Chapter 9

Po had been in the kitchen standing over a hot pot of his vegetable noodle soup for about twenty minutes before the remaining members of the Furious Five returned. Viper was the first to make it into the kitchen. "Po, how's Tigress doing?" The snake asked with concern. "She's in her room resting…" Po began. "I cleaned her leg up and applied some of my special paste to her leg and wrapped it up, I don't think it's broken too badly, maybe fractured some, but I think you should go and take a look at it just to be safe." Po told her with conviction. Viper nodded and slithered past the kitchen toward her sister's room.

Minutes later Mantis, Crane, and Monkey arrived and sat around the table as Po continued to cook. Crane was the first to speak. "So how's Tigress Po?" Crane asked. "She's in her room resting right now; Viper just went to check in on her. I don't think her leg is broken but it's definitely fractured at the least." Po replied. "Oh…well that's a relief." Crane replied as Mantis jumped in. "Yeah but still, Hard to believe that Tigress was even able to get a leg fracture at all. Her body is like an iron tree for crying out loud. My legs hurt every time I try to kick her in training." Everyone nodded in agreement then went quiet again. Finally after a moment of silence with the only sound being Po's boiling pot of noodles, Monkey broke the silence.

"So Po, now that Tigress is going to be okay, tell us how you were able to do what you did to Gor?" Po stopped stirring the noodles and turned his attention to the ceiling. "Yeah what made that huge crater in the forest?" asked Crane. Po was silent at first then he said. "I did…I made that crater and killed Gor…" Silence fell over the kitchen again then mantis spoke nervously, "Heh heh…What'd ya do Po? Jump on him? Heh heh…" Po just turned his head toward mantis and said. "In a way… yeah…" Mantis went silent then Crane and Mantis's eyes shot wide open. WHAT!?" Mantis shouted. "Po come one I know your heavy…no offense…But even you couldn't make a crater like that just by jumping on the guy!" "Of course there's more to it guys but honestly, I'm not certain what happened… I need to talk with Master Shifu first before I can really explain it to anyone." Po then turned his attention to the soup which was almost ready. Monkey folded his arms then spoke. "Well whatever you did Po it sure worked…That "Spinning Yin-Yang Bodacious Strike" of yours sure is powerful." Po nodded in agreement. "Sure is a mouth full, I'll tell you that." Mantis quipped but quickly jumped back as Po glared at him. "Eeep!...Bbbut… clearly effective!" Mantis stammered, afraid Po would unleash a similar fate upon him.

Po returned to his cooking and filled Bowls for each of his friends and even set a spot for Viper. He then proceeded to pour Tigress a bowl, careful to give her extra vegies, and set the bowl onto a tray along with a small bowl of dumplings and cup of tea. Po knew she probably wouldn't eat all of this but he decided to spoil her a bit anyway. After all he still blamed himself for what happened to her. And he left the kitchen with the tray heading to Tigress's room.

With Tigress….

Once Po had left Tigress alone she sat up straight, being careful with her leg, and dropped into a meditation state. Her thoughts swarmed her with the memories of recent events. How Gor crushed her leg how Po launched himself at Gor with his new attack, how Po ran her all the way back to the palace and insisted on taking such great care of her. Tigress just couldn't understand why Po went to so much trouble. Sure when she was younger and got hurt Shifu would patch her up but he never gave her any special treatment like Po did. He'd just turn the pain into another training lesson. But with Po, it was like he didn't want Tigress to ever get hurt. Which when she thought about it was total nonsense. She was a Kung Fu Master and Leader of the Furious Five, their lives were in constant danger. The idea that Po might want to shield her from constant harm was simply unrealistic. And yet he still cared for her, showing so much concern for her well being. She couldn't help but smile at that. After all, No one had ever cared for her like that her whole life.

Tigress was still thinking about Po when she heard a knock on her door. "Tigress, it's me, Viper…Can I come in?" "Of course…" Tigress replied as she straightened herself up shaking the thought of Po from her mind. The door opened and Viper slithered in stopping in front of Tigress's bedroll. How are you feeling?" Viper asked Tigress. "Like a helpless child…" Tigress told her. "Po wouldn't even let me walk to my room on my own…"As Tigress folded her arms across her chest. If there was one thing she wasn't good at, it was being a good patient. She hated being told she couldn't do something on her own. It made her feel weak. Yet still she made an exception for Po and that got Vipers attention. "Oh Tigress, He's just concerned for you, he even asked me to come and take a look at your leg…" Viper motioned with her head to Tigress's bandaged Leg. "May I?" Viper asked. Tigress nodded her approval and Viper began to undo Po's bandages commenting on the efficiency in which they were done up. Tigress agreed with her as Viper examined her leg.

The paste Po had used had hardened to form a sort of cast but Viper was still able to see what she needed to. After looking Tigress's leg over for a few Moments Viper spoke. "To be honest I think Po is right. The leg clearly isn't broken but I do believe it's fractured. You'll have to stay off it for at least a day or two." Tigress huffed. She was afraid Viper was going to say that. She hated being confined to her room, especially when it meant she'd be missing training. "Can I at least get around with a crutch or something?" Tigress pleaded. Viper thought for a moment. "Well I suppose that'd be okay as long as you don't put any weight on it. If you do it will take longer to heal." Then Viper went on. "Or you could just ask Po to carry you everywhere." Viper teased. Tigress's eyes narrowed. "I'm not a child Viper, I can get around by myself…"Tigress scowled at her sister. Viper continued. " Oh relax Tigress I was only teasing….You got to admit though, it has to be nice having Po pay so much attention to you…I mean no other guy ever has." Viper turned to Tigress looking for her response.

Tigress just sat there and stared at the floor. She couldn't put this off anymore, she had to talk to someone, and she trusted Viper would be the right person to talk to. "Viper, There's something I need to talk to you about." Viper looked confused. "Well sure Tigress, you can talk to me about anything, you know that, we're like sisters." That made Tigress smile and so she began to tell Viper everything that had happened with Po at the Peach Tree that morning. How he'd told her about how her dish was the only dish that was Po's secret ingredient soup. How when Po saw Tigress get hurt back in Gongmen city he got enraged. How he confessed he thought of her as his best friend and how he couldn't stand the idea of her getting hurt, what he learned about himself after he was shot into the river. How he ran her up the Thousand Steps without stopping or slowing down at all. And how carefull he was patching her up when only moments before he was a ruthless warrior. Once Tigress finished Viper was staring at her with a look of pure surprise. Then she asked. "He told you all that happened to him, Confessed he thinks of you as more than just a friend and insisted on carrying you to your room in his arms!?" Tigress nodded her head then Viper Squealed.

"Oh Tigress I'm so happy for you! You finally have someone who loves more than just like a sister!" Tigress nearly doubled over. "WHA!?...You think Po loves me!?" Tigress asked as she regained her composure. "Well of course!" Viper exclaimed "I mean the soup alone is a dead giveaway! I mean he almost never makes it unless it's a really special occasion. And the fact that he's told only you about what happened to him in his old village means that he trusts you completely. And then there's the way he avenged you today after you got hurt. From what you described he was only able to gain the strength to take down Gor because he was so angry that YOU got hurt." Viper paused to gauge Tigress's reaction. Tigress was very quiet for a moment, then she spoke in a soft voice. "If he has those feelings for me, then why doesn't he say anything?" Viper had an answer for that too. "Well Tigress, He probably doesn't want to ruin your guy's relationship. I mean no offense but if he were to just walk up and confess his feelings for you, you'd probably knock him down the Thousand Steps while saying something like "Relationships are a waste of time", or something."

Tigress had to admit Viper was probably right. Only one other person and ever walked up to her in her life time and confess their love and devotion to the great Tigress…she put that poor sap in the hospital for being such a pest. Tigress came back to reality as Viper continued. "He probably thinks that the best way to show you that he cares is to become a sort of wall around you, you know to keep you from getting hurt or something. Show you that it's okay to trust in people and that you can always lean on him. That's probably why he carried you so much today." Tigress had to admit Viper was pretty insightful…assuming that she was right at all and this wasn't all just pure speculation. "But how do I know for sure if that's how he really feels?" Tigress asked. Viper thought for a second. "Well Tigress I think before you ask THAT question, you need to ask yourself, do you feel the same way about Po? Otherwise asking how he feels about you, I mean how he REALLY feels about you, and not being able to return the favor, it's just cruel, Po doesn't deserve that. Honestly, I don't think anyone does."

Viper was right and Tigress knew it. She needed to figure out her own feelings for Po first before asking him for his. She needed to figure out if she thought of him as just a friend and comrade, or maybe something more. "Thanks Viper, oh and please keep this talk between us okay? The last thing I need is those idiots making a big deal about this and making cookie bets or something." Viper nodded in agreement. "No worries Tigress, I won't say a word, Master's honor" and with that Tigress bid her sister farewell and left Tigress to her thoughts.

Hope you guys like the chapter. I'll try to have another one up later today for you guys. You've all been awesome and have inspired me to keep this story going. Don't forget to review and I'll see ya guys later!