CHAPTER SIX

The sun came up on the mountain, the rays entering the dojo through its windows and shining through the paper walls and dividers inside. Dust particles were illuminated brightly as they hovered and drifted through the beams of light. The small, white candles, lit the night before, were now spent and forgotten.

Slade sat cross-legged in the middle of a small meditation room, a simple straw mat beneath him. Chui-hui was sitting across from the man on a similar mat, her back to the thin sliding door that was the only exit. Slade was in no way claustrophobic, but he was sure that there were janitorial closets larger than this room. It amazed him that he had been able to sit here comfortably as a boy.

Robin hadn't entered the dojo this morning with Chui-hui—something Slade had taken no small amount of amusement in. He could easily imagined the boy stubbornly curled up outside, too angry and afraid to sleep in the same dojo as his enemy. Of course, Slade had not slept last night either—with Robin and the True Master gone, he had taken advantage of the alone time to think.

In less than ten minutes of showing up on Chui-hui's doorstep, Robin had already compromised Slade's standing with the woman. Chui-hui had been able to forgive Slade's transgressions when his many unlawful deeds had been vague and nebulous, but Robin had brought those deeds into the candlelight, hatred and pain dripping off every syllable as he tried to tell the master of Slade's most heinous crimes. Blurting out that Slade was responsible for the death of the Snake Guardian had been too much for the woman to ignore—the Snake Guardian had been on the mountain before Slade was even born. Slade's only defense now was that he hadn't intentionally killed the old creature.

Slade had contemplated leaving a note for the Master and heading back to Jump City, but his own pride prevented him from seriously considering the idea. Bowing out would look as if he were running with his tail between his legs, as if Robin posed some sort of threat to him. The thought of leaving and giving Robin what he wanted was impermissible.

Besides, Chui-hui hadn't cast him away yet. And after she had returned from tending to the Snake Guardian's final arrangements, she asked Slade to join her here. It hadn't escaped Slade's attention that he had been asked to sit with his back at the wall, while Chui-hui blocked the door. Of course, it was obviously more formality than anything else; if Slade wanted to leave a room, no one stood much chance of stopping him.

After several minutes of silence, Chui-hui finally spoke. Her first words were unusually blunt.

“Tell me,” she began slowly, “what happened between you and the Guardian? Tell me in one breath, Slade; no double-speak, no twisted words. Why did you kill him?”

Perhaps you know me better than you like to admit, Slade thought. Chui-hui was well aware of his ability to manipulate and silver-coat words; he'd been clever at it even in his year training under her, though she was rarely fooled. His little schemes had usually resulted with the woman giving him extra chores and tasks to complete as punishment. Not with very effective results, apparently.

“The Guardian attacked me,” Slade told her, “so I shot him. Repeatedly.”

“Why did he attack you?” she asked.

Slade gave a slight shrug. “He said I wasn't worthy of you. That just because he had to let me pass him once didn't mean he would allow me to a second time.” Slade paused, and took a risk. “I am not denying his accusations, Chui-hui,” he said. “But at the end of a day, a snake is still a snake. You know this. The Guardian was a sneaky creature and would not hesitate to kill. And he attacked me first. Even you, with all your morals, teach your students to defend themselves when their lives are threatened. I was not the one who didn't live up to your ideals this time; the Guardian of the Cave was. ”

Chui-hui had no response to this, and Slade knew it. He was right. No matter how this turned out, he would have some small victory.

“You...don't understand, Slade,” she said finally. “You simply don't understand...” She gave a small, almost inaudible sigh. “But I cannot deny that my guardian is at the core of all of this; he is the one responsible for attacking you.”

“He was responsible, rather.”

“Yes...” The woman's face seemed to deepen at Slade's words. A look of strange conviction entered her features. “Yes...he 'was'...”

She stood up. “Perhaps we can still salvage something from this, Slade. If you can keep yourself from killing any of my other guardians,” she added dryly.

Slade took to his feet as well. “You've no reason for concern,” he told her.

The woman nodded. “I hope not. Now come. The sun has risen and you and Robin must eat.”

Eat with Robin? He'd rather gag on a knife first. “I'll take my meals privately,” Slade told the woman.

Chui-hui paused, and Slade knew she was biting the inside of her lip—she did that sometimes. “Very well. You can eat here or in the small guest quarters. Preferably there.” She slid open the door, and stepped out. “But that doesn't change the fact that I do have some idea of what you look like, you know. A bit late for the mask now.” She exited the room.

Slade's eye narrowed into a smoldering glare at the closing door.

(SS SS SS)

He woke up with the sun pouring into his eyes and his back to something hard. It took a moment for the memories to return, cutting through his sleepy haze. He was in rural China, resting against the dojo housing his master and his most hated enemy.

Great. He hadn't been in this country for twenty-four hours and already his vacation was out the window.

Robin shivered away the last of the morning's early chill, grateful that the sun was out and the mountain air had warmed a little. He wasn't sure if he would be up for a repeat of this again tonight. True, he could do it, and he had done it many times in the past when the situation had called for it, but sleeping out in the cold while Slade rested comfortably indoors was something else entirely.

Don't think that way, Robin told himself firmly. Slade'll be gone soon. You can have the master to yourself and forget this madness ever happened.

He knew the master had to kick Slade out. She had to. After what she did to Kitarou—after all the things she had taught him about doing the right thing, about being a good person—there was no way Slade could be staying. It wasn't refutable.

It wasn't logical.

But... An evil, sinister thought wormed its way into Robin's skull. Why had the Master let Slade stay last night? Why had she told him that they would “talk”? Why hadn't she told him to leave right away?

...What did the master know about the snake guardian that he didn't?

Robin stood up, stretching and rubbing out the kinks in his joints he'd gotten from sleeping outside like an idiot for the past two hours. As he massaged his neck he couldn't help but feel a little childish. He hadn't acted this way since...well, since he had been a little kid living with his mentor, although Batman hadn't been as tolerant as the True Master.

Robin let out a heavy sigh, guilt twisting through his stomach. He had so been looking forward to spending time with the master, and now he was acting like a total jerk her. It was Slade he was angry at—not her.

Robin expelled a short sigh. Time to start acting his age. He had to apologize, and, more importantly, show Slade that the man could not get to him. Robin wasn't going to sit outside like some frightened puppy. Slade had no power over him—Chui-hui was his master, not Slade—

And from now on, I'd like you to call me master...

Robin gritted his teeth instinctively at the memory, as if wincing in pain. He forced down the ghostlike voice, and barely noticed that his breathing was already starting to quicken. “That was a long time ago,” he told himself in a low voice. “I won that time...not him.” It still took a moment to shake the residue of the man's voice, to suppress the phantom emotion of helplessness that had filled his being all that time ago.

Robin gripped his fists, and headed for the dojo. He hesitated only for the briefest of seconds before knocking on the door.

He expected the master—Please let it be her, not him, please—to open the door almost immediately, but Robin waited almost a full minute before the door opened. Chui-hui, thankfully, stood in the threshold.

“Robin,” she said, a gentle smile coming to her face. “I take it you're less stubborn this morning? Come in, young warrior, I have your breakfast for you.”

“Master—” he began as he stepped through the doorway, “I want to apologize. I was way too disrespectful towards you and I—I'm just really sorry. I didn't act like I should have at all.”

The woman gave a slight wave of indifference. “It's forgiven, young warrior. And I understand why you acted the way you did.”

No, Master; you don't understand at all, Robin thought despite himself. You don't know what he's done to me. He'd have to make her understand—somehow. There was no way she would approve of Slade if she knew what he was really like, if she knew everything the masked criminal had done to him and his friends

And speaking of which... Robin's masked eyes scanned the hallway as the master led him into the small kitchen, searching every corner of the room for Slade's casual, Instead he was only greeted by the smell of boiled rice. The True Master hummed slightly as she placed a generous helping of the steaming rice into a bowl.

“Master, where is Slade right now?” Robin asked her. He barely grasped the rice bowl in time as she shoved it into his hands. Two red chopsticks poked out of the mound of rice almost fashionably.

“He is in the guest-quarters you were too stubborn to take,” the woman said off-handedly. “And he does not wish to eat with us. He'll be out soon enough.”

A sick, painful knot twisted in Robin's stomach. His former anger returned as quickly as if it had been started with flash powder. Guest-quarters... “So does that mean you're not getting rid of him?” he asked her incredulously. “Even after he admitted o killing the Snake Guardian? What could he have possibly said—”

“Robin, just take your food and eat.”

“But—” Helpless frustration welled up inside of him, threatening to break his voice. “But he's Slade!”

“Take your food and go eat, Robin.” The True Master gave the boy a prod toward the door. Staring numbly at his rice, Robin headed for the eating room. This whole thing was impossible—it couldn't be happening.

He sat down cross-legged in front of the low table and obediently tried eating, but he could barely taste the rice that seemed to stick and catch in his throat. He forced it down anyway.

The Master entered the room with a small tea tray in hand. Without asking, she set a porcelain cup in front of him and filled it with the steaming drink. Robin didn't touch it—he wanted answers, not tea.

“What did Slade say to you?” he asked her.

The True Master sat down across from him, graceful as always. “If I had wanted you to know, young warrior, I would have told you.”

“There's nothing he could have possibly said to defend himself.”

“Eat, Robin.”

The Boy Wonder glowered, turning back to his rice, but all he could do was poke and push around the sticky, white grains. He wasn't hungry—his stomach felt shriveled.

“You are still very young,” the master told him, picking up her own bowl. “There are many things that you don't understand yet, but that does not mean you should stop trusting my judgment.”

Trust. Robin had a bad history with that word.

“I trust you...” he insisted, but he wasn't sure if he meant it.

It had hit him hard, when he came to the dojo and found Slade already there. It had hit him even harder when he realized that Slade and the True Master were on amiable terms, sitting like friends together. It was like everything the Master had ever taught him had been a lie. All that talk of resisting evil, of remaining pure—had it really meant anything at all? The Master he had always known despised people like Slade, she didn't invite them into her home and treated them like...like...

And how could she have sided with Slade over him, anyway? Robin wasn't asking to be her favorite, but he should damn well be more loved than him.

...yes...it was true... Robin didn't trust her anymore.

The pupil should never question the Master...the pupil should always have faith in them. The True Master was a good woman—he knew she was.

But at the same time...

“You're right,” he told her quietly. “I guess I don't understand any of this, how you could do this. I want to trust you, but...but you just—and he—”

“Let me worry about Slade. I assure you that he will be on his best behavior while he is here.”

Robin didn't respond. He reached for his cup of tea, pointedly not making eye contact with the woman. He took a cautionary sip, then began to drink the warm liquid, ignoring the bland flavor.

“We will talk more of this later,” the Master said. “I must go down to the village today for a few supplies. Oh, and would you mind catching a few fish from the stream for me? I will be gone until nightfall and I would like the fish ready for me to prepare when I get back.”

Robin dropped the cup. Hot tea spread across the table, seeping into the wood. “You're going away? All day? But where will Slade—” He stared at the master almost pleadingly, knowing what her absence would mean. “You can't leave me here with him all day.”

“I shall be back before you know it.”

Robin gripped the edge of the table. “Master, we'll kill each other. You don't know what he's—”

“Ah, Robin,” a new, more masculine voice spoke up. Robin's spine straightened in instinctive fear. He forced himself to turn and found Slade settling against the door-frame above him, looking collected and unworried as always. His single, blue eye stared down at him, relaxed and amused. The way a lion might regard a mouse it was thinking of wolfing down. “Good to see you this morning.”

Robin's eyes filled with hatred behind him mask, disgust taking over his features. He had to turn his head away from the man, and stared at the tea tray on the table, his body trembling with barely-bridled hatred. This must be how Raven felt sometimes, holding everything in and not letting it out no matter how much she wanted to. Robin suddenly had new respect for her.

Slade didn't address him again though. Instead the criminal gave his attention to the True Master. “Did I hear you correctly, Chui-hui? You're abandoning me so soon?”

Chui-hui. Slade had been calling her that since Robin got here. “Chui-hui” had to be the True Master's name, and Slade knew it before Robin had ever thought to ask. Wonderful.

“Only for a little while, Slade,” the True Master answered as she stood. “I shall be back by nightfall.”

“Whatever will I do without you,” Slade murmured.

Chui-hui gave him an almost pointed look. “I would ask that you will stay out of trouble. But do enjoy the mountain while I am gone. I am sure it would be nice to familiarize yourself with the surroundings again.” She tucked her hands into her sleeves almost regally. “Now, I really must be going. Robin, do not forget to fish. Oh, and be sure to keep safe.”

“Don't worry,” Slade told her. “I'll take good care of him.”

Robin glowered. “Yeah, I'm sure you will,” he muttered.

(To be continued)