Path to Revenge: Forgiveness

         A single lantern filtered soft streams of light along her path. Gentle footsteps carefully feel between the stones avoiding the disturbance of those who rested in this holy place. It seemed the world had gone silent, only the whispering breeze daring to make it's presence known by timidly flickering the flame of her suspended lantern. Lifting the stick higher amber eyes fell upon her goal, her destination this night. As soon as she saw the scripture those eyes fell once again in humbled shame.

Yamomuko Tsai rested here.

He was an honorable man, filled with a great love for his family, but it was his sister he adored most of all. IT was his sister whom he had promised to die for to protect--and did. Hesitantly those glowing tiger like eyes lifted again to look upon the grave of her brother as she finally nodded and set the lantern post in the slot provided. Turning slightly she retrieved the small satchel from her shoulder and arranged her traditional kimono as she sank to her knees. Slowly that feminine form bent forward hands flattening against the ground as she kissed the foot of the stone in respect.

Biting back the bitter tears that always seemed to come when she came to this place she rose to her knees again and reached into the satchel retrieving the tools she had brought with her. Trembling fingers withdrew three incense sticks that smelled of sandalwood and jasmine. Gripping them with fingers alone she sat up placing them through the small hole in the lantern lighting each individually before withdrawing them and breathing softly to extinguish the flame leaving behind only the burning cinders and sweet plumes of smoke. Gracefully the incense would be place into the small hole at the foot of grave as hands lifted casting the mimosa over the stone a total of four times. Once for every year since his passing.

Memories of Tsai flooded that tortured mind bringing a small quake to usually stubbornly proud shoulders as she gently traced a finger over the carving.

' It has been four years Tsai-san and still I can not find it in myself to forgive what happened. Four years and I still feel haunted by your memory, by that night. What can I do to make you forgive me so that we may both have peace?'

Her only answer was silence. Those eyes watered over, dainty chin trembled as she looked down to her folded hands and allowed the memories to overcome her once again as she has done once a year since his death...

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'Father please!? Allow Mya-chan to attend. I will watch over her, on my honor I will allow nothing to happen to her.'

' She is only fifteen Tsai. I do not believe it is proper for her to attend such functions.'

' Let her go love. Perhaps it is time we allow her a little bit of freedom if only to help quell her rebellious streak.'

Mya held her brother looking between father, mother and son. She was silently praying the later of the two would convince the former of the importance of this. At last he gave a curt nod.

' Hai. I will allow her to go, but on one condition. You never let her out of your sight. Am I understood?'

' Hai Father. Domo.'

Mya squealed with glee and threw her arms around her father who only grunted giving her a light pat. Normally she would have been upset over his lack of enthuaism but this night she was just too excited. He had never been a man to show open affection, even to his children. Scrambling away she jumped up and hugged her brother who laughed hugging her back just as tightly.

' Go get dressed. We must leave soon if we are not to be late.'

' Hai! Give me ..twenty minutes?'

' Ten.'

' Fifteen.'

He smiled.

' Done..now go.'

Giggling madly she bounced off to her room and prepared for the night ahead. Mya Yamomuko was going to attend a fifty's sock hop for the first time in her life. It was exciting...

'Jail House Rock' by Elvis Presley could be heard outside the large dance hall as Tsai and Mya approached the entrance. Eager and excited she squeezed his arm and smiled up at him. In return he smiled down at her wrapping an arm around her neck pulling her in for a quick kiss to the temple before opening the door to let her go in first. The volume of the music was ten times that of what it was just outside the door. It was almost deafening but she didn't care, her anticipation of being able to have a little bit of freedom seemed to overpower anything else that might have annoyed. The feel of her brother's arm around her shoulder brought shining happy eyes up to meet his own green/gold ones.

' Welcome to freedom little sister.'

She leaned in closer.

' What!?'

Chuckling he got closer to her ear to almost yell.

' I said welcome to freedom!'

She giggled gleefully and planted a kiss on his cheek as a couple of other males approached.

' Tsai san!'

Tsai's head snapped over to look at the oncomers with a huge grin.

' Keishi! Tsuko! Ohio gosai amas?'

The pair came before Mya and Tsai shaking hands and slapping shoulders with her older brother for a moment before one of them looked at her with a grin that almost made her skin crawl.

' This is your new girl?'

Tsai chuckled and lightly pushed on his friend's shoulder.

' No. And don't even think about Keishi. This is my younger sister Mya.'

' Mya.....ah. Well you never told us she was such a beauty. Why have you kept her locked away all this time?'

Tsai laughed.

' To keep wolves like you from hitting on her.'

Everyone laughed including herself, though, inwardly she didn't feel like laughing. Tsai unhooked his arm from her shoulders leaning down to whisper to her to have some fun while he went to spend time with his friends.

' But....'

' What? Go on Mya. Enjoy your freedom. You don't need me to watch you all the time do you?'

She hesitated torn between following father's orders or following the path of freedom her brother had just lain out in gold. After a moment she decided on the golden path.

' Hai. You are right. Go, I will be fine.'

' If you need me, just hollar for me. I will hear you. I promise.'

She nodded giving him a brave smile as he patted her cheek and turned melting into the mingling crowd with his friends. Now she was all alone. What would she do?

Dance.

Sweat beaded her brow as once again she found herself at the end of another song with yet another partner. As the music changed to one of the infamous fifties love song ' Teenager in Love' she bowed slightly to her partner excusing herself to get a drink and possibly some air to cool off her over heating form. Quickly, she picked her way through the swaying bodies heading to the concessions table. The young girl behind the table smiled warmly as Mya lifted a finger to the punch.

' One please.'

Nodding the girl poured her a cup and passed it off to her eagerly awaiting fingers. Lifting the cup in respect and thanks she turned to look at the dance floor for a moment before craning her head to get a peek at her brother across the hall. He seemed to be enjoying himself. Smiling to herself she turned and headed for the side door that led outside in hopes to garner a moment of peace and fresh air. As soon as the cool aired hit her damp heated skin goose bumps rose and a small chill washed over her. It felt good.

Strolling languidly along the banister she stopped just at the edge of the building to lean elbows on the railing and stare up at the moon. It was odd how much brighter it seemed despite how many times she had looked upon it before. Freedom had an effect on everything around. The stars even seemed to twinkle more brightly bringing a sense of peace she had not know existed. A peace that was shattered the moment a hand came out of no where covering her mouth as she was hoisted from the ground...

Several minutes later...

She had been fighting them off like a tigress. Tears streamed down her face as she was roughly shoved from one man to another their jeering laughter thundering in her ears. Her body collided harshly with a rather large drunken sot who immediately hauled her closer licking up her neck causing her to screech as her nails found his face gouging deep blood streak along that cheek. He bellowed in rage and showed her back only to land a backfist across her cheek that had her spinning to the ground.

' Bitch!'

' Enough of this playing around. Let's do this.'

She half lay on the ground the back of her hand brushing across her bloodied lip as she trembled. The words of one of her assaulters immediately had her attention. Growling like a caged animal she scrambled to her feet and tried to rush past them only to be caught by two sets of arms holding her in that circle.

' TSAI!!!!'

She screamed his name. It was a sound of panic, high and shrill enough it caused birds to rouse from their sleep squawking in dismay at the disturbance. As soon as his name fled her lips a knee met with her midsection doubling her over as she was uncermoniously shoved backward to land on the ground back first. Stars shattered before her eyes as her head collided with the asphalt. She chocked back a sob almost rolling to her side as one of her assualters came down to cover her body with his own. Screaming she fought back fists and feet connecting with anything they could blindly.

' Damn it! Hold her down!'

No longer could she struggle as she found herself held down by three sets of hands. Her eyes squeezed shut as she heard the ripping of her precious poodle skirt and petticoats. She was going to be raped and she was helpless to stop it. Her father had been right, she should not have come.

As if he were an avenging angel from heaven, her brother suddenly appeared with his two friends hauling her would be assaulters from her prone form. The sound of skin crashing against skin and bone had an almost sedative effect on her as she rolled to her side and slowly tried to make way to her feet. A body tripped over her own bringing her back down. Whipping her head around she saw the face of the one who had been over her and lost all sense of feeling.

Mya was seeing red.

Instinct and hate took over then. She launched herself onto the man looking like a she demon as she began to pound his head into the pavement. Screeching and wildly thrashing her head about she continued to pound his skull against the cold unfeeling ground long after the back of it had shattered rendering the man dead. Finally her own anger drained she rolled off him and got to her knees to catch sight of the others. She had taken one of five out. That left four versus three. Keishi had one well under control, and Tsuko had the other.


Her brother was being double teamed. With a choked sob she dragged herself to numb feet and rushed forward to help him. It was only at the last moment did she realize her mistake the glint of metal in the hands of the one she was bullrushing catching her eye....

It was over now.

Six bodies were on the ground, two of them unmoving. Quaking uncontrollably she crawled on her hands and knees to her brother's side and rolled him to his back and screamed past the wretched sobbing. There in his chest was the knife she had seen a breath too late. The sounds that erupted from her being at that moment could only be described as that of a wounded animal.

' Tsaiiii.....Oh god no! TSAI!! Wake up...PLEASE BROTHER WAKE UP!'

She shook his limp form violently, slapping his face harshly before dragging him against her chest and continuing with her baleful crying. Tsai was dead and it was her fault..all her fault...

She did not even hear the sirens as police arrived on the scene. That fragile spirit had cracked along with her mind as she merely continued rocking his form in her arms and begging him quietly to wake up.

It had taken three cops and a tranqualizer to drag her form from his own...

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Again she choked back a pathetic little sob as she threw herself over his grave and begged for forgiveness. She needed him to forgive her if she were ever going to have peace of mind. She needed his forgiveness, because she knew she would never gain her father's for what she had caused.

' Mya-chan...'

Startled she snapped up and reared about to stare at her father in disbelief.

' Papa...'

She cowered a little bit as he cross those final few feet between them and came to his knees before his only living child. Blinking back her tears she stared at him in confusion as he slowly raised a trembling hand and brushed aside a tear.

' Mya. Your brother does not blame you for what happened. Surely you must know that by now. I..'

He sighed pulling her shaking form into his arms.

' I do not blame you either my little butterfly. I was angry, mad with grief. I should have never told you it was your fault. This....what you have become it is my fault...not his...not yours.'

She shook her head clinging to her father like the lost babe she was.

' No Papa. It is my fault...If I had not gone..'

' He would still be dead Mya.'

Pulling her away from his chest he forced to her sit up and look him in the eyes.

' Mya, your brother was an honorable man. Those men were not. If not you it would have been another girl. Tsai would have still come to aid her. We can not escape our fate. You must forgive yourself Mya...you must stop living in the guilt of the past if you want to have a future.'

' I can't..'

She choked against being reduced to ragged sobs as he pulled her back tightly into his arms.

' You can and you will. You are a Yamomuko. Our blood refuses to give up...it will refuse defeat. You will refuse defeat.'

She could do nothing but cry until she fell asleep cradled in her father's arms sitting upon the grave of her beloved brother. It was a cleansing of sorts..but would it be enough?