*kneels and grovels* Thank you, God! Thank you, thank you, thank you soooo much for giving me the chance to post a new chapter! *stands up and spread hands on both sides as wide as I can* I love YOU!
Sorry for the delay. But here it is!
I don't own Kung Fu Panda, its locations, characters...etc, etc. I can only claim my OCs (there's none appearing on this chapter)
What's more noticeable
The sun had brought with it its last rays of sunlight as it sunk down the mountain slopes and the moon claimed the night, casting off pearly white rays in the sky; stars popping out of their hiding places one after the other.
After his chat with Tigress, Shifu went down the village to see how severe the earlier events really were. His descent on the seemingly endless staircase leading to the village proper seemed to go on forever. He gazed up the star-filled sky every now and then...and couldn't help but remember certain events that took place over sixty years ago.
Moon...
When he arrived, the snow leopards body was still there: lying on the ground, her blood now dried up and she remained unmoving as the dead should be. There are a few onlookers gathered around the feline in one big circle—with her at the center—either cringing or feeling a splinter of sympathy to the poor young soul.
He asked for further details from those who were witnesses to the skirmish—the one Tigress had given him didn't quite assure him so he decided to search for more.
Shifu received information Tigress had relayed earlier (he listened intently from a local citizen, a goose, who told him the tale in which he already knew), but his student failed to include the one where he was mentioned in some sort of argument they are engaged in. Suppose that's the reason to her actions, the grand master thought. But still...
He wondered, though, how in the world did the bandit knew that? How did she have known that he had adopted Tigress? Yes almost the entire village knew that - possible China too - but that doesn't justify the reason why such person as...Wu, when she had only appeared earlier and perhaps just met Tigress during their fight, would posses that knowledge? How?
Ears drooping, Shifu decided to set aside the topic for later. He ordered the bandit be given a decent burial. "Though she may be a marauding criminal, she was still a living being, no less, and deserves to be treated as one," he told the villagers. No one objected.
Three boars, two rabbits and geese lifted the bloody corpse and secured it on a makeshift stretcher and carried it off to the Valley Cemetery where the body is to be buried. The undertaker had already prepared a coffin and had already dug a hole in an area far away from the other graves, and the feline will not be receiving any ceremony. That wasn't necessary.
After that, Shifu went back to the Jade Palace and assigned two of his students—specifically Mantis and Monkey—to address Tigress with her wound once they returned from Mr. Ping's noodle shop. The others insisted to help too, saying that it would be best if they were there to aid. He sighed. "Very well," he approved and then he eyed his students seriously, "But you are to leave her alone once you are finished and never enter her room unless you have my permission. And if she requests anything, you should tell me first before granting it to her." He strictly ordered. "Am I understood?" His students bowed towards him with a chorus of "yes master".
"What the heck is going on around here?" Mantis said as they took the path leading to the Student Barracks under the moonlight. "Why is Shifu acting so frustrated all of a sudden?"
Though Shifu hid it well, it couldn't be mistaken that he was indeed frustrated - flustered too, maybe, and possibly worried - existing in those steely blue eyes of his like a restless ghost, unable to find peace.
"Dunno," said Viper, her sisters slithering beside her (the two younger serpents were somehow oblivious to all of this), then she added, "but with the bandit raid happening unexpectedly, and the Moon Festival just around the corner, it's likely for him to get frustrated."
"Maybe," Monkey said, not completely sure. "And I don't get why is Tigress subjected to house arrest?"
The four kung fu masters suddenly glanced at the Dragon Warrior who they assumed to know the reason. Po instantly raised both his paws, the other holding a woven box, defensively."What? All I know is after his talk with Tigress; he started to act that way. And I don't know anything about her being grounded or something like that, she hasn't told me anything."
"So I guess we have to ask Tigress herself," Crane suggested.
"Uh...not sure if Tigress is willing to talk," said Po. "And maybe it's hard for her to, with...um..." Po trailed off.
"With what Po." Viper looked towards the panda.
"Never mind." The panda muttered, choosing the wise decision of shutting his big mouth before he revealed anything that will lead to his doom.
As they entered the Barracks, they stopped by the door of Tigress' room and knocked. When a faint "come in" came, the five warriors slid the door open and stepped inside the room.
Tigress sat sullenly atop her bed, all cleaned-up; assuming a crossed-legged position. A candle placed on a lotus-shaped candle holder burned by the wooden floorboards across her, serving as her evening light. But the candlelight seemed irrelevant since the moon provided enough light already.
Monkey took the first aid kit from Po, placed it near the tiger; opened it to pick up a white cloth and with Mantis' instructions, and everyone's coöperation, the medication process took place with the primate having the honors of doing the bandaging.
All was silent. Tigress especially. The expression on her face was so difficult to read; her comrades couldn't help but feel a little bit uncomfortable. Po darted his green eyes towards Crane, mouthing the words "what now". The latter only shrugged his wings, who then switched his gaze towards Mantis who returned a "don't look at me" look, and turned to the panda mouthing the words "you say something". Po only scowled as a response. Again and again, the males fussed about trying to persuade the other to make the first move, but none of them seemed to be willing. Nian and Mei-mei looked completely clueless as to what was going on, but the two couldn't help but smile, finding the situation amusing.
We're going nowhere with this, Viper thought shaking her head. She turned to her sisters and told them to head to her room for she knew that they are about to engage on a conversation that only fitted the ears of mature individuals, but did not tell her siblings that.
"Okay." Nian and Mei-mei nodded understandably without any hint of protest. The two younger vipers slithered out of the room and to their sister's quarters. When a door slidding close assured that all audience were now adults, Viper commenced the conversation. "Tigress," she began, "are you feeling alright?"
Monkey had finished with his task, removing the excess bandage and tucking it inside the woven box. He then joined Po, Crane, Viper and Mantis as they waited for the tiger's response. "Just fine..." Was her emotionless answer to the question.
Viper looked worriedly towards her confidante with soft eyes. Again, she tried to delve further. "Fine to tell us what happened earlier?"
The tiger's face suddenly hardened, her paws contorted into tightly clenched fists and her entire body seemed to have stiffened. Her ears flattened unto her skull, shutting her eyes closed. "I'd rather not talk about it," she muttered.
"We need to - " Viper felt a sudden tap on her long body and gazed up to see Po's green eyes filled with worry. "I think its best we don't force her." The panda told her. He knew that the particular subject may be difficult for the tiger master to converse with anyone, and Tigress was never the type of person who likes to open up about her feelings and experiences. Viper knew that too, but the serpent thinks that something must be done - and now! She gave the panda a stern look. "Po she has to tell us. How else are we suppose to help her if we don't know the rea—WHAM!
Six pairs of eyes turned towards the certain tiger whose fist was planted firmly on her bed, where a spider web-like pattern stretched from the point of impact. Tigress' entire body shook with fury.
As a result, the four and the Dragon Warrior clamp their mouths and stare fear-stricken towards the enraged Tigress whose lips were curled in one ferocious snarl, fangs bared. "If you want to find out what happened to me earlier so badly then I'll tell you: I killed someone, alright? Yes. You heard it right. I killed someone! Master Tigress of the Furious Five dared take a life!"
...
It's as if the air was knocked out of them and that someone had just poured cold water on their heads, for right that moment, they all just felt numb, devoid of any emotion to the mortal being. But if someone knew the particular feeling consuming them right now, they would like to hear about it, so they would know this knew alien emotion. Large eyes, rigid bodies, slacken jaws - no one dared to move. Not even blinking his/her eyes.
The soft light illuminating the room gave a slight sway, and silence loomed once more. Never in their wildest imaginations had they thought that Tigress would dare take a life - purposely, that is. They all knew that she was an honorable warrior and would not commit such misdeed. So were those words true? Did she really kill someone? Her—Master Tigress?
"You...you killed someone?" Mantis spoke of utter disbelief.
Tigress had no response to that, but her silence gave them the answer. She knew it wasn't her fault, yet the tiger had fully convinced herself that it really was. Wu practically did it to herself, but who is to say that she had no involvement towards it? That from the moment the snow leopardess held the sword in her paws; the urge of killing her didn't cross her mind? With Wu blabbering about...things she held secret and precious how could she had restrained herself from doing it? You killed her, no use denying it, a voice in her mind seemed to reprimand.
"But surely you had a reason, Tigress," Viper said after a moment of silence, "we all know that you won't subject to that unless you had a good reason, right?"
"That's right," Crane chimed in. The rest of them nodded.
"Please, just tell us m—"
"Look!" Tigress had had enough. "I killed the leopard, and that's that. I stabbed her with her own sword and left her on the ground to rot! No need for any further explanations, so just DROP IT! "She growled.
No one spoke after that. What is there to say? To think that you were happily smiling with your comrade and close friend yesterday, only for you to find out that that friend of yours killed another person? How would you react to that: Shocked, because you never thought that she would even do such a thing; You won't believe it, because you know full well that she is capable of such doings; or terrified, because you know that she was now a danger you should avoid? Which?
"If you would, "Tigress whispered aloud, ending the silence that remained, "I want to be alone."
Slowly, and hesitantly, the four members of the five and the Dragon Warrior stood from their sitting positions and started towards the exit. They each gave Tigress one last glance before they completely left her to her own thoughts, one after another, with Po as the last to leave...
As soon as everyone was gone, Tigress gave off a tired sigh. By now, her only companion is her shadow, stretched across her room, mimicking her posture, as well as the occasional whistling of the wind outside of her room.
The fire on the tip of the candle flickered madly as a fine breeze intruded. Her gaze landed upon the flames, dancing without rhythm and music as if to hypnotize her and lure her close. She stared unblinking towards it. She unconsciously got up and picked up the candle and placed it beside her, right next to the woven first aid kit. She stretched her paw and swayed it above the candle fire making it swerved about. She smiled, remembering doing this very same thing when she was still a cub living in the orphanage, before Shifu arrived. She would always be fascinated by how the fire moved fluidly after waving her paw above it; remembered how she used to enjoy doing it from time to time.
The door to her room slid open, slowly - and gently - it closed behind the person who entered without warning. The tiger lowered her brows and shoulders as she sighed frustratingly. "Po, Shifu said none of you are allowed to see me unless you have his permission."
"I know, he told us," Po said calmly. He frowned and said, "But I'm not leaving until you tell me."
"You were there," Tigress told him, without looking into his eyes, "you saw me; what is there to tell?"
Po balled his fists and firmly stood his ground as if he was about to engage into battle against the tiger master. His usually easy-going features contorted into a more serious one. "Not throughout the time you were fighting the leo—Wu—to really know the reason why you're sulking." Po gulped, betraying himself despite his brave facade. "Tell me what really happened, Tigress." He demanded.
Tigress groaned openly. "What part of "leave me alone" don't you people understand?" her voice rumbled deeply, threateningly.
"The part about why we have to leave you alone." Po replied, with a bit of desperation evident in his tone.
"I need time to think."
"From what?" When Po received no reply, he walked closer to the distressed Tigress and sat next to her where there was still space; gazing at her gently. "C'mon, Tigress, you know you can trust me right?"
Finally, she turned to face a panda without showing any clues of her emotions. She lowered her gaze, "I know."
"So..." For a moment there, Po thought that she was going to spill the beans when she opened her mouth just slightly, but then Tigress shut it at the last minute, shattering his hopes. "No." She said harshly.
"Tigress—"
"I said NO!" She cut him off.
"In that case then, I'm staying here, because unless you tell me what happened before I saw...what I saw back there, I'm not going anywhere." Po declared stubbornly. "And if you won't talk, I going to see Shi—"
Tigress snapped her head up to glare daggers with the Dragon Warrior, giving him another taste of the look she demonstrated to him back at Gongmen Jail. Po held his breath, aghast. "Don't you get it? I killed someone! For the first time in my life I took a life! How would make you feel?"
"Bad, I guess, b—"
"Bad?" Tigress laughed harshly. "'Bad' doesn't come close to describing what I feel! I vowed to protect lives, Po!"
"Of the innocent!" the panda retorted. "Wu isn't exactly innocent now is she?" Po held his paws up, as if to black an incoming attack. "And trust me—I know how you feel. That's what I felt when I defeated Tai Lung or Shen. I—"
"Except you didn't spill their blood." Tigress countered, her voice stony.
Po paused.
"But you've fought so more than just bandits before, you've fought armies, too, right? Surely you might have..."
"I defeated them, Po, never killed. Some of them might have but not in my paws or simply by accident."
"Yeah, taking a life isn't an option...unless of course it's absolutely necessary. You needed to do that because you have no other choice! It's not like you did it out of anger or anything ri—"
"I did."
The panda was taken aback. "Excuse me, what?"
"I did it...out of anger."
Silence dragged on after hearing Tigress' statement. Po didn't seem to know what to say. He had known the tiger hadn't let her anger get the better of her, this was actually the first time he ever heard her loosing herself in a battle. Just what exactly had gone through with her fight with the leopard to make her resolve to such acts? Thinking of it made Po's unbearable curiosity intensify.
"And that's what is worse about it: I did it out of anger."
Tigress looked calmer than she had been moments before: her shoulders loosened and her clenched paws relaxed just as her body did. But one emotion became obvious; she looked distressed. She lifted her paws and opened her palms as she lowered her head to stare at them as if she could still see Wu's blood dirtying them. "Now everyone probably thinks I'm some kind of...monster." There was visible hurt in her eyes upon saying the last word. And Po understood why. Even after all these years she would still be troubled by it.
He understood her completely. Yes he might have got rid of Tai Lung and Lord Shen in his battles against them but Tigress' case seemed...different. And to know that she did it out of anger made it much more difficult to accept nor believe that her—his idol, his favorite amongst the five, the one person he would gladly give anything to be like—had ever dared to end someone's existence. It's just...unimaginable!
The panda moved his paw and place it atop Tigress', giving her a sympathetic look. "C'mon, I'm sure everyone already forgot about that. And besides, you've done so many good things for them to notice this one...mistake." He told her.
Tigress sighed, taking her paw away from the panda's. As much as she wanted to believe that, she couldn't help but have doubts.
She opened the lid on the woven kit next to her, by the candle, and took a clean cloth, cutting it in equal sides of five inches each. "Hold out your paw, Po." She instructed in which the panda followed immediately. She placed the piece of fabric on the panda's open paw. Po was confused, but said nothing.
Then she moved her forefinger in her mouth and plunged her sharp fang unto the flesh. "What are you doing?" Po asked.
She ignored the question, proceeding to flexing her arm forward, her paw just above the bandage Po was holding. She pressed her thumb on the finger she had bitten into and a mass of blood build up on the open flesh. She allowed the crimson liquid to dislodge and drop approximately on the middle of the cloth, before withdrawing her paw. "Tell me what you see, Po," she asked abruptly.
Po stared down on the piece of fabric on his paw, straining his eyes against the dim light for what possible things he was supposed to spot. He couldn't see anything worth mentioning, except there was the drop of Tigress' blood she put moments ago. "Uh...I don't see anything, aside from the drop of your blood right here," he answered pointing at the tiny blot.
"Look harder," Tigress indicated.
Po looked again, but saw nothing other than the first thing he noticed. "There's nothing else here, Tigress, except this." He gain pointed at the drop of red liquid.
"Are you sure? Is that all you see?"
Po shrugged. "Pretty much."
Tigress sighed, downhearted.
"Why—what's wrong?" Po panicked.
"Exactly what I mean," said Tigress, turning away.
"Huh?" the panda still didn't comprehend.
"Po," Tigress started with a rock-hard voice as she faced the panda, "you couldn't told me that you see this large white portion—"she circled her paws above the fabric, indicating the wide pure color—"instead the first thing you saw—and what you only saw—is that tiny drop of my blood." Tigress moved her gaze towards the light on the candle, watching it dance. "The same case applies to me: that dot represents my faults, my mistakes; and the white part, my accomplishments...
"Sometimes...the first thing people notice are the things you did wrong, even after how many times you've shown to them that you are a noble person, doing good deeds, served well. But all those things will be easily forgotten once you make a mistake and all they'll ever see...are the things you did wrong."
He was silent for a few moments, thinking of what to say to contradict that belief despite the fact of its truthfulness. Still, Po tried. "You know that's not true Tigress."
Tigress arched an eyebrow, wrinkling her nose, "Oh yeah? Go down the village and see for yourself. They're probably gossiping all about it as we speak."
Po was lost for words He was never a good candidate at debates. One against Tigress is an impossible win! Heck! He might not win against anyone for that matter. And right now he worked through his mind on how to counterattack the tiger's statement about the mistakes she made being more powerful than what she did right and for good intentions. Cimon, brain, work already!
"If you please, Po, I would appreciate it more if you just leave me alone."
Defeated, Po stood up and headed for the exit without another word. He slid the door open but didn't leave just yet. He shot Tigress a concerned expression, hesitating whether he should really leave her. Sighing as a symbol of surrender, he proceeded to leaving, closing the door behind him quietly as he could manage.
She was again all to herself. Tigress kept staring at the closed door; the dancing flames in the candle gave her reassurance that she was now all alone...and her time to take action. Narrowing her eyes, she stretched out her legs and felt the cold sensation of the wooden floorboards beneath her feet. She stood up, rubbing her bandaged wound. She went to where the panda had exited; making sure she made no sound as she opens her door, steps outside only to close it behind her again.
There's no mistaken it. As she observes the hall lighted by the moon's silver glow, she thought of what the panda is about to do next...
And she didn't approve of it.
A/N: About Tigress feeling all "guilty-for-killing-Wu-as-she-had-convinced-hersel f" thing will have more explanation on another chapter ;). And once again *kneels* THANK YOU GOD! I LOVE YOU!
I hope I made sense about the whole "dot in the cloth" thing. I was never good at explaining what I really want to relay, but I try my best to learn to at least make it right.
Sorry if I made Tigress a little OOC. Punish me if you want to!
And thanks to all those who reviewed! :D Your feedback gives me the courage and motivation to continue!
God Bless everyone!
