'Fools rush in where wise men fear to tread.Mum always told me I was special.' Night Court, Policeman and Harold T. Stone.
You could feel the power in the air as it hummed around the Princess. She has always been strong, but never has it been so ... blatant. I could feel the Wizard twitch beside me as one of the gentle pulses brushed his skin.
One of the barriers over her powers had been unlocked. She wouldn't be so completely hidden from the world anymore.
"HIME!"
Teenagers ...
The squad and the Chinese girls all ran to the Princess and hugged the stuffing out of her, demanding answers of her well being, why she slept so long, was she hungry - I'm surprised the Princess was able to answer them all.
Once the hyperactivity had stopped, or slowed given the ones involved, The Fortune Teller stood and placed herself before the Princess.
"Let me see your soul child."
Gently cupping one of the Princess' cheeks in a wrinkled old hand, the old woman stared deep into the Princess' green eyes. After several long minutes, they both blinked and The Fortune Teller took a step away.
"Have you found what you needed child?"
"I believe I have."
"And what will you do with it child?"
"That which needs to be done."
The creases and wrinkles on the old woman's face deepened as she gave a broad smile.
"Such a good girl, you are child. Truly, I think you'll be able to do as you've chosen."
Turning to face the rest of the group, the old woman suddenly had an evil look on her face.
"My, my, where are my thoughts? I can't have guests in such states of dress. All the boys in the room on the left side of the hall, girls in the right. My Little Breeze, I expect you to help the boys choose suitable Zhōngshānzhuāng, and the girls I will help choose appropriate cheong sam. Off you go now, off you go."
The two halves of the group were hustled into the indicated rooms, and as commanded, Kudo started divvying up the clothes as he deemed appropriate.
I will say this for him, Kudo has good taste.
I was put in a black ensemble with blood red decoration, just the style I like. The red dragons climbing my chest and back suit me well. The Wizard was in a white outfit with blue phoenixes decorating him. He looked good, despite his grumbling about being stuck with the bird no matter what he did.
Once everyone was dressed, we made our way back outside, only to be met by the Matriarch and Yelan. After receiving their approval we were allowed back into the courtyard where the rest of the women were.
The Princess was wearing a deep green cheong sam with pale pink Lotus' on the fabric. It suited her. Hers was the only outfit I had the time to really take in before The Fortune Teller started talking again.
"In any way I can, I shall lend you my support. My old bones may not be useful in actual battles, but I believe my mind is still quite sharp, and I have the bonus of years of experience that none of you yet have. How exactly are you planning to deal with the Elders?"
The Matriarch spoke.
"The original plan was to seal all their magics and detainment. With the information you have provided however, combined with the shows of power we have already displayed by coming here, we are realising the very fear that Móguǐ had them develop. At the very least we must seal and detain Móguǐ as no good can come from him."
Before The Fortune Teller could say anything in response, a loud chiming rang through the air.
"Remain seated; I'll go answer the door. There is nothing to be concerned for; I know who is calling."
Getting to her feet, the old woman quickly moved down the hall and out of sight while she greeted whoever was at the door. As was coming to be habit, we all moved to place a protective circle around the princess, though a quick glance to her told me that she was not pleased with our actions. She said nothing on it however, showing that she knew we would keep doing so regardless of what she said on the matter.
The sound of three sets of footsteps brought our attention back to the hall The Fortune Teller had disappeared down. She, a young woman and man entered our sight.
"Mùnǎiyī! Bàba!"
Kudo broke through the circle and ran to the couple ignoring all but his sires.
The two showed a mixture of shock, confusion and deep, deep relief at seeing Kudo, both wrapping their arms around the boy as he held on to them.
Kudo was practically a copy of his mother. Blond hair, worn longer on one side. A slim build without appearing gangly. A delicateness of his features that wasn't strictly feminine but was a far cry from the masculinity of his father.
The man was standing a head and a half above his wife and son, and had short black hair with a broader, more muscled frame then Kudo. But they both held themselves the same way; fairly confident in what they could do, would attempt something themselves before handing over a task.
There was no doubt that these two were Kudo's biological parents.
"Wǒ de zhēnguì de. My Kazahaya."
"Érzi. You're still alive."
"Mùnǎiyī, Bàba, I'm here, I'm okay, I'm fine."
Aaaaaaaaaand, cue cry scene.
I totally understand why they've all got the waterworks going, but not being a crier, I don't see how it helps anything. The Wizard is next to me sniffling, a handkerchief held to his face to catch his tears and blow his nose - that's another thing, why would you wipe your eyes with a cloth used to clear your nose? Or is that just me? Whatever.
Turning away from the crying family, my eyes happened to fall on Himura and he looked as uncomfortable as I felt, only his discomfort was from seeing his foster-brother/boyfriend willingly embracing the family he ran away from.
Perhaps he was worried that, once all was said and done, Kudo would stay with them in China.
"My Little Breeze, you wanted to introduce us earlier. My Little Flare will find out about him soon enough, so please do."
Kudo smiled gratefully at The Fortune Tellers words, pulling from his parents and cleaning his face with a cloth the old woman handed him. Once he had composed himself, he ran back to the group and pulled Himura from the ranks and dragged him to stand before the three.
"Mùnǎiyī, Bàba, Grandmother, this is Himura Rikuo - My xuǎnzé."
Himura looked a little confused by the title, not knowing what it meant. All the Lupine members of the group were either stifling their laughter, hiding their surprise, or looking on approvingly. The princess, her family and her guards were much the same. I was snickering.
Kudo himself was blushing a deep red, and the three before him were appraising Himura intently. Finally his father spoke.
"So you will be staying with him Érzi?"
Kudo nodded, clasping a bit tighter onto Himura's hand.
"Then I wish you all the happiness you deserve."
Kudo smiled in joy as he released Himura's hand only to throw his arms around him in a hug. His parents smiled before looking to Himura again.
"I am Kudo Shuichiro, and this is my wife Kudo Kohaku."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Nǚxù."
I slapped a hand over my mouth at that. Himura looked really confused with the titles from both Kudo and his mother, but appeared to take it in stride.
A sudden bloodlust killed any joy in the courtyard as a new voice rand sickly sweet through the air.
"So he's to blame ... He's the one who took my Kaza ..."
On instinct, both Himura and Kudo dashed forward to provide cover for Kudo's parents and The Fortune Teller.
There, standing on the edge of the open roof, was a woman who undoubtedly must be the 'twin' Kazahaya brought mention to back in the Recourt Library. His Sister 'Kei'.
Now, I'm a hard advocate of not believing everything I see; this has saved my neck far too many times for me to believe otherwise. The girl on the roof looked to be sweet, innocent and a little peeved that, though her brother was back, he had brought a guy home with him. All in all, she looked like a normal girl her age with an apparent climbing fetish.
No, she was dangerous as hell.
I've seen Kudo when he uses his magic to actually fight; it's brutal. I know for a fact that Kudo is rather gentle and dislike shows of violence, which is totally against the fighting style he uses, and so he avoids battle where he can, but when he has been forced to fight, he shifts the winds into blades that have a moving edge, making them sharper then tempered steel, and flesh holds no resistance to it. He much prefers using the more gentle aspects of his magic, such as amplification and information gathering. He even uses it to speed up his not inconsequential running speed.
The ever kind and gentle Kudo Kazahaya gave himself the nickname of Wind Runner.
This girl however, who had jumped from the roof to land within the courtyard, carried the stench of eager death on her. The scent of one who kills when they can because they can.
"My Kaza ... My Kaza, you've come back to Kei. You've realised that you should always stay with Kei. I'll get rid of him for you my Kaza, so you can stay here without worry. I'll kill the person who stole you from home and then you can stay here with Kei."
Called it.
Without any regard for Kudo's shouting at her to stop and listen, the girl threw a series of knives at Himura, no doubt expecting all of them to hit their target. Himura simply swept both his arms up, the knives caught and instantly melting in the beyond extreme heat of the wall of fire his actions had summoned.
Himura Rikuo was called the Fire Lord after all.
Thinking quickly, Kudo got his parents and The Fortune Teller to move within the boundaries of the circle guarding the Princess. Himura quickly dashed in front of the four while they were moving and covered them from the girl's attacks, which became fervent when Himura called upon his flames. Once the five were within the circle, the girl started screeching.
"Mǔqīn! Fùqīn! What are you doing?! I'm not going to hurt you so why do you cower?! And behind this fiend's companions no less?! He stole My Kaza! You yourself said that he'd be keeping My Kaza!"
"Wǒ zhēnxī! He has not stolen your brother! You know Kazahaya fled from the Elders!"
"Nǚ'ér! Please listen my nǚ'ér!"
"NO! YOU'VE TURNED AGAINST THE LUPINE! TRAITORS, TRAITORS, TRAITORS!"
The girl was shrinking back slightly, like a cornered animal, though no one was game to get too close.
"I AM THE FIRE DANCER! MY KAZA IS MEANT TO ONLY BE BESIDE KEI. I WILL NOT LET HIM BE STOLEN BY ANYONE! THIS THEIF SAW MY FIRE AND STOLE IT SO HE COULD STEAL MY KAZA! MY KAZA IS MINE!"
The girl's control over her element was failing, bursts of fire springing up left right and centre. The entire group had been protecting against her magic, Umi and the Spitfire using their magic to douse the flames. With her panicking, the chances of something bad happening were high. As we prepared for another burst, a shadow appeared over the girl's shoulder, a silver staff pulled across her neck.
"Please forgive me."
Zhōngshānzhuāng a tunic suit. Wǒ de zhēnguì de my precious one.Érzi son. Xuǎnzé chosen. Nǚxù son-in-law. Mǔqīn mother. Fùqīn father. Wǒ zhēnxī my treasured. Nǚ'ér daughter.
The reasons I am using all the Chinese words are 1) I don't really know what else to call the clothes besides just describing them, but I'm bad at that so by giving you the name you can have some help, thanks to the wonders of Googleimages. 2) To represent the closeness of certain aspects or people; Kazahaya truly loves his parents, hence he calls them in the language he first learnt, same as them. Kei is not as comfortable around their parents so she is more formal. 3) When magic was reawakened, a language all its own flowed through the lands, teaching itself to everyone. All languages still exist, and plenty refuse to speak this magic-borne one, but everyone can understand it and it became the norm. The traditional languages are now mostly for stuff that doesn't translate well into the new language or familiarity. Yes I'm bullshitting about the new language, but how else does everyone understand each other? Review?
Toodles and Love
Oky Verlo