(A short story about how great I think Mao Mao actually is and why his heroism and determination should be admired.)
Cats are very agile creatures. They use their tails to balance on small surfaces and they act as a counter-weight when cats go to almost impossible to reach places. This is also true for animated cats...
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It hurt SO MUCH!
Mao Mao limped and stumbled as he ran away. He was hurt both physically and emotionally. Bao Bao had left him... JUST LEFT HIM! And now... his tail was also gone.
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As the boulder had fallen on his tail and the pain hit him, he realized that if he didn't get out of there fast enough, he'd be crushed. He pulled and tried to lift the boulder but he had no luck.
With a pained look, Mao Mao looked at his trapped tail. He tied a cloth tightly at its base. His eyes teared up and he slashed.
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Mao Mao ran, clutching at what remained of his tail, blood slowly dripping, despite the cloth stopping most of it. He slipped on a fallen tree's trunk and fell on his face.
'Why, Bao Bao... Why did you leave me?!'
With considerable effort, Mao Mao stood back up on his feet and swayed. The bleeding would stop soon but he knew he needed professional help as soon as possible. The closest village was a day travel from where he was currently.
'This is gonna be tough... If a strong monster or bandits find me like this, I'd be a goner! My balance is almost gone!' – this thought made him shiver.
Mao Mao shook his head, a determined look showing on his face.
'No! I will not give up! A true hero never gives up! With or without a tail, I WILL become a legendary hero!'
He clenched his fist and began the harsh trek back to civilization.
'I need to get a bike or something...'
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A week later, you could see Mao Mao walking through Nemii town. He had no tail and looked gloomy, stumbling here and there...
"OH! Well, well! What do we see here?!" a pompous voice said "If this isn't our widdle Mao Mao."
Mao Mao stopped and glared at the two approaching figures.
"Of course it'll be you... Miu Miu and Pantherhook. What do you want?" – he was annoyed.
Miu Miu was a petite-looking calico cat wizard with a purple robe and a staff. Pantherhook on the other hand was huge and muscular black panther with a hook instead of a left hand, he also had no shirt and had a large claymore on his back.
"Oh, I just wanted to say a hello to our widdle bud!"
"Stopteasing him so much Hook. He might cry."
"You two, shut up! I am not your friend!" Mao Mao shouted "I want nothing to do with pompous bullies like you!"
The 3 of them had a long history. While Mao Mao was younger, he was much weaker and would cry easily, so Pantherhook and a bunch of other kids bullied him almost daily.
"Wanna fight?!" Pantherhook sneered "What can a tailless crybaby like you do?!"
Mao Mao felt the hit of those words. It was true. He was off-balance and couldn't fight even half as good as he could before losing his tail. If this continued... he didn't dare to think about it!
"Well, we're going to fight monsters, like real heroes." – Hook laughed and turned away.
"I suggest you give up. You'll be putting yourself in danger when there are more capable individuals. You can become a secretary though." – Miu Miu finished the insult combo and also left.
Mao Mao was left there, shocked and feeling terrible. For just a fraction of a second, all the insult, his father and sisters... his entire life's tries to break and grind his dream to dust, flashed in front of his eyes. Mao Mao grit his teeth and slammed his fist in the wall behind him.
'Damn it! See if I give up! I will train 10-100... even a 1000 times harder and will become a legendary hero! I will show you what I can do! A true hero NEVER gives up!'
Mao Mao turned around and left for the woods, his right hand gripping Geraldine's scabbard.
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After that, Mao Mao trained day and night, in rain, hellish heat and freezing weather for half a year. It was hard but he continued, never even thinking of giving up. Soon, he was able to fight even without a tail and he was back like new!
Mao Mao had just finished his workout for the day when he heard a scream, his ear twitched in the direction of the noise.
'Someone's in trouble! I must hurry!'
Mao dashed through the woods, jumping over bushes, dashing between trees... You couldn't tell he was handicapped! Soon he arrived on a clearing where a merchant's wagon was attacked by monsters.
"Help! Someone help us!" – a woman shouted, two small kids clutching her dress.
"Stay away from my wife and children!" – a man was desparately trying to push the monsters back with a shovel.
"Don't worry! I am here!" – Mao Mao declared boldly.
'A perfect test to see all my work for this past few months.' – he pulled Geraldine out and slashed at the monsters.
One of them was split in two, screeching as it turned to dust. The other monsters were enraged and attacked him. Mao Mao jumped, somersaulted over them and slashed two more. He dodged a swipe of claws and stabbed another monster...
Five minutes later, all the monsters were defeated.
"Oh! Thank you very much, young man!" – the merchant's wife thanked him, the kids bowing with her.
"You saved my wife and children. I owe you a lot. What can I possibly give you as thanks for saving my family?" – the merchant asked.
Mao Mao looked at how tattered their wagon looked, the merchant had also been hurt while protecting his family. Not to mention their wagon looking in dire need for repairs.
"No. I don't want anything. Take care of yourself and your family. That'll be enough." – he siply said and turned around, leaving in a dramatic way.
"Thank you! Thank you very much!" – the family shouted as he disappeared down the road.
"What a wonderful and kind hero..." – the wife said with awe.
"Yeah! I think we might have seen the beginning of a legendary hero, dear!"
Mao Mao didn't hear them, otherwise he'd be even more happy than he'd been, knowing he did something good.
The end?
