"Today, we're going to be practicing your Kunai fighting," Zheng said as he pulled out his kunai. "Remember, any weapon you use is an extension of yourself. The kunai is part of that point."
"So it's like a second head?" Po asked.
"Well, it's more like a slightly longer sharp arm," Zheng-Hau corrected. Po pulled out two kunais and started fighting Zheng-Hau with them. Zheng-Hau ducked a swing from Po's kunai and charged at his belly. Po jumped back and waited for the jackrabbit's kunai to be thrown. As Zheng threw it, Po carefully watched it, used his kunais to quickly slow the knife's velocity and catch it in his hand. "Not bad," the jackrabbit commented. Po smiled, but suddenly smoke started coming out of Zheng's kunai.
"Ack, ack, ack!" Po coughed as a blanket of clouds fogged his eyesight.
"But you have to be careful which kunais you catch," Zheng-Hau instructed.
"What *cough* is that?" Po coughed.
"There are a couple of trick kunais," Zheng-Hau replied, pulling out four different kunais, "You got your regular kunais, explosive kunais that have a blast range of about 10-12 feet, your rocket kunais-"
"Rocket kunais?"
"Not the kind you're thinking of," Zheng-Hau corrected, pulling the kunai out. It had a long blade with two slits down the middle. "Once this thing hits something, it digs deep into the rock or whatever its tip touches," Zheng-Hau smacked the tip of the kunai with a rock. The slits down the middle suddenly produced two sharper spikes with serrated edges.
"Wow," Po said. "So cool!"
"The fourth one is a specialized smoke bomb of kunai. You can reuse them but make sure that the smoke mix is full," Zheng-Hau said, reciting the smoke mix recipe to him. "That mix will last you about seven throws."
"Cool," Po smiled. Zheng-Hau smiled back as he started teaching Po each one. Unbeknownst to the two, Tigress and Tai-Lung watched their training from a distance.
"They seem to get along very well. Po is good at faking it," Tai-Lung mentioned with a smirk as he rested his back against the high tree branches.
"He's not faking it," Tigress replied. Tai-Lung opened one eye at her. "Po either likes you or he doesn't. I think he genuinely becoming Zheng-Hau's friend."
"Is that good or bad?" Tai-Lung asked with his hands behind the back of his head.
"I don't know. He may be able to change Zheng's mind, but he may also sympathize with him," Tigress answered. Tai-Lung shook his head with a smile on his face. "What?"
"Po won't betray his friends, but if he does become the rabbit's friend, he'll be able to change his mind."
"How do you have so much faith in Po?" Tigress asked, surprised that the snow leopard was so relaxed about it.
"Why don't you?" Tai-Lung argued, wondering where all those years with the panda went. Did she not know who her friend was? He was living proof that the panda was able to change people. Tigress didn't answer the question as they continued watching the panda and jackrabbit spar and train each other.
Later on, Po and Zheng-Hau finished their training. Zheng-Hau laughed with white smoke mix residue on his clothes. Po had the same on his red cloak. "Well, you finally did get that mix right."
"Hehe, sorry about that," Po chuckled. Zheng-Hau patted Po on the back, still laughing.
"Well, I was the same way when I first learned it. I nearly blew up Zhao's face away," Zheng-Hau smiled.
"Who?"
"Zhao. He was the Mongolian that taught me everything he knew. I spent about 12 years with him," Zheng-Hau replied, still smiling about the panda's blunder.
"What was he like?" Po asked. That's when Zheng-Hau's smile disappeared. "Zheng-Hau?"
"He was harsh. He was very tough on me and... often demanded a lot of me," Zheng-Hau recounted slowly as they walked a dirt path through the bamboo forest.
"Hehe, I know the type," Po replied.
"He was nothing like Shifu," Zheng-Hau argued quickly, knowing who he was thinking. "He was... meaner. Shifu I could understand. But Zhao was more... strict and deceptive in a way," Zheng-Hau said, rubbing his left arm before stopping himself.
"Zheng-Hau? What's wrong?" Po asked, resting a hand on the jackrabbit's shoulder. "Whatever happened, you can tell me."
"He didn't physically hurt me, other than make me do crazy fighting tactics. But he taught me everything there was to weaponry," Zheng-Hau replied. Po stopped the jackrabbit.
"Zheng, there's something that you're not telling me. What is it? Please, I want to help," Po said, looking straight into his eyes. Zheng-Hau was mostly suspicious of people ever since he came back to China. But now, he saw Po's eyes and saw a tender heart, wanting to heal those in need.
"Often, he would say that I wasn't worth his time. That he was training me out of pity and my sad circumstance. He said I was... nothing more than a scared little rabbit... and I wanted to prove him wrong. That's why," Zheng-Hau paused, looking at Po's shocked face. "Po?" Zheng-Hau asked, trembling a bit, "Do you have insecurities?" The panda sighed, standing up from kneeling. He gazed around the bamboo striped forest, placing his hands on his hips.
"Yeah," Po sighed again.
"How do you deal with them?" Zheng-Hau asked.
"Well, they never go away. I can tell you that. But I've learned something about them. They're stories. Just stories we tell ourselves that we aren't redeemable or worthy. Look around you, Zheng-Hau. No one is perfect," Po smiled, resting his hand on his shoulder. "Neither is the Dragon Warrior. Don't listen to what Zhao said. You don't have to stop being the awesome person you are because of that story." Zheng-Hau looked at the panda with a bit of hope in his eyes as he sighed.
"Thanks, Po," Zheng-Hau finally smiled before Tai-Lung and Tigress leaped out of the bamboo. "Whoa! What the heck!?"
"We were just in the neighborhood," Tai-Lung said with a fake but calm smile. "and we just found you."
"Did you hear anything we said?" Po asked with his arms crossed. Tigress's eyes matched his as they glared at each other.
"No. We just wanted to talk with Po for a while," Tigress explained to Zheng-Hau. Zheng nodded as he bowed to his pupil.
"Well, this is where we part for the moment," Zheng-Hau smiled as Po bowed to him as well. "Thank you, Po. I think I have a new perspective on my life now."
"You're welcome," Po said as he walked with the two cats.
"So," Tai-Lung started when they were a good distance away, "What did you two talk about?"
"Personal stuff," Po simply muttered. His tone was monotone and boring. Tigress stopped him.
"Po, we need to know if we're going to stop this threat."
"Is he a threat?" Po asked. Tigress's eyes widened as she scanned Po's entire face. After an awkward pause, Tai-Lung decided to mediate between the two.
"Po, we have to realize that the person may not be bad, but the intentions that they have maybe harmful. Besides, we trust you," Tai-Lung replied. Po released the tension in his shoulders. Tigress looked away from Tai-Lung's gaze. He knew she was worried about Po siding with Zheng-Hau, but she didn't want to prove Tai-Lung right in saying that she didn't trust him. "But is there anything you could tell us?"
"Not really, not without breaking his trust," Po replied. "But could you guys tell me who is Zhao?"
"Zhao? His the general of the Mongolian army. He's been trying to get into China for the longest to conquer it," Tigress explained.
"So the Mongolians are still a problem?" Po asked, "After all these years?"
"Yes, and that's why a rebellion here is very detrimental to all of China," Tigress replied. Po's eyes widened. "Why do you ask?"
"Just... wondering. Zheng-Hau's been to Mongolian in his travels," Po shrugged. Tigress's eyes scanned Po's entire body. Her mouth shut tight, calculating every word.
"Did he learn from Zhao?" Tigress asked.
"I... I don't know what he learned," Po said, but in the back of his mind, Po realized the real reason why Zheng-Hau was doing this movement.
Zheng-Hau walked back into the inn when Yun was still mulling over the papers. Her half-lidded eyes roamed the papers out of muscle memory and she shivered a bit from the drafty inn. "Hello, Zheng," Yun mumbled, still focused on her work.
"Where is Lin?" He asked, making the fox shrug. Zheng-Hau wrapped his cloak around her shoulders. "You've been working too hard, Yun. Why don't you get some rest?"
"I just need to get some of the plans finalized. I'm making sure that certain connections don't come back to get us in the back," Yun yawned but grabbing his cloak closer to her body.
"What do you mean?" Zheng-Hau asked.
"It's a strategy thing. Don't worry about it," Yun muttered, physically waving him away. "I'm pretty sure that Lin is upstairs if you want."
"I thought you didn't know where she was?" Zheng-Hau asked, raising an eyebrow. The fox shot up from her seat, glaring him in the face.
"What do you want, Zheng?" Zheng-Hau backed away.
"I just want to make sure that you're okay. You seem upset," Zheng-Hau answered. Yun sighed, plopping down in her seat. "What's wrong?" Zheng-Hau asked, sitting next to her.
"I'm... trying to run away from something," Yun replied. "Relationship problem."
"Oh? Who's the lucky man?" Zheng-Hau smiled warmly. Yun smirked at him.
"Well, I don't know yet. I was in a relationship before that was... messy. He would manipulate me into thinking I wasn't good enough and that no one would take me. So... when I saw that he was manipulating me and cheating on me, I decided to manipulate him."
"Whoa," Zheng-Hau said.
"I became great friends with all of his flings. I made them turn against him, making him almost the scourge of everyone in our village. Pretty soon, he started dating the official's daughter. He figured that he was set and could boss the other women around since he was technically royalty now. But I started working for the royal official as a bookkeeper. I made it a point to get revenge on him. I changed my outfit, changed my look a bit, made sure that I was really pretty. You should have seen me," Yun chuckled a bit, "I was the prettiest fox ever."
"Was?" Zheng-Hau asked.
"Well, look at me now," She sighed, "No one would go with a person who made her ex die."
"I'm sorry what?!"
"Well, the plan was to seduce him and make his royal girlfriend kick his butt to the curb. But... that didn't happen the way it did. He... tried to force himself on me and when I screamed for help, the guards took him away. The royal daughter saw everything and wanted him dead. One for cheating on her, two for attacking me."
"So... he got what he deserved."
"But I just wanted him to hurt the way he hurt me!" Yun exclaimed, a tear falling down her face. "I didn't mean to... have him kill." She threw her head into her hands. Zheng-Hau suddenly hugged her tightly. "What are you-"
"Listen, you didn't do anything wrong. You didn't cause him to be killed. He should have never tried to force himself on you. Besides, what you did prevented him from hurting other people. It wasn't your fault," Zheng-Hau said, rubbing her back softly. "You're very crafty and shrewd though," Zheng-Hau smiled. Yun chuckled, whipping her eyes.
"It's a blessing and a curse," Yun replied. "I'm sorry that I was rude. I've just been so suspicious since that point."
"Is that why you joined us?" Zheng-Hau asked.
"I don't want to hurt anyone," Yun sighed. Zheng pulled her close, petting her head. "Zheng?"
"Shhh, it's okay," Zheng-Hau counseled. "For what it's worth, I think you're pretty without your make-up as well."
"You don't mean that," Yun said, pulling away from him.
"No, I'm serious."
"Pretty enough to..." She paused.
"To what?" Zheng-Hau asked. Yun could hear familiar hare feet coming down the stairs. She sighed with a smile and stood up.
"Thank you, Zheng-Hau. I feel a lot better. Goodnight," She said as she left just as Lin came in.
"Goodnight," Zheng-Hau replied, still confused. Lin noticed it as well.
"What happened?" Lin asked. Zheng-Hau shrugged, knowing it was best not to let Lin know.
Continued...