Ch.4: Tofu
This chapter was… something. I probably had the biggest writer's block of my life with this one. It also doesn't help that I write a little slow (which I do apologize for). I just politely request each of your guys' patience with this story. I wish I could write all of the time and pump out chapter after chapter every week but I, unfortunately, cannot. I also need to mention that I changed the rating from K+ to T. I'm NOT going to start using swears or anything like that, but there is war involved and that means that there is blood and descriptions of it. I just don't want to run into any issues with FanFiction. The story's concept itself will not be changing either. Just a quick heads up if you get confused when you see the story's summary!
Footrot Flats - Thank you so much for your willingness to give advice! I personally think that just directly stating the setting of the story each time I change perspective is a bit too tacky and play-like. Some parts I completely understand and I should say something like "Meanwhile, in Tigress' vision, she is blah blah blah," you know? But on the other hand, I think immersing the reader is a big part in what a story's purpose is. There are a couple places in this chapter where it may seem confusing about the setting of the scene, but I clear it up in a later scene about what the previous one was. Though, I would agree that I need to pay a bit more attention to what the reader needs to know.
FFcrazy15 - Your review put a much needed smile on my face with how you quoted parts of the chapter! I agree that I tend to write choppy sometimes, but it's usually a result of me being overly drained of energy. I tried to watch my sentence length here because, I understand, repetitively choppy sentences are a nightmare to try and enjoy. However, in some parts I intentionally write short, choppy sentences to match the mood of the scene. I also don't enjoy "flowery" descriptions. It usually sounds like a writer trying too hard to make a description of a scene seem impressive. But I have realized that the best descriptions sprout from describing the scene in what is literally and what it seems metaphorically.
Starless echoes, camiluu - Thank you both for the compliments!
Do the read and review thingy! :D
The warriors entered the barracks and walked into the kitchen, being parted from the squeaky footsteps that had a different destination. They sat around the kitchen table, being illuminated by golden rivers from the open windows above. It would've been a peaceful morning if it weren't for them all being startled by Tigress' entrance in the Dragon Grotto. Regardless, they were relieved that she had returned. Faint smiles could be seen as they sat patiently for the panda who was rummaging around in the pantry across the hall.
The insect looked over to the doors behind him. "Po, dude, what are you doing?"
"We're hungry, and I'm sure Tigress is as well."
The warriors silently nodded to each other in reply. They were all indeed hungry and hadn't eaten anything that day. Tigress, however, didn't want any pampering. She spoke up for herself. "I'm fine, Po."
"Tigress, c'mon let me cook you something," Po complained.
"There's a jar of tofu in there, just get me that if you must."
"Don't you want any soup?"
She did want soup. It actually felt like her insides were collapsing from the lack of it. She may not have shown it, but she appreciated that the panda cared for everyone, and especially her, so much. It was one aspect of his personality that she never adjusted to. Panda hospitality seemed almost unique to him. She didn't feel as welcomed by the Panda Village when she was alone. Po was the one that made her feel like she was home. "Po."
He sighed to himself feeling deflated. "Okay, I'll cook later," he said. The panda walked over to the table and sat at an open seat next to Tigress. He usually didn't sit there, which made the two of them a little uncomfortable for a moment. Mantis made an exception this time of standing in the middle so that Shifu could sit down with the rest of them.
Now that they had found their seats, they urgently waited on the edges of them to listen intently. She was quiet, however, and Shifu noticed it. He thought that it might help to lead the talk a bit more. "So, Tigress, what is it that you wanted to tell us? Was it something you dreamt while you were asleep?"
"Yes… and no. You see, I wasn't sleeping although it may have appeared that way, Master. Oogway visited me." Gasps were heard around the table and their eyes turned from saucers to dinner plates. Tigress wasn't expecting much response to this talk. Maybe it would be better to speak with Po alone.
"That's so cool!" Po blurted. "Was he all, like, shiny and golden-looking?"
Tigress shook her head. "No, he was… just normal." She took another moment to search for words. "Oogway visited me twice. One after the other. The first time was on top of the mountain next to the Pool of Sacred Tears. He told me that…" She didn't want to finish that sentence. Should I tell them about his vision?
Shifu once again pushed the conversation forward, "Told you what, Tigress?"
"He told me that my Chi is unstable, and I need to find inner peace."
"And then the second time?" Shifu pushed.
"It was a vision about the scroll that you gave me when I was a teenager. The time when I had to fight Boar," she said looking towards Po at the end. The others sat pondering on her words. Still looking to her left at the panda, she declared, "Our destinies are connected."
The red panda, from his seat at the end of the table, looked between the two of them. They dwarfed the rest of the warriors at the table with their size as everyone looked up to them. Shifu thought about what she said, and it didn't make sense. How can their destinies be connected? He voiced confusion, "Tigress, I… I don't understand. All of our destinies are connected in some way or another. What could make that revelation to you so special?"
Tigress looked at the table for a moment and then towards Master Shifu. "Well, connected wasn't the word that Oogway used to describe it. He called our destinies intertwined. My destiny was directly caused by Po's, and likewise, his was caused by mine."
Shifu just stared at the table, trying to wrap his head around the idea and concepts surrounding destiny. He never heard of anything like this before. Nothing in the scrolls he'd ever read seemed to propose such a thought of two destinies relying on each other. The rest of them kept their mouths closed, they stared at the Tiger and the Panda and then back to the table. They didn't necessarily understand her words either. The panda just looked at her. He was infatuated with the idea that destinies could be intertwined, but everyone else in the room knew that Po didn't understand a thing that came out of her mouth except for 'Oogway visited me.' "Alright," Shifu began, standing up from the table, "I want you to continue your training. Tigress, I'm sure that you're famished, so have Po make you something. I'm sure he's dying to anyway."
The warriors shuffled out of the kitchen and into their respective rooms, leaving the two destinies to stare at the table in front of them awkwardly. "So… uh… nice wood grain on the table… right, Tigress?"
"Um… sure, Po."
Po cleared his throat. "So... what are you in the mood for?" he asked.
"Tofu," she replied, emotionless.
"Okay. A fresh serving of tofu coming... right up," he said, walking towards the pantry. He saw hanging baskets of rice grains, various pickled vegetables, and an overwhelming variety of soy sauce. "What kind of flavor does she want?" he muttered to himself.
"None," she said.
Po jumped a bit at her response. He wasn't expecting a reply to his own rhetorical question. "Uh… okay." He grabbed the jar of tofu, a few other ingredients, and entered the kitchen once more.
"Po, I said I don't want any flavoring," Tigress voiced, seeing the extra ingredients he was holding.
He just smiled. "I know. I'm hungry too, you know. A panda's gotta eat."
Tigress mentally beat herself up. Why would I assume those were all for me? She didn't like feeling weak or incapable, let alone appearing that way. But her cares and worries disappeared as her senses discovered something else. The smell of fresh vegetables and bitter tofu filled the air of the kitchen creating a perfect contrast in the small, gentle breeze that shifted through the open windows that brought a fresh smell of harvest. Boiling water turned to soup and soup to enjoyment in a bowl.
Po walked to the table and set the bowl and plate down on either side. "Thank you," Tigress said with sincerity.
"You're welcome," he replied.
"After this," she began, "can we train together? I don't want to eat and do nothing."
"Yeah! Of course, we can, Tigress. I missed you beating me up anyway." She let through a faint smile. "But to be fair, eating isn't nothing." Her countenance displayed confusion. "We have fun together while eating the food. Don't you?" She shook her head. "It's merely to gain energy for training," she said aptly.
"Ugh! But training's boring sometimes," he whined.
She looked at him for a second. She picked up another tofu piece with her chopsticks and spoke before taking another bite. "Studying is like sailing against the current: a boat must forge ahead or it will be swept downstream." He tried thinking of a proverb to use against that, but he couldn't come up with one. Tigress noticed this. "I'll help you," she said softly. "To the ruler, people are heaven; to the people, food is heaven."
He chuckled to himself. "I'll try and remember that one for next time. Oh, wait! I think I remember one!" Tigress nodded to him to speak. "Um… okay… uh… Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters?"
"So you do know one," she said smiling to Po.
"Yeah, my dad would always tell me that one when I would complain about him playing Mahjong. But jeez, how do you know so many things?"
"If jade is not cut and polished, it can't be made into anything."
She felt content for just a few moments but let it wash away quickly when her mind wandered to Oogway's vision. She knew it was war, but how bad it would be if Oogway had to warn her about it. The previous smell of food was now gone, and they were left with only the smell of leaves decomposing on the ground outside. "Hey, are you okay?" Po asked. She snapped her head up from her daze. "Yes. Sorry, I was just thinking."
"About what?" he asked, but no reply was returned. He just nodded to her like he understood that she didn't want to talk.
The two warriors left the barracks to train. Walking along the stone path was calming to them. The tree branches above them sat proudly upon the mountain face and provided an arm of cool shade from the midday sun. The flowers that were reaching the end of their life released an essence of purity. They were okay with it as it was their time. The soil beds next to them... -thwap-. Po and Tigress looked at the steps in front of them. An arrow, he thought. The feline looked up towards the roof of the barracks where she assumed it came from, but there was no archer there. Tigress grabbed the arrow from out of the ground and saw that there was a message. "It's an S.O.S.," she said, looking at the panda who started running. He swiveled his head around, "We need to tell Master Shifu!"
"Hey, Zhang, check this out."
"Heng, what is it, buddy?"
"Look at Sidai."
Zhang scoffed. "Being a half a mile north from the village ain't doing me any good. You've always had better eyesight than me." The two of them had a small chuckle behind their lookout post in the trees.
"They're celebrating, Zhang."
"What could they be possibly celebrating over? We're about to run their joy into the ground."
"I'm not sure," he mumbled. "Fireworks are getting ready to go off, and it looks like there are various foodstuffs set out in restaurants. There's a banner hanging across the main pathway, but I can't read the script. They've got about a million ribbons too."
"Yeah, of course, they do. What else would you expect from Sidai? The Village of Ribbons!" he announced mockingly with his hands raised to the sky.
"Yeah, I guess so."
The shadows of trees loomed over them as the sun finally began to settle in for the night. "Heng, we should probably get going."
"Okay. But what are we going to report back to the Lieutenant? We haven't even figured out a good place to attack from."
"Heng, you old mongrel of bones. That wasn't our mission. It was to… uh… " Zhang sat on the branch thinking for a moment. He scraped his chin with his boney fingers trying to remember. "Well, I forget, but I'm sure it was just normal scout stuff." The wolf skeletons looked at the other for a moment and then let out an uncontrollable chuckle with smiles that could kill you. "Alright c'mon, Heng. Let's get back to camp."
The two soldiers jumped off from the tree branches and started heading back to camp. The whole ordeal was confusing to Heng. He didn't understand one bit of what their leadership was trying to accomplish. But that wasn't too surprising to anyone. The General really didn't brief his men too well, and when he did, no one paid attention. Running on all fours and turning to his friend, Heng needed to ask him. "Zhang, why are we attacking this place anyway? I mean what do they have that we need?"
"I'm not sure. I would guess that we're after their 'secret' that's hidden there."
"What kind of secret?"
"No one knows. After all, it's probably all just some cruddy folklore that isn't true. But what would I know? The General doesn't tell us anything anyway!"
Heng laughed to himself. "Just what I was thinking," he mumbled inaudibly.
Master Shifu paced back and forth in front of the moon pool pondering the situation. Meditation would have been his preference that afternoon, but a village needing help is more important than sitting in front of a few candles. "This is not good," he muttered, "Not good at all."
Tigress looked to the panda at her side and back to the one in front of her. This must be the start of the war. "Tigress, get me a map," Shifu requested. She nodded and ran toward his room. Po stood there alone. He didn't know what to think about all of it. It wasn't rare that villages would need help, but something about the way the arrow landed in front of both of them felt odd to him. He fidgeted with his fingers while Tigress handed Shifu the obtained map and returned to her position next to Po. "Tigress, have you ever heard of this village?"
"No, I haven't," she replied.
"What about you, Po?"
The panda stared at the ground unresponsive, perhaps lost in thought. "Panda!" Shifu snapped. A sharp inhale from Po was preceded by Shifu's demanding voice. "Um… what was it called again?"
"Sidai Village," the tigress responded.
Po thought for a moment but began to shake his head. "No, sorry. I haven't."
"Si Dai… Si Dai… Si Dai," the red panda reiterated to himself. "Tigress, which direction did it come from?"
"The west."
"Okay." Shifu stared at the parchment for a while longer before finally finding the dot of ink on it next to the right name. "The village is about 40 miles from here, but it's surrounded by mountains. I wouldn't expect the travel to be easy."
"Uh… travel?" Po echoed hesitantly.
"Yes, Po. It's an S.O.S. which means that they need help. I will be sending the two of you to help them in any way that they need. Within your ability of course." The two of them bowed to Shifu with acceptance. "Prepare your bags and leave first thing tomorrow. And rest well tonight. You're going to need it."
"Wait, so you guys are going on a mission without us?" the avian interrogated at the table. He looked to Po who nodded while chowing down on dumplings for dinner.
Tigress elaborated for them. "It was an S.O.S. arrow. It's a village west of here called Sidai." The warriors just nodded while they ate their dinner. Dumplings and soup along with Tigress' special serving of tofu was served.
"Wait," the serpent began, "I think I've heard of Sidai. I think my father brought me there when I was younger. It's some kind of ribbon village. The Village of Ribbons!" she shouted in eureka, almost spilling her bowl. "Yes! I remember now. They had the most beautiful ribbon dances during the holiday." The rest of the warriors just sat cluelessly. They never heard of Sidai let alone been there. "I'm sure it's changed over the past 20 years, though. So I wouldn't be much help to you anyway."
"Don't say that Viper," Crane said. "You always keep us cheerful." He said with a faint smile.
"Thanks, Crane," Viper replied, smiling back. She looked once again at the panda and the tiger underneath the lantern above. "It's getting late guys. You should go to bed now to wake up with enough energy for your journey. And don't worry about the dishes; we'll take care of them for you."
Po stood up from the table. "Thanks, Viper. You're a good friend."
Tigress stood with him. "Thank you."
They left the warriors in the kitchen with a happy snake and three grouchy boys. "Did you seriously just give us more work to do?" Mantis complained.
"They are our friends, Mantis."
"Yeah, but I don't want to drown in dishwater," he groaned. Viper hissed at him to shut him up, but their bickering didn't stop as it traveled down the hall where Tigress stopped Po before they entered their chambers.
"Make sure you don't stay up too late, Po."
"I won't. I'm super worn out anyway."
"Good," she began, "See you in the morning."
"Goodnight."
They entered their dimly lit rooms where shadows of warriors could be seen on rice paper walls and quiet arguments could be heard through them. Po sat down on his cot to calm himself, but it was difficult knowing that he was going on a trip with his best friend the very next day. What didn't help, however, was that they might be walking into danger. His eyes jolted open. The thought just occurred to him. What if this journey is dangerous? Could it be some kind of trap? His breathing began to speed up while he fought to stay calm. No, that's ridiculous.
Po forced his breathing to slow. He reached for his Tigress action figure that lay next to him on the wooden floor. We'll protect each other. Po set his head down and laid himself prostrate to sleep.
The Tiger in the room across from him laid down with her eyes. The same thoughts had crossed her mind multiple times since the arrow struck the ground. She desperately tried to fall away into her dreams, but her efforts failed. Hours passed and she still lay there with wide-open eyes. Am I becoming an insomniac? Tigress uprighted herself and turned on her lamp. The others were surely already asleep. Perhaps Tigress was worried. Perhaps her nerves were shot from everything happening so quickly. She couldn't understand why she wasn't falling asleep... until Po screamed.
Fire engulfed every building. The shops that the Valley of Peace owed its livelihood to no longer had their joyful patrons. The blood-red sky reflected the bloody ground below their feet, and bones of both sides lay still in the soil. "Po! Focus!" a voice called out to him. Rockets exploded from their ignited gunpowder forcing the walls of the villagers' homes to fall and crumble to the ground. Slaughter lied before him. The bones of the dead fought relentlessly and never let up. He couldn't do this. The entire army in front of him dying at every corner. "Why is this happening?" Two familiar eyes that he loved to see, becoming hardened from the violence of war. He ran over to her side. "Tigress!" he cried, "No you can't leave me. Not yet!" Tears streamed down his face to merge with the blood coming from her side in the cracks of the stones underneath him. He looked at his paws. Red, stained with blood. How could he let this happen? "No!"
He panted deeply, gasping for breath on the floor next to his bamboo cot. He reached for his lamp to wash away the darkness. What was that? Why did I see it? Was it only a dream? "Po?" the familiar simian asked as slowly as he ever did. The lights from the other rooms went on, but interestingly the light from the room across him didn't. It was already bright. "Buddy?" he asked again.
The snake started her bit, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, man," the insect voiced.
"It sounded like you were yelling," said the avian.
The door slowly opened. It wasn't any of them. It was Tigress. It looked like she had just gone through… war. "He's okay," she said to them. Po looked at her hopefully. She just stared at him. Not like she usually did when he accidentally tripped over something or said something stupid. It was almost appreciative, but she made a point to not show it. They looked at one another for a while, enjoying the company of the other even if they were 5 feet apart.
It was only when Po noticed his chest that he looked down at himself. He wasn't breathing anymore. Or maybe he was breathing so lightly that it wasn't noticeable. Either way, he took a slow, long, deep, drawn-out breath and exhaled. He directed his gaze back up to his doorway. Closed. She was gone, presumably back in her room. "I'm good, guys. Thank you for wanting to check on me."
There was silence as a reply to his words, but it wasn't apathetic. It was more like they were saying, "We're glad you are." The lamp lights in their rooms all went off. Even the one across from him. He wanted to sneak off to the peach tree. Nightmares came seldom, but when they did they shook him to the core. They always meant something bigger than what they appeared superficially. His body moved up off of the ground and into the hallway. He slowly put forth his feet taking every step whilst thinking himself a cloud. As Po reached the end of the hallway, the smallest breeze found its way to him. He looked out the entrance and saw that there was a small light at the peach tree waiting. He started his tired feet along the path. The moonlight glistened atop the leaf petals of the matured plants along the side. He was tired, but he wanted to rest where he felt the calmest.
She sat underneath the peach tree, curled into a ball with her tail over her feet. Moonlight peered through the branches above Tigress trying to illuminate the ground as the sun would do. It wasn't often that she would come up there. Mainly because it was also seldom for her to need a quiet place to think. "What did Po dream about?" she asked herself. Her head lowered itself into her arms. "Why couldn't I sleep?" Her eyelids began to nod as she fought to stay awake. Before she could realize it, however, her eyelids drooped down. It needed proper rest. Being startled by a yell from across her room wasn't doing her any favors, but she didn't hold that against Po who finally arrived behind her.
It's like she was staring off into nowhere. Po saw that she was sleeping or at least tired. He wasn't entirely sure. The angle at which he saw her wasn't good for realizing the situation. Regardless, he tried to stay as quiet as he could. As he had done while exiting the barracks, Po thought light thoughts. He tried bringing back the time when Shifu taught him Hing Kung. -Crack- Tigress jumped up faster than he'd ever seen her. She was already facing Po before he could even think a thought. Tigress is lightning fast. Tigress came closer and leaned her head in to whisper. "Po, what are you doing here? You should be getting sleep!"
"As should you," Po retorted, "What are you doing out here?"
She kept silent but only for a moment. "You startled me."
"Sorry, Tigress. I tried to keep quiet." She raised her paw to stop him from going any further.
"You know, Dragon Warrior, the loss of one night's sleep is followed by ten days of inconvenience." He just shrugged his shoulders in acknowledgment of his defeat. "What did you dream about, Po?"
His gaze was averted to an arbitrary position in the grass nearby. He was unsure as to why he felt kind of embarrassed to tell her. "I don't want to talk about it. What about you, though? You got to my room pretty quickly and your lamp was already on."
"I couldn't sleep," she said directly.
"I felt like I wouldn't be able to. I just breathed and then…" Another point where he felt embarrassed to tell Tigress that he kept her action figure next to him. "yeah... I breathed."
Breathing never exactly worked for Tigress. She just had this innate ability to control her sleep. Of course tonight, her ability was elsewhere and gone. Maybe I should tell him what I really saw. Neither of them initiated it, but they found themselves sitting on the edge of the cliff next to the other. "Po," she started, "I need to tell you what I saw."
"I remember. Oogway said that you need to find inner peace."
"No, there's more than that. Do you remember writing a scroll as a teenager?"
Po stared off into space as weariness was catching up to him. "Um… you'll have to be a bit more specific. My dad made me write on quite a few of them."
"It was a green one." She waited a bit longer for a response that she didn't receive. "Cleaner… comedian… dancer… doctor…"
"That's what caused my destiny, Po. The rest of the Furious Five had those jobs before we joined together. Mantis and Crane had a little bit of experience with Kung Fu. Anyway, I picked up that scroll by accident. I just want to know: is what Oogway showed me true?" Tigress turned her head to the panda that she thought would be listening intently, but instead, he was lying down on the ground with a paw on his belly soaking in the moonlight. Of course, he fell asleep. I'll have to talk to him about it later I suppose. She watched the moon reach farther up into the sky as she slowly laid herself down. The light snoring of a sleepy Po was only a couple of feet away from her, but it hadn't bothered her at all. She was calm and steady like the branches of the peach tree above her. Her eyes finally saw their lids close and she went to sleep.
Thank you for reading this chapter!