*I do not own kfp*

"You want to do WHAT?"

Oogway placed his hand on the table, and on the scroll that one of the caretakers was writing on, which would be his last job for a while.

"You heard me, sign him over to me as his guardian."

Within those few moments, Oogway had felt a hidden sense of determination and hidden strength inside the young student, and he wasn't willing to let someone with that amount of potential go to waste. There were too many instances in which Oogway had heard of others being beaten or mocked and then treading down the wrong path, and it sickened him. It hurt him to think that this innocent child might one day do the same, and so Oogway decided to take Shifu into his care as his guardian, rather than his father.

Oogway had no prospect whatsoever of being a father, or a parent. He was strictly a master, and that was that.

Truth is, Oogway needed a successor.

After Flying Rhino-his most prized student-had declined it,and none of his current students seemed as if they could step up to the rightful plate just yet, Oogway had taken it upon himself to take Shifu into his training, and at least see how he turns out.

He would at least try to win another student over to the Masters Council, for protection not only for the palace, the country, and his own legacy - but also for Shifu himself.

Oogway would try to keep him on the right path as much as he could, and eventually, he would come to love him as his own son, even if he wasn't.

Shifu didn't seem to know any other members of his family, and it seemed as if his parents had either ran away or truly had died.

If Shifu's parents truly were alive…

Then I suppose that's a good thing for Shifu, right?

To Oogway, he secretly hoped that didn't happen, for he really liked the young child and was looking forward to getting to know him better. He knew that trust didn't happen overnight, but he hoped that Shifu would get comfortable in the large palace life and even with Oogway himself.

He was worried about how his headstrong students would accept him, however.

Of course, nonetheless, Oogway thought it would be a rather wonderful thing if someone from Shifu's family happened to show, or someone random had offered to take him in as part of a true family, rather than a palace.

Oogway focused his attention on the scroll in front of him, as the goat feverishly began writing on the document, legalizing the document saying that Shifu was under the authority of Oogway himself.

Once the documents were finished, the goats and caretakers all stared after him with gaping mouths as the one goat unlocked the door to Shifu's solitary room, where he was once again in the same position as when Oogway had first seen him. (ever since the battle, if he had seen him then.)

Oogway motioned for the goat to leave him in silence for a moment so he could speak with Shifu alone, and he waited until the goat walked back to the caretakers until he stepped forward and once again knelt beside his new student.

"Shifu," Oogway spoke, his voice soft like water trickling down soft rocks, "It is a good day for you, child."

Shifu's ear flicked and he turned softly towards Oogway, the master himself hoping that Shifu would recognize him.

"I've come to really take you out of this place, to your new home." Oogway hoped that he truly meant what he said.

Shifu's gaze flickered, and it seemed as if the student was contemplating the words for a moment.

"Home..?" Shifu put his head to one side, looking curious yet innocent at the same time. Oogway gently rested his hand on Shifu's head once, making him slightly flinch but having him more relaxed this time.

That's a good step in the right direction, Oogway thought. The brokenness of the room made him feel saddened for the child, but he hoped that someday all of this would be put behind him and that Shifu would be able to turn his gaze to the present. He hoped that he could form him into a noble master, and that he would be able to continue Oogway's legacy alongside his other students.

"Yes," Oogway nodded, staring into Shifu's beautiful and striking blue gaze that was normally rare on red pandas, especially. Oogway softly smiled and gently tilted his head to one side, all the while keeping his hand on Shifu's head.

"Our home, to the Jade Palace."

‐‐‐

Oogway placed a gentle hand around his rather new student's arm, tentatively becoming him forward outside of the orphanage and to where the sunlight draped down onto the fresh cool grass below. His heart warmed as he saw Shifu's gaze flicker and eventually seemed to calm down as he closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the grass as if he had hardly seen it in months and lifting his head to glance upwards at the sky.

I mean, what he had seen of it hadn't been in great circumstances under all this time.

Being trapped up inside a solitary room for pretty much all your life made you appreciate the little beautiful things of nature.

Oogway let him there, for a moment, but his angst to get out of this dreaded place was more than he could handle. The other children were safely in the hands of the guards of the palace, who would transport them to Gongmen City where he hoped Flying Rhino would look after them in a secure place.
The "caretakers," however, were brought into the hands of other guards of the palace, in which his leader of the palace's guard would take care of whatever needed to be taken care of, Oogway trusted…and hoped.

Oogway motioned his student forward by placing a hand behind him and gently ushering him forward, trying not to be too harsh for he knew that the child had gone through enough already.

Still, nothing about Shaolin kung fu training was completely easy, but Oogway vowed to himself that he would do what he could to protect the young student from harm until he was well-trained enough to handle situations on his own.

Shifu glanced upwards at Oogway and blinked rather curiously as Oogway had him walking towards the great Thousand Stairs slowly, but surely. It was rather amusing to Oogway how calm he was, even if his situation was dull and his past was painful which made him like so, perhaps.

If Oogway was in Shifu's place, he would probably feel the same, somewhat.

Oogway walked beside Shifu's side as they walked up the Thousand Stairs, in which the grandmaster aided his newfound student in walking since Shifu's balance and control slipped every once in a while due to pain and weakness. Shifu slightly flicked his ear and held his hand to his heart in pain, wincing and flinching his ears back.

Oogway turned his head and spoke to Shifu softly, shooting him a curious and rather worried gaze.

"Are you all right?"

Shifu weakly nodded his head, but Oogway doubted the young student's answer. He watched as Shifu's gaze shifted and moved to the ground below.

"I'm fine…" Shifu trailed off in a soft-like voice, much like he had said previously before, when he was at the orphanage. Oogway inwardly cringed when the "master" title didn't follow his answer, but he considered that he didn't really know all of that yet and didn't press to tell him now.

That will come later, Oogway said, brushing his hand against Shifu again, continuing to lead him up the stairs.

Oogway, as the silence was becoming too much to bear, gently reached out and asked Shifu a question.

"Child, do you have any family or relatives that you know?"

Oogway knew this could be a soft question for the young student, but he wanted to see what he knew and if this child really has a family or not.

Shifu's gaze broke off of Oogway's once more and turned away from him, as if he was emotionally in pain from such trauma. Oogway recognized that truly there was some deeper pain inside of him, but he wanted to know the answer and took the painful step of asking again. If he truly was going to be his student, and Oogway his master, then he must know his story.

"Shifu," Oogway said, "answer me, child."

Shifu flicked his ear and shuddered, all the while continuing to walk up the stairs, slowly, but steadily.

"T-they're dead.." Shifu trailed off, his eyes glistening with tears, "My mother's dead, my father's dead….." Shifu then tensed. "Everyone's dead, there's death everywhere!"

If you didn't know any better, you'd have thought that Shifu was going mentally insane, but of course that's hard to believe when face-to-face with Shifu himself, seeing him in such pain and seeing his previous condition in the orphanage. Oogway's heart once again cried out to him, and the abundance of pain that Shifu was dealing with, with losing his parents at the young age he was at. He was only five years old, and to deal with the loss of both of your parents is a heartbreak.

"I see.." Oogway muttered, but Shifu flicked his ear and continued.

"I don't know anyone else I can really trust.." Shifu trailed off, and by the sound of his hoarse voice and the sound of his soft tone Oogway could tell that Shifu was pained to even talk, physically and emotionally.

He needs to be cared for, Oogway realized, more than ever.

Oogway knew or at least could guess that if Shifu trailed down this path of emotional damage, then he could potentially travel down an even lower path and could turn his heart to stone.

And, of course, Oogway didn't want that to happen.

Oogway then softly rested his hand on Shifu's shoulder and sighed.

"I understand," Oogway brushed his shoulder once again, "but you don't have to worry, or be frightened," Shifu glanced up at Oogway as he continued. "You are safe now, and I will take care of you."

Shifu blinked, "You will?" Shifu's voice came out as a soft whisper.

Oogway nodded, and smiled. "Of course I will."

Oogway softly smiled wider than before and dipped his head, adding to himself in thought, `you are safe, my student. `

To clear things up, in my version Oogway takes Shifu in as his legal guardian to take him away from the orphanage and into the Jade Palace, but he doesn't take him as his adoptive father. I'd rather they don't have that kind of relationship. I don't know, it's kind of cute when they're like a very close master and student.

And yes, Flying Rhino is Oogway's student, according to me. It is a cool dynamic between him and Shifu, considering that they are both of Oogway's top students, pretty much.

If you have any questions, PM me.

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