for all the hardship he put you under…"

A light breeze blew through the forest and the scent of blood clung to the air. An injured prey lay waiting somewhere in that forest, the hunter should not keep the hunted waiting so unkindly for its impending death. With that, Mizuryu moved in for the kill.

TBC…

A/N: Hey yo. I know I haven't updated for a long while. And I really wouldn't have updated, but the reviews kept coming in and I was just starting to feel so guilty for leaving something unfinished. Heh. Thanks for taking time to read my trash. Much appreciated. And well, I guess if you want an update you gotta review if not I'll just forget that I haven't updated this thing. Sorry sorry for being so irritating. Anyway, thanks a lot for your reviews and emails, especially to breezy601.