Author's Note: Yuuki~desu! Hey guys! Been looking forward to this? I certainly have and I know what is going to happen next! *evil laugh* So, we finally get to know Yin's past. Surely you've made your guesses by now, but were they correct? Find out now! Oh yeah, I forgot! We get to see Hao very soon! (In the next chappie, in fact) Aren't you glad? So Review!

Cheongsam – chinese female dress, like the one Jun wears

FONT EXPLANATION:

"Characters Talking"

Main character thinking

Stressing something or time skips announcements

"Main character's spirit talking"

Chapter 8: Stories of Past

"That's enough." came a female voice from the doorway.

Is that...?

Turning, I saw exactly the person I expected. My mother, Tao Ran, along with her father and my grandfather, Tao Ching.

Spotting them also, Jun and Ren could not help but stare at them. "Grandfather...? Mother...?" they asked simultaneously.

The two newcomers simply stood at the doorway, appearing a little lost, as if they had expected to see something else.

At last, mother,looking extremely confused, stepped into the room, her eyes shifting over the forms of all of us, carefully inspecting us.

"Father!" she said accusingly after she was done, glaring at the short man still standing where she left him. "I thought you said Ren and Jun were fighting En and that he would surely kill them!"

For the first time in my life, I witnessed my grandfather being at loss for words. "I-I swear that was exactly what was going on until a short while ago." he finally stuttered.

Wow. I guess there really is first for everything...

Thankfully, Yami snapped me out of my daydreaming. "Mistress, if I may, I think it's high time for us to leave."

"Not yet, Yami. I'm afraid I still have something to do." I answered him with a whisper, suddenly feeling unsure if my attempt at mercy won't cost me more than I expected.

Taking a deep breath, I moved from my father's now nearly unconscious body and spoke. "Mother, Grandfather, I'm not exactly sure why you came, but if you want to keep your current clan head alive, I suggest you call for a doctor." It was then that En fainted, falling to the floor with a heavy thud. "And quickly." I added.

I saw the little bald elderly nod, leaving the room in search of the family healer.

My mother, on the other hand, stared at me intensely, making me squirm under her gaze. After two very slowly progressing seconds, she smiled. Her smile was genuine, not sarcastic like the one I was used to seeing.

"Yin." she said softly, as if saying my name just a little louder would make me run like a frightened animal.

She laughed at my puzzled expression, deciding to joke with me. "You got your clothes bloody. Again. Really, it's admirable how you even managed to live among humans all these years... They tend to overreact at mere sight of blood."

I chuckled, which earned me a curious glance from the -haired woman. "It seems like my problems with blood only appear when I'm at the Tao mansion..."

Obviously glad we found a safe common ground, she stepped to me, brushing my own loose strand of indigo hair behind my ear.

I accepted the gesture silently, understanding this was a way she tried to tell me she cared.

But it's too late to change now, Mom.

Suddenly two Jiang Shi, wearing white coats burst in, ran to En's side, checked his vitals and strapped him to the stretcher they brought with them in record time and left just as abruptly, leaving all of us speechless.

The next thing I knew, Grandfather Ching came in, smiling as if it was Christmas tomorrow and he found out what he was going to get. "Well, now that that's resolved, how about we have a party?"

Say what?

"What a wonderful idea!" cheered my mother.

Huh?

She grabbed my hand, dragging me out of the room. "I'll get Yin a clean change of clothes. You guys can go ahead." she called over her shoulder.

Wait a sec! I'm not here to party!

In the end, I got no say on the matter.

Mother found me a long white silk cheongsam with high slits on both legs and ornate black, blue and purple butterflies running down from the left hip to the silver edging reaching my right ankle. She then handed me a black travel sack with the Tao mark for my bloodied clothes.

Once I was properly clothed and my haired pulled back in a neat bun, the delighted woman led me out of her chambers in a hurry, ushering me to one of the many reception rooms.

What we saw when we came in, was a rather comical sight. Yoh's buddies, along with Ren, Jun and Bailong, stood awkwardly around a round table full of food, with a roasted pig at the center.

The only person sitting was grandfather.

"It doesn't make any sense." announced Yoh without any emotion whatsoever, making the old man laugh like I never heard him do.

Placing his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, he tried to diminish their suspicions. "Nothing to be confused about. I was just surprised that Ren had made so many friends... This is just a banquet of celebration."

Ryu and Horohoro looked about ready to give in, salivating upon closer inspection of the food.

"A banquet... Can we really trust these guys?" questioned the younger of the two, trying to discreetly wipe his mouth. Thinking of something, he reluctantly turned to the roasted pig and pointed at it. "Will that thing attack us?"

Mother, finding his actions hilarious answered his inquiry. "Not at all! We didn't even poison it!"

… Doesn't seem like I'm going to leave soon. Might as well just get comfortable. I sat down on the closest unoccupied chair, inwardly glad no one paid any attention to my presence.

Yoh didn't seem to find Ran's joke funny. "I still don't believe it. The father was trying to kill us moments ago... And isn't the Tao family a symbol of evil?"

Ching sighed and closed his eyes before speaking, probably having realized there would be no banquet at all if the things stayed as they were. "Very well... I'll explain. What you said is true. In the past we have killed many people in order to defend our beliefs. Because of this we are known as evil." He stood up from his seat and walked to the window, clasping his hands behind his back. "But such a mentality, in an ever-changing world is meaningless."

"Ever-changing world?" asked Ren sounding honestly curious.

"You just need to look. Take a good look at the scenery of China. During the day, the mountains are beautiful. But at night, they become terrifying and cause people to shudder. Light and darkness. Beauty and ugliness. Good and evil. They have always been around and are in constant battle."

My own face scrunched up in distaste at the mention of the first antonym, my preference probably being influenced by my spirit.

"However each one must hold the other down. Ensuring that there is balance. Both sides must exist and be accepted. En... He was always trying to do what he could for the family-"

I snorted. "Yeah right. And I'm a twenty-feet-long chinese dragon bringing good fortune when kicked..."

Grandfather ignored me for the sake of his speech, but the sharp turning of his head told me he heard every word and would discuss it with me later.

"-but instead he became close-minded and fell from his path. A great spirit cannot remain in a weak soul. Because of that, he failed. Unlike you, Ren. You walk your own path like a true Tao."

Ren reacted quickly, trying to prove the Tao elder was mistaken. "You're wrong. I didn't defeat En. She did." he said, gesturing in my direction with his head.

Despite being shorter, at that moment, I could swear the old man was looking down on Ren. "That is irrelevant. Today you fought for own beliefs in spite of knowing just how strong your father was. You found your own path and stood up for it against all odds. That is the true Tao way. You'll see what I'm talking about later."

As if he was putting on a mask, he returned to his earlier childish act. "Now, let's eat!"

Everyone sat down, which I didn't enjoy very much. Most likely because I was positioned right between Bailong and Ryu and opposite of me sat Ren, who was staring at me so hard, I was inwardly fidgeting.

Noticing this, Jun placed down her chopsticks. "Mother, Grandfather..." she started carefully, effectively catching their attention. "I know this is not proper, but I believe everyone in the room would like to know who ...'the guest' is..."

There goes my dinner. I wonder what Opacho and Hao are having...

They both stood up and went to stand behind me, each placing their hand on the back of my chair.

"Tao family has many 'dirty' secrets as you would call them..." began mother, actually sounding uncertain. "And she," she moved her hand on my shoulder and squeezed, "is one of the dirtiest ones."

"Ren, Jun. Meet your sister, Tao Yin." proclaimed Ching, his gaze hard as he rested it on my siblings.

The young Tao male looked at me then, his look calculating. "So En was telling the truth when he said we were family. But why is her existence one of the Taos' dirtiest secrets?"

My palms started sweating but I refused to give in to the wave of queasiness running through me and decided to stop acting like I wasn't there and they weren't talking about me.

"When I was born," I stated weakly, "I was found to possess such a high furyoku level, it was deemed inhuman. In fear of me hurting Jun, who was two years old at the time, I have been put into isolation with only mother, father, grandfather having the access to me. As I was about to start my training when I turned four, you were born." I said, my orbs boring into the exactly same shade of gold of Ren's eyes I had.

Mother took my pause as a sign for her to take up the story-telling. "When you were born, Ren, En was disappointed. Your furyoku level was nowhere near Yin's, and as you started your own training, it became painfully obvious she also had natural talent for mastering not only different kinds of weapon but also the greatest Daoshi techniques. Unlike you. En couldn't take the thought of having a weak male heir and extremely powerful daughter, so he made your training sessions longer and harsher and Yin's more sloppy, but painful at the same time. I tried talking to him, but he wouldn't listen to me and started to outright ignore me when I suggested making you train together." she rasped, unable to say anymore than she had.

Grandfather patted her on the knee reassuringly, taking over where she left off. "Your father, however, refused and this went on for years. In that time, Ren showed great progress, making En delighted. Wanting to make sure Yin could never reach for what she had potential, he stopped giving her training sessions altogether and instead turned them into beatings. When she was-"

"Stop there." I cut off my grandfather. The way they told my life story made me sick. Like I was some kind of a holy martyr who needed to be pitied. And I wouldn't have any of that.

"What Grandfather was about to say is that when I turned 7 I finally snapped and attacked En seriously, catching him by surprise and finding out the secret of Daidouho. As a punishment, he threw me into the dungeon with only minimum rations, coming to torture me every day. Trying to ensure I got at least some decent training and that I didn't go insane in there, mother would occasionally sent her Jiang Shi, Shu or Kyo, to train me."

I took in all of the pitying glances, reigning in the angry shouts that threatened to spill out of my mouth.

"With few visits from Grandfather, I quickly improved to the point at which I could escape. Mother prepared me a safe account that only I could access, solving the financial problems I would face in the outer world, literally buying me my freedom. And like that, after two years, I ran away. The end."

I hadn't even noticed I rose sometime during the speech, but couldn't bring myself to care. I grabbed the travel sack that I hung on the chair I was sitting in, along with my jian that I now slung over my shoulder.

"Now I'm an independent woman, strong fighter, skilled Daoshi and gifted shaman and once the Shaman fight starts, I'll show just how wrong you are to pity me." I barked, glaring at very single person in the room aside from the two older Taos, noting their stunned silence with immense satisfaction.

"Goodbye." I said to my grandfather and mother, opening the window and jumping out of it into the night.