Yu Yu Hakusho: The After Years

Episode 23: Omen

Rieka and Hiro's footsteps clattered down the alleyway as they chased the rogue yokai. Or rather, the man possessed by a Makaichu insect. The alley ran into a dead end, and they had him cornered at last.

His face was an unnatural grey-purple hue, though Rieka supposed that only herself and Hiro could have noticed. To anyone else, he simply would have appeared to be an insane person, reacting out of violence. Hiro reacted without the need to communicate. He drove his yoki through his feet and into the ground, creating a wall of ice which separated them from the man. It was already a bitter February afternoon, it took little effort for him to form the ice.

His breath fogged in the air as he spoke, "Your turn."

Scarlett's word's echoed in Rieka's ears as she thought back to her training.

"You must be receptive to sacred energy," she had said, "It's a mistake to think that it comes from inside you. Rather, you draw it from the world itself. You can take the world's fears and sorrows and learn to be the strength they need. As you increase your awareness of the flow of energy around you, you can even cleanse a polluted aura."

Cleanse a polluted aura. Rieka felt the energy now, swirling inside her. The flames of her own reiki mixing with the energy of the world around her. She focused her energy into her eyes, to see the man better. His aura was a gloomy miasma which surrounded him as he pounded against his frozen cage. Droplets of spittle flicked against the glassy wall as the man roared incoherent obscenities. She saw the outline of the Makaichu insect lodged in his throat. She aimed her energy for the spot on his throat. If she were gentle enough, she should be able to destroy the insect without having to hurt the man.

She tried concentrating a very small amount of seiyoki into her right index finger, but as she prepared to launch it, electricity flickered around her fist instead. No, she thought, I'm losing control again!

Just then, a border of red energy separated her from the man. As the electricity jolted through her first, the red barrier absorbed and neutralized it. Rieka looked to the top of one of the buildings, where she could see the outline of her new teacher.

Scarlett jumped down in front of her border, and with a flick of her wrist, she dispelled it. The possessed man contented himself with slobbering against the ice once more.

"When did you get here?" Rieka demanded.

"I've gotta keep an eye on you and see how you're doing, don't I?" said Scarlett, "Otherwise what kind of teacher would I be?" She peered at the man through the ice, "You ain't nowhere near ready to purify someone, kid. All you know how to do with your seiyoki is make those lightning bolts. There's an innocent guy in there you almost barbecued."

Rieka crossed her arms, "I know. I didn't mean to."

Scarlett concentrated her energy at the tip of her finger, so it looked like a fine laser. She cut herself a neat doorway in the ice. Rieka admired her level of control as she watched her step through the doorway. Rieka wished she could achieve that same level of control one day.

"For now," Scarlett said, "The easiest way to deal with these guys is just to knock them unconscious, then the bug flies out when their aura disappears."

The man lunged for Scarlett as soon as she had stepped through the ice, but she was ready for him. She grabbed his outstretched hand and followed the momentum of his body to twist it behind his back. From there, she took two fingers and jammed them in a precise point at the base of his neck. The man was now unconscious, and from his lolling mouth, the bug emerged. Scarlett snatched it and held it between two fingers, "This guy may be great to practice on by himself though," she flicked the bug at Rieka, who snatched it between her own two fingers. She surprised herself with her speed.