I followed Keiko's scent like a bloodhound, powerwalking through the castle as I chased it. I had to give her back her lunchbox or whatever this thing was she packed my dinner in. That gave me an excuse to look for her, to talk to her, to bask in her presence like the pathetic plebian that I was. I almost completely zoomed by Bella as I made my way up the stairs, not even paying attention to her. The sour feelings I had against her completely eclipsed by the adoration I now felt for Keiko.

"Jacob?"

I skidded to a halt at my name and looked at her. Bella was in pajamas now and clutched a folded up blanket to her chest. She looked pained to see me, but I barely registered her. I was on the hunt for the love of my life, the wind in my sails, the mac to my cheese. "Hey, Bella." I said. "Have you seen Keiko?"

"Oh….um, no. I haven't."

"Okay, thanks." I said and started down the corridor again.

"Wait," Her hand found my arm, and her voice was tinged with distress. "Is everything alright with Edward?"

"Yeah, he's fine." I shrugged, looking around her distractedly for Keiko. "Well, you know, as much as he can be." I added on the end.

"Okay," She breathed a sigh of relief and her eyebrows knitted together. "That's good. Hey, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to hurt you like that. I know-,"

"Hey, don't worry about it. Water under the bridge." I impatiently cut her off. "Congrats on the nuptials and all of that."

Confusion flashed in her brown eyes. "You're…okay with it?"

I shrugged. "I was pretty upset earlier but my…priorities have changed." I grinned down at her. I had a soul mate now. Keiko was my soul mate. She was made for me and I was made for her. I honestly couldn't be better.

"So we can still friends?"

I grabbed Bella and crushed her against my chest in a quick hug, dancing from foot-to-foot with restlessness "Bella, I will always be your friend. Your best friend even! And we can talk about our feelings but later, okay?" I said. "But, right now, I have somewhere to be."

"O-okay."

I detached from her and started jogging down the hallway, chasing the scent. "Hey, text me your registry link so I can send you guys a gift!" I called back after her.

I finally found Keiko in a commercial-looking kitchen. She had changed clothes too. Instead of the traditional silk dress-robe thing she was wearing earlier, she was in a bright pink sweatshirt and shorts, her socked feet sitting one right on top of the other as she worked over something on the counter.

"Hey, Keiko." I greeted with a rap of my knuckles on the doorway.

Her big eyes snapped to me and I watched her pull out her earbuds. "Jacob-san," She greeted as she chopped vegetables, her eyebrows furrowing in concern. "Dinner was okay?"

"Dinner was great." I felt the biggest grin on my face. "I wanted to return your, um, box."

"Oh, sure." She said with a smile and came around the counter to fetch it.

I caught a smell of something cooking. Some sort of meat on the grill, the oil and spices hitting me right in the face. My stomach made the most menacing, embarrassing growl I've ever heard in response. I blushed and put my hand over my stomach.

Keiko started to laugh, her hand raising to cover her mouth and her eyes closing. The sound was beautiful, bubbly like the loveliest champagne. "Are you still hungry, Jacob-san?"

"I'm always hungry."

"You can come in. I'll make you something."

I gladly took her invitation and sat down at the island across from where she had been standing. It was stainless steel and sterile-looking – like the back-of-the-house of a restaurant. I watched her deposit the box into the three-part sink against the wall and then walk to the grill.

She quickly and artfully prepared me a plate of food that included a large bowl of rice, an egg, vegetables with some sort of sauce and the meat from the grill cut up into long strips.

"This looks amazing." I said as I watched her place the food in front of me with a pair of chopsticks.

"Ittedakimasu!" She sang in Japanese, a big smile over her face and an expectant look in her eyes as she leaned over the counter to watch my reaction.

I started shoveling the food into my mouth as fast as I could go, breathing around the fire of the spice. 1) I was hungry. I hadn't eaten anything since that panda lunchbox thing and before that it was a Starbucks muffin and a coffee in the airport between flights. 2) I could eat a 7Eleven urinal cake with pubes stuck to it if Keiko was the one that put it in front of me. "How do you say 'delicious' in Japanese?" I asked between bites.

"Oishii!"

"Oishii!" I mimicked her and she laughed her bubbly laugh, her eyes closing and her head tilting to the side.

"I'm glad someone enjoys my cooking with such enthusiasm." She said.

"You can invite me over for dinner anytime." I said as I basically licked the plate clean like the dog I was. "I will gladly eat anything you wish to prepare for me."

"Perfect!" She clapped her hands together.

"So, how does a vampire know how to cook?"

She giggled, "I have to be prepared for all of Funai-sensei's guests needs, whether they be human, vampire, or…ano…" Her eyebrows creased as she put her chin in her hand as she studied me intently. "What are you, Jacob-san?"

"I'm a human. Native American. Capricorn." I grinned at her. "And…I turn into a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" She repeated.

"Yeah, but not a hairy guy who howls at the moon." I clarified. "We can actually turn into an actual wolf at any time. Super strength, super speed, we aren't harmed by vampire venom." I ticked with my fingers. "We became the vampires' worst nightmares."

She considered this for a moment, her perfect lips pursing. "So vampires and werewolves could never be friends?"

"What?" I spluttered. Where did she get that insane idea?

"Well, if you are vampires' 'worst nightmares' that means you guys are enemies, right?" Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked at me with a sad expression. No, don't be sad. I wanted to reach forward and physically lift her frown back into a smile.

She got that insane idea from me. Good job, Jacob, you're a fucking idiot.

I dropped my eyes and ran my finger through the last bit of sauce on the plate. "My tribe was attacked by some bad vampires way back in the day," I made the point to emphasize bad. There was a difference between those bloodsuckers and this beautiful creature sitting in front of me. "The tribe leaders started shape-shifting into wolves to fight back. Then the Cullens came – vampires who don't eat humans - and we made a treaty with them. We coexisted peacefully. Maybe not exactly come-over-for-Sunday-football friends, but we are nice to each other."

I watched as she grabbed the plate, refilled it with rice from a rice cooker and more vegetables and placed it back in front of me. I picked up my chopsticks and started eating. "Why do you ask?"

"I felt something when we shook hands." She said. "I have a power that let's me see what you're feeling and I felt…" Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked at her hand like it was going to spontaneously combust. She started speaking Japanese, her face twisting.

"I'm sorry." I said, cutting her off. "I don't speak Japanese."

"Sorry," She apologized. "Sometimes its easier to…" She made a motion next to her head and said something else in Japanese. I mental note to pick up a textbook or something. I learned how to completely disassemble a transmission and reassemble it. I could learn Japanese for the love of my life.

"I know what you felt," I started, my fingers creeping towards hers on the counter. I dragged it back and almost slapped it with my other hand. "If that helps."

"Is it a werewolf trait too?"

I put my chopsticks down and nodded. Well, here we go. Don't fuck this up. "I've imprinted..." I said dumbly, like the idiot I was. "…on you."

And of course her eyebrows pulled together in confusion. She shook her head. "I don't understand." Of course you wouldn't understand. She wasn't a Quileute or even Native American. She wouldn't ever understand. She just had to trust. If I could get her to trust me, then I could explain and even, sort of, perhaps, turn this into something other than me stalking her for the rest of my existence.

I sighed a little internally.

I felt my mouth twist as I tried to explain the intricacies of this werewolf quirk to someone who didn't even know werewolves existed until about half an hour ago. I think you are my soul mate and I'm now unconditionally bound to you for the rest of my life was a little…strong. "You know penguins?"

"Penguins?" She repeated.

"Yeah," I had no idea where I was going with this metaphor, but I already made myself look like a fool, so I just went with it. "You ever see March of the Penguins?"

She nodded. "Yes…?"

"You know how when the penguins find their soul mate penguin, they'll do anything for it? Walk miles to find fish for it, hide its young on their feet, protect it from sea lions and stuff?"

She nodded, her eyebrows still creased. "I think so."

"I am your...penguin." I winced.

"Are you saying you're my soul mate, Jacob-san?"

"Sort…of." I looked back down at the plate.

"Keiko," We both turned to Rosalie in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. I watched her regard me for a second with disgust before flicking back to Keiko. "Edward needs you."

"Hai," Keiko nodded and immediately started moving towards the door. I got up and followed right on her heels, fighting to keep up as she zoomed through the palace, down a flight of steps, through the lab and then down another flight of steps. Dr. Funai chattered something in Japanese to her as she passed and she said something back.

Edward was writhing on the bed in pain, choked whimpers drowning under the red foam that bubbled at his lips – his constant state nowadays it seemed. Bella was rubbing his arm, worry in her eyes. "Shh…she's right here." Keiko edged up to the side of the bed and grabbed one of Edward's hands, clasping it in both into hers.

"What are you doing?" I felt a flash of jealousy, red haze blinding me. He can't have her. She was mine.

"She…" He gasped, breathing hard in and out of his nose. "…takes the pain away."

"I fool the nerves into thinking they're not feeling pain." She said. "It doesn't last forever, but it helps."

I looked at Keiko, a line between her eyes as she concentrated. Could she feel what he feels? She said she felt something when we touched. Does that mean she felt the pain too? I was bothered by that, but I didn't say anything. She seemed more than eager to help and it got Edward calmed down. He stopped seizing and relaxed, his eyes sliding shut. He started breathing heavy and his head tipped onto Bella's shoulder.

I sat down heavily in one of the empty chairs next to his bed, jet lag and emotional turmoil and running around the whole Kansai region of Japan finally catching up to me. I had another question, another remark. But, sleep took me as I watched Bella wipe a red tear off of Edward's cheek.


I woke up to shrieking.

What the fuck? I jerked, falling over and taking the plastic-formed chair I was sleeping on with me. I crashed into the wall, leaving two dents where my head and shoulder connected. My hand came up to where I hit the wall with my forehead and dusted off the plaster.

"Oh, honey." Esme popped into my line of vision, her honey-colored hair framing her white face. "Did we wake you?"

"Nah," I said as I shook the last bit of sleep away and straightened up, pushing the chair away. Edward's hospital room was starting to look like someone tried to play dodgeball with boulders, with all the dents I was leaving everywhere. "I was already awake."

"Esme," Carlisle said. "I need your help."

I stood up. Edward was in bed being held down by the shoulders by Esme and Rosalie, a tortured, wide-eyed expression on his face. Carlisle had Edward's arm in a death grip with one hand and something that looked like a modified power drill in his other.

"I only need three more samples," Carlisle said, his blonde hair flopped onto his forehead as he held out Edward's arm in front of him. "And then you can rest."

I looked around for Keiko, but she wasn't in the room. I also looked around for Bella, but it was just Edward and half of his family. "Where's Bella?"

"She became hysterical." Rosalie said as she pushed Edward's shoulder down when it jerked against her hand. "Carlisle asked Keiko to remove her." Rosalie motioned to Edward with her head and the mouthed the screaming.

"What are you evening doing?" I asked as I watched him Carlisle position the drill over Edward's forearm.

"We have a lead on something." Carlisle said. "But, it's not working on healthy vampire flesh. We're too strong. We want to see if Edward – in his weakened state – will respond to what we're developing."

"Carlisle, wait." Edward panted. "Jacob." I moved without thinking about it to Esme's side. I looked at his arm that Carlisle was holding. It was covered in these blue lines and had two little craters in it, like a cube of moldy cheese. "Jacob." He said again.

"I'm right here, buddy." I said, my eyes furrowing. Could he not see me?

"Go find Bella." He said, his eyebrows furrowing as his blank eyes tracked around. "She was really upset."

I slept through all of that?

"Oh, God." Rosalie groaned as she pressed on Edward's shoulder. "Can you stop being so self-sacrificing for once if your life, Edward."

"Rosalie." Esme scolded. "That's entirely inappropriate."

"Guys," Carlisle said. "I really need to get these samples."

Esme and Rosalie shifted so that they had firm grips on Edward's shoulders and Carlisle pulled the trigger on drill. Edward's expression melted into horror and when the drill connected with his arm, it sounded like a million fignernails all scraping simultaneously on a chalkboard. Edward started shrieking his dying-man cry. I immediately jammed my fingers into my ears and started for the door. It made me want to bash myself in the head with a brick, or, I don't know – bash Edward in the head with a brick. At least put one of us out of our misery.

"I'll go find Bella." I volunteered, eager to put a million miles between those sounds and I.

I caught fresh scents of Keiko and Bella's leading up the stairs into the lab. Dr. Funai was in her usual spot behind the counters of her lab, pouring over a petri dish of something, a long pair of needles in her hand. She glanced at me for a millisecond. "Keiko took her upstairs." She said.

"Thanks, Doc." I said and watched the corner of her mouth infinitesimally slide up when I called her 'Doc.' I wondered for a second if Keiko told her about me. So, that werewolf guy thinks he's my soul mate. Doc seemed like the kind of person who didn't bother herself with stuff like that.

I bounded up the stairs and let myself into the empty palace, following the scents as they weaved around each other. I glanced at art and old artefacts as I passed them. It was pretty, but it seemed like such a waste of space.

I finally found them in what looked to be a temple – a bunch of mats lined up in rows with a statue of some sort at the head. Incense burned in the corner, but that didn't overshadow Keiko's musky-sweet smell.

I almost audibly groaned with the flood of adoration in my chest at the sight of Keiko and I didn't have butterflies in my stomach, I had a whole rodeo. My heart started and sputtered around like an old lawnmower engine. I started to vibrate with emotion, on the verge of exploding into my other form. I inhaled deep breaths and exhaled to try and calm myself down. I was going to have to rein those crazy imprint feelings in if I was ever going to survive around her.

They both sat on huddled on one of the mats. Bella had her face pressed into Keiko's shoulders, her body racking with sobs. Keiko's face was twisted with sadness too and I wanted to launch myself at her and scoop her up against me. "Hey, everything alright?"

"Jacob," Bella's eyes snapped to me and she scrambled to her feet and threw herself at me. Her forehead smacked into my sternum. "They're hurting him." She sobbed. "They're supposed to be helping him but they're hurting him. They're hurting him."

"It's alright, Bells." I rubbed her back and looked at Keiko, who had risen to her feet as well. "It's for the cure. Carlisle wouldn't do it unless they had to. They're probably almost done, anyway."

Keiko cocked her head to the side and then shook her head, her eyes widening at me.

"Okay, maybe they need a couple more moments." I gently pushed her off of me. "Maybe we could use some air?" I looked at her red and puffy face and then at Keiko for assistance. "You want to go outside and get some air?"

Bella's eyes were swimming with tears and she swayed on her feet. This is what I expected when I got here. Shattered, broken Bella. She nodded. "Air sounds nice."

"I know where we can go." Keiko said. "It's not very far."

Bella hung on me and I had my arm wrapped around her as she sobbed against my chest. We followed Keiko through a back door, slipping into flip-flops that lined the entryway on our way out. There was a small stone pathway that ran through a grove of peach trees, wildflowers blooming in-between the trees, giving the whole area a Secret Garden vibe. With a bunch of mythological creatures walking through it, I wouldn't have been surprised if Tinkerbell came out and joined us.

We all walked together in silence, the only sounds coming from our feet on the gravel and my loud heartbeat in my ears. Eventually, Bella stopped sobbing and disconnected from me. She walked ahead, pulling flowers from the ground into a bouquet. I slowed down to walk next to Keiko. I wanted to grab her hand, but I kept them jammed up under my armpits.

Edward's burning-man face popped into my head and his shrieks filled my ears and I tensed against it. I knew I wasn't his biggest fan, but whatever he had – the suffering - I wouldn't have ever wished on him in a million years.

"Do you think Doc and Carlisle will save Edward?" I asked softly so Bella couldn't hear me.

"If he is to be saved," Keiko said, her fingers lacing together in front of her as she walked. "It would be Funai-sensei that finds the cure."

I watched Bella curl her arms around herself as she walked, my heart aching for her. I couldn't imagine the pain she was in. "But, will she do it in time?"

"That I don't know." Keiko shook her head. "But, she'll die trying, if that's what it takes."

"Really? She'll go that far?"

Keiko nodded. "She almost died to save me."

I skidded to a stop. "What?"

Keiko's face twisted with pain and it took all of my effort to not to launch myself at her. "When I was a human, I was sold by parents to a man who promised them that I would have a good life. It wasn't a good life though. He put me on a boat with fifty other girls like me and we were shipped to Singapore to become karayuki-san."

"Kara…yuki…san?" I repeated, trying to mimic her accent.

The pain in her eyes became palpable. "Prostitutes."

I felt my mouth drop open and her eyes fell. "It was a miserable job, but, they fed me. They clothed me. They gave me shelter. I had it better than others, so I didn't complain. But, there was this one man," Her tiny fists balled and her voice broke in a way that stabbed me right in my heart. "He was cruel. Not only to me but to the other girls of the brothel. He would hurt us, sometimes to the point of death. But, he paid well, so the mistress let him come back. He was cold to touch and never warmed, so we called him Tsumetai-san or Mr. Cold."

"What happened?"

"I was supposed to service him and he started to beat me with his cold hands, so I tried to fight him. I didn't realize it at the time, but he was a vampire and he bit me." She said. "Funai-sensei smelled him and came to investigate and found him hurting me. I don't remember much after that. Just her crouched over me protectively and the burning where he bit me."

"Oh, Keiko," I said, reaching out to touch her and forcing my hand back. My heart felt like it was elbow-slammed by John Cena. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She looked at the palace, a smile lighting up her face and her eyes shining. "She became the mother I never had after that. And I get to help her patients with my powers, like Edward. And I get to meet new friends, like you, Jacob-san. That's not something to apologize for."

I felt a gigantic smile split across my face like a fault line in the earth. She was so selfless and wonderful. Of all the vampires to imprint on, I was so glad it was her. "You're amazing; you know that?"

"Are you just saying that because you're my penguin?" She teased, her nose wrinkling and her brilliant teeth glittering in the light with her smile.

I opened my mouth to retort, say something snarky, confess my undying love for her, but a breeze moved across my face and I caught a familiar, goosebump-raising scent.

The Russians.

My head jerked and I found Bella about thirty feet away, squatting in front of a coy pond, her arms wrapped around her knees. I looked back at Keiko, who had also caught the scent, her dark eyes searching around with worry in them. A million emotions ran through me. A million emotions all saying the same thing. Protect her. Protect them. "Get Bella back to the house." I said, my fingers running down her cool face before I could stop them. "Both of you get to safety."

"No, Jacob-san. I want to go with you." Keiko said and grabbed my arm, and I felt that electricity again, and then the pull. She gasped and jerked her arm back like she had been shocked.

"I can't let you get hurt." I argued, feeling my eyebrows knit together. The very idea of her getting hurt was a wood stake to my heart.

She moved quickly – vampire quick – and planted a kiss on my lips. Just a small one, but it was sweeter and lovelier than anything else. My skin tingled like bubbly soda where she touched me and my heart started to beat so loud in my chest that I almost didn't hear her next words.

"Be safe." She said and then turned to Bella, zipping over to her in a flash. She scooped up Bella and dashed back towards the palace in a streak. I ripped off my clothes and left them in a pile on the path and then phased into my wolf form.

The scent turned almost visible when I was a wolf – a ribbon of color to chase. I followed it around the garden for about twenty minutes, weaving artfully through the throng of fruit trees and around the river. It looped back and forth in a zig-zag, making me feel like a dog doing tricks for treats.

I skidded to a stop, my paws digging into the soft earth when I realized what was happening. Jacob, you're a fucking moron. This pattern purposeful. There were going to be no Russians here. This was just a distraction, a fucking trick. I looked back towards the palace. They could already be in there and I was out here chasing my tail. Keiko. Bella. Edward. Anxiety coursed through me and I tore back – grabbing my clothes on the way – and ran at a full gallop towards the old building. I leapt into the second-story balcony I jumped off of the night before.

I jammed my shoulder into the door to let myself in, closed it and then broke the handle with the heel of my hand so it was jammed shut. I knew it wouldn't stop the vampires from coming in, but I hoped it would slow them down momentarily. Hopefully they aren't already here.

Thankfully, there wasn't any out of the ordinary vampire scents in the palace as I jogged through it, keeping myself vigilant for any sign of danger. But, it was stone quiet and empty, just like we had left it.

I should go tell the others. I thought. Who knew how much longer we had until they arrived. Minutes maybe. We needed to regroup, prepare. I needed to get to Keiko and make sure she was okay. I needed to make sure Bella and Edward were okay.

The lab was empty, which made a bunch of alarms go off in my head. I double-timed my steps as I made my way through the hallway. I bounced into Edward's hospital room, finding everyone jammed in tight like sardines around Edward's bed. Bella sat next to him, her fingers weaved with his. Keiko held Edward's other hand, a line of concentration in her forehead. Rosalie and Esme were standing next to the bed, static and unmoving like only vampires could be. Doc and Carlisle were at the foot of his bed, like they were about to make a speech or something.

"I'm glad everyone is here." Doc said as she watched at me enter.

Carlisle stood next to her silently, his expression neutral except for a small line between his eyebrows. He looked at his whole family and then at me and finally Edward.

"We have an announcement to make." Dr. Funai said lowly, her arms crossing behind her back. "We have found a cure-,"

There was a collective gasp from their audience. Bella threw her arms around Edward's neck. Esme turned and planted a kiss on his head. Keiko started bouncing up and down like a pogo stick, her tiny, white hands clapping.

"I'm not going to die?" Edward asked in a dazed tone, his eyes glassy as he slowly circled his arms around Bella.

"You found a cure for the strikes?" Rosalie asked Doc, dumbfounded.

"Rosalie, it's why we came." Bella said. "To cure Edward, so we can go home as a family." There was an 'of course' to her tone that was implied.

"I know." Rosalie scoffed back. "I'm just a little confused as to why they don't seem as happy as they should be."

Everyone's eyes snapped back to the two doctors at Rosalie's valid point. The concern in Carlisle's black eyes deepened and he started to twist his wedding ring around on his finger. Doc just looked at her audience with vague interest. "To clarify, we did not find a cure for the strikes." She said in her tight, professional voice.

Everyone froze up. All the vampires went deathly still, masks of shock and terror on their faces. Only Edward looked different – like he was going to be sick and blow crimson chunks all over the bed.

"What?" Bella squeaked, her dark eyes flashing with desolation, her arms still wrapped around Edward. "But, you said-,"

"Dr. Funai didn't finish." Carlisle said gently.

Doc's eyes snapped to me. "Thanks to Jacob's contribution to the efforts, we have been able to synthesize the enzyme that his body naturally produces that reverses vampire effects, tripling its strength with a catalyst that Dr. Cullen and I designed."

"What does that mean in English?" I asked as I leaned in the threshold of the door.

"We found…" Carlisle looked around and then dropped his eyes to his shoes. "…the cure for vampirism."


So...did I Sixth Sense you? Can I now change my name to the TheMetaMNightShyamalan? I mean, I felt like I laid the foreshadowing on thick enough that you should've seen this one coming, but it's also my headcanon. Idk. Let me know in the reviews!