Ch. 27 - I won, but at what cost?

"Chug! Chug! Chug!" Surrounded by almost the entire citizens of the Valley of Peace. Jin and Caulius were hazily staring at each other as the both of them has one glass in their hands.

A large gourd can be seen standing beside them.

"Y-You shall *hick!* W-win! I am the *hick!* God of Wine!" Drunk already, Caulius stood up as he gulped down the alcohol on his glass.

A mother and son pig, was just watching with excitement, when they saw Caulius's fully naked body standing up, forcing the mother to close the eyes of her son.

"Ooohhh!" Almost everyone quickly tried to look away or close their eyes while some just watched Caulius's thing dangling is in front of them.

"Ahhh, my eyes!" One of them yelled in surprise.

"Mama! A short but fat noodle!" A child rabbit pointed at Caulius's bottom.

"Ka-hakk!" Jin, who was already drunk and was about to pass out ,suddenly turned sober as he stared in shock.

'F-fuck! I need to rinse my eyes after this!!!' Jin cursed inside his mind as he made a mental note to himself.

But first, he has to win this battle so he could go back to his normal life.

*Gulp!*

Drinking the alcohol from his glass, Jin then stood up and stared at Caulius's eyes. Thanks to the nightmare he saw earlier, Jin who was previously drunk, almost on the verge of passing out turned sober.

'Should I feel grateful to him for making me sober or not?'

"Ooohhh! The Gourd has been emptied and right now, we'll see who will pass out first! The last man standing will be the winner! Come on, everyone! Cheer for our Dragon Warrior!" For some unknown reason, Po turned into a commentator, hyping up the drinking contest.

A few seconds has passed, both of them were still standing however, Caulius was blinking profusely while his body were moving sideways.

"Here it is!" Everyone's eyes were on Caulius as they watched him slowly close him eyes and soon, he fell forward, planting his face on the table.

*Thud!*

"YEAAHHH! THE DRAGON WARRIOR HAS EMERGED VICTORIOUS!" Po clapped his hands and jumped around in excitement as he announced, making everyone yell to the top of their lungs and chant his name.

"JIN!"

"JIN!"

"JIN!" x69

Raising his arms in the air, Jin smiled in triumph as the alcohol finally kicked in once again and he was about to pass out and fall backwards.

Just when everyone was about to attempt to catch him, someone already did.

"You're drunk." Catching him, Tigress said to him as Jin smiled wryly.

"It's worth it, I guess? Being catched by my little kitty. But what I saw earlier will never be erased from my mind." Jin muttered as he continued before passing out.

"I won but at what cost?"

While everyone was busy chanting Jin's name, Caulius who unconscious slowly disappeared after a bunch of leaves once again flew pass him.

No one saw him, not even Master Shifu as he was thinking on how to punish Jin for drinking alcohol and even competing with someone for it. As their teacher, Master Shifu strictly forbids them to get drunk as it would cause them to lose focus, which would make their guard down and allow their enemies to strike them while they're drunk.

'Sigh. Only this time, I'll allow it.' Shaking his head, Master Shifu then walked away, going back to his meditation.

***

After the cheering has concluded, everyone started going back to their usual lives however, one thing for sure. They would never forget this moment and would probably even spread it outside the Valley.

Meanwhile, Jin was carried back to the Jade Palace by Tigress who despite was annoyed at Jin getting himself drunk, was smiling in delight as deep down, she was convinced that even Jin, who she thought was almost perfect in every aspect, finally realized that he's just like everyone else, having fun and living his life like a normal person.

Thinking of Jin, Tigress can't help but remember about what they did during their stay in Gongmen City.

Although they only kissed at that time and nothing else happened, Tigress felt like it was the best moment in her life.

'Is this what they call love? It makes my heart warm.' Tigress said to herself as they finally arrived at Jin's room before laying him down on his bed.

Tigress was about to leave when Jin suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled him towards him.

Because of that, both Tigress and Jin were laying on the bed, with Jin spooning Tigress under his arms.

"Warm..." Jin muttered in his sleep as Tigress was in a state of shock at first and tried to get out of Jin's embrace, however Jin, who was dreaming of hugging a large teddy bear in his sleep, tightened his hug.

Having no use, Tigress finally stopped resisting and just rested along with Jin, as she buried her head on Jin's hard chest.

***

"Looks like he's finally enjoying his life." Back in the white space, God who has been watching Jin, smiled in contempment as Caulius surprisingly appeared behind him.

"Seriously, why did you even choose my world as his first world, can't you just choose that bitch's world." Caulius complained and cursed as God laughed.

"Your world is best suited for someone like him. If I choose the other world, he might not be as comfortable as he is now." God explained.

"I see. I'm going now. I'll have to resume my Pai Sho game with Oogway." Caulius said before disappearing, leaving God alone again.

[A/N: Now that I think of it. I wonder how cool it would be if Oogway and Uncle Iroh were to meet and have a talk. Just imagining it gives me goosebumps and I'm sure as hell they could make even the most evil person in world turn good.]

***

As the night settles in, everyone finally slept, making Jin skip a whole day of training.

Opening his eyes, Jin realized that he's back to his room and the moonlight and lighting up the room.

Feeling a warm thing on his chest, Jin looked down and saw Tigress sleeping with her arms around him, embracing him completely.

'I remember passing out earlier, did she bring me here?' Thinking of this, Jin continued staring at Tigress's sleeping face. As he does, he remembers when they first met.

Her cold and indifferent face back then was so different than the face she makes now.

'She's so cute that I want to kiss her right now.' Jin said to himself before trying to remove her arms from his body.

However, she didn't budge and he's afraid if he forced it, it would wake her up, so he decided to stay like this in the meantime, until she removes it herself or he falls asleep again.

Caressing her head, Jin noticed that her fur was a bit soft, like a newly shampooed hair.

"I thought her fur would be a bit crude or tough. I didn't expect for it to be silky soft." Jin muttered under his breath as he closed his eyes and decided to sleep again.

The moment Jin closed his eyes and slept, Tigress's eyes opened, which glows a bit due to the dark surrounding.

Looking at Jin's sleeping face, she decided to go back to sleep and buried her face more on his chest.

***

The next morning, the sunlight outside the window flashes on Tigress's sleeping face, forcing her to wake up after feeling the heat in her face.

Opening her eyes, she realized that she's alone in the room, without Jin's presence.

'He must've gotten up first. I should leave here before Monkey or Viper sees me walk out of his room and make a rumor.' Speaking inside her mind, Tigress fixed the bed first before sneakily leaving the room.

She then went back to her room and waited for Master Shifu to wake them up. This is the reason why she left Jin's room as she knew that all of them have to walk out of their rooms the moment Master Shifu calls them outside.

As for Jin? She doesn't where he went but she's not that worried about him. Maybe he's training outside or was called by Master Shifu.

***

Speaking of Jin. He's currently jogging outside, doing his morning routine. Following him was Po, who finally woke up early by himself, without needing for Jin to wake him up in the morning. It's already a good progress for him, as he's disciplining himself properly.

"One kilometer left to go, Po. Move those legs of yours." Encouraging Po, who was breathing heavily as his legs continued to move, Jin patted his shoulders.

"O-Huff Okay...." Out of breath, Po answered.

A few minutes later, the jogging session was finally done, Po and Jin started drinking by the clear river.

*Gulp!* x10

Unlike Jin who only drank a couple of gulps, Po was drinking madly as if he hasn't drank water for a whole year.

"Ahh!~" Lying on the ground, Po breathed in relief.

"Po, it's time for you to learn a technique of mine. As your master, it is only natural for me to teach you a thing or two." As soon as Jin finished his sentence, the fatigue that is visible on Po's face suddenly disappeared and replaced by an excited expression.

"Really! Yes! Let's go!" Po jumped around in excitement, as Jin chuckled at his reaction.

"Alright, watch carefully Po. This is a technique I call..."

[Cliffhanger-kun: I, Cliffhanger-kun is back! My presence is necessary in order to leave you all hanging!! Muwahahaha!]

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