Chapter 14: Forgiven.
There was a buzzing in Zhong's ears: a distant, nagging distraction.
So he still had ears then. Which meant he still had a body. Which meant he wasn't dead.
Hopefully.
He also realized, vaguely, that the buzzing sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. His eyes were closed so he was shrouded in darkness; his world spinning, and his mind was slow and sluggish.
For example, he was just beginning to register he was lying on a bed, among soft sheets, instead of the hard, bloody floor he last remembered being.
He tried to listen harder, focusing all his energy on his ears – pricking them up. His concentration paid off, because when he heard the noise again he recognized it almost immediately.
"I swear I saw his fingers move just now", Po the panda insisted.
Had he moved he fingers?
He felt like he was waking up from a really long sleep and wasn't entirely aware of his actions.
He turned his attention to his right arm (he couldn't see his limbs but felt them attached to his sides) and made an effort to flex his five digits.
"See, he just did it again!", the panda exclaimed.
The wolf smirked lightly, amused by the bear's excitement. He imagined there being dopiest grin on the Dragon Warrior's face.
"And now he's smiling!", Po added, not missing a thing.
The next voice he heard wasn't Po's though.
"Zhong? Are you awake?", Shu asked cautiously. So she was with them too, wherever the three of them were. Though as far as he knew, there was probably more than three animals.
He decided it was time to open his eyelids and learn of his surroundings.
His eyes had been closed for so long, the light burned at first and he thought about raising his hand to his face if he could, but they adjusted quickly enough. His vision was incredibly fuzzy and disorganized, blurring everywhere, but with time it slowly came into focus.
The two blurry panda bears he was seeing merged into a much sharper one, and that one bear carefully approached the lupine, leaning over his bed.
Neither animal said a word, just staring at each other, sizing each other up: Po trying to determine whether the wolf was really with them, and Zhong trying to understand just what the hell was going on.
Of course, he had a morning like this before, not too long ago. The last time he was mortally wounded. Talk about Déjà vu. Except there weren't as many people crowding him the last time around.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Shu, the Furious Five, Tai, Jing and Koran standing behind Po.
"36 Years" by Murray Gold begins.
He figured he ought to get the first word in. Looking within himself, the wolf boss found his voice and tested it out. "Hey, what did I miss?", he asked casually, if a bit sorely.
And the kung fu master broke into laughter.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, pal!", Po greeted cheerfully, before grabbing the wolf's shoulder and pulling him into (out of all things) a big, firm, enthusiastic bear hug.
The wolf felt very conflicted. On the one hand, he hadn't been any hugged by anyone in what, two and a half decades? Even before he and his pack went rogue, he wasn't exactly the hugging type.
And he was recovering from another near-fatal injury (he could feel the gauze on his chest which meant someone must have patched him up), so squeezing him probably wasn't the best idea.
On the other hand, the panda was very soft. As soft as he always pictured the athletic bear being. Like a big fluffy pillow. Instead of hurting his sore torso, the panda's plush-cuddly fat and fur closing in on it was actually kinda soothing. The burly, grizzled wolf bandit didn't fight the bear as the kung fu master pulled him into his round belly, and after a few moments, he reluctantly raised his own sinewy arms to the bear's sides to return the gesture.
Of course, Po didn't keep hold of him for long. Once the panda was done expressing his relief and embracing the wolf bandit, he let go of him so Shu, grinning from ear to ear, could have her turn.
He figured he must have really given her a scare, because the she-wolf did not hold back with her own hug – grasping him tightly and nuzzling his neck. He liked it even more than the last one, and he eagerly patted the village girl on the back.
Standing nearby, the Furious Five and the trio of wolves present grinned. They were put at ease by Zhong's awakening, but they also got a kick out of what they were seeing: the snarky tough guy commander being thrown entirely out of his element, with barely a word to say at the moment, from his friends' impulsive displays of affection.
When Shu let go of him and started to pull away, the wolf commander made up his mind and knew just what he wanted to say to her. "Looks like we'll get to spend some more time together after all", he reckoned, pleased by the idea.
She was thinking exactly the same thing.
"Hey Zhong", Po spoke up, grabbing the wolf's attention. The recuperating soldier and his lady friend looked his way, intrigued. "Remember that stuff we talked about before you… blacked out? About you attacking my village and my clan?", the panda asked, and Zhong stiffened. He hadn't forgotten about that. Though he kinda wished Po had.
He dreaded facing this topic again, it had taken all his courage to bring it up the first time, but no matter how anxious and uncertain he was about what Po had to say to him, he kept his eyes locked firmly on the panda, ready to accept whatever judgment the panda dealt him.
The black and white mammal smiled. "I forgive you", he declared.
Instead of unwinding, Zhong remained tense and rigid. He never thought he'd hear those words; especially not coming from Po. But like he'd said, the panda was an incredible man.
Still, he needed time to process the fact that the one who had probably suffered the most from his cruelty and savageness had just forgiven him. That he was forgiven.
He swallowed a lump in his throat and felt a tiny tear collect in his eye. But he didn't wipe it away this time or try to hide it. He just let it fall down his face, unashamed. For the first time in his life, he wasn't afraid to cry.
He had greater things on his mind than fear of others thinking he was weak.
There were plenty of words he could have said next, but none of them would have even come close to describing the enormous feeling of gratitude swelling within him. "Thank you" would just have to suffice though.
Po had been right to stick to his guns. Because his unfinished business was all about Zhong – not just helping him, but forgiving him as well.
And now, both men felt content.
((()-()))
After he was done feeling touched, the first thing Zhong wanted to know was what the noise was he could hear coming from downstairs. It was barely audible from five floors up to Po and the Five, but since the wolves had much sharper hearing than most animals, Po supposed the sounds were crystal clear to them.
To answer his question, it was Saturday morning and Saturday was the day one of the town bands always came to entertain the medical center's patients in the building's main entrance. After listening for a moment, Zhong could understand why the hospital had this arrangement. Their string instruments were very relaxing.
The second thing he wanted to know (his unanswered question from before) was what he had missed, and everyone was glad to fill him in.
"When they realized you weren't a corpse yet, they went to work, but they didn't know if it'd do any good. They said we'd just have to wait and see. So we waited", Po explained.
Tigress joined in. "The royal guard found us our first day here. They knew where we'd take you", the feline added.
"They had us cornered, and we spent the whole day panicking. We couldn't risk moving you again without killing you, so we couldn't leave, but we couldn't stay either. Or so we thought", Monkey said, slyly at the last part. "Turns out the guard couldn't come in", the simian remarked, satisfied.
Zhong got what he was hinting at almost immediately. "Cause starting a fight in here to get at us would risk hurting the city's sick and injured", the wolf boss realized.
Tai walked over, followed by Jing. "For now, this building is a place of sanctuary", the wolf stated plainly.
"Yeah, but we don't trust them not to do something crazy anyway, so we've been keeping a close eye on them, like they've been keeping a close eye on us", his younger comrade added.
Just in case his commander didn't get him right away, the soldier pointed towards a nearby window. "They've taken residence in almost all the buildings surrounding this hospital. They don't want us trying to sneak out at night", Jing explained.
"Not that we want to", Koran commented, joining the duo at Zhong's bedside. "We've stayed here as long as we had to to make sure you pulled through, but as soon as you're strong enough to walk again, we're going to turn ourselves in, commander", he reported.
So that's what his men had decided in absence. Apparently, they were just as tired of a life on the run as he was.
Moreover, it had been a long time since Koran spoke to his superior, his friend, with that much respect. A respect he'd seemed to have earned back recently. Another smile tugged at Zhong's lips.
"How long have we been here?", he inquired.
"About five days", Po replied casually.
"Five days?", Zhong repeated, alarmed, his bushy black eyebrows shooting up on his forehead.
"The doc said your heartbeat went back to normal on the second day, your breathing on the third, and you just woke up today", the bear reasoned.
"But what have my men been doing cooped up in here for five days?", Zhong asked, concerned.
"A few of them have been searching the villagers checking in and out, making sure none are them are guardsmen or assassins or bounty hunters. The rest the hospital staff have put to work. Especially Xen", Viper informed him.
"They said, and I quote, 'You can never have too many doctors in a hospital'", Crane grinned, Jing sharing his jovial expression.
"And the guys actually went along with that?", Zhong asked in mild disbelief.
"Yeah. They all figured we owed the workers for letting us stay here and protecting us from the guard. Besides, like you said, helping people used to be our jobs. No matter how much some of us complained, I think we all enjoyed doing it again", Jing replied, saying what his brothers would never admit to.
"But things have been pretty weird - for the patients. Having felons in their hospital. I doubt they'd stayed if they didn't need to be here so badly, but most of them have gotten used to us with time – or at least learned to ignore us", he added.
"So all things considered, things have been going pretty smoothly while you were out", Tai finished.
"But it can't stay that way for long", Zhong remarked. He turned to Po and his friends. "Dragon Warrior or not, you're my accomplice now. You won't get life, but you'll be penalized too. You shouldn't have helped me, Po", the wolf said, though he knew what Po's response would be long before he said it.
"I don't regret doing it. None of us do", the bear replied.
"Just as I'm sure you don't regret coming to help us?", Tigress interjected, cocking a brow.
Touché. She was obviously still grateful for what he did. Grateful enough to overlook what he had done before. He wouldn't say she had forgiven him yet, not quite; but she was getting there. The same went for the rest of the panda's teammates. He'd earned their trust though, and that's all that really mattered.
"Besides I've been to prison before and it's not that bad. The food certainly isn't as bad as people make it out to be", Po said optimistically.
"You'll probably eat it all", Zhong replied, his adult half wanting to remain serious, but the immature kid in him unable to resist making another snarky comment at the panda's expense.
Not that it fazed the bear, or even annoyed him. Since he knew it was true. "Since I'm your accomplice, we'll probably be cellmates", he reckoned. "We could always start a prison band if we get stir crazy. How does 'Tenacious D' sound to you?", he suggested, and for the life of him the wolf couldn't tell whether he was joking, to make light of a bad situation, or if he was genuinely serious.
"Terrible", he smirked, giving in.
The panda glanced at his friends around him (knowing they were all listening), and leaned in close to whisper into one of Zhong's ears. "Well, with your songwriting skills and my buddies' singing skills, we'd rock", he told him, just in case Zhong changed his mind later.
Songwriting skills. Now that Po had brought it up Zhong's mind went to the wrinkled scroll in his pack's camp, miles away, and that made him think of the she-wolf who'd improved it. The she-wolf who had been strangely quiet and reserved ever since he woke up. He'd expect that from Koran, but not a talkative girl like herself.
The war vet cleared his throat, more loudly than he needed to, getting everyone's attention. "You've all worried a lot about me this week, and I hope you don't think I'm repaying you by kicking you out as soon as I wake up, but I'd like to talk to Shu, in private, for a while", he requested, taking everyone by surprise, especially Shu herself.
But no one minded. There were several nods and quiet murmurs of agreement, before the wolves and kung fu masters started to file out of the hospital room.
Po was the last to go. Once he closed the door them, Zhong's only remaining visitor looked at him.
((()-()))
Meanwhile, Po found himself being stopped by Koran in the hallway. The lupine wanted to speak to him, breaking his usual stoic silence, and whatever he had to say had to be mighty important.
"You kept your promise to me, panda. I want to thank you", the wolf bandit said, a little gruff but sincerely thankful. He'd been trying to decide for a while what to say to the bear, considering the 'problem' he had being 'friendly' with people, and eventually decided short and sweet was the best way to go about it.
Po accepted it of course. He never turned down a 'thanks'.
Shaking the bear's paw, Koran stated, "You're not too bad, for a hero".
And that was all he had to say before he stalked off; in a different direction than Po and the others, who were going to watch the show downstairs. He was off to spread the news to the rest of the pack that their commander had awakened.
((()-()))
"Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron and Wine begins.
Zhong was intrigued. He thought Shu, out of everyone there, would be the most happy and excited about his recovery. But instead of being in high spirits, she seemed almost worried about something. And he had a feeling it had something to do with what he'd been teasing her about earlier.
In the back of his mind, he noted the band below them had changed tunes, but that hardly mattered any.
"So did you really mean what you said, about having feelings for me?", he asked.
Like he had expected, she hesitated. After all, it wasn't a question that could be answered easily if one's love interest wasn't at death door.
"Yeah", she admitted, ears flattening out of what Zhong assumed was embarrassment.
He'd teased her about it, but the fact of the matter was that Shu actually saw her crush on him as just that - the kind of a silly crush a school girl would have on a guy she knew would never be interested in her. After all, he was a soldier, who'd faced many hardships, and she was just a villager. What must she seem like to him?
"What about you?", she asked nervously.
"Same here", the lupine replied, with no hesitation.
She didn't believe that. He could tell just by the way she was eyeballing him, trying to see if he was lying to her or putting her on. Even when she concluded he wasn't, she still wasn't satisfied.
"How do I know that's not just the near-death experience talking?", she questioned.
Zhong tiled his head to the side, admitting she had a point. "Alright then, I'll prove it to you", he decided, tossing his bed-sheet off him.
And then Zhong, a man who had been stabbed only five days prior, draped his legs over the side of the bed and hopped down to the floor. His landing wasn't as graceful as usual, but the fact he was even able to stand up was astounding.
"What are you doing?!", Shu exclaimed, rushing to his side.
The wolf smiled, amused, as she fussed over him and ordered him to get back into bed before he hurt himself. He also winced a little, but only just a little, at an echo of the previous aching in his chest.
"Relax, I've done this sort of thing before. The pain doesn't bother me, so long as I have something to take my mind off it. Something I care about. Like you", he said reassuringly, cupping the female wolf's cheek. And again she could tell he wasn't lying. She didn't argue anymore, did she?
But Zhong didn't stop there. The wolf had a fiendish idea in his head on how to use Saturday to his advantage. Dropping his paw from her cheek, he took her hand in his. "Care to dance?", he asked.
((()-()))
The band certainly did it's job well, Po observed. He, the Five, Tai & Jing, and a few others had to sit on the floor since all the chairs in the waiting room had been moved to the side to make space for the musicians. The one place in Gongmen City you could always count on to be cold, clinical and depressing was now filled with music, passion and life.
The patients were having a good time, especially the sick little kiddies who were not only in the presence of living legends (sitting right next to them), but enjoying a really good show. Some of them even got up and started to dance, like the pair of wolves upstairs.
((()-()))
Shu awkwardly wrapped her paws around Zhong's torso, she didn't want to touch any sore spots and put him in any kind of pain he couldn't ignore.
When she saw how he was looking at her, his puzzlement clear, she was even more embarrassed. "I've never been much of a dancer", she confessed.
"That's okay. I've never been much of a romantic either. I'm a fighter, not a lover, so we're both out of our comfort zones", he reckoned, letting her know he wasn't the judging type. "Just follow my lead and try not to step on my toes. I'm already in a hospital", he joked.
Shu nodded, though she didn't think his joke was that funny.
When the music hit just the right moment, Zhong moved to his left, and she copied his movements. When he stepped backwards, she stepped forward. And so on, and so on. By the time he started moving her in a circle, she'd gained a little more confidence and found it easier to keep up.
((()-()))
The band just reached the bridge section when a new sound filled the building; on every floor, in almost every room. The sound of wolves howling. Including Tai and Jing.
Po and the Furious Five shot up, alarmed, and looked all around them for any sign of danger. But they found none, only the confused stares of little children that matched their own.
"I don't get it", Mantis commented, speaking for everyone.
Po glanced at the two wolves they had with them. They weren't tensed for danger, and they didn't look like they were ready for a rumble. Heck, they weren't even standing up like Shifu's students were. The two lupines were still seated on the floor, swaying their heads to the music. The music they howling perfectly in tune with, Po realized.
'A howl can be many things panda. A cry to war, a way of blowing off steam, a mourning of the dead, a song to one's loved one, or a song for any occasion', Zhong had told him. He'd hardly listened then, but it sure cleared things up now.
The wolves weren't howling: they were crooning, just like the musicians.
Koran had spread the good news about Zhong to everyone, about how he had cheated death twice, and they probably hadn't felt this great about anything since before their banishment. With those supersensitive ears of theirs, they could hear the band's performance wherever they were and were enjoying it just as much as everyone else. In the mood they were in, they were losing themselves to the music and actually adding something special to it, a new element that made it even better.
"They're singing", Po explained to his puzzled friends.
"What? These guys?", Monkey asked in a cynical, disbelieving sort of tone.
But Po was already on the floor again, sitting between Tai and Jing, and doing what they were doing. There was no way he was going to miss out.
Of course he was a bear, not a wolf, and couldn't howl (he wasn't even sure what he was doing was counted) but he didn't care. He got to sing in a band after all.
((()-()))
The sound of a panda trying to howl was one of the funniest things Zhong had ever heard. Definitely grin-worthy.
By this point, Shu had grown accustomed to the wolf's way of moving across the floor and adapted to it. The pair moved almost in sync. But even in his warm, caring embrace, she still wasn't smiling. She still looked… conflicted.
She couldn't deny the older man was at least interested in her as well. And even though she still wasn't sure why, she knew it was wrong to lead him on.
"Zhong, I love this, and I want it just as much as you do. But… I can't have what I want", she explained sadly. "We can't be together if we're about to be imprisoned", she explained.
So that's what she'd been worrying about. No doubt she'd been thinking all week that he was between life and death, and even if he pulled through she still couldn't have him.
"You know, we'll probably be sent to the same prison", he said hopefully.
"Where we'll be kept in separate cells", she countered.
"At least we'll get to see each other some of the time", Zhong reasoned.
"You're going to keep fighting me on this, aren't you?", she asked, growing annoyed.
"Yep", Zhong smirked, pleased with himself. "Now listen, if there's anything these past few days have taught me, it's that there are times you've just gotta screw common sense, trust your gut and act. Now's one of those times", he figured. "So what does your gut tell you?", he asked her.
The frown that had etched itself on her face began to soften, and her brows knitted together with thought. She had never met anyone willing to putting himself in pain just to share a dance with her, or try so hard to sway her, win her over.
He was doing a good job. Because as she stared that crazy, stubborn, diehard man in the eye, she was thinking he was the kind of guy (bandit or not) a girl should hang onto; no matter what got in her way. And even if there was a chance of heartbreak, she was thinking that maybe he was worth it.
That's why she grabbed him by the back of his furry head, resting her fingers in his mohawk, and laid one of him – doing what she'd wanted to do since the first time they kicked butt together.
She'd answered his question. She had embraced her true feelings, just like he had. Both of them knew there were no more chances at turning back or protecting themselves after this point, but neither one of them really wanted to go back. They were sick and tired of worrying about the past and the future all the time. For once, the future didn't matter to either one of them, only the present. Only the time where they danced and laughed and enjoyed each other's company.
As they kissed, lips melding, nipping at each other's maws, neither wolf had a care in the world.
And neither of them were aware of the bearded fortuneteller watching them dance from the mystical leaves in her cup of tea.
Far away from where they were, she smiled as she watched the former guard dog finally live his life for at least one night.