What I Learned at Genkai's Temple

Pretty Flower?

Kohari: Sorry, guys. Didn't realize how long it had been since we posted...My bad.

Jacqie: Hope y'all enjoy this chapter and we promise we'll try and update faster this time. Key word being try...since school starts at the end of this week it may be hard for us to update. But we will do our best so until then, enjoy!

Note: The flashback is in italics, the normal font is in the present.

Kit jumped slightly at a particularly loud clap of thunder before continuing down the stairs to the living room. She envied Kai and Daphne. They were still sleeping peacefully in their beds, unlike her. Kit grimaced as she stepped on a creaky stair as she was trying her best to be as quiet as she could so she didn't accidently wake anyone else up, not that they could hear her over the storm anyway. Finally she managed to get into the living room only to be met with the sight of a certain red-haired kitsune with gorgeous green eyes that were now focused on her...oops. "Oh. Hey, Kurama."

"Hello, Kit. Did the storm keep you awake as well?" he questioned, smiling softly at her as she plopped down next to him on the couch.

"Yeah, and unfortunately, it doesn't look like I'll be getting back to sleep anytime soon." Kurama just nodded in agreement at this statement. Kit stared into the fireplace for a few minutes before she realized that Kurama was staring at her. She glanced up quickly only to look back down at her lap with a heavy blush on her face when she saw how intently he was gazing at her. She then felt a hand on her chin lifting her head until her blue eyes were level with Kurama's eyes. He leaned in towards her slowly as she closed her eyes. This time there were no interruptions as his lips met hers in a soft and gentle kiss.

He drew away from her before long and smiled at her when she opened her eyes. "Thank the lord that Yusuke is probably too deep in sleep to interrupt that time," he said laughingly as he pulled Kit closer to him so that she rested against him and her head was lying on his chest. They sat like this for a while, whispering things to each other and stealing kisses every couple of minutes. They were right in the middle of a kiss when they heard a recognizable voice.

"Sheesh you guys, get a friggin' room." By the time that Kit and Kurama had managed to untangle themselves, the person to whom the voice belonged had settled herself into one of the chairs in the room.

"Hey Kai, did the storm wake you up?" Kit asked still blushing slightly from being caught kissing Kurama.

"Yeah, it did. Thought I would come down to the living room and hang out in here until the storm quit. I didn't expect to find you two all lovey-dovey," Kai said teasingly.

"Anyway Kai, do you know if anyone else is up because of the storm?" Kurama asked quickly trying to change the subject.

Kai rolled her eyes at him, knowing exactly what he was doing, but she went with it anyway. "Yeah, it woke Daphne up, too."

"Did she decide to stay in her room to try and get back to sleep?"

"Nope, and I don't think she was even considering going back to sleep...at least not in her bed. She went to go see if the storm woke Hiei up," she replied smirking.

"Oh. Well, even if the storm didn't wake Hiei up. I can pretty much guarantee he's awake now," Kurama said smiling.

"Yeah, whatever. I just wish I could get back to sleep, because, unlike Kit and Daphne, I don't have a guy to snuggle up with on this stormy night," Kai said with fake despair evident in her voice.

"Maybe we can find some leftovers of that plant that we used to knock the guys out that one time," Kit said shrugging her shoulders. Kai grinned when she remembered that occasion while Kurama just shook his head. "Hey, since none of use are gonna get to sleep anyway, why don't we take a stroll down memory lane," she suggested looking at Kurama.

"Yeah, we can take turns recounting it, since some of us know parts that the others don't," Kai said snuggling deeper into the chair.

"Kurama I think you need to start it off."

"Oh, alright," he said.

Flashback

"Please tell me you're joking, Genkai," Kurama said in reference to the news he'd just been given.

"No, I am not joking," she assured him. "Besides, Koenma agrees that it is important to the safety of the girls."

Resisting the urge to comment that he didn't think the girls were in any danger and that even if they were, he was pretty sure they would all just let the girls get taken anyway, he asked, "Then, are there any others who could teach them?"

"Nope," came the all-too-expected reply. "You are, after all, the expert at recognizing herbs. I know of no one else in all of Makai as wise in the ways of plants as you are."

For the first time, Kurama saw this as a liability rather than a benefit. He sighed, realizing that there was no arguing with logic. Besides, who knew? Maybe something would come and eat them, and he could just excuse it as an accident. Or...many possibilites came to mind. He made his way to the girls' dowms and stood outside Daphne's room to wait for them to notice that he was there, standing against the door frame. It was open and the girls were all sitting cross-legged on the bed in a circle, whispering. Kurama had no doubt that they were plotting something.

"Oh, hey, Kurama!" Kit was the first to catch his presence. The others echoed her.

"Hello, girls," he replied, without their enthusiasm.

"What's up?" Daphne asked out of habit.

"A direction, you idiot!" Kai snapped and playfully whacked her with a pillow. Of course, a pillow fight ensued. Kurama sighed and went in to break it up. When he had all of the pillows in his possession, out of their reach, and they were all glaring at him, he knew he had their full and undivided attention. He took this opportunity to explain:

"We're taking a little field trip."

"Really?"

"Sweet!"

"To Makai?"

"To Reikai?"

"No," he told them, left with no more patience. The bombardment of questions had already given him a headache. "I was thinking somewhere a little closer to home." Confused looks were passed around as he led them outside.

"This isn't a field trip, Kurama," Daphne pointed out angrily as they walked through Genkai's forest. "I mean, we come here, like, every day."

"Well, this is probably one of the best places to learn about what I have to teach you," he replied. Seeing the disgusted expressions on their faces that he knew had been coming, he added, "Herbs." A chorus of "Aw, man!" followed.

"So this is what we came out here for?" Kit complained.

"To learn about some stupid flowers?" Kai continued, infuriating Kurama even further.

"We can learn about plants in school," Daphne finished off. Kurama was somewhat relieved that they saw it his way.

"Genkai has insisted that knowledge of the earth is essential for you and your well-being."

"How?" Kai challenged the theory.

"If you were ever in a situation where you needed medical assistance, and no allies are around to help you, you would appreciate knowing which plants could save you...or kill you."

"Or the baddies?" Daphne suggested hopefully.

"Yes," Kurama agreed in a "let's-go-with-that" tone. Daphne looked pleased with herself. "Now, let's get started..."

"Are we gonna be doin' this all day?" Kai inquired.

"I'm afraid so." He thought up a counter to the second round of complaints. "But seeing as you're all so against it, I suppose we could only have half a day of 'class' this morning."

"Yay!"

"Unfortunately, we'll have to have the rest of it this afternoon."

"What?"

"That bites!" Kai commented. "That was a cruel trick, Kurama. Got me all excited..."

"What's this one?" Kit pointed to a little plant beside which she had squatted to get a better look.

"That is catnip," he answered truthfully.

End Flashback

"Yeah, and then Daphne had said something to the effect of 'Cat drugs? Cool!'," Kai said laughing in remembrance of their 'field trip'.

"That's not what I said, Kai," said Daphne as she came into the room followed by Hiei. Hiei immediately went and sat down in one of the larger chairs. Daphne smiled at everyone as she went and perched on the arm of the chair that Hiei was now sitting in.

"Okay, cool, the important people are all down here now, so we can finish the story," Kit said as she snuggled closer to Kurama's warmth.

"Yeah!" Kai exclaimed.

"So what exactly did you say then, Daphne?" Kurama questioned.

"I said and I quote, 'Oh, sweet! Kitty crack!'," Daphne replied from her new position in Hiei's lap and judging by the look on the apparition's face, he couldn't decide whether he wanted to shove her off or let her stay there.

"Okay, well, let's continue the story!" A chorus of agreements followed Kit's statement.

Resume Flashback

"Oh, sweet! Kitty crack!" Daphne cried out ecstatically and bent down to investigate.

"Cats can really get high just whiffin' this stuff?" Kai wondered aloud, sniffing it. (Well, the smell drives cats nuts, so she's tryin'...sorry, Kai, but the stuff only works on cats.)

"It's obvious none of you have taken a Horticulture course," he observed.

"I did so!" Kit defended herself. "But they just made us water flowers in the greenhouse. We didn't actually LEARN anything."

"Well, I remember that pepperoni-leaf plant thingy, but that was about it." Kai had taken the course, because Kit had insisted on being in the same classes that year.

"Well, there was that. And sperengi ferns (spelling?), Boston fern, Norfolk Island Pine..." Kit counted them off, and continued with others until Kurama interrupted.

"So you would be able to identify those if I showed them to you?"

"Probably."

"Alright." He quizzed them on it. Not surprisingly, only Daphne and Kit managed to make a passable score. (Daphne spent a lot of time with Kurama in the beginning, remember?)

"It seems I have my work cut out for me," Kurama sighed again.

"Yup!" the three girls chirped.

Kit wandered off as Kurama lectured Daphne and Kai on mushrooms (which are technically fungi) - which ones would be helpful, and which ones they would be better off not even touching. He considered telling them to breath the fumes from a particularly lethal one, but he wasn't exactly hopping to go back to Makai prison.

Kit bent over near a minitature plant. One of the many demons in the forest tried to grab her, but she ducked, unknowingly avoiding his grasp.She plucked the plant from the ground and rose again, knocking her head against the demon's. He withdrew immediately, in pain (well, she does have a hard head), and ran off, whimpering. "Ow," she said, rubbing her slighly hurt head. She looked around to see what had hit it without discovering anything. She shrugged it off and rejoined the others. Kurama hadn't even missed her - or known she was gone.

"Now, this one..."

"Hey, Kurama?" Kit interjected.

"Yes, Kit?" he halted momentarily for her. His voice revealed that he was rather annoyed.

"What's this one?" She held it right up to his face. His eyes widened.

"That's-!" He was knocked out before he could complete his sentence.

"Did you know that would happen?" Kai asked Kit.

"Yup!" Kit answered, swinging the plant around. "Who needs Horticulture?"

"Nice work!" Daphne high-fived her. "So what do we do with him?"

"I say we accost him into the woods and take advantage of him!" Kit joked.

"We're already in the woods."

"Well, that simplifies things."

"Nah. We'll leave him here."

"Sounds good."

"I'm in."

So they left.

End Flashback

"You girls were going to do what after knocking me out?" Kurama asked.

"We weren't really going to," Kit protested.

"It was her idea!" Kai and Daphne simultaneously pointed at Kit.

"I still need to repay you for rendering me unconscious," Kurama remembered, and began tickling Kit, who, being super-ticklish, began laughing uncontrollably and was helpless.

"Get a room!" everyone else shouted together.

"I think we should get on with the story..." Daphne tried to get back to the task at hand.

"So who's turn is it?" Kai wondered.

"I believe I have something to add," Kurama told them.

"So how did it go?" Hiei taunted the fox when he came in after dark.

"Be quiet, Hiei," Kurama commanded him.

Hiei couldn't resist a smirk. "Quite a handful, aren't they?"

"Well, I wouldn't be acting so smug about it if I were you," Kurama advised. "I was informed that, thankfully, YOU would be taking them tomorrow for defense lessons."

Those words wiped the grin off of Hiei's face.

End Flashback

"And then came dinner!" Kit said.

Dinnertime...

All of the group are assembled with the exception of Genkai, Koenma, and Botan, who are attending a private meeting discussing the ever-troublesome Daphne, Kit, and Kai. Yukina is in the kitchen preparing dinner with Kit.

"Thank you for helping me, Kit. I never would have thought to try out any of these ideas."

"Hey, no prob," Kit brushed it off. 'Someone has to make sure something edible makes it to the table...'

"Would you mind serving for me, please, while I clean up?"

"Sure!" Kit smiled as she took up the dishes and brought them to the table. "Eat up, boys!" Nobody caught on that there were girls present, and they dug in. Except for the girls, because they hadn't been invited. Within minutes, the boys had fallen asleep, heads on the table. Yusuke and Kuwabara were practically drowning in a puddle of drool, and their heads rested on what remained of their food. The two were snoring, as well.

It was at this point that Yukina entered from the kitchen. "Oh, dear," she said in surprise. "They must be tired. Girls, would you mind putting them to bed? I don't think it's a good idea for them to sleep at the table."

"Okay!" Yukina went back into the kitchen.

"Who says we need Plant Identification Lessons?" Kit repeated, packing away the left-overs of the knock-out herbs she had collected from the woods. The girls dragged the boys outside, where ropes were waiting on the roof. (They're gonna tie them up...)

By this time Kit, Daphne, and Kai were laughing in remembrance of their antics and the boys' reactions when they found themselves tied up when they were awoken. However, telling the story had made all of them rather sleepy. Kai stood up and stretched before leaving and heading up to the girl's room to sleep, "'Night, you guys."

Kit and Daphne had shown no inclination to move as they were perfectly comfortable where they were. Kit was in the same position she'd been in before they started the story, resting against Kurama and her head lying on his chest. Daphne had managed to change her position so that she was curled up in Hiei's lap and had her head resting on his shoulder. Both girls fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

Kurama wrapped his arms around Kit pulling her closer to him, then grabbed a blanket that Hiei had tossed him and draped it over himself and Kit. He figured that it was okay for Kit to sleep here for tonight anyway. If anyone asked he would just tell them that they had fallen asleep here accidently.

Hiei had stood up scooping Daphne into his arms. He tossed the blanket to Kurama as he made his way out of the living room and up the stairs. At the top stair he hesitated, debating whether or not to take her to her own room or not, he decided to not risk waking her up and took her to his room.

Jacqie: Darnit...I made another sappy one. Oh well, y'all like fluff right? I hope so.

Kohari: Hope you enjoyed it. Review!