Alright I'm back again with the next chapter, which will sadly be the last. As much as I hate to end this story, I do have other stories I need to work on. I'd just like to thank all my readers for their reviews throughout the duration of this story.

Reviews:

To YSRS: Thanx, glad you like it.

To medical motoko mcdowell: I sent you a private message concerning your review. Let me know what you think of my idea.

To J1210: It's alright, I have a lot of stories I haven't even been able to keep up with. So I don't mind if you forgot to review on the last chapter. Hope you like this one as well.

To Ninnypants: yeah, Mizore is sexy, that's what I was going for. I hate myself for making her evil, but hey she's the antagonist in this story.

ToKatsoul28: Sorry, but no mature content, its suggestive themes. But I guess you could confuse the two. And like I said before I don't like depressing endings either.

And here it is, Chapter 10)

Motoko had gotten Yumi to the nearest hospital as quickly as possible. Tsuroko went with her, seeing as trying to find Mizore would be a fruitless effort considering the distance she had gotten when she was sent flying.

Once at the hospital Motoko called the others to let them know the situation. Tsuroko made a call to Yumi's father to do the same. They all rushed over as soon as they could to see Yumi. The doctor had told them that Yumi had suffered psychological trauma and there was little he could do. However he told them that she should wake up any time.

The following day Yumi had regained consciousness and was deemed fit to go home, but was under doctor's orders to get plenty of rest since she had suffered a good deal of stress. She went back to her room at the Inn, despite her father's insistence that she go home with him. Tsuroko and Motoko both managed to convince him that his daughter was in good hands. With much reluctance he gave in, knowing they were right and thanking them for their heroic efforts. He gave Yumi one last hug and kiss before leaving.

Everyone at the Inn had been relieved to know that Yumi was doing okay, but also knew that she was going to need time to fully recover from her ordeal. They all decided to let her just rest awhile and would check on her later. In the meantime they went about their daily lives.

Tsuroko had taken the opportunity to talk to Yumi in private about everything. She apologized and begged Yumi's forgiveness. Yumi accepted the apology and offered her own for blaming her mother's death on Tsuroko entirely. Having put the past behind them Tsuroko wished her well and set off.

Shinobu was horribly upset when she heard what had happened and immensely relieved when she heard that Yumi was going to be alright. She planned on making an extra special dinner to celebrate Yumi being on the path to recovery. But first there was something else she had to, no needed to do.

The young girl went off looking for Motoko. She found her up on the roof, doing her usual training exercises. She saw Shinobu approaching and stopped what she was doing.

"Motoko, may I speak with you for a minute?"

"Of course, is something bothering you?"

Shinobu nodded, "It…it's just that…I feel like I owe you an apology."

Motoko raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Apology? What for?"

"I treated you badly because I was afraid you were trying to come between Yumi and me. But when Yumi was in trouble, you saved her life." Her eyes began to tear up, "If you hadn't gone looking for her, she would have been killed."

Shinobu fought back a sob. Motoko, seeing Shinobu was becoming upset, gave the younger girl a hug to comfort her. Shinobu let herself sink into Motoko's embrace and took the next few seconds to calm down. Once she had, she returned the hug.

"Thank you Motoko and I'm sorry for the way I behaved before."

"That's alright Shinobu, I forgive you. and as for saving Yumi-chan I don't deserve all the credit. If you hadn't told my sister and I that you thought she was in trouble we wouldn't have gone to find her." She broke off the hug and looked Shinobu in the eyes, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to save her at all."

"I guess that's true, and Su helped a lot too."

Motoko nodded in agreement, "Yes, she did. She did us a big favor making that tracking device, which reminds me I promised her I'd treat her to a day at the amusement park as a thank you. I should probably see when she wants to go. But first I want to check on Yumi-chan."

"I'll come too I hope she's feeling better."

The two girls went back inside and to Yumi's room. Motoko knocked and received no answer. She tired again after waiting a moment.

"Yumi-chan? Are you there?"

There was still no answer. Motoko slid the door open a tiny bit and peeked inside. The room was dark, but Motoko could see Yumi lying in her bed. She opened the door quietly and went in, Shinobu following. They found that Yumi was asleep and opted to just let her rest. They left, being careful not to disturb their sleeping friend.

Once they had shut the door behind them, Yumi sat up. She hadn't been sleeping at all. She just didn't feel like talking to anyone. Her encounter with Mizore had left her in a bad state of mind. What if she had been right? What if the love that Motoko and Shinobu showed her was just a machination of her powers? She didn't want to face them about it just yet. So when she heard someone knocking on the door, she had crawled in bed and pretended to be asleep.

Yumi waited a minute before she was sure that Motoko and Shinobu had gone. She got out of bed and left her room. She heard voices coming from Shinobu's room and figured they went in there. The door was open and she could hear them clearly from her spot near her door, so she stayed there, lest they should find her eavesdropping.

Inside the room the two girls continued their conversation.

"I was thinking of making Yumi's favorite for dinner."

"That's a good idea. I'm sure that it will help her feel better."

Out in the hall, Yumi allowed herself a small smile. Maybe she was wrong to jump to the conclusion that Mizore was right. She should have known better than to let that get to her. She felt a little better.

Unfortunately what Yumi heard next shattered that feeling.

"Will you and Su be back for dinner or are you going to eat while you're out?"

What? Motoko and Su were going out? Yumi felt her heart sink a little. She thought that Motoko liked her. Maybe Mizore had been right after all.

Yumi shook her head, clearing it of her thoughts. She was just jumping to conclusions. Just because Motoko was going out with Su for a while didn't mean that they were dating. Right?

"Well I'm not sure how long the date is supposed to last but I'm sure we'll be back before dinner. I just feel bad about Yumi-chan."

"Me too, that's why I want to cook her favorite for dinner. I need to go shopping to get everything I'll need though."

"If you like I can run out and get whatever you need for you before I go out with Su."

"No that's okay. I need to go out anyway. I got a letter from a secret admirer at school on Friday and it says that he wants to meet with me today. So I'm going to do that first."

Yumi's heart felt like it had been torn out. Motoko was dating Su and Shinobu was going to meet with a boy. It looked like that witch Mizore had been right after all. They didn't love her the way she thought she did. Not wanting to hear anymore, Yumi went back into her room. She threw herself on her bed and wept silently, her heart broken.

Back with in Shinobu's room, Motoko inquired about Shinobu's secret admirer.

"You're meeting with him? Does this mean you don't want to be with Yumi-chan anymore?"

"What? No! I want to tell him that I love someone else."

Motoko felt a little disappointed. She was hoping that she'd have a chance to take Yumi for herself.

"Oh, I see. Well I need to go and get ready."

Shinobu nodded, "I need to get going too. Have fun on your date with Su."

Motoko blushed, "It's not a date. It's just an afternoon at the amusement park."

Shinobu smiled at Motoko's reaction, "I'm going to start cooking dinner around seven. Try to be back from your date by then."

"It's not a date!"

Shinobu giggled and went off to run her errands. Motoko shook her head and went to find Su so they could get ready. Unknown to both of them, Yumi was curled up in her bed, having cried herself to sleep.

The afternoon came and went. Shinobu had gotten back and spent a little time studying with Naru and Keitaro. After that she went to the kitchen and did a little cleaning before she got ready to prepare dinner. A little after seven, Motoko and Su returned from their day at the amusement park. Su was ecstatic from all the fun she had and Motoko was exhausted from trying to keep up with the girl through the course of their trip.

Shinobu poked her head out to greet them and let them know that dinner was almost ready. Motoko settled down on the couch and relaxed while Su went into the kitchen trying to sneak a taste of dinner. Shinobu smacked her hands away and told Su to wait. Su pouted and opted to stuff her face with a banana until it was time to eat.

Dinner was finally ready and Shinobu called everyone down. Soon they were all seated at the table, with the exception of Yumi. A few minutes passed and she still hadn't come down. Shinobu started to worry.

"Where's Yumi-chan?"

Motoko looked up from her meal, "You don't suppose she's still lying in bed do you?"

Shinobu got up, "I'm going to go check on her."

Motoko also stood, "I'll go with you."

Leaving the others to enjoy their meal they went back up to Yumi's room. Like earlier they found her lying in her bed, only this time she wasn't asleep. Or rather pretending to sleep. Instead they found her just lying there, hugging her pillow. She looked like she had been crying; her eyes were puffy and red. She took notice of the two girls and immediately looked away from them.

"Go away, leave me alone."

Shinobu knelt down next to Yumi's bed, "Yumi-chan, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"

Shinobu reached out to check if Yumi had a fever, but the halfbreed smacked her hand away.

"Don't touch me! Just go away!"

Shinobu pulled back her hand and looked down at the older girl with concern.

"Yumi-chan, please tell us what's wrong. We want to help."

Motoko stepped forward and knelt next to Shinobu, "We're your friends Yumi-chan; we care about you."

Yumi sat up and turned to face them. "No you don't! You never did! The only reason that either of you like me is because I'm half succubus! You've been under the influence of my seductive powers since we've met!"

Yumi was crying now, tears flowing freely down her face. Shinobu was shocked and a little hurt by what Yumi had just said. She almost started to cry herself, partially because of what Yumi said, but mostly because she couldn't stand seeing Yumi being so upset and not being able to do anything about it. Motoko, while she felt shocked and hurt by what Yumi said as well, did know what to do. She slapped Yumi across the face with such force that it knocked the crying girl flat on her back.

The room fell silent. Yumi had stopped crying; the sudden slap from Motoko catching her completely off guard. Shinobu stared at Motoko, dumbfounded. Her initial confusion at the swordswoman's actions was quickly replaced by anger.

"Motoko! How could you?!"

"Just a minute Shinobu," Motoko turned her attention to Yumi; casting the girl a glare, "Would you listen to yourself!? Where did you get such a ridiculous idea?!"

"I…it's just that when Mizore kidnapped me…"

"WHAT!? Yumi you can't be serious! She's the one who's responsible for your mother's death! How could you believe anything she tells you?!"

"But…but she was right! I heard the two of you talking in Shinobu's room earlier. I know that you were dating Su and that Shinobu has a boyfriend now."

It was at this point that Shinobu couldn't help but interrupt. "What? Yumi-chan I don't think you heard the whole conversation. I went to tell him that I already had someone I like, and that's you."

Yumi felt a mix of relief and confusion. "So I misunderstood what the two of you were talking about before?"

Shinobu nodded and Yumi felt better. But there was still Motoko and Su.

"So Motoko's date with Su…"

Motoko decided to answer this one, "It wasn't a date! I only took her to the amusement park as a way of thanking her for her help. If it hadn't been for her my sister and I wouldn't have gotten there in time."

"That's all?" Yumi felt bed for the way she had acted towards them earlier. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that, forgive me?"

Shinobu smiled and hugged her, "Of course we do, after all it isn't your fault."

Motoko also hugged Yumi, "She's right Yumi-chan. You've been through a lot recently and it's obviously caused you a good deal of stress."

Yumi smiled, "Thanks for knocking some sense into me. I feel much better now."

The three broke off the embrace. They all got up and Shinobu headed for the door.

"Come on we should go eat before our dinner gets cold."

Motoko followed her with Yumi right behind, "Or worse yet, before Su decides to help herself to our plates."

They went down and ate their meal. Fortunately the others had been nice enough to keep Su away from their food. Soon dinner was over and the girls all went about their own activities, leaving Keitaro to wash the dishes. Shinobu, thinking that some fresh air would do Yumi a world of good, went up on the roof with her. Motoko was thinking of joining them but Naru came to her telling her that Tsuroko was on the phone and wanted to speak with her.

Motoko quickly went to the phone and picked up the receiver.

"Hello? Nee-san?"

Hearing her sister's voice on the phone, Tsuroko responded in an urgent tone.

"Motoko?"

"Yes, it's me."

"Good. Listen, there's something you need to know. Mizore isn't dead."

That instantly got Motoko's attention, "What?! How do you know? Have you seen her?"

"No, but I've been looking all day. I overheard someone talking about seeing a 'woman with black wings and a tail' while I was searching the area where we last saw her. I asked the man about it and from the description it's definitely her. I'm going to keep searching. But be on your guard Motoko."

"Don't worry I will."

"Good, now I need to go back to my search. Mizore could be anywhere."

"Good luck Nee-san."

"Thank you, I'll call you back in a short while."

Tsuroko hung up. Motoko was about to go tell Yumi as well as the others what she had just been told when she heard a scream. Recognizing it as Shinobu's Motoko rushed to the roof where Yumi and Shinobu went.

Moments later she arrived and found Mizore on the roof with Yumi in her grasp. Shinobu was off to the side, too scared to move.

Mizore looked to be in bad shape. She was covered in cuts and bruises, one of her wings was clearly broken and hanging lifelessly from her back, and on of her ankles was twisted slightly, making her use her good wing to stand upright.

She saw Motoko and cast a hateful glare at the swordswoman.

"You!! You filthy little Aoyoma bitch! You're the first one to die!"

Motoko paid no mind to Mizore's threat. She drew her sword and met Mizore's glare.

"I don't think you're in any condition to be doing any such thing."

Mizore smiled her twisted smile "Oh really? In case you haven't noticed I have the little halfbreed as my hostage. So unless you want to see her suffer you'll take that blade of yours and cut your stomach open!"

To emphasize that she wasn't bluffing, Mizore dragged her long claw-like nails across Yumi's cheek, drawing blood and leaving jagged scratch marks. Yumi whimpered as she felt Mizore's claws scratch down her cheek and stop just short of her neck.

Motoko felt enraged at the sight of Mizore harming Yumi. If it weren't for the fact that Yumi was Mizore's hostage she would have charged and sliced the succubus in half. She calmed her rage so she could think clearly and weighed her options. She couldn't do as Mizore said; if she did Mizore would only kill Yumi anyway. But if she tried to attack her, she'd be risking Yumi's life, something she didn't like in the least so that option was out too. There had to another way.

Motoko's eyes lit up as she got an idea. There was something she could do, but she needed to get closer to Mizore and Yumi first.

Mizore was growing impatient, "Well? Did you not hear me correctly, or is it you'd rather watch her die?"

Motoko took a step forward, "No! I'll do what you say. But would it be alright if I said good bye to her first?"

Mizore rolled her eyes, "You humans and your damn sentiment. Fine, but make it quick!"

Motoko slowly advanced toward them. However she didn't make it too far before Mizore stopped her.

"What do you take me for, a fool? I'm not letting you just walk over here while you're caring that sword of yours! You can say your goodbyes from right where you're standing!"

Motoko stepped back a bit, "If I set my sword aside, may I approach her?"

Mizore hesitated, "Fine, but no tricks!"

Motoko sheathed her sword and gave it to Shinobu. She then gave the girl a hug and whispered to her. Shinobu mumbled a 'goodbye' and watched as Motoko went back to Yumi.

Motoko was only a meter or two away when Mizore stopped her again.

"That's close enough! Don't think I'm going to trust you just because you're unarmed! Now get this over with!"

Motoko gave a quick glare to Mizore and then turned her gaze to Yumi. Yumi was crying, not wanting to believe what was happening.

"Motoko, please you don't have to do this."

"I have no choice Yumi-chan. There's no other way."

Yumi began to cry harder, "No! Please don't Motoko! You don't have to!"

"It's alright Yumi-chan. I'd do anything for you. I love you."

Mizore was getting sick of waiting, "The two of you have said more than enough! Now either you go and kill yourself or I'll end this brat's life here and now!"

Motoko smiled, "I don't think so. Shinobu, NOW!"

Shinobu threw Motoko's sword to her. With catlike reflexes, Motoko caught the sword by the handle and gave it a short swing with the flick of her wrist. The sheath flew off the blade and nailed Mizore between the eyes, stunning her long enough for Motoko to move into her attack.

She gave Mizore one last glare, "The only one dying here is you demon! Boulder Cutting Blade: Second Form!"

With a swing of her sword, Motoko sent a powerful wave of chi that passed through Yumi and struck Mizore full force. The succubus was obliterated entirely with no trace left behind to shoe she had even been there at all. Unfortunately Motoko's attack had shredded Yumi's clothes, leaving her in her birthday suit.

Both Shinobu and Motoko blushed at the sight before them. Shinobu covered her eyes with her hands, but still peeked through her fingers. Motoko on the other hand suddenly found herself seeing things from Keitaro's point of view. She had a small trickle of blood coming out of one nostril as she looked on. The sight was forever etched into her memory as her eyes took in every detail of the other girl's body.

"Y-Yumi-chan. I never would have guessed you had a birthmark there."

Yumi, after processing everything that had just happened, quickly covered herself as best she could with her hands; her entire face was red with a giant blush. More embarrassed than she had ever been in her life, she couldn't help but cry out.

"Motoko! You…you…you PERVERT!"

TBC.

Yeah, I know I told you that this is the last chapter. And it is. But I also wrote an epilogue for the story. Hope you like.