I was approached by vampygurl402 with a request to create a one-shot story for their good friend arashi wolf princess a few months back for their birthday in August. Unfortunately due to a series of events happening one after the other in my personal life, I was forced to set Fanfiction aside for a few months and focus on reality.
But, now things are finally calmed down enough that I can finally start getting back to writing more KFP fics and stories again. I do apologize that this story is extremely late in being published vampygurl and arashi, but I do hope you can forgive me.
Vampygurl came up with a very basic idea for the plot of this TiPo fic but basically gave me free reign to take it where I wanted to go with it, so I hope I do not disappoint.
and now, please...Enjoy the read!
Disclaimer: I don not own Kung Fu Panda or any of it's characters...
"For Being You"
Created by Pandafan91
Dedicated to arashi wolf princess
Requested by vampygurl402
Happy Belated Birthday arashi
The sun was steadily rising high up above the mountains surrounding the Valley of Peace that morning, bringing with it the promise of yet another beautiful day. Down in the Village stationed in the heart of the Valley, the citizens were already bustling about well into their day. Vendors and Merchants were calling out their sales and bargains to the people, while the many children played joyously in the streets, as their mothers watched them off from the sides and chatted relentlessly about the latest gossip with one another. It was simply just one of those peaceful days that one came to expect when living in a place as glorious as the Valley of Peace.
Meanwhile, up above the Village, a single figure could be seen slowly making her way down a set of long…or rather, a set of REALLY long stone steps. It was a young Southern Chinese Tiger girl who could have been no more than 5 maybe 6 years old perhaps. Her name was Tigress... just Tigress. Before coming to the Valley she used to go by a different name, but ever since Master Shifu freed her from that wretched place she used to call her home, she tried her best not to think of anything that would remind her of her time she once spent at the Orphanage known as Bao Gu.
As the young girl continued to descend the steps, she briefly recalled the reason she was even walking down them in the first place. Master Shifu had come to her that morning which wasn't necessarily unusual, but this time he had a task for her to complete and it wasn't dusting the artifacts that were on display in the Hall of Heroes.
One hour ago, back within the kitchen near the student barracks…
Tigress was standing up on a small stool in front of the kitchen stove, as she carefully poured herself a small cup of tea to go with her breakfast for that morning. Even though Master Shifu had rescued her from the Bao Gu orphanage and she had only been living at the Jade Palace for a total of 2 months now, Tigress had come to learn many things in such a short time. One of those things was that she was responsible for making her own meals from time to time and so she had learned from one of the Palace servants how to make a small variety of dishes to feed herself.
Once she had filled her tea cup, Tigress carefully placed the pot back onto then stove and carried her cup in both paws as she hopped down from her stool and over to the kitchen table, where a small bowl of rice sitting next to a plate with 2 bean buns and a single peach were waiting for her. Back in Bao Gu, Tigress was lucky to even get a few pieces of bread and some water, maybe even some warm soup on occasion for her meals, but that was because the Orphanage had always been low on funds and couldn't always afford the best food for the children and had to make do with what they could afford… or so she was always told anyway.
Tigress always had the suspicion that because she was the least liked among all the children by the caretakers due to her nature, that she had always been given the lowest quality of the food for her meals. There were a few times she had either been given bread with some mold on it, or her soup was simply ice cold by the time it ever got to her. But here…here she didn't have to worry about that anymore.
As Tigress began to eat her breakfast by taking a small bite out of one of the fresh bean buns, a single voice called out from her left and startled the young girl, "Tigress."
Instantly, Tigress whipped her head up and turned to the right to see a familiar Red Panda standing in the doorway next to an Old tortoise. Tigress immediately swallowed her food and climbed down from her seat quickly to stand before the two figures and bowed deeply in respect while saying, "Good morning Masters."
Shifu nodded in recognition while Master Oogway smiled kindly at the young girl and replied, "Good morning indeed, little one. Tell us Tigress, did you sleep well last night?" Tigress straightened up and smiled at the turtle before replying, "Yes Master Oogway, thank you." Oogway nodded as he walked in to the kitchen and sat down next to where Tigress was sitting, while Shifu stood up on the seat across from her.
After Tigress returned to her seat, Shifu then began, "Tigress, we'd like to discuss your schedule for the day." Immediately Tigress placed the spoon full of rice she was about to put in her mouth back into her bowl and asked, "Is it about my training Master Shifu? Will I be learning something new?" But to Tigress's disappointment, Shifu just shook his head before saying, "No. this morning you will not be spending any time in the Training hall. Instead, Master Oogway has seen fit to give you a special task to complete today."
Tigress's eyes widened in disbelief before she turned to face the old turtle and asked, "Really!?" Oogway smiled as he nodded and explained, "Indeed child. As you no doubt have realized, our rice supply has been running a little bit low as of late and after Master Shifu explained to me how your training has been coming along and how much stronger you've gotten, we have decided to send you down into the Village to acquire some more rice for the kitchen."
At this, Tigress's ears fell almost instantly as she repeated in a much quieter and obviously much more disappointed tone, "R-really?" At this point Shifu nodded once before saying, "That's correct. After you finish your breakfast you are to go down into the Village Market place and acquire one sack of fresh rice to bring back up here to the Barracks kitchen and you must do so alone with no help from anyone."
Tigress briefly swallowed a lump in her throat while Oogway explained, "You have been with us now for the past 2 months young Tigress, yet you have not once left the Jade Palace. I believe this will be the perfect opportunity for you to get a good and proper look of your new home." Tigress then looked up to see Oogway was smiling genuinely down at her while Shifu added, "It will also be a good chance to test your endurance; carrying that much rice through the village and up those steps will be a rather nice test for you. The only rule you must follow is that you must NOT tear the rice sack with your claws. Do you understand? Not only will you lose the rice, but it will also mean that you have failed this task."
Tigress nodded immediately while saying, "I understand, Master." Shifu nodded while Oogway then said, "Excellent. You will leave right after you finish eating, but first I want you to come and see me in the Hall of Heroes beforehand. I will have something you will require in order to obtain the rice." At this Tigress just nodded as both Shifu and Oogway got up and left the young Tiger to finish her meal. But as Tigress continued staring at the bowl of rice, she soon came to realize that she wasn't all that hungry anymore.
End of Flashback…
As Tigress finished recalling the memory, she briefly looked down at her waist, where a single scroll could be seen strapped to her thanks to a dark gray sash. It was the scroll Master Oogway had given her to show proof that Tigress was on an errand for the Jade Palace, nothing more. But that still didn't mean that Tigress wasn't going to be extra careful with the scroll. After all, it was her ticket to getting the Rice sack.
Pretty soon Tigress had finally reached the bottom of the Thousand steps and immediately her eyes widened in wonder while the young Tiger exclaimed in a quiet whisper, "Wow."
Dozens of Villagers were bustling about the streets going every which way. To her left, Tigress could see a goose calling out to every passerby-er that his apples were the freshest around! While an older pig lady tried to coax a bunny woman into buying a rather stunning ruby necklace she had on display. Tigress was so captivated by all the excitement that she almost completely forgot the reason she was even down here in the first place, until her paw briefly brushed up against the scroll strapped to her waist and then once again Tigress was back to business.
"Right...I have a task to complete while I'm here. I can't disappoint Master Shifu today...but...then again, Master Oogway did say I should be able to get familiar with this place while I'm down here. Hmmm...maybe just a quick look around?" And so, once Tigress came to that conclusion, she immediately began walking past the Red Gate situated at the bottom of the Thousand steps and immersed herself completely in the crowds of people bustling about the village.
The Village was so full of life as Tigress slowly made her way through the busy streets and towards the Market. On a few occasions she had accidentally bumped into a random stranger and would apologize at once, but usually the person would ignore her and return to whatever it was they were doing. Or at least, that's how it all started...
As Tigress made her way deeper and deeper into the heart of the village, the young Tiger cub was becoming more and more aware of the fact that the people were beginning to stare at her and slowly but surely, the faces on some of the more older villagers were twisting from happy smiles, to looks of utter disgust at the mere sight of her.
Now, for as long as she could remember, everyone she had ever come into contact with in the past had one thing in common. They feared Tigress. Some said it was because of her claws and fangs. Others said it was because of her unusual amount of strength. But these people...with these villagers, Tigress saw something else in their eyes. It was contempt, but Tigress couldn't for the life of her figure out what it was she had done to deserve such treatment. After all, this was her first visit into the Village since Master Shifu brought her to the Valley.
Deciding that she'd better give up on the sightseeing, Tigress quickened her pace and made a beeline for the marketplace.
After about another 5 minutes of avoiding dark glares and looks, Tigress finally entered the heart of the village and began searching for the proper Merchant that Master Oogway had described to her. Pretty soon she managed to find a middle aged sheep merchant who was selling rice to other various customers, and so Tigress quickly moved to stand in line and wait.
After about 10 or so minutes of waiting for the merchant to finish doing business with the other customers ahead of her, Tigress approached the edge of the stand and said, "Excuse me sir, but I'm here to retrieve some rice for the Jade Palace."
The sheep looked down at Tigress and once again the poor girl was faced with a look of initial shock and then disgust, causing the young feline's ears to drop almost immediately. Why was it that wherever she went, the people always seemed to hate her? What was wrong with her? Tigress was almost too wrapped up in her own thoughts that she almost missed the sheep muttering, "Another one? When will Master Oogway learn?"
The Sheep then shifted his attitude slightly and asked, "What can I do for you? Make it quick now, I have many customers to sell to today!" Tigress nodded quickly before saying, "Yes Sir, like I said, I'm here to pick up some Rice for the Jade Palace. Here, Master Oogway gave me this to give to you to show you I'm telling the truth!" Tigress then reached for her sash and pulled out the Scroll and held it up to the Sheep in both paws.
The Sheep stared at the scroll briefly before he took it from the young feline and began reading it's contents. It was indeed a message from Master Oogway himself, explaining that Tigress was indeed on an errand for the Jade Palace and that he was to give her one sack of Rice to bring back to the Palace. In doing so, the sheep would receive his payment for the rice at the end of the week as per their agreement. The message ended with Master Oogway's signature at the bottom of the scroll.
As the Sheep rolled up the scroll, he sighed briefly before saying,"Alright, everything checks out. Just one moment now while I get you your order. Are you sure you can handle it though little girl?" Tigress nodded quickly at the sheep before saying seriously, "Yes sir. Master Shifu and Master Oogway sent me here to get the rice, so I cannot disappoint them." the Sheep just nodded before he turned around and walked back a few paces and over to his supply of rice.
In no time at all the sheep had returned and proceeded to place a sack that was maybe just as big as Tigress was herself, down in front of the cub and said, "There you are girl. Give my regards to the Masters. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other customers to tend to." and with that, the Sheep left Tigress to tend to the next customer in line.
Tigress stood there staring at the sack of rice she was expected to carry all the way back up to the Jade Palace. The bag was practically just as big as she was! How was she supposed to carry it all the way up the Thousand Steps!? Deciding that there was no point in standing around while the people nearby continued to scold her, Tigress quickly lifted the bag in both paws and proceeded to slowly make her way back to the Jade Palace, trying to recall the path she had taken to get to the market place to begin with.
Getting back to the Jade Palace was a lot harder than getting into the village. Everywhere she went, Tigress had to be extra careful not to bump into a random person or drop the burlap sack of rice, which was proving to be much heavier than she had originally anticipated, despite her strength. Add that to the fact that the rice was constantly shifting around in the sack so much that the bag's shape was shifting and changing so often that Tigress was struggling to maintain her hold on it.
And with Master Shifu's warning about not tearing at the bag with her claws constantly ringing in her mind, Tigress was so focused on not dropping the sack that she completely forgot to pay attention to where she was going until it was too late and she collided with someone she never even saw coming.
"Oomph!?" Tigress called out, before time seemed to slow. She had barely even registered that someone nearby had suddenly screamed out "Woah!?". Whatever she walked into, it was big enough to knock Tigress backwards a bit and fall down, causing her to lose her grip on the sack of rice all together.
As Tigress watched the rice fall out of her paws, she instinctively cried out, "Oh no!" and reached for the bag with her right paw and that's when she heard the worst sound she could have possibly imagined, as she listened to the burlap sack tear open.
When Tigress reached out to catch the sack, she had completely forgotten about her claws and accidentally managed to tear the sack of rice near the top of the bag, causing a decent portion of the sack's contents to spill out into the street. "Oh no..." Tigress whispered in horror as she stared at the bag that was now lying on the ground, while a few more grains spilled out onto the street. She had failed. Master Shifu gave her a task and she had failed. How was she going to explain this too both him and Master Oogway!? But as Tigress was panicking over this, she suddenly heard a nearby voice cry out, "Oww... Ooooh... that was rough."
Looking over, Tigress was actually surprised to see a young Panda boy, who looked to be relatively close to her own age and was wearing brown pants and matching brown shoes, was now pushing himself up off the ground and shaking his head a bit, like he was dizzy. Immediately Tigress covered her mouth with her paws and nearly cried out, "Oh no! I'm so sorry! I'm really, really, really sorry!"
The Panda then finished shaking his head a bit and turned himself over to sit down on the ground, before he rubbed his nose with his right paw while saying, "Wow...that really did hurt...Huh?" It was then the Panda opened his eyes and saw the Tiger girl who was sitting just a few paces in front of him while covering her face a bit, her eyes wide with a mixture of both fear and concern.
"Please don't scream." she begged in a slight whisper through her paws, causing the Panda to raise an eyebrow in confusion after he stopped rubbing his sore nose and asked, "Scream? Why would I do that? I mean, yeah sure my nose hurts a little bit, but not THAT bad...are you okay?" Tigress's eyes widened even more as she looked upon the Panda's worried expression while he looked her over making sure she didn't appear to be hurt. "What's going on? Isn't he going to scream or run away? Isn't...Isn't he afraid of me?" but as Tigress was wondering this, the Panda had tilted his head to the side and asked nervously, "Um...Are you okay? Did you hit your head too?"
Tigress immediately snapped back to reality and shook her head no, but said nothing. The Panda seemed to relax a bit after seeing this for a few seconds, before his eyes widened in realization and he nearly shouted, "Oh no! Where is it!?" immediately the Panda turned around and relaxed a bit when he saw what he was looking for. "Oh wow! That was lucky. The bag never even broke at all!" Tigress watched as the Panda got to his feet and walked over to a burlap sack that was lying on the ground, similar to her own and Tigress realized that he must have been carrying it when she walked into him.
While the Panda was examining his own sack of rice, Tigress looked over at her own damaged sack and immediately her ears fell once more as she remembered she had failed Master Shifu. while Tigress was wondering what her punishment might be, the Panda had then walked back over to her once more and asked, "So, what's your name? I don't think I've seen you around here before." Tigress looked up to see the Panda was now standing in front of her with his own bag sitting next to him while he was smiling down at her.
Tigress stared up at the Panda who was just waiting patiently for a response. What was this boy's deal? Why was he being so nice to her? Usually whenever people saw Tigress, they either ignored her, scolded her, or ran away from her. "Umm...did you hurt your face or something too?" Tigress looked up to see the Panda boy was now kneeling in front of her while tilting his head and giving her a worried look, so she immediately shook her head no in response to his question. "Then... why are you holding your face like that?" the Panda asked innocently.
In truth, Tigress didn't have that great of an answer for that particular question, other than to say that she was trying to hide her fangs from the Panda so that he didn't scream and run away in fear. But ultimately she decided not to explain that to the boy, since he had yet to yell at her and so she slowly lowered her paws from her face and revealed her fangs to the Panda, expecting the worst. But to her surprise the Panda just smiled as he extended his paw and just said, "Here, let me help you up." Tigress just stared at the paw briefly before taking it and the boy helped the Tiger up to her feet. once she was up, The Panda put both paws on his hips and smiled while saying, "There you go. So...what was your name again?"
Tigress hesitated for a moment as she began to subconsciously hold herself before answering, "It's...Tigress. My name... is Tigress." but as soon as the words left her mouth Tigress instantly closed her eyes and looked away from the Panda, as if in an attempt to hide from him. "Surely he'll have heard the awful stories of "Tigress the Monster" from back at the Orphanage and he's going to turn around and run away any second-" but before Tigress could finish the thought the Panda boy then replied cheerfully, "Tigress huh? That's a nice and easy name to remember. I like it!"
Again, Tigress's eyes widened even more and slowly she looked back to see the Panda was still smiling at her. "He...likes my name? Just who is this boy?" And as if in response to her question, the Panda offered his paw once more and said cheerfully, "My name is Po! Po Ping! It's nice to meet you, Tigress!"
Tigress just stared at the extended paw in confusion and before long, the moment quickly became awkward. "Um...you're supposed to shake it, like this!" Po explained and immediately the Panda reached forward and grabbed one of Tigress's paws. The instant he made contact, Tigress panicked and almost shouted, "Wait, please don't!-" but it was too late, Po had brought her right paw forward and grabbed it with his own and shook it up and down 3 times before saying, "There you go. that wasn't so hard, right?"
Once Po released her, Tigress quickly retracted her paw and just stared at the Panda who was still smiling at her like he was crazy. This Panda was perhaps the greatest mystery Tigress had ever encountered in her short life and yet being in the presence of someone who was remotely close to the same age as her and wasn't running away terrified, was both an unnerving experience, while also simply astounding.
Tigress just shook her head no in response to the Panda's question and immediately the Panda looked over to her own sack of rice and said, "It's a shame about your rice. But at least you didn't lose too much of it." Tigress could tell the Panda was only trying to make her feel better, but she knew it would be futile. Tigress then looked over to the sack and said, "It doesn't matter...once Master Shifu sees the bag, he'll know I tore it with my claws. He gave me one rule to follow, not to tear the sack with my claws, even by accident, and I failed him."
Tigress then looked back over towards Po and was surprised to see his smile had been replaced with a look of utter shock and bewilderment. "W-what?"Tigress asked nervously before Po replied, "M-M-M-Master...S-S-S-Shifu!? You're going to see...Master Shifu!?" Tigress nodded cautiously before revealing, "Yes...he is My Master after all." But as soon as Tigress said this the Panda gasped before rushing up to her and shouted practically in her face, "MASTER SHIFU, IS YOUR MASTER!?" Tigress stared at the Panda who was now rather EXTREMELY close to her face for a long uncomfortable moment, blinking her eyes on occasion before repeating, "Yes."
Po then released a breath that neither one knew he was even holding, before he nearly screamed again, "That is so AWESOME! So you really are a Kung Fu Student!? That explains why I've never seen you before. Oh, that has got to be so cool! Practicing Kung Fu all day, training with the Great Master Shifu. Hey, have you met Master Oogway!?"
Again Tigress simply nodded her head at the Panda's rambling, not even noticing the small smile beginning to spread across her face thanks to the panda's excitement and the boy finally took a step back while whispering "Awesome...oh man, you're so lucky to get to live up at the Jade Palace." Tigress nodded in agreement as she admitted, "You have no idea. If I was never brought there...I don't know what I might have done."
At this, Tigress once again reached up and grabbed her own arm with her paw while Po continued on as if not hearing her, "I mean, pretty soon maybe you can be a great warrior like Master Shifu and then all of China will be cheering for you! Master Tigress of the Jade Palace...wow...hey, what's wrong?"
As soon as Po finished his rambling he eventually noticed the Tiger cub was now gripping herself rather tightly with a serious frown now on her face. Po then stepped forward and asked once more, his own ears now falling slightly, "Tigress...did I say something wrong? I'm sorry." But the Tiger just shook her head as she admitted, "No...It's just...I don't think people will be cheering for me like you say. Most of the time, they don't want anything to do with me."
This absolutely confused the Panda. This girl seemed really nice. Maybe a little shy, but nice. So why wouldn't anyone want to get to know her? "What do you mean?" Po asked innocently. Tigress sighed before she revealed, "It's just...most of the time, whenever someone sees my fangs...or these claws...they just run away from me. My whole life I've been called a monster, just because of what I am...so why would that change just because of Kung Fu, or Master Shifu?"
Po stared at the Tiger girl as she looked away and slowly his ears began to fall down against his head again. He had only just met this girl a few moments ago and yet for some reason, though he couldn't quite explain it, seeing her upset like this, it just didn't sit well with the Panda. So after thinking about what he could say for a moment, Po put on his best smile yet and said, "What are you talking about? Why would anyone be scared of you just because of those?"
Tigress's eyes widened slightly as she looked back at the Panda as he continued, "I mean, you're a Tiger right? aren't you supposed to have sharp teeth and claws? And hey, I'm a Panda and I'm supposed to have sharp claws too...but I usually bite on mine when I'm nervous, no matter how much My dad tells me not too." as Po said this he began to scratch the back of his neck sheepishly.
Tigress was simply blown away by the boy's words. But before she could manage to get a word out, Po brought his paw down and reached forward grabbing Tigress's paw once more and turned it over to face upward and said, "You're claws are a part of who you are, like your fangs. But that doesn't mean that they are ALL you are. They're just a part of you and I think nobody should judge you just for being you, until they get to know you. I mean, look at me, we just met and I'm not scared of you. In fact...I think you're really nice!"
Tigress was in awe at the Panda's confession for a few seconds before she managed to ask, "You...you do?" Po just smiled as he nodded his head and confirmed cheerfully, "Yup!" causing Tigress to smile once more and this time she even managed to giggle a little. Seeing this only served to make the Panda smile even more. But it was just then that he remembered that he had to get back home with his own rice for his Dad. "Oh no, I totally forgot about my Dad! He's going to be upset with me if I'm not home soon with the Rice."
Po then began walking over to his own sack of rice and proceeded to pick it up, swinging the sack over his shoulder. Tigress nodded and said, "I better not keep you any more then. I need to get back to the Palace too...and tell Master Shifu about what happened." at this, Tigress looked over and down to the ground at the torn rice bag and the spilled contents still lying in the street and her ears fell once again, dreading the reaction that she was sure to receive from the Red Panda. Po saw this and he immediately felt sorry for the girl.
He had heard stories about how harsh Master Shifu could be sometimes from the many servants who worked in the Jade Palace whenever they stopped by the noodle shop for a quick meal before heading home for the night. Sure he was a well respected Teacher and an incredible warrior, despite receiving a permanent injury to his one hip from some battle a few years back, but those stories alone were enough to make the Panda nervous for this girl. He may have only just met her, but Po still didn't want Tigress to get into any trouble just because she accidentally spilled some rice.
It was just then when Po suddenly began to ponder over an idea. He was probably going to get into some real trouble for this later with his Dad, but after watching the Tiger girl sulk for a moment more, he decided it might still be worth it.
So, after coming to his decision, with a small sigh, Po walked back over to the Tiger and brought the sack of rice around and handed it out to her while saying, "Here... you can take mine." Tigress slowly looked up from the ground and over to the outstretched rice and then over to the Panda. At first, Tigress suspected the boy was pulling some sort of prank on her, but after staring into his Jade green eyes for a brief moment, she realized that this boy was being completely serious and sincere...and she had no idea what to do.
Neither one said anything at first, but eventually it was Tigress who asked, "W-Why? Why would you want to give me your rice!?" Po just smiled as he reached out a little further with the rice and said, "Because I don't want you to get into trouble. I'd be a pretty bad friend if I just let that happen, right?"
Hearing this caused Tigress to gasp slightly while her eyes shot wide open in surprise. "A friend...he...did he just call me his... friend!?" Tigress then managed to whisper, "F-friend? You want to be friends...with me?" Tigress had never had someone actually want to be her friend before so this was completely new territory for the Tiger girl, but as soon as she asked the question, the Panda's face faltered a bit and fell, as did his ears as he replied in a significantly sadder tone, "Well... only if you want to be...I...you see, I don't exactly have any friends, so I guess I'll understand if you don't want to be one."
Tigress Watched as the Panda's face slowly became covered with sadness and quickly she realized that she was rather familiar with that expression all too well. It was the same look she had worn for such a long part of her life. Never did she think she could ever meet someone who would have something in common with her. Apparently, she wasn't the only one in the world who had a hard time being accepted by others.
Without even meaning to, and without so much as thinking of any potential consequences, Tigress quickly rushed past the Panda's still outstretched arm and moved in closer. before she registered what it was she was about to do, she feared of the consequences of her action could possibly bring her and then it happened. She was stopped.
As Tigress stood there in the street now hugging the Panda, whose eyes were now wide open with surprise like hers had been seconds before, Tigress realized that she wasn't falling forward. She had practically jumped at the Panda and instead of knocking him over and down to the ground with her strength, she was simply stopped once she made contact with him. It certainly wasn't anything she was expecting and clearly the Panda boy was surprised too, so before he could get the chance to get upset by her action Tigress gripped the Panda in a hug and whispered, "I've never had one before... but I'd be honored to call you my friend."
Po's eyes looked down at the Feline who was hugging him and he managed to find his voice as he asked, "R-Really? You mean it!?" Tigress nodded into the Panda's shoulder, afraid to look at the bear until she heard him cry out in joy, "Awesome!"
Tigress then looked up to see the Panda once again smiling down at her with happiness as he stepped back and handed the rice back to her, motioning for her to take it. Tigress accepted reluctantly and watched as the Panda walked over to her original sack of rice, picked it up and gripped it by the section that had torn, leaving the spilled rice grains on the ground, spun the sack around a few times to sealed the sack and proceeded to tie a knot so that no more rice could fall out, before slinging the sack over his shoulder with a pleased smile on his face, causing Tigress to smile back.
Tigress then looked down the street and up at the Palace before noticing the sun was beginning to set and turned back to the Panda and said, "Thank you Po, but I really need to get back to the Palace now. I won't forget this!" as Tigress gestured to the sack in her arms, Po then said, "You're welcome Tigress. I can see you again right? I mean, we're friends now, so I can see you again?" Tigress hesitated a bit as she looked up at the Palace and thought about whether Master Shifu would allow her to visit the village again. "Well...I guess so, but I don't know when. Master Shifu tends to train me for most of a day."
At this Tigress's ears fell as she realized she had no idea when she would be able to see her new friend again, but the Panda's voice surprised her once more as he said, "So then let's make a promise!" Tigress looked over to see the Panda holding out his paw with his Pinky extended as he said, "Let's Promise that we will see each other again someday, even if it won't be for a long time. If we make that our promise, then someday we'll HAVE to see each other again!"
Tigress stared at the pinky for a brief moment before she smiled and reached forward, linking her own pinky digit with the Panda's and said, "I promise." Po nodded as he said with finality, "Then it's a Promise! I'll see you again Tigress and we'll always be friends, right?" Tigress nodded as she affirmed, "Always. Thank you Po... thanks for everything...friend."
After receiving a brief nod from the Panda, Tigress turned around and began to leave, turning back once she got a small distance away to see Po waving good-bye to her with that same smile on his face. After Tigress waved back, she turned around and hurried over to the Thousand Steps, being extra careful not to tear the new sack of rice with her claws and thinking about the next time she could possibly see the Panda boy that she could now call her friend.
Present day...
Tigress slowly awoke from her sleep, blinking her eyes a few times before she sat forward and held her head in he right paw. "Was that...was that a dream?" The Tiger Master wondered briefly before fully waking up and came to the realization that no, it was not a mere dream she had just experienced, but rather a memory. One that she had forgotten all about so many years ago that had remained dormant within her subconscious for all these years.
After coming back to the Jade Palace that Day, Shifu noticed immediately that the sack of rice Tigress had brought back wasn't one from the proper vendor and so she wasn't allowed to venture down into the village alone for supplies again for quite some time.
So with nothing to do other than to train, meditate, or study the thousand scrolls, Tigress eventually had come to forget about meeting the Panda who had become her first real friend and in time had shaken off any residual feelings or thoughts about having a friend at one time as nothing more than perhaps a dream or mere desire or her imagination.
As Tigress thought about this, she began to feel terrible for forgetting all about Po. Although, that promise they had made that day did indeed get fulfilled, for they did meet again after that first meeting several years later on the day Po had been chosen to become the Dragon Warrior. But Tigress was anything but a friend to the Panda at the time. In fact... she was the furthest thing from a friend. And yet at the same time...Po wasn't.
Despite her initial treatment of the Panda back then, he had still tried to get close to the Feline, to be her friend, no matter how many times Tigress pushed him away in the beginning. Was it possible that he had never forgotten her? Even still... to this day, Tigress could never fully comprehend why the Panda made such an effort to befriend the Tiger after arriving at the palace.
But as Tigress thought more about the memory, she slowly began to realize that maybe this was the reason why. That he had tried so hard to be her friend because he had never actually stopped being one. And what's more...her first true friend...ended up also becoming something...well... more.
With a smile on her face, Tigress swung her legs over the edge of the bed and looked around her room. It was still early, even for her, as the early lights of dawn began to shine through her rice paper walls. She was about to get up and begin some stretches, when her nose twitched slightly and she began sniffing the air.
She soon discovered that someone was up cooking down the hall in the kitchen, and it didn't take her long to figure out who. So after putting on a fresh training uniform, Tigress quietly slid open her door and began making her way down the hall of the Student barracks, being extra careful not to wake her still sleeping comrades.
She soon arrived at the Barracks kitchen and stopped in the doorway to see Po moving between the kitchen counter and the stove, no doubt getting an early start on Breakfast for everyone that morning.
After watching the Panda for a brief moment, Tigress cleared her throat to get his attention, causing Po to look up and over at the doorway in surprise. "Huh? Oh, Good morning Tigress. You're up early." Tigress nodded before pointing out, "As are you. Tell me Dragon Warrior, why the early start? It usually takes a trio of Morning Gong's to wake you." Po chuckled a bit at this before saying, "Yeah, I know. I really do need to work on that. No, I'm just up because I wanted to make a nice breakfast for you and everyone else. Just a bit more than just my usual noodle soup, you know?"
Tigress tilted her head to the side before asking, "And what exactly makes today any different than any other day?" Po just smiled as he looked over at Tigress and said, "Because last night you said yes to being my Mate, so I wanted to do something special."
Tigress smiled over at the Panda. It was true, the previous night Po had taken Tigress over to the Peach Tree and managed to work up his courage enough to tell Tigress of his feelings for her, to which she had happily returned. As Tigress was recalling the night before, what Po said next caused her mind to go all but blank, "It's also the anniversary of the day you and I first became friends."
Tigress continued to stare at the Panda who continued to work with his back to her. Did he mean about them becoming friends after he became the Dragon Warrior? Or...was he talking about all the way back then? "You...remember?" Tigress whispered softly. Unfortunately Po didn't quite hear what she said, only that she had indeed said something and so he looked back and asked, "Hmm? What was that?" But Tigress just shook her head no saying, "Nothing...would you like some help?"
Po just shook his head no in response, his smile still painted on his face and said, "Nope, everything's ready. What do you think?" As Po said this, he immediately placed a few bowls onto the table and motioned for Tigress to look at the spread he had laid out. As Tigress scanned the kitchen table, she saw 7 bowls of Noodle soup, 7 cups of tea, a large bowl of Dumplings in the center next to an equally large bowl of Bean buns, as well as a large plate of Tofu for all to share.
But as Tigress was about to finish looking at the table, her eyes landed on a single bowl placed only in front of her usual seat. It was a small bowl of course, even smaller than the bowls filled with Noodle soup, but it was the contents of the bowl that held the Tiger's attention. There, sitting next to her soup was a bowl full of freshly cooked Rice. Tigress stared at the bowl for a long time as she tried to process the many feelings that were beginning to well up within her.
In that moment, Tigress knew. She knew that even after all these years, Po never once forgot about their first meeting. But what was more frustrating, was that even after being re-united again all these years later, It was more than obvious that Tigress had indeed forgotten. And yet...despite that...despite the Tiger's harsh attitude towards him back when he first came to the Palace...despite the fact that she had clearly forgotten all about him... he still remembered their Promise...he still remembered they were friends and this was her proof.
But even if he remembered and she didn't, he never once tried to use the information to hurt her. He never threw it in her face, or made a big deal about her forgetting. Instead, he just remained patient with her until they could reforge their friendship in time.
Tigress looked up to see Po was still smiling at her as he waited for her to answer his question. Immediately Tigress bit her lower lip briefly before whispering, "It's...perfect." Hearing this caused Po's smile to widen even more as he then turned back to the counter to begin cleaning up his workspace while saying, "Great! I was also thinking maybe we could tell the others about...us?" Tigress nodded slowly as she replied , "I think...that would be wise."
Po just nodded his head as he continued cleaning up. Tigress on the other hand was about to explode with emotion at any second. She just simply couldn't believe that someone could be so caring towards her in such a way. Before she allowed a few tears to fall, Tigress quickly rushed the Panda from behind in a sudden blur of motion and stopped as soon as she reached him, wrapping her arms around his front as far as she could reach and just hugged him from behind.
Initially, the sudden contact had startled the Panda bear, causing him to nearly drop one of the pots he had been using to cook the noodles. Po quickly turned his head back to look over his shoulder and his eyes widened in utter shock when he saw Tigress burying her face into the back of his shoulder. "Tigress!? Tigress, what's wrong?" Po asked worriedly as he quickly began to turn himself around, while Tigress loosened her hold on him long enough for him to do so, but still refused to release the bear completely.
Once Po had turned around, Tigress's hold on the bear tightened up once more as she held onto him and buried her face into his chest. Po could now feel the tears that were slowly falling from his Mate's eyes and was getting even more worried. Why was Tigress so upset!? Did he do something wrong?
Po then brought his arms up a bit and wrapped them around Tigress in a hug as he whispered, "Tigress...Tigress what is it? What's wrong!?" But the Feline merely shook her head vigorously in response before whispering back, "Nothing...nothing is wrong Po...It's perfect."
Now Po was really confused. If everything was perfect, then why was Tigress crying? But before Po could get the chance to ask the Feline, Tigress surprised the Panda yet again as she pulled away just enough to wrap her arms around the Panda's neck and pulled him into a powerful kiss, surprising the Panda like never before as his eyes shot wide open. But as the kiss deepened, Po's eyes slowly closed as he began to kiss the Tiger back while also bringing Tigress in even closer.
After the two shared their moment, Tigress finally released the Panda's lips, allowing the two to receive some much needed air and proceeded to place her head back onto the Panda's chest, her hold on the Panda never once letting up. Po looked down to see one last tear falling from the Tiger's eye before he asked, "Not that I'm complaining or anything...cause I'm not. But Tigress...what was that for?"
It was then that Tigress smiled genuinely as she pulled back just enough to look up into the Panda's Jade green eyes and said, "Thank you, Po." Po just raised his eyebrow and chuckled as he asked once more, "Okay...but for what?" Tigress just smiled as she shook her head and laid it back down on the Panda's chest, reveling in the feeling of being in his embrace before she managed to whisper,
"For being you."
And there you have it! One TiPo one-shot all wrapped up and tied with a bow! I hope the story wasn't too long for you guys but I just don't think I could write a shorter one-shot.
Arashi, I hope you enjoyed this story, as well as everyone who stopped by to read it. Now I have to get back to work, but before I go, remember...
REVIEW!