Kim Possible: This Is Not Honor
(A/N: Second up today. Who knows, if I'm in the mood I might add more chapters. Yori is after Monkey Fist, but will she be able to catch him?)
The Tiger And The Monkey
Yori silently, swiftly, pursued the monkey man and his ninjas. She was certain he never saw her, though she suspected he guessed someone was after him. Monkey Fist was no fool, after all. She leapt through the trees nimbly, never losing sight of him, though he took as many twists and turns as humanly possible. He would not escape her. Not this time. This time there would be no resurrection for Lord Montgomery Fiske. After a time she watched him slow down. His guard was falling. She smirked. Good. Now she would not have to work so hard to keep up to him. Soon enough he stopped, listening intently for any sounds. His monkey ninjas were motionless. She held her breath, not daring to breathe, though from the distance between them, there was no chance he would hear her even if she was speaking quietly to someone.
He looked around cautiously. She hugged the tree she was behind. His eyes rested there a moment, and for a second she feared he'd spotted her, though she couldn't fathom how. However, soon enough he turned away. Monkey Fist leapt from the tree to the ground and began to walk casually, though he remained silent. He was still guarded enough not to dare discuss plans with his ninjas. She would do best to stick to the trees. There was less chance of crackling leaves or breaking sticks betraying her position, after all, for any sound she made could be excused by the wind from the trees.
Meanwhile, she was left to trail him and think. How had he been released from his stone prison? It should not have been possible. It was a curse, a deal he'd made with fate the moment he'd awakened the Yono. There should have been no loophole. Even if there were, who would have gone so far out of their way to save him? She knew she sounded cruel. To her own mind she sounded cruel, and hated it, but it was a plain and simple fact. This master of the long dead art of Tai Shing Pek Kwar should not have been brought back.
KP
It sounded as if she were angry he were alive, that she was sick at the thought of him being able to once more breathe in the sweet air, to feel, to smell, to see, hear, and taste. Not so. Not to such an intense degree. She remembered all too vividly their last battle. He had defeated them all. All but her, Stoppable-san, and little Hana. All others were stone. She recalled Hana's actions that had finally led to his downfall. She recalled the Yono's last words to the baby infant. She remembered seeing the brand upon her enemies hand light up, and a glow surround his body as her friends, one by one, had been revived from their stone states, and he himself had taken their place, their punishment.
She remembered seeing the stone work its way up his body. She remembered seeing him revive, dazed and confused, just in time to realize what was happening to him. She had seen the terror in his eyes as he noticed it. He had met her eyes. Kim and Stoppable-san had been too busy speaking to notice, but she had. Fear became mixed with hatred the likes of which she had never known before that time, and would probably never know again. Desperation appeared, though, and he had reached out to something. She still wasn't sure whether it had been her, Kim and Stoppable-san, or if he were appealing to some Mystical Monkey Deity to spare him. She knew he had tried to cry out for help. She had remembered all of this because never before had she witnessed a man die. And she had started towards him, reaching out her hand, but hesitated.
Never before had she witnessed one who was suffering so much; a mental torment the likes of which she dreaded to think of. And in that moment he was not her enemy. In that moment it was not relief or gladness she had felt. She had felt pity and remorse for him. She had wanted to help him, to respond to his unspoken plea, but how could mere mortals interfere in the affairs of gods? By the time she even thought to rush and help him, or to warn Stoppable-san and Kim, he was gone. Just gone. Only as the temple was disappearing into the ground had Kim and Stoppable-san noticed. They had watched in shock, disbelief. Never before had anyone lost their lives during a mission before, and they were stunned silent. Then she had felt an unbearable guilt, as the temple had sunk into the ground, hidden from mortal eyes; and she couldn't watch. She'd turned away as the temple faded out of existence. There had been no word spoken by anyone during the return to Yamanouchi.
She had thought it unfair that he was forced to follow the path of the Yono when she doubted Hana had even knocked him out, just down. Technically that was not defeat. Technically he still could have fought. No, she was not sickened that he was once more a living and breathing entity. She was not angry he was alive, oh no. If anything she was relieved. The guilt that had been with her so long was vanishing. She was angry he dared infiltrate her school. She was angry he had not learned his lesson the first time, and was now back to his old tricks. This anger, however, was not any different than the anger and dislike she had felt for him before the Yono incident. It was simply the kind of anger Kim and Stoppable-san probably felt towards Drakken and Shego, and towards all their other opposers. He was as entitled to life as anyone, and if he were to be killed, it would be honorably, fairly.
KP
Suddenly she heard a roar and the sound of monkey's shrieking in terror. She froze and looked sharply down. It wasn't his ninjas that were shrieking. In fact, he was frozen as well. Sharply he looked in the direction of the noise. He scowled, then instantly bounded off in that direction. What was he thinking? He was about to run right into a predator who would be enjoying a feast, if the shrieks and roars were any indication. She instantly leapt after him and his ninjas, curious. They came upon a stream flowing through the forest, and she stopped with a gasp. A tiger was there, and in its mouth was a wild monkey. The tiger shook it then tossed it, playing with its food. The monkey regained its footing, though, and tried to escape up the tree. The tiger batted it down, but it managed to move out of the way of the next swipe. She loved the great creatures, but it sickened her how they and their feline relatives hunted; toying with their food, never letting them escape, then devouring it when it was too weak to move anymore, or dying already. Surely no fool would interfere with a predator preparing its meal.
Imagine her surprise, then, when Monkey Fist suddenly stopped watching and leapt across the stream with a vicious monkey shriek, facing the tiger head on, standing between it and the injured monkey. The tiger appeared shocked, stopping instantly, lost as to how to react. It roared furiously and leapt at Monkey Fist. Monkey Fist easily dodged and got behind it, pulling its tail. The tiger roared and whirled, swiping. Monkey Fist simply ducked. He made monkey shrieks again, startling the tiger. It backed away, uncertain how to react. Big cats never had liked their food to fight back, or to appear bigger than them. It roared at him and ran viciously. It wasn't fooling around anymore. It attacked, but each swipe was easily dodged or leapt over. It wasn't sure how to react. All it knew was that it wasn't going to be getting its jaws on its prey tonight. It roared viciously, furiously, swiping once more. Monkey Fist shrieked at it again, and it backed away. With one last snarl it turned, bounding into the woods.
Only then did Monkey Fist show his fatigue. He knelt down, panting. Now was the time to finish him. She pulled out a little weapon that would render him unconscious and helpless. Silently she took aim. He turned in the direction of the injured monkey and walked towards it. Yori paused, watching in shock as he scooped it up gently and brought it to the stream as if he were carrying a baby. He knelt next to the water and bathed the deep wounds the creature had suffered. The monkey shrieked in pain, but it was too weak to struggle anymore. Soon it simply gave up, letting this stranger do to it what he would, whimpering often. As soon as Monkey Fist seemed satisfied the wounds were clean, he took off the sash on his gi and used it for one of the wounds. He beckoned to another monkey to take off its own outfit and give it to him. The monkey obeyed, and Monkey Fist efficiently bound the creature's most severe injuries.
"There you are; you'll be all right. Quite the fighter, aren't you? By the time I'm done, though, nothing will dare mess with you again," he soothed, picking it up and stroking it gently, softly smiling. It clung to him tightly, whimpering, desperate for the comfort, and Yori couldn't believe her eyes. He was human. He looked up to his ninjas, calling, "Monkey Ninjas, bring our little friend here to the hideout!" The monkey's hooted in response and swung down, carefully taking their fellow simian from their master's hands and swinging off with it.
Monkey Fist sighed deeply then went towards the stream. He knelt next to it and scooped the water into his palms, splashing it over himself in order to cool down. He scooped up more, drinking deeply. Now was the time. He was in her sights. All she had to do was shoot, and he was Yamanouchi's. Why then, did she find herself unable to do it? It would be so easy. But she couldn't do it. She couldn't… For the moment, she felt as if she herself were the tiger, and he the monkey. She had stalked him through the woods, she had waited until he was tired and vulnerable, and she was about to strike. She would not be so dishonorable. She sighed, lowering the weapon, and looked down at him once more. She bit her lower lip, then reached up for a branch and snapped it, closing her eyes.
Monkey Fist froze, standing straight and looking around. He looked up at the trees. Now he sensed the presence, and though he couldn't see her, he knew exactly who it was. He scowled viciously, then turned and ran into the jungle after his ninjas. She was weak. Weak and merciful; and one day those traits would be her downfall. At the moment, though, he was grateful for it.
KP
She returned, only to be greeted by her fellow ninjas, teachers, and Sensei himself. "Yori!" Hirotaka exclaimed, racing to her and embracing her tightly. She held him back, smiling lightly. Hirotaka realized his error and pulled quickly back, saying with a bow, "I-I am glad you are safe sister."
"Were you able to capture him?" Sensei questioned her.
"I am sorry Sensei, I was not," she replied, ashamedly bowing her head.
"I see," Sensei mused, stroking his beard ponderously. "That is a shame."
"I will accept whatever consequence you give for my failure," Yori declared, looking at the ground.
"No, child, there will be no consequence," Sensei answered. "So Lord Monkey Fist has returned. This is very bad," he gravely continued. "We must be ever vigilant now. What do you suppose he was after, Yori?" Sensei questioned.
The old man knew the answer. They all knew he did. Nonetheless, Yori replied, "I fear he was after the Lotus Blade."
"Yes, such power in his hands could be disastrous," Sensei stated. Normally the old man never gave straight answers or let philosophical opportunities slide, but now, he determined, was no time for such things. He was no fool. He knew full well what Yori had done. What she needed to learn, however, was that sometimes, as much as humanity hated to believe it, there were some things you simply could not afford to avoid. "I suppose now is the time to tell you all that Monkey Fist has been sending threats. For a long time, now, I have been anticipating an infiltration."
KP
"What?" the ninjas all gasped, muttering amongst themselves. For how long had Monkey Fist been free? How long had these warnings been sent? Why had Sensei not told them until now?
"My students, calm yourselves, all will be revealed," Sensei assured, waving his hands to bring down the volume. They all looked expectantly to him. He continued, "The warnings I have been sent were not physical. I sensed them. I sensed his presence when he was revived from his stone tomb, the day of the last full moon, and that was his first threat."
"What? So long, Sensei, and you did not tell us?" Hirotaka demanded. "We could have cut him down before he had left this country."
"No. That would not have been possible," Sensei declared.
"How can you propose to know this?" Yori questioned.
"There were others with him. Powers that equalled a great force. I chose not to risk it," Sensei replied. "One life lost would be too many. Before I go on to explain further, though, my students, I wish for Kim Possible and Stoppable-san to be summoned immediately. I feel as though we may soon be in need of their assistance." The ninjas all bowed to him.
