A/N: Hello everyone! I am back with a little one-shot! I really hope you like it. I am very proud of it.

This story includes TiPo... it may not be the TiPo you want, but it is TiPo.

This story was inspired by the author's sweetluckygirl one-shot called Trust Him in her one-shot collection called Everything. Very good stories by the way!

I have found the perfect song that goes with this story. You can listen to it if you like: "To Where You Are" by Josh Groban.

Anyway, I hope you like this. I loved writing this and I am very happy that I posted it in time for it to be the 3,000th story on here. Thank you.

Warning: I cried while writing this... you might want to keep a tissue box near just because...

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

I'll Never Know

..….Dedicated to all those who will never know….

"You don't know who is important to you until you actually lose them."

~Mahatma Gandhi~

Dark and luminous clouds swept over the land known as the Valley of Peace. Rain poured harshly onto the ground as if the world was crying along with the people.

Something terrible had happened, something no one on this Earth could imagine.

Po, the panda, the Dragon Warrior, had died.

The wind blew fiercely and the rain was directed every which way, drenching my striped coat. I was sitting outside on the roof of the Jade Palace. It was the only place that could help me breathe again. I closed my eyes into slits as the cold wind blew against me once more. I felt numb, and it was not because of the freezing cold rain pouring onto me. I felt my spirit sagging.

In the distance away from me, I heard the mourning of the numerous villagers. Everyone was grieving, even the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom seemed to wilt in sadness…..

I suppose that you are confused right now. Forgive me for I have not been myself lately. In order for you to understand the pain, the sadness, and the guilt, I suppose I must start from the beginning….

The Furious Five, the Dragon Warrior, and I had been sent by Master Shifu on a very deadly mission. There was dreadful news of a newfound evil that was taking the lives of many villagers.

Quickly, without hesitation, we hurried over to the province of Yunnan. Within a few days of talking with the townsfolk, guards, and leaders, we had tracked down our villain.

But there was something very strange about this evil; it was unlike any villain we had faced before. The evil was far more dangerous than Tai-Lung or Lord Shen…..

The evil had no name.

It had no form.

It had no body.

It only had a voice.

Its life form was consisted of some kind of green smoke and it took and consumed the lives of innocent victims whenever it pleased.

We had located where the evil force was, a secret, ancient, and beautiful underground palace with unknown relics that was hidden deep underneath the City Hall. We approached it once when we had heard it was holding several people captive and it threatened us that if we were to come near it or the villagers again, all of the Yunnan Province would perish.

We quickly decided to retreat for the present moment and planned a way to defeat the green evil. I proposed that I would go down to the hidden cave and try to defeat it, everyone agreed.

Well, everyone except Po….

When it was announced that I was to go and sacrifice myself for China, Po was outraged. He was certain that there was another way to victory. But I refused his pleas and insisted that I was going down to the fortress in the morning.

Upon waking the next morning, I heard something I had not heard for the weeks we had been in the City; laughter and cheering, shouting for joy.

My comrades and I had exchanged glances and went to investigate the excitement. The people were all smiles when they told us that the evil force had been defeated. When I asked how it was defeated, the elderly goat that was hugging his grandchild tightly simply spoke, "It was your panda friend. He got rid of it."

That was when I whipped my head back to see that the Dragon Warrior was not standing among us. He was gone.

Miraculously, the danger of the force was gone and Po had saved China once more. Unfortunately, the evil's life force was filled with toxic decay, and when it died, it took every bit of Po with him. The panda couldn't even have a proper burial… his body had simply disappeared into the atmosphere.

When I heard the news, I could not control myself. I screamed. I cried. I suddenly couldn't bear my own weight and I sank to the ground. I tell you, never in my lifetime have I experienced such pain….

Within time, the Furious Five and I learned more about Po's epic sacrifice. There was word going around that some of the surviving victims had witnessed the battle of Po and the green force. They couldn't even describe what the Dragon Warrior had done; they had said that it was simply breathtaking. I have decided that I would have never been able to take the evil, only Po could.

Weeks have passed since this disaster struck. Still, the mourning of the Dragon Warrior has continued on. The protector of the Valley of Peace has passed on forever.

Lately, I have discovered that I am not myself, so forgive me if anything I say to you sounds very strange. I've realized that I may be myself right now, it may be that the person I was before was not the real me. It may have taken a tragedy such as this to reveal my true self…..

Things have changed drastically. I find that I am numb all the time, and I go back to situations and events in my life. I re-live them over and over and over again in my mind without an end.

I have found that Po, the panda, the Dragon Warrior, and my best friend, meant something very special to me. But I was too blind to notice. He is all that I can think of these days…..

Knowing that you have a friend is something really special. I cannot even describe the feeling of friendship; it is a truly magical feeling. Just knowing for a fact that you have someone that calls you their friend is one thing altogether.

The feeling of friendship is somewhat relaxing, yet joyful. I never had friends, much less someone who was there for me and called themself my best friend.

I cannot possibly describe how it all felt, and the thing is I never really noticed how much joy it brought to me until now.

I suppose the saying is true: You don't know what you have until it's gone.

Or in my case, dead….

Po and I talked about almost anything we could think of; Kung Fu, cooking, events, childhood memories, you name it.

However, the one thing I wish we could have talked about more was relationships. Not just about out comrades and family, but about personal relationships. Actually, I find it pretty humorous as I say it, but I wish that we discussed romantic entanglements. I wanted to learn what his values were in those matters.

I really cannot believe that out of all people, Po the panda, turned out to be my very best friend.

It was him, not Viper. It was Po.

Po changed my life in many ways. I used to be cold to people, very strict, and austere. Once he came to the Jade Palace, I started to warm up to him. I started to smile and laugh more often. I began to feel….happy. Happy was something that I had not felt in years….

One of the strangest things was that I did not like Po at first, I actually resented him. I was mean to him. I told him to leave the Jade Palace. But the panda, determined as always, stayed.

I also thought that he was unattractive at first. He was a panda, and he really did not take care of himself so much.

Yet, after knowing him for quite a while, I am pretty certain that it was his personality that shone through and made me respect him. He, as the Dragon Warrior, was capable of so many amazing things. He was, as he would say it, "Awesome.".

The more I got to know him, the more I began to think that he was handsome. Although, messy fur and all, I saw features that I thought were very attractive. For example, his eyes were such a beautiful shade of green. They always sparkled with curiosity…..and they somehow captivated me in ways my words cannot explain…..

I have always thought that attachment was foolish. Even though I sometimes felt like I was getting feelings from my friend, I pushed it away.

I could not ruin a friendship like that, I couldn't….

I wouldn't, I couldn't, and I shouldn't…..

I had ruined myself from previous feelings for the opposite gender (How I despised those teenage years…). I let my emotions get the best of me sometimes, and after the feelings were gone, I was ashamed of them.

I swore I was never to feel like that again. But alas, the emotions still came back.

I noticed within time that I did not know a single person whom I felt those feelings for. That was when I realized that was how the feelings should come, with friendship.

But I could not bear to lose someone who was the first true friend I ever had to the feelings, the tingles…. I couldn't, I wouldn't and I shouldn't.

I knew he loved me, I knew it. And would I have known that he would die, I would have told him what he meant to me.

Now that I realize it, I should have told him…

I wish I could ask him if he felt the friendship we had that I treasured dear. I wonder if he knew that I enjoyed spending my time with him. I wonder if he truly did love me.

But Po is dead.

So I'll never know the answers to my questions, I'll never know….

He bounded with joy when he saw me, and the funny thing was that we all lived under the same roof. Yet, I could always sense his excitement.

He would sometimes look at me with those stunning eyes and smile shyly. That look that he gave always made emotions come flying at me like a lightning storm. The feeling was trust and friendship: a look and feeling of knowing, a connection between the two of us.

But I'll never know if it really was friendship I was feeling, maybe it was something else, something more, perhaps it was love…..

I'll never know…

The worst part is that I told him no. He was not to go risk his life. I was going to defeat the evil. I was going to die. Po was more important than me; the Valley of Peace needed him. But Po, who was as stubborn as I sometimes, left for the ancient fortress when we were all sleeping….

There was a sense of victory when I heard the news that he had defeated it, but victory wasn't enough to make me not feel numb when I was made aware that Po did not make it, that the Dragon Warrior was dead.

Overnight, my life had changed. He was gone. And there was nothing I could or can do to change that.

He defeated it, the evil; I do not know how he did it. He simply destroyed it. I knew he was special; maybe it was his destiny to defeat it and die trying. Maybe that is why…..

But I'll never know…..

I now urge those who have a special person in their life to tell them that you care about them. The person could be a family member, friend, neighbor, acquaintance, gentleman friend, or lady friend, whoever it is, tell them now. It may be the last thing you ever say to them….

Little did I know that when I was arguing with Po about who was to go and defeat the evil, that would be the last time I would see him and talk to him. Our friendship ended with an argument…..

If I could go back in time right now, I would have told him that I cared for him. I would have, I should have, and I could have. But I didn't…..

He is gone…..forever.

He is still in my heart…forever.

I realize that I was afraid to admit what he meant to me because of past mistakes. But now I know that not telling him was the biggest mistake I have ever made.

I will never know if he treasured me like I treasured him.

I'll never know if he loved me.

Now that he is gone, I know without a doubt that I loved him.

But I'll never get to tell him, I will never get to see that shy, goofy smile again. I'll never get to look into those magnificent eyes again. And I'll never know his answer, if he loved me…

I'll never know…

The End

A/N: *sniffles* Oh! She'll Never Know... oh ... so sad...

Please review for me. This is the first time I have made a story like this and I am very excited to share it with you guys. Any kind of comments are welcome and appreciated. It means so much.

Thank you for even clicking on this story. And as Tigress said: If there is someone special to you... tell them you care for them now...

Catch you later...