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by: Mistic Flame
..Chapter Two..
“Hime-sama.” Setsuna unflinchingly made the appropriate gestures in recognition of the royal personage as if she had just walked in on any ordinary situation. There was no sense of hurriedness in her tone.
“Setsuna, you know I hate it when you refer to me by my title,” Kimiko-hime replied, tugging herself out of the grasps of her desperate maids. The servants let out a collective sigh of relief, their innate sense signaling the passing of the storm.
“Kimiko-hime,” Setsuna relented. Although the two of them had grown up together, Setsuna had been well-drilled in the difference that existed between their ranks. She was the royal priestess and Kimiko was the princess. Her role was that of a wise advisor and a loyal servant and Kimiko’s was that of an obedient daughter who would one day dutifully marry for the sake of securing her family’s throne or her kingdom.
With a wave of her hand, Kimiko dismissed the rest of the servants. When the last of her maids have left and closed the door behind them, she slumped down in one of the chairs. “Setsuna, are you going to lecture me as well?”
“Kimiko-hime, I’m not trying to lecture you but ‘tue yi bu, hai kou tian kuong,’” Setsuna said.
“I’ve already taken so many steps back, Setsuna,” Kimiko replied. “It only looks like a few steps now, but what about in the future? Father had just made me accept this marriage and now he is ordering me to play tomorrow night. What else will he force me to do?”
“Kimiko-hime, he’s already been overly lenient with you,” Setsuna said with a smile. “You’re already sixteen this year. At this age, most princesses have already been married, or at least engaged for years. You can’t stay in this palace forever.”
“What if I want to?” Kimiko shouted, her emotions pouring out in torrents. “Why is he forcing me away now? He’s never forced me about anything!”
“But does that justify such drastic actions?” Setsuna gestured to the cloth Kimiko had thrown onto the table.
“If I had done the same thing a year ago, he…” Kimiko choked out her words as her tears began to fall. Setsuna looked at her friend’s slumped figure. So this was the real reason of her tantrum.
“He would never have ignored you?” Setsuna finished. Kimiko launched herself at her friend. She kneeled on the ground, hugging Setsuna around the waist. Setsuna looked down at her friend’s head in her lap and sighed. “Kimi-chan…” Master Tong had taught her to always observe the rank differences since the moment she first started training to be the royal priestess. Her training was to never forget when someone was of a higher rank. One may condescend themselves to dwell among others of lower ranks, even smudge the difference, but in public one must always establish know one’s place. To those of higher influence, there was to never be a moment in which the difference was forgotten. But despite what she had been taught, the childhood nickname slipped through.
“Sena-chan…father, do you think he’s stopped loving me?” A small muffled voice came from Setsuna’s lap.
“’Stopped loving you’?” Setsuna pronounced those words as though they were the most absurd things she’d heard in her life. Smiling indulgently, she replied, “Of course not, Hime-sama.”
“Really?” Kimiko’s hopeful glance upward, the total trust she held of Setsuna’s opinion, made her seem like a naïve, innocent child.
“Of course. You should wipe your eyes Hime-sama,” Setsuna offered Kimiko a handkerchief, “It wouldn’t do to have the maids see Hime-sama in such a state. You are the princess after all.” Kimiko smiled and accepted the handkerchief.
“E-Emperor Hiroko!” The stuttered announcement of Riku drifted through the door, destroying the moment of peace.
Kaio High was not just an exclusive school, but also a school with many traditions. Among these, was the afternoon kendo matches. Riko and Asuka, who seemed to have come to some silent agreement to stay with one another, walked towards the crowd gathered around the kendo platform. The people parted ways immediately upon seeing Riko.
“We have afternoon kendo matches,” Riko explained quietly. Asuka merely nodded without commenting, almost as if she was bored. The two watched as the defending champion easily knocked the wooden sword from the hands of his opponent.
“These were originally kendo and swords matches, but not many excelled in the latter,” Riko added.
“And the defending champion Makaze wins,” announced the coach.
“Makaze?” This was the first time Asuka had said anything to Riko.
“Yes, Katsuro Makaze, the Makaze heir…” Riko trailed off. Her eyes fell to the ground and her hold on her books tightened.
“Any more challengers?” Asuka stepped up and, with a seemingly easy jump, landed steadily within the ring.
“Makaze-sama, I believe you were taught in swordsmanship as well? Several moves you used seemed more suitable for the sword,” Asuka demanded. Katsuro nodded in agreement. “Then I would like to challenge you at swords, as I’m not too familiar with kendo…if you don’t mind?” The coach looked to his star student, who nodded in agreement, and showed the newcomer to the locker rooms.
Asuka returned dressed in a traditional white martial arts outfit. Holding her sword up, the blade was out of its sheath in one fluid motion. There was an audible clank as the sheath hit the cement ground surrounding the platform. Fluid as a cat in her movements, Asuka landed soundlessly within the ring.
Katsuro Makaze surveyed the girl standing before him. Her grasp on the sword was not that of a traditional Japanese style, but had its own advantages. Her stance firm and balanced, she exuded a calm yet determined aura. With a dip of his head, he tightened his grip and began to advance.
With a deft flick of the wrist, she deflected his first blow and the fight began. The clank of metal upon metal reached the ears of perhaps the only student on campus not entranced by the challenge. Ryuu Kuromitsu stared out into the sky, his mind thoughtlessly processing the familiar sounds. Seated on his favorite windowsill, he’d just escaped from the horrified shrieks of a teacher who’d found him in the precarious position.
He closed his eyes and let the sounds envelope him; they brought back memories of his times in China. He suddenly opened his eyes and sprang from his perch, arriving at the scene just in time to see the mysterious girl in the ring begin her offensive. His eyes narrowed as he took in her sword strokes. He watched as Katsuro was slowly cornered.
Katsuro lowered his head but the sword swung through so quickly that wisps of black hair littered the wood of the platform. “Right block!” Ryuu shouted out. Responding just in time, Katsuro’s sword saved his right leg from a direct blow as Asuka’s blade completed its tilted arc. Her countenance darkened just for a little bit before her elbow rose upward and struck her opponent directly in the chest. With a deft swing of her leg and a twist of her wrist, the point of her sword just barely grazed the neck of Katsuro Makaze’s sprawled out form.
The silence that hung in the air was suffocating but Asuka did not take note. Instead, she gazed around, seemingly searching for someone. The black-haired boy strode forward before hopping into the ring and helping Katsuro onto his feet.
“Thanks for the tip,” Katsuro muttered before leaving the ring. Asuka narrowed her eyes at the newcomer. He was half a head taller than her. It wasn’t his unfair hint that ticked her off, nor was it his careless posture. No, it was the mocking glint in his eyes.
Ryuu slid his foot under the handle of Katsuro dropped sword. With a practiced flick of his foot and a quick swing of the hand, he caught the blade in one hand. Clasping two hands atop the handle in the traditional Chinese convention, he inclined his head. “Ryuu Kuromitsu.”
Asuka needed no further invitations. After only a few strokes, her motions became faster and more controlled. Ryuu furrowed his brows as the match raised to a whole new level. So this girl had only been playing with Katsuro. With her skills, defeating Katsuro should have been fairly easy. He raised his own defenses, swing by swing, to match the effort she put in. The control she held over her movements and the force of her sword swings could only mean one thing—she was beginning to use her nei gong as well. When an opening appeared, he went in for the strike. Their hands met and channeled their battling nei gong.
“Watch out for her sword!” Katsuro Makaze’s voice cut into Asuka’s mind just as her hand struck that of her opponent. The moment their nei gong met, she repressed her own. She bit down on her lip as the force of his blow struck her, sending her toppling onto the ground. Her right arm shook as it clutched her stomach, her sword abandoned at her side.
Ryuu stared at her for just a moment before his face cleared. She winced as she tried to stand up. Although her eyes did not meet his, they were not focused on the floor either. Her face was blank except for the traces of pain. He watched as she picked up her sword and left the arena. Throwing the practice sword into its sheath, he left without a word, uncaring of the sea of students that parted for him.
Returning to his hangout on the windowsill, he breathed in deeply. He looked down at his hand, sure that he had felt her nei gong, if only for that single moment; it was enough, perhaps more than enough, to oppose his blow. He had expected as much but the only question was why she would allow herself to get hurt.
Asuka dropped the sword as soon as she entered the privacy of the empty locker rooms. Leaning against the metal lockers, she slid down slowly. She left out a gasp as a trail of blood slid out of the corner of her mouth. She cursed softly and wiped away the red liquid. Her left hand sought out the scabbard and clenched around it. Holding onto the bench for support, she tried to stand up before giving up and sliding down again.
She looked down at the sword in her hand. Between erratic intakes of breath, she whispered, “Ryuu Kuromitsu.”
"tue yi bu, hai kou tian kuong" -- a phrase in the Chinese language that roughly translates to "take a step back and you will find a new sky" i.e., compromise a bit, be less stubborn, and the situation may appear in a different/more free light.
"nei gong"--it means the "inner force" in martial arts. This takes years of practice and is extremely powerful. I believe it's sort of like the idea of "chi" if not the same thing.
Sorry for the long wait! I had most of it finished but I wanted to change some stuff. The next chapter will be in a slightly different format. I can't wait to when Takashi comes into the picture! Hehe...
Please review and tell me what you guys think...if there are still readers out there.
.:Mistic Flame:.
