Apparently in an official video regarding Kung Fu Panda 3, Po thinks highly of Master Bear and deeply admires him. Because...ya know, they're both bears.

Perhaps I can build upon that. Who knows?

Five hours have passed easily enough. Po's duel against Master Bear was bound to begin any moment now, and many were gathering for the first event of the tournament. Obviously there was plenty of doubt on if Po was capable of doing much to an experienced Master like Master Bear. Though his friends believed that he would provide an excellent performance win or lose...though Shifu would greatly prefer that the panda win. The Wu Sisters-Su especially-were quite curious to see the panda's skills for an extended period of time at another skilled martial artist, and not just a couple of incompetent goons out for Lu Kang's head. Yeah, the Emperor was putting extra eyes on his own guards to make sure they wouldn't try anything.

Su and Fenghuang agreed that was rather pathetic. The Royal Guard should be much better than that, yet it isn't.

So sad. So very sad.

Regardless of that, there was a schedule to keep, and they expected Po to be on time. Thing is, there was only ten minutes left until it officially begins. Tigress opened her eyes slowly as she turned toward the sleeping panda still snoring the day away. As cute as he was like this, he couldn't stay like this for long. Tigress sighed as she softly poked his belly.

"Po."

"Ngggh..."

"Poooo..."

"Mmmmh..."

"Po."

"Nuuuu..."

Tigress shook her head in slight irritation, and began shaking him a bit more roughly. "Po! We don't have time for this! Your match is about to begin soon!" She said a bit more forcefully. At first she thought she was making progress, as she heard him groan and yawn loudly, and his face scrunched up slightly. That was thrown out the window once Po pulled her into his arms and turned on his side, unconsciously placing her in a tight hug. Her eyes widened as she felt the hard prosthetic arm as well as his softer flesh and fur arm both holding her tight. Shocked by the turn of events, she tried to squirm her way out of his hold. That proved to be rather difficult, at least without hurting him. "Po! Wake Up!"

"Huaaah...I've already trained twelve hours straight without food or breaks, Master...please let me have this nap...just a wee wittle nap...?" Po mumbled sleepily, smacking his lips slightly. "Imma just rest up for a few hours and I'll get right back to it, promise..." Po unconsciously twirls around in the hammock, moving a lost Tigress along with him. She squirmed a little more, losing her composure rather quickly and went from demanding to begging.

"Pooo...you have to take this more seriously...and to take this more seriously, you need to wake up! Can you wake up? Please?" Still no progress, as another loud snore represented this rather well. Tigress was about to try again...only to feel Po lower his head and nuzzle her chest. She froze up completely, going completely stiff.

"Ngh...these fluffy clouds are much softer than usual...and they smell really nice..." Po smiled softly as he relaxed where he was, while Tigress was still very much frozen in place and unable to effectively comprehend the situation anymore.

Again...it happened again! I really don't understand this...why am I not angry about this?! Well...I can't really fault him for this, can I...? I mean...he's sleeping peacefully...and I don't really think he knows what he's doing...regardless, we can't remain like this! Someone might walk in on us and get the wrong idea! Tigress took a different approach. She slowly raised her paw and gently pets the top of his head. This caused him to smile in his sleep and laugh a little. She resisted the urge to smile at the reaction, staying focused. "Po, I know you're enjoying your nap...but you really need to get up. if you don't, you're not going to be able to eat your breakfast. Fung, Monkey, Viper, and mantis are going to take it all for themselves. And you don't want that, do you...?"

Po's eyes widened as he instantly releases Tigress from his tight grasp. Not even batting an eye towards her, he swiftly picks up his hat and scarf and ran straight out the door. "SAVE SOME FOR ME! DON'T EAT EVERYTHING WITHOUT ME!"

"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!" Monkey shouted back.

Tigress sighed softly, glad that particular ordeal is over. She sighed as she tightened her scarf around her neck, trying to deny that she was blushing from the close contact that left the panda's head close to her heart. Once again something like this occurs, almost completely out of her control. At the very least, she was able to get him to wake up before someone noticed. At least, she hoped no one noticed.

Shifu swfitly passed by, looking into her room. "Tigress! Is Po awake yet?!"

"U-Um...he just woke up and ran out. He's ready by now."

Shifu sighed with relief, smiling softly. "Ah...that's good. That's very good." Truthfully, he felt his 'Fatherly Senses' tingling, and swiftly went to Tigress to see if he needed to kick Po through a wall. Fortunately it didn't seem like anything happened, not something that he noticed. Tigress was glad that her orange fur prevented her from giving herself away. The awkward air diminished somewhat, as Shifu cleared his throat and nodded. "Well...if that will be all, it's best you catch up with the others. Po's duel will be starting any moment, so we need to, how you say...hustle."

'Right." Tigress nodded as she stood up and followed her father out the door. A major part of her focus was on the tournament at hand. But a minor stray though passed through her head that upset said focus just slightly.

He may have admitted it unconsciously...but he thinks I smell nice...I don't know how I should take that...

(Fast Forward...)

The sound of a Gong resounded throughout the chosen area, as many Kung Fu Masters, whether than were currently official or not, were gathered in one spot with enough space to hold them all. Some of the more questionable once kept to the shadows while everyone else stayed in the light. Perhaps this was intentional...perhaps not. Whatever the case may be, the main point was that everyone was gathered for the first few events to start, with as little distraction as possible. Well, with as little distractions that one can really afford. Because really, the distractions from earlier were more than unwanted, as said distraction was an attempted assassination.

So one could understand the Emperor's caution when he had one of the Masters accompany Lu Kang and Zan as a slight act of caution. As such, the Kung Fu Council was placed with that role. It was a bit awkward for the former, since he was still somewhat recovering from his wounds. He didn't feel like he was allowed to not attend the beginning of the events, as they were very much centered around him, to an extent. He didn't want to sound like he was more important than anyone else, even though his title might decide otherwise. Plus, he did feel like he had to attend for another reason. Another personal reason that no one else currently knew.

He really wanted to see Po in action.

He didn't really know where that curiosity is originating, but it was definitely there. Something about Po managed to really bring that curiosity to the surface, though he didn't voice it out loud. Though it seemed that one person managed to already figure out the majority of his feelings of admiration for the panda. His aunt. If she were to also guess on his feelings, he seems to view Po as his hero, despite the latter insisting that he's nothing of the sort. Perhaps...that's exactly why he might admire the panda. While he might not see himself as a hero, he was completely sure of the path he was following, and it was a path in which he wouldn't let anything limit him from doing what he feels is right. Other Kung Fu Masters may see him as some sort of danger, others actually like him. Lu Kang was definitely a person who was growing to admire Po.

Zan? He really wanted to see the pretty tiger lady again. His mother was surprised that he grew such an intense attachment to her so quickly. To be fair, she did manage to save his life, and she was eternally grateful for that. Though it seemed that through said action, Zan has gained a new idol to look up to. It was amusing, and also cute. Maybe she can request for Tigress to play with Zan for a little while, not enough to deter her of course, but enough for Zan to be sufficiently happy. But for now, he would have to wait.

Anyway, the Masters, as well as many civilians, took up the seats of the rather large Kong Bai Stadium, a building with a single ring of windows and four flags on it's roof. It was thought to have been much farther from Imperial city instead of being decently close to it. Though no one really remembers how long it's been so close to the city, even though they really should have noticed by now. Strange that no one has any recollection of the stadium being so close...though since it was quite suiting of their needs, they weren't really complaining about it. It helped to have a stadium capable of holding everyone, anyway. It was enough to hold hundreds of people, and the Royal Family received special seats that would give them an accurate view of the arena. Not too close, but not too far either. just about average. They say this stadium is reserved only for special events...well this IS a special event, so Lu Kang could agree that it's being used quite effectively.

The Masters were gathered in a specific spot close to the Royal Family, but also gave them enough respectful space. They just wish to be prepared for anything. Fenghuang, Shifu, Mei Ling and Master Yao were gathered in a specific spot of their own, because three of them wanted to keep their distance from Junjie as much as they possibly could. Master Yao...he just wanted to pet Shifu for a bit while observing the stadium.

"I don't think I've been in a stadium this large before!" Master Yao commented brightly, taking in the surroundings and taking precious care to remember every detail. "There's a lot of people here, and they all look rather antsy! I wonder if it's because of our favorite panda?~"

"Hmph. Course they're here to see my student in action." Fenghuang huffed while folding her wings. "Master Bear won't know what hit him."

"Still, this will be the first time that Po faces off against someone a bit similar to him. I think they're both eager to see one another." Shifu commented with a curious nod of his own. Though he blushed, and his ears flattened against his head as he felt Mei Ling hug him gleefully as she was sitting on his lap. "Mei Ling...there are plenty of seats around..."

"Why would I take those shoddy seats when I have the best one right here?~" Mei Ling giggled while snuggling him, causing him to groan and blush brighter. At the very least, Junjie wasn't close enough to mock them for appearing so unprofessional. Though Taotie was nearby, at least a row above him, and was looking at Shifu with a questioning eyebrow. The look from Shifu was clear: Don't you start too.

At last, the event has begun and everyone's focus fell upon the stadium. Po slowly climbed up on the right, while Master Bear entered on the left. As they neared each other, Po could see how much the older bear towered over him, he did indeed look menacing. Yet Po wasn't intimidated in the slightest. instead, he just took in his appearance as a whole. A heavy brown and black fur coat, a braided goatee, a thick red belt attached to dangling metal plates, and dual axes sheathed on his back. It was quite simple to sum up how he looked.

"...You look so damn cool!" Po beamed brightly, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at Master Bear from side to side, jumping around him. "You're a bear, just like me! And you're lovably large, just like me! And you're really good at Kung Fu, just like me! WE HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON IT'S CRAZY!~"

"Yep. Saw that coming." Mantis remarked with a shake of his head, standing upon the edge of the seat next to Monkey.

"Can we blame him? This is Po's first time meeting another bear face-to-face. So of course he's going to get pretty excited over it." Viper giggled as she watched fawn over Master Bear for a full minute. She shook her head with a small smile. "Only Po could be so serious a few hours ago and be so casual right about now."

"Well, he did have a power nap." Fung sighed. "Sleep is one of the best ways to block out unwanted emotions and other irritating crap, so of course he simply slept most of that stress off...after eating. Though to be fair, he was gonna eat either way."

Master Bear was feeling incredibly awkward, seeing how carefree his opponent was acting, a complete turn around from the serious demeanor he displayed mere hours ago. After a few moments, he cleared his throat as he tried to get the panda to pay attention. "You're an energetic one...I wouldn't have expected that from you." Po stopped i the middle of his comment, blinking curiously. "Remember, this ring is just a basis for our fight since ring-outs have been rather discouraged by the advisors. Either incapacitation or knockout will be acceptable. Surrender is also acceptable...but it won't be looked upon with kindness."

"Right, so we either have to fight until we can't fight anymore, or we get knocked out. That's easy to understand, quite easy!" Po nodded effectively as he folded his arms. "And let me take a guess and say that they're aren't too many restraints, such as weapons and chi attacks. The only serious rule t this is not to kill. I can manage that easily enough."

"I'm sure you can. What of your prosthetic?"

"You don't have to worry about that, I've adapted to it quicker than people expected me to. Plus it was made by a genius, so it's gonna be more enough to help me hold my own when it comes to fighting."

Taotie smiled a bit smugly at Po's indirect praise.

Meng Tao, temporarily serving as the referee, stepped away from the middle of the ring and waved his arm. "This is Master Bear Versus Po. You two can begin when ready!"

Po grinned slightly as Master Bear struck at him first. He could see the power behind the fist, and jumped back to avoid the harsh blow. Bear's fist smashed into the ground, cratering it heavily and causing cracks to extend across in a web-like manner. Po skidded back a few feet before stopping, his scarf flapping in the wind. He slowly stood up and adjusted his hat, placing it behind him while the string kept it from falling. Bear looked up in time to see Po swiftly moving towards him, kicking at his chest, pushing him back a couple feet before stopping, picking up a bit of dust. After taking a moment to catch his breath, Master Bear stood up and gazed upon Po.

"Just like me. You're quite, how you say, 'lovably large', yet you're much faster than one would."

"The same can be said for you. I alost didn't dodge that punch of yours. It really tore into the ground, there!" Po grinned cheekily as he rubbed his cheek. "Welp. That's introductions out of the way. How about we keep going. With a bit more force behind our blows this time?"

"I can accept that."

With the two large bears in agreement, they charged at one another, and they clashed fists. The blow was powerful enough to cause a brief shockwave that was felt by nearly everyone in the stadium, sweeping up more dust from the ground. Some that were much clsoer to the arena were greatly shaken by the shockwave, though the more experienced marial artists were barely fazed. Those like Tai Lung didn't flinch in the slightest. Instead, he smirked slightly as he watched Po slowly prove himself to be a match for Master Bear, if only slightly.

They immediately broke their punch parry, Bear striking first by swiftly returning the favor by kicking Po in the chest. The latter slid back slightly, though Bear was in pursuit, jumping forward and going for another kick. The kick struck Po hard in the stomach, making him double over slightly. Though Po smiled slyly as he brought his arms together, then he spread them while raised them high in the air, and Bear was bounced away from the panda. He landed on his feet as Po laughed a bit triumphantly, his belly shaking slightly.

"Ha ha ha! That's not gonna work!~"

"I see. You're much more skilled than I thought. Turning a supposed weakness into a reliable strength." Bear nodded. "Admirable. A fellow fighter of endurance." Po was showing amazing Kung Fu prowess, despite having a prosthetic arm he hasn't had for very long. It already felt somewhat natural with him. Bear thought about this as he watched Po laugh gleefully. I'm dealing with a natural prodigy...I'm actually quite proud of him, given he's a bear like me. Bear nodded as he regained his senses and blocked an incoming blow from Po which was a rather forceful axe kick fom above, which he didn't see until he saw a shadow looming over him. The ground beneath him cracked slightly as he firmly held his ground. Po slowly relinquished his attack, seemingly falling backwards. Bear was blindsided as it was actually a midair backflip, and Po completes it by a kick swinging upwards into Bear's chin, sending him up a few feet before regaining his stance. Po landed on his back, but immediately recovers by swinging around and juming to his feet, managing a stance of his own. Bear rubbed his chin as he smiled, completely removing any doubt that he was enjoing his time with Po.

Definitely a natrual prodigy.

"Alrighty then! We're both doing pretty well for ourselves, I think yu can agree on that, right?" Po grinned, cracking his neck slightly and elaxing through a few hops. "Hey. Rules say that weapons are allowed. You're not gonna use your axe-like blade thingies?"

"The rules say so, but I prefer not to. I don't wish to accidentally cause any critically serious injury."

"That so? You seem like a pretty decent guy!~"

"Hmph...I suppose I am quite decent, if you see me that way."

Their battle continues in earnest. Master Bear gathers his stamina and charges at Po. Po was prepared to attack in retaliation. Though he was unprepared for Bear to swiftly move past him, quickly turn on his heel, and slam his paw into Po's back. Po gasped slightly as he was sent tumbling across the ground before stopping facefirst, groaning in slight pain. He should have expected that, but he was sveral seconds too late to do anything to counter. Nonetheless, he gets back up and tries again. Bear once again rushes towards Po and attempts the same manuver again. Though Po wasn't having it this time, as he swiftly turns aroud and does a leg sweep to trip his fellow bear over. Though he also added a powerful palm strike to his chest while he was in the middle of falling, sending him across the arena in a heap. he recovered quickly enough, getting back to his feet quickly.

Po didn't provide any breathing room for long, moving quickly towards Bear with a grin on his face. Bear prepared to attack him in the process. When Po got close enough, Bear swiped at him with his fist. Po narrowly ducks under it as he gathers his paws together. Bear slams both fists down on Po, who manages to catch them both in his paws, having been cut off from finishing his attack but managing to keep Bear from completing his own. While they were standing staring each other down, Bear took a chance to look in to Po's eyes. He could see the power that they held, the intensity, the sheer determination...as well as the warmth, kindness, and purity that is rarely seen in anyone else's eyes. Very few have eyes with that special kind of purity, and Oogway was one of them. He is someone who is completely content with not knowing everything about the world or people in general, because it matters not when it comes to helping the helpless. He could tell he was not bound by the standard rules of Kung Fu, and he also understood why. A free spirit like Fenghuang persuades Po to protect who he wishes to protect regardless of what others thinks of the methods. The kind who simply cannot bound himself to the type of honor that forces one to abandon their loved ones in order to enforce tradition, something Shifu was unfortunately bound to.

And here Master Bear was,witnessing a similar purity of Oogway in someone else's eyes. Admittedly, Oogway was also not afraid to show his displeasures with some of the Emperor's decisions if he ever saw them. He could tell that Po wasn't someone who would actively try to defy law and tradition. But if he had to choose between what's right and what's lawful...it's not even a choice worth pondering over, not to him. He would choose right over law as many times as it ook, seeing how much suffering it's brought upon Shifu and other people when they stuck to it too strongly.

It was strange how much one can read a person, either by doing battle with them or reading their eyes. Master Bear was subjected to both simultaneously. Master Bear had these thoughts swirling in his head as managed an almost invisible nod of acknowledgement. The panda, despit one of his arms being prosthetic, had an admirably powerful grip on him, making it very unlikely for him to escape.

Po pulls back slightly as he sucks in his gut, keeping a tight hold on Bear's wrist. "Triple Belly Gong!"

Bear grunted from the harsh of Po's belly smashing into him two times, before he ultimately went flying from the final one, tumbling across the ground and off of the ring, falling onto the ground below. A harsh thud was heard, as the crowd could see him slightly, his impact making a crater as well. Master Bear groaned from the pain, seemingly unable to get up. But it was clear that he had no hard feelings about his loss. Which was made official by Meng Tao raising his arm up.

"Master Bear is unable to continue! Po is the victor!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! YEAH!" Fenghuang cheered as she flapped her wings and flew directly to the seat that Junjie was currently sitting at, pointing a feather at his nose with a smug smile. "Incompetent master. ME? Does THAT look like I've been an incompetent teacher? Huh?! That one is MINE! Did ya see him, ya masked loser?! How does it feel to be completely and utterly WRONG!? HAH!~"

Junjie's eyes twitched at being openly mocked, as his eyes shifted down to the panda below...who surprisingly began looking towards him. Remembering how harshly he criticized he and his Master, he smiled as he turned towards the fox and blew a rather childish raspberry at him. Junjie gritted his teeth angrily. Now BOTH f them were mocking him. They would not easily get away with this.

Lu Kang observed the entire battle closely, watching Po perform quite well against Master Bear, and even achieved a victory. All he could manage, as the Emperor and his sister watched with curious eyes, was an awe-struck expression.

"Amazing, Po! That was truly amazing!" Viper squealed, her head swinging around with glee.

"Yeah! You showed the more stuck-up Masters an example! That we're not mere chumps!" Fung said with a pumped fist. Master Croc and Gahri heard this, and only managed a tired sigh from each.

"I was scared that Bear would actually use his axe-blades for a second...glad he didn't, or that could have gotten pretty ugly..." Crane sighed with relief. "Still, I wonder who's next...?"

"Well done, Po...well done." Tigress nodded softly from her own seat, glad he wasn't too badly hurt. SHe too worried that Master Bear would have used his blades. If he had seriously hurt Po with those, she would have jumped in withou thinking at all. She blinked and shook her head furiously, blushing. I have to stop thinking like that! Po can handle himself, he's proven that multiple times! Fenghuang was right about one thing, she really needed to tone her protective side down.

The Wu Sisters watched from a much higher seating arrangement, and could still clearly see Po take down Master Bear. Wan huffed as she folded her arms. "Okay I admit it. He's impressive."

"You're telling me. It seems that the underdog's of Kung Fu are gonna get their time to shine in this tournament event." Wing yawned a bit lazily, her cheek resting in her paw. "I wonder when we'll get a shot at this thing...?"

"...Underdogs..." Su said slowly as she watched Po descend from the arena for a bit. She curiously rubbed her chin with a small smile. Yes, indeed. With them having no official titles, and having been scorned by the world in some way or another...that means you really do represent the underdogs of Kung Fu. Isn't that right, Po...? She smiled wider and almost laughed. Honestly, watching Po aking a fool of the more shady members of the higher class and not giving a damn about it, it was proving to be great entertainment for Su. She was definitely beginning to see how the others could view Po as a highly annoying nuisance at best and a threat at worst. He occasionally did their jobs much better than they ever could, which was protect those who needed protecting. She's rarely seen his brand of chaos. Chaotic yet still having a moral ground. She's admittedly impressed. An idea struck her, and she smirked.

Tigress...I hope you don't mind. But after today's string of matches end, me and your panda are going to spend the night getting to know each other better... She really didn't have any plans to steal Po away from Tigress...but that certainly didn't mean she couldn't amuse herself a bit as well as indulge her fascination for the panda, now does it?

"Suuuuu..." Su blinked as she regained focus, as Wing and Wan were staring directly into her face. They both looked irritated. "That's you'e scheming face, Big Sis! What are you up to?!"

Su growled as a tick mark appeared on her head. She then smiled and gently patted her two younger siblings on their heads...then brutally smashed their heads together, briefly knocking them out. Their eyes turned to comical swirled lines as blood leaked from their foreheads. "Silence! I don't have to explain myself to you!"

A few civilians understandably moved to safer seats, away from the eldest Wu Sister...

Meanwhile, Master Bear was struggling to get up from his injuries. Though Po immediately jumped to his side, and wasted no time helping him up and assisting him in walking. He turned to him with a bit of amusement. "Hmph...knock me out of the stage, and now you're helping me recover. You keep getting stranger."

"Of course I'm helping you! Why wouldn't I?" Po looked up to him with a beaming smile. "Besides...you may not be a panda, but you're still a fellow bear. And bears have to have each other's backs, don't they? Of course they do!"

"I'm not completely sure that's how it works..."

"Even if it's not, can't hurt to give it a try!~"

Master Bear nodded softly as he let Po help him walk, still pondering about the panda's overall nature. It was not easily understood, and he didn't always act out of logic. But he couldn't deny that he was beginning to see why Po's group treasures him so highly.

You are a force that cannot be controlled. But that does not necessarily make you a major threat to China. Perhaps you can convince the other doubtful Masters to come to the same realization...

There's more to come. Po represents the underdogs of Kung fu with the highest potential, and he's the first example of why underestimating them is not wise. Titles are not everything. Not everyone learns this-cough*Junjie*cough-, but Master Bear definitely made an attempt to understand Po through their battle. Perhaps this is a step towards friendship...?

Wonder what Su's gonna do...? Oh wait, I know that already. Guess it's more about you guys finding out, huh?

I'll definitely be undating more. Keep an eye out!