Bao's morning went as usual.

He woke up at the dawn of the day, cleaned his feathers, got his magnificent, form-fitting robe on, took the Emperor's food, served his Majesty, chatted as Qiang ate the serving, definitely not for the sake of passing time to escape consulting with the Eunuchs and visiting Lords. Then Qiang gave him the list of his duties and granted mercy by letting him go for the rest of the morning, which he spent scouting out buildings to incinerate.

Yeah, he was kind of a pyro. So what? A giddy bliss took control of his body every time he watched fire hug the walls and squeeze them until their foundations couldn't take it, while the disgustingly shallow colors of structures beautified in perfect orange light. Then came the epilogue, when the leftovers were nothing but smoking black ashes, and the white-naped crane hated those with passion. In his eyes, ashes were the evidence that nothing in this world was pure, everything has the ability to burn down. For Bao, fire was the purifying essence, and he only respected people with true, unique fire in their eyes.

All thanks to Jia, actually.

It was an accident really. Whatever his reputation would say, he didn't actually mean to trip the fellow colt. Yet he kinda did, so now he was stuck in an awkward clash of the eyes, his opponent looking at him with such an unexpected shock, he may as well have attempted to murder him. But he could have swore there was something else there, in those guarded depths…

"You okay?" Bao asked, helping the fellow up.

"I-I'm peachy," the other crane said, his voice just as childishly high-pitched as Bao's was, maybe even higher, "I should have looked where I went."

He squinted at the weird fellow. People took greater offense in smaller accidents, so why wasn't this other child mad at him? And what's with those eyes…

"Where are you going?" Bao found himself saying, not caring that his mouth apparently worked on its own.

"M-me? Well…" the smaller bird began, nervously fiddling with wings, "To the burial site. I have to talk to my sibling, I promised him I would."

"Is he…" Bao asked, trying to be careful with his words. He may have been a rascal, but even he was above disrespecting the dead.

"Yeah, she's dead here. But Mama and Pa said that she is still alive, just in heaven," and the way his voice flattened into almost emotionless values totally didn't cut deep in Bao's heart.

"Wait, she? Wasn't it a 'him' before?"

"Does it matter?"

Now Bao is all for challenges, physical or verbal, and this was one so blatant, he almost took offense in it. But he didn't, because of one reason; Those damn eyes. When the fellow spoke these three words, his voice lost all its fragile, shy coating and instead it covered itself in firm metal, hitting Bao with the force of a brute rhino. Whatever was going on in that small head must have been gigantic, the eyes being the mirror to the outside, and Bao got straight up lost in them. Those eyes, ignited by such passion that he almost fell over its orange beauty and warmth. He witnessed that smokeless burn leaving not a smidgen of ash behind, and the chance meeting didn't seem all that much of a time's waste anymore.

"I like you," Bao began, smiling wickedly, "Let me walk you there."

So yeah, regular day…

…not.

He had woken up much earlier than dawn, purple didn't even begin showing up on the eastern horizon. He did not just clean his feathers; He washed them until they were ode-worthy. Clad in the robe, he dutifully served his Majesty, but didn't chat; Why would he, when he had Jia and company to serve and talk with? He didn't even think about burning anything, the sight of Jia's face promised him more than enough warmth, and who knew? Maybe his friends were of the blazing kind too.

He knocked on the door three times, as customary. He would have preferred if Jia weren't up yet, waking him up would have put the searing cherry on top of his expectations. It had always been the most entertaining time to banter when Jia had had enough of Bao's antics. Sadly, his hopes were crushed when the door opened and his best friend stood there, sporting that fitting blue pants and stunning purple sash. Bao had to remind himself that duh, Kung Fu Master, probably used to waking up in ungodly times.

"Hey there, Good-looking."

"Swell morning to you too," Crane said, his flat voice rolling out of his beak. Stepping to the side, he let his friend move in and closed the door afterwards.

"…And greetings Dragon Warrior," the white-naped crane eyed said panda, who was sitting on the bed, holding an erhu in his paws of all things.

"Oh, hi Bao. Wait, is that breakfast?" Po asked, wantonly gazing at the large tray of porcelain plates balanced on the newcomer's single wing.

"For your group of ragtag misfits. The price of one serving would be an explanation for what. Is. That?"

"Oh, this?" Po asked, looking back at the instrument with excitement, "It's Crane's erhu. He let me have a look at it and I think it's so cool. I mean, I'm technically holding Master Crane's legendary-to-be instrument, can you imagine the future stories? And I'm holding it before it became a legendary weapon, I've never done that! I wonder how music sounds on this."

Crane sighed behind Bao. "Soon. I promised you I will, so don't worry about it."

"Can't be soon enough!"

Seeing that the conversation went way adrift, Bao easily handed over a plate to Po. The panda eagerly took the offering after putting the instrument onto the nearby table. He may have ended up slamming Crane's gem, a little too harshly at that, and Bao rolled his eyes at the subtle hiss his best friend let out.

Pfft, Drama Queen.

"Aha. It sure can't. So, Jia… are you as excited as me to hear three things that will happen, and there is nothing you can do to make them unhappen?" he began with a jokingly condescending tone, and Crane had to raise an eye-lid at it, "One, we are so playing together. I learnt how to swing, baby! So you better ready your tail feathers for an epic night of mu-si-ca!"

"Don't talk about tail feathers man," Crane snorted, taking his own plate from the tray, "Yesterday was not funny."

Bao hummed, leaning close to his friend's face. His next words surprised both Crane and Po, particularly because the Emperor's Trustee actually sang them. "Oh? For an artist, you sure as hell lack a sense of perspective. Because from mine it was hilarious."

Crane let his beak fall. Bao's voice perfectly and clearly hit every single level of the C major octave, and the ears of the avian Master melted.

"What are you guys talking about?" Po said mid-bite, gathering the attention of the avians.

"N-nothing worth noti-"

"Oyoyoy! Amazing, no, excellent question!" Bao interrupted with a showmanish voice, and Crane's entire form dropped in a heavy, dejected sigh. "So yesterday at the table, I had the luck of making an acquaintance of just how well those marvelous years of training built Jia's backside. I'm honestly jealous."

Po wrinkled his nose. "So… butts? That's pretty gross."

"We are not talking about this," Crane cut in firmly.

"Yes, we-"

"Can you please, get to your second point?!" that rice hat tipped itself over his eyes, like it automatically knew what its owner desired.

The thoroughly entertained Bao cackled and rearranged the sideways skewing tray on his wings.

"Prudish…" he drawled out the word and Crane's eyes flashed. Bao could swear that the temperature skyrocketed for a fragment of a second, and a painstakingly familiar suspicion tugged on the edge of his conscious.

What are you hiding, my little Jia?

"So anyway," he continued, "Two would be the part where you agree to when I say, that the next time you guys plan a sleepover, I better get an invitation or grumpy me happens. You don't want that. "

Crane tilted his head. "And if I give you a bowl of fried rice with all the vegetables you love?"

"I'd marry you on the spot."

"So that's not gonna happen," the base of the avian Master's beak slightly curved at the heartbroken expression of his friend, "What's the third one?"

Anguish put aside, Bao closed his beak and looked at his best friend dumbly. "I… think I forgot. It had to do something with your dad allowing you to spar at the ground behind the palace. For the big day, y'know."

"O-oh, right?" and wasn't that weird how Crane's wings started flexing, occasionally unfolding just for it to go back? A nervous response that one, but… actually why?

"Sparring? Perfect!" Po piped up, standing up from the bed with an empty plate, "Let's go there today Crane. For… you know why."

Bao would have liked to know too, thank you very much.

"Imma serve the rest of you in the meantime. Meet you there?" the Emperor's trustee asked, looking back at Crane with a smirk that told the world 'I own you!', while under his breath it whispered 'I hope you agree…'.

But Crane shushed those whispers with two nods, and on his face swimming in the previously established apprehension a genuine, fiery grin made way. For twenty years, Bao was desperately searching for something akin to replace that grin, one which always sent blissful scorching shock-waves through his chest, filling him with gentle, white freshness. Life had thrown problems at him time and time again, but that damned grin burnt it all away. Somebody acted like a total douche? No problem, him and Jia would set something on fire. He would howl his borderline insane laugh while Jia just grinned, and Bao's malleable soul flew free as ever.

How did he survive the last few years again?

"Oh, and don't forget to wear the robe inside the palace. Them's the rules," he noted, cherishing the groan of suffering he got as a reply.

So with high spirits and a tray of five breakfasts, he left the room. With a little hop in his long steps, he walked down the hall towards the rest of the Masters' residence. From what he had seen, these fellas cared about his best friend, which gave some good points to them. The panda seemed more than all right, Bao's kinda person. The monkey and the bug looked okay too, goofy bunch is something he could empathize very much. The snake acted shy, but sweet, best friend material for sure. Even the red panda had this wise aura around him, definitely not something you could find among the Eunuchs.

The tiger on the other hand…

He didn't even knock, her door unlocked (thank god it was opening inward) and Miss Grumpyness herself stood there, trying to look menacing. Boy, was she failing. Nevertheless, Bao smiled politely and bowed, as per customs.

"Good morning, Master Tigress."

"Yesterday's destruction was quite a show."

Bao straightened out, blinking at the Master.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I wonder where the guards were," she said with such a fireless face, Bao wanted to scream. How can someone be such a poser?

"On vacation, taking a pilgrimage to Tibet. I heard they wanted to meet with the ghost of a dude named Siddhartha Gautama. I don't know, nor do I care."

It was like a tick appeared on her forehead, and boy oh boy, did she not appreciate Jia humor.

"I hope you didn't forget that calling his Majesty the Emperor 'my boss' or his name are the highest form of discourtesy, no matter your relationship to him. As the Right-Hand man, you should know that more than any of us."

Wait, she was lecturing him?

"Quite," was Bao's only response. He didn't have many problems setting his face flat, giving her the most bored expression one could muster. To her credit though, she kept somewhat calm.

"You are very disrespectful, even for an underprivileged simpleton."

An underprivileged what!?

The tray shook with the avian's body while he desperately tried to suffocate the booming laugh that wanted to claw its way out of him. He didn't miss how she straightened out, her face tensing up, and it just made it all the harder not to topple over in a swarm of chuckles. Good, she was actually offended.

"I-I'm sorry, I just have to ask somethin - Hey Jia!" he gleefully shouted down the hall, to where his friend's room was, "You forgot to mention the bland amateur you brought with you!"

The tiger looked like someone marched up to her and pulled her ears.

"The bland - what did you just call me?"

"The bland amateur. Because, let me tell you, I needed to hear four sentences out of your mouth and I already know your entire sappy life story," Bao said, and he relished how his not-so enjoyable conversation partner bristled, "That's a big yikes from me."

"You know nothing about me," Tigress bit out, and her paws clenched into a fist.

"I don't? Well, I'll let you be the judge of that," he said, cleaning his throat, "Let's see...Little Kitty was orphaned at young, had no friends because of her brutal strength and abysmal social skills. Her insecurities built up over time, giving her nightmares and tantrums of sorrow. She wanted to desperately find someone, anyone who would look past her brutality, and become her friend. But in reality; She just wanted someone, something she could hide behind, something she could use to forget her own problems. Then one day came this old Kung Fu Master and gave her a chance of redemption. She took it and lived the rest of her life, hiding behind the teaches of 'The Way', excusing flaws and problems of hers with ranks, skill and traditions. But under the surface, she is still that little kitten, wanting to have a normal life where she doesn't have to hide herself and belittle others for the sake of her own good. How's that for an underprivileged simpleton?"

Okay, so Bao may have underestimated her. Those eyes may have held no fire, but her soul certainly did, clear by the anger radiating from her body. She looked ready to pounce actually, and Bao did definitely not have a sudden urge to run. His feathers also weren't about to puff out at the possibly lethal predator in front of him, who was more than just mad. Her silence was something Bao could not decide whether it was a blessing or a curse, so he did what he always did when there was a chance that angry people would choke him to death on the spot.

Talking.

"Y-you scaring me doesn't lessen my truth. And did you know that I don't care about traditions? Yeah, that's a thing. Just lines of text that people made to hide behind them, like you do. Tools to excuse their own bigotry and weaknesses. For me, you could be the god of the living realm, I'd still talk you down if you are a douchebag. You disrespect me, I disrespect you. You are nice to me, I am nice to you. Goodbye, Little Kitten."

And with that, Bao put her food onto the ground and turned to continue his duty of serving the Masters without as much as a glance at Tigress. Right in the next moment, Crane's door opened with a creak, revealing both him and Po's wide eyes locked onto the female tiger.

"I got Tigress, you talk to Bao," the panda said, to which Crane frantically nodded.

"Sounds good."

Slow movements put aside, Crane flew down the corridor, not caring about the scars he was causing on the walls. Meanwhile, Po silently trotted up to Tigress hoping to console her. Realizing that in the last few days, he did not magically get skills for this whole 'consoling' stuff, he opted to copy his friend; Watching the plate on the ground, just without the murderous eyes.

"Hey?" he cautiously asked with an awkward glance at her.

The tiger finally exhaled, the tension escaping her body.

"If it weren't for Crane…" she whispered.

Suddenly she was crouching and moving. Po could barely catch her movements, and the next thing he realized was her door closing, the tiger or the breakfast nowhere in sight.

He shook his head. "Oh man…"

Meanwhile, Crane finally caught up to Bao in front of Viper's room, the white-naped crane acting wholly unbothered.

"Sorry, my schedule is a little tight these days. I cannot accept you gracious offer to a date. Yet."

"You do know you just signed your death-wish?" he asked, ignoring the antics.

"Do I know that I made your friend throw a silent hissy fit and increased my chance of being mauled into a pillow? Yes, yes I do. Do I particularly care? No, I pretty sure I don't," he said nonchalantly, even giving his friend a cheeky smile.

"Because of your rank?"

"Of course. Otherwise you'd find me running to join on that pilgrimage." Bao said, his smile melting off right after, "For real though, I am not taking back what I said and she looks smart enough to know it. At least I hope."

Crane massaged his face with both his wings, his beak poking out between them. "All right. Just please, find a way to get on her good side again, or at least don't cause any more tension, okay?"

Bao scoffed and was about to throw a snarky remark back, but then he actually looked at his friend's face. A flat-lined beak, intense eyes that almost begged him to comply, and it really touched some hidden sane part of Bao's conscience. It even managed to hold him back.

Oh, it's actually important to him.

"Fine," he conceded, rolling his eyes, "I'll play nice to her. But if things get out of hand, don't blame me. I was trying, she wasn't."

Giving up his standpoint ceased being a nuisance when Crane visibly relaxed, and gave him a small, delighted smile that made the white-naped bird's chest blossom with warmth.

"Thank you."

It was worth it.

"You owe me several though."

"Ughhh."

So worth it.

The so-called 'sparring ground' was not a hard place to find, which did not mean it was any much less of a surprise. The Palace building had a corridor leading up to a tall gate at the opposing side to the main entrance, usually open at daytime and closed whenever night arrived. Stepping through the gate, you would find your feet standing on a wooden pathway leading to a garden of sorts. Periodically put grand marble rods surrounded the garden, connected by a row of wooden fence at ground level and lazily hanging crimson red tape with Peony flowers pinned onto at the top. The garden had its own fair share of pink Cherry Blossom, orange Gingko and perfect white Dove trees, short, well-cared grass and the most beautiful species of flowers found in East Asia living in-between them. The garden even had a quaint river circulating inside, its sluggish, clean stream embellished by several lily pads and petals. The wooden pathway actually crossed this small river, and a short, humpy bridge allowed dry travel to the other side. The trail after the bridge divided into two, then curved on their own until they met at the other side of the garden, forming a wide circle. Along this, white benches stood in the shadow of trees, giving opportunity for the Eunuchs, Lords and even his Majesty to relax and marvel in the wonders of nature.

The ring for the fights were in the middle, hidden by the gentle plant-life from all sides. There, the flat ground was of a dark-brown dirt surface that had even the grass weeded out, and two thick-bodied Cherry Blossom tree stood proud in the two sides of the ring. These trees differed from their thinner counterparts; Their pink, bushy crowns hid entire obstacle courses, wooden platforms, metal spikes, etcetera.

"Ow! Argh!"

Worth to be mentioned; The sparring ground was currently occupied.

"Monkey, you are sloppy."

"That's the nicest thing you've said today."

He did not get an answer.

The simian Master regained his footing and readied his Bo staff again. His opponent flexed her claws and went on the offensive. Monkey defended strikes from the left, strikes from above, left again, right and straight from ahead, never gaining a single opportunity to counter-attack. Monkey style was supposed to have an equal ground against tiger style, but you wouldn't figure this upon watching this fight. The tiger's hits and slashes were ferocious, Monkey's staff was shaking with every hit it blocked.

Clenching his teeth, Monkey knew what he had to do; Since this 'casual spar' had turned into an all out aggressive anger deducing therapy, he might as well join. He jumped back onto the bark of the southern blossom tree, the tiger hot on his tail, and they made eye contact. She didn't waste a single blink to spin into a roundhouse kick, but much to her chagrin it was violently slapped back by the now vertically spinning Bo staff in her face. She couldn't attack anymore, the staff was basically invisible to the eye with its speed, and it made getting through impossible. Monkey jumped forward from the tree, Tigress backing up at the sudden increase from the wind generated by the spinning weapon.

Out of nowhere, a fist hit her knee, and she snapped her attention to her now crooked legs. She needed a single flying moment to realize what Monkey was doing; With Chi-infused hands, he hit through the spin, somehow managing the speed and the space to not only hit her, but to retract his own hand before the other part of the staff passed through. He did it with his other arm, both his legs, and even a combination of them, never had she seen such speed from simian before. She recognized the desperate need to defend, and it made her blood violently boil in her veins.

She was about to hold her hands up to defend her face, but then things went… awry.

"God- damnit."

She watched with a steely eyed look as Monkey somehow tangled himself over the Bo staff, the chi blinking away on his empowered hands. Soon enough the staff gave up on its host and airily bounced up from the ground, disappearing in the rustling crown of the tree. She followed the trajectory of her opponent's weapon, and when it was no longer visible, she looked back at the dusty simian. Following his incident, Monkey was left laying on all fours, punching the ground with half his might, his face confronting into the panting grimace of utter desperation.

"Enough."

Shifu's stern voice made any thoughts of exploiting his moment of weakness dissipate for her. Tigress walked over to the edge of the ring where the red panda stood and bowed deeply, her friend sluggishly standing up and mirroring the action.

"It may seem that today is the time of discord for the Furious Five," Shifu began, sending a harsh glare to Viper and Mantis at his side, "Tigress."

"Yes, Shifu?"

"Am I right to assume that you forwent your words and confronted Bao Luo by yourself?"

The tiger Master thinned his lips, but didn't disconnect the eye contact.

"Yes."

"It didn't go well?"

"He gave her a lecture of a lifetime," Mantis piped up from next to the red panda, and Tigress' wince was barely noticeable.

"It has been clouding my mind and judgement. I apologize."

Shifu scrutinized the tiger's passive yet tense face, her fur standing up wherever the red panda's eye landed. An old sigh reached her sensitive ears soon.

"I was afraid this time would come," he said, relaxing his posture, "Your apologies should be aimed at Monkey. Don't let it happen again, all right?"

With a nod, Tigress and Monkey turned to each other and gave the customary parting bow, before exchanging places with Mantis and Viper. She sat down cross-legged, folding her paws under her chin, and watched her friends ready themselves for the fight. They took up their starting stances, and Mantis attacked first, the sound of his titular battle cry making some branches of the northern tree swing. Viper welcomed it with her own menacing hiss and the spar (because that was a normal spar) was on.

The noise of paper sliding over paper captured her attention, and she glanced to her side, where she saw Monkey sitting cross-legged too, fiddling with a familiar scroll of some sorts. She remembered that piece of read, his nose had been basically glued to it throughout the whole journey, but she never really asked what it entailed. Now though, she saw the desperate, heart-broken frown with that anxious chewing of the lips, and she couldn't deny that she got a little curious.

"What's on the scroll?"

Monkey spasmed at the unexpected voice, but relaxed when he recognized who it belonged to.

"Oh, just an old technique that I am… supposed to be ready to learn," he replied, his fingers loosening on the paper, "Shifu gave it to me, saying that Po thought It was time for this."

Tigress raised an eyebrow. So the scroll contained instructions to a new technique? Fascinating. She was certainly about to find out, as Monkey, noticing her wondering eyes, willingly slid it over to her. Taking hold of one side, she began to scan the paper and yep; it really was a Grandmaster-level technique, Monkey style. Weapon's Master Class too, which made Tigress bob her head approvingly. Then she began reading the instructions.

"Take a well-balanced weapon, be it long, as long as your upper body. Channel Chi to your limbs and use your thumb, ring-finger, index finger to spin," She read out loud, mimicking the instructions on her own hand, "Concentrate on the weapon's touch and exchange Chi with it. It will be your loyal shield for as long as your flow is consistently fed to it. Once constant, you may use your already established foreknowledge of the Monkey way of fighting… Huh."

"Yeah, it's way harder than it looks, the constant flow is a nightmare to keep up, but oh well…" Monkey sighed before flopping back, resting his head on his folded arms, "I suppose I was just not made for weapon handling."

His voice was so disregarding, so dejected, Tigress felt herself wince in sympathy.

"You cannot give up now-"

"Watch me. The way I see it, I could continue trying to beat the dead horse and only have a chance of making this work by the fights, or keep on doing what I have been doing for most of my life and guarantee at least not humiliating myself," Monkey said lazily, his eyes tracking the movement of passing clouds.

"And your staff?" She asked, remembering that it was still stuck in that Cherry Blossom.

Her only answer was a careless shrug.

Tigress didn't have a counterargument to that, so she simply let the opened scroll roll to the space between the two of them, and refocused on the spar. She began her usual analysation of fights, making notes of unique moves and glancing hits from both Viper and Mantis. She was the kind of gal who liked to know and measure how an event went down before it even happened, assessing his teammates' current form and then comparing how they would fare against their picked opponents was something she always did.

She was about to make her first notes too, when Viper's tail whipped forward, hitting the x-shape Mantis formed with his forelegs. He defended against the strike, but it still blew away his lithe body with its force, and he landed at a distance of a meter or so. The insect didn't let Viper use this chance to barrage him with more strikes; He was already jumping high, his small legs stretched out to kick. The speed he used was incredible as always and Tigress would be lying if she said she had never envied the speed that sheer lightness gave him. Thanks to her snake body though, Viper herself dodged rather easily and Mantis' legs left legit cracks on the ground. The snake Master hissed and tried to encircle the smallest Master with her body. Tigress narrowed her eyes; A mistake. From his wide pose, Mantis could have easily gathered enough momentum to smack the snake's side, breaking her concentration and any kind of grasp she had on him. One reason Mantis style was superior to Viper style was that the latter utilized the disadvantages of bigger opponents, curling around them and making them their own worst enemy. Mantis style was problematic because it relied on pure speed and force, nothing fancy, making the quirk of Viper style useless. Master Mantis was also better than Master Viper in the sense that he was extraordinarily small, there was nothing to curl around and utilize. Tigress expected Mantis to know this and punish to her surprise, it didn't happen.

Mantis hesitated.

The snake's body closed on him, and he was helpless on her grasp. The insect tried to struggle his way out, but once Viper gets you, you are done for.

"Point Viper. Great speed from her side, rookie mistake from Mantis," Shifu said from her side, and she witnessed the snake gently letting her friend out of her grasp. Monkey laughed at the way the losing Master stomped back to northern Cherry Blossom, and Tigress recognized his expression; The red panda's words hit Mantis right in his pride.

"What happened?" she heard Viper ask.

"Please Vi, stop talking."

Huh?

"Go," Shifu uttered, and the two Masters were at it again. Tigress had an annoying feeling that something was wrong, or at least about to turn wrong. Mantis's amber eyes had the usual crazed glint, one that came from his stubbornness to keep his pride intact and to 'show them all'. That much she was accustomed to, but something was still different from the way he held himself, or the way his panting looked more like a side effect of seething.

Nevertheless, Viper shook off the surprise of the harsh words and attacked first, once again using her own body as an elastic whip. The script suddenly changed when instead of defending, Mantis' bare forelegs stopped the strike raw. Tigress watched as the bug, still keeping a firm hold on the snake's tail, effortlessly threw her over his tiny shoulders. The air from Viper's lungs escaped upon impact with the ground, but Mantis didn't let her recover. Using the fact that she was preoccupied with steadying her breath, he began rotating Viper above his head, the breathless Master struggling to go against the building up energy of her sudden spinning.

"Did somebody order breakfaaast?!" he shouted his signature gloating before every victory and slammed her down to the ground.

No one expected the resounding crack from her body.

Monkey's upper torso snapped upwards. "What the hell?!"

Tigress was very quickly on her feet, not wasting time to dash to the writhing Viper's help. Mantis just stood there, frozen in his throwing stance, looking at what he had done with wide, glintless eyes. He stood there like this until the tiger Master slapped him away, maybe a little roughly, and for once Mantis didn't go off at being handled like this. He was too busy hugging his forelegs to his small chest, fiddling with them while watching the scene as the Tigress and Monkey both tried to soothe their hurt friend.

"That doesn't look good at all," said a voice from the still Shifu's side, and soon the richness of the Emperor's golden robe filled the right side of the red panda's vision, "Poor girl. I don't think that tail should curve that way."

"No, it should not," Shifu sighed, smoothing his shaky fingers over the middle of Oogway's old staff.

"Would this setback propose a problem?" Qiang asked, and Shifu finally looked up at his Majesty. Slack-faced sadness is what met him, one that left a sour taste in anyone's mouth just by looking at it.

"That depends. My ex-students have much in the art of resolve."

Qiang kept silent, tracking the scene. The red panda couldn't help but watch as his feathers on his nape puffed up noticeably and those folded wings trembled a little while doing so.

"You act wholly unconcerned of something that could jeopardize our chances. Am I right to assume you know something valuable?"

That's a weird way of spelling 'reassuring'

Shifu gave a sad smile. "Oogway told that the biggest strength and weakness of every Furious Five would be their bond, and he warned of an inevitable fallout."

"Not… the answer I was expecting, but good to know that there are internal problems too." His Majesty said sourly, "But I do remember you in the last generation, Master Red Panda. It was a grand fallout, heard by people in the farest corners of China."

"A grand fallout indeed. It is bound to happen to every group of people with a clash of personalities as big as mine was or this one is, but we get over it. The current generation managed to delay it for twenty years though, and that itself is notable."

"Yet it still happened at a time of need." Qiang sighed sharply, turning to his conversation partner, "And then there is the injury… let's hope for the best then. Nevertheless, It has come to my attention that my plea for help came at a convenient time, you actually desire visits to my library?"

As the healers have finally arrived, the three Masters taking a step back for them to work, Shifu hummed thoughtfully.

"Yes, it is the case."

"Is there a particular reason? I mean, I'll allow it, but you cannot fault a man for his curiosity."

Now Shifu knew he had two choices. Either be honest and tell the Emperor of everything that has happened, including his son's accident, or be cryptic and leave out mentioning Elemental Chi and Crane altogether. Considering that apparently his students, especially the Master in question, were in agreement to hide it all away, Shifu would play along.

Even if he knew that hiding it was a doomed cause from the beginning.

"The Jade Palace had gotten a brand new artifact recently, but the Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu had nothing of it besides some vague notes from Master Oogway. We hoped that if a place contained anything on the artifact, it was your Highness' library," the red panda said, fully facing Qiang now.

"A logical step. In that case, let me be your entourage then."

And with that, both Shifu and Qiang began strolling away from the gruesome scene. In the meantime, the healers and the rest of her friends calmed Viper down, even if her tail was still bent in an unnatural, grotesque way. The two elder walked in silence as they left the fighting ring and arrived on the curving wooden pathway. Shifu took a deep breath, sucking in not only the fresh and luscious air of the garden, but the serene aura of his surroundings. In the background, the plant-life rustled with a small incoming gust of wind, some orange leaves of a nearby Gingko tree left their branches and swayed down to the grass. The only other sounds were the Emperor's blunt claws periodically hitting the path with every step, the red panda's shuffling accompanying it.

Shifu himself was humming an old song, wondering how long it would take for his Majesty to get over his inhibitions and finally say what has been so obviously eating him. He really started to wonder just what exactly did Crane inherit from his mother, as so far, it was like interacting with an older version of his student.

"Master Shifu."

Finally.

"I would like to use this chance to say thank you from the depths my heart," Qiang said, stopping near the humpy bridge of his garden and turning to the Master in question, "For training my son and helping him on his road to become a man he always wanted to be."

Then he, His Majesty the Emperor, honest-to-god bowed before him. Did not just tip his head, it was a full body bow with the avian's long neck turning downwards the ground and all. Shifu needed all his years of training and then some to not just freeze in place. He sure felt some of his fur go grey at the moment though.

"I was merely a guide. It was him who achieved everything in the end."

"I still wish to show you my gratitude whilst you stay with the best hospitality Lin'an can offer, even in times like this. The healers will give Master Viper the best treatment medicine can offer, and the servants will heed every wish of the Jade Palace, I will make sure of it," Qiang continued, straightening out to show his twinkling, smiling eyes, and his beak wobbled at its base with restrained raw tension,

"I… thank you, your Highness."

Qiang nodded, and they resumed walking towards the Palace. Arriving at the first few steps of the little bridge, his Majesty spoke again.

"Don't know if you ever had children, but if so… you don't need me to tell you how I felt yesterday, seeing what Jia had become."

Pictures of young Tai Lung flashed through Shifu's memory, when all was right and all was happy.

"I do know, actually."

Qiang sent him a joyous side-glance, and his wings went up to rub his puffed out chest. A lone leaf of a Cherry Blossom landed on his rich attire, and he let it rest there.

"Proud, very much proud. There was a time when I helped my darling put all these blankets and pillows on the edges of our furniture, just so Jia wouldn't hurt himself accidentally. Then he grew up, and I let him go, to chase his dreams and ambitions, hoping that one day he would reach them. You can imagine how I let my hopes fly the moment I heard about a new Furious Five forming, Master Crane among them. And yesterday…"

The Emperor's slow, automatic steps stopped at the highest point of the bridge, and Shifu waited with halted breath for the next words.

"He showed me. He showed me that even with a fragile body like mine, he could find a way to become a hero. He showed his old man good."

A kilometer away, hidden among the windy peaks of the mountains to the north, there was a little secluded glade. The glade was at the meeting of three mountains' massive bodies, surrounding it from almost all sides except one, that side having an open sight to Lin'an's breathtaking entirety. On the glade, a much slower fight was taking place there. Feathered appendages blocked slow-moving, pudgy arms that didn't even shake by the gentle clash. Actually, the word 'spar' was stretching it; It was more like a badly made shadow puppet show.

"I still don't understand, why are we training on your family's old camping site? Why can't we train with the others?" the thicker Master asked, the metal elbow pads glinting in the sun's light as he caught a slow moving thin leg from the side.

"You know exactly why," the frailer Master replied, and as a demonstration he swiftly spread out both his wings, pointing at two mountains. It sent out a thin gust of wind that grew exponentially while it raced towards the rocky surfaces, and impacted with a high-pitched whistle, jolting any plant that survived at this altitude. It left two deep gashes on the mountains, and the removed rocks swung in their new dusty form around the place of impact.

"Oh. Right," Po said, a little disheveled from the excess wind, "Still, I wish we trained in the Emperor's palace. It would be so cool, a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"To destroy China from the core, that's for sure." Crane flatly replied, crouching down to execute a slow version of a sweep. Po easily jumped over it and tumbled to the side, then regained his stance with an exasperated 'watcha!'

"Yeah that wouldn't be fun. All right, let's quicken this up a bit but not too much. We don't really have any water around if you got all phoenix-y again," the panda said and his lazy punches gained speed.

"Just don't taunt," Crane didn't need much time to copy the pace, but he almost faltered when breeze exploded from the collision of their bodies. Things turned weird after that; Every part of him, from talons to hat, lost half its weight. His strikes, spins, kicks, jumps, everything felt like the catalyst for some inadvertent floating, and the simple fact that he was weightless while on the ground made him grimace.

That cursed song was very close to blasting in his ear…

"How does it feel?" Po asked, and Crane finally noticed the worried frown that found a temporary home on his friend's face.

"Un-" he had to gulp here, "Unnatural."

Po had been on the defensive before, letting his friend experience quicker hits to the fullest, but now he decided to rebalance the scale and attack.

"How about a distraction, huh? Like, tell me the first most important part of being a Chosen One," Po said, aiming his punch at the body of the bird.

"The most important part of what?" Crane asked, blocking the punch and shoving the panda back at once.

"You know which one…" Po tried to do subtle nods and even awkwardly gesticulate with his hands, but didn't stop his next onslaught, "The one with the battle and stuff? Remember?"

Crane's head reared back, and he sidestepped the panda's body, his eyes tracking the body as it fell. "Erm, no I don't? You've… never told me anything like this."

Po met the ground with a thud and held up an arm. "I didn't?"

While grasping his friend and helping him stand up, Crane's bewildered expression froze on his face, shaking his head in a profound 'no' when they made eye contact.

"Wait…" Po's gaze found the ground, before his eyes widened and he took a step back, "I didn't! Oh man, that is so bad, how will you know how to act when the time comes?! Okay, okay, it can be fixed, it can. Sparring is over for the time being, we have crucial stuff to discuss. Take a seat."

Po merrily flopped down to the scarce grassy ground. When he looked back at Crane to see if his friend was ready for the most amazing lesson every lessoned, he saw his own confusion rise to and stay standstill, just like the avian Master was doing at the moment.

"Crane?"

His only response was his friend raising one of his legs for show, while looking gradually more questioning.

Po smacked himself. Right, ankles for knees.

"Okay then. No problem, we'll stand!" he said, rising back up with a jump, "It's all right, we needed to stand up either way."

"Right…" Crane echoed, his chest bouncing with short giggles.

"So. Here's the most-most-most important question; Do you know how a Chosen One acts?"

Crane looked down and frowned. He searched up his memory for Po's known behavior since he skadooshed Tai Lung off the face of the earth and tried to find frequent patterns there.

"You… interact with your fans?"

"Yes that too, but that's not important," to this, Crane couldn't help but blink at Po.

"You have a morning routine of running through the city, high-fiving people left and right while they cheer, and that's just to get breakfast. Every day."

"That's- that's more like a 'me' thing, all right?"

"And how would I know what's a 'you' thing then?"

"Exactly! That's why it's necessary to teach you. As a Chosen One-"

"I didn't know I was one to begin with, but oh well."

"-you will need to act like how people expect you to act. Are you ready to learn?"

The panda was rubbing his hands together, while giving this excited puppy look to him. If Crane ever had a weak point (besides his legs), it was Po's infectious and lovable enthusiasm. It was mesmerizing how it could turn heated situations into good-hearted jokernights, the peacekeeping factor was an added bonus. Also, seeing it connected to something that wasn't objectively Kung Fu or food was a refreshing sight too.

"For the record, that was the absolute worst quality of life advice I have ever had the misfortune of hearing," Crane said pointedly, but then he rolled his shoulders and sighed, "And will this lesson help me gain control?"

Po looked at him questioningly. „I mean, not really, but it's still very important. Trust me, quality of life knowledge."

Crane couldn't stop his posture from dropping. Hearing how this day wouldn't be the one this nightmare ends at was pretty disheartening to him, but alas, he was the student and Po was the teacher, so he must know what to do. Right?

"I-I'll bite then," Crane said while hesitantly nodding, "If it's that important,"

"Great! So you will be the bad guy."

"I'll be a what?" Crane didn't get an answer, because Po was suddenly shoving and pushing him backwards. He tried to struggle at first, but the panda's hold was firm on him. Glancing behind, the avian saw the rapid nearing of the glade's edge and he gulped when his hometown was the only thing he could see when looking down.

They were too immersed in the current flow of the situation to notice that the yellow pools of Crane shone up, and the sides of Po's metallic elbow pads trembled, like they were liquid.

"What-"

"Also, can you act like that little grass over there is your evil army? We don't really have anything like that, so we have to wing it," Po asked, subtly motioning to a patch of teal grass some meters to their right.

"You have-"

"Okay, thanks, don't forget to fly!" with a final nudge, he threw Crane off the mountain.

"-GREAT COMMUNICATION SKILLS!"

His shout was louder than the grumble of rock hitting rock, but even that was barely audible from the already wild wind going haywire. Crane only spared a menial thought that it was just the stones that his talons dragged off when his balance was finally tipped over. He hastily spread his wings and readied to take flight, but it came to him as a complete surprise when instead of continuous free-falling, the ground arrived within seconds. The impact forced the air right out of him, and his vision blurred from the incoming tears, but he was otherwise intact. Groaning from the pain pulsating from his back, he sat up bit by bit while leaning onto his wings.

Thanks to all this, he overlooked the near whistle of something gliding.

He looked around himself and knew that something was amiss; Above him was the ledge of the glade he had been just pushed off, that much he expected, but the basin-like earth formation surrounding him definitely wasn't here when they flew here this morning. Crane tilted his head and smoothed a wing over the stone under him. Much to his astonishment, the surface felt unbelievably smooth and familiar for some reason, like he was touching a finished painting of his. His veins prickled with a warm buzz inside his wing, and 'Siren', as he decided to dub the voice, began her usual round of notes.

Frightened, he jumped to his feet and backed up until the mountainside let him. Understatement to say that he didn't need much time to puzzle together how that basin came to be. The wind's deafening howl couldn't outmatch the echoing sound of his frantic panting.

„This is just a nightmare. Yeah, a very long, very realistic nightmare-"

"You can attack now!"

Po's shout helped him escape whatever trance he was in, and the wind quieted.

"C-coming!" he shouted back, finally taking his eyes off from the new addition to the mountain.

"Don't forget to stand behind your troops! 'Cause y'know, it wouldn't be the same."

Mightily flapping his wings, he finally raised himself to the air and flew until he passed the ledge. He found the glade empty, except for his crimson cotton robe that he had sandwiched between two rocks (there was no way he would train wearing that). But otherwise Po was nowhere to be seen, yet Crane didn't fret; the triangle combination of small bushes on the side was suspiciously lumpy.

Am I supposed to say something, or…?

Knowing Po's antics, and the fact that he still were in hiding, the answer was a resounding 'yes'.

"Erm, so," He began, clearing his throat, "I'm just an ordinary bad guy- no wait I'm evil, I think. Whatever -and I attack this valley for… whatever reason, probably greed? I mean, yes, greed! None shall oppose my… mighty might and army and… anything bad guys like me have!"

He would make a horrible villain.

From the bushes, a round rock flew out to the air, landing on the patch of grass in front of him.

So, if the grass is my army… is it gone now? Which means… I'm infuriated?

"Who dares?" he said in his average voice, which he quickly tried to amend, "I mean, who dares?!"

That's when Po jumped out of the bushes.

"My fist and feet hungers for a fight with the enemies of justice! My identity you won't get, you will only know who I am after the dust has been bitten."

Surprisingly poetic of him. Shame it didn't rhyme.

"By you, of course. Definitely not from me."

Nevermind poetic.

Crane watched as Po hooked his stubby feet under yet another rock and balanced it on his toes.

"Here's the first serving!"

The rock suffered the same faith as the other one. Crane watched it pathetically flop onto the teal, dewy grass and he tongued the inside of his beak in thought.

"Did you get it?" Po asked with great enthusiasm, unmoving in his kicking pose.

"You mean back pains? Yeah sure, got plenty of them."

"What? No!" Po began, exiting the pose and motioning to the three bushes, "I mean what I just showed you. What was it?"

Crane tilted his head and hummed. "Dramatic?"

He meant it as a snarky comment, he did not expect Po to brighten up.

"Yes! Dramatic, but what was the action? What do you call it?"

Crane tilted his head sideways and scowled, sniffing in thought.

"You… entered the battle against a bad guy?" he guessed out loud.

"Another word for 'entering battle' is… what?" the panda shook in barely restrained overzealousness as he encouraged his friend.

"En…" Crane said, drawling out the word while watching Po's face if his hunch was right.

Po was nodding frantically, a wide smile splitting his face.

"…trance? Entrance?" then a sudden memory moved through his mind, "Wait a minute…"

"Yes?"

"Dramatic… Was it a Dramatic Entrance?"

"Exactly!" Po cheered loudly.

"And that's something a 'Chosen One' is supposed to know?" Crane asked, his own smile wide on his beak. His body may have felt unnaturally weightless, thus the reason why Po could so easily push him around, but the lightness in his chest was different; It was warm and filling. It was welcome.

"Yeah, it's all about the Dramatic Entrance. You can head into a battle like wshhh, be quick and be forgotten, or you can leave an impact. Get it now? Shock them, tease them, catchphrase. Easy as can be."

Crane happily nodded along, yet his face showed uncertainty of this new knowledge.

Out of the blue, they heard the whizzing of something cutting through the air. Crane only had time to turn and catch a glimpse of the mere rock coming his way, before the ground under his feet rumbled, and a pillar of earth emerged, blocking the projectile and making it flop next to the two other stones in the grass patch.

"Phenomenal! Such a good read."

The hauntingly familiar voice came from below the edge. Po and Crane shared an anxious glance, and even if the panda was too busy blinking at the newly formed pillar, they both hurried to the ledge. Looking down, they saw none other than Bao, in plain, commoner attire, comfortably cuddled into the Chi-made basin that Crane almost forgot about. What was even weirder that the white-naped crane had his beak buried in a scroll with a golden case held in both wings.

"B-Bao?" Crane hesitantly asked, and the mischievous light-blue depths looked up at him.

"Oh, hi Jia and… Po, was it?" he even had the guts to wave at them, which the panda awkwardly returned, "Don't mind me, I'm just here for some peace, y'know. It's kind of hard to read in the Palace's noise, especially after finding this gripping scroll about this thing called 'Elemental Chi' or something. Curse you Jia for never telling me that reading can be so fun."

"W-why are you reading that?" Crane asked, already dreading not only the answer but this entire day.

"Well, your wrinkly red raccoon asked for it, which was weird because I could swear he asked about some boring vase before, but whatever," Bao said with such an exaggerated, playful tone, "Pointed him in another direction, then decided to see what would make such an honest and honorable man lie… and I have to say, Master Shifu knows how to pick the most thrilling read. It even made me interested! Jolly good show!"

Crane's feathers were standing on edge, and after sparing a glance at Po and seeing him chew his lips, he realized he wasn't alone in his concern. Both watched Bao hop onto his feet and fly up to the glade while scanning the contents of the scroll the whole way, the panda spoke up.

"Chi? W-what Chi? Never heard of her. But it sounds crazy, maybe Shifu is into fairy tales now. He's kinda old, y'know, gotta keep the imagination going, right?" Po mumbled, fumbling with his fingers behind himself.

"Man, I wish I could get some of this Chi thing," Bao ignored the Dragon Warrior's words, and strutted over to the newly formed pillar, "Did you guys know that it has a soul or something? The description is pretty mysterious and vague, but what I gathered is that it has a will on its own, and usually responds to its host's feelings. I would be angry all the time if it made me wield fire at will!"

For the first time in this week, Crane was happy he had the chi.

"Then we have water with sadness, tree with joy, it even reacts to fear with wind. Wow, it's not even an element!" he continued, and Crane gulped at the pointed look sent his way, "The most interesting is that metal and earth doesn't react to feelings, they are more combat-oriented. Hm, me likey. Let's see, we have metal helping in the offensive, and…"

Then he lazily leaned on the pillar of stone, smirking the whole way.

"…earth in defense."

Crane sighed, his body dropping with it.

He knows.

"I would totally go rampant with it. Can you even imagine hiding it? Blasphemous!" Bao exclaimed. Then he closed the scroll with a flap and rolled his shoulders 'till they cracked at places, followed by his icy eyes zeroing on the two of them.

"My dudes, I believe the jig is up. Time to spill the tea I'm owed."

Story Miscellaneous
#19:The Author is from the nation of Hungary. This piece of information is important to take into consideration, as the Author has never seen the English dub for either of the Kung Fu Panda movies, only the Hungarian dub. The Author would like to ask his readers to mention if Po ever had a catchphrase or frequently used word order. 'My fist hungers for justice' and 'Enemies of Justice, prepare-' are something the Author is in knowledge of.
#20:Crane's species is called 'Black-necked Crane'. The Author decided to make Bao a 'White-naped Crane' because he fancied the works of Yin and Yang, and found it a nice little way to emphasize their revealed bond.
#21:The Author knows that there are several Kung Fu Panda stories featuring Crane where his name is 'Huang'. The Author actually likes this name more for Crane, the name is everything that Crane should be. But the Author decided to go on a different road, giving Crane a name that, upon translating to English, would mean something.
#21A: 'Jia Lei' means 'Beautiful Thunder', 'Qiang Lei' means 'Strong Thunder', and Bao Luo means 'Gem Gatherer'. I won't deny nor confirm that these names are foreshadows.

Chapter 7 Miscellaneous
#1:This and the following three chapters will all conclude an entire day.
#2:For Bao's monologue, the Author took inspiration from Nick Wilde's speech in Disney's Zootopia(2016).
#3:With this chapter, every single character arc has begun. Everyone's inner demon has come out to light, some are even halfway, and the characters have three days to defeat them, or else...
#3A:With this chapter, all the elements has finally shown up at least once. Bao amazingly summarized everything.