Lion's Oneshot of Kung Fu Panda Oneshots

Fangs

Po had always been curious about all his friends. Why Monkey had a knack for making his tail into a pogo stick. Why Crane rustled his feathers when he went to bed. Why Mantis made a cricket sound even though he wasn't a cricket. (Why is that?) And why Tigress seemed to be getting closer to him in awkward ways. But presently, as Po was sitting in the kitchen, Viper came in. Po had become especially curious of Master Viper. It was something that he always wondered about her. He knew it would be an uncomfortable subject to talk about, but he finally got the courage to ask her. In his mind, Viper was always a very kind and loving person. So it would only make some sense that she would be a little okay with the subject. "Hey Viper," Po greeted. Viper smiled with her characteristic grin.

"Good morning, Po," She smiled kindly. Po quickly looked out the doorway of the kitchen to make sure the others weren't near. "Po? Are you looking for someone? If it's Tigress, she just left for a mission with Monkey and Mantis."

"So only Crane and Shifu are here?" Po asked. Viper nodded. "Wait, why did you say I was looking for Tigress first?" Viper only smiled at him. Po nervously looked away. "Never mind," He sighed.

"Come on, Po. Everyone knows about you and her," Viper said.

"Yes, but not her, which is the way I want it to stay," Po said. "But I wanted to ask you a personal question." Viper was surprised. Usually, Po would ask Tigress about these things. Viper was actually excited to be included in something like this.

"Okay, what is it?" Viper asked.

"Your fangs," Po started awkwardly. "What was it like growing up without them?" Viper instantly knew that this personal thing was something about her, not Po. She looked away from Po. To the panda, she seemed almost angry by the question. "I'm sorry if it's too personal a question. I just-"

"No, it's fine. I just... it's been a while since people have asked me about it."

"Really? Why?" Po asked. He would have thought that the Furious Five would have asked about it.

"Well, the others have things about themselves that they don't want to ask questions about. So we just don't get very personal," Viper replied. Then she smiled at Po. "But ever since you've come along, we've been learning more about each other than ever." Po smiled back. "but back to the question." Viper was silent for a while. "It... it wasn't really any different I guess. Snakes don't really have teeth anyway. The fangs are just a defense mechanism."

"Defense mechanism?"

"Yeah, typically, a snake is actually more afraid of someone than the person being afraid of the snake, sometimes." She saw Po's confused look. "Some snakes, like my dad, figured out how to use their fangs to help others. Some use them for an evil purpose, though. In general, the fangs give snakes a kind of... confidence."

"Confidence."

"Yeah, it's nice to know that if something goes wrong you have a back-up. It kind of gives us courage."

"But with you," Po continued. Viper sighed.

"It was different for me. I didn't want to go out and play with other people because I was afraid. That really didn't help me, though," She chuckled a bit.

"Why?"

"Well, for some reason, the kids my age and older people really loved me. With my father and mother they respected, but with me they genuinely loved. I guess it's easy to love something that doesn't pose a threat to you. You don't have that situation with Tigress, though."

"Viper!"

"I'm kidding Po," Viper chuckled at Po's red face. "Even though a lot of people loved me, I was still scared of a lot of people. That's why I didn't want to go to parties or festivals. I became scared of large groups. Then there was my dad," Viper sighed. "He tried to put on a brave face for my situation, but the fact of the matter was that he would have to get someone else to protect the people. He didn't want his legacy to go out, though. I wanted to help, but he kept saying that it was too dangerous for me. I believed him. I thought I couldn't protect myself. Then I defeated the armored gorilla and both me and my dad were surprised I could defend myself against someone so large. But I've gotten used to it."

"Wow," Po said amazed.

"Why do you ask?" Viper asked.

"Well, I'm curious about a lot of things about you guys. That was one of them," Po explained.

"Hmm, that's something to be very curious about," Viper observed. Po shrugged. "There is something that I've been interested in you, Po."

"What's that?"

"What was it like growing up in the village being the only panda?" She asked. Po seemed a bit sad about it.

"It was hard," He sighed. "Every person either didn't know what a panda actually looked like or they knew but still thought I was fat. It was just something that usually got me picked on. Sure, I was adorable to some of the ladies, but it wasn't enough to keep them interested in me for long. It was just hard," Po repeated.

"I'm sorry for that," Viper said.

"It's okay," Po smiled bravely. He lifted the glass of juice he had. "I guess we both had it hard. But it shows one thing."

"What's that?"

"We don't have to live with something special to be something special," Po smiled. Viper smiled back as she lifted her glass with her tail and cheered along with Po.

"Thanks, Po," Viper replied. "Now about Tigress."

"Ugh!" Po moaned.

The End