Bounty Hunter

Act I - Ceremony

[Author's Notes]

Hello and welcome to chapter 10 of Bounty Hunter. We've already made it this far, unbelievable!

This chapter has been very thrilling to write as this now marks the end of the extremely long prologue stage of this fanfiction!

I thank you all wholeheartedly for your support and patience thus far, especially when it comes to following a fanfiction that's spent 10 of its many soon to come chapters on a prologue for this plot. I hope it's been enjoyable for you all though!

I'd also like to point out that I am now officially done with my school term and will be off until September, meaning I no longer need to study rigorously and can dedicate more time to fanfiction... However, I am going to remain on a weekly schedule to maintain consistency; but you can expect many more one-shots to be released in the future!

As always, reviews as well as feedback in general is highly appreciated. Any type of criticism helps me improve as an author and any discussion about this story is welcomed!

Alright, I've rambled enough, don't you think?

Naidvar proudly presents to you...

Ceremony

8 PM - Bottom of the Thousand Steps - Valley of Peace...

"Where are the others?" Po panted violently, "They should've met us here by now!" The panda further whined, falling onto his knees after his great sprint alongside Lynqi to the bottom of the Thousand Steps.

"Perhaps we should remain patient and wait for a little longer, they did say they may be late as they have to explore all corners of the valley to hang up these posters!" Lynqi reassured the panda by giving him a soft pat on the shoulders as his breathing became more laboured thanks to him recovering his stamina. "I'll be the first to admit, Master Oogway may be a mysterious sage and older than kung-fu itself- after all, he did create it... but his calligraphy skills are unique and his artistic talents are overlooked when it comes to how much awe he was able to capture with each of the Furious Five and us," Lynqi's comment caused the panda's soft ears to twitch thanks to his obliviousness to the poster design.

"Wait, we're on the posters too? How could he draw such a design and mass produce it so quickly?" Po unravelled the final poster he had stored in his pocket for himself and stared into the bright orange sunset that was depicted behind the Furious Five... Lynqi was right, they were both shadows in the sunset. Po's warm smile and straw hat as well as Lynqi's slightly more intimidating gaze but soft facial features could be seen as silhouettes in the background of the Furious Five, standing tall and glorious in front of a rising sun with their intense and disciplined poses. "But why are we featured if we're mere guests of the Jade Palace?"

"I'm unsure of Oogway's mindset and how he truly thinks but I'm leaning on the idea that we're not as temporary as we thought... especially you, as you were meant to be the head chef of the Jade Palace before the Shifu incident."

"The Shifu incident... don't remind me, I feel bad for him as well as Tigress- having to be raised through all of that and coming out a tough and respectable warrior, Tigress is truly an idol to worship!" Po's fanboying was humbled by Lynqi as she hushed him. "My apologies, I still can't believe we're working with the Furious Five!"

"I thought you were a mature Bounty Hunter, you were extremely intimidating during the meetings... you're just a fanboy?"

"That's how it all began!" Po exclaimed as he rested his arm on the shoulder of the jet black lynx. "I developed my love of kung-fu through them! I may be reputable but I'm never going to forget how I got here- I'm honoured to have a place in the Jade Palace, Lynqi!" Po gushed as he took a seat at the bottom of the Thousand Steps.