Yukan panted heavily as he placed his two wings on his knees. He finally made it to the top of the local prison outside the Valley of Peace's city after climbing a massive long set of stairs. He rose his emerald green eyes up to look at the two heavily-armored soldiers who guarded the cell room Yukan came for. "Did you... really have... to put him... so high?" the avian complained while panting.

"That's the procedure, Master Sunbird; we cannot risk leaving him close to the exit if he was to escape," one of the guards replied.

"Besides, you're an avian, right? Why didn't you just fly up here?" the other guard asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"... Good point. Did the assassin cause you any trouble?"

"He hasn't said a word since we locked him up in here. You're gonna need to find the right words to say if you want to get anything out of him."

Yukan gave a little confident smile. "Don't worry for me, guards. I have a feeling that this guy will have no problem talking to me."

"Very well, then. You may go inside. Be careful," one of the guards demanded as he and his companion unlocked the cell door and moved aside to let the Kung Fu master get inside.

"I just hope it won't be too hard," the avian thought to himself as he opened the door and stepped inside.

The sun parrot immediately looked at the Jamaican monkey and saw that his eyes were half-closed. He took two steps into the cell room and examined the prisoner. He looked very tired and still wore the black jumpsuit from when they fought at the village. Curiosity filled his mind as he never met a Jamaican monkey like this guy before in China. This made him wonder why would he even come into this country, let alone to team up with a criminal gang.

"You missed me? How nice of you to come pay me a little visit," the simian scoffed, not turning his brown eyes to look at his visitor. "What do you want?"

"I came here to question you about the battle we had in this village," Yukan replied in the most formal way possible, not moving from his position.

The assassin turned his head just enough to give an uninterested look to the Kung Fu master. "Yeah, what of it? You wanna know why you won when I was about to kick your butt? It's only because your friend attacked me when I wasn't looking."

"No, it's not about that. It's just that I think... you didn't actually want to help these coyotes riding the village and hurting the villagers."

The primate was a bit taken aback, not having expected the sun parrot to say this. He slightly tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"At the end of our duel, just before you went for the finishing blow, I heard you saying that you were sorry and that you didn't want to do this." The orange bird crossed his wings, getting closer to the simian. "Why? Why did you say that?" The simian lowered his head and pondered for a moment. Yukan eventually sighed. "Look, I'm not gonna call you 'dude' during this whole conversation. How about you tell me your name?"

"... It's Akoni," the simian said after a moment.

"Nice to meet you, Akoni. My name is Yukan Tori," the sun parrot introduced himself in return with a sincere smile.

"Well, why should I tell you anything, Yukan Tori?"

"Because, in case you didn't notice, I'm the only one who can help you around here."

Akoni thought about his situation for a moment. Looking into this bird's emerald eyes, he could tell he was being sincere. Could he trust him with the truth? Was this the chance he had been waiting for so long? It became crystal clear that his best shot was to tell the truth and hope for the better.

"I've been hired by the Coyote Clan. Ever since I was 19 - and I'm 23 now - I've been forced to do all the work they asked me to do. That dragon girl you saw, Fyra, she is commanding them because she has big plans, but I'm not sure what it is: she didn't tell me that much. My Capoeira fighting style has always been very useful in helping them accomplish their missions."

Yukan nodded and tilted his head to the side, just like Akoni did. "Okay, but there's one point I don't understand. Why are you doing all this? I might not be the smartest guy in the world, but if you don't wanna help these guys, why are you not just running away or fighting back?"

Akoni sighed deeply and gave his answer while looking at the ground. "I don't know anything about you... But you seem like a sincere person. So, the reason I can't fight back against these guys... is because they have my little sister."

Yukan's emerald green eyes widened in shock. "Y-Your little sister?"

"Yes. When they came to Jamaica, they attacked our village and captured Amancia. I did everything I could to protect my family and fight them back... but there were just too many. Impressed by my strength, they said I could be useful to them. Their leader promised they wouldn't do anything to Amancia if I obeyed them. Ever since... I have been all their dirty work..."

Yukan just stared at the simian with a look of pity. Being forced to do evil things because criminals captured your daughter... This thought alone was enough to make the blood boil inside the bird's veins and his look turned into one of determination. He reached his wing for the primate to reach and this made him look up in confusion.

"Get up. We're going right now," he ordered in a firm, decided tone.

Akoni gave a very perplexed gaze to the Kung Fu master. "W-What do you mean?"

"I'm going with you and we're gonna rescue your sister."

Akoni blinked his eyes in confusion. "B-But how? I can't get out of here because I'm a prisoner. And besides, why would you help? Aren't Kung Fu masters supposed to be against criminals?"

"I can pay for your release: I have plenty of money to spare. And besides, I don't care what Kung Fu masters are supposed to be: when I see someone who needs help, I do something. It's as simple as that. You know where they keep your sister?"

"Well... Yes. It's a lair located in a countryside outside the valley. They allowed me to see my sister with every successful mission, but not for long. I can lead you there."

"Then let's go!"


Night fell by the time Yukan and Akoni reached their destination. Good thing because the dark would help keeping them covered. Though it would be easier for the simian who was dressed in black while the avian's orange feathers and blue clothes might cause a problem. They were sitting on top of a rock from where they could see the lair of the Coyote Clan. It looked pretty well-guarded with coyotes walking around armed with strong weapons.

"This place looks quite like the fortress," Yukan mumbled toward Akoni. "Are you sure we can make it through?"

"Don't worry; I've been here countless times in the last four years," the simian replied. "I know this place by heart. Just follow me and everything will go perfectly fine."

And so began the stealth mission for the Kung Fu master and assassin. The first step was to get inside the lair and, to do that, they needed to neutralize two guards standing on top of twin watch towers. Once that was done, they sneaked inside the lair and tried sticking to the shadows while avoiding the numerous patrols. At one point, they came across an open area with many guards and no way to sneak around.

Yukan used his Firefly Bombs technique to set a spot on fire. As all the coyotes rushed to pull the fire out, the two friends made their move, reaching even further into the lair. Before long, they reached the dungeon with a few cell rooms which all seemed empty.

"Where is she? Where is she?" Akoni nervously mumbled. They made a full round of the sector and saw nothing. "Amancia! Where are you?!" Seeing tears forming in the corners of his eyes, Yukan pulled a wing on his shoulder. "What have they done to her? What?"

"A-Akoni?"

The simian slowly rose upright and turned his head to see a familiar figure coming out of the shadows of a cell room. A Jamaican monkey just like him, but with lighter (if somewhat dirty) fur and torn clothes. "Y-You're okay... You're okay!" the male primate exclaimed in pure joy as he rushed to give a tight embrace to his little sister through the cell bars.

"I knew you would come back...," the little female monkey mumbled, returning the embrace with some tears of her own. Yukan smiled at seeing such a touching moment. After many seconds, the two siblings broke the embrace and Amancia gave her brother a serious look. "But what are you doing here? You know that if they find you here, we'll both get killed."

"It's not a problem anymore, little sister." Akoni pointed at Yukan behind him with a thumb. "This guy is a Kung Fu master and he's helping me with our situation. We just need to get out of here and tell everything we know to the authorities."

"I'm afraid this won't happen."

The three friends froze and turned around to see a group of coyotes approaching them, all armed with dangerous weapons. The one who talked was taller and carried a sledgehammer, probably the leader. "I should've known you would end up turning on us and trying to get away with your puny little sister."

Akoni's face turned into a hateful glare as he stepped away from his sister and joined Yukan who already took his fighting stance. "I'm done working for you scumbags! You're gonna regret ever laying your dirty paws on my sister!"

The Coyote Leader chuckled before pointing his sledgehammer at the simian. "Alright, if you really want to die, come at me," he dared. A cool breeze blew past the two fighters, causing a few leaves to gracefully float away. The canine bandit then sprinted toward the monkey while tightening the grip on his weapon.

The simian didn't move and just stood there with his feet firmly planted into the ground, his eyes glaring at the bandit who was closing in on him fast. Once he was within range, the Coyote Leader swung his sledgehammer sideways with the tip of it aimed at the monkey's head. A sudden cry of pain followed by a sound of breaking bones echoed through the lair.

Blood spilled on the ground, the Coyote Leader lying on the ground and holding his head in pain. The other bandits stared with wide eyes and open mouths in both surprise and shock. "I-I can't believe it!" said one of the bandits in disbelief.

"He really hit the boss!" another one said.

The simian fixed his gaze on the remaining bandits. All but one of them was frightened. The only one who wasn't frightened glared at the primate with murderous rage in his eyes. He was also breathing in and out quickly through his gritted teeth and his chest heaved with each breath.

This bandit rose a rusty axe in his paws. "You!" he hissed. "You think you can turn against us and get away with it? Mistake!" he exclaimed.

However, Akoni showed no remorse. "Shut up! I never wanted anything to do with your stupid group! You guys captured my sister and forced me to work with you for four freakin' years! But now, it's time for revenge!"

The coyote screamed in anger with a compressed jaw as he charged at the monkey. "Don't be a fool!" said one of the bandits and reached his arm for his companion. But his words fell on deaf ears and the coyote was closing on the simian with rage in his eyes.

Once he was in range, he swung his axe horizontally at the primate who ducked, causing the blade the glide past his head. Akoni then stood up and twisted his body around before he planted a powerful kick to the bandit's chest. This made him groan in pain as the sheer strength of the kick knocked him on his back. He dropped his axe and held his chest in pain.

The wolf spun around, taking his Capoeira stance once again. The bandit struggled through the pain as he picked his axe back and stood up. He barked at the monkey who didn't even flinch before sprinting toward him again with his weapon. Once he was within range, he raised the axe high above his head and brought it down on Akoni. Blood flew into the air as he replied with a moon kick to his jaw that knocked some teeth out, and sent him in the air before crashing back down.

"Alright, time to finish this off!" Yukan declared with filling his lungs with energy. "PHOENIX BREATH!" The jet of fire he spat burned the remaining coyotes, setting them on fire, and knocking them away. "A good job done," the sun parrot said with a smile before going to Amancia and using his wings to melt the cell bars, allowing her to come out.

She immediately ran into the embracing arms of her big brother. "Shh, shh, it's over, Amancia. These guys will not hurt us anymore." After comforting his little sister, Akoni looked up at Yukan. "Yukan, I will always be grateful to you for what you did."

"Don't mention it. You guys are free and that's what matters now," the sun parrot replied with a smile.

"But what are we gonna do now, Akoni?" Amancia asked with a worried look. "You're considered a criminal and we don't have money anymore."

"I think I have a solution for that," Yukan said, making the siblings turn toward him. "Why don't you join the Frog Dojo? It's a very welcoming place for both of you and if you receive the blessing of Master Shujinko, your name will be cleared and you will be paid too."

"That sound like a wonderful idea!" Amancia beamed before looking at her brother who seemed hesitant.

"Becoming a Kung Fu warrior?" Akoni asked. "I don't know... You really think your friends would accept me after what I did?"

"Of course, Akoni," Yukan assured with putting a wing on his new friend's shoulder. "No one's perfect. I will explain them everything that what you did was against your own will."

The primate looked at the avian then at his sister before giving his decision. "It would be an honor to become part of your Dojo, Yukan Tori." He shook hands with the sun parrot as to officialize their friendship.


Meanwhile, in the middle of somewhere in China, a certain trio sat in an open clearing with a peregrine falcon resting against a tree while reading paper news, a deer cleaning his sword with a towel, and a little owl flying above their heads, scouting the zone.

"Oh my gosh!" the peregrine falcon exclaimed. "Have you seen that, Genghis? The Legendary Tournament has finally come to an end, and it's this tiger assassin from the northwest that won it."

"Yeah, so what of it?" the deer nonchalantly asked, not looking away from his Gouijan Sword.

"Well, you're not gonna believe who else participated," Xerxes said before pointing to the part of the newspaper that showed the other participants. "You see that little orange fella there? I met him on the day I got you out of jail, just before coming to the prison!"

Genghis turned his head and looked at it. "It's the Sunbird guy."

"So he's famous now? Good."

"Xerxes!" the archer owl called as he landed down. "There's a battalion of Imperial soldiers coming here from the south!"

A smile formed on the peregrine falcon's beak. "Good, good. I think this is a good time to see what this legendary fruit is really capable of," he mumbled with taking a golden fruit out of his robes and into his wing.

Author's note: And the Frog Dojo has won a new member: Akoni! For those of you who didn't realize it, this monkey guy is based on one of my most favorite fighting game characters of all time: Eddy Gordo. I wanted to add a Capoeira fighter in this story from the very beginning.

Will Akoni and his sister fit in well with the Frog Dojo? What will Fyra and the Coyote gang do next? And what is Xerxes doing with this golden fruit? Stay stunned to find out! As always, constructive reviews are welcome and may the gods watch over you all.