What I Don't Want

The tiger paced in her room, growling. "Grrrrr RAHH!" She grabbed her pillow and flung it to the door where a black and white head ducked out of the way.

"Whoa, whoa! Where's the fire?"

"Not now Po," she grumbled back, plopping onto her cot. "This is terrible."

"What's wrong, Tigress? I came up to the Hall of Heroes and you barreled me with the door on the way out. Smacked me right in the snooter," Po murmured, rubbing his nose. Tigress gave a brief smile as Po sat next to her.

"Master Shifu... upon retiring... has realized that... while you are the successor of Master Oogway, your responsibility to the Jade Palace wouldn't make sense."

"What do you mean?"

"Master Oogway wasn't the Grandmaster of the Jade Palace. He was the creator, not the Grandmaster."

"Wasn't he the Grandmaster at some point?"

"That's not the point, Po," Tigress grumbled. "The point is that as Dragon Warrior, you might be called to a number of different places, leaving the Jade Palace unprotected and unmaintained."

"Like when I had to recover that lost artifact from the Jade Palace. For the ninth time," Po muttered. "And this time it wasn't my fault!"

"The point is that, like Master Shifu and Master Oogway, there has to be a separation of duties. One to be the Dragon Warrior," Tigress said, "and one to take charge of the Jade Palace. When you're gone, someone will keep the duties of the Jade Palace running."

"Ooookay?" Po replied, "And you're upset about this because-"

Tigress rose her back and sighed, "Master Shifu has chosen me to be the next Grandmaster of the Jade Palace."

"WHAAATT!" Po exclaimed, bouncing up to his feet. "Awwww MAN! That's so awesome! I can see it now! Grandmaster Tigress! Hehe, it has a nice ring to it."

"To you. I don't like this at all," Tigress groaned.

Po stopped. He turned to her, raising eyebrows and tilting his head. "Wait, what?"

"I don't want to be the Grandmaster of the Jade Palace."

Po stood there motionless. He had to sit on the floor and rub his chin. The mental math done in the panda's head showed by his eyes glancing up into nothingness. "Po, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to figure this out."

"What are you-"

"Let's see," Po muttered, "Tigress, the awesome Kung fu warrior who stops at nothing to be the best she can be, doesn't want to be one of the highest masters in all of China only given by the successor of the Grandmaster himself? Why?"

"Po."

"Hm... Has she been kidnapped and this is her evil impostor?" Po tried to poke Tigress, but the tiger growled. "Never mind. Has she finally snapped from too much training?"

"No," Tigress sighed, rolling her eyes. She could stop him, but she'd be lying if the panda's antics weren't mildly making her feel better.

"Is she... pregnant?!" Po gasped.

Tigress glared. "Why would you say that?"

"Hey, I don't know what a baby makes women do. I'm still figuring out that mammals don't lay eggs!"

Tigress groaned, rubbing her eyes. "Sometimes, I really wish you weren't raised by Mr. Ping.*"

"Okay, all jokes aside. Why don't you want to be the Grandmaster? I thought this would be your dream second to being the Dragon Warrior."

"Well, it's not!" Tigress grunted out of her bed. She walked forward but stopped. Sighing heavily, she turned to face the panda. "Po, I never wanted to be Grandmaster because I don't... want to... stay here."

"Stay... here?"

"In the Jade Palace," Tigress explained. Po simply blinked.

"That... doesn't help me much."

The tiger sighed, "Being Grandmaster means that I have to stay here. But I don't want to stay in the Jade Palace for my entire life."

"Why not? Isn't this the place you grew up in?"

"Exactly!" Tigress shouted. Po jerked his head back. "Po, what would you do if you had to stay in your father's noodle shop for the rest of your life?"

"Okay yep! I perfectly understand now. That is actually a nightmare I have."

"Well, now that nightmare is a reality for me," Tigress groaned, crossing her arms to hug herself. "I don't want to stay here. I already feel like I've stagnated in my Kung Fu. This will only make things worse."

"Why not tell Shifu that?"

"Who else would he give the position to?"

"The other Furious Five?"

Tigress narrowed her eyes but sighed. "Po, think about that for a moment. Would you want Monkey to-?"

"Absolutely not."

"Crane?"

"Might work, but he'd definitely need to be more confident."

"Mantis?"

"That's a medical disaster waiting to happen."

"Viper."

"Actually, she might be able to do it," Po said. "She's actually very assertive when she needs to be."

"But would Shifu approve?"

"If there's a life-or-death situation? Yeah," Po replied. "But I see what you mean." Tigress sighed again and sat down on her cot with Po. "Wow, Tigress. I don't know what to say."

"It's not... it's not that I don't appreciate the honor. It's just that... it's not something I want. I've been in this place for all my life, and before that, it was the orphanage," Tigress said, staring deep into the hardwood. "It just feels like another cage."

"What exactly did Shifu say?"

"He told me that he was considering making me the Grandmaster soon. He would tell me after some time," Tigress sighed, standing up again. "In the meantime, I'm here standing in the valley of two bad choices."

"Why don't you just say no?" Po asked.

"I can't refuse an offer like that. Who would run the Jade Palace?"

"What was it that Oogway said about worrying about the future?"

"Po."

"I'm serious. And to be honest, does it matter if they can't get someone to guard the Jade Palace? Your life isn't connected to this thing like it's your heart," Po said, standing up with her. "And besides, I know what it's like to be doing something you don't want to do. It changes you and can make you a worse person to others and yourself."

Tigress rose her eyelid. "I didn't think you... despised being a cook that strongly."

"Oh, not a cook. But there are other jobs that my dad had be do that I absolutely hated," Po clarified. "I'll be honest. I thought this would be your dream."

"Why?"

"Well, it's just... I don't know, you've never told anyone about what you want out of life."

"I haven't?" Tigress asked.

Po paused for a moment. She couldn't be joking, but he still couldn't believe she was serious. "No, you haven't. I... guessed that being the Dragon Warrior was your first dream. But I don't know. What are your other dreams?"

Tigress walked to her window, resting her arms on the sill. The sun rose above the waking village nestled in the valley like chicks in a bird's nest. Dew glistened on the grass as a gentle breeze swung low and captured the dew. It blew up and swam around Tigress's nostrils, filling a coolness and warmth inside of her.

"I want to be free," Tigress said softly. She turned to Po. The panda nodded. "I want to be free. I don't want to be the Grandmaster. I want to travel and see the rest of China. Learn from the rest of China. I know it sounds ridiculous but-"

"Why would it sound ridiculous?" Po asked, drawing near. Tigress sighed.

"I'm supposed to like these things. I'm supposed to like the honor and glory given in these positions. But I've seen what being Grandmaster is like. I've been with it my entire life. I don't want to be... trapped again."

"Again?"

"I was trapped in that orphanage. Even when the caretakers weren't scared of me anymore, I still felt trapped."

"Why don't you just tell Shifu you don't want the job?"

"I...I..." She couldn't say it.

Po rested his arms on the sill, leaning next to Tigress; it was a big window. "What's going to hurt more? You disappointing him or you hating your job and taking it out on other people?"

"What?"

"I mean, that's what Shifu did with you after Tai Lung, right? He took his hurt feelings on you," Po said.

"I... no he didn't."

"You said it yourself. Master Shifu was never the same after Tai Lung. And I remember how you looked when you told me that story," Po said. He stared straight into Tigress's amber eyes. The tiger glared, but she couldn't find any sign of fear in the panda.

"So you're saying that I would take my frustration and anger onto my students because I didn't like my position?" Tigress accused. Po nodded. She sighed again. Po could always defeat her with the truth. "Regardless, I don't want to do this position. But I don't want to disappoint my master. I just... don't want to be in another cage."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

Po and Tigress spun around and saw the red panda standing in the doorway with his master's staff. Tigress's heart raced in her brain while it dropped to her cold feet.

"Master I-"

"Tigress," Shifu interrupted. "If you didn't want the position, all you had to do was say it."

"Wait, why are you here?" Po asked.

"I... sensed that Master Tigress was hiding something when I told her my plans. I was hoping to talk with her privately, but you beat me to it, Po."

"Hehe, sorry," Po nervously murmured. Shifu stepped into Tigress's room while the tiger stood straight and tall, holding her breath.

"Master Tigress, I won't place you into another cage. Admittedly, I wasn't too sure about making you Grandmaster. Not because of your capabilities, but... for some of the reasons you just listed."

"Master?"

"You've been here your entire life," Shifu spoke plainly. "Even I need a break from staring at the same jade walls every now and then. It's easier with Po's position because he gets to travel the world. But I wasn't sure you would feel the same way I was feeling."

"I mean no disrespect, Master Shifu, it's just-"

"I know, I know," Shifu smiled. "It was just an idea. I have no plans of naming a successor yet. However, after your talk with Po-"

"You were eavesdropping?" Po asked.

"I was standing next to the door."

"Same thing."

"Not the same, Po," Shifu grunted. Po griped under his breath. "But you do not have to be in another cage, Master Tigress. In fact, from your discussion, I think Master Viper might be well-suited for the position."

"Really?" Po and Tigress said.

"Po is right. Viper is assertive when she needs to be. Although, there are other candidates for the position, so you don't have to worry, Master Tigress."

"I..." Tigress sighed, relaxing her shoulders. She took a bow as she smiled. "Thank you, Master Shifu."

The red panda nodded and left her room. Po smiled at the tiger, and for some reason, it irritated Tigress more. "What?" She gruffly asked.

"Was that so hard?"

"YES!"

Po rolled his eyes. "Anyway, now that you don't have to be the GrandMaster, what will you do?"

Tigress looked out of her window and smiled. "Be free."

The End

*A/n: I know what you're thinking, but all bets are off when Po made that "You can fly?!" comment in Kung Fu Panda 3. Also, I promise this is going to be the last "Tigress and Shifu having the silver horse talk and how hard her life was after Tai Lung" thing. Don't know why I've been writing them so often XD