Shifu was trying his best to concentrate…he could be meditating peacefully right now, but no. His usually silent pre-dawn reflections were being disrupted by a loud noise. The noise he hated most in the whole world. The most annoying noise known to a Kung Fu master with well-trained ears.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
That did it. "Zheng!" Shifu called impatiently. Zheng came slowly, groggily. "Yes…" yawn, "Master Shifu?"
"Someone's doing it."
"Doing what?"
"Tapping chopsticks together! You know! My least favorite sound in the whole world!"
Zheng's conscious kicked in immediately. Master Shifu wasn't exaggerating. Tapping chopsticks was the Kung Fu master's biggest pet peeve. If he didn't stop it soon…well, no one would have a pleasant morning.
"Find whoever's making that noise…and see that they put an end to it."
"Yes. Of course. Right away, Master Shifu."
As Zheng sleepily flew away, Shifu muttered, Po, under his breath. A small smile formed on his lips. The panda's antics were somewhat endearing, but not today.
Momentarily, the pounding sound ceased, and Shifu was sure that Zheng had put an end to things. However, no sooner had this thought crossed his mind than it started again. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Zheng flew back, way more awake than the first time. "Master! There's an unauthorized personage in the training yard that refuses to leave until they speak with you.
Shifu's senses were immediately alert. "How did they get in here?"
The messenger simply shrugged, to which Shifu replied, "Tell them to get out of here or I'll make them wish they had."
Smirking, Zheng retorted, "I already told them that. They simply snickered and said that unless they see you face to face, they'll keep tapping chopsticks together until you wish you had seen them."
Turning beet red, Shifu silently fumed. This person was blackmailing him! And the sad thing was, it was working! "Ugh! Fine!"
Shifu, not to happily, marched down to the training yard. The stranger's audacity was incredible. Well, he would show them a thing or two about blackmail.
As he flung the yard's doors open, he spotted immediately the person in question. They were sitting peacefully on the ground in a full lotus, tapping a pair of black chopsticks together. Now that he was only yards from the noise, it sounded like the booming surf of the ocean. "You!"
At his voice, the person looked up from their activity with a pair of sparkling coal-black eyes.
"You!" Shifu barked, "what do you think you're doing here?"
"Master Shifu! I'm so glad to see you! I'm sorry for the distraction, but I feared you wouldn't see me. Then, I remembered that you hated this sound, so I sat here in the training yard, during your morning meditations, and I knew you would come! And you have!" The speaker jumped quickly, joyfully, to their feet.
Suddenly puzzled by this stranger's knowledge of his habits, the Kung Fu master queried, "Do…do I know you?"
Giggling, the stranger removed the hood from their…her face.
"Atsuko!"
"Master." Atsuko bowed to her old mentor. "Our paths were destined to cross once more."
--
"So, what are these ideas of yours?"
"Do you remember the 562nd Kung Fu scroll?"
"Don't you dare make a mockery of me. I wasted a lifetime memorizing those things!"
"Well, think about the river…following my train of thought?"
Tai Lung grinned at his friend. "When did you suddenly become smart?"
"I haven't just been sitting around all these years. I've planned this out to the very last detail."
