Another month had come and gone rather quickly for the ranch. The place was bustling with a great deal of business from people wanting horses. Toshiro was very pleased to see that Haruka had turned out to be the hard worker he had expected. Not only that, but she was also talented in breaking in the majority of the horses without a complaint. He could also tell that tensions were getting worse between the blonde and Jacob over the last month. The two had gotten into verbal spats more often the previous week and it was reaching a boiling point. The other ranch hands were quick to try and separate the two before blows were given. Luckily that stopped possible blood shed for the time being, and it also forced the gunslinger to try and tame her wild temper.

One afternoon her temper was lighted into a raging fire by words from the ranch hand. She was minding her own business handling the painted stallion she had broke in. The horse was behaving himself until hearing a whip crack rather closely behind him. On instinct he started to rear, and out of reflexes Haruka sprang back to clear herself from the hooves. Noticing where the sound came from for a second time, her green eyes spotted a long bull whip which was in the hands of none other than Jacob.

"You trying to get me killed?" she growled while approaching him.

Jacob laughed a bit rolling up the whip into his hand. "I figured I'd test your reflexes a bit. You've gotten slow."

"I ain't slow when it comes to keeping alive."

"Looks like it to me, Tenoh. You've also been hanging around here too long."

"I promised Michiru I would stay here until Dale and Dwight heal up and are able to return to work."

"Seems like you've got other plans though. I've seen how close you've gotten to Michiru. I don't like it one bit."

Haruka cracked her knuckles out before sending a fiery glare toward Jacob. "What she does of her own accord is none of your business."

"It is my business. She's getting far too comfortable with a murderer."

The blonde brushed passed Jacob to slip out of the pens. If they were going to go to blows, she preferred it to be away from where a horse could trample either one of them to death. The word murderer was one the gun woman was used to hearing. It was attached to her name in a majority of other places but she never killed a man who didn't deserve it. When she drew her guns, it was always in self defense and she made certain of it.

"You're playing with fire Jacob. I'm warning you now to walk away from me." she commented softly. After all, she was wearing her gun belt.

Jacob just started to laugh and emerged from the pen himself. He placed the whip around a post for the time being before watching Haruka's back. He had her annoyed which was what he wanted. People often made mistake when that riled up and he saw his chance at getting rid of the problem. The man moved to walk in line of Haruka with quite a bit of distance between them. He also had his gun belt on and was itching to use his pistol. That itch had been growing since the first day he saw the blonde walk onto the ranch.

"Hell, woman, I ain't afraid of playing with fire. I've been burned but it's never stopped me. Why don't you show me how cowardly you are then, hm?" he spat out.

Haruka's back tensed. No one called her a coward and lived before. No one.

"What's the matter? Afraid you'll get shot?"

"If you intend to shoot, then I suggest you shut your damned mouth and shoot when I turn around." growled Haruka in response.

The situation had caught the attention of both Dale and Michiru, who were moving out of the house to sit upon the porch for a while. Dale's eyes widened before he jogged off the porch quickly. He forgot about the pain still in his shoulder as he sprinted to get between the two before something bad would happen. As he skidded to a stop, Jacob had drawn his gun and was in wait for Haruka to turn to face him.

"Stop! The both of you." shouted Dale. He didn't want to have any more blood spilt in front of him. "Jacob, holster your gun."

"I ain't going to. Get out of the way, Dale. I'm gonna put Haruka in her place. Someone should have done so when she first showed up." growled the ranch hand darkly.

Haruka started to laugh and turned around to lock her eyes on Jacob. She saw the gun in his hand but remained calm and collected. "Dale, please move."

"But-" started the injured man.

"I won't injure him. I promise." came her response. "He won't stop until he shows he's got the bigger balls. Let him try and prove himself so he can stop egging me on."

Dale sighed before moving out from between the two. There was no arguing with Haruka nor was there any way that Jacob would back down at that point. It was better to step away from what was going to happen before he got hurt again. Michiru moved off the porch and approached the arguing pair. She stopped to stand alongside Dale as the sound of wagon wheels caught her attention. She turned only to spot Mamoru and his wife, Usagi with a wagon which brought Dwight back home to the ranch.

"Seems the doctor showed up right when we may need him." she whispered into Dale's ear. Dale nodded before watching Jacob and Haruka. He was rather interested.

Jacob watched Haruka turn around and chuckled before placing his gun back into it's holster. He intended to see who really did have the faster draw despite the doctor's arrival. Narrowing his eyes, he watched Haruka's hands carefully. The blonde seemed completely at ease that it started to get to him. The longer he waited, the more he felt the urgency to get it over with in one go. He moved to draw only to feel his hat fly off of his head to the ground the moment his fingers wrapped about the handle. The blonde's gun had been drawn and fired off one shot. The bullet had missed any vital points and sent the ranch hand's ebony hat to the ground with a hole right through the top of it. There was no blood and no one hurt as Haruka had promised. Holstering her gun, the blonde walked away from Jacob and passed both Dale and Michiru.

The gunshot had startled Usagi into grabbing onto Mamoru's arm. The doctor glanced to his wife and smiled very faintly. He moved a hand to stroke her back assuring her that everything was fine. It was just a dispute being settled without anyone getting hurt despite the use of guns. The woman eventually nodded in understanding and moved off of the wagon. Mamoru soon joined his wife upon the ground and traveled to the back of the wagon to help Dwight onto his feet.

"Easy now. You still need that cane." he chided the elder.

Dwight nodded leaning onto the oak cane while attempting to move. He had been doing rather well rehabilitating his leg and walking once again. The gun wound had been clean and was healing without any sign of infection. It was all because of Mamoru's watchful eye and Usagi's help. He smiled quite a bit upon seeing Dale again and limped over to hug the young man.

"It's good to see ya again, kid." he murmured.

Dale smiled. "Same to you, you old coot." he chuckled.

As the two men caught up with one another, Haruka made her way toward the porch. She passed them giving a bow of her head toward the two and kept on walking only to notice Mamoru and his wife finally. She waved a hand before feeling hands on her shoulders from behind. Raising a brow, she turned to look and began to grin. Michiru was there and held a calm smirk on her face. The ranch woman was rather proud of Haruka's actions; no one got killed.

"Now he'll back off from you for a while." she murmured gently.

Haruka shrugged. "He might, but I doubt it. He's too stubborn to tuck tail and let me be for long. Besides, I think he's jealous that you and I have something going on between us."

"Well, it's none of his business."

"Damn right."

Feeling a soft kiss on her lips from Michiru, the gunslinger allowed her body to ease itself into a calm state. It was not worth keeping all the tension in her body since she had handled the problem for the day. She returned the kiss before looking toward the couple who brought Dwight back to them. Usagi was grinning from ear to ear having seen that display and Mamoru was trying his best to keep a straight face. Seeing Haruka kiss someone was a rather odd sight for him, and it warranted a laugh.

"I get stuck with one of your ranch hands and you some how tamed Haruka?" he inquired.

Michiru laughed softly and shook her head. "I haven't tamed her, Dr. Chiba. In fact, I think her wild ways rubbed off on me."

Haruka couldn't help but laugh hearing those words. "Like hell. You were wild before I started influencing you. I just took advantage." she winked.

Michiru sent her lover a look which promptly made the gunslinger shut up. The last thing she wanted was to be booted out of a warm bed.

"Well, I decided to bring Dwight back onto the ranch. He's able to move a bit better than before with his injury. It's been healing properly and I also have news from town." commented Mamoru.

Leaning back against the porch beam, Haruka raised a brow. Michiru moved to lean against Haruka's chest with an arm about her waist. Whatever the news was, something told her she needed to have a hold on the reckless blonde. Especially, if it was about who she believed it to be.

Mamoru sighed gently looking toward the newly formed couple. "The town is still without a sheriff and it's been given a threat from Jackal's gang. If we don't give them Michiru within the time frame of a month, they'll burn the place to the ground and kill everyone in their sights."

"We haven't been able to figure out why Michiru would be the target." commented Usagi softly.

"I know why and I'll be damned if I'm letting him anywhere near her." growled out Haruka. Her voice was harsh and held a firm sharp edge to it.

Michiru glanced toward her before placing a hand upon her collarbone softly. "Ruka..I can fight."

"I won't-"

"No, I can decide if I want to help take his gang down."

The gunslinger glared down toward her lover. Green eyes met blue and it seemed Michiru had quite a bit of strength in her gaze because the blonde faltered and looked away first. While she didn't want to argue, she knew Michiru could indeed fend for herself with her rifle skills. She had been on the end of her barrel once before but she couldn't help but feel that the past would somehow repeat itself again.

"Seems like the both of your are stubborn." murmured Mamoru calmly.

Haruka sent him a glance which only made him chuckle. Somehow it appeared like a joke to him, yet she could see how it would be amusing to his eyes. Nonetheless, the blonde stepped away from Michiru only to walk off of the porch to lean against the side of the doctor's wagon in thought for a few moments. If Jackal were to ride into town, someone had to fill the shoes of the sheriff. No one had the guts to wear that badge after the last sheriff had his skull caved in by a pistol. Letting out a long sigh, Haruka turned to look toward the group gathered on the porch.

"Chiba, is anyone willing to fill in the shoes that need to be filled in town?" she asked carefully.

He shook his head. "No, everyone is petrified of what Jackal is capable of. We know he'll torch the town without batting an eye."

Michiru glanced between the two before realizing where her lover was going with the conversation. "Ruka, you can't-"

"I have to, Michi. No one else has the balls to stand up against Jackal wearing the star. There's a reason to why I have to be the one to meet him in town." she murmured gently.

Usagi blinked standing close to her husband. The conversation had turned serious but she found herself wondering about the short haired blonde. The woman was of a different breed but seemed to be having a lot of trouble letting go of something. Whatever it was, she hoped it wouldn't put her six feet under. As she watched her, she gently took hold of Mamoru's arm and leaned against his shoulder. No matter what the outcome, there would be more blood spilled in town than she cared to admit.

"And just why do you have to do that? I understand you going in there with a gang of people to pick him off, but why are you so damn stubborn to go rogue?" growled Michiru finally.

Haruka's jaw tensed and her eyes turned cold. "Because he killed my family, burned down our ranch and gunned down my father in the street."

The rifle woman lowered her gaze as she heard her lover speak. It explained everything Haruka had become and was; her skills with the gun, her ability to be so fast with them, and of course the most important of all, why she was so set on taking down Jackal without regard to her own life.

"When I was thirteen, I was busy working in the livery stables in town to make extra money to help my mother out with my kid brother. My father worked as the town sheriff at the time and we were managing to do all right. However, it all changed when he appeared. Jackal wasted no time in looting the town and sending his gang out to ravage the ranches outside of the town limits. The members of the gang got onto my farm and shot my brother down when he was playing with our herding dog. They burned down the barn with old oil lamps we had inside of it, and also torched the house leaving my mother to burn alive inside. I found the remnants of everything when I got to the ranch, two months later." she started.

Taking a moment, Haruka looked away from the group to stare toward the horses a moment. She was doing her damnedest not to cry or to break in front of everyone. She had to be strong, like her father was until the end. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"While the gang was handling the destruction along the countryside, Jackal and two of his best men called my father out on the street after starting off a gunfight killing five innocent civilians. My father went out to enforce the law but was gunned down in a matter of moments by Jackal's fast draw. My father didn't stand a chance but they didn't stop there. They took his body from the middle of the street and hung him in the middle of town off of the hanging tree we had. Of course, before they strung him up, they coated him in kerosene before lighting him on fire after he was dangling off the ground." she growled out.

She fought back the tears in her eyes as she gritted her teeth good and hard. Her eyes had seen that fire and it was then she made the mistake of trying to take on Jackal herself. Being a kid, she didn't stand much of a chance at all against a fast gunner like him. As she found her voice again, she felt a tender touch to her shoulders from Michiru's hands. She turned and looked down to the woman before feeling herself get wrapped in a tender hug. Pulling Michiru in tight to her body, Haruka tenderly laid her head upon her shoulder for a few moments. Once they drew apart, she sighed and started to speak once more.

"When I saw what they had done to my father, I grabbed the rifle from his horse in the stable and moved out to fire at them. I missed three shots before finally hitting the one goon in the leg. I tried to aim at Jackal as I was running down the street firing off shots, but he was faster and more accurate with his gun. I hit the ground before I even knew what hit me only to find I was bleeding from four holes in my body. Jackal shot me and left me to bleed out in the streets watching my father's body burn like a candle five yards in front of me." she murmured. Looking down to her hands, she gripped them into fists firmly. "The town folk buried my father after cutting him down and the doctor took me to his office and worked tirelessly on me day and night for a long time. Before I knew it, three weeks had passed and I couldn't even recall what the date was. I was exhausted and strained from the blood loss but somehow I survived it all."

Michiru gently placed an arm around the blonde's waist and looked to her face. "So that is why you became a gunslinger, isn't it?" she asked softly. Her fingers tenderly stroked at her lover's lower back to try and help her stay calm.

Haruka gave a calm nod and looked toward Mamoru, Usagi and the others upon the porch. They all stared at her with saddened eyes and could fully understand why she had been so abrasive at first with some of them. It made sense to Michiru as to why she had been trying hard to keep from falling attached to them all, but the blonde failed in the end. She had come to love the very woman she had intended to only work for temporarily.

"I have to step up and face Jackal. It's gone on long enough and I refuse to let history repeat itself." murmured Haruka after a few moments of silence.

"I won't let you fight this alone, Ruka. I'm going to stand beside you on this whether you like it or not." commented Michiru.

"I honestly don't think anyone will let you fight alone, Tenoh." called a voice behind them all. Clint stood with his gun belt securely around his waist and with a faint smile on his lips. "I'll also stand with you. I have to pay for my past crimes and there's no better way than to fight alongside you."

The gunslinger sighed gently hearing the voices of support. She gave a calm nod after a few moments accepting defeat. Somehow, she knew in her heart Michiru wouldn't allow her to work alone and she was grateful for the aide of Clint.

Haruka sighed gently but offered a faint smirk. "Then it's settled, it's about time I end what started ten years ago."