I raised my hands up, and watched the water come up in a small whip about me. I positioned it, breathing out and beginning the form I had seen some anime character doing in one of Kazuma's shows. I had been obsessed with freezing water since I had done it days ago with Hiei, and watching some fictional cartoon controlling the element of water like it was nothing more than breathing got the fire under my ass to start really focusing on increasing my abilities. Hiei had been helpful beyond words with reactionary skill and trying to learn to defend myself, and Genkai's lessons of acceptance and patience were a keen combination for allowing me to advance more quickly than I could dream of.
The water whip did exactly as I wanted it to, malleable in my hands and maneuvering with every thought in my head. It was a beautiful and intimate moment for me.
Was I an expert? Far from. Was this the coolest thing I had ever accomplished in my entire existence? Hell yes.
I twisted and flipped and danced with my power, grinning like an idiot at how perfect this was to me, how foolish I was to ever want this suppressed, and how much I had grown without realizing it. Almost two months and I could do what only existed in fairytales. Was this how Genkai felt all of the time? Or Kazuma? Would it just become an accepted part of existence eventually, like breathing and the beat of my heart in my chest? Gods I hoped not. This was too wonderful a feeling to ever be taken for granted.
A noise to my left startled me, and I whipped myself upside the head with the stream, causing myself to lurch forward. No one was there, just the water trickling on it's way and a few stray animals wandering about minding their own business. Well, that would have been embarrassing if Genkai or Yusuke had been wandering down...
"You have an amazing power." I suppressed a yell at the voice behind me, whipping around again and nearly slipping on the leaves scattered about by my shoes. A barrier automatically came up between the stranger and myself. "Though your focus needs more attention."
"Who are you?" I took a step back, taking in his appearance through the barrier between us. He must've been at least seven feet tall, with jeans and a long green trenchcoat over a green shirt of a different shade. He was wearing sunglasses, his hair cut in a militaristic style, and his features were overall sharp. His presence alone made me unexplainably nervous.
"Your power presents itself most fully when you aren't trying, specifically when you are in a situation that your body and mind recognize as dangerous. Your power is new to you." I grit my teeth, not knowing what to say and fighting the urge to bolt. He kept his hands in his pockets, completely at ease with this entire situation. "Don't fight your mind when you train. Concentrate and focus your mind on your one task, and soon your power will be natural to you."
He took one of his hands out of his pockets and positioned it in front of his body like he was ready to flick a pebble at me. I had a flashback of my training with Genkai, and rolled out of the way just as he flicked his fingers at me. There was a the sound of bark breaking, a dull crashing, and I rolled again, dodging blows that he flicked out at me. My heart jumped up the speed, adrenaline slowing things down just a little. I could see the energy flicks, but they were too fast to keep an eye on the whole way through, and I couldn't do anything but run and dodge as fast as I could. What the hell was up with this guy?
My foot hit the root of a tree as I rolled again and I sprawled face first on the ground, yelling and bringing my hands up to try and block what I knew was coming without seeing anything but dirt. I heard the impact on the water, and shook my head to clear a little of my vision. One more flick. Two more flicks. I could feel a pulsing in my hands with every energy pebble he shot at me, and I shoved my hands out at him, following my gut, and watched the energy pebbles fly back to the source. Forcing myself to stand on clumsy feet, I brought my hands up again in defense and watched him turn his face back to me, a large cut across his face healing before my eyes. I stared, amazement mixing into the cauldron of messed up emotion in my body, and guarded up again as a smirk made it's way to his lips.
"I am pleased with the progress that we have made. Reflect on this exercise, and we will speak again when you have grown stronger." He turned around and walked through the treeline, effectively ending the discussion.
I stared at his retreating back, jolting into reality again and jogging after him.
"Hey! Wait a minute!"
He turned, and by the time I caught up to where he should have been, he was gone. Was he a psychic? No, he felt more like how Kurama and Hiei felt. So a demon? Did I just get training from a strange demon randomly wandering around the woods near Genkai's compound?
Genkai!
Cursing under my breath, I hauled my bag over my shoulder and started jogging up the path that led toward the stairs up to her compound. I had arrived earlier than expected, but I had no idea how much time I had wasted messing around and how much more had flown by when I got passive-aggressive trained by the trenchcoat clad demon stranger.
A familiar brown jacket came into view on the steps, a larger bag slung over his shoulder. Yusuke's gait was calm, one hand in his pocket and one hand carrying his bag, his face slack with thought.
"Hey, stranger!" I called to him, smiling politely.
His eyes widened, but he met me halfway and stopped, setting his bag down and glancing back in the direction he had come from.
"Wasn't expecting to see you again so soon, shorty." He jabbed his thumb toward the compound. "The old hag continuing your training so soon?"
"I guess so, yeah. I just received her letter to come up today and did as I was told." I shrugged. "I already wished the rest luck. You're going to do amazing at the tournament."
"I'll take that positivity." He grinned. "I'll see you when we get back. Good luck with your training."
"Your sarcasm is noted. I will though. Be safe." I laughed back at him, holding my hand out. He hesitated, but took it and shook once with a nod and a smile before he waved and we continued on our separate ways. I bit my lip, trying not to let that knot in my stomach get any tighter, and focused instead on figuring out what Genkai had in store for me.
She was inside, sipping tea, and the scene was overbearingly familiar.
"Your cup is going to get cold if you don't get moving." She grunted without looking at me. The corner of my mouth quirked, and I took my place next to her, sipping at the tea she had prepared for me. "You're probably wondering why you're here."
"I'm assuming it isn't to continue my training." I admitted to her, watching the steam still rising from the kettle. "Is it about the tournament?"
"It is." She nodded, setting her cup down and handing me another envelope. "I want to ask you to look after the compound while I'm gone."
"You're going?" I frowned, taking the envelope and opening it to find two tickets inside. "I'm confused."
"I was invited to come along and fight with the team. Not the same kind of invitation they received, just a request. They don't know that I'm coming, and I do plan to keep it that way." She stood up, hands clasped behind her back, and stared out the open screen door to the gentle breeze outside. "As for the contents of that envelope... well... you'll know what to do when the time comes."
"I hate when you're mysterious about your intentions." I sighed. "It usually means something really bad is going to happen."
She chuckled, shaking her head, and I felt that knot betraying me and winding ever so carefully tighter in my stomach, twisting the tea that now occupied the space. What wasn't she telling me?
"Don't overthink things, Ella. I can hear the gears turning from here. Everything will work itself out the way they are intended, and I need you to remember that there is nothing that we can do about it."
"We control what happens to us." I argued, standing up to walk next to her.
"Sometimes." She agreed. "And sometimes we have no control whatsoever. Whatever happens, whatever the outcome, just remember that."
I didn't like this one bit.
"Please be careful." I tried to say it with conviction, but the tremor betrayed me. She smiled, and raised her gaze upward to the sky.
"Before I leave, I want to see what you've been working on these past two months. I trust from your energy level that you haven't been sedentary."
"I've been training with Hiei and Kazuma." I admitted. "It's getting easier not to get overwhelmed when I touch people, but things still fade out when I touch someone with strong energy."
"It's an amazing gift." She glanced at me again. "I am eager to see how it progresses as you grow."
"It's pretty useless." I argued, sighing. "I hoped it would be something useful when I came to you that first day looking for advice, but there's nothing really useful about seeing a grouping of colors and emotions gathering together whenever I have skin contact with someone."
"You are able to see inside a person's soul, as I told you your last day here. How is the ability to see someone bared before you, truly see into who that person is without any of the crap layered over it, useless?"
I blushed at her praise, sticking my hands into the pocket of my hoodie. "So where am I doing my runthrough of what I've been doing?"
She smirked at my discomfort and nodded to the yard. "Just here will be fine."
I hopped down onto the yard, loving the general atmosphere around me, the crackle of power against my skin. I grinned at Genkai, lifting my hands and taking a deep breath, releasing it slowly.
Don't overthink. Don't overthink.