A/N: What?! AnimationGirl with a fanfic about Tigress and Po?! No way! But yes! Though, I do not see this story as romance; more like what you would do for friends. But you can see it in the way you like. The story will have about five chapters.

Hope you like it.

I do now own Kung Fu Panda.

The Cost of a Sacrifice
The Soothsayer

Po could not help but exclaim happily as he defeated another enemy. The boar was thrown through the air, but stopped flying as it crashed into two other bandits; taking both of them down too.

"Did you see that?!" he yelled, impressed by his own skills.

"Po!" Tigress' warning snarl made him finch a little but he knew that she was right. "Concentrate!"

"Right," he quickly murmured. He then turned towards the crocodile that was running towards him. Blocking the incoming attack, Po took his fighting stance. He then forced the knife out of the bandit's hand, and kicked him in the stomach.

The rest of the fight went rather easily; even though the bandits were many they were not very skilled. As he looked around, Po saw his friends fighting; clearly as busy as he too was.

But suddenly things seemed to go the wrong way.

"Tigress!"

Po turned around even though it was not his name that had been called out. It was Viper who had yelled as she had seen something the striped feline had not noticed.

Yet.

Tigress was busy fighting three opponents on one time, and did not see the archer that was taking aim on her. But Viper saw it, and now Po did it too. Unfortunately the striped feline was too far away. She could neither hear their alarming yells nor see the arrow that soon would reach her.

Po stared at his friend with widened eyes. Seeing how Viper tried to get to the tiger, he did the same. But he realized it already now; none of them would be fast enough.

Breath stuck in his throat Po could only watched…

As Tigress flipped over the wolf she was fighting, the arrow hit.

But it did not touch either the tiger or the wolf.

Instead it hit the wolf's shiny armor and was reflected; it changed direction and got stuck into the ground. Tigress continued fighting; not even knowing that she had nearly been killed.

Po and Viper both let out a sigh of relief. Then the snake continued her way and quickly took out the archer that had been hiding in some bushes. Tigress took out the last bandits and then the battle was over with the warriors of the Jade Palace as the winners.

"Woohoo!" the panda cheered as the group gathered together. "We totally won! Again!"

"They sure won't be a problem to the village anymore," Crane said.

"Let's bring them to the jail and finish this mission," Tigress said, as she wanted to get back to the Jade Palace as quick as possible.

They quickly tied the bandits up, and brought them to the nearby jail. They had been stealing from the villagers in a long time before the Jade Palace got the news about it, and they had not hesitated with attacking when they saw the warriors.

On their way back to the Valley of Peace, Po started talking about the fight again. "I mean, they never even had a chance!"

"Po…" Monkey said warningly; they were all pretty tired of hearing the panda talking like that. It had been a long day, and now they just wanted some rest.

"Did you even see the dude who tried to shoot Tigress?"

"What?" the tiger asked, not knowing what he was talking about.

That only made Po exclaim, "See?! She blocked it without even knowing it! That is just crazy Kung Fu-ish!"

"It is actually pretty serious, Po," Viper said and then turned toward Tigress, "You were really lucky."

"She was not lucky," Monkey suddenly said. "She was just being Tigress!"

The tiger then seemed to feel rather uncomfortable, and looked away from her friends. Po did not notice it though, and continued his praise, "That's right! Because Tigress can-"

"Enough, Po," Tigress said softly.

"But-"

"Have you ever heard of the word 'exaggerating'?" she asked him sarcastically.

He shook his head. "Nope. Not really."

Tigress sighed while the others grinned softly. But Po changed subject and started talking about what they should have for dinner tonight. It was first when they finally were home again that he stopped the food talk.

"I think I should go and check up on Dad," Po said as they came near the Noodle Shop. "So he knows that we're all alright."

"Sure. We'll just tell Master Shifu that the mission is over," Crane said and the rest of the Furious Five followed him as they all walked towards the stairs.

"See you later, guys!" the panda exclaimed and grinned happily as he entered his dad's shop.

The goose saw him in a matter of seconds. "Po!" he exclaimed happily. "You are back!"

"Uhm, yeah. Great to see you too."

"How did it?" Mr. Ping asked, letting Po go after having attacked him with a hug.

"The usual, you know. Bad guys go to prison, we others win because we are awesome," Po explained while following his dad into the house. "No more problems with them."

"That's great, my boy," the goose said while he started to make portions of noodles ready again. Po started to help him by cutting vegetables. "So no injuries?" the father suddenly asked.

Po stared at him, obviously surprised. "What? No!"

"No broken bones?"

"Nope."

"No wounds or scratches?"

"Not a thing."

"No splinters or-?"

"Dad, would you stop that?" Po suddenly said, pulling himself away from the table. "Look; I am fine!" He patted his own stomach. "Completely just fine. No need to worry or anything."

Sighing, Mr. Ping walked towards him. "I know, Po. I am just… Worried."

Po stared at his father with a soft glance. Even though he did understand what his father was he just… did not understand.

"Come on, Dad! I mean we all came back fine. We always do that. Just look at the Five; they have been doing this in like forever and they still have all their limbs!"

Mr. Ping looked at the ground. "I know, Po. I am just worried."

"You shouldn't be!" the panda exclaimed. "We are the good guys! And the good guys always win!"

"But I can't protect you anymore!" the goose complained.

"You don't have to, Dad! I am the Dragon Warrior now!"

"Excuse me?" an old, raspy voice asked them, causing both the parent and the son to be quiet. "Could I get the 'Blank Page Soup?"

As they both stared at the customer, surprised over the fact that there still were other people than themselves, Po said, "Wait? What?"

"The Blank Page Soup," the person repeated patiently.

It was Mr. Ping who realized it first. "My Secret Ingredient Soup?"

The customer nodded, even though it was hard to see because of a cloak. "That one."

"You see, Po? I understand my customers," the goose said happily as he quickly made a bowl of the popular soup. He handed it to the customer, and as they were alone again, he opened his beak to start the discussion with Po again. "But-"

"Dad," the panda cut him off, staring at the mysterious customer who was sitting on one of the tables.

"Po."

"No, I mean; Dad, who is that?"

Now the old goose was just very confused. "Who is who?"

"That creepy customer," the panda exclaimed, and Mr. Ping followed his glance to look at the old person who was sitting all alone.

"I don't know," Mr. Ping then said.

"Well, I have to find out," Po explained and was about to go outside when his father stopped him.

"Why?" Mr. Ping asked, not understanding what his son meant.

Po shrugged as he was having a hard time with finding the right words. "He's just so mysterious…"

"I am pretty sure it's lady, Po."

"That's what I mean! Then who is she and what is she doing here? Does anybody know her?"

Mr. Ping shook his head. "I don't."

"Maybe she is up to something," Po said slowly, still glaring at the customer that was eating her food.

"Do you think…" the goose started to say, but then trailed off as if he could not believe it.

But his son heard it. "What, Dad?"

"Do you think she is trying to figure out the secret ingredient in my Secret Ingredient Soup?" Mr. Ping then said, the horror just beneath his voice.

Po stared at him, mouth agape in realization, but then; "No, Dad. I don't think she is trying to do that."

The goose looked obviously offended. "Then don't stare at her; you might scare her away! A customer is a customer." He then turned around to go back to the kitchen again.

Po was torn. Should he tell the others about this? Or would they just think that he was crazy? Maybe he should just try and do this by himself…

"Do you want a prophecy?"

"Wha?" Po suddenly realized that he had walked outside, and that the mysterious customer was talking to him. "Me?" he asked, but as he looked around he realized that he was the only one she could have meant. Well, unless she was talking with herself.

"You," she said again, and he came slowly closer. "You look like you might want to know your future."

"You're a soothsayer?" he asked, remembering the old goat that had helped him with finding Inner Peace.

But then the customer took down her hood, and Po realized that he had never seen her before. Because she was a fox; her fur was gray because of age, she was missing some teeth and her left eye was completely white.

"Whoah," he said as he had not expected such a sight. "I think you have something stuck in your eye…"

"It's blind."

"Oh…"

"And yet I see more than normal people," the fox said. "So do you want to hear your future?"

"How do I know that you are not just making it up?" Po asked her suspiciously.

The fox took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I see… A flying rabbit that will lead you towards the way of advice."

Po stared at her in some seconds before saying, "Okay… Since when can rabbits fly?"

Just as he finished that sentence, a yell could be heard, and suddenly a person came nearly flying into the shop. He landed just in front of Po.

It was a little rabbit boy, one of the villagers.

Po quickly helped him up. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I am fine, Po," the rabbit told him. "We just tried out the hammock. Like you did!"

"Oh yeah…" the panda said as he remembered the stunt he had once made with that kind of furniture. It surely could make you fly…

"You just have to pull it so backwards that it almost breaks; then you really fly!" the boy exclaimed happily. "I have to go back!" he then said and rushed out of the shop.

"Just be careful with all that… flying…" Po turned towards the fox. "How did you know that?! And he gave me an advice…" In a flash he had taken a seat in front of the soothsayer. "Tell me everything!"

She chuckled slightly. "So you do want the knowledge of your future?"

"Only if it extremely awesome! But yes; I want," Po told her. "So how much does it cost?"

"For you, Dragon Warrior, I will do it for free."

"Wow! Thanks! So what do you need? A piece of fur or- Whoah!" he said in shock as she suddenly grabbed his paw and pulled him forward, towards herself. "Okay; if you needed a hand you could just say so…"

"Quiet," she hissed. "I need to concentrate."

And so Po closed his mouth, hoping for the best. But what if his future was going to be bad? What if, just like his dad had talked about, he got hurt and a battle and did not make it. Warriors were not made of steel; they could get hurt too.

He just never imagined it as the thought scared him.

"I see you as a great and powerful warrior," the fox told him.

The panda dropped his jaw. "Really?" he asked her breathlessly. Now he had just prepared himself for the worst…

She nodded. "Whole China admires you and you have saved many, many lives."

"That's so awesome!" Po exclaimed. "What more?!"

"I see you at the Jade Palace many years from now…"

"I live long?"

"Yes. And you are surrounded by friends," she then told him.

Po's smile became even bigger.

"A red panda…"

"Shifu?! Man, he is going to get old-er…" he said, as he thought about what he was saying.

The fox ignored him and continued, "A monkey, a snake-"

"You mean the Furious Five?" Po asked her, and pointed on a poster that was hanging on the wall behind them. It was showing the Furious Five in their fighting stances.

But the fox shook her head. "I only see four."

Po did not understand. "But there are five! The name is kinda hinting it, you know. And we can count-"

"There are only four," the fox said again, more sternly this time.

"Then…. Who is missing?" Po asked, suddenly feeling nervous.

The fox pointed towards the poster. "The tiger," she said.

"Tigress?! But where is she?"

"Dead," the fox answered simply, and took another drink of her soup.

Po just stared into nothing. Tigress?! Dead?! But how and why? Well, she was in a lot of battles… And she was always in the fighting hall… And today she had been very lucky…. But dead?!

"But… How?" he whimpered.

The fox looked up from her bowl. "She gave her life for you, of course."

"What?!"

"You did not notice the attack, and she saved your life; on the cost of her own."

Could it really be true? Was he going to lose his friend because he was not fast enough? Or smart enough? Or strong enough?

"But I thought my future would be great," he exclaimed, suddenly feeling sick. Tigress? No! She was Tigress! She could not die…

Right?

"Yours is," the fox said. "Hers isn't."

"But…" He did not know what to say.

"I guess this is one of the reasons why not all people want to hear my foretelling," the fox told him calmly. "Not all are prepared for bad news."

"But you can change it, right?" Po asked her, but she only glared at him sadly.

One thing was sure; Po would not let his friend die. "I have to warn Tigress!" he exclaimed. He then left the fox at the shop and ran the whole way back to the palace.

A/N: So yeah… This is actually a friendship story, but if you want to see it as romance, then it's your choice. I don't know; this was just a random idea that came to me yesterday (one day to write this; I am awesome). Hope you like it.

So please give it a warm welcome; I don't know what you think of me writing about Po and Tigress (I'll never leave Tigress completely). So please tell me your thoughts!