My 24th chapter. I am disappointed because of my traffic stats. I've figure out that Friday is a very bad day to update. So I've decided to just update when I want to update.

Question: Could you tell me please (review/pm), what chapters are your favorite ones? I want to know If you think the same like I do^^

Give me some replies and comments if you like or dislike parts. Criticize me! I love critique. But be honest. I am German, my English isn't the best. Sry ^^

I do not own Kung fu Panda. © Dreamworks

I own some of the OC, maybe some connection between other stories possible.

The promise

Snake's equipment was hidden. It was important that no one was able to see what items and
documents he possessed. So he decided to take everything out of his sack and hide it away. He was
not carrying any weapons when he was in the orphanage. He needed to go to his room, in the
barracks, to grab his sword and suit.

He gripped the sword tightly and put on his suit quickly, with conflicting thoughts running through his mind.
He needed to do this to satisfy the demons within him. It was very important to show himself that he was
still an assassin, an evil man. He thought about killing the caretaker and how this would effect the children,
but he needed to be consistent with who he is and the duties he needed to follow.

When he saw that beautiful tiger, Tigress, finding herself he could not help but cry. A situation, the Siamese
cat could not take. He needed to flee from this, and find his own mind again. To get feelings was very rare
in his life. Normally he would play like an actor, even in front of emotional people. He was never emotional
in the past, although there were many opportunities. Situations, where he had to kill whole families, while
their children watched him. Or where he had to seduce a nice girl, who had to surely fall in love for him. They
even shared their bodies. Yet one night, when he got the order to get rid of her he simply took this sword
and pushed it right through her heart, when they sharing their bodies at that very moment. And he felt
nothing... nothing at all.

And now, this Tiger, the daughter of the big Tigerius, someone so important not only
for China, even for him, was responsible that he felt emotions. And this Panda didn't even need a
second to do the impossible, reaching his heart. Only one person alive was able to reach
him in the past. His Master was the only one, and now he found two people, who where able to
do the same. This was not only very confusing for him, but he also felt connections that he never
felt before. But he needed to remember his duties, and who he was.

He knew that she broke the law. He had shown her his official documents and she knew
that this is an offense against the Emperor. She told the Dragon Warrior about his presence, as the
detective and she needed to be punished. She had to live with the consequences, or better,
to not live because of the consequences. Snake thought, that such a weak moment of emotions,
could be forgiven if he killed the caretaker.

The caretaker of the orphanage had to die, although he already decided not to do it. But after the
moment with Tigress and the talking with the Dragon Warrior, he needed to prove to himself that
he was still Snake, the evil nightmare.

That was the reason, why he took his sword, and went to the orphanage again. Besides his sword
and suit, he took his green mask, too. He wanted to work incognito and no one should recognize
him. He hoped, that Tigress left already. He did not need someone like her, who he cared for,
to see his evil ways. Yet, it was dark and she would not recognize him. And she already knew
a dark creature of the night. So it could still happen if she was there.

Snake was fast, he just wanted to end the life of the caretaker, to get his own mind back. He was
bad, wasn't he? He jumped from roof to roof, and stopped, when he reached the Orphanage.
It was dark, and even for a cat with a good view at night, was it hard to recognize the room of
the caretaker. Snake was smart and a good watcher, so he figured out where the
old sheep slept. He jumped through the window, into the small dark chamber.

Suddenly he heard some steps. The caretaker was not in her bed, she was outside. So, Snake
decided to sneak quickly into the direction of the noises. He wanted to get this over with. He was
slowly moving to the inner garden of the orphanage. There he saw their shadows.

Tigress was still in the orphanage. What Snake saw, was a miracle. Something, he never expected to
see. He knew Tigress, and he learned everything about her. And it was just impossible, so confusing,
that Snake temporarily forgot his plans to end the life of the caretaker. Tigress was hugging the
caretaker as he watched.

More than six years, this woman was someone important for Tigress. The caretaker was something
like a mother in this time, and raised Tigress in this hard stage of her life. And now, when Tigress
imagined about her life, and when Tigress was able, to do things her heart told her, she wanted
simply to say it. And that was the situation. Tigress just thanked the caretaker, for being the
caretaker of the orphanage, and got hugged.

Caretaker: "If someone has to give thanks, then it is me, Master Tigress."

Tigress: "No ... I have to thank everyone, and it starts here."

They released their hug, and Tigress wanted to finally go. Snake saw this scene. Tigress slowly
went away, as he sneaked near the caretaker. He was behind her, and should simply raise his sword,
to end the life of this traitor. The caretaker was a traitor of China. She needed to die.

But why was this so difficult? Tigress would recognize, when the body would falling death to
the ground. The children of this orphanage would be very sad, to know that this old woman died.
Snake was confused. He never had a conscience, but suddenly he imagined about
other consequences. It would not be difficult, but if he hurt the caretaker, he would hurt Tigress
and the children, too. He cared about Tigress and did not want to hurt her.

Tigress reached the door to go out. She wanted to go home, but suddenly she heard the noise of
a sheathing sword. She turned because of the noises. Suddenly the caretaker became scared. A
dark creature was close to her. It pointed his sword toward hers. The caretaker was behind this
stranger. But she was not hurt. Tigress looked straight into a green mask. It was very frightening.
It was a dragon mask, and the dark creature was wearing it. Tigress remembered the scary moment
of her life. Then, the creature just said something.

It was Snake, who wanted to say it. But he did it with the dark voice, of the stranger named
°Nightmare°. Tigress was surely surprised about what she heard. The very dark Snake said: "Thank you."

Then, Tigress nightmare disappeared. She wanted to follow this stranger, but she remembered the
last time she did it. And this time Po would not be there, to rescue her again. She decided to let this
stranger go.

Tigress: "Everything okay?"

Caretaker: "Just a little bit terrified."

Snake was fleeing again. Not only was the Dragon Warrior able to reach him. Yet, he recognized that
this girl was able to do this too. He thought that these creatures belonged together and he
decided to do something weird about this. He went to Tigress's room again.

Tigress was scared, because of the appearance of her nightmare again. But she was confused, too.
Why should this bad guy thank her? And who was it? She thought about this, as she walked home.
She was exhausted because of the day, but when she looked back on it she could not be happier that
she was. Something happened, that even the nightmare was not able to change, the fact that she was
happy. Happy because of the feelings she felt. She was happy, to be Tigress. She accepted herself.
Po was responsible for most of this happiness. But someone else, was really responsible for that,
too.

She was happy, that this guy appeared, her new master. Master Green was so
wise and showed her how to manage her inner fights. This was incredible for her. She could not
tell who had more wisdom, Master Shifu or her new master. She decided to thank him. Not only that,
she decided to learn to care for him. She saw his eyes and knew that he already cared for her.
They knew each other for some hours, nearly two days, and yet this stranger helped her so much.
She wanted to know, how it could be, to find some kind of love, even for this stranger. Not a love
like she felt for Po but something different. She wanted, to be able to give Green's love back to him,
she recognized when he took off the blanket and they looked in each others' eyes. She surely hoped,
that this guy would be a part of the rest of her life. As a master.

Her mind was free. She was in the barracks on the way into Po's room. She went in it, and took
everything that she needed to sleep. But she did not want to sleep in Po's room. She not was able
to sleep in there because she did not want such a wannabe bed to sleep on. A blanket and a pillow
where on her tail, as she opened the door of the room opposite of Po's room. She wanted
to sleep in her own room. She wanted to sleep, next to her bear.

Snake recognized the steps outside of the room. He needed to hide, fast. He did not change his
suit. He still wore the equipment, and the mask. He could imagine, who wanted to enter into this room.
He could not show himself Tigress, so he jumped in the wardrobe, to hide between her clothes.

Tigress opened the door. Po was still sleeping in her bed. She felt a warmth in her heart. She slowly
moved near the Dragon Warrior. She watched his belly moving. She saw his breathing. She knew,
there was a beautiful heart in this body. She already had the chance to listen to its beat.
She looked at the lips of him. They were moving, because of the breathing. She remembered, how
they nearly connected both of their lips that night of the nightmare, when he turned away from her.
Now she knew, to not abuse the situation. The same reason, why she did not want to finally do it in
this situation. But she wanted to be near him. That was enough for now. Her bed was big.
She could share it with him, and could sleep well. And she would feel the Dragon Warrior near her.
A dream, to just sleep near him, although she knew, that Po could not know she was near him.
Just, to be near him, was her intention. It didn't matter.

Suddenly Tigress started to undress herself. It was hard, but because of her third paw, her tail, she
was able to do this. Snake watched her doing this. He felt the uncomfortable of this situation.
And he imagined, what Tigress wanted to do. But he was still nightmare. He could not stop her. Or he
should not try to stop her. Tigress was nearly naked. Her upper body was covered with bandages.
She wore still her pants, when she suddenly smelt something in her room.

It was not Po, she was smelling. That would be a nice smell. Someone else was in the room, and
she could only imagine one scary guy. She stopped her doing, and looked into the wardrobe. Snake
knew, she recognized him. He had no chance. But he got a new idea. He already thought that
Po was not the only one, he trusted. He wanted to trust Tigress, too. And this was a moment, to tell
her the truth, of himself. He wanted to be called Snake. He was not Green, or Nightmare. So he
opened the wardrobe, and looked her straight in the eyes. Tigress was shocked, to see the creature
with the green mask again.

Tigress: "What are you doing here Nightmare!" She was very loud, maybe she would yell for help
this time, Snake thought. He needed her to be silent. So he answered her, not with his dark voice,
and not with his military master Green voice. He was Snake, and he wanted, that she knows, that
he is Snake.

Snake: "Sorry for hiding in your room, Tigress."

Tigress heard the different voice. She recognized it within seconds. Suddenly she took a step back.
She could not believe it. It was the same voice, she heard in the center of her own built yin yang
symbol. It was her new master. She looked at the stranger in disbelief.

Snake: "Don't be afraid ... child."

Child! He has to be it. But he is Nightmare, too. This is confusing. And this is scary. Tigress thought.

Snake: "You are here, although I told you, that I didn't want that."

Tigress was angry, she changed into a fighting position. Her undressed upper body did not matter.

Tigress: "You ... YOU! ... Why? First you wanted to nearly rape me and then you become my
master and I already wanted to trust you!"

Snake looked at her. He still wore his mask. He was hiding his sadness.

Snake: "I have to apologize, little girl. It is just..."

Tigress: "Don't call me that!"

Snake was hurt. He wanted nothing else than her trust. But he needed a talking with the Dragon
Warrior to recognize that. He made such a big mistake.

Snake: "Please, Tigress. I am very sorry about what happened, but It was necessary. I had to
figure something out. This is my mission. You are my mission."

Tigress: "What? You're job is raping and intruding? What an evil guy are you?"

Snake: "Please, Tigress!", he slowly moved a paw to his mask, but did not get it off, "I will tell you,
I will tell you everything. But please, let me apologize."

This guy already gave her so much. She already trusted him. She respected him, but this was
strange. But her anger, and her mind, were not so strong like her new knowledge. Her new feelings
for this guy taught her, told her, that she had no choice. She already wanted to trust him.

Tigress: "But why? Why did you do that?"

Snake: "Do you remember? I just wanted to see something on your butt. I did never wanted to rape
you. You should know."

Tigress remembered the situation. He was right, he never said something about rape. She imagined
that herself, because she was so scared. And she knew about a mark on her backside. Master Shifu
said once, that it was some kind of birthmark.

Tigress: "My birthmark." and suddenly she imagined, who this guy was. A birthmark was
something to surely identify someone. And he wanted to identify her. This guy had to be the
detective, the caretaker mentioned. Like she already thought, as he first appeared.

Tigress: "My family!"

Snake: "You know? Erm ... yes, I am here because of your family."

Tigress: "You know about my family?"

Snake took of his mask. He looked her in the eyes, and she looked back. She saw it again. This
love, she could not describe. Snake's face was sad. She looked into his eyes. It was some kind of
magic. Snake reached her heart and Tigress reached his heart. They trusted each other. Although
the short time, they knew each other. Although the pain, Snake gave her their first meeting.

Snake: "I will tell you, why I am here. Okay."

Tigress: "Master Green ... " Snake raised his hand, she stopped.

Snake: "Please, Green is not my name. It is dangerous to know my real name, but I want you to
know it. But never ever call me that in public. Okay?"

Tigress looked at him, and nodded.

Snake: "I am Snake, a pleasure to meet you, Tigress."

Tigress: "So, you are Snake. And what are you doing here?"

Snake: "If I am direct, I could tell you, my order is to protect you."

Tigress: "Protect me?"

Snake: "First, I had to figure out if you are really my target. That is the reason, why I needed to
know about the yin yang symbol on your backside."

Tigress: "That's why you wanted to look. To identify me."

Snake: "Yes. And, because of the illness of our furry friend here. I was able to join your group.
Master Shifu already knows about my appearance and my reasons."

Tigress: "So, you're here to protect me? That is your mission? ... Snake"

Snake: "Yes, this is my mission. And as your master, I am able to do this. I will protect you, with
my life. That is a very old promise I gave your mother."

Tigress: "My mother?"

Snake did not lie. He wanted to tell the truth. And he told the truth with saying, that he cared for
Tigress, because of her mother.

Snake: "I knew her, before she gave you birth, Tigress. And I had to promise her, to protect you.
I heard about a threat against this valley, and went here, to have the chance, to protect you. I am
here because this old promise. I work on my own.", that was a lie, but this would prevent him from
difficult questions of Tigress.

Tigress: "So, you're here because the promise ... and you ..." she imagined what this guy was. If
he was right, Tigress was able to describe this love, she saw in his eyes. Someone like Snake,
was something like a family member. She could not resist it. She rushed right to him.

Snake was stunned. He thought, she would crush him, but suddenly he felt her warm body and
her fluffy fur close to his body. She hugged him. Everything in Snake changed. He began to cry.
This was the most amazing moment of his life. To hug this girl. To hug the child, he promised to
protect. Not any master was responsible for his appearance in this valley. Not Khan, not Sira, not
Tigerius. It was his own mind. And he just played with this strong family members of the Tigers of China.

She was hugging him, with her tail, and her body close to him. She released him after she
recognized the wet spots on her shoulder. She wanted to tell him, what he was.

Tigress: "You are my godfather. Snake!"

Snake felt, that he was shaking. A godfather. This could describe his feelings. He was something
like that. Even Tigerius himself told him once, that he is something like a member of his family,
long time ago. Khan and Sira did not know, about the importance of the little spy, he seemed to be.

Snake: "Your godfather ... thank you."

Tigress: "I have to thank you. You've shown me so much, although we knew each other so little.
Because of you, I am able to think right. I am not confused anymore because of you. You managed
that, you helped me find inner peace. And you are my only real family member. Snake." She hugged
him again, she nearly cried like Snake did.

Snake was overwhelmed because of this situation. He loved Tigress, and wanted everything good
for her. He surely loved her, like a father would. It was liberating, to finally tell her the truth. This
was a good day. So much excitement, he didn't needed to cut himself.

Tigress: "How was she?"

Snake was stunned, he was full of emotions: "She?"

Tigress: "Mother ... Could you tell me something of her?"

Snake: "What should I tell ... she was beautiful ... like her daughter ... she was someone who was
able to give everyone a good feeling, just because her presence ... She had so much love in her
heart, that nearly everyone fall in love with her ... She even managed, to impress your father, an
important guy ... She was something special ... like you."

Tigress was glad to hear something like this. But she compared herself with this description. It
was disappointing.

Tigress: "I am nothing like my mother was. I don't have such a love."

Snake: "You're kidding, right? I mean, I had not much time to know you and I already love you. I
mean, you have this gift, too. Please, turn around, Tigress."

Tigress turned. She looked at a big creature in a bed. She understood what her godfather told her.
He was still the wise cat.

Tigress: "The Dragon Warrior?"

Snake: "Po ... you know him as Po ... like I do ... A golden hearted ... someone, of so much love,
that even a bad guy like me recognized it ... And someone, who is beloved by someone else. Look
at him. Everything he is now, is because of you."

Tigress: "What? Because of me?"

Snake: "This bear has wisdom. A special wisdom. Something, you are only able to get, if you love
someone more than anything else. I only saw this strength once. That was your father. And only,
because he was beloved by your mother. And the Dragon Warrior, Po, is beloved by you."

Tigress felt the warmth in her body again. This bear was someone special for her. She even wanted
to share her bed with him. She wanted to sleep on his side. She loved this bear. But there were
duties. Even if it has to be hidden. She was not able to not love him. And her new beloved
Godfather told her the same. He understood her, although the short time.

Snake: "It could be possible, to do anything to get this relationship to work. Even if it has to be a hidden one."

Tigress: "Yes ... I love him ..."

Snake knew it. He jumped away from her. It was very late at night, and he already got her trust, and
trusted her. He wanted to let her alone. Her feelings for the Dragon Warrior were so real, that he
had to leave her alone, with her beloved bear. So he went to the door.

Tigress: "Wait, Snake, I have so many questions!"

Snake: "I will be there, Tigress. I mean, for the rest of my life, I will be near you, and protect you.
We will have time to talk, but now, you need some sleep."

Tigress: "I ... yes Master."

Snake: "And I have to promise you something, because of Po and you. Before I go."

Tigress: "What? You'll promise me something?"

Snake: "Yes, my little girl," and Tigress was happy to hear that he mentioned her as his little girl.
She wanted to be his little girl. But she thought, that Master Shifu should be the one who told that.
Snake was her Godfather. And this was good.

Snake: "I will try everything, so this relationship will work one day. Everything!"

Tigress: "Thank you ..." It was an honest thank you. She was grateful for Snake. Than,
suddenly, Snake went away, and closed the door behind him.

Tigress undress herself completely. She did not needed pants to sleep. She was very careful to climb
over the bear, to get to the space were she could sleep. She stopped for a second, when she sat on
the big belly of him. She moved her head close to him. She turned it, and pushed her ear to his
chest. She wanted to hear it again. To hear, the beat of this golden heart. This was a happy day in
her life. She found her inner peace. She found her Godfather. And finally she can sleep on the side
of her beloved Po, although she knew, that he was not able to recognize it. She went on his side,
after she listened to his beat. She watched him sleep for half the night, before she fell
asleep by herself. This will be her secret.

Yet, what she didn't know, was that her soul was a bright light. And even though the Dragon Warrior
was not awake, he was able to recognize her presence. This could be his secret, like Tigress thought
with her sleeping next to him. He saw it. The brightest light of the world was next to him. Although he
slept the whole day, this was not only a really happy day for Tigress and Snake but for Po as well.