HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER D!!! Thank you soooo super much for the reviews D!

oh...and for the LOGAN/WOLVERINE fans out there...here are two fanarts for you ). I hope you like it )

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and

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Chapter 76: A red morning dawns

She looked at the bathtub area of the bathroom and saw its translucent plastic covering the bathtub unit. Then she narrowed her eyes and looked at the curtain suspiciously as she noticed a shadow within the bathtub. Was someone already there? But if someone was already there, then why didn't he or she say anything when she walked into the bathroom. Whoever that was could have heard her come in, right? And why wasn't the figure in the tub moving? Did he fall asleep? It was definitely a man, because the shadow seemed too big for a woman's body frame.

Then Rogue's face suddenly relaxed and a wide smile slowly spread across her lips. Then she rolled her eyes and gave out a small giggle.

"Look, Bobby...I know that it's you in there." She said with a wide smile as she looked at the curtain.

It was probably Bobby, planning on playing some kind of trick on her again. Perhaps he also woke up early and decided to take a nice morning bath in the tub. And when she came in, he knew that it was her through the silhouette, and he was keeping quiet until he could find the right time to surprise her with his watery powers.

Rogue breathed in and cocked an eyebrow as she looked at the unmoving shadow in the curtain. Then a sly smile arched up the corner of her lips as she placed her hands on her waist. She tapped her toes on the marble floor of the bathroom as she waited for him to say something. Whatever Bobby's trick was, was definitely not going to work on her.

"I know you're in there, okay?" She said with a giggle. "So whatever you're planning to do, don't do it. I could still remember that one time when you made it snow while I was taking a shower." She chuckled. "I know I didn't see you, but I knew that it was you." Sometimes, she couldn't help but wonder when he'll outgrow his childish ways.

"Like, come on...who else could make it snow in the middle of the year?!" She asked, quiet laughter escaping her lips. "So whatever you're doing in there, mister, hurry up so I can finally take my well deserved hot-tub bath. After all, you don't want me being late for our date now, right?" She was expecting him to move or answer any time now.

But the figure in the bathtub remained unmoving. She didn't even hear the water move. This was definitely not funny anymore. Rogue exhaled in frustration and her shoulders drooped down. She pursed her lips and shook her head from side to side.

"Come on, Bobby! Enough already!" She giggled. "Whatever this joke is, it's gone on long enough. And if you're thinking that I'm going there to join you," She said as she pointed a finger at the curtain. "Then I'm sorry but I'll have to say 'no'." She said imposingly. "Well, I'd love to, someday maybe, but...like, come on, Bobby!" She actually felt her cheeks blush at the thought of being with Bobby in the tub.

"What? Aren't you even going to say anything?!" She asked with a chuckle. "Sometimes, I don't know even know if you do things like this to be cute or what." She didn't want to admit it, but she did find it cute whenever he teased her like this.

But this joke had definitely gone on long enough, and she was dying to know whatever it was that he had up his sleeve. "Okay! That's it!" She said with a smile. "I'm going on, and it's not because I want to see you in your birthday suit!" She giggled.

"So if I were you, I'd gather up all those bubbles and cover up everything that I can." She had a teasing, playful tone in her voice.

Rogue took a step closer to the curtain and placed her hand on the edge of it. She couldn't believe that she was really going to look at Bobby in the bathtub. But then, she wasn't really going to jump in there and join him. She was actually more concerned about throwing Bobby out of the bathroom and taking her rightful place in the tub.

"Okay...this joke started out really cute, and I have to admit, quite sexy. But cute and sexy both have their boundaries and I've had enough of this 'silent treatment'." She said with a scolding tone in her voice. "So I'm giving you three seconds before I pull you out of the tub and throw you out of the bathroom." She said, giggling.

Then the smile on her lips faded when she noticed that Bobby didn't react to a word she had said. In fact, he had never moved or said a word since she stepped into the bathroom. And Bobby always said something in situations like this. Something about this definitely felt wrong. Was that even really Bobby in there? And if it wasn't, then who was it?

She quickly pulled her hand away from the curtain as if the curtain had just burned her fingers. Something about that person in the bathtub didn't feel right. And she was definitely sure that whoever that was, wasn't her Bobby. She also had a good feeling that the person in there wasn't Logan or Kurt either...Not even the professor. But whoever or whatever it was, she was going to find out soon enough.

She breathed in and braced herself as she slowly reached out to the curtain. She could feel her own hand shaking as she gripped on the edge of it. She could even feel her heart racing in her chest. She felt like a character in an Alfred Hitchcock movie, who's about to uncover a terrifying horror mystery, except for the fact that this was no movie.

Without letting another breath escape from her lips, she swiftly pulled the curtain aside.

Then her eyes suddenly opened wide with shock as she saw unmoving wide-eyed bloody figure of William Stryker in the bathtub. She felt her entire body freeze in horror. She continued to stand there and hold on to the curtain as she looked at the figure before her. She wanted to scream, but she felt her own voice block her throat, preventing her from screaming out loud. She felt as if her own words had been trapped behind her lips --- as if her lips themselves didn't want to let her scream.

She couldn't even find the will to move nor utter a word. Then her eyes wandered to the vertical trail of blood that ran down the wall beside the bathtub. She had never seen anything as terrifying as this before. She had seen people die and get killed right before her very eyes. Logan, her friend, was even the one who was doing all the killing. But she had never seen anything like this --- a man, covered with blood, laying in the bathtub with his empty eyes staring up at eternity...and his blood smudged on the wall.

Rogue quickly let go of the curtain and stepped away. She gasped and covered her mouth in horror. She could feel her fingers shaking against her lips as her widened eyes continued to look at the unmoving figure in the bathtub.

Then she quickly turned around and ran out of the bathroom.

x x x x x x x x x x

Logan furrowed his eyebrows as he felt the sunlight glare against his closed eyes. He couldn't believe that it was morning already. He wasn't even aware that he fell asleep last night. The last thing he remembered was looking at Yuriko's sleeping face, and then after that, nothing. He probably fell asleep while he was looking at her.

He breathed in and gave out a small groan. As he lay there, basking in the faint streams of sunlight that shone through the window, he recalled in his mind the look on Yuriko's face when she fall asleep so close to him. He could even remember the tone in her voice and the look in her eyes when she pleaded for him to sleep with her.

For the past fifteen years of his life, no other woman in his life had ever asked that from him. No other woman had asked him to accompany them in her sleep. Yuriko was definitely not lowly to beg for such a thing from him. She just needed someone to hold on to --- someone to keep her safe. And yet, there was something about the feeling of her body against his, that felt so right.

She was like the one thing that was missing every night since he had found himself wandering nameless in the British Columbia. He felt like a man who had been sleeping without his pillow and his blanket for the past fifteen years...and now that she was with him, he felt as if he finally had that pillow and blanket back.

A small, almost-invisible grin curled up his lips as he lay there on the floor with his eyes closed. Even if he couldn't see her at the moment, he knew she was there. He could feel her solid form pressing against him --- so close and so firm. Then he slowly opened his eyes, and found her beside him. He was also quite surprised to find his arm around her. He didn't even realize that he did that --- probably during his sleep.

Yuriko's head was resting against the side of his chest, close to his shoulder. Her arm was folded over him and she had her hand over his chest. She looked like a wife who was cuddling so close to her husband after their first night together.

Logan couldn't remember the last time he had been this close to a woman. Ever since his rebirth as 'Wolverine', he had shied away from people. He found no need to have any kind of relationship with those around him. He cut off his connection with the world to live the life of a wanderer...until he found Rogue and joined Charles' band of mutant students. As for women, Jean was the only one he had fallen in love with. But Jean was now gone...and now, he had Yuriko. But, does he even love Yuriko --- or was she just a friend to him, like Rogue and Ororo?

He looked at her and saw her still sleeping so peacefully in his arms. This was probably the first night for the past fourteen years that she had slept so serenely like this --- in the arms of a friend, without the worries that she would wake up and find herself trapped in a mindless puppet's body. He couldn't help but imagine all the suffering that she went through as Stryker's slave. Stryker probably didn't even let her sleep. And if she did sleep, her dreams were probably nightmares --- filled with the images and screams of the mutants she had killed under Stryker's command. She had lived a nightmare, until now.

A subtle smile curled up the corner of his lips as he gently moved his free hand close to her face. Then he gently ran the tip of his index finger a finger down her cheek. What he actually admired about her was not her beauty. What lured him to Yuriko was the fire in her spirit and the determination and relentlessness in her eyes. But even with her eyes closed, she still intrigued him. And it was probably because of how at home he was whenever he was with her. She was like the home he was looking for.

Then her lips parted, and the name that escaped from her mouth made Logan's chest tighten.

"William." She whispered. Then a soft and gentle smile spread across her lips and she pressed her body closer against Logan's, cuddling harder against him.

Logan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he looked at her smiling face. Did he just hear that right? Did she just say Stryker's first name? And why was she smiling when she did? She just mentioned Stryker's name as if it were music to her ears --- as if it was a name that she loved to say. Maybe she was talking about a different William. Maybe she wasn't referring to the William Stryker that they both knew. But which other William would she refer to? Stryker seemed like the only 'William' in her life.

Then the confused look on Logan's face grew when he suddenly heard Yuriko giggle. Was she dreaming? Yes...she must be dreaming right now, unless if she was already awake, and he doubted that she was. Because if Yuriko were awake, there was no chance in hell that she would say Stryker's name with a smile on her face, and then soon follow it with a giggle. He knew how much she hated Stryker. She detested the man. That monster had brought her nothing but pain and suffering...and now, now --- she was singing his name in her sleep? What the heck is going on in her head?