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In This Truth We See: Chapter 5

by squishybookworm ::: 07.Oct.2003

Twilight settled upon the street like a cool slip of silk. Long velvet shadows slid along the buildings and in between alleys and crevices where the sun's last rays could not touch. A chill breeze puffed through the wide street, bringing along a child's high giggle, which echoed like a tinkling bell along the wooden walls of the establishments about. It floated over the bowed head of a figure leaning against one of the buildings and gently soaked into the midnight locks that shadowed his eyes. Crimson light limned the right side of his figure, bringing a pseudo-blush to his pale cheek and rendering his form in stark shades of scarlet and darkness.

A light schf, schf, came down the street and his head shifted slightly towards the left; towards the sound. As the soft footsteps came closer, he slowly unfolded his crossed arms and pushed away from the building to face the person. The slight scuffing stopped.

A smile tilting the corners of his lips, he lifted his head. His view was quickly filled with small feet encased in soft, black cloth slippers. His eyes traveled up those dust-covered shoes; past bulky ankle wrappings and loose trousers; past the hem of a ridiculously large and loose tunic; up past the mandarin collar to finally meet a pair of wary brown eyes.

Soujiro's smile widened and the boy before him tensed, distributing his weight evenly on both legs. The navy-eyed man wondered if the boy was even aware of his movements.

"Shen-shen," the Chinese youth spoke at length.

Soujiro quirked one dark brow questioningly. Shen-shen? A very Chinese word.

"Shen-shen?" Soujiro said. "I'm sorry. I think you have me confused with someone else. My name is Seta Souijiro."

"You are the person who walked into me this morning."

Soujiro's smile remained unchanged. Actually, it was the other way around, but somehow he didn't think the boy would readily admit that.

"And you're Haji's brother."

The Chinese youth's eyes flashed and he lifted his chin. "I am Xiao Yan. Li Xiao Yan. I am not 'Haji's brother'.” He glared a moment longer before demanding, “What business do you have with me, Shen-shen-san?”

Feeling one brow twitch slightly at the boy’s rude dismissal of his name, Soujiro found perverse delight in the fact that the sun behind his head threw his face into shadow while he could clearly see all expression playing across this Xiao Yan’s face.

They flitted quickly - going from disinterest to annoyance to hostility - all in a matter of moments, and they were so unlike the tangled skeins of emotions everyone else gave off. It was as if the boy felt every emotion so intensely, there was no room for any others. It was enough that Soujiro could stand to lower his guard slightly without feeling as if he was being bombarded on all sides by a dizzying mixture of sentiments.

Soujiro met the boy’s brown gaze squarely, unflinching even in the antagonism he could feel flowing off like so much heat from a boiling pot.

“Well?” Li barked. “What do you want?”

Soujiro blinked and smiled widely. “How was your day, Li-san?”

Li blinked. “My . . . day. . . ?”

“Yes. You were gone all day, so I imagine you must have went somewhere very far and if you went somewhere far away then you must have done a lot of walking. Are you tired?”

“I-I’m fine . . . well, really.” He blinked rapidly, then huffed. “I fail to see why you need concern yourself.” He straightened slightly and brushed back the longer strands of hair that curled around his ears again as soon as he’d finished. “Is there something you wanted?”

Soujiro stared at him silently for a few moments. His smile widened slightly. “Li-san, I spent some time with your brother today.”

Li gave no outward reaction, although his ki visibly darkened. The rapidly disappearing sun darkened his tanned skin to a golden hue, making him seem like a statue just then. It reminded Soujiro of gilded Buddha statues. Looking warm and alive in soft candlelight, yet when one went to touch it, it was cold.

Soujiro continued, “He is a very unique child. Very polite and thoughtful.”

“Of course, he is well-raised. He had a Chinese upbringing after all.”

Soujiro suppressed the urge to smile even wider. His brow was twitching again.

“Shen-shen-san, is that all you wanted to tell me? I really don’t think it was necessary to have gone to the trouble.” Li’s mouth twisted in an almost sneer, belying his last statement. He brushed past Soujiro and continued on to the open door of the inn. “Have a good night.”

Hmm. It wasn’t quite going as he would have liked. Well, he wasn’t sure how he wanted it to go in the first place, but he was sure he didn’t want it to end with Li smirking at him.

“Nonetheless, Li-san, for all his seeming maturity, he is still a child and a child should not, and should never, be allowed to believe he is the cause of any misery. You have been most unfair to him.”

Li stopped. His ki flashed frigid as if the sky had suddenly released sleet, then it disappeared completely. Soujiro’s back muscles tensed instinctively before he forced himself to relax.

“Oh?”

A slight puff of warm breath was Soujiro’s only clue that Li had turned back to stare at him. Soujiro schooled his expression into a wide smile, although Li could not see it.

“Yes. That’s right. You should be more considerate,” Soujiro said.

Li’s long shadow shifted as he turned fully towards him. It flowed, unbroken, to stop at the shoulder of his own shadow. From this angle it almost looked like they were standing side by side and if he had twitched his arm slightly, they would have melded seamlessly.

“You are being presumptuous, don’t you think, Shen-shen-san?” Li finally replied.

“Seta Soujiro.”

“What?”

Smile widening to the point where his eyes were almost squinted shut, Soujiro turned around slowly. “My name is Seta Soujiro.”

Li said nothing for a long while. Dark curls fluttered around his face, throwing dark laces of shadows upon his delicately rounded cheeks. His dark eyes glinted from underneath the shadow of his hair and Soujiro knew that he was being taken apart and analyzed bit by bit.

The youth lifted his chin, clearing the shadows from his eyes. His brows were lifted defiantly. Soujiro’s smile tightened slightly and his brow twitched again.

For a split second, so fast that if Soujiro had not felt the youth’s ki flash as well he would have missed it, something . . . changed in Li’s glare. Something . . . almost panicked and reflected in the small flare of ki. Li lifted his chin.

“And I am Li Xiao Yan, Shen-shen-san.” He continued tightly. “Are you quite finished, Shen-shen-san?”

That feeling. Something had caused the youth’s impassive façade to falter.

“Good night, Shen-shen-san.” Li turned away and started through the open door.

“Li-san.” His hand clapped down gently on the narrow shoulder. Heat frissoned through the rough cloth to Soujiro’s palm.

Li sucked in a sharp breath, even as he leapt away and his ki gave off another distinctive flare of panic. It wasn’t quite the same as before, but now Soujiro was sure what unsettled the youth so much and he couldn’t help but feel extremely pleased about it. His smile relaxed slightly.

He raised his hands concilatorily and said, “Please. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Li snorted, widening his stance and slowly inching his arms towards defensive positions. His shuttered face betrayed nothing of the brief flare of panicked ki he’d given off but moments before.

His smile congenial, Soujiro remained relaxed. They remained that way for several moments.

“He is strong,” Soujiro said finally. “But he is not that strong yet. He is still a child and he cannot go on as he is.”

The Chinese youth turned his head slightly, the sun limning one delicately rounded cheek and reflecting in the dark stare he sent out of the corner of his eye. “Oh? Do you realize what you are doing? Sharing your thoughts so brazenly constitutes a measure of responsibility on your part. Will you take responsibility, Shen-shen-san?

If Haji dies, he dies. If he lives, he can only become stronger.” Li paused, finally straightening from his stance as the Tenken remained still. Shadows shifted on his face and the disappearing sun traced one last, scarlet line along the Chinese youth’s cheek. “Shen-shen-san, you, too, are a martial artist, are you not? Surely this is something you understand?”

If you’re strong, you live. If you’re weak, you die.

“Are you strong, Li-san?”

“What?”

“I asked if you were strong, Li-san.”

“. . . Strong enough-“ he caught his breath softly. He clamped his mouth shut tightly and stared back at Soujiro with a clear brown gaze that was inscrutable once again.

Soujiro paused. Strong enough . . . for what?

He opened his mouth to prod the silent youth further, but before he could do so, Li swept his arm out, throwing some object. Soujiro instinctively caught the object before it could connect with his chest. He brought it up to his face to inspect in the rapidly disappearing light.

“A banana?” he said increduously. “Did you just throw a banan-“ His smile tightened as the flutter of Li’s tunic disappeared through the darkness of the inn doorway.

He caught the mandarin collar of the youth’s shirt just before the curtained doorway in the receiving room. Luckily, Ayu must have still been too busy with the dinner party to come up front and close the shop. She might have found the sight of Soujiro jerking the Chinese youth back by the scruff of his neck very shocking.

Li fell back into Soujiro’s chest with barely a whimper, only another brief flare of ki informed Soujiro that the youth had been startled. Immediately, the scent of tea wafted up to his nose and he instinctively breathed in the familiar aroma.

“You will let me go,” Li said. His voice remained even and modulated. As if he hadn’t just thrown a banana at the Tenken.

Carefully hiding his surprise, Soujiro slowly uncurled his fingers from Li’s upper arms when he’d steadied the youth. Li took a few steps forward, but made no attempts to run. Not that he would have gotten far anyways.

They stood like that.

Faint sounds of reverie broke through curtained doorway but they seemed weak and overly happy. Bars of light spilled across the floor in the hallway, but nothing went past the shadowed border of the door. Papers crinkled as a slight wind made its way through the door and traveled around the room. The sharp smell of ink eclipsed the aromatic cloud of tea that surrounded Li’s form.

“I will not let Haji believe it is a flaw of his own making,” Soujiro said, “He has done nothing wrong.”

“Really?” Li did not turn, but his head shifted, and Soujiro knew the youth had lifted his chin again. “And what would you understand of his faults or lack of them? We’ve only just met; not enough time to truly comprehend the situation. I think you are being far too forward.”

“You said I was a martial artist. Surely you’d understand that we can not take time to fully perceive the situation. We can have only a moment before attacking. No time to decide how our next move will best defend ourselves from our opponent. Therefore we must accept all we can sense and come to a conclusion in that moment . . . and we must be right. I comprehend enough, Li-san.”

Li turned around slowly, his lips pressed together into a thin line. “Really? Then tell me, Shen-shen-san, what is the conclusion you have reached? How shall you proceed next? This martial artist senses something else, something darker behind that easy smile of yours. Something about this matter resonates within your being and draws you closer like a moth is drawn to flame. Do not generate your own emotions onto Haji. Do not taint him further with your presence.”

Shadow swept across their still forms as the last blush disappeared from the front door. The room was silent. Absolutely still.

“This martial artist,” Soujiro began as he approached the Chinese youth. Li bent his knees warily, ready to spring, but did not move even when Soujiro stood close enough to feel the faint warmth of expelled breath and catch the soft scent of tea, again.

He reached out with both arms and suppressed the widening of his smile, the giddy headiness of triumph as Li tensed. The Chinese youth forced himself to stay absolutely still and not recoil. Clapping both hands lightly onto Li’s shoulder, a flash of heat communicated itself between their contact and Soujiro’s smile finally widened as Li’s ki flared again.

”Senses something inside you.” Soujiro continued. “Something that draws you to him like a moth is drawn to flame.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” But Li didn’t move. His dark gaze remained trained on Soujiro’s own wide blue eyes.

Soujiro’s smirk dropped suddenly. His grip tightened painfully and Li compressed his lips, but made no other move.

They stared at each other steadily, neither moving and barely daring to even shift slightly.

”Perhaps it is you, Li-san, who does not fully comprehend the situation.” Soujiro bit out. He suddenly released him and stepped back. His palms felt like they’d been burned by the little coal low in his stomach and tingles flowed up his arm to set his heart racing as if he was readying for battle. He took a deep breath, fighting back the impulse to clench and unclench his fists. To send that fist into the Chinese youth’s impassive face.

Another easy smile stretched across his face as Li stared back at him expressionlessly, his reaction just as carefully hidden.

Soujiro stepped past the silent Chinese youth and went on into the inn. He didn’t know what he’d been hoping to accomplish, but somehow he felt so tired. As if he’d used all his energy to sustain his focus. Even now, everything just seemed to be roiling chaotically making him feel like the one time he’d been stuck on a ship in the middle of a storm. And he could feel a headache coming on.

Nausea churned his stomach and he wanted to stamp down this swirl of anxiety, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t because he knew . . . he knew that he’d enjoyed taunting the Chinese youth. And that thought was enough to bring his smile back full force.