Disclaimer: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown Or Xiaolin Chronicles.
Title: 'Honor through Humiliation'
Summary: In which Kimiko's Xiaolin training proves both helpful and hurtful to herself while meeting her fathers girlfriend over a family dinner.
...
She was peaceful. She was calm. She was serene. She was but a small speck in the universe, one that just happened to be able to turn things to charcoal when she got to angry. But she wasn't angry! No, she was peaceful, she was calm, she was... scared.
She kept her face perfectly clear of any emotions. Her Xiaolin training, the self-control she'd gained over her apprenticeship, was the only thing keeping her from ripping her opponent to shreds. Verbally, of course, as they enemy was unable to fully defend themselves, and hadn't made any threatening moves, and the code of honor stated that she wasn't to make the first move of violence to someone who meant her no harm. But, even with the code beaten into her with training and meditation, that didn't mean she couldn't daydream about taking out the Star Hanabi and giving her a makeov- no, these thoughts weren't becoming of a monk. She had a reputation to uphold. At least, to her father, she did.
A headache- probably caused by her endless inner argument- began throbbing beneath her temples. She wanted to curl up in her chair and meditate her troubles (and headache) away, but not wasn't exactly the right time. Omi might meditate at the dinner table, but she wasn't Omi, and she wasn't about to start acting like him.
"Uh, Kimiko? Aren't you hungry?"
Breaking free from her self-imposed trance, she noted that her legs were crossed and her hands were on her knees. Apparently, despite her thoughts to the contrary, she had been meditating. Smiling awkwardly at the blank stares, she unfolded her legs and shoved her hands into her sweatshirt pockets. "Sorry."
"Are you feeling alright? Do you not like the food?"
"Huh? No, I was just a little distracted, that's all." Picking up her bowl and chopsticks, she begrudgingly began to eat. Dinner at the temple was always an adventure: making food from scratch, taking turns making certain parts of the meal, and choking down the results. Good or bad, they ate it. Afterwards, they always did dishes as a group, meditated while the food digested, then trained until lights out- or, sometimes, even later. Compared to that, cold noodles couldn't compete. Nothing, food or otherwise, could. Swallowing a mouthful of noodles and fish (the fish, thankfully, she'd been the one to prepare) she turned back to the unwanted visitor.
...Alright, that was a little harsh. Monks were supposed to uphold peace, and, at the moment, she seemed to be doing just the opposite. She had to be polite, calm, and wise. After all, she wasn't representing just herself, she was also representing the honor and integrity of the Xiaolin Temple. She may not be to happy about her father dating someone he knew nothing about, but that wasn't an excuse to act the way she was. It was selfish and completely unnecessary. The woman gave a small wave. She smiled back.
Toshiro coughed. "Anyway, I'm glad you could get the time off to visit."
She shrugged. "If I could, I'd come visit more often. It's just... really busy up there."
"I can understand that." He chuckled, then turned to the confused woman. "Kimiko's training at the Xiaolin Temple, quite a ways away from here."
"Oh, really? What are you training to be?"
"Nothing, really. It's to help me... gain inner peace." She bit her tongue. The work of the Xiaolin Temple wasn't the most... publicized work. Most civilians, if possible, were kept as in the dark as humanely possible. Her father (and girlfriend) included, more for her piece of mind than his. Call it cliché, but she worried about him. He was far to trustworthy for his own good, with how rich and famous he was.
"She's learning martial arts." He chuckled. "Who knows? She might be the next Jackie Chan."
"Dad."
"Sorry, sorry."
"What kind of martial arts?"
"Oh, this and that." She grunted noncommittally. "A little of everything, really." Anything needed to battle the evil forces. "Mostly traditional stuff." Traditional elemental training that very few even knew existed.
"I should come visit sometime. It'd be interesting to see the grounds." He tapped his chopsticks against his raised bowl. "Now that I think about it, I haven't even met your teacher. What was his name again?"
"Master Fung, dad. And, if you do come visit, you might want to bring some tech with you. They don't have any on the mountain."
His jaw dropped. "No technology? At all?"
"Nope. You have to bring your own."
"Er, perhaps it would be better if he came to visit me?" He mumbled uneasily. Being a technologically advanced man, the thought of being in a place with little to none was both strange and scary, enough to make the thought of visiting seem a lot less pleasant then it had moments before.
She shook her head. "He doesn't leave the mountain if he can help it. He's... pretty old-fashioned so stuff like big cities can get really confusing, really fast."
"Oh." He settled down, the large smile wavering a tad. The battle was won; no one would be going to any temple any time soon.
"I actually studied martial arts back in college." She rattled off a random dojo. She made a mental note to check if the dojo was real later. "I've never heard of any 'Xiaolin' temple, though. What belt are you on?"
"We don't go by belts." Well, they did, but not by the kinds she was talking about. She doubted anyone outside the temple knew what a Wudai warrior was. It was best not to push her luck.
"I see... well, I could give you a few pointers, if you wanted."
She took a drink of her soup. She had no doubt in her mind that she could take her down, with or without her Star Hanabi. Honestly, a strong wind looked capable of toppling her over. Where's Rai when you need him... "Not, that's fine, thanks. I do enough sparring with my fellow students."
Her eyes lit up. "I hadn't thought of sparring, but... that sounds like it'd be a lot of fun!" She stood and wiped her face with a napkin. "I'll see you in the 'training' room."
Waiting until she left the room, she turned back to her food. "Dad?" She took another drink of soup.
"Yes?"
"She'd weird."
"I know." He chuckled brightly. "But that's what makes her so amazing."
"If you say so, dad, if you say so."
Putting her clenched fist into the palm of her hand, she bowed mid-way towards the floor. She gave her an uncertain look, before copying her actions.
There. At least the fight had some honor in it. Built in instinct guided her movements as she got into her starting stance. Sparring was like breathing, she reminded herself, it was suppose to be smooth and graceful, but, realistically, sometimes you flopped and you floundered because you're human and you're gonna mess up. Even Omi, who had been training since he was old enough to walk, had his moments during training.
She got into a rather awkward, clumsy starting position. She paused. This women, no matter how much she had bragged, had never truly learned martial arts. She had no clue what she was doing, and she was about to spar with someone with the equivalent of a black belt in whatever style she'd been 'studying.' She didn't even come close to her level.
Master Fung had always told them to only fight those on their level. Fighting someone weaker, say, a boy genius with little true martial arts skills, was only to be battled if they struck first, or bore malicious intent within their hearts. She was neither strong nor malicious, and, while her temper demanded of her to beat her into the ground, her morals said otherwise.
However, throwing a battle on purpose was just as dishonorable as beating an opponent into the ground. Battles, if fought, were to be fought as hard and powerfully as possible to ensure that it was a real fight, instead of just an easy victory for the Heylin side. If she fought, she would be dishonored, and if she threw the challenge, she would be dishonored and- Oh, gods above, she was starting to sound like Omi and that was not okay because he was the last thing she ever wanted to be.
She sighed, her headache strengthening under the mental stress and irritation. "I hate honor." She spat bitterly under her breath, closing her eyes in mild disgust.
"Sorry, what was that?"
Her eyes snapped open as she resumed battle stance. "I said; Gong Yi Tan Pi!" With that, she burst foreword at a speed hat would astonish most yet personally made her feel like a turtle.
She was 'out' with two punches. One in the stomach, the other in the face. Both were instinctual, she knew, and that she didn't mean to harm her, but still her tempter raged until she was rather sure smoke was climbing out her ears and into the surrounding air.
Easily flipping over onto her hands and knees (as she had fallen onto her back), she stood up with a small grunt. "I... I'm going home."
"What?"
"Back to the temple. I'll take the early flight back." She grit her teeth. This was getting to her on so many levels that it shouldn't have. She was spending far to much time around Omi. "You both need your privacy, and I, for one, need to meditate on familiar grounds."
"I-I'm sorry." She reached a hand out to grasp her shoulder. She walked away. "I didn't realize I would upset you so much! I just... I wanted to find some common interests between us.." She quietly made her way up the stairs, determined not to turn back and let them see her so angry. "Oh, I was too harsh, wasn't I?"
"No, no, not at all." He grabbed her hands in an attempt to comfort her. "She normally loves headstrong, tough women. I don't understand what's gotten into her..."
The sun glowed just above the green horizon, lighting up the temple as morning drew near. Kimiko sighed, the last ebbs of anger slowly fading away. Beside her, Master Fung cracked open an eye.
"Are you alright, Kimiko? You've seemed rather irritated since you arrived home." She sighed.
"Master Fung... I hate honor. It sucks."
Instead of the expected lecture, he merely only chuckled. "We all do sometimes. It is a difficult way to live by. But, what you did last night. Kimiko, was more honorable than you seem to believe."
"You overheard me telling the others." She stated, then sighed.
He didn't respond.
Taking that as a yes, she turned to stare at her lap. "I threw a fight."
"You did it to protect someone. That's what's important."
"I didn't want to throw it." She hesitated a moment, then continued. "I wanted to beat her up."
"But you didn't. That shows that you're self-control has improved greatly since you first came here."
"Hn." She chuckled, closing his eyes. The conversation was over. She resisted the urge to scream in anger. She had her honor, sure, but her dignity was gone. It was the right thing to do, but it didn't male it feel any better. She closed her eyes and soaked up the suns rays, letting her anger course through her body before slowly disappearing.
Honor through humiliation.
No flames! Don't like don't read! Review!