To me, this chapter feels really rushed, but I don't really know how else to portray it all. So I guess just think of the majority of this chapter as a montage. Happy reading!
The goodbyes were heartbreaking. Kurama and Yusuke both said that they wouldn't be able to come back for visits. I wouldn't see them again until the tournament. Yukina had cooked a huge dinner that seemed to consist of every dish known to man the night before. Keiko, Shizuru, Botan, and Koenma all came. I tried to be happy with the get together, it was supposed to be a farewell party, but that one empty chair kept reminding me that everyone had not been there.
No one had seen Hiei since Genkai and I had entered the clearing three days ago. He had vanished.
I gritted my teeth and forced a smile as Kurama hugged me, albeit stiffly. He let me know that even though I had 'control' over my heat, males could still smell my pheromones. Yusuke squeezed me so tight I thought he was going to break my spine.
Everyone said their goodbyes in their own way: Keiko gave Yusuke a chaise kiss before slapping him and telling him he better send letters or something. Kuwabara swung at his head and shook Kurama's hand. Shizuru simply waved, caring, but not as much because her younger brother was staying home this time. Yukina gave them bento boxes and salves for cuts and bruises. Koenma and Genkai nodded while Botan gave them tight, emotional hugs. When they were gone, leaving through their separate portals, an emptiness filled the air.
"Well, no point standing around. Shizuru, would you mind driving me home?" Keiko brushed her face quickly with the backs of her hands, and that's when I realized she had been crying. I averted my eyes, uncomfortable seeing such a strong woman in her weakest moment.
"It's no problem. Kazuma are you coming too?" Shizuru seemed to feel the same way as me and tried to pretend she didn't see anything.
"Yeah, I'm coming. Genkai, so you want me to come back this weekend or something?"
"No. You'll have to train on your own for now. Come, Suteki. We have work to do." I bit my lip and waved at the others, then hurried to follow the pink haired lady.
"Only six more months…" I mumbled, then hissed as Yukina poured some accursed liquid across my feet. The sun blistered overhead, beating down on my already dark shoulders and neck.
"You really ought to wear shoes." The red eyed girl looked at me worriedly.
"I'm fine. The barbs didn't hurt that much until I walked across the stones." I stood as soon as she finished and stretched. I had reached the point in my training that Genkai no longer watched my every move. She knew I would do as she said whether she was there or not. Yukina often came to look after me, though. After I accidentally sliced open my hand sharpening a blade and then continued to sharpen it and every other blade in the weapon room for an hour, she worried that I would hurt myself and go untreated again.
Running through the list in my head, I wandered to a nearby pine tree. I took a bit of effort, but I managed to manipulate the branches into lashing out, hitting the ground with quite a bit of force. It was all getting easier by the day, but I was still concerned about my hand-to-hand combat. Genkai had taught me to use every weapon she owned, but I had no one to spar with. Sure, if I had soil beneath my feet I could maybe win, but what about in an arena? How would I survive then?
My jaw stung and my knuckles throbbed. My knees were scraped and my lip was split. Dirt caked my hands and feet. The purple-skinned demon in front of me was large, at least three times my size.
It was my second week in the Makai. Genkai had shoved me through a portal with a crudely drawn map to show me where another portal would be placed to take me home. This demon was the only thing standing in my way.
I snarled as he ran towards me, leaping up and focusing my energy. When I brought my foot down on the creature's forehead, I heard him scream. The energy that I took into my heel formed a physical blade. Twisting my upper body, I carved out a fourth of his head and kicked off his chest as I fell. Blood and brain coated my foot and pants leg, and I didn't even wait for the demon to hit the ground before I turned and started heading towards the portal. The coward had jumped me from behind.
When I crossed through the doorway to the Human World, I collapsed on soft green grass.
"How many?" The pink haired woman prodded my side with her foot. I hadn't even noticed her standing there before I fell.
"Forty two dead, twenty nine trapped, five evaded." I grimaced when I remembered the five. They were a gang that took me on all at once on my second day. One had torn my shirt and I barely had time to get away before they had the opportunity to get more. I had made a new shirt from the hide of a deer-like creature.
"Decent. Let's go."
I managed to pull myself up and follow her uphill to the temple. She stopped me before I went inside and pointed to a bucket full of water and a clean set of clothes folded beside it. I sighed, just wanting to have a nice meal, but pulled off the stiff and disgusting clothes and scrubbed away the grime and blood. When I was decently clean, I grabbed the clothes. It was a yukata, simple grey with black branches climbing it up, one that Botan had given me so long ago. I noted that it no longer swallowed me whole. My bust filled it nicely, and it didn't pool around my feet. I had grown taller. I didn't have to push the sleeves up either. I hadn't noticed the changes till now. In fact, it fit almost perfectly. It was a little tight on the shoulders, but that was all. Was I as tall as Botan? That would make me only a fraction of an inch shorter than Yusuke.
I knit my eyebrows together and went inside. I almost plowed into Yukina while my thoughts ran wild. Then I noticed something even stranger. Yukina was the same height as me.
"Sorry, Yukina. Hey, did this yukata shrink in the wash or something?" I picked at the shoulder of the fabric as I spoke.
"No, I don't believe so. Is it getting small?" She tilted her head and gave me a curious look.
"Well, no. I mean it fits now. Have I grown? Have you grown?" I grabbed a bowl of beef and rice and sat at the table.
"We both have. I'm assuming that you started growing because you've had less stress in your life and you've been receiving regular meals." I scoffed at her explanation before I remembered it was rude. Going through almost non-stop training for nine months was supposed to be relaxing? I wrote that part off and settled that the only reason was her amazing food.
"Anyway, my people reach puberty at one-hundred, so that's why I'm growing. I think I'm almost done."
"You're one-hundred?" My eyes shot open and she laughed softly.
"One-hundred and five actually. Physically, though, I'm about the same age as you." I thought back to the Ice Maiden at the camp. She had to have been almost two-hundred if I took into account what Yukina told me.
"That's insane!" We shared a laugh and finished our meals.
Genkai allowed me to take the rest of the day off, which was the biggest blessing I had received in a long time.
Finally, the day had come. I started throwing clothes in the bag Genkai had brought me. When I finished that, I carefully folded the white kimono that was Botan's first gift to me and placed it carefully on top of everything else. The branches that climbed up the skirt were the same earthy brown I remembered, and the red, orange, and yellow leaves were just as beautiful. It never hurt to be prepared. Hopefully this kimono fit as well as the yukatas I'd tried on.
"Suteki!" Genkai's harsh voice called up the stairs.
"Coming!" I snatched up the satchel and took the steps five at a time. I was loving my recently found long legs. I was greeted by all of the girls, Koenma, and Kuwabara at the bottom. Their jaws dropped nearly to the floor when they saw me.
"Good lord, Genkai, what have you been giving these two? They've both grown nearly a foot!" Botan hugged me tight as she asked the question. I couldn't believe it had been a full year since I'd seen all of them. I grinned wildly, unable to control my joy.
"And your hair's grown too!" Keiko was next to hug me, playfully tugging the lock of hair that hung by my ear.
"Yeah, it's all thanks to Yukina's food." I hugged Kuwabara and bowed politely towards Koenma.
"Yeah, my Yukina's cooking is magical." Kuwabara wrapped an arm around the girl whose head could now rest comfortably against his shoulder. I smiled at the two. She never said it, but Yukina had missed the silly carrot-top.
"Alright, let's get a move on!" Botan shuffled us towards the portal as we chatted about the past year. Kuwabara and Keiko had gotten into a local college, and Shizuru had started working at a local bar. Everyone seemed so excited, and I was too. Yet, I couldn't shake a creeping sense of dread that filled my stomach.
Koenma informed us that Enki, the winner from last year and current ruler of the Makai, had erected a place for participants and observers of the tournament to stay in. It was an enormous building, larger than any I had ever seen.
"Oh, where are they?" Keiko stood on her tiptoes to try and peer over the shuffling demons that crowded the common area.
"Over there." Koenma pointed to a quiet place in the corner of the room. I smiled when I saw two figures and snarled at the bodies blocking our path, some cleared quickly, and the others were easily moved aside. This sea of people was almost irritating. Botan squealed and ran towards them, the rest of us following behind her. Keiko greeted Yusuke by griping that he didn't write enough, other than that it seemed like we hadn't all been away from each other for a year. I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and turned to see Kurama.
"You look well, how have you been?" His green eyes sparkled and I couldn't help it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a hug. He chuckled and I felt his arms wrap around my waist.
"I've been alright, and you? You didn't seem happy to work with Yomi." I pulled away and rubbed my arm in embarrassment.
"It was fine. I just don't trust him, that's all." His smile disappeared and was replaced by a frown.
"Oh." I was going to tell him about my training, but an arm hooked around my neck and knuckles rub my scalp.
"So, Teki, you think you could take me now?" Yusuke's voice boomed over the chatter in the room and I turned to his laughing face. I was just as tall as him now, and it felt strange to look him in the eye without having to gaze upward.
"I doubt it." It was nice to hear my nickname again, it always put a smile on my face.
"Don't sell yourself short, girl." Genkai waved off my insecurities.
"Alright, Enki gave us the top suite since Yusuke formed the Tournament. I've already signed you three in. Let's get a move on." Koenma led us to the elevator, but I felt a tug in the back of my mind. Something was missing. I stopped before I got on with the others and looked around. Finally, I caught a face that felt familiar.
He had grown as well. He had to be as tall as Kurama now, not counting his hair. I started towards him, but a hand grabbed my arm. I looked back to see Yukina. She shook her head sadly and I turned to look again. Hiei was standing with a woman that had a rag covering half her face. Auburn hair felt to her shoulders as she spoke to him, leaning too close to be casual.
My eyes narrowed and I turned around to wedge myself in the back of the cramped box. After a year of absence from my life, his choice of companion shouldn't bother me.
But it did.
"Why didn't you accept my invitation to prepare with me, Hiei?" Mukuro asked the now tall fire demon.
"Because I didn't want to, why else?" His eyebrow crooked up as he tried to ignore her leaning toward him. He could feel eyes boring into his skull and turned to look out at the crowd. Noticing Yusuke and the others crowded into an elevator, he scanned for the small On'na. She wasn't there, of course. Why would she be? She was only powerful when she went on a careless rampage, and she didn't have enough nerve to come and fight for a title she couldn't win. He put the gold-eyed female from his mind and decided to see the former teammates later. He rationalized that he was only scouting the strength of his opponents.
Hiei was determined to rid himself of the weakness that had plagued him while he stayed in the Human World.