A/N: Hi everyone! This is a new series that is going to cover most of Tony's bucket list. I'm not going to do everything on the list just because I don't see where I could go with all of them. This series is going to take about 9 weeks to get through with posting two numbers on the list every week. For this week, the prequel is counting as one of them. I hope you all enjoy this and please tell me what you think as well as follow the story! Thanks! ~Lynn D.
-Prequel
Pacing his living room floor in his Ohio State sweats, Tony held a single piece of paper in his hand. During the team's last case, they were all nearly killed in a bomb blast. One second slower and Vance would have been issuing a new team. After that near-death experience, Tony realized that he had no clue just how much longer he would be alive. He quickly came to terms with himself and decided it was time to start working on his bucket list while he had the chance.
Looking over the list that he'd made in his Junior Year of college, he snickered over a few of the numbers but most of them he knew were doable. Tony had spent his whole Saturday morning trying to figure out which he would do and how. After reading over his list for nearly the tenth time and narrowing it down, he sat down at his dining room table with a notebook and a pencil mapping out each item on his list to the best of his ability. Once he was finished, he plopped down on his couch with the promise to start on his list first thing tomorrow morning.
-#1 Mastering the Art of Kung Fu
After spending some time looking for a Kung Fu training center that was open on a Sunday, Tony grabbed a duffel with a fresh change of clothes then made the quick drive to the center. Walking a bit timidly to the front desk, he flashed his famous smile to the young receptionist then leaned up against the desk. Looking through the window directly behind the woman, he got a glimpse of the gym. "Hi," he said with a grin full of charm. "I'm Tony and I'd like to take a Kung Fu class."
Blushing a bit, the brunette stood up and handed him a sheet of paper. "You've come to the right place! Just fill this form out; it pretty much just lets us know who you are, a few medical questions then a short survey. If you need any help, I'm Amanda."
Taking a pen off the counter, he dropped his duffel on the floor. "Thank you very much, Amanda."
As she sat down with a shy smile on her face and got back to work, Tony worked on filling out the page long form. Within ten minutes he had turned everything in and was signed up for a class that was due to start at the top of the hour. Checking his watch, he decided to give himself a quick tour of the facility in the twenty minutes of free time he had.
Taking the short hallway to the left of the desk, he headed through the door of the end of it. Looking to his right, it revealed a huge tumbling pad which he figured covered nearly half of the room's floor space. To the left of the pad, settled against the wall, was a full set of weights. As he walked around a bit more, he watched two men, who he wouldn't want to meet on the street, battling it out in the boxing ring. Tony figured all kinds of people came through this facility since it was located in the middle of town.
Turning around, he made his way back through the maze of punching bags which were in front of the ring and made a mental note of the locker room that was to his left. Seeing the class instructor and a small group forming at the mat, he quickly put a change of clothes in the locker room then joined the group and introduced himself.
He soon went over to the instructor who he was sure had just been taken out of China. Shaking his hand, Tony smiled and cleared his throat. "Hi, I'm Tony DiNozzo!"
Bowing his head a bit, he smiled. "I'm Ling Wu. Welcome to our class. We're glad to have you, Mr. DiNozzo." He said with a heavy Chinese accent.
Tony had to bite his lip before correcting Ling about the "Mr. DiNozzo" because he didn't like to tell the common public who he was—taking a bit after McGee.
Pausing for a few moments, the instructor cocked his head to the side. "If you don't mind me asking, why is a man of your stature here on a Sunday morning?" he asked curiously, glancing at the rest of the group comprising mostly of college kids.
Shrugging his shoulders, Tony decided he may as well tell him. "Mastering the art of Kung Fu is on my bucket list and even if I can't master it, I'd still like to try it once and learn a little bit about it."
"Well," Ling said sincerely. "You've come to the right place!"
Stepping into the middle of the mat, the instructor put on a smile which quieted the group of nearly fifteen people's chatter. "Welcome to the beginner's class for King Fu. I'm glad to have you all here this morning! It's nice to see a few familiar faces as well as some new ones," he said, glancing quickly at Tony.
"With everyone here that is coming, let's get started. Let's have about four groups of everyone lined up," he said, gesturing to where he stood, moving to the back of the pad so they could all face him. Lining up in the second row, Tony took a deep breath and the training started.
"For those of you who don't know," the instructor began, "Kung Fu is also known and often referred to as Wushu. It is a collection of traditional Chinese fighting arts which owes its lineage to numerous regional and provincial fighting styles. It involves a wide span of unarmed and weapons fighting techniques that require a high degree of physical fitness and stamina to execute successfully."
Ling spoke as if it had been memorized for years but still spoken with much enthusiasm. "With the help of these training techniques, nearly any martial artist can begin toning vital muscle groups utilized by the strikes, kicks, stances, and blocks of traditional Kung Fu…"
While Ling was talking, Tony was deeply immersed into what he was saying. He never had the chance to learn about Kung Fu so he was paying as much attention as possible.
"…But, in our cases we're just going to focus on basic stretches and stances. Now, line up your legs so they're directly underneath your shoulders and bend over as far as you can go, preferably touching your toes. Once you get there," he said, following his own directions, "stay in that position for thirty-five seconds."
Copying everyone else, Tony bended over and held the position until their instructor called out they had reached their allotted time. As he stood back up, he let out a low groan and put a hand to his back. Yes, he ran around chasing bad guys almost every day but now he realized that he really needed to get back into shape.
After doing a few more stretches, Ling led the group alongside the boxing ring which had been cleared out and had two people go into the ring to practice kicks, strikes, blocks, stances, and forms. When it came to Tony's turn, he was paired with a well-built college kid who he had heard his name was James. After they exchanged pleasantries and climbed into the ring, Tony flashed back to the last time he was in a boxing ring over eight years ago with his boss.
Consequently, he didn't want things to end up going to the same way with him ending up on the floor within seconds. Acknowledging the fact that Kung Fu was different than boxing—or fighting—or whatever you wanted to call what had happened that day, he took a deep breath and assumed his assigned blocking stance.
Tony quickly learned that this hadn't been James' first class. It was all he could do to keep up with each new move the boy threw at him, much less try to get any of his own moves in. In the back of his mind he wondered what would happen if he was up against a criminal. Whenever he tackled one, he usually had backup close behind, but Tony knew he was on his own today.
Even though Tony wasn't holding back much at this point after gaining some leeway, he knew he had one or two more tricks up his sleeve that Gibbs had taught him. While James was circling Tony a bit, waiting for the right opportunity to strike again, Tony evened out his weight onto his back foot waiting for the next strike.
When it came, Tony swiftly grabbed James' arm and pulled it forward then used his other arm to push his back up so James lost his balance. Tony put his leg underneath the college kid to give himself more leverage to put James to the floor. After a few moments of complete shock knowing he actually did what he meant to do, he lent his hand to James to help him up. Turning around, Tony smiled as the other students began applauding him and Ling had a smile on his face. As Tony exited the ring just after James, who was looking a bit defeated but still happy for Tony, he went over to the instructor not sure what he would say about his antics.
Scratching the side of his face, Ling cocked his head to the side. "Well, Mr. DiNozzo. I thought you didn't know anything about Kung Fu."
Tony shrugged his shoulders as two more people climbed into the ring. "I really didn't," he said truthfully. "I just put everything I knew about common fighting into what I was doing and hoped I was doing it somewhere close to right."
"I must say," Ling sighed. "I've not had many students who could come in here and not need much training but you are definitely one of them. Yes, there are many different techniques and hours of training that go into it, but you do know the basics." Pausing for a few moments to look to see how his two students were doing in the ring, he turned back to Tony. "So, do you want to stay for the rest of the class or do you think you know enough to cross this off of your bucket list?"
Tony smirked. "I'll never know enough about Kung Fu to qualify even myself to truthfully cross this off my list, so with saying that, I'd be honored if you would like to let me stay and finish out my class!"
"Good," the instructor said with a slight smile, glad that not all the people were stuck up in this world. "While the rest of the students finish out their time in the ring, why don't you go over to the pad with the few other students already there and practice more of your stances."
Nodding, Tony headed over with a feeling of satisfaction knowing he was one step closer to accomplishing his infamous list.