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It was around 6:30 in the morning when Kage awoke to Genkai entering her room. Genkai gave her a look and a murmured 'not too bad' and left. Getting the hint, Kage jumped out of bed and quickly got ready. In three minutes flat she was standing in front of Genkai outside.
"First of all, take off the necklace that I gave you." She said.
Kage took off the necklace and felt her power rise and her ears, tail, and wings return. It felt good to have them back. The nice feeling was very short lived.
"Good. Now I want you to run 50 laps around the temple grounds."
Kage just stared in shock at Genkai for a moment. She had to be kidding! But remembering the horror stories that Yu-kun told her about his training, she knew that the old hag was serious. Taking a deep breath, Kage started on the course.
About an hour and a half later, Kage returned to where Genkai was standing and stopped in front of her. Panting and sweating, she awaited more instructions.
"That was not good enough. I want you to do it again and do it faster. I will expect you back in an hour. Now go!" Genkai scolded.
Not wasting any time, Kage took of again. This pattern continued on until the sun set and she had managed to do the 50 laps in thirty minutes. When Kage had finally returned to Genkai, she immediately collapsed at the old hag's feet and heaved for air. Kage had not realized that she was this out of shape. Dang'ums!!
"You may go into the house and eat. We will resume training tomorrow at 5 am. Be ready." And with that Genkai walked away to the house and left her lying on the ground.
Kage stayed there a good five minutes before she could finally regain her breath and a little movement in her limbs. Everything felt like jelly. Her arms. Her legs. Her farthest left eyelash on her right eye. Everything. She lied there and stared at the sky and tried to figure out the best method and plan of action on how to get up. A sudden shadow made her look to the left. Yusuke was walking steadily towards her.
"That bad, huh?" he asked.
"nngh-gh." Was all that came out of her mouth.
Giving a quite chuckle, Yusuke picked her up and carried her in his arms back to the house. Kage just snuggled closer, exclaiming "my snuffleupagus".
Yusuke couldn't help but burst out laughing. This girl could come up with the most random of sayings. He definitely wanted to keep her around. She was too funny.
Kage was happy that she made him laugh. There were times when he seemed so sad and hurt. She liked the happy and laughing side of him. He was cuter that way. Oh there was no denying that she was friends with some good looking guys. Kuwabara not so much, but he was kind and caring and goofy which made up for a good amount of his lack of looks. Plus she could get used to being carried by Yu-kun. He was comfy.
They made it into the house and Yusuke plopped her down on the couch. He then proceeded to sit next to her.
"Sore much?" he asked.
"Very." Kage replied.
"Yeah, I remember that feeling very well. Don't worry, it only gets worse from here." He supplied with a Cheshire grin.
"Gee, thanks for the sage advice captain obvious. Only lollipops know what I would have done without your infinite wisdom."
Yusuke let out a good laugh and Kage chuckled some as well.
"If dimwit and nitwit are done here, dinner is ready and waiting on the two of you." Genkai interrupted.
The two teens looked at each other and shook their heads at the nicknames. Yusuke stood and gently helped Kage to her feet. They slowly walked into the dining area. Kage stopped them just before they went in.
"Thanks for everything, Yu-kun. I mean it" Kage whispered.
"No problem." He answered.
The two then continued into the dining room and sat down to a meal of chicken, rice, lettuce, and vegetables. Overall, it was delicious and everyone joked around. Mostly it was about how Genkai kicked Kage's ass by making her run around so much. Even Hiei joined in on the jibes but then again that's not so surprising.
After dinner, Kage said goodbye to Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara as it was Sunday and they had to go to school tomorrow and probably would not be back until the next weekend. Kage gave a nod of recognition to Hiei since she had been told that he did as he pleased and was either in the demon world or hung out around the shrine.
Kage could not wait until she could show the boys what she would be able to do by the time they came back. Yukina escorted her up the stairs to their bedroom area and said a brief good night to Kage. Yukina figured the girl would conk out immediately and frankly, she would not blame her. Yukina had watched some of what Kage had to do and Yukina knew that if she ever tried that, she would die.
When Yukina reached her room, she headed to the section where she put all of her workout equipment. Kage gave her some tips and pointers on good strengthening exercises that she could start while Kage adapted to the training. Grabbing some light weights she started doing some bicep curls and other exercises to strengthen her arms. After she finished with those, she went to the exercise ball and did some sit ups, push ups and some balancing exercises. By the time that she had finished them all she was tired and sweaty.
Yukina put away her equipment and took a quick shower. Putting an ear to Kage's door, she could hear her soft music and breathing signaling that she was asleep. Yukina quickly changed into pajamas and went to bed. She quickly fell asleep.
The next morning came all too quickly for Kage. Waking up to the alarming blaring at 4:20 am, everything that did not hurt the day before was in pain today. It took five minutes to muster the strength to heave herself out of bed and into the shower. Only a short time later did Kage emerge and change into a clean black and blue workout outfit.
Stiffly maneuvering down the stairs, she walked into an empty kitchen and made some toast and ate it quickly. Seeing that it was almost time for training, Kage headed outside to find Genkai meditating. Sitting down beside her, Kage calmly waited for her teacher's instruction. She was not disappointed when Genkai spoke a few moments later.
"We will be alternating your training. One day will be physical and the next will be spiritual and demonic. That pattern will continue till I deem it fit to change it. Any questions?" Genkai explained.
Kage's only response was a soft "no sensei".
"Good then I will start you off with the 50 laps in half an hour to make sure you have not slacked and then we will start with your other training. Now GO!"
Kage wasted no time in following Genkai's orders. In thirty minutes flat, Kage returned only minimally out of breath. It was amazing how fast her demon body adapted to the training.
Genkai gave her a once over and nodded her head, then she walked towards a shaded area by the trees. Kage followed close behind. After being motioned to sit, Kage took residence on the ground and sat cross-legged.
"I want you to close your eyes and take two deep breaths and follow my instructions. We are going to try to bring your demonic energy to the surface." Genkai waited for Kage to comply and was quickly satisfied.
"I want you to feel yourself." At seeing her pupil's eyebrow lift at the statement, Genkai huffed and explained herself. "I want you to feel your heart beating and take notice of the feel of your muscles. Start at your toes and work you way up. Become aware of your body from your legs to your head. Knowing yourself is the first step."
Kage was a bit confused at first but understood what her teacher meant after giving it a try. It was an odd feeling but not a bad one. Kage started at her toes and worked her way up her body. There were the calves and the thighs, her abdomen and stomach, lungs, spine, arms, neck, head, eyes, and heart. When she got to her heart, an odd tingly sensation hit her and she could "see" this blue and black mass kind of floating there.
"Not perfect but satisfactory." Genkai quipped. "That is your demonic and life energy that you are seeing. I want you to concentrate on the black energy and envision in flowing through your body and to your hands. Concentrate it there."
Kage tried to imagine it flowing through her but the mass would not budge from its current location. Perspiration started to drip off her body as she concentrated hard on the task at hand. With a sigh, Kage stopped trying to force it and instead embraced herself mentally. She started to repeat a personal mantra of 'I am a demon' over and over inside her head. She felt her energy spread some from where it was centered.
Since this approach seemed to be working, she realized that she had yet to fully accept the changes that she had undergone. Somewhere deep inside of her, she still thought that this was a dream and she would wake up at home as a regular human. A deep sadness hit her as she realized never again would she see her mom, dad, brother, and close friends. Heck, Kage even missed some of her teachers.
Genkai noticed her student's aura darkening and a knowing frown crossed her features. She decided to give her some time to come to terms with all the changes and the reality that had obviously just hit her. Not five minutes later, Genkai watched as Kage's mood and aura lightened and she could see the faint traces of demonic energy on her fingertips. As the swirling black mass overtook her hand, Genkai decided to take her to the next step.
"Now open your eyes but keep the energy in your hands. I want you to take note of how it feels and what it looks like." Genkai waited as Kage did as she was told.
Kage loved the slight warm tingly feeling she got from her demonic energy flowing through her body. It just made her feel more…Powerful. Listening to Genkai command her further, Kage let the energy flow back into her body. After a couple seconds, she pulled it out again. This time, sweat was dripping on her face from the effort.
Back and forth this went until Kage could call forth her energy in an instant. Seeing that the sun was setting, Genkai called it a day. Getting up, Kage noticed that she was exhausted. Walking to the house took a lot of effort but the closer that she got, the more that she could smell Yuki-chan's cooking. It gave her the boost of energy she needed to make it to the dinning room.
After small talk and feasting on the delicious grubbage, Kage felt happy and content. She helped Yukina clean the dishes and then they both went upstairs to Yuki's room. Kage instructed Yukina to sit on the floor and then proceeded to follow suit. She taught her how to bring her energy forth and instructed her to practice like Genkai made her do. They followed up with some light chatter about their respective lives and came to enjoy each others company even more that before.
Soon it was off to bed and that was how the rest of the week progressed. Kage alternating between physical and spiritual workouts and teaching Yukina what she was learning and talking with the loveable Koorime. The weekend soon arrived and Kage could not wait to show her friends what she could now do. Little did she know what the weekend would hold and that she would be getting her first mission.
Finally, finished this chapter. Woot woot. So much homework this semester. Darn my 18 hrs. oh wells. I will stop making promises on when I will update since I keep breaking them. But continue on I will till the story is done! Thanks for reading! Enjoy!