To Find What Cannot be Found

To Find What Cannot be Found
by Kagehoshi
Ch 6 Breaking Out


This person was not one to trifle with. If you only trusted your eyes and tried to stir up trouble with this particular individual, thinking them helpless, you'd find yourself slammed up against something hard and unyielding. And wishing fervently that you had listened to your mother when she told you to respect your elders. Big things come in small packages, and you couldn't get much smaller than Genkai. For years her name had struck fear in the hearts of Demon and Human alike, and the passage of time had not diminished her fearsome nature in the slightest.

Like a Queen surveying her Kingdom, Genkai stood on the roof of her temple and viewed the surrounding lands. As far as her eyes could see, the land belonged to her, belonged to the temple. The spiritual power radiating from the forest and fields called to creatures that had been chased out of the modern world, and lent them a haven in which to live.
Yet Genkai knew she was growing old and that if she did not find someone to take over the temple soon, it would fall to the Modern world as so many other Holy places had. The idiot may be heir to her fighting techniques, but she would rather screw Koenma than leave the temple in his care. A priestess was needed, preferably a strong one. She took a drag on her cigarette and slowly released the smoke from her lungs, then she smiled, perhaps all was not lost.

Botan had come several hours ago and had relayed a request from Koenma. The little sprat had asked if she would be willing to train a young Priestess. A Priestess who just so happened to be the Guardian of the Shikon no Tama. Smirking to herself Genkai took another drag on her cigarette; this was one request Genkai had been glad to agree to. If this young Priestess was who she thought, the one from the ancient scrolls, then Genkai would be honored to train her. Now if only that dimwit would hurry up and bring her.


Nobody likes stairs. Be honest with yourself, you know you don't. No matter how in shape or athletic you are, stairs are still the bane of all mankind. At this moment Kagome Higurashi despised stairs. They taunted her, making her think they weren't that bad…until you tried to climb the damn things. You would think she would be used to stairs by now, the Higurashi shrine having its own impressive set of the damn things. However, the set of stairs at Genkai's temple put those to shame. They just didn't end. Kagome continued to make her way up the stone steps huffing and puffing as she bulled her way up to the top. She was thankful that Chuu had offered to carry her bag for her; she didn't think she would have made it if she had had to carry such a heavy load.

“If you're tired I can carry you.” Kagome slid her eyes over to the cocky bastard who walked easily next to her, not even sweating or breathing hard.

“No thank you, if I can't even handle some stupid stairs then how will I handle some serious training?” The jerk grinned and shook his head.

“You won't need to worry about that, you're going to come to know these stairs intimately in the near future.” He looked over at her as she continued to climb upwards, “Are you sure you wanna go through with this? I'm sure you could train elsewhere.” Inwardly he grinned as she narrowed her eyes and started climbing the stairs more vigorously.

“You said so yourself, that Genkai was the best teacher you ever had. That it was her training that made you strong.” Kagome pumped her legs faster, as her emotions begin to fuel her tiring body, “I want to become stronger. Strong enough to protect myself, so that I won't ever have to be rescued again.” She was almost running up the stairs now, “I will be strong, and I WILL protect the jewel and fulfill my responsibility!”

“That's a very good attitude, I can tell you'll be a lot better student than the dimwit.”

The rough voice broke through Kagome's fervent thoughts, and she realized that she was at the top of the stairs. Turning quickly she faced the source of the voice and was confronted by a small woman smoking a cigarette.

“Master Genkai?” Kagome queried softly, not sure how to react.

“Yes, that would be me. You would be Kagome then?” Genkai inhaled deeply as she studied the girl, at her nod Genkai continued, “You've got a lot of potential, I hope you're not a slacker like my idiot apprentice.”

Ignoring Yusuke's loud protests, Kagome shook her head.

“That is one aspect you don't have to worry about. I'll work myself to death if it means I can learn to protect myself.”

“Excellent, I might just ask you to do that.” Genkai tossed her used cigarette to the side and walked towards the large building in the background, “Come along I'll show you to your room, as soon as you settle in we shall begin.” Kagome followed eagerly, stopping momentarily to take her bag from Chuu.

The temple was old, and Kagome could practically taste the power that radiated from its ancient walls. The musky scent of scrolls and books combined with sacred incense met her nose as soon as she entered the old building. The highly polished wood seemed to glow in a warm welcome as the young priestess followed the old psychic down the hallways. Genkai stopped before a door and gestured Kagome inside.

“This will be your room while you stay here. You can put your clothes on the shelves there. Put your bag down for now, I'll show you the rest of the temple.”

Kagome complied, gratefully dropping the heavy bag upon the wooden floor. Genkai moved swiftly through the ancient building, Kagome trailing behind her trying to memorize the complex interior. Genkai pointed out the Library, the great hall where the shrine to the Buddha rested, several indoor practice rooms and finally…

“And here's the kitchen.” Genkai concluded the tour. Kagome was surprised when she stepped into a surprisingly modern room, complete with microwave and stove. The guys were gathered here lounging around and cramming snacks into their mouths. Kagome noticed a blue-haired female youkai amongst the group of men, and smiled warmly when she caught her attention.

“Oh hello, you must be Kagome.” The pretty demon-girl gushed happily, “My name is Yukina. I'm so glad you've decided to stay awhile, it will be nice to have some extra female company.”

Kagome smiled and took the girl's hand in hers.

“I'm sure we'll be good friends, you seem to have a kind heart.” Yukina blushed and bowed slightly.

“I hope so, if you need anything at all don't hesitate to ask. I try to help out around here as much as possible. In fact I was about to do some laundry so if you have any clothes that need washing…” Yukina trailed off as Kagome shook her head.

“That's okay my clothes got a good washing yesterday.”

“I hope you brought clothes appropriate for hard training.” Genkai spoke up after having observed the interaction between the two younger females.

“Of course?” Kagome asked slightly confused, “What else would I have brought with me?”

“The dimwit trained in his school uniform for months before it finally fell apart.” Genkai replied smirking in amusement at the memory of Yusuke busting his pants open in the middle of a sparing exercise. Kagome blanched and shook her head vehemently.

“My school uniform is most definitely NOT something I will train in!”

Yusuke snorted from his place at the kitchen table.

“I wouldn't mind watching you train in one of those little mini skirts.” He grinned as Kagome blushed brightly.

Genkai raised an eyebrow as she sensed the sudden sexual tension that filled the kitchen at Yusuke's announcement. 'This was going to be interesting' she thought.

“I'm going to go unpack now.” Kagome squeaked, before running out the kitchen door, her face still beet red.

“I'll go help her.” Yukina replied softly, quickly following the embarrassed girl out the door.

“Awwww you scared her away Urameshi.” Jin grinned widely, his ears twitching erratically.

“Was it really necessary to bring up that particular imagery?” Touya asked, clearly annoyed.

“Pft! As if you weren't already thinking something similarly anyway.” Yusuke replied, “Lets face it, after last night all of us want her bad.”

“It's still her choice.” Kurama responded, “To force her would only be to hurt her.”

There was a silence as this was thought over by the group at large, that is until Chuu spoke up.

“Do ya think she ever will wear one 'a those little skirts?”

At this everyone groaned in frustration, and Genkai took this time to butt in.

“Listen up dimwits. If you get in the way of that girl's training, you won't have to worry about your hormones because I'll rip your balls off. At the end of the day she's all yours, but other than that you can all butt out!” And with that announcement Genkai spun on her heel and went off to the first training hall to ready it for Kagome.

“Well damn.” Jin stated.

******

Kagome laughed as she talked with the ice demon beside her. Yukina truly was a wonderful person, and Kagome was glad to have met her. Having the girl with her here made Kagome feel a lot more comfortable with her surroundings. There was something familiar about the girl, almost as if she had met her before. Kagome had felt her aura and was quite surprised to discover that Yukina wasn't completely ice. 'Now where have I felt this before?' Kagome thought to herself as she finished putting the last of her things away.

“Is that everything?” Kagome turned to face Yukina as the young demoness glanced around the room.

“Yes, that's the last of it. I really only packed for camping and not much else. I'll have to see about a visit home to pick up some extra things, since I'll be staying here for awhile.”

Yukina nodded her agreement and slid open the door to let Kagome out of the room. “You certainly need more clothes, you barely have any.”

Kagome laughed as she followed the Ice apparition back to the kitchen. As soon as she entered, she noticed Hiei standing in the corner. Her eyes widened with sudden realization as she looked between Yukina and Hiei. Hiei had noticed her shock, as well as Yusuke and Kurama. Kagome was totally oblivious to their tension as she opened her mouth in surprise.

“Oh! Why didn't you tell me Hiei was…” Her exclamation was cut off as Kagome suddenly felt herself caught around the middle and dragged away at a speed that made her head spin.

“You will not mention this information to my sister.” Kagome heard someone speaking, but she was still so dazed she hadn't quite gotten it. She closed her eyes and steadied herself against the wall in the hallway.

“Whaaa…?” She managed intelligibly as she looked up at a glowering Hiei.

“You will not mention our relationship to Yukina.” He repeated firmly.

“You mean she doesn't know?!” Kagome asked shocked

“No she does not. And she never will.”

“But, why?” Kagome was confused, how could Yukina not know Hiei was her brother, and how could he keep such important information from such a gentle girl.

Hiei had realized he had made a mistake as soon as he had touched the girl. Her scent had driven him crazy when she was a distance from him, but when coupled with the feel of her soft curves against his body Hiei nearly snapped. But he had panicked when he realized that Kagome had figured it out, so he had done the first thing that came to his mind and removed her threat elsewhere. Now she was standing so close to him and demanding to know why he was keeping his sister in the dark about their relationship. Maybe he should tell the young Priestess why. If he managed to scare her, she would avoid him and then maybe he could regain control of his body. Placing his hands on the wall, he trapped the startled young girl between his arms. Leaning over her he ground out.

“Because I am not worthy of her.” Kagome drew in a surprised gasp and Hiei pressed onwards, “I am the Forbidden Child, from my birth I was cast out to die. In order to survive I have done horrible things, horrible terrible things, and I don't care. I am an evil person little Priestess and I have no wish to inflict that upon my sister.” Hiei looked into the girl's eyes then, and drew back in surprise at what he saw reflected in her sapphire pools. Instead of fear or loathing, he saw understanding and acceptance in her eyes. He was so shocked that he did not even shy away when she reached out to cup his cheek.

“If you are really such an evil being, then why do you care for your sister so much?” She asked softly, and Hiei felt his breath catch in his throat as her soft hand stroked his face. Hiei fought for control, he wouldn't give in to his desire. The Forbidden Child needed no one. Yet she looked so tempting standing there looking at him with acceptance that he could not help himself.

Kagome gasped in surprise as she felt Hiei's arms wrap around her and draw her close. Hiei took full advantage of her surprise and slanted his mouth over hers in a soul-searing kiss. Kagome moaned as his tongue invaded her mouth and swept across her teeth, it was almost as if he was trying to devour her.

Hiei tightened his arms around her as he deepened the kiss. She tasted so clean and sweet and pure, that he couldn't seem to get enough of her.

“Didn't I warn you about what would happen if you interfered with her training?” The voice broke Hiei out of his trance and he broke the kiss, yet did not remove his arms from a now gasping Kagome, “If you're done with my student I'd like to start with her training.” Genkai crossed her arms over her chest and leveled a steady stare at the fire youkai. Hiei glared back at the old psychic in frustration, but let go of the beet red Kagome and stepped back. Genkai humphed and motioned for Kagome to enter the room behind the aged fighter. Kagome looked quickly at Hiei, then moved to obey Genkai, who followed Kagome into the training hall. Hiei was left in the hallway alone, with Kagome's scent lingering on in his memory and the now empty hallway.

“Shit.”

*********************************
AN**

Alright, since my little note at the end of my other story, Kagome's Paths, I have gotten quite of bit of e-mails from people asking questions and requesting help. So here is some clarification for everyone.

NO- English is not my first, nor second language.

YES- I am Japanese, from Tokyo to be exact.

NO- I will not be your language partner, I already have one and I don't have time for any more.

NO- I will not teach you Japanese. I am not qualified for it, and again no time.

However, if you wish, from now on at the end of each chapter I will correct some very common mistakes I have seen here on AFF when people refer to the Japanese culture. I'll also add some informative tidbits that might help you write more culturally accurate stories in the future. However, if you are not interested then I won't bother as I'm strapped for time (yet I still manage to write you a chapter). I do not mean to sound arrogant and I'm sorry if I came off that way, but some people seemed genuinely interested in learning and I just didn't want to 'leave them swinging'.