Opposite
The panda woke up, noticing the scent of fresh mountain dew in the air of the wooden barracks. He stretched and yawned, cracking his stiff back as he rose from the bed. Then he blinked. The kind of blink that makes one question reality. "Hmm, that's weird." He muttered to himself. He looked around the room.
Something wasn't right.
Everything looked in order. The bowls of leftover noodles scattered over the ground, the bed a mess, and the Kung Fu action figures still sat on the window sill. Everything was in order. Sorta.
And yet, something was off. The sun seemed a little higher than it normally would when he woke up. In fact, it was actually near 9 o'clock.
"No, that's not it," Po muttered. He had slept in before and he wanted to sleep in today. But that wasn't the issue. Po sniffed the air. "Hmmm. No, Zeng isn't cooking. What's going on?" The panda pulled his pants up a bit higher and opened the door. Walking down the hall, he only heard quietness, but it didn't surprise him. Crane, Viper, and Mantis were away with Master Shifu for an emergency, so it was only Monkey and...
"Wait, that's it! It's too quiet!" Po exclaimed and ran to the Training Hall.
Every single day since Po had defeated Tai-Lung, Master Tigress would train in the Training Hall at the very crack of dawn. It became the panda's alarm clock in a way. He stumbled up the steps to the Training Hall and bust the doors open.
Nothing and no one.
The air still hung with a motionless glint of speckled dust particles drifting in the air. Po jumped into the sand pit and touched one of the wooden dummies. "It's cold. She hasn't been in here at all. Oh no, did she get kidnapped or-"
"Po?" said a voice from the door. Po swung around and saw Monkey. The simian groggily rubbed his eye. "What are you doing up? I thought you were going to sleep in."
"I did, but I can't find Tigress."
"What do you mean?" Monkey yawned. "She's still in bed."
"WhaT?!" Po bolted out the door and slid right to Tigress's room in a flash, banging on the door. "Tigress! Tigress! Are you there?!"
"HRrrmmmm, Po, stop being so noisy. I'm taking a cat nap."
CRINNKK!
That was the sound of Po's brain breaking into several little pieces. "You're... what?"
Tigress yawned and opened the door. Po immediately scanned her over. She looked the same. Same yellow Hanfu and black pants. Her yawn threw him off a bit; Po couldn't think of the last time he saw her yawn. The striped warrior cracked several spots in her back in a stretch before lazily walking down the barracks. "Where are you going?" Po asked.
"Well, since you woke me up," Tigress said in a weirdly harmonic and sing-song voice. "I might as well get something to eat before I start the day."
"But... you slept in. You never sleep in," Po said. The tiger smiled at him. The panda flinched back, holding his arms and belly.
The smile took him by surprise. Tigress had smiled before but never like this. Usually, her smile was small and quiet. This one was mischievous and a little suggestive. Po gulped.
"Things can change, Po," She simply replied and journeyed into the kitchen.
The bear stood speechless. He slapped his face twice before shaking his head and pinching himself. "Ow! Okay, let's try this again." He walked to the barracks' kitchen and saw Tigress eating.
But she was eating Po's dumplings, two cups of water, a bowl of noodles soup, and a plate of rice. Very different from her usual meager stir-fried soy cubes. Po's mouth dropped.
He rubbed his eyes, shook his head, and stared again. "Okay, so this is happening and I'm not dreaming?"
"What are you talking about, Po?" Tigress asked.
Po stared, narrowing his eyes, "You wouldn't have happened to look in that split mirror thingy, would you?"
"You mean the Mystic Mirror of Yin and Yang? No, I didn't."
"Okay, so you're sick?" Po asked feeling the tiger's forehead and face with his hand. He flinched back when she started chuffing happily at the feel. "What was that?!"
"What? Your hand felt good," Tigress explained. Po gawked as Monkey came in. "Good morning Monkey."
"Good morning," Monkey groggily said. "Po, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I don't know what I'm seeing, but I don't believe it," Po gulped and ran to the stove. "Tigress is sick."
"I'm not sick."
"Yes, you are!"
"Po, she seems fine to me."
"Fine?!" Po blurted out to Monkey in a squeaky voice. "She overslept, smiled way too... too... I'm not gonna say it," Po grumbled, noticing the tiger's sly smirk. "And she's eating way more than she usually does!"
"What are you talking about Po? Tigress has always been like this," Monkey answered. Po blinked several times with wide eyes before shaking his head awake.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, this can't be happening."
"Po, are you okay?" Po opened his eyes and saw Tigress worriedly examining his head. The worry in her eyes was the same, but the voice... the voice sounded too... cheery. Like she had regained the voice of her teenage self.
"I... I-I think so... I think I'm gonna go to my dad's place," Po said. He darted out of the barracks and rushed down the mountain before either of the masters could say anything to him.
Po's sanity simply got worse and worse over time. For the entire day, Po secretly watched Tigress from afar to make sure she was alright. She spent most of the day in the village, but she didn't patrol like usual. She bought flowers from the florist, played kickball with some kids in the street, and even played a game of mahjong with Mr. Ping and Li-Shan. Her smile was wide and pleasant like she had never ever had a worry in her life. "What is going on?!" Po muttered.
This was the worst timing, too. He couldn't ask Shifu for help because they would be gone for the rest of the day. The panda frantically spied on the tiger from day to night, accidentally running into her from time to time.
"Po?"
"WAHHH!" He'd exclaim. "Oh, hey Tigress."
"Are you okay? You don't look too good. Here, have a dumpling to cheer you up. You must be starving."
"Uhhhhh no, no, I'm fine."
"What are you doing?"
"Just... hanging around, making sure the village is safe and... stuff."
"Oh?" She'd smile with the same mischievous leer that made Po gulp. "I was beginning to think you were following me like a stalker."
Po'd blush bright red, "No, no, no! I was just uh... making sure the village was okay. In fact, I hear someone calling me right now! Must be my dad's place. See you!"
That's how most of their run-ins would happen. As the day waxed on and the sun began to set, Po paced around in the Hall of Heroes. "What is going on? I just don't understand! She didn't hit her head, I'm not in some weird realm where she's suddenly like... the opposite of herself, she's not sick, and I'm not crazy, right!?" He exclaimed to Zeng. The duck servant only gave him a look between creeped out and worried before slowly backing away. "UGGGHH! What is going on?!"
"This is really creeping you out, isn't it?" said a familiar voice.
"WHAHH!" Po jumped and saw Tigress and Monkey in front of him. But something was off about Tigress... again. She held her arms crossed and a straight line formed on her lips.
Po did a double-take. That... looked normal for her. "Wha?"
"Monkey," Tigress said seriously, "I think it's time we told Po."
"Aww, come on, I wanted to see him freak out more."
"Monkey," The tiger sternly scolded.
"Alright, alright," Monkey sighed. "Tigress and I made a bet yesterday. If she could be the opposite of what she usually is for an entire day, then she'd win. If not, I win."
"So... this was... because of a bet?" Po asked.
"Yes," Tigress replied. "We didn't mean to-"
"Oh thank goodness! I'm not crazy! I'm not crazy!"
"That's debatable," Monkey murmured.
"Ugh, I thought I was going insane again."
"Again?" Monkey asked.
"I've... kinda done some not-so-awesome things when I was cooking. Hehe, never combine me and alcohol together when cooking."
"Will do," Monkey yawned. "Well, I'm going to bed. I have a lot of cleaning to do because of this bet."
"Wait, what did Tigress win?" Po asked.
"Nothing but the satisfaction that she doesn't have to clean your room for a month as a birthday gift," Monkey muttered as he exited the Hall of Heroes.
"Wait, what?" Po looked at the tiger. Tigress sighed with her small smile on.
"We know that your birthday is coming up and we were trying to figure out a gift. We settled on cleaning your room for a month but we were torn on who should do it."
"So loser gets to clean my room," Po guessed. Tigress nodded. The panda rose an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes. "I appreciate the thought, but you guys don't have to use my room as 'Punishment'."
"Of course," Tigress smiled but it soon disappeared. "Po, why did my acting scare you so much?"
"Hm?"
"I've never seen you this scared before... I mean besides the normal."
"I'm not scared of you," Po argued. The tiger simply rose an unimpressed eyebrow. "Okay, so I'm a little nervous, but that's just because you can literally crack my hand with your finger!"
Tigress shook her head. "But that doesn't explain why you were in a such panic."
Po stood quiet for a moment. He looked up in thought, tapping his chin while thinking up a way to answer the question. Finally, after what seemed like a minute or two, the panda simply shrugged. "I don't know, I guess... I thought that... I'd have to relearn who you were from the ground up."
Tigress flinched back a bit. "I don't understand."
"I mean, you were acting completely opposite to who you were."
She narrowed her eyes. "I'd hope that training and patrolling aren't all that you think of me, Po."
"Not that," Po replied. "I mean how you are. You usually get up early, you usually don't eat that much, you're usually not that... outgoing or social, and you definitely don't smile like you're flirting with me."
"Oh?" Tigress said flatly, though Po could've sworn he heard a bit of surprise and shock from her throat. "That's why."
"I just... I don't really know that much about you, Tigress. Yeah, sure, I know what you like to do on a daily basis, but other than that, I don't really know you that much. And if the very basics of who you are change for whatever reason, I... I don't know if we would be friends... because I'd have to learn a different person."
The dimly lit hall started to loom. As the flickering candles cast shadows on the gaping pillars, the two stood still and quiet. Tigress hadn't realized just how much being different from her usual self could be unsettling for Po. And she didn't realize how little he knew.
"I just," Po began again, "I don't really know who you are outside of what I see, which I know isn't much."
"It isn't," Tigress agreed. The mood had changed. The pauses were longer and they began to talk in whispers for some unknown reason. The tiger suddenly sighed sharply and stood straighter. "But," She said with a small smile. "That can change... with time."
Po perked up and smiled back in a goofy manner, only widening Tigress's smile in the process. "Come on, I think we should go to bed."
"Yeah," Po yawned as they left the Hall of Heroes. "Soooo... was it hard to do all the things you wouldn't do and not do the things you would? Wait, did that come out right?"
Tigress gave a small chuckle, "It was... nice. I actually enjoyed it. I was surprised at how much the village's view of me has changed." Po watched the tiger's small smile turn into a quiet smirk. "And I would be lying if I said I didn't get some... pleasure in seeing your reactions."
"Hey! I'm not used to a flirtatious you, okay? I wasn't prepared for that."
"I didn't think a mischievous smirk could be seen as flirtatious," Tigress smirked. "Especially with you, Po."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"What made you think it was flirtatious to begin with?"
"Uhhhhh," Po stuttered. "But-But-But you purred when I touched you."
"I wasn't lying when I said your hand felt good."
"But... but...," A nervous twitch crossed the panda's eye. He squinted and examined Tigress. "You're messing with me."
"Only one way to find out," Tigress smirked as they headed to the barracks.
And this is why Opposite day is not celebrated at the Jade Palace. :)
