Kung Fu Lucario

Chapter 7: Worth the Weight

The young panda didn't seem all that convinced. He really didn't even know what a Dragon Warrior was supposed to be like.

"Easier said than done. Why are you being so nice to me? I've been nothing, but annoying and incompetent this entire day. I honestly thought you'd be more like Tigress and start to hate my guts..."

Lucario closed his eyes, reminiscing about the past. "I once met a boy who was a lot like yourself, Po. His name was Ash Ketchum."

"A boy?"

"At first, I thought he was rash, immature, and obnoxious; someone I couldn't view as anything more than a brat who took life for granted." Lucario said as he now sported a melancholic smile. "But then, as we got to know each other more, Ash turned out to be one of the bravest people I've ever met and... someone I consider a true friend. Even as an ordinary ten-year-old kid, he was willing to sacrifice his own life to save others, including my own."

"Wow. I wish I was half as awesome as he was at that age..."

"My point is that looks, age, and species don't matter in the grand scheme of things. Anyone can become a hero or warrior if they set their mind to it, Po."

He then rested a hand on the panda's shoulder, grinning.

"Much like how Ash proved himself to me, you can prove everyone in this Valley that you're worthy of becoming the Dragon Warrior. You just need to work hard and keep fighting for it. Understand?"

Taking a moment to process Lucario's words, Po smiled back and nodded his head.

"Man, did you get all this wisdom from living in the Spirit Realm or something?"

"Oh right. I almost forgot Viper mentioned that..."

"Well, now that you remember, I have several questions to ask you! Like how'd you even go from there to here? Are you some kind of ghost? If try to touch your stomach, will my hand just—"

Right as Po tried to check if he was translucent or not, Lucario lightly swatted his hand away. "It's... complicated. I can explain it to you another time. For now, I think we both deserve some rest after everything that's happened."

"O-Oh yeah! Sure thing! I am pretty tired now that you mentioned it." The panda replied as he loudly yawned in an exaggerated manner.

"Right..."

The two of them then entered the barracks and observed their surroundings. There was a long hallway lined with multiple double-sided doors on each side. Once everyone else blew out their candles and went to sleep, they quietly walked along the barracks' wooden floorboards.

"Let's try to be quiet. The others are probably sleeping by now."

"Quiet. Gotcha."

Every step Po took, unfortunately, resulted in a loud creaking noise. He tried to be a bit more gentle with his next step forward, but ended up breaking the wooden planks beneath him, anyway. The noise was, obviously, even louder by comparison.

"Doh!"

Lucario turned around to glare at him in disbelief.

"What did I just say?!"

"Sorry! Tiptoeing doesn't work with someone my size!" whispered Po as he got up and sloppily covered the gaping hole in the floor that his stomach made.

"Whatever. Let's just hurry and find an open room."

They then found one directly across from Tigress's and went inside without so much as another peep. All the room had was a single bed and a small black bowl positioned next to it.