47.i Wondrous and True

~ Sun Ritsu ~

Hello, Dear Traveler. Welcome to the next part of our underwhelming monkey god tale.

Up to this point, it may seem as though Sun Ritsu is battling many other clones, but in reality, the battle is with himself. And by himself, I mean the overly critical embroidery needle dangling from his ear.

{{Hey, just FYI, I’m not saving your cowardly ass again! I only did that to piss off that blue-haired goblin.}}

“Got it.” Ritsu waved his hand near his ear as if he were swatting away a gnat.

Whatever else the Golden-Hooped Rod had to say, Ritsu tuned it out. Currently, our hero was sitting inside of a paper space meant to serve as his own personal training grounds. Courtesy of Next Dimension, Inc.

That’s right, Dear Traveler. Next Dimension was the company responsible for gifting all 8 contestants with a state-of-the-art paper space designed specifically for training and meditation. They all looked the same on the inside — an open glen equipped with a waterfall, a shady banyan tree, and a large boulder perfect for sitting upon in order to center one’s thoughts and intentions.

Next Dimension, Inc… Next Dimension, Inc… Where had Ritsu heard that about that company, he wondered. Was it all the way back during the Peach Festival? If so, he could not recall why it was significant.

Anyway, this paper space was meant to aid all of the sun clones who had made it through the first trial. Putting them on even ground is what the casters had said. While he waited for his trainer to show up, Sun Ritsu contemplated the casters’ announcement from that morning.

“Dan, you know that some of these contestants have better access to training grounds than others. Some of them come from very specific conditions that do not align with what we have here in Kawaii Village.”

“That’s right, Chow. And that is why it was so considerate of Next Dimension to go out of their way in providing these one of a kind paper spaces. The organizers of the Sevenfold Peach are always looking for ways to make the tournament as fair as possible and this is one of the things that can make a huge impact when it comes to equalizing the playing field. Now, just for clarification, Chow, our contestants are not required to use these paper spaces in order to train, are they?”

“Correct, Dan. The paper spaces from Next Dimension are truly a gift, to be used or not used as each contestant sees fit. This might also be a good time to let everyone know that according to Next Dimension, expensive paper spaces are a thing of the past. Over the next few years, they intend to roll out models that will be more affordable and accessible to spirits all over the Ninth Heaven.”

“What a relief, Chow, because remember when you could only find paper spaces in the Snake Province?”

“I do, Dan. Which makes sense because that’s where the technology of the paper space originated….”

Ritsu left the memory behind and looked up at the simulated overhead sky. If he stared hard enough, he could see the individual pixels dancing around in their coordinated patterns, making up those oh so natural blues and cloudy whites. He inhaled the end of his cigarette that he’d lit earlier, wondering if anyone else paid attention to such things when they were inside paper spaces.

Ritsu put out his cigarette on a nearby stone and waited some more before he acknowledged how much time seemed to really drag. Where was Bodhi?

A quick chill grazed Sun Ritsu’s skin. It was true that Bodhi had pulled an all-nighter in the hotel lounge, studying up on the other contestants’ fighting styles and performances. Ritsu had figured that there would be no harm in easing up on chaperoning Bodhi overnight just this once. So he had left the monk and gone to bed. Bodhi showed up to the hotel room just as the sunlight was seeping through the cracks in the window. Before going to sleep, Bodhi told Ritsu to go on without them and claim the paper space at the stadium. Then they told him to set up the paper space in the parking lot and they would meet him there.

Hoping that he wasn’t overreacting, Ritsu left the paper space to look for Bodhi in the parking lot, thinking that perhaps the monk hadn’t been able to find him. But there was not a soul.

Ritsu’s donated paper space was in the shape of a flowering lily pad, so it wouldn’t be hard to miss if he left it there. He needed to check back at the hotel — to see if Bodhi had taken this opportunity to run off and…

Ritsu shook his head. He didn’t want to even consider the possibilities. The sun clone booked it across the empty lot and towards the hotel. You can bet that he ruffled the feathers of many a wild geese as he bulldozed his way through the lobby, past the elevators, and up the utility staircase that guests were very much discouraged from using.

Please let them be—

Please…

Please…!

A little chime went off when Ritsu keyed into his room. He was completely out of breath by the time he turned the corner and braced himself against the foot of the bed. Yes, he was expecting the worst. No, he was not expecting Bodhi to be snoring peacefully into the pillow.

“Um.”

The ruckus of Sun Ritsu’s entrance seemed to be enough to make Bodhi stir and eventually open their bleary gray eyes.

“Ritsu?” They rubbed their eyes. “Shit. What time is it?”

They had simply overslept. Everything was going to be okay. Ritsu breathed a deep sigh of relief.

“It’s still morning,” said the monkey.

Bodhi muttered a slew of apologies as they rushed to the bathroom to get ready. Ritsu told them that everything was fine and he was simply happy that they were still in the hotel. Then Ritsu had a thought. He left Bodhi alone again in the room, but returned shortly after with something for them to drink.

“A peach soda?” Bodhi asked, turning the can over in their hand. They scrutinized the drink for a moment before shrugging. It wasn’t booze, but it would do.

“I think this is one of those immortal energy drinks actually. We’re not allowed to have them according to the tournament rules, but I’m pretty sure trainers are free to…uh, Bodhi? You might want to take it slow.”

Bodhi crushed the empty can and stifled a sleepy burp.

“Let’s do this.”