Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Kung Fu Panda, these franchises belong to their respective owners.
Chapter 3
"Speaking"
'Thoughts'
"Beast speaking"
'beast thoughts'
The morning sun broke lightly over the mountains, casting the Valley of Peace with its rays and declaring to all it was time to begin the day anew. High atop the mountain, faint sounds could be heard. Sounds that anyone who had spent a good deal of time in the village knew by hearts, the sounds of training and despair.
Shifu looked over the Shogi board as he and Tai Lung sat off to the side of the main training arena, playing and occasionally watching the madness that was going on next to them. After patching their relationship and putting the Dragon Scroll behind them the duo had regained that spark they always held.
"She's pushing the harder then normal this morning." Tai said speaking up for the first time." I'm starting to think her turning fifty-eight did something to her." He said moving a piece.
"No, I think she is just indulging in her sadist side this morning." Shifu said with a chuckle, turning his head to the training routine next to them.
Or more accurately, the absolute hell.
Fifteen odd years had passed since the Furious Five was formed, Natsumi's prized students outside of Tai Lung. In that time the once misfit group had blossomed into fearsome warriors. Tigress, once brash and hot tempered, had learned to control and temper her fury and make it a lethal weapon. Mantis, always on the go, had learned to slow his jets, learned to think and plan two moves ahead. Viper had moved away from her fathers' shadow, building her own style of martial arts from the ground up and making it famous. Crane, once downtrodden from his body type, now soared with confidence and skill. And monkey, fearful of being hurt by others, had learned to let others in, finding solace and peace with his team.
Together, they formed one of the strongest groups in all of china. Revered for their prowess and skill, defenders of peace and tranquility.
"Come on now this is just pathetic, if all five of you can't even land a hit on me like this. What hope do you have the next time a bandit army is raised?" Natsumi asked, her condescending tone dripping with sarcasm.
And then, there were mornings like these. When the five were reminded they still had a long way to go.
Natsumi, now at the age of fifty-eight, sat cross legged in front of a small table. Her focus was on her brush and ink in front of her as she worked on a new seal, something she had been working on for a time. Behind her, her nine flowing tails danced and swayed as they blocked every attack her five students sent at her. Punches were caught, kicks redirected or turned into throws, it didn't matter how they came at her. She could beat them every time, all while working on her seals and Fuinjutsu.
"I have to agree with you actually." Tai said chuckling lightly, remembering the days he was subjected to that hellish form of training." Still though, I feel like she has been nervous ever since her birthday. Kurama have you noticed anything?" Tai asked turning to the other occupant on the temple grounds.
Forty-five years ago, not even a week after their arrival, Natsumi and Kurama had made some interesting discoveries about their new home. The first was the biggest, Chakra as they knew it did not exist. In it's place was the energy known as Chi, it was like the chakra they knew however at the same time ultimately different. Where as chakra was lighter and more malleable, Chi was dense and rigid. This meant they could no longer preform the Jutsu's they once knew. Natsumi had been worried about her brothers' safety, that is until they had discovered the second crucial fact. Seals worked even better with Chi then they did chakra.
It didn't take long after for Natsumi to throw herself into learning the art, discovering she was an instant prodigy as the bloodline of her mother and father bled through. In a matter of weeks, she converted the seal on her chest-accidently releasing and speaking to the chakra ghosts of her parents at the same time, a tear moment but, one she cherished-to act as a syphon and converter that safely turned Kurama into living Chi. From there it was a simple stretch to free him and allow him to roam the outside world.
These days, Kurama acted as the guardian of the jade palace. Which meant spending his days lounging in the gardens or Natsumi's room.
"It's nothing you need to worry about Tai, whatever comes Natsumi can handle herself." The fox spirit said, cracking open an eye to look at them." Besides, you should be worried about yourself. She's noticed you slacking in your training, don't think she won't put you through the ringer." He said causing the snow leopard to pale further white.
After a further twenty minutes Natsumi called the morning spar to a halt, packing away her things before standing and walking over to her students.
"A good effort this morning, you all are coming along nicely. However, there are still many things you have to work on." She said walking down the line to address them." Tigress be more ferocious; your instincts and fury are your greatest weapons provided you keep them tempered. Never be afraid to use it." She said, moving to her next student." Monkey be swifter. If you want to land a hit on me, you will have to move faster then the wind itself." She said moving on." Crane, you have wings. Use them, get airborne, strike from the sky." She continued." Viper, a serpent is at its deadliest when it strikes from the shadows." She said, she was about to move on to mantis when she heard someone calling her name.
"Master Shifu, Master Natsumi." The voice called, turning the two saw it was Zheng, one of the geese employed by the temple." I bring an urgent message, from Master Oogway." He said causing them to tense.
"Go get cleaned up, we'll speak at breakfast." Natsumi said, dashing away to the temple proper with Shifu hot on her heels. Once the two masters were gone, the five dropped their stances…And proceeded to collapse, panting and trying to breathe again.
"Is it me, or was Master Natsumi going full sadist on us this morning?" Mantis asked collapsed, breathing hard.
"It's not just you, I swear fifteen years later, and I'm still convinced that big sis is trying to kill us with these morning spars." Tigress said managing to push herself to sit up, her gaze fell on Tai Lung who was taking the opportunity to chuckle at their expense.
"Laugh it up fuzzball, don't think she won't come after you here in the next day or two." Viper shot at him, making him freeze and pale again.
"Let's just, focus on getting you five cleaned up. You know she'll have a conniption if you all come to breakfast smelling like a barn." Tai Lung said helping them up.
Across the grounds Natsumi and Shifu raced up the stairs and ran into the open doors of the temple, a gust of wind behind them from Natsumi closed them. Pausing for a second to catch their breath they approached their master and friend.
"You wanted to see us master." Natsumi said, catching her breathe." Was there something wrong" Shifu asked feeling tense.
In front of them balanced the shell of Oogway. Had anyone peeked in they would have thought the two were speaking to the shell, that was until Oogway began to work out of an inverted meditation pose to look at them.
"Does there have to be something wrong for me to call upon my old friends and students." Oogway asked as he lowered himself onto the ground.
"None at all, Zheng just seemed to have been worried. We feared something urgent might have cropped up." Natsumi said.
Oogway smiled lightly, walking over to the rosary candles that lit the pond around them. Blowing them out one at a time, feeling in no rush. Shifu, who's nerves had gotten the better of him, used a Chi infused wind push to blow the candles out all at once.
"You were saying." He said earning a smack from one of Natsumi's tails.
"Urgent is not what I would call the situation, but none the less something has cropped up." Oogway said turning to face them." I have had a vision, a darkness is approaching the valley. I can not tell who, or when, but I do know it will indeed come." He explained.
Immediately, Natsumi's and Shifu's minds flashed back to all the battles they had witnessed and taken part of over the years. They knew the dangers something like whatever this was could pose. Shifu immediately called on Zheng, telling him to go to the militia down in the valley and have them begin prepping for an attack. Natsumi meanwhile, got control of her breathing, and let her mind work.
"If only it would be that simple, I fear this darkness will not be bested by militia men." Oogway said solemnly.
"We still have to prepare master, in hopes we can stop or at least mitigate whatever damage this darkness brings." Shifu said hotly.
"Ahh Shifu, your mind is like this pool." Oogway said approaching the sacred pool that rested in the middle of the temple." If you become agitated and restless, the water will cloud. But, calm yourself and you will allow the answers to flow." Oogway said tapping the water with his cane, causing it to become mirror like and allow them to see what was above.
"The Dragon Scroll." Shifu breathed out, staring at in.
"I hate to admit it but, it does make sense. An unknown danger of this magnitude warrants a response of equal magnitude." Natsumi said gazing up at it as well, though her gaze held a small dose of contempt. She never liked what that scroll represented, one warrior holding the weight of the world. It was why she had trained the five, to act as a team and help each other. A hold over from her days in Konoha and team seven.
"But, who is worthy of it. To unlock the secret of limitless power?" Shifu asked.
"I don't know." Oogway said bewildered.
"No surprise, nothing is ever that straight forward. I may not believe in destiny, but I do believe in plot points." Natsumi muttered, earning a small confused look from her companions." I'll address the five, something tells me this will involve them in some form or another." Natsumi said, turning to leave the temple.
"Natsumi." Oogway called out, causing her to turn and look at him." You should know something, I witnessed phantoms of your past lurking in the darkness. Many will come, some as allies, others as enemies. Be ready for when they do." Oogway warned, Natsumi felt a chill run up her spine and a burning fury settle in her heart.
"Of course, master." She said, before leaving to address her students.
"So, let me make sure I have this right. Master Oogway had a vision about some unknown darkness attacking, we have no idea who this darkness is fully or when it will attack and were hedging our hopes on the dragon scroll. Oh, and the only clue we have is that people from your past will be showing up. That sound, about right?" Tigress asked munching on a plate of dumplings.
The five, along with their master, Shifu, and Tai Lung, were all gathered around the main table in the dining hall. They had been caught up on the situation while they were eating their breakfast and now, were speaking with everyone to discuss what to do next.
"As much as I hate to say it, yes. The Dragon Scroll is still a powerful artefact, there is something different about it I can't place. Still it won't be the only thing we rely on." She said making that clear, she preferred not to put all her eggs in one basket thank you.
"So, who's going to be the one to get it?" Monkey asked.
"Tomorrow we will be holding a tournament, you five will be going against five constructs enhanced by my seals. During the tournament, master Oogway will be watching and at the end he will select which of you is worthy of wielding the scroll." Natsumi explained finishing her food." So, for today the five of you are exempt from training. Take this time to rest and prepare for tomorrow, it will be hand to hand only so know elemental gears." Natsumi said, the five nodded and departed, Shifu not far behind.
Tai Lung tried to follow behind them, that was until something grabbed his ear and stopped him.
"And where do you think you're going, I said the five were exempt from training. You however, are going to be spending the day working off the laziness I have been watching for the past three days." Natsumi said, a savage light in her eye that made Tai whimper as she dragged him to the training room for his own day of hell.
The day passed quickly for the group, soon it was late evening and Natsumi was making her way to the gate. The stress of the day's events meant she needed to unwind, so she decided to go for a walk and get some dinner. As she approached, she smirked and saw who was waiting for her.
"I take it the others decided not to come." She said pushing the gate open.
"The guys decided to have a guy's night, and Viper wanted to finish making her new ribbons." Tigress said walking side by side her old sister, as they headed down the steps to the valley below.
The two walked through the streets in comfortable silence, greeting people and saying hello as they headed for their favorite spot. Soon they arrived at a quaint little noodle shop, the evening rush had died off and now it was only a few stragglers looking for a good meal.
As they approached the counter a small but excitable goose greeted them.
"Natsumi, tigress. Good to see two, been a while since you stopped by." He said to them.
"Hey Mr. Ping, sorry about that. We've been pretty busy lately, any chance we can get the usual." Natsumi said taking their seats at the counter.
"Oh, I understand, the life of Kung Fu masters." Ping said walking back into the kitchen to get their orders started.
"Master Natsumi, Master Tigress?" A voice asked, making them turn. Walking up to them was a large black and white panda bear, one they knew well.
"Po, how many times have I told you, you can just call us Natsumi and tigress." Natsumi said chuckling.
"Sorry, old habits and all that." Po said walking around the counter, getting out of the way so they could talk.
"Hey Po." Tigress said lightly, hiding a small blush.
"Hey tigress." Po said hiding his own blush to match hers.
Natsumi smirked lightly, she knew of course her surrogate little sister had a crush on the panda bear, one she knew the panda shared as well. It was honestly adorable watching them dance around each other, since for all the courage they two had they were as shy as Hinata had been around each other.
"So, how have you been Po, have you been doing the exercises I left you." Natsumi asked, the sisters had been coming to the shop for years, so when a few months ago Po had asked them if they could help him get in shape a bit, they hadn't hesitated to help him with some exercise routines.
"Yeah, every morning. I've actually started to put on some muscle." Po admitted.
"That's great to hear, keep it up and you'll be ready to move on to the next set in no time." Natsumi said, Po smiled and nodded just as his father brought them their orders.
"Two bowls of miso ramen, and a plate of dumplings. Enjoy." Ping said, the two Kung Fu masters smiled and began to dig in. Natsumi had never lost her old craving for her favorite dish, hence why she had asked and taught the best chef in the village how to make it. And Tigress, while not being an Uzumaki by blood, had inherited the clans love for the noodled food of the gods.
After the two had finished their meals, they chatted with the father and son until it was time to close. Paying the two headed back up to the temple, heading to be in preparation for the events of the next day.
Breakfast the next morning was a somber affair, all the energy the five had the night before seemed to have drained out of them. They picked at their breakfast as they tried to calm down their nervous stomachs.
"Good lord, you act like we are sending the five of you to your funerals." Natsumi said sitting down, causing them all to jump lightly.
"Listen, this is nothing all of you haven't done before. It's nothing more then just another tournament, and the five of you have competed in more of those then I can count." Natsumi said making them settle a little." Just go out there, hold your heads high, and give it everything you have. Neither myself, Shifu, Tai, or anyone will think any less of you if you do." Natsumi said smiling, seeing them relax she knew her work was successful.
After eating the five went off to get prepared, while Natsumi walked down to the main entrance square. She watched as preparations were being complete, the whole thing becoming quite the festival.
"I never believed I would witness such an event in my life time." Oogway said walking up to her with Shifu by his side.
"Neither did I, though I'm glad we got to." Natsumi said smiling.
"If nothing else comes of this, then we will at least see how far your students have come. Any ideas on who might be the winner?" Shifu asked as the last of the civilians filed into the square.
"I couldn't say, all my students have the skills to be the one. Only time will tell who it will be." Natsumi said smirking as Zheng walked up to the stage.
"Let the tournament, begin!" He declared, banging the small gong causing the crowds to cheer and the gate to close. Natsumi watched it, her eyes narrowed for a moment as she thought she saw a flash of black and white on the other side. But, she played it off as her imagination as Shifu stepped up to speak.
"Citizens of the valley of peace, It is my pleasure to introduce the most renowned fighters is all of China. Prize students of Master Natsumi, The Golden Tailed Vixen herself. Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Crane, Viper. The Furious Five." He declared, his voice filled with pride of his best friend's students.
Natsumi watched and chuckled as he students descended from the roof. Proud of them for mastering the subtle and powerful art of action poses, all on their own.
Soon the tournament was underway, each other students paired against a unique construct. Normally these would be nothing more then wood and metal dummies, with controllers in them to use their limited functions. However, that's to Natsumi's skill in Fuinjutsu, these were living, breathing warrior constructs ready to do battle.
For Crane, The Thousand Tongue of Fire, a deadly dragon beast that spewed an ever-changing arsenal of fireworks at its opponent. Crane expertly maneuvered and flew between the blast, making it less of a battle and more of a dance before eventually destroying the beast with its own attacks.
For viper, The Genshii Three Sisters. A trio of marionette like dolls armed with bladed whips and swords. For viper though, these were merely annoyances, pieces of her own to use as she lured and lead the performance of her battle that ultimately ended with her tricking the sisters into destroying themselves as well.
For Monkey, The Nanashaku Lion. A ferocious lion like construct that attacked with overwhelming speed and strength, but even still it was no match for monkey as he climbed and leaped his way onto the lion. Striking its joints and using its own power against it, destroying the beast finally with a mighty blow to the head.
For Mantis, The Army of Ten Thousand Swords. A literal army of miniature wooden samurai, all aiming to cut the bug to pieces. Mantis easily used his speed and agility to defeat multiple swordsman at once, as well as cause them to smash each other.
Natsumi clapped along with the crowd at the display of her students, she was fired up along with the crowd and ready to watch her sister take down the most fearsome of all the constructs, the dreaded Iron Ox. However, that was the moment destiny decided to show Natsumi just how real it was.
Her gaze was suddenly caught to a tree behind the wall, one that was bent down until a moment later. It sprung back up, and with it launched PO INTO THE AIR?!
Oogway suddenly froze, causing all the noise to stop dead.
"Dragon warrior." He spoke as he shut his eyes, motioning for her students to line up Natsumi watched as Oogway descended the stairs and began to approach them. However, before he could reach them a sudden commotion came from behind the walls.
Natsumi could only watch in mild horror as a large firework shot off into the air, before bursting into a cacophony of color and sound. However, her eves were not locked to the firework show, but to the rapidly descending figure dropping towards them.
At the last second her eyes widened as she saw where the figure was going to land, but it was to late to stop events from unfolding as Po landed smack down into the arena. For a moment no one spoke, then whispers began to be heard as everyone watched the panda come to and look up.
Right into the point of Oogways out stretched finger.
Hello ladies and gentlemen, its Tenzo again.
So, welcome to the latest chapter people, the canon story the remains begins', and we get things started. With this chapter I decided to change things up and add a little sadism to Natsumi, I did mention she was decently based of Koro-sensei from assassination classroom last chapter. Well through in a bit of Karma as well. A lot of you who have also read my other works may have noticed something that's not my usual MO, A budding romance between Tigress and Po. To me they work, so I'm gonna add on a side love plot, I won't be the main focus and probably won't come to anything until the time of the second movie but, it's there.
As always like and review and everything else, I look forward to seeing you in the next one. Peace out.