I'm so sorry for making yall wait so long. I recently added another class to my semester. A class from 3:30 to 6:30 every weekday (and 1-4 on Saturdays and Sundays). Needless to say, I've lost a lot of free time. The Good news is, the class is only for 3 weeks and is about to end.

More good news, I have the new chapter.

According to the red squiggly lines on my computer, "undefeatable" is also not a real word.

The Eyes of the Wolverine
Chapter 10
Cut Out for This?

"What do you think Saxon will say if he finds out about you and Jada?" Po asked.

"I've been trying not to think about that. Besides it's not like theres anything official between us." I said.

Saxon had finally taken Po up on the offer of making dinner one night. The kitchen teamed with the smell of a culinary masterpiece.

Po was manning the pot and, on the face of it, was throwing in spices and other ingredients at random. I knew better than that though. There was always a method to Po's madness when it came to cooking, or food in general for that matter. A madness that I would probably never understand. He had given me the duty of chopping the vegetables on the cutting board for the soup. I wasn't able to do it with the rapidness that Po was able to where it practically became a trill of dices but I was hoping they would taste just the same.

"Upsetting a weapon's crafter by dating his daughter may not be smart move." Po said. He said it as a joke though we both knew there was a nugget of truth to it.

"We're not even really dating." I said. "Me and Jada will tell him eventually, just... not any time soon."

I looked over at Po who's attention was back on the pot he was stirring. With his spoon, he took a taste test from the broth. He didn't seem to have anything else on his mind but the soup. If he was thinking of something else, he sure wasn't showing it. I wondered how much he remembered about last night. Pictures of last night flashed in my mind and I couldn't help but think of what he saw.

He saw me.

He saw me whimpering in my bed as he held me like a child during a thunderstorm.

Think he had someone hold him when he remembered his parents being killed by Lord Shen? No, Po was stronger than that.

Stronger than me.

Maybe I could pull that stuff back when I first met him. When I was 11. I'm 13 now. Things are different.

It's no worse than him seeing me half naked in tub of brown water, I guess.

Po looked away from the pot for a second and gave me a glance. "So he was there the night your parents were arrested, huh?" I looked at him strangely before Po replied. "I know that's what you're thinking about."

"How-" I began before Po's wilily smile reminded me how easily he read me, another thing about him that I was sure I'd never fully understand. "It felt so important at the time. I can't explain it."

"I'd consider it amazing if you could explain a dream." He was taking the occasional taste test that were becoming so frequent that I was surprised he hadn't consumed the entire pot.

"I know I've seen that symbol some where." I said straining my brain. Once I was calm enough to tell Po about the wolverine I explained the three interlinked rings he had drawn on himself. There was a familiarity to it that I couldn't put my finger on.

"I'm sure you have," Po said. "It's a common symbol. You probably saw it in one of the Sacred Scrolls.

"That is where I saw it!" I said half astounded beginning to remember. "The symbol had been made in the top corner of a few of the scrolls I'd read. I don't remember what those specific scrolls were talking about though."

Po said. "The symbol is used all through out kung fu and a lot of other things."

"Why is it used in kung fu though?" I asked.

"It's often used as a sign of unity or strength due to solidity of the structure." Po took another slurp of from his spoon.

"What's so strong about three rings?" I asked picturing the rings in my head.

After swallowing, Po replied "They're not lying when they say 3 is a magic number. 3 is often found to have a lot of reliable strength to it. A table with 4 legs may seem stronger but it is impossible for a table with 3 legs to wobble."

"Or like when they say 'a strand of 3 cords isn't easy to break'?" I said starting to get it.

"Exactly." Po said.

"So the only question is what do these rings have to deal with what he wants to tell me?"

"That's the only question?" Po asked smiling.

I sighed. "No, theres also:" *inhale*
"Who is he?
Why is he showing up?
How are these three glowing rings supposed to help me?
What do my parents have to do with all this?
And where in the world is Severin Cai?"

Po couldn't help but chuckle at my rambling. "Well, in response to your last question, Master Shifu is still trying to find a way to flush him out into the public."

"Is that even possible?" I asked. "The guys wanted. And from the way Saxon describes him he doesn't seem to fit the typical 'stupid criminal' mold."

"I'm not really sure, buddy." Po looked at the vegetables I'd chopped on the cutting board.

"Your familiarity with knives has made you a fair dicer, Master Xanidor." Po said taking the cutting board and dumping my handiwork into the boiling pot. After doing so, he turned to me again. "Jo, you think this wolverine wants to protect you?"

"Well... Yeah."

He smiled. "I'd say continue to let him convey to you what he wants. Even if it's unpleasant."

Somehow that wasn't the advice I wanted him to tell me. "But, Po-"

"Jo, I remember the night when you first told me of him he didn't worry you, confused you sure, but not worried. The way you talked, you almost made it sound like he was a reassurance. Try to get back that same feeling."

It was still different than what I wanted but my guess was that this was a moment where his advice wasn't supposed to be what I wanted.

Po took out a leek, placed it on the cutting board and began chopping it with the knife I was just using.

"I thought I got all the vegetables." I said.

As he continued chopping he looked away from his hand motions and toward me saying "I may need to add a few more diced leeks into the- AGH!"

Dropping the knife onto the counter he quickly clasped his other hand to his chest and I was nearly blinded as I saw his hand practically covered in thick red blood staining the white fur on his stomach and chest.

"My finger!" Po bellowed in pain.

"My God, Po!" I threw him a hand towel from the counter. "Try to stop the bleeding! I'll go get Master Shifu and Saxon!"

As I sprinted for the door I was stopped by Po's cries of anguish that had suddenly turned into burst of laughter.

I turned back around to see him doubling over in a series of guffaws. "Po?" I asked confused. Is he hysterical? Po lifted up his hand revealing all his fingers completely intact.

"Tomato paste." Po said laughing as he started licking the red substance on his hand that I had believed was blood just as he had wanted.

I sighed glowering at Po, or trying to at least, for having scared me out of my skin that my best friend was in danger. I wanted to be angry but found myself too amused. Finally the smile quickly fought itself onto my face and a second later I was laughing too.

"If you do that again," I warned, grinning, "I'm not getting help, Even if it is real."

Po eased down with the laughter even though I knew it wasn't true. I'd still get help.

I knew I always would.

In Saxon's living room Tigress, Crane, and Monkey were all crammed onto the sofa with viper wresting on one of the sofa's arms. Po sat in an easy chair while I sat on the foot rest in front of him. Mantis sat on my shoulder. We all sat digesting Po's meal. Saxon, happy to have let Po take over as cook for one night, was sitting in a separate chair as was Shifu. "I've seen this before." Saxon turned the medal over in his hands a few times. "It's definitely the medal for a street fighter all right."

"Someone actually cares enough to give medals at street fights?" asked Tigress finding it rather peculiar.

Saxon began "As I've said, most street fights are seclusive underground brawls with a small crowd in attendance placing bets. They don't give out medals at street fights, but at street fight tournaments. They aren't very common. Medals being given at them are even more uncommon. They are only given... well... to fighters of great excellency."

Sideways glances shot from all directions of the room, none of them at anyone in particular. We all knew what that meant. It was just yet another reminder that Severin was no laughing matter, and quite possibly our deadliest single adversary yet.

It was as though the universe felt the need to reiterate "You know what you're trying to do, right? You realize that you're crazy, right? Ok, just making sure. As long as you know."

The vim we had all shared from our first night here was gone. Our thoughts amalgamated on that much. The longer we took to subdue Severin, the more pessimistic we became.

"Do you know where these street fights are held, Saxon?" Shifu asked.

"Not really."Saxon said. "There are a few different locations. They keep changing so the organization is never discovered."

I would have taken what Saxon had said as fact and moved on, but Shifu lingered.

"Saxon, have you ever been to one of these fights?" He asked it simply, yet hidden somewhere in his friendly tone I'd only heard him use with Saxon, there was a suspicion of authoritativeness.

Saxon didn't look away from Shifu. Rather, he continued staring at him unsure what to say next. Finally without warning he said "Once."

"Saxon tell us all you know. Anything you tell us can help." Shifu said. Even though by this point, it wasn't needed, Shifu added "There may be lives at stake."

Saxon divulged "I've seen one of these fights of Severin's. A few months back I heard one of my buyers bring it up in conversation. He talked me into going so I went with him. It was held at some abandoned building at the outskirts of Rem Hai. Severin was placed up against another fighter, Zianto. The fight was callous. There's no etiquette with street fighters, Shifu. They're not dissuaded from fighting unhonorably."

"Most of our combatants aren't." remarked Viper.

Despite this being a bigger lead into our situation than we expected, Saxon didn't appear to be proud of this knowledge. "If we found one of these places, it might be possible to sneak in and apprehend him there."

Saxon said "But Shifu, it would be impossible to sneak in unnoticed. Maybe if you were planning on one person sneaking in, but one person won't be able to take in Severin, not to mention with the people in attendance there as witness."

"It's our closest we've got. We'll have to find a way into that place a night we'll know he'll be there."

Shifu looked to the rest of us as if for conformation that what he was saying was indeed possible. We nodded, as he expected though it was with little ardor, but it was interrupted by Tigress. "Am I the only one who thinks this is insane?"

Not at all, you're just the only one voicing it.

It wasn't often Tigress showed disbelief in what we were all capable of. But she was right. We were jumping into a world we knew nothing about.

Jada Zadora: Aren't we always afraid of the things we know little about? Things we can't see; a disease, deep waters, ghosts. Things where our imagination runs wild. We don't really know what their capable of.

Crane said "I hate to seem like a downer too, but we're going up against a guy who's never been defeated. Doesn't one have to be undefeatable to defeat someone undefeatable?"

"I said Severin has never been beaten." Saxon clarified sitting up straight. "There is a big difference between undefeated and undefeatable."

Shifu's plan for taking in Severin will be revealed in the next chapter, which hopefully won't take as long as this one did.

Let me know what you think!

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