Help Niki fight the man.

As you hold the short sword, you feel a strange flow of knowledge race through your mind. It's as if you know how to wield this thing, at least to some extent. It feels right. Not wanting to leave Niki alone, you hurry up beside her, and join in her battle. She seems to be holding him back with her buckler, but hasn't landed a blow quite yet.

You make a quick jab, and the man parries it away. However, it leaves him open for a bash straight to the side of the head by Niki's buckler. He crumbles back and onto the ground.

"Damn. You're not half bad," she says as she turns to you panting. "I guess you really are an adventurer."

Maybe I really am a hero.

"Hey, hey!" a new voice comes. You look over, and it seems to be from that mysterious shorter figure.

You see now that it's a cat-like girl with long, messy pink hair, and she stands at about a foot shorter than you. She's dressed in a small top that wraps around her flat chest, and brown shorts to match. Daggers are sheathed on her waist, as well as several pouches. She has a high voice, and none of this is what you expected to see from a mugger.

"This isn't them, you numbskulls!" she shouts her her allies. "These are just random people thinking we're mugging someone."

What...?

"Like we'd believe that," Niki snaps back.

The cat sighs. "We're just trying to get the money back this guy stole from an innocent girl a few blocks west. Seems my men thought you were allied with him, and were coming to save him, but I can tell you're not. I'm not stupid."

"J-Just take her money back!" the man in question blurts out. He tosses the coin purse onto the ground and sprints away in fear.

She scoops it up and stows it away. "There. All done. Please stop jumping to conclusions. You could have killed my men, you dumbies!"

Niki hangs her head dejectedly. "Sorry," she mutters.

"I'm called Fang, and this is the Claw Control. We control these streets, at least in the way of keeping them safe from petty criminals. You owe me, you know, for knocking down two of my crew." She then scratches her chin, and eyes Niki up and down with something shining in her gaze. "On second thought, you are one smokin' cutie."

You can't believe any of this is happening. This is by far the stupidest situation you've been dragged into, and this is the second time something like this has happened since you met this lady. That doesn't bode well.

"I have an idea," Fang says. "Let me do this~!"

She then pounces onto the dark-skinned woman, gets behind her, and begins tickling her fingers all around Niki's exposed midsection with an excited grin across her face. You swear you can see hearts in her eyes. It seems like she's taken a liking to your bad luck charm, and all she wants in return for the misunderstanding is to... tickle her?

I guess she finds it fun.

Niki looks to you in desperation, and begins to frantically wiggle and giggle. Despite her warrior nature, she's incredibly ticklish! She pants heavily, and yells out in panic as the sensation of the other girl's fingers all over her sensitive stomach brings tears to her eyes. She cackles and nearly screams as she's left helpless, and you can't help but wonder why she doesn't break free, though it could be that she feels that she owes this much.

Then you notice something else. Not long into the tickling, you see her face has flooded with colour. Not only that, but that isn't the face of someone being tickled. It's the face of someone... experiencing a specific kind of happiness. She breathes hard and begins to make quiet moaning sounds in between her giggling. Her legs tremble, and one of her hands rise up to gentle bite on her own knuckle, like she's trying to hold something back. You watch as her body grows hot and heavy. You can't look away. From this tickling alone, she's becoming euphoric.