The Jade Palace Academy's Valentine's Dance was in full swing, with many couples coming together on the dance floor. As tradition, all students wore Chinese robes instead of standard dresses and suits. Let's take a look at some of these couples, shall we?

"How did I end up here?" Sora asked, being held in the arms of Song. "Why does the author do this to me."

"Oh shush, my little bat," Song giggled, booping Sora on the snout. "You promised me a date after the tournament, and the Valentine's dance is the best place to do it."

As Sora continued to be at the end of a long-running joke, Crane was in his own dilemma.

"What do you mean he invited you? I asked him out first!" Viper said, poking her tail at Mei Ling.

"You? He came and personally asked me first!" the golden cat retorted.

"Mei Ling, Viper, please stop fighting," Crane said, adjusting his sky-blue robes nervously. "I invited both of you here, as friends."

The two girls blinked, then adopted sly looks that made the bird even more concerned. "Mei Ling, why don't we show our appreciation to Crane about his decision?" Viper said in an eerily calm tone.

The snake slithered up Mei Ling's arm and wrapped her body around the golden cat's neck, acting as a scarf. Taking Crane's wing in her paw, Mei Ling pulled the bird out to the dance floor, the three of them engaging in a dance together.

"Lucky," Monkey muttered, sitting by the food table as he watched the dancers. "Look at them, Mantis. Crane has not one, but two girls. Why can't we get some of that action?"

"I dunno man, but this punch is really, really good," Mantis said, swaying slightly with every step he took.

"And someone spiked the punch, great," Jintien said, picking up Mantis as he passed out from the drink.

"I think it tastes pretty good," Hideo said, casually sipping his drink. He got some odd looks. "What? Alcohol doesn't affect me."

[***]

Meanwhile, out in the city, Karasu and Aurora were having a double date with Saras and, surprisingly, Ayeka. The four of them were hanging out on one of the various rooftops in the city where a table had been set up, filled with various foods to each of their likings.

"I can't believe that you worked up the courage to ask Ayeka out," Karasu said, slurping up some Lo Mein.

"I can't believe it either," Saras said, looking like he was about to have a nervous breakdown.

Ayeka giggled, nuzzling up to the blushing fox. "You're so cute when you're nervous, Saras. Which, since you're always nervous, means you're always adorable!"

"So, what else do you have planned besides eating out?" Aurora asked.

"I would like to know as well," Anubis added.

"Well, after eating out, I got us all tickets to a certain upcoming movie," the raven said, pulling out ticket stubs for each of them. "How would you guys like to go see Black Panther?"

"Oh my gosh I love superhero movies!" Aurora said, practically bouncing in her seat. "But, how did you get these? The movie doesn't come out until Friday?"

"The perks of having a part-time job at the movie theater," Karasu said with a smile. "I reserved us tickets for the premiere at where I work."

"You're too kind," Ayeka said, pulling Saras even closer. "Besides, those actors are so attractive."

"Which ones?" Saras asked.

"All of them," the tigress said with a grin.

[***]

Back at the dance, Toka and Alena were sharing a slow dance when Suya and Koji joined them, the beetle having a tissue stuffed up his… nose hole? (The author now questions of bugs even have noses)

"Woah, what happened to you?" Toka asked his best friend.

"I think seeing me in these robes made him a bit more than flustered," Suya said.

"That's Koji, always bleeding at the sight of pretty girls," Alena said with a laugh.

As the music switched to something more fast-paced, a more unusual couple took to the floor.

"I like this song," Hyung stated simply.

"As do I," Byakko said. "Wanna dance?"

"Why not?" the maned wolf said.

The pallas cat ran out onto the floor, getting into the music as Hyung joined her. The two didn't really know how to dance, but they started to lighten up as they let the music guide them. Byakko got so into it that she accidentally tripped, but Hyung acted quickly and used his shadow spirit on instinct to catch her.

"Careful there," Hyung said, helping the pallas cat up onto her feet.

"You're getting the hang of that beast of yours," Byakko said. She gave him a smile. "As the judge of this generation, I think you're doing pretty great in my book. Why don't we go see what else your great at?"

"Sorry, I'm not into that kind of thing, at least not until marriage," Hyung said, knowing what she was implying. "However, I wouldn't be against hanging out more."

Meanwhile, Shifu and Huli were dancing, though the red panda had two left feet when it came to dancing.

"Come on Fuffie, pick up the pace!" the vixen said, dragging Shifu around the dance floor.

"Huli, slow down!" Shifu shouted, not liking the feeling of getting flung around by his sometimes girlfriend.

[***]

Outside of the dance, the "villain" team emerged from where the vault was, all of them looking ragged and beat up.

"Well, that could have gone better," Junjie said, adjusting his askew glasses on his face.

"At least we got what we wanted!" Wan said, holding up a bag full of stuff.

"I can't believe Huli bailed on us just to go out with my brother," Tai Lung said, crossing his arms.

Fenghuang grabbed the bag from Wan and opened it, grabbing a shield out it. "I'll be taking this, thank you very much. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something else to attend to."
As the owl flew off, Su sent a scowl her way. "I don't trust her. She has too much of a free spirit to be controlled."

"We just need her for her strength," Junjie said. He opened up the bag. "Now then, what weapons do you all want?"


Author's Note

Happy Valentine's Day! This was mostly a fluff chapter, but the thing with the villains at the end will be important to the conclusion of this story (which may or may not be in the near future).

Next time, it's time for a crossover! GO BEYOND, PLUS ULTRA!