98 DAYS AND COUNTING....

The masters of the Jade Palace were a little bit forlorn when Po finally left, but they remembered that he wouldn't be gone long and thus made an effort to not be too sad about it. Tigress, who cared the most for Po out of the group of masters, was left deeply affected by his absence. Not wanting anyone to notice though, she kept the thoughts to herself and continued on with her training alongside her friends and her master/father. She wasn't quite sure just how long Po would be gone for, but she was determined to not be one of those type of girls who sulked about and felt they had no purpose in life just because the guy they loved wasn't currently with them.

I am not helpless. Or some sappy damsel. Or weak, she would tell herself daily. Po doesn't even know I like him. And if he did, it may not have ended well. Just be happy he's getting time to spend with his real dad. That's something most people like us never get the chance to do.

Tigress obviously missed Po right alongside her friends, but she tried not to show any additional sadness outside of just talking about how it was weird not having Po complain about a new training session. Or how it felt quieter without the Dragon Warrior cracking jokes. Or how much Po's antics would be missed. Fortunately for Tigress, the only person who took Po's absence about as hard as she was taking it was Monkey. Without his best friend and trickster partner-in-crime by his side, he was left with Mantis who didn't get as much into pranks as Po did. That's not to say that Mantis wasn't a fun friend; Monkey and Po just did things that Monkey and Mantis normally didn't do and no other person would replace that fun for the primate.

After a week passed since Po's departure, the master noticed how much quieter the Jade Palace seemed to be. She had always known how much of an impact Po made on everyone there, but she hadn't realized it's extremity until the panda left. There wasn't much hearty laughter. No wise-crack jokes. No dumb questions that made Shifu's ear twitch. No amusing and clumsy tumbles down the stairs. No one to talk to by the peach tree or meditate with or make up new kung fu moves with. It was...empty.

Tigress felt it hard. It settled in the pit of her stomach and it kept her up for hours when she tried to fall asleep. She could feel it engulf her when she tried to meditate alone in the training hall. To her, Po was the life of the Jade Palace. Without that life, there was no color.

Exactly one week and three days after Po's departure, the master's were given a day off as Shifu could see that they all missed Po and weren't completely focused. (Much to his slight annoyance). Tigress woke up that morning with the empty pit in her stomach once again. I need to get a hold of myself, she told herself. He won't be back for another four weeks!

The master's door swung open, revealing a very happy looking Monkey.

"Morning!!!" he called out cheerily. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine," Tigress replied, sitting up to look at him. "I see you slept well."

"Aaaand we've had a great morning!" Monkey added with a grin. "Speaking of which, still miss Po?"

"To some degree along with the rest of you," Tigress admitted. "But he'll be back soon and in the meantime we still have the job of protecting the valley."

"I know," the master replied, smirking.

Tigress eyed him. "What exactly put you in a good mood this morning?" she asked.

Monkey started snickering and darted out of the doorway, leaving the master to groan irritably and get out of bed.

What on earth are those two up to now?!

Tigress walked out of the barracks and headed over to the training hall to start meditating. On the way over, she passed by the kitchen where she heard a faint, "We called it! We called it! Monkey, you owe me 40 yuan!" The master paused for a moment before she let curiosity get the best of her and she headed over to the kitchen. She entered the building and into the main kitchen area where she found Viper making breakfast, Crane standing by the table with an annoyed look on his face, and Monkey and Mantis doing a victory dance around the two. When Viper spotted Tigress, she let out, "Tigress, please make them go away!"

"And miss an opportunity to celebrate?!" Mantis exclaimed. "No way!"

Tigress gave the two a hard look that made them stop. "Out!" she snapped icily.

The two masters, not in the mood for Tigress' temper to explode, quickly ran out of the kitchen where Mantis could still be heard claiming his money. Tigress shut the door with an eye roll. "What was all that about?" she asked.

"They caught us in the middle of our date this morning," Crane answered sourly. "And at the worst time."

"Oh," the master replied, sitting down at the table. "Let me guess: they caught you two kissing?"

"Yep," Viper concurred. She finished the food and brought it to the table for everyone to eat. "And they've been bothering us about it all morning."

"As I can clearly see," Tigress noted.

"I swear, if they keep casting bets even when we're dating," Crane warned. "I'll be more than happy to put an end to it."

"Easy, Crane," Viper told him gently. "Lets not stoop to violence."

Tigress sat quietly and ate her breakfast, hoping that the two warriors wouldn't come flying back in with more betting wars. Crane and Viper, glad for some peace and quiet, sat together and quietly discussed some things that they wanted to do that day while they had time off from training. The room was almost silent with the noise volume barely going above a whisper, leaving Tigress with yet another sad pit in her stomach. I never thought I'd hate the Jade Palace being this silent, she thought to herself. I'm so used to it being loud and lively.

The master finished her food completely lost in thought and then silently went to wash her bowl.

"Tigress," Viper called over to her friend. "Are you sure you're alright? You haven't been yourself all week."

Tigress glanced at her. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You've been very quiet lately," Viper told her. "And you've started getting a bit absent-minded."

"I have not!" the master protested.

"Yes you have."

Tigress dried her dishes and put them away, saying, "I'm fine!"

As she went to walk out of the kitchen, Viper called after her, "Where are you going?"

"Out!"

Tigress ventured outside where she passed Monkey and Mantis slipping into the kitchen. They were still talking and snickering to themselves, but they barely noticed her as they passed by. Not that Tigress minded; she didn't need any unwanted attention from them at the moment. She proceeded to walk over to the gate with the intention of leaving the Jade Palace. She had planned to go down to the noodle shop to spend some time with Mr. Ping. Normally she would try to avoid the noodle shop, but with Po gone and the old goose clearly upset about it, the master figured that he would want some company. (Besides Scorpion).

Tigress walked out of the Jade Palace grounds and into the village, watching everyone go about their daily business and every so often talk quietly about when they thought Po would return. The master let out a small sigh and headed over to the noodle shop. She really hoped that Viper wasn't right about her not acting herself. The last thing she needed was someone pointing it out and pestering her on whether or not she liked Po or whether or not they would start dating. Even if she did like him.

The master entered the noodle shop and spotted Mr. Ping sadly chopping noodles up at the counter. Scorpion was no where to be seen although this was probably because she was busy at the clinic she had set up. Tigress walked over to the old goose who didn't notice she had entered until she cleared her throat and said, "Hey, Mr. Ping."

Mr. Ping looked up, a sad smile forming on his face. "Master Tigress!" he exclaimed happily. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"I thought you might want some company," Tigress told him. "What with Po being gone."

"I could use it," the noodle maker admitted, prompting Tigress to sit down at the table closest to the window. "I mean, Scorpion's been great in trying to help me get through Po bonding with his real dad but...I can't help but think that he'll still shun me after he spends time with him!"

A customer came up to the counter and ordered some soup which Mr. Ping quickly gave him. When she left, Tigress turned to Mr. Ping and said, "Po wouldn't shun you. He loves you too much."

"I know. But...Li is his real dad. And I'm just the noodle maker who raised him! Li actually knows kung fu! Kind of. He just does visions, I believe. But I'm just the goose who raised Po! I taught him noodles and how to be kind and I home schooled him because the teachers didn't want him in their class and.... He's my son! I don't know who this Li thinks he is taking away the only family I have! Taking away my son!"

"Mr. Ping," Tigress reminded him. "Po is Li's son too. You did raise him, but Li is still his dad. And he loves Po as much as you do. He just didn't get to raise him because of what Lord Shen did to his village."

"I know," Mr. Ping whimpered. "That's what worries me. What if he loves Po so much that Po loves him more and leaves me?!"

"Po won't leave you, Mr. Ping. He loves you more than anything and you do whatever you can to raise him and protect him. Like using the Chou-Wa Punch-Kick on Tsao. And he promised to come back after a month and you know as well as I do that Po isn't one to break a promise." She grinned. "Besides," she added. "Didn't you mention something about teaching his future kids how to cook or something?"

Mr. Ping smiled at the thought. "Of course," he said happily. "How could I forget? Broth runs through our veins!"

"As I've heard," Tigress commented.

Mr. Ping sighed. "I suppose I'll have to wait until Po gets back," he sighed. "But it's killing me not knowing if he's alright."

"Po is the Almighty Dragon Warrior," Tigress reassured the old goose. "I can almost guarantee you hat he's perfectly fine."

"I know. I can't help but worry though."

"You are his dad. Isn't that your job?"

Mr. Ping smiled sadly. "Of course," he admitted. "And knowing Po, he'd probably do the same to his kids. Whenever he decides to have any, that is."

Tigress held back a laugh as Scorpion entered the noodle shop, going inside the kitchen and giving Mr. Ping a kiss on the cheek. "How's lunch going?" She asked.

"Alright," the noodle maker admitted. "Tigress offered to keep me company."

Scorpion turned to look at Tigress with a smile. "Well, hello, sweetheart," she said friendly. "It's nice to see you and Pingy bonding."

"Um...thanks," the master said slowly. "Just trying to help him through Po's absence."

"Which I appreciate," Mr. Ping told her, going back to his soup.

Scorpion began chopping up some vegetables and glanced at the master. "How have you and your friends taken Po's absence?" she asked.

"Alright," Tigress answered. "I think Monkey's taken it the hardest, but he's feeling ha little better. We know he'll be back soon so we're trying not to dwell on it."

Another customer came to the counter and ordered a bowl of dumplings, stopping by Tigress' table to confirm whether or not her and Po were dating. After irritably telling him no, Tigress turned back to Scorpion and Mr. Ping and asked, "Can I ask a really random question?"

"Absolutely," Mr. Ping replied. "What is it?"

"How come ever since we've gotten back from Gongmen City, almost everyone in the valley has the idea Po and I are going out?"

Scorpion held back an amused chuckle. "Well, my dear," she said. "The simple answer to that is that you two seem so close that everyone just assumes it."

"Close?"

"You two always fight together," Mr. Ping elaborated. "You sit next to each other or close to each other when you eat, you two hang out the most together from what I've heard, and you and Po just seem to click."   He shrugged. "I could go on, but I don't think Po would appreciate that."

Tigress grinned and rolled her eyes. "Well, we're not," she stated. "So people are just going to have to get that through their head."

"Why? Haven't you ever liked Po?"

The master felt another flush come creeping up to her face and struggled to not let it be noticeable. "What?" she asked.

"You and Po are always together but you're not dating.... Do you mean to tell me that you've never...felt anything for him?"

Tigress felt the heat rise to her cheeks. "No," she lied. "Not like that."

Mr. Ping eyed her. "Are you sure?" He said, noticing her cheeks redden ever-so-slightly.

Tigress opened her mouth to answer, but a sudden green blast erupted, shaking the entire valley along with it. The villagers in the noodle shop panicked and ducked under the tables with screams of terror.

"What in the name of noodles was THAT?!" Mr. Ping cried.

"I don't know," Tigress admitted. "I'll go check it out."

"Be careful!"

The master slipped out of the noodle shop, the dust from the blast clouding her vision and making it almost impossible to see. She squinted through the cloud only to see another bright green light and be blasted backwards towards the Jade Palace stairs. She groaned and stood up, trying to get a better look at where it was coming from.

"Master Tigress?" cane a familiar voice. "Long time no see. How's my favorite girl?"

Tigress saw the figure emerge from the smoke, her body nearly becoming paralyzed in shock.

"KAI?!"