Chapter 4

Moi-Moi: Hey guys! I HAVE to stress this: THIS STORY IS AVAILABLE TO READ ON WATTPAD. Wattpad is a website/app where authors post their work, like Fanfiction dot net. I have an account on Wattpad and have been posting this story there. You can obviously continue to read this story here, but there is more available to read on Wattpad. The updates will come out on Wattpad much faster than here (I have seven chapters up there right now).

Just letting you guys know.

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Once she had awoken the next morning, Hitomi was tempted to remain in bed and ignore the world outside of her bedroom. She wasn't sure whether Wuya would still be waiting for her- waiting for the right moment to strike. Why hadn't she kept her mouth shut? She'd gone and blabbed to Chase and now Wuya had it out for her. In a fair fight, Hitomi was sure that she could at least hold her own against the witch. But, that's if Wuya fought fair. 'As if that would ever happen.'

With a sigh, Hitomi got out of bed to get ready for the day. She would just spend the day training. She'd been slacking off lately anyways. After losing at Chase's hands, she no longer felt the need to train day in and day out. Her drive had just vanished. "I'll just have to get it back," she muttered to herself.

Dressed in loose robes with her hair tied up in a bun, Hitomi got to work on her stretches. She had found an empty area in Chase's lair carved out of a bright blue marble with a large waterfall at the rear of the room. Once she felt loose enough to begin, she faced her opponent- her own mother. "Don't baby me, mother. I don't plan on going easy on you," Hitomi said with a smirk. The lioness growled lowly with a grin while slipping into a low crouch. With a loud roar, Naomi pounced.

Swooping lowly, Hitomi was able dodge her mother's attack just before striking up at her furry torso. With a pained yowl, Naomi fell back with a harsh slam into the floors. Shaking herself out, she quickly rose up and began circling Hitomi. Crouched lowly, Hitomi kept her eyes trained on the large lioness.

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Chase moved through his lair without any destination in mind. From what he could sense, Wuya had hidden herself away on the other side of his lair- away from him and Hitomi. Despite not displaying it, Chase was pleased that the witch had enough sense not to interfere with the girl any longer. He had been most gracious and not pursued Wuya last night despite having every urge to dispense his own brand of justice upon her.

As he was passing over a bridge with two tigers following close behind him, Chase heard the sounds of female grunting and a lion's roar. Casually peering over the side of the ledge, Chase raised a brow at what he had spotted. Hitomi was sparring with one of his lionesses and appeared to be holding her own.

Mei couldn't fight to save her life. But Hitomi was quite the accomplished fighter. She was graceful, precise, and- when necessary- a bit deadly. Through narrowed gaze, Chase smirked. Despite the copious amounts of praise for her skill level that Chase could silently produce, he could still see the flaws in her form and technique. It would take an extremely trained eye to find such flaws.

Hitomi was catching her breath when her training was suddenly interrupted. Chase had literally fallen from the sky with both his hands clasped behind his back and not a hair out of place. Hitomi raised a brow at his immaculate appearance. Did he use gel in his hair or something? No, it didn't look like it.

"I must give credit where it is due. You are an excellent warrior. While your form is indeed perfected, there are still glaring holes in your defense," Chase said in an all-knowing tone and small smirk in place.

Hitomi frowned deeply with a glare. "Oh really? I'll get right to work on fixing it then," Hitomi said with a roll of her eyes. She was about to return to her training when she spotted the foot flying towards her. She narrowly dodged the attack with a leap backwards before staring at Chase in shock. "What was that for!?"

Chase shook his head and made a 'tsk-tsk' noise. "Sloppy," he commented.

Eyebrows furrowing, Hitomi glared. She spotted her mother moving out of the way along with two tigers. Not bothering to hesitate, Hitomi struck out her right fist at Chase's head. Not bothering to dodge, Chase grabbed her by the wrist and upper arm before sending her flying over his head. As she sailed through the air, Hitomi released a panicked shriek. At the last second she was able to right herself mid-air just before landing on her hands and flipping into an upright position.

"You were moving too slowly. I find it hard to believe that you were trying to hit me," Chase taunted over his shoulder, his hands clasped behind his back again.

Hitomi inhaled deeply before releasing it slowly. She needed a clear head to fight Chase. Running at him again, Hitomi kept a sharp watch on Chase. She spotted his right leg twitch and quickly moved to dodge it. Ha! She had him this time! She had been able to easily dodge the kick he had aimed at her stomach. Yes!

Wham!

Naomi covered her eyes with her paws as she watched her daughter slide along the floor on her back, repulsed away by Chase yet again. Hitomi blinked up at the high ceilings in utter shock. She had dodged his kick, but he'd still managed to strike her with his fist. How had he-

"How do you expect to win if you don't watch your opponent's movements?"

Hitomi growled lowly. "I was watching," she snapped back.

Chase smirked at her. "Well then I suppose I'm just too clever for you," Chase said.

Hitomi glared up at him from the floor before picking herself up slowly. Dusting out her robes, she squared her shoulders, sunk down into her fighting stance, and faced him again. Chase matched her stance easily, his smirk still in place. She hadn't expected him to make the first move.

The next few minutes consisted of Chase taking up the offensive. Every move he made tested Hitomi's defenses. Sometimes, he was blocked. Other times left Hitomi falling ungracefully to the ground. Whenever he spotted a hole in her defenses, he would exploit it mercilessly until she showed any sign of progression. They barely spoke. Chase could see that she was doing her best to focus on the match.

After about three hours of this, Chase was beginning to gain the upper hand. He was cornering her back against the waterfall. With a quick jab directly to the face, Chase was sure to seal his victory. Hitomi had been able to dodge the punch, but had unfortunately misstepped. Leaning precariously backwards over the ledge surrounding the waterfall and pool of crystal water it fed into, she swung her arms wildly to try to regain her balance. Just as she felt her balance give way, she shrieked loudly. The fall never came, however.

Cracking an eye open hesitantly, Hitomi spotted Chase gripping her by the front of her robes. He stared at her evenly before speaking. "Not bad. It's only slightly, but you've improved. Maybe next time you'll put up more of a fight," he commented. As he expected, Hitomi's face quickly morphed into one of anger. Before she could unleash her tirade on him, he released her robes and allowed her to finally fall into the pool.

Turning on his heel, Chase took a seat on the floors in the Lotus position. He allowed himself to cool down with some meditation. He could hear Hitomi gasping and sloshing about in the pool behind him, but he didn't turn to her. He could hear the slopping noises of the water dripping from her frame as it fell to the floors as she stomped (quite loudly) over to him. Even when she loomed over him angrily (he could feel the anger rolling off her in waves), he didn't open his eyes. "Please do not drip on me," he requested patiently.

She wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was a lapse in judgement? Whatever it was, Hitomi was sure that she would regret it. Taking her hair out of its sagging bun, Hitomi proceeded to wring out her hair over the Prince of Darkness. She watched him twitch once and his brows furrow as the drops of water hit him. A cold stone of fear dropped in her stomach. "Um..." she started but didn't continue.

"You must be deaf or have a death wish," Chase drawled lowly.

He didn't know why he bothered to meditate with Mei around. She must have been the loudest girl in all of China. He was sure that she was purposefully clattering the pots as loud as she could. When the sound of a pot shattering reached his ears, he tensed and growled lowly. "Is the noise necessary?" he rhetorically questioned.

"Sorry, Chase. I'll try to be quieter," Mei chirped in response.

"That's what you said ten minutes ago," Chase grumbled quietly. He could hear her rise up from the riverbank and walk over to him. "I am sure that you still need the water to wash the pots."

"I know," she replied, but didn't say any more.

Chase almost sighed in exasperation. When he felt drops of water fall on his face, he twitched once. "Please do not drip water on me," he said.

Drip, drip.

Chase grit his teeth before opening his eyes to glare up at Mei. He spotted her poised over him with a large, clay pot in her small hands. Her eyes were wide in panic. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I wasn't doing anything. I was going to offer you some water. I figured that you would be thirsty," she said before offering him the pot filled with water. She smiled brightly at him.

Chase took the pot from her while rising. He did take a drink. He was slightly parched. The sun had been unforgiving today. Spotting Mei's smile, he rolled his eyes at her. "You're a terrible liar."

"I would have got you, but the pot was heavy. But don't worry. One of these days, I'll catch you off guard," Mei said confidently.

Chase watched Hitomi carefully for several seconds to see what she would do. Staring up at the mild panic in her eyes, he wasn't sure what he wanted her to do. Laugh, smile, and wave him off as if he weren't a real threat? No. He should want her to be scared- terrified of him. He wasn't one to be taken lightly. Standing at his full height, he stared down at Hitomi. He was only mildly surprised to see her staring up at him defiantly.

Hitomi wasn't Mei.

Hitomi had a warrior's spirit. She didn't easily give in, but she knew how to pick her battles. Chase had to admit that he did like that about her. "I suppose that you feel you must gain some small victory today after having suffered a loss so great," Chase mused and brushed the water off his armor. He left quietly, not bothering to see the look of shock Hitomi was shooting him behind his back.

She was still breathing. Chase hadn't even raised his voice or growled at her. Hitomi shook her head with a loud exhale. "I give up," she muttered before heading back to her room. She didn't have much experience with boys. Maybe they all were this complicated?

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After almost a week of ten-hour sparring sessions with Chase, Hitomi could honestly say that she was exhausted. Chase was nothing short of a slave driver. He would drill her on the same technique for hours until she could perform it perfectly. And once she had done that, he would use some new technique to completely disarm her. Then, he would finish his onslaught with some smug jab at her abilities- or lack thereof.

The only times he bothered to let up were during their lunch breaks. For one hour, she and Chase ate their lunches together in absolute silence. Hitomi always felt awkward during the encounters. She had wanted to start a conversation, but she never knew exactly how to. How did you start a conversation with the Chase Young?

Not being one to accept defeat without a fight, Hitomi decided that she would make an attempt that Friday. She stared down at her plate of rice, vegetables, and stake before sitting up and facing Chase. "You must really like soup," Hitomi commented. This was already going well... To be fair, he was usually drinking soup.

Chase was drinking his soup with his eyes shut. If he had heard her, he didn't show it. "It is my special Lao Mang Lone soup," Chase told her.

Hitomi waited for him to continue. But when he didn't, she said, "Oh... Is it any good?"

"I have been making this soup for centuries. I have definitely developed a practiced hand at making it," Chase replied with a sly look as if he had just made a joke.

"Oh. Can I try some?"

"Absolutely not," Chase snapped with a growl. His reptilian eyes narrowed at her from over his bowl before closing once again. She could not have known what she was asking. To drink the Lao Mang Lone soup would transform her into a beast- an immortal, soulless beast.

Hitomi recoiled before going back to her food. She huffed once. "Geez. You don't like to share. I get it. You don't need to bite my head off," Hitomi mumbled to herself.

He had nearly scoffed at her. "The Lao Mang Lone soup is created with Heylin Magic and keeps whoever drinks it young forever," Chase started. "In exchange for strength and immortality, you lose your soul and are transformed into a monster."

Hitomi swallowed at that. She eyed the soup bowl in Chase's hands before letting her eyes rest on him. She had heard the tales of Chase Young selling his soul to the Heylin side, but she never expected... "Well, can't you just stop?"

"To stop drinking it would mean that I lose my ability to remain in my more human form," Chase explained slowly. He didn't bother to look at Hitomi. He could sense the unease in her. It wouldn't be long before she could no longer bear to be in his presence.

'Young forever?' she kept thinking. Staring at Chase's face, she realized that he didn't have a single wrinkle. 'He's over a thousand years old, but he doesn't look that much older than I do.' "You must be pretty miserable," Hitomi said softly.

Chase nearly choked on his soup. "Excuse me?" he questioned and raised a brow.

"To have lived for so long," Hitomi explained. "To stick around for fifteen hundred years? It's gotta get boring after a while. Especially when you live in a place this big with no one to talk to," she finished with a shrug. "You haven't gone crazy yet though so I suppose you'll be alright."

Chase felt his eye twitch. He should have put her in her place. He wasn't someone that you could disrespect so readily and especially not to his face. Obviously, she was getting far too comfortable in his presence. He opened his mouth, a snide remark and threat on the tip of his tongue. He paused when he saw her staring at him, however. Her eyes were wide as they stared him directly in the eyes. She didn't look scared, worried, or even disgusted. She just...stared. Chase sighed and returned to his meal. He chose to ignore the sound of her light laughter.

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There was something peculiar going on.

Wuya couldn't explain it, but things were definitely amiss. She first noticed it when she had reappeared in Chase's palace the next day after her run-in with Chase's reptilian form. She had been walking throughout the palace when she had spotted Chase and Hitomi sparring near a waterfall. She had watched the girl get tossed around by Chase for a bit before walking on. Wuya had been sure that Chase would have already done away with the girl by now. What purpose did she serve?

Things had only gotten stranger when she had spotted the two having lunch together a few days later. They weren't exchanging words, but it was still a unnerving sight. Chase had never cared for Wuya's presence, often choosing solitude over her companionship. Yet, here he was willingly seeking out that girl's companionship. The last time Wuya had seen Chase so interested in another was during his obsession with Omi.

Was Chase thinking of converting this girl to the Heylin side?

"What would that accomplish?" Wuya mused quietly as she stared down into the water of her favorite fountain. Chase knew that the world existed in a balance. If he brought the girl over to the Heylin side, there would be someone just as powerful to join the Xiaolin side. Besides, the girl wasn't much of fighter anyways. She was only decent.

And then it hit her.

Was Chase attracted to the girl? Wuya shook the idea off as soon as it came. There could be no way. Chase simply wasn't the type. Even before he had joined the Heylin side, Wuya could't recall ever seeing Chase with a woman. 'Those monks and their sacred vows.' No. Chase couldn't be attracted to the girl. Despite how average she was in the looks department (at least compared to Wuya she was), Chase wouldn't bother to pay attention to her for that. The only thing Chase cared about was fighting strength. "He probably wants to make her his apprentice or something," Wuya shrugged.

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Omi squared his shoulders as he made his way to where Master Fung would surely be meditating. He had been silent for weeks, but he could no longer do so in good conscience. They had been busy lately. The amount of Shen Gong Wu that had reveal themselves had been staggering. But, now that they had a moment to breathe, Omi seized the chance.

Omi had found Master Fung having tea with Dojo wrapped around his bald head and his fellow monks lounging around at the table. Kimono was tapping away at her PDA, Raimundo was reading a magazine, and Clay was eating a large plate of pork chops. "Master Fung, I must speak with you urgently. It is most important," Omi spoke up.

"What is it, Omi?" Master Fung replied while the other monks turned to Omi in question.

"Master Fung, as Xiaolin warriors, we cannot allow this injustice to proceed any longer! We have allowed Chase Young to hold Hitomi against her will. It is our duty to fight the forces of evil wherever they may exist," Omi stressed. Everyone sat up straighter before looking to each other.

Master Fung sighed once. "Omi, I understand how you feel. But, you cannot challenge Chase Young. I would not be wise."

"I understand that he is powerful, Master Fung. But we would not be doing our job as Xiaolin warriors if we did not even attempt to save her!" Omi objected.

"Omi!" Master Fung exclaimed, raising his voice slightly. "It would help no-one to rush into battle unprepared to face an enemy. It is disheartening what has happened to a friend, but I must implore that you do not do anything foolish."

Omi frowned deeply while glaring down at the floor. 'Foolish,' hung in the air like a dark cloud. The word rang irritatingly in Omi's ears. Staring sadly at Omi, Master Fung sighed again before rising from the table and leaving. The other warriors watched Master Fung leave before turning back to Omi. "I'm sorry, Omi," Kimiko said sympathetically.

"You know we want to help, lil buddy. But, Chase Young is too strong fer us," Clay said with a hopeless shrug.

Glaring down at the tiles, Omi was close to shouting at his friends. They sounded like they had already given up without even trying! How could they call themselves Xiaolin warriors!? Suddenly looking up at Raimundo, Omi spoke, "Raimundo, surely you understand? We cannot just leave her there!"

"Listen, Omi-" Raimundo started.

"You are our leader, Raimundo. As our leader, surely you realize the importance of the situation," Omi said.

"Master Fung already said no, Omi. We can't disobey orders," Raimundo argued. Disobeying your Master's orders was not the Xiaolin way. Raimundo had learned that lesson the hard way already. The last thing he wanted was for Omi to make the same mistakes he had.

"So you think we should leave her to suffer this tragedy alone!? When Chase Young had captured me, none of you turned your back on me. You fought for me despite knowing that Chase Young was stronger than all of us," Omi argued. The guilt that each of his friends had been feeling suddenly magnified.

"Omi-" Kimiko started in a placating tone.

"Forget it," Omi snapped, cutting her off. Steaming mad, Omi stormed out of the room and offered a "I'm going to meditate" over his shoulder before leaving the temple entirely. Raimundo sighed deeply as he hung his head.

"Don't worry about it, Rai. Omi will come around," Kimiko soothed.

"Yeah, but the little dude has a point," Raimundo said before getting up and leaving as well. This was not what expected when he became leader.

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Moi-Moi: Like I said in the beginning, WATTPAD! Check out this story there!