Chapter Thirteen

A Yikani Welcome

The solid ground beneath his feet was a welcoming feeling after being on a swaying deck for the past three weeks. It would have only taken two, but the ship had hit a calm for nearly four days, delaying them. As they disembarked, Bacchus looked around at the rest of the port town before him, which was little and less comforting. It was still early in the morning, but the fishermen and merchants were already bustling about their business along the piers and docks. There were ships and crews from assorted nations, though most of the anchored ones nearby were native Yikani. Even after having been on a ship where a majority of the time it was spoken, it was overwhelming to hear his native language is such a volume as this.

The smell of the docks salted the air of the town, but there was no mistaking the strong, familiar scent beneath it. There were hints of spices local and only available in this country mingling in with the aroma of meat being cooked over fires, the slight stink of pigs and goats and chickens likely to be used for rations on a voyage or in the shops, of herbs that were being simmered in pans with fragrant oils and the incense was burning in local shrines to welcome wealth and honor the dead. The smoke rising from the grill shops mixed with the ones from the altars hosting statues of good fortune at the front of every shop and stand and the morning fog from the sea.

This place was familiar, but it wasn't home. Not yet. Bacchus adjusted the collar at his throat where it chaffed him. Aiguo had insisted on him wearing it so that he might blend in better. It was similar to his other tunics, but the collar was much higher and tighter than he was used to, though it would seem to have been the current fashion as most of the people he saw walking around wore them as well.

"Ready?" Cana was beside him now, dressed in the outfit Yanti had given her. Luckily the ship had bolts of silk enough for the few serving girls aboard to tailor it to her height. He couldn't help but notice how the rich red and gold colors complimented her skin tone beautifully, giving her a more exotic appeal.

"Too late to go back now." He said to her in Fiorian and glanced over his shoulder at the captain who watched them leave from her ship. She waved at them, wishing Cana a safe visit and telling him in Yikani the same. While aboard, he practiced his Yikani with the crew, trying to freshen up his accent and learn how to speak more commonly. By the time they had reached the two week point, he was fluent enough to speak with the parts of the crew who spoke only Yikani comfortably.

"Remember this pier." He said to her as they walked down the roughly cobbled street. "If anything should happen, you need to return here and hide on the ship if Yanti keeps her promise to wait."

"Relax. This is a piece of cake." She stood up straight like he'd told her to do and held an air of importance and arrogance.

"I mean it Cana. Don't let this port fool you. This is still a very dangerous country." He must have told her that a hundred times already, but he didn't care. He'd tell her a hundred more times if it meant that she'd listen.

As they walked, he became overly caught up in looking around and had already failed to notice when she raced over to a baker who'd just brought out his first batch of meat filled buns and asked their price. He charged over to her, grabbing her arm. As he was about to scold her, the baker had returned and saw the way Cana pulled her arm from his grasp. Immediately, he spoke in Yikani telling the man his wife would like to purchase some of his foods. The suspicion was still clear on his face, but the baker relented and gave a fair price. Bacchus opened the purse tied at his waist and counted out the coins. He joked with the man about his rude and pregnant wife, earning a good laugh between them and an unamused frown from her.

The roads and shops were slowly beginning to fill and come to life after they received their purchase. While they were walking, other residents and their company also joined in with them in the bustling streets.

"What did you tell him?" She plucked a bun from the small wooden basket he made her carry.

"Nothing important." He searched around casually as they walked. The sooner we get out of this town, the better. As they rounded the corner, Bacchus saw a pair of boys squatting near an alley entrance that were watching them eagerly and pulled Cana in the opposite direction, but it was in vain as a small group ran up to them, begging with outstretched dirty hands. He tried to pull her from their greedy fingers and kept a hand firmly gripped on his coin purse until an older boy came chasing after them with a wooden stick and stopped to apologize to them. He didn't have to look at her to know the shock on her face. The older boy had the same dots beneath his eyes, marking him as a slave belonging to the palace. He felt his tattoos suddenly itch beneath the makeup and resisted reaching up to scratch them. Just as quickly as they came, the small children were herded off to complete the tasks they were sent to do. He waited for her to say something, but luckily she stayed quiet. The air between them became uncomfortable, making him anxious.

The city had not changed much since the last time he saw it, he noted. Most of the shops and their owners were still in tact as well as the streets, which made their walk both easy and dangerous.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, alerting him. He grabbed Cana's hand and began to walk faster, ducking into a small opening between two shop stands. Before she could protest he pulled her back out and they began in a different way than they had been going before. Quickly, he led her from one alley to another, between streets and shops in no particular pattern until he felt they had successfully rid themselves of whoever might have been behind them.

As they merged back into the growing crowds, he spotted the man he suspected was following them. He was from the palace by the way of his dress. Once the man had turned the corner out of sight, he walked out and headed in the opposite direction.

"What was that about?"

"Palace guards." He checked behind them and when he saw no signs of being followed, slowed their pace.

It wasn't long before the hairs on his body stood again. He was about duck out into another alley when suddenly two hands reached out, grabbing and dragging him and Cana into a cramped alley between two shops. The man had placed a firm hand over Bacchus' and Cana's mouth, muffling their protests but their captor shushed them and turned to look back onto the street where a pair of palace guards walked by. Once in the clear, the hands were removed and the man stepped back.

"You've gotten bigger." He spoke in Fiorian, but his voice was heavily accented. When he smiled, it hardly took a second for Bacchus to realize who it was.

"Shan?" He stood upright, keeping focused on the grinning man standing just feet away.

"It's been a long time Jian." Came his response. He turned to Cana then and nodded at her, glancing at her stomach. "And this must be your wife. Congratulations on the baby."

The shade of red she turned nearly matched her clothes and made Bacchus snigger.

"I was on my way back to the village when I saw you, but I wasn't certain if it was truly you." Shan said clapping him on the shoulder and glancing back out in the street. "But even after all these years, you still move around in the same pattern."

"Old habits." Bacchus gave a tired grin, earning one in return. "We were on our way to the village as well." He noticed the uncertain way his friend's eyes became. Before he could say anything, they heard some commotion in the street.

"We'd better get going." Shan looked to him and they nodded at each other, using the alley to weave their way out of the town.

The walk wasn't as long as he remembered. Then again, the last time he had taken this route was nearly twelve years ago in the middle of the night. Shan was mostly quiet as they walked along the thin trail in the knee-high grasses; only nodding and giving short answers until Bacchus just stopped asking anything all together. He noticed how much his friend had changed then, seeing the long scar crossing over his right cheek from the top of his nose down to his ear. He had already started to sprout a few silver streaks as well. His eyes looked drained and tired and he frowned instead of smiled like when they were young. Bacchus couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him and his home after he left them all behind. But the more he thought of it, the more he felt the guilt inside his gut begin to spread.

"We're here." Shan announced as they approached the large archway leading into the village. It was just as he had remembered it, as if time had not touched it. There were the same people walking around in their same routes with new faces from the next generation joining in and playing in the streets; familiar smells and sounds filled his senses and for a moment he felt something he thought was only a memory. He was home.

Captured by the moment of awe, he stood in place, taking in all the sights and sounds. He looked at Cana who seemed to be in as much of stupor as he was. Bacchus leaned over to her and pointed to a shop with a large green sign with gold Yikani lettering.

"That's old man Woo's place. He used to give Shan and I each a left over meat skewers from the day if we helped him close up."

"His son Sung runs it now." Shan corrected while they slowly walked through the narrow paths.

They passed another shop where a very plump, doughy woman with a familiar face looked up at them. She nearly dropped the tray in her hand and looked as if she'd seen a ghost. It took him a moment to place where he had seen her before, but when he did he laughed. Shan looked back at him, surprised.

"That was Chiba back there." He couldn't keep his mouth from twisting into a smile. "That was Shan's first crush." He whispered loudly to Cana. The frown his friend gave only made him laugh again.

"But she was your first kiss." He shot back, which made Cana laugh behind him. "She has eight kids now." Shan's frown had become more of a half smirk.

"Yours?" Bacchus tilted his head as he questioned. Shan was starting to lighten up and joked back with him, saying that the eldest was more likely to be Bacchus' than his. The two of them pointed out more and more to each other and Cana with Shan correcting Bacchus from time to time. All of his senses tingled as they continued on.

Soon enough, after they passed a few more streets, saw more familiar faces, finally standing proudly before him was his former school and Shan's home. Like the rest of the village, time had preserved it and a memory flashed in his head briefly.

Shan walked through the open gates first while he hesitated, feeling a tremble in his chest start when Cana followed after, turning to look back at him. She motioned for him to come with her, a smile on her face and he saw someone else for a split second. Shaking the thought from his head, he took a few steps forward to catch up and walked into the courtyard beside her.

It was then that awe struck him for the second time. In the main courtyard on the large, flat stone floor, twenty-four young boys stood in four rows of six, each with a long pole of carefully sanded wood and following the calm movements of the man in front. For an instant, he was one of those boys, standing next to Shan, watching the back of his master and following his fluid motions. Slowly, he walked over to a pillar and touched the cool painted stone and watched them. He could feel his hand shaking and his mouth drying.

Just then, a woman's scream pierced through the whole area. He turned in time to see her charging full speed at him. Unable to react, he let her tackle him to the ground in a flurry of pink.

Breathless she stood up, brushing herself off and looked down at him. When his surprise faded, he couldn't believe what he saw.

"Mei?" She nodded as he managed to get to his feet and simply stood, staring in disbelief.

"Jian. Is it really you?" The petite woman hugged tightly to him speaking in Yikani and caught him off guard once again. Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around her.

"Liu Mei." He said again, releasing pulling her away from him to get a good look at her. The pink of her dress was like a newly bloomed peony and helped to contrast the jet black of the two long pieces of hair on the sides of her face that nearly touched down to her waist. The rest of it was up high, wrapped in a bun covered by a bonnet like his and the same color as her dress. She had a woman's face now, matured and elegant, but her eyes were still the same sparkling light brown and full of joy as when she was a girl.

"Actually, it's Chou now." The smile she gave was shy, just as he had remembered, too. Thankfully like Shan, she spoke Fiorian, but also with a heavy accent. But it wasn't the accent as much as the name that confused him. Until, Shan walked up beside her and place his hand on her shoulder.

"You married this loser?" He laughed and pointed.

"She turned me down more than a dozen times." Shan joined in, pulling her closer to him and kissing the top of her head.

Something rattled inside him to think about why she would have waited so long, but he pushed it from his mind.

"This must be your wife." She stepped over to Cana and took both of the card reader's hands in hers.

"Well, she, her name is –." He stumbled on his words.

"Cana." She said, smiling gently at Mei.

"Cana. I like that." The smaller woman patted Cana's hands twice before releasing them. "I'm sorry for jumping your husband like that." She seemed at a loss of words and only smiled back awkwardly.

"You must both be hungry. I think Mu just finished making lunch. Come! Join us! It'll be just like old times." She said, turning to walk down the hall to another area and gesturing for them to follow. As he passed Shan, he noticed the way his friend looked at him. When they stood side by side, Bacchus simply placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a soft squeeze.

"You're a lucky man." He said in Yikani without turning his head.

"So are you." Shan responded quietly as Cana walked by.

They talked all through lunch about their days as children together. How they would play and fight, who had a crush on who, how many times Master Chou would get so mad he'd mess up his words and make them laugh and him even madder, all the adventures they'd go on in the neighboring villages and more. Mei had just finished retelling them the story of how much trouble they had gotten into after Shan and Jian accidentally broke the sign for the school on the outside post while fighting one day.

"So what happened then?" Cana asked, biting into a pan-fried vegetable. She seemed to enjoy herself well enough and dove right into the food, trying everything she was given. He was glad for that after feeling somewhat uneasy about whether or not she would give Yikani food a chance.

"Well, Master was so mad he went quiet." Bacchus told her as he put his bowl down on the table.

"Like a silent treatment?"

"Almost." He answered. "He didn't say anything to us until the next day."

"Then he handed us the tools and a blank slab and told us we needed to make a new one." Shan said as he looked over his steaming tea cup.

"That doesn't seem too bad." Cana's brows furrowed. Bacchus and Shan looked at each other and chuckled.

"After we had finished the 70th slab, he allowed us to replace the old one and still lectured us." Bacchus flexed his hand, recalling the pain in it from days upon days of work hammering and chiseling away.

"Seventieth?" Cana's eyes widened.

"Most of the time we spelled something wrong." Shan sipped at his tea again.

"Or our penmanship was poor." Bacchus added.

"Or it was too small." They said together, wagging their fingers to imitate how the Master would.

The girls laughed at them and he found himself smiling over at Shan who was finally and genuinely smiling back at him. For a moment, he felt a calming peace overtaking him. Just then, a young boy found his way over to them, wearing the traditional outfit of a student at the school. It was clear by his appearance that the boy was Shan and Mei's son.

"Good morning." He said to the child who retreated shyly into his mother's chest, peaking out only after a moment. His father scolded him, saying that he needed to stand up straight and greet their guests. Unfortunately for Cana, unlike his parents, the kid only spoke Yikani. Bacchus asked his name, but received no answer.

"His name is Zhuang." Mei said and looked at Bacchus with a warm smile. She rubbed her son's shoulder and coaxed him to sit down with them and say hello. Slowly, he pulled from her and sat, looking up at her every other second. Bacchus asked how old he was and quietly Zhuang told him he was seven. When he asked how he liked school, there was a silence at the table then and it seemed as if all the focus was on the poor kid then.

"I like it." He said, his eyes looking everywhere but where his father was.

"That's good." Bacchus nodded. "It's important to do things you like." He glanced over at Shan, whose face had become as still and etched as stone.

"Go on and play, now." Mei broke the thick air around them, kissed her son on his head and let him run off.

"He looks like Master." Bacchus said to Shan, hoping it would lighten him back up.

"So they say." Came the quiet response.

"Speaking of. Where is he? I haven't seen him all day."

Shan and Mei became suspiciously silent. He watched as Shan looked to his wife and something changed in her sparkling eyes. When Mei suddenly spoke up, turning to Cana and holding her hand in both of hers, it made him all the more uneasy.

"Cana, do you like flowers?" Mei said. She had little time to react when Mei pulled her up from her seat and left the table. "Lets go see the garden. I'm sure you'll love it."

When they were out of sight and hearing, Bacchus turned to Shan. Before he could say anything, Shan quietly spoke.

"What did you come back for?" The question came as a shock to him.

"Answers." Bacchus said, noting the way his friend's jaw clenched and his temples flexed.

"After all that trouble it took to get you out of here, you think you can just come back whenever you please?" The tone in his voice reminded Bacchus of his former Master. He is his father's son afterall.

"I wouldn't have if I didn't have to. You know that." Bacchus started, feeling his temper rising and remembering just how thick-headed his old friend was. They stared at each other until finally Shan's shoulders slackened and he sighed while shaking his head.

"You are as stubborn as when we were kids." He groaned. "But." He started, tapping a finger on the table. "Father wouldn't have wanted us to fight."

"Wouldn't have?" The words caught him off guard as he searched the other

man's face. The way Shan quieted was unnerving, making him fear the worst and the answer to his question.

"Come with me." Shan simply said, standing from his seat and walking back toward the main building of the school. They entered, walking all the way to the back where a shrine had been erected for Master Chou. The flowers were fresh, as was the food offering and the incense was halfway burned. In the middle of it all, a painting of the late Master was framed with hand carved rosewood and gold-leaf.

"How long?" He asked.

"Nearly five years ago." Shan started. "He went while he slept, but it had been a long time coming."

"I see." There was disappointment seeding inside of him. I've come too late. He thought to himself. If I'd come sooner, maybe I'd have been able to see him and tell him how I was doing. So that I could thank him. I should have come sooner.

"He would ask for you some nights. Or even think I was you and ask how Fiore was. If you had finally learned magic." Shan paused a moment, seeming to thoughtfully consider his next words. "He said he sent you letters, but you never responded to them. We all thought you had truly left us all behind."

Bacchus could feel the tightening in his throat as he gazed down at the painting. His former master's words echoed in his head. Find a better life for yourself, Jian. Let the stars guide you and the world will be yours to travel freely. It was the last thing he had said to him when he left with Goldmine to Fiore a dozen years ago. Slowly, he went to his knees and bowed before the altar. I'm sorry Master.

"You can stay here tonight. Mei wouldn't have it any other way. I'll have the servants bring your and your wife's things to the western wing. But whatever answers you are searching for, find them elsewhere." Shan left him there with his head still nearly on the floor. It was when he was alone that he allowed some of the tears in his eyes to fall.

A/N: Hey everyone, early upload for you all because I felt so terrible for being late last week! Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Thanks for the positive feedback and follows and of course, THE VIEWS! And as always, until next week, Betty B.