Unbraided brown hair that reached to the small of her back. A crimson cloak that hung to her ankles with a hood, lined with gold and bearing the Seung dragon on the back. Brown eyes that shone as if something wihin had been awakened. And a zanbatoh with a red rod that seemed to wink and sparkle in the sunlight, as if it were newly forged. To top it all off, the nation's hero was slung over her shoulder, with bruises everywhere. The woman that seemed to be age 23 had hidden herself well from the place in which she now stood in front of, though search teams had been sent from corner to corner, and country to country. Even the young Hong Yunsung had often joined these teams, grumbling about babysitting such a spoiled brat. If only he knew what she had become now. She opened the gates, and watched as the students trained diligently, none of them paying any attention to her at all. Another search team had been organized, and was about to go out and search for her. She smirked. After looking for four years, her father had not given up, knowing that if she truly wanted to be hidden, then she would hide. She had only been unlucky in the fact that Hwang had found her on her way back home, and tried to force her to go with him. Again. The situation was no different than last time. "So, you want me to come with you? Then do so by force." Frustrated, he drew his sword and advanced, determined to bring her back, and make sure that she stayed there. Imagine his surprise when the side of his face had a meeting with the grind ridge of Mina's 22" blade. Several times. As if he were being slapped and scolded for saying something rude. No, it would no longer be so easy to drag her back home. As the battle raged, he was wearing down. For the first time in all their conflicts against one another, she matched him- strike for strike, blow for blow. The new speed and grace that she had aquired, even with such a large weapon, was uncanny. She weilded the zanbatoh as if it were a bamboo pole, and he recieved nary a cut, but tons of bruises. She remained untouched. "Hmph. You're out of your league, Hwang. Go back to your navy for all I care. They can't handle me anymore. But just as a consolation prize, I'm going back home. Not for you, and not for father. Just to show, once and for all, that I am no longer to be underestimated. And just as proof, you're coming with me." Oh, how the tables had turned. -Chapter 5: The Scarlet Thunder ________________________________________________________________________ Mina heard every word. Her zanbatoh was a Divine Treasure... and she was one of the keys to the end of this world. However, she could not accept it. "Can't be... those weapons choose their masters, right? So when did it choose me? And why? I'm nothing special! I don't even deserve to carry it." Xian calmly explained the conditions. "You have to be pure of heart, for one." Mina scoffed at this. "You mean perfect and innocent? Well I'm not, nor do I claim to be. I wouldn't be so vain." Xianghua smiled. "Exactly. One doesn't even have to be perfect. Having a pure heart means having good intentions and benevolence. Just being nice to people in general, y'know?" For some reason, this made sense. But there seemed to be something else. Something that she felt within the weapon itself, and it wasn't her. It was a feeling, an intensity. She asked again. "That's nice, but what else? Do you know anything at all?" Xian had to think, then came up with something. "Okay then, tell me what you felt last night." Mina was puzzled. "Don't you know? The bond between us is supposed to work like that." Xianghua nodded. "Of course. But I need to hear it from you." Mina sighed and began explaining what ran through her mind at the massacre of the town, which she still felt guilty about, though it was the only way. "I felt angry. This was my town- my country. It was an act of war in the highest degree possible, and I couldn't stand it. I could feel their minds being polluted and changed, Xian. It sickened me." She sat silently while Mina continued. "I was sad as well, about what I had to do in order to free them. I was going to be responsible for the death of an entire town- one that I had grown up in, at that. All those people had known me in one way or another- some had respected me and seen me in the way I had wanted to be seen. And I killed them. So no, I don't think I'm worthy to carry this weapon that you speak of." ________________________________________________________________________ Xian had a solemn expression on her face as she looked into Mina's eyes, brown meeting brown. "You did what you had to, Mina. Nothing more or less. And those feelings are not a bad thing. The Scarlet Thunder picked up on those feelings, and awnsered their call. That wasn't anger or wanton destruction, Mina. That was passion. I think that's what triggered the change." Now, Mina was the one who was silent. Passion... to explain it like that, it made perfect sense. "And what's more is, you've grown stronger, much stronger. I can feel it, even now. You have it within you to use it, Mina!" But she felt no such change or power within her. At least, not anymore. Mina shook her head and said "Forget it. I can't be the one." Xian's expression was of concern. "Do you really doubt yourself that much? Even after you've come this far?" Yes... there was that. Her journey. In her last two outings, she learned much. And over time, she could almost feel herself growing stronger from within. 'Maybe... but still, am I really that strong?' "I still don't know, Xian." "I'll prove it to you, then." The young woman focused some of her energy to her right hand. Mina was a little frightened at this, and showed it. "And just how are you going to do that?" With her eyes still closed, she replied "I'll bring the energy within you to the surface. Then you'll see just how strong you've become." An blue aura of energy was now glowing from her hand. "That's enough. Now, try to relax. This is gonna feel a little strange..." She placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, and with a gentle squeeze, channeled her stored energy through her. For a while, nothing happened. "You see?" Mina said with a sigh, "There's no... such..." She felt it. A warm, glowing sensation within her. Her aura was beginning to flare up... and it did so with a vengance. But this was much different from the night before... this was power. A power that had been sleeping within her for years... and now that it was revealed, it proved to be overwhelming. But still, she wanted more... so she willed her new strength to go farther. And, as if it were waiting for a sign, her aura quickly increased in size. Mina laughed. "This is my power, huh?" Xian smiled. "Yes. This is the strength of your soul. I told you, didn't I?" "Yeah, you did. And it was so easy... all I had to do was call for it, and it came, just like that." Xian was serious again. "Yeah. And that's why you, and anyone else who knows how to use spiritual energy, need to have limits. Like now, for instance." Mina was a little disheartened, but agreed. "You're right. I guess this power doesn't last forever." She closed her eyes, and the aura died down. 'Such control... maybe she knows how to do this already.' "Hey, how much do you know about spiritual energy, anyway?" Xian asked. "Oh, I know a lot of things. An old guy named Edge Master taught me." Xian was awed at this latest revelation. "Edge Master? THE Edge Master? But he's the advisor for the Ling Sheng Su temple! So how..." "Hey, Don't ask me. It was his idea. Guess he saw the same things you're seeing now." 'Even I haven't been personally trained by him. She must know more than she's letting on.' Xian decided to go further into her questions. "So... what else have you learned from him?" It seemed strange to Mina that her friend was so curious about an old hermit. But she indulged her. "Well, as you know, I know Ling Sheng Su rod arts, right? But I didn't really know EVERYTHING. So, along with the stuff about the soul and whatnot, I finished my rod arts traini-" She could sense the attack before it was even started. Her body reacted without thought, as if it remembered the training that had been beaten into it. Almost instanly, she split her legs apart and let the horizontal slash from Xianghua pass neatly over her head. "You're just as bad as father, you know that?" gasped Mina as she got up. Xian was once again speechless. 'Just like that... she avoided my attack! It's as if she were never there in the first place!' Mina continued her story. "Now, where was I... oh, right. I finished my rod arts training, and found out that the things I'd learned about spiritual energy tied in with my training. So I made a few of my own techniques that mixed the Long Blade with the rod arts." And then she finished with "Thats about all I know. But I'm surprised that you don't know anything about him. After all, you practice the Sheng temple sword arts, right?" Xian shook her head. "Oh no, my mother taught me that. But she mever told me that those were the temple arts!" Mina was curious about that. In fact, she didn't know much about Xian's mother. "Well, why not?" 'Because she... she passed away.' This brought her much discomfort, so she said "Enough talk about family. We should forget about all that for now, right?" Mina was resolved to ask about her friend's family, but she refrained from doing so for now. "All right. Now tell me more about this Divine Treasure that you think I have." ________________________________________________________________________ Mina now had her weapon in hand. "All right. Now, just do what comes naturally to you." Mina nodded, and steeled herself for what was to come. She took a deep, slow breath, and willed her soul to action. As soon as she felt her energy begin to flow, she gripped her weapon tighter, which channeled her energies through the Scarlet Thunder. Almost instantly, a force went through her weapon and an aura of power pulsed from the blade. Then, as if it had burst itno flames, a red light shone from the zanbatoh. And as the light faded, Mina gasped in awe. The Divine Treasure had gone through the facelift that it had undergone the night before.. The rod was lined with a golden pattern, much like Kilik's. The base of the blade now had the head of a Chinese dragon, like Hwang's Blue Thunder. And, as if to make the dragon come alive, the blade had shaped itself into the blade of a kwan dao, looking very much as if the dragon were spitting fire. Xianghua was still in awe at the transformation. "It's beautiful," said Xian, who was obviously impressed. Mina however, was a little angry. "But... it looks like Hwang's. Why does everything remind me of him?" "But this is your soul's vision, not your mind's. Look-" Reluctantly, she did so.... and she saw her entire life in the design. The dragon was the family crest... the design on the rod was the same one that was found in the temple... and the blade represented the fires of her soul, which, more often than not, had given her strength where there was none. "You're right... absolutely right, Xian. This is the way I wanted my weapon. And I didn't even know it!" Xian smiled. "See, I told you! Now, try it out." Mina had forgotten all about that. "Sure, but I'll have to wait until my energy comes back." 'She DOES know a lot.' Xian shook her head and said "No, go ahead." Mina's eyes widened at this. "But, I won't even be able to lift it, right?" "Yeah, because you've used a lot of energy. But try it anyway." Mina still had doubts. "I don't know..." Xian placed her hand on Mina's shoulder and smiled. "Trust me..." And so, with a shrug of her shoulders, she lifted the weapon. Whatever she excpected, it wasn't this. The usually weighty zanbatoh had turned into a feather. 'It's almost like I'm holding the air!' "What's this about?" Xian laughed. "Now try it on this tree." Mina no longer doubted Xian's word. "Sure. Better stand back, though." As her young companion did so, Mina still marveled at the weight of the weapon. 'It can't be that useful at this weight...' She swiped at the tree... and the blade padded cleanly through, as if there were nothing there! After a few seconds, the tree fell. "How is this possible? With all the energy I used to change it-" "It should be impossibe to lift, right. And am I right in assuming that you think it's the weapon?" Mina just nodded. "Well, it is the weapon, but not in the way you think. See, as soon as you channeled your soul through the Scarlet Thunder, you normally would've been drained. But when these weapons recieve a gift, they give one back. In exchange for the energy you gave, you get an incredible strength... go ahead, try something that you don't think you can normally do!" Mina knew exactly what she wanted. She bent her knees, and for the first time, felt the new strength flow through them, as if she had been born again. 'Here goes nothing!' She jumped... and found herself soaring through the air! when she finally slowed down, Xian was MUCH smaller, even though Mina could still recognize her. She floated in mid-air, as if she were defying the earth's pull. But much greater than these was the sensation that she felt, the emotions that raced through her being. 'Freedom... I feel so free right now. And I'm not afraid... of anything.' And even as gravity began to take hold once again, she had no fear. As she was about to slam into the ground, Mina bent her knees on touch down, and felt nothing. "See now? You are worthy." Mina wasn't surprised anymore, but rather at peace. "Yeah. I see. And I know what I have to do with what I've been given." Xian nodded. "Then let's stop wasting time. We'll take the next ship out, which is at sunset." Mina had chosen her path. 'I won't stop until all six souls are safe! And I'll get rid of anyone and anything in the way!' ________________________________________________________________________ Sunset at the docks. The two women boarded the boat with the other passengers- most of them the people that Xian had saved- and headed out. But they didn't do that without saying goodbye to the town. "I won't forget the times that I had here." Xianghua agreed. "There's a lot of words and feelings here. Can't you feel it, Mina?" "Yes. I won't pretend that I'm not angry. But I won't let this stop me anymore..." Indeed, she could feel the wandering souls. And she said farewell... To her surprise, they awnsered with a very loud and heart-filled goodbye. Xian smiled. "See? Be at peace now. They did care, despite your faults." Mina tried to hold back her tears as she looked toward Seung Mountain. She failed miserably, and turned to the boat with a vow in her head. 'I'll come back, father... and stronger than ever!' ________________________________________________________________________ -End- All right! I did it! So, how is it so far? Obviously, this is my little take on the Seung Treasures. Remember, if anyone has any comments, you know where I'm at! - Next Chapter - The bond between the two souls grows stronger. Feelings of deep affection and passion ignite like a burning flame of life. As day turns to night, the women share thier love as only they know how...
Back to The Seeds of Evil: Phoenix Rising Index - Back to Soul Caliber Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction