Long tables were set up around the courtyard to leave a square of space in the middle. Thankfully, there were a few lightposts around the courtyard that made sure that everybody didn't have to eat in the darkness.
At the head of the table, Shego sat with the elders around her, while Kim sat with Cheung and his daughter at the table to Shego's left.
Grandma Lo, meanwhile, was trying to make Shego say a little something to the crowd, which Shego was refusing to do. The food was coming out of the kitchen in quick sucession, always met by a cheer from some people when they spied their favorite dishes or a plate of food that was done so well it had to be admired.
“Ba-ba, gnor seun yiu jok.” Ting Ting pointed to Kim's ‘zhou’.
“Ting Ting, no. Kim,” Cheung looked at Kim's little bowl, ignoring his daughter's pouting face. “Why are you eating that?”
“Why shouldn't I eat it?” Kim asked. After the girl had left, Kim had decided to try her hand at making the ‘zhou’ herself. It had taken her a couple of tries since she burned the ‘zhou', but she finally did it!
“Are you sick?” Cheung asked worriedly.
“No.” Kim blinked. “What makes you think I am?”
“Well,” Cheung pointed to the bowl. “That's congee. Its a rice dish, sort of like porridge. Usually its a breakfast dish since its light, and it won't weigh as heavy on your stomach as rice. That's why its also made for someone who's sick.”
“Oh. A girl showed me how to make it.” Kim picked up a spoon and had a taste. It was pretty bland and she was a tad disappointed.
“You eat it with different dishes, maybe some pickled vegetables, dried pork, seaweed. Fish, meat, vegetables.” Cheung explained patiently. “If you use less water, you make rice.”
Kim nodded, half-listening, as her eyes wandered from Cheung to look around the courtyard. Everybody was dressed a little better than in the morning. Several of the older men had worn suits, or a sort of long-ish robe called a ‘cheong-sam’. The younger men just opted for anything clean, and the women all put up their hair or did their make-up.
The children shone, of course. In their sunday best, they arrived in the most adorable outfits with their proud parents watching them. Especially Ting Ting, who was in a cute little red outfit, her hair still tied up in the most adorable pigtails.
The ones that stood out the most, though, was Cheung, Shego and Kim. Cheung and Shego, because they were by far the best dressed of the adults, in Kim's eyes. Kim stood out because she was still in the clothes she was wearing when she fought Shego.
Resplendent in her signature green and black, Shego's outfit was a little bit differen from her catsuit. She was decked out in a cheong-sam, the mandarin collar unbuttoned to her collarbone. Shego was busily trying to swat away Grandma Lo's hands as she tried to button up Shego's cheong-sam.
Cheung, or Vince, had a pair of dress pants and a nice navy blue shirt. Kim could catch whiffs of cologne from the young man when he moved around. He had changed the diamond stud he wore before for a larger diamond stud.
“Kim!” Everybody fell silent, as a figure, unnoticed by everyone, had made her way to the center of the courtyard and shouted the redhead's name. Squinting at the figure, Kim didn't recognize her at all.
“Michelle,” Cheung frowned. “What are you doing?”
“I am challenging you,” Michelle's eyes didn't leave Kim. “To a match.”
Suddenly, Kim finally placed the face. Decked out in loose black outfit with white cuffs and a mandarin collar, Fong from the kitchen stood there, waiting expectantly. The kitchen cook had cleaned up, scrubbed her face, washed off the stench of the kitchen. Underneath all the dirt and grime was a woman around her age, her face was made up of subtle angles and gentle curves. Coupled with huge coffee-brown eyes, she reminded Kim of the androgynous beauties that was usually associated with fairies, or elves.
“No--”
Shego clear her throat, interrupting Kim's refusal. Kim automatically froze. Cursed herself as she heard Shego chuckle. “Kimmie,” Shego's voice rang out across the courtyard, purred her name. “Lets make this more interesting.”
Kim almost wanted to snarl, remembering those words that were partly to blame for her being in China.
“If you lose,” Shego leaned forward, her hands steepled in front of her, looking every inch the villain she was. “I'll let you go back home.”
Kim bit back the scathing words she had wanted to let lose at Shego as her heart soared at the proposition. She hadn't even been away for more than 24 hours, and she had been treated more as a guest than a prisoner. But she missed her home. She missed her family and her friends. And maybe, even school. And though it was pushing it, maybe even Bonnie. Going home was some consolation prize for losing! There was no prize out there that Shego could offer that could possibly top going home!
“If you win… our bet from before still applies. And,” Shego held up a finger. “I'll train you until you're up to my level. I'll teach you what I did to win you.”
Kim felt like there was this huge pressure, squeezing against her ears. All she could hear was a ringing noise.
“Well?” Shego's voice, however, managed to pierce through the haze. Those green eyes pierced through her. Could cut a piece of her soul, take a piece of her soul.
“This isn't a fight to the death, is it?”
Shego barked out a short laugh at that. “Kimmie, these people aren't savages! I'll judge when one of you have lost.”
“Yeah right,” Kim shot back. “Like I believe you!”
Shego looked around at the elders, and all of them nodded at her unspoken question.
“They will judge.”
Kim was sure her mother had warned her about making deals with the devil.
“Deal.”
Kim stood up and flipped over the table effortlessly. Michelle smiled in determination, relaxing into a stance. Then, without warning, she flew forward with a flurry of attacks that Kim barely blocked.
“What deal,” Kim grunted as she blocked a fist with her forearm, “did she make with you?”
“That,” Michelle spun back and sent a roundhouse kick into Kim's side, “is none of your business.”
Kim stumbled, and Michelle took advantage of that, moving forward aggressively. That move, however, was a grave error on her part. Kim, who had faked the fall, used a hand to prop herself up and kicked out at Michelle's shoulder. The Chinese woman stumbled back, felt her arm go numb and prickly from the deadly hit.
“That was good,” Michelle panted. Her left arm hung limply at her side, and even though she willed it to follow the instructions her brain was giving, it was immobile.
“Give up?” Kim didn't let up on her attack, and tried another kick, that Michelle blocked clumsily with her right hand. Kim pressed her attack steadily. With only one arm that worked, Michelle was at a great disadvantage. But she can feel pain shooting down her left arm now. Which meant she would be able to control her arm now. Which meant she could take the redhead by surprise.
“Ha!” Michelle caught Kim's arm, to Kim's surprise. She was even more surprised as a leg swept her feet out from under her.
‘I am NOT going down alone!’ Was Kim's only thought as she grabbed at the front of Michelle's outfit with her free hand. Hitting the floor, she flipped Michelle over her, rolled away, and got back on her feet. Taking advantage of Michelle's downed position, she drove her heel down where the asian woman where be, but thankfully, she had rolled away and flipped back on her feet.
Each woman adjusted their fighting stance. That first little round had been to see how good the other was. Now they would fight seriously.
‘She's good,’ each woman thought, as they circled each other warily. And each woman, tensing briefly, launched themselves at each other with only one thought: ‘But I'm better.’
There could only be one winner.
Half an hour of fighting, and both girls were covered in sweat, neither giving up. But most of the elders and Shego could already see that one girl was significantly less winded and wounded.
“Stay down!” One snapped at the other, impatient for this match to end. The other woman just shook her head stubbornly, favouring one leg and getting up from the ground. The other growled impatiently, and lunged forward. In several impressive moves, she had pinned the other down, immobilizing her and had her fist raised to land the last punch.
“Stop.” Shego's voice rang out. She looked to both sides of her, at the elders who all nodded their head, silently agreeing to the end of this match.
“Ah Fong,” Shego looked softly at the woman, hearing her ragged breathing. “She qi, Fong. Ni bu ke ying.”
“Wo bu sang shi,” angrily, the Chinese woman angrily wiped away the tears that were starting to appear at the corner of her eyes. Kim still stood over her, poised to strike.
“Fong,” Grandma Lo got up off her chair. Looked at the young woman gravely.
Hearing her name spoken, Fong covered her eyes and her tense shoulders sagged visibly, as she lay in the dust, trying to hide her despair.
Dazed, Kim moved away from the woman, not knowing what to do. Why hadn't she lost? She could go home. The noise level was going back up, as people started eating again, ignoring the two combatants.
“Kimmie,” Shego had approached without her knowing, and the teenaged heroine directed her dazed look at Shego. “You won. Congratulations.”
Then, turning away from Kim, she shocked the redhead again by picking up the downed Fong from the ground. Hefting her in her arms and adjusting her hold on the woman, Fong accepted Shego's hold on her, burrowing her tearful face in the crook of Shego's neck.
Shego gave Kim a challenging look, as if daring her to laugh at the green-eyed woman's surprising display of tenderness. Kim didn't. And Shego, carrying the woman, left the celebration.
---
“Its pretty warm at night, but just in case, we put a blanket in there for you.” Cheung pushed open the doors to a large room. The decorations in the room were, to put it politely, spartan. There was a large bed with a mosquito net canopy over it. There was a small wooden box at the foot of the bed that was basically the dresser. The walls were white-washed and devoid of any decorations, and the windows were bare. A small table with a ceramic basin on it and a pitcher on the floor was where Kim should wash. And there was a ceramic pot near the bed that was for ‘business’.
“In case you need to go at night, there ya go. There's a public washroom at the outskirts of the village, but its pretty far away, and its dark out, so best do things in here. When you're done, cover it with the lid and crack open a window if you need, but it works fine.” Cheung laughed out loud at Kim's look of horror. “Yeah, that's one thing I miss about civilization. Indoor plumbing. You don't realize how important it is until its gone.”
“Ba-ba…” Ting Ting whined. She had been following Kim and Cheung around quietly, but it was way past the little girl's bedtime, and she was getting fussy. Making comforting noises, Cheung picked up the young girl and bounced her gently in his arms.
“Time for bed,” Cheung said apologetically. Saying their goodnights, Cheung left Kim in the room, closing the door behind him gently.
“Well.” Kim looked around the room helplessly, and for the hundredth time, wondered why she hadn't thrown the match. Quickly, she pushed the question to the back of her head, not wanting to deal with it. Instead, her thoughts wandered to her family and friends. Were they looking for her? She had been gone almost 24 hours… 24 hours.
Rescue missions ran through her head. Wade should have tracked her down by now. That thought stunned her. Should have, those two words again. Should have. But didn't. What if Shego had done something to her friends?! Ron should be barrelling through this village right now, tearing the place up looking for her!
“Hey,” Shego pushed open the doors, and barely dodged a kick from Kim. Bewildered, she fell back into a fighting stance. “What the hell?!”
“What did you do with them?!” Another missed kick slammed the doors shut. Shego, entangled her arms in Kim's quickly, and slammed the heroine against the door.
“What is your problem?!” Shego leaned against Kim as the woman struggled wildly.
“Ron and Wade! My family! What did you do to them?!”
“What… what the hell do you mean?” Shego asked impatiently.
“They would come get me!” Kim insisted. “They haven't. What did you do?”
Shego smirked. “So that's what you're worried about. What, Kimmie, you didn't want to keep your promise? In case you lost in the ring, your little friends would come and rescue you? Wanted to ambush me?”
The casual tone in Shego's voice had steadily gotten angrier, and Shego's arm against Kim's neck had also steadily increased in pressure, cutting off the flow of oxygen into her lungs.
“No,” Kim managed to squeak out.
“No?” Shego raised an eyebrow. Just as Kim's vision was blurring around the edges, Shego let go, and Kim slumped to the floor, coughing and sucking in as much air as she could.
“You didn't even think about being rescued. You thought you would win.” Shego said smugly. Raked her fingers through Kim's scalp, and suddenly grabbed a fistful of red hair, pulling Kim's head back violently and slamming it against the door. “But… they must have some way of tracking you. Like how they microchip dogs.”
Kim bristled at the comparison, which only made Shego smirk some more.
“Here's a little gem of information for you, Kimmie.” Shego's voice had lowered to a dangerous purr. “No-one will find you here. Nothing will be able to track you and there will be no rescue team. There's only you and me--look at me!”
Shego pulled at Kim's hair, jerked Kim's head to face hers again. And the young woman was captivated by green eyes that looked almost reptilian.
“Do I have your attention?” Shego's tightening fingers on her hair made Kim's eyes tear in pain. “Good. Remember. Here, you have no friends. All you have here is me.”