Chapter 20: A Smile For A Bruise

Tigress was a lot of things. In her mind she was simple, but to others she was complex. She was graceful in battle, beautiful, strong, quick thinking, polite when the situation called for it, agile and flexible. Just to name a few. But one word that everyone that knew her knew not to describe her as, was matchmaker. Another was patient.

The master of the tiger style growled at one of the few other tigers left in China. His request was insurmountably unfair. She balled her paws into fists and glared at the silvery white tiger.

"What? I can't do that, that is not in my power! And it isn't right for you to pull a woman away from her home like that, away from her friends and family!", she growled yet again as the other tiger, Master Koru, stood up with his head bowed.

"I'm sorry. But I just can't leave without her."

"If you want her to come, you're going to have to ask her yourself!", she snapped.

"I...I can't. I just can't.", he shut his eyes tightly and growled in frustration before continuing his task earlier as he punched into the bricks of the buildings surrounding them.

Tigress crossed her arms. Her words were kind, yet her tone was cold."Why not? Your an attractive male, and a Kung Fu Master, no matter how you got the title."

Koru kept punching and palming, trying to ignore her. But she could see the heat run to his cheeks at her compliments.

"The way I see it, you-"

Koru interuppted her. Not with words, but with his actions. He slammed his fist into the wall infront of him and left a massive crack with the last punch. He stood still in his position. He showed no signs of pain, but his knuckles were bleeding heavily as a stream of scarlet gently made a stream in the cracks below his fist.

"I'm a monster, why should someone so beautiful accept an invitation from me?", he almost whispered his words, but they were cold and emotionless.

Tigress flattened her ears back. It was almost like looking in a mirror."Doesn't that hurt?"

Koru straightened up and examined his bleeding knuckles."I can feel the blood leave my body. I can feel the liquid pass over my open wounds. But the wounds themselves do not hurt. I feel no pain."

Tigress almost felt bad for him. She knew the pain he must have endured to acheive such a feat, having acheived it herself. She sighed."Come on. Let's get them wrapped before you lose too much blood.", he said nothing but followed her back to the hospital. To keep people from staring as well as to keep any more blood from dripping onto the snow on the ground, Koru slid his paws into his wide sleeves and clasped them as the white fabric started to stain a deep red.

When they arrived they went straight to Po's room where everyone was now occupying it. Dr. Kimeru saw Koru's sleeves and gasped.

"M-Master Koru, what happened?", she rushed over to him and examined his paws as he brought them out from inside his sleeves.

Koru blushed and shrugged with a mumble,"Just a scratch...i-it doesn't hurt."

"He was punching a brick wall.", said Tigress.

Dr. Kimeru gave him a concerned look, then walked out of the room saying,"I'll go get some bandages."

Koru put himself in the lotus position in the corner of the room and sighed a bit through his nostrils while trying to keep his blood from pooling onto the floor, using the torso of his shirt to wipe the continuous residue away. He then looked up and started to blush. Everyone was looking at him."What?"

Monkey was sitting in one of the chairs on the far side of Po's bed. Viper was coiled at Po's feet and Mantis sat with her. Crane was standing by their pile of bags in the corner. Tigress was still standing by the door, but she wasn't looking at him. Po kept glancing at him, but he was busy eating noodles. Song was sitting in Shiro's lap who was sitting in a chair on the other side of Po's bed.

"Well, we've never heard of someone enduring anything like that except Tigress. So it's kinda...I guess making us nostalgic? I guess that's the word?", said Crane and shrugged.

Tigress smirked, but walked over to Po and sat down at his side.

Koru's ear twitched."Oh."

"So have you decided to come with us?", asked Po after slurping up a couple noodles.

"Uh, well...", he glanced at Tigress, who rolled her eyes,"I-I don't know...", he blushed in embarrassment.

"Well come on, man, what's it gonna take for you to go with us? Most of us have seen your moves, you kick serious ass!"Monkey stated.

Dr. Kimeru came walking in as Monkey said this. Her face looked a little sad as she knelt down infront of Koru and began to dab the blood off of his knuckles with the gauze she brought in.

Koru shook his head, his face beet red,"I don't know. It's...it's hard leaving a place that I've lived in for so long. Where there are...people I care about.", he mumbled and glanced at Dr. Kimeru and looked away.

Monkey nodded, but said nothing.

Koru growled softly as he felt their eyes continue to stare at him,"Could you all please stop looking at me?"

Everyone granted his request, except Tigress. She was giving him a do-it-now-or-don't-do-it-at-all look.

He flinched, and Dr. Kimeru looked at him,"I thought you said this didn't hurt?"

"I-It's not. Just thinking..."

"About?", she asked as she began to wrap his knuckles in bandages. He didn't answer her for a full minute, as if contemplating a lie.

"I don't want to talk about it. Much less here..."

She took his paw in hers and stood up,"Come on, then. We'll talk in the hall.", she tugged a bit when he wouldn't budge.

He growled softly and stood up before going with her, shutting the door behind him.

Mantis immediately spoke up after he heard their footsteps fade away."Great, now we have two Tigresses in the group.",everyone looked at him as if he had snot coming out of his nose, he continued,"You know what I mean!"

Tigress sighed,"We may also be getting a doctor in the group, too. Can't say I'm not relieved, all things considered."

"Since Po keeps getting hurt?", asked Crane.

"Yes, of course.", Tigress lied.

Meanwhile, with Koru and Dr. Kimeru.

Dr. Kimeru took Koru down the hall in the opposite direction of the waiting room and around a corner. She sighed softly.

"Okay, Master Koru. What's wrong?", she asked.

Koru wouldn't look at her. He again had his back facing a wall. Only this time part of him didn't want to move from the spot. Nor let go of the paw that was holding his. But as his pride surged through his veins, he withdrew his paw from hers with reluctance.

When he wouldn't say a word she spoke again,"Is this about how you've been spying on me?"

Koru's eyes shot open when he stared at her, blushing wildly before he looked away again and growled."I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please, Koru, I heard you talking to the Dragon Warrior. You were watching me in my grandmother's greenhouse that day, weren't you?"

His tail twitched when she didn't call him master. Unbelievable as it was, he didn't feel disrespected. He remained silent. He would not confirm or deny it. Rather that than to admit his shame.

The wolf narrowed her eyes,"Is that what you were thinking about?"

Koru managed to build enough courage to shake his head, still not looking at her.

"Then what is it? You can trust me, Koru.", she laid a paw on his shoulder. He supressed both a growl and a purr, scrunching his face up.

"I have no right to ask you.", he managed to whisper. His paws balled into tight fists.

The wolf's ears perked up slightly. She moved a little closer to him, allowing her forearm to rest against his chest as well."Ask me what?"

Koru shook his head again,"You don't hardly know me."

"I would like to start."

"You lie, no one would want to know me."

"I'm not lying, Koru-"

"Yes you are!", he growled,"You and everybody else..."

The doctor's ears flattened against her head, she looked down slightly."I-I know...you have led a bad life...I heard many rumors-"

"You don't know me, you only know a monster that parents told their children stories about to stay obedient!", he hissed through bared fangs. She gripped the fabric of his shirt. She swallowed hard. It would be naive of her to tell herself she wasn't a little frightened of Master Koru. After all, he was an expert in his field and had the strength to boot. But she would also be lying if she said that her heart didn't ache for the man she had vaguely known for so long. The stories of a child in the village abused echoed through her mind. Her memories played back for her of a young tiger laughing, then crying. He looked so unhappy when he left...

"I'd like...to think that I am the closest person to you in this town. And it gives me pride. I do not claim to know you, Koru. But I do claim to know you the most.", she brought her paw up to his cheek. He started to jerk away, but she let go of his shirt and held his other cheek with her other paw. She tried to catch his eyes with her own as he still kept his head down.

His face was blood red, and his eyes were filled with tears. But he couldn't allow her to see them. To show weakness. One of his biggest, if not his biggest fear, was standing right infront of him. The very woman that held his face in her paws was ironically the one that held his heart. But his pride, though it was slowly melting away, would not allow him the risk of feeling betrayed and alone. Again. He attempted to back away, but his back was already to the wall. So he simply leaned back slightly as he breathed heavily through his nose.

"Look at me.", she said. Her expression was determined and unyeilding. When he didn't move his head, she gently jerked his face upwards and repeated."Look at me!"

He reluctantly obeyed, raising his head to meet her eyes with his own. His deep grassy eyes met her icy blue ones. Her gaze was like a trap that he immediately fell for. He could feel her eyes as if they were cutting into him to examine his very soul. It was frightening and exhilerating at the same time. He did his best not to bring his lips to hers. If he leaned down only a few inches, just a few inches, he would kiss the one he'd been dying to kiss for so long. He could practically inhale her scent if he tried, but he resisted the urge. Though her perfume, if it wasn't just her naturally sweet scent, wasn't making it easy.

"You...are not...a monster. Your Kung Fu may not be legendary like the Furious Five or the Dragon Warrior, but you have saved this town more times than I can count. And I greatly admire you for that.", she let her paws drop from his cheeks, much to both Koru and hers disatisfaction."Now ask me what you wished to ask me."

Koru swallowed a massive lump in his throat. His mouth was dry. His legs weren't trembling, but they felt very weak."They want me to go with them to fight the Fountain Demon..."

She nodded,"Yes, I know. I heard."

Koru breathed in a deep breath, shut his eyes tight and flattened his ears against his head as he spoke this next sentence in a fast paced jumble"I told them that I wouldn't go without you!"

Dr. Kimeru looked shocked, she backed away slightly when he basically yelled his request at her. He grimaced when she backed away.

"I knew I shouldn't have asked...", he turned to leave, but she grabbed his paw and with all her might she pulled to keep him from dashing off in a rage. He turned his head to look at her. She was shaking slightly as she tried to keep him from moving another inch. He stopped resisting and straightened up, inadvertantly pulling her against him with his great strength. They both blushed when she made contact with his chest. But she didn't move away. Instead she leaned against him and looked up at him.

"You...didn't really ask me, you know...you just..yelled it at me.", she said softly.

"Sorry...just nervous...", he mumbled. He wanted to move away from her. It was too close for his comfort. Not that he wasn't enjoying every second of it, but he had never been this close to anyone in his life.

The wolf nodded, never looking away from his eyes."Now ask me again. With a real question this time..."

His body stiffened,"W-Would you go with me when I leave to help the Dragon Warrior and his group?"

She smiled and nodded,"I'd love to.", she leaned up and kissed his cheek. She leaned up a bit more as she got on the tips of her toes and whispered in his ear,"And my first name is Yunwei."Koru's cheeks turned almost purple from the amount of blood that filled them as her cheek brushed against his when she went back to her normal height.

Yunwei giggled softly and walked back down the hall to tell the head of the hospital that she was quitting. Koru stood there for a few minutes, trying to register what exactly just happened.

He managed to finally maintain his composure, turn around and walk down the hall back to Po's room. Song, Shiro, Mantis, and Viper had left to get hotel rooms for the night. Crane and Monkey were about to leave when Koru came in and bowed to Po

"I would be honored to help you. As long as Dr. Kimeru can come as well.", said Koru.

"Of course, man.", grinned Po.

"Good job. Took me almost two years to finally admit my feelings for Po.", Tigress said.

"Yeah but it took me eleven years to admit my feelings for you. So I guess I beat you all there in the 'secret crush' department.", chuckled Po.

"Actually, no Po.", said Koru, scratching the back of his head nervously."I've had feelings for Kimeru for almost twenty years..."

"Wow. He got you beat.", joked Monkey. He then yawned."It's been a long day. See ya in the morning, buddy?"

"Sure Monkey. Night."

"Night.", he walked out of the room.

"Yeah I'm going too. Gotta get up early to find another caligraphy set.", he waved at them with his uninjured wing and walked out.

"Well i guess I should go home, too. I need to start packing.", Koru said while standing up.

"Hey before you go...I was wondering. And I'm sorry if this is too personal a question, but Tigress told us how you became a master after the others told us about your fight with the ox horde. Who killed your master?", asked Po.

Koru spoke with a tone as normal as if he was just talking about the weather."A horrid snake named Wing Fe Jiong. Slipped in one night like a coward and ripped my master's throat out in his sleep."

"You don't sound that upset about it.", said Tigress.

He shrugged,"It was four years ago. Nothing I could do about it then, nothing any of us can do about it now."

"No, it's like you don't even care about your former master.", she said, sitting up from her laying down position at Po's side. Po looked back and forth at the two, hoping this wouldn't end in a fight. It was just a small conversation, but if Koru was anything like Tigress, a fight could pop up out of no where.

Koru growled softly, but breathed in deep and closed his eyes as he let out his breath before speaking as if he was reciting an oath."My master was a strong person who did his best to train me from when I was a child."

"But was he a good person...", asked a voice. Koru turned around and saw Dr. Kimeru standing in the doorway with a sad expression, though she held a small smile for him.

"Yunwei...", Koru sighed.

Tigress crossed her arms,"Your paws...all four of them are either scarred or numbed to a point of pain being impossible to feel. And your face is slightly deformed-evidence of bones being broken over and over again."

The white tiger sat back down and stared at the floor. Yunwei walked over to him and put her paw on his shoulder.

"My master...was a good master. He did many good things for a lot of people. But he had been scorned by his family and disowned just because he chose to marry a woman not of his species. But shortly after their marriage, she was assassinated. By my master's own family. He became dark after that. He said that the gods demanded him to become more traditional or his life would forever become a symbol of dishonor.

"When he found me in the streets when I was four, he immediately began to train me. He would not allow me to go outside unless I was with him, training. Which was a rare thing for us to do outside. If I wasn't training, I was sleeping, and if I wasn't sleeping, I was meditating. I was allowed one meal a day. This made me very weak on a regular basis, so I would often try to sneak into the kitchen and get a snack. Most of the time I was lucky. The other times...", he pressed his fingers to his cheek and growled softly, but continued. Yunwei had sat next to him, Tigress stood there on the other side of Po's bed. Po was gripping his sheets as if he had reason to strangle them.

"Let's just say that there was a point when I was six when the people of this town forced him to hand me over since he never actually adopted me. Best week of my life.", he muttered that last sentence a little bitterly. Yunwei smiled a bit."That was when I met Yunwei. The Kimeru family took me in and treated me like a kid should be treated. I got to eat, sleep and play.", he sighed,"But when master wanted me back, he ended up breaking Mr. Kimeru's arm just to get the point across. From that point on it was even worse. He allowed me two meals a day so I wouldn't go hungry. But I started sneaking out of my room for...other reasons.", he looked at Yunwei and blushed."But he caught me every time. Eventually I stopped trying and began focusing more on my training. I thought that if I kept training, I would stop thinking about that wonderful week I had."

"But how did your paws end up like the way they did? I can understand ironwood trees for your front paws, but surely you didn't kick the trees all those years?", asked Tigress.

Koru curled the toes of his massive feet as if they could feel the old days."It wasn't ironwood trees. My master would make me jog barefoot up Shreiker's Pass."

Yunwei covered her mouth with her paw."Are you serious?"

"What's Shreiker's Pass?", Po asked, seeing a perfect oppurtunity to actually talk.

"It's a path made completely out of ice that starts from the bottom of the Giant's Hill, the tallest hill in the Quin Yun mountains, and ends at the top. They say that whoever gets to the top would find the kingdom of a long since dead civilization. But the path is so jagged...it's like a street of broken glass.", said Yunwei.

"I don't know about a kingdom, but there is a cave up there. I would have to go up there at least once a week and punch into the walls of the cave. When I started getting discouraged, master would have the audacity to tell me that, if I managed to tear down the stone walls, he would allow me to live with the Kimerus again. And that's the way it always was...until the night he died."

Yunwei had her paw on Koru's leg and was rubbing it softly. Koru didn't even notice until he finished his story. When he noticed where her paw was, he actually did faint this time. Yunwei giggled softly.

"Wow. For someone who's had such a rough life, he can sure be bashful, huh?", stated Po.

"I guess he'll just have to get used to it.", she said with a smile while stroking Koru's cheek with the back of her finger."Anyways, I best start packing so I can go to bed soon. We'll be leaving early tomorrow morning, right?"

"But I thought I was on bedrest?", Po blinked.

"Eh, you just need to be careful. For instance, wearing a shirt might be a nice start. Besides, I'll be with you.", she replied before walking to the door.

"Okay...but wait, what about him?", he pointed to the passed out tiger.

"I'll drag him to his home. Can you show me the way?", Tigress lifted the surprisingly heavy tiger, which was saying something because of his height.

"Thank you, Master Tigress. Come on.", she walked out of the room followed by Tigress who carried the white tiger.

After he was certain they had left, Po immediately starts to cough hard, spitting up mucus into a rag. He had been dying to do that since he finished his soup.