9

Sapphire woke up once she felt the sun glazed her face with its welcoming warmth, highlighting the color of her fur, and stinging her eyes once the brightness pried them open. Her pupil shrunk back painfully as she sat it and rubbed her eyes at a quick pace, then slowing down, until her paws with just resting against her face in the motion they were. Inhaling slowly, and exhaling deeply, her paws pulled themselves away from her face, and her gaze turned to the outside world. It wasn't raining today thankfully, it was lovely and sunny...

Looking around made her think. Was the events from last night real? Was someone really at the door? Did she really try and knock them out with a pan? Was it...

There was a noise somewhere outside that interrupted her thoughts almost instantly. Darting her eyes downwards; Po was chopping wood a few feet away from the house. Sapphire watched him in silence, not bringing any attention to herself. Resting her arms on the window sill, she sat her chin atop of them, and observed him. Placing a long chunk of wood on the surface, he took a step back, and brought his hand up to his face. Staring at the details of his paw, and nodding with approval, he took a swinging chop at the wood. "Hi-cha!" The wood split in half perfectly, and he did it again with another chuck, whistling this time. Every once in a while he looked around, maybe just to make sure there was no signs of trouble.

He noticed her sometime later, when he picked up the basket of wood, and looked up to find her watching him. "Mornin'," he called, smiling up at her. He was acting normal, so it must have been a dream she had... a really weird one. Not wanting to be rude, Sapphire nodded down at him. "Sleep well?''

"Yeah I guess..." Sapphire's neck started to stiffen up, so she straightened up, resting a hand on the back of her neck, trying to press the pressure away. "Need any help?"

"Umm... yeah actually! Could you wake the boys? Tell 'em that breakfast is on the table."

Sapphire looked around outside again. No one was with Po. He was all alone in the sunshine, taking in the warmth as he chopped another block of wood. The hot orb began to get at her eyes, and she cupped her paw over her eyes to see him properly. "Sure."

"Thank you!"

She peeled away from the window, and walked out of the room, still feeling a little weirded out by her thoughts. Pushing them aside for the time being, she opened the door, to find the boys still snoozing away... in strange angles. Tigro's head was on the pillow, but half his body was sliding off the bed. As for Lotus, he was lying face down, his arms sprawled out like he was going to do a belly flop into a lake. Stifling a laugh, she cleared her throat with a cough.

"Uh... Tigro? Little Lotus? Time to get up." She said softly, smiling at them once they started sitting up.

Rubbing one eye tiredly, Lotus yawned as he asked; "What time is it?"

"Breakfast time- your dad said breakfast is on the table."

"What're we having?"

"I'm don't know, I haven't been downstairs yet. Food, I'm guessing."

Both yawned in unison, and replied they'd be down in a second. Sapphire backed out of the room, closing the door, and made her way quietly downstairs. The smell that came from the kitchen was so strong, her mouth started to water quickly. She could hear Tigress laughing, Po talking faintly, probably through the window from the outside... and someone else spoke after him. Stopping at least two steps before her provisional vision had full insight of the kitchen. She listened in. What they were discussing was none of her business of course, but who owned the third voice was what she wanted to know. It was another male- he had a deep voice- but surely it wasn't Shifu? Shrugging, she brushed down the clothes she slept in the night before, then the fur on her arms, walked down the last two steps, and into the kitchen. Before she could greet the Masters, she stopped dead.

It wasn't a dream...

He was sitting at the table, reading a scroll as Tigress placed a bowl of breakfast dumpling's in front of him. "Thank you... smells devine." Thankfully he sat at the farthest end of the table, but once he caught sight of her, he kept his eyes on her. "Morning." He said casually. Sapphire glared at him, but this didn't phase him.

She could see the damage she thought she only made in the dream; one side of his face was swollen a bit, and there was a dark bruise forming along the outline of his eye. Tigress stopped walking between the counter and the table, holding two plates in each paw. She wore a different tunic than she did the day before; it was like her red one; short, simple, but it was looser around the stomach. "Good morning Sapphire... did you sleep well?" There was a short pause, before Sapphire mumbled that she slept okay. "Are the boys up?"

"I just called them." Then Sapphire was back looking at him. He must of thought she was staring at the bruises, because he chuckled.

"As if I wasn't any uglier; I never asked for a pan to the face love." Tigress glanced at him, her smile wiping itself from her face. She then proceeded to look down at her paws placing the other two plates on the table without looking up.

"Lucky for you that's all you were able to get, love." Sapphire muttered, taking her seat. Tai-Lung's ear flicked at the sound of her mocking his voice, but said nothing. The delicious aroma that clouded the kitchen soon became bitter, making her stomach turn, and the food placed in front of her was almost sickening to look at. Hesitant that she was really going to get sick, she slowly curled her index finger around the top of her thumb, before placing it against her mouth, swallowing nervously as Po came in shortly after, smiling as always. He placed a kiss on Tigress' cheek as she sat down to breakfast. Just then, they heard feet padding along the landing, and down the stairs.

"Morning, Mama-" Tigro and Lotus came into the room, scanning the room until they caught sight of Tai Lung, dumbfounded, and wide eyed. Sapphire was afraid now; their reaction was slowly turning into something she didn't want to see. Tai Lung also observed them, as if he was looking for specific features, before preforming a dramatic double take. "Uncle Tai Lung!" They cried. Uncle?! "You're back!"

"Good heavens! You can't possibly be the twins!" He shook his head in disbelief when they chortled that they were. "Last time I saw them was last year... surely they haven't grown since then?" He leaned in their direction as Po picked up something off the floor; not that Sapphire wasn't completely focused on what it was, but could see his action from the corner of her eye, before narrowing her eyes at Tai Lung. "Come on! Show me how strong you are! If you can take me down, you're definitely Tigro and Lotus!" Abruptly, they ran for him, and pounced on their prey. He caught them under each arm, and stood up. Laughter filled the air as he pulled them into a hug, much to Sapphire's shock. "Aha! I was ready this time wasn't I?" He walked over to their seats, which were on Sapphire's left, and planted them back down onto the floor, "now, continue saying your good mornings." The twins nodded, before jumping up, running to their parents, hugging their father, kissing their mother on the cheek, and then greeting the bump with wide smiles and bright hello's. They then turned to Sapphire, and greeted her with a hug. It wasn't until Tigro pulled away from Sapphire's stiffened shoulders, that he piped up curiously.

"Are you our cousin?" Sapphire's arms fell limp, with her paws sitting on her lap. Little Lotus pulled back and looked at her with the same expression as his brother; wide eyed and excited smiles.

"No," she answered. "I'm... not."

"Why not?" She watched with a tug at her heart when their faces fell into disappointment and confusion. "You and Uncle Tai-Lung look the same..."

Tai-lung raised his brows, shifting his gaze on Po and Tigress. Po motioned 'don't say anything' by turning his paw towards his throat, where his fingers were pointing at said point, before moving it from left to right.

"We're both snow leopards boys..." The children turned to him. "But that doesn't..." he coughed awkwardly. "Um... why don't you eat your breakfast? It'll get... cold?" They immediately licked their lips in sync, and soon dove into their breakfast happily, oblivious to Sapphire's stricken face. Breakfast was slow, and very awkward. The twins were the only ones who struck up a conversation, and Tai-Lung attempted to keep each topic go as long as possible. He soon finished his breakfast, and picked up the dish.

"As always Dragon Warrior, breakfast was superb." He said, getting up and moving towards the sink. Sapphire shrunk away from him when Tai Lung got too close to her, glaring at Tigress and Po. Their faces melted into looks of remorse, ever so inhaled softly, just picking at her food in small amounts, before gradually grinding to a halt, and sitting the chopsticks on the table. Good! Sapphire thought huffily. Serves them right.

"Are you going to stay longer this time Uncle Tai-Lung?" Lotus asked after drinking a glass of milk.

Tai Lung smiled while he washed his dish, and Sapphire felt that sickly feeling in her stomach again. The food she managed to eat slightly turned in her stomach, her curled fist was against it, and then, as subtle as she could, her paw was covered her mouth like she was deep in thought, but Tigress noticed the movement. Tigress eyed her suspiciously, yet Sapphire kept this up all the same. "Do I have an invitation?"

"From us, always!" Tigro jumped up once he was done, taking his plate over to Tai-Lung. "So can you?"

Ruffling the fur on top of his head, Tai-Lung washed the next plate. Before proceeding to wash it, he eyed Sapphire slowly, the feeling she forced herself to ignore. "We'll see how things go for now, and if all goes well..."

Lotus' head tilted to the side, simultaneous with his brother. Tigress glared at Tai-Lung, as Po's face slowly found itself to his palm. "What do you mean?"

"I'll be seeing your grandfather again." The twins immediately gasped.

"You'll get to see Grandpa Shifu again?! That's awesome! And after so long... what are you gonna talk to him about? That you're looking for-"

"That's enough questions boys," Tigress spoke firmly through gritted teeth, standing up slowly. Taking her plate, she pulled it from Tai-Lung's reach when he tried to take it from her. "Run along and get ready for training, and set out your change of clothes for school."

"Yes mama." Once there was a pitter patter along the landing, the kitchen erupted again with conversation.

"Sapphire... Zeng brought your bag down..." she pointed at the satchel that sat in the corner. "Why don't you go upstairs and get ready?" Wordlessly, Sapphire got up and left, the ropes of her bag wrapped around her fingers. Once they heard her door close, that's when Tigress gave her undivided attention to Tai-Lung.

"What was that?" Tigress' index and thumb pinched the bridge of her nose, pushing Tai-Lung out of the way of the sink with her hip. Tai-Lung backed away, paws raised to the same level as his head, soapy water running down his arms.

"What was I meant to say?" Tai-Lung asked defensively. "I'm an honest person Tigress."

"They don't need to know-"

"I've been around them since the day they were born, and they never asked why I haven't spoken to Shifu until my decision recently... they're children; they'll get curious about many things that don't make sense..."

Tigress slammed her plate on the counter, hurting Tai Lung's ears, causing them to flatten against his head. "At least... wait until they finish their class with Shifu, and get to school and then intervene."

Tai-Lung squared his shoulders, the same time she held her head gently, like she had a strong headache, eyes averting to a part of the room that didn't contain Tigress in it, and began walking back to the table. "If you think that makes it easier..."

Po sighed as he continued to eat; the food was just flavorless mush. "Tai-Lung, this reunion isn't gonna go down well for you, and it's not gonna be any easier for Tigress and I... no matter what way we do it."

"Like I didn't know that already." Tai-Lung started picking up the rest of the cutlery, talking over the clattering. "There's two reasons why I'm here... but I'll have to tell him everything won't I?"

Sometime later...

After the morning classes, Po, Tigress, and the other Masters met with Shifu and Woo in the Sacred Hall of Warriors. The sun shone through the windows, glazing the floor, surrounding them with a welcoming heat. Mr. Ping and Li had picked up the boys and were bringing them to school in the village. Crane and Viper inwardly thought it was better that way; who knew what Woo would say, forgetting three seven year-old's could've been present, hearing things they wouldn't understand... or worse.

"I called you all here to congratulate you all on the events of last night," Woo smiled with pride. "I must say I have never enjoyed myself as much as I did last night. The music, the atmosphere... I had never seen anything like it, anywhere else but here in the Valley of Peace."

"And I hope it has more to share for the rest of your stay." Po replied, wrapping an arm around Tigress' shoulders.

Mantis' whole upper body quickly slouched. "Aw man," he whispered in boredom, before grunting stiffly when he straightened up too quickly, resulting in his back cracking. Everyone looked at him, by then he recovered... sorta, and forced out a grin. Woo raised a brow suspiciously, before turning his gaze back to Po and Tigress. Once he did, Monkey eyes raised to the ceiling in slight annoyance. You'd think the bug would be more... respectable, around Woo being around for so long. If it weren't for Chang, Monkey was sure to have followed suite. Kids could really change people...

"I'm afraid the duration of my stay presently will be focusing on more serious topics." He paced back and forth. "I'll need to make sure the training room is safe and clean for Tigro, Lotus, and Chang, see their schedule for the next few days, check on the next set works you'll teach them..." He scanned Tigress up and down slowly. "Among other things..." He immediately caught Po's eyes on him a little sharper then before. "By getting Master Tigress a proper doctor, and the best of the best midwives to assist her, I can ease the anxiety of Masters everywhere, letting them know the future of Kung Fu is safe, not just for those who are around us physically. So, one question that needs to be answered; are we still unsure how long this pregnancy?"

"It's still unclear-" Tigress began, but right on cue, Shang came out of the medical wing, stopping mid step, looking up from his clip board when everyone looked in his direction. Slowly sitting his gaze on each one, he soon said. "Uhh... I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Woo frowned at him, making Shang a little uncomfortable. "Well-"

"No, not at all." Tigress smiled at him, pulling herself out of Po's hold, and walking up to Shang. "In fact, perfect timing."

"Really?" Shang blinked in confusion as his paw found its way to his coat pocket.

"Yes," she turned to Woo, who didn't look pleased. "Super Attendant Woo, this is Doctor Shang Sun, leading doctor of the Palace medical team, and owns a clinic down in the Valley."

Shang's gaze fell on Woo as Tigress spoke, and as one paw was occupied with his notes and charts, he could only nod, as respectfully as he could. "Pleased to meet you Super Attendant Woo."

"Charmed... Not a memorable face I'm afraid. I don't think we've properly spoken."

The Gazelle glanced at Shifu for further information. Shifu stepped forth. "He moved to the Valley a few years ago. You met him and his wife, Jasmine, last night."

"Oh yes I... vaguely, remember." Woo rolled his eyes. "You're the... So called, blood relation." Shang's brows crinkled together in confusion as the others held their breath. "If you and Master Tigress so... believe. Tell me, Doctor Shang, just because of where you may stand to one of the Masters, are you qualified to even place yourself into the position of assisting Master Tigress' needs? Have you a midwife on guard?"

"Yes sir. My wife Jasmine will be Tigress' main, qualified midwife when the time comes." Shang smiled at him, trying to ignore the frown or the ticked off growl escaping from his throat. "Now, if you don't mind, I need Tigress to come with me... if that's alright?"

Shifu nodded, and Woo watched the two feline's walk away back where Shang came out from. "Okay... well we have that part closed... where, are the boys?"

"They're gone to school in the village. My dad's just picked them up."

"In the village? What's wrong with educating them here?"

Po and Monkey scowled at the Attendant, and the whole atmosphere changed. "You act like going to school in the village is a bad thing..." Monkey spoke darkly. "Like it's a disadvantage?"

Woo looked a little taken aback by Po's attitude. "No, I meant by- well- look around you Masters." Woo gave a circular motion around them. "Your young have all the education they need here, save the labor of sending them down to the village..."

"It's a social factor they need, the second utmost importance in all aspects of their growth." Monkey's head rose with his voice behind the gazelle. "Socialising with other children prevent exclusion, and forming friendships, despite social class. Something I've learnt over a long period of time is a subject I cannot teach my son in anyway but encouragement." Po nodded in agreement. "What we decide to do with our children's social development is not of your concern."

Woo raised his arms in surrender. "Alright... fair point Masters." He was finally swallowing his pride, and the taste of defeat of bitter on his tongue. "I'll begin writing my reports to the Master's Council-"

"POOOOO!" Everyone turned to the doors, where Mr. Ping came bursting in, flailing his wings, face twisted in morbid terror. His eyes shrink menacingly, and he was just about to trip over his feet, Po caught him. "PO-"

"I'm here dad. What is it?" Po didn't hesitate to hold fire on his questions. "Is it an attack!?" He turned to Viper. "Make sure Tigress and Shang are safe in the Medical Wing-"

"Come quickly!" Mr. Ping grabbed hold of his son's paw, and pulled him along, with the others racing ahead. Closing in on the vast view on of the outside world, Po found the others staring down the steps, still as statues.

"What is it-" Po soon saw it himself, and stopped dead. Li Shan had him under her belly, his weight keeping him down. The sharp stone edges of the last few steps embedded into the familiar face's body, as he growled and tried to get free from his heavy trap. "Uh..." He looked at Shifu as the other's stared on in shock. Hi blood ran cold.

So glad to have this chapter finally finished XD Hope you like it guys!

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