Year of the Goose
By corset-rebellion-follower
Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda
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Chapter 9- Shifu's Disappointment
"I don't understand why Tigress is just quitting like this. It's just not like her," Viper said uneasily.
"Well she wasn't exactly good. This is going to sound terrible, but… we're probably better off without her. I mean, if we want to win, that is," Crane said.
"And we're not really trying to win for ourselves. We're doing it for Mr. Ping. This does mean a lot to him," Monkey added.
Mantis didn't say anything. He had been completely silent since his argument with Tigress. Maybe I was a bit hard on her. I mean, she's trying her best. But this is really important to me too. And what's done is done.
"I wonder how Mr. Ping is going to react. We all promised to help," Crane said.
"Yeah. Now he's short one assistant."
"Look, we can't force Tigress to come down if she doesn't want to. Not unless you want to be kicked down the stairs. It's better all around this way, so let's just drop it," Mantis snapped. The rest of the group exchanged glances, but didn't argue. They completed the rest of the trip in silence, and entered the noodle shop solemnly and silently.
"Good morning, students!" Mr. Ping chorused cheerfully. He immediately noticed their grim attitudes. "Come now, it may be early, but that's no reason to be unhappy! Service with a smile, remember?"
Viper sighed. "Mr. Ping, there's something that we have to tell you. It's about Tigress—she quit the contest." Mr. Ping's happy-go-lucky demeanor dropped.
"W-what?"
"We don't know why. She didn't come out of her room this morning and just yelled at us from inside that she wasn't going and to leave or we'd be late," she explained further.
"This is unacceptable! I need her here for the contest!" he yelled.
"Mr. Ping, I don't think we really need her. The rest of us will step up our game and make up for the difference," Mantis persuaded.
"No, you don't understand! She is exactly what we needed! You didn't see her abilities!"
"Abilities? Mr. Ping, in all respect to you and to her, she stunk!" Monkey exclaimed.
"You didn't see her with the little girl! That was a perfect bowl of noodles, I could tell! I have to get her back into the competition and down here for training!" He ran out of the shop, yelling Tigress' name.
Back up at the Jade Palace, Master Shifu was strolling along the grounds. It had been an extremely peaceful and quiet week. He wasn't used to this type of silence, so every so often he expected to hear yells and cracking wood from the training hall, or the sound of a crash from the kitchen from Po rummaging around. But it was an appreciated silence. He needed a vacation badly.
"HI-YAH!"
He jumped and looked around. It was just him. The Five are at Mr. Ping's to prepare for their contest, and Po is in bed. It's just you, Shifu, you're just not used to this yet.
A loud crack and crash sounded. The doors to the training hall flew open and a large chunk of spike-covered wood came out and rolled to Shifu's feet. He looked down at the wood for a moment before running into the training hall.
Tigress was there, facing the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion. She saw him and leapt off the course.
"Good morning, Master," she said breathlessly, bowing and smiling.
"Tigress… you're here," he said slowly.
"Of course, Master. Where else would I be?"
"Down in the village with Mr. Ping and the others, preparing for the contest." Tigress' smile faded.
"Oh…" So much for pretending nothing's wrong. "I… I don't think I'm going to compete, Master. I'm not much of a noodle-maker," she said quietly.
"I see. So you're quitting." That stung at Tigress' heart. She never liked admitting defeat, but to have it blatantly pointed out by her master hurt a lot more.
"Well, yes."
"Because you're not good at it."
Tigress paused. "I suppose so." Shifu sighed.
"I thought I taught you better than that, Tigress."
"What am I supposed to do, Master? I can't cook, and there's nothing I can do about that!"
"There is something you can do about that! You can go back and try again. It may not be perfect, but it will be something!" Tigress sighed and sat down.
"Master, I'm sorry. But I can't. You should see others. And Mantis—he's fantastic. And I'm just not. I… I don't want to embarrass myself."
Shifu took her face in his hands and made her look at him. "Listen to me. You may be saving yourself from embarrassment by quitting, but by giving up because you don't succeed immediately takes away your honor. You've only been doing this for four days, you need to give it time. You have such great honor, Tigress. Don't lose it because of foolish pride."
Tigress looked down at the floor as she stood back up. "I don't want to lose my honor. But I doubt that anyone would want me helping anyway. To be honest, Master, I've only been making noodles for one and a half days, and that was the first day of training and half of the second. The rest of the time I was either washing dishes or running errands at the market. I'm just not good enough," she said timidly.
"But you are good enough. There's a reason why I've trained you and the Five to the very limits of your abilities. Because I know what kind of raw power and determination you have. You're strong, Tigress; don't belittle yourself," he pleaded.
She looked back at the obstacle course, and then into her Master's eyes. "But sometimes power and determination just isn't enough. I'm sorry." She walked past him.
"I'm disappointed in you." She stopped and turned around. "I've always been proud, and forgiven you for your mistakes. But this is the first time I can say I was truly disappointed," he said hollowly.
Tigress felt her heart rip in half. I don't want to disappoint him… but I can't do this. Mantis will have his moment and I'll watch and be happy for him. Whatever the price may be. She continued out of the training hall.
Just remember, you're doing this for a friend. Even if it does mean that Mantis leaves the Jade Palace for the noodle-making business. If it makes him happy and brings him peace, then I should support him as a friend he's known since childhood.
But deep inside, she was disappointed in herself, and her conscious was screaming to march down to that shop and show Mantis how it was done, and to regain her honor and Shifu's approval before it was too late. But she ignored it and headed down the plethora of stairs to the village.
Hopefully Dongwa will understand. Just because I'm giving up on cooking doesn't mean that I'm going to lose all my honor. But Mr. Ping… he'll do fine, he has Mantis, after all.
"Miss Tigress!" Mr. Ping was running toward her, a smile on his bill. "Oh, I'm so glad I finally found you! We're you heading down to my shop?" he asked hopefully.
She took a deep breath. "No, Mr. Ping, I wasn't. I was actually going to visit a friend of mine. But truly, I am sorry for quitting on such short notice."
She kept walking down the stairs. Mr. Ping followed. "Miss Tigress, please, I'm begging you to reconsider. I need you in the competition."
"Mr. Ping, really, I think you'll be better off without me. I'm not a very good cook and I'll probably just stint your chances of winning. It's better this way," she insisted.
"But what about with that little girl?" She stopped and looked at him.
"What?"
"That little rabbit girl! You made her a bowl of noodles while you were talking to her, and you did everything perfectly! I could tell," he said softly.
She paused, looking straight ahead. "If you concentrate on something that you're passionate about, such as your kung fu training, and that has nothing to do with cooking, you're excellent at it! So during the competition, if you talk to someone about kung fu at all times, then you'll be a success!" he explained excitedly.
She continued to look into the distance. Maybe I'm not as terrible as I think. But still, I promised Mantis that I would let him do this.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ping, but I can't. You still have the rest of the Five, and I'm sure you'll be great at the contest. I'll come down to see you and the other compete, but that's the best I can offer you." And she resumed walking.
She felt terrible. In the past few minutes I've disappointed Master Shifu and Mr. Ping. Mantis better be damn happy after this because he'll have to grovel at my feet for the rest of his life to get my forgiveness.
She finally reached the inn and asked the inn keeper for Mrs. Ding. "Her room's up the stairs and to the right, at the end of the hall. But I wouldn't get your hopes up. None of my housekeeping staff has been able to get in there all week. Whenever they try, she always screams at them that they're working for Mr. Ping and trying to steal her secrets. Personally, I've known Ping for years, and he never struck me as a guy who would do something like that. Crazy old woman."
She snickered as she headed up the stairs. The description of her behavior sounded exactly as Mr. Ping and Dongwa had told her.
She knocked on the door. A few moments later, Dongwa answered it. "Tigress! What are you doing here?" he asked, surprised.
She whispered, "I need to talk to you." A thick smell of vegetables broth came out of the room. "Working?" she asked.
He nodded and half smiled. "Son, who's there?" Mrs. Ding appeared. Tigress had to hold in her giggles. Mrs. Ding only went up to a little above Dongwa's knees, and she was clutching a wooden spoon, squinting up at her.
"I knew it! I knew those others were spies from Ping! She was behind the counter at his shop the day I went there!" she screeched, pointing the spoon at Tigress.
"It's alright, Mom, Tigress is a friend of mine. She wouldn't spy on us," Dongwa defended.
"Besides, Mrs. Ding, I'm not going to be in the contest anymore. I guess I'm just not cut out for the noodle business," Tigress said.
Dongwa looked shocked, but Mrs. Ding looked cheerful and happy. "Oh, then please, come in! I'm always pleased to meet one of Dongwa's friends."
Tigress tried to smile as she entered the room, but overheard Mrs. Ding whisper to Dongwa, "She's a keeper, honey! It's about time you had a girlfriend!"
Tigress' cheeks went crimson. Dongwa laughed uneasily. "Mom, she's not my girlfriend, she's just a friend."
"Not a girlfriend yet," Mrs. Ding said devilishly. Dongwa looked up at Tigress with apologetic and mortified eyes. She smiled warmly and nodded.
"Since when are you not in the contest? I thought you were competing with the rest of the Five," he asked.
"She's better off if you ask me. It's best to stick with what your talented at and leave the noodles to the professionals. Kung fu masters in the Noodle-Off. Who ever heard of such a thing!" Mrs. Ding criticized.
"Mom!"
"No, she's right. I guess I really was born to be Master Tigress and not Chef Tigress," Tigress insisted.
"To be honest, it sounds better the way it is. It fits your dignity," he said.
Tigress blushed again, and Mrs. Ding smiled knowingly.
"Actually, Dongwa, I was really hoping to talk to you alone. It's kind of important."
"Sure. If I can be released from prison early today," he said, glaring at his mother.
"Preparation and training takes complete dedication, son. I'm sure your 'friend' can tell you that," Mrs. Ding countered, chopping orange slices.
"Are those for noodles, Mrs. Ding? I've never heard of anyone putting oranges into noodles, and I'm pretty sure that I never will after today," Tigress asked.
"It's a new recipe I've been developing. Don't tell anyone this, promise?" Tigress nodded. "I'm trying a new bowl of dessert noodles. It may sound crazy now, but no one's ever tried it before!" she exclaimed.
Tigress merely nodded as she and Dongwa exchanged a glance. "So may I go, Mom?" he asked.
"Alright, but don't be gone too long. We'll have to make up for the lost time."
Dongwa said as he rushed Tigress out of the room, "Sure thing Mom, be back in a little while." As soon as the door was closed, Dongwa let go of a breath.
He took Tigress' hands and kissed them. "You are my savior."
She giggled and took her hands back. "So what's up? Why are you quitting the contest?" he asked.
She cringed. "Please don't use that word."
"What word?"
"Quitting. You don't even want to know how many times I've heard that today," she answered nauseously.
"Sorry. What happened? Do you want to talk about it?" he asked quietly.
"Yes, but not in here. Can we go somewhere private? This is sort of personal," she requested.
"Sure."
They left the inn and he led her to the outskirts of the village and out of the village gates. After walking for a few more minutes, he stopped by a large ginkgo tree and sat down, offering the spot next to him for her.
She sat down and stared at the leaves that were littering the ground. "So what's wrong? Are you alright?" he asked. She sighed.
"I've basically disappointed all my elders in the past hour. Master Shifu thinks that I'm behaving dishonorably because I'm quitting without giving myself a chance, and Mr. Ping thinks that I'm just abandoning him. And worst of all, I feel completely horrible about it, even though I'm doing it for someone else's benefit," she told him.
"Whose?" he asked. She smiled a little. At least he didn't say, "Whose? Yours?"
"Master Mantis's. You should see him, Dongwa, he's an amazing cook. His noodles taste great, his presentation is amazing, and he loves cooking. And since I get a lot of praise from my kung fu, I felt that he should be able to be proud of himself for something that he's talented at."
"Did you say that to Master Shifu or Mr. Ping?"
"Well, no, I didn't."
"Why not? I'm sure that they would have understood," Dongwa said.
"The conversation just didn't go that way," she insisted.
"So make it go that way. Yell, 'I'm doing this for Master Mantis! And I'm proud to help out a friend, so don't you dare judge me!' It doesn't have to flow a certain way for something to be said," he told her.
She laughed. "I can't exactly take that tone with Master Shifu. And besides, I just call him Mantis, I don't call all of the Five 'Masters'," she explained.
"But still. You have to stand up for yourself. And this may not mean much coming from an orphaned noodle maker, but I think it's very honorable that you're helping him." Tigress locked eyes with him.
"Thank you. Hearing that from you—it means a lot to me." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. He was stiff for a few seconds, but then loosened and hugged her back.
"Anything for you, Cinderella. Anything for you."
Tigress pulled back and stood up, pulling Dongwa to his feet as well. "Come on."
"Where are we going?" he asked, following obediently as she pulled on his paw.
"You wanted to visit Po, right? Well now's a perfect time since you were let out of your jail cell. But first, I want you to meet my parents."
