39.ii The Divine Cave of Three Stars

~ Sun Ritsu ~

“Looks like our hero is finally getting serious,” Seven said to Ham Song just as Ritsu and Bodhi emerged from the elevator and into the hotel lobby.

Ham Song gave a delightful oink. “Sweet immortal peaches, look at him glow!”

Seven waited for Ritsu to get close enough before slinging his arm around the tall clone’s shoulder and saying, “The tracksuit looks great on you, but how does it feel?”

Ritsu absently dragged his tail between his hands, wondering why it hadn’t sunk back inside his glamour with everything else.

“Fine, I guess.”

As the spirits made their way across the parking lot to the stadium, Sun Ritsu wondered if he might have taken things too far with Bodhi. While the monk wasn’t showing any signs of sullenness, they were more quiet than usual on the way back to the Divine Cave of Three Stars. Thankfully, Sun Seven had plenty of things to debrief the group on, making it impossible for any awkward silences to set in.

Seven’s next question pulled Ritsu away from his concerning thoughts. “Have you thought about what your brand is going to be?”

The end of Ritsu’s tail curled and flicked the air. “My brand?”

“Like your schtick. The thing that people will remember you for. See how Sun Terra over there is all about rocks and earth style wushu? You gotta have something simple and memorable going on to distinguish yourself among the competition.”

Ham Song piped up. “In that case, isn’t Lemon Lime his schtick?”

Seven replied, “Sort of. It’s the brand of the company sponsoring him, which happens to me. Lemon Lime could be a part of Sun Ritsu’s overall package, but you only see that when lots of athletes share the same sponsor. For small timers like him, it’s important that Ritsu develops his own personal flavor that the audience can connect with.”

A sudden yawn came from the side. “Ritsu, you flip burgers. Just use that.”

Seven regarded Bodhi with wide eyes before bursting into a gold-toothed smile. “That’ll work! Thank you kindly, Sifu Bodhi.” Then he cleared his throat and painted the sky with his hand. “I can just see it now! Sun Ritsu the Fry Cook Sage!”

“All sun clones are to make their way to the central lawn. Please take your seats in the grass around the platform. I repeat, all sun clones are to report to the lawn.”

Everyone filing into the stadium slowed down and lifted their heads at the voice booming above their heads.

Sun Ritsu’s tail flicked again. He sniffed the air. Why does that voice sound so familiar?

“Move it!”

Ham Song squealed in protest as someone nearly bulldozed into Ritsu. Bodhi braced Ritsu against their chest as he stumbled into them.

“You all right?” the monk asked as they steadied their friend.

Ritsu pulled himself upright and turned to face the jerk that had pushed him out the way. Before him stood another sun clone with a powerful, pulsing aura.

“They’ll let just any featherlight monkey king into the Sevenfold Peach these days, huh?” the jerk said with a sneer. He was broader in build than Ritsu and had about three times as much muscle.

This wasn’t the sort that Ritsu wanted to pick a fight with, but he couldn’t stop his canines from erupting as he shot the other a dirty look for shoving him aside.

The bigger Sun didn’t back down from the silent challenge. He came closer and sized Ritsu up properly. Ritsu could feel the uncertain tension emanating off of his friends, but he didn’t back down.

“What now?” The jerk looked pointedly at Ritsu’s jade earring. “This is a staff-wielding competition, little brother. So you went and brought your embroidery needle? Better bow out now before you embarrass yourself.”

Both Bodhi and Seven tried resting their hands on Ritsu’s shoulders. Without thinking, his tail waved them off.

Ritsu angled his head. “What’s your name?”

The jerk gave it.

“Okay, Sun Tie Quan. Here.” Ritsu swiftly took out his earring and offered it up. “In that case, have a taste of my needle and save me from some embarrassment.”

Sun Tie Quan narrowed his eyes at the sun clone opposite him with the outstretched fist.

“If you can catch it before it hits the ground, I’ll bow out of the competition just like you want.”

Ritsu dropped the jade earring before Sun Tie Quan could respond. It was just enough time to make him dive toward the challenge.

“Stop this.”

Another presence swooped in and interrupted Sun Tie Quan, pulling him back before he could scoop up the staff.

Ritsu’s earring created a small crater where it landed in the concrete. Smoke trailed up from the source of impact. With the exception of Ritsu and the newcomer, all the spirits in the huddle stared slack-jawed at the ground.

“Sun Tie Quan,” the new sun clone growled, “how can you stand so close to that staff and be blind to its strength? You have eyes but no pupils.”

Sun Tie Quan blinked rapidly and started backing away. He snarled one more time at Ritsu before turning away. “Arrogant bastard. I’ll get you back later.”

When he was gone, the newcomer gave Ritsu and his group a wary look. “Sorry about that. Tie Quan’s not a very good sport. See you on the lawn.”

He walked off without giving his name.

While Ritsu was shaking off the tension in his spine and picking his earring off the ground, Sun Seven exclaimed, “That was Sun Zhaoling, the Barefoot Sun. He’s a pretty strong fighter with a level head. We need to watch out for him and short fuses like Sun Tie Quan.”

Ham Song gave a hard oink from below. “Who cares about that? Benevolent monkey, what was that just now?”

Bodhi regarded Ritsu with a mixture of awe and confusion as well. “Yeah, Ritsu. Did you know your staff would have crushed his hand if Tie Quan had caught it?”

Ritsu had already begun massaging his temples. “Not until just now. My… my head hurts.”

“I’m sure you’re just tingling all over the place, but we need to get a move on!” Seven started shuffling Ritsu towards the green lawn at the center of the stadium. “Go, go.”

Ritsu took the hint and started jogging away from his friends. He had so many questions and strange emotions taking root inside him. Why was he glowing with no immortal peaches in his system? Why was his tail rebelling against his glamour? And how did he know that his staff was too much for someone like Sun Tie Quan to hold?

Sun Ritsu took a seat in the grass among upwards to a hundred sun clones. All glowing. Some with their prehensile tails waving about and some without. Some with visible quarterstaves while others had theirs hidden. There were sporadic flashes of sharp simian teeth as they broke out into random laughter or bared their teeth at each other in silent challenge. Sideburns of almost any and every color framing a myriad of faces.

When the familiar announcer’s voice rippled through the arena yet again, all heads turned to the platform in the center. Out of the floor came a sun clone riding on a trapdoor elevator.

“Good morninggggg brothers and sisterrrss!”

Kawaii Village’s very own Sailor Sun emerged, charging her fist in the air, the hem of her uniform skirt lifting in time with her pink hair tassels.

“Who’s ready for the annual Sevenfold Peach?”