The Choices We Make
Prologue
It had been just over four months since Lord Shen was defeated at Gong Men City, and in those few months so much has changed. Everyone was getting better at kung fu, everyone was happier, and everyone was growing closer together. Among those that have changed, none changed more than Po and Tigress. Po considered her to be one of his best friends, as did Tigress to Po. Before the friendly panda came along and defeated Tai Lung, Tigress only saw him a disgrace to the kung fu masters, and kung fu itself. But now…now Tigress had opened up more to the panda, and they slowly but surely became closer and closer friends. And that panda had helped her become more of a person. She now talked more around the palace, and actually smiled every once in a while. And every once in a great while, the residents of the palace would get to hear the rare sound of her laughter. It wasn't loud, but it was there. She also became more social with just about everyone, especially Po. Tigress didn't know why, but she always enjoyed being around the Dragon Warrior. When she was near him she felt, warm, wanted, and loved. And when she witnessed Po get blasted by one of Shens cannons, Tigress didn't know what to do, what to think, or what to say. When they were chained together at Gong Men City, all she could think about was Po, and how she never got to tell him how she felt. As Tigress watched the return of Po on top of the tall building, the feline was overcome with joy. Though she couldn't make out Po's words, she heard them as words of comfort, words of their savior. At that moment Tigress swore to herself that if, no, when they got out of this fight, she would tell Po how she felt. But she could never muster up the courage necessary to confront the panda.
Little did she know that Po almost felt the exact same way about her. Po enjoyed and cherished every moment he spent with his favorite kung fu master. He enjoyed every time they had a conversation, every time they looked at each other, every time they trained together, and even every time she beat him in a sparring battle. He wished that he could find the courage to tell her how he felt. But Po had long ago learned from his dad that there was always a time and a place for everything. He had not yet found the time, or the place. But either way, the panda loved the tiger that he held so close to his heart, secretly of course. Ever since the moment he spent his first night in the Jade Palace Po had always wanted to get to know Tigress better. Even though the feline had treated him terribly until the defeat of Tai Lung, the panda never gave up on his objective. Whenever possible, Po would find his chance to start a conversation with the majestic tiger, or even just catch a short glance at her. In the time between Tai Lung's defeat and the beginning of their journey towards the defeat Lord Shen, they had grown a bit closer together. But that all changed on the day when Po had actually defeated Shen. The day they hugged each other. When Tigress first hugged Po, and when Po first hugged Tigress. He wasn't even sure if Tigress, the most hardcore person he knew, had ever even hugged anyone before. Yet alone have anyone truly hug her… ever. Although Po was almost sure that Tigress had never been hugged before, just based on looking at her expression after Po embraced her in his large, fury arms. Ever since then Po had tried and tried again to get more personal information out of her. One of the most recent arguments had been about what Tigress's favorite color was. He had been trying to find out what her favorite color was for almost three weeks now, but without any luck.
Anyway, Po and Tigress are not the only one that has drastically changed over the past couple of months. Their very own kung fu master and teacher had also changed in personality. If fact, he started to change ever since the one he used to call "the fat panda" fell before his students feet. At first, Shifu absolutely hated the panda, and had tried to force him out of the palace. Then came the day when Po had defeated the Master of the Thousand Scrolls. Shifu was saddened at the thought of his first adapted child being incinerated by the Wu Shi Finger Hold, but he knew it was a necessary loss. After that chain of events Master Shifu found inner peace, something he had wanted to withhold for a very long time. Finding inner peace caused the old master to ease up a little on the students, and every once in a while he would actually smile in front of his students. And after Po's victory with Lord Shen it had made him even happier inside, and for a few reasons. First, and most obvious, Po had found inner peace and used it to defeat Shens army by using his own weapons against him. The panda had also defeated his toughest adversary yet, once again proving that he was the Dragon Warrior, and that he was getting stronger. And the second reason was because of his daughter. Shifu had always hoped that Tigress would open up a bit more, become more social and friendly. He had wished for that to happen for a very long time. That all changed when Po showed up at the jade palace. Tigress had hated the panda just as much as Shifu did, but after the defeat of Shen Shifu knew that his wishes would slowly but surely become true. He knew this the second Po hugged Tigress and she didn't kill him, or even get mad. The old master was thankful for what Po had done with him and his daughter. Everyone definitely enjoyed the pandas company. No. The panda. The lovable, friendly, encouraging panda. The panda that was always there in their time of need. The panda that will always be their friend, no matter what happens. The panda that fell from the sky in a ball of fire and was proclaimed the Dragon Warrior.
Po Ping