Visiting temple 2

Lilli looks at the student that was chosen for her test. Looking at Alex, she gains strength from his mental message. Not one to be beaten, she uses all of her cunning and agility to bring this arrogant boy down. Her guilt over actually hurting him weighs on her conscience. Walking over to the boy, she takes bandages to bind his ribs, for she is certain she broke at least one.

"May I help bind your ribs? I think I broke at least one. If I bind them, it will be easier for you to breathe." She stoops beside him going to untie his top. He brushes her hands away angrily.

"I do not need your help. I will take care of it myself." Pushing her to the ground, he struggles to stand. Seeing this, Alex yells out a warning to the boy. Lilli shoots him an angry look and stands. Standing on the top toe, she stares into the boy's eyes.

" you will sit down and get your injury treated, or I will sit you down. Do not take my cousin's Alex warning lightly. He knows from experience to not disobey me when injured." Placing her hands on his shoulder, she shoved him back down on the bench. Forcibly removing his shirt. His chest and stomach are already starting to bruise. Pressing on his stomach, she checks to ensure that he has no internal bleeding. Taking the gauze, she wraps his ribs tight.

" make sure to move slowly for the next week and keep a check on if there is any significant swelling in your stomach. Suppose you become disoriented or have nausea make sure to tell someone immediately. Your stomach does not feel soft, and there is no swelling at the moment. So I don't think you have any internal bleeding. You know I am sorry that I hurt you; we were supposed to be just sparing. If you had not come at me with the intent to hurt me, I would not have become aggressive. I took it easy on you after I heard your rib crack. If it had been a real fight, I could have seriously hurt you. It would help if you did not let your pride get in the way of your judgment. " Lilli finished attending to the boy and walked back to her uncle only to hear the master ask him about her.

"The girl, she is quite a good fighter; when does she turn twenty?" The master asks Yona. Yona looks at him with surprise.

"How old did you think my niece was? Did you not even look at her information before testing her." His anger is just beneath the surface.

"I never look at new students' information because I do not want to prejudge their abilities by age or someone else's evaluation." The master tells him. Yona looks at him glaringly.

"My niece just turned eleven. She is not even close to being an adult yet. That is why her lessons are being held only during summers. " Yona looks over and sees the shock on the boy's face. Lilli looks at the master and decides to speak her mind.

"You did not want to test me. You wanted to try to break me. I do not know what I did that offended you but as a teacher and master of weaponry. It would help if you had better control over your prejudices. I have been taught by a woman that was in the elite forces in South Korea. My Aunt told me that it would be hard, but she did not tell me that you would deliberately hurt me. Next time I suggest you think before you act like a child that isn't getting his way. I think I will find the head monk and withdraw from classes. I do not need to put myself in a position that I may be forced to kill someone." Lilli throws her towel down and stomps away. Leaving the master speechless.

Alex and William smile and fist bump in approval. Jiro winks at his brothers and laughs. He is going to enjoy having this little spitfire around. Too bad there isn't an adult version of her available.

Miko walks over to the master and bows, respectively, before speaking.

"You should never underestimate a woman, no matter her age. We tend to strike back in ways that are not expected. Have you ever thought of why a woman is to carry children and raise them? We are fiercely protective, and we do not think with the little mind of the male ego. I do not know if it is because she is not Japanese or because she is a girl. Either way, if that were your best student, then I would rethink what is the best." Turning away from him, Miko follows to check on Lilli. Alex decides he is not going to let the man off without hearing him out.

"You know I have been coming here since I was five. I have told Lilli so much about the temple and the school. That she has begged to come here. I was worried because she is the smallest and weakest person in our family. I was afraid it would be too hard on her. I should have been more worried about her having her feelings hurt instead of her body." Alex waves to William, and they go to find their cousin. The head monk, as well as a few of the elders, come striding angrily across the lawn—the master bows to them, respectively. Shiro stops the adults wanting to hear what they have to say. He is not worried about Lilli at the moment because he can feel her every emotion and knows she is angry but proud that she did not let them get the better of her.

"What does the meaning of you have the senior fight a child?" The head monk demands.

"I saw her doing her warm-up and thought she was much older than her looks. She had the form of a much more mature fighter than the group she was to be placed with. As you know, I do not check student information before testing them. I would not have had a child fight an adult if I had known. " the master hangs his head in shame.

"I heard she beat the boy soundly and that she may have even broken a bone. She stopped by the infirmary to talk to the healer. She told him she does not think that he has internal bleeding, but she is sure he may have a broken rib or two. The healer is examining him now. From now on, you are to treat her with care. Her family provides a lot to our temple, and her skills are remarkable. I do not want to lose such a student. Nor can we afford to lose what her family provides. " the elders walk away from him, leaving him to reflect on his actions. Shiro smirked as he turned away with his uncles.

"Uncle, I wonder what he would think of her if he was to see her on horseback with her bow. Do you think we can arrange a competition? I want Lilli to crush that man and his ego completely. I want him to come to respect her and her skills truly." Shiro looks back at the master. His arrogance oozes him like poison. Thinking he needs to be shown that a warrior comes in many forms, not just a bully's idea of one.

Shiro sees Lili has changed and runs to her, hugging her.

"Let me look at you to make sure that he did not leave any marks. It would help if you had refused and explained to the master that he was too old for you to fight. What were you thinking about fighting someone nearly twice your age and twice your size? What would I do if you had gotten hurt?" Shiro fusses over her as if she was a baby. Lilli lets a tear fall before burying her face in his chest.

"I was so scared that I would fail in front of you. That I would not make a good impression on your family. " sniffling, she raises her tearing face to his. Akio and Miko overhear her smile.

"Young lady, you are not to worry about if you made a good impression or not. You have brought our son out of his shell; for that, we will always be grateful. You are a wonderful person who does not need to fight well for us to like them. So no more putting yourself in a position to get hurt to impress us. We like you already." Akio tells Lilli with Miko nodding her head in agreement. Yona decides it is time to call it a day and heads home for Lilli to rest. Just as they are getting into the car, Jiro gives Shiro the thumbs-up sign. Letting him know that he has started the process of arranging the competition.