Thanks peeps for Reviewing, as long as people keep reviewing I'll keep writing. Hope you guys like this. The plot will start in the next couple of chapters. Then things will get really interesting.
Chapter III
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"I can't believe it's you!" Zhang exclaimed, pushing Han back by the shoulders to look at him.
"It's been too long old friend," Han walked over to Trish, "There is someone that I want you to meet. Zhang, this is Trish; she's been very kind to me. Trish, I've already told you about Zhang,"
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Trish said, reaching her hand out for Zhang to shake it, but instead he gave her a warm hug.
"You too. So have you been showing Han all the hot spots?" he asked.
She just laughed, 'If he only knew,' she thought.
"So, Han, what exactly brings you here to America? and how is Po? Your father?"
Han's facial expression changed immediately. "You haven't heard?"
"What do you mean?" he said, looking to Trish with a confused look, "What haven't I heard?"
Han glanced around the room, "Is there somewhere.. more private that we can go?"
"Yes,yes. Follow me. Ms. Li, why don't you show Trish around the house?"
"Of course. This way dear,"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The two men walked out to a large deck that overlooked a beautiful lake. Han assumed that Zhang owned that as well.
Han leaned against the railing and tried to decide the best way to approach this. "Zhang, you did hear about me going to prison, right?"
"Yes, you went to prison to protect your father. I heard. Although I don't exactly respect Chu for acting the way he did,"
"Yes, well, my father did a lot of things that I am not proud of. He let greed rule his life. He was involved in a very dangerous business venture. Do you remember Kai?" he asked, pushing himself up to sit on the railing.
"Yeah, I remember ol' Kai. How is he?"
Han ignored his question. He suddenly seemed very interested in an ant crawling across the railing. "My father believed that Po would compromise his business deals with a man named Roth," Han paused a moment to look out over the lake, explaining this was harder then he thought it would be. "My father ordered Po killed. His own son.." he paused again, "My brother.."
"Han.."
"Kai killed him." he said bluntly.
"I'm sorry Han,"
"But I have honored my brother, Kai is dead. As for my father, he took his own life,"
"I always respected Kai. He had so much talent. It's such a shame that greed blinded him from that,"
There was a silence that seemed to last for eternity, before Zhang suggested that they go back inside.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I still can't get over how beautiful this place is," Trish commented, gazing up at the high ceiling.
"Most of it was Mrs.Chi's doing, but she passed away not to long ago. Well, there is only one room that you haven't seen. It's down stairs. Come this way,"
Trish fell into step behind her, walking down a long hallway.
"So, Trish, how did you meet Han?" she asked.
"That's actually a very long story," she said uneasily.
Ms. Li stopped walking for a moment and stared Trish in the eye, "Does it have something to do with Po?"
"Well, yes. But I believe that Han should tell you about it,"
Ms. Li nodded then continued walking, "I still remember Po as a little boy, I remember his life and energy, but he had such a temper.." she trailed off and didn't say anything else until they finally reached the final room of the house. It had a giant black mat in the center of the floor. Like the rest of the house, it had a high ceiling. As she looked around the room she could tell that it was obviously some sort of a training room. She smiled when she saw Zhang and Han standing next to some of the equipment.
Zhang smiled and walked up to the two women, "You're just in time, Han and I were just about to see how much has changed, weren't we?"
"Oh, none of that nonsense. I don't even want to see it!" Ms. Li said, turning sharply to exit the room.
"I see she hasn't changed her opinion about Wushu then," Han stated, removing his jacket and handing it to Trish.
"Some things never change," Zhang said, "Are you ready?" he asked, taking his stance.
"Don't ask stupid questions," he said, taking a stance of his own. Trish backed up against the wall, not wanting to get in the way.
Zhang was the first one to move. He threw a kick to Han's leg, which was quickly blocked and Han went to deliver a punch, but Zhang grabbed his fist and sent him spinning around. Han took a few steps backwards. This was going to be a good workout.
"C'mon," he said motioning with his hand. The two of them then began a complicated dance of quick kicks and punches, but one right after another was blocked. Han noticed some of the exercise equipment inches behind him. When Zhang threw another punch he quickly moved behind one of the bars and Zhang's hand connected with the hard metal.
Zhang took a step back to take a breath and regain his composure, then the two started at it again. Han planted his foot on the same bar that had connected with Zang's hand, he pushed himself off of it to deliver a quick kick to Zhang's stomach, however, he wasn't quick enough because Zhang grabbed his foot and flipped him backwards. Han landed on his feet and quickly regained his balance.
Zhang was good, but he wasn't as fast as Han. He waited for Zhang to move again and when he did, he grabbed his arm and pinned it back. Zhang tried to take his foot and knock Han off balance but he couldn't. Han twisted his arm back and flipped Zhang to the ground. He then quickly brought his elbow down, stopping only inches from Zhang's throat. In a real fight, it would have been the deathblow.
"You're good Zhang," he smiled and offered his hand to help him up, "but not good enough."
Zhang laughed and accepted his hand, "Not bad.."
"Well old friend, I'm sorry, but I should be going. I will see you again soon though. We still have much to catch up on,"
Trish stepped in, "My friend Tyler is having a party this Friday night. Maybe you would like to come?"
"Well, I don't know," Zhang said uneasily.
"Oh, c'mon. It would be fun!"
"Well, we'll see,"
"I'll keep in touch with you," Han said, giving him a quick hug.
"Yeah, I have some things I need to take care of. Ms. Li will show you out,"
"Bye," Trish waved before she exited the room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was nightfall by the time Trish and Han returned to her cozy apartment. Han threw himself onto the couch before Trish was even completely through the door. His body was punishing him after his fights with Kai and Zhang.
"Are you Ok?" Trish asked, putting her bag down on the counter.
"I feel like a train has hit me," his voice was muffled because he had thrown a plush pillow over his face.
"Oh, poor baby. Why don't you roll over and I'll give you a massage, how does that sound?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.
Han didn't answer; he just turned over and buried his face into another pillow. Trish kicked her shoes off and straddled his waist. "Tell me if I hurt you," she said.
Han answered in a muffled reply that she assumed was "Ok,"
She started gently kneading out the extremely tense knots in his shoulders. Suddenly, she felt a pang of sympathy for him as she realized everything that he had gone through. Not just with Kai, Po, and his father, but with going to prison as an innocent person too. She sighed as she ran her hands down to his lower back and began to massage his muscles there.
"When Po and I were younger we would sneak out at night and go to this spot that no one but us knew about. It was our own special place,"
Trish was a little shocked, Han hadn't talked about Po to her before, but she knew what it was like to lose a brother, and could understand how he felt. She went from massaging his back to rubbing it in a comforting pattern.
"It was probably dangerous, and it's a miracle that we never did get caught. On those nights we always talked, looking out over the lights of Hong Kong. That's when we were our closest. It was on those nights that we told each other everything," Han paused for a moment to take a deep breath. "I remember one night, we were talking. He told me that neither of us would ever have to worry about anything, because the other one would always be there. But when he needed me the most… I wasn't there for him,"
"Han, there's nothing you could have done. Just like there was nothing that I could do for Colin-"
"But I was supposed to be there for him!" he shouted, turning over on his back to look at her, "I wasn't there,"
Trish softly ran her hand down the side of his cheek, "Please, don't blame yourself for this,"
Han looked up into her beautiful brown eyes. All he saw in them was love and compassion. He brought his hand up to the back of her neck and gently brought her down to him. Trish was shocked when their lips first connected, but she slowly leaned into the kiss. His lips were so soft against hers and she wanted this to go on forever. Slowly he pulled back and looked into her eyes again. Trish smiled a little before laying her head down his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. For the second night, the two of them fell asleep together on the couch.
Chapter III
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"I can't believe it's you!" Zhang exclaimed, pushing Han back by the shoulders to look at him.
"It's been too long old friend," Han walked over to Trish, "There is someone that I want you to meet. Zhang, this is Trish; she's been very kind to me. Trish, I've already told you about Zhang,"
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Trish said, reaching her hand out for Zhang to shake it, but instead he gave her a warm hug.
"You too. So have you been showing Han all the hot spots?" he asked.
She just laughed, 'If he only knew,' she thought.
"So, Han, what exactly brings you here to America? and how is Po? Your father?"
Han's facial expression changed immediately. "You haven't heard?"
"What do you mean?" he said, looking to Trish with a confused look, "What haven't I heard?"
Han glanced around the room, "Is there somewhere.. more private that we can go?"
"Yes,yes. Follow me. Ms. Li, why don't you show Trish around the house?"
"Of course. This way dear,"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The two men walked out to a large deck that overlooked a beautiful lake. Han assumed that Zhang owned that as well.
Han leaned against the railing and tried to decide the best way to approach this. "Zhang, you did hear about me going to prison, right?"
"Yes, you went to prison to protect your father. I heard. Although I don't exactly respect Chu for acting the way he did,"
"Yes, well, my father did a lot of things that I am not proud of. He let greed rule his life. He was involved in a very dangerous business venture. Do you remember Kai?" he asked, pushing himself up to sit on the railing.
"Yeah, I remember ol' Kai. How is he?"
Han ignored his question. He suddenly seemed very interested in an ant crawling across the railing. "My father believed that Po would compromise his business deals with a man named Roth," Han paused a moment to look out over the lake, explaining this was harder then he thought it would be. "My father ordered Po killed. His own son.." he paused again, "My brother.."
"Han.."
"Kai killed him." he said bluntly.
"I'm sorry Han,"
"But I have honored my brother, Kai is dead. As for my father, he took his own life,"
"I always respected Kai. He had so much talent. It's such a shame that greed blinded him from that,"
There was a silence that seemed to last for eternity, before Zhang suggested that they go back inside.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I still can't get over how beautiful this place is," Trish commented, gazing up at the high ceiling.
"Most of it was Mrs.Chi's doing, but she passed away not to long ago. Well, there is only one room that you haven't seen. It's down stairs. Come this way,"
Trish fell into step behind her, walking down a long hallway.
"So, Trish, how did you meet Han?" she asked.
"That's actually a very long story," she said uneasily.
Ms. Li stopped walking for a moment and stared Trish in the eye, "Does it have something to do with Po?"
"Well, yes. But I believe that Han should tell you about it,"
Ms. Li nodded then continued walking, "I still remember Po as a little boy, I remember his life and energy, but he had such a temper.." she trailed off and didn't say anything else until they finally reached the final room of the house. It had a giant black mat in the center of the floor. Like the rest of the house, it had a high ceiling. As she looked around the room she could tell that it was obviously some sort of a training room. She smiled when she saw Zhang and Han standing next to some of the equipment.
Zhang smiled and walked up to the two women, "You're just in time, Han and I were just about to see how much has changed, weren't we?"
"Oh, none of that nonsense. I don't even want to see it!" Ms. Li said, turning sharply to exit the room.
"I see she hasn't changed her opinion about Wushu then," Han stated, removing his jacket and handing it to Trish.
"Some things never change," Zhang said, "Are you ready?" he asked, taking his stance.
"Don't ask stupid questions," he said, taking a stance of his own. Trish backed up against the wall, not wanting to get in the way.
Zhang was the first one to move. He threw a kick to Han's leg, which was quickly blocked and Han went to deliver a punch, but Zhang grabbed his fist and sent him spinning around. Han took a few steps backwards. This was going to be a good workout.
"C'mon," he said motioning with his hand. The two of them then began a complicated dance of quick kicks and punches, but one right after another was blocked. Han noticed some of the exercise equipment inches behind him. When Zhang threw another punch he quickly moved behind one of the bars and Zhang's hand connected with the hard metal.
Zhang took a step back to take a breath and regain his composure, then the two started at it again. Han planted his foot on the same bar that had connected with Zang's hand, he pushed himself off of it to deliver a quick kick to Zhang's stomach, however, he wasn't quick enough because Zhang grabbed his foot and flipped him backwards. Han landed on his feet and quickly regained his balance.
Zhang was good, but he wasn't as fast as Han. He waited for Zhang to move again and when he did, he grabbed his arm and pinned it back. Zhang tried to take his foot and knock Han off balance but he couldn't. Han twisted his arm back and flipped Zhang to the ground. He then quickly brought his elbow down, stopping only inches from Zhang's throat. In a real fight, it would have been the deathblow.
"You're good Zhang," he smiled and offered his hand to help him up, "but not good enough."
Zhang laughed and accepted his hand, "Not bad.."
"Well old friend, I'm sorry, but I should be going. I will see you again soon though. We still have much to catch up on,"
Trish stepped in, "My friend Tyler is having a party this Friday night. Maybe you would like to come?"
"Well, I don't know," Zhang said uneasily.
"Oh, c'mon. It would be fun!"
"Well, we'll see,"
"I'll keep in touch with you," Han said, giving him a quick hug.
"Yeah, I have some things I need to take care of. Ms. Li will show you out,"
"Bye," Trish waved before she exited the room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was nightfall by the time Trish and Han returned to her cozy apartment. Han threw himself onto the couch before Trish was even completely through the door. His body was punishing him after his fights with Kai and Zhang.
"Are you Ok?" Trish asked, putting her bag down on the counter.
"I feel like a train has hit me," his voice was muffled because he had thrown a plush pillow over his face.
"Oh, poor baby. Why don't you roll over and I'll give you a massage, how does that sound?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.
Han didn't answer; he just turned over and buried his face into another pillow. Trish kicked her shoes off and straddled his waist. "Tell me if I hurt you," she said.
Han answered in a muffled reply that she assumed was "Ok,"
She started gently kneading out the extremely tense knots in his shoulders. Suddenly, she felt a pang of sympathy for him as she realized everything that he had gone through. Not just with Kai, Po, and his father, but with going to prison as an innocent person too. She sighed as she ran her hands down to his lower back and began to massage his muscles there.
"When Po and I were younger we would sneak out at night and go to this spot that no one but us knew about. It was our own special place,"
Trish was a little shocked, Han hadn't talked about Po to her before, but she knew what it was like to lose a brother, and could understand how he felt. She went from massaging his back to rubbing it in a comforting pattern.
"It was probably dangerous, and it's a miracle that we never did get caught. On those nights we always talked, looking out over the lights of Hong Kong. That's when we were our closest. It was on those nights that we told each other everything," Han paused for a moment to take a deep breath. "I remember one night, we were talking. He told me that neither of us would ever have to worry about anything, because the other one would always be there. But when he needed me the most… I wasn't there for him,"
"Han, there's nothing you could have done. Just like there was nothing that I could do for Colin-"
"But I was supposed to be there for him!" he shouted, turning over on his back to look at her, "I wasn't there,"
Trish softly ran her hand down the side of his cheek, "Please, don't blame yourself for this,"
Han looked up into her beautiful brown eyes. All he saw in them was love and compassion. He brought his hand up to the back of her neck and gently brought her down to him. Trish was shocked when their lips first connected, but she slowly leaned into the kiss. His lips were so soft against hers and she wanted this to go on forever. Slowly he pulled back and looked into her eyes again. Trish smiled a little before laying her head down his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. For the second night, the two of them fell asleep together on the couch.
