Hey guys, this is my first fan fic, and I would like read your opinions on it, and any suggestions or criticisms you may have. Hope you enjoy. Please, read and review!

Chapter 1: Leaving Home

All was quiet and calm with the world, peaceful and serene. The air was soft and warm, prophesying of another pleasant summer day. The sun's rays shone brightly through the small window above a sleeping mat, upon which lay a young female leopard. Nothing could disturb the tranquility of this early morning hour. Or so Ming thought. CREAK! Even though her younger brother was very skilled in stealth from years of experience, the old wooden door to her room still gave away the knowledge of his presence. As soon as the door had voiced its displeasure of being moved, the noise stopped immediately. Ming still had her eyes closed, however she pricked her ears, listening very closely, unconsciously tensed with anticipation.

For what seemed like ages, silence reigned throughout the house. Not a sound was heard, no silent breathing, no rustle of clothing, no stealthy footsteps. Cracking an eye open slightly, Ming set her gaze upon the door, watching intently for any sign of movement. Minutes passed, but nothing happened. Ming slowly began to sit up on her mat, keeping her gaze locked on the door, and listening very hard for any sound which might betray her brother again. Getting up slowly, she cautiously walked to the door, silently, her footsteps giving forth no sound.

Halfway across her room, she heard a slight sound coming from her window, and whirled around to face the unseen attacker. HYAAAA! A yellow blur launched itself at her from the window, trying to take her by surprise. However, Ming dropped on all fours as soon as she glimpsed the intruder, causing him to fly over her head and collide with the wall. Ooof! The figure groaned as he made contact with the wall, stopping him in his tracks. With lightning quick speed, Ming grabbed the intruder and pinned him down tightly. The figure, a yellow leopard, not unlike Ming, struggled for a moment, before letting out a loud sigh.

"Awwwww Ming! I almost had you!." the young leopard whined.

Ming chuckled. "The door gave you away Jun," she laughed, "So therefore I was prepared for you. Your stealth has improved much in the last month however; if you had not made that sound by the window, you would've had me."

Jun sighed again. "Yea, I lost my balance coming through the window, and my paw scraped against the sill as I was trying to support myself. As soon as I heard the sound, I leaped for you, knowing that I had to be fast if I was to try and take you. But you were too fast for me." he pouted.

Ming got up off her brother, and held out a hand to help him up. Jun ignored it however, and with a small grunt, pushed himself to his feet.

"Jun," Ming said, "You did very well. If you had been against someone else, you would most definitely have won."

Jun considered this for a moment, then said, "Yea, but nobody else challenges me to be so quiet, so careful, as you."

Ming smiled. "But what about mother and father?"

"Yea, I guess they are challenging. But they don't play this game much any more. It's just you and me." Jun replied with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Ming was quiet for a moment, before putting her paws on her brother's shoulders. "Jun, this may be a game right now, but one day, it might be the difference between life and death. You remember what happened the last time."

Jun nodded his head slowly, pain coming into his eyes as the memory came back again.

Five years ago..

Screams and cries tore through the air as villagers—pigs, goats, sheep, etc—ran to and fro, trying to escape a large pack of wolves bearing down up them. The wolves were barking and howling as they tore down upon their victims, wielding all sorts of axes, swords, and spears.

Ming and Jun were hiding behind a large rock a short distance away from the village just like their father had instructed them, with some of the other village children. Never had Ming been so scared in all her life. She feared not only for her mother and brother, but also for the villagers who were in the midst of the conflict; and for her father, who was fighting the wolf pack with her three uncles.

In the midst of her thoughts, Ming failed to notice a couple wolves sneak up on them until it was too late. With a loud snarl they charged, and as she let out a loud scream, from out of nowhere her father appeared. Fury was written on his countenance, as he charged the two wolves who dared to sneak up upon his children. The wolves fought strongly for a moment, however they found they were no match for the enraged father, who bore down upon them relentlessly. No one, no matter who they were, was going to take his children, or harm them in any way.

The wolves turned tail and ran away, but not before Ming's father had brought some heavy blows to bear upon them. He checked to see that Ming and Jun were safe and unharmed, as well as the other children, before charging back into the fray below them in the village.

Later, when the wolves were vanquished and had fled, Ming and Jun came down from the rock where they had hid, and holding tightly to their father's hands, gazed upon the destruction that had been wrought in the village, which they called their home. Many of the buildings were severely damaged, some were half burnt, while others were completely destroyed. None of the villagers had come away unscathed, in one way or another. Most were injured, some seriously. Amazingly however, nobody had died. This comforting fact shone like a bright light at the end of a tunnel, something to be thankful for.

Ming and Jun stood in silence for a few minutes, recounting that day, and what followed after; the village had been rebuilt, and everyone picked up their lives and continued forward, but not without carrying the horrible memory that the attack had left with them. Ming's father and uncles were skilled in the art of kung fu; and some of the villagers, who wanted to learn some of this kung fu in order to protect their families, should anything like this ever happen again, came to them to learn how to defend themselves.

Ever since then, whenever some croc, wolf, or buffalo bandits came to the village, looking for easy pickings, the villagers were able to fight them off successfully, with some help now and then from Ming's father and her uncles.

Not long after the incident, Ming and her brother began training in the art of kung fu. Taught by their father they soon became the best youths in the village; where once every year from then on after the attack was held a kung fu tournament, in which everyone could compete, in their respective age groups, of course.

Their father, and coach, always encouraged them, corrected their stances or techniques, and reminded them that to be the best, they must always continue to train, and to push themselves, and that everything they needed to be the best was already inside of them. They only had to bring it out.

So they trained hard, every time they pushed themselves to hit faster and harder, to hold a stance longer, to complete a technique smoother, until they had learned everything their father knew. Even then they continued to train, making up new techniques and moves, going beyond everything they had been given.

Ming and Jun competed with each other every day, to see who could be faster, smoother, stealthier. Those times were the best memories for each, and even though one might win against the other, or lose, or they both tie, they knew that being better than the other was not the key, the ultimate purpose. It was always to better and to improve themselves. Sure they had their disagreements and arguments, but they always made up. They were brother and sister, tightly linked on and off the training mat, and they would never come apart, not for anything, not for anyone. Family sticks together.

Ming and Jun had been born and raised in this village, called Linjiang, Forest River, and had never really traveled far beyond it. A couple times they had visited one of the neighboring villages, but the nearest one was about a day's journey away, so they never went often.

Today however, was a very special, important day. Ming had just recently turned sixteen, and had completed her studies at the village school. Jun was fourteen, and had two years to go before he would be done. Now that Ming was finished, she could go anywhere she pleased, as per agreement with her parents. And there was one place that she had always wanted to go to, nay, had dreamed of going. The Valley of Peace, where dwelt some of China's greatest kung fu masters, protectors of the weak, warriors of good against evil. When she was young, she heard stories of the great Furious Five, stories that captured her imagination, inspired her in training, and gave her the dream of being one of the greatest masters of kung fu in China. She loved kung fu, and she also wanted to protect and defend those who couldn't defend themselves. Her brother also aspired to being a kung fu master, however he was not old enough to go out on his own to receive higher training. Both of their parents had made an agreement with them: They must finish their studies first, and then after they turn sixteen, they could go and continue their training to become kung fu masters. Ming had fulfilled the agreement, and today she was setting out to pursue her dream.

CREAK! The wooden door to her parent's bedroom opened, snapping both siblings out of their thoughts, as two pairs of footsteps could be heard, one traveling toward the kitchen, while the other headed outside. As Ming remembered what today meant for her, she was filled with excitement and anticipation. She smiled at her brother and said, "Come on Jun, let's go help mother and father get breakfast."

Jun rubbed his stomach, "Mmm, sounds good." he laughed.

Ming chuckled, and together they both stepped out of the bedroom and headed for the kitchen.

After breakfast was over, Ming returned to her room to pack her things. In a wooden chest by her sleeping mat were two form-fitting vests, one was a soft gray color sporting a white orchid design, and the other was a rich blue color, without any design, but her favorite none the less. She took them both out, refolded them neatly, and placed them in her sack. Looking back into the chest she saw her two other pairs of training pants, one black, and one dark gray. She took those out also, and packed them away. There was also a wrap skirt near the bottom of the chest, similar to the purple one she was wearing over her pants, but in a deep blue color, just like her other vest.

Finally, she took out a dark blue hooded cloak. Burying her face in it, she breathed in the beautiful wood scent that lingered on it from lying in the chest. Softly tracing the high quality thread work seams, she remembered the day her mother had presented this to her for her sixteenth birthday. She smiled as she recalled it; the day's training had been extra hard and extra long; and after it was finished, all she wanted to do was throw herself down on the ground, and never move again. But when she came back to the house, her mother brought out the cloak that she had made herself. Ming had carefully touched it, admiring the needlework and the softness of the fabric, before lifting her eyes to meet her mother's gaze. The look her mother gave her was filled with love, a special love, for her special daughter. Ming had thrown her arms around her mother, and hugged her tightly, saying "Thank you, mother." When they pulled apart, both mother and daughter looked at each other with glistening eyes; mother with pride and joy for her daughter who had grown up to be a beautiful young woman, both on the surface, and especially on the inside; and daughter with love and affection for her beloved mother, who had helped her, and guided her, and nurtured her throughout her life.

Ming's eyes were suspiciously wet when she had finished thinking back, and she used her cloak to dab the extra liquid away, before placing it into her pack.

After she had finished packing away her clothes, Ming stood up, and took one final look at her room. True, it was pretty plain; there was her sleeping mat in the corner by the window away from the door; the wooden chest against the wall down from the mat; a couple kung fu posters on the walls, and a family picture depicting her father, mother, brother, and herself. It wasn't much, but it was her room, in her house. Ming sighed, then shook herself. No, she would not be feeling sad or down. Today was the start of the next chapter in her life; she would be traveling to a new place, and perhaps a new home, if she was accepted to train. A small seed of doubt entered her mind about whether she would be accepted, but she quickly brushed that thought away.

Stepping out of her room, she headed for the kitchen in the main part of the house. There she saw her mother, who was finishing up with the dishes before she saw her daughter off. Hearing her footsteps, her mother turned around and smiled at her daughter. "Go outside, I will be there in a moment."

Ming smiled and turned to the door. Opening it, she was greeted by the sounds of laughter as young village children played on the ground nearby. Her father and brother, along with her three uncles and their families, were all engaged in lively conversation by the house.

Walking over to her family, she was greeted first by her oldest uncle, Jian, who hugged her tightly and told her how proud he was that she was his niece. Zhu and Chao-Fai, her other uncles, also hugged, and wished her luck and fortune on her journey. However, none was so proud and affectionate as was Ming's father, Li-Guo. He gazed upon her fondly, reminiscing how his little daughter was all grown up now. And if Jun was sad, he did his best not to show it in front of everyone.

Finally, the door to the house opened, and Ming's mother stepped out. Nuan-Shu walked with perfect grace, as she strode forward to meet her daughter. She was holding a small bag, which she placed in Ming's paws as soon as she reached her. Ming opened the bag and sniffed, "Ahhh, my favorite, dumplings and bean buns." was what she thought before closing the bag and smiling at her mother. Her mother embraced her warmly for a long moment, before pulling back to look at her daughter's face. "May you have a safe journey, Ming. I love you very much. And don't forget to write."

Ming laughed as she nodded her head, "I love you to, mother. And don't worry, I won't forget."

Ming placed the small bag that her mother had given her into her pack, and turned to say farewell to everyone. "Goodbye everyone. I love you all, and I'll miss you. When I get there I'll write, so don't worry. But now I must go. I'll see you all again sometime."

A chorus of goodbye's, miss you's, and see you soon's rang out as Ming waved farewell to her family, before turning her back and setting out on her journey to the Valley of Peace.