Ten minutes had gone already and I entered the training hall by myself, seeing only Shifu and Tigress inside. Tigress was busy keeping her balance on the spinning wooden cylinder thingies while Shifu watched her. After only a few seconds of watching I made my way into the training arena and begun training with a wooden dummy in both unarmed and armed combat with my shurikens.
It's the first time I've ever tried using these things so I can safely assume that I'm going to fail at least a couple of times before I make a decent hit. I put two out of the three stars down and positioned myself at least twenty feet away. I then threw the shuriken with my tail and watched the weapon miss by a couple of feet and bounce harmlessly off of the wall behind it. I kept getting the exact same result again and again. The closest I managed to get was hitting the dummy in it's hand before it bounced off like it had with the wall. This was becoming frustrating to me very quickly. Perhaps I should try something else and come back to it later.
As I put all three shurikens to the side I saw everyone else, including Po, had already entered the room. I guess I was too caught up with the training dummy to even notice.
"Having trouble"?
I looked above at the catwalk. Tigress was at the edge of it, looking down at me.
"Maybe a little bit. How long have you been standing there for"?
"Ever since you started training".
Tigress leapt down from the catwalk to the sandy floor below, kneeling down and gently picking up the shurikens I had just put away.
"Giving up so easily, on anything, won't help you to improve. You need to stick at it until you get it right".
Next thing I knew, I was pushed softly to the side while Tigress took my position, in front of the training dummy. I watched as she held all three stars in her left paw, with her right one hovering above it. Then, like lightning, she threw one after the other in less than two seconds. I checked the training dummy to see one star embedded in its head, one in its chest and the other... right in the tenders.
"Sometimes, you can be frightening. You know that right"? I said without breaking eye contact with the dummy.
"Sometimes being frightening is the only thing that can keep your enemies from making the first move".
I gave a small chuckle. This cat had an answer for everything.
Next thing I knew, she was handing me back the shurikens.
"Again. This time, focus on hitting your target, block out everything else around you".
I did as I was instructed and stood in front of the wooden dummy again, same distance, same number of stars. I tried to focus on what I had been told and focused only on the dummy. I then threw my first shuriken which flew inches away from the dummies head, but this time stuck into the wall. I tried my luck with another star. This time, I ended up throwing it too low by mistake. It hit the floor before sliding under the legs of the dummy. Down to my last star. This time, I threw the star without thinking about anything. This one hit the dummy, but only by scraping across it's neck, leaving a small cut.
"You're improving already. Just remember to keep at it and you might manage to master this skill faster than you think".
I turned back to Tigress and bowed. "Thank you master Tigress".
Tigress returned the bow and returned to move onto something else. Though I was sure she would still be keeping an eye on me from a distance. I slithered on over to retrieve the stars and kept at it for fifteen minutes before feeling like I had done enough for now. During that time, most of my attempts still missed. The rest either scraped against the dummies sides or, on rare occasions, actually hit it's target in either the chest, legs, and once in the jugular.
"That's enough training for now. Take five minutes to gather yourselves, then meet me outside to discuss the next phase". Shifu had ordered precisely as I had stopped training with the dummy.
Given the time, I decided that it would be best to take the stars back to my room. I picked all three of them up and climbed onto the catwalk only to have Viper in front of me. It was obvious she had something she wanted to say. Whether it was an apology or to yell at me, I couldn't tell. It was hard to tell what she was even feeling her face was so composed.
"I assume you have something to say"? I asked impatiently.
"Yes. I think you know what about too".
Indeed I did. Though I checked to make sure that no one else was listening in. Only myself and Viper were the only ones inside. "Go on. Let's hear it".
"Do you really think that it matters what you are to me? whether you're a python or a hooman"?
"First off, it's pronounced HUman. Second, after seeing your face the second you saw the real me, yes. I think it did matter to you".
"I'm willing to admit I wasn't expecting you to be telling the truth at first"-
"So you thought I was lying. Charming".
"But I still think of you the same way".
"Well you shouldn't! We're two different species Viper, even as a python. I was just too ignorant to notice it at first".
"That's not how things work around here Mike. Maybe it did where you came from originally but here, love can be found between any species no matter how different they are".
"Tell you what then Viper. You stick to your beliefs and I'll stick to my own. Is that fair enough for you"?
"If you do that, you'll live your whole life alone Mike. I don't want that, your friends don't want that, and I'm sure you don't either".
"It doesn't matter what I want. What matters is that I know what I have to do".
"Then tell me truthfully. What do you feel about me right now"?
"... I see you as a great friend. And my feelings are mixed for you. Even if I don't want them to be".
"See? You still feel something for me. And I do too, for you".
"Then you're as blind as myself. Can't you tell that I don't want to be with you"?
"Mike, everyone at the Jade palace has fallen for someone else of a different species, even Shifu".
"I don't believe that".
"Po fell for a snow leopard called Song. Monkey, Superintendent Wu's daughter, an antelope. Crane, a young pig. Mantis, a caterpillar who became a butterfly and Shifu, a fox named Mei Ling". (Yes, all of these are true and are shown throughout the series btw ^^)
"Enough! I believe five minutes are up". I slithered away, not wanting to hear anymore of this pointless argument.
"Don't think that this is over. I still have a bone to pick with you".
"Get in line".
I made it outside to find that a dozen large wooden posts were planted into the ground. If I were to guess, this was supposed to be balancing training of some sort. I was greeted by Shifu and everyone else too.
"Now then, for this part of your training, you will be putting your fighting skills and your agility to the test against each other. Po, you will be fighting against Tigress. Monkey against Mantis. Crane, with Viper. Mike, whoever is the first to fall will be your opponent right away. Understood"?
"Yes Master Shifu".
"Excellent. Positions, now"!
Shifu banged his stick once onto the ground and everyone found their way onto a post each before waiting for Shifu's signal to start.
"Begin"!
Everyone attacked their designated opponents, twisting and spinning onto different posts every second, making it hard to keep an eye on anyone. It didn't take long before one of them fell off the posts. Good news, I now had someone to fight with. Bad news, it was Viper. I swear, this is some kind of irony or karma or something.
Following instructions, I climbed up onto the nearest post while Crane flew off next to Shifu as he no longer had a partner. I waited until Viper had climbed on top of her post before attacking each other. However, I wasn't stupid enough to believe that Viper had lost so quickly.
"You lost on purpose just so you could fight me didn't you"? I asked, blocking her tail from hitting my head.
"So I could talk to you".
"Then you're wasting your time. There's nothing more to say".
"Oh I have plenty to say". Viper responded, jumping over me as I lunged at her, managing to land on another post.
"I can't believe you're going this far just to get back together with me".
"I'm doing this because I'm trying to help you. You and I being together have nothing to do with it anymore".
"Whatever". I slithered onto the next post, getting attacked and being thrown onto the post behind me.
"Think about it this way. Where you come from, do humans date other humans from different countries"?
"Yes. But that's an entirely different thing. They're still the same species".
"But they have different cultures, different beliefs. That has to count for something".
"Just stop it Viper. you're just fighting a losing battle with me. Not training by the way, I mean"-
"I know what you meant". Viper sighed before attacking again. This time, I was ready and shifted to the right and wrapped part of her body with my tail, trying to force her over the edge. However, Viper was faster and grabbed my neck, pulling me with her. Before hitting the ground, I tried to sink my fangs into the wood to keep me from falling. It worked, but Viper still had my neck so I quickly lost my grip thanks to the extra weight and the both of us fell.
"Viper, since you hit the ground first, the match goes to Mike". Shifu announced before focusing on the remaining students. I smirked.
"Guess I was wrong. You were fighting a losing battle with me. Both your talk and the fight". I said mockingly to Viper.
"Then why are you still holding me? Hmm"? Viper responded.
I looked down to see my tail still gripped around Viper. I was quick to pull it off, blushing slightly.
"You're blushing says it all you know".
That was the crushing blow for me, and as I thought I was gaining an advantage too. Hell, as much as I hated it, everything she had said was true. It was starting to get to me. All I could do was look away without saying anything.
"Mike"? Viper asked more concerned.
I sighed. "You know Viper, as much as I hate to admit it, you're right. Okay? You're right about everything".
"Then why did you deny it"?
"I guess... I guess I'm confused. About everything. About how my life has changed so dramatically so fast. It's just finally catching up to me. I don't even know who I am anymore".
Next thing I knew, Viper turned me round to face her. I noticed the look on her face, now a sad smile.
"You are who you choose to be. No matter what I or anyone else says".
I nodded back. As hard as it was for me, perhaps I needed to let go of the past for once. I had to accept the fact that I would never set foot on earth, my earth, ever again. I could feel my eyes watering slightly.
"Mike, are you okay"?
"Yeah... Just- just sweaty eyeballs is all". I wiped my eyes with my tail. "And... I suppose you've made your point. I think I know who I am now".
"Then who are you"?
"A python and a warrior of the Jade palace. And... I couldn't be prouder".
Doing the boldest, and possibly the stupidest thing I've ever done, I leaned in and kissed Viper on the lips. She didn't fight back but rather quickly accepted it. I pulled back, breaking the kiss.
"And it's only thanks to you that I've released it".
The both of us smiled happily.
"So... You still on for that second date"?
"Gladly".
"*Ahem*".
My eyes went wide as I looked past Viper to see an angry looking Shifu staring at us. On second thoughts of who I am, I'm a python who's going to be thrown in the slammer.
...
Thirty chapters into the story, yeah! This chapter is one heck of a milestone for me!
So I noticed in a couple of comments that some people wanted Mike and Viper to get back together so, wish granted everybody ;) Shame Mike chose a bad time to do it though ^^' Guess you'll find out what will happen to him next time. Cheerio!