I do not own Kung Fu Panda. I only own my OCs.

All Because of an Apple

A figure was crouched in the shadows beside the food stalls that lined the market of the small village in the heart of China. Overlooking the village was the Jade Palace, which loomed in the distance in the mountains. The figure watched the bustling activity of the afternoon rush with calculating eyes. She could have waited until the market was close to empty, but she was starving. She hadn't eaten in three days, and the lack of sleep was starting to take its toll.

The white fox cub sighed in annoyance, blinking her small yellow eyes and adjusted her stance. The female Corsac fox was waiting for the right moment to strike. The crowd was too thick for her to slip through. She needed it to thin out a bit so she could have cover and not have some good citizen catch her.

You should have stayed at the orphanage.

Jadyn snorted and dismissed the thought from her mind instantly. So she got fed at the orphanage three times a day. It was so not worth the abuse she took. And apparently defending yourself was a crime. Okay…so maybe throwing Joey through the window wasn't the best idea. But it wasn't a far drop, and he was fine. Besides, he was the one who started the whole thing.

And you finished it.

Jadyn smirked, and noticed that the crowd had thinned out. Here goes nothing...

Jumping out from her hiding place, she snagged three apples and two oranges from the stall she had been crouching beside. She was a good distance away when the owner finally noticed his missing fruit.

"Thief!"

The shout was carried far across the square. Jadyn scowled when three rhino guards came seemingly out of nowhere, thundering after her. "Seriously? It's just fruit! No need to make a big deal."

Jadyn scanned the square as she dodged the merchants and avoided the grabbing hands of patrons trying to be helpful. There were six guards that patrolled the square every day, and three of them were on her tail. Where are the other three?

"Halt!"

You had to ask.

Jadyn halted on the stone path and glanced behind her. The six guards were closing in on her, and small brick buildings closed her in. There were no alleys to duck into and there was no way she was tossing her fruit. She was starving.

A flash of green caught her eye, and she spotted a green blanket tied to a couple of wooden planks over the entrance to one of the buildings. Running, Jadyn jumped onto a pile of boxes and launched herself onto the blanket. It creaked under her weight, but at least she was above her would-be captors. She stuffed her fruit in the pockets of her red cloak and tied the gold strings tightly, so her cloak wouldn't flap in the cool wind. A ladder clattered beside her, and Jadyn watched, amused, as the heavy rhino guards started to climb.

"You have got to be joking." Jadyn placed a furry paw on the top of the wooden ladder and pushed with all her might. It teetered for a slow moment, but fell backwards. Jadyn laughed and pulled herself onto the flat roof of the building.

Wiggling her toes against the rough bricks, she took a deep breath and sprinted to edge. Leaping off, she flew through the air and landed on the roof of the next-door building. The guards shouted after her, but Jadyn grinned and continued jumping from rooftop to rooftop until she was a safe distance away.

Jadyn smiled and made her way to the soft ground. She was now at the village limits, and she scaled a tree that overlooked a wide creek. Swinging her foot lazily, she pulled an apple from her pocket and took a bite. Tastes like victory.

"I know food is great and all, but is it really worth going through what you went through?"

Jadyn froze, the half-finished apple falling to the ground below due to her loss of grip. Peering down from her perch above, she gaped at the rather large panda staring sternly up at her.

It was just apples and oranges! Why is the Dragon Warrior here? Oh man...

Jadyn had no problem outsmarting a couple of lumbering rhinos or beating up annoying rabbits like Joey. But she seriously doubted her ability to elude the Dragon Warrior.

You'll never know unless you try.

True. It wasn't like she had something to lose. Besides her freedom...and it was obvious she was going to have to fight for that.

"Well, when you haven't eaten in three days, you tend to get desperate," she replied.

With that said Jadyn removed the orange from her pocket and split it in two. Before Po knew what was going on, he was soon blinded by orange juice. Jadyn jumped from branch to branch, ducking leaves and tuning out Po's anguished shrieks.

It had been through experience that she learned many things. One of them was that if the opponent that was after you looked like they could skip a few meals, escape by rooftop or whatever else that was high up. Good chances were they couldn't climb without assistance.

Jadyn glanced behind her and groaned. Po was quickly gaining, and was leaping with more grace and skill than she through the branches.

Well, he is the Dragon Warrior. But what kind of name is Po?

Jadyn snickered slightly. She continued her pace, hoping her pursuer would tire out soon.

Po panted, and grunted when he got another branch to the face. He could not help but feel a bit bad for the cub that was trying hard to escape him. After all, she had just revealed she had not eaten in three days. It was simply unimaginable (to him, anyways).

He would soon be upon her, and it seemed that she was aware of it. She kept glancing over her shoulder every second or two. The creek had soon opened to a large body of water. The fox cub stopped on a low branch that stooped over the clear blue water.

Then she jumped.

Po jumped to the ground with little grace, and stared in horror at the water. But as soon as she had jumped in, she popped through the surface, blowing a jet of water into the air with her mouth and treading where she was. She surveyed him for a moment, her red cloak billowing around her. Po dipped his toe in and instantly pulled it back. It's freezing!

"Um...do you think you could come out?"

The cub grinned. "I don't think so. But before I go, what does the great Dragon Warrior want with me?"

"Well...you have been stealing from the villagers for a while now. Master decided the village guards were too dense to handle a mere child, so he sent me to stop your little crime spee."

"Hoping that this would be quick and easy?"

Po slumped. "Yeah."

She studied him for a moment with those yellow eyes, her white fur matted down. "I suppose I ought to introduce myself. My name is Jadyn. No last name-don't know my parentage. And maybe I'll be seeing you again."

Before Po could respond, Jadyn ducked back under the blue water and disappeared. "Shifu is going to kill me."

...

Jadyn climbed onto the muddy bank, coughing and sputtering. Shaking out her fur, she shivered and looked around. The sky was an orangey glow, and night would soon fall. She wadded her cloak up into a soggy ball and stuffed it in her small leather bag. She smoothed out her damp black slacks and wrung out her beige shirt. "That was fun."

She paused, aware of a sudden movement in the cluster of trees overhead. She glanced in the water, and saw the reflection of a figure darting towards her, moving like a monkey.

Oh please no.

Jadyn backed up into the thicket, slightly panicked. She had escaped Po on a whim, taking a guess that he couldn't swim. While she had been right, she didn't expect to be ever be able to escape him again.

A twig snapped behind her, and Jadyn whirled around to see the Furious Five facing her in their battle stances.

How am I supposed to get out of this one?