Chapter Thirteen: The Grudge — Part 8

“I really did only come out here to tell you nut jobs that lunch is due to be served.”

Alon moved aside, letting Bamboo face down Blue. Bamboo readied himself with no small amount of caution. Bamboo could feel the wood at his feet stress in different places as Blue worked around him, trying to find an opening in Bamboo’s highly integrated defensive style, Glyph unable to get a lock on the android dragon, and Bamboo unable to figure out where the attacks were coming from. Bamboo scrabbled out with his hands, touching the dragon’s scales as it slid by him in passing, struggling to catch a hold on the creature before it could curl around and attack him from behind. In a moment he felt the head of the dragon land square in the small of his back, knocking him down. Bamboo turned and struggled against the sinuous foe. Soon the two were face to face, Bamboo struggling to break free, the dragon laughing, sparkling plasma dripping from its maw like water, fading away before it could do any damage to Bamboo’s flesh. Bamboo managed to get the dragon in a headlock, but the dragon slammed his head back repeatedly, until Bamboo let go, the two rolled away from each other, each surprised at the other’s proficiency.

“Thank you sir, for the challenge.” Blue said, leaving to return to his lair.

“That was fun.” Bamboo wiped a little blood from his nose, not entirely aware it was blood until he tasted it as it crossed his upper lip.

Nikkei sat down near Bamboo, the two suddenly alone. “Everybody is heading back to the Commons for lunch, and your competitor, having been impressed with your skill, has bowed out and left for the wilds.” Nikkei said. “Take my arm, sir, and I’ll guide you to Jun.”

As Bamboo stood to walk back to the commons, Nikkei leaned in close to him, cuddling a little. Nobody really seemed to notice, and Bamboo doubted if Yap would care. Jun took his arm on the other side squeezing his hand affectionately. The threesome walked to lunch, set up near a table where Orchid sat working on one of her many machines. Lunch passed to dinner. Orchid went out to the Point of Entry with Jun, Pearl, and Sissy to do a little dancing. That evening, while he was sitting on a bench in the garden, listening to the fountain gurgle, Nikkei sat next to him. To both their surprise, Nikkei kissed Bamboo. The kiss was gentle at first, then with more passion. Nikkei would have pulled away if she could, would have fled with any power possible the horrific memories leading up to Bamboo’s blindness. The pain proved overwhelming.

Nikkei rose and stumbled, holding her face, began to scream in pain. “I’m blind, I’m blind.” She yelled, stumbling about before tripping and falling to the ground.

Bamboo felt his way to Nikkei’s side. “Relax woman.” Bamboo said, his voice gruff. “Open your eyes.”

Nikkei opened her eyes, her own sensory perspective returning; the stimulus of light slowly asserting itself on her brain. Nikkei could still feel the blood trickling from her empty sockets, her head somehow lighter for the loss of optical receptors. Then that slowly faded, leaving her empty and ashamed.

“I can see again.” Nikkei said. “I wanted to know you, how you know the world around you even when you can’t see. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Bamboo roughly propped Nikkei to the seated position. “Close your eyes.”

“I never want to close them again.” Nikkei whispered.

“Close them.” Bamboo said, more irritated than before.

As she closed her eyes, Nikkei felt in the world around her thousands of details she had at one time taken for granted, the experience granted to her because of her brief encounter with Bamboo’s mind. The sounds of leaves striking the ground as autumn approached, the echoes of the fountain sounds off of distant walls, the sense of things living and dead around her, the sense of things that could not have been sensed with her eyes open. Bamboo kissed Nikkei’s forehead, hugged her tightly.