39.i The Divine Cave of Three Stars

~ Bodhi ~

“Are you done in there?” Bodhi called out to Ritsu while he was trying on his tracksuit.

For those who were none the wiser, the monk seemed to be their regular, nonchalant self. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. It hadn’t been even ten minutes since they left the pig and Bodhi was already sweating. They didn’t want to have anything to do with this impending private chat with Sun Ritsu.

The monk paced the room, doing their best to suppress the mounting anxiety before Ritsu saw them like this.

“Yeah, I’m done.” Ritsu said as he finally emerged from the bathroom. The sight of him in waxy lemon lime sweats stopped Bodhi in their tracks.

Had something happened while Ritsu was getting dressed, Bodhi wondered. Because the sun clone’s skin was giving off a steady glow. Just like it did when he chugged that can of peach soda that one time.

Ritsu raised an eyebrow and scratched the back of his head. “How do I look?”

Before Bodhi could answer, the sun clone turned to study himself in the full-sized mirror. Bodhi fought the urge to stare too hard.

“Like a heaven born sage,” they said with a shrug. It was a favorable term of flattery among sun clones, but this was Ritsu, so of course he didn’t have much of a reaction.

“I’m glowing like the rest of the monkey spirits down there, but I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the clothes.”

Bodhi couldn’t take it anymore.

“Sun Ritsu, I’m sorry for what I did.” They met Ritsu’s gaze in the mirror. “I was being careless and got myself arrested when it didn’t have to be that way. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have had to stay in the village. So that’s why…”

So many feelings started bubbling at the surface. Especially now that Ritsu had stopped fiddling with his jacket zipper and turned around to face Bodhi without any barriers.

Bodhi steadied themself with a deep breath. “That’s why if I relapse and get myself into trouble again… I want you to just leave me. Please.”

Ritsu’s glamour flickered. Bodhi watched in disbelief as their friend’s tail broke through his glamour and coiled in agitation.

The sun clone came closer. “Don’t.” He seized Bodhi by their shoulders and drew them inside his golden shadow. “Bodhi, don’t ever tell me to leave you behind again. If you want to go on ahead, that’s one thing, but don’t expect me to abandon you just because you asked!”

Bodhi couldn’t move. Not from fear or any aggression on Ritsu’s side. The monk was downright shocked. When had Ritsu started talking like this?

Dear Traveler, you must remember that it is Ham Song who, at this point in time, was the only one among Ritsu’s companions who has seen the monkey’s determination and show of heart when it comes to Bodhi’s well-being. The human, however, wasn’t ready for it. Not in the slightest.

It already killed Bodhi to know that Ritsu had locked himself into working off their debts to this insane Kawaii society. It made things worse now that they were caught in this face to face confrontation with an impassioned monkey spirit, who was baring his fangs – not in anger – but in pain. Pain as plain as his glowing, peachy aura.

So this is what Sun Ritsu was going through all this time?

The guilt wrecked Bodhi’s heart as they processed their thoughts. Deep down they had known. Despite the easy-going smiles Ritsu wore as he delivered food to them every single afternoon after his shift, Bodhi could tell that the monkey king was hurting. For them.

How was selflessness of this sort possible?

In this broken spirit world, how could Sun Ritsu even stand to look at Bodhi let alone care about them like so?

Glamour still frayed, Ritsu’s breath became shallow – a symptom of his proximity to the monk. His feral essence was becoming too intoxicated by the scent of Bodhi’s humanness.

“Why,” Bodhi grated, “why shouldn’t I be allowed that?”

Didn’t they have a right to their own boundaries?

“Why shouldn’t I ask that you leave me alone if I’m just gonna go and fuck up your life again!”

Bodhi’s eyes were wet. Their voice trembled as their bones shivered under Ritsu’s hold. Finally, they wrenched themself away. Ritsu let them go, but he didn’t drop that passionate glare.

“I’m a drunk and a liar and you’re…” Bodhi felt so pathetic and angry for being here. For having to justify themself to their only friend in the world. They hung their head. “Equal to heaven.”

Ritsu’s glamour reassembled into place. He blinked and shook his head. “I’m not…. Just because I have a staff and my skin glows doesn’t make me a sage.”

Bodhi wanted to punch this monkey. He was so damn stupid.

“That’s not what I mean, Ritsu.”

You’re too good to be looking after my well-being, is what the monk wished they could say aloud.

Ritsu, it seemed, had already moved on. “Anyway, you’re sleeping in my room while we’re here. Sorry, I hate to be on your case all the time, but I can’t afford to lose this tournament.”

Bodhi dropped their gaze. “Ritsu, you don’t have to win. You didn’t even have to stay here in this crazy town—”

“You’re the one who stayed.”

Once again, the words coming out of Ritsu’s mouth made Bodhi go speechless.

Ritsu went on. “You don’t care about amassing Luck and you don’t need it. Not with the way you live. So the only reason you could have stayed was because of me or Anari. When Anari left, I was sure you would too. But you didn’t. You made mistakes, but you didn’t leave, did you? You didn’t even try.”

Bodhi stared wide-eyed, jaw clenched.

“That means,” Ritsu let himself have the smallest of smiles, “you didn’t want to leave me behind either. Isn’t that reason enough for me to want to keep helping you? Because you stayed to help me when you didn’t have to. So…” Ritsu turned to face himself in the mirror once again. “That’s why I have to do my best to crush every single opponent over in that stadium.”

Equal to heaven, that’s what he was. Even if he was too dense to realize it.

The poor monk didn’t want to fight anymore. They flopped down on the hotel bed and let go of a dry, delirious wheeze.

“Fine! You win, Sun Ritsu.”

Bodhi didn’t remember the last time they felt like this. Empty and satisfied at the same time.

“You win.”