Page 41 of The Last Tiger

Eunji

At first, I ignore the shouting. It’s something from a distant dream, and I’m far too comfortable here, nestled in my bed, the warm body beside me—

Wait. Warm body?

I awaken and fling myself away from Kenzo with a start. The back of my head collides unceremoniously with a tree branch.

Aish. I see stars.

The shouting grows louder in the distance.

What is that?

“Do you hear that?” I whisper.

“Mm…?” Kenzo grunts, still half-asleep.

“Sleepy time is over,” I announce, rolling onto my back. I tuck my legs inward, then kick them forcefully up, breaking the tree branches apart. Several of them clatter right on top of Kenzo, who flings his good arm up to cover his face.

“Mmmm!”

Thank the spirits—the sky above is still dark, studded with stars. We haven’t lost too much time. Toward one edge of the sky, a faded blue wash indicates the incoming sunrise.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” I say nonchalantly, sitting up. “We need to move. Now.”

“Five more minutes,” Kenzo mumbles, batting me away with his hand as he rolls over once more.

“Kenzo, stop being a baby. Let me take a look at your shoulder.”

He doesn’t fight me. I peel the strips of cloak back, breathing in sharply as I see how inflamed his wound has gotten. He needs this disinfected as soon as possible.

But where could we possibly find—

That’s when we hear it.

The roar .

It’s unmistakable.

Kenzo shoots up to a sitting position beside me, suddenly awake. Immediately, I rebind the wound, then spring to my feet and help Kenzo to his.

“Quick,” I say. “Hop on my back.”

He takes a step back, his lips turned downward. “Absolutely not.”

“Oh? So you think you can keep up with me, sporting that massive injury and no ki powers?” I crouch down. “Stop complaining and climb on board.”

Kenzo heaves a melodramatic sigh, submitting. As he loops his good arm over my shoulder, I rise from my squat with a satisfied smile. Those few hours of sleep did wonders for my strength. I feel amazing.

“All righty, Kenzo-zo,” I say, grinning, “hold on tight.”

“I will not be honoring that nickname with a response— ah! ”

I’ve kicked into action, sprinting through the woods with newfound drive, just as another roar careens through the air.

It doesn’t take long for us to catch up to the source of the sound. I peer through the branches at the edge of the woods, careful not to reveal our hiding spot.

A troop of Tiger Slayers is dragging three sleds—including a huge one with a very real black-and-white striped tiger chained to its surface.

The tiger struggles against its chains and releases another roar of frustration.

Captain Nari takes up the rear as the team of Slayers advances through the woods.

“What are we waiting for? It’s right there ,” Kenzo whispers, watching hungrily as Nari and her team drag the tiger away.

“What do you expect me to do? Fight them for it?” I hiss back. “There’s, like, twelve of them. And two—sorry, one of us.”

“What, I don’t count?”

I raise my eyebrows at him, and, to his credit, he shrugs. “Point taken.”

Cloaks up, we creep through Hannam City, twenty meters behind the Tiger Slayers, never letting them out of our sight. The sun has just started climbing up the morning sky, and already the city bustles with merchants, men in suits, Dragon soldiers.

Luckily, everyone here seems too preoccupied to pause and study the two hooded figures darting forward among the crowd.

Plus, the added distraction of the regal team of Tiger Slayers and their enormous catch helps us go unnoticed.

The crowd parts in the streets around Nari’s team, marveling and whispering.

No one’s paying attention to the two of us following behind.

All morning, Kenzo and I trailed Nari’s Slayers up and down the mountain pass, waiting for an opportunity to strike. But it never came.

Now, in a city crawling with Dragon soldiers, our chances of nabbing this tiger have severely dwindled. The prize has been in front of us for hours, yet I’ve failed to act. Now I might never get a chance.

And then, just as I’m about to lose hope, that’s when it happens—

I don’t know exactly what it is.

But one second, Nari’s warriors are marching forward, dragging two large, lumpy-looking sacks along on a sled, the tiger chained on another. And then, by some mysterious force…I don’t know how else to describe it, other than to say that the soldiers begin to lose their absolute spit .

Simultaneously, Nari’s soldiers begin to scream with a wild abandon. They halt, dropping their weapons, howling to the sky, their arms and legs shaking with sudden rage. The crowd pulls back in the streets, frightened.

One of the sleds gets knocked over onto its side by a rabid soldier who’s lost their mind. The strangely shaped sacks tumble to the dirt, rolling a few times.

The bag wiggles from the inside—there’s something inside it, trying to escape.

But I don’t have long to stare or wonder what’s in there. My priority is the tiger—which, sensing an opportunity to free itself, begins to struggle mightily against its chains.

This is my chance. It’s now or never.

I hurtle toward the sled with the beast, leaving Kenzo behind and weaving through the sea of writhing bodies.

The crowd around me is too disoriented, too consumed with madness, to notice as I dart past and dash straight toward the sled with the tiger.

A chill runs down my spine as I come so close I could reach out and touch it.

A low rumble escapes the tiger’s chest as it eyes me warily, and I thank the spirits that its mouth, surely filled with lethally sharp teeth, has been muzzled.

Bending down, I unfasten one of the chains from the sled, which is bound to the tiger’s collar.

Then I summon my strength and snap free the chains tying the animal’s limbs to the sled.

The tiger stands slowly, stiff from the long night. It shakes itself, making the chain ends rattle. A thrill passes through me as I realize that I’ve done it. The tiger is finally in my hands. I grasp the chain tied to the collar around its neck and turn to run—

WHAM!

Something smashes into me, sending me flying back.

I’m rolling across the dirty cobblestoned street to soften the impact when I find that someone is rolling with me—it’s the soldier who crashed into me. She leaps away, springing to her feet. I do the same, scrambling for the metal chain. The tiger growls, pulling against its chain.

Behind the Slayer’s headgear, two eyes flash with recognition.

“ Eunji? Is that you?”

It’s Bomi, my classmate from Adachi.

“Hey, kid!” another soldier growls over the noise. “Hands off our tiger!”

It appears that some of the other Slayers are awakening as well, shaking off whatever strange spell of madness just overtook them. They turn, encircling me and the tiger.

“You ever heard of the phrase ‘finders keepers’?” a Slayer barks.

“Perhaps,” I reply shakily, “but have you ever heard of the phrase ‘I really need this tiger and you should let me have it’?”

The Slayer only sneers in response.

Despite the tension of this situation, for the first time since I’ve embarked on this journey, I feel strangely at ease. It’s almost as if I’m back in that sandbox at Adachi, in the middle of a combat round.

Only this time, it’s no drill.

I circle the tiger’s chain around my palm several times, securing it in place.

Then I spring into action.

Fists fly from everywhere around me as I duck, block, and swing.

I’ve only got one free arm and my two legs—but I’ve been trained to fight with even worse restraints.

The tiger yelps as I yank the chain across the ground, tripping the opponents on my left.

Then I focus back on my right side, releasing a powerful kick that sends a soldier flying into the door of the nearest building, splintering the wood with a resounding crack.

Someone lunges at me, and I shove them aside into their own teammate before whipping around and delivering a powerful kick to the Slayer on my other side.

The seconds stretch into minutes as I fight for my life. Around me, people cry out, many still overcome by the strange affliction in the air.

And then—somehow—I’m the only one left standing. The other Slayers lie groaning in the street, nursing their wounds. I’ve knocked several of them unconscious. The tiger tugs again on its chain, trying to break free, but I hold it fast.

“Not bad,” says a familiar voice. I turn—just as a fist flies through the air, colliding with my cheek. My head snaps back and I stumble, my face screaming with pain. “Though I’m not surprised. You were my best student, after all.”

I whip around. Captain Nari grins back at me proudly, as if she didn’t just punch my brains out. “Choi Eunji! Just where have you been? And I thought you were supposed to be on honeymoon.”

“Let’s just say my wedding didn’t really go as planned,” I say warily, backing up and rubbing my cheek.

“Yeah, I heard,” she says, pursuing me as I turn to run, dragging the reluctant tiger along the street with me. “I thought they were just rumors. You’re really a fugitive now, huh?”

I cringe as Nari catches up to me with mere steps, grabbing me by the shoulders and twisting me around to face her.

“There’s also a rumor Isao’s willing to pay a mighty price for your head on a stick.

” Nari kicks me square in the chest with her metal leg.

I hear something snap; I think it’s a rib.

Stars dance in my vision as I slam back into the stone wall of the nearest building.

“You wouldn’t…do that to an old student, though, right?” A frantic chuckle escapes my lips.

“Maybe not.” Nari shrugs. “But I also wouldn’t let just anyone beat up my team of Slayers and try to steal our tiger…without a little payback.”