Chapter 2 all set and ready to go.
Enjoy the read!
Chapter 2
Inside the Student Barracks...
Tigress had just slid the sliding door to the Student barracks shut behind her and proceeded to lean up against the frame, her brow now furrowed and her eyes closed in frustration as she continued to take in several short breaths. How did he do it? How in all of China did that Panda learn of a secret that she had done her best to bury so long ago? A secret that she had never even considered thinking about until he uttered that one, single word?
But there was also something else that was bothering the Tiger Master even more. Po just had the biggest opportunity to expose her dark secret to the rest of the five... to humiliate her shamefully just like she had clearly done to him...but instead, he was so quiet back in the training hall despite his angered state, that Tigress was certain that no one, not even Mantis who was right beside the pair at the time, could have heard the Panda whisper that word.
No, Po made sure that Tigress was gonna be the only person to hear him in that instant and for some reason that truly rattled the Tiger the most. He wanted her to know that he knew...but why?...How!?
Tigress then slammed the back of her head against the door fram as she muttered, "How...how did he find out!?" realizing that the walls surrounding her were more likely than not going to present her with an answer, Tigress began walking down the hall and past the kitchen, slowly making her way over towards the Student's sleeping quarters.
In no time at all, Tigress finally made it outside her room and after looking around briefly and making sure that Po wasn't across the hall in his own room, Tigress quickly slid open her door and entered the room quickly, sliding the door shut just as fast.
Once inside, Tigress released a deep breath she hadn't even noticed she was holding before opening her eyes and proceeded to scan the room. Everything was exactly as she had left it that morning. Her bed, which sat low to the ground was off to her left up against the wall. At the back of the room sat an average wooden chest which contained all of Tigress's training uniforms and other attires for various occasions. And finally, to her right sat a single ruby red Meditation Mat, given to her by the Late Grandmaster Oogway himself years ago.
Cautiously, Tigress made her way over to the mat and proceeded to inspect the area around it. Unfortunately, tidiness was a habit that Shifu had drilled into Tigress during her first days at the Jade Palace, so there was no dust on the floor anywhere to tell her if the Mat had been recently moved or not.
As Tigress inspected the mat, she found that there wasn't a single wrinkle in it to be seen, none of the corners had been overturned and as far as she could see, it had not been moved since she last used it. Seeing that nothing was out of place in her room did nothing to ease Tigress's worries however, as she knelt down before the mat and released a frustrated sigh.
After staring at the mat however and after making sure nobody was around once more, Tigress slowly lifted the mat up from it's spot and rolled it up, placing it off to the side up against the nearby wall. Tigress then proceeded to unsheathe her claws and after carefully searching for a specific floorboard, began to wedge the board out of place. Although initially difficult to manipulate after years of not being moved, the floorboard eventually was pried free and Tigress was able to set it aside.
Looking into the new rectangular gap in her floor, Tigress then proceeded to dig through all the straw that acted as insulation for the building during the winter months. It didn't take her long for her paw to brush up against something underneath the straw though and Tigress was able to hear a series of clicks and clanks. Realizing she had found what she was looking for, Tigress then gripped the object in her paw and pulled it up through the floor, brushing a few stray straws off as she did so.
What Tigress was now holding in her paws wasn't anything truly special to look at. Just a medium sized brown pouch with an even darker brown draw string stitched into the top of the back, which was tied up nice and tight. "It's still here." Tigress whispered to herself as she looked up from the pouch and looked around her room once more. "But then...if he never found it...how did he know about it?" As Tigress wondered this, she absentmindedly began to undo the knot in the string, pulling it loose and opening the pouch slightly, allowing daylight to enter it's confines for the first time in years.
Tigress then proceeded to open up the top of the pouch entirely and peered inside. There, siting inside the pouch were maybe a hundred hand crafted wooden dominoes, each with one side painted a bright golden color, which the light would reflect off of if held properly.
As Tigress knelt there in her room, a small smile slowly spread across her face as she remembered the day she had first received this special gift. It was Master Shifu who had given her these very dominoes when she was just a small child, back when she used to spend her days at the Bao Gou Orphanage. Before Shifu had officially adopted Tigress and saved her from that wretched place, he had come and visited her on multiple occasions at the request of the caretakers who worked there, to teach Tigress how to better control her unusually great strength.
The method he had used to help Tigress learn how to control her strength was the dominoes. In time, Tigress had come to learn how to handle the small wooden blocks without crushing them and as a reward, Shifu had given Tigress the wooden blocks to keep, so that she could always remember those first lessons they shared...and so that she could finally have something to call her own.
As Tigress allowed herself to reminisce about her early days with Shifu, she slowly began to pick up one of the dominoes from the bag and place it down on the floor on it's side in an upright position. First one domino...then another...and another. Until finally it seemed like she was in a trance, completely unaware of her own surroundings and only focusing on the task at hand.
While Tigress continued placing the blocks onto the floor one by one, she eventually began to wonder how many years it had been since she had last even seen these dominoes. Was it shortly after coming to the Jade Palace? Or perhaps later? She couldn't remember the last time she ever held the wooden blocks, or when she hid them away in the first place. But she could remember why. It was because of Shifu.
Ever since Shifu rescued Tigress from that awful place, Tigress had only ever wanted to make him proud. To show him that taking a chance on her wasn't a waste of his time. That she could do anything and everything he could ever ask of her and more. To become the perfect warrior...the Dragon Warrior.
So in order for her to truly achieve that goal, she had come to the decision that she would need to completely devote herself entirely to her training, which to her, meant giving up her dominoes and to stop acting like a child forever and start acting like an adult.
Tigress was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that when a new voice called out to her from behind, it startled her a bit, causing her to almost knock over the twenty or so dominoes she had managed to stack up already, "Well... It has been a rather long time since I have last laid eyes on those particular wooden blocks." Tigress whirled her head around while getting to her feet in an instant and her eyes shot wide open in absolute horror when she saw that it was Shifu standing in her doorway watching her...playing...with the dominoes.
If Tigress's fur could have shown her reaction right then shifu would have watched it turn roughly 3 different shades of white. "M-Master! This isn't what it looks like I...I can explain!" Shifu then proceeded to enter his student's room, his eyes never once meeting Tigress's as he began to study the positioning of the blocks Tigress had already placed.
For perhaps the most awkward moment of Tigress's life, nothing was said as Tigress stared in absolute horror at her Master. She could not have appeared to have looked more like a child if she tried. A Kung Fu Master, member of the Furious Five and Master of Hard style...was caught playing with toys.
After a moment though, Shifu finally picked up one of the many blocks that were still inside the brown bag and stated, "There will be no need for that, Master Tigress." Shifu then surprised Tigress as he proceeded to step around the dominoes on the floor and placed the one he had just picked up beside one that she had just placed herself. Shifu then looked up at Tigress and was unsurprised to see her staring at her Master completely dumbfounded, as he motioned for Tigress to come fourth and to continue where she had left off.
For a brief moment, Tigress could do nothing but stare at her Master as he waited patiently for his student to take a seat. Slowly, Tigress once again walked over and knelt down across from her Master, who once again motioned for her to place the next block, a small smile barely visible across his face. This did nothing to ease Tigress's worries though, yet she slowly reached for the next dominoe and carefully placed it in front of the one Shifu had just placed, her eyes never once leaving her Master's.
Once Tigress had finished placing the domino, Shifu then proceeded to reach for a new block and placed it in front of Tigress's latest addition while saying, "I must say, I am surprised to see you have kept these all these years, Tigress." Tigress merely lowered her head in shame as she slowly picked up the next block and whispered, "Forgive me Master...I know I should have gotten rid of them a long time ago."
As Tigress placed the block down, she looked over to see Shifu was now refusing to meet her gaze as he proceeded to pick up the next block and asked, "Oh? And why is that?" After Shifu placed the domino, turning the block just to the right, Tigress then answered as she lowered her head once more and picked up another block, " Because Master...they are just little blocks of wood for little children to play with...not something that a Kung Fu Master should be wasting their time on."
Shifu nodded briefly before he pointed out, "And yet, here we are." as he placed another block down on the floor. Tigress never said anything though and for a moment, each master simply continued taking turns placing the blocks, one after the other.
After a short while though, Shiu then asked, "Is that all these dominoes mean to you though Tigress? That they are just mere blocks of wood for children?" Tigress then answered quickly, while still refusing to make eye contact with Shifu, "Yes Master...that is correct." Shifu nodded briefly before muttering, "I see...so then tell me...why hold onto something that apparently holds no meaning to you for so many years?"
At this point Tigress stopped herself from placing the next domino and pulled her paw back. As Tigress turned her paw over to look at the wooden block that rested in her paw, the light coming in from outside reflected off the wooden tile's painted surface. "I...I don't know why Master...I must have just forgotten about them."
Shifu however was unconvinced as he reached for the brown bag and grabbed another tile while saying, "Lying to one's self, is no better than lying to one's own Master, Tigress." Tigress looked up from her tile and over at her Master, her eyes wide with surprise, only to see Shifu now had his own eyes closed in frustration. He had caught her, and they both knew it.
Tigress was about to apologize to her Master when Shifu stated, "There is no shame in looking back on one's past, Tigress." Tigress then tilted her head slightly as she asked, "Master?" Shifu then continued as if not hearing her as he looked at the newest block he had picked up, "Amazing, isn't it? How we are able to associate memories with mere everyday objects. How one object can provide one memory for one person, and yet that same object can recall a different memory for someone else entirely."
At this point, Shifu looked up from the domino and over to Tigress as he finished with a slight smile, "And then...for certain people, there are special occasions where the same object can also provide them with the same memory."
Tigress watched Shifu place his latest domino in place with interest as the Red Panda continued still, "Tigress, you have come such a long way since the lonely, little girl who I met in that Orphanage all those years ago. Why, I can recall our first lesson together and how you used to crush these wooden blocks without so much as even trying to."
At this Shifu smiled as he recalled how frustrated Tigress used to get over crushing the wooden dominoes, and Tigresss herself could not help but smirk slightly. Shifu then added, "And now...here you are, a dedicated Kung Fu Master in her own right. The obstacles you have overcome over the years have been nothing short of harrowing and as your Master, I could not be more proud of you, my student."
Hearing this caused Tigress to quietly gasp. She certainly wasn't expecting the conversation to go this way. To hear Shifu say that he was actually proud of Tigress was something Tigress could count on one paw how many times it had actually happened.
Tigress then bowed her head as she whispered, "M-Master...I...Thank you Master." Shifu nodded as he said, "You are welcome Tigress...however...that does not mean that you are not without your own faults...for instance, speaking of crushing things..." At this, Shifu trailed off and Tigress's ears fell as she muttered, "So... you saw that?" Shifu nodded as he confirmed, "Every moment. And I must say, I am rather dissapointed in how you chose to handle the situation."
At this Tigress turned her head to the side and quietly huffed before asking, "Master...please do not tell me that you actually approve of the Panda running around showing off those embarrassing toys for all to see!?" Yet before Tigress could go on, Shifu held up his paw silencing her at once before he stated, "Though I do admit that I would prefer that the Dragon Warrior be a bit more...conservative, with his personal hobby, who are we to deny him his memories?"
Tigress quickly folded her arms as she pointed out, "You're his Master! It is perfectly within your right to have him remove those ridiculous things from the palace!" Shifu merely stared at Tigress for a few seconds before he asked, "So, you would have me force Po to remove his action figures from the premises and that would solve everything, is that it?"
Tigress nodded her head slightly before closing her eyes and admitted, "I certainly believe it would be a step in the right direction, yes." Shifu muttered a "Hmm..." thoughtfully before he said, "I see...well then I suppose I should also have Master Crane remove his Calligraphy equipment, as well as Master Viper's Dance Ribbons, Master Mantis's personal scrolls, Master Monkey's Almond cookies would no longer be tolerated and of course You will need to be rid of your Dominoes."
Tigress slowly dropped her arms and said, "I didn't say that the others needed to be involved Master." but Shifu simply nodded his head before placing another domino and said, "I'm aware, however, if I must force one student to abandon that which reminds him of his home and past...then I must do so for you all, would you not agree?"
Tigress was now looking at Shifu with a mixture of confusion and uncertainty. She never meant to get her other comrades involved in this conversation and wasn't sure how it happened. Seeing Tigress's reaction, Shifu could not help but smirk before saying, "Tigress, we all deserve to hold on to things that can remind us of where we come from. After everything you all have sacrificed to become protectors of China, how could you ask me to force any of you to give up such treasures?"
Tigress however appeared not to have heard him just then as she then grumbled while she reached for a new domino and placed it, "Honestly...what kind of warrior walks around carrying wooden action figures?They're just toys...what could possibly be so special about them that he would still hold on to such things?" Immediately Shifu grabbed Tigress's attention as she heard an agitated, "*Ah-hem*."
Looking up, Tigress's eyes snapped wide open as she watched Master Shifu produce from within the sleeve of his robe a small red wooden box of sorts. But as Shifu held the box up with an unamused expression on his face, Tigress slowly began to recognize that the box resembled an identical version of the great and famous Master Yao's meditation box.
Tigress was now slowly looking back and forth between Shifu and the wooden box, her mouth completely agape before she finally managed to whisper, "You...are joking?" Shifu however never gave any indication that she was right as he brought the box back to him and looked down upon it wile saying, "Although I am nowhere near as ...open...about it. I too posses items from my own younger days, Tigress."
Tigress was at a loss. Never in her wildest dreams would she have taken Shifu for one to posses such a thing. "I...never knew." was all Tigress could say before Shifu returned the wooden box to the inside of his sleeve and said, "Of course not... In fact, I believe you are now only the second person to ever learn that I possess such a thing." Tigress then perked her head up and asked, "Second? Who else knows of this, Master?"
Shifu then answered Tigress simply, "Why, just the Dragon Warrior. I suppose you could say that once he found out we sort of... bonded... over the subject." Tigress then looked away from her Master for a long moment. She couldn't believe it. Master Shifu had confided in Po about something personal but not her, his most accomplished student. Tigress expected to feel disappointed by this but never did she think she would ever feel so...hurt. Although she and Shifu had been together for many years and he was the one who took her away from the Orphanage she was abandoned at as an infant, the two were anything but exactly close.
"He...never said anything about it to us...or to me at least." Tigress stated while Shifu answered, "Of course he didn't, it was not his secret to reveal now was it?" Tigress merely shook her head before Shifu continued, "If there is one thing that Panda is capable of it's being true to his friends and knowing when it's not his place to reveal their own private business." Tigress couldn't help herself anymore and had to ask, "So...since you two have ...bonded... over those ...THINGS...do you talk about such things often?"
Shifu then surprised Tigress as he shook his head no and admitted, "No, not often. Only on rare occasions. I do know however that should I ever require anything involving this secret of mine, that I can trust in Po to help, while also keeping such a secret. In fact, Once I learned that he was going to see Xiao Xiang today, I had askd that he fetch me a new set of Paints and brushes so that I might do some touch ups on my Master Yao replica."
Tigress raised her eyebrow as she asked in disbelief, "You know about this Xiao Xiang fellow Po wanted to go see?" Shifu closed his eyes and then said, "But of course. Any serious collector knows about Xiao Xiang. He's perhaps the greatest wood carver in all of China. His inventory of Hand crafted Kung Fu Master Replicas is the most extensive on this side of the country, though his prices are just as high if you ask me."
Tigress couldn't believe she was hearing this. It was almost too much for her to take. Her Master, not only the greatest Kung Fu teacher in all of China, but also known to be one of the harshest... possessed a children's plaything. Tigress then looked over to her Master after a long moment of silence before saying, "I just don't understand...how a piece of wood could mean so much to someone."
Shifu then stroked his beard thoughtfully before saying, "As I said, different objects can mean different things to different people. But... If you are indeed curious as to know, perhaps you should ask the Dragon Warrior for yourself. In truth, I am surprised to find out that you don't know the answer to that question already."
Tigress then tilted her head in confusion as she asked, "What do you mean, Master? How could I possibly know the answer to that?" Shifu then picked up one of the few remaining blocks and placed it on the floor before saying, "To be honest, I would have thought Po would have talked to you about such things already. You see, after Po discovered my little secret and I learned that I could trust him with it, we started talking about his collection, my Master Yao figurine among other various subject that I do not need to waste my time trying to explain-" at this Tigress's ears fell slightly at Shifu not wanting to be more open with her before they perked back up again with interest as he said, "-but as soon as I mentioned how you used to have a special set of Dominoes as a child...well, he seemed to be rather interested."
A long moment of silence soon followed Shifu's last sentence, causing him to look up from the domino display that was nearly finished, to see Tigress now staring at him with a face that was mixed with not only confusion, but also disbelief. Shifu then called out to the Feline, "Tigress?" before his ears twitched as Tigress asked, "You...You told him?"
Immediately Shifu's ears fell as he realized perhaps he shouldn't have revealed something that personal instead of Tigress. "Yes, I did. At the time I thought nothing of it. After all, all children are known to possess such things. I apologize if I may have overstepped any bounds Master Tigress but I do not believe any harm will come from Po knowing...Tigress?" but as Shifu called out to her, Tigress was anything but responsive.
He didn't do it? Po never invaded her personal quarters in order to search for something to use against her as a threat? He never went looking for any information or evidence to have to use to humiliate her in front of others? Shifu simply just...told him? And yet here today, Po had the perfect opportunity to expose her little secret to the rest of the Five...but instead, all he did was let her know that he knew...but why? What was his game? What was that Panda really after?
Tigress was then brought back from her thoughts by Shifu saying, "As I said Tigress, if you wish to know why the Dragon Warrior is so particulate about his action figures, I suppose you should perhaps simply ask him yourself." But as Tigress was about to respond, she recalled how she had crushed Po's action figure of herself and immediately her ears flattened against her head once more as she whispered, "Somehow...I don't think he's going to be in the mood to share with me."
Shifu nodded his head before saying, "Yes...I suppose he may still indeed be a tad upset with what happened earlier today. But...perhaps Tigress, if you were to apologize..." it was here where Shifu began to trail off once more as he watched Tigress's face for a reaction of sorts, but all he saw was the feline looking down at the almost finished design the dominoes had nearly formed.
A long moment of silence passed between the two as Shifu waited for Tigress to say something. But when it became apparent that she wouldn't, Shifu sighed quietly to himself before reaching for the final domino inside the bag and said, "You know Tigress... in order for this dilemma to be resolved, someone must take the first step forward, otherwise you will forever remain standing at this crossroad."
As Shifu finished, he placed the final domino before Tigress and offered the Feline a small smile to which Tigress finally met his gaze briefly before staring back at the display before her. She certainly had made a mess with this whole situation. She had always assumed before judging by Po's carefree and childish personality for the most part, that that was what the Panda truly was... a child. And the fact that he was always obsessing over those wooden action figures of his for Tigress always just served to reinforce those suspicions.
But now...after talking things over with her Master...perhaps there was a different reason he was so protective over those toys of his. In that moment, Tigress briefly wondered to herself that if she did in fact ask the Panda why those things were so precious to him...would he tell her? Or had she simply caused too much damage? It was then that Tigress recalled the way Po had looked at her in the training hall. His face covered in tear stains ... but his eyes...never had Tigress witnessed so much anger behind those eyes.
"And what if...what if I can't move forward Master...what if I cannot move forward after that first step?" Tigress asked as she looked back up and over to her Master. Shifu smiled slightly once more before saying, "Then you take another step...and then another, until you have finally reached your destination. With any luck, perhaps you will reach it with Po once again at your side. But first...you must be the one to take that first step and hope that he follows."
It was then that Shifu waved his hand before the Dominoes that the two of them had laid out in the shape that resembled that of the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, motioning for Tigress to do the honors. Tigress smiled slightly before she moved her paw over to the closest domino and flicked the first tile forward, causing the block to fall back against the next block in line, knocking it over and so on.
Tigress watched with a sense of wonder that she had all but forgotten, as one by one the dominoes fell, allowing the light to shimmer off the golden painted surfaces briefly across the display. Shifu watched Tigress the entire time as she watched the dominoes and he was briefly able to see the little girl he had helped so long ago back in that orphanage, happy once again and the old Master could not help but smile.
Once the final domino had fallen and produced the last shimmer, Shifu stood up from his sitting position and said, "Well then... I suppose you know what it is you must do then Tigress?" Tigress briefly looked at her Master and once again her smile was gone, replaced by a frown as she muttered, "Yes Master...I understand what I must do. I thank you for your council." Shifu nodded slightly before saying, "I know you will do what you must. Good luck." And with that, the old Master left the room leaving Tigress alone with her thoughts.
Once Shifu closed the door behind him, Tigress began to slowly pick up the dominoes that now laid about before her in a significantly sloppier fashion. As she did so, she briefly muttered to herself, "I know what it is I must do Master...but how must I go about doing it?"
Tigress knew that she would have to apologize to the Panda for her actions and for her harsh words towards him, but in truth, Tigress wasn't certain that it would do any good. According to Shifu, Tigress had literally destroyed one of Po's treasures and then proceeded to humiliate him in front of his friends.
Again the image of Po's eyes flashed before her mind and Tigress began to feel more and more certain that any attempt at an apology would be futile. She needed to find a way to show the Panda that she was trying to be genuine with this apology...but how? How could she prove to Po that she wanted to make things right between them?
As Tigress dropped the last Domino inside the brown bag, she briefly stared at the contents inside, watching as the light gently reflected off some of the blocks inside. Suddenly Tigress's eyes widened as an idea suddenly came to her. "Could it work?" Tigress thought to herself before her ears fell as she thought, "Is there no other way? No...Master Shifu said to do whatever I must to make this right...and right now I see no other immediate option."
So with that, Tigress pulled the draw string tight, closing the brown sack once more before she stood up with the sack in paw and proceeded to exit her room, making sure none of the other Masters or Servants were nearby. Just because Po might have learned about her dominoes, didn't mean she was ready for anyone else to know about them.
After closing her door, Tigress then proceeded to tie the sack to her waist using her black training sash and began her search for the Panda. She just hoped she could find him before running in to any of the others and that her plan might actually work.
And there is Chapter 2! The next chapter brings this short story to a close.I willalsobe updating my profile over the next day or so to update my progress on my other stories I'm writing. hopefully I can answer some questions for you guys! Until then, thanks for reading and remember...
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