What I Learned At Genkai's Temple

Violet Twilight
Part Four: Subtraction

Note: We do NOT own the song "Temperature" or any other copyrighted stuff in here. Do we ever?

Kurama had no idea how long he had remained sitting at that table, reflecting upon Daphne's harsh but understandable words. He had gone though all the adventures he, his team, and the girls had shared since their arrival, and could hardly remember a day without them. Although he was fond of each of the girls, the one most special to him was, without a doubt, Kit. He couldn't imagine a life without her anymore.

The more he thought about what Daphne had said, the more hypocritical he felt. He had expressed thousands of times how important Kit was to him, how much she meant to him. But had he really been showing it lately?

It was plausible much of her rude behavior had been the child of a jealous heart, but the kitsune couldn't bring himself to believe that envy was the sole root of all of this. It was as Kai had told Yusuke: Kit made friends easily, and if she didn't trust someone, there had to be a deeper reason than just jealousy.

He now suspected, just like the others, that Sarena's silence regarding her past wasn't because it was painful to talk about. Perhaps there was something more sinister afoot.

Sarena had somewhat withdrawn from everybody else, clinging to Kurama as if for dear life. She adored him. If anyone could extract information from her, it was Kurama himself. And that's what he planned to do.

When he found her outside, Sarena was slowly recovering from her crying fit. "Are you feeling better, Sarena?"

"I'm getting there," she replied, wiping the few remaining tears from her eyes.

"Let's take a walk," he suggested, charmingly offering her his hand. She smiled and took it, allowing him to lead her down one of the many paths in the forest.

For a while, their journey was quiet, with only the wind in the trees to entertain their ears. Eventually, however, Kurama decided to break the silence. "So, Sarena. I know you're not comfortable talking about yourself, but I'm worried," he began. Seeing the fearful look in her eyes as she stopped and stared at him inspired him to continue. "If there's something troubling you about your past, I hope I'm able to help you."

She said nothing.

"Your secret will be safe with me," he promised. "You have my word on that." He sounded so trustworthy, so kind, so sympathetic. Sarena couldn't refuse him.

"Okay," she agreed. They started walking again as she told him of how her parents were killed by demons who had attacked the small village where she lived, how she was the sole survivor, having escaped under cover of the chaos and confusion, and how she had sworn revenge. Knowing, however, that she wasn't nearly strong enough to take them on, she had travelled everywhere in search of a teacher. There had obviously been a reason her people were attacked, though. She knew this because when the demons who had killed her family learned of her existence and her plan, they pursued her and sought after her life as well. She had been running from a pack of them when she had come across Genkai's temple. Something about the forest had forced them to give up their chase, so she felt safe staying there. When she discovered that she had taken refuge at the temple of the renowned psychic Genkai, she had been thrilled and hoped to be trained by her. But she hadn't gotten up the courage to ask. She was scared Genkai would refuse to train her, or worse, kick her out of the temple, if she knew that Sarena was being pursued.

"You do believe me, don't you, Kura-kun?" Sarena gazed at him with the most innocent eyes a male could imagine, pleading.

"Of course," he assured her, and escorted her back to the temple.

"I don't believe her," the dark-haired apparition announced after the kitsune had recounted Sarena's tale.

"Her story sounds reasonable," Kurama argued.

"Reasonable and truthful are two different things," Hiei felt it his duty to remind his partner in crime.

There was a moment of thoughtful silence before Kurama asked, "You're certain she's lying?"

"Positive," came the reply.

Kurama sighed. "I don't see why she would deceive us, Hiei. What could she possibly have to hide?"

"I don't know, but for some reason, but you'd better find out," Hiei confused Kurama. "My Jagan doesn't work on her. And I don't trust anyone if I can't find out where their loyalties lie."

"Understood," Kurama sympathized. "Anyway, I think I need a little time alone to collect my thoughts." He rose majestically and made his way to his lab downstairs. To his surprise, someone was already down there.

"Sarena?" he recognized her as she snooped around on one of his lab tables. She turned around suddenly, caught off guard, keeping her hands adorably behind her back.

"There you are, Kura-kun!" she exclaimed as though happy to see him.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked her.

"Hiei told me you were down here."

"How long have you been in here?" he continued to inquire.

"Like, two minutes," she estimated. This was contrary to what Kurama knew - he had been talking with Hiei for the last half hour or so. He stored that in his memory for the time.

"Did you want something?"

"No," she answered flirtatiously with a smile. "Just wanted to be with you." Suddenly, the cell phone in her pocket started singing "Temperature," interrupting the moment they were sharing. Without even looking at who was calling, she said, "Sorry, Kura-kun, I have to take this." She gave him a peck on the cheek before running out of the lab with a "See ya later!"

Kurama, temporarily shocked from the sudden display of affection, snapped out of it and immediately went into his greenhouse, failing to notice a scalpel was missing from his collection.

Sarena redialed the number of the phone call she had missed and leaned against the wall, only having to wait two rings before someone answered. "Sarena. Is it done?" a deep male voice demanded on the other end of the line.

"No..." she sighed.

"Sarena," the voice chastised. "Your orders were clear."

"Yes, I know," she said sadly.

"If you don't complete your mission by tonight, you will be severely punished," the voice promised ominously. Then a click signaled that the conversation was over.

Sarena replaced the phone back into her pocket and sighed again. She then clutched the scalpel in her fingers, unwilling to do what she had to do, but even less eager to disobey her master. She pursed her lips, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to fall from her violet eyes glowing with emotion. After a few minutes, she finally plucked up the courage to do her job, determined to carry it out.

Kurama was back working in his lab when Sarena went back down there, deeply absorbed in what he was doing. Hearing her soft footsteps, he turned long enough to see Sarena enter and acknowledge her presence before resuming work.

Sarena froze at the door, grasping the scalpel so tightly that her knuckles were white. She didn't trust her aim enough to throw it, nor did she have confidence in her willpower in a position of possible inaccuracy. She walked forward a few steps, with the idea of throwing her arms around his neck, acting as if to hug him and in the process stabbing him in the heart with her weapon. But she couldn't dispute the fact that the easiest way to take his life would be through his back...

With each step, she doubted herself more and more. Finally, she was a few feet behind him. Her hands shook violently, she couldn't breathe. Then she made her split-second decision.

She threw the blade to the side and threw her arms around his neck. When he looked at her, she took his face in her hands and kissed him passionately, eyes filled with tears. Before he could catch her and question her about the whole event, however, she released him and ran out of the room, leaving him to wonder about her plan and her decision.

Sarena ran immediately to Kit's room, who was alone in there, reading. She stood up, seeing Sarena enter so quickly and out of breath.

"You were right about me," Sarena confessed. "I was a shrew, a plotting little bitch, and no matter how nice you were, I was still horrible and hypocritical. I'm sorry." She cried and hugged Kit, to whom all this was happening to quickly that she didn't understand. "Never change, Kit. I admire you for your sweet nature and eagle-eyed judgement. Take care of him, girl. And good-bye."

Before Kit could react, every strand of purple hair had vanished from the room. And it wasn't long before every trace of the girl had disappeared from the temple. It wasn't long before the whole thing registered in Kit's mind.

"Good-bye, Sarena," she said, almost sadly. Then she smiled. She felt that, even if she had been right about Sarena's intentions, she had been wrong about her character.

But that no longer mattered. Now Kura-kun was all hers again.