Yesss…Here it is. Less than two months. This shouldn't feel like such an achievement, and yet, it does. I hope you all enjoy it.
Author's Notes: The title is a joke, but like the rest of mine, they aren't funny. The first is a play on AFI's "Prelude 12/21" song, which was used heavily in writing this chapter and creating the scenario as a whole. The second is a play on "Music is My Thing" which was also used. (I don't even know why) And, it refers to the fact that Hao refers to HoroHoro's "That" in the manga, meaning his first love. Yeah, I'm not witty or funny.
Seta has a couple attacks that are, like HoroHoro and Xue's, in Ainu. The first, "Cwi At Piskan" means (in a "localized" sense) "Piercing Rope Surroundings". The second, "Yayattasa Koro" means "His Revenge". Whose? Well, it'll make sense when you get to it, I think.
A Gift of Love – Chapter Ninety-Two: Prelude 02/13 (or, Lien is His "That")
"Seta, if you keep shaking like that, your present will unwrap itself."
The Ainu looked at his friend nervously. "I can't help it! This is nerve-racking! What if she rejects me?"
Ren shrugged, unable to give an answer.
The present was, of course, the Ainu equivalent of passing a note to your classmate, asking them to check a box as to whether they "liked" you or not. It was a risk. It had taken years for Seta to work up the courage to speak his feelings for the Tao heiress, and even then, it was Ren who dragged it out of him.
"Question."
"A-Answer?"
He stared at him with threatening eyes. "You have a crush on my sister, don't you?"
"W-What? How did you know?"
"Seta, it's been the elephant in the room for the past three years at least."
"D-D-D-Does…"
"Oh, he's very much aware."
Seta had on a similar face today – he looked as if he were mere moments away from vomiting or fainting. Behind his straight face, Ren felt sorry for him.
This would be easier on him if Lien wasn't so oblivious.
True, nearly everyone who saw Seta and Lien interact could tell that the boy's feelings transcended those of a simple friendship. But Lien herself showed neither signs of acceptance nor rejection of his affections.
Not only was the adult Tao aware, he was the first to verbally expose the affair. As he stood with his oldest son a few meters away from Lien, who was showing Seta her latest art pieces, he studied the boy's eyes, the way he smiled, how he would sometimes gaze at his daughter instead of the work she had in her hands. A small smile crept onto his lips.
"Humph. That's interesting."
His son closed his eyes with a smirk. "Indeed, very."
Pin-Mei nodded, smiling with shining eyes. "Yes, it's perfect."
Ren clenched a fist. Even Mother was able to identify that something more was going on, and she tends to miss obvious things like that. He looked at his sister. Come on, Lien. I know you're smarter than this. You can't possibly be playing dumb, can you? You better not be stringing him along…
"R-Ren!" Seta cried, latching onto his friend. "H-Help me! I don't want her to reject me!"
"Of course you don't," he said flatly. "I know you worked hard on your gift. I'm sure that at the very least she'll appreciate that."
The red head clutched his present. "H-How long until I have to give this to her?"
"Give me what?"
Seta jumped a mile, the looked over his shoulder before swiveling to see Lien smiling, her braided loops dangling as she swayed from side to side.
"I-I-I—" He clutched the gift to his chest. She tilted her head and looked at it.
"Is that a gift for Niisama?"
Scared that she would assume that he hadn't gotten her anything, he shoved the present into her arms. "N-No! This is for you!"
She took it, blinking a few times, then smiled again. "Thank you, I'm sure I'll love it." She turned, then looked back. "We'll be opening presents soon, so I'll be sure to open yours first."
As she vanished through the doorway, Seta fell to his knees, grasping the sides of his head. "Oh Gods…Oh Gods…Oh Gods…"
"Nice job," Ren said stoically. "You've finally made your move."
"B-But…If she…"
"Silence. She has it. She's going to open it, and that's that. Let things take their course, and hope for the best."
Seta sulked. "I feel sick."
Ren didn't look at him. "Oh, I bet you do."
Pin-Mei appeared. "Ren, honey, we're going to open gifts now. Could you come to the hall, please?"
He nodded. "I'll be there in a moment, Mu Qin."
She smiled, momentarily admiring how much he resembled his father at his age, then went on ahead. Ren glanced at his friend, now in a near vegetative state.
"Come on, let's put you out of your misery." He began heading into the hall. Seta slowly stood and followed him.
When they entered the room, Lien waved them over to the large, velvet couch. Ren sat next to his twin, who quickly handed him a gift.
He turned it over, studying it. "You didn't need to get me anything."
She smiled, her cheeks pink. "I know. I wanted to."
He smirked, then grabbed a box wrapped in ivory paper from the low table in front of him and tossed it to her. She caught it by clapping her hands on either side of it.
"N-Niisama…"
"Of course I have a gift for you. What kind of brother would I be if I didn't take care of my Mei-Mei?"
Her eyes shined, but he quickly gestured to the parcel on her lap. "Open Seta's first like you promised."
"Oh! Right!"
She quickly turned her attention to Seta's gift. Her mother tried to lean in discreetly, eager to see what would be revealed, but Ren gently pulled her back by her collar. Seta held his breath as Lien tried to unwrap the gift in an eager yet humble way. She removed the cloth inside and stared at its contents.
A small knife with an intricately carved handle now sat in her lap. A simple suede loop was attached.
Ren could tell from his sister's eyes that she was conflicted. She wanted to ask, 'What is this?', but it was most obviously a knife. She wanted to ask, 'Why did you get me this?', but that reeked of ungratefulness. He quickly threw her a line.
"Seta made that all by himself. It took him weeks to make the handle look just the way he wanted it to."
She quickly picked up the dagger and examined the area in question. "Oh! I see! You must have spent a really long time on this!"
Seta nodded nervously. "Yeah…"
The elder Ren inched closer to HoroHoro. "Care to explain why the hell your son is giving my daughter a weapon for her birthday?" he asked out of the side of his mouth, trying to stay quiet.
"It's an Ainu tradition," he whispered back. "He's basically asking her out. If Lien accepts, she'll put the loop on her wrist."
Ren paused.
"…Yeah, sorry, I guess he should have asked you first. Don't be too hard on him okay?"
"That actually wasn't my first thought, but thank you, I'll deal with that later." He made eye contact with him. "Does Lien know about this tradition of yours?"
HoroHoro's eyes widened, then he tried to laugh it off. "…Hopefully?"
"Because she definitely wouldn't have learned about it from me, since this is the first I've heard of it. Unless Pin-Mei…" He turned to her and snapped his fingers quietly, grabbing her attention. She discreetly side stepped to meet him.
"Ren, do you know anything about this?" she whispered.
He sighed. "That answers that."
Rong shuffled over. "Did Seta tell her the significance of this?" Silence. "I'm taking that as a no."
HoroHoro facepalmed. "Seta, you ninny…"
Pin-Mei bit her lip. "Couldn't we just tell her now?"
Ren shook his head. "That would put her on the spot – not a desirable situation."
She looked back to the young Ainu. "Poor Seta…"
Ren tried to think as hard as he could, hoping that, for even just a moment, the twin telepathy trope would kick in and his sister could avoid disappointing their friend. But Lien only held onto the knife, putting it in its cloth sheath with a nervous smile.
"Thank you very much, Seta. I'll take very good care of it," she said, the hugged him. He accepted it, looking over at his parents who gave him sympathetic eyes.
As far as he was concerned, he had been rejected.
That was a few years ago. It was my own fault for not even telling her about the custom. He gripped the staff tightly. I came here to try again, to be straightforward. No ambiguous gifts; just me telling her how much she means to me. How much she's always meant to me. Visions of her as they grew up together flooded his mind. But now, it looks like I won't be able to tell her. If I want any sort of chance, I need to make sure she survives.
His gaze shifted to the bodies of the two legendary warriors near him. Dad…Ren-san…I won't let either of you down. Even if I die, I'll make sure Lien is safe!
He charged at Hao, the Bo raised. Hao easily parried.
"If this is the best you can do, I suggest you simply lay on the ground so I can get on with my ritual."
"I…refuse!" He pushed the demon back.
Hao glared at him, then his eyes flashed and he straightened, smirking. "Every single pathetic fool who has challenged me tonight has had the same thought-
"How do I defeat him without killing Ren?"
Seta flinched.
"Even you're thinking that right at this very moment. After watching your family and friends die in front of you, you still cling to the hope that you can separate my soul from this body. At first, I didn't mind humoring those idiots with their attempts to beat me, but now, I've grown quite tired of all this interference." Houraiken was suddenly covered in a large, flaming oversoul. "If you insist on continuing this farce of a fight, you'd best use whatever pathetic oversoul you have. Even you should know that you can't fight me as a mere human and expect to win."
Seta held the staff vertically. "I was hoping that I could let my partner sleep a bit longer so I could avoid his temper, but I guess I have no choice." He closed his eyes, breathed, then opened them again.
"Apollo! Oversoul!"
The pale red outline of a gigantic bear appeared above him. It roared before swirling and engulfing the weapon.
Hao raised his eyebrows. "A simple bear?"
Seta twirled the rod and pointed it at him. "No, he's anything but. I don't know if you're aware, Hao, but the bear is the most scared animal to the Ainu. It's a symbol of power. Each year we praise them through ceremonies and we never waste a single part of the body after we kill one, whether it be for food or clothing, we use it all.
"Dad told me about the Shaman Fight when I was little, and he told me about the bear he found when he got lost. He told me that this bear was so powerful yet so misunderstood, just like Shamans are. That bear is Apollo. When I heard about heard about him and how he had murdered by poachers, I knew that I had to take him in. I knew that he would make a powerful ally.
"Apollo was hard to tame, no question about that. But he's proven to be a very loyal partner. I have enough of a handle on him that he cares about what I care about, and I care about what he cares about, too. If he didn't care, he would be very reluctant to oversoul for me. I've told him about Lien, and how I want to protect her. He's met the rest of my family, my friends."
"You think that after being killed by humans, that bear would honestly want to assist you with doing anything short of revenge?"
Seta smiled. "Apollo still remembers a girl who did her best to protect him when he was alive, and he knows that good people exist. Believe me…"
He swung the staff, a large sickle extending, completing the oversoul.
"He cares."
Hao tilted his head. "And I suppose you believe that simply caring will aid you in achieving victory?"
"Not at all," Seta said. He pulled the scythe back. "But having a spirit with an actual soul helps."
Hao grinned darkly. "Let's test just how helpful that is."
His oversoul glowing, he charged at him. After pausing for a moment, as if startled, Seta followed suit. He quickly waved the blade, catching Hao's weapon in the arch. Hao watched as the young Ainu tried to fully deflect her oversoul. With minimal effort, he forced the scythe in the opposite direction, causing Seta to be brought forward enough to be kneed in the face. He stumbled backward, trying to stop his vision from doubling. Just as he could see clearly again, Hao thrust at him with a lance reminiscent of Houraiken's proper oversoul. Seta swiveled to his right. The burning weapon grazed his ribs, and he clutched the fresh wound with a howl.
"That's it, that's it," Hao coaxed. "Let that girl hear your pain; let her know just how much suffering her foolishness has caused."
Seta bit his tongue.
"If you cry, they'll think of you as a disgrace. You can't even whimper…Be prepared for the worst pain imaginable."
Mom… He sharply inhaled through his teeth to silence himself. I won't…I won't scream…You did your best to hide your pain – even as you died. As your son, as someone who wants to follow in your footsteps and be as great of a guard as you were, I won't give him the satisfaction of knowing I'm in pain! Biting his lip, he glared up at Hao.
"Hm? What is it now?"
Seta said nothing. He solidified his stance and twirled the scythe to point the bladed end in his enemy's direction. "Come on."
Hao's smirk faded as he realized that the boy wouldn't be as weak as he had predicted. It would have been fun to torture him, but if he was going to refuse to cooperate, he would be quickly disposed of.
They were soon exchanging blows, very few of their attacks making contact. Hao gave the Ainu an upper cut. Seta hastily leaned out of the way, the jumped backward. Hao instantly transformed his oversoul into a Kwan Dao, then quickly performed a vertical shoveling, slashing motion. A crescent of fire launched from the gesture and surged toward the boy. With little time, Seta raised the scythe, then slammed the blade into the ground like a hoe. A small wall of ice erupted from the muddy surface. He knew it wouldn't hold; it was simply to buy time.
The attack broke through even more easily than he had assumed it would. All he could do was bring the scythe to cross in front of him, emitting a small arctic pulse to momentarily stop the fire. Using the backside of the bladed head, he golfed it into the sky. Not stopping, he charged at Hao. With a small cry of rage, he lunged, desperate to cause him the least bit of harm. Hao calmly lifted the oversoul to block him. Seta's eyes twitched as he felt it burning his skin. Still, he remained silent.
"You can't touch me with such a clumsy weapon."
"I know." He tugged at one of the straight handles that protruded from the long rod. It released, revealing a small knife. "I'll use this instead!" With his long arms, he reached over the burning shield and stabbed his friend's body as hard as he could.
Hao let out a pained yell. Seta took his cue to flip a safe distance away out of the immediate line of fire. He ledged the staff into the earth, then pulled on the upper portion. It separated into five pieces, still held together by a strand of furyoku. He bent and took the final piece. Like his mother before him, he swung his arm across his body, causing the pieces to whip around and settle into a triangle formation around him. Seta extended his arms, his palms like crosshairs on his target.
Hao pushed his hand against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Unlike Tadashi, he couldn't heal himself – a spirit in a fragile, artificial body could be restored, but without healing techniques, a human body could not.
"CIW AT PISKAN!"
The pieces of the bo rushed at him. They seemed harmless at first, but they planted themselves into the ground around him. Ropes of furyoku shot out of each cylinder, binding Hao's arms to his sides. He struggled, but without the oversoul, which had dissolved when it was pierced by the bonds, it was fruitless.
He looked up to see Seta rushing at him. The Ainu's oversoul had now been formed around the piece he had held on to which he held in his hand. The head of Apollo was clear and visible, his teeth bare to show how ready he was to help his friend. Seta skidded to a stop, thrusting the oversoul forward.
"YAYATTASA KORO!"
A crossbow arrow-shaped blade launched, hitting his best friend at point blank range. The hit prompted a small explosion, creating a cloud of dust. Taking no chances, Seta backed away. Despite his hopes, he knew that it was unlikely that victory was his.
He looked back at Lien. "I haven't won yet. Just hold on. I'll make sure you get out of here safely."
"I wouldn't be making such bold statements if I were you."
He whipped around to meet a fist to the face. With the brute strength of the Tao heir at his disposal, Hao sent him flying. He slammed into a tree, but suppressed any sounds of pain. Narrowed red eyes glared up at the demon.
For the moment, Hao was abandoning his oversoul and instead choosing to best the boy as his host would have. His patience with the young shaman had been paper-thin since the beginning, but now it was non-existent. He grabbed his prey by the neck and raised him. Seta struggled, his hands grasping and scratching at Hao's. The fiend tightened his hold. He wanted to make him suffer as much as possible. He wanted to force him to abandon his vow of silence. That alone would be a victory.
He shook him a few times. "Are you still so confident? Or are you done wasting my time and agree to die like the dog you're named after?"
Seta managed a smile. "Not just yet."
His hand darted into his torn uniform. Hao watched as he produced yet another knife and stabbed him in the arm. He yelled and the Ainu wriggled from his grasp.
"Apollo!" The bear growled and his scythe rebuilt itself from the fragmented pieces. He waved his hand, doing away with the blade. Maybe I can do this…Maybe I can get him back…
He swung the staff, knocking Hao away. Hao struggled to form his oversoul, but Seta wouldn't let him. The boy's attacks were relentless, keen on not giving him any time whatsoever to prepare himself.
"You took my best friend!" he yelled as he hit him. "I don't even understand why people like you exist! I don't understand why you have to bring the world down with you!" He kicked him in the stomach, making him stumble. "But you won't take her! You're not taking anything else from me tonight, you bastard! I'LL KILL YOU BEFORE I LET THAT HAPPEN – EVEN IF REN IS INSIDE YOU!"
He swung the rod upwards, hitting his enemy's chin and launching him across the clearing. Seta was taking deep breaths as he watched him land, his hands shaking from anger. It was such a new, scary feeling. He hardly ever got angry. It was because of that night – nothing about that night had been normal. It was impossible for him to stay his normal self after watching his family die right before his eyes.
I'll do this. I'll get rid of him, then Lien and I can find Auntie Pin-Mei. I can still survive this!
He gazed up as he heard the mud squish. Hao slowly stood, using his fist to wipe the blood from the side of his mouth. "Enough of this! I'm through playing games!" He grinned deviously. "I think it's fitting to allow a familiar technique finish you off, don't you think?"
Seta stood his ground, showing not an ounce of fear. He watched Hao raise Houraiken and thrust it into the ground.
"TOUGEN KYOU!"
A series of bladed weapons instantly sprouted from the ground, a wave of them rushing at the young Ainu. Seta quickly leaped out of the way, the attack continuing past him. When he looked up, Hao was still grinning.
"That may not be the best idea."
Seta froze.
"It may be her father's attack, but I doubt it discriminates."
Looking back, he could see that she was in the line of fire, doomed to fall victim to the malicious assault. He practically threw his weapon away, sprinting in an effort to reach Lien before the blades did. Where can I put her so she'll be safe? A thick tree branch above caught his eye. He hoisted her onto it, frantically pushing her so she would sit up straight and not fall off. Come on…Come on…Please! Stay up! Stay up! Sta-!
There was a sick squishing sound mixed with the crushing of bone. He looked down to see that a blade had pierced him through the chest, effectively impaling him. His eyes trailed back to Lien before other blades stabbed his limbs, shoulder, and stomach. Despite the pain, he still refused to cry out. With the last of his strength, he slowly reached for her.
Please…Someone…Protect Lien…Please… His vision was fading in and out, as if he were merely nodding off to sleep. His heart pounded furiously with the anxiety of knowing he had failed, that nothing was stopping Hao from taking her soul. Now his vision blurred as tears fell down his cheeks. Please…Someone…Lien…
Hao grinned as he watched the young Ainu's body go limp. The illusioned weapons faded and disappeared, allowing it to fall to the ground. Mere moments later, Lien teetered off the branch, landing on top of her defender. Satisfied, Hao began making his way over to them to collect his prize.
"So noble, and yet simply another pathetic fool," he said, stepping on Ren's body as he advanced. "Had he stopped to think for a moment he would have realized that I wouldn't have allowed the attack to harm my sacrificial lamb. Her soul is useless to me if the body is dead."
He reached down and picked Lien up by the neck. Despite her fall and undoubtedly less-than-soft landing, she showed no signs of consciousness.
"It's a shame that you can't be awake for this, Tao Lien. I assure you that this will most certainly be the painful experience of your life, whatever little of it is left; I'm sure the voice that summoned me is also capable of some wonderful screams."
He raised his hand in front of her chest, getting ready to reach in.
Suddenly, a knife stabbed the back of his hand. He dropped Lien just as another soared through the air and jabbed into his shoulder. Enraged, he yanked out the dagger in his hand and threw it into the mud, then removed the other. The red tint of the blade caught his eye, and he examined it more closely. It was glowing like a smith's iron – it had been heated just before it was thrown.
His rage only increased when he noticed that Lien had been scooped up right under his nose. He spun around to see her being carefully placed in the strong, thick branch of a tree, this time with little chance of her falling. After stroking her cheek and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, her savior jumped down and brandished more knives in each of his hands
Hao grinned angrily. "I knew I should have taken your entire pathetic soul when I had the chance."
Tadashi closed his eyes with a small smirk, then focused on the foe in front of him. "That's one of very few things I'm thankful for when it comes to you."
"And yet it's because of me that you're here."
"Unfortunately, yes."
Hao narrowed his eyes. "'Unfortunately'?"
"This second life of mine never should have happened. There shouldn't even be a need for it." Tadashi clenched the weapons tighter. "If I could, I'd go back in time and stop myself from pulling the trigger. If I could, I'd go back and punch myself in the face. Even if I failed, I'd go and tell myself to sit in Hell and serve my sentence with no desire for revenge. If I had, we might not be here right now."
"You place too much importance in yourself. Even without you, my plan would have proceeded." He shot him a venomous glare. "And yet I wasted the effort to revive you, you ungrateful human."
The young man gave a small smile. "I'm not entirely ungrateful. Because I came back, I met the Taos. I met Lien. I was able to feel love again and have fun just one more time. It was wonderful, and something I'll always remember. So really, thanks for that."
Hao didn't seem pleased by this.
"I fucked up with Xue. I had a wonderful relationship and I threw it all away over a lie. I tried to make Lien happy, and I helped bring this on. If I had just let Ren take her home like he begged me to, I wouldn't need to deal with this. I won't let you take Lien, no matter what!"
His master sighed and created an oversoul. "I would have expected that you wouldn't be foolish enough to oppose me after seeing what happened to the others who did. No matter. You've served your purpose, so I think it's time to dispose of the worn tool."
Tadashi didn't know anything but determination as he readied himself. He had a mission. A quest. He wouldn't relent until his princess was safe.
It doesn't matter what happens to me. As long as Lien wakes up and is her old self again, then there's still hope!
Above him in the tree next to Lien's, a tall shadow stood on an adjacent branch. Its right leg was slightly bent, the tip of its animal skin boot tapping on the bark to a silent beat. A thick chain wrapped around the figure's right hand repeatedly in an effort to shorten its incredible length. The left hand held onto the remaining trail of metal. The palms of both hands were burned to the second degree, covered in scars from long ago that had no chance of healing.
On the end of the chain was a heavy, metal urn. Sweet fumes emitted from the slit openings near its top. After gently swinging it while surveying the battle that was about to begin below, it was rested on the branch. The figure gently reached down and turned the urn's gold-plated lid to close it and block the small trails of smoke from escaping any further. She straightened, her gaze focused on Tadashi.
"I was promised that you would grow up to be a man that I could be proud of."
Tap. Tap.
"Come, show me how gallant and knightly my little prince can be."
She smiled.
"My precious Yuntaku."