Forty per minute.
This was the rate of glances in the Emperor's tea room for most Masters, as they couldn't help but look in between Crane and his Majesty. But how could they, when every turn of the eye meant another found similarity shared by the two avians. Same beige colored beak that curved the same way at the base, even their size was almost on point. Both had blonde eyes, Crane's pair a tone brighter than the Emperor's. A black feathered neck, with the exact same dull, bluish shine disappearing under the breathtaking and lustrous robe, that emerged his figure from the violet of the walls.
"Wait, this is your old man?" Monkey asked, pointing with his thumb to his Majesty.
"Master Monkey," Shifu said, sending a harsh glare at the suddenly very apologetic Master.
"Sorry, Mast- Shifu."
"Don't look so alarmed, son…" the Emperor said, and Viper had to stop herself from cooing at the sentimental tone the word 'son' came out, "I don't bite."
Crane opened his beak, just for a strained, high-pitched 'meep' to come out, nothing else. He didn't know if the chi was influencing his feelings, or he was just being his regular emotional self, but he nonetheless found his throat uncomfortably clenching and his heart speeding until it banged against his ribcage. The skin under his feathers pulsed from the quickened bloodstream and he would have sweated if he had been capable of such action. His rebooting mind lurched like a massive dark hole, that sucked in every bit of information his senses provided, but this was about the point where it stopped handling them. All those data laid at the pit of that hole, lost, useless, forgotten, right next to his jumbled up thoughts, that looked like burnt out trees after a forest fire.
But he didn't care, because those yellow eyes were looking at him, the same ones that dazzled in the lantern's light whenever his Pa told him a grand bedtime story. Those worn facial lines surrounded them, and he remembered fondly how the people used to say how alike him and his father looked. He had always found a tinge of satisfaction at knowing that he inherited such a wonderful man's features. That dark feather color greeted him, rustling enthusiastically on his father's cheek, neck, and a memory raised itself up from the hole.
"Pa, your feathers…"
"What of them? I hope they are pretty."
"Y-yeah… They are just like mine, look!"
"Well I'll be darned. Just imagine the shine they will get when you grow up. One that the Lei family was so famous for."
"Woah… Pretty…"
Like a fog on a windy day, the memory dissipated away from his sight, and the Emperor's lightened smile welcomed him back. Crane could see a bead of moisture growing in the corners of those familiar eyes, and a shaky left wing came up to rest on his shoulder, gripping it with its welcoming energy and love. That encompassing warmth spread through his shoulder, and his entire right side went numb when the touch manifested in him. A touch, that he last experienced two decades ago, and his body was borderline buckling under itself from the feeling of just, having it back again.
Barely above the marble ground, wind rustled the hanging edge of the table's cover, while the potted plants in the windows quasi grew in size.
"My son... Gosh, just look at you," his Majesty said in a strained voice, looking Crane up and down.
"Pa…?" the avian Master said, though it came out more like a whimper, and it regained the attention of those eyes he missed so much. The Emperor's wing slid up from his shoulder, cupping Crane's cheek and caressing it softly. He closed his eyes and let it happen, enjoying the giddy bliss soaking into his white feathers as it refreshed his facial muscles with a cool tingle.
"It's me, son," the Emperor said, his voice almost bursting from the affection.
"W-what are you doing here, Pa?" Crane whispered. The word 'Pa' had a fascinating effect on him, a simple two letter word told with such hesitance, yet every time it was uttered, Crane felt like an awaking sunflower looking at the greatest body of the sky.
And then Bao happened.
"Oh, he just got lost in the road of life, and ended up here in fancy Emperor masquerade," the white-naped crane spoke up, his smile borderline wicked and widening the more the temperature lowered in the room at words, "Quite a coincidence, wouldn't you think so?"
Crane could swear that the crashing of shattering glass echoed in his ears at this moment. Any processes his state had seconds before halted, and he spawned enough mind coherency to take his eyes off his father and look at Bao's smug beak.
"Humorous. But, only you would get lost on a one way road, so please, don't lower anyone to your level."
And wasn't that an effective way of bringing back the room's heat? The taken aback Bao spluttered in his umbrage, his wing going to his chest. Crane could hear the muffled snorts behind him, presumably Mantis and Monkey trying not to make their reactions sound. His father laughed freely on the other hand, his voice deep but with lightness evident in it.
"Oh Bao, dear Bao. I believe you just got 'dissed'," the elder crane said to his side, and his Right-hand Man turned to him with a face tense as ever. Crane cracked a grin at how Bao's red face-patches started matching his own crimson robe in intensity.
"First of all, no stealing my catchphrases Qiang. I worked too hard for them," Bao said, his wing held up towards the Emperor's person like when a parent scolded their child. Then he turned to Crane, "And I'll… allow that, just because this was genuinely funny and I seriously missed your sass. Expect revenge though. Just saying…"
"Yeup. That was a chill on my back," Crane said, and finally let out a sizeable breath, his body relaxing likewise. His eyes met his father's pair, and reality finally staked a claim in him; his best friend and his father were here, healthy, beaming.
For a second time of the day, the rest of the Masters bared witness to their friend throwing his wings around someone, and they wondered if this endearing sight would be a usual one from now on.
"Wow!" Qiang said, surprised, but didn't hesitate to return the hug, „Someone is enthusiastic. When you were just a child, you were afraid of mere winds. You thought it would blow you away."
Crane tensed in the hug. "Y-yeah, the wind and I always... a-always had a weird relationship."
Qiang stroked his son's back and cocked his head. "Is that so? Now that you mention, it is quite windy here. Wonder why."
The Masters could swear they heard the sounds of rubber screeching on a stone at this moment, and they dropped their wide-eyed gaze onto the ground, where the table covers erratically swung everywhere.
"The window is open," Tigress spoke up with her monotonous, almost bored voice, but her claws were touching, almost clicking.
Qiang and Crane disconnected the hug by this point, the Emperor noticing the fully open window at the back of the tearoom.
"Oh my. Well, that certainly explains it." he said, before motioning to his Right-hand Man, "Bao, would you be so kind and close it?"
Bao, who had been thoughtfully watching the events, nodded and made his way over to the window. While he did that, he observed from the corner of his eye as Qiang and Crane both took their places at the table; the Emperor at the end with his son and Shifu at his sides, while Crane stood next to Tigress. Servants of various species piled into the room at that moment, one of them holding a bronze-colored jug, another held a circular tray with teacups on it. While the servants provided them with the steaming refresher, he intently watched his best friend and his trials to take even breaths, seemingly trying to calm himself. Most of the Masters glanced back at his direction, something that he found glaringly obvious, like they were waiting for him to do something.
Curious…
Bao took hold of the windows and moved them, but right before the windows were completely closed, he made a show of stopping to scratch his chest. Much to his surprise, the wind disappeared faster than he actually closed the windows, and his eyes narrowed when he witnessed the clasped paws of the tiger Master's tightening subtly on the table, as well as the Dragon Warrior cringing at something.
Weren't Jia's eyes lighter before?
"E-erm, dad?" Crane spoke up suddenly, gulping at how alien the word sounded, "Where's our seats?"
One of Qiang's eye-lids raised. "Seats? Son, we are cranes. We cannot sit down even if we wanted to."
"I know, I know, I'm just..." Crane said, his beak stretched into a thin line, "Yeah, you are right."
Crane may have wanted to dismiss the topic, but Qiang wasn't having any of it.
"No, no, I'm interested actually. Please continue."
Crane faltered when he noticed how not only his friends were looking at him now, but the servants and the guards too. A sickening hollowness struck his chest, and no, he definitely wasn't having another anxiety attack, especially not with these circumstances. Thankfully, his distress was noted, and Shifu came to the rescue of his ex-student.
"When the new Furious Five was formed, Master Crane had troubles fitting in," he began, gaining the attention of the many people in the room, and Crane could have collapsed in relief, "So Master Oogway and I figured out ways that could help him feel less secluded. Having him a seat at the dinner table, even with the obvious anatomical problems, was Master's idea."
Qiang nodded along, leaning in to listen to every word. He put his elbows on the table, and the sleeves of his golden robe fell down, exposing familiar white and black wings, with a gray line between them. The appendages covered each other below his face and his beak rested on the bridge they made.
"Well, I cannot go against such a wise character's solutions, especially if they are for the welfare of my only son, now can I? Could you bring two more chairs?"
"Certainly, Your Divine Highness," Bao said with a deep bow, before leaving the room.
Shifu had never thought he would see the moment when a humble smile takes reign on an Emperor's face. From his experience, the rulers of China either lacked humility, or had been too used to honorifics by that point. Now that the red panda thought about it as he looked into his cup, the Bordeaux red liquid swaying gently; he knew very little of this new Emperor, besides his name and the identity of his son. Did he get the proper training that every heir to the throne got? Was he a noble before? A Eunuch? Can't be, Crane would have mentioned at one point that he was of an important family and-
Shifu shook his head. No, he wouldn't have. Master Crane was exactly the kind of person who would hide something like this.
"Oh!" Viper spoke up, looking into her tea surprised, "This is one of the best teas I've ever had."
"Hear, hear," Monkey and Mantis said, the simian gulping down the liquid vigorously. The cup obscured the insect's form, as in order for him to drink, he had to tilt it towards himself.
"I've got to get the recipe for this!" Po said, looking at his tea like it was the source of everything joyous, "My dads would love this."
"Your... dads?" Qiang asked, having his own cup enclosed in his wings.
"Yeah, I was kinda adopted when I was little, but then I found my original dad, and now I have two of them! Cool, right?"
Shifu wanted to bang his head onto the table. This was not how you speak with the Son of Heaven. The irony was a little too real; this was the Panda who reprimanded his students to make a good first impression.
Thankfully, his Majesty didn't look fazed. "Well, it seems that reconciling with family has been a fashionable choice for fate these days."
Crane hesitantly returned the warm smile sent his way, still a little shaken from the borderline anxiety attack.
"And I'm happy the tea is good, I..." Shifu was getting more curious by the minute, because now the Emperor was avoiding eye contact, like someone who was not sure, "…made it. Hope my skills didn't fade."
'Eh, right, I'm just relieved Viper liked the painting, I… made it. At least I haven't forgotten how to hobby, right?'
'Like father, like son' they say. In all honesty, the red panda heavily wondered what did Crane inherit from his mother's side.
Bao arrived with the chairs at this moment and placed both behind the avians. When he finished putting down Crane's chair, the Master suddenly yelped, and snapped back towards his best friend with a dirty look. Bao just smiled his wicked smile, and winked back, raising his wing at the Emperor. Qiang nodded at him, allowing him to talk.
„My Emperor, if I may, you were Lord Kekao's personal cook. He sang praises upon your tea and noodle soup. I wouldn't have doubted myself in your place."
Well, there goes Shifu's investigation. Whatever happened in the day of the attack, Kekao's cook ended up avenging the fallen Emperor. Which also meant that Crane's father had killed people, but the others didn't have to know how gruesome dynasty changes were usually. Shifu took another sip from his cup and wondered; what is the name of the current one?
Qiang hummed. "Eh, all right, you win this round."
"You were a cook!?" Po asked in a delighted exclaim, and Tigress sent him a murderous look. Whether it was because you just don't shout at his Majesty no matter what, or because she was genuinely annoyed at his deafening volume, Shifu didn't know. This question was actually quite hard to answer, since Tigress had been silently seething for sometime now from the amount of questionable events happening, and the red panda wondered if Crane's father had a room full of destructible wood or even metal that the populous was free to destruct.
Qiang simply grinned, not at all disturbed by it. "That I was. Still is. A good one from what I heard."
"One of my dads is an owner of a noodle and sushi shop. His secret ingredient soup is the best in the world," Po said, and Qiang's eye-lids raised in interest.
"In that case, I would like to test my skills against him. I'm sure it would propose a challenge or two."
Po rubbed his hands together, an excited smile gracing his lips. "Oh man, dad will be nuts if he hears this!"
Shifu suddenly found himself in the crossfire of two people casually chatting about cooking, Viper making a third front of attack by occasionally adding her two cents, while he could do nothing but taking a deep breath. He didn't have enough tea to survive this. Thankfully, a wolf servant noticed his struggles, and dutifully poured him another fill. Shifu looked at the grey-furred fellow, wearing a downgraded version of Bao's attire, and he had a sudden realization.
Lord Kekao's servants were all foxes, just like him.
The red panda shrugged, dismissing the thought. Who was he to tell the Emperor how to manage his Palace?
On the other side of the table, Monkey and Mantis began bickering about whether the Emperor could cook a better meal than , with Mantis relentlessly claiming that the goose was the better cook and Monkey questioning it after the liquid heaven Qiang made. Tigress in the meantime quietly contemplated her future words to some of her friends, especially to Bao Luo. She may also have had been humming a soft tune under her breath, calming herself down gradually. She couldn't allow herself to sink to the chaos that this 'tea party' became.
Her voice must have deepened in the last year, she noticed, because it had a scratching noise to it. She subconsciously flicked her ears, trying to make it go away, but the foreign sound was still here. Gripping the cup, she stopped humming, deciding that it was not worth it. Much to her chagrin, the noise was still very present, louder than before and it had a direction now. She opened her eyes and turned to her side, where Crane 'sat', and found the source of her bother; the avian was actively scratching himself with his talons, his face confronted in a grimace.
"You all right?" she asked, gaining his attention.
"I'm... not. This robe is literally killing me."
Tigress glanced at the red clothing and frowned.
"Why? It looks your size."
"It's not the size, it's the material..." Crane whispered, subtly swinging his wing in a way, that its sleeve flopped to Tigress' side. She looked down at the offering, and with her pinkie, she smoothed over the material in question.
"Silk?"
Crane dipped his head, and a quiet sniff left him when he tried to stop his running nose.
"But you are allergic to silk," she said, and Crane knew that the worry in her voice was not to be mentioned or consequences.
"I know."
"Then why don't you tell your father?"
"Because, he was the one who specifically chose this for me and I'm not sure about his reaction if I told him I'd rather not have it around," Crane said, his body shaking from a successfully blocked sneeze, "Or better, live without it."
Crane's eyes met hers, and he already knew he messed up when those fiery pools hardened.
"Well, either you tell him, or sneeze and destroy the city. Your choice."
"Oh please, Tigress don't-" he was ready to literally beg her not to force a decision out of him, when his father spoke up
"Is there a problem, son?"
The evil robe, with its airy design and blazing hue, clung to his body while he took a swift turn to his other side, where his father expected an answer. He gulped at the reflection of his own eyes inspecting him, asking the silent question 'Are you okay?', and Crane couldn't help but hear the fatherly tone with all its loving core and caring bark that went right to his heart, where it found ample home within. He also felt Tigress' stern look from his behind, and he sighed. With one side pushing him, the other waiting for him with open arms, how could he think about chickening out?
"A-actually, there is. Pa, I know that it's not your fault, we really haven't had any experience with it, I found it out only in the Academy, but…" Of course his father had to look ready to panic at this moment, "I'm kinda…. allergic… to silk."
He said the last bit with a whisper, but he may as well screamed it. His friends bit their lip upon realizing that the robe's glistening texture wasn't because it was just extraordinarily clean. Bao squinted at his best friend from his place next to the Emperor, and tsked when he realized that, of course Jia would be allergic to silk. The only material that they couldn't get any when they were children since it was way too expensive, but he always looked rather sick after pranking a person of high rank. It was also quite funny to think about, because if Jia were to stay here indefinitely, everyone in the Palace would have to let go of their beloved silk, Emperor's orders. Wouldn't that make some juicy drama?
Qiang meanwhile…
"Oh god, I'm... deeply sorry son. You're right, I-I didn't know, um," the Emperor stuttered, his eyes jumping from Crane's face to the silk. Realizing the magnitude of the problem, his beak stretched into a thin line, and his yellow depths lost focus for a moment, trying to gather an idea.
Then they lit up with one.
"Bao, if you would be so kind, can you have him another outfit? Preferably made of cotton."
"Yes, your Divine Highness."
"A-and no funny business! I remember how the two of you were, and I know Jia didn't start all those tricks and jokes."
Bao bowed, which allowed him to hide his snickers.
"Do not worry. Your son will come back silkless and trickless, with cotton on the side. And in one piece, if you doubt that. Though his dignity may be a lost cause."
Qiang ignored the banter and sighed with the barest of chuckles. "Thank you."
The white-naped crane turned to the side and allowed his best friend to leave the table. Bao's wings gestured towards the door, a grin clear on his beak, as the glaring Crane passed him. Out of the blue, the Master's wing shot out, hooked under his friend's hood, and forced it forward, right onto the other bird's head. Funny thing about Bao's attire, its hood was designed for birds with longer necks, so whenever the avian was wearing it, the sides always wrinkled, ready to be elongated furthermore. Exploiting this, Crane pulled it to its max extent, and he got the end stuck on the tip of Bao's beak, before said bird could slap his appendage away.
"Whoops," Crane said, his voice wearing a nasal coating.
His best friend managed to pry the hood away, revealing twinkling eyes. After putting cloth extension neatly behind him, he sneered back.
"You little…"
And with that, the best friends left through the double doors. The last thing the Masters saw was Crane and Bao sharing a pair of smiles, one hesitant, the other entertained, but both gentle to an obvious degree.
Whispers filled the room after the doors closed, and the table went back to drinking the delicacy, occasionally throwing half-assed sentences around. Shifu eyed his Majesty, whose distinguished hat skewed thanks to him rubbing his own head. Shifu knew that rubbing; not for the sake of relieving pain, but a self-reassuring action, something he was very much familiar with. Then, the Emperor faintly sipped on his tea and a golden cat servant immediately approached him with the jug, refilling his Majesty's cup. Qiang thanked the bowing servant, who went back to his place at the wall, next to the grey wolf. Shifu wouldn't have paid this much attention to such an everyday interaction, had it not been because the Emperor was dropping obvious clues of his distress; throughout all this, he was sending glances at the door, his head tilted a bit towards the exit. Shifu looked over Qiang's being, and would you look at that, the Emperor's nervous tic differed from his son's; while Crane randomly flexed his tucked in wings, his Majesty kept rolling his shoulders under that heavy robe.
"I can assure Your Divine Highness, that Crane is an exceptionally trained Master and there is no reason to worry for his well-being," Shifu said, and the Emperor's sigh shook in accordance to his heart.
"I know, I know. He has grown up and is one of the best in Martial Arts..." Qiang began, his voice quiet and low-key, "But even so, I haven't seen him in decades. I simply cannot help but fear that the smallest of inconveniences would take him away before we could reconcile."
Shifu watched his Majesty shake his head, and gaze at Crane's empty seat.
"Cranes usually have two eggs," he spoke up, louder this time, and the Masters stopped their trivial chatting, "Me and Yan, Jia's mother, were no exception either. Everything seemed to go smoothly. Jia was the first to hatch, and he was the healthiest boy I've ever seen. A little fragile and light, still healthy. But his sibling..."
Shifu had to force down the sudden corrupting feeling of horror as Qiang's shaking wings raised the cup to his beak again, and the avian took an elegant taste, looking ahead at the table's surface with dry eyes. The red panda knew those eyes; every time he spoke about Tai Lung, he had them. A pair of depths, that had already cried the grief away.
"The egg didn't hatch for days. We were waiting and waiting, praying that he or she was just... late. Jia was always there, next to the egg, hugging it, trying to persuade his sibling to come out. Then one night, Jia woke us up, saying that the egg smelt 'funny'. Me and my darling got there quickly, and we found..."
Oh boy…
"We…." his Majesty had to gulp his emotions away, "The egg was rotten. Spoiled. We were devastated, but… not as much as Jia. He was having nightmares after that for weeks, about his sibling leaving him. Sometimes it was a sister, sometimes a brother. Sometimes he even had two siblings, both leaving him behind."
"How did he… get over it?" Viper asked, her voice rich and tainted by distinctive empathy.
None of them expected Qiang to titter.
"I can thank Bao for that. The kid was a bundle of energy and the perfect specimen of a social butterfly. He was also an orphan, but that didn't fully excuse why he never left Jia's side after the moment they met. We had no clue what was going on and no matter how much we asked around, we wouldn't get a straight answer. In the end, we concluded that Bao found someone who can put up with his endless energy and Jia found someone who can possibly take the place of the sibling he never had. Either that or the Laozi character was onto something with his preachings about Tao and opposites being born from and for the other," he said, sighing longingly. He raised his eyes and met the Masters' own, smiling.
"It was one of the most heartbreaking sights to see them separate. But, now they are together again, and I'm not sure even my orders could isolate them this time."
While Viper subconsciously curled into a small loop on her chair, her heart struck clenching, the rest didn't utter a word. Even Po felt his muscles strangely loose, and while hunger did call out to him, he ignored it for once. The rest had nothing to add either, besides somber nodding and, in Mantis' case, some re-evaluation of life choices.
Voices came from the other side of the door, making several ears and even some gazes turn that way.
"...and then we will fight to the death and beyond!"
"Okay, first, dramatics were never your suite, so stop it. Second, you seriously don't want to spar with me."
"Aww, you care about my well-being? I see you kept being a gentleman."
"That too, but your fragile pride is at stake here. Who knows what happens if that gets shattered after I clean up the floor with you."
"H-hey! My pride is not fragile, it's set in stone! Take that back!"
An undignified snort escaped Monkey, who immediately slapped a hand above his mouth. Viper raised herself once again, tilting her head towards the door with her lips curled up.
"This was a daily thing to hear. How I missed it," Qiang said, rubbing his cup with closed eyes, and let the banter reach him.
The voices behind the door suddenly halted.
"Hey, do you think they heard us coming?" Bao's voice asked.
"Probably," Crane's own answered, flat, to-the-point and no longer nasal.
"Probably is not a yes, so I think we should make your reveal a little spicier."
"Probably is not a no either. And what do you mean by 'spicier'?"
"You walking in is boring. How about I give you an amazing premiere, and then you come in stylishly."
A familiar groan of exasperation made Po guffaw.
"I will not do anything embarrassing. But I guess you'll-"
"HERE I COME!"
"-embarrass yourself for the two of us..."
The double doors opened explosively, hitting and bouncing back from some unlucky servants. Bao himself stepped, or more like strutted in with his wings held up and wide, his face set in comical seriousness.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, get ready for the Jade Palace sensation, a Master on its own right, the best of the best when it comes to jest…. Master Crane."
Said avian came through the doors, with a similar crimson robe he had before, but thicker, less shiny, and a little fluffier. His face was free of any held back sneeze, sniff, and his wings didn't move to scratch himself throughout his quick walk in, though it may have been because he was too preoccupied with hiding under his rice hat, also obscuring the rest of his face with said feathered appendages.
"As you can see, he decided to choose an exotic robe. If you ask me, this could and would revolutionize China's fashion sense. Entire made of cotton, it-mhpfpmh"
He couldn't finish his monologue, because Crane's taloned feet came up and firmly gripped his beak together.
"Shut. It."
Bao gave a wholly innocent look to those glaring eyes that peeked out from under the circular edge of the rice hat. Seeing this, Crane huffed and let go, regaining his place at the table without tipping up his hat.
"You feeling good, son?" Qiang asked, just as entertained as the rest of the table. The situation forced even Tigress to 'massage her jaw'.
"Allergy-wise? Peachy. Grandeur-wise? Absolutely delirious."
Bao hummed. "Oh, he loved it."
"Just as much as getting my wing clipped," Crane answered as he raised his head with a weary sigh, making his face visible once more.
Bao grinned at him from his place at the right side of the Emperor, a grin that wanted to be mocking, but his eyes shone with liberated happiness, and the dimples at the very base of his beak told another story. Crane's grumpy look melted off his face seeing that, and he smirked back, a wide, giddy one, telling Bao just exactly how he felt about having him once again.
Qiang didn't miss the interaction, and he nodded to himself. This was all before he seemingly took on an entirely new facade, an Emperor's facade.
Everything as it was…
"So, now that all of us are here, let's get down to business, shall we? As you may have guessed, I did not request your attendance just for the sake of introducing myself and reconnecting with my son, even though I admit it had been a part of my intentions. The other reason would be a plea for help."
"What's the nature of the help?" Shifu asked decisively, his back held straight, while his hands clasped together on the table, encircling his cup.
"Am I right to assume that everyone in the room has been notified of the happenings just short of a week ago?"
His answer was firm nods all around.
"Good. Originally, the situation included the army of bandits. Least to say, they did not appreciate their plans foiled and their leaders no more," Qiang began, his eyes calculating and piercing as they made contact with the Masters, "Their attacks gained ferocity since then, and I'm not confident Lin'an could take another direct hit. Our soldiers are either exhausted from the last battle or too far to mobilize before the next strike. That's why I asked for your help; to defend the city in the next battle. I would be eternally grateful."
Po waved the problem off. "That's all right, we can take on a group of bandits. That's our speciality, actually."
"If I had a coin after every bandit 'army' I met, I'd buy the Jade Palace and still have enough to think about building another," Mantis added, sharing his friend's line of thought.
"Because you know so much about Palace management," Monkey said, to which the insect simply shrugged.
"Can't be that hard."
"Now that's something I'd like to see," Bao mumbled to himself, mostly.
Shifu cleared his throat. "Your Divine Highness said 'originally'. Has there been a change while we were on the road?"
A grimace flashed through Qiang's face, before he sighed wearily.
"I am afraid yes. Right after I sent my plea to the Jade Palace, I got a notice from a Lady from the north, telling me that she has successfully gained complete control over North-east China, Southern Mongolia, and the Manchuria region. Her notice also contained a subtle version of her future plans of expansion to the south, the capital city included."
"So we have to go against bandits and a Lord? Awesome!" Po said, unfazed by the exponentially growing things to fight against.
"We have never faced that many opponents before, but…" Crane noted, finally having a taste of his lukewarm tea. His body went slack when the liquid reached his tongue, and he didn't hesitate to savor his father's home-made tea, another thing he missed dearly.
"But we faced both of them. Separately, but still," Mantis said, and Qiang let himself marvel at how nonchalant these people were about the situation.
"Even so, I may have found a way to ease the burden from our shoulders," the Emperor spoke up, regaining the regard of the table, "To our fortune, the Lady is just a warlord, not a madman, evident by her willingness to path to a much less bloody climax to this situation in a form of a bet. If I manage to complete the requirements for this bet, the Lady would swear her eternal allegiance to me and the Heavens as a faithful ally. Nothing more, nothing less. If I don't, well… I will have to lean back and watch my home get trampled over."
"Wow. So, how big is this bet? Like, a 'best of three tic-tac-toe' big, or…?" Po asked, and his Majesty snorted. Whether it was because his son managed choke on his tea in the meantime, or because he genuinely found the Dragon Warrior's words funny, no one will know.
"That would be the highlight of China's history. But no, the bet is much greater in size and importance. The Lady values power above all else, which comes with its own quirks. She doesn't discriminate, no matter the person's social status, age, gender, or the gender of their affection's target, she only cares about influence and might. That's why I had to come forth with a deal that… charmed this particular preference of hers."
"As in?" Shifu asked, his heart-rate speeding up.
"As in a tournament of sorts. Her best six fighters, against the Empire's best six, one-on-one matches. The goal is to show enough skill, valor and prowess to impress her, and we win. Of course, the Heavens wouldn't fault any of you if you decide against participating, the miscommunication was wholly my fault, and neither your honor or your name would be tainted upon refusal."
Let it be known, that Tigress didn't feel any drop of annoyance towards her friends at this moment. Looking at his Majesty like he was a delusional maniac was, for once, fitting.
"Are you kidding?!" Po exclaimed, sitting up in his chair, "You are, like, the Emperor and Crane's dad too, and I never had a friend whose dad was alive, which just makes you even more awesome! We'll easily beat this 'best six fighters of hers' with our Kung Fu, then kick those rebelling bandits back where they come from, and after that, we can celebrate with our dads making the food."
While Qiang and the servants were trying to find words, or at least make an appropriate reaction to this outburst, Bao quietly shuffled closer to Crane, and leaned close to his ear for a whisper.
"Does this… usually happen?"
Tigress grunted into her cup from the side, while Crane hummed, examining the sleeves of his cotton robe, his eyes unfocused.
"More times than it'd makes sense."
Bao just blinked, still watching the spectacle the proud Po was. "Wow… I actually have no words."
"Endearing?"
"Hm. You know what? Yeah, endearing is good. Thank you, Little Thesaurus."
Crane rolled his eyes and put his wings back onto the table after seeing his father shake off some flustered feathers.
"W-well, in that case…" Qiang said, collecting his wits, "Can I expect help by the Masters of the Jade Palace?"
Said people simultaneously looked at Po and Shifu, awaiting their decision. Seeing that, Po held up his hands, palms showing.
"We are in, but guys, it's your decisions too."
"Being part of the Master's council prohibits us from making decisions in the name of other Masters."
Knowing that, most Masters didn't hesitate to voice their agreement.
"It would be a great honor to serve the Emperor and defend the Mandate of Heaven," Tigress said.
"Yeah! Let's do it!" Mantis said, his enthusiastic words counting for his best buddy. Crane glanced down at his right wing, the onyx shine darkening through the cotton of the crimson sleeves, and with a deep breath, he nodded firmly.
Qiang itched to reach out towards his son, wanting to tell how proud he was of what his child became. The child, who had to watch his parents literally strap blankets to any protruding edge of the furniture for his supposed 'safety'. And now, here they were, and his son was willingly going into battle for his country, and for his father.
If only Yan could see you, Jia…
The only one who didn't voice their agreement was Viper. She was seemingly inspecting the pattern of the table's cover, but Monkey could see her tail rattling quietly behind her.
"I…"
"Vi?"
The snake snapped her head up, her eyes shaking.
"I-it'd be a g-great honor," she said, her weak voice faltering.
Who was she kidding?
"Okay, let's try again. What's up, Vi?" Mantis asked, using his recently developing catchphrase for instances when one of his friends hid things.
Seeing that she was cornered, the snake uncurled her body, her tail falling limp over the seat of her chair.
"It's just… the stakes are so high and, we have never fought… without each other."
The others may have fallen into her generalization, but sadly, Crane heard what Viper actually meant.
I have never fought… without one of you guys helping me.
"We'll do fine!" Po began, and the snake turned to him, "They have no way of beating us. Kung Fu has defeated the thing that kills Kung Fu, meaning that Kung Fu is unbeatable, so whatever they are coming at us with, Kung Fu beats it. Simple logic."
Bao chewed on the side of his beak, leaning to Crane again.
"Do you have a synonym for… 'kinda stupid, but weirdly encouraging and persuasive'?"
"Po Ping."
The white-naped Crane looked at him, befuddled, before seeing that subtle beckon towards the panda's person, and suddenly Bao understood.
"Yeah, sounds accurate 'nuff."
Viper kept silent in the meantime, her mind torn two sides.
"W-well then…" Viper began, but a phantom of something covered her usually calming voice in an emotion, much like tar would coat the stairs of a divine celestial, „Yes, Let's hope for the best."
"The Heavens will remember this deed of yours, Master Viper," Qiang said, his chin held high, "The fights will take place four days from now on, enough time for you to rest after the strenuous journey and prepare for the tournament, I hope?"
"That would be agreeable," Shifu said, standing up from his seat, the rest of the Masters following his example one by one.
"Marvelous. Now if you excuse me, I have to consult the Lady about further details on the tournament," the Emperor said, and the servants lined up on his side. "Your rooms for the time of your stay are ready for you, Bao will escort you."
And with that, his Majesty left the tearoom, most of the servants following.
Crane felt Bao's presence behind him, tensing when he felt his friend's well-cared feathers touch his shoulder and rub it in a circular pattern.
"So… How did you like Main Course?"
The moon had nicked her ankles over the horizon, her red irritation conquering the sky. The sun laughed in his warm, booming laugh, running away from the wrath he would sure get otherwise. She huffed, but gradually calmed down, and she slowly took the heavens over by her signature darkness. She settled down among her blinking children and made eye-contact with the sunny depths looking out from one window of the Emperor's palace. They belonged to Crane, the avian Master standing there for sometime, letting the moon's perfect white among the perfect black calm the typhoon in his mind.
He sighed. He still had his cotton robe on, and as his eyes trailed down to the windowsill, the sleeve of the clothing slid off from his raised right wing. That word was still there, not even showing signs of fading. Crane desperately hoped it really was just some kind of sick prank from one of his friends, but it seemed though it wasn't the case. He wondered if it would be there forever, like a tattoo, except that there had been no bird in history with a tattoo for obvious reasons.
The mark didn't look that bad if he were honest. It certainly disrupted the continuous white and grey of his feathers, but since it was darker than his black pattern on the low, it looked like his natural colors were giving a neat background aesthetic to the void-like word. And the lines forming the word 'wind' bothered Crane's mind. Elemental Chi, yet it advertises itself with neither of the actual five elements? Maybe it was because he was a bird, thus Elemental Chi decided to resonate well? But then, since when did Chi start having a conscious to thematic satisfaction and beauty?
Nevertheless, he flicked his wing sideways, putting some momentum into it. The breeze went through the room, and a white scar appeared on the marble walls, the curtains flailing wildly from the powerful blast reflecting from the solid surface.
No progress then. He had 3 days to get ahold of this, while hiding it no less.
Sigh.
"Jia?"
Crane whipped his body around, his vision filling with the figure of his father clad in his Emperor attire, the door closing behind him.
"O-oh, hi dad. What are you… doing?" Crane asked, eyeing the platter held in Qiang's wings.
"Well, I thought, you know, twenty or so years have passed since my son last tasted his Pa's cuisine, more than too many for this old man's liking if you ask me," the elder bird said, putting the platter down onto the ornate table in Crane's given room, which stood right under the window. The avian Master couldn't help but feel skittish and deeply touched by the fact that his father still remembered his favorite food; tofu buns.
"But, wouldn't it demean your image? You are the Emperor in the end."
Qiang waved him away and gestured to the food. "Ah-ah, don't be like that. Now eat, before some kind of paternal urge takes over me to spoonfeed my little colt until he bursts."
"All right, all right. Thanks dad," and with that, Crane took a bun between his beak, and bit down. The flavor rapidly spread through his mouth cavity, his tongue livening up at the richness of the taste. He may have frozen up too, because his father started laughing, presumably at his goofy expression.
"Close your mouth, son, the bite will fall out."
Crane's beak closed with an audible 'clack', and he began quickly munching away, barely able to resist moaning.
"This tastes better than last time! How - how is that possible?" he asked, swiftly taking another entire bun.
"Well, you don't just become his Majesty's cook without learning absolute perfection," Qiang said, his beak curling up into a satisfied smile.
Then suddenly, he found the platter rotated in a way, that a single, isolated tofu bun came into view in front of him.
"Oh, it's not necessary, I-"
"Dad, please. Just eat."
Seeing that he really had no way of talking himself out of this, Qiang shook his head and chuckled.
"You're already preparing to put me in a nursing home, aren't you?"
Crane gulped his mouthful down and shrugged. "You are in your fifties, so I mean…"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence."
Crane sent him a borderline smug look, one that he masked away quickly. Soon, the dimly lit room was filled with the sounds of the two birds chewing, their beaks occasionally clapping together. The Master occasionally sent a glance at his father, watching the cozy bird peacefully enjoy the food. Sadly, it all had to go away, eventually.
"By the way, you still haven't answered my question," Crane spoke up after swallowing his third or fourth serving.
"Hm? Which one?"
"What are you doing here? I mean - how did you become the Emperor?"
Qiang's posture dropped. "Oh, that's a long story."
"I have time. Plenty, actually."
Their eyes met, and the hesitance to talk was clear in the Emperor's depths. Crane almost wanted to dismiss his question, his father clearly wasn't a big fan of the topic, much less of discussing it. But he had to know how this all came to be, because for all the imagination his mind was capable of, he couldn't envision any possible series of events that didn't violate any rules of the universe. Honestly.
"All right," Qiang began, his voice colored by a sigh, "Do you have any idea how dynasty changes happen?"
Crane grimaced. "Not really…"
"Sadly, it almost always ends in bloodshed. The Emperor's whole family has to be defeated in order for the populous to deem the dynasty unworthy to hold the Mandate of Heaven. At the night of the attack… Jia, they were just…" Qiang explained, the last bits coming out ragged, "Brutal savages. Killed the Kekao's with no remorse whatsoever. I witnessed them drive a sword though the Empress' heart and then discard her body like a rag-doll."
Crane watched his father's walls crumble by their foundation, the older avian's posture falling apart like debris. The Master put a wing around his father's narrow shoulders, and even if he felt his nose run by the regal silk of that robe, he firmly kept his hold.
"D-did you kill them? The bandits I mean."
"…I had to," Qiang said, his voice heavy and his eyes downcast, "For the honor of the Empress' Person and for the People of China, I had to avenge them."
"Dad…"
"No son, your empathy is appreciated, but it is entirely unnecessary. I did what I had to, what was right," and Crane was only half surprised by the hardness of his father's voice as it turned apathetic. Qiang was always a man of his family, but when duty and honor called, the man tended to be very inconsistent with his actions; sometimes he would ignore everything for the sake of his son and wife, sometimes he would disappear for days and come back with a heavy heart and apologies on his tongue.
What Crane remembered is that his father could never give a straight answer. Qiang never got angry at the questions, lashing out was not a thing he was capable of, but the more inquiries came to him, the more guilt-stricken he looked. Every session like this ended up with him and his mother taking pity on the poor man and letting him do his thing.
So letting it go he did.
"How's mom?"
And would you look at that, the man immediately brightened up tenfold.
"Oh! Yan is fine, still lives here in the city somewhere," Qiang said, and Crane let his wing fall from his shoulders.
"Shouldn't she technically be the Empress? You are still married, right?" Crane asked, and he would be lying if he said the concept of that other scenario didn't frighten him.
"We are! We are, don't worry," his father said, reassuring him, "It's just, we were commoners Jia, commoners, it's not that simple for the Grand Council to give its blessings upon us. Me and you were easier, I was the one who took back the Mandate of Heaven, while you are a distinguished Master of the Martial Arts. She has done nothing remarkable in their eyes."
"So…" Crane drawled, taking another bun in his talons, "Bureaucracy?"
"Pretty much."
"When can we see her?" the avian Master asked, because finding his blood family had been the best thing that has happened to him all week, and he wasn't one for unfinished projects. He itched for the warmth of his mom's hugs and his angelic voice, fending off the phantom 'what ifs' about his own self.
Qiang set his beak in a thin line. "Whenever she isn't being bothered by the Eunuchs, basically. For a bunch of grumpy old politicians, they sure as hell can be active."
"Yeah, so did Bao tell me. He hates them," Crane said, smiling at the mention of his best friend as he took a bite from his newly acquired bun.
"'Hate' is a euphemism for what he feels, let me tell you that. But yeah."
This was the moment when Po barged in the room.
"Hey Crane! So, things have changed. Turns out, the bed is not big enough for me, so I'll… sleep… here," he trailed down, seeing not just his friend in the room. He straightened out and fiddled with his fingers behind himself, "Oh, hi your Divine Highness."
"Greetings, Dragon Warrior," Qiang said, looking over the panda's form, "You know, most people your place would already kowtow before me."
"Oh," the panda said, looking around awkwardly, "Should I, like, do it too?"
"No need. In private, I'm nothing but Qiang Lei, father of one Jia Lei." the older avian said, sparing a fond look to his son. Said bird scratched his chest, looking away, "You can refer to me as a friend if you wish, or even dad. I don't mind."
Qiang's words had an effect on Po, the Dragon Warrior gasped at the opportunity.
"So you say, I can have 3 dads?! That sounds even cooler than defeating phantoms with these elbow pads," at that he showed the room familiar pieces of armor strapped to his body, to which Crane snorted. Remembering that his friend was in the room too, Po produced something else from behind his back, something that made the avian Master's heart do a barrel roll, "Oh yeah, Crane, here is your erhu. I made sure that it wasn't dusty."
"T-thanks." he said, taking perfection in a wooden stringed frame into the embrace of his wings. Qiang's eyes followed the instrument, just as mesmerized by the sight as his son was a week ago.
"Oh son, this looks beautiful."
"Yeah, I recently found it in a bazaar. Was an instant buy as you can imagine, hehe," Crane said, torn between an awkward, childish manifestation of the feeling when your parent shows interest in your passion, and that blooming proud-happy combo, unique to these situations when your parent admires and acknowledges your choice of hobby. Not wanting to see his subtle, he turned to put the instrument onto the table, right next to the almost empty platter of buns.
"Will you play it?" Qiang asked, looking over the intricate design of the erhu.
Crane's head snapped up. "L-like, right now?"
"Heavens no! I meant later. When we have free time and Bao won't be busy with whatever he is doing in the library."
"Wait," Crane said, looking at his father like he spoke in another tongue, "Why did I hear 'Bao' and 'library' in a sentence without the word 'fire' or 'explosion'?"
Qiang laughed and patted his son's shoulder. "Don't be mean, Bao has changed a lot. This reminds me, did you know his voice ascended to angelic levels? I cannot wait for the two of you to collaborate."
"O-oh, really? That's-"
"Wait, Crane's gonna have a concert? Uh uh, action music! That's-" Po began rambling, before noticing the pair of questioning looks directed his way. He looked down on himself, and remembered that while Crane and his old man were speaking, he made himself comfortable on his friend's given bed.
"Uhm, I just thought you didn't need the bed? Since, y'know, you always sleep standing. And it's really comfy… can I?"
Crane giggled at his friend's sheepish expression and waved off his worries.
"Cool!" Po said, covering himself fully with the tender blanket, "Wait, I got a brilliant idea. Oh man, what if, after we finished your current training, we find a way for you to play music while fighting? You know, like multitasking."
Crane squinted at his friend, his head tilting. "Is that doable?"
"Crane, nothing is undoable with teaching kung fu. Watch it, it will be the greatest thing China has ever seen."
Qiang eyed his son from the side, grinning when he saw those steadfast cogs moving in Crane's brain.
"There is a philosophy I had always lived by," the Emperor spoke up, gaining the Masters' attention, "Let the duty of betterment be your purpose, even if it is hard to accomplish. No matter how, and with what sacrifice, if you can better the quality of life for at least one person, you must follow it."
"Have a wonderful sleep Dragon Warrior. Welcome back, Jia," and with one last gentle look at Crane's direction, he left the room.
Po watched the exit, his eyes clouded by thoughts and revelations. He tongued the inside of his cheeks, wondering how to approach a topic he had wanted to mention since Bao's grand entrance.
"Sooo…. Jia, huh?"
Crane looked back to his friend, rapid blinking showing his confusion.
"Hm?"
"It's your name then?" Po said, his eyes glancing for the first time at the small amount of buns still uneaten.
"Oh, r-right. Yeah, my name," Crane said, and his wings were already moving the platter to the panda.
"I like it. It's short, like mine."
"Thanks," Crane snorted, and walked next to the bed, "I got it for my birthday."
Miles away southwest, in the heart of another city called Tunxi, a lone building stood. From the outside, it looked abandoned, dark, almost ready to collapse. Other alike buildings surrounded it from all sides, the whole district laid in shambles, and people avoided it altogether if they could. Even then, a lone figure stood on the patio of the building, wearing tight-fit armor and furrowed brows. He was a red fox, a muscular specimen of his species, but this strength was useless for him right now. For the last hour or so, the only physical exercise he had been practicing is an impatient tapping of his foot, with the occasional twitch and flex of his paws. His eyes had been to the sky, watching the stars intently.
He was waiting for someone.
Who you might ask? Well, the veil of the night was a thick layer to hide behind, and the fox could only see the dark figure when it stepped right next to him.
"O-oh, my General. I had been waiting for you." he said, turning to the dark figure.
"Yeah, my bad. Listen, tell the guys that the attack is postponed 'til at least four days' time."
The fox tensed up. "But General, your troops are getting impatient! You told them you would get them back to Lin'an. They wanna go home."
The figure raised its hand to massage his head.
"I know, I know… But the situation changed. Qiang somehow got the Jade Palace involved, that Jade palace, and I'm not attacking any city with those around."
The fox's jaw almost dislocated from how hard it hit the ground.
"T-the Jade Palace?! You mean, Master Tigress and-"
"Yes, those people."
"Are you sure, my General? Couldn't your eyes have faulted you?" the fox asked, his tail anxiously twitching behind him.
"Qiang arranged a tea party out of the blue, and I was literally pouring the Dragon Warrior's serving. And yes, he really is a panda." The figure may have had the advantage of being concealed, but his stern eyes were clear as day.
The fox gulped. "A-all right. What will you say to your troops?"
"Oh, don't worry," for someone, whose shadow didn't even resemble a fox's, that vulpine grin was amazingly on point, "His Majesty got into a little political chokehold while I was away, and he got the Masters to help him out. A tournament will be held in four days, and after that, the foxes will be ready to strike."
"We are taking back Lin'an. Not even a Qiang-level tyrant could stop us."
Story Miscellaneous
#16:Since it is a recurring thing, here is an explanation of bird anatomy: Birds don't really have 'inversely bending knees', it's actually their ankle. Their knees is like a human knee, except that it's really small and close to the avian's body. Still, you cannot sit with an ankle-for-knees
#17:Another bird anatomy bit that I was questioned on: One of the people I usually share the drafts of my story pointed out that it sounds 'weird' when Qiang put their elbow on the table. Well, birds actually have elbow joints, thus they have an elbow to rest them on a table.
#18:This story considers KFP, KFP2, KFP3, the KFP Holiday Special, The Secrets of the Furious Five short film, and the Secrets of the Scroll short film as canon. 'Legends of Awesomeness' is semi-canon here, which means that the Author took inspirations from some episodes, but doesn't otherwise considers the series canon.
#18A:Main inspirations come from the episodes 'Mama told me not to Kung Fu'(S2E23), 'Crane on a Wire'(S2E19), 'Ladies of Shade'(S1E16) and 'Bride of Po'(S2E21).
Chapter 6 Miscellaneous
#1:After rewatching the first Kung Fu Panda, I noticed that at the dinner scene, where the Five complimented Po's skills of cooking, Crane wasn't actually sitting. He simply stood in front of his seat, which made sense, considering his inversely bending knees. Thus came the part with Crane asking for a seat. the Author likes continuity.
#2:Speaking of Continuity, the Author recognized the cranes and birds in general cannot 'raise an eyebrow', as they don't really have one. So as a substitution, the Author tries to use many other clues, such as 'raised an eye-lid' or 'tilted their head'.
#3:About Po's comment of 'never having a friend who had a dad alive'; It's true, nobody in the canon has any actual living dad confirmed. The closest was the elder Master Viper, but he was already kicking his last bits before Viper joined the Furious Five, and that was 20 years ago. Dude's dead.
#3A: Let's see; Tigress is an Orphan, Mantis's dad is confirmed dead (KFP2), Monkey's dad has never been mentioned, but it is highly probable that he disowned Monkey, Crane's father is dead according to the Legends of Awesomeness episode 'Mama told me not to Kung Fu' (Which the author decided to twist a bit in this story), Shifu and are already old, and Oogway is dead, so neither could have any possible parent alive.