A/N: Finally, Júhuā appears! And he also appears in all his sadistic glory...
Read on! It goes all psychological starting here.
Also, this is quite an explosive chapter, even if the title rather sucks! I meant the 'explosive' part quite literally! (all glare at Xiao Chun)
Also, disclaimer: I don't own the poem 'Iroha'. That's the poem Júhuā discourses about. Okay, I admit. His love of poetry is just one of his many quirks.
Do Your Best, Xiao Chun-zǐ!
Day 34. Saturday.
[Kiku]
Time: 9:40 am.
Yao decided to make some green tea and have a little family gathering in the lounge room of the boys' dormitories. When he gave out all the cups, we thanked him politely except for Xiao Chun, who tapped his fingers on the (ironically) coffee table instead. Yao glared at him pointedly.
Yao darkly mumbled something about disrespect. Xiao Chun, however, just sipped at his tea in a rather bored way and ignored Yao completely.
Meimei and Yong Soo were bickering on my other side. Meimei was accusing Yong Soo of sneaking out her English essay from her bag while at yesterday's dinner. Yong Soo was vehemently denying it.
"I didn't need to steal your essay just to be able to turn one in, da ze~!" Yong Soo was saying, his annoying curl bouncing angrily at the side of his head. "I finished mine already, okay?"
"Oh, that's what you call a believable story?" Meimei shrieked shrilly. I was almost struck deaf. "Well, I think you can't even begin working on yours! You're always busy with claiming that everything originated from Korea and that you must be acknowledged as the oldest one of us! Duh, before claiming that you're the oldest, be older than Xiao first! He's older than you by a matter of a month!"
"Don't call me Xiao. It's annoying," Xiao Chun put in. I almost smiled.
"Well, must I call you by your Cantonese name, then?" Meimei ground out, turning around and whipping her hair across my face. It stung. "Fine! I'll call you Lei Siu Chun instead of Li Xiao Chun! Happy? The 'Xiao' part is out!" I forgot she had "Xiao" in her full name too.
Xiao Chun (or was it Siu Chun?) rolled his eyes sardonically. "Suit yourself."
I sighed. It was as if it's just a normal day. Yao and I, however, knew it wasn't.
"Settle down, aru!" Yao shouted anxiously as Meimei tried dumping her tea on Yong Soo, who was crying and shouting "Uri nara mansae!" in an annoying tone as he stuck out his arms to prevent Meimei from pouring her tea on him.
I was getting seriously annoyed too (Yong Soo's voice was getting on my nerves). I glanced at Xiao Chun, who was maddeningly calm. I doubt it if even an earthquake will shake him up. Hm.
"STOP IT, ARU!" Yao roared, just as Meimei jerked the teacup in her hand. The tea arced through the air and landed on Yong Soo's shirt.
The lounge room became quiet as the few other people aside from us who decided to come here looked around nervously. "We came here because I have something to check, aru! Not because we are going to kill each other, aru yo!" He glared around at Meimei and Yong Soo, who were dumbstruck at his outburst.
"What are you going to check, then?" Xiao Chun asked idly, twirling his cup around on his fingers.
"If you're still capable of defending yourselves, aru," Yao replied, finally calming down. We all looked startled at his answer. Of course, excepting Xiao Chun, who yawned quietly and settled back on his couch.
"Of course we still can!" Meimei was the first to voice out her incredulity. "I can knock Yong Soo down any time of the day!"
"Hey, that's not true, da ze~!" Yong Soo objected.
"Keep it down, guys," I said quietly. My head was aching from all this conflict. "We know that, but we need to be sure that you can stand up to Júhuā if ever you spot him loitering around."
Xiao Chun's eyes turned hard and dark when I mentioned the name. "I guess that does make sense somehow," he said slowly.
"Then, what are we going to do? Fight?" Meimei looked ready to pummel Yong Soo to the ground.
Yao nodded. "All of you are going to fight Kiku one by one, aru. This is the best way."
"What? But here's Yong -" Meimei was greatly disappointed, but she shot me a wary look.
"Well, you can take care of that problem later when we're finished, aru." Yao stood up.
"Give us three good reasons why we should fight Kiku instead of Yong Soo," Meimei insisted.
Yao gave her an exasperated look. "Okay, first one is that Kiku is probably as strong as Júhuā, which is whom we're guarding against."
"Oh, the joys of being a black-belter in karate," Xiao Chun sang sarcastically. I had difficulty in keeping my eyes from rolling by themselves.
"Second is that Kiku is merciless when it comes to the martial arts, so you'll have to bring all of your best efforts to battle," Yao continued.
"He really is merciless!" Yong Soo piped up. "He broke my left arm once while sparring!"
"You're lucky it wasn't your right arm," I said with a straight face.
"Last, Kiku is Júhuā's twin. That's good so that you can concentrate on your opponent's face and let all your qi out, aru!" Yao said with a great gesture.
"Ah, good," I found myself saying sarcastically. "They'll try to kill me."
"Don't worry, Kiku-gē. I'll try not to strangle you," Xiao Chun said with a smirk. "However, don't count on it."
I sat back on my couch with a big sigh. This was not going to end well.
[Júhuā]
"I ro ha ni ho he to, chi ri nu ru wo..."
The brush moved delicately over the tablet, leaving a trail of black ink on its path. I wrote each character carefully, thinking over the poem's lines one by one. Funny, how the things you thought you had memorized already seem to escape you when you begin to think about them.
Ah, now I remember. I recited each syllable aloud as the brush traced over the wood.
"Wa ka yo ta re so, tsu ne na ra mu..."
Don't you just love the way poems sound? They are like delicate things that destroy easily when you let your mind grasp them. You don't let your mind grasp them. The only thing that can take them as they are made is your heart.
I dipped my drying brush in the dish of water and grinded it against the ink block. When it was black enough, I dribbled a little of the excess ink on the ink stone to ensure that nothing will drip from it while writing. When I was sure that it won't make a mess, I guided the tip on the tablet, not quite touching the surface.
"U wi no o ku ya ma, ke fu ko e te..."
I shook my hair out of my eyes and smiled at the poem I was rewriting. It is a very sad poem. A poem for a great man, if my mind doesn't fail me. A great man that knew death. It made me laugh with delight. How utterly poetic!
I continued to write. Of all my siblings, I was the most well-versed in literature. I devoured poetry and prose, be it Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Cantonese, or even English, as if there was no tomorrow. Of all those poems that I've read, this was my favorite. Euphemisms on death were the best things that I've encountered while reading poetry.
"A sa ki yu me mi shi, we hi mo se su..."
Ah, Honda Kiku. Every chrysanthemum that blossoms soon fades. I'll make sure of that, don't worry!
Tudor roses are also curious things, are they not, Kiku-chan? I'll see if I can spare the beautiful Tudor rose for you. Oh, iie, I do not promise!
[Kiku]
"Fighting stance, Meimei, aru! Aiyaa, chin up! Or else you'll be more easily attacked!"
We decided to do the test in the middle of the quadrangle. Meimei was wearing a relatively short red cheongsam instead of her customary pink qipao and white skirt. I was dressed in a light green kimono with a dark green hakama. In the corner of my eye, I saw that people were dropping by to watch what us weird Asians were up to.
The game is relatively simple. No rules, and the more effective the tactics, the better. It's fine to fight dirty, as long as you can hold the enemy for five counts in a submissive pose (that is, lying down or making him/her submit). If you can do that, you win.
"I know what I'm doing, Yao-gē!" Meimei shouted.
Hm, are you sure? Let's see.
[Alfred]
I'm booored. What should I do? Matt's bitching around and did not want to go out of his room, Iggy's not around for me to annoy, Kiku wasn't in his room, and Braginski is hiding out in his room from his sister, so I can't challenge him to a fight today. Oh, great...
...Maybe I should go to the gym for a little training on my basketball. I can't remember when I've last practiced shooting. Hm.
I prepared all the things that I would need in my bag and sauntered off to the gym, my sneakers bounding silently on the wooden floorboards.
When I was walking on the quad, I saw quite a small gathering in the middle. Hey, looks like some guys are fightin' it out! Cool. I decided to watch instead of continuing my first goal.
Hey, that's not... Kiku? And his kid sister? What are they doing? I decided to see what they're up to.
[Kiku]
Meimei screamed as I tackled her without warning. She lashed at me like a cat. I felt her fingernails scrabble at my right cheek as I leaned down and whispered at her ear.
"Enjoying this, are you, Mei-chan?" I asked, injecting venom in my tone. She perked up and quickly used her slender build to slither from under me, furious. She resumed her fighting stance again, brown eyes wide with anger.
I smirked widely. "You can never beat me, Mei-chan." Yeah. I can be as sadistic as Júhuā if I want to be. I narrowed my eyes as Meimei prepared to attack. She was the fastest among the three kids, and she can use that to her advantage. That is, if she'll keep her head.
"Take this!" Meimei shrieked as she ran and grabbed at my arm. She used the momentum to twist my arm the wrong way. I was taken a little off-guard, but I used her move to reverse the arm twist AND slam her back to my chest. Now we were doing the opposite. She now had her arm jerked in a strange angle as I rotated my arm mercilessly while holding my other arm against her throat tightly. I could either dislocate her arm or choke her if this continued.
Meimei let out a pained sound as we continued to struggle. Feeling that she didn't have the strength to return my move, I let go immediately after Yao counted up to five. She clutched her arm to her chest, gasping. Feeling oddly dissatisfied, I embraced her apologetically and towed her back to Yao, who was shaking his head.
"You need to be a bit forceful than that, aru," he told Meimei.
"I'm a girl, and my opponent is Kiku. How can I stand a chance?" she countered.
I pulled at the errant curl on the side of her head teasingly. "Use your head, silly."
She stuck out her tongue at me and pouted. "I hate you. You're so merciless."
"I know."
Yong Soo sauntered up next to fight me, wearing a lavender hanbok. He was the strongest of the three in terms of brute force. If he'll just use his head a little for this fight, maybe he'll actually beat me.
I resumed my stance. Yong Soo grinned and cracked his knuckles threateningly. I scoffed. "Come on, pretty boy," I cooed sweetly. His brow furrowed.
"Uri nara mansae!" he war-whooped before lunging forward, a murderous look on his face.
[Júhuā]
It is a delightful morning in New York City. I was wearing a plain black silk kimono with a violet hanten acting as a coat. It can get pretty chilly here sometimes, I'll have to admit.
I was sitting on a chair in the verandah of the house wherein I was living while in New York.
I examined myself in a small mirror that I always carried around tucked in my obi. I wasn't that vain originally, but I found that black clothing defined my eyes and skin more. So whenever I wear something black, I make it a point to see myself in the mirror.
I stared at the mirror blankly. My bangs must be cut shorter if I had to look like my brother, since they were now reaching the tops of my eyes. I brushed my bangs to the side of my face and examined my forehead closely. I haven't seen my plain face for a long time.
I tucked the mirror back in my obi and went from the verandah to the bathroom mirror, stopping only to snatch a pair of scissors from a dresser. My violet zori clacked on the tiled floor.
When the blades of the scissors reached the tips of my hair, I hesitated, staring at my reflection. Why would I have to cut it shorter? It certainly did no one harm. And besides, it's fun to look slightly different from my twin. Funny. In the past I used to hope that we'll never ever look different from each other in any way possible. But now it looks as if I'm dashing my own hopes to the rocks.
If you were to walk in on me at that moment, maybe you'll compare me to a porcelain puppet who was just beginning to reach up to cut off its strings. So that I won't be controlled anymore. No one should dictate for me. I alone should have the authority over my body. Especially if it concerns matters between me and my twin brother.
But the voice arrived. It messed it all up for me!
'Don't fool yourself, love. Don't fool yourself. You're the black chrysanthemum. You've got much blood on your hands. Your siblings don't just hate you. They loathe you. You can't back out now, can you?'
My eyes widened as I grasped the scissors tightly. Shut. Up. Damned voice.
'Come on, a few snips and you'll be fine. There's a plan, Júhuā. Stick to it, dammit.'
Shut up! My name is Ogiku, dammit! Kiku gave it to me!
'Come on, cut the damned bangs shorter.'
Oh, so you'll keep quiet if I cut my hair, huh? Then so be it! Just stop whining, bastard!
'That's the spirit! Come on...'
Snip. Snip. Snip. The hand which was holding the scissors was moving steadily, without a trace of my former hesitation. But I was crying. Tears were spilling from my dark eyes.
Scattered hairs soon populated the surface of the sink thinly. I watched my reflection as I continued to cut. When I was satisfied with my appearance, I cleaned off my mess and put the scissors back in their rightful place. Then I returned to the verandah and surveyed the street below. Then I pulled out the mirror from my obi and held it up to my face. I can't help it. But I felt the sadistic streak run through my body again as I stared into the image reflected on the mirror.
Why, hello there, Honda Kiku. I now have your present appearance.
Time for stage two of the plan, then? This is going to be fun. After all, wreaking havoc is certainly one of my best points since childhood.
[Kiku]
Yong Soo growled as he successfully pinned me for the third time to the ground, his glazed brown eyes staring at me in a really creepy manner. I hissed as he pushed harder to restrict me, my breaths getting ragged.
He leaned in nearer, so that he can gloat.
"Kiku-gē, you're beaten now. Acknowledge that I am way older than you!"
I didn't bother to answer that the count hasn't reached five yet and that I wasn't beaten until then, since I was bored with his chit-chat. So I did the only thing that I can do. I lay my head back and, well, crashed my forehead suddenly against his with all the force that I can muster. Which was still a lot.
He loosened his grip a tiny bit with a growl. Just a tiny bit. But a tiny opening has always been enough for me. I outmaneuvered him and practically lifted his body away from me. He tumbled onto the grass with me on top, but that didn't content me, so I flopped him on his front, drove my knee hard in his back, twisted up his arm, and finally dislocated it.
Fool. Use your head, won't you?
He shouted out in pain. I immediately let his arm loose after the count of five and pulled him up by his good arm. He shot me an exasperated but satisfied look.
"Work on your strategy, Yong Soo, always have a plan B for plan A," I told him as we cut across the quadrangle. He nodded sheepishly.
"But I can still top you any time of the day!" he said loudly.
Yao smirked. "Yeah, but today's evidently not your day, perhaps tomorrow?" His voice dripped with heavy sarcasm as he suddenly popped Yong Soo's arm back into place. Yong Soo howled with shock.
"That hurts, Yao-hyung!" he cried, flexing his now-healed arm.
"Shut up, Yong Soo. If you hadn't let your guard down, then this wouldn't have happened," Yao snapped.
"Xiao Xiao, you're next in line," I called mockingly, looking over at him.
"No need to remind me, Kiku-gē." Xiao Chun lolled his head and fixed steady brown eyes on me. He had on his burgundy duangua with the oversized sleeves.
I was a bit wary with his expression. Xiao Chun was sharp. If his strategy is effective, I know he can bring me down with minimal strength required.
[Arthur]
I tacked some posters about the coming Spring Festival on every bulletin board I encounter as I rounded the school. When I passed the quad, I heard some people cheering and someone yelling. Fearing that some students had gotten into a fight, I ran to the source of the noise and found the creepy Xiao Chun kid standing in an unusual pose with his legs apart and an arm stretched out, with another person - wait, was that Kiku? - doing the same. They were some distance apart, with some students watching with great interest all around them.
Oh, bloody hell. Are they going to fight it out? Kiku looked particularly cold and different. Was I seeing a new side of him? I shivered.
Xiao Chun made a low, keening sound in his throat. Kiku smiled gently, almost like a wildcat welcoming the prey, then launched himself ahead without warning. Xiao Chun received him with (literally) open arms as if he was anticipating the attack (I tell you, he's creepy like that!), taking his hold around Kiku's waist, but they were thrown backwards because of the force of Kiku's speed. They grappled on the grass, rolling and clawing at each other.
I turned away with a heavy sigh, grimacing. Okay, I am the student council president, and maybe I should stop them, but... Well, I admit it was fun watching two usually stoic people fight it out. Right?
Right!
[Kiku]
For such a thin body, Xiao Chun sure has a lot of raw strength. That thought was what flashed through my mind as I tried to make him submit. He wouldn't.
"You're strong for a gyaru-o, I'll give you that," I ground out breathlessly as I pinned him on the ground. He moved fluidly, almost like water, as he snaked out from my grasp, his oversized sleeves almost tearing as I held on tightly.
"Got a lighter, Kiku-gē?" he whispered with a smirk. My eyes widened. I already knew what was next if he escaped my grasp.
Then that's what happened. He took advantage of my hesitation and overthrew me. He immediately took out some small orchid-shaped things and what looked like a lighter from his pocket and lit them carefully. Of course the entire process took less time than a blink of an eye, and before I can react, the orchid-shaped things were already lying on the ground beside my face. In a flash, I rolled away from them, fearing for my life.
They exploded with a relatively small bursting sound, but still with some damage to the grass. If I hadn't gotten away from them fast enough, I would have the side of my face covered in scars. I got up and glared at Xiao Chun, who looked smug.
"Bam," he said softly. "They work beautifully, Kiku-gē. Don't worry, they are too weak to kill. They just wound slightly, maybe a little burn or something if it makes contact with your skin."
I rolled my eyes. Remind me to never again pick fights with a Chinese who knew how to make firecrackers.
"Go, Siu Chun!" I heard Meimei cheer.
"Yeah! Bring him down! He dislocated my arm!" Yong Soo yelled.
Way to go to stoke the fire, Yong Soo.
Xiao Chun resumed his stance and beckoned to me. I stood up slowly and also resumed my stance. Then, I launched myself suddenly on Xiao Chun's arm. If I gauged the distance and speed right, I can snap his arm if I slam him to the ground. I considered him as too feisty to hold.
He anticipated it and dodged, using my force to balance himself as he flicked his oversized sleeves toward me and dragged me to the ground. I landed hard on my right side and glared up at him. He smirked and restrained me to the ground using his weight. My brain was slowly focusing on the pain in my right arm. Tch. Don't...
Damn! He was putting something inside the neck of my kimono! Dammit, Xiao Chun! It was sliding down...
He leaped away from me.
"The true Chinese art explodes, Kiku-gē!"
[Alfred]
"Kiku!" I roared, just as the firecracker exploded in his clothes. Nah, it wasn't that big of an explosion since the sound it made was rather near to the sound that you can make by popping a bubble gum too loudly, but Kiku cringed as it burned him or something. It must hurt, dude! I mean, a firecracker? Geez.
Kiku was up, battle-weary after two-and-a-half fights, his brown eyes staring straight at Leon.
"Li Xiao Chun!" he shouted.
"Ready when you are, Kiku-gē," Leon said calmly, shaking his hair out of his eyes.
They ran at each other at the same time with war cries tearing from their throats, the sound of their bodies slamming against each other scaring me a bit. Then they were at it again. Kiku unbalanced Leon, making him fall with a yelp.
Unwittingly, I was now beside Yao. "Beautiful, aru," he was muttering. I made a face.
[Kiku]
"Yī!"
I was pinning Xiao Chun with some effort to the ground. He was still struggling, but with his face-down position, he can't do anything about it.
"Èr!"
"You're strong, Xiao," I muttered softly. He smiled slightly.
"That's because Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee were my next-door neighbors." His sarcasm was slightly muffled because my grip was holding down his cheek in the grass.
"Sān!"
I laughed and playfully cuffed him on the head. "Yeah, right. Hong Kong did produce martial artists like them, huh? I sort of get the joke."
"Ow!" He grimaced.
"Sì!"
"You made my lip swell," he remarked calmly, as if he was stating that it was sunny today. "You head-butted my mouth when we were in the last round."
"That's my payback, Xiao," I said. "Your firecracker hurt like hell. I think it's busted a hole through my skin."
"Touché."
"Wǔ!" Yao counted out loud, and I let go of him immediately. He raised his upper body up slowly, rubbing his hair. I offered him a hand, and he took it. We then went back to Yao, who was smiling.
"Okay, guys. That was great, Xiao, aru!" he said, ignoring the latter's grimace at being called the name. "Kiku too, aru yo."
"Thank you, Yao-gē," Xiao Chun said idly. "But can we go in now and stuff? I need some ice."
"And sadly, I need some iodine," I added, grimacing as I felt the wound on my back. It was small, but it stung badly. "And maybe a bath and an immediate change of clothes, or I'll get poisoned by the powder in that firecracker."
"Hey, Kiku!"
I looked back at the person who called me, and saw that it was Alfred.
"Alfred-kun? You watched?"
He grinned widely. "Yeah! Dude, you're awesome! You can totally be an action star or something!"
Yao blocked his way. "Okay, no more fooling around, aru. Jones, go away, okay?"
"Aw, c'mon!" Alfred tried to get past. "I'm just talkin' to -"
"You heard Yao, Alfred. Go." A new voice joined the conversation. I peered behind Alfred and saw Arthur, carrying a stack of posters and looking irritated. "And Yao, it's entertaining, but will your siblings please refrain from doing it here again in the future? This is a bloody campus." He stared at me with a significant look. "All right, Kiku?" he added, tone softening somewhat as we shared a look that reeked of mutual understanding. I saw Xiao Chun smirk out of the corner of my eye.
"Yes, Arthur-san," I replied, blushing and glaring at Xiao Chun. He had quickly reverted to his usual expressionless state again, but I could have swore that he was keeping back a knowing smile.
"Then that's settled. Off you go with me, moron." Arthur, assuming the air of a pompous police officer arresting a misbehaving kid, towed Alfred away from us, who was complaining in a loud voice.
"Iggy, be reasonable!"
"Quiet, git!"
Their voices were lost in the distance as we walked farther away from them. Meimei tugged at my sleeve.
"Are you sure you're okay, Kiku-gē? You look a little unfocused."
I smiled at her slightly. "I'm all right, Mei. Just spacing out."
"Kiku-gē..." She looked uncertain about continuing, but she spoke anyway. "Are we going to be all right? I mean, Júhuā-gē..."
"We'll be fine," I assured her. "Júhuā can never harm a hair of your heads as long as you keep your heads with you and never seek him out."
Xiao Chun put an arm around Mei. "That's right, Mei. Don't be such an incurable worry-wart."
She punched him lightly in the arm.
I suddenly thought of the question that had been running in my mind ever since the test ended. "Xiao Chun, I have a question to ask you..."
"Shoot."
"How did you sneak the materials you used for your fireworks inside the campus? I know you don't buy commercially-made fireworks since you can make some yourself. And IF you did sneak in the materials, that'll include the gunpowder. I mean, kami-sama, gunpowder? How did you get away with that?"
Xiao Chun smirked widely. "Trust me, Kiku-gē, you wouldn't want to know."
A/N2: Sorry for too much Xiao Chun coolness in this chapter. He's just so awesome to resist! (fangirl scream from me)
Sorry for the cliffhanger brought to you by Xiao Chun. He has to be always the one who wants to ruin the fun, huh?
One note: about the "Xiao" comment made by Xiao Chun. "Xiao" means small in Mandarin Chinese. :)) That's why Xiao Chun pretends to get offended and tells Mei to stop calling him "Xiao" only. You all get it? Okay, that's all.
If you want to know what Xiao Chun's voice is like, listen to the third part of Hetalia Fantasia (available in YouTube if you don't have the CD). He has a part there. If you want to know what Meimei's voice is like, you can search the Internet and download the mini-drama track from China's character CD (that drama about festivals and stuff?). It's not available in YouTube. Duh.