The Countdown

"The heart can be a lonely road..."

The next afternoon, Tigress was taking deep breaths and approaching the Sacred Hall of Warriors where she knew Shifu would be. She was wearing the same shirt that she had worn at the festival the night before which took her friends by surprise. (Which had been the main reason Tigress had decided to wear it for the day. That and after wearing it with zero mocking, she decided to give a different style a try). She wasn't quite sure what she was going to say to her master, but as he had been the one she had been confiding her problem in, she felt obliged to tell the grandmaster what was going on. However, she wasn't quite sure how he was going to take it. As her master, there might have been some problems regarding Po's title. As her father...war might break out.

The master hesitantly reached the top of the stairs and approached the doors. With a deep breath, she creaked one of them open where she saw Master Shifu meditating by the moon pool.

"Master Shifu?" she called out nervously.

Shifu's ear twitched at the sound of her voice and he answered, "Come on in, Tigress. You're not disturbing me."

Tigress walked inside and shut the door behind her, approaching the master who now stood up to face her. "I've been meaning to talk to you," he said.

Tigress eyed him. "About...?" she asked.

"The symptoms?"

"Oh. Right."

The two sat down by the water, Shifu glancing over at her. "I see you decided to wear the shirt Po got for you," he noted.

Tigress smiled. "Yeah, I thought it would be interesting to see everyone's reaction to it," she admitted. She chuckled, remembering Monkey and Mantis looking at her funny. "It was worth it," she added.

"You looked like you were enjoying the jaw drops," Shifu pointed out. "I'm glad you're a little more comfortable with wearing something besides the qipao. I was afraid that incident with the bandits completely scarred you for life."

Tigress laughed. "Maybe briefly," she admitted. "But I'm fine now."

"I'm really glad to hear it."

The two sat in silence for a moment, Tigress debating back and forth on what exactly to say.

"So..." Shifu began. "Any new developments or is everything the same since the last time we talked?"

"Kind of," Tigress told him. "There's been some leveling off of...the feelings I've been getting."

The red panda looked at her, saying, "Feelings? Last time you kept calling it symptoms."

The master bit her lip. "I...might have figured out the problem," she admitted.

"And that would be...?"

"I think I'm in love with Po."

Tigress was expecting Shifu to be in total shock or slight appall, but much to her surprise, he responded to her revelation with, "I know."

"You do?!" she exclaimed. "You knew that all this time?!"

"I had a sneaking suspicion," Shifu admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"First, Tigress, answer me this question: when you first realized these feelings for Po, what were your thoughts on it?"

"I thought I was imagining it or just had some false infatuation," the master replied. "I mean, we've been friends for a long time and to be in love with your friend is just...not what I had in mind."

"Exactly," Shifu said. "I knew that if I told you what I believed to be the issue, you most likely would have denied it and thought I was off my rocker."

"I wouldn't say off your rocker," Tigress assured him. "But, you're probably right about me not believing a word of it."

The master sat cross-legged by the moon pool, Shifu adding, "You still seem concerned."

"I just don't know how I'm going to tell Po about it," she admitted. "Or whether I should tell him at all."

The grandmaster eyed her. "Why wouldn't you tell him?" he inquired curiously.

"Well first of all," Tigress answered. "There's that whole 'stepping-down-as-dragon' warrior problem he has to contend with if he ever gets in a relationship. And even if that wasn't an issue, what happens if I tell him. I don't want to ruin the friendship we've worked so hard to build."

Shifu smiled at her. "Perhaps I can ease your mind on both of those matters," he replied. "In response to your first worry, there are exceptions to the rule of the Sacred Onyx Shaolin. Yes, Po would be required to step down from his position as Dragon Warrior if ever married, but he doesn't have to under three circumstances that must all be met: whoever he is involved with must have a high mastery of kung fu, must not be of royal descent, and...well, no need to go into the last one. It isn't relevant at the moment."

"Master..."

Shifu sighed. "The last one states you shouldn't be able to produce children," he grumbled. "But I personally consider it completely unnecessary, not to mention cruel."

Tigress let out a short laugh. "Knowing Po, that would be a nightmare," she noted.

"Hence why he would most likely step down because of it. But the council doesn't keep too strict of an eye on Po since he's capable of taking care of himself, so perhaps we can sneak around that last one if the situation ever calls for it."

"Whatever happened to building the Jade Palace on honesty?"

"Who said anything about lying? I just simply wouldn't tell them."

Tigress rolled her eyes playfully. "You're very wise, but very tricky," she noted.

"I try to be," Shifu told her with a grin. "Anyway, in answer to the second problem, I can't tell you much about Po's reaction, but I'm sure if you were to tell him about how you felt, he would say something along the lines of 'awesome'. Although if he ever hurt you in anyway, I'll take great pleasure in kicking him back out of the Jade Palace."

Tigress chuckled. "I'm sure you would," she replied. She sighed and added, "But...how am I supposed to tell him that? I just found out! What if this isn't the best time to say anything?"

"If you don't feel ready to tell Po," Shifu assured her. "That's okay. Just take a bit of time to collect your thoughts."

Tigress smiled. "So...you're okay with this?" she asked him.

"As your father and master, I have no problem with you and Po being together," Shifu assured her. He frowned and added, "But do take some advice Tigress and don't wait too long to tell him you love him."

"Don't wait too long?" Tigress repeated.

"The heart can be a very lonely road if you love someone and then lose them to someone else," the red panda told her. "As you may well recall, Po has come close to either being in a strong relationship or being married. And since Po tends to catch a lot of eyes, it may not be too long before someone else comes along that catches his interest."

Tigress nodded. "I'll keep it in mind," she promised. She went to leave, but then turned around to give Shifu a tight hug. "Thank you, baba," she said quietly.

Shifu smiled. "You're welcome," he responded.

Tigress then released him and walked out of the Sacred Hall of Warriors, keeping close in mind Shifu's warning about hesitating to tell Po how much she cared.