Chapter 10 Part 1: Family

As they scurried back to the school and their home, Jun let Mei take charge. Her unusual insistence and desire to beat the Jinshari made him wonder what exactly she had found out. Her words echoed in his head.

“I found them.”

As they closed the door, Mei checked the windows and then sighed in relief.

“You might want to sit down, old man.” She nodded toward one of the chairs around the table. Jun’s brow raised as he trudged over and plopped down. Mei hesitated once more, checking the windows, and Jun looked at her sternly. Why all this secrecy? She was being rather cautious today.

“I found Zeke.”

…

Jun couldn’t stop his mouth from dropping. The ensuing silence felt long as he processed this.

“Where? When?” Then he thought better. “Who?”

Mei huffed, folding her arms.

“It’s Zain.”

Jun’s eyes sealed tight as he tilted his head, digesting the revelation. Him? As he pinched the bridge of his nose, he noted how Mei fidgeted, watching the windows. No wonder she was being secretive about this.

“How did you figure this out?” he asked, confusion evident. He had already written the boy off. So why did she think they were the same person?

“I found Zain outside after helping some evacuate. He was talking with the White Flame and explaining the monsters below. Then he started humming Mother’s song.”

Jun folded his arms. This was strange. He had hummed other campfire tunes around campus, even near Zain, but the boy hadn’t reacted.

“And? I’ve sung that tune around him so it could be a coincidence.”

“Dad! This is Zeke! I saw him pull out a pocket knife and he was whittling just like back on Earth.”

Jun put his hand to his chin as Mei continued. She kept pulling more evidence. The final straw was her conclusion.

“I followed him for a bit, down the mountain, and called out ‘Zeke Cole, I’ve found you.’ And you know what he did? He called me Maisie.”

Jun felt himself exhale, not realizing he had been waiting for something more definitive.

“‘Course the Jinshari had to ruin it.”

“They did?”

Mei explained that after her inquisition, the clan had charged at Zain and attacked him. Before she could stop it, the Red Silver Saint had appeared and taken them on.

“She was nearby?” Jun asked, surprised she could make it on the mountain in her chair.

“We reached the foot of the mountain when this happened…” Mei huffed. “She wielded her ice magic and attacked them, then she turned it on me. Zain stopped her and then took her back down.”

Jun rested his elbow on the table, eyes gazing outside as he processed this. His heart soared and hurt. It wasn’t Ellen, but it was Zeke. Yet, why hadn’t his son reacted to his singing? Why hadn’t he shown himself? Was he trying to find them? Since he had reacted to Mei, then he wasn’t not trying to find them. At least, that was the conclusion he came to.

Mei’s stomach rumbled and he let out a sigh. They hadn’t had lunch and it was past dinner. The adrenaline had sustained them far longer than he would have liked.

“We’ll talk with him tomorrow.”

His eyes looked at the darkening sky as he made the decision. Everyone needed rest and they needed food. It wouldn’t make sense to seek him out tonight, and he wasn’t sure the Jinshari would allow it. Especially since they had attacked him when Mei approached. They might have thought he was some acquaintance from before the betrothal, and Maisie sounded like a nickname that Mei could have. As he pondered how to approach him about it in combat class, Mei began to cook. He then recalled her injury, the thin blade-like cut without paralysis.

“Did Elain hurt you?” he asked as he pieced things together.

“Oh that…?” Mei looked at him with partially closed eyes and upturned brows. Her lips pushed against her mask as she fidgeted. “Ah… yes. Why don’t we get dinner going?”

“What are you hiding?” Jun thrummed his fingers on the table as she flinched.

“Dad…”

He paused. If she was going to call him that, then she really did not want to talk about it. He relented, unwilling to hunt for the answer. His mind was a mess, constantly darting to Zeke and Zain, eventually settling on Ellen and her counterpart. Where was she? He shivered, pulling his limp hand over as he failed to figure this puzzle out.

The sun set while they ate, though Jun found the food bland. Mei criticized his critique, citing her extra herbs and spices in the dish. Old memories stirred of Zeke burning the fish and Ellen’s surprise seasoning that had made it palatable. As he tried to suppress it, they ran rampant, making sleep elude him.

The next morning, he was restless and ran through his sword forms, trying to clear his head. This rigorous routine helped to calm his heart, though it did little to ease the memories. While the night had been about Zeke, wondering how their interaction would go, the morning had brought on pleasant memories with Ellen, watching the sun rise while they started the fire and got camp stirring.

As if in correspondence to his memories, Mei stretched as she walked out. Her yawns slipped the mask around her neck, revealing a charming smile of contentment.

“This brings back memories,” her wistful tone mirrored his own sentiments. “So… how do we want to approach him? Want me to introduce? Get him to meet with us?”

Jun returned his sword to its sheath, a yawn interrupting his movements. He had woken far too early. Mei repeated the yawn, grumbling about his influence. Jun snickered.

“Well, I want to verify his identity one last time.”

“What, can’t trust me?” Mei mocked a hurtful tone. Then she stiffened and Jun cut the conversation short as Jinshari began to prowl around the gardens. They weren’t exactly being discreet today and that was worrisome. As was the normal rhythm, a few blades came after them and Jun and Mei sent them packing. Without the threat of poison it felt like a relaxing exchange, contrasting with being in the Jinshari estate. As the morning ‘activities’ concluded Jun took Mei to their morning studies where Amalie brought snacks for all her disciples. This was a weekly occurrence and made it possible for her to critique any flaws in their forms.

“Jun, keep that sword up a bit more and your eyes here, instead.” Her words rang out and Jun blinked. He apologized and then did as she instructed.

“Alright, why don’t you practice with one of the others. We’ll talk later.” Brows furrowed as she excused him, opting to work with Mei for the moment. Jun found a partner to work with before retiring to the snacks. No poisons again. He munched on the crunchy nuts, washing it down with some water. Everything was still bland. At least the texture was appealing.

Amalie found him and her head tilted towards the edge of the grounds. Jun followed her, wondering what she had noticed this time.

“Well, Jun, It’s not like you to get worked up over a simple search and rescue. Has something come up?” Her words cut right to the crux of the conversation. She didn’t enjoy beating around the bush.

“I’m not used to dealing with monsters.”

Amalie nodded as he tried to explain away his actions this morning. Then her eyes turned cold as she gazed into his own.

“It’s been over half a year now. You really think a flimsy excuse like that will pass at this point?” Jun’s tongue firmly rooted to his teeth as he attempted to remain calm. Any sign of tension would be used against him. If only she wasn’t so observant. Frankly, it made him feel like he was under a microscope. No wonder the Matriarch had let them leave. She was a relentless predator. It also stirred some respect toward her. She had remained distant but present when they had first started their journey. If he had known her abilities and her nature, he likely wouldn’t have given her a chance. In that way, it made her dangerous, but he could sense that her actions were caring… in a very straightforward manner.

“The Jinshari… I’m not so sure the incident was an accident. And…” he hesitated. She was aware of the threats against their lives, and very active in protecting them. But that didn’t extend to his relationship with Mei. She didn’t offer any ‘handout’ to help them unshackle themselves from the Jinshari. Just a place where they had some maneuverability. In that way, it was like a test. How well could they get on their feet and take charge of their lives—at least that was the impression she gave.

Jun shook his head. There were too many questions he had. At the very least, he wanted her to look into the Jinshari’s involvement in yesterday’s incident. It related to the school and the students’ safety. As for Zeke and Ellen, he still wanted some time to figure this out.

He heard her sigh, despite the closed lips. “Very well. I’ll look into it. But Jun, you need to work on your emotions. It’s making your swordsmanship sloppy. I don’t need to drill into what that means.”

Jun hastily bowed, excusing himself. He wasn’t sure if it was such a good thing that they both had the same master. Put simply, she would dish out the same sort of punishment his master would in this case and Jun wasn’t willing to face that at the moment.