A/N: In celebration of me getting an interview, a new chapter! Since I'll be prepping for it, there won't be another chapter for a couple of weeks, but I am working on it! It's just more slow going. Also if I get the job, I'll be working from home, so possibly more time to write :)

The next day seemed to progress as usual. Everyone woke up, the Five earlier than usual to complete their punishment detail before training and then going to eat. Hunter didn't join them this time, although stated this was because he needed to cook his own food and since breakfast is a short meal, there would be no point in him joining them as they would likely have finished by that point.

Shifu again journeyed to Peach Tree Hill to speak with The Hunter, and ascertain whether he'd changed his mind or not about staying... "Hunter. The Five inform me that you joined them for supper yesterday." he spoke as both of them again looked out at the Valley of Peace below.

Hunter gave a nod to Shifu to confirm what he had been told as he cooked some rice noodles for his breakfast. "Indeed I did." He told the Master.

The old Master's ears perked up a little at that. "Hmm. That is... pleasing to hear." he said, a somewhat pleased tone in his voice to confirm what he said. "Have you given any more consideration to my offer?"

Hunter grew silent for a few moments as he seemed to be collecting his thoughts on the matter. "I... I admit, the offer is... admittedly more tempting now." Hunter said to Shifu, seeming thoughtful on the matter.

The hesitance in his voice was picked up on by Shifu. "Yet your past with Tigress is holding you back." he guessed and Hunter slowly nodded in confirmation.

Giving a sigh, Hunter checked on his noodles to buy some time to consider his words. Shifu picked up on the fact that anytime that subject was brought up, Hunter was more hesitant and needed time to think on what he was going to say, as if measuring his words more carefully. It made sense, this was a secret he'd kept under lock and key for years, with only Oogway to confide in about it. "Yes." Came the eventual reply. "I'm not used to being so... so..." Even The Hunter didn't seem to know how exactly to word it. "So... close to her, and... Talking to someone about it." Hunter eventually told Shifu. "About anything."

Shifu knew what he meant. "Someone who isn't Oogway." he nodded to Hunter, understanding his hesitation around personal things. "I know how you feel. I'm not the most approachable person, I am aware of that. But I am still willing to lend an ear." Shifu let Hunter know.

"Not right now. But maybe another time?" he asked, and Shifu nodded to him.

Giving a smile as best he could, Shifu patted Hunter's arm. "Of course." He said and left Hunter to his own devices for now.

After breakfast, everyone met up at the Training Hall for the rest of the day's training, including Hunter. He also seemed to be in slightly better spirits than usual. Tigress also seemed to perk up at seeing him, again only slightly, but still. "Hunter. Are you feeling well enough to train?" she asked him, what sounded like a bit of concern in her tone.

Hunter then chuckled a little at that. "Yeah, but I'm going to take it easy just in case. I'll use that sparring dummy since I should be able to manage that at least without injuring myself." he pointed out, not one to be idle it seemed.

Smirking a little to Hunter, Po spoke up. "Watch it on The Adversary, it's a vicious little thing." he warned him as the doors to the Hall were pushed open and everyone stood before Po, waiting for his word to begin their day. "Right. Umm... Begin?" Po asked, still unsure about leading the training some days.

Everyone bar Hunter for obvious reasons bowed and went to their preferred area to begin their day's training. Po was not exempt either, going to the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors for some much needed brushing up. Hunter moved over to The Adversary and looked at it. He could swear it was shooting him a dirty look...

Taking a stance he performed various strikes and kicks, light in nature since he didn't want it to bounce to the ground mid-combo and miss the strike. Hunter measured his attacks carefully, only unleashing more strength at the end of each combination of strikes and kicks. After an hour or two practising his hand-to-hand forms, he felt eyes on his back and turned his head. Tigress was standing there watching him.

He turned back around quickly, his eyes darting as he thought of what to say... "How long were you there?" Hunter asked her then.

Noticing hesitation in her lack of response, he turned around to face her and she quickly spoke. "I was wondering if you'd like to spar with me." Tigress asked him. "I'll go easy. This time." she said with a slight smirk at that.

Hunter thought for a second, hesitation in his eyes before he shrugged and nodded to her. "Sure. Could be fun." He finally decided and approached her.

...

:Five minutes earlier:

Shifu was walking the Palace grounds, enjoying his day off from teaching and training the Five. He did enjoy it, but Po needed to be prepared to fully take Oogway's place someday soon. He may be Grand Master, but he was still far too inexperienced, in Po's own view, to fully take the mantle. One step at a time he'd said, and Shifu had agreed with him.

While he may have agreed, Shifu was still glad to have some days off from supervising training. To think and meditate, and to dedicate himself to full spiritual enlightenment, which included helping Tigress. He could tell that was one of the things stopping him. It was his own fault of course, another problem of his own making. As he was in deep thought, he didn't see the Rhino in front of him until he almost bumped into him. Blinking a few times at being snapped out of his thoughts, Shifu looked up and saw the large creature panting and looking unnerved. "Master Shifu, this messenger is from Changxing." one of the duck servants, Chu, sister of Zhu, informed Shifu from beside the Rhino in question.

Shifu cast his eyes to the servant and then back to the messenger. "Viper's home village?" he asked. "Is it a message from Grand Master Viper?" he asked, wondering what he could be writing about exactly.

Said messenger darted his eyes then. "Not exactly, Master Shifu. It's from his wife. Grand Master Viper... has gone missing." he informed the old Master. "The village was attacked by strange creatures, and Grand Master Viper pushed them back and chased them down, but... he never returned."

Turning away and walking a few steps, Shifu seemed troubled by this news, but eventually took a breath and turned back to the messenger. "Thank you for the message. Chu, see to it that this messenger is cared for, I imagine his journey was arduous. I will fetch the Five, Dragon Warrior and The Hunter." He said and quickly ran off towards the Training Hall. He arrived just as Tigress and Hunter were taking a position opposite one another to begin sparring. "Students, and Hunter. Assemble." Shifu clicked his fingers and all quickly appeared before him.

The group stood with their hands behind their backs, apart from Viper, who had no hands, and Crane, who had his wings at his sides. As usual, Viper noticed Shifu's troubled expression first. "What is the matter, Master?" Viper asked Shifu, who realised he must inform Viper her father is missing...

He took another deep breath. "I just received a message from Changxing..." Shifu began, and Viper's eyes lit up at the news.

She then gasped. "Mom and dad?! They're coming for the Winter Festival, so they must want to tell us when they'll be arriving!" Viper seemed ecstatic, but Shifu's grim expression didn't budge as Viper began to realise the news was nothing so good. "That is what the letter says, right Master?" she asked tentatively.

He shook his head slowly. "I'm afraid not, Viper. Your father, Grand Master Viper, is missing." Shifu told everyone, leading to gasps and murmurs among the rest of the Five and Po, while Viper's head drooped down. "You will all travel to the village post-haste to mount a search and rescue." He told them their new mission.

Tigress then looked over to Hunter, who seemed unsure about what he would be doing in the meantime. "Will Hunter be coming with us, Master?" she asked Shifu. "I... Would like him to join us on this mission." Tigress said with some hesitation, to the surprise of the others, especially Hunter.

Shifu blinked a few times in surprise before nodding to her. "Yes, Hunter will be joining you. As the threat is not so close to the Valley, you may all go." He told the group. "Now, pack whatever essentials you require to leave as soon as you can. I will wait by the gates for you." Shifu told the group and opened the doors to the Hall, and everyone quickly moved out to their rooms, none more so than Viper. Hunter jogged up Peach Tree Hill to his campsite and grabbed his pack. He shoved everything he would need inside of it, folding up his tent and bedding and adding it to the pack. He left some things, and only put out his campfire fully instead of removing it. He would be back after all. Or so he hoped... to his slight surprise.

When he was done packing everything he'd need, Hunter quickly moved to the Palace courtyard, finding Tigress and Viper already waiting and giving them a nod. Crane and Mantis were quick on his heels, Monkey followed soon after with Po right behind him. Once all were accounted for, Shifu faced the group of them. "Now, Grand Master Viper went missing pursuing hostile entities. So be prepared for traps or ambushes once you arrive, and prepare for a fight." He warned them, opening the gates up to let them out. "And be careful. All of you."

Po smiled, bouncing on his two feet before rushing out the gate first. "Let's go guys!" he exclaimed and everyone was surprised at him taking the lead. It wasn't long before the others hastily followed the Dragon Warrior out of the Palace, and the Valley itself.

Crane, who was flying above the group, looked down at the others. "So uh... which way are we going to Changxing...?" he hesitantly asked the rest of them.

Viper quietly hissed at that. "Which way do you think?" she asked in a more icy tone of voice than usual. Master Viper was definitely on edge with this whole thing, as to be expected with her family being involved.

Audibly gulping at her tone of voice, Crane continued flying as they all kept moving, although he seemed a little unsure. Hunter still wasn't as quick as usual, although they assumed he was saving his energy, not knowing how far it was or how long it would take to get to this particular place. "Right. Got it." Crane acknowledged.

Knowing Hunter would be confused about what Crane had asked, Tigress decided to explain. "The... Quick way to the village is not the safest. Many hazards lie in our path on this journey, but it cuts off much of the travel. It should take us around a day or so to arrive." she informed The Hunter.

He nodded in understanding of that point. "Of course. Time may not be on our side after all." Hunter agreed. Viper again hissed, but conceded that he was correct about that fact, despite how unpleasant it may be.

Not long after, while still in the Valley, Po began to slow down and pant heavily. "We're not stopping, Po." Viper coldly stated to the Panda, who nodded to her, knowing she wasn't in her usual state of mind currently. While he slowed down, he did keep running along with them.

Eventually after an hour and a half, they came to the end of the Valley itself, facing a large jungle before them. "The Black Forest..." Monkey mentioned in a dread filled voice as they all regarded the treeline in front of them.

There was some amount of trepidation within the group about this place, even Viper and Tigress. "What's so bad about this forest?" Hunter asked them. Rather than wait for an answer, he placed his hand on a tree and cocked his head towards the forest to listen as he had been taught to do. It was silent. There was just complete and utter silence. That was not a good thing.

Crane answered this time. "Tai Lung used to train in this forest many years ago. Inside remain many traps built by Shifu and Tai Lung to hone his skills to a razor sharp point. Many are deadly." he said to Hunter. "He also burned the map that contained the location of each trap to ensure he could never cheat even if he wanted, so all in the Valley know to avoid this place. Unless you're incredibly brave or stupid."

Nodded, Mantis spoke. "Yeah, it's a death trap all right. Not even feral animals even set foot in there." he elaborated on what Crane had said. "Cause they're not stupid. And now here we are." Mantis chuckled at that and everyone rolled their eyes, except Viper, who looked resolved.

"We're going in." She stated and tentatively slithered forwards.

Tigress then stood directly behind her and gave her instructions. "Single file, don't wander off the treaded path. Viper is the most agile, she can avoid any traps we come across. All the rest of us need to do is follow carefully." she said, looking to everyone seriously as they all literally fell in line behind her.

Hunter was stood directly behind Tigress as they all cautiously walked into the forest. Even Crane was on the ground, apparently not even trusting the air above to not house traps. The canopy high above them was blocking out a lot of sunlight, making it quite dark now. "Wonder where this place got its name..." Hunter mumbled to himself, and Mantis chuckled in response.

Looking back to make sure everyone was indeed in line, Tigress expertly measured her steps as she continued walking. They all were in single file, except Mantis, who was resting on Crane's hat, but it still counted as him being in line. Hunter locked eyes with Tigress then and he found his breath catching at her glowing amber eyes in the darkness. It brought back many memories for him... With a little hesitation, she quickly looked forwards again and Hunter shook his head to focus on the task at hand...

The group crept their way through the darkness, making very little sound. Po was making the most noise out of all of them of course, but the others, especially Hunter, were virtually silent with their movement. It was eerily quiet around them, a decidedly unnatural silence.

Then, the silence was broken by Po... breaking wind. Upon hearing it, the line stopped dead and everyone one by one turned to face him as he stood as still as a board, wafting behind him 'subtly'. "Wasn't me. Was probably Mantis." He pointed towards the Master in question who simply twitched his antenna unamusedly at the accusation.

Something then suddenly sounded out with a dull mechanical thud and Hunter quickly pushed Crane who was behind him aside before leaping in the air as a bunch of spears landed in the trees now next to them, having come from the forest... However, one spear got lucky and skewered Crane's wing, who yelled out in pain as Mantis quickly leapt to Monkey's shoulder. Although Crane himself was also lucky, since his wing could have been his chest if Hunter didn't shove him backwards... Hunter himself was suspended above the ground in a tree, wide eyed and panting from almost being impaled a second time within a day, he was also wincing with every breath, his wound still giving him grief...

He then carefully lowered himself to the ground as Monkey removed the spear from Crane's wing, with Tigress taking some bandages and making sure the wound would heal as Crane squawked out from the immense pain. Viper was nearby looking impatient for them to continue on, not being empathetic like she usually was. Confirming it would indeed heal with time, the group prepared to continue on their way. Crane looked at Hunter once they were back in position. "Thank you. If you hadn't... I would've... Well, thanks." He smiled sheepishly, lowering his hat in respect before turning to continue on, a pained look on his face for obvious reasons as Hunter simply nodded modestly in return.

Mantis let out a whistle then. "Damn Po, didn't know you could set off booby traps with that." he said to the Dragon Warrior, who seemed just as surprised as Mantis was.

"Not silent, still deadly." Monkey quipped as the group kept on walking in the straight line through the trees.

Po still seemed sheepish about what had happened. "Yeah... Sorry guys." he apologised as they continued on their way. "'Specially you, Crane."

Crane looked back to Po and shrugged with a slight smile. "It's fine, we've been in weirder situations, with weirder stuff." He pointed out.

Also piping up, Tigress chimed in. "No thanks to Po." she said, a little humour in her voice as she spoke.

Po then scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Hey, I've saved our asses from impossible situations before too!" he pointed out.

Monkey rolled his eyes at that. "The Donkey Clan doesn't count and you know it." he pointed out to Po.

He conceded to that point seemingly. "Fine, but I've gotten us out of tough places too." Po then added with a smirk on his face.

Hunter then spoke up out of nowhere. "The kitchen does not count as a 'tough place' to leave for most of us, Po." he jabbed to the Panda, although it sounded good-natured.

Surprisingly, everyone bar Viper chuckled at that, even Tigress had a slight smile. "He's got ya there." Mantis agreed with Hunter as they continued on their way.

Viper stopped at some point quite suddenly, and Hunter ended up pressed up against Tigress' back since Crane pushed him forwards a bit by accident. He didn't know what to do with his hands, so put them on her waist... and immediately regretted it with a grimace. She turned her head to him, and realising fully what he did, he uncharacteristically stammered out an excuse. "Umm... Just... Wanted to make sure you didn't fall forwards from me bumping into you. You know. Traps. Heh." Hunter quickly told her.

She nodded to him at that. "Thank you for your concern." Tigress said, seemingly not mentioning his hands still on her... He quickly removed them, and could swear he saw a blush on Tigress, but decided he was just seeing things. It was quite dark after all.

"No problem." Hunter said quietly to her, probably a little closer and more breathy than he'd intended, and he could swear he felt a shiver run down her as he backed off a little to give her space before they moved on.

Eventually the group came across their first actual obstacle. A cliff. "Not too far now." Tigress said as she regarded the cliff, with suspiciously placed trees with branches formed almost like ladders...

Hunter didn't buy it all. "What's the catch?" he asked the Five and Po.

Nodding a little to Hunter, Tigress elaborated. "Perceptive of you to realise. When you climb these trees, if you linger for too long on the branches, they retract into the tree, which itself is implanted with spikes that will make themselves known if you take too long to climb one section." she explained the trap in question rather nonchalantly. "We've made this journey before some years ago." Tigress further told Po and Hunter how they knew about the forest's traps.

The Dragon Warrior looked rather apprehensive about this whole thing, which no one could really blame him for. He wasn't the fastest climber after all... "So umm... there isn't like a... super deadly and awesome elevator to the top, right?" he asked with some trepidation, tapping his fingers together.

Realising what Po was hinting at, Hunter then let out a sigh before any of the others could speak. He then took off his pack, tossed it into the air, drew his sword and threw it like a dart. It speared past the pack, snagging on the strap and getting pinned to the top of the cliff in question. "Climb on my back." Hunter gestured with his thumb to his back at Po, turning to face away from him.

Po seemed a bit hesitant. "I'm not sureeeee iffff..." he began to say.

"I lift heavier things than you constantly, Panda. Put your arms around my chest and hold on tight." Hunter stated. Po did indeed do as he said, but... "Not that tight. " Hunter gasped as Po loosened his grip a little. The others seemed hesitant to go, except Viper and Tigress, who both scaled the tree quickly with few problems or complications.

Crane used what little wingpower he had to get some lift on each branch, almost running up the branches like steps as Mantis climbed the tree beside him, the Master of speed. Hunter, Po and Monkey were next. Hunter jumped onto the first set of branches, and at first fell since he was unsure of the timing and was unused to Po's weight on his back. However he didn't need long to adjust and soon was climbing the tree quickly before each branch retracted from both his hands and feet.

However, while climbing, Monkey accidentally grabbed a branch that Hunter already had from above. As the branch retracted, Hunter managed to dip his hand down enough for Monkey to grab his hand with his tail as Hunter flung him upwards and quickly kept climbing with Po hanging on tight. "Lemme guess, you're only doing this so you'll have a cushion if you fall?" Po joked as he also gulped, looking down at the rather precarious drop below them by now...

Hunter eventually reached the top of the trees and jumped onto the cliff to relative safety, however, Po seemed to get briefly snagged on the branch, and almost pulled Hunter down, but Tigress quickly reached out and grabbed Hunter with one paw at first, quickly using her other and pulling both of them to safety. "Woah, thanks Kitten." he said to her as Po let go of Hunter finally, glad to be back on solid ground.

Thankful for Hunter's help, Po sighed in relief. "Thanks to you too, Hunter. Not sure I'da made it up without your help." he nodded to The Hunter in thanks for his help.

However, he was waved off. "Don't worry about it." Hunter told him.

Tigress then looked at Hunter. "And you." she said to him for her help as everyone all regrouped at the top of the cliff. "I suggest we make camp here. It's another good few hours to Changxing." Tigress said to the group, and everyone agreed, even Viper was in support of resting.

Hunter retrieved his pack and walked off a rocky alcove and set up his tent in the cover, although it wasn't really hidden away per se, just enclosed how he liked it to be. Less chance of ambush that way. As he was setting up and getting his usual things ready, he heard a commotion outside amongst the Five... "Look, I'm sorry, I just... forgot." That was Po's voice.

Tigress' voice was heard next, and she wasn't very happy from the sounds of it. "You forgot... Three of the tents?!" she exclaimed in clear frustration. "Po!" Tigress admonished the Dragon Warrior.

The others were already talking among one another and were looking back at Tigress seemingly... nervously. "Yeah, I just... I'm sorry, I was just... distracted." Po tried to defend himself sheepishly. "I wondered why the pack was lighter than usual..." he mumbled to himself then.

Tigress threw her arms up in frustration. "Ugh!" she shook her head and looked at the rest of the Five for what they were mumbling about.

The group all nudged Monkey forwards. "So uhh... I'll bunk with Po, and they won't leave much room... and Crane, Mantis and Viper said they'll sleep in one tent... but uhh... that leaves you..." Monkey told Tigress, gulping a little at having to tell her. Tigress shut her eyes and took a deep breath before growling a little.

However, then Hunter piped up from behind. "You can sleep in my tent." he quickly said in what sounded like a single breath. "W-With me I mean..." Hunter squeaked out it sounded like, although no one seemed to notice.

She took another deep breath and turned to Po with a light growl to show she was annoyed with him. "Very well, Hunter. Thank you." Tigress said to The Hunter as he nodded to her, a nervous smile behind his mask.

After that, everyone continued setting up the few tents they had while Hunter built a campfire in the middle of the campsite and continued setting up his own tent after he'd done that. He was making sure it was a little more neat and tidy than usual, although he wasn't sure why. It wasn't like Tigress would care about that... It wasn't a huge tent, but it wasn't small either. There was definitely enough room for two people inside of it. Hunter knew he was getting nervous over nothing, but having Tigress so close to him... it was nerve-wracking at the best of times... He laid out his secondary furs for her to sleep in... 'Wouldn't mind being wrapped in furs with her-' He found himself thinking before shaking his head out. Not the time.

After a bit of time, he emerged from his tent with his mask down and saw the others around the campfire with some food. Hunter dug into his pack and took out his ceramic container with a meal in it. He sat down and dug into the food. It was pre-prepared, so he didn't have to cook anything this time. It looked to be rice balls with some meat inside.

Po seemed oddly quiet, poking at his food and eating sparingly, knowing the Five were all annoyed with him for not bringing the correct number of tents they needed... The meal was mostly conducted in relative silence, before Mantis spoke up. "You ever killed someone with one of those things?" He gestured to the chopsticks Hunter was using.

Hunter seemed rather amused by the question as he looked at the chopsticks and then at Mantis. "No. That would be very unhygienic. Could get any number of diseases that way." he pointed out to Mantis as he stuck another rice ball in his mouth. "I've killed someone with a chopstick, through the eye. But not with my own. Euch."

Mantis nodded at that. "Good point." he conceded to what Hunter had said.

Then looking over to Viper, who was much more subdued than usual, Hunter spoke to her. "Are you okay, Viper?" he asked her with some concern. Her head snapped up at being addressed and she sighed, giving a nod.

"Yes. As much as I can be. I'm sorry for acting... unlike myself. I'm just... very worried." Viper said to everyone and they all gave variations on 'Don't worry about it'. "I suppose I should consider myself lucky that I have family to lose." She said, although whether to Tigress or Hunter or maybe both, neither of them knew.

They did look at one another when she said that before turning back to Viper. "Perhaps. But you are well within your right to be worried. Make sure you can focus in combat, however. You're no use to your father dead or otherwise wounded and unable to help him." Tigress pointed out to Viper, who nodded in agreement.

She sighed deeply then. "I know."

Hunter shrugged at that. "She's right. You're allowed to be worried, but be careful not to let it override your judgement." he agreed with Tigress as the sun was starting to set on China. "I'd much rather have you unharmed." Hunter said to her, and Viper smiled a little at that.

"Besides, who'll help Po do his Super Punch if you're injured?" Monkey pointed out, nudging Viper playfully and she rolled her eyes at him and stuck her tongue out at him.

"We should get some sleep, we'll be up early tomorrow." Viper pointed out, and everyone agreed, going to their assigned tents until it was just Tigress and Hunter left outside at the campfire.

They once more looked at each other with some apprehension before standing up at the same time, their movements stilted as they were both rather close to one another, their breathing becoming noticeably staccato. "I'll uh... go and... make sure it's all... ready." he gestured to the tent and quickly went inside.

'Ancestors, what's wrong with me?!' Tigress wondered to herself. 'Why do I feel so... Odd around this strange person?' she thought as she stayed outside with her thoughts while he was in the tent. 'It's like a feeling of familiarity, almost. And... something else... Anytime we're in physical contact it feels so...' Tigress couldn't think of a word to describe it. "Electric, like lightning... I wonder why...?"

Hunter then poked his head out of the tent. "Okay, everything's set up." he smiled at her, going back in as she stood up and followed him inside his tent. It was surprisingly roomy. "Hope you can uhh... sleep... well..." Hunter spoke to her, his heart racing as they were, even in his spacious tent, in very close proximity.

She noticed, of course, his fur bedding, and how it looked to be the fur of not just a feral animal but, judging by those markings... from her studies, she recognised them as demonic symbols... Putting it out of her mind for now, the two lowered to the floor and lay down. "It is remarkably comfortable." she said to him with a nod. Truth be told, it was more comfortable than her own bed in the Palace.

Hunter managed a small smirk at that. "Going to make a habit of 'forgetting' your tent?" he asked her, almost... flirtatiously. Although, the tone was only slight, so she wasn't too sure... She also wasn't the most accustomed to flirting of the subtle nature, so she could've been imagining things.

Tigress chuckled a little at what he'd said. "Perhaps I will." she replied, shocked at her own seeming reciprocation.

Smiling a little, Hunter then turned over. "Good night, Kitten. Sleep well." he said to her, and she also lay her head down, closing her eyes.

"And you, Hunter."