Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sun hung high over the valley of peace, it was a nice and pleasant day like most days in the valley where there was nothing much to worry about other thanks to the furious five and now the dragon warrior. It had been a few months since master Oogway had selected the dragon warrior and the subsequent escape of Tai Lung. The former member of the furious five’s escape and subsequent rampage and defeat by the hands of the dragon warrior had spread far throughout China and beyond, reaching far and wide throughout Asia and then some, gaining the notice of all who practiced kung fu. The tale itself gaining the Jade Palace and those who dwelled in it even more notoriety than it had previously throughout the lands. Notoriety that, drew attention both good and bad. While some would seek out the dragon warrior and the jade palace as a means of conquest and proving themselves unbeatable, others...others would seek it out to see the famed palace, it’s warriors, and to further their own skills as is the way and nature of true kung fu...

On this particular day a lone figure traveled along the path to the Valley of Peace, pulling a covered cart large enough for supplies and clothing, the figure, a white tiger with deep blue eyes, seemed to have no issue pulling the large cart as he made his way past the entrance to the valley, seemingly in a slight wonder as he took in the surroundings while he traveled, as though it was the first time seeing the sights before him. Despite the slight awe the tiger seemed to have in seeing the natural beauty of the land he did not take time to stop too long to take it in, keeping on the move as he seemed focused on reaching his destination. The tiger wore a black gi with white waves on the upper and lower right side with a gold trim going along the upper part of the gi and a red trim along the bottom of it, while gold broken up in the center by red adorned the cuffs. A red sash kept the gi together with a gold buckle that had a white tiger paw in the center and his pants, a dark mustard, was broken up at it’s cuffs by the inverse of the sleeve cuffs.

The only other thing of note about the tiger being his dark mustard foot wraps and physique. Well, that, and the bit of blue accent on his black nose. He wasn’t broad per-say, but it was clear he had a fair bit of muscle to him, it was clear he wasn’t one to shirk physical labor or exercise, his complexion alone denoted a man who took things rather seriously to an extent. Although whether he was a practitioner of kung fu or not, or even a fighter despite his attire, was something that was left to be known. Something that the watchful eyes of a group of crocodiles were weighing their options about as they spied on the tiger from afar.

“Well, well, looks like we might have ourselves a nice target for easy pickings. A solitary tiger hauling a nice hefty cart with no escort? He must be either new, foolish, or stupid.” The head crocodile said with a smirk. “And no signs of the dragon warrior or the five anywhere near here, it must be our lucky day!”

“But what if it’s a trick, or at the very least, the dragon warrior or one or all the furious five show up while we try to rob him?” Asked one of the subordinates, a crocodile wearing orange pants and a brown spiked belt.

The more broad lead crocodile’s expression went flat as he turned to look at the other crocodile with narrowed eyes. “And this is why we’re not as successful Gahri, it’s attitudes like that that get you nowhere. It’s one guy, no weapons, and no one around. We, meanwhile, outnumber him AND have weapons.” He remarked as he drew his axe and rested it in his other hand. “Can you not be a buzzkill for like...one attempt?”

“...Sorry boss.” Gahri said as he stood idly by the other crocodiles.

“Good.” The lead crocodile said as he briefly adjusted his helmet. “Now then…” He added as he turned back towards the direction of the tiger, a surge of confidence filling him once more. “Croc bandits, let’s get us an easy score!”

“Yeah!” The other crocodiles cheered as they drew their own weapons, a variety of spears and axes.

The tiger continued on his journey, staying on a path that seemed like he was heading straight to the town that sat in the middle of the valley. As he walked, the crocodile bandits appeared before him, encircling him completely as their leader stood in front of him with a smirk, axe in hand. “Sorry to interrupt you on your journey, but I’m afraid you’re going to have to pay a tax before continuing.” The lead crocodile remarked threateningly.

The tiger blinked as he looked at the crocodile, his face remaining somewhat neutral as he turned his head to take stock of the other crocodiles surrounding him. “I am...sorry, can you please repeat that? My Chinese is not that good.” The tiger said in a noticeable Russian accent.

The lead crocodile blinked as he looked at the tiger, a bemused smile forming on his face. “Well now, we don’t get many foreigners here.” He remarked. “Of course, that means that the tax you need to pay is a bit more.”

“Wait, we’re taking taxes?” Gahri asked.

The lead crocodile placed his hand on his face and slowly ran it off of it. “Shut up Gahri…” the lead croc muttered.

Gahro blinked. “But you said we were going to-”

“I know what I said Ghari! I was trying to be witty and you just…you just...” The lead croc sighed. “I just...I can’t with you right now.”

Ghari continued to look at his leader. “So we are-”

“YES! We are going to rob him!” The lead croc shouted. “I was just trying to have a moment of clever word subterfuge and you just HAD to ruin it!”

“Sorry…” Ghari said in defeat as he lowered his head.

“Ah, so you were trying to rob me as I thought.” The tiger said as he let go of his cart and placed his arms behind his back. “I had heard crocodile bandits were in the area, but I did not think that they would be so…”

“So what, fearsome and strong looking?” The lead crocodile asked as he looked at the tiger.

“How do you say...the dim of whit.” The tiger remarked. “If you wish to rob me, then you are welcome to try, I just hope you’re as good at fighting as you are arguing with each other.” He added.

“That’s it, get him boys!” The lead crocodile ordered.

The group of crocodile bandits charged towards the tiger, brandishing their weapons as he remained with his arms behind his back, a single eyebrow arching. As one of the crocodiles came at him with an axe, swinging it to cut him vertically, the tiger leapt up in the air to dodge, swiftly delivering a swift knee to the gut seconds after landing back on his left foot and causing the crocodile to crumple over onto the ground. Another came to try and run him through with a spear, only for the tiger to lean all the way back to avoid the blow and then to come back forward with enough momentum to headbutt the crocodile and send him flying onto his back a foot or two unconscious. Two more crocodiles came at the tiger with spears, only for the tiger to turn sideways and then as he turned back grab the spears and lift both crocodiles up and slamming them together before tossing them into some of their friends.

“What are you guys doing, stop being dumb and get him!” The lead crocodile said, face contorted in frustration.

“Considering you’re their boss, it might help if you lead by example.” The tiger remarked.

“He’s got a point…” Ghari remarked.

“Shut up Ghari!” The lead crocodile remarked. “But fine, I’ll help you guys out because that’s the kind of guy I am.” He added as he readied his axe.

“Well, come on then.” The tiger remarked as he placed his hands to rest once more behind him.

“Come on guys!” The lead crocodile said as he and a few of the remaining ten crocodiles charged the tiger.

The tiger merely smirked ever so slightly as he leapt up and back, landing on top of his cart before leaping up into a back flip behind the crocodiles that were behind his cart and swiftly delivering a kick to the back of the head of each, sending them colliding hard into the cart before falling back onto the ground out cold. The other crocodiles and their leader turned their full attention to the tiger as he made space, getting back into a neutral stance as he placed one hand behind his back, the other reached out with palm facing upward, motioning for them to come on. The crocodiles sneered as they charged the tiger, taking swipes at him with their weapons only for the tiger to dodge each attack with minimal effort.

“Get him!” The lead crocodile yelled.

Once more the crocodiles charged the tiger, weapons ready as they all went to strike him at once with their weapons. The tiger merely watched and as they drew near leapt in the air, allowing their weapons to clash and interlock as he landed on the flat part of the interlocked weapons. He didn’t waste much time, looking at them for a moment as they tried to dislocate their weapons from the others before delivering a series of kicks to the side of the head of three of the crocodiles, knocking them out as he once more leapt out of the way. Before the crocodiles could react though, the tiger with impressive speed closed the distance between three more, delivering a series of precise blows to one before sending his elbow back into the chest of another, following it up with a simultaneous strike to the chest and forehead with his fingers and then giving the third an open palm strike to the forehead, all three collapsing as he finished.

“There’s only two of you left, I give you an offer to...how is it said...hmm...ah, yes, retreat.” The tiger remarked.

“Maybe we should take his offer Fung, he did just take out everyone we brought…” Ghari suggested.

“He just got lucky because we didn’t think he was a fighter, but now we know.” Fung said as he readied his axe. “I can’t just lead you guys and have us have nothing to show for this.” He said as he stepped towards the tiger. “Ready yourself, for I, Fung, leader of the crocodile bandits, will teach you to fear us.”

The tiger arched a brow as he looked at Fung, placing his hands behind his back. “It seems thieves have some...honor here at least. Very well, try.”

Fung went at the tiger, going for a cut horizontally across the waist only for the tiger to just move back out of the way in an almost slide like motion as he only lifted half of each foot off the ground. Fung merely blinked as he tried to take a swipe at the tiger again, only for the tiger to repeat the motion and get out of the swing’s way by inches. “Slippery aren’t ya, but I’ll get ya!” Fung said confidently as he proceeded to go into a series of strikes as the tiger, only for the same thing to repeat with each strike Fung attempted, each missing by inches. The tiger only just looked at Fung, his face neutral with some hints of seriousness as he kept back stepping each strike the crocodile tried to land

“Finished?” The tiger asked as Fung eventually leaned over slightly to catch his breath.

“I just...I just need...a moment.” Fung replied.

“I see...You did try your best.” The tiger remarked.

Fung blinked. “Oh, well thanks, I have been trying to work out more and-wait, what do you mean tried my-”

Before Fung could finish the tiger leap up and delivered a power kick to the crocodile, his foot having been locked back fully as he readied the kick. Once it connected, Fung was sent flying at a rather incredible speed, zooming past Ghari who blinked as he saw his leader go flying past him. “I’ll uh...I’ll just be going now.” Ghari remarked.

The tiger nodded. “Have a good rest of the day.”

“Yeah, you too.” Ghari said before turning to leave, heading in the direction Fun was sent flying, likely to help out Fung once he hit the ground.

“Odd animals here in China, not quite as fierce as where I am from.” The tiger remarked in Russian. “Although I’m sure that these crocodiles are just the hapless type that are just making a living, no real harm.”

With the admittedly barely long enough to be called a battle over, the tiger returned to his cart, taking hold of it once more and starting back on his way with the crocodile bandits still unconscious behind him. They were an odd sort, definitely didn’t seem the type to have chosen the life of thievery because they absolutely wanted to or necessity. But then again, perhaps things were just that rough for that group in particular that they had to, if they chose it just because it seemed like a fun and easy career though...they definitely weren’t all that cut out for it. Although, it did seem odd that for a place called the valley of peace, they still had bandits.

The tiger continued on his journey, making his way along the path as he hauled his cart behind him with relative ease. It had been a long journey for him, and while arduous at times, it never became anything that he couldn’t handle well enough. From what he had heard and the directions he had been given, the tiger was positive that he didn’t have too much further to go till he had reached his destination, one that he was very eager and excited to reach. The long journey would all be worth it though once he made it though, for his own hopes and dreams.

Hours passed and as the tiger got closer to his destination, being able to see the outskirts of the town in the distance, he noticed a particularly...large...panda heading towards him. It wasn’t a particularly odd site, he had heard of pandas and how large they tended to be. But at the same time, he had also heard that they had all been wiped out years ago and were believed to be fully extinct. So to see one heading in his direction was quite the surprise for sure, but more so in slight awe that he managed to be able to see what was believed to be an extinct species.

“Hey there, haven’t seen you before, you new here?” The panda asked as he got closer to the tiger with a big friendly smile.

“Oh...umm...yes. I am...how you say...travel ing to see the ja...hmm...jade….palace.” The tiger replied, his Chinese heavily accented by his Russian voice as he did his best to say the words properly.

“Your voice is a bit odd...uh, no offense.” The panda said as he quickly put up his hands apologetically. “Don’t think I’ve heard any Chinese with that accent.”

“That is because I am...how was it said?...Ah, yes, Russian.” The tiger clarified as he looked at the panda, nonplussed by the panda’s initial comment about his voice.

“Oh! I see...that’s so cool!” The panda said with excitement. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone outside of China before.”

“Well, I have heard the valley stays pretty...hmm...seclu….secluded for the most part.” The tiger remarked.

“Well, we do have a lot of ties to the rest of China, but I guess we don’t really do much when it comes to the rest of the world.” The panda mused.

“Da, that is….under...standable.” The tiger nodded. “If you...have no need to...ex-pand re-la-tions to those outside your country then you just don’t get around to it until needed.”

“Yeah, I suppose so.” The panda agreed before lighting up. “By the way, what’s da?”

“Da is Russian for yes.” The tiger explained.

“Oh, cool!” The panda smiled. “Wait, you said you were heading to the jade palace?” He asked

“Da, I have traveled much distance to see it.” The tiger replied.

“Well I can take you there!” The panda offered with a smile.

“That would be much….a-pre-ci-a-ted.” The tiger said with a bow.

“Oh, but I was supposed to go out and look for crocodile bandits…” The panda remembered. “I hope you didn’t run into them and have any trouble.”

“I am sorry, can you repeat that? My Chinese isn’t A...hmm….more than good.” The tiger remarked.

“Oh, right, hmm….” The panda said before thinking a moment. “Did you run into any croc-o-diles? Scaly lizards? Usually use axes and spears? Their leader’s name is Fung?”

“Oh!” The tiger said before putting a finger up, going to rummage quickly through his cart and looking through a book. “You are asking me if I ran into crocodiles yes?”

“Yes!” The Panda nodded. “Did you?”

“I did.” The tiger nodded. “But they were not much of a...threat.” He continued as he took a moment to think of how to pronounce threat. “They seemed...skilled...but were not, I...handled them quite easily in fact. Are they the biggest threat the valley has?”

“Eeeeh, one of a few.” The panda admitted.

“A few?” The tiger asked.

“We tend to have to deal with people on an almost weekly basis.” The panda admitted.

“And yet this is called the valley of peace?” The tiger asked somewhat genuinely but with a bit of disbelief.

“I mean, other than the odd threat, it is pretty peaceful.” The panda assured.

“I...see…” The tiger said as he blinked in slight shocked disbelief. Oh well, sometimes the name of a place is more of what it wants to symbolize or be than what it actually is. That, and the fact that this was the home of not just the renowned jade palace, but the furious five and dragon warrior made it kind of understandable that with such things it would tend to attract those that would want to challenge or conquer.

“Yeah, but like I said, we tend to be pretty peaceful for the most part.” The panda said with a proud smile. “But hey! You must know kung fu if you took care of them!”

“I do.” The tiger nodded. “It is...why I have….traveled from Russia, to seek out the jade palace and the masters inside to see if I can further my skills.” He explained.

The panda lit up as he looked at the tiger. “Oh cool! So you’re wanting to join the palace as a student!”

“Da.” The tiger nodded.

“Then I gotta take you there right now! Master Shifu and the five are bound to love you!” The panda exclaimed excitedly.

“Many thanks.” The tiger smiled.

“No problem!” The panda smiled. “I’m Po by the way, you are?”

“Aleksandr, Aleksandr Nikolev.” The tiger introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you Alek! I can call you Alek right? Aleksandr’s kind of a long name…” Po asked.

“I don’t see why not.” Aleksandr shrugged.

“Cool. Oh, by the way, you hungry?” Po asked. “You must have traveled incredibly far to get here.”

“In...what?” Alek asked.

“Oh, sorry….in-cred-ibly...su-per far.” Po replied.

Alek quickly looked at his book. “Oh, incredibly, yes, it was quite the journey. And I am rather hungry as I have not eaten since...mor...morning.”

“Great! I’ll take you to my dad’s place first, he makes the best noodles!” Po said happily.

“Really?” Aleksandr inquired.

“Yeah, you’ll love them!” Po insisted.

“Alright then, lead the way.” Aleksandr said as he grabbed his cart.

Aleksandr followed Po as he lead the way, if it was one thing he didn’t exactly expect to encounter it was a panda. What had happened to the pandas was a horrific tragedy, a brutal act of cruelty that should have never even been thought to be conceivable. So to see that was still around with the potential of more was a delight, and something that Aleksandr found himself rather looking forward to given the fact that he had never seen or met a panda before. So far from what he had seen of Po, it seemed like pandas were generally amicable and easy going, though it was a bit odd that a single panda was entrusted to keep an eye out for bandits. But then again, if those were the level of threat they had to worry about, maybe it wasn’t as big of an issue that required more than a single person to scout them out and report back for the furious five and dragon warrior to deal with them.

It wasn’t long before Po lead him to the town, those that lived in it looking at him with curiosity and warm friendly smiles. Maybe it was called the valley of peace because the majority of those that lived there were a peaceful and friendly bunch. They certainly seemed welcoming as each one greeted him, to which he reciprocated in kind with a nod. It wasn’t long before Po lead him to a small noodle shop, one that seemed to be about the only one in the town, but if the noodles were as good as Po said then maybe no one realy thought they could be done better. Although as he parked his cart by the entrance Aleksandr looked at the sign above the entrance, it took him a bit to read that it said Ping’s Noodle shop, Ping and Po...must be a family thing of starting names with P.

“Come on, I can’t wait for you to try my dad’s noodles!” Po said excitedly.

“Alright.” Aleksandr said as he followed behind Po.

“Dad, prepare your best noodles, we got a special visitor!” Po called out.

“Oh, a special visitor you say, is it a noble from another Provence or the emperor? If so, they still pay full price!” came a voice from the shop which soon was revealed to be owned by...a duck once he walked out to where Aleksandr could see him.

A...duck, last he checked...Aleksandr was sure that it was not possible for different animals to have kids with each other, or at the very least for a panda to be hatched from an egg, he was certain of that. And last he checked, there had been no evidence that hybrid animals existed or even could, so that could only mean one thing...Po was likely adopted. Or, at the very least, found by Ping as the last of his kind. There was a bittersweet feeling towards that, on the one hand he could admire the duck for taking care of and raising Po into who he was and caring for him like his own son. But on the other, it was sad that Po would very well mark the passing of his kind.

“It is...an honor to meet you...mis-ter….Ping.” Aleksandr said with the upmost respect, giving him an a fitting bow to go with it.

“He sounds...odd….where is he from?” Ping asked as he looked at Po.

“He’s come all the way from Russia!” Po explained. “He’s come all the way here to hopefully join the jade palace to further his kung fu!”

“They practice kung fu all the way in Russia?” Ping asked.

“Yes...but not as….widely as it is here.” Aleksandr replied. “While there are...many places still, there are not as numerous places like here. I myself have...arri...hai...have come from my family’s own temple.”

“I see, well in that case you must be very hungry, I’ll prepare you our finest bowl, no extra charge.” Ping said before heading off,

“Isn’t my dad the greatest?” Po asked.

“Yes...he’s certainly a...nice duck.” Aleksandr replied, to which he meant it. But at the same time, given what the duck said earlier and the no extra charge remark, he got the feeling that while nice...the duck wasn’t exactly one to be generous in terms of prices, at least in the regards of discounts and the like.

It wasn’t long until the duck returned with a bowl of noodles after Aleksandr found himself a table to sit at, Po joining him at the table and having a bowl himself. Aleksandr thanked the duck and gave a quick prayer like thankfulness of the food before digging into the noodles. To his slight surprise, Po wasn’t wrong about his claims about his father’s noodles, they were indeed among some of the tastiest noodles he had had so far since entering China. As he and Po ate, the panda asked him about if he had heard about the five and what he thought of them, to which Aleksandr replied that he had and was looking forward to meeting them as their reputation was quite well known even where he had come from.

From the way Po talked about the five it was clear that he greatly revered them and was quite the fan, something that wasn’t hard to see given how they kept animals like him and the town safe from any threat that might arise. It was especially amusing to Aleksandr when Po brought up his collectible posters and figures of the five, a bit of a bemusing surprise given that such memorabilia was not known of to him or seemed like something that kung fu practitioners would really go out of their way to have. But if it was something that the people of China did to show their reverence and gratefulness, then there was really no harm in such things in his opinion.

When they had finished their meal Aleksandr searched through his money pouch, pulling out the amount for the meal and laying it out on the table as Ping came to get the bowls, thanking the duck once again for the meal and complimenting him on how good it was. It was a good thing that he had exchanged the currency that he had saved up for this trip and had built up as much as he did to do so, it would have been...not great having a currency places in China wasn’t willing to take just because the value would not have been the same. Once the bill was settled Po just as eagerly started making his way to the entrance, motioning and requesting Aleksandr to follow so he could introduce him to the five.

Aleksandr chuckled slightly as he looked at Po, following along and once more taking hold of his cart before following Po from behind as the panda lead him throw the town and all the way to the bottom of Jade mountain, the very mountain where the Jade palace rested at the top. “Do you think you’ll need any help with your cart, it’s a bit big.” Po offered.

“Many thanks, but no, I think I can...man-age it.” Aleksandr politely declined. “I have...hauled it this far, and this would not be all that...di-...hmm…dif-ferent from what I did for training back home.”

“Alright.” Po smiled as he started to make his way up the mountain, Aleksandr following close behind as he pulled his cart behind him up the path.

The journey up the mountain was intensive due to how steep it was, but nothing that wasn’t bearable, the only thing making it a bit more of a challenge being the cart Aleksandr was hauling. But, as he had said, it wasn’t really anything that would be too much for him to bare. If anything, the tiger found it to be a rather good training exercise for himself, being taught that any opportunity to do something to keep your strength and skills in check should be taken as improvement never stops. By the time they had reached the top of the summit Aleksandr took a moment to stretch, having gotten a rather nice exercising of his muscle strength in from pulling the cart. As Po came up a few seconds later though, the tiger say him breathing a bit as he bent over to catch his breath.

“Are you...alright Po?” Aleksandr asked.

“Yeah...yeah...just...just give me a second….that trip always…always takes a fair bit out of me.” Po assured.

Aleksandr arched an eyebrow as he looked at Po, finding it rather odd that a panda that seemed somewhat...out of shape was one selected to scout for bandits. But again, given what he had seen so far since he had entered the valley, there really didn’t seem to be much to worry about in terms of major threats. After all, going off what he had witnessed so far, Tai Lung seemed to have been the only true major threat they ever faced and he was dealt with by the dragon warrior, someone that Aleksandr also looked forward to meeting.

“OK...OK, I think I’m good now.” Po said after a moment. “I think the others are in the training hall, follow me.” He said before eagerly heading off towards a building.

“Alright.” Aleksandr replied as he followed behind Po to the building and placing his cart near the entrance to what he could surmise to be the famed training hall of the jade palace.

“Oh, I can’t wait for you to meet everyone!” Po said eagerly before heading to the doors of the hall, Aleksandr following with an amused smile.

As the panda opened the doors Aleksandr could not help but look in awe as he saw the grand splendor of the hall in all it’s glory as well as the furious five going about their training. There was who he assumed to be masters Mantis, Monkey, Viper, Crane, and-. Aleksandr’s eyes went slightly wide as he felt...something as his eyes went to master Tigress. He had heard of the masters, of their description and feats. And while they seemed to live up to the claims, when his eyes fell on Tigress the things said seemed to be...understatements. Sure she was said to be the fiercest, most intimidating and likely most powerful of the five but nothing was said about her being...beautiful?

Aleksandr actually found himself a bit stunned as he looked at the other tiger. The way she moved, the strength and power but also...grace that would only be able to be viewed as such to other tigers made her look like she could almost be standing still? No, she was definitely moving, there was no technique or skill that would make someone appear that way, so why did it look that way to him? And further more...why did it feel suddenly a bit warmer?

Aleksandr’s wondering train of thought lasted only seconds though as Po spoke up. “Hey guys, I got someone you got to meet!” He said, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Po, I thought I told you to go look out for bandits or any sign of trouble.” A red panda with a thin, long, white mustache and tied up long beard said as he approached. “And what have I told you about bringing strangers?” He added, seemingly not that pleased, Aleksandr had a pretty good idea that the red panda was master Shifu.

“I know I know, and I was going on my way to when I ran into Aleksandr…” He trailed off as he looked to Aleksandr.

“Nikolev.” Aleksandr reminded.

“Nikolev.” Po continued. “He took care of the bandits already.”

“Did he now?” Shifu asked with a mixture of curiosity and doubt.

“Yes!” Po replied. “He’s come all the way from Russia to see about further his kung fu skills.”

Shifu blinked. “He came all the way from Russia?” He asked before looking to Aleksandr.

“Da, master Shifu, I and my family have heard so much of the Jade palace and the masters at our temple, we thought it a great honor if I could...con-tin-ue furthering my skills here.” Aleksandr said as he bowed respectfully.

Shifu rubbed his beard as he thought a moment. “We’ve never had any students that were from other countries.”

“I say we give him a chance, could be interesting to have someone from elsewhere around.” Master Mantis remarked. “Nice to meet you by the way, I’m Mantis.”

“I know much of you and the rest of the five, it is an honor.” Aleksandr replied with a respectful bow to the small master.

“Really, we’re known that far outside of China?” Monkey inquired.

“Yes, you are very much seen as great examples of kung fu.” Aleksandr answered as he looked at Monkey. “Again, it is an honor.” He added with another bow.

“Huh, I wasn’t expecting people to know of us beyond China, but I suppose if kung fu is practiced in other places it makes sense.” Crane remarked. “Still, it’s kinda humbling...nice to meet you by the way.”

“Master Crane.” Aleksandr bowed. “Likewise.

“I say we give him a shot, he did come all this way after all, what harm could there be in seeing if he has what it takes?” Viper said as she slithered up. “He seems nice and polite, and if Po vouches for him and he did take care of the bandits then he might be a good addition.”

“Thank you master Viper.” Aleksandr said as he bowed to her.

“I agree, we should at least let him run the training course, see how skilled he is and if his claims of handling the crocodile bandits are as they seem.” Tigress chimed in as she walked up to the group, turning her attention to Aleksandr as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight slightly. “If he screws up bad enough, then we can always just kick him out, but if not...could be interesting to have another tiger around.”

Aleksandr blinked a bit, feeling himself warm up again. And just like before, it was like she hadn’t seemed to move despite the fact he knew she had. “I...uh...umm...Thank...you.” He replied, unable to resist gulping slightly as his eyes dilated for the briefest of seconds. It was all he could really manage to do, as though he had been...paralyzed by her. Mantis and Monkey couldn’t help but notice the seeming slight nervousness, but chocked it up to Tigress’ fierce reputation and intimidating demeanor.

“I suppose you all have a point, there would not be any harm in letting him run through the training course to see if he is at a level to where he could further his training here.” Shifu admitted after a bit more consideration before looking at Aleksandr. “Just a word of warning before you start, this is the most dangerous training course ever devised, it will not be easy and you could get hurt or worse. I would not blame you or hold it against you if you failed or chose to not do so after being told this.”

Aleksandr snapped out of the state he was in as he heard Shifu, looking to the red panda. “I understand, but it is...a belief in my family’s temple that true progress and betterment comes through only the toughest of challenges and trials. To turn away after having come so far would...dis...disre...put great shame on their temple and myself as someone who pursues kung fu.” The tiger explained. “And if I fail, I fail knowing I tried and have something to continue str….stri...to pursue.”

Shifu nodded with a slight smile. “Then you might just be able to do well enough, you may proceed when you are ready.”

Aleksandr nodded before bowing. “Thank you for this great honor master Shifu.” He said before turning his attention to the training course. It did look as fearsome and challenging as it was said to be, but nothing worth gaining was ever going to be easy, his family made sure that belief was firmly instilled in him and all their students. It wasn’t just the desire to join the Jade palace though, after meeting the others...meeting Tigress, there was something in him now that wanted more than ever to do well enough to be considered worthy of staying, Aleksandr just hoped he was able to achieve that. After all, there was just something about the other tiger that made hi

Chapter Text

Aleksandr looked on at the course before him as he took a few steps towards it, the training hall obstacles looked as fierce and deadly as they were said to be. But then again, the Furious Five made it look quite easy to do, though that was due to them having likely trained many years with it. It wasn’t that Aleksandr felt nervous about doing the course, far from it. In fact, while not exact, it looked not too dissimilar to the type of training regiment he had done back home throughout his journey in learning kung fu.

No, that wasn’t what was causing him to have mixed thoughts. What was going through his mind was far more nuanced and...uncertain, that being how much of his skill he should display while going through his run and should he hold back anything or not and if so, just how much should he hold back? On the one hand, it could be seen as disrespectful to hold back enough to where he completed it but didn’t show a great amount of his abilities. But on the other, show too much and would it seem like he was trying to show off and that he was trying to insult them? There had to be a fine balance, these were noble and fierce warriors and a respected place of the kung fu arts.

It wasn’t just that though, call it selfish or even any amount of some form of immature, but Aleksandr also wanted to do well enough to impress Tigress. He didn’t know why he did exactly, not that he was dense to such feelings, it was just that for all the stories he had heard of the Five...of her, he never once considered the possibility that she might be a woman of beauty and grace that left him like a little boy who had just discovered what a crush was. It was rather ironic really that he never thought of the fact that after hearing such stories he never considered there might be things left out about her.

But that was just the thing, there was only the stories about her and the Five as warriors and defenders of the Valley, nothing about them as individuals outside of their prowess. Would she even find someone excelling in kung fu appealing, or would she view him displaying everything he was capable in a negative light? For that matter, how could he even find out anything more personal about her that could lead to even having conversa-. Aleksandr shook his head, now was not the time, such things were not appropriate when it came to kung fu and what he was asked to do or any other duties asked of therein. Right now, he had to run the course, nothing more, whatever he might think or want in regards to approaching tigress must come later...even if she was the first female tiger he found himself absolutely stunned by, and not just because of her now known beauty and grace. But there was still the fact she was a master, focused on her journey and further mastery of kung fu, could or would she even have any proclivity for things like that?

Aleksandr closed his eyes as he took a brief moment to take a breath, inhaling and slowly exhaling as his course was set, it was a good thing the...fight from earlier occurred as it served as a god warm up and stretch. With a burst of speed Aleksandr started the course, leaping and landing on the Seven Swinging Clubs of Oblivion. It took a moment for him to adjust his footing to the spinning serpent logs, if that, before quickly reacting to one of the spiked clubs heading his way. Aleksandr’s ear twitched as he quickly reacted to one that was immediately about to strike him from behind. While the seven clubs of oblivion were fearsome to behold, there was still at least some sort of pattern to them, Aleksandr began to maneuver about the obstacle, flipping about it as he dodged the incoming clubs while at the same time not doing too well out of fear of looking like he was trying to show off or disrespect the Jade Palace, daring not to even strike one all that hard before moving on to the Tortoise of Wisdom with a leap.

As he landed on the tortoise Aleksandr barely had a moment to react as spears came at him, quickly deflecting them as he used the moment he had and the tortoise’s balanced based stability to slide along it and quickly leap into the midst of the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors, proceeding to quickly strike at some of the center wooden arms that went to strike at him. And while he still held back, the momentum of the mechanisms were as great as the force he applied, forcing Aleksandr to block and dodge the multiple strikes coming his way from various directions and heights. In a way, the difficulty in the obstacle in itself was not just fighting your own force applied against you, but also greater numbers with varying degrees of momentum. And while having to put his whole body to use in blocking and attacking, it was more exhilarating than challenging.

Still, Aleksandr refused to put more than absolutely needed to show that he was capable. That didn’t stop him though from using leaps or kicks to block or dodge the tail and further using of his arms, hands, feet, and legs to block and strike the rest of the threats were enough to keep him from getting hit. And while the Siberian tiger was focused on doing well enough to show promise, Shifu looked on with slightly narrowed eyes as he stroked his beard as though scrutinizing and studying closely as though he was studying the Siberian tiger with an insight that the others seemed to be unaware of as they watched on. Mantis and Crane seemed to be rather impressed by Aleksandr, as did Monkey and Viper. Tigress, however, watched with a neutral expression as she kept her arms crossed.

“Oh wow, he’s cool!” Po remarked, drawing the attention of the others.

“This is the first time you saw his skills?” Crane asked.

“Well, yeah…” Po replied.

“But you said he took care of the crocodile bandits.” Shifu remarked as he looked at Po “I assumed when you said that you saw him in action.”

“Well...no...I didn’t.” Po admitted.

“Did you run into him in the aftermath of the fight?” Mantis asked.

“...No, it was closer to the village.” Po admitted again.

“Was he doing any training or at least exercises or stretches?” Viper inquired.

“No…” Po answered.

“What was he doing when you ran into him?” Monkey asked.

“Pulling his cart.” Po responded.

The others looked at him before Tigress face palmed. “So you basically took a stranger’s word of having dealt with bandits and said they wanted to train here without any proof and then proceeded to just escort him personally right to our doorstep?” She asked, her tone conveying her irritation.

“...Yeah?” Po replied.

The others continued to looked at him before, blinking in disbelief as Shifu himself looked almost exasperated with the panda. “The only reason I’m not yelling at you right now is because so far it seems that he is as he says. I don’t know too many who would go to the lengths of pretending to be Russian to infiltrate the jade palace.” Shifu remarked before they went back to watching Aleksandr.

As they did, Aleksandr moved on from the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors to the Field of Fiery Death, the Siberian tiger keeping alert as he started to quickly get out of the way of each pipe that spewed fire. Like the gauntlet of wooden warriors, there wasn’t much, breathing room as fire could erupt from any of the pipes below, adjacent, or inches next to the animal training on it. This was definitely one obstacle where Aleksandr had to be high alert, using his attuned senses to help him be able to not just keep balance, but be able to nimbly dodge each jet of fire that came up from, whatever direction it may. Despite the randomness of where the fire might come, it was thanks to those honed senses that Aleksandr was able to keep up, an ear twitch here, a twitch of the tail there, all senses helping him stay alert to danger.

From there Aleksandr dashed back towards the wooden warriors, leaping and landing of one of the warrior’s heads and then quickly leaping yet again to a support column and quickly scaling it, avoiding the spikes before leaping to the start of the Seven-Talon Rings and grabbing hold of the first of the rings. He kept a tight hold after quickly grabbing the center of the lower part of it where there was no talon, letting it swing as he leapt quickly to top of an adjacent one, pivoting to face the others in mid air before landing on the top. Not wasting any momentum Aleksandr leapt to another, grabbing the lower section and just letting the momentum carry him between rings. While the gap at the center of each ring was indeed not that big, seeing monkey go through the center of one without a scratch made him want to try.

Was it overconfidence that made him want to try and do so? No, no...it had been instilled in him since the start of his journey of practicing kung fu the dangers of overconfidence. Part of it might have been that he didn’t want to hide too much of what his skill level was or maybe, just maybe, it was because he wanted to do something that might have Tigress have some regard for him. It was a stupid, silly, notion and Aleksandr knew It. But at the same time, if she was as fierce and disciplined a warrior as the tales of her touted her to be, then perhaps a feat of skill might at least earn a bit of respect.

No...such notions were for the men who thought only impressive feats were the way to a girl’s heart. And while it might indeed at least elevate her opinion of him, to do such a thing just for the chance she might talk to him or be a bit friendly was dishonorable. If he was to try, it had to be because he wanted to do so in order to prove he was skilled enough to be considered to be at the Jade Palace, any other thing that might come for doing so in regards to Tigress had to be as far from a reason as the sky is from the earth. If it were to bring about such, then so be it; if not, then so be it. Kung fu was not to impress girls, it was to instill disciple, bring about growth, balance, peace, and to defend others who could not do so themselves...among other tenants that were not solely focused on combat.

Aleksandr steeled himself, building up more momentum as he went from ring to ring, to hide too much of his capabilities would be an insult to the Jade Palace so might as well give a glimpse with something that wasn’t too much. After having built up enough momentum Aleksandr let go, timing it just right as he used the angle he was at when he let go to get flat enough as he kept his hands outstretched above his head to narrowly make it through the center of the last ring. As he continued his momentum Aleksandr grabbed the chain of one of the Seven Swinging Clubs of Oblivion, spinning around it as he straightened himself and leapt to another and then to another as one swung near another before landing back on the walkway where the others were gathered and had been watching, bowing to them as he placed his fist on the palm of his other hand.

“Not bad, I dare say rather impressive, you must have had some very good training.” Shifu remarked.

“Spasibo...thank you.” Aleksandr said as he bowed once again in a more formal manner.

“But before I make my decision…” Shifu trailed off as he looked to the Furious Five. “Will you prepare the training courtyard, get the weapons too, Po help them.” he said as his attention to Po.

“Yes master Shifu.” The five said as they bowed and left.

“Yes master Shifu.” Po said as he followed behind the others.

Aleksandr blinked as he looked to Shifu. “Is there-”

“You’re hiding your strength and capabilities.” Shifu interrupted. “Whether it’s because you are trying to be polite or are trying to pull something I know not. But if you truly seek to be a part of the Jade Palace then you need to show your full capabilities so I know just where you’re starting from, I do not like someone trying to keep something from me.”

“Izvini...sorry, my apolo-gies.” Aleksandr apologized as he bowed. “I did not intend to...off-end, I just did not want to be seen as trying to...show off or dis-re...to mock the honor you and the Jade Palace have. That was why I held back.”

“Even so, it is clear that you are stronger and more skilled than you let on, and not just because you are a tiger.” Shifu remarked. “I appreciate that you had good intentions to not want to insult us by showing off, but intent is what makes the difference between showing off and displaying skill.”

“Of course.” Aleksandr nodded.

“Good, now come, if I am to see where you are truly at I need to have you go through a more fitting challenge for someone like you.” Shifu said as he turned to leave the training hall, Aleksandr following behind as the two walked out of the door. “I assume that is your cart, did you pull it all the way up or did Po help you?” The red Panda asked as he noticed the large cart as they walked down the stairs to the exterior training area.

“I pulled it all the way.” Aleksandr answered.

Shifu nodded. “I see, then that just makes it more clear how I need to go about testing your skills and capabilities.” He said as they made their way to the others. “Alright then, Aleksandr, to show me your full capabilities I’m going to have you face the Five.” The red panda stated, much to the Siberian tiger’s surprise as well as the Furious Five.

“Do you mean one at a time?” Aleksandr inquired.

“No, all at once.” Shifu replied. “If you’re hiding what I suspect you might be hiding, then this should be a good enough challenge for you and a good assessment of your skills for me to see.”

“Master, are you sure?” Viper asked with a look of slight concern and care.

“Yeah, kind of throwing him in the deep end aren’t you?” Mantis inquired.

“Only Tai Lung has been able to take us all on at once.” Crane chimed in.

“I know, which is why I am having you all fight him, Aleksandr here might be on that level, if not more. Given the fact he was holding back on the training course I need to have him show his skill at his fullest, and I can think of no better way than having to face you five when you’re not holding back.” Shifu explained.

“Not holding back, are you sure?” Monkey asked.

“I am, nothing will be held back from use, am I clear?” Shifu stated as he continued to look at the Five.

“Yes master.” The Five bowed.

“This should be interesting, if master Shifu says he’s hiding something I can’t wait to beat it out of him.” Tigress remarked with a smirk as they walked to the end of the sparring area.

“Tigress…” Viper scolded.

“What, he either is hiding something that’s worth him joining the Jade Palace or not.” Tigress said simply. “He can either cut it or not. I’ve already had to deal with someone not trained at all joining, having someone that looks like they have what it takes but might not join would just be an insult.”

“He did do great on the training course though, even managed to go through one of the rings.” Viper countered.

“Could have just been luck, we’ll see.” Tigress said as she rolled her shoulders. “Succeed or fail, he’s going to see what it means to be a true warrior of the Jade Palace. And if he fails...well, we’ll just get to kick him out literally.” She smirked.

“This is going to be so cool!” Po said giddily. “Do you really think he can take them on?” The panda asked as he looked at Shifu.

“Possibly, I could tell he was holding back but by how much I’m not sure.” Shifu replied as he watched Aleksandr move to position. “In either case you could take some ques from him so I suggest you pay attention panda.” He instructed as he glanced at Po who nervously pressed two fingers together with a timid smile as he looked at Shifu before looking back along with the red panda. “Begin.” Shifu ordered.

As soon as the word was given the Five sprung into action, taking Shifu’s instruction to heart even if Viper felt some reservation about it. Mantis as the first to try and strike Aleksandr, using his lightning speed to close the distance to land a blow. Aleksandr barely had enough time to react to bring up his tail to block the diminutive master. Reserving the rest of his limbs for the others. A decision that proved to be wise as Crane came swooping in for a strike that Aleksandr managed to block with one arm before blocking a kick from Monkey with the other. The five were as fearsome in a group as their reputation said.

Aleksandr didn’t have any time to breathe as Viper tried to go for a strike as she slithered along Monkey’s arm. The Siberian tiger leapt back as fast as he could to create distance, a tactic that the five seemed to anticipate as Tigress came at him from having leapt in the air to deliver a punch as soon as he landed. Aleksandr’s barely got out of the way of the punch, his composure breaking for only a second as he saw the impact Tigress made with the punch. But even that was all he could manage to do as Tigress was quick to go for a sweeping kick, once more just barely having time to leap up and out of the way. Tigress was relentless as she went for a two palm strike, Aleksandr crossing his arms to block in time and being sent skidding back. Whatever he might be feeling for the other tiger, the pressure being put on him was so intense that he had no time to entertain such notions. And if he wanted to earn his keep, he had to get more serious and do his best to ignore those feelings.

Tigress continued to put on the pressure as Aleksandr blocked each blow, eyes darting to his right to see Monkey coming in with his own fists ready. As Aleksandr started to block Monkey as well he made sure to keep alert for the others, eyes darting in every direction so he could not just keep on top of his defense, but be ready for the others whenever they might strike. He was barely able to catch Monkey trying to use his tail to restrain an arm in time to use his own to deflect, barely noticing Mantis coming in from a low angle in time to once more use his tail to block the attack. Once again the Furious Five were not letting him have time to breathe as Crane came in from up high, the Siberian tiger quickly settling on using the briefest of windows between blocking to flip onto his feet at just the right time to kick Crane away before getting back on his feet to block the others.

This had to be one of the most intense sparring sessions he had ever had in his years of pursuing kung fu. But even still, he had gone through enough training and practice that had been just as intense and demanding, something that Aleksandr was very grateful for, knowing full well that he would have been completely beaten at the very beginning. And while he could continue to keep this up, for how long was uncertain and this was also to prove his skill and value in joining the Jade Palace. He had to get more serious, put more effort into it, stop holding back and come up with a strategy...separate and take on. They might be fierce individually, but taking them all on at once, while not impossible, had a more narrow room for error compared to making space and separating them to try and take out one by one or two at a time.

Knowing the Furious Five, they definitely would continue to apply the pressure until they made it too much for him to block and would expect him to try and create distance since he did so before. Knowing this, Aleksandr set forth his plan, keeping alert of his surroundings to watch out for the other three members of the Five as he continued to deal with Monkey and Tigress. As soon as he could hear the faint sound of Mantis springing into action come at him from the side as Tigress and Monkey pressed he sprung into action. Aleksandr started as though he was going to leap back out of the way as he kept his guard up towards Tigress, as Monkey went to try and trip him with his tail Aleksandr leaned down towards Monkey and grabbed the tail and with one quick fluid motion yanked and used Monkey to hit Mantis, sending the two flying and colliding into the stone foundation of the stairs to the training hall, taking Mantis out of the fight.

Shifu stroked his beard as he watched Aleksandr fight the Five, assessing him thoroughly. Much to his suspicion, the Siberian tiger was indeed holding back a fair bit and now that he was put in a position where nothing was held back, he had no excuse to not show what he was capable of. And as the Siberian tiger was showing more of what he was truly capable of, he had to admit that there was a fair bit of impressiveness to the Siberian tiger, a discipline to him that Shifu could respect. And though he would never say it, he could not help but hold on to his notion that someone like this tiger was what the legend of the dragon warrior was about, would anyone blame him if he still held some doubt over the fact of Oogway’s decision over what truly seemed to be an actual accident?

With Mantis dealt with and Monkey recovering Aleksandr made space as Tigress momentarily watched her two teammates get flung, it didn’t take her long to try and close the distance though, only for Aleksandr to leap over her and deliver a kick to her back and sending her stumbling a bit. Placing a hand behind his back as he cracked his neck Aleksandr extended the other, motioning for Viper to come at him. If the Five were as they were claimed to be, a challenge like that would be answered...and it was. Viper came quickly towards him with a speed that while not as fast as Mantis, was still very impressive.

Viper went to strike at Aleksandr, only for the Siberian tiger to nimbly dodge around her. The master then proceeded to try and make quick strikes, and despite her impressive speed Aleksandr continued to dodge each by a somewhat narrow margin. As Viper went to strike his chest Aleksandr knelt down, squatting to where he was pretty much Monkey’s level when he was hunched slightly. Viper went to try and strike at Aleksandr from this lower position, going for his legs to disrupt his balance only for Aleksandr to effortlessly move his legs out of the way as he bent them side to side in quick motions, the briefest of hops off the ground that were barely a few inches helping him to move a bit to the side.

Shifu and the others blinked as they saw Aleksandr’s peculiar maneuver, never seeing an animal be that flexible before and manage to move while that low to the ground. Even his posture was a bit surprising, his back fully straight as he moved his arms out and back in towards him as he hoped. The surprise was only brief though as Viper went for a strike, only for Aleksandr to suddenly kick out with a foot instead of try to dodge, taking Viper off guard as she, nor the others expected it to be possible for anyone aside from maybe Monkey to attack from such a position. As the kick connected and Viper was sent reeling upward a bit Aleksandr capitalized, striking her with his palm and then kicking her in the side, sending Viper tumbling and unable to continue fighting.

The fight was far from over though as the remaining three descended ob Aleksandr, giving him their all as the Siberian tiger continued to block and dodge. While the three were manageable, they were still barely manageable as they still fought as a unit. Viper and Mantis might have been taken out of the fight, but that was not an achievement that allowed for breathing room. All of them were still masters, all of them equally deadly in their own right. Aleksandr knew he only took out two because he took advantage of their guessing a predictable pattern, but the surprise of his own flexibility and unorthodox method to deal with Viper, there was still a challenge ahead.

Crane quickly joined in to assist the others Aleksandr doubled his efforts, blocking and dodging as fast as he could as the three were relentless in their attacks. It had been some time sense the Siberian tiger had been pushed this much, and while he was completely focused on the task at hand, he still could not help but find enjoyment in the battle. Still, he had to find a way to thin the numbers more, try to make it where he had only one opponent.

Aleksandr continued to keep up his blocks, throwing attacks where he could while focusing a bit more on the unorthodox attempts of both Monkey and Crane. The times where Crane stayed on the ground it was clear that he mainly relied on his wings, meaning that his legs were not quite as strong even if he did use them from time to time. Of course Crane himself likely knew this, which meant in order to be able to get a good blow on the master, Aleksandr had to get creative and clever.

As the fight continued Aleksandr knew he had to do something now or risk a drawn out fight where his stamina would eventually give out. As Monkey went to get propped up on his tail for a strike Aleksandr made it look like he was going to go for the tail as he once more dropped down, only to instantly kick out at one of Crane’s legs, sending the master off balance before capitalizing as he moved in Crane’s direction just out of reach of the other two enough to pop back up to deliver a series of blows to Crane and finishing it with a kick that sent the master flying back a bit and landing on his back; three down, two to go.

Aleksandr was quick to get out of the way of Monkey and Tigress who were quick to try and keep up the pressure, only for Aleksandr to dodge Monkey and barely get out of the way of Tigress, using the close distance to quickly grab her arm and use her momentum as added leverage to send her far enough away with a toss. As he did so though, he felt his heart quicken slightly as he had her by the arm, but given the situation knew it was no time to dwell on such. With Tigress recovering Aleksandr flipped back towards the weapons rack, quickly drawing two curved blades and getting into a stance as he looked at Monkey, who in turn flipped to a rack opposite and drew blades of his own.

A second passed, maybe two, before Monkey and Aleksandr leapt at each other, exchanging blows with their respective swords as the blades clanged against each other. As soon as the two landed they immediately turned around and charged each other, swords clanging once more as they exchanged attacks once more before once again breaking the engagement and leaping back. As Aleksandr landed he slowly and methodically twirled the swords in the hands as he kept his feet in a stance, slowly inching forward while in the stance before moving his left foot forward and shifting his weight and stance. Aleksandr continued to slowly and methodically twirl the swords after his stance shifted, then proceeded to back up before steadying his stance as he raised the sword in his right hand high, angling it down a bit as he rested his left arm down ever so slightly, arm still bent a bit and slightly outstretched to keep the sword in it ready and pointed upward.

“This is so awesome!” Po exclaimed in excitement as he and Shifu watched the fight. “I had no idea until today animals outside of China did kung fu!”

“It’s not that big of a surprise, such things do tend to expand beyond their place of origin.” Shifu remarked.

“Yeah, bit to actually see it...he’s doing well too, but I doubt he’ll beat all of the Five.” Po commented. “Sure he got three of them, but I doubt he’ll beat Monkey or Tigress, especially Tigress.”

“We’ll see panda.” Shifu said as he stroked his beard, keeping a knowing discerning eye on the fight, He could tell by the way Aleksandr was wielding the swords he was no stranger to weapons.

Monkey and Aleksandr sized each other up as they stayed in their respective stances, something the Siberian tiger was thankful for as now that he narrowed it to where he only had to worry about Monkey and Tigress. A moment passed, then two, as they kept their eyes narrowed and focused on each other to see who would be the first to strike. After another tense moment Monkey was the first to act, charging at Aleksandr and attacking him with an unexpected flurry of blows, starting out first with his hands before quickly switching it up by flipping onto his hands and using his feat. While quick and almost unpredictable in what Monkey would do, Aleksandr was able to keep up, wrists working the swords in his hands with a lightning fluidity that made for an impressive clashing of swords for those that watched.

The two continued their clash of swords, exchanging who made the other have to back up as the other pressed the advantage. They broke off for but a moment before Monkey leapt up into the air, Aleksandr doing the same as the two then clashed in the air, exchanging attempted attacks before landing on the ground and continuing, neither giving the other an opportunity to disarm or an opening. As the exchange came to an end Aleksandr stepped back a few inches before doing something that caught everyone off guard.

Much to everyone’s surprise, the Siberian tiger began to gracefully in a dance like motion skip back, one leg kicking out and then the other as his arms moved downwards and upwards with the swords just as gracefully. The sudden dance like movement was so unexpected that Monkey was caught off guard when in the same dance like manner Aleksandr quickly closed the gap, disarming the master of his swords and delivering an upward kick to Monkey, sending him up in the air before leaping up and delivering another kick to Monkey’s chest and sending him into the wall that surrounded the area, falling face first on the ground and unable to continue.

Aleksandr landed near the weapon rack, putting the swords back as he kept an eye on Tigress as the two started to circle one another before Tigress got into a stance. As Aleksandr got into his own stance he could not help but blink, now that it had become just her and him, his focus was more fully on her and despite the fact that this was a fight and she looked dead serious, Aleksandr could not help but find her...beautiful in that moment. Of course Aleksandr didn’t have long until Tigress pressed the attack, snapping him back into the moment and focusing on the battle at hand.

Despite being initially on the back foot from his momentary lack of focus, Aleksandr was quick to not just effectively defend, but try to counter with his own attacks. Tigress was as relentless as she was powerful, and Aleksandr kept on high alert as she refused to let up in her attacks. She wasn’t known as the most dangerous of the Furious Five for nothing, the impact she left on the ground from earlier in the fight was clear evidence of that. One slip up, one mistake, one error in judgment or second of hesitation and the fight would be over with him knocked out and possibly injured.

Aleksandr met each thrown strike with either a block or diverting of the arm by quickly using his own to move it to the side and to try and capitalize by grabbing on only for Tigress to use the momentum of Aleksandr moving her arm away to roll hers under his. The two seemed almost evenly matched as they even matched each other with attempted knee strikes and kicks. Their exchange was fierce and a sight to behold as Po watched on in awe as the others watched on with equal intrigue. Shifu himself watched closely, studying the Siberian tiger closely, rather pleased to see the newcomer showing his full extent even if he didn’t show it.

The exchange continued, neither willing to back down as fists continued to fly and kicks continued to be attempted. As they fought Aleksandr focused on Tigress, his eyes locking on hers for a moment and noticing how determined yet passionate they were. But that wasn’t all there was, there’s was something more to those eyes, something hidden that was just beneath the surface of those...beautiful orange eyes.

Aleksandr blinked as he caught a fist coming towards him, narrowly moving his head out of the way before it connected, that was too close. This was a fight, a proving a test, he had to keep his head in the game; but would anyone blame him if he viewed their exchange as if it were a dance? They were after all not backing away and staying quite close in their fight. And besides, he himself incorporated a dance move here and there into his fighting, not to mention both fighting and dancing were both fluid and graceful in nature, so were they that drastically different?

Eventually the two landed a blow on the other’s chests, sending them both skidding back before they re-positioned, recomposed, and reengaged. The next exchange was not as long, Aleksandr managing to grab Tigress by the leg as she tried to kick him and flinging her towards a nearby tree. Tigress however managed to brace herself and pushed off the tree to hurtle back, manage to get a glancing blow on Aleksandr, managing to be the first to get a strike in even if a slight one. As she turned around to press the attack though Aleksandr caught the arm, spinning around and elbowing her in the gut before bringing her over his back and slamming Tigress onto her back.

Tigress was quick though, twisting and spinning as she swept his leg before Aleksandr had time to react. Before she could capitalize though Aleksandr leapt back up, the two once again returning to exchanging attempted blows, each managing to land a blow here and there with each exchange they engaged in with neither willing to give any slack in their fight. And at the rate they were going, it was anyone’s guess who would come out victorious if either.

As they once more disengaged briefly, the two started pant a bit, the exertion over their long fight starting to catch up to them. Despite how she felt about the newcomer, Tigress had to admit he was proving to be far better of a potential member in his test of worth than Po ever could hope to be. Not only that, but she found herself having...fun in their fight, mostly because she had not fought another tiger before and as their fight had gone on it was clear they both were letting more and more of their strength be unrestrained, a fact her twitching tail betrayed. But it didn’t matter in the end though, ultimately she had honed her fists and strength to the point that she was a living weapon. It mattered not how skilled this Siberian tiger was, he was no master and certainly no Tai Lung.

While he might have defeated the others, she still was the strongest and deadliest of the Furious Five, he would not beat her. At least he had managed to earn some respect from her, that alone should compensate for when he failed. Who knows, maybe she might even vouch for him to have the chance to stay, it’d be nice to have someone around that could actually push her to go all out more often.

The two went at each other once again, exchanging another flurry of strikes that both countered and blocked in quick succession with only a hit or two landed here or there. Aleksandr himself, despite the nagging thoughts and feelings, stayed focused and serious. Tigress was truly a force to contend with, as strong and determined as she was elegant and graceful...not to mention beautiful. But he could not afford to let himself get distracted, with the raw strength they started to put into each strike and kick, any moment’s distraction could end disastrously and he had to succeed to prove he was worth being at the Palace and by proving that, allow him to be around her more.

That alone was motivation enough to keep his focus, to stay determined as they continued to engage, disengage, and exchange blows. But that alone would not help him, he had to find an opportunity, an opening, no matter how slim or resort to taking a potentially powerful blow to just end it. An option that as they went on, seemed to be what he had to do as their breathing got heavier. Eventually, he caught Tigress taking a second too long to start throwing a punch, taking it as her starting to slowdown despite her still impressive speed he went for a strike of his own, not even caring about getting hit at this point. The two connected their blows, the others watching in anticipation as Tigress and Aleksandr stood there. After a tense moment of held breath, Tigress wobbled before eventually collapsing as Aleksandr still stood, but even that didn’t last long as he fell to a knee with a hand steadying himself panting a few seconds later.

“That was so...AWESOME!” Po cheered as he and Shifu made their way over to the two who were panting heavily.

“Indeed, you have quite the skill Aleksandr, I must say I am rather impressed. Only one animal has managed to defeat the Five in all their years of serving the Jade Palace, to have bested them and fight Tigress to this point shows your potential as a great master.” Shifu remarked as he kept his hands behind his back, Po himself was a bit surprised by the praise Shifu gave.

“S-spa-sibo…” Aleksandr said as he continued to catch his breath, eventually getting to his feet and bowing.

“I got to...admit….you’re….you’re not...half bad.” Tigress said as she continued to catch her breath as she managed to get up.

Aleksandr blinked a bit, fighting off the urge to blush as she complimented him. “T-thank you…” He replied.

Shifu arched a brow before clearing his throat. “Yes, given how you managed to take on the Five I believe you joining the Jade Palace is worth consideration, a fighter like you would make for quite the addition to keeping the valley safe and any threats to China. But I have to ask…” The red panda asked as he looked at the Siberian tiger. “You did come a long way to join, it’s clear that your family runs quite the temple to produce a fighter like yourself, why would you want to leave and come here instead of stay there with your family and friends?” Shifu inquired.

Aleksandr looked at the red panda a moment before replying. “Because as my family puts it, one’s...jour-ney in kung fu never ends, and to stay in one place and only know one way is to...hmm...not pro-gress fur-ther. If one is to continue to...grow, then one must seek out other opp-or-tu-ni-ties to ad-vance their skills and mastery, learning never ends.” He replied. It wasn’t just the fame of the Jade Palace, or the Furious Five, I wanted to see China, to see what more I could learn by bro-...ex-pan-ding my ho-ri-zons. That, and I wanted to help where I might can, no matter where. My village and sur-roun-ding towns are safe thanks to my family, I would just be sit-ting a-round and wai-ting while doing very little. At least here, I can learn in more ways than one.”

Shifu nodded as he stroked his beard. “Very well then, in that case I would be happy for you to join the Jade Palace as a student.”

Aleksandr bowed. “Spasibo, you have done me a great honor. I vow to do every-thing I can to live up to the standards and foun-ding prin-ci-pals of not just the Jade Palace, but kung fu as a whole.”

“Very good.” Shifu nodded. “Now come, I think after all that you’ve done a bit of rest and settling in is in order. I’ll have Po and Monkey help with your things” The red panda said as he turned to leave.

“If I may ask one thing…” Aleksandr said as he looked at Shifu as he and the others started to walk off.

“Yes?” Shifu asked as he turned to look at Aleksandr.

“The dragon warrior, where is he?” The Siberian tiger asked. “I was hoping to meet him when I arrived, is he out on a mis-sion?”

Shifu blinked as he looked at Aleksandr. “You have already met the dragon warrior.” He replied.

“...Ex-cuse me?” Aleksandr asked, perplexed by Shifu’s answer.

“Po is the dragon warrior.” The red panda explained.

“Sorry, kind of left that out...hi.” Po said as he sheepishly smiled.

Aleksandr blinked, completely stunned at what he had just heard, only able to say a single word. “...What?”

Chapter Text

Time seem to come to a screeching halt as soon as it was said that Po was the dragon warrior. The statement was something that caught Aleksandr so off guard and by surprise that the thought of pinching or slapping himself crossed his mind just in case he had actually been knocked out during that final exchange and he was just in a fever dream the past few minutes, or maybe he passed out after. Whatever the case may be, the fact still remained that he was at such a lack of words from shock that all he could muster was a single “What?”.

“I’m the dragon warrior.” Po said in a friendly and happy manner. “I know, I know, my bodacious awesomeness is a bit much to behold.” hThe panda joke.

“...You’re...what?” Aleksandr remarked as he looked at Po before blinking as he turned his attention to the others. “This is...joke yes? A prank? I have heard tells of the….ser-i-ous na-ture of the Jade Palace, but maybe this is way of wel-come-ing new student?”

“It is not a joke.” Shifu said, though his tone was hard to tell if he was taking some offense for Po’s sake or if it was just matter of fact.

“Believe me, I wish it were.” Tigress remarked as she crossed her arms.

Aleksandr blinked again. “Then this is test?” He asked. “One to see if I am gul-...gulli-...hmm….easy to trick?”

“No, this is not a test either, Po is the dragon warrior as I have said.” Shifu reiterated.

“But the legend, it was said the dragon warrior is the grea-test warrior to ever know kung fu, the he would know techniques and powers to rival the most skilled masters! That his strength, power, and cun-ning would be unmatched...and Po is…”

“I know…” Shifu admitted.

“Believe me, we know.” Tigress echoes.

“Is he...just feig-ning things? Putting up act to not draw at-ten-tion?” Aleksandr inquired.

“Unfortunately no.” Shifu replied.

“I’m standing right here you know.” Po remarked.

“But yet he defeated Tai Lung…” Aleksandr remarked. “Is he just...prod-i-gy? A sa-vant?”

“Hard to say, we were not there to see his full fight with Tai Lung, it had only been a few months after I started training him that Po had to face him.” Shifu replied.

Aleksandr could not help but blink in confused shock again. “A few...months? To face Tai Lung?”

“Yes.” Shifu nodded.

The bewilderment on Aleksandr’s face persisted as he tried to wrap his head around what he was hearing. Po had to be a prodigy or something, the gap in time investment towards honing their skills was too vast for only a few months training to be enough to defeat a more seasoned opponent. Aleksandr should know, he had seen many an upstart try to take on opponents in his family’s temple who thought they could fight above their skill only to be taught a painful lesson in humility. Hell, even he himself learned that lesson when his parents made him fight a much more seasoned opponent to show him that who he was and what he was meant nothing when it came to kung fu to make sure that ego was never an issue.

“Forgive me but...I need to see this for self.” Aleksandr remarked.

“Excuse me?” Shifu asked.

“I request to face the dragon warrior.” Aleksandr clarified. “I know it is seeming dis-re-spect-ful re-quest, but from where I am from such things are hard to be-lieve unless seen. I mean no in-sult, I just wish to test skill.” He clarified, seemingly having gotten a second wind.

“Ha ha...sure, I can let you have a taste of my awesome skills tomorrow.” Po smiled.

“Nyet...no, I mean now.” Aleksandr corrected.

Po and the others blinked as they looked at the Siberian tiger. “But you just took on the Five and barely was able to bea-” Po stopped as Tigress glared at him. “Fight Tigress to a standstill after surviving the others.” He corrected with a nervous smile.

Aleksandr looked at Po, his expression neutral before raising a finger to indicate to give him a moment. The group watched as the Siberian tiger made his way to the training hall, coming back a moment later with the training dummy he had seen in the corner. Po and the others blinked as he placed it down, readying a strike before delivering a punch that sent the dummy flying across the yard and through the concrete wall.

“I am good.” Aleksandr stated, much to Po’s shock that was clear on his face. “I was taught to fight no matter what state I am in, to give all until un-able to fight, I can still go.”

Tigress could not help but slightly smirk to herself at the whole display, despite her initial hesitations towards the newcomer the fight she had with him and now this warmed her up to him a little. Iy seemed that the Siberian tiger got it, a true warrior was disciplined and willing to push on even beyond their limits not just out of duty, but out of honor and respect for kung fu and the very place and people they defend. Perhaps having Aleksandr around would be more pleasant than she initially expected, they seem to have a similar mentality when it came to kung fu. And besides, if he was still able to go at the same rate as when they just fought, seeing Po be taught a lesson in taking kung fu and his training more seriously would be a sight to see.

Shifu narrowed his eyes at Aleksandr. “Absolutely no-”

“Master Shifu, perhaps we should allow him to do so.” Tigress interrupted. “You could see this as either a great first lesson in humbling one’s self for him or a great lesson in taking one’s training more seriously for Po.”

Shifu looked at Tigress, a bit surprised she interrupted him, but then stroked his beard as he gave it some thought. On the one hand, this was a breach of respect from the Siberian tiger and one that he would not be scrutinized for punishing harshly for or kicking out. But on the other, Tigress was right, it would make for a good lesson for either. Po had not taken things seriously since Tai Lung and even before then he had to resort to unorthodox and rather nontraditional methods to train Po, the fruits of said labor being dubious at best. Not only that, but this was the first time since Po was selected that Tigress spoke out of turn, and this time it was in a positive light. Plus, he himself still struggled with accepting Po was the dragon warrior, would anyone or Oogway himself judge him for wanting to see if Po was just lucky and might be a stand in for the actual one? After all, Oogway often said great things come from the unexpected and seemingly random.

Shifu sighed as he settled on his answer. “Very well then.”

“Spasibo.” Aleksandr bowed. “If it is to be a lesson for me, then perhaps add condition? We fight in hall, I have five min-utes to either knock Po out of sparring area or knock him out.” He suggested.

“Very well.” Shifu said as he waved his hand dismissively.

“But-” Po started to argue.

“No buts Panda.” Shifu interrupted as he glared at Po. “It has been three months since you faced an opponent as tough as Tai Lung, you need to understand that tough opponents are always going to be around the corner.”

“...Fine.” Po groaned ever so slightly before he made his way to the training hall with Aleksandr and the others for his practice fight with the Siberian tiger. “But is the training hall really necessary? I mean, out here should be fine.

“You are dragon warrior yes?” Aleksandr rhetorically inquired. “If any-thing, this would be easy for you and a worse de-tri-...hen-der-...hmm...handi-….harsh challenge for me.”

Po chuckled nervously. “Right, peace of cake for the dragon warrior...ho boy….”

Again tigress found herself smirking as she watched Po sweat, not that she was taking great pleasure in his suffering or anything, it was just that she liked the idea of Po being taught that kung fu was not all fun and games and was in fact something to not be taken seriously and demanded not just respect, but to be ready to face arduous and grueling challenges. The fact alone that Aleksandr, someone who wasn’t even from China, understood that and was willing to showcase by putting himself through another fight after the intense one he just had was something she found...admirable. It wasn’t many who grasped the seriousness of their path, the other masters and Shifu excluded of course, but most just saw kung fu as a fun thing to do, not something that required a lifetime of dedication and training.

Still, Aleksandr being ready and confident to fight right after he just finished fighting them was both impressive, and had her feeling...ever so faintly concerned about if the other tiger was actually still capable of fighting or was doing something that might end in him getting injured. Bravado was the folly of many after all, and she’d hate to see someone that seemed to have the right mentality injure themselves greatly just to prove a point. Ironic given what she herself had done in her years of training, but still, it was a lesson she had learned despite the strength it allowed her.

“Why did you vouch for Aleksandr to do this?” Viper asked as she slithered next to Tigress. “He’s going to get hurt after having fought us.”

“I think he might be able to handle it. Besides, this will be a good lesson for Po.” Tigress remarked.

Mantis hopped up onto Monkey’s head, looking at Tigress. “I don’t mean to be that guy, but aren’t we essentially letting him do what we did when Oogway selected hi-” He stopped as Tigress looked at him.

“Po needs to understand that being the dragon warrior is not all fun and games, that he needs to dedicate EVERYTHING to becoming a great kung fu master.” Tigress remarked.

“Are you sure that’s the reason you vouched for this?” Monkey asked.

“If you’re implying that I’m still...sore about what happened...somewhat.” Tigress admitted with a slight sigh. “But only because after he beat Tai Lung Po has done NOTHING to further his skills and he didn’t have the YEARS of training we had. Hell, none of us saw how he did against Tai Lung after those few months of training, only the effect of the Wuxi finger hold going off.” She continued. “If Po truly is the dragon warrior than he needs to put in the effort, put in the training, and catch up. Otherwise, he would be better suited for something else. And I’m not saying this out of malice, just fact.”

Viper blinked. “But-”

“But what?” Tigress countered. “How long did each of us train to get to where we are now, how much blood and sweat to get to our level? I get you want to give him the benefit of the doubt and go easy on him since he is so nice and eager, but that can’t go on forever. Viper, did you not prove your father wrong after using the dancing skills you poured everything into to defeat that gorilla bandit and then used those skills to further your fighting ability through years of training to get your lightning reflexes?”

Viper looked at Tigress pensively. “Well, yes…”

“And Monkey, you used your natural abilities and years of honing your street skills to not just prank your village, but become tricky to where only Oogway could best you. Did you not then dedicate everything you could after you became a student to get where you are now?” Tigress asked.

Monkey rubbed the back of his head. “I did…”

Tigress then looked to Crane. “And Crane, need I really ask you the amount of effort you put in after your friend encouraged you to do the training course of where you were a janitor and then seeing her faith be rewarded after you stumbled into it while thinking you couldn’t?”

“...No, you don’t.” Crane replied.

“Finally, Mantis, you were already skilled and deadly before coming to the palace, how much more effort have you put in to be as effective as you are?” Tigress inquired.

“...a lot…” Mantis admitted. “But still…”

“I know, but we ALL put ourselves through hell to be masters. Since Po joined he’s put in enough to get decent, but since Tai Lung was beat he hasn’t been training hard enough to catch up, to be at the level of master or anything deserving of his title.” Tigress argued. “If he can’t do that, then he is not worthy of the title.”

The other four looked at Tigress wanting to say something else on the matter but found themselves unable to, they knew she wasn’t wrong in the points she brought up. They each had dedicated their lives to becoming who they were now, to be as skilled as they are now. As much as even Viper herself and even Crane wanted to try and argue in defense of Po they could not, Tigress was too sound in her logic and as much as they might not want to think it, Tigress had a point. If Po was going to be the dragon warrior, he had to step up. If he didn’t, or couldn’t, then was he really what the universe intended? Not that they wanted to dishonor or disrespect Oogway, they doubted even Tigress wanted to, but even then it made them wonder if it was just an accident, or another test that Oogway was privy to but they and Shifu were not, something the others knew Tigress was thinking as well.

When they entered the training hall again Aleksandr readied himself, moving close to where he could get onto the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion. “Are you ready, dragon warrior?” He inquired, giving a respectful bow.

Po let out a nervous laugh as he looked at the Siberian tiger, gulping slightly. “Uh, yeah...though maybe I should...stretch first. I’ve had quite the day of dragon warrior-ing...just need to uh...get myself nice and limber.” The panda said as he started to try to stretch.

Aleksandr arched a brow as he looked at Po still finding it hard to believe that the panda in front of him was the warrior of legend. It wasn’t so much that he was being insensitive or mean to Po; after all, he found the panda to be quite friendly and nice. But when it came to kung fu, it didn’t matter how nice someone was or how friendly either. If you were to show due respect to the path, then you had to take it not just seriously, but not treat it like it was some sort of...relaxing hobby like paper folding.

“One would think the dragon warrior would be ready at a moment’s notice, since you never know when a threat might show itself.” Aleksandr remarked with a stoic and master like expression as he held his arms behind his back.

“Ah...yeah, you might think that.” Po chuckled nervously. “But the Valley of Peace tends to be rather...peaceful.”

“Despite the...weekly was it, threats that happen?” Aleksandr inquired in a rhetorical manner.

“Well...I-” Po rubbed the back of his head. “Never said that they were big threats that required the dragon warrior’s full might…”

“Uh huh…” Aleksandr remarked as he looked at Po with a blank expression. “I think you’ve had enough time. This should be...walk in park for dragon warrior, this is home turf for you so you have advantage.” He added, his Russian accent getting a bit heavier as he spoke. “Just have to hit me or knock me out, simple yes? Should take you less than minute.”

“Simple, right…” Po said with a nervous smile.

With that Aleksandr leapt onto the spinning serpent logs, keeping a good standing posture as he moved with the logs to not be thrown off, dodging the clubs that came at him by simply bending out of the way. Po himself gulped before leaping onto the spinning serpents, doing his best to get his footing and narrowly dodging the clubs as he did so. Aleksandr just watched as Po did his best to keep his footing and keep out of the way of the clubs. The Siberian tiger remained in a resting stance, choosing not to move to strike at all as he just watched to see if Po was as he appeared or putting on an act to lull people into a false sense of confidence to catch them off guard. After all, he wasn’t going to write Po completely off just because of his behavior, he could still be quite the capable warrior.

It seemed like Po was continuing to struggle to keep his footing on the serpents, narrowly avoiding getting hit by the clubs as he did his best to make his way over to Aleksandr slowly. The Siberian tiger watched him studiously as he got got closer, keeping a keen eye on the panda as he observed him readying to try and strike. As Po through a punch Aleksandr simply leaned to the side and out of the way, doing so again as Po tried for another punch. The Siberian tiger continued the seemingly effortless dodging as Po tried to hit him with punches, evening leaning back to avoid a punch or kick and jumping when needed. Po’s attempts to try and hit him were as clearly telegraphed and easy to read as though he were a new beginner who had just started to learn the ways of kung fu.

This couldn’t be it, could it, surely this wasn’t the full extent of the capabilities of the dragon warrior of legend? Perhaps Po did need time to warm up, or even just needed time to get in a groove, it wasn’t unheard of for some to take time to build up to what they were capable of after all. Hell, Aleksandr still held out a bit of hope that this was just Po trying to come off as incapable and unassuming, keeping up a ruse long enough to where he would eventually believe it and then capitalize on his lowered senses and alertness.

But as the fight went on and time ticked down the hope that Po was just trying to play a long game faded with every second. Po wasn’t completely without some modicum of capability, even if it was such a small amount that it was confusing how he managed to defeat Tai Lung. But at the same time, it was clear as day to Aleksandr that Po was by no means truly capable of being the dragon warrior based on his skill. To the point that it not only felt like an insult to a legend that had spread across all who studied kung fu, but a dishonoring of the title in of itself and to those who took kung fu as seriously as it should be.

Aleksandr watched Po as he waited, wanting to give the panda the as much time to prove he had some potential in him, show he was capable, ANYTHING. But as Shifu announced they had two minutes left the Siberian tiger decided that enough was enough and set on finishing the fight. Without a second of hesitation he began to lay into Po, delivering a series of strikes and kicks at a speed far too great for Po to even star to react to. The attacks weren’t just precise, but powerful, knocking Po back along the Spinning Serpents, the panda starting to lose his footing.

The Siberian tiger didn’t stop there though, he quickly leapt over to continue the assault, keeping Po from falling backwards and repeating the process as the panda started to fall the other way, even going to far as to deliver powerful kicks as he started to tilt to one side or the other with a look that showed the determination of keeping Po on the obstacle. The others could only watch in surprise at the display, Aleksandr appearing to possibly be a bit faster than he let on. Even the kicks and upper palm strikes to the chin were no less impactful, each connected blow being felt by them as they watched.

While it seemed harsh, and might be even seen as cruel or malicious by those not well versed, the fact Shifu and the others could tell the strikes were not powerful enough to maim or seriously injure was the only reason why they didn’t step in. As Shifu called out they had twenty seconds left Alksandr Leapt over Po to face him, waiting as the panda attempted to try and throw a beleaguered punch before dodging. After the failed punch Po saw one of the clubs coming right at him he tried to move away, only to not be able to move. Looking down at his feet he saw that Aleksandr had a foot on one of his, keeping him pinned.

“Oh no…” was all Po said as Aleksandr let go at the last second, the club colliding with Po and sending him off the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion and into the Jade Tortoise of Wisdom, the other slightly grimacing. Although she did not take full satisfactory in the method Po was beat, there was enough there to appreciate that this was hopefully a lesson for the panda.

“And time…” Shifu sighed as he placed over his face, feeling all the more that Po wasn’t truly cut out to be what Oogway thought.

Aleksandr wasted no time leaping off the Spinning Serpents and landing on the rim of the Jade Tortoise of Wisdom, extending a hand to Po. “No hard feelings.” He said as he looked at the panda.”

“...yeah…” Po said as he took the hand, being helped up to his feet.

“Again, I mean no of-fense, it is just...I am thinking you are not...cut out for dragon warrior.” Aleksandr remarked.

“You’re not the first to say that…” Po said as he tried to get out of the tortoise.

Aleksandr nodded as he then turned to the others. “Forgive me if this is seeming dis-re-spect-ful, but...I am a-ssu-ming that his months training involved all of you yes?” He inquired.

“...Yeah.” Mantis replied.

“Then how is it he survived?” Aleksandr asked genuinely as he looked at the other’s perplexed, taking notice of Po still trying to get out. “Was it that you went easy or maybe un-der-es-ti-ma-ted him so much that he caught you off guard?”

“It might have been part of it, yeah…” Crane admitted.

“We were pretty harsh on him in the beginning though, including Shifu.” Monkey commented. “Well, more so Tigress while the rest of us were either indifferent or like Viper and Mantis, wanted to give him shot.”

“So much so that I think we kind of felt bad after he showed such enthusiasm and willingness, probably seeing a bit of ourselves in him.” Mantis said as he rubbed the back of his head. “While we all had our reservations, I wasn’t going to judge him based on size since, well...you know. And Viper knew what it was like to be said you can’t do something because you didn’t have what other thought you needed in order to fight or defend.”

“And after master Shifu saw how he did better when food was involved, we might have subconsciously gone easy thinking he got stronger than he was.” Viper admitted.

Aleksandr nodded. “That is very noble and not a bad mentality to have.” He agreed. “But at same time, this is about the dragon warrior, the legendary kung fu prac-ti-tion-er said to be defender of China. He might have some skill, but not enough to be worthy of title. Tell me, are you sure you know not how his battle with Tai Lung went?”

The Furious Five shook their heads. “By the time Shifu and all of us got to the village it was over, Tai Lung was killed and completely disintegrated by the Wuxi finger hold.” Crane explained.

“And Po’s condition?” Aleksandr asked as Po finally got out of the tortoise.

The Furious five looked at each other before Crane spoke up again. “He was…” Crane hesitated.

“He was badly injured and took a full month to recover, it was clear the battle had been fierce. Given the fact Po was barely able to stand, well, showed it had been one sided up until the end.” Tigress answered.

Aleksandr nodded as he heard the explanation, maybe Po was just rusty from the lack of training. “And has he doubled his efforts since?”

“No, he has not.” Shifu finally spoke. “I have tried but he seems to think that he can just take it slow.”

“Sorry…” Po said as he lowered his head.

Aleksandr sighed as he hopped down from the Jade Tortoise of Wisdom and placed his hand on Po’s shoulder. “Know I am not trying to hu-mil-i-ate you Po. But your attitude and lack of taking things serious is not how kung fu should be approached.” The Siberian tiger explained. “It is good you have such love and admir..admir...ad-mir-a-tion for it, but you must understand that this is serious path you follow. Kung fu demands you take it as serious as you would...honoring your family. If you do not dedicate life to training and honing skills and strength every day, practice every day, then you disrespect the very nature of it.”

“You have a point…” Po admitted.

“There is nothing wrong with your friendliness and jo...jovi-….happy nature, that is strength you have. But it is clear you got lucky, rgat Tai Lung must have severely underestimated you to point of making huge mistakes.” Aleksandr remarked.

“But...I was picked by fate to be the dragon warrior, I love kung fu, I don’t really have anything else I could do with my life.” Po remarked sadly.

“This is not true.” Aleksandr argued. “You said you had figures of Furious Five yes?”

“Ones I hand made yes.” Po replied.

“And when you showed me them they were won-...won-...greatly craf-ted.” Aleksandr smiled. “Not just that, but you do have a pa-ssion and love for kung fu that is greatly appreciated. You are not lacking options. You could maybe make more things, maybe things to give others who love masters of kung fu, or things to help said masters. You are still having some skill too, you could still learn and live kung fu, could even transcribe or teach things about it. Just because you may not be cut to be dragon warrior, does not mean you cannot still pursue kung fu. Kung fu by it’s very nature has many paths.”

“Really?” Po asked.

Aleksandr nodded. “It is not always about fighting, but engi-….engi-….cre-ate-ti-vi-ty. As I have learned, anything that requires Patience, dis-ci-pline, and hard work all falls under Kung Fu.”

“So...I could be a kung fu master of...toys?” Po blinked.

Aleksandr chuckled. “That, or master of teaching the history or kung fu and it’s masters, or even making training equipment.” He remarked. “But as said, you can still pursue the martial arts part of it, you just might not be dragon warrior. Do not take what I have said as trying to keep you from learning what you want, just that you might be suited for different role.”

As the others watched the conversation Shifu could not help but feel that the Siberian tiger had a great amount of wisdom to him, despite being within the age of Tigress, although it was hard to tell if he was older, younger, or the same age as her. Even the others couldn’t help but be impressed at the wisdom the Siberian tiger seemed to have. Aleksandr’s family must be excellent teachers and run a fine temple if their own son was any indication of what their temple produced. Still, as he listened, Shifu could not help but feel a pang of guilt.

Po looked at Aleksandr a moment before smiling a bit. “You’re quite the awesome fighter, and a pretty cool guy.”

“You are pretty...cool guy….too.” Aleksandr remarked with a slight smile.

“I think I’ll try to train a bit harder, see if I can bring justice to the art of kung fu...if you’d be willing to help.” Po remarked. “Just to see if I am cut out to be a kung fu master. Still, it does suck that maybe Oogway might have been wrong and him picking me as dragon warrior was just an accident…”

“It is hard to say.” Aleksandr remarked. “Sometimes accidents are just that, accidents. Not every spilled drink, or misplaced item, or mistake in doing something leads to something bigger. It can happen, but not always.” The Siberian tiger said as he moved to jump onto the Spinning Serpents again, catching one of the Seven Singing Clubs of Instant Oblivion. “Sometimes accidents happen because they are what is needed in that time. Perhaps yours was such thing, you were what was needed to best Tai Lung or as a test for whoever was to be dragon warrior, maybe both. But ult-ulti-...hmm...but in the end, we all have parts to play and purposes for life.”

“So what do you think my purpose is?” Po asked. “To just be what you said? What was needed to beat Tai Lung or even a test for the true dragon warrior?”

“That, my friend, is what we will have to see as we continue on our journeys together.” Aleksandr said as he continued to hold the club. “But whatever your part is, whatever you end up doing, do not think that doesn’t mean you cannot also pursue the martial aspects of kung fu.” The Siberian tiger added before keaping over to the others and bowing to Shifu. “Apologies for the...dis-play. I know it seemed like I was trying to dis-re-spect the Jade Palace. But as I was taught, such lessons like I just gave are needed to make clear that kung fu is not to be taken lightly.”

Shifu raised his hand. “No, it is fine, I myself have had reservations about Po and have tried what I can.”

Aleksandr nodded. “In most cases a student like Po would be kicked out for disrespecting kung fu by not taking it to heart and giving all. But his love and passion for it is admirable, and he has some skill, so a warning and second chance is allowed…at your discretion of course. Again, not to overstep bounds.”

“Again, it’s fine.” Shifu assured. “Your family’s teachings are sound, I had tried to get Po to quit before I saw some potential in him, and after seeing you I regret I was starting to think about it again.”

“Harsh, but not without under-standing.” Aleksandr admitted. “Still, if any are willing, they should be given chance or two, unless shown to truly not take kung fu seriously enough, then kick out.” He added, “If Po still wishes to be a mar-...marti… pursue the fighting part of kung fu, then his passion should be rewarded with second chance.”

Shifu nodded. “Perhaps you being around will help Po, even if he truly is not cut out to be the true dragon warrior like you said. You were not wrong in your assessment, he does have a love for it and some skill, but ultimately he might have been meant to just be what was needed for a dire situation and a test for the real dragon warrior.” He added. “Now, it’s been a long day, so I think some time to rest and for you to get unpacked and settled in is called for.”

Aleksandr bowed once more. “Spasibo.”

“Tigress, Monkey, help Aleksandr unpack and get settled.” Shifu ordered as he looked at the two.

“Thank you, but they are masters, part of Furious Five-” Aleksandr politely declined as he raised a hand. “I have carried my be-...belon-….be-lon-gings this far, I would not im-pose on any here and unpack myself. It is only right.”

“Very well.” Shifu nodded respectfully. “But I will insist on them showing you where you will be staying.”

“Of course.” Aleksandr bowed.

“In that case, Viper, you’ll be going with Tigress. Crane, Monkey, help Mantis assist Po.” Shifu ordered. “Given the attacks he endured he’ll likely need some acupuncture.”

“Of course master.” The five replied with a bow, Crane and Monkey proceeding to go help Po who was still very wobbly and trying to hide the pain he was in.

“Which room will we be showing him to?” Viper inquired.

“Hmm...put him next to Tigress’ room since we’ve always gone right to left.” Shifu replied.

“Yes master.” Viper and Tigress replied with a bow, the two unaware of Aleksandr trying to hold back both a bit of nervous shock and a slight blush. Sure he had been used to such arrangements in his family’s temple, but given the unexpected way he found himself feeling towards Tigress, he could not help but find himself feeling almost like a young boy who was assigned to be next to his crush in class. And while he was sure the five or Po might not notice with how he was holding back; given the fact Shifu could tell he had been holding back...he could only pray the master of the Jade Palace didn’t notice.

With everything set, Tigress and Viper followed Aleksandr out of the training hall and watched as he went to get his cart. “This way to the barracks.” Tigress said as she started to lead the way as Aleksandr followed from behind.

As the Siberian tiger followed the two female members of the Furious Five Viper looked back at him, deciding to slow down to where she could slither alongside him. “Did you really pull that all the way up the mountain?” She inquired as she looked at the large heavy looking cart and then to Aleksandr.

“Da.” Aleksandr nodded.

“And you also pulled it all the way from Russia...including over mountainous terrain?” Viper continued to query.

Aleksandr nodded again. “It was good way to train while traveling to come here.”

“No wonders you’re so strong and have the endurance we saw, impressive.” Viper remarked.

“Spasibo, thank you. My family believe in pushing one’s self to limit and using all things as training opportunity. Our temple’s methods demand much, could even be said to be grueling, but is also fair.” Aleksandr said as he looked at Viper. “Hard work, determination, effort, these are foundations of corner stone for my family’s temple. If you seek to pursue the marti-...mar-tial...arts of kung fu then you must show willingness to endure much, not take easy path or give less than full effort. Those that do not give proper seriousness or effort are weeded out and expelled in definitive way to set example. Again, can be seen as harsh, but is our understanding of what kung fu requires.”

“I see…” Viper mused.

“It is why we have great respect for Furious Five, you put in the time and work to be masters without peer, true defenders of your country.” Aleksandr elaborated. “And why we have respect for Jade Palace. You yourself master Viper are exemplary proof of showing that it doesn’t matter circumstance, if put in all that you are, can achieve great things.”

Viper smiled a bit. “Thank you.”

“Bez problem…No problem.” Aleksandr replied.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the barracks, Aleksandr proceeding to pull his cart next to it and starting to get some things from it, starting first and foremost with some outfits that looked similar, if not almost identical to, what he was already wearing including more casual versions of them. Once he had what he could carry Tigress showed him down the hall, stopping after they past her room and turning to her right to face his, proceeding to opening the door. “Here is your room, the kitchen and other amenities are further down.” She informed as she stepped aside.

“Spasibo.” Aleksandr bowed before walking into the just spacious enough room and proceeded to put the clothing in a neat arrangement in a corner of the room before heading back out to repeat the process. Viper and Tigress watched as he got a few more stacks of clothing, all of which were similar to what he wore, just different variations. From there they Watched as he then proceeded to get out a few drawn pictures of what they assumed to be his family, a depiction of their temple; and other various things like painting supplies, a few writing utensils, a bed roll, grooming and tooth care supplies, and even two...peculiar looking instruments.

“What are those?” Viper asked as she saw them.

“Oh, these?” Aleksandr asked as he held the instruments. “This is a Balalaika and this is a Domra.” He said as he lifted the instruments respectively.

“I see...interesting.” Viper remarked with some fascination.

“I will play them when you like.” Aleksandr offered.

“That’s very kind of you.” Viper smiled. “I’m sure we’d all like to hear you play, right Tigress?” She asked as she looked to Tigress.

“Sure, I guess.” Tigress shrugged.

Aleksandr blinked slightly before continuing to go about unloading, finishing not long after much to the two’s surprise. Despite the somewhat large cart it appeared that he traveled at least light enough with only the essentials and what spare free time things he wanted that involved his hobbies. Curiosity got the better of them though as they took a peak after he walked inside to settle in, seeing camping supplies, a wash basin, and a large round wooden container which didn’t take long for them to guess was a bathtub. It seemed that while he traveled light enough, he also traveled with a fair bit of practicality, especially so given there was a wooden washing basin as well for clothes washing and likely his face as well. With their curiosity settled Viper and Tigress went about the rest of their day, deciding to let Aleksandr rest from not just his trip, but from the exertion he had just gone through.

After he finished settling in and getting his room comfortable and neat Aleksandr sat on the bed roll, crossing his legs as he settled in against the wall for a brief nap. When he awoke a few hours later evening was fully set in and it was still a short bit before night. Getting to his feet Aleksandr decided to refresh his body, thinking about going down the hall to do so before settling on setting up the wooden container he brought to do so since he had somewhat gotten used to doing so in his travel. Stepping outside of his room he headed out of the barracks and over to his cart, starting to get the materials and setting up a nice little bond fire pit behind the barracks before going to get his bathtub and setting the tall cylindrical bath high enough over the pit to be able to have the water warmed. From there he set forth getting the water, filling the tub before lighting the fire pit and waiting for the water to seem warm before disrobing and getting in.

The warm water felt refreshing on his fur and skin, washing away the sore spots from where he had not just pulled his cart, but fought the Furious Five and Po. It was truly tranquil and quite meditative to a degree, so much so that he eventually found himself humming as he let the ware and tear of the day just wash away along with the sweat as he renewed his body and mind. This was truly relaxing, sure he might eventually use the amenities in the barracks but for right now, this was quite enjoyable and rewarding to him. Aleksandr was so relaxed that he didn’t even hear the footsteps of someone heading in his direction.

“Hey.” Came Tigress’ voice.

Aleksandr nearly felt like jumping out of his fur when he heard Tigress’ voice, fighting to hold back his growing flustering before turning to face the female tiger. “Master Tigress...hello…”

“Did you not hear when I said we had amenities in the barracks? You didn’t need to set up your travel bath.” Tigress remarked, seeming not the least bit bothered by the fact he was bathing.

“I did…” Aleksandr replied. “But I had...gotten used to doing this in my travels. So I figured I’d do it once or a few more times just until I get settled.” The Siberian tiger explained.

“Fair.” Tigress shrugged. “By the way you’re quite the fighter, will be fun to train with you, not often I get to go all out...even with the others.” She said as she leaned against the wall of the barracks.

Aleksandr looked at her before responding, despite the fact that he found her to be quite appealing, even when relaxed, there was just something about the other tiger that seemed tense. “I see...it will be good to train with you to.”

“Although I’m curious…” Tigress started. “You got a second wind pretty quickly after you heard about Po being the dragon warrior, did you hold back any during our fight?” Tigress inquired as she looked at Aleksandr. “Because the way you handled Po…”

“If you are thinking I held back to not hurt feelings or trick then no I did not.” Aleksandr assured. “It might be debatable on how the fight could have ended if it had been just me and you, but know I respect you too much to not give my all. I only got second wind because Po was insulting and disrespecting kung fu whether he knew it or not by not taking it as seriously as you.” He explained. “A lesson needed to be taught, sore bones and pushing self further or not.”

Tigress slightly smirked. “It’s good to see someone else understand that Po needs to understand the gravity of pursuing kung fu.”

“The fact alone he got worn out from the walk up is...disgraceful.” Aleksandr remarked.

“Tell me about it, it’s why I wonder why Oogway didn’t just-...never mind.” Tigress said as she glanced away. “But did you mean what you said about him not being the true dragon warrior and just what was needed for the situation and possible test for the real one?” She asked.

Aleksandr blinked. “Yes, he is not cut out for dragon warrior.” He replied. “One does not just have a legend like that without it being meant for someone who rightfully worked for, earned, and was meant to be it. But do not get me wrong, Po can be a great kung fu fighter if he just puts in effort.”

Tigress nodded. “Yeah, I just hope that he can, the reputation of the Jade Palace is important. If he is ever to be a representative of it, then he needs to be like us. Otherwise...the Jade Palace will just be a laughing stock.”

Aleksandr blinked. “Repre-….”

“Oh, sorry, forgot you don’t have a full grasp of Chinese.” Tigress apologized. “If Po is to be part of the Jade Palace.”

“Ah, yes, indeed.” Aleksandr nodded. “I will help where I can, but only time...and Po’s willingness and determination will tell.”

“Yeah.” Tigress agreed. “Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your bath. Dinner should be ready soon so don’t take too long OK?”

“Da, thank you.” Aleksandr nodded.

Tigress stood straight as she turned to leave. “Oh, and welcome, I’m sorry we didn’t have the time to say that; look forward to training with you tomorrow.”

Aleksandr smiled slightly. “Thanks, I look forward to it too.”

“Just don’t hold back that second wind you have in you when we get to have one on ones, I want a good challenge.” Tigress smirked before walking off.

As she walked off Aleksandr leaned against the bathtub, finding himself feeling a mixture of things, all good. Still, there seemed to be something about Tigress that seemed...off. He had noticed she seemed a bit stiff and inflexible at first but figured it was due to her being ready at all times. But now, seeing her still be rigid even relaxed made him wonder if there was something that might not be...good for her going on. There was also that odd inquiry about his words to Po and her starting to say something in regards to the master that had past away during the conflict with Tai Lung he heard during his travel to the Jade Palace.

But that was something he would not push, especially not now. If there was something going on with Tigress then it was at her liberty to reveal when and if she wanted. He just hoped that she would though, and not just because of the feelings that he was feeling towards her, feelings that he himself knew would eventually have to be addressed at the appropriate time. Right now though, right now was the time to relax and restore his body and mind. Because starting tomorrow, he was going to see what being a student of the jade palace was like. That, and it would also be the start of seeing if Po would start to take things serious and where and how much he would need to help out with the panda. One thing was certain, thing probably weren’t ever going to be dull

Chapter Text

After he had finished bathing and taking enough time doing so to feel fully reinvigorated Aleksandr got out of the wooden bath, taking time after he put a towel around himself to put out the fire and then empty the bath. When the Siberian tiger finished doing so he contemplated putting the wooden bath barrel back in his cart only to decide to keep it where it was. Truth be told, he had gotten more used to bathing like that during his travel to the Jade Palace than he actually thought. Although that didn’t mean he wouldn’t eventually use the ones in the barracks, just that he’d keep the one he used in his travel as an option to use whenever he wanted.

With that settled Aleksandr went about drying himself thoroughly, making sure he had gotten himself good and dry before moving to pick up the outfit he had set aside on a small bench that was part of the various camping supplies he had for travel. The outfit themselves were like the gi he had worn, same colors, patterns, and even colors. The only differences between the gi and what he set out to put on were that they were more of a casual robe and the coloring on the sleeves as well as the sash itself was different. Unlike his more formal looking gi where the sleeves had two small gold sections bordering red, the robe had one red section and one gold at the end of the sleeves of equal size. And where the gi’s sash was red with a gold buckle and white tiger paw, the robe had a gold sash with the tiger paw in the center of it. Event the pants of the robe remained dark mustard while being more comfortable looking, the cuffs of them being pure red unlike the gi’s where it was gold bordered by red.

Before Aleksandr went about dressing he quickly looked around, leaning to look down the side of the barracks to ensure that he didn’t have the surprise of someone walking up on him like Tigress had done. He really didn’t want the awkwardness of that happening; it occurring with with Shifu, Po, Crane, Monkey, or Mantis wouldn’t be overly bad but Viper would be a whole other story entirely and be rather bad. Tigress though, if she had walked up on him again just as he was changing, that would be a whole level of bad that Aleksandr wasn’t sure he could handle; the thought alone of it happening had him turning a shade of red. Still, despite the fact the coast was clear, Aleksandr made sure he changed as quickly as he could just in case before heading to join the others for dinner.

Upon entering the barracks Aleksandr made his way through towards where Tigress had indicated the kitchen and dining hall were, his nose picking up the smell of something quite delicious smelling as he neared where they were. When he reached the dining hall Aleksandr saw that the Five were sitting at table big enough for six. Well, the others were sitting in chairs, Mantis was…sitting...standing...on the table...do mantises sit? That was a question to ponder on for another time as Po came alongside with a number of bowls of food.

“Here we are, a nice meal to top off the day.” Po said, seemingly as cheerful as he had been when Aleksandr me him. The Siberian tiger had to give Po credit, he wasn’t really one to stay down after a set back, it was a great trait to have for those who sought to pursue kung fu. “Here’s your Viper, Mantis, Tigress, Crane, Monkey, I’ll put mine here and Aleksan-...oh.” Po said as he realized there was no place for the Siberian tiger.

“I’ll just carry my meal to my room.” He said as he moved to take his meal from Po.

“Are you sure?” Po asked. “I can always eat mine elsewhere.”

Aleksandr shook his head. “I am new one here, you have been here longer and your ad-mir-a-tion for the Five was made very clear during lunch. I would hate to force you to eat elsewhere when I am still like guest even though I am now student.” He insisted, only for Po to look at him, clearly a bit torn.

“Technically I’m not taking up a seat, you can use mine.” Mantis remarked. “I mean it’s never really been used and is more there as a symbolic showing of me sitting with the others so it just sitting there is kind of putting a good chair to waste.”

Aleksandr blinked, the thought of sitting next to Tigress warming his cheeks a bit, but not so much as to blush. “Are you sure?” He asked. “You are still using space.”

“It’s fine, I’ll just move to the center of the table.” Mantis assured.

“Alright.” Aleksandr said as he moved to take the empty chair next to Tigress as Mantis moved with his food to the center of the table.

“Spasibo.” Aleksandr thanked Mantis with a bow and then Po for the food before placing his hands together as he bowed his head slightly while facing his food, closing his eyes while he did. “Spasibo za vozmozhnost' prigotovit' etu yedu, i pust' yeye pitaniye prineset pol'zu moyemu telu i obnovit moy razum i sily.”

The others blinked as they looked at Aleksandr. “What was that?” Viper asked.

“I was giving thanks for the means to make the meal and requesting it to be beneficial to both body and mind, as well as renewing of strength.” Aleksandr explained.

“Ah.” Viper nodded. “Well it sounded lovely.”

“Spasibo.” Aleksandr said before digging into his food with the others as Po sat down to eat his.

“So, what is Russia like?” Viper asked, trying to help Aleksandr feel more like he was more than just the new student.

“It is...be-...very lovely place, it has much na-tur-al sce-ner-y and the weather can by quite plea-sant but can also be very cold.” Aleksandr explained. “It is hard to give enough detail for clear im-age.”

“Fair enough.” Viper nodded. “Are you enjoying China so far?”

“Yes, it is just as be-...bea-….bea-u-ti-ful. I’m not sure if I could really say if it or my homeland is more so over other.” Aleksandr replied.

“Are all tigers in Russia white?” Tigress asked. “I’ve...never really been around other tigers so I don’t know if they are different elsewhere.” She added, deciding to join in on the conversation.

Aleksandr blinked before looking at Tigress, not expecting that a master like herself had never been around her own kind. In fact, why hadn’t it been a bit of a hint to him before when she said it would be nice to have another tiger around? Sure, Aleksandr easily took it as there had not been a tiger student besides her, but why didn’t the option of her never being around any at all at least cross his mind? Was she an orphan? Such questions would have to wait, it would be very rude and improper to ask when he was still new.

“Nyet.” Aleksandr answered. “Tigers in Russia are much like yourself, though the ones where I am from and those of my family are actually very rare, to the point of being considered that of borderline things of legend.”

The others blinked as they looked at Aleksandr. “Whoa, so you’re a legendary animal?” Po asked with slight awe.

Aleksandr chuckled a bit. “Nyet my friend, we might be rare, but we are not things of myth.” The white tiger said with a smile. “At most, we are just…how you say…hmm...what we are is something that is a rare thing that can happen to tigers, very rare.”

Tigress nodded. “I see...so you’re unlike those around you, even your own kind.” She said, a hint of knowing in her voice when she spoke of being unlike others, it just made Aleksandr further certain she was likely an orphan that never knew what it was like being around her own kind.

“Yes...but, it is not big issue.” Aleksandr remarked. “Are we unique? Yes, but that really doesn’t make us anything more special than any other tiger, we are still same deep down. And those who use our uniqueness as a source of van-...vani-...vanity and ego are no longer tigers but arrogant fools that, if if need be, are taught error of ways.”

“Still, you must be somewhat special to be so rare.” Tigress commented.

“Maybe, but no more special than a tiger like yourself.” Aleksandr dismissed before blinking. “That is to say, your hard work and what you have become makes you just as special as the circumstances that molded you. I mean, you are of Furious Five with excellent form and skill, I say that makes you just as one of kind.”

The other members of the Five looked at each other before looking at the two tigers. “I am grateful to Shifu for what he’s helped me with, but you seem to have had more of an advantage to use and hone your strength.” Tigress remarked.

“One’s circumstances and upbringing does not determine things. Despite whatever yours was like, it did not stop you from being a fierce fighter worthy of respect.” Aleksandr argued. “Even if you could not train with other tigers, you are still a force to be feared.”

Tigress lightly smiled. “I did put in a lot of hard work.”

“And the fruits show.” Aleksandr commented. “Is very admirable, just as admirable as the other members of the Five.” He added.

“Did you have to worry about many threats on your way here other than the crocodile bandits you ran into?” Monkey asked.

“Not really, no, for the most part it was an enjoyable trip.” Aleksandr replied as his attention went to Monkey. “Sure I did run into the odd bandit or two, but nothing that was a major threat. In fact, the biggest thing I had to worry about was where to sleep if weather was bad enough.” He added. “But really, it was pleasant, I enjoyed seeing the new sights and taking in the bea-u-ty of China and what it has to offer.”

“That’s good to hear.” Viper smiled.

“I will say I’m impressed with your skills with a sword, you’re rather fluid with your handling of blades.” Monkey remarked. “Although I must admit that move you pulled was rather unortho-...sorry, odd, and that’s coming from me.”

Aleksandr chuckled. “Spasibo, I can see where it might seem odd to those who are not aware of Russian culture.” He remarked. “My sword skills are derived from tribes in Russia whose ability with swords was seen as ad-… admir-able enough to in-...in-cor-por-ate into what is taught at my family’s temple.”

“I see, do they use dancing?” Monkey inquired. “It felt like you were doing a dance move.”

Aleksandr nodded as he looked at Monkey. “Da, they have a sword dance that while they did for fun, was seen as useful skill for combat to be...un-pre-dic-ta-ble.”

“Are they also the ones that influenced that odd move you used against me?” Viper asked. “The way you moved your legs despite how crouched you were was impressively fluid, like a dance.”

“Nyet, not really.” Aleksandr replied. “Although it is very tra-...tradi-…tra-di-ti-on-al and pop-u-lar dance in Russia. My family simply saw a use for it as a tactic and training method.” He explained.

“What about the markings on your clothing?” Crane asked. “It seems that you have the same patterns on all of them going off what we’ve seen so far.”

“Ah, yes, these are symbolic for most of them.” Aleksandr said as he looked at Crane. The wa-...wa-ves sym-bo-lize that one must be as pow-...power-...pow-wer-ful yet fluid as tidal wave. Much like how they can go from strong to gentle so must one know when to use over-...over-...o-ver-whel-ming strength and power that can’t be stopped and when to be gentle. The flower is mostly a symbolic thing to represent our home and the paw is the mark of my family’s temple. The waves are our fundamental ph-...philo-…”

“Philosophy?” Crane asked.

“Da, that.” Aleksandr nodded. “If one is to be like the waves, then one must be willing to give all and take serious such a path. We see all of kung fu this way and as something worthy of great re-spect.”

“I see.” Crane nodded. “That’s quite the philosophy to live by.”

“If one is to defend their land, those they care for, then anything less is not acceptable.” Aleksandr remarked with a fair bit of conviction.

“And how long have you trained in kung fu?” Crane inquired. “I assume based on your skill alone along with the fact your family runs a temple that it’s been your whole life.”

“Da, kung fu has been part of life since I was able to understand world around me.” Aleksandr replied with a nod. “My parents say that even as infant I was loving to watch kung fu and showed to have potential, that as soon as I could walk I was trying to mimic what I saw.” He said with a wistful smile. “But yes, as soon as I could handle it I was allowed to train.”

“Do you miss your family?” Viper asked. “I know you just got here, but that is a long journey to get here from Russia, let alone wherever in Russia you hail from.”

“That is kind to ask, I think of them often.” Aleksandr replied. “But I am fine, they are with me in spirit as I am with them.”

“I’m just still surprised that kung fu made it all the way to Russia.” Crane stated as he continued to eat. “I wonder how much more of the world it’s spread to.”

“Hard to say, and even my parents do not know full story of how it came to Russia as they were not always masters of temple.” Aleksandr explained.

“They weren’t?” Po asked.

“Nyet.” Aleksandr replied. “At some point in our family’s history the then master of the temple decided it was time to pass the ownership so he challenged his top students he passed everything to to see who was best suiting and worthy of passing temple to. My...an-ces-tor at the time proved to be the one best suited. Of course, the others did not take it lightly so he did what he had to do. After seeing my ancestor not just fight off those that would dare dishonor the temple by their jealousy and defend both himself and protecting the master even after he had just fought fierce fight, the master gladly requested that the temple remain in his family so long as they upheld that same standard.”

“Wow…” Po said in awe. “That’s so cool!”

“Thanks.” Aleksandr smiled.

“So how does that work, passing down through the family?” Crane asked.

“If there is but one child they are rig-...rig...rigor-...thor-ough-ly tested both in integrity and skill to ensure the values instilled have stuck.” Aleksandr explained. “If multiple and they all adhere to the integrity taught, then there is competition much like when the temple came under our family with no hard feelings to victor.”

“I guess that means if anyone proves unworthy or no children are had that it then goes to the most worthy student like when your ancestor took over.” Mantis remarked.

Aleksandr nodded. “Da.”

The group continued to idly talk as they eat, soon finishing not long after. When they had all finished Aleksandr offered to help Po clean up the table and take care of the dishes, insisting on doing so after the panda said it wouldn’t be an issue and proceeding to help Po with clean up and taking care of the dishes. When he finished helping Po Aleksandr retired to his room, pausing a bit before entering as he still a bit...flustered at the idea that their rooms were next to each other.

It was silly to be feeling this way, Aleksandr knew this all too well, but he could not help feeling the way he did about the other tiger. Sure there had been many a strong and fierce girl back where he was from, beautiful too, there was no denying that. But there was just something...different about Tigress that had him like he was still at the very start of his kung fu journey every so often, it felt...refreshing. Shaking his head Aleksandr went into his room, sitting in front of the picture of his family. “Well father, mother, I’ve made it. It is shame I cannot tell you in person how wonderful the sights I’ve seen are, the beauty of of China, or the fact I am now student of Jade Palace. Or the fact that the Five are as wonderful as they are said to be. Do not worry though, I shall write letter to describe all the wonderful things. I will say though, I was not expecting that Tigress would be-”

“That I would be what?” Tigress asked as she walked into his room.

Aleksandr nearly jumped out of his fur again from the surprise but managed to stay composed, he didn’t even hear her open the door to his room. “That you would be...as friendly and even stronger than what was said.” Aleksandr replied, feigning trying to remember the words. “The tales we have heard don’t quite do you justice, more so on your friendliness and slightly less so your strength and skill. Not that I’m saying the tales we heard were of you being...unwelcoming, just...one that gave the appearance of harsh temperament.” He added. “Anyway, is there something I can do or you need of me?”

Tigress arched an eyebrow at Aleksandr’s response to her question and clarification following. “I suppose there is.” She said as she closed the door and walked closer to sit near him. “What is it like?”

Aleksandr blinked. “What is what like?” He asked in returned.

“Being raised by other tigers...a family.” She asked.

Aleksandr blinked again, feeling his heart sink a bit for the tigress as his suspicions about her being an orphan were now practically confirmed. “I, well…” He started as he tried to think of a way to start how to explain what having a family was like before clearing his throat. “Before I start, I..was curious about some-thing, would you mind me asking even though I have just become new student and not as familiar as...the others of the Five or Po?”

“Go ahead, I’m not one to be offended, unless what is asked or said is actually something to be offended by.” Tigress replied.

“Even if it is...personal?” Aleksandr asked, wanting to make sure it was fine.

“You’ve earned enough of my respect for me to be fine with you asking personal questions, especially since you understand the importance of kung fu and that it is something that should be given full respect.” Tigress remarked in response, her expression as neutral and somewhat serious as it seemed to stay.

“You are…” Aleksandr paused for a moment, trying to determine the best way to ask. “That is to say...your family...they are not part of life, yes?”

“If you’re asking if I am an orphan than yes.” Tigress replied somewhat bluntly. “I was left at the Bao Gu Orphanage when I was still an infant...even though I was that young, I was still old enough of one that I still...remember seeing only the cloaked figures of my parents as they left that rainy night…” She explained. And while Tigress sounded for the most part unfazed or bothered, there was a subtle enough tell in her voice and eyes that Aleksandr could tell it was something that deeply saddened her.

Aleksandr felt his heart break at the full confirmation of Tigress being an orphan, the fact that she was abandoned by her parents at such a young age made him feel for her as he couldn’t imagine being left by his parents to likely never see them or no them. He just hoped that whatever reason they had for doing so, it was a good one as he did not want to think ill of anyone without proper justification.

“I see...and for how long until you became student of Jade Palace?” Aleksandr inquired.

“Shifu adopted me when I was six.” Tigress replied.

Aleksandr nodded. “I see...was it...difficult before that?” He asked.

Tigress looked at him a moment before slightly looking away. “It...was.” She answered. “The kids there were all scared of me, called me monster. Even if the adults who ran the orphanage tried to keep me optimistic and be nice even they were afraid. There were no animals like me there, none that weren’t ducks, pigs, bunnies, or other weaker animals. The orphanage wasn’t built for animals like me, and those that came to adopt never wanted to look at me because of how dangerous I was…”

Aleksandr felt his heart break even more than he thought possible with it already hurting for the female tiger. Such heart break and pain he could not imagine, the toll it must have taken on her. “I am...sorry you had to go through that. But you were never dangerous, or a monster, nor ever could be.”

“Tell that to the doors and toys I destroyed without even trying to be rough.” Tigress remarked with a slight self deprecating chuckle.

Aleksandr tried to stay as stoic as Tigress, but some cracks were showing from how she made light of her situation back then and how she had viewed herself. “Monsters are not born, nor are they little kids, never. You had impressive strength and potential that should have been seen as gift, not thing to classify you as monster. Had you been where I was raised, you would have been celebrated for your natural strength and taught control, it is not often female tigers are gifted with such strength.”

Tigress blinked as she looked at Aleksandr. “Really?”

“Da.” Aleksandr nodded. “Not to say they are weak, but to rival males from start, it is rare if not unheard of. It would be seen as sign of being special, unique.”

Tigress blinked again as she continued to look at Aleksandr, a brief feeling of something she never felt before manifested but for fleeting moment. After it dissipated she shifted her attention to the painted picture of Aleksandr’s family. “They look nice, your family.” She remarked.

“They are.” Aleksandr commented as he looked back at the painting before looking at Tigress. “As for your question...it is...hard to perfectly describe.” He continued. “In truth it matters not who raises you so long as love and care is there along with discipline and understanding. But if you are wondering how it was for me and my siblings I will say that my parents are...well, I hold them in high regard. They are caring, nurturing, understanding, yet strict when need be. They taught us the importance of respect and honoring others, the importance of showing reverence to the ways of kung fu and to elders and other things. They were strict with their discipline when need be, but never let it outweigh their love and compassion by any measure, understanding we were kids still and needed love and encouragement and that we would test boundaries.”

Tigress listened intently, a bit of...longing sadness showing briefly in her eyes before she fought it off as quickly as it had appeared. “They sound wonderful.”

“They are.” Aleksandr smiled as he looked at the picture again before looking to Tigress. “I remember in my early years, when first starting, they never were harsh or judgmental when I made mistakes in my training. They simply encouraged and helped me to see where I went wrong without any of the strict tone I heard them give senior students. They were patient, helpful, and even found humor in my more...exaggerated mistakes. That never truly left, not until I was old enough to where mistakes should be few and far between.”

Once again Tigress felt a bit of longing sadness hit her, the way Aleksandr talked about his parents was exactly how she had always hoped and imagined that the parents who would adopt her would be back in the orphanage. Tigress had to fight harder to not let it show, but even she wasn’t sure if there were not cracks somewhere. Although based on the slight hint of concerned sadness she saw flash across Aleksandr’s eyes it appeared that she was not fully successful. Damn it, she was Tigress, part of the Furious Five, the strongest of the Five, and an unbreakable wall of iron and force to be feared by all who threaten the Jade Palace and China, why...why couldn’t she be strong enough to not let this effect her?

“I’m fine, if you are wondering.” Tigress preemptively remarked.

Aleksandr nodded, not wanting to potentially push her away after gaining the ground he seemingly gained, knowing full well she really wasn’t. “They would like you, my family.” He remarked. “My parents especially, they would see you as great source of pride and inspiration to others.”

Tigress blinked as she looked at Aleksandr, was it really that normal for tiger parents to take such pride in a child’s strength? Was it just normal to not be feared for it and to possibly not even have it be feared? It sounded so...unreal almost, especially since tigers must live around other animals...right? Unless they stuck to towns and villages where there were only those of their own kind. But then again, Aleksandr did mentioned being taught control so maybe they did live among other animals where their strength was just accepted.

“Really, you think so?” Tigress asked.

Aleksandr nodded. “Yes, I know so.” He replied.

Tigress felt a bit of longing manifest, restraining ait the best she could. Why was she even feeling that, they were his parents after all, it wasn’t like she was going to be able to meet them and it was unbecoming of a warrior like herself. She was focused on her path of kung fu and being a member of the Furious Five, any distractions, especially a distraction like possibly being wi-. Why would she even start to think about something in the regards of...THAT, how did it even become a thought in her mind? Such things were not something to waste time on, nor were they something SHE could afford to have...or be able to, the fact nothing she had experienced up till now showed her that she could really have such things was evidence of that.

And yet, she started to feel her heart to fill with a hopeful optimistic longing, only to push it back down and as far away as she could. That was not something a warrior like her had time for, she had to stay strong and focused purely on being what she was for the sake of the Valley, for the Five, such were Shifu’s lessons and examples. And yet, the feeling fought back, not wanting to be denied. She had to distract herself, find something to get her mind off of...whatever it was that was trying to make her feel these...things.

Tigress glanced at Aleksandr’s instruments. “You mentioned you would be willing to play those for us right?” She asked.

“Da, I did.” Aleksandr nodded as he replied.

“Then why don’t you play one now, it’d be interesting to hear another land’s instruments.” Tigress said as she stood up.

“Which one would you like to hear?” Aleksandr asked.

“Pick whichever you want to play, either will do.” Tigress said as she moved to the door. “I’ll get the others and you can play out-” Tigress blinked as she opened the door, seeing Monkey, Viper, and Po. She was caught off guard but for a moment before narrowing her eyes in an angered expression. “What?”

Po gulped. “We were just-”

“Curious what you and Aleksandr might be talking about.” Viper piped in.

“You aren’t really known to be, well...this welcoming so we were-” Monkey added.

“Spying on my own personal business?” Tigress sneered. “What I talk about with Aleksandr is my own business and if it involves ANY of you I would bring it up when we’re ALL together, got it?”

“Crystal.” Po acknowledged.

“Clear.” Viper nodded.

“Definitely.” Monkey echoed.

“Good.” Tigress practically snarled. “Now, go get Crane and Mantis, Aleksandr’s going to play on one of his instruments.” She said as she bluntly walked by the others and to the exit, the others blinking as they looked to Aleksandr who was getting his balalaika and just shrugged at them.

“I’ll get Crane.” Monkey remarked as he headed to Crane’s room.

“I’ll get Mantis.” Po stated as he headed to Mantis’ room.

“Oh, I can’t wait to hear what a Russian instrument sounds like.” Viper said with enthusiasm as she slithered to head outside.

As they did Aleksandr headed out of his room and walked out of the barracks, moving to a big rock near the stairs and leaping up to it to get into a nice sitting position. As the others gathered around he readied himself, placing his hands in the required positions as he thought of what to play before ultimately deciding to let the instrument guide him. Closing his eyes Aleksandr took a slight breath and exhaled as he looked slightly downward, it had been months since he had played anything in front of anyone, and for the Furious Five to be the first in China he would play for, it was both the highest of honors and something he hoped to not let said audience down.

A moment after he Exhaled Aleksandr began to play, his fingers on his right hand strumming the strings on the balalaika with a graceful and impressive speed as his left hand in a deliberate and methodical speed worked the neck of the balalaika, producing a melodic tune that neither Po nor the Furious Five ever heard before. It was almost hard to accurately describe the melody, it definitely had an upbeat and somewhat fast tempo from the start and was soothing to the ears. It was almost hypnotic in the ay the first three beats of the melody were identical to each other, going from low to high with a brief interlude before repeating them once more before going into a longer version of the interlude. It was truly something that captivated the others as they listened, even Tigress found herself somewhat enraptured by his playing, listening intently as one of her ears flicked as well as her tail.

It was hard to describe just how it was to listen to the Siberian tiger play, all of them watched on with slight amazement as Aleksandr went slightly more downbeat as he continued to play what had now become a more main focus of the melody. What amazed them all the wore was that he still had his eyes closed as he played, head still tilted downward. Eventually he picked up briefly with an even faster beat before just as quickly transitioning to the first that he started with before soon slowing down to the point of just playing a small hand full of notes and then after a second or two pause ending with a single note.

The others began to show their appreciation as he looked up at them. “That was beautiful.” Viper remarked with a warm smile.

“I’ll say, never heard an instrument quite like that.” Mantis commented.

“It was definitely very well played.” Crane agreed.

“Yeah, it was totally awesome!” Po exclaimed as he started mimic what Aleksandr did.

“Such an instrument must demand a lot of skill.” Viper said as she slithered up to take a closer look, Monkey and Mantis joining her.

Aleksandr smiled as he looked at Viper. “It does, it is often said in Russia that you do not play the balalaika, it guides and plays you.”

“Fascinating.” Monkey remarked. “How long did it take for you to get this good?”

“About as long as it took to get proficient with kung fu.” Aleksandr answered. “It takes just as much time and dedication to master the instrument, my father greatly helped in nurturing my skill with this and others as he often plays for my mother.”

“That’s quite romantic.” Viper said with a slight awe.

Aleksandr nodded. “It is, my parents always have said to me and my siblings that should you find someone you wish to pursue, never stop pursuing, even when the pursuit has born fruit.”

“They sound truly wise.” Viper mused.

“I believe them to be the wisest tigers in Russia, and not just because they are my parents.” Aleksandr remarked with some reverence.

“Well thanks for the song, but we it is getting late and we have a day ahead of us tomorrow.” Crane said as he got up to head back inside.

“Yeah, goodnight everybody.” Mantis said as he started to head back inside.

“Goodnight.” Monkey said as he also started to head in.

“Yeah, goodnight everyone.” Po said with a stretch as he too headed in.

“Goodnight.” Tigress said as she started to head in behind Po, only to stop briefly as she looked back at Aleksandr. “And I meant what I said earlier, don’t hold back. If you have more in you than I want to see it.”

Aleksandr blinked. “I won’t.”

“Good.” Tigress smirked. “And again, welcome to the palace.” She said before walking fully through the door.

Aleksandr smiled a bit before blinking as he noticed Viper looking at him. “What?” He asked curiously.

“You like her don’t you?” She asked.

Aleksandr felt his cheeks start to heat up. “I...err...well…” He stammered a bit.

Viper smirked as she looked at him. “I’ll take that as a yes. I got to say, most just find her intimidating and unapproachable, though I suppose that might be because there aren’t any of her own kind here, or any that we’ve seen.”

“I got feeling of that…” Aleksandr said with a bit of concern. “But still, even if I did find her...attractive...she is master, member of Furious Five, way out of league and-”

“And you took us all on, managed to take out most of us and fight Tigress to a stand still and a technical win it had been who falls first.” Viper pointed out. “You did something no other has done until Tai Lung, you’ve impressed all of us and I think more so Tigress cnsidering she’s even harder to impress.”

Aleksandr blinked. “You think so?”

“I know so.” Viper said assertively. “Sure she’s rough around the edges, might have a...few...thick walls, but deep down she’s just…” Viper looked back to the entrance of the barracks to make sure that Tigress was fully gone and hadn’t heard anything prior before looking back. “She’s hurt...I can tell. There’s a pain in her that she keeps well hidden, and I can’t honestly blame how she’s pushed herself because of that pain. Yeah, we’re all friends and a family in a sense, but it just seems like Tigress yearns for something she doesn’t want to admit or think she can have.”

Aleksandr’s expression softened, a bit of sadness showing in his eyes. “Da, I got feeling of that, especially when she told me about her being orphan.”

Viper nodded. “It took a bit for her to tell us that, and even though that part of her has become a bit more well known, she must trust you to talk about it. That, and maybe Po’s had a good effect on her.”

“You really think I might…” Aleksandr started to ask before stopping himself, not really wanting to seem blindly hopeful...or smitten really.

“I think you might, if you play things right and go at a pace that will be easy and slow enough for her to be comfortable with and appreciate.” Viper encouraged. “We all deserve happiness in some form, even I hope to find someone some day.” She said with a smile. “And Tigress, Tigress more than anyone deserves someone with what she’s gone through.”

“Yeah…” Aleksandr agreed.

“Just don’t take too long OK? Otherwise you might really not have a chance.” Viper said as she turned to slither back to the barracks before stopping. “Who knows, if you take too long, I might decide to help you out before it’s too late.” She smirked before heading back in.

Aleksandr blinked a bit in shock before chuckling to himself, never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that he would ever be in this sort of situation, let alone it involving two of the Furious Five; one the focus of feelings that he never considered he would feel towards, the other offering to help in said endeavor. What would his family think if they were able to witness all of this? Well, he knew, his siblings would either laugh or encourage, maybe even tease as his parents did their best to encourage and help him out.

The Siberian tiger stood up, carrying his balalaika as he leapt back to the ground close to the stairs and headed in to his room, putting the balalaika neatly away before sitting in front of the picture of his family’s temple and saying a prayer before changing and getting into the bed roll. As he laid there Aleksandr could not help but hope to wonder just how to go about trying to properly go about things with Tigress, if Viper was right and he did possibly have a chance then he wanted to make sure he didn’t screw it up. Still, he couldn’t act too fast, Tigress was a warrior, someone worthy of great respect. If this was to be done, if he was to truly have a chance with her, then he had to first let a comfort in routine set in with them.

It was far too early to try anything and he respected her as a fellow warrior to do so. All Aleksandr could hope for, was that maybe he wasn’t being naive and that there was a chance, however small, that he might be able to be successful in such a pursuit. After what he had seen in Tigress he couldn’t agree more with Viper that the female tiger deserved something like that and more. But ultimately though, if his hopes and feelings were misplaced and she truly was just too duty focused, then there could be nothing done about it. Aleksandr just hoped that might not be the case, but ultimately...would respect it if so and would not let it jeopardize or change whatever future he might have with the Jade Palace. So for now, for now it was best to be as he had been towards her the best he could until the opportunity was clear.

Chapter Text

A little before morning came Aleksandr woke, stretching a bit as he sat up on his sleeping mat. His first night at the Jade palace was actually quite restful despite the fact that it was still not lost on him that he had been accepted into it. Sure the Jade palace wasn’t exactly known for turning away students, but it wasn’t exactly known for having any new students accepted since the Furious Five started to become more well renown... Po not withstanding. Well, Po, and the current Furious Five.

While the current Furious Five were the far more famous and well renown ones, there were still the prior iterations of the Furious Five that were still known well enough like the iteration that Shifu himself was a part of before he was taken on by Oogway and their splitting that was still left ambiguous as to the reason. But despite all the versions of the Five that came before, this current iteration was the one most loved and revered. Possibly due to their more numerous battles and accomplishments that seemed all the more impressive, not the least or less notable being their remarkable victory against what would seem to be insurmountable odds of being outnumbered a thousand to one at the Battle of Weeping River. Such a feat alone propelled their fame and notoriety all throughout the world of kung fu.

They truly were as impressive in person as they were in the tales about them that had spread far and wide. And while the feat of them taking on five thousand soldiers might seem unbelievable and possibly made up, that it might have been likely they were fighting alongside an army of equal or lesser numbers, the fact the story never faltered or had any differences no matter how many told it was strong evidence to it being true. Let alone the fact the Five never disputed the story, that alone was proof in it’s validity as true kung fu masters like them would never exaggerate or fabricate their accomplishments as honor and integrity were as important to them as their training.

After all, his own family and the students at their temple have shown remarkable feats, how much more unlikely could it be for the very five masters who trained to perfection to take an army alone? If it weren’t for the grueling and strict training he and his siblings all went through, let alone the extra training he himself endured and pushed himself beyond his limits with, Aleksandr highly doubted he would have even lasted the first five seconds of the surprise sparring with the Furious Five Shifu had him do to show his true capabilities. And even then, it was only due to his quick thinking and reflexes that he was able to last long enough to formulate a strategy. So many things could have gone wrong, and were they not caught off guard by his more unusual fighting style methods by never seeing them before, they would have eventually worn him down or beat him even after he took Mantis out of the fight or even after he did so with Viper. The point was, the fact remained that even with any variable going in his favor, even from here on out, it wasn’t going to get easier in sparring with them, let alobe with Tigress…

Since tigers in general were naturally strong, it wasn’t hard to see that she was the de facto leader of the Five. Felines just had a quality that made them more flexible, that combined with their heightened senses that bordered on the almost supernatural made them a serious threat when combined with their natural ferocity. There were few other animals that could truly stand toe to toe with large felines likes tigers, wolves and bears among them. So it was particular odd for Aleksandr that he got such a sense of rigidness and inflexibility from Tigress, sure it might just be that she was that way from the training and sparring yesterday or even just putting up a front to hide more of her capabilities, but Aleksandr could not shake the feeling that there was just something...off, wrong even. He was still new here though, and they were true masters, such inquiries were not disrespectful or rude, but was just not something done unless it was among peers or a master and student. Perhaps one day though...if they became close enough…

Then there was Po, the most anachronistic anomaly to be seen in any temple dedicated to kung fu. Despite being touted as the Dragon Warrior, nothing seemed to logically track as to how someone like him could be such, which was why Aleksandr had said what he did. Sure Po had the admiration, even passion and love for kung fu that was admirable, but that was all he had. Nothing else about the panda showed him capable or having the potential of being the Dragon Warrior. He was in no way serious enough to take training as it should be in terms of dedication, his stamina was severely lacking, and he definitely didn’t have a true warrior spirit to him. Not that Po’s friendliness was a bad thing, it was more the fact that a true practitioner of kung fu would carry themselves much better than Po did and like the Five and even Alek himself would keep themselves in peak condition and stay in a routine training regiment to push for greater heights as one’s journey was said to truly never end.

That’s not to say Po had no potential place within the Jade Palace, far from it, he could be a fighter of some sort, a teacher, an archiver of techniques or other things like the history of kung fu and the Furious Five just to name a few. There could be many places, many roles for one such as Po that he himself mentioned to the panda as he still by doing those would still be doing kung fu by it’s more general definition. But Dragon Warrior, that did not feel suited for him, no offense meant what so ever. And if anything, Aleksandr felt his assumption that he might have been chosen as a test for the true Dragon Warrior might be accurate. After all, what better test than someone like Po being picked to test their humility or patience? That, and given the threat of Tai Lung, he might have been what was exactly needed for that situation.

Although that still raised questions of how he beat Tai Lung in a fair fight if Tai Lung managed to beat the Five single handed. Again, given Po’s unassuming nature and demeanor it was likely that he underestimated Po to the point of sloppiness due to overconfidence. After all, even a skilled master can fall prey to a novice if they are too confident and assured of their own skill and severely underestimate their opponent, hubris has been the downfall of many. That, combined with just sheer luck and chance might be the two factors that brought his defeat, even if luck wasn’t something kung fu practitioners believed in.

There was something else that was on Aleksandr’s mind though, and that was something related to his assumptions and musings about the Dragon Warrior and Po being a test for the true one. He had overheard Tigress talking among the others of the Five on the way to the Training Hall after he had challenged Po to a spar thanks to his feline hearing. They had seemingly questioned Tigress’ vouching for him when Shifu was about to deny the request, even going so far as to suggest she was letting him do to Po what they had initially did because of him being selected. What had really caught his attention though, was when Monkey pressed her if Po being shown a lesson was the actual reason. Tigress’ response of Monkey trying to imply if she was still sore about something, which she was apparently, made him curious.

And then there was the interaction he and Tigress had when he was bathing, she had asked him if he meant and believed what he said about Po being a test for the true Dragon Warrior. An innocent enough question at the time, but now that he thought about it along with that conversation between the Five...could she have been one that was likely to be picked? Aleksandr had only heard of how the dragon warrior came out of the sky like a fireball, not what was going on during that moment. Could there have been some selection process going on that was between the Five? If so, then was it a tournament of some sort or just a flat out being picked based of worthiness? And in either case, just how close was she or one of the others to be picked as the Dragon Warrior? These questions would have to wait though, as they should not be asked until their was a closer bond.

Speaking of closer bonds, Viper seemed quite quick to be very friendly with him, not that Aleksandr was complaining or that the others of the Five weren’t. Although from what he knew about Tigress and even mentioned by Monkey, it was someone surprising that she had been as friendly and welcoming to him. As for Viper though, the fact that she had so quickly seemed to tell that he felt something for Tigress and was even encouraging and rather supportive of it was surprising. Had he been that easy to read, did the other members of the Five know as well, did Tigress? Considering that Monkey, Mantis, and Crane had shown no tells or said anything that was even even eluded to knowing was evidence that they didn’t. And as for Tigress, nothing about her mannerisms or speech last night would denote her knowing, unless Aleksandr were to count her interest in talking of their species and his family, although he highly doubted that to be the case.

Regardless of those facts as they may be, it hadn’t got past Aleksandr that Viper had outright supported him trying to pursue her teammate because to her Tigress deserved a happiness like love, something that as he thought about more made him wonder id there was something sadder to her than what he learned from Tigress herself. Aleksandr had to admit that her being that supportive, but given the tales of her gentle kindness despite her fierce precision and determination as a warrior, it wasn’t as surprising as it might have been. Still, the almost playful threat of telling Tigress if he took too long was a good incentive for him to start thinking of a way to approach someone like Tigress.

After all, a warrior like her seemed solely dedicated to her craft, did she ever consider such things or would she even consider them if presented? Someone like her gave the impression of being solely dedicated to their craft, which was rather admirable and wasn’t wholly a wrong thing. Ultimately though all Aleksandr could do when he figured something out and was able to get close enough was hope that she might be open to it. After all, it would also be seen as weakness and cowardice if he did nothing and Viper had to take action, especially to one like Tigress, and would she really give him consideration if it got to that? Furthermore, just how much of a time frame was Viper giving him before she acted herself?

But those were questions and concerns to take on one day at a time as it was appropriate and fit. Right now, right now he had spent enough time ruminating on things ans needed to get ready for the day ahead. Turning to the picture of his family and the picture of their temple he Aleksandr clasped his hands, bowing slightly in a brief prayer before getting to his feet to go get prepared for the day. As he opened the door to his room the others were exiting theirs. “Ah, dobroye utro masters Monkey, Crane, Mantis, Viper, Tigress, and…” Aleksandr blinked as he looked across from his room.

“Po’s still asleep.” Mantis remarked as he made his way to freshen up.

“Dobroye utro...is that Russian for good morning?” Crane asked as he looked at Aleksandr.

“Hmm? Oh, dah.” Aleksandr replied as he was brought back from being caught a bit off guard that Po was still sleeping.

“Fascinating, the Russian language is interesting.” Crane said as he too made his way to get ready.

Aleksandr blinked. “When will Po…”

“Oh, he’ll be up soon enough, he just tends to sleep a little later.” Viper remarked as she slithered past Aleksandr.

“I..see.” Aleksandr said as he looked at the door to Po’s room as Monkey made his way past and wished him a good morning, his expression turning slightly displeased. To Aleksandr, it was just further proof that while the Panda loved the martial arts side of kung fu, that love was nothing that translated to wanting to put in what was actually required for the most demanding of it.

“I see you’re not happy about the fact he doesn’t put the full effort in either.” Tigress commented, causing Aleksandr to blink in slight surprise as he looked over to his left to Tigress.

“Yes.” Aleksandr said simply. “Any who make the mar-...mar-tial ar-ts their chosen path in life, let alone kung fu, must be willing to dedicate themselves fully, this includes what being up and ready as we are now. Although in truth, this can apply to any path one chooses for life on way to master what they wish to do.” The Siberian tiger added.

“And that’s why I’m glad you’re here, you understand that this is something that must be revered and shown complete dedication.” Tigress commented. “Don’t get me wrong, the others do to, but I feel they’ve allowed themselves to be a bit lax in that regard with Po. Helping and easing one who truly wants to learn and is struggling is all well and good, but Po has no real excuse at this point.”

“Dah.” Aleksandr agreed, only for the fact Tigress had said she was glad he was now a student at the Jade Palace to register and cause him to blink, fighting back the urge to show his cheeks were heating up. “And uh...spasibo...I hope to continue to live up to stan-dards.”

Tigress smiled ever so slightly. “I’m pretty sure you won’t have a problem...unlike some.” She said before heading to prepare herself for the day.

Aleksandr found himself Once more just finding himself unsure how to react, the small smile Tigress did seemed do nice on her, if not made her seem so much more full in how beautiful she was. Not that she needed to smile to be so, either way she was was as lovely as the stars of the night sky. But now was not the time to be thinking on such things, now was the time to prepare for the day. Aleksandr thought about waking Po up, but decided to wait and see just how long it was until the Panda got up, going to get ready himself.

After he had finished getting ready Aleksandr walked towards the dining area, noticing Po heading to get ready, at least he didn’t sleep in too much. But still, if this was a regular thing, then it was something that absolutely needed to be addressed, even if it meant he himself had to drag Po out of his room until Po learned to get up on his own with everyone else. Being the Dragon Warrior did not mean that one got special treatment or was allowed to do things differently compared to everyone else. The fact that Shifu wasn’t trying to make Po doing so be a habit was surprising, if it was his family’s temple…the punishment for doing so repeatedly would be harsh to put it lightly. No one was more special than the others, no matter status or who they were, they were expected to be in line with everyone else. If they tried to have special treatment or act as not as seriously and like they were a big deal...they’d find themselves forced to survive alone in the frozen tundra until the lesson was learned and fully ingrained.

But that was his family’s way of doing things and it would be rude and insulting to try and enforce such things without having the full picture. For all Aleksandr knew, since Po was really injured after his battle, he could still be recovering some and Shifu could see that better than them or was at least trying to gradually get Po there. In either case, these things would only need to be addressed if proven they needed to be. And the only reason he didn’t fully think it was that, was that Tigress was bluntly honest and therefore what she said could be seen as absolute fact. Aleksandr just hoped that these slight well intended oversights were just a unique one off and not just one of a series of issues, that would be troubling.

That was not to say that someone of legend like the Dragon Warrior wasn’t as special as claimed or that they couldn’t be treated with equal or greater reverence, respect, and SOME unique privileged. But a true master of kung fu of that caliber would know beyond a doubt that they would have to be an example to others, to be a living symbol of what true mastery, dedication, and commitment could achieve, let alone fulfilling whatever prophecy is tied to them. It was due to such a legend back in Russia that his family’s temple had such strict regiments and harsh punishments; not just because they truly honored and took to heart the very nature of kung fu and sought to instill the same value in every student, but in case that legend might come true in their time. Now that Aleksandr thought about it...there were ironic similarities between their legend and that of the Dragon Warrior.

But that was just another thing to ruminate on at a later time, right now breakfast needed to be had so that the day’s training could be had. After breakfast had been prepared and everyone went to sit at the table. “Here, you can have my chair again.” Mantis offered.

“Nyet, I am fine master Mantis, I can stand or go to my room.” Aleksandr declined. “I have already taken your seat once, I do not wish to keep doing so, even if it is a sy-...sym-...sym-bo-lic one.”

Mantis looked somewhat sternly at the Siberian tiger. “I insist, and I’m not going to take no for an answer.” He remarked just as sternly as he looked. “I appreciate the symbolic nature of the chair and that it makes me equal and feel as though I am sitting with the others, but what good is that symbolism if it ends up excluding someone like you just because the table’s not big enough. I refuse to let you stand or be forced to eat elsewhere on the principle of you being a fellow member of the Jade Palace. That chair is just going to keep going to waste if you don’t use it so sit. As far as I’m concerned, it’s your chair.”

Aleksandr blinked, Mantis’ words honored the tiger more than anything and he felt great gratitude towards the small Master. “Spasibo...master Mantis, I will not forget this kindness.” Aleksandr bowed.

“Don’t mention it.” Mantis said as he went to the center of the table.

Aleksandr took the seat given to him by Mantis, setting his breakfast down before once more saying a prayer over the food for it’s nourishment before digging in. He had to admit, Chinese food was quite delicious, but it had been a bit since he had had anything of his homeland. And while he doubted he could get the exact ingredients, Aleksandr was hopeful that he might could find equivalents to prepare things that were close enough. After all, what better way to forge a closer bond than to share in traditional cuisine of different cultures? All he would need to do is find the time to seek out those similar enough ingredients.

“So how was your first night, was it hard to sleep?” Monkey asked.

“Nyet, it wasn’t that hard, I rested well.” Aleksandr replied. “In truth, I am as comfortable sleeping inside as I was when I was sleeping outside during my travel here.”

“Looking forward to your first day?” Monkey inquired as they ate.

“I am.” Aleksandr answered with a nod. “I’m excited to see what it will entail.”

“Well considering how well you did on the training course and then managed to not just keep up with, but take us on, perhaps you’ll be a routine sparring partner for us to take on as a group.” Monkey suggested. “We often take each other on one at a time, especially on the training course, but we don’t really have anything that can really test us as a group other than Shifu.” He added before blinking. “That’s not to say that Shifu isn’t a serious challenge or anything, in fact we haven’t been able to beat him just yet. It’s just that while he is a great bar for where we need to keep improving, we don’t really have anyone we can fight that is on our level that can help push us. The training course and sparring we do is great, but a real challenge that can test us would be nice.”

“Yeah, I mean Shifu is a wonderful master, but right now he is often busy with other duties and trying to get Po more trained.” Crane added. “No offense Po.” He added as he looked at the panda.

“It’s alright.” Po remarked.

Aleksandr nodded. “I see…it would be quite the honor to continue sparring with you all as training.” He said as he bowed his head ever so slightly in respect.

“Who knows, maybe since you’re well rested you might do even better.” Viper remarked. “I can only assume based on what Po said you must of done a fair bit of travel along with taking on those bandits before Po brought you here.”

“A bit, but nothing that would be considered a great deal and I did take breaks here and there.” Aleksandr commented. “Plus, Po treated me to his father’s noodle shop before we got to the palace, so even with the fair bit of travel and the fight I did, the brief stop for food was rest enough for me.”

“Is that so?” Tigress remarked as she glanced at him. “I’d still like to see if you could do better with a full night’s rest.”

Aleksandr chuckled slightly. “I will likely do not much better.” He assured. “After all, you all have seen how I fight now, I can’t exactly surprise you with my techniques now. Not only that, but you all will surely be more prepared.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Monkey said with a slight shrug. “You have proven to be quite the fast thinker and resourceful to be able to not just last longer than a few seconds against all of us, but formulate how to deal with us before you got overwhelmed AND got the upper hand to where only Tigress was left and even then you managed to squeeze out a debatable draw.” He added. “Only two animals have been able stand toe to toe with us and also beat us, one of them is Shifu and he often handles us with ease.”

“Thank you…” Aleksandr said as he rubbed the back of his head. “Still, you all are great masters, my tactics were off brief observations and hopes that you would not be on guard for those exploits. Even my challenging of Viper could have gone horribly wrong had you all decided not to humor that during the spar.”

“Honor and kung fu are as entwined as yin and yang, to not accept such a challenge would not just be dishonorable to the spirit of kung fu, but to the capabilities of the one being challenged.” Crane remarked. “We could have kept pressing, but what would that say about our belief in Viper’s capabilities if we decided to just ignore your challenging her.”

“Plus, it was five against one against an opponent we had no true idea of the extent of their capability other than what we saw at the Training Hall, to humor you wanting a one on one was something we were willing to do in the spirit of fairness.” Mantis commented.

“Exactly.” Tigress remarked. “The only time such challenges should be ignored is when conduct is breached.”

“As it should be.” Aleksandr nodded. “Forgive if that bit of my remark seemed like I was questioning your honor, I was merely stating.”

“It’s fine.” Monkey assured with a wave of his hand. “It was a good call and you’re not wrong for thinking that we might have stuck strictly to Shifu’s instruction.”

“Yeah.” Viper nodded. “But you seemed honorable and one to not use dirty tactics so there was no reason for us to not do so.”

“Spasibo.” Aleksandr thanked the Five.

It wasn’t long before the group had finished their breakfast, Aleksandr once more offering to help Po with the clean up only for Po to insist he had it, to which Aleksandr acquiesced. Mostly because from what he had seen, and the fact Po slept a bit later, it was only prompt that he do so. In all honesty, the thought of seeing if master Shifu would allow him to drag Po out or make it where he had no choice but to be up and active crossed his mind, but would that be seen as trying to enforce his family’s wau of doing things on a temple that had it’s own ways? As he and the others started to head out Aleksandr hung back a bit from the Furious Five, catching the slight attention of Viper.

“Master Viper, if you have a moment, I’d like to ask you something.” Aleksandr remarked.

Viper slowed down to where she was next to him, the two stopping soon after. “Yes?” She asked.

Aleksandr waited a moment to make sure the rest of the Five were out of hearing before looking to her. “It is about what you said last night. How big is this...time fr-ame you are giving?” He inquired.

Viper looked at him a second before smiling. “Trying to determine how quickly you need to think?” She asked.

“Yes, sort of, I am more cur-i-ous than wor-ried.” Aleksandr answered.

“Well Tigress might require a lot of work to get her that warmed up to you, and to entertain anything romantic.” Viper mused.

“She is seeming the type to be very fo-cused and de-...dedi-...de-di-ca-ted.” Aleksandr commented. “Not the type to truly think of such things.”

“True, but no one is truly impervious to love, at least in my opinion.” Viper remarked.

Aleksandr blinked. “Imper-”

“Oh, sorry, language differences.” Viper remarked. “Hmm...unable to not know love.”

“Ah, yes, I suppose that is true.” Aleksandr replied.

“She will just need a lot of work on your part, or just maybe you being genuine and sincere will be enough, it’s hard to tell.” Viper said as she looked at the Siberian Tiger. “The kind of hurt of what she went through and the longing for what one never had just doesn’t go away, not fully. Tigress hides it well with her dedication and focus, but deep don I know she truly wants something...even if she is lying to herself about it.”

“I see.” Aleksandr mused. “And you? Do you share such desires?”

Viper smiled.”I do.” She replied. “I’d love to find someone someday and to pass on my father’s legacy.”

“That is a noble dream to have, to pass on legacy.” Aleksandr commented. “I am sure you might find someone someday.”

“Thank you.” Viper smiled. “Now as for how big that time frame is for when I step in…” She smirked playfully. “That’s for me to know, and you to either find out or not to find out if you time things right. Now come on, we got to warm up and get to the day’s training and duties.” Viper added before slithering off.

Aleksandr blinked before chuckling a bit, Viper certainly knew how to make it where he kept on his toes. It made him feel more at home as such playful interactions were normal for him and his siblings, as well as a bit of competitiveness. Speaking of his home, maybe he could find time during the day if training allowed for him to write a letter that he could send to let his family know he was well, had made it, and was accepted as a student. The journey had been long so he was sure they were likely concerned to a degree about him. And while the letter might take just as much time to reach them, he was sure they’d appreciate it. For now though, he had to catch up with the others, the curiosity of what master Shifu might have in store filling his mind as he headed out.

It was only a few seconds after joined up with the rest of the Five in front of Shifu in front of the training hall the Aleksandr walked up to stand in line with them, going to stand next to Viper at the end only for her to quickly move her tail along to take up the space next to her and shooting Aleksandr a subtle knowing look and barely noticeable smirk. The Siberian tiger blinked before looking at the other end where Tigress was only to hold back a bit of a blush before making his way to stand next to Tigress, folding his arms behind his back. Aleksandr had to admit one thing, Viper seemed to be anything him to use any opportunity he could get to work on getting close to Tigress. Aleksandr would chuckle if it wasn’t for the fact he was with the others and next to Tigress, as Viper’s attitude reminded him of one of his sisters to an extent.

“Where’s Po?” Shifu asked.

“He should be here shortly, he got up a bit later and is finishing with the dishes.” Crane answered.

Shifu sighed as he punched the bridge of hid nose. “Well, I can at least take care of one thing before he gets here.” The red panda said before putting his attention on Aleksandr. “Your skills and technique are impressive, to the point where it’s clear you have the fundamentals and physical down, but how are you on the spiritual?”

Aleksandr blinked. “Umm...funda….physi...spiri?”

“He’s saying since you have the fighting down, how are you on knowing about chi and things relating to it.” Crane clarified.

“Chi?” Aleksandr asked. “What is chi?”

The others blinked as they looked at Aleksandr. “Chi...life energy, the thing that flows through all living things?” Mantis remarked.

“Oh!” Aleksandr said in recognition. “Life energy, yes, I know of this some.” He nodded. “Although the knowledge of...chi...is quite limited in Russia. In truth, while we know enough of it on a...basic un-..und-der…un-der-stan-ding. From what my family knows, only so much of the know-ledge of chi was brought along with kung fu and what little that was able to be ac-cur-ate-ly im-par-ted, may not be as full in un-der-stan-ding as what you may see as a-pro-pri-ate.”

Shifu nodded as he stroked his beard. “I see, I suppose if a knowledgeable enough master established something Russia, what knowledge he had to impart would be limited to his full mastery of every aspect. That being said…” The red panda said as he looked at Aleksandr. “Based on what I saw yesterday with your ability to keep going after the fight you had, you must have enough innate enough understanding to be able to tap into it to help further your endurance and stamina. Still, you have a lot to go to get a full grasp of chi.”

“I see.” Aleksandr remarked.

“To that end I have a better idea of what your focus should be for the most part here at the Jade Palace. In truth I was wondering just what we could offer you other than continuing to train with the Five personally due to your skill as you would benefit the most from that as well as the Five themselves.” Shifu admitted. “And while we normally just take in those that have potential and a good foundation that can be built upon, it’s actually rather refreshing to see someone with such potential and who has the skill you do try to join the Jade Palace. In fact, I can’t recall the last time someone worthy of joining came about since the Five.” The red panda added as he held his beard in contemplation.

“Thank you, master Shifu.” Aleksandr bowed.

“Now then, since I know now where you need to improve to gain more benefit from being a student here, I need to determine how to best go about it.” Shifu said as he stroked his beard in thought. “Since you need to learn more about chi and harness it better I normally would be the one to do so. But considering it’s been made clear I need to double my efforts with Po…”

“I can help with that, given the fact I’m great at acupuncture.” Mantis offered. “Maybe Viper can even help as well.”

“Oh, but Mantis, I was going to have you help me with something today.” Viper said as she looked at Mantis.

Mantis blinked. “Really?”

“Yeah, something important actually. Considering how quickly Aleksandr was dodging my strikes I figured you, being the fastest, would be a great sparring partner to help me get quicker with my precise strikes.” Viper quickly explained.

“OK...but who else can help Aleksandr with his study of chi and how to use it more?” Mantis asked. “Maybe we could practice-”

“Tigress can help him.” Viper interrupted. “She knows just as much as you and I and was trained by Shifu longer than the rest of us.”

Tigress blinked, looking at Viper and not noticing Aleksandr blinking as well. “What?”

“Well it’s true isn’t it?” Viper asked. “You pretty much lived here your whole life, were raised here. I’m sure in all those years you were raised and trained you studied everything there was to chi and were thoroughly taught everything about it.” She pointed out as she looked at Tigress. “I mean, why else are you our leader if you’re not the most thoroughly taught.”

Tigress blinked again as she looked at Viper. “Well, you do have a point...but I’m sure Shifu already had something-”

“Well Aleksandr needs to be taught and read up on chi.” Viper interrupted. “And while I know me trying to perfect my strikes isn’t as important, I’d still like to do so. And with Shifu helping Po you’re the only one left that has extensive knowledge. That is, unless you want to offer to help Po out so-”

“I’ll help Aleksandr.” Tigress offered with barely a second wasted as she interrupted Viper.

“Then I suppose that settles it then.” Shifu said as he looked to Tigress. “Tigress you will be helping Aleksandr for the day in learning more about chi and it’s use and application. You can take him to the archives to get some scrolls on chi to go over and then show him either the Masters Garden, Dragon Grotto, or Peach Tree Hill to further any meditation applications he might need. Or go to any two you might feel is needed.”

“Of course master.” Tigress bowed as she placed a fist against her palm.

Shifu nodded. “Crane, Monkey, considering that Aleksandr took care of a potential bandit problem yesterday and Po didn’t do his assignment, I want you two to go about patrolling the valley to make sure everything is safe and secure. After that you can go about some training, understood?” The red panda ordered as he looked at the two.

“Yes master Shifu.” Crane and Monkey said as they bowed in response.

“And as for you two, I suppose you already have what you’re going to do.” Shifu remarked as he looked to Mantis and Viper, though his gaze was more on the former than than the later. “Although I must say I’m rather surprised by your insistence of working on your precision instead of helping out with Aleksandr, let alone not wanting to do so.”

Viper blinked as she held back a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, well, What can I say?” She said as she looked at Shifu as confidentky as she could. “I just got quite inspired yesterday and felt that I needed to make my attacks quicker with as much precision just in case an equally strong threat comes around.”

“Hmm…” Shifu mused as he stroked his beard whilst looking at her. “I can see the merit in that, but it still seems unlike you, you’re normally quite kind and helpful.”

“Ah ha ha ha...yeah…” Viper said, if she wore clothing she’d feel the strong urge to tug at the collar of her outfit. Hell, she still felt that urge. “I mean I’m not saying I’d not be willing to help Mantis with Aleksandr later, I...just figured that since Tigress has the most experience having grown up here and is more of an equal, that she’d be best to show any practical or combat application of chi compared to me and Mantis. Plus, while we might put up a bit more of a fight now after seeing his capabilities if sparring would help, Tigress would still be best suited. So, I am thinking about what would best be of help to Aleksandr really, Tigress is just the better option for this.”

Shifu narrowed his eyes slightly before nodding. “That does make sense, your reasoning is quite sound.”

“Thank you master.” Viper bowed.

“Hey guys, what did I miss?” Po asked as he came to join the others, getting next to master Viper in the line up.

“There you are Po, it’s about time.” Shifu said as he looked at the Panda, a clear disapproval clear in his expression and ever so slightly in his tone. “After yesterday’s display it’s abundantly clear you need a lot more training, something I will need to intensify it seems.”

Po nervously chuckled as he looked at Shifu. “I don’t know of that’s really necessary, I am the dragon warrior after all and the training we did before seems to work just-”

“Po.” Shifu interrupted. “If yesterday made ANYTHING clear, it’s that I have allowed you to have things a bit too easy, even if it’s the looses form of easy. Not just that, but what if Aleksandr had been a threat?” The red panda mused as he gestured to the Siberian tiger. “What if instead of wanting to come join the Jade Palace he had wanted to seek you out the same way Tai Lung did, or worse, wanted to take over the Valley? Even when he was exhausted from fighting the Five he still found reserves of energy to tap into to not just fight you, but handle you as easily as I would an upstart novice. You’ve let the fact you were picked and beat Tai Lung go to your head and think that there could be no one else that could be as big a threat.”

“N-no I haven’t.” Po argued.

“Yes, you have.” Shifu retorted. “You think because you’re the dragon warrior the same discipline and expectations that apply to the Five don’t to you. You oversleep at varying intervals, often slack in your duties, and clearly get too easily distracted, let alone being quick to believe others.” The red panda said before placing a hand over his forehead and sighing. “Honestly, with what I saw yesterday, I’m not only beginning to see wisdom in what Aleksandr said after beating you, but starting to wonder if you beating Tai Lung was by pure luck, or if Oogway picked you as a test or by accident.” He said with clear disappointment.

Po blinked as he slightly lowered his head and fidgeted his fingers. “Sorry master Shifu.” His tone rather sad.

Aleksandr blinked as he looked at Po, taking note of Po’s demeanor. “While your words may ring true master Shifu, it is clear that he does have heart.” He said, lifting Po’s spirit a fair bit. “And if I may, if it would not be o-...over-...o-ver-step-ping, I would offer to see if there was anything I might can do to help Po. If you rec-...re-call, I said he still had ability to have a place here po-...po-ten-tial-ly. Having had masters as parents and lived kung fu since birth, I would offer to help in this...en-de-vour. He still may yet have place here, Dragon Warrior...or no.” He remarked. And while he did feel what Shifu said was deserving based off how his own family would handle someone like Po, the Siberian tiger still wanted to give Po at least some benefit of doubt and chance because of his love for kung fu. Especially given that from the reaction Po had, it seemed that kung fu really held something special in the panda’s heart.

Shifu looked at Aleksandr, stroking his beard in thought as he contemplated the Siberian tiger’s offer thoroughly. For the second time Aleksandr had shown surprising and impressive insight and thoughtfulness, that combined with his equally impressive skill in the martial arts continued to nurture the thought in the back of his mind if Po was actually fated as the Dragon Warrior, or just picked by accident or even just as what was needed to beat Tai Lung. The Siberian tiger showed every trait Shifu could think of when it came to what he thought of as who a legend such as the Dragon Warrior spoke of. Well, him, and two others. The first was Tai Lung who he thought would be chosen all those years ago. The second...the second being who he thought Oogway would pick before Po had entered the picture.

“Very well then, I suppose you helping out with Po would be another good addition to his training.” Shifu replied. “Although the particulars of your aid in that matter I’ll discuss with you later in private.” He added.

“Konechno.” Aleksandr nodded.

Shifu blinked. “Kone-?”

“It means of course.” Aleksandr explained.

“Ah.” Shifu said. “Well with all that sorted you all have your tasks to attend, dismissed. Po, come with me.”

“Yes master Shifu.” Aleksandr and the others acknowledged with a bow. Although as he did, Aleksandr couldn’t help but wonder if Viper was once again trying to make it to where he was around Tigress more. Then again, given her behavior and the fact she made it to where he stood next to Tigress, it was more of a redundant question. For someone so sweet and kind, it didn’t cease to surprise Aleksandr how she was rather insistent with certain things. One thing was certain though, she wasn’t going to let him not have a lot of opportunities to be around Tigress be wasted if they were there. Or maybe Tigres really was just the best suited to help him with Chi. In either case, things were certainly not going to really get dull it seemed, not that the life of kung fu could really ever get dull.

Chapter Text

As the others started to make their way to go about their assigned duties Aleksandr couldn’t help but glance in Viper’s direction just on the off chance that even though he was pretty sure this had all been by design and was an obvious fact that didn’t need confirmation, there would still be that bit of absolute confirmation that would be nice nonetheless. And sure enough, as Po and the rest of the other masters aside from Tigress were heading off to go about their day Viper glanced back at him, giving Aleksandr a sly smirk before slithering off to join Mantis. Yup, she was definitely going to be orchestrating as many one on one interactions between him and Tigress as she saw the opportunity to do so to help him out. It wasn’t that Aleksandr was ungrateful or anything, far from it. A bit of help, even if not exactly required, was never unwanted or unwelcomed. Still, the fact that she was that quick thinking despite her slight awkward nervousness when trying to explain her suggestions away, made it clear she could be just as cunning and crafty as any master known for their wits. Which, as Aleksandr thought about it, made her all the more scary and intimidating an opponent to fight against with her lightning fast precision whenever she chose to get truly serious.

“You coming?” Tigress asked as she looked at Aleksandr.

Aleksandr blinked as he looked at Tigress who had already started making her way to the main part of the Jade Palace, The Hall of Warriors, only to have stopped to look back at him. “Oh, yes, izvini.” Aleksandr said as he caught up to her.

“I’m assuming izvini is Russian for sorry.” Tigress remarked as they started to walk.

“Da, you catch on rather quickly.” Aleksandr replied as they walked across the palace grounds towards the Hall of Warriors.

“It’s fairly easy going off context clues given the fact you learned a lot of Chinese to get by.” Tigress stated simply. “And don’t worry about it. Unlike SOME, you actually show how serious you take kung fu and how it should be taken.” She remarked. “Plus, from the skill you’ve shown far you’re clearly at a master level and can be granted a such allowances. Besides…” Tigress smirked. “You can always make up for it with another good sparing session later.”

Aleksandr blinked, fighting off a blush. “You’d like to spar later?”

“Yeah, you’re fun to spar with, not that the others aren’t.” Tigress replied. “While training with the other members of the Five and Shifu s great, you’re something wholly new and a fellow Tiger which allows me to push myself, test my limits and stop holding my punches.”

“I take it you don’t get to do that very often.” Aleksandr mused.

“Not really.” Tigress replied. “If I want to keep up my strength or try to get stronger I need to do training on my own. I’m not joking when I say my hands are weapons, I can easily kill if I’m not careful. The only time I’m allowed to use any amount of strength beyond training with the others is if the threat requires it and how much is called for. I’ve never really known what it’s like to go as far as I could.” She explained.

Aleksandr nodded. “To be a tiger is to be one of a few animals with enough natural strength to easily kill. And while it is true we can go more all out with our own kind, it doesn’t mean that we still don’t measure the strength we use when doing so, though it is...easier to push our...li-...lim-...li-mi-ts when doing so.”

Tigress nodded. “I’m not saying that I’m seeking to do so out of vanity, ego, or anything like that.” She assured. “This is not to get a thrill, but to improve myself even more so I can help defend the valley and China.”

“I would not think it being any other reason.” Aleksandr reassured. “You are...very re-..respec...re-spec-ta-ble master, it would be insult to think you not had noble reason.”

Tigress smiled slightly. “Thank you.”

“Pozhaluysta.” Aleksandr replied. “And if it is not trouble, might I re...requ…re-qu-es-t if there is time that I might...write letter to send to my family and have it sent? Just so they know I made it and was...ac-cep-ted.”

“Sure, I’m sure there might be time.” Tigress replied with a slight shrug.

“Spasibo.” Aleksandr said with a slight bow. “If we ever are going into the village and poss...poss-ibly around it, I would like to...pick up some things.” He added. “I was thinking I could share some Russian food in spirit of gra-..gra-ti-tu-de and cul...cult….cul-tur-al ex-ch-an-ge.” The Siberian tiger offered.

“That shouldn’t be a problem, and is nice of you to offer.” Tigress responded. “It’s actually an exciting idea to try something new.”

“It is least I can do.” Aleksandr remarked.

“By the way…” Tigress said as she glanced at Aleksandr. “Were you serious when you offered to help with Po?” She inquired.

“Da.” Aleksandr confirmed. “Despite his...less than ideal mindset and attitude, not to mention lack of skill despite having trained and lack of stamina…” Aleksandr cleared his throat before he continued to lst negatives. “He is still deserving of second chance. The p-...pa-...pas-sion and love is still there for kung fu. Whether he is still to be dragon warrior...is highly doubtful. But, that is not meaning he cannot hopefully find some place in the Jade Palace that is still involving fighting or some other role.” He explained.

Tigress nodded. “You do have a point, kung fu should be open to all that have the love and passion for it, it’s the drive and determination to put that love into constant action that’s the determining factor of whether they get to pursue it as a student or not.”

“Deter-?” Aleksandr blinked.

“Sorry.” Tigress apologized. “de-ter-min-ing, important.”

“Ah, right.” Aleksandr nodded.

“After all, the point of kung fu is not just to learn to fight or to defend others, but to learn from previous generations and developing your own techniques and styles alongside it to then become a master and make sure they’re passed down and never forgotten.” Tigress continued.

“Pr-...pre-…pre-cise-ly.” Aleksandr nodded again.

“By the way, how well can you read Chinese?” Tigress asked.

“Eeeeh….well enough, not perfectly though.” Aleksandr admitted.

“Do you have any books or scrolls that...help you know what is written?” Tigress inquired. “If so, maybe you might want to go get them before we get too far, not that I won’t mind helping by explaining the best I can.”

“Oh, right, one moment.” Aleksandr said after blinking in realization, quickly heading back to the student barracks before returning a few minutes later with two books. “There, these will help.”

With a nod Tigress continued to walk with Aleksandr to the Hall of Warriors and then proceeded to show the Siberian tiger to one of the many libraries the palace had. It didn’t take long for Tigress to pick out the scrolls needed for Aleksandr to study and further his knowledge of chi, having spent many years studying in the very halls of the palace for the most part of her life. After getting a few more scrolls Tigress walked over to a nearby table, laying them on on it.

“There we go, these should be a good refresher for what you might already know and a good start for what you might not and need to learn.” Tigress said as she looked at Aleksandr, taking a seat a second later.

Aleksandr managed to hold off a blush at the thought of spending so much time alone with Tigress as he moved to take a seat, placing his translation books on the table. “Sorry that you are having to spend most the day helping my understanding and learning of...chi.” He apologized. “I know a warrior like you would rather be out honing skill or pa-...pa-tro-ling.”

Tigress smiled slightly. “While it is true I’m more of a woman of action and lean more towards those things, I do not really neglect the aca...the educ….the learning aspect of kung fu.” She assured, making sure she didn’t use words he might not fully have remembered. “The mind is as important as the soul and the body. If anything, it kind of brings me back to when I was learning kung fu and all about chi.”

Aleksandr smiled slightly back. “Yes, the mind and soul are very important aspects, it’s not just about the fighting.”

“And your understanding of that is why I don’t mind helping you with this.” Tigress remarked. “You show a deep respect and knowledge that I honestly think that all who seek to learn kung fu should have.”

“Po is...sore spot.” Aleksandr commented.

Tigress sighed. “I’m trying, I really am. But…”

“But he is no warrior.” Aleksandr remarked. “Do not get me wrong when I am giving Po help or chances. I have been respectful, he has been nice and helpful as well as friendly. But…” He said as he took on a more serious expression. “Those like Po would be weeded out of my family’s temple. They would be shown the price for their demeanor and attitude and failing improvement, kicked out after shown proper punishment for insult in thinking they could be a part of temple. And I do mean kicked out, but chances must be given and potential places found if possible before such, the severity for not giving all growing with each show of no full commitment.”

“Your family seems to have the right idea.” Tigress commented with a sigh. “Kung fu is sacred, and it’s all I’ve ever really known, my purpose. To see Po treating it the way he does, not taking ANY training seriously...is insulting. Especially since…” Tigress paused. “Never mind, it’s not important right now.” She said as she glanced away.

Aleksandr arched a brow slightly. “I will agree that him thinking he can sleep in and not be as...de-di-ca-ted is insulting, but harsh strictness is not always called for.” He commented. “My parents know that any achievement, any progress, no matter how small, must be acknowledged and celebrated for progress being made. They encouraged and reco...recog...re-cog-ni-zed whatever I or my siblings managed to do, what progress we made. But we were not the only ones, the other students as well. So long as true effort was put in and you were truly trying, that would always be ack-know-ledged and then encouraged to push further.”

Tigress blinked, hearing that made her heart ache a bit, hearing how his parents treated their students and children seemingly equally. The revelation alone made her mind go back to her youth with Shifu and Oogway, how he never acknowledged any of her efforts, gave her compliments or encouragement. It was always harsh criticism, pointing out flaws with an indifferent tone and only the mildest of acknowledgment of success when things were done right with no real warmth of happiness to it, just a looking forward to the next step, such was Shifu with all the others when they found their way to the Jade Palace.

Especially Po at first which, upon a bit of quick reflection, she mimicked to a T. Was it because she was so desperate for his approval, the wanting of that which she had never had, that she started to act just like him to the point of repeating his words said to Po? Not that such harshness wasn’t deserved given how Po was acting, or continued to act. A place of learning and studying kung fu was no place for a...fan boy, yet Aleksandr wasn’t wrong in saying that everyone needed to be given enough of a chance before paying the price for not acclimating to what was required. Sink or swim, Po needed to be given every chance to find his place before being kicked out.

Tigress looked at her paws briefly, the strain and intense training she had put herself through, the months to years of pushing herself to her very limits and then beyond flashing before her. She had told herself that all of it was to show her dedication, to forge herself into the perfect warrior and weapon for China and to one day be the dragon warrior and do Shifu proud. But in truth, that was a lie she told herself, a delusion. Deep down she knew why she broke her body and rebuilt it. It was to finally have Shifu’s approval, his love, to hear him say how proud and happy he was of her. To even maybe hear him once, just once, call her...daughter.

“Is everything OK?” Aleksandr asked.

“Hmm?” Tigress replied after being snapped out of her thoughts. “Oh, yes, I’m alright. Just...reflecting a little on my time before being a master.”

“I see, you must have been quite the student.” Aleksandr remarked. “Someone like you seems to have been always dedicated and stu...stu….stu-di-ous, not to mention hard worker. You must have done Shifu proud yes?”

Tigress blinked, the compliment and recognition making her feel a sense of appreciation and acknowledgment she hadn’t had from someone who, if it were not for his lack of knowledge of chi and clearly coming to further his knowledge, could be seen as the head of a temple. She did her best to not let it show too much, a slight smile being allowed so a more...inappropriate one for a master reared itself. Although the subsequent question of Shifu being proud during her training and now almost did away with the feeling, the female tiger doing her best to restrain any and all shows, no matter how subtle, of what she felt about that.

“He was...and is.” Tigress replied.

Aleksandr looked at her but for a moment before nodding. “That is good to hear, I don’t think any master of a temple would not be able to have no pride in a student like you, or the warrior you have become.”

Yet again Tigress felt a strange and foreign feeling start to build in her, a warmth that started to emanate from her chest and start to force it’s way to her face. She fought it off, although she did feel that her tail had flicked a bit, this was NOT how a member of the Furious Five...their pretty much defacto leader, should be feeling. She was Tigress, a warrior, and the only things she should ever think about or care for are her duties, her continued learning and training, and her teammates.

“Thank you, though I think you should be getting to studying chi.”

“Right, of course.” Aleksandr nodded before opening up a scroll as he made sure his books to were at the ready in case he needed the help.

“I’ll also help if needed, as well as with explaining concepts, just ask.” Tigress remarked.

“Spasibo, will do.” Aleksandr replied.

Tigress nodded as she sat there and watched Aleksandr, the way he looked as he studied brought back how she was when she was younger and still learning everything about kung fu, not to mention why once again. Sure she said what she told herself was a lie and delusion, the showing of her dedication and forging herself into a perfect warrior and weapon, but that was only half right. In truth, while wanting to hear Shifu call her daughter and show the loving approval of a father was the biggest aim she had had, being the Dragon Warrior was just as important to her given how she dedicated her life to training to be chosen only for Po to fall out of the sky by accident just as Oogway was about to fully point at her. Could anyone truly blame her for still being sore about having what was her life’s purpose taken?

Sure she had swallowed her pride enough by the time of Tai Lung’s defeat enough to accept Po, but the panda had done NOTHING to show his worthiness of being the dragon warrior. But that very thought lead her back to what Aleksandr had said about Po being a potential test yet again. She was not so arrogant or prideful to not admit that sometimes she had issues with patience and even humility, even despite what she had heard about Tai Lung, although she did her best to curtail those aspects. If there was still a lesson to be learned in those aspects along with expectations through Po before she could be granted what she worked for, a final test sent by the universe, then she would accept it and allow it to last as long as it needed to in order for her to learn what was needed.

As Aleksandr went about studying through the first of the scrolls that were on the table for him to go over he studied it thoroughly, doing his best to both read and understand what was written, opening one of his books to and looking at it from time to time as needed. For the most part it seemed what he was reading was the basics and the very discovery of chi, it’s application, and importance; some of which were things that had been roughly shared with as much as could be and then what was able to be shared passed down through the masters of the temple his family oversaw. Some of the stuff was new and...a bit rough to fully translate over in what was trying to be taught though. For that, the Siberian tiger asked Tigress if she could help with making clear what was being relayed through the writing.

At least having to do so made Aleksandr feel less guilty about the fact Tigress was sitting there just waiting to help if he needed it. Someone like her, a proud warrior and one who always sought to improve, must surely find having to just sit there and do nothing unless help was requested must surely be boring. Granted, all practitioners of kung fu must have the ability to have a great deal of patience and willingness to help and Aleksandr was sure that this no less applied to Tigress. But she was a member of the Five, and this must at least on some level feel dull to her. After all, it wasn’t like meditation where your focus was on the inward and to center yourself, she had to actively be aware and watching in case he needed any assistance.

Still, Aleksandr was grateful that she was willing to help him and tried not to be too proud as to think he had to not bother her as much as possible while also not leaning on her too much when he had his books. Although her sitting there did attract some wondering of his eyes, albeit brief ones that were as unnoticeable as he could make them. And could anyone really blame him? Despite all the stories about the Five and her, Tigress was...beautiful.

Her eyes, while definitely fierce and those of a seasoned warrior, belied something more beneath the surface that seemed to be intentionally hidden...or that she wanted to deny. Whatever that may be was not fir him to inquire, at least...not yet and. Then there was her figure, while definitely as strong looking as told was still very womanly in everything else in both allure and shape. Aleksandr had a sneaking suspicion that Tigress carried herself the way she did and seemed so rigid due to the fact that she saw herself as a master and warrior first, and a woman second. That Tigress viewed showing anything too womanly would be viewed as being less of a strong warrior; Aleksandr could only imagine what her reactions have been to those that suggested she’d try to tap more into her feminine side and anything relating to being a bit more of a woman.

Aleksandr definitely had a feeling that those that wanted to notice the more...shapely aspects, learned a lesson. One that, he himself knew instinctively and was taught from a young age by his parents, though it did not help matters that those aspects were rather noticeable, yet he was strong enough to resist. Still, the few glances at her that he allowed, at least to look at her in full or even just her face, was enough to make his heart skip and quicken. At one point while Tigress was looking away she glanced in his direction, just barely missing him as he quickly averted his gaze. It wasn’t that Aleksandr was shy or anything, he just didn’t want to introduce anything awkward during his learning or come up with an excuse or lie. That, and it was still a bit too soon to even THINK about having such a talk about anything like what he was feeling towards her when they hadn’t been around each other all that long or were that well acquainted. There was a method, a path to something like this, just like there was for kung fu.

Time continued to pass as Aleksandr kept diligently going through scrolls at as reasonable a pace as could be allowed given the language barrier that often required him to look at his books or ask Tigress for a more in depth explanation. Despite her more serious and seemingly stern demeanor, Tigress was rather patient and tried her best to explain as simply as she could, not once sounding frustrated or annoyed which Aleksandr found quite admirable. Sure Po was a sore spot, but that was understandable given not only what he was suspecting based on what he could infer from how and what Tigress had said when conversing with the rest of the Five and other instances. But, well, it was Po and he could hardly blame her for that considering the Panda showed no real drive or determination to give the same effort that the rest were.

When it was someone she respected or felt was deserving of being a student though, Tigress seemed like she could be a great teacher and master. It was hardly any wonder why she was seen as the leader of the Five given how she was able to, with some effort, figure out ways to help him understand certain concepts or aspects that were talked about. Hell, she’d even make a great mo-...Aleksandr blinked as he fought back a blush, not the right time or an appropriate one for such thoughts.

Aleksandr continued to bury himself into the study of chi, wanting to get as much of it fully understood as he could, especially so he could add to the understanding of it back at his family’s temple either through letters or visits when and if allowed. If it was one thing that could be said of the Siberian tiger, it was that when he set his mind on a task, he was fully focused on accomplishing it and doing so properly. So much so in cases like this, that he didn’t really pay all that much to the passage of time and would have likely done so had not Tigress got up and walked over to his side of the table and tapped him on the shoulder when he got a bit too drawn in.

“It’s getting noon time, you must be getting hungry.” Tigress remarked.

“Hmm, oh, yes...a little.” Aleksandr replied as he straightened up a bit more and looked up at her. “I honestly didn’t notice how much time had passed.”

Tigress smirked a bit. “I get the same way sometimes, it’s hard to not want to get a task done or perfect a skill. But if you want to pick up some things and get that letter to your family ready and mailed we should probably go into the village and eat.”

“Verno, Da.” Aleksandr nodded as he got up.

“Then we’ll swing by the barracks and get some paper and quill and ink for you to use while we eat. When we get back I’ll ask Viper to see if she and Po can make us some tea and then I’ll show you some practical application of chi and see if you can do it as well. From there, depending on how long that takes and if you do anymore studying, we’ll do that spar you owe me.” Tigress explained, smirking slightly at the last part before going to pick up the scrolls from the table.

“Sounds good.” Aleksandr agreed. “Do you need any help?”

“Appreciated.” Tigress said with acceptance. “I’ll just show you where to put the ones you get.”

“Khorosho.” Aleksandr said as he picked up a few scrolls. And followed Tigress.

“So, going off how you’ve used words so far...Verno must mean right since you used it with Da which is yes. It’s either that or alright...but I feel like khorosho might mean alright.” Tigress said as she put the scrolls she had up. “That one goes over there on the right.” She added as she watched Aleksandr.

“Thanks, and you’re correct.” Aleksandr said as he put up the scroll where it was indicated to. “Verno is right and khorosho is alright. You really do pick up fast.” He commented.

“I just pay attention to the context and how you say it and guess.” Tigress admitted. “Although it’s not that hard to guess considering you try to speak Chinese as much as you can and only use so much Russian unless needed.”

Aleksandr chuckled slightly. “Fair enough.”

When the two had finished putting up the scrolls Aleksandr went and grabbed his books, following Tigress back to the student barracks to not just put them up but to also pick up baskets for whatever Aleksandr could find that he needed to fix what he’d want to from stalls, paper, and the means to write on it before heading out to the village. As they made their way down from the palace Aleksandr couldn’t help but think how Tigress had referred to Viper by her animal type not to mention Shifu doing the same with the Five. It was strange because they always referred to Po by name, only Shifu often calling him by panda here and there. Maybe it was just a thing with the Jade Palace, that masters were always referred to by what animal they were.

No, that couldn’t be right, because Shifu and Oogway were well known by their names and Shifu was not once referred to by what animal he was. Maybe it was just something specific to the Furious Five? A means of fully embodying the style of kung fu they used and to just strike a bit more fear by showing they were the pinnacle of their animal species? But then again there were masters like Thundering Rhino, Elephant, Storming Ox, Croc, and Boar to name a few. So maybe it was a rite or vow one choose to undertake to forego the name they had and to just be known by what they were for one reason or another. And while curious and wanting to know, Aleksandr decided to wait on asking such for when it felt like it was a far more appropriate time to ask such. After all, they were the masters and this was their temple and means of practicing kung fu and he was still new, perhaps it would be revealed over time.

When they reached the bottom of the mountain that the Jade Palace rested upon Tigress and Aleksandr made their way through the village to Mr. Ping’s, deciding to eat first before doing anything else just in case Aleksandr felt like seeing more of the village before they headed back up the mountain. It didn’t take long for them to be seated and to order, Tigress ordering some noodles as Aleksandr ordered some dumplings and egg rolls along with an order of bao. Aleksandr still found it slightly odd that Mr. Ping was seemingly the only restaurateur in the village but then again, the village was surprisingly small despite being where the Jade Palace was so that was likely a factor.

As they waited for their food Aleksandr took the paper they had gotten along with the quill and ink so he could at least have the letter ready to go and possibly dropped off to someone that could send it off before they returned. “So, what’s it like in Russia?” Tigress asked. “I know it’s farther north and heard it’s often cold.”

“It can be, yes.” Aleksandr replied as he looked at Tigress. “The part of Russia I come from has some pretty harsh winters and is often cold. And where I am from it often snows, if not the majority the year it is sometimes all year.” He explained.

“The weather here must feel quite hot then being here if you’re used to the cold and it often snows where you’re from.” Tigress remarked.

Aleksandr shrugged slightly. “It is nothing I can’t get used to, I had plenty of time to get used to warmer weather while on my travel here.” He explained.

“Ah, fair enough I suppose.” Tigress admitted. “Although I’m not sure I can really imagine what it’d be like to live where it snowed pretty much year round.”

“It’s not so bad.” Aleksandr remarked. “Plus, when you are having fur like me and my family, makes it easy to cam...camo….hide one self to be unseen.” He added with a slight smirk.

“True, I bet it does make stealth a lot easier.” Tigress smirked back.

Not long after Mr. Ping came back with their orders, Aleksandr and Tigress setting about eating as Aleksandr continued to write his letter to his parents while talking with Tigress. The Siberian tiger was relieved at the fact that while Tigress was rather quick in picking up Russian words, she had no familiarity with the alphabet of Russia. Not because he was writing anything too embarrassing or anything, but more the fact that that he couldn’t help but write at least a few flattering and glowing things about her when he was writing about meeting the Furious Five. It wasn’t anything that would really be viewed as or come like...well, how she made him feel. Well, that, and he could not help but relay his noticing of her seemingly stiff demeanor and other things he noted. If Tigress were to be able to read it and see all that, well, it would potentially be a bit embarrassing and likely rather award.

Of course he did think about talking about Po and the fact that the dragon warrior may very well not be the dragon warrior that was said to come about or even really worthy of the title, being a complete accident and that the real one may be being tested. Which only took Aleksandr a moment of contemplation before deciding to do so, knowing full well his parents would want to know the truth of the dragon warrior in everything about him. The Siberian tiger made sure to also make clear his intentions to help Po to see if it was just a growing pain or at the very least find where he was meant to be to assuage them from any feelings or thoughts they might have on the issue.

Aleksandr also knew that the revelation of Po, and the bits about Tigress he wrote, would likely raise some concerns from his parents. So he did everything he could to make the rest as glowing and reassuring as the first part where it was telling them he had made it, how beautiful China was, and how great the Jade Palace seemed. He knew full well what they would think about doing or what they would want him to do, so he made assurances that it was likely not as big as they might think. And, in the case of Tigress, could just be his imagining or just she might have pushed too hard in training before he arrived.

With the letter and lunch, finished Aleksandr rolled up the scroll and got up, tying it tight before putting the ink and quill away. Once that was done, Aleksandr and Tigress made their way out of Mr. Ping’s as she lead him to where he could likely get his letter mailed off. Even though the village was small, it was nice to see different areas of it, and to get more familiar with it’s lay out since he was now a student of the Jade Palace. It surprisingly didn’t take all that long for them to reach where a courier was located who took Aleksandr’s letter and assured him that it would be delivered as quickly as it could after being given enough detail of where to take it and even the area to take it was pointed out on a map.

From there it was a simple task for Tigress to take Aleksandr about to various businesses and stalls where food that could be cooked was sold, a task that while at first seemed possibly not be too long of one, proved only somewhat true. It wasn’t so much an issue of there being long lines or language issues. Especially since Tigress was able to speak out things simply or relay things in a more simple manner. No, the real issue was Aleksandr trying to find things that were either comparable to what he would need and get back in Russia or at the very least close enough. At the very least Aleksandr wasn’t willing to take too long at each place, he was not about to waste time when they still needed to continue his learning and do the spar that he owed Tigress.

Aleksandr got what he could, with some things either just not being available or would be something that might be found elsewhere, and he was not about to take the entire day just to get ingredients. No, they could be gotten another day or over the coarse of days so as he could continue his learning and also not interfere with daily training. At least he was able to find enough to make something for the Five, Po, and Shifu. It might not be everything he might have wanted to fix, but it was in no way a loss by any means. So with what he could find in hand, Aleksandr and Tigress started to make their way back to the palace as the afternoon grew a bit late.

As they made their way back up the mountain Aleksandr was still quite perplexed at how Po could be so out of shape despite the fact he had trained before fighting Tai Lung. Granted the training was short, but still, even after defeating Tai Lung and recuperating Aleksandr would have thought his stamina would have improved somewhat. Hell, the exact details of how Po and Tai Lung’s fight went down were still vague. He knew how it ended, but not exactly how it began or how it exactly went before Po won. Hopefully that mystery could be solved in due time by Po telling him, even if his assumptions of the conditions of how Po won being either extreme luck or extreme underestimation to the point of sloppiness on Tai Lung’s part was likely true.

After they had gotten back up the mountain Tigress looked over at Aleksandr. “Meet me over at the training hall after you put up what you bought and the ink ans quill. I think now might be the best time for our spar given the exercise we just had walking about the village and back up the mountain. While you do that I’ll ask Po and Viper to have some tea ready for us afterward.” She commented. “After that, depending on how long our sparring and training goes, I’ll help you out more with the scrolls, though I think well do it at the peach tree as I think I might have some good examples of chi in use to show you.”

“Alright, I’ll be there shortly.” Aleksandr nodded.

With that the two went their separate ways, Aleksandr heading over to the student barracks as Tigress made her way to find Shifu and Po before going to the training hall. It didn’t take too long for Aleksandr to walk over to the student barracks and drop off what he bought in the kitchen as well as return the ink and quill after finding where they were stored. The Siberian made a quick stop by his room though, taking a moment to look at the picture of his family and doing a quick bow before making his way out of the barracks and to the training hall to meet Tigress. As he did, Aleksandr wondered how Crane and Monkey’s patrol was going, it must take the majority of the day since he hadn’t seen them since morning. Especially take a long time depending how much of the valley they’re supposed to patrol. Which was something he was likely to find out when he was eventually at the point where he was considered for such a task, if he wasn’t at that point already since he only need to grow his understanding of chi.

Not that he would complain if assigned to do so and for any stretch of the valley, far from it in fact. He was actually use to doing similar tasks back at his Family’s temple, let alone the fact the distance he traveled to get to the Jade Palace. So it would be not that much of an ask for him to do, and he would gladly do it.

When he got to the training hall Tigress was already there standing outside with her arms crossed and a slight smirk on her mouth. “If you don’t mind we’ll be doing our spar inside the hall.” She commented. “After seeing what you did yesterday on it when fighting Po I want to see if you can manage to do so with an actual opponent and how well you do when you’ve not exerted yourself already.”

Aleksandr blinked before nodding. “Alright.”

Tigress nodded back. “Viper, Mantis, Po, and master Shifu will be watching as well.” She remarked. “Shifu thinks seeing you fight an opponent one on one who is of equal skill might be useful to ingrain in Po what he needs to be striving towards.”

“Ochen' Khorosho.” Aleksandr nodded as he walked over to Tigress.

Tigress blinked. “Ochen' Khorosho…”

“Very well.” Aleksandr explained.

“Ah.” Tigress nodded.

With that the two made their way into the training hall where Viper, Mantis, Po and Shifu were waiting, standing where they would have a good enough view of the spar that was to happen. Both Tigress and Aleksandr walked over to Shifu, giving him a bow in greeting and respect as was to be done with any master of a kung fu temple. “Aleksandr, I assume you have been doing well with your study of chi so far?” Shifu inquired.

“Yes master Shifu.” Aleksandr replied as he bowed once more. “Tigress has been great help with me...getting up to know.”

Shifu nodded. “I would expect no less since the temple has been her home for the majority of her life and kung fu a part of it for just as long.”

“Thank you master.” Tigress bowed, though Aleksandr resisted arching a brow as while it seemed rather complimentary it wasn’t exactly the kind of compliment he would expect for such. Hell, even his parents would have had it been a bit more of a praise than that.

Shifu nodded. “Now them, you two may begin your spar on the course when I say begin. Panda-” Shifu said as he he looked at Po. “I hope you pay close attention to their fighting and take away how serious you need to take your training and kung fu and how real warriors fight in hard situations.”

“Yes master Shifu.” Po nodded, trying to hold back his brimming excitement to see Tigress and Aleksandr fight on the course.

Aleksandr and Tigress made their way onto the course and to opposite ends of the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion, first bowing to each other before they got into their own ready stances. Yet again, Aleksandr could not help but notice that there was a bit of stiffness to Tigress, as though not wanting to let her feminine nature factor into her kung fu. Well, that, and he also couldn’t help but find her just as beautiful as when he first met her as she stood in her ready stance. But that had to be pushed away, right now he had to have his full focus on the spar they were about to partake in.

Shifu looked at the two, nodding approvingly. “Begin!”

Chapter Text

It wasn’t even a second after Shifu had said begin that Tigress and Aleksandr leapt into action, both leaping onto the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion and charged towards each other as they dodged the clubs. Both understood what Shifu meant when he told Po that this was to be an example of a real fight in hard situations so both had decided that there was going to be no holding back and it showed in their eyes. If Po was to see how serious a fight could be then they were going to show him that his lackadaisical attitude was not going to be tolerated in a fight against an opponent that was hellbent on defeating or killing him. There were no words or exchanges of a sign needed between the two as they began the spar with each other; Tigress told him that she wanted him to not hold back and give his all, and that was what Aleksandr was going to give her.

Once the distance was closed the two began to exchange attacks, a quick succession of attacks and nimble blocks with their hands as well as dodges with neither landing it a hit on the other. An initial downward strike by Tigress blocked by Aleksandr bringing his arm up, a counter by him dodged by Tigress leaning to the side as she turned her torso before blocking another two pronged strike with both arms, more blocked attacks from both with each trying to get a kick in only to be blocked by the other’s hands as they dodged the swinging clubs, all the while maintaining their footing and balance on the rotating serpent platform they were on. There was a brief moment where they leapt from the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion to the Jade Tortoise of Wisdom on opposite sides as they got back into their stances to reset themselves, sizing each other up as they inched closer to each other. And while both were fully serious about trying to best the other, Aleksandr couldn’t help but blink as a slight, almost unnoticeable smirk formed on Tigress, her tail twitching before she went to engage him again.

Once more the two engaged in combat, Tigress starting it off with several strikes with her hands and arms only to be blocked and deflected by Aleksandr, albeit with him having to back peddle a little as both maintained their balance. Aleksandr pushed back though as he regained some ground with his own counter attacks that were being blocked and deflected. It was clear that both were highly focused and well prepared for the other and despite only having fought once, Tigress seemed to be already acclimated to fighting Aleksandr, something shown when she caught one of his own attacks and pushed him back. Aleksandr steadied himself to not lose his balance and fall off the Jade Tortoise, going to reset into his stance to try and be ready to defend or go on the attack only for Tigress to smirk once more as she leapt up and landed with enough might to use the Jade Tortoise to bring him to her by catapulting him. Aleksandr took advantage of the momentum though to try and deliver a kick to Tigress’ torso, only for her to block it before it could fully extend and quickly leaping up, delivering the first hit as she kicked him in the torso with an attempted secondary kick to the head that Aleksandr barely managed to dodge by leaning back.

As Aleksandr leaned back Tigress went over him, the two quickly turning to face each other as Tigress continued her relentless assault. The two’s feet danced around each other trying to get a strike in as they continued to attempt to land a blow with their fists and palms, blocking each other’s attempts. During their exchange Tigress managed to get a foot position to where she could get hold of Aleksandr and try to bring him down to what seemed to be to hit the Jade Tortoise but it was soon clear she was going to open palm strike the side of his head. Aleksandr just barely braced himself, blocking the strike and causing the both of them to rotate as he broke free. It was a spectacle for the others to behold as the ferocity and power behind their movements and attacks caused the Jade Tortoise of Wisdom to rock violently, tilting and teetering to the point that it was any wonder they were managing to keep their footing or that it hadn’t turned over. Their sheer focus and determination of fighting one another while somehow staying aware enough to keep the Jade Tortoise from doing just that was something that left Po’s mouth agape in awe as they continued to block each other’s attacks, something that Shifu quickly fixed by shutting Po’s mouth with his staff.

While it seemed like Tigress had quickly managed to understand Aleksandr’s fighting style to where she could easily block, Aleksandr had also seemingly just as quickly get used to how Tigress fought. The Siberian tiger was quick to make enough space to quickly close it once more in a leaping kick that didn’t give Tigress enough time to dodge or block, sending her flying back towards the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors. Tigress had barely enough time to react before having to go through the gauntlet and hit all the rotating obstacles while soaring through it, quickly contorting herself the best she could and grabbing hold of one of the wooden arms of one in a spot where there were no spikes. Before it could start to rotate and she’d hit a lower arm Tigress used her strength to vault up with a swing onto the head of the wooden warrior behind the one she almost hit the arm of, getting into a more formal upright stance with one arm behind her back as she faced Aleksandr.

It was Aleksandr’s turn to let a smirk of his own form on his mouth as he ran along the Jade Tortoise and leapt to the Wooden Warrior in front of Tigress, landing on top of it’s head. It wasn’t long before their fight began once more as they used the rotating nature of the Wooden Warriors to make strikes at each other and to reposition. And like at the beginning of the spar Tigress and Aleksandr were seemingly once more at an impasse as neither could land a blow on the other, each were fully focused on the other’s movements and keeping track. It wasn’t long before they were at the opposite sides of the Wooden Warriors close to the beams of the training hall, using the momentum of the rotating sections to leap up and push off of them to try and get a clean hit on the other. The exchange continued as they continued to get higher up the beams with each exchange until they were now each resting with one foot on one Seven-Talon Ring each as a hand held the chain the ring each stood on was connected to.

It wasn’t long until both Tigress and Aleksandr were using the momentum of the rings to get in close to trade strikes, blocking where they could but now starting to just evenly trade blows while maintaining their balance on the Seven-Talon Rings. Eventually before decided to give up on keeping footing on the rings and lunged at each other, colliding into each other and exchanging more blows and blocks as they fell, pushing off each other and landing right in the midst of the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors. To Po’s amazement both Aleksandr and Tigress kept aware of and up with the rotating sections of the warriors as they closed in on each other, trying to land blows on the other as they also blocked and dodged the weaponized rotating sections, although now it was Aleksandr’s time to be the one on the offensive as he pushed Tigress back and towards the Field of Fiery Death.

When they were out of the gauntlet and now on the Field of Fiery Death both Aleksandr and Tigress continued to block and dodge blows as they danced around the field, seemingly narrowly avoiding the bursts of fire that randomly shot up. As the fight continued though more blows were starting to connect as both Tigress and Aleksandr were quick to learn and adapt to the other. A distraction through a tail strike here, an unexpected move there, neither were taking so much risks as they were logical and calculated moves. For Po, it was something to behold as he watched the two tigers fight each other with all the intent to win. For all his hearing of the prowess and might of each of the Furious Five, he never got to actually see them at their fullest intent of winning and giving their all.

Aleksandr himself was giving all he had, not wanting to insult Tigress by not doing so since she had made it clear that was what she wanted. And to be fair, he had to, as he could see and feel with each block and deflection that she wasn’t holding back much. Despite that though, in this moment with them maneuvering around the flames that shot up at random as they traded blows, it was almost like they were engaged in their own dance. But while that was a thought that could start Aleksandr to fluster, there was no time or allowance to with how Tigress was fighting or the fact that a single misstep on the field could prove either disastrous…or fatal.

It was surprising though that even though it was only his second day there and he was refreshed that Aleksandr was so even with Tigress. Not that he was sure that he was stronger than the master, but that she had so quickly adapted to fighting him. But then again, it was just another credit to who she was as a master and a member of the Furious Five. That, and the fact that it was all the clearer that the story of the Battle of Weeping River was certainly about how each member took on a thousand warriors. Which made Aleksandr surprised he was able to keep up with Tigress as it was made clear as they fought that the five on one the other day was him likely only prevailing because they were not sure of his full abilities.

The spar continued as both started to show signs of the now more prevalent connecting blows with light wounds here and there but nothing bad or any sign of slowing down. Aleksandr managed to land a kick to Tigress’s torso followed by an upward palm strike, causing her her to start to fall backwards. As she did, Aleksandr’s tail and whiskers flicked, eyes ever so slightly widening as he quickly grabbed her by the collar and yanked her back upward to her feet as a burst of flame narrowly missed her head. There was a brief moment where Tigress blinked, looking at Aleksandr who looked back at her before she quickly resumed the fight by leaping up slightly as she twisted to deliver a kick, connecting with Aleksandr and sending him off the Field of Fiery Death and back towards to Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors.

Tigress was quick to pursue, trying to capitalize on it with an open palm strike only for Aleksandr to deflect it and deliver one of his own to her torso. The two continued the exchange, blocking and delivering strikes and kicks as they kept up their fight, maintaining their ground between the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors and the Field of Fiery Death. The spar was growing long and arduous as neither showed signs of backing down or yielding, although that was no issue for Po as he watched on, transfixed by the ferocity and...awesomeness of the two fighting and trying to best each other. And while the others aside from Shifu were just as entranced by the fight, the red panda was about to call the spar. Although before he could do so, both Tigress and Aleksandr traded one last blow with each other before collapsing to a knee each, staring at each other as they panted as they waited to see who would give first. Just like the fight prior though, there was a second or two between Tigress fully collapsing and Aleksandr, another debatable outcome of who truly was the one to come out on top.

The two laid there for a moment on the floor of the training hall course catching their breath as Shifu and the others walked over to the side close to where Aleksandr and Tigress were. “I think that will be enough for your demonstration spar,” Shifu said as he looked down from the side area of the training hall.

“Yes...master...Shifu,” Aleksandr and Tigress said in unison before slowly struggling to get back to their feet and facing each other, placing a fist against a palm and bowing to each other before bowing to the red panda.

“That..was so...COOL!” Po exclaimed with barely contained excitement from having watched their spar.

“While it was...cool, did you pay attention to it?” Shifu asked as he looked at Po.

“I did,” Po replied.

“Then you must have seen what I hoped you would and took something valuable from it,” Shifu remarked. “And it better not be that kung fu is awesome,” he added as Po was about to speak, causing the panda to close his mouth and think.

“You said that it was to see how real warriors fight in hard situations and how seriously I need to take my training,” Po replied. “So I guess what I took away from it was...training can lead to awesome things?”

“Good enough I suppose,” Shifu replied. “But the important thing I was hoping that you’d see, that you’d learn from watching Aleksandr and Tigress, was that to be a skilled and powerful warrior you must train with an intensity that simulates a real battle to the death. That you must hone your senses and skills to be constantly aware of your environment, your surroundings, and be able to read your opponent. While it is true that Aleksandr here fought the Five at once, he and Tigress have yet to definitively best the other, and do you know why?” Shifu asked.

“Because they’re both equally awesome?” Po replied.

Shifu sighed. “No Po, because they are of similar strength and discipline,” Shifu stated. “Fighting any opponent initially that you’ve never encountered before can end either in defeat or victory. The Five are a lethal group and Aleksandr knew this so he did not underestimate them and kept his guard high. He did not go for any attacks at first, preferring to first look for any possible openings that would not be too great a risk. Any slip up, any mistake, and he would have lost. Instead he used his mind, body, and senses to keep an even enough foot till he devised a plan to take them down one at a time. He stayed focused, maintained discipline, and did not waste any movement, keeping everything to what was only necessary.”

“That’s so Cool,” Po remarked.

“And as for why Tigress and Aleksandr could still remain even despite the fact she was able to pick up on his fighting capability so quickly…” Shifu continued. “The answer is simple, so had Aleksandr with her. They paid close attention and memorized the fight, and because they did so; could accurately read and match the other. It is this that makes one’s training effective. Not just the sharpening of the mind and enhancing of your senses, but pushing yourself to the limit and beyond constantly either through using methods like the training coarse or sparring with an equal. Because of how evenly matched they are, Aleksandr and Tigress will continue to grow stronger as they push each other.”

“I get it now,” Po remarked with a smile.

“Do you though?” Shifu asked. “Because unless you really try, really assert yourself, you’ll never make real progress. If you really want to prove that you can be the Dragon Warrior or anything like the Five or Aleksandr, then you need to train like you just saw Aleksandr and Tigress do. You need to push yourself as hard as possible, hone your senses to a fine point,” the red panda lectured.

“What I’ve been doing so far seems to have worked though,” Po commented.

Shifu simply sighed as he looked at Po. “And yet you’ve only just gotten by, been good enough. But good enough can only last so long without growth.”

Po smiled a bit as he seemed to be not too concerned. “I’m sure I’ll get there eventually master Shifu. Besides, we got time. After all, the biggest threat here is the croc bandits and they’re not necessarily on the level of Tai Lung,” Po said with a slight chuckle. “So I think taking it a little easy won’t hurt.”

Shifu narrowed his eyes, looking at Po with no amusement. “Wasn’t it not just a day ago when Aleksandr arrived and showed you that there’s always someone stronger who can come along to challenge you if not threaten the valley?”

“Well...yeah,” Po admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. “But it all worked out, and I’m sure it always will. Besides, with my unpredictability, the Five’s ferocity, and Aleksandr’s bodaciousness I’m sure the valley could never really be under any real threat that we couldn’t take on as a team,” Po continued before nervously chuckling. “Not that I’m saying I’m not going to continue my training…”

“Bo-da-cious?…” Aleksandr remarked to himself as he blinked.

“Don’t worry, we rarely get what he’s saying either. We just kind of nod and assume what he means,” Tigress assured as she glanced at Aleksandr.

Shifu sighed once more. “You’re also still not as in shape as anyone else who practices kung fu,” he pointed out. “It’s been months and you still get winded going up and down the stairs to the palace.”

“Just kind of the nature of being a panda I guess,” Po shrugged.

Shifu rolled his eyes. “Regardless, I’m going to continue to see if I can whip you into proper shape. Starting with you getting back to the training we were doing before the exhibition Tigress and Aleksandr gave you.”

Po blinked. “But..”

“No buts panda,” Shifu interrupted.

“Yes master Shifu…” Po groaned as he started out of the training hall.

“I can make the tea you wanted Tigress,” Viper said as she looked over at her. “After all, I had no trouble doing so before Po showed up.”

“Thank you Viper,” Tigress nodded.

“No problem,” Viper smiled. “We’ll continue our own training when I’m done OK Mantis?” She asked as she looked at the much smaller master.

“Yeah,” Mantis nodded. “I’ll meet you outside,” He said as he headed off, Viper leaving as well to make the tea.

“Master Shifu,” Aleksandr said as the others were leaving.

“Yes?” Shifu replied as he looked at the Siberian tiger.

“Earlier today Tigress was kind enough to es-...es-cort me into the village to find some ingr-...ingredi-...in-gre-di-ants. I would like to thank you for ac-cep-ting me as new student by preparing a meal from my homeland for dinner,” Aleksandr offered. “Gr-...gran-...gran-ted I do not have ev-ery-thing I would like, but I have enough to fix a meal.”

“That is very kind of you to offer,” Shifu remarked. “I do not see the problem with you preparing dinner. It should prove interesting to try a meal from another country.”

“Spasibo,” Aleksandr bowed.

“A Russian meal, sounds exciting,” Viper remarked as she headed out of the door.

“Tell me about it,” Mantis agreed as he hoped alongside her.

As Shifu walked out the door to the training hall Tigress looked at Aleksandr. “We’ve got a bit of time before you need to start preparing dinner, so we can continue your chi studies for a bit before you start. I’ll head over to the barracks and wait for Viper to make the tea. While I’m there, I can pick up your translation books while you can wait for me at the library in the hall.”

“I would hate to have you do so, especially since I am still a new student regardless of my skill level. I will walk to the barracks with you and get them,” Aleksandr insisted.

“Very well,” Tigress said with a nod. “Glad to see a new student not take the easy way even for the simplest task.”

Aleksandr arched a brow slightly before narrowing his eyes. “Po?”

“Yup,” Tigress replied simply.

Aleksandr didn’t know whether to sigh out of the sheer ludicrousness of someone who loved kung fu as much as Po did willing to take easy way out of things, or to find him so he could berate the panda like Shifu had done. That train of thought however stopped as he blinked, “Wait, was that a test to see if I would?”

“No, it was a genuine offer,” Tigress answered with a tone of respect and...friendliness. “You’ve not only shown how someone should go about kung fu but you’ve also provided me with some good fights,” she added with a slight smirk. “You’ve made it rather fun so I’ve decided to at least show some gratitude for that. Well, that, and for sharing about what it’s like to be raised by others of our kind and what it’s like where you’re from.”

Aleksandr blinked a bit, he would have fought off blushing at seeing the smirk on Tigress’ face and the remarks about how he provided her some good and fun fights, but the reminder of her not having had any raisinf by a family or even being around other tigers made his heart go from starting to beat faster to sinking a little. “Ah...spasibo,” Aleksandr said, hiding the bit of sorrow he felt for Tigress. “That is...very kind of you. But my otets taught me to never let a woman do for me what I could easily do myself and to be the one to offer instead. And if I did let allow such he and my mat' would kill me,” He paused a brief moment. “Possibly li-...lit-...liter-...li-ter-al-ly.” Aleksandr added before chuckling. “Point is, was raised to not take ad-...advan-...ad-van-tage.”

Tigress nodded with a smile. “Your parents raised you well it seems,” she remarked before blinking. “otets is...father?”

Aleksandr nodded. “Da, and mat' is mother.”

“Then if I were to say parents?” Tigress asked curiously.

“Roditeli for pl-...plur-...plur-al and roditel' for just re-fer-ring to one.” Aleksandr explained.

Tigress nodded. “I see,” she replied. “Well we better start heading to the barracks then. Don’t want to waste too much more time before you need to fix dinner, or have Viper bring our tea here.”

“Da,” Aleksandr nodded in agreement.

With that, the two made their way out of the training hall and towards the barracks and while he remained as outwardly focused and rather neutral, Aleksandr’s mind was still filled with the resurfaced fact about Tigress being an orphan and having no familiarity with other tigers. It saddened him that a tiger like her had to go through such hardship while at the orphanage, to be called a monster and avoided by the others. The only thing that lessened the sorrow he felt for her was knowing that she was at least eventually adopted by Shifu. Although from what he had been noticing and hearing after being accepted, Aleksandr was having...mixed feelings about that, although he suppose it was much better that then a life of never being adopted.

Still, the fact Tigress seemed rather curious and inquisitive towards him showed a potential wanting to connect with what what she was, with her kind, if not a potential longing to. But he was not about to presume anything when it came to Tigress. For all he knew it could just be mild curiosity since he seemed to be the first tiger she had interacted with and nothing more. She was a serious and devoted warrior and seemed completely dedicated to her role and path in kung fu. Still, her curiosity did make him wonder, if just a little…

When they got to the student barracks Tigress looked at him. “I’m not sure how much of a wait it’ll be for getting the tea from Viper,” she remarked. “You can still get your books and head on to the hall of warriors. You seemed to be able to pick up on things well enough, so you can get what you can done and hold off on what you have trouble with until I get there with the tea.”

“Are you sure?” Aleksandr asked as he looked at Tigress. “I am not minding helping out with that,” he offered.

Tigress smiled slightly. “It’s fine, I appreciate the offer, but I can handle it. Besides, in case you haven’t noticed…” she smirked. “I do tend to like to do things myself.”

Aleksandr chuckled slightly. “Spravedlivo.”

Tigress continued to smirk. “Yes, fair enough,” she said before walking into the barracks and heading towards the kitchen.

Aleksandr couldn’t help but chuckle again as he shook his head slightly. Tigress was incredibly sharp and attentive to be able to pick up on what he was saying when he spoke his native tongue, it was just another thing that made her rather admirable. With that bit of amusement out of the way he walked into the barracks as well, heading to his room and picking up his translation books before making his way to the hall of warriors and then the library that was inside. From there it was a simple matter of laying his books out where they were placed early and locating and fetching the scrolls he had been looking at, a task easily done considering how he payed attention to where Tigress placed the ones she had put up. After fetching the scrolls he took the spot he had sat in earlier, opening up his books and then the scroll he left off on, once more studying what was written about chi. As he did so, he made sure to make mental and physical notes, mostly as a means to send these learnings in letters to his family to help grow the knowledge of chi back in Russia.

It wasn’t too long into his reading and studying that Tigress soon came with a tray with two cups of tea, joining Aleksandr as she sat the tray in the center of the table before sitting across from Aleksandr. “There, let me know when you need any help.”

“Spasibo,” Aleksandr thanked her before taking one of the cups of tea and taking a sip, feeling rather parched after the sparing. “This is quite good,” he remarked, finding the tea to be rather notable compared to what he had so far.

“Viper is rather adapt at making tea,” Tigress commented as she took the other cup of tea. “It’s a skill she picked when she was young and stayed mostly by her mother’s side,” she explained before taking a sip.

“Before proving herself to her father,” Aleksandr stated.

“Yes,” Tigress nodded. “It and ribbon dancing were the first skills she really mastered before applying her ribbon dancing to fighting to prove to her father great master Viper that she didn’t need fangs to be a great warrior.”

“And such things are admirable,” Aleksandr remarked. “She stayed true to the spirit of kung fu even when trying to prove herself capable of the martial aspect.”

“That she did,” Tigress agreed. “That is true for most of us since Mantis was already a warrior before joining up, his only downfall being his impatience and ego. But when it came to Crane he was full of doubt even if he wanted to try to be a warrior, one who could be among those who fight to defend China if needed.”

“What was he before he was a master?” Aleksandr inquired.

“A janitor at the Lee Da kung fu academy,” Tigress replied simply.

Aleksandr blinked a bit in surprised disbelief. “Really?”

Tigress couldn’t help but smirk a bit at Aleksandr’s reaction. “Yeah, and Monkey? He was nothing more than a trouble making hooligan with a weird thing about pulling people’s pants down.”

Aleksandr still looked perplexed at the information. “You are pulling my leg yes?”

“No, that’s the truth,” Tigress stated. “Crane was encouraged by a friend at the academy to try and attempt an obstacle coarse required to beat to become a student. He eventually attempted it after wandering into the course and more encouragement. He passed as you can see,” She said with the tone of knowing she was stating the obvious.

“And Monkey?” Aleksandr asked.

“Oogway dealt with him,” Tigress replied. “He offered Monkey a place at the Jade Palace after being impressed with his skills.”

“It took Oogway to take care of Monkey?” Aleksandr inquired.

“Back then Monkey was more underhanded and tricky. Mostly because of the pants thing,” Tigress explained, though it was clear how weird she found the pants pulling. “And since Oogway was a turtle…”

“Ah, no pants,” Aleksandr remarked.

“Yeah,” Tigress nodded.

“So I assume Monkey took the offer, but how did the rest come to form the Five?” Aleksandr asked.

“There was a threat a few years back. A small army of bandits with some pretty powerful leaders were threatening the Valley Of Peace,” Tigress started to explain. “At the time, me and Monkey were the only students and Oogway was busy elsewhere and Shifu was not well at the time. So he sent out letters to the Lee Da academy asking for their best warriors and to great master Viper to request any pupils he had trained to help deal with the threat. From there Crane arrived with as many others as the academy could spare and then Viper very shortly after and then Mantis after hearing about the threat and wanting to help.”

Aleksandr nodded as he listened, taking keen interest in hearing about the origin of the Furious Five as that particular tale had not really reached all the way to Russia. At least, not in a way that was clear on how it exactly went down. Plus, hearing what the other members of the Five were before they became what they were was both interesting, and very surprising to say the least. Then there was the fact that Viper’s father was also named...Viper, wouldn’t that just make distinguishing the two tricky?

Then again, from the way Tigress kept saying great master, it seemed that was how they were distinguished, using the title as part of her father’s name. While that was...peculiar to say the least, it was their choice to do and was likely a way to have some sort of reputation of a Viper that lived through generations, or the spirit of whatever first member of the family that really made a name for them honored throughout time. Whatever the case was, it just further compounded his questions about if they had actual names or not.

“From there we amassed ourselves to fight the army of bandits at the edge of the valley, ready to fight to the last man to defend it and the Jade Palace,” Tigress continued. “The battle was long and arduous, casualties were mounting on both sides with no real victor seemingly clear. Then one day, me and Monkey talked to Crane, Viper, and Mantis. We had fought alongside each other in mixed pairs throughout the...war for lack of a better word considering it lasted so long and discovered we could work effectively and cover whatever weaknesses the other had. So it was a simple and reasonable assumption that if we all pulled together and worked as one unit that we could likely end the siege. From there, we settled on telling the gathered forces to hold back as we took on the enemy, charging headlong as one unit into he bulk of the army and covering each other as tore a path right to their leaders and then...took them out. With the ferocity we went at them and applied to end the conflict everyone just took to calling us the Furious Five after the battle.”

“I see,” Aleksandr nodded. “And from there you decided to stay as a team I assume.”

“Exactly.” Tigress nodded.

“It is good hearing the origin of the Five, truly a tale worthy of your reputation.” Aleksandr commented.

“Thank you, it only seemed right that with how well we worked together that we’d stay together in case such a threat ever appeared again. Plus, Mantis, Crane, and Viper also really wanted to join the Jade Palace so Shifu and Oogway saw no issue with it,” Tigress said. “Anyway, you should probably get back to your studies.”

“Oh, right,” Aleksandr said before getting back to reading the scrolls.

Just like earlier, Aleksandr diligently studied the scrolls before him, doing his best to understand what he could before asking Tigress for help understanding or just flat out explaining what he was having issues grasping or just couldn’t understand due to the difference in language. While doing so was far from frustrating or boring to Aleksandr, it certainly didn’t hurt that Tigress was there to help him when needed. Doing so with her, hell doing anything with her, just made things all the more fun and enjoyable. He just...really enjoyed being around her and doing things with her, even if it had been just a very short time of being around her.

It was what made him set on waiting and seeing if there was any potential hope for anything, Aleksandr didn’t want to come off as weird or anywhere near desperate...which he was not. He was a tiger of discipline and duty, and he could tell that Tigress was to, albeit possibly to an extreme given the off feelings he got about certain things she said. Plus, getting his knowledge of chi and being more capable with it was a higher priority at the moment, especially since he wanted to relay what he was learning to help grow the knowledge and use of chi back home. Aleksandr just hoped that given enough time, the right opportunity would present itself...if there was any to be had at all. That, and that such an opportunity would present itself before Viper took things into her own...actions.

Before Aleksandr knew it Tigress was tapping him on the shoulder. “Hmm?” he asked.

“It’s getting somewhat close to dinner.” Tigress replied. “If what you’re going to fix is going to take a bit I suggest you head over to the barracks and start cooking.”

“Has time passed that quickly?” Aleksandr inquired.

“Yeah, doesn’t seem like it when deep in training and learning does it?” Tigress smirked.

“Nyet, it’s an enjoyable thing,” Aleksandr remarked. “Especially when peer is helping or training and studying alongside.”

Tigress continued to smirk. “Now if only Po could understand that. Now come on, I’m interested in seeing what you’re going to fix us,” Tigress added as she started to pick up the scrolls to put them up.

Aleksandr wanted to frown at yet again hearing how non seriously Po took being a student, let alone the supposed Dragon Warrior, but he held it back as he started to help Tigress put the scrolls away...mostly because hearing her express interest in what he’d fix alleviated the agitation. Once they were done putting the scrolls back Aleksandr picked up his translation books, walking out of the hall of warriors with Tigress and to the student barracks as Tigress went to do some other things. Aleksandr already had a pretty good idea of what he was going to fix everyone based on what he was able to get, and was going to put all his skills into making sure to provide them the best experience of a Russian meal.

Once Aleksandr a got back to the student barracks Aleksandr went about putting up his books, going to back out briefly to get some cooking ingredients and containers that he packed for his trip, not wanting to use too much of what they had. Once he had acquired everything he’d need from his cart, Aleksandr headed to get what he had purchased earlier and to see what all they had in stock in the barracks kitchen. Once Aleksandr took stock of everything it was only a brief moment before he knew what he’d fix everyone, getting to work as he began to set forth getting whatever else he didn’t have on hand that would be needed as well as ingredients. He wasn’t going to fix too much, but Aleksandr at least wanted to fix a nice sample feast of the most notable Russian staples for meals.

It wasn’t long before Aleksandr had at least two soups cooking along with what appeared to be two different Russian versions of dumplings, a weird looking layered salad, and some sort of oat based food that used water, milk, salt, and butter. The Siberian tiger went about cooking the small sample feast as he did training and studying, having his full focus and attention to every detailed as he balanced giving each dish equal attention. A number of dishes, mainly one of the dumplings, one of the soups, and the salad seemed to involve beets, cabbage, onions, carrots, and potatoes. He went about preparing the ingredients with all the skilled focused of a master training his fighting capabilities or facing an opponent, giving each the attention and method and care.

It took a bit of time, but when all was said and done, Aleksandr was satisfied with the small feast he had prepared for everyone. Although he wasn’t quite sure how he’d go about setting all the food on the table and serving everyone given the small table in the barracks. Then again, the counter he used to cook everything was technically big enough for everything to rest on along with the stove, so it really shouldn’t be that big of a problem. The only other issue that that was the number who would be eating at the table.

Sure they had figured out a way for all seven of them to eat at the table, but what about master Shifu? It was reasonable to assume he’d likely take whatever he’d want and leave, but he was the master of the Jade Palace and was deserving of the highest respect as such...regardless of whatever odd feelings Aleksandr got after talking to Tigress. Besides, it was likely just him presuming things and likely not that bad. If Shifu were to start to take his meal elsewhere, then Aleksandr would insist that he himself would be the one to either stand or go elsewhere. With that decided, Aleksandr went about letting everyone know that dinner was ready, running into Crane and Monkey as he did so as they were returning from patrolling the valley. From there, it was a simple matter of finding the others and letting them know.

“Wow, whatever you made smells good,” Monkey remarked as he entered the eating area of the barracks along with everyone.

“I agree, it smells quite intriguing,” Shifu nodded.

“Yeah,” Po agreed as he took a sniff of the aroma. “What all did you fix?” He asked eagerly.

“Oh, just some st-...sta-...fa-vor-ite and i-con-ic dishes from my home-land,” Aleksandr replied. “If you will all be seated I will serve you all.”

“I will likely just take mine and eat by the peach tree,” Shifu remarked.

“But you are master of temple,” Aleksandr argued. “It is only right that you eat with your students, especially when trying something new. I know because of honoring Mantis and with Po’s...ac-cep-tan-ce here you started eating elsewhere, but surely you did before yes?”

Shifu thought a moment before replying. “Not really, I mean recently I have from time to time, but I mostly just...stayed busy so I ate elsewhere,” He explained.

Aleksandr arched a brow, the fact that he kept busy or rarely even ate with his students was something that didn’t quite sit right with the Siberian tiger, especially with the implications of just how...distant he might have been when raising tigress. But that was an issue to touch on later, much later, as he was still new here and didn’t want to potentially cause an actual scene with the master. Not that he likely hadn’t already pushed doing so when he arrived, but he wasn’t exactly going to insist on testing Po and felt he only got away with doing so because of Tigress. Still, this was a matter that he was definitely going to get illumination on...and confront and fix if need be.

“Then I am going to have to insist with all due respect,” Aleksandr insisted. “This is in a way, mo-men-tous oc-ca-sion, a sharing of one land’s food with those of another,” he argued. “I am not minding standing.”

“Yeah, why not stay master Shifu?” Mantis asked.

“Yeah, come on,” Po agreed.

“Alright…” Shifu relented as he moved to take the seat at the head of the table, Po taking the one Aleksandr had been using as the others took theirs. “I should probably look into getting a bigger table with the number of students now having grown past the chairs here,” he commented.

“We’ve been managing to make due,” Crane remarked.

“Yeah,” Mantis agreed. “If anything, I just really need a custom made tiny chair I can stand in front of.”

“Fair enough,” Shifu admitted. “But I’ll still look into a somewhat bigger table.”

Hearing that made Aleksandr a little less...irked, if not somewhat worse because of the things around Tigress, towards Shifu. It seemed that despite whatever flaws or faults he might have, he still at least tried. Still, Aleksandr just hoped that whenever he learned everything he wanted in regards to the little things that just kept piling up, that they weren’t nearly as bad as the might be. But again, that was a matter to be dealt with at a different point in time. Now, now was the time to partake in a dinner.

Moving to prepare a plate for everyone, Aleksandr put enough of each dumpling looking food and layered salad for everyone to get a nice experience of. From there he placed three bowls down of the soups and oatmeal like food he made, each filled just enough to where both together would be filling. “There we are,” he said as he placed the last three bowls down in front of Shifu. “These are the most...liked and common in Russia. The...dumpling looking food on the right of your plates is called Pelmeni while the one on the left is called Varenniki. Both are similar, but for the Varenniki I used fruits for some and cheese, mashed potatoes, and cabbage in others. The Pelmeni meanwhile has beans in some and beets in others. The layered food in the center of the plate is called...hmm...beets under f-..fur co-at, it is type of salad. The first soup is called Okroshka and is a cold soup that is very popular, the other is very tra-...tra-di-tion-al and is called Shchi. Lastly, the food in third bowl is called Kasha, it is the most common in Russia,” He explained. “Now then, naslazhdat'sya...enjoy.”

Aleksandr went to fix his own portion to eat as the others started to taste the food that he had prepared. “Wow, this is pretty good.” Crane remarked after sampling some of his meal. “It’s got a rather enjoyable texture.”

“Yeah, it’s got a taste to it,” Monkey agreed.

“Agreed,” Shifu nodded. “I must say that I’m quite enjoying this...what was it...Varen..niki?” He added as he took a bite of the dumpling shaped food.

“Da, Varenniki.” Aleksandr replied before he started to partake in his portion of food as he stood nearby.

“Exquisite,” Shifu remarked before continuing to eat.

“Gotta say man, you’ve got quite the skill set. I didn’t know you could cook,” Po said as he ate his food.

“My family believes in trying as many skills as possible that can also aide in one’s path in kung fu,” Aleksandr replied. “We often cook as a family and our parents teach us how to do so effectively, applying the same pennants of martial arts to it so that we can use what we apply to cooking back into progressing our kung fu,” he added. “Plus I was able to hone my cooking more during the months of travel, along with my other hobbies.”

“I noticed some painting supplies in your cart,” Viper commented. “Is that one of your hobbies?”

“Somewhat, it’s more of a thing I try here and there.” Aleksandr answered.

“Did you paint the pictures of your family and their temple you brought?” Tigress inquired.

“Nyet,” Aleksandr responded. “That was gift from my mother so I do not get home sick,” Aleksandr responded.

“She’s a very good artist.” Viper remarked.

“Spasibo, it is one of her bigger passions aside from the martial part of kung fu.” Aleksandr smiled.

When all was said and done everyone had their fill with some food left over that needed to be stored for the next day. Shifu excised himself to take care of some things after thanking Aleksandr for preparing them dinner, which the Siberian tiger appreciated. Aleksandr was about to take care of the leftovers and dishes when when Tigress approached him.

“When you’re done I’d like to actually show you some chi use,” Tigress said. “Unless it’s too late by then. If so, we’ll just see if we can fit it in tomorrow.”

Aleksandr nodded. “Alr-”

“If it was something you had planned to do today, I can take care of the dishes.” Viper piped up, causing Aleksandr to blink as he glanced at her. “It’s the least I can offer after such a good meal.”

“Yeah, and I can help out,” Po offered.

Aleksandr blinked again. “But…”

“No buts,” Viper interrupted. “You made us food, it’s only right that we either help clean up or clean it up ourselves so you can get some last bit of training in.”

“I wouldn’t try to argue with her,” Tigress commented. “When she’s set on something she can be as stubborn as me.”

“...Fair point,” Aleksandr relented as he almost felt like Viper might threaten to expedite things if he didn’t take her offer. After thanking Viper and Po he followed Tigress towards the exit of the barracks, blinking slightly as he noticed her stop and get two boxes of what seemed to be twenty two small candles total. Sure it was now night out, but would they need so many? “So, where are we going?” Aleksandr asked as they made their way out of the barracks.

“To the peach tree on the hill,” Tigress answered. “I think what I have in mind will be a nice demonstration of what proper knowledge of and use of chi can do.”

“OK…” Aleksandr acknowledged, his curiosity growing. Whatever it was that Tigress had in mind, it must have something to do with the candles.

When they got to the hill that the peach tree rested on Tigress set the boxes down and began to place the twenty two small candles in no real particular way, though it appeared to be in a sort of semi circle layout. When she finished, Tigress sat down in the center, feet placed together with the candles circling her from the back to either side. “I assume you meditate,” Tigress inquired.

“Da, I do,” Aleksandr replied as he took that as his invitation or cue to get in his meditative position, which was very similar aside from the fact his legs were crossed.

Tigress nodded. “I see there are very minor differences in position but ultimately the same,” she remarked.

Aleksandr nodded. “You are wanting to show different meditation methods?”

“Not quite,” Tigress replied. “While I haven’t quite mastered it, Viper was right that my knowledge is more thorough and I do have some slight use of it to be able to give a demonstration of it in use.”

Aleksandr blinked. “Demonstration?”

“Yes,” Tigress nodded. “I figured seeing an application of it might prove helpful in your studies.”

“Ah,” Aleksandr half nodded. “That is very kind.”

“No problem,” Tigress smiled. “Now them, the ability to use chi as you’ve been reading is tied to how centered you are with yourself and the universe; how at one with not only your body, but your mind and soul and even nature you are,” she explained. “Because it is like you called it, life energy. Are you understanding so far?”

Aleksandr nodded in acknowledgment. “Da, so far.”

“Good,” Tigress remarked as she smiled again, seeing her smile was a sight Aleksandr enjoyed seeing. “Now then, as Shifu said you are already likely using it in some sense to push beyond physical limitations, but it can also be used for other various things such as enhancing durability, helping block blows of varying degrees based on how much chi you use and if you want to stay standing or not, healing, influencing the growth rate of nature, and so on. Are these known so far in Russia?”

“Some, yes.” Aleksandr replied.

“Then you have practically a lot of the beginning minus some likely lost in language and other minor things already,” Tigress remarked. “But anyway, there is one use of chi that I thought I’d show you.”

“Alright.” Aleksandr nodded.

Tigress thought about mentioning for him to pay attention, but that just felt like it’d be more of an insult to the likes of Aleksandr. After all, the Siberian tiger was definitely no Po that needed constant reminding to do so. With a nod Tigress placed her hands by the sides of her legs with her fingers in a meditative position. Closing her eyes Tigress began to focus as she meditate, channeling her chi as she tried to fully center herself.

Aleksandr watched as Tigress sat there, waiting a few moments before seeing a glowing gold energy flow from her and to the bottom of each candle in the form of small orbs. The Siberian tiger watched in slight amazement as the candles began to levitate, floating a fair bit off the ground as they stayed partially surrounding tigress. The sight of her sitting their amidst the floating candles that looked like they were lit from the bottom against the starry night sky was not just awe inspiring, it was...beautiful, a sight to truly behold.

Tigress sat there for a few moments, meditating among the floating candles before showing a bit of struggle as the candles began to wobble as though they would fall shortly. It wasn’t long after that the candles quickly, but with control, floated back down before the orbs of light faded. “As I said, I haven’t quite mastered chi. But I’m sure that you can see it’s possibilities and what can be done,” Tigress said as she sat there. “When you’re ready, we can begin channeling your chi use to be more like this than somewhat instinctual.”

“I look forward to learning to how to use my chi more on...co-...com-...com-mand.” Aleksandr commented.

“Good,” Tigress smiled. “I think that will do it for the day. It is already pretty late and I’m sure you want to unwind a bit before bed,” Tigress said as she got to her feet.

“Da, rest is as important as training, as my family has said,” Aleksandr agreed as he got up. “I will help put candles back up.”

“Thanks,” Tigress replied as she smiled again.

As he helped Tigress put the candles back up Aleksandr’s mind lingered on having seen Tigress start to struggle when using her chi. From what he had read so far and was told, Aleksandr wondered of it could be related to the observations he had about Tigress. Her seeming stiffness and rigidity, even if it was only perceptible by him, combined with the off feelings of certain things he had learned so far, could be why she still hadn’t mastered it despite having lived at the Jade Palace her whole life. It seemed the most logical conclusion given everything he had learned and seen so far, but maybe it was just she needed to master a few other things first. While he would still keep note of the likely link, Aleksandr still wasn’t about to cause any issues when he was still new.

Once he had finished helping Tigress put the candles back in the boxes he then helped, after some slight insistence, her carry them back to the barracks and putting them away. After that was done Aleksandr went about like he did the night prior and got a change of clothes and a towel, going to take a bath in the portable bathtub he had set up. It was a relaxing bath and thankfully there were no incidents like the first night there, thank goodness. After finishing refreshing himself and changing clothes Aleksandr emptied the cylindrical portable tub before retiring to his room, using the rest if the time to think on things as he relaxed, looking at the picture of his family as he did...more specifically his parents.

He knew what they would want them to do if these feelings of things not being quite right persisted or turned out worse than initially thought, what they would do if they were around and got the same feelings. But this was not Russia and this was the temple of another master that he himself was now a student of. There was definitely no way he could show any challenge or inquire so intrusively, especially having just arrived. No, such things should only be done after enough time and things continued to pile up. Right now they were arguably few and minor, nothing that could be seen as a truly major issue that needed immediate addressing, Aleksandr just hoped that whatever might be giving him these off feelings was something that was explainable or easily fixed naturally. Otherwise...well, he did promise in his letter to his family that he would do what would be expected, he just hoped that it wouldn’t come to such.

As for his training, it seemed to be going promisingly so far and he was enjoying the fact that it was Tigress who was helping him...thanks to Viper’s quick shrewdness and thinking. She really did seem determined to try and help him...and possibly Tigress from how she spoke. Still, right now the training should be more of a priority, and sending what he learned back to his family to help their understanding of chi and expanding the use of it. Although from how things were going with Tigress being the one helping him, seeing how close they might could get over the course of his learning was likely something that’d happen naturally. The thought that that was exactly why Viper recommended Tigress other than why she might be a better pic only served to show how terrifyingly cunning and clever she could be...even if she might get nervous when questioned why she was doing such.

In any case, things were definitely going to be interesting in his time here, that was for sure. Who knew what might happen while he he continued to further his journey and expand his knowledge. Although Aleksandr could not help but also hope that maybe there might be a possibility for something between him and Tigress, even if it might be a little selfish and wishful to think so. For now though, now was the time for rest, as another day of training awaited him tomorrow. Laying down on his sleeping mat Aleksandr closed his eyes, letting sleep take him so he could be ready and rested for what the next day held.