And Mako gives Shifu fatherly advice about being a good father and Shifu needs to hear it from Mako's perspective.

Chapter 19: Father-to-Father Discussion

After Mako left the palace, Po and Viper were completely unaware that Shifu had overheard this arrangement and he was a little surprised that there will be a no-holds barred kind of thing that he'll never back down when it comes to Tigress and as soon as Po and Viper walked back to the Hall of Heroes, Shifu walked down towards the steps to catch up with Mako and soon as he did, he clears his throat, which caught Mako's attention immediately and he turned around to see Shifu standing there and he said, "Good morning, Shifu."

"Morning, Mako." Shifu replied.

"I told Po and Viper to tell you about me helping Tigress and I'm hoping that I can help her out." Mako stated.

"I've overheard everything, Mako." Shifu stated.

Mako was surprised to realize that Shifu had overheard everything he mentioned and asked, "How much did you hear?"

"Everything, Mako. I do have a sense of hearing everything, as you can tell." Shifu replied, lowering his ears.

"I was hoping we could discuss it." Mako added.

Shifu sighed heavily at this and he looked at Mako in the eye and said, "Listen...as much as I would accept your position, Tigress doesn't take very brutal honesty well. Sometimes, she wouldn't accept everything someone else would want to hear, even if it is the truth."

"I know. The truth hurts...but someone has to be very honest. As a father, you do have to be 100% honest to your kids and sometimes, you might not get the reaction you would want from them and they'd get mad and defend themselves from whatever you just said, but the truth is the truth. They might not understand it when they're young, but when they get older, they'll understand." Mako added.

"I understand. I'm just worried about how she'll take it." Shifu stated.

"I can handle it. I've handled my own kids with that same experience and this one will be no different. Those with pride will have their downfall soon and you don't want that for Tigress, don't you?" Mako asked.

It really made Shifu stop and think for a second and realize that Tigress' warrior pride has always been a source of many problems; both personally and professionally in terms of dealing with people and the world althogether and her attitude towards other people has gotten gradually worse and Shifu feels a lot of guilt for passing on that same cold attitude towards her and he wished that he would've given her all the love and support that a normal father would give to his own daughter, but the effects of Tai Lung completely placed his heart in bitterness and pride and he would deeply regret it if he didn't make it right this time.

He lets out a deep sigh and looked at Mako and said, "Come with me."

Minutes later, Shifu took Mako inside his room and as they both sat down on the floor, he said, "You're aware of Tai Lung, right?"

"Yeah. The same person that killed my brother and sister-in law 16 years ago." Mako replied, with a sigh.

"See, I took him in as my own son when he was a baby cub and I had gotten used to being a father and I taught him kung-fu and everything that went along with it. On the day that he was gonna be Dragon Warrior, Oogway made a premonition that there would be darkness in his heart and I was torn...between listening to my master or giving Tai Lung what he had worked so hard for. Evidently, I sided with Oogway and that caused Tai Lung to get angry and wreaked havoc on the entire town and when he came back, I had to stop this...but when I looked at that little boy I raised, how could I? In the end, Tai Lung was sent to prison after Oogway subdued him and I have never gotten over that ever since. I replaced love with bitterness and resentment. I had taken Tigress in prior to the events that occurred and she did excellent with her strength, but what I failed to provide was love, compassion and support. And I was glad that she never turned out like Tai Lung, but I couldn't bring myself to repair the mistakes that I had made on her. It's always been my fault that she is in her current state and that if there was anything I would've done to stop it, I would've. Now...there's nothing I can do about it and it's too late." Shifu explained.

Mako sat there a little motionless, but he could completely understand what it's like to struggle as a parent and coping with a loss of one child is like and he said, "I understand how you feel. As a father, you always ask yourself, 'Am I doing a good job as a father?' And to be honest, it's always been on the back of my mind like what if I fail one of my own children or if one turns out all right and the other one wouldn't. No one ever really knows. When I adopted my first child, I sometimes question myself if I'm ever gonna get this right and doubt myself at times because I'm always afraid of making mistakes. I'll admit that I have made my fair share of mistakes myself, but my father told me that there's no right or wrong answer, nor do you have to be a perfect parent. You just do the best you can for your child. The same applies for both my adopted kids and my biological kids and all you have to do is give them a little support, encouragement, have a little faith and hope that one day...they'll turn out well."

It was like a huge light bulb popped into Shifu's mind that those answers that Mako gave out really spoke to him and he was silent for a minute and lowered his head down in deep shame that he felt like he failed Tigress all those years as a father and treated her more like a student than a daughter, despite the fact that she is a student. But the one thing that stood out was Mako's saying, 'do the best you can for your child' was something Shifu had lacked over the years.

"Shifu...it's never too late. You know, time is very short and you have to enjoy the time you have with Tigress because someday, she might not be here anymore. Don't let fear or anything else hold you back from the love you have for your daughter. And it doesn't have to be kung-fu. It can be just as simple as normal father-daughter stuff. But you have to want to do it. Just show her how much you care, that you really love her." Mako stated.

"Do you think it's possible?" asked Shifu.

"I know it'll be possible. It just starts with you. Are you willing to do whatever you can for your daughter?" asked Mako.

Shifu was pretty nervous about that question, but he knew that there will be a time where Tigress may not be around anymore and he's willing to do whatever he can to make it worth it and with Mako's encouragement, it gave him the tools he'll need to repair his relationship with his daughter and he replied, "Yes."

Mako wanted to make sure he meant it and he pulls out his hand for a handshake and Shifu was intent to give one, but Mako quickly rose his hand away from Shifu and said, in a serious tone, "Don't shake my hand unless you mean it."

Shifu looked at Mako's serious face and he knew that he was gonna take his word for it and he lets out a deep exhale and shook Mako's hand with a firm, strong grip and that stands to reason that Shifu did mean it and Mako said, "All right then."

Mako stands up and Shifu said, "You have my permission to talk to Tigress."

"Thank you, Shifu." Mako said, before leaving the room.

As Mako left, Shifu felt like he's been giving a second chance and he hopes that he will not waste that second chance soon and the talk between the fathers really helped him to become a better father and a master at the same time. He just needs to find a balance and make sure that Tigress knows that he is truly proud of her.

From one adopted father to another...let's hope everything Mako tells Shifu will impact him.