The Balance in Love, Lies and War
(A/N: Disclaimer: I only own the plot of this story, Kaida and any Shen Gong Wu I create.
Review(s):
Calistar Heir: True, true, she was too soft with him. But perhaps she really is soft but only the ancient evil (mystical mystery music plays) can release her good/soft side, or her not soft/good side is really an act to protect her from… stuff…
Kaida: -slaps- you just made that up…
I know I did….
Other: I apologise if Omi or any one else seems ooc. As I've said before, I don't watch the show much anymore so I haven't seen them in a while. And surely he'd be a teeny tiny bit jealous? No? Well I'm allowed to emphasise it, Poetic license and all that jibber jabber. But don't worry, Omi won't be like this forever ;)
Also I would like to say that the title to this chapter does have a meaning relative to the story and I didn't just make it up so I could have a title -sweat drop-
Chapter 2:
'Balancing on two Fingers'
"Kaida, you have come to train with us! We thought you would not appear up!" Omi exclaimed excitedly, dodging a vicious punch thrown from Kimiko. Kaida raised her eyebrow and replied in that drawling, dark, seductive voice,
"Surely you mean, you thought I would not show up." Omi grinned widely as he stopped fighting with Kimiko and bowed towards her.
"That too!" Kimiko laughed and picked herself up from the floor as Omi had knocked her down before Kaida arrived.
"He has a slight problem with slang, meaning he can never get it right." A sinister smile played on the corners of the Zen Dragoness' mouth as she hissed,
"Evidently…" Her eyes turned to Raimundo who was fighting Clay furiously. With a small sigh she sat down just on the outskirts on the training area and watched them continue to fight.
"Are you not joining us in our training?" Omi asked politely as he bowed to Kimiko and assumed an attacking position. Kaida smiled.
"I want to see if I'm up to your level yet Omi." Omi grinned and dodged Kimiko's punches while replying,
"I do not believe you are that good yet Kaida!" Kaida raised her eyebrow while smiling her small, sinister smile, exclaiming loudly, voice dripping with sarcasm,
"You are so very modest Omi…" The monk jumped over Kimiko and dodged her again, grin widening,
"Yes I am that too. I have many qualities like that, being the strongest Xiaolin warrior and all." Kaida smiled again as Kimiko shouted at the monk, punching him violently into the ground.
"So Kaida, tell me. What do you see?" The girl turned around quickly to see Master Fung settling beside her, sipping a cup of steaming hot tea. Taking a deep breath, voice loosing its sinister edge she replied,
"I see much skill in my new team-mates, you have taught them well. I see Kimiko with a rather violent type of fighting. She moves quickly and strikes hard leaving destruction in her wake, much like a devastating forest fire. She does as much damage as she can as quickly as possible. Her moves are slightly like Clay's."
"His moves are also strong with a lot of power behind his attacks. He moves slower than the other Warriors do, but he does not need to dodge attacks as he has enough strength to take them head on." The dragoness paused, observing the fighting Dragons for another moment before continuing,
"He uses simple solutions to difficult problems and he is calm when he fights. He is the most in balance out of all of them." Master Fung nodded his head in agreement, sipping his tea quietly.
"Omi's fighting style is fluid, like water. Watch how he curves around his opponents, dodging under them and around them. He can strike powerfully if he wants to, by using his element, but when he is in combat, hand to hand, he seems to attack many times, very quickly, with less strength." She paused again, watching Raimundo fight.
"Raimundo is agile, preferring to jump over, dodge and avoid his opponents, striking them when they have their back turned, making surprise attacks. He is more dependant on his element that the others. Watch him as he jumps, and you'll see the wind is changing in his favour. When Clay jumps or moves to attack or evade he stumbles slightly. This is because Raimundo is controlling the air around Clay to make him loose balance. None of them realise he is doing this. I doubt he realises either." She smiled to herself as she listened to Master Fung's response of,
"But surely, that is the way of the wind. To always be there, but never to be seen. Perhaps it is its way. To be there, but never truly noticed, or comprehended." Before Kaida could think of a suitable reply Master Fung was getting up to leave. She twisted round to watch him walk away as she whispered, her voice tingling in a some what dreamy way,
"I noticed him…"
"What was that you said friend Kaida?" Omi asked loudly in her ear. Giving out a soft scream of shock, Kaida jumped and twisted round to find the monk standing over her, the same big grin plastered onto his face. Breathing heavily Kaida laughed gently replying softly,
"Nothing… just a little whisper for the wind…" Kimiko frowned softly as Omi continued,
"Will you now train with us? We have shown you our power yes? Will you show us your techniques? Your powers? I am so very excited!" Omi exclaimed jumping up and down like a small child. Kaida smiled weakly.
"I suppose I could, but it's not ver-" Grabbing her hand, dragging her up and pulling her towards the courtyard used for practising fighting, Omi yelled to the other monks excitedly,
"Stop fighting! Kaida is to show us her powers now!" Raimundo and Clay stopped fighting; Clay countering Raimundo's final attack leaving the Brazilian sprawled on the floor. Growling, he ignored his friend trying to help him up and walked over to where Kimiko and Omi had sat in front of Kaida, waiting for the other two to arrive. Blushing, giving Kaida a small smile, he hoped she hadn't seen him fall. Momentarily they were all sat in front of Kaida waiting for her to start.
"Well…" Kaida stared down at the four other monks, their optimistic faces staring up; she felt like she was about to teach a class of toddlers.
"My power is sort of, well, double sided if you like. Like every element, it has a physical power and a non-physical power, though many are not as evident as others." She paused as they nodded slowly.
"Zen can be interpreted in different ways, one physical and one non-physical, can anyone tell me what they are?" Omi's hand was flung up immediately.
"Pick me! Pick me Kaida! I know! I know! Pick me!" Kaida smiled nervously while the others chuckled quietly.
"Alright then Omi, how are they interpreted?" The young monk smiled proudly and stood up clearing his throat.
"The Zen represents our yin and yang, the good and bad inside of us all." Omi said proudly. A small smile lit up Kaida's face.
"Good. That is the non-physical interpretation. The psychical interpretation is the balance between the two elements of Light and Darkness. Some may mistake Light and Dark with Yin and Yang, but you must remember, just because something is dark, it doesn't mean it is evil. Neither is something Light necessarily something good." They nodded eagerly, all anxious to see her powers. She hesitated, a look of uncertainty passing through her light grey eyes.
"You have to understand, magic is a very complex art, and nobody truly knows how it works, so if some of my explanations seem slightly, unexplained, then I apologise. It is only because I do not fully understand how they work." They nodded and she hesitated as if unsure of how to word herself.
"I'll start with light..." She bowed at them and continued,
"The first power of light I hold is the ability to manipulate light." She smiled, picking up a small stone from the floor, tossing it into the air casually, and catching it in her gloved hand with a slight thump. She watched their faces closely, as if to check they were listening. She didn't want to have to explain it again.
"Can you all see this rock?" They all nodded slowly, looking confused. Omi looked offended.
"Of course we can see the rock! We are not blind!" Omi exclaimed watching the rock rise and fall intently, muttering something about women. Kaida smiled slyly, the dark hint returning to her voice.
"Are you sure about that?" There was a sudden white flash in her eyes, like electricity and then they all gasped, starring into her hand. The stone was gone, yet she still threw and caught something and there was still that familiar thump. Omi's mouth dropped open, while the other's looked shocked.
"It is impossible! It was there, but it is not! What trickery is this!" He looked shocked, almost angry, standing up to face the Zen dragoness, a stormy look on his rounded face. Kaida smiled slyly again, an aura of darkness surrounding her. Gulping, Raimundo shivered as this aura enticed him and repelled him. Kimiko watched her friend carefully; her eyes filled with something that looked like concern. Clay merely sat back and watched the show.
"Now Omi, It seems rather silly for you to be shouting at no one." There was a flash of white in her visible eye, and she disappeared. The stone fell to the floor with a loud crack. There were no other sounds except the gasps of the Xiaolin monks. Omi took a step back. He shook slightly. She had just vanished. No one could just vanish. There had been no call of Shen Gong Wu, silence. A strange feeling gurgled in his stomach. He couldn't disappear like that…
'It is foolish to dwell in this anger, let it go before you hurt her; you are no longer the best. Behind you." Instinctively Omi stuck his foot out behind him, heart racing. Who had said that? His foot collided with something behind him and there was a gust of air as something jumped over him. Appearing suddenly, Kaida smirked as Omi gave a squeal and took another step back, almost falling into Clay. Clay however was busy rubbing his eyes.
"I don't believe it…" Kaida was upside down, smirking, balancing on two fingers, her other arm behind her back. Her black hair started to fall down, her fringe slowly falling away from her face and shining smirk, which soon disappeared. Jumping up quickly, landing with her back towards them gracefully, Kaida turned around slowly, flattening her hair down, covering the left side of her face; looking slightly ill. Kimiko starred at her, fists gripping her knees tightly. Something was very wrong with her friend, and she was determined to find out what.
"And that," Kaida took a small bow and smiled half-heartedly, "is the first power of light that I hold." Clay and Raimundo began to clap slowly, still in shock. Omi had a look of intense discomfort as he sat slowly on the floor beside Clay, unsure of exactly what had happened. What was that strange emotion? What was that strange voice? He shook his head slowly.
Kaida couldn't look at her. She knew Kimiko was looking at her, but Kaida couldn't bear her gaze on her. She should've known better than to think she could fool her best friend,
'She would've found out one day anyway. Tell her before tonight, tell her before it's too late.' Too anxious to even listen to that particular thought, Kaida smiled nervously listening to Raimundo's and Clay's compliments, while the other two sat in stony silence. Kaida had a horrible feeling that she shouldn't spend too long talking about her powers, as something was stirring in the smallest monk. She had a horrible feeling that she was balancing on her two fingers, on thin ice; ice just waiting to crack and plunge her into the icy depths of a freezing cold ocean.
"Basically I can manipulate light, which means I can stop light from reflecting into your eyes making you blind to certain things. I can change the colour of stuff and sometimes move in light speed," she took a breath her voice rushed and dark, a slight blush appearing on her face.
"I can hide myself in shadows and cloud other's view with shadows and manipulate shadows and junk like that, it's no big." Kimiko was still starring at her with an icy blue gaze. Kaida shivered.
"But what about this, non-physical stuff you were on about?" Raimundo asked in a warm voice, eager to see more of her powers. So eager he did not register Omi's stormy silence. Kaida hesitated. She rubbed her eye and bit her lip, thinking softly,
'I can't explain this, I'm going to have to…demonstrate it, aren't I?' She shivered and felt nervous butterflies fluttering in her stomach,
'Yes, you must choose her, otherwise the bond will break too early, leaving you both destroyed.' Kaida looked at them thinking intensely, gulping as she watched the Xiaolin dragons observe her with gazes of concern, uncertainty and nothingness.
'But that means she'll know everything, Master Fung wants to explain tonight, she'd hate me! This is the only way isn't it?' Kaida winced at the dreaded reply of,
'You cannot tell her everything, as you do not have everything to know. But it is the only way. You must show them you have nothing to hide. You must show her you have nothing to hide. The spirits must know I am willing to trust again. I am sorry to place this burden on you, but they have to know I am here.' Kaida smiled slightly and took a deep breath thinking,
'They know I'm here.' Kaida turned towards Kimiko, holding out her hand, helping up the Dragoness of Fire, who looked rather confused.
"I'll need a volunteer for this, it's a rather…complicated process." She sat Kimiko down in front of her and sat across from her, closing her eyes.
"I don't know the exact details, but basically, everyone has chi which is divided into 'good' and 'bad' chi. This means that everyone can be put into balance with a little help. My power is that, if a bond, normally one of trust, has linked two minds, one of them being my own; I can turn that person's chi into a balance. This means that, because they are in balance, I can control whatever chi, powers or strength they have." They starred at her in amazement, as Kaida blushed trying to word it so her power did not sound boastful.
"Of course, everything is given back as soon as they are out of balance again, which is as soon as I leave their minds. I do not steal chi." Her voice was grave as she said that, as if trying to convince someone she was not a thief.
"Like any power there are draw backs. For instance while you are borrowing their chi, it means that the person is in a sort of coma. All they can do is stay alive. Also, the longer you are in their mind, the more their mind is free to do as it wishes, i.e., enter yours. This means you are bearing your soul for that person. The longer you 'borrow' their chi, the deeper they can delve into your mind. This is why this technique is never used against those you could use it against you in the future." Kaida looked at Kimiko, their eyes meeting for the first time, whispering,
"Are you ready?" Kimiko nodded, knowing she could trust her friend with anything. No amount of time or distance could ever change that. Kaida nodded back, anxiety clawing at her insides. She hadn't done this in a while.
Closing her eyes, Kaida breathed in deeply, and there was an unnatural humming noise. Kimiko's eyes closed slowly as Kaida's reopened. Her visible eye was glowing with white fire, which spilled from her eye, while black fire crackled underneath her white fringe, which was slowly pushed away from her face, the white hair still covering her temple and her jaw line. The white and black fire burned fiercely and glowed fiercer, as Kaida stood up slowly, her arms swinging slowly. The three male monks gazed in amazement as the fire in her eyes turned to a deep red colour, looking like real fire as Kaida screamed in Kimiko's voice,
"Fire!" Fireballs shot off in every direction, causing some of the Xiaolin Dragons to duck, while lava spilled from cracks in the stones beneath them and smoke rose in the air as all the dummies and training equipment turned to ash.
Suddenly, the fire disappeared, leaving the Zen dragoness panting, legs quaking. Sapphire eyes snapping open, Kimiko slapped her hand to cover her mouth to stop her from screaming. Kaida looked ill as she looked at Kimiko, sweat dribbling down both their faces. Standing up, swaying slightly, Kimiko gave the dazzled males a strained grin.
"Well that was interesting, why don't you guys go grab some Shen Gong Wu and we'll clean up the mess, ok? Off you go!" She gave them all a little push in the right direction as they got up slowly, still in shock. As they wandered away from the training area, Clay and Omi discussing what they had just seen, Raimundo looked back wistfully.
Kaida looked at him, sighing. He looked concerned. He should be. She smiled slightly, turning towards Kimiko, sighing softly as she thought to herself,
'I've only known him for one day, yet I feel like I've known him for centuries… This is wrong…'
'Listen to your heart child, it will tell you what to do…' She looked at Kimiko, the fake smiles no longer painted on their lips.
"Go on. Laugh, scream, cry; whatever. I'm ready for it." Kaida said softly, a tear escaping from her eye. Kimiko put her hand on her friend's arm and whispered,
"What I saw… was that your…?" Kaida winced at the memory looking away.
"In a way, yes. But in a way, no. It's hard to explain, I'll…" Kaida sighed, wiping her eyes,
"I'll explain it later."
When Omi, Clay and Raimundo returned, the two girls were just about finished cleaning up, laughing and smiling happily. It was hard for Raimundo to believe, that minutes before; they looked like something really bad had happened. Raimundo smiled to himself,
'It's good to see them smile. Reunited friends and junk, I'm happy they've got each other.'
'Aren't you happy you have her?' Raimundo turned sharply, almost falling over. That voice… He had heard it before. It appeared he was the only one who could hear it. Clay and Omi were still discussing the perfect Shen Gong Wu, so they couldn't have heard it, unless they were choosing to ignore it.
Pushing his thoughts away from the strange voice, Raimundo smiled. He was glad that Omi had broken out of his strange mood. It wasn't like Omi at all. They approached the girls who greeted them quickly as Omi handed Kimiko her Shen Gong Wu.
"We brought you the Star Hanabi, Kimiko," Omi said to the Fire dragoness politely, who just smiled in return. Turning to Kaida, Omi continued,
"We are most sorry, but we did not know which Shen Gong Wu to retrieve you as we did not know which one was suited for your element." Kaida smiled and patted the smaller monk on his bald head,
"No problem Omi, I've already got a Shen Gong Wu." She stepped back and disappeared, only to reappear with the sword she carried before. Omi stepped back shocked and Raimundo gasped,
"Girl, what just happened!" Kaida smiled and giggled before replying,
"I told you guys I could move at light speed! Anyway, this is my Shen Gong Wu; The Silver Sword." They admired the shiny surface and the unblemished metal, while Omi asked,
"I have never heard of this Shen Gong Wu, is it really a Shen Gong Wu?" He tapped it, listening to the metal chime, like he didn't believe it was a real Shen Gong Wu. Kaida moved the sword away from Omi's tapping hand and held it up against her face grinning wildly,
"Of course it's real! Grand Master Dashi gave it to my family himself." Omi's mouth flew open as he shrieked,
"You've met Grand Master Dashi!" He clung to her leg, his eyes sparkling with glee. Kimiko, Clay and Raimundo burst out laughing as Kaida replied nervously,
"No, I wasn't born then… surprisingly." Omi pouted, pulling a puppy dog look, which made the other Xiaolin Warriors laugh harder.
"So you know nothing about Grand Master Dashi?" Kaida half smiled, not wanting to disappoint the younger monk.
"Well I do know that-"
"Shouldn't you be training with your Shen Gong Wu, Xiaolin Warriors?" They all turned to see Master Fung standing behind them, giving Kaida a steely cold gaze. Kaida, realising what she said, blushed and laughed uncertainly as she shrunk under her master's cold gaze.
"We were, umm, just getting to that Master Fung…" An impish delight sparkled in his old and weary blue eyes as Kaida blushed and continued to shrink, dreading what was about to happen. He smiled graciously, a smirk glinting in his eyes,
"Why don't you demonstrate your Shen Gong Wu Kaida? I am sure the monks will have never seen something quite so spectacular." Kaida went bright red as she saw the four monk's eyes set on her again.
"You obviously don't give them enough credit then. My Shen Gong Wu is not at all spectacular, now you're trying to make me seem boastful." Kaida replied, her voice filled with a malicious edge, seductive yet strong. Her darker side had taken over. Master Fung's eyes twinkled as the other monks watched the argument silently.
"As Master of this temple, I order you to show your new friends your Shen Gong Wu powers so you don't surprise them in battle." Raimundo grinned and called out,
"Bet it's not better than ours!" Kimiko laughed and tugged at her friend's arm,
"C'mon, we promise you don't seem braggy!" Omi rolled his eyes and sarcastically replied,
"Of course we want to see Kaida's power, she is so amazing so we must learn what new and extraordinary powers she has." Raimundo looked down at him and asked, looking rather confused,
"Were you just being sarcastic?" Omi rolled his eyes again, making a small 'hmph' noise.
"Of course I was being sarcastic. I can use this art of sarcasm when ever I please." Raimundo blinked, and broke into a grin, obviously thinking that Omi was being sarcastic now, instead of before. The Brazilian teenager rushed over to Kimiko and Kaida, who were walking over to the dummies (ones that weren't ash), shouting,
"Omi said his first sarcastic remark! Take a picture!" The Brazilian winked at the small monk who scowled.
'What's so special about her? Why is she suddenly so important? It's not as if the world revolves around her…' Omi shivered as that oh so familiar, yet oh so strange voice crept into his mind again and whispered,
'You have no idea how close you are…' Omi jumped slightly, twisting round. There was no one around. He was stood alone, Kimiko, Kaida and Raimundo were with the dummies and Clay was still with Master Fung. Omi shivered again, thinking,
'It appears I have lost the plan…'
"Battle?" inquired Clay quietly as the others walked away. Master Fung looked at him with an expressionless face as the cowboy continued,
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but surely, what with Jack and Wuya gone, there won't be nobody left to battle? Not to sound disrespectful Master, but this seems more suspicious than a rigged rodeo." Master Fung smiled as he patted the Earth Dragon on the shoulder replying calmly,
"Go train Clay, all will be explained tonight." Before the cowboy could answer the temple master began to walk off to the nearest building, where Dojo was waiting impatiently.
"I asked them, they're all coming." Master Fung raised his eyebrows.
"All of them?" Dojo nodded frantically,
"All of them." He jumped up to Master Fung's shoulder and inquired thoughtfully.
"So, got any idea on what's gonna happen next?" Master Fung's small smile turned into a grimace as he watched the monks laugh as Kaida drew her sword,
"If what I fear comes true, then we must prepare immediately for war." Dojo choked and spluttered,
"War! We don't even know what we're up against!" Master Fung entered the shadowy building, ignoring the shouts from the training area; surely they'd run out of dummies soon.
"From the texts I have, the approximations I have made and what Kaida and her family has told me, I know that, whoever we're up against, will not lie low for long." Dojo frowned, biting his claws nervously only pausing to ask,
"So Kaida knows… everything?" Master Fung Shook his head slowly, as Dojo's nail biting continued,
"She knows he is after her and that she has the Zen. She knows the other spirits are there. But the Zen has not told her what happened before." Dojo nodded slowly, and there was a silence as Master Fung walked the darkened halls, footsteps echoing.
"Is it right to tell them?" Master Fung smiled.
"They are adults now. They can choose their own actions now, whether they be acts of hatred or acceptance, I trust them to make the right judgement." There was quiet, the only noise the clicking of Master Fung's footsteps and Dojo's nail biting.
"This is all happening too soon, they will never be ready. We're not even ready. We didn't find out 'till two days ago, there's no way they'll make it." Dojo said quietly, teeth chattering slightly.
"This is supposed to strain them, it is the ultimate test. If they survive, they pass, if they die, they don't." Dojo's eyes widened in horror as he screeched,
"We're testing them!" Master Fung looked coldly at the gecko sized dragon and replied,
"No, he is." A crow cawed loudly, as it flew away with heavy wing beats causing the two to look up sharply. Sighing, rubbing his neck Master Fung put Dojo on the ground gently, stopping outside a room, asking quietly,
"Please tell the Warriors to go get showered and ready for dinner. It will be ready by seven. Also inform them we have guests and they must dress in formal wear." Dojo nodded as Master Fung slid open the door, inhaling the sweet incense that filled it, closing it behind him. Dojo shook his head and chuckled,
"Formal wear… they're going to kill me first…"