"Welcome back again to another chapter with me, Mohammad Muazzam as your story teller," the cross-legged author says as he sits on his bed. "My story is coming quite slow lately but I hope you will still like it. Thanks to all my audience for being with me so far, even though any of you who haven't given much of a review or a question to me or my characters," the talkative writer mentioned, "but anyway time to get the story running (not out the door!)!"
"SHIROYUKI IZUMI!" The name rocks the kitchen of a small house, shattering the silence. The teenage acolyte winces as she sneaked through the front door and closing it carefully, hoping that the baby girl in her care, is still enjoying her slumber. Now the baby is sure to wake up!
"Where have you been? You promised to go back home earlier to help me…" her friend immediately hushed to a whisper as soon as she saw them both, "Oh… Now I understand! Tch, tch, tch… you have been very naughty, Sister! So who is the lucky father…?" (Izumi interrupted, "But…but…") Her friend continued, feeling very excited indeed, "No, let me guess…Is it that gorgeous hunk of a blacksmith we always see selling on the roadside to the left? (Izumi: "Xiang Lu, I…") Or, is it that handsome wizard I saw you talk to a few days ago? Or is it…"
"CHIN XIANG LU," Izumi muttered an angry whisper looking very red indeed. But not as red as Xiang Lu going to be! Her surprised and innocuous face turned very sour and red faster than you can say 'ouch'!
"You promised not to use my family name at ALL!" she said angrily through her gritted teeth.
"Forgive me, Xiang Lu, but you should listen to this, I have not committed any sins at all! I was on my way here until…" Sister Izumi, with the baby in hand (which strangely is still sleeping even after that heated argument!) explained her story from the tired exit from the House of God, to the dangerous encounter with the nefarious men-at-arms and her miraculous escape to safety…
Xiang Lu is very attentive and deep in thought from the start to the end. She stooped her head low with her chin resting on her curled hand, in a pensive posture, thinking, thinking…
"…where I was found by you. That's how we reach to this point of conversation. What is your opinion on this scandal?" the level-headed acolyte asked.
Xiang Lu responded slowly, "So you saw a red-haired paladin leading a brigade which is a part of the king' personal men. It must be the 'Droocke Brigade'. Yes, we should do something because of this injustice and abuse of power…"
"Should we try to report it to the king? These men would be punished accordingly to their sins and crimes," Izumi suggested wisely.
"No," Xiang Lu protested, "the best thing we can do is to help me cancel my current registration to the 'Droocke Brigade' and start finding another Brigade to join!"
"WHAT!" Sister Izumi cried. Shushed instantly by a worried friend in a white night gown next to her, she continued in a much more quiet voice but much more exasperated tone, "Why do you joined such a scum of a Brigade? And all you think about in this matter is, not to bring these vagabonds to justice, but to resign from it to suit your own need!"
"That is not what I meant!" Xiang Lu answered, feeling very mad, "Well, do you know? That about one hundred letters of petitions and complaints sent to the king, only three ever reach him! It is not difficult for them to intercept our letter of complaint and to track us down, even in this vast city!"
"Ohh…" Izumi realised a bit too late to take back and eat her own words, "Xiang Lu, I…"
"Anyway, I wish to join that team because of the reputation of that team being very chivalrous and a great upholder of 'justice'," Xiang Lu stated shamefully, "It is sickening to know that is not true at all!"
"Xiang Lu, I feel very sorry," the acolyte says slowly with every word ridden with guilt of unspeakable amount, "Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"
"Well, if you let me name that baby I will forgive you…" Xiang Lu added slyly with that sinister smirk on her lips.
"WHAT!" Izumi exclaimed, and once again shushed by the swordswoman next to her. "We need to return her back to her parents as soon as we found them, do you know that!"
"I knew that," Xiang Lu snapped back, "It's just that while it is under our care, she should at least have a name! I deserved naming her especially after that blind accusation of yours."
"Fine," Sister Izumi finally gave in, "but I want to give the first part of the name."
"But it is under MY house that she will live under, so I want to give the first part of her name," Xiang Lu mooted back strongly, fighting for a cause worth arguing for! (Which is strangely just her name!)
"But I found her and save her from the blood-thirsty villains who may want to slay her," Izumi argued sturdily, not planning to give in too easily as well.
The battle of words lasted for minutes as two great people get engaged in a debate of the century. With Xiang Lu's mighty points against Shiroyuki Izumi's witty comments, the destiny of the baby is marked forever.
"So the first part of her name is 'Hikaru'. That is what we should call her with," the winner asserted.
"All right, since you promised you won't disagree with whatever name I shall put in after that," the swordswoman (who lost) announced, "I shall complete the name of 'Hikaru Xia'."
"But that sound silly and very wrong," Izumi disagreed, "Anyway why 'Xia', somehow it sounds very familiar…"
"I just like that name. It just came popping in my head and I really like it," Xiang Lu says firmly, turning her back to Izumi.
"Wait a second! Isn't that the first part of your name, Xiang Lu?" the acolyte pointed out.
"Wow, that is a nice coincident!" her friend mentioned, "No wonder it sounds very nice to my ears."
"That is no coincident and you know it!" Sister Izumi started saying, "And that is a very queer name for a girl. You should change it."
The swordswoman countered back, "I stand firm on that name and I will never change! And you promised me, not to too."
"Sometimes in life, some things can be of an exception," the acolyte tells her defensively.
And an argument is heating up again as two silly teenagers begins bickering at each other. Looks like it's a new life dawning for them all, especially the infant who (fortunately still) sleeping in between them on a kitchen table, in deep slumber with no care for the world around her.
"Sorry for making my chapter shorter this time," the story-teller apologises, "but I promise to make it better next chapter. See you all soon! Ma'assalamah! And Goodbye everybody!
To my current reviews:
TyrantFlame: Wa'alaikumussalam, my friend. Thanks for your review and idea. Even though I haven't read your story because I am typing this offline, but I know your story will always shine! (I've heard of the anime and the game of 'Full Metal Alchemist' but I don't really know what it is about, hopefully your story is compatible to beginners too!)