Crouching Tigress, Hidden Fox

Her wings unfurled. Her red eyes were filled with mirth. Her pointed ears twitched at every little sound. Four sharp fangs poked from her lips, two on top, two on the bottom. Her fur was a gorgeous purple. There was a reason she was called the most beautiful, and most deadly, in the region. To her gang anyway. But if she had her way, and she will, the entirety of China will know her name.

Bianfu, they would chant. Her beauty would be the envy of China, and every female would want to be her, men would die at her feet. Her smile could destroy the sun in a brightness contest. Her wings could create hurricanes. And the glint in her eyes could stop a persons heart.

She was the leader of the Bianfu clan. It was a work in progress name. It sounded better than the Vampire clan some people have tended to call them. They were a clan, more of a gang, of the toughest bats in all of China. A clan of-

A sudden scream ripped through the cave, and to her ears, it sounded like an explosion. Her red eyes were filled with annoyance.

"She fell out of the cave again." She didn't have to look around the darkness to know who it was. "And she's not flapping her wings."

She was upset that the usual occurrence that seemed to go on around her interrupted her thoughts of beauty. With a snap of her finger, the bat flew by her in a red blur, on a mission to rescue his comrade.

"Lady Bianfu," a calm voice entered her ears. "Taifeng and I have scouted the area. We are just outside The Valley."

Bianfu smirked. The cave was dark, and she stood in the only place where the light shone. Like an angel with a halo. They travel at night, and it was very hard to tell how close they were to their destination.

"Take Huo and Shui with you," she commanded, but as he turned around, she had one final thing to say. "Diqiu, make sure they don't start anything. We don't want to face the Furious Five just yet."

His green eyes sparkled in the darkness before he faded away. Bianfu just stared out the cave. From where the cave was, she could see over the mountains.

"It's been awhile."

Chapter 4: Big Trouble (in a little peaceful village) in China

Panther bit into a nicely cooked salmon, that looked a tad raw. Nearby, Su wrinkled her nose at the smell. She couldn't stand the smell of fish. Bring on the vegetables, especially carrots, anyday.

Delicious, she thought as she bit into her own dish. Steam flowed upwards and into her nostrils. She hated the fact that the fish stench interfered with it, but she fought it. She had to clean and cook the fish that Naruto and Panther caught. It was disgusting, and she hoped that the fishes couldn't talk. As Panther bit into half of the fish head, the fish's lone eye watched her. Pleading.

Survival of the fittest, she guessed.

Survival of the weirdest is more like it, she bit into a steamed carrot, and enjoyed the taste. Steam escaped her mouth when she opened it. Her ear twitched as she heard something. Something familiar. "Did you hear that?"

Panther looked up. The lone eye of the fish was tucked between two of his teeth. Su turned a shade of green, which almost matched her green eyes. "What does the fox say, indeed."

The popping sound that followed didn't help much. She felt the carrot come up, and her eyes threatened to roll back into her head. Don't those cooks properly clean their food? Like, cut off the heads first? Remove the eyes?

She swallowed the bile that lingered in her throat. "Why do you say that?"

"Because it's Naruto. You tell him to stay out of trouble, he finds himself in it. You say sit, he stands. Don't get in the trash, he finds himself neck deep in it. Keep out of your personal stuff, and he-"

"I get it, I get it." Su looked out into the street. No fire or angry mob. That's good, right? "I hope he stays out of trouble. We just got here after all."

"If he doesn't, it was nice knowing him," Panther said, chewing on another eyeball. Her cheeks grew green. "We should head to the palace. I'm sure the kit can sniff us out."

After that food, I'm positive of that, she once again swallowed the bad taste that came up.

xxxx

Oh, yeah, that felt real good. Naruto thought. Three claw marks line his face, but they were healing fairly quickly.

"What's up with females!" He pretty much screamed. Several of the civilians, mainly male, but also a few females, shared his sentiment by nodding in agreement.

"I beg your pardon?" Kushina asked, only to get ignored.

"Not like she had anything there in the first place." He rubbed his face. Pretty soon, flawless skin and fur would be there, with no sign he was ever scratched.

"Welcome to my world, son. Welcome to my world." He didn't need to see his father to know that the man was nodding sagely.

"And what is that suppose to mean?"

Naruto adjusted his backpack. He honestly didn't know where he was suppose to go. He didn't even know the purpose of arriving in the village. So, where was he suppose to go? His ears twitched, and his nose wrinkled. Fish.

But the noise inside his head caused him to loose focus. Sure, he could cut them off, but the thought of being alone scared him more than anything. He sniffed the air again, and caught the smell. He felt weird for using his sense of smell to find his master, but seeing that there wasn't much else he could do, he followed the trail.

xxxx

Nearby, three figures stood atop a building. Diqiu stared out over the sea of people, in both disgust and wonder. His green eyes were bright, and his brown fur shone in the sun. His wings spread wide, and he was very tempted to just... soar above it all.

"I-I..." the stutter from Shui made his wings deflate, and his eyes to loose their bright edge. "See, um,"

"Spit it out!" Huo yelled, his blue eyes looked like blue flames. His red fur stood on end, like he was ready and eager to fight. Not that Diqiu felt any different. He wanted someone to start something, but he was the calm one in the group.

"I see the palace!" Shui said. Several people below them jumped from the sudden yell. Her orange eyes sparkled. He didn't understand why. After her yell, she quickly tried to dust off her blue fur, as if yelling mussed up something.

Of course, the palace was hard to miss. They could easily infiltrate the place, have a party, then be gone before anyone noticed. But they were scouts. Observe and report.

xxxx

Shifu bounded through the halls of the Jade Palace, which was as quiet as a mouse. The sounds of fighting and explosions, and arguing, were gone. It was music to his ears. The Furious Five were roaming around the city instead of training, so was Po. And he was trapped in the Jade Palace, like a knight to watch over a precious Princess, which was the city.

But the reason for his bound? And that fanged smirk? He was literally prancing around, he was tempted to just run around nude.

Master Monkey just informed him of an old friend that just wandered into town. He was expecting him soon, but it was sooner than he expected. The old goat probably thought he was going to surprise him. They were old friends, each had a different master. Rivals, one could say. He wondered what this whole visit was all about anyway. About the Dragon Warrior being a panda?

He was glad said panda wasn't around to see him with a skip in his step. He would never let him live that down.

"Good old Jade Palace. Been here more than a few times." He paused. The voice was coming from the main room. "Not much Jade, and the steps are a killer for my back."

"Master..." the female voice sounded exasperated. Shifu knew that dealing with the panther could be exhausting, so he smirked.

"Should call it Steep Palace. Or maybe Light Green Palace!" Shifu felt a twitch in his eye.

"Jade is green, but I don't think-"

"Green? I always thought Jade meant blue." Shifu then heard a clang.

"Master, don't do that!"

His eye twitched, even more hectic. Deciding to greet his guests, he strolled into the large room. Large pillars stood in a line, going from the entrance to the Moon Pool. The Hall of Warriors. And just like he suspected, the old panther was banging his cane against one of the pillars.

Despite the twitch in his eye, he was still happy. It really hasn't been that long since he saw him. They do occasionally get together to play games. Mahjong, cards, anything that they could one up each other on. But every time, the mysterious student of panther's was absent.

"I presume you're not here for the festival. So, what do I owe the visit?" Shifu asked. "A game of mahjong, perhaps? I'm sure I can find two other people."

The girl, Su, if he remember right, jumped out of her skin once he spoke. It was charming, if it wasn't for that slight twitch in her muscles, indicating she was prepared for a fight.

"We should get our students together. Him... versus your six."

Shifu was aware that Panther would be arriving once his student's training was complete. Was he that cocky? Or did he truly believe his student, of only two years, could defeat the Furious Five plus Po?

"He needs to see other places. As do I."

"Maybe later," Panther replied, finally placing his cane back down. "We have some unfinished business."

"I see. Then, shall I call for my students?" Shifu said, but was surprised when the panther brushed past him. Their eyes met.

"Tea," there was something in Panther's eyes when he said that.

"Tea?" Shifu called, but the panther had already left the area. As if reading his mind, Su shook her head.

"He still has cobwebs up there," she said.

Shifu just smiled, and indicated to Su that they should follow him. Who knows what that old goat will get into.

xxxx

At least an hour or two had past since the fateful meeting with a pair of claws. His face still stung, as if the pain was a mark for death. The fish trail had faded, which he blamed on the other smells that permeated the area. It made his stomach grow, which sounded like a ferocious beast to the smaller creatures around him. After using his stealth to make sure the fierce feline wasn't around, he entered Mr. Ping's place again.

"Ah, healing quite nicely. You sure make one heck of a first impression," Mr. Ping said, already preparing a bowl of steaming noodles.

Some first impression, he thought with a grimace. It's not like he would run into her again, right? She was just a waitress, after all.

While he ate, he also decided to experiment with Mr. Ping's new items. One item was called Dragon Fire. Noodles with green leaves sprinkled around it, and some orange sauce, which Mr. Ping said was a secret. After eating that, he literally blew flames from his mouth. Then he was quick to say, "More!"

After eating his feel, and burping up flames, he decided to ask Mr. Ping about the Jade Palace, only for the restaurant owner to point in a direction over his shoulder. From his spot on the stool, he saw the Palace. He saw it earlier, but just passed it off as some royal house or something. He really should've paid attention to Su when she explained things.

"Meet us here," Su had pointed to a homemade map of The Valley. He remembered seeing a deep red circle mark around a castle looking scribble, which had 'Here!' above the circle. He admitted, he was never good with directions, but found he was great at tracking with his senses. He could find a restaurant in the middle of the desert.

After saying adieu, he found himself at the steps that lead to the Jade Palace. The more he stared, the more it seemed to get further and further away. He rubbed his wounded face, the scratches seem to burn as his eyes locked onto the Palace.

"Dear, Kami," Naruto gulped. It was like something used for training taijutsu in the ninja world. Slowly, he placed his right foot on the first step. Exhaustion and fatigue was quick to engulf him.

"Could be that extra spicy noodles you had not more than five minutes ago."

She had a point. Eating that Dragon Fire entree consumed most of his energy. Maybe he should head back and grab something to-

"No! I can do this!" He placed another foot on the step of the stairway to heaven. First two steps? No problem. Ten steps? His tongue plopped out. Thirty? His knees quaked. At sixty, he was on all fours.

"Maybe this was what that teacher of yours trained you for?"

Not helping, dad, Naruto forced himself to stand. He could've sworn a praying mantis leapt by. Even the insects were mocking him.

The mist in the air that stuck to his fur like glue actually felt good, and refreshing. Glancing further ahead, he could see the Jade Palace getting closer by the second. Panther refused to tell him why they had to journey to this place. Every time he asked, he would say that as a kung fu artist, he needed to see different places.

Not in those exact words, but it was a fair translation. The closer he got to the gates, his sore cheek started to burn again. It was as if the Palace was on fire, and he was walking into it. A brilliant green flame sprung to life over the palace. And as soon as he rubbed his eye, it vanished. He rubbed his cheek.

xxxx

Master Tigress stood stoic. Her face was set in stone. If one would ask her if she ever smiled, "I am smiling," would be her response.

But at the moment, she was confused. The Furious Five plus Po were standing in the training area, staring at the entrance to the palace. Shifu called for them, for reasons she didn't understand. Was it another training exercise? A spar with Po? That last one reminded her of something.

With lightning fast speed, she slapped the nearest person. Po. He winced in pain, and was quick to rub his reddened cheek.

"Ow! What was that for?" Po asked, but it sounded more like a whine.

"For making me serve food," she replied.

"And the apron," Monkey chimed in. Tigress wondered why she was the one to be talked into serving. Was it because she had a soft spot for the panda? Viper and Monkey were the more qualified ones in the line.

"She can also scare those that refuse to pay," Po said, nodding sagely.

A twitch grew in her right eye, uncontrollable. The soft spot she had for the panda was now history. She glanced around the area, Shifu hadn't came out yet, he just told them to wait. Which was odd. To her right stood Po. To her left was Viper. Next to her, was Monkey. Next to Po was Crane with Mantis perched on his head.

Finally, after an hour of waiting, Shifu walked out of the Palace, and looked down at them. He was calm, but he also appeared to be aggravated, or was he happy? He was like a father to her, and she knew what every subtle movement of his meant. The slight twitch around the eye, his ear moving ever so slightly, and his nose wrinkling.

He was definitely bothered.

"I would like to introduce an old friend of mine. Master Panther," as he said that, an older figure walked out, and examined them. Like a predator looking at vulnerable prey. "And his assistant, Su."

Po suddenly went rigid as he stared up at the three. But Tigress didn't pay him any heed.

Panther, she tossed that name in her head. She remembered that a friend of Oogway's trained a panther. He was very promising, so much so that Oogway wanted to train him. From what she read In the old scrolls, he was very fast. Could vanish one moment, and appear right next to you. A very dangerous ability. Shifu mentioned him a few times when he left the Valley on a private matter. He always refused to let her, or the others, accompany him.

"They will be staying here for awhile. There is one more, which should be arriving soon." Shifu said, looking over to Panther, who nodded. "Panther's student. He is the reason they journeyed to our lovely Valley."

He? Tigress mumbled, glancing around.

"Speak of the devil," just as soon as those words left Master Panther's mouth, the gate to the Jade Palace was pushed open. She caught the fang smirk he was now sporting. The rabbit, Su, only shook her head.

When the figure entered the training area, she should've been surprised, but she wasn't. The fox she met earlier stood there, or tried to. He crashed onto his knees and began kissing the ground, only to spit out dirt. She also took notice of the marks on his face, they were hardly noticeable.

"Finally!" the fox screamed. Naruto. That was the name Mr. Ping said he was called. The fox seemed to notice her. She didn't realize she had extended her claws, which made him flinch.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Master Fox?" Shifu asked. "Anyway, glad of you to join us."

"Master Fox?" Panther mumbled, then shook his head in disgust. "I'm sure he is destined for a better title. Master Maelstrom. I like that. Su, what about Master Vortex?"

"My two picks are Master Fickle and Master Fluffy," Su replied with a giggle.

"You're whispering pretty loudly," Naruto mumbled from his spot on the ground.

Shifu ignored that and settled for introductions. "Master Naruto," Tigress figured Shifu didn't know what to call him. "I like you to meet the Furious Five." With each name, they did a pose. Naruto did manage a smile, until the name came upon the one glaring at him. Her eyes burned with a thousand flames. Not even she knew why she was glaring, but there was just something about him.

"And Master Tigress." Shifu seemed taken aback by the fierce look.

"We've met," she managed to say, not breaking eye contact. Shifu took a step back as flames seem to erupt from her.

"And last, Po," Shifu announced, then reluctantly said the last part. "The Dragon Warrior." Tigress expected to hear screams of, 'The Amazing, awesome, Dragon Warrior'. But not a sound came from next to her. She finally broke eye contact with the fox, only to see Po, staring straight ahead. Eyes glossy. Cheeks reddened.

"Po?" Mantis said, leaping on the panda's shoulder. He messed with his friend's face, only for it to act like silly putty.

"I think he stopped breathing," Crane said, prodding Po's stomach with his foot.

"...beautiful," Po whispered after the fourth prod.

"Me? Um, wow, I don't know how to respond to that," Mantis said. He pulled on Po's eyelids, but didn't get a response.

"Who's... she?" Po asked, in a dream-like tone.

The group saw what he was staring at. The female rabbit. Her hair was tied back. She shuffled her feet back and forth, possibly in a nervous or bored manner. She smiled their way when she caught them staring. She went back to talking to Panther about possible names for Naruto.

"I find it weird I can't find a pulse on Po," Crane said. "Anybody?"

Tigress only shook her head, and turned toward the fox, only to find an empty spot. She felt tension in her muscles. It was like his very presence caused every muscle in her body to act up. She calmed herself, or tried to. She still didn't know why, maybe it's because the fox touched a sensitive spot. Sure, she got punched, kicked and stabbed there, but the way he did it-

"That's Su," Naruto spoke. Tigress didn't make an outward movement, but her eyes widened a small margin. The only real evidence of surprise.

"Seriously guys, where's his pulse?" Crane said, astonished.

"Su..." Po whispered. Naruto glanced at him with a fanged grin, which vanished when he saw Tigress. She was the same size as the fox, but she did her best to act bigger. And from Naruto's pale face, she was succeeding. But inside her body, her heart pounded. She just passed it off as adrenalin.

"I just wanted to say, um, sorry about bumping into you," Naruto said. "I-I didn't really feel anything, so-"

"Son..."

Her right eye twitched, but before she could swipe, Shifu coughed to get their attention. Panther stepped forward, a smirk on his muzzle. Tigress honestly didn't know what to think of him. Was he really Shifu's rival? And on another matter, was the fox before her any good as well. Her heart pounded as she found herself wanting to test him.

"Glad to see you're making friends. Now, if you can snag a girlfriend, I'll be proud. Right now, my proudness meter is at three." Panther shook his head. "Entrance is everything. Presentation is another."

Naruto's ears dropped.

Tigress continued to examine him. He had a backpack and a sword strapped to his back. Clothing looked like they need a wash, and maybe tossed into a fire to clean the noodle splotches.

"We have a bunch of room available. I'll get three ready for you." she heard Shifu tell their guests. And for some reason, having them stay in the same living quarters felt funny. She fought strong warriors, like Tai Lung, but this felt different. She wondered If it had to do with her aggravation at Po, and she wanted to let that anger out at somebody else. Yeah, that had to be it.

xxxx

High above the Jade Palace, where the fog was thick, three figures flew high.

"What say we stir up something?" Huo said, his fur bristled with excitement.

"What did you have in mind?" Diqiu asked.

Instead of an answer, Huo smirked. Shui meanwhile was lost in thought as she stared at the group down below in the Jade Palace. As her two partners did a swan dive through the fog, she was left alone. Watching the group below talk and babble amongst themselves, she couldn't help but to smile.

xxxx

"Have you used that blade?" Tigress asked. The group made their way through the Jade Palace, and to the barracks. "In an actual fight."

Naruto paused at that. In a fight? No. He couldn't even summon clones, yet at least. And when he ran into a bandit, he just used Kung Fu to take care of them. He hated for everyone to think the sword was just for show. Some trophy that hasn't clashed with another of its kind. He couldn't explain it, but every once in a while, his paw subconsciously grips the handle.

"Haven't had a chance," he replied, but she just brushed by him and head to what he assumed was her room. "What's her problem?"

"The real question is, 'What isn't her problem?'" Monkey laughed, leaping next to Naruto.

"It just takes awhile for her to warm up," Crane said, then mumbled, "Like three years."

"You have a way with first impressions," his mother's voice echoed around his head.

"Naruto? Sounds foreign." Viper said, rolling the name around. Normally, Naruto's first reaction to a snake is to, well, pretty much scream and yell some fighting words. But in his time in the new world, he ran into a bunch of snakes. When one first spoke to him, he turned white, and fled. He always felt bad thinking back to that moment. The snake was a female, around his age, and it turned out she had a slight crush on him.

Luckily, she understood. He told her he was from a foreign land, and she was the first snake he'd seen. She was ecstatic that she was the first of her kind to be seen by him. He did wonder how she's been since he saw her last.

He took notice that Tigress peeked out from her room. Dread fill his very being. He did say he was sorry, so why was she being so craggy? If she was busty, like Su, or Tsunade, he'd understand her anger.

"Son, please, for the love of Kami, abort that thought!" Minato pleaded, but Naruto tuned him out. Naruto was unaware that he was currently producing images of a busty Tsunade and Su in his head.

"My home, well, old home, is far, very far away. Everything is actually pretty new to me." Naruto lied. He saw Tigress briefly look away and stiffen in her doorway. That wasn't really a lie, just a slight stretch. Everything really was still new to him. "Panther was nice enough to teach me his trade."

"And he brought you here as a test?" Tigress said, stepping out into the hall. It wasn't a question, but more of a fact. "To fight us."

Naruto thought about that. It seemed both logical and troublesome. It was only right for Panther to want to show up Shifu. Troublesome.

"Good luck," Tigress said, before vanishing back into her room.

After being shown his room, the group all went their separate ways. His room was small, but appeared to be comfy. There was a window, which had a gorgeous view of The Valley. He hoped there was a pond or something he could bathe in. The mist in the air did indicate that a water source happened to be nearby.

He placed his backpack on the floor, and dove into the bed. But he found it slightly hard to fall asleep, despite his eyes drooping. Darkness fell quickly, and he could already hear snoring next door. It was either Su or Panther, he knew both snored, and they both had rooms next to him. He wished he could take a bath or something, his fur was starting to stick to the bed. He locked his paws together and stared at the ceiling. Before he eventually fell asleep, he had one thought. He vowed to make Tigress come around to him. He hated when people hated him for no real reason.

"Well, I wouldn't call that no real reason," his mother was the last voice he heard before dreams of ramen, and claws plagued his sleep.

AN: Sorry this one took so long. I omitted the fight scene between Naruto and Po. Hope people enjoyed it. By the way, I read CMVreud's review of chapter 3, and couldn't resist putting that as my chapter title. All praise goes to CMVreud, all my James Hong references and Big Trouble spoofs are caused by him! Also, I enjoyed designing my five OC's. Bianfu (Bat), Taifeng (Typhoon), Diqiu (Earth), Huo (Fire) and Shui (Water). Should've had a lightning element in there, guess Taifeng can serve that role though.

And in case people didn't know, I have an exclusive Naruto crossover listed on FiMfiction. Haven't decided if I want to add it to FFN yet. Hope people will check it out, since for some reason, hardly anyone is even reading it. It's called Spectrum, and my first try at a Human Pony story. Hmmm, maybe I should work on my Tinkerbell story as well. So much to write. Anyway, before I get started on chapter 5 of Tigress, I'm gonna go play some Assassin's Creed Rogue and watch Penguins of Madagascar.