The Second part
She sat on top of the cliff, vaguely staring into the village below. Pink peach petals gently floated past her eyes as she tucked her knees close to her chest. The ever-present frown on her lips only let out a small sigh. "You're sad."
"AHHH! Po don't scare me like that!"
"Apologies," The large panda said. "I didn't mean to scare you." He sat by her, next to the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. For a while, Po said nothing. Tigress glanced between the village and him, fretfully trying to find words to use. "Is something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh no, no, no, it's just uhhh," She sighed. "A lot happened. I learned about my parents. I defeated Shen. I fulfilled a prophecy that I had no idea I was supposed to do. But... it's just a lot, you know?"
"Yes," Po said, looking at his clenched paw. "I do know. I know very well. But like I told you at the harbor, you were hardcore enough to face your fears. Not many warriors can do that."
"You can," Tigress lightly scoffed. "You can look at danger without even blinking. I bet you're never afraid."
The corners of Po's lips bent down. He stared into the village where lanterns and lights slowly came to life under the growing night.
"I was... afraid."
"When?"
"When you were... struck by Shen's cannon I... I thought you were gone. In the five years we've known each other, I've seen a side of you that I don't think I could ever experience with anyone else. To see you gone, it... crushed me."
Tigress's jaw dropped. "Po, I... I'm sorry I... didn't mean to-"
"It's okay." The panda replied, rising up to an upright posture. "Upon reflection, I probably would've done the same thing you did. Though I would've... dodged the cannon."
"Hey! He took me off guard! I was surprised!" Tigress huffed.
"Be prepared for everything. Even the unexpected. And with your personality, you should know that better than anyone," Po smirked.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tigress glared. Po smiled warmly. He couldn't help but chuckle at the tiger's 'serious' face. Suddenly, the panda grimaced and clutched his stomach where bandage wraps coursed around his body, and a sling for his other arm forced him to use his right arm. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Tigress's concerned amber eyes.
"I'm fine. I'll heal."
"You got hurt because of me, Po. I'm... sorry," Tigress bowed her head. She felt a punch to her shoulder. "Ow! Hey!"
"Just don't do something stupid like that again. Think before you act."
"Uhh... how long have you known me?" Tigress grinned awkwardly.
Po rolled his jade irises and groaned into his paw. "You're going to be the death of me. I know it."
"Don't say that!" Tigress whined. The panda only smiled back.
Time passed over the Jade Palace like a wave in the high tide: strong, quick but impermeant. It passed before the tiger's eyes all too quickly. As spring flowers started to bloom in their pink, red, and yellow hues, a different side of the panda could be seen. She sat at the Training Hall, looking at the training dummy that stood two yards ahead of her. It was a distant look on her face. Her arms tucking her knees into her chest again. A sigh exited her lips as she buried her head into them. "I'm surprised."
"WHAAA!"
"I thought you would be fighting the training dummy, not submitting to it," Po smirked, crisscrossing his legs beside Tigress.
"Oh, hey Po."
"Tigress, what's the matter?" Po asked. The silence echoed between them for a short while. Tigress gave a heavy sigh before giving the panda a large smile.
"It's nothing. I'm fine."
"I wasn't born yesterday, tiger."
"Yeah, well maybe I was."
"Tigress, that doesn't make any sense."
"So?!"
"You're being childish."
"Ah! So maybe I was born yesterday." She crossed her arms and pouted. Po grumbled and massaged the tip of his nose. He could feel the heat of his annoyance and anger boiling up quickly. Granted with Tigress's antics and stunts, he had gotten better at not blowing up at her and was slowly learning the value of patience and inner peace.
But the tiger did make it difficult at time.
"Okay, then why are you here if you're upset?" Po asked slowly. Tigress sighed, looking at the punching dummy again.
"Do you think I'll ever be normal?"
"Normal?"
"I mean, I defeated Shen and Tai Lung and a bunch of super powered villains, but... sometimes I feel like this isn't what I wanted. At the start, I wanted to be someone different. Someone who wasn't the daughter of a chef with no future. Now I'm the Dragon Warrior with the weight of China on my shoulders and I have to grin and smile," Tigress said, frazzled.
Po simply lifted his eyebrow. "Is this because of the upcoming ceremony?"
"No... yes, but not really. It's supposed to be a ceremony about the awesome things these masters have done."
"You've done incredible things as well, Tigress."
"It's just... when are things going to be... easier?"
Po stifled a chuckle. The tiger gave a glare. "I'm sorry," The panda laughed, "It's just... you remind me of myself when I was younger. I worked along one of the generals of China to defeat this bandit stronghold. We were in our fourth day of fighting, and I was exhausted. My bones ached, and my muscles felt like wax."
"Wow! And you don't feel anything so that must have been a lot," Tigress marveled.
Po smiled, "But the general gave me some comforting advice when I asked him when does this get easier? When does fighting for the right thing become easier? He said, 'Dying is easy, young man, living is harder. Life doesn't get easier. You get stronger. The weight doesn't change. You get better at picking it up. The standard doesn't lower, you climb up to meet it."
"That's... hard," Tigress sighed.
"It is," Po said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "But doing things the easy way isn't very rewarding. You have to try. A warrior never quits."
"Yeah, I think Master Shifu hits me enough times for me to remember," Tigress joked. The panda smiled and stood up with her. "Thanks, Po. I... I really appreciate it."
"My pleasure. Now, let's get you ready for the ceremony. Have you written your speech?"
"Uhhhhhhh."
"I'll take that as a no," Po sighed. They had a lot of work to do, but the panda was starting to live a little differently. Thanks to one Kung Fu tiger.
The end
***F****
"See, it wasn't that bad," Said Demi.
I sighed, a little sad, "It wasn't, but I really wish I could put more into this."
"Hmm, well, maybe a story where this personality of Tigress and Po in heat and-"
"SHHHHHHHHH!" I slapped my hand over his mouth. "Don't give the horny people ideas!" Demi simply rolled his eyes.
a/N: This was weird. And Quite honestly the most interesting I've done.