"There was a troll-like creature that sent me flying, like seriously flying through the air like I was nothing, twenty feet with a swat of its hand and an imp-like creature that bit me and moved so fast I blinked and missed it. They were trying to chase me to try and make a game out of catching their prey and tried to tear me apart but Hiei, the demon boy that my cousin and his friend know, came and saved me from them just in time and told me that I was pathetic and pretended to leave me alone but he led me back to safety anyway like I wasn't supposed to know he was there-"

"You need to stay still." Genkai sighed, interrupting my ramble, her healing lightning powers starting up again. I bit my lip, observing her stoic face while she focused on getting me to a point where breathing wasn't uncomfortable. I couldn't keep quiet though, oddly enough, and changed tactics.

"How was town? Did you even go into town? Because I'm convinced that you didn't."

Her lips quirked up, and she finished her healing before she turned away from me and poured us each a cup of tea. I sat up, testing my ribs and my leg. Everything felt a little tight, and I was probably going to be somewhat sore, but nothing a little stretching and rest wouldn't fix. I accepted the tea she offered me, sipping at it and closing my eyes. My stomach wasn't sure how to process food after not having to operate at all over the course of the day.

"So your demon friend. He tried to make you think you were on your own?"

"I wouldn't say he's my friend." I treaded carefully on this topic. During the hour I had spent lying on the floor waiting for Genkai to come home, I had been thinking of the short demon boy that had saved my life for no reason other than he wanted to. He was rude and cold and distant and he hated humans. I could see it in his eyes and from all of the things Kazuma had told me, but he didn't have to come to me. Even if there was some honor streak in there somewhere, he could have let me die and I don't think he would have looked twice. "But yeah. He cut a tree branch off to stop me from going in the wrong direction, and he followed me all the way to the bridge we trained on yesterday. I couldn't feel him from there, so he probably left after I knew what way to go."

"You must have given off some strong energy to attract demons from across the forest like that." She said knowingly, sipping her tea. I glowered, but sipped mine as well and sighed.

"I gave in, just like you knew I would. After some deliberation, I've decided that this is something that I need to learn to control rather than suppress. It's only going to continue to cause me anxiety and it will get more out of control, and I can't allow that." I admitted, playing with the base of my cup. It was hot against my hands, and it soothed me a little. "I'm sorry I reacted so badly."

She didn't say anything for a long time. Her eyes unfocused a little, her jaw slackened. I wasn't really sure what to do? Her finger tapped her cup rhythmically, and it amused me that it was one of my practice songs for dance. I sipped my tea, draining the contents and burning my throat before she finally looked at me again.

"Are you going to show me what you can do or are you waiting for an invitation?" She sassed me, and I didn't miss the not-so-subtle change in conversation, but I chose to ignore it.

Instead, I took a breath and raised my hand to the kettle still warming on the small fire she'd lit. I let the tingling sensation run over my fingertips, and concentrated very hard on pulling the tea from the spout. It wobbled and splashed a little when I tried to sink it into our cups, but I grinned like an idiot anyway, feeling out of breath from that one task. She smirked, sipping it and nodding.

"Not bad, kiddo. We'll work on that tomorrow."

"You're on."

(Three days later)

"Keep your hands up." Genkai ordered, flicking another weird spirit rock thing from her fingers at me. I jerked my hands, and thus the water I was practicing with, up and intercepted the little thing. The first thirty-seven times she did this, the spirit rock just went through my liquid defense and hit me in the arms, the stomach, the chest, the thighs... but thirty-eight appeared to be my lucky number. I shuddered at the smallest surge of energy that tweaked at me. "Did you feel yourself absorb the energy rather than take the blunt hit?"

"Yeah... I'm not sure I liked it."

"You'll love it if you're ever in a situation where your opponent is stronger than you are." She flicked seven more quickly at me, and only the first one suckered me in the sternum. I couldn't feel it as the glowing of her energy absorbed through my water and somehow managed to reach me from a foot away. "How did you do it?"

"I got irritated with you hitting me repeatedly so I essentially just went with the blow instead of trying to go against it. Like if someone punched me in the face, I would turn my face with their fist and retaliate instead of trying to turn into it."

"An interesting analogy, but accurate enough. Energy absorption is a nifty trick to have on your side, and something that isn't wise to utilize until you can do it correctly. Tomorrow we'll start your physical training; you need to know how to fight using your spirit energy rather than separating it."

She turned around, so I let the water drop down to the ground and followed her inside and into the kitchen, watching her prepare lunch.

"So you can combine spirit energy with normal things like just kicking or yelling?"

"You'd be shocked what you can do when your spirit energy reaches a proper strength. You could send grown men running with their tails between their legs with just a glare if you wanted."

I couldn't help but grin. It was strange now, working on building up my spirit strength and endurance. I was pretty crap so far at doing anything that didn't involve playing around, and that definitely involved fighting, but up until four days ago I wasn't even aware of what I could do let alone be able to accept this power, and in return, lose any feeling of normality I had ever gathered for myself. It was... invigorating to say the least. How had I ever convinced myself that 'normal' was what I wanted to be? And yet... there was still that darkness lurking in the back of my mind that whispered doubts, urged me to stay complacent and sedentary. It was... conflicting...

"Genkai..." I started, unsure of what it was exactly that I wanted to ask. "The demons that attacked me... they knew where I was because I used my abilities; why haven't I drawn anymore attention? Is it because I'm here?"

"You emit a particularly strong energy when you utilize your power." She admitted, handing a bowl of rice to me and walking out to the next room. "It's highly unusual for it to be so strong when you're so inexperienced. In my compound, you are safe; the wards I have keep out most undesirables. Outside of the compound, you will often have to fight as you did in the woods, and like Yusuke and Kazuma you will only grow the more that you fight and hone your skills."

"So every time I use it, I'll be putting people in danger." I pulled my braid over my shoulder, playing with the end of it as I thought.

"Don't underestimate your friends and your family." She put two glasses on the table next to the bowls, and I washed my hands in thought. "Two waters will be fine."

I nodded, focusing past my exhaustion from the day, and lifted my hands up to direct the water flow to the glasses. I tried to keep steady, but half the water ended up spilling out. I grunted, irritated, and swept the mess out of the kitchen and onto the plants just outside. This had become our ritual. If we had anything to drink that wasn't tea, it was water, and I provided it this way. If we had tea, I provided the water for the process of making it. It was great practice for me, and great amusement for her.

I sat down and poked my rice, feeling slightly irritated because I wasn't getting any better with something as simple as setting water down in a glass and wondering if I should practice before again before bed tonight.

"You're improving." Genkai smirked. "Quit pouting."

"I'm not pouting."

"Alright."

"I'm not!"

"You're very defensive."

I stuck my tongue out, feeling a smile betraying me. "I have to be defensive with you; you're too stubborn for me to be a pushover."

"You must be mistaking me for you on that particular matter."

I grinned, and froze with my rice halfway to my mouth.

"There's someone here."

Genkai sipped her water, calm and completely unfazed. "He's late."

"So we're... cool... with someone coming to the compound?" I hesitated to ask, but my curiosity was spiked. "We're not attacking this mysterious person coming into the compound? Was this someone you met on your theoretical trip to town?"

"Hardly." She smirked, turning on the television and sipping her tea. The news was quiet, the rays from the television a strange contrast in the usually quiet room. I should have guessed that there would be at least one television in this place that wasn't meant specifically for video games, but it was still strange seeing her viewing the outside world.

I should have expected him, but for some reason seeing the greasy haired kid with a scowl on his face had me astounded.

Yusuke walked in, seeming not to see me as he walked straight up to Genkai and kept his eyes trained on her.

"It's about time you came back." She said after a few moments of letting him (and me) sweat it out. "Please tell me you've gotten a little better."

He ground his teeth staring at her, and she sipped at her tea without a care in the world. I could see in her stance how serious she was, however, after all of this time with her, and I watched the reel starting to spin through her mind about how to train this punk.

"This time I won't go easy."

"It's different this time." He assured her. "I promise I'll push as hard as I can."

I stared between them, watching the tension grow. I bit my lip, not sure how to either make my presence known or leave the room without attracting the attention. This was a questionable situation, and of course Genkai solved all of my problems.

"Go put your things away. I must speak to Gavriella."

Yusuke's eyes rested on me for the first time, and his back straightened at not recognizing me right away. I waved halfheartedly to him, and came to sit in front of Genkai, my hands on my knees. This was guaranteed to transition easily from awkward to fascinating, I had no doubt.