A/N: Sorry for the wait; but you should know that I am very busy the next two weeks. My theater has premiere the same time that I have a big assignment for the school. Not a great timing. But here I am!

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

Stripes of a Tiger
Evil

Tigress remembered the first time she heard his name. She had been down in the village to get some stuff to Shifu. Even though she was just a cub; she had only left the orphanage some months ago; people still stepped back in fear when she walked by.

She had learned to ignore it. She kept telling herself that she now was Master Shifu's student. That she had changed.

But their fear hit her every time; like a needle into her heart. The tiger kept her glance on the ground, using the fastest way to get to the shops she needed to visit.

It was accident that she listened to the two lady pigs' conversation. But as she picked up the word 'tiger' she could not help but go closer.

"…why he would take in an already destroyed soul? I mean, his first student goes crazy, and now he takes in a tiger who has been locked up ever since she was found!"

"I must admit that even I find that stupid. I thought the Jade Palace was supposed to protect us; not creating new dangers."

"Exactly. We do not need a new Tai Lung…"

The name was spit out on the same way people had done it with hers. Like it was cursed. Tigress ignored what they said about her, but focused on this 'Tai Lung'. Who was it? What was it?

Did Shifu really have another student?

Remembering why she was there, Tigress quickly finished her little 'mission' and made her way back to the palace. The stairs were still a pain but she was slowly getting used to them. Though, it was late afternoon when she finally returned home.

Shifu did not move from his mediation position when she came near him. "Master," she said, quickly bowing. She remembered how she had once dared to call him 'father'… She would never do that again; so much had she learned.

He was her master, and that was how it should be.

"I got what you wanted," she said quietly, looking at the bags that were filled with fruit and vegetables. She was not sure why she had been the one to get them; normally the servants would do it. But she suspected it to be a part of her training; going up and down the stair was hard work.

Besides, she had been forced into visiting the village; something that would not happen if she could decide. But Shifu wanted her to see the people she was going to protect in the future.

She wondered if he knew that they were still scared of her.

"Good," he said shortly. "No more training for the rest of the day."

Tigress was in a moment filled with joy; she was tired and maybe now she could practice some more on her meditation.

"Yes, Master."

But before she turned around, she suddenly remembered the name. Knowing it would hunt her in her dreams if she did not know the truth, Tigress suddenly asked, "Master, who is Tai Lung?"

She instantly knew she had done something wrong. Shifu's eyes snapped open and his ears lay flat against his head.

Tigress crouched down slightly, walking backwards as she knew she would be punished for this.

"Someone you will not mention again," Shifu barked at her, standing up. "Am I understood, Tigress?"

"Yes," she whimpered, trying to pull herself together. "Yes, Master. I'm sorry."

Shifu turned his back to her as he walked away from her. "You are forgiven," he told her, and then started muttering something she could not here as he disappeared into the palace.

Tigress remained where she was, staring after him. What had she done wrong? She had not meant to make him angry. She had just been confused.

Ears dropping, Tigress sighed and sniffed. Something she was not sure if her respect for Master Shifu had turned into fear. She was just so scared of failing…

She thought about Tai Lung the rest of the day. So far she knew he had been Shifu's student and that people did not like him. But where was he now?

When it was time for dinner, Tigress found herself eating it alone. Master Shifu was not there and neither was Grandmaster Oogway. Sighing, the tiger cub stared at her food.

She had truly messed up, right?

And now everybody was ignoring her. Why? Because she had been so stupid… She should have known it was wrong to ask. There was probably a reason why the pigs had acted like they did.

But when she was finished eating, she decided to find the truth by herself. The palace's library… Somewhere Tai Lung had to be mentioned.

So many scrolls… Tigress looked at them, unable to choose one of them. She stood on her toes, trying to reach one of those who were lying at the top of the shelf. But as she did, something caused her to freeze.

"You would think that a little girl like you should be in bed at this time of the evening."

"Oogway!" Tigress was so surprised that she forgot the whole master' part. She quickly bowed. "I didn't mean to… I just…" She bit her lip, unable to finish her sentences.

"Trying to what?" the turtle asked as he slowly walked closer.

Looking into Oogway's kind eyes, Tigress finally revealed her mission. "I just want to found out who Tai Lung is!" To her surprise, Oogway remained calm.

He leaned his head closer to her. "And why do you want that, child?"

"Because…" She sniffed again, wiping away some tears with the back of her head. "Because the villagers said that I would end up like him. That I would go crazy and be a danger…"

The turtle stared at her, but then laid his hand on his shoulder. "Come," he said shortly and she followed him into the Hall of Warriors.

They first stopped when they were standing at the edge of the little pool that was in the floor. "Look," the turtle told her and she glanced at the surface.

"It is me," she said softly. Well, it was her reflection. A tiger, at her age, with the same fur and eyes and fangs and… Then she spotted something else. "What is that?" she asked and looked up at the ceiling.

Oogway stood before her. "What do you see?"

"A scroll. Like those in the library. Just prettier."

The turtle nodded. "Tai Lung saw something else."

There went some time before she dared to ask, "He was a student, right?"

And then Oogway told the story. Tigress was quiet the whole time, eyes big and ears listening. When the Grandmaster was finished, she was stunned.

Even though she could not read Shifu's mind, she now understood him better.

"Was he evil?" she then asked, even though she found the question stupid.

"Choosing the wrong path can lead you into darkness," Oogway said.

"Then I'll choose the right one," Tigress promised herself. First then she was calm enough to go to bed, Oogway wishing her a good night and Shifu still somewhere else, probably meditating.

As she lay on her bed, Tigress was sure that her master thought about Tai Lung. What a betrayal. How could a simple scroll mean so much?

Tai Lung… He had been lucky. He wanted more when Tigress would cut off her own paw to get some of what he had had.

Shifu… A father…

And he had just thrown that away!

That was something to be ashamed about. Staring at the ceiling, Tigress thought of Oogway's words. Something inside of her said that he had been wrong. Tai Lung was evil, even though the master only called it 'choosing the wrong path'.

Evil… because he had hurt Shifu. And he was still hurting. She had seen it today in his eyes when she had mentioned the forbidden name.

And she felt sorry for him.

That night, Tigress promised herself that she would make Tai Lung pay. What he had done was unforgivable. And she was the one to make things right. The snow leopard had broken Shifu's heart; she had to be the one to fix it.

And maybe one day, she would get the Dragon Scroll. Maybe that would help Shifu, make him smile again. And… And if she did not become the Dragon Warrior… then it would be okay. Because she was different.

The villagers were wrong; no matter what, she would not be evil. That was a promise and she was going to keep it.

A/N: And done. Not exactly as I wanted it, but it's okay. Hope you liked it. Thank you for the support.

Next letter; F. Next word; Friends.