Miraculous Taboo
A fanfic by Setsumi-san
Chapter Eleven: Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock
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"Wh-What?! Why did you do that?! Exactly who are you?!" the scion shouted.
"I might as well tell you before I return to the physical plane. Your father paid me handsomely to be a mercenary and assassin. We couldn't find your slutty little sister after my tiger kyonshi failed to get her so I pretended to befriend you so we could visit my old master," the traitor explained.
"But you were already near him! Why didn't you go alone and beat her location out of him if you knew he could find her?" Ren asked.
"We couldn't risk you finding her first somehow. Besides, he would have died before telling me anything. We hate each other," he said.
"Let me guess. You went so far as to break your own arm for show too."
"Heh, heh, heh! Right again! Don't worry. Maybe I'll leave enough particles of your soul to let you reincarnate in ten-thousand years!"
The monk laughed maniacally and fired at Ren. He barely had the strength left to scream as his spirit ripped apart like a pair of old pajamas. How could a measly gnat like this have bested him? He'd planned to die after a glorious battle with China's most powerful demon or fade in his sleep at one hundred! This couldn't be the way he'd meet his end! He was a failure as a fighter…and a sibling.
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The White Dragon tore across the island for half an hour annihilating the vegetation in his path. The walls of trunks and curtains of saw palmettos were as endless as outer space. Even the birds seemed to mock him with their hoarse caws. Oh, why did the fastest route to the guesthouse have to include a tropical thicket?
"WACHOOOHHH!!" he screamed as he uprooted a sapling with his nunchaku.
He blocked his face as two frightened indigo birds almost flew into him and then chopped a thick vine away. Hope pumped through his veins as he reached a clearing until a vine ensnared his foot and pulled him fifteen feet into the air. Son of a bitch!
"Remember the first rule of martial arts," he instructed himself, "Never lose your head! HAAHH!!"
He broke off the entire branch by spinning three times in midair and bit off the vine upon landing. Suddenly, his heart soared. The guesthouse was finally on the horizon and it was less than half a block away! Inflamed with love and paternal instinct, the kyonshi's legs became springs and he sailed effortlessly onto the roof.
At last! It's going to be okay! he thought.
He slid off and banged on the door, but no one answered.
"Come out! This is an emergency!" he shouted.
When there was still no answer he kicked the door in…and was horrified to discover the pilot's mauled corpse on the floor. Some wild animal had broken in and killed him by suffocation.
"No…" Pyron whispered.
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Back on the mountains, Sheng Ju and En were talking via crystal ball.
"I would dearly love to have to have your son's head as a trophy, sir. Do you think we can consider that my bonus?" the monk asked.
"No! My children's bodies will be destroyed my own way because they have never been anything but embarrassments to the family. However, you may keep the fetuses if you like," En replied.
"Splendid! They should look beautiful in a jar on my mantle," he said with a twisted grin.
"Have you taken all precautions against escape?" En asked.
"Yes. My tiger kyonshi are much faster then they were when they were alive, so once I found her it was easy to send one. I guarantee it's already killed her pilot."
"Good. I will provide our fastest jet for you so you can finish the job. This will teach Jun to taint the Tao bloodline!"
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Up was down. Black was white. Open was shut. Nothing made sense to Lee Pyron then! How could such a huge creature exist on such a tiny island and why the hell hadn't they noticed it? Now the princess of his heart and mother of could either lose their children…or…
He clenched his fist and growled, "Get a grip and think! Arrrggh! This will end disastrously unless…no. We don't know how to perform home births…but what choice do we have?"
Pyron walked outside and gazed anxiously at the ocean. Dawn would stretch its legs very soon and he wanted nothing more than to shove it back with his bare hands. For once a new day was about as promising as a tornado. He knelt in the sand and clasped his hands.
"I have always tried to be a spiritual man. Even in death I have strived to attain a higher level through perfecting my daodan-do. If none of my other prayers are ever answered, please answer this one: Let all three of them live. I swear to perform five good deeds every day for the rest of my existence if they do," he begged of whatever deity might be listening.
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Thirty minutes later he was holding his love's hand and trying to make her as comfortable as possible. Every time she whimpered or yelped he wanted to cry. All he could do was put on a mask of bravery and keep praying. She moaned and pushed until her face turned scarlet.
"Shhh," he soothed.
"Don't you dare shush meeeeeaaagghh! (huff, huff, huff) Look at what I'm going through! I'll…(huff, huff) set a world record for noise if I want to," Jun shot back.
"You can do this," he murmured gently.
The pine-haired woman growled at him and pushed again. How dare he talk as though this were easy! It was no use! Delivering twins naturally was more futile then trying to turn a lump of coal into gold!
Out of nowhere, the door burst open. A large nosed Chinese man dressed in different fur was standing there with a smirk on his face.
"Well, well, well. It looks like you made a reservation for two, miss. Unfortunately, your family has sent me to cancel it," he sneered.
He prepared to fire at the mother to be.
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