It was an ordinary day for Tigress. She had just finished training and was ready to go to bed; but when she entered her room, she saw something laid out on her pillow. It was a simple scrap of paper, but there was three characters printed on it. Tigress shrugged and picked up the paper to read it:
I Love You
Tigress felt her eyes grow wide. There was nothing else written on the paper; no means of identifying the author. Love was a foreign feeling for Tigress; no one had loved her entire life. She was born an orphan, moved from house to house in search of someone who would take her in. When Master Shifu offered her a place to stay and the chance to learn Kung Fu, she was too young then to realize it was out of pity. Tigress never wanted pity, but someone to truly love her and care for her. Now, she knew someone did. Someone in The Jade Palace.
When morning came Tigress was, for the first time in years, the last to arrive for training. The rest of The Furious Five, and the Dragon Warrior Po, were all concerned for her.
"Tigress, are you okay?" Viper asked.
Tigress yawned. "Yes, I'm fine."
"It looks like you had trouble sleeping." Monkey said.
"Well, you see I-"
Tigress stopped herself from explaining why she slept in late. In truth, she was up all night trying to figure out who gave her that message. But what if the one who loved her became scared and never came forward with the truth?
"I was distracted by something. It took me awhile to go to sleep."
"Are you sure that's all?" Crane asked.
Tigress nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."
"Well then, now that's settled. Let us begin our training." Shifu said.
As everyone followed Shifu, Crane began to frown. Why hadn't Tigress mentioned the message that he gave her? There was only one explanation: She didn't care who gave it to her and threw it away. Crane knew it was hopeless from the beginning; Tigress didn't wish for a boyfriend. She didn't want anyone falling in love with her. If only Crane's heart knew that.