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 Posted: Sat May 22, 2010 11:12 pm
The smile that Huang offered him was reassuring; a quiet symbol of friendship and happiness that brushed away Jianyu's initial discomfort with the suddenly awkward situation. A gentle wind teased at Jianyu's long hair, making it flick across his face in long, brown strands.
"I do not do it to make you uncomfortable." Jianyu said. "But rather to make you more comfortable. But, if it displeases you, I will refrain from doing so."
Flushing slightly, Jianyu shook his head slightly, as if to clear it. He raised his glance to look up at Huang, smiling so eagerly at him and it confused him, made him even more uneasy still.
Why does this boy get to me the way he does? Jianyu thought to himself as he studied Huang carefully. It is like he trusts me implicitly, though we have just met. Is it because of what I thought of previously? That he and I are alike, that we share the same desire for knowledge and doing what we can to survive?
Whatever it is...I simply cannot leave him alone.
"Close your eyes." Jianyu said quietly. "And I want you...to think of your friend. The one that...passed away. And then..."
Jianyu's voice dropped an octave. "I want you...to tell me everything that you felt...on the day he died."
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Posted: Sat May 22, 2010 11:55 pm
Huang relaxed easily with Jianyu as he noticed the smile and studied the other man. Easily relaxed would be considered dangerous if Jianyu was any other person, and why Huang thought that was okay was beyond him. Just meeting the man had thrown his whole system off, including his stability in his loyalty in his own family. With Jianyu, He felt like he could share something inside him that maybe even Yuan hadn't seen.
"So it is comforting to touch people then?" Huang stared at Jianyu again and inched a little more closer, "I did not say it displeases me...I think...I just am not sure what to do??" Huang felt lost on that. In his body, he was reacting like it was a big deal, that every touch Jianyu did excited him or made him hot or made him to aware. He tried to bury the thoughts in his head and tried to practice what Jianyu told him.
Huang closed his eyes as Jianyu said and listened to his vice and thought of his friends death. It came as rage first, Like Huang knew it would and then it came in sadness and grief and a blow so hard to him, that his chest ached from it. Like a ripping of his own heart out.
He shuddered out a breath as he started the story.
"I had been returning from a mission with my Master Kade, who is the owner of the blacksmith shop Shing's Metalwork and also my teacher of martial arts. I had come under his care by dictation of my Mother to learn to become a spy and assassin and we we're assigned to scout out a group of nobles as for training purposes and for my mother's intelligence. Yuan was the closet thing to brother and best friend to me and Kade's Son." Huang paused, eyes still closed and took a breath, "When we returned back to the shop, Yuan had gone out for his usual fishing time. Kade and I wanted to share with Yuan what we had gathered and headed down to the docks to find him. We waited till Mid day, which was much later than Yuan usually returns, as we saw his boat floating to us. It was foggy that morning..." Huang shuddered as he felt the whole scene replay in his mind, "The air was damp but starting to warm. Though their was not many fishing boats on the water, which wasn't unusual as they leave early. As Yuan's boat drifted towards us, We became uneasy. Yuan was not manning the boat nor did we see his silhouette through the fog." Huang remember his panic, "I panicked and shouted for him and there was no problem. Kade jumped into the water and we pulled the boat closer to the docks and.." Huang's breathed hitched and he shuddered it out, "Inside was Yuan, mutilated, body torn like a wild beast and a strange cloth with a symbol on it." Huang didn't realized but eyes eyes we're burning with tears as he choked it out, "And Yuan's eye's we're opened with shock. They didn't even have the decency to close them and offer a coin for the other world." Huang pulled his hands up to his face. "Kade and i we're devastated, and i filled with hate. He was on the sea and the only thing out there is the great guardian and the mysterious ships, They must've done it!" Huang shouted it now, quick to blame, "It why i hate the nobles, because they want the beast of outsiders into our lands."
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 12:09 am
"It...is a comfort to me, at the very least." Jianyu said haltingly, feeling his face heat slightly. "I am...used to it, I suppose."
He grew silent as Huang began to speak, to tell the story that was so painful and so devastating to him. The boy's eyes were closed, and Jianyu could hear the ache in his words; could hear the overwhelming pain mixed with frustration and loss and yes, there was the anger as well, darkening his words, filling Huang with hatred and a cold blindness to those around him. His eyes were wet, tears streaking down his slender face that moments before had been so eager and happy to learn, to listen to Jianyu. His voice when he shouted was raw, hoarse with his fury and though Jianyu did not flinch away from the outburst, he could almost feel the words slicing into him, could almost feel the pain along with the boy.
"Huang." Jianyu said quietly, and then again, more sharply. "Huang!"
He stood, dragging the other boy to his feet, though Huang's face was twisted with anger, his eyes red from the tears. In one quick motion, Jianyu grabbed Huang's wrist, and stepping smoothly to the side, and flipping Huang onto his back on the ground. He stood over him, looking down at at him, his expression dark and serious.
"Defend yourself." Jianyu said, and his voice was almost taunting. "Come fight me, Huang-Fu."
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 12:31 am
Huang felt the grief inside him and his body ached like an old man's, he was consumed now with his rage, and the time he had it kept inside him made his body dull and tired. When Jianyu stood him, Huang ragged against him, like a loose limb doll. His looked up angrily at Jianyu but couldn't see him clearly from the tears that we're blurring his eyes.
What came next was shock and blow to his body and to his mind that left Huang stuttering, confused and the remnants of anger. He lept off the ground now and stared Jianyu, His Red eye's sparked with the flame of rage as he circled Jianyu, Though he knew his anger was displaced, though something inside him knew that Jianyu was trying to help him. It was rage that spoke now.
"I'll rip you apart Jianyu." Huang growled as he attacked, intent on a first strike, "You made speak of it and then you throw me to the the ground, You mock me in my pain Jianyu!" Huang lashed out again, though his eye's still held tears, "What do you know of this, Why make me remember this?" Huang staggered in his blow as the memory again choked him up, causing him to weaken.
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 12:45 am
Jianyu could feel it now; the anger that resonated off of Huang-Fu was as tangible as a cloud. It was there in his voice, his dark eyes staring intently at Jianyu and the way his body swayed as he lunged towards him, aiming to hit him. Jianyu's hand shot out, and he caught Huang's fist just before it hit his face, bending backwards as his foot slid to keep his balance.
"I do not mock." Jianyu said. "I taunt. There is a difference. And you think you can rip me apart?"
His fingers clenching around Huang's fist, Jianyu twisted the boy's wrist before flicking his arm sharply, causing him to be thrown sideways once more. Before Huang had time to react, however, Jianyu reached down, gripping the front of Huang's shirt. He dragged the boy to his feet and threw him to the left, slamming him into a nearby tree.
"How do you think Yuan felt?" Jianyu hissed, his blue eyes sparking as a twisted smile curved on his lips. "When he found out you weren't coming for him? When you weren't there to save him?"
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 5:36 pm
Huang felt his body react slowly and his mind was still dulled. Every punch he threw, Jianyu caught, deflected and returned with such calm ease that if Huang had not be soaked into his rage and devastation, he would of noticed the small details.
"So It is a game of taunting to you then Jianyu." Huang lashed out once more as Jianyu caught his punch and turned so that Huang came crashing sideways. Before Huang could turn to retaliate, Jianyu was there with his fist bunched in Huang's shirt and threw him into a tree, the impact caused his bones to rattle inside him and he could feel the air literally get knocked out of him.
Though what came next did more damage to him than the tree and left him breathless. His blood drained from his head as he paled. "Do not speak of Yuan." Huang's lips trembled as his body stiffened and his leg came up to kick the man back. Tears again glistened in his eyes and the rage that was a outburst now was becoming cool, like metal after being shaped into a weapon. "You do not know of Yuan...What he felt was his own!" Huang pushed Jianyu again, "Your taunts have gone to far. I have thought of it, of how his death has played out." Huang spoke with such hate now that it was dampening the air, if that was possible, "And i will exact my revenge on the rightful ones."
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 6:24 pm
The kick Huang flung out caught Jianyu in the stomach, forcing him to stagger backwards. His breath came out in a sharp gasp, barely able to catch it before Huang shoved him again. The boy's eyes were wet with unshed tears, the pure rage from Jianyu's taunting remarks making him tremble in his fury.
"You do not know what he felt." Jianyu hissed, and lashed out, his body arching downwards as his leg swung out in a swift roundhouse kick, knocking Huang to his back. Jianyu slipped sideways and crouched above him, one knee on either side of Huang as his fingers clenched in the boy's collar and he yanked him upwards. With a movement so quick his fingers were blurred, Jianyu whipped an arrow from underneath his tunic and held it pressed against Huang's throat, the lethal tip nearly touching his skin.
"You do not know what Yuan felt." Jianyu said, and his voice was low, hard. "So, why?"
His voice raised again, louder and more harsh.
"WHY?" Jianyu shouted, his dark eyes locking with Huang's. "You never knew how Yuan felt. You never knew if he called your name, if he felt death near, if he was desperate for someone, anyone to come and save him. You never will know. So why? Why, Huang-Fu Lee? Why do you feel so responsible for his death? Why must it be you to avenge his death?"
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 7:30 pm
Huang felt the quick glee of catching the man unaware but it was doused by quickly as the the retaliation from Jianyu. He rubbed his eyes as man threw a roundhouse kick straight into his chest knocking him back with a loud thud on the ground. Before Huang could even blink, Jianyu was there crouching over him with the arrow pointed at his throat and his first thought was: Death. Death before he had a chance to accomplish anything, to prove anything, to avenge Yuan, to become his own person. Huang was so sure that he would find himself into the goddesses hands that he barely registered anything until Jianyu spoke.
It was like a pierce into his brain...Jianyu's simple Why? at first he asked quietly and Huang didn't know how to answer. Why what? Why was this happening? Why was he here? Why...Why?
His eye's locked with Jianyu's and he started to recognize something in him shift. Why and why kept replying in his mind. He didn't know how Yuan had died, what he called out for, if he needed someone. So why was he so guilty...Why was he the one that was burdened with such rage, Why was it him that dictate revenge?!?!?
Why, why, why...
Because of loyalty! Because Yuan was HIS!!
Why, why, why...
Huang shook his head his mother's voice came in his head, It is because you will never escape the loyalty owed, do not forget Huang that it was us that made you and us that can break you.. Because he felt Loyal to Yuan and to Kade and wanted to avenge him like a dog does his master, because Yuan made something in him. Without realizing, maybe it was even more than that and he stared up at Jianyu.
"Because Yuan meant more to than life itself, because he was my body, my heart and even my soul." Huang looked up at Jianyu, "Because i needed him, so much that i feared he didn't need me too, because when i found him in the boat, i realized that i lost something inside me so great, to something i didn't even understand that i had to get it back." Huang went silent, his eye's cleared from tears and rage and came to a bright understanding, "I am using this revenge to replace what i lost, in a way to delude myself that i will recover Yuan by killing what killed him."
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 7:42 pm
"Huang-Fu Lee." Jianyu said again, and his voice was quiet, but with an edge that reverberated throughout the small enclosure. Nothing else could be heard around them except for the gentle breeze; a sharp contrast to the situation at hand. "You make too much of his life and not enough of yours. I cannot pretend to understand the connection that you held with Yuan, nor can I pretend to understand the absolute faith and trust that you each held for one another."
Jianyu bent lower, his face mere inches away from Huang's as the tip of the arrow pressed into the sensitive skin of his throat. A small line of blood trickled down the boy's neck, pooling against his collarbone.
"Find a new body to protect." Jianyu said, and this time his voice was soft, his eyes locked with Huang's. He took his free hand and placed it against Huang's chest, right above the boy's heart. He could feel the pulsing beat beneath his fingertips, rapid and unsure. "Find a new heart, Huang. A new soul. You cannot easily replace Yuan, but you can find someone or something to simply...fill the empty void within yourself."
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 8:20 pm
Huang grimaced when Jianyu said his name in such a way that would've made anyone else shudder. It was quiet but loud at the same time. And time seemed to stand still, without a single sound as the moments clicked by. Huang did not struggle though as he listened to Jianyu, who barely knew him, said the only words that Huang probably would ever need. To treasure Yuan's life was what broke Huang, to preserve his memory that had become clouded with anger, he had forced himself to forget that he had his own life, and that the body he spoke of his was his own.
He flinched when Jianyu bent closer, the arrow pricking his neck in a tiny sting as he felt the wetness of blood trickle down. Refusing though to jerk, he remained still and watched Jianyu. Who placed his hand on his heart and Huang could feel the heat radiate from the man's hand right down to the core of him, like a touch of life.
"It is not easy Jianyu, I refuse to forget the sin of his murder but now...I see that i am blemishing Yuan's memory of hate and rage," Huang closed his eyes, listening to his heartbeat race and willed it to relax, he opened again to look at Jianyu now, to study the man who know made something in Huang, something that was developing, "But nothing in this life was ever easy, nor will trying to lose the rage that i feel." Huang grimaced again with the arrow still pointed at his neck, "Your words have awakened something inside me, a awareness of myself and a desire to do as you say. Time is what i need and time is what i ask of you Jianyu. I told you that you held my humanity in your hands, and i do not use words lightly. if you give me your time and your patience, i could develop something...to fill this void as you say." Huang lifted his hand to the arrow and moved it up, away from his neck, "So for now, get the bloody arrow away from neck so i can live another day, To start the process of your training, into which i will accept that anger is nothing more than a tool that is sharpened instead of the force that dictates my life and to fill this void. We will develop my body and my soul that i shall live for." Huang waited.
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 8:29 pm
There they were. The words that Jianyu had been trying to get Huang to say, the feelings he had been trying so hard to release by taunting him fighting him, berating him for the mess he had made of his life by tainting it with hatred. It pained Jianyu to see the younger boy so filled with the black emotions, made him uneasy and filled with a sense of wanting to help, to guide Huang back from the depths he had fallen.
Jianyu let Huang move the arrow away from his neck, a few more drops of blood spilling down that slender neck.
"I told you before as well." Jianyu said softly, his eyes never leaving Huang's. "I will help you to overcome what you have lost and to stand on your own ground before. Huang-Fu Lee, I promise you from this day on that I will never leave your side. When you need me, I will be there, no matter what the cost."
His hand still pressed to Huang's chest, Jianyu curled his other fingers around Huang's, letting the arrow drop away, clattering to the grass in a soft thud. He guided Huang's hand to his chest, so that they were each pressing a hand against the other's heart.
"I promise." Jianyu said again, and his voice was quiet and strong, filled with what he was covenanting to do. "Always by your side."
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 9:00 pm
Huang let his head fall back, eyes closed as the arrow moved away and let a silence hang between them. It took one deep sigh from Huang before he looked into Jianyu's eyes again. The man was reaching into Huang's heart and taking a hold of it, and it was then Huang knew, deep inside him that he would probably grow to love this man, though it was unknown to him if it was romantic love, or the love of a brother, or a friend. Though it was early to tell, Huang shuffled the thought away as Jianyu took his hand and led it to his chest where their two hearts started to beat as one and Jianyu swore a pact to him.
"Then Jianyu Qian, as you have sworn to me." Huang's eye's filled with emotion and a deep understanding. His first friend, had become his dearest and perhaps the one that Huang would protect, the beginning, "I look to you for your guidance as my master, trainer and friend. I will protect your back as you protect mine, I will bet there as your are for me." Huang closed his eyes now and let them suspend in heartbeats and the quiet breeze of the place. Though Huang was still pressed underneath Jianyu, he did not feel the need to struggle away and relaxed as easily.
"I suppose your first lesson has taught me much Jianyu..." Huang looked to the side now and went into a thoughtful look, "When do we start the next?" Huang shifted now to look up at his friend, He was kinda of a little worried. If it was next, he'd probably wouldn't make it. His body was wore out from sparring and all the emotions and his brain was exhausted from revelation after revelation. Though he hated to admit it, but he was probably even to tired to get up and that was dangerous, as he had missions even tonight from his mother to complete.
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 9:12 pm
A soft smile touched at the corners of Jianyu's lips as he looked down at Huang.
"I swear." he said, and his fingers tightened briefly around Huang's.
"I think you've had enough lessons for today." Jianyu said, and this time a real smile crossed his face. "You are exhausted. I can tell from your expression and the way you move. We will continue this lesson later."
Jianyu linked his fingers through Huang's before he moved to stand up, pulling Huang to stand with him. The sudden movement cause Jianyu to stumble backwards abruptly, Huang colliding into him. Jianyu's arms instinctively went around Huang's waist, catching him before the both of them fell completely backwards.
"Are you all right?" Jianyu asked, worry crossing his features. "I know you must be quite tired by now. Did I hurt you? Can you walk?"
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 9:53 pm
Huang crooked his mouth in a attempt to smile and instead winced. He was sore now that he had taken the blows and just laid there. Like any body, his just wanted to lay there and he was about to suggest Jianyu to leave him be then if they we're done with training.
"Yes, thats is the best thing i've heard since now." Huang was about to mention him at least lay there when Jianyu pulled him up, though was a little more force then need which caused Huang to crash into Jianyu and place his hands on his chest. He felt Jianyu's slip around his waist and instantly heated up, His face dropped to where Jianyu was holding him. Though he didn't want his friend to worry, he couldn't stop the blush that seemed to spread over him and closed his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"I'm fine, Fine i think Jianyu." Huang tried to pat his friend but his arms we're stuck on the man's chest and it was like patting...nothing, his wrist could barely move, "I can walk Jianyu." His voice became stiff, he was a man after all and tried to push away from Jianyu, only to end up stumbling and grabbing his the man's arm to keep balance, "A lot more tired than i thought."
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 10:03 pm
Jianyu frowned down at Huang. The boy seemed flustered, his face turning a vibrant shade of red, and his wrist seemed to be injured.
"You are not fine." Jianyu declared, leaning forward to press his forehead to Huang's. "I believe you have a fever. Your face is flushed, and you are quite weak. Here, I will carry you into the house and you will rest there for a while."
Stepping back, Jianyu twisted his body and with a quick movement, hauled Huang up onto his back, linking his arms beneath the boy's legs. Once he was certain he had him safely, Jianyu began to walk towards the house.
"I trust you will have no reservations about a small period of rest?" Jianyu said. "I do not trust you to return safely to your home without proper rest."
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