A/N: Well, first off, sorry this is a little late. I decided to split the chapter. Thanks to everyone for your input! This is still not too short of a chapter, anyway. I want to put some more work into the second half (now chapter 19), since as of right now I don't think it's "quite there." Not sure what's bothering me about it, but I'll figure it out. So, I'll update with that on the regular schedule. Anyway, hope you enjoy this installment.
Disclaimer: Kung Fu Panda belongs to Dreamworks.
Chapter 18: Cooking is Love Made Visible
"Yeesh, Pudge, I knew you could pack it in, but a whole bag of rice? Really?" Lin approached the training hall alongside Tai Lung, her eyebrows raised at the sight of Shifu waiting for them on the porch with a full bag of rice. Breakfast had been somewhat strained as they had all eaten in awkward silence, and for good reason; Lin's mood was growing darker with every day she spent without use of her right hand, Shifu had treated her as if she were a ticking time bomb since the night before, and Tai Lung had wisely kept to himself to avoid the inevitable conflict. However, she couldn't keep her silence at the sight of the rice; mainly, she didn't see why he couldn't have spared any for a simple rice porridge breakfast. It would have made her life just a little bit easier.
As they climbed the steps to the porch, Shifu nodded to Tai Lung, which had apparently been an order; the kid bowed stiffly and retreated into the training hall, worriedly glancing over his shoulder as he passed through the front door.
"Seriously, though, when'd you get this rice?" Lin asked, peering dubiously at the bag; she wondered what its presence could possibly mean.
Shifu straightened up a bit and cleared his throat, pinning her with a silent glare.
With a roll of her eyes and a petulant sigh, she bowed; she honestly didn't see why he continued to insist on such formalities when they had agreed that she would no longer be learning kung fu. Then again, she supposed he was still technically her teacher.
"I bought that bag of rice after your tantrum yesterday," he informed her in clipped tones. "I realized this morning that it would come in handy in today's training."
"Oh? How's that?" She had a feeling that she wouldn't like the answer.
"I am glad you asked," he replied, his voice taking on a smug tone that did not bode well for her. He then picked up the bag of rice and carried it down the porch stairs. He paused at the bottom of the stairs to observe the stone courtyard, though she couldn't see why. Then, suddenly, he threw the bag high into the air, jumped up after it, and with a swift chop of his hand tore it open. Before even beginning his descent, he turned his body mid-air to deliver a kick to the open bag, sending it flying across the courtyard. To end this display, he landed easily in the exact same place he had jumped from, and folded his arms behind his back.
"Wow," she said in as flat a tone as she could muster. "Because nothing impresses a cook quite like wasting food." She shook her head as she walked down the stairs to stand beside him; she honestly didn't see what the point of destroying a bag of rice had been, and it had made such a mess in the courtyard. However, when she stopped beside him, she noticed a satisfied smile slowly crossing his face. "What?"
"Here." Sounding as if he couldn't wait for her to understand what was going on, he uncrossed his arms and somehow produced an empty bag, pressing it into her hand.
She didn't know where he'd been hiding it, and she didn't want to know, but she was starting to understand what he was hinting at.
"This is where you will put each and every grain of rice, after you have picked it up." He sounded absolutely ecstatic at the proclamation.
"...Seriously?" Lin turned to stare miserably out at the rice, already aware that he was absolutely serious. Still, it couldn't hurt to ask.
"Seriously," Shifu confirmed, his smile widening. "I suggest you get to work. I hear today is going to be quite hot, and you wouldn't want to get caught out in the noonday sun, now, would you?"
She wanted to argue, especially with that smug grin he had on his face, but she knew that she couldn't. She had asked him to help her develop the coordination in her left hand, and if this was what it took, then she would just need to suck it up. "Whatever," she huffed; she may have conceded to him, but she didn't need to sound pleased about it. "And if you tell me even once to call you 'Master,' I'm gonna personally shove each and every grain of this rice right up your ass, got it?"
"I sincerely doubt you have that kind of patience," he retorted. "I'll be checking up on you to make sure you are putting forth your best effort, so I suggest you treat this with the sincerity it warrants." With that, he turned and headed back up the steps and into the training hall, presumably to check up on Tai Lung.
Lin gave a woeful sigh as she surveyed the stone courtyard, littered with grains of rice; she supposed it was for her own good, though she did get the sneaking suspicion from Shifu's obvious sadistic enjoyment that the exercise had been employed with the specific intent of torturing her. With a low grunt, she bent over to pick up her first grain of rice, and promptly dropped it. Still bent, she made another unsuccessful grab for it. Her third try produced results, and she dropped the grain into her empty sack. Then, she let out a quiet stream of curses (mainly directed at Shifu) as she went about doing the same for every single grain on the ground.
She continued to curse under her breath as the sun grew hotter, though she diligently kept at her work. She realized quickly that she would have an easier time with the task on her knees, and so when Shifu, true to his word, returned thirty minutes later to check her progress, she was crawling pathetically across the courtyard and squinting at the ground for any signs of stray rice. She could practically feel the amusement radiating off of him. "Don't. Say. A. Word," she warned, not bothering to look at him.
His footsteps were usually very quiet, but the rice on the ground caused a faint crunching to emanate from each footfall as he walked across the stone, deliberately scattering grains into the area she had already cleaned up. "It is time for my daily meditation," he informed her, which warranted a snort from her in response. He ignored it, though. "I will not be long."
"Grab a peach for me, while you're at it," she replied lightly, mostly to annoy him.
The only sign he showed of being irritated by her request was a slight twitch of his ears; otherwise, he continued to ignore her and left the courtyard.
With an annoyed grunt, she returned to her task. She supposed there could be worse exercises than picking up rice. She couldn't actually think of any, but she was certain that they existed... And that Shifu had already thought of them all. Then again, maybe she was just jumping to conclusions, and he didn't actually have a whole list of diabolically torturous training exercises for her to go through. That was doubtful.
She decided not to think about it. She would only start going off on tangents, and when that happened and Shifu was involved, she always ended up surprising herself. And she was not in the mood for surprises. And while she had plenty of other things to think about, especially after recent events, she simply did not want to. She didn't want to think at all. Instead, she let her mind go blank, entering an almost meditative state as she performed such a repetitive task. In fact, she hardly even noticed the several times that Shifu stopped to check on her progress.
By the time she had reached her last few grains of rice, she wasn't even sure how much time had elapsed. All she knew was that her fingers and wrist were sore, and her knees felt like they were bruised straight down to the bone. While she was finishing up, she noticed that Shifu had once again returned to watch her with far too much satisfaction in his expression. She decided to ignore him and instead bask in the glory of a job well done. "I'm done!" she proclaimed, throwing her arm up in the air as she surveyed her rice-free domain. As she stood, though, she noticed that Shifu had remained conspicuously silent, and her stomach sank at all the horrible things that said silence implied. She found herself watching him, holding her breath while she waited for him to once again torture her.
Finally, though, he gave a single curt nod of his head, and she let out the breath she'd been holding in a relieved sigh. Then, he said only one word. "Again."
"W-what?" she sputtered, even as she helplessly watched him pick up the bag of rice and spill it all over the courtyard again.
With a mean smile, he handed her the empty bag, then turned and walked away.
Lin cursed under her breath as she watched him go, and really wished that she had something heavy to throw at the back of his head. In lieu of that particular action, she knelt down and resumed picking up the rice as she began to plot her revenge on him in various gruesome ways. She should have known the moment she'd asked him to help her he'd find every opportunity to torture her, but then again she could also be blowing things out of proportion. She had never been a very good student, after all- a good learner, but not a good student.
She did notice that she was a bit faster at her task the second time around, though, and when Shifu returned to inspected the spotless courtyard, he at least didn't spill the bag again.
"You have done surprisingly well," he commented, raising his eyebrows at her as she laid down on the relatively cool stone. "What are you doing?"
"It's hot," she clarified. In fact, it was getting to the point that she wanted to shed her clothing. Or at least her shirt. "And shouldn't I get started on lunch soon?" She wondered what Shifu's reaction would be to her taking her shirt off; he would probably not be very pleased.
"I suppose," he replied, sounding reluctant. "There is still much more for you to do today, you realize."
"But are you really willing to give up your lunch?" she shot back. "Besides, it's a good way for me to practice handling a knife with my left hand, y'know."
Something in his expression gave her the feeling that she shouldn't have said anything. "You have a point." A small smile formed on his face, the kind of smile he only sported when he'd thought up a new way to torture her. "I'll meet you in the kitchen."
"Wonderful," she grumbled, and pushed herself up onto her feet.
"No, no, not like that-"
"I know how to cook, dummy. Just 'cause you know how to eat-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!"
Tai Lung surveyed the scene before him, and wondered if it would be best to come back later. While this was the usual time they ate lunch, he understood how it would take a bit longer than usual for Lin to prepare it. And, of course, there was her strange new training with Master Shifu to consider. However, he seemed to have walked in on said training. Lin, in addition to cooking with only one arm, currently had weights tied to said arm, while Master Shifu stood over her and barked nonsensical orders at her (since he knew next to nothing about cooking).
He remembered Master Oogway telling him that some day he would think that Master Shifu was the most weird and embarrassing person on the face of the planet, but he'd never thought that day would come so soon. He slowly began to back away from the doorway, but he wasn't having a very lucky day, and the both of them caught sight of him before he'd been able to flee.
"Tell this idiot to leave me alone," Lin pleaded with wide eyes.
"Tai Lung, don't listen to a thing she says," Master Shifu barked at the exact same time.
He held both his hands up in a gesture of surrender, and took another step back. "I can come back, really." He sincerely hoped that they would let him go, but the odds weren't in his favor.
"No, no, siddown," Lin predictably implored, tossing the gigantic cleaver she'd been holding haphazardly onto the counter and bustling over to the table. "C'mon, take a load off and I'll getya some tea." She even pulled his chair out for him.
"Yes, stay," Master Shifu surprisingly agreed. "As long as you don't distract her," he added sternly. "And you," he directed at Lin, frustration apparent in his voice. "Stop looking for excuses to slack off."
"I ain't looking for excuses to slack off," she shot back. "I'm looking for excuses to get away from you." She then turned back to Tai Lung with a somewhat insincere smile. "Go on, kid. Siddown."
He nodded and quickly plopped down into the seat, mostly out of fear of how they might react if he refused or even hesitated. He supposed the best way to diffuse the situation would be to divert their attention to something innocuous, but he couldn't think of a topic of conversation that they wouldn't argue over. He wondered if they really behaved the way they did because they liked each other, or if he was just kidding himself by even thinking that. "So... What's for lunch?" He figured the question couldn't go too terribly wrong; Lin was always happy to talk about food, and as much as Master Shifu liked to pretend otherwise, he did like her cooking.
"Wish I could tellya," she replied, exasperation plain in her voice, then jabbed her thumb over her shoulder in Master Shifu's direction. "But this putz won't lemme make a damn decision."
Tai Lung wasn't even sure what a putz was, but it obviously wasn't a good thing.
"You are the one who asked this favor of me, if I recall," Master Shifu snapped, bristling at the comment. "And I will have you know that your blatant disrespect is- stop that!" As he had been speaking, Lin had lifted her hand up to eye level and imitated the motions of a mouth moving with her thumb and fingers along to his words.
"I'm not really that hungry," Tai Lung lied, hoping to diffuse the situation at least a little bit. "Besides, it's just lunch. Right?" He got the distinct impression that his words had gone completely unheeded as the two adults, the ones who were supposed to be sensible and mature, glared at each other. Actually, it was probably closer to their version of making googly eyes. At that thought, he actually did lose his appetite.
"You guys're weird," he grumbled, slumping down in his chair as they burst into another round of arguing, which he ignored. He couldn't wait for Master Oogway to get back; sure, the old turtle was pretty much senile, but at least he would be able to keep the peace. Of course, he didn't have much time to think about it, since it wasn't long before Lin attempted to drag him into the fight again.
"Tai Lung, you know what goes into a dumpling, right?" she suddenly snapped in his general direction, still glaring daggers at Master Shifu.
"Er... Yes?" he offered hesitantly. Of course he knew what went into a dumpling- it was fairly basic knowledge to begin with, and he'd spent so much time with Lin that it would have been impossible not to absorb some type of knowledge of food.
"See?" she growled in an accusatory tone that startled Tai Lung a bit, before he realized that she was speaking to Master Shifu again. "Everyone knows what goes into a dumpling- except for you! Can you even boil water? Can- can you even slice a vegetable!"
"That's not the point!" Master Shifu seemed to be at the end of his rope, as well, though he thankfully kept the fight between him and Lin. "The point is that I am attempting to teach you something! So listen to me!" It seemed like sound enough advice.
"You're the one who wanted dumplings so bad in the first place!" But of course Lin wouldn't take it. The day she listened to anything anyone told her to do would probably herald the end of the world. "This is what I get for being nice!"
Tai Lung suppressed a snort at the sentiment; he wondered what Lin's version of "being nice" to Master Shifu was, exactly. Perhaps not attacking him with the knife she'd formerly been using to chop vegetables was on the list.
"That's a good one!" Master Shifu let out a sarcastic, humorless laugh. "Are you sure you weren't a shrew in a past life?"
"I'd rather have been a shrew in my past life than a short, fat badger in my current one!"
"I am a red panda! You know that, I know you know-"
"Don't change the subject! You want dumplings, you make 'em yourself-"
"Are you insane? This was supposed to be a training exercise-"
"And I'm supposed to be the cook, remember? And you're-"
"I am not fat!"
"Ahem." Tai Lung had been watching the bickering, surprised at how quickly it was dissolving into a simple barrage of insults. Usually when Lin and Master Shifu fought, they at least tried to stay on topic. And they had never fought so intensely in front of him before, either. He wondered if this was another sign that they were warming up to each other, though if it was he just prayed that he didn't grow up to be as dysfunctional as they were.
They had stopped fighting and had the good grace to look sheepish when Tai Lung cleared his throat; they had probably forgotten he was even there. And while they might have run out of steam on their own, he didn't want to spend his entire lunch hour watching them dig into each other. "I remember reading somewhere that it's really unhealthy for kids to see their parents fight." However, this simple guilt technique (something he'd learned from Lin) didn't have quite the impact he'd hoped it would.
"Did you just say parents?" Master Shifu asked, clearly offended by the wording. "Did I hear you correctly, young man?"
Tai Lung winced; he hadn't been called "young man" in years, and it was clearly a sign that he had crossed some invisible line.
"How could you not?" Lin jabbed, obviously not ready to give up the fight.
"My ear size is perfectly normal for my species!" Master Shifu visibly bristled at the insult, and while Tai Lung was relieved that his attention had been diverted before he'd been able to dole out a punishment, it looked as though a whole new round of fighting was about to start.
"Really?" Lin let out a bark of laughter, and when she spoke again it was in a nasal, high-pitched voice that was clearly mocking. "Is 'at what your mommy toldya when the other kiddies on the playground teased you?"
"People like you are the reason I live on a mountain!"
"Good! Nobody likes you, anyway!"
Tai Lung wondered if it was even worth the effort of trying to get them to calm down and get along- probably not. He watched them shout insults back and forth for a little bit, and took note of the fact that they were slowly inching toward one another. He supposed it meant either one of two possibilities: they were ready to erupt into physical violence, or (even worse) he had been right in thinking that they only fought because they liked each other. Either way, he didn't like the looks of where the fight was headed. Thinking quickly, he decided that the best way to diffuse the situation would be to separate them. "Hey!" he shouted over the din.
Lin paused mid fat joke and Master Shifu's eye stopped twitching as they both turned to look at him.
"I think I just heard Master Oogway outside," he lied. "Just to let you know."
Surprisingly enough, Lin was the first to jump into action. "I got this covered," she answered quickly, and attempted to run for the door.
Master Shifu, however, grabbed her by the tail before she could get too far and pulled her back. "Oh no you don't!" he snapped. "You're not getting out of this so easily. There is no possible way that Master Oogway has returned so soon."
Lin reached out, grabbed her tail, and yanked it from his grasp. "Nothing is impossible," she quoted from Master Oogway's long list of wise catch phrases, then bolted from the room.
"Get back here!" Master Shifu ran out after her, leaving Tai Lung alone in the kitchen.
Tai Lung blinked as he stared at the door, then turned his eyes to the countertop, which was littered with chopped vegetables, flour, a pot of water, and a number of discarded kitchen utensils. He briefly considered attempting to cook for himself, but then thought better of it- if he harmed the kitchen in any way, shape, or form, Lin would kill him. "That's okay, not like I need to eat or anything," he grumbled to himself, tapping his fingers on the tabletop as he contemplated his options.
He decided it would be most efficient to just eat some fruit and get back to the training hall. After all, he was wasting time by sitting around when he could be training. He just hoped that Lin and Master Shifu didn't kill each other while unsupervised, but then if they hadn't yet, he supposed he had nothing to worry about. Then again, if his theory was at all correct, he had more to worry about than mere physical violence. More observation was in order, though, before he jumped to any conclusions. In the meantime, the best he could do was go about his business as usual. Sooner or later, the truth would come out.
Lin yawned loudly as she shuffled along on her morning walk; a little activity to start out the day never hurt, and she would take what little time to herself she could get. It had been a week already since she'd asked Shifu to help her out, and she couldn't even tell whether or not it was helping because her hand and arm were so sore all the time. As for her injured arm, it was still in the sling where it belonged, unfortunately, though for the most part she wasn't in much pain.
She groaned as she clenched and unclenched her fist, stretching her fingers as far out as she could. She had never thought it could be possible to overtax her hand, of all things, but Shifu had somehow managed to push her that far. She could barely even hold an ink brush, let alone keep a pair of chopsticks in her grip.
She thought back on all the tasks Shifu had forced onto her with a grimace; among them had been the rice cleanup, which he had turned into a morning routine for her- and had started forcing her to do so with chopsticks- and then there was the weight that he forced her to keep tied to her arm for most of the day. In addition to cooking with the thing on, he'd also made her practice calligraphy with it, and while she normally wouldn't have a problem with that, he was forcing her to copy characters, again and again until she could produce a perfect duplicate. She'd always hated copying characters. He'd also been forcing her to learn simple, one-handed movements with a staff, which she was none too pleased about; if she'd wanted to spin a stick around, she would have kept allowing him to teach her kung fu. And then, the most annoying practice of all: she absolutely had to eat with chopsticks. If she attempted to pick up her food in any other manner, Shifu would react with his lightning quick reflexes and steal her food from her, and no amount of fat jokes would get him to stop.
She paused momentarily as her walk took her out into the open theater in front of the Hall of Heroes; she glanced at the magnificent building, then back at the bright red front gates; she decided to head for the gates, since she was enjoying the fresh air and she liked the idea of sitting down at the top of the thousand stairs and looking out over the valley. Of course, once she actually managed to push the large doors open and make it over to the stairs, it became quite clear that the morning mist was going to be shrouding most of the scenery in a vague white cloud. Even so, she thought the sight of the mist itself was quite lovely, and sat down to enjoy it while she still could. She knew that the moment the low sound of the gong signaling sunrise rung out over the valley, Shifu would be up and about, looking for her.
Despite all of her complaining, though, Lin really did appreciate his help. She thought of how she might show her appreciation, and decided that the best place to start would be to lay off on the fat jokes, at least a little bit. And she supposed calling him old would have to go, too. Of course, if she really wanted to send him over the moon, she could always wait until the next time he tried to drill her with relentless personal questions and actually answer a few. She doubted, though, that she'd be able to give him any answers that would satisfy him.
Besides, she'd had so much on her mind lately that she doubted she'd be able to really concentrate on such a conversation. Normally, she'd be concerned as to when he'd try to accost her next, but she had more important things to think about. Ever since the incident with those bandits, everything had changed. Everything had changed for her, at least- she couldn't really speak for anyone else.
Or rather, not that much had actually changed- she was simply coming to a series of disturbing realizations. She had come to accept that due to a combination of imbalanced hormones, a history of prolonged solitude, and certain platonic feelings she had somehow become physically attracted to Shifu. And while that certainly still bothered her, it had quickly become the least of her worries. She now had the concept of her emotional attachment to him to contend with- something she'd been agonizing over since reaching the conclusion that she inexplicably viewed him as her "best friend," as Tai Lung would put it. She couldn't have expected much more of herself, though, after some of the relationships she'd had in her life. It made sense, really, that their verbal sparring had somehow become the highlight of her days. In a sick, dysfunctional way that was absolutely her all over, it made sense that she had come to depend so much on a man who drove her insane with such ease. But even all of this was not the greatest of her worries.
The thing that had truly been eating away at her, that maddening thing that she had ignored, had refused to believe in, and only recently had been forced to acknowledge- it was love. While she would be the first to admit that she was woefully inexperienced in dealing with the dreaded emotion, she had still known enough of it to recognize it the few times it rose up, unbidden, from deep within her. She was not accustomed to it- had never been, really- and could count the number of people she had treaded such dangerous waters for on one hand. And she hated the feeling- despised feeling love more than any other emotion.
She could handle a lot of things- she could handle her own barely containable temper, she could handle the occasional intense loneliness that could only be expected with her lifestyle, she could even handle the platonic affection that had been plaguing her since her arrival in the Valley of Peace. Love, however, was not on the list. It hadn't been since her grandmother's death, and though she had indeed loved since then, it had been with a sureness that came from familiarity and experience. It had been the kind of love for a mentor, a teacher, an authority figure- something she'd known her whole life. There had been a certain security in that role of a student, in looking up to someone else and depending on someone else and knowing for sure what that person expected of her in return.
This was different, and completely frightening. It was something she had never even been on the receiving end of, let alone felt herself. She knew it existed, of course; after all, it was the most universally accepted form of love there was. The short amount of time it had taken for such a feeling to form in her, and the intensity with which it burned, though, was the part that scared her. There were some who would argue that such an emotion was only natural for a woman, but she had never believed she would ever feel it; she had never wanted to feel it, never wanted to even be presented with the opportunity for such a bond to form. To be honest, she hadn't thought herself capable of feeling such a strong love.
She wondered how she was even able to recognize it for what it was. True, she hadn't been able to truly see it, hadn't known it was even there, until she had spoken to Shifu a week ago. Just the same as her feelings for the idiot had been there for quite some time, this feeling had been forming from the start, as well. She hadn't realized how deeply in trouble she'd gotten herself until she admitted out loud right to Shifu's face, that she would lay down her life for Tai Lung. It hadn't seemed real, until then.
And even though she knew that her love for the kid must be real, she still couldn't fathom how it could be. How could she love a child that wasn't even hers? How could she be willing to put herself in harm's way, to go so far as to sacrifice her own life, if the need arose, for some kid she'd known for- what, two months, tops? How could she even know what motherly love was, when it had never been even a small part of her own life before? And, the most glaring question of all, how could she have let this happen, when she knew that she couldn't stay in the Valley of Peace- in China, even? How?
She leaned forward and buried her face in her free hand; she was thinking too much, as she often did. Still, her thoughts had rarely been as consistently introspective as they'd become in the past week. She was exhausting herself, mentally and emotionally, especially with no one to blurt out her thoughts to. She was used to having no one to talk to, of course- it had been three years, after all- but then again, she wasn't used to having such heavy thoughts weighing on her mind, either. It had been an advantage of her nomadic life; after all, why would she need someone to talk to, when there was no one to give her emotional stress to begin with?
"I need a drink," she grumbled sourly to herself; wine would be preferable, as that usually put her in a good mood, rather than the violent anger that hard liquor incited in her or the sluggishness and self-pity that followed a sizable amount of beer.
"I am afraid I did not bring any souvenirs," a familiar voice replied.
Lin lifted her face from her hand, blinking in the light as Oogway smiled down at her. "Shit, you're back," she blurted out. In her distress over her own feelings, she had completely forgotten that she still had to worry about the possibility of Oogway dredging up her past.
"Indeed I am." Oogway blinked at her, a subtle sign of surprise that he rarely showed. "I sense that there is something I missed," he said, gesturing toward her right arm.
"Yeah, you did," Lin admitted, glancing down at the sling and trying not to wince at the sight. She failed. "The short version is: crocodile bandits."
"And I am certain that Shifu will be quite willing to relate the long version," he replied, sounding a bit tired at the thought of said conversation.
Lin snorted in laughter at the reaction. "It could be worse," she pointed out. "So... Uh... How was your trip?" She decided to just get to the point; she was anxious to hear what Oogway had uncovered, if anything at all, a string of worst-case scenarios running through her mind. She just hoped that if he had learned anything about her, he'd tell her so she could stop worrying. Still, she'd rather worry about Oogway's knowledge of her past than any of the other subjects that had been on her mind as of late.
"Oh, you know how these things go. A lot of walking, a lot of talking, and some fighting." A benign smile spread across his face as he spoke, as if he'd been on a relaxing vacation. "Although, I must admit, I was surprised by how many times a certain someone came up in conversation."
"I see," she managed to choke out, despite her gut reaction to turn tail and run. Instead, she turned and looked down the thousand steps, over the mist-shrouded valley, pretending she had found something of interest in the scene. "Who would that be?" she worked up the nerve to ask.
"A person who has many guises," Oogway replied, his tone still casual. "The villagers seemed to recall a rather feisty young girl who washed up on their shores about three years ago." He paused and followed her gaze, apparently enjoying the scenery. "The pirates told me of a friend of theirs as well who seemed to fit the description, someone they had known in Shanghai- someone who had strangely disappeared from the city around the time the villagers of Shangba had found their energetic friend washed up on their shores. The villagers and pirates both remembered their comrade as being quite... Fluffy."
"Fascinating." Lin wondered how quickly she could pack up her things and high-tail it out of the valley. "And what did you contribute to the conversation?"
"I related to them the story of a young woman who I had been hoping to meet for quite some time," he sighed, and his tone of voice became less overtly cheerful and a bit more gentle. "Imagine my surprise, when she became a cook here."
Lin glanced at the front gate; the doors were still open a crack, and Oogway was a turtle, so perhaps if she really booked she'd be able to grab her money and make a run for it.
However, he did something completely unexpected. "I'm sorry." And he reached out and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I did not mean to frighten you."
She took a deep breath and gulped in an attempt to calm her nerves. She should have known that Oogway's intentions were completely benign, but she still couldn't help her instinctive reaction. "You've known about me this entire time?" She was completely flabbergasted to find that out.
He offered her a warm smile. "Your former master is an old friend of mine. He spoke of you often in his letters, and with great fondness, as well. For him, at least."
"Huh," was all she could muster in response to that. "And I'll take a wild stab and guess which 'former master' you're talking about- the one who's old as dirt."
Oogway chuckled appreciatively at that, then shook his head. "Oh, he's not nearly as old as I am."
"You got a point there," she conceded, still processing the information. She'd known that the old bastard had quite a few friends in high places, but she'd always tuned him out whenever he'd started to go on and on about "the good old days," as it were. She realized that if she'd actually stopped to listen every once in a while, she would have known immediately that Oogway would be more than willing to help her, and her life would have been just a bit easier. "And you met the wokou from Shanghai?" she asked, curious as to what he'd learned from them.
"Yes. They were... Interesting." He finally took his hand off of her shoulder and let out a brief chuckle. "They spoke highly of you, as well. Their navigator, especially- he told me that you are quite the talented calligraphist, though a rather obstinate student. It seems as though you have many friends, from admittedly diverse walks of life."
"Huh," she said again. "I didn't think they'd even remember me by now." Lin's fear and shock had faded, and left her simply dumbfounded.
"Your secrets are safe with me," Oogway reassured her. "I simply thought that you might like someone... To talk to." He paused, watching her shake her head, her shoulders slumping. "Though I get the feeling that perhaps you would prefer to keep quiet."
"Sorry, it's just..." She tried to think of the best way to describe her reluctance- obviously, Oogway already knew plenty about her past, so it wasn't as if there was any risk in talking to him. And while she did often carry light conversations with him in the mornings, while he practiced his tai chi and she picked peaches, she wasn't sure if she wanted to discuss anything more than that with him. "I... I just don't like to talk about that kinda stuff. At all." She let out a heavy sigh. "I just... Get the feeling that you'll try to gimme advice or put things into perspective or something."
"And you would not like that?" Oogway blinked down at her; he probably hadn't expected such a bluntly honest response.
"Well... No offense, or anything, but I just don't wanna hear it." She knew that he wouldn't press the issue, so she simply left it at that.
"I see." He offered her another one of his benign smiles. "Well, there is nothing I can do about that."
"Thanks. And, hey, since you know all about me and stuff... Can you do me just a little favor and not tell Shifu?" It was worth asking, anyway; she knew that Shifu wouldn't respond to her past quite as well as Oogway had. Besides, the fewer people that knew about her, the better. She also had to admit that there were certain things about her that she would be more than a little embarrassed to have aired out.
"You need not worry," Oogway assured her. "After all, it is not my place to tell your story." He paused, a pensive expression crossing his face, as if he was further pondering her request. "Though, you should know that you do not need to carry your burdens alone," he added. "There is no shame in having to struggle in life. We all must struggle, in different ways. I am sure you would be surprised to find out that even Shifu has known the same kind of pain you do."
She snorted at that. "First of all, I don't feel any kinda 'pain,' other 'an in this arm." She didn't see what he was trying to get at by claiming that she did to begin with. "And second, I sincerely doubt that Shifu and I have anything in common, except for the fact that we both happen to breathe air."
Oogway let out a low chuckle at that, and gave her a brief smile. "When I first met Shifu, he was about Tai Lung's age- a bit younger, actually. And he was alone."
Lin blinked up at the old turtle, momentarily taken aback at that. "Whaddaya mean by 'alone?'" she asked slowly, even though she knew that it wasn't her place to hear anything he told her.
He licked his lips before replying, his voice tinged with sadness. "Word had reached me of a small village afflicted by a mysterious disease, one that had been spreading through the inhabitants like wildfire. I set out to offer my assistance, but my hopes were not high. News of small villages rarely travels quickly. By the time I had reached the next village over, I was told that the disease had killed every last person, a few months before I had even set out on my journey." He paused to stare out into the distance, as if he felt a personal loss for every single villager, despite the fact that he had never met any of them. "There was a rumor of restless spirits, so I continued on my way in the hopes that I could bless the village and put the spirits of its inhabitants at ease. However, there were no spirits. There was just Shifu."
She stared back at Oogway, shocked by the morbid story. "He'd just been living alone in that ghost town?"
He nodded, closing his eyes briefly.
"What the- how?" It sounded rather insensitive, but she couldn't fathom how a young boy could be capable of surviving on his own for months at a time. Perhaps it had been near harvest time, so there had been stores of rice for him to live off of.
Oogway, however, just gave a helpless shrug. "He has never spoken of it. Not to me, or to anyone. I do not know if he even remembers."
"Huh," Lin replied, for lack of anything better to say on the matter. Shifu had mentioned that he'd left his village at a young age, but she had never expected anything quite like what Oogway had just told her. "So you raised him," she concluded.
"Yes." He smiled again, his expression becoming warmer. "And let me tell you, he was quite the handful. That boy made invading Huns look like little daisies."
Lin couldn't help but laugh at that. "Daisies?" she repeated, grinning. "Well, I'll keep that in mind for the next time he tries tell me how horrible I am." She paused to shake her head. "I still can't believe he was a crazy feral child."
"For a little while, anyway," Oogway said.
There was one thing, though, that nagged at her about Oogway's story. "Why'd you tell me all that, anyway?" She wondered if it was perhaps another one of his plots to try to enlighten everyone around him.
"I just thought it would help," he replied simply. "I'll leave you be, now. Just keep in mind that I am always willing to lend an ear." With a benign pat on her shoulder, he turned and walked through the front gates, presumably to say hello to Shifu and Tai Lung.
Lin just sat that for a moment, letting everything sink in. She wondered what Oogway had meant by saying that Shifu's past might help her- perhaps he simply thought the knowledge would help them get along better. Still, there was really no telling what Oogway's motivations were, no matter how she tried to guess.
She shook her head, her shoulders slumping in relief. She should have known that Oogway would keep whatever he found out about her to himself. After all, she was on her way out of the country for a reason- if the wrong people realized who she was and what she'd done, she'd be carted off for execution for sure. Not that she felt any guilt over her actions, of course. If it was up to her, most of the laws she'd broken in the past several years wouldn't even exist to begin with. She admitted, though only to herself, that some of the charges against her were legitimate (though she didn't really see how anyone could blame her for assaulting an imperial officer), but those crimes didn't necessarily warrant a call for execution. At the most she deserved a few years in prison, but then she'd probably break out as she had the last time she'd been caught.
She was digressing, though. The bottom line was: she definitely owed the old turtle her thanks, or at the very least another peach pie. Perhaps she could make another batch of almond cookies, or some sweet roasted chestnuts, or maybe some fresh mango slices over coconut rice... She was starting to make herself hungry, actually. She supposed it was about time to get some breakfast started, something sweet to satisfy her cravings. Considering how her "training" with Shifu had been going, this would probably be her only chance to relax, so she might as well enjoy it by indulging a little. And maybe, just maybe, it would help her to stop thinking so damn much.
A/N: Well, Shifu has finally gotten some revenge, and now the gloves are coming off. Let the descent into madness (and by madness I mean pointless and childish arguments) begin. More so, that is. And I bet you weren't expecting his secrets to be revealed instead of Lin's. At least I hope not! I like to be unexpected. :) In that vein, I also hope that I misled a few people with Lin's admission of her feelings for Tai Lung. By the way, I have a little nod to Mulan when Oogway compares Huns to daisies, just thought I'd mention that.
Anyway, as for next chapter: get ready to see some more bonding. Shifu finally asks the questions that have been on his mind, though whether he gets an answer or not is yet to be seen.