Senna here! Have been a Kung Fu Panda fan ever since the first film. As a long time fan of this film series, I have been painfully waiting for the third installment. So when Dreamworks posted Jennifer Yuh Nelson's 15th anniversary pic, I got excited when I saw the concept art for the next movie. Then I made some assumptions based on the small pictures and some commentary on Tumblr. I assumed the female panda had to be Po's sister and made this small one-shot. Hope y'all enjoy it.
Kung Fu Panda belongs to Dreamworks. Send all fanart and compliments to the DW: KFP team.
Cries of celebration and laughter thrived throughout the hidden panda village as the sun set on its grass and crop fields. Once the dark night had taken over the sky, the villagers set a bonfire in the village square to keep the party going. Although today was not a holiday, it could have been for the long lost son of Head Villager Hao, who was thought to be dead after thirty-one years, had returned alongside his father back to his own people. To make matters even more surprising, he was also the Dragon Warrior and had been accompanied by five great Kung Fu masters, a grandmaster of Kung Fu, and surprisingly a very good noodle maker.
The Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five had spent their day with bountiful food brought to them from each household. Other than the rice the villagers grew, most dishes consisted of bamboo and bamboo grass. The Dragon Warrior had a blast eating the different variety of bamboo dishes. Sadly, their home dishes weren't something the rest of their visitors could digest. Luckily for the visitors, the noodle maker brought plentiful noodles with him.
The festival had every person in high spirits. Even Master Tigress had taken in the cheerful atmosphere and told tales of her adventures with the Five to the older panda children who were still awake with Viper. Crane had started on his calligraphy deign he had in mind and had unknowingly started a small calligraphy class. Both Monkey and Mantis had taken to trying the desserts they could eat. Having enough of the festivities, Master Shifu decided to stay in the sidelines and meditated in a secluded grassy area away from the party-goers.
Mr. Ping sat with Hao, both had strangely gotten along during the journey, and conversed about Po's childhood antics. The noodle chef's eyes lit up as he put his wing into a pouch he had beside him.
"Oh I think I have the one where he's five and cooking his first pot of soup! At least I think it was soup. Interested?" offered the goose.
"Am I? Bring 'em here!" responded Hao.
Po sat among other panda men as he explained how he used his girth in battle. The men, having only used basic defense and weapons, were astonished at the Dragon Warrior's technique. Some even looked at their own bellies and wondered if they could preform such an act. Several wives of the Dragon Warrior's group had called out for them. Several panda men had invited Po for a third dinner. The Dragon Warrior refused, replying he had to go back with his friends.
He made his way to the bonfire and joined Monkey and Mantis, who were both sitting on a log bench eating some kind of cookie.
"Po! You've gotta try these cookies!" called out Mantis. Monkey held out the bowl for Po to take a cookie.
"Don't mind if I do." Po took a bite of the cookie and savored it. His eyes opened wide as his tongue caught the sweet taste of the cookie. "Mm! These aren't bad at all!" Po took another bite. "Whose are these? I wanna give the baker my compliments!"
"That would be Mrs. To, the lady over there in the green and blue." pointed out Monkey, who took a bite out of another cookie. Mantis held onto the last piece of his cookie, observing the piece one eye shut as if it were some piece of gold.
"Gosh, if my mouth didn't know any better, I'd say these are tastier than Monkey's cookies!"
Monkey frowned and raised an eyebrow as Mantis ate his last piece. He then glared daggers at the insect. "So it was you who took the last batch!" called out Monkey.
"What?! I never said that!" responded Mantis.
"I didn't share my last batch with anyone. How do you know what they tasted like?"
"I was talking about them in general."
Monkey snorted. "Just admit it!"
"I'm telling you, I didn't do anything!"
"Well someone took the last batch."
Po kept quiet and turned around in his seat, avoiding Monkey's glares as quick as possible. He gasped marveling at the scenery before him. The village was truly beautiful even at night. He observed the night sky, its stars sparkling like gems upon the village. Along with the bonfire's light, lanterns had lit the village's dark fields until they faded into the dark forest and mountains. Several small houses were already illuminated with candlelight as its families went inside.
Without noticing, his eyes wandered onto a group of panda women conversing with each other. They suddenly stopped, turned their heads to him staring wide-eyed. He stiffened, also wide-eyed, but said nothing for his brain couldn't think of any excuse. Feeling a bit awkward from the sudden silence, Po pursed his lips and gave a small wave. They stood quiet until, surprisingly for Po, they all waved back and giggled. Po turned around, looking to the floor and blushing under his fur. Although they were at a distance, his ears could still make out some of the panda women's comments.
"Cute."
"You really think so?"
"He does look strong."
"I'd love to be in those arms."
He grimaced a bit more, bringing a hand to the back of his head. If it weren't for this awkwardness, Po would have slightly enjoyed the attention more. He wasn't exactly a ladies man back at the Valley, even after he became the Dragon Warrior. The female attention he had received was brief, and that was only when his title was mentioned. Feeling a little less embarrassed, the panda brought his face up, only to see Monkey and Mantis grinning at him.
"What?"
"Well look who's popular." blurt out Monkey.
"Me? Aw c'mon. I'm the Dragon Warrior. Of course I'm popular." Po responded, waving off his hand. Mantis scoffed, then jumped to Po's shoulder.
"Yeah. But not with the ladies hotshot." It was then Po thought he heard Mantis sniffle. He turned his head slightly to see Mantis wipe a pretend tear off his eye. "Can you believe it? Our Po's growin' up."
The panda frowned. "Stop it."
Both masters laughed
Po turned around again, trying to avoid the same group of ladies and the looks of his fellow masters. instead found two more girls. Among them, Po found his new half-sister, who was walking with another female panda. She wore a simple pink dress, a bun on her head, and some flowers by her ear. Now that he thought about it, ever since he got here, he never got the chance to actually talk to her. His biological father had only mentioned her name was Jiao. They only shared a brief hello before the festivities began.
Jiao waved good-bye to her friend as the other female panda left. Both siblings had made eye contact. Not knowing what to do, Po lifted his hand up to greet her only to have Jiao turn around and leave. He was taken aback. Then again, maybe she was tired. Was it better to talk to her tomorrow? He just wanted to to let his sister know that he cared about being on good terms with her. And if he could, be a good big brother.
His face lit up. Then again, he didn't want to set a bad impression of himself. He had to set something straight. This was his sister for crying out loud! His little sister to be correct. Wasn't he supposed to be a good big brother?
"Uh. Earth to Po?" said Mantis, poking Po's temple.
The panda didn't listen. Po stood upright and started walking away. Mantis took this as a sign to get off Po's shoulders. When Mantis reached the ground, he still cocked an eyebrow and yelled out to the running panda.
"Hey Po! Where ya goin'?!" called out Mantis.
"I'll be back soon! Gonna catch up with my sis!"
"You better come back. We're not done with you."
The panda waved off to his friends as he followed the dirt path his sister had walked on. Po monitored every house and path he came across. Pandas were everywhere except the particular one he was looking for. He squinted his eyes and caught the pink white and black figure he was searching for. His face lit up as he began to chase her.
"Jiao! Hey Jiao! Sis! Wait up!" called Po as he ran to her with his winning smile.
The female panda stopped and let out a sigh. Her ear caught the sound of his feet stopping mere inches away from her. She turned around, her face looking dead panned and not looking particularly happy at the male panda gasping for breath before her. Po figured she was probably tired from the day.
"Look Tung, I mean Po, whatever. I'm not in the mood. Sorry. How about some other time?" The female panda turned and proceeded walking. "Maybe later. Maybe not." she mumbled.
Jiao was really getting tired of her new brother. Suddenly coming out of no where alive Her bother had gained every panda villager's attention; and especially, her father's attention. She couldn't have seen her father more happier.
"Hey Jiao. Sis. Look I know you might be tired from today but I just thought, since we're now a family, we could know more about each other sis! And like hang out!"
"Hang out?" Jiao spat out, already annoyed. Po didn't seem to notice it.
"Yeah! Like a brother and sister are supposed to! We can talk▬"
"You've already told everyone in the village about your adventures. Why would I need to hear all that again?"
"Oh come on. I mean catch up, tell funny stories, talk about the stuff we like and so forth. Y'know what, I'll start."
"I really don't▬" Po didn't stop. In fact, he didn't seem to hear her, still caught up in his own excitement.
"Ya see, there was this one time my Goose dad and I were at the noodle shop with the Five and-"
Jiao closed her eyes and bit her lip, exhaling through her nose. Why couldn't he shut up and leave her alone? She couldn't stand him anymore. He, on the other hand, wasn't taking the hint. The female panda took a deep breath, opened her eyes widely and smiled.
"You know what?! You've talked a lot about yourself. So, I'll start. I'll tell you something about me bro." Po's smile widened even more, feeling even more excited than he had been. She kept her smile for a few seconds but it immediately disappeared. She put a hand on her chest, closing her eyes and arching her eyebrows. "I like a lot of things. My likes range from cooking to picking flowers."
"Oh! Cooking! I like that too." he said, with a very giddy tone. Jiao rolled her eyes and sighed.
"But you know what I like the most?" Po shook his head. "I liked how everything was before." She paused. Po raised an eyebrow, not understanding her. Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes at him. "I liked how everything was before you came along!"
Po's face fell. "Wait. What?" His sister still held that stern look. His features softened into a more hurt look. "You're not happy I'm here?"
"No. I'm not." she responded without batting an eyelash. "Here's a little fact about me brother. I'm this village's number one female warrior. Not many of the ladies here even think about becoming one. But I did! And I do a great job doing that. Dad was proud, everyone in the village was proud. I was, no, am this village's shining star." The female panda then jabbed a finger to her brother's chest. "Now that you're here, the village can't get enough of you. Dad can't get enough of you! You took something that was mine! Now I don't think I can get that back, ever since dad's long-lost son that he hasn't seen in years turned out to be the oh-so-ever-legendary Dragon Warrior."
There was a brief silence between the two siblings. "My point is: I don't want you and your so-called title to overshadow me or my abilities."
Po closed his eyes and opened them again. He took a step forward. "Look Jiao, sis. I never meant to..." He shook his head. "I never wanted to-"
She put a hand forward. "You've had your stay. So why don't you, your Goose Dad and your little friends go back to where you came from."
"Look. All I wanted..." Jiao didn't bother to listen. She walked away onto the dark path in the green fields ignoring everybody else in her way. He slouched his shoulders and sighed deeply. Feeling his heart sink deeper, the panda brought his sad gaze to the ground. "...I just thought we could be friends."
I'm so sorry that it ends in a bad note folks. This scene is how I pretty much expect the third movie to be like. Though, I guess everyone would get along in the end in the real movie. What do I know? I'm just a fan.
Was Po in character? Were Monkey and Mantis in character? Please review and tell me how I did.