I'm sorry everyone. I've had a lot on my plate recently. I've also been working on all my other fanfics and been working on some new ones. So please read and comment. I need some ideas for the next chapter.

~Shadowdapple~

July 4th: Painful Memories

Dear Diary,

Hello, my old friend. It has been a few days, hasn't it. I've been so busy. We are now in Stone City. I'm hiding from everyone. I don't want to see anyone who might remember me. You can understand why. I am writing this next to where Ming hua is buried.

Ai, Chow, and Huian are with me. They saw the pathetic little stone that the priest gave her. They eyed it with disgust. "She was such a sweet little girl to have no marker for anyone to remember her by" Huian said. I glanced up at her and then back down to where I smiled sadly to where Ai was trying to get her twins away from my pencil. "My parents hated my sister and I. I don't know why they did. They just did. I promised her that we would escape one day. I did after she died, but here I am. I can't help but feel that I've failed my best friend and sister." I stopped as tears started to drip down my face.

They were all stunned into silence. They have never heard this part of my life before. Yeah, sure I've told them things about me. That's why we are friends. Friends shouldn't keep secrets from each other, but I don't tell them every single thing about me. It hurt me not telling them. "Oh, Mei Xiang. You've never told us." I glanced back at them and then at the stone that I used to stare hours at for years. "I hoped it wouldn't hurt quite as much coming back if I never said anything bad. Only good. There was barely any good. But there was some good. It still hurts." I brushed my paw against the stone and pulled the weeds away to make her grave presentable.

Ai named her children Meili and Bolin. Bolin's name meant gentle rain and Meili's name means beautiful. I named her. I wanted to have a child named that when I am older. Guang didn't want his daughter. Just like I predicted. But he didn't abuse Ai too much since she did bear him a son. I keep her safe when he tries to hurt her. No one should have to hurt just because they are female. I even watch Meili when Guang comes by to check on his family. When he asks about the spawn, Ai just says that the prisoner has offered to keep her away. I know that Ai has to be cold towards her baby girl on purpose, but every time I hear that icy voice, I feel a shiver run down my spine.

Fa is making me walk through town, diary. I don't want to. I even kicked him in the tenders to make my point. Twice. What part of "I don't want to relive my life" doesn't that flea-bitten scumbag understand? Diary, do you think anyone will remember me? I don't think they will? I've been gone so long. I remember them because some of them made my life a little brighter and some of them have made my life darker. As I was passing by the headstone store, I saw a beautiful headstone. However, it costs 5,000 yuan. Ai, Chow, and Huain couldn't stand to see that beautiful stone just sitting there waiting for someone who doesn't deserve it. So Ai asked Guang if he could give her 1, 000 yuan for it. Of course, she told him that she wanted to make me carry it through town as punishment and so he gave her the money. Fa overheard them and when he asked her how much it cost, his eyes bugged out, he forked over 9,000 yuan to buy an even better stone than the one we saw.

I got 10,000 yuan just by having Ai acting as if I needed to be punished and humiliated. So far it worked. The man who worked the headstone place was Mr. Kinoshowa. He didn't remember me in the slightest. Ai, being a tiger, introduced me as her niece and said that she has a daughter who died on the side of the road outside of town. "Sir, I'm terribly sorry to bother you. But you see, I have just lost my daughter. Her name was Chun hua." I flinched at that name. Ai knew that it would hurt me to hear it, but the people here wouldn't know that name and it made it more credible if I showed emotion. "This is my oldest daughter, Xinma. My two youngest children. Bolin and Meili. My husband is digging her grave currently and my friends and family and I came to buy her a headstone. We would like to carve it ourselves but to buy the stone and to pay you for the carving initially." He swallowed as if she laid a spell on him. "Of-of course. I'm so sorry for your loss." She nodded as she handed him the 9000 yuan. He grabbed the stone she wanted and the tools to carve it. As I carried out of the store to make it look authentic. Once we left the town's limits, I ran with the stone to the peach tree.

I hate seeing my sister lying there as if she is just sleeping. The coroner tried to clean all the disease off of her before the funeral. Everyone in town came to see her be buried. Everyone that is except my parents. I shuddered as I gazed at her and the memory of her last day replayed in my head. "Mei Xiang, would you like to stay with us for a while?" I looked up from my reverie to see Mrs. Kinashowa and her husband. She was heavy with child and had her two-year-old son with her. He was holding her paw, sucking his other.

"Why is Ming Hua sleeping?" he asked. I flinched and she scolded him softly. His father walked him away to talk to him about why Ming Hua was "sleeping." I looked up at Mrs. Kinashowa. "Thank You for the wonderful offer, but my parents wouldn't like that." She nodded understandingly and let me know that I will always be welcomed in her house. I nodded numbly. She patted my head gently before walking off to join her son and husband. Once she left, I continued staring at my dead sister.

People came and went. They gave me their condolences and the other female adult tigers in town were trying their best to comfort me. "All I want is more than anything is to have Ming Hua back." Is what I kept saying. They would say poor baby and other things and hug me till I thought I couldn't breathe.

It was sunset when I was left by myself and the coffin with my sister. The coroner would be coming by to bury my sister once the sun fully set. "I will keep my promise to you, Ming Hua. I love you." I leaned over the lid of the coffin the best I could and kissed her head. Then I walked away leaving my sister alone under the peach tree.

"Father! Please!" My sister wailed as he wound his whip in one paw. I thrust myself in front of her and took the brunt of the strike. "Mei Xiang!" Ming Hua whimpered. I wiped the blood from my mouth as my father's back was turned to talk to my baby brother. "I'm ok," Longwei stepped forward with a bowl full of sulfuric acid. "Mei, Mei?" He whispered looking at me. "Ming Ming?" He whispered again looking at my sister. "I HATE you." Then the acid was poured on us. We flinched and bit back the wails of agony deep inside. I looked at my cute 2-year-old little brother. He shared Ming Hua's eyes. Those eyes were hard and cruel. Not soft and gentle. He turned and kicked my sister in the side and spat on my face. My mother was peering into the room from the kitchen. Her eyes shone with pride as she saw what her son did. I wiped the spittle off and inched over to my sister.

I could feel Father's footsteps through the floor. He was going to begin the methodical beating. I reached Ming Hua and pulled her close. She was so frail and she clung on to me for dear life. Father snapped Ming's leg under his powerful paw and grabbed me by the neck. "You worthless pieces of crap," He snarled. Spit was flying everywhere. "I've told you and your sister to get your flea-bitten carcasses in this house before the sun touches the trees. And what do you do? You make it back as the sun touches the trees. Well, we will fix you up, right now." Ming Hua was crying as she clutched her bleeding leg. Father lifted me up as I kicked my feet feebly in the air. Breathing was getting harder every second. Then he slammed me into the wall. I saw stars before I saw his fist connect with my face. "Father, please. Stop! We won't be late ever again!" We pleaded this as we ran about the house and were beaten with whips that had glass shards stuck in them and bamboo shafts that had glass spikes sticking out of them. For three hours we were beaten. Once sundown, came, Father took his leave. "You two go without supper. Get to bed." "Yes, Father." We trembled as we shakily got up. I wrapped Ming Hua's leg in a splint between two boards outside and carried her to bed. As she was falling asleep, I wiped some sweat off of her forehead. "One day, we will get out of here. Then I will find you somewhere where you will be loved." I promised her.

Ming Hua and I bowed to him before scampering out of the Dojo. "Mei Xiang, do you think we can ever get away from them?" I glanced at my sister. "I don't know. I know that one day, I will be out of there and I WILL take you with me. They won't be able to stop me." She nodded and stepped closer so our tails could entwine. "Do you really want to travel all that much?" I smiled gently. "What I really want is to find a home with a loving family, who will love us both no matter what. I will travel the whole world to find a family like that." She nodded again. "Could we look in the Valley of Peace too?" I squeezed her paw. "Of Course."

I sat down next to my sister's grave cradling her new headstone. I could hear my comrades catching up. They were panting. I wiped my wet eyes as the tears trickled down my face. I hate it here. I hate that they took her away. I hate that I'm so weak to let just the memory of what happened here break me. I'm supposed to be strong. Hardcore. For my sister. I glared at my claws and I clawed the stone. Chow tried to get me to stop but I shrugged her off. Slowly, words and numbers were etched into formation. It read:

Ming Hua Ping

Born: November 18th?

Death: October 20th?

A loving sister who the world snatched away before having the chance to shine. I will always love you, Ming Hua.

Love, Mei Xiang.

Huian lacked the normal sarcastic demeanor I've grown accustomed too as she read the words on the tombstone. "Oh, Mei Xiang. I'm so sorry." I softly nodded my head and ripped the offending stone covering my sister's grave away. Glaring daggers at the piece of stone, I threw it as far as I could towards the town. Then, diary, I laid her new tombstone on her grave. It complemented it beautifully. I miss her so much, dear friend. I hung my head and pressed it to the mound of dirt and cried. Ai, Chow, and Huian didn't say a word. But then again they didn't have too. just being there was enough for me.