Private Crazy Rich Jedi

[Xian Xiao]

Xian stopped at the bottom of the stairs for half a second, staring up at Noriko like she was trying to decide whether this was a lesson or a very elaborate prank.

Then she sighed and followed, boots thumping a little harder than necessary as she climbed.

"I am not prudish," she muttered, just loud enough to be heard. "I just do not want to run up a mountain at dawn while freezing and thinking about breathing and directions and my feelings all at the same time."

She paused again, then added quickly, defensively, "And I do breathe. I breathe just fine."

Catching up a step or two, she shot Noriko a look that was half exasperated and half grudgingly amused.

"Also, if you throw me off a mountain," Xian said firmly, "I am telling everyone it was part of your lesson plan and that you said it would build character."

After a beat, quieter, she admitted, "But… I guess running makes more sense when you say it like that."

Then, with a huff and a little determination, she climbed faster.

"Still not calling you hip," she added.

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked at her. "If I throw you off a mountain no one will question that it was for training purposes. Jedi do mysterious things in mysterious ways... it is awesome." She gave a wider laugh though as she motioned. "Come on there are only three hundred thousand stairs in the mountain and about twenty in the palace and temple above. You don't want to fall behind when you start feeling the burn." Noriko was moving and picking up her own pace as she walked with a raised eyebrow and look at Xian. there were others taking notice but mostly they shrugged while going back to their work or conversations. NOriko was moving and going up the staairs with ease. "It is all in the hips when running up the stairrs and in the morning we can run down them and back up again. WOrking on all of the force skills I told you about."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian slowed just a fraction, her shoulders tensing as she stared up the stairs like they were personally responsible for all suffering in the galaxy.

She let out a low, very unimpressed growl under her breath.

Her eyes closed for a heartbeat. One slow inhale. One slow exhale. Then she opened them again, jaw set, and started climbing after Noriko even as her legs already complained.

"I am not a morning person," she muttered, equal parts warning and prayer, boots hitting the stone with stubborn determination.

She shot Noriko a look somewhere between glare and disbelief, then added, quieter but no less sincere, "If I survive this, I'm blaming you for everything."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

"It is not a question of if you are going to survive Xian... I refuse and order you not to let yourself die or perish." NOriko looked at her and nodded her head while she was moving up the stairs quickly. "NOw come on, quit your stalling, they are going to be there and do you really want to be the last one to go to sleep.... just means you will be the first to rise with all of us and we'll be nice and rested." Her laugh was there for a moment going up as she greeted a few more and several of the clan members were heading over to the stairs so that they would be able to get up the stairs easily. They weren't uneven just thousands of them compared to some of the larger ones.

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian's mouth pressed into a thin line as she climbed, legs already burning even though she refused to admit it out loud. The stairs just kept going, and she was very aware of every single one of them.

She huffed, half a breath away from another growl, then glanced up at Noriko with a look that was equal parts stubborn and exhausted.

"I am not stalling," she said, clearly lying. "I am… strategically conserving energy."

Her gaze flicked to the other clan members starting up the stairs, then back to Noriko, eyes narrowing.

"And that is not motivating," Xian added. "That is a threat. A very rude one."

Still, she picked up her pace, teeth clenched, determination carrying her feet even as her thighs protested.

"I am absolutely not dying," she muttered, mostly to herself. "But if I fall asleep on the stairs, that one's on you."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

"Alright alright, call it what you want." She was moving up the stairs and then went down again to stand next to Xian and then back up again and down... making it more dramatic in her movements. "See it is all in the hips and legs... soon you'll feel the burn and then we'll be warmed up for the real work out. There are going to be barrels of rice needing to be moved, maybe some beans and other things." She had a larger grin on her face while she was moving with her attention on their cousins who were laughing as she went up. "But if you fall asleep, I am going to put you in that lift... take you to the bottom and make you walk all the way back up again by yourself."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian stopped for half a second just to stare at her.

Then she exhaled slowly through her nose, the sound halfway between a sigh and a warning growl, before forcing her legs to keep moving.

"I hate you," she said flatly, with absolutely no heat behind it. "Not really. But spiritually. Right now."

She tried to mimic the motion, exaggerated at first, then a little more carefully, hands lifting for balance as she climbed a few more steps.

"My legs already feel the burn," Xian added, breath hitching just a little. "And I do not see how rice barrels make this better. Rice has never helped anyone."

Her eyes flicked to the lift at the mention of it, then back to Noriko, horrified.

"If you put me in the lift," she warned, "I will remember this forever. And one day, when I am strong and important, I will absolutely complain about you to someone who outranks you."

She huffed, then muttered under her breath as she kept climbing.

"…I should have stayed in bed."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko was moving now almost a level above on the stairs as she didn't stop to speak. "Well if it motivates you to move, something else we might have to work on it move and talk... best practice is to rub your belly while chewing gum." The smile was there as she listened to more though but looked back and down. "Ah sure go ahead and tell someone... better option." NOriko moved as she pulled a cousin aside and the man stood there. "This is Shima, he is my elder and outranks me." She said it as the man mostly looked confused while walking with her. "Xian here has something to say to you if she can like make it up the stairs."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian stopped for half a step, staring up at Noriko like she was trying to decide whether this was a joke or a carefully planned ambush.

It was definitely the second one.

She huffed softly under her breath, adjusted her grip on her pack, and forced herself to keep climbing, boots thudding against the stone.

"Why do you do this to me?" she muttered, mostly to herself.

Then she straightened up a little as she reached Shima's level, cheeks already flushed from the stairs and the effort. She slowed just enough to catch her breath, hands braced briefly on her thighs before standing properly.

She looked up at him, visibly nervous but trying.

"Um. Hi, sir," Xian said quickly. "I'm Xian. I'm sorry if I'm… out of breath. There are a lot of stairs."

She glanced at Noriko, then back to Shima, gathering herself.

"I just wanted to say thank you. For… letting me be here. And for putting up with me while I'm still learning everything. I know I'm new, and I mess up sometimes, but I'm really trying."

She gave a small, earnest nod.

"And I promise I'll get better at the stairs. Eventually."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked at her as Shima didn't speak.. he didn't even seem to know what was going on as Noriko spoke. "Look at her she is so nervous and flustered... must be because you are a boy... oh my little Xiancy is growing up so fast. next I am going to be getting her one of those padded bras." Shima was looking at her as he spoke. "Ah you are doing good carry on." Noriko let him walk away and then he sort of picked up speed as she clapped. "See, our family is awesome and encourraging." She was clapping again though as she moved. "Now come on, no more stalling, lets get to the top and then we caan get some food."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian froze.

For exactly half a second.

Then her face went bright red.

"Wh— I— NO," she blurted out, spinning toward Noriko in pure, horrified outrage. "I do not need a bra!"

She stamped one foot hard on the stone step, the sound echoing slightly.

"And I do not like boys," she added, louder now, arms crossing tight over her chest. "At all. Ever. Never going to happen."

Her glare snapped up to Noriko, fierce and indignant, the kind that absolutely would have melted durasteel if it had any real power behind it.

"You are the worst," Xian declared.

Then, grumbling under her breath, she turned and stomped back into line behind her, climbing again with determined little steps, shoulders stiff and jaw set.

"I am never talking to elders again," she muttered.

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked at Xian getting mad and flustered... he plan had backfired, it seemed nothing could motivate the girl to try hard so well stride in victory to the top. "I love you to padawan." She said it while moving and going up the stairs, higher and higher until they ended. Coming up to a larger room filled with more people, statues and barrels of rice, fish, salted meats, casks of wine and other drinks. She laughed looking down. "Come on." The casks and barrels were steaming, showing the cooking that haad gone on while Noriko was getting a plate and bowl. Filling them up with a drink for herself of the sweet milks. "The food will be cold by the time you make it up." She said it while sitting down at one of the tables with dozens of others and leaving a space for Xian to come."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian was still climbing when Noriko called down to her.

Still mildly offended. Still out of breath. Still absolutely determined not to let her see her give up.

She huffed, cheeks flushed, eyes narrowed up the endless stairs.

"I am not slow," she muttered under her breath, mostly to herself, forcing her legs to keep moving even as they burned.

By the time she finally reached the top, her hair was a mess, her shoulders were tense, and she was breathing just a little harder than she wanted anyone to notice.

She stopped for half a second. Straightened. Tried to look dignified. It… mostly worked.

Then she marched over toward the table, dropped into the open seat beside Noriko, and crossed her arms with exaggerated seriousness.

"I made it," she said firmly. "So it's not cold. Which means I win."

She shot Noriko a glare that lasted all of two seconds before it softened into something more tired and embarrassed than angry.

"…Also," she added quietly, reaching for a bowl anyway, "you did that on purpose. You wanted me to hurry."

A pause. Then, a little softer: "I love you too."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

"Xian do you really think me, your jedi master, family, the woman who is teaching you to be awesome... would manipulate you just so you would hurry up and get up some stairs?" She said it with all exaggerated prose and hand movements pretending to be wounded a little at the thought as she looked where xian was and then at the barrels and casks of steaming food. "You did forget your food though." SHe said it while taking a bite but holding in a small grin as the others around them were eating and having conversations among each other. It was good as Noriko relaxed aallowing the force to sooth the muscles in her body so she could relax.

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian watched Noriko's dramatic display with narrowed eyes, lips pressed together as if she were trying very hard not to react.

It did not work.

She snorted quietly before she could stop herself, then quickly tried to cover it by clearing her throat and sitting up straighter.

"…Yes," she said flatly. "Yes, I do."

She pointed her spoon at Noriko like it was evidence.

"You absolutely would. You would do it and then act surprised about it. Just like that."

She glanced at the steaming barrels, then at her empty spot on the table.

Her stomach growled traitorously.

Xian's shoulders slumped a little.

"…Oh."

She leaned forward, grabbed her bowl and plate, and started piling food onto them with renewed urgency, as if afraid it might vanish if she hesitated.

"This is unfair," she muttered, scooping rice and fish. "You made me climb a million stairs and then distracted me."

She slid back into her seat beside Noriko, hugging her bowl for a second before starting to eat.

After a few bites, she slowed, the tension easing out of her shoulders as warmth and food settled in.

She glanced sideways at Noriko.

"…You're still awesome," she admitted reluctantly. "Even if you're evil."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko gasped for a moment as she held a hand to her chest. "You wound me Xian.. you wound me like a blow right to the boob.... not the side for a jiggle but straight on... now I am slain." She said it and collapsed to the table for a moment but she was still eating her food for a moment. "There isn't a million stairs, only like three million seven hundred fifty nine thousand twenty one and a half." She said it with a laugh though when she was there looking over some parts of it. "Hahaha it will be fine, I am a jedi and therefore can't be evil... the darkside degrades ones beauty, makes the skin ashy, teeth black and eyes all sickly."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian scrunched up her face immediately, nose wrinkling as she looked at Noriko in clear disbelief.

"Ew," she said flatly.

She shook her head, hugging her arms to herself as if trying to physically shake the image away.

"Why do you say things like that while I'm eating?" she added with a small groan, then muttered, "You're so weird."

Still, she slid into her seat and reached for her food anyway, clearly deciding it was worth enduring Noriko's chaos.

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

"Because Xian, I am an artist... a deeply broody soul skilled in the epic ballads. I am here to train you in the force, sabers and life itself... making sure that your survive long enough so when I am looking to be in hospice care you will go 'No... not today, not one day further.' and take me back to your home you got through my efforts and training to care for me as I have cared for you until I pass on from this life to become one with the force once again. I am not merely working to ensure the next generation of the jedi in you is talented and skilled.. I am working to ensure that I will have a proper caregiverr when the time comes." Noriko haad spoken it anad stood tall at the side of the table to draw attention to both of them.

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian's chewing slowed.

The joking tone drained from her face almost instantly, replaced by something quieter and far more grounded. She didn't look up at Noriko right away. She just set her utensil down carefully.

"You're not my mother," she said, voice even but thinner than she probably meant it to be.

A small pause.

"She's dead."

It wasn't dramatic. It wasn't loud. Just a fact placed gently on the table between them.

Then she lifted her eyes, not angry, not lashing out—just honest in a way that didn't leave room for misunderstanding.

"And you don't get to plan your retirement around me like that," she added, softer but steady. "You train me because I need it. Not so I owe you."

She picked her food back up after that, posture a little straighter.

"But… I'm not going to let you get thrown in hospice either," she muttered under her breath, almost begrudgingly, before taking another bite.

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked at the girl confused. "And I never said I was trying to be... that would be weird I am already your cousin. We aren't one of those strange families where the branches of the family tree cross and come back around." Norriko said it with a small look at her as she continued to eat and sat down. "You just to just roll with the fun padawan.. I know you like to clench tight enough to make diamonds but that is going to stress you out. Save the stress and tension for when we are in a dangerous place... not when you are surrounded by family." Noriko was checking on more of it though when she took a spoonful of rice that was smothered with a sticky sweet sauce and some meats clinging to it. "Hmmmm delicious.