CHAPTER 3: A HERO ACCEPTS

"well," she said after a long silence, "I have never been entrusted to a person who doesn't want to have a miraculous. I have no idea what to do now, especially as you don't seem to have the superhero spirit I was hoping for! But if you take me to Master Fu, then I'm sure he'll figure something out!"

I sighed. Clearly, Tikki expected me to run around the town looking for some random Master Fu. However, there was still the hope that I was hallucinating and that Tikki was a figment of my overactive imagination. No such luck.

"Come on!" she squealed, tugging at my jacket.

"All right, all right, I'm coming!" I said. "Now let's go to this mysterious Master Fu. You did say he would have all the answers, right?

"Well, he mostly does." She replied cheerfully. " come on, we have to get there before it closes".

I trudged alongside her gloomily and was… well, shocked. This strange kwami had showed up and taught me so much yet I still didn't know much about the miraculous world. I was now pretty sure I wasn't hallucinating. I pinched myself hard. No such luck.

"hurry up!" Tikki panted, gliding a few inches from my face.

As we turned around a large road, I gasped. And then I saw that there was nothing to be excited about. In front of my very tired eyes, I saw… a massage shop. Tikki nudged me closer to the door. I was confused. A massage would be nice, but I didn't have any money, and weren't we supposed to be looking for Master Fu? However, I calmly pushed all my doubts to the side and rang the bell. A small, squat man, wearing a red floral shirt blinked up at me.

"it's you!" I gasped." You were the old man who crossed the road!"

"Tikki." Said the man. "come out. Come on. Did you tell her where to find me?"

"Yes master." Said Tikki guiltily. "I didn't know I was doing anything wrong. There was so much she didn't know. I had to help her out! She didn't want to be a superhero!"

"It is her choice, Tiki. Don't push her into anything she doesn't want to

do."

"Yes, well, she is a bit of a… scaredy pants."

I raised my eyebrows at this and rolled my eyes to the heavens.

"I am NOT a scaredy pants," I retorted angrily, "and I am not a worry wart, pushover, or any of those other insults I see you are implying to Master Fu!"

"Wisely said," commented Master Fu, looking faintly amused.

I huffed crossly, hoping for all the world that I would wake up at my desk in my bedroom, slobbering all over my untouched schoolwork. No such luck. I now resorted to the painful task of pinching myself again and again. Master Fu now looked as if he was going to burst out in laughter, and I hurriedly stopped.

"she is a weird one," Tikki replied knowingly to something that he whispered in her ear.

"I am not a 'weird one' and didn't I come to you for answers, not your many insults that you keep hurling at me!" I practically screamed at them.

"Oooh, she has sprit that cannot be tamed." Master Fu replied mysteriously.

I felt like punching them both in the face. How I wish I could wake up on Sunday morning again unbothered and not traumatized by a walking, talking bug. Again. It didn't work. I imagined life without this annoying little figurine that was bouncing around the room, turning cartwheels in the air, and suddenly felt a pang of guilt. This man had chosen me to be a heroine after I saved him from imminent death, and now I was repaying him by turning his lovable, excitable (but annoying) kwami down? He was doing me a favour, and I was too ignorant to realise it! The two were glancing at me curiously, wondering what I was thinking.

"Umm, can you stop staring at me, it's kinda freaking me out!" I squeaked nervously. My mouth felt dry when I realised that I was going to accept my responsibility as a newly fledged hero, until I thought of a flabbergasted Tikki jumping up and down and swirling around in ecstasy, and Master Fu going 'thank you, thank you! You are now the best superhero ever!'. It was a pleasant picture, and I felt a cheeky grin growing steadily across my face, when Tikki rudely interrupted my thoughts.

"I think she's going to accept!" she squealed happily, throwing herself upon me in a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you for spoiling my grand announcement!" I grumbled as she squeezed the life out of me.

"you're welcome!" she replied, thinking that I had wanted her to spoil it.

"No, I didn't actually mean that! I was being sarcastic!"

"Me too!" she replied, pulling a funny face.

"Ok... can you… maybe… getoffme!" I wheezed, trying to shake her off as she clung tighter.

"Sorry! It's just been a while since anyone has accepted this responsibility, and I am simply... just in awe of your bravery!" she gushed.

"Bravery?" I stuttered, reduced to a burbling infant, as it dawned on me that I was to be the protector of the civilians' lives, including someone that I really didn't like…

Brenda.

Nope. not doing it. I can't protect Brenda. She's, my nemesis! Who wants to protect a bully? I wondered.

Then I felt guilty again. Great. Now I was feeling sorry for a cruel tormentor who had ruined my life since… forever!

"Okay." I spoke, trying to sound calm, even though my head was pounding with unspoken words and ideas, "I can do this." I said it louder this time. "I can DO this!" I was about to practically shout it this time when I noticed Master Fu staring at me as if he had seen a ghost.

"What?" I glared at him, silently daring him to be saucy about my emotional pep-talk, and preparing myself for the worst.

"You – you're glowing!" he said.

Ok. That was the worst.