Chapter 34: Emotional Release
John's POV
"John...John...John!" Kate slapped my leg, waking me up in the process.
"Hmm. Are we there yet?" I yawned.
"About 10 more minutes."
"Cool, how long was I out for?" I asked.
"The whole trip, so about an hour give or take."
"Wait, an hour? Normally the trip to the village is…" I looked outside and recognized where we were.
"You're taking me directly to the Palace aren't you?"
"Well with the day you had, I decided to take the long way so you could sleep in longer."
"Thanks." I said.
"No worries. Say, when did you plan on reading that letter Shifu wrote?" Kate asked.
"Might as well do that now." I pulled the letter out of my pocket.
I unfolded it and took a look at what the message was, which said;
Dear John,
Your friend Hutch is writing this letter on my behalf.
I am sure you know of my injuries sustained and how long both my time in the hospital and recovery time is. So I wanted to say that even though I gave full permission for you and the Five to take as much rest you all need, if you want to put yourself in charge of their training, you can.
I have faith that you will do a superb job at doing so and maybe you could even show them some of your own skills.
Lastly, I wasn't able to tell you in person, but thank you for everything you've done today. Your actions will be well recognized by all of us at the Palace and in the Valley as a whole.
With best regards, Shifu.
P.S. Even with how loud the helicopter ride was, I could still hear your feelings towards my daughter. You have my blessings in dating her and I am glad to say she found the right man in you.
"Oh course you did, old man." I snickered.
"What's so funny?" Kate asked.
"Well for one, he's putting me in charge of the Five's training if I feel like it."
"Pfft, is he for real?" Kate chuckled.
"Pretty certain of it. However, that's not what I'm laughing at."
"Well spit it out then." She said impatiently.
"Basically, he gave me his blessings to date his daughter."
"His daughter eh? Do I know her?"
"Fairly certain you do. We performed on stage with her Thursday night."
Kate was confused by this statement as she parked the car at the courtyard entrance.
"Well it can't be Viper because that's not his-" She then realized who I was talking about.
"Shut the fuck up John!" She slapped my leg.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?"
"Master Tigress?! You and her are dating each other? Since when?"
"No we aren't, not yet at least. I was planning on telling not long after the show. But as you saw, those plans changed."
"So, you're not dating her?" She asked sadly.
"Like I said not yet. But I have a good feeling though that the next time you will see both of us together, it will indeed be as a couple, maybe."
That seemed to have lightened her mood back up because she gave a squeal of excitement.
"Finally, you've found the one. Only about time I can say."
"Well, I've been patient now for about 10 years now, so yeah my thoughts exactly." I said getting out of the car.
Kate too decided to exit the car.
"Well, I guess this is where we go our separate ways." I said jokingly.
"It would seem so." Kate said.
"See you next week Kate." I began my walk when Kate stopped me.
"Actually, come here."
I walked over and she instantly hugged me. Because I wasn't expecting it, I simply just stood there
"Say, what's this for?" I asked.
"My way of saying goodbye. I didn't have a proper chance of telling you in person last week. So why not now." She said shakily.
I could tell she was crying. I then wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into me. I began rubbing her back.
"You know I'm not that far Kate. You can always come visit me, and I can always come visit you guys." I said comforting her.
"I know, but this is still a very new feeling for all of us back home. Me and Lilly not having our older brother with us like old times. So like I said, this is my way of saying both goodbye and thank you for all the fun times we had together. At least we still can visit each other like you said."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's still surreal this whole Dragon Warrior thing. But with the way things are going right now, I'm starting to really dig this new gig of mine." We both let out a small chuckle as we broke off the hug.
"I too want to say thank you Kate. Thank you and Lilly for being the best sisters a brother could have asked for. I am fairly certain that I wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for what you two have done for me since getting PTSD."
"That's what siblings are for John, we look out for each other. So, until next week then."
"You got it. See you then." I said.
I then began the long walk back up to the Palace from the courtyard. I decided to take out my phone, put on some music and jog up the stairs. The entire trip back up took about five minutes. As I made it to the top, I saw the crater that was left from when Shifu was fighting Tai Lung.
'Fucking hell.' I thought.
"Dragon Warrior."
I turned to see who called me out. It was Zeng.
"Good afternoon Zeng. How are things?" I asked.
"Surprisingly after all of the events of today, things are going pretty good."
"Nice, where are the others?"
"Everyone except for Tigress is in the Dining hall. As for where she is, my guess is she's in her room meditating. Do you need anything else?"
"No, that should do. Thanks Zeng."
He then carried on doing his business.
As for me, I had two options on what to do next. Either wait for Tigress to find me or I go tell her myself about Shifu's condition. After giving myself a few seconds to think, I decided to go find her. As I was making my way back to the barracks however, I kept glancing over to the village.
'Hmm, I'll first check the peach tree.'
I then made my way up the stairs and arrived at the tree with nobody sitting beside it. Seeing the view and knowing that she likes to meditate here from time to time, I decided to sit down and wait. I took out my phone once again and saw that my mother had sent me photos from Thursday's show.
I scrolled through to see what they looked like. The majority of them were either of us on stage or of my mother taking selfies during the show. She even decided to film me and Kate's dual solo during Over the Mountain with her screaming; 'That's my kids up there!' I couldn't help but laugh seeing that. I kept scrolling until it was the last picture, which was of me and Tigress alone after the show.
Seeing that photo really made me realize how much me and Tigress' relationship became something special. From us despising each other to practically hugging each other in less than a week. I knew that during that small period of time, something in her began to change emotionally. It never really hit me until what happened with Tai Lung.
"You're back." A voice came from behind me.
I turned to see Tigress standing next to me.
"Yeah, just got back 10 minutes ago." I said.
She then decided to sit next to me.
"You were gone for a while." She said.
"Didn't think you were one to worry about me being out of town for a few hours." I smirked
"Normally I don't, but with the events of today I guess my brain decided to throw those plans out the window. That and I was waiting for the news about Shifu."
"I did promise you were the first to know didn't I?"
"That you did. So, how is he?"
"Long story short, he will be spending the next seven days in the hospital for concussion related issues, just as a precaution in case it gets worse. After that, he will be out of action for three months due to him sustaining three fractured vertebrae and two broken ribs.
Which means, we are on our own for the next week. However, I will be going back to Marshal when he's deemed fit to be released from the hospital so that I can help him get home." I explained.
"Anything else we need to know?"
"Nope, that seems to cover everything." I said.
"Alright."
A brief moment of silence followed until I decided to get up.
"Well, I'm going to go let the others know of Shifu's condition."
"Actually, could you stay around for a bit, please?" She asked me.
I paused for a second.
"Sure, why not." I then sat back down where I was sitting prior.
Another moment of silence followed before I noticed Tigress looking rather sad.
"You alright Tigress?" I asked.
She gave a deep sigh before going on a rant.
"This is all my fault." She said.
"I'm sorry, what?" I asked.
"All of the events from today and yesterday happened because of me. If I didn't go after Tai Lung, none of what happened today would have ever taken place." Her voice began to get really shaky.
I was stunned by this. Hearing her blaming herself for Tai Lung's doing really was something I never expected.
"Tigress, you and I both know that's a load of bullshit." I tried talking some sense into her.
"Is it?! Admit it John, if I had simply listened to Viper and stayed here yesterday, we would have not only been able to take down Tai Lung together, but Shifu wouldn't be in the hospital right now.
But NOPE, instead I had to simply go after him so that I could prove to Shifu that I could take him on. WELL LOOK WHAT HAPPENED, WE NEARLY GOT KILLED AND NOW MY DAD IS IN THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE OF MY ACTIONS-" That was the last straw for me.
I couldn't take hearing her blaming herself for Tai Lung's actions. So I simply leaned over and pulled her into a hug. That seemed to have stopped her rant because she simply froze.
"Tigress, you know damn well that the only person responsible for what happened today is Tai Lung. So for the love of fuck, please stop blaming yourself for something you had no control over. Your actions helped slow down Tai Lung long enough so that you and the rest of the guys came back to warn me and Shifu, get the villagers evacuated and for me to help Shifu finish off Tai Lung for good. So please, don't go blaming yourself for his corrupted mind. He's the one who got us into this mess and now he paid for it with his life."
This somewhat calmed her down, but I then remembered what Shifu said about her emotional blockage. Knowing that she began to release some of the emotions held inside her when Shifu was about to be airlifted, I knew that at any moment, she was about to break considering I felt her still shaking pretty badly.
"Tigress, let them out."
"What are you talking about?" She asked, voice shaking even more.
"Let those emotions out. You've been holding them in now for over fifteen years. Trust me, after letting them out, you will feel at peace with yourself once again. So please, for me and Shifu, let them out." I said.
That broke the camel's back, because the next thing I knew, she wrapped her arms around me tightly and buried her face in my shoulder. She began to sob uncontrollably. I just held her in my arms and rubbed her back gently. I began to feel a wet spot on my shoulder from her crying, she really was in a lot of pain. Seeing this made me feel both happy because she was letting all of the negative emotions out but also I felt sad for her. A few tears fell down my face, as if I could feel the pain that she was going through right now.
She stayed in my arms crying out the pain, and I stayed with her the whole time. I wanted her to know that I was there for her and that she would feel so much better after she finished letting those emotions get to her.
Finally after about 10 minutes, she finally calmed down as the last of the sobs subsided.
"Huh, I guess I really needed that." She sniffed.
"I knew you did." I said wiping away a tear off her cheek.
"Thank you John."
"Hey, that's what friends are for."
"No, I meant thank you for everything. Ever since you showed up here for the first time, you not only gave us a fresh new face here at the Palace, but you helped me renew my relationship with my father. You helped me see things differently and most importantly, you made me feel happy again. So to that, I say thank you Dragon Warrior." She said, giving me a smile.
Seeing her smile like that made me feel so proud of her and happy to know that she was changing. A change that really was going to make for the best for her future.
"I'm glad to have been of service." I said.
She gave a cute giggle which made me feel warm inside because this was her beginning to show a new side of her. Her happy side.
"I too would like to thank you."
"For what?" She asked.
"For not only being an amazing friend, but for also giving me a chance at proving myself to you. For letting me become a person in your life that you've never met before and giving them a chance of being that someone to help get you back to your happy place again."
She then regave me another hug, which I gave in return. We stayed like that for a few seconds before she then leaned into my chest. I unconsciously wrapped my arms around her waist and we just sat there and looked over the Valley. For a while, we didn't say anything and just enjoyed each other's company.
I then began to feel the urge of telling her how I felt. We were in the right spot at the right moment.
'Now or never John.'
"Tigress?"
No response. Confused, I looked to make eye contact with her and saw that she was sleeping.
"Guess it'll have to wait." I said with a small smirk.
I leaned back onto the tree and just watched the Valley below us. From that moment, I knew that being Dragon Warrior was simply fucking awesome.