Kung Fu Panda Fanfic - The Rise of a Hero

(IV) Broken Bones.

The night passed quickly in the Valley of Peace. With the first rays of the sun, the bells woke up the town and the Jade Palace. Right at the first bell, Shifu entered the dormitories while everyone waited by the door of their rooms. Everyone except Po.

Furious Five: - Good morning, master. -

Shifu: - Panda. Panda! - He opened his door with force only to find an empty room. - He gave up. - He said after letting out a macabre laugh.

The Furious Five followed Shifu to the training room, somewhat...relieved by Po's sudden disappearance.

Viper: - What do we do now, master? Should we look for it? -

Shifu: - It is not necessary. -

Crane: - If the panda left, who will be the Dragon Warrior? -

Shifu: - We only have to train, and hope that with time the true Dragon Warrior will be revealed. -

Saying that, Shifu opened the doors only to see Po trying to do a split on the bamboo parallel bars. Po had removed the bandages from his body, and it appeared that his shoulder had not suffered a dislocation.

Shifu: - What are you doing here? - He said surprised, and annoyed.

Po:- Oh. Good morning master. I just wanted to warm up a bit. - He stretched and was able to get off the bars without problem.

Shifu: - Did you really think that you would learn to do a split in one night? - He takes two clay slabs and throws them into the air while Tigress stepped forward. - It takes years... to develop flexibility. - Tigress jumped. - and many more to apply it in combat.

When Shifu stopped speaking, Tigress kicked the clay slabs into the air doing a perfect split. The slabs shattered and fell right after Tigress landed. Po looked up and grabbed a piece of tile that was going to fall on his head.

Po: - Impressive. - He said while looking at the fragment of clay.

Shifu: - Put that thing down! - He shouted angrily. - The only memories we keep are: bleeding fists and broken bones. -

Po let out a slight smile. He looked at the shard of clay and crushed it with the palm of his hand.

Po: - Very well. Shall we start? -

Shifu: - Time to train. -

The Furious Five took turns facing Po. The first was Viper, who still felt a little sorry for him.

Viper: - Are you ready? -

Po: - I always... -

Po couldn't finish his sentence and Viper pounced on his feet. Po's reaction was very slow and he couldn't react but went flying through the air. Viper tried to hit him as he was spinning, but Po used his hands to block the blow as he fell to the ground. Viper backed up a bit and Po was able to stand up. He took a deep breath and clicked the joints of his fingers.

Po: - I didn't see that coming. Very well. Let's try it one more time. -

Po tried to hit Viper, but ended up hitting the ground. Viper wrapped around his right arm and applied a lock that made him fall to the ground. Po used his left hand to spin around and try to escape his grasp, inadvertently crushing Viper with his enormous weight. Viper had to let go, which gave him some time to recover. Po felt something rattle as he turned around, and he was worried about Viper, who seemed to be moving with difficulty.

Po: - Are you alright, master Vi...? -

Before Po could finish the sentence, Viper made a spring with his body and pounced on Po's stomach, making him back several meters. The panda fell to his knees. Viper had hit him right in the epigastrium and he was having trouble breathing.

Viper: - The fight is not over until the opponent surrenders. - Po looked at her with a smile on her face.

Po: - Thank you. Tea... cher. - He stuttered and was short of breath.

Still kneeling, Po saluted to Víbora as a sign that he had surrendered and could not continue the fight. Which gave the victory to Víbora. The second match came against Monkey when Po was able to catch his breath.

This time they would use bamboo sticks as weapons. Monkey's movements were too fast for Po to predict, so he was trying hard to cover himself. On one occasion, Monkey struck Po's hands causing him to drop the staff. He then tried to hit his face without doing much damage, but Po took a bite out of Monkey's bamboo staff instead. Monkey backed away as he looked at the missing piece of his cane and then saw Po with a poker face.

Po: - What? I'm a panda, what can I say? -

Still the fight continued until Po received a direct blow to the head that knocked him to the ground. The third round was against Crane on the huge stone bowl inside the training room. Before he could start, the bowl gave way under Po's weight, and he fell inside, but managed to get out.

Po: - I suppose that I lost anyway. -

Already in the afternoon, the fourth confrontation against Mantis took place. It was so fast that Po couldn't even see him. He received his blows one after another, although he managed to stay on his feet while covering his face. However, his abdomen was taking a lot of damage, and it was a matter of time before he gave up.

Seeing that Po had not given up, Shifu was enraged and decided to participate himself. Although Po lay fatigued on the ground.

Shifu: - I have tried to make it easy for you, panda, but it's over. Your next opponent will be me. -

Po took a deep breath and managed to get to his feet. He stretched and tracing the bones of his neck and back, and finally got into position to face Shifu. The rest of the masters looked worried though.

Shifu: - One step forward. -

Po showed doubt, and on the contrary, he took a step back. Shifu let out a smile and charged towards Po. His technique was unstoppable, and he repeatedly struck Po's already sore body. The panda did its best to defend himself, and even tried to grab Shifu, but was too exhausted to keep up. Shifu kicked him in the knee causing him to fall, finally kicking him out of the training hall. Po fell on the stairs and bounced a couple of times. He was finally able to stop himself by holding on tightly to the stone steps.

He couldn't move a muscle. His whole body ached, particularly his right arm. He stood still on the steps as the masters watched from the top of the palace steps.

Tigress: - If you use your brain, you won't go up again. -

Monkey: - But he will. -

Viper: - I don't think he gives up so easily. -

Mantis: - He won't even have a bone left standing. - Mantis was going to mock, but the Viper stopped him.