Unintentional Hurt

There was something very strange with Tigress the next morning. Po couldn't find her. We had all seen Tigress training, cleaning, working at the shop, but she and Po couldn't be seen in the same room, it seemed. Every time Po thought he found her, she was gone. There was one time we were eating breakfast, Tigress was right next to me, but when Po came into the room, she suddenly vanished. How she managed to disappear when we were all there was something I couldn't figure out. By midday, Po had come to my house sadden and defeated. "I can't find her anywhere! I think she's hiding from me," Po said frustrated. I sipped my tea.

"I'm sure she's not meaning it intentionally," Krystal sympathized.

"What about you, Song? You were with Tigress the other night. Do you know what could be happening?" I asked.

"She was just sad. She kept blaming herself," Song simply stated. I saw Po's light go off.

"You don't think she's still blaming herself for this, do you?"

"I hope not," I sighed. "But it is possible."

"I knew I shouldn't have let you tell them," Po groaned.

"They would have learned some way or another. Probably from your dad," I said getting up.

"Where are you going," Krystal asked.

"To find Tigress," I sighed. I found her at the Peach Sapling. However, I turned myself into Tai-gee to throw her off. "Hey, sis," I said excitedly. Tigress didn't move much. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," She said gruffly.

"Wow, you're worse than me when it comes to lying," I said. Tigress sighed. She retold me the story of Nung-Ha. "What!? Po snapping? We're talking about the panda, right?" I needed to try and seem surprised.

"Yeah, I didn't want to believe it either," She solemnly said.

"Huh, I would have never thought he could snap. I mean, have a down day sure but completely snap like that. Wow!" I could see she wasn't saying much. "So why are you so sad?"

"Nothing," She said.

"It has to be something. I overheard Po lamenting that he couldn't find you," I said. Tigress looked at me with a strange face.

"I didn't see you here," She said. "Then again, I have been here for a long time."

"So why are you dodging my little bro," I said. Tigress sighed.

"I just can't look at him in the face and not feel guilty about it. We... I treated him so badly when he came. And I wasn't much different afterward. It's only because of Krystal and Lion training me that I've become... more sensitive to these things. I just feel so shame."

"Well running from him isn't going to help," I said. She looked at me. "You're actually hurting Po more by staying away from him. I know from experience that Po does care about you. And this is coming from the guy that didn't care about anyone at first." Tigress chuckled a bit.

"I guess you're right. I should go and apologize to Po about hiding from him," she said standing up. I could feel the smirk she was emitting from her face on my head when she said, "Oh and Lion, Sarah already told me that Tai-gee was sent on a mission and won't be back until a week from now. But great imitation."

"Dang it," I said, turning back to my lion appearance. "You just love ruining all my fun." She laughed.

"No, I just like your reaction," she said smartly. I glared at her.

"Well played tiger. Well played." She strolled away. I teleported to my house where Po was gone and Krystal was still there.

"She saw through the disguise."

"How did you know," I asked.

"I imagined you would try it sooner or later," She smirked. I just grumbled lowly as she chuckled. "Don't worry," She said kissing me on the forehead, "I know you did great." I rolled my eyes.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to figure out what Tigress and Po are saying," I said.

"Don't get caught," Krystal said as I teleported to where Po was in his room and made myself invisible. Soon, Tigress came in. Po stood up.

"Tigress, are you-" Tigress stopped him.

"I... I'm here to apologize," Tigress said.

"For what," Po asked.

"For avoiding you. I couldn't face you when I learned about Nung-Ha. I felt so guilty. I-"

"That's why I didn't want to tell you about it. It's not your fault," Po interrupted.

"I know, but we weren't much different from the people," Tigress said. Po rested his hand on her shoulder.

"You're different from others. You know that" Po smiled. Tigress smiled back

"So what happened to make you change back to your regular self," Tigress asked.

"You just keep asking questions don't you," Po nervously said, rubbing his backhead.

"Po," Tigress softly said. Po sighed.

"You promise not to hurt me or not talk to me," Po asked. Tigress nodded. "It was you." I could tell Tigress was surprised.

"M... me?"

"You were... in the woods meditating and doing some Kung Fu. This was the first time I saw you."

"But why me," Tigress questioned. Po blushed a bit.

"Um... you gave me the inspiration to be strong against those who were mean to me," Po said, a little shaky. I could tell he was lying but Tigress didn't seem to notice. Either that or she knew the real reason. "So... Thanks."

"You're welcome Po," Tigress said bowing to him. Po bowed back as Tigress left the room.

"Okay, Lion, you can come out," Po said. I was surprised.

"Am I losing my touch," I asked.

"No, I just do that ever since Krystal told me you could turn invisible," Po replied. I shrugged as I went out the door. "I do like her," Po said out of the blue. I almost didn't hear him.

"You do," I asked. Po nodded. "Is that why you really changed to your normal self?" Po hesitantly nodded. "I understand."

"Please don't tell her," Po cried out. I smiled.

"I've kept your secret about you being Nung-Ha. Why not this," I said as I disappeared right into my house. Unfortunately, I appeared right on Krystal. I was on top of her with our faces close together. "Oops, sorry about that."

"It's okay," Krystal whispered. But we didn't move. And when we did, it was only our lips. We kissed again. You're probably wondering why I'm not as detailed as usual. Writing about your own experiences is a lot... weirder and more uncomfortable than someone else. We stopped kissing when someone knocked on the door. I looked at Krystal.

"You put a lock on the door," I asked.

"Well, someone had to," She smirked. I shook my head as I helped her up. I opened the door to see Tigress with Song.

"Ah, you finally put the lock on. Good for you. Did we miss anything?" Tigress smirked.

"Not now tiger," I grimaced."What is it?"

"I would like to let you meet Qiang," Song introduced. The gray wolf had come back from the front grounds. Actually, because of the baby he had fully retired with any benefits. He had a yellowish robe on with a dark yellow undershirt. He had a sword by his side and his nervous demeanor was ever present. I smiled.

"Ah, you're the crazy person- I mean the wonderfully loving person that committed suicide- I mean married her," I joked.

"Lion," Krystal said elbowing me in the ribs. "Don't be rude. It's good to finally meet you."

"And nice to me you. I always wanted to meet the legendary Lion Warrior. Along with the Dragon Warrior, of course," Qiang said quite nervously.

"It's good to meet you, too," I said bowing. "What brings you here?"

"We were just giving Qiang a look at the Jade Palace. Song and Qiang are here to stay," Tigress explained.

"Well, good to have others in the family," I replied. When they went away, I went back inside with Krystal behind me. We acted as if the thing between us never happened. Then I looked at her. She was stacking some dishes absentmindedly. My mind race through different things. Then I said, "Do you want to go out tonight?" Krystal stopped her stacking and looked at me with a strange face.

"What," she stuttered.

"Do you want to go out tonight, like a date," I repeated.

"Um... sure," Krystal said unsure of herself. "Why so suddenly?" I stood up.

"Well, things around here have gotten all about Tigress and Po that I didn't want you to feel left out. I am married to you so I want to fill your needs, too."

"Oh, Lion, you don't have to do that," Krystal started to protest.

"Nope! You already said yes. Absolutely no take backs," I smirked. Krystal rolled her eyes.

"Okay, where are we eating," She asked.

"Well, I was thinking of Mr. Ping's but one, I don't want to mess up your or my clothes when Po trips up, and two, I can not stand to see Tigress's smirk while we're having a date. So why not Ru's place? He still isn't back from his friend's yet," I offered.

"Okay, um... I'll get something ready."

"No, no, I'll cook."

"You cook?"

"You say that like it's a surprise," I grumbled.

"Well, you know. You do all these amazing things and then you cook. I didn't know that" Krystal joked. I rolled my eyes. "What do we tell the others?"

"Tell them we're on a date," I replied.

"You're okay with that?"

"Sure."

"Okay, around sunset?"

"Around sunset." With that, I disappeared and reappeared at Ru's house. The place wasn't in a heaping mess but still needed some touch-up. So I set to work. When I was done, I realized something. I was on a date! I never went on a date. I calmed down. I needed an outfit. I was still wearing the black pants, bare chest style I came in. I so teleported to the tailor and got a different suit. A bright blue robe with black hems and borders, and a dark blue undergarment. I don't like flashy but this was simple yet elegant. I bought the suit, got back, started cooking without the suit. I didn't want to get it dirty. When sunset came, I put the suit on, teleported to where Krystal was, which was at the house, knocked on the door.

"Coming," She said. She opened the door. For a minute, I didn't think this was the same person I had been living with. She looked completely different. She had cleaned and dusted her outfit she came to the Jade Palace. The bright red dress with the beautiful golden flower vine wrapped around the dress. She didn't have any white or dark kind of make-up on, save a faint reddish lipstick on her lips. She also had a pink flower with a yellow center stuck in her ear. "Well."

"You can not be Krystal," I finally said. Krystal rolled her eyes.

"Yes I am," She said.

"No, you're not. The Krystal I know was always beautiful. You are just incredibly stunning," I replied. She blushed bright red.

"Thank you. You clean up nice yourself."

"Shall we?" I offered her my arm. She giggled and took my arm. We teleported right to Ru's house. When we went inside, Krystal sniffed.

"What's cooking? It smells delicious."

"It's a dish my parents taught me. Have a seat and we can try some," I said offering her a seat.

"Oh my, a gentleman," She smirked. "Are you sure you're Lion?"

"Very funny," I replied. I served the dishes to her and we sat down and ate. Her eyes widened.

"This is very good."

"You say that like you didn't think it was going to be."

"Well... I wasn't," she giggled at my frowning face.

"Thank you for your honesty," I groaned serving her some other foods I had prepared.

"Sorry if my honesty offends you. I don't mean it," She apologized.

"Nah, I'd rather you be honest than lie to protect my feelings. The house I grew up in, honesty is eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. People in my family are not afraid to call each other fat or skinny when they are."

"Isn't that a little harsh," Krystal asked. I shrugged.

"No one in my family has suffered depression or had suicidal thoughts yet, and I have a big family."

"Do you think your family would like me?"

"They would love you. Especially with your personality," I assured her. She smiled.

"How do you think I would look like in your world," She asked. I've thought about it.

"I imagine you'll look different from me at the very least."

"You think I'll be ugly in your world," She asked sadly. I smiled.

"You know I don't care much for appearances. First of all, I've come to like you personally. Second of all, I'm sure Demi wouldn't be that mean to you." Spoiler alert: He wasn't.

"I guess. Why did you want to have a date," She asked. I nervously scratched my mane.

"Well, I... funny story. Have you ever had your brain leave you completely only to return to a mess of things said. That's exactly what happened. I've... never been on a date," I said quietly.

"I know." I looked at her confused. "You said you never had a girlfriend, so I would only guess that you've never dated." I sulked a little. Krystal smiled. "Don't worry, you're doing a lot better than some other people." I chuckled lightly.

"So, I'm the... fifth person you've dated," I guessed. She looked at me with a slightly angry look.

"Why would you think you're the fifth?"

"Well, I thought that a pretty woman like you would have men flocking to you. So I assumed that you would have more experience than me," I explained. She calmed down and smiled a bit.

"You're a natural flirt, aren't you?"

"Well, it kind of comes unintentionally."

"No, you're the second person I've dated. The village where I grew up didn't have a lot of young men to meet."

"I'm sorry for that," I sympathized.

"Don't worry, at least, I have you," She said.

"What do you mean, 'at least'," I said dramatically. She laughed.

"So-"

"You have a lot of questions, don't you?" I teased. She rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"So, why did you kiss me... twice," She asked seriously.

"Um... I thought you kissed me."

"No, you kissed me."

"The point is we kiss," I said, already seeing that this wasn't getting us anywhere. "Why is that a thing to argue about? We've kissed other times."

"Yes," Krystal said quietly, "But... not like that." I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Listen, why don't we just say we were caught up in the moment," I said.

"Okay," she agreed. We were silent for a while.

"Was I... that bad," I asked, nervous.

"No, no, not at all. In fact... you're quite a good kisser," she said. That blushing feeling came on again.

"Um ... let's talk about something else."

"Sure, Tigress and Po?"

"I was hoping to get away from those two," I groaned.

"Come on, you know you love them," Krystal said. I shook my head. "You made some great food. Why couldn't you teach Tigress?"

"I... I don't want to get any more attached to her as I already am. The fact she told me about the incident really bugs me."

"Why?"

"I 'think' Po and Tigress have known each other for at least five years. She's only known me for a year and a half now. It just makes me concerned that I am getting too close to her and already have one cat to worry about." Krystal rolled her eyes and smugly smiled.

"Thanks. But maybe you just have that magic."

"Yeah, magic," I sighed. Krystal patted her lips with her napkin. "I just didn't want to be burnt by her cooking. By the way, why did you get so fancy?"

"This is nothing. I kind of feel bare."

"What do you mean," I asked.

"Well, usually people wear more make-up."

"Don't," I said. "I think outward beauty is just simple yet elegant. Of course, inward beauty is more important." Krystal smiled.

"Well, the meal was great, Lion," Krystal thanked me.

"You're welcome," I said cleaning the place up. Once that was done, I offered my hand as we teleported home. Then I started to think. "Magic," I said out loud. Krystal looked bewildered my mumbling. "Hey, what's the creature that lives in the sea starts with an L?"

"The Leviathan," Krystal guessed.

"Yeah, that would work," I said to myself. "Anyways, did you like the night?"

"I had a wonderful time. Thanks," Krystal said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. I wrote everything in the journal. However, there was a little problem for the next day.

to be continued.