Part 9<\/b><\/p>\n
Yoshino Village
\nSendai, Japan<\/p>\n
Jun Yoshino watched his great-granddaughter, Cordelia, in awe. Since her arrival to Japan, nearly three months ago, she had mastered nearly very martial art technique he knew. Judo, ninjitsu, kendo, aikido… she knew them all. At this moment, she was sparing with her cousin, Jin Yoshino, and was winning- yet again.<\/p>\n
The girl is like a machine<\/i>, he marveled, as she bounded of the wall of the dojo, landing with a reflex that rivaled a cat. Cordelia was wearing a white V-neck uniform with a red sash, while Jun was in a black, Judo uniform with a yellow sash. She and Jin had done this nearly everyday since she had begun her training, and Jun knew what the end result would be: His Cordelia would win. He had half expected Jun to reluctant to train with his cousin, but the young man had taken to it quite well. Cordelia was more than a girl beating up a boy, she was a slayer and Jin understood it, much to Jun\u2019s relief. He was, much to his dismay, too old to be her sparing partner.<\/p>\n
When he had seen her distraught face, that long ago day after she had fought the Master, Jun Yoshino had felt a sinking dread within his heart. He had know immediately why she had come to him and he hated it. Hated the fact that there was nothing to stop the coming storm. Jun knew the destinies that awaited slayers- he had always known.<\/p>\n
He knew of watchers and slayers because his own twin sister, Kaede, and been a slayer. Her Watcher, Yukio, had allowed him to assist her with his sister\u2019s training, because of his skill as a samurai.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow was that,\u00a0jiisan<\/i>?\u201d Jin asked, bringing his great-grandfather out of his revere. He and Cordelia had just ended another round, with her victorious. Jin kind of wished she would just let him win for once.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood. Do it again,\u201d he replied with smile. He was proud of his descendants, and what better way for his great-grandson to be an exceptional fighter, than to train with a slayer? \u201cCome on!\u201d He rushed, seeing their faces drop. They had been in there for six hours.<\/p>\n
Cordelia rolled her hazel eyes in aggravation. \u201cJiisan<\/i>, we have been in here all day. Can we take a break? Please?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jun sighed, and rose to his feet, arms akimbo as he walked over to his grandchildren. Narrowing his dark eyes for emphasis, Jun gave her a grim look. \u201cCordelia, as the Slayer, you will never be given the option of a \u2018break\u2019.\u201d Hearing this, she looked down at her bare feet in shame and disappointment. I\u2019ll have none of that, Jun thought, as he raised her chin, bringing her sad eyes back to his. \u201cI\u2019m sorry to say this to you, my flower, but you have to realize what that means. Until the day you die, you will always be the Slayer. You are a warrior of humanity and that is something you have to accept, here and now!\u201d<\/p>\n
Jin had backed away from the two, allowing their grandfather to communicate with her.\u00a0Jiisan\u2019s<\/i>\u00a0training had been relentless on Cordelia, and despite her calling, she was not used to such rigorous activity and the discipline that came with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell?\u201d Jun prodded. \u201cWhat will it be?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWill I die like Kaede did?\u201d Cordelia clenched her jaw, trying to stifle the tears that wanted to well over. The tale Jun had told her of his twin, Kaede Yoshino, had bubbled a quiet well of fear in her heart.<\/p>\n
Jun closed his eyes briefly at the memory Cordelia\u2019s words welled within him. Kaede Yoshino had died at the hands of a Noreshan demon on their twentieth birthday. The green and red demon had been too much for her and ripped her apart in front of his very eyes in Tokyo. When his sister had died, a part of him died with her. Not even the knowledge that she had lived well and long for a slayer could comfort his bleeding heart. They had been thirteen when she was called. Much too early to have such a life forced upon her. She was supposed to have grown old, with him! She was supposed to have married and raised children. Instead, he had buried her, too young to go to the grave.<\/p>\n
Now another one I love may be destined for the same fate<\/i>. With all his wisdom and knowledge, the only thing he could offer his child was a lie. \u201cI don\u2019t know how it will happen exactly, Cordelia. I and the rest of your family only bear the knowledge that you would be called. How you would die,\u201d Jun paused, reaching out to grasp his granddaughter\u2019s hands in his. \u201cIs unknown. But know this,\u201d he continued, motioning for Jin to come over to him. \u201cEverything is born, everything dies and everything falls in between. All that are born must die.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the morbidity of his statement, Cordelia did find it somewhat comforting. Not until she had come close to death on the roof of Sunnydale High, did it ever cross her mind that someday, she would have to leave this earth.<\/p>\n
\u201cFukumasu, jison<\/i>?\u201d It was important that his children, his heirs understood the balance and cycle that was life.<\/p>\n
\u201cHai<\/i>.\u201d Both cousins answered, giving a slight bow of the head to their great-grandfather.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut can we go in and eat now?\u201d Cordelia demanded, giving Jun a slight grin.<\/p>\n
Later That Night<\/b><\/p>\n
After a satisfying meal of Momiji\u2019s sushi and Teriyaki eel, Cordelia was feeling quite sated. She and her cousin, Jin, and relocated to the river at the base of Yoshino Hill. They usually ended up going there after practice. Cordelia thought it was soothing with the sound of the water, and crickets. Occasionally, they\u2019d hear frogs as the sun descended.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel bad, Jin.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned his dark head to look at her. They were both lying on the grassy embankment, side by side. \u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMentioning Kaede, like a I did,\u201d she softly replied gazing at the sky as it turned a deep blue. \u201cBut I couldn\u2019t help it. I always say what\u2019s on my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia,\u201d Jin began, still gazing at his beautiful cousin. \u201cJun knows you didn\u2019t mean to hurt him. He has to expect questions like that, and he does understand where your coming from.\u201d It disturbed him greatly too, the possibility of his cousin would die at the hand of some monstrosity. The only comfort he got from that knowledge was that she would give them hell when her time came. He figured it was better her going out as a slayer than a helpless girl with no supernatural power. Jin grinned at that notion-\u00a0Cordelia helpless<\/i>? Even if she had encountered a demon as normal girl, he had it upon good authority that she would\u00a0still<\/i>\u00a0give them hell!<\/p>\n
Turning onto her side, she grinned at her cousin.\u00a0He sure is a handsome devil<\/i>, she mused, in appreciation. He was tall, about six foot one, with a slim athletic build and a face that any magazine editor would die to have on their cover! It was his eyes that were his best quality. They were a pale brown, almost gold and the almond shape of them only added to his exoticness. She figured with was just how Jun had looked in his youth<\/p>\n
Too bad he\u2019s family<\/i>! \u201cYou always know what to say to make me feel better, Jin.\u201d She reached over to give him a hug, wishing all days could be like this- safe and happy with the family she loved.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, I can\u2019t help it if I have a way with the ladies!\u201d He laughed, poking her in the ribs. \u201cNow shut up and enjoy the silence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d she huffed. \u201cCrickets, frogs, water- oh- and that linear jet flying overhead is really silent!\u201d Snarkiness was her nature, it was like telling the sun not to rise. “Not to mention your nasal blocked breathing!”<\/p>\n
********<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are they?\u201d Momiji Yoshino asked, coming to stand by her husband outside the farmstead.<\/p>\n
Closing his eyes in briefly at the blissful presence of his second wife, Jun wrapped his arms around her shoulders. They were older now, but she still fired a passion in him that would never die. \u201cThey\u2019re by the river.\u201d The bond between the two cousins had grown quite strong of the last few weeks. He only wished that Cordelia belonged here, in Japan. But it was not be.<\/p>\n
Turning her beautiful, ravaged face to him, Momiji noted the sadness in his eyes. It had been growing for some time. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong,\u00a0aruji<\/i>?” As a member of the Yoshino family, she too, knew of the destiny that their Cordelia had to face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want her to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Momiji closed her eyes in realization. It was a time that she had been dreading too. Cordelia was part of their family and she did not want her to go either. \u201cIsn\u2019t there another way, Jun? Can\u2019t she be the Slayer in Japan? There hasn’t been a slayer here since India Cohen!\u201d She turned around, beseeching her husband. \u201cWhy does she need to go back to that godforsaken town!?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know why.\u201d He attested, his voice as quiet as the grave. \u201cShe has to return to Sunnydale, Momiji, there is no other way.\u201d He pulled his love deeper into his embrace.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen will you tell her?\u201d She sobbed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they get back. I have to tell her tonight.\u201d And he had no idea how he was going to bring himself to do it.<\/p>\n
**********<\/p>\n
Cordelia and Jin had just returned from the river an hour ago, and Jun had been waging a war within himself. He didn\u2019t want to do it- he didn\u2019t want to send his beloved girl back to the hell that had tried to kill her! \u201cBut we must suffer the children,\u201d he prayed to himself, to his ancestors, to find the courage.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia?\u201d He called out. His voice was strong and purposeful, which surprised him. \u201cI need to speak with you, my dear.\u201d Trying to brace himself for the storm to come, Cordelia bounced into his study. She was now clad in her American clothes of jeans and a sweatshirt.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah? What is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSit down, child.\u201d<\/p>\n
Swallowing back a lump that was forming in her throat, Cordelia Chase braced herself for the worst. Not wanting to upset him, she did just as she asked, and took a seat on the mat. He was facing her, legs crossed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must return to school.\u201d Jun gave himself a mental slap. School? He could not come up with something better than that?<\/p>\n
Cordelia frowned in confusion. \u201cYou mean school\u00a0here<\/i>?\u201d She pointed downward for better emphasis on the meaning of \u2018here\u2019. She could do that!\u00a0School in Japan wouldn\u2019t be bad at all! It\u2019s no like I don\u2019t know the language,<\/i>\u00a0she thought.<\/p>\n
Slowly, Jun shook his head, his eyes not leaving his great-granddaughter\u2019s beautiful face.<\/p>\n
She closed her eyes in despair. What he was suggesting was unthinkable. \u201cYou mean school back \u2018there\u2019?\u201d He couldn\u2019t mean it\u2026 not possible! Cordelia felt the color drain from her face as she realized Jun did not disagree.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?!\u201d She stood up, coming to stand before him. \u201cWhy can\u2019t I stay here? If not Japan, anywhere else but Sunnydale!\u201d For the first time since she had come back here, tears fell down her checks.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must go back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia shook her head in denial, on the verge of hysteria. She\u2019d almost died back there! \u201cI won\u2019t go back,\u00a0jiisan<\/i>. I can\u2019t and you can\u2019t make me!\u201d She seethed in rage, all the hurt coming to a boiling point, now this betrayal from the person she trusted the most.<\/p>\n
Jun knew this was going to be hard, but nothing could be prepare him for her reaction. She was like a tsunami about ready to crash upon the shore. He only knew of one thing that could reach her behind that mist of red she saw. \u201cAre you a warrior of humanity?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you a warrior of humanity?\u201d He repeated, keeping his eyes level with hers, once she\u2019d stopped pacing like a caged tiger. \u201cYes or no?\u201d<\/p>\n
And she tried- she tried to block out the calling within her. She wanted nothing more than to turn her back on all of it! The training, the powers, the destiny! She just wanted to be Cordelia Chase, the bitch of all bitches again. \u201cI didn\u2019t ask for any of this, Jun!\u201d<\/p>\n
But he was relentless. \u201cYes<\/i>\u00a0or\u00a0no<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sinking back down onto the mat, Cordelia closed her eyes in agony. She knew she had to go back- had know it all along. Being in Japan was only supposed to be temporary. She was a warrior of humanity, and the world needed her to be in Sunnydale.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u00a0daishihan<\/i>.\u201d Cordelia opened her eyes, feeling as if she were born again. Feeling that sudden surge of power, like that night she had been trying to drive away from the terror that pursued her. And she looked at Jun Yoshino, not as her grandfather, but as a master, a learned warrior. \u201cI am the Slayer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jun gave his great-granddaughter, his finest pupil, a smile of genuine pride. “That’s good to know. You will leave in one week’s time”.<\/p>\n
*** We’ve been out of Sunnydale long enough, haven’t we, precious?<\/p>\n