Opening Theme: Makka na Chikai by Yoshiki Fukuyama

CHAPTER 10
BATTLE IN BUXING

An arrow hailstorm would've scared anyone but not Lin and Tigress. Sure every arrow was a foot long, had a very sharp arrowhead and fired with enough skill to make it reach top speed, but the two of them didn't falter.

The first two arrows that reached them were caught by Lin. He flipped them over and used them to deflect every other arrow that came his way. He and Tigress ran towards the bandit leader while dodging and deflecting every arrow that came their way.

"Take out the ones on the roofs!" Tigress yelled out. She and Lin nodded and jumped on to the top of the houses on the sides of the street. The archers were still trying to reload when they did that; giving them no time to, Lin and Tigress charged.

Archers fell one by one at their hands. A few were able to get a shot it, but Lin and Tigress were just too quick to hit. The ox bandit leader saw this and called for reinforcements; a large group of wolves carrying axes and spears ran through the streets and climbed the houses to reach the two of them.

Though they were apart, their minds were still working together. A bandit charged at Tigress who evaded his attack, grabbed him and threw him in Lin's direction hitting a bandit that was about to hit the lynx in the process. Lin yelled back a thanks before knocking a bandit out with an uppercut.

They were winning, but the number of bandits forced them to the edge. Knowing that it would be better to fight on the street, they jumped off the building and landed with their backs against each other.

"At least they're not blowing up houses." Lin said as the bandits descended to confront them.

"Don't get too overconfident." Tigress said tensing.

"Relax. Overconfidence isn't how I work. Lin replied with a smile.

Two ox bandits swung their spiked clubs at the same time. Tigress and Lin merely ducked allowing the two bandits to knock each other out. Mirroring each other, Tigress and Lin punched the oxes and knocked them away.

The ran away from each other to confront their own group of bandits. A bandit swung his sword at Lin who ducked and countered with a leg sweep. The bandit was knocked off his feet, but Lin still had plans for him. After spinning, he jumped and did a back flip hitting the bandit's chin painfully.

"Heh, finally perfected that." Lin thought as the bandit passed out. Another bandit tried to slice his chest, but Lin dodged and smashed his opponent's jaw. Two bandits swung their swords at the same time, but Lin saw the narrow space between the two blades and jumped right through it. He landed and did a dropkick that knocked the two bandits aside.

"Quit showing off!" Tigress yelled as he kicked the side of a bandit's head.

"Relax! I swear I'll be careful." Lin replied delivering three punches to a bandit's stomach. The unlucky bandit was knocked into an equally unlucky group of his comrades causing them to topple over.

Lin looked upwards and saw a group of archers take their place on the roof. He ran towards Tigress. "Tigress, boost me to the roof!"

She senses he was coming and ducked. Lin got the message and aimed a punch that soared over her head and hit an oncoming bandit. Tigress stood up, grabbed Lin's arm, spun him a few times and launched him towards the roof.

A few arches saw him coming and launched their arrows, but Lin deflected them easily. He landed on the roof and kicked the first archer he found off the roof. Another one tried hitting him with his bow; Lin backed up and caught the bow when the archer tried to swing again. He pulled the archer close to him and kicked his chest. A few remaining archers fired at him, but he was able to dodge.

The bandit leader cursed. "Send in more reinforcements!" he yelled out loud.

"This's everyone sir! There's no one left!" a bandit replied.

The ox cursed again and yelled at the bandit to fight. Meanwhile, Lin had just finished off the last archers on the roof and saw Tigress surrounded by bandits. He quickly jumped on the head of a bandit and propelled himself to her side. He landed with his back to her.

"The archers are all gone. All that's left are the one and their leader." Lin said.

Tigress clenched her fists. "Good work. Now let's make these brutes regret attacking this village."

"You read my mind." Lin said as they charged. To say that their minds were in sync was an understatement.

Lin delivered three blows to a bandit's chest before jump backwards; Tigress ran under him and slammed her paws into the bandit's chest. Lin landed and quickly spun around to block a blow from another bandit. He delivered a backhand to the bandit's face and threw him in Tigress's direction. She caught him and shoved him into a group of bandits, knocking them down in the process.

There were still a lot of bandits, but with the combined efforts of Tigress and Lin. She kicked the chin of another bandit and knocked him into the air. Lin jumped and kicked the airborne wolf into a group of bandits and took them out.

The entire time Lin was in the air, Tigress was busy dealing with a few more bandits. She did a leg sweep and knocked a bandit off his feet. He tried getting up, but Lin landed on his chest and knocked the wind out of his lungs. Lin then knocked aside two bandits that tried to behead him with their swords.

Tigress kicked yet another bandit aside. "Damn there are a lot of them." she thought to herself. But their numbers were thinning which was a good sign.

Several minutes later...

"And that's the last of them." Lin said elbowing the last bandit standing.

Tigress looked around and saw the large pile of unconscious bandits around them. "We're not through yet. Where's their leader?"

They faced him and he gulped. His eyes darted to he left, and he ran towards the first building on his left. "You can't get away that easily." Tigress yelled going after him but-

"No one move!" he shouted. Tigress and Lin found the bandit leader. However, he was clutching someone with a bag over their head. He put his sword near his hostage's neck. "Lemme out of the village or else-!"

"No! No please please don't kill me!" the hostage cried out in tears.

Tigress and Lin growled angrily and clenched their fists. "Hostages! How could you be so cruel!" Tigress shouted.

"I just am! Now what's it going to be?" the ox replied as his hostage continued to scream and cry. Tigress and LIn couldn't do anything or else he'd make blood spill. Slowly, the ox backed away from them.

Suddenly, he accidentally hit a rock and lost his balance. Tigress saw this opportunity to strike. "Get the hostage!" she yelled at Lin, and they charged.

Lin reached them first. He caught the bandit leader's sword arm and kicked him away while grabbing the hostage away. Tigress made her move against the ox. He evaded her first two blows and tried stabbing her. she knocked his arm away and kicked his chest.

He recovered from the blow and charged again. Tigress ducked to avoid his slash and kicked his chin. He was momentarily stunned from the blow and didn't do anything to stop Tigress from delivering the final blow to his chest. He cried out in pain and hit the ground where he passed out. Just like that, the bandits were all defeated; Bùxìng wouldn't have to worry about them again.

Tigress turned to Lin to tell him that he did a good job. She stopped at the sight of the hostage struggling in his arms.

"No! Let me go! Let me go!"

"Calm down. No on'es going to hurt you." Lin comforted; it didn't seem to work. "Stop struggling for a-"

Lin suddenly cried out in pain as a foot came down on his. Reflexively, he let go of the hostage who fell down and backed away from him. Lin bent down and spoke calmly.

"I won't hurt you." he said as the hostage continued to inch away from him. "I promise I won't hurt you. Just let me take that bag off your head."

Lin held the bag lightly and pulled it off. Underneath the bag was the face of a young female tiger who looked at him with fear with her tear soaked amber eyes. But slowly, the he face turned into a shocked expression as she glimpsed the face under the hood. Her eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, she held his face in her hands. She pulled off his hood and stared into his dark yellow eyes.

"...L...Lin...?"

Lin felt pure shock envelop him. He couldn't believe it; he said the only word he could say that the time.

"M...Misha...?"