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Chapter 9 now begins
Disclaimer: I don't own JCA, but I do own a plush Catbus that hangs in my car, courtesy of a suction cup.

Chapter 9- Possibility

I awaken, my head aching, another crushing headache. Someone dabs my forhead with a cold

washcloth. Its's textured surface runs over my burning face with a heavenly coolness. I open my

eyes slowly. The hateful, burning sun shines directly in them. I wrench myself into a different

position and open them again, a blurry blue figure sits beside my bed.

Bai?

The figure becomes clearer.

Its's Mother.

"Mother..." I start.

"Shhhhhh. It's alright Tso, you collapsed last night. You've been unconscious for hours. Bai was

worried about you she was quite hysterical when Rumiko and I returned last night. She's a

responsible girl, though. She had you in bed already and already had a cold compress on your

head. She's such a good girl,"

"She is...she......wait......Mother, I...I need to tell you, tell someone. Last night, I.......I saw terrible,

horrible things that flashed through my mind. I..I saw people dying , innocent children...and

there..there was nothing i could do to stop it,"

"So, you saw it too then?"

"What?"

"Tso, I don't understand the world. I doubt I even understand myself at times, but I do

understand my gift, apparently, you have that gift as well. My sense of precognition has

apparently been passed to you, to what degree, I am unsure,"

"Mother, what are you saying?"

"Tso, you are able to see visions of the possible, shadows of the events yet to come or those

already past. It is a great and rare gift,"

"What? To see images of nightmarish futures in which everything I know and love is laid to waste

before my eyes?"

"No, it is one possible future,"

"How can you tell?"

"Tell, Tso?"

"Tell whether or not if it is the true future?"

"You can't"

"..............."

"The universe is mysterious, eternally shifting, but we all have a destiny, we are unaware of it

until it stares us directly in the eyes and whispers in our ear. Whether we walk to our greatest

triumph or our ultimate destruction is out of our hands,"

"Mother.."

"Enough, Tso. Speak to no one of this, what will come to pass is not ours to decide or divulge.

Since our visions are unpredictable and at times, innacurrate, I think it is best to remain silent in

such extreme cases,"

"But, before Hsi was born, you said, you said something about a door to nowhere and Hsi being

there. You didn't even know hewas alive then, right under our noses,"

"That was different, Tso,"

"How? There has been a door to nowhere in countless nightmares that have plagued my mind for

the last year! I'm pulled into Hell! A barren wasteland of nothing and I have no idea why!"

"Hmmmm, perhaps it is symbolic, these visions cannot always be taken literally,"

"But, it feels so real,"

"They always do. You should rest for now, Bai will check on you later,"

"Where are you going?"

"Marl ha srequested that Teng and I cooperate in our efforts to discover the true nature of this

potential threat,"

"It's a real threat, isn't it?"

"Most likely,"

"Why not act now?"

"We are unaware of all the facts, such action would be......impetuous,"

"But if we act now and stop it, we could save millions of lives!"

"And what method would you use, Tso?"

"I'd eliminate those who threatened the well being of balance,"

"Would you kill them?"

"What?"

"Would you kill them?"

The question is disturbing. An image of a shadow being with glowing red eyes slashing the throat

of a Chi Guardian enters my mind. It is a swift, merciless blow, the chi that is her blood oozes

out of her neck in green rivers, her limp corpse falls with a sickening thud, her once vibrant,

glowing eyes fade to a pale glaze. My face becomes firm.

"Yes, "

"Be careful, Tso. The world can twist a good soul such as yours to its whim,"

"What would you do, Mother?"

Her eyes go blank for a moment. They move back and forth as she ponders the question, at

last, she answers:

"I am not sure. I must be going, goodbye, Tso,"

She promptly gets up and leaves me. I am uneasy at her manner, Mother is usually so open and

understanding. This sudden change makes me even more wary of my visions. I am also begining

to believe that the excruciating headaches I have been experiencing lately are not connected to

them. At first I thought the pain was causing hallucinations and nightmares, but even when I

experience no visions. I am wondering if my body is doing something behind my back. From the

time I went with Rumiko-hime to the marketplace almost a year ago, I have had the most severe

headaches, almost on a daily basis. I connect it with when I crushed that insulting human's hand.

My body wanted to do something else. I could almost hear it whispering "Crush him, crush him". I

had been deeply troubled by it at the time, but that was nothing compared to the headaches, as if

my skull is crushing itself. I sigh and lay back on my pillow, at least there is only a dull throb in

my head today, almost nothing at all. I hear my door slide open and closed. I turn in that

direction, but there is no one there.

Suddenly, a small, dark talon graps the side of my mattress. It is promptly followed by another,

as well a a small spiked head. Two luminous orbs stare at me inquisitively. Hsi Wu.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, fully aware that he will not answer me.

Hsi grins devilishly and ducks down swiftly, leaving his two hands exactly where they are.

"Where did you go?" I ask.

He pops back up and ducks down again.

"My, where has Hsi Wu gone? I'm sure his Oka-san will be worried,"

I continue. A snicker comes from the floor. I smile and say:

"If Hsi isn't here, he won't get any candy,"

There is silence and a shuffling sound from the floor. Moments later, Hsi is seated on the

matress.

"Ah, it appears that I have lured you out. I am sorry to dissappoint you, Hsi, but I don't have any

candy,"

He still stares at me with his enormous eyes, grinning expectantly.

Apparently someone has neglected to teach him the concept of "no".

I sigh.

"You know, Hsi, something very important is coming up for you, you know,"

No response, I've still got his attention, though.

"Yes, in a few months, you'll be a whole year old. You'll be presented at the temple, just like the

rest of us were. There will be a grand celebration afterwards, with lots of food, music and

fireworks. Your Oka-san and Father will be there, and Father will cry, for he always does. You'll

meet Teng and the Chi Guardians. Don't worry, they might look scary with those tattoos and all,

but they're quite friendly. Your Auntie Lu will get so drunk, the servants will have to fish her out

of the pond......again. Just watch out for Xiao, he's got a habit of blowing out other people's

birthday candles whether ou invite him too or not. When I was young, I always hated it when he

did that,"

Its true, I did hate it when Xiao did that. I continued.

"I think the only good thing that shendu ever did in his life was being born for the sole purpose of

allowing us to throw him a One Year celebration,"

I scratch the place behind Hsi's spikes, he purrs lightly.

"You don't really understand the complexities of life, do you?"

Hsi cooes.

"I thought not. Do you realize how lucky you are?

Hsi blows a spit bubble.

"I see,"
......................................

Has it really been four months since that day when I hid behind the screen in the main court?

Hsi's One Year celebration is tomorrow. He's grown so much in the past few months, I'd hardly

guess he was the same, fragile being that looked up at me with bright, grey eyes almost a year

ago. He is able to walk completely upright without any difficulty, thanks to his demon half.

Again, I find myself in the library. I am truly a creature of habit, am I not? I sit in dark seclusion

for hours, burning incense, reading. I am currently studying a western book about the island of

Atlantis, quite fascinating. My lotus blossom sits on my desk in its box that I bought on a trip to

the marketplace with Rumiko-hime and Hsi. I hear the door of the library creak open. A single

shaft of light pollutes my blessed darkness. I close the lid of my box, sheltering my lotus from

anything that may come through the door.

"Are you ready yet, Tso?"

Bai's sharp voice pierces the air like a dagger. She's become quite commanding as of late, I

admire her for it. I also find it hard to believe that almost two years ago, she was going through

an incredibly annoying phase of "politeness". Everything changes over time, many of us do not

realize how much we change until we step back and look for ourselves and then it is often too late

to defend oneself from fate's unrelenting onslaught.

"Yes, Bai, I'll be along shortly,"

Bai's luminiscent eyes narrow sharply and she closes the door of the library rather hard. She's

rather edgy today, even I admit it. But nowhere near as unbearable as Lu Song. I am glad I am

able to retreat into my sanctuary. Po Kong has apparently been fairly successful in her

attempts at conquering land in Japan. I never doubted her. With her bulk alone, I'm sure my

sister could crush entire armies. In any case, Lu has become agitated, to say the least and has

begun to nag on everyone, even Hsi Wu.

"Why don't you fly yet, boy?" she had demmanded of him yesterday. Of course, I know she was

quite unaware of anything she did yesterday. She hasn't stopped drinking since Po left, I fear

there is nothing left of her liver, if she has one. She's been a constant bother to the Chi

Guardians, going so far as to making the youngest, Toki, cry. Toki of course complained to

Virgo, who complained to Teng, who brought it to the attention of Father who has banned Lu from

all alchohol for twwenty-four hours. Now, we do not only have an agitated demoness on our

hands, we have one which is also in the throes of alchohol withdrawal. She accused me of being

part Kiang-shi when I asked her what she did to make Toki so upset. These are her exact words:

"She shouldn't be so damned sensitive........And what about you? Lock yourself in that library for

hours in the dark. Why, if it wasn't for your eyes, I'd have thought Rei cheated on Marl with a

Kiang-shi,"

If she had not been father's wife, she would have found herself sprawled flat on the ground.

Had she not been father's wife, I would have slapped her. I am defensive of my mother, as I am

of Bai, Hsi and Rumiko-hime. Then I remember that Lu is not herself, the hangover effect of

drinking so much must be astronomical. I'd wager her head throbs more than mine.

I get up and head to the main garden, where guests are begining to arrive for tomorrow's

celebration. See, the presentation of a demon child is a great event in our world. The closest

thing I can compare it to is a baptism and a coronation combined. It is the first time a child is

brought to the temple. There, the parents introduce their child to the temple master as well as

any Chi Guardians. Then many beings make speeches, prayers, burn incense, candles and

perform traditional dances of good fortune. It is as much a political event as it is religious.

Naturally, a great number of Western Demons, Chi Beasts, Chi Guardians, and various other

beings, even a small number of human nobles.

The garden is alive with flowers and waterfalls. Koi fish swim elegantly below the surface of the

pond. everyone is gathered, fairly presentable. I notice that Rumiko-hime is holding Hsi, who

looks as though he'd rather be doing something else. Teng is speaking with father, Bai is speaking

with Toki. I feel a breeze rustle my long, black hair. I look up to see the pale gold dragon from

the earlier meeting, red mane, gold medallion and all, soaring overhead. As smooth as a slippery

serpent, it glides down and lands at Rumiko-hime's feet. I see now that it has two passengers on

its back. The first is a Chi Guardian, a female, the second is also a female Chi Guardian, except

this one is a child who seems very familiar. They get off of the dragon's back and the adult Chi

Guardian bows before Rumiko-hime. Rumiko-hime's eyes widen in amazement, Hsi stares at the

peculiar woman with his questioning eyes. The Chi Guardian speaks:

"My lady, Rumiko-hime, it is truly wonderful to see you alive. When our state was destroyed, we

feared the worst. Our hearts are joyous to find that you are alright, as well as happily married

and a loving mother. Your humble servant, Yuishi is thankful that you have escaped a terrible

fate,"

"Yuishi? My childhood friend? Is it really you?" Rumiko-hime's eyes tear up. She rushes forward

and embraces her friend. Hsi looks rather uncomfortable between the two.

"Rumiko-hime......this must be your son? How wonderful! This is my daughter, Hikari. we are the

sole survivors of the temple in your father's palace,"

A hush descends upon the assembled, the Chi Guardian child buries her face in the dragon's red

mane. His taloned hand rests on her back and he whispers soft, comforting words in a language

that I do not understand. The child is still eerily familiar. I stare at her, trying to place where I

have seen her before. The red maned dragon notices this, he stares at me and I see that his

eyes do not have whites, well, he does, but the white part of them is an off white almost yellow,

his irises are still piercing green. His eyes are haunting. I shake my head and return my gaze to

the child. As the realization hits me, I hang onto a nearby tree to steady myself. The child is the

girl from my vision, the one choked by a being from the shadows. The one who said "mama" as

she looked her attacker in the face. The girl has come with her mother and I wonder if our doom

is not far behind.
End Chapter 9