Heya! Here I am with another KFP short story! This one has a high chance of being a two-shot. Maybe a three-shot, but very unlikely. It involves a very specific subject: After all of their years together...what happens when Shifu takes the time to stop seeing Tigress as another one of his prized students? She means so much more to him, and it took him a long time to realize it. How loyal she was to him, how har she fought and trained for him, and his reaction to how he repayed her over the years?

Po and Viper help him come to a very startling realization, and that it isn't too late to fix things. It isn't too late to bond.

Prepare for feels. I'm not a pro at them, but I'm not shabby, either.

Let's Begin!

"I'm sorry, Master, I-I don't know what got into me, I won't let it happen again."

"Master, I won't disappoint you!"

"I will make you proud."

"It was an honor to serve you."

"Master, forgive me."

"I failed Shifu..."

"This IS what you trained me for..."

Shifu gasped as he was shocked out of his meditation, the candles that were lit around him beng instantly blown out to signify how much and how quickly his inner peace has been shattered. He began breathing heavily as he placed a paw on his forehead, and his eyes wide with confusion. He required a bit of time to calm himself down after that ordeal. Though during that time, he chose to try and deeply think about what the heck he just saw flash before his eyes. Or, to be significantly clearer, what he just heard, rebound through his mind and echo through his ears. All of those voices were the same, but different. All of them belonged to the same person, and one person in partiuclar. Yet their tones, pitch, and emotional state were all completely different. It didn't take too long for him to notice who's voice it was, even when he also noticed the different age gaps between them.

Tigress. This was not the first time he's had mental flashbacks of his past, but this is the first time they were focused on one person in particular.

Why in the world was he thinking about her now? This was not out of negativity, but merely out of curiosity, and perhaps a bit of concern. No, there was definitely concern beginning to seep into his mind. It's not like Shifu has visions often, especially visions like those. There was never any vision focused on one specific thing or person. The only time he's had moments like this were when Tai Lung was reported to have escaped prison, and when Po has had his near-death experience all the way from Gongmen City, prompting him to head there himself to assist everyone. This was the third time he's had such a vision, and yet no one was in trouble, and there was no crisis going on at the moment. Everything was peaceful, everything was balanced, and everyone was happy.

So why was he having memory flashes of Tigress? Mostly the memories of the two of them...and they weren't very happy ones. What could have prompted such a mental response? Especially one that has him so deeply shaken, and enough to shock him out of his meditation?

There was no way he was going to find out by sitting around. He needed some help. But from whom? In terms of friendships, Po and Viper were the closest to her. And despite not knowing each other as long as everyone else, aside from Shifu himself, Po seems to be the only male of the group of comrades who can understand Tigress the most. And since Viper was the only other female of the Five, she could also understand Tigress better than most. She might know something as well.

He sighed tiredly as he stood up to leave his room, aiming to make some green tea. There was no way he was in a good enough mental state for meditation, especially if images like that managed to snap him right out of them. He'd best hold off on that too. Once he's found the solution to the problem and properly dealt with it, then maybe he could return to his meditation.

Though something within him makes him doubt that being an easy concept...

(Meanwhile...)

"Alright guys, I'm gonna begin the challenge now!" Po said, waving his paws down a couple times to settle his curious comrades. He then stood up on his feet and held out a single dumpling with a confident smile. "Bet I can keep this dumpling bouncing for more than thirty seconds. Without using my paws~"

"You're on! There's no way you'll pull it off!" Monkey declared while rubbing his paws together. "I'm soooo gonna win this time! I'm gonna make you pay back every last almond cookie you snatched from my jar!"

"Hey, don't get mad at me for that! This time you said I could have a few!"

"That was before I knew that tour definition of 'few' meant THE ENTIRE JAR! I don't even know why I trusted you with them to begin with!"

"Probably because your judgement isn't the best anyone's ever seen..." Crane deadpanned.

"Blah blah! Get started already, Po!" Mantis demanded, standing atop of Crane's hat.

Po grinned as he tossed the dumpling up in the air and folded his arms as it first bounced three times off of his head. When it bounced to the right and began falling to the ground, he recovered by lifting his right leg and kicking it back up to head level, in which it bounced even higher off of his nose and resumed it's continuous bounces off his head. The others watched on with slightly amazed faces except Monkey's, who was getting more nervous as ten seconds already went by. Viper was gently coiled around Lei Lei, who was clutching her precious Tigress figure and watching Po with amazed glee. A couple times, Po woul stumble, and Monkey would look excited. Though he would then make a last-second recovery that would allow the streak to continue, and Monkey would be greatly disappointed. Once it will fall behind him, he'd simply lean forward as it bounced upward from his butt, then he'd lean back as it bounced off his belly. The entire time, he didn't uncross his arms in the slightest, and he didn't wipe the confident grin off his face. Soon enough, the thirty seconds passed without a hunch,and he caught it in his paws.

"Winner!" Lei Lei cheered, raising her paws cheerfully with a giggle.

"Yes he is, sweetie~" Viper snickered as she lightly kissed the top of her head.

"Noooooo! Not again!" Monkey moaned in dispair as he falls to the ground, paws holding him up and keeping him from faceplanting into the ground. His tail lies simply on the ground as he mutters unhappily about his loss. "...Defeated...again...how could this happen..."

"I believe you'll owe me yet another jar of almond cookies, my simian comrade." Po grinned as he swiftly eats the dumpling in his paw.

"...I...I really hate how you do this to me, man. You're seriously cruel about this." Monkey groaned as he slinked out of the room, reluctantly preparing to make some more almond cookies. He was slowly passing by Shifu, and he briefly patted his shoulder. "Master...don't bet with Po when food is on the line...he'll always win...there's just no beating him if food is a prize..."

"I...will keep that in mind, Monkey." Shifu nodded slowly, not really understanding what that meant. Nevertheless, he cleared his troat and turned to the other occupants in the room. "Po. Viper. I would like to speak to you both...privately."

Po and Viper looked towards each other in confusion, before they moved out of the room, Viper gently uncoiling from Lei Lei and folllowing them out the room. Once left alone, Crane and Mantis looked down at Lei Lei, who was looking at the both of them with innocent expectation. Crane sighed as he rubbed his beak nervously.

"Great. What do we do now? There's no way we can keep Lei Lei entertained by ourselves...especially since Tigress is on a solo mission right now..."

"Speak for yourself, dude. I got this!" Mantis said triumphantly as he hopped off Crane's hat and down on the ground, waving his forelegs. "Hey Lei Lei! We're gonna play 'Catch The Green Baby!'"

"Ooooh!~" Lei Lei seemed extra excited by this, getting up and chasing after Mantis, who began hopping off. He takes a lot of pride in his speed, but slowed himself down significantly in order to keep things fair for Lei Lei. Crane was briefly surprised by this.

"That's right, follow the Green Baby! Try to catch me!" Mantis said loudly, his voice echoing down the hallway, as well as Lei Lei's cheerful giggles. Once again, Crane was surprised by how well this was working out for them. But like he was thinking, whatever works. Though he wondered what Shifu had to speak to Po and Viper about, that needed to be in a private discussion. He seemed pretty serious about it, too. He's sure they'll be fine, so he wasn't to worried.

"For now, I'm gonna make sure Mantis doesn't go overboard." Crane sighed as he followed the two of them down the hallway.

(Peach Tree)

Shifu lead Po and Viper up to the Peach Tree, not telling Po or Viper about why he called the both of them out without warning. He seemed pretty firm on the decision, though neither of them could place a reason as to why this might be. His face was solemn and focused, though there was also a degree of concern etched in his facial expression, despite how much they noticed he was trying to be stoic at the moment. Po seemed experienced at noticing when someone seemed disturbed about something, and Shifu definitely had something on his mind.

They eventually reached the Peach Tree, Shifu standing closest to it, while Po found it suitable to sit down and Viper coiled up in one spot with her head on top. She was the one to break the silence: "Is there something you wish to talk to us about, Master?"

Shifu sighed, his ears pressing against his head and his paws clasped behind his back. "Yes, Viper. There is a reason why I called the both of you out here." He slowly turned around and dropped his indifferent expression, now replaced with one full of exhaustion and worry. "I've been having flashbacks during my meditation. Flashbacks involving one person in particular...Tigress."

"Tigress?" Both of them asked simultaneously.

"Yes. It would seem that I am troubled deeply by something, and she has something to do with it. I didn't want to talk to her directly until I decipher what the flashbacks mean, thus to avoid misunderstandings." Shifu explained as he began pacing in front of the Peach Tree. "I remember flashbacks of the past involving her. Sometimes I was there...sometimes I wasn't. Very few of those memories involved her smiling. Most of them involved her training hard and going on missions, either going on them on my own orders or going off on them herself."

"Like when Tigress chose to go after Tai Lung, and we went to stop her?" Viper said a bit sheepishly. They had good intentions...though it really wasn't the best of ideas. The best they did was buy some time for Po to train, rather than actually stop Tai Lung like they intended.

Shifu sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "Indeed...I really do not know what has gotten into her that day..."

"Master PLEASE, let us stop Tai Lung, this is what you trained us for!"

"That encounter could have very well been her demise, as well as you and the others..."

"I thought we could stop him..."

Shifu shook his head. "What I'm wondering is why I'm thinking about that now of all times. It was a long time ago...yet only now does it bother me deeply...why...?"

"He could have KILLED you..."

Viper could see the distress clear on Shifu's face as he thinks back to the decision Tigress made back then. A decision that could have cost her and her comrades their lives. Tigress saw that Po was more than just a person who was simply in her way, but someone with actual thoughts and feelings, something her arrogance would not allow her to acknowledge until Po's outburst, and even further when she was defeated. She was so sure that she was the Dragon Warrior. But for as long as Viper knew her, she slowly began to realize that maybe Tigress wasn't really interested in the title as she thought she was. She chose not to say anything because Tigress's determination wouldn't steer her away at that point. She thought back to that one time, when Tigress recounted Tai Lung and Shifu's story to Po:

"Shifu loved Tai Lung like he had never loved anyone before...or since."

Po and Viper looked towards each other with looks of understanding, before turning to Shifu. "Master Shifu...we think we might know what's going on."

Shifu turned to him with his eyes slightly widened. "You do?"

"Your case is very related to both mine and Vipers. I remember when I was first chosen to become the Dragon Warrior...my Dad was worried about me." Po began, his arms folded. "The Dragon Warrior title is not something to be taken lightly. It's a title rife with danger and uncertainty. There's always a chance when I could get seriously hurt when I'm on missions...or worse. Ever since that day, and especially since Shen and Kai, two enemies of mine that were very personal and very much wanted me dead...Dad has grown more and more worried and protective of me. It's powerful on both aspects because I very well almost died both times when I was having personal issues with him. One was for my identity, and the other was from my birth father reentering my life. The second time, I actually DID kinda die...I was just lucky enough to have you all help bring me back and defeat Kai."

"My case isn't as fantastic or dark as Po's, but it does ring closer to yours, Master." Viper began. "My father, Great Master Viper, couldn't see me as a warrior since my fangs never grew in. I was a disgrace at the time. Though when I went up against that gorilla bandit, someone he himself couldn't defeat...he was terrified for me. Even when I won, one of his main concerns was whether or not I was alright. And then when I left him to train with you and the rest of the Five, he was sad to see me go, but proud that I would become something great, on my own terms."

Shifu listened to the both of them intently, nodding after they finished but still somewhat confused. "But...what do these things have to do with me and Tigress...?"

Po and Viper looked at one another again, nodding before turning back to Shifu. "Shifu...for the entire time you've known and trained Tigress...did she ever once refer to you as 'Dad' 'Father', or anything of the sort? Did she ever once let it be known to you that she sees you as her father?" Po asked gently. "Or has she always just addressed you as 'Master' 'Shifu' or 'Master Shifu'? For this entire time you've known her, before I came along...did you ever consider her to be family?"

"Or to be more specific...do you see her as another student, more than you see her as your daughter?" Viper asked softly.

Shifu was about to answer, but he stopped immediately. He tried to think back to a time, ANY time, that Tigress have referred to him as her father, or he himself referred to her as his daughter. The more he thought about it...the more his ears drooped and his eyes widen in realization. If he has ever thought of her as a daughter, it was greatly outweighed by him seeing her as merely another student under his tutelege. He never even gave her the impression that he thought of her as family, even though he was the one who willingly took her in when no one else would.

And when he did take her in...after a few warm moments of them training...he just...gave her the cold shoulder. He would usually cut her a break every now and then, though any chance of deep family bonding between the two was destroyed. A bond between father and daughter was not possible to form due to him still being greatly bitter about Tai Lung sinking into darkness after all the years of love and affection he's shared with him. Perhaps after such a mishap...he didn't want to go through that again. So he completely shuts Tigress out emotionally. She was to refer to him as her Master, because that's all he would ever be to her. He gave all the impressions that he was not going to indulge in a familiar bond with her. So she had to settle for the next best thing, being the best student she could be. She worked harder than anyone else, trained harder than anyone else, and fought harder anyone else. She's even...hurt herself more than anyone else. All so she could please her Master, because she had no other way to bond with him back then. He was distant to her, cold and indifferent. His presence, understanding, and recogntion of her gave her hope of receiving love and affection, something she was greatly starved of, she had hope of being part of a family...and he allowed his situation with Tai Lung to destroy that hope. It died out years ago. She lost all hope for being seen as a daughter, so she had to settle for being a student greater than Tai Lung could ever be.

And she would have done anything to keep his attention on her. Anything that would have kept him from possibly...throwing her away.

"...I...I didn' didn't I..?" Shifu muttered sadly as he fell to his knees, staring at the ground.

"These things didn't occur to you at the time, Shifu. Your heart was still kinda frozen due to that whole Tai Lung deal." Po continued. "If they weren't Oogway, you didn't see many people in a positive light. You didn't want to bond with anyone else because you were afrad of going through that heartbreak again."

"But then Po entered your life, and you began to change." Viper nodded. "You became a bitter Master who distances himself from his students, into a kinder, more compassionate Master who always takes their health and safety into great consideration while training them. And because your heart is now much warmer than before, your memories regarding Tigress are catching up to you, and you're now seeing them in a different perspective. Now you're thinking back on those memories from a Father's persepctive instead of just a Master's perspective."

Shifu lifted his head a bit, his own blue eyes meeting Viper's. "A different...perspective..?"

Viper slowly slithered up to Shifu with a gentle and understand smile, wrapping her tail around him to help him stand. "Shifu. After everything you've been through, your mind is finally beginning to process that Tigress is more than just another prized student. She's your daughter. She's your little girl."

Shifu slowly looked as his paws as he processed what they were telling him. Then he stood up straight and placed his paws behind his back. "I...thank you both for taking the time to speak with me. You...you can go."

"Anytime." Po waved as he stood up. Then he rubbed his paws together. "Now...to see if Monkey's done making those cookies!"

"Wait up, Po! I want some!" Viper quickly waved goodbye to Shifu before following Po, determined to not let him have all the almond cookies this time.

Shifu slowly turned his attention to the Valley, thinking about what he's just been told. Could it be true? After all of these years of emotionally distancing himself from Tigress, he was now beginning to regret it? All those years of neglecting her, dismissing her as another student, when she clearly saw him as more than a Master. To her, he had saved her from complete lonliness. From the other children and parent's mockery and their fear of her. He taught her to control her immense physical strength, and she felt forever indebted to him for that, and taking her in. So indebted to him, that she no longer tried to connect with him as a daughter. As long as she was with him, even as a student to him and nothing else, it was enough. It was still leagues better than being all alone. That was her thought process. She gave up trying to gain parental love from him when it became apparent he would never give it to her. Because of his own issues, she had to settle for second best. It was because of him that she nearly grew as cold and distant to everyone as he was, and she never learned how to form proper friendships. If the Five and Po had never entered her life...how different could she have become?

Shifu had damaged her on a very deep emotional level, and for something that wasn't her fault. And only now was he beginning to regret it when most of the hardships were dealt with. Only now was he taking her feelings for him into consideration, and after so many years after barely regarding her with no more than a critical, passing glance.

This is a much graver mistake than even Tai Lung. Becuase she was still here. No matter how much he wronged her, she still stuck by him. She refused to cut him from her life, because he was the main reason she even had one to begin with.

"I am Tigress. Tigress the monster. A monster that no one wants..."

"You are NOT a monster. You're just a little girl."

Shifu didn't bother wiping the remorseful tears beginning to fall down his cheeks.

"Tigress..."

Shifu realizes his fathering skills in the past...are inferior to Mr. Ping and Li Shan's. VERY poor indeed. Though one question remains...what is he going to do about it, in the present?

That remains to be seen..