Viper looked at me, with her blue eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets at my question. I couldn't say that what I asked was subtle, but it was the only way I could think of asking at the time.
"...Sorry"?
"Nothing, it was a stupid question forget about it. Sorry I said anything". I said all at once, knowing I probably just made myself seem like a creep. Go me. Genius. I returned to the scrolls, not even daring to look at Viper who I was certain was still looking at me with her shocked expression. The next thing I knew was that I felt Vipers tail curl around my back, as though offering a comforting hand on a shoulder, and spoke.
"Mike, I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put pressure on you for poking around at a sensitive subject. I do respect your judgement on it as much as myself, so I'll tell you my answer if you still want".
I nodded, still unable to look back.
"I like you as a friend, yes. But... I think I like you as something more".
I had no idea what to feel at this point. Happy, nervous, disgusted, I didn't know. About a month ago, if you had asked me if I had ever imagined something non human to fall in love with me, I'd had said that you're insane and maybe even call the police. Now, it was happening right at this moment! But I'm swaying slightly from the matter at hand. I'd better give my own answer.
"I... need some time to think about this".
I barely saw Viper nod out of the corner of my eye and returned to work, but I wasn't having none of that.
"I got these scrolls. You need to take a break".
"Mike-".
"I'm not taking no as an answer Viper". I argued back as I started to push Viper gently out the door.
"It's only fair that you need to break, especially with a lot on your mind. More than my own".
I got her out of the room and offered her a friendly smile before closing the door. I could only muster the energy to speak one sentence. "That was an interesting experience". I then went back over to the scrolls and put them on the correct shelves, unsure what to do of the new situation. I just decided that it would be best to wait a little while until I could give an answer, because part of me was yelling for me not to, and the other part was saying that it was for the best. God I hate myself sometimes.
3 DAYS LATER
The food situation in the Valley seemed to be getting much worse. People were starving and complaining, even blaming each other for the famine. Two of the villagers actually came all the way up the stairs to complain about it, and a third blamed the theft of food on the new guy. Me. However, once convinced that I wasn't the bad guy but rather someone helping to solve the case, he left me alone thank God.
As for everything up at the Jade palace, half of our time was spent patrolling the streets of the Valley of Peace in order to try to catch the thief or thieves. Training increased and I spent most of my training with Crane, more out of choice than being forcibly teamed up. Viper and I had remained silent to each other ever since what happened during the scroll sorting, even when we did train together. I even noticed that she had gone back to wearing her pink lotus flowers again. I did try to say something to her but every time I tried, words failed me as my mouth went dry, unsure what to this point I think she's just waiting for an answer.
Shifu had to leave the Winter feast celebration at the Onyx temple stating that an emergency situation was at hand and returned yesterday after receiving the message from Zhen and decided to deal with the situation through honorable intentions. In other words, the valley goes hungry, the warriors of the Jade palace go hungry too. Myself and Po were horrified at the idea, Po more so than me after his efforts of having stored more than half the food from the kitchen into his own room. Therefore, we had to have five grains of rice for every meal. Just five grains! I'm not even joking! I might as well die of starvation now, despite the famine becoming serious since yesterday. Just one day into the five grain of rice diet and I was already hungry. As soon as lunch was ready, I was sitting next to Po, poking my pieces of rice around like a small child would. I was soon broken out of my trance by Po's rumbling stomach. Not by the rumbling in general, but the noise that came with it! It was so loud that for a single second, I mistook it for an earthquake! I even nearly and instinctively dove under the table! I wonder if anyone in the Valley heard it. I turned to see Po, acting like he was in pain, holding his stomach and groaning before slamming his head on the table, nearly smashing his plate into pieces in the process. Then, as things weren't bad enough, he began to complain.
"Five grains of rice? FIVE? That's worse than none".
"Well, if you want, I could take them off your hands for you". I told Po before reaching for his plate, only to have my tail slapped away by the panda, using one of his arms to cover the plate from me, protecting the plate from me as though his life depended on it.
"As long as the village goes hungry, we will go hungry as well".
Tigress pointed out to the pair of us, although it felt a little like she was scolding us like a mother would with a pair of undisciplined children.
"Yeah, but when we agreed to that, I thought it meant "hungry". Not, HUNGRY"! Po moaned.
"Sorry Po, but until we catch the food bandits, and end this famine, five grains is all the rice you-". Viper suddenly stopped and seemed to widen her eyes slightly at Po, I turned to see what she was looking at and saw Po looking back at her rather oddly, with half closed eyes and his tongue rolling out of his mouth.
"You're seeing me as a giant noodle again. Aren't you"?
Giant nood-... I shifted my chair away from Po as quietly as I could, next to Monkey, until I was convinced that I would be safe from his grasp. Better to be safe than sorry. Po then snapped out of his trance at Vipers words and my shuffling away from him. He let out a soft sigh.
"Sorry guys. It's just that I- I- need food"!
"We all do"!
Crane spoke up, getting a little fed up with Po moaning about how hungry he was. How did Po think everyone else felt? Well, almost everyone... "
I dunno what you're all complaining about, I. Am. Stuffed". Mantis spoke with a half full mouth. I felt like he was mocking us and I gave him a glare. Without me even noticing, everyone else had the same thought. Shame that the bug didn't get the message. "...What? Rice in my teeth"?
This was breaking point for Po as he snarled and reached for Mantis, but before he could do anything he would regret, Shifu, who had apparently come out of nowhere, had stopped the Panda from even touching Mantis and began to lead Po away. I made no hesitation to grab Po's plate and add the contents to my own plate. At least it would make a decent tenth of a mouthful. But before i had the sweet chance to do so...
"Come with me". Shifu directed at the table, everyone got up and followed their master.
I hesitated before attempting again to eat until Viper began to pull me by the neck, forcing me off my chair. We soon found ourselves being taken outside the barracks and slowly descending down the stairs.
"This famine is reaching a critical point. I'm not sure how much longer the villagers can hold on".
"Any luck on figuring out who's stealing the food Master Shifu"? Tigress asked somewhat hopefully, although all of us knew the coming answer.
"Unfortunately not. But we do have a short term solution".
My ears perked up. Anything to get more food sounded like a good plan to me. However, I heard slobbering sounds towards me and turned to the source to see Po now looking at me. Shit.
"Po, please don't tell me you're seeing me as food right now"... I asked worried upon the thought of having my head being bitten off.
"Okay... I'm not". Po said lazily, still looking at me with hungry eyes.
Luckily, Tigress came to my aid by slapping Po round the face. This seemed to take effect instantly.
"I'M GOOD, I'M GOOD"! He yelled the second he had been touched.
We then focused our attention on Master Shifu, though every now and then I kept checking on Po.
Just in case. "...A newcomer, Madam Jhao, has donated a shipment of rice to the village. I am sending you to protect that rice".
We continued to follow Shifu a little further down the stairs until Po began talking, though mostly to himself.
"By eating it? Cause then it would be in our stomachs and then noone will be able to-".
The combined looks of everyone was enough to snap Po back to reality again. I really hoped he wouldn't be talking like this during the mission.
"I'm open to other suggestions"... Po offered with a sheepish smile.
"...Your journey will take a few hours just to arrive. I suggest you leave as soon as possible". Shifu told us before leaving.
"We better get moving. While we still have our strength". Tigress spoke up like she was second in command and began to lead us all down the barracks stairs, and then down the main ones to the village. However, Po was, once again, thinking about food which cost him as he lost his footing on the first stair before tumbling down all the other ones until I could no longer see him.
"Is... he going to be okay"? I asked concerned.
"Oh please, Po could take a hammer to the face and shrug it off almost instantly". Monkey reassured me.
"Didn't that actually happen at one point, you know, with that one eyed wolf boss"? Mantis spoke up.
"One eyed wolf boss"?
"It's a long story".
I kept silent. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the story behind it so I just shrugged and kept heading down to the village. Eventually we reached the bottom of the steps, and Po as well, just lying in the dirt. An hour passed and we were in the bamboo forest when we should have actually been at a rocky canyon, half a mile away. The journey so far would have been so much quicker if it wasn't for...
"Come on Po! If you keep stopping to lick rocks, we're never gonna get there".
Po had now been licking a boulder with green moss for the last five minutes, tasting it at different angles to try and overcome his hunger issues.
"It's the next best thing to eating! Besides, some of these rocks taste pretty good".
"Really"? I asked a little intrigued.
"Yeah, totally"!
Normally I wouldn't do this sort of thing, but I'm too hungry not to try. Either that or I've, at last, gone crazy. I got myself to slither over to the rock and actually lick it. After the first second, I reared back in disgust of the taste of moss and spat out what I could!
"AAAAH, JESUS! WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING LISTENING TO YOU"!? I yelled while nearly gagging at the horrible aftertaste that remained on my tongue.
"Yeaaaah... This wasn't one of those rocks". Po spoke, offering me a sheepish smile. In return, I angrily looked at him before slithering back to the rest of the group. As I did, I noticed that Monkey was trying to hold in his laughter, the jerk. We began to walk again a little quicker than normal to try and make up for lost time, but soon enough, someone else grabbed my attention.
"Hey Mike, can I talk to you for a sec"?
Now Viper had begun to talk to me. After three days of being silent to each other, she was now speaking. This ought to be good. I just nodded my head and soon enough, we began to travel a little slower than everyone else until we were at the very back of the group and were about one or two meters behind, far enough for us to talk without anyone listening in on us.
"What's going on"? "
I just wanted to apologize, for not being able to speak to you lately. I can assume that you've a lot on your mind. You know, about us"?
"I do. And in all truth Viper, you're a sweet...snake and all, but I need to really think about this".
"What about the last few days you had to think about it"?
"Actually at that point, I was still getting over the fact that you like me. Don't get me wrong, I mean that in a good way. It's just, I guess I'm not too good when it comes to going out with girls".
"What do you mean"?
"Well... umm... Okay, take my last date for example. We went out to this fancy restaurant and had a big three course meal. At the end of it, she demanded that I should pay for everything. I objected and argued that the bill should be split. The argument got a bit out of hand aaaand... I can't remember much after that but when I woke up, I found myself on the floor in pain next to a tipped over table. That night left me with a broken heart. And an empty wallet".
I wasn't entirely sure if it was a good idea to bring up exe's to someone who likes me, but I didn't have much of a choice.
"Sorry to open old wounds".
"I got over it quickly enough, but it did put me off dating for a while".
"So I take it you want it to stay that way"?
"... Tell you what. Once this whole famine thing is dealt with, I promise to give you an answer then. Deal"?
"Are you sure, the last thing I want is to put pressure on my teammates".
"I'll be fine. Really".
"And you're sure you'll be ready to give an answer"?
To Viper's surprise, and even mine, I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'm sure".
This got Viper to smile at me, for the first time in days. I watched as she returned to the main group and began to think to myself.
"Did I really just kiss her just then? What's wrong with me?! I- just- just don't do it again, alright"? But still, even with me thoughts speeding through my head, it did help me out on what answer I should give. Maybe.
The rest of the journey took another hour at the least until we could see the storage facility, standing like a fortress over the barren green and grey hills of grass and rock. It was brick colored and looked as though it could hold it's own against a siege.
"Whoa, Madam Jhao must be richer than Lee chi Nut pudding in a brown sugar demigloss"!
I was really getting fed up with Po talking about food and was about to yell at him until Crane beat me to it.
"We get it! You're hungry"!
At least he put it nicer than what I was going to say, and just as well he said it. The last thing we needed was for me and Po to start arguing, especially since the storage facility was just right there in front of us. We made it up to the entrance and Po immediatley opened the door. Seriously, he couldn't have knocked instead of just barging in? Oh, at least he did eventually knock on the door AFTER entering! That makes up for the fact that he's technically breaking and entering! Aaand everyone else followed suit. Yeah, that's just great. By the way, I should mention that whenever I'm hungry or tired, I get seriously moody, which explains most of my attitude today. Before half of the group could walk in, we were greeted by... I think an antelope... was it? Yeah, I'm gonna go with that. And one that was perhaps sixty years of age.
"Ooh, companies here"! She sounded friendly enough, I'll give her that. "Welcome, welcome, welcome! It's so nice to see new faces. I do get so lonely out here on my own. I'm Madam Jhao".
The antelope bowed to the furious five and myself who returned it. Po, seemed a little distracted with all the bags and crates of rice in front of him to even notice the introductions. However he soon received more than an intro. Madam Jhao ran right up to him, Po's stomach being the only thing stopping her like an air bag in a car crash. She then proceeded to hug the panda, getting her arms a little less than halfway round his stomach. Of course if it wasn't for the lack of food, She'd likely struggle to hug a only third of his stomach.
"Ooh and you're the mighty dragon warrior! Sole protector of the Valley of Peace"!
Sole protector?! What about the rest of us? Did she just instantly forget who we were after seeing Po?! What the hell? Po seemed to be taking the praise a little too well.
"Well... I mean I-".
Before he could utter another word, Everyone looked at him with disbelieving eyes.
"Well not really the SOLE protector"...
"Would you like to come in and see portraits of my grandchildren"?
"uuuhhh... sounds great. Really. But, we should probably get that rice back to the village"?
Yeah, probably should. But Madam Jhao seemed persistent to stop us from leaving.
"Ooh don't go yet. Have you eaten? I took the liberty of preparing a small lunch". I then watched as Madam Jhao pulled Po over to... Oh my God! THAT'S a small lunch? You could feed a family of ten with all the dumplings and cakes my eyes were witnessing at this moment!
"Until now, I didn't know my eyes were hungry too"! Po spoke, summing up my feelings as well.
Without even thinking, I slithered over to the table that held the food up to Po's waistline, Po with the same idea in mind, ready to eat. But before we got the chance to pick something up from the table... Mantis stopped the both of us, keeping us at bay.
"Guys, Honor demands that we not eat while the village starves"?
...Damn it!
"Honor demands that I not starve while my stomach eats".
"...What? That made no sense at all"! I argued, not following Po's meaning.
"You're right! I must be delirious".Po turned back to the feast. "Should probably eat something".
Po leapt into the air, why he didn't just walk over to the table and grabbed some food then, I don't know but it didn't matter as the food and bowls suddenly ran off the table, causing Po to smack into the table, tipping the thing over.
"Rats".
"I know, I was so close"!
"No Po, Rats"!
Sure enough, I could see at least a dozen rats in pants, carrying every scrap of food that once sat on top of the table. I could hear Po exclaiming in disgust at the disease carrying creatures. One of them, slightly bigger than the rest stood forward in front of all the others of his kind, taking a dumpling from one of them before speaking.
"Ooh, Jade palace warriors. How very whimsical". His voice was low and crept me out a little.
He then began scanning us with his eyes, as though staring through us. Soon enough, he stepped forward again until he was but a few feet away, and sat on the dumpling like it was a mini beanbag.
"Why so sad? Is the chunky panda hungry"? He mocked Po.
"Trust me mate, if you had to listen for hours on end at his constant moaning of how hungry he was, you'd realize how stupid that question sounded".I told the rat, earning me a wide smile from him, almost as though he was laughing on the inside.
"You're the ones who've been stealing the villages food".
Wow. Great observation detective Tigress.
"And you're the ones who are going to try and stop me. Well here we all are. TRY AND STOP ME"!
Before anyone could move, the rat pulled out a mini wooden hammer and used it to crush the dumpling he had just sat on. Most of the remains flew into Po's face, getting him angry.
"No one hurts food on my watch"!
Po charged forward towards the head rat, who calmly grabbed a small red napkin in front of the panda like one of those bull fighters they have in Spain. Po managed to get close enough to throw a punch but the rat was able to avoid the blow with ease. Everyone around me, save for Madam Jhao, took it as a signal to round up the rest of the rats before they got away. In seconds, we surrounded the small group of vermin. But as soon as we had, the rats just instantly gave up, throwing the food down and raising their tiny arms into the air. Talk about easy. Oh how wrong I was. I saw something move above the wall and looked up to see several dozen other rats staring back at me. They were everywhere! along every inch of the wall! They started climbing down the walls after us. Now it was on!
Three rats came at me with chopsticks for weapons. I managed to avoid their attacks easily by dodging left and right. Eventually once they were tired out I jumped over them and swiped all three with a whack of my tail, sending them flying before they even managed to turn around to face me. As soon as the three landed, another two attacked me from behind, grabbing hold of me and begun to hit me as hard as they could. I quickly jumped into the air and twisted my body round and coiled the two up with my back and squeezed, not hard enough to kill them but to cause them enough pain to stop them from attacking. No matter how many of these things I beat, they kept on coming, as though defeating one made another two take their place. I just kept hitting and jabbing them as fast and as accurate as I could. But before the rats could overwhelm me, they begun to fall back, grabbing what food they could as they did. While everybody stood down, seeing that the fight was over, Po kept running after the remaining rats now disappearing through a hole in the wall. I watched just to see Po dive at the head rat and miss. It seemed they all got away. After watching Po get up and start walking like a zombie behind Monkey, I checked on Madam Jhao, who was now lying on the ground after the head rat attacked her. But after Po had walked by, her eyes opened and she suddenly sprung up into Po's large arms.
"You saved me from that awful rat! Thank you thank you thank you"!
"You really are lonely aren't you"? Po asked her, but whether she didn't hear him or chose to ignore him, I wasn't sure.
"They took the rice"!
I spun round back to the crates. There was nothing! Not even single bag of rice!
"...GOD DAMN IT"! I yelled, unable to hold in my anger any longer, yelling to the sky in blind fury. It was only when I looked down to see everyone staring back at me with shock, was I able to settle down.
"...Sorry". I apologised. Though inside, I felt a little calmer and happier than I had been all day. I really needed that.
But with that said and done, Madam Jhao climbed off of Po and looked at the empty crates and wagons.
"Oh, this is just awful. I'm so very sorry. I'll send for another Provence at once".
"Many thanks Madam Jhao".Tigress spoke and bowed along with everyone else. "Come on! We need to tell master Shifu about those rats".
We all left at once, but before I could I gave an apology to Madam Jhao for my cursing. She simply smiled and waved it off. She sure was a nice kind hearted lady, I'll say that. I then left and followed everyone else. Crane had to call to Po to get him moving as Madam Jhao had begun speaking to him. I wasn't sure what it was about but it didn't matter.
"So Mike... Angry much"? Mantis asked with a snigger.
"Only when I'm hungry or tired. Take a guess which one it is". I responded calmly.
"Just make sure you control your tongue next time. The last thing we need is more of your rudeness".
"Sorry Tigress".
Walking back to the Jade Palace was much more relaxing than walking from it. Po didn't stop to lick as many rocks so that was a plus. Eventually, two hours later, we had already reached the Palace and had told Shifu about the rats we encountered. He narrowed his eyes before taking us into the Hall of Heroes, next to the reflecting pool. Thank goodness Monkey pointed the actual name of the building out to me otherwise I would have just kept calling it the main hall.
"The rats you faced are called... the Lao Shu".(Apologies if I spelt the name wrong)
Everybody gasped apart from me and Po. What's a Lao Shu meant to be? A fancy name for rat?
"How come everyone but me always knows what stuff means"?
"You ain't the only one mate".
Shifu sighed and, for the sake of me and Po, explained the general detail about the Lao Shu. It turned out that there was possibly thousands of the rats that were behind stealing the valleys food, and the big one? Turns out that he's literally insane and named Ju Long. At this point, I'm not even surprised one bit, I mean, take it from my point of view. Over a week ago I was a normal human being who was then killed and put into a new world where I've become a python and am now a warrior who's had to go through intense training, deal with a snake who seems to like me AND, at this moment right now, am wasting away on starvation. So yeah, I've just given up all together with being surprised.
"These villains are unlike any you've ever faced".
Well it's not like I've had to deal with many villains to begin with, save for the water buffalos and the croc bandits.
"Get some rest. Tomorrow you train".
We left the Hall of heroes, ready to get some soon needed sleep. There was nothing but silence from the night, only to be broken by Po's rumbling stomach. Guess that's my cue for dinner. The second I made it to the barracks, I got a plate and sprinkled on five grains. I would have taken more if I was sure that I wouldn't be caught, even if I was the only one inside. But still, all that we had left was one bag of rice. All the food that Po had taken into his room a few days ago had gone off from not being properly stored, instantly losing two thirds of our food. No doubt that everyone was mad at him but eventually got over it. Even me. I balanced the plate on my head and gently set it down on the table and took my place before poking the rice again and again. God what I wouldn't give for a burger right now, or fries or anything deep fried. I then lifted up one of the grains and chucked it into my mouth. On the bright side, we still have plenty of water so we weren't running out of that anytime soon. Especially with the well named after Viper. Small or not, it still provided water. Something that the Lao shu couldn't steal. Nice to know I'll live a little longer just to starve to death! I gulped whatever rice was left on my plate and headed to bed. I couldn't wait to see if tomorrow would get any better.
MORNING
It didn't. With the morning came an even hungrier stomach, as though it was eating itself. I could barely move as I climbed out of bed, greeted Shifu slowly and into the kitchen where everyone except Po took their breakfast, three guesses what we had to eat, and made our way to the training hall. It got worse. I watched as everyone was too weak to do any proper punches and moves. It was like they were trying to do kung fu in slow motion. Though I didn't fare any better training with Mantis. I barely had the energy to lift my tail to block Mantis's attack, which was still going strong thanks to his size, but was slightly less powerful. Just like the rest of us, hunger was getting to him. Guess size isn't everything after all. Shifu was doing what he could to inspire us, but even that was of no use. But then again, I wasn't even listening to what he had to say in the first place. I looked to see how Po was doing. The poor guy must be doing terrible. I was wrong as I saw Po move like lightning, crushing all the obsticles set before him. Even the swinging wooden clubs were smash to pieces from his kicks and punches! I was mind-blown as to how he, the guy who's been complaining about food since day one, had just suddenly gone from bad to amazingly good! I was so distracted, that I had forgotten that I was meant to be sparring and paid for it with a kick in the face by Mantis.
"Sorry buddy. Guess I wasn't paying attention".
"You and me both".
"That's enough training for now. Take a break and regroup in twenty minutes".
Everyone sighed and left the training hall. I slithered out after them and decided to just sit down on the grass just outside the training court, just wanting to do nothing but sit in the sun for as long as I could, letting my troubles soak away. Just relax, do nothing. That was how I was wanting to spend my break. And so I just sat there doing nothing. The arrival of everyone else walking back up was my alarm clock so once I saw them, I made my way back to the training hall. This process repeated for the rest of the day.
ONE WEEK LATER
You know what's funny? It has now been over two weeks since I came to live in this world, and now marks a week and a half since the Lao Shu had raided the Valleys food. That technically means that I've spend over half my new life slowly starving to death and all I can say about it is that it sucks. Oh, and that big sack of rice that was full several days ago? Now the whole thing's gone. It was amazing how quickly that rice had disappeared, it really was.
Once the afternoon training session had finished, Master Shifu led us to the outside of the Hall of Warriors, to the right side where I saw a map of... China. (If you look closely at the map on the wall during the actual episode, you'll see that it actually is of China) I don't know why we were being shown it, but I was too hungry to raise an argument or even care.
"I've located the last rice storehouse in the valley of piece".Shifu explained, showing us it's location on the map of China.
Couldn't he have just gotten a map of the damn village? Wouldn't that have been easier to use for the briefing?
"No doubt, Ju Long will- PANDA"!
Po had been humming and dancing on the spot for ages now. I, and likely everyone else, have been trying to block out his noises for the last ten minutes. Now that I think about it, How in God's name was he even still standing? The rest of us were ready to fall over from a simple push, but Po, he was acting like he was ready to take on the world. Luckily Shifu's yell had thankfully gotten him to shut up at last.
"Stake out that storehouse and catch the Lao Shu in the act. Meet up at seven O clock".
We all split up once the meeting was over, I left with Monkey and Viper and went inside the Hall of Heroes.
"So Mike, any pleasant thoughts today"? Monkey asked, noting my behavior which had gone back to anger since I hadn't the chance to yell out again.
"I do, I've been thinking of nice things I want to be put on my tombstone. How does *Here lies Mike. A bastard who starved to death and died alone* sound"?
"I think you'll have a hard time just finding a graveyard to put it in".
"Then just bury me at sea. If I die, promise me you'll do that for me".
"Oh stop being over dramatic Mike". Viper butted in.
"Hey, it's not my fault I need food to live Viper okay? It's not my fault you can deal with it better than the rest of us".
"...Monkey, could you please leave us to talk"?
Great, now I've done it. I saw Monkey look at me worried before leaving through the doors. Once they closed, Viper scolded me.
"Why are you acting like a jerk Mike? Everybody is starving okay, not just you"!
"I know that Viper, but I can't help it. I already mentioned that I act differently when hungry. I'd have thought you'd have taken that on board".
"And you lash out at everyone else for it? That's not very noble of you"!
"You're the one who keep asking me questions you already know the answers to, so forgive me if I'm being a bit of a jerk".
"Look, if you just carry out the mission tonight, then you'll be feeling better in no time okay? But until then, promise me you'll keep your attitude to yourself".
"... I'll try. Okay"?
"That's all I ask".
All I could do then was keep silent. So did Viper until I felt her hug me in an attempt to make me feel better. It sort of did. My anger washed away but was replaced with sorrow. I couldn't even move a single part of my body until after what seemed like hours, Viper decided to let go and left without saying a word. I soon followed after a couple of minutes passed of me feeling sorry for myself.
8:00PM
Everyone had met up at seven as instructed. All except for one, and no prizes for guessing who either.
"Eight o clock, and no sign of Ju Long". Whispered Viper.
"Or prompt Po"! Crane spoke back in a louder voice.
"I can't believe he'd let the villagers down like this"!
"He'll be here. He's probably doing something important".
As for my opinion on Po I didn't share it, but I had a feeling it linked to all his sudden energy that didn't seem to be fading through the last few days. It felt suspicious to me.
"Forget about Po"! Tigress whispered loud enough to bring me back to the real world. "Just stay alert, we can't let Ju Long get the drop on us".
"Oopsie daisy"! Came a new voice from above. I looked up to see Ju Long himself, just lying on one of the support beams with his comically tiny hammer "Too late. But hey, at least we got to spend some quality time together"!
Then as if triggered by a secret signal, dozens, no. Hundreds of rats began to slowly flood the place. I could see them crawling towards us...
1 HOUR LATER
Darkness became light as I opened my eyes. I felt horrible. In pain, still hungry and had no control of my senses from being dizzy. It reminded me of my last date, only no stolen walle- wait. I checked my money bag which I had strapped to me at all times in case of emergencies. Not much, just ten yuan. However...
Scratch that. It's exactly how my last date went. Fighting over food, getting knocked out, no money, almost like I was living the past. Talk about adding insult to injury.
Soon, my senses came back and I could now properly see again. I was in my bed, back at the barracks. I guess after we lost, or at least I assume we lost, that one of the five got me back safely. I only hoped that they weren't in any worse condition. I checked my mirror to see if I had any injuries. None that were visible, on the front of me or my back. I left just in time to see everyone flooding out of the kitchen. They looked madder than I've ever seen them before and wasn't sure whether I should say anything. Now I know how they felt having to deal with me when I became cranky.
"EVERY TIME YOU GO MISSING, THE LAO SHU RAID OUR RICE STORES"! I heard Master Shifu yell at who I'm guessing was Po only because he was the only one not to leave the kitchen.
I was too distracted to notice everybody next to me asking if I was okay. Eventually I heard them and answered.
"Yeah yeah I'm fine. Thanks. But"... I stopped to hear Shifu yell some more. "Did I miss something"?
"Yeah, Po's been sneaking off to Madam Jhao's to eat, which is why he didn't show up at the storehouse"! Mantis filled me in.
"He went to Madam Jhao's tonight"?
"And every night since we went there". Crane said bitterly.
That explains how he's managed to stay as strong as everyone else.
"Now he's let us, and the whole village down". Viper spoke just as harsh.
I've never seen Viper so hateful before, she's alway the most spirited of the group, aside from Monkey when he's pulling pranks, but still it was a terrifying experience. True she's been mad at me, but those were just when she was scolding me, now it was as though she wanted nothing to do with the panda who I was beginning to feel sorry for. I guess now it was my turn to repay the favor for Viper.
"Guys, could you please leave me and Viper alone for a bit"?
"Excuse me"?
"There's something I need to tell her".
"Now isn't the time to give me an answer Mike"!
"No, not that. I have something else to say".
Everyone hesitated to leave but did so. I then led Viper into my room and closed the door once she was in.
"What is this about"? Viper demanded, instead of asking. I then turned round and showed Viper my painted back.
"Read the inscription Viper".
"What"?
"Just do it".
"...To remember the importance of life and enjoy it, no matter the pain you endure. There, now what was the point of that"?
"Do you know why I chose that inscription Viper"? I asked her but quickly answered before she could say. "Because I've been through a lot in my life, and I mean a lot! But you know what? No matter how bad things get, no matter what pain I endure, I always hang on and stay true to myself. Throughout my entire life I never gave in to losing hope and I never will".
"Then why were you moaning on and on about making your tombstone"?
"Because I was hungry. Hunger makes people do anything, even resort to violence. What I said was nothing but simple words. I never truly gave up Viper. Never".
Viper looked away, feeling some guilt but still held onto it. Good thing I wasn't finished.
"To care and protect, to love and serve friend and family alike". I spoke, remembering that Viper had already told me hers on Winter feast morning. She turned to look at me, now confused. "I'm guessing that you chose that because you want to protect the ones you love and care for, right"? "Yes"... "Then perhaps you should start showing it. Ever since I became ill tempered, you were always there for me. And now the shoe's on the other foot, you've begun to blame Po".
"But he's the one who deserted us if you don't remember, or is your head a little more bashed in from the ambush than we thought"? Now who's being the rude jerk? Still I kept my calm and went on.
"And you think that he did it to purposely hurt his teammates? Or because he needed to do what his instincts told him"?
"Mike-".
"And upon that, I have one last thing to ask. Does Po always get in trouble like this"?
"Yes, but-".
"And does he ever try to fix the problems he causes"?
"Yes, and-".
"Then what's to stop him from trying again"?
"Why are you even siding with Po"?
"Because. If he's the Po that you and I both know, and based on your confession, then I'm sure that he's doing everything in his power to solve the problem, even if his friends are against him". This got Viper to calm down. Time to finish this.
"And I'll tell you something else about your inscription Viper. It may state that you care, protect and love friends and family alike, but you forget that those same friends and family, they love and care about you too just as much. Especially Po and... myself as well. Otherwise I wouldn't be having this talk with you".
I just watched as the gears in Vipers head turned before she came to a decision.
"I... guess you're right Mike. I'll apologize to Po when I next see him. And... sorry I said your head was bashed in. I guess I'm the one who needs to control her temper".
She dropped her head sadly and slithered past me to leave. But I held onto her a second longer, catching her attention for a little bit longer.
"You're not a bad snake for what you think Viper. As long as mistakes are realized, from all of us, then you're still the kind hearted girl I know you are".
I saw Viper smile at me, there I could tell that I had gotten through to her. I let her go and watched as she left the room. Favor returned.
THE NEXT DAY
It turned out that I was right about Po doing what he could to help. A few minutes ago, Zhen arrived from the village and told us all that shipments of food were being brought into the valley and how Po had stopped both Ju Long and Madam Jhao. Turns out they were working together, who knew? Shame really, I thought that Madam Jhao was innocent in all this. Guess you can't really trust anyone. But even so, I couldn't help but smile at this source of good news for two reasons. One, we get to eat again, and two, I was right about Po and Viper knew it, but being the good snake I am, I promised not to rub it in her face. I can do that with everyone else. But for now, time to eat!
Everybody was now no longer having to ration their food and were eating rice balls. Master Shifu joined us and ate with us. Within a few minutes of blissful heaven, I saw what I can only describe as "The hero of the hour", walk into the kitchen smiling sheepishly. I decided to see how this would play out.
"Hey guys"...
Everybody took a quick glance at Po and went back to eating. This would be interesting to watch unfold.
"Look, I know I messed up. I let you and the Valley down all for some dumplings and stuffed figs! Which, in my defense were delicious".
That last comment got everyone except myself to glare at the Panda. I just looked down doing what I could to hide my smile.
"Not that that matters... Anyway, I'm sorry".Po turned round and began to leave. "Guess I'm gonna go".
"Panda. Why don't you join us"? Shifu asked, everyone agreeing with him.
Po turned around smiling and sat down and was handed a bowl of dumplings. However before he could eat them, he reared backwards in disgust the instant he smelled them.
"Foot dumplings"?
"Made them myself"!
Everyone laughed, as it would have been obvious that Monkey would have tried to get a little payback. However our silence turned to disgust as we saw Po still but one in his mouth. Eww. But even so, I was glad that Po had solved the famine and earned back the respect of his teammates. Once everyone had finished their bowls, they left until Me, Viper and Po remained. Viper was about to leave too until I wrapped my tail around her to prevent her from leaving.
"Po, I think Viper has something she wants to tell you".
I looked to Viper who nodded, understanding what I wanted her to looked down at us with a full mouth. I then let Viper go once he was listening.
"I... just wanted to apologize for the rude behavior that myself and everybody else gave you".
"Ah, don't worry about it Viper". Po shrugged of before he began chewing on another dumpling, some fresh ones this time. "We're good".
The pair of us decided to leave Po. I still wanted to ask something.
"Before I forget Viper, what happened after we got ambushed by Ju Long cause I can't remember a thing".
"Ju Long sent his soldiers to deal with us. We managed to hold them off for a few minutes. That was when one of them hit you on the head with a pipe and you fell unconscious. We were forced to retreat and Crane airlifted you back up to the palace".
"Well, at least that fills me in. Thanks. Listen, I'm just going to get my throwing stars and train with them, see you in a second".
Before I could turn away, Viper was now keeping a hold of me.
"Actually, there's still one more thing I was hoping you could answer for me".
"What would that be"?
Viper just looked at me as though I should already be expecting the answer. I wish she would just tell me what it was she...wanted... Oh right. Of course. I forgot that I promised her an answer after the food famine was dealt with.
"Ah, okay". I instantly became that much more nervous. "Well...". At this moment, I was thinking back to the last few days. Nothing but a mix of arguments and anger, but also standing up for each other, trying to help each other out. I was at a crossroad here. But remembering how well we got on and... even kissing her on the cheek pushed my mind into the yes switch. And besides, I'm sure Viper won't try to steal my money from me even if we do get into a serious fight.
My mind was made up. I looked Viper in the eyes and quickly gave my answer.
"I... like you too".
I think that saying she was happy was a bit of an understatement as I suddenly found her wrapped around me, but unlike all the other hugs I had received from her, this one was tighter. Much tighter. Okay, a little too tight!
"Viper, can you let go now please"...
Viper quickly realized that she was nearly crushing my insides and dropped her coil around me and I began to breathe in as much air as I could.
"Sorry. Guess I'm just a little happy that you said yes". Viper smiled apologetically.
A little? You call nearly crushing my ribs a little? I'd hate to see what would happen if she was really REALLY happy.
"Soo... you want to go on a date"?I asked, unsure if I was making the right step. I mean, it usually was with my last girlfriend, but with a snake I didn't know. Although, I remember reading somewhere that some female creatures, mostly bugs, kill or eat the male during these sort of things... am I sure I made the right choice? Nonono I'm just over reacting. I can do this.
"Sure, how about the noodle shop"?
"Don't we always go there though"?
"Why not? It's be fun".
"Okay, noodle shop it is. Shall we say seven"?
"Sounds like a good time. I'll see you then".
I then allowed Viper to go and do whatever she was going to do. Then, it hit me. I'm on a first date with Viper. I panicked. I was never good with first dates. Last time, I was so nervous I couldn't even speak and nearly drenched my date in spit. And now that I'm in China, where dating rules may possibly be different, there was no doubt that I need help. Professional help.
A FEW MINUTES LATER
"...And that's why I've come to you. You're the only one who can help me".
"So... You want to know how to woo Viper eh"?
"Uhh, I don't- no, I just need to know what to do for a first date by tonight. That's all"!
So I had come to Po. It may seem like a strange choice to have picked him but after hearing how girls fell for him, Superintendent Wu's daughter, a young goat and a leopard named Song, granted I don't know who any of those people are, that's beside the point. If this guy could get so many girls to like him so easily, then I was certain that I had a good chance of being successful on the first date right?
...
Twenty chapters and over three thousand views! Thanks for the support everyone. So, Mike and Viper are a couple now. After the comments mentioning that I should put them together, I have given you what you wanted. Hope you like it, next chapter, will this first date go as planned with Po as Mike's wingman? Probably not but you'll have to wait a few days to find out. Cheerio