Ronin "This whole thing started when I was born," said Kailin, kicking the dirt on the ground. "I guess like you, I was born with my power. The proper term is pyro-something, pyro-kinna, I don't know." "Pyrokinetic," offered Rin. "Right, pyrokinetic. I wasn't exactly in control of my power, I never was. I used to set fire to everything, even myself. It just flared up, excuse the pun, so often that I thought I was cursed." "I can imagine that," murmured Rin. Kailin cast her face down, tapping her feet on the ground. "Now, of course, as you've seen, I have better control. I can make it do almost anything, and it usually appears on command. Of course, I'm still not that good, and the fire is always going to be the master until I learn how to extinguish it. All I can do now is make the flames go lower and smaller, and stamp it out with something. Or let my target worry about it." She giggled, aiming a big cute smile at Rin's direction. Rin smiled placidly and asked her to continue. "Obviously, that's not the end of my story. You know those guys who were after me? They were part of a military group that...uh...I guess you could say they wanted to test me out and see how they could get my power." "Yeah, that's greed for ya," muttered Rin, herself scratching in the dirt as the last of the sushi was finished. "But your parents didn't just let you go, did they? I mean, they would've fought back or something, right?" "Mm, they did," said Kailin softly, her voice embraced by sadness. "They were killed right in front of me, and I couldn't even use my powers to save myself." Rin gave Kailin a sad, somewhat understanding look and placed her hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. You don't have to say anything else." Kailin looked up and gave the older woman a little smile. "Well, I did escape, and I rescued BaoBao in the process. They were doing all kinds of terrible things to her, and I just couldn't leave that place without her, so we escaped together and fought them off. I've been running for awhile now, but this is the first time they've actually stopped me. Good thing I was able to ward them off." "...Yeah. But nine against one—you must've gotten your power under control in a hurry." "I had help," she admitted shyly. Kailin quickly pulled out a sling that had been on her back and dug through it. She fished out an apple and held it to Rin. "Split one?" "Sure. Oh, is this another excuse to see me cut things?" Both girls grinned, and without needing any more hints, Rin stood up and cleaved the apple neatly in half as she threw it in the air. She caught both pieces and handed one to Kailin. When she ate it, she relaxed and found that the taste was perfect for after sushi. "Yeah, I'm the chopper and masher, and you're the roaster. So what kinda help did you have?" "I studied under a monk who specialized in dealing with fire," she explained. "After my parents were killed and I escaped, I was aimless, and wandered everywhere. I kept setting things on fire by accident, and I could never stay anywhere for long without being noticed. Then my master, a man named Xiao, discovered me by accident—meaning I sorta set something of his on fire while he was in town. He wasn't mad or anything—actually, he looked kinda happy. He took me in and taught me how to control my powers, to an extent at least. I've been seeing him for a year, and he says I'm just beginning." "Huh, some beginning. You kicked ass and looked bored doing it. But I know how that is. So yours is a story of revenge and tragedy, eh? It seems my path might've brought me here for a reason, since I really don't know where I'm going. I've been wandering around for months and the longest I've ever stayed in one place was this shack a few miles back, for a week. That was Hell." "What do you mean, your path might've brought you here?" Rin devoured half of her apple, tossed the seeds away, and wiped her dripping mouth with her sleeve. She stood and took one more bite before throwing the core in some tall grass. "I don't have a purpose; I guess I'm just going around saving people. And here I met somebody who didn't need saving, but it looks like I might have work yet! I'm sorry, I shouldn't assume, but do you, like, need my help or something?" "You mean you'll help me?!" Kailin bolted upright, flinging poor BaoBao and her sling to the dirt as she squealed. "Oh, thankyou thankyou thankyou! I've been looking for some friends and I was afraid my powers would scare everyone away! I'm so glad," (she exclaimed, hugging Rin suddenly,) "that I'm not the only one like this! So you'll really help me, huh?" "Uh, I guess I could." "Thank you!" Kailin gave poor Rin a big kiss on the cheek; she was shoved away as lightly as Rin could manage. "Hey-hey, okay okay! No PDA, please; you're not my type." Kailin giggled, even though she had been tossed to the ground. "Hee-hee, ya don't like girls, huh?" "I dunno. If you're finished, we should leave." Blink, blink. "Now?" Rin shrugged. "If you want revenge, I'm not waiting for winter. C'mon, and leave that panda behind." "But Captain Cuddles is my partner! She and I go everywhere together!" Rin snorted and gave the poor younger girl a rather harsh glare. "Lose the bear!" Kailin pouted, whimpered, and sniveled sadly. BaoBao squeaked. Rin rolled her eyes. Two hours later, with Hsu Kai Lin riding piggyback and BaoBao in the sling, Rin just had to wonder how far her kindness could go before it ran out. "You okay back there?" she grumbled for the third time. Kailin had her legs squeezed around Rin's waist and her arms draped over her chest, precariously close to her twin feminine treasures. A girl who could lift a small car wouldn't feel the weight of the two smallish creatures on her back, but the humiliation of having to hoist them at all was a burden enough. Kailin slapped Rin's shoulders playfully, and kicked her hips as if she were a horse. "It's so bumpy! And Captain Cuddles is hungry." "So feed her a bug. You can walk, you know!" "Oh but...you go a lot faster than I do." Rin clenched her teeth, wishing that she had not been cursed with such fabulous strength (and not for the first time either). "I'd go a lot faster if I had my bike," she grumbled. Kailin didn't hear her; she was starting to sing, and BaoBao decided that it was going to be a duet. Rin never did like music. ......... There was only one good thing about being kidnapped by a wicked military branch bent on acquiring unnatural powers for their own use, and that was knowing exactly where their location was in the event a prisoner suddenly escaped and declared vengeance. Such was Kailin's case: although she had been drugged during the trip into the base, she had been wide awake running away from it, and the thrill of escape had imprinted in her mind its exact location. Of course, Rin didn't go there immediately; she went in search of her motorbike first, so that she wouldn't have to lug her new "partners" all the way herself. Besides, it was just cooler that way. "How ya like it?" she yelled. Poor Kailin had never gone so fast without a seatbelt or a steel frame surrounding her, so she clutched onto Rin like a vice. BaoBao had been rudely stuffed into the sling and told harshly not to move (she was given some of the apple to keep her busy), but Kailin couldn't help but check on her poor "baby" every time the chopper went over a bump. "It's really fast!" she screamed. Rin couldn't help but grin as she gave the chopper more gas and sped up, making her poor charge scream in terror. She wasn't cruel enough to perform any stunts; she just liked going fast. Now if only Kailin didn't squeeze so hard... With Kailin's guidance, Rin made it to the base where she had been taken to. Kailin remembered it like one would remember a severe trauma, and clung tighter to Rin's body as she looked away and composed herself. Rin lifted the visor of her helmet and whistled: the base was huge, well-protected, and difficult to get into. Parts of it looked to have been through fires, perhaps courtesy of Kailin's handiwork. She squealed and forced herself to look at it, and remained tense. "The guards have doubled," she said thickly. Rin just sat there, eventually parking her bike off somewhere where it would remain concealed. She picked out her sword and told Kailin sharply to keep her sling with the bike and close it tight. "If you value your panda's safety, you'll do as I say. This is no place for her, or for us for that matter. You ready?" Kailin looked frightened but nodded her head. She quickly tied a mask over her face and took several breaths to prepare herself. Rin swung her sword through the air a few times and crept back to the base, her partner in tow. BaoBao would have to take care of herself; she was given the rest of the food in hopes that she wouldn't wander off. Things were going to get ugly. "Excuse me," said Rin, walking up to the four armed guards in front, "we've come here on urgent business and were wondering if we could—" The four instantly trained their weapons on her, nearly opening fire on the spot. She finished her statement bluntly: "...Pass. Guess not." She revealed her sword in a flash and swung it twice, cleaving the guns apart. Two kicks sent half the force flying away; one grabbed her only to be flung away, and the other was picked up and hurled backwards. Rin quickly bolted around, aiming the point of her sword in his direction. "Don't move." She turned and followed Kailin inside, not surprised at all that an alarm was welcoming them inside. A wall of fire suddenly burst out from the ground, nearly scorching Rin as she tripped and skidded to a halt. "Get down!" shouted Kailin. A flurry of bullets pounded themselves against the wall of flames, disintegrating like little shooting stars. Kailin raised one arm and sent fireballs soaring up to meet the automatic guns perched on the ceiling; explosions dotted the metal sky. She cringed and put all effort into lowering the fires, but the automatic sprinkler system doused them for her. Kailin made a loud groaning sound as her clothes started to get wet. "Great! Just great!" "Don't just stand there, move it!" Rin grabbed Kailin's arm and jerked her away, nearly breaking it off as she ran at top speed, shouting half the time: "Where do I go? Which way do I turn?" "Let go of my arm, let go of my arm!" screamed her partner. Rin tumbled to a halt and released Kailin, whose complaints increased as she tried to get the feeling back in her arm. Rin came over to apologize and was pushed away. "Darn it, you nearly ripped it from its socket! Please be careful next time!" "Well I couldn't just let you stand there like a fool! Why weren't you moving? What made you stop? If we're found out here, we may as well give up!" "It's my clothes," sulked Kailin, standing up to shake herself dry. Rin gawked. "Your clothes?! Kailin, there are more important things to worry about than your stupid clothes!" "You don't understand! I can't get them wet! Whenever I'm around water, my power nearly dies on me! I have to concentrate twice as hard for half the affect!" "Are you saying...that you can't use your powers?" Rin forced her mouth shut as she ran her palm over her face, paced around, and sputtered. "Well. This is nice." "I can still use my powers," Kailin assured her, "just not very well." To prove it, she made a stressed face, and with a grunt, managed to ignite a small burst of fire from her palm before it quivered away. "See?" "Well, dry off quickly, I'll need your power—shit!!" Rin forced Kailin behind a doorway as she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. She forced her hand over Kailin's mouth and waited for them to subside. Kailin's breathing became louder, and she whimpered a little. Rin tried relaxing her grip, which surely must've been painful. Finally, there was silence, and she released her partner. "Thanks," she gasped, "but next time, don't—" "I know, I know. Let's go, quickly now! Lead the way!" The two partners sprinted off into another hallway, swerving this way and that as Kailin led them to where she believed the main sources of power were. Shutting down the facility was not her intention: she wanted to destroy it, and if possible, rescue the other "experiment" that she had befriended during her time there. Rin thought it best to look for the prisoner and see if they would join them; Kailin didn't want to split up and was in no mood to argue, so she traveled the base relying totally on her memory of the ghastly place. They turned one corner Kailin recognized, and saw the doorway into the lab. They also saw the two dozen guards waiting for them. "Oh, crap," said Rin. They opened fire. Rin jerked Kailin into her arms and ran back into the hallway, narrowly missing a holey end. "Okay, so that was a bad idea!" she yelled as she ran, Kailin moaning and yelping. "Now whadda we do, huh? You're the one who knows this place the best!" "Put...me...down...first!" Rin skidded to a halt, found a spot to hide in, and released her partner, who had to pant just to breathe again. Takamatsu rolled her eyes. "And I'm the one that did all the running." "Oh...knock it...off. I didn't...know...they'd be...there." "Yeah, but they knew that we'd be there, so now what?" Kailin slowly caught her breath, peeled off her dress, and tried to air it out. Rin respectfully gave her some privacy and watched out for any of the surrounding enemy. "There are too many in that direction for us to handle," she said, pointing where they had came from. "And I don't wanna blow this place up until we've freed my friend. Here, step back." She waved her hand and spat out a small fireball which to warm herself by. Rin didn't possess anything to make it stronger, so she helped air out Kailin's dress in the meantime. "Splitting up is no good," she surmised, "and the only other option I know of is if we take them out little by little. But that might take us all day, and we're sure to be found out before long." "Right. Oh, wait a minute!" As she hugged herself, Kailin looked up at the water pipes, then over to where they converged with the gas pipes that kept the place lit. She smiled as an embarrassingly simple solution came to her. "Rin, can you jump up and tear those sprinklers out without setting them off?" "Probably." She tried it and managed to just barely flick it off. Kailin called forth a little flame, no bigger than a match's fire, and held it up to the sprinkler. Nothing came from it. She sent the fire away and gave Rin a smile. "Oh, I see what you want to do," she said: "You want me to break the sprinklers so they won't get you wet again, then we can go nuts on these fellas." "Well, no, not exactly. Once you tear out enough sprinklers, I want you to cut open those gas pipes you see. I seriously think we should free my friend, and after that, I can just make a little flick and the whole place will go down in flames." "Yeah, and us with it. Besides, if those guards open fire—" "You're going to cut the pipes after we rescue her, dummy. Just make sure to break any sprinkler you see." "Well that puts us right where we started! What about those guards?" Kailin looked back where they had came from, picking up the sound of approaching footsteps, and looked to her right. The hallway in that direction led into darkness. "Take out the sprinklers in this hallway. Hurry. We'll make our stand here. Don't worry, I think I'm dry enough." "You think you are?!" Rin made a face and groaned like she had never groaned before. "Oh, great! Well, this isn't exactly the way I planned on dying, but whatever! May as well go down fighting. I don't like this one bit, but let's try your plan anyway. What's the worst that could happen, death?" She grinned, and was off in a flash, slashing and breaking sprinklers all down the hallway. She turned around and sped by again, making sure to get the ones she missed before returning to Kailin's side. The whole process took exactly sixty-one seconds. "By the way," she said, "they'll be here any second." Kailin grinned wickedly, spouting fire from her palms and the soles of her feet. Two fireballs shot out and surrounded her like the molecules of an atom. A wall of heat sprang up before her. Rin cracked her fingers and neck as she pulled out her sword. The footsteps came closer and louder and then, they became totally silent. It was now thirty against two. The fireballs shot out as the wall grew, shielding the two girls from bullets just as Kailin's firepower struck back. Men yelped and shrieked as they were torched and burned; a few ignored the blasts and continued firing. Rin snarled, not wanting to lose the battle to a kid, and swung her sword as one of the strong bullets ripped its way past the wall. It cleaved the shell in half, sending both split sides falling harmlessly to the floor. "These guys are starting to piss me off!" she shouted. Rin slammed her fist against the metal wall around them, shaking the entire section of the building. A few more crashes tore the metal siding off; she ripped it down and held it in front of her like a shield as she tackled the guards head-on. Rin plowed three of them down and hurled her new weapon so hard that it split several of the guards in two before it embedded itself into the wall. She screamed and went berserk, slicing down bodies in a massive orgy of bloody violence. "...Wow," said Kailin. She shook herself to her senses and joined Rin in the fray, hands and feet aflame. Each punch and kick was literally fire-powered, sending hot searing pain to everything it touched, courtesy of her Master Xiao's training. Between the two of them, the thirty guards dwindled rapidly, until none were left to stop them. Neither girl was breathing hard, having been well-instructed by martial artists. They turned around, smiled, and clasped hands. "Well done. But we've not won yet; let's go." Rin hoisted Kailin on her back since the younger girl had no hope of keeping up, and together they ran back to the lab, destroying sprinklers as they went. If they were stopped, it was never by a massive crowd, and so the fights did not last long. Kailin tried her best not to get wet; Rin did her best to eliminate the sprinklers so they'd stand a better chance of turning the whole place into a crater. The lab was unguarded, but it boasted a steel security door so thick that even Rin couldn't knock it down. She was about to cut a huge hole in it with her sword, but Kailin stopped her, reached for the keypad, and typed in seven numbers. The door easily opened and allowed them entrance. "Where force fails, reason prevails," said the younger girl cheerfully. Noticing her friend's look, she giggled and added, "I learned the code after hearing the scientists enter it in a few times. The buttons all have musical tones; for this one, it's D-E-A-D-C-A-B." "Dead cab?" Kailin shrugged and led Rin into the lab. They split up temporarily and searched the whole place, but didn't find anyone or even anything, except a small letter that had been placed by an anonymous person. Kailin picked it up and read it. "‘To whom it may concern, this individual is now rightful property of TL courtesy of MT. Please do not look for us as you will never find us, although I do not doubt you will hear of us in the future. Respectfully, MT.' It looks like somebody beat us here." "Then we've no purpose in staying, c'mon!" Rin quickly picked Kailin in her arms and rushed out to where the gas pipes had been, keeping in mind that she had to step over bodies and corpses along the way. She found one of the pipes and sliced it open with her sword, hearing the hiss of the escaping vapor. "Better leave soon. Kailin, I'm going to go out through these walls. I'm going to cut them down with my sword. Hang on and don't use your power until I tell you." "Okay!" Rin sprinted off, faster than even Kailin could bear, and stopped only to cut three fast scars on the wall before them. She kicked down the wounded plaster and metal and traversed into the next room, where four or five guards were stationed on lunch break. Rin tossed Kailin into their mix, and created another hole while her partner easily disposed of the obstacle. In this way they proceeded, directly through the base, one wall at a time. Rin was a little more than halfway through when she told Kailin to turn around and fire. Here goes nothing, she sighed, and squeezed off one single firebolt. Odd, really, that a single gesture would avenge countless years of torment, misery, and pain—that one single flick of her fingers could dispense justice, that it could destroy evil, that it could put so many souls to rest and see to it that no one else was affected. This thought, like the fireball, was there and gone in a flash. Rin had knocked down three more walls before the sparks hit the gas leak and ignited. "Hang on!" she screamed. Rin Takamatsu kept her sword out, but rarely used it as she put all of her power in running forward. She smashed every wall with her shoulders or a kick, breaking it just enough to let the two of them pass through. Kailin screamed as the rubble fell around her, but her ride was too quick to be buried. Even at that speed, though, she wasn't going fast enough: the fire was gaining, increasing in power, and the two girls were still not close to the exit. "I'm sure gonna...feel this in the morning!" grunted Rin as she forced her way through another wall. Alarms, guards, and guns were now the least of their worries: the flames were at their heels, and each wall was another delay. Soon, Rin could no longer afford to stop; she kept right on going, no matter how much it hurt or how loud her partner screamed. "Kailin!" she screamed as the heat surrounded them slowly. "A little help, won't you? Try to keep those fires down!" "They're too strong! I can't!" "Yes you can! Come on!" Kailin stared hard at the charging fire in spite of its brightness, and put forth all her effort in staving them off. The wildfire somehow obeyed, and kept itself from creeping forward until the two girls were far away, running right out of the building and into safe clearing. Kailin didn't need anyone telling her to turn the heat back on, and with a bright flash, the military base that had caused her so much pain ended up being little more than rubble and ruin. ......... Rin woke up before Kailin did, left a note, and wandered away. But she didn't get very far before she was stopped. Kailin stood before her, still in her pajamas with her arms crossed, looking annoyed and insulted. Rin just stood there passively, feeling a little guilty. Her partner held up the letter. "And what, pray tell, is this? Abandoning me so soon, eh? After all we've been through?" "Well, I just thought..." "Wro-ong!" she sang, pointing a finger at Takamatsu. "See, you helped me out, but now my tale of revenge is complete! I avenged my parents and myself, but what do you think I'll do now? Like you, I have nowhere to go, so we may as well stick together and try to find another adventure to get mixed up in. Besides, I think I could find my friend if I stuck with you." "Kailin..." "I'm not gonna be talked out of this," she said, wiggling her finger. "I think it would make a whole lot of sense for us to travel together. We kicked some tail back there at that base, didn't we?" "Well, yes." "And we both feel a lot more comfortable in each other's company, right?" Rin had to admit it, she had a point. "Okay, fine. You have it your way. If there's no way I can convince you to leave, I guess there's no harm in you coming along. But you'll have to fend for yourself, and...you have to keep that panda away from me." "What an awful thing to say!" she shrieked, holding BaoBao close. The panda made a cute growl and dug its stubby nose deep into Kailin's neck, forcing her to giggle. "You just have to...get to know her better—ack!" Rin rolled her eyes as the two of them played with each other, and hoisted her pack up on her shoulders as she turned around. "If you're coming, you ought to come now. I have no business staying here." "Hey, wait! I'm coming, just wait! Hold...still...Captain...Cuddles! There!" Kailin managed to stuff the squirming panda cub in her sling, and trotted off after Rin, perhaps to another adventure or perhaps to nowhere at all; it didn't matter. The Ronin had now begun anew, and with each beginning there must surely be endless possibilities. ---------- The day is saved...but for how long? Tune in next time when a familiar face finds out that revenge is never free, and the price is always too high to pay. Which of her allies are friends, and which are foes in disguise? All this and more in the next chapter, "Desecration". Don't you dare miss it!
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