On the first official day of class, a group of students were gathered at the message board in the main hall. In particular, there was an owl, a red panda, and a fox looking for a particular listing.
"Ah, here it is," Fenghuang said. "The announcement for the student teacher position."
"Well? Tell us who got it!" Junjie shouted.
The owl didn't say anything, instead ripping the paper off of the board and dropping it down to the fox. She adjusted her purple V-neck shirt then smirked. "I'll see you in class, Big Ears," she said before walking off.
"I really wish she wouldn't call me that," Shifu grumbled. The red panda was wearing an orange-brown button-up shirt and slacks.
"WHAT!?" Junjie shouted, dropping the paper.
Shifu took a glance at it, reading the text. "Ah, it seems that Oogway has chosen me to be hi student teacher." He looked at Junjie. "Maybe you can get the position next year."
As Shifu walked away, Junjie just sputtered in disbelief, before growling and adjusting his glasses. "Shifu. He always gets the special treatment because he kisses up to Oogway." The fox lowered his ears and rubbed his hands together. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to prove that he was the wrong choice for the job."
[***]
Junjie wasn't the only person at Jade Palace Academy with plans. A certain trio of leopards had just entered class, which made everyone unnerved.
"Isn't that the Wu Sisters?" a student asked.
"That's them alright," another replied. "They're the most feared students in the school."
"Not for long," said another student. He was a buff white tiger wearing a black shirt, sweatpants, and sunglasses. "I'm going to knock those sisters down and show everyone that Lu is the baddest mother- "
"Language!" shouted another student. She was a white swan, wearing a white flower pattern dress and a sun hat, along with a silver necklace.
"Lady, I don't give a **** about language," Lu retorted.
"Hey! Don't talk to Yuki like that!" said a komodo dragon. She had a tomboy look with a tank top and pants, along with a green bandana and bracelets.
"AHEM!" coughed the teacher, walking in. It was Master Flying Rhino, former pilot and current history teacher. "I won't have any of this nonsense in my class. Now then, Ms. Numa, sit down and we can get started."
"Yes Master Rhino," Jintien said, giving Lu another death glare before taking her seat.
[***]
"Hello class!" said Hikari as she entered her room. "I'm so glad to see so many of you signed up for my class! Magic isn't a common thing in today's society, but a few students always want to try it out!"
The students nodded, watching as the raven took her seat at her desk. In Hikari's class was Karasu, Saras, Aurora and Suya, as well as a few more students.
"I have a question," asked a ram. She had purple eyes and was wearing a red blouse with black leggings and gold earrings.
"Yes, Riku, is it?" Hikari replied.
"Is it true that you're from Japan?" Riku asked.
Hikari smiled. "That is correct! It's nice to know some of the students have read my bio on the school website. Me and my husband moved here after we married, where we had our son in the sunny city of San Diego."
"I have a question," asked another student, this one a spider around the size of a dinner plate. "Is magic real?"
"Well, Kumo, we wouldn't have a class if it wasn't," Hikari joked. "But for those that have doubts, how about I give you a demonstration?"
The teacher moved her wings a few motions, and in a puff of smoke, Hikari went from a middle-aged woman to a young, perky, and hot teenager.
"Do you like what you see?" she giggled, seeing the looks that some of the guys were giving her.
"Dude, your mom is hot," whispered one of the students to Karasu, the raven putting his head in his wings and loudly groaning.
Hikari then turned back to normal. "Remember kids, I'm already married. Now then, why don't we begin by explaining what differentiates magic from chi…"
[***]
It was in the afternoon that classes were dismissed, giving students time for personal training and clubs before dinner and curfew at night. Po was finishing up his lunch when he bumped into a person he was surprised to see.
"Oh, sorry, I- " he said, before noticing who it was. "Oh my gosh. You're the Furious Five!"
"Yes, we are," Tigress answered simply.
"Wow, I totally forgot you guys go here," Po said. "I've followed you guys ever since you started defending the city. I have most of your battles recorded- Wait, that's a bit weird. I mean, I- "
"You record our fights?" Crane asked.
"Wait, are you KungFuPanda on Youtube?" asked Mantis.
"You follow my channel!?" Po shouted, before promptly fainting on the spot.
"I think you killed him," Monkey said deadpan.
"No, he just fainted," Viper said, checking the panda. "Tigress, help me get him to the nurse."
Tigress sighed, then grabbed Po's arms, stuggling to pull him up. "Geez, what does this guy eat?" she groaned.
"He's a panda, they're naturally more dense than other creatures," Crane said, helping Tigress lift Po.
It took all of the Five to get him to the nurse's office, but Po was eventually there and checked out by the nurse. When he woke up, the Furious Five were still there, making sure he was okay.
"Sorry about fainting," Po said as they left the nurse's office. "It's just that no one I've ever met watches my Youtube channel."
"It has the best recordings of our fights," Tigress said. "Shifu likes to use them to review our fights and improve our training."
"Isn't he one of the students?" the panda questioned.
"Shifu is a senior student, one of the students that graduated but decided to stay and try to earn his official Master title," Crane explained. "He teaches under Oogway and is the reason we all have our hero licenses."
"I wish I had a hero license," Po said wishfully. "Then I could be out there, kicking bad guy but with my awesome Kung Fu and-" He stopped when he noticed that the Five were gone. "Guys? Where'd you go?"
[***]
At night, Saras was sound asleep in his room until his sensitive ears picked up a noise at the window. Bolting upright, he turned and saw Karasu slipping out the window. Curious, Saras followed, tailing the raven until he came to a stop on roof in the city square.
"I know you're there," Karasu said, making Saras jump in fright. The raven quickly grabbed the fox before he could accidentally fall off the roof. "Be careful, it's a long way down."
"I-I-I could have saved myself," the fox stuttered.
"Only if you had wings," Karasu scoffed.
In response to that, Saras concentrated, and in a flash of green energy, the fox had been replaced with a crane.
"Oh, you're a Kitsune," the raven said.
"Just a fox with transformation magic," Saras replied, turning back to normal. "I can't use it very well, though. I can't even take my ultimate form without screwing it up."
"Good thing you're in my mother's class, then; she can help train your skills," Karasu said with a smile. He turned to look at the city below. "I know what you're thinking, and yes, I am Denko. I want to defend this city, but the Furious Five, specifically Tigress, don't see it that way." He turned back to Saras. "That's why I joined the academy, to earn my hero license and get her to shut up about it, not that she knows I'm Denko."
"Oh, I just joined because I wanted to be able to use my powers right," Saras said simply. "You see, my parents are- "
Before he could finish, there was a loud sound down in the square. Karasu pulled on his ninja mask and jumped down towards the commotion, where someone was trying to pull the Sword of Heroes out of the ground.
"Come on, you stupid sword, move!" Tai Lung grunted, pulling on the sword with all of his might.
"It will only move for those it deems worthy," Denko said as he landed in front of the snow leopard.
"Oh, if it isn't the vigilante I've hear so much about," Tai Lung said, facing the raven. "My sister seems to have a personal vendetta against you, which must mean that you pose an actual challenge against her." He smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Tell me, what keeps you coming back when everyone is against you?"
"Honestly, I'm more of a 'hero for fun' kinda guy," Denko admitted with a shrug. "I also think that it's a bit of an overstatement to say that everyone is against me?"
Tai Lung growled, then lunged, Denko barely dodging before throwing a smoke bomb on the ground. The snow leopard smelled the raven, however, and reached out to grab his scarf. Denko's eyes widened when he received a punch to the gut, sending him sprawling the ground.
"Not so strong when your opponent get past your tricks," Tai Lung sneered, kicking the raven's sword away. "Now then, how would you like your beating: Light or Hard?"
Denko looked around, then smirked from underneath his mask. "I think 'burned' is the beating you're about to get."
Confused, Tai Lung looked up to come face-to-face with a fox-sized dragon, which promptly breathed fire and sent the leopard running. The dragon then grabbed Denko and pulled him up towards the rooftops, the raven using his grappling line to pull his sword back. When the dragon landed, it turned back into Saras, whom was panting heavily.
"I've never… been able… to turn into… a dragon before…" Saras wheezed out. "I just… saw you down there… and… acted…"
"Seeing me in trouble made your instincts kick in," Karasu said. "Magic is tied to your emotions, so wanting to help someone can make it work better." He pulled off his mask and pulled Saras up from the floor. "Tomorrow, you and I are going to do some training after class. I think that Denko just got himself a partner."
Author's Note
And here's the next chapter! We meet some more students, as well as continuing the stories of Po and Karasu.
Next chapter will start the first major arc, and with it the theme song of Kung Fu Academia!
