I don't really have much to say right now since I have a cold and my mind is all fuzzy...other than "Sorry for the wait!"
Notes: This chapter is named after the song "Hearts and Stars" by cage9, which I chose as a song for Tadashi.
There's fluff. I mean MARSHMALLOW levels of fluff. Extreme fluff. Did I mention this chapter has a large amount of Renmei fluff?
There's also some very brief lime here. Nothing major. The teens can stay.
I should have mentioned this before, but the time difference between Guiyang (capital of the Guizhou, China) and Sapporo (Capital of Hokkaido, Japan) is only one hour. It takes about eleven to twelve hours to fly between the two. Yes, I was pathetic enough to use Expedia for my own sick intentions.
This is the chapter where you're going to get a lot of questions, but not too many answers. Yet. I promise that everything will be explained.
I think it's worth mentioning that the exchange between Ren and Lien after he finds her was inspired by the scene with Makoto and Kotonoha of School Days at the end of episode eleven.
A Gift of Love – Chapter Seventy-Six: Hearts and Stars
Ren slowly opened his eyes. Plagued with double vision, he closed them and used his thumb and index finger to rub them a couple times before shaking his head and opening them again. The wall in front of him finally came into focus. He looked down to see Pin-Mei leaning against his chest, sleeping.
"That's the real one."
He glanced up at Sheng as she walked over to him, then back down again. "I know."
"She's just exhausted because she used up her furyoku healing the two of us. From what I hear, your wounds should have been fatal," she said looking over at the wall his body had once been pinned to. There was a large spot of blood where he had been impaled, then long trails where it had dripped to the floor.
"I remember hearing her voice," he said listlessly. "Her screaming, her crying, her trying to talk to me…I couldn't see anything though. At one point, I really thought I was going to die, but…" He trailed off.
"When you knew she was there, you didn't want to give up. You didn't want to leave her alone."
He gave no reaction. Instead, he took to looking around the room, his eyes finally resting on Huan's corpse.
"Sheng, did you…"
She shook her head and folded her arms. "No. It was Mistress Pin-Mei who killed her in such a brutal manner. She apparently cut her, choked her, and drowned her before finally driving that sword through her chest. I think it's safe to say that seeing you in a near-death state forced her gentle side to go on vacation for a while."
He nodded as he looked at the body. Drowning…Some people think of it as the worst way to die. Is that why she chose it? And the way the sword is impaling her chest…These sorts of methods are so unlike her.
"Master Ren, I'm not going to request that you tell me the answer, but…Do you still love your wife as much as you did when you got married?"
He looked up at her. "What gives you the right to ask me something like that? I don't see how it's any business of yours."
They stared at each other. Finally, Sheng bowed.
"You're absolutely right, Master Ren. Please accept my deepest apologies."
"Good, now go get me some milk," he commanded, turning his head away from her. "And take your time. In fact, take a detour and just go for a walk."
She blinked, then nodded and slowly began to walk away from them. When she was out of sight, Ren looked down at Pin-Mei, noticing how her face had been sprinkled with blood. He tried to wipe it off with his hand, but it only succeeded in smearing it. He sighed.
"It's no use without a towel," he murmured.
He removed the tie from her hair and began lightly stroking it. There were some tangles in it, which could have been attributed to the fact that blood and sweat had touched it at some point during the fight, but he ignored them. The feeling wasn't important. The only thing that mattered was that he had the ability to touch her at all.
He heard her moan as she stirred in his arms. She looked up at him, her eyes wide.
"Ren…" she whispered.
"Morning," he replied in a flat voice.
She whimpered before throwing her arms around him. "Oh my gods…Thank goodness. For a minute I thought I might lose you again!"
He didn't move. "For a minute I thought you were trying to seduce me into having makeup sex."
"You…You're so mean…" she whispered, laughing as she cried into his shoulder. She stilled. "So..that's how Huan was able to get you?"
He nodded shamefully. "Yes...Yes it was. I really should have noticed that something wasn't right. She was a lot more forward than you usually are. I guess I was distracted by the fact that I was relieved that you didn't hate me."
She shook her head furiously. "N-No! I could never hate you! I love you!" Still, she stiffened, then looked away from him at the ground.
He tilted his head to try to meet her eyes. "What is it?"
His wife opened and closed her mouth a few times, as if she was going to say something, but couldn't get the words out. Her hands clenched the stained fabric under them.
"Tell me," he said in an exasperated tone.
Her shoulders shook as her hands clenched the under dress tighter.
"Mistress is better off without Master's cruelty and infidelity," she whispered.
Ren's heart stopped. "W...What?" He again tried to meet her eyes, but she turned her head away. She took a deep breath.
"Every night that Master is not in his bed with Mistress, he breaks into the room of this lowly maid and uses her for his own needs."
Ren shook his head, his eyes wide. "That...That's not true...
"This one has tried again and again to escape him, to tell him that he should be with Mistress, the one who loves him, but he does not hear."
"It's not true!"
"This one has also been told by Ojouchama's guard that she has been a target of Master's lust as well."
Ren grabbed Pin-Mei's shoulders and shook her. "Why are you even thinking about something like that? What have I done to make you think I would do that to you?"
She looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy. "We've been fighting lately, and we sleep on opposite sides of the bed. We're not intimate at all. I was trying so hard to believe in you, but there's still that part of me that dreads the worst case scenario – that I'm just not good enough for you anymore, that you need to go to someone with a younger body in order to feel satisfied."
He let go of her, his fists clenched. His body seemed to be shaking, trying to hold in all the emotions that were going through him at once. She just stared at him, trying to read his reaction – trying to see if what she said was true. Finally, he spoke.
"You…YOU IDIOT!" he yelled at her. He shoved her, sending her to the ground so he could lean over her. "Do you think one fight means our marriage is in trouble? Do you?"
"I…"
"Couples fight! It happens! We've just been able to get along with each other because we both know what's expected of us! The only thing we should worry about it how we fight."
"How we fight?"
He took a deep breath. "That's right. We didn't go about it like we should have. We'll just have to learn from this so we can be better next time."
She looked away. "And my body?"
"What about it?"
Her face turned red. "Does it…um…still a-arouse you?" She covered her face with her hands as if she couldn't believe what she had just said.
Ren pulled her up and embraced her. She peeked through her hands at his hard yellow eyes, immediately closing them again to hide herself. He chuckled, shaking his head. "You're never going to change, are you?"
She quickly shook her head, causing him to smirk.
"As for your answer…" He looked away, still not used to expressing himself like this. He tried to find a way around it. "We fight sometimes, yes, but when it comes to how we view each other, we're in mutual agreement."
She looked up, confused. "What?"
He scratched his head as he tried to think of something to say. Finally, he sighed, knowing he would have to be blunt. "I enjoy having sex with you, alright?"
"Oh…" She tried to hide her face. "You didn't have to be so blunt."
He grinned irritably. Thirty-seven and still an airhead.
"I…like your body too…"
"Thanks…" This is stupid. We sound like a couple of virgins about to have sex.
She snapped her head up – red face and all – and looked him in the eye. "I-I'm sorry for-!"
He kissed her, cutting her off. As he ended it, he smirked at her. "I already heard your apology, remember? I hate redundancy."
She just hugged him again, her forehead against his shoulder. "Thank you."
She wasn't expecting a straight-out apology from him. It wasn't his style, and if she got an apology at all, it would be in some subtle way, but still enough so she would know. That's just the way Ren was, and it was what she was used to.
"Let's never fight again," she whispered. "Promise?"
He chuckled. "You sound like a child."
"Just promise!"
He sighed. "We can't just say that, and you know it. We're going to fight again at some point."
"I know…You're getting to be such a grumpy old man…" she mumbled.
"Did I hear you saying how young I look?"
"Yes, of course, darling."
They were silent as they sat holding each other.
"I love you," she whispered after a while.
He just squeezed her tightly, letting her know he felt the same. She closed her eyes and smiled. It's okay, I know you don't usually say it that much, anyway.
"…I love you, too."
Her eyes flew open. She smiled and nuzzled his shoulder. "I love you too."
He scoffed at her. "You already said that, and I gave my response. It's time to drop the ball."
She giggled. "Okay. Ball dropped."
Sheng soon returned with the milk. "Milord, I think you should drink this soon. It might get warm because of the leisurely pace you wanted me to take."
Ren looked up at her, slightly annoyed at being interrupted. "Just leave it right there, I'll get to it later."
Silence. Sheng stared at Pin-Mei.
"Mistress, while I understand that you need some time to celebrate Master Ren's vitality, don't we have other important matters to worry about?" she said, trying to sound respectful.
Pin-Mei sprang up and looked back at the guard, her eyes wide. "Yes! Thank you Sheng!" She turned back to her husband. "Ren, we need to-,"
"What the hell are you wearing?"
Pin-Mei looked down at herself to see that she was still in her blood-covered under dress, her robes in a pile near her. Red-faced, she tried to cover herself up.
"I-I-I was…You see…This is…"
He smirked at her again. "Why are you getting so flustered? It's nothing I haven't seen before." He laughed as she lowered her arms. Sheng came and draped the now filthy robes over her shoulders. She looked up at him slowly.
"Ren, Lien's gone."
His amused grin faded, his eyes widened. "What do you mean, 'gone'?"
She fidgeted. "Well, I…I don't know much about it…er…Sheng, if you would…"
The guard nodded. "Of course, Mistress." She turned to Ren. "Huan must have said something to seduce Milady into running away. I came upon them when they were about to leave, and that's when I learned of Huan's betrayal. Something must be going on, since she didn't hesitate at all to draw her weapon and fight me." She sighed, looking at the ground as she remembered her swift and pathetic defeat at the hands of the traitor. "Anyway, Bocchama seems to know where she is, for whatever reason. He's gone to find her, and advised us as to where to meet up with him."
Ren put his hand up. "Wait. Did I just hear you say that my son, who's chained up down the hall, left?"
Sheng nodded hesitantly. "Yes…He was the one who carried me here, so I'm sure it was him."
Pin-Mei nervously put her hand on his arm. "I-I told you that he was gone, remember? When you were, um, sleeping? He…He absolutely positively ran up to the medical wing as fast as he could when I asked him to get some blood for you. He's part of the reason why you're still alive, Ren."
He shook his head. "I can't believe he got out…"
She giggled. "Breaking chains must be in his blood," she said, thinking of times when her husband had done the same. Her smile faded. "But I suppose that now isn't the time to be joking around."
Ren nodded. "Alright, I'm going after the twins," he said stoically. He reached to his belt to take out Houraiken, but found nothing. He blinked, then patted his pants. The two women watched him run around the room looking for it. Not finding it, he looked back at them suspiciously. "Where the hell is Houraiken?"
Neither of them knew what to say. They were just as shocked as he was.
"Um, Darling, are you sure you brought it down here? Maybe you left it in our room…"
"NO!" he shouted, causing her to jump. "You pulled it out of me, remember? I doubt it got up and just walked to our room." He stroked his chin with his right hand, using his left fist to support his elbow. "Someone must have taken it." Their eyes met.
"Ren must have…"
He sighed. "That idiot. He barely knows how to use it. What made him think it was a good idea to take it from me?"
She mimicked his stance. "But Ren, I don't remember any of the Shaman Fight videos giving any evidence of En teaching you how to use it."
He froze. "I'm different. I'm more independent than he is, so I'm perfectly capable of teaching myself." She was grinning at him. "ANYWAY, we need to catch up to him as soon as possible. We have no idea what sort of danger he and Lien could be in."
Ren sighed and removed a large Kwan Dao from the rack. After examining it, then swinging it, he handed it to Pin-Mei, who stumbled under its weight. He grabbed a few more before he found one suitable enough.
"Why not this one?"
He looked down to see Pin-Mei holding out the Kwan Dao she herself had decorated with stickers so long ago. Their faces were faded on many of them, brought on by use and the conditions of the dungeon itself. Tongue in cheek, he turned around to hide a smirk.
"I'll get laughed at if I use that."
"What? B-But last time you…"
"Besides, you don't want the stickers to fade even more, do you? It's raining out, and that will just ruin them. Put it back." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "I'll use it the next time I practice my forms."
She blinked, then smiled. "Alright."
Without so much as a smile, he turned around again. "I'm going." She watched him begin making his way down the hall.
"No, wait! Let me go with you! I'll help!"
"No. Stay here. We both know that your furyoku is nowhere near being restored, so your healing arts are unusable at this point. Just stay here and rest. If your furyoku is restored, and we're not back yet, feel free to come join us. Until then, remain here."
She wrung her hands, staring at the floor. Finally, she nodded. "I'll do as you say."
He nodded. "I'll be back soon."
"Wait!"
"What is it now?"
Pin-Mei looked at the ground to her left. "At least…At least change your clothes. Those ones are stained with blood, and since it's hardened now, it will make you feel uncomfortable."
He looked down at his shirt and saw that the gold clasps were stained red; two had been severed by the swords that had impaled him. In any case, she was right. He was covered in blood, and would probably feel more refreshed after washing a little.
"Alright, you win. But we can't dawdle like this. We don't know what sort of danger Lien could be in."
But as they climbed the stairs one of the servants came rushing down to them, out of breath.
"Milord, Bocchama has disappeared!"
He nodded. "Yes, Pin-Mei sent him out to look for for Lien."
The servant stopped. "Milady sent Níu-chama out into the storm?"
Pin-Mei gasped and pushed the servant out of the way, running upstairs to her youngest son's room. She threw the door open and ran in, ripping the sheets from the boy's bed. Finding nothing, she opened the closet. He wasn't there.
"Níu-Năi, honey! Mama wants you to come out now! We have to get you ready for bed! It's time to sleep, not to play!"
She was shaking when Ren found her. She looked back at him, her eyes wide. "He...He's not here...Wh...WHAT IF HUAN GOT HIM?"
"Then we'll keep looking until we find a body. If we find one, we'll decide what to do when the time comes," he replied finally. He didn't like that possibility, but he needed to be blunt at this point.
She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I...I just want my children back..." she whispered.
"I know...But for now, go clean yourself up and rest. I'll go shower and then go join Ren. I'm confident that I'll meet Níu-Năi along the way." He turned her around and gently pushed her toward the bathroom. "Now go on, I'll bring them back. I promise."
She looked back at him with a weak smile, her exhaustion apparent. Her hand reached back, her small fingers curling around the index and middle fingers of his left hand, but he insisted by giving her another tap, nudging her into the lavatory. As he went to close the door, she glanced back at him once more, causing him to stop.
"Just hold me one more time...before you go..."
As he brought the covers up over her shoulders, Ren gently placed his hand on Pin-Mei's head before leaving.
"Come back soon..." she mumbled, half asleep.
He didn't reply as his hand left her and he backed out of the room, shutting the door. When he was out of the way, Li stepped in front of it.
"Make sure nothing happens to her. I'm counting on you," he said.
"Yes, Milord."
He began making his way downstairs. As he motioned to go toward the stables, there was a knock at the door. He looked at the clock. It was a little before nine.
Who could it be at this hour? If Ren's come back with Lien, he wouldn't knock…
He opened the door to see a tall girl with grey braids standing on the steps, a pile of books and papers in her arms. She looked around them at the man before her.
"Captain," she grunted, wavering under the weight of the books. "I don't know what you and your sister have been doing to make yourselves miss a week of school, but I brought your work so you can try to catch up."
Ren watched her stumble around until her legs buckled under the load. He grabbed the stack as she collapsed into the mud. Ai-Li rubbed her rear and stood up, moaning.
"That's just like you! You like watching people suffer, don't you?" she cried.
"It must be a family trait," he replied flatly.
She froze at his voice, which was a little deeper than what she was used to. Quickly, she produced a flashlight held it vertically between them, allowing her to see his face.
There was a long pause. They stared at each other.
"You're not in high school, are you?" she finally asked.
"No. I finished that a long time ago."
"I see…"
More silence.
"Unless you plan on telling a ghost story, shut that light off. It's irritating."
"Ah, yes, sorry." It was dark again. She kicked at the ground, unsure of what she should do next.
"I don't have time for this. Get inside."
"Bwuh?"
"It isn't a good idea for a human to be outside at a time like this, especially not with what's going on."
"Wait, what are you talking about? What's going on?"
Ren didn't answer as he grabbed her arm and yanked her into the manor. He walked over and set the bundle of schoolwork on a table, making two piles since they had been previously sorted. Then he turned to the bewildered visitor.
"You won't understand at this point, but it's too dangerous for an ordinary human to be out at this time. I have a hunch, and if it's correct, then you could have gotten yourself killed." She was just staring at him. "Therefore, you will stay here until I come back with Ren and Lien. If you need to call your family to tell them you probably won't be home tonight, then there's a phone down the hall." He pointed to the right and she nodded dumbly. "Alright. So long, and don't leave, understand?"
She nodded again, then looked worried. "But there was a young boy out there!" She cried.
"What?"
"It was dark, so I couldn't get a very good look at him, but he couldn't have been older than ten…"
Ren's fist clenched. "Did you see any distinctive features?"
Ai-Li thought for a moment. "Um...Oh! He had a ponytail! Yeah, I remember now! A ponytail!" He stared at her with wide eyes. She shrunk. "Is that bad?"
"You just gave me another reason to get out of here. Stay put, you understand?"
"Y-Yes sir!"
Without another word, he bolted out the front door, slamming it as he headed for the stables. He tried to wrap his head around his young son's way of thinking, but he couldn't understand it at all.
Why did he go out? How could he have even known before Pin-Mei and I did? It makes no sense!
Ren went up to his horse and quickly began fitting the bridle. He felt his foot move against something that seemed to be glass, and he bent down to pick it up. It was a small vial. It was empty and the label was faded, telling him that it had been out here for a while. He looked at the label.
This looks like it's from the Poison Hall, judging by what I can see…I just don't know which one it is…
He took the cap off and very cautiously sniffed the bottle. His eyes widened and he jerked away from it, grabbing his nose and taking a few deep breaths. Once the minor effects had subsided, he put the cap back on and stared at the vial. He clenched it.
"I've been had," he whispered darkly.
"Lien! Where are you?" Ren called, his hands funneling his mouth. "Lien!" When there was no answer, he slowly lowered them and started riding again. I was hoping she hadn't gotten to the top of the mountain yet…but…
His sister's face flashed in his mind again and again. He clenched the reins. He knew he had to find her. If he didn't, the next time he saw his twin, she could possibly be horribly sick due to the weather – or dead.
No! Don't think about that! he yelled at himself. Lien is stronger than that! She'll be alive when I find her – she will!
He continued riding through the forest leading up the mountain, eventually coming to the top. His eyes widened as he spied Lien's horse tied to a tree.
"She…She's here…"
He jumped off his own horse, quickly tying the reins to an opposite tree, and tried to look at the ground. Although faint, he could make out some footprints in the mud. Lien… He sprinted along the path she had unknowingly left him and arrived at a clearing.
There she was.
On her knees with her hands clasped and her eyes shut was Lien. He could see that her mouth was moving, telling him that she had been serious about her mission of prayer.
"Lien!" he cried as he began running over to her. He stopped as someone stood in his way. His eyes widened. "Tadashi…what are you doing here?"
"I can't let you disturb Lien," he said softly. "She's doing this because she believes that she can be with you if her prayers are answered."
"She said that, but I don't understand why she would want that at all!"
The boy's shoulders seemed to be shaking. He clenched his fists.
"LIEN LOVES YOU!" he screamed. "She…She's doing this because she loves you – because you're the one she wants to be with!"
Ren looked past him at Lien, whose hands were still clasped together earnestly. "She…loves…" He shook his head quickly. "I'm only a brother to her – nothing more! She knows that! She'd never have such thoughts!"
Tadashi stared at the ground. "I knew this would happen…I knew it…I tried to distract her so she wouldn't have to go through with this, but her feelings didn't fade at all! On that date, I finally realized that she wasn't going to return my feelings, so I set her free…" Blood dripped from his fists. "But you don't even love her back, you ungrateful bastard!"
Ren took a step back. Although he would never admit it even to himself, he was confused. He didn't know what was going on. He didn't know what to do. Beside himself, he fell to his knees, his palms on the ground.
"Why…Why does she have those feelings? She knows it's taboo…that Father would never allow it. She must know that a brother and sister can't have a family…It'd be like giving any children they had a guaranteed life of hardship and sickness! She…She knows I'm incapable of loving someone like that…S-She heard me when I said that, right?" he whispered, looking up at his classmate, hoping that he would agree with him that Lien's feelings were inappropriate, but Tadashi just stared down at him.
He looked at the muddy ground again. He stood up, his stance shaky. "I…I need to talk to her…I need to get her to stop this…"
Tadashi stood in his way. "I can't let you do that. I'm willing to give up on her so she can be with the person she really loves. I won't let you hurt her by rejecting her."
"You…plan on forcing me to be with her?"
"If that's what it takes for Lien to be happy."
Ren stared at the ground. "This…This can't be real…" He looked up at Lien. "I…I can't let this go on!" He shoved Tadashi out of the way, sending him into the mud, and ran up to his sister. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
"Lien! LIEN!"
That's when he saw her eyes. They were faded and lifeless. He shook her again and she slowly, almost hauntingly, looked at him.
"Oh, Niisama…good, you're here…It makes me so happy that you cared enough to come find me…" Her voice was light and breathless. She sounded weak and disturbed.
"Lien, you have to stop this! This whole thing is insane! Come on, we're going home."
She shook her head. "Not until I get the blessing," she whispered.
"No blessing is coming, Lien. There's no point in praying out in the rain like this. Mother's worried, so let's go." He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. He began walking, but she didn't move.
"But…I love Niisama…"
He froze. "I love you too…You're my sister and I'll always love you as one."
"I…really love Niisama. Niisama is the most important person in the world to me."
He tentatively looked over his shoulder at her. His sister's words terrified him, putting him in a position that could potentially ruin their sibling relationship forever.
"I want to be by Niisama's side until I die. I want to support him and make sure he's never lonely."
"You can do those things as my sister!"
"I want to sleep beside Niisama every night…"
He turned around and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. "Stop it…"
"I want to do everything with Niisama…"
"Be quiet! Don't say anymore!"
"I want to give every part of myself to Niisama…I want to be useful to Niisama…"
"That's enough!"
"I'll be a wife Niisama is proud to have…"
"JUST STOP IT!"
"I'll love Niisama just like Mama loves Papa…"
His eyes were burning. "Can't you hear what I'm saying?"
"Niisama is the only person I'll ever love…"
"I…can't take this…"
"Niisama is the only person who will make me happy…My life means nothing without Niisama…"
He let go of her and hung his head.
"Lien…we can't be together. It's forbidden…people would only see our union as disgusting and disgraceful. Any children we had would be more likely to die at a young age because of all the diseases they could get. You could get sick as well."
She wasn't even looking at him; she was just staring at whatever was directly in front of her.
"None of that matters to me. We don't have to listen to anyone who condemns us, and we could always just adopt instead…"
"No adopted child could be an heir to our family. Father would never allow it."
"But Niu-Nai will have a family of his own, won't he? One of them can be the heir."
"S-Stop making excuses!"
"I don't care about anything else. As long as Niisama is happy, that's all that matters to me."
He looked up slowly. "Do you mean that?"
"Of course. Niisama's happiness is the more important than anything else."
He walked over and took her hand, then placed it on his left cheek, her thumb just under his eye. Lien twitched as she heard a soft choke.
"Niisama…Are you…crying?" She could feel his whole body shaking. "W-Why are you crying? I thought I would be able to make you happy!"
He shook his head. "You can't Lien, not like this."
"T-Then we'll get married! I can make you happy like that, can't I? I'll be everything you need!"
"Lien, I'm happy enough to have you as a sister. I don't need you to be my wife in order to feel happier. So just…Stop this…"
Her eyes widened in horror. "Nii…sama…doesn't…love me?"
He didn't want to start this now. "You can ask me when we get home. We're not doing this out here."
"A-Am I really…the reason why Niisama's crying?"
He was silent, not knowing if he should be truthful or not.
"Yes, I'm crying because of you."
She shook her head as she ripped her hand from his face and held it, staring at the ground.
"N-No…I never meant to hurt Niisama…I just want to make Niisama happy! But…I hurt you instead…"
"Lien…"
He could hear her crying, and he looked away. Part of him didn't want to go home. He didn't want to have to tell her that her feelings had no chance of being returned.
"Ren…I…I'm so sorry…"
He looked at her again. She was looking up at him, her hands clasped together in a pleading fashion.
"I'm so sorry, Ren," she whispered. "Please don't cry anymore…"
His eyes widened as he realized that he could once again see the light in her eyes. She didn't seem brainwashed anymore. She finally understood him.
"As long as you address me the way you're supposed to, I won't," he said, a small smirk on his face.
She nodded and fell into him, throwing her arms around him. "Please don't hate me!" she cried.
He returned the embrace. "You fool. I couldn't hate you even if I wanted to."
"Niisama…"
Tadashi stepped forward. "Lien, why are you throwing away all the effort I put into this? I did this so you could be happy!"
Lien looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry, Tadashi...I really do appreciate what you were trying to do, despite your feelings, but…" She looked at Ren. "Niisama doesn't think that now is a good time to discuss it. We'll go home and deal with this there." She saw his fist clench as he lowered his head, and she went over to place her hand on his shoulder. "Please don't think badly of me. You do so much for me, and I wish there was something I can do for you, I really do."
"But there isn't a single thing you could do for me."
"Tadashi…"
He backed away from her, then finally looked up again, tears in his eyes. "Because I just want to be with you…I want to make you happy, and I can't have the chance to do either of those. My plan failed. All of this was for nothing…but it's alright." He put on the most pathetic smile the twins had ever seen. "I don't harbor any ill feelings toward either of you. I just hope that, in the end, Lien is happy."
Lien looked at the ground sadly. "I'm sorry…"
He looked at Ren. "You win. I give up."
Ren shifted uncomfortably. He didn't feel like anyone was winning in this situation.
"Tada-Darling, why are you giving up so easily?"
Tadashi looked back at his mother, whose outline could faintly be seen from under the large umbrella. "There's nothing else I can do, Kaasan." His shoulders drooped as he looked at the ground. "I…I'm sorry that I couldn't make your plan work."
"Nonsense. We just need to go about it a different way…"
She walked out from under her shelter, a smaller umbrella shielding her from the light rain.
Ren's eyes widened. "Th-There's no way…That can't be…"
Lien looked back at him. "What's wrong, Niisama?" He suddenly yanked her arm and pulled her behind him.
"This is impossible…How can she be here?"
"Who?"
"Tada-Darling, come here. I'll tell you how to make all of this work."
He blinked. "Alright…How?"
She smiled. "Exactly. Hao-Sama promised us all happiness in his new world, and we're going to start creating that world right now."
His face was still blank. "Hao…Sama…? Kaasan, who are you talking about?"
She tapped her closed fan on her chin in thought. "It seems as though coming to this world has made you forget why you were even sent here in the first place."
Ren's eyes narrowed. "So you ARE here to hurt us…I should have known."
Lien looked at them both frantically. "Wh-What's going on?"
Tadashi looked at them, horrified at Ren's accusation. "N-No! I'd never want to hurt either of you!" He turned to face his mother. "Kaasan, I don't understand any of this! What am I supposed to be remembering? What to you mean 'sent here'?"
She held his chin, an evil smile on her face. "Just hold this," she said as she gave him a large tag with bold characters written on it.
He looked at it, still confused. "…'Star'? What's this for?"
"A symbol of the loyalty you pledged to Hao-Sama in exchange for your life."
The tag glowed, and a blinding light emitted from it. It jumped from his hand and onto his forehead as the wind picked up. Lien wrapped her arms around her brother's midsection for stability, surprised when he placed his hands on top of hers.
"Just hold on, and don't let go," he commanded. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, alright?"
Niisama… She nodded. "Okay!"
Ren turned his attention back to their classmate. Tadashi had grabbed his head and his stance had wavered. He looked like he could collapse at any moment. The boy shook his head frantically.
"No...Stop it…STOP IT! I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER!" he screamed.
His "mother" stood near him, laughing behind a fan. "You'll be thankful when you're yourself again. There was something you wanted – no - you NEEDED to do. That's why Hao-Sama chose you to come with me, along with Huan, so we could set the plot in motion.
"Now, REMEMBER! Remember and help me get rid of this disgusting pair of lovers!"
"N-No! I'd never hurt Lien! Never!"
"Maybe...but another girl has hurt you like she has...She's the one you wanted to hurt – to kill."
His eyes shot open as his mind raced with scenes of him with another girl. His eyes became wider as her voice filled his ears.
"I'm applying to Tokyo Universiity. The teachers said I have a good chance of getting in if I study hard enough. Where are you going?"
"I…had fun today, I really did. Thank you, Tadashi."
"You're too good to me...It's like it's impossible for me to stay sad when you're around."
"Please don't cry…I'm here…"
"I love you. Believe me, I really and truly do. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't."
Her kind words seemed to put him at ease for a moment, but then the photoplay took a turn for the worst. She stopped looking him in the eye. She was with someone else. Her voice wasn't happy or full of passion anymore.
"Let's forget about that night, okay? It...was a mistake. I...I can't do something like that again until I can deal with the consequences. I'm sorry."
"Tadashi…What's gotten into you? Leave him alone!"
"He's just a friend! I wouldn't lie to you! O-Our parents are friends, so we are too!"
"I think...that we need to be apart for a while until I can work this out…I can't see you for a while, I'm sorry."
"Tell you I love you? At a time like THIS?"
"She…She betrayed me…" he whispered. "She left me all alone after my father died. She used me and left me for that other guy…I did everything for her...and she LEFT me...She wouldn't even tell me she loved me before I left!"
"Who is he talking about, Niisama?" Lien whispered fearfully, still clinging to him.
"I don't know...I don't understand any of this..."
He looked to Tadashi again as the boy slowly straightened. His right hand was covering his face. When he removed it, his eyes were blood red.
"Thank you, Kaasan, for reminding me of why I came here."
"We both came for revenge, Tada-Darling. Don't worry, we'll both get our chances."
He smirked. "You're sure that she is coming, right?"
"Of course. It wouldn't be fair to you if you didn't get to do what you've wanted for so long."
Ren watched their exchange, backing away slowly.
"We're going to run," he whispered. "We'll find father and tell him what's going on. With the Spirit of Thunder, we'll have no trouble dealing with them."
"B-But what about-"
"Tadashi's dead, Lien."
"W-What do you mean, 'dead'?"
"The Tadashi you and I know is dead. This guy's replaced him. The Meihou Tadashi who tried to be like a knight to you is gone and he isn't coming back."
He could feel her tense, then start quivering. "I don't understand anything anymore..." she whispered. "I don't know who that woman is or why Tadashi wants revenge...I...I don't understand why you're saying that the only friend we've had is gone."
"He is."
"No! W-We can talk to him, get him to calm down! Whoever that 'Hao-sama' person is and what he's promised, we can make Tadashi understand that he can be happy just being our friend!"
Ren looked at her. She was crying, earnestly looking up at him, pleading with him to tell her that there was still hope. He looked away.
"Stop with your naïve ideals. I meant what I said. If he was like this before we even met him, then that means that the Tadashi we knew never existed at all. He was a fake. An Illusion."
She let go of him, backing away and stomping her foot. "I refuse to believe that! He...he...he made me so happy! You can't say that the person who took my first kiss was just a daydream! He's real! We can bring him back, Niisama, I know we can!" She stopped, as if she realized something. "I-I know! This must be an evil spirit that's taken over his body! Th-That MUST be it! Mama can use one of her tags to exorcise it, and we'll have Tadashi back! Y-Yeah! That's it!"
He couldn't look at her. The state she was in was so pitiful and sad that even their classmates would feel an ounce of sympathy for her. Still, he knew that she wouldn't leave until all their options for trying to bring their friend back had been exhausted.
"We'll try," he said finally. "But if things get bad, get out of here and run back home."
She looked happy, then confused. "'B-Bad'? What constitutes as 'bad'?"
He looked over his shoulder at her, his eyes glowing and belligerent.
"If you see fire, run away as fast as you possibly can."
She stared at him, then finally nodded. Ren turned his gaze back to the person in front of him. He blinked. Only the woman was there. He looked around.
Dammit! Where did he go?
"Hn...blue..."
Ren whipped around to see Tadashi standing in front of Lien. She was frozen, her eyes quivering, no doubt intimidated her friend's suddenly red eyes. He ran to get between them, but a bit of energy smacked him away, forcing him down into the mud.
"I'm trying to have a conversation here," Tadashi said in a taunting voice. "Just sit tight, Ren. I'll get to you." He turned back to Lien, whose gaze had also shifted to her brother. With his hands in his pockets, he smiled at her.
A shiver went up her spine as she turned her attention back to him. He was just smiling at her, not saying anything, and not moving. She kept looking away, only to return to him each time, as if he was silently forcing her to take notice of him. Finally, she swallowed.
"T-Tadashi...kun..." she said slowly, adding the honorific at the last moment. "What's going -"
"...blue..."
She froze again. "B-Blue? W-What about it?"
He leaned his face toward hers. Lien closed her eyes, almost hopeful.
Please...I don't mind if you kiss me...Just do it so I know you haven't changed...
But Tadashi passed her lips, his mouth instead stopping next to her ear.
"...Blue...I hate that color..."
She began shaking as her eyes flew open, knowing his adversity to her hair color couldn't be good.
"You can thank her for that." He snapped back in front of her so he could look her in the eye. "You'd never betray me, would you, Lien? If I gave my love to you, you wouldn't turn your back on me, would you?"
She trembled, but shook her head slowly. He smiled at her.
"Of course not. You're better than she could ever be. You'd never leave me for some 'friend.'" His right index finger trailed up her throat to her chin. "Tell me you love me."
Her eyes grew even wider. "...W-What?"
He tilted his head, a confident smile on his lips. "Tell me you love me, Tao Lien."
"Stop it! Leave her alone!" Ren cried, finally up from the mud. He brandished Houraiken and ran at him.
Tadashi glared at him. "You aristocrats have no manners." Three throwing knives appeared in his left hand. He smirked, then hurled them at the young heir.
Ren's eyes widened. He tried to dodge them, but one stabbed his left shoulder, while another pierced his ribs. The last grazed his right cheek. In agony, he fell to the mud again.
"Niisama!"
His enemy smirked and walked over to him. He placed his left foot on the fallen scion's head.
"What's wrong? Is this all the martial arts captain has to offer? You're more like some geezer doing Tai Chi!" He laughed and stomped on it a few times. "Hao-sama said that he asked your father to join him, but the jackass declined. Because of that, he was the weakest of the group. If he had just accepted Hao-Sama's offer, he could have had all the power he desired.
"He's nothing but a failure, marrying and breeding with someone who isn't a pure blooded shaman, thus tainting the Tao family bloodline forever. He couldn't find anyone else who would want him, could he? That's why he had to settle for a halfbreed." He paused, then laughed again. "Your whole body's shaking, Ren. Are you scared? Or maybe you're going to show me that famous Tao family anger I've heard so much about, hn?"
"Don't...talk about...my parents...like that..."
"Oh, is that it?" He pouted his lip and spoke in a mocking voice. "Little Renny-poo gets upset when people say bad things about his mommy, doesn't he?" He smirked. "I've heard all about your mom. Obsessed over your father like some freakish stalker all her life when she had only spent one month with him ten years before. A flat stick-girl with a round face and pigtails. A crybaby with no friends. A schizo who talked to all her dolls and stuffed animals because no one in the house wanted to be around her. I guess it's no surprise your parents got together. Idiocy loves company, after all." He cackled, then thew his head back and laughed.
Ren's left hand clenched the mud under it as his body continued to shake. His right hand whipped over to his left shoulder. In one swift movement, he yanked the knife out and drove it into Tadashi's leg. The cretin flinched in pain, letting out a small yelp and removing his foot from Ren's head. He pulled the knife out and grinned angrily at the muddy scion.
"You little bastard," he said. "You're just asking to die."
Ren smirked. "Sorry. As a Tao, I'm against dying before I'm good and ready. Especially in such pitiful circumstances. Besides, I warned you, didn't I?"
Tadashi chuckled. "Right, right. You did, you did. My apologies. I'll have to make it up to you." Then he looked genuinely angry. "This knife is an extra...I'D LIKE YOU TO HAVE IT!" He turned Ren over and moved to thrust the blade into his throat.
"I LOVE YOU!"
Tadashi stopped, the dagger mere inches away from the Tao heir's neck. He slowly turned his head to look at Lien, whose face was pale and seemingly disturbed, with good reason.
"You...love me?" he asked, standing up, seemingly forgetting about her brother.
Lien nodded and tried to smile. "I...I do. I've actually loved you for a long time...I was just too embarrassed to tell you."
Some of the red seemed to leave his eyes, and he dropped the knife as he made his way over to her. He looked genuinely excited. "Y-You love me? Really?"
Lien nodded nervously. "Really, really! You...You're the first boy I kissed, remember?"
"You...You don't hate it?"
"N-No! Of course not! I wish we did it more often!"
He looked overjoyed. He hugged her. "This is great! I'm so happy!" He turned around. "K-Kaasan! She said she loves me! We can stop everything now! As long as I have Lien, I don't need to get revenge! It doesn't matter to me as long as she's here!"
"She's lying,"
His happy smile vanished. After a few moments, a nervous one replaced it. "Kaasan, Lien wouldn't lie to me! She loves me! You don't lie to people you love!"
His "mother" closed her fan and looked at him pitifully. "But Tada-Darling, she doesn't love you, so she would lie to you. The only reason she said that was to save her brother."
He looked back at her. "W...What? Lien...is that true?"
The heiress took a step back, shaking her head frantically. "She's the one who's lying! Who...Who..." She pointed at her. "Who's SHE to judge people when she hasn't been there for you since you were little? How do you know she really has your best interests in mind?"
Tadashi stared at his guardian, utterly confused. Then he turned back to Lien. Finally, he looked to the older woman again. "Kaasan, thank you for your concern, but I'd rather find out what Lien's true feelings are on my own."
Lien's eyes shifted to Ren, who was staring at her with an expression she couldn't read. She didn't know if he was angry or remorseful that she had blurted out those words in order to save him. He watched as Tadashi turned to her again, hugging her.
"Tell me you love me again," he whispered in her ear.
"I...love you,"
"Use my name."
"I love you, Tadashi."
He pulled back slowly and used his hands to cup her cheeks. "I've waited so long to hear you say those words...I'm so happy..." The red in his eyes still hadn't completely vanished.
"I mean them," she whispered.
He leaned his forehead down to touch hers. "If I kiss you, promise you won't hit me?"
"Of course..."
He smiled, then closed his eyes as he leaned down to begin a passionate kiss. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again to look over at her brother.
Thi...This isn't right...I know I have...some sort of feelings for Tadashi...but I know that Ren's the person I love...I...I can't lie like this... But she knew that if she were to give up this charade, they both would be in danger.
His tongue was in her mouth. His hands were touching her hair and body. She could feel desire radiating from him like heat. Her mind was blank.
W-What should I do? I...
He abruptly pulled away from her. For a moment, she thought she saw a glare, but then he smiled again. He reached out to her. "Will you let me touch you?"
"T-Tadashi...I..."
"I'll be gentle, I promise."
She looked over at Ren again. His eyes were lowered, understandably due to not wanting to see his sister felt in such a way.
"Y-Yes..."
He smiled softly. "Thank you." His hand rested on her right breast. She flinched, causing him to chuckle. "You're so sensitive. It's cute. My cute little Lien..."
He kissed her again, rubbing the soft flesh in his hand. She reluctantly wrapped her arms around him.
"Yes...My cute little Lien," he whispered.
"My cute
little
lying
Lien..."
Her eyes shot open and he pulled back, his eyes completely red.
"That naïve side of me trusted you, but I won't let that happen again. Humans are selfish. They only care about themselves. They don't care who's hurt or stepped on as long as they get what they want."
She smiled nervously. "T-Tadashi! I love you! I-I mean it!"
He scowled at her, placing his middle and index fingers on her forehead. The scowl turned into an evil smile. He chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm going to get so much satisfaction from killing you."
"N-No!" she cried, but she couldn't move. It was as if she were bound by invisible chains.
"...But first, go have some nightmares. A lying, conniving, heartless girl like you deserves some. Hopefully, you'll dream about rape...again."
Ren finally found the strength to stand up - just as his sister fell to the ground like a ragdoll, her eyes closed.
"Damn him...leaving for work without even folding the laundry."
Rong's eye twitched as she stared at the three baskets full of laundry on the sofa. HoroHoro had skipped out on chores right after wiring money to Xue for plane tickets, which had been at around nine that morning; two hours ago. Now he had run off to his little store so he could tinker with custom snowboards and designer boots.
She walked over to the couch and looked at the baskets again. That bastard...He's not topping for AT LEAST a month.
A piece of paper caught her eye. She picked it up from the basket it was in and read the chicken scratch that was on it.
"Sorry I had to skip out before I could do the folding. An emergency board repair came up, and all the other shops said they wouldn't do it for less than nine thousand yen, so I figured I'd help the guy out. I'll do the dishes this week, and I'll bottom for a month. Love you.
-Aokun"
She crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it behind her, her face red. "Stupid bastard..." she mumbled. "Thinking he can just get away with everything by saying he loves me..."
All the same, she picked up a shirt and began folding it. Another note was under it.
"Today's the 12th, right? Almost the anniversary of when we started dating. Hehe."
"If he had time to write these notes, why couldn't he have folded something?" She put the second note on the coffee table and began folding again. Soon, another note appeared. It was folded into thirds, closed like a pamphlet. When she opened it, something fell out, but she ignored it in favor of reading the note itself.
"I took this after you fell asleep last night. Hehe. You're still cute even though you're old."
"O-O-OLD?"
"Just kidding. You don't look your age at all. I'm keeping the other picture I took at my desk at work. See you when I get home. Love you."
She picked up the picture. It was of her sleeping, seemingly reaching out for her husband next to her, but touching nothing. He had, after all, been taking the picture. She put it on the table, her face red.
Horokeu...
As she looked around at the framed stick figure masterpieces that Xue and Seta had drawn when they were younger that lined the walls and the hand print soap "bars" that hung in the kitchen, she thought of how, more than twenty years ago, she had never thought of herself being where she was now - a mother and a wife to a family she loved more than anything.
"Ha...And to think, Pin-Mei was supposed to be the only thing I cared about. Now, I have three kids to take care of." She chuckled at her own joke. "Still, I never thought I was going to ever be out of China, much less out of the family." She looked to her left at a "family" picture of her family with Ren and Pin-Mei's. "I never thought she'd be so happy, that we'd finally be able to save her from the she-devil that was holding her down." Rong smiled. "We're all happy...I know things will work out for Ren and Pin-Mei. They always find some way to resolve whatever squabble they've brought on themselves. I believe in them."
The phone rang. Sighing, she walked over and answered it.
"Hello, Usui residence, Rong speaking."
"Hello there, Rong. It's been a while since I've heard that masculine voice of yours."
She froze, her whole body going numb.
It...It...can't...be...
Speak of the devil, and she shall appear.