Disclaimer: I do not own KFP.

Song: Bleach OST: Hollowed

Chapter 4: The Battle Within

"Alright, Tigress. Kneel on both knees."

She got down on both knees, and mentally prepared herself for the fight she was about to partake in.

"Are you ready, Tigress?" Hunter wanted to make sure she was ready for this.

"Yes, Hunter. I'm ready."

Hunter brought his index and middle finger up to her forehead, and closed his eyes.

"Kokoro shi kudasai."

(Translates roughly to 'Enter the mind')

And just like that, they were both in a hilly area, but the green grass was blue, and the world had an air of kindness.

"I don't think this will be very hard. After all, your opposite is loving and compassionate, and a bit crazy." Hunter was probably right. After all, he had been right about why he was here.

Someone burst out of the ground behind Tigress, and spun a crescent kick toward her head. Tigress dodged, and moved back to get a good look at her opposite.

She looked to be a white tiger, with white fur and jet black stripes. She was actually the complete opposite of Tigress. Her vest was pure white, her pants were pure white, but the leaf design was jet black. Her eyes were jet black in all areas.

"So you're my landlord, huh?" The opposite form of Tigress said to the real one.

"I guess so," Tigress said. "Who are you, anyway?"

It gave an annoyed look on its face, then gave a slight chuckle. "What a stupid question. Isn't it obvious? I'm you. Well, to be more accurate, your opposite.

Tigress glanced back at Hunter. "My opposite isn't exactly as loving and caring as you said it would be, Hunter."

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not all I was cracked up to be! Let me make it up to you, by utterly dominating you."

She released a flurry of punches and kicks, all coordinated with each other to create the storm of attacks. All Tigress could do was dodge. She just couldn't find an opening.

"What's the matter, Tigress? Having a bit of trouble? Here, let me help you."

It stopped its attacks, and turned its cheek toward Tigress.

"Go ahead. Hit me with all of your force, no holds barred."

Tigress took this opportunity, and reeled back with all of her might. She sent her fist plummeting her opponent's face, and it went flying in the opposite direction. Spiraling in the air, the opposite form of Tigress struggled to get control. When it finally landed, a smoke cloud rose up around it. When the dust finally settled, the inner Tigress stood up, blood trickling down from its mouth.

"You hit harder than I expected… Hmm. Even so, this battle is not in your favor. You see, I know your fighting style, since I'm you. Nothing you can do will surprise me, and no technique you will throw will ever be able to stand a chance against me. However, I can still be a threat to you… Because I am your fighting spirit. Your instincts, one may say. And right now, I'm getting the idea of killing you." It transitioned into an offensive stance, and eagerly looked at Tigress for her to do the same. "It's not like you might be able to beat me. The matter of the fact is you can't beat me!"

And that sentence alone was enough to light the fire in Tigress's soul. Start the song now.

"I can sure as hell beat you, you worthless clone."

Tigress wasted no time in rushing her clone, with a fury of kicks and punches. The clone was surprised at how easily she could envelop it, and decided to retaliate, but just a little too soon. The clone was punched straight in the gut, sending blood straight out of its mouth. The, Tigress flip-kicked it in the jaw, landing gracefully, sending the clone flying out of control. The clone quickly regained composure, and ran to Tigress's position, but instead of attacking head on, it span around behind her, and prepared an axe kick to the back of her neck. Before it could reach her, though, Tigress caught her clone's leg and twisted it, spinning the clone. It landed on its back, and the clone was coughing out of control. Tigress turned, and aimed an axe kick straight for the clone's head. Before it landed, though, the clone dodged and launched a crescent kick at her neck. It hit Tigress, but she was unaffected by it, and caught her leg before it was returned to the clone. She threw the clone to the ground, and side kicked the clone straight in the chest, creating cracks in the ground below. The clone coughed up blood, and jumped back up to land a devastating punch to Tigress's arm. However, Tigress moved out of the way, and the hit only nicked her arm. Still, it was enough to push her back. Sensing the opening, the clone made its way to Tigress, and unleashed three punches; one to her face, one to her gut, and another to her lower abdomen. Tigress was knocked back by the force of the hits, and she landed on her back. The clone pounced on her, but Tigress kicked her off with a fierce frontal assault. The clone was knocked back and dazed. Tigress took this opportunity to finish it off. She jumped into the air, spun around, and raised her leg. With that, she came down on the clone's head, and the clone instantly fell. The clone now lay there, motionless. Tigress had won. You can now stop the song.

Suddenly, red energy flowed from Tigress and into the air. "What is this? Some kind of attack?"

"No, Tigress. That's your spiritual power! It's been unlocked. We can now leave your mind."

Hunter then stuck out his hand toward her, sideways.

Tigress was confused. "What?" she said.

Hunter was surprised that she did not know of this formality. "It's called a handshake. All you have to do is take my hand, and shake it."

Tigress was skeptical at first, but she eventually took his hand and shook. Hard.

"Ouch," Hunter said. And with that, they came to in the real world.

In the real world…

"When are they going to snap out of it? They've been at it for an hour now." Mantis was getting impatient, but most of all, hungry. And he could get snappy when he was hungry. Or should we dare say, snippy?

Suddenly, they both came out of the trance, Tigress panting heavily, and Hunter with a smile on his face. "She did it! She now has attained spiritual power, and in time, she will learn to use it to launch attacks like no other… Now, who's next?"

Po raised his hand, but not to be next. "Can I ask a question to Tigress?"

"Sure, Po. You don't have to ask."

He then proceeded with his question. "What was it like, fighting yourself? Was it awesome? I bet it was."

Tigress smiled lightly, but it faded quickly. "It was far from it. Po, this isn't something I think you should treat as just another mission."

Po's smile was swept from his face. A simple "Oh," was all that escaped from his mouth.

"So," Hunter asked again, "Who wants to go next?"

"I'll go," Viper said. "I'm just going to get it out of the way."

Hunter admired her courage. But at the same time, he was disappointed that none of the guys had gone up yet. "You males scared or something? The first two to go are girls. No offense, of course, to the females."

This was followed by a bunch of scolds from Monkey, Mantis, and Crane. And it continued this way; one by one, facing themselves in heated battles. It was all normal… until Po went up.