Reminiscing continues...

Chapter 14: Reminiscing

As Takami and Layla walked back to the Hall of Heroes, the rest of the masters and students were reminiscing about their time with Max as Kiba recalls his memory he had with Max and stated, "...this guy is a great hider. He would always try to trick me into finding him in his hiding spots and when I turn around, he's gone and he would find another hiding place. I would be like, 'Man, he's good' and I'd try to find him and the only way I know he's near me is when he yanks my tail and I'd catch him by surprise. This little cub is an amazing hider."

"Yeah, I can remember you going through my room to find him there." Ryo said, glaring at him.

"That was the one place I had thought he'd be hiding to." Kiba said, in his defense.

Ryo rolled his eyes with that defense and said, "Next time, if you plan to search my room, don't. I'll determine whether or not Max is there."

"That's not how the game works, Ryo. The seeker finds the person who is hiding." Takami pointed out.

"Do you remember the first time Max met Ligress?" asked Faith.

"Oh, yeah! He pranked her by accident when he threw some pies that were supposed to be for me because we had this prank war to see who can prank who the most and she was mad." Kiba said, trying hard not to laugh.

"Don't laugh! That was terrible! I didn't even know that you guys had this prank war and somehow, I got caught in the middle." Ligress added.

"We weren't intending on pranking you. And after that, you sorta yelled at Max like how Tigress used to yell at him and I felt kinda bad for both you and him after that." Kiba replied.

"I felt even bad for yelling at the little guy, partly because I didn't know who he was at the time, but when he apologized and actually forgave me, I felt even more guiltier because I expected him to retaliate against me for yelling at him, but I was actually surprised when he already forgave me already." Ligress added.

"I didn't understand it, either. I still don't understand it now, but I just learned that it's easier for him to let things go than keep bringing it back in your face...which is still a problem for me, even though everything he does makes a positive impact because I'm used to having people bring back my mistakes right in front of me." Tigress added.

"You forget that's what he does and that's who he is as a person. Despite all the hardship he had to suffer through in his early life. Yet we all wonder, how does a person who had been through it all and comes out with a positive attitude? It just shows a testament to his strength and his refusal to let the tragedy define him." Shifu answered.

"It's the mentality that 'I'm not gonna let this affect me and I'm not gonna be a prisoner of my past' that he's got. That's what I admire about him." Kaizer spoke out.

Hope agreed with that and he said, "I wish that we would have him forever."

Skyler, Faith, Mantis, Viper, Monkey, Po and Crane all agreed with that and Viper said, "And his adopted family are so nice and are just a pillar of light to the Valley of Peace."

"We're all gonna miss him, but of course...life goes on and so do we. But that does not mean we forget the ones that made a tremendous influence in our lives as we keep him in our hearts. So...let us make his birthday one that he will have." Shifu added.

"If he's gonna have his last birthday with us before he goes back to Shanghai Secluded Valley, let's end it with a bang." Monkey added.

"But let's not overdo it. We need to keep it simple." Crane pointed out.

"Simple? Dude, it's his final birthday to celebrate! I think we should end it with a bigger bang!" Mantis exclaimed.

"I have to agree with Mantis on that one." Po stated.

Shifu sighed at this and he said, "It is Max's birthday and we have less than seven weeks to plan through this with the Bushido-Akio's, so whatever it'll turn out, it will be on Max's recognizance." Shifu added.

"Yes, master." the masters and students replied.

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