Was Martial Kim truly dead? Had he shuffled out of his mortal coil and ascended to the Heavens?

  Like every knight-errant of the great Martial World, he often dreamed of how he would go out.

  Perhaps, a heroic last stand against an army of 10,000; horses and soldiers thundering across the plains, all the while the young master being armed with only a broken sword and a gourd of wine in hand.

  Or maybe, an epic duel between masters vying for the title of Number One Under the Heaven in the Martial World; a battle where every slash they exchange cleave holes through the clouds and carve their legacy across the slops of the mountains like a ink strokes on a scroll.

  Who knows, maybe Martial Kim would reach a peak in his martial arts journey and broke through the final phase of his cultivation; to acquire enlightenment and ascend as a martial god that can pass through heaven and earth!

  ...

  But...being taken out by a computer keyboard? Yeah, let’s keep that out of his euology.

  ...Speaking of dreams, was Martial Kim having another one?

  “KEEKEE! NO! SPARE THE BLADE! SPARE THE BLADE!”

  “KIM! Kim, it’s okay! It’s okay, it’s me – Stone! You’re safe!”

  “T-Teacher...Teacher is that really you? I-I’m still here?”

  “O-of course you’re still here! You never left the hospital! Just...got knocked out, that’s all.”

  Martial Kim broke into a cold sweat. Thank the gods above, that was just a nightmare!

  For once, he was happy he wasn’t back home! If he truly saw his friend’s head rolling away from the guillotine chopper, he would never forgive himself – even through 100 reincarnations!

  If jumping off the tallest mountain peak to crush his body on the rocks below wasn’t enough, the young master would definitely retire his name from the Martial World and go into seclusion to become a nameless hermit!

  As much as Martial Kim let out a sigh, he found himself out of one frying pan and sitting in a chair of fire. Actually, whatever he was sitting in was worse than flames.

  “Ah! T-Teacher!? Wh-why have you bound me to this chair!?”

  “I did no such thing!... Not to throw anyone under the bus, but it’s you-know-who’s idea. They’re hospital restraints. Usual the hospital staff apply them onto mentally unstable patients who are capable of harming both themselves as well as the nurses. And this is exactly for your own good, as well as ours!”

  “Teacher. Free me right now, or I swear I will break them and...OH! OH GOD! TEACHER! TH-THERE’S A WORM CRAWLING INTO MY SKIN! GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!”

  “NO! KIM! D-DON’T PANIC! That’s not a worm! It’s an I.V. line! I-it’s the same thing they used on Keekee!”

  Martial Kim sweat got sucked back into his body when he heard the ‘good news’ “W-wait, Teacher! I’m not unconscious like Keekee!”

  Prof. Stone just pinched his nose bridge to get over the cringing feeling, “Kim. It’s not strictly for comatose patients. Remember what I said, how it’s dripping a solution called saline into the blood stream. Like I mentioned, it’s to nourish and keep the body balanced. This is often used for patients who have trouble eating due to constant nausea or vomiting, post surgery when they can’t chew or swallow, or they passed out due to lack of nutrients as well as dehydration... The long and the short of it is: it’s to make sure you don’t drop dead from self induced famine!”

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  “...Famine? Teacher, I thought you told me with your advanced science and technology for agriculture, famine virtually doesn’t exist in your society.”

  “Alright, let me rephrase: when was the last time you had a proper sleep?”

  “....................”

  “When was the last time you ate so much as a granola bar from the vending machine?”

  “... Wh-what is a granola bar?”

  If Prof. Stone couldn’t keep up with his protege. If the doctor had diagnosed Martial Kim having A.D.H.D. and early onsets of Dementia, the forensic chemist would wholeheartedly believe it. The question was, does he tell the young master his ‘condition’ or should he change the topic?

  How about a mix of both?

  “Kim!” Prof. Stone can’t help but snap, “You’re not a Terminator machine! You don’t live on a nuclear powered battery the size of a pocket charger!...D-don’t give me that puppy stare, you know exactly what I mean! Look, I admire your vigilance to keep Keekee safe, but you got to think about your own livelihood! Your own health! Do you want to end up as Keekee’s neighbour, also comatose!? Do you want me to be on duty 24/7 watching over your unconscious body!?”

  --- ...When... Teacher put it like that... what is this sense of guilt in my heart? Am I really doing something wrong?

  More like overboard, beyond human standards even. No one would blame a regular family or friend to take bathroom breaks or go home to rest themselves after staying for a couple of hours. Everyone had their lives, their own needs to recharge their spiritual batteries.

  ...Even with that logic, Martial Kim can’t find a good reason to just close his eyes for a 5 minute power nap.

  “...Wait! Teacher! Keekee! She’s been kidnapped, they’ve—”

  “Keekee is safe, I swear to you Kim. The police just moved her to the prison ward, which also functions as a medical floor on its own. She has her own private room, albeit barred and locked, but she has guards posted at her door 24/7 – with shift changes of course.”

  “...Teacher... Why, why did it come to this? What did Keekee do to deserve this punishment?”

  Prof. Stone chewed on his lips, thinking his next words carefully, “If...I didn’t know Keekee, I would have said she got her just desserts. She is a murderer after all—But, before you bite at me, Kim, my true feelings are... I don’t know how much bad luck a girl could take.”

  Martial Kim wanted to say more. Yell, scream, even so much as threaten someone...In the end, he could only grit his teeth, “Please, Teacher. Tell me what happened. Everything.”

  “Kim. I hate to say it, but it’s better you don’t know. Let me be the one to shoulder the weight of the truth.”

  “Then, could I at least keep Keekee company!? I swear, I won’t fight the detective or her men any more. I won’t take up space and I won’t certainly tell your secrets!”

  “Like I said: Keekee has been moved to a prison ward. Given the circumstances of her being a suspect, only her family can visit her... Which, we have yet to hear them answering our voice mail.”

  “Please, Teacher. Surely there must be s-some means you can allow me to keep her company!”

  “Marry her.”

  “TEACHER! TH-THIS ISN’T A JOKE!”

  “You’re not her father, not her mother, not her brother, not even a bratty little sister. The only technicality I can squeeze you through those guards with UZIs—figuratively speaking—is if you are Keekee’s husband...And last I heard, there’s still a vacancy for that position.”

  Martial Kim just...yeah, he turned redder than a hot stove.

  “Sorry Kim. Other than that, I’m out of options.”

  “Teacher there has to be—Uuurgh!”

  The young master choked, eyes rolled back in their sockets, and he fell into his chair. Also, what was this strange feeling that numbed his body? W-was it sleep paralysis? Wh-while he was awake!

  Prof. Stone waved a hand as if calming a raging horse, “Whoa, whoooa, Kim. Easy. The doctor said you’ve been running on 72 hour no sleep. We’re talking severe cognitive impairment, paranoia, and potential hallucinations. You’re lucky you only have fainting spells.”

  “Fainting? With my training and constitution? Impossible! I...I merely let my guard down a-and succumbed to the tricks of gravity...Th-that is all!”

  “Sure.”

  Martial Kim tried to fight back, but his body’s fatigue was stronger, “Please, Teacher! L-let me do something for Keekee!”

  “Don’t worry. I spoke with that nurse... You know, the stout chonky one? She agreed to pick up some shifts in the prison ward to help keep and eye on Keekee. If anything happens, the girl will be in capable hands.”

  “...Teacher...”

  “Sleep, Kim. That’s an order.”

  Prof. Stone never thought he would live to see the day where he could defeat the martial arts expert, with just a finger. One push and it was enough to send the young master pinned on the chair like he was hit with a siege ram to the chest.

  So this victory kinda...felt weird.

  “I’m going back to the forensic lab to...well...” said the forensic chemist, “I’ll see what I can do. Before I’m done for the day I’ll come back to pick you up. So in the meantime just nap...”

  “...Teacher...Are you sure, you found the right evidence? To claim Keekee is the killer.”

  “People lie Kim. Evidence does not... I’m sorry.”

  “Teacher.”

  “Sorry Kim. That’s all I can say. Any more and I—”

  “Could you at least untie me?”

  “Ah that... Above my pay grade. Sorry.”

  “Teacher! Teacher come back! I don’t need a nap! I’m not a child! I need to help Keekee! TEACHER!........Damn it... How can anyone sleep in such an embarrassing chair!?”

  Prof. Stone realized something.

  The first time he ever walked away without Martial Kim, he felt empty and a bit lost. As if he was wandering in the dark woods without a light or lantern by his side.

  Although the case and its serious circumstances have shocked him back into his original rhythm...this second time leaving the young master behind felt like... he was going on a hunt and forgot to bring his trusted bloodhound.

  “...This nauseous feeling in my chest... Seems like I’m the one who needs an I.V. drip.”

  The trip to the hospital lobby was quiet and lonely. Even when the emergency room and main entrance were packed with people screaming, crying, and complaining. Somehow the pity and anguish of the world didn’t matter to him, couldn’t even touch him if they tried.

  He could only feel the anchor in his heart as he thought of his friend.

  “Teacher.”

  “JESUS CHRIST!”

  On second thought, the whole world was able to grab the forensic chemist by the throat. All that screaming, crying, and complaining finally got to him. Like they finally found the button to unmute themselves. Everything just forced him to hop, stagger, and stumble hover a [HAND HYGIENE] sign, head over heels if you can imagine it.

  “KIM!? H-HOW DID YOU GET OUT OF YOUR RESTRAINTS!”

  “...Bone Shrinking Skill.”

  Ah, yes! It was one of the many advanced form of Inner Energy Skill! By manipulating the spiritual flow in the body, he could numb, dislocate, and shrink the placements of his bones as small and compact as possible!

  Essentially, a martial arts contortionist move!

  Why, this would make escaping tight restrains as easy as plucking a string out of a bird cage! Ingenius! Houdini, eat your heart out!

  ...Yet, why was Martial Kim not celebrating his victorious surprise move?

  Did he not want the applause for his incredible escape? Actually, why was he even chasing after the forensic chemist, who was on the side of the law?

  Why not just flee and handle the situation himself? The young master has always done that back in his days at Moon Tavern! Sure, the Imperial Courts often gave him a slap on the wrist, but that was pretty much it! And would it not be easier, to work off the grid and investigate this matter himself!?

  So why? Why was Martial Kim not flying off into the night? Why was he dragging his I.V. stand like an unruly dog on a walk, chasing after the forensic chemist on foot!?

  “Teacher... Nay. Master. Please, hear me out.”

  “Kim? KIM!? Wh-why are you kneeling!? Did your knees give out again? In a time like this? N-not now! Not in front of all these people!”

  Why did this scene look so familiar, Prof. Stone wondered... Oh right. The last time Martial Kim went down on his knees, was to beg him to accept the young master as a disciple in the forensic arts – like some eager pupil in a kung fu flick. At that time, it was in front of a crowd of fire fighters and even to this day they still share the tale over a round of beer.

  The familiar embarrassment came flooding back, especially in front of a gathering of hospital staff, security, and out patients waiting in the emergency room.

  “Kim! Please, d-don’t do this! You’re making both of us look bad – again!”

  “Master...I, Knight-Errant Martial Kim, implore you to reconsider. Allow me, to join the investigation.”

  “...Kim. You know what my answer is. Don’t make me say it out loud! You’ll hate me for it!”

  “If the stars were to declare ‘No’ one thousand times...then I shall kow-tow one thousand and ONE times to declare my sincerity!”

  “Oh sh—Kim! Stop! You can’t do this to me! Now I look like a villain! Stop grovelling! Please!...Wh-what is that sound?...A-are you actually hitting your head into the ground! The floor is concrete!”

  The louder, the more sincere. That’s the traditional way to beg to the gods for their divine blessings!

  “41. 42. 43...”

  “Kim! S-stop counting your bows! Th-this is creeping me out!...Wait, y-your forehead. I-it’s actually bleeding!”

  “65, 66, 67...”

  “KIM! Please! Even if you count to TWO thousand and ONE, my hands are tied! I’m doing my due diligence, friend or not. I have to follow procedure. Even Detective Fraulein, Officer Roland, and the other police in our station are trying to follow that fine line! Or else it would be bad for everyone!”

  “102, 103, 104...”

  “Oh god. Pleeeease. Kim! If we let you join, it will only cause complications! Especially when you’re incredibly close to the suspect!”

  “102, 103, 104...Wait no...it’s 206 now.”

  Prof. Stone felt like he wanted to scream, but that would make him look bad on his part. There was no stopping Martial Kim, not when he set his entire body, mind, and soul like this. Kow towing over and over again.

  Every KONK on the concrete was +1, +1, +1 on the sincerity counter...but it also meant -1, -1, -1 to his brain cells.

  What to do? Prof. Stone was presented two doors, both labelled ‘DAMNED’ and ‘EVEN MORE DAMNED’. Could this get any worse!?

  “ALRIGHT, ONE...One condition, Kim.”

  “351...Ugh...352...”

  “...Oh for crying out loud. You made me lose my train of thought!”

  “I see...353, 354—”

  “WIPE THE BLOOD OFF YOUR FACE, WAIT OUT IN FRONT, I’LL GET THE CAR! AND NO MORE KOWTOWING!”

  Third door it is: ‘Screw it, We Ball.’

  But now what? How are they going to solve this case, together? What are the key links they're missing?