Tigress, the Dragon Warrior
I don't own Kung Fu panda
He focused on the air going in and out of his nostrils. It was early in the morning; the crisp mountain air hadn't fully warmed up yet. He had more time to himself in the morning. At least, that's what he thought. As he took another breath, the black and white bear tried to focus on the present, smelling the delicate woody air of the Training Hall.
But he could hear her. The tiger tried to be quiet but failed horribly as she kept stepping on things that made clattering and clanging noises. The panda took a deep breath and refocused his energy on his breath. Deeply breathing into-
CLANG! CRASH! BOOLLLLLIWHIRRRLLLLL!
The bear winced and poked a jade eye open at the tiger trying to 'stealthily' make her way to the door before he could notice. "Tigress," The panda called, making the tiger jump and squeak like a mouse. "What are you doing?"
"No-No-nothing," She replied.
"Are you trying to play with the fighting dummy again?"
"It's so plushy and hittable, Po."
Po groaned as he stood up. He pulled his jade vest closer to his body and lifted his black pants. Master Shifu, his foster father, would probably be upset with him either gaining or losing another pound or two. Of course, things changed with the new feline around. Po looked at the tiger's hands already on the punching dummy. The panda crossed his arms, glaring powerfully at the nervous tiger.
"You know you're banned from using this, right?"
"No I'm not!" Tigress exclaimed, "Master Shifu was just joking."
"Master Shifu. Doesn't. Joke," Po said sternly. The tiger gulped. "Why do you want to play with this thing?"
"I wasn't playing. Besides, I have a rematch with this thing," the feline glared at the inanimate wobbly toy. "It's not going to make me do level zero again.
Sighing, Po shook his head. "Just because it 'defeated' you when you first trained, doesn't mean you have to 'pay it out'."
"It started it."
"Tigress," Po growled annoyed.
The tiger grimaced with a shaky smile, "I'll just get food prepared." She bolted for the kitchen and disappeared from the panda's sight.
"Everyone, the Dragon Warrior," Po sighed, rubbing his muzzle. Everyone was a little shocked when Tigress was chosen to be Dragon Warrior. The woman looked the part of a fierce warrior but her clumsy geeky nature was immediately apparent. Po glanced at the punching dummy, still wobbling in silence.
He cracked a smile. A rare sight from the adopted son of Master Shifu. "She's not that bad, I guess."
Meanwhile, Tigress raced over to the kitchen, grabbed the apron, and began cooking food, just in time for the rest of the Furious Five to come in. "Tigress, are you okay? You look like you're in a hurry."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Tigress smiled, shifting her eyes about.
"Did you bother Po again?" Viper asked knowingly. The tiger froze.
"N-No."
"Tigress, you have to give Po some space. He's really nice once he gets used to you," Monkey explained.
"Are any of you used to me?" She asked. They were dead quiet. Tigress sighed but smiled, "Sorry, I guess I'm still getting used to everything. I mean, I just defeated Tai Lung! And now I'm Dragon Warrior being trained by Master Shifu and I have you guys as friends and... then there's... Po. He's just so... hard to read."
"Give it time. He has his moments," Viper smiled. "You have to remember he was raised by Shifu."
"So, my dad was strict too," Tigress replied.
"Yes, but Mr. Ping actually smiled at you for most of your life."
"Mantis!"
"What?! It's true!"
Viper rolled her eyes. The lost stare on the tiger's face clued everyone in. The snake slithered up with a disarming smile and wrapped her tail around Tigress's hand. "It's okay. You don't have to be liked by everyone, you know. But I know Po will end up liking you."
"I... just wish I got to know him more. His determination has really helped me and... I look up to him," Tigress sighed. "But even after beating Tai Lung, I keep forgetting I'm still the new girl here." The other four warriors eyed each other, grimacing and casting worried faces at each other. As if the guilt wasn't high enough in the room. Tigress shook her head and brought her joy back to the surface. "Well, tears make for bad broth as my dad says. Who's hungry?"
"Mee!" The four said. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of rounded ears overheard them from the corner of the barracks kitchen.
The next day came. Tigress put on her dull red vest with patches; Mr. Ping had a problem with her claws at first. The dark burlap pants she wore had several more patches in it. Mr. Ping was a lot of things but extravagant spender on clothes wasn't one of them. Tigress yawned and stretched before going to the Training Hall where she thought she would meet Master Shifu. On the way up the steps, she saw Po sitting on them.
"Uhhh, Po? Is something wrong?" Tigress asked. His frown was obvious, but his normal angry glare wasn't there.
Po stood up and sighed, climbing down to her level. "I... I want to... apologize for my attitude lately."
"Attitude? What are you-"
"I know that I'm not the... friendliest to newcomers, especially you. And I'm sorry for that," Po explained. The panda saw the mental dots coming together in Tigress's mind. She covered her mouth, trying to think.
"Wait, whhhyyy are you-"
"I overheard you talking to the others."
"Oh snap! Po, I didn't mean to-"
"It's alright," Po smiled warmly, "I understand I have a... rough exterior but-"
"What? No, no," Tigress interrupted. "You're THE Master Po, one of the strongest people I know! I just... don't know much about you besides the stories I've heard."
"Oh?" Po smirked, crossing his arms. "And what stories are those?"
"Uhhh just... stories," Tigress smiled awkwardly.
"Please, tell me."
"They're more like... fan fiction than actual real stories. Rumors, gossip. Like the time it was said you defeated Tong Go with just a look."
"I did."
"Wait what?!" Tigress exclaimed with a beaming smile. "Ooooh you have to tell me about that!"
Po smirked, "Are you sure you won't be scared off? I've been told I'm a little 'hard to read'." He chuckled a bit at her gulp. "Come on, Dragon Warrior, there's a lot for you to learn."
Tigress quickly ran after the panda, eagerly listening to his tales of adventures.
The conversation ran a lot longer than they realized. By the time they were done, Master Shifu stood impatiently for the both of them in the Training Hall's courtyard. "You're late, tiger."
"So-Sorry, Master Shifu," Tigress bowed, "I was just-"
"It's my fault, Master Shifu," Po calmly said, standing in front of the feline. "Tigress and I were just talking about past adventures. Things that might be useful for future battles."
Master Shifu simply lifted a bushy eyebrow before walking towards the Training Hall. "As much as I appreciate you giving insight to our newest member, Master Po, it would be wise not to distract her from her training, regardless of its usefulness."
"Yes Master Shifu," the large bear bowed.
"That being said, let's see what you've learned from Master Po."
"Wait, what?" both Po and Tigress mumbled out. Shifu clapped his hands together and presented the fighting stage.
"You... want us to spar? I don't think that's a good idea," Tigress replied. "I'm nowhere near Master Po's level."
"You haven't sparred with him before. How do you know unless you've tried?" Shifu said.
"Because I practiced with Viper, Mantis, Crane, Monkey, AND you and got my butt kicked nine different ways in three different languages," Tigress said bluntly. The panda had to cover his mouth from laughing.
Shifu smiled, though the feline could see a bit of Schadenfreude pleasure in that grin, "And yet you learned a lot with your training. You learned what Po could do in his adventures, why don't you show him what you can do."
"Ummm okay?" Tigress gulped. The two entered the training pit. Readied stances faced each other.
"I hope you're ready," Po smirked. "I don't go easy."
"I have a feeling you will never go easy on me," Tigress mumbled. She leapt forward, punching the panda's hand. Po caught the punch and rolled her over his back. She tried again, throwing a kick to his side. "AHH!" His stomach was much harder than it looked. Using the disorientation, Po double-punched her right in the torso. She flew back, only to skid to a stop on all fours. "Okay, the stomach isn't a weak point. Ah! I have an idea!"
She rushed forward, watching the panda ready his stance. She skidded to a stop. The dust from the ground blinded Po for a brief moment. Tigress threw a punch, only to have it caught by a black furry hand.
"Oh come on," Tigress groaned as she was tossed over, thrown to the ground, and laid flat on her belly. "Oohh hello ground."
"I think that's enough for today. Though your use of the dust was resourceful, You have to learn how to rely on your physical skills as much as your environmental creativity," Shifu said.
"Uhhhh what?"
"Get stronger and you won't have to rely on cheap tricks like spraying people with dust," Po explained.
"It wasn't cheap," Tigress murmured under her breath.
Shifu smiled just a hint. "It seems you need to learn more about fighting tactics. Master Po is very skilled in that. You should learn from him."
"Uhhh Yes, Master Shifu," Tigress stuttered and bowed. The red panda left, but the tiger could've sworn she heard him chuckling a bit. "Well, that was embarrassing."
"You learn from your mistakes pretty quickly, all things considered. That's an asset," Po commented.
"And yet you're leaps ahead of me in the fighting department," Tigress sighed.
The panda gave a small smile. "Everyone starts somewhere." The tiger's joyful smile reemerged. "Now, let's get back to training."
"Uhhh can I NOT be slammed to the ground this time?"
"Only if you try hard," Po smirked.
Tigress sighed as she readied her stance. "Well, get ready to hear me roar."
Continued? The end? I don't know!
Arandomperson2567 gave me the idea and commission for this, so thank them for their suggestion.