Chapter II, Part II: A List that Grows Too Long

1999, November 19th

Temple of the Dancing Weasels

The mess hall opened. A cornucopia of scents teased stomachs. PW urgently wished to be there. They were allowed to eat precisely twice a day, with a strict eating window, and never knowing snacks. Saffron and Penny waited at the center of the courtyard. The mother mienshao placed a paw on PW's back and Milii's back, bringing them towards their breakfast.

"My happy children, today I have ordered extra things for you all." She said. Her ears stood tall as she recalled something. "PW! I want your bed made in two hours." The boy made a pitiful squeak. "I don't make you collect that crap from outside!"

"You did see my Ho-Oh feather."

"PW, have you ever even seen a Ho-Oh? In person?"

"If I have the feather,"
She tapped his back. "Okay, okay. Let's not have an argument over a fake feather."

Saffron added his two cents. "Don't worry, he'll find a new way to embarrass us soon."

"I know, and I just can't wait to see what it is..." She muttered.

Saffron lifted his whip to his face, covering his light smile. PW knew what laid in his narrowed eyes: mischief.

Given a picture the mess hall's interior, one would suggest they entered a fine Chinese restaurant. It in essence was one. In the same storm that damaged the gym lights, half this building laid in ruin. The city funded the historic building's repair and a high-class restaurant was the result. An army marches on its stomach after all, and tourists did like to eat like starved soldiers. Since his first memory of being served food, PW yearned to help out in the kitchen. Food was his art and smiles his inspiration. But participating in this busy kitchen was a whole other matter.

A platoon of cooks constantly worked. Feeding the temple's nearly two-hundred strong population kept the kitchen busy from sunrise to sunfall. This diligent staff hated two things: interruptions and unclean work areas. PW embodied both. The boy pestered Sun Chenjiu before and after practice, in his chambers and out in the temple's farm, through cold winter and hot summer, to allow him in the kitchen. One day, the man heard little knocks on the door whilst in the restroom.

"Grandmaster, have you made your mind?" The pokemon asked.

Later that day the old master sat at a table. PW served him a drink. He blinked thrice and sniffed at the drink: a cup of deep blue with a fragrance of matcha. At the bottom, a glop of honey, and the top, dots of powered sugar dyed a rainbow of colors, then swirled.

"What in the heavens is this?"

"Spinda's Stargaze!" PW smiled brightly. This simple drink took six days to make. He had to stealthily ask his mother to order foods containing its ingredients. He then had to store and combine them in secret."Take a sip?"

Now PW was proud to state he was the only pokemon allowed in the kitchen, though his pestering was not the sole reason. As PW broke away from his family, he was nearly trampled by an eleven-year-old boy who rushed out the kitchen's entrance. "I was just about to look for you!" He exclaimed, taking PW's wrist.

The human boy checked a schedule pinned to a cork board. On it were written names and shifts. Appended to the bottom was his own: Shao Yaohao. His shift read: Be ready for practice. This referred to an extracurricular event he needed to attend to soon. As a son of a chef, he was privy to the kitchen's politics, and convinced most the staff that if they thought of the mienfoo as a mascot, he would boost their moral.

They snuck through the kitchen with great care. Most the kitchen filled up with steaming pans and flaming woks and cooks hurrying about and waiters and waitresses taking up orders. All work had to be done immediately and exactly. The chef had many dozens of tickets to handle. The many linecooks meticulously managed making meals and memorized minor modifications to said meals. The tiniest interruption could make tempers go up in flames.

"The sixty covers of pokeblock?!" A chef shouted.

"Here and done!" A cook replied.

"Where is the gluten free one?!"

"On this smaller plate!"

"Go to table twenty!"

The two watched the plate be placed onto a push-cart by a waiter and taken away.

Shao Yaohao snuck up to an abandoned meat grinder. This machine helped mash up the ingredients for the pokeblock and thus was dirty. He hurried his eyes to the dish pit but saw that the dishwashers were far too busy. PW meanwhile opened up one of the commercial refrigerators, grabbing a bag of pokebeans. The pokebeans would be used tomorrow for the pokemon equivalent of red bean soup. Shao Yaohao never thought to try it for the same reason no one thinks to try burger patties made of ground-up dog food. However he harbored so much respect for PW that he would allow the fighter to cook it for him. The noble mienfoo would certainly do his best to please.

"Dad!" The boy called.

A man with stubble on his chin shouted over his shoulder, managing a few pots of boiling this and that. He knew immediately why his son called. "I'm busy—Maybe a tenderizer lays around!"

The boy looked to be kind but his gut told him not to bother. His pokemon friend tapped his leg.

"Let me mash them! " PW said, mischievous.
"If you make a dent in anything Dad will kill me!"
"Relax!" PW smiled. "I'm a professional!"

Shao Yaohao plucked a clean pot from the dish rack—more of a stack rolling shelves that a real rack-much to the dishwashers' annoyance. PW gave his bag of pokebeans to Shao Yaohao and found too-big gloves to slip his paws into. In the mean time, the human boy placed the beans into the pot and the pot onto a table. He picked up PW so the mienfoo could angle his punches properly. "I hope this works!" He said.

In two seconds all the beans exploded under PW's fists. He lapped up the splatter on his snout and gloves.

"Easy!" PW said.

"You are the best!" Shao Yaohao exclaimed. The human boy grabbed the pot and hurried it into a refrigerator. He then opened a different one. The pinnacle of the two's culinary talent laid safely tucked away inside this chilly treasure chest.

Mooncakes are a complex confectionery for anyone, let alone children, to make. Their first two batches were so awful they became snorlax fodder. However, they smartened up and stuck to the recipe for their third. One-hundred-ninty-seven cakes greeted them from the top shelf down to the bottom: enough for the entire temple. If this test batch was successful, then their recipe would be used for the new year.

"It should have went gold." Shao Yaohao whispered to himself. He partially pulled a lower tray out so PW could see better. Judging by his stern face, the mienfoo agreed.

"One more day, they must sit one more day and then they will shine like Ho-Oh!" PW declared.

"Arg! But I'm so tempted I told past-me to make an extra so I could eat today!" He hovered his pointer finer above a particular tray. "Quick! Find out which one has no seal on it!" He referred to how the tops of each cake bore an insignia of the temple.

"Found it," PW pointed. His friend snatched it up, stuffed half the treat into his face, and smiled mischievously.

PW rapidly tapped his friend's side. "Can I have a piece? Please? Please!"

"Okay, calm down!"

PW eagerly gobbled up his portion, raising his tail and chin. Tomorrow many others would share this pleasure. Two generous children, two-hundred happy souls. Riding the high of feeling purposeful and wanted, PW play-punched Shao Yaohao a dozen times, his own way of showing affection.

Shao Yaohao's father cleared his throat. In the time that the two spent checking their deserts, he finished his work. The man stood tall but with no aggression in his stance or face. Rather, he felt great joy seeing his son play with his pokemon friend. "We should join your mother now."

"Yes sir!"

PW bowed towards them. "Mr. Shao, I partially thank you for this fine day! When do you both leave? I do not mean to take up your day but I want to talk to your son one more time!"

"We go in three hours."
"Okay! Thank you!"

The father bowed-moreso entertain the weasel's gesture than out of a sense of obligation-as his son walked up to his side. PW overheard what the father said as the two walked to their table. "Very respectful! I see why they call them human-like."

PW sat down at his own family's table, hoping they would remained silent about his late arrival. The table was set for four people. Four spoon rests each contained one seasoning. Bits of black pepper laid scattered about. Green fennel seeds mixed into dipping sauces. Orange cinnamon dug into the napkins as they wiped snouts. Red dried peppers sat uneaten. The four seasoning's represented Shenlong's four colors, a subtle reminder to say grace, which they had done without him.

Many calming measures ensured breakfast remained light and easy on both the mind and stomach. Space heaters kept the air warm. All chairs were soft. Various banners wore motivational idioms. A friendly lull of morning conversation soothed the ears. If all this was not enough, speakers softly offered South East Asia's most popular music. For the monks, it was a home away from home.

Every person's utensils snuggled up in a fine napkin. Beside this napkin waited a lint roll brush. PW collected the loose hairs around his paws and mouth. Of course other concerns such as the mienshaos' whips came to mind, but in practice these minor concerns were just that. A golden snorlax rested in the center of the table. It's stomach was a pot sized for a family. An indulgent vegetable stew sat inside, as well as a ladle. PW prayed, topped up his bowl, and hummed the most quiet of melodies to himself as he chased his rushed bites with a torrent of oolong tea. Whilst setting down his glass, he witnessed his own reflection.

"You are such an awkward child." His mother cooed. " Why do you eat with your eyes squinted? Are you trying to mock the humans, little demon?"

He shook his head no. "The white berries make my eyes feel dry." Reminded again of his reflection, the boy wrapped his napkin around his glass.

Penny speared a bamboo stick with her claws and nibbled on it. "History exams are next. How well do you all think you will do?"
"I might get top marks," Milli said, remaining humble. She then fumbled with one of the many jiaozi in her bowl. The dumplings swam in a broth of mustard and chili oil: a slippery mixture. Nevertheless she tackled this challenge, eating three at once. Penny snickered faintly.

"I know you'll do well my blossoming flower. Only PW scores just below the best!"

For seven minutes the family passed around ate and drank up their breakfast. PW knew the exact time because he faced a wall with a clock hung next to a fire exit door. He chewed on his pokeblock for a time, then another time, and yet more time. Historical exams covered the mienfoos' own history as much as the human's. Attaining anything but the best of grades made him feel unworthy of his heritage. not to mention a drag on his family's reputation.

"Do you think our ancestors studied at all like we do?" The younger brother said, facing his mother.

"We've been exposed to training machines and the like. They lived closer to the soil." Saffron added.

"They traveled from Mount Yu Shan to here in about fifty years, starting around eighteen sixty. Before that they lived at the very bottom of this country, in a large empire. That is all I can tell you with certainty."

"Why is that?" PW asked.

She adjusted, sitting up more straight, and preparing a long explanation. The younger siblings paid great attention. Saffron mindlessly spun a spoon around his bowl of rice porridge."Well son, their books are in the library but were stored poorly. Whatever words remain legible were written over a century ago." She said. "My own mother struggles with their old way of speaking. Their original signatures are just flaky purple ink now. The only reason we know those books belong to us is because the names of their masters were written after the fact."

"So they did even the basics differently..." Saffron hummed, slapping the porridge with his spoon. Penny sharply pointed her finger at him.

"Eat your food or give it to me!"

"Sorry!" He corrected himself. "Why didn't they sign in pen?"

"The grandmaster told me that ink used to be red. It was a finger paint almost. They smeared it on special paper and it would dry in a pattern unique to each person. Completely immune to forgery."

"You're telling me their ink could write your signature for you? How's that work?!"

She rubbed Saffron's ear. "My starving genius, I do not know all these fine details, just what I was told. We'll go to the library and I will show you all what remains."

Saffron looked around the table. Milii ate her dumplings. Penny slurped the noodles of her soup. What about his little brother?

"Hey, PW," Saffron said, "You've been awful quiet."

He grumbled. "Shenlong does not fly down to gossip."

Saffron laughed uncontrollably. "Riding your own cloud, huh? Sounds right for you! High above, seeing nothing, stuck in his own world!" Immediately after, Penny smacked him.

"Wipe your mouth!"

"Oops," he swallowed. "PW, PW. You are a sad little monk!"

PW kept his gaze towards his food and not his brother. "Mom, can I show everyone my Ho-Oh feather?"

Penny turned her head down and to the side, quite literally side-eyeing PW. "Will this be that 'new way of embarrassing us' that your brother mentioned?"

PW bowed his head. "I promise not!"

"Ok. Be quick!"

"Yes ma'am!"

PW rushed another bite, scooted his chair out, and ran out the mess hall. Penny licked her claws and slurped up more noodles. Everyone had ten more minutes to eat. Milii stared at PW's mostly full bowl of food, then looked at her own. Of her last two of her dumplings, one was half eaten and the other very cold.

"Milii. Do you have somewhere to be?" Saffron asked.

"Hm?"

"You keep glancing away."

"It's been a while since he left."

Penny pushed her soup aside, and sipped her tea, soon adding cinnamon to it. "I'm not surprised." The mother said.
"What if breakfast ends before he comes back?"

"Are you beginning to ask questions like you don't know the answer, too? He should like to eat leftovers for dinner if he does it so much, don't you think?"

Milii nodded but only to be polite. She laid her chin on the table, thinking. Seven minutes had ticked away since PW left. The murmur of other families eating took over the silence of their own. Saffron nudged his mother, smiling from ear to ear. She peered at him inquisitively. "Mommy, guess what? The judge wrote poems about my individual values! I've been offered the chance to start a family with a beautiful mienshao of high standing!"

Milii perked up. "Really? Who?"
He giggled smugly. "Wouldn't you love to know? It is adult business, so I'm not telling!"

Penny whipped him and rose her voice. "That's right you're not telling!"

"But mother, you begged a long time for me to earn a girlfriend!"

"They informed me who! She can go to hell! Tell her no! Right now!"

"But what if-"
"I do not care!"

Saffron opened his mouth, and a couple chocked sounds erupted outward as he tried to make up some sort of plea, but he dropped his head, and swallowed his pride."Y-Yes, Mommy."

His chair made a squeaky laugh as he scooted it back and made his walk of shame. Penny followed him to make sure he did as she asked . Milii took her chance to leave without being noticed.

Two minutes remained until breakfast's end. She bolted out the mess hall and to the boy's barrack. A light scraping noise leaked through the walls of the barrack. She knocked thrice.

"Who'z it?" PW shouted,his voice muffled by the walls.

"What are you doing?!"

The door swung violently open. PW waved her in, his pelt full of dusy flecks. He gathered these from the broom he held. Milii felt disgusted. There was no sense in these boys. All the bed sheets laid messy. In fact a mattress laid limp in a corner as if beaten and robbed of money. She tip-toed her way through as PW sat by his bed and scrapped his broom against his bed post.

Milii peered over his shoulder. "Okay...what's going on?"

"I'm almost done getting every spec of dust out this thing!"

She dragged her paws down her face. "This is what I worried about?!," shouting, "I'll beat your butt so bad you will become a mien-oof!"

"But I've only been gone a couple minutes!" He whimpered.

"Tryeight! Stopstarving yourself! Stop it forever!"

PW dropped his broom, stood up, and gained a thousand yard stare. "Sorry," he reflexively muttered. "Let me get my feather at least!" He shoved himself under his matress and dug around, becoming a bed shark.

"My feather!" His voice was muffled. "Who stole lucky my feather?! No, no, no!"

"Brother?!"

He shot out from under the bed and held his temples. "It is a worthless fake," he said to himself, "dont' worry about it. Don't worry…" His panic was not just over this feather. It was also a symtom of great stress. Milii tried to pull him up by the arm. "I swear I was looking for the feather!" He rushed. "That is why I have the broom!"

"How does that help anything?"

"I thought making up my bed would make my feather easier to find!"

"You did a crap job!"

"Well DID just get from under it!"

She faced him in her fighting stance. "It was crap when I walked in!"

He faced her in a tougher fighting stance."You princess," he teased, "don't you see how the light is revealing all this dust? Imagine how dirty that makes my bed sheets as they touch the ground!"

"What is the point of a neat bed if the sheets are dirty, right?" She said, taking one step towards him.

"Right! But the cleaning brush was also dirty so-"

"I get it!" She launched a fist. PW blocked it.

Milii forced him into a brief fist fight. She caught his wrist and dragged him out the room, but barely made it past the door of the mess hall before giving up. Pokemon flooded out the doors, and gongs echoed down the alleys of the temple. The waiters and waitresses no doubt cleared all the dishes away. History lessons were to begin whether or not they were ready.

Milii let go of him. Both met the rest of the family, except Kinnow, near the center of the courtyard.

Saffron crossed his arms, smug. Penny leaned into her walk as she approached the younger siblings. She then stood tall, her right foot forward, and her arms like that of a lurantis. This was her whipping posture.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?!" Penny exclaimed.
Milii and PW knelt down and lowered their heads. "He did not grab his feather," Milii replied. PW's heart thumped in his neck; his nervous words would serve him no good.
"So PW has been poking around his bed?"

"Yes." She said. "He tried to clean it."

A sharp pang wracked his psyche. He knew how this was going to end but so badly hoped for a miracle. Penny inhaled deeply, forming an aggressive smile. "We're going to see how well he did!"

PW broke his silence as quietly as possible. "But we are all going to miss class." Sadly, with her favorable status, Penny's absence would be questioned but not punished. After all, if the mighty mienshao gave fifty-five year's of steady service, then her sudden leave must be for a damned good reason.
"So you did find that new way. Lovely!" She clapped. "Come on children, let's see what he did this time!"

She yanked PW by the wrist, his siblings following closely. Each step towards his annihilation made the air feel twelve times as thick, as his throat closed up, and the door to the barracks creaked open.

PW's dusty bed laid so messy the sheet sloped of the side and made a wrinkly puddle. She turned her head to the side, witnessing that somehow an entire mattress had not just been moved, but evicted from its proper place. Her fists shut as hard as her eyes. It took great restraint not to beat PW. She did not want to be that kind of mother, but each incident wore down her patience. "PW," uttering his name like a curse word. Her voice level rose from almost-calm to a chaotic shout. "Why must you insist on making everything harder than it needs to be?!"

"Y-you said two hours!" He chocked.

"We all know you would've 'forgotten' anyway! Stop being so damn lazy!"

PW defiantly touched eyes with the towering meinshao. This was no simple quarrel to him-it was a battle in a war to defend himself. "I promise I'm not lazy! I usually clean more than I have to!"
"A bad job is done twice! And guess who does it the second time?! Don't you ever think others get sick of being punished for your bullshit?!"

"Mom, it is not easy for me to-"

"It is really not hard though!' She retorted, wiping her tears with a whip. "It's not! I mean, why the hell is making up your bed this hard!? Are you stupid?! Why are you like this?"

PW stammered, averting his eyes from her's, and towards his siblings. No one knew the answer."...I'm being set up to fail…"

It was an absent-minded plea he muttered, but all the same Penny yanked PW up by his neck and slammed him against the wall. " 'Set up'?! YOU feel 'set up'?!" She yelled. "Look at Milii! Look at Saffron! I raised you all with the same love and morals! They blossom! You, meanwhile, are fucking worthless!"

Penny dropped him to the ground. She stomped off, his siblings soon following behind. Milii stared hard over her shoulder, hoping PW might look up and she could wave a goodbye, but this was not to happen. He laid in the fetal position, sobbing into his arms so no one could hear the echoes of his broken soul.

The gongs once again rung through every wall of the temple. PW rubbed the tears from his eyes, his ugly snort being the only sound in the empty barracks. Studies started. After studies came prayer. If he did not move out this barracks by then, his brother would be back. The mienfoo forced himself onto his feet and snuck out the watchmen's door, the same Saffron had snatched him from not two hours ago. Earlier he had viewed the gate guards start his shift and now he was to greet them. PW walked down the long steps leading down the hillside. His mind raced at lightspeed, but outside, he stood as strong as he could. Both the guards were rather curious as to why the mienfoo trundled up to them. The men glanced to each other. The leftmost one spoke to PW, he was of a higher rank.

"You'd ought to go back up. This gate is not to open."

PW bowed gracefully. "If you stand against me, I'll stand again you."

"There is no coming back."
He bowed. "I know."

"Tell the grandmaster. We won't open this gate without his permission."

PW perused his memory. The study hall technically was not a separate building, but rather the leftmost half of the prayer hall, and was a vast library. PW came into the prayer hall, a place of great size and decorations. The stares came as he passed through a passage way that lead into the study hall. Treading in late, alone, and with tear stained fur, brought shame to him of course, but he felt serenity as well. He fully committed to leaving now, and thus no matter how awful he felt, he knew in an hour he would feel peace.

PW found Sun Chenjiu at a computer with a stack of old books, narrating. On the computer screen was a Chinese to Chinese dictionary: the books were written in a rare dialect. Right by him was Saffron, Penny, Milii, and interestingly, Kinnow. Just as the mother promised, they were learning more about their past.

PW's mind spun. How could he excuse himself permanently whilst saving what little honor he still held?

Penny turned around once noticing his scent. Upon seeing him she huffed and turned her head away. Milii sat up straight, staring in disbelief. Saffron frowned somewhat, whilst Kinnow thrummed his fingers. "Grandmaster," the father whispered.

"I know. He will help the dishwashers instead of battling for the next two months." Kinnow insisted again. The wise man threw a sharp glare at PW, furrowed his brown, and stood. He held his hands behind his back. The mienfoo sat on his knees, forehead kissing the ground. He looked to be in prayer, a fitting coincidence.

"This is an unlucky day for you." The grandmaster said.

"Yes it is."
"What is your issue?"

PW took a deep breath. "I must leave." Both he and the grandmaster looked towards the sound of a book crashing to the ground. Milii had tried to rush out of her seat, knocking the books over with her elbow, but Kinnow held his daughter close to him. Penny also went to comfort her, doing her best to ignore the direct consequence of her abuse. The only one to lack a reaction was Saffron, who simply gazed into PW with a lost expression. He never expected his brother to actually crack. The four would have a tough conversation at the dinner table. PW became a threat to the moral of everyone within the study hall. He had the mienfoo speak with him outside where others could not hear.

Sun Chenjiu pressed his lips and narrowed his eyes. "Why do you believe you deserve to dishonor our home?"

"I am a failure; even with the best teachers and education, I still cannot succeed."

A silence came between them. The lack of argument from his mentor told the boy all he needed to know. "Do not tell anyone where you came from. Once you go through the gate, not one of us will recognize you." This was quite true. In a crowd of mienfoo, PW did not stand out. "Do you know where the Pokemon Rescue Center is?"

"Yes, grandmaster."

"Under no circumstance will you let a domestic family take you in. Demand a class to adopt you, not an individual."

The man stood firm, his stern gaze unwavering, but his silence indicated to PW that there were hidden feelings on the matter. "Say goodbye to them." Sun Chenjiu said. "Then you will be taken to the gate."

PW's goodbye crippled him with embarrassment. It was supposed to; his pain hardly reflected the long term pain he was to leave on his family and friends by leaving suddenly and permanently. Soon he and the grandmaster were at the gate. A subtle ringing came to them. The gongs made their call once more. PW looked one last time at how the temple's silhouette stood against early morning skies.

"PW, you are hereby dismissed! Return your uniform. Another mienfoo will be using it soon." He presented the uniform, it was taken up, and that was the last he ever saw of it. "We will pray for you." He turned to the guards. "Lead him out."

PW now stood on the outsider's side of the fence. He was no longer PW, student of the Dancing Weasel clan. He was just PW, and now he had to scratch out a new life for himself. Looking towards the rising star, PW figured it might just be six in the morning. He considered his choices. Taipei was stuffed with skyscrapers, as well as people shuffling to or from work, taking scooters and cars and buses. Signs lit the air, the scent of commerce flowing through the streets. Sun Chenjiu was correct: PW could not stand the thought of living in an apartment. His mind wandered back toward the books and computer. He lost the chance to learn about his ancestors then, but if he went far enough south, he would learn far more.

The boy thus began his long march towards what would become the most dire war in the history of the continent.