Khu Lon had woken early that morning to go and check up on her great grand grand daughter and Koiichi to see how they were doing. She knew that her great grand daughter had grudgingly taken up the job and had hoped that she could get along with Koiichi but she wasn't too sure. She pogoed up the stairs leading into the healer' home and took a peek into the boy's room. The Elder's eyes widened in surprise and then filled with a warmth she had forgotten existed long ago. There in the bed was Xian Pu sleeping with Koiichi sitting in a chair snoring quietly. She closed the door as quietly as she could and pogoed away chuckling at the scene in the healer's, thinking that maybe she had made the right decision after all.
-0-0-0-
Xian Pu yawned and stretched her arms. She knew this wasn't the chair because it was too soft and she was lying down, not sitting up. She opened her groggy eyes and found that she was on the bed in Koiichi's room and her eyes flashed dangerously thinking that Koiichi had tried to take advantage of her last night. She muttered very darkly,
("Koi...")
"Hm? Yeah?"
She rolled over and found Koiichi looking tiredly at her from the chair she had been sleeping on last night. She blushed very furiously and said way too quickly to sound normal,
("Nothingatall.")
Xian Pu could not believe she had jumped to that conclusion about Koiichi who had just became very confused. He said,
"Slow down there Xian Pu, my Chinese isn't that good."
Koiichi took in her very flushed face and said,
"You all right there Xian Pu? You seem a bit flushed?"
("Yes.") I mean yes Koi, I fine."
Koiichi's worried expression changed to an amused one and said,
"Looks like you and me need to work on our languages."
"What you mean? I speak Japanese very well."
He laughed and said,
"Yes you do, but it's a little rough around the edges."
Xian Pu said bitterly,
("Oh? Your Chinese isn't that great either Koi.")
He let one of his genuine smiles slip in and said,
("Well that why I say we help each other. I work with you on Japanese, you help me with Chinese. Deal?")
Xian Pu surprised herself by giggling and saying,
("Sure Koiichi. I'm sure we could help each other.")
He cracked a smile stretching the scars lining his face and causing him to wince and touch his lips. Shampoo scrunched up her face and thought,
'Hm, I wonder where the scars on his face came from.'
"What these?"
He pointed to the scars all along his face and arms that could be seen. Xian Pu felt her face becoming hot and said,
("Did I say that out loud")
He chuckled and said,
"Yeah, you did. It's alright though, I don't mind telling you. So which ones do you want to know about? Each one has it's own fun story to go along with it."
Xian Pu looked thoughtful for a moment and pointed to the one that went from the beginning of his hair line and down to his eye brow. She said,
("How did you get that one?")
He felt along the scar and said,
"Oh, that was when I fell down this cliff I had been climbing and hit a rock. Let me tell you it bled like crazy, thought my vision had turned permanently red in my right eye."
He chuckled to himself and left Xian Pu to stare at him with the patented grew second head stare. She got her composure back and said,
("H-how about this one.")
She pointed to a very long one on his arm stretching from just above his wrist to just below his elbow. He smiled and said,
"That, I got with a run in with a tiger. That took a good number of stitches to sew up if I remember right."
Xian Pu was back to previously stated patented stare and did a once over of the stick figure of a boy sitting in front of her and wondering how this could have happened to him. She knew he seemed to live a troubled life but was it that hard? She filed that thought away for later and instead she kept on pointing to scars all over his body and listening to their stories until she came to the last one. It went from his lower lip all the way down to his chin from the corner of his mouth. She put her finger on it and she said,
(Where did you get this one Koi?")
He brought her hand down with his and electricity shot up her arm. She looked again to his eyes and saw that out of all the stories he had kept a happy face on, this one he kept in an expressionless gaze. He said,
"That one Xian Pu, is one I got from believing a 'friend'. I had visited the village I lived at before my travels and it turns out they held a grudge against me, including my old 'friend' there. He asked me to come out to an old secluded spot we used to play at. It turns out that he drew me out there so the village boys could capture me and beat me into a bloody pulp. One of them had a knife and before my 'friend' could stop him he cut my lip and mouth open down to the end of that scar."
They both sat in an uncomfortable silence until Xian Pu said,
("I did not know Koi, I am sorry.")
His light attitude broke the surface again and he dismissed it with a wave of his hand. He said,
"You shouldn't be sorry for my own stupidity and what the other guys did. There's nothing you could have done anyway."
The healer chose that moment to walk in and tell them that Koiichi needed his bandages changed. Xian Pu said that she would stay but the healer shed light on a certain part of the proceedings that made Xian Pu blush and stutter out an excuse to run to the training hall. When she left, she thought of the short time with Koiichi and wondered how she had become friends with a boy she had hated so much but now actually liked just as much as her sisters or maybe even a little more so. Thoughts of the boy were being tossed around her mind at break neck speed and before she knew it, she had arrived at the training hall. She entered the building to the bows of the younger girls which she returned until she reached the training grounds. Everyone there paused in their fights to wave and when she arrived to the back of the grounds, she waved over to her friends who waved back and motioned for her to go over to them. With a smile on her face she said,
("Hello Jai Na, Kan Lan. How has your day been going?")
Jai Na said,
("Well Xian Pu, we've been having a good day so far but we didn't see you all morning. Where have you been?")
She blushed and said,
("Well, my great grand mother told me to stand watch over the boy that has come into the village.")
The other girls eyes widened in shock and then turned into a mischievous glint. Kan Lan said,
("We heard rumors of a man coming into the village, although we didn't know why. Do you Xian Pu?")
Her brow wrinkled and a worried look came into her eyes. She said,
("Koi said that he was attacked by a local village and that an enemy of his tried to cripple him after the village was through.")
The other girls gave a speculative look at Xian Pu but dismissed it and instead said,
("So Xian Pu, is he good husband material?")
Xian Pu looked at her questioningly and said,
("Uh, I don't really know. From his stories though he seems to have done much traveling and had to fight a lot during them.")
Jai Na said,
("Really? Has he told you where he has been?")
Xian Pu concentrated and said,
("Yeah, he said he has been all over China and Japan and traveled a bit in India and a couple of other countries I haven't heard of."
Kan Lan asked,
("What has he fought? Did he tell you?")
("Yeah, he said he fought tigers and villagers and this crazy 'friend' of his that is intent on killing him. He mentioned a couple of other thing though, but I can't remember them.")
The girls looked at her funnily before Jai Na said,
("Alright, one more question.")
Xian Pu nodded and Jai Na said,
("Is he cute?")
Xian Pu turned beet red and started to sputter out something when her friends giggled and said,
("Alright Xian Pu, we'll take that as a yes.")
Xian Pu started to mutter about the stupidity of boy's and something about girls when a new voice interrupted her muttering.
"Hey I'm not that bad."
Koiichi had limped his way over to them on crutches and in wore a lot less bandages than he had on that morning. Her two friends gazed at Koiichi with interest while Xian Pu's blush vanished from sight and she squeaked out,
("Koi? What are you doing out here.")
Koi chuckled a little and said,
"Well after breaking the laws of nature I was told that I could get out and walk around."
("But your legs-")
"They're fine Xian Pu. Some of the fractures have almost healed and the bone is set and healing as well. I should be walking in two weeks."
("Wow. You heal fast.")
He snorted and said,
"You're tellin' me. Who are your friends."
He set his intense soul gaging gaze on them and made them squirm in their seats like Xian Pu did the first time she met him. Xian Pu giggled and said,
("Koi, stop that.")
He looked over to Xian Pu and his gaze softened almost immediately. He said,
"Alright Xian Pu. So who are your friends."
She looked over to her two wary friends and said,
("The one to the left is Jai Na and the one to the right is Kan Lan. You'll have to use Chinese though, they don't know Japanese.")
"Okay. (Hello my name Koiichi. Nice to meet you.")
He bowed as far as the crutches would allow and the girls did the same as well, though did not bow that deeply, just nodded their heads to show that they accepted his presence. The boy shakily began to descend to the ground to sit when Xian Pu came over and said very worriedly,
("Koi, you shouldn't be out here you know. You should have stayed at the healers.")
Koiichi mock pouted and said,
("I need get out. It too cramped in there.")
Jai Na began to giggle at some unforeseen joke and got confused stairs from the other three people nearby. When she finally composed herself enough to speak she said,
("Well, I guess what you said was true Xian Pu. He is pretty cute.")
Xian Pu turned fire engine red while everyone else laughed, including Koiichi.
Xian Pu said,
("Well if he's so cute, why don't you challenge him?")
Jai Na got a mischievous look in her eye and said,
("You know Xian Pu, that doesn't sound like a bad idea.")
Xian Pu looked just a little nervous while Koiichi looked from one girl to the other hoping this didn't involve his life or something like it. Oh the famous last words.
Xian Pu said,
("I was just joking Jai Na, you don't really have to.")
("Why not Xian Pu. It's not like you want to challenge him right?")
Xian Pu blushed and felt like any where else would be better than where she was right then.
("Well, uh, I suppose not, but still.")
Kan Lan said,
("Yeah Xian Pu. I don't see the problem with it.")
Xian Pu tried to find an excuse to get Koiichi out of the challenge and hurriedly said,
("Well, he is still weak from his travels. He should be given time to rest. Cmon Koi.")
Jai Na grumbled and said,
("Oh alright, you win. Just don't go off and challenge him now Xian Pu.") Xian Pu laughed nervously and said,
("Now why would I do that Jai Na? C'mon Koi.")
She roughly pulled him to his feet and started to half drag and half man handle him all the way out of the training hall, getting the occasional 'ow' from Koiichi and the ocean full of onlookers staring at the lavender haired beauty dragging the scarred and broken boy behind her. When they reached the outside of the hall she pushed Koiichi up against the wall and held him there with one arm while accusingly pointing her finger at him. Her eyes flashed dangerously and she said,
(Koiichi! Why are you out of the healer's home! Do you know how close you just came to getting-")
"What, a challenge? What's that?"
Xian Pu looked at Koiichi and said carefully,
("It's a thing that when an Amazon challenges an outsider and if that outsider loses then they must marry the Amazon. But they must accept the challenge, if not then they cannot hold Amazon laws to them. On the other hand, if an Amazon woman is beaten by outsider man then they must marry that outsider.")
Koiichi took it all in and said with a smile on his face,
"Well then looks like I owe you one for saving my butt."
Xian Pu let go of Koiichi and said a little embarrassed at her annoyance with the good natured boy. She said,
("Well, let's get you back to the healer's.")
She went to grab his hand but he hobbled away on his crutches. Xian Pu looked at him confusedly and said,
("What are you doing Koi? Let's get back to the healer's.")
Koiichi got a mischievous glint in his eye and said,
"Hey, you asked me twice now why I am out of the healer's and now I'm gonna answer that a second time. The healer has given me time to enjoy myself and play around town a bit. You think I'm gonna pass that up 'cause I almost got challenged? You'll have to catch me first Xian Pu."
He stuck his tongue out at her and started to hobble away laughing like a maniac. Xian Pu was a little surprised that a boy in crutches had just said she had to catch him if she could. She thought of the maniac on the crutches and said very darkly,
("Koiichi...I'm...gonna...KILL YOU!")
She started to chase after the cackling Koiichi and threw everything that came within reach at the speeding crutch boy. As easy as she thought it was going to be to catch him, it turns out he was very fast while using those crutches of his. As a matter of fact he actually escaped her a couple of times and had to throw things at her to get her attention. She chased him around like this for hours and by the time they had to go back they had both lain panting and laughing in the field just outside the village for a good fifteen minutes. Xian Pu said,
("How are youhuffso fast on thosehuffcrutches Koi.")
He laughed and panted at the same time and said,
"I kinda learned howhuffto run with thesehuffbecause Ihuffused to be chased around by village gangs when I didn't heal as fast as I didhuff."
Xian Pu looked over at the smiling boy who looked to just have the time of his life and she said,
("We better head back Koi.")
He looked at her and mock pouted. Xian Pu giggled and said,
("C'mon Koi, we gotta go.")
He put on the puppy dog eyes and said,
"Aw c'mon, just five more minutes. Please?"
His eyes grew as large as saucers and began to sparkle. Xian Pu sighed at the childish move and sighed. She said,
("Alright Koi, since you're so cute.")
She covered her mouth at the escaped comment and Koiichi smiled and decided that the famous Saotome foot in the mouth disease would not make an appearance tonight. They lay there in the grass in companionable silence staring at the stars until Koiichi got up and said,
"Ok. Let's go."
Koiichi grabbed his crutches and started to hobble his way back to the village with Xian Pu looking up at the stars and anything else to try and avoid eye contact with Koiichi. They entered the healer's home a while later to the quirked eyebrows of Khu Lon and the healer's and the happy face of Koiichi to the embarrassed one of Xian Pu. Khu Lon had a funny look in her eyes when she said,
"So then Koiichi, have fun?"
Koiichi looked mischievously at the Elder picking up the hint and said,
"You betcha. With a cute girl like Xian Pu here, how couldn't I?"
Xian Pu was radiating heat she was blushing so bad and when Khu Lon asked her if she was sick or something, she jumbled out a an answer in several different languages. Everyone in the room laughed while Xian Pu said something about boy's and Elder's being immature while stomping off in the general direction of the bathroom. Khu Lon looked over to Koiichi and said,
"Nice job Koiichi. Didn't think that you had caught the hint."
He chuckled and said,
"Yeah. Since we're waiting Elder, why don't you speak what's on your mind. You seem troubled."
The Elder looked at him long and hard. He knew she was troubled even though she was hiding it very well. This boy had a few tricks up his sleeve that she knew were going to make the next couple of weeks interesting.
"Yes Koiichi, I do have something on my mind. Your healing rate is a little...-"
"Weird?"
"Yes, a little weird you could say?"
"You're wondering why I'm healing so fast?"
"Yes Koiichi. I have seen Ki masters use their Ki to heal but they could not heal at this rate. I do not even sense your Ki and yet somehow you are healing faster than anyone I have ever seen before. Care to explain?"
Koiichi's eyed the Elder thoughtfully before saying,
"I'm not sure it would be wise to tell you Elder."
She smiled and said,
"Why would that be Koiichi? It's not like it could hurt telling me right?"
She chuckled but noticed one very minor thing. Koiichi was not.
"Right Koiichi?"
Koiichi looked very uncomfortable for a second and shifted his feet. He said almost so quietly that both Amazons and the eaves dropping Xian Pu had to strain their ears to hear.
"I'm sorry Elder, but it would."
The Elder's eyes widened in surprise and she said,
"Why do you say that Koiichi? What would hurt you if you told us?"
The one word stopped he said banished any questions about who he thought would. The one, simple word was,
"You."
No one spoke for a good few moments until Koiichi said,
"You can stop eaves dropping now Xian Pu."
Xian Pu 'eeped' and slowly walked out from the wall she had been hiding behind to see the two surprised faces of the healer and her great grandmother. The boy's happy features had given way to ones of utmost seriousness that aged him at least ten years. When he looked to the Elder again he said,
"You wanted to say more Elder?"
"Another time Koiichi. Before we leave, I would like to know why you think we would hurt you if you told us why you heal so fast."
He sighed and aged another ten years. He looked to the Elder again and said,
"Many have said they wouldn't if I told them. Some promised on their honor they wouldn't and in the end, they all hurt me. No exceptions."
All of a sudden, he dropped twenty five years off his expression and said,
"Hey, we gonna get dinner or what. I'm starving."
Everyone stared at the boy who had just changed face faster than the flash and wondered if he was completely in the right mind.
-0-0-0-
Koiichi hobbled his way into his room after dinner as if nothing had happened, but it weighed heavily on everyone else.
Flashback(Isn't it cool?)
Khu Lon had been flashing glances to the over joyed Koiichi at having such good food the entire time they had been eating dinner. She had been wondering why he could not feel comfortable talking to her openly about his past. Even though he had said why she still felt that no matter what she wouldn't do what he had said. When she remembered the memory sight and thought of the boy's open denial at talking about his past, she inwardly winced hoped he would not resent her after words. She sighed at just about the same time Xian Pu did. The boy paused in mid wolfing to look curiously at the two girls before reengaging his wolfing of the food. Xian Pu may have sighed at the same time as the Elder, but for much different reasons. She was wondering why someone she was supposed to hate and despise was turning into one of her best friends in a matter of days. As she kept searching for an answer she kept running more and more circles in her head until there a metaphorical trench in her mind. She sighed in defeat and instead looked at Koiichi inhaling his food at Mach speed and couldn't help but giggle. Koiichi stopped with his entire serving of rice half in and half out of his mouth. Xian Pu saw this and her giggle escalated into a full blown laugh. Khu Lon looked and started to laugh as well. The healer just shook her head and hoped that the pain would end soon.
End Flashback(Also very cool?)
Again tonight there was Xian Pu and Koiichi left alone in the healer's and again they talked. Koiichi and Xian Pu talked late into the night until she fell asleep and he lay tossing in his bed again, eventually dropping the Amazon in his bed and taking the chair. Tonight though, something different happened. Xian Pu did not let go. No matter what Koiichi did, he could not unravel the death grip of the Amazon girl. He sighed in resignation and plopped down on the floor and looked through the window at the beautiful night sky. He shifted his position so he could lay back against against the frame and hopefully wake up without getting mallet ed. When Koiichi's snoring reached a certain lavender haired girl's ears, she smiled and cracked an eye open and snuggled closer to the sleeping form of Koiichi and fell asleep. For real this time.
A/N: AHHHHHHHHHH! I'm sorry for the gushiness and all of the WAFFy moments. I know that the girls must think this is nice but I promise all the guy's out there cool thing will happen. Especially when Jokka makes an appearance. So please stick with me and try to wade your way the the sea of WAFF and sappy moments. But I have to say there will be more moments like this to further the story. Gah.