DISCLAIMER: I don't own yyh! Despite the fact that I would really really really want to, I don't—but I do own my own characters: Ryu, Kira, and Mai and the fact that Kira is the demon half of Mai...but anyways...
A/N: HIYA EVERYONE!!!!!! Wow, it's not even noon and I'm unbelievably hyper! LoL, my friends know how that is; I just don't stop talking once I get on a sugar high!! ::spins around in chair:: WEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
LoL, anyways this chapter might suck since there won't be much excitement in it—a little mystery perhaps, but not much excitement...plus I did sort of change the summary that I had from my profile (gomen if I throw you guys off a little bit in this chapter!)
MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Whoa, I got a little crazy then...ha, well on another note; I hope you guys were able to watch the new yyh episode for this week! I thought it was pretty funny, only because of the fact that Yusuke was pretty stupid for firing at the truck with Kuwabara on it.
Wow, I'm just talking way too much, so let's just get on with the fic!
WAIT WAIT WAIT!!! I FORGOT THAT I EDITTED CH. 10&11 IN FIRE DANCER!! Please go check it out!! There will be foreshadowing for the Chapter Black Saga!!!
Thanks to my reviewers!
Umeko Saito: don't worry! I've got everything figured out (LoL, even into the Chapter Black Saga)
Little Sakura 87
Naoko Asakura 009
Aikiera
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Sarah1281
WARNING: THIS CHAPTER WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FROM ABOUT FIFTEEN EPISODES FROM THIS ONE!!!!
Thoughts/Flashbacks
'Kira'
Fire Angel
::Seikoki::
Mai's PoV
What woke me up the next morning, I wasn't quite sure, but when I did open my eyes it was still dark outside. Cautiously, I lifted my head from the pillow and glanced around the hotel room. The window was open to the balcony. Curtains billowed from the nightly wind and skipped across the floor.
Yawning, I stretched and grabbed the clothes I had laid out earlier and headed into the bathroom. I quietly slipped off my top and pajama bottoms and tugged on the pair of red baggy pants with a pink kimono-styled top. Absently, I twisted my hair up into a bun and let a few unruly strands hang in front of my face.
As I made my way back into the main room, I tugged on my training shoes over my feet and pulled open the door again.
But I froze suddenly when I noticed the small, masked figure waiting by the main door. They turned to me as I exited the bathroom. I saw them watching me with their golden brown eyes and they folded their hands behind their back.
"Are you ready?"
I sighed and nodded slowly before answering and following them through the door, "Yeah."
-:7:-
Mai's pen scratched lazily across the pad of paper as she placed her head in her hands wearily. She yawned and carefully set the writing utensil down on the desk, staring down at her work thus far.
"Five pages of absolutely nothing..." she told herself dourly and slammed the cover of the notebook down weakly before rubbing her temples and sighing.
She stopped suddenly, though when the scent of roses entered her nose and she looked up at a single blood-red rose placed gently on the desk.
Weird...she thought, That wasn't there before...but then she smiled and carefully stroked the silk-like petals between her fingers.
"Goodnight Kurama," she whispered to what seemed like no one, but somewhere she knew he was nearby...
(A/N: yes that part was random, gomen ne, you guys, but I'm going to be fitting little tidbits like this into the story...so...)
-:7:-
The Guardian followed obediently behind the masked fighter as they led her through the darkness of the woods. Silence followed them both; not even their footsteps made any noise along the dew-encrusted earth. The animals of the night had retreated from the now-rising sun forming over the horizon. The pair said nothing as they continued to travel into the forest, until at last they came to a lonely enclosure.
Mai trailed behind until the fighter stopped near the center and she planted her staff softly on the ground. The Masked Fighter turned to the Guardian with their hands still behind their back, but Mai still said nothing.
"'Reflexes'?" the fighter questioned sarcastically and the girl sensed them raise and eyebrow.
She puffed out her cheeks slightly, "It was the best I could come up with," she mumbled defiantly and folded her arms over her abdomen, but the fighter chuckled softly and lifted the cloth around her head. Mai didn't seem surprised though, when Genkai's grayish pink hair tumbled from beneath the mask.
The Guardian plopped wearily onto the moist earth and carelessly fiddled with a lock of her hair between her fingers, "So what's on the agenda today, Genkai?"
The old woman folded her arms over her chest, "Seikoki," she replied simply.
Mai gave her a quizzical look, "Seikoki?" she repeated, "What the hell is that?"
Genkai continued to stand and watched the girl carefully, "Kira didn't tell you then," the woman stated.
She shook her head, "Tell me what?"
"Saint Light Energy," Genkai continued while sitting down on a nearby boulder and crossing her legs, "Kira was one of the few people who were able to master it..." she looked as if she was going to add on to that statement, but decided against it, "Her demon form allowed her to learn it much quicker than it would have for a human..."
The Guardian raised an eyebrow and was about to respond when the old woman cut her off.
"Her spirit has begun to fade away entirely..." she went on rather somberly; "Now that you have gotten stronger, both you and Kira have slowly started to fuse together; her powers have transferred over to you now that her soul is fading—"
"Wait, wait!" Mai stopped her, "So I'm killing Kira as I get stronger?!"
Genkai shook her head, "That's not quite it; there will be a time when Kira will no longer exist as an individual spirit...Technically you could say that you would be Kira."
She blinked as she tried to comprehend what she was saying, "You're confusing me, Genkai; why in the world hasn't Kira told me any of this?! And what does Kira becoming me—or the other way around—have to do with the Saint Light thingy?"
"I was getting to that if you would just let me finish," the old woman said and narrowed her eyes slightly. Mai flushed and obediently went quiet as Genkai sighed, "Like I was saying, as you Kira begin to merge, her powers and energy are transferring over to you. If you've noticed, she hasn't been speaking with you that often," Mai nodded slowly, "It's becoming difficult to make contact with you as she is growing weaker..." the woman stared at her for a moment, "Now that you have come in her place, she no longer needs to wait, and is finally letting her soul move on and pass her powers on to you..."
The Guardian stared down at her hands. So...so Kira would no longer be a part of her? It would feel so strange without that comforting presence lurking in the back of her mind all those times...But if what Genkai said was true, then there was probably nothing she could do to stop it from coming; to protect Yusuke, she had to get stronger as he got stronger...
Even if that meant destroying Kira in the process...
"And the Seikoki?" Mai continued in a soft, sad whisper, "What does that have to do with any of this?"
Genkai examined the girl carefully, "Since she had mastered the Saint Light Energy, this trait of Kira's is slowly passing on to you...Although you will have the ability to use the technique, it is not a gift you can just take and use; you have to learn how to control it."
"What if I don't want to learn how to control it?" the girl challenged softly, the grim reality seeping in around her, "What if I just leave it alone?"
The old woman folded her arms, "The mere capacity to withhold the power of this energy is too much for you as you are; if you were to merely leave it alone, it would eventually tear you apart from the inside out until there was nothing left."
"Well that's pleasant..." Mai mumbled and absently dragged her finger through the dewdrops along the blades of grass, "So if I was to 'master' this energy, would...would I..." a brief memory flashed before her eyes; a massive figure standing amidst the crumbled garage as the two teenagers stood helplessly before them 'I propose and invitation to you, Detective'... his eyes flashed towards Mai, 'And the girl if she's willing...' The Guardian gnawed gently on her lip; "Would I be able to protect Yusuke against Toguro?" the words came out as hardly a whisper.
Something flashed across Genkai's eyes when the girl said this...Was it understanding? Pain?
...Sadness?
It took a moment before the woman responded, the shimmer in her eyes suddenly gone, "It depends on if you're willing to train, Mai...I'm afraid that if you are able to master the Seikoki, there is nothing else I can teach you," she smiled sadly.
Mai weighed her decisions quietly—as if there were any. The Guardian glanced quickly down at the ground. In her mind, she faintly sensed Kira listening to the conversation and mentally sent her affirmation of what Genkai was saying. But...without the former Guardian inside of her, it would feel so...so empty...
And then there was Yusuke...he would eventually get stronger; she needed to grow with him or she would be useless to him. This Seikoki—this Saint Light Energy—would be able to make her stronger, but at the same time, it would finish off Kira once and for all. Mai hugged her side, suddenly feeling vulnerable.
But the former Guardian had trusted her this far; she had counseled her until now and hadn't let her take on any battle alone; she was always there waiting in the back of her mind...She was trusting her now to make the right decision...
If Kira were to pass on...would that mean that a part of her would die with her? Mai ran her fingers through her hair fervently and sighed.
The decision now weighed:
It was either Kira...or Yusuke...
Tears now filled her eyes and she clenched them shut, letting her pearly teardrops trickle down her cheeks. It seemed as though either way she would lose; if she chose to train and control the Seikoki, then Kira would eventually perish...but if she chose to leave it alone, she would eventually die herself and Yusuke would be left to fend for himself...
"Gods..." she murmured to no one. Genkai still watched her, but said nothing as she continued to struggle with her decision.
Kira was a part of her; without her, it would seem so lonely...
But Yusuke needed her now...
He was her charge and she needed to fulfill her duty to him...Even if it meant destroying a part of her in the process.
Yusuke was a lot more important than simply losing a part of herself; without...without him she would be nothing anyway...
Sunlight suddenly danced along her fingers, sending a sudden dull morning warmth through her body. Mai shivered slightly and gently raised her palm upwards towards the light. The shadow of the tree limbs above quietly danced across her skin and seemed to hold her in a trance
Mai blinked and a teardrop plummeted onto her palm.
Forgive me Kira...
And faintly from the back of her mind, the Guardian received a weak response:
'I already have, Mai...'
The girl attempted to stifle a small sob, but failed and quietly wiped away her tears from her eyes. As she glanced upwards at Genkai, she already knew that the old woman realized what had happened between the two Guardians.
"Yusuke would be grateful if he knew what you have done," the old woman said softly and examined her as the Guardian turned her head to hide her tears.
She didn't reply though, but kept her eyes to the ground. Her eyes stung with her tears and her face was sodden.
But no longer did she feel the Guardian's presence comforting her from inside her mind...
Kira was already beginning to fade away; too weak to reach out to her.
Genkai observed the girl a little longer before standing, "Well, are you going to train today, or just sit around and blubber for the next twenty-four hours?"
Mai sat there a moment almost as if she wasn't going to bother, but then she sniffed and shakily rose to her feet, shaking her head, "But won't the others be missing us?"
The old woman shrugged her shoulders, "Probably...That is if we don't make it back before they all wake up."
The Guardian forced a weak smile despite her sudden loss of companionship, "Then I guess that means we better get started then..."
-:7:-
A/N: omgosh that was crappy
Sorry guys, but since I didn't update last week, I just wanted to get this chapter out there, plus is sort of sets up the setting for an occasional plot twist later on...
Ah well, I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as you can, I gtg to bed now! HURRAY FOR THE SEMIFINALS!!! GO GRIZZLIES!!!!!!! LoL, our volleyball team is attempting revenge on the team that beat us in the finals last year, so we gotta win tomorrow!
Wish us luck!
Peace and Luv!!!
PS: ahhhh!! I promise I'll try and make the next chapter better peoples!!!!!