Shaman King Fan Fiction ❯ A Gift of Love ❯ First Loves ( Chapter 34 )

I got two and a half hours of sleep Tuesday night. I am dead. Hopefully, someone will choose me as their spirit ally soon.

 

I recently went back to look at the meanings of the names I chose for all the OCs in this story. I remember wanting to chose a name for the female protagonist that complimented Ren's “benevolence, edge of a knife, tough”, and somehow chose Pin-Mei, “high morals.” Kinda missed the mark, ne? Ah well. It was either that or one with an X in it, and I wanted to keep it simple.

 

“Hua” was just a random name. I was like “oh, that's pretty,” and chose it, which is unusual, because I always want to choose names that fit the character well. A great example of this is “Fan Suo”. To the best of my knowledge, Suo isn't an actual name. However, Fan is a real surname meaning cage/fence. Suo in the third tone means “to lock (up)”. So, Suo cages Pin-Mei, and locks her up and controls her. I'm so clever. Kai…is just Kai…and my favorite character from Beyblade when I used to watch it. Actually it means “victorious”, since I was originally planning to have Kai be a good guy.

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

A Gift of Love - Chapter Thirty-Four: First Loves

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

“Oi! Anyone home? C'mon! Open up!”

 

Yoh and HoroHoro pounded desperately on the door of Tao Castle as Anna and Manta stood back and watched. Finally, Jun answered.

 

“Yes? What is it? What are you all doing here?”

 

“Where's Ren?” the boys cried.

 

She looked at them quizzically. “Up in his room or out training most likely. Why?”

 

“We really need to talk to him!”

 

Another questioning look. “All right. I suppose you can come in,” she said and led them inside.

 

But when they searched the house, he was nowhere to be found. Jun looked around frantically.

 

“Ren! Ren, where are you?”

 

“He's not here.”

 

The group turned to see a tall girl with red hair coming out of the shadows, her waist and torso heavily bandaged under a thin plate of armor.

 

“Master Ren left a while ago. He's going after Lady Pin-Mei.” She looked Yoh's group over for a few moments. “You must be those friends from Japan Lady Pin-Mei spoke of.”

 

“Hehehe, yeah, that's us!” Yoh replied with a smile. The girl didn't return the gesture.

 

“If you're planning on going to help Lady Pin-Mei, then hurry up and get a horse - and you better know how to ride one because I don't have the time nor the patience to teach you. I'm going to Xu/Fan Castle. Dawdle and I'll leave you behind. Lady Pin-Mei is in grave danger, and Ren alone will only make the situation worse.”

 

Jun looked slightly worried. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean Suo and Kai are using them and their feeling to their advantage and carry out a plan that was devised nearly the moment after Lady Pin-Mei was born. The rape alone proves that their plan is working.”

 

She stared at her. “They did that? That was them? I…I doubted him…I thought it was his decision…I can't believe it…”

 

The red head tightened some bandages on her wrists. “I hate to be frank at a time like this, but rescuing Master Ren isn't on my priority list. I only care about Lady Pin-Mei's safety.” She looked at them. “Tao Ren is your responsibility if you decide to come, not mine.” She began walking towards the door.

 

HoroHoro got in her way. “Hey, lady, where do you get off acting like a bitch at a time like this? Sure Ren is a jerk sometimes but he deserves to be saved just as much as Pin-Mei! Why not save them both?”

 

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I live only for Lady Pin-Mei. No one else matters to me as much as she does.”

 

“What?”

 

“The only reason I exist is to protect her. I have guarded her since she was born, and I will be put to death when she dies, just as my sister was.”

 

Yoh's eyes widened. “Put to death?”

 

“That's right. The girls in my family are assigned to protect a member of the Fan family as they are born. When that person dies, the guard dies also. With that person dead, they have no other reason to live.” She clenched a fist at her side. “I'm going because protecting her is my duty and my joy. I will never forgive myself if she dies, but I request a slow painful death if I stay and she dies without me even trying.”

 

“How sad,” Yoh said. “So let's go save them both.” He smiled.

 

She scoffed at him. “Like I said, I'm only going to protect Pin-Mei. She would be better off if he doesn't come out of this alive.”

 

Jun was horrified. “How can you say that!”

 

“Face it. All that he has caused her is pain. All she did for a whole month was cry, and she barely ate anything. He did that to her, and I'll never forgive him for it.”

 

SLAP!

 

Everyone looked at girl, whose left cheek was burning red. Her eyes were wide, and she touched it before looking forward again to meet the eyes of Anna.

 

“Jealousy is such an ugly thing, especially when it's so visible.”

 

She clenched a fist angrily. “Shut up!”

 

Anna's eyes narrowed. “Rong is it? Pin-Mei mentioned you on several occasions. You come from the Wei family, who has served the Fan family for centuries. The women are trained since birth to have undying devotion for the one that is born and assigned to them. But I feel that your feelings go farther than simple devotion to protect her.”

 

“How would you know?” Rong yelled at her.

 

“You hate Ren because you protected Pin-Mei since she was born, and she looks at you as a friend, but then Ren appears and she instantly shows her feelings for him. He starts to get all the attention that you were used to getting. Now he's the one protecting her and not you. You hate the thought of losing her to him. You feel that she doesn't have any room in her heart for you anymore. Somehow you think she'd forget that you protected her when the kids in town harassed her, that you were there when Suo abused her and her father was too lost in sorrow and other women to notice her. How foolish. You're hoping that if he dies that Pin-Mei will search for comfort in you and fall in love with you instead.”

 

Rong just stared at her. Anna's gaze didn't waver.

 

“If you really loved her at all, you'd realize that it's a cruel thing to let her be unhappy just so you can potentially benefit in the end. You'd be happy for them, instead of being so selfish.” She turned to go back to Yoh and the others, then turned. “Pin-Mei once said she wouldn't tell Ren she loved him until she was mature enough, until she could show him that she did with all her heart. I think maybe you should follow her example.”

 

Rong stared at the floor.

 

“What are you doing? You have to lead us to the castle so hurry up,” Anna called.

 

Rong looked up, a shameful look in her eyes, but then put on a face of strong resolve and nodded.

 

“Get a horse everyone. We have some lovebirds to save.”

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

“There it is. This is the Xu/Fan castle. Where Lady Pin-Mei is being held.”

 

Ren looked up at the massive building. This was what he had been waiting a month for. It was his chance to get revenge on the two people who had caused so much pain, who had separated him from the one he loved. This was going to end. Now.

 

“All right, I'm going in. Come on, Bason.” He dismounted and started walking toward the massive front doors.

 

“Hai, Bocchama!”

 

Ren placed his hand on the door and with one forceful push, blasted it open. The room he entered was dark with only a chandelier in the center to light it. Every step he took echoed throughout it. He was constantly turning around to make sure nothing was behind him. Suddenly, he heard a cackle. He turned to see Suo standing in a spot of light near the stairs. She had a menacing grin on her face.

 

“You know, it's very rude for a guest to let himself in.”

 

Ren readied his Kwan Dao. “Screw manners. Tell me where Pin-Mei is!”

 

She smiled again. “On the bottom floor.”

 

“Then move. Now.” He gritted his teeth.

 

Suo shook her head. “Such anger, Tao Ren. You're not any better than your father. How could I ever give Pin-Mei to you with an attitude like that?”

 

“I said MOVE!”

 

She sighed. “I suppose the only way to make you understand is to show you the truth.”

 

She opened her fan. Three small parchments were attached to it. Ren could see the characters for “Dream”, “Death”, and “Pain” on them. He braced himself for her assault. Suo waved the fan in a circle, causing the parchments to glow.

 

“ZHUI DAO!” she cried and pulled back to swing it at him.

 

The room went completely black. He looked around. Nothing but darkness.

 

He closed his eyes as a blinding light flashed. When he opened them, he was standing in a courtyard. The sun was shining and birds sang as they flew past large, beautiful flowers.

 

A small child with red hair ran past him, his hands cupped and tears in his eyes. Ren watched him as he ran to a bench where a girl, who looked to be about ten, sat reading.

 

“Neesama!”

 

The girl looked up from her book as he approached her.

 

“What is it, Kai?”

 

Kai held his hands out and opened them. Ren walked over and could see a small bird in them.

 

“Neesama, I found this bird on the ground… please save it!”

 

His sister tilted her head, then took the bird in her hands. “Well, I'll see what I can do.”

 

She cupped it and closed her eyes. Her hands glowed for a moment, and as she opened her eyes, she opened her hands and the bird took off into the sky. They watched as it flew out of sight. Kai smiled and looked at his sister.

 

“You're so amazing, Hua! How did you do that?”

 

She giggled. “Thanks. But it's really simple. All I did was use some of my furyoku to give its heart enough strength to keep beating. It should be fine now.”

 

The spirit of a flower guardian appeared next to her. She wore a pink dress and had pink curly hair. Her skin was chalk white. “But mistress, it really was amazing! You can bring life to dying creatures! Think of all the lives you could save with this ability!”

 

Hua shook her head. “As I am now, I can only save small things,” she said looking at her hands. “If Kai were in the same situation, I would not be able to save him. My furyoku alone would not be enough.”

 

Kai looked at the ground. She put her hand on his head.

 

“But don't worry, I'd find a way to save you. You're my only brother, after all. For now, I'm going to get as strong as I can so I will be able to use this power to save people someday.” She smiled.

 

They vanished and the sky suddenly darkened. A few drops of rain fell. Then a few more. Steadily, the volume of rain grew until it was pouring. Large puddles formed and the water rose until was at the stairs of the house.

 

The scenery changed to that of a village. People appeared at a nearby stone wall. It must have been at least twenty or thirty feet high. The men pushed against it with all their strength.

 

“All the sand bags are wet!”

 

“It won't hold much longer!”

 

“We have to hold on!”

 

“If we let the water get through, countless people will die!”

 

“Stand firm, men! Stand firm!”

 

The group surrounding the wall parted as a small cloaked figure made its way to the front. Even the men holding the wall stopped to look. Hua flipped down the hood to reveal her face.

 

“I'll take it from here.”

 

A man who seemed to be in charge of the group approached her. “You're one of those shamans, aren't you?”

 

She nodded. “Yes, I am.”

 

He chuckled. “Heh. I know about you shamans, your ability to heal and control the weather. You think you're so much better than all of us.”

 

Hua shook her head. “That is not true. We're regular people just like you. Hardly any of us can heal or control weather anymore. That ability was somehow lost over the course of history.”

 

“Yeah, whatever! The point is, you caused this flood, now you've come to “save us” so you can get some glory and control us by reminding us how we owe you our lives. You can't fool me, you little witch!”

 

She stood firm. “Actually, witches and shamans are almost nothing alike. We do not use familiars, like black cats; we have spirits to aide us. Furthermore--,”

 

The man grabbed her by the throat and raised her into the air. “Don't get saucy, girl! Don't go acting all high and mighty! I'll snap your neck, you little freak!” His hand grasped her even tighter.

 

A sinking feeling came over Ren. This was the backlash that shamans had begun to receive once technology developed, and their services were rendered useless and looked down upon as works of the devil. Hua had come with the intention of helping the town that had shunned her family for so many years, but they still expected the worst from her. Now she was about to be killed because of her kind heart. He knew he had to stop this.

 

“Hey!” he shouted as he ran up to them. “Let her go! She didn't do anything wrong!”

 

They ignored him. As he approached them, he went to bash into the man who was holding her. He didn't feel the impact of hitting him, but instead hit the ground. Confused, he looked up at the people around him. Standing up, he punched the man, only to watch his fist go through his head.

 

There's nothing I can do…

 

He watched as the man continued to strangle the young girl. Suddenly, one of the men at the wall called out to his leader.

 

“Sir! It won't hold much longer- five minutes at most!”

 

“What?” The man looked back at his team, then at Hua. He gave a disgusted look and threw her to the ground. “Do it.”

 

She nodded slowly and got up from the muddy ground. Ren could have sworn she looked over at him, but thought it was impossible, since no one else seemed to be able to see or hear him. She walked over to the wall and placed her hands on it. Interested, Ren stood behind her and watched as she wrote the character for “wall” in the mud with her finger. She began murmuring to herself, but it was loud enough for him to hear.

 

“Gun…Da-Yu…I come to thee as a willing servant…Please lend me your power to drive away the evils of the demon Gong-Gong! I ask of you now - strengthen this wall and shield this town from the demon's evil intentions!”

 

The wall shined seemed to solidify into stone and the chunks of earth ceased falling. The civilians showed their awe at the feat that had just been performed before their very eyes. Hua looked up the wall, breathing heavily and smiling weakly. She knelt on the ground, gasping for air. A girl about fifteen years of age ran up behind her.

 

“Lady Hua!” She held an umbrella over her mistress's head. Hua looked up at her.

 

“I'm fine, Shan,” she said.

 

All the same, her maid helped her off the ground. “Lady Hua, you know that if you overexert yourself like this that it'll only make your body weaker.”

 

Hua kept her weak grin. “Whoops…must have forgotten.”

 

The man stood in front of them. “How do you know it'll hold?” he growled.

 

Hua looked up at him, exhausted. “It should until the flood subsides.”

 

He narrowed his eyes. “You stay here and make sure it does.”

 

She looked at him questioningly. Shan looked at him angrily. “That's an inane request! Can't you tell she's exhausted? She used most of her furyoku repairing that wall, and you want her to remain here where she can die of pneumonia? Can't you just thank her and let her go home and rest?”

 

“I'm not giving you a choice. Leave her here. If the wall fails, she can pay for it with her life.”

 

Shan was about to protest again when Hua stopped her.

 

“It's alright, Shan. They're right; it's my duty to maintain this wall. It wouldn't be right if we went home and it broke…” She turned to the men, still being supported by Shan. “I'll stay.”

 

The man smirked. “Good. We weren't planning on letting you decide anyway.”

 

Hua chuckled. They'll never change.

 

Shan frantically turned to her master. “Lady Hua, you don't have enough furyoku to rebuild the wall even if it broke! Besides…” She looked about their surroundings. “You'll become gravely sick if you stay out here! Just please! We can find another way!”

 

Hua raised a hand to silence her. “Enough Shan. I appreciate your concern, but I'm staying here. I've already given my word, and I can't go against it.”

 

“My Lady, I refuse to leave you alone with these men!”

 

“Oh, we're going home,” the man said.

 

Shan looked at them, bewildered. “What?”

 

“Why should we stay around? “Madame Shaman” has it taken care of. We're going home to our families.” They started walking away. She stared at them.

 

“Humans are such treacherous creatures…” she muttered.

 

That's exactly what I used to think, Ren thought bowing his head. He lifted it after hearing a cry.

 

“Sir, wait!”

 

The man turned to see a young man of about eighteen standing in front of the girls. His dark brown hair was tied in a short stub of a ponytail, soaked by the rain. He had brown eyes to match. They pierced the heartless man in front of him.

 

“What is it, boy?”

 

The youth swallowed and stepped forward. “Sir, this isn't right! This girl came here to help us; we can't just leave her here alone!”

 

The man glared at him. “Are you saying that you care about that…that devil spawn?”

 

Hua and Ren both flinched.

 

The boy lowered the fist he had been clenching. “Well…I…I can't go home with such a guilty conscience.”

 

The men before him laughed. The boss laughed hardest. “Alright, Zhang, you can stay and protect the girl. She's all yours.” He smirked. “Have fun.”

 

Zhang was taken aback. He looked behind him at Hua. She was staring at him in disbelief. He stared at the ground, then back at her.

 

Ren looked back and forth to each of them. Pin-Mei's father hadn't been a shaman…

 

Zhang finally walked over to her and smiled.

 

“Xu Zhang,” he said holding out his hand to her. “Eighteen.”

 

She blushed and stood up on her own so she could grasp his hand. “Fan Hua…” she whispered. “Twelve.”