"I'M LATE!" the panda wailed as he ran through the village until something caught his eye. A poster stuck to a tree depicted a white crane holding a bow and arrow. "No way!" Po peeled off the poster for a closer look, "It's Master Archer Hou-Yi!"

"PO!" came Shifu's voice from the Jade Palace. Po replaced the poster and hurried to the training hall.

The Furious Five were being taught Shifu's technique for avoiding arrows (A.N. see episode "Shifu's Ex") when Po burst in and shouted excitedly, "Hou-Yi is coming!" The crane was reputed for never missing his target. He was not a fighter, but his skills were quite famous. Monkey told the others how he had once seen Hou-Yi shoot an arrow through the spines of several pitchforks before it hit the bull's-eye. Mantis told them how Hou-Yi could shoot three bull's-eyes blindfolded.

Suddenly there was a knocking at the doors. Crane was closest, so he answered. A female crane with dark black neck feathers, a blue dress, and a basket full of scrolls was outside. "Oh, you must be Master Crane!" she said, a little bashfully. "My name is Tyan. My father sent me here to see the Dragon Warrior."

Crane did not move, he did not speak, he did not even breathe! He had not seen many other cranes the past few years, and Tyan was gorgeous! Finally Po walked up next to him, "I'm the Dragon Warrior."

"My father Hou-Yi requests the honor of your presence at his archery match tomorrow," the crane handed him the basket of scrolls, which were tickets for him, the Five, Shifu, and one extra ticket.

"WHOA! Hou-Yi wants me at his match! And he thinks my presence is an honor!" Po gingerly took the basket and went back inside.

Crane still had not moved or spoken, but he did remember to breathe. Tyan flushed a little as she said, "Well, nice meeting you. We look forward to seeing you there!" The bird stepped back and nearly stumbled down the stairs. The doors had already closed by the time Crane said hello.

The next day Po had convinced all except Tigress and Shifu to come with him to see Hou-Yi; they gave one of the remaining tickets to Zhang. Po and his friends trotted up to the stands and took their seats. A large, wide area stood between two stands, with several targets at the far end.

An older female crane in a red dress stepped up to the near end of the field and announced, "We now present the Master Archer Hou-Yi -" She was interrupted as the fans broke into applause. The white crane flew from nowhere to give his entrance a more dramatic effect; Po was so excited he nearly wet himself! Hou-Yi swept around his fans heads twice before landing beside the announcer. "And the archer Ren," she continued as a snow leopard stepped up to her other side. The fans booed at the leopard, who ignored them as he and Hou-Yi shook...hands? "Archers, take your positions!"

The first set of targets was placed fifty feet away. The two competitors fired; a fan was asked to evaluate the targets; both were a bull's-eye. The next targets were 100 feet away. A second fan was summoned to declare another pair of bull's-eyes. Fifty yards; a bull's-eye for Hou-Yi with Ren being just the tiniest bit off.

For the one hundred yard target, Ren was allowed to fire first. He got a bull's-eye. Hou-Yi took his place, aiming at the same target. Just as Hou-Yi was about to fire, Ren maneuvered his bow between the crane's legs, striking the tip of his bow so that the arrow flew up into the air. The crowd groaned. Hou-Yi fired another arrow at the one already in the air. The second shot struck the first, tipping it so that it rocketed towards the target. Everyone held their breath as they watched the descent. The arrow split Ren's in half as it struck a perfect bull's-eye! Everyone leapt to their feet and cheered.

"WOW THAT WAS AWESOME!" shouted Po.

"He's still got it!" declared Mantis.

After most of the spectators had left, Po and his friends approached a large tent. "Do you think he'll sign my belly?" asked the Panda before they let themselves in. The scene inside surprised them.

Three young birds, a crane and two herons, were sitting on the floor in front of a shadow-puppet theater. A gorilla was presented, and the youngest bird jumped up, "You stay away from Syaudi, you mean old ronin, or I'll -" he jumped forward and crashed into the screen, knocking the whole theater down. The two older boys got to their feet with disapproving shouts as they chased the child outside. Behind the theater stood Hou-Yi and Tyan, looking rather startled.

Hou-Yi smiled as he noticed his guests, "The Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five! It is such an honor that you came to see me today!" He stepped out from the rubble and held out a wing, which Po eagerly shook.

"Could you sign my belly?!" blurted the panda before his friends could stop him. The old crane chuckled as he obliged, painting a mark like a drawn bow and arrow on the white fur.

"I'm so glad you came to see my last match," the archer grinned.

"LAST MATCH!?" everyone was surprised.

The bird nodded, "You may have noticed there were only around twenty spectators in the audience. I'm too good at archery, I never miss. The fans are getting bored."

"Well, why don't you throw a match or two?" suggested Monkey.

The archer shook his head, "That would be dishonest. When I get back home, I'm retiring from archery and sticking to puppets."

Crane was not even listening to the conversation; he was staring at Tyan, who smiled back shyly. Suddenly the three young birds came in again, a feminine voice coming from an unseen source behind them, "The next time you throw rice around I'm gonna make you eat it right off the ground!" The boys retreated behind Tyan. Everyone turned to see a red mantis on the ground.

"Hun-ch'ung!? Is that you?!" Mantis grew excited.

"MANTIS! HI!" she answered before they both sprang into a hug.