Eighteen was casually picking up after her daughter and re-organizing when she stumbled upon it. An old dusty collection of parchment tied loosely together. She wondered how long it had been hiding in the bookcase. She would wonder who it belonged to if it weren't for the signature at the bottom being her husbands, unmistakably. Behind that, she dare not pry any further. She had her own secrets that she kept from revealing, though not actively lying. She just avoided the topics all together.
Even still, she wondered what was so important that Kuririn would keep such an old thing.
She walked over to where her husband was taking a nap in his lazy chair and dropped the papers onto his lap.
Kuririn woke with a start and looked at the offending object that jolted him. He picked it up, examined it for a second and then put the pieces together. "Oh – I remember this."
Eighteen raised an eyebrow and leaned against the chair above the man. "What exactly is this, Kuririn?"
Kuririn shrugged and held it above his head without looking at his wife. "A diary. Or at least, what's left of it. I can't find it within myself to trash it. I think I was - eight? Maybe nine – when I started it. It's mostly boring stuff about Orin Temple from the hand-writing of a kid."
The blue-eyed cyborg hummed and took the diary from his hand, a little surprised at how easily he let it go. "I forget you're a monk."
"Not really. I ran away from the place without the master's blessing so I don't really count as being a monk."
She stared at him in shock. Kuririn never ran away from anything, at least, not that she's seen. "How come?"
At that, he gave her a playful smirk, finally looking up at his curious wife. "Why don't you read it and find out? I'll watch Marron when she wakes up from her nap."
Eighteen mulled the thought over in her head before giving a shrug and sitting down on the couch on the other side of the coffee table. She, very carefully, untied the string that held everything together and began organizing the pages based on their dates. They weren't terribly out of order but the first one was last and the last one was in the middle somewhere.
From there, she leaned back, elbow on the arm of the couch, and began to read.
–
Age 743 Nov. 18
I turn seven today. That's three years of being here. I'm going crazy with all this praying and no one to talk to so I'll talk to my paper during break time.
This schedule is the woooorst. We're up at 5:30 am chanting, breakfast at 6, then more chanting, then a break for 30 minutes, then Kung Fu training (that's the fun part. I like that part.) then more chanting 'till 11:30 when we get lunch then more stinkin' chanting at 12:30, then another break before the fun part again at 3 for two hours, then the boring part is not allowed for some reason – I forget – except we do Heart Sutra chanting at 6:30 after dinner for a whole hour – ugh – then we all have to sit quietly at 8 for FOREVER before we can finally sleep at 10.
Too much chanting, not enough Kung Fu, honestly. Who would ever like the chanting? Did my parents like it? Were they even monks?
I wonder why my parents left me in this place. Did they think I would like that part? I remember mom's voice and her crying but nothin else. I wonder if maybe she didn't want to leave me here. Oh well, I like it. I hate the chanting but the Kung Fu is so much fun that's it's almost worth it in a way. I have a lot of fun thinking about kicking butt and I'll bet I'm gonna beat the masters in three years. I think mom made the right decision whether or not she liked it. I'm gonna be a kick-butt monk.
Kuririn
–
Age 743 Dec. 21
I had a test today. The master took me into a room away from everyone else and had me answer his questions. I didn't know any of the answers. It was horrible. How was I supposed to know why we don't eat meat? He didn't even tell me the right answers. He just smacked me with the spanker when I got the wrong answer.
It'll work though. I deserved all those hits. I messed up. That's one thing I know, they should've asked me that. "We physically hit the students 'cause yelling at them causes trauma but physical pain is fleeting". I know why they hit me. They want me to be the best I can. It really works, too! All the great masters were hit when they made mistakes.
Someone visited today and they asked about the hitting. They seemed upset by it. I don't know, I think it's great. They just don't understand us. Only real masters and born masters in training like me can understand the reason we do things. That's cause I'm great.
Kuririn
–
Age 744 Feb. 2
I met a friend today! Actually, two friends! Lin and Shao are the best! Shao is pretty short but taller than me – I'll grow though! - and Lin is really really tall! I want to be as tall as him one day! They were super nice during break and they said they would help me with my tests. That's good cause I had another one today and I got beat a lot. I got some answers right! I just don't understand why we have to know all that stuff about Buddah. He seems like a cool guy but that has nothing to do with kicking butt. That was one of the questions. I got hit extra hard for getting that one wrong.
Anyways, Lin and Shao say we can hang out after lunch during break. He even said we could practice our motions together! So more Kung Fu training for me! It's great! I love this place so much! The other monks whisper about me failing my tests but Lin says that's normal.
"They're just jealous" He said.
I asked him what he meant. "Jealous?"
"Yeah. You're ahead of everyone in Kung Fu." he grinned like he was holding back a laugh. "The masters talk about you all the time! They say they would make you a master if you would just pass your tests. That's why they hit you extra hard."
I starred at him in amazement. "Wow. That's awesome! I can't wait to be a great master!"
–
Eighteen hummed to herself as she read. It seemed to her like Kurirn was happy with that place. She wondered what happened to make him run away. He was so excited to one day be a master. Why would he throw that chance away? Then again, there were still quite a few parchments to get through. What made Kuririn run away from Orin Temple and seek out Roshi?