So... I'm incredibly tired today! I had the longest History class of my life and it was really boring! You have no idea! And I couldn't sleep because the teacher was keeping an eye on me since my friend, who was beside me, slept first! And guess what I "learned"... Something that looks like a tradition, to study the colonization process... I study it every year! It's always the same... Portuguese people came, planted some things, enslaved and killed Indians, found gold later, went back to Portugal, blah, blah, blah... Well, at least I took advantage of it to write a new chapter for this fic! Huahuahua!
I thank you for those who reviewed! Answers now!
VampireNaomi – I already answered your comments and questions... except for some details that would have been spoilers.^^ I'll just repeat that Paco is not in love for Jack! You already know that, but I want to remind everyone that I usually don't write serious yaoi couples in my fics. Oh, and you and some other readers got what you asked for. This chapter, Jade and Hsi Wu will do... what a "whole" fangirls club asked me to write! With no details at all, of course!
Forgotten Love – Words can't express how happy I am with your reviews and e-mails!^^ I hope you keep liking my stories. So... are you still going to translate my fic? It's ok if you don't want it anymore, but could you please translate at least one single paragraph?^^" Please?? *puppy eyes*
SliverZeo – A new reader! Yay!^_^ Thank you very much! But why did you review chapter 2? Have you already read this fic until chapter 18?
Regrem Erutaerc – Hah! You didn't review chapter 18, but I know you still like my fic! Hehe! I just want to say that you're still a great friend, even if you always make me feel like my English sucks... Thank you for the help with the translation!^_^
*****
Chapter 19: Scars of the Past
"So you really want to fight against me, Jade?", Hsi Wu asked smiling bitterly. Deep down he didn't want to do that, but if Jade was being so stubborn in front of his older sister, the sky demon would have to do something.
"Come, if you have enough courage!", she challenged and Hsi Wu's expression became completely serious.
"Foolish mortal...", he muttered and looked surprised at Bai Tsa as she took her human form. "What are you doing, sister Bai?"
"This way it'll be more humiliating to the human.", she replied smirking. "You should do that too, Hsi. It'll be fun.", she suggested and after thinking for a while, he smirked and also took his human form.
The two demons took a fighting position and the humans flinched. Hsi Wu was the first one who attacked. He started by jumping and trying to punch her, but Jade managed to block it. He next tried a high kick, but Jade ducked beneath it and tried to punch him back. The sky demon blocked it with his left arm and then punched her in the stomach, and she backed away holding her stomach.
Meanwhile, Bai Tsa started with a flying kick, and Valmont had to crouch. When he was standing up, Bai kicked him in the back and he fell on his stomach, but he quickly turned around in the ground and used his hands to drive himself forward and kick the water demon with his feet, then landing on his feet taking a fighting position again. All those moves made him feel very uncomfortable, but Valmont didn't want to show any pain.
The water demon got up angry and tried a high kick, which was blocked by Valmont. He tried to punch her, but she jumped and she hit him in the face with a jump kick. Valmont had to make a great effort to keep his balance after that, and Bai took advantage of that moment of distraction to hit him in the head. This time he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Jade was giving a sequence of kicks in Hsi, who was easily blocking or dodging them. He kneed her in the stomach and she was knocked against the wall. The sky demon rushed to hit her but she got out of his way right on time and he ended up punching the wall, although it didn't cause him any pain. Hsi jumped and tried a flying jump, but Jade jumped back to dodge it. When Hsi Wu landed, she tripped him. The sky demon lost his balance and fell to the ground. Jade was going to stomp on him, but he grabbed her foot and twisted it. Thus, she also fell. They got up at the same time and took a fighting position, facing each other. They had to admit that this fight was very fun and exciting.
On the other hand, Valmont wasn't enjoying this fight at all. He slowly got up and paused to recover his breath. Bai Tsa walked towards him from behind and he clenched his fists angry. She ran to him and Valmont turned around when she was almost reaching him, and he grabbed her from her clothes and turned again to throw her. While she got up, he tried to hit her with a flying jump, but she created a water ball with one of her hands. She then threw the ball at him and it turned into a burst of water. The man ended up falling on the street. That last blow had really been too much for him, and Valmont couldn't move anymore.
"Valmont!", Jade yelled. She drew a deep breath when on that exact moment, just to worsen their situation, she saw that a bus was coming towards him. Jade wanted to help him, but Hsi Wu grabbed her.
Valmont tried to get up but failed. The driver of the bus seemed to have seen that someone was in the middle of the street, but the vehicle was to fast and he couldn't do anything about it. When everybody thought that would his end, Bai Tsa managed to jump and save him a second before the bus could reach him. She was hit in the shoulder, but thanks to her recovering power she didn't have any damage. Jade and Hsi Wu stared at her, openmouthed. Hsi Wu remembered the girl and took advantage of her distraction to hit her in the back and immobilize her again, this time more firmly.
Valmont wasn't unconscious, but he wasn't very far from it. Bai Tsa approached him, still knelt down, with an angry face.
"You stupid human! What do you think you were doing?! Did you want to die?"
Valmont barely could find strength to answer, and Jade had to speak for him.
"Hey, give him a break! He's injured!"
Bai Tsa observed him and noted that the girl was right. He looked very weak and sore. Bai took her true form and grabbed him with one of her tentacles. She then turned to look at Hsi Wu and Jade and smirked.
"Remember what our father always said? We must take care of our slaves so that they will live and serve us for more time. And I think you should take care of your slave too, Hsi...", she warned and Jade felt cold shivers going down her spine as she heard that last phrase. She felt Hsi's claws tightening her even more. Not because he wanted to hurt her or make sure she wouldn't try to escape, but because he looked very uneasy with that warning. The water demon went away carrying Valmont while he stood in the street staring at nothing. Jade noted that the driver had stopped and tried to approach, but now he was shocked after he saw Bai Tsa's transformation. She lowered her head and sighed.
"Hsi... Does it have something to do with... Tchang Zu...?", she asked and the sky demon took a while to answer.
"He cannot kill you, since we wouldn't be able to set the ambush. Then... he could try...", Hsi didn't finish and let Jade imagine what he meant.
"Hsi, please... Don't take me there!", she asked and Hsi Wu flinched.
"I... I can't rebel against my older siblings...", he murmured sorry.
"Please, Hsi!", she begged and he hit the air with his wings, raising some inches above the ground. "Hsi, please! Don't take me there!"
"I won't.", he said and she widened her eyes. Then he flew away to the opposite direction of their hideout.
The door of the library was opened and the J-Team looked at Uncle.
"Hatcha!", Uncle announced.
"More tea, Uncle?", Jackie asked with no enthusiasm at all.
"No, Uncle has found a way to banish the demons to a dimension safer than the Netherworld. It's impossible to escape from there without an excellent wizard in this side.", Uncle said and everyone's expression cleared.
"That's great, Uncle!", Jackie congratulated and Tohru stood beside his master, with a sad expression, and it made Jackie frown.
"What now...?"
"It's hard to explain, but the spell only works when you offer a sacrifice and send the sacrificed being's soul to the Realm of Darkness.", Tohru explained in a low voice and everyone immediately understood.
"You mean... we have to sacrifice somebody?", Viper confirmed and Tohru nodded.
"Is there any special condition for the victim of the sacrifice? Can it be any person?", El Toro wanted to know.
"It can be anyone, even an animal or a demon... But the victim must want to make the sacrifice, cannot be forced.", Uncle replied.
"Then I will make the sacrifice!", El Toro offered and everyone looked at him in surprise.
"No, El Toro! I hate to admit that, but I've always been the most useless one... I'll make the sacrifice.", Paco said firmly.
"Paco, you're still young, has a whole life ahead!", El Toro said.
"No, I will make the sacrifice!", Jackie stated and they stared at him.
"But Jackie...", Viper murmured.
"Jackie, if we sent you to the Realm of Darkness, you won't be able to return to this world ever again. And you can't reincarnate either.", Tohru explained.
"Unless the demons are released, but that's almost impossible.", Uncle added.
"I don't care! If it's for Jack and Jade, I'll do anything!"
"Hahaha, really? How noble of you.", a cold voice was heard and everybody turned to look at the corridor and saw that it was Valmont's daughter.
"Julia...!", Jackie said surprised, though Uncle was even more shocked.
"Aiya!! She has a very powerful chi around her!"
"Chan, I want the tiger talisman right now! I know it's with you!", she demanded. While they all looked confused at her, Julia narrowed her eyes and observed them carefully until she finally felt the presence of the tiger talisman in one of Paco's jacket pockets. "So... it's with you.", she said heading to the boy and El Toro tried to stop her, but she stretched her arms and an energy pushed everyone, except Paco, and they were knocked against the wall, which seemed to melt and then hardened again, immobilizing them.
"Whoa... That looks like the spell that Daolon Wong used to immobilize us!", Jackie said while stared at the girl, who now began to shine.
When Paco was on guard, Julia aimed her palm at him and the boy was paralyzed. Julia calmly took the tiger talisman from his pocket and kept it with her.
"Thank you very much.", she said smirking before leaving.
"Here is the talisman!", Julia said showing to the two demons and Jack.
"What about the others?", Shendu asked angry.
"What?", she asked innocently.
"Why didn't you bring the other talismans???"
"Because you didn't ask for them..."
"AHHH!!!!"
"...and because your siblings said that you can't stay with the talismans."
"Calm down, Shendu... You can have your talismans back when we defeat the Chans in our ambush.", Xiao Fung said and was thoughtful for a while. "Why do we have to set an ambush? Now that Julia has many powers, she could just destroy them all at once!"
"Only a pure person can use the power of the jewel. The tiger talisman can disguise her dark side, but if she does many bad things, the jewel will be corrupted and Julia may get out of control or even die.", Shendu explained and Julia nodded.
"Oh..."
"Now we have to return to San Francisco.", Shendu reminded.
Hsi Wu carried Jade and flew to above the clouds. Thus, Jade could see the moon and the stars as if she were in the space. They looked much more beautiful and shining this night, and the nightly city full of light was amazing too. Jade didn't believe she was so happy even though she was being carried by a demon and still remember all the hard time her family was having.
The sky demon finally went down to land on an observatory (or a lookout, or a viewpoint... I don't know, my dictionaries don't agree with each other) and put Jade down.
"Hsi, thank you for helping me.", she said while they leaned on the small wall to observe the city. Hsi Wu didn't say anything, but just lowered his gaze in thought. Jade leaned her chin on her hands and her elbows on the wall. Suddenly, she frowned and looked at him in suspicion. "Tell me... why are you helping me? The Hsi Wu I know would never be nice to me with no evil intentions...", she said bitterly.
"So that's the thanks I get for helping you? You distrust me?!", he asked slitting his eyes.
"And why should I trust you? I still remember quite well what you did to me last time! You lied to me and pretended to be my friend just to get your damn tail back!", she snapped and Hsi squeezed her shoulders, pushing her towards a tree.
"What did you expected from me? That was easiest way to get my tail back, which YOU made me lose, and at that time you were just another worthless human little girl!"
His claws began to hurt her a bit and his eyes glowed in rage. Jade was afraid of what he could try now, though she didn't want to show it.
"Take your hands off me!", she demanded and was surprised when he actually did that. He caressed her face softly and now she was really confused.
"But for all these years... thinking about you for so much time and hating you for imprisoning me in that horrible place... without noticing I began to feel something different for you... and... after seeing you so mature and yet with your usual enthusiasm... I finally realized that... I love you..."
Jade's eyes were filled with tears while she felt a mix of hatred and happiness.
"Impossible... You're a cold and cruel demon who only loves yourself... You took me to your siblings so that they would devour me, and they almost did it...", she muttered and she finally began to cry.
"...I'm sorry, Jade... I'm really sorry for that... At that time I didn't feel anything for you... or if I did, I didn't know that... I'm really sorry... I know you liked me..."
"No, I liked Seymour! But he never existed!"
Hsi Wu sighed.
"Jade, I am Seymour. Even if you don't like it..."
"No...", she muttered and he took his human form – older Seymour. Jade then widened her eyes.
"Perhaps now you feel better. So... Jade..." he approached his face of hers and looked at her deeply in her eyes. "...do you forgive?"
After a long while, she cried even more and suddenly hugged him with all her strength.
"Seymour... Hsi Wu... When I was a child I liked you just as a friend, and when I found out that you're a demon, I got blind with rage... but in time I also found out that I missed you..."
Hsi Wu held her face with his two human hands and his lips touched hers. Jade was glad that he was in his human form, otherwise this would be quite uncomfortable to her. This kiss was compensating all the lost time and they didn't intend to stop it. However, his hands slipped to her shoulders and he knelt down carefully bringing her to the ground. Jade interrupted the kiss and looked worried at him.
"Hsi..."
"Don't worry, Jade. Nobody is looking at us.", he said smiling and Jade bit her lip.
"It's just that... I never did it...", she said and Hsi Wu touched her mouth with his finger so that she was silent.
"Don't you trust me yet? I promise I won't hurt you.", he said and brushed her hair with his fingers. Jade smiled and felt a bit better, although her heart was beating incredibly fast.
"Alright...", she said and they kissed intensely again.
"Do you want me to help you, Bai Tsa?", Tso Lan asked while they two headed to one of the rooms. Bai was carrying a first-aid kit and looked confident.
"No, thanks. Everything's under control.", she replied closing the door.
The room had almost no light. Valmont was lying in the bed looking like he was feeling a bit better, since he was glaring daggers at her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Valmont looked away and snorted.
"I don't believe you asked me that after everything you did to me."
"At least you are alive, aren't you?", she said shrugging and Valmont suppressed the desire to snap something very angry at her. He drew a deep breath to calm down and yelped and he felt a stinging pain in his ribs. "Does it...", she stared again and he looked at her. "...still hurt?"
"Do you really care?", he asked in a sarcastic tone and she frowned.
"Of course I don't!"
"So what's that first-aid kit for?"
She looked away slightly uneasy automatically hiding the kit behind herself.
"My father used to say that we must take care of our slaves."
"Why?", he asked in suspicion and she flashed a sly smirk at him.
"Because your death is the end of your suffering, and that's not fun.", she said rather amused and Valmont looked away again.
"Of course... I should have guessed.", he muttered under his breath, though Bai Tsa could have heard him and ignored his last remark, shaking her head deep in thought.
"It's not of your business why I have to take care if my slaves, just take off your... uhh shirt... so that I can end this already."
"AAAAHHHH!!!" The demons at the living room looked at the stairs as they heard Valmont's screams.
"Oh my... what's Bai Tsa up to?", Po Kong asked.
"I think she's torturing her slave.", Tchang Zu said.
"Dai Gui likes to watch human torture.", the earth demon stated.
"Shall we join her?", Po asked and the three demons glanced at each other. Tso Lan just raised a brow and then shook his head, backing to concentrate in his book.
"That hurts! Stop it!", he shouted with his remaining forces.
"Shut up!", she snapped while trying to apply a dressing in his abdomen. She was almost sitting on him in order to keep him quiet. She wasn't being very delicate and he opened his mouth to protest again, but she glared furiously at him with her glowing red eyes. "If you scream again, I'll slit your throat!", she threatened and he swallowed, making a great effort to stay silent. Bai relaxed sitting on the bed in a normal way again and sighed.
"Humans are so weak... break so easily..."
"...Can I ask something?", Valmont asked unsure.
"Go ahead.", she said not knowing what to expect.
"Why did you save me from the bus?"
Bai Tsa was silent for a while and looked away. "When I saw you for the first time, I didn't notice it, but... you remind me of someone."
"Who?", Valmont asked curiously. She didn't answer and he stared at her a little surprised. He could swear she was blushing! He had never thought that a cruel and blood-thirsty demon could have such a soft and shy expression. Valmont had to admit that in her human form, she was a very beautiful woman, despite her unusual hair color. And her light blue eyes were pretty too. Right now he just wished he could know what the water demon was thinking about.
To be continued...