Chapter Two: Birthday Surprise
Pailong lay awake in his coffin, sleep teasing on the fringes of his consciousness. He tried counting sheep, but he lost count. He tried reciting all the positions of his Dao Dan Do, but he soon ran out of positions. Admitting defeat, he resigned himself to insomnia; not that he really needed sleep, being dead and all. His keen hearing picked up a variety of nightly noises, so he entertained himself by trying to identify them.
Every now and then a car zoomed by on the street below. A cat began to serenade its fellow felines, only to be yelled at by one of the neighbors and to have a shoe thrown at it. A car alarm went off somewhere down the block and remained on for five minutes before falling silent. Sometimes the wind would rattle an empty can across the pavement.
Eventually, Pailong heard a familiar sound. It was like clockwork. Every night, around three a.m., the door down the hall would slowly creak open and soft footsteps would shuffle down the hall. He knew they belonged to Tao Ren, and that his faithful ghost companion, Bason, would be close behind. He couldn't tell how he knew Bason was there; ghosts make no sound, but perhaps it was because he himself was dead and so he was aware if others like him were nearby.
After passing the living room, Ren would head toward the kitchen, and the door to the fridge would open. Pailong heard him loudly gulping down a glass of milk. He knew that's what he was drinking, because Ren wouldn't get up at three a.m., unless it was for milk. He could here the clink of glass and the door slamming closed, then the footsteps would head toward the hall once more.
Pailong was acutely aware of the footsteps pausing in front of his coffin. The kyonshii had the disturbing impression that Ren was glaring at him, for some odd reason. Maybe he was resentful by the fact that Yoh had granted Pailong his freewill, an unforgivable act in the eyes of Tao Ren. Pailong felt a pang of sympathy for Bason, who never questioned his master and no longer wished for freewill, his spirit broken by his cruel master. Pailong hoped that someday Ren would come to understand Bason's feelings, just as Jun had come to understand his own.
Finally, the footsteps receded down the hall and the door creaked closed. Pailong heaved a sigh of relief. He worried that one day Ren might decided to wield his kwan dao against him, and cut him neatly in two. He knew that would never happen, though. Jun would never forgive Ren if he did that, and if there was one thing Ren never did, it was make his sister unhappy. He really was a good kid, albeit misguided, but deep down Pailong knew the boy cared deeply for his sister.
Pailong closed his eyes. Sleep finally had come to him, and he sighed with relief. Tomorrow was another day, and the preliminaries were drawing ever closer
He was awakened by a loud rapping against the lid of his coffin. For a moment, he was reminded eerily of his dream, but this was only a gentle tapping, nothing threatening. Sliding the lid off, he was met by the lovely face of Tao Jun, her hand poised in the air, about to rap him on his forehead.
"Oh, sorry about that," she smiled sheepishly. "It took you long enough to wake up."
Pailong sat up and squinted into the gloom. The room was still dark, cold grey sunlight only beginning to filter through the blinds.
"What time is it?" He stretched and yawned mightily. "This is early, even for you, Miss Jun."
"It's six o'clock," she straightened and smoothed out the folds in her robe. "I wanted to get up early today, before Ren woke up."
"Why?" The kyonshii cocked an eyebrow in confusion.
"Come into the kitchen and we'll talk over a cup of coffee."
She turned and glided away, her silk robe shimmering in the dim light. Pailong scratched his head in confusion, but obeyed her nonetheless. Climbing out of his coffin, he followed her into the kitchen and waited while she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the small table between the kitchen and the living room. After she was comfortably seated, he sat down across from her and watched as she slowly sipped at her coffee.
"Ah! Nothing like a little Chinese brew to revitalize the senses," she sighed in ecstasy. "It's too bad you can't drink it."
"I never really liked coffee that much, anyway," he smiled. "Besides, the smell is enough to wake me up."
There was a moment of silence while Jun continued to sip at her coffee. Finally, she decided to initiate the conversation.
"Pailong. I've been thinking a lot last night." She sat the green mug down in front of her and stared at its contents.
"About what?" Pailong felt worried. He wasn't sure where the conversation was headed.
"Lots of things, namely you." She brought her gaze up to meet his, her sea blue eyes lucid. "I've been thinking about the way you've been spending your time. Each day the same thing: training and working. Working and training. I've been wondering if perhaps that's why you keep reminiscing about the past. Your life thus far has been less than How do I put this?" She tapped her finger on the table for a moment, struggling to articulate her thoughts.
"Satisfying?" Pailong interjected.
"Exactly!" Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement. "I haven't really been a very good dao-shi lately, have I?"
"Miss Jun, you're a wonderful dao-shi--" Pailong started, but he was quickly cut off.
"If I'm so wonderful, then how come my loyal mochirei is so unhappy?"
Pailong was about to speak, but quickly fell silent.
"Listen, I think what you need is a little taste of life again." Jun reached across the table and placed her had atop his own. His gaze traveled from her hand to her eyes. Her blue eyes were sparkling with vivacity. Pailong frowned slightly. She was planning something, but what?
"Where exactly are you going with this?"
"I mean, it must be dreadfully boring for you to be cooped up in here all day long with nothing to do. So, today I'm going to treat you to something very special."
"And what would that be?"
"Do you know what today is?" She grinned slyly. Pailong closed his eyes in irritation. She was asking so many cryptic questions this morning, and it was much too early for thinking.
"No," he sighed with infinite patience. "Please, Miss Jun, tell me what today is."
"It's November twenty-ninth; your birthday, of course!"
Pailong blinked several times.
"Huh?" was all he could manage.
"Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday?" Jun chuckled slightly at his vacant expression. She found that look so endearing.
"But I" He shook his head. "Wait a minute! I never told you when my birthday was. How did you find out?"
"Silly Pailong," she took another sip of coffee. "It wasn't that difficult. You were a famous movie star, remember? Your life wasn't exactly all that private, now was it?"
Pailong rested his chin on his hands, amazed at his dao-shi's resourcefulness. The old saying, 'still waters run deep' came to his mind when he looked upon her smiling face. What other secrets was she hiding behind those sapphire eyes?
"So, your planning to throw me a birthday party, is that it?" Pailong grinned.
"Even better. I'm going to take you on the best birthday outing you've had in your entire life unlife existence. Whatever. You know what I mean!"
"You mean," Pailong straightened in his seat, his eyes round with wonder. "You're going to take me out there." He turned his head toward the window in front of the balcony, which opened up onto the street below. How long had it been since he actually got to go outside, to feel the sun upon his skin and the wind in his hair. But what if
"Miss Jun! You can't mean You know I can't go out there! What if someone recognized me? How do you think people would react if they saw a dead movie star walking down the street?" He stared at his hands upon the table. His lifeless flesh was purplish-grey, lacking any warmth; the mark of a creature no longer living, but not quite dead. He did not belong out there among those people. To them, he was nothing more than a monster.
"I've already thought about that, and I've taken care of everything." She winked at him. "Trust me. No one will recognize you."
"You're sure?" He asked, his eyebrow cocked in disbelief.
"Of course. I want this day to be perfect for you."
Pailong stared at her for a long moment, not quite believing what he was hearing. She had planned this all out, just for him, without him even asking. He smiled at her heartfelt attempt to make him happy on this special day.
"Well, when do we leave?" He asked.
"As soon as we get ready. Let me shower and get dressed, and you put on those clothes laying on the couch, all right? But be quite. I want to leave before Ren wakes up."
"Why is that, Miss Jun?"
"Well," she averted her gaze guiltily. "I just don't think he'd approve, that's all. But so what!" Her eyes burned with resolve. "It's my business what I do with my mochirei, and that's all there is to it."
The tall girl stood and placed her mug in the sink then headed down the hall. Pailong could only stare after her for a few moments before getting up himself and heading toward the living room. He sat on the couch beside a neatly folded set of clothes. Gingerly, he picked up the article of clothing on top and found it to be a very expensive looking leather jacket.
When did she go shopping for this? He thought in surprise. The only clothing he every wore was the black silk shirt and kung-fu pants that all the kyonshii under the Tao's control wore. It never occurred to him that he should wear anything else. Shrugging his broad shoulders, he removed his old clothing and threw it on the back of the couch.
He had dressed himself in a simple white T-shirt and blue jeans with the black leather jacket and black riding gloves. Jun had also found a pair of black leather boots and a pair of black sunglasses, just like he used to wear when he made movies. He smiled, feeling like his old self again, and looked the sunglasses over. They were even the same brand name!
Where did she find these? He shook his head and smiled as he gathered his clothes and threw them in the hamper. No sooner had he done that than a familiar voice said, "I'm ready!"
Pailong turned and felt his jaw hit the floor. Tao Jun emerged wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat with an orchid tucked in the brim on the right side. Her hair was down, trailing below her shoulders like jade silk. She was wearing a green sun dress that accentuated her bust and hips, and she had a pair of green high-heels. A jade necklace adorned her neck and a jade bracelet was on her wrist, and a little green purse dangled from her hand.
"What are you staring at, Pailong?" She tilted her head to one side. "Is there something on my face?"
"What? Ah, no!" He shook his head quickly. "You look fine, I mean, you look gorgeous."
She blushed slightly at his remark, as did he.
"Does everything fit all right?" She pointed to his clothing. "It took me forever to find everything in a size large enough for you to wear."
"Oh, everything's perfect." He smiled. "But the shirt is just a little tight. He rubbed his hand up and down his impressive physique.
"Well, I'd like to think that it accentuates your musculature." She laughed behind her hand. "You wouldn't want all that strength training to be for nothing, now would you?"
Miss Jun," he felt embarrassed by her lighthearted remark. "You know that's not why I workout--"
"I know, I'm just teasing you," she slapped him on the shoulder. "Now for the finishing touches. Kneel down, so I can reach you."
"Okay," he did as he was told while she removed a compact from her purse and began dabbing at it. Pailong scrunched up his face as she was about to apply the make-up.
"Oh, don't do that," she frowned while he peeked at her with one eye. "It won't go on evenly if you scrunch your face up like that."
"All right," he sighed. "Deep cleansing breath." He inhaled, as if in preparation for his training, then let it all go out in a whoosh before relaxing his facial muscles.
"Honestly," Jun shook her head while she began rubbing on the make up. "You used to me a movie star, for crying out loud! I know that they had to put make-up on you."
"Doesn't mean that I enjoyed it," he began but a hiss from Jun to 'keep still' quickly silenced him.
After a few minutes, Jun stood and announced. "All done. What do you think?"
Pailong opened his eyes and found himself staring into his own reflection, looking as youthful and vibrant as he did in life. He gasped in amazement, reached up to touch his cheek
"Don't do that." He stopped and looked up at Jun, who was still holding the compact. "You have to wait for it to dry completely, or else you'll smear it up. Also, I may have to reapply it every now and then, so don't give me any trouble, all right?"
"Yes, Miss Jun," he rolled his eyes.
"Now come on, the day's barely begun, and there's so much to do."
"All right," he smiled while placing the sunglasses on his face. They walked out the door and hurried down the stairs, eager to go outside and greet the new day.
It's been so long since I actually lived a normal day, Pailong thought to himself as the opened the door and the first rays of the morning dawn greeted them. Oddly enough, he found Tao Jun's excitement was beginning to rub off on him, and he began to relax. Today was going to be a good day, and nothing could possible go wrong.
Well, what'd you think? Please read and review! Next up, Tao Ren wakes up, and he's got no breakfast on the table! Gasp! What'll he do? Plus, find out what's first on Pailong's and Jun's list of funs stuff to do! By the way, November 29, 1948 is Pailong's real birthday. It says so in the manga profiles. That means, he's a Sagittarius, and you know what that means? He's a big party animal! Sagittarius signs love to have fun, and are only happy when everyone joins in! Oddly enough, they're also loyal and honest, too. That is so Pailong right there.