Return of the Masters

Another peaceful morning

The gong rang as Master Shifu stood in the hallway. Immediately following, eight students filed out, saying, "Good morning, master."
"Good morning, students," Shifu answered. "We're going to head out to the arena for our training today. I want to see you all spar so that I can see if we need to make any improvements."
He began to walk outside, prompting the masters to follow him. As they walked towards the arena, a seven year old panther bolted past everyone, eager to get the sparring done so that she could have more time to play.
"Wait for us, Ming Lei," Shifu called over.
The child ignored him, however, and continued foreward. Po, who liked playing with her, was quick to follow, except a little bit slower. Shifu sighed and shook his head. When the masters reached the arena, they saw Ming-Lei giggling as Po tried to catch his breath.
"I beat you, Dragon Warrior!" she exclaimed proudly. "I beat you again!"
"That's just...because...you got...a headstart," Po wheezed. "I'll...get you...next...time."
"Uh huh."
"Ming Lei," Shifu called over as the students stood at attention and Po finally caught his breath. "Since you're so eager to spar, you can spar with Tigress."
The seven-year old's mouth dropped in disbelief. "What?!" she cried. "But you can't beat her unless you have a tranquilizer!"
The masters let out snickers as Tigress stepped in front of the child. "Not nessecarily," she replied flatly.
"Everyone has a weak spot," Shifu assured Ming Lei. "It just takes a keen eye and some training to be able to spot it."
Ming Lei sighed and took up a fighting stance, readying herself to face off against the tiger master.
"Begin," Shifu said.
Ming Lei stood jumped as Tigress came flying at her with a strike, knocking Ming Lei to the ground and sending her skidding across the arena.
"Focus, Ming Lei!" Shifu called over.
Ming Lei quickly picked herself up, intending to avoid any if not all of Tigress' blows. Unfortunately, the master came back for round two, causing the seven year old to run around the grounds, managing to keep ahead with some quick maneuvers. Tigress propelled herself into the air, landing with a crash in front of her. Ming Lei let out a cry of surprise, dodging another punch and sailing onto the master's leg where she clung on for dear life. Tigress, who had never seen Ming Lei perform something that 'childish', was caught off guard and went sprawling onto the ground. Ming Lei quickly got up and grabbed a staff, aiming it at the tiger master's head. However, Tigress had recovered quickly and was quick to grab it, tossing Ming Lei effortlessly across the grounds where she landed with a loud thud.
"Well done, Tigress," Shifu said, watching the two girls get back into line. "You had a quick recovery, but you need to expect the unexpected. Had someone done that to you and you were on the edge of a cliff, it would have been catastrophic."
"Yes, master."
"And Ming Lei," Shifu continued, turning to the moaning child. "You need to stay on guard. Any flinch of surprise or any move as carelss as leaving a foe unattended could mean the difference between life and death. "
"Yes, Master Shifu," Ming Lei answered, rubbing her head where she had fallen on the ground.
Shifu turned towards the rest of his students, telling Po and Monkey that they were up next. As they sparred, Shifu thought about Ming Lei for a second. She was very young to be training, granted, but she had potential as well as a bad history. Only a few months earlier, her and her mother had fled to the valley where Ming-Lei was dropped off at the Jade Palace since her mother feared for her saftey. In order to help Ming-Lei stay safe, Shifu had decided to train her in the art of kung fu to which she had happily obliged. It was hard since she was so much younger in comparison to the rest of his students, but she had a lot of skills and seemed very advanced for her age, despite not always being focused.
He was admittably reluctant to take her on as a student, considering what had happened to Tai Lung, but she had wanted to be a master like the Dragon Warrior, so he had conceded.
Training continued on and then everyone went inside for lunch. (Po had grown accustomed to Shifu sometimes making them skip morning meals for training even though he hated it), and then Po, Ming Lei, and Monkey went down to the village to help out Mr. Ping in the noodleshop. Shifu went to the peach tree to meditate, Tigress continued to train in the training hall, and Viper and Crane hung out at the local parade that was in the next valley over. (Because of that, there was obviously no training in the afternoon, much to Tigress' dissapointment and Shifu's slight irritation). At the end of the day, the masters all returned to the Jade Palace and had some dummplings that Po had prepared, then turning in for the night. Shifu went back to the peach tree to meditate, happy that things were going well. The valley was at peace and the students were obedient, fought off all crime, and were leading honorable lives. As the hours led up to the morning and Shifu went to reawaken his students however, he had no idea that the moment of peace that he held in his head would soon come to an abrupt end.