Going Home

[Reiraku]

I wrote this some time ago, but it seemed even more relevant after the shut down. My answer to the "Where are they now?" thread.


(Going Home)

Change. People change. Countries change. The Earth itself changes. The only thing that didn't ever change was Nieucheizu. It was a land that seemed to step out of time. It was a small bit of stability in my life that was very much needed right now. It was the main reason I was on a plane back to China.

A year ago, I would have vehemently denied ever going back home like this. Now, well... I'm not so sure. Of course I missed home. After the better part of a decade, who wouldn't? That wasn't the problem though. The problem was the nature of my return. I was going back alone, and I swore to myself that I wouldn't do that.

To hell with pride. Other things take priority.

An hour before the plane landed, I went to the restroom and changed into more appropriate clothing. Sure, people in Nieucheizu were accustomed to the styles of the "outside," but only for outsiders. I could only help but smile at the thought of some of the looks I would get as I finished fastening the last toggle on my shirt.

After a few hours worth of hiking and a quick stop to get something to eat, I was home. Just as it had been seven years before, when I had left, Nieucheizu was still the same. The valley that the village sat in was deep and secluded. The rivers still wound around the outer walls like a protective blanket laid by the gods themselves. The fields were still vast and green with the coming spring season.

I hefted my bag over my shoulder and began to walk down the path leading to the front gates. During this time of day, the gates were always open with two guards posted to allow the easy transport of trade goods to the outside. Right now, the path was clear, and the two young warriors sitting as guards looked as bored as one could be.

They couldn't have been more that fourteen years each. Most likely they were misbehaving in class and got punished with guard duty as a result. I was about 20 feet away from entering when the two realized I was there and snapped to a defensive position.

"Who would try to enter the sacred land of Nieucheizu? Identify yourself immediately!" one barked at me.

Well, that was hardly proper form at all. Perhaps it was time to teach this little whelp some manners. I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and stated rather challengingly, "I'm going in there, and you're not going to stop me."

The girl looked like someone slapped her. The one who remained silent shifted the grip on her spear as though she were expecting an attack at any moment. Smart girl. The more vocal girl, however, just growled and threw herself into the attack. Yup, definitely a discipline case stuck with guard duty. She thrust her spear forward in a sloppy charge. Well, I suppose the lessons must be taught.

I side-stepped lazily and grabbed the spear just behind its head. A quick twist of the wrist and it snapped off like a dried chicken bone. The young woman seemed stunned as I dropped the spear tip to the ground and gave her a bored look. She quickly shifted her grip and tried a backhand swing with what was left of her spear. I merely blocked it with my forearm without moving an inch.

I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was getting desperate. How could this outsider defeat a trained warrior from Nieucheizu? I decided to answer her unasked question. "Don't feel bad for losing. I've had more time to become stronger, faster, and far more skilled. Keep training and someday you may become as strong as I am."

Maybe it was the tone I used, or the expression on my face. Whatever it was, the young woman stood ramrod straight and bowed deeply. I returned it with a modest nod of my head and continued onward past the other guard who stood transfixed.

It felt like I had never left. The afternoon classes were being taught, and although the students were new, the class was the same as it was seven years ago. I recognized a number of faces as I made my way through while taking care not to draw too much attention to myself. It was a habit I had gotten during the past year or so. I'd much rather have gotten to my destination first before causing any sort of commotion. Of course, it was that exact moment a voice yelled out over all the noise of the surrounding activities.

"KOH YONG HA!"

I froze. The voice carried a clear tone of challenge as it called out the name. My name, a name I hadn't heard for years since I earned the alias "Reiraku." My eyes scaled up to the top of the council hall steps to confirm whom I already knew to be the source of the voice. As my eyes met hers, I instinctively swallowed.

It wasn't that she was that fearsome in her details. Her hair, purple like mine but so much longer, hung down to her waist. She was a good six inches taller than me, and easily forty pounds heavier of nearly all muscle. Her form was lean, trimmed, and about as perfectly shaped as one could get without surgery. It was her eyes. Those golden orbs that could look right through you and break you down in seconds, eyes that knew more than you and showed it. They held the look of a woman who could kill easily when the situation required it and not lose a moment of sleep.

The challenge went unspoken save for the name. I couldn't refuse it. She wouldn't let me. It was a test I knew I would face upon coming back, and I knew as well that failure meant death. She started to advance upon me in slow, leisured steps as I tossed my bag to the side and assumed a ready stance. My heart raced, and my breathing hastened ever so slightly as I looked for a hole in her seemingly non-stance. Everything in how she carried herself told me it wouldn't be there.

I'm good. One of the best in the world, actually. It's a claim made with no false ego. I've tested, trained, and honed myself to be that way. But this woman in front of me, she is easily the most dangerous woman in the world.

And then she attacked me.


I wasn't ready for this. Sure, I knew it was coming, but there simply was no way to be ready for what came at me. A fight in Nieucheizu is unlike any other in the world. You must prepare the best you can and pray that your opponent doesn't have more tricks up their sleeve.

Unfortunately for me, my opponent had a few more years gathering those tricks and perfecting them than I did.

There it is, a low jab as fast as lightning. It was a classic maneuvering attack. I was able to parry it, but at the cost of lowering my right arm. When the offending punch didn't retract, I knew I was in trouble. Her hand snapped open and grabbed my wrist like a snake's bite. With a vicious pull, I was jerked off balance. A swift forearm barred across my throat, and the hand at my wrist released to wind up for a palm thrust at my stomach. The result was less than pleasant.

I did my best to roll away after the strike, and with a medium of success. I righted myself in a hurry and resumed my stance. My opponent merely stood in self-satisfaction at her opening assault. I narrowed my eyes and charged forward, a strike aimed at her side just as she had done towards mine.

The disappointment in her eyes was almost audible. She had ducked low and grabbed my offending arm in an attempt to fling me over her shoulder. I wish I could have seen her disappointment change into surprise when it grabbed her wrist with my other hand and vaulted over her. The resulting force pulled her off balance and right where I wanted her.

At this point, she had two options. Either she let go of my wrist, or have her arm wrenched out of the socket. Her fingers released just as my feet hit the ground. I wasted no time in dropping down and kicking out one of her legs from under her. Like clockwork, my fist shot up on its own to connect with the small of her back. I rose up and rammed my shoulder into her spine as hard as I could. Not as a means of damage, but as a way to push her away from me.

She didn't even stumble as she regained her footing. This time, it was my turn to have the expression of self-satisfaction. She smiled grimly at me and clenched both of her fists tight. A deep royal-purple glow started to flow off of them like waves on a beach. I groaned on the inside and brought my hands up. A lighter, more magenta shade of purple flared out from them much like a starburst. Why did I have to antagonize this one?

There was no time wasted in her charge. Even worse than her speed was the fact that she appeared to shift over inches at a time instantly. It might not seem like much, but even a few millimeters can mean the difference between life and death in a fight like this. The punch that she threw at me was clear evidence of that fact.

It appeared to be heading towards the center of my stomach. Of course, that wasn't where it was really headed, but from that point I knew what possible targets existed. I brought my hand down to my solar plexus just in time to catch the attack before it landed. A quick kick of my legs ensured that the force of the blow didn't break my hands. I quickly reset myself and thrust low towards her knees with a blazing palm. It might not have the advantage of misdirection, but it more than made up for that with speed and power.

The margin of success I had with the attack was quickly crushed by a fist driving itself into the back of my shoulder. I bit down and pushed through the pain. My legs burned at the force I used to propel myself into the attack. Two more palm thrusts, just as fast as the first, found their marks in the stomach of my opponent. Another assault was cut short by the knee that planted itself in my midsection, winding me.

My ears rang as two more punches hit me, one on the side of my head and the other straight into my chest. A slight taste, not unlike warmed copper, was present in my mouth as I flew through the air. Hitting the ground didn't hurt as much as one would expect, not when their chest feels like it's on fire. I shakily stood up and coughed out my lung's complaints as I nearly fell again.

Through my blurred vision, I watched my opponent set herself again. This would be it. Every thought, every feeling, and every instinct in that Nieucheizu warrior would be in this next attack, and I was all but helpless to defend myself.

She launched forward again, this time twice as fast as she ever had. My arms barely rose in a vain attempt of defense, but could go no higher than my waist. She was just before me now, both arms wide as they closed in on me. In a last bid of defiance, I tried to throw myself into an attack, but merely pitched forward as I could feel my eyes close.

My head hit her chest with a dull thud, and I felt her arms wrap around me, one around my back and the other a bit higher with her hand cradling the back of my head. The sound of choked sobs was as clear as the feeling of the tears that fell on top of my hair. In a hushed, almost whisper-like tone she said to me, "Oh, Koh. I've missed you so much."

I kept my eyes closed. I didn't need to see the tears I could feel falling from them as I lifted my weak arms to rest around her waist.

"I know. I missed you too, mom."