Room 3025.
Room 3025. Room 3025. Room 3025—Where was it!?
Martial Kim raced through the hallway of the building, receiving gasps and yells in his wake. He couldn’t stop and apologize, neither could he patiently wait for people to clear his way. So he used every flying skill and evasive maneuver to hop over and slide under beds being carted around and flipping through crowds of staff and what not.
3023, 3024, 3025, 3026, 3037—Wait, wait, go back! Go back!
It was thanks to his mistake, Professor Stone was finally able to catch up – the wind completely knocked out of him. “Kim! Kim! This is a hospital! You can’t go running around like that! Neither can you poke your head into every room like that and spook the patients! Calm down or they’ll call security on you!”
“Teacher, Miss Keekee is right there!” Martial Kim gasped and pointed at the entrance of the room only one step in front of him. “She is right inside. Why are you stopping me from entering? A-and what are you making me wear!? I-I already have clothing on!”
“Don’t you see the sign on her door? All visitors MUST wear protective gown and masks before entering! If you don’t, they’ll just kick you out!”
“Teacher. I have faced all sorts of plagues and diseases, yet here I stand fit as an erhu fiddle. I doubt I would succumb to whatever sickness is ailing her right now.”
“It’s for HER protection.”
“...What?”
“Keekee just came out of surgery. Her immune system is weaker than most people. Something as simple as the common cold could kill her right now. If we walk in as is, we’ll accidentally bring in all sorts of germs, virus, and bacteria that would make her condition worse.”
“Th-then I will take a thorough bath. As hot of water as necessary, three times if needed!”
“As thoughtful as that sounds, Kim, do you really have the patience to do all that. Right now?”
Martial Kim felt his tongue got cut out.
Prof. Stone felt the dilemma, so he made the decision clearer by gesturing the protective gown, “Come on Kim. This is the best way for everyone.”
“...Yes, Teacher.”
If elevators made him felt like he was trapped in a moving coffin, being bound up in this personal protective equipment (PPE) felt like he was forced to live in a caterpillar’s cocoon. It was tight, stuffy, and constricting. It also felt awkward to move and walk in it. Not to mention, it was a robe you put on ‘backwards’ so this made it all the more uncanny for the young master.
And he’s not going to mention the fabric of this so called gown. Just slipping in one arm into the sleeve and he tore a gap in the elbow and wrist. How can such a flimsy layer be praised as a perfect barrier for infection!? It made no logical sense, not to the young master anyhow.
...But rules are rules. And he knew if you break them, you get kicked out.
That is the last thing he wanted right now.
image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/e5d49d01-e685-46aa-8d92-b07d57dc33fb/didaiyy-7cc70b06-faf9-4771-a24f-b7127efe7b76.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_207/moon_tavern_page_break_by_suimaifiles_didaiyy-fullview.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MjA3IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZTVkNDlkMDEtZTY4NS00NmFhLThkOTItYjA3ZDU3ZGMzM2ZiXC9kaWRhaXl5LTdjYzcwYjA2LWZhZjktNDc3MS1hMjRmLWI3MTI3ZWZlN2I3Ni5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.V__LDKPGxPLEElJXKGgxKvmlMcRIG9Nv3hgCGY_VlEE]
Death and dying.
Martial Kim was no stranger to the idea. He wouldn’t like to call it as a friend.
In the great and chaotic Martial Arts World, warriors live and die by the fist, sword, and spear, in their pursuits to becoming the next martial legend of the generation. What sort of martial arts sects could be born without some bloodshed? What sacrifices could be made without trading one life for another? And who had not lost a sworn brother or sister in the tides of battle and conflict?
Wise elders often say: when the time comes, one should welcome death with a fresh pot of tea and a board ready for one last round of Weiqi Chess.
To the young master, he heard this philosophy too many times to count. It came to the point of being second nature.
But everything turned inside out when he walked into Room 3025.
The fun loving Keekee laid motionless in her hard bed. Trapped under layers of blankets, so thick and heavy it felt like it would crush her frail body at the drop of a feather. Her entire life chained to tubes and wires crawling all over her body like centipedes would in the dirt, strange needles piercing and blemishing her chaste flesh. Any more bandages on her body and the young master would have mistaken her for a Skeleton Demon.
The only sound he could hear from her was the hissing and heaving from her ventilator, along with the cold chirps of the heart monitor making small and weak lips on the screen.
“M...Miss Keekee...”
Remorse and guilt dragged Martial Kim to his knees and he braced against the patient’s bed. No amount of Inner Energy Skill or training could give him the energy to stand back up.
Oh so many words swarmed into his mouth, but not a single sound could come out. The letters kept buzzing in his throat, over and over like a fly waiting for a land to touch rotten meat.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Miss Keekee...W-who could have done this to you? Please, please wake up and tell me!”
“K-Kim,” Prof. Stone tried to touch his protege on the shoulder, but was scared to trigger something by accident, “No one hurt her. It was an accident.”
“An accident? An accident!? Teacher, do you have eyes that cannot see? She’s practically half dead! Look at the damage upon her body. You call being assaulted until she is hanging on a thread a simple accident!?”
“I meant she wasn’t attacked, not intentionally. I can assure you.”
“Then tell me, what accident could cripple her like this!? Don’t tell me someone ‘accidentally’ bumped into her and she just so happened to be walking down the stairs? Miss Keekee isn’t reacting to my calls!”
As much as Prof. Stone wanted to spend the time to explain, he felt it would be nothing more than talking to a wall preparing for a great siege. So he decided to focus on other things, maybe figure out what happened...After he dealt with this brand new problem!
“Kim! Wait! Wh-what are you doing? D-don’t pull that! Stop!”
“Teacher! Can’t you see Miss Keekee is suffocating. Look at what they shoved into her mouth in her sleep. Shameful, most shameful! And these wires piercing her skin, what are they injecting? Poison?”
“Hear me out Kim! That’s her ventilator! If you pull that out, she’ll really suffocate!”
“Wh-what? Can’t she breathe on her own?”
Prof. Stone made sure all the tubes and wiring were not broken before answering, “This hose is directly inserted into her mouth, down her throat, and right where her trachea is. It’s pumping air in and out, as a mechanical assistance to breathe. As crude as it sounds, she’s suffered too much damage to be able to breath independently!”
--- You mean...if Teacher hadn’t stopped me...I...
The Knight-Errant nearly committed murder, that was what he was thinking right now. Over and over, the words ‘I could have killed her’ haunted him and his conscious. He tucked himself into the corner of the room, afraid of what else he may accidentally do to put Keekee in harms way.
“It’s okay Kim,” Prof. Stone consoled his protege, “It’s alright. You didn’t do anything bad. And those wires in her arm, they’re I.V. lines....Er, intravenous. Essentially, it’s feeding liquid medications into her body to keep her fluid balance up and....J-just trust me when I say, this is all helping her right now. S-so don’t pull anything out. Please!”
“I swear, I will do no such thing! Not anymore!...So long as Miss Keekee is safe.”
“Good. Good man.” Prof. Stone finally let out a sigh of relief. “Kim. I know you’re scared right now and there’s a lot of things you don’t understand. I won’t blame you, Keekee won’t blame you. So I need you to do EXACTLY as I say while we’re here. Okay? To avoid doing anything that would make you regret later...Alright?”
“...Yes! I will listen to Teacher. Every order.”
“Thank you Kim. Now, you stay here and keep Keekee company. You can hold her hand if you like, but don’t touch anything else around her bed, okay? I’ll go talk to the police who brought her here, figure out the full story and speak with the doctor...Can you hold the fort for a bit?”
“Be it 1000 soldiers or 1000 assassins, I will protect Miss Keekee with my life!”
“N-no. You don’t have to fight anyone to the death! I-it was a figure of speech—Just keep and eye on her. No fighting. Be right back.”
As much as Prof. Stone loved his protege, there were times where it can be difficult to shrug off the things he say or respond. He had no need to be in a rush, not like the doctors could give anything conclusive so soon, but the forensic chemist felt compelled to get speed run getting answers and return back to base as soon as he could – else disaster would strike.
Meanwhile, Martial Kim held the fort... figuratively speaking.
--- Teacher said not to make any noise to avoid disturbing Miss Keekee...yet how does anyone expect her to sleep, with all this noise racing to and fro around her room. In fact, do you even call this a proper resting room? Her ‘door’ is nothing more than a flimsy curtain.
Welcome to a modern emergency room. Chaos more brilliant than the martial arts world.
Despite the racket, the only sound that bothered Martial Kim the most was the hissing and heaving of the ventilators. It sounded like she was drowning in water, quicksand, and a mud pit – combined – and every now and then she could only scrape a few mouths of air when she struggles. It also made Martial Kim feel, every rasp was her last...until the next rasp...and the next rasp...and the next.
Worse, he couldn’t reach out to pull her out of danger. He had to let the suffering continue... continue... continue.
--- Miss Keekee. Oh dear Miss Keekee. What could you have done to enrage the heavens to punish you like this? Such a harmless soul, innocent as the grass, yet trampled over until buried in the mud. You don’t deserve this torment.
Painful times like this, there wasn’t more a friend or family could do. Other than touch the patient’s face, stroke her head, or even hold her hand.
Martial Kim can’t do something like that.
--- I am not her kin, neither her lover – despite what everyone believes. As much as I wish her well, worry for her, I can’t be brazen enough to touch her, be it the cheek or her fingers. It would be no different, than taking advantage of her while she is vulnerable.
Oh Martial Kim. How much he wished to give some form of assurance to Keekee, alas he was bound by his morals. He couldn’t break propriety, even if it felt like the right thing to do.
--- In Moon Tavern, I have the necessary medicine, acupuncture needles, and many experts in Inner Energy Healing and medical arts that could come to my beck and call. Now, I have nothing. Not even a proper apothecary in town I could trust. And my Dragon Tooth Needles can only do so much, especially with my cultivation reduced by half. How useless I have become, nothing more than a lump sitting next to her bed... No, I can’t sulk or fret, not right now.
The young master pondered...and pondered...and pondered. If it wasn’t the fact he had a few rounds of beer, it was both past his usually sleeping hours – and dear god the nightly racket in the emergency room was giving him a headache. Can’t think straight.
What should he do under such familiar circumstances?...Wait. Why did he thought this was familiar? This was the first time he’s been in such a modern hospital, and being in this foreign patient room closed off by a thin curtain. In fact everything was different, even the wires and tubes stuck to Keekee’s body.
Yet, why is it every time the young master eyed the unconscious film assistant, he felt this odd sense of nostalgia. Why does he keep thinking about her...No not Keekee. Her....
--- Wait...Her......Her....Yes. Of course, Her! Why didn’t I think of this sooner!?”
What did Martial Kim figure out? Who is this ‘Her’? What part of thinking about another woman could help remedy this situation!?
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