Salutations! Glad to see you came back. I hope that means I'm doing something right with this story. Thank you to all the reviewers and readers out there.
I Meant to get this out last week, sorry. Hope you all had a good Christmas Holiday.
Well, Jo finally gets to go with the Masters to help resolve the Severin problem.
The Eyes of the Wolverine
Chapter 9
Remembrance Re-Lived
Not having the edge of the tortoise bowl I picked a crack in the floor boards in my room as my marker and stood on it. Lifting the other leg I quickly jumped thrusting my foot out hitting my imaginary target and landed. The second I landed I looked back down at where my foot was in relation to the crack. Skewed off a little bit. An inch, maybe two. But I'd still be on the edge.
Good
Earlier I had practiced the jumping snap kick, outside as I needed a running start. I had gotten better with it and was delivering a powerful snap, but it was still not where I wanted it.
"Adjusting to your fur dye job?" said Jada appearing at the doorway.
"Yeah, I've stopped being surprised when I pass by a mirror." I said.
"Well, brown suits you well. I think you look rather dashing" she said.
"So I've been told." I said with joke pride.
She added "I still think your gray fur looks better though."
"So what you're saying is I look better than 'dashing' when I'm my regular self."
"Basically." she said smiling.
Not knowing how to follow up this little back-and-forth we had going here, I asked "So, what are you doing today?"
She sighed "Probably helping dad in the shop. Kinda an uneventful day."
Before I cold make a reply Po showed up in the doorway "Hey, Castello." he said jokingly, "We're heading out to the boarding house Severin robbed."
"Sweet." I said excited. Po headed back out into the corridor. As I went to follow him I turned to Jada one last time. "By the way, your gray fur looks nice too."
She smiled in return.
Out in the hallway Po smirked at me. I had told him later last night about my venture with Jada to the lake.
"Going for a second kiss there, J.C.?"
"No," I said drawing up.
"Why not?" Po asked slyly. "I would if I were you."
I rolled my eyes.
Leaving the plodding life of the house, Master Shifu lead all of us to the our destination down the street.
"What all happened yesterday?" I asked Po and Mantis, who was sitting on Po's shoulder. "Did I miss a spectacular fight between yall and Severin?"
Mantis jumped off Po's shoulder and hopped along the ground next to me. "He was gone before we got very close to the house. I don't think he saw us. Which is good. As long he doesn't know Shifu and all of his students are in Rem Hai too, he might not catch on that we're on to him."
"The city's authorities came here last night, a group of rhinos. I hate to say it, but Saxons right; They haven't helped a whole lot with the Severin case. Unless they corner him or find him they won't be able to do much."
"Of course we're not really doing any better." Mantis said rather trounced. Po didn't disagree.
"Hey, we're still at it. We've solved worse crimes before." I said encouragingly.
"We have?" Po asked confused.
"Well I assumed." I said. Po and Mantis gave me a weird look. "I don't know but it seemed like the right thing to say."
Po, Mantis and I laughed and truly it was what we three needed.
We approached the front door of the rufuous colored building. Master Shifu knocked on the which was opened by a middle age female goose.
"Miss Shea?" Master Shifu asked.
"Yes." She said smiling. "And you're Master Shifu. Come inside."
As we all filed into the small entrance hallway the goose said "I was told you were coming to ask some questions about yesterdays break in. Please, is this felon going to be stopped?" her last few words said with growing desperation.
Master Shifu replied "Me and my students will do the best we can to bring this criminal to justice. May we speak to the proprietor?"
"I'm afraid Mr. Alverez is out, the owner of the boarding house. Won't you wait in the drawing room while I fetch my husband upstairs. He's the person you'll want to talk to."
Shifu complied and the rest of us followed him and the woman to the drawing room, although when we got there I thought "parlor" might have been a better word. The room was clearly lived in, by several people at that. No piece of furniture matched another. Paint on the walls was pealing and cracking in some places but there were several bright paintings of floral arrangements I supposed meant to offset the matte color. Several cups varying from full to empty contents sat on the coffee table.
We all took seats on the mismatched furniture. She dashed from the room and a moment later she reappeared with someone else in tow. A male warthog (which honestly I hadn't been expecting). His right arm hung limply in a sling looped around his neck. If the sling hadn't been there I was sure his arm would be hanging at his side seemingly lifeless.
Miss Shea said "My husband, Zou."
Master Shifu stood up and shook his hand, making sure to use his left hand in doing so. "Pleased to meet you, Zou. I am Master Shifu. These are my students, The Furious Five, the Dragon Warrior, and my student in training."
"Oh I know who you are." the warthog said with admiration. "I know about each of your students. I think it's great what yall are doing."
We all couldn't help but feel a sense of appreciation then by his comment. But Po gave me a sideways glance smile thinking the same I was. The warthog was claiming he knew about all of us when my persona was made up and didn't even exist until last night. He clearly was only saying so to be nice, so we decided not to bring it up.
"Tell us exactly what happened the other day." Master Shifu said sitting down once more.
Zou began his account. "I had just come back from work. My wife was in the kitchen. All the residents were in their rooms at the time. I was coming in the front door when I found the front door opened. I had gone no more than a few more steps into the hallway when he came out of one of the rooms. I had heard of the few robberies and knew this must be the vandal mentioned. At that point Shea came out of the kitchen and screamed at the sight of him. He broke for the door and I went to block his path. He knocked into me. I struggled with him for a bit before he threw me to the ground. My arm broke the fall. He ran for the front door and that was the last I saw of him."
"Did he get away with anything?" asked Tigress.
"I don't think so." Zou said. "No one in the house reports missing anything. He must have only just entered the house when I saw him." His hand plunged into his pocket as he spoke and he produced a circular piece of gold metal. "During the struggle I was able to get this off of him."
Shifu took it in his hand turning it over a few times, the shiny surface catching the light each time.
"Does it mean anything to you?" Zou asked.
"I believe so." Shifu said. After asking a few more questions Master Shifu thanked both of them with promises of thwarting their attacker before we all left.
Outside in the streets, as we were heading back for Saxon's house again Shifu was still examining the shiny disk. "It's a medal alright. I can see where the cord passes through for it to be worn about the neck."
"Didn't think they gave out medals, at least not for street fighting." Crane said dryly.
"I can't understand why they would." Viper remarked.
Master Shifu said to Viper "As the mediators I don't think we are supposed to understand this back-alley world."
"Think that medals worth anything?" asked Monkey hopefully.
"Monkey! It's evidence." said Viper.
"Just a thought." Monkey said.
"Hardly," Master Shifu said disappointing Monkey. "It's probably just painted metal."
"I doubt he'd lose it so easily or take it to a robbery if it were so valuable." Tigress said.
I added "And if it were valuable, why even rob houses when he could just pawn it?"
"Both good observations." Shifu said in agreement. I smiled hoping I was making Shifu more confident in his decision of having me along.
"You seek a connection with me?"
Arms folded in gravitas as always the wolverine nodded. We weren't in the bedroom Po and I shared anymore, but in an atmosphere of black nothingness.
"What do you want to tell me?" I asked pleased with getting a nod and now hoping for him to form actual words.
One arm unlaced from the other and their folded position. Rather than pointing to himself like last time he traced a small circle on his stomach just below his naval. As though drawn there by his finger, a glowing ring appeared on his stomach. The ring faded away and he repeated the process, this time higher and on his left side above his naval which like the first one faded after a few seconds. A third time he traced his finger on his stomach, as I should have guessed, on the right side this time.
Trace. Glow. Fade.
Then the glowing rings all appeared again in the order they were made.
Bottom, left, right,
Now together they created a group of interlinked rings in a triangular shape each circle slightly overlapping the other.
Where have I seen that before?
"What are you trying to show me?" I asked. He made his usual motionless retreat into the darkness of my mind as the blackness itself formed a different setting.
Before I saw anything the smell gave it away. Like all reminiscent smells it painted a picture.
Spice and steam- The Noodle Shop
Wood and sweat-The Training Hall
Iron and rock- Saxon's Shop
But this was an ugly picture painted.
The stomach-churning smells of alcohol and that repugnant God-forsaken drug.
I felt as though I had shrunk as I saw a door in front of me with its doorknob above my height. Behind me a desolate dreary room seemed to have formed. The door was open a crack-
Jo Crevan- My whole life, or what little I could remember about these few years, seemed to endlessly be viewed through a crack in the door.
It was ten years ago. I was three. This was my room and my parents were arguing right on the other side of the door. It was the same dream I had had a little more than a year ago when I first started staying at the Jade Palace.
I lifted my hand to my face and felt the slowly growing bruise where my father had struck me what would have been a few moments ago. My face still hurt to touch.
Oh please God it was bad enough that I had to live through it, forget about it and then relive it, but do I have to see it again? What am I supposed to learn from this?
If this is some way to get me to forgive them it's not really working.
Just like before I heard the door knocked down and the rhinos charge in taking my parents into custody, my parents struggling the whole way. Knowing it was coming, I stood back as the door to my room swung open and the Rhinos discovered me there.
Loud and clamorous.
If this was just another dream, why is it so vivid?
Because it's not just another dream. It's the dream of your parents. It was vivid the first time and it's just as vivid the second time.
Pain, smell, touch, Senses didn't seem to care that this was a dream. They felt the same as real life. I new I was dreaming at this point and yet I couldn't break free of it. Why can't I just wake up?
The wolverine.
Was he somehow in control of this? Did he want me to see this again? Why? What do you want to show me that you're for some reason incapable of just telling me?
The rhinos were now leading me out of the house. My parents were being dragged into the barred cart. Neighbors and other people from surrounding houses were all gathering outside forming a small crowd. As a 3 year-old, I hadn't thought much of this at the time. They were just people to me, unknown people. Now I was old enough to be embarrassed. Here was an entire group of people watching my parents be arrested. As I looked at the crowd about to turn my attention back to my restrained parents and resume the dream my thoughts came to a screeching halt at what I saw.
The wolverine was in the crowd this time.
No, Not just this time.
He'd been there the first time too, and I'd never noticed him before.
Why should I? He wasn't anyone to me then.
Now he was so much more.
The three interlinked circle were still glowing on his chest.
"You!" I shouted out though my voice didn't seem to work properly.
Before he could tell me anything everything grew dark again. I was shaking uncontrollably and I wasn't sure why. I felt myself being constricted. In a claustrophobic fit I struggled against these constraints. As I wore myself out fighting it I soon realized that I was being held close by firm strong arms.
Then came Po's voice that had some how been drowned out by my own mind until now. "Jo, Jo! calm down it's me. Po."
I was back in my bed and Po was kneeling beside it gripping me with tight security. My eyes appeared to be dry-heaving in a sense; crying without tears. "He was there." I rasped to Po. "He was there the night my parents were taken away."
Po, knowing instantly who I meant asked "What does that mean?"
"I don't know." I said breathing deeply. "But I know it's important."
Yep, the wolverine was there that fateful night. His involvement goes even deeper than that.
The the title of the chapter and the dream that Jo has is referring to his dream in my short story "Jo's Remembrance."
I encourage you all to check out Saharay1's story "Flames of a Dragon." She's given me some advertisement on my stories without me even asking so I only think it's fair that I point people in her direction too. It's a brilliant story, and they have, with my permission, included Jo in the story.
Thank you again for reading.
Let me know what your opinion is of this chapter.
