A/N: I don't own Kung Fu Panda, which is a little bit un-awesome for me

Shen's General: Thanks

Guest: Thank you!

Yocally: Thanks so much

Mr Nuked Duck: Thanks, that's what I was aiming for

Tigress137: Thanks so much, really! It's okay that you took a while to read it, I do that sometimes too… that was a cheesy review ending but it was AWESOME! I was feeling really down just now so it's awesome to read reviews that make me laugh and make me happy at the same time! Thanks again!

SporadicDeviance: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it

I AM working on some of the requests that were made but it's kind of slow-going, sorry guys. Anyway, I'm not sure if this has been done before. I got the idea from watching Mulan. I'm couldn't find anything about how old women were when they went to the matchmaker, so I've averaged it between how old Mulan was (16) and how old you have to be to marry without parental consent (18)

Sorry if it seems a bit rushed, too. I only spent a couple of hours on it, but I wanted to get something up

Matchmakers and Soothsayers

Shifu didn't often show pride around Tigress, but the one day he couldn't stop himself was the day when she was told she had an appointment with the matchmaker.

She was seventeen and it was early spring when it happened, actually. The sacred peach tree of heavenly wisdom was in full blossom and there had already been several births and a half-dozen weddings down in the village. Shifu had been training at the time, out of habit more than anything else. Oogway came in to see him. They stared at each other for a short while before Oogway said: "It is time."

Shifu followed Oogway as he walked slowly, leisurely, out of the dojo.

There had been an unspoken knowledge between the two of them that, one day, Tigress would have to see the matchmaker. If you had asked Shifu how he knew this was what Oogway meant, he would have smiled mysteriously and turned away. Still, he wasn't sure he wanted her to go.

"Master, are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked. "Tigress is an excellent student and will soon be a master of Kung Fu… I do not believe we can afford to lose –"

"Calm yourself, Shifu," Oogway interjected steadily. "We must give Tigress the choice. If she rejects the idea and argues her case, she may continue at the Jade Palace. She is very strong-minded and will not go if she does not wish to."

Shifu wasn't sure how to argue against that.

They found Tigress meditating under the sacred peach tree of heavenly wisdom, looking out over the village. It was one of her favourite spots.

"Tigress," Shifu said. She immediately stood; bowed.

"Tigress, you are seventeen now," Oogway said. "Are you aware of the marriage customs of China?"

Shifu could see the gears starting to turn in her mind. He could see that she was figuring out what Oogway was saying but waiting for him to finish, in case he said something else, something unexpected.

"I am," she said quietly. Shifu was impressed that she was managing to block out emotion from her voice; but then, she had had at least a decade in which to practise.

"That is good," Oogway continued. "There comes a time, you know, in every young woman's life, when she must go to the local matchmaker –"

"NO!"

Shifu was astounded by the force in Tigress' voice. "Tigress…" he began sternly.

"No!" she exclaimed again, a little quieter this time but just as forcefully as before. "I refuse. I won't leave the Jade Palace."

"Now, Tigress," Oogway said, "this is a long-standing tradition…"

"With all due respect, Master, I do not want to marry, I –" here she seemed to cut herself off. When she spoke up again, Tigress spoke quietly, with perfect calm, but Shifu suspected a well-hidden underlying tone of repressed annoyance. "I wish to continue my training here, rather than marry."

Oogway was trying not to smile. "Are you sure? Marriage would guarantee your financial and general well-being in a way Kung Fu cannot."

"I would choose the well-being of others over my own any day," Tigress said steadily. Shifu's vision blurred and he actually had to wipe away a tear, hoping desperately that no-one would notice.

But, of course, Kung Fu had heightened their senses significantly and they noticed straight away.

"Then we shall honour your decision, Tigress," Oogway said. "We are very proud of you – both of us are." Then he turned away and added, "Come along, Shifu, and we will find you a tissue."

Shifu had never been so horrifyingly embarrassed in his life. But apparently Oogway found his expression very amusing.

That night, Oogway found Tigress meditating under the peach tree still, and asked if he could join her. She instantly relaxed and nodded gratefully. She had always, he knew, felt she could open up to him.

"Do you think you would feel the same way about the issue of marrying if you were still at the orphanage?" he asked, half-expecting Tigress to immediately close herself off, like she did when others tried to talk to her about something personal, but at the same time knowing she would not.

"Perhaps," she answered, "but I would be more scared."

Oogway nodded knowingly. Tigress had an underlying fear that people would reject her just for being a tiger, like they had at the orphanage.

"You were going to say something else earlier," he said. "What was it?"

Tigress paused, like she was thinking how to word it, or whether she should even tell him in the first place. "I was going to say…" she said slowly, "that I do not wish to marry someone I do not know, much less have feelings for."

"You would prefer to wait, and find the right man yourself, rather than be told who he is?"

"Yes."

Oogway smiled broadly. "I could not agree more, Tigress. You are very lucky, then, that we adopted you, you know. Unless a marriage has been pre-arranged already, only young women studying Kung Fu are given the option of not going to the matchmaker."

"Really?"

"Something like that, yes." Oogway stood up, and as he left, he added, "I want you to know that Shifu was very proud of your decision today."

"The right man?"

"That is what she said."

"But Master," Shifu said, "what if she does not find the right man?"

"Shifu, are you telling me that you want to have grandchildren one day?"

Shifu pulled a face which made Oogway laugh. They were eating long before the morning gong, so as not to be overheard.

"If you are concerned," Oogway suggested, "why not consult a soothsayer?"

"It would be embarrassing," Shifu answered curtly.

"More embarrassing than the time you –"

"Please do not bring that up," Shifu interjected. "I will go."

"Master Oogway?" Tigress asked during her training that day.

"Yes?"

"Where has Master Shifu gone?"

"He is undergoing a very personal mission, child."

"I see." Tigress turned back to the training dummy, letting out a small growl of frustration when she didn't hit it hard enough.

"If you get a little more elevation," Oogway suggested kindly, "you will add more power to your strike."

Tigress jumped into the air to kick the training dummy higher, and it worked. "Thank you," she said quietly. Oogway smiled.

The door opened before Shifu could even knock, and an old goat stood before him.

"Pardon me," he said, "but are you the soothsayer who foretold the downfall of Lord Shen?"

"I am," she answered, "but it will still be some time before it comes true."

"I see," Shifu said. "I seek –"

"A prediction concerning your adopted daughter, Tigress of the Jade Palace."

Shifu blinked once. Twice. Three times. "How did you…?"

"Never underestimate the power of a soothsayer," the old woman said. "Please, come inside."

Shifu watched as the soothsayer mixed powders and other strange ingredients together in a small silver bowl. She lit a sweet-scented incense and wafted the smell around the room. The colourful smoke rising from the bowl lit up white and then orange-and-black, forming the shape of a tiger. Then the shape and colour changed, turned into a pink-red heart, and then the heart-smoke swirled, turned into a yin-and-yang symbol in black and white. The soothsayer smiled thoughtfully when the smoke evaporated.

"Interesting…" she muttered.

"What is it?" Shifu asked. "What does it mean?"

"Her heart will be won," the soothsayer said, "by a warrior of black and white. Quite possibly the same one who is destined to defeat Lord Shen."