The Full Story of Momoda

"Now before you say anything," Po immediately spoke, "I won't tell Master Shifu about this."

"Really?"

"I promise. I mean, Master Shifu doesn't know I listen to you sing in the shower."

Tigress blinked. "You... you listen to me sing?"

"I... I don't do that because I'm a weirdo! I just... You are a great singer," Po said nervously, twiddling his fingers. He shook his head after hearing her small chuckle. "But that's beside the point. I just want to know... like... Why! WHHHHHYYYYYY?! What started all of this?"

Tigress looked at the grass as she held herself tightly. Taking a deep sigh, she turned around, facing the village. "I... When Master Shifu ordered me to take the Shift Stones back, I... overheard your conversation with him."

"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?"

Po grimaced and winced at the memory. It didn't occur to him until now that he basically called Tigress a walking stick with no feelings. Maybe Master Shifu wasn't the only one that had to watch his words.

"It just..." Tigress shivered a bit. "It made me realize how people saw me. What people see me as. But... I'm not like that all the time. I HAVE to be like that for other people, for the team, for Master Shifu, even for you!" She sighed, "I was Master Shifu's star pupil unhealthily listening to her master for every correction. That's all I was. That's all I thought I was."

"What do you mean unhealthy?"

"Po, does your dad ever talk about your cooking skills when you're not working?"

Po shrugged, "He talks about work but not about my skills. He does a good job of only correcting me when I'm actually cooking. He says that it wouldn't be right to mention the mistake during off times."

"And how did it feel?"

"I mean, it was okay. He was a tough teacher but he wasn't that strict. Besides, I didn't spend every moment of my life learning how to cook. I had a life too... even if it was just making action figures and learning about awesome Kung Fu stories," Po mumbled, twiddling his fingers.

Tigress chuckled a bit. "What I wouldn't give to live that life," She frowned. "Shifu would talk about how my skills needed adjustment. Every time. Day in and out. Everywhere. The training happened in the Training Hall and outside of it. Correction after correction, waking and sleeping. Eating, drinking, and even playing. I received the same training that Tai Lung had, just without... appreciation. And it never stopped," She growled lowly.

"But... as a Kung Fu master, I thought everything you do is Kung fu."

"That's the problem!" Tigress shouted. "Kung fu shouldn't make your self-worth plummet! What's the point of Kung Fu training if I am NOTHING outside of it!?" Po flinched. She took a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to expressing so many... emotions."

"It's cool. It's cool. Just... have to get used to that," Po smiled nervously.

"I want other things, Po. I don't want to just be Shifu's prized student. I want to be the best, but... I also want to be me. I don't think I can really separate how people see me from Shifu. Whenever someone sees me, they'll just see the student, the accomplishments, the deeds, but not me."

"Yeah... yeah I think I can see that," Po sighed heavily.

"I saw the Shift Stones as a way to be free from those expectations. And the more I indulged in that freedom, the more I could figure out who I was apart from Shifu, apart from kung fu, apart from everything I HAD to be as Tigress. I could finally be myself because it wasn't me messing things up, it was Momoda. I could speak my mind. I could take out my frustrations. I could finally tell the others what I thought about them. I could be completely honest without injuring my reputation or worrying about their feelings."

"But you're usually blunt," Po said.

"Mostly by accident and I couldn't emote. I have to be strong for everyone," Tigress grunted, holding her hands in front as if she were clutching her pain and offering it to him. "And I couldn't express what I actually felt because... people would be scared off. At least... that's what I thought."

"Hm?"

"When I was Momoda, I could see fear but... slowly people got used to me. I was scared the first time I changed into Momoda. I thought people would just run away like they always did."

"Did they?"

"Of course," Tigress chuckled, "But... after they saw I was just... me... they weren't as afraid. When I defended them, they liked me. When I talked to them without a care, they flocked to me. I think it was the talking where I realized I had to SAY what I was feeling, not just express it. I was just... myself. Without fear. Without care of what others thought. Even the Furious Five started seeing me differently. I was really surprised when Crane argued back with Momoda." She smiled at her hand. "For a moment it... felt like I saw his old confident self. As Momoda, I could get rid of my inhibitions and fears. I could finally fight the crooks without figuring out a plan or trying to be sensible. I could... fall in love with people without them fearing me. I felt... free. From those expectations, those limits, those inhibitions."

Tigress sighed, "But... the expectations came the next morning. They would come even when I wasn't there. After talking with you, I realized that no amount of hiding was going to relieve me from the burden because... I put those expectations on myself. Which meant I could choose to internalize them or let them go. To accept them or reject them. I could be my own person."

She turned to Po who was smiling wider than she had ever seen. "So... why not be Momoda every night?" Po asked.

"I was tired," Tigress chuckled, sighing with deep exhaustion. "I needed to regain my strength, which threw suspicion off of me. Things got complicated when the other masters tried to catch me. I didn't realize until later that the Shift Stones could actually make a person invisible."

"WHAT?!" Po exclaimed. "Awesome! Huh, that's probably why the canine masters couldn't find you. I never thought of doing that."

"But escaping Master Shifu and the others meant that I had to make Momoda's personality different from my own. Which wasn't difficult. As you said, she's not really like me."

"Heheh, yeah," Po chuckled nervously. "But... I guess I don't really know what you're like when you don't limit yourself."

"Hmmm, not many people do," Tigress smiled. "It was easy to throw Master Shifu off when I started hating Momoda for attacking him. But of course, you're a different story," Tigress smirked.

"Hey!" Po grumbled. He shook his head. "But... if you were Momoda why did you hurt-"

"I was just... Mad," She pursed her lips, holding her breath for a moment before letting it go. "I was just mad... when I attacked Master Shifu, I had just finished beating a group of bandits. One of them called me, 'daddy's little girl'." Tigress growled. "And... actually seeing Master Shifu... something inside me just made me want to shout 'Look at what you've made me!' Like-"

"Like what Shifu did to Tai Lung?" Po guessed.

Tigress sighed in agreement, "But... I couldn't say that."

"Sooo the next best thing was to punch him?"

"I was just... releasing some... pent-up aggression. You're not the only one upset with Master Shifu. You're just the most vocal about it."

"Yeah, I guess I can see that," Po said. "But why hold back on what you think about-"

"I hold back a lot, Po," Tigress smirked a bit. "It's just... Momoda felt like she was... more approachable. At least, that's what you made me realize. I thought it was just you, but... then Crane, Viper, and finally Shifu made me realize that I could say all that was on my mind. Everything. I realized that being polite and trying not to be disrespectful didn't mean I couldn't be truthful. I could just be completely honest and tell people how I'm feeling. I didn't have to be the constant voice of reason. Even though Momoda was very... rough with everyone, being her felt like I could be..."

"Vulnerable," Po finished.

Tigress sighed with a nod, "It is strange. Other than her 'vibrant' personality, there's nothing really different between Momoda and me."

"Actually there's a lot different," Po said.

"How?"

"She's not afraid to show her soft emotional or mental side. She's not afraid to be open and honest about her struggles. You keep a lot of your struggles under lock and key and we have to do detective work to figure out what's going on. You don't tell us anything."

Tigress bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. Hey, I'd rather you disguise yourself as Momoda and let it all out somehow some way than growl at me for everything. And we could definitely do a better job of trying to understand you. And allow you to be more vulnerable. But we can't read your mind, Tigress. If you want something, you have to tell us, no matter what it is."

"I'll... I'll try. I'm... still sorry."

"I'll be honest," Po continued, "I... kinda thought you didn't really like emotions. Not like a rock or something. I just thought you didn't... want to have them. But... now I think it's more like... you want to show what's inside, but you don't because of what you think people will think of you."

Tigress blinked and sighed, "I... I guess so."

"Soooooo... what if you were just... you?"

"I don't know how to. People around me have rejected bits and parts of me to the point that... I hide a lot. I've been doing this for so long that... I don't want to seem... weak."

"Tigress, are you saying that because of Master Shifu or because of yourself?"

Tigress sighed again, dropping her shoulders. She couldn't say anything. "You've inherited a lot of Master Shifu's problems and issues, but most importantly, you inherited his expectations," Po said. "And I get that. Every person who has parents has those expectations. But you don't have to carry them, especially when that person is trying to live their life through you. Or giving you their shame and failures."

"But I-"

"When Master Shifu is gone, then what? You have to live your own life," Po smiled. "You can't fulfill all of Shifu's expectations, even if you wanted to make them your own. But you can fulfill the expectations that you make your own."

Tigress stared at the panda. Her hands trembled, and she shut her eyes as she bowed her head. "Then why is it so hard to do?" She whispered.

"It's definitely easier said than done, but like you said to Viper, it's better done than not at all," Po smiled, spreading his arms open. She suddenly ran into the panda's arms and hugged him, clutching him for dear life.

"Thank you, Po." She nuzzled her head into his fur, deeply inhaling his scent with a happy chuff. Though tears trailed down her face, she smiled widely as she whispered. "Thank you."

"Come on, let's get back to the Jade Palace. You've had a long night," Po smiled. Tigress sniffled and wiped her eyes, returning that warm smile on the panda's lips. They made their journey back into the slumbering village. Nothing stirred except them. A new stillness rested on the village. Po smiled to himself. Tigress had stirred up a lot in the Valley of Peace as herself and Momoda. But it finally felt like things were at peace.

There were still a few questions Po had. "By the way, where is the Shift Stone?"

"It's in a compartment near my inner thigh. I sew it in so it wouldn't slide out."

"Clever. And is there a reason why you kissed me on the night you pulled my pants down?" Po asked.

Tigress smirked, "Because I like you."

"That early?"

"I've always liked you, Po. I just... never had the courage to tell you."

"But... when I first came here?"

"I was... angry."

"Really, I couldn't tell," Po chuckled. Tigress smiled back. "But why pull my pants down?"

"I like seeing you flustered and caught off guard," Tigress smiled. The panda grumbled under his breath. "I'll make sure to put the Shift Stone back tomorrow."

"Good. I don't want Master Shifu blaming me if he finds out."

"And Po?" Tigress suddenly hugged him. "Thank you for accepting me. All of me."

Po smiled, reaching for her hand, "Of course, whether you're Momoda or Tigress, you are still you." He kissed her hand before kissing the tiger's lips. Tigress chuffed happily as they finally made it to the barracks where the others were snoring fast asleep. "Goodnight, Tigress."

"Goodnight, Po," Tigress smiled.

They parted ways and had a short sleep before Crane knocked on both of their doors. "Po, Tigress, wake up."

"Huh, what's wrong?" Po grumbled up. Tigress, because of her training, quickly got up and stood tall and erect.

"We've got a... small situation," Crane sighed.

"How small is it?" Tigress asked.

"It's related to Momoda."

Po and Tigress looked at each other with round eyes.

"Uh oh," Po muttered.

Continued...