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Chapter 15: Uraku vs Jalhamut

Daniel had so much on his mind now...and here he thought he'd be worried about school around this time...but ever since he found this book, so much has changed.

He wondered how Jalhamut planned on smoothing things over with him and Uraku. He wondered why Nick was considered a traitor, and if he really could come back to this world. He wondered what the invasion by Qurrah would be like.

But now, something terrible was bound to happen. Uraku wanted Jalhamut dead. He realized how much he meant to Uraku now, but what kind of beast would take revenge just like that? He did love Uraku...but he didn't want him to be so aggressive and protective over him. That fact that he wasn't Uraku's mate made this over-protectiveness VERY out of line.

Daniel's heart pounded wildly. "Uraku..please don't kill the king...don't start something you'll regret." Daniel pleaded quietly, as if Uraku could hear. He dropped to his knees and started crying lightly. This was it...the prophecy was wrong. The king would die because of his arrival.

"...King Jalhamut!" The announcer had announced the king's arrival. The cheetah walked in with the same outfit he had for his battle with Benson. He expected the same from Uraku. Jalhamut didn't act as vain as he did before. He had a semi-serious look on him as he gave Daniel a nod. What was he planning?

"And in the North gateway, please welcome back...URRRAKUUUUU!"

The crowd didn't cheer for either one of the fighters. The news must have spread already about what happened near the king's room. Daniel could see most of the furs staring down at him, some looking nervous, others looking proud...but none were disgusted.

Uraku came out of the gateway in his white tiger form...but his paws...

His paws were set ablaze.

His eyes were on fire.

He was...frightening beyond belief.

His roar shook the stadium, even the biggest furs cowering in their seats. Daniel didn't hide though...he knew that ferocity was for him...but he didn't want him to be so ferocious to begin with.

Jalhamut stood firm through the tremor, holding up a claw as if to pause before the fight begins. He beckoned Uraku over to him after taking off his fighting claws and laying them on the ground. He knelt down, waiting for Uraku to come to him.

Uraku stayed his wrath, willing to listen to his king before he finished the cheetah for good. "Uraku, I have a proposition. You and I both love Daniel to the point where we'd die for him. I can tell how much rage you have, and you want me dead. Well, to be fair, the feeling is mutual. So, let's announce this now." The king rose up, shouting for all to hear. "This battle will be for life itself! We shall remove the rubbers from our weapons and fight to the last breath...for the heart of the one we both love so dearly." He looked at Daniel, who looked horrified. Daniel was mouthing, "No no no no..." to Jalhamut. The cheetah came a little closer, followed closely by Uraku. "Daniel...do you except these terms? May we fight to the death for your heart?" Jalhamut winked at Daniel. Daniel was worried about this...but Jalhamut was cooking something up. Daniel hesitated for a moment, but approved the proposition with a simple nod.

The crowd was chattering. They couldn't survive the next wave with either of them dead. Jalhamut's stealth and Uraku's stone skin were key components to their survival. The two warriors took their positions. Uraku nodded to Jalhamut, respecting the offer. His rage still fed his paws and eyes. The elephant's trumpeting signalled the beginning of the fight.

The king quickly took the rubbers off his claws and put them back on, almost forgetting to. He then sprints toward Uraku, the claw spikes sparkling from the sunlight. He swings with such force at Uraku's face, and the tiger just stood there, letting the claws dig deep into him. Daniel screamed, crying his heart out as Jalhamut drew blood from Uraku. He swung with his other claw, sinking them deep inside Uraku's head. The tiger didn't move...he let out a loud roar that sent Jalhamut flying back against a wall, the cheetah shouting in pain before he collapses on the ground, struggling to recover. The tiger still had the two claws in his head, but the blood slowly stopped gushing out. He healed so quickly, and the claws practically fused into his body. Uraku rushed the cheetah, shaking the claws out of his head and letting them drop to the ground, far from Jalhamut. The cheetah was just about to stand up before Uraku jumped the cheetah, swiping at the king's knees and shattering both of them with one strike. Jalhamut fell to the ground, hodling his knees in agony. His greatest weapon was gone...he was defenseless. The white tiger's fury was too much for him to handle...even the tiger's speed was rivaling what Jalhamut could perform. The furs in the audience mourned already for the loss of their king...but it was the deal made, and it must be carried out.

Uraku tossed Jalhamut around like a piece of prey. Each strike from his mighty paws echoed a loud crack throughout the stadium. The beautiful body of the cheetah was becomming a twisted piece of bruises and scrap.

Daniel didn't want this, he begged for Uraku to stop striking, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Everything around Daniel was silent now except for the sound of Jalhamut's every bone being broken, one by one under the might of Uraku's fury.

Daniel snapped...he couldn't let this happen. He jumped down from the MVP section, rushing at Uraku from behind with such incredible speed for a human. He pulled the two whips out, cracking both of them once before he slung them at Uraku's hind legs. The tiger roared out, turning to see Daniel holding the whips. The expression he showed was one of great despair. "Uraku! Stop it!" Daniel put the whips back into his pockets, running over to Uraku and falling down in front of him, holding the tiger's cheeks as he spoke to him. "Uraku! I'm sorry! I didn't know you loved me like this before, and I let my instincts take over! I already told him he's not my type after what he said when you came! Please...don't kill him! You have my heart already!" The frantic plea didn't please Uraku, the white tiger shifting back into his orange tiger form to reply. "If you don't love him anymore, then why did you come down here to attack me? Looks like you still love him enough to risk your own life!"

Daniel felt his own rage come out, shouting almost as loud as Uraku ever had. "Because I'm not risking my life! You wouldn't kill me! And you can't take your anger out on him...because I let him make love to me." Daniel sobbed, falling onto all fours and staring at the ground. "I knew you loved me when you looked at Sazla...and didn't show interest...I just knew it then...but I went to Jalhamut..." Daniel crawled over to the king, getting between him and the tiger. "I'm the one who deserves to die...not him." Daniel had lied...something he never wanted to do. He didn't feel certain for the tiger's love until after the confrontation between Uraku and Jalhamut in the gateway. He did something sickening...but he couldn't let the king die. It wasn't love that made Daniel go to the king's aid...it was logic. The logic of the consequences behind killing the king mixed with his emotion...almost as if the two actually agreed on something for once.

Uraku looked down at Daniel, then to Jalhamut. Uraku sighed, holding up a paw to signal that he was done. The elephant approached the three of them. "Uraku...are you surrendering?" Uraku nodded, about to say the words out loud to finalize the decision, but then...

"I surrender." The cheetah had just enough energy to surrender, giving Uraku the victory to go into the final round, and to have Daniel's heart. Clerics were on the scene already, picking up the damaged cheetah and taking him down to his room. Daniel rushed to one of the healers, "Sir...will he make it?"

The cleric looked at the mangled bones and torn flesh of the disfigured cheetah...it looked hopeless. The cleric turned to Daniel again, sighing. "I'm gonna have to say...this should be an easy fix!" The sudden change in mood from the doctor made Daniel's worry turn into anger and joy. It was a rude way to say it..but...whatever.

So the king would be fixed up...good.

Daniel went back to Uraku, the two of them standing face to face, Daniel having to look up to meet his eyes. "Uraku...will you forgive me?" The tiger looked down at Daniel, shedding a tear of joy. Uraku almost made the biggest mistake of his life, but Daniel kept him from doing it. Uraku knelt by Daniel and embraced him, tilting his head as they shared a passionate kiss, sealing the deal that all was forgiven, and their relationship was renewed.

The crowd cheered the display on, everybody relieved that the nightmare was over. It was one less worry Daniel had to think about...his next obstacle would be his battle with Aveyi. This could be tough...