“Sifu, you are not the girl we are looking for,” he said in heavily accented English. Emily looked puzzled. He continued in Japanese: “You are not the one, Sensei. My men do not understand Nihon-go.”
“I don’t believe you,” she replied testily, also in Japanese. “I am Yuki Kagami’s daughter. Who else can you be looking for?”
“I know who you are, but when I look into your eyes, I see only a gentle breeze in the pine trees. You are not a genetically enhanced warrior.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I saw you hold back against your opponents in the tournament, and just now against me and my men. You could have killed us all, but you didn’t. The person we are looking for would not be able to show such restraint, such compassion.”
“But those were only choices. I have often felt the urge to kill the people who killed my father. How can you know that isn’t who I really am?” He smiled at her.
“You are no genetic freak. You are just supremely well trained. I would gladly have you as my master,” he said respectfully.
“Surely you didn’t come all this way just to discover that,” she muttered deadpan.
“I had to be sure. My masters think there is a genetic super soldier. They will stop at nothing to find it. They are fools. You and I both know, deep down, there is only training.”
“That’s not all there is,” she cut him off. “They destroyed my family… my grandfather, my father and my mother. I am alone.” He heard the depth of pain in her voice, saw it swirling at the bottom of her dark eyes. It cut right through him like a jagged blade. He felt the magnitude of the wrong that had been done to her, and the dishonor it reflected on him.
“I am truly sorry, Sensei,” he said in a soft, deep voice. “If I could undo any of it, I would. Please forgive me.” He glimpsed in her eyes just then the immense wellspring of compassion and forgiveness that made its home there. He sighed and his shoulders visibly sagged, perhaps under the weight of the knowledge that she could indeed forgive him.
“What is your name,” she asked.
“Tang.” He bowed deeply to her and then snapped his fingers. His men limped into the van.
“What will happen to you if you return empty handed?”
He looked back at her and said: “Nothing you can do anything about.” He got in the van and they drove off. She followed with her eyes as they turned out of the parking lot and down the street. She took a deep breath and let out a deep sigh as she walked back to the hotel.
Connie waited for her by the entrance. She searched her face, trying to read her expression for the meaning of the events in the parking lot. Emily smiled wanly at her, put her hand on Connie’s shoulder and said “Thank you.”
Connie drew her into a hug and whispered “Anytime.” But she knew that Emily had not really needed her help. Her debt was not repaid, not by a long shot, and she knew it, but she felt that her personal redemption was underway, and all thanks to this puzzling, enigmatic girl.
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Chapter 22: Home At Last
They returned home to Warm Springs the next day, regaling their conquering hero, Emily, the whole way. She was flattered, and didn’t want to spoil their enjoyment of the moment. But the relief she felt at the result of the weekend had almost no connection to the trophy or the tournament. For the first time in months, she felt she could finally relax. They stopped for lunch at a diner outside of Richmond. Afterwards, Emily climbed into the seat in the very back of the mini-van and fell fast asleep for the rest of the journey.
That evening, she called Michael and her mother and told them all about her encounter with the Chinese. Well, she spared her mother the bit about fighting foreign agents in the parking lot. But she told them pretty much all the rest. They were bemused, puzzled and overjoyed at the same time. The next day, she got up early and went to school, where she met her friends, and they congratulated each other one more time about the tournament.
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Look for other titles from The Emily Kane Stories
by Jacques Antoine:
Girl Punches Out
Kusanagi: Girl Takes Up Her Sword due out in July
The High Road to the Mountain Gods
Connect with the Author Online:
Twitter: Jacques Antoine
Blogs: Action Adventure Inc
Jacques Antoine and The Emily Kane Stories
Girl Fights Back (Go No Sen) (Emily Kane Adventures) Page 21