Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The youkai and you by me, Kita! ❯ Kitsune ( Chapter 7 )

Thanks to all six reviewers of my fic ^-^;;

Your nicey-nice comments are very much appreciated =^-^=

Arigato.

*~*~*~*~*~*

You wake up, feeling fully refreshed and ready to begin your training. You glance out the window . . . judging by the light, it's still sort of early . . . that's strange . . . you think, while stifling a yawn . . . you usually sleep in pretty late . . . oh, well. You're up, so you might as well go get some breakfast . . .

You wander down the halls of Genkai's temple, attempting to find the kitchen . . . you know it's around here somewhere . . . sheesh . . . you're only been here for a week, and have already gotten lost . . . you find your way outside, then catch your breath as the beauty of the mountain-home finally hits you. The view is just . . . beautiful. The forest is covered with a light dusting of dew, causing the leaves to shimmer in the soft morning light . . . you stand still. The sun is just rising over the mountains to the west . . .

After a few minutes (during which the sun became visible) you feel a soft tap on your shoulder. You turn around, and give a smile to the redhead. He smiles amusedly back.

"Ohayo, Maki."

"Ohayo, Kurama."

"Shall we go, then?" You nod, and start to head off into the forest, trailing behind Kurama.

_I_N_T_O_-_H_I_E_I_'_S_-_T_H_O_U_G_H_T_S_

I watched the ningen and fox go off into the woods from my perch in a tree near the temple. Hn; I scoffed to myself. What did I care that she wanted to train with Kurama? He's stronger than I am . . . has more experience . . . more . . . control . . . Hn. I blurred away.

_O_U_T_-_O_F_-_H_I_E_I_'_S_-_T_H_O_U_G_H_T_S_

Kurama turns suddenly, upon reaching the center of a clearing.

"I think this should be far enough." You nod again. It's time you learned to fight . . . Kurama sighs.

"I think it's only fair I warn you . . . you'll probably end up dead if you don't put up a fight." You nod again, tensing up. He's right . . . I've got to stay on my toes . . . you feel the now familiar bubbling-up of your spirit energy . . . it's gotten easier to control . . . but . . . you start wondering what happened in the forest, back in Chuokai . . . why didn't Hiei answer your question . . . your thoughts are drifting back to the scene with your sketchbook, and then suddenly you notice . . . Kurama has disappeared. Startled back to reality, you look around in all directions, trying to find the demon-turned-ningen. You freeze as you feel him behind you, but you're too late to block it . . . you attempt to move to the side, at least, but his whip flies past you, you weren't fast enough . . . the thorns leave a very painful cut trailing down your left arm. You cry out, and bring your right hand up to hold the stinging limb, feeling the warm liquid that's your blood leak out . . . he . . . he broke the skin . . . you look up at Kurama fearfully, but all he does is stare at you with stone-cold eyes. You shiver. You're terrified of him . . . he's a completely different person, now . . . gold flashes in those green depths, and he speaks . . . with a voice as emotionless as the other demon who tried to kill you . . .

"Fight. It's your only way to survive." Trying to ignore the stinging pain in your left arm, you concentrate on your spirit energy. You feel . . . cool . . . (a.n./ `cool' as in `cold', ok? -_-;;) . . . as the blue fire washes over you, calming you . . . you sigh . . . feeling safer . . . closing your eyes . . . then you feel him. Kurama's coming at you again . . . only this time you're ready. Opening your eyes and turning to the spot you sensed him, you feel his surprise as the wall of sky blue fire flares up, defending you from his whip . . . incinerating the plant-like weapon instantly. Still, he soon hides his surprise, and comes at you with a sword . . . which you can only assume has just sprouted from another plant of his . . .

So your first day of training with Kurama goes like this: He manages to get the best of you in every respect . . . though sometimes you'll surprise him . . . your arm hurts, but you can move it, at least . . . upon receiving no help whatsoever from Kurama, you had to bandage it up by tearing a strip of cloth off of the long shirt Genkai gave you to train in. She's won't mind too much . . . you think . . . after all, it's for a good cause . . .

So, the sun is now setting, and you're beaten, bloodied and exhausted . . . everything but dead. Suddenly Kurama stops his stealthy attacks, and appears in the clearing in front of you. He wordlessly makes a point of letting you see him put his weapon away, then starts to walk over to you. You can feel that he's done training for today . . . but still . . . you barely know this guy . . . and the first real interaction between the two of you was his cutting your left arm open . . . you shrink away, but he comes over nonetheless, bending down and reaching out a hand. His smile is a little apologetic, and his green eyes are again filled with the kindness you saw in them before . . .

"We're done for today, Maki. Let's go back." You ignore his hand, but get up. He straightens, making to help you walk, but you brush him off. It's hard for you to keep going by yourself . . . you're VERY tired . . . and in more than a little pain . . . which is now more like a dull ache . . . but you still have your pride. So long as you can keep walking, you don't need anyone's help . . . and now, while he's in this `kind' state of mind, if you pass out, he'll just pick you up and carry you back to Genkai's, anyway . . .

Both of you make it back to the temple in one piece (a.n./ and both conscious ^-^;;). You walk in the door, swaying a little now . . . Genkai sees this and shakes her head . . . you start to wander back to your room, your only thought to sleep . . . ignoring the conversation between the redhead and the older psychic. You briefly wonder where Hiei's gotten to . . . you haven't seen him all day . . . probably off training somewhere, you think . . . he seems like the type that would only care about fighting . . . your thoughts start to get depressing . . . maybe . . . I just dreamt that scene . . . you wander into your room, and search around, trying to find your sketchbook . . . you sigh, seeing that it's nowhere in sight. Finally you can't take it. You fall on the bed, not bothering to get under the covers, and you're asleep in moments . . . not caring (a.n./ or noticing ^-^;;) as the dirt and dried blood from your day of training rubs off on the clean sheets . . .

_I_N_T_O_-_H_I_E_I_'_S_-_T_H_O_U_G_H_T_S_

I came in late that night, and found Kurama sitting and reading some book. I `hn'ed and sat down next to him. After a while, when he didn't ask me about my sudden presence, I finally spoke, trying to keep my voice in the arrogant, indifferent tone I had acquired over the years . . .

"Did the training go well." He nodded, but kept his eyes glued to the text he was reading.

"Yes . . . " He said, slightly distant. "She put up more of a fight than I thought she would."

"Hn." I scoff. There is silence for a few more minutes, before he puts his book down and looks at me. I stare back at him neutrally.

"Hiei . . . you said that she destroyed two demons, correct?" I assent. The fox looks thoughtful . . . his green eyes are now staring into space . . .

"I'm curious . . ."

"Curious as to what, fox." He looks at me for a moment, seems to be on the verge of asking me something . . . but then returns to his book. The unspoken farewell hangs in the air as I disappear, then find myself walking down the hall . . .

_O_U_T_-_O_F_-_H_I_E_I_'_S_-_T_H_O_U_G_H_T_S_

You shift in your sleep, then notice another presence in the room. Almost frozen with fear, and now MUCH more awake, you crack an eye open to view the dark room. There's no one there . . . strange . . . you turn over to face the wall, but can't help feeling that you're being watched . . .

Sometime later that night, you find yourself shivering in the oversized t-shirt Genkai lent you. You didn't realize it got THIS cold in the mountains . . . you absently crawl along the bed, trying to find your covers, when you bump into something soft and smooth near the end of the mattress . . . it feels like cloth . . . maybe not exactly as THICK as your comforter, but . . . warm nonetheless. You tug at it, only to find that it seems to be stuck to something. So, you start to pull yourself toward the warmth, desperate to stop the chill feeling that's frozen to your skin . . . then you feel yourself being pushed on to the bed, the soft fabric covering you . . . though . . . it seems somewhat . . . heavier . . . than a blanket should be . . . you drift off, the warm cover lulling you back to sleep . . .

You wake up the next morning . . . stirring under the blanket. You pull it closer to you, trying to keep the warmth in . . . then you realize the texture. It's smooth, and you don't quite recognize the familiar feeling . . .your eyes snap open, and you sit up, looking down at the thing that is definitely NOT your comforter. It's . . . a black cloak. There's red on the underside of it . . . so . . . a red and black cloak? Who could've . . . you slap yourself in the forehead. DUH!! It was Hiei, of course . . . who else has THIS kind of cloak, anyway . . . but . . . your hand drops down as you think . . . was that . . . HIM . . . then? . . . Last night . . . when you were so cold . . . was it Hiei that warmed you up . . . you don't remember anything, and don't feel too worn out . . . it's just your usual feeling when you wake up in the morning. You sigh in relief. Thank goodness! Nothing happened! Well . . . you like the guy, that's for sure, but . . .you don't think you're quite ready to-

A sound at the door brings your gaze there. Hiei's standing there, sideways, leaning against the threshold and looking down at the floor. He's wearing a blue tank top, along with those same black pants he always wears, held up with the two white belts. The blue highlights in his hair catch the sun, and you can only see half of his white starburst. You get out of bed slowly, taking his cloak with you. You approach the open door, and are a few steps from him, when you hold out the black thing.

"A-arigato . . . Hiei." He looks up at you . . . and those crimson eyes, for the second time in your life, aren't seeming as hard . . . the two of you just stand there for a bit, before he reaches out to take it back. You're holding it with both hands, and one of his own brushes yours as he takes it from you, red eyes never leaving yours. It seems like forever . . . both of you unmoving, until Kurama's soft voice breaks the spell, calling from the kitchen.

"Maki. Breakfast is about to be served." This brings Hiei back. He `hn's, and turns away from you, walking down the hall, the cloak back in place. You stand at your doorway for a while, not moving, until he turns around, an annoyed look on his face.

"Aren't you COMING, ningen." You nod quickly and hurry to catch up with him, the two of you walking down the hall, heading toward Genkai's kitchen.

For the next chapter, go to '11. Breakfast'

~ E TSUZUKU ^-^ ~