Bounty Hunter

Act I - Remembrance

[Author's Notes]

Hello and welcome back to yet another chapter of Bounty Hunter!

I hope you're all enjoying the story so far, although I will be providing some insight as to what's coming forward.

Believe it or not, this will be the last chapter centred around the Valley of Peace for a long time. I won't spoil what's coming up for all you wonderful people to read but expect a bunch of new OC places and perhaps characters moving forward!

Alright, I've completed my usual rant. Without further ado, I proudly present to you...

Remembrance

5 AM - Student's Quarters - Kitchen...

Po rapidly scurried around the sunlit kitchen, he hoped to get out the door before the sun had risen to a great height and the villagers flooded the streets. He had just finished preparing meals for the Furious Five for once they woke up, his eyes constantly flicking to the bowls and a patiently waiting striped feline.

He handed Tigress her steaming hot bowl of noodle soup, being blinded by an undisciplined window that decided to blow open, allowing the rising sun to shine on their silky and glimmering fur. Po grabbed the closest thing he could find to a sponge, being sure to clean every crevice of the oversized pot before he discarded it.

The Dragon Warrior paused for a moment, grabbed his own bowl of noodle soup and his packed travel bag, heading to the exit of the Jade Palace. Po was still wishing to greet his father, after all, he wasn't allowed out of the Jade Palace as he had to assist Master Shifu with cleaning up the ruins of the Training Hall thanks to the earthquake.

As promised, he was being accompanied by none other than his girlfriend, the beautiful Master Tigress. Out of all of his days as a bounty hunter and as a self-taught student of kung-fu, he never knew he would fall in love with the cream of the crop of the kung-fu business... Better yet, the cream of the crop actually loved him back!

The panda still had dreaded memories about his ex, that dreaded snow leopard named Song. She would constantly get in his way and demand his attention, even when he was starting to get into the bounty hunting business, she didn't seem to understand that Po was trying to make an extra living for himself and her selfishness ended up with them breaking up. It was hard to juggle a challenging and emotionally impacting relationship alongside protecting the innocent of the valley to earn extra gold in the hopes he could help his father purchase the nearby houses to expand his noodle shop.

Compared to her, Tigress was surprisingly good at carrying a relationship under her belt... Instead of kissing or hugs, their company was enough for them to swoon over one another, consistently comforted by their mere existence before prioritising anything else. Po's mind was relieved that Tigress was taking this journey to his father's place, so he could introduce Tigress as his new girlfriend as well as announce that he'd be unfortunately leaving the valley later in the day for a great trek across China.

Speaking of which, Tigress nudged the panda to get his attention before they crept out into the courtyard of the Jade Palace, which was eerily quiet for Po as he'd usually hear some type of training going on. Po turned to Tigress, warmly smiling at her and placing a paw on her shoulder to reassure her.

"I know, I can see you worrying about me, Tigress!" Po opened, his more humorous side shining through. "You've heard so many of my stories, I've even told you them! You've seen what I've been able to do whilst we've been away on our adventure across China! You've got nothing to worry about, especially when I have your awesomeness by my side!" Albeit cheesy, Po always had a creative way of relieving Tigress's nerves of any stress.