Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Kung Fu Panda.
A/N: I ran across a challenge the other day by Tigergirl713. The prompt was 'Fathers/Dads'. I considered doing a Mr. Ping and Po oneshot, then thought about a Shifu and Tigress one, but then this idea suddenly just...happened. In total it's a little less than 3k words, but it's separated into three different sections which I've posted as chapters. Basically, it's a look at both Shifu and Mr. Ping as fathers to their respective sons. This first section is Shifu's POV set pre-movies (right after Tai Lung's rampage). Special thanks for the challenge given by Tigergirl713! And, of course, thank you to everyone for taking the time to read! Now, enough of my rambling...
His student had done this.
His son.
It didn't seem possible. Shifu couldn't connect the destruction before him with the innocent cub he had taken in and raised as his own. That cub who had been so full of excitement. Love and joy had glimmered in his eyes, his face had lit up with a passion to learn, and his affection had been enough to melt even the iciest of hearts.
That was the Tai Lung he pictured. Even as the years had passed and his pupil's heart had hardened, all Shifu had been able to see was the cub he loved as a son. Imagining that perfect little snow leopard cub causing this level of destruction was nearly impossible. Trying to fathom the amount of hatred and violence it had taken was even more so. It was almost incomprehensible.
Yet the evidence was right in front of him. How could this have happened? How could he have allowed it to get this far? What kind of father had he been, to not see what his son was becoming? It was all his fault. The destruction, the violence, the hatred. He had lead Tai Lung to this fate. He had held the young cub's hand along the disastrous path, utterly blind to where it would lead.
Even with that knowledge, with the pain from his injury still lingering, Shifu couldn't completely rid himself of the love he still felt for that innocent cub. Though he was horrified by what lay before him, he couldn't help but still feel some lingering pride as well. Not for what Tai Lung had become, or what he had done to the village, but for the young snow leopard he had always seen his son as. For the strength, the courage, the intelligence, and the passion for Kung Fu.
Shifu tried to separate the past from the present. The old Tai Lung from what he was now, but it was almost too difficult a task to accomplish. Perhaps that was why Master Oogway had sent him to personally inspect the damage so soon after his injury. Perhaps his master wanted him to see firsthand what Tai Lung was capable of, another example of what his adopted son had become, so that he could more easily separate the past from the present.
He wasn't sure it had worked, but perhaps with time it would. Perhaps with time, the guilt he felt would lessen as well. It didn't seem likely, but he supposed it was possible.
With a tired sigh Shifu closed his eyes and turned away from the destruction. He leaned heavily on his staff as he slowly made his way back to the Palace. Meditation would not come so easily this evening. Perhaps it never would again.
The future was uncertain. The only certainty he knew for fact was that he would not open himself up to such pain again. He had loved a child, and it had blinded him. He would not be blinded again. The universe was far too cruel to those who dared to love another.