(O) Chapter 2 (O)

He was running again…past the same, familiar streets of a place that had no name, of unknown location. It was hard to tell whether it's afternoon or morning for the overcast weather denied permission even a ray of sunlight to brighten the place.

It was like watching the same movie again and again, only this time he is the actor, and no other living being joined him, except for the cacophony of voices that seem to come from all directions. And like a movie that was immortalized on film, he was helpless to change anything, even though he willed his legs to stop running so he could familiarize himself better with the streets, they keep on moving, heading towards The Place, passing through buildings, structures, the same path he had tread past countless times in this repetitive dream/nightmare he could not escape.

Here comes the part where he stumbles and fall, could taste the dust in his mouth that nearly choked him. But not giving himself a chance to recover, he pushes himself forward, running once more, goaded by an urgency he had forgotten the cause.

He is fast approaching the corner where he would soon take a right turn that would lead him to the alley or the Place. Like before, the aroma of oven baked bread, burnt sugar and cinnamon rolls permeated the air, telling him that this particular structure at the street corner holds a bakery. How many times had he tried to retain the name of that Bakery, only to lose it upon waking up? He tried turning his head as he passed through the said shop, but his body was not his own to command, and he could only catch the bakery's name in his peripheral vision and tried again to store it in his memory…hah! To store a memory while within a memory, is that even possible? But he was soon turning in the corner, heading towards the only alley to the right.

The sense of urgency multiplied a thousand fold as he ran down the street. Why he felt this way, the answer lies in that Place. Whatever it was, it is of utmost importance that he gets there as fast as he can.

Nothing has changed, the discarded crate boxes on the side of the street, the wooden hedges with its faded, tattered-edged posters that enclosed a junk yard, the structure that looked like a pawnshop with a 'CLOSED' sign on its door, even the old newspapers scattered on the cobbled pavement by the wind. He could feel the mad beating of his heart thump harder, louder as he approached the alley. He hoped this time he could catch a glimpse, a tiny peek on what's on that Place

But like the others, the dream/nightmare stops just when he's about to turn into that narrow alley. And he would wake up frustrated and floundering on what the hell he should do next.

It was the same for him that morning, waking up from another of those dreams that pestered him mercilessly.

It was the sixth day of his stay in the farm. All of which he'd spent restoring the place as he'd promised Alice.

He had begun working in her place almost immediately; first he repaired the sagging doors of the barn, secured some loose boards on the wall, and surveyed the land to see what else is needed to get started. The plow was rusted and needed to be replaced, he had to break the horse again to accept the bit, the fences needed to be painted, the corrals were unfinished, the roof needed repairs, walls to be repainted, and the fields…good lord! It would be a miracle if weeds would dare grow in them! The soil became hard packed from the sun and long disuse, that it won't even absorb minimum moisture. Tilling the fields meant back breaking labor.

Yuri sighed, what the hell happened to this place? He didn't have to ask her to know that she was indeed down on her luck. Food wasn't a problem, she had tended her own vegetable garden, chicken for meat and eggs, a small apple orchard, a few sheep for wool, and a cow for milk.

Yup, she's mighty self sufficient. The problem was money. She got no money, except for the few coins she managed to earn by selling her hand knit lace doilies at the local market. Her wages as a servant was used to pay the farm's monthly lease.

Yuri sighed wearily, he's tired of those repetitive dreams, no, more like fragments of his past that is likely the key that would unlock his memories of who he is, where he came from. Not knowing his past frustrated him like hell, every time he looks in the mirror, he sees a stranger.

Yuri.

Is that even his real name?

The sound of feminine laughter broke his frustrated thoughts. Yuri sat up from his makeshift bed of hay covered in linen. More laughter reached his ears, stirring emotions he couldn't name.

Scratching his rump in sinful pleasure, Yuri rearranged his 'bed' and pillow. Then with eagerness he did not dare question, he climbed down the ladder and greeted Sukie, the milk cow who shared the barn with him.

He went out through a side door that led to a wash stand. A pitcher filled with Lavender scented water stood beside a neatly folded towel. Yuri smiled in pleasure. No matter how early he rises up in the morning, Alice always made sure that there's water and fresh towel waiting for him to use.

Alice.

She had become his anchor in this storm of chaos that threatened his sanity. He wanted to regain his memories, to know who he is…being half a man is more than enough to drive him crazy, but with her soft, soothing voice, she had calmed him down, reassuring him that his memories would return one day. And for the time being he is welcome to stay.

Yuri wiped his face with the towel as he walked to the edge of the barn. Alice was hanging bed clothes, securing it with wooden pegs, beside her, romping in the grass is the big dog Buffoon.

Yuri glanced down at his left hand. Though no scars marked it, he could still remember the vehemence with which Buffoon chewed his hand only yesterday.

The fight between man and dog had been brief, but scared the wits out of Alice. Yuri knew how much she depended on Buffoon for protection from two legged wolves that prowled about her home. And so far, Buffoon had managed to protect his mistress, but he was barking at the wrong tree.

Buffoon didn't like the intrusion of another man in Alice's life. Now, instead of playing with him, she sat at the porch and talked to Yuri in the evenings…why the man even had the gall to let her wash his clothes for him!

Buffoon didn't like the way Yuri took pleasure in soaking in the big tub every evening, he didn't like the way Yuri wore his shirt, or the way he had folded his pants up to his knees. He hated the way he effortlessly coaxed Betsy to take the bit again, or the way he plow the fields, or the way he collected eggs in the hen house, or the way he milked Sukie the cow, or the way he harvested vegetables in the garden. He hated the man period.

For the most part, Yuri ignored the big dog.

The day of their confrontation was inevitable.

Yesterday, Alice was awfully insistent to climb up the tree a few distance away from the barn, because of the honey bee she thought she had spotted on the top. She keeps an eye out for such honey trees. Yuri wanted to be the one to check, but he didn't count on the girl's stubbornness, and so helplessly, he stood there beneath the tree and waited for her to come down.

There was indeed a new bee hive swarming on one of the branches, and smiling eagerly, Alice slowly climbed down. She was still some feet away from solid ground when she suddenly lost her footing. Instinctively, Alice clung to the trunk for dear life, which did little to stop her from slipping down. Fortunately, her feet finally landed on a stout branch which stopped her descent, and more careful this time, she slowly made her way down until finally got her feet on firm ground once more.

"Are you all right?" Yuri asked, he had watched her near fall with his heart lodged in his throat.

"Yes." She hissed. Her face was too pale and she clutched her left hand as if it pained her greatly.

"What happened? Did you cut your hand? Let me see." He said.

Alice shook her head. "No… no I'm fine really…" But her attempt in smiling ended in a grimace.

Saying something beneath his breath, Yuri grabbed her hand to see for himself. There were no signs of broken skin, except for the red chaffed skin which bewildered him, for he is certain that she is hurting.

Then he found the source of her discomfort. A wood splinter was wedged in the nail bed of her forefinger.

It must hurt her like hell, but strangely enough, she was pretty composed.

"Baby be still." He commanded when she would have pulled her hand away, unconscious of the endearment he had called her.

He took a pair of tweezers from his utility belt and carefully extracted the offending splinter. Alice said nothing though her eyes smarted from the pain. Blood rushed out the moment he pulled the piece of wood, and thinking nothing of it, Yuri took her finger between his lips and sucked.

The metallic taste of her blood enthralled him, made him feel as though he was taking a part of her…and compelled by an unknown force, their eyes met and connected.

Her violet eyes looked almost dreamy, heavy lidded, and Yuri wondered again if she would—

The sudden, angry growl behind them alerted Yuri that Buffoon was going to attack him.

It seemed Buffoon hated Yuri's nearness to his mistress the most. Seeing Yuri standing so close to Alice, her finger on his lips was the last straw for the jealous crazed mutt.

Alice shouted a command, but Buffoon didn't listen for the very first time, he had enough of this two legged wolf taking too much of her time, stealing her away from him…

Yuri tackled the big dog. It wasn't easy for he didn't want to kill the mutt, just show him who is master. Alice screamed as the two rolled in the dirt, she didn't know who got the upper hand, but she didn't want either of them to get hurt. She ran inside the cottage and with shaky hands took out her father's shotgun.

Buffoon was a true man killer, and he easily overpowered Yuri. Yuri grunted from the effort as the massive Hellhound rolled on top of him, seeking his neck.

Then suddenly, man and beast were completely still. Alice rushed from the cottage, gave a sound of alarm as she ran to the pair.

"Whoa! Baby cool down!" Yuri said, eyeing the shotgun as she positioned it.

"Yuri!" She cried through her tears, she was so terrified Buffoon had killed him for sure. But as she crouched nearer, she realized that it wasn't Yuri's throat that was caught in Buffoon's jaws, rather his left hand. But his other hand was clamped on the dog's wind pipe, effectively cutting off Buffoon's air supply.

The beast was too dumb to realize that he was suffocating.

"Yuri you're choking him!" Alice cried out.

"Stay away." Yuri ordered. "Buffoon doesn't understand anything but brute force. I'm just showing him who's the man around here."

Suddenly Buffoon ceased his struggles and went completely limp. Alice cried in dismay.

"You killed him!" She cried.

Yuri pushed the great hound off his body, panting with exertion. "No, he just passed out that's all."

When Alice would have approached her dog, Yuri motioned for her to stay away. He sat on his haunches, waiting for Buffoon to regain consciousness.

Yuri knew the exact instant that the dog came to. With smooth precision, he nailed down Buffoon's head with his foot to the ground when he would have lifted his canine head.

Buffoon whimpered, and looked at who was holding him captive.

"That's right." Yuri said, wiping his brow against his sleeve. "Look at me in the eye and know who is master."

Yellow canine eyes looked at him for a moment in a contest of will. Then finally accepting defeat, Buffoon looked away and ceased struggling against Yuri's foot.

"Yes." Yuri murmured, releasing his head and sitting back on his haunches near the dog. "You're a tough son all right, but it's about time you accepted who's the man in the house."

Buffoon didn't protest anymore when Yuri began to touch him, completely submissive now that he knew who's stronger between them. Yuri ruffled the hairy hide, speaking in a low, soothing voice.

"Go now and chase some silly rabbit, rather than feasting on my hide." He ordered the big beast.

Buffoon got up on his feet, shook his head, and with his tongue lolling at one side, he bounced away.

"Still planning to use that on me?" Yuri asked pointing at her shotgun.

Alice shook her head. "I wasn't going to..." She said softly, placing it down on the ground.

"What?" He asked, unsure if he heard her right.

"Nothing…"

Alice walked nearer to him, took his bleeding hand and healed his wounds as easily as if she was only wiping his skin of smudge. Yuri leaned closer to her, intoxicated with the sweet scent of her hair, nearly giving in to the temptation to plant his lips on her fair head.

But as it was, he simply stood there and basked in her gentle, sweet attention

A/N

Okie, after all that talk last chapter about readers, I believe it is only appropriate that I thank those who took their time to review. So here you go!

Anime-Alee Yes, I understand sweetie. Ya know what I mean XD

MikoNoNyte Kim-san, I really don't know I'm improving, if this is better than the others, it's pure luck! And where's the sappy Yurice fic you promised the last time?

Bella I never had the oppurtunity to thank you personally, so now allow me: Thank you so much for your comments! And yes, I think it is to be expected...or I'll more likely suprise others if I didn't change the rating for this one later hee hee!

drmaster36 Thank you for reading and taking the time to leave a review, I hope you'll like this one too XD

Angelic Kamaria Hi! When will you write a SH fic? And may I persuade you to write a Yurice? Plz?

The truth be told, I have two other A/U stories written down, but of all the three I have chosen this one...when I having trouble with the Amnesia part , anyway if I don't pull this one right, I'll try again with the other two stories, unless someone shoots me down first! Hee Hee!