Day 12

Persistence

(Mei-Mei/Sora)

It was definitely one of the weirder days in Beylin Temple's history when Sora arrived. And yes, that was including the day which involved four peacocks, a dish of half-cooked rice and a troop of monkeys with hats on.

"I'm here to learn," the young man announced as he stood in front of the gates, facing Chi-Yun, who looked more than a little surprised to see someone there. After all, Beylin Temple was miles away from anywhere else, and precious few outside the Temple itself even knew where the place was. "I want to get stronger, so I can surpass Gingka."

"Explain why you're here, then," Da Shan interrupted, prowling out of the main gates like a panther. "Sora."

"You know each other?" Chi-Yun spluttered. Da Shan's eyes narrowed.

"Yes. He's my half-brother. Though why he decided to come here to train I do not know, as we've only met one time before."

Mei-Mei put her head on one side, examining the newcomer. He certainly had Da Shan's hair, though his eyes were closer to Chi-Yun's than Wang Hu Zhong's captain's. She grinned. She could see the family resemblance.

"I know that you've sworn to defeat Gingka," Sora explained. "That's my goal too. I want to train with you."

"And why should we let you?" Da Shan asked, voice cool.

"Because I'm strong," Sora said. "And I'll work hard. I'll do anything you tell me."

Da Shan glanced across at Chao Xin, who shrugged. "I see no reason why not," the brown-haired young man pointed out. "He's technically blood-related, so that's not an issue."

"Fine," Da Shan said. "Sora, you may join the first level trainees. We will allow you here on probation for three weeks. If you do not wish to leave at the end of those three weeks, we will consider allowing you to join. For now, join the fourth squadron over there."

"Thanks, Da Shan!"

Instantly, Da Shan's expression tightened. "You will refer to all your elders as 'sir' in this place. Do you understand?"

Sora blinked. "I... I understand, sir."

"Good. Then follow me."

Mei-Mei moved to allow Da Shan to pass her, and the movement caught Sora's attention. He halted as if rooted to the spot, staring at her in astonishment. His red-brown eyes went very wide. "Oh," he whispered. "You're really pretty."

And then he went bright red and looked away, and scurried off after Da Shan.

"What was that about?" Chao Xin asked, coming up behind her. Mei-Mei couldn't be any more articulate than to shrug helplessly.

.

He was absolutely fascinated by her. It wasn't that he'd never seen a girl battle at such high standards (he'd watched Battle Bladers and the World Championship, after all). It was the way she threw herself at her tasks, her utter determination to remain worthy of the team even though she was an integral part of it anyway. Her team-work with Chi-Yun and Chao Xin was astonishing, especially when Sora finally got to see their joint special moves.

As soon as he started training with them, he realised just how much further he had to go before he could match the Chinese bladers. The rest of the boys and girls in his training class thought nothing of a thousand practice launches in water, whilst he struggled to keep up with the relentless pace. The acrobatics – apart from the leaps, where he excelled – were difficult at best and impossible otherwise.

But he kept going. He had to defeat Gingka. He had to impress Da Shan. He had to stay close to the girl who absorbed all the attention he had left.

.

It was less than a week after he first arrived that Sora first bounced up to Mei-Mei and, grinning broadly, asked her if she would go out with him. Shocked, Mei-Mei backed off a step and launched Aquario at him (they were meant to be doing pairs-training, but he had left his dish to come and speak with her). Cyber Pegasus scrambled to get away from the sudden onslaught, but failed miserably and went sailing out of the dish.

"Back to your place!" Da Shan roared, echoed by the training master. Sora grinned sheepishly and darted back to his confused battle partner, only to find himself grabbed by the ear and hauled off to the outside assault course by the training master. He wasn't allowed to rejoin the group until he had finished the course in under fifteen minutes.

.

Not that this dissuaded him. A week later, when all the training for the day was done and everyone was getting ready to go inside for a well-deserved dinner, Mei-Mei once again found herself faced with a bright-eyed, pleading expression. She couldn't deny that the boy had guts. But she still said no. She was a blader first, and whilst he was sweet, she wasn't sure she liked him that way.

To her surprise, she found that this gentle let-down didn't do anything to dissuade him either. He came back at the same time the following week, the same expression and the same question on his tongue. Faintly amused, she told him "No" once again, and watched as he almost bounced away, apparently just as happy at being rejected as if she had agreed.

How very strange. Boys confused her sometimes.

The next week, he was set for re-examination to see if he still wished to remain in the Temple to train. No-one was very surprised when Sora insisted on staying and moving into the higher level groups, though Da Shan was intrigued to note that Sora's eyes were indecisive. Not over whether or not to stay, it seemed, but in why he stayed.

.

Time passed, and the bladers of Beylin Temple grew stronger. Sora in particular rocketed up the ranks, his resolve to beat Gingka burning just as brightly as that of Wang Hu Zhong.

And every week, on a Wednesday, he would come bounding up to Mei-Mei as the group were heading inside for dinner, and ask her out.

He genuinely hadn't expected to meet someone like her in a place like this. She was like light on the water, brilliant and blinding and altogether beautiful. He was going to keep asking her until she either got annoyed with him (he couldn't have stood that) or said no (he couldn't have stood that either, but he would brave it for her sake) or said yes.

So when every single week she just shook her head with a kind of half-laugh, blushing and looking away, his heart hoped that maybe next time she'd say yes.

He knew she wasn't the kind of girl who would let him continue asking if she felt nothing for him at all – she was too straightforward for that. And so he kept hoping, wishing, praying.

.

"If he's annoying you, say the word and we'll kick him out," Chao Xin promised one evening just after Sora had scampered away once more. Mei-Mei thought that was a bit rich coming from the Casanova of the team.

"No, he's fine," she said. "I don't mind it, honestly."

"That's very confusing," Chi-Yun said. "If you aren't going to say yes, why do you let him keep asking?"

"Women are confusing, Chi-Yun," Chao Xin sighed. "Take it from me."

"I like him," Mei-Mei admitted. "But I just don't know if I like him like that."

Chao Xin and Chi-Yun exchanged glances. "Chi-Yun is definitely confused now," Chi-Yun said. Chao Xin put a comforting hand on his shoulder with an expression of only faintly disguised amusement.

Mei-Mei didn't tell them that she hadn't finished her sentence. She didn't know if she liked him like that yet.

.

"Mei-Mei?"

It never grew old, watching her turn around as he called out to her. His heart skipped a beat every time, even though this was the (he quickly counted) twenty-second time.

"Yes, Sora?"

"Would you come down to the town with me?"

She paused for a long moment, and his breath caught. Her eyes were so beautiful in the moonlight. She seemed to hesitate, and then all of a sudden, blurted "Yes!" -

- and vanished into the dinner hall before he could even say another word.

Sora wasn't sure how he got back to his room that night. Later, he would be fairly certain that he flew.

.

She was cornered by Chi-Yun of all people, his blue hair only half-braided (apparently he had heard the news and literally jumped out of bed to find her).

"You're sure?" he asked.

She smiled at him. "Very sure. It took me a long time to decide, but I'm sure."

"It's just... he's not one of us. He's technically a Beylin Temple blader, yes, but he's only been here a few months..."

She laughed. "Chi-Yun, he's not an anemone."

"Don't you mean an enemy?" Chao Xin asked from behind her as he came out of the main building with Da Shan at his side. "Honestly, Mei-Mei."

"You're determined to go through with this?" Da Shan asked. "In love, as in a battle, the slightest hesitation could mean weakness on the side of one or the other."

"I'm determined," she said. "I like him a lot, and he likes me."

Chao Xin looked across at Da Shan. "Well, that's good enough for me," he said, and then walked right up to her and gave her the biggest hug he was capable of. "You're our girl," he murmured in her ear. "We've got your back, no matter what."

He let go and stepped back, and she looked up at the three boys who stood around her, some of the greatest bladers China had ever produced. There were no words for how grateful she was to know that her brothers-in-arms were standing by her through thick and thin.

.

He had never been more excited, except perhaps when he'd first met Gingka Hagane. She'd finally agreed! He was going to do everything he could to prove that he was worthy of her, just as he would do anything to prove that he was a worthy successor to Gingka.

"Just so you know," Chao Xin said, materialising out of nowhere to leaning on the pillar two away from him. "If you hurt her, there will be nowhere you can hide. We have China's four-thousand year old network that will find you in a heartbeat."

"Understood, sir," Sora squeaked, very aware that he had never even managed to win hide-and-seek against the Beylin Temple trainees. "I'd never hurt her." He cleared his throat. "I'd rather hurt Cyber Pegasus than get her into trouble."

"We shall see," said Da Shan's voice from behind him. "Look after her properly, in a way that befits her strength and her determination. Perhaps in the eyes of the world she is just our reserve member, but Mei-Mei is ours, and we are proud to fight alongside so great a warrior. Do not let me down, Sora."

"Yes, sir."

Da Shan's expression softened. "Now, I believe she is waiting for you. Don't come back too late or the gates will be locked."

"I won't, sir!"

At that, Da Shan actually smiled. "I think you can call me by my name now, little brother."

Sora's grin could have outshone the sun. "Yes, sir! I mean, Da Shan."

"Go on," Da Shan laughed. "Get along with you."

Sora almost ran for the gate, only the training he had received over the past months stopping him from bolting over to greet the girl he loved.

"Ready to go?" he asked her.

She smiled back at him, and the world was complete.


Okay, this might just be my new favourite person for Mei-Mei to be with. And Sora really does look like a little Da Shan!