Title: Unforgivable Sinners 2 : The Past Never Forgets

Summary: The sequel to Unforgivable Sinners. Yuriko, Stryker and Logan's pasts are soon to be revealed. Where will this journey to the past take them? How will it end once they rediscover themselves? Will they hold on to the past, or move on to a new future?

Note: This fanfiction occurs entirely in the X-Men movie-verse =). 'nuff said =)!

IMPORTANT NOTE : Okay...I was finally able to confirm the first name of Stryker's deceased wife =D! Based from the X2 novelization, his wife's first name is 'Karen'. I actually read the X2 novel when it first came out, then I breezed through it the other day and found the one line in the novel that mentioned her name. Oh...and President McKenna's first name is 'George'. I think I named him 'Richard' in one of the previous chapters x.x! Thanks for reading this =)!

SKETTY24 = lol! Yeah, I think I made Logan a little bit too sweet. Lol! I probably got carried away by all the 'drama' O.O! As for this chapter, it still continues Yuriko and Logan's 'bedroom conversation' (lol. Couldn't resist that term x.x), but Stryker will be back on the spotlight. Um, actually, Stryker might have the next few chapters focusing on himself, with little bits and pieces of Y and L scattered here and there.

XMENLOGANFAN = Thanks for the review =). Hmm...don't worry =)...they're going to be 'together' in this chapter ;)! I hope you like it ;)!!!

Chapter 56: Broken barriers

She looked to her side and saw Logan on the floor, laying down on his back, his arms on his sides over the blanket that covered him up to his stomach. She could see the contours of his legs on the blanket, and right next to the foot of his mattress were his shoes. From the way he was laying down, he looked tense. Even his eyes showed how deep he was in his own thoughts. He was looking at the ceiling, as if it was the only thing that he could see. He didn't even look tired at all. He just laid still.

Logan almost jumped up when he suddenly sensed something beside him on the floor. He felt something smooth and soft brushing against his bare arm and he looked to his side. Then his eyes opened wide as he saw Yuriko laying down right next to him...he almost felt his heart skip a beat. It looked like he was too lost in his own thoughts to even notice that she had gone down from her bed to lay on his mattress.

Yuriko's black, almond-shaped eyes stared deep into Logan's brown ones as their eyes met. She was laying down on her side with her head resting on one of her hands, while her other hand was tucked close to her chest. Logan's mattress wasn't really big enough for two people, so she had no choice but to make herself fit in the narrow space on his side. Then she just stared at him. Both of them looked into each other's eyes as if they were locked in a silent conversation that only they could understand.

Then Logan looked away and propped himself up on his elbow. "So I presume you'd rather sleep on the floor." He said abruptly, his eyes still looking away from her. "I...I guess I'll have to take the bed then." The words impulsively flew out of his lips.

He really didn't know what to do or what to say. Yuriko had willingly laid down by his side, and now he was talking as if he didn't want to be with her. With the words he had just said, he practically told her that he preferred to sleep alone. But he did want to be with her. He wanted to feel her. But what should he do? Should he push her away? Should he stand up and sleep on the bed and leave her there on the floor? He had never been in such a situation before...to find himself laying side by side with a person, a woman, who he truly cared for. And in a way, he was afraid...afraid that the moment might end too soon...that's why he wanted to move away.

He clenched his jaw and sighed as he closed his eyes. Yes...that's what he was going to do. He was going to stand up and sleep on the bed and leave her there, on the floor, alone. It was the safest thing to do. That way, no one would have to get hurt. No one would have to expect something from the other. The last thing he wanted was to need her more than he already did. Because tomorrow, she might walk out of his life. And if he became closer to her, closer to her than he should be, then she might leave a crater in his life that no other person would be able to fill.

Logan was about to stand up, when he suddenly felt Yuriko's hand clutching the front end of his shirt. He looked back at her and saw her looking at him. Her eyes looked like they were pleading for something, begging for something.

"Please stay." She said. "I need you, Logan." Her hand continued to clutch his shirt. Her eyes never left his. "I need you by my side." She wanted him to stay. "Please don't go." She didn't want to let him go. "Stay..." She whispered.

/"Don't leave me like you've left me before."/ She thought to herself.

When she was laying on the bed, she felt so cold, so untouched, so alone. She felt like she was laying in an empty void...and it reminded her so much of the empty, sleepless nights she had as Lady Deathstrike. It reminded her of those deafening nights when she stayed in her room, alone and unloved, forcing herself to sleep so that she could finally wake up and be with people again, even if none of them cared for her.

And her fear of tomorrow made her want to cling to someone. It added to her feeling of loneliness. That was why she decided to take refuge by his side. She wanted to feel him so close to her, comforting her with his silent presence. He didn't have to hold her passionately or caress her while she drifted off to sleep. She just wanted to feel his body beside her while she closed her eyes. She wanted to feel that he was there. Perhaps it was a good thing that Logan had asked her to sleep with him in his room that night...because if she had slept in her room with Stryker, she knew she would have also climbed up on his bed and seek comfort and refuge in his arms.

Logan could see the need in Yuriko's eyes. He could also feel the fear in her voice. He understood her need for company that night. He understood her need to feel someone by her side. He too felt that way once, many, many years ago, when he had no one.

Then a gentle smile curled up his lips as he looked at her. He realized that he shouldn't run away anymore. Yuriko was right there, in front of him, wanting him to hold her and keep her safe. She needed him more than anything at that moment. She needed a friend to comfort her and he didn't want to let her down. He wanted to be there for her.

He lay back on the bed and shifted so that he was laying on his side, facing her. He didn't want to think about tomorrow anymore. He didn't want to think that she might leave him once she unearths the animal that he used to be. He just wanted to cherish the night with her. He would rather feel her so close to him for one night rather than not feel her at all. He would rather feel complete for one moment, even if it meant an eternity of emptiness. And right now, he was going to let go of all of his fears, and just embrace the moment for as long as it could possibly last.

"Thank you." She whispered as he lay in front of her. She smiled and looked back into his eyes. Seeing him that close to her made her feel so content, so safe. She could spend the rest of her nights like this...sleeping by his side, looking deep into his eyes, until one of them fell asleep first. But tomorrow was another story...tomorrow was another day. If only things could stay that way between them forever. If only.

"Just a while ago we were talking about those events in our lives, those memories, that we wish we could keep forever...those memories that we never want to forget." He said as he looked back at her. Then he smiled and gently ran his hand down her cheek. "And this is one of them." He said softly. "I'll never forget this night, Yuriko. I'll never forget it and I'll never forget you." Then he breathed in, still looking at her. He was now about to say the words that he never wanted to say. "And if you ask me to let you go...If you find the need to leave, then I will set you free. I will never hold you back." He clenched his jaw as he looked back into her eyes. He didn't want her to see his sadness.

Yuriko looked back at him and forced a humble smile on her lips. "But Logan...I...I told you I'd never leave. I promise you that I would stay for as long as ---"

Then he gently placed a finger on her lips, stopping her from speaking any more words. "Please don't make promises you know you can never keep." He whispered.

She stared back into his eyes and saw the intensity in them. Logan knew that she might leave once she regained her memories. He seemed to have accepted that fact and it was about time that she accepted it too. And as they stared into each other's eyes, they both realized that tonight might very well be their last night together.

Yuriko moved closer to him and looked deep into his eyes. "I just don't want to hurt you." She whispered. Then she closed her eyes and pressed herself against him, wanting to drown in the feeling of his body against her. "But no matter what the past shows me, no matter what it reveals, nothing will change the way I look at you. Nothing will change the way I look at us." A happy sigh escaped from her lips and she relaxed in his arms. She would want nothing more but to go to sleep like this.

Logan wrapped his arms around her and held her snuggly against him. He could feel her softly breathing against his chest. "I know." He said. "I know." He whispered. He gently ran his fingers through her long, black hair as he gently caressed her. "Just rest, Yuriko. Rest for tonight. Don't think of tomorrow, or the day after that. Don't think of what might happen once the sun rises." He said softly. "Just close your eyes and rest."

He looked down and saw her with her eyes closed. She seemed to have fallen asleep already. He exhaled and held her closer to him. He could now feel his own tiredness catching up to him. He could already feel his eyes wanting to close and his body wanting to retire for the night. But he didn't want to sleep yet. He wanted to stay awake for as long as he could and just feel her like that in his arms. Then he shifted his head on his pillow, moving it closer to hers so that his chin was right next to her forehead. He took one last look at the window and his surroundings, and then he closed his eyes.

Stryker staggered up the stairs as he made his way to the second floor of the mansion. His hand clung to the wooden railing of the staircase in an effort to keep his balance. He felt so weak, so tired. He felt like a man who had given up on his life...a man who had surrendered himself to his end. He felt like a wounded soldier who had gone back from the battlefield without an arm and a leg. He felt so incomplete without her.

Yes...he still couldn't forget about her...Yuriko Oyama...the woman who was his beginning and his end. He knew it would do him no good to think of her again and again, but he couldn't stop his mind from creating images of her face, images of her smile. He could still remember those brief moments when she held his hand and when she told him that everything will be all right. He could still recall the sound of her laughter and the way she happily looked at him from across the table.

Everything felt so perfect between them. Everything felt right, so flawless, so complete, as if they were meant to be that way from the beginning. But where was she now? Where was the girl who made him laugh? Where was the friend who promised to be by his side until the end? What happened to those hours that they've spent together? Will everything just fade away like a fleeting dream?

When he saw Yuriko being carried away by Logan, he felt as if his entire world had collapsed around him. When he took her away, he had lost all hope. And what made it more painful was the way they had parted. That night, they started out as good friends...but they parted as strangers. And now he was left alone to be with himself, the last person who he wanted to be with that night.

He took the last step up the stairs, and then he fell on his hands and knees as soon as he reached the second level of the mansion. His head was bowed down as deep, rugged breaths escaped from his lips. His eyes were focused on the floor and his chest continued to heave up and down as if he needed so much air to breathe. He couldn't accept how his life was about to end. He couldn't accept the fact that he would never have his happy ending. He had barely lived his life and now everything was going to be stripped away from him. Why did he have to become the man he once was? Why?

"Because that is who you are." Said a familiar female voice.

Stryker's eyes opened wide and he suddenly felt his heart thumping in his chest as he heard the oh-so-familiar voice. He looked up and saw Yuriko sitting on the floor in front of him, across the hallway with her back against the wall. She was wearing a tight, black tanktop, black pants, black boots and kneepads. She seemed to be in some sort of military combat attire. She was looking at him with a timid smirk on her lips. Her legs were slightly folded in a way that her knees were parallel to her chest, and her arms were wrapped around her padded knees. Then she tilted her head as she looked at him, and the smile on her lips grew wider. What was he seeing? Was that really Yuriko?

"You keep on telling yourself that you don't want to become the man you once were. But you are who you 'were', William. You still are." She said with a smile. Her voice sounded hollow, and it echoed in Stryker's ears. "Tomorrow will not be your end. Tomorrow is the day when you get to choose."