Chapter 3:
When Kimiko woke the next morning, her head was throbbing, both from lack of sleep and the fear, fury and endless questions that kept bubbling to her mind each time she tried to drift off to sleep.
She thought she may have gotten just a few hours of sleep, and after tossing and turning all night trying to find it, sleep had not come easily. She woke seemingly every few minutes, afraid that she would wake somewhere other than the Temple, that some horrible evil had befallen her, but those were just nightmares, and nothing to be really afraid of.
Still, they kept coming. All night. She spent most of the night watching the clock, waiting for the hours to pass. Occasionally she would open her eyes and see that it had budged by half an hour, sometimes more, but it felt like it was a rare occurrence.
The sun was just creeping through her bedroom window, and she knew that dawn had only just arrived, flooding her bedroom with golden light and a hint of warmth. Deciding she had had enough of failing to sleep, she reluctantly got to her feet, feeling done with the day already. Kimiko let out a soft groan, knowing the day was going to be difficult.
Slipping on her slippers, she made her way to the bathroom for her morning shower, the usual routine. She passed the bedrooms of Raimundo, Clay and Omi who were all sound asleep, snoring, and peaceful.
The Temple was silent at this time, with the birds just beginning to chirp. Even Master Fung would not be awake yet.
The slump into the shower was a welcome one. The warmth and comfort of the shower almost made her forget how tired she was. The hot water running over her skin revitalised it, making her feel more alert, and much more like herself. She almost forgot how tired her legs felt, how her eyes were barely open properly yet, and how tough the day ahead would be.
"Kimiko?" The voice came from the other side of the shower curtain, and over the sound of the water splashing over her head, she didn't recognise which of the other monks it was.
"I'm in here! Don't come in!" She called back, loudly. She massaged some more shampoo into her hair, and squinting through the bubbles to make sure the shower curtain stayed firmly pulled shut. It wouldn't be the first time Omi had gotten curious to see what girls looked like naked.
She thought she saw the bottom of the curtain move slightly, as if someone had brushed past it, but nothing else, so she continued washing herself, rinsing the shampoo from her hair. When all the bubbles were gone from her hair, she turned towards the soap, washing herself all over and was just about to turn off the shower, when she heard the voice again.
"Kimiko?" They called once more.
"I already told you, I'm in the shower!" She called back. "I'll be out in a minute!" Kimiko turned the nozzle of the shower, feeling the last dregs of water trickle out of the overhead shower, and turned towards the shower curtain, reaching out to grab the plastic, to yank it back, and retrieve her towel from the rail behind it.
But a shadowed hand gripped the curtain from the other side, and moved to pull it back. Two orange eyes appeared, glowing, shining through the curtain, and she heard whoever it was whisper her name.
Kimiko leapt back, squealed in horror, and her world went black.
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"Is she going to be okay?"
"Some concussion, perhaps, plus the broken collarbone, but she will be okay. We must watch her closely."
"It's unlike her to be so clumsy."
"Maybe she fainted? That shower can get mighty hot, and it ain't like her to get up so early. Maybe she got dizzy?"
Kimiko gave a groan. The moment she came into consciousness, her head began to throb with an ache she'd never experienced before. The back of her head was a swirling mass of pain and agony, and her whole body felt bruised to the bone. Her right chest, shoulder and arm throbbed dully, and she had a bad feeling the instant she realised she was awake. Something was wrong.
She opened her eyes, to see four concerned faces staring down at her.
Kimiko was lying in her own bed, the sheets pulled up to her chin, and a tight bandage wrapped around her head and chest, with her entire right arm bandaged up, and plastered into a sling.
She looked at each of them in turn, Raimundo, Omi, Clay and Master Fung, who were all watching over her with worry.
"Kimiko, how are you feeling?" Master Fung asked, kindly, touching her forehead gently.
"What happened?" She asked, trying to sit upright, but her body felt so heavy she could barely move. She gasped with pain, and the boys pressed her back down gently, and she decided not to try moving again so soon.
"You don't remember?" Raimundo's eyes flashed with worry. Kimiko saw him glance at Master Fung, who didn't notice or ignored it.
"You fell in the shower, little lady." Clay said gently, taking her hand in his. "Your scream woke me up, and by the time I got there, you were bleedin' all over the place. It looked like a murder scene."
"I fell?" She whispered, confused, struggling to remember through the haze of it all and the throbbing agony of her head.
"We all heard you scream." Raimundo said. He, himself, looked as though he had had little sleep once more. "We all ran to the bathroom, and you were unconscious in the bathtub. You must have slipped and knocked yourself out. But you got a pretty nasty head wound. There's gonna be a gnarly scar, right here," Raimundo pointed towards the back of her head, "And you messed up your collarbone. It was gross. And you got a couple of bruises everywhere else, but Master Fung says you're gonna live." He gave a small smile, but Kimiko wasn't fooled. He had been worried, they all had.
"I must have just slipped." Kimiko responded, weakly. In truth, she felt exhausted and sleep was creeping back up on her. Her mind flashed back to the shower, remembering hearing someone calling her name, and those eyes staring back at her.
Her eyes flashed open again as she recalled the fall, and she jerked upright.
The four boys all leapt back in horror, but quickly stood to attendance, trying to push her back into bed, and she complied without resistance.
"Sorry, I... just remembered." She mumbled, weakly. "I did fall. I just remembered it... I slipped as I was climbing out. That's all."
She looked up at Master Fung, seeing the concern in his eyes, but he pursed his lips, and chose not to say anything. The other boys accepted her explanation, but there would be no fooling Master Fung. There never was.
I can't tell them... not with what they suspect, they'll think I'm crazy or that evil is here.
She regretted lying to them all, but she knew that had she told the truth, Master Fung would not have given her any more information, and would have been angry at her for listening in on his and Raimundo's conversation. It was best to wait and see.
I was just tired, she reasoned with herself, I'd had no sleep. It's possible that I hallucinated.
For the next few days, the boys tended to Kimiko's every need while her head wound began to heal. It turned out that her collarbone was tenderer than she had first realised, and so the three boys covered her chores around the Temple. They fed her in her bed, insisted that she slept all day, and catered to her every whim for three days.
But the nights were the worst. It was when the nightmares started.
She dreamt she was alone in the dark, stranded in a noiseless forest, with a hideous beast, with two orange eyes glistening in the dark. It kept coming for her, and it didn't matter where she ran to, which trees she climbed, which weapons she used, it would keep coming, and it wouldn't stop. The beast would sometimes become a man, other times it was a four-legged shadow, but either way, it would hiss and snarl, terrifying her each time.
She always woke in a sweat, with the beast grabbing onto her right shoulder each and every time as she jerked upright, panting and afraid.
It wasn't so much the noises or even the shadowed beast itself that scared her, it was the eyes. The two glowing orange slits, like a monster, glistening in the darkness, beckoned her closer.
The days past, and the nightmares got worse each day, but she decided not to say anything still.
I am just overreacting, she told herself. There was no point worrying Master Fung or Raimundo, not just yet.
If there came a time when she was truly in trouble she would tell them. After all, nothing bad had happened yet. She had not wanted to worry any of them.
But she had noticed that the dreams were becoming more severe each night, as if the monster was looming ever closer.
Throughout her recover, the boys even escorted to the shower each morning by one of the boys. Since there were no girls around to help Kimiko undress with a broken collarbone, the task was incredibly difficult alone, and so each of them took turns in helping her, though she preferred Clay out of them all.
Though embarrassed, Kimiko knew it was necessary that she had help, but Raimundo's embarrassment was plain on his face whenever he tried to help her undress, and Omi would simply talk and talk and talk about how comfortable he was with the situation, not at all embarrassed, and how many girls bodies he had seen so hers didn't make him uncomfortable at all. He rambled on so much so that she ended up asking him to leave and attempted to complete the task without him.
Clay, on the other hand, simply didn't seem to mind helping. Calm, cool and focused, he was gentle with helping her undress, and polite to a fault. A true gentleman.
When she wasn't showering, eating or taking a stroll, Master Fung insisted she remain in bed, to build up her strength, but in truth, she disliked staying still for so long. She wanted to be up and out, to breathe in the fresh air, and to get away from the eyes of the three boys, who constantly asked whether she was okay.
She knew they were just being helpful, but Kimiko had barely had enough time to think lately, without someone coming in to talk to her.
It was all so confusing, and frighteningly coincidental. She supposed on some level that Raimundo's warning could have subconsciously manifested itself into a hallucination. At least, that's what Kimiko hoped. In truth, the reality was much more frightening.
If evil really was coming, Kimiko felt as though it was creeping ever closer.
For the next few days, things seemed to quieten down. Kimiko started sleeping at nights, her strength returned and she began to feel quite normal. Her appetite returned and she found that she barely spent any time at all in bed. She could almost manage to dress herself without needing help, and the boys had started standing outside the door while she showered, rather than insisting that they remained in the room, hiding behind the shower curtain.
Two weeks after her fall, things had almost returned to normal. Her arm was still sore, a throbbing ache that made movement difficult, but everything else seemed to have quietened down.
She began to think how silly she had been, thinking that evil was coming. After all, it had just been bad dreams. Nothing more.
Since she couldn't train much, other than practising using Shen Gong Wu or helping do some of the chores, she spent much of her time in the Temple courtyard. It was approaching mid-summer, and her favourite flowers were blooming. She didn't know what they were called, but they were beautiful, with colours of pale pink and soft creams, smelling sweet and soft to the touch. The running water of the stone carved fountain, with a baby angel sprouting water from its mouth, was also a welcome sound.
Sometimes she trailed her hands in the water, watching the koi fish inside swim calmly around it, occasionally brushing up against her fingers, making her giggle.
"You okay, Kim?" Clay's voice came from behind her, and she whipped around to see him, smiling widely as he beamed at her.
"I'm fine." She replied pleasantly. "How's training?"
"Tiring." Clay said, fanning himself with his hat. "I'm taking a break. Rai and Omi are having a content to see who can hold their breath the longest. I think Omi's about to pass out."
Kimiko chuckled. "You guys are so competitive."
Clay nudged her arm playfully. "You're the worst one!" He laughed softly. "You never want to lose!"
"No one should ever want to lose." She laughed with him.
The two sat silently on the mouth of the fountain then, and Clay sighed happily.
"How's your arm feelin' now, little lady?" He asked, kindly, casting his eyes over the bandage.
"It still hurts." She said casually, lifting it slightly. "But it's getting better. I feel stronger already."
"Well, you'll be back training with us in no time." Clay said with a smile. "I should go check and see if Omi's still conscious."
"Yes, go." Kimiko agreed, watching Clay with fondness.
She watched him disappear inside the Temple, and turned her attention back to the running water of the pond. Humming softly to herself, she felt completely at ease, and then she heard Clay coming up behind her again, sigh once more, and place his hand on her shoulder.
"Back again?" She asked, pleasantly, still watching the water.
No reply.
Her heart began to thud, and turned slowly turned her head left.
A black, gloved hand, one that definitely didn't belong to Clay, was resting on her shoulder.
In an instant, she whipped around, feeling her fire rushing to her fingertips, ready to strike, and saw there was no one there.
Panting and breathless, she ran into the Temple, poised to strike, glancing around, prepared to scream for help, but no one was there. The gloved hand had vanished.
Did I really see a hand?
The thought bubbled to her mind.
No, she had definitely seen it. Felt the material touch the cloth of her robes, felt it squeeze lightly, heard the sigh and the footsteps.
It had all been there.
It had all been real.
But then... where? Who?
I'm going crazy...
She marched herself towards the garden, knowing that Master Fung would be in there, but paused before she entered the small greenhouse, where Master Fung was watering the tomato plants, and retreated.
Nothing has happened, Kimiko. Do you know how crazy you'll sound? How much you'll worry everyone?
No. She decided, firmly. It's best to carry on as normal.
She said nothing of the hand to the boys, and kept herself busy by walking or scrolling through her phone with her good hand, thinking nothing about what had happened, but feeling it lurking in the back of her mind.
Sometimes she thought she could feel the hand resting softly on her left shoulder, and would shudder at the thought. Her entire shoulder felt cold, but burned at the same time; a strange sensation, but just a shock reaction, she supposed.
For the next few days, she remained on guard, but felt her strength returning day by day. Kimiko knew it would only be a matter of days before Master Fung trusted them to care for her alone, and retreated back on his travels, but the thought of him leaving was a worrying one. She remained in her room for long periods of time, thinking, meditating, trying to work out what it all meant.
She had almost told Master Fung several times, and the old man seemed to know that something was wrong, but each time, she had chickened out.
Master Fung would urge caution, and for her to be on her guard. After all, there was nothing else she could do. It wasn't like there was anything that could be done, and she was sure that whatever these hallucinations were, they weren't the form of some kind of evil.
Besides, even if they were, what proof did she have? Nothing. Just her word, and her word would make her sound insane.
Convincing herself that she had made the right decision, she continued throughout her days as normal. Eating breakfast, taking a shower, and meditating, watching the boys train, chatting with whoever took a break, helping with the chores if she could, and maybe going for walks or runs if her shoulder and arm weren't feeling too painful. The sling was growing to be a nuisance, and she regularly had to ask Raimundo or Clay to undo the bow that tied it around her neck. Each morning, she woke, ate her breakfast, and waited for the boys to rise. Sometimes Omi would do it, but he'd need a chair to reach her neck.
Today's morning was no different, Raimundo woke and sleepily attacked a cup of coffee, downing it like a wild animal, before gulping down his cereal. She waited patiently for him to finish, and he marched her to the shower.
"Okay," He said, moving behind her as they entered the bathroom together. "Put your head forward."
She obliged, tilting her head forward so her hair was out of the way of the fastening.
Raimundo tugged at the cloth, pulling at it, and the tie slipped away to the floor.
She pulled off the oversized hoodie she had been wearing along with Raimundo's help, and reached over to turn the knob on the bathroom wall to start the shower.
"Kimiko..." Raimundo's voice sounded behind her. "What is that on your shoulder?"
"What? Where?" Kimiko turned, trying to see what he was pointing at on the back of her shoulder, but it was an agony to even move it enough to see. She had forgotten that she was even wearing a vest top instead of her usual PJs, but the heat of the summer months was taking its toll.
"Did you get a tattoo? Master Fung is going to kill you." Raimundo looked awestruck.
"What? No? What are you talking about?" She turned, still trying to see over her left shoulder. Her first thought was that this might be some elaborate prank. It wouldn't be the first time he had drawn on her while she was asleep, although he usually opted for a moustache and glasses, or a beard if she was truly unlucky.
"Come here, look." Raimundo pulled her in front of the mirror, and to her horror, she saw he was right. There was a mark there.
It was small, about the length of her thumb, just on the bone of her shoulder blade. It was red, irritated, angry, but unmistakable.
"What the hell is that? Did I get burnt?" She stupidly tried to move towards the mirror, but realised she couldn't see the mark any closer even if she tried.
Raimundo raised an eyebrow. "It... looks like three circles. Kinda intertwined. Like one big circle."
"What?" She tried to reach to touch the mark, but it was beyond the way her arms could stretch, and she couldn't move to reach it.
He looked at her suspiciously. "You totally got a tat, didn't you? You don't have to lie to me."
But Kimiko was horrified. "Raimundo... No, I swear, I didn't."
"Come on, I know you did." He smiled playfully at her, but she shook her head, dismayed.
"Raimundo, I swear, I didn't do this. What the hell is that?! How did it get on me?!" Panicked, she looked back at the mark again. "I haven't been anywhere. You've been with me for days. I haven't left the Temple since I fell. I couldn't have. What is that?!"
Raimundo was right. Unmistakable. Three circles, intertwined and connected, clear as day on her back.
Bewildered, she looked up at Raimundo, her mouth gaping dumbly. "How?" Was all she could manage while her head raced, her heart thumped and her hands began to tremble.
She reached up again, trying to reach the mark, to see whether somehow she could have done this to herself in her sleep. But no, it was impossible. There was no way she could reach.
"Did you do this?" She rounded on him, suddenly burning with fury. "I swear to god, Raimundo, if you did this, I swear I will make sure I destroy-"
"Wait, Kim, no! I didn't do it, I swear!" Raimundo backed away, knowing better than to try and contend with Kimiko's temper.
Her good arm fell to her side and she whimpered, feeling terribly afraid. "But... Raimundo... if I didn't do this... and you didn't do this... Where did it come from?" She stared at him expectantly.
Raimundo's face was a blank canvass of horror and disgust at the same time.
"I need to speak to Master Fung. Now." She said.
Raimundo nodded wordlessly.
Several hundred miles away, in his volcano, Chase Young turned away from his crystal eyeball with a smirk, feeling rather pleased with himself.
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