Long time, no see, ne? Well, I had midterms, which are pure murder when you're in college. Plus, I had A LOT to fit into this chapter. It's pretty damn long, too, so I think you all can forgive me. Right...?
Well, I wasn't completely dormant. After much delay, the first chapter of Tao Yi Gaiden is online! If anything at all, I recommend that you read the first chapter only to meet some of the new characters, as they may or may not be referenced at some point before the end of the story. Also, I posted A Foolish Offering, a oneshot for a claim I have for Ren and Pin-Mei in a Livejournal writing challenge community. It takes place at the end of the manga canon, so it has a couple spoilers for that. But I don't plan on doing too many stories in the manga cannon. That one is just to amuse myself in a "what if" sense. Isn't self-indulgence what fanfiction and fanart are based on anyway? :)
Okay, now, on to the voices of our teenaged heroes. After much consideration, and a talk with a close friend of mine, we decided that Paku Romi still does the voice for adult Ren, and would do the voice for Ren II as well. Hey, they did it in DragonBall Z with Goku's seiyuu voicing him and both his sons. Lien is Houko Kuwashima, who voiced Clare in Claymore, and is currently voicing Tomoyo in Clannad. Ironically, I had picked Daisuke Sakaguchi to voice Tadashi, who actively...erm..."pursues" Tomoyo as Sunohara, even before watching Clannad. He also voiced Quiche in Tokyo Mew Mew and Shonen Bat in Paranoia Agent.
Notes: This chapter references the book Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews (another favorite book of mine).
Lei-Gong, as you may remember, is the god of thunder.
Disclaimer: The anime/manga Shaman King and its characters were created by Hiroyuki Takei. All original characters made specifically for this fanfiction and any tie-in/spinoff pieces were created by Jezebel Parks.
A Gift of Love – Chapter Seventy-One: Lien's Prince
"So, can you tell me more about your mom?" Tadashi asked as the Tao twins led him up the path to their home.
"She's very kind," Ren said finally, his eyes suddenly soft. "Even if I went to her now, at seventeen, and wanted comfort, she'd treat me like I was child and want me to sit in her lap so she could hold me."
Lien nodded. "She worries about us a lot. She just wants us all to be happy...Papa says that she's still naïve, even at her age. Mama and Papa are kind of opposites, but they love each other very much."
"How long have they been together?"
The twins looked at each other. "I suck at math," Lien said, dumping the responsibility on her brother.
Ren was silent for a moment, the wheels in his head turning. "Twenty-three years."
Tadashi's eyes widened. "Woah! Did they meet in high school or something? Like, high school sweethearts?"
"Arranged marriage," they both said.
"And they actually like each other?"
"That's what we said."
"Okay we're here," Ren announced.
Tadashi looked up at the castle. "Shit, you guys live in a palace?"
"Bason says we used to have much bigger ones." He turned to him before he could ask who Bason was. "Watch yourself in this house. It's in your best interest."
"Okay, okay."
Ren smirked as he opened the double doors and they all went inside. No sooner had they dropped their bags inside did Pin-Mei appear.
"Welcome home," she said smiling. She looked past her children and saw Tadashi, causing her to run over to them out of pure excitement. "This must be your friend!"
Not exactly, Ren thought, but he wasn't going to be the one to wipe that smile off her face. "Right. This is Tadashi. Tadashi, this is my mother, Pin-Mei."
Tadashi looked the woman over for a moment. A loose braid rested to the right of her neck on top of purple and gold robes. "Nice to meet you," he said bowing.
"Oh my, what manners!" she giggled. She smiled and gave him a welcoming nod. "My husband is most likely still in the weight room. I'll go get him so you can meet him." She turned to leave. "Just make yourself at home!" she called as she ran off.
Tadashi stared after her. "She's...really kind...and motherly." He smiled. "She seemed excited, too."
"That's because we almost never invite people over. She's happy because she thinks it means we have friends," Ren explained. When the boy looked at him with bright eyes, he turned his nose up. "I never said we were."
"Ren! The kids are home! Come and greet them!"
Tadashi looked from the direction of the voice, then to Ren and back again. "But you're right here...wha...?"
"You'll see."
Just then, Ren and emerged from the hallway with Pin-Mei attached to his arm. Their son gestured to him as they approached.
"And this is my father." He ended the sentence. He never called him by his name, and his father rarely did as well, even in introductions.
"-Ren!" Pin-Mei butted in.
Tadashi stood there, dumbfounded. Frantically, he began pointing at the both of them.
"Y-Y-You both have the same name! Y-You look exactly alike!"
Ren sighed as he gently removed Pin-Mei from his arm. "We've got ourselves a smart one."
"And the same dry sense of humor!"
Lien groaned. "Come on, Tadashi. Anyone can see that they have different color hair." She pointed to her brother. "Purple." Then to her father. "Blue. Plus, Niisama is just a little shorter."
Tadashi studied the two men and found what she said to be true. "Did you, like, clone him or something?"
"Of course not!" the two men yelled.
"And whose idea was it to name you Ren?"
Pin-Mei raised her hand shyly. "Mine...I just wanted him to be strong like his father." Her shoulders dropped and she hung her head. "I'm sorry if you dislike your name, Ren. It was selfish of me to give it to you in order to satisfy myself."
Her son shook his head. "I know you did it because you love the both of us." He looked at Lien. "Well, all three, seeing as how Lien basically has his name as well." He turned back to Pin-Mei. "So I don't mind."
She smiled. "I'm glad."
"Well, come on, I'll show you around," Ren continued, wanting to nip the emotional bud his mother had formed. He walked out of the hallway and up the staircase, Lien and Tadashi in tow.
"He seems nice," Pin-Mei said after they had left.
Ren scoffed. "Being nice and being stupid aren't the same thing." He turned to leave. "We'll see his true colors at dinner, I suppose." She was glancing in the direction her children had gone in. He snapped his fingers and she smiled and walked over to him.
"But isn't this great? The only people outside our family that come to visit are our friends from Japan. For them to have a friend here as well...It just makes me so happy."
He turned his head. "We'll see how loyal he is soon enough."
The twins led their guest upstairs, stopping in front of Lien's door.
"Why do we have to hang out in my room?"
"Because I don't want him in mine."
He opened the door and they all went in and sat down on her bed. Tadashi looked around and saw sketchbooks stacked along the wall. A glass cabinet which hung near them was filled with pencils, colored pencils, charcoal, erasers, and other various artistic instruments. It almost looked like a weapon arsenal.
"You draw?" he asked.
She nodded slowly.
"She does it during class, mostly," Ren explained.
"Art class?"
"No. Regular class, like Film Studies or Japanese."
Lien smiled weakly. "I'm not smart like Ren is, so I have to have some other talent to make up for it," she said as she gazed at some of her drawings on the wall. Many of them seemed to be portraits of her brother doing various things – lifting weights, sparring with their father, stretching, studying, even sleeping. She glanced at him, about to open her mouth again.
"Yes, I still have the ones you drew of me – the ones you were willing to part with, that is," he said before she had the chance to ask. "They're up in my room, as happy as inanimate objects can be."
"You didn't paint over that picture of all of us that I drew on the wall before I moved out, did you?"
"No, I didn't want you to throw a fit like father did when he found it." A small smirk appeared on his face and she giggled.
Tadashi looked at them. "You two used to share a room?"
They turned to him, almost as if they had forgotten he was there.
"Well, we're twins, and since we were the first born, our mom thought it was natural for us to sleep together. Papa separated us a few years ago," Lien explained
He froze, hoping that she wasn't insinuating the scary thought that had formed in his mind. "...How much is a few?"
"About four," Ren said. "Our father wanted to separate us sooner, but Mother was always able to persuade him to wait a little longer. When we turned thirteen, however, he physically picked up Lien and threw her in this room."
"That is kinda late," Tadashi admitted. "I mean, you could have ended up like those kids in Flowers in the Attic."
Lien cocked her head. "What's that ab-?"
"Shut up, Meihou, unless you want to find arsenic on your meat buns," Ren said fiercely. He knew exactly what he had been referring to.
"Dude, I'm just saying..."
"And I'm just saying that if you want to leave this house alive, you'll shut up and never let a stupid-ass comment like that leave your mouth again."
Silence. They stared each other down. Finally, Tadashi relented.
"You're right. It was stupid of me to say that...I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted."
Lien hadn't read the book, which had been an assigned reading book for Ren's advanced Literature class a few years before. She looked back and forth between them.
"Wait, what about the book? What is Tadashi-?"
"Supper is ready," Huan said from the other side of the door.
Ignoring Lien's questions, the three made their way to the dining hall. They sat on one side of the table, Lien in the middle with Ren and Tadashi on either side of her. Pin-Mei sat across from her as Ren took a seat across from his son (normally he would sit at the head, Tadashi's presence disrupted their setup). Niu-Nai soon dashed in, jumping into the seat opposite of the guest. He stared at him.
"Who are you?" There was a small pause as Tadashi blinked at him. "—Niichan's new punching bag?" he added before the boy across from him could answer.
"Honey, he's our guest tonight, so be nice to him or he won't come back," Pin-Mei chided. She smiled warmly at Tadashi, who gave an embarrassed smile back.
"You're not Chinese," the boy said bluntly.
Tadashi was frozen for a moment, but then quickly regained his composure. "Right you are! I'm Japanese."
"Are you one of those odakus?"
"...What?"
"I think he means otaku," the heir chimed in.
"No! I'm not!"
"A yanki?"
"No! What makes you think-!"
He stopped as Huan leaned over to set his dinner in front of him. He seemed frozen as he stared at her profile, seemingly in awe. As she stood upright again, she smiled at him, then moved on to serve the Rens, then Niu-Nai, Pin-Mei, and finally Lien. He was staring at her all the while. When her job was done, Pin-Mei thanked her, and she bowed and left the room. As she passed Tadashi, their eyes met before she turned away.
Tadashi fumbled with a small metal box as he pulled it out of his blazer. He pressed a clip on the side and it opened. He looked inside it, his eyes wide as he looked back to where Huan had been, then at the thin box, then back again.
"QUESTION!"
Tadashi jumped and turned back to the table, quickly shoving the slim case back into his pocket. The Tao head was piercing him with cold eyes.
"A-ANSWER!" he cried, suddenly remembering the purpose of his visit.
"Why did you come here?"
He stiffened. "H-Here? I…" Confidence! He cleared his throat. "I came because Ren invi-"
"I know he invited you into our home. I want to know why a young Japanese boy like you moved to a country where you can easily be scorned because of your race."
He stopped. "I moved here because my late mother left behind a house for me nearby, and I needed to get away from where my Dad had died…"
"And when was this?" His voice showed no hint of sympathy.
"My mom left when I was only a month old, and my dad was gunned down while taking the subway home from work late last year…"
"You…You grew up without a mom?"
They turned to see Pin-Mei gazing at him with tears in her eyes. Her family looked at each other and sighed. As if he hadn't already won her over...
"I did, too," she whispered. "I know how painful it is…" She rested her hand on the table as she used the other to wipe her eyes. Another covered hers, and she looked up to see Tadashi smiling at her.
"You're even more angelic than I imagined. Now I can see where Lien gets it from...I know I wouldn't mind having you for a mother," he said in an airy voice.
By this point, Pin-Mei's face was completely red. She slowly turned to look at her husband. "Ren...Can we-?"
"NO!" he bellowed along with the twins.
Ren calmly removed the boy's hand from his wife's. She touched her cheek, still under her guest's spell. Not amused, Ren turned his attention back to the subject of his interrogation.
"I hear you do similar things to Lien," he said. "Do you do this with all women? I'm not too fond of womanizers."
"No, of course not," Tadashi replied, a smile still on his face. "There's just something about Lien that affects me like nothing or no one else has or can...Maybe it's those amazing eyes she has."
"So you've flirted with him?" He motioned to his younger self.
"N-No! I-"
"So you would flirt with me, then? I assure it wouldn't be the first time it's happened, but it would be your last."
Tadashi's head was spinning. He was quickly learning why his classmate was so calculating. If he even breathed at the wrong moment, it could end up hurting him.
Lien looked back and forth between them, wondering why Tadashi was being interrogated so much. She was torn between wanting to help him and sitting back and enjoying the show. The boy straightened.
"No, while I can see why your wife is so attracted to you, I myself am not charmed by men. So no, Lien is the only person to receive words like that from me."
Ren frowned. If he wanted to see this boy crack, he would have to try harder. "Don't you feel foolish saying such words when they mean nothing to her?"
Meihou's sad smile returned. "Maybe, but I think that, even just a little, it might make her happy to know that someone outside her family loves her."
"'Loves her'?"
"That's right."
"'Love' is a very strong word. I'm not sure that it's one you should be using in this situation."
"It's the only word that comes to mind."
Ren stared him down as the phone rang.
"I'll get it," the heir said. He smirked as he picked up the phone. "Hello? OH, HI SETA!" he cried, his voice exaggerated. "How nice of you to call. What's up? Oh? Yeah, she's here." He turned to look at his sister and held the phone out to her. "Here, Seta wants to talk to you."
She smiled as she got up and took the phone, then leaned against the wall so her back was partially turned. "Wait, who is this? Could it really be Seta who never calls me anymore?" She giggled. "I'm just kidding, you goof. It hasn't been that long."
Ren took his seat back at the table. He looked over and saw Tadashi trying to look at Lien out of the corner of his eye. The table was cleared and Ren and Pin-Mei left the three teens by themselves. The guest shifted in his chair uncomfortably.
"So...Who's this Seta girl?"
"I never said Seta was a girl."
"But there's an 'a' at the end, and since it's usually girls who have names like that, I just assumed that she was one."
"Well, it's a boy."
Tadashi's eyes seemed to flash for a moment as he looked over his shoulder. "Really, now? Is he from school?"
"No he lives in Japan. Our parents are friends."
"Oh, I see..."
Almost as if on cue, Lien squealed, lightly stomping her feet as she did so. "You're coming over next week? What day?...I see...Well, you better bring me flowers, since you're a guy and everything. Ha-ha! I'm just kidding. You know I wouldn't ask you to do that."
Ren glanced at Tadashi again. He smirked. Tadashi's eyes seemed to be widened in anger as they were fixed on the phone. Every time she giggled, laughed, or even smiled, he grew more and more tense.
"How long has she known him?" he asked coldly.
"About seventeen years," Ren replied casually. "He told me he wants to come see her because he wants to tell her something. I wonder what that is..."
Tadashi stared at him, a look of horror on his face. His eyes said that he hadn't expected any competition. Now he knew that he had to make Lien fall in love with him by next week, or he might lose her forever. He bit the tip of his thumb as his mind raced.
Another Japanese boy as my competition? What's so great about him? What does he have that I don't have? She doesn't actually love someone who lives so far away, does she?
"What's the matter, Tadashi-kun?" Ren said tauntingly. "Have you realized that Lien has no intention of returning your feelings? When has she ever been that happy talking to you?"
The boy's eyes focused on him, suddenly realizing the real reason why Ren had invited him. He had brought him here to humiliate him, to get him to give up on his sister. For a moment, he let a sinking feeling consume him, then he straightened.
"You can only wait for so long," he said, a small smirk on his face. "Whoever this Seta person is, if he wants Lien that badly, he better work fast. Because when it comes to love, Meihou Tadashi is the master."
Ren glanced at him. "You think you can overcome a friendship with a seventeen year history?"
"There's only one way to find out."
Before he could reply, Lien held the phone out to him.
"Seta wants to talk to you."
He looked at the phone before grabbing it and leaving the room. Níu-Năi fidgeted in his chair.
"This is boring..." He jumped up and ran over to Lien. "Neechan, let's go outside and do something!"
She looked down at him with a nervous smile. "Normally I would, really, but we have somebody over, so I can't really ignore him."
Tadashi stood up. "I'll play with you, squirt," he said as he took off his uniform jacket.
Níu-Năi stared at him. "You will?"
"Yeah, sure. Why not?"
The little boy's amber eyes lit up. "Yeah! Awesome!" He grabbed his new playmate by the arm and began leading him outside, passing his father as they left the room.
"Where are you two going?" he asked in a sharp tone.
His son grinned at him. "Aibou said that he'll play a game with me!" He tugged on the guest. "Let's go!" They vanished outside.
Ren stared after them. Aibou, huh? He shook his head, a small smirk on his face. Lien approached him, wringing her hands.
"Papa...are you and Niisama being mean to Tadashi on purpose?" she asked quietly.
Her father studied her, trying to read her face – especially her eyes – to see if they were hiding any deeper emotions.
"No, I'm not at least," he said finally. "I just want to make sure he doesn't have an ill intentions for either of you. Your brother may have his own plans, but I'm confident that he's just doing it to make sure you don't get hurt."
Lien blushed at this and turned her away from him. "Yeah...Well I...I just don't want him to go too far, that's all."
Ren put his hand on her head. "His self control is much better than when he was a child, so I'm sure he won't..."
Later on, Pin-Mei walked outside to find her youngest son leaning against a tree sleeping. Tadashi was sitting on a nearby rock, his legs crossed, looking at his small metal frame from his jacket once again. She smiled as she made her way over to him.
"What are you looking at?" she asked.
He jumped, not expecting to be spoken to, then looked back at his treasure. "This is something very special to me," he whispered.
"May I see it?"
He silently turned the case so she could see what was inside. Pin-Mei's smile faded, then slowly turned to a look of horror. She grabbed it from his hand and turned, staring at it almost in confusion.
Tadashi nervously reached out to her. "Mrs. Tao? May I please have that back? What's wrong?"
She turned and stared at him, then grabbed his hand and began running inside and down the halls. All the while, she looked around to make sure no one was watching, clutching Tadashi's treasure against her chest.
He was dumbfounded. "What is it? Where are we going?"
She didn't answer, only continued to run until she finally flung open a door and pulled him inside. She shut the door tightly and locked it, then rushed over to a nearby bookcase and threw books off the shelves until she had found the one she wanted. As she feverishly flipped through the pages, he could see from its contents that it was a photo album.
Why is she so upset?
Finally, she froze, as if under a spell, then turned the album around in order to allow him to look at the pictures. Tadashi's eyes widened.
"H...How can that be? Why do they...?"
Pin-Mei gripped the book. "This is someone who has caused my family a lot of pain. A horrible monster with no heart at all." She set the book on a desk next to her, then looked at the photo Tadashi kept in the metal case. "I don't know why this is, but you can't let Ren see it."
"Which one?"
"Neither of them. My son was educated in the incident involving this person, so I'm sure that he would ruthlessly interrogate you if he saw the picture." She handed it back to him. "I don't know what's going on, but I won't judge you based on this. I...I'm sure it's just a coincidence..." She smiled nervously.
"So how did that dude from your school react?"
"He was pissed at the very least, but I think it's safe to say that he feels threatened."
"What about your dad? What does he think of him?"
"He's frustrated that he hasn't been able to make him crack, but I have faith in him."
Silence. "You...really look up to your old man, ne?"
"...That's one way you could put it, I guess."
"Niisama! Mama says to get off the phone!" Lien called from the other room.
"Alright!" he called back. "I have to go, but I'll keep you up to date."
"Right...Thanks..."
"Just don't think of him as a threat, and don't worry about it. Lien's not so naïve that she would just suddenly like him."
"I know...She...She's smarter than that."
"Good. So don't sound so depressing. Bye."
He hung up the phone and returned to the family room where he found Tadashi, Níu-Năi, Lien, and Pin-Mei sitting around a board game.
"Just in time," Lien said looking up at him. "We need a banker."
"I never said I was playing."
"But you're the only one who can do it practically without thinking!"
"Ask Father to be the banker."
"Meanie! You know he never plays board games with us!" She clasped her hands together and gave him her well-honed sad puppy eyes. "Please, Niisama?"
Níu-Năi came up beside her. "Yeah, Niichan, please?"
Tadashi joined them. "C'mon, Ren! We're desperate!"
He stared at them, then finally sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll be your goddamn banker."
She smiled. "Thank you."
He grumbled as he sat down and began counting the money in preparation for distributing it among the players. Before it could begin, however, the Tao head leaned into the room.
"I found this little brat wandering the halls. Include her in your little game so she doesn't bother me," he said as he ushered in the spirit of a girl with long, light green hair, around eight or ten.
As she floated over and plopped herself between Lien and Tadashi, Ren looked up at his father as he sorted the colorful currency. They exchanged knowing glances, though they weren't smirks – not in the least. Ren knew his father was going to drop a bombshell on their guest - one that could end up hurting them, Lien especially.
Sure enough, Tadashi's face went pale. He seemed to be trying to ignore it, but he kept looking at it out of the corner of his eye.
Pin-Mei smiled nervously, knowing in the back of her mind what was going on. "Okay, sweetheart, what's your name?"
"Bo," the girl replied in a monotone voice.
"Okay, Bo, which piece would you like to be?" The girl pointed at a small metal bear trap, and Pin-Mei placed it at the starting point.
They took turned rolling a pair of dice as they moved around the board, taking over internet businesses and shutting down small, family-owned ones. After Ren flagged Tadashi for landing on his YouTube property, it was Bo's turn. The little girl moved to pick up the die, but found that they couldn't be gripped by her intangible hands. She sat back, emotionless.
"...Does this mean I lose?"
"Of course not, silly," Lien said as she tossed the black and white cubes for her. "Okay, nine, so..." She reached for Bo's playing piece when Tadashi finally jumped with a yelp.
"W-w-w-w-why is a ghost playing with us? I-Is this place haunted or something? Huh?"
There was silence. Lien was looking at the floor, almost in shame. Pin-Mei was still smiling awkwardly, but Ren just took a pink piece of money from the small spirit.
"You landed on my property."
Tadashi was looking at them frantically. "Don't you realize that she's DEAD?"
"Of course," Ren said stoically. "We've been around this since the day we were born."
"Wh-What? Wh-why would you-?"
"WE'RE SHAMANS!" Lien screamed suddenly.
"Sh...Shamans...?"
"Yeah, that's right – SHAMANS! We're a family of Shamans and have been since as far back as the Zhou Dynasty's Spring and Autumn era in 722 BC! We talk to ghosts and spirits and kill babies for satanic rituals and curse whole towns and we'll eat your soul if you don't get out now!" By now, tears had filled her eyes as her fists clenched. "WE'RE FREAKS OKAY? JUST SCORN US AND HATE US LIKE THE REST OF CHINA DOES!" She began sobbing, so worked up that she was gasping for air.
Uneasy, Tadashi looked to his classmate and Pin-Mei. She was still trying to smile.
"She…Lien was just kidding about the babies and satanic rituals and the cursing whole towns…We really don't do things like that. Now, we're just living here peacefully, passing our abilities down to Ren and Lien as we occasionally help lead restless spirits to the peace of the afterlife," she explained. She looked down sadly. "But we are feared and scoffed at now. Because of technology there isn't much need for shamans anymore. The children of shamans are misunderstood and teased by their peers. They never have many friends."
"But how do they know the kids are shamans?" Tadashi asked, his face still pale. It was obvious that the news of his precious Lien having such a background had put him in a state of shock.
"Their parents. They usually go to school together at one point. Their parents told them, and their parents told them, and their parents told them and so on. The children are basically taught that shamans are weird and demonic creatures and that they shouldn't associate with them."
"But then…why is Ren so popular?"
Pin-Mei glanced at her son. He didn't look up. She looked to the mortal again. "I suppose you could call it a gender curse. With his looks, the girls seemingly forget his lineage and accept him. But when you're a girl, you're not so lucky…"
"It only goes to show how utterly stupid they are," Ren said in a low voice.
She looked at her hands on her knees. "The truth is…you're the first person from their school to come over – to come near this house at all." She gave a small smile. "I really can't tell you how happy it made me to know that you wanted to spend time with them, especially in a place you weren't familiar with as opposed to school." She clasped her hands together in a pleading fashion. "Please don't turn your back on my children, I beg you! I don't want to see them suffer because of one aspect of their life – something that they should be proud of! There's so much more to them than that! They're so kind and considerate of others…they're loyal untill the bitter end! They're still the same Ren and Lien you went to school with today! They haven't changed between then and now! Please continue your friendship with them! Please! I beg of you!"
Tadashi stared at her, finding that he was now sitting between two crying women. His gaze trailed to the ground, deep in thought.
"You…can speak with the dead?" he said finally, his question directed at Lien.
"…Ye…Yeah…" she replied, her voice still shaky from her outburst. The next thing she knew, he was grabbing her shoulder and shaking her, an only semi-sane look on his face.
"So if my mom was dead you could find her, right?"
She blinked at him. "I…guess I could…" She stared at him. "You're not afraid?"
"No."
"You don't think I'm a freak?"
"No, of course not! It just makes you even more special than you already are." He smiled at her warmly. "I can't think of a single thing that could make me love you any less."
Despite herself, Lien smiled. Ren glanced up from his kiddy money casually.
Damn it.
"That person in your pocket isn't among the dead," Bo said stoically.
Tadashi's eyes widened. "You mean…she's still alive?"
"That's right."
He looked at Lien. "This means I still have a chance to find her!"
Lien smiled back at him. "I'm glad."
"Yes, Tadashi, that's great…" Pin-Mei said. But her smile was, again, uneasy.
Ren saw some movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up to see Huan seemingly eavesdropping from the doorframe.
"Do you have any business here, Huan?" he said in a sharp voice.
She jumped and looked into the room nervously. "I-I was just going to ask if Bocchama wanted any tea."
His eyes narrowed. "No. You're dismissed," he said quickly, knowing she had to obey.
"I'll have some," Tadashi said smiling at her.
She smiled back. "Okay, I'll be right back, then." She glared at Ren and left the room. Tadashi watched her the whole way.
"GAME! GAME! GAME!" Niu-Nai said pounding his fists on the floor.
Ren bopped him on the head. "Grow up. You're not two, so use your words."
"Niichan, that hurt!" the boy whined. His brother glared at him and he shrunk. He looked at Pin-Mei. "Mommy, can we start playing again?"
"Of course! Let's continue."
They resumed their game. Lien seemed happier, like a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Soon, she was treating her admirer like an old friend.
"That's another 350 for me!" she cried as Tadashi landed on her most expensive property for the eleventh time that night.
"But I don't have that!" he cried, holding up three twenties and a fifty.
"Then you have to give me one of your properties!"
She grinned as he handed her the money along with a property card. Then he smiled. "It's late. I should get going."
Her smile faded. "Okay…"
The three got up and the twins led Tadashi to the door.
"See you tomorrow," he said as he grabbed his bag.
"Yeah, see ya." She waved at him as he left, shutting the door behind him. When it was silent, she turned to her brother. "Niisama, do you think he meant what he said?"
"You mean not caring that we're shamans?"
"Yeah…"
"Who knows? We'll find out tomorrow at school. If he can't accept it, screw him."
"I guess you're right…" Her shoulders drooped and she turned and went upstairs to her room.
"That was a rather interesting reaction," his father said coming up behind him.
"His or hers?"
"Both, actually." He unfolded his arms. "I know this probably isn't the answer you wanted, but I think he's fine. It is rather odd for him to claim to love someone he's only known for a short time, but it doesn't seem like there's anything malicious behind it."
They studied each other. The young heir finally put his hands in his pockets. "I guess I can only trust your judgment."
"No one said you have to. That's just my opinion, which is what you wanted. What you decide to do is your decision alone."
"…I still don't trust him." He walked past him, intending to follow his sister's lead and go to his room.
"Don't act like I don't care who I give Lien to," Ren said in a cold voice, causing his son to stop. "I've made it clear that Seta is my first choice, but if she ultimately chooses to be with someone else, I won't force her to be with him. I do have her happiness at heart."
The boy was silent for a moment.
"Weren't you and Mother forced to be with each other?"
Ren paused. "Initially, yes, we were. But then her father told me that if we didn't love each other, he wouldn't force it. I'm employing that same tactic. The same goes for you. You really should—"
"Good night," his son cut in, not wanting to hear about any potential fiancées. He went upstairs, disappearing from sight. Ren watched him as he left.
"—take your time so you can find someone that you'll truly be happy with," he finished quietly.
"Here, a lotus, just like I promised," Tadashi said, handing Lien a pink flower.
She smiled softly and took it from him. "Thank you."
"Thanks for having me over last night. I had a really great time."
"You're welcome."
Ren drummed his fingers on his desk. "Aren't you forgetting who invited you?"
Tadashi turned to him, removing another flower from his blazer. "Of course not. Here, a token of my gratitude." He held it out to him. His classmate narrowed his eyes.
"I don't like guys, thanks."
"Just kidding. Here." He handed him a bar of chocolate. The recipient studied it, then finally took it.
"Thanks."
Lien peeked at the package form over his shoulder. The label clearly read "Milk chocolate". She looked uneasy. "Niisama...are you sure you can have that?"
"Of course I can. Why wouldn't it?"
"Because you're-"
"Did you do your homework, Lien?" he asked slyly as he dropped the bar into his book bag.
She froze. "O-Of course! Why wouldn't I?" But she found it impossible to make eye contact with either of the boys.
"Liar," they both said flatly. Ren sighed and handed her his folder.
"Just do it quickly."
She blushed. "Thanks, Niisama."
"Ren," Tadashi said. "Why don't we all go to the library so you and I can tutor her? That way she can do her own homework."
A moment of silence. He still wasn't all that interested in spending time with the foreigner.
"Alright," he said finally, despite his better judgment.
"Don't you have a meet today?" Lien asked, looking up from her math sheet.
"Get back to work. The teacher will be here any minute." She whimpered and continued scribbling. "Anyway, no, that's on Friday; not for a few days."
"Great! Study group GO!" Tadashi said with a small punch.
"Why do I feel like I'm going to be the only one doing the tutoring?"
But Meihou proved him wrong. While there were times when he didn't know the material perfectly, he did much better than Ren had initially given him credit for. Watching him patiently guide Lien through calculus problems made him feel like he was watching a completely different person.
Another thing he noticed was how comfortable Lien seemed during their session. Even when he had to lean over her to correct the occasional mistakes in Tadashi's explanations, she just blushed and carried on with a small smile.
This eventually came to an end, and they parted on their way home. Lien was staring at the ground, a blush still grazing her cheeks. He hated her facial expressions. Many of them were hard, if not impossible, for him to read. He decided that, for once, he had to be straightforward.
"So, what do you think about Tadashi after last night?"
She jumped, the blush gone. "He...He's better than I originally thought," she said slowly. "I think he's more tolerable...And I guess I'm beginning to enjoy his company."
Silence. She finally looked up at him, only to find that he was staring at her. She shrunk back, clearly intimidated.
"What?" she cried.
"Nothing," he said as he faced forward again. "I'm just wondering what's going on in that little head of yours."
"N-Nothing! None of your business!" She clutched her head. "GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!"
He chuckled. "Too late. I've already used my newly-developed telepathy skills on you. If you don't start doing your school work, I'm going to go tell the boy you like just how you feel about him."
She looked horrified, her eyes wide. "N...No...You can't! You're lying! You don't have that ability! You don't!" She grabbed her head again, covering her face.
Ren stared at her. "Why are you getting so upset? I was just kidding."
"You mean you didn't...you don't know who I like?"
"No. Besides, that's your business. I'm not really interested in it."
She fell to her knees. "Oh thank the Great Spirits..."
He turned to her. "Again, why is it such a big deal?"
She looked up at him. "Because...I don't think he loves me back...If he were to find out, it would turn my world upside down."
Her brother grabbed her arm and pulled her up to a standing position. Are you really so dense that you can't sense Seta's feelings? "Let's go home, brat."
She smiled. "Okay."
Friday came, and, after boring lectures and no movie for their film studies class, Ren went off to his meet, leaving Lien and Tadashi together.
"Walk her home for me, okay?"
"No problem."
Lien sighed. "I'm not some damsel in distress, you know."
"That may be, but I still don't want you walking alone. I don't want anything to happen to you on your way home."
She pouted, her face red. "Fine."
Tadashi chuckled. "You're so cute when you pout." She just tossed her head, allowing her long navy blue hair to flutter down her shoulders.
"See you at home." She grumbled in reply. After he had left, Tadashi leaned over to Lien.
"Let's go study a little. Didn't you say you were still confused about some of the physics formulas?"
She softened. "Yeah..." A smile. "That'd help. Thanks."
"Don't mention it, it's my pleasure. C'mon, let's go."
They went into the library. Since it was Friday, there wasn't anyone in there. They had the whole place to themselves. A half hour later, he was looking over her shoulder as she did a physics problem. She scribbled her way through the propulsion formal, variables and all. Finally, she drew a line, wrote down a number, and circled it. She held her breath as Tadashi picked up the paper and inspected it.
"Gimmie the red marker."
Lien sulked and handed him a thin red marker. It was his designated correction pen – it meant that she had done something wrong. She listened as he wrote on it, trying to measure how much of the work she had done incorrectly.
"Okay, take a look at that," he tutor said as he placed the paper in front of her. Lien glanced at it solemnly. Her eyes widened.
On the paper was a large smiling heart with "Correct! You did it, Lien-hime! Nice job!" written on it in Japanese. She picked up the sheet and studied it in disbelief.
"I got it right?" she whispered.
"Yup. That's what it says, right?"
She was silent before jumping up from her chair with her arms in the air. "I DID IT!" she exclaimed. She danced from the table, doing a dorky victory dance a few feet away. It wasn't long before a puerile song of her own creation accompanied it.
"I'm awesome – you know it! – You're jealous – you know it!"
She danced in a circle. The look in his eyes intensified.
"…You want some – you know it! – You want some – can't have so-!"
Her hand was grabbed and her arm yanked until her lips crashed against his. He put his hand on the small of her back, keeping her in place. She didn't struggle. The situation had caused her to completely freeze.
He finally pulled away and looked deep into her wide yellow eyes. "I'm sorry. I couldn't hold myself back any longer. I've wanted to do that for so long."
During this time, Lien had stood there, too shocked to say anything. Slowly, she brought her fingertips up to touch her lips. But as she did, her eyes flared and she pulled her arm back. With no remorse, she used her left hand to slap him across the face as hard as she possibly could.
There was silence aside from the echo of her attack resounding throughout the large room.
She stared at him, panting lightly, with her hand still out. "How dare you…" she whispered. "HOW FUCKING DARE YOU! Do you have any idea what you've just done?"
He didn't look at her. His head was still turned to the side from the slap.
"That…" Lien's voice quivered as her fingers touched her lips again. "That was my first kiss…" Her fist clenched. "And it was wasted on you!"
She couldn't see his eyes very well, but when "wasted" left her lips, they seemed to be filled with pain.
"Better someone who loves you than someone who doesn't," he whispered.
"Shut up! You don't love me! That's impossible! It's impossible for you to love me when you know nothing about me! You don't know what love is!" she screamed at him. "The love my parents have is the truest and purest love there is! You could never understand something like that! NEVER!"
"I love you," he said.
"Shut up!"
"I swear on every fiber of my being…" He looked her in the eye. "I love you, Tao Lien."
"Shut up!" She squeezed her eyes shut and shoved him away. "I HATE YOU!"
He didn't react.
"Just get away from me! I-I'm going to tell Niisama! He'll kill you!"
"…That's alright. This was my dying wish anyway."
She seemed to choke at this, but then shoved him again. "Stay away from me, you freak! I'll never love you! I hate you!"
"…I'll never hate you…I love you," he whispered.
She shrunk back for a moment, then suddenly reached out to slap his opposite cheek before sprinting out of the room, grabbing her things on her way out. Tadashi gingerly touched the newly reddened cheek.
Lien ran down the halls, stopping at the door to the matted room where the martial arts meet was being held. She was about to open the door and rush in to tell her brother what Tadashi had done to her, but stopped when she heard his name being called.
I'll…I'll wait…I'll just tell him when he comes home…
She turned and started walking toward the main doors. As she neared them, a group of five boys approached her, all grinning.
"Look, guys! It's Lien, that hotshot captain's baby sister!" the leader said.
Lien had no idea who they were, but their uniforms told her they were from a different school – the one Ren's team was fighting against. "If you want a fight, I'm sure my brother will be more than happy to entertain you after the meet is over. Now, if you'll excuse me…"
She went to pass them when the leader grabbed her shoulder and shoved her against the wall. She staggered, trying to grip the tiled surface for support. Her eyes glared at them fiercely.
"Oooh, guys! She's pissed now!" They all laughed. Her eyes intensified. The boy smirked at her. "Okay, if it'll make you feel any better, you can hit me right here." He pointed at his left cheek. "Go ahead, witch, it's on the house."
Lien stared at them, then took a deep breath and swung at him. He grabbed her arm and spun her, pinning her chest-first against the wall. She struggled, but he refused to ease up.
"You really thought I'd let you hit me? Jeez, you never were very smart."
She turned her neck to look back at him, her glare still apparent.
"What's the matter, witch?"
She breathed in, then turned as much as she could and spit in his face. He recoiled, releasing her, and she dashed out the door. As he recovered, he gritted his teeth, his eyes full of rage.
"GET THAT BITCH!" he yelled, and he and his gang ran out in hot pursuit.
Tadashi looked on, her words still echoing in his mind.
"I'll never love you! I hate you!"
His head drooped, but as he heard her breathless running, he clenched his fists. Without a second thought, he turned and ran down the hall back toward the mat room. He passed the student council office, which resembled a large movie ticket booth.
"Excuse me! Stop running! Come back here!"
Tadashi stopped, contemplating whether or not he should listen to the voice.
"Come back or I'll give your name to the headmaster!"
He gritted his teeth and went back. "What is it?"
Behind the booth was a girl with short orange hair and stern look in her eyes. "Meihou Tadashi, right? Where are you off to in such a rush?"
"I need to tell the captain of the martial arts team something – it's extremely important!"
"He's engaging in a meet and can't be disturbed, but you're more than welcome to leave a message here and we'll deliver it when he's available."
"You've got to be kidding me. There's no time for that!" He went to run to the room where Ren was.
"If you go, I'll have you suspended for disrupting a school event."
Tadashi turned, his eyes burning with rage. "What the hell is wrong with you? Did someone piss in your porridge or something? If I don't tell him this, Lie-!" He stopped when the girl placed a sheet of paper and a pencil in front of him. After glaring at her, he grabbed the pen and scribbled down a message. She grinned.
"I'll be sure to deliver it to him."
He gave her a fake smile, the bolted in the direction of the main doors, hoping to catch up with Lien.
Lien, intent on making it home, was running as fast as her legs could carry her. She tentatively looked over her shoulder. They were catching up. Flustered, she looked up at a tree branch. With a hard toss, she threw her school bag up, hoping that it would latch onto it so she could run with less weight and come back for it later. To her dismay, it fell to the ground.
Fuck.
She could hear the crunching of her belongings being trampled by the gang behind her. Her heart beat faster. She was so afraid. No, she was terrified. She was honestly questioning whether or not she would be able to make it home unscathed. Sooner or later, they were going to catch up.
I'm still about one kilometer away from home…My only hope may be to just stop and see if I can knock them out or something. I know I can't take them all on at once, but if I can just take them one by one somehow, I might have a chance. After all, Papa was the one who trained me in martial arts.
They got to a clearing and she turned to face them. They stopped. The boys snickered.
"Giving up?" the leader jeered.
She took a fighting stance. "No chance in hell." After a deep breath, she charged at them.
"Okay, I'm here to take over for you. You can go home now."
"Great. Thanks, Ai-Li."
The bespectacled girl made her way into the student council booth. It was almost four, and therefore time for her shift at the advisory and hall patrol station. As she sat down, she noticed a folded piece of paper with bold Japanese kanji on it. She picked it up and examined it, not opening it.
"What's this note?" she asked the recently relieved member.
The girl turned back from the door. "Oh, that? Meihou Tadashi left it for the captain of the martial arts team."
"The captain…?"
"Yeah. I told him I couldn't let him disturb the meet he's in right now. I guess I pissed him off, because he went and wrote it in Japanese. You're the president of the Japanese club, right? Do you know what it says?"
Ai-Li gingerly turned back to the note. Then she noticed the kanji that was underlined multiple times. Her eyes widened.
"D-Danger?"
"Hm, what?"
Ai-Li hesitated for a moment, obviously unsure about opening someone else's mail, but then closed her eyes and unfolded it. Her eyes scanned the sheet, translating it in her mind with no trouble at all. When she was done, she stood up.
"I'm going to need you to stay here for a few more minutes while I run this over to the captain."
"Why?"
"D…Don't question my decision…!" she said, trying to be assertive. The girl stared at her.
"O…kay…"
Ai-Li rushed out the door, heading toward the matted room.
I have to give this to him…Something bad could be happening…
She tripped and fell.
"Ow…" As she sat up, she clenched her small fists with bits of her skirt and stared at the floor. "Why am I so eager to help an underclassman?" she whispered to herself. "I…I'm not." She stood up. "I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do." She began running again.
As she arrived, she grabbed the handle of the door and flung it open. She was frozen as a student hit the mat before her, clearing her view of Ren, the one who had knocked him down. He smirked at her and turned away.
"Re—I mean…Captain!"
He turned back around as she approached him, offering the letter in her hands. She knew he could read the words on the front from the reaction of almost grabbing the note from her. As he read it, she looked at the increasing worry mixed with utter fury that was filling his eyes. She saw his fists clenching the paper so tightly that they seemed ready to rip it in half. Not knowing what else to do, she glanced sideways at the ground.
The coach came over and Ren shoved the piece of paper against his chest. He took the note from the captain's vise grip and unraveled it. By the time he asked Ai-Li to read it to him, Ren was gone.
Lien hit the ground. She couldn't get up. Her body ached all over.
Her pursuers had been in control since the very beginning. She never had a prayer against them. They were all unneeded substitutes for the meet, and there was no way she could have handled five of them at once. They had taken turns beating her up as they mocked her. When she had tried to run, they grabbed her long hair and yanked her back. She could taste blood in her mouth and see it all over her body. Even after all this, she didn't know why she had been targeted in the first place.
The head boy kicked her in order to turn her body over, making her lay on her back.
"Let's have some fun."
Her eyes widened as he grabbed her hair and forcefully pulled her to her knees. She could only whimper with tears in her eyes as he reached for the button of her blazer.
Suddenly, he was knocked back, causing Lien's body to fall to the ground with a thud. The boy looked up, holding his head.
"Who the hell did that?"
"Yo."
Lien shifted her eyes to look up and see Tadashi standing over her. He looked down at her, smiling.
"Sorry I'm late, Princess," he said. "My 'trusty steed' was nowhere to be found. Guess it's not so trusty after all, ne?"
She stared up at him, then smiled weakly. He picked her up and set her against a tree.
"Just wait here. I'll be done soon." He stood and faced her attackers. "You've got a lot of nerve beating up a girl; especially Lien."
"Listen, you Jap, this is none of your business. Just beat it," the leader said.
"You can call me whatever names you want. It only shows what a coward you are." He reached behind him and produced a metal harisen. "I don't allow anyone to lay a finger on Lien, and now you're about to find out what happens when you do."
He charged at him. When his target tried to turn away, he swung and hit him in the ribs, sending him to the ground. He looked up to see that the other gang members had surrounded him.
"Four of you against little old me? Sounds like fun," he chortled.
The boy behind him charged, but Tadashi quickly turned and kicked him away. Another attacked, and he punched him in the stomach, then used the harisen to slap him across the face and onto the ground. The final two tried a double-team attack, but he hit one and then the other, allowing them to join their friends. He panted, then walked over to where Lien was.
"Now that that's taken care of…" He stopped as Lien's eyes widened. He looked back in time to see the group's boss land a punch square in the jaw. Tadashi went to get up, but his opponent brought a foot down on his core. He froze, unable to even let out a cry of pain. The boy sneered and looked back at his accomplices.
"Pick him up and hold him for me," he commanded.
They obeyed and he began giving the fallen knight hook after hook, wasting no time in drawing blood. Lien watched in horror. He was getting the beating of his life, and it was all because he tried to protect her.
He finally grabbed the unconscious Tadashi by the collar and tossed him so that he landed near Lien.
"Well, now that that's taken care of," the brute said in a mocking tone.
Please just leave us alone…You've done enough, Lien thought. Please just go…
He grinned at her. "Hold the Jap's head up," he said to his men minions. "I want him to see this. I don't care if he's a fucking vegetable right now. He'll wake up at some point, and when he does, I want this to be the first thing he sees."
Slowly, they did, but one seemed unsure. "Suōshǐ…what are you gonna do?"
His grin grew wider as he loosened the tie of his uniform. "I'm just going to teach her the proper place for a woman in this society. I'm gonna show her the only thing a freak like her is good for."
The minion's eyes widened. "Wait, boss! Do we really need to take things this far? I mean, yeah, the other guy smacked us around a little but she doesn't deserve THIS, does she?"
Suōshǐ frowned at him. "You're QUESTIONING me?" He sighed. "Well, SOMEONE here isn't going to get a turn with her. Too bad it's the virgin." The other boys snickered.
The boy looked at them frantically. "N-No! That wasn't what I meant!"
Suōshǐ smirked. "This isn't just to punish her, but it's for that shithead shaman brother of hers and what he did to me." His eyes seemed crazed. "I just can't wait to see the look on that fucking bastard's face when he finds out that his dear baby sister isn't so pure and virginal anymore. The look on the face of that asshole father of theirs would be even better. Thinking about it makes all those weeks in that itchy cast worth it."
Lien's eyes were quivering with fear. Move…Move…MOVE! COME ON JUST GET OUT OF HERE! Her body was unable to obey her.
Suōshǐ grabbed her ankle and dragged her a few meters from the tree. "You've got nice legs. No wonder you were able to run for so long."
He laughed and straddled her hips. She shifted her eyes to look at the boy who had objected, but he averted his gaze. She stared up into the darkening sky.
I wanted to give this to Him…
Suōshǐ ripped her blazer open, and then her blouse, causing buttons to fly in every direction. He touched her flesh through the white satin covering her chest. He whistled. "Pretty nice rack you got here, Lien. Even you can have some redeeming qualities," he said with faux awe. "I'll make good use of them, don't worry. You're going to need them once I'm done with you." His hands began to roam.
She closed her eyes and inhaled as she heard thunder. Lei-Gong…if you're up there, please, just kill me now. I can't live through this shame.
He was lifting her skirt, snickering. "Now the fun begins." She squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could.
Nothing ever came except for a loud thud. She heard his cry of pain as he hit a tree and slumped to the ground. Rain sprinkled tiny drops on her face as she tried to look up at a shadow that was now standing over her.
Papa? No…Not Papa…Too short…
Suōshǐ looked up. "NOW WHO IS—!" He froze as he looked up and saw the shadow. His group froze as well, dropping Tadashi.
Lien saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes and smiled weakly.
"Niisama…"