Kung Fu Wolf: Rising of the Moon
Chapter Five: The Migong Canyon
Hiro's P.O.V.
If they don't stop staring at me like that, they're gonna burn a hole in the back of my head.
We've been walking for a couple of hours since Tigress backed my suggestion to go through the Migong canyon, and I felt everyone's eyes on me the whole way.
Tigress was keeping a step of two behind me, looking ahead. Obviously she trusted me enough to go along with this crazy plan.
Once you see Migong Canyon you'll understand why the plan is crazy.
Chin had been glaring at me since I suggested this little detour. Now I think he questioning my sanity, can't say I blame him though. The canyon is a very dangerous place to go, even for the most experienced of travelers.
Zoyo was... I have no idea what he's doing. He needs to at least take that hat off. I mean, how do I know he's not making faces at me under that hat?
Everyone else was staring at me, like I'd gone insane. It's actually beginning to be unnerving.
I slowed my pace until Tigress and I were walking side by side. "I can understand that everyone is questioning my judgment, but frankly this is getting old." I whispered to her. She shook her head before answering.
"I know, but they're scared. Most people try to avoid the Migong Canyon." She paused as though thinking of something. Then she spoke. "Why did you want to go through that deathtrap anyway?"
I sighed to myself and said. "Simple, since the Yangtze River is out of the question, the Migong Canyon is the fastest choice. As long as everyone stays close, we'll get through just fine." That is… if they all trust me enough to get them through. "You trust me, right?"
She looked a little taken back at the question. "What do you mean? Do I trust you to get us through the canyon? Of course I do." I looked in her eyes and saw no doubt, no worries. But when I looked in her eyes I also felt a fluttering in my stomach, my spine started to tingle...
And the side of my head started to hurt, because I walked into a low hanging branch.
The group behind us erupted into laughter. Glad I could break some of the tension. Tigress threw a glare their way and slowly silence once again reigned in the forest where we were traveling. I checked the side of my head, it didn't hurt too much, defiantly gonna leave a bruise though.
Marcus wiped a tear from his eye and asked. "Hey, how much longer 'till we make it to this canyon anyways?" I don't think I'll ever get used to his accent.
I poked at the spot where I hit my head before i answered. "Well, we won't make it today." Everyone gave a collective sigh. "We keep going this way..." I pointed northeast. "And by nightfall we'll reach a clearing, and we'll camp out there."
Tigress nodded and said, "Alright then. Let's get moving."
Later that night.
Gods above!
Never in my life have I ever wished I were traveling alone! Once Chin opened his mouth, it got Tigress started, then Didi, then Viper, then Kira and then everyone else started arguing. And it didn't stop until we started setting up camp. Well actually all we did was start a fire, but it counts as setting up camp.
So now everything is quiet, the guys are fast asleep; once they laid their heads down, they were out. I was sitting with my back to a tree not too far from everyone. The girls were quietly chatting amongst themselves, I could hear every word they said, despite the fact they tried to speak as low as possible.
I wasn't listening...
I was thinking.
It was faint, but I was starting to get the same feeling I got when I first arrived to the Valley of Peace. It's that feeling you get when you feel like something really big is going to happen, but you don't know what. Last time I had that feeling I became the Dragon Warrior a few hours later.
This time it's different. I'm getting the same feeling, but this time it's more... foreboding. Something big is going to happen on this mission we're on, and I'm probably not going to like the outcome.
Bah! I'm probably just overreacting. It's my first mission for the Jade Palace after all. That's it, just nervous...
Yeah...
The girls conversation seemed to have ended, because they were all lying down and preparing for dreamland. Didi gave me a smile and a sink before closing her eyes. I have to admit, her flirting is kinda cute.
Tigress, however, didn't seem amused. She scowled and shook her head, then laid her head down. Soon snores, both sort and not so soft, could be heard in the little clearing. I looked around at said clearing and thought to myself now this is feels right. I always felt more at home out here and on the road than when I was staying at all my masters homes. At least until I got to the Jade Palace, now that feels like a home I would never want to leave.
Home.
Something I never truly had growing up. I've had places to stay, but never a place to call home. A place to always come back to, with people who care for me waiting... Sounds nice.
I smiled to myself, closed my eyes and let sleep take me.
Dreamworld
I opened my eyes and looked around. I may as well have kept them closed, it was so dark it wouldn't have made any difference. But when I looked down at myself I looked like I was standing in the midday sun. Weird. I look like I'm in the light, but everywhere around me is in the dark... that can't be good.
"Hello." I called out, and was answered by my own echo. I took a step forward, and a soft thump echoed loudly throughout... wherever I am. I walked. Straight ahead toward… nowhere. As far as dreams go this is pretty boring. While I walked I turned my head left and right, trying to find something, anything in this darkness.
Suddenly a figure caught my eye, it seemed to be far away, but who could really tell here? I made my way toward the figure and the closer I got, the more I could tell the figure was a wolf.
And female.
I wasn't going to lie, she was absolutely beautiful. Her fur was like starlight, her eyes were as blue as the summer sky. And her clothes would make the Empress envious.
As I closed the distance between her and I, she smiled. It wasn't a flirtatious smile, but rather a warm, caring smile. Now that I see her up close, it feels like I'm in the presence of someone…
Divine.
"Uhhh, hi."
Really? That's all I could say?
"Hello Hiro."
Her voice… I couldn't even begin to describe it. All I could say was that her voice gave a feeling of safety and silent strength an-
….
….
She knows my name…
Ok. I've never seen this woman before, and she know my name. Well I an in the dream world so it doesn't seem that weird. But then again this dream is unlike any I've been in before.
"How do you…?" I asked. She answered before I could finish.
"I've known you, and watched over you for all your life Hiro. But I can no longer just watch anymore."
"Why? How do you know me?" This is getting too weird be a dream.
"Like I said, I've known you all your life, and I've wanted to speak to you for a long time." She stepped closer, her eyes looking up and down, examining me.
"What stopped you?"
"Too many things in the way. And the timing never seemed appropriate." She looked over her shoulder, like she heard something behind her, or like she was expecting something to jump out of the darkness that surrounded us. "my time here is almost up." She began to fade away.
And I began to panic. If she has known me all my life as she said she did, what else does she know? Does she know where I'm from? Does she know where my Mother or Father is? Are they still alive? Why was I left at the Orphanage?
"Wait! I have questions!"
She just kept smiling as she faded into nothingness. "Your questions will be answered the next time we meet, which will be at the near end of this journey."
And she was gone. Suddenly I felt very alone. And scared.
So, I did the one thing I could think of.
I woke up.
Real world
I shot straight up. That was without a doubt the weirdest dream ever. Or was it a dream? That woman. Never even got a name out of her. What worries me is that she said she knew me. But how? Had she been spying on me all my life? And what was that feeling of divinity emanating from her?
I need to clear my head. If memory serves, there should be a small stream not too far from here. I got up and walked to the little river, it wasn't far, just a short walk. About four minutes from the camp.
When I walked away from the fire, I couldn't help but notice how dark it was. I looked up... It's cloudy. Well, that explains that. No matter, I still know where I'm going. I just started hearing the stream about a dozen paces ago.
When I arrived to my destination, I knelt down took a handful of water and splashed my face. I didn't think it would do anything to help me understand my dream, but at least it was refreshing.
"Something bothering you?" A voice said behind me.
I whipped the hanbo out of their holsters and got ready for a fight. I turned and faced... Tigress.
I sighed in relief and chuckled to myself. Is it just me, or are things making me a little high strung?
She stood there, one eyebrow raised and nodded approvingly. "Nice reaction. A little over dramatic though."
I said nothing, I put my hanbo back and knelt back down in front of the stream. An instant later she knelt down next to me. She didn't say anything she just knelt there waiting for me to speak.
We sat there in silence for a few minutes, then I decided to speak up.
"Had a weird dream." Was all I said. She nodded, not saying anything, she just waited. "There was this woman in it." I continued.
Her eyes narrowed, and I couldn't help but notice the hint of venom in her voice. "Who was she?" She asked.
I have her my most honest answer. "I have no idea." Hey, it's the truth.
"How can you have no idea?" She asked, starting to sound hostile.
"I just don't. Besides, it was only a dream. At least I think it was."
"You mean you don't even know if you had a dream or not?" Now she was starting to sound skeptical.
"That isn't what I said." I snapped getting a little annoyed with her attitude. "I know I had the dream, I just don't know if it was a dream or something else."
She exchanged her expression of anger with one of confusion. At least I think it was confusion, honestly it was too dark to tell. "What else could it have been?" She asked.
"Premonition?" I suggested.
"Of what?"
"Beats me."
"You think it's something to worry about?"
I thought about it for a second. The woman from my dream didn't give off an aura of hostility. Rather she seemed a little concerned. About what? I have no clue.
"It might be something to worry about, but not yet." I cross that bridge when I get to it.
"Alright then let's-" The clouds finally rolled away, letting the moon's light fell upon the forest, and myself.
Tigress froze, her mouth hanging open, staring in complete shock...
At my glowing right arm.
If you don't remember this I'll explain it again. Whenever the black markings on my body are exposed to moonlight they start to shine. It looks like when the moonlight reflects off the water's surface, sort of like a shimmer. At least that's the only way I could explain it anyway.
That's not the only thing the moon does to me. It also heals any injuries I might've gotten that day. Why this happens, I have yet to find out.
So far there were only two people who knew about my arm. The late Grandmaster Oogway, and the current Grandmaster Shifu.
Now we can add Tigress to the list.
"H-h-how..." She tried to say.
"Don't ask. I won't be able to answer." I lifted up my right arm so she could get a better view. Like with Oogway and Shifu I was expecting fear from her however, also like with Oogway and Shifu, her eyes became filled with wonder. She reached out at started to caress my arm.
Her hands went up and down my arm, trying to figure out how I was doing this. Her hand then went sliding down my arm, over my wrist and into my hand. I couldn't stop myself, I closed my fingers around hers.
She lifted her eyes to meet mine and for the second time in twenty-four hours, Tigress and I were lost in each other's eyes. And I don't think either of us wanted it to end. But it did. Tigress was the first break eye contact. Instead she focused on my hand that was in hers.
"I was in an orphanage too you know." Wow... never would have expected her to tell me that. "All the kids, the adults... they all thought i was a monster." I felt myself tense up. How could anyone call the most amazing person I've ever met a monster? "Shifu saved me from all that, he helped me control my strength, the same straight that everyone had feared." She never took her eyes off my hand until she asked me...
"How did you feel with it? How did you get over how they treated you as a child?"
I squeezed her hand and gave her a small almost sad smile. "In a way, I never did. I could close my eyes and I could still see how they hurt me." Memories of my time at the orphanage came flooding back. Memories of pain, of being put down, of being bullied. But with those memories came one of my escape, others of my travels and of the kind people I met along the way.
"But I moved on, and I'm still moving on. To look to the past is to turn back on the path you walk, so I just keep going straight ahead."
She smiled. That rare genuine smile that makes me... wonder what the hell I'm talking about. I mean, come on. There is no way someone like her would be interested in someone like me, even if I am the Dragon Warrior...
Right?
Either way, it is nice to see that smile.
"That's a great way to put it. Who said that anyway?" She asked me, still smiling with her hand in mine.
"I did." I answered returning the smile.
"Did what?"
Tigress and I dropped each other's hand and put a little distance between us. We then turned to see Viper grinning like a Fox at us. "So what are you guys up to?" She asked.
"Nothing!" I answered almost too quickly. "Tigress and I were just... talking. Right, Tigress?"
"Yeah, just talking." I don't think Viper's buying it. She still set there with that grin on her face.
"Well, don't you guys think it's a little late for 'talking'?" She asked. We both leapt to our feet and started for the camp.
"She's right, we got a long trip through the canyon to look forward to." I said on my way to the camp, both girls right behind me. Viper shuddered when I mentioned the canyon. Seriously, I'm starting to think they're blowing this whole thing out of...
Wait.
Why didn't Viper say anything about my arm?
I looked back up at the sky to see clouds once again rolling in front of the moon.
Well, ask question, get answer.
We got back to the campsite and returned to our original spots. Files was out almost instantly. Tigress however, looked at me and we gave each other one last smile before falling asleep.
Next day, Tigress's P.O.V.
"Maybe we should have risked the Yangtze river." Was all I could say as i laid eyes on the entrance to the Migong Canyon. It was looking in the mouth of a giant vicious monster, sharp jagged rocks protruded from the sides of the canyon walls. There were paths that dropped into bottomless pits, and there were unstable areas where the wrong step could be your last.
But that wasn't the most dangerous part of the canyon, and it wasn't why everyone was so afraid to go in.
The canyon was a giant maze, more often than not once you went in, you would never come back out.
Hiro, however claimed to have done just that, on a few occasions.
"I thought we already agreed that the river would be too dangerous." Hiro said next to me. He then started to sniff the air. "Doesn't seem like anything has changed." I heard him say under his breath.
"Yeah, we'll I think the river would be a safer choice." Chin stated his unwanted opinion. Please don't let him start another argument, my head is still recovering from the last one.
"No one asked you. And the rest of you, relax. I said he get you guys through, and I will." Hiro seemed to have no problems with the canyon, maybe we have a chance after all. I turned to the team and shook my head a little.
Cranes knees shaking could be heard echoing off the canyon walls. Mantis was twiddling his pointy dealies (we didn't know what else to call them) nervously. Monkey and Viper were shaking as they stated into the place that was a source of fear for even the most powerful of masters.
Chin and his team looked like they were about to pass out from fear of the place. Can't say I blame them the stories they have for this place aren't very nice. Some legends say that the gods carved the canyon out of the earth and used it as a prison for mortals whose wickedness knew no bounds. There they would wander the many twists and turns of the natural made until their deaths.
Like I said, not nice stories.
I gulped silently. "Alright Hiro, you're up." He gave me a reassuring smile and went first into the Migong Canyon. And one by one we all followed.
I hope he knows what he's doing.
A/N. Hey guys I'm baaaack! Sorry I've been gone so long, I've had so many distractions, and a whole lotta personal stuff to get through. I'm gonna try to update sooner next time, cool?
Ok as usual, comment, review, tell me how I'm doing. But also like usual be honest.
Peace.
