Bloodlust
By Moonraker One
A/N: My shortest chapter to date. Sorry 'bout that, I just want to take a week or so break from this story to reassess where I want to go with it, and I promise that I will then continue it.
CHAPTER SIX – "So, this is it?"
Yusuke took up a cross-legged seated position on the ground, focusing his ki. In compliance, all the other demons in their presence except for Lando did the same. The level of energy flowing through the area was like a drug addict's attraction to any demon that was in the area. Rather than repel, demons flocked to other powerful demonic aura signatures. So, in Yusuke's mind, it was imperative that Keiko be taught how to properly disguise her power within a human form. "Keiko," he explained, "the key to hiding your demon form is disproportionately simple compared with bringing it out. The only thing you really have to do to suppress your demonic power is to focus your energy and cover yourself with it, all the time thinking of what your human form should look like. You can even materialize clothes." Keiko was amazed by his use of a word as large as "disproportionately."
Keiko felt a golden stream of warm light passing through her entire form. It had somewhat a cold, rough edge to it, but she assumed that was due to her demon spirit; the inside of it was warm. She could not believe what it felt like to be able to sense and manipulate her own ki. She focused her mind, and she found that mentally, she could alter the very flow of energy through her body. Such euphoria she had seldom experienced as the first redirecting of her own life power. "Wow!" she uttered. "This…this is what ki is? Cool!"
Hiei took over the discussion. "First, make a mental image of how you should look as a human, including the clothes you want to wear," he offered. "Do you have the image?"
She nodded.
"Okay then. Now, grab a section of your ki as it is flowing through your body, and pull it over your body like a sheet. Can you do that?"
She closed her eyes and sectioned off a part of her flow of ki, and yanked it out of her body. Almost too fast, in fact, she did. Yusuke put his hand on her left shoulder to calm her down. "If you screw it up, Keiko," he calmly stated, "you could injure yourself. Now take the ki and cover yourself completely, and tightly. Don't let any of it slack off and loosen up, as it'll screw up the transformation." His voice helped her calm down. Once he sensed her energy flowing more readily and smoothly, he smiled. "You're a fast learner, Keiko."
The energy she removed from her body spilled over her entire form like spilt molasses, only becoming visible once it covered her completely. Upon enveloping her, the ki shone with a bright red glow, and she could feel underneath it her physical structure changing once again, except this time, it was only a superficial change. Hiei and Kurama could all feel a calming in the air once she changed back to her human form. Her outfit was what it had been before she disrobed and began the demonification procedure, and her look was entirely human. They could still feel a demonic aura about her, it was just severely dampened. Yusuke was pleased with her quick learning capability; soon, she would learn how to make the morphing process invisible.
"That was excellent, Keiko!"
She smiled, feeling surer of herself after receiving positive reassurance from him. "I did good, Yusuke?" To her question, he nodded.
"I'm glad that you're a fast learner, Keiko," he explained, "because that'll make it better for you in the future. From now on, though, you'll have to learn how to fight." One thing he would need was a gym with a large open area with a consistent temperature of seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit, in order to properly give her the training she would require. Demonic aura fluctuated in a wave-like pattern with the temperature of the environment, and a constant climate enabled the situation to be more adequately controlled and the unwanted minds from sensing their location. Like a burst of inspiration it hit him; he had a few strings he could pull, and he'd be given access to one of the best air-conditioned workout areas in the city. It was one of the perks of being a powerful demon; when you spoke, people listened without interrupting. "And Keiko," he exclaimed, "I can give you the training you need."
From that point forward, every time Keiko found any free time to herself she spent in the forest with Yusuke, learning the deeper aspects of reiki and any other techniques relevant to being a demon in the modern world. With time, she would grow to be nearly as powerful as Hiei and her skill at fighting would grow immensely. It all seemed to go perfectly according to plan until a certain day in October.