Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King…Hiroyuki Takei does...but I wish I did. That would be kick azz.
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I was determined to get Kiemi to speak to me before the day was done. And seeing her reluctance to talk at all, it seemed like it was going to be the last thing I did. As I mused about my "master plan" of getting Kiemi to speak, she quietly finished her sweet bun and smiled with content.
"So, you're from China?" I asked her casually. She nodded with a sweet smile.
"What part?" I asked, realizing I had to ask questions that couldn't be answered by a simple "yes" or "no". Unexpectedly, Kiemi's arm shot out from where it was in her lap, pointing to the North as an answer.
She's smart, I realized, This might be harder than I thought.
"Um," I was running out of questions and patience, "What do you like to do?"
As a response, she just sighed and shrugged her shoulders, looking at me. The ice blue tint in her eyes gave her an air of innocence.
"Well, I guess this is pointless," I sighed mostly to myself in frustration.
With that remark, I stormed off into the forest towards my training ground in hopes of putting my irritation to good use. Kiemi grinned at my frustration and decided to follow me; maybe out of curiosity, most likely out of amusement.
The field where I had left all my training supplies was perfectly in tact when I arrived. Kiemi was only a few steps behind me and looked around in astonishment at what she saw. She seemed extremely interested in the various weapons I had scattered around the area. That one fact shocked me to no end. All the women that I knew, with the exception of my mother, tended to shy away from such devices. But Kiemi seemed almost at home near them.
"Are these yours?" Kiemi asked as she picked up one of my daggers, breaking the silence of the forest.
Her voice was so soft that I almost didn't hear it. It was as if she thought projecting her voice any louder would bring destruction to the world. But when it finally registered in my mind that she was actually speaking and asking me a question, I turned to her in utter shock.
"…Yes," I replied hesitantly, unsure with how long this privilege would last me.
"Hm," she said with the smallest of grins, "It reminds me of home."
Of all things, I never would have thought weapons would get her to talk, I thought with amusement, I can see that there is more to her than meets the eye.
Not wanting to let my chance pass me by, I cleared my throat and asked her, "Why did you wait until now to talk?"
"Nothing interested me enough to talk about until now," she replied as she examined my equipment.
"And weapons interest you?" I asked, becoming more and more curious about her with each passing minute.
"Yes, of course, as it should all Shamans," she replied, "It's the best tool to use as a medium."
I was taken off guard with that response. The way she spoke, she clearly knew a great deal about Shamans. That in turn meant that she knew about the upcoming tournament that would occur in a few years. But how? I knew I couldn't ask her. It took nearly the entire day to get her to say a complete sentence.
Perhaps her mind can give me some answers, I thought to myself.
But when I reached out to scratch the surface of her mind and read her thoughts, I found it blank. There was nothing there. It was as if I was standing alone in the clearing and reaching out to thin air.
How could that be?, I questioned.
Looking over at Kiemi as she inspected my bow, I began to see her in a new and more interesting light.
She must possess great talents to be able to do that, I thought to myself.
The most experienced person couldn't hide all their thoughts from me. Even my mother could not keep me from at least grazing the surface of her mind and she was one of the most powerful Shamans I knew.
"Do you think me a fool as to leave my mind unguarded around an empath?" Kiemi asked, never taking her eyes away from whatever she was inspecting.
"How…?" I began, not knowing what I wanted to ask first.
"Haven't you figured it out, yet?" Kiemi asked with a playful laugh, "I'm a Shaman, just as you are."
I couldn't believe my ears. She was a Shaman? The shock of the news rendered me speechless for a good while, which didn't seem to bother Kiemi much, who was still examining my weapons. Watching her check my equipment, I could see that she had been given some sort of Shaman training. But that still didn't explain why I couldn't read her like I could everyone else.
"It's because I've spent most of my training, in keeping my thoughts hidden," she replied to my unasked question.
"What did you say?" I asked, shock forever on my face.
"It's what you were wondering, wasn't it?" Kiemi asked as if her knowing what I was thinking was nothing special, "I could see the question in your eyes."
"Yes, I was thinking that," I said a bit more calmly than how I felt, "But how is it possible that you could keep all of your thoughts from me?"
"There are a lot of empaths in the world," Kiemi explained, "And my mother always said that a person's greatest sanctuary was their mind."
"So, she trained you to keep your thoughts hidden?" I asked curiously.
"In a word, yes," Kiemi replied as she strung my bow and fitted an arrow.
"Did your mother know of my power?" I questioned.
"No," Kiemi replied pulling the arrow back on the bowstring, "At least not until she felt you trying to read her mind."
And with that, she fired the arrow at a target that I had set up a hundred yards away and hit it with perfect accuracy. Even I had trouble hitting that target at this distance. The only reason I set up the target was to have a goal that I could strive to achieve.
"Hm," Kiemi said with disappointment, "I let my finger hang on the string too long."
"How does your mother know my father?" I asked as I stood in awe of her indifference to her accomplishment.
"I don't know," Kiemi replied somberly as she retrieved the arrow, "Mother never liked to talk about her past…which makes me wonder sometimes."
"About what?" I asked.
"What she's hiding from me," Kiemi replied.
"I see," I said, understanding her meaning perfectly.
"What about you?" Kiemi asked curiously, "Has your father told you nothing of his past either?"
"My father does not like speaking of his past," I explained to her, "In fact, he doesn't like speaking to me at all."
"Well," Kiemi said, her voice softening, "At least he is training you to be a Shaman."
"I'm afraid you are mistaken, my mother is the one who trains me on Shamatic matters" I corrected her, "The only training my father is concerned with is that of a samurai warrior."
"That's good," Kiemi said, looking at it in a positive way, "Those skills will help you with your future Shaman battles."
"I suppose that's something," I said, not doing well to hide my bitterness.
"Be careful, Hao," Kiemi warned, "Bitterness will bring you nothing but trouble and disappointment."
"I think it's too late for disappointment," I said sarcastically.
A sigh from Kiemi signaled the beginning of a long moment of silence between the two of us. It didn't seem to bother Kiemi much. She seemed quite accustomed to silence. In fact, she almost looked at home in the quiet of the woods. It was then that I remembered why I chose such a secluded place for my training area. It kept me away from all those villagers who I found were a waste of my time and helped me to focus on perfecting my skills.
"How long have you been training for the Shaman Tournament?" I asked, finally finding my voice again.
"Almost from the day I was born," Kiemi replied without hesitation, "Mother wanted me to be strong...she knew that Shamans would target me because I was a woman."
"So you must be skilled?" I asked, interested in her reply.
"Skilled enough," she replied with her usual air of mystery.
"Not as skilled as me," I boasted with pride, "I have managed to master the element of Metal."
"Congratulations to you on you achievement," Kiemi said cheerfully as she shifted through my equipment again.
As she picked up one of my bags that contained my swords, a book fell out and landed on the ground with a light thud. Realizing what it was I rushed to pick it up, but Kiemi reached it before I did.
"What's this?" she asked curiously as she examined the binding.
"It's something that is none of you concern," I snapped at her.
"It was just a question," Kiemi said, looking a bit offended by my reply.
"I'm sorry," I apologized, "But it is mine and I'd like it back."
"What is it?" Kiemi asked as she handed the book to me.
"It sort of a journal," I replied, "I use it to write of my training."
"You mean like a tome?" Kiemi asked.
"I suppose so," I said, "I wrote a lot of things when I mastered my first element and I'd rather not have anyone read it just yet."
"Understandable," Kiemi said with a smile, "We all have things we like to keep private."
"Thank you for understanding," I said, smiling back.
"So, you mastered the element of Metal?" Kiemi asked mischievously, quickly changing the subject, "That means you are skilled with a sword?"
"Of course," I spat out in mock arrogance.
"Then I suppose you wouldn't mind a spar?" the Chinese maiden asked with all the innocence in the world.
"Was that a challenge?" I asked, mocking her innocence when deep down I already knew the answer.
"What does it sound like to you?" Kiemi asked in reply, as she took off her heavy outer shirt to reveal a thinner undershirt.
She was as eager to begin as I was. Never in my wildest imaginings did I think I would ever find myself in such a situation. To find myself face to face with a powerful female Shaman was almost inconceivable, but to consider sparing with one was astonishing. And what I found most disturbing was that I was excited at the whole prospect.
TBC
