A/N: I do not own KUNG FU PANDA or any of its characters, locations, etc, etc.

Shao Qiang belongs to me, so no stealing!

BTW, Shao Qiang is derived from Shaoqiang which in chinese means: Strong/Profound. Cool huh?

Cooking and Mystery Letters

Tigress set the brush down on the table, having just combed the last bits of water from her orange fur. She ran her paws along her vest, straightening any wrinkles in the red fabric and examined herself in the mirror. Viper was coiled in a tight bundle next to her, readjusting the lotus flowers on her head with the tip of her tail. "I might be a while," Viper said while gazing upon her mirror image, "I'll meet you down there."

Tigress nodded and turned towards the exit of the bathhouse. She made her way down a narrow corridor and could clearly hear the guys in their specified wash room. She suddenly heard the distressed cry of Po, followed by a loud crash. Obviously he must have slipped, again, on the wet floor. She rolled her eyes and opened the door to the outside. The sun was nearing the peaks of the distant mountains and the earlier heat of the day had now turned cool and refreshing. She gazed upwards to see that dark storm clouds were slowly making their way into the heart of the valley, no doubt the cause of the cooler temperature.

The female south china tiger then made her way down the cobble stoned path that led to the kitchen. She reached the stairs and was half way up when her ears suddenly perked towards the sounds of heavy breathing behind her, "Hey Tigress wait up!" Tigress slowed her pace and allowed the panda to catch up with her. He panted up the stairs, rubbing his hand over his backside, obviously having landed on it a few minutes before. "Man, that floor is hard!"

Tigress grinned, "You just need to watch where you tread a bit more carefully."

"Yeah, probably." Po rubbed his paw against the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Hey, do you want to help me in the kitchen?"

"Po, if there's one thing in this world that I cannot do, it's cooking."

"Well, you can handle a knife can't ya?"

"Yes, but—"

"Perfect! You can be in charge of cutting the vegetables!" Po exclaimed. The two warriors entered the building and made their way into the kitchen. Po made his way to the cupboards, emptying the contents therein onto the counter. He then began showing Tigress how to properly peel the potatoes and dice the carrots. "Now you're getting it!"

"Well, I haven't had as much training in the kitchen as you." Tigress said while washing the radishes.

Po then stood straight, placing both hands behind his back. He lowered his voice to sound like Master Shifu, "Cooking is an art that takes years to master!"

Laughter was suddenly heard at the door as the other members of the Furious Five entered the kitchen. Monkey and Mantis were both snickering with suppressed laughs, trying not to be too loud in case Shifu did turn up. "Nice one Po! Now all you need are noodle whiskers!"

"C'mon in guys!" Po waved them over, "Dinner is nearly ready!"

Po set his empty bowl down and gave a satisfied sigh while leaning back in his chair. "Man, I'm stuffed!"

"Once again, your cooking has amazed me." Mantis commented while gathering the empty noodle bowls and taking them to the kitchen sink.

"Tigress helped me with the veggies, maybe I should teach you all how to cook." Po said raising his arms and placing his hands behind his head.

Crane looked out the nearest window to see that the storm outside was finally upon them. Rain was drizzling down the rafters, while cool, moist air began filling their lungs. "Sure is nice to get some rain, maybe the weather will start cooling down in the next few days and give us a break from the heat."

There was a light tap on the door and the six warriors looked to see that Zeng, the palace messenger, was standing in the doorway. The goose had obviously been flying in the rain because water droplets covered his plumage and robe. He bowed before speaking, "Masters, I apologize for disturbing you."

"Zeng," Tigress said, "we had expected you to return two days ago, you had us worried."

"Well I had to make a detour around this storm, but it still caught up with me." He said, shaking himself to rid his robe of water.

"What is the news from Gongmen City?" Monkey asked.

"Please tell me that Master Storming Ox and Master Croc need our help!" Mantis pleaded, "Are there any more of Shen's wolves causing trouble? Is there an ape uprising?"

Zeng was silent, clearly taken aback by Mantis' desperation for a fight. "No." He finally answered; Mantis looked disappointed. "I've come to deliver the news that Gongmen City is quickly recovering, the last pockets of resistance from Shen's forces have either fled the city entirely, or have been captured. And that re-construction of the Tower of Sacred Flame is underway."

"Well that's good news." Viper said, eyeing Mantis. "And we should be grateful that Gongmen City is on the mend from Shen's occupancy."

"Excuse me, Master Tigress?" Zeng addressed the female tiger.

"Yes Zeng?"

The goose reached down into the bag that was slung on the bird's shoulder. From within its depths, he pulled a single scroll that was sealed with a jade-green ribbon. "I have been instructed to give this to you." He held it out towards her.

Tigress looked at it curiously before reaching out a paw to receive the scroll.

"Who's it from Zeng?" Po asked.

"A city official gave it to me to deliver to Master Tigress; he said that it was of the upmost importance that you receive it."

"An official from Gongmen City?" Tigress asked.

"Oh no, I told you I had to make a detour to avoid the storm, so I stopped for a night in the city of Shuǐ de yáolán. Someone must have recognized that I was a messenger of the Jade Palace, and asked me to deliver this message to you."

"But why only me? Why not send the message to Master Shifu, or all of us as a whole?"

Zeng shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not sure."

There was a long pause before Crane turned to Zeng, "Thank you Zeng, you should probably dry yourself off and get some rest. We wouldn't want you catching a cold."

Zeng nodded and bowed to the Kung Fu warriors before turning and waddling off down the hallway.

Everyone then looked towards Tigress, who still held the unopened scroll in her paws. "I don't know anyone from the city of Shuǐ de yáolán." She said with a puzzling tone in her voice. She then looked up to the faces of her fellow comrades, "Who do you think it's from?"

"Aww c'mon Tigress, just open it and find out!" Po said, eagerly eyeing the scroll. After confirmed nods from the others, Tigress pulled at the green ribbon and tentatively unrolled the thin paper. Instantly, a second scroll fell from within the depths of the first and it landed lightly in Tigress's lap. She picked it up, placed it on the table, and returned her eyes to the first message.

"What does it say Tigress?" Po asked.

Tigress then began reading aloud:

To Master Tigress of the Jade Palace,

I regret from not trying to contact you in the past, and I have only heard of you and your comrades through reputation only. Word of your recent victory over Lord Shen has spread throughout all of China, and I congratulate you on your success. It would be a great honor if you would accept my personal invitation to you and Grand Master Shifu to join with us in the 150th celebration of the founding of our humble city. I have long desired to mend broken ties, and to reunite with my brother after many long years of silence between us. I have enclosed a second scroll for his eyes only. I hope to see you and Grand Master Shifu, very soon. But until that time, I give you my best wishes and safe travels.

Signed, Master Shao Qiang.

Silence fell upon the warriors immediately after Tigress had finished reading the letter. They all stared wide-eyed at her until Po finally broke the silence. "Awesome! Tigress, you have an uncle!"

Tigress turned towards the panda, the look of surprise on her face, "He's not my uncle, Po. Yes, Master Shifu adopted me from Bao Gu Orphanage, but he never mentioned anything about having a brother. In all the years I've known him, he's never said anything about his family, or where he came from before arriving at the Jade Palace. This Shao Qiang, I've never heard of him, or crossed paths with him before in my life."

"Still," Po said excitedly, "it's pretty cool!"

"Wow, Master Shifu has been holding out on us." Mantis said, hoping onto Monkey's shoulder.

"And this guy titled himself as 'Master' Shao Qiang, so he's probably a great Kung Fu warrior." Crane added while looking over Tigress's shoulder at the letter.

"Only Master Shifu would know if that is true." Tigress said as she picked up the second scroll, examining it.

"Know what is true?"

The six students quickly turned their eyes towards the door of the kitchen where Master Shifu stood in the doorway, eyeing them all with a questioning gaze. Before anyone could compose a proper answer for him, Po suddenly said, "Master Shifu! You never told us you had a brother!"

Shifu's eyes widened and he tightened his grip on his staff. Tigress cuffed Po on the back of his head for being so blunt. "Ow!"

"Who told you about that?" Shifu asked, clearly taken aback by Po's statement.

Tigress held up the letter towards her master, "I just received an invitation from a Master Shao Qiang to join in the festivities of the founding of Shuǐ de yáolán. You have also been invited, and he sent this second message for you as well." Tigress handed Shifu the second scroll and he grasped it in his hand. There was a look of uncertainty across his troubled face as he looked at the scroll with disbelief.

"Tigress, may I see the letter he sent you?"

She nodded and also handed him the first letter. His eyes darted across the paper as he silently read the message, and there was an awkward silence that fell upon the others once he had finished. He then looked towards the unopened scroll in his other hand in deep thought.

"Master, is this Shao Qiang really your brother?" Tigress asked.

"Master Shao Qiang…and yes, he is my brother."

"Sweet! So when are we leaving?"

Everyone looked towards Po with surprise. "Po," Viper said, "the letter didn't exactly mention that the rest of us were invited, only Tigress and Master Shifu."

"But, but…" Po looked defeated. "That's not fair! They get to go to a festival while the rest of us have to stay here being bored out of our minds?"

"Po, it would be very rude if we turned up at his doorstep unannounced." Crane added, although he too looked disappointed.

Master Shifu tucked the two letters beneath the jade-green cloth that wrapped around his body and he looked towards his students. "No one is going anywhere until I have had some time to think on the matter." He turned and began heading out the door.

"Wait, Master, we saved you some noodles. They're still warm." Po said to the departing red panda.

"Don't worry about it Po, I will grab something to eat later." He paused before continuing, "I expect all of you to get a good night rest tonight, we'll talk about this tomorrow." And with that, Shifu limped down the corridor, staff in hand; his students watched him in silence as he turned the corner and headed towards the barracks.

A/N: OOOOOHHH...Who is this guy? R&R please, and I just might be tempted to update a little sooner...Muahahaha!