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 Four: Training
-------------------------------
"Is something the matter, Mistress?"
"No, it's nothing. And how many times do I have to have to tell you, it's ROSE, not Mistress."
"Yes, Mistress. Terribly sorry."
Rose huffed in annoyance. He didn't sound very sorry at all. Humble, perhaps, but not sorry. She merely sighed and continued on with the lesson at hand. It had been nearly a week since she had finally agreed to take up meditation, as well as except assistance from the stupid, furry little creature that was, as it had taken to being, curled upon her lap. But she could stand it, stand being called Mistress, could stand the humble, quiet instructions the ermine gave her.
The lesson in blocking and listening and focusing had proven to please her furry instructor, and he had concluded that today they could begin on image-searching. He said with the ease she fell into the focus routine, he wouldn't have been surprised if this was her original power that Thorn had merely manifested on. It pleased her, to know that there was something she had all to herself, that was hers alone, and not a 'gift' from her other self.
Image-searching, she was coming to find, was much more difficult than blocking was. It was annoying her, which in turn broke her concentration. She was forced to focus on a single thread of thought, follow it through to the source, and pry into the mind of whatever was at the end of the thought. The problem was, with her focusing only on one strand of thought, her blocking wavered in shoving away the other voices, and she became distracted by their thoughtful exclamations.
It didn't help that the more she worked, the more she became aware of something watching her, not aggressively, but not with passive curiosity either. It didn't feel as it should with the forest creatures watching her, but more intelligent, with an attentiveness that was unnerving. She was forced to assume it was a neutral-hearted demon, deep in the forest, with exceptional perception that could pinpoint her location.
Once, after yesterday's lesson, she had tried to imprint her thoughts in it's head, much like speaking telepathically, but it had blocked her out. At night she had been experimenting with her psychic powers with the near-by minds of forest creatures, and would search for the presence, but she never found it by searching for it. It was obviously more powerful than her concerning blocking.
She sighed and fell back into the lesson. Listening to the persistent voices of the creatures that bombarded her mind had come to be an easy task, but sorting them redundant. Every time she lost her concentration she had to begin again. Of course, the practice she did in her spare time (as fleeting as it was) had helped her to improve. It took merely seconds to strain the voices, categorizing them and threading similar threads together into a delicate webbing of thought and placing them out of the way as she searched for a thread that proved good enough to image-search through. Even Yasha had a difficult time reading the webbing, but it didn't matter, as long as she knew how to, seeing as she would be the only one reading them.
Rose took a deep breath, steadying herself as she began the first step of the day's new lesson once more. It was far more difficult to enter a mind to see through it, especially since the only identification available consisted of one strand of thought. It didn't help that most animals were disinclined to use their eyes as much as their noses or ears. And finally, the biggest problem was that many, except for a secluded few, were willing to listen to her. They clamored for her attention, making choosing the correct one for the exercise difficult.
The brunette slipped into her meditation completely, but the harder she worked, the more blatant the tingle that breathed against her mind seemed to be. She could feel it, tickling around her Blocks like a foggy breath. She was forced to ignore it, or else be forced to start all over. Again. She wasn't looking forward to the thought.
Yasha had told her only of the foundation rules that were used to speak to the creatures, which would later be built on until the steps became easy and subconscious, then could be used as an outline for image-searching. By manipulating these rules during her spare time she found already she could convey thoughts and images to creatures and they would be able to understand her. She swallowed all knowledge he fed her during their time together, using it as means to her own end. She had found little as thrilling as speaking to creatures that had never heard a human thought before.
"You must concentrate on one thread. You're switching from one to another without thought. Focus more, it will come to you if you let it," Yasha explained, a little disheartedly if Rose was any judge. She switched more rapidly through the webbing, searching for a thought that sparked her interest, a blurry gray image that might accompany said thought if she was lucky. These would be the easiest to access.
The flash of color, of bright, rapid thoughts hidden within a whispy thread caught her eye. She had never seen it before, and it did not belong within her webbing, but slithered through it nonetheless, arrogant in its travels. It was interesting, so she followed it. She had yet to see any of the blurry images that might accompany a thought in color, for most were of darker, dim colors.
The thread began to quickly slither away, but she locked down its escape routes in hopes that she could catch and observe it. She quickly wove her way along, struggling to keep up with it with a stubborn air. She could feel Yasha's voice about to interrupt her chase when there came a strong, demanding and startlingly familiar voice from what she could only assume was the flashing thread of color.
"What are you doing?"
The cold, blank tones of the voice were easily recognizable. She quickly abandon the thread, allowing it to slink away as she concentrated on the voice.
"I didn't know it was you, Hiei," she said, her voice only slightly embarrassed. He no doubt thought her skills weren't up to par, seeing as she couldn't even catch his psychic thread in her own mind. There's an accusing silence.
"Hn. Just don't do it again," he replied gruffly.
Hiei himself was near-by, eyes wide with surprise. He kept his sentences short and almost bitter, trying to hide the surprise that echoed in his head. Rose had nearly broken into his mind, and only quick maneuvering had saved his mind from total exposure. It was true that Thorn had been able to lay his mind bare for her eyes with ease, but still, this girl was only human.
"Then you shouldn't be in my range," Rose snapped suddenly, bringing his thoughts back to the present.
"I will go where I please," Hiei practically growled, his bewilderment quickly turning to scorn.
"Why are you out here anyway?" she asked hotly, her powers hot next to his as she spoke emotionally. She could kill an opponent if she got too angry, Hiei noted. However, he ignored her question.
Rose waited for an answer, her anger building with continued annoyance. She probed the connection warily, wondering if it had been severed, or she too weak to uphold it in anger.
"Hiei?" she questioned loudly, the silence clearly suggesting the connection was gone. She pulled and poked again, annoyed at her own weakness. She could feel him cringe at the boom of her voice in his head as she intensified her power.
"Not so loud," he snapped.
"You didn't answer my question."
There was a pause in which Rose waiting with mocking patience. The fire youkai pursed his lips and straightened on his perch, ignoring the way the tree's bark rasped against his back.
"Get back to your lesson, I have work to do," he replied, as though his time had suddenly become too precious to share with her. The brunette felt the tell-tale snap! Of the mental link disconnecting and clenched her jaw in frustration. Instead she took a deep, steadying breath and pushed away the urge to search for his conscience again to demand an explanation for his abrupt departure. She soothed her ego by saying it was childish, but inside she sulked. She was being denounced again, ignored like a child not worth wasting explanations for. It made her seethe inside and she was hard-pressed to ignore the obvious blow to her pride.
The girl opened her eyes and looked around, letting her eyes adjust to the light. She would show them her worth, because she was not a child. She was worth their attention and their confidence.
------------------------------------
"How's your meditation going, Rose?" Kurama asked one evening as he leafed through the pages of the newspaper. He sat in the failing light in the living room with the girl, he on the couch while she sat, legs pulled up under herself, on the armchair.
"Fine," she replied, her hand rolling machanically over the soft mahogany fur of the ermine on her lap, whose formerly closed eyes opened to slivers as the kitsune spoke. The creature lie, content, in a curled ball, his throat working in a purr.
The redhead glanced over at her, taking in her blank, thoughtful expression. It had been many weeks since she had arrived at the temple, and since her meditation had begun her voice seemed less and less likely to light the air except in quiet murmurs. It had hit all of them like a solid wall of force, and reminded them of a certain sword-wielding, black-clad woman that had mysteriously showed up at the Dark Tournament. Her power hummed like invisible music drifting into the ear from rooms away, at times brushing against the Spirit Detective's skin imperceptibly. However, as the lessons continued, the fainter the brushes grew, but they were still there, breathable against her skin.
The control the lessons brought was a relief. Kurama could speak with her without thundering against her mind painfully, although there was still a deep, silkier voice whispering when he spoke to her.
Rose stood suddenly, causing Kurama to look up from the paper at her. She glanced at him quickly before beginning to leave.
"If you'll excuse me," she said almost haughtily as she exited the room, as though she needed permission to leave. Yasha looked back at him for a moment, green eyes catching on black, before the creature leapt to the girl's shoulder and they walked out of sight.
The girl nearly bumped into Yukina, who was bringing a tray of tea for Genkai in the next room. Rose stopped short and apologized to her. She was rewarded with a small, forgiving smile.
"Yukina-san... would you like to take a walk with me?" The brunette asked suddenly. Yukina blinked slowly before giving a hearty nod.
"I would love to, Rose-san," the ice apparition said.
"Alright, I'll wait outside. This place is too crowded and oppressing," she said, her voice loud enough for Kurama to hear, and ignore, it. The maiden gave a small bow and turned to quickly deliver the steaming tea on the tray.
Kurama listened as Rose quickly walked out of the compound, noting when Yukina's quiet footsteps echoed hers a few moments later.
"Aren't you going out as well, Hiei?"
The fire youkai grunted in answer, stepping out of the corner of the room, where he was hardly noticeable on a soft cushion that had been shoved against the wall. He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his cloak, his bright eyes staring at the doorway through which Rose had departed, and probably looking deeper toward where she and his sister were walking across the courtyard. He sulked quietly, almost imperceptibly.
"I could, but she would know," he said darkly. Kurama looked up at him, one eyebrow quirking in question.
"Her abilities are already that strong?" the redhead asked. Hiei gave a small, jerky nod.
"She found me watching her lessons a few days ago," he replied. The kitsune settled the newspaper across his knees, thoughtful. Hiei glanced down at him.
"You can't tell me you haven't noticed her control while you watched her healing lessons with Genkai," Hiei said gruffly. It was true, he had noticed vast improvement during her sessions with the elder lady that had been suggested and begun a few days after her meditation had begun.
"Hm," he said. "But I have a feeling that the ermine is assisting her more than we know. There's an intelligence in his eyes that I've seen only in mammalian demons." He sighed. "I have a feeling he's Rose's intended guardian, to teach her about her powers in case Thorn's hold on her Spirit Energy weakened, to ensure nothing terrible happened."
Hiei frowned slightly, eyes narrowing in thought. The conclusion Kurama had come to was frightfully valid. Could Thorn have had so little confidence in her abilities? Or, perhaps, she knew there were flaws in her strength. And that thought, above all, was terrifying.
---------------------------------------
AN: wow, it's been a while! over a month! I actually found an old copy of this on a floppy disk, so instead of rewriting it from scratch, I'm redoing all of my crappy, sophmore-writing skills. -le sigh- so yes, sorry for the long wait. for those of you who have stuck with me after all this time, I thank you! -bows x infinity-
Reviews:
Ensatsu-Kokoryu-Ha: -bows a LOT- thank you so much for getting my ass in gear! without your PM I totally would have flopped out. as it is, I still didn't get it done half as fast as I wanted to! hope college Prep is going great for you my mother's HARPING on me about making sure I have everything. aggg!
Koji Shikage: thank you for the review! Rose doesn't like Thorn very much, but there's nothing I can do about it, she's very much running away from me u. whoops. thanks again!
J