(The Next Day)
Su Wu was left under the disapproving stares of WIng and Wan Wu. In all honesty she really couldn't care less about what they thought about her decision, as it was her own to make and not theirs. Still, they were being rather embarrassing about it since it seemed to be the only major thing on their minds. Seriously, they were on either side of her just asking question after question about why she seemed so insistent on meeting with the panda that night, and how she returned to the inn a blushing mess. needless to say, she didn't feel obligated to answer any of the questions, so she didn't answer a single one of them. Of course that wasn't going to stop them.
It's going to be a long day for me with these two constantly on my back about this...especially with what's currently on my mind. Su frowned with her arms folded, a mild blush on her face as she thought about what she did yesterday. I can't believe I kissed him yesterday. I mean, sure it was just on the forehead, but still! No one has ever gotten me to lower my guard to such a major degree. And the things he said...did they really get to me that much...? Damn it, how did I let a panda get to me so much without him actually trying?!
"NNNNNEEEEEEXT ROUND!" Po grinned while throwing his arms out with a grin. "Finally, the next day has come and the next round has started! I can't wait to fight again!"
"Hold up, Po! You've had your chance yesterday! Give everyone else a shot, will ya?" Monkey said as he moved alongside the panda. All of them were making their way back to the arena. He then turned to the side as he sees Shifu and Mei Ling holding paws and their tails being intertwined. Monkey raised his eyebrows and gently nudged Po's arm. "Hey. I doubt that you noticed...but don't Shifu and Mei Ling look a lot more relaxed than before? They seem almost...relieved to an extent. Ya think they had some sort of breakthrough?"
"...I dunno. Probably." Po shrugged, not really knowing for sure since he wasn't there. Though he was happy about the overall fact that Shifu and Mei Ling were happier today, and he was always for his loved ones being happy. He then rubbed his neck a bit and turned towards Monkey. "I had a bit of a weird experience last night."
"Yeah?"
"Su asked me to do a bit of a stakeout so no one would try and take the treasures while they were mostly unguarded. But then we started talking about what was driving me and all that, and what I thought of women. And after all of that, she just kissed me on the forehead and then told me to go back to bed with a bag of bean buns. She seemed a bit confused when she did some of those things, but she did look happy that I kept her company, so I guess it wasn't a bad experience."
Monkey paused for a bit, then swiftly turned around and jumped onto Po, hanging onto him by his shoulders. "WAAAAIIIIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT! Hold up, hold on a minute! Are you seriously saying that Su Wu, the oldest, the most vicious, and the most dangerous of the Wu Sisters...kissed you? Doesn't matter where it was placed, but SHE KISSED YOU!" He then cupped his cheeks and shook him multiple times. "Dude! Seriously! How do you keep drawing beautiful women towards you!?And I know you well enough by now to know that you're not even trying!"
"...Eh?" Po blinked curiously, his cheeks being squished together as Monkey held his head. "I dunno what you mean by that. I was just acting the same way I always did."
"You make it sound so SIMPLE!" Monkey groaned in frustration as he releases Po and lands on the ground, slapping his forehead. To be clear, he already knew this about Po. What brought Monkey to the breaking point however, was that he was able to woo the eldest Wu Sister without even trying. It was becoming tiresome how much better Po was with women than he was. He wouldn't complain about it too much since they were in the middle of a tournament, but he was still going to be quite frustrated about it for times to come. So would Mantis and Fung, but they would ultimately be a bit more relaxed about it once they get over the initial anger.
Fung watched as the crowd fills up the arena once again. He knows there's plenty of space for everyone, yet he also feels just a bit cramped. The amount of citizens and participants here gave him the illusion that there wasn't enough space for himself, and that he should just leave room for those like Master Croc. It was a silly feeling, but he honestly couldn't help it. It looks like he needed a day to fully confirm that this was really happening if he didn't accept it already. Fung looked towards the likes of Song, who was watching on eagerly to see how things would measure up this time and which one of them would be selected. Lian, Peng, and Bian Zao were still bunched together, with Lian being the one to intentionally keep them together. It was a nice thing to see, as he was also keeping himself close to Po and Tigress. The latter seem even more focused on what might possibly happen next.
Whatever it was, he was sure he could handle it. Somehow. Maybe. At least he hoped so.
Lu Kang could once again be seen at the foot of the arena with his family. His eyes gazed upon Po, who was speaking casually with his father Mr. Ping, seeing how close and open they seemed to be one another. Sometimes he wished he had that kind of relationship with his Grandfather, at least more often than they usually do.
The next competitors have already been decided, and they were handpicked by Junjie Master Chao looked on curiously as the both of them watched the Onyx Masters, which were really just five geese who seemed far too smug for their own good. It's the kind of smugness that can only be learned from someone like Junjie. Their skills must have been pretty noteworthy if they were trained by the likes of Junjie and Master Chao. However, for those like Tai Lung and Fenghuang, they only scoff at the five geese who thought they were all that. And while they had these thoughts going through their minds, Meng Tao was the one who decided the rules of this specific round have changed.
Multiple participants, up to five, were allowed to participate at the time. The Onyx Masters were the ones who would go up first. And as such, the others would have to choose five members of their own in order to participate.
"Alright then, let's do this!" To Peng's surprise and Bian Zao's grave annoyance, Lian pounced right into the arena, standing up and clenching her paws excitedly. What really annoyed Bian Zao was that she pulled him down with her without even bothering to warn him. To back up the young duo, Song and Fung entered the fray as well, looking rather confident with themselves, more on Song's side than Fung's. After a few moments of indecisiveness within the group, Mei Ling the Golden Cat eventually landed on her feet beside them, twirling her staff for a bit before sheathing it on her back. She was fairly confident she wouldn't need it in this case. Crane noticed that she wasn't suited next to hm anymore, and immediately grew worried for her, just a little. But he also knew thst he was going to be fine.
Shifu was stroking his beard as he was holding Mei Ling's hand, who's tail was still intertwined with his. "Odd. I wonder why the Emperor's Council was so approving of this alteration of the regulations? It seems so out of place."
"Perhaps they're just betting men." Mei Ling shrugged. "Maybe they're simply trying to try something new. Who knows? Then again, I'm not really worried about it when I probably should be. The young ones have this handled, so I'm not too worried." She says while leaning on Shifu's shoulder. "You already know that they'll be fine, don't you Fufie?~"
"I suppose you're right."
"Speak for yourselves!" Taotie shouted, gesturing to the arena with wide eyes. "Did she really have to bring my son into this?!"
In the meantime, the others were discussing their current participation in this current match, while Bian Zao was busy trying not to fall asleep. Because he knew that the result would be Lian immediately smacking him upside the head, really hard. He yawned as he tried focusing on the objective at hand, which was the five geese standing right in front of him. He couldn't have been more disinterested than he was right now, but Lian wasn't giving him a choice in the matter. So the best thing he could do was try to help the others end this as soon as possible. He thinks this as small charges of lightning exchange between his hooves, before slowly closing them and rubbing them together for a bit.
Alright...let's get this over with.
"Alright. the Onyx Masters will be battling against these chosen five from the rogue faction. Begin when ready!" Meng Tao declared, stepping back and allowing whatever happens to happen.
The five geese looked incredibly smug towards the five warriors, yet they didn't say a word towards any of them. Their condescending gazes swiftlycaused Lian to narrow her eyes deeply. She clenched her fists, slightly cracking them. "You all think you're so high above us that you don't even have to talk to us? Because we know you're not mute. Fine. We'll kick your ass while you remain totally silent. I have no problem with that." She frowned while punching her palm. "Bian Zao! You'd better be ready!"
"Whatever." Bian Zao sighed as he knew he didn't really have a choice in the matter. He wondered if this was usually how most relationships worked. But for his own personal health, he wouldn't bring it up while he was around Lian or Peng, lest he would suffer severe consequences.
The first gosose charge towards Fung with the intent to bring him down first. Fung didn't watse any time and blocked a swift kick to his head by raising his arm. he clenched the fist of his other arm and punched at the geese, who swiftly avoids the punch and kicks at his head while he was still charging, causing him to fall to the ground. Fung groaned as he rubbed his head while standing back up. "Grrgh...cheeky little jerk...think that's gonna be enough to keep me down...?" He grumbled as he punched towards the goose as he once again dodges out of the way. Fung foresaw it this time, as he swiftly spun and slapped him into the ground with his tail. The goose growled as he leaped at Fung for another kick. Fung grinned, and opened his jaws wide. His opponent gasped as he tried stopping his momentum, just barely stopping himself as Fung loudly snapped his jaws shut. Said geese soon fled from the arena, his feathers going white from fright, leaving his comrades fending for themselves. He folded his arms and snickered cheekily to himself, marveling at how cowardly the goose was.
Song snickered, quietly praising Fung's use of intimidation. She then turned to the goose in front of her, who was swiftly approaching her with a decent timed punched. She opened her parasol and he bounced off of it, landed on the ground. She had the blade to the umbrella removed because that was likely not allowed. Though they never said anything about her umbrella itself, therefore it was decently fair game. While her parasol was still open, she swung towards the goose while he was still trying to recover, catching him with it as he fell. She then jumped forward and swung her parasol towards the ground, throwing the goose against it. And while he was still recovering, she then fell stowards him feet first and stomped on his back, causing him to quack out painfully. Song soon steps off him and twirles her parasol and it rests on her shoulder. She then leaned down with her eyes narrowed. He noticed that her piercing gaze was leaving him frozen. "If you want to keep yourself conscious and unbroken...I suggest you step out of the arena." At that, yet another goose flies off of the arena due to fear.
Mei Ling folded her arms as she was dodging multiple swift attacks from the goose in front of her, her eye brow raised. "You guys are the Onyx Masters? I've heard about you guys before, and I heard about how needlessly rude you tend to be. And pretty smug. I guess that kind of thing tends to happen when you have a Master like Junjie." The fox in question glared at her as she said this, though it didn't seem to register with her. She briefly wielded her staff and smacked him in the head from above and kicked him in his beak from below, casuong him to fly backwards, shocked from the blunt force of it. Seeing that he was winded by that blunt attack, she continued with the assault, hitting him multiple times in both his sides and then swiftly jabbing him in the ribs. And after another swift twirl, she gained enough momentum to swing harder. And since he was so small, she was able to whack the goose away, sending him flying out of the arena and crashing agaisnt the wall at first. it was strong enough for the wall to crack, falling unconscious.
Bian Zao yawned a bit as he was nonchalantly staring at the goose in front of him. Even the goose was exasperated by how disinterested Bian Zao was in much of this, to the point where he almost asked him why he was here when he didn't want to be. But that didn't really matter, since he was the opponent. After a moment of contemplation, Bian Zao slowly raised his arms. Everyone soon leaned in closer, wondering what he would do.
"...I give up."
Everyone promptly fell over, even more exasperated by the real reason for his static position. Though no one was more annoyanced than Lian and Taotie, with the former shouting 'YOU'LL DO NO SUCH THING!' with razor sharp teeth, while the former groaned, not even surprised by that action.
He wasn't scared in the slightest...he was just really damn lazy and didn't want to be here. Lian should have guessed that he'd be difficult about this. When he saw her glare deeply towards her, he sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright...fine." Lightning soon generated from his hooves, and shot directly at the goose, immediately singing his feathers and sending him flying off the arena. He yawned slightly. "Bian Tian's Tempest. There, did it. Am I done here yet?"
Lazy Asshole... Lian muttered as she focused on the last goose, who seemed highly unsure of his chances now that his comrades have been defeated so easily. She smirked, satisfied that his smug attitude was crushed. She soon leaps at him, which he narrowly avoided by flying to the side. Though she adjsuted herself as she leaps again, stirking him with a kick to his stomach. He tumbled across the ground for a moment before doing his best to recover. Lian was relentless with her pursuit, however, not alloing him too much time to recover. In an effort to by himself time, he attempted to spin kick at her head, but she dodged by sliding under the blow, them swiftly kicking him in the back, launching him away once again. Now sure of her high chances, she charged at him on all forms, seeing how disoriented he was due to the amount of blows he took. While he was only partially focused, she jumped at him and spin kicked at his head once again. This one sent him flying far off the edge of the arena, and onto the ground, unconscious.
The winners were declared rather easily, and Junjie was left fuming at their failure. Master Chao simply looked on with slight curiosity, not really that offended by the loss. Though as for the other side, especially Peng, tey were rather proud of their success. Lian soon returned to the stands as she gleefully placed herself in Peng's arms, as he held her happily while giving Bian Zao a friendly pat on his shoulder.
'Thank goodness you're alright!" Crane sighed as Mei Ling landed next to him, briefly punching his shoulder.
"Did you expect anything less?~" Mei Ling smiled.
Bian Zao rolled his eyes as Taotie briefly hugged him. "Son! Are you alright! They just dragged you into that without your consent! That's really forceful of them!"
"Meh. Whatever, we at least got something done." Bian Zao yawned. "I think I'm gonna step out a bit and drink some tea..." Taotie groaned at his nonchalant attitude, but was overall glad he was alrigh.
As they all adusted themselves, preparing for the next match, Lu Kang was drawn to the sight of Shen gesturing for him to follow him. He looked towards his grandfather, who was busy speaking with some of the other Masters on who was going next, he slowly slipped from his seat an followed the peacock.
Said peacock rolled his eyes as he was leading the water buffalo away. He was likely to get into a lot of trouble because of this, but this was something he needed to do...though it would definitely be a pain in his train if he ever gets caught.