A/N: Geez, been a while since I touched this, eh? Anyways, a huge thanks to those who read and are still reading my story and especially to those who reviewed – I really am just doing this as a stress buster and for fun. With the school work still piling up, I'm going to be updating as inspiration and time hits that special blend That said, quite a few things happen in this chapter, mostly because I want to keep the pacing pretty fast from now onwards.

Thanks again to nievelion for beta-ing! Congratulations on finishing "A Different Lesson"!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and some of the OCs – the given names of the Furious Five are mostly mine, although I used nievelion's given names as well.

Dear Kong,

How are you doing? By the time you receive this, it will most likely have been three months since I wrote it. First of all, please don't hate me for signing the papers allowing physical punishment. I'm sure Master Oogway and Master Shifu rarely ever have to use it – just be sure not to give them a reason , alright?

Anyway, how are things going there? Are you making any new friends? I think there are other students there as well – you should try and get along with them, it always helps to have new friends.

"Cai Yun, please! He already apologized and he said he didn't mean it!"

Kong felt the large boulder behind him hit his back, the cold surface making his fur stand on end. While he was certainly no stranger to near-death scenarios – courtesy of a few angry villagers, the odd gang member, or even his siblings some of the time – he could count the few instances when he had truly feared for his life on one hand.

"I'M GONNA CUT YOUR FACE SO BAD YOU'LL HAVE A CHIN!"

The newest student of the Jade Palace winced at the vicious snarling and roaring coming from his colleague, and the protégé of Master Shifu, a young tigress named Cai Yun. Her face was burning red, like hot coals being stoked for the winter and her eyes looked nearly manic with rage. The only things that stood between his throat and her very, very, sharp claws were a green tree viper holding on to her legs while trying to calm her down and the combined efforts of a red crowned crane and a praying mantis holding onto the back of her red silk vest.

Yep, he could count the times when he felt he could actually die – one. The latest incident with Bolo wasn't it.

It had taken him all of two days in the Jade Palace to piss someone off, and it was just his luck that he'd pick one of the most terrifyingly powerful people he'd ever met in his life.

It had started simply enough – he arrived at the mountain after nearly an entire day's worth of walking with the old red panda (who never seemed to get tired during the trip) and was given a room all to himself before being told to unpack and get some rest. He awoke the next morning to a loud gong and was dragged out of bed before he had his wits about him. The next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of an arena just outside the entrance to the dormitories and Master Shifu (he now referred to him as such, even in his head; his ears couldn't take much more twisting and pinching) was telling him to get ready for a sparring session.

While he initially had gripes about fighting not only at the crack of dawn, but against a girl no less, he quickly realized that Cai Yun as a fighter was no joke.

Still groggy from lack of sleep, Kong was pretty sure he forgot to return the bow his sparring partner had given him – surely the reason for the silent, nearly subsonic growl coming from the female tiger's throat.

He had barely awakened, swaying on his feet and trying to get his eyes to focus, when he saw a striped fist flying towards his face. Years of street-fight honed instincts managed to let him dodge a right hook, followed by a rather vicious axe kick which cracked the floor, and followed by yet another punch that turned a nearby tree into sawdust.

Kong never could pinpoint the exact moment when her already obvious dislike of him morphed into pure and utter hatred, but it might have been the time when he ducked a haymaker and pulled down her pants.

And now, his mind cleared from foggy stupor, he could remember her face turning a bright shade of red under her fur and, after quickly pulling up her black trousers, leapt at him with a loud roar and her claws unsheathed. He ran for his life but was eventually cornered against one of the many boulders surrounding the area.

"I'm sorry! I-I just....I wasn't..." he tried meekly, his voice disappearing amidst the angry roaring still coming from Cai Yun.

"When I get my HANDS on you...." the female tiger seethed murderously, as the green snake coiled tighter on her legs, obviously bracing for another attack.

Thwap!

A thin stick came down in a sharp downward motion to strike the angry feline square on the head which seemed to quiet her instantaneously. The holder of the stick didn't even look at her but instead directed his gaze towards Kong.

"That is quite enough, Cai Yun," said the red panda sternly, having made his way from the sidelines faster than any of them saw. "He's apologized, so that should be enough."

"But, Master--!" tried the tiger again, her face still flushed from both anger and embarrassment.

Shifu turned on her with a stern glare which, again, instantly dissipated any further comments from her. He gave a nod to the female serpent still acting as a restraint for the tiger's legs and to the crane and mantis who both loosened their respective grips on her shoulders.

Finally, the red panda turned back to Kong and walked slowly, deliberately, towards him. Each step he took seemed to darken his already stormy features considerably and when he was a standing a mere foot away from where Kong was still leaning against the rock surface, he looked absolutely livid.

Kong nervously cleared his throat. "Erm...thanks for, ah, saving me....Master Shif—"

Thwap! Thwack! Thwack!

"Ow! Fuckin' ow! That hurts!" yelled the primate in pain, as a series of rapid strikes from the stick – no, a flute, he realized – held by the red panda rained down on his head.

"That (thwap) spectacle (thwack) was nothing short of dishonourable (thwack) and (thwack) juvenile! Why, I've never – !" ranted Master Shifu.

Kong instinctively rolled up in a fetal position, as the blows continued – he was already off to a fantastic start.

"Stand up!" roared Shifu, halting his whipping. "Laps. Around the Valley. Now."

The langur shot up, disbelief apparent in his face. A protest was about to form in his throat but he immediately thought better of it.

"How many?" Kong asked, dusting himself off.

"I don't recall saying," said the red panda, turning his back again. "As much as it takes for what you did to sink in."

"What?! I didn't do nothin'!" Kong yelled angrily.

This wasn't fair! She had tried to kill him and now he was the one getting punished? He dared a glance over at Cai Yun and found a small smug grin tugging at her features. It quickly disappeared however when Shifu pointed his flute at her like a sword.

"You will accompany him. Consider this your punishment for losing your temper," he said, before lowering the musical instrument turned weapon.

The female tiger nodded quietly before quickly bowing before the aged red panda.

"Good," Shifu said again, walking away from them. "Try to make it back in time for dinner – if you aren't back by then, then no supper for the both of you."

No sooner had the yell of indignation formed in his throat, when a large paw clamped over Kong's mouth. He struggled for a while before a murderous glare from Cai Yun silenced him. She dropped her paw from his mouth after a moment and silently made her way down the huge staircase. Kong didn't move as he watched the retreating forms of Master Shifu, the green tree viper, the crane and the mantis – he gave a heavy sigh as he began climbing down the stairs as well.

"Hey, wait up!" he called after the feline, who was five steps ahead of him. "Look, I'm really sorry for what happened back there. My name's Kong."

The simian looked expectantly at the striped cat as they walked side by side down the long descent into the Valley.

"Cai Yun," she replied after a long silence.

"Yeah, I gathered that. Listen – I'm really sorry for – "

"Not a problem. I forgive you," came the curt reply.

Kong cleared his throat uncomfortably. The coldness in her voice made it clear that forgiveness was the farthest thing from her mind.

"No, you don't. I don't really expect you to. I mean, it'd be kinda crazy if you did!" he laughed, attempting to lighten the mood. "I just reacted without thinking – I really didn't mean to do that. Especially not to a girl."

He was surprised when she huffed indignantly.

"What makes you think it bothers me that much anyway?" bit back Cai Yun, walking faster.

"Well, c'mon – you tried to tear my throat out."

"I just reacted without thinking," she countered, using his previous words. "It's not a big deal."

"Still, I'm sorry. I mean, my brother always taught me how to treat a girl right and – "

"So that's what this is about? That I'm female?" she snarled, picking up the pace. "I can take anything you dish out, and then some. So you'd better think twice before putting on the lady gloves around me."

"Look, I'm trying to apologize here! You don't have to act like such a damn bitch about it!" Kong snapped, before catching himself. He had seen a few moments ago how this girl could turn a rock into powder – it probably wasn't a smart idea to go around calling her a bitch.

To his utter astonishment, the tigress actually let out a laugh. "Tough guy, eh? Okay then, how 'bout this – if you can keep up with me, I'll consider all charges dropped."

"Keep up with you?" said Kong, instinctively backing up. "You wanna fight?"

"No, I mean laps. Master Shifu said 'as long as it takes to get it through your big, fat stupid head', right?"

Kong exhaled loudly through his nostrils, deciding to let the embellishments she added slip.

"That means about fifty rounds, circling the entire Valley," she continued with a smirk. "If we're going to get any dinner, we're going to have to run the whole way."

"Spoken from experience?" asked the langur, enjoying the way her slightly smug expression darkened.

"I'll even give you a head start," said the tigress, ignoring his earlier remark. They had already reached the bottom of the steps and were now currently standing along one of the many dirt roads of the Valley. Several townsfolk walked about, some of them were vendors peddling their wares and others were regular folks simply enjoying an afternoon walk with friends and family.

"I don't need a head start," replied Kong with a grin. He dropped down on the ground, getting ready to run on all fours while Cai Yun did the same.

The simian grinned as a devious plan formed in his mind. Sure, it was a little underhanded, and it was possible it could get him maimed for life, but it could also give him an advantage.

"So, white eh?" he said casually.

"Huh?"

"Oh, you know – I thought maybe you'd prefer red to match your vest," he replied, before bolting for dear life. It wouldn't take long for her to figure it out, so hopefully, he'd be well out of her reach by then.

Cai Yun crouched in silence for a moment as she analyzed the cryptic message.

What in the world was he talking about? What did the color white have to do with her red vest –

Red vest. Black trousers. White....

Her face started flushing again as all the blood pooled around her cheeks and forehead. Was he talking about her --?

Oh, that little fucker.

A few terrified townsfolk screamed as she whomthey knew as Shifu's student and adoptive daughter let out a terrifying roar and started pursuing whateverpoor, unfortunate soul had angered her.

***

I'm doing okay, in case you were wondering. The Army's really not so bad – we get martial arts training as well so that's always a plus. Our captain is a good guy; he seems to really care about his men and he's a real people person.

"All right you worms, line up!" echoed a loud, commanding voice from the small clearing on which a hundred or so members of the Imperial Army had set up camp.

Lei, who had just finished unpacking his belongings, ran to take his place along the long file of soldiers who stood shoulder to shoulder (as their respective heights would allow) and stood frozen in place as he beheld the owner of the voice. It was a huge tiger, dressed in the jade armour of the Imperial Navy, as well as beige robes underneath. Even through the long sleeves of the robe, Lei could see the muscular definition of his arms which were fastened to his sides as he held his hands around his lower back. A long, red cape flowed behind him as he paced along the snow-covered soil of the camp, surveying the soldiers with barely hidden disinterest. He wore a sword around his waist and carried an ornate helmet against his side like a parcel. He glanced at them sideways, his hands still clasped around his back, and walked in slow, deliberate strides.

What was most striking about the large feline however was the colour of his fur – stark white, broken only by black stripes. Lei remembered hearing of these rare types of tigers – it was believed that once a tiger had turned five hundred years old, the tip of its tail would turn white. Therefore, the myth surrounding white tigers were that they were, in fact, immortal.

More pacing later, the tiger grinned and held one paw upwards, to silence the chattering of some soldiers.

"Okay worms, since I can't really be bothered to learn each and every one of your names, hopes and dreams –" he waved the raised paw towards one side of the flank, and then to the other. "—everyone on this side will be known to me as 'Chang' and everyone on this side will be known to me as 'Li'."

There was a moment of silence as the soldiers took the time to digest the simple command.

"My name actually is Li, sir!" a voice piped up.

There was a collective gasp as some soldiers wondered who the poor imbecile who spoke up was. The white tiger immediately stopped pacing and strode over at an alarming speed to the source of the voice. The single file of soldiers parted evenly along the middle to leave a small fox standing alone, trembling as the huge feline bent down at the waist to glare at him.

From the side, Lei noticed a jagged scar running down the tiger's right eye – whatever the previous injury was, it had discoloured the eye into an amber shade while the unaffected side housed a blue eye.

The fox cowered in fear and swallowed mightily as the tiger's lips parted in a frightening smirk, a small amount of his fangs peeking out from his mouth.

"Alright, out of fairness to everybody, you will now be known as Bok Choy," he said in sadistic humour, while the poor vulpine soldier could only nod wordlessly.

"Right then, Li's, Changs, and Bok Choy (he glared pointedly at the fox who gulped), get dressed and unpack! We'll begin your training immediately," said the tiger imperiously before turning his back and making his way to his tent. "Oh, and I would skip lunch if I were you – I don't want anybody throwing up during training."

After these final words, the tiger disappeared into his tent. The soldiers let out collective breaths as they began to murmur excitedly amongst themselves.

"That's him, isn't it?! I mean, the white fur was a dead giveaway...."

"Forget the white fur! That scar was what tipped me off!"

"Is he really immortal? I've heard stories..."

Feeling a tiny bit out of place, Lei asked a rather mean looking boar for information regarding their captain.

"What rock have you been living under?" the boar snorted, though he said so with a grin, indicating his good humour. "That there was Luo Cheng, brother; baddest sumbitch the Imperial Navy's got!"

Lei nodded in understanding, though he really still didn't get what the big fuss was about. As if sensing his doubts, a few other soldiers chimed in on their conversation.

"They say he's so fast, he can take out an entire battalion by himself!" said an excited looking housecat.

"Yeah, that's how he got his nickname you know," drawled a brown snake lazily from Lei's side.

"What nickname?" asked Lei.

The boar smiled. "Xi Shan – Lightning of the West."

Anyways, this army thing looks like it's going to be a real piece of cake. In the meantime, like I said, try to make some friends! You're going to be staying there for at least two years you know, so a nice, healthy support system will be helpful.

Kong crawled on his belly, his lungs burning and his throat as dry as sand. The Thousand Steps seemed to stretch on further and further even as he continued to crawl, his body completely exhausted from circling the Valley some fifty odd times. Add to this fact that all the while, he was being chased by a very angry tigress.

"You....son of a bitch........treachery....treachery!" someone panted from behind, about ten steps below him.

The langur turned his head to look at Cai Yun, also crawling on her belly, her orange fur matted wth sweat. Both of them were quite grimy in fact; the sweat acted like a sort of glue for the dust and soil they kicked up during their little jog through the town.

Despite the fatigue and his aching body, Kong still managed a small smirk to himself. She had obviously underestimated his stamina; despite having no formal training, he was a veteran of running like hell, usually away from whatever trouble he had inadvertently caused.

Using his natural athleticism, he had climbed and flipped along the walls, jumped along the rooftops, and zigzagged through crowds – but even then, the female tiger still pursued him, never losing her momentum. While she definitely had the endurance, Kong could remember noticing that her acrobatics and flexibility were not on par with his own; this was made evident by her slightly awkward movements while they were balancing on the shingles of the rooftops.

Yet, she never stopped running; it was both admirable and frightening at the same time.

"Hey....no one....said anything.......about....mind games!" he replied back, continuing to crawl. The entrance to the Jade Palace was already well in his line of vision; it couldn't be much further now.

There was silence for a few moments, save for light scraping noises as the two students continued to crawl to their destination, hoping to be able to at least have some of the leftovers for dinner.

As his hand slapped on the stone to pull himself up, Kong felt extremely relieved to feel a different pattern of carved rock under his palm, signifying the end of the arduous journey. With one last burst of strength, he pulled the rest of his body up onto the final step.

Plop!

He lay on his back for a few moments, gazing up into the dusky sky. His heavy breathing was echoing around the relative silence of the mountain.

Plop!

A few feet from beside him, Cai Yun sat on the ground, her face turned towards the heavens as well. Her arms were to prop herself up as she remained seated for a few moments.

"Crazy....bastard...." she hissed, though with much less venom this time. "What the hell are you? I've never seen anyone move like that."

Kong grinned a bit. "Thanks, I guess. So...are we good?"

"Well, I don't want to kill you anymore. Not right now, anyway," responded the feline.

"Glad we're past that," he chuckled. "Did we make it?"

"Yeah, I think so," she replied, putting a hand over her stomach as a soft gurgle came from it. "The others should still be awake, so let's go."

It took Kong a few seconds to get back on his feet, his gait still wobbly and body not at all agreeing with the sudden strenuous exertion. He rested his hands on his knees as he felt several joints pop and creak.

"You get used to it," said Cai Yun from beside him, having recovered much faster and was now standing ramrod straight. "Eventually."

Kong smiled. He'd made a new friend already!

"By the way, if you pull anything like that again, I'll kill you," said the tigress, unsheathing her claws for emphasis. "You got that?"

Kong gulped; so much for friends. "Y-yeah, I got it."

"Oh no, I don't think you do," she responded, her voice dripping with saccharine death. "See, I'm going to tear off your tail, wrap it around your neck and then hang you from the tallest tree I can find. After that, I'll salt your body to cover the smell, tie a limestone around you, and then throw you in the Yangtze River."

The young primate felt his stomach gurgling for a reason entirely different from hunger. This girl was very, very – what was the word – frightening. Not even Dalip, who was a hundred feet tall with two long tusks sticking out of his mouth, managed to scare the living crap out of him like this girl.

He coughed lightly into his hand. "Uhm...that was very detailed."

"I like to be thorough," she replied crisply. "Now, shall we get some dinner?"

Fully awake, though still quite tired, Kong only now began to truly notice the majesty of the Jade Palace. It really was a beautiful place and was obviously very well kept, as evidenced by the pristine condition of the wooden floors of the dormitories and the healthy looking plant life that surrounded the facilities. Various intricate carvings were present on the architecture of the sprawling compound – mythical beasts like the dragon were very prominent in the design of one building in particular, the one with the large ornate wooden doors blocking his view of the inside structure.

Cai Yun led him through the admittedly very large training grounds, offering a few curt descriptions of the various locations as they walked along.

"That's the mess hall, we eat there," she pointed offhandedly to the side, as Kong walked behind her. "And that's the Scroll Room, we do not eat there."

A few minutes later, after more walking and more clipped descriptions by his taciturn tour guide, he was guided to a small hill, a few paces from the actual training grounds. On the hill, there stood a single tree, its branches stretching upwards into even tinier versions of themselves and covered in green leaves waving lazily as the night air blew past them.

"Hey, you're finally here!" called a sweet, female voice from the base of the tree. "We saved you both some rice balls with pickled plum filling."

Pausing in his admiration of the tree, Kong looked down to see the green tree viper from that morning, the one who had restrained Cai Yun. Her scales were coloured a bright shade of green, almost akin to a lighter type of jade. He noticed a rather intricate pattern of tattoos that ran nearly the entire length of her back and even up to the back of her head. She wore two ornamental lotus flowers like a head-dress and sported a cheery grin.

"You must be the new guy," she said, slithering over to Kong and lifting part of her sinewy body off the ground to meet his eyes. "I'm Guo Ling, nice to meet you."

"Chan Kong, same here," he said, finding the female serpent's pleasant demeanour a welcome change from Cai Yun's volatile nature. He made his way to sit under the tree, enjoying the pleasantly cool air surrounding them.

"Hey Ling. Where's Jien and Chang?" asked Cai Yun who also plopped down on the base of the tree to rest.

"Just went to get some water from the spring," responded the green viper, handing both the langur and tigress a rice ball wrapped in wax paper. Kong took a large bite from the fluffy white sphere and swallowed, before taking another huge chunk with his teeth.

"Hey, slow down! Plenty more where that came from," chastised Ling, indicating a small wrapped parcel of wax paper, containing what was sure to be more rice balls.

"Mmm, this is pretty good! Did you cook this?" said Kong, before taking another bite.

Ling giggled shyly. "Actually no, I can't really cook all that well. Cai Yun made it."

It took all of Kong's self control not to spit out the rice stuffed in his cheeks. The violent, frightening tigress had made these wonderful things?

"Don't look so surprised," she drawled from beside him, taking small bites from her own rice ball. "I made them originally for breakfast, but they last real long."

Kong swallowed the mass of rice in his mouth and felt the sudden heaviness that had formed in his stomach. He looked at the half-eaten globe in his hand and wondered how a relatively small amount of rice was now making his stomach bloat like he had feasted all day on Hong's cooking.

"They're my special Combat Rice Treats," said Cai Yun wickedly, still taking clinically small bites of rice. "They last all day and fill you up nice and fast."

The simian glared at her and let out a large burp which echoed through the night.

"Whoa, who let out the nice one?" yelled a new voice, this one decidedly male and filled with humour.

Despite the boulder in his gut, Kong managed to turn around to see the two new arrivals making their way atop the hill. One was a tall red crowned crane, wearing a wide brimmed straw hat and, strangely enough, talking to the ground. A canteen made of a section of bamboo hung around his long neck like a giant amulet, slight sloshing sounds coming from it.

Kong focused his eyes and found that the bird was not talking to the ground but a green praying mantis who was, surprisingly, the source of the deep resonating voice from before.

"Hey, new guy! You've got some skills on the ol' throat flute!" said the insect as he hopped over to join the trio sitting under the tree. "Check it out, I can burp the first verse of Peach Blossom Journey by Wang Wei – "

Ling loudly cleared her throat while glaring at the mantis and using her eyes to indicate Kong.

"Ahem...sorry 'bout that," the mantis said. "My name's Qián Guānchāng, but you can call me Chang."

Kong gave a two fingered salute. "My name's Kong."

The tall bird beside Chang gave a slight nod and removed his hat. "Huang Jien, pleased to meet you," he said pleasantly.

The two newcomers took their respective places under the tree, Jien leaning against the trunk while Chang perched on a low branch.

"Hey Jien, how'd training go today?" asked Cai Yun, handing the waterfowl a rice ball in exchange for the canteen he handed her.

"Okay, I guess," he replied with a shrug.

"Did we go through the same training session?" asked Chang acidly from his perch. "Man, Shifu really went crazy today! Must be his time of the month or something...."

To Kong's bewilderment, the feline's eyes sparkled excitedly. "Crazy? Crazy how?"

"He let us have a go on the Field of Fire today," said Chang, pausing for dramatic effect. "Except we didn't find out it was called the Field of Frickin' Fire until we were standing in the middle of it!"

"At least no one got seriously hurt," said Jien in a calm voice, before offering a small portion of his rice ball to the mantis.

"Yeah, I guess," said Chang, accepting the food. "And the flames were pretty cool."

Ling let out a scoff. "Easy for you to say – you're not the one who got set on fire." She held up the end of her tail to show a white bandage wrapped around a good four inches of her scales.

"Damn it, I should've been there!" spat Cai Yun angrily, her rage for Kong seeming to be renewed as she gave him a pointed glare. "Instead, I was down in the Valley, wasting my time doing laps!"

She stood up abruptly and took a small drink from the bamboo canteen. "I think I might be able to get some late night training in. See you guys tomorrow."

As the striped feline made her way down the hill, Kong turned on his three companions.

"Training? Is she serious? It's night!" he whispered incredulously, afraid that she might still hear him. "Besides, it's her fault too for overreacting!"

"Don't think badly of her," said Ling gently, moving to where Kong was sitting. "She's really sweet and kind once you get to know her."

"Provided, of course, she doesn't kill you before that," deadpanned Chang from beside her, before letting out a chuckle. A glare from the serpent quickly silenced him however.

Jien moved from his spot and let out a sigh. "She's not so bad. Just give her a chance."

"Yeah man, she's pretty cool, once you get past the claws and the teeth and the super-strength," said Chang before receiving another glare from Ling. "And yeah, she's real nice. Shutting up now."

They sat idly for a few moments, Kong feeling a bit out of the loop as his three companions talked about the training regimen for tomorrow.

"Don't worry, you'll get it soon," assured Ling, as she put away the left overs from their night time snack. "Feel free to ask questions if you're feeling lost."

"We got your back buddy," said Chang, hopping along the grass blades. "After that wonderful gift you gave us, me and Jien here owe you big time!"

"Er, what gift?" asked Kong, dumbfounded.

"Well, me and Bird-boy here were debating – white or red?" he said wickedly before a sharp whip from Ling's tail drew a pained yelp from him.

"Ow, look what you made me do, you perv!" hissed Ling, shaking her bandaged tail in pain. "And Jien! You're supposed to be the mature one!"

The crane's beak hung unhinged for a moment before he quickly shut it. "I-I didn't....he wouldn't shut up! I just answered so he'd be quiet!"

"Oh!" yelled Ling, slithering faster, her face contorted in annoyance. Eventually, the three males were left alone as they walked back to the dormitories.

"Here ya' go, man. You won, fair and square," said Chang conspiratorially, handing the bird a few yuan. "I always thought she'd wear red."

"Okay, can we just stop?" begged Jien. "I don't want your money. Save it for something more useful."

"The best things in life are free, my friend," continued Chang. "A bowl of noodles? Two yuan. A new sword? Ten yuan. An image of Cai Yun in her white underwear? Priceless."

"Man, it's talk like that that'll get you killed," said Kong, laughing as Jien blushed scarlet and Chang continued smiling like a mad man.

"Look, can't we just forget about it? I don't want any more fighting!" groaned the avian.

"I will never forget! It's all in here!" said Chang triumphantly, pointing towards his temples with his pincers. "My grandkids will be reminding me of my own name before I forget about this!"

***

Like I said, we're going to be moving around a lot so this might be the last letter I send in a while. Don't worry though; stick to your training and studies, and stay out of trouble if you can help it. That said though, if anyone gives you a reason to fight, fight honourably and respectfully. You should never start a fight but if necessary, you have my permission to finish it. Just don't get carried away okay? I hear anything about ANYTHING, and I will personally kick your ass.

"Hey, Bok Choy!"

"Nice going there, Bok Choy!"

The fox's ears flattened against his head as he held to keep his temper in check. "My name is Li, dammit!" he hissed half-heartedly as the other men walked off laughing their proverbial asses off.

This was great – just when he thought he could finally make a fresh start....he stomped his way through the snow whitened field, shivering lightly as the mountain wind began to blow in earnest. The Captain had given them a few moments notice before the training would begin and he was already quite sure what he, and everyone else for that matter, was in for – a world of pain.

"Hey, uh, Li, was it?" came a tentative voice from beside him.

"Fuck, I told you my name was Bok – hey...hey!" the fox said, his expression brightening considerably. He recognized the langur who called his attention as one of the later arrivals while they moved from village to village gathering new recruits. "What can I do ya' fer?"

"Just wanted to know if you minded sharing a tent with me; everyone else's got their places worked out," said the langur tentatively, shivering lightly even through the rather thick black robes he wore – none of them had been issued their uniforms yet and most of them were currently wearing their civilian clothing.

"Hey sure, not a problem buddy!" replied the vulpine soldier brightly, holding out a hand. "My name's Li, but you already knew that."

"My name's Lei," responded the langur, accepting the handshake. "That was some impression you made back there."

"Yeah, thought I'd be able to keep my head down and my ass out of trouble for once," the fox grumbled though still grinning. "Looks like that Captain really has it out for me."

As it turned out, Captain Luo Cheng wasn't one to play favourites. He stepped out of his own tent a few minutes later, yelling the fast-becoming-familiar command to line up which every soldier dutifully followed. Most of the recruits stared in wonder and slight awe as the Captain strode around the snow-covered field shirtless, exposing the bare white fur and muscular torso underneath his robes – a feat few of them could comprehend as they continued to shiver even through their thickest winter robes. The feline wore simple black trousers, a sheathed sword hanging by his side.

A few more moments of striding around and waiting for the chatter to die down commenced before the white tiger faced the troops.

"Alright gentlemen, here are the basics. You are all here in this little wonderland for one thing only and that is to fight in the name of the Emperor of China. Beyond this point, we will be travelling on foot towards the southern region, until we reach the Manchurian beaches."

A few scattered grunts of approval ensued.

Seemingly unsatisfied by the response, the huge feline strode around the ranks again before setting his sights on a rather stout bull, clad in a sleeveless green vest and thick sackcloth pants. Said bull was shivering like the others but held an air of confidence even as the tiger eyed him rather disapprovingly.

"Name and village?" asked the tiger. "And no, this entire side will still be known as 'Chang' collectively," he added as an afterthought.

"Chao Gang from Gansu sir!" said the bull in a powerful voice as he stood straighter.

"Alright, Chao Gang from Gansu. What can you tell me about Manchurians?"

The bull looked a little uneasy at this question as his superior officer regarded him with a narrowed eye.

"They...um...they're....the enemy?"

The tiger smiled. "They are a fine people – they are honourable and cultured, refined and dignified. Their soldiers are some of the fiercest I've ever come across; the women are also as beautiful as they are loyal to their husbands. They are endlessly fascinating and were these any different circumstances, I would not hesitate sharing a cup of afternoon tea with one of them.

"As of now however, each Manchurian you come across has a single mission, a single order, a single purpose in life – that, gentlemen, is to kill you."

The sound of a sword being drawn slowly caused each soldier to stand straighter than usual.

"Your mission is to kill him first," said the Captain as he held the finely crafted blade in front of Chao Gang who swallowed a lump in his throat.

Taking a step back, the white tiger placed the tip of his sword on the ground and drew a circle around his immediate perimeter, effectively trapping him inside its imaginary boundaries.

"Now, if anyone of you has the stones, come and attack me."

A/N part 2: And that's the end of this chapter! I can't really say when the next part is going to be up mostly because inspiration is really hard to come by for this fic and life is being a real bitch right now :P I am always writing when I get the chance though and have already planned out the ending.

Luo Cheng being called the Lightning of the West is a reference to the White Tiger Byakko who is the Guardian of the West along with the three other Sacred Beasts and the name Luo Cheng itself is a reference to Li Shimin's general, who was said to be the reincarnation of the White Tiger's star. The legend about white tigers being immortal is an actual legend as well.

Mantis' given name, Qián Guānchāng, is actually the proper version of Kwang Chai Caine, the character David Carradine (R.I.P.) played in the TV series kung fu; I chose it for Mantis because Kwang Chai Caine's nickname from his master which was "Grasshopper" and I couldn't resist the similarities :-) His "priceless" line is from the Visa commercials (if that wasn't obvious ^_^).

There's a couple of references to other fics here; Li the fox is based on Luna Goldsun's OC from "Memoirs Of A Master" with some notable differences, as you will see as the fic progresses . Tigress' given name, Cai Yun, is a reference to nievelion's name for her in "A Different Lesson." Luo Cheng is also partially based on Jiao Shang, an OC, again from Luna Goldsun's "That's Why They Call It The Present", as well as Li Shang from Disney's "Mulan".