The reason for the choking noise soon became clear. Once the bags were safely on the table, she dropped onto the mat and proceeded to laugh till she cried. Then she laughed some more.
Master Oh realized that he really ought to be offended by her behavior, but, curiously, he was not. He gently took hold of that thought and began to analyze the reason. When he had finished, he understood. He wasn't offended because the situation really was funny.
People were surprised when Karla managed to toss one of the larger students around, and here he was, the Grandmaster of this form of Hapkido, flat on his back because an eleven year old novice had picked him up and thrown him. He, very carefully, didn't question how someone her size was able to do that. At least for now, he would simply accept that it had happened. That was enough.
Now that he understood the situation, there was only one thing he could do. He took a deep breath and began to howl with laughter. Even Grandmasters need to laugh now and then.
Kumiko looked at both of them with an expression that was almost, but not quite, one of disgust. One does not become disgusted with one's teachers no matter how infantile their behavior is. Then she sniffed and went over to the table to get something to eat. If she were feeling generous, she might leave something for them.
-------------------
After they'd eaten, Master Oh made up for the 90 minutes that Karla was gone. At the end of their alloted 4 hours, she was about as sore as she had ever been. Kumiko looked positively fresh in comparison, even though she was panting heavily too.
As they were packing up, Master Oh walked over to Kumiko. "We've not discussed this previously, but my students should be aware of how their Master views their progress. WIthout objective assessment, one cannot be certain that one is not fooling oneself as to where one is."
"Therefore I am awarding you these, in recognition of your progress." He handed Kumiko a red belt and a pair of black pants.
"These are in recognition of your progress, in part. Ordinarily I wouldn't tell you this, but you are not an ordinary student. Were you in your late teens, you would be receiving a black belt with two stripes. However, you are only 11. Even I, the Grandmaster, cannot change the rules of our organization, which, I must admit, are there for very good reasons."
"I hope that knowing your true standing will keep you from being frustrated, as you will not receive any new belt showing your advancement until you are at least 15."
Kumiko bowed to Master Oh, very deeply and respectfully. "This small one understands the need for rules and that such rules protect the students and the reputation of the school. This one understands that otherwise some teachers might give in to the temptation to give promotions prematurely in order to enhance the number of students in their schools."
Master Oh nodded then turned to Karla. "Encourage her to continue with the meditative and introspective parts of the art. She will go far if she maintains her balance."
There wasn't anything else to say after that, so Karla and Kumiko packed their things and headed back to Salem.
Master Oh watched them disappear into the rain. As he did so, he was debating with himself as to whether he should have told Karla the truth about Kumiko. Rather than second dan, she was almost ready for fourth. Even Kumiko might have gotten a "swelled head" if he'd told her that, so he'd fudged things a bit and told her second.
He soon realized that he was wasting his time, and underestimating Karla, probably not for the last time. Even he sometimes fell back into the old Korean cultural habits and discounted the ability and wisdom of women. She was a seventh degree Master herself. She would be well aware of where Kumiko stood.
Having resolved that question to his satisfaction, he busied himself with cleaning up the studio. Sometimes he surprised himself. Here he was, a Grandmaster cleaning up like he was a novice student. But, he truly didn't mind. He detested places that were messy.
An hour later, things now being ordered to his satisfaction, he also prepared to brave the storm and go home for the day.
------------------------
On the way home, Kumiko, thankfully, didn't continue with the Japanese lesson. Karla assumed that it was because she was too tired. In actuality it was because she was thinking, deeply. What was happening wasn't a game. It wasn't something that she could ignore any more. Other-planar beings really did exist. People were trying to kill her, perhaps. Perhaps? Now why did she think that?
It was at that moment that it hit her, and it shook her to her core. She had failed, miserably. That first time at least, her tablet had impacted an instant before Kimiko's. The second time they were attacked, Kimiko had protected all of them, and that was completely, horribly wrong.
Kimiko was the Teacher. She wasn't supposed to be fighting. Of course she had the skills. They all did, but she wasn't supposed to need to use them.
That was Kumiko's place. SHE was the Protector. That was why she had been given her speed and her strength and her force of will. She was the only one who could always be with Kimiko, no matter what. There wasn't anyone else who could protect her 24/7.
Each time that Kimiko fought, it caused her pain, and the more pain the Teacher had, the harder it would be for her to teach. One does not teach effectively if one is suffering, and the one thing that Kimiko hated more than anything else in the world was to cause pain to another, no matter who, or what, that other was.
How odd it would have seemed to an onlooker. All it would have seen was an ordinary car, with two, small, damp, somewhat smelly, bedraggled people in it, making its way through a rather nasty storm. Very ordinary. Nothing exciting at all. Time to move on to watching something else. That would have been its mistake, for in moving on it would have missed something that affected the course of history of all five 'verses in the cluster.
Why, you ask? Because it was at that moment that Kumiko made a sacred vow. Nobody else would ever know, but it was enough that she knew. No matter what, Kumiko would protect Kimiko, body and spirit. She would do everything in her rather considerable power to see that her vow would become reality.
Being that she was still quite young, she didn't understand the significance of what she had just done. Vows of this kind have power that is as real as the wind and tides. It caused a kind of ripple that spread out from her and raced across more than one plane of existence.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
As it impacted some beings, they paused in their activities and rejoiced. In other places those who felt the reverberation of her vow shuddered and gnashed their teeth in frustration.
The gauntlet had been thrown down, and, even as young as she was, there were not many who would have the courage to take up her gage and accept the challenge. Of those few, not many would survive the encounter, and even the very small number of them who did survive would no longer be whole.
But, once again, that was in the future.
-----------------
By the time we'd reached Longview, I was pretty sure that "someone up there" didn't like us. It seemed that every 10 miles or so the rain got heavier. Instead of cruising down the highway at 70 MPH, we were down to between 55 and 60 most of the time. Sometimes we had to slow to 40 because of all the water splashing up on the windshield.
On the plus side, the extra hour the trip was going to take would give me plenty of time to watch Kumiko. I knew that something was going on when Master Oh sent me out for food. Well, no, to be exact I knew that something was going on when he pointed out that I didn't have food with me. It is simply not possible for me to not remember to bring food. If I don't eat something at least every four or five hours I start to feel hungry enough to eat the next tree I pass by.
To suddenly "forget" to pick up the sandwiches and tea I always have in the fridge at home was an event that could not happen. Which means that I'd been manipulated/finagled/bamboozled, whatever word you want to use. On top of that, I knew that Master Oh wouldn't interrupt a lesson for a simple errand. He'd never do something to throw off his training schedule like that. He's much too OCD.
So, he had to have something that he planned to tell or teach Kumiko that I wasn't supposed to see. Seeing him flying through the air when I got back from fetching the food was hilarious of course, mainly because of the seriously puzzled look on his face, but that doesn't explain anything at all except that even he could irritate Kumiko if he worked hard enough at it.
What he did I had no idea. I also had no plans to ask either one of them what happened. I'd rather not be the next one taking an unplanned flight.
That brings us back to Kumiko. She'd been doing some major thinking ever since we got back in the car. How did I know? She has a habit of chewing on her lower lip when she's concentrating. Considering how long she'd been chewing on it, whatever it was had her majorly worried. She was staring straight ahead and her eyes were unfocused. She had both hands on the shoulder strap and was absently pulling on it, over and over again. Down a few inches, then back up.
Rinse and repeat.
While I was in the midst of these profound observations, I was suddenly hit from the right side by an incredible blow. It threw me up against the door, even though I was bent forward over the steering wheel and holding on for dear life so that I could see at least part of the road through the river on the windshield. It took me several seconds to fight the car back into where I thought the lane was. Fortunately most people were smarter or more cautions than I was, so the freeway had only about a quarter of the usual traffic for a Saturday afternoon.
When I had a chance to glance over at Kumiko, she was still sitting there chewing on her lip and holding on to the shoulder strap with both hands. As best I could tell, she hadn't noticed or felt anything at all. Curiouser and curiouser.
Even curiouser still was the way I felt. I realized that when whatever it was hit me, I was suddenly ecstatically happy. The feeling faded over the next minute or so. Then I noticed that my dragon pendant was warm. Not hot as it had been on several occasions where "awful things" had happened, but pleasantly warm. It was quite a comforting warmth. The feeling was very, very familiar. If only I could....
Just then one of the passing "soon to be departed" drivers flew past and threw a great sheet of water onto the windshield. Once again I had to fight to stay straight until I could see where the lane was.
<
Yes, I do have a way with words. Thank you very much.
Well, how about that. You almost smiled. So much for your reputation as "old stone face."
What's that? Who calls you "old stone face"? You're going to do what If I don't tell you? Are you threatening me?
All right, all right. I'll tell you. Do you have a few hours for me to recite the names?
Oh geez, you don't have to pout. It's just a bit of an affectionate nickname. Yes, really I mean it (sort of).
Why don't I get back to my report? You do want to hear the rest, don't you? Where was I? I was talking about idiot drivers? Ah, yes, that's right.>>
Well, anyway, I figured that it was about time to at least feel Kumiko out a bit, so I cleared my throat. Then I reached over and shook her a bit with my right hand. There was no reaction at all, so I shook harder. Then a LOT harder. For all the effect it had, I figured that even if I'd hit her with a brick, she wouldn't react.
So, I did the only thing left to try. When I'd bought the car, I'd found a CD in the glove box that someone had written with tracks from Metallica, White Zombie, and Pantera on it. On impulse I'd left it in the Prius "just in case" which turned out to be fortunate given the situation. If there's one thing that Kumiko absolutely despises, it's Heavy Metal.
I sorta hated to do it to her, but it looked as if nothing else was going to work. First I popped in my earplugs.
<
So then. Back to Kumiko. I slid the CD into the slot, cranked the volume up, and got ready for the explosion. To my surprise, it took a full 7 seconds before she came to.
"OKAA-SAN!! Make it stop! That hideous screeching is going to permanently damage my brain. Stop it, if you please!"
That's my girl! She'd be polite if she was warning someone that a tornado was going to hit in 20 seconds. I hit the eject button. The sudden silence was deafening. Or maybe it was just that neither one of us could hear very well at the moment. It seems that even my heavy-duty earplugs were no match for Metallica.
Once my head had cleared enough that I was fairly certain that I'd hear Kumiko's response I began.
"Kumi-chan, you've been working that seat-belt like you were an automatic testing machine. Is there something you want to tell me?"
"No! Or rather, not all that much, I guess. It is just that Master Oh and I had a very serious discussion.
"Okaa-san. Someone or something has tried to kill us twice. I do suppose that you have noticed that and that it is not something that normally happens to children who are 11 years old, correct?"
What I hadn't noticed wasn't that, but rather that this girl was already an expert at sarcasm.
"Today Master Oh taught me a technique that I must assume he rarely teaches before one is in her 20's. It was, is, disturbing to me. Both that he taught me and that he felt that I needed to know it."
I just nodded and pretended that my attention was focused on what I wasn't seeing through the river on the windshield.
"It requires speed and accuracy and the ability to be merciless when executing it, seeing as how the target of said technique will never be getting up again after they have been felled."
Oh, my. No wonder she was upset. I knew what technique she was referring to, and she was indeed right. Master Oh rarely taught that one before you were 25.
<
I was wrong about something else as well. The technique I'd assumed that he'd taught her today was one that he'd already taught her, four weeks earlier, when I'd run out to get gas after our session had ended.>>
Both of us lapsed into silence while we sloshed our way home through the tail end of the storm.