Chapter Seven – Will and War
"I'm going to get coffee. Marsden?" Kaena made a hasty grab for her somewhat friend, and departed the room. Taka knew Kaena was no fool, and didn't want to be in the room for this explanation. She was pretty sure her mother didn't have any inkling of what had transpired between them. She shot her father a frown and disappeared down the hall.
Miaka lifted one delicate brow and folded her arms across her chest. She didn't even have to say it for Taka to know what she was thinking.
"They slept together," Nakago said helpfully.
"You WHAT?" she exploded, and then calmed down. She'd obviously been highly strained for the passed twelve or so hours, what with somehow catching an overnight flight and arriving here, likely straight from the airport. She took a breath, but took a few somewhat threatening steps toward Taka.
"I think we're together?"
"If you're sleeping together, you better be pretty darn sure," she frowned. "Taka, what on earth are you thinking? I asked you to keep an eye on her, not go to bed with her!"
"I wasn't really thinking of you when it happened," he muttered.
Miaka frowned thoughtfully. "Tell me what happened," she said, and she had moved from mother mode to friend mode. Taka glanced at Nakago and blew out his breath. He was getting very tired of rehashing this, but he went ahead and explained the vision, the attraction, their meeting, the kiss, and then what happened after. "I didn't know she was a virgin, though," he finished pitifully. "And we talked last night and I think we're okay. I was just being a stupid idiot."
"That's for sure," Miaka sighed. She took Taka's hand. "Do you really love her?"
"Miaka, you know I loved you with everything I had at the time, but this is different. I've never been more sure of myself than I am now. I was being stupid, and I'm still a little weirded out by it, but I do. I love her."
"Okay. But if you hurt her," Miaka grinned and slammed her fist into her open palm. "I will have to use my women's wrestling moves on you!"
"What was that all about?" Marsden questioned as they sat down in the little hospital cafe. Kaena shook her head and opened her coffee to stir in some cream and sugar. "So that guy is really your dad."
"Couldn't you tell by looking at us?" she laughed.
"And that woman your mother?"
"Yep."
"How can she . . .?" he sounded oddly frustrated.
"How can she what?"
"Doesn't she know about the things he's done, I mean, the rumors?"
"What rumors?" Kaena asked curiously. If there were rumors about her father, it wasn't in Japan. He had always been careful to stay out of the media, and had never been involved in a scandal as far as she knew. The only thing even remotely close to scandal was that his political enemies and accused him of staging Kaena's kidnapping in order to garner sympathy and coverage, and she could assure anyone that asked that she had truly been kidnapped.
"Well, there are a lot of rumors, at least that I've heard, that he did some pretty shady things when he was younger, you know, in his early years."
"Like what?"
Marsden raked a hand through his hair and took a long sip of coffee. Kaena felt like they were having two different conversations, or rather that he was having one in his head and one with her. She tilted her head inquisitively. Ordinarily she would be annoyed by his cryptic comments, but she was still kind of elated from last night's conversation with Taka. Finally, he spoke. "Can I be honest with you?"
"I wish you would."
"I know about his past life. And your friend Taka's, and everything. Well, not everything. I wasn't really involved, at least I don't think I was, but I have these memories," he gripped his head as if in agony, and Kaena was compelled to touch him. "How can you treat him like he's so good when he killed and hurt so many people?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, honestly, and a little coolly. Her father had alluded to the fact that he'd done things he wasn't proud of, but murder couldn't have been one of them.
"I just know that I lived on the border of two countries. One country was peaceful and I lived there with my family. That other country was in turmoil for various reasons. Your father, he went by Nakago then and I guess he still does now, directed the armies that invaded my country, the country your mother was the priestess of. He stood on the battlefield while his men killed fathers and raped mothers and carried children away off as booty."
"No," she laughed. "You don't know him. He would never allow anything like that, even if he did command an army. Marsden, you're confused. I know what it's like to have baffling memories. But my father isn't like that. I mean, look at him. He's strong, and he does what he has to to protect the people he loves, but he protects people, he doesn't hurt them."
"Maybe you're right. He seemed pretty okay—normal," he smiled and relaxed a bit, and she did too.
"You should talk to Taka, he knows all about what it's like to suddenly remember a past life. He can tell you, and help you."
"I'll be fine. I was just sort of shocked to see him. Last night I thought he looked familiar."
"Marsden," she began. "Do you have power? Can you use chi?"
He suddenly felt very guarded, and she wondered again what he was hiding. "No," he responded. "At least, I don't think so. Why? Can you, you know, use your chi? Like magic?"
"Yeah, I can," she replied truthfully. "I can manipulate probability and fate. You have some power yourself. Taka has a friend who's working on strengthening his power, and Taka is tutoring him. He would probably be willing to help you. I probably shouldn't mention this, but Luke—Dr. Jamison—he has some power too. Maybe . . . we should train together? Hone our skills. I could use the practice."
"Do you think he'd be willing to teach me? I don't think he likes me much."
"He doesn't, but he'd do it for me," she smiled. This could actually be a great idea. She knew she sensed power in him, and it seemed like he possessed memories from the other universe. Maybe he was one of hers. Luke sure thought he was, and maybe Vinny too. When Kaena reached into her chi and touched the strings of fate, she felt that there was a battle coming, and thought that perhaps her warriors were preparing to come together for whatever was to come upon them. "I'll talk to him. I should go back upstairs. Poor Taka. I left him alone with my parents."
Kaena had sent Taka home since he wasn't really needed. She and her mother were capable of fortifying her father's chi if necessary, and he had to finish preparing his lesson plans for Monday—his students would doubtless be unhappy to hear that he had returned to normal. The remainder of the weekend was spent lounging around the hospital room. Nakago was moved out of the ICU and into a private, luxury, suite. The fact that he had the letters J.D. behind his name probably didn't hurt the amount of care and attention he seemed to receive. She skipped her classes Monday and Tuesday, but by Wednesday, her father had said she and her mother were driving him crazy and that she should go to class and bring back something interesting to read.
Kaena came into Luke's classroom a few minutes early and sat down. She had done the reading for Monday, but hadn't felt up to coming. Her prof swept into the room in his usual awkward, fumbling way, dropping a stack of brochures and religious tracts on the table and powering up the technology cart.
"Is your father feeling better?" he asked.
Startled, Kaena looked up. She had been furiously trying to finish the reading for today. "Huh?"
"Your father. Marsden told me he was in the hospital. I didn't know if you'd be back today, I thought you might have flown back to Japan."
"No, he was here," she said. "He's feeling much better."
"It's fortunate he didn't have his heart attack while flying," Luke said thoughtfully.
"Heart attack? He was poisoned," she said. Ordinarily, she wouldn't divulge such information, but this man was one of them, and he should know that something was after them. "It was an attempt to kill my boyfriend, I think, but my father happened to take the poison instead."
"Boyfriend? So things are better with your friend?"
She flushed, remembering suddenly how much she had told him. She felt her cheeks heat, and he laughed good naturedly. Still flushed to the roots of her hair, the other students began to take their seats. It was a pretty big class for a graduate class—about twenty students—and it was popular and even had a few undergrads taking it for grad credit. She tucked her head down, ignoring her classmates, and finished the reading.
Luke, still looking a little harried from his customary dash to the classroom, took his seat at the head of large conference style table. "So today, as I'm sure you well know, because of course you all did the reading, that our topics are evangelism and separation of church and state. The primary question we want to address is whether or not evangelism qualifies as a violation of a personal right or freedom. And what is the value of evangelism? For that matter, what is the value of separation of church and state?"
"Some value it more than others," the student Kaena knew as Joseph piped.
Luke smiled wryly. "True—but remember, we're talking philosophy, not politics. We don't want to alienate any particular groups of people. So you say the value is variable from person to person?"
Kaena glanced around the classroom as a few students began to quote passages from the reading. She began to get bored. She didn't want to rehash the reading; she was interested in people's original thoughts and opinions! They probably thought they were very academic for regurgitating so well.
"Joseph contends that the purpose of evangelism is to violate another's right to believe what they believe. That's a very cynical view, but I like it. It's a good point to debate."
"I disagree," an Indian girl stated. Kaena thought her name might be Padma. "If you believe your religion is the way to salvation, whether it be nirvana, heaven, or to escaping samsara, and the right way to salvation is following karma or the Koran, don't you have a moral obligation to spread that belief so that your loved ones can also attain salvation?"
"But what about their right to believe what they want, and for that matter, to do what they want?" Joseph argued, somewhat hotly. "Think about it. If your goal is to get somebody to follow your moral guidelines in order to attain salvation, you're not only encroaching about their free will to believe what they want; you're encroaching on their right to behave how they want."
"Every society is held to standards of morals, regardless of if they're based on God or Karma," Padma rebutted. "So why shouldn't people at least know that others believe a different path is the way to salvation? Unless they feel threatened by it, and then their own beliefs probably weren't too strong to begin with."
"It's a matter of free will," Joseph pressed. "I don't like being told I'm going to hell because I don't go to church every week."
"Bad encounter with a Jehovah's Witness?" a girl called Diane laughed. "They are pretty annoying."
"I find them delightful," Padma sniffed. "They're always so polite."
Kaena followed this discussion with interest.
"So then, imposing your beliefs on others violates their personal freedom, or so Joseph would say. Disagree, agree? How does it relate to government?"
"It shouldn't relate to government at all. Separation of church and state was instituted for a reason: to protect people from the tyranny of religion," somebody pointed out. "Shouldn't evangelism count?"
Kaena frowned thoughtfully. "So people setting out religious tracts are encroaching on your personal freedom? They're not pulling your eyelids open and making you read, are they? That would definitely be a violation."
Joseph opened his mouth to say something and then his jaw snapped shut again.
Kaena smiled with satisfaction.
"But that doesn't change the fact that our government imposes all sorts of morals on us based on religions that we don't follow. That's tyranny, is it not? Just as an example, abortion. Outlawing something based on the morals of a specific religion that only 70% of the nation ascribes to . . . how is that NOT tyrannical? I knew Jews don't have a big problem with abortion, and neither do Buddhists for all their sacredness of life doctrines."
"The Christians are the majority, and the ruling power," Padma said. "I'm Hindu, but I accept it because I chose to live here. You can always leave."
"True story," somebody said. "Go to Canada if you don't like it. They have better health care, anyway."
Kaena noticed that Luke was looking at her oddly. His green eyes glinted with interest, and she lifted one delicate, ash colored eyebrow.
"What about societies that have a sort of secular religion, like Japan? You could say that the U.S. faces the same thing. After all, 70% of Americans may profess to be Christian, but of them, only a small proportion is practicing, or even deeply ascribes to the beliefs when pressed. Japan is a society that is traditionally ruled by a prime minister, but still has an emperor who acts as a figurehead for the Shinto religion, the official religion of the state. Is there a conflict here? Do you think the acceptance of it says something about the success of it?"
"You have to understand that Japan is different than here. Here, people behaviors align with their beliefs, usually. Not always, but for the most part," Kaena said. She knew he was directing the conversation to her, and didn't really know why. But she was interested enough in the topic to play along, so she continued. "In Japan, you have who you are inside, and the things you do outside, and sometimes those are very different. I have a lot of friends who are professed atheists who faithfully go to the shrines and ring the bells on holidays. Likewise, I have friends who are Buddhist and visit the Shinto shrines to pray. What you do doesn't necessarily have to align with what you believe inside, and like Padma said, if you're so threatened by outside influences, your belief wasn't that strong to begin with."
"I don't really see the point of having a religion if it's all for show, anyway," Diane said.
"I don't know about in Japan," Joseph added, clearly grumpy that he was being so challenged. "But here, the moral decisions of the majority seriously alter the freedoms of the people here. If you don't believe in abortion, don't get one! Simple as that."
"If you didn't believe in killing Jews during the holocaust," Kaena said dryly. "Would it be enough to simply not kill them?"
"I guess I know where you fall on the issue," he groused.
"On the contrary. I loathe how the government takes liberties with our freedoms, but I'm playing devil's advocate. Try to picture it from the other side."
"It still goes back to free will," Diane insisted.
Somebody thumped their head on the table. "HOW many times can we argue about free will?"
"Expound, Diane?" Luke prompted.
"I mean, no matter what you do, your free will is being violated somehow. If you're a Christian and you think gay marriage is wrong, the government saying it's legal is a violation of your beliefs, but if you're gay and want to get married the Christian assertion is encroaching on your freedom."
"Telling a group they have a freedom doesn't encroach on anybody else, even if they don't agree. Gay people marrying doesn't affect straight people marrying," somebody said.
"Tell that to the Christians," Joseph said.
"Not all Christians are against gay marriage," Luke said politely and smiled.
"Isn't that the point?" Kaena interrupted.
"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.
"It always comes back to free will, and we always conclude the same thing: in religion and outside of it, there isn't any such thing, not really. We can fool ourselves into thinking we have some sort of free will, but even if the choice is free, what follows the choice isn't. You choose to be a Buddhist and then find yourself bound by the five precepts, or if you're an atheist, you're at least bound by the law of the country you choose to live in, theoretically."
"Are you saying free will is an illusion?"
"I'm saying our will isn't as free as we'd like to think, so we shouldn't get hung up on what we're prohibited from doing, and decide which path we find most agreeable. Everybody serves something, whether it be God or Satan or Buddha, or yourself or your money."
Luke glanced at the clock and looked startled. "On that happy note, we have to turn now to a couple things I brought for us to peruse. Start these around and note the similarities of the tracts even though they're all for different religions. We'll watch a brief video, and then you'll be free to go."
Kaena numbly passed the tracts to the person next to her. She wasn't entirely sure why she had said what she said, but upon reflection it struck her as true. She thought about her own beliefs, amorphous and undefined as they were, and couldn't pinpoint where the idea had originated. Her mind wandered to the event in the hospital where the Presence had come into her and guided her. It never simply took over—there was that choice, at least—but once she agreed to obey, she was bound. Maybe free will truly was an illusion. Luke seemed to think that our unwilling indentured servitude to something was a cynical perspective, but Kaena didn't see it as cynical, just realistic. And although something in her chafed against the idea, as she was sure it chafed against her classmates, there was something comforting about it. Self-serving ambitions could always backfire, and serving dark deities like Tenkou would never be safe. At least she knew that her gods/God acted for her good and the good of others, even if she did have to give up a bit of herself for it. And that thought really wasn't so unpleasant.
"Kaena?" Luke tapped his pen against the desk, and she started. The lights were back on and the students were filing out. She had completely spaced out during the video.
"Sorry," she mumbled, hoping he wouldn't scold her. "I got distracted."
"Your father's in the hospital," he said kindly. "I think that's the be expected. You offered some fair insights into our topics despite it. I wish you'd speak up more often. You always say good things. Or at least true things," he smiled crookedly.
"I say what needs to be said and nothing more," she raised her brows, daring him to fault her for this, but he merely shrugged.
"I have to say, I didn't expect such a dire view of humanity."
It was Kaena's turn to shrug. It really didn't seem all that dire to her, but she didn't feel like expounding on her personal experience in order to share her beliefs, and one wouldn't make sense without the other, so she simply said: "I call them like I see them. I have a question for you, though. Have you had any formal training? I mean, for your, um . . ." she glanced around to make sure they were alone.
"My power?" he leaned around her to make sure nobody was listening at the door. "No. All I know I've figured out on my own."
"Would you be interested in lessons?" she asked tentatively. "Marsden and I were talking this weekend, and he said he would be interested, and Taka, the guy I told you about, has another friend who would like to learn more. So I was thinking we could sort of do a group class."
"To what end?" he asked curiously.
"To prepare us for what's ahead."
He didn't ask what she thought that might be, and she didn't offer any explanation. She knew he felt it the same way that the others did. Battle: war, and at the heart of it would be her, and the others; her parents, the other seishi, but Kaena and hers were vital; they were the hope.
"Sure," he said. "I teach an evening class on Wednesdays until nine, but my other evenings are pretty open. Let me know when and where."
"Excellent. Now I just have to let Taka know he's gained some students."
Luke smiled and patted her shoulder congenially. She liked him more and more as they interacted. She wondered if that was because now he was truly seeing her, or if she was allowing him to do so. Either way, she was glad to have such an insightful warrior (lieutenant). Startled, she glanced at him. He was to be her lieutenant. She had no idea how she knew that or what it meant, but she did. And Taka was her general. She shook her head, and gathered up her books. "See you Friday."
He waved as she departed, still startled by the revelation. Was this thing, whatever it was, was it truly going to be war? She prayed that her intuition was wrong.
Kaena went straight from class to the campus library to pick up a few of her favorite Western novels for her father to read. She guessed he'd read some of them, but most British and American literature wasn't as widely known in Japan as it was here. She picked up a copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, as well as a slew of nonfiction titles on everything from volcanoes to dog breeds. At the very least, her poor father would have something to do. That is, if his wife would ever let him be.
Kaena conspired to drag her mother to her place for dinner later, hence the books. She knew her father was very much like her, and as much as she wanted to spend time with him after coming so close to losing him, she knew it was selfish and that he wanted, neigh, needed, to be alone. So she gathered up her loot and headed over to the university hospital, which was a short walk from the library, and found her father arguing with her mother over whether or not he needed help in the shower.
"Miaka," he scowled. "I would rather sit on the floor in that disgusting shower than be assisted again! I'm not an invalid."
"You're just being stubborn," she pulled on his arm, and as a show to how weak he was feeling, was actually moved to stand by her tugging.
"Mama, you're nagging again," Kaena entered the room. Her father was shuffling tiredly to the shower, clearly losing the argument. "May I pose a solution to your problem?"
"Please do," her papa's scowl deepened and she smiled. She knew he wasn't truly annoyed, more like . . . crowded.
"Mama will help you clean up, and then I'll take her out to dinner and to my apartment for the night, leaving you to get some peace and quiet."
"Darling, are you implying that I bring strife and noise?"
"That's exactly what she's implying," her father's eyes glinted with amusement. He clearly liked this plan.
"I don't really feel good about leaving him here . . . what if something happens?" she began to shake her head when her father firmly took her shoulders and looked into her hazel eyes.
"There is a security guard, a world class medical staff, and the threat of being sued keeping me from harm. And you are going to drive me to drink," he grumbled. "I will agree to the indignity of an assisted shower, if you agree to leave me alone."
Her mother's large eyes began to tear and Kaena winced in preparation for argument, but finally she set her face, took her husband's arm, and closed the bathroom door, leaving Kaena alone in the room. She set the books down on the bedside table and opened up the novel by Oscar Wilde to pass the time. As she skimmed the first few pages and began to read the end in earnest, a troubling thought occurred to her. The main character, Dorian Gray, was good looking and of good breeding. He made a fateful wish that made it so a portrait of him took on his aging and the signs of his debauchery instead of his own body and face. As he aged, the picture decayed further, but even though there were whispers about him within society, people still largely perceived him to be a sweet-faced young man that was too angelic to ever commit any evil. Blonde haired, fair eyed Dorian Gray bore a striking resemblance to her nordic father, and the similarity troubled her. She saw only the kind, somewhat tart exterior of her father, but what if there really was something behind him, some dark portrait that concealed the evils he had committed, that kept him fresh while it suffered?
She pushed the idea and the book aside together. If her father were hiding seedy secrets, her mother would surely know. It sounded like she had been privy to almost everything that had happened to him in his past life, and naturally such a moral crusader like her mother wouldn't be with somebody she saw to be evil or even just unfit. Her mind immediately supplied the idea that perhaps there was something more sinister to their marriage, but then shook her head. Her mother was an open book and her father, while not exactly forthcoming, had never been less than truthful. Even when he withheld information, Kaena knew it was being withheld. She put the book down and picked up one of the non-fiction books, taking her mind off of it by exploring volcanoes.
A half hour later, looking ragged and harassed, her father returned to his bed. Kaena sat down next to him. "I brought you some books," she pulled a couple of them out randomly. "I thought you might want to catch up on your reading, but maybe you should be resting."
"Reading is resting," he snatched the book she was holding out of her hand. "The Picture of Dorian Gray?"
"It's a British novel. You should read it—I . . . well, it's one of my favorites, anyway. Mama, come on, we should go. You look like you need a drink."
Kaena waited for her mother to change her sodden clothes and grab her purse, and then they were off. As Kaena pulled the door shut behind her, she recalled the ending of the Wilde novel. Dorian Gray had been tormented by the cruel image of himself, and had eventually sought to destroy the evidence of his evil pact. He had stabbed the portrait in the heart, and had later been found, aged and depraved body sprawled on the floor, with a knife through his heart. She wondered what Taka knew about this mysterious past, and what she could wheedle out of him. After all, had he not run a knife through her father's heart as well?
By the weekend, Kaena had convinced Taka to lead a class in basic martial arts and chi control. He, personally, had no idea how he had been talked into it, because he seemed to recall being unwilling at first. He had argued with her for half an hour, and somehow at the end of it, he found himself standing in a reserved room in Kaena's condo community's fitness center. Vinny, Kaena's friend Marsden, who Taka really disliked, and a man who was apparently her professor, stood across from him. He frowned thoughtfully. They were all wearing loose fitting gym type clothes and looking somewhat nervous.
Kaena entered and locked the door behind her. "We have this room for about two hours."
"Have you all been introduced?" Taka asked awkwardly. They shook their heads. "Well, I'm Taka, I guess I'm your instructor. My credentials are, shall we say, extensive? But I don't feel the need to go into them. It'll be apparent that I know what I'm doing soon enough. That's Vinny," he nodded to his friend. "Do you want to say a few words?"
"Uh," Vinny shrugged. "I'm Vinny, I'm a teacher too, I teach chemistry. I just found out about my powers about last week, but I've had a lesson or two with this guy and it seems like my power is to manipulate matter."
"I'm Marsden," he said awkwardly. "I'm a friend of Kaena's, and I have some memories of a past life, and apparently some power, but I have no idea how to use it."
The prof nodded. "I'm Luke. I'm one of Kaena and Marsden's professors and my power is mostly telekinetic and telepathic," he demonstrated by picking up one of the foam floor mats, rotating it, and setting it back down. "I've got some practice, but could use refining."
"Great. Well, first, Kaena and I will demonstrate some of what we'll be teaching you. You have to learn first to perceive chi, and then to manipulate it. I think the best way to do this is with a demonstration. Kaena?"
Kaena, who was dressed in a tantalizing, hip hugging pair of shorts and a cropped t-shirt, stepped over to him. Taka unleashed his chi and felt his power swell. Luke let out a low whistle. Vinny squinted like he was not quite able to perceive what was happening yet, and Marsden was looking between them like they were crazy. Kaena then opened herself up, and her violent violet aura whipped her hair around. She didn't have quite the same control that Taka had, but she sure had power.
"Damn," Luke remarked.
"Let's do a little spar, first with physical blows, then chi. Watch how our chi circulates around us as we move. If you can't see the chi, close your eyes and listen. Sometimes it's easier to hear it than to see it, at first."
He lowered himself into a fighting stance and Kaena crouched as well, a grin plastered across her beautiful face. She was clearly excited, and Taka felt a thrill run up his spine. He could never have done this with Miaka. The physical side of him sung in anticipation, and she pounced. Her body was long as his, but much smaller. Her litheness gave her a distinct speed advantage, and she was under his defenses in no time. He recoiled and blocked just before her little fist slammed into his face. He rebuffed her and she wasted no time in lending a hard kick to his side.
"Damn," someone said again, maybe Vinny. He wasn't paying that much attention to the audience.
Deliberately, he used his chi to regain his stance and go for the attack. He feinted, once, twice, but she didn't follow the feint. Instead, she easily blocked the kick aimed at her gut.
"She's following the movement of my chi to anticipate my moves," he said to his class. "But that can also be used against someone."
Suddenly, he channeled his chi to make it look like he would kick again, but instead he lashed out with his fist and struck her hard in the face. He winced, apologizing. She grinned again and wiped the blood from her nose before leveling yet another attack. She certainly didn't waste time! She repaid him for the hit to her nose, and boxed his ears so they rung.
He smirked, amused at the spirit with which she fought, but knew he couldn't let his pride be wounded by letting her appear to beat him, so he double feinted again, this time using his chi as a decoy, and wrapped one leg around behind her knees, pulling her to the floor beneath him. She bucked and struggled, cursing like a sailor all the while, but she couldn't move. His slow grin was mischievous, and he leaned down and pecked her on the cheek. He wanted to do a lot more, but Vinny's catcalling whistle broke him out of his reverie. He got up and offered Kaena his hand, which she declined.
"So tell me what you saw," Taka instructed, pointing at Luke.
He seemed a little embarrassed by their affection, but answered nonetheless. "Your chi was reactive, while hers is offensive. Probably because you didn't want to hit your girlfriend."
"Good. Marsden? What did you see?"
"Nothing more than you two pummeling each other. Weird foreplay," he muttered.
"Vinny?"
He seemed thoughtful, and Taka wasn't sure if he was thinking or stumped. He opened his mouth and then paused again. "Her aura is strange. I mean, it's different from yours, Taka, and these guys."
Kaena stiffened. "How do you mean?"
"Well, first there's the color. It changes, doesn't it? Taka's is always red, and I've been sensing them more and more lately, and most people's stay the same. Kaena's is purple, but it varies wildly in shade. It was lighter just now, more like lilac, but then when she was pinned down, it turned darker. And then there's . . . I guess in music you would call it the clarity or purity. In Taka's you can see all sorts of junk about who he is, because it's kind of tied up in memories. But yours is different. It's like it's separate, like a well you tap into, but it doesn't really touch you."
Taka looked at Kaena, really looked at her, and felt like an idiot for not really understanding it sooner. It was true, everything Vinny said. She had seemed very unique to him, but he hadn't been able to put his finger on why until now. "Very good, Vinny. You're starting to really catch the subtleties. Most people's auras, if you're not careful, can betray a lot about them. Now watch us fight with just our chi."
Taka's stomach growled loudly. He was starting to get really hungry, but he ignored it. He didn't crouch this time, and Kaena stood across from him. He drew his chi close inside so that he wouldn't advertise so obviously, hoping Vinny might still be able to glean something from him. The man's abilities were growing by the hour and Taka couldn't wait to see him at his full potential. In reply, Kaena allowed her aura, now a deep, midnight purple, to swell around her.
"Oh!" Marsden suddenly exclaimed. "I see it."
She spared him a glance, and then returned her focus to Taka himself. The man watched her curiously, waiting for her to make the first move, but she only stood there waiting for him. He shrugged and sent a broad, undefined burst of chi toward her. Her violet aura blocked him almost automatically. Stunned, he tried again.
"Your attacks are too blunt for her," Vinny advised. "Try something more subtle."
Taka glanced at the man, wondering how he knew, but thought he might be right. Her aura was vast and reached from a deep well to gain whatever she needed, or whatever she thought she needed. Instead of attacking with brute force, he charged up an enormous amount of chi, and her aura changed in reply, but he sent only a minute amount against her, and her shield changed to suit it. Too quickly, he followed up his small attack with a larger one that wasn't meant to hurt her, only to push her backward into the wall. Her adjustment was too slow, and she went flying hard into the wall. She didn't get up right away.
Concerned, he went to her, and peered down at her. She was dazed but fine. So there were weaknesses to her apparently invincibility. She reached out, and Taka thought she wanted help up so he extended his hand in turn, but her blue eyes were far away, and suddenly Taka felt nauseous and sweaty, and wavered on his feet. The others rushed to catch him, but it was too late. He felt his vision go dark.
