So back around 2012, user ffcrazy15 had these absolutely WONDERFUL Tipo slow burn, multichapter fics. One of which was called The Bandit Lord. If you're a veteran of this fandom, I'm sure you'll remember these excellent fics, as they were the most popular on the site and were very dear to the hearts of many of us. Unfortunately, she had to take down all of her KFP pieces. Ffcrazy15 became a good pal of mine back then, and I reached out to her recently to ask her permission to post a re-write I did of one of the scenes in The Bandit Lord that I missed re-reading. She has very graciously allowed me to post this for you all to read as well, so many thanks to her for that!
Here is that scene, which originally took place before the climax of the story, right when the ship was intensifying. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the original!
Strategy
(Set: Post KFP2)
"Get in and don't make a sound." Tigress opened a closet door and commanded, yet her voice was gentle. It always was with him. He complied promptly, and pushed his back against the wall of the closet. Tigress wedged herself in with him and quietly closed the door behind them. They didn't dare to breathe as the stampede of guards hot on their trail raced passed the line of closets. Po's eyes locked on the small crack in the doorframe that lit their small space and gave glimpse to the room outside.
"They're making a break for the back gate!"
"I don't care, check everywhere!" The voiced and footsteps were going in the right direction- away. He released a long-held breath in relief and glanced at Tigress, who met his eye without a word. Her face didn't show it, but he could tell that she had relaxed as well. Now they just had to wait it out.
"Lee, take this corridor! Meet us in the cellar if you don't find anything!" he heard a voice call as it ran further down the hall. Oh no. They'd sent one looking for them, and there was no way out. Tigress looked up at him in pure panic, pupils small and frightened.
WHAM. The first door opened, and, when Lee found nothing, it slammed shut. They were in closet 5, he had thought to look.
WHAM. She looked as if she were looking for a solution in his face, but he offered none.
WHAM. The rest of the guards were still in close proximity, they could surround them in seconds. They'd be hopelessly outnumbered.
WHAM. His footsteps arrived mere feet away, and Po's thoughts turned to prayers before-
And suddenly, warm feline lips had landed on his own. Panic had been replaced by pure shock as he found Tigress's strong hands taking him by the shoulder and pulling him down to kissable level. She seemed fervent- desperate, almost. He couldn't convince his eyes to close or even blink, they were plastered wide open in shock. He realized, amazingly, that in Tigress's last free moments, she had chosen to kiss him. When she knew there was no way out, she chose to spend her last minutes like this. He was more than touched. Her lips had only been on his for a second and a half when their door swung open.
"Wha- Oh!" The wolf guard stuttered. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
WHAM. He slammed their door as well. Suddenly, Tigress had disappeared from his mouth and turned to the door, just as it opened again.
"Wait a minute, aren't you-"
"Hyah!" One swift double-palmed punch later, and he was out cold.
"Come on!" She grabbed Po, still in system overload mode, by the wrist and pulled him behind her. They rounded a corner into the next room and she approached a window at shoulder height, barely hesitating before she scissor-kicked it into a million sparking shards.
"Hyis!"
"Hey! They're in here!" The stampede of footsteps began on their trail again, closer this time.
"Jump out!" She instructed. Her voice was frantic, but prepared. Po was still surfacing from recent events, but managed to make it out of the shattered window with help from his comrade. They hit the ground running, with arrows chasing their footsteps. Her apparent adrenaline rush was doing a good job of getting them to safety.
They made their way to the dirt path of the village, with their foes no longer on their trail.
"Are you okay?" She asked as they sprinted.
"Yeah, you?" He managed.
"Fine. Come on, we have to find the others." Po's eyes caught glimpse of a trail chasing them.
"Hey wait, stop." He reached out to catch her arm, holding it when he did. He looked down at the red line following them, as did she. "You're bleeding, did you cut your foot?" She looked down at her injured sole. Her eyes landed on a shard of glass wedged into the thick pad of her foot.
"Apparently."
"Come on, we've lost them. Let's stop the bleeding." He suggested. She had calmed down significantly and nodded in agreement.
Moments later, they were seated on crates in a nearby alley. Tigress ripped a strip of fabric from the bottom on her pants and handed it to Po, trusting his binding skills. She seemed flustered as he wrapped.
"So uhm, you okay?" He wasn't referencing her foot. She nodded. A few moments of silence passed.
"So what was that…back there?" She looked up at him, breaking her daze. He read her expression asking for clarification to his question. "In that closet?" His words were tense.
"Strategy." She answered simply.
"Huh?"
"If you were an inexperienced, ill-confident guard and you found two people embracing in a closet, what would your first reaction be?" He hoped he wasn't blushing. Okay, so maybe it hadn't been an act of "last-minute-dying-breath romance," but rather a way to distract the guard.
"Oh." The air was tense, but he continued wrapping. "I guess you're right." he stated. She smiled slightly.
"I'm just surprised you didn't notice you were bleeding so bad, normally you're so detailed about that kind of stuff. Never seen you make such a…rookie mistake." he commented.
"Apologies, I'm a bit frazzled at the moment." she explained without tone. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Really? Why?" She smiled and looked away.
"Well, Dragon Warrior, that happened to be my first kiss." she admitted sheepishly. Hearing the "k-word" spoken aloud took him aback.
"Really?" he asked, astounded.
"Well of course." she answered matter-of-factly, re-meeting his eye. "How could it not be?" She asked in return. He thought it over, and she was right. He couldn't think of another time and place in her kung-fu focused life where that could have taken place. Her honesty had left her embarrassed, which he quickly picked up on.
"Well hey, it was mine too." he added. Her brows raised.
"Really?" He smiled at her genuine surprise.
"Of course. How could it not be?" Now she was smiling back at him. This moment of confession felt like a private secret, a little something that now connected them, even if only in a trivial way. She chuckled.
"Well, Dragon Warrior, I am honored to have that privilege, then." She smiled coyly. He rolled his eyes, only a little shy. His reaction earned him another light chuckle from her.
He tied off her bandage and offered her his hand to help her stand, which she held onto after she was on her feet. For stability purposes, of course.
"Come on, we still need to catch up with the rest of the Five. They probably think we've died by now." They made their way back to the street, Tigress holding onto his arm as they walked.
"You know, I just checked off a MAJOR item from my childhood bucket list." he announced. She looked at him, confused.
"What's that?"
"Oh, you know, 'kiss Master Tigress' was one of my top three life goals as a ten year old. Right under 'become the greatest kung-fu warrior in all of china.'" he said proudly. She laughed aloud.
"Mission accomplished, I guess." And they shared a grin at their new secret.
