8. A Decision

The sun was declining and a calm settled over the area in the arena, which was no comparison to today's noisy noon. But as quiet as everything seemed to be, a storm raged in Shen. Inside, the white peacock was as troubled as a restless sea that found no rest. His mind swayed uncontrollably like waves tossed to and fro by the wind and there was no clear view on the horizon. The white lord didn't know what to do. He just stood motionless on the roof of the arena, staring into the distance. From here, he had the best view of the wooded landscape. But his gaze was not on the setting sun, but on the darker part of the sky, where the sun usually rose. In this direction was Japan, the land of the so-called rising sun.

Shen folded his wings and narrowed his eyes. He remained in this position for a while, until he lowered his head a little. Ever since he had heard of his parents' death, he felt even more lonely. But why had he never felt that anything of him was still alive? An urge built up in him. The urge to find something he didn't know existed.

The fingertips on his wings tightened. He wanted answers. But where should he get it from?

He let out a deep sigh. He was kind of happy that he didn't have an older brother, but still, if it was 28 years ago, that brother was 28 years old now. Only four years older than Sheng.

A smile crossed Shen's beak. Over 20 years seemed so brief when you looked back. Time passed so quickly. So damn quick.

A shiver drew beneath Shen's feathers. Sometimes he really wished he could turn back time. Then where would he be today? And where would his brother be?

He raised his peacock comb when he heard faint footsteps behind him. Yin-Yu didn't have a head for heights, but the arena roof was wide enough that she felt reasonably safe on it. Because Shen had been on the roof for hours now, she worried that he might stay there all night.

She stretched her wing towards him. When he heard with his fine hearing what she was doing, he shot out his wing in front of her, but he still didn't look at her.

"No!" he ordered firmly. He didn't want consolation. Not even a touch.

Sighing, the peahen lowered her wing again and looked in the direction where Shen was staring all the time.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked after a while, but Shen was silent. She knew exactly what he was brooding about, which is why she stood right next to him and looked at him sideways. "Shen, I see what you'd like to do. If I had heard of myself from a brother, I would do the same."

At last, there was a movement in the white peacock and he walked a few steps away from her. "I just don't know whether I should see him," he muttered. "Maybe we should never see each other."

Yin-Yu raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Why are you saying that?"

"If I were in his place, I would be angry with him," Shen replied.

The peahen sighed sadly. "Because you got more love from your mother that he never got?" She let a few seconds pass. When Shen said nothing, she tried to encourage him. "But that was so long ago. Maybe something has changed over time."

She approached him again. But Shen shook his head slightly. "If it is true that you have similar feelings as a sibling, then I can't imagine that." Now finally he looked at her. "And you know how I felt about my parents."

Yin-Yu looked at him sadly. "But if you don't do it, you will never know."

Shen hugged himself and looked into the distance again. "I have a lot of questions. How is it that he's in Japan?"

"Maybe he got there by accident," she guessed. "A child can hide well on a ship. Finally, he ran away from home. Then a ship would be just the thing to avoid being discovered."

"But what has he been doing over 20 years?" Shen thought aloud. "And why should he have been involved in a raid on a Japanese village?" With this thought, Shen walked restlessly back and forth.

Yin-Yu also began to brood. "If it's true that he stole with ninjas," she said, "then maybe it could be a gang of thieves. I don't know much about Japanese culture, but maybe these fighters are abusing their skills to harm others. Even in our country, some use kung fu to steal from poor people. But maybe there is a whole other explanation for it."

"But which?"

The peahen shrugged helplessly. "Maybe it would be best if you asked Yamato that question. Maybe he can give you some answers."

Shen didn't seem too convinced. "And if not?"

A gentle smile flickered over Yin-Yu's beak. "Why do you ask that, Shen? If you can't find the answers here, then you should look for them - somewhere else."

"Somewhere else?" Shen looked at her in amazement. "But if I'm somewhere else, then you are also elsewhere."

She giggled mischievously. "Shen, I'll be fine. I'm not alone. You don't have to be around me all the time. You really don't have to worry. If you want to go, then you should go."

Shen avoided her gaze, but that didn't stop her from saying what her next thought was. "Maybe it would even be your father's wish for you to see him. And even if your brother had a grudge against you, wouldn't it be good if you got rid of the whole thing once and for all?"

Shen closed his eyes and went deep inside. "You could be right about that," he said after a while, "but I don't want to have to fight someone who I wanted to get to know." He smiled mockingly. He even wanted to do that with the panda before attempting to destroy him with his cannon... But this was something completely different. He didn't want to get rid of his own brother at all. At least he wanted to talk to him, but what if he didn't want to talk to him?

Yin-Yu said nothing, but she put her wings on Shen's shoulder and made him think. She couldn't make a decision for him. Only he could.

"Well, all in all, we earned a lot of money," Mr. Ping said, while he and Mr. Han counted the money. "Especially the panda plushies. It was a good deal."

The pig next to him nodded. "We should repeat that next time."

"Next time?" The panda, who was sitting at a table not far from them, raised his head in shock. "Does that mean I have to compete again?"

Master Shifu, who was sitting next to him, folded his ears. "So usually, the champion always has to defend his title in the next competition, Dragon Warrior."

Po got queasy in the stomach. "Great."

He looked around, hoping someone would speak up. But nobody seemed to want to comment. They were all seated at a table in the party hall, although all the guests had already left. The peacock children nibbled on the rest of the food here and there. With the exception of Fantao, who briefly apologized for having to get out. The Furious Five had also preferred to stay awake until they found out what the white peacock was up to do next. Master Ox and Master Croc sat cross-legged in a corner and passed the time meditating. Yamato wasn't far away either and was sleeping against a wall. King Wang had also been persuaded to take a nap. Xia let her gaze wander thoughtfully. Sheng sat next to her and ate some of the food, too, but he looked very quiet.

Finally, they heard someone open the door. Everyone raised their heads when they saw Shen appear in the doorway, followed closely by Yin-Yu. But the peacock's eyes were not on the masters or any of his family. Instead, he turned his attention to the black bear, who he woke up with a light kick. The Japanese bear opened his eyes, drunk with sleep.

"Where did you see him?" Shen got straight to the point. "Where exactly was that?"

The black bear yawned again before answering tiredly. "As I said, it was a village in the woods, south-west of Japan. Kimura is the name of the village."

Shen raised his beak higher. "Then I'll go there."

Zedong was hooked immediately. "Are you going to Japan?! Wow! Can I come with you?! Can I come with you?! I've never seen ninjas!"

"No!" Shen dismissed the boy. "You go home again."

"But that's not possible," Po intervened now. "At least Sheng has to come with us to the Valley of Peace."

The white peacock looked at him in surprise. "Into the valley of peace?"

The panda nodded vigorously. "Yes, after every kung fu competition, all participants pay homage to the place of origin of the kung fu. It's tradition. Did you forget that?"

Shen didn't like the idea at all, and he would certainly have objected if Yin-Yu hadn't said something else.

"Then we will travel to the Valley of Peace, too," she said. "We can wait there for a message from you. And the children will definitely like it, too."

She looked pleadingly at Shen.

"That's a great idea!" Po said enthusiastically and put a paw on Zedong's shoulder. "Then you will also get to know the village!"

"The kung fu village?" Zedong asked.

"Yes, and who knows..." Po's brow furrowed. "We might even run into a bunch of bad boys on the way."

"Wow, can we go there, dad? May we? May we?"

Shen struggled with himself to say a 'yes'. But maybe it was better than begging all the time to come to Japan.

"Alright," he finally gave in. "But don't put any nonsense in their heads!" The last thing he wanted was that the kids get as kung fu crazy as this fat panda.

King Wang, who had woken up in the meantime, leaned over to Mr. Ping. "I'm not allowed to come along by chance, am I?"

"Of course," the gander confirmed. "Everyone is welcome in the Valley of Peace as long as they have good intentions."

"Well, I have that."

"We're having a party there anyway," Mr. Ping continued. "We can always feed a few more mouths."

"Then we will all rest now," Master Shifu announced. "And tomorrow we will set out for the Valley of Peace."

Shen nodded. "Good, and I'll go to Gongmen City in the meantime. From there, I continue with the ship."

"Wait a minute!" Master Ox intervened and got up from his cross-legged seat. "Shouldn't someone go with him so he doesn't cause mischief?"

"Thank you," Shen refused rudely, "but I can do without your company!"

"Then I'll go with him," the old goat offered, who had reappeared out of nowhere. Everyone looked puzzled.

"Only to Gongmen City," she explained. "I'll wait for him there."

"But what if he does something bad in Japan?" Master Ox pointed out emphatically.

But instead of a simple answer, the goat gave him a light blow on the head with her walking stick. "Do me a favor and don't associate him with something bad for once," she whispered to him. "It was bad enough that he was bullied as a child for associating his color with a curse."

She looked at the ox with a censorious glance.

"Well then, let's go to the night quarters," Shifu ordered.

He made the start. The Furious Five followed him. Only Po dared to go near Shen and looked at him meaningfully. "And you really want to go to Japan? Alone? But what if there really are ninjas?"

"Panda, I can take care of myself very well," Shen assured him and looked sternly at Po. "Have I made myself clear and precise enough?!"

Po swallowed hard, but before he could evade with another subject, Shen passed him and went to his little daughter. "And Shenmi, you stay with the others. And I'm really serious about it!"

The girl obediently nodded. "Alright, papa."

Po looked at the two sadly. He had just raised his paw and opened his mouth when Shifu narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Po, you come with me!"

"Uh, yes, I'm coming, master." Nevertheless, the panda hesitated, which made Shifu's patience tear. "Po!"

"Yes, master." Obediently, the panda followed the others.

"And you don't mind that I come to Gongmen City with you?" the goat asked when the most of the others had already left.

Shen twisted his beak. "As long as you haven't hatched some ulterior motive again." He shot her a skeptical look. "Otherwise, you never do anything without a reason."

The old goat smiled. "I wanted to do something in Gongmen City in my old house anyway. I will write a letter to my great-nephew to come and see me. I will then wait there until you come back."

This explanation made the peacock only half satisfied. But he didn't have the time to think about this statement any longer, because in the next moment a big boar appeared in front of him, which was probably the landlord. "Excuse me? Is that your son?" With that, he picked up Fantao. "He smeared paint all over the outside wall at the side entrance."

Indignantly, the peacock cub folded his wings. "This is art!"