Haha remember when I said that I knew what was going to happen in chapter 24? Well, I don't now. The characters ran away and refused to do what I wanted them to, and chapter 24 continued sitting there, untouched. Haha and after much thinking through, I finally realized that the setting was not complete.
Although Shinn is supposed to be my villain, I actually like him quite a bit. I think by the end of this chapter, I'm gonna hate him and love him at the same time. He's just that kind of guy. LOL.
Anyways, I'm sorry for the late update. Argh. No inspiration, no time, no mood, and my Internet is down.
And before I forget, Li-An is a year older than Lyn.
This chapter's gonna be short! I think…
Chapter 24- Me against the world"Shinn!"
"Shinnn! Shinnn!"
Shinn looked up from where he was seated to see a girl of about 4 walking towards him with a serious look on her face, clutching a younger girl's hand.
The younger girl was completely oblivious to the serious look on her companion's face, and was chanting Shinn's name cheerfully.
Shinn smiled gently and held out a hand, and the younger girl ran towards him, throwing her arms around his waist with a cheeky grin. "Shinn! Lyn loves you!"
Shinn patted the little girl's head gently. "Yes, Lyn…I know…" He looked up at the other girl concernedly. "Li-An? What's wrong?"
"Lately, I've seen Lyn sneaking out to give some of her lunch to the wild dogs. I'm afraid she will…" Li-An bit her lips hesitantly.
Somehow, even though she was Lyn's older sister, Lyn never listened to her. Shinn, on the other hand, could get Lyn's attention without raising his voice. However, this problem with wild dogs had been one even he couldn't do anything about.
Shinn nodded in understanding, and turned to Lyn with a stern look on his face. Lyn wrinkled her nose at him, sticking her tongue out.
"How many times have I told you that you can't go and play with those wild dogs? They are fierce and might bite you."
Lyn shook her head furiously at this statement. "Doggies friendly! There's Mikey, Leeon, Donny and…"
Shinn held a finger to Lyn's lips, and she blinked in surprise. There was a twinkle of amusement as he looked her in the eye. She had actually gone to the extent of naming those dogs? And with references to the show, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"?
Lyn never ceased to amaze him. Shinn didn't know whether to call it innocence or ignorance.
"Lyn, just promise me you won't go out and play with those doggies again, okay? You'll make mummy and daddy worried…"
Lyn opened her mouth to protest, then lowered her head and nodded reluctantly. Shinn smiled and patted her head fondly, and she grinned at him before running back towards the house.
"You do realize that she's going to forget her promise in a few days time, don't you?"
Shinn looked up at Li-An with a grin. "Yea. I know. We'll just have to watch out for her then, don't we?"
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"Shinn dear, do you have any idea where your sister is?"
Shinn looked up in surprise, a concerned look on his eyes when he saw the distracted look on his mother's face.
"Who?"
Tsukiko looked at her son in surprise. "Why, don't you even know who your sister is?"
Shinn looked at Tsukiko worriedly. She seemed very forgetful these few days, after they had come to China to visit their relatives over the new year.
"Oh. Lyn. Do you know where she is?" Tsukiko seemed to realize her mistake and gave Shinn a worried smile. Shinn shook his head slowly, standing up and dusting the seat of his pants. "I'll go look for her…"
"Thanks dear…I'll be in the house if you need me."
Shinn watched as his mother walked away. Perhaps he should talk to Kenshin about this. It wasn't like Tsukiko to be this absent-minded. This was reason enough for concern.
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"Lyn? What's wrong?" Shinn asked in concern as he bent down to wipe Lyn's tear-stained face. When there was no reply, Shinn lifted Lyn up and sat down on a nearby tree stump, sitting her on his lap. He pulled her head towards his chest, stroking her head and patiently waiting for an answer.
As he waited, he slowly began deliberating the reason's that Lyn was crying. Was it homesickness? After all, this was the tenth day since they had arrived in China, and for a kid like her, ten days away from home was a long time.
But it seemed that was not the case. Lyn opened her mouth to speak, and Shinn watched her face carefully. And struggled to keep a straight face at what she said.
"Lyn went to bridge and called and called. But kitties didn't come. Kitties don't want Lyn anymore!! Shinnn!!"
Shinn continued stroking her head to comfort her, waiting patiently for Lyn to calm down. As he did so, he saw a shadow out the corner of his eye, and he turned his head, his eyes alert, but the shadow was gone.
That had definitely been someone. Someone who had been watching them, But who would do such a thing? In the first place, they knew a minimal number of people in China.
Shinn's attention turned back to Lyn as she murmured something.
"Pardon? I didn't quite catch you, Lyn."
"And when Lyn went find Cuddles, couldn't find him."
At this, Shinn blinked in astonishment. Wasn't Cuddles the name Lyn had given her teddy bear? If that was the case…
"Isn't Cuddles in your room?"
Lyn sniffed at this, shaking her head against his chest. "Not that Cuddles!" She pulled away from Shinn, her eyes red and puffy. "S'okay. Lyn go her room and play with other Cuddles."
Shinn watched in puzzlement as Lyn walked away, her shoulders slumping. Just then, he heard familiar footfalls approaching him from behind. He turned around with a small grin on his face. "What's up?"
Li-An stared at Lyn's disappearing back with a concerned expression. "What was Lyn crying about?"
"Kittens." Shinn replied with a grin. "Oh yea. Do you have any idea who Cuddles is?"
Li-An laughed lightly. "Is that a trick question? Isn't Cuddles Lyn's teddy?" Li-An looked at Shinn curiously, and saw that he was serious.
"Nope. There's another Cuddles, apparently."
"Well, I have seen Lyn playing with a small Chinese boy lately."
Shinn nodded thoughtfully, then turned to Li-An with a smile. "Anyway, let's head in. It's getting dark."
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Shinn lay on his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. He knew he shouldn't be feeling this way. But he couldn't help it.
She had always been there for him. She had always listened to his rants without complaint.
She was beautiful. And not just physically. Her heart was beautiful. She was so kind to every single person. And her gentle touch. He had used to love feeling her gentle fingers tending to his injuries.
But now, every touch of hers was unbearable. Every touch made him want to kiss her, to hold her close to him.
Shinn knew that it was a sin to feel this way.
It was the feeling of strong, innocent love that he felt for her. Nothing wrong with that, surely. And yet, it was loving her itself which was a crime.
Shinn reached for the pillow under his head and covered his face with it.
He was just so confused by it all.
How can I be in love with my own sister?
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"That girl's a jinx! She'll just bring disaster down on the whole village! We must kill her before that happens!"
Shinn placed himself between Li-An and the angry villagers protectively. "Don't worry. I'll protect you."
The frightened Li-An nodded, tears of fear in her eyes. At this, Shinn felt an immense anger build up inside him, along with all the other pent-up emotions he had kept inside of him for the past year.
She saw the rage blazing through his eyes, and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. But it did nothing to calm him. If anything, it added to the turmoil inside of him.
"Li-An did nothing to harm you all, so why are you coming after her so relentlessly?!"
"The oracle has spoken! If we don't get rid of that girl soon, doom will come upon the whole village!" Came the villagers' enraged reply.
"The oracle is just a seventeen-year-old girl who wants Shinn all for herself!" Shinn looked up in surprise, and saw Lyn standing at the top of a nearby cliff, pointing her sword at the villagers.
"The oracle makes unbiased predictions, and her predictions always come true!"
Lyn snorted at this comment, and jumped off the cliff, landing lightly beside Shinn.
"That does not mean the oracle will not fail. The oracle is human at the end of the day, and humans will make mistakes from time to time. If you claim that she is infallible, then it is as good as saying that she is not human."
"The gods have blessed the oracle with the greater insight so that she will not fail."
"She's just a bloody shaman…" Lyn growled under her breath, her eyes flashing. Shinn looked at her in surprise, and she grinned at him.
She had found out about his feelings for Li-An the previous year, but instead of feeling repulsed, she had smiled at him and promised to keep it secret.
Her reasoning? She had thought that he and Li-An looked right together.
Shinn placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, preparing to draw it. Just then, one of the villagers' shouted, "Those who defend her are sinners!"
Shinn's eyes widened, and his arms dropped to his side weakly. They were right. He was a sinner. He should not love her. It was not right to love his own sister.
He felt a firm hand on his shoulder, and saw Lyn smiling at him encouragingly. "You made a resolution that day, didn't you? That you would protect her. So don't hesitate. Embrace your decision with your head held high."
Shinn nodded, and he drew his sword resolutely.
I will protect her.
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"With her memories of Li-An erased, she should be fine."
"What about him?"
"He's too far gone. There's nothing we can do."
"He's our son!"
"But there is nothing we can do. I want to help him. But look at his eyes. They are the eyes of a madman."
"If we were to erase his memories…"
"That is impossible. He has already set up a barrier around those memories. We can't reach him anymore."
"It's all my fault. I should have told him about Li-An's true identity sooner."
"She's only his adopted sister. He was no sinner to love her."
Adopted sister? So what he had thought was a sin this past year, was not a sin after all?
Shinn lifted his head, bitter tears freely flowing down his face, and he laughed.
And then, he heard a voice in his head.
How would you like unlimited power, to take revenge on the whole world, who owes you your lost love? How would you like the power to revive her?
He hated the world. And he would make them pay.
Well, relatively short chapter anyway. Thanks for reading it, and patiently waiting for my update. WHEE!!!
I'll update chapter 25 ASAP.