The Force That Connects Us All {Kai x OC}

Book 1 : Chapter 2

It was a grand celebration. All the villagers from the Valley of Peace gathered in a space inside the gates to the great Hall of Heroes. Younglings were running around with firecrackers, giggling as they did. Older folk were playing musical instruments, dancing, going around under a Chinese dragon costume. Shai looked down at them, standing at the top of the stairs with Oogway. She drew in a sharp, shaky breath. She didn't want to admit it, but she was a little scared about this whole thing; she hadn't been to a gathering like this in 20yrs.
Oogway picked up on it and placed a comforting hand on her arm. "Why are you so nervous, my student," he asked, beginning to make his way down the stairs.
Shia followed and chuckled nervously. "I haven't been out in public eye for two decades, Master."
"Ah," he began, "You are afraid of what they'll think of you?"
"No. No, it's not that."
Oogway smiled, "Or, is it that you're afraid of what they will say about your brother when they see you?"
The memory of when Tai Lung had gone into a rage and attacked the village flashed across her mind like a lightning bolt. She remembered all the bad things people had said about him; that he was a crazy, power hungry psycho that wanted everything for himself. Just those echoing voices filled her with boiling waters of anger. "He wasn't all bad, Master," Shai blurted. "He had good in him. Although it wasn't a lot, it was still there! I just..." she sighed.
"I understand, Shai. You don't like anyone dishonouring your friends and family. But, you must let go of the past." Shai glanced at him. "Remember this," he continued, "Yesterday is history, Tommorow is a mystery, But today is a gift."
Shai smiled at that, "Yes, Master. Thank you."

Once the two reached the last flight of stairs to the large gathering, Shifu rushed up to them. He looked Shai up and down, nodding approvingly. She was wearing a dark purple silk shirt, its short sleeves exposing her large, muscular arms; a silver Peachtree branch embroidered into the front. Her pants were pitch black, made of a different fabric. "You should wear that colour more often, Shai. It brings out your eyes."
Shai scoffed playfully, "Thanks... I think."
Shifu turned to Oogway, "This is such an exciting day!"
"Yes, it is, old friend," Oogway answered, "One I feared I might not live to see."
Satisfied, Shifu faced the giant crowd of villagers - pigs, bunnies and geese. "Welcome, citizens of the Valley of Peace," he said, resulting in erupting cheers. "Today is the day Master Oogway will choose the Dragon Warrior, who will become the greatest Kung Fu legend in all of China. He or she will be the one to bring true peace to the Valley!" The crowd cheered again, though Shai couldn't tell if they had even stopped. Shifu then gestured to her; she froze. "And, making her first appearance in 20yrs, is the great Master Shai Lung - the Spirit Warrior!" Shai swallowed her fear and lifted her head, glancing around at the villagers below. Some of them stopped their cheers, others continued. The red, gold and green gates shut. "Now, please welcome... the Furious Five!"
Shai watched as they leapt off the roofs of the buildings, going high into the air. Tigress landed first, then Monkey, Viper, and Mantis. Before Crane landed, he let out a huge wing beat that sent a large gust of wind through the crowd. All of the people cheered.
Shai chuckled to herself; the people loved them. She couldn't blame them. They had taken over a lot of the battles the public saw after they were ready to face foes on their own. Shai knew a lot of the people had either:
•Heard only the bad things her brother did, so now they were thinking she'd go psycho, too, or,
•They just didn't know her at all.
She had fought side by side with her brother, winning against everyone they had faced. 20yrs earlier, they were known as the "Siblings of War". Once the Five were trained up to where they could fend for themselves - and even before - Shai had fought the lesser known wars on her own. Those that were caused by evil beings from the Spirit Realm...
BOOM!
Shai was snapped out of her thoughts by a loud explosion coming from above. She looked up and was met with Crane dodging flying bombs, the 1,000 Tongues of Death. She smiled. She then turned her red-yellow eyes to the rest of the Five, then glanced at Oogway. She had this funny feeling that none of the Furious Five would be the Dragon Warrior.

-----

Half the day was over, and they were finally onto the last demonstration. "And now, Master Tigress," Shifu called. "Believe me, folks, you have not seen anything yet!"
Beyond the wall, Shai heard a frustrated, muffled voice. "I know!" He yelled.
One of the trees outside began bending like an elastic pole. A few moments later, a blur of black and white - a panda - flew over the gate in an arch. It hit the corner of one of the roofs, then bounced back out. When she saw him fly over, Shai had felt a slight tug on her soul; it pointed right at the strange, flying panda. Shai glanced over to Oogway as he said, "The Dragon Warrior is among us." The crowd gasped with curiosity. She wondered if Oogway had felt that same tug. She looked down at the Five from the top of the last flight of stairs that lead to the demo platform; Tigress hadn't even started yet, by the looks of things, and she seemed to be just as confused and curious as the rest of her teammates. Shifu nodded, and the Five stood in the middle of the arena. Oogway began making his way down the stairs, the tense excitement growing like a thick vine.
"I love Kung Fuuuuuuu!"
It was that same voice again, though, this time it wasn't agitated. She could hear it better than last time, but it was still pretty muffled. Just when Shai thought she may have been going crazy, and that she was hearing things, a loud crackling sound burst through the air. A few short moments later, the same black and white blur shot up into the sky, fireworks exploding around it. The crowd "Oo!"-ed and "Ahh!"-ed at the magnificent sight. Then, the blur dropped from the sky, crashing into the stone ground with a huge, echoing thud. Shai didn't realise, but Oogway had made his way over to the Five and stood in front of Tigress, pointing at the large heap of black and white on the grey stone. The Five were in their battle stances, readying themselves for a fight. The panda groaned in pain and dizziness, his eyes fluttering open to reveal two bright green orbs. Shai stared at him - that tug on her soul was so strong now, it felt as though it would fling her over to this newcomer at any second. Shai could tell what was going on, yet she couldn't see or hear it clearly. Then, bricks of realisation smacked her in the face. "Behold," Oogway said, holding the panda's large arm up with the curved, u-shaped end of his wooden staff. "The Dragon Warrior!"
A gong went off, then bits of colourful paper burst out of cannons, the cheerful music starting up once more. Master Shifu was furious. He rushed down to Master Oogway and began talking with him. The panda was then  being carried to the stairs towards the Hall of Heroes. As he came to the bottom of the stairs, she could just hear Shifu say, "This is just an accident! You were about to point at Tigress when that THING fell in front of her!"
"There are no accidents." Oogway responded.
When the panda was being carried up the first few stairs, the seat broke, and the geese could no longer carry him. A few pigs rushed over and lifted him. When that happened, Shifu looked between him and Oogway, to which Master Oogway shrugged.