Alright, I have decided that I'll end 'Vengeance' one chapter earlier and
chapter 18 will be in the first chapter of 'Dreams' (Future). Anyway,
comments are very welcome. 

P/S FFMLers, please send all your C&Cs to wsiewlee@tm.net.my 'cuz I've set
the flag to 'vacation'. 

Siew Lee 
[wsiewlee@tm.net.my] 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

		The Past, The Present And The Future

		   ~~~The Present - Vengeance~~~ 

	  Chapter 13 - A Figure In Black, Kurama's Past 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	Lightning flashed across the dark skies of Makai as rain fell 
from far above his head. It was all dark around him. The entire sky 
far and beyond was covered with black clouds, and the faraway 
mountains seemed so minute compared to the thunderous heaven. Tears 
blinded his sight and he felt so helpless out in the wild... 

	Slowly, he sat down on the wet green grass. A figure was 
standing before him, stroking his youko ears and silver hair. He 
flicked his tail, although it was drenched in rainwater... All his 
silver hair was plastered down on his head, slick from the 
moisture... 

	Next moment, he was alone once again as the figure walked 
further and further away from him... 

	He was all alone. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	His forehead was drenched with sweat. His breathing ragged and 
uneven, Kurama sat up quickly in the middle of the night. He looked 
around in shock, finally realizing he was still in Reikai with Arisa 
leaning against him, sleeping. He was still sitting on the floor 
although he had reverted back into his Ningen form. 

	There was an unfamiliar dull ache in his chest... Kurama raised 
up a hand to wipe away the sweat that had formed on his forehead. It 
had been so many years since that nightmare last appeared... This 
scene of himself drenched with rain trailed him many years now. 
Kurama squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember the dream. 

	It had always been vague. Rain, lightning, storms and himself 
sitting on the plains. He never got see the person who stroked him... 
He had tried looking up, but light would forever be behind that 
person, casting darkness on his face and eyes. 

	Kurama knew this was his *past*... His past as a young youko... 
That happened many centuries ago, yet he was unable to forget about 
it. In one way or another, it had been engraved deeply into his 
memories. 

	With a soft sigh, he forced himself back into slumber. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"You... you..." stuttered Koenma as he placed his stamp on its 
stand with trembling fingers. 

	"Yes..." smiled the man as he threw the hood on the floor 
beside his feet. 

	"I think you can do a good job," smiled Koenma, finally 
relaxing as he leaned back on his leather armchair. 

	The man nodded and walked out of the office as he donned  
his hood. Koenma sighed and gazed at the disappearing form of the 
man. Slowly, he brushed his own cheek with an absent mind... 

	"Koenma-sama?" asked a female voice this time. Seeing no 
response, a slender hand reached out and tapped lightly on his 
shoulder. 

	"Huh?" said Koenma, snapping out of his swirling thoughts. 

	"What are you thinking about?" asked Misuko, balancing a small 
clay teapot with two little cups on a small tray. 

	"Um... nothing," answered Koenma as he held the cup of tea  
Misuko poured him. 

	"Who's that tall man who walked out just now? He nearly bumped 
into me... Besides, I have never seen him before in Reikai..." asked 
Misuko as she poured another cupful for herself and sipped it gently. 

	"The Reikai tantei's new trainer," replied Koenma simply. 

	"New trainer?" Her eyebrows met in a frown as she remembered 
seeing a long bushy tail flickering behind the man and wispy white 
hair flowing lusciously down his shoulder. "He looks like a youko..." 
recalled Misuko slowly, mentally matching the man with Kurama's 
silver youko form. 

	"Hm."

	"He looks familiar, as if I have seen him somewhere before," 
commented Misuko, gazing at Koenma's thoughtful expression. 

	"Yes, he is a youko. Of course he looks familiar, he is..." 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Bakayaro!" yelled Kuwabara before lunging forward with his 
Rei ken, aiming for Yusuke's hand. 

	"Shut up, stupid," yelled Yusuke as he leaped up high in the 
air and rushed towards Kuwabara with his fist going for a punch. 

	"Kuso," growled Kuwabara when Yusuke's fist came in contact 
with his chest, and gasped loudly. 

	"I wonder whether he knows how to fight or not," smirked Hiei, 
who was sitting on a bench watching Kuwabara howl at Yusuke. 

	"Then what do you think you are doing? Sitting there doing 
nothing?" shot back Kuwabara, his face already fuming over Hiei's 
insult. 

	"Stupid. I'm meditating. Weak concentration you have," answered 
Hiei simply and sat still. 

	Kuwabara sighed and glared at the fire youkai, threatening to 
separate his head from his body. Hiei totally ignored him and closed 
his eyes. 

	Yusuke turned around to look at Kurama. Arisa was there, 
helping him to understand the book he was reading. *Arisa there? 
Helping Kurama to read that youki book? What a surprise, I thought 
Arisa was still under that blanket, totally unaware of anything...* 
whispered Yusuke mentally. "Hm..." said Yusuke as he scratched his 
chin. 

	"Yo Urameshi! What are you looking at? Yatta! Kurama and Arisa! 
Don't tell me you are jealous of them!" hollered Kuwabara as he 
slapped a friendly hand on Yusuke's shoulder. 

	"Iie, just thinking of something else," answered Yusuke simply, 
and resumed wondering. 

	"Eheh! I know! You are thinking about Keiko right?" Kuwabara's 
loud voice lowered down to a mysterious tone. "Bwahahahahahah!!!" 

	"Baka!" yelled Yusuke as he bashed Kuwabara on the head, 
instantly creating an bump there. "I was just thinking about Kurama's 
youko origin. What is Arisa doing there? I thought she still didn't 
know about Youko Kurama?" 

	"Ha! Who knows? Kurama shouldn't have lied to her in the first 
place," explained Kuwabara as he shoved a hand down his pocket. 

	"Kurama has his own problems too," answered Yusuke and folded 
his arms over his chest. 

	Suddenly, he felt someone's presence near him. The feeling was 
strange... as if the being was a shadow or something. "Who is it? 
Come out!" shouted Yusuke, turning around to scrutinize the 
surroundings. Hiei's eyes flew open and in a flash, he was standing 
next to Yusuke. 

	A tall man was standing there, his long hood covering his head 
and body. He was dressed entirely in black, giving the onlookers a 
sense of fear and respect. "Who are you?! What are you looking at?!" 
growled Hiei, his eyes blazing. 

	Hiei bristled as the man refused to say anything. Kurama jumped 
up in the air and landed by the group, lending a critical eye at him. 

	In a deep baritone voice, the man finally spoke, "I'm your 
trainer." 

	"Nani? Trainer? Why didn't Koenma-sama say anything about 
this?" asked Kurama suspiciously. He seemed familiar... *Very* 
familiar, but Kurama couldn't place where the feeling lay... 

	"I am going to be your trainer until your tournament with 
Yamaro and Murashi. Am I right about those Makai criminals?" 
smiled the man and a long furry tail reached up to curl around his 
waist. Arisa stared at the tail with her mouth slightly gaping... 
*That tail looks exactly like the one on Kurama's youko form!* 

	"Alright, let's see first," snickered Kuwabara, cracking his 
knuckles as he took off his white jacket. "Hiya!" shouted the boy 
as he whirled towards the man with his fist aiming for his head. 

	"Aik?!" exclaimed Kuwabara as his target suddenly 
'disappeared'! "Come out if you have the guts!" shouted Kuwabara 
aggressively and glanced around in shock. 

	"Behind you!" yelled Kurama, immediately alerting Kuwabara. 
"Rei ken!" yelled Kuwabara and a flaming yellow spirit sword appeared 
on his clenched palm. Using a full swing, he hacked behind. 

	"In this case, I don't think you should go for the tournament. 
Rubbish!" smirked the man and his hand blurred. The next moment, 
Kuwabara was howling with pain. 

	"Owwww... You stupid bastard..." cursed Kuwabara, holding a 
sore arm. He trudged back towards the small group weakly. 

	Arisa nudged Kurama. "Did you see that?" 

	Kurama gave a simple nod and fixed his gaze the man. "How do I 
address you?" asked Kurama politely, his voice calm; but deep inside, 
he could feel the power that this mysterious man was radiating. 

	"They call me Kabato..." answered the man simply and threw off 
his cloak. Yusuke and the rest blinked their eyes open wide... The 
man! He was a youkai! Kurama forced himself to study the man... A 
youko, judging by his physical features... 

	Fox-like ears protruded from his head and his long white hair 
was resting partly on his shoulder, making a striking contrast with 
his clothes. A bushy long tail slowly uncurled itself from his waist 
and flickered in the morning air. Kurama found himself looking 
straight into Kabato's eyes... They were a beautiful golden shade, 
nearly identical to his. 

	"You have grown up, Kurama," whispered Kabato in a nearly 
inaudible tone, his eyes gazing back into Kurama's. Those hard lines 
on his face softened for a while before tensing back into their 
original positions. 

	Kurama narrowed his eyes, this Kabato youkai was getting more 
and more mysterious to him... "How do you know my name?" 

	"I know a lot of things that everybody thought was a secret..." 
answered Kabato and gave a chuckle. Yusuke and Kuwabara were rendered 
speechless while Arisa clutched Kurama's arm fearfully. Hiei was 
silent, but deep inside, he respected him already... The air around 
him made it impossible for anyone to move forward within reaching 
distance. 

	"Alright, let's get to the main point. The tournament is in 
less than three weeks and you defeating two big time Makai criminals 
is like hitting eggs against stones... Unless, unless if you all 
manage to master all youki or reiki usage and I am going to teach 
all these," began Kabato, tapping his finger slightly on his own arm. 

	Yusuke and Kuwabara exchanged puzzled glances and looked at 
Hiei and Kurama for any explanation. Nothing was on Hiei's face 
except for stoniness while Kurama was busy glaring at Kabato. 

	"I have devised a plan... Actually this is a secret technique 
used many centuries ago by a powerful Makai warlord and his followers 
to conquer parts of Makai... But as time passed, this scroll has 
reportedly *vanished*, stolen from the Makai Palace one dark 
night..." explained Kabato as he reached into his black robe to 
retrieve five scrolls. "Nobody expected me to keep these scrolls..." 
said Kabato and smiled coldly. "It is a pity that Yamaro and Murashi 
want to take over Ningenkai first so the rest of the Makai warlords 
can't do anything about their existence." 

	"What is the secret technique? We are willing to learn if this 
will help us later," interrupted Yusuke as he gazed at the five rolls 
of yellow paper that Kabato held so preciously in his palms. 

	Kabato smiled again, this time more warmly. "First, I will 
teach the basics. Youki manipulation." 

	"Youki manipulation? I'm not a youkai so how am I going to 
learn all this?" asked Arisa quickly. 

	"Me too!" half shouted Kuwabara, raising up his hand. 

	"When the time comes, you will find these skills useful," 
answered the tall youko, placing the scrolls back into his robe. 

	"Yusuke Urameshi. Very well built for son of Raizen... I would 
like to see your toushin form now," said Kabato calmly. 

	"I can't... I can't transform by my own free will... That time 
was when I was fighting overly hard and my hair started growing 
longer suddenly and those ugly tattoos appeared on my chest..." 
said Yusuke slowly, reaching up a hand to push his hair behind again. 

	"I am going to teach you now. That is what every youkai should 
know how to perform," smirked Kabato. "Sit down," he commanded Yusuke 
and gestured at the cement floor. 

	Yusuke calmly sat down and crossed his legs. Seeing Yusuke 
sitting down, the rest sat down too, following suit. Kabato's thin 
lips curled with a cold smile and he sat down directly opposite 
Yusuke. "Now, put all your thought aside and place your mind in a 
blank state. You should not be able to see anything except for total 
darkness in front of you. Slowly, revert your soul, using your mind 
to convert yourself into another form and slowly, you will feel your 
youki rising and rising. After that, let your ki flow throughout your 
body and convert it into youki. At this point, free yourself totally 
and you will be in youkai state." 

	Yusuke concentrated for a while but nothing happened. "Nani?" 
asked Yusuke, feeling totally nothing. 

	"It takes time and don't lose your concentration," answered 
Kabato softly. In his mind, he was already devising a plan. *Or the 
other way - the trigger plan, it is a lot faster than this 
concentration method. I've noticed many times in the past that that 
brat of Raizen's is very protective of his friends... I need to do 
something... Who should I choose? Yes, of course, the most verbally 
loud and impulsive one!* 

	Suddenly, he jumped up and punched Kuwabara on the face. 
Kuwabara didn't have enough time to anticipate his moves and his 
nose was bleeding after taking the punch at point blank range. 

	"Hey! What are you doing?" shouted Kuwabara as he wiped the 
back of his hand across his nose and saw a stream of blood imprinted 
across his skin. Without warning, Kabato dragged him across the 
sports ring and gave him a swift kick on his arm, careful not to 
injure him, but sufficient to make him yelp loudly. Suddenly, Kabato 
reached out his index finger and tapped the boy on his neck. 
"Urameshi..." groaned Kuwabara before passing out. 

	"Stop it!" shouted Yusuke and ran towards the youko, intending 
to stop the *bullying*. "Why did you beat up Kuwabara like that?" 
yelled Yusuke, his eyes already bloodshot. 

	"Kurama, do you have any idea what Kabato is trying to do?
Yusuke looks rather pissed off," asked Arisa softly in Kurama's ear. 

	"The trigger... The trigger that will make Yusuke revert into 
youkai form. See? Kuwabara isn't unconscious from being beaten up too 
badly, he is just suffering from a temporary black out. Sheesh, don't 
tell Yusuke," whispered Kurama back. *How did he know about Yusuke's 
youkai form?* asked Kurama mentally. 

	"I tell you this! Nobody can beat up my friends and get away 
with it!" shouted Yusuke and began screaming. The sight of his friend 
sprawled out on the floor made his blood boil. "Go to hell!" yelled 
Yusuke aggressively, shaking his fist in the air, and sprinted 
towards Kabato, getting ready to give him a deadly punch. 

	Kabato smirked and grabbed Yusuke's fist, fully encasing it in 
his. "Is this all you can manage?" asked Kabato, sneering. 

	Yusuke shouted something and gave Kabato another blow, only to 
find that Kabato had skillfully dodged his punch and he was standing 
beside him. "Very weak for a toushin..." 

	"Shut up before I..." yelled Yusuke, his face contorting into 
a scream. *BOOM!* A loud explosion rattled the sports ring before 
Yusuke could even finish the sentence and a cloud of dust blew up,  
covering Yusuke totally. Kurama and Arisa both put up their arms to 
block the shattered pieces of blown up cement. "Hah? What? He blew up 
Yusuke?" asked Arisa in shock, opening her eyes a little after the 
rumbling ceased. All she could see was dust and dust... In fact, she 
couldn't even make out the slight forms of three figures out there. 

	"Good, you have succeeded," laughed out Kabato and bent down to 
tap on Kuwabara's neck again. "Owwww..." groaned Kuwabara before 
suddenly realizing that someone with *very* high youki was hiding in 
that cloud of dust.  

	"Who the hell is th..." stopped Kuwabara, suddenly noticing 
that the youki signature was familiar. "Urameshi?" asked Kuwabara. 

	"Yo Kuwabara!" yelled Yusuke's voice. Arisa and Kurama blinked. 
Yusuke had totally turned into a youkai this time! He was *burning* 
with power and the force had blown his T-shirt into ragged bits. His 
hair had practically grown all the way to his hips and his body was 
covered with some type of black tattoos... 

	"Um, wait. The last time when all of us were fighting with 
those two bastards, I was practically going up in smoke; but I didn't 
transform into youkai form..." asked Yusuke curiously, studying the 
tattoos on his right arm. Yusuke looked rather calm now... His anger 
had began evaporating. He was amazed, alright, at the results of the 
explosion. 

	"You didn't have concentration that time," answered Kabato 
and picked up Kuwabara by the scruff of his shirt. Pointing to 
Kuwabara's bleeding nose, he said, "The next time, just imagine this 
face and you will succeed! But still, you need concentration." Arisa 
and Kurama erupted into peals of choked laughter and Yusuke was 
*howling* with it. Kuwabara looked angrily at all of them and caught 
Hiei's smirk. *Hey! Why humiliate me in front of that shrimp!* 
thought Kuwabara. 

	"Oi, bakayaro! Why pick me of all others? You could have picked 
that shrimp, right?" shouted an angry Kuwabara as Kabato set him 
down. 

	"Because you are more suitable for this task!" shrugged Kabato 
and walked towards Kurama, leaving an exasperated Kuwabara. "Cool 
down, Kuwabara," Yusuke patted Kuwabara on his shoulder. Kuwabara 
glared at him but said nothing.  

	"You girl!" Kabato said to Arisa. "Don't ever try this. I know 
you are itching to try this technique now but remember, don't use it 
now. You will die very soon if you don't listen to me. Humans aren't 
meant to try out this trick." 

	He paused for while before continuing. "Use it when the right 
time comes. Remember, you *will* have to use it when the right time 
comes. Take this piece of advice properly." 

	"What do you mean? I don't quite understand..." asked Arisa 
meekly. 

	"I can't tell you more now. Inari-sama will punish me for doing 
so... But when time comes, you will know everything." 

	Kurama breathed in sharply upon hearing Kabato speak of Inari-
sama but he calmed down shortly after. *He 'is' a youko anyway and he 
has to listen to him...* 

	"Well, I'll teach each of you one by one. Tomorrow, be here by 
six in the morning," sighed Kabato and walked off. 

	Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded while Hiei narrowed his eyes. Kurama 
gazed at Arisa strangely... *Why did Kabato say all that to Arisa? 
She is just a normal schoolgirl back in Ningenkai!* 

	There were a lot of eerie sensations about this youkai. One by 
one, the entire team split up and went back to have a good rest for 
tomorrow; they had an intuition that the training was going to be 
very tough. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Alright, other than all these stupid techniques using fists 
and legs, what else do all of you have? Yusuke and Arisa, I know both 
of you have ki balls, what about the others? Remember, this fight 
will be mostly based on your youki manipulation, not mere brute 
force..." asked Kabato after reviewing all their fighting strategies 
with them. The sun was already high up in the mid sky and all of them 
were seated beneath a giant tree that provided adequate shade. It had 
been six hours since they discussed the possibilities one by one. 

	"Hn." Hiei began undoing his arm bandage and a black dragon 
tattoo that entwined itself around his right arm showed up. "What are 
you doing, Hiei?" asked Kurama quickly, seeing his friend undoing his 
bandages. 

	"No, Hiei. That is too exhausting and there is no guarantee 
that the black dragon will be able to hit them directly. Even if the 
dragon hits one of them, you will still have another foe to deal 
with," explained Kabato, stopping Hiei. "Besides, you will feel very 
tired and there is no energy left to fight on. Maybe you can use it 
to finish them off, but not at the beginning." 

	Hiei snorted rudely and began winding the bandages around his 
arm again. With some help from Kurama, he tied it back neatly and 
hid the arm under his cloak. Folding his arms across his chest, he 
leaned against the tree trunk. 

	"Kurama." 

	"Yes?" answered Kurama, turning around to look at Kabato. He 
still couldn't shake off that niggling doubt that he knew Kabato a 
very long time ago... Somehow, he could not place where or when he 
had met him... It seemed that he felt *something* towards this 
youko... 

	"If you want to win, you must forget everything that deals with 
your emotions. Remember this, you must go back being that heartless 
and cruel youko, thief of Makai," said Kabato softly, looking at 
Kurama gravely. 

	Kurama closed his brilliant eyes and he felt himself nodding a 
little. *So he wants me to be Youko Kurama again...* 

	"Arisa, you are the weakest here, but don't be afraid to try
and fight with all your will... Time will show that you are a 
fighter..." 

	Arisa felt herself nodding too and she looked at Kurama's face, 
searching for clues. Kabato had a strange and mysterious personality. 
She couldn't even come close to deciphering what he actually meant 
by saying all these words to her... Kurama was all serious, leaving 
nothing for imagination. Her left hand reached up to finger an itch 
on her cheek as she pondered away... 

	"Ah, Kabato... Do you think that double sword fighting will do 
any good?" asked Yusuke suddenly. He was totally exhausted over his 
repeated practice of turning into youkai form and reverting back into 
his human body. *Yeah... Thanks to Kabato's theory of practice makes 
perfect and I've been forced to switch my bodies a dozen times since 
yesterday... Fine, I'll make Kuwabara suffer a little,* thought 
Yusuke evilly, a sly smile lighting up his face. 

	Kuwabara nudged Yusuke roughly, demanding silently that he 
should not say anything further if he wanted to live longer. Yusuke 
gave him a violent elbow back, forcing Kuwabara to shut up 
immediately. 

	"Hm?" 

	"Well, that day when we ran out of energy to fight those two 
demons, Kuwabara and Hiei paired up to perform a near perfect set of 
sword stances..." explained Yusuke, ignoring Hiei's deadly glare. 

	"Eh? Double sword fighting?" asked Kabato curiously. This was 
the first time he had heard of such a fighting method... 

	"Em yes... They copied it off a television martial arts 
drama..." said Yusuke, grinning at Kuwabara who was seething. 

	"Urameshi! Don't you dare to utter anymore of this!" snarled 
Kuwabara menacingly, glaring at Yusuke. 

	"Big mouth," muttered Hiei irritably, turning a blind eye on 
them. 

	"Sounds interesting. Hiei and Kuwabara, come out! I want you 
both to fight together and Kurama, you go against them and 
demonstrate your skills," commanded Kabato, standing aside. 

	"Hn," grumbled Hiei as he unsheathed his katana and clenched it 
tightly. *Third time... This is the third time I've been forced to 
pair up with that moron of Yukina's...* Rolling his eyes, he stood 
next to Kuwabara, his katana already ready to hunt for blood. 

	"Quick!" shouted Kabato and the duo powered up. Standing in 
front of Kurama with their swords, they stood still. 

	"C'mon!" challenged Kurama, his eyes fixed on the couple. It 
was Kuwabara who started the attack first with Hiei following close 
behind. In perfect harmony, their swords pierced and stabbed at 
Kurama recklessly, one after another. 

	"Hm, not bad," commented Kabato as Kurama blocked off Hiei's 
katana successfully with a vine that gripped the sword like a viper. 
Hiei narrowed his eyes and with a cutting motion, he sliced the plant 
into tiny bits, forcing Kurama to sidestep. Producing a red rose, 
Kurama exerted a little of his youki and the rose formed a long whip
equipped with sharp thorns, slashing its way into the duo's defense. 

	"Hiei! Attack from the top!" yelled Kabato as he saw a glaring 
weak point into their swordplay as Hiei and Kuwabara began to 
crumbled under the pressure from the slender and twisting weapon that 
Kurama ruthlessly used. *Kuso,* muttered Kuwabara as he noticed a 
gaping hole in the center of the sword stances. 

	Hiei turned to look to Kabato confusedly. *Attack from the 
top?* Kurama, seeing the golden opportunity, flicked the handle of 
his whip and grinned in satisfaction as it winded around Hiei's 
katana, creating a stalemate. 

	"Eh?" gasped Kurama suddenly. Hiei's katana began *burning*  
with a black fire, forcing him to withdraw this whip. After freeing 
his katana, ideas began racing through Hiei's mind, searching for a 
suitable stand for upper sided attacking that Kabato told him to do.  

	*Yes... That moron's shoulders...* 

	Without much thought further, Hiei jumped up and stepped on 
Kuwabara's shoulders. "Go!" commanded Hiei. Kuwabara rolled his eyes 
and charged towards Kurama, his Rei ken aimed at the boy's chest. 

	Kurama had no choice but to take the attacks using his Rose 
Whip. Hiei's katana dueled with Kurama's whip ferociously and 
occasionally getting close to sever Kurama's long red locks while 
Kuwabara was forcing Kurama's legs to avoid his Rei ken agilely, thus 
forming some type of footwork... 

	"'That' looks like the bamboo dance from the Philippines..." 
laughed Arisa uncontrollably to Yusuke. "You know, two people will 
hold a pair of long bamboo stems and click it rhythmically to the 
music while another fellow will dance on them but jumping in and out 
of the gaps..." At this point, Arisa was rolling on the ground. 
Yusuke suppressed a choked laugh while Arisa giggled at the sight... 
Oh dear Kurama... Kabato shook his head with a sigh. 

	"Hiya!" shouted Kurama as he *borrowed* Kuwabara's Rei ken to 
give him a step up for confronting Hiei. Kuwabara blinked in 
surprise, seeing the red head leap up and his whip clashing with 
Hiei's sword in rapid succession. 

	"Hiei! The middle portion of any weapon is always the weakest!" 
warned Kabato, focusing his mind on the fight happening in the center 
of the ring. 

	Hiei acknowledged him and with a slash of his katana, Kurama's 
Rose Whip weakened and it hung limply in mid air. Seeing his whip 
going down feebly, Kurama tried to channel more power into the 
weapon; but Hiei was too fast for him. The fire youkai raised his 
katana up and slashed ruthlessly. *Good,* thought Hiei as one severed 
end of the Rose Whip dropped to the ground below and turned back into 
its original form. A red rose lay there, its petals falling out 
sparsely. 

	Reflexively, Kurama threw the stalk away and his right leg 
lifted up to give Hiei to kick on the chest. *No! I can't! 'This' is 
Hiei, not any other youkai!* shouted Kurama in his heart. Bearing the 
pain that shot up his body, he pulled back the force that he exerted, 
leaving Hiei in a daze. 

	Kurama smiled and leaped back onto the floor with Kuwabara 
cursing him for stepping on his *precious* sword... 

	"Doumo..." mouthed Hiei sullenly but only Kurama noticed it... 
He gave a slight nod and focused his attention back to Kabato. 

	"Good, very good in fact," applauded Kabato, clapping his 
hands. "Train harder on perfecting the stances and in no time, you 
will be able to give Murashi and Yamaro a massive headache," 
laughed Kabato as Hiei and Kuwabara stood back into their original 
positions. "If you have time, study up this book and try to pair up 
reasonable doubles. All sword stances and nothing else." After the 
youko said that, he threw Kuwabara a book. 

	Kuwabara caught it deftly and flipped through it meanwhile his 
mind was busy thinking... *Do I really have to study up all these 
positions with that shrimp?* 

	"I planned to have a pair like the one just now but since you 
already have one, I guess you could do. For the next whole week, we 
are to experiment on different fighting strategies matched with your 
respective youki and I'll calculate all your main elements," 
announced Kabato, raising an opened hand to stop the chattering. 

	"Eheh! We have already calculated ourselves!" grinned Yusuke. 

	Kabato raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Really?" 

	"Yes! Kuwabara and I are 'metal', Hiei's 'fire' and Kurama's 
'earth'. Heh! What about that?" said Yusuke eagerly. 

	"Very good," came the answer. 

	For the next whole week, physical stress and groans were heard 
all over the sports ring from sunrise until sunset. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	Kurama sat on the soft green grass, his mind wondering and 
thinking. These few days had been total hell for the entire Urameshi 
team in this sports ring, not to mention all those strange training 
methods that Kabato came up with. 

	He had not been spared... Kurama looked at his bruised palms 
and knees after Kabato demanded that he should try attacking him. 
Nevertheless, Kurama had a weird feeling about this youko... It was 
something like he had known him for centuries, yet he couldn't 
recognize who he was... He knew that Kabato was doing him a very big 
favor training him extra hard, but he felt that each of his friends 
here had the right to train as much as he did... 

	Kurama sighed. He must have been over stressed nowadays until 
he had the mind to think about all those aimless thoughts like 
favors, familiarity and such. He glanced around for Arisa but found 
no one. 

	Arisa was always around him some way or another but at times 
she would go and chat with the cousin of hers', Misuko. Well, that 
was good for him, at least giving him some space and time to sort out 
his own thoughts. 

	Slowly, he closed his eyes and soon found himself in the land 
of dreams. 

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	Thunder boomed in his ears ominously, creating instant 
desperation for his young soul. Rain drizzled down, pouring its cold 
on his head and body, making him shiver in the semi darkness. He sat 
there on the grass, using his knees for support. The grass beneath 
his skin pricked him, but he didn't feel anything. 

	He looked up again, expecting to see the same thing over and 
over again. 

	But he was wrong. 

	Lighting flashed across the skies, blazing a few seconds of 
instant light. Kurama narrowed his eyes and tried very hard to look 
at the person. He didn't have much impression on the person, his 
young mind still reeling from the deep impact of the rain. 

	It confused him, but he knew the person that cared for him 
since young was about to leave him. It had been centuries since he 
last saw him, that even his facial features didn't even leave any 
strong impression in his memories. 

	Leaving him just like that. 

	He saw him at last. Clearly, this time. 

	He was his father... 

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	A voice spoke, calling out his name. 

	It was soft, but gradually it began to get louder and louder. 

	A hand reached out to stroke his hair lovingly. 

	He felt very warm in his heart for the first time... No, it 
wasn't love... It was something else... The touch was surprisingly 
familiar, almost as if... Forcefully, Kurama opened an eye and looked 
into a face. 

	"Kabato!" yelled Kurama aloud in shock. 

	"Kurama, my boy, you have grown after all these years," spoke 
Kabato as he leaned back to speak in Kurama's face. 

	"Who are you?" asked Kurama quickly, get up. *Who was he 
anyway? Why was he stroking my hair like that?* A million questions 
raced through his head almost at once as he gazed into Kabato's face. 

	Suddenly, a jolt of electric moved through his mind and body. 
The face! It was the one he saw in his dream! Kurama shook his head 
slightly... It was all too coincidental! 

	Kurama backed away a few steps, unable to tear his look into 
those liquid golden eyes that were so similar to his'. 

	"Who are you?!" asked Kurama more harshly now and in a blink, 
Youko Kurama was standing there. The eye lock still existed between 
them while Kurama's emerald green eyes had changed shades to a golden 
color. 

	Kabato merely smiled, fancying the likeness between them both. 
Softly, he answered: 

	"I am your father." 

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Copyright reserved 1998 W. Siew Lee 

All standard Yu Yu Hakusho disclaimers apply to this fanfic. 

E-mail: Siew Lee [wsiewlee@tm.net.my] 
URL: http://members.xoom.com/hiei 
UIN: #14025577 

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