I'M BACK! First off, SO SORRY that I haven't updated this in so long. I was grounded and blank on ideas, so of course that delayed a lot. Second, be sure to check out my other stories, and PLEASE review. I want to know what you people think! :D Plus, ONE swear word in here.

Tigress awoke to a cool morning and blinding orange light. She shielded her eyes, then groggily stood up. She grabbed her bag, which had already been packed, and walked out of her room.

The previous night had been simple enough. There had been an abnormally quiet dinner, though, and Tigress hadn't really been out of her room after that. She had been looking over the map that had been given to her, but there was no information given on the assassin, considering how quickly they would disappear. Nobody had talked to her, and she didn't talk to anyone else. In other words, it had been a tense night.

She was not met by any of her fellow Jade Palace members on her way out of the building, which Tigress was grateful for. They were her friends, but she knew she had to be on her way. When she walked out, the sun bathed her in a warm glow. A cool, gentle breeze traveled through the air, and it wafted the smell of peach blossoms to her nose. A rather ironic atmosphere, she thought, considering the quest she was about to take. Yet she couldn't help but smile a bit.

She would've never admitted it, but she was extremely nervous. She had been thinking of the Emperor's letter for a considerable amount of time the previous night, and it prevented her from falling asleep when she wanted to. She had never known anyone who could take on an entire squadron of Imperial Soldiers, considering most who tried were immobilized and captured before they could even start fighting a second soldier. But this one had managed to kill them and get away before capture. She knew, of course, that she would be more capable of protecting herself, but she knew that they would be a difficult opponent to beat, and that was why she had a deep pit in her stomach.

Tigress shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts, then got down on all fours and started to run. She ran down the stairs and past onlooking villagers, and didn't stop until she was out of the Valley of Peace. Once she came to a stop, she stood up and looked over The Valley of Peace, then suddenly thought that she may never see it again. She regretted not speaking with her friends before she left, which brought a frown to her face. She let out a silent growl to herself. She had to focus. Tigress got down on all fours again and started running again, hoping that the exercise would clear her head.

Finally, she stopped her relentless sprint as she saw a cobblestone road and clusters of buildings about 30 feet away. She stood up, panting a bit. She had no idea exactly how long she had been running, but she thought it must've been for at least an hour. She started to walk towards the village, hoping she could quickly find an inn to stay at.

Tigress had asked for directions to an inn from an elderly female goose, who had given them to her without any pauses. She had offered her some tea, but Tigress politely declined. Tigress was now outside the doors of the inn. She looked up at the sign above the door. It read, 'The Golden Phoenix'. She heard boisterous laughter and shattering glass from inside. She sighed and pushed the door open to a chaotic scene filled with boars, sheep, geese, rabbits, and what seemed to be an endless amount of rice wine. She stepped passed a pair of fighting boars, trying to hide a look of disgust. The goose had explained that the first part of the inn was a tavern, and unfortunately, was the only inn in the village, considering it's size. She had never liked taverns ever since her experience at one in the Valley when she was 16. She shuddered at the memory. She suddenly stopped when she heard:

"He's like a ghost! Nobody besides those Imperial Soldiers ever see him!" a large, black boar said.

"Do you think he IS a ghost?" a ram next to him asked.

"Come on, what ghost can wield a knife?"

"Has anyone ever gotten survived his attacks?"

"Yeah, a lion guy named Kado. He was pretty shaken up after the experience, though. People say he didn't reply to anybody for like, five days! Then one day, he just said, 'A shadow...he was like a shadow...'. It was creepy."

Tigress heard him shudder. She walked over to him and asked, "Did he say anything else?"

"Hey, don't butt in on-" the boar began to say, then saw who she was and exclaimed, "Master Tigress!"

"Answer my question: did he say anything else?" Tigress repeated.

The boar stole a quick glance at the ram next to him, then said, "N-not that I know of. He could've said more, but that's all I've heard. The capitol has the subject under tight wraps."

Tigress pulled up a chair and sat down. "What else do you know of this assassin?"

The boar seemed a bit unnerved by her presence, but of course, what lesser animal wouldn't fear a tiger? He cleared his throat and answered, "People call him The Shadow of the Capitol. You can't predict his next attack, and from the sound of it, he's both fast, strong, and good with a knife. I find it amazing that a knife can be used against Imperial Soldiers. Ahem, anyways, nobody knows much about him besides the fact that he's dangerous, male, and untrackable. Nobody can find where he lives, either. He's not a cold-hearted killer though...from what I've heard, he only kills Imperial Soldiers. He could be part of a secret organization of sorts, he could just be a rogue, or a rebel against the forceful rule of the Emperor."

His last statement struck Tigress as an important piece of information. He could've been on the right track...it wouldn't surprise her if he was right.

"Why do you want to know?" the boar suddenly asked.

"Classified information."

"Wait, you're going on a mission to, you know, 'bring him to justice?'"

Tigress sighed, and nodded.

The ram scoffed. "Good luck finding him! It's not like the best detectives in China have tried and failed to find him!"

The boar punched him in the jaw for the comment. "Sorry, my friend has a tendency to say things she shouldn't!"

The ram shrunk away from the boar, but Tigress ignored this and said, "Thank you for the information."

"Happy to help." the boar said.

As Tigress walked away, the boar said, "What were you thinking, you goddamn moron?! She's a master at the Jade Palace!"

Tigress grinned.

And THAT concludes chapter 3! I honestly think I wrote this one well! Tell me what you think in a review! And PLEASE, if you have ANY ideas, PM them to me, and I might consider using them! Plus, you wouldn't want me to have writer's block after a cliffhanger, would you?