The Jin-Min

Attacked four times in three days, the team was down right tired from their journey. They had one more day to go. Soon, they came to a cave that seemed right and suitable. "This will do until we can get some breathe time," Lee sighed plopping down on the hard rock. The others sat as well.

"So, one more day until we get to...our destination," Mei said carefully. But Tigress noticed this.

"You haven't told Leo where we're going yet, have you?" Tigress asked. Leo looked at Mei and Lee questionably. They looked around nervously. Leo looked back at Tigress. She sighed as she said, "We're going to the Jin-Min Territory." Leo's eyes widen in fear as he grabbed a torch and sped down the cave.

"Leo!" Mei yelled after him. Tigress stood up, "Nice going, Tigress. Why did you do that?"

"He deserved to know the truth," Tigress said grabbing a torch, "I'll go talk to him." She said as she went down the dark cave. When she was gone, Mei sighed.

"I can't believe you like her," She muttered to Po. Po blushed when he heard that.

"I don't like like her, like you're implying. She and I can barely sustain a friendship much less a relationship," Po replied.

"Yeah, but we've noticed how much you care about her. To the point you were willing to keep her safety in your hands," Lee pointed out.

"Shut it, tu-tu," Po said irritating Lee while Mei giggled. Meanwhile, Tigress followed the light of Leo's torch into the cave. Leo turned around to see that he was being followed. He tried to walk faster.

"Leo, wait," Tigress said stopping him in his tracks, "Look, I know you are afraid, but you don't have to be. You're a great fighter, you don't have to be afraid. And there's something else you should probably know about." Leo looked at her wanting to know, "You're...actually...half tiger."

"I know," Leo said in a whisper. Tigress was surprised.

"You know? Then why are you so afraid of tigers?" Tigress asked.

"I guess I'm more afraid of my past with tigers than with my past without tigers. When I see a tiger, all I can remember is that horrible night. And the worst part is sometimes, since I'm half tiger, I see myself sometimes killing my own parents," Leo said quietly. Tigress laid her hand on his shoulder smiling warmly.

"Don't be afraid. You just have to ignore the past. Trust me. It might actually be fun for you in the Jin-Min territory. Who knows? You may even find a pretty lady you like," Tigress smirked. Leo laughed as they exited out the cave.

The next day, the team came to the gates of the Jin-Min capital. "Are you ready, Leo and Tigress?" Lee asked. Leo was still scared but Tigress placed a hand on him. He sighed and breathed in. The gates opened and the village was full of people bustling about. The team saw ducks, bunnies, and pigs, but also a lot of crocs, boars, gorillas, and lots of tigers. They were immensely different. Some were fat in the face or gut, some tall and short, others buff or lean. Tigress looked at Leo who didn't seem to be all that scared. The tigers he saw looked friendly and happy. He was still wary of them. Soon the team had to stop at a shop to get some supplies. Then something caught Leo's eye. He saw a bandit dive into an alley. Leo quickly decided to follow.

"Give us your money, honey," said a mean looking wolf bandit. His gang was made of two pigs, one tiger, and what looked like a lizard. Their hostage was a beautiful young tigress with a pink dress. The wolf bandit had her by the throat. Leo, obviously scared of tigers, couldn't help but feel different about this one. He quickly shook it off as he purposefully coughed. He grabbed the attention of the bandits.

"You mind letting her go?" Leo asked. The bandits laughed.

"Why don't you come and get her?" the wolf offered. Leo sighed.

"As you wish. YAAHHH!" He went into his crazed demon mode. Quite quickly, the gang was defeated as they laid across the ground. Leo was looking at his handiwork, not noticing the tigress coming towards him. She hugged him tightly around the torso.

"Thank you so much," She said overjoyed, "I don't know what would happen." Leo's heart rate sped up. He thought he was scared but surprisingly didn't feel scared, just nervous.

"Um...sure," Leo said blushing in the face, "Um sorry, I have to go now. Important business." Leo wiggled out of her arms and ran away. The tigress looked for him, but couldn't find him. Leo ran up back with the group, out of breath.

"What happened?" They all asked.

"Saved...a...tiger...couldn't find you guys...out of breath. Fought bandits," Leo panted out. Tigress was confused.

"But you've fought bandits before. You shouldn't be out of breath," Tigress stated.

"I know. When girl hugged me...heart went faster...had to get out there...Okay, I'm better now," Leo said regaining his breathing. Po and Tigress looked at each other with a sly smile on their faces. Mei and Lee did the same.

"Come on," Lee said dismissing the incident, "We got to get to the palace. We're expected." They got to the palace and went through the big gates. They went into the beautiful throne room where there sat a replica of Tigress. Tiger looked just like Tigress only he was a bit buffer and taller. Tiger looked at his sister with amazement.

"Sister," He said getting up and hugging her, taking Tigress by surprise. She slowly hugged back. He released her. "It must be strange for you to see your family after all these years."

"Really, really strange," Tigress confessed. Tiger chuckled a little.

"Don't worry. Po, Lee, Mei, it's good to see you," Tiger said.

"Good to see you...leader of the Jin-Min?" Po stated a little frustrated, "When were you going to tell me?"

"When you brought my sister back." Tiger stated, "And you are new here. What is your name?" Leo bowed shyly.

"My name is Leo," he said.

"Interesting name," Tiger replied.

"So how's life?" Lee asked.

"Good, good. Especially with my daughter," Tiger answered, "Let me introduce you to her. Miwa," he called. Then a female tiger appeared...in a pink dress.

"Hello, I'm Miwa. My father's told me a lot about you," Then she saw Leo and gasped in excitement, "You're the one who saved me from the bandits!" Everyone was shocked.

"And you're the one I saved?" Leo asked. Miwa nodded, "Of course you are," Leo muttered. Tiger bowed low before him.

"I thank you greatly for saving my daughter. Without you, I wouldn't be able to see this day," Tiger thanked.

"Sure. You're welcome," Leo muttered.

"Why don't we take a tour of the palace, Hmm?" Tiger offered. Miwa grabbed hold of her father's arm.

"Father, is it okay that I show Leo around for myself?" She asked. Tiger was a little unsure but agreed. Miwa then grabbed Leo by the arm. "Come on, I'll show you around," She said excitedly, dragging Leo off. The others just sighed.

"Well, while Leo's doing that, why don't we get to the reason why we are here," Po said getting down to business.

Miwa brought Leo to their beautiful garden behind the palace. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Miwa smiled. Leo was nervously sweating. "What's the matter? Don't you like it?"

"It's...um...very lovely," Leo said quietly. Miwa smiled wider.

"Come on, we can go to the pond over there," She said dragging Leo again. She dipped her feet into the pond, "Ahh. It's nice and cool," She sighed. She looked over to Leo who was standing up straight and stiff, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing...this...this is always the way I am around a princess," Leo said stuttering. Miwa rolled her eyes.

"You don't need to be so formal. Come on, join me," she offered. Leo slowly took off his shoes and dipped them into the pond. "See doesn't it feel good?" Leo was still quiet. "What's the matter? You've been like this since we've met. Are you okay?"

"Yyyess. Well, you see, I've...been...afraid of...tigers for a long time...so I'm...still trying to cope," Leo said trying not to offend. Too late.

"Oh. So I must be ugly to you then," Miwa said a little offended. How did she conclude that?

"Oh no no no no! You're very beautiful. It's just.."

"Just what?" Miwa asked crossing her arms.

"You see, when I was little I had my parents killed in front of me. By a tiger," Leo looked down. Miwa gasped.

"Oh I'm so sorry. You must hate me then," Miwa said looking down.

"Oh no no no. You're...different and I'm coming to actually like your kind. It's just for you, I get a new feeling around you. It feels like I'm afraid but in a good way. I guess I get nervous around people I like," Leo said covering his mouth at the last part. Miwa gasped.

"You like me?" Miwa asked. Leo slowly nodded. Miwa smiled.

"I like you too," Miwa smiled, "And don't worry. I don't bite. You're just like me. My mother was killed before I knew her well."

"I'm sorry," Leo said quietly. Miwa offered her hand as she stood up.

"Come on, let me show you more of the palace," She smiled. Leo smiled as he slowly took her hand and she practically dragged him.

to be continued.