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deannawolFinally :)
Its slightly mushy, but its there!
Soft rain gently falling on her face. A warm shower tenderly caressing her. A soft finger brushing an errant strand of hair from her face. A warm face looking down at her as she opened her eyes. Soft brown eyes tinted with concern, warmth and at least friendship looked down at her. A warm haze wrapped around her consciousness left her clueless to what had happened, what she had done, and why the eyes looking down at her were filled with concern.
Lex slowly opened her eyes, finding herself looking into a familiar face. The brown eyes and blond hair brought her back to a time that she had forgotten, a time when life wasn't as rosy. She wondered how she had come to be looking into those eyes again. No reason came immediately to mind. She was being cradled under a spray of hot water, half propped against his knee. She tried to move, but sudden pain shot thru her body. With that hot flash of pain everything came back to her, the death, the horrific murders that had been committed by her hands. Tears started rolling down her cheeks and she was pulled closer to the comfort offered by this face from her past.
Brian Wu, originally Brian Hanran, had been surprised to see Alexa turn up on the doorstep in the middle of the night. He had been even more surprised to see her faint towards him as soon as he opened the door. As he dropped his katana to catch her, he noticed an unusual feeling to the leather of her armor jacket. He picked her up and walked into the main room, kicking the door shut again behind him. He was about to place her on the couch when he realized what the strange texture was. It was dried blood, and she seemed to be caked in it. He carried her instead to the bathroom. Awkwardly holding her, he stripped off her leather jacket and turned on the shower, not too warm but not cold either. He lifted her and gently held her, cradling her in one arm and using his free hand to wash the blood off of her face and try to get some of the caked blood out of her hair. He wondered what had happened, why she had returned? It must have been bad if she came back again. He knew that she thought of this place as a sanctuary. He sighed, brushing a hair from her face. I'm sure she will tell me when she is ready, he thought. He watched her face, his eyes never leaving her features, until her eyes started to flicker open. She looked at him, a little lost. Horror spread across her features. Brian misunderstood the expression for a second thinking it was at seeing him, but when she buried her face in his chest, crying, that he understood just how badly Alexa needed sanctuary.
Lex finally got control of herself again and with an accepting look from Brian, he helped her out of the shower. He put her on a small bench beside the shower and excused himself for a second. When he returned, he had several towels with him. He had also changed into a pair of loose fitting pants, replacing the towel that Lex had seen when he answered the door to her. He gathered Lex up in the biggest towel he had, drying her, armor and all. The towel, previously white, was now stained red as he wiped down her armor. Lex could not bear to look at the towel, a brutal reminder to what she had done that day. The cold, wet leather pressed against her skin and she shivered.
Brian handed Lex a box, urging her to change into it and out of the wet leathers. She nodded dumbly. Unclicking the catches of her vest top, she attempts to slide it off, but the wet leather catches, rubbing along her skin the whole way down her arms. It drops to the floor with a heavy, sodden thump. She looks at Brian, finding him with his back to her. She smiled inwardly. He never changed, she thought. She slid down her armor trousers, finding them clingy like a used wetsuit. She opened the box.
Inside was a silk Yakuta, an informal kimono for everyday use. It was red with a black sash. On the back, a design of a dragon hiding among chrysanthemums. Lex could not help but smile at the image. How apt, the dragon of Arasaka was hiding between the bushes. Lex wondered how long it would be until they stopped hiding and took a bite. Brushing thoughts like that aside, she put on the dragon kimono.
“It’s okay now, I’m decent!” Lex told Brian.
Brian smiled, “I don’t think you were ever decent, Alexa.”
“You may be right on that note,” Lex answered, looking down.
“Put my foot in it again, didn’t I?” Brian looked at Lex sheepishly.
Brian brought out a first aid box and patched up Lex’ hand, wrapping it in white bandages after sterilizing it. The rest could heal on its own, but the hand would be open to infection.
He wandered into another room, calling back to Lex that he was making tea and that she should make herself comfortable. She followed him into the living room and sat on the couch, curling her feel under her on the couch. After a few minutes, Brian reemerged carrying to large cups of tea. He settled beside her on the couch, handing her the tea. Lex wrapped her hands around the cup, absorbing the warmth of the cup thru her hands.
“I suppose you’re wondering why I showed up today…” Lex started.
“Only if you want to tell me.”
“I lost control today, I killed people.” Lex stared into the cup, afraid to make eye contact.
Brian said nothing, waiting for Lex to tell him more. She went thru the events of the day and more. She started with Arasaka’s campaign against them, Vogue usurping her position, feeling useless, walking off, intimidating the piranha’s, the murders… Lex laid out everything that was happening in her life, all her fears, all her worries, everything.
By the time she finished, her tea, untouched, had long since gone cold. Brian had not said a word thru the whole outburst. He still stayed quiet. She looked over at him. He was simply watching her. Lex was starting to get very nervous. For what seemed the longest time, Brian said nothing. Finally, he leaned forward.
“The piranha’s … You really didn’t do anything to them, just added a bit of encouragement to make them get out of your way, Right?”
“I suppose so …” Lex began.
Brian cut her off. “The Blood and Tears members, that was slightly different. You were defending your honor and preserving your family. Lexa, I don’t have magic words to tell you to make you feel better, but you yourself know that one day you will.”
He leaned forward, towards her, taking her hands in his.
“With the Arasaka thing, it sounds like you have come to a decision, now you just have to wait, as the Mongoose waits for the snake’s strike before killing it. Yuro, from what you have told me is clouded with vengeance and as is always the case, it will be his undoing. But for now, I would suggest that you stay silent and be the best you can be, get back into life and stop dwelling on what you do not know yet. That is your only way forward.”
Looking into her eyes, he added, “And remember, if you need me, I am here for you.”
Before she knew it, their lips had met, their hands still joined between them. A kiss, a touch, a whimper, and time fell away to leave two completely different people in a completely different time, untouched by anything this harsh world had to throw at them. Passion ignited as old habits took over, guiding their hands and mouths to the places long ago discovered but never forgotten. Eventually exhaustion took them over and a feeling of peace descended on the lovers.
***
Lex awoke the next morning alone in a large bed. She was lost for a second, as anyone is who does not awake to their own familiar surroundings. She looked around and recognized Brian’s bedroom. He must have carried her in here after she fell asleep last night. She looked around again. Not a sign of him. She found one of his shirts and put it on. It swam on her, and that was saying something. She wandered out of the room and into the living room. She walked around checking each room. Eventually she found him training in his dojo.
His dojo was his business. He was a Kung-Fu teacher by trade. He had been Lex’ sensai many years before, just after she had been caught trying to steal his katana. Instead of reporting her to the police he made her sit down and talk about it. He gave her a second chance, got her out of the gutter and when she felt ready, he gave her enough money to keep her going for a while, until she got her feet under her. She had only been back once before, and that was to give Brian a present on his birthday the same year. It had been a small jade dragon, all she could afford at the time. Things got so mixed up last year, that she didn’t want to put him in danger when the Shaitan thing was happening. She still loved him, but she didn’t want him mixed up in what was happening.
She watched his movements as he effortlessly went thru a kata again and again. His eyes were closed, focusing totally on the movements. Lex was surprised when, without pausing, he told her that there was a pair of pants and a t-shirt on the bench for her if she wanted. She slipped them on and waited on the edge of the mat until he invited her. She watched as he went thru the movements with her. Each of the movements had meaning. Brian worked thru them with her until she was able to remember them for herself.
Closing her eyes and taking her stance, she started.
U, being. Lex raised her arm to block an imaginary opponent.
Mu, non being. Just as quickly the arm was reversed to block an imaginary kick.
Suigetsu, moonlight on water. A quick strike to the center.
Jo, inner serenity. Bringing the hand up to strike under the chin.
Shin, master of the mind. Bringing the hand back down to block again.
Sen, thought proceeds action. Her hand coming up again, taking a step forward.
Shimyoken, where the sword tip settles. Reversing and striking the opponent behind her.
Kara, the void. Another strike to the center.
Zero, where the way has no power. Reversing again and returning to stance.
Lex went thru the kata so many times that she lost count. The movements floated over her, the words settling in her mind. She retreated within, focusing on the words. Time lost all meaning as she stood there, completely focused.
She jumped when Brian touched her arm. She had been so deep into the meditation that the kata provided that she had lost track of everything. Brian had prepared her some food. They sat, talking about the old times and how good they were. Lex was putting off the inevitable and Brian knew it, but neither would say it. Laughter fell to silence as parting entered their minds.
Brian got up suddenly, telling Lex to stay for a second. He came back with the kimono that Lex wore last night, so that she could change into something vaguely civilized before leaving. In his hands, he had another box. He presented it to her.
“You forgot this when you left last time, Lexa.”
Lex opened the box and took out the contents. It was a snow white oriental style dress, slit up both sides to the middle of the thigh. She remembered it now. It was one of those modern style Japanese outfits that tied to the side of the neck with golden clasps. Golden beading ran across the seams.
“You can wear this to your press conference if you go.”
“But white is the color of mourning …”
“I know, mourn Tomobiki Yuro’s career. It was dead the day he crossed you and yours, Lexa.”
Lex smiled, thinking that it would be fitting attire seeing as she did plan to see him in ruins, one way or another.
“Now you better leave, Lexa, your pixie friend will be wondering what happened to you.”
“You’re right, but I have a feeling that she is not going to be home…”
Unwhispered declarations of love and denial passed between their eyes as Lex picked up her clothes, said goodbye and left.
***
A few minutes later, she was speeding home in a combat cab, dressed in a kimono, her armor in a bag at her feet and a strange kata going around her mind, ‘What am I going to tell the pix?!’
Its slightly mushy, but its there!
Soft rain gently falling on her face. A warm shower tenderly caressing her. A soft finger brushing an errant strand of hair from her face. A warm face looking down at her as she opened her eyes. Soft brown eyes tinted with concern, warmth and at least friendship looked down at her. A warm haze wrapped around her consciousness left her clueless to what had happened, what she had done, and why the eyes looking down at her were filled with concern.
Lex slowly opened her eyes, finding herself looking into a familiar face. The brown eyes and blond hair brought her back to a time that she had forgotten, a time when life wasn't as rosy. She wondered how she had come to be looking into those eyes again. No reason came immediately to mind. She was being cradled under a spray of hot water, half propped against his knee. She tried to move, but sudden pain shot thru her body. With that hot flash of pain everything came back to her, the death, the horrific murders that had been committed by her hands. Tears started rolling down her cheeks and she was pulled closer to the comfort offered by this face from her past.
Brian Wu, originally Brian Hanran, had been surprised to see Alexa turn up on the doorstep in the middle of the night. He had been even more surprised to see her faint towards him as soon as he opened the door. As he dropped his katana to catch her, he noticed an unusual feeling to the leather of her armor jacket. He picked her up and walked into the main room, kicking the door shut again behind him. He was about to place her on the couch when he realized what the strange texture was. It was dried blood, and she seemed to be caked in it. He carried her instead to the bathroom. Awkwardly holding her, he stripped off her leather jacket and turned on the shower, not too warm but not cold either. He lifted her and gently held her, cradling her in one arm and using his free hand to wash the blood off of her face and try to get some of the caked blood out of her hair. He wondered what had happened, why she had returned? It must have been bad if she came back again. He knew that she thought of this place as a sanctuary. He sighed, brushing a hair from her face. I'm sure she will tell me when she is ready, he thought. He watched her face, his eyes never leaving her features, until her eyes started to flicker open. She looked at him, a little lost. Horror spread across her features. Brian misunderstood the expression for a second thinking it was at seeing him, but when she buried her face in his chest, crying, that he understood just how badly Alexa needed sanctuary.
Lex finally got control of herself again and with an accepting look from Brian, he helped her out of the shower. He put her on a small bench beside the shower and excused himself for a second. When he returned, he had several towels with him. He had also changed into a pair of loose fitting pants, replacing the towel that Lex had seen when he answered the door to her. He gathered Lex up in the biggest towel he had, drying her, armor and all. The towel, previously white, was now stained red as he wiped down her armor. Lex could not bear to look at the towel, a brutal reminder to what she had done that day. The cold, wet leather pressed against her skin and she shivered.
Brian handed Lex a box, urging her to change into it and out of the wet leathers. She nodded dumbly. Unclicking the catches of her vest top, she attempts to slide it off, but the wet leather catches, rubbing along her skin the whole way down her arms. It drops to the floor with a heavy, sodden thump. She looks at Brian, finding him with his back to her. She smiled inwardly. He never changed, she thought. She slid down her armor trousers, finding them clingy like a used wetsuit. She opened the box.
Inside was a silk Yakuta, an informal kimono for everyday use. It was red with a black sash. On the back, a design of a dragon hiding among chrysanthemums. Lex could not help but smile at the image. How apt, the dragon of Arasaka was hiding between the bushes. Lex wondered how long it would be until they stopped hiding and took a bite. Brushing thoughts like that aside, she put on the dragon kimono.
“It’s okay now, I’m decent!” Lex told Brian.
Brian smiled, “I don’t think you were ever decent, Alexa.”
“You may be right on that note,” Lex answered, looking down.
“Put my foot in it again, didn’t I?” Brian looked at Lex sheepishly.
Brian brought out a first aid box and patched up Lex’ hand, wrapping it in white bandages after sterilizing it. The rest could heal on its own, but the hand would be open to infection.
He wandered into another room, calling back to Lex that he was making tea and that she should make herself comfortable. She followed him into the living room and sat on the couch, curling her feel under her on the couch. After a few minutes, Brian reemerged carrying to large cups of tea. He settled beside her on the couch, handing her the tea. Lex wrapped her hands around the cup, absorbing the warmth of the cup thru her hands.
“I suppose you’re wondering why I showed up today…” Lex started.
“Only if you want to tell me.”
“I lost control today, I killed people.” Lex stared into the cup, afraid to make eye contact.
Brian said nothing, waiting for Lex to tell him more. She went thru the events of the day and more. She started with Arasaka’s campaign against them, Vogue usurping her position, feeling useless, walking off, intimidating the piranha’s, the murders… Lex laid out everything that was happening in her life, all her fears, all her worries, everything.
By the time she finished, her tea, untouched, had long since gone cold. Brian had not said a word thru the whole outburst. He still stayed quiet. She looked over at him. He was simply watching her. Lex was starting to get very nervous. For what seemed the longest time, Brian said nothing. Finally, he leaned forward.
“The piranha’s … You really didn’t do anything to them, just added a bit of encouragement to make them get out of your way, Right?”
“I suppose so …” Lex began.
Brian cut her off. “The Blood and Tears members, that was slightly different. You were defending your honor and preserving your family. Lexa, I don’t have magic words to tell you to make you feel better, but you yourself know that one day you will.”
He leaned forward, towards her, taking her hands in his.
“With the Arasaka thing, it sounds like you have come to a decision, now you just have to wait, as the Mongoose waits for the snake’s strike before killing it. Yuro, from what you have told me is clouded with vengeance and as is always the case, it will be his undoing. But for now, I would suggest that you stay silent and be the best you can be, get back into life and stop dwelling on what you do not know yet. That is your only way forward.”
Looking into her eyes, he added, “And remember, if you need me, I am here for you.”
Before she knew it, their lips had met, their hands still joined between them. A kiss, a touch, a whimper, and time fell away to leave two completely different people in a completely different time, untouched by anything this harsh world had to throw at them. Passion ignited as old habits took over, guiding their hands and mouths to the places long ago discovered but never forgotten. Eventually exhaustion took them over and a feeling of peace descended on the lovers.
***
Lex awoke the next morning alone in a large bed. She was lost for a second, as anyone is who does not awake to their own familiar surroundings. She looked around and recognized Brian’s bedroom. He must have carried her in here after she fell asleep last night. She looked around again. Not a sign of him. She found one of his shirts and put it on. It swam on her, and that was saying something. She wandered out of the room and into the living room. She walked around checking each room. Eventually she found him training in his dojo.
His dojo was his business. He was a Kung-Fu teacher by trade. He had been Lex’ sensai many years before, just after she had been caught trying to steal his katana. Instead of reporting her to the police he made her sit down and talk about it. He gave her a second chance, got her out of the gutter and when she felt ready, he gave her enough money to keep her going for a while, until she got her feet under her. She had only been back once before, and that was to give Brian a present on his birthday the same year. It had been a small jade dragon, all she could afford at the time. Things got so mixed up last year, that she didn’t want to put him in danger when the Shaitan thing was happening. She still loved him, but she didn’t want him mixed up in what was happening.
She watched his movements as he effortlessly went thru a kata again and again. His eyes were closed, focusing totally on the movements. Lex was surprised when, without pausing, he told her that there was a pair of pants and a t-shirt on the bench for her if she wanted. She slipped them on and waited on the edge of the mat until he invited her. She watched as he went thru the movements with her. Each of the movements had meaning. Brian worked thru them with her until she was able to remember them for herself.
Closing her eyes and taking her stance, she started.
U, being. Lex raised her arm to block an imaginary opponent.
Mu, non being. Just as quickly the arm was reversed to block an imaginary kick.
Suigetsu, moonlight on water. A quick strike to the center.
Jo, inner serenity. Bringing the hand up to strike under the chin.
Shin, master of the mind. Bringing the hand back down to block again.
Sen, thought proceeds action. Her hand coming up again, taking a step forward.
Shimyoken, where the sword tip settles. Reversing and striking the opponent behind her.
Kara, the void. Another strike to the center.
Zero, where the way has no power. Reversing again and returning to stance.
Lex went thru the kata so many times that she lost count. The movements floated over her, the words settling in her mind. She retreated within, focusing on the words. Time lost all meaning as she stood there, completely focused.
She jumped when Brian touched her arm. She had been so deep into the meditation that the kata provided that she had lost track of everything. Brian had prepared her some food. They sat, talking about the old times and how good they were. Lex was putting off the inevitable and Brian knew it, but neither would say it. Laughter fell to silence as parting entered their minds.
Brian got up suddenly, telling Lex to stay for a second. He came back with the kimono that Lex wore last night, so that she could change into something vaguely civilized before leaving. In his hands, he had another box. He presented it to her.
“You forgot this when you left last time, Lexa.”
Lex opened the box and took out the contents. It was a snow white oriental style dress, slit up both sides to the middle of the thigh. She remembered it now. It was one of those modern style Japanese outfits that tied to the side of the neck with golden clasps. Golden beading ran across the seams.
“You can wear this to your press conference if you go.”
“But white is the color of mourning …”
“I know, mourn Tomobiki Yuro’s career. It was dead the day he crossed you and yours, Lexa.”
Lex smiled, thinking that it would be fitting attire seeing as she did plan to see him in ruins, one way or another.
“Now you better leave, Lexa, your pixie friend will be wondering what happened to you.”
“You’re right, but I have a feeling that she is not going to be home…”
Unwhispered declarations of love and denial passed between their eyes as Lex picked up her clothes, said goodbye and left.
***
A few minutes later, she was speeding home in a combat cab, dressed in a kimono, her armor in a bag at her feet and a strange kata going around her mind, ‘What am I going to tell the pix?!’
BRILLIANT!
Date: 2004-03-30 03:31 am (UTC)And how does Lex know that the Pix isn't home?!
(I will try to write a more coherant commment later - I just think that this is too bloody brilliant to nitpick at at the moment.)
Re: BRILLIANT!
Date: 2004-03-30 03:35 am (UTC)Re: BRILLIANT!
Date: 2004-03-30 04:39 am (UTC)Oh well, points I liked (slightly more than the jaw dropping awe that the whole piece inspired)
- the shower (such a gentleman)
- the "put my foot in it" comment.
- the kata
- the white asian dress.
I'm sorta sorry that it's over tho....although imense kudos for getting it finished before the game. @_@ I don't know how you did it.
Re: BRILLIANT!
Date: 2004-03-30 05:04 am (UTC)But seriously, it needed something tender after all the horrible violence, otherwise she would stay fucked up! But ain't he a sweetie?! *grin*
Ya never know ... seeing as Lex is invading my consciousness, there will probably be more :)
But you have to keep going with the Aris stuff :) Bloody brilliant :)
Dammit! Now I have another idea for a story ... pooh!
More
Date: 2004-03-30 04:58 pm (UTC)hmmmm it's almost worth publishing :)
oh and write the other story........i need to start writing again, i really do.
Re: More
Date: 2004-03-30 11:50 pm (UTC)