Kung Fu Wolf: Rising of the moon
A/N. Hey everyone! I'd like to take a minute to say to everyone who has favorited, followed and reviewed the Kung Fu Wolf series; it's because of y'all that I was able to get this far. Also, if you hadn't read it at the end of the previous chapter, there is another "Art Contest" going on now, the objective is to draw Hiro and Tigress. Got any questions? Don't be afraid to PM me.
Another thing, along with the contest I'm also starting a little poll, because at the end of "Rising of the Moon" Hiro will have a new set of weapons, what will they be? I'm leaving that up to you.
The choices will be at the end of this chapter, so without further delay, I present to you the tenth chapter of Rising of the Moon.
Enjoy!
Chapter ten: A Perfect Evening
Hiro's P.O.V.
Here's a good question for you; are there bad days…? or bad moments?
An example being, the first half of the day the sun was shining, everyone greeted you with a smile and you were about to ask the girl you admired out to dinner...
Then something comes along and screws everything up.
Some people experience a moment like that and say that their whole day has gone to hell. I think the people who think that way are a bunch of pinheads.
A single bad moment cannot ruin one's entire day. Neither can three bad moments.
Five bad moments… negotiable.
Ten or more… might count as a bad day.
But I believe that there is no such thing as a bad day, just bad moments.
At this point you might be asking yourself 'where is he going with this'?
Well give me a second and I'll tell you.
Today I made it back to the village where I learned to be a carpenter. It was nice and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. All my old friends smiled at my return, my old master and his wife especially. And after a certain Tiger had finished her visit to the doctor, I had planned to take her to a nice restaurant tonight…
Then things started to go downhill.
We had bumped into a group of imperial soldiers who were guarding a chest full of imperial jewels. Shortly after, a group of former soldiers, known as the Bandit Brigade came to steal said jewels, which led to a massive fight between the bandits, the guards and the masters. And to make matters worse, everyone found out that my Lunar Style has a pretty big weakness…
My lower body.
Everywhere from my knees down was fair game for the bandits, and believe me they took every opportunity to bring me down.
So now that we're all caught up let's continue.
I was on my knees in the town square looking up at the former soldiers who had once swore to protect this land and its people, my legs were screaming in pain. The bandits had replaced the staves they had for swords, which seemed to shine deviously… or maybe it was my imagination. They slowly stepped forward, wicked grins plastered on their faces which gave away their intentions. Their main objective may have been to swipe the jewels, but they seemed to feel like it would be a waste if they didn't kill a few people in the process… including me.
Dammit.
I need to think of something and fast, or else I'm going to lose my legs.
…
…
Hang on.
...
...
Alright, I think I've got an idea. Who knows, maybe it'll work.
But I've been wrong before.
I gingerly lowered myself to the ground, earning odd stares from the bandits and a few of the masters. "What the hell are you doing!?" I heard Chin yell. Huh, first time I've heard him speak since I almost broke his wrist. "Are you giving up, dog?"
Ohhh, he is going to pay for that… later.
I finally sat down, my legs still throbbing. I took a few deep breaths and tried to ignore the pain…
Then I tried something new.
You see, during my free time at the Jade palace, when I wasn't repairing the damage Tai Lung and I caused during our fight, I was working on ways to improve my Kung Fu style. For example, when using the Lunar Sphere absolute calm is needed; if I move around it becomes exceptionally difficult. Another example is that the Lunar Sphere is mostly a defensive technique, specializing in deflecting, blocking and dodging however it does lead to very effective counter-attacks.
Then there is the biggest problem, the Lunar Sphere mainly involves the use of the upper body, leaving my legs utterly defenseless. But you all should already know this by now. And there is no time to work out any rational solutions to this problem, so I got to think on my feet.
...Well, not really on my feet.
While sitting down I got in my stance which earned a few laughs from the bandits, and some worried looks from my friends. The first bandit came running at me, sword swinging, aiming for my legs. Only this time I was ready for it.
I took out one of my hanbo and knocked the sword out of the way, and buried my other hand deep in his stomach, and sent him flying headfirst into one buildings about twenty feet away (I'm definitely gonna have to fix that later).
It suddenly got quiet. The kind of quiet when something happens that puts everyone in a state of disbelief. At which point, you know everyone is thinking the same thing… "Did that really just happen?" I can assure you, it did. See, the plan is since the Lunar Sphere leaves my lower body vulnerable, I decided that the best way to get over that weakness is to take my legs out of the equation. And since I don't want my legs getting cut off, I figured that sitting down would be the best idea until I could come up with a long term solution. Hey, it's working so far.
In a roar of defiance, the rest of the bandits charged me, most of them anticipating the infamy of being the one who took down the Dragon Warrior.
Yeah… like I was going to give them the chance.
Once they got close enough I used my hanbo to either block, deflect or knock the weapons out of their hands, and with my free hand I crushed their armor with a few palm strikes making it difficult for them to breathe. Broke their knees with a few well aimed punches. Or used their momentum to throw them into their comrades.
Me suddenly bouncing back like I did seemed to give my friends some kind of boost, because they started to fight harder. Mantis moved with blinding speed and knocked a group of bandits out with his high speed nerve attacks. Viper wrapped herself around one bandit and used him to lay a serious beatdown on the others. Crane grabbed a few of the smaller bandits and flew up in the air and… dropped them. Not very stylish, but still effective.
Monkey and Chin worked together to become a whirlwind of fury, using their staves to knock whoever was unwise enough to get near them into la-la land. Another tag team was Shu Lan and Didi, who almost seemed to dance as they fought, them working together looked rather… elegant.
I almost started laughing when I saw Kira, she was now using one of the bandits as a club, swinging him around and sending his comrades flying. Zoyo effortlessly brought down anyone who was in front of him, the scary part was that it was hard to see how he did it.
I grabbed and twisted the wrist of one of the bandits who swung an axe at me when I started to wonder… where's Tigress? A pair of bandits went flying past me on either side, I twisted around to see a beautiful female tiger covering me. "Interesting style, did you just come up with it?" She asked with a hint of playfulness in her voice.
I smiled at her. "Sure did. I think I'll call it the "Didn't See That Coming" style." Cause honestly who's is going to expect you to sit down during a fight? No one!
She laughed a little at my joke. Then asked, "Is your condition going to force us to cancel our plans tonight?"
I shook my head. "No, but don't expect to go dancing." That got another giggle out of her as we brought the last bandit down. Everything got quiet again as the soldiers began to round up all the unconscious bandits. Tigress helped me up to my feet, I grimaced at the pain in my legs but didn't think about it too much; I'll feel much better tonight.
The captain of the imperial soldiers walked up to us. "Thank you for your help Dragon Warrior." He said with a bow. Tigress put my arm around her shoulder, helping support some of my weight. I gave her a small smile to show my gratitude. Seeing her smile back was better than any reward they might have given me.
I turned my attention back to the captain. "Hey, it wasn't just me, everyone had a hand in it." I said not wanting all the glory for myself. I looked around at the bandits that were being rounded up when I noticed something. "Where is their leader?" I asked out loud. That put everyone on edge. The big water buffalo who led the bandits was missing.
"He must've slipped away when we weren't looking." Tigress said with a scowl. I may not have been at the Jade Palace long, but I know that whenever something doesn't go perfectly, Tigress will see it as a failure. And to her, a water buffalo slipping out from under her nose was… well, I'm just sure she's glad Shifu wasn't here to see it happen.
"Hey, don't worry about it, I'm sure we'll get another shot at. Just wait." That seemed to cheer her up a bit. Everyone gathered around and asked what the next plan of action was. I explained to them that by tomorrow my legs will have gotten better and we can move on to the next to the next leg of our journey… without giving them any details of course. If I told them how my legs will have healed by morning they wouldn't believe me, and would want me to prove it, then I'd miss my date with Tigress. So I kept the whole moonlight healing thing to myself.
So now, with Tigress's help, I made my way to the inn where we were staying for the night so I could rest up a bit. Before we parted ways I told my feline friend to meet me out front of inn just around sunset.
Gods willing, this will be a night to remember.
Tigress's P.O.V.
I paced back and forth in front of the inn's door nervously as the sun began to sink into the western horizon.
Nervously… now that I think about it, I'm lucky I haven't flipped out yet. This is going to be my first date. Not just with Hiro; my first date ever, so naturally I'm quite nervous about it.
When I told Viper about our plans (Hiro and mine, that is) she was squealing in delight like a little schoolgirl. I had a mind to reprimand her for her unprofessional behavior, but I don't think I've ever seen her this happy about something since the Valley of Peace had that dance competition, so I let it slide this once.
She pulled me in the room she and the other girls were using and already began fussing over me. The Sapphire girls heard about what was going on and offered their congratulations, except for Di Foon who was giving me a death glare when she heard, which I answered with my own.
Viper kept pestering me with questions like, "Do you want to go out and buy a dress real quick?" Which I was against. Or "What kind of makeup do you want to wear?" Which I was very against. I mean, why is she making a big deal outta this? It's just a date, it's not like I'm going to meet the Emperor or anything.
When I said that, the girls all looked like I had said something blasphemous. "The first date is always the most important. Not only is it an important milestone in any woman's life, it also starts you on the path to a happier life!"
So at the end of Vipers fussing we settled for me with nicely groomed fur and a clean outfit (the only kind I had.) Once I was ready, I went outside in front of the inn where Hiro told me to meet him; I went out the doors just before sunset.
I didn't have to wait long for Hiro to show up. After five minutes of waiting he came limping out of the inn, his face wincing in discomfort with each step he took. I was seriously considering cancelling our date and sending him back to the Valley of peace to recover.
"You ready?" He asked smiling. His smile disappeared when he saw the worried expression on my face. "What's wrong?" He asked, now worried himself. Once he finished limping to me I shared my thoughts. When I was finished he chuckled a little. I felt my anger begin to rise, I was worried about him and he thinks it's funny? Oh, when I'm done with him, he's going to have to return to the Valley.
When he finished laughing he looked up at the sky. "Gonna be a clear night tonight." He said. He lost me. What does a clear night have to do with… "The moon!" I exclaimed, suddenly realizing where he was going with this. He nodded.
"Like I told everyone earlier; by morning I'll be just fine. So for now, let's just enjoy ourselves." he said holding out his hand, expecting me to take it. I gave him a skeptical look and lowered his hand with a shrug and began limping down the street, with me right beside him.
After a few minutes of walking/limping we made it to a classy restaurant called "The Zen Wok". It was a pretty big place for such a small town, inside however was majestic. The floors were so shiny you could see yourself in it, there was a small band in the far corner playing a relaxing song, there was even a large fountain in the opposite corner. This place looks as though it should be in the Imperial City rather than a small town like this.
When I asked Hiro about this he said that one day the Prince was going to pass through the town and demanded a nice place to eat for when he arrived. When he got there the Prince declared the restaurant to be "barely passable". And once the Prince left the townspeople decided to keep the place as a full-time eatery.
We walked… and limped down in between the tables until we found an empty one. I had to help Hiro sit down because of his injured legs, I didn't mind though. After I sat down the waitress, who happened to be an old friend of Hiro's, came to take our order… after a quick reunion of course. After the waitress left we began to talk, about almost everything except the mission we were currently on.
Once our food came, teriyaki tofu stir fry for me and curry and rice for him, Hiro would start to tell me a few funny stories from his travels. Like how he dressed up as a mummy in a hospital, got more details about that one. Then he told me the story about his first drink of sake, it kinda made me want to avoid drinking alcohol of any kind, I really wouldn't want to wake up naked in a radish field like Hiro did.
Then I started telling him a few stories, about when Shifu first adopted me, about the first day I began my training, about the first time i broke a stone block (Intentionally). And after a while I began to notice something…
I was having fun.
Normally I wouldn't be acting so carefree like this… but then again I normally wouldn't be out on a date with anyone. What would Shifu say if he knew? I'd rather not find out.
After we were done with dinner we left the restaurant and walked over to a nearby field. Everyone in the village was getting ready to wind down for the night, the only two people who were out were Hiro and myself.
While we walked in the field we began talking about our futures and our dreams. I told him how I wanted to be the greatest tiger master ever known, and that all my training was to help me achieve that dream. Hiro had a similar dream, one he had once he first learned Kung Fu, and that was to be the greatest master ever. But he surprised me when he told me he had another hope for the future. I was further surprised when he told me it was a secret.
After a while I noticed how dark it was. I looked up and saw the moon was starting to just starting to come out from behind some clouds, suddenly the whole field was bathed in a pale silver light, along with Hiro and I. Once the moonlight washed over him, the markings on Hiro's right arm began to shine. He gave a relieved sigh and slumped his shoulders. "Oh yeah, that feels soooo much better." He eased himself down and layed on the grass.
I smiled and layed down next to him, the grass felt so soft compared to the hard floors from the Jade Palace. I turned my head to face him and watched the light dancing off his arm. "What's it like?" I asked.
He turned to me. "What's what like?" he asked back.
"When the moon does that to you… what's it like.?"
He became quiet for a minute or two, trying to figure out how to describe it. "It's like a really thin curtain of cool water washing over you. At least that's the best way I can describe it, almost like walking through mist."
I nodded at his explanation. "And your injuries?" Which was my biggest concern. "What's that like?"
He was much quicker to answer this time. "Slowly it fades away, all the pain and fatigue from the day. Then after a while, it's gone. Scars will be left behind, but after a while all my injuries heal. Then when the morning comes, it feels like you're… new." Now it made sense why Master Shifu let him out to the village to help with repairs; he healed faster than us, I must admit I was a little jealous.
Our final conversation of the night was Kung Fu. He asked me about my style and I asked him about his. And when I brought up how he sat down in the fight against the bandits today, I couldn't help but laugh. It was the first time I ever heard of a master winning a fight by sitting down.
After a while Hiro looked up to the sky and saw the position of the moon. "We should probably head back, it's almost midnight." I was absolutely surprised at how fast time flew, but we made our way back to the town, Hiro had no trouble walking this time. We got to the inn and made our way up to our rooms, there we stopped outside our rooms for a final goodnight.
"I really had fun tonight." I said. And I did. I never thought I would ever have fun like this with someone else.
"Me too. We should do it again sometime."
"Yeah we should."
"Well, goodnight." He said turning to the door to the boys room.
I put my hand on his shoulder and turned him around, there was one more thing I had to do.
I leaned forward and planted a small kiss on his cheek.
When I leaned back Hiro's eyes were as wide as saucers. It made me giggle a little, seeing like this was… kind of cute.
"Good Night Hiro." I said walking in the girls room and closing the door, leaving the shocked wolf in the hallway.
I really can't wait for the next date.
A/N. You know I just noticed how long it's been since my last update, sorry to keep y'all waiting.
Now like I promised here are the new weapon choices for Hiro.
A new set of Hanbo.
A pair of Wakizashi
A set of Twin Hook Swords
Pm me to make your choice, whichever weapon gets the most votes will be Hiro's new go-to weapon and the end of this story and for the rest of the series (God willing).
Also please send your reviews, tell me how much you missed me, or let me know how much you like the story so far. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long.
See ya next time!
