Tiger Mao is the older brother of Chika Mao, one of Valerie Xiao's childhood friends. Even from a young age, Tiger was remarkably strong and tall. With his booming, brotherly personality, he naturally gathered followers wherever he went. In his early 20s, Tiger found himself at the head of a little local gang of misfits and delinquents.
He was eventually challenged by Valerie, who herself had built up a schoolyard gang. He humored her request to a duel. The fight pushed both combatants to their limits, but Valerie refused to give in. Fearing that she would not stop unless she died, Tiger ceded the fight. Both youngsters emerged from the fight with a healthy respect for each other that has lasted to this day, though Tiger often worries about Valerie's refusal to acknowledge her limits.
Tiger remains as one of Valerie's top lieutenants, and oversees most of the activity of the lower echelons of Valerie's faction in the Phoenix. He is close friends with both Valerie and her half-brother Lance, and keeps a watchful eye over his sister, Chika.
