44.ii A Diamond Body

~ Sun Ritsu ~

Sun Ritsu was grateful for Bodhi’s final words of advice. Even though it wasn’t much, he found it a comfort to hold on to something useful as the platform slowly ascended into the sky.

The moment went sour when a challenger off to the side snickered, “Does that human even know what she’s talking about?”

They, Ritsu wanted to say, but the sun clone had already turned his attention elsewhere.

{{Get your head in the game, Ri-kun!}}

Right. Ritsu looked around at the competition. The higher the platform rose, the more fired up the contestants got. One very young monkey spirit held his staff parallel to the floor while he performed a series of knee-to-chest hops.

Another spirit was in a low, slanted crouch, flexing her life-sized paintbrush.

That must be the form her staff takes, Ritsu thought.

Her expression was pure concentration despite the stray tendrils that swept across her vision.

{{Maybe you should stop ogling and figure out how you’re going to be in the top eight.}}

Ritsu tried to unfasten the jade quarterstaff from his ear. “As soon as I figure out how not to get knocked off of this thing, I’ll let you know.”

{{Coward.}}

At this point, Sun Ritsu was wishing he had kept his mouth shut because the platform was only getting higher and the earring wasn’t coming off.

As for the other contenders, tails that were once swinging languidly behind them were now coiling snugly around each monkey’s midsection.

Ritsu had yet to unhinge his only weapon from his ear while everyone else already had their staff out and ready to go. Our hopeless hero was doing everything he could to remember Bodhi’s advice.

Relax. Relax. Relax your muscles. Don’t tense up!

Sailor Sun’s cheery voice suddenly blared through the speakers.

“Ready… Set… Let the trial begin!”

Sun Ritsu’s world came to a tilt and he thought he was going to be sick.

“So it would appear that we have a contender with a sumo-wrestling style of fighting. Looks like he’s using the weight of his staff balanced across his shoulders to seesaw the platform from side to side. That’s one way to eliminate your less surefooted enemies, huh, Chow.”

“But Dan, there’s a catch. See how it leaves that contender wide open for an attack. Sun Yong Kid just swooped in on his pogo stick staff and fired a decisive blow to the sumo wrestler.”

Sun Ritsu held on to the anchors’ every word as he staggered his way through the chaos. Luckily those who wanted to fight only challenged other sun clones who were willing to throw down. Ritsu went simply ignored for the most part.

{{No one even wants to challenge you because of how pathetic you are. Do better!}}

“What are you trying to say?” Ritsu panted as he avoided being skewered by two quarterstaves clashing above his head. “That you’ll help me out if I just punch someone in the face that I don’t even know!”

{{That would be unwise. You should punch a face that you do know. Like that blue-haired oaf from before.}}

Sun Tie Quan.

The thought wasn’t so much a reply to the Golden-Hooped Rod’s suggestion, but rather a moment of cold hard instinctual response. Amidst the tilting and jolting of everything around him, Sun Ritsu had sensed a presence targeting him specifically. Somehow in that moment, he knew.

Sun Ritsu turned.

Something was coming his way.