Notes: Just why am I HAVING AN AUTHOR'S BLOCK ANYWAY! No inspiration? No coffee? NO food? Actually, I had a bit of everything, except the coffee bit. Okay, so I don't have the inspiration to write right now, but I'm still writing. That particular inspiration my mind is shouting for right now is not the same inspiration that's holding me in place, preventing me from discontinuing my stories. (sigh) I'll stop ranting now.
This particular chapter will probably hold no scene at the onsen, but it will give you more hint of the main plot. Well, probably is the word, so I might insert something while I'm bored.
Disclaimer: Surely you've read the prologue, neh?
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GIFT
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By: Mai
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Chapter Three: Thick Chinese Blood and the Revival of the Legendary Left
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It has been a while since Ren Tao and his sister Jun went back to the mountains where his family is residing for generations and generations. Even though the Tao family has a vast amount of resources all around the world, the two decided that staying with their parents would provide them with more insight about the maintenance of the many corporations the clan has outside the mountains.
But to be perfectly honest, Ren Tao didn't want to stay there for long had not Jun persuaded him into doing it. Okay, more or less seventy-five percent of his sister, and more or less thirty percent of his mother, Ran Tao. But nevertheless, he stayed, and that was all that matters.
It was just another strange day at the Tao mansion. This time, though, the young Tao heir was a bit thankful that his sister didn't devise another plan to send him to the Asakura onsen. Although it was quite refreshing to visit Yoh and Anna every once a while, someone with Ren's personality never found it easy to do such a thing on a regular basis.
But today, it wasn't Jun who is going to shake Ren off his daily meditation. No, Jun was quite busy at the moment, only God knows what she's doing at moment. It couldn't be his sister. That only meant one thing.
It could only be his mother.
"What do you want, mother?" Ren asked, not looking as his mother approached him from behind. Ran had taken the time to find the young Tao, and was silently appalled to see her son at the terrace, staring at a distance, like his thoughts were somewhere else.
His thoughts may be somewhere else, but not his concentration though, Ran thought with a smile. "I was going to ask you to come with me if I wasn't disturbing anything." When she finally caught Ren's complete attention, she nodded. "I am going to visit my niece, your third degree cousin, at the nearby village. She has fallen gravely ill for no reason at all, and I want to talk to her about some matters. I would like you to escort me there. Can you do that for me?"
Ren sighed, and nodded. After all, this was his mother talking here. And also, he seems to be curious as to who is this particular cousin who he never heard of or knew since his birth until now. As a Tao, he knew he must know. But Ran was two steps ahead of her son in that particular matter.
"This niece of mine, Xi Yu, is the daughter of my first cousin, or to put bluntly, cousin-in-law, as your father's cousin was her husband." The Tao woman started as the two went off to their journey to Thukick Village, hoping that she wasn't confusing her son with the rather weird bloodline. After all, this particular clan approves with both intermarriages and marriages within the family, so it gets rather confusing when put into words. "I had my eye on this certain lady since her birth, and it once entered my thoughts that she would be a wonderful daughter-in-law someday."
When the silent Tao shaman found himself looking at his mother with a scandalous look in his eyes, Ran only chuckled. "Yes, I once entertained the thought of arranging her to be your fiancée, as she was of your age. But alas," she sighed, "that woman was as determined as you are to break tradition. No one stopped her, and as a result, things happen."
At this point, Ren didn't want his thoughts to go unanswered. To be arranged to someone he didn't know was beside the point, but the fact that he didn't know anything about it until now made him think that Yoh had more luck in the fiancé matter, since he was introduced to the cold itako when they were just children. But luck aside, he'd rather be in this state than to switch positions with Yoh. There was that enigmatic side of Anna Kyouyama he would never question as long as he lived. Yoh did that, and well, the consequences were upon him. It made Ren very grateful he was born in the Tao family, not in the Asakura household.
"I think we shall hear from Xi Yu herself when we get there." Ran finished, as if reading Ren's thoughts. The trip was silent from there on out as both mother and son were immersed in their own respective thoughts. Ren knew something was still amiss, that his mother didn't exactly divulge everything to him. It would appear that he would have to hear it from this supposed to be fiancée of his.
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"So, what brings you guys here?" Yoh asked, quite oblivious to the fact that he was the only one capable of talking in the room. Not that they were mute, mind you. Aside from the very energetic bundle that was now in Anna's arms, the others seemed to have lost the ability to respond.
Pirika was still looking at the baby, shocked, and as speechless as she could get. I mean, who wouldn't be shocked to see two of your friends with a baby who seem to have Yoh's eyes? Not that it would be a shock to others, as Yoh and Anna are already engaged and all. But the fact that they weren't like teens these days made it………rather shocking.
Horohoro, on the other hand, was silenced temporarily byAnna's slap. The words he just spurted a while ago sounded like broken china in Anna's ears. The poor Ainu man was still sprawled on the couch beside Pirika, out cold.
Flashback:
"Aren't you the fast ones." The Ainu exclaimed, staring at the three like they've grown an extra head. He'd accepted a long time ago that the two were really engaged, and to top that, they share one house. But the thing is, he for one knew the morals Anna set up around the house.
Unfortunately, for Horohoro, no more slippers were there for Anna's disposal, so she resorted to the second choice: the terrying Legendary Left. Right after the blue haired shaman blurted out that comment, Anna's left hand instantly landed painfully on his cheek, sending him flying. The said slap was used earlier on Hao when he made a remark in the area that if Anna wants to be Shaman Queen, she should marry him instead. The fire shaman didn't flew like Horohoro did, but the damage was the same. It had been a long time before she got to use it again, but still, it does the work, as usual.
Pirika, however, didn't flinch when the itako did such, as she knew the intense power of the Legendary Left – from what she heard from Tamao and Manta during the time with Hao – and to the fact that Horohoro deserved it after saying that one comment.
Yoh blinked, was about to move from his position when the little baby squealed in delight. Oh boy, looks like someone is going to take after Anna when he grows up. The baby is now looking at Anna with unconcealed admiration. No one knows how one little baby could actually enjoy Anna's actions.
Anna looked at Yoh, and at the little bundle of joy in Yoh's arms. She briskly walked to them and took the child before disappearing from the doorway. Yoh blinked again, his eyes darting from where Anna used to stand, to Pirika and Horohoro. "So, uh, come in!"
End Flashback
So that was it. Anna took the time to cuddle the baby while he looks at the strange new faces. The little one blinked, looked at the girl with the blue hair, then at the one out cold beside her, and then to the ones he called his 'Papa' and 'Mama'. He then gurgled and laughed, which caused the others to snap out of their respective trances – or in Horohoro's case, regain consciousness.
"So," Horohoro began, straightening himself up, looking at Yoh and Anna all the way, "will you tell us about him?" he asked, gesturing at the baby laughing in Anna's arms. "I know there's a simple explanation how that one got here."
"He was left by his parents." Anna replied in a monotone voice before Yoh could answer. 'Just like me, I guess………maybe he'll take after me, then.' "He was left in our doorstep, of all places, and the said parent used a spirit excite spell to disturb our sleep, in case we didn't have plans of going outside."
"So that's what that spell is all about!" Yoh exclaimed, somehow understanding what happened. He stopped, and looked at his fiancée with uncertainty. "Ah, Anna? How did you know the one who did the spell were his parents?"
"The spell was strong, but not strong enough to cause damage to anyone or anything." Anna explained, still in her monotonous voice. "I'm guessing they just want to wake us up."
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It took them awhile before finally arriving at Thukick village. Although it resembled some of the older towns, there were more of the modern shops in this one, and is bustling with people. Some stores were overcrowding, most of the food stops are full, and well, Thukick village was one very lively place. Ren would even bet that the excitement in this town would last until midnight.
Ran led her son to a small two-story building, preferrably an apartment. The two stopped in front of the young guard at the door. Ran cleared her throat. "Can I still find Xi Yu in this place?"
The guard looked at her, then at Ren, and immediately recognized the Tao features in the young shaman. He bowed, and replied, "Yes, ma'am. Mistress Kimiko is upstairs, in the last room down the hall."
Ren raised an eyebrow, and this didn't go unnoticed by the guard. "I apologize. Miss Xi Yu and Mistress Kimiko are only one person, if that report didn't reach yet. Mistress Kimiko wouldn't like it if we address her by that name." He was referring to the name Xi Yu.
Ran nodded and went past the guard. Ren glanced at the person at the door one last time before finally joining with his mother inside. They were silent all the way, until Ran knocked on the door of the last room.
The door was opened by a person in a long brown cloak with a hood covering the face. But the voice was indeed female. "Who be there?"
"Greetings. I am Tao Ran, and I would like to have an audience with Xi Yu." Ran started, bowing. She straightened up and gestured at her son. "And this be my son, Ren."
Ren stiffened at the introduction, but bowed nonetheless. The cloaked one nodded, but whispered in a soft voice, "If I were you, visitors, I would not address Mistress Kimiko by that name." But she opened the door wide, as to let them both in.
"I would take that in mind." Ran said as she entered along with Ren, the boy were quiet all the way.
The room was dark, as the windows were closed, and the only source of light was from a candle that was placed at a table near the bed. On the bed, was a young woman in a white yukata, sitting up. Her long raven hair was tied loosely, and hung on one side of her shoulder, partly revealing a pale face that Ren recognized all too well.
'It can't be! It can't be her! How….! How come they look so………'
"Airi, please leave us." The woman on the bed commanded, and air of authority around her despite the fact that she looked bedridden. "I wish to speak to them alone."
"Yes, Mistress Kimiko." The door was closed, and the two were left in the room with another black sheep of the family.
"Please, do take a seat, auntie." The girl said, gesturing to a chair a few feet away from the bed, not even looking at anyone. "I apologize if there is no chair for you, young sir, would you be alright?"
Ren realized she was talking to him. "Yes, I'll be fine. No need to bring out another one."
The girl, who must have been Kimiko, nodded, still not looking at either of her visitors. "You never seem to lose track of time to bother visiting me, Aunt Ran." She started. "After all that has happened, you still found the time to talk to me."
"You are still my niece, and no matter what you say, the fact remains that you are still a Tao." Ran replied, looking at the woman with regret in her eyes. Regret? Of what? Probably of not able to stop her. Dakedo………
"But still, my memory doesn't belong to the Tao family." Kimiko said, now looking up, but still not looking at Ran, or Ren. "I was given the right to live by this woman, your cousin, dear auntie, my mother, but the right to live in this time was given to me by someone who had surpassed those who had mastered the elements."
Ren's eye widened for the third time this day. He only knows one person who mastered the elements, and he wasn't living in this time. He lived a thousand years ago. He lived fifty decades ago. And he once lived in this time. It wasn't possible, but from what Tao Ren had experienced, nothing was impossible at this point.
The one who granted Kimiko that life, who did the same to himself, could only be one person.
Hao.
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Notes: I'm such an idiot. I wasn't supposed to type that, but oh well………it'd be better that way, I'll be cutting off the other chapters, so it'll be shorter, ne? You could always guess the main plot...I'm such a spoiler! x.x
Point one. About the left slap Anna gave Hao, I used the dubbed version because I liked how it sounded, even though I really didn't watch it. And it gave Anna reason to really use her Phantasmal Left (!). I mean, who wouldn't get pissed at what he said if you were in Anna's shoes.
Point two. I lied. I said there'd be no scenes in the onsen, but I still made something. I mean, I placed the Revival of the Legendary Left on the title without the plot of it in the said chapter.
Point three. Forgive me if it'll take a long time to update. I'll be heading off to college, and I don't think I can bring my beloved computer with me, so, there. Gomenasai.
Quote of the month: "If you don't believe in your own strength, then there's no way you can believe in others." – Hao Asakura (Shaman King)