I wish to thank Giovanni Torregrosa and Jutter6922 for their most gracious reviews and no I will not divulge any hints as to what happens next you two are just going to have to keep following along just like everyone else. As always I wish to remind you to keep checking in on my Beta readers Samurai Crunchbird site and check out his stories as well.
Now with out further ado on with the story!
Chapter 20
Discoveries
Jessica was just settling into bed. She curled up next to Ron, who was already fast asleep. She could not believe the turn of events their lives had taken the last few days.
If Sheri had not brought Kim to visit them, they would not have learned of Ron's impending danger until it was too late.
Laying next to Ron, Jessica suddenly realized just how sore she really was. She was sore in places that she never knew could getsore! Even the top of her head hurt from all of the physical activity she was doing in the last couple of days.
At least she didn't have to worry about the children. They had taken to the new surroundings as if born to it. Katie had already started speaking Japanese, and was loved by everyone.
Just as blissful sleep was about to overtake her, she felt a strange sensation and a slight movement at the base of her neck. Sitting upright her hand went to her neck, feeling for her necklace.
In a panic she slapped at her husband, whispering, "Ron, wake up…my necklace is gone!"
Ron didn't even stir; so she hit him harder. Soon, she started shaking him as she yelled, "Ron, wakeUP! My necklace is missing!"
Without opening his eyes, Ron whined, "Uh, what time is it is…time to get up already? I feel like I just went to sleep."
"No," Jessica begged, "it's not time to get up! My necklace is gone. Wake up and help me find it."
Finally rolling over and looking at her, he said, "You probably just misplaced it. All you have to do is close your eyes and call it back. It will always return to you no matter where you are."
Jessica explained, "Ron, it was on my neck when I came to bed. I felt it move, and now it's gone! I think Kim's in trouble, and it went back to her."
"That can't happen, Jessica. It belongs to you now, not Kim. She can't call it back to herself."
Jessica pointed out, "What do youmean she can't call it back? What do you think she did at our house the other day?"
"Jessica, try to call it back. Just close your eyes and concentrate. It will come back to you—you'll see." Ron did not have the strength or the will power to wake up all the way, and he really was not all that concerned.
Jessica closed her eyes and concentrated. Instead of the necklace returning to her, she saw an image of an upset Kim crying in a room, all by herself.
Jessica pleaded, "Ron, you need to contact Kim right now!! I think she's hurt, and the necklace went to her."
Ron sleepily replied, "Relax, Jessica. It most likely just knew that you didn't need it a while yet; so it returned to its box in the temple."
Jessica was not happy with his explanation, or his lack of help. Throwing off the blankets, she got up and headed toward the door. This began to irritate Ron.
"Where are you going?" he demanded.
Jessica snapped, "If you won't help me, I'll go find someone who will! Yori will listen to me. She will know how to contact Kim and see if she is alright!"
Jessica threw the door open and jumped back. She found Yori standing on the other side, poised to knock. Letting out a little yelp, Jessica placed her hand over her heart and tried to regain her calm.
She said, "Yori, don't do that! You just scared five years off of my life!"
Yori apologized, "I'm sorry, Jessica. I did not mean to scare you. I sensed you were in distress, and came to see if you were alright."
Jessica's tone was quite disturbed. "Yeah?" she cried, "Well, I'm not alright!! The necklace is gone, and my husband refuses to even wake up long enough to help me look for it—or try to contact Kim."
Yori took Jessica's hands into hers. "Come with me," she consoled, "and together we will locate the missing Lotus Bloom…without disturbing Ron-san's sleep."
As the women left the room, Ron yelled, "Just try to keep it down so you don't wake up the whole school. Class starts too early in the morning for me."
This was the first time Jessica had a chance to visit the temple of the Lotus Blade. At night, it was lit by just a few candles. This made it hard for Jessica to see where she going. Since Yori looked like she could walk though the temple blindfolded, Jessica closely followed her.
Yori soon stepped up to a bank of candles. Using a long matchstick, she lit several of them. Within seconds, the room was bathed in a bright, golden glow.
She then turned toward Jessica and motioned her to sit on a mat in front of the shrine of the Lotus Blade. When Yori addressed her, Jessica was wondering why Yori was being so formal.
"Please, Chosen One," Yori instructed, "sit on the mat facing the shrine." After they sat down, Yori continued, "I must ask you if you trust me in all things regarding your training of the Lotus Bloom."
Without hesitation, Jessica nodded and said, "Yori, I have always liked you. I know that Kim and Ron trust you with their lives—and so do I."
Smiling at her, Yori urged, "Please take my hands and relax. Together, we will contact Possible-Chan. We will find out if she has the Lotus Bloom—or if she is in need of our assistance."
Dumbfounded, Jessica said, "Yori, I don't know how to do what you and Kim do with all this meditation stuff."
With a smile, Yori replied, "All you need to do is take my hands, relax, and do not fight me as my thoughts enter your mind."
Jessica did as was instructed, taking Yori's hands and closing her eyes. Suddenly she had the sensation that she was flying. The world around her was gone, replaced by the emptiness of space and time. The next thing she knew, she found herself standing in a dark room. She was near the foot of a bed, its occupant sound asleep.
"Uh, Yori," Jessica whispered, afraid of waking the slumbering figure, "where are we…and who is that in bed?"
…Before Yori could answer the person in the bed sat bolt upright and turned on the light on the stand next to the bed…
…Kim was sound asleep when she sensed someone was in the room with her. Her eyes popped wide open as she turned on the light and saw two familiar forms standing near the foot of her bed.
"Jessica? Yori?" Kim asked. "WH-what…how did you get here?"
Yori stepped forward and said, "Please forgive us, Possible-Chan. We did not wish to frighten you. We came to you this way because we are very concerned about you. Jessica has had a vision that you were in trouble, and the Lotus Bloom is no longer in her possession. We thought that maybe it came to you."
With a sigh of relief, Kim smiled at the sight of her two friends, now standing in her room because they felt her distress from the last few hours. Their very presence gave her a renewed since of hope.
"Really?" Kim wondered. "Jessica had a vision that I was in trouble…and you two came to check on me?Wow! That's so sweet of you two…but as you can see I'm alright, and I don't have the Bloom on me."
Jessica placed her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes. Her voice tainted with suspicion, she countered, "Well, if you're okay, why I did have a vision of you crying on this bed…and why is my necklace hanging around your neck?"
Kim reached up and touched the amulet hanging from its silver chain around her neck. Drawing in a deep breath, her deep green eyes started watering up as she realized Jessica's accusation was true. Kim soon started to shake…and the tears began to flow. Jessica and Yori sat down on the bed on each side of Kim.
Yori wrapped her arms around her friend trying to calm her down. Unsure of what to do, Jessica asked "Kim what's wrong."
After a few minutes with no response, Kim's crying subsided. She looked up at her friends through red, puffy eyes. Taking a deep breath, she pulled away from Yori. She wiped her face on the bed sheets and gave a little smile.
Kim then held out her hand. The Lotus Bloom quickly changed to its sword form. Still not use to seeing the blade appear like that, Jessica gave a little involuntary jump.
Kim then kissed the blade and held it to her breast as if she was cuddling a baby. She spoke softly to it.
"My precious, precious friend," she said, "You felt my distress and came to me. For that I willalways love and cherish you. Still, I am not in any danger except from a broken heart…and that is one thing that you cannot protect me from."
"Please…you must go back to Jessica. She is the one who needs you now. She has much to learn about you and very little time to learn it all."
"I promise I'm going to be alright. My life is in no danger, and I will be with you at Yamanouchi very soon."
Holding out the sword to Jessica Kim waited for her to take it. Jessica just shook her head.
She said, "It came to you because it knows something. You keep it until you get to Yamanouchi. When you are safely there, that's when you can give it to me."
Looking into Kim's eyes, Jessica added, "Kim, won't you please tell us what has you so upset that the Lotus Bloom came to you?"
Looking down, Kim shook her head and answered, "I'm sorry. I just can't…not now. I have a lot of thinking to do, and I just need to straighten it out in my head first."
Jessica decided that Kim was not going to tell them what was bothering her. She decided to change the subject, asking, "Kim, just where are we?"
Kim wiped her face on the bed sheets again and smiled at Jessica, saying, "Well, you are in Japan, attending Yamanouchi…and I am in El Paso, Texas."
"Oh silly," Jessica laughed, "Iknow where I am, but what are you doing in Texas?"
Kim bit her lower lip. She then looked Yori in the eyes and said, "I quit Global Justice…and I'm taking a vacation."
Both Jessica and Yori yelled at the same time, "What??" Then Yori added sounding shocked "You're not serious, are you?"
Kim gave them a weak smile and answered, "Dead serious. I quit yesterday afternoon, bought myself a new car, and started driving south."
Yori was very concerned for Kim. As long as Yori had known her, all Kim ever wanted to do was help people by being the director of Global Justice. It must have been something very bad to make Kim quit.
"Kim," Yori wondered, "why would you quit when it was your lifetime goal to be the director of Global Justice?"
Not sure of how she should answer the question, Kim instead asked, "Yori, when was the first time you saw Sheri after Will's funeral?"
Surprised, by the question Yori answered, "I didn't see her again until Ron and Jessica's wedding. Why?"
"How come you never told me that she was there?" Kim probed.
"Because you ordered anyone that went, NOT to tell you about it and we went on that mission to stop Camilla about five minutes after I walked back into the door. We were just a little too busy to have a social talk. Remember?"
"Yeah," Kim sighed, "I remember."
"Wait a minute!!" demanded Jessica. "Kim, you refused to even talk about my wedding? Why would you even do such a thing?"
Looking Jessica in the eyes, Kim tried to explain, "Because I was a fool, Jessica! I thought like Ron did about the Blades…that what I didn't know wouldn't hurt me."
"Looking back, I was very, very wrong. I'm now paying for my foolishness. I cannot tell you how sorry I am for all the time we lost…time that can never be reversed…all because of petty jealousy of you and Ron! I'm so, so sorry Jessica."
Kim bowed her head as the tears started to flow again. She was getting very tired of crying, but she had no control. It angered her because it made her feel so damn weak.
After a few moments, Yori asked, "So…why quit Global Justice…and what does Sheri have to do with any of this?"
Kim did not look up. Instead, she hugged her sides tightly as she tried to stop the flow of tears. In a voice cracking with emotion she explained.
"Well," she began, "it seems that after Sheri left us, she kept in contact with almost everybody else at Global Justice but me. Just six months after she left, Mom and Dad spent two weeks with her at her house in Acapulco—and Dr Lipsky has been spending his Christmas vacations with her every year since his parole." Unable to continue, Kim doubled over in pain.
As Jessica sat and listened to Kim, tears started to come to her eyes. She was starting to understand just why the Lotus Bloom had returned to Kim. Kim had been under a lot of stress the last few days—or maybe even the last few years—and she had no one to help her.
Yori was dumfounded and grew angry. "You mean," she fumed, "that after all the time and money you spent looking for her that everybody—even you own mother—knew where she was…and never told you?"
Kim started to cry even harder, nodding her head between sobs.
Kim wailed, "I-I just don't knowwhat I could have done to make Sheri hate me so damn much."
Yori just held Kim in her arms, letting her cry. This time, Kim had lost all control. Jessica was also crying as she rubbed Kim's back, trying to help calm her down.
Jessica was beside herself. She knew why Sheri left. They had several conversations about it over the years; but Sheri forced her to swear never to tell anyone. Promise or not, she had to tell Kim now.
"Kim, I have spent a lot of time with Sheri over the last several years. The one thing that I know for a fact is that Sheri does not hate you. I know that she misses you very much…and it took a lot of talking with Ron and me before she got up the courage to go to you."
"She never meant to hurt you. What she did was wrong—but at the time, she felt that it was the right thing to do. You have to go talk to her. Trust me when I say that you won't regret it"
Jessica then handed Kim a box of tissues, so she wouldn't have to use the sheets again.
Accepting Jessica's word, Kim relented and started to calm down "Okay," she sniffed, "I'll, ah; I'll go talk to her in a little while. First, I need to get some R and R…then I will call her." She turned to her other friend and added, "Yori, there is one thing I just don't understand. Since I'm no longer with Ron, the Lotus Bloom shouldnot be coming to me…but here it is. Why?"
"Kim," Yori explained, "What is happening now has only happened once before in the history of the Lotus Blades. However, I do have a theory. I believe that you have possessed the Bloom longer than anyone without dying in battle.
"I believe that there is a soul inside the blade…a soul that loves you very dearly, and wants to protect you as well as perform its duty to the Chosen Ones. As long as your heart is pure, the Bloom will come to you when you are stressed and Jessica is not in danger."
"Now, it is getting very late. Jessica and I still have a full day tomorrow, so we need to get to sleep.
"Rest well, Possible-Chan, and come to us as often as you feel the need. Better yet, come to Yamanouchi as quickly as possible. I still believe you are the only one that should teach Jessica the true power or the Lotus Bloom."
"Thank you, guys." Kim chuckled. "I really needed someone to talk to, and the two of you really helped. I just have one question before you go…Where's Ron?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Jessica said, "I couldn't get him to wake up. He was more concerned about getting his sleep then helping you or looking for the necklace."
"Oh, really?" Kim asked as an evil smile crept across her face. "Well, we'll see about that! With your permission, I think I will pay him a little visit some night soon and harass the shit out of him. Of course, it won't be tonight. We all need to get our sleep."
Jessica's smile began to match Kim's. "Go for it." she said. "All I ask is that you let me watch!"
Authors Notes: I don't know about you, But I'm glade that I'm not in Ron's shoes!
Thank you for taking your time to read this chapter and please just take a few more minutes and drop me a review☺
Snapbang ☺