Somebody's Hero (Chapter 3)
#3 of Somebody's Hero story
Last part! I was tempted to add a final boss, then realized it wouldn't really fit with the character of the story. Also, I can't write, and it would have been really, really anti-climactic anyway.
Tyrus looked below him as his feet landed squarely on the shoulders of the left ninja. The unexpecting victim hissed as he fell to the floor, too slow to remove the feline from his shoulders. Under his body, Tyrus felt the assassin's form crumple as it hit the ground, several joints popping simultaneously. Deciding he had rendered this opponent harmless, he turned to face the second ninja just in time to notice the oncoming fist. A slight sidestep and the punch was only enough to graze his sensitive whiskers. He grabbed the vengeful ninja's arm and attempted to break it as a distraction for his tail to sneak between the two, resulting in enough of an opportunity for the opponent to land a powerful kick in the stomach. As Tyrus wheezed in breathless pain, his tail ripped the blackened feet of the enemy off the ground. He held his breath, easing the hurt just long enough to knee the poor canine in the ribs and land a good punch to the forehead.
Both ninjas lay helpless and painfully vulnerable at Tyrus' feet. Using the dullest of his claws, he dug under the shoulder of each one to make sure they were unconscious, then dragged their bodies to the nearest wall, sitting them straight up.
Heh, they almost look like they could be a couple like this, it's adorable. Two failed ninjas receiving their discharge hand in hand, accepting their fate as lovingly as two night warriors possibly could. How sweet.
A short whimper distracted him from his thoughts. Averting his gaze from his slain enemies to the other side of the classroom, he saw his nightmare come true.
Kalid had been chained by every limb to the blackboard behind her. Blood pooled underneath her dripping muzzle. Scars covered her body from head to toe. Her ears were cut all around the edges. The furry form he had been desperate to save appeared as though it were already beyond salvation.
Tyrus walked towards her, hoping this was still part of the nightmare. Every inch closer he got, he noticed another horrible tragedy that had befallen her. Burn marks on her arms in the shape of cigarette butts, reddened skin underneath the patchy skin on her face from abuse, he thought he could even see ribs through her ragged blouse. By the time he was within a couple inches of her, his face was diluting the pool of blood underneath with tears. He shuddered after putting his hand under her mouth, not used to the dirty, oily fur she had been forced to endure. Slowly, he lifted her head up to try and look into her eyes.
As soon as he did so, he heard a quiet gasp escape her lips, and she turned away with a harsh grimace, expecting another violent outburst upon her.
"Please... d-don't hurt me..."
"I would never dream of it."
The shakiness in her voice gave way to sobbing as she recognized his tone. Tyrus clicked his claws together with a sort of protective anger and kneeled down to unlock each leg with a quick swipe into the keyhole.
"I was scared you wouldn't come..."
"What? You truly needed a hero, do you think I would just ignore that call? That's not the Tyrus way." As he opened the shackles on her wrists, she fell helplessly into his outstretched arms, unwilling and unable to let go of him. "I was worried sick about you when I realized how real this situation was, I couldn't let my girl get hurt. I guess I was a little too late, I'm so sorry..."
Kalid wiped a mix of blood and tears away from her face with a shaky paw. "It's okay, you're here now, you're still my hero and all... I thought I could handle myself, but they came in with weapons and I- I just couldn't do it..."
"Don't even think about that, they're never going to touch you again. Not as long as this heart still beats." They embraced for several minutes, Tyrus' clothes slowly turning red from soaking up her wounds. "We're not quite safe yet. Do you think you can stay conscious until we get back to my room?"
"I-" She shifted her weight back to try and stand up straight, but her broken knees snapped closed under even the slightest amount of weight. Tyrus leaned forward to catch her under the arms, lifting her body back into his protection. She forced herself to laugh through slightly bloodied tears. "Maybe not."
"That's alright. I'll be your strength."
Her laughs grew slightly heavier as he lifted her into a standing position. "You can save me from a band of ninjas, but you can't come up with a single thing to say that isn't corny?"
"Probably not. You just really a-maize me, I guess." Tyrus chuckled and swung her up into his arms princess-style. Every second holding her drained strength from his muscles but compensated it tenfold in determination. He quickly made his way over to the only door in the room, perking his ears up to try and sense any disturbances outside. Much to his surprise, it sounded like some sort of fighting was indeed underway. "But this might not be over yet."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you honestly think they'd leave these hallways completely unguarded?"
Kalid shook her head slightly, wincing at the pain the movement brought. "Either way, we need to get out that door."
Tyrus closed his eyes and sighed. The fighting outside grew in intensity, and whatever being was fighting the ninjas sounded like they were in trouble. This isn't for you, you selfish feline. You can't just be strong for yourself. Be strong for her.
Gathering all of the strength he had into one movement, he flung open the door with his tail and burst into the hallway.
Within a second of stepping through the doorframe, he found a ninja already advancing on them. Ducking under a well-timed roundhouse, Tyrus retreated a few steps, focused only on protecting her. The assassin swirled around, surprised at the agility of his weighted foe. But as Tyrus prepared himself for a body slam, the ninja suddenly froze, and after sputtering for air for a moment, collapsed on the ground, a shuriken in his back.
From behind the defeated figure, Skyler stood with paws full of weapons.
"Hey guys. Not to interrupt your romantic getaway or whatever, but I found their vault," he chuckled slightly in response to Tyrus' utterly confused expression. "You thought I'd honestly let you go alone to fight an army of ninjas? Boy please. Anybody can be a hero with the right weapon and motivation and- Wait, is she even alive?"
Tyrus looked down at the figure asleep in his arms with her face nuzzled into his chest. "Yeah, she's just had a long day."
"Haven't we all? And to think, it's not even one o'clock yet."
"Thank goodness, more time to sleep. I was expecting some epic fight with their head honcho, you totally ruined the climax of my whole heroic journey."
"That must have been the room I accidentally blew up. Huh... You don't need to play the hero, I mean, she's safe now, that's all that matters."
"Well thanks for crushing my dreams. I guess we should just go now?"
"Yep. You know, did I tell you how much I hate my government class?"
"Hah, no. Please enlighten me."
He sat at the chair in his room, still scraping off a few flakes of blood from his arm fur while he worked on his computer program. As difficult as the assignment was, Tyrus knew he had done harder. No program could ever be as intensive as fighting ninjas. His back ached as he stretched it against his chair. The fighting itself was not nearly as difficult as trying to carry a sleeping girl up a staircase, and it really took a toll on his lower back. Pain shot through his spine, then dissipated into several different nerves throughout his back, eventually dissolving into nothing. Code once again flowed from his fingers as though computer formatting were some sort of a second language.
After only about a half hour of working, he tested the output. Streams of data began pouring onto the screen, signifying a correctly formulated program, and the time to get to sleep. He stood up to take off his jeans and carefully fold them on the back of the chair. Exhaustion once again glazed over his eyes as he climbed up the ladder to his bed. Ever so gently, he lay down next to her, smiling to himself as he looked into her closed eyes. He took her hand in his and rested it on the mattress between them.
Even this scarred, she's still so beautiful.