A whole lot of thanks to everyone who reviewed my story. I'm trying to keep it good and this chapter given me a lot of pain since I've re-written it about ten times. Not because fanfiction is malfunctioning, but because I wasn't satisfied with it at all. I'm still not fully satisfied but I don't think I'm going to write anything better now.
Chapter 3
Self-taught?
Lunch was always an entertaining affair at the kitchen table of the Jade Palace. It's a time to be more like a family. You can tell stories or jokes, discuss what suits your fancy or is the general talk down in the village. Even sitting silently and listening wasn't condemned.
Presently, everybody was exchanging stories or talking about recent adventures or missions. Talking, laughing and trying to ignore Leonne most of the time, not wanting to do much with her. They had just seen her clear the whole course claiming she was self-taught. They didn't believe it. They were sure she was hiding something from them. They already regretted ever bringing her to the Jade Palace in the first place. Nevertheless, self-trained or not, they were going to kick her butt when they got to the sparing area in the Training Hall.
Leonne silently ate her noodles, not much bothered by their attitude towards her. She wasn't paying much attention to their conversation anyway, only listening to a piece of conversation every now and then.
Right now, Mantis and Monkey were telling the others of a mission they had undergone, because Shifu wanted them to take situations more seriously when they were together. They had recalled the mission when Viper had declared them non-serious just a few minutes ago.
They hadn't forgotten to mess around even on that mission as Monkey explained, but they had learned to be careful after falling into the enemy's trap, all because of their own foolishness."I mean who argues loudly in the middle of enemy territory?" Mantis asked as if it was something he'd never done.
They had eventually found a way out and managed to defeat the enemy, who were a bunch of good-for-nothing jackals and as Monkey most wisely pointed out, they wouldn't be sitting here if they hadn't. But he blushed furiously when Mantis said the next line "Hey, I almost forgot, wasn't it then when you met Hui ying?" he asked looking at his partner-in-mischief. He didn't need an answer however when he saw the clearly evident blush on the monkey's cheeks.
Apparently Monkey had forgotten that piece of information, he would have avoided recounting the mission if he'd remembered, just to save him the embarrassment.
"YOU DID!" Mantis yelled. And he at once turned towards the others to tell them. "He hasn't ever told you how he met Hui ying, has he?"
The others shook their heads, leaning in almost eagerly to hear what had happened.
Monkey lunged forward to grab the praying mantis but to no avail, as Mantis simply danced out of his reach, laughing almost hysterically. "You see after we emerged victorious from our mission. We..." He was cut off as Monkey jumped off his seat towards the bug, who immediately jumped back on to the floor,to avoid the langur.
"Don't you dare say another word Mantis."Monkey said.
"What? It wasn't your fault when you...AAAHHHH... Oomph!" he had finally been caught off guard by Monkey, who had swung his long-fingered hand to smack the bug into the wall.
"What happened so bad that you don't want us to know, Monkey?" Po asked, not sure what his friend was so distressed about.
"It was nothing, Po. Like Mantis said, it wasn't my fault."
"What wasn't your fault?" Crane chimed in. Even he felt curious as to what Monkey was trying to hide.
"It was nothing, okay." Monkey replied exasperated.
"Yeah, it wasn't anything horrible you guys. My buddy would never do that. But you see when he.." Mantis said getting up. But this time Monkey instead of lunging at him sent him a glare, which was unlike him.
"Fine tell them. But don't complain when I'll kick you right in the middle of the Swinging Clubs when we spar later." Monkey threatened and then began to walk off to his seat.
"OKAAY, Come on! I won't tell them." Mantis called after him. Feeling bad he had upset his friend. "I was just having some fun." he tried to explain.
"HA! Got ya." Monkey said with a smirk. Then his expression turned serious "No, seriously, I will throw you into the middle of the Swinging Clubs if you say another word."
"You know, I think Tigress has started to rub off on you." Mantis complained crossing his thingies and jumping back to his usual perch on the kitchen table.
"I'm not complaining" Monkey said taking his own seat again.
The others watched slightly impressed. Monkey and Mantis usually weren't so understanding when it came to resolving such issues, but for once they were being more mature.
Viper was about to comment on this when Crane shook his head at her. They were better off not knowing.
Tigress threw a sideways glance at the leopard sitting some ways away from her. As much as she hated the leopard, she couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't gloated when she had gone through the whole training course without much of a problem and especially when she could have taunted them of being "self-trained". Not that she wanted her to, but the more the reason she'd have to hit her, the better.
But even if she hadn't gloated, it was no reason for her to go easy on her. She was already thinking of ways to defeat the feline as well as extract information out of her. Speaking of extracting information, she had to ask Po why the leopard was here to stay in the first place. She drank the last of her soup and stood up, the chair sliding back as she did. With the bowl in her hand she began to make her way over to the bucket so that she could wash it. But once again, like everyday, Po interrupted her.
"It's okay Tigress" he said standing up with his own empty bowl, from which he had already had three servings of soup. "I can take that" he grabbed the bowl from her paw and to make it look less obvious turned towards the others at the table as well. "You guys can give me your bowls too."
Everybody handed him the bowls, giving their thanks to the Panda for the meal and for taking their bowls to wash. However, when he held out his arm to take Leonne's bowl she stood up holding it, but hesitated for a moment as if she was having a silent argument over something. She slowly began to hold the bowl out to Po when she suddenly pulled it back and started walking away from the table as if somebody had just pushed her.
"It's okay, I can do it" Po tried to stop her.
"I'm fine" she replied not stopping for a moment. She reached the water-filled bucket in the corner of the kitchen and at once began to wash her bowl herself. The others watched her silently"What is she trying to do? Make us like her? Well, that's not going to happen too soon now." they thought.
Leonne didn't take more than a minute to wash and dry the bowl. She then placed it on the counter. However, when she turned around all eyes were trained on her. Trying her best to ignore them, she made her way over to the door and leaned against the door frame, waiting for the Masters to come. She wasn't sure, but from what she gathered from the Master's attitudes during lunch, they didn't trust her much, and she was sure they'll panic if she went off on her own. "Might as well wait for them" she thought.
The Five finally tore their gaze away from her.
"You want us to wait for you, Po?" Viper asked, not wanting to leave Po alone.
"No, it's fine. I'll catch up with you guys." he said, walking over to the bucket.
"Alright, see you in the Training Hall then." Monkey called and they all began to file out of the kitchen one by one.
"You can come with us" Mantis said looking up at Leonne as he made his way out the kitchen door.
Leonne nodded to him and followed. Not sure what was going to be in store for her. Being asked to spar with the Masters wasn't something she wanted. She knew how to fight but she didn't have as much practice as them. To be honest, she was slightly scared of a bad beating. And she was sure they weren't going to make it much easy for her. But who said she was going down without a fight.
After she left there were only two individuals left in the kitchen.
Po would have happily kept on drying the dishes if he hadn't felt a certain chill on his back. He turned his head around and nearly yelped in surprise when he saw Tigress standing leaning against the table and staring at his back.
He quickly turned his head back towards the bowl. "I'm dead" he thought.
Tigress was thinking on somewhat similar lines. She had stayed behind to ask Po about their left off conversation. But then she sighed inwardly "Maybe I'll wait for now. Master Shifu won't be pleased if he'll arrive all black and blue in the Training Hall."
"You done yet?" she asked, not able to see anything the panda was doing because of his large back.
Po almost sighed in relief " Almost done." he replied. And then quickly finished with the last bowl he was drying. He picked it up along with the other bowls he had dried and then placed them all on the shelf. He then turned to look at Tigress "Let's go." he said, smiling.
Tigress couldn't help but smile in return. "Let's go Dragon Warrior."
They both walked down the hallways, not talking to each other, not knowing what to say until Po broke the ice. "Want to go for a walk around the village if Shifu ever gives us a day off?" he asked.
Tigress turned her head to look at him surprised. Then after thinking a moment nodded her head "That'll be okay." she said.
"Well, that settles it then." Po said and they continued their way to the Training Hall.
While the Five were having lunch, Master Shifu had been sitting under the Peach tree, trying to meditate. Well, more then just meditate. He wished to speak to his Master once again. He had been able to talk to his Master twice before in the after life, but it wasn't something he could do everyday. There were only certain times when he could get access and he wished he would be able to right now. He wanted to be done with the whole issue of Leonne coming to stay at the Jade Palace.
Slowly, he began to relax, his breathing becoming more deep and smooth. Then slowly the sounds of the world around him began to fade as well. He could no longer feel the wind, nor the grass, not the sweet smells of the round fruit that grew on the tree behind him. He sunk deeper and deeper, feeling at peace and after some time when he could no longer contain the peace that he felt, he opened his eyes. But there before him was not the similar view of the village below him. Neither was he on the Peach Tree Hill. Instead, he was in a small green place with flowers dotting here and there. A thin layer of mist served as a screen around the place. This was where he met his Master twice before.
He looked around trying to spot his Master. Adamant not to get startled by him again. He cast his gaze every ways. His ears twitching to catch even the slightest sound. He heard somebody call "Shifu" behind him and he quickly turned around. But there was no one there. He quickly turned back around to look the other way, but it was then that Master Oogway placed his claw on his shoulder from the same direction where the voice had come.
Shifu looked up to see his Master chuckling "You were always one to be up for a challenge Shifu."
Shifu turned around and smiled. "And you have always managed to make the challenges hard for me." he replied bowing with respect.
"Ahh..but Shifu, it wouldn't be fun if they weren't hard now, would it?" Master Oogway asked with a wide smile, that Shifu couldn't help but relate to both wisdom and mischief, much to his own annoyance.
"I guess it wouldn't" he answered, still smiling. He was glad he could smile more freely for once.
Master Oogway then sat down on the grass, holding a staff similar to the one he had in his life before. He gestured to Shifu with his other claw to do the same. Master Shifu quickly obliged, sitting down cross-legged across from his master.
"So tell me, how are the Furious Five and Dragon Warrior faring?" Oogway asked.
"They are doing well, Master." Shifu replied. He then became quiet, not knowing how to ask the question that had been bothering him.
Oogway watched Shifu as he struggled to approach a topic he himself knew perfectly well about. Finally he decided to broach the subject himself "What bothers you about your guest Shifu?" he asked.
Shifu, who was used to his master's ability to know so much, simply sighed then asked "Is she...is she the one you talked about all those years ago, Master?"
"Indeed, I did." Oogway said looking closely at Shifu.
Shifu tried to put his frustration into words "But why has she come so late? Why does she even have to be a part of all this. The Five were all fine before, why need her now?"
Oogway looked up from Shifu's distressed face at the place around them and then back at him "She did not choose to come late. She had no other choice. As for why she is needed. Only time would tell."
Shifu sighed again "Something stopped me from throwing her out the moment I set eyes on her. And for a second I felt I finally understood what you had said all those years ago. Yet I still had to be sure." he explained in a low voice.
Master Oogway looked at his pupil, knowing it was always hard for him to start something afresh but he would have to set those feelings aside. If indeed this is the fate foretold, then there is nothing they can do to stop it. "Shifu, I understand your hesitance" Oogway began "But you know what you have to do. She might have come late, but that is not her fault."
"But why has she come so late?" Master Shifu asked again almost desperately.
"That is something I believe you'll have to ask her. But be careful Shifu, you push her to reveal too much, she'll simply leave. She's headstrong, I can tell you that. Getting information out of her will be difficult. But you must observe patience with her."
Master Shifu tried to rid the look of frustration that was carved onto his features but to no avail. Finally he said "I'll try, Master"
"I believe you will. I hope she doesn't turn out as patience-testing as the Dragon Warrior" Oogway said.
Master Shifu only looked at the ground, he did not want to go through anything like that again.
"So is there something else you wish to talk to me about, say, for old times sake?" Master Oogway asked smiling. And there it was, the mischievous smile he always thought he saw on his Masters face when he smiled at him like that.
"Well, I..." Master Shifu began and soon he and Oogway were talking like old friends instead of like a Master and student. For once Master Shifu felt more relaxed then he ever did, the issue at hand momentarily forgotten.
Tigress and Po entered the Training Hall. The Masters inside were all whispering silently among themselves, while Leonne stood to the side with her arms folded. For a moment, Tigress was sure she saw anxiety on the feline's face "Not so awesome now is she." she thought. Po noticed Leonne too, but as opposed to Tigress he felt slightly sorry for landing her in this mess. Even though it wasn't entirely his fault.
As Shifu opened the Training Hall doors from the other side, feeling more happy then he usually did, he saw his students line up at once "Always disciplined " he thought, even forgetting Po's slightly laid back personality for a moment. He saw Leonne standing behind them, who after a second took a place beside the rest as well. Her appearance brought a slight dip in his mood.
Leonne however, was scolding herself at her stupidity "Why am I even in this mess? I should have simply told him why I was here in the first place. Stupid." she thought.
Master Shifu walked in with his arms folded behind his back as usual. They all bowed to him. He watched them for a few minutes before saying "I'm sure you are all prepared for the sparing session. We will start with Master Viper and Leonne "he stated. The two mentioned individuals quickly bowed to him and looked at one another. As if each was sizing up the other.
They both walked/slithered to a place at the opposite ends of the sparing area and after eyeing one another for a moment, bowed to each other.
"The spar will end if one of you is unable to continue or if one of you admits defeat. You cannot use fangs or claws. No lethal move is to be executed. You will begin when I say so." Master Shifu announced and then he stepped back.
Viper got ready for the spar and took her stance. They all turned their heads to look at Leonne who took a stance as well, which to their horror, was just like Tai Lung's. Or more accurately, the stance for the Leopard style. "How can she possibly know that? You just don't learn the Leopard style on your own?" They all thought as they stared dumb-struck at her for a few moments. Even Master Shifu was surprised, but he wondered.
For Tigress,however, this was the last straw "Okay, that's it!" she suddenly shouted, startling everyone."You got five seconds to start explaining who you really are leopard before I wipe the floor with you fur"
Leonne lowered her stance, confused for a moment. "What did I do wrong?" she thought looking at the wide-eyed look on the Master's faces. Then a piece of information drifted to the front of her head and "Damn! I should have known." she thought almost desperately. She lowered her stance and looked the Tiger Master in the eye, trying to stay calm."You wouldn't believe me even if I told you" she replied, trying to hide her feelings of frustration and panic.
"Try me" Tigress shot back. "We'll all want to know who you really are? Don't tell me you're some girlfriend of Tai Lung's?"
"What?! NO. I've never even met Tai Lung." Leonne replied, suddenly offended.
"Then start talking before I show you what pain really feels like" Tigress said unsheathing her claws and walking threateningly towards Leonne.
Leonne suddenly flared "I don't take orders from anybody and I'm not saying a word." she yelled back "You want to know so bad. You'll have to get it out of me. Not that's it going to work." she said taking her stance again, anger controlling her now.
"Too bad " Tigress said cracking her knuckles. "I thought I was giving you an easy option. Looks like it isn't really good for you. Oh well, just gives me more of a reason to hit you." she spoke every word with increasing venom. She took her own stance.
All the five masters behind Tigress watched as their leader moved in for the snow leopard who despite the threats was standing her ground. It seemed she wasn't even concerned one of them might attack. The whole scenario might be getting out of hand but they wanted to know what the leopard was really up to. And they trusted their leader to carry out the deed of extracting information efficiently.
Both felines stood glaring daggers at each other. Neither making a move. Then just as Tigress was about to lung at the leopard Master Shifu stepped in "That is enough" he said coming in between them.
Tigress stopped herself from attacking but didn't lower her stance. The others gathered around her. Ready to chase after or fight the leopard if she tried anything rash. She hadn't lowered her stance either.
Master Shifu however stood calmly between both parties. He then gave Leonne a stern look, but she still didn't drop her stance, not bothered by his stare.
"You are coming with me to the Hall of Heroes. There are some things I think we need to discuss." he said still looking at her. She finally lowered her stance. Her expression blank. "Fine" she said almost forcefully.
Master Shifu then turned to look at the others "You all will be training. No excuses." They all bowed to him and then fixed their eyes back on Leonne. They didn't know what to make of this, but they were sure they weren't liking it.
They saw their Master and the leopard leaving. They were less sure of her now than they had been in the village.
Leonne followed the Red Panda all the way to the Hall, none of them saying a word. Her blank face hiding all sorts of thoughts that were passing through her head.
Shifu opened the door. They both walked in and behind her Shifu closed the door with a loud 'thud' as she was started walking towards a certain portrait. "If only he had been here" she thought "It would have been so much easier."
Shifu turned around to see where the leopard had went. He then saw her standing some ways away, looking at the portrait of his Master. He was beginning to believe his theory was right.
As he walked up to her, he saw her ears flattened against her head. And her demeanor wasn't as disciplined and polished as it seemed before. But the moment he cleared his throat she immediately snapped back to her disciplined form. She seemed to have forgotten he was there. She turned to look at him. The sad look now replaced by the same blankness.
"You knew him, didn't you?" he asked her.
Leonne closed her eyes, thinking how best to respond. Finally she decided to tell him the truth. "Yes" she replied opening her eyes.
Shifu nodded "And where exactly did you meet him?" he asked. He was sure all the answers somehow laid there. He had to know.
"I do now wish to tell that, neither do I want to stay here anymore. If you are willing to know the reason why I'm here then I can tell you that and you can help me with it. I'm not telling anything more." Leonne said forcefully, turning to look at the Red Panda.
Master Shifu felt anger. Something he always did when he was disobeyed. But he remembered what Oogwya had said. He looked her in the eye "Then at least explain to me how you know the Leopard Style. Tai Lung was the only previous known Master of it. And you also claim to be self-trained. You know as well as I do the secrets of Kung fu are not revealed to the public?" he asked her.
"And what if I don't tell you where I learned it?" she asked, folding her arms on her chest.
"You will have to stay here for further investigation. We need to know how such knowledge came to be known by an individual who hasn't trained under any master." Master Shifu replied in a voice full of authority. He knew he had hit the jackpot there. He saw her tense up the moment he mentioned having her here for further investigation.
Leonne went over her options. She didn't like the idea of people investigating anything about her. And most of all, if she didn't put forth her request to Master Shifu, who else would she put it in front of then. They were her only hope. She closed her eyes again, hating her decisions every moment.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." she said barely above a whisper. But Master Shifu didn't need to strain much because of his over-large ears.
"I think I'll have to believe whatever you say. You see, I don't have much of a choice either." he replied.
Leonne breathed in deeply as she gathered her thoughts. She remembered it all as if it had happened only yesterday, when in fact it had been years ago. As she prepared herself to reveal to Master Shifu something she had never told anyone before, she could have sworn she heard Oogway's deep, reassuring voice pass by her.
Nearly thirteen years ago
A ten-year-old leopard staggered into her "room"' She was exhausted beyond belief. She hated this place. She hated it more than Mr. Hsi's smelly house. She regretted she had ever thought of getting out of that place, she'd rather have it back. If only some God will listen to her prayer.
Barely able to keep standing, she didn't need much effort to flop down onto the cold stone floor that served as her bed. The door closing almost immediately behind her. She quickly pulled a shredded cloth to cover herself up.
As she shivered there in the cold, she silently began to cry. She didn't know what to do. She wished everyday she would die in her sleep. She wished she would die when she got sick. She even considered killing herself but every time she tried her courage failed her. She couldn't do it. And everyday she was crushed through the same mill of torture.
She didn't know when she finally cried herself to sleep, but what she did strangely realize was that...she was in a dream.
It seemed pretty odd. She hardly ever had dreams. And most of them were meaningless. But this seemed somewhat strange. Like it was real...but..not real.
She cast her wide eyes about the foggy place, trying to figure out where she was. She thought she could make out the form of a tree, but it was hard to tell. Then she thought she could feel something soft beneath her feet and she immediately sat down to touch the warm thing, but she felt nothing. She couldn't understand.
Just then she heard a voice from behind her "Hello young one."
She immediately ran away from the source and only turned around to see who it was when she was some sure distance away. But what she saw next was even more strange than realizing she was in a dream.
She stared at the creature who stood before her. He had a long green neck, with a rather small head and he had big green eyes that were half lidded. He had some sort of hard things around him which was mainly covered up by a cloth and he held a staff in his right hand. She had no idea what or who it might be. But despite that, she kept herself ready in case she had to make a run for it. Who knew what that thing was capable of doing.
They both stood there in silence for a while. She waited for the creature standing before her to say something, but he didn't. She decided to finally ask him, her curiosity piqued.
"Wh..who are you?"she stammered. Not sure what the answer will be.
"Why, my name is Oogway. I'm the Grandmaster of the Jade Palace. I am also a tortoise." he replied giving Leonne a kind smile.
Leonne's eyes widened, how could this person know what she was thinking. He can't be good, right? She was sure of it. But she had to know how he knew.
"How did you know what I was thinking?" she asked in a voice that sounded less brave then she had wanted it to.
"I know a lot of things, Leonne." She took a step back when he said her name. "And considering the place where you live, I doubt you have ever seen anyone like me." Oogway finished.
" cons..ider...ring?" she uttered, trying to understand what the word meant.
Oogway smiled "It means "thinking about something" " he said trying to keep it simple for her.
Leonne looked at him as she pieced the meaning together with the rest of the sentence. Finally she understood. "He means I can't know who he is because thinking of the place where I live, I can't know about somebody like him" she concluded. She nodded her head slowly as if telling Oogway she understood.
Master Oowgay merely smiled at the child. She was still lingering where she had run to upon hearing his voice. "I guess I shouldn't have startled her" he thought.
He asked her his next question, trying to make the atmosphere more light "Where do you think you are Leonne?"
Leonne who had been looking at Master Oogway from top to bottom now looked at the tortoise's face "I..I don't know. I just know I'm in a dream." she answered unsure of herself.
"No child. You are in more than just a dream. You are in a state where you are and are not present at the place where you currently stand. This place is called the Peach Tree Hill." he said opening his arms wide while still holding his staff in his right hand. And at once, as if the fog around them had been waiting for this declaration, it cleared away, revealing the magnificent view of a hill, high atop a large area full of what Leonne could only presume, houses.
She stared wide-eyed at everything around her. There was the tree she had 'thought' she had seen. And underneath her bare feet was soft...grass? She leaned down slowly, stretching out a paw to touch the soft greeny thing. It looked so appealing. And finally her paw felt the warm sensation as it touched it. It really was grass. It really was!
She fell face forward into the grass laughing almost hysterically. She rolled over in the soft thing feeling the grass rub against her fur, soothing her. Finally she lay there after several minutes, looking up at the blue sky above her. Clouds making white uneven spots on the blue blanket. She laughed again. It couldn't be true. She was seeing it all again."But it's just a dream" the thought suddenly came to her "Or some place in between being in one place and another, whatever that means" she thought.
She suddenly bolted up right and turned her head around to see Oogway still standing where she had seen him a few minutes ago. A wide smile adorned his features, as if he had actually been enjoying looking at her squeal with excitement and laugh hysterically on the grass. She stood up and began to step a few feet back again. Keeping a wary eye on Oogway.
She had let her guard down. This person could have hurt her when she was playing. But why hadn't he? Surely he had brought her here to lure her into a false sense of security.
But there he was literally smiling. She looked at him for a few moments then carefully began examining the rest of the place. The corner of her eye still fixed on Oogway.
She saw the leaves of the tree rustle softly above her. She then looked to her right and saw the vast area so far down. She was sure she could make out plenty of houses and shops. The place was beautiful. She wanted to sit there and watch it before she woke up from this wonderful dream. But there were more important matters at the moment. Such as the tortoise in front of her. She finally decided to ask him.
"Why am I here?" she asked in a low voice.
Oogway looked at her closely for a few seconds then answered "Because I wanted you to."
She looked at him oddly "Because he wanted me to? Why?"
Oogway continued "But that is not all." He paused for a moment "Tell me child, have you ever heard of Kung fu?" he asked her.
She shook her head "No" she said, confused as to what this 'Kung fu' might be.
"Would you like to know?" he asked knowing he had the child's attention.
She thought for a moment about saying no, but then her curiosity got the better of her and she nodded her head slowly asking "Would you hurt me with it?"
"Of course not child, I'm just going to tell you about it." Oogway replied. He then lowered his head slightly, as if bringing it to her level and spoke slowly "Kung Fu is about being balanced. Everything in this world has two parts, and each part balances the other." he paused to allow her the time to absorb the information. When she nodded, he continued.
"Sometimes these parts don't remain balanced and we have to find a way either in ourselves or around us to bring those two back into balance."At this point, he saw her face turn into one of confusion. So he tried to explain it to her through an example. "Tell me Leonne. When those people hurt you, what do you try to do?"
Leonne suddenly felt threatened again when Oogway once again showed an uncanny ability to tell things about her. But then when she thought about his question she wrapped her arms around herself and replied in a timid voice "I either try to fight them or...I cry about it."
"Exactly." Oogway said in a kind tone. He didn't want to make the child remember that Hell in such a peaceful place but he didn't know to what extent the young cubs knowledge went about the world. "You try to bring the place around you back into balance by either trying to tell those people they are doing wrong, or you try to bring balance to yourself by crying out your worries." he explained.
Leonne thought over his lines. Now that she thought of it, it was true, she fought them to tell them she didn't want to live in a place like that and she always felt slightly better after going against their wishes. And when she cried, she had to admit, she did feel slightly better than before. "So I try to bring myself or that place into balance by either fighting or crying" she concluded, understanding a little more now.
She nodded her head "I think I understand" she said slowly, still taking in everything.
Oogway gave the child another warm smile then his face turned solemn "Just like you try to fight to keep the world around you in balance, Kung Fu helps us to do that too. It's something that we learn so that we can keep the bad forces away and keep the good ones around us. It is not easy, but we try to protect good people form evil ones. And sometimes we have to fight them too. And that is where Kung fu helps us. To fight for good." Oogway finished for her in the simplest way.
Leonne had hung on to every word the stranger had said. Something about them sounded right to her.
Keeping good people safe from bad ones. To fight bad people so that they won't hurt anybody. She wanted to learn this "Kung Fu" too so that she could fight those cruel people she had to live with. She raised her head, and for the first time took some steps towards Oogway. She wasn't even aware of it herself.
"Can I learn Kung fu, too?" she asked hesitantly.
Grandmaster Oogway smiled. The child was finally opening up, at least asking that question and taking a few steps towards him was a start. "You can, if you are willing to." he answered.
"Can I learn it on my own?" she asked. She still had a tiny doubt about the tortoise. How can she know he won't hurt her?
Oogway looked at her as if thinking "I guess you can, but that would be very difficult without someone to teach you. Even those who learn from a teacher take years." he said.
He watched as Leonne struggled to find another solution to the problem. He could see she was afraid of any kind of harm coming from him, even if it was 'just a dream' as she had said.
He decided to end her turmoil. "What makes you think I will still hurt you child?" he asked.
Leonne again, caught by surprise by his all-knowingness looked at him with slight fear. Not sure what he was hinting at.
Oogway however continued, "If I would have wanted to harm you, I would have already done it. When you were looking the other way, when you were playing on the grass, and when you were looking down at the village. But I did not. Because I do not want to harm you. I want to teach you to save yourself from harm." he finished.
He looked at the confused child and he decided to use the last thing he wanted to, but he had to have her complete confidence.
Leonne had only turned her gaze down from the tortoise only a second when she suddenly felt something on her shoulder and she jumped out of it's touch on instinct. She turned around to find the Oogway standing behind her, more close than he had been a few seconds ago. She quickly turned her head towards the place where he had been standing before, making sure she wasn't being fooled, but there was nothing there.
She turned her head back to look at him, his claw still in the air where her shoulder had been. He then lowered it and wrapped it around his staff. "Like I said child" he said in a kind and soft voice "I do not wish to harm you. If had wanted that, I would already have done so. I can teach you Kung fu if you are willing to learn."
Leonne, for the life of her, couldn't figure out how Oogway had moved so fast, but for once she felt she could trust the old tortoise.
He wasn't going to hurt her. He could have, but he didn't. Maybe it will be okay if she learned from him. Maybe he wouldn't be horrible like those heartless people. And if he was, she would run. Run as far as she can, because this place wasn't closed like the place where she lived, it was completely open.
She finally took a firm step towards the old Master and nodded her head as she said "I want to learn Kung fu from you but...you won't hurt me, right?" she asked not sure whether the question would help. But it seemed important.
"I would never hurt you Leonne." Oogway's kind voice answered.
"Then I want to learn from you." she stated firmly. Giving a hint of a smile now.
"Then I am willing to teach you. Since you have agreed now, from this day forth, I am your Master and you are my pupil."
Leonne looked confused "What's a Master and a 'puupil'?" she asked.
"A Master is someone who teaches you Kung fu and a pupil is someone who learns kung fu from them." he answered. Again explaining to her in the simplest of words.
She nodded. "I'll be your pupil. When can we learn?" she asked all excited now, quiet contrary to what she was a few minutes ago.
"Not so fast young one." Oogway said chuckling. "We just got to know each other. We'll meet again soon. Then, we will start learning one thing at a time. But before you leave.." he walked past her towards the peach tree.
"I will like you to take a peach with you. We will meet again soon." he said as he plucked a peach and handed it to her. But before she could bite into, fog started swarming in once again and Master Oogway went to stand in the middle of it. He slowly began fading away under its influence but he said one last sentence before he was completely lost from site "We will meet again."
She had then woken up to find herself back in her "room" and to her surprise and delight she had found the peach Oogway had given her in her hand. She had savored it's taste right there and then, hungry, since she hadn't eaten dinner. It was more than enough to satisfy her hunger and she had slept the next hour and a half more content than she had ever in her short life. She was sure she would meet Oogway again. And she did, from time to time for the next five years, learning Kung fu from him and practicing it whenever she found the opportunity. It was how she had trained in the sacred art. She wasn't self-trained, but it was something close to it. And even if it wasn't what were you supposed to tell to people who asked? You learned in a dream? The idea sounded ridiculous in itself.
However after five years, Oogway had stopped visiting her in her dreams. And she had even begun to believe that Oogway was someone her mind had made up to help her survive that place. But only recently had she come to learn, Oogway wasn't just a dream...he was real.
Leonne found herself telling Shifu everything about that first meeting as well as she could. Not sure how much the Master would believe. She tried to leave out any details of the place where she lived, only saying it was an unpleasant place.
When she was finished, Shifu sank into deep thought. Finally he sighed. "It is just as I suspected. You were trained by Master Oogway himself all those years ago... You aren't self-trained." he said the last sentence looking up at her almost accusingly.
"How else was I supposed to say it? I would have sounded more insane than I already am if I'd told all that to the Five on the stairs." she replied.
"What do you mean 'more insane than you already are'"? Shifu questioned.
"Nothing" she replied flatly.
Shifu however wasn't paying attention anymore. He turned his back on her and began walking away, thinking, how he was going to explain it all to Leonne.
"Now that you know Master Oogway taught me the Leopard Style. Can you listen to my request please?" she asked loudly but kindly, wanting to get over the whole situation, but not wanting to anger the Master either. He'd never listen to her if she were rude.
Shifu however, didn't respond. She waited for a while and was about to repeat her question when he turned back around. She waited for him to say something.
"I didn't have to ask you all this just because we need to know the background of every person who comes here nor just because you know the Leopard style." Shifu began "It was also because I believe that you were someone who was once mentioned by Oogway some time ago. At that time however, I had no idea who he was referring to. It was only slightly revealed to me after I saw you at the Palace door."
He paused for a moment. Leonne stood there, confused as to where this was going. Shifu continued.
"A few years back, not too long before Oogway chose the Dragon Warrior, Master Oogway and I were overlooking the sparing session of the Five one day..."
Both Master Oogway and Shifu stood outside the Training Hall. The Five were sparing in the courtyard. The winner getting to fight the next and so on. Master Shifu stood there proudly. He still tried to keep on reminding them to focus more on their Kung Fu training, though he had to admit, they had come a long way. As he witnessed Monkey suffer defeat by his prized student and daughter, Tigress, he could no longer contain the pride that was swelling up inside of him and he decided to just comment to his Master in passing.
"They've come a long way, haven't they Master Oogway? A near perfect team." he said, in an even voice.
Oogway didn't respond immediately, he observed as Tigress sent a kick to Crane's beak who was again flying too low. Something Master Shifu often needed to tell him to correct.
"No" Oogway finally replied.
Shifu turned to look at his Master. His heart immediately sinking. He had failed him. He had failed to train a team of Kung fu warriors like Oogway had desired. And here he was thinking they were good. He'll have to work harder now.
He was about to apologize when Oogway spoke again "They aren't a team yet. There is still one missing." he said turning his long neck to face Shifu.
"What do you mean, Master?" Shifu asked, flabbergasted. All the members of the Furious Five were accounted for, how can they be missing one? Then it hit him "You mean the Dragon Warrior?" he asked quickly. He hoped it would be Tigress, but that was not the issue at the moment.
Oogway merely shook his head "No. Someone other than the Dragon Warrior is still to come." he said. And with that answer Master Oogway turned to go to the Hall of Warriors, leaving a very confused and frustrated Shifu in his wake.
Shifu tried to rid his face of the frown that had found it's way onto it. He wished Master Oogway had been more clear. Who else, apart from the Dragon Warrior was still missing? He let out a frustrated sigh. He just hoped Master Oogway would be there to tell him who it was when the time came.
"...But he wasn't today" Master Shifu told Leonne who was listening to his every word."I was about to ask you to leave when you stepped forward to greet me, but something held me back." He paused."I felt I understood what Oogway meant all those years ago and I had to keep you here. And most of all I had to see whether you could fight." he sighed "It's going to take some time to train you more. Five years isn't enough, especially if it was through a dream."
"I practiced, and it wasn't like I couldn't remember what I was taught. If I learned anything in there, it got imprinted on my mind. But who said anything about further training. I'm fine with the little I have" Leonne told him still not getting the idea of the whole issue.
Shifu looked at her "Leonne, don't you understand what Oogway said really means?"
Leonne just gave him a blank look, not saying anything in return.
"You are the missing member of the Furious Five, or in this case, Six, whom Oogway had foretold."
A lot of revelations!
Now before you start asking questions, I want to tell you I can write the whole "dream thing" from Oogway's point-of-view if you guys want to know. I'll explain it in a one-shot. But I know perspectives and priorities change as the story continues, so the question of whether you'd like a one-shot of it or not, will be asked at the end of this story.
I hope you all enjoyed it.
Please Do Review.