Hey Tigress

"So you guys didn't find her at all?" Po asked in the early morning.

Crane shook his head, sighing, "I'm starting to think she's just playing with us again. But why?"

Po shrugged. "Who knows."

"You said that Master Shifu ran into her during his patrol?" Crane asked as they walked toward the Training Hall. "What was that like?"

"He seems to like her now," Po smiled temporarily, "Though I can't say the same for Tigress."

"Hmm, it's strange. I mean, I figured that she'd dislike Momoda but not this stubbornly," Crane said. He chuckled and slapped his head with his wing. "What am I talking about? We should know her by now. She's probably more determined than Shifu."

"Still, I don't know if we really know her," Po said.

"What do you mean?" The panda looked at Crane for a while. He said nothing; just stared for a moment or two before shaking his head and smiling.

"Never mind. How are you and Min?"

"She's uh... really something else," Crane smiled nervously. "We're going steady for now."

"Hehe, I'm really glad for you, Crane," Po said, patting the bird on the back. "Why don't you go? I'm gonna train for a bit."

Crane stopped in his tracks. His eyes fell on Po like a vulture on prey. "You're gonna try and talk with Tigress, aren't you?"

"Whaaaat? I mean, I always talk with Tigress. Why would this be-"

"Po, you know what I mean."

Po sighed, "It doesn't make sense for her to be upset. I just... need to know the reason."

Crane sighed back and tipped his hat. "Very well, but I'm not digging your grave for you."

"Knew I could count on you, Crane," Po smiled. Crane took to the air and left the panda. The opening of the Training Hall doors gave way to the loud clatter of metal equipment and shouts of a raging tiger.

Po didn't move much before Tigress turned around and saw him. She glared and growled before starting back to her training. Every punch and kick she made with the dummy was another shockwave of restrained rage.

Po sighed from the sidelines. This wasn't getting him anywhere. "Tigress, could I... talk with you?"

"I don't want to talk," Came the gruff answer.

"O... kay, why?"

"Because I don't want to," Tigress grunted.

Po rolled his eyes. "Tigress, seriously. Why are you upset with me?" Tigress jumped and flipped straight out of the pit and landed a few feet from Po, turning to face him. "Whoa."

"Fine, I don't like what you're doing to Shifu."

"And... what am I-"

"About Momoda," Tigress curtly clarified.

"Wh-What?"

"You insisting that Momoda is a good person has shaken the entire team... even him."

"I thought you were okay with that."

"But not like this. And I don't like how she's using you to do this. Why do you like her so much?"

"I... I..." Po gave a great sigh, shutting his eyes. He straightened his back and stared at her. His shoulders sagged and his eyes seemed tired. Tigress tilted her head slightly. Why was he tired all of a sudden? "What do you think about Momoda?"

"What do I think?" Tigress repeated, crossing her arms. "I think she's a coward, hiding in the shadows and causing unnecessary damage. She needs to be brought to justice or at the very least pay for her crimes."

"What crimes?"

"Disorderly conduct, Bar fights, evading Kung Fu masters? Need I go on?"

"But you said that-"

"I said that in order to catch her we need to be smart, not befriend the enemy. And I was thinking of seeing her as you do, but Master Shifu... corrected me for that," Tigress growled, "And now you're changing him at a critical moment. Like what she did to him was nothing? Shifu was right. We have to stop her."

"Tigress," Po groaned. "She's going-"

"Whatever her personal situation, that's no excuse for what she's doing. She's a criminal. And nothing you say will convince me otherwise."

Po took a moment in silence. He stared completely still at the tiger. Tigress's eyes couldn't be shaken, but the simple fact that Po wasn't quivering or shaking in nervous fear like usual was strange. In fact, ever since Po began investigating Momoda, the panda did a lot of things that made no sense. Had his fights with Momoda made him more confident?

Then Po threw his hands up. "You're right."

"Po I-" Tigress stopped, widening her eyes. "Wha-what?"

"You're right. Maybe she's just a low-life villain with nothing better to do than run away from us."

"Wh... why the change?" Tigress asked. Po shrugged. She narrowed her eyes. "You don't give up on people that easily, Po. Why are you agreeing with me?"

"Because you're smarter, more cautious, and frankly less likely to be duped than me. Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just dumb to think that any coward and fraud like her could change... or like me."

Tigress's eyes stayed wide, but her ears drooped. "Po, I didn't mean that you're not likable."

Po gave a small smile, "Still, you're not fooled by a woman's charm and stuff like that. I am." He sighed, "It was nice while it lasted, though. Being liked back like that."

"Po I-"

"I'll get over it Tigress. But you're right. A coward like her needs to be stopped."

She straightened herself, folding her hands behind her back much like Shifu would. "Well, I... I'm glad you see it my way."

Giving a brief smile, Po turned away and left Tigress in the Training Hall, a little confused and dazed. Meanwhile, Po nervously tapped his fingers as he swiftly walked down the steps.

Day and night passed by several times. Momoda was nowhere to be seen. The Furious Five had stopped their nightly patrols but Po still ventured around the sleeping streets. Surprisingly, the Furious Five were the first to notice one important difference over the days. Tigress wasn't training as much. "Why?" Crane had asked.

The tiger answered in a dull emotionless tone. "I'm hitting another barrier. I need to talk with Master Shifu."

Though strange, it wasn't unusual that Tigress would finally reach a peak. So the others didn't press the issue.

Po walked the nightly patrols. Sometimes he would talk with some villagers, other times he would be alone. The streets were barren. Of course, they were barren to Po who was specifically looking for a female tiger prowling about. But she wasn't there.

Until one night.

Po strolled down the moonlit street, looking at all the dark shadows and shapes in the village. He sighed, "I wonder where she is. It's been so long since I've seen her." He looked at the rooftops. None of them had a bright vibrant tiger perched on them. Po sighed again. "Ugh, what am I gonna do?"

"Looking for me?" came a voice. Po lifted his head and spun to a dark alley; the village has a lot of dark alleys. He couldn't see much in the darkness, but he could see two piercing red eyes staring back at him.

"Momoda!" Po smiled widely. The tiger strolled out of the shadows. She snarled at him, glaring at his form. "Oh great, you're mad too. Why?"

"Hmph," Momoda grunted and jumped onto the rooftop.

"Wait, wait, what's wrong?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because you really don't want to be upset with me, but your pride won't let you admit that."

"Don't act like you know me so well!" Momoda shouted.

"Am I wrong?" Po smiled knowingly. The tiger's eyes hardened. She faced him.

"What do you want?"

"Why are you upset with me?"

"Word on the street is that you've been lying to me."

"How?"

"I was under the impression that you actually liked me. That you actually cared about me. But now... now I know that all of that was a lie," Momoda snarled.

Po jerked his head back. "Where did you hear that? How did you hear that?"

"Word travels fast."

"Not that fast."

"You'd be surprised how easy it is to hear what goes on in the Jade Palace, panda," She growled.

"Ooooo I'm down to the P-word," Po sighed. "You really are angry."

"What gave it away?"

"Well, could you come down? I really want to talk to you."

"Don't you want to talk to someone more... civilized?"

"I... no... not... I mean... is there really a civil person here?" Po joked.

"Hm," Momoda jumped from the roof and stood next to him.

"Come on," Po waved her on. The tiger reluctantly followed the panda down an alley. They traveled on, turning a left here and a right here. Longer and longer it went on until they reached the edge of the village. They walked up over to a hill that looked over the entire village from a distance.

"Why are you bringing me here?"

"So we don't get jumped by another suspicious person," Po smiled.

"Hmph," Momoda grunted.

They silently stared at each other. The tiger held her hands on her hips, leaning on her left leg. Po took a steady deep breath to calm his nerves. "Who are you?"

"A tiger."

"I mean... who are you really?"

"I'm a magical dragon that came from the northern mountain on the Yellow River," Momoda smirked mockingly.

Po sighed, "You know what I mean."

"Actually, I don't. In fact, I don't think I truly know who you are."

"Hehe, join the club."

"What was that tubby face?"

"Okay, that was just rude," Po remarked. Momoda was silent. "I just... I just want to know... who are you?"

Momoda shut her eyes. She shook her head as she looked away. "It doesn't matter," Momoda said. "People will always think I'm someone I'm not."

She turned away to leave but Po stopped her, saying, "Join the club."

"What?"

"I've been trying to figure out who I am and... how I feel about you," Po blushed a bit. "You're not a bad person. You just want something that you're not gonna get by doing what you're doing." Momoda rose her eyebrow. "Yeah, that was weirdly worded."

"What you're trying to say is?"

"You're not a criminal. You're just a failure trying to learn from her mistakes."

"Excuse me?!" The tiger growled.

"It's a metaphor!"

"Didn't sound like it!"

Po gulped, "What I mean to say is... maybe I can help you with your burden of expectations?"

Momoda glared, "You don't know anything about me or who I am."

"I know you don't want to be who you are. I think you're trying to be someone you're not for someone else. Even if you truly wanted that, you wouldn't like it."

"Why?" Momoda asked more for herself than for Po. She stared at the ground, crossing her arms. She only lifted her head when Po gently brought her chin up with his hand, smiling.

"Because it isn't you. You need to be you in order to enjoy yourself. You can't be anyone else. Only you."

"Heh, ha, hahahahahahahahaha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Momoda laughed. She covered her eyes, shaking as she giggled. Those giggles changed as water leaked from her eyes. Her smile flipped.

She cried.

Her tears crashed to the earth, and her breathing hitched. Her knees gave out. Crashing to the ground, she cried harder, louder. She hugged herself, but it couldn't remove the loneliness that encircled her.

She was alone.

Just for a moment.

Soon warm gentle arms wrapped around her. She instinctively rested her head on a furry soft chest, warm and beating.

She felt warm.

Safe.

Home.

"Thank you... Po," Momoda whispered.

Po pulled her head up and smiled. "You're welcome." He kissed her. Momoda's eyes widened out of their sockets, but she couldn't respond fast enough. Po pulled away, blushing brightly. "I'm sorry I just... uh..." For some reason, Po went for another kiss.

But this time, Momoda immediately kissed back. She caressed his face, sighing as her lips danced with his. Her eyes fluttered shut because she didn't need to see, only feel. It was like sweet singing that they could feel in their bones.

Chuffing happily, the tiger smiled, pulling her lips away. "I love you, you silly panda. I hope you got that."

"I got that, but... uh... I kinda wanted to say it to Tigress."

"You... you love her, too?" She seemed surprised but happy.

"Yeah, but it's easy to love her and you since you're the same person."

Momoda jumped up to her feet and out of his arms. "Wh-What are you talking about?"

Po smiled shyly, "That night you were with Shifu, I never left the village. I snuck back to the palace and looked in Tigress's room. And she wasn't there. So she lied about being there all night. I also looked at some of the scrolls that Tigress read; things like how to temporarily increase your strength tenfold or duplication Kung fu. The kind of Kung Fu that would definitely oneshot Master Shifu. You know, the more demanding Kung Fu that would take a toll on a person's body? That would explain Tigress's tiredness, the fact she used her claws during your fight, her panting when you just appeared, her stiffness when she climbs the stairs, and the fact she eats double what she normally eats. But I couldn't figure out how you were able to change your appearance with that kind of Kung fu since they all have a time limit."

The panda smirked a bit, "But the Shift Stones don't have a time limit. And I figured out that one of them was fake when I noticed the paint dust coming off of my hands. So I know how she did it, but I couldn't figure out why. So I asked the villagers how Tigress was when she was growing up. Some of the older ones told me that she was always the shining pinnacle of a good student, but she seemed like she had a lot of pressure on her. Just like you. Shifu also told me what you two talked about. There were just too many similarities. And I knew something was off when you knew things that only Tigress would know. Like when I 'gave up' on you in front of Tigress."

Po stared at Momoda's shocked, slack-jawed face. "Sooooooo, hey Tigress," Po smiled shyly.

Momoda stared on. For a full minute, she said nothing. But then, she sighed. Before Po's eyes, Momoda changed into a bright red light. A familiar tiger stood before him. "Hey, Po," She sighed with a small smile.

Continued...

A/n: I honestly don't know if I managed to keep you guys guessing with this so... did you know who Momoda was?