Slithering into your Heart

Disclaimer:

I don't own the rights to anything related to the movie Kung Fu Panda

The rights to that movie belong to…other people…

I do (for what it's worth) own Charles Ivano R.

Chapter 1: Strange

He's kinda cute when I actually stop to think about it.

Sure, he's a little clumsy; well, really clumsy, but he's still cute.

It's actually strange why I'm even thinking about him, but I guess it would have something to do with the first time I sparred with him.

It was interesting.

I outclassed Po as a result of my years of training.

I was too fast for him to hit or dodge.

I was too strong for him to brush off my strikes as though they did not carry fifty pounds of force.

Po would later jokingly call this a curb stomp battle.

Anyways, I quickly managed to topple Po and send him crashing to the ground.

As much as I dislike recounting the feeling, I enjoyed hurting Po.

He had been nothing more than an intruding stranger to me. He was taking the role of the Dragon Warrior. He was taking a role that rightfully belonged to one of the Furious Five. He was taking something we had been training many years to obtain and that made me angry along with everyone else.

I glanced at Master Shifu for a brief moment.

His smile and nods caused my malicious smirk to widen a bit.

Master Shifu fanned this flame, but I have to take responsibility for my own actions.

I turned my attention back to Po, watched as he slowly rose from the ground to his feet, and prepared my next attack in case he wanted to keep going. My eyes widened with shock when I saw him give me a respectful bow, "That was awesome, Master Viper!"

I blushed as a result of feeling flattery and shame from this gesture. I shouldn't have done that to him, especially not to satisfy Master Shifu's obvious desire to punish Po. After all, it wasn't Po's fault that master Oogway assigned him to be the Dragon Warrior.

I was glad when Master Shifu warmed up to Po and doubly so when Po defeated Tai Lung, ushering in an era of peace among the Valley.

"One threat has been neutralized, but another will eventually rise to take its place. So, no matter how peaceful times are now, your training must never be shirked."

All of us groaned a bit when we Master Shifu told us this, but he was absolutely right.

So we trained and trained and trained some more.

I keep getting led back here during those long training days…

I keep coming to the point where I see Po sprawled out on the ground, panting softly as he tries to catch his breath after having gone through another training session with Tigress.

To be honest, the one-sided beat down she hands Po could hardly be called a 'training' session.

He pants softly as I look him over and carefully wrap some bandages around his wounds.

I frowned once I realized that he was unconscious.

I could hear Tigress quietly scoff, and, as I turned to look at her, I noticed she had started to leave. My frown deepened and I quickly spoke before she had the chance to take more than three steps away from me, "Tigress, don't you think you're being a little too harsh with Po? He has done a lot for the Valley."

"…I see…"

She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at me.

On her face was a smirk that just oozed with bitterness!

I had never seen Tigress show this kind of emotion!

Even when Po was chosen to be the Dragon Warrior, Tigress was more or less professionally bitter. She was bitterer about the announcement than the rest of the Furious Five, but she still showed some understanding and belief in the choice Master Oogway had made.

And that look in her eyes was chilling!

It was like I was looking into the deepest and darkest of waters.

"So you'd prefer if Po stayed weak and practically defenseless, just so he'd avoid getting hurt?"

I managed to draw myself back to Earth upon hearing her stern and mocking voice.

"You know that's not what I meant, Tigress," I quickly replied, trying to hold back my frustration, "I meant you shouldn't be so hard on him like you usually are."

"I'll do as I please," Tigress scoffed, "I won't let your boyfri-Po! I won't let Po slack off just because he defeated Tai Lung, and if you don't like it why don't you just spar with him yourself?"

She angrily left the sparring ground after that and I was glad no one else was around to see what just happened. It's not that I don't like Tigress or that I doubt her abilities as a trainer.

I just think her methods are a little…wait…

Did she say boyfriend?

What would make her even think that?

Though, that's not to say Po's not boyfriend material, but-

"Hey, V…How long have I been out?"

Hearing Po's voice so suddenly startled me, which resulted in him catching the back side of my tail across his fluffy face. "I'm sorry, Po," I quickly apologized, helping him sit up, "It's just that you kind of startled me and…well…defensive instincts kick in and…"

"Calm down…it's cool, V, it's cool."

He laughed a little before getting up, dusting himself off, and softly rubbing the spot where I hit him, "It hurts a lot less than the bruises I got in a bar fight with the notorious bandit Gray Heart, and his gang."

I smiled because the stories he told about his 'adventures' were always entertaining, no matter how outrageous and obviously untrue they were.

"So, I was travelling through the eastern lands of Mongolia and came across this small town filled with lush green grass, and pink flowers that sparkled as the sun's light hit the morning dew that laced their petals," Po began, painting a vivid picture of Rubicund Village.

Despite him not telling me its name, I recognized the description of Rubicund Village. I had been there with the other Furious Five members during a pilgrimage Master Shifu had sent us on.

"So anyways, I stayed up in this nearby inn and began helping its owners tidy it up a bit…When suddenly…" He slowly trailed off in order to build suspense, "I hear horns off in the distance and everyone begins to panic! So, I ask one of the inn owners what's wrong, but they just tell me to hurry and hide in my room while I can. But, being the person that I was, I refused to back down from the incoming danger."

He paused for a bit, thinking of what to say next.

"…Then! Then, the inn doors flew open and revealed a giant, buff wolf like dog with jagged teeth –a pair of 60 that glistened with spit when the light hit them at just the right angle- and a completely white left eye with a scar extending from his eyebrow to his left cheek. His fur was grayer than even the grayest gray and his torn black jacket and pants were wrapped in chains of the finest silver. It was Gray Heart the Heartless!"

He paused before looking around, making sure no one else was around before leaning in close, "Here's a little known fact, V. Those chains Gray Heart has wrapped around that carpet of baditude he calls 'fur' are actually reminders to others of his escape from the most secure jail known in China: Clock Work Tower."

Clock Work Tower is also a myth, by the way.

"But I've gotten a little off track…So…Where was I…! Oh yeah! So, after he invited himself in, Gray Heart began harassing the poor inn owners. 'Whear's teh monay,' he demanded whilst using poor grammar. The inn keepers paid the usual fee for when he comes to collect 'taxes,' but this time Gray wanted more and sent his goons to ransack the place and shake down nearby bystanders for the 'monay' he desired."

"I couldn't take it anymore, so I walked up to Gray Heart and told him to get out of town before I unleash the thunder! He got a little shaky and sent his goons to attack me while he bolted out of the inn, but I chased after the coward anyways and wiped out a good chunk of his goons along the way," he told me, using various martial arts moves to illustrate his fights.

"I eventually caught the coward in an alley, but he ambushed me, scratching my face with his pitch black claws that matched his pitch black heart," he said, pointing to a scar that hid under the fur of his right cheek.

I giggled a little; I know how he really got that scar.

"I quickly countered," he continued, "and brought Gray Heart to his knees!"

"Then what happened," I asked, smiling, "Did Gray Heart promise to leave the villagers alone?"

"Of course! Gray even promised to return all the money he took from the inn keepers and the citizens of Rubicund Village. I made sure of that…Though…"

He rubbed his cheek softly.

"I prefer the bruises Gray Heart gave me over the ones Tigress hands out…"

I chuckled at his little joke, "I suppose she can get a little violent with you…"

Before I could think of anything else to say, Crane flew down to greet us.

"…There you guys are…You coming to dinner or what?"

Po stared at Crane with awe inspiring intensity, "Dinner?"

Crane had gotten used to this sort of thing, and with a sigh he replied, "Dinner."

If any word pertaining to the serving and eating of food was said in his presence, no matter what previous injuries or beatings he had been dealt beforehand, Po would suddenly gain an unfathomable amount of energy.

I smiled when Po exclaimed, "All right, I'm starving!"

Crane smirked before flapping his wings and taking to the sky, "I have to go find Tigress, so I guess you guys can just head in without me. I swear, she just up and disappeared!"

Crane gave us slight nods before flying away.

Po hopped up and down for a little while before making his way towards the nearest entrance to our humble abode. He halts suddenly before turning to look at me, "Hey, V, are you coming?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute."

He gave me a nod before heading inside.

I let out a small sigh once I was sure he was gone. I needed some time to reflect on what kept happening between Tigress and Po. She actually seemed to be warming up to Po after he defeated Tai Lung, but a few weeks ago she reverted to behaving the way she acted towards him when he first came here. Actually, she treats him worse than when he first came here!

What happened to cause such a drastic change in her?

I gazed at the setting sun and sighed. The dark orange color it produced was lovely and soothing, a sight that allowed me to close my eyes and lose myself in the calm moment.

The moment was immediately ruined when a crashing sound broke my trance, startling me as I quickly turned in the direction the sound came from. I slowly examined the area around me before catching sight of what had made the sound: three tile pieces that had fallen from the roof, shattering upon impact with the concrete ground. I rolled my eyes at the mess and swept the broken pieces under some nearby bushes.

I took one more look at the beautiful, dark orange sun and sighed again before I finally headed inside.

-Author's Notes-

"I made this after watching the 'Kung Fu Panda' DVD. When you play the movie from the main menu (not using scene selection) it plays a clip of Viper wrapping a Po training dummy in a pretty bow and then she kisses it (and I noticed there was currently only one ViPo story, so I decided needed moar ViPo!). Kudos to the author of "Despite Their Thoughts" clanmcg24. Also, Po's story is not just a filler…"