Po absently chewed his last cold and tasteless bean bun. He was eating more out of habit than anything else. Nothing he ate seemed to have any flavor to it anyway. The winter festival was in full swing, and normally he'd be out there with the rest of the celebrants who were joyfully dancing, singing, and playing games.

But not this year. He sat alone in his room at his father's noodle shop, looking out the window. The delicious smells of baking spring rolls, fried jiaozi, and roasting veggie skewers wafted in with the cool breeze. This was also the only time of year when his father made his famous Eight Treasures Rice: a dish containing only the best walnuts, the most perfect raisins, sweet red bean paste, flawless jujube dates, slightly salty almonds, and a veritable rainbow of dried fruits. While these delicacies normally made his mouth water and feet jog, he only continued to lazily watch the children in brightly colored clothes performing the traditional winter ribbon dance in the village square. The girls were wearing beautiful red brocade dresses, decorated with chrysanthemums and cherry blossoms in pinks, greens, and blues. Each girl proudly wore a bright pink cherry blossom pinned elegantly upon her head.

Viper led the procession; gracefully twirling, spinning, and pirouetting across the stage. The parents were the most enthusiastic in the audience, clapping and cheering on their little ones. Beyond the dancing was the marketplace lined with booths decorated with bright lights and selling a variety of festival knickknacks, snacks, and other goodies.

Monkey was going around carrying a large brown sack and passing out small red hong bao envelopes with majestic-looking gold seals to all the little piglets, lambs, and bunnies. Inside of each envelope was barely enough to buy a cheaply made souvenir, but the children were all ecstatic and rushed to spend their newfound fortunes.

Crane and Mantis were also dancing in the square, underneath the mantle of a Chinese dragon costume; bright yellow with shiny red scales. As always, Crane was the head while Mantis controlled the tail. Po remembered last year when the smaller kung fu master had vigorously protested this arrangement and convinced taller one to reluctantly let them switch places. The resulting chaos, panic, and pandemonium made him grudgingly agree that they would never do that again.

Scattered about were small groups of laughing villagers, drinking hot tea and swapping funny stories of festivals past. Master Shifu was sitting at a row of red tables on the east end of the square, concentrating seriously on his turn during the Mahjong Tournament. He had been really lucky last year, making it all the way to the final four, but only placing forth in the end. He claimed he had not been playing seriously back then and resolved to aim for first place this time. He even neglected the Furious Five's training last week while he practiced non-stop against Mr. Ping and anyone else who could hold a mahjong tile. But what really drew Po's attention was not something bright, or loud, or particularly exciting.

Milling about between the stalls, the dancers, and the story swappers were the couples. Set apart in their own little world, the boys smiled goofy grins, each sporting a beautiful blushing girl on his arm. By the goldfish game, a rabbit couple was laughing because the boy had somehow gotten soaked all the way up to his elbows vainly trying to catch a fish. Near the marketplace, a pair of pigs were admiring a jewelry stall. The boar whispered something into the gilt's ear, and she shyly pointed to a pair of pink pearl-studded earrings nestled in golden lotus leaves. The boar bought them for her and the girl squealed in delight, kissing him on the snout in gratitude. Even the geese sitting under the Baishan fir tree were doing the 'accidental' kiss thing where they unknowingly slurped up opposite ends of the same noodle.

Po felt an emptiness inside of him as he watched them go about their ways, one that couldn't be filled with bean buns. He knew what it was, but also knew it was something he could do nothing about. He fished around in his bowl, forgetting he had already consumed the last of his meal. The panda tossed the vacant dish over his shoulder, where it clattered to the floor behind him. His father would probably tell him to not be such a slob but, at that moment, he didn't care.

He again picked up the letter that had arrived only that morning, addressed to him. It was from Lu-Shi. She was getting married and wanted Po and his father to come to the wedding.

She was Po's ex-fiancée.

Po's thoughts carried him back to the time when he and the doe had first met. He and Monkey had been fighting on stilts in front of Po's house when they had seen Lu-Shi and her father being attacked by bandits. As they rushed to help, Po was momentarily distracted when he noticed how cute the goat was up close. Lu-Shi then demonstrated that she was not helpless in a fight, showing off her kung fu skills by finishing off the bandits (and then Po for good measure). Rather than being upset, the panda had marveled at her. He remembered how his palms had become sweaty, his heart raced, and he'd felt tingly all over. He thought aloud that she'd probably gotten him with the Cloven-Hoofed Exploding Head Technique.

Monkey pointed out that his head had to actually explode if that had been the case and suggested to Po that instead he might actually be in love. Po had laughed it off but then found himself distressed when, after thanking them, Lu-Shi's father explained that she was going to be married soon. The doe admitted that it was an arranged marriage, but though she had never seen her future husband, she was excited to meet him. He was called The Dragon Warrior.

Po was pretty sure his head had finally exploded then.

Mr. Ping later confirmed that he had arranged for his son to be married to the daughter of a dish salesman, since baby Po broke dishes faster than his father could afford to replace them. While mildly offended that his father had traded him for dishware, Po became ecstatic when Lu-Shi presented him with a wedding gift: A rare mono-browed Master Shifu action figure. It seemed like such a fairytale situation: She was pretty, funny, good at kung fu, loved dumplings as much as he did, and even offered to merge her action figure collection together with Po's... if he agreed to the marriage.

After announcing his engagement to the entire Jade Palace, Master Shifu had taken Po aside to speak with him privately. If he went through with the marriage, Lu-shi would be under constant threat of kidnapping. To keep her safe, Po would have to step down as the Dragon Warrior. After much soul-searching, second thoughts, and unsuccessful attempts to get Shifu to make the decision for him, Po chose love. Crane had planned the entire wedding ceremony, they'd made it all the way up to the altar, Lu-Shi had said "I do", and when it was finally Po's turn... he froze. The girl of his dreams was standing there before him, offering him a future full of fun, family, and laughter... but it wasn't enough.

In the end he couldn't give up being the Dragon Warrior, even though that meant he might grow up to be old, sad, and alone. While they had parted amicably, they'd made no promises to each other besides maybe hanging out sometime. Now it was too late. What was the point of having his great life if he had no one to share it with?

Po sighed and crossed his arms atop his windowsill, resigning himself to wallowing in self-pity for the rest of the day. He rested his weary head against the glass.

As she made her way past dancing dragons and ladies with parasols, Tigress had the distinct feeling of being watched. A cursory glance at her surroundings didn't catch anything out of the ordinary though, so she kept walking. The feeling persisted even after she ordered her food and sat down to eat. Soon after, she spotted a man in a dark hooded cape come in and sit down at a table behind her. He ordered nothing and said nothing, only stared at her. She felt a strong urge to walk over and teach the stranger some manners. For it was plainly obvious he was a stranger when he dressed in plain clothes and dreary colors to a place where everyone was clad showy and bright.

But she knew better than to confront the stranger here. Instead, she finished her meal and left her coins on the table to pay, then pushed her chair back to stand. The stranger did the same. Tigress casually walked towards the exit, pretending she hadn't noticed she was being followed. If this guy was going to try to rob her or was looking for a fight, it was better if she dealt with him in a less populated place where there would be less property damage and fewer innocent bystanders.

However, she was just three steps from the exit when a large paw tapped her on the shoulder. She immediately grabbed the paw with her opposite hand and spun to face him, reaching her free fist back ready to punch his lights out should he give her a reason. Secretly, she hoped he did. It had been too long since she'd had a chance to stretch her butt-kicking muscles, and she relished the thought of using the man's face to break some tables... She'd apologize to Mr. Ping later.

Her would-be attacker put his hands up in surrender, but Tigress didn't lower her guard. All the noodle shop patrons were watching them. She couldn't be seen attacking someone who, for all intents and purposes, was an unarmed civilian. Instead she reluctantly decided to address him. "What do you want?"

The stranger's eyes were still shielded by his hood. "Are you..." he seemed to be choosing his next words carefully "from the Jade Palace?"

The question was not what Tigress had expected. "Yes," she replied evenly. "Who wants to know?"

"Forgive me." The stranger slowly lowered his hands and brought them together, bowing respectfully. "I did not mean to startle you. My name is Bao-Jia and I am looking for the one called Master Shifu. I heard I could find him there. I wish to speak to him."

"Then you should have gone to the palace directly." Tigress relaxed her stance slightly, still not completely trusting him. "How did you know I live there?"

"I heard he trained several kung fu masters, which are famously known as the Furious Five," the man explained, still bowed. "You have a distinct air about you, a disciplined posture, and keen senses. I knew you had to be one of them."

Tigress relaxed her arms, pleased by such high praise, but then quickly brought them back up and crossed them across her chest. "Show me your face."

The man straightened to his full height. It was only then that she noticed how big he really was, visibly over seven feet tall, about a foot taller than Tigress herself. He slowly brought his hands up to pull back the hood.

She gasped.

Looking back at her was the face of a South China Tiger, much like herself. His fur was a rich auburn gold with beautiful bold stripes outlining his eyes, cheekbones, and forehead. Tigress felt a strange sensation of déjà vu come over her, as if she had seen those pale-yellow eyes, long white whiskers, and jet-black nose somewhere before.

"...Who are you?" she asked.

"Let us talk somewhere more private," Bao-Jia suggested, walking past her toward the exit.

Tigress once again became aware that everyone in the noodle shop was still staring. She scowled but turned to follow.

(End Chapter 1)

A/N: Thanks to Percabeth17 for making the chapter more readable, to Kitty. for pointing out the character inconsistencies, to meggie6 for the wonderful descriptive detail ideas, Celeste K. Raven for the flashback idea with Lu-Shi and everyone else for their encouragement and support ^_^ I'll be updating about once every 2 weeks, so please be patient with me!

*Jiaozi: a Chinese crescent-shaped dumpling filled with a minced stuffing and steamed, boiled or fried

* Brocade: a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and with or without gold and silver threads

*Hong Bao envelopes: red packets containing small monetary gifts usually given out during holidays or special occasions to single people and children.

*Gilt: a young female domestic pig. If she's given birth to piglets, she's called a sow

*Lu-Shi: from the "Legends of Awesomeness" episode: Bride of Po

*Baishanzu fir tree: a type of fir tree found China