No Fear


The window gave no hope of snatching his mind from the mind-prickling issue. He grumbled under his breath as the blank page stared back at him.

"What are you looking at?" asked the page.

But pages don't talk. Po looked over to his bedroom door and found a small bug at its entrance. "Oh, hey, Mantis," The panda said. "What's up?"

"That's what I was gonna ask you," The bug replied. Po's shoulders sagged with the weights coming from his loaded mind. He took a long breath and sang with a death-like groan.

"I'm... writing a letter to my ex."

Mantis' small eyes would've become dinner plates if they were any larger. He jumped onto the desk. "You have an ex!?"

Po rose his eyebrow. "Why are you so surprised?"

"It's just... you're you."

"HEY!"

"I mean that in a good way," Mantis said, throwing his claws up.

"What's going on in here?" Said another voice at the door. Bear and bug turned to their tiger friend. Po grumbled as Mantis jumped off of the desk to the ground.

"Po's trying to write to an ex-girlfriend of his," Mantis rattled off.

Tigress's eyes grew large only to shrink down. She stared at Po. "You had a... girlfriend?"

"Why is that so surprising?"

"Because... well, it's... you."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Po exclaimed, "You guys don't think that I can have a girlfriend?"

"Well not really but-"

"What Mantis means to say is that we wouldn't expect you to have a girlfriend since... you've never mentioned having an interest in anyone, "Tigress clarified. "That and... I'm surprised that you have an ex."

"Why?"

"Who would break up with you?" Mantis asked.

Po couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. "She wanted a different life than the one I could provide at the time."

Tigress's face hardened, "She left you because you were the son of a cook?"

"No, she didn't feel like settling down, and back then I was... the point is that we weren't meant for each other. I realize that now," Po said solemnly.

"So why are you writing to her?" Mantis asked.

Po sighed, "Master Shifu needs a rendezvous point and she lives near the area that he's looking at. So... since I need to stay low key for that mission, I was... hoping to try and stay with her for a night and-"

"No!"

Po flinched at Tigress and Mantis shouting. "Uhhh, why not?"

"Po, this is textbook knowledge," Mantis said. "Never ever live or room with your ex. It's a recipe for disaster and that metaphor should really make sense to you."

Po rose his eyebrow and looked at Tigress for an answer. "He's right Po," The tiger said. "This is a woman you had former ties with. It can be a very messy situation, especially if a mission is on the line."

"Okay, then what would you have me do?" Po asked.

"Do you have to be the one to stay there?"

"No not really."

"Then I'll go."

"Come again?" Mantis and Po said together.

"I'll stay at this woman's house and complete the mission for you. I'll talk to Master Shifu and see what I can do."

"But Tigress, he told me to find a way around this," Po argued.

"But you're the Dragon Warrior. You're more... noticeable than I am."

"Gee, thanks," Po muttered.

"She has a point," Mantis added.

The panda bit his lip with a disgruntled hum. He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why do you want to do this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if anything, wouldn't it be better for Crane or even Mantis to go? He's definitely less noticeable."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Yelled the small bug.

"Nothing, nothing, buggy- I mean buddy," Po chuckled nervously.

"It's probably best that I go, Po," Tigress replied. "I'm sure this ex of yours wouldn't like having a random male in her house. Better a random woman."

Nodding, Po tilted his head and rose his eyebrows a bit. She had a point. A very good one. "Alright, go talk with Master Shifu, then." Po saw her give a quick smile and dart out of the panda's room, but the ursine warrior still held his frown.

"What's the matter... buggy?"

"You're gonna hold that one over me for a while, aren't you?" Po muttered.

"Yes," Mantis answered firmly.

The panda sighed, "I don't know if letting Tigress do this is a good idea. She might get too... distracted."

"What are you talking about? You get more distracted than she does."

"It's just... I don't know. Didn't it seem like she was... a little too interested in doing this?" The bug shrugged. Po didn't have his answer either way and sighed as he pensively looked out the window.

The rendezvous point needed to be secluded for the exchange of a valuable Kung Fu artifact being transferred to the Valley of Peace. Rather than have a full procession, Master Shifu devised a safer way to go through with it, but it required a hilly and forested area. This village lay just south of the suspected area. Tigress could see a tall rolling green hill covered by the hazy morning mist as she walked into the small clustered village. Her feet kicked up the dirt spread across the busy crates, carts, and vendors working from the slightly sparse streets. She walked on where Po's ex-girlfriend was supposed to be. She clutched her cloak's hood closer to her body as a rough-looking rhino marched through with his small unit of ten soldiers. No one needed to know she was here.

Tigress turned off the main road and into a small narrow alleyway between two brown wooden houses. The deep-auburn brown of the wooden houses made up the majority of the village. Tigress placed her hand on the wood as she looked around in the street for her host; morning dew trickled onto her hand. Looking at the sun, it must have been two or three hours past the sun's rising.

She growled.

After an hour of being in this village, she still couldn't find this person. Tigress perked her head out of the alley and looked at the hill. It seemed perfect from afar, but she closer inspection was needed. But she couldn't figure that out until she found her mystery woman.

Suddenly, a little bunny ran across the alley. "Excuse me?" Tigress called. The bunny froze and shivered. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I'm looking for a Ms. Qiangwei (Which can mean rose). I'm looking for her house?"

"Oh! She's right down the street on the left side. House with the green door."

"Thank you," Tigress replied. Green? That's an odd color for a brown house village where the door color choice was either red or a lighter brown. Tigress walked further down the street until she came to the house and knocked on the door.

The two-story house had normal gray slanted roof tiling. It was wider than most. Po had written to Qiangwei, and she said it was alright for her to stay. Tigress just hoped Po didn't say anything that would've given the woman a start when she opened the door. As the faded green door opened, a darkness showed itself to her. Tigress blinked several times. The house inside was much darker, probably because of the morning sun's brightness. But for a moment, the darkness inside the house moved. It wasn't until the third blink that Tigress finally understood what was happening. "Oh! You must be Master Tigress. It's an honor to meet you. Please come in, come in."

"Thank you, Ms. Qiangwei," Tigress replied. She stepped inside and looked inside the house. Painting after painting lined the walls and shelves. Landscapes, portraits, and abstract art. A bright red low-standing table sat right in the middle of her living room with the kitchen off to the back right and a shrine in the left. Tigress walked to the table and sat across from Qiangwei. "I appreciate your generosity for letting me stay here for a while."

"Oh the pleasure is all mine, Master Tigress," Qiangwei smiled brightly, sitting down across from her. "I never thought that Po would be friends with you. Then again, I never thought that Po would become Dragon Warrior."

Tigress smiled along with her. "It's not something I think anyone thought would happen." Qiangwei poured the tiger tea, and Tigress quietly sipped it as she examined her host.

There was a lot that Po failed the mention about this woman.

Po didn't mention she was a painter. The paintings and pictures all held a common style and signature that was evident even to the left-brained tiger.

She was about the same height as Tigress. She wore a bright brilliantly blue vest and pants, but Tigress couldn't figure out whether the dye was from the paint still on her hands and feet, or from the actual dye of the clothes. Blue was expensive.

"So please tell me what brought you here. That silly panda was very vague about what you're here for."

"I'm here for a mission. It's a private mission. That's probably why Po was so secretive about it."

Qiangwei rose her eyebrow as she slowly placed her tea back down. "Po... keeping a secret? That's a change I didn't think I would ever see."

Tigress's neutral face stayed. "He's full of surprises."

"Hmm. A lot has changed," Qiangwei said as she took some bread.

She seemed to know an old kind of Po. Another thing that Po didn't mention. How long had they dated each other? Po didn't say and he wouldn't say.

But the most important thing Po did not mention about Qiangwei was her species. That's why it was so hard to find her and why Tigress's eyes thought the room was playing tricks on her.

It's very rare to find a black panther around here.

"I hope everything is to your liking," The black panther grinned.

"Yes, yes, everything is," Tigress replied. "Ms. Qiangwei, there's a... couple of questions I have that might help me with my... mission."

"Of course, of course. Anything for a master of the Jade Palace."

Tigress sat up a bit straighter as she discarded her cloak. "Can you tell me about that hill south of here? The one with a lot of mist around it."

"Oh, it's... nothing special," the black panther replied, waving a trivial hand. "It's just a hill. Most people don't go anywhere near it so early in the morning because the mist can be hard to get through."

"And is it secluded?"

"... Relatively speaking. I mean, I do some of my artwork there," Qiangwei said. "If you're looking for privacy, the morning mist is perfect for that."

"Thank you," Tigress smiled. "Po mentioned that it would be a good place for... privacy." She took a moment to sip her tea. Her eyes scanned the petite panther's form as she drank. "Po also mentioned that you and he knew each other intimately."

"Oh uhhh yes, we did," Qiangwei stuttered.

"You don't seem proud of it."

"It's just... complicated."

"Is... something wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just... we used to date and it was nice, but... I'm sorry, it's nothing." She was about to get up, but Tigress caught her hand.

"Ms. Qiangwei," Tigress said formally yet firmly, "Po is a friend of mine. Anything that is about him isn't nothing. That includes you."

"Isn't nothing. Hm," Qiangwei sighed. "I wish I had said that when we broke up."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you part ways?"

"He hasn't told you?"

"He just said that it was better for the both of you."

"Yeah," Qiangwei sighed heavily. "I did say that, didn't I?"

"Pardon?"

The black panther took a deep breath, possibly trying to cool the pain boiling up in her chest. "When I was dating Po, he was much more... laid back about life. A really go-with-the-flow person."

"That's pretty much how he's always been."

"The only problem was that... often his flow... wouldn't flow anywhere."

"I... don't understand."

"There were several times," Qiangwei started, "when I would offer Po an idea and he would say no to it. It was too dangerous, too risky, too out there, too... anything. He was very cautious, even though it seemed like he was an ultimate risk-taker. He was just... really in his comfort zone when we dated and even though he didn't really want to be a noodle maker like his father, the idea of being anything else was just... too scary."

"I... didn't think that Po would be that timid," Tigress said. "He doesn't seem like the type to... restrain himself actually."

Qiangwei sighed again, "That's probably because of how we broke up. I tried pushing him to do the things that he wanted to do but he just never had the courage to do them. He was just... scared all the time. Sure, he didn't seem like it, and he wasn't tucking his tail all of the time, but he wouldn't try anything new or do anything differently. I probably had enough 'noodle dates' to make me sick."

Tigress gave an understanding nod. That would have to be a lot of noodles, especially if it was Mr. Ping's noodles.

"And it only got worse. When I asked him about it, he said he just felt like settling down. I didn't want that. I wanted to see who I was and explore who I was. I wanted to try risks. And I told him... you're never going to figure out who you are if you're simply scared to figure it out," The black panther sighed, throwing her head into her hands. "He took it very hard. I basically called him a wimp without using the word."

"It sounds like it." Qiangwei snapped her head to Tigress and glared. "It's okay. He knows I'm direct about these things."

"But," the black panther continued, "I turned into a hypocrite. I got scared about a potential painting career here in the south, away from Po. I said no at first, but Po wanted me to go." Qiangwei chuckled, "Hehe, he started using the same words against me. I remember saying, 'Do as I say, not as I do.' After that, he just... stopped."

"Stopped what?"

"Stop caring, stopped being afraid, but it just felt like it was out of anger, out of hurt. That's when he started doing stuff no matter what happened. That's when he pushed me to try and do the career even more. I knew he said he cared and loved me, but it felt like I hurt him deeply. But he was getting stuff done. He was trying new stuff, but..." Qiangwei took a deep breath. "It felt like it was all out of spite because of what I said. Granted I wasn't the only one saying it, but... So we separated. I said that maybe it would be better for him if he had some time to himself to figure out who he was. I just didn't realize how much he would run with it."

"Hm?"

"I... always feared that Po wouldn't become the person he wanted if he continued to be the way he was. I just... couldn't see him changing. But... he did. And now look at him. Much better and further along the process than me."

"It's not right to compare yourself to others," Tigress said. "Trust me. Having to work all your life for something only to have... Po take it away from you is humbling. But I've seen for myself how Po has changed and continues to become something better."

The black panther smiled widely, "I'm glad to hear that. It makes what I did feel a little more humane."

"You couldn't have known what you said would have the impact it did. You didn't want Po to live in fear. That's reasonable. You can't force someone out of slavery if they don't realize that they are one."

"I guess. I just... didn't want to hurt him."

"Growth is painful, but so is stagnation. One is freeing, the other is slavery," Tigress replied. Qiangwei nodded.

"I must ask, Master Tigress. Why did you come here instead of the other masters?"

"I figured another male in your house wouldn't be the wisest. And Master Viper was... out," Tigress said, carefully sipping the last drops of her tea.

"Hm, I see," Qiangwei smiled. Tigress stared at her for a while. She didn't know if that smirk knew more than it let on.

The mission was swift and quick. Tigress returned the next day. Po was in the kitchen, slurping up his new concoction of noodles. "ACK! Too spicy!" Po reached for the milk and downed it in one gulp. "Ugh, that Indian merchant was right. These things are hot."

"Hello," said a voice. Po looked to the entryway.

"Tigress!" He jumped up and hugged her. "Welcome back. How was the mission? Was it too awkward with Qiangwei?"

"It wasn't," Tigress replied, taking a seat. "May I have some of that?"

"Oh! It's uh... really spicy," Po warned. The tiger took some noodles in her separate pair of chopsticks and ate. Then ate some more.

"It tastes very good. Has more... flavor."

"Uh... huh," Po marveled. "So, how was the mission?"

"It was simple. The place will be perfect for the meeting point."

"And... how is Qiangwei?"

"Well," Tigress stared at him over the bowl's lip as she slurped. "There's a lot you forgot to mention about her. Her species, her profession, and why you two broke up."

"You asked her that?!" Po exclaimed.

"Yes, I did."

"Why?"

"I was curious."

Po narrowed his eyes. "Is this why you wanted to go in the first place?"

"No."

"Because I realized too late that Crane could've done this much quicker."

"I... I just wanted to go. That's all," Tigress restated, resting the bowl down. Po rolled his eyes and grabbed the rest of the noodles. The tiger stared at the panda for a while. Po tilted his head for a moment while he ate more of the spicy noodles. Slurping up the last strand, the panda wondered why the tiger's face looked pained. She shut her eyes for a moment, breathing in slowly. "Po?" She spoke up. "You... you're really brave."

The panda stopped. He slowly lowered the bowl and stared at Tigress. He shut his eyes, pursing his lips together before dipping his head. Po pulled himself away from the bowl and stood up, looking out the window of the kitchen with his hands by his side. He heard the other chair move and footsteps coming closer to him. A surprisingly soft hand rested on his shoulder. He looked at her, smiling warmly.

"Thank you, Tigress. It... it means a lot to hear that."

"I know," Tigress replied. "And Qiangwei thinks you're really brave too. She's... she's sorry that-"

"No," Po interrupted with a chuckle. "It's okay. I get it." He shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled a bit looser. "I wasn't the bravest person in the world back then... or even now. I said a lot of things that I ended up never doing. I know it's not her fault." Po stared into the wooden floorboards. "A lot has happened since I last saw her. I've changed a lot."

"I think," Tigress spoke up, "That she can see that. I know I can." Po smiled wider at Tigress who returned a small charming smile of her own. "I should go rest."

"You do that," Po said, wiping his left eye. "I'm gonna try experimenting more with the noodles."

"Don't burn down the kitchen."

"No fear, no promises," Po smiled. Tigress shook her head but smiled back as she walked out of the kitchen.

The End