Who Am I?

I don't own Kung Fu Panda

If you could be anyone else, who would you be?

The time was back. Back when everything made sense in the world. But all of a sudden it didn't. When the deeper darkness would conceal the treasures and pains of others. Until they couldn't. And the truest evil was easy, and the smallest truth hard. This story, unlike others, is not about one lesson or another idea. This story tells the tale of a curious creature by the name of Momoda.

It was early in the afternoon. The season slowly thawing from its icy grip. The team had just come back to the mountain from one of Po's affairs gone wild. Crane was the first to sigh out of relief. "Those were a lot of bandits. Good job getting them to believe you, Po."

"Yeah, just... never have an idea like that again, okay?" Monkey panted.

"Hehe, sorry guys. I really messed up," Po groaned. He looked at the majestic red palace doors with green encrusted Chinese fan palms. Master Shifu was probably waiting for him inside the Hall of Heroes. The panda gulped. "Hopefully, Shifu isn't too mad at me." He opened them up to see a glaring red panda leaning on his master's staff next to an upright and poised Tigress. "Welp, a panda can dream."

"Po!" Shifu called. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Wait, wait, I can explain. Right guys? Guys?" The poor panda saw none of his comrades behind him. "Of course," Po sighed.

Shifu stretched out his hand. "Hand it over."

"Aw, man. Come on," Po whined. The red panda's glare didn't budge. Po produced from his pocket a bright red stone that had been the start of his whole misadventure. "Look, Master Shifu, I'm really sorry. I just-"

"Po, what you did was reckless and irresponsible," Shifu took a breath after his scolding. "But the threat was neutralized, so there might not be as much damage."

"That's a good thing... right?"

"You're still in trouble, Po."

"Right," Po sighed. Shifu placed the red stone into a box that Master Tigress held. It joined its brother as Tigress closed the lid. "I'm sorry Master Shifu. I just thought it would be a good idea."

"Using the Shift Stones to turn yourself into a boar just so you can get an action figure of Master Ox is not a good idea, Po," Shifu replied.

"But it was a limited edition!"

Shifu groaned, "Master Tigress, could you please put this back in proper storage? Where the panda won't get it."

"Hey! It wasn't entirely my fault. And we managed to get those bandits by surprise."

"Only because they thought you were their leader," Shifu pointed out. Po sighed in defeat. The red panda rubbed the temples of his skull as Tigress left the hall. "Sometimes, I wonder why you do these things."

"I'm sorry, Master Shifu."

"Now if you were like Tigress, I wouldn't have to-"

"Wait, what?" Po's eyes widened and shrank back down into a narrowed stare. "You're seriously comparing me to Tigress?"

"What's the matter with that?"

Po puffed out his chest a bit. "What's so wrong with me that you think being like Tigress is going to fix everything?"

"She doesn't do the things you do," Shifu replied.

"So just because she's your little miss perfect student, I should be exactly like her?"

"It wouldn't hurt."

"Yeah, it would!" Po remarked. "Because being me is what took down Tai Lung, Shen, Kai, and every other bandit in the valley." He crossed his big plushy arms with a scowl. "I thought you finally accepted me for who I am, Shifu."

"Po, I... I didn't mean you being you is always a problem. It's just... the way you are sometimes-"

"What is wrong with the way I am?"

"Okay, that came out wrong."

"No, no, I get it," Po grumbled. "Tigress plays by the rules and does everything you want like a good little student. With no emotion and no fun. Just like you want. I get it. She's just the perfect image of you and that's what you want me to do. Is that right?"

"No, no, Po. It's just... I can't understand your motives sometimes."

"Maybe you wouldn't have such a problem if you tried to understand me more."

Shifu froze. Words left his mouth and now he found no way to make more. The grandmaster sighed, bowing his head and turning away from the panda's glare. "Hm... perhaps there's some wisdom in that."

Po turned his back. A couple of moments later, Tigress came back from her quest to the storage room. "The... the Shift Stones are back in their place, Master Shifu," She bowed.

"Um... thank you, Master Tigress," Shifu awkwardly replied. An icy silence stained the hall. "Po, I-"

"You know what," Po stopped him. "Tigress, why don't we spar?"

Tigress simply blinked. "Why?"

"Might as well learn to be the student Shifu wants me to be from the best actalike."

Shifu and Tigress looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "You mean... Acolyte?"

"Ummmmmm... I don't know, I'm just mad at you." Po huffed and marched out the doors. "Come on, Tigress."

Tigress silently walked after Po's huff. The panda's annoyed glare stayed with him over the stairs and the courtyard. His feet stomped into the dirt and stone steps, but his glower forward never changed. He gritted his teeth as he complained, even when he finally made it to the Training Hall. "He's always on my tail for not doing things the way he wants me to."

"Po?"

"Maybe his way isn't the best way?! Has he ever thought of that?"

"Po."

"Argh! Sure, I make mistakes. I know that, but that doesn't mean I-"

"Po!"

"Dahh!" Po snapped his neck over to Tigress. "Oh, what?"

"Po, you've been muttering to yourself this whole time. What is it?"

The panda shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's spar."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Po said hastily. But he wasn't prepared. The panda roundhoused the tiger, but Tigress caught it and smashed her fist into his pudgy form. "Ah!" The panda rolled back, dodging a stomp from the tiger's foot. "Okay, here I Ahh!" Tigress jumped over Po and kicked him in the butt. The panda flopped face-first onto the sandy floor. "Ah! Watch it." Po rolled back up and charged again. Tigress easily blocked his flurry of punches. She caught his hand, drug it down beside her, and swept his stance from underneath him. He fell again, groaning, "Ugh! Tigress, can't you go a little easy on me? I'm not in the right headspace."

"That was easy. You can usually block those," Tigress said. She squatted to Po's forlorn height. "Po, what's wrong?"

"Well, right now, I'm getting my butt soundly kicked on easy mode."

"Hmm, unfortunately, that's not unusual for you," Tigress smirked.

"Oh, so you're another critic about who I am?" Po fussed.

Tigress's smirk disappeared. "Po, what happened between you and Master Shifu?"

Po sighed. He rolled onto his rear and crossed his arms as he looked away from the tiger's gaze. His foot fidgeted a bit. He always did so when he looked at her. Tigress had a funny way of instilling an anxious bubbling in his muscles. Looking away was the only thing he could do to stave it off.

Or just stall.

"Po, what happened?" Tigress asked.

Po sighed again, "It's just... Shifu doesn't like the way I do things. And he said he sometimes wishes I was like you."

"Me." She echoed with no infliction in her voice.

"Yeah! Like, I get it. Using the Shift Stones to get an action figure wasn't the best idea. But in my defense, it would've worked if I just didn't pick a guy that the bandits were familiar with. Anyway, who told him that-"

"I did," Tigress said.

"What?! Why?"

"Because... it was the responsible thing to do," Tigress said matter-of-factly. "Once I learned about your whole plan, I sent the Furious Five to make sure that you didn't get in over your head."

"Tigress! I told you that plan in secret!" Po exclaimed with a huff. "Hmph. Now I have to be careful with telling you secrets."

Tigress gave a small smile. "I'm sorry, Po. But if I didn't tell anyone, you probably would've met a short life."

"Well... I can't argue with that," Po relented. "Still, it's not fair for Shifu to be upset with me just because I'm not his model student."

"You're... referring to... me?" Tigress asked. Po nodded. He watched the tiger brace her face like she swallowed something hard to eat. Pride? A memory? Po wasn't sure. Before he could ask, the tiger took a slow breath as she helped Po up to his feet. "Po, have you ever thought that Master Shifu is frustrated with you because he's still trying to understand who you are?"

"I don't even know who I am half the time," Po remarked.

"Exactly," Tigress replied. "Imagine trying to understand someone who themselves is trying to understand themselves."

"Ugh, the sound of it makes my head hurt," Po muttered with a small laugh. Tigress smiled warmly. "But I kinda get what you mean. I'm not the most... predictable person in the world."

"Nor should you be," Tigress replied, resting her hand on his shoulder. "Understanding yourself is the first step; helping others understand you is the next. It takes a while to know and fully understand someone, Po. And Master Shifu isn't... the most... he doesn't always understand," Tigress finished. Po tilted his head a bit. It wasn't often that Tigress had a problem with her words. The hesitations were new.

"I guess I shouldn't be one to talk though," Po said. "I barely know or understand you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean... come on, Tigress. You're not the most open book in the library."

"The... library?"

"Okay, maybe the metaphor doesn't make sense," Po chuckled, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "But I get it. It takes a lot on both ends to understand someone. And knowing Master Shifu, he's not always the best at saying things. If Tai Lung is any example."

"Po."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Po said after the tiger's stern growl. "But you're right. I should apologize. Thanks, Tigress." The tiger nodded and watched the panda walk out of the Training Hall. Po went back to Master Shifu's room. It was sectioned off on the side of the Hall of Heroes. Going inside, Po saw the red panda fretfully pacing back and forth in his minimalist room, muttering to himself.

"Po, I... I'm sorry that I... no, no, that's too vague. Po, you have to understand that... no, no that's too many excuses."

"Wow," Po said, breaking the red panda's thoughts, "I didn't realize that you put this much effort into apologies."

"It... pays to get your words right."

"Well, the longer you think about it, the worse it's going to be. Trust me, I should know," Po smiled grandly.

Shifu smiled back, but only for a moment. "Po, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I-"

"It's okay. Tigress helped me understand what you were trying to say. I get it. It takes a bit of work to understand who I am and how I work. I guess I'm also trying to figure you out, too."

"As am I, Po. As am I," Shifu smiled. "But I am sorry for what I said. And that I've caused you harm."

"It's okay. You were right. That whole thing was stupid," Po sighed, scratching his face a bit. "How about some food? I'm starved."

"Hm, of course," Shifu smiled.

Over the next few days, the two worked a bit on learning each other and communicating themselves more clearly. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start.

But as moons and suns passed in a couple of days, a new problem emerged. A small family of bunnies under the cover of night walked down the southern streets of the village. This was one of the worst parts of town. It was also the quickest way home. They snuck down one of the smaller alleyways, trying to get to the main street where they thought it would be safe. They hoped that this would be a shortcut. "We'll be there in a few moments honey," said the male bunny to his wife. The wife bunny clutched her child to her chest, hoping to the universe that no bandits came out tonight.

But it wasn't so. A loud jarring crunch rang out into the darkness. Smacks after smacks echoed from a small tavern. It was at the end of the alleyway across from them on the narrow main street. They were hoping to pass without any incident. They tried to move on, but suddenly large burly bandits flew out of the tavern doors and crashed right in front of them, blocking the way.

"Hey, you! AHHH!" came a choked sound from inside. Several men were tossed out like the kitchen salad.

Then it came out. The bunny family held each other together as their child cried into the night. "Shhhh! You're gonna get us noticed!"

"I can't help it! It's the baby!"

The baby screamed and screamed as the tall cloaked creature approached them. The bunnies cowered and trembled. The husband tried shielding his family while the wife clutched her screaming baby.

But the creature bent down. It was hard to tell what was in that cloak. It looked at them. The husband bunny could see its piercing red eyes. His heart pumped louder than the baby's cry.

But then they heard something.

Little bunny, sleeping in a tiny little meadow.

Hush, hush, sleep, sleep, in its little burrow.

Sleepy, sleepy, tip-toe under little sleeping tree.

Hush, hush, sleep, sleep, little baby.

The couple stood in shock as their baby actually quieted down to a small coo. The creature's melodious singing calmed it down.

"Mmm, cute little family," the creature said, patting the husband on the head. The husband blinked. Her voice sounded so heavy and alluring yet wild, like a lullaby that could yell at any moment, dangerous yet good. "Hope those guys didn't hurt you."

"N-n-n-no."

"Good." The creature pushed the pile of groaning bandits aside and let the bunny family through the narrow street. "Off you go. And stay safe. There are some weird people around here."

"Uhhh yes, yes," said the husband bunny. "Excuse me, s-s-sir?"

"Ma'am," corrected the creature.

"Oh! Uhhh, ma'am. Why did you-"

"Oh, those guys?" The creature scoffed. "They were on my nerves. Telling me how I shouldn't be out alone without a big strong man to keep me company. One grabby hand on my hip later and... well you know the rest," She said, pointing to the pile. "That's what they get for calling me a doll."

"Ta ta," said the baby. The little bunny baby reached out its paw in a happy coo. The creature bent down and played with the baby's adventurous hand. It gripped the creature tightly, making the creature laugh.

"Strong grip. You might give me a run for my money one day," said the creature. "Stay safe." Then it stood up, jumped onto the rooftop, and disappeared into the light of the waxing moon.

The bunny family stood shocked and still as their baby simply rolled over in their arms and fell asleep.

Continued...