Ooookay here's the third chapter for you lovelies. I hope those of you who read this story liked it so far, because it only gets better ;)

Don't be shy in leaving a review, I promise I won't bite~ :D

P.S. All YuYu Hakusho characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi~ :)

3. Honest feelings

Stopping in his tracks, Kurama felt his ear twitch at that... he hadn't heard Nari mentioning his daughter's name in over a century.

"I was a child back then, as well... but no more."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Six months later Nozomi was starting to finally show some affinity towards the blade, much to Nari's relief. Whenever he was away with Kurama on missions, he left Kirin to continue her training, having chosen him precisely for his lack of interest in bedding her. She showed much promise in all varieties of weaponry and hand-to-hand combat, and a sharp mind as well. She did lack common knowledge on life, but she absorbed all information so quickly that to Nari it was simply stunning. Kurama quite enjoyed that aspect in her, after learning of it, and often spent hours playing various mind games with her to keep improving her memory and wits. His entire gang had soon understood that – despite not having claimed her directly – she belonged to their leader and was off limits to any other of them.

The one thing Nari and Kurama had failed to do, was to find her a teacher to help her hone her natural abilities and improve them. That was the only reason that made Kurama wish she hadn't been such a unique youkai. That day, however, he decided it was time to try something new with her. Heading to Nari's tent, where the girl was seated with the elder youkai listening to one of the many stories he told of Kurama and the others, the silver haired fox took a few moments to simply examine her. She'd grown slightly taller in those months, and the training sessions had given her body a better toned aspect. For a moment, he realized, he hadn't even considered her a child anymore. When the faint echo of voices faded from his ears, he realized Nari had stopped speaking after noticing him standing there.

"Come..."

With that one word he motioned the girl to follow, before turning his back on them and heading toward the nearby forest encased within their valley. With a curious gaze, Nozomi moved to her feet and lightly bowed to Nari before running after Kurama. She had discarded her former attire, opting for the white yukata and combat pants that the entire gang donned. It not only made training much easier by giving her better mobility, but she also enjoyed the way it emphasized the outline of her body. She had no idea why she so loved the way she looked, but she did spend quite a lot of time admiring herself in the small lake within that very forest.

Stopping near the water's edge, Kurama now turned his golden eyes to her. Wordlessly he reached into his hair and withdrew a seed which he dropped to the ground. Slightly tiling her head, Nozomi watched with interest... whenever Kurama had decided to show her some of his plants, she'd been truly intrigued by them. Stepping back, the fox-youkai now pointed to the seed.

"Make it grow..."

Blinking at that, the girl did her best to hide her disappointment, before curiosity took over her.

"But... how? I don't have your abilities..."

"You need some form of training for your own abilities. The power of the mind is more fearsome than any blade. You should be able to use your affinity to extract some of my own youki into your body and then channel it into the seed to help it grow."

Silenced by his words, the girl's silvery gaze was now overtaken by a shade of concern.

"Are you sure it's wise to let me experiment on you? What if I hurt you or worse...?"

"The wise man knows when to take risks and when not to. I need a way to train your natural abilities and I have yet to find any youkai with the same powers."

Hesitantly the girl stepped closer, her gaze silently begging him to reconsider though he ignored it. Yes, he perfectly knew the risks of her possibly tearing off one of his limbs or killing him, but it was a risk he was willing to take. Logically, it was the only way to train her. His train of thought was diverted when she placed a trembling hand upon his clothed chest, and his gaze once more zeroed in on her features. For all of the uncertainties involved in their current situation, he couldn't help but notice that her touch didn't leave him as unimpressed as before. Blaming that on the fact that he'd taken her care seriously, he blinked when her thoughts suddenly invaded his mind though she seemed oblivious to that. Most of her thoughts seemed to revolve around him, and he had somewhat expected that given the central role he had taken in her life. But the way she was thinking of him... he'd yet to meet a woman who could indeed look at him without any trace of lustful thought. It was a purity that quite literally stunned him for a moment. Could such an innocent, untainted creature truly be real?

As he delved into his own contemplation, not unaware of the youki she was drawing from his body, Nozomi suddenly realized that her mind was open to him to read. Startled by that fact she lost focus, and the youki she had extracted from his body now returned to him. The process itself, however, was so abrupt that he was shoved away from her and rendered to his knees with a rather deep cut across his chest, his blood now pouring onto the grass beneath him. Moments later Nari, who was now polishing one of his daggers, was startled by the girl's voice when she screamed in fright. Frowning he moved to stand, motioning three of the others to follow him to the forest.

"What are you screaming for?" Kurama scowled.

Reaching into his hair and withdrawing another seed, he clenched his fist around it, his youki morphing the small sow into a beautiful, blood red flower. As he had learned over the years, he knew that panicking would only serve to further worsen his situation. Tearing off one of the plant's leaves, he did his best to keep his awareness. He'd had and seen far worse wounds than that, but apparently he was losing too much blood too fast. For a moment he regretted not bringing Nari along, that being his last thought before his vision darkened and the ground pulled him to its embrace.

Still in shock, Nozomi now fell to her knees, tears flooding her face. Had she killed him? She knew she should've gone back to the camp for help, but her muscles were simply paralyzed because of that thought. She had killed the man who had not only saved her from living in a cage, but had taken her in and cared for her, when nothing tied them together. It was in that same state that Nari and the others found her. Recovering from the shock of seeing Kurama unconscious, the elder youkai rushed to his side.

"He's alive..." he stated with a relieved breath. "Take him back to camp and tend to that wound immediately."

Without a sound the three youkai now lifted their leader from the grass along with the plant he had left there and vanished in their speed to get him back to the others. Watching them depart, Nari then turned to Nozomi... approaching her, he gently placed a hand onto her shoulder only to have her lunge herself in his arms.

"I... I didn't mean to! I asked him to reconsider... I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to..." she yelled desperately amidst sobs.

Embracing her, the male now took to stroking her hair so as to calm her down.

"I know, child... I won't let anyone blame you for this."

Reaching into his yukata he withdrew a small flower, blowing some of the pollen into her face. She needed to calm down and perhaps a good sleep would help her in that. Lifting her to cradle her body in his arms after the plant's effect kicked in and knocked her out, he now returned to camp as well. Taking her to his tent, he left her there to sleep and stepped out, resuming his task of polishing his daggers. For the following two hours the entire camp was silent, a thing Nari was most grateful for.

"Is it true?"

Kirin's slightly wrathful voice almost startled the elderly youkai who now raised his gaze to meet the angry one of his younger counterpart. Failing to get an answer, the blue haired youkai scowled and spoke again.

"Is it true that she nearly killed Kurama-sama, Nari?"

"I heard you the first time, Kirin..." he stated calmly.

"Then answer me!"

Silence reigned between them for a few moments, a lot of the other men now listening intently, eager to hear the youkai's answer. The voice that did offer Kirin an answer, however, belonged not to Nari but to Kurama himself.

"It is not true."

Blinking at that, the youkai turned to the sight of his leader standing a few steps behind him only in his pants, his torso covered in bandages and the yukata grasped in his clawed hand.

"But, Kurama-sama..."

"That's enough, Kirin." Nari stated on a warning tone.

He knew well enough when Kurama was angry, and he saw no reason for Kirin to endure that over nothing. Averting his golden eyes to the others, the fox-youkai exhaled a slightly annoyed sigh.

"I am the only one to blame. I knew she could hurt me, but I urged her to train with me."

"Hurt you? She almost killed you..."

Falling silent when Kurama turned his eyes back to him, Kirin offered a silent bow.

"It was a risk I took willingly. She asked me to reconsider... I am the only one at fault."

Without another word he now moved toward the entrance to Nari's tent.

"She'll probably be out for another hour or so." the elder youkai stated.

Nodding, Kurama stepped inside, his eyes instantly focusing on the sleeping girl. She truly had such a fearsome power... to think she could use his own youki against him, without even meaning to. Sitting next to her, he reached to wipe off the drops of blood that had landed on her cheek due to the force with which his blood had gushed from the wound. Moving to sit next to the flap afterwards, he pushed it aside just enough to see Nari.

"So what really happened?" the elder youkai asked, still focused on polishing his dagger.

"Exactly what I said... I was trying to train her natural ability and she lost control."

"Something more happened, Kurama. I know your voice and all its tones well enough by now."

Of course, being the one who had raised Kurama after his tribe had been wiped out, Nari did indeed know him better than anyone else. Falling silent for a long while, until it seemed he wouldn't answer, the fox-youkai then spoke again.

"Can I tell you a secret, Nari?"

Blinking at that, the elder youkai finally averted his gaze toward Kurama. He hadn't heard the boy say those words in centuries.

"When she started using her powers, I was able to read part of her mind. She lost control probably when she realized her thoughts were flowing into my head."

"Are you sure you should be telling me this?"

"You're like a father to me... if I don't trust you, who else can I trust?"

A trace of smile graced Nari's lips; Kurama rarely stated the feelings that tied him to the older youkai, after all.

"Fair enough... what troubled you about them?"

"I've known many women in my life, Nari... maybe too many. But I have never met one who could look at me and not feel any trace of lust or desire. Many of them claim to love me... and not one of them loves me as sincerely as she does. My mind was simply stunned for a moment when I realized just how innocent and pure her thoughts and feelings are."

Smiling again, Nari took a few moments to ponder on that. He had expected the girl to be untainted, given that she had been raised away from any trace of evil or impure thought.

"Kurama, you know I love you as my own child, which is why I will give you an advice whether you want it or not. Don't try to be someone you're not... you rushed to label this girl as a child, and I know why you did it. You can't deny she reminds you of Amaya, just as I can't deny it either."

A heavy silence fell between them after those words, while Kurama simply pinned his golden gaze upon the girl before him. For once, his mind was empty of any thought merely enjoying the sight of her fair features, to the point where Nari's voice startled him.

"While Amaya wasn't as untainted as Nozomi, she did offer you the same sincere love. That's what scared you when you met this girl, I'm sure... I know why you never sought to take another woman. I know you're afraid of losing that woman as you lost Amaya... Kurama, I can see that each time I look at you. So you chose to not hold any of them close to your heart anymore, but merely to your body. I know you can sense those around you in ways that most others can't... but don't try to put up a wall around yourself because of fear."

When Kurama again failed to answer, Nari fell silent so as to allow the fox-youkai to contemplate his words. Letting go of the flap and isolating himself from the outside world, Kurama once more moved to sit next to the girl, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on his knees as he watched her. His mind still refused to work properly, instead choosing to simply relish in Nozomi's features, but he found that lack of thought to be quite relaxing... perhaps sometimes he did need a break from analyzing things.