A Tigress Tale
Leo and Tigress have not spoken to one another for a week after stopping a war that Leo almost created. The young man explained to Shifu of what happened. Shifu was disappointed in Leo that he didn't bother to look or ask what was the scroll about. But after hearing that Leo created two peace treaties for the two warlords, Shifu was glad that Leo took responsibility. The rest of the Five were shocked to hear the news and they were glad that the two warlords agreed to the peace treaties Leo created.
After his argument with Tigress, Leo spent his time training with the rest of the Five and Po for the week. And after training, Leo goes to the library. Po was the only one that knew why Leo have to spend time in the library, or so he have been told. The young man knew that the answer is somewhere in the library. There must be an answer to why is the White-Tailed Tigress is inside of him.
Is Kaira connected to the incident? He can't be too sure about it. After dinner, Leo went straight to the library. He was not surprised that the scroll he read didn't help him. The young man went to his room and wrote in his scroll before heading to bed. For every night Leo sleeps, he has to endure the nightmares each night.
Leo has woken up early in the morning. He reviews two scrolls before leaving his room. Leo turns his head to the left to see Po talking in his sleep. He shook his head lightly and left the barracks. When Leo arrives at the Peach Tree Hill, he begins to do his meditation.
Meanwhile, Tigress wakes up and peeks her head out of her room. The cost is clear. She steps out of her room and begins to sneak down the hallway.
"There you are." Po snores, causing Tigress to stop walking and looks into his room. "You can't escape, Mr. Cookie..."
Tigress lets out a sigh of relief and left the barracks. She arrives at the courtyard. Tigress takes a deep breath and began to do her tai chi. The feline waves her arms and thrust her palms to the side. She moves her arms around and lifting her leg up and down when she steps on something pointy.
"Ow!"" Tigress yelled. She lifts up her foot and pulls out a throwing star. Tigress looks at the courtyard and notices it was a mess. A mess caused by Po. "Po."
Tigress leaves the courtyard and enters the kitchen. She made herself a plate of three small tofu cubes and sets it on the table before sitting down. Before the feline can eat her breakfast, the Dragon Warrior enters the kitchen. "Good morning!" he smiled. "How are you doing this morning, Tigress?" He notices the tofu. "That doesn't look good, Tigress." Po grabs the tofu and puts it in his mouth before spitting the tofu out on the feline's head. "I still wonder why you eat that stuff. For me, I like bean buns in the morning." He walks by her and fix a plate of bean buns and sets it down on the table in front of the feline. Po pulls up a chair and sits down next to her.
The rest of the Five entered.
"Good morning!" Viper greeted, slithering up on the chair and grabbing a bean bun.
"Looks good." Mantis hops on the table and grabs a bean bun.
"We got bean buns!" Crane sang.
"Nice." Monkey smiled, picking one up and sitting next to Tigress.
"Tigress and I were just talking about how bean buns are the perfect breakfast food in the morning." Po said.
"I think they have something else than beans." Monkey inspects his bean bun.
"Nope."
"I have to agree with Monkey." Mantis said.
"They're just bean and bun combined."
"So what's in a spring roll?" Monkey asked.
"It's spring and roll combined."
While they were eating and having a conversation, Tigress breaks her chopsticks.
Leo finished his meditation and arrived at the courtyard. The adversary, a throwing star and different pieces of equipment was laying all over the place. Before he could do something, Zeng flew above him in a state of panic.
"Emergency!" Zeng panic as he lands on the ground. He quickly starts banging the gong. "They're on their way!"
"Zeng, what's going on?" Leo approaches behind him.
Zeng stops banging the gong and looks at Leo. "The Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five must be out here, Leo!"
Back inside the kitchen, the others heard Zeng banging the gong.
"What's going on?" Po wondered.
"I'm not sure." Monkey said.
"Sounds like Zeng is panicking about something." Mantis replied.
"What is he shouting about?" Viper asked concerned.
"Maybe it's trouble." Crane suggested.
"I wonder what it is." Po wondered.
"Gee, I don't know." Tigress replied with extreme sarcasm. "Maybe you should all just keep sitting around and talk about it more."
"Are you sure?" Po looks at her. "Because it sounds like he needs us."
Tigress walks away from the table.
"She was being sarcastic, Po." Monkey said to him.
Back outside, Leo kneels down in front of the goose. "Just tell me who's coming here." Leo said as Zeng was catching his breath.
"Mugan." Zeng answered.
Leo turns around to look at the courtyard. He walks away from Zeng and started cleaning up the mess. It didn't take Leo very long to clean up the mess by himself. The young man places the weapons rack back in its place with the weapons. Leo puts the adversary next to rack and walks back up to Zeng. Po and the Furious Five enters the courtyard.
"What's going on out here?" Shifu approaches them.
"Zeng says Mugan is on her way here right now and I suspect she might be close." Leo answered.
"Mugan?" Shifu wonders for a moment until it suddenly hit him. "Mistress Mugan." He takes a look at the courtyard and the courtyard was clean.
"Who's Mistress Mugan?" Leo asks them.
The Furious Five walks up to Leo.
"Mistress Mugan is one of the most important and revered kung fu masters in all of China." Viper explains. "She's very mysterious and hardly leaves the Garnet Palace. The Garnet Palace is a fortress."
"Hm." Leo folded his arms.
They all walk behind their master as they await the arrival of Mistress Mugan. Tigress dusts herself and Crane fixes his hat. The doors open with several goat servants entering the courtyard with a palanquin and sets it down.
"Mistress Mugan." a goat servant announced and bowed before stepping aside.
Another goat servant opens the curtain. There was a lot of water inside the palanquin. Leo notices a fish with orange, black and white scales with long flowing fins swimming in the water. The fish turns around and stares at them with her green eyes.
"Whoa." the Five gasps in surprised.
"Really? A fish?" Po asked disappointed. "You're kidding."
The fish scorns at Po. Leo facepalmed at Po's ignorant comment.
Shifu shook his head and approached Mistress Mugan. "Please forgive my student's insolence, Mistress Mugan." he bowed to her. Welcome to the-"
"We must talk in private, now." Mugan interrupted him seriously. Her seriousness caused Shiu to be silent.
The students all stood outside of the Hall Of Warriors. They've been waiting for Shifu and Mugan to be finished by now.
"Those two have been in there forever." Crane spoke. "What is going on in there?"
Po took a couple steps forward to ask, but Leo stops him by grabbing the panda's shoulder. "Where do you think you're going, Po?"
"I'm going to ask him to see what's going on in there." the panda answered.
"No you won't, Po." Leo said, keeping a firm grip on him. "We wait until Shifu or the servants come get us."
"Come on, Leo. Don't you want to know what they're talking about in there?"
"Yes, but I am being patient." Leo replied. "So you should be patient like the rest of us, Po. But I will tell you what I'm wondering what they're talking about. They might be talking about a guard shortage at Mugan's palace or things must be very serious that requires us to help out."
"Oh."
"So right now, Po, we'll just have to wait." Leo said.
The big doors open as Shifu steps outside.
"Mistress Mugan would like to have a word with you all." Shifu said. His students follows him in the Hall Of Warriors.
Mistress Mugan had her tail to them when they entered the hall.
"What do you want to have a word with us for?" Leo asked her.
The fish turns around to face them. "I am here seeking for a replacement for my top warrior as he is longer able to fulfill his duties I give. Your master has graciously agreed to offer the position to one of you six."
"There's seven of us." Po pointed out. "And if you think one of the seven of us is going to leave the Jade Palace, you're-"
"Silence, you panda!" Mugan snaps at him. "I was talking to them. Real kung fu warriors who have worked hard to get where they are. Not to you who weren't lucky enough to bundle their way to the top because of some ridiculous quirk of fate."
"She just insulted you." Monkey whispers to Po.
"Honestly, how do you put up with this panda?" Mugan asked.
Tigress raises an eyebrow.
"If one of you decides to accept my offer, you shall know this; the Garnet Palace is a place of absolute discipline and dedication to kung fu. I'll push you hard. I will take you to the precipice of perfection. You have until this evening to give me your answer." Mugan said.
Po and The Five looks at each other. Before they can leave, they all heard a chuckle from Leo.
"Heh." Leo chuckled darkly. "Sorry, but I don't think I'll go with you and here's why. To train under you is completely stupid. Master Ju Fen pushed me much harder. The training I had with her is extremely difficult when I was training under Master Lee. I don't think you can match my master's training with the training that you provide."
Shifu and the others were surprised to hear that from Leo.
Later on in the late afternoon, Po was making the rest of the Five laughing in the kitchen. "I'll take you to the precipice of perfection." Po spoke in a high woman's voice to mock Mugan's voice before he spoke normally. "Who the hell does she think she is? Who would want to leave the Jade Palace to go live with her?"
"Oh, not me." Monkey said.
"I wouldn't." Crane said.
"No way." Mantis said.
"Forget it." Viper added.
"Me." Tigress said. She was leaning against a cabinet with her arms folded.
Po stares at her and starts laughing. "Haha! Sarcasm!" he laughed.
The feline gives him a blank stare. The rest of the Five were not amused.
"She's not joking, Po." Monkey said to him.
The panda's expression changed to a worried look.
"I've already talked with Mistress Mugan; we leave tonight." Tigress said. "I should go and pack my things." She leaves the kitchen and walks down the steps.
"Tigress, wait up!" Po called as he caught up to her. He runs in front of her that causes her to stop. "What are you doing?"
"I've made up my mind Po."
"But why?"
"I realized that's where I belong when Mistress Mugan spoke about the Garnet Palace." Tigress answered. She walks by him, but the panda stops in front of again.
"Come on, Tigress. What are you talking about? The Jade Palace is your home and you belong here with us. You love it here."
Tigress took a second to respond. "Not anymore."
"Since when?" Po asked her.
"Since you came!" Tigress snapped at, causing Po to be shocked. "It's true. Before you showed up, we didn't spend our time talking about bean buns or what our favorite mushroom or how many dwarves we've or being embarrassed every time you opened your mouth! All we did was take kung fu seriously!"
"I take kung fu seriously."
"You spent all of yesterday's training showing Monkey how to make fart noises with his armpits." Tigress pointed out.
"Heh." Po chuckled slightly.
She scorns at him.
"Okay, I'm sorry." Po apologizes to her. "Look, I won't do anymore of that stuff. I'll changed. I promise. Just... don't go."
"It's me, Po. I don't belong here anymore." Tigress walks by him and continues walking down the stairs.
"But Tigress, what about your relationship with Leo?" Po asked her.
Tigress didn't respond back to the panda.
Leo was in his room going over some scrolls he wrote down in the past few months. In the scrolls were events that happened ever since he arrived and the latest one was Scarlet and his companion. He wrote down the techniques he performed. But there was something else Leo had been wondering about. Did he used that power unknowingly five years ago? That was a hard question to answer.
He closes the scrolls and puts them back on the shelf except for one. The young man was about to write in the scroll until he heard footsteps coming from the hallway. There wasn't time for him to close the scroll, so Leo quickly flip the scroll and puts it under his bed. Looking at his door, he could hear Zeng and another palace servant walking by his room. "That was close." Leo said before releasing a sigh of relief. "Now then..." He turns his head forward to the bed and stretches his hand out underneath the bed to grab the scroll.
"Leo?"
Leo turns his head and notices Tigress standing in the doorway.
"What are you grabbing under your bed for?" Tigress asks him.
"I was just going to a little bit of cleaning." he lied as he lifts his hand from underneath. "It's getting a little dusty underneath my bed." Leo turns around to look at her.
"We need to talk." Tigress said with a serious look on her face.
Leo gestured her to come in. The feline warrior walks in his room and sits down on the bed next to him. "What is it, Tigress?"
"I'm leaving the Jade Palace, Leo." Tigress answered.
"What? When?"
"I leave tonight with Mistress Mugan. I was going to pack my things until I saw you in your room."
"Why do you want leave the Jade Palace, Tigress?"
"I realized I belong at the Garnet Palace when Mistress Mugan spoke about it to us in the hall."
"Go on."
"Before you and Po showed up, we all took kung fu seriously. But when you showed up, everything changed. There were things that no one in China dreamed of about the dangers of those machines from where you come from. You and Panther had the knowledge of how those things work. Every time we're done with training, you go to the library and meditate. I think... you don't have feelings for me anymore."
Leo remains silent.
"I haven't decided if we should break up. I need to think about it more. Why do you spend so much of your free time in the library? Don't I mean anything to you?"
Leo swallows hard. "Yes, you do."
"Then why don't you spend your time with the others? With me?"
"I... I..." Leo was saying. He knew he can't explain it to Tigress.
Tigress slowly shook her head and left the room.
Leo lets out a long sigh. "Damnit. If you only knew why I'm spending my time in the library." He got up from his bed and pulls out the scroll from underneath the bed. But he didn't know that Po and Viper were listening to their conversation down at the end of the hall.
The afternoon sky was replaced by the dark sky with the stars. Everyone, except Leo, was standing outside of the Jade Palace. They were surprised that Leo didn't come out to say goodbye to her. Tigress approached the small red panda with a small red bag over her shoulder. "Master." Tigress clears her throat.
"This is your path to make, Tigress. Is this what you want?"
Tigress looks at Po and the rest of the Five. They all had saddened looks on their faces.
"Yes master."
"Hm... then all I can say to you is... good luck." Shifu smiles slightly.
"Thank you." Tigress thanked him.
The kung fu masters bows to each other. Tigress turns around and walks over Mugan. She releases a sigh. "I'm ready."
"You do understand that once we leave, you become a warrior of the Garnet Palace and there is no coming back." Mugan said.
"I... understand." Tigress said.
The guards picks up the palanquin and they all proceeded down the steps. Po looks on with a sorrowful expression on his face and closes his eyes. The Dragon Warrior and the rest of the Five walks back to the student barracks. As for Leo, he was standing on top of the roof of the Jade Palace with the diamond sword in his hand, watching her leave.
As the morning came, Tigress, Mugan and her servants continues walking toward the Garnet Palace.
"The sound of a gong is so... stern." Mugan releases a satisfied sigh. "There it is; the Garnet Palace."
Up ahead in the distance was a huge palace on the mountain. Tigress smiles while looking at the palace.
"No distractions, no annoyances and no undisciplined pandas." Mugan said as they entered the courtyard.
There were several stone columns and each one has a bowl of water.
"It has been a long journey for you." Mugan said. "Rest now. You'll need your strength for tomorrow's training."
"No. I don't any rest. I'm ready to begin."
"Let's see what you can do." Mugan said.
Tigress bows to the fish and removes her bag. She sent out two palm strikes and leaps high into the air. The feline dove to a wood board with a palm strike and sent a couple kicks to a couple wooden dummies and a spinning hook kick. Mistress Mugan watches in silence as Tigress lands back in front of her with a spinning hook kick and ends with a fighting stance.
"You're quite powerful."
"Thank you." Tigress thanked her.
"That wasn't a complement. Your skills may have been acceptable at the Jade Palace but not here, you are lacking precision. Let's see how you do against an opponent."
Tigress looks around before looking back Mugan. "Who?"
"Me."
"With respect, Mistress, I-"
Mugan quickly jumps out of the palanquin and lands in front of Tigress, sweeping the feline off her with her tail and jumps into several bowls of water. She jumps out of the bowl once more and was heading towards Tigress. The fish dodges Tigress's palm strike and cuts Tigress to the side with her fin.
"Gah!" Tigress lets out a yell as she fell onto the floor.
Mugan lands back inside her palanquin and smiled.
"That..." Tigress stands up. "... was amazing."
"Now that is precision." Mugan said sternly.
Tigress nodded her head.
"Wu Yong will take you to your room." Mugan said before leaving.
A tan goat wearing a gold tunic with maroon and cream accents was walking towards the feline. "This way." Wu Yong said to her.
They were walking down the halls and pass by a female goat who sweeping the floor.
"This is your room." Wu Yong said to her. He lifts up the wood and opens the door.
Tigress steps into her room. The room was completely bland. There was only a bed and a desk.
"Mistress Mugan doesn't care for needless ornamentation." the goat said.
"It's..." Tigress was saying, looking around the room. She looks back Wu Yong. "... absolutely perfect."
Wu Yong bows and leaves the room. Tigress walks over to her bed and sits down to unpack her things. She sets a towel down and picks up a note she found in her bag. "So you'll never forget about us. Love Po." Tigress read the note. She picks up the bag and tosses the wooden figures onto the bed. There were action figures of Shifu, Po, the rest of the Five and Leo.
Tigress picks up the Po figure to look at it and sets it down next to the Shifu action figure and picks up the Leo figure. She tosses all the figures underneath her bed and lets out a sigh of relief.
Earlier that same morning, the morning gong rang. Shifu watch the doors open and his students quickly stood in the doorway of their rooms.
"Good morning, Master Shifu." his students greeted their master.
"Good morning. Proceed to the kitchen to have breakfast. After that, go to the Training Hall to begin training today."
"Yes master."
The students left their rooms and proceeded to the kitchen. Viper made some rice porridge with the help of Po. Po and Viper brought the food over to the table. Leo had his eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest. Viper slithers up to an empty chair next to him.
After breakfast was finished, they went to the Training Hall for seven hours. The others finished their training and noticed Leo was still training on the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion. He punches the wood as it came towards him while a spiked club was coming behind him. The human quickly grabs the chain and dodges sideways to push the spiked club in its direction. He lands on his feet and stands up as Shifu enters the room.
"That shall be enough for today, students." Shifu said. His students bowed and left the Training Hall.
Leo was walking down to the village as he saw Zeng flying towards him in a panic. "Zeng, what's going on?"
"Bandits are in the village!" Zeng landed in front of Leo.
Leo quickly ran to the village. There were several water buffalo bandits with weapons robbing a few villagers. He didn't waste time by jumping in the air and delivers a palm strike behind the first bandit into the other bandits.
The water buffalo leader shook his head and got up. He turns around to see who attacked him from behind and notices Leo.
"You'll regret that." the leader sneers at him.
Leo said nothing as he got into his fighting stance.
"You really think you can stop us?" one of them snickered. "There's ten of us against you."
"Come on, let's-" another bandit was saying until Leo did a strong axe kick from the air to the head. His spear flew out into the air and hit the ground.
His buddy slams Leo into the wall, receiving a knee strike to the stomach and a downward elbow strike to the back. Leo grabs him by the horns and threw him into a few of his friends. He was quick enough to dodge the sword and spike ball from two more bandits. Leo caught the buffalo's wrist and turns him around to use as a shield to block the spike ball while the bandit hits his friend.
Leo pushes him away and quickly grabs the spike ball to do a hurricane kick and went into a turn kneel down jab to the chest with the spike ball. He quickly did a mean spinning hook punch to another bandit from behind. The man performs a palm strike to the chest that sent another bandit into a wall. Leo jumps to the bandit and jabs him in the forehead extremely hard, making a cracking sound.
"You bastard!" another bandit shouted in anger, rushing towards the human with a spear.
Leo dove to the side to dodge the spear. He sent a palm strike to the throat that stuns the bandit. As the bandit was gagging and trying to breathe, Leo did a low sweep kick off his feet and grabs the spear. He threw the spear into a wall that stops another bandit trying to run off.
There was only five more bandits left. The bandits was about to attack back, but they froze when Leo was giving them a fierce glare. He rushes towards the five bandits and began to attack them. By the time Po and the rest of the Five caught up to him, they saw the rest of the bandits laying on the ground. Leo stood over the last bandit as a few rhino guards came over from behind Leo and arrested the bandits. But Po and Viper notice Leo looking down at the last bandit in anger.
The human shook his head. "Hm." Leo walks away from the bandit and leans against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. It looks like he was calm, puzzling the two warriors.
The next morning, Tigress began her training. She performs a variety of stances while balancing on the high bowls. Next thing she did was curl-ups on a high bar. The feline warrior was trying to balance three small bowls on her head and arms at night. Tigress battles the mechanisms. One of them hit her from behind and she bows to Mugan.
But Mugan shakes her head in disapproval. Tigress made it to her room and sits down in her room, tired out. Morning came as her training began again. The exercises was the same, but there were some small changes that made today's training harder. Tigress was balancing on the bowls while carrying weights on her shoulders. She had a few more bowls to balance on head, arms and legs while squatting that evening.
The next day, she was balancing on the bowls with the weights while sparring with Mugan. Tigress bows to the mistress after battling the mechanisms. But the fish shook her head in disapproval. Tigress was sitting down in her room disheartened. So, she decided to train even more harder.
Tigress began her day of training with some stretches. She began chopping bricks off hard and quick. Then she balances several large bowls on her head, arms and legs as Mugan was jumping from one bowl to another at nighttime. Tigress jumping while performing flips the next day as she balances herself on the high bowls. The feline finish off the same gauntlet warriors once more and bows to Mugan. But the fish still shakes her head in disapproval.
Tigress bows her head and left the courtyard. She was walking through the corridors back to her room and saw two goats. "Hi, are..."
The two goats walk away from her. She lets out a small growl and continues to her room. Tigress lays down in her bed.
On the second morning, Po, the rest of the Five and Leo began their training today. They were doing sparring matches. Leo and Monkey were sparring in the training courtyard. He was quick to dodge Monkey's punches.
"Heh." Monkey chuckled. He jumps over the human's head to send a punch, but Leo blocked it. When Leo blocks the punch, Monkey used his tail to wrap around Leo's wrist to pull him down backwards.
Leo's back didn't touch the ground. He used his hands to stop himself from hitting the ground and a backflip kick to the back of the neck and followed by palm strike to the back.
Monkey fell flat on his stomach and looks up to see Leo in his stance. The young man offers his hand out to Monkey and pulls him up from the ground. The two warriors bow to one another, and the training was over for today at noon.
The others were off doing what they want to do for the rest of the day and Leo heads over to the Peach Tree Hill and began meditating in silence. After meditating for an hour, he stops by at the kitchen to make a plate of rice and soybeans before heading to the Training Hall. He hops onto the spinning logs and avoided the clubs. Leo made sure to hit the wood and not the spikes. He jumps in the air to do a palm strike to a nearby club that was spinning towards him, but he saw the spikes coming quickly. The young man tries to dodge it, but the blades cuts his palm.
As Leo wince a little, he saw another club spinning towards him and he used his left arm to push the blades away. He lands on the spinning log and hops onto the floor. He was bleeding from both his right palm and left arm. Leo clenches his right fist in anger.
After having dinner with the others, Leo was in his room, writing on a scroll. He finished writing the scroll for tonight and sits down on his bed to meditate before going to bed. Leo knew that his nightmares will never go away. Because of what he did five years ago.
"There's no way anyone would forget what they saw I did five years ago." Leo thought. "My entire body was on fire that night. The flames did not hurt or burned my body. There was not a single scar. Blood was everywhere. Her corpse laid dead and yet..."
Leo's slowed his breathing.
"I'm still alive and breathing. The flames were on my arms and legs when I fought Sying in the harbor of Gongmen City. It didn't spread out to the rest of my body. But there were several burned marks after the battle when we were all blasted from those weapons. I can't be sure if they did see that only my arms and legs were on fire. I was completely focused on revenge against that bastard. Shifu hasn't spoken to me about that in months since we arrived back in the Valley Of Peace."
Leo gets up from his bed and opens the window. He looks up at the night sky.
"I have to continue doing this in secret to find the answers I'm searching for while letting these nightmares to continue to torture me. To hurt me. To remind me of what I did."
He turns around and walks to his bed. The young man lays down. "I guess..." he muttered closing his eyes to sleep. Then his nightmares began once again.
The next morning, the morning gong rang. His students quickly opens their doors and stood in the door frame.
"Good morning, Master Shifu." they all said unison to their master while Leo was a few seconds behind.
"Good morning, students." the red panda greeted them. "Head to the kitchen to have breakfast and go to the Training Hall for meditation.
"Yes, master." his students said.
They all proceeded to have breakfast in the dinning room and heads over to the Training Hall where Master Shifu was waiting for them to do their meditation. Leo and the rest of the Five has notice that Po is still moping after Tigress left three days ago. He would sit in her room holding her action figure. Leo tells him that Tigress made her choice, and they all miss her too. He'll be sure to send a scroll later on this week and whenever training is over or they have free time, the young man will give some advice and listen. That made the panda a little happy, but the Dragon Warrior was still sad.
Leo left the Training Hall and went to the Palace Arena to train alone for three hours. He was on one knee panting.
"Hi Leo." Viper said to him with a smile, slithering up to him.
"Hello Viper." Leo looks at her. "Is there something you need?"
"I was wondering if you have for a chat." Viper answered.
"Su-" Leo was about to say, but he lets out a tired yawn as he sat down. "Excuse me."
"Don't worry. It was nice of what you said to Po back there."
"Well, I have to say something that would cheer Po up after Tigress left four days ago. He can't be that upset for her to leave."
"I know. Most of us are sad about it and miss her too." Viper replied.
"True. But I notice some of you are getting over it." Leo said.
"Thanks. And what about you? I've notice you're not sad or upset about it."
"I'm ok. It's Tigress's choice to leave and train at the Garnet Palace. I only want her to be happy for the right decision she makes and I respect her decision. Po may embarrass us sometimes, but everything works out at the end."
"I'm surprised that you'll be writing to her when you have free time like this. You usually train all day, meditate or spend time in the library."
"You're right about that. I only want to be sure that Tigress is training hard like she wants to at the Garnet Palace because she's not here." Leo remarked.
"It's good that you're writing to Tigress this weekend." Viper said.
"Thanks."
The next day, Leo was doing some exercises in the Training Courtyard. He finished doing pushups and heads over to the library. Leo picks up the scroll he was reading from yesterday. The scroll did contain some interesting moves that he could use against an opponent. But it didn't have the answers he was searching for. He puts the scroll back on the shelf and walks over to the Peach Tree Hill.
While Leo is sitting down at the Peach Tree Hill, he was thinking where the Saber clone was. There hasn't been any sightings or reports about it in months. He suspects that the clone is laying low. It's been a while since their last encounter. Leo has been training hard every day and wanted to be ready for an attack from the tiger on missions. The man thought that was the last of Saber, but she somehow survived. Then there was the matter of Scarlet and that second man who gave Leo that message.
Get Strong. That's hardly a message. Leo replayed those two words over and over. Who would ask someone to deliver a short message with only two words like Get Strong? That's barely a message for Leo. Leo doesn't know if those two men are allies or enemies. Or what their angle is. So he'll have to be patient and see what happens.
But there was one question that has been bothering him. Why are these events happening?
Leo left the Peach Tree Hill and went down to the village. He arrives to see twenty bandits robbing several people and several stores. The bandits were a mix of crocodiles, pigs and geese. Leo quickly lunges at a crocodile to do a palm strike, followed by a mean hook punch to the pig's stomach. The punch sent the swine hitting a wall and sliding down the wall out cold. This caught all the bandits off guard.
Leo began his attack against the bandits. Eighteen of them has weapons with them. Five of them fired arrows at him. He was quick to catch an arrow and dodge sideways before throwing the arrow at a croc's knee. The young man headbutts a nearby pig to stun him and grabs the spear. He sweeps the pig's legs from beneath him. Once the pig fell backwards on the ground, he jabs the pig in the stomach and twisted the spear violently.
That caused the pig bandit to squeal.
"Fire!"
Leo removes the spear to block four arrows coming towards him. He didn't waste time to throw it at the goose and the goose screams in pain as the spear embedded into the wing. Two croc bandits tried to slice him with his back turned, but the human jumps backward, delivering two hard punches to the back of their necks. A croc did manage to punch Leo's right arm when the human landed.
"Gr!" Leo growls angrily at the croc. He rapidly punches the croc's face and chest before he finished him with a palm strike to the throat. Leo turns around to see three arrows coming towards him. He quickly grabs the croc and used him as a shield. Leo kicks the croc to the three archers. The dead croc's body fell on the three geese.
Leo continues to fight against some of the bandits for the next few minutes. There was only one bandit left and it was a pig bandit holding a knife. The pig tries to run off with a brown bag. He didn't get far as Leo tackle him into the ground, knocking the bag and knife out. Leo delivered several hard jabs to the back of the pig's head before grabbing the knife and plunges it into the pig's arm, making the pig squeal in pain. He quickly got off of him into a fighting stance.
The bandits laid before him on the ground, either bleeding or groaning in pain as he looks around him. Leo looks down to see the pig bandit trying to remove the knife from his arm. He punches the bandit out cold and waits for the authorities to arrive. The authorities arrive and put all the bandits in a cage. Leo delivers the stolen items back to their owners and heads over to Mr. Ping's noodle shop for lunch. After lunch, Leo went for a walk around the village.
Nighttime came as the young man enters his room after taking his bath. Leo didn't even bother to bandage his three cuts. He lays down in his bed. No how matter times he sleep, the nightmares continues to torture him. Leo will never say a word about this to the masters. Not even Tigress. The young man only wants them to be happy.
Everyone got up the next morning. Shifu had a meeting to attend to, letting his students to have a day off. They all went down to the kitchen to have breakfast. Leo was walking back down the hallway to his room and sees Po's door open. He took a peek inside and saw Po.
"Well, what'd you think?" he asked, showing his Tigress action figure his clean room. The Dragon Warrior has been cleaning his room this week. "Now this is a room of a kung warrior who takes kung fu seriously. Everything is organized and neatly put away." The panda walks over to his bed and sits down, looking at the action figure. "I just wanted to show that I can change, Tigress. For you, the Jade Palace is your home. Because you're gonna come back."
"You really think Tigress will come back here, Po?"
Po sees Leo standing in the doorway.
"Your room looks nice and organized, Po."
"Thanks."
"But you still haven't answered my question."
"Tigress is coming back. I'm going to change and I have to talk to her."
"I see. I know you, the rest of the Five and Shifu missed Tigress. So I'm going with you."
"Oh." Po smiled. "That good to hear. When should we leave for the Garnet Palace?"
"Right now is a good time to leave." Leo replied. "We'll just have to tell Viper, Mantis, Monkey and Crane before we leave for the Garnet Palace."
"Where are they right now?"
"Viper is laying out in the sun at training courtyard, Crane is out buying ink, Monkey might be working on a prank on you and Mantis is in the kitchen. We'll see Viper first and tell her before we leave."
"Sounds good." Po said. He sets the action figure on his bed and follows Leo out of the room. The panda notice that Leo wasn't bringing his sword. "You're not brining your sword?"
Leo stops walking and looks over his shoulder. "No." Leo simply said.
They both left the barracks and entered the courtyard. Viper was laying on the ground with a couple of cucumbers that was covering her eyes. Po and Leo approached her.
"Viper."
The green snake removes her cucumbers and notices Po and Leo. "Hi."
"Listen Viper, Po is going to bring Tigress back here from the Garnet Palace." Leo said.
"Bring Tigress back?" Viper asked surprised.
"Yeah, because Po is going to change and take kung fu seriously." Leo replied. "I know you and the others miss her a lot."
"It's true that we miss Tigress." Viper nodded her sadly. "And I'm going with you too."
"I won't object your decision to come, Viper." Leo smiled. "Now we'll just have to tell Crane about it before we leave."
"Then let's get going." Po said to his two friends.
The three warriors left the Jade Palace. They met up with Crane at the village. When they told Crane, he said he'll tell Master Shifu when he gets back from his meeting. Leo thanks Crane and the three warriors left the Valley Of Peace to travel to the Garnet Palace. After a whole day of nonstop-walking and it was already nighttime in the forest. Leo sets up a campfire and the three of them sat around the campfire.
Back at the Garnet Palace, Tigress was sitting down on her bed alone in her room after training today. She was staring at the ground and sees three action figures of Shifu, Po and Leo. Then she picks up the two action figures. The feline sets the Po action figure down and continues to look at the action figure in her paw.
Did she made the right choice to leave the Jade Palace? Tigress puts the action figure down with the others before laying down and close her eyes to sleep.
There was silence between the three warriors. Po decided to break the silence. "So, Leo, Viper and I were wondering about something for the past few days."
"About what?"
"If you and Tigress were arguing before she left with Mistress Mugan." Viper said. "Po and I heard the end of your conversation a few days ago."
"Oh." Leo lowers his head a bit. "You don't have to worry about it. But there's something I've been meaning to ask you about, Po." The panda gestured him to ask. "Back in Gongmen City, when Shen had his wolves and gorillas firing those cannon balls at you in the harbor, were you in control of yourself when you performed inner peace? You were aware of the actions you performed, including those who watched you?"
Po and Viper looks at each other and looks back at Leo a little taken back from what Leo just asked. "Uh, yeah." Po said unsure. "I was in full control of myself when I mastered inner peace. The masters were watching from the wreckage of the ships."
"Hm. Interesting."
"But what's awesome was that the fire didn't spread out to the rest of your body when you were deflecting those attacks." Po said.
"We all still wonder how'd that happen." Viper added.
"Who knows." Leo said as he stares into the fire. "Who knows."
"Alright, you two. We need to go to bed now because we're leaving early in the morning." Viper tells them.
"You two can go to sleep." Leo said. "I'm going to stay up a little longer."
"Alright, Leo. Goodnight." Viper said to him.
"Goodnight." Leo said to them. He watches them went to sleep a couple feet away from the fire.
The next morning, Wu Yong enters Tigress's room. "The Mistress is ready to continue."
Tigress wakes up. She sits up getting sore. "Wu Yong, what happened to the last warrior that trained under Mistress Mugan here at the Garnet Palace?" The feline asks him. "She never told me."
"The warrior failed her." Wu Yong begins to explain. "He was very promising when he arrived and eager to learn from Mugan to devote himself entirely to her ideal focus and precision. The warrior trained every day and night. Nothing mattered but kung fu. No matter how much he tried, Mugan was never satisfied. The warrior had never enough control enough precise. He tried to improve year after year until his body began to fail him. He had lived his whole live for kung fu and without it, he had nothing else and he was broken."
Tigress was surprised. No matter what she'll do, Mugan will always disapprove. She notices Wu Yong limping towards the door. "It's you, right? You're the warrior." The goat stops in his tracks. "What did she do to you?"
Wu Yong turns his head to her. "By only focusing on kung fu, I did this to myself." he replied sadly. "And now-"
The door swung open, revealing Mistress Mugan. "What is taking so long in here?" she demanded.
Wu Yong says nothing, limping away.
Tigress stands up from her bed. "Forgive me, Mistress Mugan. I believe I made a terrible mistake to come here. I must return to the Jade Palace."
"I understand completely." Mugan said.
"Thank you." Tigress thanked her. Then her door was slammed. She run to door and tries to open the door, but it was lock. There was a small opening for her to see. "Let me out of here!" Tigress demanded.
"You belong to me now!" Mugan yells sternly. "I will break you like the others before you!"
Meanwhile, Leo and Viper comes around the cliff with a tired Po close by.
"I have to say that the Garnet Palace is interesting." Leo said, looking at the palace.
All three of them approached the front gate. The human knocks on the door twice and waited. A goat opens a window from above and looks down at the three warriors. "Yes?"
"We want to see Master Tigress." Leo replied.
The goat closes the door. Several moments later and the window opened to reveal Mistress Mugan looking through the window.
"Tigress doesn't want to see all of you." Mugan said.
"We don't care!" Po exclaims. "I need to talk to her!"
"She wants nothing to do with you, panda. Or you, human." Mugan said before the window was slammed shut.
"Come back here!" Po yelled, banging on the door several times. "Let us in! Let us in!"
"Hang on, Po." Leo said to him. He walks up to the door and knocks on it a couple times.
The goat opens the window and looks out, only to receive a punch to be knocked out. They opened the door and entered the courtyard. Leo and Viper took a moment to look at the courtyard they were in as Po was calling out Tigress. The wooden dummies were larger and grey than the ones back at the Training Hall. Leo turns his attention to Po, who has a bucket on his head. He simply walks over to the panda and removed the bucket. "Let's check inside." Leo pointed to a door.
The three warriors head inside.
"Tigress!" Po called. "Tigress! Tigress!"
Tigress was meditating on her bed when she heard Po calling her name. "Po? Po in here!" she called back, rushing to her door. "Down here in the hall. Follow my voice."
The three warriors walks down the hall and comes around the corner.
"Tigress!" Po smiled, running up to her door. "I know you don't want to see me, Tigress, but there's one thing I need to tell you."
"Po-"
"Let me talk." Po cuts her off. "I know I don't take kung fu seriously as all of you."
"Po!" Tigress exclaims, getting a little annoyed.
"Please let me finish. I'll change because the Jade Palace is your home as much as it's mine too and..." Po was saying as he notices the door was still closed. "Can you open the door so we can talk?"
"No!"
"Okay..."
"I can't open the door because it's locked. Now get me out of here!"
"Oh." Po said, realizing the door was locked. "Move aside."
Tigress moves aside from the door as Po backs up and was about to charge.
"Ahem." Leo cleared his voice low enough for Po and Viper to hear. "I'll take this one." He got into his fighting stance. Leo spun his body around for a back kick to the door and follows it up with a hard palm strike that sent the door to the floor a couple feet.
Tigress looks at the broken doorway and saw Leo and Viper. "Leo? Viper? What are you two doing here?" she asked surprised.
"They wanted to come with me, Tigress." Po answered as he walks up besides Leo.
"We miss you, Tigress." Viper smiles at her friend.
Tigress looks at the human who folded his arms over his chest. "Why the hell were you locked in here?"
"Mugan won't let me here and she'll break me like she did to the others." Tigress explains to them.
Leo turns his head to Po. "Grab her bag, Po." Leo told him. "Then let's get the hell out of here." Leo turns his back on her and runs off ahead of them. "That fucking bitch is not going to break Tigress."
Po grabs her bag underneath the bed. The three warriors caught up to the human and ran out to the courtyard. They all skid to a halt to see Mugan blocking their only way out.
"I thought I made it clear to you, you're mine!" Mugan snaps at them.
Tigress got into a fighting stance. "Sorry Mistress Mugan, but I'm going home to the Jade Palace."
"The Garnet Palace is your home now. You were born to train here with me to devote yourself totally to kung fu." the fish replied.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but there's more to life than just kung fu." Tigress said.
"Like what?" Mugan sneers at her.
The three warriors watch the tiger waves her arms around, ready to fight. She puts her paw under her armpit and makes a light and weak farting sound.
Po covers his hand over his mouth and started laughing. "Nice one, Tigress! Ha ha ha ha!"
Leo and Viper were a little surprised.
"That was... unexpected." Leo cleared his throat.
"Ha!" Muga yells in anger, jumping out of her tank and dives towards the four warriors.
Leo quickly jumps towards her with a punch to collide against her tail and release a palm strike that sent Mugan flying backwards. The fish dives into a stone bowl of water and leaps out to dive at Viper. Viper dodges the fin and wraps her tail around the fish. But the fish easily slips through the snake's hold, dodging Tigress's punch above the feline's head and smacks her back with her tail.
Mugan jumps into another bowl and another before diving at Po. Po threw a couple punches. Mugan easily dodges the punches with precision and launch a multiple rush fin and tail attacks before she slaps him across the face that puts a couple feet away from each other. When Mugan turns around, she barely blocked in time from Leo's axe kick.
This gave Viper a chance to grab the fish's tail and threw her in the air. She leaps up to attack, but Mugan slaps her away into a column.
"Gotcha, you bitch!" Leo sneers from behind and grabs her with both hands. Mugan slips through his grasp and both warriors landed a couple feet away from each other. "You are one slippery bitch." He lunges towards with a forward punch. The punch missed Mugan spun her body forward into Leo's chest.
That attack made Leo hit the ground and bumps into the palanquin. She jumps back into several more bowls dives toward Tigress. The tiger stops Mugan's attack with a spinning side kick.
"Tch." Leo snarls softly as he picks himself up from the ground. He saw Mugan in a bowl of water.
"Ha ha!" Mugan laughs, victorious. "You're not going anywhere!" The fish quickly overwhelms her with speedy slash attacks.
Tigress couldn't block as her body was being slash by Mistress Mugan. She fell forward on the ground.
"Damn you!" Leo shouted furiously as he watches the fish jumps in the stone bowl. She dives towards Leo with a fin ready to hit him. He quickly blocks the attack and tries to a counter punch. The fish evaded his punch and attempts to slice behind the neck. Leo spins around for a strong headbutt that stuns the fish's body.
Mugan quickly jumps into a nearby bowl and looks down at him. "Ha!" Mugan shouted, coming down at him.
Leo caught both of her fins tightly with one hand that caught the mistress by surprise. He landed several punches to her face. Mugan used her tail to slash him, but it was caught by his teeth. It causes her to yell in pain. The human proceeded to slam her hard and quick against the stone column. Leo threw in a multiple punch combo against Mugan and performs a backward flip kick as Po knocks over the last stone column.
Tigress kicks Mugan into a large tank in the center of the courtyard. Po and Wu Yong was lifting a large flat stone and places it on the tank. The feline walks up to the defeated mistress.
"You're not going anywhere!" Mugan yells at her. "You're mine!"
Tigress kneels down to be at eye contact with her. "You should really lighten up, Mistress, you know that?" Tigress smirks at her the mistress.
"Thank you." Wu Yong thanked the four warriors. "She's-"
"-a real fucking bitch who treat her students as disposable objects until they're broken." Leo interrupted.
"I was going to say "jerk", but that works too." Wu Yong chuckled.
"You're welcome." Tigress smiles at him.
"And thank you for helping us to defeat Mugan." Po thanked Wu Yong.
"It's the least I could do to help after what she's done." Wu Yong replied.
Leo turns his attention to the fish. "You should treat your students with respect, Mugan. They are not objects to be disposed of. A true kung fu master should know how to acknowledge a student's skill and not disappoint them when the student display their skills. You have no respect for your students. Even my two masters, Master Lee and Master Ju Fen, knew when to acknowledge my skills. But know this." he kneels down in front of Mugan. "You truly need to lighten up. Because if you don't, you will only break yourself in the end, which might be better for not seeing it in battle today."
"We'll help you clean up here before we leave for the Jade Palace." Tigress said to Wu Yong.
The warriors were walking on a dirt path in the canyon underneath the sun's rays in the afternoon after they left the Garnet Palace.
"So you want to learn how to burp talk?" Po asks Tigress.
"No thanks." she answered.
"You sure? I can teach you."
"No."
"It's super easy." Po burps. "And I promise I'll change."
Tigress punches the panda in the shoulder.
"Ow ow!" Po yelled, rubbing his shoulder.
"If you ever change, I'll kill you." Tigress smiled.
Leo lets out a low chuckle before he spoke. "I think you're better off being your normal self, Po." Leo replied.
"Yeah, I think you're right on that." Po rubs his shoulder.
Tigress looks at Leo. "Leo-"
"Viper, you think we'll reach the Jade Palace by noon tomorrow?" Leo asked the green snake, cutting off Tigress.
"Maybe." Viper replied as they all stop walking for a moment.
"Good." Leo nodded his head, unaware that Tigress was going to tap on his shoulder. He resumes his walking ahead of them.
Tigress was wondering a little bit of why he ignored her. But she realized that Leo was still giving her space after that message incident with the Kung Fu Express.
The four warriors stops in the middle of a forest to set up camp for the night. Po sets up the campfire. They stop by at a large oak tree. There were apples in the tree. Leo was sitting on a strong branch with his back against the trunk of the oak tree away from Po, Viper and Tigress. He looks up to the dark sky. Leo looks at the cuts on his right palm and left arm.
They were healing nicely. Leo lets out a low yawn. He looks down below to see Po and Viper talking to one another and Tigress was staring into the fire. Leo chuckled quietly and crossed his legs to begin meditating. It was good to see Po and Viper happy that Tigress is coming back to the Jade Palace, so things won't be awkward between him and Tigress. But remembering what they both talked about a few days ago, Leo decided to give her space to think about it.
He can't tell her why he's spending time in the library or his reasons. If Leo does find out why is this happening and it may be too dangerous, then he will have to deal with it on his own. There's no telling how strong Kaira is right now. She's been inside him for who knows how long. The tiger did help him before. Leo believes Shifu the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior are no match against Kaira. Maybe one day he'll know how strong Kaira is. Or how the fucking hell she end up inside him.
"You're not going to join them?"
Leo lets out an annoyed sigh and opens his eyes to see the white tiger staring at him. "No, I'm not. I'd rather meditate than joining for tonight."
"Let me guess, because of these unexplained events that's been happening?"
"It's better to take care of this in secret. I don't how they would react if I told them and I have no intention of telling them about this."
"Except your friend Panther."
"That's true." He folded his arms. "She and a "few" others saw-"
"A "few"? Try "Everyone" Leo. They all saw what you did." Kaira interrupted.
"Hmph. It wasn't the first time I lost control of myself. I won't forgive myself for what I did. I won't let them know what I did or worry about me. I've already made my decision to do this on my own."
"But are you sure you can do this on your own?" Kaira smirks devilishly. "I doubt you can stop me from escaping here."
"Oh, you better hope that day never comes because there's no way in hell you'll escape. And even that you're still trapped, we'll have to team up in the future to fight powerful enemies like Ke-Pa, Draco, or even... Her... for example."
"I agree with you on that last sentence." Kaira agreed.
"But there is something else that I have been wondering about."
"And what's that?"
"I... I don't know if you would or maybe I'm insane."
"What?" she asks sternly.
"Maybe that you and I can be friends." Leo replied.
Kaira lowers her head to look at him. "Yeah, you're insane. Why in the hell would I be friends with you?"
"Well, you're trapped in here and I can assume you didn't have any friends before all of this happened. And you didn't answer my question if you were concerned if I was going to die at the Valley Of Peace."
"Hell would freeze over before you and I become friends. And I'm still not going to answer that damn question of yours because it's none of your concern, you bastard." Kaira snapped at him. "When this seal is broken, I will be free and I will kill you."
Leo lets out a annoyed grunt and turns his back on her. He opens his eyes and found himself sitting on the branch. The young man leans a bit to the left to see Po, Viper and Tigress getting ready to sleep. He can feel himself getting tired, but Leo wanted to stay up a little more in case there was an ambush. Leo scans the area for a few minutes. After Leo made sure there was no one out here but them and was getting ready to get some sleep, he heard Tigress's voice calling him softly from below.
"Leo?" Tigress calls to him softly. "Are you up?"
Leo didn't respond and closes his eyes, embracing his nightmares.
The next morning, Leo woke up and stretches his arms and legs before hopping of the branch and lands besides Po. They kept on walking for two hours and arrived at the Valley Of Peace. The villagers were happy to see Tigress has come back and they all greeted her. They reached the staircase and walks upward to the Jade Palace. Crane was sweeping out in front of the large doors that led to the hall and notices his friends.
"Tigress!" Crane exclaims surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Mistress Mugan was going to break me like she did to the others before me. If it weren't for Leo, Po, Viper and Wu Yong, I would've been broken like the others." Tigress replied.
"Crane, is Master Shifu back from his meeting?" Leo asks the avian. "We need to tell him that Tigress is back."
"He's inside the Hall Of Warriors right now." Crane answered.
They all step inside the hall and sees the small red panda standing near the moon pool with his back to them. His students approached him.
"We have returned, Master Shifu, with Master Tigress." Leo bows to him.
Shifu turns to his students to see his adoptive daughter standing before him. "I am glad that you decided to return, Master Tigress. So what happened?"
"Po wanted to bring Tigress back to prove that he can change. I went with them to help out. Po wanted to talk to Tigress, but Mugan refused. Leo knocked out the gatekeeper and we went inside. We followed Tigress's voice where she was locked up in her room. She tells us that Mugan was going to break her like the other warriors. Mugan was waiting for us when we came back at the courtyard. She knocked me and Po into the columns and before Mugan could defeat Tigress, Leo fought Mugan furiously and landed good attacks on the fish while Po, Wu Yong and myself knocked over the columns to allow Tigress to kick Mugan in a large tank. Po and Wu Yong cuts her escape off by placing a large flat stone on top." Viper explains the whole thing to the red panda.
"Thank you." Shifu thanks them. "Tigress, I wanted to talk to you about the position, but you already talked to her that afternoon. I should've told all of you how Mugan "trains" at the Garnet Palace."
"At least we won't see her again. I wonder if she ever lightens up." Po said with a smile.
"Not for a long time, I think." Crane suggested.
"She'll have plenty of time to think about that in that tank she's trapped in." Leo said.
A loud growl can be heard coming from Po's stomach.
"Come on. Let's go get some breakfast." Viper said to Leo, Po and Tigress.
Shifu watches his students leave the hall.
Leo sat at the end of the table across from Viper and Po sat across from Tigress. They were having some bean buns for breakfast.
"So, did anything happen this week?" Tigress asked her friends.
"There were bandits this week." Viper answered, swallowing a piece of her bean bun.
"Really? How many?"
"About twenty-eight bandits at least. Leo defeated them all by himself without us. I overheard from one of the rhino guards that the buffalo had a light crack in the skull, a pig had got a gut twist with a spear and a dead crocodile with three arrows on his back when he was used as a shield." Po answered.
Tigress looks at him surprised. He had his eyes close while eating his bean bun.
"I wasn't going to let them get away and there wasn't time for me to get the rest of you." Leo said after swallowing his food. "I was already in the village when that second group of bandits were there. Those guards should really double their defenses at Chorh-Gom."
"Besides that, your skills have improved this week. I'm surprised you landed some hits on Mugan back there at the Garnet Palace." Viper said.
"Next time she'll think twice." Leo stands up and finished his bean bun and drink. "So, you two will be doing your things today?"
"Yep. I'm going to head down to my dad's place help out." Po smiled.
"And I'll probably do a little ribbon dancing." Viper added.
"And you'll probably want to get some rest after the training you went through, correct, Tigress?" Leo looks at her.
"Yes an-"
"Good. I'll be doing what I normally do on a day like this; training, meditation, and library." Leo interrupted. "I'll see you all later at noon." He brought his dishes to the sink and left the kitchen. Leo didn't bother to look at them on his way out. Leo made his way to the Peach Tree Hill and sees Master Ben. "Master Ben. It's been a while."
"Indeed it has, Leo." Master Ben smiled. "Is there something on your mind?"
"Hm." Leo folded his arms. "There is something I've been meaning to ask you, Master." Ben gestured him. "Do you think there's a reason why Kaira is inside of me?"
"I'm not sure, Leo. And I don't think there was any evidence that surfaced after what you told me when you and everyone else got back from Gongmen City from the one I told you."
"What about Grand Master Zen and Grand Mistress Suzu? I wonder if they know more about Kaira."
"Possibly."
"Because so far, I couldn't find the answer in the scrolls and yet they're so long."
"I'm sure the answer you seek will show up, Leo." Ben assured him.
"I hope so, Master. I hope so." Leo said. "Hopefully when I find the answer, I'll have to make some plans on what to do with the answer. If I don't find the answer..." he growls softly.
"Hm. All you can do is wait and see what the future will bring, Leo. I know you'll find the answers you seek one day." Ben places his hand on Leo's shoulder.
"Thank you, Master Ben." Leo lowers his head.
"You're welcome, Leo. Try to relax with your friends sometime while you're young. You don't want to work too hard." Ben smiles at him.
Leo nods his head once and lifts his head to see Master Ben disappear into thin air. He sat down with his legs crossed as the gentle wind blew. The young man thought about something. Why did he had those visions instead of the usual nightmares? It didn't make sense. He knows his parents fought against Sying.
Leo doesn't know if his parents survived. Everything was destroyed that night. He could only hope his parents have survived. But the young man doesn't know what to do if he does meet his parents in the future. He saw Zelda meeting her biological parents five years ago. It was a happy emotional reunion for her. Leo even took the picture on her phone once with her and her entire family. Leo have never called Master Lee father after the day he was adopted. Not even once over the years.
He only addressed Lee as Master. In his teen years, a few of the masters had asked Leo if he'll call Lee father one time and not master. Leo refused to call Lee father as he believes he doesn't have the right to call Lee father and only felt that being called Master is better since Zhao betrayed them. It wouldn't be right because it would be a reminder to Lee. Lee introduced Leo to the Tiger Style after seeing Leo reading a book on kung styles after he adopted the young boy a month ago when he overheard Master Brock and Grand Mistress Suzu told Leo the story of The Great War.
After Zhao's defeat, Master Suyin had informed him that Master Xeno has taken Leo to the hospital after getting attacked by a tiger. She and Ron stayed with Leo the whole night. He went to the hospital the next morning with Panther and Ava while Brock stayed behind to help the masters to secure Zhao in a holding cell beneath the palace. They saw Leo was sleeping. The young boy's shoulders were covered in white bandages. Master Xeno had calm him down until four in the morning.
Lee took a seat besides his adoptive son's bed while the two masters took Panther and Ava for a walk. He was relief to see Leo awake. The doctor came and went over Leo's injuries with Lee. He talked to the doctor in the corner of Leo's room while Panther and Ava were talking to Leo and told the kung fu master that Leo has become afraid of felines and doesn't want anyone to touch his shoulders. Leo will have to stay in the hospital for a few weeks to recover. Then one night, Ron was flipping the channel until he saw the news. It was reporting about a tiger that gotten loose when Zhao attacked. Leo begged him to turn it off as Lee came in the room after talking to the Grand Mistress.
Lee told Leo he will teach him Dragon Style instead of Tiger Style, but to his surprise, Leo still wants to learn about the Tiger Style even if he's afraid of felines. Lee was a little hesitant at first, but he agreed to train Leo in the Tiger Style of Kung Fu. Two months later, Lee became distant and closed off. The masters knew Lee does not want to repeat his mistakes. Leo had trained hard through his master's vigorous training, despite the distant attitude.
Four years later after coming back from a mission, Brock tells him that Leo is being tested by Ju Fen to become her apprentice if he can land a single hit on Xiu. When the two masters arrived, Leo was on the ground, bloodied and bruised all over. He was shocked to hear from Panther that the test went on for two hours.
By the time Leo was at the age of fifteen, his nightmares began after his last encounter encountering the exiled prince and it got even worse when Leo viciously killed her inside that fiery ring. Everyone couldn't believe what they saw. When Leo, Lee and the Grand Mistress were alone in the Great Hall, Leo had come to a decision to leave the Tao Palace after what happened. He doesn't want to lose control over himself because he might just kill the ones he cares about.
Lee understands his adoptive son's decision and promised him to help him get through this, but Leo's mind was made up. He promised his master he'll come back once things calms down. Lee couldn't help but believe that this was his fault, but Suzu assures him it wasn't his fault. The Grand Mistress had a vision and believes that the world will be in danger from a powerful being.
Leo will not forget his master's love and care, even if he's pushing himself to become strong. After what Leo went through over the years, he still wonders if this was fate or destiny. Who knows. And why did he appear here in this world? Was this the work of fate or destiny?
Leo hasn't asked Master Shifu about it when he arrived here. Perhaps he'll talk to the small red panda about it later and Shifu could give him some answers. And the other answers he's searching for may be out there.
Author's Note: I hope this chapter was enjoyable for you all to read because I'm glad where I went with this long chapter. Bringing a bit more of Leo's past was a great idea to add into the mix. Also, Kung Fu Panda 4 is coming out next year in March and we have the plot for the next film. That's going to be very exciting to look forward to. The next chapter won't be up for a while because I'll be working on a couple more chapters for my other stories.
With that being said, don't forget to Follow, Favorite, leave a Review or continue on reading this story of mine. It'll definitely help me to finish up this story to the end. I'll see all of you in the next chapter.