MaSha still wasn't sure what to make of the Dragon Warrior. He sure wasn't what she expected from the most powerful Warrior in China. Especially since she's heard so much about him from her dear sister. It confused her how much praise she had heard about the Warrior to only be another large bear.
"That's so cool!" He would marvel at her powerful curse. He loved to watch her and Master Tigress train with it and he wasn't afraid to go up against it either. Yang was kind of jealous that The Dragon Warrior could actually take such hits. But then again she had heard that The Dragon Warrior had deflected dozens of canon balls at the Great Battle against Lord Shen. She just didn't want to believe it at first.
"Him? Out of all the Furious Five. It has to be him?" MaSha asked Tigress as they both sat at the kitchen table.
"We were pretty angry about it." Tigress smiled. "But it's been two years, MaSha. We've accepted it."
"No Tigress." MaSha shook her head. "I mean, out of anyone you could have chosen for a mate, you picked him."
"He's not my mate." Tigress rolled her eyes with a blush.
"Not yet he isn't." MaSha crossed her arms. Tigress sighed looking at her sister.
"Look, he's going to try really hard to be your friend. Trust me. He didn't leave me alone for months." She smiled softly. "Just give him a chance."
"So far he's not making a great impression."
"He literally reflected your dragon chi with his bare paws."
"Yang can stop it with his chi too." MaSha rolled her eyes.
"Just...give him a chance. Please?" Tigress smiled softly. MaSha loved her sister. Really. She really does. But befriending a stranger was really not something she wanted to do. But if that's the mate her sister had chosen, she might as well give him a chance.
"So you guys train with Chi?" Po asked Yang. They were both the Opal Palace's training arena. It was much like The Jade Palace's training hall but the equipment was much different. Whereas the Jade Palace had different kinds of obstacles like guanet warriors, fire pits and spiked rings, this one was more simplified to help the students focus on their chi. Two peach trees grew on each end of the training arena, causing multiple flower petals to float around the courtyard. Many meditation mats decorated the floors and very few actual obstacles. Po assumed MaSha trained with a lot of offensive attacks judging by how scorched the objects were.
The young tiger, who showed The Dragon Warrior his chi, was pretty amused by how The Dragon Warrior reacted to it. His Chi was more of a shield like chi to deflect a chi like MaSha's. It didn't work for offense attacks very well, unlike hers, and much less impressive too.
"Pretty cool huh?" Yang's chi glowed against the two black and white mammals. Po looked at it with amazement in his eyes. He had never seen chi work that way before. It was pretty cool, in his eyes, to see it first hand. He wondered if he could do that too.
"It's totally awesome!" Po complimented with excitement. Yang smiled at the Dragon Warrior. He sure was different than what he had expected. He was way more lively and fanboy-ish than anyone he's met.
"There you guys are." They suddenly heard Tigress's voice. The two sisters walked through the doors, making the two males smile at the sight of them. "Showing off your Chi again Yang?" Tigress raised a brow at him.
"Hey, he wanted to see." Yang held his hands up defensively.
"You just like to show off." MaSha rolled her eyes, walking over to him. He lowered his shield as his chi suddenly turned off.
"It's super cool!" Po complimented. "I wonder if I can do that. Tigress, are we able to do that?" He looked at her hopefully.
"Po, they have a special type of chi."
"It's not chi." MaSha crossed her arms. Tigress frowned at her.
"That's why they train here. In the secrecy of the Opal Palace."
"Oh." Po frowned looking at his paws.
"Trust me." Po looked up to see MaSha with a very displeased expression . "You don't want what we have." Po wasn't sure why but he had a pretty good feeling that MaSha was a tad bit unhappy with his presence. He wasn't making a good impression on his best friend's sister but he was going to try to fix that.
MaSha stood in the training hall at a single table that was there with a scroll in front of her. Tigress had brought her a scroll that she had been studying on harnessing chi. Even though MaSha kept denying her "curse" was chi. Even if her masters told her that it was "corrupted chi" her mother had harnessed it into her.
Tigress would watch her little sister from a distance with a smile. Every time she visited her, her smile would very rarely disappear. Being around her made Tigress smile, knowing she had a family that loved her. Even if she had missed the first few years of her sister's life, the last 10 years made up for them. Tigress never thought she would ever know what it would be to have a little sibling. Before MaSha, she wasn't very fond of children. Sure she protected them as she would protect anyone else but the day they found MaSha, it was like a soft nature had been welcomed into her heart nearly instantly. She could hardly believe MaSha was turning 16 this year.
"How's it going?" Po walked up beside her. Tigress glanced at Po standing next to her. MaSha was right, Po wasn't making such a big impression on MaSha just yet. With her past trauma, Po would need to work harder than he had with Tigress. Tigress had gotten it easy to bond with her but only because MaSha knew they were sisters.
"She's really trying." Tigress looked at her sister. MaSha seemed to be really focused. The scroll instructed her to slowly harness the chi without making it deadly to its opponent. She had mastered not to make it deadly with a quick and short summon because it was a quick move, but when it came to slowly harnessing it without injuring her opponent, it was more difficult. She required more focus due to hers not being natural like Yang's.
"Maybe I can help." Po offered. He was about to walk over to her when Tigress grabbed him from the ear.
"No. You'll break her focus." She told him. Po rubbed his ear as he stood by her once again.
"You're never this rough on me back at the Jade Palace." He complained.
"Po, MaSha is different."
"Well yeah, I mean-"
"Po I'm serious." Tigress looked at him. Po's eyes widened at the seriousness on her face. "MaSha isn't like me, like you, like anyone. If we don't help her control it or do anything that will disturb her powers, she can take out half of China with a single strike."
"Oh." Po glanced at where MaSha stood. She was staring at them.
"Can you two not flirt while I'm trying to focus?" MaSha raised a brow. The two warriors hadn't noticed how close they were. There was really no personal space between them. Po looked back at Tigress as they were standing face to face, extremely close. "You have a room for a purpose." The two warriors blushed as they parted to be a few feet away from each other. Fortunately for Tigress, her blush couldn't be seen by her fur. Unfortunately Po wasn't so lucky as his blush was clear as day.
"I'll uh...go get dinner ready." He chuckled nervously before quickly leaving.
"I'm not a child you know." After a moment of silence, MaSha spoke to Tigress in a serious tone. Tigress turned to her sister, surprised by the way she spoke. "I heard what you told him. I know what I can do."
"MaSha-" Tigress frowned.
"Look...you don't have to stop distractions coming my way." MaSha didn't look at Tigress but her ears gave away that she was upset. Tigress couldn't remember the last time she had made MaSha upset. Especially with her. "I have more control of this curse. I won't hurt him. Or anyone." MaSha grabbed her scroll and walked over to where her sister stood.
"I know you won't."
"Then stop acting like I'm different."
"Being different isn't wrong MaSha." Tigress grabbed her sister's shoulders. MaSha looked up at her sister with saddened eyes. "I know you'll do great things with your chi. I know you'll probably call it a curse for a long time, but despite who gave it to you, you'll do lots of good for China."
"I just want to be normal." MaSha frowned. "I don't want this. I didn't ask for this."
"I know you didn't. Nobody asked for you get this. No one but mother is to blame for all of this. But I know you. You are strong MaSha, way stronger than you think. You'll get through this." MaSha hugged her while she spoke.
"It still hurts." MaSha frowned. Tigress frowned as well, hugging her close. "Even after 10 years, I still fear she'll come after me."
"I won't let that happen." Tigress kissed her forehead. "I promise." MaSha didn't say anything as her sister's words sunk in. The same promise she had made years ago before their mother captured her. Ten years and the pain of her mother's wounds hadn't healed. Made the young teen still fear for her life.