The Wielder of BlackFire:
The Legend Lives Part II-Rose's Renaissance
BY: Black Dragon Diva
Sequel to: The Legend Lives
Summary: There's a new enemy stalking toward the human world, determined to rule both Ningenkai and the Makai. Koenma sends the Spirit Detectives off. To find their old partner. And Old enemy. Problem: She's not who she used to be...
Chapter Twenty-Two: Voices In My Mind
"What in the seven hells is going on!" The outburst was coupled with the slamming of a door as it was thrust open, making the occupants of the room cringe at the force. Genkai's face was calm as it always was, but tense with aggression.
She had come running when she had felt an explosive amount of energy erupt and begin to pulse throughout the estate. The violent shock had made her arrive as fast as she could.
"You tell me," Yusuke said. The young man turned away from his sensei's abrupt entrance back toward the couch, his expression perplexed. Beside him Kurama was smiling a small, but triumphant smile. More toward the other side of the room Hiei was looking away from her, his features pleased.
The old sensei's eyes flickered to the couch in an instant, taking in the giant flame of Spirit Energy that licked and slithered over the couch and into the air. With a huff the woman stalked into the room and turned to the couch.
"We broke her, Genkai," Kurama said. The master studied the prone figure on the couch, ignoring the energy, of which was slowly dying down to more acceptable levels. Rose lie limply on the cushions, dark green energy rippling over her clothing and pulling at her hair. On her lap a bristling ermine watched them with weary contempt in its eyes. It seemed eerily unaffected by the energy ruffling its dark brown fur.
"Its just as Thorn said," Yusuke murmured. Genkai's eyes snapped to his thoughtful face.
"How's that?" Genkai snapped. There's nothing more irritating than being ripped from meditation, and to say the least she was annoyed at the interruption.
It was then that Kuwabara decided to burst into the room, Yukina close behind him, her red eyes concerned.
"What's going on?" the carrot-top boomed. His dark eyes darted around the room frantically, landing on the dimming Spirit Energy. He stiffened defensively.
"Nothing to be concerned about, Kuwabara," Kurama said. He was still studying the young woman on the couch with interest. "We have, however, unlocked her Spirit Energy." His small smile widened slightly. "With the help of our little friend here." He chuckled as the creature gave a small growl. "Her determination to heal him broke the wall around her Spirit Energy that Thorn installed."
The small group moved to look at the girl, who seemed peaceful in her slumber.
"Well, that's pretty cool," Kuwabara said, tilting his head.
"Maybe we should put her in her room," Yusuke said. The brown ermine on Rose's lap looked up at his voice, glaring at him silently. From the looks of it, the injured leg had healed well and it seemed to be feeling fine. It caught Kuwabara's attention.
"Hey, look! It's a weasel!" the big-mouthed oaf said, reaching forward to pet it.
"Be careful Kazuma. Ermines are easily upset," Yukina said, her gaze worried when the teen moved closer.
"It's okay Yuk-HEY!" the boy screeched, jerking hand back as the creature made a lunge for it. The group snickered at him, and even Hiei cracked a smirk.
"Stay… back…" Rose's mumbling broke them from their quiet laughter. The girl brought her hand to her lap and the ermine backed against it, pressing itself into her arm. There was a fierce glow to its eyes and it growled again.
"Leave them alone," Hiei said. The group turned to look at him as he spoke. "She should rest." The rest asserted their agreement with a nod.
Five minutes later the room was fairly empty, many having returned to their respective section of the shrine. Yusuke managed to drag Kuwabara away from Yukina enough for some late-afternoon training. The brunette tried to convince Kurama to come as well, but the kitsune insisted that he should finish reading the information Rose had given him to look over. When he turned to find Hiei the youkai was nowhere to be seen.
Rose continued to sleep on the couch, the strange creature she had rescued on her lap, laying there wearily, watching the humans disperse and observing Kurama with beady, shifty eyes.
Kurama read in silence, occasionally looking up at the unconscious Rose, but otherwise absorbed in his reading. Thorn had certainly done an excellent job of thoroughly researching the demon, listing strengths, potential weaknesses and attacks, and areas in need of possible improvement. Kurama's eyes reread an especially interesting insert on the page.
At the current moment, she has no knowledge of her potential. With time and maturity she could be an ally worth having. I am told by BlackFire that she is just what we need to accomplish the task set ahead of us. The Wave and Sound powers at the moment leave much to be desired, but strength with them is easily achieved once she learns to unlock and harness their power. I have given her a gift to aid in this and hope I have not misplaced it upon an unworthy person. With this gift she cannot be taken lightly, for it lifts her greatest weakness so that she may build on her strength.
Kurama thought over the passage carefully. Lifted her weakness? Gods, that could not bode well for them.
Kurama sighed. It was about three months shy of a year since Thorn had walked before them, enlightening them as to her plight, telling them she was destroying herself and saving them the trouble. She didn't realize the pain involved in her 'death', either that or ignored it so that she might go through with her plans.
Hiei never openly expressed his pain aloud, but it was in his eyes for a long time after, creeping through the thick walls he had built around his heart. There were times when Kurama saw it even now, and it did not please him. But Hiei had excepted her disappearance easily. Perhaps he knew something the kitsune did not, or it might be just because he never was one to dwell heavily on his past. And her death was just that; the past. Unchangeable and easily forgotten. But this was not something the fire youkai would easily forget, especially with Thorn's host body so close. The body that Kurama's nose had told him Hiei had held and embraced, and something so intimate wasn't easily forgotten. Yet after that night Hiei had let her go. Why? Perhaps he knew he couldn't keep her. Couldn't hide her forever. Would one day be forced to be her enemy once again. She too had probably known this and knew better than to risk him being discovered with her after the battle with the Black Blaze. Who knew what trouble it would have caused.
Who knew what trouble it could cause now.
When Rose awoke later that day with was with a jerk that made the ermine lying on her lap jump to attention. She groaned quietly, her neck and head aching, but didn't open her eyes, relaxing into the warmth that seemed to fill her.
"Easy," she cooed quietly, resting a hand on the ermine's back in a gentle gesture as the other hand rose to hold her head.
She winced. "Please, stop all your damn screaming." She sat up slowly, blinking her eyes to the sudden light that pierced them. The room swirled on a broken hinge. She blinked rapidly, trying to force color into the black and white image. She concentrated hard, only to realize she was looking into a blurry mirror. Her own face stared back at her, full of pain and confusion. What?
She shook her head, earning a throb of pain for her troubles. She blinked again, more rapidly this time, and struggled to assess her surroundings. It was in color again. She looked down at the brown creature on her lap, who's steady gaze watched her in something she could only describe as worry.
"So, you're awake." It was Kurama's voice, that she knew, but it wasn't the one she knew. It wasn't soft and easy, but something louder, rougher, with a growling undertone that sounded as though it hadn't been used in many years. She cringed at the sheer volume of it, which boomed and made her head hurt.
"Ack, you don't have to yell, Fox," she said. Her eyes were trained on her lap, willing her vision to stop swerving at random intervals. "And will the rest of you shut up? My head hurts like hell."
Kurama studied the girl across the coffee table from him before looking at Hiei, who had returned not long before. The youkai looked as confused as the redhead. The kitsune looked back at Rose, who was leaning forward slightly, a hand running through her hair and over her scalp while the other absently scratched the creature that stood on her knees. He glanced around the room. There was no one else and Hiei and Kurama had made no sound at all. The entire temple was deathly silent. What was she ranting on about?
"Calm down, Rose," Kurama said, careful to lower his voice to hardly a whisper. She closed her eyes, clenching her teeth against the hum of pain. The ermine lifted itself slightly to rest a paw on her stomach, staring at her intently.
Block out everything. Think nothing, just block. Restore your mind's protective walls. The voice that spoke to Rose was soft, but persistent and coaxing, as a mother's is when it is teaching its child to read. It felt familiar, comforting, and soothed her agony enough for her to begin to relax and concentrate on blocking out the hectic world around her. Where were all these voices coming from? She opened her eyes slowly as the voices subsided to faint, bickering whispers that could be more easily ignored.
"What happened?" she asked as she looked up, her vision finally clearing enough to notice that Hiei and Kurama were watching her with a strange, almost worried, glint in their respective eyes.
"You blacked out," Hiei said simply. She rubbed her temple as her eyes darted around the room. They were alone.
"I had a fit?" she asked, perplexed.
"No, we unlocked the power that we were searching for," Kurama said, being sure to keep his voice low and undeniably soft. She balked at the answer, tilting her head in question, the gesture almost comical. No one laughed.
"Is that why everything's so loud?" she asked, rubbing the back of her neck where it had rested uncomfortably on the couch.
"No, it is quiet. We don't know what it is you're hearing, but it's nothing from in the temple." The kitsune watched her as she pulled a knot out of her hair.
"Then you don't hear them?" she asked, glancing at him, her brow furrowed. He shook his head.
"No, but perhaps you will allow Hiei to hear what you hear with the Jagan?" he asked, motioning toward the silent demon. She hesitated slightly. And especially loud voice yelled out an obscenity. Her lips twitched before she nodded slowly.
"Yeah, sure," she said. Hiei crossed the room immediately and stared her in the eye, contemplating the brightness in her dark eyes before removing his headband and closing his red eyes so that the violet one could be better used to its potential.
The dark recess of her mind was mostly closed off to the fire youkai. However, that wasn't was he was after right now, but the voices screeching through her head, breathing over his intrusion like ghosts to a haunted mansion. Most were cries of warning or a scold, at times a yelp of panic. It took him a full moment to realize that these were not voices at all, but tendrils of thought that she was intercepting, like a giant radio station. Voices of the creatures that surrounded the temple. The animals.
Hiei pulled back, grateful for the silence that washed over him as he did so. He glared into her eyes. Her psychic abilities were that keen? Sensitive enough to be able to pick up the thoughts of those that, not only she couldn't see, but those of which she didn't even know the brain patters of.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the girl before him asked, returning his glare full force. Apparently, he had thought before fully exiting her mind and she had heard it. He merely grunted.
"You're psychic abilities were awakened as well as your Spirit Energy. You're hearing the animals in the forest?" he explained.
"Why would I hear them?" she asked.
"It is-"
"Shush," Rose scolded the ermine softly, tapping his side with a finger. Kurama raised a brow as he abandon his former sentence.
"You can understand him?"
"Ahh, no?" she said, shifting uncomfortably. The Youko's voice pounded in her head. Kurama fell silent, giving Hiei a meaningful glance to ask the question he wanted the answer to without hurting the girl further.
"What did he say?" Hiei asked.
"Who?" She shook her head as though shaking off a thought. He jerked his chin toward the ermine on her lap. "Oh, I don't know."
"Find out," the demon ordered. She shot him a glare, which was mirrored by two beady eyes from the creature on her lap.
"I'm not a spy, Hiei. And right now I don't want to deal with this, I'm tired."
He nodded reluctantly; it was understandable. Rose looked down at the ermine. The creature reminded her of something, but she couldn't recall just what. Like a long-lost pet. It was then that she noticed its leg no longer hung at an odd angle. In fact, it was resting proper weight on it.
"Hey, Kurama, did you heal him?" she asked, looking up. He shook his head. "Then you asked Yukina?" He shook his head again. "Genkai?" No. She paused, weary and hesitant. Kurama gave a small smile as it dawned on her.
"Me?" She nearly squeaked out the word. Kurama nodded, his lips twitching into a larger smile. She blinked and gazed at the ermine, which watched her curiously.
"I remember now," she said quietly after a sparse moment of silence. "Wow, I really did it then…"
Yes.
The voice was there again, soothing, but not really even a voice. It was more like a feeling, a passing assertion that her brain recognized as 'yes'. She looked into the small black eyes.
"Yasha," she whispered. The girl didn't understand to know why, but the name came into her mind as though recognizing a distant relative. The dark eyes danced and she could have sworn it smiled at her.
Grumbling slightly, Rose pushed herself to her feet, one hand supporting the ermine. Her head reeled a moment and the voices came back, louder than before. She bit her lip, holding back a whimper of pain as she steadied herself and blocked them out once again.
'She should sit down,' Kurama thought as he observed her struggle. She jerked her eyes toward him, something not yet a scowl, but ready to turn into it on her features.
"Stop worrying about me, I'm not a pansy, I'll be fine," she said nippingly. She paused a moment. So it was his voice! That voice like black sand, course but beautiful and soft and dark all in one. It made sense, after all, he was a kitsune. However, this wasn't his voice at all, it was aged and wise and arrogant in a measured sense.
She saw him blink in surprise before nodding slightly. He would have to keep his thoughts out of range of her.
"I'm going to wash up before we eat," Rose announced. "After I set this little guy outside." The creature seemed content to settle in her arms and be carried. The two demons nodded and she left.
It wasn't two minutes later when they heard a soothing voice encouraging the rescued wildlife to return to the forest. After nearly twenty minutes there was a growl and they heard her stop back into the shrine, closing the door behind her with a muffled 'bang'.
"It seems as though we'll be kept busy now," Kurama said quietly, comfortable with speaking only after the girl was in a far corner of the building. Hiei nodded.
"We don't have much time," he continued, running a hand through his red mane.
"We never had much time," Hiei reminded him. The kitsune nodded in grim agreement. And, unfortunately, the time, which was so precious to them, was slowly slipping away.
A/N: yes, its been a terribly long time hasn't it? Well, I can safely say it wasn't Naruto-kun's fault this time, although I wish it was, that would be far less troublesome. Nope, my computer got a virus and I lost EVERYTHING. Thus, I had to go up in the attic and dig out my old notebooks where I wrote this and re-type it. Thus, the style might be a little different from previous chapters, ne? anyway, its short, but I'm satisfied enough just to get it out. Trust me, a month without a computer is not good. Then another month moping because I lost all 130+ episodes of Naruto didn't help ANYTHING. Lol. Anyway, here's everyone's update if you're still reading at all. I want to thank my new reviewer! They really helped me to push this out sooner! Sankyuu!
Reviews:
Ensatsu-Kokoryu-Ha: lol, watching Naruto again this Sat pulled me out of my slump, and now I'm determined to re download all of my Naruto eps! Yes, it did suck, the Japanese version is obviously so much better, but it kinda sucks that we have 20 weeks of filler episodes. Gah! I hate it! Gimme Sasuke-kun! –sniff- lol. Anyway, Kurama's being punished for his slyness, because he can be such a bastard sometimes :P. haha foxie. And I know the feeling about having no time. I've been applying to colleges for WEEKS without rest, its really getting tiresome. And how'd the hurricane think work out? Hawaii gets hurricanes? Lol, sorry, stupid question. anyway, thanks!
miyako14: its okay! Sorry it took so long to update! Here you go! Thanks!
new reviewer! I feel the Love!
Koji Jaganshi: lol, sorry, it gets better. Besides, I have a sadistic part of me that BEGS me to kill my own characters. Bad habit, I know, but its bitter sweet, cuz now the guys can get on with their lives without outside people, ne? besides, OC's interfering with the rest of their life don't appeal to me. sorry!
Reiko x 3: and you'll have to see about Yasha, but it'll become clear next chapter! Er… clearer. And even more clear later on! He's a cute little creature. Lol! Thanks, I'm glad I help to stimulate brain cells! I try not to make it too predictable or anything, cuz that takes the fun out, ne! Hai! Here's yer update, thank you!