Chapter 8: Revealing Fears

Tigress looked at the dummies as she hit them with such force. They turned to splinters under her touch. She could tell Monkey, Crane, and Mantis staring at her without her knowing. Even Viper gave her a few glances. They were all thinking the same thing. The almighty hardcore Kung Fu Master Tigress just got her butt kicked by a mere beginner.

It all seemed like a crazy dream when she was sparring with Star. It was like no matter what move she did Star saw it coming and blocked and used an attack of her own. So much for not knowing anything about Kung Fu, was Star playing her? No, she was Po's sister and Tigress noticed Star wasn't doing any Kung Fu moves at least any that she was familiar with. Star did punch block and kick those other moves she did must have been on instinct. After all she was the Dragon Guardian. It made sense that she would be a skilled fighter.

Po, the Dragon Warrior did not defeat Tigress on the first day and she didn't go easy on him either. She went above hard and really wanted to hurt him. Not enough to kill him but enough so he would know he wasn't welcomed here and that he should leave. Tigress felt ashamed of the way she treated Po on his first day and every day after till he defeated Tai-Lung. Was this some sort of karma thing? Since she treated Po badly at first and now his little sister, a girl who knows nothing of Kung Fu easily kicked her ass? Tigress began to think so and wasn't angry at Star for the young panther didn't want to be the Dragon Guardian. The only reason she was even here was to protect her brother and her home. Something she and Tigress had in common.

Star was meditating under the Peach Tree feeling extremely guilty. Ever since she could remember Po always talked about what a great fighter Master Tigress was. Star had seen firsthand how tough she was and what a good fighter she was. Still she defeated Tigress so easily and Master Shifu as well. How on China did she pull that off? When she and Po were kids they fought bullies off and could that be where her skills came from. Still simple punching, blocking, and kicking could not be enough to defeat Shifu or Tigress. Star thought she got lucky but she knew that wasn't it. Was it because she was really the Dragon Guardian? Star could always notice things about people and remembered them as well. She watched the Five fight lots of time so maybe she just remembered their moves and was able to defeat Tigress. She hoped Tigress wasn't angry at her. She knew how disappointed she was from being deprived of being the Dragon Warrior.

The way she treated Po made Star's blood boil but she wasn't the type to hold a grudge. It happened in the past so Star was letting it go. She could only imagine how angry Tigress must feel now. Being the Dragon Guardian must have been a great deal for Tigress wanting to be Po's equal and be an unstoppable force against evil. Shoot even Star thought it would be Tigress. Taking the title of Dragon Guardian and beating her in a sparring match on her first day would make anyone angry. And one thing Star did not want was to make Tigress's into her enemy.

"Star you okay?" Po asked opening an eye lid.

"I am just worried that Tigress may not like me because I beat her and took the title of Dragon Guardian from her," Star said with her eyes closed.

"Trust me Star Tigress is not the kind to hold a grudge. And first off you didn't take anything Oogway chose you to be the Dragon Guardian remember. Yeah you beat her in one spar match it took me a few times to actually beat her and she accepted that. She is not going to hate you because of one spar. She has a temper but believe me she is a loyal person and she will have your back," Po assured her. Star was still a bit uncertain. "In fact I will talk to her for you and assure you everything between you and Tigress is cool," he said smiling.

"Thanks bro," Star said smiling back and returned to her meditation.

Later that night after dinner Tigress was in Po's room playing checkers. Tigress went first like Po promised and she was having a good time. But the thought of her losing her touch kept bugging her. Would Po see her as weak and want a stronger girlfriend? What if he was in deep trouble and she could not save him? That was an old fear for Tigress. When Po got blasted away by Shen's cannon Tigress thought she had failed him. What if that happened again and Po did die?

Tigress was feeling so sad and wondered what she should do. "Hey Kitten, you okay you are awfully quiet. Anything you want to talk about?" Po asked as he moved his checker piece.

"It is nothing," Tigress muttered.

"You aren't mad because Star beat you in a spar are you?" Po asked in a gentle tone.

Tigress looked away and said," Of course not Star did a good job for a beginner".

"She thinks you might hate her for winning and being chosen as the Dragon Guardian," Po said moving another piece.

"Well I am not so you can tell her that or I will do it tomorrow. I am not angry towards Star, she is doing her best to be the Dragon Guardian I cannot hate her for that," Tigress said moving a piece.

"Ti, if you are upset over anything you can tell me," Po said trying to look at her. Tigress tried to look away for if she looked into his jade orbs she would break into tears. Po knew Tigress felt bad for she was known for being hardcore and undefeatable. Losing to Star so easily was a blow to Tigress. Still Po knew he had to get Tigress to reveal to him how she felt. And he knew only one way on how to do it.

"Tigress, I need to tell you something. Remember all those times I was asked to read those scrolls but I never did because I said they were boring," Po began getting nervous.

Tigress looked at him unsure as to where this was going but said," Yes, I remember".

"Well Ti, there was another reason why I never finished those scrolls. I-I have trouble reading. I can read a little but some words I could not pronounce and I didn't understand their meaning. Whenever I tried my brain would hurt and my mind would wander," Po explained not looking up at her."Star had to help me a lot with my reading if it wasn't' for her I never would have finished school," Po said fighting tears. Now he felt ashamed but he had to tell Tigress that everyone was good and bad at something sometimes.

Tigress couldn't believe it, Po had trouble reading. It all made sense now and she wondered why he never told them before. "Why didn't you ever tell us?" she asked him.

"I worked so hard to earn your and everyone else's respect I was scared if I told you. I would lose it and you wouldn't love me anymore," Po said looking away as a tear fell from his face.

"I was afraid you wouldn't love me if I wasn't a strong fighter anymore," Tigress said putting his head in her paws. Staring into his eyes as tears fell from her face.

"I will always love you Kitten I don't care how strong or how well you fight," Po said smiling.

"And I don't care how well you can read I still love you," Tigress said. Then they kissed each other knowing that they both accepted and still loved each other despite their weak qualities.

The next day everyone was in the training hall. Star and Tigress were friends and Po was happy to hear that. "Today students we again will try something new. Po and Star step forward," Shifu said. They did and Shifu spoke," I have seen how you both fight separately now I want to see how you two fight as a team".

"Okay Master who are we fighting?" Po asked.

Shifu gave him a sly look and said," The Furious Five". Po and Star looked at each other but soon smiled and got ready to fight the Five. The Five stood before them and Shifu looked at both sides and shouted", Begin".

Author's Note: Sorry to leave you hanging. In the next chapter will be the fight scene and who the bad guys are. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review.