Chapter 14 – What Do I See?

Gurē ran forward, Ai on his back with Wolford, Judy and Nick close behind him. "Is the chief really going to try to take on that big guy?" Nick asked as they ran up the stairs.

"I guess we just have to trust him." Judy told the red fox and chanced a quick glance behind her. She watched Bogo slam the club into the ground right as the samurai moved to the side, and just as quickly, he lifted his weapon up, blocking the blade of the giant before once again swinging across the warrior's chest. She closed her eyes and turned back to the front before once again starting her run, quickly catching up to Nick as they made it to the second level. Suddenly, Wolford stopped. Gurē turned after a few steps, turning as he and Ai looked to him questioningly.

"Someone's here!" he said.

Nick and Judy slowly came up behind him, "How can you tell?" Nick asked.

"The guy's scent is all over this place, so he's close." the wolf said.

"How do you know it's not just a smell from the nearby town?" Judy asked.

"Because there's no wind." was all he said.

Judy, and Nick finally stopped, and looked around, "He's right." Judy said. She stopped her gaze, looking straight at one of the pillars of the entrance. She squinted hard, and jumped back when a pair of eyes opened up. She tripped, her foot catching the edge of her kimono and forcing her to topple over. The eyes suddenly lunged at her; and with a scream, she closed her eyes. She was surprised when the strike never came. Instead, when she opened her eyes, she found Gurē, once again, paws gripping the wrists of an assailant wrapped in red cloths.

"A NINJA?" Nick shouted, "THEY HAVE A NINJA?"

Judy felt the paws of Ai as the other bunny lifted her up. "We-e have to go!" she said as she lifted Judy up. The ninja grunted as he watched his quarry escape to the far side of the great stairs. With a turn, he looked into his opponent's eyes, the amber lights glaring into his own almost black pits. With a lunge again, the ninja slammed his head into that of the lone samurai, and jumped when the fox released him. He reached in his leap, his clawed paws reaching for Judy as she ran from him, only to be surprised when Wolford turned and jumped, slamming his shoulder into the cloaked figure, and dropping him to the ground.

"GO!" the wolf shouted, and the two bunnies and the red fox took off, making their way up the stairs as quickly as they could. Again, the ninja grunted, and slammed his elbow into the top of Wolford's head, before jumping again, and quickly getting kicked in the head.

"Who are you?" Gurē asked in his native language.

"Uh!" he heard Wolford groan, "He's going to pay for that!"

Suddenly, the two of them heard the ninja chuckle. Then, in Pandanese, he spoke, "Never have I been struck twice, even if it was by two different opponents." And with glee in his eyes, void of empathy, deprived of everything except bloodlust, "I will enjoy our fight.

"What'd he say?" Wolford asked.

"He wants to fight us." the black fox said.

"Fine with me." Wolford said and smiled. The three of them glared, grinning, each for a different reason.

Judy and Nick kept running, Ai leading the way in front of them. Without looking back, the three of them heard the loud and echoing battle cry the three of them shouted as they began their miniature war. Neither of them looked back as they made their way quickly up stair after stair.

"Why is this happening?" Judy asked in a slight panic. Her nerves were starting to get away from her as she held her kimono up while running. Ai seemed to have the idea, growing up with the garment, she knew how to get the most speed out of her situation. Judy on the other hand, had almost tripped twice before deciding to just lift up the garment and kick off the wooden sandals in favor of her bare feet. They moved as quickly as they could, Ai up ahead as she led the two up the stairs. When she got to the top, it only took a second before she found the next two warriors, and with a quick jump, she placed herself in the middle, before stretching her paws to each side as the swordsman tried to attack. Now it was surprise that took over when Judy saw this, from the pads on Ai's palms, a glowing light appeared, and quickly exploded with force, knocking both warriors down in a single move. Nick then quickly scooped Judy into his arms, focusing on the open path ahead as the three of them moved past the unconscious guards. No words were exchanged, even as they scaled the rest of the stairs like this. It was at the top, where they stopped, Ai and Nick breathing heavily as they tried to catch their breath. Judy was gently set down on the ground before her fox fell to his knees, trying hard to catch a breath that he could barely find.

Judy finally let what she saw enter her mind, though it was harder to understand than she had thought. "How did you do that?" she asked as she turned to the other bunny.

Ai looked to her, breath still heavy as she tried to let her aching legs rest, "Do what?" she asked.

"Do what?" Judy repeated, "You knocked those guards out without touching them. How did you do THAT?"

"I-e used my chi!" Ai said, her breath a little more under control.

"You did the same thing to Adrian, didn't you?" the two heard Nick ask, "In that little pocket world he made. You used your chi to knock him down."

"Hai!" she responded as the two of them rose up, "Though it took a great deal more energy when I didn't have-e ten thousand souls worth of chi."

"Hey, that was Adrian's fault." Nick said, and patted the girl on the head. Nick then walked up and placed his paws on Judy's shoulders, "Are you alright?"

"Physically, yah." she replied in a hushed tone, "But mentally, I'm a bit frazzled. First, a Ninja, should have seen that coming. Then Ai and her chi, I've never seen an animal do that before!"

She was still talking when Nick wrapped his large arms around her, tucking her safely in his embrace. He didn't have to say a word, instead she stopped, her mind freezing as she remembered this touch, this smell, and quickly, her mind calmed, her heart stopped racing, and she found herself leaning into that same embrace, her tears finally starting to fall as she let her emotions loose from her mental cage. She had come in this world seeking to bring Adrian to justice and to save the confused Bakeneko, and now, she could barely save herself. She broke at the thought, and the tears began, quickly flooding her vision as she finally let them run free.