AN: Thanks for the reviews! Here's part 2. If you recognize a certain line Shifu says towards the end, it's from The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.
Chapter Two: What Has Come Before
A week passed.
It was, to be sure, an eventful week. The highlight of it was the Furious Five repairing the much-mangled Thread of Hope rope bridge. Between Po's haphazard attempts at helping and Tigress's temper, it took every iota of Shifu's patience to get through that catastrophe with only a few more white hairs to his name.
But now the bridge was re-strung, the boards checked and re-checked along it's interconnected lengths that led away from their little valley, and the enormous stone gates had been secured. It had become merely a matter of waiting.
So wait they did.
The rubble was swept up, the debris was disposed of, and the priceless artifacts remaining in the Hall of Heroes were inventoried, cleaned, and remounted in their shrines. Zeng carefully repaired the Urn of Whispering Warriors, and Po cautiously looked for lost souls from it to sweep back into the container.
The Furious Five alternately trained and cleaned, and Shifu meditated or told his students tales of what had come before.
It was all news to his pupils, of course. They had never known a time when the Jade Palace had a lord, other than Master Oogway. Of course, they were young. Most of his students had barely seen two decades of life, and as far as they had previously been concerned- all that was, was all that had ever been.
A short-sighted point of view, but a very young one. Perhaps this was precisely the call for awakening to the world around them- the world beyond the boundaries of the world that training, combat, and the present day- that his young charges needed.
Shifu only wished that it did not make him feel so very old to realise it as he had told them of life when he had first come to the Jade Palace.
"No one knows for certain the land from which Lord Morimotsuhitsu came," he told them as they all clustered around the dining table. "All that is known is that he was a fierce and cunning warrior, who arrived from over the sea. A great dog, white as the caps of the waves, and his courage and tactical skill won him many followers."
His students- all save Tigress- oooohed in apprciation as he told them of the great wardog's exploits, as he'd risen from a simple wanderer to the commander of a small army that had pushed back the invaders from the north. And then how the Emperor himself had appointed Morimotsuhitsu, a foreigner, commander of the largest of his armies. And finally, when China was deemed safe for its' people once more, the Emperor had granted his most loyal, and most well-loved warlord land upon which to retire.
Land which, he informed them, included the Valley of Peace. And here he had settled, and the town had grown in response. And as well had his family grown.
"The oldest, Ruiling, was always such a fussy girl, with eyes that flashed like gold." Shifu recalled, chuckling at the memory. "Master Oogway used to tease her endlessly by implying that the patterns on her gowns were uneven. I don't know who disliked him more, the girl or her seamstress. Fortunately, we rarely saw her or her mother outside the palace. Her mother's family was quite wealthy, and upon her death, Ruiling talked of nothing but her desire to move into their great hall."
The red panda took a long drink of his cooling tea. "When Master Oogway had a vision of a horrible threat coming to destroy the valley, Ruiling was the easiest to convince to leave. All it took was a few bearers and some travelling money, and she was already halfway out the door."
Viper was heard to snort derisively at this. Shifu merely nodded in agreement.
"There was also a son, though not of Morimotsuhitsu's blood. He found this child, during one of his journeys to and from the Imperial Palace, and named him Guiren. In time, the child grew to be a young man, full of anger and spite. With silvery eyes like the cold and distant moon. He knew, as did everyone, that he was not our lord's proper son. And it infuriated him. He was quick-tempered, and always eager to fight."
Shifu sighed, leaning back in his chair. "He demanded that Master Oogway teach him kung fu. To my astonishment, Oogway agreed. It was only after Guiren had quit in frustration a mere two hours into his training that I understood my master's reasoning."
The master sat his cup down once more. "Guiren never had the patience for anything that required more than brute strength. He was one of the biggest annoyances of my own training, perpetually challenging me to fight. If I would not agree, he would become furious, and attack anyway."
"He was the hardest to get to leave, he wanted to stay and combat whatever was coming our way. It took half of Lord Morimotsuhitsu's army to get him to leave the Valley of Peace." Shifu shook his head, as if to dispel the lingering memory of the event.
"The youngest girl," he muttered darkly, "was a horrible little brat, perhaps worse than the other two put together. A little raccoon dog with bronze-colored eyes, and an absolute talent for mischief. She was spoiled by her father because her young mother died in childbirth. She was continuously in trouble, or causing it. And like her brother, she seemed to prefer attempting to antagonize me."
The red panda frowned. "She was only ten, a mere child still, when her father gave the decree that he would trust in Master Oogway's judgement and evacuate his family from the Jade Palace, for fear of the threat that he sensed coming. She cried and begged to be allowed to travel with her father. And finally, he allowed it before we all went deaf." Shifu shook his head at the memory. "And so Master Oogway promised to send word, once the danger was past, that it was safe to come home."
Shifu stood, and regarded each of his students in turn. "I do not know what will happen when Lord Morimotsuhitsu returns, my students.. but I know and trust that you will represent Master Oogway and his teachings with the greatest honor." He bowed to them, and smiled then.
Po visibly startled at the action. "W-wait a minute. I thought that once Tai Lung was defeated... well... you know.." The panda twiddled his fingers nervously, noting all the eyes on him. He grinned and shrugged. "Whatever happened to 'they all lived happily ever after', you know?"
Shifu chuckled. "Know this, Dragon Warrior... there are no such things as happy endings." Po's green eyes widened in disbelief as his master motioned him to come closer. "And that," Shifu stated calmly, "Is because nothing ever truly ends." The panda's brow furrowed in concentration, as he tried to make sense of the phrase. "That sounds... really depressing."
The old red panda laughed outright, then. "Is it? I thought it was rather reassuring, myself." The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior watched as Master Shifu, who suddenly looked quite pleased with himself, departed from the room.
Po shot an accusatory glare at his comrades. "Okay, did any of you get what he meant by that? 'Cause I'm really starting to think that this 'zen' stuff is just for messing with people's heads." Crane shrugged his wings and looked thoughtful. "Perhaps it only seems that way to us because we've haven't yet mastered that skill?"
From down the hallways, Master Shifu's voice echoed back to them. "You'll understand when you're older, my students!" Po grabbed his head in his hands and moaned. "Oh that does it, he's definitely messing with us!"