Hey, everyone! Welcome to my first KFP fic :D It takes place after the third movie, so there WILL be spoilers! This is also just my third multi-chapter story, so I'm still getting used to writing anything longer than a one shot, which is what I usually do. But I'll try my best to get out frequent updates! I have lots planned and I hope you enjoy :)

Po couldn't believe it. After all these years of simply dreaming about becoming a Kung Fu master, that dream was finally a reality.

Weird; it felt like only yesterday when he'd first climbed up the dreaded stairs of the Jade Palace and lit up the fireworks that sent him over the stone walls, and then named the legendary Dragon Warrior.

Now he was a teacher, teaching anyone who wanted to know the art of Kung Fu. He couldn't believe that either, remembering how freaked out he'd been when Shifu first wanted him to start teaching.

But life was good. He had his friends and family who were always there for him no matter what, who had saved him from his ultimate demise in the Spirit Realm. It was then he realized that, in a way, they had taught themselves how to use the power of their Chi; he had simply taught them to always be yourself.

Kai was defeated and everything was back to normal. But if any more supernatural villains or regular bandits came along that Po was already used to fighting in the Valley of Peace, he and the Furious Five—along with new Panda Warriors—would be ready.

Yeah, life was good.

Birds were chirping underneath a bright blue sky, the sound of waterfalls flowing smoothly through beautiful greenery. Laughter rang throughout the village, and a certain black-and-white Dragon Warrior was running for his life away from one of the most feared villains of all: panda cubs!

The young cubs laughed with joy as they chased after Po throughout the village, knocking over other panda residents who unfortunately got in their way.

"Sorry!" Po called to them, cringing as an older panda fell over onto her side. Running out of breath, he stopped in a small clearing, bending over to try and get his breath back. Panting, he braced himself for the inevitable as the panda cubs tackled him to the ground, pinning him in place so that he had no chance of escaping their wrath.

"Oh no, the Dragon Warrior is down!" Po cried, gently swatting at the kids with his arms. "I can't take it! There's too many of them!"

Squealing with delight, the cubs screeched as they tickled him to death. Po couldn't help it; he burst out laughing, trying to escape their powerful clutches but to no avail. "Aw come on, pick on someone your own size!" Grinning, Po allowed his head to hit the grass underneath him. He closed his eyes, opening his mouth so that his tongue flopped out in a dramatic manner.

"Po?" One of the panda cubs, Bao, asked cautiously, climbing up on Po's stomach to get a better look at his face. "You're not dead."

Unable to carry out his prank any longer when little Lei Lei let out a small and worried cry, he peeked open one eye. "Nope!"

The kids screeched once more, leaping off of Po's stomach one by one and rolling onto the grass beside him so that he could stand up.

"Can you show us again?" Bao asked excitedly.

"Show you what?" Po asked, though he already knew what the little panda was talking about—it was a certain kind of power that he'd recently mastered, a power that glowed and had the ability to bring a withered flower back to life.

"You know!"

"Yeah, show us again!"

"I've shown you a million times and you're still not bored of it yet?" While the cubs knew how to practice Chi, their power was very limited when it was actually put to use. Sure, they had managed to pull it off after he'd used the Wuxi Finger Hold, but that was when everyone had used it together. They still had a lot more to learn, and now that Po had gotten over his fear of teaching, he was always more than happy to help the kids out.

"No way!" Bao exclaimed.

"Awesome!" Po grinned, getting himself ready. He looked left and right, searching for the perfect target to practice his Chi. A lifeless flower came into view. Perfect, he thought.

"Okay, okay. Here we go."

Po concentrated, focusing his gaze on the flower. He relaxed and raised a paw, closing his eyes.

It usually only took a few seconds for his power to start working, but he hadn't even realized that a few minutes had passed before Bao's voice broke his concentration.

"What's the matter?"

Po opened his eyes, only to see that his Chi's power hadn't kicked in yet. The flower hadn't budged, but that wasn't right! It might not have worked on the first night he tried before Tigress had come to the village, but his Chi was supposed to make it bloom. What was going on?

"Uhh, nothing," Po replied with a nervous grin. He hoped it was nothing, at least.

Turning his gaze back to the flower, he closed his eyes again and lifted his paw.

Relief swept through his body when a loud chorus of "ooh's" and "ahh's" met his ears as a golden glow appeared and wrapped around the flower, causing it to stand upright.

"Stripey baby," Lei Lei suddenly babbled. Po opened his eyes once more to see Tigress approaching the group.

"Master Shifu needs to speak with you," Tigress said, trying to hide a smile when Lei Lei waddled over to her, holding the Tigress figure that Po had given to her when he'd first arrived at the village.

"Am I in trouble?" Po asked, trying not to laugh at her obvious resistance to Lei Lei.

"Perhaps," Tigress answered plainly with a smirk. Her eyes landed on the flower that he had brought back to life. Her smirk turned into a small smile.

Po glanced up to where he knew his master was currently meditating, sitting on top of one of the village waterfalls.

"I'm here, Master Shifu," Po said, panting as he finally made it to the top of the waterfall. his master meditating. Shifu didn't respond.

"Uhh...Shifu?" Po asked, slowly walking towards him. "Tigress said you wanted to talk to me."

"We need to go back to the Valley of Peace," Shifu finally answered as he continued to meditate.

"The Valley of Peace?" Po questioned, surprised. How could he have forgotten about his home?! He'd been so wrapped up in the Panda Village...

Shifu smiled, finishing his relaxation and standing up from his sitting position to face Po. "The Jade Palace needs to be fixed, as well as whatever else Kai damaged during his 'visit.'"

"Oh yeah," Po said, regret flowing through him as he remembered how he'd left the palace unattended. He had been so mad at his father when Li told him the truth about not knowing Chi, but thankfully, all was forgiven and now he had two of the best dads in the world.

"We're leaving in two days," Shifu said, breaking Po out of his thoughts. "We all need to get our strength back, and I myself want to explore before leaving."

Shifu's words finally met Po's ears. Wait...leaving? He just got here! He couldn't leave now! Why hadn't Shifu told him about this before?! He knew that his master and the Furious Five would eventually leave, but not so soon after defeating Kai.

"I know you've just found your family and your home," Shifu said calmly, "and if I was in your place, I'd probably want to stay a little longer, too. Which is why I am giving you a choice."

"A choice?" Po asked cautiously.

"The choice to stay here in the village...or go back to the Valley of Peace."

What? He could stay here in the village or go back home? But the Panda Village was his home. Then again, both places were his home, weren't they? There was his master again, playing mind tricks on him just like he had when he had asked "Who are you?" even though he knew that he was the Dragon Warrior.

Shifu smirked at the Dragon Warrior's internal struggle. "I'm not asking you to choose sides."

"Yeah, but...the Jade Palace is my home! This village is my home! The Valley of Peace needs me, but..." Po looked out over the waterfall's edge, taking in the beautiful view that met his gaze, as well as the pandas enjoying what life had to offer. "These guys need me, too," he whispered.

He still had so much more to teach them.

"You are free to go back whenever you wish," Shifu offered, taking his staff in hand and heading down the waterfall's pathway. "Think about it."

But Po was already thinking, and he was having a lot of trouble deciding.