White Tigers and Black
Note: ARIGATOU, MINNA-SAN~~~!!! Thanks for sticking through my novel through thick and thin! I promise you more action from this point on! OK? Special mention to Bookie and Fluffychans…ARIGATOU! You guys keep me going! Now on with the show!
Lei did not know how long it was he slept…the last thing he knew was that he was looking at a tall young man with long, silvery-white hair, and he promptly lost consciousness.
He seemed so familiar to him.
But…
Why can't he remember?
Light poured down on him, making him slowly open his eyes. A woman wearing a dark gray cheongsam was pulling at the curtains inside a room, and he blinked twice again, before trying to sit up.
"Oh please, Master Lei, do not force yourself," the woman said. "Your wound is still very fresh."
Excruciating pain shot up from his left side, and Lei looked down at it blankly. Bandages were swathed on the left side of his abdomen, and even if he moved just the tiniest bit, the pain stabs right through him and he would just grit his teeth and close his eyes, and wait for the pain to pass.
"You wish anything to drink?" the woman inquired him softly.
"No, thank you," Lei said, smiling weakly. He looks around. "Where am I?"
"You are in one of the main bedrooms of the manor of Lord Kon," the woman replies, nodding. "Master Lee has brought you here, along with your friend."
"Kai?" Lei was curious. "And Lee…Lord KON?! Uh…where are they…"
"They are taking tea in the gardens," the woman replies. "I shall inform them of your recovery."
She leaves. Lei waited for another stab of pain to pass, and looked around.
He was in a huge room of some sort, with amber yellow curtains of silk on which were embroidered several prancing tigers (^^;;). He was lying on a bed in the ancient Chinese style, 4 poster, made of a dark cinnabar wood and intricate and elaborate carvings on its posts, and had 5 huge pillows on them, and an amber yellow silken bedspread on which was embroidered a White Tiger. There was a screen on the other end of the room, showing people dressed in the refinement of ancient Chinese nobility, and several hanging scrolls that were hung on the walls, depicting beautiful calligraphy and delicate watercolor paintings of different colored birds and mythological personalities. Huge porcelain jars that looked like they were from the Ming and T'ang Dynasties filled the room, and there was a standing chest of drawers on the left side of his bed, in the same dark cinnabar wood, intricately carved with scenes from Chinese legends.
It didn't take Lei to figure out long enough that the whole room was filled with priceless Chinese antiques and that the owner of this house was incredibly wealthy.
He froze.
Wait a minute.
She DID say Lord KON, right?
Was he…a relative?
Lei felt strong enough to walk around a few minutes later.
He wandered through the house, marvelling at its stately grandeur and simple elegance, for it was a very beautiful and well-appointed house befitting a man of high rank in Imperial China. Antiques he was sure to reach millions of dollars in all, along with those huge jars and hanging scrolls of calligraphy and watercolor paintings, filled every nook and corner of the manor, along with several cheongsam-ed maids. Every room was filled with lots of things to see, and the floor was of white marble, polished so much that it shone and felt like a mirror in its smoothness.
He turns a corner and saw the gardens for the very first time. Lei blinks and stepped into the raised platform leading to the main gardens itself, and looks around.
Yes, it was also done in the fine taste of Imperial China standards, and there was a small pond in the middle of it, where lots of colorful carp swam lazily underneath the huge lily pads that floated on the surface. A gazebo-like structure was constructed above the pond, and was reached by means of a small bridge; Lei noticed that there were other small bridges that led to quiet grottos and other hidden retreats, running over small ponds like the one in the middle. The garden designer, or whoever it was responsible for the entire layout of the gardens, made it even possible for a small artificial stream to run across smooth, circular rocks, which glinted in the sun. Birds sang sweetly in the trees, and Lei could almost imagine irridiscent dragonflies almost skipping the water surface, heralding the start of summer. Beautiful flowers grew about the bridgeways and the stream, filling the air with their own sweet fragrance and their beautiful colors to delight a weary traveler's eyes.
He hears the sound of a bamboo dipper, then he looked to his left. Lei wasted no time in going towards that direction, and was surprised by what he saw.
The silver-white haired young man was busy adding final delicate touches to the watercolor painting he was doing, and it was a magnificent grayish falcon. A falcon was perched on the perch in front of him, its steely deep yellow eyes unflinching as it regarded Lei with an indifferent look in its eyes.
"So you've finally decided to come back into the world of the living."
Lei started at the voice, and blinked. An old man was seated a few meters away from the silver-white haired young man, puffing at a pipe. He was dressed in a silk cheongsam that made Lei think of a very high official back in Imperial China: it was of a deep gray color, and the sleeves were of navy blue; his silk trousers were also navy blue hidden underneath a double slitted skirt of deep gray, and he had a black sash tied about his waist. It was beautifully embroidered with a tiger that curled up and above, and he had soft silk slippers on his feet.
"Uh…yes." Lei blinked again. "Where's Kai?"
"Oh? That friend of yours? I sent him back to the hotel, he was most adamant in telling your other friends that you were injured grievously, but, yes, you survived. Yes, we're all tigers in the family." The old man smiled at him warmly, and it was a kind, honest face: he had pure white hair and a mustache and he had…
AMBER YELLOW EYES~~~?!
"…" The silver-white haired young man sighed. "Don't terrify him, Grandfather. It's his 1st time to meet us…"
"…" The old man was silent for a few seconds, then he burst into tears. Lei was panicking, while the silver-white haired young man continued on his painting. "TERRIFY him~~~?! How could you think THAT~~~?! Oh if your parents were alive right now they'd be VERY HAPPY~~~!!! I'm just GLAD…FEI YOU'VE COME BACK TO ME AGAIN~~~!!! AND MEI LING~~~!!! OH BOTH THE FATHER AND THE MOTHER…YOU LOOK EXACTLY JUST LIKE THEM WHEN THEY WERE STILL ALIVE~~~!!!"
SD Lei's eyes became little beads.
The young man had an ominous battle aura emanating from his being and he glared at the old man, a pulsing vein twitching atop his head. "STOP SAYING THAT~~~!!! It's already BAD that those guys at the nearby 7/11 hit on me EVERY SINGLE CHANCE THEY GET~~~!!!"
"But you DO look like your mother, and your brother Lei's a spitting image of your father," the old man said, blowing his nose. "What's WRONG with THAT~~~?!"
"~~~~" SD young man returned to his painting, a black cloud floating about his head.
BROTHER?! Oh, yes, that guy said he was…
"Brother…LEE?" SD Lei was blinking. "How on EARTH did I have an older BROTHER?"
"Long story," the old man replied, sniffling. "But as all love stories go, they started by falling in love with one another. And then came the wedding night…"
SD Lee Kon hurled a huge throwpillow at the old man, his teeth jagged fangs.
"DON'T EVEN TRY TO CORRUPT HIS MIND, YOU PERVERTED OLD BASTARD~~~!!!"
"Per…verted…?" SD Lei's eyes became little beads.
"Is this how you treat your grandfather, after ALL those things I did for YOU~~~"
"Yeah, like leaving me stranded in that MARKETPLACE when those stupid whitecoats swooped down on ME." SD Lee was growling. "You just HAD to CHASE them. Is being a LECHER your motto for LIFE?!"
The old man blows his nose again.
"Grand…father…?" SD Lei asked again, his eyes still little beads.
"Oh yes. I forgot to introduce myself." The old man sniffles again. "Lei, I am your grandfather, and he is your brother. My name is Lao Kon. So how do you do?"
"The more appropriate greeting would be, 'had any hot chicks lately?'" SD Lee muttered, looking cutely murderous.
"Did you say something?"
"Oh, NO. Why would I?" Lee blinked, looking innocent. "I wouldn't even think THAT! How could YOU even think SO?"
"You're…family?" Lei was confused. "But how…"
"VERY long story." Lao Kon puffed at his pipe again. "But it all started when the Black Tiger Clan and the White Tiger Clan came into a misunderstanding a LONG time ago. Your parents were killed in the conflict that erupted, I was planning to escape with the both of you but a group of people took you hostage, and I had no choice but to take Lee, out of the White Tiger Village and fled to France, where we have been living for 19 years now."
"People took me hostage?"
"They needed a Kon to keep things interesting," Lao continued. "You may not know it, but we were a pretty influential family when it came to the matters of the White Tiger Clan. The White Tiger bit was our family treasure. It is very powerful, and has the power to protect the village from harm. It was for this reason they…stole it from us."
"???" SD Lei was confused.
"They wanted to protect the village with the power of the White Tiger, so naturally, everybody wanted a piece of the White Tiger bit. In the ensuing confusion and conflict that followed, there were a bunch of men in the elders' council who plotted to steal the bit and…well, they didn't mean to have your parents killed in the process. A lot of people died that day. One of the remaining elders that remained gave you the White Tiger bit, and maybe…I guess he felt remorse for what he and his other brethren had done. Greed for power could usurp even the most honorable of hearts…that was what I learned the hard way. We were exiled, fearing that we would exact revenge on them one day. But we do not take that as a course of action." Lao nodded. "It is what our ancestors instilled in us, even up to this very day."
"But surely…Grandfather…you have heard what has happened to the village?!" Lei was suddenly angry. "Those Black Tigers decimated ALL of the villagers, leaving none LEFT!"
"Yes, I have heard. It was quite a shock…I only learned about it 2 days ago." Lao puffs at his pipe again. "Shao Fei hates the White Tigers because he believes that we were the ones responsible for killing his family, in that conflict 19 years ago. His heart is filled with such pain and anger…for him it's a fitting retribution for all the crimes we committed. He SAYS we committed." He frowns. "But what REALLY happened? That is the one thing I would like to KNOW."
"…" Lei was quiet, then he blinks and looks over at Lee, who was still painting. "Lee…you mentioned the whitecoats…"
"…" Lee turned SD and looked at him, his eyes closed happily. "Yes I did! Whitecoats from the Guild!"
"So then…"
"I'm an –Auran-, too!" SD Lee looked too happy about it, as if Christmas had come too early. "And I'm PROUD of IT! Mind you, it was hard escaping those bastards while they were on full-blast JUTES!"
"You…escaped…"
"I'm planning to pay them a little visit," SD Lee continued, starting to put his painting things away. "Yup, they've been crazily hunting for me these past 10 years, I'm sure Shao would tell them I'm alive. Hee hee, I can't wait to see the expression on their faces!"
"…" SD Lei blinked. Lao puffs at his pipe again.
"You'll get used to him." Lao pointed at the tea and sweet bean paste cakes on the table. "Care for some tea?"