Chapter 19 - Princess Of The Stars

(The little tiger cub is FINALLY going to have a name in this chapter, and perhaps Tai Lung and Kurisu come slightly closer?)

“Little cub, please eat.” Kurisu begged. “You'll get sick if you don't!”
The tiger cub abruptly turned her head. “Waa!”
“Please?” Kurisu pleaded. “It's very delicious, I made it just for you.”
“Still no luck?” Came a sagely voice from behind her.
“No..”
Oogway smiled. “Come now, dear.” He gently scooped her up and sat down with her. “Your mama wants you to eat, and I think you should listen to her.”
It felt weird to Kurisu to hear Oogway call her “mama” to the baby.
The old tortoise scooped some apple snow from the bamboo bowl. “Eat up, dear.”
The baby peered up into his gentle face, her eyes sparkled with curiousity. “Ouu..”
The look on the child's face brought so much memories back to him.
”Shifu, calm down.” Kohaii groaned.
“Here, sweetie.” Shei Lia said sweetly. “We made you some delicious milk!”
“Naa!” Shifu cried, thrashing his head back and forth. “Na, na!”
Kohaii tried forcing the nipple of the bottle in his mouth. “Shifu, eat!”
“WAUGHHH!!!”
“Kohaii!” Oogway reprimanded, raping him hard on the head with his cane. “That's not how you feed a baby!” He scooped baby Shifu up into his arms and sat down with him. “Sh, young one.” The old tortoise rubbed the baby's back and belly to soothe him. “It's okay, sweetie....quiet down.” He tipped the bottle over and allowed a single drop to fall on his arm. “Shei Lia! That's too hot for his little mouth!” He scolded.
Shei Lia hung her head, guiltily. “Sorry..”
Oogway smiled and patted her back. “Oh, Shei Lia, you are new to this, it will take some time.”
“It's taking more time then I hoped..”
The old tortoise focused his attention back to the squirmy red panda baby in his lap. “Are you hungry?”
Shifu responded by blinking curiously and holding his arms out to the bottle. “Ouu..”
Kohaii smiled. “That a boy, drink up for Yeh yeh.”
Shifu blinked before smiling. “Yeh!”
All three of them gave loud gasps.
Oogway froze. “Did..did he just say “Yeh”? As in: Yeh yeh?”
Shei Lia gasped. “His first word!” Although, she looked a bit upset that it wasn't ma ma or ma mi.
Oogway bent his head to nuzzle the baby. “Oh, I don't believe it...”
Shifu gurgled and reached up to hug the old tortoise around his neck.
The old tortoise raised the baby up to his face and Shifu hugged his face, while drooling on his chin. “Eee..”
Shei Lia grinned. “What a cutie, I can't believe he spoke his first word already!”
Oogway smiled. “The fastest learner...just like you, Kohaii.”
“Even I didn't say my first word THAT soon!”
The old tortoise leaned lowered his hand and stuffed the nipple of the bottle in his mouth.
Shifu drank hungrily, his tears immediately leaving, happiness taking it's place. The cub closed his eyes in content and cuddles closer to Oogway's chest. Shifu's breathing quieted slowly; as he drifted off in his Godfather's arms.
“Master Oogway?”
“Mm..?” The old tortoise snapped out of his thoughts and gazed at Kurisu. “What is it?”
“That's what I want to know. What were you thinking about?”
“Shifu in his baby years.”
“You've known him since he was a baby?!”
“He was born in the Jade Palace.”
“Daaaww! I can't imagine Shifu chan as a baby, though.” Kurisu giggled. “Was he cute?”
Oogway chuckled. “By far the most adorable little ball of fluff that ever toddled on this earth.[/i] He was so unbelievably fuzzy that you could hardly see his face, it was to full of fluff!” He laughed. “Oh, so cute. You would have hugged him and squealed until he went deaf and limp.”
“Awww! ..I wish I could have seen.” Kurisu murmured with a pout.
Oogway was quiet for a moment; before giving a sly grin. “How would you like to see some of his baby pictures?”
“..!! Would I!” The kitten squealed. “Do you really have them?”
The old tortoise laughed. “Sure, Kurisu, I'd love to show them to you.” He peered around the room. “We just have to make sure that Shifu isn't around.” He laughed. “Shifu will KILL me if he finds out I showed you these.” He led the kitten into his bedroom and pulled out a dusty golden booklet from a shelf. “Here.”
Kurisu snatched the book from his hands, eyes wide with excitement as she flipped through the book. “..Awwwwwwwwww!!! He really is the cutest ball of fluff I've ever seen on earth!” The kitten squealed as she gazed into a picture of Shifu in little green fuzzy sleepers; a bottle in his mouth.
Oogway laughed. “One of my personal favorites is this one.” He said, pointing to a picture on the next page.
“...Pfft-AHAHAHAHAHA! OH MY GOD-HE IS SO FREAKING CUTE!!”
It was a photo with baby Shifu in a crawling position, his bare fuzzy butt sticking high up in the air; the cub sucking on a rubbery pacifier.
Loud thumping was heard from the hallway as Po barged into the room. “What-what is it? .....!! AHAHAHA! Looks like a full moon is showing tonight!”
“Is it, Po?” Shifu asked as he came into the room.
Oogway froze. Uh-oh..
The red panda peered out the window. “No, it's only a half moon.” He walked up to Kurisu. “What are you looking at, Kurisu? ...!!!! EEEEEEEEEK!!! OH MY GOD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!” He screamed, mortified. His hand shot to the book as he snatched it from the kitten's hands. “Give me that!”
Kurisu groaned. “Multiple SO many paper cuts!”
Shifu's face was so red that a tomato, beet, or volcano couldn't compare to it. He was positively MORTIFIED. He trembled with a mixture of horror and anger. “Master!” His lip trembled with fury. “How could you do that to me?”
“Do what?” Oogway asked, innocently.
The red panda clenched his tiny fists and jaw in anger. “You KNOW what!” He snapped. “How could you embarrass me like that?”
The old tortoise smirked. “Oh, relax, I'm just showing off your cubby cuteness.”
Shifu gave exhaled loudly in frustration, turned, and stomped out of the room.
Everyone stared after him, blinking.
Kurisu grinned and turned back to the book. “Where were we..”
Oogway flipped the page. “Here's one where he stuck a diaper on his head...”
“DON'T SHOW THEM THAT!!!!” Cam a scream from the other room.
Later on, Kurisu was struggling to finish packing up the leftover picnic lunch to feed Tai Lung that night; before Shifu broke out of his meditation state. I'll introduce the tiger cub to him! I hope he likes her.. “Tiger cub!” She called, and the baby turned to look at her. “Want to come with me for a little walk?”
The tiger cub hopped off the chair and followed Kurisu into the cool, misty night.
“Tai chaaaan?” Kurisu called as she made her way through the dark forest. “Tai chan, if you want food then come out!”
“Up here, kid.”
The kitten's ears flattened back in annoyance. “Call me “kid” again, and I won't feed you!” She growled. “And I have some delicious picnic leftovers too..”
“Wouldn't want to miss that.” Came the sarcastic tone of voice.
Kurisu was really angry now. “Stop taking all my delicious food for granted! Po and I made it, you know!”
“You know that fat tub of lard?”
“Yeah, he's kind of like my brother. I grew up with him and his father, I've lived with them since I was five.”
“How sweet..” Still sarcastic.
The kitten smiled up at him. “Do you like my baby?”
“Your WHAT?” Tai Lung demanded, leaning over to look at her.
“My baby!” Kurisu chirped.
“You are taking care of a BABY?” Tai Lung demanded, eyes wide. “How are you going to pull that off?”
The kitten narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean: “pull off” I'll take care of her just fine!”
“I can't imagine you with a child...”
Kurisu laughed and hopped up onto the branch. “Believe me, me neither.”
“So, what does the little bundle of joy look like?” He asked, as he helped her up on the branch.
“See for yourself!” Kurisu said proudly, pointing to he ground.
“.....She looks like grass..”
“Huh?” The kitten turned and peered down at the ground. “Oh no!”
The baby was gone.
“I don't believe it! I lost my child! What kind of mother am I?!” Kurisu wailed. “I'm horrible!”
“Calm down.” Tai Lung said as he swung from the branch and landed in front of her. “She probably only crawled into the bush. Call her.”
“I-I can't.” Kurisu hung her head embarrassed. “I haven't named her yet..”
“What? How long have you had this kid?”
“Two days.” The kitten answered.
“And you haven't named her yet?”
“I haven't thought of any.” Kurisu answered, rolling her eyes. “None suit her...”
“Um, alright. Tiger!” He yelled. “Come out!”
As if on cue, the tiger cub emerged from under the bush. She stared up at Tai Lung; violet eyes blinking with full curiousity. “Ouu..” Her eyes sparkled. “Eee!” She crawled forward and into the leopard's arms.
“...!” Tai Lung cringed and dug his claws deep into the earth's soil. “Umm, kay. Leggo now, please.”
Kurisu giggled. “Tai chan, she really likes you!”
The leopard stood up, the tiger baby came up with him; clinging to his shirt and nuzzling his face.
“Eee..” Nuzzle, nuzzle. “Eee..”
Tai Lung looked really uncomfortable now. “Okay, kid, let go please.”
The cub gurgled and cuddled up to his face.
Tai Lung's mouth twitched slightly, and Kurisu could see a grin that turned up his mouth. “Heh, cute.” He smiled and handed the baby to Kurisu's arms. “Thanks, Tai chan. Want to eat now?”
“Sure.” The leopard answered as he climbed up the tree trunk and onto the branch. “What are we eating, Kurisu chan?”
The kitten did a double-take. “WHAT?”
The leopard chuckled. “I'm Tai chan, so you should be Kurisu chan, right?”
Kurisu smiled slowly. “Thanks.” She reached into the basket. “Melon bun?”
“Melon bun? ...Heh, that's Shifu's favorite food. One time he nearly broke Oogway's arm to get to the last bun. It was quite comical, actually. Oogway flipped him over on the table on the table and slammed him down to the ground.”
“Ouch! Oogway must have knocked the wind out of him!”
“Yep. They constantly fought (playfully). Tackling each other at whatever chance they got. They acted so childishly when they trained sometimes. Really made me wonder.”
“Was Shifu ever like that with you?”
“Sometimes. I think he developed his playful and evilness from Oogway.”
Kurisu laughed. “Lemonade?”
“Love some, thanks.” Tai Lung answered as he sipped from a thermos. “Doesn't taste half bad.” He gave an awkward smile. “You're um..an okay cook.” It wasn't exactly a compliment, but Kurisu was sure it was the closest Tai Lung would ever come to a compliment.
“Arigato.” The kitten peered down at her baby. “Tiger cub, want some?”
The tiger cub shrunk back to the tree trunk and peered cautiously up at her.
Kurisu gave an exasperated sigh and shrugged. “I don't know how to get her to trust me...”
The leopard shrugged. “It'll take a little time. You adopted a baby, she won't love you right away. Just wait; give her time.”
The kitten pouted. “She loved you right away...”
Tai Lung gave her a pat on the head. “Trust me, I have NO idea why that is.”
Kurisu smiled slowly. “I remember that I did.”
“Huh?” Tai Lung frowned at her. “What?”
“Don't you remember?”
“No, I don't!” Tai Lung snapped. “Would you please just tell me already?”
The kitten smiled. “I'll give you one hint: “Kitty.” If you can't figure it out by that hint then you won't know until tomorrow.” She slid down the trunk. “I have to take little Tiger to bed now. See ya!” With that, she scampered off; leaving Tai Lung confused and alone with his thoughts.
Shifu walked up and down through the hallways of the bunkhouse; the crickets sung cheerfully outside in the Forest Of Tranquility.
“So, when Sena was asked to catch all the floating bits of stars, she became really worried.”
Shifu stopped walking and frowned. Who's Sena?
“Shifu chan!” Kurisu squealed. “You're just in time for story time!”
“....For WHAT?”
“Story time!” The kitten held up a book. “I'm reading tiger cub one of my favorite childhood books. “Princess Of The Stars!”
“Oh...” Shifu chuckled. “That's okay, I can do without story time.”
“Nonsense.” Kurisu leaned over and hauled him up on the bed by the underarms.
“Kurisu!” He barked. “Put me down!”
The kitten plopped him into her lap. “You'll love this story!” She pulled him up on the pillow and pulled the blankets up to their chins.
“This better be good..” Shifu grumbled, falling back into the pillow. “And I MEAN it.”
The kitten took a deep breath and continued her story. “Sena was very worried that she would fail to collect all the star bits for the star lanterns, and everyone on the Blue Comet was counting on her. She collected a bunch of nets of the color of the star bits and she started collecting. When Sena got to the last star; she realized it was high up over a bunch of cliffs. So, Sena hopped up the clouds in order to get the last purple star, and the entire Blue Comet worshiped her. The Comet named her Seina Suri; princess of the stars.”
The tiger cub clapped. “Ehehehe!”
Kurisu laughed. “You like that name? “Seina Suri”?”
The baby nodded.
“Okay then, how would you like that to be your name?” She turned to Shifu. “What do you think, master?”
“Adorable.” Shifu said with a smile. “Suits her perfectly.”
Seina Suri clapped her hands joyfully. “Ehehe!” She cuddled up to Kurisu. “Yaa!”
The kitten grinned. “Seina Suri, tomorrow your mama will make you some new clothes!”
“Eee?”
“That's right, I'm your mama now!” Kurisu grinned and turned to Shifu. “And this is your “grandfather!”
Shifu's lower lid twitched. “Wh....WHAT?”
“Say hello to Yeh-yeh!”
Seina Suri crawled up to Shifu and tackled him on the bed. “Yeh!”
“Y-Yeh-yeh?!...oh..” With that, he fainted.

(What did you think? LOL, I loved writing the part where Shifu got embarrassed...)

Preview Of the next...you know!

I don't think I could possibly explain the ounce of fear that struck my small and vulnerable little heart at that moment. In the back of my mind, I knew that it was too late. I was going to die. If only I had listened to Oogway; he had never steered me wrong. My disobedience had really gotten me in a dangerous fix now.
One of the tigers pinned me to the wall; the other pressed the cool steel blade up to my throat. “You want that fur cut just below the chin?” His voice taunted.
I squinted my eyes shut and prayed for it all to be over quickly.

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