Disclaimer: YYH is not owned by me, and neither is the real person Katrina Kon. This might not be the real retraining you are expecting! Hehe

Chapter 28: The Real Re-Training

I watch Genkai. She is ignoring me, which isn't helping my nerves. She is simply sitting in the usual way on the hard floor. I will get her back for making me go through this again.

"Ummm…Genkai?"

She still ignores me.

"Genkai?" I ask, a little more firmly.

She still acts like I'm not even there.

Enough is really enough. "GENKAI!!!!!!" I yell, no loudly, but with the sharpness of a whip.

She jumps out of her skin, and stares at me. "Why are you here?"

"QUIT PLAYING DUMB!!! I'M HERE FOR RETRAINING! I'M LATE, SO PUNISH ME!" Hold on. Did I just ask for a punishment?

"Ah, retraining." She stretches again and stands. "Let's begin. Let me ask you a question. What will this focus on? I'll bet you'll get it wrong."

"Ohhhhh, I KNOW what it's about, lady. It's the Study of Beating Guys Up 101, Part 2, Section 1."

"I'm serious, Katrina."

"So am I. What else are we supposed to do? Have a friendly girl-to-girl chat?"

Genkai actually laughs, the idea of it being so absurd, and shrugs. "Well, I guess we can't all be intelligent." I bristle, but she doesn't care. "This is the Study of Heightening Inner Focus 101, Part 1, Section 1."

"See, I was…" I stop, confused. "What?"

Genkai looks genuinely annoyed. "Meditation, dimwit!"

Oh no. I had this class once. "YOGA? WE'RE GOING TO DO YOGA?"

"I'm glad you are so excited," says Genkai sarcastically. "It was what I was doing before you rudely awakened me."

"Ex-excite…I WON'T DO IT. Listen, you gotta believe me, my mom sent me to a yoga instructor what I was 8, and she tried to break my bones! WhenI couldn't stretch, she made me stretch by physically bendingme,and I tore 3 ligamnets and 5 tendons! I frickin' hate yoga!"

"Well, you're about to love it, or otherwise we're going to be here a very long time." says Genkai irritably.

"Okay, okay, yoga is my life. Can I go now?"

She glares. "With that comment, we'll start now, one whole hour more than usual." My mouh falls open in horror. I start to respond but decide tokeep my mouth shut."First of all, just sit on the ground Indian Style."

"You gotta be kidding. Please Genkai, I know you're too nice to do this..."

"I'm serious, Katrina." When I still don't move, she adds menacingly, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Katrina, your choice."

I grumble and sit down like she told me to.

"Okay, good. Now shut your eyes and listen to your breathing."

My green eyes pop open as alert as ever. "WHAT?" I ask, revolted.

"Breathe in for a count of seven, than exhale through a count of seven. Observe."

She sits down next to me, and shuts her eyes. She then inhales, while chanting 1…2…3…4…5…6…7. Then she exhales in the same fashion.

"Genkai, this is way too easy. There must be something else."

"Such a smart dimwit." She says, with all the affection of a crocodile."You should get an award. There will be more to this. But for now, just simple breathing. Ok, ready…Start!"

I start this mind game. But to the contrary, it really is harder than it looks. To spite her, I breathe in as loud as a rhinoceros, so that she can't even hear herself count.

"KATRINA!"

I can it and try to focus. I hate this. You have to concentrate every second. I finally get tired and breathe normally.

"Fool! You almost had it, too, idiot!" Genkai yells, distracted from her own yoga.

"Had what?"

"Ugh! Just do it!"

"All right, all right, don't blow your capillaries." I return to this game. I won't let some bizarre form of yoga beat me. I grin to myself. I can just imagine Genkai…"I can't believe it! She survived the physical test, yet the yoga killed her…"

"Katrina, you can open your eyes now."

"Why…are we done?"

"Just open 'em."

I open them. And am shocked down to my bones. My body, my dead body, is slumped on the floor below me!

"Like it?"

"NOOOOO!!!! Is that like, some kind of trick question?"

Genkai laughs evilly. "You don't seriously think that pure yoga would improve your abilities, did you? That is what you said, right?"

"I-I'm dreaming," I say, searching for a reasonable explanation.

"No you're not. You are in the balance of astro-projection."

"Astro-what?"

"Astro-projection. You free your soul from your body."

"So-so that means I really am dead down there!"

"Correct. As am I. That's the danger with this. If you don't return from astro-projection in 3 days to your body, your physical self will rot. That's very important to watch out for."

"So, if there's a chance that I will die like this. Like, if for some reason I get stuck up here, and my body rots, what the hell is the point of learning this? 'Cause it's freaking me out."

"Well, use your imagination. What good could come out of leaving your body in the midst of a battle scene?"

"That is what I'm asking you."

"Use your imagination," she repeats.

"Um…draw your opponent into a false sense of security? By making him think you were dead? Like a sort of playing possum thing? Then, when he picks you up to kill you, return to life and knock him cold?"

She looks thoughtful. "Possibly, although that only works withenemies that have to make physical "

"And, maybe, like…hmmm…well, wait. Can people see you in astro form?"

"Not unless they are also in astro form too."

"Can you touch things in astro form?"

"Someday, you'll find out."

"Then forget it. Just tell me."

"No. I'll give you a hint to the most useful strategy of astro form.What is possession?"

I look at her funny. "To have something."

"Dimwit, think outside the box! Think of spirit form."

"Spirit form…spirit form…Genkai…you can't control people, can you?"

"Glad you caught on so fast," says Genkai sarcastically. "Yes, that is the main purpose of the astro form. You can wake people up from a coma if you enter their mind, or you can make them go insane."

"That's horrible!"

"Yes, but a useful power. I'll tell you everything you need to know about it, okay? No interruptions, got it?"

I nod.

"Okay, the same Indianmonks who founded yoga were the ones who also founded astro-projection. Several found they could detach themselves if they stayed in meditation long enough. They passedthe secreton to their children, who passed in on to their children…etcetera. Anyway, the powers include that you have to undergo serious long periods of meditation to be able to do it at will. Usually, at least a month for someone your age, but as you are part demon, the process was greatly speeded up. And you weren't even trying. Anyway, once you are in astro form, you can pass through anything. You are a ghost, so that's how it works. You cannot touch anything solid directly, but indirectly there are...methods. However, you can touch other ghosts. But there are many advantages too. You can take over people's minds as long as they are asleep or knocked out. You know, unconscious. All you have to do is zoom into their head area and you will absorb yourself automatically. To come back out, just go back out the same way you came in. To return to your own body, just act as though you're trying to posess yourself. Easy enough?"

"Sure. But just one thing. I CAN'T MOVE!"

"Yes. You have to totally re-coordinate yourself in ghost form. Like learning to walk as a child. Your body has been trained to move, but that is just your brain and nerves moving. Your soul technically is just your personality and life force."

"Noooo. Did Yusuke endure this?"

"No. It wasn't around when he was being trained. Consider yourself privileged."

"I need this as much as I need a hole in the head."

"Both of which would be appreciated by us all. Time to start. Try to move your left hand."

I do try. I know how it is supposed to move, but it isn't working. Now I know why babies cry so much. Do they feel like the have weights strapped to their appendages too?

"You're not trying!"

"YES I AM!!!!!"

"Not near hard enough. Do it some more."

After what seems like thousands of tries, it starts to move correctly. A little twitchy, but still moving. "YES!!!!!"

"Very good. Now for the other arm."

I try to laugh. "You are kidding, right?"

"Nope."

"Ah...ah...no..."

"The other arm, please, Katrina."

I groan and concentrate some more.

555555555555555

I'm a wreck by the time she says it's time to go to bed, even though I can move both arms and one leg. When I re-enter my body, I'm surprised to feel that nothing hurts directly. I guess it's just my psyche that is in pain.

I stumble upstairs, and when I get to my room, I miss the bed. I drop like a stone onto the rug.

Sweet quiet.

A/N R&R, and as long as I have a first flame, I want to say something. I do accept flames, but please enclose what you liked about it as well as the stuff that categorizes you as a flame. Thanks!