Ham Song

Ham Song watched Sun Chop and Sun Liu crumble under the pressure of the trial. First there was heat, then winds. Then they dumped rainfall on the contestants and now they were hitting them with a big freeze. Sun Terra and Sun Zhaoling looked absolutely miserable. Sun Tie Quan wasn't shivering as much as them, but he did look nauseous for some reason.

The pig could not deny the fluttering in his chest. The monk's plan was really going to work. Sun Ritsu would breeze through this round and make it into the finals!

But...

Ham Song looked sideways at the monk and wondered if they accounted for the next step. How were they going to get Ritsu ready to face off against whoever was going to make it past this trial? Ritsu might have had a chance against the Artist or even Zheng Zheng. However, now that those two were out of the picture, Ham Song was doubtful about the rest of the competition.

Sun Terra. Sun Tie Quan. Sun Zhaoling... they were all scary.

The bottom line was, Ritsu would have to go against one of the strongest opponents in the tournament without the help of his Immortal State. True, Sun Ritsu had made strides, but Ham Song couldn't deny that things were moving too fast.

"Monk. Have you worked out how to coach Ritsu into unlocking the fullest potential of his staff?"

The monk kept their eyes on the field and did not answer right away. "He may not have to unlock it that far."

Ham Song's bristly brows narrowed.

"Don't forget," Bodhi said, lowering their voice. "Ritsu is being watched. By Next Dimension, remember? They want his staff. So we can't let him go all out with it. Not that I think Ritsu would be able to get there on his own anyway."

So then. The wheels were in fact turning inside that bald head of theirs. Good enough. Ham Song knew pushing the issue would make things go wayward, so he stopped with the questions for now. But this was something he would need to revisit. Because how could he properly advise his benevolent monkey king on the use of his gifts if he didn't know all of the options?

"Mind if I sit here?"

All three heads turned. Sun Seven nearly spilled his soft drink.

"Sun Shan!"

The eliminated contestant gave a sheepish wave. "Hiiii." He looked the same as the day he sat down for lunch with Ham Song and Sun Ritsu, with a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses to hide his black eye. It didn't look as bad as it did a few days ago, but it definitely made the sun clone stick out like a sore thumb if not for the glasses.

Ham Song flinched the moment Seven's hairy hand shot past his face.

"Sun Seven – the Fry Cook Hero's manager. Nice to meetcha!"

He vigorously shook Sparkplug's hand. Bodhi kept their hands to themselves, their gaze even, and, well, monk-like. Seven gestured to them and the pig. "This is Sifu Bodhi, Ritsu's trainer. And Ham Song is his old–"

"We've met." Ham Song said, cutting Seven off because he did not want to ever be called a lucky charm again.

Spark brought his fingers together in a quick bow to Bodhi, indicating that he had experience with martial arts instructors. Bodhi returned it with a dip of their head and a slight lift of their folded sleeves, much like Old Laozhi would.

After that exchange, Sparkplug peered hesitantly at the section and said, "So, uh, can I sit with you guys, or?"

"Absolutely." Seven said, his smile wide and occasionally blinding the viewer with its gold ornament.

But then Seven fell silent when Bodhi held up a hand. "You can, if you tell us what's going on with Blueforce's staff."

For a moment, Spark looked perplexed. "Oh. You guys don't know?" He scratched the back of his neck. "Guess senpai is kind of quiet about it, but it's no secret. Just look."

Over the next few seconds, Sun Sun drew the spiritual cadre's attention to Blueforce's gradual decrease in muscle mass.

"The staff is keeping him upright without him having to do anything. He doesn't have to focus on balancing," Ham Song realized.

By this time, Spark was sitting down beside him. He further explained, "Yeah, but his staff isn't just going to give him this round. He has to give something up in return."

"The staff is feeding off of him," Bodhi said.

Seven made an exaggerated sound of awe.

"That's what happens any time senpai touches his staff," Spark said. "So he only does it if he really needs to. In exchange for his strength and pretty much whatever he's willing to give up, his staff can help him pull off some amazing feats. He has to maintain his body and his own endurance, though."

The four spirits watched on as Blueforce didn't wobble like Sun Terra and Sun Zhaoling, but his muscle mass withered away. The hours ticked by. By the time it was late afternoon, his face looked fairly gaunt and his strength went from that of a heavyweight wrestler to something more like a long distance cyclist.

"He's not in the danger zone yet," Spark pointed out, returning to his seat from the snack vendors. It was very common during this trial to see spirits up and milling about. In fact, many had chosen to leave after a while and watch the rest of the trial from the comfort of their homes. Only the crews of the remaining contestants and the handfuls of diehard fans had chosen to stay for the whole thing.

Ham Song heard Seven talking quietly to Bodhi. "Do you think this will go into the night, Sifu?"

"I think it certainly could, but I also don't know how much more Sun Zhaoling can take."

Ham Song's ears perked up. "Zhaoling? What are you talking about? He looks fine."

Spark sighed. "He's putting up a good fight, but your Sifu is right. Take a look at his feet."

One look and it was clear that Sun Zhaoling was bleeding through his bandages. Ham Song's nostrils flared in surprise.

Well, of course, thought the pig. His feet haven't healed all the way since the Wondrous and True Trial. And now he's at his limit.

"Yo, I don't think anyone's meditating at this point." Seven observed. "Except our boy Ritsu because he's just freaky like that."

It was true, Dear Traveler. While there were other Suns collapsing, going numb, on the brink of passing out, Sun Ritsu was snoring through it all. You could tell by the observations of the casters that this was really starting to piss people off. Sweet immortal peaches, it pisses me off just having to tell you about it.

"Yeah," Spark agreed, "they're just trying to hang on until someone else taps out."

"I think it's going to be Barefoot," Seven said. "Wish I could put some money on it, but look where we are."

"I don't know. Terra looks to be in pretty bad shape," Bodhi noted.

"Nuh-uh," Spark said with confidence, "Terra can do this all day. She has the most solid mental fortitude."

Ham Song leaned forward, resting his chin on the edge of seats. "Look! Look! Blueforce is talking. To Zhaoling? What's he saying? I can't hear!"

"Yeah and you won't because they're all the way down there," Bodhi snapped.

Sparkplug slowly withdrew his shades. "I can tell what they're saying."

Everyone raised their eyebrows. Ham Song snorted. "What? Are you saying you can read their lips?"

"Yup. And right now Blueforce is saying: I'm almost out of body fat. I can't let my muscles start to atrophy, so I'm going to have to give it something else."

Ham Song thought this was wild. The three spirits leaned their heads closer to the former contestant in order to get more insight on this turning point in the match.

"We were supposed to be the last ones, Barefoot! And Spark was supposed to be here with us!"

"If you want to be last with me then don't give up!" Zhaoling said through gritted teeth. His dark complexion glossed in sweat and his bleach blond sideburns plastered to the sides of his face. Since his gibbon nature did not have a tail, he didn't have that third limb to help him hang on to the staff. His feet were so weary, he had to shift his weight every now and then to shake out the cramps, throwing droplets of blood into the sandpit below.

Blueforce shook his gaunt head. At the same time, he swept his long mane of ocean blue hair to one side. "I'm not going to make it, big brother. I can tell by how that monster over there is sleeping so damn good. Plus there's the Earthbound Sage. She's tired, but she's not getting eaten alive by her staff like me."

"Don't call me, big brother!" The emotion in Zhaoling's face was partially hidden by the sweat-soaked clumps of blond hair that fell over his eyes. "Stop waxing poetic and do what you say you're going to do! Win if you say you're going to win!"

Lost in his own world now, Blueforce held up the length of his hair like he was holding up a legendary sword. "This is all I have now."

Then he shut his eyes and roared as he wrapped one section around his wrist and tore the rest away from that point. An audible gasp from the crowds followed. The casters went off on their usual rants. Diehards wailed in agony at the sight of Sun Tie Quan's uneven style.

Tears of pain and exhaustion rolled down the sun clone's face as he offered his hair to his staff and watched it dissolve into a blue shimmery dust. Then he tilted back his head and laughed a great monkey king laugh.

"I know I'm done, but now no one can say that I didn't give it all that I had. That I didn't go all out." Blueforce paused to draw in a shuddering breath. Then he settled his hands on the tops of what was left of his thighs and looked over at Sun Zhaoling.

"There. You can go on now. Make the shonen community proud, Zhaoling. I'm done."

From where the spiritual cadre sat listening to Sparkplug relay Blueforce's final words with unshed tears, Ham Song rolled his eyes harder than he ever had in his life.