Two Months in the Forest

Two Months in the Forest
Chapter 2: Three Weeks


Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.


Thanks Willow.


cillaxox: This chapter is a little short, but it’s mainly for background information. It’s still kind of important though. I didn’t want to just jump into the sex immediately, which I’m notorious for doing. I’ll still be jumping into the sex, but just not in this chapter.
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Kuwabara stood underneath a small waterfall. It was approximately two stories tall. The water was cold, but he didn’t really mind. In fact, he enjoyed it. It helped to take his mind off the very long and exhausting day he had. This was his relaxation. His little escape between the non-stop training he had completed today and the non-stop training he would face tomorrow.

He stumbled across the spot by accident. It was after his third day of training with Kurama. The three days of dirt, sweat and blood had started to bother him. Kurama and Hiei always appeared fresh even after training for hours on end. What finally did it though was a comment that the fire demon made about humans needing to come with an odor warning. He stormed off in a huff in search of place to clean himself off just to shut the apparition up. He supposed he should thank Hiei, because if he wasn’t an ass then he would have never found the waterfall.

The first week had been hell. Kuwabara let out a deep sigh as he remembered the trials he had been through thus far. Already he had his fill of Hiei’s special names for him: oaf, incompetent, imbecile, worthless, amateur, loser, pathetic, wimp; the list went on an on. The demon seemed to have a never-ending source of mean names.

Kuwabara punched one of the slippery rocks in front of him; it easily crumbled under the powerful blow. He wished that it were Hiei’s face instead of a stupid rock. It seemed that the fire demon was on his case more than usual. He knew it was because Hiei was training him, but it still pissed him off.

When he wasn’t being cut down by Hiei’s sharp tongue then it was by Kurama's whip. At the thought of the fox’s rigorous training he fingered his chest and arms. He used the sheet of falling water as a mirror and saw long, swollen welts that crisscrossed his body like a twisted railroad track. The welts were ugly to look at, but they served as a reminder of each one of Kurama's painful lessons.

Kuwabara stepped forward and let the cold water crash down on his head. The jolt from the icy shower cleared all unnecessary thoughts. The resentment he felt towards Hiei’s names was gone as well as the anger towards Kurama for the seemingly cruel beatings. The only feeling that remained was gratitude. He was grateful that he had two people who cared enough to spend two months training him. Well, maybe Hiei didn’t care, but he at least appreciated that Kuwabara might be a valuable asset in the future and was therefore worthy of training.

It was also nice to spend time with Kurama. Kuwabara had always liked the fox, but up until now he hadn’t spent much time with him outside of their missions. During their training sessions their relationship was strictly teacher-pupil. Once 6pm came though Kurama returned to being his kind, somewhat reserved self. Every night they would spend some time talking after dinner. The more they talked the more Kuwabara found he enjoyed the older boy’s company.

Kurama spoke of subjects he was knowledgeable about, which was nearly everything. He had a way of making even the most boring topics seem appealing. Kuwabara never cared much for learning or paying attention to anything that seemed to involve learning, but that didn’t stop him from listening to the older boy. He would listen until either Kurama grew tired talking or he grew bored with listening, whichever came first.

Kuwabara’s head snapped up as he heard a twig snag. His evening shower was interrupted by an unexpected intrusion. “So this where you go after we finish.”

“What are you doing out here, Kurama?”

“I was curious. I only wanted to know what you’ve been doing the past few evenings. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I guess not, but I do mind talking to you while I’m naked. Can you turn your head while I put on my pants?”

“Of course.”

“I’m done, you can look now.” Kuwabara stepped into his sneakers. While he was tying them he asked, “Is there any other reason why you came looking for me?”

“I finished cooking dinner.” Kurama watched the younger boy’s back as he pulled down his shirt. It was covered in bruises and other scars, injuries that he had caused. That was the price of learning, but still… “I hope you’re hungry, I made a little too much.”

“Great, I’m starving.” The younger boy paused. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I’ve never seen your hair like this before.”

Kuwabara ran a hand through his ungelled hair; it hung loose with reddish-orange curls ending just below his jaw line. He was self-conscious about having it being seen like that. He did have an image to maintain.

Kurama walked past the boy, headed back towards camp. He patted the small of the taller boy’s back, letting it momentarily linger. “I like it this way.” He continued walking, but looked over his shoulder and smiled back at his friend. “I’ll see you back at camp.”

Kuwabara was a bit perplexed by the older redhead’s action. For a briefest of instants he entertained the notion that Kurama was trying to flirt with him, but he quickly squashed the crazy idea. Then he got to thinking again. If the other boy wasn’t trying to flirt then what was he doing? His thoughts were interrupted by his growling stomach. ‘Food first then I’ll worry about what Kurama is up to,’ he thought to himself.


~*~WEEK TWO~*~


Kuwabara was sitting by the pond, where he trained with Hiei, with his feet resting in the water. The cool water felt good against his hot skin. He wiggled his toes underneath the water, stretching out the stiffness in them. From his waist down he was stiff. All morning long he practiced speed drills with Hiei. Now that he was done training with the fire demon for the day all he wanted to do was rest.

He was in a very relaxed state when he heard footsteps approaching him. He knew for a fact it was Kurama, because after training with Hiei he wouldn’t see the demon again until after dinner. “You’re early.”

“Rest assured that I’m not here for training,” the redhead replied.

“That’s good, because I’m not moving again until I have to.”

“How you spend your free time is entirely up to you. However, there are better ways to spend it.”

“Thank you for the advice Mother. Is there a reason why you’re here?”

Kurama gave the younger boy a serious look. “I want you to think about something Kuwabara.”

“Yeah?”

“Your spirit energy can be used in many ways.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a living force that can be molded into several forms. It can take on any shape.”

Kuwabara stared thoughtfully at his hands. “You mean I can use it as more than a sword?”

“All you have to do is gain mastery over it. It takes serious concentration and discipline, but it is possible.”

The carrot-top continued staring at his hands, seeing them in a whole new light. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Kurama told the younger boy, “It takes a lot of training to learn to manipulate your energy in such a way. I don’t think it will do you much good for the tournament.” The fox stood up. “Don’t be late for our training.”

“I won’t.”

“I also wanted to tell you that we’ll be training with staffs today. I thought you could use a break from my whip.”

The younger boy frowned. “I don’t need you going soft on me, I can handle it.”

“I didn’t mean it that way. I just wanted to break the monotony. A change in routine can be beneficial for training.”

“If you say so, I’ll see you later.”

Once the older redhead was gone Kuwabara stood up and materialized his sword. He had planned on using the break in between his training to grab a quick nap, but now he had other plans. He willed the energy flowing from his body into his sword to move. He tried unsuccessfully for an hour straight. He had about ten minutes to go before he had to meet Kurama. He gave one final attempt at controlling his energy. At first nothing happened, but ever so slowly the tip of the sword began to bend. He only managed to make it curve forty-five degrees, but to him it was good start.


~*~WEEK THREE~*~


Kuwabara was walking through the forest after a particularly nasty session with Kurama. He wasn’t going anywhere special; he just wanted some time alone. It didn’t appear that he would find it among the trees.

“What are you doing so far out here?”

The teen would have jumped if he hadn’t sensed the familiar aura around him. He looked up and saw Hiei reclining on a tree limb. “I needed some time to clear my head.”

“That shouldn’t take you too long.”

“Very funny, smart ass.”

The fire demon smirked. “It was pretty funny, wasn’t it?”

“No, it wasn’t,” Kuwabara said sourly.

“That was a rhetorical question, genius.”

“Rhetorical or not it, you should’ve just kept your big mouth shut.”

Hiei could tell the young man was already fuming, this only served to amuse him more. He was about to further insult the human, but he was interrupted. “I didn’t know he could be like that,” Kuwabara stated numbly.

“You’re talking about Kurama I presume.”

“The one and only.” Kuwabara sighed heavily and leaned against a tree opposite of the fire apparition. “He was really rough today.”

Hiei cupped his hands behind his head and used them as a cushion. He thoroughly expected the boy to leave at any moment. When that didn’t happen he said, “I hope you’re not expecting sympathy.”

“Like you even know what means.”

“Good, because what goes on while you two are training is none of my concern.” The demon closed is eyes signifying what he considered the end of their conversation.

Kuwabara wasn’t in a hurry to leave. He didn’t have anything to go back, but to Kurama and he wasn’t exactly ready to face the older boy yet. Trying to kill time he asked, “What are you doing way out here?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You asked me, so I figured I would do the same.”

“It’s really none of your business, but I’m thinking of ways to torture you tomorrow.” The apparition cracked one eye open and gave a sadistic smile. “I don’t want you fearing Kurama more than you do me.”

“That’s my cue to leave.” Kuwabara turned around. As he was about to walk away he paused, with his back to the fire demon he asked, “Do you think I’ve made any progress?”

“You could be worse…at least you’re not as bad as you were when you first arrived.”

The young man knew that was the closest thing to answer he would get, so he decided to leave well enough alone. He headed back towards camp. He was determined to show both Kurama and Hiei what he was truly made of. He already swore to them that he wouldn’t give up. Now he was swearing to himself that before his training was over he would be even better than he was coming into it.