A large crowd had gathered around Carl's body. Gasps and utterances of shock rose from the assemblage as two soldiers clad in black tore roughly through the crowd. Lou accompanied them.
"There he is fellas," he said, pointing to Carl's mangled body. "The guy just swooped on him, like a hawk or something…Carl didn't stand a chance."
The soldiers examined the body briefly, looking at Carl's wounds. They nodded curtly to each other; then one stood and faced the crowd. "Alright, listen up everybody. Just have a little incident here, nothing to worry about. We've got it covered. There's nothing to see here, just get back to your business, folks." The crowd parted slowly. Most people still looked shocked, some frightened, others downright disappointed that they didn't get to see any action.
Turning back to Lou, the soldier asked, "Now, you said the wolf was in the company of a girl?"
"Yeah, a real looker too. She's the one that caused this whole mess. But I don't think--"
"Did you see which way they ran?" the soldier asked sharply, cutting Lou off.
Lou shook his head. "I came to find you guys after the wolf threatened me, I don't know where they went."
"Great," the soldier sighed. He turned to his partner, "You gather all the forces. We're going to fan out in all directions. If they're in this city, we'll find them."
"What if they're already out of the city?" his partner asked, pointing beyond the city's entrance.
The first soldier placed his hand under his chin, thinking. "You're right," he replied, stroking his chin, "we'll send scouts out beyond all four borders. They can't get very far on foot, and there's nothing out there to find but wasteland anyway." His partner nodded and stood. He took a small black apparatus from his belt and spoke into it, exacting orders.
The first soldier turned to Lou, eyeing him with extreme dislike. "That's all we need from you, you can leave."
"Right, uh, don't I get a reward or something?" Lou asked expectantly.
"Of course you do," the soldier replied softly. "Here is your reward," he said, punching Lou hard in the gut. "Now get out of our way before I finish you off like that wolf should have," the soldier whispered menacingly. Lou grumbled something inaudible and sulked away. "Have that mess cleaned up," the soldier ordered his partner, "I'll meet you at headquarters." With that, he walked briskly across the street to a large black vehicle. He got in, and drove quickly away.
Yuri and Kiba finally arrived at Yuri's home. Halfway there, they had stopped running and walked the rest of the way. In that time, Yuri had explained the predicament they now found themselves in:
"So?" he had responded. He had found her concern entirely unfounded. Lou could scream the truth out to the world at the top of his lungs for all he cared. Most people would mistake Lou's accusations for lunacy.
"So?" Yuri had cried in disbelief. "So, Jagura's troops aren't going to waste much time before they find you and kill you."
"Jagura?" Kiba gasped.
"Yes, didn't you hear me tell you to keep a low profile? That's the reason why. I told you Jagura's troops had been occupying the city for some time now. And now they're going to be looking for you, thanks to that skinny idiot," Yuri ended angrily, kicking the dirt.
Now that they were safely in Yuri's home, Kiba was relaxed enough to think clearly. He cursed himself for not having listened to Yuri's warning about Jagura. If he had known Jagura's forces were in the city, he would have hunted them down, instead of the other way around. Now that he thought about it, Tsume, Hige, and Toboe might have wandered into the city afterall and merely been captured by Jagura.
Yuri plopped onto the sofa, breathless. "Made it," she sighed, stretching languorously across the sofa. "Aren't you the least bit tired?" she asked, glancing at Kiba. Other than breathing a little hard, he looked perfectly composed. He shook his head lightly. "Oh, I should be so lucky," Yuri, yawned.
Furrowing his brow, Kiba turned to face Yuri. With a marked urgency in his tone, he asked, "Will anyone be able to find you here?"
"I don't think so," Yuri replied. "Wait a minute, what do mean by will they be able to find me?" Yuri asked, a startled expression coming to her face.
"I'm going back," Kiba answered softly.
"But you can't!" Yuri cried, jumping to her feet. "They'll kill you for sure!"
"I have to," Kiba returned sternly, looking Yuri straight in the eye. "I think Jagura may have captured my friends.
Yuri opened her mouth as if preparing to speak, but hesitated. She couldn't stop him from finding his friends. "Then I'll come with you." She said firmly, holding Kiba's gaze.
"You can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I won't let you."
"You can't stop me!" Yuri answered indignantly, marching right past Kiba, toward the door.
In one swift movement, Kiba grabbed Yuri by the waist with one arm, and threw her lightly on the sofa. "Don't follow me," he said coldly, walking out the door. Yuri flew to her feet again and rushed to the door.
"Please, don't go! Won't you let me help you at least?" she said softly, tears streaming down her cheeks, as Kiba reached the bottom step of the porch. She stood just outside the doorway.
Kiba stopped, turning around. He melted as he looked at Yuri's form. Her hands were clasped together, pleadingly, and her eyes, filled with tears, held the most sorrowful look he had ever seen. Staring into those eyes, he felt as if a dagger had just been plunged into his heart. Climbing back up the steps, Kiba embraced Yuri softly.
"Thank you," he whispered in her ear. She stood perfectly still, her tears wetting Kiba's shirt. "Thank you for everything. I wish you could come with me, but you can't. I won't allow it. I don't want to put you in any more danger—I'm sorry I put you in any danger at all. Please," he pleaded, holding Yuri tighter, "please stay. I don't want anything to happen to you." Yuri nodded slowly into his chest, letting out a little whimper. Kiba smiled, letting go of Yuri. He brushed the hair out of her face. "I'll be fine," he reassured her.
In the distance, two large vehicles were racing toward Yuri's house. "I think I see something!" cried a man from inside one of the vehicles. He wore a black military uniform. "We've found 'em!" he cried to his comrades. There were six in each vehicle.
From Yuri's porch, two large black trucks loomed into view. Yuri squinted. "Is that—?"
"Jagura's troops!" Kiba uttered, answering Yuri's question. He stood defensively in front of Yuri—there was nowhere to run. Shots rang out into the evening sky as the vehicles came within range. Crouching for cover, Kiba and Yuri ran inside the house and locked the door.
"What do we do?" Yuri cried; she looked terrified.
"Hide!" Kiba answered. "Just hide, I'll take care of them!"
"But--"
"Just do it!" Kiba yelled. Yuri hesitated before running farther into the house. She ran into her room and threw herself under her bed. Lying there, Yuri trembled with fear. But she couldn't stay there and do nothing. She had to help Kiba, no matter how much he objected. Digging her nails into the wood, Yuri crept out from her hiding place.
Meanwhile, Kiba crouched in the middle of the living room, listening intently. His muscles tensed when he heard the scuffle of several feet over dirt. Suddenly, the sound of feet was all around the house—they were being surrounded. Kiba crouched just within the shadows as a large pounding against the door resonated through the house.
Yuri gasped when she heard the sound of her front door crashing to the floor. They were inside. She grabbed a large vase from her nightstand and stood behind her open bedroom door, ready to strike. Her breathing came sharp and fast as she heard the loud scuffles and occasional screams coming from her living room. Kiba seemed to be making short work of the soldiers, but surely, he couldn't handle them all. Slowly and silently, Yuri crept out of her room. She kept to the shadows, walking down the hall. She could see them now. Kiba moved like a shadow among the scrambling soldiers. Still, their large guns loomed menacingly within view. Yuri peeked around the corner, coming out of the shadows temporarily. One of the soldiers looked in her direction suddenly; Yuri threw herself against the wall again—too late, she had been spotted.
"It's the girl!" the soldier cried, pointing at Yuri. Kiba turned in her direction.
"Run! Get out of here!" he yelled at her, but he had stood still too long. One of the soldiers fired at Kiba, wounding his right arm.
"Kiba!" Yuri cried, running toward him. A soldier shot at her, missed, but managed to graze her left leg. Yuri cried out in pain. Hearing Yuri's cry, Kiba flew at the soldiers once again, keeping most of them occupied. The two remaining soldiers rounded on Yuri. She ran to the kitchen, but was cornered when she reached the table.
"Look, just come with us girlie, and you won't get hurt," one of them said, holding out his hand. Yuri nodded complacently, allowing the man to move closer to her. Once within reach, Yuri lunged at the man, tackling him to the ground. She wrestled with the man as he tried to restrain her, but Yuri proved to be a formidable opponent—for all her diminutive size, Yuri possessed a surprising amount of strength. "Shoot her!" the soldier yelled at the second soldier.
"I can't get a clean shot!" he responded. His gun was raised, but he could hardly distinguish Yuri's form from the tangle of flying limbs. In her struggle, Yuri's hand grazed something cold and hard—the man's gun. She grabbed it, tearing it out of its holster and turning it on the soldier. She shot him dead, at point blank range. Without a moment's hesitation, Yuri rounded on the second soldier. The man was reeling from the shock of his friend's death. He fired wildly at Yuri, but missed by far, hitting the table instead. Yuri leapt to her feet and fired at the soldier. She caught him in the shoulder, but the gun's whiplash caused her to lose her footing. She staggered, and the soldier took his chance. He struck Yuri hard across the face, sending Yuri flying. Her head struck the table as she went down, knocking her unconscious. The man picked Yuri's limp body up, throwing her over his shoulder.
"I've got the girl!" He announced to his comrades. He ran outside. Two of the soldiers had remained outside to cut off a possible escape. "Let's go, I've got the girl," the soldier called to them, heading for one of the trucks—the engine was still running.
"But what about the wolf?" one of the soldiers asked.
"They can handle that one," he responded, throwing Yuri into the vehicle before getting in himself. "We can wait for them back at headquarters. I've got to treat this wound," he said, indicating his shoulder. "You coming?" The two soldiers jumped into the truck themselves; thankful they had been spared any injuries. A few short seconds later, the black truck was speeding back toward the city—with Yuri unconscious in the back seat.
Inside the house, the announcement of Yuri's capture had sent a chill down Kiba's spine. He had to act fast. "Damn!" he cursed. Why hadn't she just done as hetold her? Why did she have to act brave like that? Now look at her! This only enraged him more as he gracefully tore through the group of soldiers. He took a few shots that only grazed his body, and kept moving relentlessly. Finally, the last of the soldiers was felled, crumpling onto the ground in a heap.
Kiba stood in the middle of the living room again; dead bodies sprawled all over the floor. He was covered in blood, not all of which belonged to his opponents. He winced; some of his old wounds had been reopened. He staggered to the door—it was night outside. "Yuri..." he whispered hoarsely, before collapsing on the floor.
Thanks for the reviews, those that have sent me anything. I've got e-mail alerts and stuff, but it never shows up on the site…hmm. Oh well, at least I know someone out there is reading my story! Thanks again and Happy New Year everyone. Remember; make it a new year resolution to review every story you read. It's only polite, please?