Closer Eye

An orange fist slammed right beside his face, making him flinch. The glaring tiger panted heavily as rage tumbled out of her mouth. She broke the wood wall behind him, creating a new hole for Zeng to fix. "You used her as bait?!"

"No! No, I didn't intend to leave her side! I figured I could lure out Lin and ONLY Lin," Po explained.

"But you knew there was a possibility that three dangerous criminals would show up and protect their family member?" Tai Lung snarled quietly. The others all madly stared at the panda while Tigress looked like she was three moments away from wringing Po's neck.

"I never meant to leave her side. That wasn't the plan."

"But the plan was to willingly put her in danger?!" Tigress growled. "What were you thinking?! Regardless of how we feel about Jiaohua, Lei Lei shouldn't be anywhere NEAR those three!"

"And his son?"

The tiger shrunk her eyes. "Don't use him. Jiaohua knows better than anyone that what you did was completely reckless!"

"I did not mean to leave her side! That part wasn't planned!"

Shifu sighed, dragging his hand down his face. "Let's get back to Jiaohua's request. He wants Lin and Lei Lei to see each other?"

"Yes. And he doesn't want his son to be hurt or caught up in the fray," Po explained.

"Absolutely not," Tai Lung grunted. "It doesn't matter if he's just a kid, he's the son of a thief."

The panda's glare snapped to the snow leopard. "Don't you think everyone should have the option for a second chance?"

"As long as he's around, Jiaohua's going to put Lei Lei AND Lin in danger. If Jiaohua knows anything about being a parent, he should know this."

"He also knows how kids act. They're curious and they just want to make the people they love happy. You know this more than anyone Tai Lung," Po remarked forcefully. The snow leopard said nothing. "Lin was in town trying to find a way to say sorry to us for getting Lei Lei in trouble. They're already feeling guilty for something that is totally out of their control. And stopping Lin from having a friend is a sure way to make a revenge arc. The kid has a good heart and you know it."

The snow leopard knew he was right. They didn't even have to mention the possibility of Lei Lei trying to see Lin. But Tai Lung grumbled out, "He is still the SON of a criminal."

"That doesn't mean anything! You were the 'son' of a Kung Fu master. Look how that ended up," Zhen spoke up. Crane, Mantis, Viper, and Monkey quietly moved out of the snow leopard's scowl.

Tai Lung growled up to the Corsac fox, "And what is that supposed to mean, fox?"

"People change and choose to do good or bad things, regardless of who raised them," Zhen said defiantly, staring up at the snow leopard's amber glare. "You had everything and yet you became the infamous Tai Lung."

"You had nothing, and yet became lackey to one of Po's worst villains, betraying Po in the process," Tai Lung glared, "I know I'm not the Dragon Warrior, but you have much to learn before you take over the title."

"What are you getting at?"

"It just seems," Tai Lung spoke heavily, "that choosing mistakes seems to run wild in this place."

Zhen hissed but Master Shifu stepped in between the two.

"That's enough," He said. "Tai Lung is right, but so is Po. We have to play this carefully. We don't know what Jiaohua's intentions are and none of his actions make sense. Until we can figure out his motives, we'll have to do this carefully to ensure that both Lei Lei AND Lin don't get caught up MORE than they already have." Po, Tigress, Tai Lung, and Zhen glared at each other. Viper could hear Crane swallow hard in the quiet air. They left the kitchen one by one; Tigress was the last to leave. The disappointed rage in her eyes made Po bow his head as she left. The panda sighed and plopped into a chair.

"I messed up," Po groaned. A green bug appeared in front of him and rested his raptorial claw on his hand.

"Yeah, you did big buddy," Mantis said. Viper slapped her face with the tip of her tail. "But now you have to fix it."

"How?"

"Try something. It's better than doing nothing. First, talk with Tigress. She might help you with the other two."

Po gave a light chuckle before leaving the kitchen. Predictably, he found Tigress in the Training Hall, kicking and punching the dummies into splinters. Po sighed. He knew he was wrong for what he did. Worse was he didn't tell Tigress about it. But knowing her, she and the others would never agree to the plan.

The tiger noticed Po and growled, turning away. "Wait, wait, please don't."

"Po, you know I don't want to talk. Not now."

"Okay, just... Can I say I'm sorry?"

"I don't believe you."

"But I am," Po replied, slowly closing the gap between them. "I know I should've ran this past you before doing anything. It's just... we really don't know why Jiaohua is doing this and..." He sighed, glancing at Lei Lei's little play area. "If we can prevent another kid from becoming a villain, isn't that a good thing?"

"Two wrongs don't make a right, Po. And that's not... That's not the only reason why I'm mad," Tigress sighed, facing him. "Why wouldn't you trust me? Me, your 'best' friend. You didn't trust me enough to tell me about your little plan."

"I knew you wouldn't be on board with it."

"So the next option was to go behind my back!"

"No! No," Po sighed, "I know that Jiaohua being a criminal was an immediate no for you, but I really want to make sure that the kids stayed out of this. Plus, if Jiaohua isn't really a bad guy, we might stop all of this without fighting."

"So because you assumed I didn't have any other opinions about Jiaohua, you went behind my back?"

Po's body halted. He tilted his head with confusion. "You... have other opinions about him?"

"Yes! I do!" Tigress exclaimed. "Even I know his actions don't make sense, and I understand why you want to take care of his son. But you didn't trust me enough to tell the truth, and you weren't honest with me. Your friend. I might not agree with your ideas, but you always gave me a say in the matter at the very least. But you didn't even let me have the opportunity to say no," The tiger suddenly smirked. "Hmm, you didn't trust me, you didn't tell me the truth, and you didn't respect me enough to let me have a say in the matter. Sound familiar?"

"Wooooow, okay yeah. That's fair. Hehe, Mama Yun would be proud of you," Po grunted as if he was punched in the gut. "You're right. I get it now. I'm wrong for what I did. I'll try not to do something like this again. I'll... I'll trust you more. I don't... I shouldn't act like I know what you're going to say. Especially when I'm the one that knows you the least."

"I wouldn't say that," Tigress said softly. The tiger took a deep breath. She quietly walked up to Po and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Just... please trust me next time."

"I'll try. I promise," Po smiled.

"Now it's Tai Lung and Zhen's turn?" The panda nodded. "I don't know if those two will be easy," She said.

"What about any of this is easy?" Po asked. Tigress smiled and walked with the panda to find the two. Looking through the barracks and the Hall of Heroes, they couldn't find them anywhere. Po scratched his head. "This is bad. We don't know Tai Lung or Zhen's problem spot."

"Problem spot?"

"Yeah, everyone has a problem spot. For you, it's the Training Hall. For Master Shifu, it's the Peach Tree or his room. For Crane, it's that meadow over the west side of the mountain range. For Viper, Monkey, and Mantis, it's their rooms. I don't know what Tai Lung's or Zhen's problem spots are."

The tiger only blinked and hid a chuckle. "You certainly know us, Po."

"Hm. Obviously not enough."

"I'm not going to hold it over you, Po. You made a mistake and you're trying to make it right. That's not forgiveness. That's atonement. It's much better than any 'sorry'."

Po gave a small smile before they continued. They were coming out of the Hall of Heroes when they saw Zhen and Tai Lung by the steps leading down to the village. Po gave Tigress a look and the two quietly listened into the conversation.

"What are you doing here?" Zhen grumbled.

"I live here, too, fox," Tai Lung grunted.

"Come to say you're sorry?"

Tai Lung raised his eyebrow with a small smirk. "No, I've only come to... double down as it were."

"Leave me alone."

"You know I'm right."

"About what?"

"About you acquiring the Dragon Warrior title."

"I'm a little better than Po, though."

"No, you're not. And that's saying a lot," Tai Lung answered flatly. Tigress could hear the panda quietly griping next to her in their hiding spot. "Po is much more humble than you. He knows that he doesn't know everything. But you seem to only base things off of the underworld from which you came."

Zhen lifted her eyebrow and crossed her arms. "And what about you? You're the guy who had everything and gave it up at the first 'no' you heard. You don't know anything about me. Or what it's like to be me."

"I know what's like to assume how the world works. Let me ask you. Did you think you would ever stop being a thief when you first met Po?" Tai Lung asked. The corsac fox silently stared back at him without a word. "You say I don't know who you are. And you're... almost right. But we do have a similarity. We both have a history of doing... unethical things when the world doesn't work the way we think it should."

"Why are you even talking to me?"

"To ensure you don't become like me," He said thickly.

Zhen's eyes widened and all the tension in her body poised to go on the offense left her. "Wh-What?"

"Ever since you got out, you've shown nothing but cockiness. You have potential, but you must learn who you are outside of being a thief. Just as I learned I wasn't just Shifu's student. That's not who we are. Po doesn't have the kind of arrogance that I or the others have. He's... goofy, but he is always humble enough to learn from his mistakes. To learn who he is and how the world truly works. If you can't do that, then maybe you and I are more alike than you think. And that's a problem." The snow leopard left her speechless as he walked back to his room. Zhen's defense softened as her hands dropped to her sides. Po and Tigress slowly came out of their hiding spots and stood next to the fox who peered down into the village. Her eyebrows glared at the village as if it were a reflection of her own flaws.

Po sighed, "He's right, you know."

"What?"

"You... have been a little gloaty-showboaty. Especially when I first met you."

"Oh come on! You can't blame me! You were... you!"

"She's got a point," Tigress smirked. The panda's deadpanned face only made the tiger's grin widen.

"But," He continued, "Having a big head can leave you blind. You always have to accept what's happening now, what is in front of you. Being Dragon Warrior means being you. Not an image or idea of you."

Zhen sighed and sat down on the stony step. "So what now?" Tigress looked at Po for the answer.

The panda sighed, "I don't know. Jiaohua wants his son to have Lei Lei as a friend. That's going to be hard even if we were on good terms."

"Why?"

"I was teased for being the chef's panda son. I can't imagine the kind of teasing he would get for being the son of a thief," Po answered Tigress. "Either way, we have to keep a close eye on the kids."

"A much closer eye," Tigress reiterated in a growl. The panda sighed but nodded. "In the meantime, we'll have to treat Jiaohua with care. But I don't want Lei Lei getting anything from Jiaohua through Lin."

"That should be easy," Po smiled, "He seems to respect my dads a lot."

Tigress sighed, "Alright, we'll take care of how we treat Lin. Po's right, we shouldn't treat him any different because of who his father is. But what about his father's crimes?"

"We need to learn more about Jiaohua to take him down," Po smirked, "And while his son is here, we'll have a slight advantage. We'll learn the kind of person he really is."

"This is such a dumb plan," Zhen sighed.

"Hey!"

"But... we've tried every other one so far without any results," Tigress replied. The fox groaned but nodded.

Continued...