Gaiden 7.6
Gaiden 7.6: Soho no baka!
"You don't understand - ever since I saw him at my father's court, I admired him! More than that - I wanted to be just like him! And then he turns out to be a traitor." Choshu Ishi spread his arms wide in a gesture of frustration.
A split second later, Shai Mei's fist halted barely an inch from his face. The god-blood smiled, and stifled a small laugh. "Ishi, if you're going to be my sparring partner, would you please at least try to block?"
"You don't need to worry about hurting me; I've withstood Heaven's Black Lightning Punch, so I think I can take anything you - hey, ow!" Shai Mei's next strike was a knife-hand to his temple, with just enough Excellency behind the strike to sting. "Shai Mei, listen to me, this is important."
"If it were really important, then you'd be blocking my strikes long enough to finish your sentence. How can the stalwart oak be expected to weather the storm, when the boulder cowers?"
"I do not cower, Little Tree. I'll weather anything you can throw at me." His face flushed with embarassment, he prepared the Five-Dragon Blocking Technique. Shai Mei launched into a flurry of strikes; he turned them all away with ease. "As I was saying, I looked up to him, I thought he was a hero, and then he tries to betray the Nameless Ravine! How do you think that makes me feel?"
Shai Mei started to throw another punch, but then she grimaced in pain and clutched her side. "I imagine it makes you feel like someone shot an arrow through your lung?"
"Yes, exactly; like someone knocked the wind right out of... Shai Mei, are you all right?"
"No, Ishi, I'm not all right." Shai Mei limped over to a bench, sat down, and took a few ragged breaths. "The healers were right," she muttered to herself. "I really should be taking it easy."
He swiftly moved to her side, knelt beside her, and took her hand earnestly. "All the more reason you should let me take your place when you challenge him! Let me be your champion - I will not fail you. I'll avenge your betrayal and my honor all at once!"
Shai Mei shook her head. "Ishi, you don't understand. It's not about vengeance. Soho may have betrayed your admiration... but he was my sifu. He saved my life when I fought Tozo Han at the Northern Crossroad, and again at White Bluff."
"But that doesn't excuse..."
"Please, let me finish. You're a Chosen of the Dragons. So is your sister, and Magistrate Agathon, and General Nekuto, and the twins. The way you all throw around fistfuls of essence like so many pine needles - you have no idea how much I envy you."
Ishi wasn't sure what to say about that. Scorn was his the daily bread of his youth, and admiration slaked his thirst like nothing else... but envy left a bitter aftertaste.
"All of you have been chosen by a great power, chosen to do great deeds. Even Soho is one of the Chosen, no matter how you feel about him right now. But what about me? No-one chose me. No-one asked if I wanted to be chosen."
Ishi could see the glimmer of tears in her eyes. "Soho chose me. My mother always told me that great ironwood trees might serve as the beams of a mightly fortress, but humble bushes provide the sweetest oranges. Small deeds require small heroes. Soho looked at this sapling, and he saw an orange bush. He trained me, he focused my mind and my essence. And he gave me a chance to serve - I wouldn't have even been allowed to join the expedition in the first place if not as Soho's student. And I wouldn't have had the patience to learn Lu Fei's Living Shield Technique if it weren't for Soho's preparation. And then he forced me to choose between the man who saved my mother's life, and the sifu who saw what I could do with my own..." At last, she began to sob. "Soho, you idiot!"
At this point, Choshu Ishi did what any self-respecting hero would do: he put his arms around the girl, and held her as she cried.
At last, the tears had run their course. As Shai Mei wiped her eyes on the sleeves of her training jacket, Ishi looked down at her with sudden realization. "That's why you challenged him - you're trying to save his life."
Though her eyes were red, Shai Mei smiled. "Small deeds require small heroes. I'll throw myself in front of Storm of Amber's spear if I have to. But first..."
"But first... what?"
She traced a line across her torso with her finger, stopping at the exact spot where the fateful arrow had pierced her flesh. "First, I'm going to punch my stupid Sifu. Right here. Very, very hard."
