two sides of the coin

Rage--it had welled up within her, an ice cold fire that had surprised her with its intensity. She watched as Shard ran to the body of her murdered lover, watched as the Bone Flower collapsed in the blood to clutch Kiku's head. Tetsumiya, a part of whispered, some part that seemed neither wind or shadow soul, but some piece of her awakened by that flaming cold inside her.

Almost without realizing what she was doing, she ran to the service telephone in the hallway. She marveled at how calmly she waited while the operator connected her to the security department. Her voice was as even as ever, as she informed the men that Kiku-san was dead, that Tetsumiya was her murderer and must be detained. And yet she knew, somehow, that he was already gone.

Shard, as she had feared, was devastated. It was better to leave the girl here, to the security of the Clouds & Rain and what agents of the court would be summoned. From what Zhizhu had seen, Shard was too deeply entrenched in her grief to do what needed to be done now. The rage flared again, as sharp on her heart as the mirror shards that littered the bloody floor. It was time to go, and Zhizhu was impatient to be after Tetsumiya.

The rest of her uji was not too far behind her, despite the greater maneuverability of her motorcycle. The demon within her decried all rationality, urging her to heedless action. But she would not be ruled by her shadow soul, even though she wished to tear out Tetsumiya's heart with her bare hands. She quelled the worst of her demon's urges, channeling the rest as she shifted to her demon form outside Tetsumiya's dojo.

The students she fought were almost nothing to her, as if they'd been nothing but mannequins thrown at her by her true target. When she did see Tetsumiya, she knew it was him. She could see the resemblance to Kiku, in the arch of his brow, the line of his nose. Images flashed through her mind; throwing open the door of the Clouds & Rain fitness room, blood reflected in the shattered, mirrored walls, Kiku's bloodless, lifeless face. The expression on Shard's face, as if all the light in the world had suddenly been extinguished.

The fight was evenly matched. Claw against sword, the two of them flowed through steps in a dance only one would finish. The rest of her uji was, for the moment, forgotten. This man, this thrice-damned dhampyr, would pay for murdering Kiku. He'd killed others, but it was Kiku's death that she could not let go un-avenged. How dare he?! How dare he decide that because his existence was misery, that he was going to extinguish such a light and beauty as Kiku?! Her demon rose up, laughing at her anger and seeking to ride it to the forefront of her consciousness.

Somehow, she managed to quell her demon as she fought. Walls were smashed through, and she barely evaded his blows. He raked at her, catching her in a place unprotected by her demon's carapace. The pain nearly stunned her, and she was slow to recover. However, she threw him against another wall, into the tiled-lined showers. It was almost cinematic, the damage they did to the room around them as they fought. Steam from broken pipes filled the room; Tetsumiya's face shone with sweat and water rolled in large droplets off the shiny black of her body.

And suddenly, it was over. She'd slipped through Tetsumiya's defense, skewering him on her claws. Triumphant, she watched the man die, feeling his last twitches as she pushed his body off her arm. The hate and rage faded. A death for a death. Darkness taken to balance the light he had murdered. She was bruised, hungry from spending her chi to heal during the fight. Once again, she fought down her demon as she bent to take what little chi the dojo-master had left.

The aftermath was brief. Yakuza agents from the court set out to hunt down what remained of Tetsumiya's students. The Thousand Ri Scouts were instructed to return to the Court of the White River. Tetsumiya's body was unceremoniously dumped into the trunk of the car Flaring Grin drove. They reunited with Shard at the court, but Zhizhu was not sure the Bone Flower was even cognizant of her surroundings.

Shard answered the questions of Yamabushi-sama, but offered no words of her own. Even after the uji was dismissed, Shard ignored them. Zhizhu followed her only long enough to assure her that Tetsumiya had suffered. Beyond that, there was nothing the Devil-Tiger could do for her uji-mate. Time would tell if she was so lost in her grief that the uji would be broken once again. Until then, Zhizhu was content to give the Song of Shadows the solitude she obviously wanted.

Zhizhu had never known love so heart-wrenchingly strong. She watched Shard walk towards the Bone Flower gardens, Flaring Grin trailing in her wake. For a moment, it was not regret or pity that she felt towards Shard, but a sharp stab of envy. What was such a bond like? What was it like to love someone so much? To feel that love returned to you? She ignored the condescension of her shadow soul. Weakness was besides the point. She felt she could understand the Laughing Rainbows a little more, if that level of passion was what they sought. And in the same moment, she also understood the Bone Flowers' desire to set such debilitating passion aside.

Was there no place in her existence for beauty and light? She thought of Sweet Swallow's Song, of the music that was so very much a part of her fellow Devil-Tiger. Zhizhu did not know how to pursue the nebulous desires of her wind soul. She only knew that the human part of her was stronger these days. Still, the path she walked was one of a devil on earth. After the fight with Tetsumiya, she knew that she should be more than just an even match against any mortal, even one of the dhampyr. It was time to see Terrible Thunder Talons and improve her ability to channel her demon.

While she trained, the Scouts returned to Anjiro. Flaring Grin was focused on taking over the yakuza family there. Zhizhu could see the importance of controlling them, especially after the Yedo yakuza family had shown up to the fight at the dojo. She did not, however, see what she could do to help his endeavor. If he needed someone killed, or tortured, so be it. Beyond that, he'd have to turn to the others. She was no politician, and her idea of diplomacy was to actually inform her victims that she had a gun to their head before she pulled the trigger.

Still, she would do what she could. There was just so much she needed to do. She wished to take a more active hand in the training of the infant devil. She looked forward to the time when she had a name with which to call him, rather than simply referring to him as the "infant devil." And of course there was Yi. She needed to return to him, to finish his training. She'd been much too sporadic, and she feared that she'd need to backtrack.

She needn't have worried. When she did return to Yi, she had a moment in which she just knew what to do that would push him over the edge. Almost lovingly, she plied her arts and was rewarded by his complete breakdown. He was her creature now, and he would serve her like dog. Her phone rang at one point, but she merely turned it off and tossed it onto her folded coat. Nothing would interrupt this moment of triumph. His screams were more beautiful than any music Sweet Swallow's Song could produce. Who needed love when she had hate as pure as this?

a question of motives

Like a boulder pushed from the top of a great hill, events seemed to be crashing and rolling with increasing severity. First, the murders of the dhampyr--now, a gaki killed. Zhizhu leaned forward to make herself more aerodynamic on the motorcycle, the wind whipping her hair wildly. Shard had asked her to join the rest of the uji at the graveyard where Scarlet Seed had meet his end. The Tiger was not so sure that was where she was actually headed.

Why, she thought, would anyone be killing dhampyrs? The Sohei could be doing it, but would the Sohei bother? Now that Scarlet Seed had been killed, she could more readily imagine the Sohei being behind it. Shard's attachment to Kiku aside, the dhampyr were commonly seen by gaki as tools to be used or set aside. Perhaps the Sohei had been using the dhampyr as well, to get to Scarlet Seed. But why?

Why do you care? the demon laughed.

Because a threat capable of taking out Scarlet Seed is a threat to the entire court.

The demon laughed harder. Good one. Why do you really care?

Zhizhu pondered that question more seriously. I do not wish to see Kiku hurt. Or Shard.

Sentimental fool.

Shard is like her namesake. Fragile. A threat to Kiku has turned her hysterical. Should Kiku meet the same fate as her siblings, it is possible that Shard will come apart. Sentiment has little to do with it.

Liar.

My uji is in a tenuous place. Too many unknowns factor into the balance of this.

You should use Shard's weakness. She is unfit to be in your uji--now is the perfect time to remove her. That infant devil shows much more promise, especially since you are to have a hand in his training. Besides, the Scouts are now not the only uji lacking a fifth member. Play your cards right, and your position can be elevated.

Shard's intelligence is more than a match for your scheming, and to turn against her at this time would reflect poorly upon me. Your plotting will earn me nothing more than a well-deserved sepuku. Shard's flame has been burning steadily brighter. I will not be the one to extinguish that!

She pulled the bike over suddenly, pulling out her cell phone and punching in Flaring Grin's number.

silver screen memories

Zhizhu stood in Flaring Grin's mostly empty apartment; it showed more signs of habitation now. The Devil-Tiger wondered how much of that was because of Joko, even though she had been staying there only briefly. Zhizhu studied the mortal girl; since pledging not to harm to her, Joko had relaxed somewhat. She was listening, rapt, to Kiku's eloquent descriptions of the latest trends for the high end of society. She almost looked as if she hadn't just been told that the hells were real and the world contained more strange things than she'd ever dared dream.

In fact, Zhizhu could picture herself sitting there, entranced and smiling. She had been like that, once. Vibrant, and so alive. She found it difficult to grasp those memories, feeling as if her life before had happened to another person, and she had only watched it on a movie screen.

Why do you wish to dwell on such things? her demon whispered. They are weak spots, leaving you vulnerable. It is good to distance yourself from such petty nonsense. You have much more important things to ponder. Now... if the others show weakness over this girl... perhaps you can exploit that...

But Zhizhu had no wish to listen to her demon's plotting this night. Joko had triggered something in the Devil-Tiger. Not exactly compassion--although Zhizhu knew herself to not be so removed from that emotion as she let on. It was more of an awakening. Yes, her road led to wickedness... but she could not lose sight of that human part of her soul. She must ride her P'o... but she must not forget her Hun. If she lost that... she would be no better than the akuma she reviled.

With a small smile, Zhizhu turned her attention to Kiku. She was not human any longer--but perhaps she could recapture some small part of her Hun before it slipped out of her grasp completely.