Po and Tigress were sparring and tussling in the Training Hall. "Ha! Missed me!" Po taunted. Tigress smirked as she took the offense. Po could be very... frustrating when he wanted to be. Tigress started to turn up the juice. Po was able to counter most of her attacks. "Come on, Tigress. I know you have more in you than that," Po said. Tigress growled.
"You'll see how much I have soon enough," She grunted. Tigress's punches started to move Po back further.
"There we go," Po said. However, he started to notice it was becoming too much for him. "Okay, I think you win. You can lighten up a bit." But Tigress didn't seem to hear him. "Tigress, please calm down!" Po exclaimed. Tigress jumped into the air. "Tigress!" Po found himself forced back into the support beam. Both of them were huffing, but Tigress was the only one still standing in a fighting stance. Her angry fighting face suddenly changed to a shocked and frightened look. Po was wondering why she was like this until he felt some pain on the side of his face. He lightly touched it and noticed some red stuff on his hand. Po looked at Tigress who was looking at her own bloody claws.
"What have I done," She whispered in a scared tone.
"Tigress, wait!" Po exclaimed, but the tiger had already hightailed it out of the Training Hall. Po tried to talk to Tigress, but she avoided him all day. Po sighed. He decided to get the scratch patched up. He headed to the kitchen and put some bands over the scratch. "Ah! Wow, she cut deeper than I thought she did." Po paused. "What was all that about? It's not like she meant to do it." The day after this Po found it hard to even get a glimpse of Tigress. He just couldn't figure out where she was. Po sighed. "I can't give up. I have to talk to her," Po said. He thought about it. He had to figure out a way to essentially trap Tigress in a place she couldn't escape, metaphorically speaking. Po then had a perfect idea.
Tigress was making sure that wasn't anywhere near Po. She did not want a repeat of what happened in the Training Hall. She decided it was safe to go to her room for a while. Po would be at his father's shop by now. As she sat down on the bed, she shivered in the memory of the incident. It really did make her afraid all over again. She was lucky it wasn't a fatal scratch. How could she let herself go like that? She could have really hurt Po. Or worse. Just as Tigress was about to make another shiver, she realized that Po was in the room. "Po?" She immediately got up to try and get past him.
"Tigress, if you really don't want to hurt me more than you already have, you'll stop where you are and let me talk with you," Po quickly said. Tigress found herself trapped. She didn't want to hurt Po physically, but she also didn't want to hurt Po emotionally. So, she had to stay. "Tigress, please."
"Don't come near me."
"Tigress, what happened in the Training Hall was an accident. I know you didn't mean to hurt me."
"But I did," Tigress said, holding herself. "I promised myself I would never hurt someone other than a villain or bandit. I especially wouldn't hurt my friends."
"Tigress, it's okay. I shouldn't have provoked you that much," Po replied. Tigress looked at Po's face. The scar on his face was starting to heal but it was still fresh-looking.
"Does it hurt badly?" Tigress asked.
"Not as much as not seeing you. Tigress, I understand that you don't want to hurt me, but accidents happen. Of course, I can't really be mad at you for being so upset about it," Po said. Tigress looked at Po with a confused face. "I would act the same way if I hurt you."
"Yes, but if you did it, it wouldn't be because you were a... monster," Tigress whispered. Po sat down beside Tigress.
"Is that why you're so upset? You're afraid that your strength as gotten out of control again and you're a monster again?" Tigress looked away. Po wrapped his arm around Tigress's shoulders. "What makes you more afraid? Being a monster or hurting me?"
"Hurting you, of course," Tigress answered, wondering why he asked such a stupid question.
"Then that shows you're not a monster. You put others first. Tigress, it hurts me more when you're distant than any punch, scratch, or kick you could throw at me. So please, don't feel so bad about it." Po pleaded.
"Okay, I just don't want to hurt the ones closest to me, especially the one I love," Tigress said. She blushed and looked away from Po when she realized what she said. "I mean, care about." Po's eyes widened. Then he smiled.
"Come on, let's get something to eat," Po replied. Tigress nodded, smiling gladly that he didn't press the blunder.
The End