Fox Style,
A Foxie Boy in a Dragon's World
Chapter Two
As dusk fell over the wooden temple grounds, casting long shadows across its stone courtyard, the Two kung fu fighters, one a master, one a dragon warrior, stood facing each other with their eyes locked in a fierce stare-down, ignorant to the on-looking watching in suspense.
For several minutes, the two masters stood still, scrutinising each other and waiting for one of them to make a move- the tension in the air so palpable that even the onlookers watched on started to feel it.
Tigress unleashed the tension with a lightning-fast strike upon her opponent, sending a fist soaring through the air in a blur of motion that even Shifu was surprised.
However, before it could connect, a paw lashed out from her blind spot and countered it with an array of precise yet controlled redirections. The two masters moved in perfect sync, their bodies twisting and turning in an enchanting dance of combat. Each blow met with a counterpunch; each strike met with a block.
"Haugh?!"
The bout was quickly separated as Tigress, who had slowly been increasing in furiously, sent an uppercut as a distraction, forcing the blonde to bring his paws up to block, only for her to lash up with a double kick, snapping the blonde's muzzle back in a spray of spit.
Jumping back, Naruto wiped his nose, finding a single trickle of blood. "Good shot," Pressing a paw to the opposite side of the blood, he forced air out, clearing the airway as he slowly started circling the master, like a predator hunting his prey. Their eyes locked in a fierce stare, and the tension in the temple increased. The air crackled with energy as battle loomed ahead, and spectators held their breath while waiting to see what would transpire.
Suddenly, he charged forward, fists flying towards Tigress's face, and a crackle of lightning echoed in the hall. However, the master was quick and quickly sidestepped the attack, launching a counterstrike that sent Naruto reeling backwards for a single step. Only for him to step back in, lash out, and blows so quickly that it was almost impossible to keep up. Kicks, punches, and spins flew through the air as they engaged in fierce combat, each searching for an opening.
Naruto was relentless in his attacks, coming at Tigress from every direction with lightning-fast speed and stone-crushing strikes. But Tigress was anything but slow, so equally adept that she dodged each blow with effortless grace and struck back with precision and power. As the battle started to ramp up, both fighters appeared to be equally matched, neither having gained an advantage. Sweat poured down their faces as they continued fighting, their movements becoming increasingly intense in an effort to gain the upper hand, each determined to come out on top.
As spectators watched in awe as the intense standoff continued, each blow becoming more powerful and dangerous than its predecessor. The sound of fists hitting feet echoed throughout the courtyard as two master fighters engaged in the fiercest battle few had ever witnessed before.
Tigress's perfect calmness slowly slipped as she struck her opponent with a powerful uppercut, forcing the warrior's head snapping back, only for a second to past before he returned it, forcing her to bring up an arm to block, only to wince when it connected.
She felt that!
Like a distant friend, the master accepted the pain with a warm hug, her hits because stronger, sharper, and faster… with each strike, she masterly executed forced the blonde back, any form of restraint lost as she snapped out with a side kick.
The impact echoed in the hall as Naruto launched back into a wooden post, his body easily snapping it like a tig.
"You're good, but it's not over yet!" With an intense roar, he charged back at his opponent with even greater fury than before, their movements now so fast and intense that they became little more than blurs in front of one another; even Shifu couldn't quite tell who was hitting who first.
Before long, the sound of their strikes reverberated through the dojo, each sounding like a gunshot. The air around them was charged with energy as fists collided. Sparks flew as they met head-on. Both warriors were slowly getting covered in wounds and bruises, each suffering wounds that would have crippled a lesser foe. Yet they fought on, driven by an intense determination to emerge victorious.
However, the unsettling nature of the fight was matched evenly by massive grins on their faces, their eyes ablaze, burning with a primal fire of acceptance of their skill.
As they struck and countered each other, each pushing themselves to the limit of their abilities, they grunted and growled in agony.
Suddenly, the Tigress saw an opening and took advantage of it. With a lightning-fast move, she delivered a powerful kick to the first's midsection that would have sent him flying backwards. Naruto's tails lashed into the wooden ground, halting his movement before he grinned victorious, his fist already in motion.
Tigress braced for impact, but the unleashed barrage of blows left her reeling and defences crumbling.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Naruto charged his hitting pattern before suddenly lunging forwards, fists pounding forwards in an attack of overwhelming strength, striking the air with so much power that a wall of wind shot into Tigress, a devastating slap to the chest.
Even with lightning-fast reflexes, she couldn't recover in time for Naruto's following movements. Her feet staggered backwards as her guard temporarily down. With a form of perfection and speed so fast that the human eye couldn't follow, he launched a spinning kick that sent Tigress flying to the wall with a heavy thud, her form slowly slipping down into a heap.
Tigeress lay there, dazed and helpless, as Naruto approached her, standing over her with glowing eyes of triumph. And then, with one final blow, he went to deliver the fatal strike that would put an end to their fight.
The temple fell silent….
"That was one intense fight."
Instead of hitting her, Naruto held a hand out, a giant smirk on his face.
For a moment, the two masters stayed still, taking a breath and gazing upon each other with mutual admiration. Naruto extended his hand close to Master Tigress and helped her get onto her feet, both locking eyes, similar thoughts of intense standoff running in their mind, both very much aware that the fight made a bond of acceptance between them, one that would remain forever together.
"Thank you."
As the two stood hand in hand, the small crowd of Masters and Po slowly approached, shocked by the incredible display of skill they had just witnessed.
"Oh! My! GOD!" Po, shaken out of his stupor, raced towards the two masters, smiling wide in awe and freakish interest. "That was…" He stuttered several sentences in a chaotic mess, eyes wide like dinner plates. "Awesome!"
"Hehe," Naruto chuckled slight, turning towards the pandy which patting his chest, which sent of shock of pain up his core. "It certainly was!" A faint thud broke the awkward tension between the master, the wooden pillar Naruto was launched into prior suddenly feel down. "Ehhh, I'll replace that."
Shifu, who was previously deep in thought, accidently let out a snort of humour, completely stunning those around him, all their eyes wide as they turned towards him. "Its fine, we'll have it fixed, its natural for things to break during training."
"Natural" he says, the fight was anything but, was the collective thoughts of the masters and Po, the fight that just took place was a masterpiece of bloody combat, no mere training.
"I hope you have found your answer," Shifu said, judging eyes locking with the Fox, as he gestured for the two masters, and Naruto, to leave the training ground. "Po, if you could please demonstrate for us your abilities, so we know what to train." Before Naruto could answer, the red Panda turned his side to him, his beady eyes set on the now incredibly nervous Panda.
"Eh, I don't know…." Po mind raced as he tried imagine himself being in Naruto spot, his body being hit by Tigress again… and again…. And again. "I'm more of a single-person kind of trainer, you know!" Huffing in pride at his graceful recovery, the Panda smirked towards Shifu, awaiting a masterful reply of "Oh, no worries, we can train another day," or something similar to that.
"So, the training dummy?" The witty and sharp reply made the smirk of confidence drop to one of embarrassment, his grunt of "yeah" easily missable it was so weak. "Please, demonstrate your skills."
Po, unsure of what to do, choose to turn to the blow up Panda doll before him, eyes unfocused as he tried to think of anything other than the people watching him. "So…" Centring himself, to the point of shocking confidence, he turned to the small master, his fist clenching in a effort to seem more tough. "I just hit this as hard as I can!" The loud statement was phased eerily like a statement, so the Shifu nodded with a frown in unsureness, not quite expecting the outburst. "Okay okay," Turning around Po took a basic stance, his front puffed up and his legs side to side, forming a very top-heavy form with little balance.
"Here I go!" Rearing back, Po drew upon all that was his form, all of his POWER, channelling it from his back, up his right shoulder, and into his arm, where, with a might swoosh he threw hands at the blow-up. "Hey, that was eas-AHHH!" Mid-sentence, the previous launched back blowup doll came back up with the same force put in, smashing the panda square in the jaw.
The power being so much a single tooth and some dust was all that was left on the spot that the Panda was standing on.
"OWWWW!" Lodged into a wall next to the fire pits, Po groaned in pain, his body felt sore, and his jaw was pulsing with pain. "W—what kind of blow-up doll was that?!" Straining to get himself out of the wooden prison with maximum effort, Po couldn't help but wonder why life had dealt him so a dirty hand.
He was a joke, a utter fool, for trying to impress others, he was no dragon warrior, he was a noodle maker, why was he even trying to convince anyone.
"A damn strong one," A soft chuckle of humour scratched at Po's mind, his eyes locking with the approaching fellow dragon warrior, his movements having a slight limp. "Don't worry, when I start fight, the very air beat my backside." Naruto remarked with a disarming smile, reaching up and tugging Po's shoulder, freeing him. "But that's what practice is for!" Patting the back of the Panda hardly, almost if he was striking the self-loathing out of him, the blonde Fox let a large smile grace his face. "Plus, you hit was super strong! I can't believe how hard to must of hit to send yourself flying as a result." Ignoring the angry and disapproval looks of the other fights in the room, he continued to prop up the fat Panda, giving him emotional support.
"T-thanks fox," Po replied with a nervous chuckle, the misery he felt moments ago lifting from his shoulder, only to get nervous when his partner glared at him. "W-what?"
"My name is Naruto, Po." "Fox" stated, pouting at the Panda, who frantically nodded his head. "Say, you worked at that Ramen stool, right?" Naruto asked, his mind going straight to the thoughts of Ramen, he may have been distracted momentarily, but he will have the food of the gods in his grasp.
"Ramen?" Po was unsure of what exactly the teen was referring to, "You mean my dad's noodles?"
Affronted by the mere suggestion that Ramen can be reduced to mean "noodle", Naruto squared up the Panda, passion of the one true dish of the gods bled from his soul. "That dish is no mere noodles, it's Ramen, the food of the gods!"
"Ramen, the food of the gods?" Po, having forgot his body's pain, scoffed in shock, his eyes narrowed in challenge. "Pork dumplings are clearly the best food!"
"Ramen!"
"Pork Dumplings!"
"RAMEN!
"DUMPLINGS!"
"DUMPLINGS!"
"RAMEN!"
"Ha, got you!" Naruto shouted in triumph as he held up his up in victory, dancing around in a silly fashion as Po groaned in pain, not physical pain but emotionally. The dancing lasted several seconds before a sharp cough interrupted him.
"Do you mind," Shifu, who was unamused by the argument of the two dragon warriors, his stomach was empty, and as much as he would deny it, the shouting of two very delicious dishes was making his stomach rumble silently. "It is almost time for dinner." Gesturing towards the door, the two dragon warriors shared a glance between themselves, a matching smile on their face.
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After a silent journey towards the "house" portion of the training grounds, a beautiful building with an open floor plan comprising of 10 rooms connected and separated by thin ornamental screens. Speaking of the rooms, Naruto expected them to be decorated with elegant handmade furniture, or silk lanterns or paper lanterns.
Instead, a spartan room was his gift; out of all of the rooms, the most unique thing Naruto saw was the calligraphy scrolls in Crane's room.
Even the kitchen was bare, a simple wooden table with a stove…
It was depressing if he was being honest.
"So, tell me again, how exactly is this supposed to help?" Laying on his front, the Fox couldn't help but grunt as a thin metal nipped his back, parting the fur to his skin. "Watch it."
A soft clicking of Mantis echoed in the young adult's ears as he scurried around his large back, a large, for him, metal needle in his hands. "Sorry, you're not exactly the most…."
"Normal?" Naruto cut him off, winching as another needle was dug deeper into his lower back, a feeling of blood rushing towards it, making him shudder. "It's fine; from every Fox I've met so far, I know I'm pretty much double their size." The comment, was stated to be purely factual, left the blonde's lips with a layer of pride.
"And why is that?" Po, who was sitting beside the blonde in a similar state as the Fox, yelped; a needle hit a little too deep. "I mean, I've not met many foxes, but from the few I've served, none have been so tall…." Another needle went in with a sting of pain, a yelp followed, and an apology was reused. Po couldn't help but feel like the small master was doing this purposefully. "Or have as many tails?"
Trying to ignore the high pitch yells and grunts, Naruto raised an eyebrow in amusement, he had always expected the Panda to have a set of lungs on him, but for his yelp to be painful to even his hearing, it was a shocking feat. "Well, I was born this way." Of course, Naruto told a white lie; he didn't want the others in the room to think he was crazy.
Well, crazier than what they already thought…
"Anyway, what about you?" Turning over to the giant Panda, Naruto pointed at him, hoping to elicit a response. "I've not seen a single panda in all my travelling, and I've been around the world."
"Well, I'm not sure," Po replied, temporarily distracted from the pain of needles. "My dad is a goose; you met him, right?" Smirking, the Panda saw the slow nod of his new friend, his mind also recalling his father's smiling face. "Maybe he knows about my Ma, I don't really know?"
Naruto gave the Panda a blank stare, unsure if it was possible if such a thing was possible…. "Right…." Turning his gaze from the dragon warrior, the Fox stared at the other masters, wondering if they would correct the Panda, only for neither to even blink in surprise. "So, what about you two? You got anything that separates you from the norm?"
"Apart from the fact we're kung-fu masters?" Quickly with the rebuttal, Mantis raised a brow as he moved around the back of the Panda and onto the Fox, trying to pinpoint where to stab. "Well, I'd say I'm pretty average for my species, except the whole 'moving super-fast."
"And I'm super, super, flexible." Viper piped up, having remained quiet since the start of the acupuncture session, having sat between two physical diagrams of a fox and a panda. "And I don't have fang to inject venom." Opening her mouth, the small snake showed the three men her fangless mouth.
"Oh wow, that is interesting!" Po remarked in excitement; as a self-proclaimed super fan of the Furious 5, the news of something he hadn't heard before was like magic to his ears. "How did that happen?! Did you lose them in a fight?" Viper replied with a shake of her head, making the panda frown in thought. "Oh, I know; you must have sacrificed them for mystic power!"
Snorting in humour, Naruto couldn't help but find Po's sense of imagination wonderous, and it reminded him a lot of his prior self. "I don't doubt there is a story behind it, Po, but maybe for another time. Right now, I'd rather us focus on getting these needles out of us." Jabbing a thumb backwards, he went to pluck some out with his tail, only for Mantis to beat him to the punch.
"Careful there, fox, you might hurt yourself." Slowly pulling out the needles so as not to cause permanent damage. "What's the hurry, though? You're supposed to put the needles in for hours, not a single hour."
"Ah," Naruto coughed in embarrassment, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "I may have made plans to meet someone, and I kind of forgot." The fight, followed by food and recovery, had almost been 2 hours already. "I won't be long, though."
"Righhhht." Mantis, unsure if the blonde was being candid, drew out the last needle, hoping off shortly after to take another look over Po's back. "Just know, the dorm door is locked in 2 hours, 10 pm sharp."
"Right, thanks, Mantis," Hoping to his feed, Naruto smiled towards the three before waving goodbye as he stepped out into the halls. "Oh, sorry there." Uninteonsally, the fox's back bumped into Tigress, nudging her slightly off balance. "Good to see you're durable enough to move after our fight; most people I fight don't get back up for several hours."
"I'm not most people." Tigress's reply was sharp and to the point, void of any kind of emotion. "Just so you know-"
"I know, I know, dorms close in two hours."
"that you won't beat me a second time." Frowning in a rare show of anger, Tigress glared at the interrupting blonde, who was scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "I was taken by surprise this time, but next time, you better be ready to lose."
"Eh, r-right." Unsure how to deal with the aggressive nature of the female tiger, Naruto backed off slightly, his mind focused on retreating. "See ya!" Running down the hall, fox ignored the huff from the female master, he was already on a time crunch, and he'd rather not deal with two angry females- one was enough, thank you very much!
Tigress, seeing the fleeing form of the fox, couldn't help but frown in worry… whilst she had confidence in her ability, Naruto faught like a raging ball- no, a raging dragon. "Dragon warrior…" The title was a fitting one, one she thought fit the fox more than her, not that she would ever say that out loud.
"I'll be honest; I'm surprised Tigress lost." The spoken name was like a whiplash to her senses, dragging Tigress towards the sound of the other "dragon warrior" speaking, anger quickly blaring at her mind. "That was one intense fight" Naruto's words from earlier bounced around her skull, drawing her thoughts aware from Po and more on the fight.
As much as she'd love to go in and criticise the Panda for his stupid thoughts, he wasn't wrong. The fight was a brutal one, one that Tigress also thought she would win… but the Fox just got up every time! He blew hit, but he just kept on coming! Not even Shifu could take a straight strike to face from her, and shake it off like it was nothing.
And what's worse, she wanted to do it again!
As much as it shamed her, as angry as the words made her, she could deny it.
She wanted to lose!
The notion alone woke something deep inside her… How long had she waited for such a person? Someone she could fight at full strength and not worry about breaking. Someone that could make her feel pain. A feeling she had long since thought absent.
A slight, feral smirk appeared, her bright teeth gleaming in the night as she turned away from Po's room and entered her own.
"I'll get you yet, dragon warrior!"
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