The Shadow walked with measured steps, his black scarf floating slightly at each of his movements. He was advancing safely, perfectly silent, crossing the path between the rocks. He had not chosen this path at random.
The bandits had been discreet in recent days, but their habits remained the same. Thanks to the information gathered in the den under the tea room, Kael had figured out where to strike next. This trail was a strategic passage that they used to trap travelers and transport their loot.
But tonight, it was him who came without warning.
His instinct told him he was being watched.
He stopped.
The silence became more oppressive. No insects, no rustling of branches. Only the wind that lifted a little dust.
They are here.
Kael slightly raised her head, analyzing the shadows between the trees. Silhouettes lurking in the foliage. Others, probably hidden behind the rocks. He counted mentally. At least six. Perhaps more.
They were waiting for him to move forward again. That he pass a specific point to tighten their trap.
Kael smiled a cold smile under his helmet. Too bad for them.
He took a step back.
The crack of his boots on a twig triggered the reaction he expected.
At once, a barrage of projectiles fused from the heights: knives, shurikens, and even a spear gushing from the thickets.
Kael swiveled to the side, avoiding most of the attacks in a fluid motion, and kicked his foot against the ground. His logue sling lifted with the force of the impact, deflecting one of the knives. With a quick gesture, he pulled out one of his short blades and sliced clean an invisible rope to his right.
A net camouflaged in the branches immediately collapsed on one of the hidden bandits, trapping him in a chaos of ropes and branches.
"Shit, he spotted us!" cried one of them.
Kael did not wait.
He leaped forward, his blade shining in the moonlight. A first assailant appeared before him, armed with a sword. Kael dodged the attack by a side step and struck the man in the ribs with the guard of his weapon. A sinister crack was heard as the bandit collapsed to the ground, growling with pain.
Another one appears on his left, aiming at his head with a stick. Kael came close, but a third opponent took advantage of the opening to stab him in the side with a dagger.
Kael swiveled, grabbing the assailant's wrist, and twisted it abruptly. The man uttered a cry as his weapon slipped away. Kael threw him violently forward, sending him to hit the second bandit.
The others hesitated.
Their trap had failed, yet their prey was not running away. He was fighting.
"Go ahead, morons!" shouted one of them, probably their leader.
Five other men rushed at the same time.
He exhaled slowly and did not move. He waited.
The five men rushed to him, believing that they were taking advantage of their numerical superiority.
Error.
When the first one shot his axe, Kael slipped to the side, barely dodging before hitting the attacker's neck with his elbow. The man staggered, groggy.
The second bandit, armed with two daggers, tried to catch him up. Kael stepped back to avoid the first blade, then blocked the second by grabbing his opponent's wrist. With a dry movement, he twisted it and forced the man to drop his weapon before throwing a knee in his stomach.
But the third, more imposing, took advantage of the opening. He grabbed Kael by the back and lifted him from the ground in a powerful embrace, trying to immobilize him.
Kael grunted as he felt the pressure on his ribs. He is strong. Too strong to break the catch directly.
The fourth opponent came forward, a club in hand, ready to strike.
Kael reacts in an instant.
He swung his head back, his metal helmet hitting the nose of the colossus who held him. The man gave a painful grunt but did not let go of his grip.
Kael took advantage of the moment of floating. He abruptly pulled his legs towards him and pushed them forward, striking the bandit with a club before his attack collapsed.
The man was thrown back, crashing against a rock.
Kael felt the grip of the colossus loosen slightly. He took advantage of it to contort himself and hit him with a powerful elbow in the ribs, then another.
Finally, he grabbed one of the arms that held him, took advantage of the momentum of the colossus and swung forward, throwing his opponent to the ground in a deaf noise.
The fifth man, more cautious, hesitated.
Kael didn't leave him any choice.
He rushed at him, dodging a clumsy blow before slipping behind his back. A second later, the bandit collapsed, a brutal twist in the neck plunging him into unconsciousness.
A heavy silence settled.
Around him, the men groaned in pain, too dazed to fight again.
There was only one opponent left standing: the leader of the group, a grey wolf dressed in a long dark cloak, a sword in each hand.
"I thought you were not like the others..." murmured the wolf while twirling his blades.
Kael remained silent.
The chief smiled. "So what are you? A murderer? A mercenary?"
Kael did not answer.
"You have a beautiful armor... I imagine that under your mask, you also have a nice bounty on your head."
Kael leaned his head slightly.
The wolf sighed. "Well... that means I'll have to kill you."
He attacked.
Kael took a step back as the sword whistled in front of him, cutting through the air.
The wolf immediately chained with a second attack, targeting the ribs.
Kael deflected the blade of a backhand of his metal gauntlet and returned with a quick blow, but his opponent dodged flexibly.
The two fighters began to turn in a circle, looking for an opening.
The wolf attacked again, with a series of quick strikes. Kael parted effectively, but each strike was more aggressive than the last.
The bandit leader was good.
But Kael was better.
He let his opponent gain confidence, retreating slightly, feigning an opening.
The wolf took the hook.
He rushed to deliver a fatal blow.
Kael dodged at the last moment, made a smooth movement and passed behind her.
The wolf did not even have time to understand.
Kael flattened his metal fist into her neck.
A sinister crackle sounds.
The wolf collapsed face down.
Kael stood still, listening to the last moans of the wounded bandits. None seemed fit to get up.
He put away his blade.
The calm had returned.
Kael had just started walking again when a thunderous pain pierced his left shoulder: an arrow.
The shock made him wobble, but he did not fall. He clenched his teeth, his hand gantelée instinctively seeking the rod of the projectile embedded in his armor.
A chuckle echoed behind him.
"Tch... I didn't think you wouldn't avoid that one."
Kael turned his head slightly.
Behind him, perched on rocks and branches, a dozen silhouettes appeared. Clad in dark leather, armed with bows, spears and swords, these men had nothing to do with the bullies he had just eliminated.
It was not a gang of thieves.
A slender snow leopard, holding a finely sculpted bow, floored down from a tree and walked nonchalantly. His golden eyes shone with cruel amusement.
Lang.
"You've screwed up the plan, Shadow. That forced us to speed up our game." Lang twisted the string of his bow around his fingers. "But in the end, maybe it's better this way. Instead of waiting for you to fall into our trap... we'll just shoot you down here."
Kael did not answer. He knew that Lang was the type to like to talk before finishing his prey... at least, it is the reputation which precedes him
But that was not what worried him.
He felt a movement on his left. Someone had approached without noise.
'They are well trained...' Kael thought
Lang snapped his tongue. "I saw how you took care of the others... Impressive. But you see, they were amateurs. We are different."
Another robber, a massive gorilla holding a cimburry, advanced and added, "You may be strong, but you are alone."
Kael raised his helmet slightly, hugging his assailants.
Lang smiles. "Do you have any last words?"
Kael lowered his hand slowly, leaving the arrow in his shoulder. He bent his knees slightly, adopting a defensive posture.
Then he finally spoke. "Try."
The silence fell.
Then Lang smiles more widely. "With pleasure."
As soon as Lang had sketched a gesture, the first assailant jumped.
Kael swiveled to the side, narrowly dodging a sword that nearly cut his ribs. With a fluid movement, he grabbed the wrist of his attacker and twisted it brutally, snatching a cry of pain from the bandit. In the same movement, he threw it violently back, causing it to crash against a tree.
But he did not have time to breathe.
Two others ran at him.
The gorilla, fast in spite of his massive build, tried to hit him with a scabbard. Kael raised his injured arm to help, but the impact pulled out a grunt.
'It is time'
He let himself slip under the blow and replied by hitting with an elbow under the gorilla's ribs. The enemy took a step back, but a third thief - a swift jackal - took advantage of the opening to strike him with a stick in the back.
Kael hesitated, and immediately Lang profited.
A hiss split the air.
Kael narrowly dodged a new arrow, but he felt the point touch his helmet.
But he was not going to give them time to think.
He swiveled sharply and plucked the blade from one of the thieves he had just knocked down. In the process, he threw it at Lang.
The leopard leaped back with agility, narrowly avoiding the blade that went into a tree behind him.
Lang raised an eyebrow. "Oh... not bad."
Kael did not answer. He no longer spoke.
He moved.
The gorilla raised his scimitar to strike again, but this time Kael beat him. With a leap, he plunged his knee into his torso, cutting out his breath. Then, without wasting time, he pivoted and threw the gorilla directly on two other bandits who had rushed towards him.
The impact shook the ground.
But there were still too many.
A new assailant appears to his right. Kael countered in extremis a dagger aimed at his flank and retaliated with a brutal punch to the face of his opponent.
He could win. He was going to win. He had to
Until Lang whistled.
A move in the shadows.
Kael only had time to see a masked figure before a second arrow was fired.
This time, it reached his leg.
The pain exploded in his calf. Kael rumbled and threw himself on one knee.
The trap had just closed on him.
Lang moved slowly, his smile still in place.
"I told you. You are alone."
Kael, his breath jerking, clenched his fists. He tried to get up, but a boot fell on his chest and nailed him to the ground.
The gorilla, despite his injuries, smiled.
Lang crouched in front of him, putting the tip of an arrow under his chin.
"We could have done it properly. But I admit, it was more fun that way."
Kael stared at him, his eyes burning under his helmet.
Lang will sigh, false sorry. "Make beautiful drea..."
He didn't have time to finish.
A cry resounds behind them.
Lang turned, frowning.
The cry came from one of the bandits in the back. His body had just collapsed into a muffled sound, an arrow stuck in his shoulder.
Lang straightened abruptly, looking at the shadows around them.
"What— ?"
A second arrow fired, hitting another thief in the leg. The man collapsed screaming.
"Fuck! We have company!" Lang whistled.
Kael took advantage of it.
He ignored the pain in his leg and swung a powerful kick at the gorilla, causing it to roll backwards. With a quick gesture, he pulled the arrow planted in his calf and rolled on its side to avoid a blow from the jackal's stick.
The thieves, destabilized, hesitated between finishing Kael and facing this new threat.
That was their mistake.
A figure leaped from the heights, striking a bandit who was about to attack Kael.
Tigress.
She received it softly and raised her fists immediately, with her thunderous gaze sweeping the criminals.
Behind her, other forms appeared through the smoke of the fight.
Po, Viper, Crane.
The group had just found him.
Kael gritted his teeth. He didn't need them. He didn't want them. But now that the bandits' attention was divided, he intended to take advantage of it.
Without losing a second, he propelled himself forward and grabbed Lang by the collar.
"You," he growled, hitting him violently against a tree.
Lang, surprised by the speed of the gesture, let go of his bow. But he was not a leader of thieves for nothing.
He smiles anyway.
"Oh, come on, that's fair, isn't it?" he said shrugging.
Kael tightens his grip.
But before he could say anything, a hand fell on his shoulder.
Tigress.
"Let go of him."
Kael turned his head slightly, his helmet reflecting the light of the day.
"He wanted to play. I'm just finishing the game."
Tigress did not move. Behind her, Po and the others were finishing neutralizing the bandits still standing.
"Kael, we need him alive."
Kael clenched his teeth under his mask. He could feel the blood running down his leg, but rage was taking over the pain.
Lang cough a bit. "Yeah, listen to your girlfriend, Shadow."
Kael had a laugh
He struck.
His fist smashed into the leopard's belly, cutting it sharp in its mockery. Lang collapsed, bent in two, half unconscious.
Kael slowly stood up, before turning her gaze to Tigress.
She says nothing.
But he saw in her posture that she was ready to stop him if he went further.
He breathed slowly.
Then he let go of Lang, letting him crash to the ground in a roar of pain.
"Do what you want. I have other things to do."
And without a word more, he turned his heels.
Kael had barely made a few steps in the shade of the trees when a powerful hand gripped his arm.
He stopped flat.
"Where exactly do you think ou are going?"
It was Po. His tone was more serious than usual, and he did not let go of Kael.
The Iron Shadow slowly turned his head towards him, his eyes invisible behind the mask, but his stretched body betrayed his annoyance.
"Away from you."
Tigress and the others had come closer, surrounding Kael in order to prevent him from disappearing once again.
Crane raised an eyebrow at the wound on his leg. "You're bleeding out, and do you want to continue alone?"
The softer but firm Viper approached slightly. "You are not allowed to leave in this state." the hunter did not understand why the snake always looked so compassionate, so kind to strangers like him.
Kael stared at them one by one, his breathing slow and controlled in spite of the pain. He pulled his arm out of Po's grip and took a step back.
"You can't force me to stay."
Tigress crossed her arms. "No, but we can stop you from going to your stupid death." She seemed to have recovered from the emotional disorder that Kael's sight had created for her... at least in appearance.
Kael breathed slowly. He felt the adrenaline drop, the pain of the arrow being pulled from his leg.
He had lost blood. Too much, perhaps.
His body, yet accustomed to injuries, sent him warning signals that he could not ignore.
He forced himself to stand upright, as if nothing could reach him.
"I've survived worse."
Po looked up. "Yeah, yeah. Every dark guy says that before he collapses like a sack of rice."
Kael glared at him.
Tigress had not moved. But her clenched fists revealed her irritation.
"Can't you just let us help you? " she asked, in a quieter voice. Anyone who knew Tigress knew there was something behind it. She was not the type to show so much attention towards someone whom she had only known for a short time and of whom she was suspicious... Again, something deeper and more complicated was hidden in the meanders of the unsaid and the past.
A heavy silence.
Kael looked away. He didn't want them. He didn't want their pity.
But he also knew that he could not turn around without collapsing after a few meters.
He sighed annoyingly.
"It's temporary," he finally lets go, constrained.
Tigress simply nodded. "Good."
Crane and Viper were immediately active to get out of the bandages.
Po allowed himself a smile.
"Don't worry, Shadow, you're in good paws."
Kael grunted.
The moon was high in the sky, bathing the plain with a pale and silent light. The stones of the ground, still warm after the heat of the day, calmed tired feet. Tigress sits on the edge of it on a trunk lying on the ground, a bottle of water in her hand, her muscles still vibrating with the intensity of the training.
A few steps away, Kael slowly collapsed on his back, arms crossed, panting.
"You are merciless," he breathed, his eyes fixed on the stars.
Tigress chuckled. "That's the point. You wanted to learn with me, remember?"
"I didn't think you'd break my ribs in the process..."
She leaned over to him and held out the gourd. He gently grabbed her paw, their fingers rubbing each other for a second.
"Thank you, Master Tigress," he said with a tired smile.
"Don't you dare call me that."
He drank, then let his head fall. The silence returned, punctuated only by the wind in the leaves of the surrounding trees. After a long time, he spoke, the voice quieter, almost trembling.
"Do you think I have a place as a kung fu master? That I can... be like you?"
Tigress stared at him, surprise. It was not a question he asked often. He always had this clumsy pride, this willingness to show nothing. She approached and sat by his side, looking up at the sky.
"You don't have to be like me. You're Kael. That's more than enough."
He slowly turned his head towards her.
«What if I am not enough?»
She put her paw on his chest, where his heart was beating, gently.
"As long as it beats, as long as you keep getting up, you'll always be enough."
They stared for a moment. And without saying another word, she bent over and laid a kiss on his temple. Sweet. Warm. No waiting anything in return.
The hunter had placed himself on the trunk of a tree, ready to receive the care that the masters forced him to accept. Kael had his leg out in front of him, his hand covering the wound while applying enough pressure to prevent him from losing too much blood.
Po is the first to approach the tiger and sees the two wounds covering his leg and shoulder. "Wow... ok, you can't say that you just slipped on a root." he observed the reaction of the tiger, who did not react to the panda's comment "you must have a habit of getting hurt to react so little to pain!"
Kael looked up at the panda and said, "I usually get away with it without injury," he explained.
Po laughs slightly " ah, it is that you have to lose your talent, you rust" the laughter of the panda was cut very quickly by the growl of the hunter "or... or you just had a bit of bad luck... yeah, it must be that... a big BIG bad luck, it happens to everyone» the panda raised his hands in defense and slightly losing his way: if Tigress could be scary when she was angry then he did not want to try to see what it gave on this famous 'Kael'.
Kael looked away. He did not respond, focused on the pain he wanted to ignore. He pressed his gloved hand against the wound, but the blood had already passed through the meshes.
Finally Viper approached him to take care of him, after all it was she who had the most knowledge in the matter of care, not counting Mantis, obviously. She waved to Po to bring the bag, which he did while making sure not to push the white tiger any further.
"Let me see." she asked him kindly. He hesitated. Just a second.
Then he let go, slowly taking his hand out. Viper gently spread a torn cloth with her tail and whistled between her fangs. "The arrow hit a muscle... But you're going to be fine. However, we have to stop that bleeding." The hunter nodded his head
Viper gently cleaned the wound. She sometimes looked up at him, looking for a sign, an emotion, but only got a frozen mask. Yet, one might think that a snake could have more complication in administering care but she remained calm, precise. She was talking to him, not trying to get an answer. "You fought well there." she continued to clean the wound, "your way of fighting is quite original, I must say. A kind of mix between Kung Fu and weapons fight, it is a rather complex sequence but you seem to be quite natural by practicing it».
"Years of practice," he whispered, glancing briefly at Tigress. Viper caught his light gaze but decided not to say anything more.
For her part, the Tigress looked at her friend taking care of Kael but she did not really look because she was lost in the meanders of her mind and memories.
The flames of the forge threw dancing gleams on the walls, illuminating the worn-out silhouette of Kael, topless, covered with bruises and scratches. The fight had been brutal – an improvised training that had degenerated into a fierce duel, until exhaustion.
Sitting next to him, Tigress gently passed a damp cloth over his wounds. Her gestures were slow, concentrated, almost solemn.
"You're going to break in half if you keep doing that," she murmured.
Kael smiled breathlessly with his eyes closed. "You hit harder than a raging buffalo."
She looked up. "You didn't try to dodge either."
A silence settled down. Her gestures softened. Her gaze rested on him longer than it should have.
"You should let me help you more often," she said.
He opened his eyes, looking at her. "And miss your care? Never."
Tigress smiled, very slightly. Then, in silence, she lowered her head and gently pressed her cheek against his injured shoulder, standing there.
"Stay a little longer," he muttered.
And she stayed.
She was taken from her thoughts when Viper spoke again to the hunter «Well, these are done. Now, could I see your shoulder?" the tiger sighed but nodded his head anyway. When the Serpent arrived at the wound, she could do nothing with all the tissues covering the wound «I must ask you to remove your scarf and the top of your outfit... at least just what is covering the wound.»
There was first a long silence before the Tiger let out a big sigh. He raised his arms and took his helmet in his hands before gently removing it, again exposing for the second, his face to the masters who accompany him. This did not fail to disturb Tigress in her core…again, where Viper, Crane and Po were not so affected.
He put his helmet gently next to him on the trunk, to his left, then grabbed his scarf and also took it off. He lifted his helmet and placed the scarf under it before putting it back on top of it. Then he began to untie the ties, keeping his top closed. After having undressed those above, he pulled out his arm and shoulder from the armor. All could see a part of his back where the wound was but also his left arm which was rather muscular: the arm of a warrior but also of a craftsman, nobody would want to take a blow from such an arm.
While Viper got to work, Tigress approached, arms crossed, watching the scene without a word. Her look was different. Less closed, less cold. She finally talks, slowly. "You know you could have been killed? these injuries are proof of this and you can consider yourself lucky that they are not too serious"
Kael closed her eyes for a second, then slowly opened them again. "It's nothing."
Tigress immediately replied, "Is this what you are trying to convince yourself of, or is this what you really think?"
The silence that followed was heavy. Po glanced at Viper, who had just finished bandaging. She cut the cloth with a clear gesture and backed away.
Tigress crouched next to him, her face closed.
You may be a Shadow, but even the shadows bleed, Kael. You can continue to act as if we didn't count... but it's too late for that." She herself did not know why she spoke to him in this way but she felt deep down that it was the way she should address him, not as a simple hunter who helps them retrieve the artifacts but as a friend … that's what he was for her and what she was for him at some point.
He stared at her for a long time with his beautiful blue eyes, the two eyes that she loved so much. She took advantage of this moment to observe his facial features: his face has matured, his marks and stripes have reached their adult shape and size, although they are in the continuity of what they were when they were still together, they nevertheless looked different... just like hers.
She added further down, "If you go back, you go back with these wounds. And I swear to you that I will follow you. I will not let you die, believe me."
He finally looked away, whispered in a breath "... you have not changed."
Tigress replied immediately, with a slight pain in her voice, "You neither... somewhere under this shell."