Training To be Yourself


"Again!" Lion shouted. Po grunted and strained as two massive boulders shackled to his arms and legs scraped the floor. A small circle in the sand dotted the place where he could move, but the boulder's weight felt like the earth was on his shoulders. Literally. He made the punch and the kick and then moved back. The boulders moved and jerked a bit in place, and Po groaned as he heard that word spring from Lion's mouth. "Again."

Tigress stood by the sideline, watching Po work. Above her, her avian comrade was going through similar training. He had a large rock strapped to his waist and did push-ups with his wings on the rafters. His body was completely straight while his feet had nothing to rest on. The bird's hat was by Tigress's side. He didn't want to get it dirty with his sweat, and the bird was sweating up a storm. But Tigress could see the focused glares in their eyes.

Something was pushing them. Pushing them to keep going after every command out of Lion's mouth. For Crane, it was easy to figure out: Protecting Viper. But for Po, Tigress couldn't easily figure out his goal. To be stronger? For what?

"That's enough," Lion said. Po dropped to his knees while Crane would've dropped to the ground had Po not caught him.

"Thanks. Forgot how heavy the rock was," Crane groaned.

"Rest for a while, then we'll start up again with Tigress and Po. Crane will go outside and try lifting that boulder off the ground, later. Right now, rest."

"Thanks," Crane groaned. Po shook his head with a smile as he helped Crane undo the rope around his waist, tying him to the boulder. The poor bird limped to the sideline where Tigress was and collapsed while Po sat on the other side of Tigress, laughing.

The wolf smiled at the three. He stood on the opposite side of the Training Hall, watching the warriors nurse each others' wounds. Just then, Master Shifu came in. Lion bowed, "Master Shifu."

"Please, Lion. There's no need for the formalities." Shifu looked at the warriors resting. "How are they doing?"

"Great. Po's showing rapid improvement and Crane's strength is starting to pick up." Though he spoke in a light tone, his frown couldn't be shaken. "But... I understand why Crane's pushing himself. But why is Po? It can't just be to protect the valley."

Shifu stroked his beard, silently staring at the floor. "I believe," he said after a long pause, "It's because he wants to be stronger than Platon. I believe it started when he first encountered Platon. He asked the question if strength can be taught or born with."

"I think I know what Platon said," Lion interjected, "But why would he want to be stronger than Platon?"

"To defeat him." Lion rose his eyebrow. "When you first came, your strength made a great impression on Po. That much was obvious. But so did Sho," Shifu sighed. "I think Po is... frustrated with just doing things by ear, in a manner of speaking. Deep down, I think he's trying to find something that he can truly say he worked for."

"Like strength." Shifu nodded.

"What really tipped me off was the fact that he decided to train without a concern for you." Lion gave a sideways glance. "Po's naturally curious and most of the time can't keep secret. But..." Shifu sighed. "I guess he was worried about more important things. That and he didn't need to convince us about you."

"How come?"

"You have a very... innocent demeanor," Shifu replied. "And I guess he had given up on trying to change our minds."

The wolf looked at the red panda through narrowed eyes. Shifu's back was hunched over some and he glumly stared at the floor. "Why are you upset about that?" Lion asked.

"It just... feels like he gave up on us... not that he was wrong."

"Gave up, or accepted a fact?" Lion asked. "They're two different things." After a brief smile, Lion cleared his throat and spoke to the others. "Alright, that's long enough. Let's get back to training."

"Oooh my aching body," Po grunted up to his feet. Crane rolled his shoulders and walked out of the Training Hall room to do his exercise.

"Now, Tigress and Po. Start sparring." The two warriors nodded and jumped into the sandpit, facing each other off. Within a minute, they were off. "I don't know if Po can defeat Platon alone, though," Lion spoke discreetly to Master Shifu. "Platon taught both me and Sho. There's a reason why Sho and I haven't fought him."

"The others said at Helm mountains-"

"That was survival," Lion interrupted. "It was to stall until Po and the others could overwhelm them. Platon's not always good with fighting in numbers."

"Not always?" Shifu asked.

"It's... complicated," Lion sighed.

Shifu sighed as well. "I don't think it will ever be simple."

"I will say," Lion continued, "That he is getting ahead. He's already stronger than me so-"

"WHAT?! How?"

"Yes, I can fight Sho in hand to hand, but his hammer was hard to take on. There were several times I tried breaking the hammer, but I never could. That handle was made out of metal and wood. The fact that he broke it like a twig means that..." He trailed off a bit, looking at Tigress charging Po, and Po ducking and kicking her side. "Maybe he's the... never mind."

"What?"

"Nothing it's a... stupid myth. There's a Jai-Yin story that there would be a warrior so powerful that he could defeat all of the leaders, bringing the rise of a whole new era of strong warriors. It's said that it would be signified by the destruction of the heirlooms."

"The... heirlooms?" Shifu looked at the dagger tucked close to Lion's side. "The weapons. Your dagger, Sho's hammer, and-"

"Platon's sword."

"What about the tiger?"

"Li doesn't have a weapon," Lion said. Shifu didn't ask more on the topic and watched the fighting continue. "They'd make a good couple." Shifu rose his eyebrow and looked at the two warriors. Po gritted his teeth in a grin while Tigress grinned back, blocking his kick. The two jumped back and charged again; Tigress kicked his belly, Po blocked it and rammed her shoulder, and she blocked it.

Shifu smiled. "Yes, they would. I wish they could."

"Hmm?" Lion hummed. Somehow that hum was well-missed by the red panda. Over the month, Shifu had forgotten what it was like before Lion could speak.

"I wish they would get together."

Lion's muzzle scrunched up in confusion. "Why?"

"Po is special. His strength is one thing, but his heart and character are... he wouldn't need much to win Tigress over," Shifu said confidently. "And being with him would... probably ease some of the mistakes I've made in raising Tigress."

The wolf's eyes narrowed on the red panda as he recrossed his arms. "You shouldn't use him as a balm for your mistakes."

"I know. But I lost one child to my ignorance." His eyes locked onto Lion's. "I will not lose another." He looked back to the fight and gave a small smile on old worn cheeks. "If she wants him, I'm eager to give my blessing."

Lion stared for a moment, watching the red panda smile. He took a deep breath and sighed. Lion hadn't felt peace in a while and it seemed to radiate from the red panda in droves.

"Maybe he is the one," Lion mumbled under his breath.

The two warriors blocked each others' blows again, sending wind rushing over the sidelines. "Why don't we get some tea? I'm a little parched."

Shifu smiled widely, "I would like that." As the two walked out, Tigress and Po stormed each other, locking arms in a stalemate. Po pushed her back hard. Tigress struggled and growled, but she shook her head and jumped back. Po tumbled forward but quickly blocked Tigress's attack from the back.

But Tigress jumped back and gripped her head. "I can't."

"Tigress?"

"I don't... I want to lose control."

"Then use it to your advantage," Po said, charging at her. Tigress quickly dodged right and punched Po to the ground. The panda rolled out and struck her hand. Tigress jumped over him and landed a blow to his forearm, blocking the attack, locked in their stalemate. They were grinning messes. Tigress growled with her wild smile. The surge of strength started boiling up, but Po strained back.

The more he strained to push back, though, the more it seemed to excite Tigress, and she pushed harder. Where she was getting this well of strength, Po couldn't say. Soon, Tigress's strength forced him to one knee, but the panda struggled on.

Suddenly, the tiger swept Po's feet, and the panda tumbled to the ground, with a growling snarling tiger on top. Po gulped as Tigress's pupils grew to drink in everything. She liked a challenge. She loved being challenged. Her hands clasped his arms. He couldn't move. With her legs straddling him, she had him pinned with nowhere to go. "Uh... Tigress?" Po nervously squeaked. The tiger's growl only got louder.

Suddenly, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Po's eyes lept open.

The kiss last only a second. Po used it to shove Tigress off, roll her onto her back, and pin her arms and legs to the floor, hovering over her. Tigress's eyes widened as the panda hovered over her with a wide smirk. The tiger growled, struggling against his hands to get back up.

"Stay."

Tigress's growl ceased. Po never spoke that sternly before. His voice sounded heavy and lower than it usually was. He stared deeply into her eyes, glaring but not menacingly. Just like that, she gave up the fight. The struggle in her hands fell. She even lowered her head, almost looking at Po through her eyelashes, like a pouting little girl.

It was then that they realized how close their heads were. Tigress couldn't move and Po's weight made it difficult to get the upper hand. But Tigress never noticed how deep and rich his eyes were until now.

And how much energy hid behind them.

Suddenly, Po straightened back up and tumbled off of her to her right. He plopped to his back and gasped. She gasped too. They didn't realize they were holding their breaths. "Okay... uh... wow."

"Sorry."

"About what?" Po panted. "Oh, The kiss. Uh... yeah, why did you do that?"

"It... worked the last time. It... snapped me out of it."

"Hope you have something else to help you," Po said, "I don't think it's a good idea to kiss your enemies when they're fighting you."

"Hmph," Tigress smirked and gasped, "Worked on you a couple of times."

"That wasn't... they caught me off guard!"

"Hmm." The tiger hummed, gazing at the rafters in the Training Hall. Then she heard something. A soft thump to her right. Tigress turned her head. Po's gasps slowly turned to deep breaths, but the sound was coming from him. Tigress scooted closer to him. The sound grew louder. Without another word, she rested her head on his chest and heard the loud thumping of Po's heart.

"Uh! Tigress, what are you doing?"

"Hearing your heartbeat. It's... loud," She said.

"Well, yeah, it gets like that when you're working out."

"Not for this long, though. It's been ten minutes already," Tigress pointed out. Po gulped and shakily shrugged. The tiger smiled, resting her head back on his chest. "Sorry for scaring you."

"Huh?"

"Your heart. It sounds like it's going faster than a cannonball."

"Hehe, kinda hard to keep calm around you, though," Po said. Tigress shot up her head, looking straight at the panda.

"Why?"

"Uh... well."

"Do I still scare you?"

"No, no, no, no," Po replied. "Nothing like that."

"Then what?"

Po wrestled his torso upright on his hands and gazed at her questioning eyes. He gulped again. The thick stillness, probably from Lion's demons' ability to kill the noise, felt heavier than two tons of rock on his shoulder.

Just then, Zeng rushed into the hall. "Master Tigress, Dragon Warrior! Word from the Emperor's Son! It's very urgent!" Po and Tigress jumped up from the dirt and rushed over to read the letter. Po's eyes widened as the others piled into the Training Hall.

"What's the matter?" Shifu asked.

"It's Yueding. He said his dad's close to finding what he's looking for and plans to use it soon."

"What is it?" Lion asked. Po shrugged with a sigh. The wolf growled. "This makes no sense. There's hundreds if not thousands of priceless artifacts on that mountain and Fu hasn't touched one of them. What is he looking for?"

"I don't know," Po said. "But whatever it is, Yueding thinks it has the power to hurt a lot of people." Lion's eyes narrowed.

"Maybe Platon has been keeping something private from you," Shifu said. Lion sighed. It could be true, but he didn't know.

"We have to get there. Fu's called down half his army to Jai-Yin Mountain."

"That can't be good," Mantis muttered.

"It's not," Lion grumbled. "The last time the Emperor called down his army was..." He didn't need to finish.

"In any case, we must get there quickly. We're gonna need everyone," Po said. They all agreed and rushed out of the door. But Tigress held Lion back. Crane just so happened to be stretching nearby and putting his hat back on. Lion looked at her frowning face.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm... I need to know what we're facing."

"You're worried we're not strong enough," Lion said directly. Tigress slowly nodded. The black wolf gave a long sigh and a soft smile. "In the end, all the strength in the world isn't gonna change anything. It doesn't matter if you're strong, there's always gonna be a bigger fish."

"How do we defeat this one?"

"By being more clever than him, and using all our other talents too," The wolf smiled and left, rushing to catch up with the rest. Crane was about to follow, but Tigress's words stopped him.

"Crane, how did you fight Sho?"

"I just... did."

"How did you manage to bruise him?" She asked.

Crane thought through his hat for a moment and shrugged. "When your mind says you need to do something, there's very little you can't do. I guess it starts and stops all up here," He said, pointing to his head. "Maybe a part of this whole strength thing is in the mind?" He shrugged again and headed for the others with Tigress slowly catching up after a moment of reflection.

The team ran at top speed, darting over plains and mountains. Po's eyes focused in on the direction south, when they came to a small basin that seemed familiar. In the basin was a little village with a well-known tavern in the middle. "Uh.. guys, I'm gonna take a little detour."

"What? Po, we need everyone to take on Platon and the army," Lion said.

"I know, I know. I just... I need to check in on something. It's important."

"What could be-"

"Go ahead," Tigress interrupted. Lion looked at her. "I know Po well enough to figure out when he needs to do something."

"What is he going to do?" Lion asked.

Tigress sighed, "I don't know, but I trust Po... a little more anyways." Lion sighed with her and continued on their way to the mountain while the panda sank into the basin. He passed the houses and streets sparsely filled with people and headed straight for the tavern. It was nearly noon, where people should be bouncing off the walls and drinking without care. Instead, Po found a silent tavern with a small duck cleaning a glass cup.

"Excuse me? Is uh... Sho here?"

"The wash-up's over there," the duck grunted. Po looked at the corner where a frowning bear glared into the wooden table with a mug in his hand and a broken hammer on the table. Po slowly walked over to Sho. The squeaks from the floor timbers made him on edge until Sho sighed.

"Just sit down, already. No need sneaking up on me."

So Po sat down, facing the King of the Bandits. The two bears sat in complete silence. Po noticed Sho's mug of water. The brown bear's sad face reflected back Po through the water. The hammerhead's shortened handle had a white wrapping around the broken part. The hammerhead seemed way too big for the handle, or what was left of it. That didn't seem to bug Sho. He aimlessly looked at the mug, not moving an inch. Po tapped his finger on the table. What was he gonna say? "What do you want?"

"Huh? OH! I was... just wondering how you were doing."

Sho didn't raise his head but looked up. "Why do you care?"

"Uh... I don't know. I just... had a hunch you were here," Po replied. The brown bear fell silent. "Could I... ask you some things?"

"Why?"

"Well, there's still some stuff I don't know about this whole Jai-Yin thing. And you might know. Plus... I wanted to say sorry."

"For what? Freeing me?" Po's head jerked back. "Heheh, no. I'm not upset about you beating me. Heck, I'm more eager for our rematch," Sho smirked but it quickly vanished as he looked at his hammer.

"What are you doing here?" Po asked.

"The Boar Bandits have disbanded."

"They just left you?"

"No, I told them to leave me," Sho sighed. "I couldn't guarantee their protection and safety now that... my boss," He said with disdain, "Isn't gonna protect us."

"Is it that dangerous to go up against Platon?" Sho rose his eyebrow. "Come on, you really thought I didn't know Tai Yang was Platon?"

"To be honest, no. But I'm not surprised," Sho said. Another silence passed them.

"We're going to Jai-Yin Mountain, to fight Platon and stop the Emperor."

"From doing what?"

"I don't know, but I think it's gonna be bad," Po said.

"Then why tell me? You have the Bear title now."

"Because it's your home."

"Please," Sho scoffed. "That place stopped being home a long time." He looked back at the mug, sighing, "I haven't been home in a long, long time."

Another silence passed.

"Why did you become a bandit? No lying this time." Po asked. Sho rose his head and looked at him. His lips firmly pressed together, trapping any words that would have come out at a moment's notice.

"Respect," Sho finally said. "A part of me thought I was avenging my people. Hehe, foolish, right?"

"I mean, not the brightest idea, but I've had dimmer."

"Hmm," Sho grunted in agreement. "After figuring out that Platon was apart of the same army that took our home away from us, I just couldn't bear it. I thought that maybe I could save some of us, the ones still trapped here but... When I figured out that Platon rose to ranks based on charm and deceit, I left. I tried working with the brat- Lion for a while. In the end, it didn't work. He wanted to save the world in secret; I wanted to do it publically."

Sho rolled back his shoulders and leaned into the back of his chair. "So if I couldn't fight in the army or become one of Lion's spies, I had to do the next best thing: Become an enemy to both."

"Why?"

"The idea was to direct attention away from Lion, actually. That went south when Platon offered sanctuary for my team," Sho sighed. "I knew I couldn't beat Platon by myself. And a bandit gig isn't bad. I left the army because I didn't want to be a puppet to a traitor. But after fighting you, I realized I already was."

"Whoa," Po said in awe.

"Now, I get to ask you a question. What was it that that dog was looking for that nearly turned all of China over?" Sho asked as he drank his water.

"Oh, he was looking for Tigress. She's the daughter of the Tiger title person and-"

PFFFFFTTT!

Sho spat out his water and grabbed Po by the shoulders. "SHE'S LI'S DAUGHTER!" Sho fell back into his chair. "How did you find out?"

"The tattoo."

Sho slapped his head. "Right, right. That stupid target on our backs. Hahaha, I thought I was going crazy when I saw her. I knew she looked familiar. Hehe, and her strength should've been a tip off for me. Haha wait." Sho's laughter fell for a moment and he glared at Po with a wry grin. "How did you find out that she had the tattoo?"

"She told us it was a birthmark! I didn't look," Po said, flustered. Sho laughed loudly. After his laughs died down, he sipped his water again.

"Either way, something tells me she'll like you when you meet her."

"How do you know?"

"Does the tiger like you?"

"Uh... maybe I... I don't know."

"Do you like the tiger?" Sho smirked. Po shook his head.

"This isn't about me and Tigress. This is about you. The Emperor is going to do something at Jai-Yin mountain."

"Not interested," Sho grunted.

"No, you are. I know it."

"And what about you," Sho barked back. "You have absolutely nothing to gain from all of this."

"I want to help," Po said.

"Why?"

"It's the right thing to do," Po replied as he spoke slowly, "It's what I want to do. I think that's what makes me brave... and strong."

Sho didn't say a word. He simply looked the other way. Po sighed and stood up, poised to walk out before Sho called him. "Hey, panda. When you go against Platon, don't forget that you're a Kung Fu Warrior, not a Jai-Yin fighter."

"Huh?"

"The way you were fighting me, I could see you relying on your strength. But too much of it. Remember, strength is only part of the fight. Above all, you're not a Jai-Yin warrior or fighter. You're a Kung fu fighter. Be yourself. Remember that."

"Oh... uh... okay." And with that, the panda left, wondering what the brown bear meant. Po shook his head.

He couldn't worry about that right now. The panda ran at top speed to catch up with the others at Jai-Yin Mountain.

Continued...