"Monkey, are you sure?" Po asked him. After their heist on Jong's mansion, they eventually returned to the village to give all of the money they received to the villagers. Or more like, Shifu gave the money to the villagers, while Monkey remained hidden when this happened.
"Yeah, I don't need to change the way they think about me. I'd rather keep my position as the town prankster, it's kinda grown on me." Monkey shrugged. "Anyway, I just wanna say thanks again for helping me out, really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it." Fung grinned.
"Hey, Big Guy. I got something for you." Monkey says to Po, as he climbs up his cabinets and pulls out a jar, then hops back down to the floor. "Pranking isn't my only specialty, ya know. I also make some pretty good almond cookies."
"...Please continue." Po said as if it meant serious business, which also made it more ridiculous.
"Here ya go." Monkey opened the jar for them, and the aroma filled the room. They were still very fresh even when they were gone.
"These smell good." Fung takes one, munching it wih his jaws. "No. These ARE good!"
"I agree." Tigress said, as she too has eaten one.
"Not too shabby, Primate." Fenghuang also eats one.
"My word these are fantastic!" Mr. Ping spoke for both Shifu and Zeng on this regard, as they've taken one for themselves.
Monkey grinned at his success. "I knew I could make a good impression with them."
"I think I'll have some more." Fung reached into the jar...it was completely empty. "Huh? Where'd they go?"
"What do you mean?"
"This jar was full of them a moment ago..." Fung said. Then everyone turned to Po with a look of accusation as he tried to look as innocent as possible...while his cheeks were filled with said cookies. There were also crumbs on said cheeks. "Po...we took our eyes off the jar for a moment. How the hell did you do that?"
"Mmf dmft mmh mmm mh mmmn." He couldn't be understood due to having his mouth full, so he swallowed and wiped the crumbs off his cheeks. "I don't know what you mean."
Monkey found this hilarious. "Good gosh, man! You don't waste any time, do you?"
"Monkey. You showed me cookies. I love cookies. It should have been pretty clear what was going to happen next."
"Yeah, that's a good point."
"How is that a good point?!" Fung said while groaning.
Po tilted his head. "What does that mean?"
"...You know what? Never mind, man. Just forget it." The croc grumbled. He really wanted cookies as much as Po did, and was ashamed that he wasn't quick enough.
"Okay, but I still don't understand why you're upset."
"I'M NOT UPSET!" He shouted, while throwing his helmet to the ground. "Gaaaaahh..."
"...Why do you throw your helmet to the ground?" Monkey asked with confusion.
"It's a habit." Fung sighed as he placed said helmet back on his head. It was still the same helmet that Po gave him years ago. "Well, nothing we can do about it now. We each got only one, and he just inhales the rest of them. Hungry jerk."
"Don't worry about it, guys. It's easy for me to make more." Monkey said. "But right now we have to get moving, right?Can't stay here any longer than necessary. I already have my satchel packed and ready to go."
"Very well. When we're all ready, we shall head out once again." Shifu declared. "Me and Fenghuang will be waiting outside for you all. Do take your time." They both made their way out, leaving the others in the room.
Tigress stared at the door for a couple moments, then turns her head to Monkey to confirm something. "Are you truly sure about this?"
"Yeah. I am. Besides all of thr pranking I do here, there's nothing here for me, truthfully. Mom is gone...I don't know what the heck happened to Dad...and Wu Kong is not coming back. It's better for me to just leave while the going is good. I'll miss this place, but I gotta go. I know I have to."
"Very well. You won't regret this decision."
"I sure won't. Time to move. Come on, I'm raring to go."
"So am I bro, so am I." Po nods.
"Indeed. We have added a bro to our ranks. He is an official bro." Fung nodded with crossed arms.
"Bros?" Monkey said in confusion. They both nodded to him, and they all raised a fist. "BROS!"
Tigress was silent on the outside. However on the inside: We need to find another girl on this team, and quickly.
"All right bros, let's get to movin!'" Po called out, as Fung and Monkey followed him out of the house with their fists out, right past Tigress who was still eying them with small amouts of embarrassment.
Mr. Ping followed them while smiling at Tigress. "Not to worry, dear. I'm sure you'll adjust to them soon enough. I have faith in that. You just need the time, and the confidence. And I know you have the confidence. You just need the time."
"I know, Mr. Ping."
"Shifu did not let you out of the Palace much, did he?"
"Um...no. No he did not, Mr. Ping."
Mr. Ping placed a wing on his chin. "I see...so your social skills may be as underdeveloped and in need of improvement as Fenghuang and Po. Most things Po does not know, and Fenghuang shut herself away from people for so long she may have forgotten how to talk to others properly. So I'm seeing this as a way to grow stronger in social terms, as well."
"I...I think I can understand that."
"In all three of your cases, none of you are used to having friends to spend time with. You might feel uncomfortable for a while, but I believe you can adjust with the help of Fung and Monkey. They know how to be social." He nodded, the others finally getting outside. "Alright Shifu, where are we headed next?"
The red panda was handed the scroll by Tigress, and he read off of it. "According to this...we'll have of head to Lee Da Academy. Unfortunately for us, it's quite a distance away from us. And it's also in a mountain range surrounded by a lot of fog. Not enough to obsecure much vision, but it's still qute a bother to actually get there." Po raised his hand. Shifu sighed. "Yes, Po?"
"Will it take a while to get there?"
"If we leave now it won't take much time at all, but not within one day. We should send them an advance notice so that there isn't any confusion. Zeng, come here." He took out another scroll and began writing down something, while Zeng overlooks it with interest. Within a minute, he rolls up the scroll and hands it to Zeng. "Be sure to get this to them, Zeng. We need to let them know who's coming."
"Yes, Master Shifu." He saluted, placed the scroll in his bag and began flying off towards Lee Da Academy, ahead of everyone else.
"Now everyone, let's move. We have quite the distance to cover." Shifu told everyone, and they began to follow him. However, the only one who didn't budge was Fenghuang. "Fenghuang...? What are you doing?"
"...If we rush for it, how long wouldi it take?"
"Nonstop? A maximum of three hours on foot, and two hours by air. Why?"
"...This 'Crane' is a fellow avian, isn't he?" She smirked. She suddenly leapt up, and balanced perfectly on Po's shoulders. "Panda, we're going for a flight."
Shifu knew what she was thinking, and rapidly shook his head. "No. No way. Don't you dare. Don't even think about it." Too late. With a mighty flap, Fenghuang was in the air with an unprepared Po yelling in surprise, flying after Zeng away from the group. "FENGHUANG!" He shouted, but just like Zeng, she was already gone. He sighed while trying to fight off a headache. "She just does whatever she wants..."
"Well let's not just sit here Shifu! We gotta catch up somehow!" Mr. Ping grabbed his paw and began dragging him along, with almost no protest from the red panda, and much encouragement from Fung, and Monkey. Tigress rolled her eyes, but ran after them on all fours, keeping up with everyone. She could have easily leaped up high and caught a ride by hanging on to Po's legs...but she had to stay and make sure Shifu didn't pass out from stress.
The owl could have at least given a warning before flying off with Po like that, though...
(One Day Later- Lee Da Academy)
Crane was sweeping up the teeth left in the training hall, and he looked very annoyed with this part of his job. "I ask them kindly not to bleed on the floor. What do they do? They leave bloodied teeth. I'm surprised some of them still consider eating moments after." He mumbled. "I don't know why I bother asking. They're not gonna listen to me." He sighed as he wiped his head and examined his handiwork. No more blood and no more teeth. "But at least I'm done now."
"Crane! Someone took a hit to the solar plexus! Vomit clean-up over here!"
The bird face-winged. "And now I'm jinxing myself. Again. Crane, when will you learn to stop doing that..."
"Probably not for a while." He jumped in surprise as Mei Ling appeared behind him, with her paws behind her back, as well as a mischievous smile on her face.
"...don't...do...that...please..." Crane said as he placed a wing on his chest as he made sure his heart was still beating. When he confirmed that, he readjusted his hat. "Do you get a kick out of surprising me?"
"Maaaayyyybe." She rolled her eyes slowly, even though they both knew the answer. "Are you going to clean your broom? It's all...you know...covered with blood from big sweaty rhinos...and-"
"I know who bleeds in here, Mei Ling." He quickly cut her off. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"
"Whaddya mean? It's the same thing every day. Whenever I'm done with class, I come to see you. It's my routine, remember?"
"Yeah...but you've come really early this time. I mean, earlier than usual."
"Well, that's their own fault." She shrugged. "They ran out of things to challenge me with. I aced all of them. Now all I'm here for is being an inspiration, and looking out for you." She knew if it hadn't been for her, the bullies here would have torn Crane apart on day one. But she made sure they knew better than to mess with a friend of hers while she was around. She couldn't always be around, though. That was a major problem.
There are times when he does not resist negative attention, and there are times when Mei Ling repels it for him. He never seems to have the confidence to do it himself. He takes the abuse and doesn't do anything about it, much to the irritation of Mei Ling, and to the utter concern of his mother, Yan Fan. Those two females wear him down and exhaust him in two different ways, and both were out of worry. From a mischievous, tough but loyal friend, and from a smothering, overprotective, but well-meaning mother. Crane didn't know whether to feel very grateful or very embarrassed.
...So he'll do both. Problem solved.
"Well, I can't say I'm not grateful. But those guys are now spouting rumors about me being a weakling and a coward. All because of be being skinny and you defending me against them. Especially the latter. You're the Star Pupil of the entire school, and yet you keep hanging out with me and me alone. They keep wondering why you would spend time with me."
Mei Ling gave him a soft but stern glare. "Crane...what have I told you countless times?" She always does this. Whenever his mind would shift to a tone like that, she pushed it out immediately.
Crane sighed. "Popularity has never been of importance to you."
"I don't know why I have to keep reminding you." She rolled her eyes, her smile returning. "C'mon, let's get out of here."
"Wait, I have to clean up the vomit, first..."
"Crane. You've cleaned up saliva, blood, a bit of teeth, and a whole lot of other stuff. Puke cleanup is crossing the line. Now they're just being lazy. Now come on." She grabbed him by the wing and dragged him along. "I'm not taking no for an answer, not this time."
"W-Wait!" He tried to protest, but they had already made their way out of the doors and out into the open, where most of the area was covered with fog. "Okay I guess we're really doing this now. If that's what you really want."
"Of course it's what I want. Now don't stall anymore. Let's go!" She meant what she said, she suddenly took off on all fours. Crane had to flap his wings and fly at a level closer to the ground just to keep up with her. She has always been very swift when she runs like this. Her gloves really helped brush off any damage that could be done to her paws.
He wondered where they were going, until they reached a cliff, where she sat near the edge waiting for him. "Well. It:s about time you showed up. Do you find it funny to keep a lady waiting?"
"Very funny." Crane chuckled as he stood by her, looking out towards the open view the cliff offered. "Weird...it's weird how nature makes a lot of fog look amazing. You can't even see the bottom of the ground. It makes you wonder if the ground even exists in that kind of area. That kind of mystery can be appreciated, in some ways."
"Yeah...you can say that again." Mei Ling sighed with a relaxed posture, her tail swishing side to side on the ground. "I really hope that something does happen, you know? Something that will give you the courage to leave this place behind, so that I can do the same. Heading out together..."
"Yeah...I wish I could. " Crane sighed to himself. Soon enough, he began to hear the distinct sounds of excessive flapping, and looked up to identify someone flying over their heads. No less than a couple seconds later, the shape fell towards them and crashed into the ground, dizzy and tired. "Oh my gosh! Are you alright?!"
"So...tired...so very tired...I don't have the stamina...like that owl does...dang it..."
"Well that's something you haven't seen everyday. Geese falling from the sky." Mei Ling folded her arms, before picking up the semi-conscious Zeng. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Ugh...I think so." He rubbed his head, fighting off the dizziness in order to stand on his own. "Are your names...Mei Ling and Crane...?"
Crane looked confused. "Do you know us?" His attention was then brought to the scroll the goose was carrying, and he picks it up with one wing. "Hey, he has a messenger scroll."
Mei Ling takes the scroll from him, unrolls it, and read the contents inside. Taking the moment to do show, her eyes sparkled with surprise as she lowered the scroll to Crane so he could see what it said. When he reads it as well, he didn't expect any of it at all. His own eyes widened with shock as he jumped back.
"Master Shifu wants to see us?! What the heck? Why would he come to see us two?" Crane said, he didn't understand why a Kung Fu Master of Shifu's caliber would bother coming to see them. It was strange to the two of them.
Unknown to them, yet another avian was flying overhead, watching them from an airborne view. One pair of eyes were filled with curiosity, another pair of eyes were filled with excitement. After all, two more friends will be joining them soon enough. They just had to figure out how to do so. Well...more like Po had to figure out how to do so.
Fenghuang was not gonna be good at connecting with the younger adults. She was far too blunt and rude. Po had a much better chance at the moment. She'll just be waiting somewhere hidden...maybe in one of the nearby houses.
"Okay Panda. Time to go in and do your thing."
"Right, Master Fenghuang! Wait...what do I do first?" Po asked her.
"Try to break your fall."
"Wait wha-AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" She released her hold on him and he fell from the sky.
She blinked a couple moments, before she shook it off. "He'll be fine...probably...Nah, he'll be fine."
Po was falling from the sky, crashing down into the many branches and leaves smacking him in the face multiple times, as they slowed his descent...though it was unfortunately painful. This continued until at last, he plopped onto the hard ground, surprising Crane, Mei Ling, and Zeng. The last one was most surprised because he knew who dropped him...and reminded himself to have a serious chat about introductions.
"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!" Crane screamed, instantly by Po's side, along with Zeng. Mei Ling looked up towards the sky though Fenghuang was already gone, she didn't see her. First a goose, now a panda. She really hoped that was all that was coming from the sky, today.
Po stood up painfully, wincing while he slowly rubbed his rear. "Tch...agh...the butt...aagggh...the butt hurts so much...landed right on my butt...so much pain...ow...ouch..." He straightened out, while waving weakly to Crane and Mei Ling. "Hey guys...my name is Po..."
"You just fell from who knows how high, and that's all you have to say?!" Crane shouted at him.
"...Yes."
Crane's beak dropped from the total honesty Po gave off. It didn't sound or feel like he was lying. Shaking it off, he turned Po around and began pushing him along. "You don't have that kind of fall and NOT have some sort of serious injury. We gotta get you some first-aid!"
"Woah! Dude, chill!" He turned back around and pushed Crane's wings down. "I'm fine, really! I've taken worse falls than that." He blinked, then pointed at his hat. "Nice straw hat."
"Huh? Oh, thank you. Yours is pretty cool-looking too." Crane lets out a small smile. The main difference between their straw hats was that Crane's was more spread out and offered more shade over his head, while Po's was more conical and mostly shadowed his eyes when he lowers it.
"Haha, thanks! My best friend gave it to me as a promise to meet 15 years ago."
"You held onto that hat for 15 years? That's pretty nice of you. I had my hat for a pretty long time, too."
"Cool." Po smiled, as he cocked her head to the side. "Actually...there may be something wrong with me." Crane was about to ask what it was, then Po's stomach growled loudly, and he placed a paw on it. "Getting hungry here."
Mei Ling chuckled throughout the entire exchange, as she clapped to get their attention. "Am I interrupting yor bonding time with your new friend from the sky, Crane?" Crane's eyes widened at this, as he stepped away from Po in a fit of surprise.
"Hey, that's right? You just fell from the sky without much explanation and then you start talking to me like we're friends!"
Po scratched his head, looking just as confused as he was. "We're not friends?"
"I don't even know you."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that." Po chuckled awkwardly. "Well...do you wanna get to know me? So that we can be friends?"
Mei Ling's smile kept increasing, while Crane's look of confusion just keeps growing. "I...don't understand. What kind of person just falls from the sky, talks about straw hats, says he's hungry, and ask to be someone's friend all in one setting?"
The panda shrugged. "Apparently I'm that kind of person. So whaddya say?"
The bird was still very baffled by Po's front foward offer that he didn't respond at first. Mei Ling wouldn't have it though, she pushed them both forward. "Mei Ling?!"
"Outta the sky or not, you're not wasting this chance! Let's get you boys to Crane's house so you can both chat!" She enthusiastically responded, as she kept pushing them both with no difficulty. Po was very impressed by this. Crane was very confused. Fenghuang, from a distance, knew that Po was going to be fine. Like she predicted.
Crane was thinking this the entire way to his house: What just happened...?
(With the other group)
"Unbelievable...utterly unbelievable..." Shifu grumbled to himself as he was leading the other half onward, trying very hard to maintain his patience. "She believes that because she has wings, she can do whatever she wants, whenever she wants, anywhere she wants!"
"Calm down, Shifu. There's no use ranting about her when she can't hear you." Mr. Ping placed a wing on his shoulder. The red panda the turned his head towards the goose.
"How, Mr. Ping? How were you able to deal with her for all these years, where I had much difficulty in the matter...? Can you please tell me how...?"
The goose smiled. "I got used to her antics. Sure it was slightly aggravating at first, but over time I dismissed it as business as usual. Now me and my son have adjusted very well to how Fenghuang acts most of the time...something I don't think you learned out to do. We learned to understand her."
Shifu listened to Mr. Ping's words. "But with all the busy work we had to do...we didn't have much time to understand one another as much as we'd like to."
"Then there's the next solution. Make time. That's what I did for my son. And it's also what you did for your daughter. Isn't that right?" Mr. Ping could see Shifu think hard about such a thing, he must have really had a hard time back then if it's degenerated his interactions with others this much. "Think of it like this. Fenghuang spent decades in the Northern Mountains with no one to interact with or talk to. Of course her social skills will be extremely poor."
"...I suppose that can be a reasonable excuse..."
"No one's asking for you two to be friends overnight. Just...one step at a time. It's what you need."
"I...I see..."
"Well then! Remove that frown from your face, my fellow elder! We move onward!" He said with a wing in the air, now waddling ahead of him. The more he interacts with Mr. Ping, the more Shifu can understand Po's own behavior sometimes.
Behind them were the younger ones. Tigress was in the front, obviously. Monkey and Fung followed behind her while keeping close. They had no idea what compelled them to do so. Well actually, Fung had an idea, it's just that it's been a while since he felt it. It was entirely new for Monkey.
"Hey...Tigress, right?" He asked her. She nodded once to let him know she was listening. "So, how long have you and Po known each other?"
"We only knew each other for a week. Then we waited for one another for 15 years. Fung is also a part of our trio."
"What?! You all only knew each other for one week and you're acting like you're best friends a decade and a half later?!"
"We wanted to be fully prepared for what China, and maybe the world, will try to throw at us. Being attacjed and nearly killed made us desire this. " Tigress answered simply, as her scarf flowed along with a small breeze of wind. "My scarf, Po's straw hat, Fung's helmet, and three peaches. We used those to promise our reunion when our time was right. Fung and Po traveled with different Masters. I stayed behind."
"Ah, I see. That's how things went down?"
"Yes."
"And now here we are, venturing all over China for people around our generation who wants to join us. With you as the first member." Fung added, as he tilted his helmet so that it stood up straight.
"And we shall continue to look for the others." Tigress added again. Right after that sentence, an arrow whizzed by a couple trees and shot right at her face. But she caught it with one hand without turning her head. "Trouble is sometimes unwanted, but expected. We can't gauge our skills without testing them first." Monkey was a bit stunned. She didn't have to turn...she didn't even flinch...
"What?! How'd you do that?!" Everyone stopped to hear the voice, turning to the right, and could see a boar holding a crossbow which used to be aimed at Tigress. But now he was steadily regretting that decision. So did his friends, as two more boars appeared from the bush, looking surprised.
"Ah. Perfect timing. Monkey, go deal with them." Fung pointed.
"WHAT?! Why me?!"
"You're the new guy for the time being, you gotta start pulling some weight."
"Ugh...fine." Monkey grumbled before moving past them with an annoyed expression. "Getting stuck with the mooks. That's a great way to demonstrate how cool you are. Bah."
The boars were now getting over their confusion as Monkey strolled over to them. They eventually regained their nerves and aimed their crossbows at him. Though they once again were scared stiff when Tigress looked at them welhere she stood. It was unbelievable that she wasn't going to do anything and she still seemed intimidating to them on a high degree. They tried to focus, but they just couldn't get over her calm glare.
Monkey made his way over to them, shrugging. "Look guys. You don't wanna do this. Heck, I don't wanna do this. But that doesn't mean I won't. So how about you guys just back off, okay?"
"You back off!" They shouted, while trying to smash their crossbow on him, they only succeeded in smashing it to the ground. Monkey appeared behind one of them. "What?!"
"Dude, that's wasting a perfectly good crossbow. Now how are you supposed to get another one?" They switched to their axes and swung down again, missing completely. "Nope." They swung behind them, he jumped on top of the flat part. "No way." The third one clumsily tried to jump on top of him, though he missed as Monkey backflipped and landed on his back, and now he was chuckling. "Not even close. Not even a little bit close."
"Ah, I see. He applies trickery to his fighting skills. He's also very evasive." Tigress said quietly.
Monkey had dodged another swing of an axe, only to catch it mid-flight with his tail. He snatched it away and faked a swing towards the head, when he frontflipped and smacked them aside with the side of the axe and not the blade. After the initial boar went down with a thud, the others were looking hesitant. Monkey was giving them one more chance to back away. Unfortunately for them, they refused to take it, and thought they could overpower him by attacking him simultaneously. Though that just gave him a chance to jump up and land on their shoulders, and bashed both their heads together, kicking them both into the dirt. Though he left one conscious, and stood above him.
"You calming down, now?"
"Who...who are you?"
"Me? I'm a guy you thought you could beat up. And you failed. Now it's my turn, who are you?"
"No way I'm giving our identity to-"
'Welp, I tried. Tigress, you try it." Monkey shrugged as he stepped back from the boar,while Tigress stepped forward. And suddenly he felt like his health was in serious danger, and she has't even said anything yet. She just adjusted her scar and folded her arms.
"We're in a hurry. Should I get answers out of you with or without shattering your ribcage?" When he hesitated but still didn't speak, she kneeled down and pressed a paw on his midsection. She pushed, and there was already the sound of rib cracking. "You thought I was joking?"
"Gagh! Alright alright! We're the Blackhoof Boar Clan! Its only us three guarding the pathway to Lee Da Academy because our leader is deciding to do a massive heist of the place with everyone else! We start a couple of hours from now!"
"Thank you for the information." She said politely...before knocking him out with a fist to the face. She stood up and turned to Fung and Monkey, who took a couple of steps back in caution. "What? He was the one who shot that arrow at me. Let's go." She said before turning around and moving on.
Monkey shivered and turned to Fung nervously. "That woman...is ruthless."
Fung turned to Monkey while rubbing his neck and smiled sheepishly. "You call that ruthless? You obviously don't know Fenghuang as well as we do. Then again, Tigress was holding back a lot of strength. If she was really angry, that punch could have shattered his skull instead of simply knocking him out. And probably more damage we might not foresee."
And with that, Monkey was now officially afraid of Fenghuang and Tigress. Sad, because the former isn't even with them right now...
(Back with Po)
Crane watched with atonishment. Mei Ling watched with awe. And Yan Fan watched with a giggle. Po was hungry, and the mother crane was more than willing to feed him. However she might need to go to the market soon, because Po ate through a third of their food in the time span of of thirty minutes...non-stop.
"Oh wow! This guy is some kind of glutton!" Mei Ling laughed, both at Po's constant eating and Crane's reaction to it. His beak dropped, leaving it wide open. Po stopped for a moment to heed their reactions, and he placed the rest of the food down in apology.
"Eh...sorry about that? Did you want me to stop? *burp*" He said, then covered his mouth.
"No, it's quite alright. You're a guest, there's no rule against helping yourself, not here." Yan Fan said with a wave of her wing. "Now if only my son would begin to do the same thing..."
"Mom, please don't." Crane groaned, while covering his face.
"I keep telling him, I swear I do. If he's going to keep going out and allow others to walk over him, then he just stay here where he is safe and protected. But he and Mei Ling insist that he couldn't do that. I don't know what else he can do, then."
Po turned to Crane, with a tilted head. "Why is she saying that?"
"I'm a janitor at Lee Da Academy. The students there are not too supportive of me actually being there at all...only Mei Ling believes I have a chance there, but she's trying to get me to leave as well."
"I'd much rather have him stay here. They keep picking on him despite how fragile he tends to be. It just keeps going on and on. But he refuses to give up. He's waiting for the right time." Yan Fan said.
Po stood up. "Crane? Are you really going to keep putting up with so much bullying? If you're not happy being a janitor of the Academy then why are you still there? Shouldn't you just leave? If someone can't appreciate you for you, then they don't deserve to have you there!"
"That would be the main issue...if I cared about what they thought of me." Crane said quietly. Po was suddenly quiet, not expecting a response like that. "I'm not doing this for their recognition. I'm doing this to make myself stronger, in my own comfort zone. I don't need them to make me strong, they made it clear time and again that I wasn't welcome. That doesn't mean that what they say about me doesn't hurt, but I'm not there to please them. They can say what they like. But I'm here to prove to myself if I'm ready to face the challenges China throws at me or not."
Po tried to think about what he was saying. "So...what you're saying is...you've been testing yourself?"
"Something like that. And because of them having a pretty good time diminishing my self-confidence, I have yet to pass my own test."
"I really wish he wouldn't beat himself up like this. And I also really wish that he would just up and beat those guys up already. I had to stop picking fights with others because I needed to maintain a good image for Lee Da." Mei Ling frowned."That's what they say anyway. Frankly I couldn't care less about their stupid image, their image is hurting my friend. If he's not ready to leave, then I'm not ready to leave. It's just the way it is." Mei Ling said quietly. Po could see the loyalty she had to Crane in their friendship, and vice versa. It was very genuine. He just had to discover how and why that happened.
And he may know how. "Crane. What's the main reason that those guys treat you like garbage?"
"They think I'm too skinny for Kung Fu. Even to be their janitor, they don't think I deserve to be here."
"And...you don't think you're allowed to defend yourself...and Mei Ling can't defend you like she used to because she is the Star of the School and she has to keep that image for the school's sake?"
"Yeah..."
Po smiled. "I believe I know someone who can solve your problem. I'm definitely not a fan of bullies, but I keep a leveled head because sometimes it's not worth it. But my friend...oh boy. She has Zero-Tolerance Policy for bullies of any kind. She pulls no punches for them, period. And to be fair, neither do I. She just expresses that sentiment better and more straightforward than I can. You have to meet her to see what I mean."
"Um...okay." Crane said, unsure. He didn't know who this person was, but she sounds like she means business.
"While we're waiting...maybe you can tell me how exactly you got that hat?" Po asked about Crane's hat. Both Mei Ling and Yan Fan went quiet after this. Po was right to assume that the subject was not to be touched lightly. Though after opening up quite a hit about himself, Crane subjects to Po's request. What does he have to lose?
"Alright...if I tell you about my hat...I gotta tell you about my Dad, first..." Crane tilted his hat downward. "His name was Línghún(Spirit) because he acted so cheerful all of the time, despite the fact that he was just as weak and fragile as I was. But unlike me, he didn't care much about his fragile frame more than he did me and mom. People consideres him to be a complete weakling." Po waited for him to finish, wondering what this is leading to. Crane sighed.
"Little did they know that one day... that 'complete weakling' became one of the most memorable and honorable figures in all of China...and he was only a simple farmer." He lowered his hat even further. "We lost him the very same day..."
There goes that chapter. The next one will start with Crane's alternate history flashback. Here's to hoping that goes well.
Until next chapter, then. See ya!