Author Note :I am back with new chapter. I did not expect I would finishing writing this chapter this quick, but here it is. In the past two days, I managed to write about around 2.3k words each day. When I counted how many words I've written, I was completely floored by how much I was able write.
With everything that has happened in the previous chapter, this one is gonna be a somewhat of a relaxing filler. I added some few things that'll make this filler worth reading.
I would like to make an announcement that we have made it to 147 Favorites and 133 Follows. We have also made it passed 80K views and we're very close to reaching 82K. Thank you all for you spending your time reading my story and every kind of support will be great and will also add fuel for my writing.
With that out of the way, I hope you will enjoy this filler.
Chapter 53 : An Accelerated Recovery
After the mission from Guangdong
Our two-day ride to the port of Hangzhou and the nine-day journey back to the Valley Of Peace through walking was incredibly tiring and draining, but those feelings was lessened when we made a quick stop by at to Mr. Ping's noodle restaurant and got ourselves a light meal for dinner.
Once we got back to the Jade Palace, we greeted Shifu and after that, we didn't even care about saying goodnight to each others as all of us has already hit the bed. So many things has happened so fast in just two days and I could really use some sleep right now.
My shut-eye was hindered as my mind began focusing on Tigress, worrying about the state she's currently in. I tried to not think about it, but it only made me think more about it. She has been shot by a fucking revolver and I have all the rights to be worried about her for Christ's sake. A voice then suddenly spoke inside my head.
"Having trouble sleeping, partner?" It spoke.
"No, I'm just-"
"There is no need for you to lie to me. I am part of you and I can read every emotions within you like a book." It paused. "Is it about the tiger girl?"
"Yes." I sighed. "It just that I never really had thought about firearms ever existing in this world."
"Well, isn't that a surprise."
"It sure as hell was."
"Do you wish to help her with her injuries?" It suggested. I perked up a little as an idea appeared within me.
"I have a question about if I can-"
"Use the Dark Hado to aid your tiger friend with her injuries?" It finished my sentence for me. I become hesitant for a moment.
"Y-Yes."
"Very well." A soft metallic clanks could be heard from under my bed. I leaned my head out of the bed and saw a round and thin metal case that contains the scroll of the Ansatsuken. The scroll case was being grasped by a small amount of odorless black smokes. The case rolled out from the bottom of my bamboo bed, stopping at around the center of the room before the black smokes disappeared. "Perhaps some evening reading and exercise will help you and your tiger friend out."
I got out from my bed and wore on my attire, leaving only my white long sleeved vest behind before exiting my room. The trip to the Training Hall was quick and quiet. The silent wind welcomed my ears as it blew softly pass me. I walked to a wide open area of the Training Hall and sat on a lotus pose. Opening the scroll case and fishing out the scroll, I placed the scroll down on the floor and spread it. About ten minutes has flew by, there was a certain technique that caught my attention.
This technique involves the user channeling and drawing out dark Ki to heal injuries. Compared with normal Ki healing injurious, dark Ki speeds up the healing process far more faster than regular Ki does.
Once I was satisfied with the information of this technique. I closed the scroll and placed it in the thin metal case. Getting up from the floor, I closed my eyes for a moment before placing the 'Satsui No Hado' stance. Waving my limbs around specifically, I felt the presence of dark Ki swirling around me. After few more movements later, I stopped and looked at my hand. They both were swirling with a combination of black and red energy.
"Now let's go test it on something." My inner demon suggested.
"What do you mean by 'testing it on something'?"
"Don't worry, you'll see." It 'assured'. "See that flower growing on that corner?" I looked around and saw a lone elegant yellow hibiscus flower at the corner of my area.
The flower must have grew there for some time as it was about four inches long. I approached the lone flower and crouched.
"Now, try sharing those energy you have collected to this flower to make it grow prosperously." It instructed.
I complied and placed my both palms near at front of the flower. I could see and feel the dark Ki leaving my hands and entering into the flower. This is a very entrancing scene to look at. The fascinated look on my face has disappeared and is changed to a shocked one. The flower slowly begin decaying, losing its bright colors and firmness. I stopped and quickly put away my hands. The flower is now almost fully dried and wrinkled. It's former bright and beautiful petals slowly fell on the floor, creating a small crunching sounds when they land. The plant looked almost completely dead.
"Are you trying to get her killed!?" I almost yelled.
"No. Why would I do that?" It said.
"You said this technique would work, but it's all a lie and it does the complete opposite effect of what I want." A mixture of anger and shock were present in my tone.
"You weren't moving and waving your limbs around enough." It spoke. "Without adequate amount of movements and focus, the dark Ki energy will not become refined enough, meaning it will still destroy any form of life rather than boosting them instead."
I growled at its reply and open the scroll case and start reading about that technique again. Finished, I placed the scroll back into the case and started moving my body around once more.
It felt like nearly an hour, the silence of the night really helped my body and mind to stay focused. With one last gentle push of my palm and a gentle sweep of my leg, I took a look at my hands. The energy aura on my both hands are now light purple instead of being black and red from my previous attempt.
I head back to the same corner of where the decayed flower was. I took a deep breath and placed my two palms at front of the flower. Shortly, something that is considered to be a miracle has happened. The dark Ki energy is now reviving the flower. It quickly regained its beautiful natural colors and its wrinkled form reverted itself back to its strong structure and smooth texture.
"It worked..." I uttered in awe.
"You have done well." It said. My body felt numb and heavy, causing me to almost lost my balance as I fell down on my both knees while panting. "Remember, this technique is far more draining than doing multiple Hadoken in one session. You should go take a-"
"No, I am going to stay here and I will learn how to perform this technique." I interrupted.
"Very well then." I felt his presence faded out within me. I focused my physical and mental self to practice the technique for this long night.
Next Morning
My heavy eyelids managed to crack open. Bright light from the morning sun blinded me shortly before my vision adjusted itself to the light. Struggling for some time, I managed to get out from the bed. My eyes was met with a burning sensation due to me sleeping what felt like three hours. Maintaining balance and not letting myself fall on the floor required me using some effort. Have I really slept that late yesterday?
These fatigue-like feelings were reduced when I washed them away by splashing cool water several times on my face at a nearby bathroom. I turned on the sink's tap valve and got myself a small cup of water before turning it of. After brushing my teeth, I checked and adjusted my attire and left the bathroom.
My trip to the kitchen was short and quick as I got into the small dining room. The aroma of Po's heavenly breakfast noodle immediately flew into my nostrils. This made me released a slight moan in my mind. I felt my mouth become watery as my stomach growled, yearning for a delicious breakfast. I took a seat next to Mantis and Viper.
"Morning guys." I greeted them. Luckily, since they were as hungry as me, they didn't bother noticing my lingering fatigue slipping out from my voice.
"Morning Lukas." They greeted me back. I looked around the room and saw Tigress was not with us.
"How is Tigress doing?" I asked.
"She told me that she is unable to get out from her bed and has been experiencing inflammation and swelling on her wound. Tigress said her right shoulder is in constant pain and it is too painful for her to move her arm." Dejection was presented within the serpents' tone. "Master Shifu told her she should refrain from any form of training until her wound has fully recovered."
"I'm gonna go check on her." I rose up from my seat and head to the kitchen pot. I grabbed a small bowl and filled it with Viper's salted congee with ginger and scallions. As I was about to leave the kitchen, a certain small green fella cracked a joke.
"Don't take too long wooing the tiger." Mantis joked, causing everyone to chuckle. I felt a small red tint appearing on my face as I turned away to not let the others to see it. I quickly dashed my way out and shut the sliding door.
About five minutes or so, I arrived back at the Students Barrack and I'm at front of the door of a Tigress's room. I knocked on the door to get her attention.
"Tigress, are you in there?" I called. Shortly, a voice spoke.
"Yes, come in."
I slid the door open before closing once I got inside, my eyes widened as Tigress was lying on her bamboo bed half naked. Luckily, she had her chest wrappings and pants on, but I was able to get a split second look on her half-exposed upper body. I quickly turned my head around, almost dropping the bowl I'm holding.
"W-Where the hell is your vest?" I questioned, flustered.
"Forgive me, the inflammation of my wound was too hot and I had to take off my vest for the whole night." She replied. I let out a long breath as I regained my composure.
"Anyway... good morning." I greeted. I should have frowned looking at her bandaged and slung arm, but I was able to force out a small smile for her. "Viper said you couldn't move your injured arm and cannot get out from bed, so I hope you don't mind that I've brought breakfast for you."
"That is thoughtful of you." She smiled. I pulled a short table near to her bed, placing the bowl of congee on it.
"Can you eat like this?"
"Yes, but can you help me raise my torso?" She asked. I nodded and grabbed her uninjured left forearm and her back, gently pulling her torso up from the bed. The tiger proceeded stretching her back carefully.
Once she was feeling comfortable, she leaned down and grabbed a spoonful of congee, placing it in her mouth. When she was about to be grab another spoonful, she groaned in pain. This made the spoon slipped from her paw, but she was fast enough to catch the falling spoon with her ankle, balancing it well. Fortunately, none of the content in the spoon has spilled at all. I grew worried.
"You okay?"
"Yes, just a small shot of pain for just moving my right arm even the slightest bit." She assured.
I picked up the spoon on her ankle and cleaned it. I scooped a spoonful of congee before signaling her to open her mouth. Her eyes widened for a split second.
"Are you serious?" Tigress said, deadpanned.
"Yes I am, seeing you in such a state really makes me feel worried of you. I hope you don't mind me doing this."
"Fine." She leaned her head forward and ate the content. With the next spoonful of congee, I began teasing her a little.
"Say aahhh." I signaled.
"I am not a child, you know." A small blush appeared within her face.
Normally, if I were to feed a feral tiger in my world, I would have freaked out for sure and instantly start bolting my way out. I feel slight bit of nervousness within me whenever Tigress opened her mouth and exposed her sharp teeth. Knowing her, I'm one hundred percent sure she won't bite my hand off. Minutes of feeding later, the bowl is now empty.
"That was a good meal. Thank you."
"Don't mention it, I'm glad I could help you."
"I wish to not stay in my room for the whole day. Will you help me get out of my bed?"
"No, Master Shifu said you should-"
"Master Shifu told me to refrain from training, but that does not mean I should not do other things besides training." It was very weird to see Tigress 'disobeying' Shifu's order like this.
"Okay, but don't blame me when he start scolding you."
"I'm not sure about that, but it will be funny to see you get scolded along with me."
"Tigress." I sharpened my voice.
"Alright fine." She rolled her eyes. I let her wrapped her uninjured arm around my shoulder as I helped her up to her feet. Before I left her room, she called. "Lukas, can you assist me with this."
"Help you wear your vest? No problem."
"Before that, I meant this." She pointed at her chest. I titled my head.
"What do you mean by 'that'?" I asked.
"I have forgot to change my chest wrappings last night. The wrapping are soaked from sweating caused by my wound's inflammation and I need to change myself with a new one." The tiger held a light blush on her expression.
"But that stuff is private and only you should be doing that yourself." My face heated itself red.
"I would have changed my wrappings last night. Since I have forgot and with the pain of my inflammation and swelling has gotten worse by this morning, I am incapable of moving my right arm one bit."
"Wait here, I'll go get Viper to help you with that." And once again, before I could even touch the sliding door, she called me.
"That won't be necessary. In fact, I feel the most comfortable around you."
"Are you fully sure about this, I'm not really good with these kind of stuff." I scratched the back of my neck.
"Yes, I am sure. Do not concern yourself, this task will be simple and quick." She assured me. "Without any delays, get behind me." I complied, walking passed her and is now standing behind at her back.
When she unwrapped her old wrappings, it revealed her entire back to me. I lost my focus when my eyes has set themselves on the graceful and pleasant black stripes on her orange furred back. I quickly recovered my focus when Tigress pointed her paw at a nearby drawer. I opened the drawer and pulled out a long and thin piece of cloth.
"Can you give me some instructions here?" I asked.
"It is simple, really, you just have to wrap the cloth around my chest and use a clip to tighten it." She simply said.
"Okay, can you raise you arms so I can help you with this?" She gave me a grunt while nodding before complying.
Reluctantly, I placed the piece of cloth on her upper back and slowly began wrapping it across chest back to her upper back and repeat. the beating of my heart gradually started becoming faster when the cloth's length has become short. My heart nearly skipped a bear when my hands had almost touched her chest. Once I've finished wrapping, I grabbed the clip from the nearby drawer and clipped it on the wrapping to secure and tighten it.
"Okay, how do you feel? Did I do it correct?"
"Are you trying to suffocate me?" She jested, her breath are a little strained. "No, try loosen it more."
I pulled the clip out from the wrappings and placed it back more on the side than the center. I hope this will do.
"Better?"
"Yes, I am able to breathe normally." She turned her body at me. I focused my eyes on her face to not look at her exposed torso. "My vest is placed in another drawer, can you-" The tiger's words was cut off as the wrappings around her chest went loose and fell off on its own.
My entire muscles tensed up. This caused me to immediately look away, I did not make a single movement afterwards. It was a good thing that I have saw nothing of her body. A brief of silence has passed, her composure returned.
"It would seem that you have made my wrappings quite loose."
"Forgive me, I didn't know."
"It's alright." She breathed out. "Try readjusting it better this time." She covered her chest with her paw. I turned to her direction and picked up the wrappings from the floor.
The tiger turned her back to me once more. I gulped before planting the wrappings on her back, carefully started wrapping the cloth around her chest and back. My movements were steady and cautious, allowing me to wrap the wrappings around her torso faster and carefully not to touch her chest. With one last wrap, I grabbed the clip and clipped it on the wrappings again.
"Is it better now?"
"Certainly, it does not give me trouble breathing anymore and it is nicely wrapped as well." She said. "You are not bad on your first attempt."
I stayed quiet while a blush is still stuck on my expression.
Helping the tiger wearing her red vest, we both left her room. Soft chattering becoming clearer when we are nearing to the kitchen. Me and Tigress made it to the dining room as everyone greeted her and asked how she's doing before we both took a seat next to each other.
"Took you two long enough." The bug set his eyes on me. "I was starting to think you were making out with her in her room." Mantis teased us both. No one in this room laughs or chuckles, but the green mantis was able to get a reaction from me and Tigress as her face and mine heated up. My good Lord, just what is up with this green guy here today spewing jokes about me and Tigress? I glared at the praying mantis. "Sorry." He chuckled nervously.
"Wow, you got the entire squad laughing." Sarcasm was attached to my voice.
"Come on, did no-one laughed, or at least grin a little?" Mantis looked around. Monkey then leaned his head close to the praying mantis.
"I don't mind you spewing jokes or dirty ones nonstop, but you should be very cautious when those are aimed at Tigress." Monkey quietly whispered.
"I heard that." Tigress said, causing the golden snob-nosed monkey to quickly returned back to his seat.
Mantis's bad joke and comment made the entire room silent as everyone felt awkward. Everybody just awkwardly made glances at one another and has not said anything. It took a few good minutes for these feelings to subside.
"Anyway..." Viper was the first to speak, trying to dispel the awkwardness away. "... is anyone excited about the upcoming Quinquennial Tournament?"
'Quinquennial Tournament'? Never ever heard of that...
"Oh, the Quinquennial Tournament is going to start? When?!" An excited squeak came from the panda as he shot up from his seat.
Okay, NOW I really want to about this...
"Umm... Po, can you explain this 'Quinquennial Tournament' to me. I have never heard of this event before." I inquired.
"What, don't freakin tell me that you have never ever heard of the awesome Quinquennial Tournament in your life?" The panda sounded like he was shocked to know that I have no knowledge or an idea about this.
"I kinda have to agree with Po there. Like how could you not know of this, literally everyone in China knows about this. Even some people from other countries knows about the Quinquennial Tournament." Crane spoke.
"The Quinquennial Tournament is a huge martial art tournament that lasts for about a day or two. The tournament takes place in the Jade Palace at the Palace Arena each five years. Everyone who think they could fight may enter, but only the strongest fighters will remain on the top to challenge the former Furious Five." Po explained.
"Since this is a tournament, will there be a reward or a prize for the winner?" I asked. Po scratched the back of neck before nodding horizontally.
"The former Furious Five and I have been in Quinquennial Tournament two times." Tigress piped up.
"You have? Can you tell me how it was for you?" I asked the tiger.
"Those were the moments of me trying to seek out the approval and affection of Master Shifu." We all stayed silent to let her go on. "At fourteen, I thought of this tournament will be a great opportunity for me to get the attention of Master Shifu. After I being defeated by a stronger opponent, I have dedicated the next five years to train and to break pass my limit. Yet even training gruesomely for five years, it was still not enough." The last words from her sounded a bit dejected. "But after everything we all have been through, those moments has truly brightened and changed my life. I was finally able to get the approved by Master Shifu and the bond between us both has strengthened, including ours as well." We all smiled warmly at her.
"I'm glad our friendship helped you through the toughest moments." Po said.
"I noticed you are slowly coming out from your shell. I'm actually proud of you for that." Viper noted. A slightly surprised look formed on the tiger's face as she tried her best to suppress a small blush.
"Well then, I have heard that the tournament is going to begin in about two weeks. I suggest we all should get started with training to keep our skills and ourselves in top shape before the tournament after this weekend." Crane suggested.
Finishing with our breakfast meal, Viper told us to go ahead as she and Crane will deal with cleaning the dishes. When the others had left, me and Tigress were the last to leave the dining room before saying bye to the serpent and the avian. On our path to the wide exit of the Jade Palace at the Hall Of Warriors, I started a conversation.
"I thought you were going to spend the day by yourself." I noticed she was walking beside me. "Have you finally got tired of remaining motionless on the mattress while trying not to fall asleep?" I joked.
"No, I just feel like doing something different for today." Tigress responded. "And with my right arm being injured, my meditation is pretty much ruined for about six weeks."
"So then, why are you tagging along with me?" I inquired.
"What is wrong with spending and enjoying a day with a best friend?" She said before putting on an exaggerated pained expression and tone. "I thought we were best friends? Have you finally got tired of our friendship?" I let a sigh in defeat and remained quiet, prompting the tiger to chuckle.
Our trip from the lengthy stone staircase down to the Valley was certainly a relaxing one. Various citizens were passing by had given us both a light bow and greeting. It's still quite early in the morning and it is beyond far before noon hits, we have plenty of time to figure out what we should do for today.
"Do you have anything in mind that we both could do?" I spoke.
"I was about to ask you the same thing." Tigress looked at me. "Since you asked first, I suppose we could try to do something not too vigorous. The swelling pain in my shoulder is already unbearable and I do not want to exasperate it any further." An idea popped and appeared within my head.
"I was planning to pay a quick visit to Xiaoli."
"The daughter of that fox family?" I nodded to the tiger.
"Yup, just go check on them and see how their daughter is doing."
"Before the whole situation we had with Kazuhiro, Xiaoli told us that she wanted to become a student to the Jade Palace. Was it you who gave that idea to her?"
"No, it was her own idea. She simply told me the reason why she wanted to be learn Kung Fu is to defend and protect the innocent and the ones she loved."
"Sounds pretty noble. I am having a feeling that I certainly will see her training in Jade Palace in the future." I smiled at her words.
"I'm glad you have some faith in her. I strongly believe we will get to see her become a student soon enough."
Our stroll to the fox family's clothing shop was overall quiet. Once the familiar building is visible to us, me and Tigress proceed to enter. The store is devoid of customers when we got in and it would seems we are the only who had entered. A middle aged fox took notice of our presence.
"Good morning, Lukas." Han greeted before shifting his sight on the tiger. "And its good to see you back in the Valley Of Peace, Master Tigress. Everyone was worried sick of you during those days when you were gone." The fox paused, taking a look on Tigress's injured arm. "Oh my Lord, what happened?"
"Do not to be concerned about my current state. It's just a scrape from our last mission." Tigress assured, not wanting for to fox to worry.
"Anyway, I take it you both had came to check on my daughter Xiaoli, correct?"
"Yes, how is she doing?" I asked.
"She's doing great, but I feel like she's taking her training a bit too seriously recently."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, there was one time she even skipped dinner to train all night."
"Yikes..." I uttered. "Okay, do you know where she is? I feel like having a talk with her."
"She's at her usual training spot." Han pointed.
Me and Tigress walked to the door of the back house. Because this is the first time for Tigress to enter the small sized door, she accidentally bumped her head on the top of the doorframe, causing me to chuckle at her brief predicament. When we got the basement and head down there, we saw a young red vixen repeating a high kick on what looks to be a makeshift dummy. We then approached her.
"Oh, hey there Lukas, how's it go-" The vixen's eyes widened when she set them on Tigress. "M-Master Tigress?" She squealed in a combination of surprise and excitement. "I didn't expect you to see here." The small canine's eyes slowly shifted to the tiger's slung and casted arm. "What happened to your arm?"
"I just had a little accident on my last mission with my comrades." Tigress responded before continuing. "Master Lukas has told me about you and your newfound passion of learning Kung Fu. And I must say, I am delighted to hear that you want to become a student at the Jade Palace." The tiger smiled. "If you don't mind, would you show me what you have learned through your self-training so far?"
"It would be an honor to demonstrate my skill to the great Master Tigress." Xiaoli is becoming enthusiastic.
The red vixen walked to the center of basement as me and Tigress made some room for her do her tricks. Xiaoli began with a series of punches and kicks, her techniques has got more elegant and fluid. Once her series of punches and kicks were over, she took a breath before continuing. She slowly bent and crouched down, balancing herself with a single bent leg. Shortly, she did a high jump, performing a graceful spinning jump kick before landing. Impressed, I clapped my hands for the red vixen.
"That is some great techniques, your progression is marvelous." I complimented. I turned my attention to Tigress. "What do you think of her?"
"I can see she certainly has great potential by simply looking at her forms and techniques." A smile formed on the tiger. Tigress walked close to the vixen. "I believe you might have what it takes to be accepted as a student." Xiaoli looks like she's gonna explode from the exuberance that she could barely contain. When Tigress placed a paw on her little shoulder, the vixen grunted in pain.
"Are you okay? That sounded like it hurt." I spoke, getting worried. Xiaoli remained silent and set her eyes on us. She shortly decided to come clean, removing few parts of her vest and showed us her shoulder and abdomen. There were several bruises presented on those two areas of her body. This took me and Tigress by surprise. "Jesus Christ, what the heck happened to you?"
"I've gotten these bruises a few days ago when I fought off a bunch of thugs when they were threatening a small bunny. It was a good thing that they were not huge like a wolf or a big cat, just a trio of otters."
"That action of yours was admirable, but incredibly risky." Tigress said. "You are still not ready to take on real life situations and you must avoid them. Also, you could have alert the Valley's security and have them deal with those thugs instead of yourself."
"I know, but I just can't leave that poor bunny alone. Seeing him getting picked on and is about to get hurt by a group of bullies just gave me this need to do something." The red vixen scratched the back of her neck.
"An understandable reason, but you don't have to always put yourself at risk and you can always rely on the Valley's security to handle the situation." The tiger paused. "For example, I've payed quite a huge price when I was around your age."
"What happened?" Xiaoli asked.
"There was a robbery at a jewelry store and the Valley's guards needed some reinforcements. Since I was close to the area where the situation is at, I immediately charged in and start beating every robbers I could find. Because I was younger and inexperienced, the price I have payed involved me having my wrist twisted, my knee dislocated, multiple bone fractures and various cuts around my body from the bladed weapons. I was in a serious condition and it took quite a while for me to fully recuperate from it." Me and Xiaoli gulped after hearing a piece of the tiger's backstory.
"I see. I will to try to be more careful from now on." Tigress gave a small smile to the red vixen.
Bidding farewell to Xiaoli before giving the same gestures to her parents, me and Tigress exited the clothing store. Not much is really happening around us after we both spent hours strolling around through several districts. The people were just going on with their business and work. As loud as the street is, it was somewhat comfortable since there is no trouble had occurs or any signs of it.
At noon, the sun's angle peaked at the top of the sky. People and workers can be seen wearing hats to protect themselves from the heat. Me and Tigress stopped by at a small restaurant near to us. Both of us took a seat and ordered something simple.
"It has been a while since I have ever been so relaxed." I lifted a brow to the tiger.
"So you have finally admitted the truth, you are getting tired of sitting on those mattress of yours." Tigress sighed before chortling.
"You could say so. Meditating can give me periodic cramps on my back and lower body, but I usually numb them and kept continuing with mental effort."
"I believe numbing the pain too much can be dangerous. What happens if the inside of your body is actually hurting and you can't feel it?"
"I know what your saying. I take breaks as well."
"You take breaks?" I formed an overstated surprised expression.
"What is so surprising of me taking breaks?"
"Sorry, it's just that I feel like you're a person who don't like to take break since I've never actually see you taken one before."
"Well I hope today will teach you that I actually do take breaks from time to time." We both then chuckled.
A cow waitress holding a tray with two bowls arrived at our seat. Right when she placed our orders on the table, doors and wooden-like structures could be heard smashed. It sounded close to the restaurant we both are in. Me and Tigress glanced at each other. We both didn't said a word as both of us knew there is trouble happening outside and our service is needed.
I told the waitress to keep our order somewhere safe and warm before dashing out of the restaurant with Tigress. We quickly made it the source of the trouble. Not far ahead, were a group of bandits, destroying structures and plundering what they could find. They looked like the usual ones that me and my friends would fight most of the time. This should only take a couple of minutes.
Tigress made an instantaneous dash to them and did a twisting butterfly kick, striking two bandits on the top of their head as they dropped unconsciously on the ground. A hyena charged with a spiked club and swung it down on her. Her remarkable reflex kicked in as she made a swift one hundred-eighty degree turn and stopped his swing by catching his wrist with her paw. She planted a kick on his sternum before sending a forward kick to his midriff with her other leg, sending him flying off.
Another bandit start attacking the tiger swinging his axe around crazily. She threw a fast and accurate jab on his jawline, stunning and causing the bandit to stumble back greatly. She finished him by sending an uppercut to his chin. Damn, even with one arm available, she still managed to show how capable she is of holding her own ground.
I landed a clean sucker punch on a large croc bandit by the side of his head from behind. He fell on the ground while dropping his sword as his body rolled shortly. The large croc was pretty resilient as he quickly got up to his feet. The croc growled and threw a quick jab at me. The jab was surprisingly quick as my forehead got hit by it. The power from that punch had made my ass fell on the ground.
Sitting on the ground, the croc does a heavy low kick on me. I reacted and countered his low kick by kicking his feet away. I kicked him again on his knee with the same leg. The large reptile fell on one knee. I grab his head with my both hands and knocked him out by sending a strong knee strike to his face.
With the bandits has been stopped while the goods they've stole were recovered, the Valley's guards made their way here and thanked us for handling the trouble. Luckily, no innocents were harmed and it was a relief to hear that.
"All that fighting just made me even hungrier, I think I'm gonna make a second order once we got back to the restaurant." I spoke.
"You are starting to sound like Po, always getting the hungry by just barely doing anything." Tigress joked.
"Oh hardy-har." I rolled my eyes.
Me and Tigress then went back to the restaurant. The two of us returned to our seat and the cow waitress has brought our order back after I told her to keep it somewhere warm and safe. The meal that the waitress brought back is still pretty warm and fresh as it was when she placed them on our table. I cannot wait to dig in.
The hot yellow rays of the sun that shines down the entire Valley had turned itself into a soft orange light. The two of us are making our way back to the Jade Palace via the long stairway. I broke the silence as I struck up a conversation with the tiger.
"Crane said the Quinquennial Tournament is going to start in the next two weeks. I hope you are not dejected since you are unable to participate with the current condition your in." Tigress breathed out a sigh.
"I would be if I was a few years younger and you might not want to see how 'upset' I can be back then." I gulped. I have seen her temper multiple times during my first days in the Jade Palace as a student. It was indeed a terrifying and dreading experience. But I'm very glad we both had gotten along. "But now, I actually do not mind."
"Still, I feel bad that your gonna miss out all the fun and thrill me and the others gonna have when the tournament starts. Plus, you gotta wait another five years for another tournament. Five years... that's just too long."
"Like I said, I do not mind missing out this one and I do not care if I would have to wait another five year for another opportunity to enter. For now, all I can do is watch and cheer for you and the others." Tigress set her eyes on me with a small smile. "Thanks for having concern about how I feel, I really appreciate that." We both let silence fell upon us as we embraced it and continued making our way back to the Jade Palace.
Dinner was light and delicious especially when Po and Viper combined their cooking skills together to make the taste even more divine than ever. Two hours later, we left the dinning room and head to Student Barrack. We bid each others good night before we entered our own room to get some rest for tonight.
Several Days Later
It has been days since I've been trying to learn this healing technique. My eyes burns and my mental energy are low due to me getting only about two to three hours of sleep each night. The progression of it is good as the duration and the need for movements decreases every time I finished performing this. I am having a good feeling I'll might nail the healing technique this time.
Patiently staying awake on my bed for what felt like hours in the night, I got up from my bed and wore my attire. I left my sandals as they'll make a creaking sound from wooden floor. Barefooted, I grabbed the thin lid containing the scroll of Ansatsuken from underneath my bed before leaving my room. I managed to silently made it to the Training Hall without making any creaks or any other noises.
I sat on the same open area from the other night with a lotus position during the time when I was practicing the healing technique. I took out the scroll and spread it wide open. Finished reading the content and texts, I collected myself up to my feet and closed my eyes. Inhaling a deep breath, I began concentrating on the dark and negative thoughts. I let them slowly cloud about half of my mind, trying not to let them completely consume me.
I started waving my limbs around in a slow, yet steady and precise manner. Half an hour of moving and swaying my body and limbs, I opened my eyes and saw the same light purple energy on my both hands. I then stored the energy within me, making them disappear from my hands.
"I believe you are finally ready to apply this technique on your tiger friend." It spoke inside my mind.
"Yes... but-"
"But what?" It cut me off. "Afraid that it will make her condition worse or kill her? Do you still have doubt for this technique?" It questioned. I then pulled myself together and put on a serious look on my face.
"No, I am not." I responded.
"Good, now let's get this over with."
I left the Training Hall with the scroll in my pants pocket. Arriving at the room of a certain tiger, I quietly knocked on her door. The door slid open as an orange figure appeared. I noticed she is wearing her chest wrappings and black pants.
"What are you doing this late in the night? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Slight fatigue was present in her voice.
"Sorry for waking you up." I apologized. "After reading and studying some certain scrolls, I've found a way how to fix your injury." The fatigue within the tiger instantly disappeared as her ears perked up.
"You have?" Tigress squinted her eyes a little to look me. "Are you alright, you look like you are going to collapse at anytime soon." She noticed the little dark circles around my eyes. I shook my head as a sign of assurance that I'm fine. "I also have been hearing some noises late in the night in the past few days."
"Yeah, sorry for not being quiet enough, didn't mean to wake you or anyone up."
"That was you?" She was a bit surprised.
"Yes." I answered. "I waited for everyone to fall asleep so I can go to the Training Hall to practice this healing technique alone. I was able to figure out how to perform this technique and I think it's best if I do it now."
"Are you sure you've learned this healing technique from some unknown scroll in the Hall Of Warriors?"
"No, I have read through it thoroughly and I'm fully sure that it will work." Moments later, the tiger breathe out a sigh.
"Alright, I believe you. Come in." She gestured. I entered her room as she closed the sliding door and walked up to me. "Well, are you gonna do the healing technique or what?" She sounded like she kinda doesn't believe me and wanted to go back to sleep.
"It's not that simple. Just sit down and give me a moment to build up enough Ki energy for this." The tiger nodded and sat on her bamboo bed.
About ten minutes of carefully swaying my body, arms and legs, my hands started gaining a light purple aura. I finished it with a widened stance of the Dark Hadou. With the widened stance has been done, the light purple energy reappeared on my hands. I shifted my sight on Tigress and she looked at me with a startled and tensed look.
"Lukas..." Tigress stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking. "... was that the stance of the Satsui No Hadou?"
"Yes, it is." I reluctantly nodded.
"What the hell are you doing? Don't you know tampering with such power would cause one to lose and destroy one's self?" She questioned.
"I am fully aware of that risk. Please, just let me heal your-" Tigress shuffled herself away a little when I tried to get close to her.
"I think the idea of using dark forces to mend an injury is not a very good one."
"Please, trust me. I have spent the last several nights practicing this healing technique and got barely any sleep. I couldn't stop thinking and worrying about you and I knew I had to do something about it."
"I don't understand, why would you go to such an extent of risking your health and sanity just to help me with this mere injury?"
"It is simple. You are my best friend, my closest friend and I care a lot about you." I simply answered.
Tigress sat still on the wooden floor, deciding if she would accept my help or not. Moments later, she gazed at me as her eyes 'glowed' since there was no light source in her room. After she finished contemplating, a soft chortle emitted from her.
"With all these effort you have put up just for me, how could I not accept the help from my closest friend who cares a lot for me." She smiled.
"Thank you for accepting my aid. You won't regret this, I promise." Tigress removed the bandages of her right shoulder and the arm sling. The bullet wound was an unpleasant sight to see. There is a hole that seemed to be about less than six millimeters wide. She has lost some fur around the injury. How can such a small injuries would cause this much pain for her. A nasty-looking scab had formed and covered the hole.
I made several fluid and slow movements with my glowing hands. I closed my eyes and took in a couple of deep breaths. The light purple energy on my both hands grew larger and brighter.
"Ready?" I asked her. She responded with a nod.
I placed my hands on her right shoulder. I mentally began directing and pouring the dark energy into her wound. During this process, I felt and saw the tiger's body began shivering. I then grew worried for her.
"Tigress, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm feeling kinda chilly here." She said. "So this the energy of the Dark Hadou, it... it is making me feel quite... c-cold." A shiver disrupted her at the last of her sentence.
"Hang in there, it's almost done." I assured.
With me increasing the grip strength of my hands, I put in more energy into her wound. I glanced at her shoulder and her scab is slowly disappearing. Her skin begins to close back nicely along with her fur is growing back. Eventually, I felt the dark ki energy depleted as my hands ceased glowing. Tigress got up to her feet and start feeling her 'injury'. A joyful smile grew on her expression.
"This..." She was in awe and is lost in her words. Briefly, she continued. "... this is incredible. Lukas, how did you do it?"
Right before the tiger could get a response from the human, Lukas began experiencing a rapid growing fatigue. His eyelids became heavy and is fluttering, trying to keep themselves open before eventually they closed. The man's senses went numb as his sight faded into black as his body lost complete balance.
With her right shoulder and her whole right arm being completely fixed. Tigress immediately caught the human with her both arms before he could fall on the wooden floor. The healing technique he had performed on her injury has drained him far more drastically than he expected.
Tigress wore her red vest before lifting the human up on her shoulder. She exited her room and make a swivel and saw nobody was out and were sleeping soundly.
The orange warrior entered his room and gently laid him on the bamboo bed. She unbuttoned and removed his white long-sleeved vest, leaving him with his gray shirt and untied his hair. Tigress placed down his vest and hair tie on a drawer close by before leaving his room.
She returned to her room and removed her clothes, leaving herself in her undergarments. Tigress laid on her bamboo bed. Before she could sleep, she moved her former injured arm and felt no pain or discomfort. A grateful smile slowly appeared on her features. The tiger closed her glowing amber eyes and drifted into a restful slumber that she had been wanting for days.
Author Note :I hope you enjoyed the interaction between Lukas and his inner demon. It was fun writing their interaction and I would like to write more of it. Sadly, I have already made plans for the next story arc regarding about the "Quinquennial Tournament". Well, guess his inner demon is going to have to take a lengthy nap.
I don't want to say much about the next chapter, but I assure you it will be worth waiting. There will be quite a handful of stuff that's gonna go off in the future chapters.
Feel free to review, follow and favorite the story if you have the time. It makes me happy and gives me enough motivation to get myself start writing. Let's hope I can get the next chapter out in a reasonable amount of time.