Here's the final chapter of this threeshot! I already knew that it wouldn't really be the most impressive, since this direction has been done to death and others have much more detailed stuff to work with and recieved much better feedback, but I'm still pretty content with what I came up with.

All in all, I'm hoping you enjoyed this little tale of mine.

Let's proceed, yeah?

Shifu could think of many ways to escape a precarious situation through combat, and effectively improvise through said situations and come out on top nearly every time. However, ever since he befriended Po and Mr. Ping, then later Li Shan, he's been finding himself in situations that Kung Fu just cannot get him out of easily. Awkward moments like this leaves him speechless and unable to properly act. This was surely one of those situations, being sandwiched in-between a panda and a goose, while Tigress stared at the trio with a mix of confusion and amusement. Shifu swore he heard her giggle slightly. That was very much unlike her. Was the situation that amusing to her? He doesn't see her giggle often, though it was nice to know that she was definitely smiling more.

"Oh! Hi, Tigress! We were just speaking with your father on a couple things!" Mr. Ping said while still cheerfully rubbing his cheek against Shifu's, while Li does the same for the red panda's other cheek.

"Tigress...this isn't what it looks like." Shifu said sheepishly as he tried not to look embarrassed.

"Really. because it looks like you're sharing a group hug with Mr. Ping and Li. I really don't see why you feel embarrassed about a simple hug." Tigress blinked after that statement. She then rubbed her own neck sheepishly. "Though given my experiences with Po, I suppose I'm not one to talk."

"He shouldn't be embarrassed about getting hugs from his bestest friends!" Mr. Ping beamed.

"Of course! Shifu is simply being bashful!" Li said while also nuzzling his cheek against Shifu' red panda could only begin to blush brightly at the close embraces.

"Hm~" Tigress lightly chuckled at the scene, before turning slightly. "Well, I'm going to head up towards the Palace. I'm guessing Lei Lei really misses me right now."

"Ha! That's an understatement!" Li guffawed, claiming a tighter hug on Shifu, and pulling him closer. He took the time to silently whisper in his ear: This is your chance. I suggest you go with her.

Since she's done with her mission for today, now's your chance to speak with her. Mr. Ping whispers in his other ear. ...Oh yeah, almost forgot. If you mess this up, I'll bop you upside the head with my spoon. And I'll make it hurt. Shifu shivered slightly as Li set him down and Mr. Ping pushed him forward. "Oh, Tigress! Shifu will be accompanying you to the palace! Best to discuss the details of your solo journey, is that right?"

"U-Um...of course." Shifu nodded as he moved away and began walking alongside Tigress, away from the shop.

"Bye you two! Let Po know I said hi!" Mr. Ping waved cheerfully as the duo left them behind. Once they were far enough away, Mr. Ping turned towards Li and grinned goofily. "I think they'll be just fine! So long as Shifu knows what he's doing!"

Li shrugged. "Possibly not. Though that doesn't mean that improvising is impossible for him to do. He'll just have to do so REALLY carefully." Li reassured. "And even so, he'll be listening to his much warmer heart when he does this, so I guess we're both sure that they'll be just fine."

"Indeed!"

(To the Jade Palace...)

"I've returned from my assignment." Tigress waved casually while stepping through the Jade Palace doors, slowly being followed by Shifu.

Lei Lei was again cheerfully chasing Mantis around, becoming determined to catch him by any means necessary. Though that determination soon faded away the second she heard Tigress's voice echo through the halls. She turned and sees the feline standing in the doorway. Her eyes sparkled happily and her smile brightens the entire room. "Stripey Baby!" The cheer echoes through the room as she raised her arms, her precious Tigress doll in paw, and made her way towards her favorite feline. Tigress was more than happy to set her bag to the side so she could kneel down and hug the panda cub.

"Hello there, Lei Lei! Have you been a good girl for me?" Tigress smiled warmly as she gently pets the panda cub, who was currently nuzzling her chest, then leaned up to nuzzle her nose.

"Mhm!~"

"Well I'm glad to hear that. It's also nice to see that the others haven't been causing too much trouble for you either. That wouldn't do at all."

"Oh come one, Tigress! Have a little bit of faith!" Mantis groaned in annoyance, causing Tigress to roll her eyes.

Po soon came out of one of the hallways, waving towards Tigress and Shifu. "Woah! You're back already, Ti? That was faster than I expected!" He folded his arms and clicked his tongue. "Then again, this is you we're talking about. You're bound to break through expectations. So, how'd it go?"

"Managed to chase off all of those bandits being bothersome to the nearby village, so I did them a bit of service and chased them all off single-handedly." Tigress said while softly petting Lei Lei's head. "All in all, it's not too bad a mission. How were things around here? Hopefully nothing too troubling, perhaps."

Mantis seemed almost offended. "What?! I JUST said have some faith in us!"

"I know. Yet I also know that Po won't lie to me. He's fully truthful towards me." Tigress shrugged. "Besides. We all know he's a terrible lier, unlike you and Monkey."

"Green Baby is bad baby!~" Lei Lei giggled warmly.

Mantis's jaw dropped. "W-What?! Tigress! Look at what you've done! Now she thinks I'm a bad baby! I'm a good green baby!" Pause. "...WAIT A MINUTE! I'M NOT A BABY AT ALL! GAAAAAH!"

...This might have gotten out of hand very quickly...and over something seemingly casual. Shifu sweat-dropped. He cleared his throat and lightly tapped his leg. "Um...Tigress. I would like for you to meet me in the Training Hall." Tigress blinked curiously at this, wondering what Shifu would want with her in the Training Hall. Nonetheless, she lightly kissed Lei Lei's head and handed her to Po before following Shifu to the Training Hall.

Po tilted his head a little bit as Viper slithered up next to them. He then turned to Viper and nodded. "Should we go and watch? See how they do?"

"Mhm." Viper nodded. They both soon began to follow the duo to the Training Hall, interesting to see what the duo would do next.

(Training Hall)

Po carried Lei Lei soothingly in his arms as Viper was wrapped around his arm, and was cheerfully sharing some dumplings with the two females. Tigress and Shifu were standing across from one another, with the former wearing a curious expression worthy of a cat. After a slightly tense moment of waiting, Tigress finally voiced said curiosity.

"What might you be up to, Master?"

Shifu closed his eyes for a bit as he thought about what was said to him earlier. Tigress is not the most skilled when it comes to dealing with emotions, Shifu. She's getting better of course, but she still has quite a way to go. I'm just saying that this is how she does things sometimes. When there were times that Po was troubled by something and she was there to help, she tended to do so using her fists to get him to open up and talk to her. Is it the most effective method in the world? No. But for her, it tends to work, as they tend to get that much closer afterwards. Shifu slowly opened his eyes and nodded softly. "I wish for us to spar together."

"Master?"

Shifu faintly nodded. "You've been improving significantly over the years, Tigress. And it's about time that I gauge that progress firsthand, if you don't mind."

Po and Viper both looked towards the pair with curious gazes, while Lei Lei was only focused on Tigress, holding her Tigress figure closer. Tigress herself recognized what Shifu wished to do, and nodded quietly. Shfiu nodded back towards her as they both quietly prepared for their requested spar. Tigress brought her paws together and bowed slightly, while Shifu did the same. Though when he blinked, we was surprised by what he saw.

He seemed to be seeing a younger Tigress instead of her adult self. The vision flashed golden for a couple moments before reality returns to him, suddenly flashing back to her adult self. He shook his head as he tried to regain his focus, though he was definitely curious as to why this was happening. A deep breath was taken before Shifu narrowed his eyes and moved swiftly towards Tigress. She cautiously stood her ground as Shifu kicks at her from below. Her knee raises just high enough for it to lessen the blow. Shifu manages to shift himself just enough for him to land on her knee to propel himself upwards and strike her cheek. Tigress raised her paw just as quickly and deflected the kick just enough for her to scrape her cheek and have him fly past her, landing a couple feet away. He narrowed his eyes as she moved swiftly for the offensive. However...

"Shifu, an acorn can only become the mighty oak, not a cherry tree. You must let her grow into what she will be."

...I remember Oogway once teling me this...but why now...?

Shifu's pondering left him exposed for attack for a few moments. At the last second, he leapt backwards as Tigress's heel smashed into the ground, cracking it slightly. She wasn't done howevert, as she pushed forward with her remaining momentum with both her fists outward. His eyes widened as he brought his arms up to defend, only to be pushed back a couple feet, his own heels digging into the ground. He took after her example and pushed forward to strike her chin. She was quick to bring her arms up and block the kick, except she didn't move in inch. She quickly separated her arms as she pulled back and struck Shifu with a Double-Palm Strike. He skidded across the ground on his feet, but nonetheless stayed standing.

"I hold my ground... steady, strong. This is the way of kung fu."

The vision ends just as quickly as it began, forcing Shifu to hastily regain focus and engage Tigress once again.

Po and Viper were watching the spar with outright shocked expressions. They could already see something was happening with Shifu, but it wasn't nearly enogh for him to lose too much focus while Tigress was moving. He wasn't that impeded at all. And yet despite that, Tigress was doing impressively well against him this time. Unlike the others, when it was completely one-sded in Shifu's favor. Lei kept her carefree demeanor the entire time. All she saw as her idol being awesome, so that's currently her only focus aside from holding her figure in her arms. Shifu rushed towards Tigress once again, but was delayed as Tigress swooped for a leg sweep. He jumps up to avoid it and kicks at her head, only form him to duck under and regain her stance at the very last moment, allowing her to strike at his unprotected back before he could properly recognize what was going on.

"I will make you proud."

If Shifu could count the amount of times that pride has blinded him to the things that should have been painfully obviosus, he would slap his past self for being so dense and so distant. He didn't want to give her constant praise in fear of a second Tai Lung, but this was hardly a worthy substitute for that behavior. She's long-since accepted that having a familial relationship with him would be just that, a dream out of her reach. He never meant for her to feel like that. If he could go back and do better, he most certainly would.

"Shifu loved Tai Lung like he had never loved anyone before... or since. And now, he has a chance to make things right. To train the true Dragon Warrior."

Shifu pushed Tigress' fist to the side as she strikes at the ground where he stood, cratering it a bit. He still kept his eyes on the spar, though his mind was multi-tasking these things. She wanted to become the Dragon Warrior. Not for her own sake and pride, but for him. Of course he would pay more attention to her, but seeing him actually smile because he was lifted of a heavy burden...she would have done anything. Luckily he never got the chance to see what that 'anything' might amount to. Shifu blinked as he kicked upwards, avoiding another kick which would have done major damage if he was a few moments too slow. Though he had a feeling Tigress would pull back at a precise moment if it became too much. The thought quickly passes through his head as Shifu sidestepped a punch, grabbing Tigress by the arm and flinging her over his shoulder. Tigress was thrown in the air, but righted herself and landed perfectly on all fours.

The two narrowed their eyes at one another, before charging once again. They both jumped towards one another and kicked at the same time. A bit of chi slipped through the strike, which blinded them slightly in a bright flash of light when they collided.

"What are you doing? You are nothing! I just defeated Shifu!"

"...No. I'm not Shifu. I am Tigress."

The light slowly dies down, and Shifu allowed his eyes to open and adjust. When everything cleared up, he was lying on his back, while Tigress was still standing. She seemed just as surprised as he was. As well as Po and Viper. Lei Lei, once again, just seemed glad to be there.

"...Did she...? I think she did." Po said in disbelief, but nonetheless smiled brightly. "She defeated Shifu in a fair spar! That is a humongus jump in improvement!"

"I think she's just as surprised as we are." Viper pointed out with a proud giggle.

Meanwhile, Shifu still stared at the ceiling, slightly surprised by what had happened. Though after a few moments, he smiled and chuckled slightly, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "And here I thought that those two were just playing around when it came to that whole 'understanding through fists' theory...but alas, many more things are clear to me now. Maybe not every single thing...but my understanding has definitely grown." Shifu slowly stood up and dusted himself off. There was NO way that things were just going to patch up after just one sparring session. But he had to admit...this was definitely a start. There may be a time when Tigress will be able to talk to him about this directly. Butfor now, he was just glad he made a immense step forward.

":...Master. Are you alright?" Tigress asked, kneeling down towards him in concern.

Shifu shook his head softly. "I...I am alright, Tigress. There is no need for you to worry about me. A bit surprised, but in a pleasant way." He then walked up towards her and gently placed his paw upon her cheek, lightly caressing it. Tigress stared into his eyes, but neither of them said anything more. A silent message passed through the two of them, and they both seemd to understand what the other was trying to say. Tigress proceeded to pull Shifu in a hug. He was slightly surprised by this, but he closed his eyes and allowed himself to surrender to the warmth she provided.

"I am Tigress. Tigress the monster. A monster no one wants..."

"You are NOT a monster. You're just a little girl..."

...MY little girl...

"...I'm so proud of you." Shifu said softly. The response was for Tigress to hug him tighter, as a warm smile spreads across her face.

Po and Viper watched them both, Lei Lei still bouncing in the former's arms. Viper turned towards Po with a soft smile. "This is great, isn't it?"

"You bet. I mean, it's not gonna remedy all of those years of emtional pain..." Po began as he watched the pair embrace one another, for once being completely free of worries, and just focused on each other. Po then smiled as he closed his eyes and nodded. "...but ya gotta admit, this is a pretty awesome start."