Story Notes: As I said in the last chapter, I like to leave my chapters on lovely cliffhangers. This is not my best fanfiction. I've recently re-read the comics. I've spotted several new themes to use for stories. Forgive me if my knowledge and geography are a little flawed. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in another chapter Notes, but I decided he would be wearing long black trousers and a blue shirt, similar to Land of Black gold/Lake of Sharks.

Chapter Summary: Tintin snaps awake in Osaka Harbor with no recollection of being pulled out. As Japanese men advance to kill him, will he escape?

Suggested Music

1. Rising Dragon - Eliott Tordo Erhu feat. Louis Claraz

2. Kai's Theme (Epic Version) - Samuel Kim

3. Xin Ren - Ramin Djawadi

Tintin coughed, extricating a gulp of water from his throat and then some. He almost fainted as someone rolled him onto his side. It helped the water drain but left him gazing at the world at a rather strange angle. Two people appeared at either side of him, gently pulling him upright. He nearly passed out. As a pair of hands came across his back, he managed to hold himself steady. As his blurred vision finally subsided, he focused on the middle-aged woman aiding him.

"Are you okay? You're very lucky,"

"Yeah... Just a little .. ooh," Tintin breathed.

"You're likely in shock," The other Japanese lady replied.

"Where Am I?"

"Osaka .. Osaka harbor,"

Slowly pulling himself up, with the aid of the kind ladies, he walked to the end of the pavement to see the plane in the shallows.

"The passengers .. "

"They are okay, A few injuries but nothing so serious,"

Memories of the crash flashed through his mind until a shrill bark broke through the crowd. Snowy appeared, pushing through the crowd as he dragged a backpack with him.

"Snowy!"

Tintin rushed to his companion, thankful that Snowy had managed to find his bag and bring it to him. He swung the bag onto his back and stroked him quickly. Tintin's eyes scanned the crowd in an attempt to locate anyone who may be able to aid him next. As he did, several Japanese men wearing Black suits caught his eye. He started to back off, putting some distance between himself and the crowd as the hair on the back of his neck stiffened.

these men are trouble, Tintin thought, narrowing his eyes at the approaching men

As he glimpsed the guns in holsters, his suspicions increased further.

Their eyes met.

Tintin gulped.

I'm in trouble.

Snowy growled and stepped to the side.

I'm surrounded...

Only one option here...

Tintin spun around and ran for it, determined to get away as fast as he could. The Men followed, shouting in Japanese as he ran into the commercial district.

Tintin jumped across boxes, missing as many obstacles as he could. Snowy remained close, managing to keep up with him as he ran for his life.

Luckily he had a good head start.

Shouts from Sellers followed as he charged through the streets. His heart pounded within his ribs, almost threatening to burst from his chest as he pushed himself beyond exertion. Scents of food and smoke filled his nose as he jumped across a barrier. He glanced back quickly and wished he hadn't. They were right behind him.

Why won't anyone stop them!

Tintin dived into an alleyway, desperate to get out of sight. The moment he did, a substantial force collided with his head. Due to the inertia, he hit the floor with so much force he nearly knocked himself out. He tried to clamber onto his feet, but a man lunged at him with a knife. Tintin raised his hands, trying to push the knife away, but the man had more strength than he did. As the blade came within inches of slashing open his exposed throat, Snowy latched onto the man's trousers.

Tintin pushed up with all his available strength, kneeing the man straight in the stomach and punching him for good measure. Getting back onto his feet, he inhaled deeply to regain his lost oxygen and ran. This time he didn't look back. By the time he had disappeared down another alleyway, the Japanese men had disappeared. He didn't stop running as he stopped at another corner, he stopped, convinced he had lost them. He brushed the dirt from his long black trousers and straightened his blue shirt.

He glanced around but couldn't see any of his pursuers. Tintin's eyes narrowed in surprise.

They wouldn't give up this easily ... would they?

Tintin turned onto the main road, followed closely by Snowy. Bullets hit the wall after barely one second. He didn't bother to look around. He ran.

x

The hidden shooter, Shun, aimed again, switching to single-shot mode. With a smile he traced the young boys' movement, determining his future position. Shun squeezed the trigger, watching with glee as the boy fell awkwardly onto the pavement, and stilled.

"Gotcha,"

Packing the gun away, he joined his men outside gloating about the kill until the moment they strode out to the street to find the boy gone.

They hurried across the road, regardless of the traffic.

Shun cursed at the sight. He was certain he'd killed him. Examining the sight he found a small blood pool and cursed.

"Where is he? You said he was down!" Roared Takumi.

"I hit him!" Shun shouted back, growling in distaste.

"Head back to headquarters,"

"What about the 'kid'?"

"He's wounded. With any luck, he's bleeding to death in a gutter somewhere,"

x

Tintin waited until he heard them leave before attempting to move. He'd been glad to crawl into the building when he had the chance. Had the building been locked, he would've been dead. Pressing his hand against his side, he tried to stop the bleeding, but nothing seemed to work.

The bullet ... I... I need to get it out.

He squirmed at the thought of doing it himself, but no options remained and he didn't want to walk into a hospital.

I'll never make it to a hospital ...With any luck, they'll think I'm dead.

He slid down the wall until he sat on the floor and took off his bag, searching for bandages.

These will have to do.

His chest heaved as he grasped the tweezers in his hand. As he inserted them, his body and mouth stiffened, trying to hold in his discomfort. They invaded his body, searching for the bullet as he dug his nails hard into his fist. Snowy snuggled into his master, providing some comfort to Tintin as he attempted to find the bullet.

Come on!

As pain shot through his body, tears slipped down his clamped eye's. As a mushroomed piece of metal hit the floor, Tintin burst into tears and pressed down hard to stop the bleeding. Reaching for the bandages, he gently stroked Snowy, grateful for the comfort.

What am I going to do now?

I hope you are enjoying this. Will Tintin manage to work out what's next? Tune in next week to find out. TR56