This first chapter is set just after Oogway died, and when Shifu came to tell his students the terrible news.

TIGRESSE'S POV

Po was ridiculous. He ate like a pig, and told terrible jokes. He was slightly cute though. What? I said to myself. He's taken your place as the dragon warrior, he's not cute at all.

Just then all those thoughts were pushed out of my mind.

Shifu had come in, and from barely one glance I could tell that he was extremely sad. Something terrible must have happened.

Master Shifu was very good at hiding his emotions, and the other five didn't know him as well as I did. Not that I really knew him that well. Just for longer. I had known him since I was a cub in the orphanage, and he had started to train me. The others had come later. Back then I thought that he had no emotion s. But little by little I noticed little things that gave his mood away. His fighting style, his ears, the speed at witch he walked. Little things.

But now he stood before us and I knew he was incredibly sad and shocked. I could tell from his eyes. And the tone in witch he spoke. To an outsider, and probably to the others, he sounded cross, and annoyed. But I knew better, it was just his way of dealing with his emotions.

Later that night I couldn't sleep. Something felt wrong. Usually if I couldn't sleep I would go to the dojo. And then in the early morning Oogway would come and talk to me. I had always liked master Oogway, he was very kind and calm. He had always listened when I was getting overwhelmed, in his kind list way, and occasionally he would give me advice, or tell me a story. He told me that I was very much like master Shifu, though I never really beleived him. He also told me funny stories about when he was training, witch seemed like and age ago.

But now I would never get to hear him again... I would never see him again...

No! I told myself, don't cry. Warriors don't cry. I took several deep breaths to calm myself. Then I remembered Oogway telling me that crying was natruall, a way of letting all the horrible sad feelings go.

That was the time when Oogway had said that I was like Shifu. He said that Shifu hated crying too. I was just a cub then and I didn't believe that Shifu would ever cry or have a reason to.

Master Shifu, I could not imagine what he must be feeling right now. He was the closet to Oogway. Oogway had brought him up.

I decided to make sure he was alright. I don't really know why, I just had this gut feeling that maybe he wasn't. I could pretend to be getting a glass of water, and just quietly put my ear on his door as I passed. Yes that is what I would do. I did not want to embarrass him or myself.

I krept out of bed, and out of my quarters. Shifu slept in another part of the main house, so I wouldn't have the worry of waking any one else up.

A little while later, I had arrived. I had to be super stealthy, as master Shifu had incredible hearing, even when he was not expecting a surprise attack during training.

I put my ear to the door.

I could hear master Shifu muttering inner peace, over and over.

Of course, Oogway's final lesson.

Suddenly the muttering stopped.

I strained my hearing, and I heard his breathing quicken, and a sort of hiccuphing noise.

I tried to work out what it was, then suddenly it struck me. Master Shifu was crying!

I wanted to reach out to him. To give him a hug and tell him that it was alright. I felt so sorry for him. But I knew he would never allow it. If I knocked on the door, he would tell me to go away, or pretend to not be there. I think. I had never had the courage to knock on his bedroom door before. If I had a problem at night, after I moved here, I always either delt with it myself or went to master Oogway for help.

And I called myself a warrior? Too scared to knock on a door and I called myself a warrior?!

I screwed up my courage and knocked. Immediately I wish I hadn't. I wished that I was one thousand miles away.

There was no answer. Only the noise stopped.

After hesitating another moment, I pushed the door open a crack and called out softly:

"Master are you all right?" it took nearly all my courage not to run away, I was so embarrassed.

He didn't answer for a moment before saying:

"Tigress, training has ended for today, go back to bed. If there is a problem, ask me again in the morning,"

Well it wasn't as bad as I expected. I thought he might shout at me or be cross very least. Though that only prooved how upset he was. Too miserable to keep the emotion out of his voice; it had sounded close to breaking.

I opened the door a little more.

"Master you know that that is not why I am here," I stated.

"I will be fine, j-just go, go" he started crying again, though he curled himself up in a ball, to try and hide it.

I wish I could say that I immediately tried to comfort him. That would be lying. In truth I just stood there, for several antagonizing minutes, like a fish out of water. I had no idea what to do.

Then I remembered reading some sad story, where the main character never knew had to comfort his friends when they were sad. In the end he just gave them a hug, and they told him that just being there was enough. I wasn't sure if this was right, but I decided to try, even giving Shifu a hug sounded so wrong.

He tried to pull away, but I held on tighter. He needed it, and I knew that sometimes, we can't but help be sad.

"Someone wise once told me that tears are are a naturall way to release sadness," I stated quietly. There was no reply but Shifu stopped struggling and returned the hug.

"Imiss him too..." I said quietly. I was mildly surprised to find myself crying aswell. But for the first time I just let the tears flow. Sometimes being sad is the right thing.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Thanks for reading! Sorry if I spelt Shifu Chifu once or twice, because I only found out how to spell it afterwards, so I went through changing it, but I might have missed one.