Warnings: None
Previously On Lucky Child: Keiko and her friends (Yana, Amanuma, Kaito and Kido) went to Genkai's for Territory training, where it was revealed that Ezakiya has a Territory. Ezakiya is one of Keiko's friends from aikido, who recently made an effort to get to know her and Kagome better, but it was pretty awkward and random. In previous months, Keiko acted as the "parole officer" for Hiei and Kurama on part of Spirit World; she has a somewhat contentious relationship with Spirit World, especially now that her reincarnation has been revealed.
LUCKY CHILD
Chapter 122:
"Weekend at Genkai's (Part 1)"
Truth be told, I hadn't given a single, solitary thought to Eza in weeks.
Can you blame me, though? He wasn't exactly memorable. Sure, he was tall and broad and beefy, a mainstay in my weekly aikido class with Hideki-sensei, but he had the charisma of a paper bag. That's not to say the guy was unlikable or anything. Eza was perfectly nice. I'd enjoyed my time with him at aikido due to his generally jovial attitude and commitment to our shared lessons... but the fact that that was all I could really say about the guy said a lot. I'd never had a deep conversation with him up until he'd gone out for food with Kagome and I after aikido on the night I'd almost fainted (from hunger, we thought at the time, but from what I now knew were actually early symptoms of Mushiyori Fever). That night he'd impressed me, telling me more about his home life and goals for the future. His drive to go into social work to help others, for instance, and his protectiveness over his younger siblings were admirable traits indeed. But apart from that, Eza had faded into the background since the day I'd laid eyes on him so many months prior at my very first aikido lesson. Kagome had even called him "Mr. Cellophane" at one point, and the name had been an absolutely perfect reference to his tendency to blend into the background as easily as beige wallpaper.
Highly coincidental, that nickname. Almost too coincidental, when you gave it a little thought and once you saw his Territory in action. Another twist of fate, perhaps? Clearly he'd developed some kind of invisibility or concealment-based Territory. What else would explain his sudden ability to to evade my notice while standing in plain sight smack dab in the middle of Genkai's courtyard?
"Eza." I gaped at him, unable to form words at the sight of his broad face, buzzed hair and tight smile. "Eza, why are you...?"
"Uh." He continued rubbing at the back of his broad neck. "Well..."
"Ironically, seeing is believing," Genkai said, and she gave him a curt nod.
Eza nodded back. Without warning or preamble, a weird feeling cut the air, his Territory expanding in the span of a heartbeat. It felt like being plunged underwater, colors inverting and flipping on their heads, atmosphere rendered into something alien and unsettling just before colors snapped back to normalcy again.
A hum lingered in my teeth, though, as Ezakiya turned completely invisible.
Well. Not invisible, per se. I could still see him standing in from of me in the most technical of ways, but when I tried to look at him, I couldn't process or make sense of what my eyes beheld. I could see Eza, but I couldn't see him, logic making perfect yet flawed sense as my gaze slipped past him like a fried egg sliding off a hot Teflon pan. Eza occupied a gaping hole in the center of my perception. In fact, even though I knew intellectually that he was standing right in front of me, my brain lost track of that information in mere moments. For a second I couldn't remember who I was even trying to look for, information trickling out of my awareness like water through my fingers—but then his Territory retreated, the odd hum on the air dissipated, and he swarmed back into view. I flinched as the memory of his presence crashed over me in a tsunami of recognition, but he just smiled and rubbed at his neck, bashful heat coloring his wide cheeks.
"You—" I stopped and breathed deep, looking him over with wonder. "That wasn't invisibility. It was—"
"We're calling it Tuneout," Genkai said. "He can tune out people's ability to perceive him."
"That's—that's—" The pieces clicked; I rounded on Eza with a gasp. "This is what you wanted to talk to me about the other day at practice, isn't it?"
"Yeah," he said with easy, jocund candor. "It was."
"Excuse me." Kido's voice cut through the ambient sounds in the courtyard with clean precision. "Is he a friend of yours, Yukimura?"
The others had finally caught their breaths and followed, Kido leading the way. He gave Eza a quick once-over and scowled, cocky punk routine back in action, but it slid off Eza's back like a light rain. The portrait of casual indifference, Eza wore plain jeans and a boring windbreaker; he kept his hands shoved in his pockets, smiling a little, looking for all the world like somebody's bumbling older brother who'd gotten lost on his way to pick up his siblings from school.
"Yeah, actually. He's a friend. But I had no idea he'd be here!" Dancing over, I gave Eza a playful sock on the arm. "Why didn't you tell me about your Territory, big guy?"
"I tried!" he said, dodging the strike. "But I didn't think you'd gotten your Territory yet, and I didn't want to freak you out by bringing it up. You seemed kind of freaked when I talked to you and Kagome-chan before we went out for ice cream, so..."
The gravity of his words sunk home like a sword. "Wait. How do you know that—that I hadn't gotten mine yet?" I said, planting my hands on my hips. "And how did you know I'd get one in the first place?"
Eza's wide brow furrowed. "I could just sort of feel it," he said. "Like... you looked the way I felt before I got mine." Immediately his face reddened, one enormous hand rubbing his jaw in embarrassment. "That doesn't make sense when I say it out loud, but inside, I know it's true. I just knew you were about to get one like I did. And then you collapsed at practice, and I got even more sure, because I collapsed before I got my Territory, too."
I wanted to ask him what happened when he collapsed, because we'd all gone through something major before nearly dying of Mushiyori Fever, but Kido spoke before I could.
"Yukimura collapsed at practice?" he asked, all narrow eyes and balled fists. "What do you mean, practice?"
"We're in the same aikido class," Eza told him.
Kido rounded on me, eyes wide. "You do martial arts?"
"Yes." No time to talk about that, though. "Anyway—Eza, how'd you wind up here at Genkai's?"
Here he grinned, eagerness broadening his smile. "You probably don't remember, but a while back, you were talking to Hideki-sensei and you turned around and bumped into me," he said, words spilling from his lips with eager cadence. Clearly he'd been sitting on this information for weeks, itching to deliver the news. "I was having trouble with my Territory. I couldn't turn it off, but eventually I got Hideki-sense to notice me—well, to notice my absence; it's complicated—and he sent me here to Genkai for some training." He shot the elderly psychic a grateful look. "She's been a huge help."
"Territories often manifest in ways influenced by the subconscious," Genkai said, puffing like a smokestack on her long, thin pipe. "Unpacking how his subconscious desires impacted his Territory fixed the issue."
"So like... you're a Territory therapist?" Yana asked.
Genkai shrugged. "In a sense."
"I was gonna get you to come with me to Genkai's after you collapsed, but I didn't know how to contact you," Eza said to me, looking regretful. "Was gonna wait to see you at practice and talk to you about it, find out if you got a Territory once I saw you again, but..."
"But I got sick too soon, I never came back to class, and here we are," I said.
He nodded, grinning. "Yeah."
But even after this deluge of exposition, shock still gripped me tight. "I'm... wow. Wow. Buddy!" I slapped at his shoulder again; this time he took the hit, pretending to be hurt and grabbing his arm with an overstated look of pain (one he couldn't quite fake convincingly, smile threatening to break through the entire time). "Look at you! Pun intended I guess since you can turn invisible."
"It's not really invisibility," he said. "More like I can shut down the ways people sense me when they're in my Territory. I can do sight easy and hearing pretty easy, too, but touch is a lot harder. Haven't tried taste or smell just yet."
Once again, information clicked into place. "That's why I saw you when I bumped into you that night at Hideki-sensei's," I said. "Because I touched you."
"Yeah!" He looked pleased that I'd caught on so quick. "Before that, I'd been shouting at you and Hideki at the top of my lungs, but nobody could hear me." Watching someone as tall and as broad as Eza shudder with revulsion made me shudder, too. "It was kind of scary."
I attempted a joke to calm him. "You had a real case of the 'notice me, senpais,' huh?"
The joke landed. "You can say that again!" he said with a loud laugh. "Story of my life, to be honest!"
Eza was pretty jovial about the whole thing, leaving my poor brain scrambling to catch up. I supposed his power made sense considering how he always blended in at our lessons. Most everyone's Territory seemed to connect to something in their personal lives, and most of the time it connected further to a trauma they had suffered. Amanuma took refuge in video games after the neglect he suffered at the hands of his family and peers, so his Territory shut out the world and brought the games to life. Kaito prided himself on his literary prowess and abhorred violence after being bullied for his nerdy hobbies, so his Territory outlawed violence and prioritized linguistic skills. Yana had been good at impressions, so he got Copy, and Kido had played a lot of shadow tag as a kid, so he got Shadow. Obviously I didn't know what personal grievances had fueled Yana and Kido's Territories, nor did I really understand Eza's. He'd mentioned a large family when we went out for ice cream; perhaps he blended in to avoid standing out at home. Or maybe he just played hide and seek a lot as a kid. It was impossible to say how our own personal Mr. Cellophane got his Territory, but I was sure the details would come out eventually. Burning with curiosity though I was, I just had to be patient and observe.
"Enough chitchat." Genkai pointed toward the back of the courtyard. "Eza, see to it there's food for Keiko and the rest of the newbies." She turned smartly on her heel, heading back inside the temple. "Newbies, with me. We have much to discuss."
I didn't want to leave Eza (I had questions, dammit!) but arguing with Genkai's was a fool's errand. Waving goodbye to my very surprising aikido buddy, we followed Genkai up onto the temple porch and past a sliding paper door. This opened onto a long hallway lined with more paper doors, which we passed without entering until the hall turned a sharp left. More hallway, more doors, and then a huge set of double doors made of carved wood parted to reveal a large room, many tatami mats wide and deep, with eaves so high they disappeared into darkness overhead. A brazier burned in the middle of the room, scent of incense cloying and sticky despite the lofty ceiling. On the far side of the room, more doors opened onto a garden to emit a cool breeze, one that (marginally) helped stir the hot and humid air. A length of porch overlooked the garden, which contained a pond full of water lilies and a bamboo deer scarer that made a cheerful 'plonk' sound every time it filled with the water trickling from a small rock formation at the far end of the pool. A cherry tree, branches green with the onset of summer, draped over the pond. It would be lovely in early spring, all covered in blossoms. It was still lovely now even in the late season.
Genkai didn't let me see if there were any koi in the pond, though. She bade us sit on some cushions around the glowing brazier, packing her pipe and lighting up to breathe a plume of perfumed smoke into the already hazy air.
"Now," she said. "Let's discuss your Territories."
Thus, the interrogation began. Genkai put us through our paces one by one, questioning us on every aspect of our powers from top to bottom. She focused with specific intensity on the things we didn't know about our Territories, asking invasive questions about how much we'd trained with them, focusing not on where we were confident, but rather on where we struggled. Her questions went on for quite some time, and soon we were all fidgeting in our seats.
"Do you want us to show them to you?" lazy Yana asked when he got frustrated with the amount of talking he'd been forced to do. "It'd be a lot easier if I just showed you and stuff."
Genkai shook her head. "Not tonight. I've had enough Territories for one day." Her expression soured. "You'll see what I mean when you meet the others properly." She turned to Amanuma with a glare. "You. The one with the video games."
He pointed at himself, blinking. "Me?"
"Yes, you. Arcade, was it?" She didn't wait for him to confirm. "I assume you or one of your friends has already told you how easily your Territory could claim your own life." Her eyes reflected the light of the brazier, flickers unsettling in the depths of her dark gaze. "Am I right?"
"Yeah." Amanuma nodded glumly. "Keiko pointed it out."
Genkai eyed me askance. "You would notice," she muttered in my direction before returning her acerbic gaze to Amanuma. "Never allow your Territory, Arcade, to manifest a new game before running that game by at least three other people—myself first and foremost, Keiko and Kaito second, anyone else with a background in games third." Her glared sharpened even more. "I won't allow you to come to harm on my watch. Do you understand me, kid?"
Amanuma didn't quite know how to take Genkai's aggressive instructions. Tearing his eyes from Genkai, for some reason he decided to look at me. I gave him a smile and reached over to pat his shoulder.
"She's saying she's gonna look out for you and take care of you," I told him. "Genkai's the best teacher, even if she's a little... brusque."
Genkai snorted. Amanuma laughed.
"Gotcha," he said, confidence restored as he turned back to Genkai. "Well, roger that, I guess! I won't play any games without talking to you first, scout's honor."
Genkai smirked. "Good. I knew I liked you." She breathed out a streamer of smoke as Amanuma flushed, pleased. "Now you. Copycat."
Yana—who had been lying on his side with head propped lazily on one hand—didn't bother sitting up. "Yes?" he said, digging a finger into his ear. "What's up?"
But Genkai didn't seem to give a shit about his posture or lack of complaisance, because all she said was, "No copying people at my temple without my say-so first." Her face was as wrinkled as a billowing storm cloud. "And if I ever catch you impersonating me—"
"Wouldn't dream of it." He waved a hand in dismissal. "Besides, it's not like my clothes change with me. Turning into other genders and stuff is a lot of trouble, and you're really tiny." Yana laughed to himself. "I don't even know where I'd get clothes that would look like yours, much less in your size."
"And you're too lazy to go to the trouble of finding out, I'm guessing." Genkai's chin ducked toward her chest. "Heh. I was worried about that work-shy streak of yours, but it just might be a good thing in the long run." Her gaze swept over the room before settling on her next target. "Now as for you, Shadow Man..."
Kido sat ramrod straight, legs tucked under him in the politest seiza kneel I'd ever seen. "Yes, ma'am?" he asked with a deferential nod.
"I'm convinced your Territory has broader applications beyond rendering others immobile. We will experiment."
"I look forward to it." Dark eyes darted my way. "And Keiko had the same theory."
Genkai's eyes rolled so hard it was a wonder she didn't wind up concussed. "Naturally Keiko, of all people, has opinions. But we'll get to them later." Another sweep across the room, her eyes passing mine without pause. "Taboo Boy?"
Kaito raised his chin. "My turn, I suppose."
"Indeed." Her glare returned, aimed like daggers at Kaito's smug face. "You're too smart not to have noticed how fundamentally terrifying your Territory is."
"It may have occurred to me that the consequences of breaking Taboo are quite severe," he said with teasing slowness, pleased. "Not to mention that the nature of my Territory is quite difficult to manage for those not as blessed in the literary arts as I am. Few could ever hope to stand against me."
"And yet," said Genkai, "your oh-so-humble ass still saw fit to experiment on unwitting nurses and your own family members before knowing the extent of your abilities."
"That's—" Kaito's freckled face flushed. "Well, when you put it like that—"
Here he glanced at me. I ducked my head to avoid his eyes, but Genkai saw the exchange before I could feign ignorance. She sighed and adjusted the cap hanging over her forehead. Weariness crept into the set of her slight shoulders, sagging and tired.
"Let me guess," she drawled. "Keiko brought that up already." Her mouth quirked. "Well, unlike that one, I'm not mad about your actions in the slightest, Kaito."
Kaito stared at her. "You're not?"
"You're not!?" I repeated, voice jumping an octave. "But Genkai—"
"Innovation does not occur in a vacuum," she said with maddening insouciance. "Kaito took the initiative to see how his powers work. That's to be commended."
"Heh." He pushed his glasses up his nose, lenses flaring like an anime villain. "I knew you'd see the benefit of my approach."
Genkai held up a finger. "HOWEVER."
"Ah. A 'but.'" His eyes rolled. "Naturally there is a 'but.'"
"The fact remains that you could have seriously hurt someone, or even yourself," Genkai said. "What would you have done if you'd broken your own Taboo, huh? Who would've put your soul back into your body then?"
"There was no chance of that," Kaito said with a shrug. "Keiko warned me against breaking my own Taboo. I had thought of doing as such, but she convinced me to refrain until we reached your base of operations."
Genkai's face swung my way with a gnashing of teeth. "Why did you even bother bringing them here if you were going to take a run at training them yourself?"
I threw up my hands. "I couldn't help it! I just have a lot of opinions!"
"Trust me, I know." Genkai heaved a sigh before pointing one gnarled finger at Kaito's face. "Kaito, do not use your Territory without my presence while you're here. Not until we get a comprehensive handle on how it works and operates. Is that understood?"
"Yes ma'am," he said (because even the arrogant Kaito saw the fire in her eyes and knew she was not to be trifled with).
"Very good." At last, her face swung in my direction. "And now for the main event..."
I stared down at my lap. "Hi."
"Don't get cute with me," Genkai snapped. "You don't have the personality for it."
"Hey!"
"Frankly, Keiko, I'm shocked at your behavior." She said this with such force, her insult rolled off my back, forgotten under the onslaught of her biting disapproval. Words like needles on my skin, her scratchy voice intoned, "Out of everyone here, you've done the least work on understanding your Territory. Never would've taken you for the cautious type after all the stunts you've pulled recently. Not to mention you showed up at my temple how many years ago looking for psychic powers?"
I fidgeted, staring at my lap again. "Well..."
Kaito looked at me oddly. "You did what some years ago?"
"Wait, can someone give you powers? Just like that?" Amanuma asked, confused.
"I thought you knew her because she trained your friend!" Kido said.
"Oh, I did train Keiko's friend," Genkai interjected, corralling the chaos with one short, barked sentence. "But Keiko showed up on my doorstep long before I even knew his name. This one—" she jerked her thumb at me "—has been vying for some kind of supernatural ability for years now, and Keiko nearly broke down my damn door demanding I fork one over. Too bad it doesn't work like that." A smirk lit her eyes with a mischievous glow. "If ambition alone could be channeled into raw power, Keiko here would be the most powerful of us all."
Yana looked impressed at that. "Keiko... that's... wow," he said, not quite able to find words.
Kido found them easily enough, though. "You're a real go-getter," he said, eyeing me with renewed esteem. "Very cool, Yukimura."
"Trust me, she's exaggerating," I said, cheeks on fire. "I just wanted a level playing field with my super-powered friends, not to out-rank them or something."
"Still," Kido insisted.
"You really did shoot your shot, huh?" said Yana.
"Heh. Hardly!" Genkai's bark of laughter cut the stillness like the plonk of the deer-scare outside. "To think, you finally got powers just like you wanted, but you've done jack all to use them in the days since."
I matched her earlier glare with one of my own. "It's not that simple, Genkai."
"I think it's exactly that simple." Her teeth bared in a taunting grin that did not quite resemble a smile. "I think you're just scared."
She was baiting me, sure, but I didn't mind falling for the trap. "Look—dreams are personal, OK?" I snapped, defending my decisions for all I was worth. I couldn't help but think of the dream I'd had of Tom, of our stolen life together. If anyone had seen that without my consent, I would have been mortified. Tom's face clear in my mind, I told her: "Seeing the dreams of a person I care about without their consent feels like a violation. And if my power lets me do more than just see, I don't want to do that to someone without asking permission."
"Why?" Genkai pressed. "What's so wrong with using your powers in that way?"
"The subconscious mind is a delicate organism; there's no telling what me rooting around inside a person's head might do to them once they wake up," I said, words fresh and ready to go—because I'd been thinking about this for days now, and this argument was old hat by now. "I thought about it long and hard, and sure, it was tempting as hell to just march down the hall and run amok in my parents' dreams, but I refused to give in." I nodded, half to show my willpower to her, half to convince myself I was standing firm. "I refused to put them at risk to indulge my own eagerness and selfish desire for power."
In the wake of my tirade, silence reigned. Only the plonk of the deer scare and the whisper of wind through the leaves of the sakura tree broke the silence. The others looked at me with a mix of emotions—much the same ones they'd showed me on the train when I went on another rant. What had they called me? "Intense?" Yeah, that was it. Looks like I'd gone off the rails again.
But Genkai didn't seem to mind. After a time, she tapped out and repacked the bowl of her pipe, taking a long puff as she studied me in silence.
Eventually she murmured: "I was hoping you'd say that."
My face fell into a deadpan stare aimed at the wall above her head. "That was a test. Of course that was a test."
"Heh. You know me well." Smoke curled around her face like creeping fog. "Of course the mind is a delicate organism. Of course you shouldn't root around in someone's head for the hell of it. Of course you shouldn't experiment on just anyone. You did the right thing by refraining until you got here."
Amanuma's hand shot into the air. "So why did you just act like the opposite was true?"
"I wanted to see if Keiko was running scared, or if the lack of training was due to logic and reason dictating it needed to be delayed," Genkai said. "Caution is within Keiko's character, but so is over-thinking. I can abide the former. It's the latter I can't stand." Narrow eyes traveled over my face, scrutinizing. "But it's not just respecting another person's mind, is it, Keiko?"
"No. It's not," I admitted (because damn, she could read me like a book). "It's the violation of trust that's also held me back."
Her eyes lit up with understanding. "You've seen what havoc violating a person's trust can wreak. It's no surprise you wouldn't want to do it again to someone you care about, like your parents or an unwitting friend. And you'd never forgive yourself if you damaged a stranger accidentally." A wry chuckle escaped her lips. "You're a good person, in the end. A quality I find highly inconvenient as your teacher."
"You're complaining?" I asked.
"A little. Though why you didn't ask Kaito or Amanuma to play the role of test subject..."
"And when would we have been able to pull that off, huh?" I retorted. "My parents aren't exactly big on co-ed sleepovers unless it's Yusuke, and yeah, he's oblivious as hell, but even he would notice if I suddenly started—"
"All right, all right, I get it," she cut in, shaking her head. Once I calmed, she offered up a crooked smile. "Well. You're here now. And I assume there will be no shortage of volunteers to be your lab rats. People will have to use you as a test subject for their own Territories in the days to come. I'll make sure they're eager to return the favor."
Kido sat up straighter. "I can volunteer if you need me, Yukimura," he said, giving a nod to show he was serious. "Happy to help out."
"Me, too," said Amanuma. "I dream about games, mostly, so it'll be fun!"
"And me, especially since I get the feeling you will be the only person at this temple who stands a chance at giving me a worthy challenge in my own Territory." Kaito's words earned him a groan from everyone in the room, but he ignored us all to say, "Though I admit my dreams are woefully dull most nights. Sorry in advance."
"And me, I guess." Yana grinned, lopsided but happy. "I'll get to sleep the whole time, right?"
"That's right." Genkai pointed the stem of her pipe at my nose. "I can see the worry in your eyes, but it isn't necessary. You won't be taking the plunge alone. I'll be there every step of the way to make sure you don't break anything you shouldn't." The pipe returned to its rightful place between her teeth, metal gleaming in the light of the brazier. "I've got your back, kid."
My throat felt thick, and not just because of the room's cloying incense. "Thanks, y'all. I appreciate it," was all I could say.
The fact that they'd all volunteered—and so readily, too—took a weight off of my shoulders I hadn't been aware rested quite so heavily upon them. I knew how delicate a person's mind and psychology could be. I wasn't trained, let alone educated, on how psychology worked. Some classes in undergrad were all I could boast in terms of preparedness, and I only knew enough to know I knew practically nothing at all. All I could say for sure was that rummaging around in someone's subconscious held the potential for disaster, which meant I had to tread with utmost caution. If my powers could do more than just see dreams (and I had a sneaking suspicion that they did), it was comforting to know I wouldn't have to break any boundaries of trust to test them out. And knowing Genkai was here to guide me was exactly what I needed to let loose and truly dive deep into the ability that lurked inside me.
Coming here really had been the best decision I could've made. I felt that much in my bones.
Genkai stood without warning. She held up a hand when we all tried to copy the motion, a silent indication we should remain seated. The old psychic was so short, she was hardly taller than us despite her standing and us sitting, but somehow she still managed to look imposing as hell when she clasped her hands behind her back and looked us over one by one. Tension threaded through the smoke rising from her pipe, tangling with our breath and the invisible strings of stress rolling off of us in waves.
"I'd like to see all five of your abilities in action," she said, rough voice low and soft in the quiet room. "You're here for the weekend. If, by the end of it, I believe you all merit further training, I will ask you to come back for a longer period of time. Once I think you have a decent handle on your abilities, or if you already do, you are free to go." A shrug wrinkled the fabric of her coat. "Technically you are free to go at any time, but I suggest staying no matter how hard on you this process may feel—and it will feel hard on you, make no mistake."
Yana drew in a sharp breath at the stony glint in her eye. Kaito looked bored. Kido leaned forward a tad, staring at Genkai intently. Amanuma watched her talk with a frown. I just sat back and observed the reactions of my friends, measuring and analyzing in case I needed to jump in and soothe their worries. But none of them spoke, and soon Genkai began to speak again.
"I have not encountered a single Territory that did not come with a drawback—a dire consequence in the event that that Territory is broken or misused," she said. "If you think yours does not possess such a drawback, you are wrong, and time alone will prove it to you."
Amanuma gulped. A thread of worry cracked through Kaito's bored mask. Yana's face pinched tighter, his lax posture tensing. Kido leaned forward even more.
"In the interest of not getting yourselves killed, I ask of you your cooperation and obedience." Smoke from her pipe traced blue shadows through the air, pale and diaphanous, heavy on the tongue. "I expect you to obey me and do as I say without question, the minute I ask it of you, armed with the knowledge I do this for your own good—even if, in the moment, what I ask of you is painful, be it mentally or physically." The perfumed vapors obscured her eyes, as rough as the commanding crawl of her voice. "You may not like my teaching methods, but I promise you they are effective. If you listen to me unquestioningly, you will leave a stronger Territory user than you were before." She waved the pipe at us in a broad sweep. "These are my terms, so defined and so rendered. What say you?"
A long silence followed—and then, as one, everyone but Genkai turned to look at me.
My skin prickled. Shrinking in my seat, I tried to minimize myself, tried to make myself look small... but then Amanuma caught my eye. Every line of his young face recorded quiet desperation, confusion and desire for understanding—one he clearly hoped I might provide.
Well, crap. His apparent reliance on me set an uneasy quiver in my stomach. I wasn't supposed to be here, and once this training weekend ended, I was certain Genaki would not ask me to return for my training. Kaito, Yana and Kido, meanwhile, were destined to be trained by Genkai. My presence had the potential to throw their training off the rails. Genkai no doubt knew that, and for that reason she was sure to send me home once the weekend came to a close.
Amanuma, too, was an interloper just like me, but Genkai had already noticed how dangerous his Territory was. She'd be keeping him for another week, I was sure of it, even if she wasn't supposed to... but if he stayed and I left, and he became accustomed to relying on me in the meantime, that wasn't setting him up for success here. He needed to make his own choices, not just follow my lead at every turn.
But was telling him all of this a good idea? I'd scooped him up out of Sensui's influence and converted him to our side of my own volition—surely that meant I was also supposed to set him up for success with Genkai, too, since I was the reason he was here? I'd positioned myself as his friend and protector when I'd converted him. Abandoning him now, right as the going got tough, didn't feel right.
A good friend wouldn't abandon Amanuma, I decided. They'd show him it was OK to trust Genkai, pave the way for his success at her training camp. Suggest through their own actions the path he should follow—that kind of thing. So I squared my shoulders, forced my head up high, and channeled the confidence I had inherited from my days spent in Keiko's skin.
"My friend Yusuke, the one Genkai trained, was a street punk with fists for brains," I said (earning me a snort from Genkai in the process). "He still is all of those things. But Genkai was an instrumental force in turning him into the man he is today." Pride swelled as I thought of Yusuke—the closest thing I had to a brother in this, or any, life. "He is a Dark Tournament champion, the afterlife's chosen Spirit Detective, and the strongest person I have ever met—mentally and physically alike. And Genkai is to thank for so much of that."
No one said anything as I turned to face Genkai. She regarded me in silence, watching as I gathered my legs under me to sit in formal, respectful seiza. Amanuma continued to watch me, his young, round face pinched with worry.
"Genkai-sensei," I said, using the title most fitting for her, "I trust you implicitly. You have my word I will do my best to honor your wishes." Pressing my hands to the floor before me, I bowed low, forehead nearly brushing the tatami mats. "Thank you, Genkai, for agreeing to train me. You have my complete gratitude and my unflinching cooperation."
No one spoke. I held the position while the room held its breath—and then, with a rustle and a murmur, everyone copied me. They all bowed to Genkai, too, low and long and reverent, a ripple of humility that passed through the room like a wind off the mountains. I waited for them all to join me and hold that bow, a chorus of gratitude rising from my friends as they thanked Genkai for the training she offered to us so freely.
Amanuma's voice rang out the most confidently of all.
When we rose to face Genkai once more, her eyes met mine, and she smiled.
Down the hall from the room where Genkai had held our little chat, she assigned Kaito, Kido, Yana and Amanuma a small room hidden behind a series of sliding paper doors. The five-tatami room sat empty apart from some bedding stacked in a corner. My friends would be sleeping there as a group, she said, and I was to sleep in the room next door to theirs—but when Genkai slid the paper door to my quarters open, I realized she'd been quite literal when she said she'd saved me "a space" inside her home. Three other people occupied the room, judging by the futons and jumble of belongings inside it, but in the far corner lay a fourth, untouched futon she'd reserved for me. I could call no more than a single tatami mat's worth of space my own... though considering the number of tents clustered around the temple outside, these indoor accommodations (meager as they were) seemed luxurious indeed.
Still, sleeping beside strangers wasn't exactly my idea of a good time... but I didn't say anything. I'd been taught better manners than that in both my lives. Plus, I needed to suck it up for the sake of Genkai's training. I didn't intend to stay with her past this initial assessment weekend, it was true, but that didn't mean I was ignorant to how lucky I was to receive any sort of training from someone of her caliber. I intended to treasure her guidance and make every single second count—with a smile on my face, no less.
Thus, I painted on my very best Keiko Was Taught Great Manners Face when I turned to her and bowed, saying with an earnest smile: "Thank you, sensei. I appreciate being give a room. It's very nice."
"Nice," she repeated archly, because she wasn't fooled for a goddamn second. "You mean to say it's cramped."
"Well..."
"I'm not so thin-skinned as to be offended by a statement of the obvious." Genkai huffed. "You'll be bunking with Sumire, Nakano, Kaori and Chiharu."
I made a quick tally of futons on the floor and the names in Genkai's mouth; the numbers didn't add up. "Sorry, how many?" I gestured at the four laid-out futons, one of which ostensibly belonged to me. "Are we missing a bed?"
"No. Kaori is Chiharu's mother. They share a futon," said Genkai. "Oh, and Nakano also has a baby with her, too. You'll be the sixth person in here, technically."
"Oh." I couldn't help but wince. "Makes sense. Thought I heard one crying earlier."
"That might've been the baby." The word Genkai chose to stress didn't quite make sense, but she kept speaking before I could ask. "Don't worry about the kids. The mothers are both the responsible sort, and Nakano is young. You'll get along with her." She paused for the barest beat of time. "Do watch out for Chiharu, though."
"Eh?"
"The brat is well-mannered, but her Territory—"
"Wait, the kid has a Territory?" I had assumed the mom would have the Territory, not the child. Sure, Amanuma had one, but he was past the age of parental bed-sharing. "How young is she?"
"Very young." Genkai's thin lips pulled even thinner when she smirked. "If you see any dolls running around..."
"Dolls?" someone yelped. "Whaddaya mean, dolls?!"
Yana's head jutted comically out of the doorway to the boys' room; he wore a look of horror on his face, confusion and revulsion waging war in the lines surrounding his sleepy eyes and long nose. Genkai sighed and turned his way, pinching the bridge of her own between two fingers.
"Yes," she said, sounding fatigued. "Dolls."
"Running around? Dolls? Dolls running around?" Yana babbled, voice gaining pitch. "Did you say dolls would be running around?!"
Genkai grit her teeth. "Which part of what I said confused you?"
"What kind of dolls?" Yana asked with reedy desperation. "Like Barbies? Traditional Japanese?" He visibly paled. "If you say Victorian, I swear I'm gonna—"
"And define 'running around,'" I chimed in.
"What's with the inquisition?" Genkai rolled her eyes. "You're not both afraid of dolls, are you?"
"I'm afraid of ones that move on their own, sure!" I said. "I saw Chuckie at a formative age!"
"Me, too." Yana looked as grey as I felt inside when he swallowed, long neck undulating. "And they... do these dolls run around because of a Territory, or...?"
"Of course they do," Genkai snapped. "Why else?"
Far from mollified by this explanation, Yana grimaced, but before he could ask any (valid AF) followup questions, a giggle bounced down the hallway. Genkai didn't bother turning around to see from whence it came, instead gesturing at me and shutting her weary eyes.
"Ah, Sumire. Good," she said. "This is Keiko, the one I told you about." As the boys stepped out of their room to join us in the hall, she added, "And these are Kido, Kaito, Amanuma and Yana."
At the end of the corridor stood a girl—Sumire, judging by the name Genkai had just dropped. I flinched when I saw her high pigtails and the spots of blush dobbed on her cheeks, because at first glance she reminded me a bit of a doll, and I was still grappling with the mental image of Victorian dolls running amok like something out of a Chuckie sequel. The longer I looked at Sumire, though, the less she looked like and doll and the more she looked like the lady from The Big Comfy Couch, at least in the face, with her pert nose slightly red at the tip and her round cheeks dusted with freckles. She was cute in a childish sort of way, one accented by the school uniform with the sailor collar draped over her shoulders, and she stood at an average height that thankfully didn't remind me of a doll at all.
God. Dolls running around. I'd be on edge all night...
Not that Sumire felt the same way. She trotted forward on socked feet and bowed at us, popping back up again like a weighted toy. "Hi! I'm Watanabe Sumire. My name is spelled with the kanji for violet. It's nice to meet you!" She looked me over and smiled sweetly, cheeks rounding like ripe apples. "Your name is really cute. Happy child, right? I have another friend with that name so I know how it's spelled."
"My name is spelled 'lucky child,' actually."
Her smile faltered. "Oh. Well, I guess that's nice, too." Sumire's high, sweet voice turned syrupy as she addressed Genkai. "Want me to introduce them to everyone, Genkai? I can show Keiko-chan around. I know you need to deal with stuff that's actually important."
Before I could process just how quickly Sumire had apparently decided I was not 'actually important,' Genkai shook her head, brushing her off with a single, baleful glance.
"Keiko is plenty important," she said, and then she pivoted on her heel to march off down the corridor. "Sumire, go back to whatever you were doing. Keiko, the rest of you, with me."
We left as a group, Sumire frowning in our wake—but she smiled when I turned back to look at her, expression disintegrating like cotton candy under a jet of cold water. I got the distinct impression Sumire was something of a suck-up when it came to Genkai, but only time would tell.
I wasn't sure I liked that feeling—that feeling of not knowing. Sumire hadn't been part of canon. None of the women I'd be sharing a room with had been mentioned in canon. Apart from Yana, Kido and Kaito, everyone else here was an unknown quantity, an aberration, a bit of the YYH world canon hadn't bothered mentioning. Had these new Territory psychics been here but simply left out of the narrative? Or had something else brought this influx of extra Territory users to Genkai's doorstep? I had no way of knowing, and once again, I didn't enjoy that feeling at all.
Our party ventured back to the porch overlooking the courtyard where we'd first entered Genkai's compound. She wasted no time in pointing at a nearby fire-pit, where a group of Territory users (or so I presumed) sat gathered around swept ashes and banked coals.
"That's Nakano and her baby over there," she said, indicating a very young, quite pretty woman (no more than 19 or 20, by the looks of it) with long brown hair and bags under her eyes. A baby slept in her arms, face a pale moon amid dark blue swaddling. "Her Territory is Aromatherapy; scents within her Territory hold various powers." Genkai then pointed at the man sitting across from her at the fire-pit. "That's Fumihiro. Territory, Simon Says."
Fumihiro had thick glasses and wore a suit, tie loosened around his throat. Sweat beaded on his brow, which he dabbed with a handkerchief. He didn't look much older than 25 or so, but his drab suit and hair—cut in an outdated side-part—gave him the appearance of someone of the previous generation.
"Lemme guess," Kido drawled. He leaned against a support beam atop the porch, affectation lazy but confident. "He tells you to do something, and you don't do it, he takes your soul. A physical version of Kaito's Territory."
"Not quite. It's much worse. But we'll talk about it later." Genkai indicated a girl in a school uniform busy setting up a tent not too far off. The girl's ponytail bobbed and swayed as she fitted poles together, arms strong and rippling under her bronzed skin. "That's Amano, Territory Slo-Mo."
Amanuma asked, "What's it do?"
"You'll see." Genkai nodded toward a man emerging from another tent. He had long black hair and a lean grin, clothes baggy with a chain hanging from his belt. "Okada's over there. Territory, Cohort." She nodded at someone else before I could get a better look at Okada. "And that's Mizaki, who's Territory—"
Genkai moved too quickly for me to commit any of the other Territory users to memory, attention flitting from one psychic to the next like a hawk striking a cloud of wheeling sparrows. She explained some of their abilities but simply named others; for this I was almost grateful, even if it left me feeling like one of the sparrows under her claws. This weekend promised to provide an overwhelming glut of information, all of it foreign to me. Like a small bird caught in a high wind, struggling and frantic against the gale, just trying to keep aloft amid currents of air too large for my small wings. The others weren't nearly as overwhelmed by the looks of it. Amanuma danced from foot to foot, eagerly listening to every word she spoke, and Kaito's bespectacled gaze slid from one Territory psychic to the next with apparent interest. Even Yana's lazy expression had vanished as she told us about one more Territory user, and then another, and then—
An elbow nudged my side—Kido sidling up as Genkai spoke, narrow eyes dark with concern. "You OK?" he muttered.
"Just..." I swallowed. "It's a lot to take in."
He gave a sage nod, blond head bobbing. "We'll get used to it," he said. "Help each other out. Y'know?"
Something in his smile—sly, small, but sincere—made the storm roiling in my chest quiet down a little. Before I could do much more than smile back, Amanuma rocked up onto his toes and nearly tumbled off the porch. Kaito caught him by the collar and pulled him back, tutting while Amanuma pointed off toward the tori arch by the entrance to the temple compound.
"Who's that lady over there?" he asked, curiosity burning in his eyes. "Does she have a Territory, too?"
Yana lifted a brow. "The lady over—?"
"That's everyone," Genkai said, rounding on the tori with a frown. "So who do you—?" Her mouth snapped shut. "Oh. Her."
The woman's black kimono blended with the shadows below the tori, dappled shade making her bone-white face appear nearly decayed, shadows under her cheekbones skull-deep and unsettling. But then she stepped forward, into the light, and sun placed golden highlights in her black hair and eyes. Her wooden geta clicked against the flagstones as she approached, coming to a stop just on the other side of the tori, at the boundary where forest path became temple proper.
It was Ayame, of course. I'd been wondering when she would appear. The emissary of death gave us a tight smile from across the courtyard and bowed slightly, dipping her head toward Genkai in a show of deference.
"Hello, Genkai... and you too, Keiko," she said when she straightened up. "I am here on behalf of Koenma. He would like a word with both of you."
Without preamble, Genkai turned and headed inside—and with a gesture for the others not to follow, Ayame and I trailed after her indoors.
Spirit World's involvement in Genkai's plans was a known quantity, a bit of canon to which I could latch and cling—and in a world where so much fell outside of my control, I did not intend to let this slip untested through my fingers.
NOTES
Obviously I missed the last update date. Here's why: I came home from a 70-hour work week (spent traveling and on my feet 24/7) to learn a friend had died and my dad was in the hospital for emergency surgery. I had to drive about 20 hours to take over Thanksgiving preparations and take care of various family emergencies, one of which I can't talk about due to its extremely sensitive nature. It was incredibly stressful, and the weeks that followed at my workplace were the hardest weeks I've experienced in my professional career, further keeping me busy and preoccupied. Suffice it to say, I didn't have time to finish this chapter until today.
Some of you checked in on me over the past few weeks with empathy and kindness. Some of you demanded an update with no expression of care for me at all. To the former I say "thank you." To the latter I say "do better," because you made a hard time in my life even harder still.
You can't see my face and thus may forget that I am a human being. I am here to remind you that I am, in fact, a person with thoughts, emotions and feelings. I am not a robot cranking out a story for your enjoyment. I am a person working on a deeply personal creative endeavor, totally for free and without expectation of compensation. It's an endeavor I have chosen to share with you of my own free will—solely because *I* want to share it, not because you have ANY RIGHT to the story or my creative life. You are not entitled to my time, attention, and free labor. You are not entitled to this story, or anything else I may write. I have spent years of my life working on this story, and the least you can do is remember to treat me like a human being if you find yourself enjoying it.
Many people have read the previous million-plus words of this story and never offered any form of support for my writing. That sucks, but I've made peace with it. But while silence isn't ideal, it's still a thousand times better than those who demand my labor and energy as if it rightfully belongs to them, with no thought or care for the human being behind these million-plus words.
I say again that you are able to read this because I have chosen to share it, not because you are owed anything from me. I owe you nothing. Make peace with that.
To that end: Today marks this story's fifth birthday. Happy birthday, Lucky Child. Let's hope I can finish you before you turn six.
Have a happy holiday season, no matter what you do or do not celebrate.
Many and sincere thanks to those who chimed in with kind things to say after my last update, because if anyone is entitled to anything from me, it's those people who took the time to remember I am human: Forthwith16, xenocanaan, Convoluted Compassion, Call Brig On Over, Mugen-Muse, cestlavie, EdenMae, tammywammy9, SandyBandy, cezarina, vodka-and-tea, EasilyAmused93, ewokling, TrueNecromancer, ladyofchaos, KhaleesiRenee, era-romance, A Doctor, mitsui-supremacy, Vienna22, VSuperOld, Nina, guest, StandupSitDown, Aki13S, Arlene, LadyEllesmere, Whispered Heart, empressofthedead, and Veilan.
Also to Sarah (can't reply privately since you're anonymous) who commented "I think you meant Metallica, not Megallica :)" ... Actually I did indeed mean "Megallica," with a G! Metallica with a T doesn't exist in this universe. This has been covered in previous chapters (and Megallica has been used throughout this story), but basically Togashi used the name "Megallica" in the manga to avoid copyright issues, and that carried over into this universe. I hope that's helpful!
