A day after two long ones. Comparably silent, despite the urgent squeals of a pig, and the unwavering snore of the store owner.
Ryoga— P-chan... Whatever. The persistent swine... wanted to be somewhere, fast. He needed a toss in the right direction.
But Ringo was asleep.
So, for the past forty minutes, he tried to wake Ringo up.
Emphasis on, tried.
Soft nudge? Tossed to the wall.
The toss was recent.
Rising back to his hooves, Ryoga grunted in frustration—and pain.
"Bwee!" He lunged, a tiny hoof aimed at Ringo's head, in hopes that if violence wasn't the answer, more was.
Instead, he was caught, and kissing the ground all of a sudden.
"Cut it out..." Ringo mumbled, his face planted into his pillow.
The raw chashu snorted, starting to do the exact opposite —by hopping up next to Ringo's ear. "SQWEE!!"
The little stunt got two results... Ringo definitely was up —and annoyed. But he only glared, one eye peeking from the pillow.
"Shut up..." He hissed, raising a hand to aggressively "pat" the swine through the bed, but Ryoga darted out of danger...
And landed in more.
A blur in the shape of a kick swiped Ryoga into the air, then bounded back as a stomp—sending him into another wall, his nape slamming into corner specifically.
Ringo sighed, Shoving his face back into the pillow. "Some quiet..."
You know they say martial arts brings peace, but it's much more present result was chaos. "RINGO!" The first door crumbled, And he hoped it would stop there. But it didn't.
Lee Yin burst through the second door moments later, brandishing a spear and a sharper grimace.
"You have a lot to explain!" She barked. Dating the person she set out to kill? It is unforgivable, punishable by death.
And she expected to execute someone... sarcastic, annoying, irritating, problematic—well, Ringo. Then she would get answers. But who she found was an irritable pit of energy, shoving a pig, and a card in her arms.
Then all of a sudden, she was being shoved—out of the shop, only able to watch Ringo wobble back to his room.
"Boil It, roast it, whatever.." he muttered, an eye twitching when he pointed at the pig.
Seeing how frustrated Ringo was, Lee Yin forgot about her own frustration. Now, she only had one other concern "Get where?"
But the slam of a door signaled Ringo's non-negotiable absence. And Lee Yins cue to leave.
And that's how we come to find her on the road, looking at a card—for the fourth time. "What nonsense is this?" She kept flipping the card over. She partly wondered why she listened to Ringo but summed it up to curiosity.
"Hate club." Simple as crayon. Like it explained everything. What even is a hate club?
"Has an address.." She muttered. "That's not too far either..." In fact, just down the street.
"But, what's with the pig?"
"Bwee." Ryoga squeaked, just as confused.
A skeptical trip later, and Lee Yin found herself surprised.
A whole rec-center.
In one whole piece.
Glass doors. Clear windows.
She stepped through, half expecting an elaborately painted cardboard cutout.
The other half wasn't ready to see— People!?
Groups even. Sitting in a semicircle as they listened to one of today's rants.
She would drop her expectations from now on — as if that would keep her from surprises.
"Kelp should have never been made!" The scientist's voice scratched. "It is a sin to even eat!" she topped her performance with a symbolic tear of actual kelp.
Everyone applauded while she stomped the halves... Like it were sane. Encouraged, even.
Lee Yin sighed, "This is a hate club..."
"Indeed!" A small bundle of joy chirped, already tossing his gaze at the card. "Here to join? You must be— yes, that card just says it— I'll show you around! Why are you just standing there? Hurry up!"
She found her self stumbling along with the hasty boy before anchoring her feet, snagging him to a halt "Wait—"
"Wait..?" The boy interrupted. "I HATE that! It's just so bland— live the next —theinitiationceremonyisthisway!"
he took one step forward, then snapped around. "You aren't fit." The boy suddenly declared, falling dead silent.
Lee Yin's eyebrow quirked, part confusion— tinge of insult. "H—"
"Second chance!" He blurted. "You're forgiven! My name is Shinobu!"
"Are you getting—"
"Faster?" A beat of calm— short-lived. "I—" can't type that fast...
Lee Yin couldn't even think that fast. She was actually losing her thoughts trying to understand the boy. Thankfully, a good muffle was her rising irritation.
P-Chan was worse off, stunned immediately. Words flooded his skull, swirling and crashing. At some point, the sheer volume alone blocked the oxygen to his brain.
So — understandably, thankfully — Lee Yin pressed her hand over his mouth. Silencing physically, before verbally
"Shut, UP!"
The boy stopped immediately, in a way true to himself. His nose crinkled, then he unleashed a single, sudden shout "WA—" Just, "wa". A jet of tears shot out of his eyes for a split second.
Then the fury came a blink later.
"YoumeanypoopyheadIhateyouruglymakeupitlooksbloodycrowsfeet—"
Yes, speed in speech, brief in grief. He was fairly new to the whole hate club, but there was always the founder to teach him better.
To the right of the commotion, a relevant office door slid open. A man with loose hair, and a few slightly tugged strands, beaming inner peace, stepped out.
"Hey now! Hate is a delicate word to use." he said softly.
"Butsheisjustmovessoslowandshe'smean—" Shinobu blurted, while staring Lee Yin straight in the eyes.
The man slipped up to the kid unnoticed, pressing a finger to the top of Shinobu's head. "I know how much you hate slow... but no need to be rude."
"But—she!"
He pressed harder. "She's new." Slowly, Shinobu kneeled under the pressure.
Then he patted Shinobu's head. "Go easy on her, kay?"
"Sorry..." the boy winced. "I spoke too fast..."
"Whatever." Lee Yin muttered, not too forgiving given the bold insulting.
"Yipee..." Shinobu muttered anyway, shuffling away — probably to a corner.
With that problem settled, the man turned to Lee Yin and Ryoga. "Sorry about him. I am Kimura. Are you here to join? Or the cute girl."
...
"Oh yea. Someone told me to boil the pig here."
"..Really," he tilted his head. "who?"
"Ringo—"
Shinobu slung himself around the corner, exclaiming, "The heretic!"
Kimura glanced over at the boy, silently pointing. Shinobu slipped back to his corner —expanding his hate list, certainly.
"You aren't actually..." He hesitantly reached toward the pig incase.
"No." Lee Yin just dropped the thing like it was luggage. Curiosity only got her to do so much. "Now, about Ringo—"
"HERETIC!" Interrupted Shinobu...
The slower people glanced back. Lee Yin clicked her tongue, then continued: "—is a heretic?"
"Yea... some time back, I saw the violent fool..." Kimura stroked his stubble —more so bringing attention to it. What was he hating at the moment? He turned his head the other way. Something... Violent. He shuddered at the thought.
"Right, this girl he was... sparring with. Gut checks."
Flashback~ — After the end of chapter thirteen.
Ringo stubbornly refused to explain how he won.
Yukue's protests were just as stubborn, "Last time you made it seem like the one who finished first won."
(Their food, of course.)
Ringo turned around poking Yukue's forehead for no reason. "What makes today so ordinary?"
Yukue poked him in the stomach, slightly harder. "The rules only matter when you set them."
He playfully cupped his stomach "I'm starting to hate how often you aim here."
Yes, that dreaded day. The casual, playful violence. Tossing around hate! Kimura saw it all — he learned how hate could be abused!
Which is why he started the hate club and branded Ringo a heretic.
—Back to this chapter—
"That sounds like they were playing" Real comfortably too... Lee Yin thought, more curious about the two than ever.
"That's the problem!—" Kimura stopped mid sentence till he was composed. he continued— scratching his hair, "Hate is not a plaything, you should know."
Lee Yin planted her fists on her hips, not-so subtly warning Kimura to watch his next words. "Why exactly?"
"It's in your eyes. I can just feel it." he winked.
Not even a slight reaction—She was looking elsewhere.
He clapped his hands together, snapping back to "cool" and "collected".
"S-so uh, there's this initiation trial, you can check it out... If you're interested."
He flipped a thumbs up, then tripped back into his office. "Its nothin' much..."
When Kimura managed to not bump into the doorway, Lee Yin sighed. "Initiation trial? Is this a cult?"
And of course, the one who, stabbed dolls as they cursed one's name decided to say, "This is not a cult." Said Gosunkugi, — Local occultist.
That earlier description wasn't a guess mind you, Lee Yin literally watched it all happen when she ignored the poor flirt attempt. (She was aware...)
And Gosunkugi —but for the purposes of the continuity, he is currently described as... a half living rando, (why not)— Seemed to believe he was right.
Lee Yin —like she could— judged the scrawny vacuum sealed corpse's sense of fashion. Said morose male wore a full white kimono with a candle crown. "Do you even know what a mirror is?"
A slight glance at his clothes, and he fumed? Can't tell... "The occult is not a cult..."
She chopped the quiet cadaver on the head "Cult, is in the name." she said so matter-of-factly. "Occult."
Sadly, she was wrong, and confidently so. He wheezed furiously. "The Occult is all things supernatural, not worship!"
"Shut up already! I only care about this stupid ritual—"
Doom... ░▒▒▓▓▓
The moment she said trial, the lights went out.
Feet shuffled in the darkness; Lee Yin couldn't tell what was happening.
Then there came a repeated flicking sound —staple fumbling of a lighter.
When the lighter flared, the flame passed into a red paper lamp. Creating a dim crimson light, just bright enough to reveal the chalk circle surrounded by people. "Is this the ritual?!"
A new woman at the center set a box down. Her long black hair swayed as she snapped her head toward Lee Yin.
"Not just yet."
She merged into the crowd vanishing in the deeper ends. Her smooth voice slithered to Lee Yin "Please be seated..."
Lee Yin crossed her arms "Why would I?" she spat, closing her eyes snarkily. "Listening to a flock of weirdos isn't something anyone should do." Which is ironic since the law breaker now found herself in a chair.
Based on the wide eyes, she didn't know what happened. "What the?" she sputtered. "Hey—"
Gong.
A tiny service bell chimed.
The lady appeared, sitting in a throne atop of a stage. "Before we test the heretic's girl,"
"HE IS NOT—"
"We! must rid this room of any emotion other than hate."
She flicked a fan from her sleeve and pointed it toward the box, serving as a demand that the box should open— and so it opened. "Begin."
The members beneath her clasped their hands together and began to chant to a poorly drawn picture of a priestess rising into the air —the brilliant fishing line glistening from the little light. "We are free to hate, Freer than we ever were..."
Then Gosunkugi —the ever growing, breathing eulogy— raised his hand, reaching past the circle. "Let the ritu—trial... Begin."
Ding...
Everyone sat down on their knees, and fell silent. Lee Yin awkwardly lagged behind, plopping into the same position, waiting for what the trial has to offer...
And it was!—
Nothing.
Not.
A.
Thing.
Oh wait—! A slight growl from joe.
Ooh, there's a clenched jaw...
…So action-packed...
God, it bored me—her.
Just some chumps with a ridiculous need to hate someone...
"What is this!?" She shouted, finally done with sitting spitefully. "How does this have anything to do with hate?"
The— I cant come up with another spin on half living... Gosunkugi spoke up, "We sit and imagine our hate."
"That is stupid!"
"You are free to hate that... Quietly." He slammed his eyes shut, hoping that would shut down the conversation.
Soft snickers scurried around the silent room.
And a growl shot strait at him "Is that lip, you mortal husk!?"
"H-Hate is best when it is quiet—" He was snatched off of his feet, hanging upside down over the candle.
—Fire can look much larger when your face is inches away—
"Hate is only hate if you can't help but hurt them! So you do!"
The silent room fell mute—save for Gosunkugi's whimpers.
True hate was violent?
Lee Yin blinked, they look stupid, hate is simple she thought.
The lady stood from her throne, clearly done with the noise.
"I'll have you know, Kimura said—"
"Kimura? What does he even hate?"
A member braved himself to speak up. "Well, he hates violence."
Lee Yin scoffed. "Why would someone who hates the very principle of hating teach you how to hate!?"
The lady recoiled, her eyes widening. She looked like she reached the peak of offense, but a flicker of reflection crossed her gaze — momentarily on the office. "If the heretic sent you... you must be a savage!"
Lee Yin tossed Gosunkugi aside, stomping up to the lady. "Someone as stupid as you would call me a savage!?"
She glared down at Lee Yin. "A savage like you would toss around stupid anywhere."
with a smooth flourish, a halberd slipped out of her sleeve. "I'm starting to hate you." The lady muttered.
Lee Yin flared up, already pointing her spear. "ditto."
A small, sharp breath —spilling into the silence...
Then the blades snapped together with a ringing clang!
As they struggle, Lee Yin smirked. "So you are a freak, whoever you are."
"Naoki Aito!" the woman barked, tossing Lee Yin to the edge of the circle. Then she charged.
Sparks flung from their clashes. Lee Yin's spear whisked through the air, barely deflected. A wide swing from Naoki flew just inches from the faces of her peers — missing as Lee Yin leaped over it.
The halberd's gust snuffed the candles, darkness flushing the room.
From his office, Kimura heard the enthusiastic hating ritual. The furious grunts, insults tossed through the air... The metal clashing? A halberd crashing through his door?! Ah it made him so proud; hate without violence.
"Fight fight fight!"
They were chanting? Must be a great battle against violence. Kimura thought. He just had to go out there and join them!
He pushed the door open with his new stylish halberd handle. Unable to see the ritual in all of this darkness, he simply flicked the lights on, no harm done.
Some wooden shrapnel, fluttered past his ear. Blurs of metal flashed in his eyes. Bright sparks seared his mind.
Lee Yin and Naoki, circling each other. Naoki rocked a disheveled look— her long lavender dress was shredded at the sleeves, and across the torso was a tear shaped like the spelling for idiot: 阿呆.
Lee Yin on the other hand, had 野蛮 (barbaric) torn on the shoulder of each yellow sleeve.
Kimura —possibly to fit in, or maybe just stress— was actively tearing chunks out of his hair. "What is this!?"
Naoki ducked under Lee Yin's spear, countering with a heel kick and a smug grin. "Teaching this, wench proper hate!"
Lee Yin responded with punch straight to the nose, dropping her spear to wrestle the pompous piece of—
"STOOOOP!" Kimura shrieked, tearing at his stubble. "Naoki! You of all people should know better than to embrace this barbaric activity!"
Shinobu —somehow wearing Lee Yin merchandise— rose from the crowd. "Keep fighting!"
"Not helping!" Kimura hissed. "Lee Yin, violence is pointless—"
Clutching Naoki's hair, Lee Yin scoffed. "Violence gets points across."
"Violence teaches brutes like her!" Naoki shot back.
The two were just about to brawl again when—
"AAAHH!" Kimura just snapped, whirled around, and kicked Ryoga out the window. "That's what you two look like! Kicking each other for no reason!"
Lee Yin, blinked "You kicked a pig... What is wrong with you?"
"Eh—wha—"
"Kimura... you savage." Naoki whispered.
"But you two fought with—"
Lee Yin brushed past him, deliberately harsh. "We don't punt animals like some sorta monster!"
Very far down the streets, a faint "achoo..." echoed.
"You should get yourself sorted Kimura..." Naoki muttered
"You too?"
Later in the night, Lee Yin walked the streets, returning home. —her own this time.
Once inside, she walked straight to the kitchen.
Lee Yin reached into her pocket, pulling out a leaf. She pinched it between her fingers, smiling ear to ear. Then she tossed it into the pot.
The bubbles smothered, then out came... Ochiba! yelping from the burns. "Ow!" he screeched, squirming on the floor. Then a knife tapped his chin, silencing him.
"Ochiba..." Lee Yin hummed. "It has been a while huh?"
"Y-Yes... it has."
"Last time we had a proper, chat. You said you could see us together far in the future. Then you ran." She walked to the bathroom, still reminiscing. "All I could say is that I would hunt you till the end of time."
"So maybe it is fate that were here now."
She came back out, fully dressed in red armor and black war paint; her spear even had a new shine.
But Ochiba was already gone—out the window, well aware of Lee Yin's intentions.
Lee Yin looked at the open window; her eye twitched, but she didn't growl. She smirked.
"So why should I end this chase so soon."
Under the moonlight, bore a product of devotion: Lee Yin chasing her lecherous ex boyfriend.
It wasn't betrayal or heart break. Those had passed. This was pure hatred. The right kind...
Do try to take any lesson possibly shown with a grain of... light.