Just before dawn, the villagers were starting to wake up to start their day. The sun was rising, and so were the masters of the Jade Palace. Two fiery orange orbs snapped open, and right away looked out the window to determine what time it was. The person in question was none other than Tigress. Tigress quickly stood up and changed into her casual black pants and her brand new gold qipao. She had gotten it as a gift from Po a few weeks back, but had no confidence to wear it. Once she was dressed, she stood in front of a mirror and tried to brush down her fur that was sticking up. Then, the gong rang and she got into place right behind her door. "Good morning Master Shifu!" Tigress recited along with the others. Well, all except for SOMEONE.

"Oh for the love of-PO WAKE UP!" Shifu flung his doors open. "AAAAH-OW!" Po had a very rude awakening this morning. "Sorry Master Shifu!" He apologized. "Nevermind that, you're forgiven. Today students, training is canceled." All six of them gasped. Shifu NEVER canceled training, never. One in particular wasn't happy about this though. "Master Shifu, may I please still train today?" Tigress pleaded, not wanting to change her routine. "No, you may not. Today is a day for just relaxation." Shifu stood his ground, but anticipated a problem with what he just said. "FINE!" Tigress snarled, pushing past everyone else and storming out, as everyone heard the distinct slam of the main doors of the barracks. Shifu sighed, knowing she was going to be upset for a while. "I knew she wouldn't like it, but I already decided that you all need this time off."

"Why, is something wrong, master?" Viper questioned. "Yeah, we never skip training, especially for no reason!" Crane exclaimed. "No no, nothing is wrong. I just decided all of you deserve a day off. So, you are free to spend today however you wish." He answered. "Now, let's head to breakfast." Shifu scurried down the hall. "Are we going out for breakfast or something?" Po gasped. "That would be AWESOME! The jade palace masters are eating breakfast together!" He giggled. "Po, we do that every day!" Mantis argued.
"He has a point, Po." Monkey laughed. "Yes, but it's not every day we go out to eat you guys." Viper admonished.

They all met Shifu and Tigress outside, who told them that they were going to a special restaurant for breakfast. When they arrived there, it was called Cafe Cha. "Wow, this place looks fantastic!" Crane said. Everyone else agreed with him. They went in and got seated, and ate delicious food. Later, they were walking back up to the Jade Palace. There was mild discussion among everyone. "So, I have a question, Tigress," Po said. "I heard you and Master Shifu yelling last night, is everything okay?" He questioned. Tigress stiffened up and whispered,
"Yes, it was resolved, please don't mention it." "Okay, I won't, I hope you're okay though." He whispered back and moved back towards Mantis and Monkey.

When they got back, they all split up to do their own hobbies. Meanwhile, Tigress was in her room, thinking over the night before. Everytime she glanced at her bandaged paws, her master, no, father's words replayed into her mind. It felt like a dream to her, like it hadn't actually happened. She wondered if things would be any different now. Him taking them out to breakfast and letting them skip training was new, but would he still just criticize her and not praise her? She decided not to worry about it and go see what her father was doing. Usually he wouldn't want to be disturbed during his meditation, but she wanted to test their new relationship. She walked out of her room and closed her door lightly, not wanting to make any noise in case some of the others were in their rooms.

Tigress wasn't quite sure where to look first. The training hall and kitchen were obviously not where he'd be. She decided to first check his room. On the way there, even though she had decided not to worry about it, she was uncharacteristically anxious about talking to Shifu. It would be too much to bear if he pretended like last night didn't happen. On the other hand, if he treated her more like a daughter, it would be strange and she wouldn't know how to feel either. Her thoughts stopped when she nearly walked straight into Shifu's door. She took a step back and then raised her paw to knock, when the door wooshed open. She looked down and saw Shifu raising an eyebrow at her. Her face heated up and she felt herself wanting to disappear. "Tigress, what's wrong? You don't usually seek other people out because you're bored. Is something on your mind?" Shifu beckoned her in his room with a wave of his paw, stepping farther inside the bedroom to allow her to enter.

They both sat down on the floor across from each other. Tigress sighed, "I was just wondering if things will be different now. Will you treat me any differently?"
"Of course, I just didn't want to embarrass you in front of the Five and Po. I didn't think you would appreciate that." Shifu chuckled. "It wouldn't be embarrassing baba, unless you were purposefully teasing me in front of them, which you better not EVER do." Tigress growled. That just made Shifu laugh harder as he said, "I will keep that in mind. Although I promise things will be different from now on." Tigress's face lit up, that was exactly what she wanted to hear. She reached forward and hugged her father, keeping her strength under control even though she was happy.

"Another thing Tigress, you're not going to like this but it's important." Shifu wouldn't meet her eyes as they parted from the hug. "Baba, what's wrong?"
"After our talk last night, I reached out to Viper's parents, specifically her mother, as she's a psychologist." He paused and let that sink in. Tigress had no clue where this was going. "I spoke with her about your childhood, and the incidents you've had with the ironwood, and just your behavior in general." Shifu sighed deeply and laid his hand on hers. "Master?" Tigress questioned, worry showing in her face. "I didn't want to do this to you, but she suggested we take you to the doctors for a full psychological evaluation." Shifu finally met her eyes. At first she showed no emotion, but then he saw the shock, confusion, and overall anger. "WHAT?!" Tigress roared, standing up hurriedly. "Now Tigress, calm do-"

"THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH ME!" Tigress snarled, stomping her feet on the ground, shaking everything in the room. Tigress panted but didn't show any signs of calming down.
" TIGRESS, I'm not saying there is anything WRONG with you, I'm just saying you have some differences and quirks that I've noticed over the years, that I neglected to do anything about." Shifu sighed, and Tigress slowly sat down once again. "... What do you think is the cause, baba?" Tigress asked, wanting his opinion but also curious. "Viper's mother said it sounds like you could be autistic, and have some other mental health issues that came with your childhood treatment." Tigress was stunned, she knew a little bit about what autism was, but she never thought it described her. "What makes her think I'm autistic?"

"Well, you show quite a few traits, although we don't know anything about your biological family so we can't be sure if there's any genetic link." Tigress listened carefully as he spoke.
"First of all, you've never eaten anything besides plain Tofu your whole life, even when you were a child and myself or Oogway tried to get you to try new foods." Tigress thought back and figured out that her father was right, she remembered trying other foods and immediately gagging and spitting it out. The way the food felt was just too much. Tofu was just the perfect amount of everything. "What else?" Tigress curiously asked, by now her anger was all gone and just replaced by curiosity. "Another one was your aggression, and what everyone thought were tantrums, which I've now been told were meltdowns."

"Oh.." Tigress muttered to herself, the pieces were starting to click in her mind.
"I'm sure you can remember that you sometimes get overwhelmed easily by a lot of noise and commotion, which leads to you snapping at people." As Shifu spoke, Tigress remembered every time that's happened, she always just thought she had a bad temper.
"This is a very obvious but important one, you've liked Kung Fu your whole life, but Oogway and I couldn't ever get you to focus on anything else besides things relating to Kung Fu. That is what is called a 'special interest'." Shifu watched as she realized what he was talking about.
"Next would be your social and communication difficulties, you've always been very blunt and honest, which hurts peoples feelings sometimes but you don't usually notice." That reminded Tigress of many times in her childhood and also with the Five and Po.

"You also don't read facial expressions or body language very well, especially when you were younger, now it's a bit better because you've learned from watching the Five what certain gestures mean." Tigress didn't really remember certain instances, but she always felt like she didn't understand other people, she felt like she was different.
"Another thing, you definitely don't remember this, but when you were younger in the orphanage, the caretakers had written down notes about your behavior, and many times you would be seen flapping your hands and arms, rocking, spinning, just about anything to let out your emotions. I think the reason why you stopped was that one caretaker who I read always taught you quiet hands and sometimes restrained you." Shifu's face was now full of sorrow, he didn't want to remind her of that time, but he needed to explain everything to her. "Is that why I always have the urge to get energy out and move, which I usually take out by training?" "I would assume so, yes." Shifu chuckled, glad she was understanding and not freaking out.

3"One other thing, I've noticed you're very resistant to change or new things and people. Whenever we meet someone new or we don't train for a day, you have a meltdown, like earlier today." That made a lot of sense to her. "Is there anything else?" Tigress questioned again.
"Yes, but we will get into it more with the doctor. Those are the major things. Do you see now why you should be tested?" Shifu held her hand once more, pleading for her to agree.
"...I guess so, I don't like it though." Tigress groaned, thinking about having to talk to someone about her childhood and behavior seemed too invasive. "I understand, I will be there with you, and if there's anything you're uncomfortable discussing, I can speak for you if you would like that." Shifu compromised. "Thank you, baba." Tigress gave him a small smile. "You are very welcome. I will write to the doctor and set you up an appointment."
Tigress stood up and turned to leave, but Shifu spoke up and got her attention. "Tigress, you do not have to tell your friends if you don't want to, but there is nothing shameful about being different. Just be yourself, and they will be there for you." Tigress nodded and left, slowly shutting the paper door behind her. She decided to go back to her room, she had much to think about.