The Tales of the Dragon Warrior

Comfort from a Father, Hidden Letters and Supportive Lovers

Jade stood on the other side of the street from Mr. Ping's noodle shop, watching the goings-on in the restaurant with the hood of her green jacket over her head so she would be less recognizable. The place had been renovated a bit since she had first come to China. There was a new wooden sign that read 'Dragon Warrior Noodles' in red Chinese characters, with a steaming bowl of noodles in the middle of the sign and two jade green dragons on the border of either end of the sign as well. A while back, Mr. Ping had come to Jade and asked her about letting him use her name and face to market his restaurant. Jade told him that was fine with her, since he was her father figure and had done so much for her, so it was only fair that she did something to repay him even slightly.

After that, Mr. Ping went all out, changing the name of his restaurant and paying to have posters made with Jade's face painted on them. There were several of them posted on the walls outside the restaurant; ones of Jade fighting bad guys, ones of her posing with the Furious Five, even ones of her posing with Mr. Ping and a bowl of noodles. The amount of posters was absolutely shameless, but Jade couldn't find it in her to be embarrassed about them. It was her Dad's way of showing off his 'amazing daughter' as he put it.

Currently, Dragon Warrior Noodles was very busy, the dinner rush having started not too long ago. People sat at low tables, eating various delicious smelling dishes while engaging in light-hearted conversation. Children ran around and played with wooden toys and cloth dolls under the watchful eyes of their parents, burning off the excess energy they'd gained from eating. Yes, out of all the restaurants in the Valley of Peace, Mr. Ping's was the most homely and welcoming of them all. Jade supposed that was why she had wandered in there the day she was chosen as Dragon Warrior, panicked by her situation and drenched to the bone by rain. Taking a deep breath, Jade removed her hood from her head and walked towards the restaurant's entrance. She really wasn't in the mood to be mobbed by adoring civilians after what she had been through earlier, but it wasn't like it could be avoided. She needed to talk with her father and get her head on straight. Now.

" -Hey, where's the Dragon Warrior?", Jade could hear a customer asking over the white-nose of chatter as she got closer to the restaurant. Jade could hear Mr. Ping laugh at the man's question.

"Oh, she doesn't do shifts often. Usually, she's busy out there protecting the valley, or spending time with those boyfriends of hers.", Mr. Ping responded. As Jade got closer, she could see him chopping vegetables in the kitchen. The customer he was speaking to frowned, but he soon perked up and whipped around to face Jade when he caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye.

"The Dragon Warrior!", he gasped, before bowing deeply at the waist. The rest of the restaurant patrons took notice and followed suit. Jade gave them all a half-hearted wave and smile, which turned into a genuine one when she locked eyes with Mr. Ping.

"Jade!", the noodle maker exclaimed, putting down his knife before running out of the kitchen and towards his adoptive daughter.

"Hi Dad!", Jade said with enthusiasm. The world could be ending, and she would still be happy to see Mr. Ping.

"You should have told me you were coming!", Mr. Ping said, throwing his arms around Jade. the girl chuckled and hugged him back.

"Yeah well, consider this an impulse visit.", Jade responded, before frowning as she remembered the events that had brought her here.

"Dad, can I talk to you? In private?", the black and white haired girl asked. She needed to talk to him so she could get her head on straight about what had happened in the musicians' village. Mr. Ping nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course, of course!", he agreed, before turning to face the crowd that had all eyes on him and his daughter.

"In honor of my daughter's visit, free tofu dessert for everyone!", the older man announced, and all the customers cheered. Jade smiled softly. Mr. Ping had told her not too long ago about how he had wanted to runaway and learn to make tofu when he was younger like his movie counterpart, and upon hearing this, Jade had encouraged him to add some tofu dishes to his menu. Now Dragon Warrior Noodles served up a mean tofu soup and dessert.