71 Volume 3: A Kiss to Remember Me By (1/2)
”Anyway, do you think you can copy what I did?” Shuya stiffly changed the subject to something safer. ”But actually eat the yang, not spit it out.”
”I'm going to eat it? Didn't you say it tastes bad?”
”It tastes bad for me, but I have a hunch it'll be fine for you. And yes you're going to eat it, almost like how you absorb nature energy. The difference is nature energy must go into your dantians and then be circulated through your meridians before they are properly absorbed into the body. We're skipping that entirely. You must grab with your yin, you must eat with your yin, and you must think of your yin as the stomach that digests the yang.”
”Okay…” Little Sister bobbed her head and then added, ”So that's how I absorb the wood and water elements… I didn't realize…”
”I'm not surprised you don't know. That pu— Light probably didn't want to make things too complicated. Especially when this world of yours bends to your will. Why explain concepts when you can simply do what you want by willing it? But it's difficult to do that with yin, so a little explanation is needed. Though having your world do the brunt of the work… is quite useful. Might as well take advantage of it while we can.”
”I see… my world is really amazing, huh? I'll definitely do my best not to waste something so spectacular!”
”Exactly! Now you try eating some yang.”
Little Sister reached out, remembering to 'feel' with her yin. She now understood why Shuya had insisted on all that tickling and being tickled. Before then, she would not have understood the difference and tried to eat the yang like the wood and water element. But now she recognized the yin in herself and a little bit about how it functioned.
She attempted to grab the yang, only to see most of it slip through her fingers. Disgruntled, she tried again. In the end, she could only grab a tiny portion of yang compared to Shuya.
Hearing Little Sister make disappointed grunts at the results of her efforts, Shuya explained, ”Even if you could grab more, your yin wouldn't be able to absorb it. It's too small right now, so what you've got is the perfect portion for what you can handle.”
”…I guess it's alright then.” She responded, frowning slightly in annoyance and then mentally scolded herself. Mr. Light had been right, it wasn't good to be given everything without effort. Her world spoiled her, but now she needed to work to get what she wanted and even a little setback made her cross.
Unlike with Shuya, the tiny bit of yang in her hand didn't struggle, but passively rested in her hand. After focusing again, she cautiously put the yang in her mouth, still a little worried about the taste.
”Oh!” Little Sister blinked in surprise. ”You said it was tough but it melted right away, and it's not bland at all. It's sweet and a little spicy.”
”See? I told you not to worry. It didn't even struggle when you held it.” Shuya rolled her eyes and made a face, muttering, ”I guess that's love for you…”
”Love?”
”It's all about harmony, right? I don't like your Mr. Light, so my yin isn't in harmony with his yang. It's why he tastes so nasty to me. But for you… he loves you… and I suppose you love him too, most unfortunate… that's why—”
Little Sister reached out and grabbed Shuya's sleeve suddenly.
”The… the Light loves me?”
”Eh? Yes? Isn't it obvious?”
”Oh… oh!” She let go of Shuya and held her checks with both hands, blushing. ”I had no idea!”
Shuya stared at her like she was stupid.
”Would that punk spend so much time and effort on you if he didn't love you?”
Little Sister now covered her face with her hands, muffling her words. ”He said he came because I called him, I never thought—”
”Little Sister, even if you called for him, he wasn't obligated to show up. He could have stayed outside. And how could he have heard your call in the first place if he wasn't listening very carefully for it?”
”Gah!” Her blush had started to work it's way down to her neck. ”What am I to do when he comes back, Big Sis? All this time, he's loved me and I've been treating him like… like a friend!”
”…it's fine by me if you just keep treating him as a friend. Just do that for all eternity while you're at it.”
This caused Little Sister to lower her hands and give Shuya a pouting glare.
”…oh, alright! Fine! I'll tell you what to do.”
”En!”
”Kiss him.”
”K-kiss..?”
”Yep, just kiss that pu—fellow,” She tapped her mouth and smirked, ”right on his lips.”
”But… but he's very hot you see so.. I think that might hurt.”
Shuya raised an eyebrow. ”That's just his stupidly overpowered yang producing all that heat. But you literally ate his leftover yang just a moment ago, right? It didn't hurt, did it?”
”It didn't!” She paused. ”Is the yang in the air really Mr. Light's? It's not hot like he is...”
”Only because it's his leftovers. And it actually IS warm, but your little yin spirit is just used to being smothered so you never noticed. Anyway, the only reason he's hurt you before is because you let him in your ignorance. Instead of rejecting his heat, absorb it. Just like you did with his leftovers. You do that and kissing him won't hurt. You might find you really like it. But,” Shuya cautioned. ”I don't advise doing any more than that until your yin is stronger.”
”I can do more? Like what?”
Shuya blinked and then laughed. ”If you haven't figured it out later, I promise I'll explain it to you. But for now, just stick with kissing.”
——
As Mr. Light had warned, he did not visit for a long while. Little Sister was sad, but also grateful for getting to spend time with her new friend. She spent a long time talking to Shuya, eating yang and absorbing water and wood. At some point she remembered the poison and decided to show it to Shuya.
When Shuya saw the poisonous lake for the first time, she squealed and ran away from it immediately. Little Sister had to run to catch up to her.
”Ash and fire!” Shuya sputtered, shaking badly. ”What was that stuff?”
”It's the poison that makes me forget.”
”Makes you forget!? Little Sister, it's doing more than that!”
”It is?”
Shuya opened her mouth as if to explain and then stopped, thinking better of it. Since Little Sister's world bent to her will, the less she knew about what exactly this poison did, the better.
”…sorry, just pretend I didn't say anything.”
”Er, ok? But why?”
”You just… you really shouldn't get near that stuff, understand? It's really, really dangerous. Let's just leave it at that.”
”Oh don't worry, I know! That's why I've been getting rid of it. Then I can remember everything again!”
”..you've… you've been handling that stuff???”
”Not by myself,” Little Sister assured her. ”Mister Light is always there to help me. I borrow some of his warmth, you see, and that makes it so I can push the stuff out.”
Shuya stared at her blankly for a moment. She then raised her long sleeve and used it to swipe away the sweat on her forehead. ”…well… I suppose leaving it there isn't an option either… but seriously…”
She finally cleared her throat and gave a strained chuckle. ”Using his heat, huh? You were close to figuring out the yin and yang all on your own already, even without my help. But as for that poison, there's no way I can help get rid of it. My Master probably could have, but not me.. sorry for being useless Little Sister.”