Spring was upon them. And with spring, came change.

“I hope you understand, Master Shifu” Tigress’s voice was stern, yet held a note of solemness.

The wise master straightened his beard. Deep in thought, he let out a weary sigh. Although it was for the best, and he only wanted the best for Tigress, it felt like that he was losing another student. Another child.

“Do you really believe this to be the only way, Tigress?”

She nodded. She didn’t posses the strength to answer. A lump was stuck in her throat. This felt like betrayal. Betraying the man who had raised her and taught her everything she knew. Not only about kung fu, but about good and evil, virtues and vices. About life.

“So be it.” Shifu broke the silence. “You want to master your ki on a level beyond that of the physical martial arts. I can understand that. And I accept it. I will make the necessary arrangements.”

Shifu took a sip of his green tea. The aroma and taste put his soul at ease, clearing his mind.

“In my younger years, when I was but an apprentice, I as not the only one studying under Master Oogway. One of his other students, now a master in his own right, Master Mogwai, established a school in the southern lands. His kung fu techniques are…simpler and not as physically demanding as the ones here, but he had made it his mission to master the use of ki in combat. I will send him message and hope that he will accept you as his student.”

“Master, I…” she was at a loss for words, for she did not believe Shifu would let her leave so easily. “…I am grateful.”

She bowed to her teacher and he bowed back.

#

“We are really going to miss you, Tigress” Monkey said with teary eyes.

Tigress smiled. Her heart felt tight, but she didn’t let it show. This was for the best.

“You won’t forget us, right?” Crane spoke, his voice uneven.

“I don’t plan to.”

“You will come back though, right?” Po asked, handing her a bag.

It smelled of his noodle soup. She could not help but tear up as well.

“Of course, I will, you big oaf. And you better be ready, because when I get back, I’m going to kick your butt up and down the mountain.”

Po chuckled.

“Yeah…I’ll be waiting for that.”

She set off on her journey, the moon shining on her path, her heart filled with sorrow and a tinge of doubt, but all that was overshadowed by excitement and a willingness to learn.

#

Summer would soon dawn. And with summer, the fires of life would rise.

Master Mogwai, a greying rat rivaling Master Shifu in age, observed the young warrior, who had traveled so long and so far to be at his presence. It was oh so long ago when Master Oogway clearly chose his favorite amongst his students, even if he didn’t believe that he showed it. And now, a student of his favorite, kneeled before him, asking to be taught.

The rat narrowed his eyes, trying to find something, anything that he could latch onto – improper form, a disrespectful glance, anything. But there was nothing. Tigress had bared her heart in front of him, wishing only to advance in her studies.

Master Mogwai had dedicated his life to mastering the use of ki in combat. His school was everything that he had. And now Shifu, unsatisfied with being the chosen of their teacher, wanted to take even this.

Something had to be arranged.

“Very well, Tigress. I will take you in as my student. Tomorrow, you will face off with one of my pupils, so we can determine your level.”

#

Naturally, the fight was rigged. Master Mogwai had told his student, Lei Jin, to strike her meridians with crippling accuracy.

“She will not be my student.” He had told the lion. “She might be a good fighter, but she will be no match for your precision. I want her humiliated. And I want her unable to master my arts.”

The fight began with ring of the gong. Tigress wasted no time and attacked her opponent with ferocious strikes. Lei Jin could barely block or dodge them. He looked for an opening, but her form was perfect. He wanted to end the fight fast, but it seemed like an impossibility.

With few options left, he made his attack. Using only two fingers. Although slow in comparison to what Tigress was dealing out, she, for what ever reason, felt the need to block it with her forearm. That was her first and most fatal mistake.

The moment his fingers connected, she felt a surge of electricity run up her arm and through her body. Her muscles felt numb and her momentum ceased. Lei Jin took his opportunity and struck once more. Once more, Tigress tried to block, sluggish in her movements, she raised her other arm. The same sensation followed, this time it felt deeper, more crushing, like a tidal wave smashing across the rocky shore.

Tigress stepped back, trying to collect herself. But it was far too late. The young lion’s flurry began, sending hit after hit all across her torso. They were light taps, but they were enough. Pinpoint accuracy, hitting the meridians spread across her body, she felt numb, nauseous and disorientated. And when the lion had finished, she collapsed on the ground, the world growing dark around her.

Master Mogwai smiled. It was done.

He strode slowly across the arena, Lei Jin making sure to bow before his mentor. The rat took a long look at the sleeping Tigress and poked her with his cane. She didn’t budge.

“Her training has begun.”

#

Autumn soon slithered and all that was vibrant withered and died.

“Young Tigress, you’ve been training in our ways for the past months. Today you will have a duel with one of the students.”

Master Mogwai examined the young woman in front of him. Gone was the flame in her eye she had when she first stepped in his hallowed corridors. Although he didn’t show it, Master Mogwai felt pleased. Her training consisted of little more than basic drills under the guise of inner energy manipulation and meridian control. She was told that with each movement her ki would flow through her, directed at whatever she was aiming. Naturally, he had skipped any and all important information on how that would happen. Along with that, Tigress went under considerable amount of “endurance” training, as Master Mogwai had put it. Put simply, she would have to stand still, while another student would practice his ki strikes, leaving her disorientated, numb, barely capable of moving and nauseas. Combined with her isolation, sleep deprivation training and a diet of stale bread, rain water, citrus fruits and expired milk, which Master Mogwai insisted would forge her spirit, she was a complete wreck.

“Are you listening to me, apprentice?” Master Mogwai asked, fully aware she was not.

“Whu-?” Tigress jumped.

The rat crossed his arms, putting on a serious and strict face.

“Today is your day to prove yourself, if you really want to be a student in my school, or if you are just a dabbler, with no true goal or path.”

“I-I am ready, Master Mogwai.”

He raised an eyebrow, playing his part perfectly.

“Are you sure? I’ve seen many who have come and were utterly humiliated and exiled. Are you ready to compete for your place amongst us?”

Tigress nodded.

#

The fight, if one can call it that, was a between her and one of the low ranking students. Actually, that was a lie. The fighter was one of Master Mogwai’s best, on the verge of becoming a master himself. His instructions, like in Tigress’s previous fight, were clear and precise – don’t hold back, use everything in your arsenal, humiliate her.

With the ringing of the gong the fight began. And it ended just as quickly. Tigress could barely react, could barely move. Her half-closed eyes, so full of exhaustion, saw the attack coming. But her body didn’t have the vigor to muster up any way to defend herself.

The first hit was to her shoulder. Electricity spread to her entire body, numbing it. For the second strike, she couldn’t even begin to want to defend herself. Two extended fingers pierced her abdomen. The sensation was that of her stomach being grasped, fingers clenching it, squeezing it. Bile went up her throat.

The final strike was to her chest. Her heart skipped a beat. It stopped and she fell, before it began to beat once more.

The student turned to his master and bowed. The rat smiled.

#

“You are by far, the worst student I’ve ever taught. You do not respond to any of the training, you were defeated by a novice. I do not know how you achieved your black belt, but Master Shifu has clearly made a mistake.”

Tigress stood in silence, unflinching. She had failed. A disappointment to her new master, to her old one and to herself as well.

Master Mogwai glared at the young woman. She was utterly humiliated. He felt a sense of satisfaction. He had pitted his best student against Shifu’s best. And Mogwai had won. This was a decisive victory. Master Oogway was wrong in putting his faith in Shifu. Mogwai was the superior.

His wish fulfilled, he turned towards Tigress.

“Get out. Leave my school. Go back to your Master. Tell him you have failed.”

And with that, Master Mogwai expected it to all be over. Tigress would have been humbled and returned home and he could put this behind him.

“Please, Master Mogwai. I want to stay.”

Those words caught his ear.

“I-I can do better. I swear it. Just…give me another chance.”

A sinister inkling invaded the rat’s skull. His face contorted into a toothy grin, which Tigress didn’t notice as her head was bowed to the ground.

“Do you really want to continue?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…very well. Hand me your black belt. You are being demoted. For each one of your defeats, you will be demoted. That is the only sure way to keep any semblance of honor here.”

Tigress was besides herself. She undid her belt, handing it over to Master Mogwai.

#

Winter’s cold grasp was on them and in the cold and ice nothing lived, only died.

Her training did not change much. Same drills, same diet, same social isolation, same endurance tests.

Her next fight was even more embarrassing than her previous one. With the ring of the gong, her opponent simply swiped her feet, got on top of her and hit her once. The strike, aimed at the solar plexus, did little damage, but she could barely catch her breath for the next few minutes.

After the duel, Master Mogwai stepped down to the ring. He patiently waited for Tigress to get on her feet, before taking out a knife and slicing her brown belt. She did not flinch. She knew she deserved this.

“Lei Jin!” Master Mogwai shouted and to the ring jumped the lion.

The pupil had ascended quickly through the ranks, mastering all the forms of ki manipulation, which Master Mogwai taught. In Tigress’s eyes, he was a shining beacon of what could be achieved.

“Spank her.”

Tigress’s eyes went wide at those words. Without a second thought and with little to no effort, Lei Jin picked Tigress, placed her on his knee and started spanking her in front of the entire school. And everybody laughed at the young woman. They laughed at the absurdity of a black belt being treated this way. Tigress’s eyes teared up, but she bit her lip and endured. She would get better. This is just punishment for not trying hard enough. She was going to become the best.

#

Every one of her duels ended the same way. Whether she fell face first or on her back, she was defeated, her body sore, practically unusable. Master Mogwai would demote her, slicing her belt off in front of his students and Lei Jin would spank the poor girl to teach her a lesson.

One by one, she lost all her belts. From brown, to read, to green, to purple, to orange, to yellow. Each time the humiliation was worse and her pride slowly corroded into nothingness. But she didn’t lose her will to fight. She continued her training, believing that there was something she did not understand, or could not grasp. She ate double her portions, deprived herself of even more sleep, exhausted her body to her absolute limits. She was sure, she was ready.

And finally came her final fight. By this time, she was a white belt. There was nowhere else to go but up. She stepped on the ring, filled with confidence, but her body in shambles. Her opponent, a young rabbit, even younger than her, could barely wait for the gong. The moment the ring echoed through the chamber, the rabbit threw himself at Tigress, delivering one devasting shot at her bladder.

Tigress fell back. Her pants grew darker and a puddle formed around her. She was at her lowest point. Once more defeated, wet and being the laughing stock of the school, she could no longer hold her tears back. First she started quietly sobbing and then it became louder until she was violently crying, laying on the ground in her own urine. Her voice grew hoarse, but she could not contain herself. All this work, all this effort, all of it led to this moment. She should have left the school when Master Mogwai gave her the opportunity. Now. Now she had nothing.

And at present Tigress is still in the school. She isn’t allowed to participate in any of the activities, although, if she wants, she can train on her own, away from the eyes of the other students. After her last defeat, Master Mogwai had demanded that she pay him back for the wasted time and effort. But since she had no money, they made an arrangement. She would clean the school every day, until her debt was settled. A personal maid that would go from room to room, dusting cleaning, doing the laundry. Naturally, Master Mogwai didn’t want any more incidents, so after slicing off her white belt, he presented her with a pair of diapers – large enough to accommodate her, white with yellow stars sprinkled here and there. Naturally, every pair she was given added to her debt. And washing them would also add more to her debt, for wasting water and soap.

She was forced to put the diaper on in front of the entire school after her duel. Wet and sobbing, she took off her pants and put them one foot at a time, slowly, with shaking hands. It felt like a nightmare. All those eyes on her. All she had to do was train better and all of this could have been avoided. Or she could have left long ago. But now, she doubted that she would even be accepted back in her old school. A disgrace to her former master and her new one.

She would wear them everywhere she went, so there would be no doubt in everybody’s mind that she was Tigress the Failure. The diaper maid of Master Mogwai’s school for ki mastery. Master Shifu’s disappointment.