I had the idea for this one-shot while I was listening to the Dumpling Warrior soundtrack. As it had approached the end I remembered the end credits from the second movie where Po was working on making the action figures and the next second I had a half made story in my head. Hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer:I do not own Kung fu Panda.
Written by: PenLite1123
For the love of Kung Fu
"PO, PO!"
A teenage Po was jerked out of his trance like state. The sudden movement causing the straw hat on his head to fall off.
Mr Ping was calling his name downstairs, probably to serve for the lunch rush. He heaved a heavy sigh. He'd been busy painting a picture of the Furious Five, while sitting on his bedroom floor. It wasn't even finished yet and now he had to go. He looked to his left to see a poster of the Furious Five all in their battle stances and he imagined himself alongside them, knowing all the secrets and awesomeness of Kung fu, ready to fight with his heroes so that he can show the villains his awesomeness.
"PO!"
Po heard Mr Ping calling again and he at once jumped up, shaking himself out of his reverie which had come over him while looking at the poster of the Furious Five on his bedroom wall. "Coming dad" he called back. He quickly threw off his "Heroes cloak" and ran down the stairs to meet his dad standing with his wings on his waist giving Po a disapproving look. Po felt slightly ashamed. "Sorry dad" he muttered.
"You know there are customers waiting and they're not going to wait all day. What were you doing up there anyway?"
Po suddenly felt flustered "Well..you see...I was...uuhhh" he tried to think up something good but apparently Mr Ping had already forgotten his question and he tossed three bowls over to Po who caught them expertly. This had become a second nature to him now "Take these bowls to tables six, five and three. And don't forget to give our customers a loving smile. Now go, go, go!" Mr Ping commanded as he ushered Po out of the kitchen door.
Po walked out of the kitchen letting out a deep sigh and decided to leave his painting for now. He'll complete it tonight. With that thought over, he went to table number three to serve with the smile advised by his father, plastered over his face.
The lunch rush was always the hardest part of the work day and Po would often get irritated. Onc second he'll enter the kitchen and the next his dad would be tossing multiple bowls over to him to go and serve some more hungry customers. This would go on for at least two hours, since some people always got off their work for lunch somewhat late. By this time his own stomach would begin to protest for some lunch.
Finally he served Mrs Bai, who asked him kindly how his day had been. Po was not in the mood to answer any questions, yet, he swallowed his frustration just one more time and answered her politely.
"Very well Mrs Bai, thank you for asking. But I think my dad might be calling me." With that he ran off to the kitchen before the old goat lady could pester him more about his day.
He ran into the kitchen and closed the door behind him. He saw his dad standing at the stove. He turned around when Po entered.
"Oh Po! Good job serving everybody. I think your own lunch is in order now." He came over to him holding a bowl of noodles in his wing. He set it in front of Po who looked at it greedily. His stomach made a loud sound. He instantly picked up the bowl and emptied the whole bowl in one go.
The marvelous taste of noodle and soup absorbed itself into his taste buds and his throat felt warm form the hot meal. But he didn't stop to think about it. "Fanks, vad" he said with his mouth full of noodles.
Mr Ping chuckled at his antics then said "Po, how would the lady's ever like you if you'll have such bad table manners?"
Po blushed, "Vvaad" he said with his mouth still full. His father shook his head and turned back to the stove to serve himself some noodles as well, but a little bunny girl was now at the counter and he went over to attend to whatever her need was.
Po helped himself to four bowls of noodles and five bean buns before he felt satisfied enough. He couldn't help it, his appetite was just that large.
Picking up another bean bun he turned to his dad who was stacking all the dirty bowls so as to take them out to clean. "Dad, I was just going out for a walk for a while. You don't need anything for the shop, do you?" he asked already knowing what the answer will be.
"I'm glad you asked Po. I'll be right back with the list I'd prepared for the things we were running low on. I just need to add flour to it." He said, as he began to waddle up the stairs.
Po sighed and took a seat at the table in the kitchen. Now he'll have to carry all the stuff his dad wanted, back to the shop. Couldn't he just have a normal walk for once? He contemplated on simply just leaving, after placing a note on the table explaining that he was gone. But then the idea seemed too heartless so he decided to wait patiently for his dad to come back and give him the list of all the things needed.
After a while his dad was back downstairs. He walked over to him "Well here are all the things that we need. I was trying to remember anything else we might be running low on, but this is it. There are twenty-four things to buy and make sure you do buy all of them, okay son?" he said. Po took the list from his dad's outstretched wing and read the list of items deemed 'running low' by his dad. He passed over cinnamon at the twenty-second number and was about to proceed to number twenty-three when he stopped. "Wait, we have cinnamon" He thought. He turned to look at his dad who was counting the money he would have to give Po in order to buy the supplies.
"Uhh...Dad?" he asked.
"Yes son?" his dad asked looking up from his money pouch.
"Don't we already have a three whole packets of cinnamon downstairs?" he asked confused.
"Oh son, you know as well as I do that with hungry customers anything can run low anytime so I thought I'd buy it in advance. Even the onions and carrots are in the basement but I thought you should bring them too. Just in case." He replied with a smile.
Po sighed. His dad was always doing this.
Mr Ping then handed him the pouch "You better get going, son. I don't want you getting home late. Now be sure to bargain for the celery and onions with that pig. He always has his prices too high. And take the wheelbarrow too. You'll need it for the flour sack." He added.
"I will, Dad" Po called back waving to his father and retrieved a wheelbarrow from the far corner of the shop. He wheeled it about and out the door he went.
Po walked through the bustling street. It was busy but not as busy as it was in the morning. He went to the pig who sold celery and onions. He wanted to get over the bargaining sooner than later. Personally, he hated bargaining but his dad always insisted that he do it. His dad was completely convinced that the pig was practically robbing the poor citizens. So Po at least had to try once so that he could tell his father that he did bargain.
If truth be told he never found the poor guys prices too high. And he didn't want to bother him with it either. But what can you do? When your dad tells you what to do, you just got to do.
The pig was of course not amused. He was set on selling at the price he desired and Po was trying to make him lessen the amount but he wouldn't budge. Eventually Po gave in (rather happily). Paid the pig the money and was off to buy the rest of the supplies. He decided to buy the flour last so he wouldn't have to drag around the weight all through the grocery.
It took a whole two hours to get done with the shopping and Po was tired of going from one place to another. Before he bought the flour he decided to leave the purchase near the apple vendor (with whom he was on good terms) so that he could go relax for a while.
Actually, Po was on good terms with almost everybody, even the pig who sold 'expensive' onions and celery (The pig knew Po did the bargaining because of his dad. The goose would be advising Po in front of him as well. And Po's look of disapproval was enough to tell him that the panda's heart wasn't really into it.) But since the apple vendor, a goose, was the nearest to him at that time, he left the wheelbarrow next to him.
Thanking the vendor for agreeing to look after his supplies, Po went off to roam about and enjoy for a while. He was soon strolling by multiple shops. Each bearing different items of interest. A tailor shop here, a potters shop there. A kite shop run by another pig named, Shao (young). Po often went to his shop to have a nice chat or admire the many different kites he made. He was a fun guy to be around. Always there to make you laugh and only a few years older than Po. He had also given Po a Dragon-shaped kite for his eighteenth birthday this year. Po still had it safely placed on a stand in a corner of his room.
Po smiled and waved at him, but didn't go over for a talk since Shao was dealing with a customer. He proceeded with his short leisurely walk. As he rounded a corner he came upon the wood carvers shop. Po stopped to look at it.
It was narrow place with a counter lining the right and the far end in his line of vision, a few feet away from the walls. The left wall was adorned with many wooden decoration pieces on their respective shelves while the shelves inside the wall on the right and far end also had multiple objects on display.
Mr Ruan, the owner of the shop had an amazing skill with the chisel in Po's opinion and this shop was another place where he often spent his spare time. Even if it was only to watch Mr Ruan work the day away with a chisel. But the hours he spent had to be cut short since he also had a duty to his dad.
Po always found something so satisfying about the way a thin strip of wood would come out of a rectangular block of wood and one by one each strip would lead you closer to the ultimate Master piece. True the work took hours but in Po's opinion they were worth it. When the fruit of labor would show his heart always felt satisfied.
Po silently watched the shop for a few minutes, still standing outside. There was usually a customer or two inside, buying a decoration piece for their residence. It was so weird to see people drooling over a certain painted decoration piece made of wood. A wood which, when in the shape of a tree, they hadn't cared twice about. But now that it was carved and polished it was grabbing at their hearts.
At the moment however, the shop was completely empty and he could see Mr Ruan sitting on a stool at the back, behind his counter, whittling away another block of wood. Po felt a sudden urge to go inside the shop and just sit there and watch the carver, carve out his masterpiece. But he stopped himself because his dad would we waiting for him back at the shop.
He finally wrenched his eyes away from the tiny shop and began to walk back to get his wheelbarrow. On his way back his mind drifted back to the painting he had been doing of the Furious Five.
The Furious Five were the Valley of Peace's very own group of heroes. They had recently been introduced to the public. Po still remembered how the village had been decorated in honor of the team. He had had to stand at the back of the crowd because of his massive bulk which allowed nobody behind him to see anything on stage. Nevertheless he had been able to see everything.
Po also remembered how before the the announcement of them as a team, each and every member had taken the solemn oath to protect not only the people but also their sacred land, China, from the clutches of any foe, at their respective ceremonies. That they will put the safety of these two things before their own lives and would be willing to sacrifice everything for it. All the masters had solemnly agreed to this. And with the oath taken, Master Oogway had proclaimed each of them a Master at their respective ceremonies.
The first ceremony had of course been Master Tigress'. He still remembered how she had stood in front of the whole village with a small smile and a look satisfaction on her face for achieving a goal she had been striving for most of her life. And her sunset eyes had shone with a certain determination while taking the oath.
Then there had been the other Masters ceremonies as well. Master Monkey had taken the oath in a manner that resembled a speech at a funeral but then he had given a wide grin when Oogway had proclaimed him a Master and he had bowed in respect to the wise turtle.
Viper had been next. He remembered how she had two sparkling blue lotus clips on her head, instead of her usual pink. She had smiled sweetly at every one. But when the time had come to take the oath, she had taken it solemnly and with a voice that clearly stated that she understood her responsibilities and their consequences.
Master Crane's ceremony had been a success as well. He had won over the crowd more solidly by sending a cool breeze over them on the hot summer day of the ceremony and the crowd had instantly taken a liking to him, despite his rather weak appearance.
And then there was finally Master Mantis who had been too small to be seen, but his strength had shown itself magnified multiple times, when he had easily lifted a wagon full off three huge flour sacks that one of the villagers had challenged him to pick up, believing that he would be too weak. The moment Mantis had successfully lifted the wagon, the whole crowd had erupted in applause and approval. They now had the tiniest, yet one of the strongest Masters to protect them.
Po loved them all. No matter what their size, strength, character or temper. He was always very happy...no ecstatic to see them. Whenever he would have a chance to see them fighting off some bandits or when he heard tales of their bravery he would be awestruck. It was just AMAZING. And he wished he was as amazing as them, too.
About eight months ago however, they had all been introduced as a team. A team now called the Furious Five. Po loved the name. It represented so much about his idols. How fierce and brave they were. How they were ready to sacrifice their lives for their beloved land. And how awesome they were at Kung fu.
The Masters had taken the same oath again but this time with some additional statements. Such as, that they would trust and have faith in one another. That they would help their fellow comrade in distress. That they would put their personal conflicts aside when it came to taking down a threat and would work as a single body. And that, they would stay true to one another, staying together with the bond of Kung fu and show Kung fu at its greatest.
Once again, Po had seen all the Masters agreeing to this solemn and deep vow. And he had seen the look of determination and complete submission in their eyes. But Po had seen it more vivid than anyone else' in the striped master's eyes,Tigress, master of the Tiger Style.
Po didn't exactly know why he always felt so awed by Master Tigress. Maybe it was just because she was so fierce, agile, strong and what not. Or maybe it was because he aspired to be like her. But unfortunately, agile was the last word in the dictionary anybody would use to describe him. Or maybe it was the amazing strength with which she fought. And all the strength he had was to eat a whole fifteen bowls of dumplings in one go. Or maybe it was simply because she was so cool.
Ever since the inauguration ceremony, the Furious Five have been working together as an officially proclaimed team. Of course they had fought together before. But they was something refreshing about how they were now a real team.
Po always hoped he'd get to meet them in person someday. He was their biggest fan. He had posters of them in his bedroom already and he would make more pictures himself every day. Yet the pictures alone were not satisfying his need any more. It was as if he wanted something more. He wanted to meet them, but he couldn't do that, so what was that he could do to feel more in touch with his heroes? He mulled over this as he made his way back to the wheelbarrow that was waiting for him. Taking it, he made his way to the shop behind the flour mill, so as to buy a few flour sacks and then finally be off to the restaurant.
Po was greeted by his dad at the shop entrance. And the rest of his day passed serving more customers. After serving the last customers of the day, Po finally got the chance to go back upstairs to bed. He saw the half finished painting on the floor. He wanted to complete it but he was so tired. He sighed and bent down to retrieve the drawing. He gave it one last look then went and placed it on the base of one of the pots that served as a table "I'll finish you tomorrow" he said looking at it. With that he gave a wide yawn and a large stretch and climbed onto his bed.
He had one last glimpse of the poster on the side wall, all the members of the Five in their fighting stances before he drifted off into dream land.
The next day Po woke up early, the sun had just begun to peak out "Okay, how am I up so early?" He thought. He tried to fall back to sleep but for some weird reason he couldn't do that either. So he finally got up.
After getting dressed he sat down on his bedroom floor. He still had time and he was about to make the best use of it. He picked up his painting from the base of the pot and set it on the floor again. He then placed the hat he had left on the floor yesterday back on his head and the cloak around his shoulders and picked up the paint brush so that he can begin stroking away. He began slowly, starting to get the feel of the brush again and very soon he was painting like an expert.
He had always been good with art. Whether it was the art of cooking, art of drawing, painting, molding or any other. However the only one he seemingly lacked running through his veins, was the art of Kung fu
Po hummed along as he painted and an hour and a half later his painting was finally complete. He held the picture up at arms length to admire his handy work. It showed all of the Five Kung fu masters in their respective Kung fu stances. Well, most of them. The exception was Master Tigress, who instead of standing in her fighting stance was in a Tai Chi pose. Po didn't know why he preferred drawing Master Tigress in a Tai Chi stance when all the rest were looking perfectly fine in their fighting ones. But it seemed to show her in more balance. As if the fierce feline's features were being brought into a balance by her calm pose. A state in which she must be at peace.
He placed the painting back down. Then suddenly got up, and began mimicking all the master's styles, making Kung fu noises along with them and getting all hyped up in his fan boy mode. He then began to talk as if he were talking to them directly in the middle of a fight. And then he would copy their voices as much as he possibly could and answer his own statements back. It would have looked extremely funny to an outsider but Po didn't care. What was wrong in loving something and acting it out?
He punched and kicked the air alongside his heroes in his imagination, taking down all villains who dared be a part of the figment of his imagination. As he brought his display to an end he tilted his hat down, and took hold of one side of the cloak in his paw, wrapping it around half of his body and said in a heroic tone "Beware you ignorant foes, you are no match for the awesomeness of the Legendary Warrior and the Furious Five, who's presence strikes fear into their enemies, blinding them by their awesomeness. Leave now and I will spare your thieving lives. But remember if you scums ever return for more trouble..." He threw his cloak back " be prepared to face our awesomeness!" He shouted somewhat lamely.
He took off his hat and sighed. Staring at the painting of the Five Masters. His thoughts began to wander. "What wouldn't I give to meet the Furious Five in person? They're like the most amazing Kung fu team in the history of China. Trained by one of the greatest Kung fu Master in all of China, Master Shifu who trained under the creator of Kung fu, Master Oogway." He continued to stare at the painting and held the hat in front of him with both his paws. "I wish these paintings would come to life. So that I could actually talk to them. Fight with them, even if their not real. A replica of them would just be severely cool" He suddenly stopped. "A replica" he said out loud.
Just then he heard a commotion outside. He ran to his window and peered out to see two pigs backing up against the wall in the narrow cul-de-sac next to the restaurant and five menacing looking wolves advancing on them.
Po heard one of them sneer "Now hand over the jewels nice and easy and no one gets hurt"
The pigs looked terrified and Po could see the wolves advancing on them faster now. He suddenly made up his mind. At once he jumped out his bedroom window and landed right behind the five bastards.
"Hey, over here" he yelled at them from the back.
Startled, the five wolves turned around to find a panda wearing a cloak and a straw hat, gesturing them with his fingers to 'come and get it'
They looked at one another and then burst out laughing.
"What are you going to do you pile of meat, sit on us?" sneered one at the back.
"No, I'm about to use my awesome Kung fu to defeat you" Po said confidently.
"So you think you're a hero, hun? Well let's see what you do against this." The wolf quickly ran up to Po and hit him square in the face.
Po stumbled into the wall behind him. Another bandit came rushing towards him and gave him a hard shove. A huge mistake, as Po simply bounced off the wall behind him and came forth his arms outstretched and grabbed the now completely flabbergasted wolf in his arms and they both hit the ground hard, with Po lying on top. Funnily enough the bandit underneath him was the same one who had taunted him about being a pile of meat. "Who's laughing now hun?" he thought dazedly as he sat up on top of the bandit. Only to find the rest of the flock now rushing towards him.
Po gave a loud scream and braced himself for the impact of the approaching wolves. Then suddenly two figures leaped down in front of him, a very familiar Tree Viper and a Golden Langur.
"Stay away from him." Viper shouted as she whipped the first and then the second bandit. Monkey after the rest of the two.
"Don't you bandits ever learn?" Monkey asked kicking one bandit in the chest and sending him flying back, where he suddenly stopped in mid air. What the?
Suddenly the tiny bug from underneath him spoke."You guys messed with the wrong bug." and began to slam him onto the ground. Until the bandit he was holding was knocked out.
Po was bouncing up and down on the bandit who was underneath him with pure excitement. He waved his arms in the air. "Woohoo! Go you guys. Kick their sorry butts"
One of the bandits whom Viper had whipped was trying to get up holding their head but a certain feline decided not to allow him the liberty to get back his bearings and gave him a hard blow to the head from the back. He lay unconscious on the floor the next second.
Po watched in awe as the leader of the Furious Five was revealed from behind the now knocked out bandit. This was the first time he was seeing them all up so close. He could actually go shake their hands now. Ask them all about Kung Fu and so much more.
"Uhh...excuse me, sir. Can you please get off the bandit under you? We really need to tie him up." A female voice said from beside Po. Po wrenched his eyes away from Master Tigress to look at the other female warrior of the famous group, Master Viper, looking up at him, expecting him to get off the poor sap under him. Apparently the Masters were done taking care of the sorry excuse for bandits.
Po immediately jumped off the wolf "Oh oh oh. I'm so sorry. You can have him" he said pointing at the now groaning wolf. Viper gave a nod of thanks and with Monkey's help set to work with tying up the bandits.
Master Tigress was now looking up at the sky. She signaled to Master Crane, who had been keeping an eye on the whole situation from above. On the tiger's signal he immediately flew down. "These bandits were no immediate threat. And I don't think there are any more of them. But I still want you to check out the rest of the areas just in case." she said. Master Crane gave a nod and with a swift movement of his wings went soaring back up into the skies.
Po at the moment was standing next to a very confused, flattered and amused trio of warriors. Viper, Mantis and Monkey couldn't help but feel confused at the amount of enthusiasm the panda was showing towards them, nevertheless it was flattering all the same and not to mention amusing when he would strike one of their poses or rant on happily about how much he loved them.
"And I heard that at the battle of the Weeping River you guys took down a whole army. A WHOLE ARMY. Now that's severely cool. I'm such a big fan of you guys. I got all the posters of..."
"Ahem"
Po turned around to face Master Tigress, who was currently standing with her arms crossed in front of her chest and was looking at him with a stern look. "What did those bandits want?" she asked Po sternly.
Po found himself unable to breathe. The Master Tigress was actually talking to him face-to-face. And she wanted Po to answer her question. How thrilling was that?
"Well, uhhh," he suddenly felt awkward telling them that he had jumped in like a hero, trying to save the day when he couldn't. Master Tigress narrowed her eyes. "Yes" she urged.
"Well, there were these two pigs, the bandits had them cornered and were asking them for some jewels. I saw the whole thing from my bedroom window." He said pointing up to the mentioned window.
"Then they started to advance on the them so I had to do something. So I jumped down behind them and called the bandit's attention to myself. Well... after that they were engaged with me for a while. At least it gave the two pigs enough time to get out of here."
"So you fought all of those bandits on your own?" Monkey asked.
"Well, I didn't exactly fight them I... more like stalled them." Po answered now feeling more down.
"Impressive" Mantis said.
"You really think so?" Po asked hopefully.
"Well yeah. Since you managed to stay alive despite all the odds." the bug chuckled.
"And how exactly did that wolf get under you?" Viper asked somewhat curiously.
Po blushed. "Well, I...I.." he stammered. But thankfully he was saved by an avian who landed beside Tigress.
"It's all clear around here. I checked everywhere." Master Crane reported back to their unofficial leader.
"Good" Tigress said with a nod. "Viper and I will get these bandits to prison. You, Monkey and Mantis can go report back to Master Shifu about the situation being dealt with." she commanded. The others nodded in agreement. She then turned to look sternly at Po "Your actions might have saved some innocent civilians from getting hurt but I'd advise you not to jump in front of every bandit you see. It's not wise. Understood?" She asked in her stern voice.
"Oh yes, all understood Master Tigress."Po said nodding his head enthusiastically.
"Good" Tigress said again. "Now let's go" she lead the way and the others followed suit. Mantis and Monkey waved to him as they went. Po waving back enthusiastically.
After they were gone, Po cheered happily "YEAH! I can't believe I just met the Furious Five in person." He said waving his arms in the air. He happily skipped his way through the front door of the shop, which was now open, and into the kitchen.
His dad looked up at him surprised, "Po where have you been?" he asked incredulously.
"Dad, you wouldn't believe this. I just met the Furious Five. There were these bandits and they fought them and it was so cool" he said.
"There were bandits? Did they get you? Are you hurt?" Mr Ping inquired, completely oblivious to the importance of the whole situation.
"Yes Dad, I'm perfectly fine." Po answered quickly. "But I talked to them all. Well, except for Master Crane and they were all so nice and..."
"Well, I'm glad that you're okay son, but you need to get ready for when the shop opens for breakfast so I think you should go and leave that cloak and hat upstairs" Mr Ping said.
Po gave an exasperated sigh "Okay, Dad." He dragged his feet up the stairs. However, his spirits soon lifted again when he saw the painting he had finished. He picked it up again and twirled, feeling all giddy. He took some pins and went over to wall opposite his bed. Then he pinned the painting in place, standing back to see whether it looked alright.
That's when he suddenly remembered what he had thought just before the bandits had caused the commotion. He just had one of his wishes fulfilled. He had finally met the Furious Five in person. But what would it be like to be around them every day. That's what he wanted, but that wasn't possible. So he can fulfill that wish by having real-looking replicas. And he knew exactly how he could get them.
After the morning customers were served Po ran out the shop calling to his dad saying something that sounded to the old goose like "I'll be back with soup, dad!" he shook his head at his son's hurry. "Young people" He thought.
Po raced down the streets, only managing a very quick 'hi' to the apple vendor who looked confused at Po's haste. But Po didn't stop to explain. He turned the street he had walked down yesterday past the kite shop and finally reached the place he had been thinking of since he had thought of, how he could replicas of the Furious Five.
He was now in front of the woodcarvers shop.
He paused to catch his breath for only a few seconds before he walked into the shop. A whole new assortment of decoration pieces were on display since Po's last visit and Po twisted his head in every direction to have a look at them, but this was not what he had come for.
He stopped at the counter. He could here noises coming from behind a curtain in the door of a room behind the counter. Po rang a tiny bell that was placed on the counter. Finally a ram emerged from inside the room a few seconds later. He stopped short when he saw Po, then gave a wide smile.
"Hello Po. What can I do for you today?" he asked in a kind fatherly fashion. He was old. Maybe in his fifties. He had a deep, comforting voice. The beard on his chin was tied with a piece of black string and his robes were dark blue and with a black pattern on them. And his brown eyes always radiated a sense of calm.
Po looked at the old ram nervously then said "I was wondering if you'd help me out with something, Mr Ruan." he asked in a hesitant tone.
Mr Ruan looked at him, still smiling kindly "And what is it that you require my assistance with, young Po?"
Po held the back of his neck nervously "I was hoping you could teach me how to...carve." he answered fearing a refusal from the ram.
Mr Ruan eyed him curiously "And is there some special reason for this request?" he asked with mild curiosity.
"Well, I wanted to learn how to carve...so that I can make action figures of my heroes. The Furious Five." Po explained somewhat hesitantly, still fearing rejection.
"Really? Now that sounds like a nice idea. It must have been you're fan boy mind working. I wouldn't have thought of such a good idea myself. But I can make them for you if you want. Why go through all the bother of learning how to carve?" Mr Ruan answered somewhat confused by Po's request to learn the art of carving.
Po quickly explained "Actually, I do want to go through all the bother, Mr Ruan. You see, I love Kung fu more than anything else I've ever loved in my life. And the least I can do as a fan is make the action figures of my favorite masters myself. So thanks for the offer to make them for me, but I'll really appreciate it if you would just teach me how to carve so that I can work on making them myself."
Mr Ruan was impressed by the dedication the panda had to his heroes, after all, carving couldn't be learned in one night. Plus he didn't see any harm in teaching Po. He was a nice kid, always ready to do odd jobs for him if he ever asked "Alright then." he finally answered. "I'll teach you how to carve"
Po smiled widely "Thank you Mr Ruan, this means a lot to me. Oh and one more thing, can you please not make any other action figures of the Masters? I want mine to be one of a kind." he asked. He knew he was pushing his luck too far but he wanted to be the only one with the special figurines.
Mr Ruan sighed. It had after all been Po's idea in the first place. And he wouldn't want to steal it, so he agreed.
"Thanks again Mr Ruan, this is going to be so awesome" Po stated happily.
But Mr Ruan reminded him of something before he got too excited "However, if you want me to teach you how to carve, you will have to do something for me in return. Surely you can't expect to learn without some sort of payment?" he said kindly.
Po stopped to think about this. What would be the best way to pay Mr Ruan for teaching him? Mr Ruan however saw Po's confusion and stated "What would you say, if I asked you to run a few errands for me for every day I teach you? That way my work can be done and so can your's."
Po contemplated the suggestion. It sounded fair enough. "Deal" he said and brought out his paw for Mr Ruan to shake.
Taking Po's paw he said "Well, be here tomorrow morning at this time. I'm sure you'll get the hang of carving soon enough, you've always been good with art. Off you go now, I have work to do." He waved his hoof in dismissal after he'd done shaking Po's paw and Po after saying good bye left the shop.
The mere thought of finally learning how to carve and then being able to make the first ever action figures of the Furious Five was what helped Po go through the whole day without much shift in mood. He even sat down to answer all of Mrs Bai's questions about his day, surprising the old lady herself. But she was quick to forget his sudden desire to sit next to him and began asking all sorts of questions. In the course of the whole discussion, Po came to learn that Mrs Bai was a pretty lonely woman. And the claim was supported ever more by the way she talked. Once she started talking, she kept at it as if she had everything saved inside of her for a long time and was looking for an outlet. She even talked as far back as when her husband died and she for the first time after his death made Mooncakes, his favorite dessert and cried.
Po felt sympathetic and somewhat guilty of ever ignoring Mrs Bai before. She was just a woman who was looking for some company. Apparently from her everyday visits and from what she told Po, he gathered that most of the women around her didn't want anything to do with her, because of a weird habit she had developed of suddenly shouting out random words in the middle of sentences for no clear reason. The other women just found it embarrassing. But Po on the contrary, felt concerned and angry at those women for abandoning her like that. "They should have helped her,not left her alone" he thought "You don't leave another woman to suffer alone when they've just lost their husband at a young age, letting them live with the pain all these years"
As Mrs Bai left after her long heart-to-heart with Po, he decided that he would show his action figures to Mrs Bai after Mr Ruan, who would be the first.
At the end of the day, Po felt happy. He was sure this was because he had just helped somebody by talking to them and making them feel cared for. He lay down contented on his bed and slowly his eyes fluttered shut.
Next morning Po was rushing about, taking the customers their orders with such speed even Mr Ping was surprised.
"Po are you feeling alright? Why are you in such a hurry, not that it's not helping my sales?"
"Oh it's nothing dad. I just asked Mr Ruan to teach me how to carve and I have to be at his shop after breakfast. He asked me to run some errands as payment to him though." Po told Mr Ping before rushing out to serve his next order.
When he came back in Mr Ping had a thoughtful look on his face."Is something wrong, Dad?" Po asked apprehensively. He knew should have told his dad about his plan before but what was done was done.
"No, it's just that. Why do you even want to learn to carve all of a sudden?" Mr Ping stated slowly.
Po lowered his head a little thinking how best to answer his dad, finally he answered "It's just that I was getting tired of just having paintings and posters, I wanted something more Dad so I thought I'd learn how to carve and then make action figures of the Five. If that's ok...with..you?" he asked at the end.
Mr Ping looked at his son then let out a sigh "Okay. You can go to learn how to carve. I still don't know why you're so concerned about Kung fu when you got noodles and you're going to get to run this shop after me. Why waste your time on Kung fu?... Well, try to be back soon. The lunch rush won't serve itself." he said.
"Thanks, Dad" Po said picking up the old goose and giving him a hug. "I love you"
"I love you too son" Mr Ping replied. Po placed his father back on the ground and rushed out the kitchen shouting a good bye on the way out the front door. Mr Ping watched him leave then set back to work again.
Po weaved his way through the morning crowd who all just seemed to be coming from the opposite side. He finally arrived panting in front of Mr Ruan's shop and entered. He found the old ram sitting behind the counter, a block of wood in his hoof. He smiled when Po entered."Good to see you again Po. I believe you are ready for your first lesson?"
Po nodded enthusiastically while walking up to Mr Ruan and sat down on a stool on the other side of the counter, "I'm ready" he said somewhat nervously.
"Don't worry kid, you'll get the hang of it in no time. I'm sure. I've seen you balance those bowls like an expert all the time and this art also needs balance. Now you've seen me carve multiple times but now I'm going to show you what each strip you carve out means."
Po straightened up determined not miss anything Mr Ruan told him.
"Now first you take the wooden block and hold it in your left hand. The next step is to hold the chisel properly. With your right hand take hold of the knife and place it at a slight angle on the wooden block." He said demonstrating. "Now, you will never push the blade with you right thumb, you'll do it with the left, the one that is around the block, or else your cut wouldn't be precise. Slowly you begin to apply pressure only using your thumb. The rest of your fingers wrapped around the instrument help in precision. The pressure will soon lead the wood under it to yield and you'll finally be able to chip off the first strip for your master piece. Repeating this process while keeping in mind the figure you want to carve will help you attain the shape that you want. Follow me so far?" he asked and Po nodded.
"Good now take this block and chisel." he said handing over his instruments to Po. "And try to do what I've just told you. You'll only be learning how to chip off pieces now, the shapes will come later."
Po took the chisel and wood and and followed the instructions Mr Ruan had just given him. He gently placed the chisel on the wood and began to apply pressure. The pressure wasn't enough yet, but Po felt as if the chisel was stuck so he placed his tongue between his teeth and applied a 'little' more pressure. The 'little' pressure actually turned out to be pretty big and the next second a very large chip of wood peeled off.
He looked up at Mr Ruan, ashamed he couldn't do it right. But the ram merely smiled "No need to be ashamed boy. You should have seen when my dad taught me. I ended up cutting the block in half somehow. You'll slowly know how much pressure to apply and at what angle. Now try again."
This exercise went on for about two hours. And at the end of it Po's fingers felt stiff from keeping them in such a position, as is required to hold a chisel. Mr Ruan came over to him and gave him one large and one small box. "I want you to take these boxes to Mrs Ang and Mr Kuo. Tell them I sent you to deliver their orders. Their addresses are on the boxes in case you don't know them."
Po checked the addresses and nodded to Mr Ruan "Yeah, I'll get them to to Mrs Ang and Mr Kuo just fine."
"Good, now get going. That's all the you have to do for today. I'll see you tomorrow same time."
With this Po picked up the boxes to deliver them to their respective addressees. Feeling that this whole carving thing was going to take a lot of time after all.
Po was back at Mr Ruan's the next day at the same time. And this routine continued as such for the next two weeks.
"You work on the outline and then refine what you have made. You cannot go straight to the last step. You need to have patience and precision" Mr Ruan said to Po one day after two weeks. Po could now carve with good enough precision yet his figures were still somewhat clumsy and he was beginning to think that this was going to be impossible. On Mr Ruan's statement he looked up and asked."Mr Ruan,when am I going to get to carve decently enough to stop embarrassing even myself?" he asked.
"All in due time, son. You just have to be patient. I know you have it in you. If it makes you feel better, I'll tell you, I'd only managed not to cut my hand while craving after two weeks."
This made Po feel better-a little. He set back to working on the miniature fish he was trying to make while taking guidance from a book filled with pictures of different wooden figures.
Mr Ruan gave him three boxes to be delivered that day. One was for his dad.
He looked up surprised. "When did my Dad come here Mr Ruan?" he asked curious and nervous. "What did he say?" he thought.
"Oh he just came here yesterday to ask how you were really doing with the carving lessons. He said he asked you everyday but you didn't feel too positive. He came because he wanted to know how well his son was really doing."
"And what did you say?" Po asked somewhat hesitantly.
"I told him that you were progressing pretty well. I added my story about cutting my hand to him as well." Mr Ruan smiled.
"Okay and why the decoration piece?" Po said gesturing to the small box in front of him.
"Well when he was here he saw one of my wall hangings and he just couldn't leave it here. So he asked me to deliver it to him tomorrow."
"Okay... I'll be going then. Thanks and good bye Mr Ruan" he said waving.
"You're welcome and good bye to you too Po" he answered back.
Po dropped off the other two boxes at their addresses who's owners were pleased to see their orders. And then made his way back home.
Mr Ping greeted him in the kitchen. "Oh Po. It's good that you're finally here. Hurry up, the lunch has to be served any minute now."
"Dad, you went over to Mr Ruan yesterday, right?" he asked his dad.
"Oh Po, I couldn't help but notice how down you were every time you came home so I went over to him to ask him myself." his dad answered kindly.
"That's okay, Dad. But you ordered a wall hanging?"
"Well I saw it on display in Mr Ruan's shop and I thought it would look really lovely on my bedroom wall. I had to get rid of the old one first, so I asked him to send it over today. I'll fix it up after I'm free"
Po nodded with his sweet smile and prepared to help out his dad for lunch.
Po continued going over to Mr Ruan for the next two weeks as well. And his labor finally started to bring some weak fruits. At least he could make a decent shape now. Mr Ruan assured him that another few weeks and he'll he carving like a pro.
His motivation kept him focused on achieving his goal. And every time he had a glimpse of the Furious Five fighting off threats, he felt more confident that he could do it and he would decide to work better for the days to come.
Finally after another three weeks, Po finally was ready to take Mr Ruan's final test. He had mastered how to cut out the basic shape, trim it down, give the figure a few necessary tweaks and paint them. And whenever Po had achieved all four steps in the previous days he had felt more and more confident about making his action figures, the best.
Po made his way over to Mr Ruan's shop. And on the counter awaited him the chisel and block he had been using for the past one and half month. He sat down and waited for Mr Ruan to tell him his final test. He was determined to pass it.
"Your final test today Po is to be able to make a figure of a bear. I want you to make a brown bear. It shouldn't be too big but neither too small. Chisel away the next two hours to complete your test. Good luck." Mr Ruan said.
Po nodded and took a deep breath and began to carve. Two hours of constant work later, he had made a good enough bear. He painted it brown and made the the eyes of the figurine black. There might have been a little problem with it's left arm looking like somebody broke it, but thankfully it wasn't any worse than that. In fact he was sure that if he placed the figure on display, no customer would be able to tell it wasn't made by Mr Ruan himself.
Mr Ruan came over to inspect his carved out figure. He inspected in from one side then the other. Stroking his beard as he scrutinized the figure. He noticed the slightly disfigured arm and in addition a little defect in making the shape of the head round enough at the top. But apart from that Po had finally gotten hold of the art.
He held up the figure to Po "Congratulations Po. I believe you have now mastered the art of carving. All you now need is enough practice. You'll be good on your own in no time. You have passed this test." he smiled.
Po smiled widely. And took the figure that Mr Ruan was holding out to him, who however did inform him of the two defects he had spotted.
"Well, I think this brings our lessons to an end Po. You've kept your side of the deal and run errands for me every single day without fail. But don't forget to come over to my shop every now and again. Good bye"
"Good bye" Po said. He had no boxes or other jobs to do for Mr Ruan today. He said the deal only held until he taught him, today was his test, he didn't teach him much of anything.
Po waltzed through the market place and people swerved out of the way to avoid his large bulk. He finally made it home without causing any harm to anyone. He at once ran into the shop and into the kitchen.
"DAD" he called
"Oh Po"Mr Ping jumped up in surprise "Don't do that. I thought someone had come to rob me"
"Sorry Dad. But guess what? I passed the test. I can now officially carve, see?" he said holding out the bear figure to his dad. His father looked at it impressed.
"Wow Po. This is really good. So when are you planning on making those action figures of the Five?" he asked
Po rubbed the back of his neck "Well, I was hoping you could let me off for tomorrow so that I can complete them" he asked sheepishly. He knew how much trouble he'd cause his dad.
"Well...I.." Mr Ping began.
"I'll help with the lunch rush, I was just hoping you'd give me the rest of the time off." He quickly added, not wanting to make his dad feel deserted.
"Well...I think it wouldn't hurt for one day."His father said finally giving in. "But you have to help me with the lunch rush" he said in a commanding voice, pointing a finger at him.
"I will, I will." Po said bringing up his hands to reassure his dad.
"Good, now we got work to do." Mr Ping said, quickly changing back to his business mode.
Po groaned but complied.
That evening he went to buy seven blocks of wood, a chisel and a few paints that he was running low on. As he bought the red, purple and yellow paints he smiled happily. Tomorrow he'll have his own master pieces ready. And they'll be one of a kind.
Next day Po actually managed to jump out of bed. He was finally going to be able to make the action figures of the Five. He quickly got dressed and made his way downstairs to get breakfast and then get started on the figurines.
He happily ran up his bedroom as soon as he'd finished breakfast, though feeling a little guilty at leaving his dad all alone. But he had to start on what he had been dying to make for about one and a half month.
He entered to find all the stuff he had bought yesterday and the other paints he already had, placed on the floor. Right where he had been painting his picture the last time he'd created something for the love of Kung fu. The painting he had done then was now again on the floor. But for a completely different purpose. This time it was to have their pictures in front of him so that he can chisel while following the Five's poses on the painting. He also had some other pictures showing the five from different angles. He had to paint them after all.
He had bought extra blocks just in case one went wrong and he needed more. The purchase had been heavy on his pocket money, but he didn't mind, he was about to get something worth the price.
Po put on his cloak, but placed his straw hat at his side. It would have made it difficult for him to carve effectively. He picked up the chisel in his right hand and the block in his left then taking in a deep breath he set the chisel onto the block like Mr Ruan had taught him and set to work.
Po started carving with the figure of Viper first. He slowly continued striping away wood, giving it it's initial shape. He worked hard to show the slim, flexible figure of the deadly Kung fu Warrior in his figure. He worked with a concentration even he didn't know he had. Slowly however, he began to ease into the movement and he relaxed a little, his hands almost working without commands. He chiseled away and finally after about one and a half hour of work later he had the beautiful wooden figure of Master Viper. It did look like a real miniature version of her, except that it wasn't alive. Pleased at his success, Po picked up the paint brush that was lying beside him and opened the jar full of green paint to start painting the figure. Taking directions from the paintings in front of him. It took him another half hour to complete with the painting. He had gotten up and walked over to his 'table' when he had been half done painting so that he could place the figure on it, as to allow it to dry later safely up there. He stood back to admire his work. He smiled when he saw how perfect it looked. Giddy with success he rushed over to start on Master Crane's figure.
Master Crane's wings proved a little difficult and Po had to be extra careful not to chisel off the hat or the beak. For Crane it took him another one and a half hour to carve and another half an hour to paint. Like Viper's he placed it on another 'table' after half painting it, so that it can be safely painted and dried.
Exhausted by his labor for the last few hours and also remembering his promise to his dad he decided to take a short brake and help out before coming back up to finish the rest of the figures.
Po vigilantly helped his dad with the lunch rush, trying to cover up for the morning by doing more tasks than usual. And Mr Ping feeling that Po really had made up for the morning, happily allowed him to go back upstairs after the serving was done.
Po went back upstairs finding his stuff just as he'd left them. He sat down again and thought for a moment "Hmm...who should I carve next?" Then his eyes fell on the picture he had been taking the instructions from and he saw the great Master Tigress in her awesome Ti Chi pose and he immediately decided to carve out the most daunting of all the Masters-Tigress.
Po picked up his chisel once again and placed his tongue between his teeth and started on Master Tigress. He soon eased into the movement again but this time with a certain feeling to attain the best. He wanted Master Tigress' figure to look like a perfect replica of her. The amount of dedication and strength she showed in her Kung fu and the fierceness with which she fought for the people of China earned her a good action figure at the least. Of course the other masters had dedication and strengths too, but in his opinion, she was a few steps ahead of them.
Po poured all his sweat into his work and finally after about another two hours he was done carving. He picked up his paint brush and dipped it into the blood red paint and carefully began to place red strokes across the Master's vest. He was extra careful with the markings on the back of her vest and the stripes on her face. Half way through he carried her over to another over-turned pot as well and painted the rest before leaving it to dry. He had to admit he had really done well on her action figure. Even her expression was perfect.
Pleased with the one figure he wanted to be the most careful on and finding it nicely done he skipped back to his equipment and happily sat down to start on his next figure. Master Monkey's. But unfortunately in his excitement he removed the first few strips very wrongly and he ended up wasting one block. He set it aside and started afresh. This time with more caution.
Half way through carving, Mr Ping knocked on the door and Po despite getting startled by the knock, managed not to ruin his figure. His father gently opened the door to bring in the noodles he had prepared for dinner and set the bowls beside Po. It was a bit early for dinner but Po was glad nevertheless.
"How are the action figures coming along Po?" he asked standing with his wings on his waist looking at the three finished Masters on the 'tables' and the half finished carving of Master Monkey in his hand.
"They're going great Dad. I had a little problem with the first block for Master Monkey but now it's perfectly fine. What do you think of them?" he said pointing to the three figures on the table.
Mr Ping walked closer to inspect them. He saw how hard Po had worked on perfecting the figures and a small smile tugged at his lips. "They're done beautifully Po" he said and turned to give his son a wide smile.
Po smiled back happy that his dad liked them. He thanked his dad for the noodles and as soon as he left gulped down the whole three bowl in one go. Then he set back to work.
He was extra careful with Monkey's tail (He had practically held his breath while doing Monkey and Tigress' tail) and he was sure he hadn't made any accidental defects in them. This figure took him the almost an hour and forty-five minutes to carve and the next twenty minutes was spent painting. With the figure safely placed on another 'table'.
The last Master now awaited to be carved out by the mighty Po, who was willing to learn for weeks and take a day off from his dad just to complete the figurines for the love of Kung fu and the love of its warriors. He rubbed his eyes feeling tired, but he was going to sleep only after finishing them so he sat down again and started on Master Mantis, the tiniest yet no less strong Master of the lot.
With Mantis Po had to take care not to chisel off all of his legs, but it wasn't very hard since the figure was relatively large in comparison to the other figures. He carried on the monotonous movement, not stopping to rest his aching hands and neck and finally after about an hour he was finished with the last member of the team.
As soon as he was satisfied he had carved it out well enough, he picked up his brush and set to work, painting it green and making the markings on the Master's back and legs.
Half an hour later Po stood triumphantly in front of his figures with a sense of fulfillment and happiness. He had finally achieved his desire for real-looking Furious Five figures. He could even fight crime alongside them more realistically.
He gave a very tired yawn and a large stretch, it was nearly dark now and decided that he should hit the hay. The figures would be dry till morning and he would finally be able to show them to Mr Ruan and Mrs Bai tomorrow. He climbed into his bed and instantly fell asleep. The figures however stood guard next to him that night, their poses striking fear into any enemy that might have dared come around. Yes, they did look real.
Next day Po awoke feeling really happy. For a moment or two he forgot what was the reason behind the happiness but then he suddenly remembered and he at once got up and grabbed Master Crane's figure. It was completely dried now and it looked even better now that he was seeing it in day light. (He hadn't been able to get a really good look at them in the relatively dim light of the numerous lanterns he had lit up in his room yesterday.) He quickly examined the other figures, holding them in his hand and scrutinizing them in the light from his window to check for any defects.
They were perfect. He at once scooped them up in his arms and ran to his door and down the stairs.
In the kitchen Mr Ping heard someone coming down the steps in a hurry, of course it had to be Po. A moment later Po rushed down and opened the kitchen door.
"Hi, dad" he said opening the door
"Bye, dad" he called again closing it. And without a pause ran out the restaurant door.
Mr Ping understood his son's enthusiasm, he wanted to show Mr Ruan the figures as soon as possible. "Well I guess I'll let him be late today again." He thought and set to work with the water that was already simmering on the stove.
Po ran through the still somewhat empty streets. He didn't stop. He wanted to show Mr Ruan that he had finally done it. He ran past all the shops, aiming for only one. The wood carver's.
Po tried to catch his breath as he halted in front of the shop. It was still closed. He thought about coming back later, but he found that he couldn't wait. So he raised his fist and gave a slow but firm knock on the closed door.
He waited. Half a minute later, he raised his paw to knock again when he heard footsteps approaching the door.
Once the footsteps had reached near the door, they stopped and a voice came from inside. "Who's there?"
"Mr Ruan it's me, Po" Po answered back from behind the closed door.
A bolt could be heard opening from inside and a two seconds later Mr Ruan stood in front of him, dressed in his usual. "He must have been about to open the shop." Po thought.
"Hello Po. How are you? I hope you're not having trouble with the carving again?" he asked.
Po shook his head and gave a wide grin "Nope." He answered and then pulled out the action figures he'd been hiding behind his back.
Mr Ruan stared at the figurines for a few minutes as Po waved them under his nose then he carefully reached out to grab Master Monkey's figure. Po happily gave it to him.
Mr Ruan turned the wooden figure this way and that, admiring the effort Po had put into making his collection. He looked up smiling "Po, you've really outdone yourself. This is amazing. You made them all yesterday?" he asked curious and amazed.
"Yeah, I started on them in the morning, taking a break for the lunch rush and then finishing them after that. Took me some time but I eventually got them done. Thanks for liking them so much."
"No problem at all, my dear boy. You've really earned your love for them by going through all the pain to learn how to carve and then working on them with such determination. I am truly impressed."
Po bowed in respect "Aww, thanks Mr Ruan, I never would have been able to do it without you. The real credit goes to you for being so patient with me."
"It was nothing" Mr Ruan said waving it off "Well I think you better be off, your father might be waiting for you."
"Oh yeah, I got to get back to him." Po said. He quickly said a good bye and dashed off.
Mr Ruan smiled going back into his shop, thinking about the happy Panda who had just left his doorstep. He opened his shop door wide to signal the beginning of the work day.
Once again Po was running through the streets which was more crowded now and he finally reached the restaurant which was open for the morning customers.
As soon as he stepped inside he saw Mrs Bai the old goat lady sitting alone at her usual table, eating her breakfast quietly. Po walked over to her.
"Hey there, Mrs Bai." he said coming to stand in front of her.
Mrs Bai looked up from her bowl to see who it was. When she saw Po she gave a small smile "Po dear, how are you?" she asked kindly.
Po sat down across from her "I'm great Mrs Bai. Actually I wanted to show you something I made. Would you like to see it?"
"Very much" she replied back.
Po reached into his back pocket and pulled out the action figures one by one. He placed the last figure of Mater Tigress on the table and then looked up smiling at Mrs Bai. But his smile faltered when he saw the blank, wide-eyed look on Mrs Bai's face.
"Is everything alright, Mrs Bai?" he asked tentatively.
Mrs Bai just sat there looking at the figures for a long time and Po became worried that he had upset her somehow. Finally she made a movement and reached out with both her hooves and picked up the figures of Master Crane and Master Viper. She looked at them from all sides, taking in the detail. Po watched her with baited breath. "What had he done wrong?" He thought.
He opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong but she suddenly spoke "You made these yourself?" she asked in a slightly shaky voice.
"Yes, I made them just yesterday. I wanted to show them to you too." Po replied biting his lip.
"They're beautiful." She said giving a another smile."My husband made a wooden carving of me and him just a week before he died in the fire at his shop. He was a carver too. I've always cherished that gift. These remind me of him so much." She said placing the figure back on the table.
Po felt bad for making her remember such a bad memory "I'm sorry, I.." he began but Mrs Bai cut him off.
"No thank you. You've helped me revive the memory of my late husband in a much better way. Before this I could only picture him dying in that shop, yelling for help, getting choked by the horrible smoke and then he had looked horribly burnt on his funeral. I had almost lost all my memories of the good times with him. But this, it's just suddenly helped me remember so much. He may have died young, but he gave me a lot before he died." She said giving a smile that showed her calm instead of her usual uptight self before this.
Po smiled, feeling happy. Just then a few pigs walked up behind Po. "Hey Po, what have you got there?" one said. Then he realized the figures and said "Are those action figures of the Furious Five?" he asked with curiosity and excitement both in his voice.
"They sure are, Gan" Po replied. "Have a look". He gestured to the lined up Five masters.
Gan quickly brought his hoof forward and picked up Master Viper. One of his friends picked up Mantis.
"WOW, Po these are amazing?" Gan commented."Where did you learn all this?"
"I asked Mr Ruan to help me learn how to carve so that I could make figurines of the Five. I really wanted something more realistic than paintings" he replied.
"Well, I got to say, you've finally brought those paintings to life. Be careful not to break them now." He joked.
"Hey, I won't break them, I made them with so much effort" Po replied.
"Yeah, but I was just a little bit concerned that you might accidentally sit on them, just like you did with my guitar last week."
Po blushed "I said I was sorry"
"Nah, it's okay. I got a new one. I'll show it to you tomorrow, if you promise you won't sit on it again." He said faking a stern look.
"I promise, I promise" Po said raising his hands in surrender.
"Well I'll show it to you tomorrow then." Gan said giving a small wave to Po and went off to find himself and his friends a table.
Po turned back to look happily at Mrs Bai. "Do you mind if I go show these to my dad?" he asked her still smiling.
"Of course, by all means" she replied. So Po picked up the action figures and walked to the kitchen to finally show them to his dad.
"Hey Dad" Po said as he stepped in.
"Hello Po, you ran off in a hurry, I believe you were at Mr Ruan's showing him your action figures, hun?" he asked.
"Yeah, I just wanted to... you know..." he began awkwardly.
"It's okay Po, I know you wanted to show them to him because he helped you. So where are these action figures?" he asked trying to get a glimpse of what Po was holding behind his back.
Po smiled and brought out the figurines to show them to Mr Ping. Placing them on the table in the kitchen.
Mr Ping examined each figure one by one, he praised Po on every carving making Po feel even more pleased with himself. Finally when his dad was done looking at them he picked them up again."I just got to go put these back in my room. I'll be back in a minute." he said and began to make his way up the steps.
"Okay, but be quick, you've already had almost half of the morning off" Mr Ping said exaggeratedly. It had only been half an hour since the shop had opened.
Po walked into his room upstairs and scanned his room. It's walls adorned with the posters of the Furious Five, a bull's drawing on the wall near the foot of his bed. A few throwing stars stuck around its picture. He tried to think up a good place to display his action figures. His eyes fell on the window sill. He walked over to it and one by one began to place all the action figures in a line.
"Master Monkey, Master Mantis, Master Crane, Master Viper and Master Tigress" he recited as he placed each Master's figure one by one onto it.
He stood back to admire them once again. Then suddenly began in his fan boy mode"Watch out all you villains, The Legendary Warrior and the Furious Five are here to bring you to JUSTICE" he shouted.
"PO" Mr Ping yelled from below. Po let out a yelp and quickly scurried out of the room to help out his dad.
The figures of the Furious Five remained on that window sill from that day forth until the day Po became the Dragon Warrior and took them to the Jade Palace. They had always stood guard over him at night on the window sill, telling him that they were always there to protect him and others from any foe that would dare approach their precious land, China, and they still do, along with the real Kung fu Masters who he now lives with.
After Po became the Dragon Warrior he decided to go down to the village to meet a certain ram one day.
Mr Ruan looked up expecting another customer but to his surprise it was the Dragon Warrior himself. He quickly stood up to bow to him but Po stopped him "Please, Mr Ruan there's no need for that, I might be the Dragon Warrior now but I'm still Po."he said smiling.
Mr Ruan gave him a warm smile in return "So what gives me the pleasure of having the Dragon Warrior in my shop?"
"Mr Ruan" Po whined "Just call me Po or son or whatever, like you used to."
"Okay son, what can I do for you?" he finally asked.
Po gave him a smile "Well, you remember those action figures I made?" he asked
"Of course, how could I ever forget them?" he replied chuckling.
"Yes and you promised me then that you wouldn't make any other action figures because it was my idea and I wanted it to be unique. But now I would like it very much if you made more figures so that the children who all love Kung Fu and its heroes get the chance to love their heroes even more. It was selfish of me not letting you make any figures for other kids, but now I understand that everybody has a right to love their heroes and if they want action figures then they should have them" Po stated.
Mr Ruan smiled "I'll be very happy to oblige Dragon Warrior" he said with a small smirk.
"Mr Ruan" Po whined again.
And after that day Mr Ruan started making action figures of all the Five masters. He even made some of Po which quickly became popular and Po was over-whelmed to see how much the children idolized him. Slowly, Mr Ruan started expanding the collection and began to make action figures of the other Kung Fu Masters around China as well and children loved their heroes ever more.
I know I've made the story different then most. It's just that I find it hard to believe that Po must have naturally known how to make absolutely perfect wooden figures. I do believe he might have a talent, but knowing all along, I don't think so.
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