Snippet #1722718

It was quiet. By the position of the sun it was nearly noon. The small forest of bamboo was still, save the wind blowing leaves about. Underneath it all, another sound could be heard. Muffled breathing. The source was a boy who seemed to be around 19 years of age. He wore nothing but khaki martial pants. His dark raven hair was tied back in a tail, and he was standing in-between two stalks. Well, he was doing the splits, one foot on each stalk, dangling about 35 ft in the air. His hands were together forming what look like a circle and his eyes were closed. He was sweating profusely, making his tanned skin glisten.

Several minutes past, then another sound was heard. A low rumbling from within the forest. Soon, from the dark of a bush, two glowing blue eyes could be seen and rumbling grew louder....then stopped all together, as did the wind. Time seemed to stand still, and you could hear a pin drop. Then time seemed to explode back into rhythm as a great white form leaped from the bushes. As it flew towards the young boy, it could be seen that it was a very large white tiger, claws eager to dig into flesh. At the last moment the boys eyes shot open and he let out a loud ki-yai and leaped towards the sky. The tiger passed underneath him, and when his back was directly under him, the boy struck it with a hard kick. The tiger let out a roar as it flew towards the ground. Just before it hit the ground, the tiger seemed to spin and landed on its feet. Wasting no time, the tiger leaped back towards the boy.

The boy seemed to have expected this and had grabbed a stalk and had flung himself forward, now leaping from stalk to stalk. The tiger not being able to follow on the same path due to its girth, landed back on the ground and chased after the bot on the ground with a fervor. The bamboo stalks that were in the tigers path seemed to just be obliterated due to its immense strength and size. Even so, the boy was faster in the trees, but the trees were running out. Soon the boy leaped into a small grassy plane next to an old temple. Knowing that he couldn't out run the tiger on open ground, he turned and stood to face the beast. Moments later, the beast burst from the woodwork and charged the boy. The boy jogged a few paces before he lashed out at the tiger, thrusting both of his palms forward. The tiger recognized this move and at the last moment leaped over the boy and immediately whipped itself around to charge at him again. The boy immediately turned around and delivered a hard upward kick to its jaw. The tiger went flying upward due to the force of the kick. It then seemed it actually did a back flip, taking the boy by surprise. Using the opening, the tiger snapped its lower half forward and whipped the boy with its massive tail. The movement being so fast, the boy could only block with his arms. It sent the boy flying sideways through the air. The boy managed to land on his feet and then faced the tiger with a scowl.

The tiger then moved into a sitting position, it also gave a facial expression that almost looked like it was smiling. It then gave a quick roar towards the boy. The boys scowl turned into an annoyed smile, he put his hands together and bowed to the tiger. The tiger responded by dipping its head to the boy. The boy then spoke. "I know, you got me. Now I'm it." Saulong said to his oldest friend. "We'll pick up the game same time tomorrow, okay Xinfu?" The tiger responded in a loud, almost playful sounding roar. The tiger then galloped over to him and rubbed his massive head against Saulong's. Saulong then petted him and jumped onto his back, straddling him like a horse. He then crossed his arms and sat erect. "Back to the house Xinfu, Tsubasa probably has lunch ready. It would impede my honor if I kept her waiting." Xinfu growled, then set off at a trot towards the house.