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The Tiger And The Monkey

Swiftly, silently, Yori pursued the Monkey Lord and his ninjas, leaping nimbly through the trees. Though he took as many twists and turns as humanly possible, she didn't lose sight of him. She was certain he hadn't see her follow him, but without a doubt he suspected someone was in pursuit. After all, Monkey Fist was no one's fool.

Presently he stopped in the branch of a tree, listening intently to the sounds of the jungle and trying to pick out any that didn't quite fit. His monkey ninjas were motionless. She held her breath, not even daring to breathe. Though there was distance between them, enough that even if she had been speaking quietly to someone he wouldn't have been able to hear, she still chose to play it safe. He scanned the jungle carefully and she pressed herself tightly against the tree she was hiding behind. His eyes rested there and for a moment she feared he'd spotted her, though she couldn't fathom how, but soon enough he turned away and leapt from the tree he was in to the ground. Scanning his surroundings once more, he began to walk. For that she was relieved. It meant she wouldn't have to work so hard to keep up with him now. He remained silent and guarded, not even daring to discuss plans with his ninjas. Yori chose to continue following him from the trees. There was less chance of crackling leaves or breaking sticks betraying her position that way, because any sound she made could be excused by wind or wild animals. If she was careful.

As she tailed him, she couldn't help but wonder how it was he had been released from his stone prison. It shouldn't have been possible. He'd made a deal with fate the moment he awakened the Yono, and had been cursed for it. There should have been no return for him, no loophole to be exploited. Even if there had been, who would have gone so far out of their way to save him? She knew it sounded cruel, and she hated that, but it was what it was. This master of the long dead art of Tai Shing Pek Kwar should not have been brought back. She remembered all too vividly their final battle...

KP

He had defeated them all. All but her, Stoppable-san, and little Hana. All the others had been turned to stone. She remembered Hana's actions that finally led to his downfall. She remembered the Yono's last words to the infant. She remembered seeing the brand upon her enemy's hand light up, a glow surrounding his body as her friends were one by one restored, he himself taking their place. Their punishment.

She remembered seeing the stone work its way up his body. She remembered seeing him revive, dazed and confused, just in time to realize what was happening to him. He met her gaze and she had seen the terror in his eyes... Kim and Ron had been too busy speaking to notice, but she had. His fear became mixed with hatred the likes of which she had never known before that time and would probably never know again. Desperation appeared in its wake though, and he had reached out to something. She still wasn't sure whether it had been her, Kim and Ron, or if he had been appealing one last time to some deity or Yono itself to spare him. He had tried to cry out for help...

Never before had she witnessed a man die. The memories were now branded on her very soul. He had been suffering so much, a mental torment the likes of which she dreaded to think on, and in that moment he had not been her enemy. In that moment it had not been relief or happiness she felt. It had been grief and guilt... She had wanted to help him, to respond to his unspoken plea, but how could a mere mortal interfere in the affairs of gods? She had started towards him, reaching out her hand, but at the last moment hesitated.

She had regretted it ever since, though she knew she shouldn't...

By the time she even thought to warn Ron and Kim, he was gone. Just gone. Only as the temple was disappearing into the ground had the others noticed, and they watched in shock and disbelief...

Never before had anyone lost their life during a mission. To see it happen there and then had stunned them silent. As the temple sank beneath the earth, hidden away from mortal eyes, Yori had felt unbearable shame and could no longer watch. No one had spoken a single word on the return to Yamanouchi...

She had thought it unfair that he was forced to follow the path of the Yono when technically Hana had not defeated him. Yori in fact doubted the infant had even knocked him unconscious! Just dazed him. He still could have fought, he still had had a chance, so she wasn't angry he was alive, as many might believe she was. She wasn't bitter that once again he could breathe in the sweet air, or feel the gentle wind, or smell the fresh earth, or see the sun again, or hear music and voices, or taste the fruits of the earth. No part of her at all resented any of that, though many might think she should. If anything she was relieved, and the guilt that had for so long tormented her began to wane.

She was angry about his infiltration of her school. She was angry he had not learned his lesson after the Yono and had instead gone immediately back to his old tricks. That anger, however, was not any different than the anger she'd felt towards him before the Yono incident. It was the same type of anger Kim and Ron probably felt towards Drakken and Shego! If Monkey Fist should be killed, it should be with honor and dignity and fairness.

KP

All at once she heard a roar and the sound of monkeys shrieking in terror. She gasped, startled from her thoughts, and looked quickly down. It wasn't the ninjas that were shrieking. They were frozen in place and their master with them. Sharply he looked in the direction of the noise, scowled, and instantly bounded off. She caught her breath. What was he thinking? He was about to run straight into a predator with its prey, if the shrieks and roars were any indication! Immediately she sprang after him and the monkey ninjas.

In not long they came upon a stream flowing through the forest, and she stopped with a gasp. A tiger was there, and in its mouth a wild monkey! She didn't know what a tiger was doing here, there were no large cats native to Japan anymore if there ever had been, but she couldn't deny what she was seeing either. The tiger shook the poor creature and tossed it into the air, playing with its food. She loved the great cats, but it sickened her how they and their feline relatives hunted; toying with their prey, never letting it escape, then devouring it when it was too weak to move anymore or already half dead. The monkey regained its footing and tried to escape up a tree. The tiger batted it down, but the monkey managed to move out of the way of its attacker's next swipe. Her heart ached for the poor creature, so desperate to survive but so alone.

Like Monkey Fist had been. Like you let him be...

She felt a tightening in her throat and swallowed over it, tears pricking at her eyes. So much of her wanted to intervene, but what fool would interfere with a predator in the process of a kill?

Was that not what you told yourself in regards to him?

She winced, closing her eyes tightly, then opened them to look once more only to gasp, eyes widening a little in alarm. Monkey Fist was no longer standing idly by. With a vicious monkey shriek, he leapt across the stream and attacked the tiger, knocking it away from the monkey and facing it head on with a scowl, positioning himself between the predator and the injured monkey. The tiger, at first confused, was lost as to how to react. Suddenly it seemed to recover itself and roared furiously, leaping at Monkey Fist. Easily Monkey Fist dodged and got behind it, pulling its tail. The tiger roared and spun around, swiping at him. Monkey Fist easily ducked beneath it and shrieked at it once more like a monkey. Uncertain how to react, the tiger began to back uneasily away. Big cats never had preferred food that fought back. Or even food that appeared bigger than them, in many cases. It roared at him angrily once more before charging, but each of its attacks were easily dodged or leapt over. Still it pressed on until there was no more question that it would not be getting its jaws on its prey tonight. It roared furiously, swiping one last time. Monkey Fist pulled back and shrieked at it again, at which point it finally retreated. With a final snarl it turned, bounding off into the woods.

Only then, when it was long gone, did Monkey Fist let his fatigue show...

With a gasp he dropped to his knees, panting lightly. The ninjas gathered around him worriedly, distracted by their master's plight. Now was the time to strike she knew. From a satchel she withdrew a dart and a vial; a poison that would render him unconscious and helpless. Dipping the dart in the vial, she carefully took aim. Just then, though, he looked in the direction of the injured monkey and staggered up, moving towards it. Yori paused, frowning curiously. As she watched, him, her eyes began to widen a little in realization. Gently he scooped the wounded creature up in his arms and carried it to the stream as if he were carrying an infant. Kneeling next to the water, he bathed the deep wounds the monkey had sustained. It shrieked in pain but was too weak to struggle anymore. Soon it simply gave up, letting this stranger do to it what he would. It whimpered in pain. As soon as Monkey Fist seemed satisfied the wounds were clean, he took off the sash of his gi and bound the deepest of the injuries. He beckoned to another monkey to take off its own outfit and give it to him. The monkey obeyed, and Monkey Fist efficiently bound the rest of the creature's gashes with a practiced hand.

"There you are. You'll be all right. Quite the fighter, aren't you? By the time I'm done with you though, nothing will be able to harm you again," he soothed, stroking it gently with a tender smile that made him look, for the first time since she'd met him, human... The monkey clung to him tightly, whimpering and desperate for the comfort. He chuckled softly, nuzzling it. Yori could hardly believe her eyes. Like magic, everything about him that had made him seem so inhuman melted away, and she saw the man he must once have been. The dark circles beneath his eyes that made them seem so large were gone. The twisted, disproportionate, animalistic grin had become soft and gentle and human. His ears somehow seemed less prominent, though of course they hadn't changed in size, and suddenly what she was beholding was just a man. Nothing more. He looked towards his ninjas. "Monkey Ninjas, bring our little friend here to the hideout," he ordered. The monkeys hooted in response, carefully taking their fellow simian from their master's hands and swinging off into the jungle with it.

Monkey Fist sighed deeply then went towards the stream. He knelt next to it and scooped the water into his palms, splashing it over his face and head in order to cool down. He peered at his reflection, frowned a little, and combed his fingers through his messy hair in an attempt to neat it up. It served to make him look more human still, and satisfied with the transformation, he scooped some of the water into his hands once more and drank deeply. Once more her opportunity presented itself. He was in her sights and all alone. All she needed to do was shoot the dart and meet her mark. Then he would be theirs. It would be so easy...

So why did she find herself unable to do it...?

She swallowed over a lump in her throat. For a moment, just a moment, she felt as if she had become the tiger... She had stalked him through the jungle, waited until he was tired and vulnerable and alone, and now she would ambush him with no warning and bring him back a prisoner? No. She couldn't do it. She just couldn't. She would not be so dishonorable. She would not be like the tiger. Sighing in defeat, she lowered the dart and stood, watching him silently. She slipped it back into her satchel, nibbled her lower lip as she considered her next move, then reached up to a branch and snapped it loudly, closing her eyes and hanging her head.

KP

Monkey Fist froze in place, swiftly looking up into the trees, and though he couldn't see her, he knew exactly who it was. He couldn't say he was surprised, he had sensed a presence following him for some time now, but after a while he'd begun to think that perhaps he was just being paranoid. Good to know that wasn't the case. His senses, it seemed, were still as sharp as ever. Scowling darkly into the canopy, all that had made him look so human slipped away. Turning, he hurried into the jungle after his ninjas. She would follow him no longer, he realized. The girl was weak. Weak and merciful. One day those traits would be her downfall. In that moment, though, he was grateful for them.

Yori watched after him until he was long out of sight. Only when she was certain he would not come back did she make her way back to Yamanouchi...

KP

She returned to the school and was greeted by her fellow ninjas, teachers, and Sensei himself. "Yori!" Hirotaka exclaimed, racing to her and embracing her tightly. At first surprised, she soon settled into his embrace and smiled gently, closing her eyes in contentment as she held him back. Hirotaka, suddenly realizing his slipup, gasped softly and withdrew from her, composing himself rapidly. Her smile fell sadly, but she understood why he had done it. From infancy they were taught not to let emotion overwhelm good sense. Sometimes her brother took that lesson a little too far though, she felt. "I-I am relieved you are safe, sister," he said, bowing formally to her. She hung her head, self-consciously rubbing an arm.

"Were you able to capture the monkey lord?" Sensei questioned.

"I am sorry Sensei, I was not," she ashamedly replied.

"I see," Sensei mused, stroking his beard ponderously. "That is a shame."

"Master, I will accept whatever consequence must come of my failure," Yori said.

"No, child. There will be no consequence," Sensei answered somewhat distractedly. "So, Lord Monkey Fist has returned. This is very bad," he gravely continued. "From now on, we must be ever vigilant. What do you suppose he was after, Yori?" Sensei questioned.

The old man knew the answer, they all knew he did, but nonetheless Yori dutifully replied. "I fear he was after the Lotus Blade."

"And I would agree. Such power in his hands could be disastrous," Sensei stated. Normally the old man never gave such straight answers or let philosophical opportunities slide, but now was no time for such things. Sensei was not a fool, he knew what Yori had done, but what she needed to understand was that sometimes there was no choice to be made. Especially in matters such as this. As much as humanity wished to deny it, some things simply could not be allowed to exist. Monkey Fist had chosen his path long ago. Now he must walk it. Even if it led to his untimely demise. He sighed and turned to the ninjas. "My students, it is time you learn of the dire situation we now face. For some time now I have seen signs of Lord Monkey Fist's return. His inevitable infiltration has long been anticipated."

"What?" Yori asked, eyes widening in shock. The ninjas, now nervous, began to mutter uncertainly amongst themselves. For how long had Monkey Fist been free? Why had Sensei not alerted them until now? When had their master begun seeing these signs?

"Signs? What signs?" Hirotaka questioned, frowning and raising a wary eyebrow at the old man. The other ninjas fell silent, looking expectantly at Sensei

"Patience Hirotaka. I will reveal everything," Sensei assured, looking at him. He turned back to the others. "The signs I have seen were not physical in nature. On the night of the last full moon, I sensed his presence return to the world of the living. It was the first sign. His anger was great, but his mind distracted, so that anger soon faded away. Only days later, it returned. This time, though, nothing restrained it. He wanted me to feel it. He wanted me to be warned. I knew, then, that it was only a matter of time."

"Sensei, so long ago? Why did you not tell us this from the start? We could have captured him before he even left the jungle!" Hirotaka said.

"No. That would not have been possible," Sensei declared.

"How can you know this?" Hirotaka demanded.

"Because there were others with him that day. Two great forces that, together with his own, equaled a power I did not dare challenge. Not with what was at my disposal," Sensei replied. "Even one life lost would have been too many. Before I explain further though, my students, I would like Possible and Stoppable-san to be present here. We must summon them. I feel as though we may soon be in need of their assistance." The ninjas, though reluctant to let the matter go so soon, inevitably relented and bowed to him in acknowledgement before bounding off.