"Chase Young in love with someone other than himself?" Wuya balked. She quickly composed herself before shooting Hannibal a dubious look. "I find that hard to believe."

"You better believe it. I first met Mei Long by accident," Bean explained. "Let's just say that Chase was rather protective of the girl."

"Doesn't that sound familiar..." Wuya trailed off as she rubbed her hand to her chin. "After all these years, Chase still isn't over her?"

"I imagine that he's got a few old wounds that never quite healed," Hannibal said while feigning sympathy.

Wuya narrowed her gaze. "What do you know, Hannibal?"

"Who? Lil ole me?" Hannibal questioned with a dark chuckle. "You see, after Chase turned against me and locked me in the Ying-Yang World, I was feelin' mighty betrayed. I was wounded. I treated him like my own son and gave him the power he sought. And how did he repay me? He locked me away because he was afraid of my strength. What Chase didn't realize is that you can't keep Hannibal Roy Bean down..."

Wuya folded her arms over her chest as a slow grin snaked onto her face. It had been so long since she had been able to trade such juicy, evil gossip. Chase never had time for her anymore. He was always with Hitomi. She had been feeling a bit neglected. "Do go on, Hannibal."

"While I was trapped in the Young-Yang World, I had Ying-Ying run a little errand for me. I just had her pay Mei Long a friendly visit when Chase wasn't around. I have to admit. It just broke my heart to see Chase so broken up after he found her body.

"It was a shame the girl had to die. She was easy on the eyes. But Chase doomed her by letting himself get so close to her," Hannibal finished. "I had hoped that Chase would blame Monk Guan and turn against him, but even that was a bit of a stretch."

"Why would Guan want to kill Mei? Did he hate her or something?"

"Quite the opposite. Just like Chase, Guan fell hard for the girl. Having the two of them view each other as romantic and martial arts rivals made turning Chase over to the Heylin side that much easier," Hannibal finished with a shrug. "It was a long shot, but I had hoped that the idea of Mei's rejection would be enough to convince Chase that Guan had been pushed over the edge."

"That sounds like more than a long shot to me..." Wuya drawled with a raised brow.

"Whatever. You got your intel. And you're saying that Chase has found a new girl? She has to be pretty special," Hannibal said and stroked his chin.

"She's alright to look at, pretty decent at martial arts..." Wuya shrugged.

Hannibal gestured for Ying-Ying to flash a hologram of Mei Long from her eyes. Wuya stared at the image of the girl before her. Her eyes widened. "That's her! How did you know what she looks like?"

"This is Mei."

"They look almost exactly alike. Could Hitomi be a reincarnation?" Wuya surmised. Wuya smirked. This explained why Chase was so attached to the girl. He was replacing his dead lover with Hitomi. Even for the Prince of Darkness, that was pretty cruel. Wuya idly wondered how Hitomi would react if she found out the truth...

"I know that look. What are you planning?" Hannibal grinned.

"Let's say we were to nab Hitomi during the next Heylin Eclipse while Chase is weak. He would be at our mercy. In the end, we don't even need to keep the girl around. You know what they say, Hannibal. The past always repeats itself," Wuya said with a laugh. She never did care for Hitomi. The girl was snitch who would make the perfect stepping stone for Wuya's climb to greatness. Once this was all over, Wuya would be all powerful again and be on her way at having the world at her feet. What were a few broken eggs along the way?

"I love the way you think, Wuya. Only one problem. The Heylin Eclipse isn't due for another ninety-eight years," Hannibal finished with a drawl.

"I already thought of that. The Treasure of the Blind Swordsman is our ticket."

Hannibal turned the plan over in his head. Chase did deserve to be knocked down a few pegs. Hannibal didn't care to kill another girl, but Wuya looked ready to kill. 'I'll leave her to it then.' "So how do we get the treasure from the monks?" Hannibal questioned. Wuya smirked devilishly.

~:~

Hitomi lounged in her room later that day with only her thoughts for company. What had possessed her to defend Chase Young? Despite asking herself this question, Hitomi had a good idea as to what her motivations were. 'I am falling for Chase Young!' Hitomi screamed mentally.

How could she!? Chase Young is a dastardly monster and the enemy! He is evil! He wants to rule the world and cover it in darkness and destruction. What about that is attractive!?

Hitomi rolled over onto her side and faced her closet doors. She was trying to remind herself as to why Chase Young wasn't boyfriend material, but it wasn't working. No matter how many times she thought of his evil deeds and less than admirable traits, a picture of Chase's smug face would enter her mind and she would mentally swoon.

'Okay. Forget that you like him. How do you he even likes you?'

He probably didn't. Chase may be nicer to her than he was to others, but that didn't translate to affection. Besides, Chase didn't seem like the type to want a relationship. The guy could never love someone else more than he does himself. Hitomi rolled her eyes. She was heading down a bad path. But was it too late to turn back? Not really... Right?

'Maybe it wouldn't be so wrong to like him...'

Who said that!? Hitomi froze up on her bed. Okay. Okay... Maybe this wouldn't be so bad... Just as long as Chase never found out. She wouldn't be able to take his harsh rejection.

~:~

Chase held himself extremely still in the lotus position, nearly every muscle in his body was tense. He nearly growled as his eyebrow twitched agitatedly. Meditation wasn't helping.

Hitomi was falling for him.

She was as transparent as a window to him. He could see it all over her face. The way she defended him, looked at him, or spoke to him held all the signs. She was terrible at hiding her feelings. He wasn't sure if she had realized it yet.

He shouldn't have let her get so close. This had been exactly what he had been trying to avoid. He didn't want attachments. He didn't need anyone. He never should have let her stay in his lair. At the very least, he should have turned her into one of his jungle cats while he had the chance.

He would just have to show her who he truly was. Surely, she would want nothing to do with him after seeing him for the beast that he was.

~:~

Moi-Moi: Don't forget to leave a comment or two! :D