The city flies by me in a blur as we run for the airport as fast as our legs will carry us. Sakaki is shouting so quickly into our only cell phone that I believe his mouth may burst into flames.

"I-don't-care-what-you-think-you-idiot-son-of-a-bitch!" he screams at full run. "Get-us-some-back-up-at-the-airport-before-this-shit-hits-the-fan!"

He's attempting to get the government friend of his to dispatch support, but I doubt they will offer it. They rarely get involved in anything that's not a major crime organization or international issue. Sakaki has them run tests on the falsified documents we were given, but he kept back the photo of her. Even if Sachi is known to one of them, which I doubt even now, we've held back her face from them just in case it would draw the wrong attention.

"What-about-the-stupid-mark?" he shouts with confusion coloring his tone.

It's almost enough to make me pause, but my rage and fear drive me forward. We have to get to her in time! We have to stop them from taking her out of the country!

"Yeah-it-was-on-her!" he screams. "On-the-back-of-her-neck-just-like-you-said. What-the-hell-does-that-have-to-do-with-helping-me-now?!" He snaps the phone shut, "Shit!"

The one clear curse from him makes me turn my face in surprise.

"What did they say?" I shout to be heard over the wind flying by us.

"He said they'd be there with a full team to provide back up," Sakaki shouts at me.

"Isn't that good, Sakaki?" Apachai shouts after springing off of the roof over our heads.

"No!" he shouts in anger. "They weren't even interested until they asked if the mark I had asked them about before was from the back of her neck! Now all of a sudden their sending an entire fucking squad! They know something they're not telling me and it's pissin' me off!"

The news only drives me harder towards the airport. It's just starting to come into view when the sound of automatic gunfire reaches my ear.

"Sachi!" I shout, desperate to reach her.

The scene that comes into view is enough to make my blood run cold and stop my feet in my tracks. There are at least fifty armed men on the ground in black military-style outfits. They're converging on a lone figure in the center of one of the secondary runways. The form is almost unrecognizable at first, crouched like a wounded animal and coated in blood. A small mountain of bodies lie at their feet.

"Dear, God…" Hayato breathes as he also comes to a stop at my shoulder. "Is that her?"

"Apapapapapapaaaaaa!" Apachai starts to fly by me with rage in his own eyes.

"Apachai wait!" I call to him, and he turns back to me surprised.

"Akisame?!" he shouts. "Apachai fight bad men to death for Sachi! No time for stopping!"

Something is terribly wrong with the scene in front of me. Something in the terrifying form of my would-be lover has me hesitating.

"There's something else wrong!" I shout to all of them. "Look at her form! Have you ever seen her stand, or even fight like that?!"

"Now that you mention it…" Sakaki starts, but his voice is drowned out by the sound of a low-flying C-17 buzzing the runway directly over our heads. Its cargo doors open, and even more men begin to parachute down to the ground.

"They sent in this many men to get her?!" Sakaki shouts in disbelief, throwing his hands into his hair.

Every muscle in my body is screaming to get to her, but the hair standing on the back of my neck signals a warning.

"We need to get closer so we can see!" I shout, "Let's knock as many of them out on the way as we can! Hayato, can you…"

"Duck!" the Elder shouts before I can finish my sentence.

The C-17 is circling back towards us, and before I can blink the Elder has lifted a jeep into the air and sent it hurling towards the plane through the air.

"Take this on for size!" he screams.

The jeep impacts the left wing of the plane, bursting into flames and sending the plane crashing to the ground away from where Sachi still fights.

"Holy SHIT!" Sakaki shouts, but he's not looking at the plane. He's looking at Sachi. "She's killing them! All of them!"

"Move out!" I shout, "Don't get close to her!"

As we move in, I take down man after man in my path easily. I dislocate knees and shoulders, then follow up with small swift blows to knock them into unconsciousness. Sachi's movements are entirely different. She is snapping necks, breaking bones, and literally ripping out throats with her bare hands. The blood that covers her is the blood of her enemies as she uses their bodies as shields against the gunfire until they're too riddled with holes – then she moves onto the next. She has not moved from the same spot since we arrived, and the bodies are piling higher.

"Akisame!" Apachai shouts. "Sachi is not even looking at her opponents!"

He's right, and he's made the observation only moments after I did. Her eyes are closed and there is a tight expression of rage and focus on her bloodied face.

"She's using sticky hands!" I reply, trying to explain.

"There must be something wrong with her eyes!" the Elder agrees.

Sticky hands is a technique used in Wing Chun style martial arts. Similar in effect to the Sekuken that Kenichi encountered recently, but executed in a completely different manner. She is using her hands and the surface of her body to feel her opponent's position, track their movements, counter them, and detect when a new one comes into range. It also explains her use of their bodies for shields against the gunfire. She must not trust her vision, but the handicap has made her no less lethal.

"We've got to stop them before she kills them all!" Sakaki shouts. "We need some of these bastards alive!"

We continue to plow our way through the men onto the battle field, dodging gunfire and incapacitating the men as we go. In a matter of minutes, all of them lie either unconscious at our feet, or dead at hers. She senses the lack of opposition and her shoulders hunch defensively. She crouches to the ground, steadying her stance with her fingers against the pavement. Her expression is enraged, but it melts quickly into pain as a whimper leaves her throat.

"Sachi," I start to approach her cautiously and calmly.

The sound of sirens wails through the air suddenly, cutting off my words from her as Sakaki's back-up swarms onto the scene. Sachi responds to the sound immediately, throwing herself in the direction of the intruders.

"Stop!" I try to warn them, but I'm not fast enough.

Sachi has already reached them as they rush the field with riot shields. She rounds the front man and spins to slam her elbow into his spine, doubtlessly paralyzing the man from the waist down. She nearly has her hands on his head to snap his neck and finish the job before the Elder's form blows past her, tearing the man from her grip and knocking the entire team back from her.

"Sachi!" I try again.

She visibly responds to the sounds of my voice, spinning to search for me and dropping her guard for the first time. I say a silent prayer of thanks that she didn't hear my voice before now, when there were still real opponents on the field, or that response could have been fatal. Then my eyes hone in on something that makes my blood boil.

"Apachai, she's wounded!" I shout, and he sprints off to find me supplies to use to treat her.

Beneath the coating of blood, she is dressed like a helpless rose-petal of a woman. Her clothes are torn too severely to know if it's from battle or assault, but my chest aches at either thought. She is barefoot and seemingly lightly injured, but there is a gaping hole in her side that's been hiding itself beneath the blood-soaked curtain of her blouse. I want to move to her, but she is still holding herself in an offensive stance.

"Stay back you idiots!" Sakaki shouts at the men, knocking them back with a chi attack.

"What the hell's going on here!" A new voice shouts. I turn to see the leader of the men rush to confront Sakaki waving his hands. "Let us through. You asked for our help!"

"If you get within 20 feet of her she's gonna snap your neck you moron!" Sakaki replies.

"Why the hell would she do that?" the man shouts.

Her footing seems unsteady and her eyes are now open but unfocused, and as new rage sears through my brain the Elder voices my conclusion.

"She's been drugged." His voice is weary and angry.

"Yes," I agree. "That explains why she's not trusting her vision or her footing."

"How are we supposed to get close to her?" Sakaki asks, turning to face me again.

"I need quiet." I urge all of them. "Please. I believe I can get her to respond to my voice."

The leader of the troops waives his hands, silencing the big crowd of men as they stare forward in curiosity and fear. The Elder has already brought their wounded man off the field. I ponder what is best to get her attention.

"Sachi? Are you alright?" I ask her, raising my voice enough to be heard.

She responds like she did the first time, seeming to search for my voice. But then she hesitates, shaking her head and dropping to rest her hands on the ground. Her face turns angry and her position becomes offensive again. A sneer comes to her lips, and I realize this isn't going to work. Not without hurting her, which I want to avoid further. Suddenly, I get an idea. I sit down on the pavement, entering the posture I normally reserve for meditation.

"Uh… what the hell are you doing?" Sakaki asks with a dumbfounded expression.

"Trying something else," I say calmly.

If I don't respond fast, she seems as if she is getting ready to flee. I take a deep breath and begin to sing softly. The melody has no words, but she should recognize it. I have sung it since my youth, and I frequently use it to soothe her back to sleep when she becomes distressed at night. Sachi visibly responds again, tilting her head to listen to the sound and focus on it. She drops her guard for a moment, clutching the hole in her side as her eyes nearly roll into the back of her head. I have to work harder than ever to keep my voice perfectly steady, and not choke at the sight of her pain.

"A….Aki?" she almost whispers, showing her true level of fear for the first time. "Akisame?"

"I'm here." I force myself to respond calmly. "I'm here for you, Sachi."

She crumples instantly, coming to her knees with a whimper. Her lips tremble as a tear streaks down her cheek.

"Can I come get you, Sachi?" I ask her, not sure how volatile the drugs will make her.

"Yes…" she whispers collapsing face-first into the tarmac.

I rush to her side and lift her into my arms. The rate of blood pouring from her wound has me concerned as Apachai rushes to my side with a first aid kit.

"Aki…" she whispers, coming back around and clutching the front of my judo outfit. "I'm sorry."

"Shhh…" I try to soothe her as my hands fly to work, trying to staunch the blood flow while stitching the wound with what I have available. "Hush now. Don't try to talk."

"No," she refuses to be quiet. "Akisame, please…" Her speech is slurred and garbled, adding to the impression that she's been drugged.

"Shhh…" I try to soothe her with my voice only, as my hands are both occupied on her side.

Suddenly, she reaches up and grabs my face, planting her lips against mine softly and distracting me into stillness for a moment. "I…" she whispers only a breath from my lips. "love you. I'm sorry."

My heart seizes in my chest at her struggle to tell me that she loves me. "Thank you, my love," I whisper as my hands set back to work. "I love you, too, beautiful. Now I need you to lie still while I…"

A tiny smile alights on her lips just before her eyes roll back into her head and she falls slack in my arms. I force my panic down as I continue to work.

"Apachai!" I shout. "Lift her! We need to move, and get her to a hospital. Now!"

She appears to be in desperate need of a blood transfusion, and we need to test the drugs in her system quickly before she metabolizes them away. I keep working as Apachai lifts her body and walks alongside me towards a waiting ambulance.