Work Text:
Somewhere in the city, in a burned out floor of what should be an abandoned restaurant, a light shone. Despite the unorthodox surroundings, the Tao siblings were more or less at home.
“What would you like for dinner tonight, Ren?” Jun asked, opening the industrial fridge to see what was available. Her younger, more ill-tempered brother scowled at nothing before giving his answer.
“Curry.”
Leaning silently against the wall across the room, jiang-shi Li Pailong thought about that. How… appropriate for a child. For all he sat on a throne, Ren was still just a boy... and that shone through from time to time. Jun smiled at her brother.
“Sounds good, then. I'll just need to run out for one thing, if you don't mind waiting?”
Ren humphed in a way that indicated he could be patient and Pailong spoke up.
“I'll come with you, Jun.” He pushed off the wall before a shake of her head stopped him.
“That's alright,” she told him, her smile gentle, “I’m just going to the butcher around the corner. I'll be fine on my own.”
Perhaps he looked unconvinced, because she gave a little sigh as she grabbed her coat and wallet.
“I won't be long! Please stay here and watch the house with Bason? I'll be back shortly!”
“...take care…” Pailong said as she left, though something about that watching the house felt condescending. With her departure, Ren grumbled to himself and got up himself.
“I'm returning to my chambers. Don't bother me.” he declared before swishing off to what was more accurately his bedroom. Presumably, he'd be reading the weekly manga magazine Jun had brought home the other day, which the boy had pretended to find pointless but walked off with when she wasn't looking.
Pailong wouldn't say it aloud, but there was something about watching Jun and Ren that struck him as funny. Tao Ren was undeniably a strong, ruthless shaman and he knew how cold Jun could be, but when they were at home… well. Ren’s haughty behavior came across as a bit silly when he was only performing for his sister and Jun doted on him in turn. She was his support in the Shaman Fight, but also his babysitter.
If he'd voiced any of this, Jun would definitely berate him and Ren would be furious… so Pailong kept it to himself. In the end, his job was to follow Jun without questioning if her younger brother shouldn't make the rice or run the bath sometimes.
The jiang-shi settled in for a few minutes of silent waiting before remembering.
…He wasn't alone. Ren had left Bason behind and the ghostly general had faded away to wait for his return. Pailong couldn't see him, but time spent in proximity had built a vague sense of when he was haunting the room or hovering over one of the Tao. It struck him, suddenly, how rare it was for the two spirits to be alone together.
“...Bason?” he ventured. There was no response at first and he was prepared to leave it there, but the General slowly reappeared in front of him. Bason didn't reply at first, only gazing at Pailong with that oddly shadowed face.
“...Li Pailong.” He said, eventually. In the lull that followed, Pailong realized he wasn't sure why he'd even called to his fellow dead man.
He cast his mind about for something to say before finally asking, “...how long has Tao Ren been your master?”
“Oh!” Was he imagining things, or did Bason perk up? “I have been serving the Young Master as his guardian spirit for more than six years now! No Tao clan member has been able to harness my power so thoroughly at such a young age! I am sure you already know, but he is truly a prodigy among even the Tao!”
Pailong tried to remember if he knew Ren’s age and Bason continued, “And you have been Miss Jun’s guardian since she was young, yes?”
“I think so,” he admitted, “...I don't recall exactly how long it's been. She was a child.”
And he had been her birthday present, he didn't say, because it was unpleasant to think about and Bason likely didn't care.
“Miss Jun is also quite talented,” the ghost said, nodding, “One day, she shall surely prove to be Master Ren’s greatest supporter. I have no doubt that her aid will be key in his ascent to the role of Shaman King and the head of the Tao clan.”
“Jun is amazing, yes.” The martial artist agreed. “...and it's clear that she loves Ren.”
That seemed to be the end of their conversation. Pailong expected Bason to fade again, but he lingered on.
“...it is strange to hear your voice.”
“Huh?”
Bason hesitated, rubbing his chin in thought. “...I have known many jiang-shi who speak in the Tao household… yet I could not have ever anticipated that you may one day join them. Much less…”
“...shed my talisman?” Pailong suggested, thumbing his bangs where Jun’s seal would have hung.
Bason nodded. “In 2,000 years of service to the Tao family, any jiang-shi that has been released from their daoshi has destroyed themselves or been destroyed. I have witnessed it myself, before, over the generations. You… are unique.”
Pailong thought back to the moment the seal had been broken and he'd come back to himself. The confusion and disorientation… and the rage, all consuming. If not for Asakura and his master, he…
Would have been swallowed by it. He would have drowned in that endless fury and sorrow. Pailong would have lashed out and destroyed anything in his path and not stopped until he was dead once more and spiraling towards hell. And he would have crushed his Tao master’s body and torn her apart with his bare hands and not heard her screams of agony as he reduced her to--
“...there must have been at least one?” He was surprised by the force in his voice.
“If there was, I was not privy to it. Even among other rival clans, an unsealed jiang-shi must be reduced to ash or it will lash out no matter how damaged it becomes. Even without limbs, or without a head, it will fight and destroy whatever it can.”
Pailong fell silent. The Tao daoshi probably deserved every bit of pain they suffered at the hands of their unwilling corpses, if he was how they usually operated. They probably did. It was better to think that.
“I have heard Miss Jun say that you could have passed on.” Bason said, to which Pailong nodded.
“Once I killed my ego and faced the truth of my situation, I… could accept it. All of it. My grudge faded.”
“Yet you stayed.”
“...I did.” He dipped his gaze a moment, clenching one hand as Bason continued to regard him. “...If I left, my Dao Dan Do would never truly be complete. As long as I have the potential to grow, I will seize that and seek even greater heights. And I know I can do that at Jun’s side.”
“You speak Miss Jun’s name quite casually, I've noticed.” This time, Bason’s voice came with a hint of admonishment.
Pailong grimaced. “...she’s never said she minded it.”
“Still,” the other spirit insisted, “should you not show more respect to your mistress?”
“We aren't like that!” he growled, scowling now, “Jun and I aren't… mistress and servant anymore. We're partners. She already knows I respect her!!”
He was prepared to argue further, but Bason seemed to accept this, floating backwards a bit and nodding to himself.
“...I believe you suit Miss Jun well.”
He wasn't sure how to react to that.
“When she first explained, I thought she was making a mistake…” the general looked at him, his shadowed gaze surprisingly intense, “But I have begun to see the potential strength in your… partnership. I will look forward to your and Miss Jun’s growth in the future.”
“...” It was hard to tell, but… that was probably the greatest compliment Bason could give someone who wasn't Ren. He couldn't help but smile. “...just watch. Or better yet, why not test me yourself? I’d like to see how I handle myself against a man of your talent.”
“Oh hoh… such boldness!” Bason chuckled, “but you must not underestimate my prowess! I am the spirit belonging to the man who shall become Shaman King, after all.”
“That's even more exciting. Come on, aren't you curious how it'd turn--”
The door opened and Pailong turned on a dime to meet Jun as she passed through the doorway.
“Oh!! Pailong…!” Surprise quickly turned to a smile, “I’m back!”
“Welcome back, Jun,” He took her shopping bag without being asked, waiting til she'd hung up her coat to follow her to the kitchen. “You didn't have any trouble?”
“Of course not! Geez, I told you it was just around the corner…”
Bason was left hanging, staring at the jiang-shi’s back as he put away the groceries for Jun. It seemed the fleeting conversation had passed, but he wouldn't complain, fading away once more to wait for Ren’s summons.
What a fascinating path they had chosen… nothing like he'd seen in his long time as the Tao’s general. Everything he knew said that it couldn't possibly work, but if neither of them were willing to accept that, perhaps it would all turn out fine in the end.
Only time would tell.