Chapter 228: Cat lady

"I told you not to follow me," Sakura's voice hissed from above him.Zafron blinked, trying to clear his vision. "Technically," he wheezed, "you didn't tell me anything. I just got here."

The pressure on his chest eased slightly, and Sakura's face came into focus. Her eyes were narrowed, a mix of anger and... was that amusement?

"You're lucky I recognized you," she said, removing her foot entirely. "Next time, I might not pull my punch."

Zafron sat up, rubbing his jaw. "That was you pulling your punch? Remind me never to piss you off for real." Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

A ghost of a smile flickered across Sakura's face before she schooled her features back into a scowl. "What are you doing here, Zafron? Why were you following me?"

"I wasn't... well, okay, I was," Zafron admitted, getting to his feet. "But not in a creepy way, I swear. I just wanted to talk to you."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "At this hour? In a dark alley? Very smooth."

[She has a point, my lord,] Calista chimed in. [Your romantic tactics could use some work.]

'Not now, Calista,' Zafron thought, fighting back a blush.

"Look," he said aloud, "I know it looks bad. But I swear, I just wanted to... I don't know, talk? Maybe train a bit more?"

Sakura crossed her arms, her expression softening slightly. "At this hour? Most normal people are heading home to sleep, you know."

"Yeah, well," Zafron shrugged, a lopsided grin spreading across his face, "I've never been accused of being normal."

A snort of laughter escaped Sakura before she could stop it. "That's for sure," she muttered, but there was no real heat in her words.

For a moment, they stood there in silence, the tension between them electric. Zafron found his gaze drawn to the way the dim alley light played across Sakura's features, softening the hard edges he'd grown accustomed to seeing.

[My lord,] Calista's voice broke through his reverie, [while I hate to interrupt this clearly pivotal moment in your budding romance novel, we may have company.]

Zafron blinked, suddenly aware of movement at the mouth of the alley. Two figures had appeared, their outlines barely visible in the gloom. But what caught Zafron's attention were the weapons they carried – sleek, deadly-looking things that pulsed with an eerie crystal glow.

The men didn't speak, merely pointed their weapons at Sakura. Zafron felt her tense beside him, heard the sharp intake of breath.

"Not them again," Sakura growled, her voice a mix of frustration and... was that fear?

As the men advanced, weapons raised, Zafron felt a surge of protectiveness wash over him. Whatever was going on, whoever these guys were, he knew one thing for certain – he wasn't about to let Sakura face them alone.

'Well, Calista,' he thought, shifting into a fighting stance, 'looks like we might get that sewer stroll after all. Assuming we survive this, of course.'

[Always looking on the bright side, my lord. It's one of your more endearing qualities.]

Sakura's eyes flashed with a dangerous glint as she faced the advancing figures. Her voice cut through the tense atmosphere of the alley, sharp and unyielding.

"Stay back!" she warned, her stance shifting subtly. "If Draco sent you, he's making a grave mistake. Fighters aren't allowed to interact until the day of the fight. I'll report this to the Governor himself, and Draco will be disqualified before he can blink."

She paused, her lips curling into a snarl. "And let me make this crystal clear - I've told him time and time again, I'm not interested. Not now, not ever."

Zafron couldn't help but nod in approval. 'Now that's how you stand your ground,' he thought, a flicker of admiration sparking in his chest. His mind drifted briefly to Matilda, and he felt a twinge of disappointment. 'This is how I expected Matilda to react. Not get starry-eyed over some fancy necklace.'

He got it, really. The twins saw Matilda's situation as a leverage point in their grand scheme to overthrow the governor. But seeing how easily a bit of bling had seemingly stolen Matilda's brains... it didn't sit well with him.

Shaking off thoughts of Matilda, Zafron refocused on the situation at hand. "Hey, Calista," he muttered under his breath, "any chance you recognize these guys?"

[I'm afraid not, my lord,] Calista replied, her tone apologetic. [My database of 'Thugs in Dark Alleys' is woefully incomplete. Perhaps we should work on that after this... delightful encounter.]

Zafron bit back a snort and turned his attention to the menacing figures. "What do you want?" he demanded, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

The men remained silent, their only response a pointed gesture towards Sakura.

'Well, that's not ominous at all,' Zafron thought sarcastically. 'Seems like trouble follows her around like a lost puppy. Kind of like... well, me.'

[Birds of a feather, my lord?] Calista chimed in, her tone amused. [Though perhaps now isn't the time to contemplate your shared affinity for attracting danger.]

Before Zafron could retort, movement caught his eye. One of the men had hurled what looked like a glowing blue wrench straight at him. Time seemed to slow as Zafron's instincts kicked in. He ducked, feeling the rush of air as the weapon whizzed past him.

The sound of crumbling brick filled the alley as the wrench obliterated a section of wall behind him. Zafron swallowed hard, his eyes widening. 'Well... that was close. Too close.'

[I believe the appropriate phrase here is 'Holy shit', my lord,] Calista offered helpfully.

He barely had time to process what had happened when he saw the second attacker charging at Sakura. Zafron's body moved before his brain could catch up, ready to intervene. But fate, it seemed, had other plans.

A whooshing sound from behind was all the warning he got before pain exploded across the back of his head. The glowing wrench, apparently boomeranging back, had found its mark.

BANG!

The world tilted and spun, a cacophony of noise assaulting his senses. Through the haze of pain, Zafron heard what sounded like a distant siren.

[Critical hit sustained]

[Emergency healing deployed]

'Fuck!' Zafron thought, his mind reeling. 'That hurt like hell.'

[Eloquent as always, my lord,] Calista quipped, though there was a note of concern in her voice. [Perhaps next time, ducking twice might be advisable.]

Despite the fog clouding his vision, Zafron forced himself to focus on Sakura. What he saw made him wonder if the blow to his head was causing hallucinations.

Were those... claws sprouting from Sakura's fingers?

Zafron shook his head, trying to clear his vision. The movement sent a fresh wave of pain through his skull, but it did nothing to dispel the bizarre sight before him.

[I assure you, my lord, your visual cortex is functioning normally,] Calista chimed in, her tone a mix of fascination and bewilderment. [Those are indeed claws. Quite impressive ones, at that. Though I must say, this development was not in any of my probability calculations.]

As the scene before him came into sharper focus, Zafron couldn't help but stare. Sakura's transformation was both terrifying and oddly mesmerizing. Her fingers had elongated into razor-sharp claws, gleaming in the dim light of the alley. Her eyes seemed to glow with an inner fire, and there was something feral about her stance now.

'Those are ears right?' Zafron had to ask to be sure once more.

[It appears she has transformed to some kind of...cat?] Calista explained, quite unsure herself.

'Well,' Zafron thought, a mixture of awe and trepidation washing over him, 'looks like this fight just got a lot more interesting. And by interesting, I mean absolutely insane.'

[Indeed, my lord. Though perhaps 'interesting' isn't quite the word I'd use. 'Potentially lethal' and 'utterly bizarre' come to mind.]

Zafron struggled to his feet, his head still throbbing. Whatever was about to happen, he knew one thing for certain - this night was far from over, and his understanding of Sakura, and perhaps the entire Undercity, was about to be turned on its head.

'You know, Calista,' he thought, a hysterical laugh bubbling up in his throat, 'when I said I wanted to get to know Sakura better, this isn't exactly what I had in mind.'

[Life does have a way of exceeding our expectations, doesn't it, my lord? Especially down here in the Undercity. Though I must say, as far as surprises go, your new friend sprouting claws ranks quite high on the scale.]