Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Elemental Education ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

The sound of derisive laughter pulled Bekka harshly from a sated slumber. Before she opened her eyes, her ears supplied the identity and she could feel Kurama tensing behind her. Opening her eyes, she growled, “What in the name of all the circles of hell do you want, Loki?” She fixed a glare on the mirthful god.

 

“You, dear Absinthe, are a delight. I truly did wonder how long you'd be able to withstand your own curiosity, in light of all the kitsune's teasing.”

 

“You….” She growled, stopping when Kurama arched over her possessively and began growling at the god.

 

“And you, Kurama, how much did you delight in claiming her as your own? Did you not enjoy her curiosity?”

 

Kurama's ears flattened to his scalp as he growled, “State your business and leave!” His hand went to his hair and withdrew a seed.

 

Loki laughed, “Come, now, kitsune, you know any attack on me will be futile.” Kurama and Bekka continued to glare viciously at Loki as he continued, with a lewd expression on his face, “Looks like she has learned something from you.” Bekka brought her knees to her chest and Kurama could see a wall of red form between the girl and the god. “Or not,” the god commented, feeling the buildup of energy. He produced a smallish black sack and tossed it on the bed. “Oberon sent this,” his voice sounded snide and annoyed. With one last lustful look at Bekka, Loki vanished.

 

Bekka was trembling in rage and embarrassment, biting her lip, trying to get her emotions under control. She was aware of Kurama's anger, as well, when he pulled her against his chest. Unable to hold back, she began sobbing. “Why are you crying, Bekka?” Kurama asked gently as he held the girl, stroking her hair.

 

“He makes me so angry,” she sobbed, body tense.

 

“Why do you let him?”

 

Bekka pushed away from the kitsune. “'Let him'?!” she spat. “Am I just supposed to smile and play nice when he starts tormenting me and those around me? Am I just supposed to let him walk all over me and not try to stand up for myself? What in the bloody hell do you mean `let him'?” She didn't wait for an answer, storming out of the room, instead and went to the dojo.

 

Surprised at the venom in the girl's outburst, Kurama rose slowly from the bed. He dressed and grabbed the shirt and pants he'd given Bekka before following her into the dojo.

 

She glared daggers at him, “Kumite!”

 

“Get dressed first,” he answered, tossing the clothing at her.

 

Never removing her eyes from his, she dressed, and again spat out her challenge, “Kumite!” before launching herself across the room to attack him. Kurama was surprised at the difference in her technique and skill level. In her rage, she used more direct attacks, more vicious moves, not at all like the grace of their other matches. She did not bother to conceal her intentions, and was, therefore, easier to counter and attack. With ease, he deflected her attacks, often throwing her across the room. She would hit the wall, not stopping or redirecting her momentum. Each time, she would get up and repeat the same series of blind attacks and being thrown. After a couple of hours, the girl was drenched in sweat, panting. After hitting the wall again, she dragged her hand through her hair. “Okay, okay,” she panted, “halt.” She looked at Kurama, who had a bemused expression oh his face. “I don't think clearly when I'm angry,” she explained, leaning against the wall and panting. “And this is more effective than ranting about it.”

 

“Getting yourself thrown around is how you work out your anger?” Kurama was nearly convinced he'd never understand the girl.

 

Bekka laughed, “No, when I get angry, it's like I have too much energy and that gets in the way of thinking. Getting thrown around is how I get rid of that energy.” She pushed herself off the wall. “I need a bath,” she announced, walking past him. Turning at the door, she asked coyly, “Coming?”

 

Kurama shook his head as he followed the girl into the bedroom. She stopped by the bed, looking at the bag Loki had thrown there. He walked up behind her, waiting to see what she'd do. Kneeling, she pulled the bag toward her, worked the straps and opened it. Kurama sat on the bed, watching her as she withdrew the contents with a puzzled expression. There were several vials with labels written in a language he couldn't understand filled with powders and what appeared to be dried leaves. Bekka shook her head, “How odd.”

 

Kurama picked up one of the vials filled with a brown powder. “What is it?” he asked.

 

“That,” she nodded to the vial in his hand, “is willow bark. This,” she gestured to include all the vials, “is a pharmacopeia. Everything I need to treat any minor injuries and most illnesses.” Her voice was between awed and bemused. She withdrew a folded piece of paper, the last item in the sack and read it out loud, “'My dear Bekka, while it is safe for you to eat the plants of the Makai, using them as medicines would not be wise because preparation for medicinal use concentrates the energy of the plant. This concentrated energy would have the effect of worsening any condition you were treating. These were prepared in the human world and are therefore safe for you to use. Oberon.'” She looked at him, at a loss for words and began to repack the bag. Still wearing a bemused expression, she rose and went to the bathing room.

 

Kurama sat a moment longer, still holding the vial of willow bark, thinking. If he didn't understand the girl, the gods that toyed with her life were an utter mystery. Sighing in resignation, he put the vial in the pack with the others and went to join Bekka in the pool. After removing his clothing, he slid into the water behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him, her arms overlapping his, and sighed. “I didn't answer your question,” she stated. He flicked an ear, momentarily forgetting he'd asked her any questions that she'd not answered. “I think,” she continued, “the reason Loki gets to me so much is because I can't do anything about him.” Her body began to tense as she continued, “He makes me feel helpless, powerless, and I hate that feeling. I hate it and there's nothing I can do about it!” She began to cry in frustration.

 

Kurama turned the girl so she was facing him and held her as she cried, rubbing her back as she did. He felt a strange sympathy for her, something almost foreign. He, too, was powerless against these gods. Uncertain what else to do, he brought his hand to her cheek, looking down at her for the first time since he'd entered the room. He was shocked to see that her back was various shades of purple and blue. Forgetting his gesture, he asked, “What happened to you?”

 

Confused and stunned, Bekka turned to follow his line of sight. Looking back at him, she stated flatly, “I got thrown against the wall a few times.” Relenting when she felt his belief that she should be healed already, she softened her tone, “Humans don't heal as fast as demons. In a few days,” she added sarcastically, “I'll be lovely shades of green and yellow.” She leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his waist, “Don't worry, I'll be fine.” Squeezing him briefly, she let go. “I have to wash my hair and we still have training. You said I wasn't getting out of that.”

 

Kurama had to laugh at her. “I wasn't sure if you'd remember that.” Bekka gave him a saucy grin as she ducked under the water to wet her hair. He relaxed in the water and watched as she not only washed her hair, but her body as well, putting on a bit of a show for him. She paused when her right hand brushed up against the ward still on her arm. “Do you believe this?” she asked, looking at him.

 

He regarded her for a moment, taking in her mildly anxious expression, finally answering, “No, I don't think you are my property, but you are safer if others think you are.” Smiling, he added, “I think, however, you are a puzzle, an adept partner, and stalling. Rinse off and meet me in the dojo.” He splashed her and left the room.

 

Bekka laughed, relieved that he had said no. `”Adept partner”?' she thought, `what kind of backhanded compliment is that?' She laughed again, `I guess it's better than being called “adequate” or something like that.' Her mood had much improved from the one she'd woken up with. She left the water after ensuring all the cleanser was out of her hair and dressed in a dark blue skirt and shirt, wrinkling her nose at the amount of laundry she needed to do. She missed the conveniences of her world, at times, but, were she to be honest with herself, was actually glad to be away. With a half grin on her face, she left the bedroom and went to the dojo to join Kurama.

 

Kurama threw a piece of fruit at her as she entered the room. “Eat, then you're going to summon air again.” He leaned against the wall, watching, waiting for her to comply.

 

Bekka ate the fruit quickly, enjoying the flavor of the citrusy minty flesh before closing her eyes to concentrate on the task she was given. She focused on remembering how the air felt around her body as Kurama held her suspended. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and concentrated on making air flow around her body. Slowly, she could feel it stir against her skin, play with her damp hair, fret with her skirt. She smiled and redoubled her efforts, willing the air to become warmer and dry her hair. The wind obeyed her will and her hair began to lift from her back, swirling around in the flowing ebb tide. She felt a dizzying combination of power and vulnerability as her strength began to recede. She let the wind die down, falling to her hands knees, panting with exhaustion, but happy with what she'd done.

 

Kurama watched the girl, the aura flickering and strengthening yellow and then red creeping in when she'd warmed up the air. He also saw her pull her aura back in, rather than it scattering from her, showing that she was developing control. He smiled, pleased that she was progressing quickly. He schooled his features as she looked up at him, expectantly. “Well, can you do that again?” he asked.

 

“Not just this minute, no,” she answered. Kurama frowned at her. “Hey,” she protested, “at least I'm still awake here!”

 

Kurama smiled at her, “Yes, you are, and you did well. Practice will improve your stamina. Why did you add fire to the air?”

 

“I wanted my hair to dry,” she blushed.

 

Kurama walked over to the girl, bending down to run his fingers through her hair, “Well, it seems you've accomplished that.” His fingers became snagged, “Though, you do need to brush it out.” He lifted his fingers out of her hair and held it out to her, “Let's go eat a proper meal, and see how you feel afterwards.” She placed her hand in his and was pulled to her feet, swaying a bit from her lack of energy. He wrapped an arm around her and steered her to the living room, “I also want you to teach me what those labels say and what the powders and leaves are for.”

 

She smiled, “Anything you wish.”

 

He grinned at her lecherously, “Do you really mean that?”

 

She blushed at the implications behind that statement and look, “For the most part, I'm sure.”

 

Bekka sat in her chair and Kurama drew a finger along her jaw. “How is it you manage to blush like an innocent?” he asked, entranced by the color on her cheeks.

 

The color deepened, “It comes with the hair.”

 

Kurama bent down to kiss her, “It's quite appealing.” Before she could respond fully, he pulled back and walked out of the room. He returned with the black bag and dropped it on the table on his way to the kitchen to grab some food. Sitting down, he stated, “I recognize the letters, but not the words. Tell me what they say and what they're used for.”

 

Bekka pulled out a vial, the willow bark he'd held earlier. “Well, this one is willow bark. The label says Salix alba, which is the scientific name of the plant it comes from. It is used to control pain and inflammation. The normal dose is this much,” she drew a circle in the palm of her hand, “in this much warm water,” she marked off the level in the bowl in front of her.

 

“Do you always use your hands to measure?” he asked.

 

“Yeah, once I learned how to get consistent amounts. For a lot of these, the exact amount of water isn't really that important, but the amount of the medication is. A lot of these can become poisonous if too much is taken.”

 

They spent the next couple of hours going over each of the vials in the bag, their contents and uses. Bekka's eyes began to droop as a yawn interrupted her as she explained the last vial's contents, chamomile. Kurama looked at her, amused and sympathetic, “Time for you to go to sleep, isn't it, Bekka?”

 

She wrinkled her nose at him, not wanting to admit how tired she was. Kurama stood, stretching before he reached a hand out to Bekka. She grabbed his hand and pulled herself up, swaying slightly as she reached her feet. With a small chuckle, Kurama led the girl into the bed room, steering her to the bed. Surrendering to the inevitable, Bekka curled up on the bed, allowing her eyes to close. As she drifted off to sleep, she heard Kurama laugh lightly as he kissed her on the cheek.

 

Kurama returned to the living room, his mind turning to how to teach the girl to steal. While he enjoyed her, he did want to have his privacy back. The faster he taught her, the sooner his life could return to its normal pace. His eyes fell on the vials on the table, an idea beginning to form. He scooped up the bottles and began to place them around the room, hidden from sight. He surveyed the results, pleased with himself, and left the den.

 

Bekka woke to Kurama brushing her hair. She lifted her head, and looked at him confused. “What is your obsession with my hair?” she asked, yawning and stretching.

 

“I like the color,” he stated. “You have a task. Go find your little bottles without disturbing anything in the living room. I don't want to know where you looked. You have ten minutes.”

 

Bekka gave him a strange look and got up. She looked around the living room, not seeing anything out of place, only her bag on the table. “Okay…twenty vials in ten minutes with no evidence. He doesn't ask much, does he?” she muttered out loud. She heard him laugh from the bedroom. Shaking her head, she picked up the bag and began wandering around the room, looking for clues, taking care to put things back how she found them.

 

After the allotted amount of time, she had found fifteen of the vials when Kurama came into the room. He glanced around, noting that a couple of items were slightly out of place. “Well, how many did you find?”

 

“Fifteen,” she answered, annoyed that she hadn't found them all.

 

“Good, that's how many were in the room,” he smiled darkly at her.

 

“What?” she looked at him in surprise. “There were twenty vials.”

 

“Did I say they'd all be in here?”

 

“No,” she answered carefully, “you didn't, but…”

 

“'But'? No excuses, Bekka. Never excuses. The other five are on me. You have the rest of the day to get them back.” He crossed his arms, enjoying her consternation. Wanting to watch her squirm more, he added, “We'll be going out today, too.”

 

Bekka could feel her temper starting to rise. `This is so unfair,' she complained mentally, knowing that voicing her complaint would be useless. Loki wanted her to learn to be a thief, he had confirmed that already. `Who was she to tell him how to teach her?' a sarcastic voice spoke in her mind. Taking a deep breath, she tried to focus on his thoughts, to pull out the locations of the vials from his mind. He was expecting this and managed to block her attempts. Frustrated, she shook her head, “You're the teacher, what choice do I have?”

 

He laughed at her, “A lot of choice, actually. You get to decide the best method for lifting your vials off of me. So many options,” he said as he leaned in and kissed her, taking another vial from her as he did. “Like that, for example,” he held out the vial for her to see before pocketing it. Bekka barely managed to bite back a squeal of rage as he continued to laugh at her. “Let's go,” he announced, turning on his heel and leaving.

 

Bekka had an idea as she walked behind him toward the town. Concentrating very carefully, she imagined a small whirl of wind around the vial he had just taken from her. She concentrated on this image, willing it to happen, willing the jar to be lifted out of his pocket and back to her hand. She was relieved when she saw the vial begin to slip out of his pocket and fly toward her. Tired, but not exhausted from the effort, she pocketed the vial.

 

Kurama was aware of the girl's actions. He wanted to see if she could actually manage to do what she was attempting. He smiled, not turning back to her, when she succeeded. “Well done, Bekka, but the others will not be that easy.”

 

“Easy?” she stuttered at him. “Of course not. Why would we want this to be easy?” her voice was sarcastic. She laughed, “I wasn't sure if it'd work. I'm glad it did, though.”

 

“You're learning, that's good. But, you have a lot left to learn before we're even close to being through with your training.”

 

She sighed, “Yeah, I know. Part of me wants to hurry and get through with training, but part of me wants to take a long time.”

 

He stopped to look back at her, “Why is that?”

 

She wrapped her arms around his waist, “I enjoy your company.” Her fingers found another vial and she attempted to snag it, only to be caught.

 

“Nice try,” he smirked at her.

 

“I still meant it,” she smiled back at him, looking for the other vials, trying to figure out where they were hidden, trying to plan how to get them from him.

 

He cupped her cheek, bringing his lips to hers. “I didn't doubt that, my dear.”

 

Bekka's finger found another jar as she returned his kiss. This time, she managed to pull it out of his pocket without getting caught. She smiled at him, pocketing it, “I'm glad.”

 

Kurama noticed the smug look in her eyes and took mental inventory of the vials. `So, she managed to get one. I'll have to be more alert.' He turned on his heel and resumed their walk.

 

Bekka considered her strategies. If they were going back to the bar, it would be harder for her, since she had to `behave' and she doubted that running her hands over him, no matter what he did to her, would be allowed. How far would she go to get those vials off of him? She smirked as scenes began to play through her head. `That would be one way,' she thought, mentally laughing at the ideas.

 

Kurama led them through the town, into and out of various shops. Bekka managed to withstand the noise of the town without relying on him, mostly because she was concentrating on snagging the containers back from him. By the time he began heading back to his den, she had managed to get five of the six he carried. She was stumped as to how she'd get the last one, though. She hadn't even managed to locate it on him, and she really didn't want to know what he'd do to her if she failed in this task. Concentrating, she tried to read his thoughts, again to be blocked. He really was getting too good at that. She concentrated harder, again failing. She then got an idea. She wrapped his body in wind, pulling his clothes around, turning out his pockets. Her tongue passed between her lips as she focused her mind on finding the vial. Finally, it slipped out, flying to her hand. She grinned in triumph at the startled kitsune.

 

Kurama knew she was getting frustrated, but never expected to be caught up in a wind tunnel. “You little vixen,” he advanced on her, growling.

 

She began dodging, “You said I had to get them all.” She was worried now that she'd angered him and was convinced that was not a good idea.

 

He was faster than she was, however, and caught her easily. He picked her up off her feet and kissed her deeply. Caught by surprise, she took a moment before responding to his desire. His hands roamed over her body as he held her close. “You little vixen, you learn quickly. And as a reward…” he resumed kissing her, enjoying the feel of her legs wrapping around his waist. His lips traveled down her jaw to her neck, his tongue darting out from time to time, drawing little moans from her.

 

Bekka couldn't believe that he wasn't angry with her at first. He seemed to be rather pleased, instead. She could feel her own desire rousing in response to his touch, to his own building need. She wanted what he had to offer as reward. She wanted to feel him again, to feel him feeling her. She surrendered to his touch, opening to him as he laid her back on the ground.

 

Kurama still found Bekka's openness and willingness novel. She was an intriguing mixture of experience and naivety. He pushed her skirt up, delighting in the response she freely gave. He pulled back to look at her, letting his fingers trace her inner thigh. To him, the best part of any encounter was the reaction of his partner, and she was very reactive. He brought his lips to her inner knee and kissed up her thigh, pushing the skirt up as he approached her center. He enjoyed her little mewling pants and how she twitched under his ministrations. He ran his tongue up the outer edge of her lower lips, delighting in her obvious arousal and gasping shudder. With his fingers, he parted her folds, again licking, causing her back to arch and her to gasp in pleasure. Her hands reached down to play with his hair, but he pushed them away, using a small amount of energy to bind her hands with vines. She looked at him with confused lust-filled eyes. “Let me pleasure you, just enjoy it.” He went back to tasting her as she allowed her head to fall back, gasping and panting under his touch. Tonguing her clitoris, he slid two fingers into her body, savoring the heat and moisture. He drew his fingers out of her body slowly, teasing her with the friction, and in again, curling them slightly. The gasping shuddering moans told him she wouldn't last much longer. He continued his ministrations, bringing her screaming over the edge of orgasm.

 

Slowly, he lifted up from her, licking his fingers as she watched, and lowered his pants, freeing his own need. Her eyes lit up with lust and desire again as she tried to draw him closer with her feet. Gently, he pushed her legs down, securing them with vines as he kissed up her body, moving her clothing sometimes, other times, kissing over it. Capturing her mouth, he thrust himself into her, absorbing her groan in his mouth, feeling it with his tongue as he explored her mouth. He could feel her wanting to move her arms and legs, but refused to let her. He was enjoying the control he had over this quixotic girl. He thrust into her again, drawing more reactions from her body. She would soon be pushed over the edge, and he wanted to go with her. He could feel the need building in his body, pushing him to continue thrusting into her, bringing them both to orgasm.

 

Bekka woke in the bed, Kurama spooned behind her. “You did better than I thought you would,” he said when he became aware of her being awake.

 

Bekka yawned, “Really? That's good, right?”

 

Kurama chuckled, “It means I need to expect more from you.”

 

In mock horror, “Oh, no, don't do that, I may fail then.”

 

Kurama pulled her close, nuzzling her neck, “I somehow doubt it, Bekka dear.”

 

She snorted, “I have failed at things before.”

 

“Are you sure you want to admit that?” he asked, amused.

 

“No, not really, but…”

 

He placed a finger over her lips, “Bekka, I was teasing you. Relax, sleep, we have a lot still to do.”