A/N: Look who is here! Me! *silence* Uhm… With a new chapter! *cheers*
Thank for all the reviews! This story is actually going well! Wow, my prayers were heard!
So, here is what you all have been waiting for… Chapter 5!
Behind The Golden Eyes, Blame
You know the feeling you have when someone you care about is in the hospital and you are waiting on getting to know how the person is doing?
Well, Tigress was having that feeling now. Not that any of her friends were sick or in life-threatening danger. The thing that was making her so nervous, was simply that Mei-Hua was inside in the palace right now, talking with Master Shifu.
How would he react? Would he be mad? Would he be hurt? Would he be disappointed?
Tigress would soon find out. Her friends were still in the village, so she was sitting alone in the last afternoon sun. It was a weird thought that she maybe should leave all this. She knew this palace better than anybody thought. Every corner was familiar to her. Was she even able to leave it?
The sound of footsteps told her that she had other things to think about now. The warm feeling that she got in her stomach every time she saw Master Mei-Hua, was back when she glanced at the tiger master that was walking towards her.
Had Shifu refused or had he allowed her to choose Mei-Hua as her master? Though, the smile on the older tiger calmed Tigress. She was sure that the master wouldn't smile if she just had lost a future student.
"Master Shifu wants to talk with you." Then she saw Tigress' asking eyes. "Our conversation went very well, so if you have changed your mind, you have to say it now. Master Shifu just wants to have a private word with you, and then I will talk with him again to about some practical information."
She chuckled slightly. "I am glad to finally have a student. If you still want me as your master, of course."
"I will, Master Mei-Hua." Tigress couldn't help but smile at the word master. But then she realized that she still was going to talk what Shifu. Something told her that it wasn't going to be a nice talk.
The master smiled back to her. "I am honored. We will talk more about this later, but Master Shifu wants to see you. He is waiting for you in the kitchen."
With heavy steps, Tigress started to walk towards the palace. She was not looking forward to face her master. What could she say to him? The hope about that he would miss her when she was gone, helped her a little. Shifu had to face the truth that he had hurt with his strict behaving. He had to realize it when she left the palace. He just had to.
When she stood before the entrance to the kitchen, she hesitated. She couldn't be a coward now! She had taken a choice and she was going to stand by it. She entered the kitchen, bowing to the red panda master.
"Master Shifu."
"Tigress," he greeted her. Shifu pointed at the chair that was placed so they could look at each other's faces. "Sit down."
The tiger did as she was told. She glanced down at the table, avoiding her master's eyes. There was some awkward silence before Shifu started the conversation.
"Master Mei-Hua told me that you have been thinking about following her to the Dragon City. Is that correct?"
Tigress still didn't look at him. "Yes, Master," she replied quietly.
Shifu sighed. "I must say, Tigress, that I have been expecting a situation like this."
The student finally glared at him with big eyes. He had expected this? What; was he now getting visions like Grandmaster Oogway?
"You have always sought to be better, Tigress. And maybe I have taught you all what I know." He rubbed his neck. "I am fully aware of the fact that Master Mei-Hua is very talented and she can teach you much."
Tigress' throat felt dry. She had expecting him to be furious, but he was perfectly calm. Though, she thought that he looked a little sad. Did her eyes lie to her?
"I want the best for my students, Tigress. As a master it's my biggest wish. And if you want to go with Master Mei-Hua, I will not stop you." The master looked at his student. She seemed stunned. Not that he could blame her for that.
When Tigress finally found her words, she spoke, "I owe you much, Master Shifu. You have been helping me to find the path I want to walk. You have taught me kung fu. But I…" She trailed of.
"Don't think that I haven't noticed how you have improved while Master Mei-Hua has been here?" Shifu pointed out. "She was also suggesting that you could try to have her as your master for a couple of months for a start."
"Yes, she mentioned that for me. I think that it could be a good opportunity for me to try something… new." Tigress could have bit her tongue of. Why couldn't she just find the words that explained what she felt?
"Tigress, do you want to go with her?" Shifu said, looking straight into the tiger's eyes.
The student didn't even as much as blink. "Yes, Master Shifu."
"Then please get Master Mei-Hua so we can plan your travel."
Shifu glanced at Tigress as she bowed to him and disappeared to find her new master. He sighed heavily. He had just lost her as a student. He had allowed her to leave the Jade Palace. But what could he do? Telling her to stay and make her to hate him? Tigress had the right to change master and if it was what she wanted, then he couldn't stop her. He just hoped that he and Tigress had taken the right decision.
"You must know, Tigress, that you are going to get some hard work. I am sure that my training won't be the easiest thing. And you are probably going to have some lessons about our city's history. It can be important to your training."
Tigress just nodded; she would say yes to everything her new master said right now. Her brain was still amazed over the fact that Mei-Hua was going to be her master. She was going to leave the palace. Shifu had actually allowed her. It was like she was walking in a dream. She just couldn't really believe it.
"When are we going to leave?" Tigress asked the older feline.
"Probably already tomorrow. I know that it's early, but I think that we should leave as soon as possible."
The student was shocked. Okay, she was going to leave, but already tomorrow? That was… unexpected. Though, she really wanted to see the Dragon City. Her new home.
She nodded once again. What could she say?
"I am looking forward to show it all to you, Tigress. You are going to meet many important persons. And as soon as we arrive, I will get your room ready for you. I am sure that you are going to like it. And I will present you for my masters. You are going to impress them just as much as you have impressed me." Mei-Hua smiled warmly to her. She seemed to sense that her student was a bit absent.
"I will go and talk with Master Shifu now. It is not some important things we need to discuss, so you can just stay here. I will be back soon. And then we will start packing."
"Yes, Master Mei-Hua," Tigress said, bowing to the leaving master. She watched her until she was out of sight.
"Packing?"
Tigress immediately turned around. Her friends were standing with faces that expressed disbelieve.
She really didn't want to talk with them right now. "Hi guys," she said with a tired voice.
"So what's this about packing? Are you going on a new trip with Master Mei-Hua?" Mantis asked from Monkey's shoulder. They were all staring at her, making Tigress quite nervous.
"Sort of…" She didn't know what to say. She couldn't just say that she was going to leave them. They were going to hate her.
Of course Po couldn't be quiet. "Where are you going?" Also he was looking at her with big eyes. Tigress avoided them.
Tigress tried to find the words, but it felt like they were hiding from her. Why couldn't they just help her when she really needed them?
Her friends saw her silence as a sign of something was wrong. Viper slithered up to her, concern in her eyes. "Tigress, are you feeling okay? You look a bit…"
"I am fine."
The masters glanced at each other, sharing their thoughts. Monkey was the first that spoke again. "So… Where are you going?" he asked, repeating Po's question.
"I am going with Master Mei-Hua to the Dragon-City," Tigress murmured not loud enough for the others to hear.
"Uhm… What did you say?" Po asked the tiger.
Tigress sighed. Why did this have to be so hard? "I am going with Master Mei-Hua to the Dragon-City," she repeated.
"What?!" Her friends' reactions was exactly was she had expected.
And feared.
The smile had disappeared from Viper's face. "What do you mean?" she whispered.
"Mei-Hua is my new master. We are going to leave the palace tomorrow," Tigress explained, looking at the ground. Though, she could still feel the others staring at her.
The silence expressed the shock they felt. Viper was the first that pulled herself together. "Why?"
Tigress looked up, meeting her eyes. "She asked me and I couldn't say no." Her voice wasn't fragile; it was still cold and steady.
"So you are just going to leave?" Mantis expressed how they all felt; they just couldn't believe it. Tigress was their leader and if she was gone, what would happen to them? The tiger master just belonged with the Jade Palace. She had been there in much longer time than any of the others.
"Yes, we will start our travel tomorrow," Tigress replied, telling them the facts once again.
"But… But what about Master Shifu? Has he just agreed to all this?" Crane asked her.
Tigress nodded. The red panda master had said yes, so she wasn't lying. They could even ask their master himself if they didn't believe her.
"But what about us? What about the Furious Five?" Monkey said, glancing at them all to get support.
Tigress met their eyes. "You don't need me as much as you think. You are going to be fine." Her face and voice was emotionless. It was easier for her on that way.
"But you are our leader! You can't just leave!"
"I can, Viper. And if you really need a leader, then I am sure that Po can do it."
"Wait! What?! Me? As a leader? No way!"
"Po, you were the one that saved us in Gongmen City. You are the Dragon Warrior, a natural leader," Tigress told him, sounding a little annoyed.
"Back to the point; how can you just leave?" Viper said, turning back to the striped feline.
"Master Mei-Hua can teach me more than master Shifu. I always want to learn more. Viper, you know that. And it's not like I am gone forever. Master Mei-Hua and Master Shifu have decided that I should try with Mei-Hua as my master in some months. Then we will see if it is time for me to return," Tigress told them what they needed to know.
"So you are coming back?"
Tigress sighed again. "Probably," she replied flatly.
Viper hissed angrily. "Tigress, we have been friends in more than ten years. We are like sisters. And then you just choose a master that you only have known in two days rather than us?" She pointed her tail at the depressed warriors behind her.
Their eyes were begging her to say that it just was a mean joke, that she only had made fun. But they all knew that Tigress wouldn't do that. The tiger just wasn't a joking type.
"It's not like that."
"I just can't believe this!" Viper hissed again. She slithered closer to the tiger, looking her in the eyes. "Are you just going to leave? Tigress, this is your home! Why isn't it good enough for you? Why aren't we good enough?" The voice was begging her and Tigress flinched at the sound.
"Tigress?" a melodic voice called. A voice that belonged to Mei-Hua. They couldn't see her, but they could all recognize her nearly singing voice.
Tigress started to back away from her friends. "I have to go," she said quietly, looking at the ground. The others followed her with the eyes, all still stunned by their conversation.
"Ti... Oh, there you are! I have been looking for you. Master Shifu and I have finished talking; we are going to leave tomorrow. But enough about that. I have something I want to show you."
They walked together towards Mei-Hua's room. Tigress didn't say a word. There was a pain in her chest that she just couldn't get rid of. Her friends were hating her now. They didn't understand. But she wished that they did. She knew why they were angry of her; she had on a way abandoned them. But if they did that to her, if they just left her behind, she would probably feel the same.
Mei-Hua noticed that her student was looking depressed. "Tigress, what's wrong? Has something happened?"
Tigress glanced surprised at her. That was one of the thing she preferred with her new master; that she cared about her. "I had to tell the others."
"I am sorry to hear that. I can imagine what happened."
"They just don't understand."
Mei-Hua looked her into the eyes. "Tigress, when they are going to see you again, I promise you that they will see a warrior that they have never seen before. They will be stunned. And they will understand why you did this; to be one of the best Kung Fu warriors in China's history." She smiled encouragingly to the young tiger.
Tigress thought about the master's word. Could that be true? Could she really do that? She was sure about that Mei-Hua could teach her much. And maybe her friends would forget it all when they saw her again. They would forgive her. She had hurt their feelings, but they would forgive her. Hopefully…
"What is it that you want me to see, Master Mei-Hua?" Tigress asked as they entered the master's room. Mei-Hua walked towards one of her bags and pulled out some papers. When Tigress came closer, she could see that one of them was a map. She glanced at her master that was pointing with her claw on one special place.
"This is the Dragon City." Tigress' eyes focused on the town she was going to live. If the map was right, then she was going to live in one of the biggest cities she had ever seen. "But we are not going to walk the whole way. I honestly don't have the patience to climb some mountains. So we are only going to walk until we reach this town."
She pointed at a much smaller village. "It is a little fisher town, so it's easily to rent a boat. Then we are just going to follow the river and then we will arrive in the Dragon City."
"How long is the trip going to take?"
"Maybe two weeks," Mei-Hua replied.
"I am really looking forward to see the city," Tigress said honestly. "It must be big."
The master chuckled. "It is. There is never a calm moment. But I guess that it also can be good. Tigress, Master Shifu told me that you have been injured. Is it still troubling you?"
Tigress shook her head. "No, Master Shifu overreacted. I am fine."
"Are you sure? If you are still sore, then we will wait with our travel," Mei-Hua said with worried eyes.
"I can travel. I can't even feel the injury anymore."
"If you are sure, then we will we travel as planned."
Tigress sighed of relief. She didn't want the blaming glances of her friends. As soon she could get away from that as better. It was hard to believe that for only one day ago Tigress didn't have to worry about all this. Mei-Hua hadn't asked her. They hadn't been on their trip where Tigress should show her the village. And then Kang had showed up… Oh no! Kang!
"Uhm… Master Mei-Hua?"
The master turned around. "Yes, Tigress?"
"I think that we forgot something in the village," the student said and Mei-Hue quickly understood.
"How could I forget? Thank you, Tigress. I will get him now. Maybe you should start packing now. The Dragon Warrior will probably soon make dinner and I want you to go early to bed tonight; you have to be rested tomorrow morning."
Tigress bowed to her. "Yes, Master Mei-Hua." The master left to rescue her servant. Who knew how he was doing?
The tiger walked silently to her room. Inside her dresser she found her few belongings. It was only some extra training clothes; she didn't have other things. She put the clothes in her old bag and then she was ready for the travel tomorrow.
Then she lie on her bed, staring empty at the ceiling. Tomorrow she was going to leave the Jade Palace. When was she ever going to wake from this weird dream?
Tigress didn't know if she wished to wake up. She wanted to go with Master Mei-Hua, but she didn't want her friends to be angry at her. An awful choice. But the truth was that she already had made. She was going with Mei-Hua tomorrow and her friends were angry at her.
She hid in her room until her master came and said that there was dinner.
Tigress could honestly say that it was the most awkward dinner of her life. Herself didn't say a word and was just staring at her bowl of soup.
Master Shifu was also silent, but glanced at his students, confused by their behavior.
Po, Viper, Monkey, Mantis and Crane were staring silently at the masters and Tigress, trying to figure out if all this was true.
Mei-Hua didn't try to start a conversation; it just wasn't the right time to talk.
And Kang; poor Kang was drinking his soup (they had all given up with the cutlery) and was ignoring the makeup on his face. When Mei-Hua had found him he had been painted white in his face with red lips and cheeks. No one knew if he was aware of this or he just thought that it was fine.
The silent ruled in long time until Mei-Hua finally spoke.
"I am aware that you all know that Tigress and I will be leaving the palace tomorrow. Oh, and Kang too, of course. I will thank you for the hospitality and I have enjoyed my days here. Then, I want to apologize for taking Master Tigress away from you. But I am sure that you will see her again soon."
"We are honored to have you as a guest, Master Mei-Hua, and I know that you will be a worthy master for Tigress."
"Thank you, Master Shifu."
Tigress kept staring at the table, not saying a word.