Sidetracked "Damn it!" SNAP! There went the sword, or half of it at least. The other half was still in Rin's hand, though quite ready for a-crushing from the strength of her grip. The broken steel bounced on the floor and came to a noisy halt, just a few beats short of the door. The brick wall she had tried to strike had a scar, but that was it. "I'll never get anywhere if they keep breaking on me," muttered Rin, examining what was left of her weapon. A sliver of steel, about as long as a pencil, was all that was left; the jagged end looked like it had been snapped in two by a creature much stronger than the average-looking girl called Rin. She growled and threw the rest of her sword away, then smacked the brick wall with her palm. It collapsed. "Hey dad," she called out, "I'm gonna get a new sword. I broke the last one. Sorry." She heard her father scream at her, but frankly, she didn't care. After all, he was a swordsmith—he could always make more. And he did say that he wanted a challenge, so why not create a sturdier weapon? "Damn it to Hell!" CRUNCH! The shower knobs twisted off and broke as she turned them. Rin hadn't meant to use so much power, but it was so hard for her to judge at times. Being gentle was not good enough; she really had to go the distance in order to lead a normal life— "normal" being the overstatement. She grunted and nudged the other faucet just barely with the tip of her toe. It slipped effortlessly into full blast and scorched her with a burning-cold rain of water. She yelled and screamed for the whole ten seconds it took to get herself wet and out. The cold water faucet crumbled into pieces as she turned it off. Wham! Wham! Wham! Rin smacked the once-impervious practice dummies into sawdust as she walked past them, one at a time. She shoved a punching bag out of the way, sending it hurtling towards the wall, and with a sign of exhaustion, fell into a chair and tried to relax. Of course, falling into the chair meant also breaking it. "Damn it," she whined, "what good's super strength when your whole stupid house falls apart on you?!" ......... Rin carefully picked up the new sword her father had made her. Despite his anger over losing five in a week, he had indeed set right back to work, constructing a more durable weapon. A challenge like that kept him busy and, pun intended, sharp, and pushing himself to create the ultimate blade (or at least a close-to-ultimate) ensured him that he would have a purpose, if not a sane mind, for years. Rin swung it and sucked in doubtful air. The dummy would be the first. Slee, chop! The dummy's head flew off cleanly, and bounced along the floor. Things were good so far, but how would it stand against something tougher? Rin picked up a grapefruit, hurled it in the air, and swung vertically as it fell. Swish, plop! Two perfect halves landed on the floor, the juice just now starting to run. "Cool," she admitted. Now came the fun part: Rin took a single brick from the wall she had destroyed and threw it into the air, much like the grapefruit. She swung, and crash! The force of her swing sent the brick to the floor, cleaved in two pieces. She checked her sword and noted that a very, very tiny chip had been made in the steel. Quickly she turned around, slee... wham! Right against the rubble of bricks. The blade wedged through and sliced the floor, but looked to be in bad shape for it. Rin growled and destroyed the sword against a concrete block she kept stored in her training room. "Son of a bitch," she swore. "Dad! Your sword went bust! I'm gonna go outside now and get some food!" She tossed the useless pieces on the floor and left her home before her father's verbal insanity could reach her. ......... One hot afternoon, Rin Takamatsu was just minding her own business, carrying the entire family's groceries in her hands as she went along the sidewalk. There really wasn't anything on her mind, just stuff she wanted to do once she was back home, and possibly ways she could repay her poor parents for all the trouble she caused them (a kid with unnatural superhuman powers can do that). She was walking along and chanced into the usual alley that connected the streets to her home when she was stopped, surrounded, and threatened. "Hand it over," said Doomed Thug One. "Hand what over?" she wondered, sounding bored. He grinned. "Everything." She put her bags down and cracked her knuckles. "Fight you for it," she said, nearly smiling. Doomed Thug One, and his partners, Doomed Thugs Two through Five, all laughed and pulled out guns. Number Three shot first, aiming right at her heart, and hit her dead center. She just staggered as if pushed mildly and dusted herself off. "Hey, careful," she muttered, "I just got this suit cleaned." Number Three stared at her, gawking in horror, and fired off more rounds at her chest. They sent her buckling, but hurt little more than pinches. She sighed and slapped him in the face, sending him flying at least two meters. The others decided it would've been better to run as cowards rather than die as thugs. "Fools," she muttered, but Rin really owed it all to the armor she wore so casually. She shucked it off and took a glance at it. It was dented in five places, but otherwise fine. "Man," she remarked, "dad's gonna be pissed about this." She put it back on, covered it up with her "holey" jacket, and jogged the rest of the way to her place. "Dad," she called, "I'm home!" He came in polishing a large china dish, and frowned. The holes in her jacket had somehow increased since an hour ago. "Again, Rin? How many times do I have to tell you?" And together they said in one voice, "‘Don't go through the alley, you'll only get mugged. I don't care if it is a...'" "Shortcut," he finished, muttering. He snorted, feeling tempted to smash the plate over his daughter's head, even though he knew it would do no good. Superhuman strength or not, there was just no way of cracking that stubborn skull of hers. "Well," he grumbled, "did you at least remember the groceries?" Rin felt a stab of guilt and forgetfulness pierce her impenetrable shell. The groceries! She had left them in the... "Aw, crap." ......... It had been that way for six years with Rin. What an odd life: you wake up one morning after living twelve years as a peaceful girl, and all of a sudden you can bench 200 pounds and run as fast as a car. It certainly made every day hard for her: the delicacies of youth now being crippled by overwhelming force, the frustration of having to relearn every aspect of life, the way everything seemed so fragile—not to mention being banned from tournaments and competitions because of the unfair advantage! She naturally grew up gruff, angry, and confused, and felt distanced from all humanity, even her family. Her parents had tried to do their best and hammered into their daughter's head that she was meant for special things, that she had been set aside to do something extraordinary, and that her purpose in life was to help others, to make life easier, and to promote safety, peace, and harmony for all. "Harmony schmarmony!" she would scream, "I can break cars in two and you're telling me I'm supposed to promote world peace?! Whaddya want me to do, start wearing tights and run around with a goofy catch-phrase?!" She'd usually storm away afterwards, but couldn't hide since it was so easy to find her (mom knew to look for the broken doors and holes in the wall). It wasn't really as if her power was beyond control; it just took a lot of patience and effort. She had to try hard not to exert unnatural force when doing anything, which made everyday life a chore. Of course, things like mowing the lawn, moving furniture, and miscellaneous works of labor were a breeze, and Rin soon found out that her "special gifts" attracted all kinds of attention, good and bad. She ultimately decided to gravitate towards the good kind, since she reasoned she had caused enough trouble already just going through her teenage years. It felt pretty good to get paid for doing things she was forbidden to do at home, and using her power was encouraged, not asked politely to go into hiding. Little by little she paid her parents back for past destruction, and little by little she racked up more debts caused by accidents and her illicit temper. Life was going smooth and normal, but Rin wasn't the type to have a smooth and normal life. On the contrary, if things had kept on going the way they were, her life would stagnate and become so pointless that she would have an outburst and go insane. In truth, the only reason she stayed home... "Dad! I broke another sword! I'm gonna take a nap!" ...Was to find an accommodating weapon. And so, the story resumes... ......... Rin Takamatsu was not asked to dress up very often, but when her mother called her out and requested that she bring her very finest into the attic, she complied with a measure of curiosity. Wearing a pink ceremonial kimono, her hair tied with her best ribbon and her feet bare, she stepped up into the highest level of the house and saw her father, dressed in his favorite white kimono, a long katana sheathed by his side. "Sit," he told her. Rin crossed her legs and perched on the floor. His wife sat beside him, dressed in a light-blue, and picked the blade up. She handed it to her husband in a very ceremonial act, and he held it aloft before his daughter. "Rin Takamatsu, O my daughter and heir of my flesh, you have driven me to many things," he began solemnly: "Anger, fear, confusion and doubt, but also love, and jealousy, and the hard work that has produced this!" With a small jerk, he uncovered a section of the steel, branded with his personal signature, Family Takamatsu. His wife held half the sheath as he slowly uncovered more of it, presenting it with dignity and quiet flair. "This sword," he proclaimed, staring at its long slender magnificence as it came further out from its quiet hiding place, "is my strongest yet, the accumulation of many years of hard work, study, failure, and success. In part, O my daughter, I have you to thank for this, for now I know by a fact that this blade...is completely...incapable...of being broken!" With a final slee of the steel, the blade became utterly naked, and Rin examined it with a kind of wonder. Truly, even from a visual perspective, it had a stronger look to it, as if bricks and concrete could no longer affect it. But there was only one way to find out. Rin stared at the brick wall, and the brick wall, for its part, stood there quietly and accepted its fate with the dignity that best befitted brick walls. She took the sword in her hand, swung, and felt a jolt of happiness overtake her nerves and curl her mouth into a smile. The brick wall had a fine chunk of it completely severed, with the other piece neatly on the floor. She touched the edge of the wall that had been cut by the sword and noted how oddly smooth it felt. She then looked at the sword and noted, with a full smile, how perfectly intact it was—and perhaps ready for more. Rin Takamatsu went outside and cut down a tree. A redwood tree. She said thanks to her father, paid him everything she had except for a few spare units to live off of, and left her house in search of adventure. She had become the Ronin. ............ Rin had no real purpose in her life—save people from danger and evil, she guessed—but even as she wandered aimlessly throughout the world, she became rather sidetracked one ordinary day, four months into her journey. The distraction came up quickly and asked very suddenly to go along with her, and since she felt the need for company and was such a helpful person, she agreed and gained a traveling companion. Well, two companions, really, but she didn't count the panda. As always, she had been minding her own business that day. Fittingly, she had just come from buying a very impressive and inexpensive sushi dish, and couldn't wait to find a peaceful arbor or lake to dine next to. The open country was before her as she walked, but the peace of the day was interrupted by the sound of fighting. Feeling a little itchy for battle, Rin squeezed her sword and ran towards the source of the noise, but found that her services were quite unnecessary. She just needed to avoid getting burnt. The girl was small, lightweight, and had black hair tied into pigtails, and she was frankly kicking their sorry tails everywhere. The girl wouldn't have lasted in a bare-handed combat, but when anyone is up against a pyrokinetic, even if the odds are nine to one, their opponent doesn't need a big body. A ring of fire surrounded the girl; little balls of flame were raining down on all nine of the men, and for a moment, Rin didn't know who to hit first. After all, who was pestering who? "Uh, hey!" she shouted, but she had to scream thrice to be heard. "Hey! HEY!!!" The girl stopped, and instantly the fires died down as she turned around and gave Rin a cute, inquisitive look. "Yes?" "Were you...bullying those men by any chance?" "No," she said evenly, "they were after me." Rin's eyes bulged. Oh. That made sense. "And so...you defended yourself. From them. All nine of them." "Yes, of course." One of the survivors started to scamper, but the girl wheeled around and sent a fireball hurling towards his back. It struck him square in the spine and sent him flying. He stayed down and didn't bother to budge again; the girl resumed looking at Rin. "I guess you saw everything I did, huh? If you're going to tell anyone about me, I'm afraid I'll have to burn you too." "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's not do anything hasty here! I just got here; I don't know what the hell's going on! Who are you?! How did you do that? I thought I was the only one who...had...powers..." Rin trailed off as something else caught her eye. In the darkness of the smoke, she couldn't make it out as first, but as it came scampering closer, she made a face. It jumped up the girl's legs, climbed into her arms, and bawled at her. She laughed. "What...the hell is that?" The girl gave her a cute pout. "Haven't you ever seen a panda before? Her name is Captain Cuddles, and she's my partner. I saved her and adopted her and everything, so there. Say hello, Captain Cuddles!" The panda merely yawned. Rin frowned. "Uh, hi. You do realize she's wearing a mask and cape." "Yeah. I gave those to her." The girl smiled and tickled the panda's chin, and it wiggled its head around, teasing her finger. Rin felt it was high time for introductions, as well as explanations. If there were other people like her—other people with powers, that is—then maybe the world wasn't so lonely and distant as she thought. Feeling different and excluded from everyone wouldn't be so bad if there was someone else to share in all that, even if she did carry around a pet. "I better introduce myself," she said, hiding her sword behind her back. "I'm Rin the Ronin. I walk around helping people, so I thought..." "Oh yeah, uh, sorry. I'm Hsu Kai Lin, but most everyone calls me Kailin." "Kailin? Nice to meet you. So, uh, if you don't mind, could you tell me how you got those powers? I mean, up till' now, I thought I was the only one who had them." "You have powers like mine?" She looked at Rin in a new light, apparently also realizing that her differences really were not that different, that others were going through the same problems, and that she had someone to identify with, even if it was a stranger she had just met. Rin nodded and demonstrated her strength on a tree, first by punching a hole into its bark, then by cutting it down, and finally by breaking off some branches with her bare hands. Kailin's mouth hung open the whole time. "That," she gasped when Rin completed her show, "was so...cool!" "Yeah? Well, your power's pretty hot, too." Kailin grinned and laughed out loud; her panda "partner" made a little bark and tried squirming out of her arms. She let it go, and stood smiling at Rin and her handiwork. "You know, between the two of us, we could do some damage, at least to trees." "First tell me how you got your power." "What about yours?" "I dunno," she said, kicking one of the broken branches. It sailed into the sky and landed in a forest, of all places. "I guess I was born with it. I ‘came of age', so to speak, when I was just a kid, around twelve. Course', I wasn't nearly as strong or fast back then, so I guess you could say my power grew with me." Kailin nodded, and found a seat on the floor, where the panda crawled up and cuddled in her lap. Rin sat next to her, getting a howl of disapproval from the animal, and jerked away to sit elsewhere. "Jeez, what's with her?" "I have no idea. BaoBao's probably just afraid of strangers. There there, now, it's okay." She scratched its head and got a loving sigh. Rin tilted her head. "BaoBao? Wasn't her name Captain Cuddles a few seconds ago?" "It's her alter ego name," explained Kailin. "There's BaoBao and there's Captain Cuddles. I call myself Inferno when I don't want to be recognized." "...Oh." Whatever. "So anyway, you were saying..." "Right. Well, like you, I was born with my powers, and I managed to control them after a few years of...disasters. That's basically it, but if you want the whole story, it'll take a little longer." "Mph, by all means. Want some of my sushi in the meantime?" Rin pulled out the dish and offered it to Kailin, who stared at it hungrily. They split the meal, with BaoBao picking apart the bamboo decorations greedily. Kailin thanked her "new friend" heartily as she began, her mouth full of rice, seaweed, ginger, and tuna. ---------- The day is saved, but for how long? Tune in next time when Kailin, the human inferno, tells a story of woe and sadness to Rin. The two girls decide to journey together, all in the next chapter, "Ronin". So stay tuned!
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