TheHeartsPath: Hey everyone! I'd like to thank those who have reviewed. Many thanks to White Fanged Wolf, perfect-piscies, Dragon of Twilight, and Tsuki Koi! I tried to make it easier to read by putting what the charaters say on different lines like Dragon of Twilight suggested. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to do it without my computer having a conniption. Which is part of what took so long for me to write this chapter. So instead I tried making the paragraphs smaller. I hope it helps make reading the story easier. ^_^ Here's the next chapter! Please read and review! Hope you like the chapter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its' characters. They are owned by Yoshihiro Togashi. I own only Ayla, her family, and any other characters that do not show up in the series.
"Talking" Thoughts ~Telepathy or mind-reading~
Chapter 8: Not Quite The Truth?
Kurama's POV
They're late.
I thought this as I sat in the dining room and looked at the clock which read 4:40 pm. They live right next door. What could be taking them so long? I was starting to get a little worried as to what could be keeping them, but figured that they'd explain once they got here. Kokoda had told Mother and I that Gwen and Sinclair would also be coming over for the study group that the four of them had apparently made on their way home from school.
Hearing some mumbling I glaced over at Kuwabara who was working on a math problem. He'd actually been five minutes late since he had ended up running back to his house to get his math homework after leaving Reikai. The portal Koenma had made for us to get back to Ningenkai had taken us to the park, which is closer to my house than either Yusuke's or Kuwabara's.
Koenma hadn't been too happy about Hiei not being there. He explained our newest mission to the three of us and asked that I tell Hiei the details of it. Turned out our mission involved a certain person that all four of us had already met.
Looking back at the clock, I thought back to our meeting with Koenma and what he told us.
FLASHBACK: EARLIER TODAY
We had just stepped through the portal right into Koenma's office. Koenma was sitting at his desk in his toddler form stamping papers, while Botan was standing beside his desk. Botan smiled and waved to us in greeting. I smiled and nodded a greeting in return.
Yusuke spoke first, "Alright toddler we're here. What is it this time?"
One of Koenma's eyes twitched, he really hated it when Yusuke called him that. Looking at the three of us he noticed someone missing and scowled. "Where's Hiei? I specifically said that I wanted all four of you to come." he stated.
"We couldn't find the shrimp anywhere Koenma." Kuwabara said with a shrug.
Sighing and shaking his head Koenma looked at me, "Kurama you'll have to be the one to fill him in on this new mission."
"Of course." I replied.
"Now your mission is a simple one. It involves helping Genkai protect and train her granddaughter who..." Koenma started explaining but was interrupted.
"Are you talking about Ayla?" Kuwabara asked loudly.
Blinking in surprise at Kuwabara, Koenma nodded, "Yes, that's her name. But how is it that you already know it?"
"Me and Kuwabara just met her about ten minutes ago at Kurama's old school." Yusuke answered.
"She and her family are my new neighbors. She and I met last night when her family came over. We spoke about her abilities a little. Hiei also made her acquaintance last night." I added.
"Oh dear." Botan said, looking slightly worried.
"Tell me he didn't try to kill her." Koenma pleaded, looking and sounding worried.
"No, he didn't try to kill her." I replied trying not to let my exasperation show. I admit Hiei's temper does get the better of him at times. But it doesn't mean that he's going to try and kill everyone that he meets...Just the majority of them unfortunately. Mentally I winced at that last part of my thoughts.
Looking relieved, Koenma cleared his throat, "As I was saying, your mission is to help protect and train Ayla. Currently she has the powers of a psychic which she inherited from her father, who is Genkai's son. She also has telepathic and empathic powers. Having both of these powers is very rare."
"Kurama said something about that earlier. How is having both those powers rare?" Yusuke asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Because Yusuke, the only race to have ever had both of those powers at once was wiped out five thousand years ago. That race was also a demon one. Which makes having both those powers at once even rarer seeing as she's human." Koenma replied.
"Is it possible that she's like Yusuke? A human with a demon ancestor? Whose demon blood has yet to awaken fully because her power level is not yet strong enough?" I asked.
"Oh great, that's just what we need. Another person who could have demon blood from an ancestor for that bastard Yama to try and have killed." Yusuke muttered angrily. Yusuke still hates King Yama for ordering his death just because he is a descendant of the Mazoku, and becoming a halfbreed. Actually, all of us hate King Yama for that.
"That is a possibility. I'm having my people check her blood line to see if she has a demon ancestor even as we speak. I want to be prepared in case she does have demon blood that is still dormant." Koenma responded, glancing in Yusuke's direction, but otherwise ignoring his angry muttering.
"Now Genkai has taught her how to control these powers, but lately her energy has been changing. So we believe that she may have other powers that are about to awaken. Genkai informed me that when a new power awakens, Ayla's control of her other powers becomes unstable. Thus, her ability to protect herself from others with abilities is impaired. This is where the four of you come in. While she's learning basic control of whatever new power awakens, you boys will be keeping an eye out for anyone who might want to take advantage of the instability of her powers." Koenma explained.
"I get the whole protecting her part, but what about the training part?" Kuwabara asked.
"Simple Kuwabara, we will most likely be training her to use her new powers in combat. That is what you meant by us training her, is it not Koenma?" I said.
"That's correct Kurama." Koenma replied before continuing, "Genkai is having Ayla come to the temple this weekend to tell her about the Reikai and Makai. You boys are to meet up there as well. That way you can expalin who and what you are, what you do and your current mission to Ayla."
"You make it sound like Ayla doesn't know about demons or the spirit world." Yusuke said.
"That's because she doesn't."
"WHAT?! She's Genkai's granddaughter, has powers of her own, and has no clue about the spirit or demon worlds?! Why the hell not?!" Yusuke questioned rather loudly, leaning over the desk and into Koenma's face.
I had learned to stand off to the side instead of near Yusuke during mission briefings. Seeing as he has a tendency to yell at Koenma...a lot.
Sighing, Koenma rubbed his temples, probably trying to fight off a headache from Yusuke's outburst. "The reason she doesn't know is because Genkai wanted her to have as close to a normal childhood as she could. She didn't want Ayla to get mixed up with demons until she had enough knowledge of martial arts and her powers to be able to protect herself. From the demons who would want to kill her just for being the granddaughter of Genkai. Which is also why she told her son and daughter-in-law that they should live in America. There aren't as many really strong psychics over there as there are in Japan. Thus, demons aren't as likely to be there, seeing as there are no strong psychics to either steal techniques from or feed off of. Before she met Kurama and Hiei last night, Ayla had never come into contact with a demon before. Only a few other humans with abilities." Koenma stated.
"That makes sense to me." Kuwabara spoke up. Both Yusuke and I looked at him in surpise. "What?" he asked, looking back at us.
"I'm just really surprised that you got what he said." Yusuke said in a taunting manner.
"Shut up Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled.
"Actually it makes quite a bit of sense that Kuwabara understands why Genkai did what she did." I said, when I realized why it had made sense to Kuwabara.
"Really? And why is that fox boy?" Yusuke asked me, his brow furrowed in slight confusion.
"Because unlike you, Kuwabara grew up sensing and seeing things that others couldn't. Thus, knowing what it's like to not live what most people would consider a 'normal' childhood." I answered, looking Yusuke in the eyes.
"Oh."
"Now who's coming up with that as their best Urameshi?" Kuwabara said with a grin.
"Shut up!" Yusuke responded.
I couldn't help but chuckle at Kuwabara getting back at Yusuke for earlier when he had responded in the exact same manner to something Ayla had said.
"You said that Genkai told her son and daughter-in-law that they should live in America for Ayla's safety. Does that mean that they know about her ablilities and demons?" I questioned, looking back at Koenma.
"Both Ayla's parents and siblings know about her abilities. But only Aya and Natala know about demons." Koenma answered.
"Who?" both Yusuke and Kuwabara asked.
"Aya is Ayla's father while Natala is her mother. However, they don't know as much about demons as Genkai does, so they followed her advice about where to live and not telling their children about demons until they were older." Focusing on me, Koenma ordered, "Now then, Kurama, since Ayla is your neighbor I want you to keep an eye out for any demons that might want to try something. I want Hiei to do the same thing as well when he is in the area."
Nodding I said, "Of course. By the way, after school today Ayla shall be coming to my house for me to help tutor her in math along with Kuwabara. Do you want us to keep quiet about this until this weekend or may we tell her sooner?"
"Keep quiet for now. Genkai wants to be the one to fill her in about the Reikai and Makai, and to tell her why she chose to wait to tell her. Since she can sense the difference in peoples' energies you can tell her about your abilities if she asks, just don't mention anything about demons." Koenma advised.
"Understood."
"Well that's everything for the time being. If we find anything about her having a demon ancestor I'll have Botan inform you immediately." Koenma said, before opening a portal back to Ningenkai and leaning back in his chair.
"Right, right. You do that toddler." Yusuke replied.
"Yusuke when are you going to stop calling Koenma that?" Botan asked with her hands on her hips.
"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe when you stop saying bingo all the time?" Yusuke said sarcastically with a grin before walking through the portal. Kuwabara laughed and went next.
"Ugh, that boy..." Botan sighed.
"Well that's Yusuke for you." I said with a small smile.
Botan giggled, "True."
I waved goodbye and walked through the portal.
END FLASHBACK
Just as I finished that thought the doorbell rang. "Kokoda, could you get the door please?" my mother asked.
"Sure thing Mom." Kokoda replied.
"Ayla's at the door." Kuwabara said.
Looking away from the clock once more, I turned to Kuwabara, "Yes she is. I felt her energy as well. Now remember Kuwabara, don't say anything about her energy unless it's just the three of us in the room, alright?"
Nodding his head he answered, "No problem."
Even saying that I have the feeling that Ayla will ask Kuwabara about his energy being different before he asks her about hers.
Kokoda and the others came into the dining room just then.
Gwen saw me, smiled and blushed, "Hi Shuichi."
Returning her smile I replied, "Hello Gwen."
Sinclair snorted and groaned, "Not again."
I looked at him, "Hello to you too Sinclair. And you as well Ayla."
"That's better." Sinclair said with a smirk.
Rolling her eyes at her brother's behavior Ayla said, "Hi Shuichi. Hey Kazuma, already working on fighting the enemy?"
"The enemy? Oh right, the math. Yeah, I'm working on kicking its' butt." Kuwabara replied laughing.
"Hang on, when did you meet that guy Ayla?" Sinclair asked, pointing at Kuwabara.
"After you, Kokoda, and Gwen went back inside after lunch. And his name isn't 'that guy,' his name is Kazuma Kuwabara. He and another guy named Yusuke Urameshi had been looking for Shuichi. We introduced ourselves to each other and talked for a bit. Somehow math got brought up and Kazuma here asked Shuichi if he'd mind taking on another person to tutor in math. And as you can tell Shuichi agreed, so here we are." Ayla explained.
"You're being more social, that's good." Gwen said with a grin.
"Hey, I've always been social. It's other people that don't like being social with me." Ayla retorted.
Mother came into the room just as Ayla said that last bit. Smiling at our neighbors she greeted them, "Hello Gwen, Sinclair, Ayla. We were beginning to wonder why you weren't here yet."
Ayla cringed slightly before rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish look. Why did Ayla cringe just now? "Sorry 'bout that. It's my fault we're late."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Sinclair and I were waiting for Ayla to come downstairs so we could come over. As she was coming down the stairs she slipped and fell down them." Gwen said.
"My goodness! Are you alright?" Mother asked Ayla worriedly.
Nodding her head Ayla said, "Yeah I'm alright. I only fell down the last few steps so all I got was a few bruises."
"So that's why you were late?" Kuwabara asked.
"Not exactly." Sinclair said, "When Ayla fell down the stairs Kira had just walked into the hallway where the stairs are and saw Ayla fall."
"Dang that must have scared Kira bad." Kokoda said.
Ayla nodded sadly, "Yeah, I ended up scaring her pretty badly when I fell. She was crying and hugging me and wouldn't let go. It took me and Mom awhile to get her to calm down enough so I could come over."
"Oh the poor dear. I hope she doesn't have nightmares from that." Mother said.
A small smile came onto Ayla's face, "Kira told me she's going to be sleeping in my bed for the rest of the week."
Snickering Sinclair added, "Not to mention she won't let you go up or down the stairs unless she's with you."
"Oh hush up Sin." Ayla said with a glare in his direction. Mother and I smiled, while Kokoda laughed.
From the way their scents had only changed slightly I knew that part of what they said was true. I could sense that her energy had changed slightly from the way it had been last night. Not so much that she would lose complete control of her ablilities yet, but maybe enough for her control to slip occasionally.
Some part of what they are saying isn't quite the truth. Unfortunately I am unable to tell which parts are true and which are false. I wonder if what actually happened had to do with Ayla's abilities. From what Koenma told us her family knows about her abilities. So it is quite possible that they are trying to make sure that no one finds out what actually happened.
"Um, not to interrupt, but who the heck is Kira?" Kuwabara asked, looking confused.
I turned to him, "Kira is Ayla's little sister. She also has a little brother named Haku."
He blinked and looked at Ayla, "Just how many siblings do you have?"
Chuckling, Ayla answered, "Only four. I'm the middle child of five."
"Holy crap!" Kuwabara yelped. Everyone laughed at Kuwabara's surprise.
"So how should we do this exactly? I know that Kuwabara and Ayla both need my help with math, but other than that I must admit that I am rather clueless." I said.
"Good question. Ayla how did science go for you? Anything give you a lot of trouble?" Gwen asked.
Shaking her head, Ayla replied, "I got what the teacher said, I just don't understand a couple of the formulas. You can help me with those later since it shouldn't take long to explain them."
"Okay. Kokoda, Sinclair, how about we go to another room to work on science for now?"
"Sounds good to me. That way Shuichi can help these two with their math." Sinclair agreed.
"We can go to the living room to work." Kokoda said.
"Actually how about you kids use the study? I need to clean the living room. I knocked over one of the flower pots a few minutes ago, making a bit of a mess. After I clean up I'll fix a snack for everyone." Mother said.
Kokoda nodded, "Okay Mom. Follow me guys, I'll show you where the study is." With that Kokoda, Gwen, and Sinclair left for the study, while Mother went to the living room.
Ayla sat down and got her math homework out, grimacing as she did so.
"Not looking forward to going against the math are you?" I asked her with a small smile.
She looked at me with an eyebrow raised, "Would you look forward to going against something that constantly thwarts all your attempts to understand it?"
I blinked in surprise, then chuckled, "Touché."
"Man, she got you Shuichi." Kuwabara laughed.
Indeed, she did. It would seem Hiei isn't the only one that has to watch out for her way with words. I will have to as well.
Ayla's POV
We worked on math for a few minutes before my curiosity about Kazuma's energy got the better of me. I glanced up from my math and asked, "Hey Kazuma? Could I ask you something?"
"Sure. What is it?" he replied, looking at me.
"Are you a psychic?"
"Yeah actually I am. You a psychic too? Cause your energy kinda feels different from the others I've felt."
I nodded, "Yep, although according to Grandma Genkai I'm not your typical psychic."
"Are you saying that the Genkai is your grandmother?" he asked. His Heart's Song was acting up all of a sudden, giving off nervousness and worry. The types that come from when a person is either lying or just not being completely truthful.
I looked him in the eye and said, "You already know that she is, so please don't act like you don't." Both his and Shuichi's eyes widened in surprise or shock, I wasn't sure which, at what I had said. I looked at Shuichi and asked, "You were the one who told him that Genkai is my grandmother, am I right?"
"Yes. I told both him and Yusuke actually." Shuichi answered.
"Did you tell Hiei as well?"
"Yes."
Narrowing my eyes, I asked angrily, "Mind telling me exactly why you told them?"
He winced, obviously hearing the anger in my voice. "They had all sensed the difference in your energy on their own and were wondering if you were related to any other psychics that they knew. All four of us know Genkai personally so I told them about your relation to her."
Something told me that part of what he said wasn't quite the truth, but the other part was. Question is which part? Them wondering if I was related to anyone they knew or them knowing Grandma Genkai personally.
I had figured that all of them had sensed the difference in my energy, and if they hadn't...well then they were complete idiots. From what I knew of Shuichi and Hiei they were far from the 'idiot' category. Kazuma and Yusuke I wasn't so sure of yet.
So far Shuichi was in the 'good person you can trust so far' category.
Kazuma was in the 'nice person' category. Seeing as his Heart's Song was one of a person with a kind and caring heart. The fact that he'd also asked Shuichi if he could tutor me in math had won him some points as well.
Yusuke was in the 'not enough information' category where everyone starts out. Even though his Heart's Song was of a good person I still had only met him once.
And Hiei...honestly I wasn't sure what damn category he was in. All I did know was that I trusted him wholeheartedly and that I found him to be attractive, but that was about it. The best I could come up with for him is the 'hell if I know' category.
Apparently I still didn't look too pleased because Shuichi added, "I wouldn't have told them if I didn't have complete trust in them Ayla. You may even listen to my thoughts if that will make you believe me."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What the hell? Did he just? Blinking at him in complete surprise I asked, "Did you actually just give me permission to listen to your thoughts?" I couldn't have heard him correctly.
"Yes I did." he calmly replied.
Okay, guess I did hear him correctly. Shaking my head, I answered, "I don't have to."
Now he was the one that was surprised, "I don't understand."
Leaning back in my chair, I looked at my lap. How should I put this? Looking back at Shuichi I asked, "Remember last night, how I told you I was able to tell that you were a good guy within the short amount of time we had known each other?"
He nodded, waiting for me to continue.
Taking a deep breath I said, "When I listened to your Heart's Song I knew you were a trustworthy person. And the fact that you just gave me permission to listen to your thoughts just now shows me that you trust me. What I don't get is why. I'm a telepath, whom you have barely known for more than a day, and yet you trust me. Trust me enough to give me permission to listen to your thoughts. No one just gives permission to a telepath like that. Especially not for something that isn't life threatening like this. Unless they trust that telepath and I mean really trust them. Which in and of itself is basically unheard of."
After I finished I realized that I said more than I meant to and not just in words. Dammit! I hope that neither Shuichi or Kazuma are good at reading between the lines. But I knew that hope was in vain. I didn't have to listen to their thoughts or Heart's Songs to know that they knew what I wasn't saying in words.
Their faces and eyes said as much.
I couldn't keep looking at them so I returned my gaze to my lap. It was then that I realized that Hiei was still nearby. He must be in one of the trees outside. Wonder if he can somehow hear our conversation. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he is somehow listening.
"You've never had anyone that wasn't family trust you like that have you Ayla?" Kazuma asked gently. Distracted from my thoughts by his question I stiffened, and continued looking at my lap.
Both of their Heart's Songs were full of pity and caring. There was also sympathy coming from Kazuma. I guessed that he knew what it was like to not be trusted for being different. I don't want your pity! But why...why do you care about me? How can you care about me? All you guys really know about me is 'what' I am. Not 'who' I am.
Clenching my hands I said, "No, at least...not in a very long time." There had only been one person outside of the family that I had ever truly trusted before coming to Japan. She had been my first real friend...my best friend.
Fiona MacAlister had been one of the few people I had met with abilities. She had also happened to be the strongest one. Both telepathic and telekinetic, she had been the first person who understood me for who and what I am, and I the same for her. The combination of abilities she had wasn't common, but it wasn't as rare as mine either according to Grandma Genkai.
Fiona...Oh how I wish you were still alive.