The Hinomoto Rebellion (15 page)

“She’s not in her room, and she’s not on the roof.” reported D as he came into the dining hall, stopping just inside the door. “Where could she have gone?” Roni said, worry creeping in to her voice.

“ Alright, let’s calm down. Everyone sit and eat, I’ll go look for her.” Kanjou stood up from the table and left the hall, going out the front door of the temple.

Kanjou was secretly glad for Andrea’s disappearance since it gave him an excuse to get out of eating dinner tonight. He knew that if any of the others knew or suspected he wasn’t eating, they’d force him into it.

He walked into the trees and slipped behind one, having no real intention of going to look for Andrea. He knew she’d return on her own so long as she was left to herself for awhile. Her honor as a Martial Artist would demand that she fulfill her oath. She was angry right now, and Kanjou could understand that. He had injured her pride, which hurt more than hurting her physically. Had he beaten her bloody she would have healed in time, but her wounded self-esteem would probably be harder to repair than anything. He hoped that the meditation and focusing exercises he would start teaching her in the morning would help her.

Fushicho had been right about Andrea though. Now that he’d fought her he felt like he knew much more about her than he did before. Sure, he didn’t know the details of her past, but he had a good idea of her psyche and that was what mattered. If anything, he pitied her now that he knew she was allowing her emotions to destroy herself.

But he also reminded himself that each member of the Aka Ryuu had something in their past they wished hadn’t happened, whether or not they had any control over it. They all had their scars and their regrets, but somehow they continued on and lived with them. Their silver-haired friend allowed herself to be consumed by her regrets and even viewed them as a weakness.
And yet the more we’re around her, the less she seems able to hide them. It’s like looking at a complicated puzzle and seeing the path to get to the solution, but not seeing the solution clearly yet. Her scars show through despite that she tries to cover them up.

Fushicho crept into Kanjou’s mind suddenly. He shuddered a little at the thought of the burn on her shoulder that marred her otherwise perfect skin. He’d asked her once why she didn’t wear something over it and had been surprised to hear her say with conviction that she wasn’t ashamed of the scar.

“Yes, it reminds me of something terrible but it also reminds me of home, and my family. If I covered it, I might forget them,” she had looked up and smiled at him, her eyes sparkling as though she may have been on the verge of crying. “Besides,” she’d continued, “it’s a constant message that I need to be mindful of my actions and emotions.”

He understood what she’d meant by that statement because Fushicho was afraid of her own power, just like he was. They’d both done things that had caused a lot of pain to themselves and others. Fushi had lost control of her anger and gotten a price put on her head by a street gang. They had burned down her family’s home to try to kill her, and thankfully her family had escaped. They were sure that the red-head was dead, but she’d walked out of the flames with nothing but the Phoenix shaped burn on her shoulder. Fushi blamed herself for her family losing the house they’d lived in for generations, and had left that night so that the gang would stop hunting her and would leave the rest of her kin alone. She had told Kanjou many times that she wished she hadn’t lost control of her anger so that she could still be with them.

Kanjou put his head back against the rough bark of the tree and sighed at the night sky. His stomach growled a little and he put a hand on it. He’d barely eaten at breakfast or lunch and the others would be furious if they found out. Until he figured out how to get them more food though, he would rather not eat so the others would have enough.

“I had a feeling I’d find you out here.”

Kanjou turned, startled by the voice. Three meters away stood D and Nikko. Kanjou blinked, wondering how they had managed to sneak up on him before giving a small smile. “I didn’t want Roni worrying about Andrea,” he said sheepishly.

“ Yeah well, too late for that,” commented D as Nikko started to sniff at a nearby bush. The white dog looked up at D eagerly, and then took off into the trees when his master gave him a nod. “That girl is wound so tight right now I don’t think she’ll ever sit still again.” he continued, walking closer to Kanjou.

The brunet sighed. “Oh well, it was worth a shot anyway.” The eyebrow above D’s blue eye raised a little bit. “You alright?”

Kanjou nodded. “Yeah, I was just thinking,” he looked back up at the sky, which was only visible in patches through the leaves of the trees. “I’m wondering if what I did today was right. I’m wondering if Andrea really will come back, like I think she will. And I’m wondering if I should have actually
looked
for her when I came out here.”

D and Kanjou stood there in silence for a little while. “You all met Andrea right before I came, right?” D said.

 

Kanjou nodded in reply. “It seems like it was an eternity ago though, even though it’s been three days.”

D looked up at the sky as well. “What is it about that violent little tom-boy that makes her a giant magnet?” he wondered aloud. “It seems like we’re all just trying to figure her out so she’ll open up, even though we’ve known her for such a short time.”

For a few minutes they were silent, watching the stars twinkling far above them. Then Kanjou said, “I think it’s because she tries to act like a black hole of emotion. We try to fill that void. We try to give her other emotions than the hostility she’s shown us so far. It’s like we’re trying to balance her out with us, I guess, or like seeing a hurt child. Most people are going to try to help, even if it’s not theirs. She’s like a kid that’s crying for help, but at the same time she’s pushing all the help away.”

D didn’t reply, but knew that Kanjou was right about the silver-haired woman. At first D thought he would just put up with her because she would lead him to Ryoku. Now though he couldn’t explain what he thought or felt about Andrea. She was volatile and deadly, quick to anger and swift with insults, but at the same time he had seen bravery and a hint of compassion in her as well. She had risked herself not only to deliver a message to Foxfire’s family, but also to save Aki from the policemen she’d been facing. Something about Andrea was special, he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

It was late by the time Andrea emerged from the trees and on to the path leading to the temple. Weak moonlight illuminated her way well enough for her to avoid tripping. She walked with her shoulders slumped, dragging her feet across the broken paving stones. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically, and admitted to herself that she couldn’t wait to fall on to her futon. She thought she might even be exhausted enough to not have nightmares tonight.

She was halfway down the path to the door when she sensed a presence in front of her. She stopped and glared at the shadows in the doorway. A moment later Kanjou stepped out into the silver light of the moon. Andrea said nothing, but the look on her face was one of unveiled rage.

“ Roni was worried when you didn’t come back.” Kanjou said, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. “I told her I’d wait for you and make sure you got here alright.”

Andrea snorted. “Well, isn’t that touching,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m here, safe and sound, so I’ll be going to bed now.” She walked forward and pushed past him.

“ Andrea.”
The martial artist stopped but didn’t turn to face him. “We do have an agreement, right?” Kanjou said.

Andrea scoffed. “I’m insulted. I thought for sure you’d realize that I’m not dishonorable. I’m a cold, heartless bitch, I’ve been told, but my word is good, as much as I may hate it.” she growled.

For a long moment, the only sound was the wind. “See you in the morning,” Kanjou replied.

Andrea smirked. “Yeah.” she turned to look at a tree in front of Kanjou. “Good night, Wakame.” she said, then disappeared into the temple.

D stepped out from behind the tree Andrea had looked at. “How in the...?” he said aloud.

Kanjou chuckled. “What did you expect? She’s good.” “Yeah well, she seems like she’d like to punch your teeth in.”

“ Give her a day or two. She’ll nurse that wounded pride back to health and probably forget all about our scuffle.” He turned to D. “Right now she’s probably thinking that I did this to spite her. Even though I told her that it was for her own good, she’ll never believe it. If she can’t calm down, she’ll kill herself.” He sighed. “And to be honest, I admire the girl. She’s tough. She just doesn’t take any crap from anyone.” He glanced over his shoulder at the doorway. “But somewhere, deep down inside, there’s pain. She’ll never admit it, but she’s been hurt real bad.”

“ You’re hoping that you can heal those scars, aren’t you?” said D. “That’s one of the reasons why you made her agree to your training.”

Kanjou looked at D, regarded him for a moment, then gave him a warm smile. “Yes. If I can make anyone’s life better, I try to. If Roni sees enough good to try with Andrea, then I’m going to go with her instincts. Roni’s never been wrong about anyone before.”

There was a moment of silence, then D looked at Kanjou. “I hope you’re right.”

 

The next morning Andrea was pulled out of one of her rest by Kanjou. She got up and followed the tall brunette through the temple with a scowl across her face. The sun was barely beginning to peek over the horizon as they exited the front of the building, heading toward the trees that surrounded headquarters. A chill in the summer air made goose bumps sprout on Andrea’s exposed arms, but she didn’t shiver.
I’ve trained in worse conditions, under much tougher Masters. This won’t be anything compared to that. But if he has me meditating under waterfalls, I swear I’m killing him and leaving his body in the woods.

After a few minutes they came to a clearing that Kanjou was satisfied with, and Andrea sat on the grass while he perched crosslegged on a rock.

“ Alright. I don’t know how you even learned to use your ki with your emotions being the wreck that they are, but we’re going to go over a few meditation exercises to get you centered.”

As the sun rose and began to warm the air, Kanjou and Andrea sat in the shade of the trees. For hours he instructed her to calm her mind and breathe calmly, to discard her feelings of anger and malice. It was easier said than done, especially since her mind continually raced with the thought of getting up and punching him in the face. Meditating always made her feel silly, even when her
sensei
had made her do it all she could get the hang of was breathing exercises and not true meditation. She’d never been able to get her mind to calmed. It was always racing, and this morning it was frustrating.

Despite trying for a long time, she couldn’t get herself to be calm. Kanjou sensed that she was starting to get frustrated with the meditating so he started leading her in chanting exercises and mantras.

Once they were done with that, Kanjou announced that they were done for the day and could go back to the temple for breakfast. Andrea stood quickly, glaring at him. “This was stupid and a waste of time. I can’t meditate, your chants and mantras don’t help me, and I hate getting up this early!” She turned and started walking back to the temple, trying to work her way back up in to a bad mood.

No way am I going to give in to this stupidity,
she told herself as she headed back to the run-down building. She wouldn’t let the tall brunet know he’d been right about her emotions. She felt calmer now than she’d felt in a long time. She’d go through the meditations and whatever else he wanted her to do since she was a
ronin
and a woman of her word, but he didn’t have to know that sitting on the ground for hours trying not to think of anything had seemed to quiet some of her inner voices, at least for a little while anyway.

The remainder of the group was just sitting down to a meager breakfast when Andrea came in. She went to wash up, refusing to speak to anyone as she walked past the dining room. Kanjou came in right behind her and knelt at the table. The others threw a few questioning glances at him, but he simply smiled and shook his head.