Hello, everyone! Happy Easter weekend for all those who celebrate it. I would've gotten this chapter out sooner had it not been for a weird upload error preventing me from posting this.

This is the second-to-last chapter, I will get the final chapter out soon. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own KFP

Chapter 6: Repression

Distant rumbling. Darkness surrounded the panda as he stared down at his hand and the object within it, unable to turn to face the thunderstorm that was approaching. The lotus flower was tight in his grip, which only grew tighter as the last bit of light illuminating his hand was swallowed up by the void. The rumbling grew louder, but more distinct; the booming thunder now transformed into voices. At last his eyes gave way to the blinding sunlight that assaulted them as they opened.

He was met with three concerned pairs of eyes and one backside as he lifted his head; Mantis was standing on Po's chest, addressing Monkey, Viper, and Crane who stood at the panda's feet.

"…or something, I don't know!" The end of Mantis' sentence was garbled by Po's ears, which were still not fully awake.

Po let out a groan as he sat up, causing Mantis to jump off of him and join the rest of the masters at his feet.

"Finally, dude!" The insect exclaimed. "We've been trying to wake you for, like, an hour now!" The rest of the masters nodded, waiting for a response.

Instead of responding, the panda looked down to his hand. It was still clenching the flower he had held all night; he opened his hand and let it fall onto the ground, broken by his grip. The sight of its limp figure made his stomach turn, the pain slowly coming back from last night's events. He sighed, then looked back to his comrades sitting before him.

"An…hour? What…" Po rubbed his eyes as he drowsily fumbled through words.

"Is something wrong? You look…awful…" Crane remarked, stepping closer to Po's side and readjusting his wings nervously.

"Yeah, are you okay, buddy?" Monkey chimed in, placing a hand on the panda's shoulder.

"Po, what happened? Why are you sleeping on Tigress' mat…and where is Tigress?" Viper inquired. Po could tell she knew something had gone wrong; the concern in her eyes couldn't have been more genuine and she sounded more worried than ever.

"Tigress…" Po squeaked out her name, wincing slightly as he looked away. He did stand up, though, now fully aware that he was in fact sitting on her mat. He took a few steps away from the group before answering the latter two of Viper's questions. "I…don't know…"

"You…you don't know?" The snake echoed. When the panda simply shook his head, she glanced over to Monkey, Mantis and Crane and sighed. She knew he wasn't going to say a thing with this many ears around.

"Guys, could you maybe…give us some time alone?"

The three males nodded solemnly, knowing that this was none of their business. They turned to leave, Monkey giving a final pat to Po's back before following the other two back to the springs. Viper slithered over to his side and looked up into his eyes, taking note of how bloodshot and pained they looked, staring off into the distance as if they could see for hundreds of miles. She was keen on learning just what it was that had happened between the two, but was also dreading the response she might receive.

"Let's go for a walk," she suggested in a soft, comforting tone, slowly moving ahead of him and hoping he would follow. She inwardly sighed in relief when she heard him begin to walk after her, but that relief was soon replaced by more worry as she realized he had done so wordlessly. Something was definitely wrong; he was almost never this quiet.

She waited until the two were a suitable distance from the camp, past the thicket and into some light backwoods before turning to the panda, stopping him in his tracks. The troubled look she gave him told him to start speaking. He looked down to his feet and began.

"So…last night, when you were at the spa…" he looked up to her and she nodded for him to continue. "I…Tigress…well, she…" he rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. Half of him wanted to just get it off of his chest, to tell someone and get it over with, but the other half – mainly consisting of the agonizing guilt and regret that was still tormenting him – kept telling him that it would be better to keep it to himself.

But he knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything of the sort. It had to come out one way or another; everyone would know sooner or later. He turned from the snake and went with the former.

"…she…might have told me…that she loved me."

A small gasp escaped Viper's lips; she would have felt giddy with excitement had it not been so obvious that something was wrong. She instead remained silent, prompting him to continue.

"…and I may have…sorta…accidentally…rejected her." He choked on the last words, tears slowly welling up at the back of his eyes. The ache was once again engulfing his heart, causing it to throb with every beat. His hand subconsciously moved to his chest, clutching at it as if to somehow alleviate the pain.

Viper just sat there, baffled by the words that had just left the panda's mouth.

"Wait, you…what?"

"I didn't try to, I swear!" Po spun back towards her defensively. "I tried to tell her that I loved her back, but I…I really tried, but I just…I couldn't do it…" His head fell in remorse; he couldn't bring his now tear-filled eyes to the snake before him.

She moved close to him, once again taking his hand in her tail and coiling around it. She sighed, and was about to speak before she was cut off by a frantic voice behind her.

"Guys! Tigress is back!" Monkey called as he ran up to them, out of breath. He beckoned for them to come with before turning to leave again.

Viper left without a word, hurriedly slithering after the primate. Po felt a shiver of adrenaline flow through him as he forced himself to follow.

Po rounded the bend and approached the camp, the gentle breeze only serving to agitate him further. His eyes scanned the campsite with anticipation before they finally fell on her. He froze.

He stood there for what seemed like ages observing her as she laid waste to a tree in front of her. He saw Mantis, Crane, and now Monkey sitting rather far away from her, simply watching her, obviously unsure what to do. Viper was waiting closer to Po, motioning for him to follow. This time, his legs moved him forward without any thought; he was too focused on the tiger and how unnaturally stiff her form was.

As he moved closer, Viper still at his side, the tiger turned to face him, sending him a glare that stopped him in his tracks. Oh yeah, she was angry alright.

Po felt heat in his cheeks and guilt in his stomach. His heart was pounding and throbbing uncontrollably. All he could do was look down to the ground and sigh before meeting her gaze again.

Wait a minute. No, she wasn't angry. The look in her eyes was something…different. Something all too familiar.

Po desperately searched her eyes for something, anything, even a faint glimmer of the Tigress he had grown used to over the past few months. But all he could find was the same cold gaze she had given him the day the two first met.

His heart sank like a rock. No, he couldn't do this. Not now. He needed some more time to think things through.

But as he turned to leave, he was met with a stern glare and a firm push from Viper. He gazed desperately over to the three males that sat a ways away from him; all of them nodded and motioned him forward. There was no getting out of this now.

He cautiously approached the tiger as she stood there, motionless, before nervously clearing his throat and looking her in the eyes once more to begin.

"Tigress, I'm really sorry-"

"It's fine. Forget it." The tiger replied rigidly.

Po was taken aback; his eyes widened and his mouth hung open slightly at her response.

"What?! No, it isn't-"

Tigress held her hand up to silence him. "Po, just…don't." She closed her eyes for a moment, then turned to walk back to the camp.

Po was shocked. He felt all eyes on him as he stood there, seriously feeling as if he were about to break out in tears. He fell back on his rear, fighting to keep his eyes dry as he tried to comprehend what just happened like he had the night before. Is… is it all over, then?

"Tigress, wait!" Viper called out to the tiger as she rolled up her mat, casually tossing the flower that still lay on it aside. She turned to face the snake as she approached.

"I'm heading back to the Jade Palace. This 'vacation' is a waste of time, we need to be training."

Mantis, Monkey and Crane all rose up in protest but were silenced when Viper spoke up.

"Wait, guys…maybe we should head back…" The three males and now the panda looked at her through inquisitive eyes. "We've barely had any time at home since Gongmen City, and…" she turned her gaze to the panda specifically before continuing. "…I think that's what we need right now."

The three males groaned and grudgingly accepted; Po silently agreed with her, standing up and moving to the pack and beginning to fill it with their supplies, not worrying about the state that his cooking instruments and materials were in. He just realized that he hadn't yet had breakfast, or whatever sad excuse for said breakfast had been prepared by the other masters that morning before he had awoken.

It didn't bother him like it should have. He wasn't hungry, instead focusing on clearing the campsite as quickly as possible. They soon finished packing up, and the group was on the road again by late-morning.

The trip back was absolutely silent, but not because everyone was too full of food to speak. In fact, the group had opted to skip lunch in favor of making better time back to the palace. Po was surprisingly unconcerned with this choice; he was still much too distraught to even think about eating. He hung towards the back of the group, sedately observing the tiger master that lead the group by good margin.

He once again began to ponder the choices that lay before him. Do I try again, or will that just make it worse? I can't just let it go like that, no matter what she says…it is not fine…yeah, I'll just have to try again…

A spark of confidence found its way into the panda's heart, but soon died down and was again replaced by uncertainty and doubt. But…what if she still doesn't accept my apology? Or what if I somehow screw it up again, and…ugh…I just don't know what to do…

He examined her stiff body, how each step she took was deliberate and how her every movement seemed to lack any emotion whatsoever. Please…please let her be in there somewhere…I need another chance, please…

The tiger made sure to stride confidently, intent on keeping internal the emotional turmoil she, too, was experiencing. She found it quite difficult, however, as the more time she would focus on repressing her foolish emotions the less time she spent focusing on her outward composure, frequently letting her eyes drop to the ground in thought. Ugh…why can't you just drop it already? It would never work, even if he did think of you that way, and he doesn't!

She let out an unintentional sigh as she thought back to earlier that day. Seriously, he looked like he was about to run and hide…Viper had to push him towards me to get him to talk…there's no way he would willingly approach you after what you pulled last night…

She almost lost her composure completely at the rehashed memory of the previous night's events. Her stomach clenched and churned as emotions she had ultimately failed to suppress rose up again, breaking the chains she had continually laid over them to tie them back down through her own self-deception. But they broke free every time, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how hard she focused on calling upon her old discipline.

The tiger breathed deeply many times as she had the night before; it took several minutes for her to quell the warm feelings she still held for the panda as well as the pain of rejection that stung just as hard as if it had happened not moments ago. She felt calmness return to her, slipping over her in a comforting wave. She felt safe and secure, though she knew deep down it was only temporary.

The rest of the group had no idea what to make of this development. None of the three other males knew for sure what was going on or why, but inferences could be made and as such they didn't concern themselves with what was obviously none of their business. This didn't stop them from worrying for their comrades, however; it took all of their discipline and self-restraint to keep to themselves.

Viper, on the other hand, felt that she had a stake in this, but really had no idea what to do with it. She couldn't apologize for Po, and she couldn't force Tigress to accept his apology either. She felt stuck in-between a rock and a hard place just as the panda and the tiger were. How did things ever get like this?

The group reached the Valley of Peace just as the sun was setting. Viper sighed inwardly in relief; home was in sight once more. They picked up the pace, eager to return to the palace and the comfort it provided.

"Po!" The group, minus Tigress, stopped and turned to greet Mr. Ping as he pounced on his son, giving him a welcome-home hug. "You're back early! Is something wrong?"

Po sighed. "No, dad, everything's fine." The panda returned the goose's hug before putting him down and continuing on towards the palace. It was painfully obvious by his tone that everything wasn't fine, though his father decided against prodding for once and instead gave his son a consoling pat on the arm before turning back to his shop.

The group began to climb the Thousand Steps, Tigress already half-way up, when Viper noticed Po had yet to step onto the stairs. She motioned for the rest to continue up, while she slithered back down to the dejected panda that stood at the bottom.

"Po?" she called in a soft tone.

The panda let out another heavy sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Viper, I don't know what to do. I just can't…think!" He groaned in frustration. "I've never had to deal with anything like this before, and I need help!"

"Po, I know this is hard for you, but…" she sighed and looked away from him before continuing. "…there's nothing that I can really do-"

"What do you mean, there's nothing you can do?" Po's vexation was becoming increasingly prominent as he no longer attempted to hide it. "Just do something, anything-"

Viper spun around and glared at him in the eye. "I'm not the one that messed it all up, dammit!"

Her irritated glare immediately dissolved into a look of regret as she turned her back to the panda and continued in a softer tone. "I can't fix everything…"

She heard the panda move away and run up the stairs behind her, not bothering to stop him.

Hope you liked it, feel free to tell me what you thought! Stay tuned for the resolution in the last chapter which should be out soon, see you there!