Shaman King Fan Fiction ❯ A Gift of Love ❯ My Little Flower ( Chapter 35 )

It's really hard to make Zhang fall in love with Hua without making him seem like a perv. I mean, we don't meet a lot of people who are in their right minds who fall in love with a girl six years their junior. -shrugs- Well, I guess we could go into the relationship between Nadeshiko and Mr. Kinomoto in CCS, I guess that's not completely off the mark. (Why are all my analogies CLAMP ones? I don't even read CLAMP manga that often…)

 

You guys won't care about this, but when I was walking out at night last weekend, not only were there tons of pretty stars, I swear to Kami I saw a shooting star. So awesome.

 

Notes: I plan on having this history lesson be a three-parter. This is part two. The next chapter will be the last part, and then we get to the bloody battles. Go blood! (I think)

 

Yen-lo-Wang is the Chinese ruler of Hell

 

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A Gift of Love - Chapter Thirty-Five: My Little Flower

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

“Miss Hua, you don't have to stand so far away from me. I'm not going to hurt you.”

 

“No, I'm fine right here.”

 

Zhang was standing under a small stable-like structure, while the small shaman stood almost thirty feet away from him. She wouldn't look at him and had hidden her face under her hood. He sighed and shook his head.

 

“Why don't you come over here with me? You won't get as wet if you sit under the shelter I made. That girl you were with earlier wanted you to stay out of the rain, so standing over there doesn't make sense.”

 

“I…I'm fine…I can stand by myself.”

 

“Apparently, but wouldn't you rather stand where it's drier?”

 

She shook her head. “I'm fine.”

 

He sighed again and marched out to where she stood. Without saying a word, he threw the small girl over his shoulder and walked back under the shelter. He placed her down on a dry mat and draped a blanket on her shoulders. She looked up at him and blinked as he threw back her hood.

 

“I brought you some dry clothes,” he said handing her a pair of pants and a blouse. She rubbed her fingers on the fabric. Cotton. “It may not be what you're used to, but at least you won't have to wear those wet clothes.”

 

She blinked at him again. “Pervert.”

 

His eyes became wide. “What?”

 

“You just want to see me naked. Pervert.”

 

“No! No! That's not it!” He was telling the truth, but his reddened face didn't say that. “I just don't want you to get sick, alright?”

 

She smiled at him. “I know, I was kidding. I just wanted to see how you would react. You're funny.” She laughed.

 

Zhang recovered and stared at her. After his boss had said those awful things to her after she had just helped them, she was freely laughing and teasing him. And she seemed to trust him, considering that she didn't seriously call him a pervert for giving her the clothes. He smiled at her. She continued smiling at him.

 

“No seriously, get out. I don't want an old person looking at me.”

 

“What?” he practically shrieked. “I'm not old! Eighteen is NOT old!”

 

“Compared to me it is. I still have the capacity to be `cute'. You don't. Boys your age are either handsome or ugly.” She flipped her hands out as she considered each option.

 

He looked at her uneasily. “So what am I?”

 

She folded her arms in deep thought. “I haven't decided yet.”

 

“So you're saying I'm ugly.”

 

“No. I honestly haven't decided yet. I have my own fiancée to think about. I don't usually look at any men besides him.” She nodded with her eyes closed, as if to affirm this statement to herself. “I'll let you know when I make my decision.”

 

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Fiancée?”

 

She unfolded her arms and looked at him. “That's right.”

 

He patted her. “Oh you little kids are so cute. Playground love, eh?”

 

She looked up at him. “No. My parents told me he's the one I'm going to marry. We're getting married when I turn thirteen.”

 

He stared at her. “But you're so tiny…”

 

She shrugged. “That's the way the cookie factory crumbles. My family needs a son to carry on, so I need to get married soon and start having `em. No big deal.”

 

He looked worried. “Do you know what that involves?”

 

“Of course I do. I lay an egg and then it'll hatch. Duh.”

 

Zhang slapped his face with his palm. “No, not exactly.”

 

“That's what Shan told me, and she's really smart.”

 

Ren sweatdropped. Why do I feel like I've been through something like this before? He watched as Zhang patted her and sat in the corner of the shelter.

 

They sat in silence for a while; the only thing that could be heard was the crackling of a small fire in the center. Zhang poked the fire with a stick every so often. When he looked up, he caught Hua staring at him. She blushed and turned her head. He raised his eyebrows at her then turned back to the fire.

 

“Um…are you sure your wife won't be upset that you're out here?” she asked suddenly.

 

“No, because she doesn't exist.”

 

“What? My mom said almost everyone's married by the time they're eighteen.”

 

He threw the stick into the fire. “Do you really believe everything that everyone tells you?”

 

“No.”

 

“Seems like it to me.”

 

She smiled. “When people tell me I'm Satan's child, I don't believe them. That's just silly.” She laughed.

 

“Doesn't it hurt when they say those things?”

 

Her smile faded. She turned her head away from him. “Of course it does. But I can't control other people, so why worry about it? It'll just give me a headache, and I have enough problems with my body to have to worry about that.” She tried to laugh again.

 

“But…”

 

“Let's talk about something happy,” she said brightly. “I have a little brother, his name is Kai, he's 9, he's so cute when he's not being annoying, but he clings to me a lot, his hair's red, and he refuses to cut it, so I started braiding it, but my mom doesn't like it, I still think it looks cute but--,”

 

She stopped. Her eyes widened like she was a normal person who had seen a ghost. Zhang waved his hand in front of her face.

 

“Miss Hua? Are you in there?”

 

Hua didn't reply, but looked to the outside.

 

“Someone's going to drown…” she whispered.

 

“What?”

 

Without warning, Hua got up and ran back out into the rain. She stopped at a nearby stream and looked across it. The water level had been steadily rising, and must have been at least eight feet deep. She kept looking around until she spotted some waving hands above the water. Squinting her eyes, she could make out the body of a small child.

 

“What are you doing out here?” Zhang cried running over to her. He saw her shiver, cough, and then jump into the water. He skidded to a stop at the bank. “Miss Hua! What the hell are you doing!”

 

She didn't reply, but only floated down the stream after the child. He found the way that she was practically flapping her arms an awkward way of swimming, but couldn't make a connection yet.

 

As she reached the child, she held onto it for dear life, then placed it on a wide ledge above the shore. Before she could pull herself out, the wild current grabbed her and pulled her under. Now she was the one with her arms in the air.

 

Ren stared at her, remembering his experiences with Pin-Mei.

 

She can't swim!

 

He ran up beside Zhang. “What are you doing, you idiot? Go save her!” Of course, his words fell on deaf ears. He again watched helplessly as Hua was carried further and further away from them.

 

Zhang clenched his fists. “The little idiot! Why would she try to save that kid if she can't even save herself?” He started sprinting down the bank toward her. When he felt that he was close enough, he dove in.

 

The moment he hit the water, he could feel the strong current try to overcome him as it did Hua. He let it carry him until he was able grab her and pulled her tightly against him. With all his strength, he fought back to the shore and carried the young girl to the safety of the shelter after making sure the child had gone back to its mother.

 

He laid her down by the fire and tried his best to get her warm. When there seemed to be nothing more he could do, remembering she had already used the dry set of clothes, he became frantic.

 

“Why did you do that you idiot?” he yelled at her. “You knew you'd just get wet again! Now everything's wet, and I can't leave you here to get anything else! If you pretend to be so smart then why don't you think things through?”

 

She opened her eyes and looked at him, trying to smile. “I did…I considered the options, and I chose the best one…”

 

“How the hell is that the best one??”

 

“I didn't want to have that vision come true…I didn't what that kid to die…”

 

“Vision?”

 

Her eyes closed, and she began to shiver again. “I…I didn't want to know he was going to die and not even try…I didn't want to give them another reason to hate shamans…”

 

Zhang pounded the ground. “Is that all you could think about? What other people would think of you?”

 

She tried to shake her head. “I just don't want my children to live in a world where shamans are hated…I want them to have friends.” She coughed as the shivering intensified. “Is that really a bad thing to want?” She began a coughing fit. His eyes widened.

 

“Shivering…coughing…” He put his hand on her forehead. “Fever…” He stared at her. “Pneumonia! Miss Hua! Look at what your recklessness has done!”

 

She attempted a smile again. “Oops…sorry…Heh heh…”

 

“Dammit!” He picked her up. “There's no choice; I have to take you to my family's clinic. If you start having breathing problems, things'll get really bad.”

 

She lightly clutched his shirt. “Sorry if I'm heavy.”

 

He shook his head, almost in disgust. “You're too light for someone your age. My mom's going to have a field day with you.”

 

Ren watched as the scene went completely black. After a few moments, the light of a lamp appeared and soon he was in a room where three people were surrounding a small bed. He looked past them and saw Hua laying there, her eyes closed, and breathing through a small respirator that rested on a nightstand.

 

A middle-aged man in the room, who he presumed was Zhang's father, rummaged through the nearby medicine drawers while his wife placed a wet cloth on Hua's head. Zhang looked at them earnestly.

 

“Will she be all right?”

 

“It's still too early to tell,” his father, Sun, replied without looking up. “We don't know her past medical history, or why her body seems so frail. We don't know if she's allergic to any antibiotics or medicines… She's going to be difficult to treat.”

 

His wife, Na, sighed. “Don't listen to your father, dear. He's just being dramatic. She'll be fine once she gets some rest and a little medicine.”

 

Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. “That's good to hear.”

 

“Still…I don't understand why she put up the wall in the first place,” Na murmured.

 

“Why?”

 

“See that castle up there past the mountains?” She motioned out the window. “That's Fan Castle, where this girl lives. The flood does not affect them due to the castle being in an elevated area. She had absolutely no reason to come down here to help. So I wonder why…”

 

Zhang looked at the patient. “I think she's hoping that people won't hate shamans if she does enough to help them.”

 

His mother looked down at her. “That's too much of a burden for someone her age to carry. Besides…considering who her mother is, changing the minds of the people here is nearly impossible.”

 

“Her mother?”

 

She nodded. “Almost fifteen years ago, Fan Suo found her three-year-old daughter Yan slaughtered and dismembered on their front doorstep. Apparently, she was supposed to marry into an illustrious shaman family, and her death undoubtedly ruined those engagement plans. Suo flew into a rage, as any mother would, and cursed nearly a third of the town. The cursed all suffered horrible and painful deaths.

 

“No one could give any other explanation for the horrible and bloody disease that felled the villagers, so they concluded that it was Suo's doing. She neither admitted to nor denied the allegations, so in the eyes of villagers, she was guilty. That's when their hatred of shamans truly began. The Fan family and this town had always tried to keep to themselves, but with that tragic incident, the animosity just went to a new level.” She stroked Hua's cheek. “It really is a shame. It's not this girl's fault her mother killed them.”

 

Her son looked at her. “Mother, do you hate shamans?”

 

“It doesn't matter,” Sun interjected. “A doctor doesn't discriminate, whether his patients be humans, witches, angels, or shamans.”

 

The next scene Ren saw was a week later. The rain had dried up, and Hua was still with Zhang at his house. She was following him down a hall that would lead them outside.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“We need to go feed the animals.”

 

“You have cats?”

 

“No.”

 

“Dogs?”

 

“A couple.”

 

She looked at the sacks they were both carrying. “This seems like a lot of food for just a couple of dogs.”

 

“We have a lot more than that.”

 

“What?”

 

He opened the door and she saw a small farm in the backyard. Pens small chicken house sat to the left, while some dogs went about patrolling the cows, pigs, sheep, and horses in various pens. She dropped her sack and stared at them.

 

“WOW!”

 

Before Zhang could stop her, she ran out towards them and began looking at all the animals. She bounced from pen to pen, emitting squeals of wonder and delight. He shook his head.

 

“We have to feed them, you know.”

 

She turned to him, a huge smile on her face. “I can't help it! I've never seen anything like this before! We don't have these things at my house!”

 

He watched her go around and pet the animals for a couple minutes, then handed her the sack she had dropped and made her get to work with helping him feed them.

 

“This is so much fun!” she exclaimed as she threw corn meal to the chickens.

 

He chuckled. “Try doing it for eighteen years, then see how much you like it.”

 

Later on, they were walking back home from the marketplace, each with bags of food in hand. As they neared the house, a group of townspeople blocked their path. Zhang urged Hua to run home with what she had, and that he would be fine. When she was out of sight, he turned to the small mob.

 

“Um…can I help you all with anything?” There was a hint of fear and uneasiness in his voice.

 

A mother stepped forward. “How dare you allow that devil child to stay in this town!” she cried.

 

“She could make our children sick!”

 

“Or kill our families and livestock!”

 

“Have you sided with the daughter of demons, Xu Zhang?”

 

A man silenced them, then looked him in the eye. “Look Zhang, I know that girl put up that wall that kept the flood at bay, but her kind simply can't be trusted. How can we sleep at night knowing how close a descendant of Yen-lo-Wang is to us? I think it would be in the best interest of your family if you got rid of her as soon as possible.”

 

Zhang's grip on the bags tightened. “She's not a devil, or a demon, or anything like that! She's just an innocent girl who wanted to help us when she didn't have to! You have no right to talk about her like that! My family isn't going to throw her out until she is one hundred percent better. And even then, we'll keep her as long as she wants to be with us, and there's nothing you people can say or do that will change our minds!”

 

The man shook his head. “Zhang, that girl will only bring you misfortune.” He turned and left the group. “Proceed.”

 

“What?”

 

“You heard Ping! Get him!”

 

Zhang braced himself for a beating, but only heard gasps. He opened his eyes and saw Hua standing in front of him. Her stance was rigid and he could see her holding something in her hands.

 

“…Miss Hua?”

 

She didn't answer, him, but instead addressed the crowd.

 

“Listen up, all of you. I want you to leave the Xu family alone.”

 

Her tone of voice almost made his heart stop. It was so deep and dark, such as none he had heard before. For a moment, he almost wondered if that really was the little Hua he had been taking care of for the past week.

 

“Who do you think you are?” a cry came from the crowd.

 

“We'll kill you too if you don't watch it!”

 

“You're just a plague to this town.”

 

Hua didn't flinch, but instead took some tags in each of her hands and spread them out like fans and crossed her arms on her chest. “I bet you can all guess what these are.”

 

“Curse tags! Like that bitch Suo used on our loved ones fifteen years ago!”

 

Hua gave a low chuckle. “That's right. And I have enough for all of you.” Her face hardened again. “If you all don't want to die in pain like the others, you should leave. Now. I'm giving you ten seconds.”

 

“We don't believe you!”

 

“Oh really? Try me. Ten…”

 

“She's bluffing!”

 

“Nine…”

 

“She wouldn't dare!”

 

“Eight…”

 

“There's no way she'd kill us after building that wall!”

 

“Seven…”

 

“She…She's crazy!”

 

“Six…”

 

“She really IS the devil's daughter!”

 

“Five…”

 

“She's taking even more out!”

 

“Four…Not much time left…Three…”

 

“Miss Hua! Please stop!”

 

“Two…”

 

“RUN!”

 

In a few seconds, the whole crowd that had surrounded them was gone. Hua stood up straight and sighed.

 

“Good they ran…I don't know what I was going to do if they didn't.”

 

Zhang looked down at her sadly. “Miss Hua…why would you even think of doing something like that…you're acting just the way they are accusing you of acting…of wanting to hurt people.”

 

She looked at the tags in her hands. “Oh these? Pfft. I couldn't hurt a fly with these. They're bookmarks.”

 

“What?” He looked down at them to find the names of famous books and the town bookstore on the back of them.

 

“Uh…yeah. I can't use curse tags. Never wanted to learn how.” She put her arm behind her head and laughed. “So yeah, if they didn't run, we'd be in a whole lot of trouble.”

 

He stared at her, then dropped his bags and hugged her. She stopped.

 

“Hey, what is it? It's not like you to be this touchy feely.”

 

“I was so afraid…”

 

“What?”

 

“I was so afraid that you were really like they said, that the girl I had treated like a sister for the past week wasn't the sweet, funny, and cute person I had thought her to be.”

 

She smiled at him. “You're so silly Niisama.”

 

He smiled back at her weakly. “I told you before, call me Zhang, not Niisama.”

 

She giggled. “Oh right, sorry.”

 

He stood up. “Let's just go home. My parents might be worried if you put the bags in and then ran back out.”

 

Later that night, as they were finishing dinner, there was a knock at the door. Sun went to answer it. When he opened it, a tall man with long jet black hair stood in the doorway. His clothes were red and black and visibly expensive.

 

“I've come to take Fan Hua off your hands,” he said gruffly.

 

The family turned to look at Hua, who had a sad, shocked look on her face. Zhang touched her shoulder. “Hua, who is it?”

 

She swallowed, not losing eye contact with the man at the door.

 

“Jiang Yin…my fiancée.”