And Musaki heads to Shanghai Secluded Valley where the competition begins!
Chapter 3: Big Welcome
Minutes have passed and Musaki walked out of the Valley of Peace to make his way to Shanghai Secluded Valley for the kung-fu competition and he felt a mixture of excitement, happiness, anxiety and a lot of nervousness all rolled into one as he could not believe that this was actually happening. He took a deep breath and tried to ease his nervousness by thinking about his fellow kung-fu family cheering him on. Once the image played on his mind, a surge of confidence rushed into his adrenaline and that he can get through his own anxiousness.
In fact, just the thought of participating in his first kung-fu competition made him feel completely honored to be a part of something that has been going on for years, despte the fact that he's been practicing kung-fu most of his life. The fact that someone who's lost his parents at age three, made the Jade Palace his home since age 13 and adapting into a great life really made Musaki realize how far he's come in a space of 14 years.
Soon enough, he looked up and saw some of Uncle Mako's traveling dragons coming in and it didn't take long for Musaki to realize that his uncle was sitting on one black and grey dragon and he lets out a slight chuckle and said, "Hey, uncle. You coming too?"
Mako looks up at his nephew and said with a smile, "Seeing you participate in a kung-fu competition? I would not even miss it for the world."
Musaki smiled at that and Mako suggested to his nephew to take the orange dragon and when he looks up, he could see that orange dragon staring directly at him and Musaki wasn't sure about that, but when it offered hi to hop on his wings, Musaki happily obliged to do as he climbed up on his back and it wasn't long until it was cleared for takeoff.
Both dragons flew up to the sky and made their way to Shanghai Secluded Valley and as Musaki looks back, he sees that he's much further away from the Valley of Peace and when he looks down at the ground, he could tell that he's close to a thousand feet from the ground and that's saying a lot. But it was totally worth going back to his birth home for whatever lies ahead of him.
Mako looks behind and he could see his nephew taking in the sheer beauty of the the skies while his traveling dragon was flying and he asked, "Enjoying the view, Saki-boy?"
Musaki looks up at his uncle and replied, "It's growing on me."
"You know, this was one of your dad's favorite things...riding on a dragon. He finds it a lot better than just walking and taking a boat ride...because he can see parts of the world in a different light, at least from off the ground."
It was pretty much intriguing for Musaki to hear that his dad likes riding around dragons and it made him feel very surprised to know that it's something he loved to do. And with seeing every view above his way, he can see why. He lets out a chuckle and looked at the orange dragon and smiled at him a little.
"Pretty awesome, huh?" asked Mako.
"Yeah, I'll say." Musaki replied, happily.
Mako started laughing heartily and Musaki kept smiling as they soldiered on to the Valley and not 10 minutes in and they could see their destination and Mako landed first and Musaki followed behind his uncle and when they landed, most of them were surprised to see Mako come by and as they greeted him, Musaki got off the dragon and the entire valley stopped as they saw him come and everyone lets out a big cheer for his welcome.
Musaki did not expect that to happen and as they surrounded him, many of them claimed that he could win the title of the kung-fu competition just like his dad and some said that it's an honor for him to participate in something epic as this.
Just as he starts walking towards the Valley, he made his way to the Rai Song Stadium where he sees that this is where the entire tournament will be held at and from the looks of it, it's the biggest one he's ever seen before. As he walked in, it was a huge as the poster claimed it could be.
"Sweet..." Musaki said.
"Hello, grandson!"
Just then, Musaki turns around and sees his grandfather standing above the stadium seats and he lets out a smile and said, "Hey, grandpa!"
With that, his grandfather backflipped out of the seats and into the stadium as he comes forward to give Musaki a hug. He chuckled softly and took a good look at his grandson and said, "Why, look at you. You look just like your father did when he was your age."
Musaki chuckled softly at that comment and replied, "Thanks...I think."
"I am glad that you have decided to participate in this tournament, Xing-Fu. Some people wanted to see you as the winner of this competition, but I know for a fact that it's just an honor for you to come here and take part in it." his grandfather said.
"That's pretty much why I came. But...why do they say I'm like next in line to achieve kung-fu accomplishment?" asked Musaki.
His grandfather stared at him and replied, "The Bushido-Akio clan dates back centuries when us Chinese pandas emigrated to Japan in hopes of a better life and each century, one member of the Bushido-Akio clan managed to participate in something like this to see who gets honor, but not for China. For ourselves and also for our family. Regardless if one either wins or loses, they have not lost their sense of accomplishment for others. Other than that, there are tons of rumors about it and some of it's true and some of it's false. And the reason they claim it is because the bloodline wants the accolades of China, but unless they realize the meaning behind it, they'll never get anywhere being humble. So you see, it's not so much about fame, but also about integrity and either you have it or you don't. And I say...you indeed do have a gift. Always use it for good and never take any advantage of it."
Those words started to sink into Musaki and understood it correctly and his grandfather smiled at him and he said, "I know I'll never take my skills for granted, but I'll do you proud."
"I know you will and do yourself proud too. For you cannot be a warrior on the outside if you're not one on the inside."
His grandfather pats Musaki on the back and both of them walked out of the stadium as the rest of the citizens prep the entire place for the competition and as they left, Musaki heads towards another part of the Valley on his way to his grandparent's house and as soon as he set his bags to the guest room and made his way out, he seeks a little gift that's hanging on the side of the door and when he got it down, it reads, 'Your father would've wanted you to have this. Win or lose, always wear it proudly, Xing-Fu.'
When he opened it up, it was a gold and silver necklace and when he opened it, he seeks a picture of his parents and also himself as a baby cub and understood that no matter where he goes or where his parents will be, he'll always have a piece of them all the time. He puts it on his neck and sees that it's definitely something he could always take with to keep his parent's memories alive.
"I'll always treasure this." Musaki whispered.
Then, he heads out for a while and to his surprise, he seeks his good friend Shao walking by and said, "Yo, Xing-Fu!"
Musaki smiled at him and said, "Yo, Shao! What's happening, man?"
Both of them did their handshake wher they knuckle-touched each other and raise their hands while making an explosion sound and started laughing with each other and Shao said, "Pumped for the event?"
"Why would I not be? It's just an honor to be here." Musaki replied.
Shao chuckled softly and said, "I know, right? I couldn't believe it myself when I found out that you...of all people...would participate in this because of your dad. Looks like the bloodline is flowing."
"Aw, come on, dude. You know for a fact that I don't obsess with winning." Musaki said.
"I'm just messing with ya! But I know your fighting skills will blow everyone away and as far as I can tell, the entire valley will have their minds blown." Shao said, excitedly.
Musaki chuckled softly and said, "Thanks for telling me that."
"Yeah, my dad should be expecting me to meet up with the contestants. Wanna come?" said Shao.
Musaki knew that there would be more skilled fighters near and far to compete with and with that enthusiasm, he quickly said, "Most definitely."
So...who will the contestants be?