h1Broken Halo/h1
font face=jesterIt's the start of the new term. Lee had decided to clean up the attic so that they can use the space for storage; they had acquired a number of equipment they needed to store away. And who else would volunteer to help him out but his number one slacker student and least favorite person. Although he would rather do it alone, but thinking about it, two people can do it faster. If it was up to him he would rather do it alone, this guy in particular is the talker type and he didn't like talking while he works. So he assigned him to the farther part of the attic while he tackled the other end. But of course even if they cannot see each other or rather even if he cannot sense him, the man would still try to strike up a conversation with him. He decided to just ignore him, as the man keep on yapping about some girl in the class. He wanted to give him a piece of his mind, but then that would take time and he wanted to get out of there and rid of this student as soon as he could so he just ignored him.
He was so absorbed in his work, he even forgot that the boy was there, until that particular pest was tapping him on the shoulder and calling him.
"Sensei, sensei. Hey, can you hear me?" G asked, as he tried to poke the man again.
Lee looked up angrily, his jaw set, gritting his teeth trying to control his temper. "What is it? Quit poking me." Lee replied.
"Here, this notebook. It's in one of the boxes, along with some newspaper clippings, and some old photographs, can I have them? I like that kind of stuff." G said, excitedly.
To get rid of him, Lee dismissed him, "Yeah, yeah, keep them, but finish what you're doing first, it's hot and dark here, I want to get done before the end of the day, we wasted so much time already and you've been poking at some old stuff instead of cleaning like I told you." He said, not even bothering what the notebook was and what boxes that the boy was asking him for.
For Lee, he really didn't care. If it is his family's old relics and treasure. He really didn't want anything to do with it, especially if what he heard that G said that's probably an old journal and some clippings of his father's exploits when he was younger, which he would rather not see or know, and the notebook is probably his old man's journal. So he would be happy to get rid of it.
"Really? Thank you, Sensei." G said, excitedly, and was about to get back to work when Lee grabbed for his arm.
"Just promise me one thing, I don't want you showing them off or letting anyone else see these things, or else not only would I expel you, I will make sure the next bed space you're going to use is the juvenile hall." Lee threatened.
G bowed, "Of course, I understand, sensei. You have my word." He said, and Lee let go of him.
It was probably because of the promise that he can keep any of those clippings and photographs he found, the work had gotten quicker and the boy was even humming happily and they finished in no time.
Lee had forgotten about the journal and the box of clippings and photographs, he got absorbed in putting his school in order. Not until he found that particular slacker sitting in one of the cherry blossom tree and was eating something. He looked so perfect there, surrounded by cherry blossom leaves, and when he looked up, he could almost distinctly see a halo forming around the boy's head. Though most of Lee's vision are a little blurry and mostly light and shades, he can still distinguish things, well, for him, he wanted to believe that. That his eye sight is just impaired and he is not blind.
He wishes he can yell at him to go back to his training, but the boy did helped him with his chores and had helped him again with ordering of the class roster, so he knew G deserved a break. He sighed and started to walk to him.
"What are you reading?" he asked.
"Oh, sensei. Hi, it's the journal we found in the attic. It is pretty interesting it's an old journal of Li Jun Chen. I think maybe he was a part of your family or a relative or something." G replied, he was waving his hand frantically and then licked it.
"Oh, I got this chocolate in my pocket, I must have forgotten about it and its all melted." He said, with a chuckle.
Lee didn't even flinch or show any emotion when he confirmed it was indeed his father's journal. Who else would it be, if there are some old boxes of clippings and pictures, it would probably his since he owned the school before he passed it on to his son.
When the boy scooted over, he sighed and sat down next to him. He never really knew why he hates this particular student so much; he seemed to be a nice guy. Even always volunteering to help him out without asking for anything in return. It's just the minute he met him, he just don't like him. And to think he really is pretty handsome.
G started reading from the journal, and showed him some clippings and pictures. "The owner of this journal, Li Jun was informer during the 1937; he betrayed his countrymen by helping the Japanese soldiers raped women and sodomized men, and kill children." G started and showed Lee some pictures, seeing the effect his statement affected his teacher, he recanted his statement. He shrugs his shoulders as he flips through the pages.
"But then again, maybe this particular person was just a witness and he just wrote what he saw and not really participated in the events of this disturbing nature." G said, as if to distract the older boy, he handed him a piece of his melted chocolate. "Here, sensei, have one. It's really good though it is melted." He said.
Lee did flinch a little. Though he wasn't even been born during that particular era when his father was still a young man, he do get some flash backs of his father's past and how it affected the man and made him a tyrant he was when Lee was growing up. He gets remnants of brief flashes when he touched things belonging to his father. So most of the time, he try not to touch anyone's belonging or touch a person, or be close to one. He didn't want to get involved; his life is already complicated as it is.
He must have sat there for awhile, listening to G droned on about a particular event from the journal, and showed him some more clippings and photographs and he probably even accepted the melted chocolate the boy offered until he got up.
"You should rest, it's late. We have a long day tomorrow." He said, as he pat him on the shoulder.
G looked up and smiled at him, "Yeah, it has been a long day." He confirmed, and got up from his throne of cherry blossom leaves.
"I'll see you tomorrow, sensei. Good night." The boy said, with a bow.
Lee bowed back and started walking to his room. Their rooms are just next to each other. Despite of his disgust with this particular boy, he couldn't deny that he does make up for a lot of things even if he was a slacker.
It was three thirty in the morning when he was awakened by cries and moans of pain from the room next to him. He thought at first that the boy was probably watching porn again; he had warned him a number of times that he would kick him out of the school if he continued this lewd behavior. He sat up and was about to rush to G's room, but he stopped short by the door. It wasn't the TV and it wasn't moans of pleasure. And the particular sound was coming from G himself like he was being tortured.
He opened the door quickly to see what was going on. The room was dark, but there was a light coming from the window, he saw him on the bed, alone, he was completely naked save for the blanket covering his lower torso, and the boy was writhing and struggling in pain, his hands was on his own neck like he was trying to remove something there. He couldn't see anything, and he wondered is it because it was dark, and it was probably a blanket that was choking the boy. He turned on the light.
G turned to him and reaches one of his hands towards him. The journal and some clippings were scattered next to him, and there is even an old pocket watch lying next to the boy. "S-Sensei, help me." He called out weakly.
Lee froze, he can finally see a shadowy figure who was trying to suffocate G, it was a soldier of some sort, wearing a periodic uniform, he's got a musket with a bayonet and he was strangling G with it, and the boy was trying to push him away. G was already almost pale; his face was completely blue and pale. He didn't know what to do but he's got to do something. He lunged and kicked the air where he can see the hazy figure of the soldier on top of G. He was surprised when he hit something solid, the soldier stumbled across the room, and was about to attack Lee when the grandfather clock on the hallway started to sound the hour, and when he whirled around, the apparition of the soldier was gone.
He rushed towards G, and helped him sit up. He didn't know if he could explain what just happened or why it happened. But he was glad it was over and the soldier or whatever it was it was gone.
"Are you alright?" he asked, helping him sit up.
G was gasping for air, rubbing his throat. A little color returned to his face. "Sensei, what's going, who was that?" he asked his voice a little hoarse.
Lee shook his head, "I don't know and I don't care. Serves you right for digging up someone's past. Get rid of that, I don't want you reading that. Burn it or next time I may not be around to help you." Lee said, glancing at the open journal, clippings and the old watch.
He was certain it's got something to do with these items, seeing that particular soldier's uniform, its from an era long gone, and nobody uses a musket with a bayonet anymore. It was a Japanese soldier, and if he didn't hear the boy, G would have been killed by an apparition of a ghost.
He started to get up seeing that G was finally okay. He glanced at his student once more. "I'm not going to say it again, get rid of that journal and burn the rest, or I will really kick you out of this school." Lee warned him.
Although reluctantly, G nodded. "Yes, sensei." He replied.
The incident was never mentioned again, and Lee observed G to see if the boy is still reading all that crap he told him to get rid of. Although after that night, there is still that different feeling in the air, that with G reading the journal and going through the old box, he had unleashed an evil that went with the journal and old pocket watch.
He had confirmed it when G approached him one afternoon and asked if he can speak to him privately. They were alone in the room when he saw that the student still have that pocket watch and was clutching it in his hand and a photo.
"Didn't I tell you to get rid of that?" he asked angrily.
G put a hand up, "But sensei, wait, listen to me first." He said, and walked up to him to show him the photo. "I think you need to see this, I don't know how it happened but this is really disturbing, you died, sensei, this a picture of you, and your name was on the back of the picture, though it is a different last name, Lee Masafumi, it really looks like you." G explained and showed him the picture.
Lee was getting irritated about this nonsense that the boy had put him through, first that incident and now this boy is talking nonsense. He would rather that G concentrate on his form and training, he had been slacking so much and helping out was his way of ditching some of his classes, and it is affecting his training, he's been in pretty bad shape, if the boy is going to compete in the name of the school, he was surely going to lose.
But seeing the look on the student's face, he decided to reprimand him later and check out this crap he was telling him, he reached out for the picture and took a good long look, for him he really have to look at the picture really close so he can make out things since his eye sight is particularly impaired. The boy wasn't lying it did look like him, he looked at the back of the photo and saw the name and then there is a time stamp on it. Masafumi is his middle name, it belonged to his mother, so it is technically his mother's last name not his. He didn't say anything.
"Look at the date and the time, sensei, although it happened during 1937 the date is today and it will happen tonight. I looked at the journal again, I know you asked me to burn it and get rid of all this stuff, but when I saw this, I have to let you know first. Since some weird things had been happening lately. I just thought I'd warn you to be careful today, and I would also like to request to sleep with you tonight, just so to make sure you will be alright." G said, and blushed.
Lee threw the picture at G's face, "Cut this crap. You're just putting me through this shit so that you can slack of some more, well; I have enough of you and all this. If you really don't get rid of all of this stuff, you will be out on the street or back in the juvy hall for all I care." He said, angrily.
G picked up the photograph and bowed to the older boy. "Yes, sensei. I will get rid of them tomorrow." He said, in a more somber voice, as he bowed once more and left.
Lee didn't tell him that when he touched that particular photograph, he had a vision of something horrid that was going to happen, that he was going to get killed by that particular soldier in the previous apparition, and if G was right, it is going to happen tonight. At first, he really didn't want to believe all of this crap about the ghost of his father's past and why it was happening now. But it probably is an anniversary of some sort and this particular school was probably one of those places where they tortured those Chinese from Nanjing during 1937, and the sad part is, it really did happen and his very own ancestors were a part of that horrible gendercide. He decided to just to be sure, and sleeps with one of his katana just in case.
It was at the same time when his student was attacked when he felt a presence in the same room with him. He had countered the blow before the apparition of the dead soldier could attack him again, he was struggling with him when he heard the door to his room opened abruptly and there was G, with his shinai, a practice wooden sword used for Kendo and was about to lounge at the apparition yet solid form of the dead soldier. Lee shouted at him and told him to get out of there that he could handle this, thinking that the boy might get hurt.
"No, G! Stop just get out!" he shouted, but before the student can do what he was told, the soldier turned to G and this time lunged the bayonet towards the student who was only holding a wooden sword.
Lee was thinking that this can't be happening that G would not get hurt after all the soldier is already a ghost, so he doubt that he would really harm G, although he doubt that since he could really feel the strong pressure as the soldier was pushing his musket against his katana.
It was only when Lee saw the red blotch growing on the boy's shirt did it really occurred to him that everything is real and that the soldier had struck G with his bayonet. And before he could struck the soldier with his katana, the apparition disappeared again, leaving him with his student laying on the floor which was bathe with his own blood.
G was rushed to the hospital and was confined there with a critical condition. He really wished he believed in the boy and believed in his visions. But his father had been a big part of his disbelief of his gift. As much as there are times it had proven to be useful in some cases, still Lee didn't want to abuse his gift. But this time, he relied on it to solve this mystery happening at his own home. And to save a boy who at first he never liked before and is now, had become very important to him.
He touched the journal and the clippings, and the pocket watch. Everything that had happened in the past, during the reign of terror during the war in one particular event in which most of his ancestors including his very own father had played a major part in the rape of Nanking during the 1937 war. He had blocked a major part of some his premonitions and precognitions, especially anything that had involved his father. He had known it even when he was still a very young boy, that his father was an evil man. And that he should make him pay for the crimes he had done during his youth. Though it is all part of history now, and his father had done his share of repentance and had became now the pillar of the community involving the youth in their town, still he cannot bring himself to admit that he is related to this man. Even when he was a little boy he had never called him father but sensei. Just like G calling him teacher as well. His father can feel his animosity towards him, and had trained and broke him hard. When he was still training and competing before, he was called and labeled as the avenging angel on the mat. A white angel. And maybe it was because of that title that his father said; he will break him, and break his halo. And when he had that accident, competing against that cheater who struck him with a shinai that made him lose his clear eye sight, his father laugh, like he was even happy that Lee can no longer compete and over shadow the real master of the school, which for the older Chen was his title alone.
"Well, what do you know, even angels can break their halos." He said, with a laugh, and that is when he had a horrible vision of his father dying of a horrible death and he didn't warn him.
Looking at the picture of a young Li Jun Masafumi Chen, and that of one his ancestors who also bear the same name as he, he now knew what to do, he scoop everything in his arms, journal, clippings and old pocket watch and stash them back in the old box, and took them at the backyard and threw them all in a pail with wood and pour kerosene all over it, it was then he struck a match and toss the lighted match in the pile. He watched it burned, he can distinctly hear cries of agony and despair rose from the hearth of the fire.
It was in the following days while G was recuperating from his accident that Lee realized that all the ghosts of the past are gone from the grounds. And for the first time, he even offered some incense on his father's picture, and said some prayers for him and their ancestors. When G came home, there was a mass and a celebration in his honor. He still feel that the boy is a slacker, but after what happened between them he had mellowed a little and had grown fond of him, but there is no way he is going to admit that to him.
We are all in the same game, but different levels, dealing with the same hell but different devils.