:Chapter V: Pressures of Training:
I awake to the sound of Genki yelling, "Wake up lazy ass, it's time to start your training!"
She leaves my room and says, "I expect you to be out in 5 minutes!"
I run over to the closet to see what's there. I grab black sweat pants with a silver belt, a black, long-sleeved, Under Armor top, and finish it off with a white, hooded cloak. As I'm running out the door, I'm putting my hair in a high pony tail with my 2 short strands of red hair, parted to the left side, tucked behind my ears.
Genki hands me a rice ball and says, "Everyday, your training will begin a dawn. You will start off with Yusuke and Kuwabara as your martial arts trainers, for offense, at the miniature battle arena outside. At 10:00, Kurama will train you with martial arts, for defense, at the same place. At 2:00, I will train you with Spirit techniques, on the opposite side of the temple, outside. At 7:00, Hiei will train you with weaponry, in the forest. Your only break is when you sleep at night, which is at 11:00 or 12:00, whenever Hiei lets you go and Saturday. Got it?"
"Got it," I repeat.
"You will only have 1 minute to get to each area. I'm not here to hold your hand so you'd better get moving. Your training starts in 30 seconds!" Genki commands.
I quickly run out and stop in front of Yusuke and Kuwabara, in front of the battle arena.
"Alright Kya, 5 seconds to spare. Well, let's begin," Yusuke commands. "It will be a while before you face anyone in the arena. For now we'll start with basics."
"Run 25 laps around the temple." Kuwabara states.
"Your laps will increase each day, along with the distance. You have a half hour," Yusuke adds.
"What! I'd need more time!" I shout.
"The later you finish, the more times you have to do it. We'll stop exactly at 9:59," Yusuke mentions.
"Ready… Set… GO!" Kuwabara shouts.
I run quickly to try and finish. By 15, I start to gas out. I am really out of shape. I have 10 minutes to finish 10 laps. I stop after number 25.
"1 hour and 15 minutes. Well, you'd better get going," Yusuke says with a yawn.
As I'm running laps, Kuwabara says, "This is really boring."
"The whole first week is suppose to be boring. It's conditioning. Each week, we have to change what she has to learn," says Yusuke.
At 9:59, I stop and say, "Whew… I've….finally finished!"
"Yep, and now you're gonna train with Kurama," Kuwabara mentions.
"At least it's at the same place, " I ponder.
Yusuke and Kuwabara sit against a tree, as Kurama walks to the center of the arena. He motions for me to come to the center.
Once I climb to the center, Kurama states, "You know how to jump, roll, duck, and all of that, correct?"
"Yeah," I reply.
"Good. For this week you will dodge my long range attacks. Each day, hour, or however you progress, it will intensify. Prepare yourself. ROSE WHIP!" Kurama shouts as a long, green, thorny whip lashes at me.
For the four hours, Kurama tests me by swinging at different heights and angles. Sometimes, my judgment is off and I end up getting hit. At 1:59, we stop. The three boys and I run over to the other side of the temple, where we meet Genki.
"Alright Kya, today, is probably going to be the easiest day of your training," Genki states.
"Why do I get the feeling that this isn't going to be as easy as I'd hope," I mumble.
"Today, we are going to find out what exactly is the root of your energy. Sit down, close your eyes and concentrate on your soul. You should lose all of your thoughts, except for the one that is the heart of your energy…" Genki says.
I follow her orders and concentrate on my very soul. I forget where I am, all of the pain from the training, and all my thoughts. The one that remains is of my parents; all of the hatred they have shown me throughout the years. What they had recently done to me. These are words that run through my mind as I meditate and see flashbacks of myself:
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
(I'm being beaten my parents when I bring a note home from school…)
Feeling so faithless
(They constantly tell me how I'll never live up to anything in my life if I act the way I do…)
Lost under the surface
(I'm crying myself to sleep every night…)
I don't know what you're expecting of me
(I'm getting beaten by my parents for doing something wrong…)
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
(Everyday, I see my parents constantly drinking and smoking… finding any little wrong detail, so they can beat me…)
Caught in the undertow
Just caught in the undertow
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(I see myself getting beaten for their enjoyment.)
Caught in the undertow
It's all that I can bear.
Just caught in the undertow
I immediately stand up with my eyes closed and my fists clenched. My aura appears as I scream,
"I'VE BECOME SO NUMB,
I CAN'T FEEL YOU THERE,
BECOME SO TIRED,
SO MUCH MORE AWARE,
I'M BECOMING THIS,
ALL I WANT TO DO,
IS BE MORE LIKE ME,
AND BE LESS LIKE YOU!"
Note: As I'm screaming, Hiei senses my energy and appears out of nowhere to see what's happening.
I pant as I open my eyes, to reveal their blank, purpleness. (I made that up) I grab my head as I continue seeing the flashbacks. I randomly start to run around as I say:
"Can't you see that you're smothering me,
Holding too tightly…"
(I slam against a tree and slide down it till I hit the ground)
"Afraid to lose control?
Cause everything that you thought I would be,
Is falling apart,
Right in front of you…"
Caught in the undertow
(I close my eyes)
Just caught in the undertow
(I jerk my head away)
"… Every step that I take is,
Another mistake to you…"
(I stand up and open my eyes)
"…AND EVERY SECOND I WASTE,
IS MORE THAN I CAN TAKE!"
(I close my eyes again and clench my fists, as my aura grows larger)
"I'VE BECOME SO NUMB,
I CAN'T FEEL YOU THERE,
BECOME SO TIRED,
SO MUCH MORE AWARE.
I'M BECOMING THIS,
ALL I WANT TO DO,
IS BE MORE LIKE ME,
AND BE LESS LIKE YOU!"
(I open my eyes and face Genki, Kurama, Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Hiei. I act as if I'm talking to them)
"BUT I KNOW,
I MAY END UP FAILING TOO,
BUT I KNOW,
(I point at all of them, but directly at Hiei for some reason)
YOU WERE JUST LIKE ME
WITH SOMEONE DISAPPOINTED IN YOU!"
(I close my eyes, clench my fists. My aura grows larger than it has ever been.)
"I'VE BECOME SO NUMB,
I CAN'T FEEL YOU THERE!
BECOME SO TIRED,
SO MUCH MORE AWARE
I'M BECOMING THIS!
ALL I WANT TO DO,
IS BE MORE LIKE ME
AND BE LESS LIKE YOU!"
(When everybody thought that the aura couldn't get any larger, it does. I jerk my head up, so that I'm looking at the sky… with my eyes still closed and my fists still tightly clenched, at my sides.)
"I'VE BE COME SO NUMB!
I CAN'T FEEL YOU THERE!"
(Tears start streaming down my cheeks)
"I'm tired of being what you want me to be!"
"I'VE BECOME SO NUMB!
I CAN'T FEEL YOU THERE!"
"I'm tired of being what you want me to be!"
Suddenly, my aura starts to die down, just as my vision becomes blurry. I faint and fall to the ground. Everyone stares at me in amazement.
"Geez! No wonder we could sense her all the way in America!" Kuwabara says.
"Th…that power! I've never seen it so intense!" Yusuke adds.
"We'd better call it quits for today. We can continue when she's ready," Genki suggests.
"She must have had a terrible past!" Kurama implies.
Kurama walks over and picks me up. He carries me to my room and leaves.
I wake up and look out my window. The sky is dark. The moon is shining, along with the little specks of stars scattered throughout the sky. I check my watch.
"Shit! It's 7:00! I'm a minute late for training with Hiei!" I shout.
Instead of walking through the temple, I climb out my window. Once my feet softly hit the grass, I start running through the forest. For some strange reason, I get the tingling sensation again. I stop when I feel it, but then start running towards it. I stop when it becomes unbearable. When I stop, I see Hiei training himself.
As he's concentrating on his training I interrupt, "Ehem."
He turns around and sees me.
"What do you want?" he asks coldly.
"I'm here for my training," I reply.
"Hn, why should I waste my time?" Hiei says as he returns to training himself.
I grow angered by his actions and I impatiently shout, "I came out here so I can train with you, so that I can prove I'm not just a waste of time! If anyone here is a waste of time, it's you! You're wasting my time and you're not doing what Genki asked you to do!"
"I don't take orders," Hiei snorts.
"Then why did she say that you were going to train me with weapons? She gave me a specific time and everything! Why would she mention you're name if you weren't asked to train me?" I ask.
Hiei stops and says, "Because I wanted to."
I become surprised by what Hiei said. Suddenly, I see a sword in a sheath coming towards me. I reach out and catch it.
"You need a decent weapon if I'm going to train you," Hiei states.
I attach the sheath to my silver belt. I unsheathe the sword and hold it up. I gaze at its elegant structure and notice that the tip is shaped like a diamond. It was a very light-weighted sword which makes it easy for maneuvering.
"It's a jin," Hiei mentions.
There is another moment of silence.
Suddenly, I hear, "Show me what you've got!"
I look up and see Hiei charging toward me with his sword. I become shocked and lose all thought, but then without thinking, I put my blade up and block his attack. He stops and starts putting pressure on his blade. I respond by equaling his pressure. He pulls back his sword and is about to slash. I block. Then, we get locked in a battle of blades, constantly slashing, stabbing, and countering each other's attacks. Sparks of metal fly in every direction. Hiei brings his blade over his head, ready to slice me in half. I bring my jin up to where it's pointing at Hiei. The diamond tip is at a position where I can stab it through Hiei's throat. We both pause with our ready attacks.
"Hn, impressive. It appears we are evenly matched, at this point," says Hiei.
I sigh with relief as I bring my blade down, sheath it, and turn towards the direction to the temple. Just as I'm about to take a step, I feel a strong arm wrap around my waste and a cold, metal blade touch my throat.
"Never turn your back on your opponent, no matter what the circumstance is," Hiei whispers in my ear. "Now what, ningen?"
I stand there and ponder for a moment, "Great, knowing Hiei, he'll never let me go, until I do something! But what should I do?"
Suddenly, I elbow him in the stomach. He drops his blade, gasps, but still maintains his grip around my waste. I carelessly back up, into him. We lose our balance and fall backwards. As we fall, I turn so that I'm facing him. When we land, we start rolling down a hill. I, unknowingly, wrap my arms around his shoulders, pull myself closer to him, and close my eyes as we roll. When we stop, I open my eyes. My eyes meet Hiei's deep, crimson eyes. We stare at each other. As we do, I find myself getting lost in his eyes. I feel a wonderful feeling. A feeling of comfort and warmth, even though I've only known him for a short time. Suddenly, I realize what I'm doing and I pull away from Hiei's grasp. I sit up and blush a bright red. Hiei just looks away and blushes slightly. Then, the silence starts to feel uncomfortable.
"Sorry," I sheepishly say as I look down.
"Hn," Hiei replies as he tries not to look at me. "That's enough training for one day. You'd better head back and rest up for tomorrow."
I nod as I start to head back to the temple. I stop and say, "Thanks… Hiei."
I continue on to the temple.
HIEI'S P.O.V.:
Hiei ponders, "Why do I feel this way? What is it about that girl?"
He zones out for a while than mumbles, "I'd better see if that baka got lost again."
Hiei jumps into a nearby tree and teleports until he finds Kya, climbing up her window. He teleports into the tree closest to her bedroom and watches her fall into a peaceful sleep.