Chapter 13: Tough Choices

When they arrived back at the houseboat, Shuyin went straight to the kitchen freezer and grabbed an ice pack for his throbbing hand. "I never realized the human jaw was so hard," he grumped and tried to flex his fingers.

Lenne sighed and gave his hand a brief exam. "Well, nothing seems to be broken, but a fracture is possible. Do you want me to …"

"Nah, I kinda deserve to feel this right now."

Bahamut sat down in a chair at the table. "I'm hungry."

"We left without dinner, didn't we." Lenne tapped her brother's shoulder. "Come on. Let's take you home and get you something to eat." As the boy stood, she gave the distraught blitzball player a brief kiss. "I'll come by to check on you later, okay?"

He nodded and watched them leave. Then, he stood and took his ice pack with him down the short, narrow stairs to the boat's bathroom. There was barely enough room to turn around in the small cubical because of the large, deep soaking tub, but it had been Jecht's favorite amenity—other than his beers—when he was tired and sore after games. Now, following in his father's footsteps, Shuyin turned on the hot water and jets, hoping it would bring relief to him as well. He checked his hand once more as the tub filled, then stripped down and climbed into the steaming, deep water. Letting his head fall back against the wall, he tried hard not to think about the consequences of tonight that would plague him tomorrow.

Sinking low until the water line came to his chin, he vaguely wondered if this was the kind of nonsense that drove his father to drink. Maybe Jecht had just given up one day and walked into the ocean to never come back. No, that was the kind of thinking that had taken his mother. His father wouldn't have quit life the way his mother did. Determined not to become a victim of his own thoughts and a drunken stranger's crass comments, Shuyin splashed some of the hot water on his face and tried to refocus on what he could do differently in the next game. If he could win the next game, everything would be better again.

About thirty minutes later, there was a knock at the houseboat's front door.

Reluctant to climb out of the soothing water, he turned off the jets, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around his waist. Heading up the short, narrow steps, he wondered who would be visiting at this hour of the night. The Zanarkand city guard, come to arrest him for assault charges? The drunk following him home to make more trouble? The coach and team big-wigs came here to fire him already? Steadying his nerves, he reached for the handle and pulled it open.

Lenne blinked at him in pleasant surprise. "Wow. The steamy-man-wrapped-in-nothing-but-a-towel-look really works for you. And to think most girls only get flowers and chocolates."

A hint of a sad smile touched his lips as he stepped aside to let her in.

"And you're passing up a perfectly good chance to flirt with that? Now I'm really concerned." She removed and set aside her shoes, walking past him and allowing him to close the door on the night bugs attracted to the interior light. "Have you already eaten? I can fix you something while you finish your bath."

"I'm not very hungry. You came back?"

"I said I would, didn't I?"

"I thought you meant tomorrow."

"Why would I wait until tomorrow, if you're upset tonight?"

"I'm surprised you came back at all. I've never screwed up this bad before."

"I think that man's comments took all of us by surprise. Your reaction may not have been the best way to handle it, but it certainly was very understandable. And I think everyone who witnessed the incident would agree."

"Is your brother okay? I didn't mean to freak him out or anything."

"He's fine. He even explained what happened to Mom while she fixed him a sandwich, so he seems to have a good grasp on what set you off. He said he's sorry that drunk said hurtful things to you, and he couldn't blame you for being angry." She sifted Shuyin's bangs through her fingers so that she could clearly see his eyes. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know. I keep thinking about it … thinking about why my parents left. I'm afraid I'm beginning to understand them a little. But I don't want to do anything stupid. I could use some company," he admitted, knowing that would have sounded like a ploy if he hadn't been so depressed.

"In the bath, or after it?" she asked with amusement.

He paused at the unexpected options. "Both?"

She laughed lightly. "Well, at least that sounds more like your usual fare."

A wan smile returned, but then he shrugged it off. "Seriously, it's enough for you to just be here. The silence is very heavy right now … if you know what I mean." He checked the knuckles on his sore hand.

"I thought it might be." She brushed away a few water droplets beading on his shoulders. Then, she took his injured hand and cast a small cure spell for it.

"Thanks." He could flex his fingers with ease now.

She gave the healed hand a pat. "Perhaps, you should come with me. I know something that might help." Tugging his hand, she coaxed him to the front door.

"Lenne, I'm in a towel," he reminded her but allowed himself to be led outside.

"Yeah, you might want to hold onto that because it's a little breezy tonight." She led him to the top deck of the houseboat.

"A little breezy? I'm wet, so this is cold, and I've got a definite draft situation going on here."

She chuckled at his complaints. "Okay. I can take care of that. Wait right here." She went back inside and came out a few minutes later with the blanket from his bed. Draping it around his shoulders and securing it at his chest, she sat down on the deck and patted the space beside her. "Come on. You'll like this. I promise."

Suspicious, but curious to see where she was going with this crazy idea, Shuyin sighed, shifted his blanket closer around himself, and sat down on the deck where she indicated. "This isn't another trick, like the foot-tapping thing, is it? Did you hide my clothes while getting the blanket?"

"No, but that sounds like fun, too." Amused at his paranoia, she moved behind him, leaned back against the rail post, and drew his shoulders back against her. "Scoot back and look up."

He did so, and as he reclined against her chest, she wrapped her arms over the blanket to keep him warm in the cool night air. Only when he lifted his chin did he realize what she was doing. Countless stars sparkled overhead in the clear night sky.

"You said counting stars helped you unwind, right?"

He couldn't believe she remembered.

"I've heard you can see even more on the open sea."

"The boat's in no condition to go out that far."

"Well, maybe it's time to work on that. How long has it been since you took it somewhere else?"

"A long, long time."

"Well, I don't know anything about boat maintenance, but I'm willing to help if you need an extra hand." She rested her chin on top of his head. "If nothing else, I can summon an aeon to fly us back if it sinks."

He smirked at the idea. "If the boat sinks, I can swim. If a flying dead thing drops me, all I can do is fall. At least the boat still has a little life left in it," he sardonically added. The sky was absolutely beautiful, but he could still feel dark thoughts on the edge of his conscience. He sighed, hesitant to speak what was on his mind now. "Can you stay ... for a while?"

"As long as you need," she agreed. "I don't have my guitar with me, but I just thought of a song you might like. Want to hear it?"

He tilted his chin to look over his shoulder at her, curious.

Lenne cleared her throat and began to softly hum and sing a gentle tune.

"Whispers from a childhood long ago

Cobwebs in the mind's distant attic corners

How long will you run to escape your memories?

How far, how far away?

Reach out your arms to me.

Happiness is near.

Don't give up in fear.

Forgive and be forgiven.

When you are not yourself

Drowned in oceans deep

Draw close to me.

Share your pain with me.

Heal ... and be healed.

Believe

In me

I will be here ... for you.

You're eternally protected, a cherished treasure to my heart.

Alive ... and beautiful, your smile brings hope to me.

Don't feel lost. Come into my light and share your precious soul with me.

Restless spirit, stay beside me. Love and be loved forever.

Believe in me, and I will be here for you.

Believe in me, and I will be here for you.

Share your soul with me, smile, and be loved forever.

Share your soul with me, smile, and be loved forever.

La-la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la-la-la-la ..."

As Lenne repeated the song, the soft and gentle tune rose in volume and strength. And though she tapped her foot to an orchestra heard only in her head, her voice, uncluttered by back-up vocals or instruments, conveyed a symphony of warmth.

Shuyin slipped a hand from beneath the blanket to entwine his fingers in hers. Letting his head rest against her collar bone, he looked up at the stars once more. Despite everything that had happened that day, at that moment, he felt nothing but peace.

))((

The next morning, when Shuyin woke in his bed, Lenne was still nestled against him, sleeping beneath his arm. He closed his eyes for a moment, wishing he could find an excuse not to go to training, but then he opened them to see the clock tick down one more minute until the alarm was set to beep. Resigned to his fate, he rose on one elbow and reached over her to turn off the alarm before it woke her. Gently sweeping her hair away from her neck, he smoothed it over the pillow and kissed her shoulder. Then, trying to be quiet, he left his bed to dress in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Picking up his socks, sneakers, and key-card, he took one last look at her, smiled to himself, and slipped out of the room.

Stopping at the small table near the hall, he wrote a note for her and snickered as he signed it. Then, he dropped the key-card on top of the paper and pulled the table in front of the door, so she wouldn't miss it upon waking. Finally, he headed into the kitchen to grab an orange for breakfast and left the houseboat to head to the pool.

))((

When Lenne woke about an hour later, she stretched, sat up, and looked around the empty room. "Shuyin?"

Remembering he had an early practice and realizing she was probably alone, she pulled the blanket off of the bed to wrap around her cold shoulders and padded to the bedroom door. As soon as she opened it, she nearly stumbled into the small table barricade, but spotted the note and lifted it to read.

"Gone to training. Stay as long as you like. My heart and my home are yours. Lock up when you leave. Bring the key-card to the pool. If there's anything left of me after my ass-chewing session with the coach, I'll see you later tonight. Love, Shuyin."

She read it a few more times, smiling before she realized her thumb was covering a portion of something. "'P.S.,'" she read aloud. "'See? I can write nice notes, too.'" But it had another doodle of a monkey spanking itself beside the lettering. Smirking at his foolishness, she lifted the key-card and bumped the small table out of her way. After a short shower and a small breakfast, she locked the houseboat door behind her and headed to the pool.

))((

When Lenne arrived at the arena and asked to see Shuyin, she was directed to the practice pool. But upon entering and asking about him, she was directed to the offices. Knowing this meant he was still enduring some form of lecture or punishment for what happened last night, Lenne decided to stay in the practice pool and wait for his return. Sitting on one of the benches, she removed her sunglasses and hat to watch the rest of his teammates run through their drills. They were waiting for the return of their coach to tackle the problems that caused last night's game loss. Unfortunately, Shuyin was going to be part of that lecture, as well.

Having nothing better to do, she pulled out a music sphere and plugged in her headphones. Then she retrieved her tablet from her purse and decided to write a new song—perhaps one about Shuyin. She smiled, thinking about everything they did last night and unhooked the accompanying pen to write some test lyrics. He was such a minefield of potential when it came to poetic phrases. But thinking of poetry also made her think of Koji.

Neither of them mentioned him last night after Shuyin's uncomfortable reminder at dinner about the passage of time. In her mind, she had already broken off that relationship and put it behind her. But in reality, it was still being delayed. She scratched out what she had written and tried a new approach, but her thoughts of being with Shuyin circled back to Koji. Finally, with a groan, she switched on her com sphere, linking to his apartment. After last night, she could no longer wait for good news to spare Koji's feelings. She had to end it today.

"Hey," he greeted her with a morose tone and sigh, looking like he just rolled out of bed.

She offered a pleasant smile anyway. "Hey, are you busy today?"

"Well, since all positions in Zanarkand are filled, I was thinking about going to Luca tomorrow to see if they have any current openings. I've heard they're trying to build up some leagues between the various cities at the southern end of Spira, too. They couldn't possibly have anything as good as Zanarkand, but it would be better than nothing, I suppose."

She knocked her knees together and studied a manicured nail as she waited to be invited to tag along, but when the offer didn't come, Lenne sighed and reminded herself why she called. "Well, I was wondering if you were free for dinner tonight, my treat."

Koji shook his head. "I'm not really in the mood to go out."

"Then, maybe you'd rather come over to my place?"

"Actually, I need to pack if I'm going to be traveling for a bit. You could come here if you want."

Just then, a rather defeated-looking Shuyin entered the pool area, spotted Lenne, and came toward her before talking about the ordeal with his teammates.

Knowing the com sphere would transmit images of anything near her, she quickly held up a hand to cue Shuyin to stay away. "No. If your family's there, we won't be able to talk about … things." She tried not to wince, knowing that sounded bad. "Please. Just come to my place for dinner. Okay? You can tell me all about blitzball prospects in Luca and elsewhere."

Shuyin paused beyond the sphere's range but gave her a puzzled frown.

"Okay," Koji answered. "Look, I'm … I'm sorry I haven't been lively company lately. I know you're probably feeling a little neglected. I'll make it up to you tonight, okay? I have an idea."

"No, you don't need to do anything special. Really."

"I insist." He smiled. "But it's going to be a surprise, so don't ask any questions and spoil it."

Lenne tried to smile and look happy. "Okay, I have to go now. I'll see you at my place for dinner."

"I'll be there."

Shuyin's frown deepened as she cut the connection, tucked the sphere back into her purse, and removed her headphones. "You haven't told him yet. Have you?" he guessed, based on her half of the conversation.

"I will tonight. I can't keep waiting for Koji's luck to turn around, and he's going to Luca tomorrow, so I need to tell him before he leaves. He sleeps all day and doesn't eat much. I'm worried about him, but … I guess it can't be helped now, can it?" She put away the tablet and sphere, then stood to greet him with a hug. "How'd it go?" she asked, returning his key-card.

He shook his head, discouraged. "It went. They said I cracked a couple of the drunk bastard's ribs, but he's not pressing charges because of too many witnesses saying he provoked the whole thing and some pay-off deal drawn up by the Abes' legal department. However, I do have to 'officially' apologize to him and the restaurant. I've been fined half of my next paycheck, and I have to pay for any damages and medical bills that insurance won't cover. I have to prepare a statement for the press in response to what happened, but I'm restricted from discussing it beyond that." Shuyin tried to think. "Oh yeah, and I got the 'When your dad was on this team ...' lecture after being threatened with suspension without pay if I do it again." He flashed an apologetic glance for venting, but then intentionally changed the subject. "I'm surprised you stayed last night."

"I'm glad I did." She smiled to reassure him she meant that.

He looked relieved to hear it. "Listen … I need to get away from all this for a little while. Clear my head." He raked a finger across the fringe at the bottom of her handkerchief-style shirt. "How would you like to go camping this weekend? You can even bring your little brother."

"Really?" Lenne grinned with anticipation. "But you have a game this weekend, don't you?"

"We could leave the next day. I haven't missed any training days yet, so I can take a day off from that."

"Sounds like fun. Of course, you realize my mother's going to want to meet you before giving you permission to drag my little brother out in the middle of nowhere."

Shuyin winced. "Just don't let her watch the news for about two weeks. I don't want her thinking I'm an idiot before she even meets me."

"Oh, she already thinks you're an idiot." She draped her arms around his neck. "She saw the notes you wrote to me."

"What?" He put a hand to his forehead. "What'd you show her those for?"

"Bahamut used them to ask permission to go to the game, but I showed them to her again to ask her opinion about whether she thought you were worth the risk."

"Mothers don't appreciate snogging jokes and spanking monkeys, Lenne."

"My mother is a very wise woman. I trust her opinions immensely when I have to make important decisions."

"And what did she say?"

"She thinks you're an idiot."

He snorted and shook his head in defeat.

"However, she also thinks that since you went through all that trouble to make Bahamut happy—and since he seems to think a lot of you, too—that you can't be too terribly bad. She said sometimes you have to be willing to give up a few good-fitting pairs of shoes to afford one great-fitting pair because comfort is important on your journey through life."

He rested his hands at her waist. "Your mother compared me to a pair of shoes."

"She likes to shop, so her analogies tend to include clothing."

"Ah. Well, at least you get it honestly." He indicated her funky fashion preferences by tugging on one of the fringes of her shirt and looked down at her miniskirt and ribbon-wrapped heels.

Lenne returned a sly smile. "She also said something about blitzball players, but I'll wait until you're not afraid of her anymore to spring that one on you."

"Well, in that case, definitely don't let her watch the news." He glanced toward his teammates and the practice pool. "I'd better swim my laps before I get chewed out again. I'll see you tonight, okay?"

"Not tonight." With a pout, she shook her head. "I don't know what to expect after dinner with Koji. I don't want to cut and run on him if he doesn't take it well."

Shuyin nodded in understanding and gave her a parting kiss and then pulled away from her embrace to slip his key-card into the tablet he carried. After setting it on the bench, he waved to her once more before diving into the pool.

Lenne sighed, wishing she could stay here all day watching Shuyin play blitzball. His moves in the water were nothing short of fascinating, and though she hated to admit it, she was starting to like the unpredictable, fast-paced action of the sport. It was ironic that it took Shuyin to help her understand Koji's desire to play professionally, but the few games she had seen Koji play were nothing like the exuberant matches Shuyin threw himself into. With that in mind, she made herself turn for the door and tried to think of what to say to Koji tonight.

))((

A few days later, Shuyin sat at his keyboard, composing a song he had been humming to himself during training when he heard a knock on the front door of his houseboat. He quickly wrote down the last two notes and played the previous bar one more time to see how they sounded together. The knock at the door repeated. "Just a minute!" With a snort at the disturbance, he stood to answer the call.

On the other side of the door, Koji waited with a brooding expression, hands in pockets. "Busy?"

Uttering a mental curse, Shuyin suspected he knew the purpose of this visit, but he stepped aside to invite him inside.

Koji entered the houseboat for the first time in over half a year and looked around as his former best friend shut the door behind him. "Lenne broke up with me a few days ago. Three guesses why."

"Me, me, and ... me?" Shuyin heard from Lenne the night she broke the news to Koji. She said he was very resistant to letting her go, but that Shuyin's name didn't come into the conversation at all. So the fact that Koji was here now meant he had figured it out anyway. Denial was pointless.

Koji confronted him directly. "I just want to know one thing. Did you hook up with her before or after she broke up with me?"

Shuyin averted his gaze, unable to give Koji the answer he wanted to hear.

"Before or after?" Koji demanded.

"Before," Shuyin quietly admitted.

Koji slammed his fist into Shuyin's face, shoving him back a couple of steps. But he kept his distance after that, though he continued to seethe with hurt and anger.

Shuyin dabbed at the blood in the corner of his throbbing, busted lip, but he made no move to fight back.

"This is payback for that incident with Birana, isn't it?"

There it was—the card Shuyin had been expecting him to play. "No."

"Then why didn't you back off?" Koji angrily demanded. "That's what you promised you would do if you knew I was interested in someone!"

"I did! I walked away more than once, but she kept coming back to me!" Shuyin reminded himself to stay calm. He didn't mean to make it sound like her fault, and he didn't need another fight hitting the headlines, especially not one that would hurt her. "I wanted her to keep coming back. Hit me again if it makes you feel better, but I can't walk away from her anymore. I haven't known her as long as you have, but she already means more to me than anyone I've ever met."

Koji snorted, shook his head, and laughed. "You know what? I almost believe you." With two fingers, he drew a slip of paper from his pocket.

Shuyin found the laughter and calm in Koji's behavior more disturbing than the fact that he'd hit him, but he snatched the note and opened it. It was the note he had left for Lenne the morning after she stayed with him. "Where did you get this?"

"Her nightstand drawer."

Shuyin was appalled. "Does she know that you went through her things?"

"You're the one having an affair with my girlfriend. Don't look at me like I'm the low-life here."

"Girlfriend, not wife," Shuyin angrily corrected. "She's free to choose who she wants."

"You knew how I felt about her!"

As soon as Koji said it, Shuyin recognized his own argument concerning Birana. He could tell Koji recognized it, too.

"Everything was fine until you showed up. The minute I saw you at the concert, I knew you would try something like this," Koji continued. "I even warned her, so she wouldn't fall for it."

"This isn't some grand scheme to get you back. Neither of us wanted to hurt you, Koji. If I'd wanted to hurt you, I would have called you after the first kiss." Again, the irony of what happened with Birana hung thick in the air. "She delayed telling you because she didn't want to hurt your feelings when you were already down, not because we were trying to play you."

"When she broke up with me, I asked if there was someone else. She refused to answer, so I knew it was you. When she left the room, it was just a matter of knowing where to look for the evidence. How do you do it, Shu? How do you get people to fall at your feet and worship you like that? Did you know that Kaila actually has an Abes poster of you on her bedroom wall? She got it at one of your games, but I'll bet you didn't even notice her in the crowd among all the other girls."

Shuyin's anger softened. "If Kaila really wants to see me again, tell her to come to the doors at the back where the locker rooms are. I sign autographs there before and after games. I'll be more than happy to pull her inside for a private talk if she has anything to say to me. I never got to apologize to her like I wanted to."

"Well, don't count on her believing that. She's seen the news about your little barroom brawl, and I already told her that Lenne broke up with me because of you. She thinks you're a class-A jerk now, yet she still misses you. Explain that to me because it defies logic. It's as if you've got some kind of charm spell that allows you to get under people's skin. You can make them do whatever you want, and when they can't handle you anymore, they go insane."

Shuyin didn't know whether to be hurt or angry at that dig. "At least I don't use people to further my own success! Who does Lenne know that you want to meet? What use is she to you?"

"I loved Lenne! I had no intention of using her! I learned my lesson about using people back in high school. You, apparently, didn't … Jecht, Jr. Or you wouldn't have dropped names and status to start seeing my girlfriend behind my back!"

"I didn't!" Shuyin scowled at the accusation.

"You didn't let her kid brother into a game with a special seat to win her over?"

"That had nothing to do with her. I didn't even know who she was!"

"Some people have all the luck, right? Why do you have all the luck, Shu? It doesn't matter if I study hard, score higher, obey the rules, and be nice to the girl because, in the end, you will always get what I want. Nothing's changed since we were kids. You will always be the one to get the strawberry candy." He took a step closer to Shuyin. "In fact, it's beginning to look like the only way for me to get what I want ... is to get rid of you."

Shuyin backed away with a sinking feeling in his gut. "Koji, this kind of jealousy—"

"Jealousy?" Koji gave another strange chuckle. "Jealous doesn't begin to describe how I feel about you anymore, Shuyin. When we were kids, I was jealous of the attention you got. Now, I'm just tired of you ruining my life." He drew a gun from his pocket, unlocked the safety, and pointed it at his former best friend.

Shocked, but not waiting to see if Koji was bluffing, Shuyin turned and ran down the stairs to the lower level, just missing the shot that was fired at him. Running to his parents' bedroom, he threw open the closet and dug out the only weapon he knew the boat had: his father's longsword. But what good was a sword against bullets? Frantically looking for something else to aid his situation, he spotted the chin-up bar his father installed in the doorway at the bottom of the stairs.

As Koji came down the stairs, Shuyin jumped up, caught the bar, and pulled himself high enough to punch both feet toward the gun, kicking his former friend backward.

Koji landed against the wall but didn't drop the gun. Instead, as Shuyin dropped to the floor, he fired another shot. His quick reaction meant lousy aim, but the bullet pierced Shuyin's arm.

Angry and frightened, Shuyin swung the heavy sword and hit the gun again, this time sending it sliding across the floor, under the bed. But the strike also opened a gash in Koji's chest.

Stunned, Koji looked down at the blood on his shirt and hand. "You cut me? You bastard, you actually cut me!"

"Because you pulled a gun on me! You drew first blood! Stop doing this, man! Stop comparing yourself to me before you make yourself crazy! I let you hit me because I know I deserved it, but I am not going to stand still while you point a damn gun at my head!" Shuyin paused, attempting to calm himself and Koji. "Look, I know you're upset, but can't we just talk about this? We can leave the weapons here and go upstairs. I'm willing to pretend this never happened as long as we call it even, and it never happens again, okay? Deal?" Flipping the sword in his hand, he pointed the hilt, instead of the blade, at his former friend.

"Give Lenne back to me." Koji's expression softened with his request, revealing his heartache. "You have everything. I have nothing except her."

Shuyin felt bad that he had been wrong about Koji's intentions toward Lenne, but he couldn't do anything to change the situation. "Lenne is a human being, not a trophy. I can't give her back when it was her choice to walk away. You've got other people, though. You've got a good family. You've got a good record. How can you say you have nothing when you're successful at everything you put your mind to? I know you'll make it to the professional league eventually. It's just a question of timing."

Koji gritted his teeth and charged Shuyin in a head-on tackle. Shuyin lost his grip on the sword and dropped it, but he responded to the familiar move by elbowing, twisting, and finally kicking his way free.

Running up the stairs and out the front door, Shuyin dove over the side of the boat into the dark, cold water of the bay. He swam as hard as he could, thinking it would be safer to fight unarmed on the beach or a pier.

Koji dove into the water and swam after him with strokes just as powerful. Catching Shuyin's ankle, Koji pulled him back. The blitzball players grappled against one another underwater, both of them equal in strength and endurance to do such a thing. But there was one significant difference between the ocean and the sphere pool: fiends.

Aroused by the scent of blood and the motion of their struggle, a giant water fiend rose from the graves below the floating city. Neither of them saw it until multiple long tentacles lashed out at them like electric whips. A sharp jolt stung Shuyin's back, so he released Koji to flee for his life. Pausing once, he looked back to see if Koji was following.

Koji was caught by the monster.

Panicked, Shuyin started to swim back to his friend, but he had no weapon to turn the odds in their favor. This was a fight neither of them could win. So, making a horrible decision, Shuyin swam for the surface.

Bursting out of the water as if setting up for a sphere shot, Shuyin let his momentum carry him high enough to twist in mid-air and get a look at the pier. It was within reach, but his legs buckled under the jarring landing, and he tumbled across the concrete surface, scraping his elbows and knees. Gasping for breath, he crawled to the edge of the pier and scanned the water. "Koji!"

There was no response.

Clutching his gunshot wound, which, like the scrapes, burned with exposure to the saltwater, Shuyin pulled himself to his feet near a post and moved down the pier. "Koji!" he called again. But he already knew the outcome of the encounter below. Exhausted from the fight and the swim, Shuyin bent over the post and buried his face in his arm to grieve yet another loss in his life. This time, he lost a brother. How was he ever going to tell Lenne? What was he going to tell Kaila?