DAUNTLESS AND DARING

However in Shanghai village at the northeast of Wushu Guan, Meili and fuse were in a guarded room at the elders residence.

Yawn!

"I'm so bored," Meili whined. "Where could Hibiki and Kai be all this time? He only said he was gonna take a quick scan around the area and would take only a few minutes with Kai!"

"Maybe they've already moved on with the mission without us," Fuse suggested, a hint of irritation in her voice. "We should probably stop sitting around here and start looking for them."

Meili nodded, her eyes lighting up with a sudden burst of energy. "You're right! Let's get moving." She sprang to her feet, her boredom forgotten as she got ready set off in search of them.

The guards crossed their spears, blocking Meili and Fuse's path. One of them spoke up, his voice firm and authoritative.

"You must not go any further," he said. "Si-Fu Hibiki has given us orders to keep you confined here until he returns."

Meili looked at Fuse in disbelief, her eyes wide with shock. "What? This can't be right," she said, her voice shaking. "Hibiki won't leave us behind, right?!."

"It doesn't seem right," Fuse said, her brow furrowed in concern.

"Please cooperate with us and stay calm," the guard ordered sternly. "Do not cause any trouble or attempt to escape. We must keep order and peace security in this building, your Si-Fu would meet up with you ij due time"

Meili and Fuse looked at each other, their expressions furious.

Meili's eyes flashed with anger, and her fists clenched at her sides. "Si-Fu Hibiki!!," she growled, her thoughts trembling with rage. "How dare he keep us locked up?"

Fuse put a hand on Meili's shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Chill Meili, let's figure out a way to get out of here," she said, her voice low and firm.

But Meili seemed to be unfazed by Fuse's idea at the moment and went on bickering,

"Let us pass," Meili said, her voice steady and determined. "We must find the rest of our squad and make sure they alright."

"I'm afraid we can't do that," the guard replied, his voice cold and unyielding. "I'm sorry, but our orders are clear."

Fuse could see the anger and frustration building up in Meili. But before she could say anything else, Fuse put a hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "We'll find another way," he said. "We can't fight against them and not right now, Let's just play along and try to escape."

Meili looked at Fuse, and then back at the guards. She took a deep breath and nodded, trying to force herself to calm down.

Moments later,

"What if we cause a distraction?" Fuse said, her voice full of excitement. "Trying to make a decoy to trick the guards, and when they are distracted, we could slip out."

Meili considered Fuse's idea. "What kind of distraction?" She asked.

"Just follow my lead," fuse replied

"Hey, Ralph," the guardman said, his voice wary. "It's awfully quiet in there. Maybe we should go check on those two."

Ralph frowned, looking concerned. "Yeah, they better not be trying anything funny," he said, a note of suspicion in his voice. "You never know what those martials artists are up to."

They both approached the door, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords.

"Ready?" the guardman asked, his grip tightening on his weapon.

"Always," Ralph replied, his expression steely.

"HUH!!"

The guardsmen entered the room, and found it completely empty. Meili and Fuse were nowhere to be found.

"What? But how?" The guardman stammered in disbelief. "There's no way they could've escaped!"

Ralph stepped forward, examining the room more closely. "Hey Gus, come look at this," he said, pointing to a hole in the wall. "Do you think they could've... jumped out?"

The guardman let out a low whistle. "That's a long way down," he said, clearly skeptical. "No one would be crazy enough to do that!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out. "Yeah, no one would be crazy enough to do that. Haha!" Meili said, as she and Fuse emerged from a hidden alcove in the room.

They had tricked the guards into thinking they had escaped through the hole in the wall. But while the guards were busy searching the hole, they were yards away from the exit door.

Fuse turned to Meili and said, "Now's our chance! We've got to get out of here!"

But Meili was calm, her face betraying no sense of urgency. "In a moment," she replied. "But first, I have an idea."

Fuse looked at her, curious. "What's that?" he asked.

Meili's eyes twinkled with mischief. "You'll see," she said, with a sly smile.

She began to move around the room, doing something that Fuse couldn't quite see. Then, she stopped and nodded at him.

"Ready?" she asked.

Fuse was still confused, but he nodded. "Ready for what?" he said.

Moments ago during the planning phase of Meilis and Fuse escape plan.

In a flash of inspiration, Meili realized that she could use the room's own structure against the guards. She took a length of string from her pocket and tied it to the legs of a nearby table, then attached the other end to a lever on the wall.

As the guards rushed towards the door, Meili pulled the string. The table toppled over, knocking against another piece of furniture, which in turn struck a third. Like dominoes, the objects began to fall, one after the other, blocking the door and creating a makeshift barricade.

The guards were stuck inside the room, banging on the door and shouting in confusion. But Meili and Fuse were safe inside, at least for the moment.

Fuse looked at Meili, her eyes filled with admiration. "That was amazing!" She said. "How did you think of that?"

Meili just smiled. "I'm full of surprises," she said, with a wink.

They both knew they still had to find a way out of the building. But for now, they were safe. Then they began to hear footsteps coming their way.

"It's time to make our move," Meili whispered to Fuse. "We have to get out of here."

"Agreed," Fuse whispered back.

They crept along the edges of the monastery, staying out of sight of the other people around there. As they got closer to the exit, their hearts were pounding.

Then, just as they reached the door, they heard a voice behind them. "Hey!" the voice said.

"Oh no," Fuse breathed. "We're caught!"

Meili turned to see who had spoken, and froze. It was Si-Fu Hibiki with Kai alongside him.

Meili swallowed hard. She and Fuse didn't take it well at first when they heard they were left behind. But now they were in the presence of their Si-Fu, they became pressured and began whispering.

"What are you two doing?" Si-Fu Hibiki asked, his voice confused. "And why are you whispering?"

Meili's mind raced, trying to come up with a good excuse. But before she could say anything, Fuse spoke up.

"We were just... practicing our martial arts," he said, a sheepish smile on her face.

"Practicing?" Si-Fu Hibiki said, raising an eyebrow. "That's not what it look like. It look like you were about to leave."

Meili bit her lip. They had to come up with something believable, and fast.

"Hey Si-Fu, u-um why were we left behind," she exclaimed.

Si-Fu Hibiki looked at Meili and Fuse, his eyes softening. "You were left behind because this mission was too dangerous for me to risk the safety of you all," he said. "It's my job to keep you both safe, and that means sometimes making tough decisions."

"But you took Kai along and we want to help too!" Meili said. "We're not kids anymore, we're almost ready to be full-fledged kung fu masters."

That dragged little of kai's attention as he stood there unfazed.

"I know you're both very talented," Si-Fu Hibiki said. "But this mission was especially risky, and I couldn't risk putting all of you in harm's way."

Meili looked down at the ground, disappointment written across her face. Fuse stood beside her, her expression mirroring Meili 's.

Hibiki turned to them once,

"Look you guys, the kung fu world I live in isn't all about what can do but most importantly what you can take, and is proven through proper steady battle experiences.

We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of loss or the pain of regret.

This road we journey has a lot of painful circumstances attached to it. The journey isn't going to be easy, and it's not always going to be fun. It's going to be a test of your strength, both physical and mental fortitude. But I know you're all capable , and I'm going to be here with you every step of the way." He concluded with a smile edging on his face.

Meili and Fuse nodded in understanding, although they still felt a little disappointed. They both knew that Si-Fu Hibiki had their best interests at heart, even if it meant making decisions they didn't always agree with.

So they'll gathered and we're ready to offload on the journey back home.

Kai who was silent all day was brought to attention by Meili, she held a part of his cloth and asked,

"Kai, what's your secret?", she whispered.

"Huh, what are you talking about?" Kai replied

Meili glanced around to make sure that no one was listening in, then leaned in closer to Kai. "I've been watching you all this time," she said. "I've usually watched you in training, and you seem to have so much flair. And now in our first mission, your so unfazed by the whole situation and also sharp maybe that's why Si-Fu picked you over us. I was wondering if you had a secret to your awesomeness," she said glaring uncomfortable at his face.

Kai looked taken aback by Meili's question. He wasn't expecting anything like this from Meili, so he tried to keep his cool.

"Well, I can't say I have any special secrets," Kai began, choosing his words carefully. "I'm just doing what my body tells my to do. And I'm don't act unfazed all the time - I'm just focused on the task at hand. I don't think Si-Fu picked me cause I'm special or anything- he just had me to play a role in his plan, Si-Fu Hibiki did all the work."

Meili cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure. "I may have gotten a little carried away," she said with a nervous laugh.

Kai looked at her, "That's okay," he said. "We all get a little overboard sometimes."

"Ick", Meili feeling unease with that response.

They continued walking for a few moments, but then Meili spoke up again. "Hey, Kai," she said, her voice hesitant. "W-would you be willing to spar with me sometime?"

Kai paused for a moment, his expression unreadable. He studied Meili's face, wondering if she was serious.

Finally, he spoke. "You want to spar with me?" he asked, a hint of surprise in his voice. "You know I'm not going to go easy on you, right?"

Meili's face flushed, but she nodded. "I know," she said. "But I want to push myself. I want to be the best that I can but before that can happen I have to overcome you."

Kai studied her for a moment longer, then nodded. "Alright then," he said. "We'll see what you're made of."

Meili grinned, feeling a surge of confidence. "I won't let you down," she said. "I'll be ready for anything you throw at me."

Kai smirked. "We'll see about that," he said. "But for now, let's just try make it back in one piece."

"That sounds like a plan," Meili said.

Meili felt a sense of contentment as she walked alongside Kai. She had finally found the courage to speak to him, and she was glad that he didn't think her request was silly. Maybe they could even become friends.

Meanwhile, at the infirmary in the School of Iron Fist, Jaggy and Si-Fu Kaede were both being rushed to receive medical attention for the serious injuries they had sustained during their battle with the shadow beast. Special kuoshu Clan healers commonly known as Masters of medicine or Masters of the Tao were working frantically to stabilize their conditions, while onlookers watched with bated breath.

Koko and Kagawa waited anxiously outside the infirmary, their hearts racing with worry. They had witnessed the battle firsthand and knew how dangerous it had been. They could only hope that Jaggy and Si-Fu Kaede would be okay.

As the hours passed, Koko and Kagawa began to grow restless. They paced back and forth, unable to sit still. Every time the infirmary door opened, their hearts would race, hoping for news of Jaggy and Si-Fu Kaede. But each time, it was only one of the healers coming in or out.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door opened and a healer emerged. Koko and Kagawa rushed over, their eyes wide with anticipation. "How are they?" Koko asked, her voice trembling.

The healer took a deep breath and looked at Koko and Kagawa. "I'm afraid I have both good and bad news," he said, his tone somber. "Jaggy's would be fine but your Si-Fu is in critical condition. We are doing everything we can to help her, but it is still too early to tell how she'll recover."

Koko and Kagawa's hearts sank. They had been hoping for better news, but they knew that the healers were doing their best. They couldn't help but feel helpless, and worry for Jaggy and Si-Fu Kaede.

Moments later Si-Fu Mei's squad approached.

The faces of Lei, Ryou and Lian were full of worry and concern as they approached Koko and Kagawa. Koko's eyes filled with tears at the sight of them, and she tried to compose herself.

"What happened?" Si-Fu Mei asked, her voice breaking with emotion. "How are Jaggy and Si-Fu Kaede?"

Kagawa looked at Mei and took a deep breath. "Jaggy will be fine," he said, "but we're still waiting for news about Si-Fu Kaede."

"Are you alright Koko," Lian said, her eyes welling at koko's distress.

Koko's lips trembled, and she shook her head. "I'm just so worried," she said. "I can't help but feel like this is all my fault."

Lian wrapped her arms around Koko. "This is not your fault," she said, her voice firm but gentle. "I'm sure of that."

Koko buried her face in Lian's shoulder and let out a sob. "You won't get it Lian, I just want everything to be okay," she said.

Ryou placed a hand on Koko's back. "Don't worry Koko, Si-Fu Kaede's gonna make it I'm sure of that," he said. "

Lei's expression was unconcerned and detached as she looked at the others. "What a bunch of crybabies," she thought. "We're supposed to be getting ready for a real war at our hands, and they're all acting like babies."

Ryou's eyes narrowed as he watched her walk away. "Tsk, She has no compassion," he thought. "We could been in the same condition if not for Si-Fu Hibiki saving our butts."

Meanwhile, Koko continued to sob into Lian's shoulder, her body shaking with emotion. "It's okay," Lian said, trying to comfort her.

A few minutes passed, and Si-Fu Mei was getting full details of what happened from kagawa, also Koko's sobs eventually subsided. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, trying to regain her composure. "I'm sorry," she said, looking up at Lian. "I don't know what came over me."

Lian smiled and gave her a gentle squeeze. "There's no need to apologize," she said. "We're all under a lot of stress right now, and it's normal to feel overwhelmed."

Koko nodded, feeling a little more at ease. "Thank you," she said. "You're a good friend Lian"

Lian's cheeks flushed, taken aback by Koko's words.

At that moment, a voice from the doorway broke the silence.

As Lei left the infirmary, she noticed Hibiki's squad approaching from their journey, and her gaze was immediately drawn to Meili, who seemed to be walking especially close to Kai. Lei couldn't help but wonder if something had happened between the two of them during the journey.

Lei's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. She turned to see Fuse standing behind her, a curious look on her face.

"Is everything alright?" Fuse asked, her tone gentle but probing. "You seemed lost in thought."

Lei hesitated for a moment, not noticing when fuse got past her. But she then returned to her original state. "Who are you to care," she said. "Anyways it looks like your friend Meili is getting to close with Kai, how dare she."

Fuse considered this, then spoke. "Well I don't know what's going on with those two!," she said, before leaving the scene.

"Well Meili, this is war!" Lei exclaimed, a mischievous grin on her face.