My very first day since my recovery was a simple visit around the village. Nova showed us how things worked there. Seemed like the whole village ate all together. There was only one kitchen right in the middle of it. From there the southern part was entirely dedicated to agriculture. They usually don't ask for food to outsiders and the northern part was the one we were the whole time, where the pandas live and where the golden dressed ones teach that interesting technique.
"We will begin tomorrow." Nova added "You are free to go today." Finished that phrase he walked away from us.
"Kai, I don't want to get rusty." I said raising up the wooden stuff that panda gave me the first day I arrived here "I have to catch up!"
He smiled at me excited, probably going to ask me the same thing "let's see how bad you became you dumb turtle" instead of his knives he picked up the first object he saw. "An iron staff, huh?" I felt like he didn't want to fight seriously with me.
I jumped towards him moving my staff left and right trying to break his defensive stance. He was just shielding himself from every hit.
"Are you going easy on me? Come on, what happened to my fierce full warrior I chose as partner?!" I wanted to see him fighting back, I didn't say let's train.
Kai understood my feelings and listened to my request. When our staffs crossed into each other he pushed me away and finally charged towards me starting to attacking me.
Dodging his attack I instinctively climbed one of their houses and the fight changed scenery. We started to exchange blow after blow on the roofs.
We both started to sweat and pant. I haven't got so much fun in years. My body and my mind gave everything to it when...
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Nova screamed behind me and I could never predict that, losing my focus I slipped and headbanged the floor very hard. "You're pathetic, Oogway" the bull laughed at me getting down to check on me.
I putted my paw on my head trying to ease the pain "What's wrong with you? We were just training!"
"The houses are already damaged I won't let you destroy everything around because you like to swing your stupid staff around!"
We ended up quarreling for a good amount of time until I retired myself into that same house where I came two days ago. "I thought pandas weren't so stubborn!" I complained.
"Calm down or you'll ruin our plan." He mocked me.
"I'll ruin it?! You are the one who can't take a single joke without trying to cut my head off!" I threw myself on the bed and went to sleep. Now sharing the same room with my friend.
That day passed by really fast. My new lifestyle was beginning already and I didn't know. Someone knocked at our door. I tried to ignore it, they will eventually leave I thought. It knocked again and again. I putted my pillow upon my head trying to push away that annoying sound. "It's time to get to work!" Nova shouted from the outside.
"But...IT'S DAWN." I yelled complaining. "Pandas aren't that kind of people who sleeps too much?" I said raising half of my body then yawning. "Yes, that's true." He confirmed.
"Then...SLEEP." After some seconds of silence I thought he gave up. Finally...peace.
"But that doesn't mean every panda does the same!" He slammed the door and walked inside. I sighed "Awesome..."
"Wake up your friend. I'll wait you outside." I needed a couple of try to wake up Kai and push him off the bed. Nothing could've woke him up, but when he sniffed the sweet scent of food he instantly ran outside. "You have such a simple mind..."
I thought Nova was alone. When I reached the place where they were I realized there was a girl with them. Another panda obviously. She wore a black and red vest and two ribbons on the opposite sides of her head, closer to her ears. She was the one cooking in that old-looking kitchen made with bamboo. I saw Kai sitting in front of them waiting for food.
"Oogway! You've gotta try this!" He said as soon as the girl lend him hot dumplings into a bowl.
"Did you wake her up on purpose to make us breakfast?" I asked curiously sitting next to Kai.
"I didn't ask her." He replied coldly. "You misunderstood again. I could never waste time on making food for you. She followed me on her own."
"Ahh...I get it." I smirked "She's your girlfriend!"
She blushed and turned her face away. "My girlfriend?!" He yelled "Did you see how ugly she is?!"
The girl smashed a bowl on his head "UGLY?! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"
"They quarrel like an old married couple" Kai commented swallowing the dumplings when on the background they were still shouting at each other.
"WE ARE NOT A MARRIED COUPLE" They both said and turned towards him at the same time.
I started to laugh unconditionally, there was anything to say.
"I would marry you." Kai remarked "You cook good. That's the only thing that matters."
"Eating and fighting. The only things you care about."
"You're saying that like a bad thing." He burped.
"You're gross...what about some manners?"
"Don't let me say what you do when you sleep. THAT is nasty."
"At least I do that because I'm sleeping!"
Nova stared at us shouting at each other "Now who's the old married couple?"
Kai crossed his arms and looked away. I did the same. Nova exited from the kitchen, picked up something and gave it to us. I glanced at him confused. "What's this?"
He noticed that I didn't know anything about chores and teased me. "Oogway. I would like to introduce you Mister broom. Mister broom these guys are Oogway and Kai." He threw one to me and another to Kai "They said nice to meet you."
"I'm an elite warrior! I led army, I fight, I don't do chores." Kai commented his actual degradation to housekeeper.
"Listen, elite warrior, as far as I can remember you agreed to do everything."
"It's humiliating..." he added moving the broom around the area.
I couldn't resist. "Hey cleaning lady! You forgot your sweet cute apron." I handed him over a pink one.
"Oogway." He said like a volcano ready to erupt "put that thing away from me."
I hid my laughter and walked away from him starting to clean the kitchen. I really didn't know how to do it right. The panda girl grabbed the broom alongside with me "Here. Put your hands there and move it slowly. Otherwise you will only spread the dust even more." Her voice was very kind. She led me and gave me instructions step by step.
"You weren't joking..." Nova smirked "You really didn't know"
The panda pinched his arm "Don't tease him. He's doing his best! We should appreciate his help."
"I could've done it alone, faster and better, Yui." He remarked.
Road to road, house to house we cleaned and collected everything was out-of-place until Nova assigned us something else. "Come on! This should be easy for you two!" he cried out.
Yui was looking from the inside where were the holes to fix on the roofs and from down Nova was handing us wooden planks.
"I'm starting to think that fighting is less painful compared to this.." I panted to Kai.
"You never liked working out. That's why you're a weakling." He added hammering the nails to the planks.
"The only thing I noticed you WORKED OUT is your belly, Kai." I teased him.
He dropped everything and turned to me. "Did you really say that I'M FAT?!"
"Could you call them muscles?" I laughed touching his pudding-like belly. "you are always so funny"
He jumped on me and fell down on the ground right in front of Nova with Kai on top of me "This fat bull is going to crush me to death! He's SO fat!"
"Oogway you-"
"I'm really sorry to interrupt this gorgeous male moment, but there's another thing to do and we're done."
Me and Kai turned at him and said together upset "THERE'S MORE?!"
He brought us to the opposite side of the village. Where they cultivate fruits and vegetables. He gave us a barrel with some seeds. "Beans, rice, cabbages and radishes. Harvest the good ones, clean the spot and put new seeds."
We were tired after doing all these things and Yui offered us her help again. She guided and teached me again. In the middle of it I started a random conversation "Do you know why Nova accepted to look over us?"
"I thought he told you..." She said putting the seeds inside the dirt. "His father is the leader of our village. You met him yesterday!"
"I did?" That was unexpected to hear "Was that huge panda who came in the last moments?!"
She nodded "They don't get along very well. You saw that."
"What about his hands? I couldn't stop thinking how is that possible."
"Her mother was the last one of a particular species called reversed pandas."
"R-reversed?" I mumbled surprised.
"How can I put this...imagine me and swap my colors. Where I'm black put white and vice versa."
"Can I see her mother?"
"Unfortunately. She died to give birth to his son."
I didn't realize we finished. That conversation absorbed me entirely and the fatigue I was feeling before disappeared. "You two." Nova approached us "You did very good today. Go to sleep or eat or whatever you want. We will see tomorrow."
"TOMORROW?!" when he said that my pain came back instantly. I was okay thinking that I won't repeat the same tasks, but he broke my hopes. I fell on the ground ignoring everyone and everything. I needed to take a short break.
I woke up and realized I wasn't where I collapsed. I lifted my head from a table and tried to figure it out where I was now. I quickly find Kai not so far from me surrounded by female pandas, laughing and with a bottle in his hand. When I understood what he did I widened my eyes and rushed there upset. "Kai!"
"Uh? Is something wrong?" He tried his hard to contain himself, but his voice, his red cheeks and what he was holding. I couldn't mistake. "GIVE ME THAT" I scratched the bottle from his hand and glanced inside. White. "I told you to stop drinking Baijiu." I noticed that he drunk almost all of it. "I miss for a couple of minutes and you get drunk?!"
"I'm not drunk!" He said sobbing.
"That's it. You'll go to sleep." I stood up from the chair he putted me.
"Man, I like when you tell me what to do..."
"You never liked that."
I understood. He wasn't even listening to me anymore. I threw him on the ground. "Dude, I'm waiting for another one!"
"I won't even ask HOW MUCH OF IT YOU DRANK." I dragged him towards our house from his horns "I love how you care about me."
"Man...this place...I never thought it would be so much fun!" The bull laughed on the bed "The food, my best friend, there's everything I need! I almost want to give up the plan and stay here forever!" He sobbed again "I said almost!" He broke out into another laughter.
"What is he talking about?" I froze when I heard Nova asking me that. I didn't know he was there. He dropped a bucket filled with water on the ground.
"I don't know. He's probably delirious. He gets drunken easily."
Nova stared at me, he's clever enough to reveal my lie, but he, instead, changed topic. "There's good in everyone. This is the belief on our village is built on." He approached to Kai with his bucket "But they are scared. Scared to help people who did bad things. People like you."
"I'm a warrior. That's my job."
"Do you ever thought about all the people you killed? The pain they felt before they finally die. Their families waiting for them to return, but they didn't. Losing someone you love and care about. Do you understand these feelings?"
"On the battlefield you can't think about these things. The ones I killed were ready to kill me too."
He sighed "You can always spare them, but..I guess that's true..." Nova helped the bull drink some water.
"I never did something else except fighting." I weirdly admitted. Why am I telling him this?
"Oogway..." He turned to me sadly, but suddenly his mood changed. "You never had the chance to choose what you really wanted!" He grabbed my hand, his eyes were sparkling "I'll show you what I mean!"
He ran outside, closed the door leaving me alone with Kai "Did you see how he looked at you?! I think he's gay!" He shouted with another laughter.
I couldn't even think about what happened that Kai did something unexpected "I'll kill him...nobody's allowed to touch you" and he dragged me into his arms hugging me. I hid myself into my shell and fell asleep.
