Kim had woken up in the morning surprised that she had slept at all. The sound of songbirds and the chatter of people roused her from the bed, apparently. The sun was barely up, but a lot of people were already awake and going about their business. Pushing open the window, she was could see people winding through the alleyways below, and the smells from the kitchen reached her nose. And, faintly, just underneath the racket of morning, was the thin strains of music. Kim guessed that it was from the courtyard.
‘Still celebrating the return of their hero?’ Kim thought nastily.
The buildings were built close together, so Kim couldn't see beyond the buildings around her. But that could be easily remedied. Turning around to look up, she could see that the roof wasn't that far up. A quick flip, that would've required months of practise for anyone, and Kim was up on the red-tile rooftop, looking over the whole village.
The view took her breath away.
Situated in a valley amidst scores of others, there was no other signs of civilization in sight. Smoke was lazily winding its way out of chimneys as the sun peeked out in between two mountains in the far distance. The village was small, and instead of being in a close-knit cluster, the village was stretched out in a long winding path that reminded her of a snake. In fact, the latice of alleyways reminded her of the pattern on scales on a snake's skin.
In the middle of this curious village, she could hear clearly now, and see, that that was where the music was coming from. A small battery powered tape-player was set up, and there were about maybe a score or so of people doing taichi. Spaced out evenly, Kim wasn't surprised to see Shego. Surprisingly not in black-and-green, she was in a white tanktop and what looked like a comfortable pair of navy-blue pants. With her hair tied up into a ponytail and a relaxed look on her face, it made the woman look more vulnerable. More human. And less like the super-villain Kim knew she was.
Kim's eyes pulled away from Shego and picked out a figure that had moved extremely close to the green-eyed woman. Her sleep-muddled mind finally cleared and she recognized the figure.
‘Fong. Or Michelle. Whatever.’ The Chinese woman's movements were completely identical to Shego's as she slipped under Shego's arms so that Shego was basically spooning her from behind as they moved in perfect synchronization for a few seconds. Move for move, breath for breath… Kim felt a pang of jealousy as memories of fights long ago was brought up to mind. She would have been there, move for move, hit for hit--
Apparently, Shego had gotten irritated at the closeness and stepped away, while Fong spun on her heels to face her, still following the taichi movements. A taunting grin on her face told Kim that Fong was mocking Shego, challenging her in some way. That's when Kim noticed the other people doing taichi. With a deceptive slowness, the rest of the people practising taichi had closed in on the two, all of them facing Shego. And to Kim's surprise, they struck out at Shego in an almost rehearsed way. One by one or two by two, sometimes in huge groups that should have at least touched Shego, Kim watched the woman dodge, duck, block and retaliate almost casually against these people who had been harmlessly doing taichi before. Kim knew better than to shrug them off. All of the punches that were so easily blocked were expert, just like Fong's had been the night before when Kim fought her. They would've packed a hell of a punch if the punches had landed.
‘Where am I?’ Kim thought dazedly as children who had been watching the organized fight, ran in to join in. Though less than perfect, the children's form told Kim that they knew exactly what they were doing and had been trained. But not trained enough as Shego tossed them, letting them fall harmlessly away. A few adults who were just watching grabbed the children, rebuking them for interfering.
Suddenly, about half a dozen people ran out of various openings into the courtyard and flew at Shego with a flurry of attacks, pressing Shego to quicken her steps. The score of people who had been attacking Shego fell away to form a circle around the fight. Whoever the new people were, they were good! Kim could only see a blurr of motion from--
One attacker was thrown harmlessly away. He got up, dusting himself slowly. With a respectful bow to the fight still going on, he was immediately met by a young man who had brought a stool for the downed man to sit on. A bit bow-legged and hunchbacked, Kim was shocked to recognize the white-haired old man who had sat a few seats away from Shego last night.
Two more people were expelled from the fight. An old man and an old woman. Elders in the village. Bowing out, they both got seats around Shego's fight which was rapidly winding down. Two more people were taken out. And then there was only one left.
‘Lo Po-Po.’ Kim deducted. And indeed, it was the old woman. It was like… watching yoda fight. Unbelievably quick for someone that old, Grandma Lo held her own, her moves fluid and exact. Kim could see that Shego wasn't struggling at all, though. After a few minutes, Grandma Lo seemed to be struggling, and finally stopped. Clutching her chest, she was breathing heavily. Shego had also stopped, and seemed to be asking the old woman if she was alright.
Which was a big mistake as Grandma Lo swept out Shego's feet from under her.
Shego, to her credit, caught herself before she hit the ground and flipped away, scowling angrily. The elder held up her hands in a sign of surrender but had her head thrown back and was cackling at her deception. Though there was no doubt that Shego would have won the fight, Grandma Lo had struck a blow to Shego's pride that nobody had managed to inflict in this fight.
Flipping back into her room, Kim found that she was shaking a little bit. Fong had been no pushover last night. She had had to wear the girl down, which in turn, wore her down. Grandma Lo had been amazing, and Kim didn't doubt that if the old woman had fought her, she would be down and out in half the time she had used to fight with Fong.
All night, the redhead had lain in bed, plagued with questions until sleep had taken her. She might have found the answer to one of them. How had Shego gotten so much better than her? This village was home to residents that were all proficient in martial arts, from the oldest to the youngest. This was obviously where she had honed her skills! And skills they were. Shego was almost superhuman.
‘Almost?’ Kim closed her window, felt a chill run down her spine. ‘She *is* superhuman.’
This was where Kim was determined to gain the means to beat Shego. If she couldn't beat Shego, she might as well retire from the hero business! Thoughts ran quickly through her head. Sure, she can't beat Shego now, but the woman had promised to pull her up. And though not one to trust a thief's promise, least of all Shego's on a whim's notice, Kim felt she could trust Shego in this situation. Except near the end. Then she should expect a double-cross. And three years of keeping Shego out of the circuit… the rest of the villains GJ could probably handle the villains for now. Team Possible--
Kim felt a pang of homesickness. Team Possible. Ron. Rufus.
Her parents.
Monique.
Even the tweebs.
Why hadn't she thrown the fight? She didn't know why she had fought so hard to win Fong…
Kim sat down heavily on the bed, fighting to keep the tears down.
What did Shego have planned for her?
“Thank you,” Kim croaked hoarsely. Her near strangulation by Shego had left its mark. Her throat was bruised and felt especially tender whenever she breathed heavily or ate. She was glad for the bland congee that was being passed around. Sitting in Grandma Lo's house, which was also where Fong lived, she felt especially tense. Three people around a square wooden table painted with red lacquer paint.
On her left - Shego.
Right? Fong.
Straight ahead, Lo Po-Po heaped food on to Kim's plate, chattering excitedly.
“Accept everything and try to eat everything. Its impolite to refuse,” Shego had ordered. Apparently, Shego didn't bother following her own advice as she again and again snatched her bowl away before Grandma Lo could heap any food on it, arguing with the old woman in rapid-fire Chinese.
“Nihao!” Ting Ting's head peeked through the doorway. Climbing over the threshold, she ran to Fong, squealing in glee and threw herself on to the young woman. In her trademark pigtails, she was still unbelievably adorable.
“Nihao, po-po.” Cheung came after, bowing apologetically. “Jiu xu.”
Shego nodded and turned to Kim. “We're going now.”
On the pretense of forgetting something in her room, Shego had excused herself and sent Kim outside to wait for her. In her room, she looked around the small space. It was sparse, like Kim's, it was a temporary room. It had a bed. It would do. A noise at the door alerted her that the person she had been waiting for had arrived. Fong entered and closed the doors carefully. Not looking at Shego, she faced the door, not daring to turn around.
“Hey.” Shego said softly.
“Hey yourself.”
Shego smiled at her response, then her expression grew solemn. “Close your eyes.”
Not even having to see her face, Shego knew Fong would comply. Padding over softly to the girl, she enfolded Fong in her arms, felt the woman's body shudder in a long sigh that communicated her aching to Shego. Pulling insistantly on the sleeve of Fong's shirt, Shego dropped a wet kiss on a bared shoulder and felt Fong shudder again. Shego pressed her lips behind the girl's ear, breathing, mouthing the words that she would never ever say out loud to the girl. Repenting was not in her nature. Felt Fong turn her head, eyes still close, her face innocent and trusting.
‘I could break her neck in an instance.’
Shego shook away that startling thought quickly and retracted her hand that had unconsciously whispered up to Fong's throat. Feeling Shego's hand leave her, Fong trained her face back to the door.
“Fong,” Shego sighed and turned Fong to face her. Fong still had her eyes closed. Cupping her face, Shego knew she would have been way too nervous to do what she was about to do if Fong had had her eyes open. It felt like an eternity to Fong, before she felt Shego's lips on hers. At first, quick and fleeting. Then returning, deepening. She knew her hands should be at her side. She knew that as long as it was Shego who acted, as long as Fong had what she wanted but never voiced it physically or vocally, it was fine. She could ignore it and blame it on Shego. But how she had failed so many times… so many times. One more time might be her undoing. But she would die for this heaven.
Shego didn't push her away as she slid arms delicately around the pale-skinned girl's waist. Feeling no resistance, Fong's arms moved up, until she finally had her fingers tangled in Shego's hair. The kiss was sweet, aching; everything she imagined a kiss with Shego would be.
“Shego,” She tried to open her eyes, but Shego's hands covered them. Kept her in the darkness.
“Don't.” The voice was low and husky. “Ni bu kan, ah Fong.”
“Wo ai ni,” was what Fong wanted to say. Wanted to say it so much. But that exquisite mouth descended again and she held on for dear life as the words were washed away.
“So when did you learn Chinese?” Kim asked curiously.
Shego kept looking out the passenger side of the jeep and answered, “When I came here.”
Frustrated at the lack of communication between them, Kim sat back. She had tried several times to strike up a conversation, her curiousity and boredom getting the better of her. Cheung had left Ting Ting in Grandma Lo's care and was driving the two to their destination. Shego, he had declared, shouldn't be driving for so long since she had already spent all of the day before flying a plane. Everybody had come out to bid the green-eyed woman goodbye. Some of the older people and the married couples pressed red envelopes into Shego's hands, which the woman would accept each one graciously.
“Popular, isn't she?” Fong sidled up next to Kim and gave her a smile.
The surprise must have shown on her face, as Fong's smile became apologetic.
“I was a little hostile towards you at the beginning. I'm sorry about that,” Fong held out her hand to Kim. Not one to hold a grudge and feeling like she needed all the friends she could get out here, she shook the woman's hand. “Its just, Shego has a way of getting under my skin all the time.”
“Its the other way around!” Shego's ears were sharp as usual. She turned to look at the two women with a smirk on her face. Her hands full of little red envelopes, she announced it was time to go.
“Don't lose these,” Shego pushed some red envelopes into Kim's hands. Kneeling down, she smiled at Ting Ting, who had suddenly gotten a bout of shyness and was hiding behind Grandma Lo's legs. “Come here, you.”
Ting Ting ran to Shego and held on to the villainess’ arm.
“Wo yao--” The first two words that came out of Ting Ting's mouth and Shego silenced her with a stern look. Kim, after hearing a lot of ‘wo yao's from Ting Ting had finally found out from Cheung that it meant ‘I want’.
“You stay here.” Shego said firmly in Chinese. “You take care of everybody, okay?”
“Okay!” Ting Ting nodded. Shego motioned her closer, and the child leaned forward, covering her smile with both hands, tickled pink at the thought that she might be privy to a secret.
“Take care of your father, okay?” Shego whispered. “And take care of Fong. You know what a baby she is.”
“You can count on me!” Ting Ting nodded. Then her face turned pleading again. “But I want to go with you!”
“No,” Shego switched back to English. “Stay.”
Fong excused herself from Kim's company and went to pick up the child in her arms. Ting Ting was squirming and her grasping hands managed to catch a hold of Shego's shirt.
“Let go--”
“Nooo!” Ting Ting screamed, trying her best to cling on to the fiery woman as everybody laughed at the situation. Again, Kim had found herself wondering what Shego had done to ingratiate herself with the villagers.
“How did you figure you won?” Shego's voice shook Kim out of her thoughts. Kim seethed at the sight of that annoying smirk on Shego's face. “I mean, Kimmie, you love me so much you'd throw away home to be with me?”
“No!” Kim crossed her arms. She made up her mind that she liked un-talkative Shego better.
“Oh, poor baby gonna sulk?”
Kim responded with a kick, which Shego blocked immediately and retaliated with a kick of her own. Kim managed to block that, but just barely as her whole arm rung from the force of the blow.
“Girls!” Cheung barked out. He watched them from the rearview mirror. “No fighting in the car!”
“Sure, mother.” Shego's droll retort made Cheung bristle indignantly and start cussing her in Chinese. Shego could care less as she grinned at Kim, who smiled back hesitantly.
The Shego that she knew from three years ago was looking at her. Haughty, sarcastic and teasing. And though Kim would never admit it, it had been fun, fighting Shego in the past. It was confusing now how Shego could jump from intensely dangerous to surprisingly caring to playful; right back to her default of dryly sarcastic. Kim had only been acquainted with Shego's feelings of rage and competitiveness. It frightened the heroine how little she knew her arch-nemesis and how much Shego had changed over the years they hadn't seen each other.
There were so many surprises now. What surprised her the most was how she felt at home with this facet of Shego she remembered so well from her past. It surprised her that she missed this Shego.
endnote: So this chapter was kinda weird and I had no idea what I was doing. Its an awkward chapter. So lets hope my next one is better!