[Author's Notes]

Well, well, well… I'm finally back after all of this time, kind of?

I have plans to work on more one-shots and eventually get back my story "The Mountain of Misery" but as for now, I'm just going to ease myself back into the whole groove of writing for Kung Fu Panda with this work!

For context, this is post-KFP 1 and occurs roughly a month after the conclusion of the movie! I've been toying with ideas in my mind for quite some time and I've decided to temporarily return whilst blessing (or cursing) you all with something relatively wholesome!

Pfft, my rambling habits will never relent, hmm? Okay, I guess it's fair that I allow you all to get into this story! Without further delay, Dashishen proudly presents to you on this day…

Flame Through The Fog

She maintained her firm grip on the dusty floor below, her claws digging into the grainy surface of the Training Hall whilst her rapid panting refused to falter. Her mind lay astray as to the origin of her feelings, why they were presented to her on a silver platter… It's not like she had a tight grip on her understanding beforehand.

With her lungs filling the air with her warm and distressed breaths, her ears filling with the sound of her heart pounding as it squeezed and pushed at her mind in a selfish invasion of her comfort… She finally snapped.

Tigress unleashed a roar of pure unchained rage, leaping into the air with finesse accompanied by the spice of grace as she slammed her fist into the hardest part of one of the Wooden Warriors standing before her. Her intention was not to break the innocent wooden structure, it was to berate herself in a physical act of punishment for allowing her mind to falter in regards to her focus; to focus on her own emotions instead of the glory that awaited within her laborious training.

The striped feline had been walking a tedious tightrope between focusing on her physical abilities, her mental ones… And as of late, the seemingly vile mixing of emotions that came upon her whenever she spent too long staring into the jade eyes of the Jade Palace's newest addition to the student roster. Her conscience was mystified by the Dragon Warrior's energy whilst she cringed at the thought of having to wrestle down the emotions brought on by him for any longer.

Unsure of whether or not her cursed feelings were bubbling to the surface quite like whenever Po cooks his noodles had a source from the Dragon Scroll or if his pure and unadulterated energy was to blame for the twisting of her mind, Tigress had always found solstice in satisfying her curiosity whilst filling her time searching for answers… Yet, despite how talented and intelligent she was, Tigress's mind simply refused to yield an answer that bore any sense.

It was an uncertainty that pressed up against her everyday life, squeezing her dry of any focus as she finally locked eyes with the lifeless Wooden Warrior that she had just used to release some of her anger whilst drawing blood from her paw and slammed the paw belonging to her right leg directly into its weak spot; shattering it as it was reduced to splinters… If only that were the only thing being shattered.

Seeing that her impatience was only further driving her rage, Tigress finally abandoned her restraint as she sprinted forward… Yelling incomprehensible curses as she slammed her body into any surface that would satisfy her craving for gratification and chaos. She was not going to allow pain to blockade her pleasure, instead using it to fuel her destructive rage as she went from shining like a blaze of glory to clinging onto the last bit of air that would sustain her flame.

After one more sharp inhale, she slapped her palms together and drove them forward into the last Wooden Warrior that defied her steely gaze. Her orange eyes flickered as her heart fluttered from the intense battle it had just endured, her body being forced to the ground thanks to that very same plague. She kneeled down, her eyes slammed shut as an image of that goofy panda filled her mind before she collapsed into a defeated heap.

"WHY- WON'T YOU- LEAVE ME… ALONE!" Tigress yelled, struggling to maintain steady breaths as with every time her eyes closed, a different image of the Dragon Warrior warmly smiling at her zips across her fragile mind. "WHAT SORT OF- FORBIDDEN CURSE- IS THIS- AGH!" Tigress threw her paw forward, clenching it to form a fist as it crashed down in front of her muzzle. As if her situation couldn't get any more dire or humiliating, that dust is sucked up by her twitching nose; subsequently introducing her to a realm filled with wheezing.

Tigress's battered and defeated form sputtered, rolled alongside shook as her lungs cleared themselves of the awfully irritating dust that had entered her respiratory system. Seeing that her time in the Training Hall should come to an end thanks to her destructive fit of rage accompanied by her lack of breaths, Tigress finally picks herself up and awkwardly stumbles up the steps and into the outdoors.

"I swear… I will have answers… I have been tormented and tortured by the thoughts of that happy-go-lucky panda for far too long! Oh, you think you can just come into the Jade Palace, befriend the Furious Five and work your sacred yet strange Dragon Warrior charm on me… Huh?" Tigress exhaled, looked up towards the blissful moon alongside the harmonic twinkling of the stars above before quelling a portion of her anger with a calm inhale, then sprinted forward on all fours. "Panda… You best have a brave face on today because I am going to make you scream, thrash and cry until you reward me with an answer I have hungered for since that scroll landed inside your grubby paws," With her final statement, she begins to rip across the Jade Palace courtyard in her search for the Dragon Warrior.

She rushed across the massive trail that encircles the Jade Palace, her erratic mind racing as she drowns out the thoughts of his heart-melting smile with her own ideas as to what she's going to do to him now that she's snapped thanks to the pressure of the emotional torment he has willingly or unwillingly forced upon her.

"I wonder if that imbecile has locked himself up in the Hall of Heroes, perhaps he is breaking more of our sacred and timeless possessions?" Tigress pondered whilst maintaining a gaze up at the Hall of Heroes. "I guess I must search everywhere if I wish to receive my answer," Tigress pouted, rapidly ascending the steps leading up to the Hall of Heroes as she blew open the gates. Instead of being met with the sight of that clumsy panda breaking more priceless relics, she is met with an eerie emptiness. Without seeing much purpose in her visit, she awkwardly turned towards the exit, locking the gates as she exited the premises.

"Hmph~" Tigress folded her arms up whilst turning her back towards the Hall of Heroes. "It is quite late, I bet that undisciplined insubordinate has fallen asleep whilst snacking on a dumpling… I guess I should investigate a more logical place for him to be at this time of day," Tigress stared a hole up towards the shining moon, dropped onto all fours and descended the stairs at breakneck speeds in pursuit of her next destination.

Tigress disregarded her path as her paws ran through the scarce amount of soil and dirt the Jade Palace had to offer around the outskirts of its meticulously crafted structures. She bore the brunt of the chilly wind as she caught sight of the lantern-lit dormitory that she called home.

Without even looking back at how far she had come, she blew right through another set of doors as she instantly skidded to a halt in front of the Furious Five. Her claws sunk into the wooden floorboards whilst the doors behind her swung shut despite the relatively powerful gusts of wind looming outdoors. Everyone looked down on her before glancing at her with friendly smiles on their faces.

"You look like you're in a rush," Crane whispered, stating the obvious. "Keep your voice down and listen," Crane instructed, with Tigress rising to her hind legs from being on all fours; her eyes squinting as her ears fluttered thanks to the noise of a distant mumbling.

"We were surprised too… It seems that the Dragon Warrior is cooking something whilst singing!" Viper optimistically quipped. "We still have no clue what he's singing about as we don't wish to disturb him… The food smells nice, though!" Viper stuck her tongue in the general direction of Po's singing to pick up on the scent of his food in greater detail.

"What brings you here so early, Tigress?" Monkey calmly inquired. "Don't you want to take advantage of the extra time you have before curfew to train?" The simian leans up against the doorframe leading into the corridor as Tigress finally gathers her bearings.

"Yeah, it's rare to see you here so early," Mantis's voice still boomed despite him trying to keep his voice down. "Shouldn't you be reducing some Wooden Warriors to splinters whilst honing in on the 'perfect' battle cry?"

"Usually… I would. But I've come back to handle some business involving the Dragon Warrior," Tigress huffed whilst straightening her posture, cracking her knuckles and stretching her legs. "Personal business," She states preemptively, familiar to the stabbing curiosity that pierces through her skin each time she mentions something remotely social.

"Personal business with the Dragon Warrior?" Monkey teased. "Since when did you want anything to do with him… I thought he was a 'disgrace to kung-fu' and that he 'doesn't deserve a place here'?" After being stared down by Tigress's eager and anger-fueled orange orbs, the primate falls silent and subsequently in line.

"About that. I'm going to be interrogating him as I believe he's using his abilities to pierce my mind… Which has wore my patience thin and the reason I'm here is because merely hitting those Wooden Warriors isn't cutting it anymore and I need something more direct," Tigress's cold yet stern attitude whilst she makes this confession caused the Furious Five to gulp in unison as they exchanged glances of concern.

"You're not seriously thinking about- beating him as a punishment, right?" Viper's voice quivered as Tigress let off a dismayed grunt, disregarding the serpent's comment as she marched forward. "Right, Tigress?" Tigress soon fades off into the darkness of the corridor as the Furious Five nod before briskly wandering forward.

Their brisk wandering becomes a sprint on behalf of their newfound friend as they finally come to the kitchen to gaze upon Po playing an Erhu with his eyes closed. He was no longer singing, merely enjoying his tune as Tigress stared at him with her head tilted. Strangely enough, any and all feelings of resentment against the Dragon Warrior briefly melted into oblivion as Po cracked open his eyes and smiled at Tigress.

"Hey, Ti!" Po beamed an adventurous smile at the feline, who merely growled under her breath before advancing forward. "Can I… Uh, help you with something?" Po watched as Tigress got uncomfortably close to his own face, huffing onto his wet nose as her warm breath tickled his cheeks. Feeling extremely awkward and stiff, Po backed up against the countertop and stopped playing his song. "Tigress?" With his curious prodding of her mind, Po had earned an unwarranted punishment as he was slammed up against the wall, being strangled by the enraged feline.

"What do you think you're doing crawling into my mind with your knowledge of the Dragon Scroll, hmm?" Tigress forces herself up against Po as he raises his eyebrow. "Oh, don't you dare play dumb with me, Panda… For the past month, I've been tormented by images of that phoney smile of yours. I've been tortured by the sight of your eyes as they stare into my soul, attempting to melt away the fortress I have rightfully constructed around my emotions to keep myself safe… Well, I reached my breaking point today, are you happy?"

"Tigress, stop!" Viper tried to rush forward, although she felt herself freezing under the trusting gaze of the Dragon Warrior as he stared at Viper and shook his head.

"This is without mentioning how seemingly UNFOCUSED I become whenever you enter my presence in the Training Hall! So, when I let go of your throat… I expect to hear my answer slip from your lips and I hope it's gratifying enough to the point where I don't force my paw down your throat," Tigress released her grip of his throat. Po seized the opportunity and inhaled a massive amount of air before answering back.

"Tigress- I have no clue what you're talking about- I wish I knew about this sooner-" Po humbly answered back in a rush, inhaling another breath of air as Tigress's paw pressed down on his throat again.

"LIAR!" Tigress forced Po up the wall and clenched her paw, waving her scars in front of his face. "YOU DID THIS TO ME AND YOU'RE TOO MUCH OF A COWARD TO ANSWER BACK WITH THE TRUTH?" Tigress yelled, with the Furious Five finally snapping, pulling her back from the Dragon Warrior as Crane and Viper checked on him.

"Po, are you alright? I'm so sorry about this-" Viper reassured Po by slithering onto his belly, beaming an empathetic smile as he weakly smiled back.

"I wish I had a clue what she was on about but- I don't know… I'm a little shaken up but part of me tells me that she needs to get this off her chest-"

"Dude, it sounds like she's in-"

"SHUT IT!" Monkey clamped Mantis's mouth shut as Tigress wriggled free from her entrapment, slamming Po up against the wall again as the Furious Five were too terrified to react rationally.

"You do know what I'm going on about and you're just playing dumb with me to slip out of this situation- it's not going to work! Just admit the truth and I can have closure..." Tigress sternly stared down the innocent panda as for a moment, she felt her anger being pierced by regret. She swallowed her remorse and shook the panda violently. "TELL ME!" Tigress relinquished her grip around Po's throat, instead directing it into his chest as he looked towards the Furious Five for comfort.

"Tigress- I'm so sorry- I don't know what you're talking about but if you let me speak… What are you experiencing exactly? You're seeing my smile, my eyes, my entire face every time you shut your eyes… You're feeling your focus fade away whenever you gaze at me, yet you can't look away-" The Furious Five all raised their eyebrows in intrigue as Po looked towards Mantis. "I really don't want to say this as I fear it's going to get me killed-"

"You've invaded my dreams, too! Just get out of my head, will you?" Tigress's anger finally boils over as she realises the actions she took were completely unacceptable.

"Tigress- I- Uh… If it's by some impossible miracle then~" Po's lip danced thanks to his nervousness as the Furious Five look at him and shake their heads. "Come on, do I really have to say this, guys?" He calls over Tigress's shoulder as the Furious Five go from shaking their heads to nodding them with haste.

"What are you trying to say, Panda?" Tigress unexpectedly felt a tsunami of peace wash over her… She was about to get her answer and she wasn't interrogating this innocent panda anymore.

"Tigress- I think… Uhm- I think you're in love with me- PLEASE DON'T KILL ME-" Instead of being punched on the spot or turned into an ingredient that would've spiced up his noodle soup… Tigress's paw suddenly flops down from its position on his chest as the stars align within her mind.

Po watched as Tigress's eyes widened, her nose twitched and a singular tear welled up in her orange eyes, quelling the inferno fueled by anger as the Furious Five awkwardly tip-toed out of the room and back to their rooms. To match her surprise, Tigress's tail went from swishing high thanks to anger to swishing low thanks to her nervousness as her head tilted and that tear streamed down her cheek.

"I… I love you?" Instead of feeling like she had been deceived, Tigress instead sought to mentally facepalm as she realised the signs had been the whole time. There was no lying when it came to this panda, he was a horrible liar and only sought to tell the truth. "I… I'm so sorry~" Tigress went from pinning Po up against the kitchen wall to crying into his shoulder. "What- what have I done?" Tigress persisted with allowing her emotions to flow, bawling into Po's shoulder as he softly wrapped his arms around Tigress's beaten form.

"It's- It's okay, Tigress… I understand. I've got you, there's nothing to be ashamed of," Po did his best to comfort the frazzled feline as she persisted with her weeping into his shoulder. "I wouldn't love me either and I sure as heck wouldn't want to be told what my feelings meant… You could just be a casual observer of the Dragon Warrior," Po's humour somehow lightened the mood as he could feel Tigress cease her crying and stare up at his jade eyes.

"Don't… Don't be so harsh on yourself, Panda," Tigress went from looking up at his trusting eyes to sobbing into his chest. "I- I know I'm not just a casual observer… I've just been burying my feelings- I never thought it was possible to love someone without interacting with them much," Tigress's sobbing faded into the dark room around them as the only thing filling the room was the harmonic bubbling of Po's pot filled to the brim with noodles.

"Now you know..." Po gazed down on Tigress's sobbing form with a sunlit smile spread across his face. "Now you know how it feels to be someone's fangirl, quite like how I am one of your many fanboys," Po's own charm reassured Tigress as she peered up, genuinely smiling for the first time since Po stepped foot in the Jade Palace.

"Are you saying… I'm fangirling for the Dragon Warrior?" Tigress leant up against Po's chest and pressed into it. "I guess you could say… I'm your number one fan in this case," Tigress snickered before backing out. "I'm sorry- I'm not very good at this 'romance' thing-"

"I'm so glad you made the first move instead of me… I can hide how bad I am at flirting now!" Po chuckled whilst peering into Tigress's burning orange orbs… Almost like he possessed the will of the spirits above, he was able to extinguish any worries or remnant anger buried deep within Tigress's eyes. "If you're my number one fangirl… Does that mean I'm your number one fanboy?" Po's eyebrows rose up and a childish smile spread across his face.

"I would only accept one fanboy in my life… Whether it be forced or not, and that's you, Master Panda," Tigress threw herself into Po's warming arms as he clung onto her with one arm, multitasking as he stirred the noodle pot with Tigress latched onto him. "I'm unsure of what lies ahead of us as friends or lovers… Unfortunately, it's going to take a lot of healing as relationships against members of the Jade Palace are forbidden-"

"But wherever we end up in the future, I'll be at peace knowing that I'm here with you," Po halted the stirring of his noodles inside of his boiling pot, bringing in Tigress for a passionate hug as he licked her cheek. Tigress humoured him by licking his cheek back and they both shared a childish game, basking within one another's passionate warmth until the striped feline almost slipped out of his loose grip. "I guess this means we can admire one another from a distance without worrying about it… You were scared of this, too!"

"Okay, Dragon Warrior… I think I'm going to have to deflate that little ego of yours," Tigress slid down from Po's arms as she peered behind her, thankfully, the Furious Five had long cleared out instead of sticking around for this unpredictable interaction. "I already know you've been shooting a few of your glances in my direction whilst I train… But you've been impressing me with your mastery of the Training Hall and I think you've earned the attention of my watchful eye," Tigress toyed with Po's fanboying as she watched him turn a new shade of red, his white fur stained by his rosy cheeks.

"I'm honoured, Master Tigress," Po mocked her comment by sarcastically bowing before popping up to his feet. "I love you so much, Tigress… No matter what we do, I'll always be proud that I was able to see the flame through the fog that was your passionate personality," Po licked Tigress's nose one final time, grabbing his noodle pot in the process and slamming it onto the table where many empty bowls awaited.

"I love you too, my Dragon Warrior… I'll always be a fan of your childish and loving side, even if it really does grind my gears sometimes," Tigress rolled her eyes whilst patting Po's back. "Alright, I think it's time we announce that we solved our little squabble…"

"SUPPERTIME!" Po took Tigress's cue, blasting his voice across the dormitory as the rest of the Furious Five arrived on the scene to find that Po was unharmed and Tigress was suspiciously calm. They wouldn't spend much time gawking at how the situation was diffused, at that very moment… They were more concerned with filling their stomach with Po's food.

Unbeknownst to them, on this night. Po and Tigress would join their paws together underneath the table whilst they chowed down on their meal, feeling their hearts swell with affection and their stomachs fill with the deliciousness of yet another fine meal prepared by the Dragon Warrior's precious spirit as both warriors hid their secret in plain sight… Even going as far to engage with the others as their conversations endured far into the night.

[The End…]

[Author's Notes]

Wow, writing something for Kung Fu Panda has never felt so refreshing!

As I mentioned earlier, unfortunately, I am not back from my break just yet. I've decided to write this as it's been quite a while and reuploading Forbidden Campsite brought this idea across my mind, strangely enough...

With my mind newly familiarized with most aspects regarding Kung Fu Panda, it's safe to say that I look forward to returning to posting more consistency and I shall see you inside of my next work. Thank you so much for your patience and I hope you have a fantastic day!