A/N: Sorry this one came out a bit late everyone, I just had a couple of busy work days.

Anyways here it is!

Chapter 13

Culinary Passion

As Tigress walked down to the entrance to the Jade Palace, she thought many things, Po's condition being one. But as she walked towards the gates she heard her new son shout "Hey Mom! Watch this! I can jump down the stairs really fast!" Tigress by instinct shouted "Hao! No!" And she ran towards her the Cub as quickly as she could, she didn't want for the Cub to hurt himself on the stairs so she ran on all fours to catch up to her new son. Hao looked back at his mother surprised, he didn't know why she was so worried, he was just going to jump down those stairs and-. The Cub then accidentally slipped and began to fall, but then "gotcha!" Tigress said as she caught the Cub by his left arm just before he fell down the stairs. Hao gasped as he looked below him to see how far the descent would have been had he fallen. "Hao, please don't do things like that! I nearly had a heart attack!" Tigress angrily snapped at the Cub having been worried by his terrible judgment. "I'm sorry Mom, I just wanted to get the noodle shop fast!" The Cub said with an ashamed look on his face that looked very adorable at the same time. Tigress couldn't help but adore her Cub's facial expression however she responded sternly "I understand Hao, however don't want to ever see you pull reckless stunts, you could get seriously hurt!" Hao nodded and said "sorry mother." Tigress smiled at her son's sincerity, and she replied "It's okay Hao, now how about I tell you a fun story while on the way down?"

"You mean Po used to fall down these stairs a lot!?" Hao said as he was laughing. Him and Tigress were on their way down the stairs and Tigress thought she would tell Hao a funny story about how Po used to fall down the 1000 steps. "He sure did, that Panda used to have a knack for being clumsy, in fact he used to really dislike stairs in general. There was one time when ha was so exhausted that we had to get a large gorilla to carry him all the way up the stairs." Tigress said as she chuckled slightly at the thought of Po's past rivalry with stairs. Hao laughed at this and asked "so how did he fall down the stairs the first time!?" At this Tigress remembered back to the time the Panda had fallen down the stairs the first time…

'But a real warrior never quits! Don't worry Master! I will never quit!

"Pow!"

"Ow-Oh-Ow-" (Po falling down the stairs)

"If he's smart he won't come back up those steps."

"But he will..."

"He's not gonna quit, is he?"

"He's not gonna quit bouncing, I can tell ya that."

'I can't believe how mean we were to him...' She thought after reliving this memory. She then said to the Cub "let's just say that Shifu got a little...'Impatient' with him..." Hao just laughed and said "wow! Po must have done something really bad to annoy Shifu!" This only made Tigress feel worse, because in truth Po had not done anything wrong. He hadn't asked to be the Dragon Warrior, or to be misjudged by the Five and Shifu. They had simply deemed him unworthy without giving him a chance. "Well, you could say that..." Tigress responded to her Cub, not wanting to reveal the real reason.

"Wow, I can smell the soup from all the way over here!" Hao exclaimed excitedly. 'If his appetite is this big right now, I can't imagine how much he'll need to eat when he really starts to grow...' Tigress thought skeptically as she imagined how much the Cub would eat in the years to come. "Common Mom! Let's go! It's almost lunch time! And I'm starving!" Tigress just sighed happily and followed her son while shacking her head and thinking 'I stand corrected.' Hao ran over to the noodle shop as quickly as he could, to say he was hungry would be an understatement, he was starving. He arrived at the shop with Tigress close behind, he peeked into the shop and saw many of the seats in the restaurant were taken, the place was busy. Hao and Tigress then walked up to the front of the shop and saw a large Panda bear with a green vest and green pants. He was working in the kitchen stirring a cauldron filled with hot water and many other ingredients. He looked quite a bit older than Po judging by how his black fur looked slightly more gray, he was also a considerable amount larger around the waist than Po. "Excuse me sir, but would you happen to work at this restaurant?" Hao asked politely trying to get the large Panda's attention. "Oh, why hello little one! I most certainly do work here! After all it is called 'Ping & Shan's noodles'." The large Panda kindly said as he emphasized the 'Shan's' part. Hao smiled and said "That's great! Could I please get a bowl of noodle soup?" Li Shan smiled as he said "absolutely! One bowl of noodle soup coming up!" It was then that Li Shan noticed that Master Tigress had been standing right beside the young Tiger Cub. "Oh Master Tigress! I'm sorry I didn't notice you there, is this little guy related to you?" Li Shan said respectfully. Tigress chuckled and replied "well Mr Shan, this is my son Hao Liang." Li stood there dumbstruck "Wait, I didn't know you had a son?" Li asked trying to get an explanation. Tigress just chuckled again as she said "I just recently adopted him from the Bao Gu Orphanage." Li then understood what she meant "ahh! I get it, goodness you had my imagination going wild there!" Tigress laughed at this, ever since she had met Po's other father Li Shan, she always noticed how similar the two were in terms of personality. "Now can I get anything for you Master Tigress?" Li asked nicely. "Perhaps a cup of Jasmine Tea along with a small bowl of spicy noodle soup." She responded. "You got it! One bowl of noodle soup along with a small bowl of spicy noodle soup and a Cup of Jasmine Tea coming up!" Li enthusiastically said. Tigress then said one last thing before she sat down "Mr Shan...Sorry about Po, I tried to convince him to stay but-" "It's alright Tigress, he will come back, I know it." Li said.

"Was that Po's other Dad?" Hao asked as he and Tigress sat down at an open table. Tigress nodded and said "Yes, that is Po's first father, when he was young, Po was separated from his parents along with the rest of the Pandas." She responded with a bit of sadness in her voice. Hao listened to his mother tell him about Po's parents, however he wanted to know why they had been separated from each other so he asked "Mom, how did they get separated?" Tigress didn't really want to reveal this to the Cub, mostly because she believed he was too young to handle the sad story, however she eventually sighed sadly and said "well Hao, I don't believe that Po likes to talk about the subject, and I'm pretty sure I was the only one that he told the story to. But when Po was just a little Cub, probably younger than you, his village was abruptly attacked by an evil warlord named Lord Shen. To protect him, Po's father held off the attackers while Po's mother escaped with him in her arms. However, she wasn't fast enough to completely escape from them and they pursued her and Po until Po's mother made a loving and motherly sacrifice. She hid him inside a box of radishes and then..." Tigress paused in sadness and then continued "And then she led the attackers away from him, but allowing herself to be caught." Tigress was almost on the brink of tears, she had heard this story before from her boyfriend, but recounting it herself had made her feel very depressed and sorrowful. Hao listened to the story and was shocked at how traumatizing Po's childhood was and asked "but he found his Dad again, so isn't everything better now?" Tigress just frowned as she said "Well, yes but...But his mother...She didn't make it..."

"How about some food to cheer up those sad faces!" Li Shan said in a happy manner as he set down to bowls of soup as well as a hot cup of Jasmine tea. This immediately lightened the mood at the table as Hao forgot all about being sad and directed all of his focus to the meal in front of him. "Awesome! Thank you Mr Shan!" Tigress also smiled, though she was more smiling because of her Cub's behavior rather than the food. "Thank you Mr Shan, it looks great as always." Tigress thanked Li kindly as she paid him for the food. Li laughed as he noticed that the Cub had immediately dug into the noodle soup almost as if he had been food deprived for days. "Wow, this kid would even give a Panda a run for their money!" Li joked to Tigress as he chuckled. Tigress smiled and said "I'll bet he would." Li then nodded and said "well you guys enjoy! I have to get back to the customers, you know how they are at this time of day..." Just then Li heard a noisy customer calling to him at the front "Okay! I'm coming! Just wait a second!" Li lastly said to Tigress "don't worry, he will return, he never quits." Tigress sighed as she said "I know..."

During the time in which they ate, many of the residents who had come to the shop to eat noticed Master Tigress was at the shop, and since the Masters of the Jade Palace were very well known in the valley of peace, Tigress got a lot of attention. Many of the younger kids at the restaurant wanted for Tigress to sign many of their belongings as many of them were big fans of the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior. Tigress was used to this, ever since she and the five had won their fist battle against Boar, her along with most of the other Kung Fu masters had become almost like celebrities and would always get a lot of attention from the residents whenever they would come down to the village. She kindly signed the kid's belongings and returned to eating her meal. "Why, Master Tigress! Little Hao! I trust you two are enjoying your meals today?"

Tigress and Hao heard Mr Ping say to them. Hao looked over to Mr Ping who was waddling over to them and said "Absolutely Mr Ping! It's just as good as it was yesterday!" Mr Ping just smiled at the Cub's compliment, he took great pride in his work and wanted to run the shop forever, however with Po being the Dragon Warrior, nobody would inherit the shop any day soon. This Cub seemed to really love his soup though and thinking of this gave Mr Ping an idea. "I'm glad you enjoy it so much Hao, you know I've been running this shop for a long time and I have never seen anyone who likes my soup as much as you do!" Hao looked surprised and replied "really? But your soup is the best thing I've ever tasted!" Mr Ping smiled as he said "yes, and I have a feeling just from looking at you that you could also be an excellent cook!" Hao's eyes shot up as he said "you really think so Mr Ping!?" "Yes Hao, I do think so...I have run this shop ever since I was a little Gosling, and I have never seen anyone so happy and enthusiastic! You may not be a chef right now, but if you are willing to practice and learn then I have no doubt that you would be a prodigy of a chef!" Mr Ping responded trying to boast about the Cub's qualities, in truth Mr Ping really did think these things though he was mostly bragging about the Cub so that he could get Hao to work in the restaurant and help him out. "And You know what Hao? If you'd like, I can teach you to cook if you want to learn how." Hao was delighted to hear this, ever since he had tasted the noddle soup for the first time, he had wanted to know how it was made, and also how many of the other items on the restaurant's menu were made. "You really want to teach me how to cook? That would be awesome!" Mr Ping smiled once again at the Cub's enthusiasm, but then he realized something "I absolutely would, but I believe you should ask your Mother first." Tigress who had been listening to the two talk was taken back by the statement made by the Goose 'how did he know that I'm Hao's new Mom?' She thought to herself. "Mom, can I learn how to be a cook with Mr Ping? I really want to learn how to be a chef!" The Cub asked his adoptive mother almost like he was begging. Tigress just smiled and replied "of course Hao, I just need for you to finish by 4:00 so that we may return to the Palace." At this Hao was thrilled, he shot his arms up in the air as he said "Yay! Thanks Mom! I'll make sure I'm done by 4:00." He then ran into the kitchen and started talking to Li Shan who was busy cooking the meals. Mr Ping and Tigress simply shook their heads while smiling at the Cub's adorable behavior until Tigress said "how did you know?"

"That you're his new adoptive mother? Well, you do know that I adopted Po don't you?" Mr Ping replied. "Yes I know that but, how did you know I was Hao's mother? I don't remember telling you." She responded. Mr Ping smiled as he replied "well, I mostly new because of the way you act towards him compared to other children, you are much more protective and also you tolerate the Cub's antics fairly well. I have to be honest, but raising Po was probably the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life. However, it was also the happiest thing I've ever done in my life. I'm glad to see that you care for him so much, because I tell you there is nothing more satisfying than seeing your child grow up and become who they were meant to be." As Mr Ping said this, he felt great pride in thinking about how his son had become such an excellent person, and although he was slightly disappointed that Po didn't inherit his family business, knowing that his son was now the protector of China filled his heart with pride. "You're right, and he deserves a Mom, he has been trough so much and I am already so proud that he is so enthusiastic and willing to learn new things." Tigress said as she looked over at the Cub who was in the kitchen telling Li Shan how he was now learning to become a chef. "You will be a great Mom to him, just remember to always allow him to follow his passion."

Nearly 4 hours later at the Village square

Tigress was walking back from the Jade Palace after spending the last 2 hours training in the training hall by herself. Having lost Po just the other day, she used training as a means of taking her anger out on something. This wasn't unusual for her, even before Po had come to the Palace and been named the Dragon Warrior she had used training as a way of blowing off steam to control her temper. And today she had been especially angry seeing as how Po had been taken god knows where by some evil maniac who she had no idea who he was. What angered her the most was that all of this had happened on the day of her first official date with the Panda, just when she had expressed her love to the Panda and he had felt the same about her things were beginning to look happy, and then this happened.

Deciding to discard these negative thoughts Tigress focused on getting to the noodle shop and meet Hao there to bring him back to the Jade Palace. She had brought the rest of the Furious Five along with her and they followed closely behind chatting behind her back. "So is Tigress really this kid's Mom now?" Mantis whispered to the others while he rode on Monkey's shoulder so they could hear his voice. Crane responded "It would certainly seem so, she spends a lot of time with the young guy, the last time she spent so much time with a child was Lei Lei, but since most of the other Panda's returned to their village she hasn't really invested much time with many other children other than this Cub." Monkey then added "I have to admit guys, just before lunch time today I was heading over to the kitchen to get some almond cookies and I overheard Tigress talking to the Cub in the training hall. I also saw Master Shifu watching the whole thing! He almost looked like he was in a trance, like he had seen something that he had wanted to for a long time. And then I heard Tigress ask the Cub to call her 'Mother'." The others simply laughed at this, they knew Tigress very well after having been friends for years. And in all the years of knowing the striped feline, they had never heard her act in this way, she wasn't known to be a very motherly person or anything similar to that. "What are you guys laughing at?" Monkey said as he couldn't understand why his comrades were laughing. "Nice one Monkey! You almost had us there!" Mantis joked. "What? You think I'm lying? I heard it happen with my own ears!" Monkey replied slightly frustrated at his friends lack of faith. "It's just that Tigress doesn't say things like that." Mantis replied quietly so that Tigress wouldn't hear him. "I swear that I heard it happen!" Monkey reaffirmed his position.

"I believe him."

"What? Viper! How could you believe that Tigress would say something like that to the Cub?"Mantis said disbelievingly. Viper just had a smug look on her face as she kept slithering on and didn't respond to the insect's question. "Umm Earth to Viper!?" Mantis said as he jumped off Monkeys shoulder and followed Viper. "You heard me Mantis, I said I believe him." Viper responded almost sounding annoyed at the insect's antics.

From up ahead, Tigress was smiling while listening to her friends argue behind her back. In truth, Tigress had heard the whole conversation, what the others didn't realize was how good her hearing was, since she was a Tiger, her senses and reaction time were much better than most other animals. She didn't mind them conversing about the subject since she now really was Hao's mother and didn't care what anyone else thought about the matter.

As they all approached the Noodle Shop they could all smell an excellent fragrance emanating from the kitchen of the shop. "Wow! Whatever that is it smells amazing! Almost as good as Po's noodle soup!" Mantis and monkey said almost in unison. Tigress had a small grin on her face knowing the source of the fragrance. They entered the shop and were immediately greeted by Li Shan who was delivering several large platters to two tables in the restaurant. "Why look who it is! Master Tigress and the rest of the Furious Five! To what do we owe this pleasure?" Li Shan kindly greeted as the masters walked into the restaurant, the rest of the customers noticed the high profile Kung Fu Masters enter the shop and most bowed in respect for the Masters. "The pleasure is all ours Mr Shan! We just came here because of the amazing food as always!" Viper said trying to talk up the quality of the food of the restaurant. The Five were very good friends of Mr Ping and Li Shan, after all, a friend or relative of Po's was a friend of theirs, so they took every opportunity to talk up the restaurant. "Splendid! Take a seat right over there and I shall be with you all in just a second!" Li replied as he continued to serve the tables their meals.

"So Tigress, why did you bring us here?" Crane asked politely as the Five sat down at a large table in a corner of the shop. "I'm glad you asked Crane, I know we were just here yesterday but I believe we should stay here for Mr Ping and Mr Shan, it's the least we can do for them knowing that Po is gone." Tigress said hiding the real reason that they were at the shop. "Thank you all for waiting. Now, what can I do for all of you?" Li Shan said as he stepped up to their table after he had finished serving the other tables. "We'll have the usual Mr Shan." Tigress answered for the rest of the group. "Very well, it'll only take a couple of moments." Li said as he went to the kitchen.

A few minutes latter, Li Shan arrived with a large platter of food for the Five, from several bowls of noodle soup to many other items. "Wow, the food tastes a bit different today, it has a bit more flavor!" Mantis said immediately after taking a sip of his noodle soup. Just then, a very happy voice called out from the kitchen "Mom!" The Five all looked over at the origin of the voice and saw Hao quickly running over to them wearing a white apron over top his training outfit. He ran up to Tigress and hugged her tightly, she hugged him back and said "Hao! How was your time in the kitchen? Did Mr Ping teach you any lessons about cooking?" Tigress said smiling and looking into her son's eyes. "He sure did Mom! In fact I helped him make those meals for you guys!" Watching the interaction Crane and Mantis' jaws hung open as they could not believe what the Cub was calling Tigress 'Mom'. While those two were watching dumbstruck, Viper and Monkey were fighting back the urge to laugh out loud. "Wait, you're his Mom now Tigress!?" Mantis blurted out having been really confused with the situation. "Yes Mantis, if you must know, Hao is now my son." Tigress answered impatient with the Insect's sudden interruption. "Well, I believe that you will make an excellent mother Tigress." Viper complimented her sister. Tigress smiled and nodded at her sister's kindness. "So Hao, did you say that you helped to make our meals?" Monkey asked as he changed the subject. "I sure did! I mostly just helped Mr Ping to get all the ingredients while he taught me the steps but I really learned a lot!" Hao answered pridefully. "Well I must say Hao, it tastes absolutely amazing! You might even give Po a run for his money!" Crane complimented the young Tiger Cub. Hao was flattered by the compliment and he said "you really think so?" "Of course! You have a natural talent for cooking! You should consider it as a career!" Monkey said trying to inflate the Cub's ego even more. "Oh yeah! That reminds me! Mom, Mr Ping asked if I would like to work in the shop from now on! Can I work at the shop with him and Mr Shan?" Hao responded asking his mother for permission. Tigress was very proud to see how happy her new son was and how excited he was to learn more "Of course Hao, if it is truly what you want. However I would like for you to finish everyday by at least 5:00 so that you may come back to the Palace for training." Hao was thrilled to hear his Mom was allowing him to work in the shop everyday, for he had really enjoyed his time today and wanted to learn even more about cooking and preparing meals. "Really! Thanks Mom! I promise to be done every day by 5:00!" Hao excitedly replied as he ran to the kitchen to inform Mr Ping.

Tigress just happily watched her son once again very enthusiastic and excited about being able to follow his passion. "You'll be a great Mother Tigress, I mean just look at him." Viper quietly talked to her sister. "Thanks Viper." Tigress replied while happily watching the Cub's excitement.

A/N: Chapter 13 done! There hasn't been much action in the last 3 chapters so I plan to change that very soon, so stay tuned!

Also on another note, I'm thinking of making a quote at the beginning of each chapter from now on, they can be from anyone, but I only plan to use quotations that have a very good meaning. If you're interested, send me a quotation and I'll include your name as well as the name of the person who's quotation it's from.

As always, Favorite, Follow and

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