15. The Ninja Clan
The midday sun was doing its final loop over Gongmen City when the old goat looked up from cleaning the back room. She was sorting through a few vases that she had collected as a gift or as a souvenir from the market. While looking at a Ming vase, she heard a noise at the front door. Someone came in and called out: "Hello, great aunt, I'm here!"
Carefully, the goat put the vase aside and combed herself through all the clutter to the front door.
"Ling!" she said with relief and welcomed her grandnephew with open hooves. "Nice to see you!"
The smaller sheep nodded to her. "I'm sorry, I couldn't come faster. How is the master?"
The old goat shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, nothing yet. I receive neither a message from him, nor has he returned." Longingly, she looked out of the window. "I hope he's fine."
Ling raised his eyebrows. "Are you worried?"
"Not exactly. The Dragon Warrior is with him. Although that is my next concern."
The little sheep looked at her questioningly. Quickly, the goat looked away from the window and smiled at him. "Would you like some tea?"
"Couldn't we take one break more?" Gasping, Po rested his paws on his knees. But the two birds, which were already quite a way in front of him, did not think to rest. With a sigh, the panda pulled himself together for another sprint. The bag with the provisions was as good as empty, the panda had used up so much "fuel" for the run. Shen wasn't hungry at all. The further they ventured out into the vastness of Japan, the more excited he became. Takeo always flew a bit ahead of them, but just far enough that they couldn't lose sight of him. Or more precisely, that the peacock could stay close to his feathers while Po struggled to scramble behind.
As the afternoon drew to a close, Takeo finally perched on a branch. Shen stopped abruptly. Po, a little disoriented from running, stumbled past Shen and tumbled down a hill. Shortly before a small pebbly sandy beach, he came to a halt on his back.
"Are we there yet?" he grumbled exhaustedly.
"It looks like it," Shen replied, walking past the panda at a leisurely pace.
With difficulty, Po tilted his head back and watched Shen. "Say, aren't you getting tired?" he grumbled and stood up. "Maybe I should take the same medication as you. Maybe then I'll get fitter. – What did you actually say before?"
"That we're there," Shen repeated in a monotonous voice, looking at a water area.
Quickly, Po was wide awake again. "But how?! Where, what?! For real?"
He looked around. They stood by the sea and in front of them stretched a whole series of wooded islands along the coast with several bays. Some were bigger, others smaller.
"That's quite a lot of islands," Po murmured worriedly. "Does that mean we have to check them all out now?"
"Don't panic, black-white bear," Takeo said and sailed down to them. "I know on which island they have their quarters."
He ran his claw foot over a patch of damp dirt and scribbled a few circles, giving them an overview of the islands. After he finished sketching in the sand, he pointed his beak to a circle almost in the middle. "You have to go here."
At first, Po looked at the drawing, then he looked back over at the islands. "Perhaps it would be the best if you show it to us directly."
"I can't do that," the raven refused, to Po's amazement.
"Why not?"
"It is said that any bird that flies to the island, they will be shot down with arrows. These guys don't tolerate anyone there for fear of someone spying on them."
Po rubbed his paws nervously. "Uh, say, have you ever heard that they shot down a panda?"
Takeo's furrowed his feathered forehead. "As far as I know... no."
"Phew, what luck."
"I'm guessing they'll skin and feather you before you even step foot on there, anyway. So think about it, before you dare to go there."
"Uh, that's a good cue," Po said sheepishly. "How should we come over there?"
The raven pointed down the beach. "There are camouflaged boats around the bend. You could use them. – I'm going to leave the field now."
He flapped his wings vigorously, took off and circled over the panda and peacock.
"Thanks for everything, Takeo!" Po thanked. "And you really don't want to come with us?"
"I would be interested, but I don't want to be a target for projectiles. Sayonara." With that, he flew away.
"Sayonara!" Po replied, waving goodbye while also glancing over at Shen. "Well? It was nice of him, wasn't it?"
Shen rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Yes, yes."
After a while, Po turned his back on the flying Takeo and the forest, and together they looked out at the many islands.
Po felt nervousness creeping under his fur. "And you really want to go over there now? Have you thought about that, too?"
Without an answer, the peacock headed towards the boats that Takeo had pointed.
Po let out a snort. "I see, my question was unnecessary."
It took them a while to find the long canoe-like boats that had been really, really well hidden. After picking the next best one, Shen jumped in and fished for a paddle, which he held out to the panda. "Here, then you have something to do."
Po pouted, but he complied. He took the paddle in his paws, pushed the boat off the bank and leaned into the oars. Shen had moved to the front of the boat and was observing the area closely.
"Do you know where we have to go?" Po asked after a few rowing movements.
"Remembering things was never your strong point, is it, panda? Besides, if I didn't know, wouldn't I just get on a boat for nothing?"
Po put on an offended expression. "Why am I even asking?"
For the rest of the boat tour, the two spent meandering through the islands. Shen gave the panda hints here and there where to paddle. All the while Po was careful not to comment. He could imagine that Shen didn't want to be distracted with anything right now.
Finally, Shen lifted a wing. "It's over there."
Po stopped paddling for a moment and looked ahead intently. An island rose in front of them, not very different from the other islands around. Nevertheless, the high rock in the island forest was quite conspicuous. Also, the piece of land was not particularly small and the small bare mountain certainly offered a good overview of approaching enemies.
A clearing of Shen's throat prompted Po to paddle on quickly. The panda couldn't tell how Shen was feeling, but Po could feel his own insecurity rising. The closer they got to the island, the more he had the feeling that they would be expected. Even the rocks seemed to be watching them. At that moment, Po wished his friends would be close by him.
"We'll dock there." Shen pointed to a specific spot on the edge of the island.
The panda craned his neck. The place, which Shen had chosen, was in a small bay, but it was quite densely covered with bushes. Nevertheless, they could see a small piece of pebble beach there. Cautiously, Po steered towards it. With a jerk, the boat got stuck in the gravel sand.
Both held their breath. But nothing happened. No one yelled or jumped at them. Everything stayed calm. It was even a tad too quiet. Po pricked up his ears and listened. He wasn't wrong. Not even a bird chirping could be heard.
"It's pretty quiet here," Po whispered. "Obviously, Takeo was right and not even a single bird is allowed on this island. Well, maybe just one." By which he meant Dao. But no matter how scary the whole thing was, going back was out of the question now. Especially for Shen. Ignoring the panda's comment, he got off the boat in a slightly crouched position and looked around very carefully. Finally, he waved the panda over as a sign that he should follow him.
"Is it safe?" Po wanted to know, but immediately he pressed his lips together when Shen held a finger feather in front of his beak warningly.
Po raised his thumb. "Okay, be quiet, be absolutely quiet."
Po tiptoed off the boat, but he slipped on a puddle of water as he landed on the beach. "Ouch!" he cursed, but immediately he covered his mouth. Quickly, he got to his feet and, under the evil eyes of Shen, he walked next to the peacock. They stood motionless for over a minute.
"What exactly are we planning to do now?" the panda whispered as quietly as possible. "Shall we lie in wait until someone comes by?"
Shen narrowed his eyes. "I suspect more they will ambush us."
With these words, he went like a cat through the dense undergrowth. After Po had swallowed hard, he took a deep breath and pushed his chest out.
"Well then, let's not keep our bloody hosts waiting any longer."
As quietly as he could, which was a bit difficult given Po's broader build, he also pushed his way through the many bushes and in his eagerness, he almost tripped against Shen. He gave him a warning sign and together they combed themselves through the undergrowth. Po got a stomach ache from all the tension. The idea of that a ninja was lurking behind every bush made him nervous. Unlike other foes he'd faced before, ninjas were rumored to be masters of stealth and could do lightning-fast attacks out of nowhere.
After a while the undergrowth thinned out a bit and they came to a lighter forest area where the bushes had retreated.
"At least we have a better view here," Po whispered softly, just to encourage himself.
But Shen was less optimistic. "Or they can see us more easily now."
With these words, the panda pressed very close to the peacock, who in turn was answered by Shen with a dismissive nudge. And so Po had no choice but to keep following the peacock at a little distance, ducking his head slightly.
Several minutes passed. Po, who kept his eyes glued to Shen, noticed how the peacock's crest feathers stood up suddenly.
"Did you hear something?" Po asked, startled.
Quickly, Shen looked back. Po automatically followed his gaze and just noticed a slight movement somewhere further away in the undergrowth. Something had scampered through the bushes.
Nervously, Po rubbed his paws together until they were hot. But then he jumped up determinedly and bent his arms. "Alright!" he cried. "Just scare us, but you won't succeed! Come on, come out and fight like real warriors!"
To his amazement, everything remained quiet. Nothing stirred anymore. Po's uncertain gaze wandered to Shen, who looked at him reproachfully.
"Was that wrong?" Po asked soberly. "But if they come anyway, then they should see that we are their equal. Maybe they'll think twice before attacking us..."
In the next second, something rushed towards them. Shen caught a glimpse of something in the sunlight. The white lord reacted quickly, leaning back so that the sword swept overhead, along with a black and white figure holding it. But Shen did not sit idle either. In the same fraction, he drew his feather knives, seized the sword with it as in a pair of pliers and deflected it. When the unsub noticed his maneuver, he turned at the same moment and Shen turned with him. For a moment, the attacked person and the attacker moved in a spiral. Shen was about to throw his feather knives when he stopped in the middle of his plan. The creature in front of him didn't have black and white fur, but white plumage and wore a black garb. But even Po was not spared from the lightning-fast attack. Luckily, he had good reflexes, so he was able to dodge the dangerous weapon, too. But his kung fu skills were useless against a saber sword which was so sharp that it sliced the air. Immediately, the panda wanted to seek cover between the trees, but every time he moved, no matter which side, the sharp long blade whizzed past him with a menacing whirr and hissing, like the fangs of a venomous snake.
Panda and peacock could not counter the creature. Po, because he couldn't do anything about the speed and dangerousness, and Shen, because he had already recognized who had surrounded them with his sword. The creature swept around them so fast they had no choice but to stand still and hope they didn't get decapitated. Suddenly, the person came to a standstill. Shen almost screamed. The sword tip stopped just a millimeter from his throat, the cold metal penetrating only his upper feathers at the neck. The white peacock dared not to move. Usually, nothing could faze Shen, but what he saw in front of him took his breath away.
Behind the sword stood a figure in a slightly crouched position. The eyes stared at him like a wild tiger just waiting to bite through the thread of life of its victim. As if that wasn't scary enough, Po now recognized who was in front of them. The panda's mouth dropped open in astonishment for a moment. His gaze switched from one to the other.
The peacock with the long sword wasn't just any peacock. If Po didn't know that Shen was standing next to him, he really would have thought it was the one with the sword. No matter who he looked at, they both looked amazingly alike - almost the same. The same white plumage, the same red and black peacock eyes on the feathers, even the eyes were the same color. The only thing that seriously differed between the two was their clothing. In contrast to Shen's red and white robe, the other one wore a black robe.
"Wow," Po breathed, "if I didn't see it with my own eyes..." The panda cheered inwardly. They had really found Dao! The panda looked questioningly at Shen, but Shen wasn't able to say a word, so Po tried to defuse the situation in a chummy way.
"Hi, I'm the Dragon Warrior and this is your brother!"
The panda expected a reaction. It doesn't matter which one, whether positive or negative, the main thing was a reaction, but to his huge surprise there was no reaction at all. Dao didn't change his posture at all. Not even his facial expressions.
"Can you understand me?" Po asked. "Or do you only speak Japanese?"
Again he received no reply from the second white peacock. He just stood there and looked ahead as if the black and white creature in front of him didn't even exist.
Slightly confused, Po waved his paw. "Oh, uh… hello… Konnichiwa? Uh... Sayonara? You - understand?"
Shen narrowed her eyes. Why didn't Dao say anything? There was no movement. Not even in his eyes. He just stood there, still holding the sword in front of him like frozen. Shen took a cautious step backwards, at least away from the sharp blade. He flinched when Po gave him a hard nudge in the side.
"Now say something!" the panda urged.
But to Shen's shame, he couldn't think of anything. He felt like in a strange dream. It seemed so surreal to him that his biological brother was standing in front of him. The goat had talked about him vividly, but at times the talk had seemed like an illusion, as if it wasn't real. As if the brother was just a shadow of a fantasy. But now he was standing in front of him in person.
Po's eyes widened suddenly as Shen stretched out his wing and used a few finger feathers to touch the tip of the long sword which Dao was still holding menacingly in front of them. But here, too, there was no reaction from the second peacock. It was as if he had turned to stone, but his face wasn't amazed or shocked, it was just iron determination.
When Po was about to take a few steps forward, black shadows suddenly darted out of the thicket behind the white peacock and circled the group of three.
Po raised his arms when he saw the many black-clad, hooded ninja warriors. "We surrender!" he shouted.
To his relief, they didn't attack. Instead, they remained in place, appearing to be waiting for something. Then finally someone else emerged from the bushes, distinctly different from the others. Not only that there was no black mask covering his face, but he even wore a special helmet. Since he wasn't masked, Po could see it was a heavyset black panther. Po took a closer look at the helmet. It resembled a soldier's helmet, but the metal strips sticking out like horns were rather uncharacteristic. The panther snapped his fingers briefly, and to the astonishment of the two island guests, Dao freed himself of his torpor. Still, he held the sword, albeit slightly lowered, as if he feared an attack. A Japanese command followed and the second white peacock took a few steps away.
Quickly, Po tried to clarify the situation. "Uh, we came here with good intentions!" he assured.
"And you came from China for that?" the helmet wearer growled in Chinese, to Po's relief.
"Phew, at least a ray of light on this day..."
"We don't tolerate any invaders in our realm!" the panther with the helmet countered. "How did you find your way here?"
Po put his fingertips together mischievously. "Well, a..." But then he stopped saying that a bird had told them and looked for another excuse. "...uh, the universe tipped us off."
He smiled in embarrassment, but that didn't make the panther in front of him peaceful. "You want to get your treasures back, don't you?!"
Po raised his paws defensively. "No, no, what you do in your free time is none of our business. Actually, we only came because we were looking for him."
He pointed to Dao. Po saw no reason not to say why they were here. With Shen's presence it was quite obvious, but he still looked over at Shen uncertainly. But Shen remained silent. The panther and he looked at each other with piercing eyes. The helmet wearer didn't seem to be stupid and seemed to be starting to put two and two together. For a while this tense atmosphere lasted like a tight tug of war, until the panther lifted the corners of his mouth and laughed.
"So, did you like our Tori's welcome?"
He waved his paw, said another word in Japanese, and Dao put away his sword. But he still behaved like two total strangers were standing in front of him. That may be true for Po, but even when a matching white peacock stood in front of him, he didn't ask any questions.
"Tori?" Po chuckled softly. "That's… a very nice name, isn't it?"
He looked over at Shen, but Shen was anything but amused about it. On the contrary. Anger built up inside Shen. "Tori" was the Japanese word for "bird". Apparently, nobody had thought about giving him a clever name.
"And who are you?" Po asked politely. "I mean, well, I'm the Dragon Warrior... In case you haven't heard of me, well, we're from above the water to..."
"Your life story doesn't interest me!" the panther cut him off.
"Well, okay, so what's your name now?"
"Shihan Ravan."
Shen narrowed her eyes. "Shihan" was a high honorary title for a master. Po, on the other hand, misunderstood the word a bit.
"Okay, so Shihan, nice to meet you..."
"That means Shihan RAVAN," Ravan corrected him harshly. "Shihan is just a title."
Po frowned. If Shihan was his title, then Ravan was his name, but he couldn't remember it being Japanese. He guessed the old tour guide from the restaurant was right and those panthers really were from outside. "I thought that meant Sensei here. Doesn't that call Sensei Ravan then?"
Suddenly, Ravan grabbed the panda by the collar and looked him in the eye menacingly. "Call me that again and you'll be a head shorter! Respect the big Bushi!"
Po pressed his lips together just to keep from laughing out loud. "Bushi?"
"That means 'samurai', bamboo eater!" Ravan snapped at him.
"Sorry, but that sounds so cute..."
At that moment, Shen wondered whether that cheeky panther had uttered the Japanese word on purpose just to get that naïve, childish panda to comment.
"Sorry, but I mean, the helmet would fit," Po babbled on, pointing to Ravan's headdress. "It's a samurai helmet, isn't it, but where's the armor?"
"Who tells me what to wear?"
"I'm just saying. Or is the black suit something like the dressing gown?"
In his frustration, Shen would have liked to enlighten the panda so that he wouldn't get caught up in any more arguments, but the peacock kept his beak tightly shut. This black bully didn't need to know that he was fluent in Japanese.
His attention was only focused on one person anyway. Dao had assumed a neutral stance and was standing there as if none of this was any of his business. That at least gave Shen the opportunity to look at him in peace. So that was his brother. A brother he had never seen before. How old was he now? 28? He looked neat and healthy. He was neither emaciated nor did he appear to have any injuries.
For a moment, Shen felt like he and Dao were all alone in the world. After hearing of his parents' deaths, he thought he was the only one left. But Dao was a part of him. They had the same parents and even they looked alike. Somehow, he stood in front of his own image. Shen could tell that more accurately if they faced each other in a mirror. But even if they didn't look alike, the same blood ran through their veins. A lump formed in Shen's throat. If he were sensitive, he would have cried and hugged his brother. But Dao didn't seem to feel the same as he did. His stony demeanor didn't suit him, or had he been forbidden to speak? While he gave the impression of being alert, it struck Shen as odd.
"I was just thinking out loud!" Po yelled. "Help, Shen! Say something!"
But Shen wasn't even listening to him. He even started a lot more internally. For as soon as Po had said his name, a barely visible jolt went through Dao's body. Shen's eyes widened. Did Dao remember his name?
"I'm just saying, I'm just saying!" Po defended himself while the panther still held him by the collar and pulled him up with great force, so that the panda had to stand on tiptoes. "I just can't remember samurai ever stealing. I thought they had some honor..."
"Are you trying to tell us how to behave?!" Ravan roared in his ears. "We make our own rules! Got it?!"
"It's okay, it's okay, now I know..." Po gasped as the panther continued to hold him brutally by the collar. Eventually, Ravan released him and turned to the second intruder. Panting, Po sank to the ground and watched as Ravan circled Shen. Po's nervousness rose as the ninja leader lifted a pair of Shen's long tail feathers and examined them. Usually, Shen would massacre anyone for this, but to Po's amazement, the peacock remained very composed. Finally, Ravan stood before him and mockingly looked down at the white peacock.
"And you? What is your role in the comedy?"
"I was looking for a relative of mine," Shen replied. That he and Dao came from the same family was hard to deny. And stirring up even more resentment would have been counterproductive.
Ravan frowned. "Are you as good at fighting as he is?"
"I'm an aristocrat," Shen answered truthfully. "Why should I care about that?"
Suddenly, Ravan grabbed Shen by the wing and yanked it up. Then he grabbed into his feathers and pulled out a feather knife. Growling, he held it in front of Shen's beak. "For someone who doesn't fight, you're carrying a lot of sharp stuff!"
Shen didn't show it, answering as calmly as possible: "Even a ruler must be able to defend himself in an emergency."
"He's right about that," Po agreed. "I mean, this is our first time here."
Ravan gave him a dark look. A little sheepishly, Po put his paws together. "Sorry for the little chat we had earlier."
"And you want to be a warrior?" the panther asked unimpressed.
Po nodded. "Of course, I am! I've just won the championship in..."
Ravan didn't let him finish. He let go of Shen and waved his paw at Dao, or Tori. "Come on, little Tori. Show some of your martial arts." He said quick words in Japanese, and to Po's astonishment, Dao, or Tori, reacted immediately. He swung himself into the air. Like an elegant dancer in dress, his black robe fluttered in the air. Then everything went in a millisecond. Po only noticed how something whizzed over his head in the truest sense of the word. He felt only a very slight tug, but so delicate that he would hardly have noticed it if he did not know that a sharp sword had just flown over his head. Dao had shaved off the top hair on his head and the hair on his ears. Po stood there for a moment, knees wobbly and eyes wide, staring with fear. The thought of Dao hitting his neck with it made him sway to the brink of fainting.
"I hope you enjoyed this performance," Ravan sneered. "One more word from you and he'll cut you off a few inches further down." Po said nothing, allowing Ravan to leisurely address Shen. "And just for your information," Ravan's voice had an ominous undertone, "the birdie stays here!"
Shen narrowed his eyes dangerously as Ravan grinned wickedly at him. "And you're not going anywhere either."
"What are we going to do with them now?" asked one of the other ninjas.
Po looked around blankly, at least Ravan translated the sentence in his own language.
"We're just talking about what we're going to do with you, spies."
Po scratched his head in confusion. "I thought ninjas were sp..."
Shen gave him a warning kick.
Ravan grinned. "You could well serve as a reminder by leaving your dead bodies somewhere."
Po swallowed hard.
"But perhaps you could still be useful to us."
That gave the panda a bit of hope. "Oh, that's very generous of you."
The panther giggled. "How fine."
With that, he turned to Dao and spoke to him in Japanese to retreat. However, this time he didn't finish his sentence with "Tori" but with "Toriniku", which raised Shen's disgust again. "Toriniku" translated means "chicken meat". Total humiliation for someone from the royal class. But Dao knelt before Ravan, one wing propped on the ground as if paying homage, and cried out a loud obedient "HAI!"
Shen's beak stayed open for a moment. Either Dao was resigned to the condescending name, or he didn't know what the word meant. Or was there something completely different behind it?
Po also dropped his jaw for a moment. "And I thought he was deaf, or dumb. But he can talk after all."
To Po's second great surprise that day, Dao just turned away as if he and Ravan were all alone, oblivious to the presence of the others around them.
Slowly, this dismissive behavior was driving Po insane. "Hey! Wait a minute!" he cried after him. "Are you blind?! This is Shen! Your brother Shen!"
For a millisecond it seemed to flinch through Tori's or Dao's wings, but that reaction lasted only a fraction, then his gait returned to normal and he walked away at a steady pace. Both looked sober after the white ninja peacock. Whereas Po stood completely lost and disappointed, and Shen looked more thoughtful. Suddenly, the white lord was terrified. There was no more spirit in Dao. His brother was like a living body without a soul. Shen began to tremble internally and anger flared up in him. What have they done to his brother?
Sorry for the sparse dialogue between Shen and his brother, but Dao's behavior has a reason. But there is only an answer to this in Chapter 17. Dao's behavior has a simple, natural explanation, and for those who would like to get a hint, you should re-read the last chapter of "The Last Honor". ;-)
Anyone who reads manga or watches Japanese films knows that "Hai" means "Yes" or something similar in Japanese. At least that's what I've heard quite often when you say yes to something. :-D
Not everything is historically known about ninjas, but apparently, they should not have worn black, but rather blue peasant work clothes. But I have chosen the clichéd black-clad. Also, I don't know what kind of weapons the ninjas used, since many things are controversial. Not wanting to offend anyone here, if you're a Japan historian by trade or the like, I want to say that this story uses cliché and kung fu panda fantasy. If anyone has mastered even the martial arts of ninjas, please do not feel offended if I misdescribe or misrepresent something that is not customary among ninjas. As I said, it's just a fanfiction and not a historical study (which I unfortunately don't have the time for). The only thing I stick to is that ninjas don't carry their swords on their backs like in the movies, but on their belts, which also corresponds to the martial art Battōjutsu (sword drawing technique). They would only have tied it to their backs if they had to climb. In any case, Dao uses the katana (long sword) here, as the samurai should have used it.