Re: Memory Loss?

[B-rad]

Wolf ran over to her position, but as he did, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Makoto had teleported to the tree-line and then continued running on foot. Turning back to see Koki and Satsuki rushing to the scene, Wolf yelled to them to come and assist with her before he took off in Makoto's direction. He wanted to make sure she was alright, but he didn't intend to let Makoto get away. He waved to Raizo as he left, signifying that he knew which way to go.

He ran as fast as he could through the woods, jumping logs and dodging trees, trying to pursue an enemy that he'd lost sight of. It was, however, no use. Makoto must've noticed him following and teleported a few more times to get away.

It was getting late now. The forest's greenery was replaced with an orange color, signifying sunset. He turned around and headed back to the village. He ran into Raizo on the way back and explained the situation to him. "I'll return and watch after Yuuki." Wolf said. Raizo was hessitant at first, but then nodded in agreement, and they went their separate ways.

Wolf returned to the village within the hour and went to their mediical building. He checked which room she was in and went on up to see her.

[Julia]

Satsuki and Koki where standing by the window, their heads together, and talking in low voices. When they saw Wolf, however, they stopped talking at once. Wolf got this feeling that they were talking about him.

"How's Yuuki?" he asked.

He walked over to where she was lying. Her eyes were closed and she as hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV unit. All that could be heard was the steady beeping noise that showed that Yuuki was still alive. Wolf glanced up to see Satsuki and Koki glaring at him.

"She's fine. But, she is kinda out of it at the moment," he said.

He was quiet for a moment before he could stop the words coming from his mouth.

"What is Yuuki to you? Why are you with her? What do you plan on doing to her? What are your feelings toward her?"

[B-rad]

Wolf looked up in surprise at the question. "What does she mean to me? I'm here trying to protect her!" he said loudly. Koki stood glaring at him, but Wolf just didn't really care.

"If you're here to help her, then why didn't you help her?" Satsuki yelled at him from behind Koki.

"And where exactly were YOU two?!" Wolf exploded. The two were taken aback by this and looked away from him. "I've yet to see either of you attempt to help her. You come running up at the last minute, after the fight's over, and have the nerve to suspect that I'm not doing everything in my power to save her? Wake up!"

The three of them were silent for a few minutes, just standing there, not really looking at each other until Koki spoke up. "What do we do now?" he asked.

"Makoto will surely be back soon..." Wolf said as he walked over to the window, "My comms piece has been broken even since before I met up with Yuuki a few days ago, so I can't contact my sister or the Resistance for backup. Once Yuuki is healthy enough to move, I sugguest we move her...someplace where she'll be isolated and locked in. Somewhere hidden from Makoto...We can protect her there, together if we need to."

[Julia]

Yuuki started to stir. Everybody looked at her, expecting her green eyes to open, but they stayed closed.

"Wo...lf...." she suddenly said.

Satsuki looked livid.

"Why did she say your name?" she asked Wolf.

"Satsuki-sama, please calm down," Koki said, also glaring at Wolf.

"But I wanna know why she said his name!" Satsuki said. "What have you done to her?"

At that moment, a nurse walked in and looked around everybody in a disapproving way.

"What is going on in here? I can hear you down the hall! Yuuki-sama needs her rest and if you aren't going to be quiet, I am going to have to ask you to leave!" she said.

She glared at them all and walked out of the room.

[B-rad]

Wolf looked in surprise for a moment. Why did she say his name? It wasn't like he could do anything for her at this point. She was hurt, and he was powerless to make her pain go away. He stepped toward her, and his vision got a little blurry for a moment. He stopped, and realized that his body's fatigue was catching up with him. He needed to recover his body for the fight that was sure to come. He turned around and headed to the door, turning once more to leave a message to the couple. "I...don't think I can save her..." he said, "Not by myself. But however this plays out, I'll fight down to my last breath to make sure that bastard never bothers her again."

Wolf exited the room and the Satsuki seemed to calm down a bit. Koki stood with her for a while. He saw when Wolf almost fell over, and realized that he was at his limit.

The mercinary half-walked, half-staggered to the hotspring in town. It had taken severe damage from Yuuki in her rampage a few days prior, but the walls were still standing, and the old lady running it was still inside at the front desk.

"You're that nice young man that was with the Chief's daughter aren't you?" she asked as he entered.

"Yeah..." he replied.

"You really don't look like you're feeling all that great sonny..." she said as she eyed him.

"How much money for a room?" he asked, "I don't care if it doesn't have a cieling...from the look of the place, I don't think I have a choice..."

"There's a few extra rooms in the basement dear..." she replied cooly, "We ninja are quite resourceful. I saw your batte with Yuuki earlier. You're trying your best to help us, even though it's not your fight to win. You can have the third room at the end of the hall on the right, free of charge."

Wolf's eyes widened as she said this, and he bowed deeply in appreciation. She smiled back at him as he turned and went down the stais to his room.

He lay in the bed in that dark room and slept relatively peacefully, Yuuki was too injured for Makoto to use, and he wouldn't stand a chance attacking the village by himself with all the gaurds posted out. He'd do his thing when the time came. He was only about a hundred yards from the hospital, so if anything did happen, he'd be close enough to make it in time.

[Julia]

Yuuki stirred again, and this time she opened her eyes. She could tell it was morning because the light was shining in on her and the birds outside were very active. She looked around her and all she saw was Satsuki and Koki who had apparently come to see her. She wondered where Wolf was. This time she remembered what happened when Makoto possessed her.

"Where's Wolf?" Yuuki asked.

"He went to the Hot Spring to rest. He seemed to have reached his limit and he needed to rest."

Yuuki sat up quickly and made Koki and Satsuki jump.

"I need to see Wolf!" Yuuki said. "I need to make sure he is OK!"

She pulled the wires to the heart monitor off her body and ripped the IV out of her arm, causing her to bleed.

"Yuu-chan! What are you doing?!" she asked, shocked.

"I am going to find Wolf!" Yuuki said, heading to the door.

Koki came out of the nowhere and pinned her up against the wall.

"We can not allow you to leave, Yuu-sama," he said. "If you want to see Wolf, we can send someone to fetch him for you."

"I want to see him now! I want to go find him!" Yuuki yelled.

((OOC: I have an idea here. Maybe you can have Wolf getting ready to go into her room, and he hears her and when he opens the door, he sees Koki pinning her or something. I don't know. Do what you want.))

[B-rad]

There was a commotion inside the room as Yuuki was attempting to escape from her hospital bed. Wolf was outside discussing her condition with a nurse when he overheard it. Beiliving it to be an attack by Makoto, Wolf threw his adrenal system into overdrive and burst through the sliding door, throwing it across the room and breaking the fine wooden panels on it.

Without so much as thinking twice, and seeing Yuuki pinned against the wall by someone when she was wearing nothing but a skimpy hospital gown, he delivered a flying kick to Koki's head, making direct contact the moment he realized who the target was.

Koki flew across Yuuki's bed and fell off of the other side. He seemed relatively uninjured as he rose again rather quickly shouting obscenities and asking what exactly Wolf thought he was doing.

Attempting to play it off, Wolf basically made up his story on the fly. "Sorry about that, but it did actually look sort of questionable when I came in and noticed you pressing yourself against Yuuki like that. I figured you might have been a rapist or something."

"R-Rapist?!?" Koki studdered.

"Come to think of it, you do seem like the kind of guy that would take advantage of a defenseless girl in a hospital bed..." Wolf implied.

"What the HELL are you talking about!?" Koki denied, flailing his arms in the air, "I'd never do anything like that, honest! You belive me, right Yuuki? Satsuki?"

"You were pressing quite hard against her body you know? I couldn't help but think you were coming on to her..." Wolf smirked as he had sucessfully forced Koki to forget that little kick to the head by turning the argument to a defensive one. Even Satsuki and Yuuki were beginning to question his motives for attempting to restrain her.

[Julia]

As Satsuki scolded Koki, Yuuki walked over to Wolf and grabbed his hand. She looked up into his face and smiled.

"I'm so glad to see you are OK," Yuuki said, blushing a bit.

Satsuki had stopped scolding Koki and was staring at Yuuki and Wolf.

"What the hell is going on between you two?" she asked. "Yuu-chan, are you sleeping with him?"

Yuuki looked around at Satsuki shocked. She had never heard Satsuki talk like this before.

"Satsuki-chan, what are you talking about?" Yuuki asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"You seem to be relaying on Wolf quite a bit. There can only be one reason for that. You must be involved with him. If your not careful, he's going to die, just like Kousuke. Remember Kousuke? I thought you were in love with him, but here you are already with another man. It seems like the Chief's daughter is going to have a new title. The town whore."

"Satsuki-sama! Stop it!" Koki said.

Yuuki dropped Wolf's hand and looked down at the floor.

"Is that how you see me?" she asked in a small voice.

She ran into the bathroom and came out a few moments later fully dressed. She reached the door and stopped. She didn't turn around when she spoke to Wolf.

"I don't need you anymore. Satsuki-chan is right. If you stay with me, I will end up killing you. Just like I killed Kousuke."

She gripped the doorway tightly before dashing out and running out of the hospital.

[B-rad]

Wolf stared at Satsuki with disbelif in his eyes. How could she have said that to her best friend? Yuuki had mentioned her to him countless times before, but always with the utmost respect and thoughtfullness. At this point, he had no more respect for her than a rabid dog that had just bit it's master. He turned, and followed suit, chasing her as she fled the hospital at a brisk pace. He caught up with her down the road, and grabbed her arm when she refused to listen to his calls out to her.

The villagers nearby stopped what they were doing and looked at him with a protective look about them and he released her promptly, not wanting to anger the locals by making a scene with their princess. She stopped, and that was good enough.

"Listen..." he began, "She's just angry about what happened to the village...let's go back and her have a chance to take back what she said..."

[Julia]

Yuuki didn't turn to look at Wolf. She kept her back to him. She didn't want him to see the tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't want him to see her acting so weak. She took a deep breath and kept her voice steady.

"No. She's right. Satsuki has always been right about these types of things. She was the one that warned me that Kousuke might die, and look what happened. I killed him," Yuuki said.

She took another steadying breath before saying the one thing she knew would hurt her the most.

"I want you to leave me alone. I'm sick of you following me around and trying to save me. You can't save me. SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! I want you to leave Shihana! I DON'T WANT YOU NEAR ME EVER AGAIN!"

A few people looked startled at Yuuki's outburst and glared at Wolf. Wolf meanwhile was stunned. He was quiet for a few moments before he answered her in a low voice.

"Is that what you really want, Yuuki?"

Yuuki didn't answer at first. No, that's not what she wanted. She wanted him to stay with her; to protect her. But, she knew she had to save his life.

"Yes. That is what I want," she said.

"OK, I understand," Wolf said.

He turned away from her and walked away. He stopped a few feet away and looked back at Yuuki.

"Goodbye, Yuuki," he said.

He then turned around and continued on his way. He didn't even look back at her.

Yuuki buried her face in her hands and wept silently. She cried because she knew she would never see him again and because she knew she was getting feelings for him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her handkerchief and wiped her eyes with it. Then she walked toward the graveyard.

Meanwhile, Makoto was watching the couple. He chuckled to himself because Yuuki was by herself again. That was exactly where he wanted her. He wanted her alone. It will be easier for him to take control of his prey. And with the way things were looking, Wolf was leaving for good. Everything was turning out perfectly. He followed her, as silently as a shadow. She wasn't going to be able to resist him now. She had nothing to live for anymore. Makoto could tell that she was falling in love with the mercenary, but that didn't matter anymore, he was out of the picture.

He had followed her to the graveyard again, but this time, she was in front of another persons grave. He moved in closer to see the name. He read the name and knew who it was. This must have been her old bodyguard, the one that died protecting her from a rouge ninja; the one Yuuki was in love with.She wasn't saying anything, just merely looking at his tombstone. Makoto got tired of watching her. So he took control of her mind again.

"Yuuki, come join your Master," he said.

Yuuki turned away from Kousuke's grave and looked toward Makoto.

"Yes, Makoto-sama."

She walked over and stood in front of him.

Makoto smirked and leaned over and kissed her. She was his now. There was no Wolf to save her.

"Yuuki, I want you to go destroy the village even more."

"Yes, Makoto-sama," she answered.

She unsheathed her katana and ran toward the village.

[B-rad]

Wolf watched from the treeline in the graveyard, clenching his fist as he hid there. When Yuuki had asked him to leave, he left to discuss the situation with Raizo. He asked the village chief what she'd most likely do next, and from past experience with his daughter, Raizo told him to go to the graveyard and wait for Makoto to make his move.

'Gotta hand it to him.' Wolf thought, 'the old man was right...This is where Makoto is finished. Raizo has placed fifty warriors outside of the gate, waiting for Yuuki. They were well trained, and even against the princess at full power, it would take her quite some time to defeat them all, if she could do so at all.

Twenty shots remained in his pistols, his Impactor had recharged since the last time he'd used it, his gauntlets were mostly un-damaged, and his body had healed quite nicely since the bear incident. This fight would be completely different from last one.

He drew out one pistol in his left hand, and a gauntlet on his right. He was revved up the vibration cell on his right-handed weapon, and the gauntlet hummed lightly. He had already managed to sneak up on Makoto who was overlooking the masacre that would happen any moment now. The mercinary rushed from his hiding place bee-lining straight for the ex-elder.

Makoto turned to look as the vibrating of the gauntlet became audible. He dodged, but was too slow, and inevitably he teleported to a safer place. Wolf saw this coming, and as soon as he had landed rushed over to him again. The pistol raised to point at Makoto's face. From this range, it'd be hard to teleport away. And Wolf intended to keep it that way. He could see through the man's moves. He could teleport only about fifty feet at a time, then he needed a bit of time to recharge his power before he'd be able to do it again. Wolf knew now exactly how to beat the man and he would do so.

The shot fired.

[Julia]

The shot went right through Makato and he disappeared. Wolf looked around wildly for him. He spotted Makoto in a tree, not too far away.

"Get down here and fight me, coward!" Wolf shouted.

Makoto chuckled and spoke in a voice that carried to Wolf.

"When I teleported, I made a double of myself. You're not going to kill me that easily."

He chuckled again and left Wolf in the graveyard.

Meanwhile, Yuuki just came face to face with the 50 warriors that her father had placed at the gate. She crouched and got ready to pounce at the nearest one. Her blank, lifeless eyes narrowed and she lunged. She brought her sword down quick as lightening, and the guard parried her blow with a kunai. She flipped backwards and landed on the fence.

"Get out of my way," she said in a commanding voice. "I need to destroy the village. That is what Makoto-sama wants."

"Yuuki-sama! Please stop this! Let us help you!" one of the guards yelled.

"I need to do my job!" Yuuki yelled.

She jumped down from the fence at a guard. He moved, but she caught his shoulder. He cried out in pain and the others converged on Yuuki. She jumped out of the midst and ran toward the village, 49 guards following her.

[B-rad]

Wolf yelled out in frustration as Makoto teleported away. Raizo appeared moments later, dashing over the graveyard wall. "Most of our able-bodied men are handling Yuuki." he said, "Sending the ones in reserve will only be a suicide mission against him."

"Understood..." Wolf replied, "I let him get away...but he'll be back. Let's go deal with Yuuki, if we break his spell, he'll have to come after her again in order to take control. We can catch him then, when we're better prepared."

"Subduing her won't be easy..." Raizo said as the two of them started for the village center, "Makoto's kissed her. I felt his Ki surge from within the village when it happened. He left alot of his essence within her, and in theory, he should be able to keep control of her from miles away."

Wolf's pistol dissipated in a wave of blue energy, and he replaced it with his second gauntlet. "But 'that' method will still work right?"

"What do you mean by 'that' method?!" Raizo eyed the mercinary, but it was too late. He had broken out running.

*I don't know how she feels about me doing this...or how I feel for that matter...* Wolf thought to himself as he left the chief behind and made his way up through the ninja formation. A wave of dark blue energy burst from the crowd, and as the dust cleared, Wolf noticed the ruins left behind. *Her power's been increased as well huh?* he wondered.

The ninja that were still following her managed to surround her, but they could do nothing to keep her from the village. She aimed at places that people had run from already, but the fact that she wasn't stopping was apparent. Wolf lept from behind the front wave of shinobi and landed on a small walk-bridge over a creek just off to the side of her position.

He eyed her with a side-glance, and she returned the look with a blank stare. Her body shook for a moment, then drew back her katana. A tear fell from her eye and hit the ground as she whispered a single word: "Again..."

[Julia]

Wolf didn't know what she meant, but he knew she was going to come at him full force. She rushed toward him, and he blocked her blow with his gauntlet. He aimed a kick to her legs, but she flipped over his head and landed behind him. She pulled out a kunai and was going to stab him in the back, but she stopped. That gave Wolf time to turn around and he grabbed her arm. She yanked her arm of his grip and slashed at him with her kunai. He jumped back out of the way, and Yuuki took off to the nearest building. She pulled her arm back and let loose a wave of energy from her katana.

"Yuuki! Why are you doing this?" Wolf yelled.

Yuuki turned to look at him, her blank eyes fixing on his eyes.

"Makoto-sama wants me to destroy Shihana. I will not disappoint him! Right now, you are in my way! I will kill you for standing in my way!"

Tears started to fall from her lifeless eyes as she took a step toward Wolf.

Wolf couldn't help but feel sorry for the young kunoichi standing in front of him. He didn't want to fight against her anymore. But, he knew he had to. In order to save Shihana he had to fight against their beloved princess. The same also held true to save Yuuki. He had to subdue her somehow. Yuuki was now feet from him, and he spoke to her again.

"Yuuki! Snap out of it! This isn't want you want to do! You want to protect Shihana, not destroy it!"

Yuuki stopped advancing and Wolf saw his chance. He rushed her and slammed her down to the ground. As she hit the ground, she brought her knee up and hit him to the stomach, then flung him off her. She got up and grabbed her katana. She walked over to him and held her katana over his chest.

"I will kill you now, just like I killed Kousuke," she said, the tears falling fast from her eyes.

"If you want to kill me, you can. I won't hate you if you do," Wolf said.

Those had the effect he hoped it would. She moved the katana so it was hanging at her side.

"I don't want to kill you, Wolf," Yuuki said.

Wolf was surprised. Even though she was still being controlled, she sounded like herself. Wolf couldn't understand what was going on. This could have been a trap, but he took the chance. He quickly tackled her and held her pinned down. She was strong, but he was stronger. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers. She struggled, but as the seconds went by, they got less violent, until she didn't struggle anymore. He pulled back and opened his eyes. Yuuki's eyes were closed, but then they opened. They were green again.

"Wolf?! What are you doing here? I told you to leave!" she said, starting to get angry.

Wolf smiled and hugged Yuuki tightly.

"I'm glad you are back to your old self!"

Yuuki started to blush as Wolf hugged her.

"Wolf? What's wrong with you?" she asked.

((OOC: Sorry the fight scene isn't very good. I can't write fight scenes, but at least it ended the way you suggested.))

[B-rad]

Gaurds rushed in instantly and threw Wolf from atop the girl and then pinned her down on her stomach, cuffing her hands in shackals and ensuring even she wouldn't be able to break free. She struggle against them for a moment, asking what it was she'd done. Before long, an old man came from a group of the gaurds and placed a paper charm on her forehead. Her eyes dulled out a bit and she stopped moving all together.

"What the hell'd you just do to her?!" Wolf asked angrily. "She wasn't a threat anymore!"

"It's for our protection as well as her own." Raizo explained as he approached. "She can no longer be free to roam about as she chooses. Just look at the condition of the town...if we let her roam free, he'll eventually take control when she's in a crowd of people and it'd be a massacre."

She moved around a bit, the charm seemed to subdue her completely, but it didn't render her unconsious. More charms were added to her body before she was hoisted up and carried off towards the prison cells. She would be held there until Makoto could be dealt with.

Wolf wanted to argue the fact that it was unreasonable to do that to her, but then he remembered that it was his idea in the first place. Wolf walked to the prison with the horde of gaurds, and once he arrived at the entrance he was barred from entering. He decided to go for a trip into the market area and see what he could find to compensate for his lack of ammo and battery power for his weapons. He was sure he'd have enough energy stored up in his Impactor for another shot by now, but he'd have to get really lucky if he wanted to be able to get a shot off.

He shopped with what little money he could scavenge together from what the duo had already used up on the trip. He stopped at a ramen shop and sat down to eat. He hadn't had a meal in over a day. Slurping up a mouthful of noodles, His body tensed up as two shadows loomed over his table. He turned slowly, not bothering to finish inhaling the few noodles dangling from his mouth.

There stood Koki and a very livid-looking Satsuki. "I saw what you did earlier..." the girl half-said, half-growled.

He remembered how much of a ruckus she had caused earlier and wasn't about to stand for another scene to be caused. "Chef!" he shouted, "Two more bowls for these two." Satsuki was taken aback by this. She wasn't expecting him to offer them food at all. The two bowls were ready in no time, and Wolf gestured for the two of them to sit down at the table.

Satsuki refused bluntly, but as Koki practically dove for a seat, she felt uncomfortable standing alone and decided to sit aswell. She'd have to 'explain' the art of taking sides to Koki some other time.

[Julia]

Satsuki was quiet for a minute before she spoke in a low voice.

"Why did you kiss Yuu-chan?" she asked.

Wolf could sense the coldness and hatred behind her words and he shivered a little.

"I didn't kiss her. It was mouth-to-mouth resuscitation," he answered.

Satsuki looked livid at this.

"How dare you!" she said, standing and starting to yell. "That was not mouth-to-mouth resuscitation! You kissed you! You were trying to molest her!"

"Satsuki-sama, please lower your voice," Koki said.

Wolf looked over at Koki and stared at him in disbelief. His mouth was full of noodles. How he managed to talk with his mouth so full, he had no idea.

"Satsuki, if you would just sit down, I will explain it all to you," Wolf said.

Wolf waited until Satsuki sat down. She finally sat down and Wolf began the tale. He told them everything that had happened over the past week. He explained how he found her in Rufturf and how she couldn't remember anything. He left out the part about him passing out in between her legs though, he didn't want Satsuki killing him. Then he explained getting attacked by a bear and staying at a plantation, then about meeting Makoto for the first time. He explained everything he knew.

"So, the only way to break his mind control is to have impure thoughts. He can only control virgins. So, watch out, Satsuki. I don't want to see you get controlled. I don't think Yuuki would want to see that either."

He thought back to Yuuki. She was probably sitting the cold, dark jail cell by herself. He heard Satsuki mutter something about not being controlled. Her face was a little pink and Koki and Satsuki were looking uncomfortable. Wolf looked between them and comprehension dawned on his face.

"You did it?" Wolf asked.

Satsuki glared at Wolf and splashed hot tea in his face.

Meanwhile, Yuuki was sitting in the cell. They had taken the charms off her, but she was still shackled. What for, she had no idea. She hadn't seen her father, Wolf, Satsuki or Koki, so she no idea what was going on. The guards wouldn't tell her anything and they wouldn't let her see anyone. She was just a little pissed off. She was being held in prison for no reason. She was looking down at her knees and didn't notice she had a visitor.

"Yuuki," Raizo said.

Yuuki looked up and rushed over to the bars.

"Father! What is going on? Why am I in here? I don't understand! One minute I was looking at Kousuke's grave and the next Wolf was on top of me among ruins."

"You destroyed Shihana now twice. I'm sorry, Yuuki, but I am going to have to execute you," Raizo said, not looking at her.

Yuuki's green eyes widened.

"I was being controlled and your going to execute me for something I had no control over?" she asked.

"You are a threat to this village and to yourself and other villages as well. We must do everything in our power to ensure you don't do this again. Don't worry, Yuuki. I will follow you soon afterward. I'll send Satsuki, Koki and Wolf over to see you right away."

Raizo turned around and walked away, leaving Yuuki behind in disbelief.

~Meanwhile (again)~

Kanji was sent to fetch Wolf, Satsuki, and Koki sitting in the ramen restaurant.

"Raizo-sama has given you three permission to go see Yuuki-sama."

He glared at Wolf before taking off. Wolf stood up quickly. He took off before Satsuki and Koki could stand. They caught up with him and the three of them ran to the prison. Wolf threw open the door and saw a guard waiting for them.

"You can go in," he said, indicating a door to his right. Wolf walked slowly to the door and pushed it open. He walked down the damp corridor until he came upon the cell that held Yuuki. She was sitting on her bed, her legs drawn up to her chest, her face hidden in her knees. Her body was shaking slightly. He didn't know if she was cold or if she was crying.

"Yuuki?" he said softly.

Yuuki froze. She heard the voice she was longing to hear. She looked up and saw Wolf, Satsuki and Koki. She had been crying, and she knew she looked horrible, but she didn't care at the moment. She jumped up and rushed to the bars.

"I am so glad to see you all!" she said.

She reached out a hand and grabbed Satsuki's hand.

"Satsuki-chan, you have to help me! I need you to use your influence as the Vice-Chiefs daughter."

Satsuki squeezed Yuuki's hand.

"Yuu-chan? What's wrong?" Satsuki asked.

Yuuki broke down crying again, then she looked up at Satsuki with pleading eyes.

"My father is going to execute me," she whispered.

The group went quiet when they heard those words issue from her mouth. She was going to be executed? What for?

"Why?" Wolf heard himself ask.

Yuuki looked at him, her green eyes bloodshot from crying.

"Because I have attacked Shihana twice now," she answered.

"But you were being controlled!" Wolf yelled.

He looked away from her. He didn't want to see her the way she was now.

"I'm going to talk to your father about this."

"Let's talk to my father first, then we'll talk to Raizo-san," Satsuki said. "Don't worry, Yuu-chan. We are here for you."

She gave Yuuki's hand one last squeeze and started to walk away, Koki following her.

Wolf made to follow, but Yuuki reached through the bars and grabbed his shirt.

"Wolf, I need to talk to you alone," she said.

She waited until she heard the door shut, then she looked up into his confused face.

"Since I am going to die, then I guess I can tell you and not fear the repercussions of my action. I don't know how I am going to say this, so I guess I will be blunt about it. Wolf... I love you. I don't know when it happened or why. All I know is that I love you. You're all I think about and all I dream about. I... I just wanted you to know before I was executed."

She let go of his shirt and walked back to her bed.

[B-rad]

He didn't know what to say. "I love you"? He couldn't tell weather she was anxious with fear and needed something to comfort her, or if that was truly how she'd felt. He went through the time they'd spent together. He saw signs that could be interpreted either way. Did she love him? He was confused, and quiet for a long time as he stood there.

"Yuuki, I--" he began, but noticed her lying there, sleeping on her bed. She'd wasted alot of energy lately, and was stressed beyond her limits about what had been happening to her. He was slightly relieved. He wasn't good at speaking about these sorts of things, and he really didn't know what to say to her. He turned and walked slowly to the door. "I said I'd save you. I don't break my promises."

He soon found himself infront of a two-story house. Satsuki and Koki entered, followed closely by Wolf. They took their shoes off and entered the living area. The found a blonde-hiared man sitting at the table drinking in good spirit with a few other men from the village. The attention turned to the group as they entered and the conversation began.

"Dad...We need your help." Satsuki began.

"I see you've got yourself two boys following you today." the old man said, "You've certainly got a few admirers around here don't you sweetie?"

"DAD!" She retorted, breaking him out of his drunken snickering. "We really need your help!" she said in with an earnest face.

His expression hardened and he seemed sober in an instant. He ushered away his company and when they had dispersed he motioned for the group to sit. "What can I do for you, my fine daughter?" he asked.

[Julia]

"Yuu-chan is going to be executed and I want you to help us save her," Satsuki said.

"Save her?" he asked. "Satsuki, she destroyed Shihana twice now. We have to do what we can to protect this village. Even if that means executing the Princess."

"But Dad! She was being controlled by Makoto! How can we kill her for something she didn't do on her own?!" Satsuki asked, tears starting to form in her eyes. "This isn't the first time he's possessed her! The first time Shihana was destroyed, she was being possessed, and at different times this past week, she's been possessed. All of this isn't her fault! Wolf can even tell you!"

Azuma fixed his eyes on Wolf.

"What is your relationship to the Princess?" he asked.

"Her new boyfriend," Satsuki muttered darkly.

Wolf threw her look, and looked back at Azuma.

"I am Wolf Pewter, and I am one of Yuuki's companions. We have traveled around together," he said.

"Ah, yes. I have heard Raizo speak of you. He doesn't think highly of you at all," Azuma said, standing. "He is afraid that Yuuki is going to fall in love with you. But, he fears that she already has."

There was an uncomfortable silence, in which Satsuki glared at Wolf. Wolf looked away from Satsuki and spoke to Azuma.

"Will you help us save Yuuki, sir?" he asked.

Azuma walked to the window and looked out. He didn't say anything for a few minutes. Then he turned around and smiled.

"I will go with you to talk to Raizo. I will try to persuade him, but I don't know how much good it will do."

"Oh, than you, Daddy!" Satsuki said, jumping up and hugging him.

The little group made their way to Raizo's house. Kanji and Yuuichi were standing outside. They allowed Azuma and the others in and they walked down the hall to Raizo's study. Azuma knocked and opened the door. Raizo looked up from the papers he was looking.

"Azuma! What do I owe this surprise?" Raizo asked.

"My daughter doesn't wish for you to kill Yuuki," he said. "Is there anything else we can do?"

Raizo stood up and slammed his fists on the table.

"Yuuki has destroyed Shihana twice! Twice Azuma! That is unacceptable!" he said.

The two men bickered while Satsuki, Koki and Wolf listened. Finally, Wolf couldn't take it anymore.

"This is getting us nowhere!" he yelled. "If you aren't going to release Yuuki, then I will!"

He turned around and stomped out the office.

~Meanwhile~

Yuuki had slept for a little bit, but was no awake and still laying on her bed. It was uncomfortable and she didn't like it. She heard a little pop inside her cell and she looked up quickly to see what had made the sound. It was Makoto.

He smirked when he saw Yuuki shackled.

"Looks like they did the dirty work for me," he said.

He walked over to her, but she jumped up and moved away from him.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked.

"I'm going to make you mine," he said.

He appeared in front of Yuuki so fast she didn't have a chance to do anything. He gagged her so she couldn't make a sound, then he turned her around so she was facing the wall. He moved her hair and started to kiss her neck. His hands were roaming all over her body and started to creep up her shirt and skirt. Every time Yuuki would struggle, he would hit her.

Just then the wall burst open and wolf was standing there in the ruins. He saw what Makoto was doing and Wolf became pissed.

"What in the hell do you think you are doing to Yuuki?" he growled.

[B-rad]

The gauntlets on his arms dissipated and Wolf drew his pistols, pointing them dangerously at the two of them. Cowardly, Mokoto spun himself to the side, placing Yuuki between the two of them. "Go ahead and fire boy! I dare you to do it!" Mokoto could sense Wolf's anger, and wanted to taunt him at being able to do nothing. "Oh, you just came here to watch?" he said reaching his hand up around the girl's throat.

"Yeah..." Wolf replied, "I came to watch you die. His adrenaline skyrocketed, and a small shockwave was released as Wolf rushed in toward the two. Mokoto released Yuuki, not wanting to lose a later chance to make her his own, and threw her to the side as he jumped away from the rush-attack. Wolf landed and released a volley of shots toward him, but to no avail. Again he had managed to get away with that teleportation ability of his.

Wolf started after him, but after only a couple of steps, stopped. He turned slowly to look at the girl on the floor. She sat there, he head sunk down, face hidden behind a wall of hair. He could barely see her eyes staring up at him. "This look doesn't suit you at all." He said quietly. He raised his weapon and fired a shot at the chain that shackled her to the bed. It shattered instantly against the explosive round and slinked across the floor. "Go wash your face a little, you look terrible." he said smiling down at her, putting the guns away.

"What are you doing...?" she asked, slowly standing to her feet, "If you release me here, they'll kill you!"

"And if I don't they'll kill YOU!" he yelled. She was surprised by his tone and took a step back. "You've still got friends that aren't willing to just watch you die," he said walking over to her and placing his arms around her, "I'm one of them." He held her tight as they stood there silently for a moment. "Satsuki's dad is talking to Raizo about your release, so don't worry, it'll all be okay. We'll beat this guy, you just wait and see."

[Julia]

Yuuki felt her face turn red as Wolf held her. She didn't know what had gotten into him. He had never acted like this before. The truth was, he was weirding her out a bit. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feel of his arms around her. After a few minutes, she pulled away from Wolf, her face still red.

"Wolf, that didn't have any-" Yuuki started.

"What the HELL was that?" Satsuki asked, glaring at Wolf.

Wolf looked behind him and saw a livid Satsuki and Raizo. Koki and Azuma were standing behind them, making kissy faces at Wolf.

"It's not what it looked like!" Wolf said, backing away.

Yuuki's heart sunk at those words. So, he wasn't hugging her because he loved her. Well, at least that will save her a lot of embarrassment.

"Yeah," Yuuki heard herself say. "It meant nothing."

"Over-looking the fact that you were trying to molest my daughter and that you destroyed the jail, I am agreeing to let Yuuki out of jail, but you are to stay with her at ALL TIMES. Do I make myself clear?" Raizo said to Wolf. "You are the only on who can handle Yuuki when she is possessed."

"Yes, sir. I understand," Wolf said.

Raizo turned around and caught Azuma and Koki making faces. He stared at them for a moment and began walking away.

"Grow up, you two," he said. "Come on, Azuma."

As Raizo and Azuma left, Satsuki walked over and grabbed Yuuki and pulled her away from Wolf, and held her in a protective manner.

"I'm going to protect her, too! I can't have you molesting my Yuu-chan like you have in the past."

"But, I haven't molested her," Wolf said wearily.

But Satsuki wasn't listening. She was already leading Yuuki away. Wolf smiled slightly and followed her. Then he remembered something.

"Hey Yuuki, what were going to say back there before everybody showed up?"

Yuuki froze and she was avoiding Wolf's eyes.

"It was nothing," Yuuki said, quietly.

She didn't know how he felt about her, but she knew she loved him. But, she didn't want to hear him say he didn't love her, so she decided to keep those feelings to herself from now on. She wasn't going to make a fool of herself in front of the man she loved.

Wolf followed the others to Yuuki's house, wondering what she wanted to say. He shrugged his shoulders and pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

[B-rad]

The days passed slowly. Time eventually returned the tattered village to something resembling what it once was. Wolf and Yuuki were instructed to live together by Raizo's orders. Of course, this was for Yuuki's protection from Makoto. However, due to Raizo's thoughts towards the idea, gaurds were placed around the premises to protect her from Wolf. The two were free to wander around town as they chose, but were under no circumstances to be sepparated.

Yuuki decided quickly to assist with the reconstruction of Shihana, saying "It's my fault after all" over and over again. This meant Wolf was to assist in the project as well. He didn't mind this however, it meant he would have something to keep him occupied and make the tension between him and the villagers a bit more lax.

The two went back home after a long day's work rebuilding the jail, a project Wolf claimed responsibility for. Yuuki had lived in her own house since she was 16, claiming she was old enough to take care of herself, and demanded she be allowed to move out. "Hey..." Wolf started as they removed their shoes, "It's been three weeks since we last heard from Makoto. I wonder what he's planning this time."

A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about that man and the lecherous touch he had. She despised being weak and controlable. "Shut up, and don't mention that name again."

Wolf was surprised by her snappiness and thought for a second as she walked down the hall. *We have been together for a long time. Maybe she's kinda tired of me hanging around.* He walked into the living room. A futon was laid out for him in the floor where he spent his nights as Yuuki slept on her oh-so-comfortable bed. He dropped his jacket over on the floor, and stripped down to his boxers and t-shirt. He lay down on the futon and thought about what to do. Waiting games always made him anxious. Sure, she was safe for now, but they were on constant alert, and it had the entire village on edge. The moment Makoto decided to take control, it'd be Wolf's responsibility to deal with Yuuki. He wasn't looking forward to having to fight her again. She seemed to get stronger every time they fought. He didn't know if he could handle another incremental power-up on Makoto's side.

Lost in thought, at first he didn't notice Yuuki standing over him. She looked down at him as he lazed about on his bed. "What are you doing?" she asked in a stern voice, "It's your turn to cook dinner. So get up and get cooking."

"But I'm tired..." he moaned. "And I hate cooking. If you're hungry cook it yourself."

She was fuming at this remark, "Just because you're not hungry doesn't mean you get out of your chores around here!"

"Easy for you to say," he replied, "Every time it's your turn to cook, Satsuki conveniently brings over some extra food from her house."

"I don't ask her to!" she retorted, "She just happens to do it every now and then."

"You haven't cooked in the past two weeks..." he eyed her as she sat down and glared back at him. There was a definite tension in the air. Something was building up within both of them, and neither of them was ready to spill what was on their minds. Wolf broke the staring contest and looked off to the side, serving to further infuriate Yuuki for being ignored. She leant forward, placing her weight on her hands, but failed to stop herself in time. The resulting headbutt brought stars to their eyes and she somehow ended up lying ontop of him.

[Julia]

"Ow!" Yuuki said, raising a hand and rubbing the spot on her forehead.

It took her a few moments to realize what had happened. She was lying on top of Wolf, and he was half-naked on top of that. Her face turned a bright shade of red and before she could push herself away, the front door opened and Satsuki came in with some food.

"Yuu-chan! I brought you some fo-" she started.

She stopped in mid sentence and didn't say anything to site in front of her. But, her face turned red and she seemed like she was about to explode.

Koki peeked over at Satsuki's shoulder and saw Yuuki and Wolf in a very compromising position.

"All right! So you two are finally going to do it?" he asked. "That means Makoto won't be able to control you anymore!"

Yuuki got up quickly from her position and placed a kick to the side of Koki's face.

"No one is doing anything," she said crossing her arms.

She turned to look at Wolf, her green eyes narrowed.

"Tell me what Koki-kun was talking about, Wolf. You have had a lot of conversations with my father. I am sure he told you something about all this."

Wolf was quiet while he tried to pull his pants on. After he got them on, she stood up and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Well, your father told me that he can only control virgins. I guess he tried to control your mother a long time ago, but didn't succeed because at that point, she was no longer... Well, you know. That's why he can control you so easily."

Yuuki was silent while she listened to Wolf. After he was done, she walked over to a window and looked out. She was quiet for a long time before she spoke.

"So he can only control virgins, huh?" she said. "I guess there is only one way to solve this, don't you think so?"

She turned to face Wolf, her cheeks slightly pink.

"You're going to help me lose my virginity."

The whole room was quiet and no one could say anything.

"Help you... lose your...." Wolf started.

"No Yuu-chan! You can't do anything with that pervert!" she yelled.

"Satsuki-chan, I have no other choice! I have to do what I need to do to protect my village!"

She turned to look at Wolf, who still looked like he was in shock.

"Are you going to help me or not?" she asked.

[B-rad]

Arms crossing across his chest in a big 'X', Wolf replied with a strict "No!"

"But you have to, it's the only way!" Yuuki began complaining visibly with some of that nonsense logic that only made sense to her, but he wasn't going to change his mind. It wasn't that it was a bad idea, but he thought there'd be a better way. Besides, if he went through with it, there'd be a good chance of him being executed for defiling a princess.

"Let's just think this through okay?" Wolf reasoned with her.

"You don't understand!" she yelled out as her voice began to break, "I don't want to destroy my home anymore!"

"I'm not going to let that happen!" He said, trying to comfort her.

"You couldn't prevent it last time, what difference can you make when he decides to do it again?" She said glaring at him as anger took over the sadness.

Wolf remained silent at this. It was true, he had been caught up in the battle with Makoto and neglected to stop Yuuki's rampage. There was no way he could deny that. "I said I'd protect you..." he said as he walked up along side her, "I thought you were stronger than to just run from your problems like that. When things get harder around you, you just think of a quick fix to make it all go away?"

Yuuki just stood there looking the opposite direction.

"I said I'd protect you," he said, "and I meant it." He continued walking towards the living room. "Dinner's here, so you won't mind if I just go to sleep then?" No one said a word as he disappeared into the room. He flopped down on the futon and looked up at the cieling.

[Julia]

Yuuki closed her eyes and tried to calm down, but to no avail.

"I hate you, Wolf," she said, loud enough for him to hear.

Then before anyone could stop her, she was out the door and she disappeared.

"No! Yuu-chan!" Satsuki yelled.

She ran into the living room and looked down at Wolf.

"Go after her! She can't be alone! You promised that you would protect her!"

Wolf sighed as he got up to go after her.

'She sure is a pain in my ass,' he thought.

Meanwhile

Yuuki was walking down a crowded street across town.

"If he isn't going to help me, then I will do this on my own," Yuuki muttered darkly to herself.

She walked into the nearest bar and looked around. She spotted a guy she thought was cute and she walked over to him. After a few minutes of conversing, Yuuki and the man left the bar and headed toward a nearby love hotel. The guy paid for it and they went up to the room. The man allowed Yuuki to go in first, then after he closed the door, she pushed him against the door, his arm behind his back.

"I see what you are doing, Makoto. Trying to get to me some other way?" she whispered.

Makoto started to chuckle softly.

"You came right to me, Yuuki. That's because you know you want me. It's deep inside your heart. Maybe you want me to make you mine."

Yuuki released him and took a step back, looking disgusted.

"I DO NOT want you!" Yuuki said.

Makoto chuckled again as he turned to face Yuuki. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her face and leaned in real close.

"Don't struggled, Yuuki," he said. "I will make you mine."

Yuuki kneed him and jumped out the window, getting cut in the process. She knew she had gotten herself into a lot of trouble.

[B-rad]

The shattering glass was enough to catch Wolf's attention as he jogged down the street looking around for Yuuki. He spun about and saw her take off running around a corner with a shadowy figure leaping out of a window and chasing after her.

There wasn't much of a struggle as Makoto rounded the corner and rushed the girl. He planted his foot into her stomach and threw a few weighted ropes around the tree in a circular motion. He caught them and tied them off at her arms in a flash. A scream was cut short as a handkerchief quickly gagged her mouth. She couldn't move, couldn't scream, and was out of breath. This was it for her, and she knew it was her fault. "No one's coming to save me, and it's my fault!" she cried to herself.

"That's it!" Makoto sneered as he stroked her face and the tears streamed down her face, "Just accept the fact that you're powerless against me, and let me control you." He leaned in closer and drew a knife. Working the blade downward delicately the shirt she was wearing began turning into more of a vest as he began spliting it in two. She wimpered a little and he halted his progress. "Don't worry my dear, I'll be gentle."

"I won't..." said a voice from behind Makoto. Both barrels of Wolf's pistols opened in a blaze of gunfire into Makoto's back. The ninja evaded most of the rounds, however, the innital three managed to catch him in his back and right shoulder. He immediately teleported away from the scene, leaving the two there.

Wolf put away his guns and walked over to Yuuki to begin untying the ropes. "You should know better than to do something so stupid. He could have easily raped you until the morning just now!"

Yuuki just closed her eyes, and hoped she'd be able to wipe away the tears before he saw them.

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