Tohru sighed inside as he waited for the one bringing the shield to arrive. He didn't like his job. It went against his nature to hurt people just because someone said. But physically, he was made for such a job, and it paid well. It made his mother proud. And so, he hid the pain it caused him, and his true nature, and presented to the world the face of a merciless killer...and hands that could crush a skull yet had never spilled blood. He was glad the appearance of ruthlessness and his own bulk proved more than enough intimidation for anyone he'd faced before. If it ever came down to actually having to kill someone...privately, he prayed that would never happen.
He kept his large hand on the shoulders of the old man at his side. Thankfully, the old man had been surprisingly cooperative. All it had taken was an agreement not to break anything in the shop, and he'd allowed himself to be carried away. Yet another example of how Tohru's pure intimidation factor smoothed everything for him so he never actually had to kill or seriously hurt anyone. He'd taken the job of 'bodyguard', only for the title to change to Enforcer...but he could not back out now. He could not disappoint his mother.
And there he was. The young man with the shield under his arm, stepping out on the rooftop. "The shield," he insisted firmly.
"Why does your employer want it?" the man demanded.
Truthfully, Tohru didn't know. His job description did not include asking why he was ordered to do things, only obey orders. He stopped himself from thinking about the whys - and even the whats - to help himself sleep at night. Keeping his stern expression, he revealed none of this as he firmly stated, "That is not your concern."
The young man seemed to glance to the side, jerking his head a few times. Presumably, he was having some trouble figuring out how to guarantee his Uncle's safety while handing over the shield. He likely didn't want to get too close to Tohru. Tohru was used to this, and waited for him to reach the only proper conclusion. The young man smiled. "Okie dokie! You want the shield? Catch!" He hurled the shield like an oversized frisbee.
Tohru's eyes widened. That was not the conclusion he had expected. He quickly reached up with both arms, trying to catch the shield, only for it to fly over his head. He turned to try and track its flight, only for it to fly back like a boomerang, just out of reach again, landing back in the young man's hands. Tohru narrowed his eyes angrily. He had to do it now. He couldn't show weakness by allowing himself to be played like that. "Fool!" he barked out. "Say Sayonara to your Uncle!" Turning, he drew back his fist...at nothing. Looking up, he saw a young girl - maybe ten years old if that - towing the old man after her into the stairwell. He let out a yell of anger.
"I bet I run faster than you!" the young man called out as he turned to run off.
Tohru ignored him, heading for the elevator. The Shadow Kahn - the ninjas Valmont's 'client' had summoned to back him up - would handle the young man. Tohru's job was to handle the escaped hostage and his backup. An old man and a young girl...he didn't expect any problems.
As he entered the elevator, he silently thanked the Kami for the girl anyway. At least he hadn't been forced to kill a helpless old man, and recapturing and intimidation should prove no problem.
Jade panted briefly for breath as she pulled Uncle out of the building and towards Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. She expected cheers, since everything seemed to be going exactly according to plan. Instead, she saw their eyes locked on the building's roof. Turning up, she saw Jackie with the shield, cornered at the corner of the roof by a bunch of ninjas. "Jackie!" she called out, waving her arms.
Much to her surprise, Jackie casually tossed the shield off the roof, letting it slowly spiral down towards her. With a shout of, "Mine!" she rushed forward to catch it. She saw a pale green aura grip the shield, obviously Sweetie Belle trying to slow it, but the aura sloughed off the shield like a snake's shed skin, unable to grip it. The aura then surrounded Jade herself, which led to her not being knocked as far back as she expected when she caught the shield. Turning, she began to run with it, only to slam face first into the knee of the giant from the roof.
He glared down at her angrily. "The shield," he demanded insistently.
"Leave her alone!" Scootaloo called out, shooting down on Cumulo with a small black cloud clutched in her forehooves. Pushing it in front of the giant, she turned and struck it with both hind hooves, discharging its lightning into the giant...who stood there staring at her, seemingly unmoved as the lightning raced through the bulk of his body into the ground through his thin sandals, doing very little damage. "...uhh..."
The giant continued to stare at her, then lifted a hand. Gripping Cumulo gently, he gave a mighty shove, sending both Cumulo and Scootaloo flipping crazily off into the distance, screaming. He turned back towards Jade, only to find all four of his limbs bound by vines that shot out of the ground, towing him backwards, obviously Apple Bloom's attempts to bind him. It looked like it was going to work...until he pulled hard flexing his right arm and one of the vines snapped. This weakened the others, allowing him to pull himself free with all four limbs.
"Can't ya levitate him or something?" Apple Bloom demanded of Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie Belle, for her part, gestured from her body, to her horn, to the size of the giant they were dealing with.
"...right, stupid question," Apple Bloom muttered.
"The shield," the giant demanded firmly again, glaring down at them, his face a visage of barely contained fury.
Desperately, Uncle lunged forward, delivering his strongest strike to the giant's belly...and failing to even make him flinch. Sighing, he gestured Jade forward.
As she'd watched all this, Jade's mind had been working fast. Sweetie implied the important part of the shield was the stone in the center, marked with a stylized rooster. While the others had kept the giant distracted, Jade had carefully worked the stone out of the shield and slipped it into the pocket of her jeans. Stepping forward, she nervously handed the shield over to the giant. He took it without even looking and walked away. She breathed a sigh of relief. Looking up, she saw the ninjas leap away into the night and vanish...and Captain Black arrive in a helicopter just too late.
As Tohru walked away from the scene, he looked around carefully to make certain no one was watching him. Once he was certain, he lifted the shield to hide his face...and allowed himself a warm smile that transformed his visage to reveal his true gentleness. Those ponies were so cute! he squealed internally, keeping it suppressed as much as he could to maintain at least an image of ruthlessness. He quickly got himself under control as he reached Valmont's building.
Reaching Valmont, he knelt down before him, holding out the shield proudly. "Master!" he proclaimed.
Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw Valmont smile widely...only to frown. "Tohru..." he growled out, his voice echoed from the statue.
"What?" Tohru asked confused, lifting his head. "I have brought the shield as ordered..."
"You fool!" the statue shrieked out. "The shield is useless to me without the Talisman in its center!"
"The what?" Tohru asked again, glancing down at the empty hole in the center of the shield.
Groaning, Valmont buried his face in one hand. "This is my fault, Shendu," he admitted, turning to face the statue. "It appears I have mis-balanced secrecy and efficiency in this. Torhu obeyed his orders to the letter, and retrieved the shield. As per your instructions, no mention was made of the Talisman."
The statue growled for a time. "Perhaps you are right," it admitted finally. "And as far as his orders went, Tohru was indeed efficient. ...very well. You will read them into this...carefully."
"As you command, Shendu," Valmont replied with a bow, turning to leave the room. As he was supposed to, Tohru fell in behind his boss.
Once they were out of the room, Tohru swallowed convulsively. "Thank you, Mas-"
"Embarrass me like that in front of a client again, Tohru, and you will regret it," Valmont cut in fiercely.
Tohru swallowed convulsively. "Understood, Master. I won't fail you again."
For the pride his mother had in him, and his love of her, he prayed he could keep that promise.
Was the title of the chapter a reference to doom if so that is awesome
7343472
No. Big Friendly Giant.
7343475 I know it just hit me like a freight train when I stopped and thought about it for a moment
Yep, the CMC are the ones who will turn Torhu... Plus those free donuts Section 13 offers.
I know this is well down the line, but I absolutely love what they did to Shendu in the end.
Classic.
7343484 xD. That happens to all of us sometimes
Oh, I knew that Tohru would like them. And I've no doubt that his mother will also like them.
Also, bonus points for Valmont at least putting on the pretense of a benevolent boss.
Flawless as usual!
this scene is much better then the same scene from show. it is much more understandable.
7343494 yeah I thought he was referencing big f$@&ing gun but nope
I'll be honest, I'm getting a real André the Giant feel from Tohru. Does anyone know if this is intentional or not?
B(F?)G 900(0?)
get your C.M.C enemy turning plushies here. only one talisman per plushie.
Just wondering, is the story going to continue like the first season are numbered with each talisman per episode or are you going to include the episodes that got mix up in season 2 in your story following the discovery of some talisman?
Well no tree sap, yet. I look forward though to more of Torhu squeeing at the CMC. Keep up the good work. *Continues to munch on food while waiting for chaos to happen*
7343521 No the Big fucking Gun comes out when the Cmc have to use them to fight Shendu at the end of this Season.
7343475 I thought it meant Big F Gun... or guns in this case. I mean, look at this guy!
vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/jackiechanadventures/images/d/de/Tohru.png/revision/latest?cb=20150408204228
Nice work on getting his side of the story.
7343566 can I get mine with the monkey talisman?
That awesome portrayal of Tohru, though! Neutral at best with a heart of gold.
I laughed
7343527 yeah I always got that same feeling from him when watching the show.
Another great chapter. I really love your take on Torhu, it seems like it could perfectly fit him in show canon too since we never really got a look in his mind.
Yay! It's Tohru!
Ah, poor Tohru. The ever-present; 'familial pride/honor vs personally clean soul'.
Although, this now makes it more believable about how he turned into a good chi wizard apprentice.
Guess Jade ran into a hitch at the end of her plan huh?
Seems Tohru can flex his way out of any trap.
Looks like Sweetie is gesturing the impossible here.
I'd make another shield joke but I believe Tohru has got it covered.
Chapter Twenty Three:
"Aiyah!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 19
"One More Thing!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 42
Oh, Tohru, you (really) big softie.
An interesting look at Tohru's psyche.
I loved the peak into Tohru's side of things. It really nails it home why he turned against them as he did. Despite his employer, he has a strong sense of both family and honour. Your quick look at Jade's fast thinking was appreciated too. I'll also admit to pantomiming Sweetie's actions.
Now, I have to wonder, will Sweetie's influence lead Jade to using the ranged aspect of the rooster talisman more? Her personal use was also on impressive flying, where as Eggbert used the TK side more often. With Sweetie and Scoots around, she has reasons to go both...
I'll assume it's working for Shendu that allows Tohru to see through the pendants so easily?
Love your characterization of Tohru, and also of Valmont.
7343834 Tohru has his own powerful Chi (as he wouldn't have been able to become Uncle's Apprentice later on if he didn't.)
7343834
Actually no.
In the episode "The Chosen One", the ending heavily implies that Jade is the Chosen One. The episode also mentions that for each Chosen One, a 'Guardian' is also present, to protect the Chosen One until they awaken. The monks thought Jackie was protector to Tohru. On the assumption Jade is the Chosen One...who do you think fits best as her 'destined protector'?
7343969 Ah, right. I derped. Tohru is possibly Jade's destined chi guardian. His levels aren't as high as hers, but he's rocking something fierce.
7343982 Yeah, the episode came back to me after reading Void Runner's comment
Worse since I referred to that episode a couple chapters ago... I think I need a brain tune up.
7343475 the original bfg I still remember the old cartoon
Oh yeah, I just knew Tohru would be an instant Brony. I can totally see him out on some free time bumping into the Crusaders and Jade... and all five going for ice cream or something if that was their goal or something similar. I can also see Tohru being very careful whenever he manages to grab one of the Crusaders or Jade and them realizing they're safer with him than anywhere else except with Jackie or Uncle.
7343648 Which of these fine plushies can i interest you in.
We heave the spunkie Scootaloo, The Steadfast Applebloom, and the Adorable Sweetie Belle. we have a special going when you buy one of the plushies you get the amazing Super Moose free.
7343587 i still have to get the chaos bunker cleaned for when it does.
7343475
Well, he's not friendly yet.
7344110
Thus why there's a question mark after the F in the title.
7343617 Book.
It's a BOOK that has been turned into a movie.
I thought it was this at first.
i.ytimg.com/vi/ST4OROzCw5g/maxresdefault.jpg
Then I read the comments...
Now I'm somewhat disappointed. Don't know why...
7344148 Don't be too hard on him. After all nobody reads books anymore. They watch movies that only barely relate to the book and then pretend they know what the fuck the book was about.
7344591
Extra points if the movie is by Disney. Jiminy Cricket. 'nuff said. I swear half that class failed the test.
7344048 Sweetie Belle. I want my pony plushy to not only be able to burn orange juice, but murder my enemies via adorabetus induced heart attacks.
7343475 Tohru's redemption was one of the best parts.
7344618 I will give Disney points on what they did though. They took stories that you might actually get arrested for telling children the unedited version of, and made them into timeless children's stories known pretty much all over western civilization, if not the whole world. Which is pretty damn impressive considering that most of the source material is closer to Bram Stoker & Laurell K. Hamilton than it is to Dr. Seuss & H. A. Rey.
I've yet to meet a person able to resist Sweetie Belle's cuteness and endure her abysmal cooking.
7343568
Unless someone can give me an accurate chronological order of the episodes, I will be using episode order and considering any that would violate canon (such as a Season 2 episode where Tohru is still a bad guy) as non-canon and not cover it.
You know? I always had a soft spot for tohru when he was working for Valmont and when he began to help uncle i must admit i was happy for him
7344933 One accurate list coming up!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jackie_Chan_Adventures_episodes
Three episodes from season 1 were broadcast during season 2. There are twelve talismans that needed to be collected for the season finale. Two of them are entirely unaccounted-for without the rearrangement.