Hey guys! Sorry this took a while to get up, but as you can see by the length, it was worth it. 12 pages! O.O That's the longest chapter I have ever written! Hooray for me! And guess what? My b-day is on Tuesday! Yay! I'm going to Gameworks! DDR baby!
As many of you probably know, Fanfiction has this cool new feature where I can reply to signed reviews. So whenever possible please submit a signed review! I don't want to get in trouble and have my story taken off! Since there were no anon. reviews, there are no review responses.
Disclaimer: I wish I did, but only in my dreams would I ever own YYH…I only own Hikaru and Yuki! (Well, actually only Hikaru. Yuki is my friend's character since she is based on her)
Chapter 3
Hikaru and Yuki were anxious to get out of school; so much, in fact, that the teachers had to send them out in the hallways to let them calm down. Of course, almost everyone was jittery because it was, after all, Friday.
"Come on, just a little bit faster," Hikaru muttered as she watched the second hand on the clock revolve. They still had ten minutes left of school.
"Come on, you stupid clock! My grandma can pee faster than you!" Hikaru heard Yuki grumble. Apparently, so did the teacher.
"Yuki-chan, is there something you would like to share with the class?" he mocked.
"Oh, yes, sensei!" Yuki stood at her desk. "There are only ten minutes left of school. I think we should have been out of school already because my grandmother can pee faster than it can turn, which is saying a lot, and I want to get out of this hell hole." Many of the other kids laughed and cheered in agreement.
The sensei, unfortunately, was not feeling so cheery. "For that remark and your use of language, Yuki, you shall serve a detention next Monday."
"WHAT! What did I do? I was only answering your question, sensei!" Yuki defended.
"I will not tolerate your use of language. Now sit back down before you get in even more trouble." Yuki cursed the sensei under her breath and obeyed. The sensei smirked and continued with his lesson. "Now, finish copying notes from the next chapter. You will be working until the bell." Students groaned and continued taking notes on the history of the Shinsengumi (A/N: first thing that popped into my head…hehehehe).
The bell suddenly rang, and students looked up from their papers to stare at the clock. Just a minute ago the clock showed ten minutes left of class, and now it somehow sped up time. Strange. Even so, the students hastily packed their things and raced out the door, though not before Hikaru and Yuki.
"Finally, I'm freed of this torture for a couple of days!" Yuki shouted.
"Yeah. But wasn't it strange how the clock just suddenly sped up ten minutes in only two? Hikaru asked.
"Who cares? As long as we can get out, I really don't care when it rings!" Yuki grinned and rushed out the door. "Hurry up, slowpoke! We have to catch up to Yusuke before he ditches us!"
Hikaru blinked before she realized she was being left behind. "Hey, wait u-oof!" Hikaru was spun around by her collar with such force that she almost lost her balance.
"And just why would I ditch you guys when you are about to go through some serious torture?" Yusuke smirked and released the girl, Kuwabara laughing behind him.
Hikaru's eyes widened when she realized what he was talking about. "Yuki!" she shouted.
No sooner had she shouted that Yuki was by her side. "What? Oh, there you are, Yusuke!"
"Yuki, I think someone's out to get us," Hikaru gulped.
"What? What do you mean?" Yuki stared at her sister quizzically.
"I think someone purposely sped up the clock because they knew we were going to Genkai's today for training."
Yuki's eyes dilated. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that," she gulped.
Yusuke smirked. "Well, you know what this means now?" Yusuke grabbed Hikaru around her waist and carried her like a surfboard out of the school grounds. Kuwabara tried to do the same with Yuki.
"Forget it, baka. You ain't touching me," Yuki followed Yusuke and the struggling Hikaru to the detective's car, leaving a sulking Kuwabara behind.
"So, who is this Genkai anyways?" Yuki asked as they rode over to Genkai's. Or I should say "zigzagged over", for they were weaving in and out of traffic, almost crashing into cars, fire hydrants, and little demented chickens that weren't of this world along the way. "Yusuke, I don't know who gave you your driver's license, but I seriously think they were high on something!"
"Would you rather walk the ten miles to Genkai's temple?" Yusuke glared from his rearview mirror and Yuki shut up, pouting.
"Genkai was Yusuke's tutor as a Spirit Detective," Hikaru explained.
"How do you know that?" Yusuke raised an eyebrow.
"Suui- I mean, Kurama told me. Kami, it's gonna be really strange calling him Kurama now," Hikaru sighed.
"Yeah, but when we are at school or around his mom, we have to call him Suuichi, otherwise people would think we were nuts," Yusuke explained.
"Like they don't already do?" Yuki cocked her eyebrow this time.
Kuwabara laughed. "Nah, they just think we are some freaky alien race sent to destroy the world."
Yuki shook her head. "Kuwabara, you just killed it."
"Killed what?" he asked stupidly.
Yuki sighed. "Never mind…"
"Well, here we are, guys," Yusuke pulled over to a sidewalk where a set of stairs waited, surrounded by a dense forest. The gang inside the car got out and gazed up the flight of stairs.
"We have to climb that?" Hikaru pointed to the steps, which reached as high as a twenty-story building.
"Yep," Yusuke smirked and started his way up the stairs. "Hey, I'll race you guys to the top!"
"You're on!" Hikaru challenged and she, along with Yuki and Kuwabara, raced Yusuke up the exaggeratingly long flight of stairs.
"Just…a few…more!" Hikaru panted. She was now crawling her way up the stairs-though so was everyone else. Yuki was only a few steps behind, with Yusuke in third place, trailing way behind her. Kuwabara, unfortunately, was even farther behind.
Just two more steps left. Hikaru heaved her body up. "Just one more," she reassured herself. She paused for a moment to check on the others behind her. Kurama was walking calmly up the stairs a few steps behind Yuki but way ahead of the two other bakas. Yuki was dripping with sweat. She continually slipped on the stairs due to her sweaty hands and cursed every time she did. Hikaru giggled. Had she not have had this trouble, she probably would be ahead of her.
Yusuke was just having trouble getting Kuwabara to hurry up. No doubt he wasn't as tired because he slept most of the day in school. Kuwabara looked about ready to collapse, though continued up the stairs thanks to Yusuke's taunting.
"Come on, slowpoke! You think Yukina will like a guy who can't even get up the stairs to see her?"
"What? I can get up these stairs just fine!" Kuwabara got a sudden burst of energy and appeared several steps ahead of Yusuke's.
"What is that all about?" Hikaru muttered.
"You'll see soon enough," Kurama chuckled from behind her, making her jump.
"Kami, don't scare me like that!" Kurama laughed.
"Sorry," he apologized politely.
A black blur raced ahead of them and Hikaru's hair blew wildly around her. Hiei stood at the top of the stairs, glaring down at Kuwabara, before stalking off towards the temple.
"O…k…" Hikaru blinked.
"What's with Hiei?" Yuki asked from behind them.
Hikaru jumped again. "Kami, why is everyone trying to give me a heart attack today!"
"Because we can," Yuki smirked. Hikaru narrowed her eyes and turned abruptly, taking the last few steps. "Hey, wait up!" Yuki called after her and rushed to chase her sister. Kurama chuckled at the girls and calmly followed them to the temple with Yusuke.
Genkai's temple looked like any another one you could find. It was a traditional Japanese-style house surrounding by peaceful wilderness.
"Hey, Genkai, you there?" Yusuke called out. Silence answered him. "Hey, old hag, come out from hiding! I know you are in there somewhere!"
A door opened, revealing a young girl with sea green hair. She had bright red eyes and sported a snow-white kimono tied with a blue sash.
"YUKINA!" Kuwabara shrieked and rushed over to the young girl, who just smiled at the boy.
"Hello, Kazuma," she greeted.
"Hey, Yukina!" Yusuke waved.
"Hello, Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei," she smiled a greeting at them all. Hikaru noticed Hiei standing far off from the group. He had a loving look in his eyes that quickly disappeared when he sensed Hikaru staring at him.
"Good afternoon, Yukina. Do you know where we could find Genkai?" Kurama asked.
"Yes, she is waiting inside for all of you," She replied.
"Waiting?" Yusuke blinked. "Figures," he muttered and stalked off inside the temple.
The rest of the gang followed soon after, Kuwabara walking with Yukina, of course.
"It's about time you showed up, Yusuke," a raspy voice called from the next room. And old women stood in the hallway. She had pale pink hair and wrinkled skin. From what Hikaru could tell, she was shorter than Hiei., even without his hair. (Me: Four foot ten, without his hair…HIEI! Lol, I love that line. I forgot who said it though, Juri or Koto…)
"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Yusuke laughed. "I'm surprised you're still alive, Genkai."
"You can't get rid of me that easily. I thought I would die before you got here for your training," Genkai retorted.
"How did you know we were coming for training?" Kuwabara asked.
"She can sense all of our spirit and demon energy, baka," Hiei answered.
"Also, Koenma called me shortly after you five left his office," Genkai added and glanced over Yusuke's shoulder. "So, you two are the girls Koenma wants to protect?" Genkai moved to examine them.
"The toddler said they might have some connection to the Titans legend. Do you have any idea what that's all about?" Yusuke asked.
Genkai continued circling the girls, making them slightly uncomfortable under her close inspection.
"Hey, will you answer me?" Yusuke raised his voice.
"Let's go. We have no time to waste," Genkai stalked out the back door of the temple to the woods in the back, which were perfect for training. "Let's go, slackers!" Everyone broke out of their confused daze and hurried after the old woman.
"Are you sure she can train us?" Hikaru whispered to Kurama.
"She may not look it, but she is very wise and skilled in fighting," he answered. Hikaru, although not thoroughly convinced, nodded her head.
They stopped in a clearing wide enough to provide plenty of elbow room for fighting. It was quiet, the hustle and bustle of the city now gone from their ears. All that surrounded them was a peaceful serenity of trees and lakes. Hikaru was sad to know that that peace would soon be disturbed.
Hiei hopped into a tree and settled himself in one of its branches as Genkai began explaining their training.
"You girls will be training to use your spirit energy. I'm sure Koenma has told you about reiki?" Genkai asked.
"Yeah, he told us about youki and reiki. Come on, already. I wanna kick Yusuke's butt!" Yuki shouted impatiently.
Genkai glared at her. "Relax. Now, you girls will learn to channel and utilize your spirit energy, similar to Yusuke's Spirit Gun and Kuwabara's Spirit Sword." Genkai motioned for the two said people to demonstrate their techniques. Yusuke brought his hand in front of him, finger pointed to a tree like a gun. It began to glow a soft blue, a ball of energy forming at its tip. With a powerful blast Yusuke released the energy. It shot through the tree and several others behind it, leaving them in cinders.
Hikaru gave a low whistle while Yuki tried to do the same.
"Damn it!" Yuki cursed.
"My turn!" Kuwabara announced confidently. Kuwabara cupped his hands, as if holding a sword. Soon they began to glow orange and immediately a big orange sword appeared in his hands. Smirking, Kuwabara chose the biggest tree around us and sliced easily through it with his sword.
"How was that Yukina?" Kuwabara asked the young girl, smiling.
"That was great, Kazuma," she smiled back. Hikaru heard a low growl from above her and glanced up. Hiei shot Kuwabara a death glare and placed a steady hand on the hilt of his katana. Hikaru silently giggled.
"As you can see, each of these dimwits can channel their spirit energy into something solid and powerful. That is what you girls will learn to do," Genkai explained.
"What do we channel it into?" Hikaru asked.
"You can do anything with your reiki; you can choose to make a long-range attack, like Yusuke's Spirit Gun, or a short-range attack, like Kuwabara's Spirit Sword; you could also incorporate both and have several attacks at your disposal," Kurama said.
"Cool!" Yuki grinned.
"Now, I will be teaching you to use your reiki, Kurama will be training with you in offense, and Hiei in defense and speed," Genkai explained. "Who wants to start?"
"Hikaru does," Yuki called out, pushing her sister forward.
"Hey!" Hikaru cried. She was now standing in front of Genkai and gulped.
"Fine," Genkai sat down on the ground. Legs crossed, she began to meditate. She opened one eye and glared at Hikaru. "Follow me, dimwit."
Hikaru did as she was told and began to meditate. She relaxed all of her muscles and cleared her mind of all her thoughts. She loved the feeling of light-headedness that it brought to her. Whenever she was overwhelmed from school or family, she would lock herself in her room and meditate for hours at a time.
Hikaru couldn't clear her mind totally this time. A yellow glow in the back of her mind would not leave, and she had trouble getting it to go away.
"You should be able to see a glow of energy in your mind," Genkai's voice rang out and Hikaru relaxed. So that's what that was. She wondered why she had never seen it before in her meditations.
"Focus on bringing that energy out and into your hands," Genkai instructed and Hikaru followed. Slowly but surely that glow in her mind came out and she focused on seeing that light in her hands.
"Well, I certainly expected that to take longer," Genkai said. Hikaru opened her eyes and gasped. In her hands were two glowing balls of yellow reiki.
"Now aim at a tree and release your energy," Hikaru chose the closest tree and aimed. She hesitated for a moment, not sure exactly how to release her attack. Then a thought came to her. If she brought her energy into her hands by thinking it, then maybe she could release it the same way.
Hikaru concentrated in making the balls of light fly from her hands and into the tree. The orbs shot from her hands and collided with the tree, turning it to ashes.
"Hey, I did it!" the girl cheered.
"Good job," Genkai complimented.
"Yes, well done," Kurama agreed.
"Man, it took me so much longer just to do something as simple as that! How come she could do it right away?" Yusuke complained.
"Because she actually focused on her training, unlike you, dimwit," Genkai retorted. Yusuke huffed and turned away.
"Hey, I wanna try that!" Yuki shouted and settled herself on the ground and began to meditate. Her breathing slowed and her body relaxed.
"What's taking you so long?" Hikaru asked finally after twenty minutes.
"I can't get this stupid song out of my head!" Yuki complained.
"What song?"
"This is the song that never ends; yes it goes on and on my friends…" Yuki sang and Hikaru sweat dropped. Yusuke and Kuwabara burst out laughing.
"Well, tell that voice in your head to stop singing," Hikaru suggested.
"Ok," Yuki closed her eyes again and refocused. Soon enough her hands began to glow a soft blue and balls of energy were formed. "Hey, I did it!" she cheered.
"Good, now release that energy," Genkai ordered. Yuki aimed and struggled to release her energy. The orbs flickered for a moment, but otherwise didn't move.
"Hey, how come I can't let them go?" Yuki asked.
"Do the same thing you did to bring it to your hand, but imagine it flying at the tree," Hikaru advised.
Yuki closed her eyes and concentrated. Almost immediately the orbs flew from her hands and collided with the tree in a great explosion/ Her tree met the same sad fate as Hikaru's.
"Hey, I did it!" Yuki cheered.
"Good, now bring the energy back into your hands," Genkai interrupted their moment. The girls pouted but obeyed anyways. Soon, the familiar glowing yellow and blue orbs reappeared in their hands.
"Now focus on having them take form. Make them into a weapon," Genkai said. Hikaru hesitated for a moment. What weapon should she make? She had always been fond of magical staffs in video games. She smiled and closed her eyes, imagining the energy in her hands growing into a long staff.
She opened her eyes, but the energy orbs were still…orbs. Her heart sank. What was wrong?
"Hey, look! I did it!" Yuki cheered. She had managed to form her energy orbs into a long blue flail. Hikaru envied her sister as she snapped the blue whip. It extended as she put more energy into it and sliced trees right in two so fluently, like water.
"Well done, Yuki," Kurama congratulated.
Hikaru's stomach clenched. She wanted to be congratulated by someone, too. Closing her eyes, she concentrated harder on focusing more of her energy to take the form she wanted. She could feel the orbs changing form in her hands. Once she was sure they stopped moving, she opened her eyes.
"Hey, I did it!" she cheered. A bright yellow staff had materialized in her hands; it was shaped like a bolt of lightning.
"Great job, you guys!" Yusuke and Kuwabara cheered. Kurama and Genkai were silent as they stared at the girls weapons.
"What?" the girls asked in unison.
"Do you notice it too, Genkai?" Kurama asked.
"Yes, I do," she replied.
"What? What's wrong?" Hikaru asked.
"Yeah, they could control their reiki a lot faster than I could. What's wrong with that?" Yusuke added.
Kurama and Genkai said nothing, making Hikaru very uncomfortable. What had they done wrong?
"Let's continue with the training," Genkai broke the tension that was hanging thick in the air. "Kurama, you can take over now."
Kurama nodded and stepped forward. "I shall be training you girls in offensive tactics. Bring out your spirit weapons again."
Hikaru and Yuki both concentrated and materialized their weapons with ease. "Good. Now when you are fighting, you must always be wary of your opponent's position. If you lose sight of them, then you must be on your guard and use your senses to hear or feel any of their movements."
The girls nodded in understanding and Kurama continued. "Since you girls are just starting, I will let you have the first move."
"What! We have to fight you?" Yuki exclaimed.
"How else will you learn to fight and utilize your spirit energy?" he said.
"Ok, but if you get hurt, don't blame us," Hikaru smirked and took a fighting stance. Yuki glanced at her and did the same, flail in hand.
Hikaru stared him down for a moment then charged in for an attack. Her staff was long enough to where she could strike him yet still have enough space in between to get away. Her heart pumped as she charged anxiously into battle. Hikaru smirked when Kurama stared at her for a moment, doing nothing. He was a sitting duck.
Just as Hikaru was about to attack, Kurama pulled a blood red rose from his hair, and with a flick of his wrist, it transformed into an 8-foot long thorny whip. Hikaru's eyes widened and she hesitated, something she knew too late she shouldn't have done. It gave Kurama enough time to wrap his whip around her staff, effectively stopping her attack.
Hikaru heard Yuki stomping up, ready to attack with her whip while Kurama was preoccupied with his own whip. Kurama glanced her way. She could feel him tugging slightly on his whip, as if trying to break it. While he was distracted, Hikaru straightened her staff and willed it to extend. It hit Kurama straight on in his chest, though on enough to burn a hole in his shirt, but it did the job. Kurama let go of her staff and back-flipped away.
"Hm, good move, Hikaru," he complimented.
"Thanks," she smirked and charged back with Yuki to attack.
Fifteen minutes later, both girls had several cuts and bruises on them. Hikaru stood ten feet from Yuki, panting. Kurama looked virtually unscathed and perfectly fine. Hikaru's staff began to flicker and she noticed it was getting harder and harder to keep her weapon out. She glanced over at Yuki and noticed she was having the same problem.
Kurama must have noticed as well because he straightened up and, using his youki, transformed his whip back into the red rose.
"Hey, what are you doing!" Yuki and Hikaru both cried out.
"You two are exhausted and almost out of reiki. With training you will be able to keep your weapons out longer. For now we are done," Kurama bowed and left to stand next to Yusuke and Genkai. Though the girls didn't show it, they were grateful and retracted their reiki back into them and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Hikaru's back ached and she was getting a throbbing headache from trying to keep her weapon out.
"Get up, slackers. You still have one more person to train with," Genkai ordered. Hikaru's eyes widened and she groaned. They still had to train with Hiei. They weren't going to make it home tonight.
Hiei hopped out of his tree and landed in front of them.
"Haha, they're gonna get killed!" Yusuke snorted. Hikaru and Yuki tried to glare at him, but they were just too tired.
"Get up. You aren't going to get any stronger just lying there," he's cold voice ordered them. Hikaru grimaced as she struggled to get up. Hiei jumped backwards several feet to where Kurama once stood.
"Before we start…Yukina, could you heal them?" Genkai asked the small girl. She nodded and made her way over to Hikaru. Hikaru stared, confused at the girl. What was she going to do?
Yukina held her hands above Hikaru largest cut and her hands glowed a soft blue. A tingling feeling swept up Hikaru's arm as her cut began to close before her eyes. Once that was taken care of, she moved to heal the rest of her scrapes. Once she was done, she smiled and did the same to Yuki.
"Wow, thanks, Yukina!" Hikaru thanked the young girl.
"Yeah, that was so cool!" Yuki exclaimed. Yukina smiled and returned to her spot next to Genkai.
With renewed strength, Hikaru and Yuki stood to face Hiei.
"Here," he said and tossed two katanas at them Hikaru caught it, though almost fell down on her butt. Yuki, however, did just that.
"Hey, what was that for!" she shouted.
"You should learn to catch," he said, smirking. Yuki growled and angrily unsheathed her katana. Hikaru giggled and unsheathed her won as well.
"Begin," he said and flitted away. Hikaru looked around for the little demon, but he was no where to be found.
"Where the hell is he?" Yuki asked. The sisters stood back to back, katanas poised and ready to defend.
Hikaru heard a rustle and glanced up. Hiei was coming on them with his sword out. Her eyes widened.
"Hiei!" Yusuke and Kurama shouted.
"Look out!" Hikaru shouted. Yuki looked up and they both parted. Hiei's katana connected with the ground, sinking several inches into the cold earth.
"Hey, what are you doing, trying to kill us?" Yuki protested.
"Hn," Hiei said and flitted away once again.
"Is that even a word?" Hikaru asked and the sisters took the same position, but several inches apart.
Hikaru's senses heightened as her heart raced. She scanned the surrounding forest for any sign of movement. Her palms dripped with sweat and she gripped her sword tighter.
"There!" Yuki suddenly shouted and pointed to their right. Hiei reappeared a couple of feet away from them. He smirked and lunged at the girls with demon speed. He swung the weapon at Hikaru since she was closest. By instinct Hikaru raised her arm as the sword broke the skin, sending a wave of pain up her arm. Her eyes dilated and she fell to the ground, gripping her arm. She raised her hand to her face. The warm, crimson liquid streamed down her handed, staining the ground.
"Hikaru, you okay?" Yuki asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Hikaru stood up and took a fighting stance, ready to attack despite the immense pain.
Ten minutes later, each girl had several; more cuts and scrapes than with fighting Kurama, though they weren't deep. Hikaru was once again out of breath and frustrated. Neither of them could cut Hiei enough to get him down for at least a few seconds. Though he was in much better shape than either of the girls, he did come out with a few scrapes here and there where Hikaru and Yuki had managed to get at him.
Hiei stood and sheathed his katana. "You need more practice," he said and walked away.
"Duh, we need more practice! We're just starting, you baka!" Hikaru yelled after him. Hiei glared out of the corner of his eye, making the girl shudder slightly.
"Ok, that's it for today. You two will return everyday for two months for training," Genkai said.
"What! For two months we have to go through this hell?" Yuki argued.
"Unless you want to get killed in the Dark Tournament, I suggest you do," she shot back and walked away. "Yukina, please clean them up."
Yukina was by their side in an instant. "Yes, Genkai-sama." Yukina immediately began healing each of their wounds.
Fully healed, the girls stood up and stretched. "Thanks, Yukina. You're a life saver," Hikaru smiled at the girl.
"Thank you," she smiled back.
"How come you have those cool healing powers?" Yuki asked.
"Because I am a Koorime," Yukina explained. "Along with my ice abilities, I have studied the art of healing."
"Wow, that's so cool!" The girls squealed.
"Are you girls ok?" Kurama asked.
"Yeah, we're fine. Is Hiei always that…rough?" Hikaru asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid so; though he is a valuable asset to Team Urameshi," Kurama answered.
"Team Urameshi, huh? So that's the team name?" Yuki asked. Kurama nodded.
"We'd better get back to the temple. I have to cook dinner," Yukina said and they all nodded in agreement, especially Hikaru and Yuki.
A/N: Yes! This chapter was really long! So I cut it here. Sorry! Next chapter shall be called…The Not-So-Heavenly Treasures! (Now doesn't that give it away?) Anyways, thank you all for reading this and even more thanks to those who reviewed. Remember, no reviews, no chapter!
Oh, and I almost forgot! Thank you all who put me on your favorite and alert lists! I kept forgetting to say that! Gomen and Arigatou! (I finally remembered what I was going to say before!)