A/N: Wow, it has been a long time, I missed writing about KFP for sure. Now I'm not really into making a new story so I wanted to build from something I had done a long ago as a one-shot. So this will be a on-going thing now. Hope you all like it."
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"You know, when you said we need to go out more, this wasn't really what I was expecting."
"What? What do you mean? We're having fun!"
"Correction; you're having fun. Me? I'm covered in grime! Look my primaries! Ruined!"
"Don't be such a drama queen, you will be fine. Besides, you should have been more careful before diving in like that. Told you that they were expecting you this time. Also nothing a bath later on won't fix."
"I hate bathing, that cold water is awful."
"Huh? That's the issue you have with it? I mean, sure, I never really had cold baths back home."
"Yes, Mei Ling, it's quite self explanatory why."
"Hey, if you want, you can go to my home any time you want. Heh, I knew you would get spoiled by the bathing pool."
"I'm not spoiled!"
Mei Ling laughed, shifting her staff, swirling it at blinding speeds before smacking a wolf across the face. The lupine whined in pain as he was tossed aside into a small barrack of wood, cracking through it with surprising force. Crane rolled his eyes, spinning upwards before spreading his legs apart widely, kicking another two wolfs at chin height with tremendous strength, they also went flying few meters backwards, both were instantly knocked out.
"Hey, the splits are finally paying off." The mountain cat said, giving him a glance of approval. "I swear I wasn't sure you would ever get them done before next month. Trials are right around the corner and Master Thundering Rhino will be attending this event. Everyone is on edge lately." She deflected with ease the swing of an axe, before rotating with a jump to avoid an unleashed arrow. Crane quickly caught onto the archer, sparing him no small amount of pain for the audacity of such attack. Mei Ling summersaulted above the last opponent, using her staff as a pole before shifting all the momentum back to it, slashing the object with a loud smack at the back of the assaulting leopard, who screamed in agony before dropping onto the floor, utterly defeated. "These guys are getting more daring lately. I swear it's like the fourth time this month."
"You can say that again." Crane came by her side, evaluating the results of the combat with a nod. "Nicely done down here. Sorry about the archer, didn't see him in time." He added with some guilt. Mei shrugged it off.
"It happens, not like I wouldn't be ready for it." She said, waving her hand towards the scared villagers, who had been hiding, waiting until this point for the fight to end. They slowly came out of their houses, cheering once realizing the bandits had been defeated. "Feels good, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it sure does." Crane said with a shy smile, genuinely happy for being able to help these people. "As much I would love to stay and share some stories, I think it's time we head back to the Academy, we do have a lot to report and I don't feel like spending the whole night covered in this."
Mei Ling snorted, currently busy giving many children some attention, but was still able to hear his warning despite the many kids exclaiming around her.
"Sorry, I would love to stay, but my friend here has things to attend. I will look forward to see you all, especially if they dare to come back." Mei Ling excused herself towards the kids. They groaned in disappointment, but were quickly dismissed by the adults, who expressed their thanks by offering food and water. "Errr, no, no, thank you! That won't be necessary, it's what we do, really." The mountain cat looked extremely embarrassed by the gesture and Crane could easily tell why. For someone who grew in a rather healthy home, having less privileged folk offer her food and water was just beyond awkward for Mei Ling.
She quickly grabbed one of Crane's wings, pulling him along as she did her best to leave the village with haste. He played along until they were outside of view from anyone else.
"Okay, okay, you can let go now." Crane said, slightly humored and annoyed at the same time. Mei Ling paused on her quick steps, giving a glance backwards before shifting her attention back to him. She let go of the firm grip on his wing. "Gez, first grime, now crushed feathers. By the time we get back I will be featherless again." He joked.
"Sorry, I was just..."
"I know Mei, I get how you feel. No need to apologize." Crane quickly cut off her guilt trip. "I'm surprised you're still acting off about it, it was not the first time, it was expected."
"I know! It's just... I feel awful. Is bad enough they struggle as it is, but these bandits... I feel like breaking their necks for doing that kind of thing with the less fortunate!" She let out a hiss of frustration, which Crane found odd to hear. It was unlike her to be angry like that. "I know we made an oath to not kill, but I really struggle to keep mine sometimes."
"Hey, take it easy." Crane came at her side, placing a comforting wing over her shoulder. "It's okay to be angry about these things, but don't let it cloud your judgement. You're a good person at both mind and heart. Killing someone is troublesome, for regret can easily consume you, no matter how much anger you feel. I get it's frustrating to deal with the same problems again and again, but it's part of what we do. At least until there's a proper place to lock them." Crane added with a frown.
It was understandable of why Mei Ling was growing aggravated with these bandits. It was the same group for the past six months, no matter how many times they got beaten, they would always come back, and each time with an extra member. So far Mei Ling and Crane were able to keep them at bay, but today was the first time that the waterfowl felt uncertain of how long they could keep this up. The archer was a rather nasty surprise, and it could've ended poorly for Mei Ling if she wasn't a gifted Kung Fu fighter as she is. Both Crane and Mei Ling are, without question, the best academy students, but still not Kung Fu Masters. They have their limitations.
"Killing won't ever be the first, nor best, answer for those problems, even if it may be the simplest one." He slowly moved his wing to her back, gently pressuring before slowly drawing circles. Mei Ling grew calmer at his touch, finding it distracting enough from her troubled emotions.
They both remained in silence, taking comfort on each other's presence, their attention towards the rest of the valley. Their home.
"We should head back and tell the grandmaster about this raid, he was getting really worked up about the other groups not keeping up with the criminal activity at the city's outskirts." Crane suggested distractedly, his eyes scanning the peaks of the distant mountains, currently covered with snow. Winter was just few days off, and soon that freezing environment would reach their land with impunity. He dreaded about going through winter while outside on training grounds, at least he could take comfort on having Mei Ling to cuddle with whenever they would be having a time off.
"Yes, at least we won't get yelled at for slacking, maybe he will let us out early today." She said without much hope. She respected her grandmaster, as any student should, but he certainly is a hard-headed, stubborn Ox that could test her patience at times. "I'm honestly thinking I should've let my father have that talk with him, the Grandmaster is getting insufferable lately."
"I hear you. He got so mad with me for skipping training the other day, just because I was busy chasing a thief in the center. He cared not for my excuses. I mean, I guess if I had brought the thief along I wouldn't have deal with that attitude right away. Yet, the guards had him before I could say anything on the matter." Crane complained, still miffed that the Ox cared more for Crane's punctuality than for him doing what he's meant to do.
"Well, it's the path of learning, never an easy one. Mom and Dad taught me a lot, I wouldn't have made as far without their advices." Mei Ling gently pushed his wing away. "So, we better move on, we can take care of each other after we're back to our room."
"Right." Crane replied awkwardly. He was still getting used to being in the same room as the mountain cat. Normally students wouldn't be allowed together like this, but Mei Ling, somehow, managed to convince the grandmaster to let the bird stay with her. "Say, want to stop on the way to try that soup from Miss Nonawa? Been hearing a lot of good things from it lately."
"Maybe? Thought you were worried with us reporting right away?" She pondered with a humored chuckle. Crane merely shrugged.
"Eh, we are doing that, we just don't have to be the fastest about it. Not that I cannot claim exhaustion delaying us if the Grandmaster asks." He replied with a cunning smile. Mei Ling shook her head, amused by Crane's attempt of deception.
"I rather not get chewed out because of soup. We can do that tomorrow. Besides, you do need a bath." She pointed out with a smirk. Crane sighed heavily, painfully aware of the mud covering his precious feathers. "Mind if I join in? I do need one of my own."
"Sure, you can ta... huh, say again?" He stopped himself, glancing at her in disbelief. "You want to bath... along?"
"Yeah, not a problem, right? It's faster if we lend a hand, or in your case, a wing." She responded joyfully. Crane blinked, unsure of what to say or think about that offer. "Also, since you hate cold water so much we can stop by at home, the pool is big enough for us both. Unless you prefer to bathe on the waterfal-
"Okay, okay! You win! Your house then. No problem." He relented quickly, which amused her immensely. "Hey... quite a view, isn't it?" He said as he came to a stop near the edge of the cliffside, looking down at the rest of the Valley. Mei Ling joined by his side, crossing her arms as she gave her homeland a long lasting look.
The sun was already hidden behind the foggy, frozen mountains. An unending shadow casting over the land as several lights coming from the many houses and shops far below were lit, shining amid the increasing darkness. The chill of the approaching night made itself know with the soft breeze of the wind clashing at the couple with moderate strength. Crane, while enjoying the sensation of liberty the wind offered him constantly, wasn't welcoming the feeling as much, due the mud and sweat making his body temperature drop below the usual, not to mention the soreness he was feeling made things much worse to deal. He contemplated the Valley below with a bit of uncertainty. This was his home for many years, his birthplace, yet, he wasn't as fond of it as he thought he would be. He felt a sense of duty to help people to be safe from danger, but that wasn't exactly due living in the same place as them, it was just the right thing to be done, something that could be done anywhere.
Almost as if reading his thoughts, the mountain cat gave him a brief sideways glance, seemingly immersed in her own world before looking forward with a dreamy sigh.
"Ever thought about seeing what the rest of China looks like? We heard so much about other places after all." She asked him quietly.
Crane nodded. The idea has been in his mind for few weeks. It was a huge step to take, going across China with nothing but each other, and Mei Ling's wealth to help with expenses obviously. The waterfowl shook his head, while adventuring was extremely appealing, he truly wanted to improve his Kung Fu knowledge, become much better than his current self. Mei Ling certainly wanted the same, but she may have a different approach to how evolve her skills that not exactly finding a better Academy somewhere else.
"Sounds like a plan. At least until we can be certain that we won't be missed so much. The next batch of students is promising, once they are set on few patrols we won't be overworked and be able to focus on our studies more." Crane replied distractedly, his wings were starting to itch and it was really getting annoying. Mei Ling chuckled, using her claws to carefully scratch at the spot where Crane was occasionally trying to reach with his beak. He sighed in relief at her carefully ministration on his wing joints.
"Yes, that would be a welcoming help. At least these new students aren't as limited as the previous bunch." Crane chuckled.
"So much for catching agile thieves with a squad of Rhinos."
Mei Ling laughed. The Grandmaster's bias towards beefy body types really didn't help matters when having appropriate warriors for particular engagements. Which was made even more evident when students like Mei Ling and Crane could easily take down the brutes with ease, flighting with styles that simply did not favor the physically of the Rhinos in the slightest.
"Still, going around China... it's... interesting. Would your family be okay with it?" He asked sleepily. Mei Ling was doing a very good job at his back and the his tiring body was desperate for a break. She shrugged.
"They won't mind. Mom knows I need to get around eventually, Dad would be insistent actually, hoping I will find better education elsewhere. I agree with that sentiment to be honest. Lee Da is a good start, but we need to improve and it won't be here at all."
"Yeah, I agree with it. Still... ain't easy to just leave home." Crane replied slowly, his attention stuck towards the town below. "I hope we can do it. I sure wouldn't dare to try if I was on my own."
"Like you're getting rid of me that easily." Mei Ling teased, giving him a light push, the bird groaned as his body was rather sensitive at the moment. "Ops, sorry. We better get going before you turn into stone."
"Yeah, just few more minutes to go. At least it's mostly level ground until we reach your house."
"Except we need to report to the Academy first." She reminded him with a raised eyebrow. Crane groaned again.
"Right, I forgot. Urgh, what a day. Say... you ever wondered what you would do with your life if not Kung Fu?"
Mei Ling gave him a look of surprise, somewhat caught off guard by that question. She frowned lightly, crossing her arms again while thinking hard on a response.
"Not really. It never crossed my mind. I could just do what I do with ease since I was young. I felt it's what I wanted, also Dad was kind of a big inspiration for me, so... yeah. Why? Did you have something else in mind?" She asked with earnest curiosity. Crane nodded hesitantly.
"Well, I do a lot of drawing when I'm not really doing anything for few hours. Calligraphy is fascinating, also some landscape and portraits at times when I'm feeling motivated enough."
"Woah, really? I didn't know you did such things. That's... that's really amazing." Mei said, sounding very impressed. "Okay, now I'm feeling a bit left behind. I guess I could try to think of other things besides just Kung Fu." She joked somewhat.
Mei Ling jumped lightly to avoid a small fracture on the road as they made their way to her house, visibility being greatly reduced as night approached, though that didn't affect Mei Ling as much due being a cat, seeing in the dark wasn't a real obstacle for her. She did have to orient Crane though, a bird wouldn't usually just walk on the side of a mountain during night for the novelty of it. As he saw her jump he merely flapped his wings enough to float above the hidden natural trap.
"I mean, you don't really have to. It's nice to have options, just to spend time doing something enjoyable." He replied with some amusement after landing and resuming their walking. Crane winced after few steps, his breath caught up trying to mask the gasp of pain.
"You okay?" Mei Ling asked immediately, stopping to see what the issue could be. Crane's foot caught onto a particular sharp rock, a small cut opening underneath. Mei Ling's night vision allowed her to see a very small dark trail of blood leaking slowly before dripping onto the floor. Crane was keeping his leg suspended, groaning at the burning sensation.
"What happened?" He asked gruffly, his beak barely opening.
"Seems you caught a bad rock and cut yourself. Bleeding a bit. Great." Mei Ling sighed. "Can you fly?" She asked, not surprised as the bird shook his head. Crane was already on a poor shape from the fight. "Well, I know this isn't really that bad, but I guess we can just skip the whole reporting stuff and go straight home. I will send a letter down the Academy as soon we get there, at least let them know we are alive."
"I mean, it's not that bad." Crane tried to justify, but he knew the cat wasn't buying it. She sighed before offering her right shoulder for him to lean on. He accepted with an air of defeat. Their pacing slightly decreased as he kept his leg awkwardly suspended between the two.
"I will keep a look for anything that might hurt you. Honestly, if you're not going to fly every second of the day, you should think of using something so you're not barefoot all the time." She suggested, focusing her attention on the treacherous road to her house. Crane wasn't really sure how to argue that in his favor. He just got a bad cut from walking in a place he usually wouldn't, during a time he would never be walking unless in dire need. Yet, this was one of this situations that he could find himself in the future, especially if traveling around for endless days.
He knows Mei Ling wishes to keep him from harm, but he wasn't sure how to explain that birds simply don't use shoes at all.
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On the next day, after a rather eventful night at Mei's house, Crane and Mei Ling were back at the Academy. The Grandmaster was not happy they didn't report last day, but a letter from Mei's father put his reprimand at bay, especially when learning that the eagle was tempted to come down and have a word with him if he dared to give his daughter, or Crane, any piece of mind. The Buffalo huffed angrily as he walked past the two, not bothering to give Crane any sort of sympathy as it was visible that the bird has wraps around his foot. Mei Ling, while standing in line with the other students, allowed herself to frown at the poor display of leadership from her mentor. She was already edging on dislike about the Grandmaster, but his recent behavior only made her actually despise him. As soon the buffalo was far out of hearing range she addressed the disappointed waterfowl at her side.
"Honestly, I wasn't expecting you to take such fly-low risks like that. You don't usually do. What happened? I know it's a bit late to ask, but I had other concerns in mind last night." She asked, leaning forward to check on the buffalo's movements, keeping her ears perked for any sounds indicating an approach from one of the other instructors.
Crane shuffled nervously, giving his bandaged foot a regretful glance before replying hesitantly.
"I... got a bit worried. I know you can take care of yourself, but as soon I saw that many circling around your spot I felt like breaking an escape route in case things got complicated. I wasn't expecting they would be setting a trap so early on. Still, I feel I got unlucky with the whole thing, they only got me at the only part of the area they would have any height advantage. I... suppose I could've thought about it beforehand."
"Well, not like you could've just dived in and I would grab your legs, like we usually do?" She questioned, somewhat surprised he missed thinking about such a basic move they practiced many times over.
"I wasn't thinking clearly. Haven't been for few days." He replied quietly, glancing around while taking notice of the nearby students casting curious looks their way. Most of them were Rhinos, but some were felines and canines, a new batch of students that recently joined the ranks. "Nothing to worry about, just..."
"Hey, what's the matter?" She asked, feeling worried by Crane's crestfallen stance. The bird sighed heavily, allowing a pained look to reach her way.
"Mom's... not doing very well." He replied slowly. Mei Ling's eyes widened, she almost broke the line at the unexpected news.
"Oh. I... do you know what it is?" She asked quickly, extreme worry gripping her heart. Crane had already lost his father years ago, if something happened with his mother there was no telling how he would be able to handle such a loss. Mei Ling felt genuine concern for his mental being, being fond of Crane's mother, having met the bird lady few days ago. First impressions were not of an ill mother by any means, but maybe that was just his mother trying to look strong for her son's mate.
Crane shrugged, forlorn and somewhat apathetic as he stared forward into nothingness.
"Don't know. Can't really take her any place to figure out, at least not until I get paid this month."
"That's it? Money? Really?" Mei Ling asked, this time with a bit of edge to her voice. Crane sighed.
"I know what you're going to say, but it's not me the issue here, my mother simply refuses charity money. She won't take that type of help from you until... uuuh..." Crane's voice faltered for a moment, clearly uncomfortable all of sudden. The mountain cat raised an eyebrow.
"Until... what?" The embarrassment on Crane's face was easy enough to notice. He tilted his head her way before muttering.
"Until... we're married."
Mei Ling quickly shut herself from gasping loudly with a hand, noticing from the corner of her eyes that the Grandmaster was returning to their spot at a steady pace. She stared forward, trying to maintain her discipline, but her eyes were wide open as she slowly took in what Crane just said. The waterfowl followed her exampled and returned to a standstill, not wanting the attention of the Grandmaster's anger due lack of discipline. He came to stop near the mortified Crane and flabbergasted Mei Ling.
"Attention you lot! Today we are receiving a very important guest! I don't have to remind you of what happens if I find any of you messing around at this grand occasion! The Lee Da will be honored to receive a highly respect Kung Fu master, do not dare to bring shame to any of us!" The buffalo frowned at each of them, expressing promises of unending pain for those who dared. "Each of you will be tested! The master will come here seeking for talent, for one that can surpass all the others, to bring glory and honor to their names, their family, this academy and the valley! I expect you all to be at your best!" At this the buffalo paused briefly, his eyes focusing on Crane and Mei Ling, a shadow of doubt crossed his features. "You all are dismissed from further activities, get ready and plan carefully what you will be presenting and be proper, now get lost!"
At this all the students started to scatter to their respective dorms, anxious and excited about the opportunity to show off their skills and the lessons learned so far. Before Crane could ask Mei Ling anything regarding what she learned, the Grandmaster came at them, glaring off at any bystanders to scare them off from hearing the following conversation.
"Mei Ling, Crane, how are you two holding? I got your letter from yesterday, but I still don't have much details about the assault." He said, crossing his arms while throwing glances here and there to make sure they weren't being overheard.
"Sorry for that Grandmaster, we... had a bigger problem this time around with that group that had been harassing the mountain villages." The mountain cat started, still a bit dazed by Crane's words. "Huh, we were expecting about half a dozen like last time, but they almost doubled their numbers this time around, also brought archers with them. It was a bit close this time around. I'm... not sure if just the two of us will be holding them off if they continue to increase their numbers."
The Grandmaster huffed, looking slightly troubled by the news.
"That is really not good. We are barely keeping at bay with the thieves at the outskirts, now a group that big growing at the mountains will be out of our defensive reach soon. I feared this could happen, but it seems I will have to request Imperial support on this matter after all." The Grandmaster hesitated, looking anxious for a moment before asking. "Could you... get your father to meet the headmaster? I can't really ask for backup without someone from the Imperial Guard to back up this request, the Headmaster has been stubborn, thinking the Academy is enough to handle this issue. Perhaps in few years we will be, but not now. Lives are at stake and I cannot be sitting around hoping two young like you to hold off the entire crime by yourselves."
"I will talk with my father right away." She assured him, to which the buffalo simply nodded.
"Good. As for... the event today. Are you two in fighting condition?" He asked curtly, not interested on excuses. Mei Ling seemed hesitant, while Crane merely gave him a curt nod.
"Yes, I have enough to do my best, Grandmaster." The waterfowl said confidently. The bufallo raised an eyebrow, looking at Crane's bandaged foot.
"You better be, this won't be just any kind of occasion after all. Word is that a master from the Jade Palace is coming here today."
Both Crane and Mei Ling's breath caught up, they were stumped by the remarkable possibility.
"The Jade Palace, here? That's a week of travel!" Mei Ling was stunned anyone from Valley of Peace would dare to come to this part of China.
"Unless they took flight with someone, that would be two days with some rests." Crane pointed out mostly to himself aloud. Mei Ling rolled her eyes in amusement.
"Sure, whatever the case. Still, that's incredible to hear! We better get going, we need to figure battle plans an-
"And you will be doing it alone." The buffalo said firmly, quickly crashing their excitement. "This test is for an individual's measurement, not teamwork. Every student will be facing each other on rounds, until there's only one standing by the end."
Crane and Mei Ling shared a worried glance. That's not what they wanted to hear.
"I guess... see you later then?" Crane said despondently towards Mei Ling. She merely nodded, unsure of what to say, turning around to walk back towards her dorm. He watched her leave with a fair amount of apprehension. Before Crane could walk away the Grandmaster spoke one last time.
"I understand this is a bit of a crossroad for you, but you have to put your feelings aside for today. What matters is you and what you can do. Do not falter and you may see an even bigger future ahead. You two are the best this academy has to offer. Don't disappoint."
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Crane took in deep breaths. The heat was unusual for him, it should be cold, freezing, chilling, yet, he was sweating profusely. When the Grandmaster said their would be doing individual fights, perhaps Crane didn't think about the amount of students the Academy currently has, and how many duels would be happening at once across the Academy grounds. Needless to say he was starting to feel spent after 4 consecutive fights with Rhinos, Cheetahs and a very overzealous Wolf. The new students were putting a really good fight, but the old students, most Rhinos, were using pure strength to beat them out of the duel area or into painful submission.
The waterfowl felt muscles aching on his body, trying his best to recover most energy before the next fight, it seemed endless. Mei Ling was faring no better, perhaps even struggling more than him. She wasn't as evasive as Crane, her techniques requiring more strength than his, she took few bad hits here and there after the last couple fights, she refused to let the pain drag her performance down, seemingly even more aggressive on the next duel, much to the surprise of her opponents. They had no time to talk with each other, having to take short break to regain their breath and immediately take place on the next arena for the following stage of the event. By this point most of the students were eliminated, with a few dozen left to reach the ultimate goal of being the one at the top.
Crane found himself spectating a random fight, barely paying attention to the clash as his eyes saw the main reason of so many brutal fights today. Every single on of them was being analyzed, studied, pondered by no other than Master Shifu.
The Red Panda was motionless, standing near the far taller Grandmaster Buffalo at his side. It was the first time that Crane saw the Buffalo so stiff and unnerved, at least not since Mei Ling's father doing him a surprise visit. Master Shifu seemed impassive at first glance, almost uncaring, but Crane knew his eyes were on everything that was happening with avid attention. For a moment, after the duelists in the arena went off to the side, the Red Panda was still staring straight. Right at Crane.
The bird blinked, he looked to the side, wondering if Master Shifu saw someone next to him that looked familiar, but there was no one else at that spot but him. He looked back at the Red Panda, but his attention was back on the duelists.
"Huh, that was weird." He silently muttered to himself.
"Talking yourself out of trouble?" Crane jumped for a second, not expecting to find Mei Ling at his side all of sudden.
"Gez, Mei Ling! It's already hard to catch a breath here, don't have to squeeze it out too." He complained lightly, feeling his heart racing again. She chuckled, seemingly guilty for a moment.
"Sorry, it's just... this has been a bit difficult so far. I wish we had more time to prep, it's actually a bit insane to go through this many fights at once." She said with a heavy sigh, one hand massaging a spot on her leg that was aching. "This is getting more troublesome than dealing with a dozen fighters at once. At least once that fight was over, it was over. This? This is really painful." Crane glanced at her with worry.
"How's your body doing?" He gently asked. She shrugged, a frown on her face that did not express positivity.
"Worse and worse. These students are far more aggressive than during training sessions. They fight as if they are about to die, it's a bit unexpected to engage with folk like that." She complained loudly. Her eyes traveling across the arena for a short moment. "I hope mom and dad arrive soon. I sent a letter about what would be happening today. It's a big deal after all." This news surprised Crane.
"Your mom ever came down to the village?" He asked with genuine curiosity. Mei Ling shrugged.
"Once, and it was... errr, kinda troublesome. I won't go into details." She said firmly. "Yet, I hope she will. This is kind of a turning event for us."
"Us?" Crane didn't understand the logic. Mei Ling glanced at him is disbelief.
"Yes, us. What, you don't think you won't make it to the final?" She joked, but her voice carrying a bit of challenge.
"I mean, I think I can, but... if I do... and so do you..."
Crane didn't finish and the mountain cat immediately understood why. She also shared his concerns.
"I know... I really don't want to get to that point."
"What choice do we have?" Crane was seemingly at loss of what to do. He never entertained the idea of actually fighting Mei Ling in such a display, nor did he wished to. "Well, to be fair, perhaps we can call it a draw by the end. I'm already exhausted."
Mei Ling found the idea extremely appealing, even if her face showed otherwise.
"I don't know, not that I don't agree, it's just... we are being watched by important folk and... oh, dad's here too! And... mom? Oh..."
Crane turned his head to find her parents not too far away from the Grandmaster, walking towards the group of kung Fu masters with some disinterest. Mei Ling's father stood out tremendously from anyone else around him aside his wife. His eyes scanned the Academy grounds, filled with contestants everywhere, in search of his daughter, finding her almost immediately thanks to Crane's presence at her side. He gave them a curt nod once they shared a glance before he resumed his walk, bending his neck slightly to whisper something to his wife. She flicked a ear in response, a very subtle smile on her face before she stood at a standstill near the Grandmaster and Master Shifu, the later was turning around to greet the Imperial officer with utter respect.
"Surprised to see both of them?" Crane asked while Mei Ling was still looking at her parents in some form of awe. She nodded slowly.
"Yeah, I think I ever only saw her outside of the house about... two times. I'm so glad they came. I think they were happy to see that you're doing fine despite your injury, especially dad."
Crane was grateful that they would care so much, they really didn't express much during the previous night, dealing with his injury as something extremely ordinary. Yet, seeing them down here was enough for Crane to be assured that they have been concerned about his safety. More surprising so was to see Mei Ling's father bowing to Master Shifu, which the Red Panda returned the gesture with a slight nod. It was telling about who was the higher rank in this encounter.
A tap on his shoulder had the bird turn around slightly, Mei Ling tilted her head, indicating they were to move for their next match. Crane sighed heavily, feeling the burden of his tired body consume him once more. He walked towards the nearest marked arena, wishing good luck to Mei Ling before turning around to face his next challenge.
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Mei Ling was feeling many things after countless fights during the day, seeing as the sun dived downwards to hide behind the mountains, a foggy mist appearing as the humidity and cold joined forces, slowly enveloping the village with its traditional mist. She could see the edges of puffs of air coming from her mouth. The cold made things far much worse in regards to her wounds and aches. The last three fights were brutal and she barely made past the last one with a particularly nasty leopard student. Some gashes were scored across her clothes and fur, leaving burning wounds that refused to subside after a long time. Despite her body screaming at her to stop, she moved forward, ready to face the final challenge.
She wished she could say she was ready. She is not.
Mei Ling watched with a bit of despair as Crane slowly walked towards the opposite side of the designated combat circle, one of his wings looked weird, most his feathers were ruffled, and he was certainly limping on the leg with the injured foot. If it wasn't for the pain she currently felt, she wouldn't have the slightest motivation to face the avian in such a state.
While the mountain cat could endure some punishment, Crane simply was not meant to be hit in any place whatsoever, his fluid motions were meant for perfect evasion and swift counter. Getting hit was simply devastating for his performance and his heavily injured form showed it after a few misfortunes. She was very happy he made it to the final fight, but also extremely disheartened to make his injuries even worse, which certainly was a feeling that the waterfowl also has as he glanced down at her miserable figure standing across the arena.
Mei Ling never felt so uncertain in her whole life as she was feeling at that very moment. She wanted to win, but also wanted for this day to end. Yet, that would come at the cost of making her wounds worse, and hurting Crane even further. She hated this competition with a passion she wouldn't dare to feel months ago. This was her chance to prove herself to one of the greatest Kung Fu masters of all time. This was her chance to reach much further into a path of honor and glory for her name and her family.
Yet...
Crane stood quiet, his hat was bending slightly to the side, he seemed... apathetic, almost uninterested. His eyes found hers, but he didn't say a word, as if he was evaluating what she was planning to do. She felt the eyes of her parents trained on both of them, Mei Ling dared not to look away, uncertain of what Crane's behavior would be.
"Well... this sucks."
Mei Ling couldn't help the smile on her face, feeling strangely relieved by his words. She nodded.
"Yeah, haven't felt like this since my first day. Kinda crazy to think about it. I was barely lifting my own weight back then, now? Heh, nothing like few months of carrying that much dead weight can't improve." She added with a nod towards the many Rhinos she defeated in the previous rounds. They glared at her, not daring to say a word as their bodies, and pride, took a terrible beating just hours ago.
"Truly, this is... very intense. Feel like I ran one of those Imperial Training Regimes your dad talked about so much last night. Gez, I don't really fit to be that kind of soldier." He joked lightly, wincing occasionally as he felt a few muscles scream at any slight movement. "This is way out of my league."
"You can get used to it, just need to work a bit on your breathing, it helps to keep your thoughts in place." She advised with a chuckle. "I'm definetely taking a few weeks off after this, no doubts." She heard a dissatisfied growl from a few meters away. Certainly the Grandmaster did not appreciate Mei Ling taking herself out of duty. The mountain cat couldn't care less at this point.
"I hear you. This is-
"Excuse me, what are you two doing?" A voice boomed, commanding and somewhat demanding at once. Mei Ling and Crane looked to the side, seeing Master Shifu approaching the arena with some degree of frustration. "I came here to supervise the best this Academy has to offer, not to partake on casual conversation. Stand your ground and be set!"
"Gruffy much?" Crane muttered. Master Shifu immediately snapped his head towards the avian.
"Who are you calling gruffy?"
Crane blinked, surprised the Red Panda actually heard his words. Mei Ling snorted, she certainly could hear Crane's snarky remark.
"Err, no, n-nothing." The bird fumbled a bit before focusing back towards the feline. "Huh, how do you feel?" Mei Ling raised an eyebrow.
"Horrible, isn't that obvious?" She replied with a bit of confusion. Crane shrugged.
"Yeah, I'm not really feeling it at all." He said with remarkable calm before addressing the stands. "I forfeit."
Several gasps were heard across the Academy. Students were stumped by such blatant throwing. Mei Ling let out huge sigh of relief, ignoring the shocked and outraged looks of the Kung Fu Masters.
"Thank you! I was about to do it myself! Screw this." She said before walking towards the avian with a huge smile on her face. Before she could take two steps further a small figure made his way in between them. Both avian and feline stood still, watching with some apprehension the Red Panda rewarding them with a scowl.
"Is this some sort of joke to you? Refusing to fight for what reason exactly?" He questioned with a small amount of agressiveness. "Do not make light of the efforts of your fellow colleagues, who did their best to progress through this arduous day. You bring them dishonor by no-
"Master, please, calm down. We're not meaning to disrespect, but also I'm not gonna feel sorry about some sore losers who can't deal with getting beat." several growls were heard coming from her defeated opponents, but they quickly looked away once the cat looked around for the source. "I've been here long enough to know a bunch of them deserve none of my respect." Mei Ling countered while crossing hes arms, a challenging glare returning towards the smaller figure standing in front of her. "Nor Crane's. They had plenty of time harassing him ever since he joined the Academy. I already had to beat them up many times before this day."
Master Shifu frown's lightened. He casted a curious glance towards the nervous Grandmaster.
"Is what she says true? Have your students been harassing others?"
"I..." The Buffalo paused, uncertain of the repercussions. "I had heard complaints about misbehavior, but usually from the ones that Mei Ling injured. I was not aware of the real reasons she had been hitting them so harshly. This type of attitude is not to be tolerated. I hope to not hear of such again." The Grandmaster casted his frustration towards the other students, who quickly stiffed at the furious glare of their master.
Master Shifu sighed, hands behind his back as he pondered on the two individuals in the arena. His eyes scanned across their multiple injuries, their posture was faltering, their chests expanding rapidly due exhaustion. Despite the battering they remained stoic, calm and collected. Shifu nodded, finding their composure to be rather admirable, but even more so when they were at a limit and not taking foolish risks.
"This fight is unwarranted, you two have done all I expected to find on a promising student of my own." He said evenly, glancing from one to another with mild amusement. Crane and Mei Ling exchanged looks of surprise.
"Huh, so... we don't have to fight anymore?" Crane asked, his voice filled with hope and a bit of desperation. The Red Panda nodded, to which the waterfowl felt like dropping onto the floor in sheer relief. Even Mei Ling looked beyond thankful for the sparing. "I'm not sure I'm walking any steps tomorrow." He joked towards the mountain cat, who smirked in return.
"I can share that sentiment. We could use a break to be fair." She said, while holding her knees with each hand, her body felt immensely heavy and she could wish nothing more than lay down and rest for an hour or so.
"While I understand your exhaustion, I would rather have you prepared for depart." Master Shifu added with a slight somber note, to which Crane and Mei Ling turned around to face him immediately.
"Huh, depart... where?" Crane asked, seemingly confused and fearful. He did not wish to travel anywhere in his current state.
"Why, the Jade Palace of course." He replied more eloquently. "There you will you will acquire far more refined instruction and learn a vast ocean of opportunities to improve your own self."
Mei Ling raised with a painful groan, crossing her arms while giving the Red Panda an skeptical look.
"Master, that... sounds great. But we are exhausted, can't we have a break before we go anywhere?" She somewhat pleaded, unsure if she could take such journey with so little time to rest.
Master Shifu glanced at the mountain cat, for the first time they saw him, he seemed uncomfortable.
"I... did not say especifically I would be taking you both."