It was several hours after dawn when Tai Lung reached the town to the east of the Valley of Peace. He had traveled through the night in his pursuit of Tigress, and was determined to find her.
She must have spent the night here, Tai Lung thought.
The town was a two-hour walk from the seaside. Although it was early, the streets were already becoming busy with routine traffic.
Yawning, Tai Lung started down the unfamiliar road, searching scrupulously for his quarry.
As it turns out, Tigress had spent the night in the town. She was mildly surprised to find herself in an inn room when she woke up, but promptly remembered what she was doing.
To the seaside, I suppose, Tigress thought halfheartedly, and began to get dressed.
By now, Tai Lung had scoured the town twice, and hadn't seen Tigress once.
She must have left already, Tai Lung concluded, and departed down the road to the seaside intrepidly.
As Tigress walked out of the inn, feeling slightly better than the day before, she caught a glimpse of a snow leopard walking quickly down the street before he disappeared behind a long line of vegetable carts.
Tai Lung? she thought, surprised. No, it must have been someone else, Tigress convinced herself. What in the world would Tai Lung be doing all the way out here?
Satisfied that she simply had too much on her mind, Tigress walked across the street to have breakfast at a nearby café. By the time the thoughtful tiger had finished her meal, Tai Lung was a good half-hour ahead of her on the road. Of course, Tigress did not know this, and set off casually towards the sea.
Back at the Jade Palace-
Things had devolved into a rather chaotic state. Nobody was particularly concerned when Tai Lung didn't show up for evening training the previous day. Everybody had been slightly curious when he wasn't at dinner. And now that he was clearly absent from the Jade Palace in the morning, people were getting seriously worried.
"Where on earth could he have gone?" Po was asking Viper as they searched the palace grounds again for the missing snow leopard.
"Why he would leave at a time like this is more the question," Viper responded, checking the training hall for the third time that morning.
"Anything yet?" This was Shifu. His eyes scanned his surroundings carefully, searching painstakingly for some evidence as to where his prodigal son had disappeared.
Monkey returned from the village just then, breathing heavily from the long climb up the stairs.
"Well?" the three assembled warriors asked at the same time.
"A villager said that Tai Lung was heading east out of town, yesterday afternoon," Monkey said, struggling to catch his breath.
Every corner of Shifu's mind began to analyze this new development.
Yesterday afternoon, he thought, probably several hours after Tigress left. East, in the direction of… the seaside. Suddenly things began to make sense to Shifu. He had realized long before that Tai Lung was falling in love with Tigress. He just wished that it hadn't happened during the biggest kung-fu tournament of the year.
"There is no need to worry, students," Shifu said calmly after a time. "I am certain that Tai Lung will return in a few short days."
"But with Tigress on vacation and Tai Lung… missing…" Viper began, "what will we do about the tournament?"
"We will simply have to make due with what we have," Shifu said, and then turned to Po. "Po, you are Tai Lung's substitute for the first match against Z. Be prepared to win by noon."
Shifu turned and walked quickly back to his office.
"Wait a minute, me?" Po asked nervously, and glanced at the big scoreboard erected in the courtyard.
Jade Palace 2
Tian Na 4
Lee Da 0
"You better win," Viper said teasingly as her and Monkey started back across the sunlit palace grounds towards the dormitories.
Afternoon found Tai Lung meandering around the seaside town. He had still not seen Tigress yet, and was becoming hotter under the collar to find her.
I should start by finding out where she's staying, Tai Lung realized. This looks like a good place to start, he thought, walking into the Saikou Inn.
"Excuse me," Tai Lung asked the concierge, "is there anyone by the name of Tigress staying here?"
"Tigress?" the small female fox repeated, checking a list. "Sorry. Not here."
Undeterred, Tai Lung left the inn and started off towards the next inn on the street.
The persistent snow leopard rounded the corner just as Tigress walked into the Saikou Inn.
"May I help you?" The concierge asked.
"Yes, I'd like a room for the night."
After Tigress had deposited her frugal luggage in her room, she set off to take a walk on the beach.
Tai Lung had asked every inn in the town about Tigress, yet none of them had her on the guest list. Frustrated, Tai Lung decided to walk down to the beach, and rethink his plan.
So much for finding out where she's staying, Tai Lung thought dejectedly.
Meanwhile, Tigress was quite enjoying the beautiful weather by the seaside. She walked past several couples, and a young rabbit digging a rather large hole in the sand.
It's so peaceful here, Tigress thought as the gentle waves continuously buffeted the white sand of the beach. It almost feels sinful, Tigress remarked to herself, enjoying myself here while the others are hard at work back at the Jade Palace.
The others. Tigress, as solitary as she could be sometimes, did miss her companions. Thinking of the others reminded Tigress of Tai Lung. And thinking of Tai Lung made her feel even lonelier. Lost in her own thoughts, Tigress continued her walk.
It was a stupid idea in the first place, Tai Lung berated himself. Trying to catch her while she was traveling… I don't have a chance in he… hey! Tai Lung had looked up to see Tigress's lithe form walking along the beach ahead of him.
"Tigress!" he called, running toward her.
Tigress spun around at the sound of her name being called, only to see Tai Lung running jubilantly toward her. Tigress started forward to meet him, but suddenly, Tai Lung was gone.
I really must be going crazy if I'm having hallucinations of Tai Lung, Tigress thought to herself. She turned back around and continued down the beach.
Several yards behind her, though, Tai Lung lay crumpled at the bottom of a large hole in the sand.
"Mommy," the little rabbit was saying, "That big guy fell into my hole."
By the time Tai Lung managed to extract himself from the sandy abyss, Tigress was nowhere to be seen.
Nightfall-
Tai Lung, battered and exhausted, returned to the Saikou Inn in hopes of getting some rest.
"Oh, it's you again," the concierge stated as Tai Lung walked in the door. "What happened to you?" she asked, noticing Tai Lung's matted fur.
"Oh, only everything. Just get me a room."
Just then the concierge remembered something. "About what you asked earlier…" she began.
"Yes, I know, it was stupid," Tai Lung interrupted, not really in the mood to listen to anyone right now.
"A-actually…" the concierge persisted, but Tai Lung's leer of annoyance made her voice trail away.
The fox led Tai Lung up a flight of stairs and handed him a key.
"That's your room there," she said, pointing at a door at the end of the hall.
Tai Lung murmured his thanks as the concierge returned to the foyer. The spent snow leopard walked to the end of the hall and opened the door to his room. Walking inside, Tai Lung fell into the bed, relieved to be off his feet.
Tomorrow, he reassured himself. Tomorrow I'll find her.
In the room next door, Tigress was deep in thought. All day she hadn't stopped thinking about Tai Lung.
Does he love me? she asked herself.
Even if he does, does that make him any better a person? I don't want to believe what Hu says- Tai Lung seems different now. But what if Hu is right? What if this whole thing is just a lie, orchestrated to benefit Tai Lung in the end?
The truth, Tigress realized, was that she was afraid to love Tai Lung.
Oh Tai Lung, Tigress thought as she began to fall to the unconquerable power of sleep, Give me just one reason to believe in you, and I'd fall in love.