FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The city's heartbeat pulsed beneath her feet as she ran, the rain-slickened rooftops threatening to send her tumbling from them with each step she took. Still, her balance was impeccable, each step flowing with the grace of a dancer who had never known the peace of the stage. Even when it seemed she had run out of room, another path would open; a balcony, a fire escape, or even a clothesline was all she needed to find the next rooftop, the next step. She stopped only when she wanted to, and when she did she found herself standing high above the city. The building beneath her was some form of tenement, the rooftop surrounded on three sides by a tall chain link fence and decorated by a plethora of Antennae.

"Ichi?" The voice crackled over the small receiver fitted into the inner curve of her ear, a small scar betraying its location beneath a thin layer of skin.

"Reporting"

"Are you in position?"

"Yes." Ichi kept her answers short, it was how she had been trained. Words were only a substitute for action, and she had not been trained to be eloquent.

"Proceed."

Ichi readied herself to move once again. Running a paw through her short red hair the petite raccoon pulled a simple black mask up and over her mouth and nose, the silk fabric tight as it hugged her features almost protectively. Below her the traffic surged through the city's light-drenched streets, oblivious to the girl looking down over them.

The mission was simple, and though it was Ichi's first test in the field she was certain she could complete it. Infiltrate the compound, subdue any occupants she encountered and extract a known enemy of her clan, a perfect test for a trainee. The compound itself lay within the heart of the city, a small squat glass-paneled building with a yawning courtyard that hollowed out the interior, the lush tree line within the courtyard offering a perfect point of ingress. There would be guards, her elders had warned her before she'd left that the area would not be undefended and that she should expect little assistance should she be captured.

The raccoon shook the thought from her head, beginning to move once more. Again the soft pattering of her feet melded with the rain which filled the air. The cold was beginning to bite at her flesh, the thin black leotard she wore blending well with the shadows but doing little to keep her warm. Thigh high stockings kept her lower silhouette slim and the silken dark purple sash which hung from her waist had its uses as well.

There it was.

The building seemed no more conspicuous than the tall office towers which surrounded it, a small strip mall standing between the compound and a car-filled road. At a glance it seemed to be no more than another small commercial building, one of many in the downtown core and no more worthy of note than the alleyway which led to its front door. Ichi knew better though; housed within the building was her target and even as a trainee she knew that appearance could be easily manipulated.

"Beginning assault" she muttered under her breath, silence the only response.

As she had expected, entering the courtyard was a simple task. There were no guards on the rooftop of the compound, the illusion of normalcy the building exuded forbade it. The entrance would be monitored, as would the grounds around the building, but Ichi had no intention of using either.

Her paw dipped beneath her purple sash, pulling the rope which had been coiled around her waist free. She stood on a building two stories taller than the three storey compound and had a clear view of the courtyard's treeline, which reared above the compound's meagre height. Tying the rope around a protruding air vent beside her, Ichi swung over the edge with the practiced ease of an acrobat. It was a short drop to the compound's roof and as Ichi landed, she couldn't help but smile beneath her mask; the fun part would start now. The gravel which lined the rooftop shifted beneath her feet as she ran towards the inner courtyard and launched herself from the edge once more.

"Did you hear that?" The feminine voice drifted faintly from the darkness below the tree Ichi had landed in. The leaves had rustled as though some hidden breeze had tickled them, but these guards were no rent-a-cops and Ichi's breath caught as soon as she realized her mistake.

"No." The terse answer surprised the raccoon, could she be so lucky? "Hurry up, we need to get to the boss before he... unh... what did he call it again?" It was another woman.

"Make a spectacle of us, you slug. Remember what he did to Joanie after she fell asleep on duty last week?"

"Yeah, of course; who wouldn't?" The voices were growing fainter as their owners began to head away from the hidden ninja. Ichi let her breath out at last, air escaping from between her clenched teeth like prisoners fleeing their cells.

"Well that's what it is, so unless you want people using YOU to help define it to some slow bitch, you..." the voices vanished as a door somewhere closed behind their owners.

Ichi couldn't believe her own recklessness, if those guards hadn't been in a hurry her mission may have ended right there, failed because of her own over-eagerness. Still, luck was sometimes more important than skill and the raccoon quickly refocused her self on the mission. Sliding down the tree, Ichi's soft-soled shoes made barely a whisper in the grass. The owners of those voices had gone east, and Ichi followed; if they were heading for the boss, that was the way the young ninja had to go. Crickets chirped obliviously along the banks of an artificial pond which had been placed amongst the trees, not ceasing even as Ichi passed them. It was the guard ahead that held her attention though. The door would be locked, to assume otherwise was foolishness on even an amateur's part and Ichi was neither an amateur nor a fool, she would need the guard's help to enter the compound. The guard appeared to be in her late teens, a new recruit like Ichi but with a far lowlier duty tonight. She wore a leotard, blue fabric pulled tight against her lean body with a billowy silken white wrap worn over her chest. The silk wrap reached only to the girl's belly, leaving her leotard-clad hips and legs exposed. Her legs were covered in knee-high socks that ended in a well-fitted pair of slip on shoes. The guard, a fox, looked bored as she leaned against the wall of the courtyard. She looked towards the foliage only occasionally, as if somehow expecting to catch an intruder so easily.

It was a simple task to draw the guard's attention. Ichi threw a small stone into the nearby pond and melted into the shadows as the fox moved to investigate.

"Who's there?" the guard called, pulling a taser-stick from its holder on the small of her back. The weapon extended when she flicked her wrist but Ichi saw right away it would be no danger. The girl's eyes had grown wide and wild, searching for the source of the noise; The ninja knew a rookie when she saw one and this one was greener than the grass she walked upon. When the girl moved past Ichi's hiding spot the raccoon moved; her arms looped around the fox's neck from behind and squeezed the air from the girl's throat. The squeak of surprise that followed drew a smile to Ichi's lips once again. The flower-scented vixen bucked against the raccoon's body, tits jostling in that scanty silken wrap with each frantic wriggle and jerk of her body. Ichi didn't speak as the fox's struggles slowly grew fainter. Ichi twisted her body to press the girl up flat against a tree, forcing the remaining air from her lungs and ensuring the guard's subdual would go unseen by prying eyes.

"Grrrk.." the fox's final choking rasp punctuated her desperate struggles as her body began to fall limp. Ichi released her as soon as she was sure the girl was unconscious; she was trained to kill, but this girl had done nothing to deserve that fate. A simple search of the body revealed Ichi's prize, a magnetic card for the door's lock. Lowering the red-cheeked girl's body amongst the reeds, Ichi was unable to help but pat the sprawled out fox's taut belly as she covered her as best she could; her first takedown on her first mission, she would remember this moment.

"Key acquired, entering compound." Again silence greeted her update.

The door slid open without complaint, the well lit hallway beyond bringing a frown to Ichi's hidden lips. She would have a hard time hiding in such a confined and bright area. The thought of taking the fox's uniform crossed the ninja's mind, but a floor-level vent several metres down the hall sparked a notion that quickly had the raccoon slipping towards it. It was an easy matter to remove the vent, a short dagger pulled from her waist-sash and used to turn the few screws that kept the grate in place. Ichi could hear movement echoing down the corridor but she still moved with a calm which kept her steady despite the growing desperation in the back of her mind. The grate slid out as though greased by butter when the last screw fell from its hole. Ichi quickly vanished into the inviting darkness of the vent, taking a moment to turn herself around before entering so she could pull the grate back into place behind her. The screws were palmed and left laying just within the vent; as long as nobody bumped the grating they would never know she had been there.

The crawl was difficult, the chute tight even for the petite ninja. Though she had long been taught to control her fear, the thought of becoming stuck was never far from her mind. A cool breeze emanating from several branching vents kept Ichi comfortable but unable to see where she was going, she was unsure how much longer it would be. Hours seemed to pass before her foot hit a grate on the bottom of the vent and hope welled in Ichi. Once she was in a better position to look through it, she saw it dropped ten feet straight down to a second grate, the chute illuminated by lights coming from wherever it led. Continuing on her current path seemed to be a fool's errand and Ichi quickly came to a decision. This new grate was no harder to remove than the first, and once it was off the girl simply let herself drop.

The second grate gave way beneath Ichi's falling weight but, despite the girl's inexperienced blunder, did not crash loudly to the floor. What should have been a clattering cacophony of metal was instead a short cry of pain, the sound coming from a surprised cougar who had been standing directly under it. Ichi's weight drew a second cry from the girl before melting into an unconscious sigh. The ninja was no less surprised than the prone feline who now lay sprawled out on the floor, her upper body obscured by the grate which had landed on her head and her pink panty-clad ass sticking up in the air slightly. Lockers stood in rows to either side of the crouching ninja, her balance keeping her perched firmly atop her unconscious victim as she took in every sight and smell of the room as quickly as possible.

"Son of a bitch!" Another woman stood in stunned silence several feet from Ichi, eyes wide as she stared at the twitching body of her friend and the black-clad ninja sitting atop her. "Intru--!"

Ichi gave the girl no time to finish, launching herself at the surprised husky. The half-naked canine brought up her fists to fend off the attack but the fight was over before it started. One of the raccoon's knees came up to slam into the off-duty guard's white furred belly, driving the air from her lungs in a wheezing gasp. Even as the husky doubled over, Ichi dropped into a crouch only to spring upwards and piston her fist into the gasping girl's chin. The guard's body jerked as her eyes rolled back into her head; she was out before she even hit the ground. Slumping forward, the husky's face fell onto the rump of the cougar, muzzle buried against the pink fabric of the cougar's panties while the husky's own green briefs were pulled taut against her toned ass by the awkward position. Ichi quickly scoured the steam-filled locker-room for any more targets before looking to the two downed girls.

It took only moments for Ichi to drag the girls over to the lockers and prop them up inside a pair of vacant ones. How long would they be out for? Long enough the raccoon hoped as she pulled her mask down just long enough to draw in a deep breath; the steam still poured from the shower area of the room and that meant either the two were just getting ready to hit the showers, or someone was already in there and hadn't heard the commotion. Once the bodies were safely hidden she tucked the grate into a shadowed corner before hurrying from the room.

The corridor was darker than the one she had first seen, the walls made of grey cement and the lights above interspersed with clots of shadow that begged the raccoon to vanish into them. Her paw slid through her condensation-dotted hair before she pulled her mask back into place and continued; if only she had a map, the corridors all looked the same and there were no signs to guide her. Common sense demanded she head upward but intuition told her to head down. Hurrying down one bare corridor after another the ninja stopped only when the faint tinkle of laughter caught her ears.

"Bullshit! She didn't do that..."

"No! I'm serious! Didn't even know what the word spectacle meant..." Again, laughter.

Ichi's pace slowed, the girl growing wary as she peered around each corner to ensure she didn't run into whoever was talking. She could hear two distinct voices, and one of them she recognized from the courtyard.

"So she's down with the boss right now. He said he wanted to give her a vocabulary lesson or somethin'. I swear, I don't know how that guy seems to always know what's going on, but I told her she was going to get busted if she didn't smarten up." It was the familiar voice again.

Down; Ichi smiled as she continued to stalk closer to the source of the voices, hoping they would tell her more than they already had.

"Well look, speaking of getting busted I need to get my ass in gear and report for duty or he's going to ask me to come down and see him next. Tell Annie I said to keep her big mouth shut next time, will ya?"

Ichi spotted movement near the end of the hallway and quickly pushed herself back against the wall. Twenty feet away a lapine stepped into the hall proper. Her ears were pinned back at a gentle angle, tied together with a long draping red ribbon that danced in the recycled air of the underground hallway. They jutted from a mop of blonde hair that bounced slightly as the rabbit began to head down the hallway in the opposite direction of Ichi; perfect. When A snow leopardess followed, wearing the same blue leotard and white wrap as the fox outside, Ichi made her move. She rushed down the hallway towards the pair, the rabbit facing away from the approaching raccoon and easy prey for the trained ninja. Even as she ran Ichi tugged a small dart from its holder which had been sewn inside her purple sash. It was an easy throw, the raccoon only fifteen feet or so by the time the leopardess looked her way and noticed her. By then it was too late for the rabbit, the dart tucked between Ichi's fingers and hurled with surprising accuracy.

"Yai!" the short cry of surprise was accompanied by a tensing up of the rabbit's body as the dart struck her square in a buttcheek, the blue leotard she wore offering no protection from the little prick of the ninja's weapon. The dart stuck in firmly as the bunny's cheeks reddened and her muzzle opened in a classic 'Oh!' face. Ichi didn't slow her pace, closing the distance on the leopardess quickly even as the feline's companion fell to her knees and quivered before crumpling facedown in the middle of the hallway.

"You bitch! I knew I heard something in the courtyard!" The girl brought her fists up and Ichi could only smirk, remembering how well that had worked for the husky in the locker room. The difference this time, however, was the second or two the feline had before Ichi was ontop of her. The raccoon ducked down and shot her leg out to kick the feet out from beneath the brown-haired leopardess only to have the guard brace her leg and leave Ichi off balance instead; what had her elders told her about overconfidence? When the leopardess' fist struck her cheek Ichi found herself unable to recall their exact words, but as she lay on her back looking up at the smirking leopardess, the raccoon could guess.

A second fist came down on the raccoon's belly, her mouth opening in a strangled wheeze as her back arched off the ground from the impact of the leopardess' fist.

"Come on, that all you got?" The proud leopardess stood over the downed raccoon, laughing as Ichi writhed slightly on the floor. The tiling was cold against the ninja's back as she tried to catch her breath, eyes wide and mask damp with the spit which had flown from her lips with that punch. Still, the girl wasn't beaten yet though her ego wasn't the only thing that'd be bruised from this encounter. As the leopard gloated, Ichi saw her opening. Her foot struck out, striking the leopardess square in the crotch and drawing a wheeze similar to the one she'd forced from Ichi only seconds earlier. As the leopardess fell to her knees, both paws buried between her thighs, Ichi regained her senses enough to push herself into a backwards roll which ended with her on one knee and ready to lunge forward once again. The leopardess was slowly getting back to her feet as Ichi struck. The leopardess' legs were quivering as she righted herself, one paw still between her thighs and the other up to either fend off Ichi's attack, or beg her to stop; whichever it was, it didn't stop the raccoon.

Ichi focused as she hurled herself towards the feline but did not strike the girl. Instead, the ninja braced her paws against the helpless leopardess' shoulders, forcing the girl to arch her back slightly as her paw pushed feebly at Ichi's chin and muzzle. The raccoon's claws slid into the yielding flesh of the guard's shoulders as the raccoon's masked muzzle hung scant inches from the quivering feline's own.

"Where's your boss?" Ichi hissed out. Her eyes narrowed threateningly and with the mask covering her lower face, she hoped it was as intimidating to the wide-eyed feline as she'd wanted it to be.

"D-Downstairs, 3rd basement, t-take the elevator."

"How?"

"M-My key! Please, don't kill me!"

"No promises." Ichi pulled her paws from the quaking feline's body, that kick seemingly taking all of the fight out of the leopardess who simply stumbled backwards, away from the ninja. Ichi couldn't let her go though, she would raise an alarm and she was so close to her goal now. Ichi gathered herself, eyes half-closing as she focused on the leopardess' body. Time seemed to slow for the girl as she remembered her lessons, tensing her paws until they felt heavy, like bricks had been attached to her wrists. The strikes that followed were anything but heavy. The leopardess' body rocked with several powerful hits that struck her in the chest, belly and finally directly in the crotch. The look of pain on her face vanished with the final hit of the flurry, however. Her hips shot forward as she let out a loud cry of pleasure that left Ichi worried that others would hear it. There was no sign anyone had as the leopardess' body jerked, her long brown hair swaying as her head lolled. Though Ichi couldn't see it, she could smell when the leopardess came, a powerful blast of pungent lust filling the air as the feline's body writhed soundlessly where she stood. Whether she could enjoy it or not was debatable as she fell to her knees and collapsed sideways to lay propped against the wall. Her cheeks were bright red beneath her facial fur and her half-lidded eyes stared sightlessly back the way Ichi had come, her muzzle parted slightly. The girl's chest still rose gently but as another spasm wracked her lean body it was clear she wouldn't be a threat for some time now.

As Ichi searched her she found her fingers dipping down into the warm depths of the leopardess' thighs, feeling the sticky dampness at the crotch of her leotard.

"Thanks, sweetpea" the raccoon coo'ed teasingly, ignoring the throbbing pain in her own cheek and belly as she brushed the feline's hair from her face and admired her handiwork. Once she had the key, however, Ichi found herself looking down the hallway once again. It would be a straight run for the elevator now and she guessed that was where the rabbit had been heading. Once again she hauled the bodies of the two guards to the safety of the shadows, piling them atop one another but not spending much time concealing them beyond that; she was so close now and the smell of her prey was as enticing as that of the leopardess' release.

The alarm began to sound just as Ichi found the elevator. Whether they had found the body in the courtyard, the ones in the hallway or the two in the locker-room didn't matter, what mattered was finishing her mission now. Klaxons rang in the dim hallway as the elevator door slid closed behind Ichi. She stared at the panel beside the door, the bottom floor's button accompanied by a slot that the keycard she'd taken from the leopardess slid into easily; the ride was short.

When the doors opened once more she was greeted by a long hallway, the grey cement of the upper floor replaced by a varnished wood paneling that reflected the light from several small chandeliers hanging overhead. There were no alarms down here, but even in her hurry Ichi was certain they knew she was here now. At the far end of the hallway, perhaps fifty yards away, stood a set of oaken doors that no doubt would lead the tiring ninja to her prey.

"Stop!"

The call caught Ichi by surprise, nearly a dozen guards pouring from several doors that blended in almost perfectly with the wood paneling of the hallway. Each of them held a compact submachine gun and they were all pointed at the raccoon! Ichi's breath caught as her mind raced; was this it?

"Throw down your weapons and get on your knees, bitch, or we'll put so many holes in ya they'll be using you as a sprinkler!" A rather large hyena near the front of the pack seemed to be the one in charge and Ichi could tell she meant business, even if her threat wasn't particularly clever. Ichi wasn't the only one who thought so it seemed as a snort giggle sounded from one of the girls in the back of the crowd. Adrenaline was pumping and with it came emotional unpredictability. "Stow that shit!" That was enough for Ichi.

Her paw dropped into her sash and pulled free a small round package. She dashed it against the ground and immediately sprang forward as a billowing cloud of ashy soot exploded outwards and filled the hallway with an acrid smell. Gunfire followed, shouts and cries to cease fire drowned out by the sound of bullets striking wood. Those closest to the ninja were left coughing and floundering in the soot-filled hallway, the smoke filling their lungs and causing their eyes to burn; they were easy pickings. The ninja slid through the crowd, her passage marked only by the sudden yelp of any girl she got a hold of and the thump of their body hitting the floor. By the time the gunfire had ceased and the smoke had begun to clear, Ichi was gone. Of the eleven girls that had tried to stop her, six of them lay sprawled out in the hallway, one of them clutching her belly as she rolled about pitifully while the rest lay unmoving; the hyena could only growl as she rubbed furiously at her burning eyes, nearly tripping over a pair of girls who lay atop one another.

"Get that fucking raccoon!" The hyena howled, but none of her girls were in any position to give chase and the only response to her order was the slam of the door at the end of the hallway.

Ichi let her breath out only once the door was closed and a heavy latch pulled down to secure it. Her eyes burned, but she'd been expecting it and sometimes that made all the difference. Checking herself for any stray bullets, the raccoon was relieved to see she had somehow avoided any, though she'd gotten a punch to the nose in the chaos that had left a trickle of blood trapped within her mask.

"It's about time you got here; I was surprised when I spotted you on the camera, I thought they'd send someone more... experienced." The booming voice drew Ichi's attention away from her sore body and towards a towering white tiger standing in the middle of the room. A large straw mat sat in the centre of the floor, padding for what Ichi could only assume to be a sparring arena. In the corner lay several bodies, the uniforms identifying them as comrades of the guards she'd encountered above. They lay in a disarrayed state, piled atop one another with cum staining their fur and clothes.

"Zato." Ichi nearly spat the word out.

"Miss me?" The tiger grinned as he hefted a large axe over his shoulder, the double-headed weapon as thick as the raccoon and much taller. The tiger himself was enormous, nearly seven feet tall and well muscled; any one of his limbs seemed to dwarf the five foot two ninja. He wore only a simple red loincloth, the fabric hanging down nearly to his ankles.

"I thought they'd killed you when you betrayed the clan." Despite the anger and resentment in her voice, Ichi could feel her heart beating faster, and though the tiger was more than daunting it wasn't fear that sped it.

"Betrayed the clan? You mean when you and I---?"

"Enough! You used me to get to the village's archival scrolls, you deserved everything you got." She had one last trick hidden in her sash, each of her paws pulling a small knife free. The blades were small, especially in comparison to that axe, but even a single well-placed stab could fell the giant tiger.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Ichi... or... not sleep..." A deep pounding laugh echoed in the small room as the tiger grinned down at the girl. "I bet you still wake up sweating in the night thinking of me." He paused briefly before adding, "You're still my favourite memory during my private meetings." It wasn't the obvious intention of the tiger's words that drove Ichi to attack, it was the wink that followed them.

Her blades flashed in the flickering light of the sconced lanterns which lined the room's walls. She couldn't kill him. The mission had been simply to subdue and return him, but her pride was hurt and her heart was aching from the memories of her last night with the large tiger; she was blinded by her hate. She hated that he'd betrayed her, the clan, her trust and her heart. More than anything, however, she hated that he was right... she did wake up at night and find herself longing for his arms around her. All of this drove her onwards and when she reached him she slashed a knife along one of his knees while the other sought out the opposite leg's thigh.

Zato saw the attack coming and fell back, hefting his axe and bringing the handle down as if intending to simply smash Ichi's body beneath it like a boot coming down on a persistent cockroach. Ichi had no trouble avoiding the attack, rolling to the side and bringing her blade across the tiger's left hip. Zato winced as crimson blood splashed down his leg and shimmered in stark contrast to his white fur, but Ichi's reckless attacks soon cost her dearly. The tiger didn't lift his axe back up but swept it sideways instead, moving it directly from its resting position. The raccoon was easily batted to the side by the impact of the heavy wooden haft. Ichi cried out as she tumbled away from the tiger, her ribs aching from the impact and her body left sprawled on the straw mat. Gasping for breath, the girl quickly caught it and rose to her feet once more.

"Still as impulsive as ever, eh Ichi?"

"Still have that big mouth, eh Zato?"

"Strange. I seem to remember you having a pretty big mouth too." His free paw dropped to grope his crotch, the thin red fabric of his loincloth barely concealing the growing erection beneath it. Zato grinned at the girl as though he weren't bleeding from several wounds and she weren't gripping her bruised and battered ribs tenderly..

It was Zato who made the first move this time, however. His free paw lifted from his crotch to grip the haft of his axe once more. Both paws lifted it above his head as he spun on his heels and brought it around in a horizontal slash that would have levelled a tree. It was easy for Ichi to dodge but as she ducked below the swing she still found herself being rocked by the airstream moving in the wake of the large axe. The tiger continued to spin, the axe coming around for another swing, a lower one this time. Ichi was forced to jump over it or risk being cloven in two. She crashed to the mat once again as the desperate dive took her over the axe but left her unable to land gracefully.

He could have finished her right there if he'd wanted to, both Zato and Ichi knew it. As she lay bellydown on the mat, panting for breath, Zato stood above her.

"That all?" His smirk was infuriating. Ichi pushed herself back to her feet despite the screaming protest of her muscles and, flipping one of her blades, she hurled it at the large tiger's neck. All thought of subduing him was forgotten in her struggle to survive the encounter. The blade struck the tiger just below his collarbone and shook with the force of its impact. A loud roar of pain filled the room and caused the stalwart ninja to fall back several steps. Ichi raised her remaining blade defensively as Zato's paw fumbled to pull the knife from his upper chest. "Agh, you bitch!" She smiled as he spit out the words.

Pushing her advantage Ichi attacked again, rushing towards the surprised tiger and leaping towards his throat; Ichi sought to drive her remaining blade into his jugular and end this fight. She let out a shriek of pain as she, instead, found herself trapped by a trunk-like arm encircling her waist. Zato released his axe, letting it crash to the ground as his now free paw grabbed Ichi's wrist and kept her from striking with that dangerous blade. Blood pulsed from the wound in his chest and the tiger's eyes were full of anger.

"This is it..." she thought, her own eyes widening and, much to her own shame, she found herself quivering with fear. "Zato..." was all she could think to say, the girl ashamed of the fear she heard in her own voice.

"Not today" He growled.

The hand holding her wrist dropped to clutch between her thighs instead, the tiger using that grip to help him throw her. She was tossed towards the wall headfirst but didn't strike it. Instead, she felt one of Zato's heavy paws close around her ankles and simply swing her downwards. A single strangled cry escaped her lips before Ichi felt herself collide with the floor and everything became darkness.

Zato panted heavily as he stood above the fallen ninja, admiring the look of her ass framed in the slightly ripped black fabric of her leotard. The purple sash hung askew and the girl's stockings had several long gashes running down them from the tiger's claws.

"Remind me to get you to wear that next time we meet, Ichi. It suits ya." The tiger released the limp raccoon's ankle and let it fall to the floor before he fell back onto his ass and let out a deep rumbling sigh. "Shit, I'm out of shape."

As if on cue the door slammed open. The hyena and her remaining girls came rushing into the room only to find their boss leaning over the unconscious form of their enemy. The ninja lay sprawled faceup on the straw mat, blood matting her hair but her chest still rising and falling with life. Zato was crouched over her almost protectively, wiping the blood from the girl's face.

"Sir!?" The hyena's voice was filled with uncertainty, but Zato's response held no such indecision.

"Get her out of here. Strip her, dump her at the emergency room of St. Mary's then get your ass back here."

"Sir! Shouldn't we--"

"Do as I say? Yeah, lets do that." The tiger's answer left little room for further discussion.

"Yessir."

As the door closed behind the troop of girls and their unconscious charge, Zato only smiled.

"See ya later, sweetpea."