[A/N]
This is my very first one shot fanfiction and I still have a very loose understanding as to what these are.
Nonetheless, I wished to bring you all an enjoyable one shot based around April 1st, filled with plenty of fluff and unnecessary-but-required backstory!
That's enough senseless rambling from me, I'm sure you all just want to dive into this read. Dashishen proudly presents to you…
A Prank Gone Right.
Once upon a brisk spring morning, high beyond the clouds that loomed over the Valley of Peace, laid a beaming light decorated by rays infused with colours such as gold and apricot. A beautiful mix befitting of a day full of such potential dawning upon the lands of the highly praised Jade Palace masters.
One such individual awakening at an early time was Master Monkey, a troublesome simian who had found life under the occupation of Kung Fu to be quite lackluster on occasion. However, on this day, he wasn't waking up early because he was forced against his will to do so. That couldn't be more far from the truth, Master Monkey was waking up to celebrate his annual tradition of playing devious pranks on the entirety of the Furious Five.
On the previous year, the primate master had his plans foiled by none other than Master Mantis; who was beginning to tire from the amount of childish pranks the simian had pulled on him throughout the years. Instead of putting an end to the pranks and subsequent torture for good, Mantis decided to pull the age old technique of beating them and surprisingly deciding to join them.
This year was a year that was going to vastly differ in comparison to the amount of pranks that had been pulled by the primate master. The Dragon Warrior, otherwise known as Po, was now the master of the Jade Palace. Of course the panda is still desperately attempting to adjust to his new duties, and mostly allows Master Shifu to substitute on days in which the Dragon Warrior either needed extra rest due to having places to be or simply to balance out their duties.
Luckily for Master Monkey, Po had commanded Master Shifu to take his role as teacher for the day, agreeing to wake up on time to the morning gong. Just because Po is the Dragon Warrior and has thus mastered Chi doesn't mean he can lay around doing nothing.
Truth be told, Monkey and Mantis had been orchestrating this plan for several months, consistently drilling in the idea that Po and Shifu should balance their roles as masters instead of allowing one to become dominant in the battle for mentorship. Their plan was to allow Po and a certain feline master to wake up at the same time so they could put their devious prank into action.
Monkey seemed to be the only one who celebrated this forsaken holiday until the year Mantis decided to pull everything apart. It turns out that the simian wasn't the only master celebrating such an informal occasion… Mantis just happened to have a much more harmless and less destructive way of celebrating.
Both masters had brought their minds together to execute a plan so devious to the point it could risk their honour and get them kicked out of the Jade Palace. They thought it was going a little far until they realised that Po was technically a master on the same level as Shifu and that they would most likely be forgiven.
The primate and the insect had put together plans dedicated to ruining the day of each master of the Jade Palace, whether it be Viper and her endless pursuit of maintaining a modest amount of beauty. Or if it would be Crane and his deathly obsession with calligraphy and anything related to it, both masters had an objective to ruin their days in the most harmless way possible.
Then came Master Tigress. She wasn't an easy one to fool, especially when it came to the jokes that Master Monkey would attempt to pull on her. Only one prank was successful, and that was almost half a decade ago, in which Monkey managed to apply make up to the feline warrior's face without it coming off for several hours; not to mention he managed to live through that experience too.
Monkey and Mantis had something far more complex and extreme planned for Tigress, it happened to involve everybody's lovable Dragon Warrior too. It was almost deceiving as to how Po had fallen for their pranks countless times, but of course they were going to design something articulate for this day.
And design something articulate they did. The devious duo had set up a trap so simple a mere kitten could construct it if it had some free time. When Po and Tigress inevitably wake up and sling their doors open subconsciously to greet Master Shifu, they would trigger a microscopic piece of string to snap, forcing Po and Tigress forward as a falling log from above would swing behind them and knock them forward simultaneously.
Their objective was extremely basic. Force Po and Tigress to kiss.
Mantis thought it was daft too until both realised how much the Dragon Warrior and Tigress had bonded as of late. Transforming the tiger from an emotionless being to someone who cared for everyone and everything. However, anyone outside of the Jade Palace was completely oblivious towards this new attitude that Tigress had adopted, mainly due to the fact that on the rare occasion they had to fight an opponent; Tigress would merely begin wearing her hardcore mask and would get things done regardless of who was fighting against or alongside her.
"Uh- Monkey. Are you completely sure they're going to fall for the bait… I mean, setting up a massive plank of wood to slam down onto their backsides doesn't seem like the most productive way of forcing them forwards!" Mantis emphasised his concerns by gesturing forward with his 'claw-thingies'.
"Relax. I have everything covered. You don't just plan for months and fail. I had experience planning pranks from when I was 5 years old! Also, keep the noise down, we don't want to be heard now, do we?" Monkey replied in a smug tone, preparing for the inevitable moment in which the morning gong would strike.
"If you say so. You're the boss. I'm only here because I want to get back at Viper for the slap she sent my way last year. All I tried to do was calm her once you pulled that prank with those feathers and she slapped me twice! I still have a mark!"
"Hey, it wasn't my fault that she thought I killed Crane. It really did kickstart something between the two though. I don't even know if they're in a relationship or not, it's best not to assume."
"Heh. I wonder if they'll announce they're a couple today, completely oblivious to what day it is."
"Oh, they'll realise once we've enacted our pranks. Viper's was simple. I just swapped her typical makeup set with one that severely degrades after a few minutes." Monkey smirked, beginning to picture how the serpent master would react… whether or not Mantis would receive another slap.
"Crane was hard to think about, I will admit. Who said you couldn't turn a calligraphy briefcase into a device that erupts with ink as soon as it's opened? I made sure he doesn't have any work in there though, I don't want to ruin something of genuine value." Mantis' facial expression also began to warp into one that could only be described as villainous, picturing the confusion and then shock on the avian master's face once his day was done and it was time to relax.
"If you're wondering why I decided to pull this prank on this specific year instead of last year when Po and Tigress were still warming up to each other… It's because my patience is unable to be rivalled. I may look like a fool from the outside but on the inside, I have all the knowledge to trick someone into doing something they shouldn't, you should see my kung fu!"
"Po's either going to get slapped or get lucky, those are 50/50 odds and there's no denying that either one will most likely enhance their friendship somewhat." Mantis stated with a mild chuckle.
"I'm hoping Po gets lucky, or at least doesn't lose his friendship with Tigress. Those two have something special." Monkey responded before picking up the slight chirps of the nearby birds.
"We best be getting back to our rooms, it won't be long until that bell rings. Once it does, prepare to have one of the most enjoyable days of your life." Monkey whispered with an evil grin before rushing from the kitchen and back into his room, being sure not to make the floorboards creak.
As for Mantis, he followed in the footsteps of his primate friend. Jumping into his room instead of opening his door and deciding to play the waiting game.
Luckily for the devious set of masters, they wouldn't have to wait much longer until they caught their first victim.
Crane was looking to perform some early calligraphy practice before beginning his day, only to open his calligraphy case and be sprayed with an extremely potent form of black ink. A loud "CAW!" was heard alongside frantic wing flapping as he struggled to get the ink out from beneath his feathers.
As Crane was dealing with his crisis, the morning gong rung. He breathed a heavy sigh until lining up at the door alongside his other masters. A sly laugh was heard from Viper, Monkey and Mantis as they prepared for what was to come next.
Exiting their rooms in sync, both Master Tigress and Master Panda (Po) exited their rooms and were immediately whipped to the ground by a scheming set of wooden planks designed to whip their backsides.
Both masters crashed into each other at a sickening pace, Monkey had used some mathematical calculations to determine where to whack each master in order for their lips to connect, and unfortunately for both falling masters; their horror was yet to end.
Po and Tigress' lips briefly clashed together, both were able to experience the sensation of a forced kiss, almost seemingly melting into it as they fully made their descent to the floor.
At first, both masters were confused as to what was going on and still had their eyes closed, just hoping they weren't stuck in the situation that their brains were screaming at them to make sense of. Tigress and Po held that kiss for roughly 5 seconds, earning the jaw droppings of the entire dormitory that held the Furious Five, including Shifu. Master Shifu had walked onto the scene at the wrong time, as both were frantically trying to disconnect from one another and get to their feet.
"PO AND TIGRESS. MY QUARTERS, NOW!" Master Shifu barked whilst gesturing to the rest of the masters to remain in their current places, in a facial expression that screamed 'I'll deal with you later.'
Po was desperately struggling to get to his feet, eventually managing to get up before the fabled Master Tigress. Po fumbled with his words until he found something worthy enough to say.
"It's not what it looks like, Master Shifu!" Po gasped as the chaotic nature of the entire situation began to make him violently sweat thanks to anxiety.
"What the panda said!" Was the only words that Master Tigress could squeak out with, eventually making her way to her feet and beginning to trail behind Po and Shifu.
"Both of you as my most respected students should know that choosing to make out in the halls is something only a set of feverish teenagers would do!" Master Shifu shouted in a fit of pure anger, unable to see through the nature of the situation or simply refusing to remember what day it was.
"Master Shifu, do you remember what da-" Po tried to squeak out before having his mouth clamped shut with Oogway's staff.
"YOU MADE OUT WITH MY DAUGHTER IN THE HALLWAY! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING FROM YOU PANDA" Shifu was practically seething at this point.
"Happy trick day!" A distant voice from behind exclaimed, obviously disobeying his master's gesture.
'Oh thank heavens, Monkey is here to explain!' Po's mind exclaimed with excitement.
'If that primate even dares to chalk up an explanation, I promise I'm going to snap his neck faster than Po can eat a bowl of dumplings!' Tigress simmered with anger as her own thoughts began to whirl.
'But why did that kiss… feel good.' Both thought simultaneously, whilst being completely oblivious to one another's thoughts.
"Master Monkey. Do you have anything to do with this?" Shifu asked with an expression that screamed with concern.
"Nope. I lined up at my door and here they were, touching tongues on the floorboards." Monkey lied with extreme finesse, turning to leave before being met with a paw around his neck and a very angry tiger staring him down.
"You're either going to tell my father the truth or I'm going to crush your neck so hard to the point where it beheads you!" Tigress demanded in a fit of rage.
"Relax. Ti, it's only trick day, you should check your calender. April 1st is a wonderful day… for tricksters!"
"And why should she listen to you, Dragon Warrior. You are clearly guilty of placing your lips in places they shouldn't be!" Shifu fired at the panda, who held out his hands in defence.
"He's… telling th-the truth!" Monkey managed to let out before feeling like he was going to pass out from the lack of oxygen. Tigress' eyes lit up slightly and she unceremoniously released the primate onto the floor with a sickening thud.
Master Shifu sighed in disappointment towards the young students standing in front of him, still simmering in anger at the fact he had literally caught Po and Tigress exchanging tongues in the corridors, he decided to let it slide by the single principle of it being national trick day.
"Monkey. I will be sending you back to the rest of the five. Tell them they are instructed to begin training in the new training hall immediately. As for you two…" Master Shifu addressed to the primate before turning his attention to the half-guilty duo standing in front of them.
"You will be following me. We need to talk." Shifu finished his sentence and gestured both warriors to follow him to the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom.
"Uh, Master Shifu. Why are we here?" Po decided to finally break the eerie silence.
"Because you can't just kiss my daughter and get away with it unscathed, Dragon Warrior!" Shifu replied with a stern tone.
"But it was an accident-" Po pleaded before being cut off.
"There are no accidents…" Both Shifu and Tigress chimed in and simultaneously trained off.
"I'm bringing you two here to discuss the topic of romance… Tigress, as my daughter, you've heard this talk before. But Po, I can't truly be sure whether or not your father has talked to you about love. So it's best if I discuss the subject with both of you at the same time." Shifu's words exited his lips like a cursed spell for Po. It was true, he had never heard of such a concept like romance before.
"Hey! I know what love is. It's like nurturing a bowl of noodles!" Po exclaimed with pride before being stared down by Master Shifu.
"You're the Dragon Warrior and have mastered Chi… yet you're unable to comprehend the basic signs of love between people." Shifu responded
"Between people? OHH, DOES THIS RELATE TO HOW I WAS MADE?"
Shifu physically cringed before composing himself.
"That's a conversation for another day. Anyways. Love firstly begins from a friendship, earning trust from one another. Whenever two individuals start feeling love for one another, it may be in the form of enjoying the company of one another or something happening between them that seals the deal. When you and Tigress kissed… what did you feel?" Shifu gestured towards Po, with an innocent expression sealed on his face.
"It felt… strange?" Po said whilst Tigress began furiously blushing.
"How about you, Tigress?"
Tigress' orange fur couldn't do much to mask the insane blush that was forming on her face. She was extremely tempted to begin sprinting off in horror before composing herself and straight up admitting her feelings.
"It felt nice. I've never felt that before. Is it a sign that our friendship is growing?" Tigress innocently asked, although in the back of her mind; she knew the signs were pointing towards something else.
"Oooh, Tigress. Are you saying that you… like me?" Po cooed whilst teasing the feline master.
"As a friend, of course. As a potential mate, well, there's progress to be made." Tigress snickered at Master Shifu's face, which had become redder than some of the finest beetroots picked in China's history.
"A mate? Don't be ridiculous. No one has ever thought that about us, surely!" Po exclaimed in a mix of confusion and panic.
"Tigress… is right, against my better judgement at least. How do I know? Crane can't go one therapy session without mentioning how you two would do well as a couple. At first it made my entire soul crinkle in anxiety but I came to accept that this would be a reality some day. He made a comment about how well you two fight and even have come up with your own fighting techniques that incorporate one another." Shifu dryly explained.
"Awh man. Crane's still having issues after the whole jombie incident?" Po questioned whilst trying to avoid the awkwardness of the situation.
Tigress knew it would be her turn to step up next. In truth, she had grown fond of the panda for quite some time and was considering asking him the question of being his mate sometime soon. However, she's somewhat having mixed feelings about her father being involved, as well as Po being more romantically dense than a factory-packed ration of Tofu.
"I- uhm. I talk to Viper sometimes about… things relating to our gender and I will admit she has paired myself and Po up together on multiple occasions."
"Not to mention the orchestrators of this prank were none other than Monkey and Mantis." Shifu spoke up, raising the eyebrows of both kung fu masters.
"What? As Grandmaster of the Jade Palace, you'd expect me to have ears in places you would never predict. I've been tracking them for months now. Their whole idea was to get you two together." Shifu continued before pausing, observing the shock that formed on the young panda's face.
"So… you're saying the girl I've had a crush on since I heard of Boar's defeat is actually being paired up with me as a worthy mate? WOAH!" Po was cheering in childish excitement, although he was still fairly confused overall.
"I think you're worthy too." Tigress blurted out before immediately covering her mouth with her paw and becoming extremely red-faced.
Po immediately connected the dots and went to hug Tigress in an act of pure appreciation. Soon after the hug, both of their eyes locked. Jade eyes clashing with amber eyes.
'Wow, I never knew he was so cute this close…' Tigress' mind began to wonder.
'Holy secret ingredient soup! I never knew her eyes were filled with such beauty!' Po mentally exclaimed in awe.
Eventually, with Master Shifu still watching, Tigress confidently confessed her feelings.
"Po… I love you. I hope this doesn't change our frie-" Tigress was cut off by a kiss that melted her cold exterior fully, anything left of the hardcore warrior was completely stripped away.
Both soon-to-be lovers locked their lips in a passionate and heated kiss, Master Shifu did nothing but watch and chuckle slightly before clearing his throat a minute in, allowing both warriors to disconnect from their kiss and regain their lost air.
"I love you too, Tigress. Don't worry, this changes nothing." Po was leaning in for another kiss until Shifu slammed down his staff, drawing the attention of both warriors once more.
"Although I am very proud of you for displaying your feelings for one another, especially after so long… There are rules regarding relationships in the Jade Palace. Rule 1, no sharing the same bedroom until marriage, we all know avoiding this rule will cause a chaotic amount of trouble. Rule 2, no displaying your affection outside of the Jade Palace walls, we wish to keep relationships between the masters private; or until the Sacred Onyx Council has approved your relationship for public announcing. Rule 3, this is the most important rule. ABSOLUTELY NO MATING IN THE JADE PALACE QUARTERS! If you two are caught in any foolish acts with each other, then expect yourselves to be punished harshly. Are. We. Clear?" Master Shifu slammed down his staff again at the end of his sentence to further emphasise his point.
"Yes, Master Shifu" Both warriors responded, before Tigress cleared her throat.
"Ba-ba, are you saying that you approve of my relationship with the Dragon Warrior?" Tigress asked her father with kitten eyes.
"Po may have his flaws, and has yet to master everything… but I cannot decide who you are allowed and not allowed to love. That would be dishonouring the basic principles of Kung Fu. I give you both my blessings and I sincerely apologise for any earlier anger that I displayed towards you both." Master Shifu responded before slowly gesturing towards the training hall with his staff and making his way down the stairs.
Tigress and Po stared into the eyes of their opposites once again, taking each other in for their beauty before closing in for another warm kiss filled with passion and appreciation. The duo were forced to break free after 3 minutes for air and began to slightly panic as Master Shifu would be questioning where they went.
"We'll come back later. I can't believe we're actually doing this, Tigress!" Po cheered with even more excitement.
"I've truly loved you for a long time, Po. Since you got here, you've changed the lives of everyone, but you've changed mine the most." Tigress sweetly told the Dragon Warrior before planting a kiss on his cheek and sprinting towards the training hall.
Po slapped himself where Tigress had kissed him to prove whether or not he was dreaming, shortly after snapping out of his trance, he decided it would be best for him to follow his newfound feline lover to the training hall.
A few minutes of sprinting later and Po had successfully made his way to the entrance to the training hall, he swiftly recounted his interaction with Tigress before kicking open the doors and performing a double-backflip; resulting on him landing in front of the Furious Five and Master Shifu with his jade yin-yang staff in hand.
"Good morning, masters! Prepare to face the Triple-Arrowed Gauntlet of Unbelievable Agony… what's with the long names. Let us begin!" Po exclaimed before noticing the fact that every master was staring at him whilst Tigress began to furiously blush yet again.
One by one, the masters of the Jade Palace began to steer their heads towards a certain feline, whose blush was too uncontainable to be hidden. She began to slowly inch backwards until unleashing a sharp "What?".
The Furious Five proceeded to look directly at the mark on Po's cheek, then back at Tigress. All simultaneously making the connection and hearing Crane's beak drop.
"Myself and Po kissed. Now stop acting like children and get your action pants on!" Tigress tried to play off what she had just announced to her comrades with a sly remark that imitated Po, but no one was buying it. All of a sudden, Monkey and Mantis began to laugh.
"Haha, National Trick Day, very funny!" Both exclaimed at the same time, finding it hard to believe what the feline master had said until they remembered their joke and their objective. The realisation came crashing down upon them and they began looking crestfallen. Monkey issued a very quiet "Congratulations." before passing out.
Mantis meekly issued a command. "Prove it." - Little did the insect know that he would instantly regret this decision.
Tigress and Po stared into each other with a passionate blend of determination and romance. Tigress jumped into Po's arms, issuing a kiss that lasted several minutes long; with each passing minute, she earned an awe-inspired glare from the furious five.
The Dragon Warrior and his feline lover eventually felt the urge for air and their lips parted ways, Tigress nuzzled Po's chest in a sign of affection before eventually announcing those famous words to the Furious Five.
"I love you, my sweet panda."
"I love you too, my cute kitten."
The end.
[More author-themed fluff, hooray!]
I appreciate you all for reading. I hope any mistakes can be forgiven and that you enjoyed the one shot, now it's time for some author fluff!I had initially planned more for this one shot, but I decided that enough words had been typed and that going beyond lets say 4,500 words would've resulted in this becoming overly abundant in fluff.
I tried my best to be generous enough when it comes to the cutesy moments, but I didn't wish to smother you all with it!
And here we are, my first one shot completed. Please make sure to rate and review, I am genuinely looking for constructive criticism as any review would surely help me grow as a writer!