Here we are! I'm hoping to get a couple more chapters out before the end of the summer. Mark my words. I'll have Andy make sure that I do. I owe it to you guys. Thanks for your support! :3
I also have a new poll up concerning if you'd read an alternate ending if I wrote one. Vote if you have time/feel like it/care. Thanks!
In spite of myself, I cried while writing this chapter. Oh, gosh was it hard to write the very end. I may have overused the exclamation points, but I hope you get the sense of urgency of the situation.
I also used "Into the Fire" from the Bleach Movie 1 as my inspiration. More bawwwing. Gosh, I'm a softie.
Notes: More spoilers from KZB 288
Ren tells Sheng to "live up to her family name". This refers to fact that the surname "Wei" means "protect".
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 Eighty-Six: Burning Passion
"Ow!"
After a quick intake of breath, Seta put his left index finger in his mouth and sucked on it. Hana glanced over.
"With all this turbulence, it's probably not a good idea to be sewing."
"I know, but I really want to get this done for Lien. I won't have time to finish it at her house. P-Plus..." He glanced out the window before quickly slamming down the plastic shield to hide it. "I need to distract myself somehow."
There was an ascending dinging noise before a female voice sounded through the speakers.
"Good evening passengers. Please take your seats and fasten your seat belts. Please also make sure your tray table is in the upright and locked position. We are preparing to land at Guizhou Airport, where the time is currently 11:16 pm with scattered showers throughout the province. Again, please take your seats and prepare for landing.
"Well, I guess you should hurry up," Hana said, looking up at the intercom. "You're running out of time."
Seta grunted as he stitched as fast as he could. Predictably, his small cries and thumb sucking heightened in frequency. Hana smiled softly, then allowed his gaze to drift to the ground. Seeing that his friend's cellphone had fallen under the seat in front of them, he used his foot to sweep it over to him, then leaned down and picked it up. With its owner distracted, he opened it and began fiddling with the controls.
His mother never allowed him to have a cellphone, explaining simply that she didn't feel like paying for it. With this, his clicking around seemed to yield nothing of interest, that is, until he found a folder of pictures and managed to find a way to scroll through it.
The vast majority of them were of Lien, which didn't surprise him in the least. There were a few that Seta had gotten her to pose for, sometimes with him, sometimes alone. There was also a series of pictures that were candid, and most of them blurry due to the boy's shaking hands. Hana was amused by them, but his smile faded.
A picture of Xue and Tadashi popped up, causing him to stop and stare at it, confused. Why would Seta still have these? In fact, there were numerous pictures of Tadashi still in the folder, including the one he had taken at the fire festival.
Hana glanced over at him before dropping the phone into the boy's bag.
I hate that guy.
"Which way did they go, Sheng?" Ren asked curtly.
The warrior glanced around, pointing into the forest. "That way, Milord."
"Alright. Just try to keep up." He snapped the reins and his horse galloped into the brush. Sheng followed on her own steed, though not as fast.
Her eyes were fixed on the man in front of her. She bit her tongue, trying to take her mind off the guilt and shame she felt for allowing Lien to run off. To her, whatever happened on the mountain was her fault.
If only I had been stronger...like Lady Pin-Mei's guard...then I would have been able to stop Huan...
"Stop thinking about your defeat."
She looked up to see that Ren had been glancing over his shoulder at her. Upset, she inhaled deeply, desperate to keep her eyes from burning. "But I've failed you! I failed Lady Lien!" she cried. "How am I supposed to hold my head high knowing how inferior I am?! How can I even carry the pride of the Wei family when I fail to live up to the prowess and strength held by the women who came before me?!"
He sighed and slowed to a trot. "Get over here so I can get those useless thoughts out of your head."
She obediently trotted beside him, regretting her outburst. "I apologize for my insolence, Lord Ren. It's because of me that we're wasting so much time. I'm just a--"
"Silence."
Sheng shrunk even more, knowing she was about to be scolded.
"Pin-Mei's guard..." he mused, playing along with Wei Geming's deceit, "...she was exceptional, yes, and knew how to handle most situations, but she had her faults. Her feelings sometimes clouded her judgment."
"Milord?"
"She loved Pin-Mei very much, that I know. That love went to an extreme, much farther than it should have. It made her soft at times, so her combat skills suffered. But..."
He smiled inwardly.
"I also know that those feelings made her strong, and that's why Pin-Mei stayed alive long enough for us to reunite. She seemed ready to sacrifice herself for her if and whenever she needed to. She never saw her death as something to fear. She never spoke of it as if it was something always on her mind. Pin-Mei was her world. When it came time for her services to end, I could tell how much she would miss being with her."
His eyes lowered, remembering the young, vivacious bodyguard who had shown such hatred and jealousy towards him as a child, overly protective of her mistress. He remembered how she had thrown the shoe in his face when they met again as young adults, then thrown him out of the room moments later. He remembered her painfully crawling to him inside the pillar of light to help him continue his ritual. The look of hope in her eyes as she snapped his fingers back into place, the faith she must have had to trust his hunch and his reckless actions. Her exit from the stage as a warrior...that simple, "Thank you" before she left the title of "captain of the guards", the surname of "Wei" behind and traded them for "mother", "wife", and "Usui".
He gripped the reins and stopped the horse. For some reason, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on, the very thought that this failure was trying to mimic such a magnificent maidservant made him seethe with anger.
There's no comparison. Sheng is at a much lower level than Rong. She hasn't spent as much time with Lien as Rong did with Pin-Mei. She'll almost be more of a hindrance than an assistance in this situation. She doesn't love Lien nearly as much as Rong loved Pin-Mei. In fact she... His eyes shot open.
Sheng curiously paused and moved closer beside him. Her head tilted "My lord...?"
"You..." he whispered coldly. "You want to know the difference between the two of you?"
She stared at him, then nodded eagerly. "Yes, of course, My Liege! Anything to make me of better service to Lady Lien!"
Ren grabbed one of the girl's bladed tonfas and slashed it up the side of her face. Red hair fluttered down from where he had cut her, allowing her to stare at him with both eyes for once, now obviously bewildered.
"M-My Lord...What was that for?"
"I suggest that if you want to be like the person you seem to admire so much, you should learn to love Lien instead of getting distracted by her brother."
She froze. "I-I'm not sure I follow..."
He scoffed at her. "For some reason I ignored your obvious inattentiveness to my daughter since Ren was around her so much and could protect her. But you slacked off even after he became locked away. You sometimes watched Pin-Mei stand at the entrance of the dungeon, so don't think I didn't see you. You were more worried about Ren so you stood watch over that door, which gave Huan all the time she needed to brainwash Lien and provoke her to run away."
Sheng's horse began backing up. "I...I..."
"Feel free to love him all you want, Sheng. He's innocent, after all. But don't think that I'll approve of someone so cowardly that they won't even hint at their emotions directly the way Seta does, or even consider allowing you into the family."
She bit her lip and gripped the reins tightly. "Yes, My Lord."
"That said, despite the fact that I sought to abolish some of your family's more foolish rituals, due to your poor performance as her guard and maidservant, if Lien dies, you won't be too far behind her.
"Now, I suggest you live up to your family name and protect Lien with your life, and love her more than Ren." He murmured under his breath. "He probably wouldn't return your feelings anyhow."
He trotted past her, then paused again.
"And another thing – I cut your hair because Rong never had hers in her eyes the way you always do."
The girl's eyes widened. "R-Rong? Who's that...? Wait! Is she--?!"
Ren dashed off, trying to make up for lost time. When he glanced back, Sheng was catching up to him, her eyes slightly red from his tongue lashing.
So much for casting doubt away. He sighed. Ah well. Jun said that Anna had to smack Rong around a bit before she could bring herself to serve me. Let's just hope that Sheng will be the same way.
"Can't we, Tadashi? Please?"
Tadashi looked down at her. "You want me to just stop all of this now, and then you and I can ride off into the sunset?"
She nodded slowly, hope shining in her eyes as she reached out to him. "I still love you, that hasn't changed, not one bit. Just let me show you that...again."
More silence. The only audible sound was the quiet murmur of Lien's chanting. Tadashi studied her, his eyes dissecting her heart and her thoughts. Finally, stone-faced, he gave his answer.
"No."
She looked at him, devastated. "No...?"
He shook his head. "No. Not this time, Xue. I can't forgive you for what you've done. I have no reason to break the contract. Hao-sama hasn't let me down, and I'm a man of my word. I promised to help revive him, and that's what I'm going to do." He grinned and opened his palm, a bright ball of flames rising from it. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time, Xue. No matter what you say, I'm going to fulfill my end of the contract. I'm going to make sure that Lien is sacrificed and that Hao-sama is revived. If anyone else comes to help, I'll burn them to a crisp. Heh...How would anyone be able to find us anyway?" He paused, then quickly closed the fist in irritation, the fire disappearing. "Wait, how did you get here?"
Xue was occupied with staring into space, still not able to believe that the Tadashi she loved was gone forever. Furious when she didn't reply, he seethed and stomped up to her. He yanked her up by her collar.
"Tell me! How did you find us here?!"
"I don't know..." she whispered finally. "I think I might have just sensed that Ren and Lien were here. Otherwise, I would've just gone to Tao Castle."
He swiveled and glared at Suo. "Kaasan, you and Hao-sama didn't say anything about being able to sense people and where they are! How do you explain this, huh?!"
The woman sighed lethargically and fanned herself. "Tada-darling, we didn't say anything because sensing furyoku is second nature for us."
"Neither of you even told me what that furry-whatever is!"
Another sigh. "Neither of us have the time to hold your hand, either. It's your own fault for being born a human that you wouldn't grasp such a simple concept instantly."
The puppet grit his teeth and dropped the Ainu. He stomped over to Lien and snapped his fingers in her face. "C'mon, Princess, hurry it up. Let's get this over with."
Ren's eyes narrowed. He knows what will happen when Lien's done. It's like suicide all over again.
Tadashi folded his arms and stared at the girl kneeling in the now glowing circle, chanting her life away. He suddenly snapped his fingers again, this time in realization.
"Oh, right. Silly me." He smiled. "Take your time, Lien. I still have something, or rather, someone, that I need to take care of." He chuckled. "Wow, how could I forget?"
Xue looked up as he approached. He frowned when she didn't move or even flinch.
"Go on, run. Make it more fun for me."
Her head drooped. "No. I won't."
He cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, why not?"
She stumbled to her feet, taking out her ikupasuy. "Believe me, I want to run...but I know that I can't."
Tadashi gave a sound of amusement. "Why's that?"
"Because I know that if I run away, you and that scheming hag over there will get your way...And I know that I wouldn't be able to look my parents in the eye ever again." She glared up at him. "In other words, I can't let things go 'just as planned' for you, Tadashi."
He tilted his head. "What's with the sudden change in attitude? Just a moment ago you were one step away from being a sniveling crybaby. Just a useless whore..."
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" she screamed.
His grin vanished as he blinked at her, surprised that she was finally fighting back.
"I'm not a whore. I'm not. I'm sick of you calling me that," she said darkly. "It's like you think it's my name or something, or that you think it's okay to call women that 'just because'." She wiped her eyes. "Having sex with someone you love doesn't make you a whore, or a slut, or anything like that. I'd appreciate it if you and everyone else who thinks it's okay to call someone that would get it through their heads!" She panted before her head drooped again.
Tadashi studied her before offering a half-hearted apology. "Alright, then, Xue, now that you've thrown your temper tantrum, would you mind telling me what's suddenly made you willing to fight me?"
"I was...in denial," she said quietly after gathering her thoughts. "I didn't want to believe that you had changed this much. But then I realized something."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
She raised her head, tears in her eyes. "The Meihou Tadashi that I love with all my heart and soul died four years ago. I played a role in driving him to suicide, but he was the one who pulled the trigger." She smiled sadly. "You look exactly like him. You sound exactly like him. Even the Kansai accent is the same. But you're not him. So that's why I know I have to fight you, and why I know that I can."
He stared at her, dumbfounded. "How can you say that I'm not him? I'm standing right here in front of you! I came here just to kill you! I know what you did! I know everything about you! All your likes and dislikes! That scar on the back of your left thigh that you got when Seta pricked you with a knife he was making, I know about that, too! How can you deny who I am?!"
"That's just it..." she said softly. "My Tadashi never thought of revenge, no matter how angry he was. Even when the police found that gang member that shot his father and brought him in, he told me that he thought he could forgive him someday, and I know he was telling the truth."
"B-But that's..."
"Until the very end, he told me he loved me, and that he could never hurt me. You're not him."
He clenched his fists. "So you're just going to stand there and pretend I'm some mirage?!"
She shook her head. "Not at all. I know you're there, but you're not the Tadashi I love. You've changed too much. I guess these last four years have given you time to hate me. I could respect that." She looked past him at Lien. "But you've dragged innocent people into this, and you've become involved with people who have little respect for lives that aren't theirs. My Tadashi wouldn't do that. You may be Tadashi, you may have come back to life, but I'm sorry...you're not the Tadashi I love."
He was frozen. Nothing was going the way he expected. He had expected – no, he had wanted – her to fall to her knees and beg for her life just before he dealt the final blow. He had wanted the apologies to spew out, unrelenting and unstoppable. But he wasn't going to get any of that. Instead, he was going to get a fight.
Xue raised the ikupasuy. "I'm sorry, Tadashi, I really am. I really don't want to kill you again, believe me. This time...This time I'll make sure that I lead your spirit to the afterlife. I promise."
There was a moment of silence before a maniacal laugh filled the air. Tadashi grinned.
"Do you really think that I'll just stand here and let you kill me? Really, Xue? Really?!"
She looked up at him sadly. "I guess I was kind of hoping for that, but I know that with how much you hate me, you won't just go quietly."
"No shit!" he yelled. "Oooh! This is going to be wonderful! A weakling like you fighting me to the death! I can hardly contain myself!" His hands became engulfed in flames.
Xue closed her eyes in remorse for a few moments, then began to focus her mind.
I know I've abandoned you these past four years...but please...I need you now...
She snapped her head up, her eyes open.
"Kiro!"
A few moments later, there was a high-pitched chirp. Xue smiled as the koropokkuru appeared next to her.
"Thanks, Kiro," she whispered. "I'm sorry I ignored you all these years. Thanks for sticking by me." She smiled. "I know it's been a while, but ready to be superheroes?" The spirit smiled and nodded. "Alright!" She gave a determined grin. "Kiro! Hyoi Gattai! In ikupasuy!"
There was a flash of pale blue light as the oversoul formed. She gazed down at the kendama-shaped glow she was holding, then back at her adversary.
"I'm rusty, Kiro, like I know you probably are, but let's do this. A lot of things depend on whether we win or lose. We can't let everyone down!"
Tadashi covered his mouth to stifle some laughter, then finally just let it out. "Really?! Really?!! You think giving yourself some sort of noble justice speech is going to help you?! Oh gawd...your IQ's really suffered from you acting like a two year-old. The Xue I know was one of the best in her class; she was one of the smartest girls I knew. She'd never think that some pep talk would be enough to save her ass!"
"I never said I thought it would save me. I just know that I can't be selfish. I'm not the only one involved." She put her hand over her head. "I want my family to be safe. I want my dad to keep running the store that he loves so much and worked so hard for. I want my mom to keep being the housewife-by-day-bouncer-by-night woman she is – the person I admire most." She smiled. "And Seta...he has his whole life ahead of him. And the person he wants to spend the rest of his life with is Lien, so if completing the ritual means sacrificing her, then it's just another reason to stop you."
She put her hand over the ikupasuy, and the glowing spread. Xue pulled her arm back, glaring at him. "Konru Ruyampe Tasuy!"
A rush of ice surged toward him. Before he could counter or evade the attack, it encased him in a frozen prison. Xue panted as she stared at her former lover through the ice. Tears came to her eyes as the realization of what she had done hit her. She covered her face with her hands and shook her head. After a few moments. She wiped her eyes and turned to Ren.
"Well, then," she said with a deep breath. "Let me see if I can freeze those things off of you."
Before she could even kneel down to his level, there was a loud shattering sound from behind her. Xue slowly turned around, horrified to see Tadashi alive and brushing himself off.
H-How did he break out of the ice?! It should have frozen him so much that he's pretty much dead! How is this even remotely possible?!
He shivered. "Jeez, that's cold!" He looked up at Xue's horrified expression and gave her a pitying smile. "Aw, don't look so surprised, Princess. Did you really think that you, who hasn't done any training in four years, could freeze me, someone who's been blessed with Hao-sama's power? Come on, don't be foolish." He snickered. "You're not even half as strong as your dad was when he was your age. But you know...you two are alike in one respect."
She bit her lip. "What do you mean?"
The grin grew. "Do you think your mom was the only person your dad ever loved?"
"He...He never mentioned anyone else..."
"Hmm...Interesting..."
Xue began to look visibly shaken. "W-What?! What is it?!"
He scoffed at her. "Wei Rong wasn't his first love. No way. He found his first love long before the Shaman Fight even happened...but they basically ended up the same way we did."
"You...mean...she...?"
"Yeah. She died."
She exhaled, closed her eyes, and clenched her fists.
"Oh, but that's not all! You're even more alike than you think! You see..." Tadashi smirked as he got ready to drop the final bombshell.
"He killed her."
Xue's eyes widened once again as her mind tried to process what she was hearing. The father she looked up to, who had taught her about her Ainu heritage and shamanic practices was a murderer?
"You...You're lying!" she shouted. "My father would never hurt anyone! He never even spanked me or Seta when we were younger! He doesn't have it in him to kill someone!"
Tadashi shrugged. "People change, I suppose. He was young. Maybe he realized what a monster he was and decided to change. Still doesn't change the fact that an innocent girl died because of how cold-hearted he was...Just like how I died because of you, Xue."
Her eyes quivered. "But...that's..."
"Same eyes...Same nose...Same mouth...Same smile...Same hair...Same heart...The both of you are so alike. Such a Daddy's Girl, aren't you, Xue?"
His words barely registered in her mind – it was elsewhere. Suddenly, all of those attempts by her father to coax her into talking about how she felt about Tadashi's death made sense. Now, it was clear that when he said...
"I know how you feel..."
...he wasn't lying. He had truly understood what it felt like to lose someone he loved, to live on knowing that it was his fault that he nor anyone else would never see them again. She had pushed him away. The one person who could have provided her with the true sense of comfort she longed for and needed so badly had been right next to her the entire time, and she had pushed him away. She had shoved him away with all of her might.
At that moment, she had a hard time deciding if she felt more guilty about pushing Tadashi over the edge, or if it felt worse to know that she had told her father that he had no idea what she was feeling; that he had never lost someone he loved.
"You were just doing what you thought was right at the time."
Those words still rang true. She had thought that it was right for her to separate herself from Tadashi during a time when they should have united as one. She had thought that it was right for her to push everyone around her away and never let anyone know what she was thinking after Tadashi's death.
What if the same was true for Dad...?
She looked up. "You make it sound like he murdered her in cold blood, Tadashi."
He snickered. "I'm just going by what Hao-sama told me. He knew all about it, after all. One of the benefits of mind-reading."
To his surprise, Xue smiled. "Well, I'm guessing Dad was pretty young when this happened, seeing as how he met Mom when he was sixteen, and you said it was long before the Shaman Fight. Therefore...it was an accident."
Tadashi stared at her, astonished. "How would you know that?!"
She giggled. "I tend to think that if it was on purpose, he would have had some sort of legal consequence to pay, don't you think?"
Tadashi looked infuriated. "You have no idea what happened!"
"You're right. Dad hasn't decided to tell us yet. I only want to know the full story from his mouth and his alone." She took another fighting stance, the smile still bright on her face. "Thanks, Tadashi. You've given me some motivation to make it through this alive. I want to live long enough to thank my dad for never leaving my side while I was in the hospital, and apologize for forcing him to relive whatever it is that he went through so he could try to comfort me, even though I kept pushing him away." The smile vanished. "But first, I have to sin once again."
The ground began to freeze around her, a small wall building in front of Ren. He shivered, but offered no complaint, understanding the protective measures that she was trying to take. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then concentrated on the young man in front of her.
"You really think a weak barrier like that is going to do anything?" Tadashi said in a nasty tone.
"I can't involve him. This is between you and me. No one else."
A ball of fire appeared in his hand. "I think you'll want other people to get involved once you know what I'm capable of, Xue. It's not a smart decision to go it alone."
"No. This is my fight. Not Ren's, not Lien's, not Uncle Ren's or Auntie Pin-Mei's, not Seta's, not my parents'. Mine."
When he said nothing, she pulled back to release the kendama again. "I'm sorry that I have to do this,Tadashi...Ruya---"
She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide with fear. She looked up at the spirit standing behind Tadashi, unable to even think about running, which her mind was desperately trying to tell her to do.
Tadashi smirked. "Looks like you're the one frozen here, Xue."
The wall of ice melted away, and Ren looked up, his worst fears being realized.
Towering over Tadashi was the Spirit of Fire.
Finally, Xue found it in her to take a simple step back. "H-H-How..."
"That's right. Hao-sama entrusted the Spirit of Fire to me until his arrival. It's nice to have around, really." He looked up at the spirit as if it were a precious pet. "So loyal once you know how to control it, and so powerful, too. Honestly, you should have realized it sooner. You too, Ren. I mean, how else could I use fire the way I have been doing? I'm no black mage."
"But...Lyserg...the Spirit of Fire is his...So how could you...?"
"Hm? Oh, right, yeah, I see what you're asking." He smiled calmly, as if recalling a family pastime. "If you could ask Lien, she'd probably tell you about how I thoughtfully called her from my vacation in London with Kaasan. While we were there, we visited someone both your dads know pretty damn well. He gave it to us."
She tensed. "That's a lie...Lyserg's not foolish enough to just hand over a spirit that powerful to whoever comes to his doorstep!"
He snapped his fingers. "Darn! You saw through me!" He reached behind him and tossed a pendulum at her.
It spun a few times before coming to a stop. As the realization dawned on her, she covered her mouth with her free hand.
"You see, Xue, while they can be very loyal, spirits are also very fickle at times," Tadashi explained nonchalantly. "If their master dies and they are free of any control, it doesn't take much for someone to claim it as their own. Hao-sama told me all I needed to know."
She fell to her knees and clutched the pendulum. "Why...Why do you keep involving all these people who have nothing to do with this?! I'm sure he was living his life quietly with Jeanne and their children! Why would you ever want to disturb that?!"
"Meh, whatever, he was by himself anyway. I'm sure she and the kids found him when they got home."
Xue stood up and glared at him before putting the pendulum near Ren for safekeeping.
"It's decided. I officially loathe you, Tadashi. I don't care about what happens to a murderer like you."
"That's funny coming from someone like y--"
"Shut up. You killed yourself."
He frowned. The sense of power he held over her seemed to have weakened significantly.
"Let's go, Kiro." With determination in her eyes, she rushed toward him.
Her right fist engulfed in the spirit's blue light, she lunged and aimed for his cheek. With seemingly no effort at all, Tadashi caught the fist, then forced it toward the ground, twisting her arm. When she let out a grunt of pain, he gave an evil grin.
"Maybe it's a poor choice for a shaman to resort to hand-to-hand combat when dealing with a spirit like mine. What happened to the Kendama, anyway?"
She struggled under his grip. "That...was...my dad's...idea..."
"Oh? Can't you think for yourself? You're a big girl, aren't you?"
She looked up at him with her own grin. "Of course...Kiro! Teke hara ta!"
"'Teke hara ta'? What the hell does that me--?!"
He was cut off by a hard left hook. Stumbling, he let go of her and grabbed his face. When he looked up at her again, he noticed that the glow had moved to her left hand.
"Oh, I see how it is...Tricky, tricky Xue...I take it you came up with that yourself?"
"Of course," she said, standing. "I outgrew the kendama by the time I was 13. That's also when I had to seriously start defending Seta and myself from our classmates. Back then, I used a ring on one finger of each hand as a medium for Kiro's oversoul while training. I don't have any rings on now, but the arm warmers work just fine."
Kiro peeped, and Xue glanced down to see the arm warmer beaming up at her.
Kiro...She doesn't seem the slightest bit mad at me or resentful that I tossed her aside for all these years...Like she's just been waiting patiently for me to come back...
"Hey, I suggest you stop crying and actually get ready to fight me, Xue." Tadashi was grinning angrily. She knew that he wasn't going to stall any longer.
"Alright, have it your way," she said calmly. "I'm about as ready as I'll ever be." She tried not to quiver as her gaze wandered to the Spirit of Fire. I...I'm not going to make it out of this alive, am I? I was ready to start my life over, to go to Tokyo University and make Dad's dream come true...I want to live...I'm not suicidal like I was before I began acting like a child again. I...I WANT TO LIVE!!
Tadashi saw the fear in her eyes and chuckled. "That's the look I've been waiting for. You've finally realized that there's no escape. I have to admit, it's a little bittersweet to kill you, but I know that I won't get another chance like this ever again."
Xue grasped her head and shook it frantically. No! Don't give up yet! You don't know if Mom and Dad or Ren or Auntie Pin-Mei are on their way to help! If I can just hold him off, then they can save Lien!
She took a deep breath. "Come at me, Tadashi. I'm not afraid of you."
His eyes narrowed. "We'll see how long that lasts, now won't we?"
Streams of fire rushed at her, and she did her best to jump, dodge, and roll out of the way. Unsatisfied with the lack of accuracy of his attacks, Tadashi charged at her himself, his right hand covered in flames. He grazed her sleeve, and she quickly used her oversoul to freeze the flare before they could spread.
"You already know you're going to die, Xue, so why not just give up?"
She caught her breath, then grinned up at him triumphantly. "Because I still have an ace in the hole. I have my dad to thank for it."
"Hmmm? A last-ditch effort? Let's see it," he sneered. "Just make it interesting. That way, I won't feel like I've wasted my time."
She ignored him. "Kiro, this is it. When this fails, I want you to go find my parents and whoever else is coming, and lead them here so they can stop the ritual." The spirit cooed at her sadly, but she tried to smile. "It's okay, Kiro. We can spend time together once I pass on." She closed her eyes. "My only real regret is that I'm not in my Ainu robes at a time like this. I'd like to die with honor."
"Sorry, but I can't really let you go home to get them. You'd probably just run away and hide."
"Nah. I wouldn't hide. I'd just let my dad make short work of you. He is the master of the Spirit of Rain, after all."
"Really? Maybe you should try calling it, then, if you're so sure it can compete with my Spirit of Fire."
She shook her head. "I'm not that foolish. I know I wouldn't be able to control it. It would probably consume me. I'll just have to go with the next best thing."
"That's good. I wouldn't want it to take my prey away from me."
"Heh...Let's go, Kiro...One last time." She grasped her ikupasuy tightly. "Oversoul! Nipopo Gauntlets!"
But as the oversoul formed, she fell to her knees.
"Looks like even a weak oversoul like that is too much for you to handle, Xue," Tadashi scoffed.
"Well, I only watched my dad use this oversoul...It's not like he formally passed it down to me or anything..." she panted.
"Tsk, tsk...You should know better than to attempt an oversoul that you've only seen and not practiced. Only a suicidal idiot would try a move like that. I can practically feel your life draining away."
She looked up at him with tired eyes. "What difference does it make? You're about to kill me anyway, so I thought I might as well pull out all the stops...see if I could be strong like my Dad..."
"Well, I think now we all know the answer to that question. So, are you going to attack me, or just fall down dead where you are?" He tapped his foot.
She grinned. "Attack, of course. Who the hell do you think I am?"
"Then what are you waiting for, Xue? Come at me with that stupid Ainu pride of yours."
Painfully, she got to her feet, sweat pouring down her face. How fucking ironic. With a cry, she sprinted toward him, her right arm pulled back. Tadashi didn't seem concerned. If fact, he was beckoning her to him.
This is it...all of my furyoku, every last drop, is going into this one attack...I'll be nothing but a shell after this...
She grit her teeth as she got ready.
"Shushu Waki -- Kamuiranke Opukeni!!" she yelled as thrust her arm forward.
Tadashi simply raised his hand to her level and caught the icy fist. The blizzard of cold air that came with the punch diverted its path around him. As it ceased, Xue just stared straight ahead, eyes wide with horror.
It...It should have frozen him at the very least. He should have turned to ice and shattered!! Why...Why is he so powerful?!
"Well, that didn't seem to help, did it?"
She didn't answer.
"You know, this isn't just another oversoul. It actually meant something to your dad. That's why you can't just go around using it when you don't even get the significance of it." He grabbed the left gauntlet as well as his hands heated up. "This is the end, Usui Xue."
The oversoul shattered, Xue's eyes still quivering in sheer disbelief. With a smirk, Tadashi kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying back into the clearing. A circle of fire surrounded her, preventing her from escaping, not that she had the strength to.
Her koropokkuru floated beside her head and poked her in an effort to revive her. Xue's eyes shifted toward her, then she fisted the mud.
"We lost, Kiro," she whispered.
Kiro let out a small noise of remorse.
"It's all your fault."
The spirit stared at her, stunned.
"You know, if you were even half as strong as Kororo, then I wouldn't be about to die. It's all your fucking fault!"
Kiro clutched her butterbur leaf's stem tightly, shying away from her partner's yells.
"You're so useless...Just get out of here! I'm better off without you!!"
When she still didn't move, Xue swatted at her.
"Don't you get it?! I DON'T WANT YOU ANYMORE!! YOU'RE WEAK AND YOU'RE USELESS, KIRO!!"
Kiro chirped at her frantically, trying to get her master to allow her to stay.
"You...want to help?" Xue whispered.
She nodded.
"Then...GET OUT OF HERE!! AT LEAST GO TELL MY PARENTS WHAT'S GOING ON SO THEY WON'T END UP LIKE ME!!" She hid her eyes. "I never want to see you again, Kiro, so leave. Now."
After a few moments of hesitation, Kiro turned and quickly darted into the forest. Xue finally picked her head up slightly.
"Ah, I see now. You weren't mad at the poor thing at all, were you, Xue?" Tadashi chimed in. "You just wanted her to run away before my Spirit of Fire could make a midnight snack out of her. How noble of you."
"The koropokkuru are dying out...I have to save every one that I possibly can. There's no way I'm going to let that monster have her. Not when she's the best partner I could ever ask for."
Her eyes drifted to the mud again.
Daddy...It looks like all I do is cause trouble, she thought. I pushed you away...I misused your oversoul...I let Kiro down...and now I'm going to die like a fish out of water...I just wish...I just wish I could...
"Hey, Xue," he called. He tossed his cellphone to her.
She slowly sat up and grasped it, then looked up at him through the flames.
"I still have a little bit of a soft spot for you, Xue, so here's the deal. I know you probably feel like you haven't spoken to your family in a few years, so I'll let you call one of them to say good bye," he said smiling. "Consider it your 'last rites'."
Xue looked down at the mobile. How do I know they're all together? What if I can only say goodbye to one of them? How do I choose?
But it only took her a moment to dial her father's cell phone number. As it rang, she breathed deeply. Maybe she could write it off as just a call to say that she was fine. Maybe she could keep her voice steady and be strong, even though she knew that she would be dead within the next five minutes.
But when she heard his voice through the receiver, she knew that there was no chance of either of those happening.
"Hello? Xue?! Are you alright?!"
"Hi, Dad...is Mom there, too?"
"Y-Yeah, she's here," he said glancing at his wife.
"That's good. Seta, too?"
"No...He's on his way to Tao Castle to be with you. We're just taxi-ing around the runway, so we'll be there soon, too!"
"Ah, I see...Could you get him on the line, too?"
He froze. Her voice was low, with more maturity than he had heard in nearly four years.
"Y-Yeah...I can do that. Hold on..."
She tried to giggle. "Holding!" Her eyes looked at the ground sadly again.
Rong watched him as he dialed their son's number. Their eyes met.
"She's...back to her old self...Tadashi must've gotten to her."
"Oh my gods..." she whispered, a hand tentatively covering her mouth.
"Seta, your sister's on the phone. I'm connecting all of us."
"O-Okay..."
"You too, Rong," he whispered. She frantically took out her phone and dialed away.
Her parents and brother instantly bombarded her with questions, but she waited until they died down before saying anything.
"Hey, everyone...Long time no see, right? Ahaha..."
"Neesan, you're..."
"Yeah...I remember what happened now. Tadashi reminded me."
"T-Tadashi-senpai's there?!"
"Yeah, he is. He's not as loving as I remember, though." She made eye contact with Tadashi as she spoke. He seemed emotionless.
"What's happening? Are you alright?!" Rong cried.
"Yeah...about that...That's why I'm calling you guys."
"Xue..."
"Mom, Dad, Seta...I'm going to die here in a couple minutes, but I wanted to say good bye to you all."
There was a moment of silence from her family. Then, at seemingly the same time, their emotions got the better of them.
"N-No...you can't mean that...Just hold on, Neesan! I'll be there in a few minutes!!"
She shook her head, not that they could see. "Sorry, but it's not going to be...in time." Almost as if the reality of her own words had finally hit her, she broke down, tears blinding her vision, her voice raspy. "I...Dad...I'm so sorry..."
"What are you sorry about?!"
"I pushed you away in the hospital when you were trying to help me...I didn't consider your feelings at all! I'm sorry! Thank you...Thank you so much for staying with me the whole time I was there, and never leaving my side! And I...I...tried to use your oversoul, the gauntlets, but I wasn't good enough, I was reckless. I'm sorry that I disrespected you! I'm really really sorry!"
"No, Xue, you didn't d--!!"
"M-Mom!"
"What is it?"
"Thanks for taking care of me all these years! Thanks for letting me live and for giving me the chance to have a long and happy life when you could've taken the easy way out and kept your old life!! I...I've always admired you and Dad for that!! Ever since you told me back in middle school!!"
"Xue, thats--!"
"S-Seta! You...You're the best little brother I could ever ask for!! Thanks for always putting up with me, and for sticking by me when I needed you!!"
"Nee...san..."
"And-And you better fucking confess to Lien once this is all over! Don't make all your hard work be for nothing!! If you...If you don't even try, then I'll haunt you forever, I swear to the gods I will!!"
"I-I will, Neesan...I promise..."
She looked up at Tadashi. His arms were folded, but a hand stuck out, a ball of fire floating in it. She cringed, trying to estimate how much longer she had.
Then, she heard a voice.
"Seta, what the hell is going on?! Is that Xue?!"
"H...Hana...? Is that Hana?!"
"Yeah, Neesan, he's here!"
"Can...Can I talk to him for a minute?"
"Yeah...Sure..."
There was some rustling.
"Xue? What's going on?"
"H-Hana...I'm sorry I threw that flower pot at you...I'm really, so sorry...You didn't deserve that...You were just trying to help me..."
"I forgot about that a long time ago. Why are you bringing it up now?"
He doesn't know... "Hehe...no reason. Can I talk to Seta again? Better yet, can you share the phone with him?"
"Okay."
"Xue..." her father whispered. He was grasping his pant leg, silently cursing how helpless he was. His only daughter was going to die as he listened, and there was nothing he could do.
She could hear Rong sobbing next to him.
"Guys...It's...It's been fun...Really. I know I lived a good life. I had a loving family, friends I could lean on. I had it all. I just wish...that I could get to Tokyo U. Then I could make those fields of butterbur that you wanted so much, Dad."
He tensed, his eyes finally burning. "Don't tell me that's the only reason that you wanted to go there!!"
She smiled. "Sorry, it was." She looked up. It was plain to see that Tadashi was suddenly enraged.
"Back to the hippie...as always..." he growled.
Her eyes steadied for a brief moment, then drifted to the ground again.
He's...jealous of Hana...
"So, get here quick and give Tadashi a piece of your minds, kay?" The tears were streaming down her face.
Tadashi clenched his fist. "Alright...that's enough. Kill her. Burn her to a fucking crisp."
Xue gripped the phone tightly.
"Good bye, everyone. I love you all...Very, very, VERY much!!"
They all screamed their love in reply, and she closed her eyes to take it all in. When she opened them, she saw the fire coming for her. She could already feel the heat. Ren's yells for Tadashi to stop could barely be heard over the roaring blaze. But for some reason, their last words to her put her heart at peace. She wasn't the least bit afraid of her fate.
"Hey, Hana..."
"Y-Yeah...?"
"Back then, at the hospital, I know what you were trying to say...
"I love you t--"