Author's notes.

Pew, it's the longest chapter I've ever written - 2,008 words, just liket he new year. Cool XD

I originally wasn't going to upload this chapter before the New Year for I haven't got much spare time and I won't be able to reply to reviews for a few days (Chirstmas with my family is a real pain. Aw, relatives...can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em). I eventually decided to upload it anyway: consider this as a some kind to Christmas gift. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed/faved this story: I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Man, I'm so unoriginal XD

Monkey Fist raised his gaze from the book as he felt crumbles falling upon his head. He glanced up at Yuki, who was hovering behind him, chewing a cookie.

"A penny for your thoughts" she said, her mouth full.

"Would you please stop hovering while I'm working?"

"You're not 'working'. You're just reading."

Monkey Fist rolled his eyes. She had been staying into the castle for almost two weeks now, and even thought he had come to appreciate…well, to tolerate her presence, her attitude still annoyed him sometimes. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to find a very ancient and valuable artifact. This is my work."

"An ancient and valuable artifact that will give you the power you crave for" she pointed out "have you forgotten the reason I'm here?"

Monkey Fist sighed and closed the book "I should have seen that coming" he said, gesturing her to sit on the couch "let's just talk about it, shall we?" he said, gesturing her to sit on the couch.

Yuki sat on the couch and folded her arms. "I'm listening."

Here we go. You have to be convincing, Monty.

"I'll be honest to you, Yuki. As a matter of fact, there is a legend about the power of the Obsidian Monkey. It has been broken into several pieces more than six-hundred years ago, and every piece was hidden into a different temple around the world in order to prevent this item from falling in the wrong hands…"

Yuki raised an eyebrow. "No offence intended, but I frankly cannot think of worse hands than yours."

Monkey Fist seemed offended. "May I ask why?"

"Do you want the short list or the long one?"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Because you tried to steal the Lotus Blade from Yamanouchi. Because you kidnapped Yori. Because you tried to kill Stoppable. Basically, because you're so power-obsessed that you don't care about hurting people to get what you want" she paused "this is the short one. Do I have to continue?"

"No, thanks. I got it" he cleared his throat "I'm not going to deny I made mistakes. But I paid for them."

"This doesn't make you trustworthy."

Monkey Fist grimaced. He knew she didn't trust him – he had always known that – but hearing her telling him he wasn't trustworthy somehow hurt him.

"Fine" he said "let's pretend you're right, that I merely want power for myself – which I don't. To obtain this power, I wouldn't need to hurt anyone. Why should Yamanouchi try to stop me?"

"Because you could do horrible things with such a power."

"Horrible things, you say?" Monkey Fist shrugged "horrible things happen every day without my aid. This world is slowly deteriorating: pollution, global warming, war, corruption…I've seen things happening in the Amazon rainforest that you cannot imagine – whole tribes forced to leave their ancestor's homeland due to man's greed, native children die because of polluted water. My monkey ninjas – they had lost their home as well, and they were about to be dissected. If I hadn't saved them–"

Yuki looked at him almost in awe. "You saved them?" she asked, bewildered. It wasn't something you would expect from a villain, still…it made sense. It explained why his monkey ninjas seemed so loyal to him. She thought back about the monkey who had wrapped a blanked around him while he was having a troubled sleep, the first night she had been there.

He nodded. "Yes, I saved them from death by taking them under my care, but there are many other creatures that die every day in the world because of man, both humans and animals" he paused and looked straight into Yuki's black eyes "there are genocides going on in Africa as we speak, and the 'civilized' world doesn't seem to notice. Man is slowly destroying earth. It's not about me you should worry about."

Yuki had never thought about it. "You have a point" she said slowly "still, we cannot let so much power fall in the hands of a…" she paused, as if suddenly unwilling to call him 'villain'.

Monkey Fist noticed her hesitation, and knew what she had been about to say. He suddenly felt anger rushing through his veins. Had he really though she could understand his reasons? What a fool he had been!

"I do think there is no point on discussing about this any further" he said dryly as he got up "you're not going to change your mind about me anyway."

Yuki was surprised to see how upset he seemed. "Hey, calm down. You cannot blame me for not trusting you after all you did!"

He growled. "I made mistakes. I paid for them. Do you have the slightest idea of how it feels like, completely losing your freedom? Isn't this enough to make you happy? What else do you want from me?"

"Happy?" Yuki gave him a furious look "do you actually think I could ever be happy about anyone's suffering? Just what kind of person do you think I am?"

"The kind of person who judges me without even listening my side of things!"

"I am listening to you!" she snapped. Did he actually think she could be that low, enjoying the fact he had suffered imprisonment? She felt a sharp pain in her chest at the though, but she refused to acknowledge it.

He took a step backwards, startled by her outburst. He hadn't expected the conversation to end up like this: he had lost control of his emotions, letting them control him. What was the matter with him? It wasn't like him, letting anyone's judgment bother him: he usually couldn't care less of what people thought of him, for he was sure to be in the right. So why should this girl be any different? Why did it hurt knowing that she thought of him as nothing more than a villain?

What have you done to me, Yuki?

He shook his head. He had to stop this nonsense and put the conversation back on track if he wanted to gain her trust – he couldn't let himself forget that she was merely a pawn in his plan. Wasn't she?

"My deepest apologies" he said, trying to sound calm "I'm afraid I overreacted…"

"Damn right" Yuki growled, angrier than Monkey Fist had ever seen her.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked as she turned to leave the room. Suddenly, he didn't want her to leave.

"Anywhere but here" she hissed.

He glanced at the room: he had spent so many lonely hours in there. The though of being alone again suddenly filled him with unspeakable dread. "I haven't finished to speak" he said, frowning, a hint of fear in his voice. Yuki, however, was too angry to notice the slight change in his voice.

"Speak with your monkey ninjas then" she snapped "they are such a great company. Besides, I think I heard you say you don't like having me around…what…?"

Monkey Fist had slammed the door closed, preventing her from leaving the room. He looked actually furious. "You're not leaving this room until I say you to do so!" he growled, his face just a few inches from hers "no one can disrespect me like this!"

Yuki took a step back, bewildered. For a moment, she felt something different than rage rushing through her veins. It was fear.

He's mad. Raving mad.

She clenched her teeth in anger, ignoring her fear, and took a fighting stance. "Step aside and let me out, Monty. Now."

He shook his head. "No" his eyes were burning with rage and some other emotion that Yuki could not define. She narrowed her eyes.

"Let me out. Last warning."

"I can't."

"So be it" she said before raising her right hand to strike him.

He was fast, faster than he had ever been. He dodged her blow and grabbed her wrist in an iron grasp, exactly as she expected. She raised her other hand to hit him…

"Please."

Yuki's hand froze in mid-air as he spoke, her heart stopping for a moment as her eyes met his blue ones. He was looking at her with such longing, like a starving man in the desert looking at an oasis. She slowly lowered her hand.

"What…?"

"Please, stay" he said quietly, still holding her wrist "stay."

She looked numbly at him, startled by his sudden change of behavior. She glanced at his hand, which was still holding her wrist. "Let me go" she said, her voice shaking. She had to go away before doing something she could regret.

"Promise me you won't leave" he said, his grip around her wrist loosening slightly.

"I won't" she said without looking up at him "just let me go."

He hesitated for a moment, then he let go her wrist. Yuki gasped as his hand cupped her cheek, his palm rough and warm against her skin as he gently turned her to face him. She looked up at him, speechless. Their faces were only inches apart, his lips so close to hers that she could almost feel their warmth.

This is insane, Yuki – the rational part of her brain was screaming – completely insane. Stop him! Do something!

It was right, she knew it – what they were doing was just insane, and she should have fought him instead of surrender. She knew she was supposed to fight him, to push him away, but she didn't. Probably she was going to regret this later. But for now, as his lips joined hers in a deep kiss, she just think that insanity could be not that bad after all.

It just felt so right beingwith him; there was no Yamanouchi School, no monkey stuff: just the two of them, exactly where they belonged.

His other hand slid trough her black hair, down her back…Yuki's heart skipped a beat as he put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss. His lips were warm, firm, and strong on hers, and as they finally broke apart she was breathless and weak in the knees.

Yuki wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his chest, trying to breath normal again. She felt his grip around her tighten as he leaned his forehead lightly against the top of her head, nestled into her hair. Monkey Fist closed his eyes, breathing in her scent. There was a long silence as they stood in each other's embrace for a while.

"What have you done to me?" he finally whispered against her hair.

"I may ask you the same thing" she said softly, listening to his heartbeat. He was so strong and warm, she felt like she could have stayed in his embrace forever.

The silence was suddenly broken as the door slammed open behind them and a loud chattering filled the air, making them instinctively break apart and turn to the door. The monkey ninjas immediately stopped whimpering as they looked at them, realizing they had just had the worst timing ever. The small animals quickly left the room, emitting some apologetic sounds.

Monkey Fist sighed inwardly, thinking of all the 'we told you so' stuff he was going to hear from them later. He cleared his throat and turned to Yuki, who was biting her lower lip, her gaze was lowered to the ground. There were a few minutes of silence, them both trying to think straight.

"Yuki…about what happened…" he finally spoke, uneasy.

She shook her head. "We don't have to speak about this" she said, trying to make her voice stop shaking "it was a mistake, and it must never happen again."

He felt a twinge of pain in his chest, but he just nodded. She was right: it had been a mistake, the result of a mere impulse. He couldn't let himself forget that she was just a tool in his plan. "No" he said slowly "never again."

Yuki nodded. "Fine" she said, ignoring the fact her hands were shaking.

Monkey Fist just stared at her as she turned and quickly left the room, saying nothing.