Clara (Part 8)

It was a couple months into their training that Chris proposed the idea that it wasn't actually "too risky" for the two of them to operate in the same part of the city at the same time.

"If anything, it's less risky," he noted.  "We can back each other up if things get to be too much."

"I didn't mean that kind of risky," Clara noted.  "I mean us getting caught."

"I know," Chris consented.  "But still, is it really that much more likely we'll get in trouble the two of us together than the two of us apart?"

Clara frowned and just looked at him for a moment, but then sighed and admitted, "Probably not."  She took a slow breath in and out and admitted, "I just don't know how well I'd operate with another person around."

"We seem to do fine here," Chris noted, gesturing around the dojo room that had become their regular spot.  He secretly wondered if Clara somehow really did have permission to practice here, considering how they had been doing this for close to a dozen weeks and still not gotten into any sort of trouble, but he didn't ask.

"That's sparring," Clara noted.  "Working against each other for practice.  You're talking about working together."

"Well not necessarily directly together.  We could just be near-by, take on our own... incidents, but be within shouting distance of one another."

"Seems kind-of inefficient."

Chris shrugged.  "I suppose we could spread out a little more and have ear pieces or something... so we could call for back-up."

Clara thought on that and then smiled and nodded.  "Yeah, that seems reasonable," she consented.  "I suppose having someone to call on if there's trouble wouldn't be so bad..."  She didn't mention that she was thinking more of her being able to back him up.  Why rub it in that she was still quite a bit better at this stuff than he was?  He was getting a lot better, after all.

"Well good then," Chris said with a nod.

"Good," Clara agreed.  "Now let's get back to practicing."


Clara had to admit that the whole "back-up" thing worked out better than she had expected.  There wasn't really a need for "back-up" in the first couple weeks they tried it out, but it was strangely reassuring to know that Chris was present, even if it was just a voice whispering in her ear.  He did a lot more talking than she did, and at first she would try to shush him, but eventually, she found she liked it, and it didn't seem to be doing any harm.


It was during the third week that the whole "back-up" thing became much more... significant.

Clara was perched on a fire escape watching for signs of trouble, but mostly listening to Chris.  "Not much happening tonight," Chris noted.

"Nope," Clara agreed.

"Maybe what we're doing is finally really starting to scare the bad guys away, like for good," Chris suggested.  "Maybe we can... retire or something."

Clara smiled.  "Unlikely," she noted.

"Well, maybe we could at least, like take it easy or something... take some nights off?"  His voice seemed just a bit shaky at the end.  Clara heard him sigh and then he said, "Maybe do something more fun?"

Clara felt her heart rate increase.  If pressured, she might admit that Chris had become something like a friend to her, but more than that...

Her silence, typical though it was, must have alerted him to her thoughts, because he quickly added, "I don't mean anything like... too fun?  I mean..."  He sighed again.  "I just thought maybe we could get dinner sometime?  Something not as... ninjas... something as Chris and..."

"Hold on," Clara interrupted, trying to calm the pounding in her chest as her eyes darted towards movement below her.

"I didn't mean..."

"Shhh," Clara ordered, and then she clicked off the audio so she couldn't hear any further protests or stumbling from Chris as she focused on the problem at hand:  a nervous looking young woman, clutching her purse and looking over her shoulder as she darted into the alleyway.

What happened next, was a bit of a blur.  Shortly after first woman entered the alley, another threatening figure entered behind her.  The second person demanded the woman's purse, and Clara sprung into action, startling the first woman, but also enabling her to escape as Clara confronted the other individual.  It seemed like a typical-ish encounter, at least until Clara's opponent pulled a gun on her.  It wasn't the first time this had ever happened to her, but it was the first time it caught her completely off guard, and the first time she got shot as a result.

The next thing she knew, a ninja was standing over her, pulling off his mask to reveal Chris.  Chris?  That's right, Chris was a ninja.

Then there were sirens and lights.  A brief moment of panic when she remembered she was still dressed like a Ninja herself, but she looked down to see she was wearing jeans now with her black shirt and no mask at all.

Then lights... there were lights overhead, flying by, and a voice, Chris again, fading into the background, and then nothing but darkness.


The next thing Clara was aware of after that was a faint and fairly regular beeping noise.  When she opened her eyes, it took her only a few seconds to realize she was in a hospital room, and only a few seconds more to notice that she was not alone.

"Chris?" she asked softly.

And then Chris in his chair had scooted up next to her bed and was leaning forward with a look of simultaneous relief and concern on his face.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She tried to move to sit up, but winced in pain.  "Sore," she replied.  "What happened?"

"You got shot," Chris said.

"Oh," was all she said.  She already knew that, and she had kind-of expected more information than that simple yet terrifying statement, and yet she wasn't sure she really wanted or needed more.

"You called 9-1-1," she stated.

Though it wasn't said like a question, he still answered, "Yes."

"And you were the one who changed my clothes?"

"Yes, though I didn't dare do too much... just enough that it wasn't obvious you had been in a costume."

She looked over at him.  "And you?"

He shrugged.  "I didn't have time to change, but I at least managed to take my mask off.  I don't know if anyone realized that I had been..."  He trailed off and looked away for a moment before he looked back.  "I figured your identity was more important to keep secret than my own."

"Well that was stupid," Clara said.

Chris seemed taken aback by that.  "What?"

"If someone's identity should be kept secret, it's yours.  You have more personal connections than I do."

"You have family..."

"But they don't live here.  Do you have family who live here?"  She already knew the answer.  She had googled him when she first learned his real name, after all.

"Well yes, but..."

"No buts," she protested.  "This is why I'm not close to people.  Maybe you shouldn't be close to me either."

"Clara..."

"I should probably get some more rest," she said.

Chris frowned and looked like he wanted to protest, but of course he couldn't.  He had to know she was right.  So instead he gave a slight nod and said, "Okay.  Yeah, get some rest."  He scooted the chair back to where it had been and stood up.  "I'm glad you're okay," he said quietly.

She couldn't help it.  She looked up at him and smiled despite her frustration.  "Thanks," she said.  He turned to leave, but she called out, "Chris?"  He turned back and she said, "I may disagree with some of your choices, but thank you.  Thank you for saving me."

He smiled back.  "You're welcome," he said, and he was gone.

She couldn't bear to tell him, but it had dawned on her as they spoke that thinking about him might have been what distracted her enough to get her shot in the first place.  She cared at least enough not to intentionally hurt anyone more than she needed to.  Maybe she could just quietly drift away.  Like she had in the past if someone tried to be her friend.  It would be better that way.