Tatsu Yamashiro didn't say a word when she entered the Xiaolin Temple. She just stood at the room behind the front door alongside three others. One was a tall, Brazilian boy with a white hoodie. Another was a large kid in cowboy clothes. And the last was a Japanese girl who kept her phone to her ear.

The Brazilian boy whistled at first. He looked up into the air before his eyes fixed on Tatsu. He grinned and stepped up closer to her.

"Sup. Name's Raimundo. You new?" Tatsu didn't respond. She just kept her stoic face staring off into space. "Yeah, me too. My folks think learning here might teach me some discipline or something. I was hesitant at first, but seeing you might make it all worth it." Tatsu still didn't say anything. "Hey, come on. Say something. At least your name will do."

Quick as a flash, Tatsu pulled out her katana and pointed it at Raimundo's face, its tip just a tiny inch away from his nose. He froze in place with his hands up.

"The name's Tatsu. And don't turn me into an excuse for you to be here."

She pulled her sword away and put it back into her sheath. That earned a whistle from the cowboy.

"Wow. That really did a number on him."

Raimundo shrugged. "Whatever."

That's when the doors opened. An old man in a blue jacket walked in and approached. He was accompanied by a small boy with a big, yellow, bald head. From the description given by her teacher, she knew that the old man was Master Fung.

"Omi," Fung said to the young boy, "I would like you to meet Raimundo, Kimiko, Tatsu, and Clay."

"Sup." Raimundo said.

Kimiko was still on her phone. "He said that? No way."

Natsu just gave a small nod.

"Howdy." Clay greeted.

"Master, where are the new students?" Omi asked.

"Right in front of you, Omi." Master Fung answered.

"They… are not what I expected."

"The best things in life rarely are."

"You are right, master." Omi took a couple of steps to greet his new fellow warriors. "Welcome, my new and strangely attired friends."

"I must be going, young ones." Master Fung said as he began to walk away. "I can see there is much teaching to be done here."

"Yes, master. Much teaching indeed." Omi said.

Tatsu and the other new students followed Omi out in the courtyard. He started with showing them an unusual technique. He jumped upside down and landed on two of his fingers. He walked on them as easily as if they were legs.

"The key is balance." Omi said. "If you are a beginner, you may want to start with three fingers."

"Uh, just curious." Clay said. "When will we need this?"

"Try never." Raimundo said.

Tatsu didn't say anything. She merely just watched without any interest in her eyes.

"Okay, Kako. I'll email it to you." Kimiko said finally removing her phone from her ear. "Is there a net connection around here? No? No worries. I'll go Wifi." She reached into her bag and pulled out a digital clipboard which she wrote on. Omi approached curiously.

"Oh. What is that? Is it magic?"

"It's a PDA." Kimiko answered. "I'm sending a message to a friend in Tokyo."

"A secret message?"

"Nope. I'm just telling her I met a very strange kid who apparently doesn't know about personal space issues?"

"Really? Who? Is it Clay?"

"Not me, partner."

"It's you, Chrome dome." Raimundo said.

"I thought you were supposed to be teaching us something." Tatsu said.

"Oh, I will. Omi said. Suddenly, he dashed across the field nearly quick as a flash. He kept moving around with quick speeds. "Lesson two: the fierce cheetah method of fighting. I defy you to catch me! Witness the speed of a cheetah! I am dazzling and confounding you! And now, I stri… HEY!"

Omi was interrupted by a rope that suddenly tightened around his leg. He was dragged with the rope by Clay.

"Hope I haven't mucked up your lesson there, little feller. Just couldn't resist a challenge."

Kimiko returned to her phone talking to her friend. "Yeah. The cowboy just lassoed the little guy."

Tatsu sighed. "Are you done, or do you wish to continue wasting time?"

Omi growled after getting up on his feet. "I am the teacher! You are the students! You will give me the respect I deserve!"

"Respect this!" Raimundo said as he pulled Omi's pants down revealing his white briefs. Omi blushed in response to this.

"No way!" Kimiko laughed. "The Brazilian kid just pantsed the bald kid!"

Tatsu groaned softly before walking away from the group. Everyone watched her march into the temple.

"What's eating her?" Raimundo asked.

Tatsu searched the halls until she found the man she was looking for. "Master Fung."

The Xiaolin master turned around. "Ah. Tatsu. I take it you have something to say?"

"Yes. Forgive me, master, but my time here is pointless." Tatsu said. "Master Monk Guan sent me here to learn more for my training, but all these lessons so far are nothing."

"There's no such thing as nothing, young one." Master Fung said.

"Tell that to my so-called fellow warriors." Tatsu said. "Clay is slow, Kimiko is distracted, Raimundo has no respect, and Omi is already trying to teach things I already know. Walking on my fingers. Moving at cheetah speed. Master Monk Guan taught all that to me and a thousand more. What kind of lessons am I supposed to learn here?"

"You'll never know, Tatsu." Master Fung said. "Remember, a lesson learned has nothing over a lesson lived."

"What's that supposed to…" Tatsu started to say before experiencing a strange feeling. She followed the feeling to her sheath. She pulled out her sword and picked up a strange sensation from her own blade. "What's this?"

Master Fung looked curiously. "What is wrong?"

"Uh, Master Fung." Said a voice coming from the adjacent room. A small, legless dragon slithered on in looking nervous.

"Is that a dragon?" Tatsu asked.

"Dojo. Is something the matter?" Master Fung asked.

"It wasn't my fault! I never touched it! I swear!" Dojo said. "But something's up with the Sacred Scroll of the Shen Gong Wu!"

"The what?" Tatsu asked.

Master Fung entered the room and gazed at the single table at the far end of the room. There, a scroll was displayed. Tatsu observed with him.

"What is that?"

"It is the Ancient Scroll of the Shen Gong Wu," Master Fung said, "A sacred text of powerful relics spread all over the globe. And it seems to be out of balance."

"I told you, I didn't touch it." Dojo said. "I think it's busted. Can we get a new one?"

"How can it be out of balance?" Tatsu asked. "What could cause it?"

"Not what. Who." Fung replied. "And the answer is, Wuya. It seems that you're about to finally live a lesson, Tatsu."

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter was short, but I thought it'd be a good set up for Tatsu's adventures about to begin. Any and all comments are welcome.