Ok! So there are plenty of people still reading this and I can't tell you how blessed I feel. You are all wonderful and thank you so much for your continued kindness and support. I will say that I am going to have to deviate a little from my original plans with this story because I have moved twice and I'm not sure which box has my manga in it… So I'm going to be going from memory and hoping I don't screw things up! Thank you all again!

(P.S. It's been so long I had to reread the past few chapters to know what hell I have been doing…I am mildly embarrassed about that…cough.)

Chapter Start

Chapter 64: Sparring With Kurama

"So…who am I going to be sparring with?" I asked barely able to keep my anxiety contained. Kya glanced between us carefully and even though she didn't say anything, I knew she was wondering the very same thing. Kurama didn't even react. He maintained the calm, unfathomable demeanor he always had when he responded.

"Your opponent will be me."

"Why am I not surprised," the words escaped me before I could bite my tongue. Kya flashed me a warning look, but I waved her off. I turned back to Kurama and continued, "Alright, better not keep him and whoever will be watching us waiting. Lead the way."

I could tell Kurama was trying to keep himself from smiling as he turned around and began to lead us. I followed close behind and Kya followed behind me. I felt Kya's presence enter my mind and I waited for her to speak first, "This isn't good. What if he wants Kurama to kill you? Even Ghost is concerned and that says something."

"I see this playing out one of two ways. One, he doesn't push Kurama to kill me, but instead pushes him to test my limits. After all, Kurama knows me the best. He knows what weaknesses I have had to overcome as well as what I have been strong in. This could be his insight into me as a fighter since he has picked my brain itself. Two, he pushes Kurama to kill me in order to test his loyalty, as he seems so fond of doing. At that point Kurama must make the choice on what way he wants to play it. I am no fool. I can't best him in a one on one fight, but I have become increasingly skilled at slipping through tough situations," I answered surprisingly calm. It would seem the constant living on the edge had made an impression and even though I was walking into what very well could be a trap set for both Kurama and I, I was not worried in the slightest. Perhaps that was because I had such faith in Kurama. Perhaps it was because I had more faith in myself as a fighter to scrap by. Perhaps it was because I had a feeling Yomi had figured out a use for me and if I was dead that would defeat his purpose. Anyway it went, I was not concerned.

"Damn it, Rin. No wonder Ghost has gotten into so much trouble since you arrive. It gravitates toward you," Kya sighed shaking her head.

"Don't worry Kya. This will work out. Trust me."

"I trust you. After everything Ghost has told me about you, I don't have much of a choice," she grumbled and I smirked. By this time, we had wandered through a few hallways that were completely foreign to me, and I took my time to look around. It was strangely empty and we soon exited to take an outside route. I wrinkled my nose.

"Where is this place exactly?" I asked Kurama curiously.

"It's an outside training grounds that Yomi designed himself. He doesn't often visit it, but it is where most of his combatants spend their first few months of training. Considering this is an attempt to see where you are at, it was decided that this would be the perfect place. All training has been temporarily suspended until our fight is over," Kurama stated simply. I began chewing on the inside of my lip thoughtfully. If that was true…our spar was not going to be a private as I initially hoped. I knew there would be people there, but this new development made it clear that I had not anticipated the reality of the situation. Not only would Yomi be making an appearance himself, but there would be fighters who would be waiting for the training grounds to be free for them to get back to work.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Kya speaking up, "It's just up ahead."

I glanced up and just as we stepped out of the building, a large span of open land spread out before us. The outer boundaries were lined with thick bushes and as we got closer, there were far more demons standing around than I had dared to imagine. The training grounds were expansive and no doubt could train nearly a hundred demons at once if the space was used adequately. It was sectioned off in various places holding different sets of weapons and other things for different talents. There were even different types of training dummies and targets that could be used for up close and ranged attacks. As it was there were at least thirty demons along the edges impatiently waiting for whatever it was that was keeping them from their routine. Yomi was standing in the middle of the field and his head turned to us as soon as we stepped out of the building. This caused all the others to look our way and I could feel the irritation practically boring holes into my skin from the looks I received. Where this would have caused me to shudder before, I stood proudly and approached with Kurama as Yomi gestured for both of us to join him. All the while, he had the smug little smirk curling at his mouth that made me wary. I glanced around and was further reassured that this was going to be quite the spectacle. After all, there weren't many among Yomi's fighters that were overly fond of Kurama and I imagined that their feelings for me would be even less kindly inclined.

Kya moved ahead of us and disappeared off to the side. A part of me wondered where she was going to, but I kept my gaze focused ahead of me on Yomi. After all, I didn't want to let him know exactly how close Kya and I really were. Kurama and Yomi shared a few words in hushed undertone and I took that chance to look around once more. At this point even more demons were arriving and taking their places among the others to watch. I wrinkled my nose and shook my head, this was proving to be more annoying that I initially thought it would be.

"Rin, come over here a minute would you? I have something for you," Yomi said as he waved me closer. Mildly surprised and wary of what this could be, I nodded slowly and stepped over to him. My muscles were already tensing in case this was some kind of trick. Just as I stopped before him, Kya reappeared at his side and was carrying a medium sized bundle wrapped in black silk. I tilted my head to the side curiously as Yomi turned and began unraveling the beautiful cloth and I felt a sense of calm when I saw my chakram resting there on the pillowed surface in Kya's hands. They had been polished and sharpened again and the background of the pillow made them all the more dazzling. Ghost's words bounced inside my head and I couldn't stop myself from smiling. If these weapons in fact had grown with me and adapted to the fact that I had both kinds of energy flowing through me, it made me all the prouder with how good they looked. As Yomi lifted them from their resting place and presented them to me, I couldn't help but feel myself itching to put them into action.

"You'll find that your weapons were well tended in your absence. Though it would appear someone else had already repaired them before you arrived. Our artisans took it upon themselves to perfect a few aspects of them," Yomi explained and the tone in his voice told me that he knew Ghost had been helping me before I arrived. I eyed him closely as I took my weapons from him, and was relieved that it seemed he did not hold any ill will or intent toward my friend. In fact, he almost seemed amused. Then again that could have been because of the match that was just about to begin. However, the wariness started to ease away as I felt the familiar sensation of the grips on my weapons connecting with the palms of my hands. It was almost calming if I was going to be completely honest. Maybe it was because I had been there so long and had been fighting constantly, but it was almost difficult to remember a time when I didn't have them at my disposal. I stepped back from Yomi and rolled my shoulders feeling their familiar weight tugging at my muscles. Yes, this was just the way it was supposed to be.

I smiled, "Thank you, Lord Yomi. It's as if a part of me that has been missing was just returned."

"Strange how that happens, is it not?" Yomi answered with a knowing smile. Kya quickly gathered up the bundle and dismissed herself to disappear in the throng of demons once again. I followed her until she slipped past a group of demons that were clad in similar long white coats and had strange contraptions and electronics in their hands. I narrowed my gaze on them as a few fidgeted with their device until it started beeping and flashing at them. That's when I realized that it was similar to the same machine that measured power levels. Apparently Yomi was extremely curious as to how I would rate on those systems. Then again, when I thought about it, that how Yomi averaged and wagered on everything. That's how he wagered the power of his fellow Demon Kings and that's how he wagered how the tides of power would change when Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama would take their proper places. It would only make sense that he would wait to make his final decision on me until he had the readings to back it up.

Although I had to admit, the thought made me curious as well. Where would I ring in on those machines when we began our little sparring match?

I didn't get to focus on it for long as Yomi began speaking, "I believe we have waited long enough. Kurama. Rin. If you two would do the honors."

Kurama and I both nodded in recognition and took our places twenty feet apart, facing each other. I secured both chakram to my hips and swayed from side to side, stretching my muscles as I did. If we were to follow the same sparring patterns we had in the past, both would begin with hand to hand combat. It was our warm up and also helped get us prepared for the intensity we would reach when we added weapons to the fight.

A soft breeze danced around us and I took it a deep breath, allowing the cool temperature to fill my lungs. A calm was settling in my mind and I focused on Kurama, mentally preparing for the fight ahead. While keeping up with him physically was important, I knew from experience that I would have to keep up with his mind as well. Kurama was a tricky one and just when I would think I was beginning to get the hang of it, he would do something that would throw a wrench into my whole plan. It turned out that he would turn the tables on me very quickly. Where I was prepared for our usual routine which consisted of me advancing when I felt prepared to, this time Kurama disappeared from sight, and I could sense him closing the gap.

My adrenaline spiked and the fight was on.

The red haired kitsune appeared on my left with a kick aimed for the side of my head already making its way toward me. I ducked out of the way just in time to avoid the blow, but as I straightened up found myself blocking a series of quick successive strikes meant to knock me back. The force behind his blows rang through my arms and as the shockwaves raced all the way up to my shoulders, it became painfully obvious that Kurama was not holding back nearly as much as he had in the past. Luckily I was quick on my feet, and dashed this way and that, trying to find an opening as I continued to parry his various blows to the side. It was completely foreign to me that Kurama was the initial aggressor and it had knocked me off my groove, but I could see that this was going to be very different from any time before. This was a test of my limits and we were both being watched very closely.

So, it was time for the gloves to come off and show off a little.

As Kurama reached out, I ducked low to the ground and grabbed his arm. I rolled back and placed my feet just at his waist and used the momentum he had to throw him over my head. Kurama almost seemed surprised, but quickly twisted in midair and landed softly on his feet as though it were nothing. I quickly righted myself on the ground and placed my hands in the dirt with a smirk. Kurama stood up and just as he turned his gaze back to me, I sent a surge of energy into the ground causing a large cloud of dirt to kick up into the air around me. Once I was completely hidden from sight, I focused my energy into halves. There was a nagging voice in the back of my head that questioned if it was a good idea to show this move off in front of Yomi, but I dismissed it. After all, I had this feeling that Yomi had already made his decision, and this was just confirming if his initial assumption had been correct. So, while I was still hidden away in the dirt cloud, I separated my energy into two physical forms and I made sure that each one of us had a single chakram on our left hip so we looked as identical as possible. We stood up as the dirt began to settle and I sensed surprise ripple through the demons that were watching. In unison, both version of me rolled our shoulders and looked at Kurama saying, "Our turn."

We rushed him before he had a chance to react and both forms of myself pounced on him. We set to throwing punch after punch, kick after kick, never giving him a chance to do anything more than blocking our attacks. Despite this barrage, Kurama never let down his guard. It was nearly impossible to find an opening to exploit and just when I thought there was one, he would move and cover it back up. This went on for a few minutes, and just as I was beginning to wonder what Kurama was up to, both me and the copy felt something grab our left ankles tightly. We glanced down in time to see thick vines reach up from the ground and then slam both of us into each other. This knocked us both out of senses just long enough for him to slide up before us and though I couldn't tell exactly what kind of attack he delivered, I was distinctly aware of flipping and somersaulting head over feet in the dirt until I collided with a wooden training dummy, taking it to the ground. If that was not enough, my copy landed on top of me will a dull thud and I groaned as I shifted so the arm of the dummy wasn't jabbing painfully into my side. Mild irritation bubbled in my chest and I let out of puff of air in exasperation to blow the hair out of my faced before growling, "Well, that didn't work."

Deciding it would be easier to get up from the mess by myself, I absorbed the copy and hooked the chakram it had back onto my hip. Then I rolled off of the training dummy and staggered to my feet dusting the dirt from my clothes as I did. When I looked up next, Kurama was standing in the same spot he had been when he struck me and looking at me calmly. I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. I cracked my knuckles and rushed back into the fray. Kurama responded in kind and we met in the middle of the training grounds with a thunderous roar of energy that almost sounded like thunder. I furiously threw every punch and kick combination I had stored to memory and Kurama deflected them as if it was nothing. I grit my teeth. He was letting me wear myself down and conserving his energy. It was the same thing he always told me. I was too eager to get into the fight and would spend my energy before my opponent if I didn't watch myself. Every time I sparred with him, this was his tactic and remembering this made me change my plan of action. After delivering one last kick to his side and having his deflected, I pushed away and jumped back to put a few yards distance in between us.

I saw something flash in his eyes that may have been the glint of a smile that he would not allow to show on his face and then he dashed toward me. I sensed his energy beginning to concentrate in his dominant hand and braced myself. As he drew closer, and his power started to affect me even more, my third eye opened on instinct. Whether it was the third eye guiding me or my own thought, my hands shot forward just as Kurama came within reach and I firmly stopped his open palmed strike mere inches before hitting me square in the middle of my chest. I could faintly see his energy pulsing in the center of his palm and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if his attack would have landed I would've been sent flying back once again. Apparently, this was what he had done before.

Kurama suddenly shifted his weight and pulled his arm free. Then he threw his knee up aimed for my abdomen and I barely had the time to block it and step back. He took advantage of this and continued to push me back with each of his attacks and not let me get my feet firmly planted on the ground. Sweat was already dripping down the sides of my face and I already felt as if I was ready for this fight to be over and done with. Knowing I could not afford to look weak in this whole thing, I realized that now was time to up the ante.

I cleared my thoughts of needless distractions, and planted my feet, refusing to be moved any further. Kurama bore down with his attacks and I allowed myself to fall into an almost trance like state of deflecting his blows and moving with the rhythm of his attacks. Finally, I noticed that there was a pattern to it, despite him having been trying to make it as hard to find as he possibly could. He was moving to strike at my left shoulder and I waited until mere seconds before the attack would land before calling up a concentrated patch of my shield covering where he would make contact. I watched the shockwave ripple up his arm upon striking the shield and it surprised Kurama long enough for me to bat his arm away and firmly plant my hands on his shoulders and dig in with my nails. Once I was satisfied that he was secured, I brought my head back and called forth another concentrated portion of shield to protect my head – since I knew I didn't know how to do this properly without inuring myself – and delivered a decisive head-butt. The height difference between us had skewed my initial calculations, but I had managed to throw enough force behind it that Kurama staggered back from me. Using that to my advantage I spun to roundhouse kick him in the abdomen.

Kurama skid across the ground away from me holding his stomach and I found myself pleased that I had used my shield to protect my head. The angle had not been good and if I hadn't had the extra protection I would've likely knocked myself senseless. I smelled blood, but as I inspected myself over carefully I realized that it wasn't mine. I glanced over Kurama and couldn't stop myself from staring in surprise at the line of blood that was beginning to seep out of the open cut just above his left eyebrow. It was a small injury, but had a healthy blood flow as it dripped down his brow and off to the side of his eye. At last, he raised his emerald colored eyes to meet mine and I could've sworn I saw something akin to pride and amusement dancing behind them, but it was gone in an instant. Kurama straightened up and after wiping the blood away from his eye, reached up to his hair. Before I consciously knew it, my chakram were in my hands.

This match was about to get serious.

With a simple flick of his wrist, his Rose Whip burst forth in an explosion of rose petals and the familiar scent filled my nose instantly. It was almost comforting, but I would not allow myself to relax. Despite the situation, both of us were fired up. I wanted to see how far I had come since my training sessions with Ghost, and even Kurama seemed curious as to hard far he could push me. We stood motionless for a few moments as if sizing each other up before leaping forward in perfect unison and clashed together in an explosion of sound. Our weapons sang as they cut through the air and we each danced through the other's attacks as if we had carefully choreographed every movement. It felt as if I was flying, my feet barely touching the ground before springing forth again to meet in midair. Wind whistled in my ears as I dodged the edge of his whip as it lashed out at me, so close that some of the thorns grazed my arms leaving the worst kind of papercut like wounds across my flesh. Thankfully, I was not the only one who sustained such small injuries. Once in a while, I would jump forward a little quicker than Kurama anticipated and there were small slashes from my chakram all along his outfit.

The longer we went on in this way, the more power I felt flowing through my entire being. All cares of being watched were washed away and it almost became a game to see how fast I could move. Kurama, of course, matched me at every burst, but for the first time since I had become a part of their lives, I felt like I was able to keep up. I no longer felt the struggling frustration of pushing my body to it limits to keep up with him and there was no more strain on my eyes trying to keep up with his every movement. I was almost matching him.

Of course, that same realization seemed to have dawned on him and Kurama pushed us apart with a snap of his whip and we landed with nearly twenty feet in between us. I could feel my muscles tense in anticipation and I narrowed my eyes on him. That tricky bastard was planning something and I didn't want to wait until it was too late to find out. Unfortunately, he moved just a little quicker than I thought.

The ground beneath me started moving. I blinked in surprise and looked down to see plants sprouting out of the ground all around me in a circle and then burst forth spiraling up and around me like a dome. The vines continued to grow and it was plain to see that in a short matter of time I would soon be incased in a thorny dome prison. Already they were too closely wrapped together for me to escape without getting cut up severely and I wasn't fond of the idea of bleeding all over the place. I glanced around as the plants fell into place and slowed as they were winding together to fortify their strength. There were a few spots here and there in which I could still look out and see the world around me, but as it was I was rooted to the spot. Then flowers began to bud along the vines and before they even bloomed, I could smell a suspiciously calming almost sweet smell coming from them.

"A relaxant? Or paralytic?" I called out curiously as I eyed the buds.

"Both," was his simple reply.

"I should have known," I answered with a smirk. Leave it to Kurama to leave nothing to chance. Especially with how much of a pain I could be a times. I knew there would be no chance once the flowers bloomed, so I began spinning my chakram in both of my hands while calling forth flames to surround them. I grinned somewhat and continued to build the flames, but controlling them so that for the most part they were hidden from immediate sight. There was something that both fire and plants needed to flourish.

Air.

As soon as the buds were large enough that I saw the first petal beginning to break free, I unleashed the pent up inferno I had been building and spun on my heels with the weapons straight out to my sides, cutting through the scorched vines. They fell away to ash the second the blades touched them and the flames roared overheard, destroying whatever it came into contact with. All the spores and pollen that had been stored to release into my system were engulfed and burned away to nothing. As I completely a full rotation, I planted my feet and then sprung forward out of the flames, making my way straight toward Kurama.

Quick on his feet as always, he responded with snapping his whip to and fro, attacking me with a speed that he had never used before. In fact, the tip of his whip grazed my face and left a long gash from my left cheekbone down to my jawline. The pain caused me to shudder and I stopped dead in my tracks just before another attack would have cut into my right side. I grit my teeth and back flipped away from him and narrowly avoided another whip attack to my ankle. Kurama pursued me and I heard more of his whip snapping viciously as he gave chase. I could barely land from one dodge before another strike came my way and Kurama wasn't giving me an inch.

Deciding I had enough of him bearing down on me, I sent forth a large static discharge around myself as I touched the ground and as soon as he touched it, I watched his body recoil from the shock. He winced and leapt back just beyond the reach of my electric current, but would not be deterred. Kurama quickly set to lashing out from afar with his whip and after parrying back a few blows; an idea came to mind to my mind. I smiled and waited for the next attack. Just as his whip was flying toward me, I reached out my chakram with my left hand and waited until the last moment to spin so the whip wound its way through the handle and around my wrist. The thorns bit tightly into my skin, but I ignored it as I turned my wrist to lock the whip around my arm and sent a stronger electric shock down the length of it. When it hit Kurama, it caused his grip to lock on the whip. Since he couldn't let go, I raised my hand over my head and spun on the ball of my foot like a dancer would as I twirled toward him. While doing this I kept the current strong in the whip so he couldn't let go and continued to spin closer and closer.

Alas, Kurama had one final trick up his sleeve. While it was true I had made it so he couldn't let go, he focused his energy on his other hand and before I knew it, he threw his hand forward releasing a cloud of rose petals. I already knew this was the end of my fight. First the petals fluttered harmlessly around me, and then they turned into razor blades. The wind howled as they struck me hard, throwing me up into the air, ripping the thorns out of my arms as the whip unfurled. Pain caused me to momentarily lose concentration on the electric current and Kurama used it to his advantage. Soon, I was snatched out of the air by his whip and slammed into the ground face first with enough force that a dust cloud flew up around me. Then the razor sharp rose petals zipped through the air and impaled my back in various places. I growled in pain.

"I should've seen that coming," I muttered darkly as I pushed myself up and took stock of my injuries. My left arm was torn up from the whip and I could feel myself getting woozy from blood loss. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. I focused on the worst of the injuries with my third eyes and when I exhaled, I visualized my energy flowing to the various parts of my body that needed it most to jump start the healing process. My aura spiked and I could feel the blood flow slowing from the energies and after a moment or so, they completely stopped. Once that was done, I allowed my power to fall and when I opened my eyes, Kurama was standing above me with his whip at the ready. I shook my head and raised my good hand up in defeat, "You win. As always."

Kurama lowered his whip and a slow single clap sounded behind us. We both looked to see Yomi approaching us with a smile and stopped a few feet away to say, "That was impressive. I don't believe I've seen someone give Kurama a run for his money like that for a long time. Let alone leave a mark on him. Well done."

As he spoke, Kurama's whip returned to the small bud it has started as and Kurama quickly returned it to its proper hiding place. Then he held out his hand and helped me to my feet. As I stood, the now inert flower petals fell to the ground and I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose ruefully. I was a little jealous that he could turn something so beautiful into something so deadly. Especially since for the most part, there were always some kind of plants around at his disposal. Putting that to the back of my mind, I bowed to him and said, "The only reason I can keep up with him is because of the hand he had in my training."

"Of course. I would be surprised otherwise. Now why don't you both get cleaned up and meet me back in my office so we can discuss a few things of interest," Yomi said and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I had anticipated this, but there was something in his tone that made me uneasy. I was able to keep it hidden for the most part but I noticed him turn his head ever so slightly in my direction. He knew I was concerned and his smirk grew just a bit more. Then he turned and moved to the demons who had been taking readers through the match and my stomach turned into a tight knot. That's when Kya arrived at our sides.

"Both of you follow me. I will get you cleaned up and ready."

Neither Kurama or I spoke. We just simply fell into step behind her and took our leave from the training ground. The farther away from Yomi I got, the better I felt.

Chapter End

Well, there we are. Sorry if I'm a little rusty. I hope you all enjoy and I will be working on keeping up with the updates. Also, I will be writing this story to its end and maybe then I will rewrite the beginning of it…but I also had a sequel in mind so if enough people keep with me…I will do that as well. Thank you all again for reading and I will see you next time.

P.S. The muses will come back too. I just wanted some time to speak to you guys without them upstaging me as always. See ya!