3rd times a Charm?

Yona bent over and squeezed the towel in one hand, forcing some more water out. The cleaners would not be happy to find out she had deposited her towel in the tub. Etiquette was of great important in onsens. She looked back at Wolfe as he sat himself back down. He tried to encourage her to go back in but she shook her head. "I had better not. Let's keep this strictly business," Yona encouraged, trying to appear dignified despite being drenched head to toe. She stood back up and pointed with her hand back towards the rinsing room. "I am going to rinse off, dry off, and change. Meet me out front of the onsen when you're finished?"

Yona had already turned and padded bare foot across the tiled floor, around the cloth divider. She didn't mind if he took his time and relaxed. Being doused in such hot water was draining anyway, but Yona considered staying and relaxing in the onsen with him, taking a moment for looking over her shoulder. It was tempting to stay, but there was so much work to be done. With a shake of Yona's head, the short female made her way to the rinsing room, hanging up the towel and using a shower head to rinse the mineral water from her hair. She grabbed a dry towel and rubbed the soft towel over her skin and around her hair, soaking up the water. She grabbed a second towel and wrapped it around her chest, heading back to the changing room. She let out a sigh as she crossed into the well lit changing room.

Yona unlocked a small locker, pulling her clothing out and changed, placing a fresh set of clothing on: long white pants, wraps over her chest, a black cropped halter like she had worn before. It was nice and warm, and in a small mirror Yona could see her face had returned to normal color. Yona turned away from the small mirror and pulled the towels from her body and hair, resting them on a nearby bench and withdrew her coat from the locker. Some kind soul working there had pounded the dust out of her coat and it looked substantially cleaner and significantly whiter. It was actually kind of nice, feeling relieved that Wolfe had her back. Granted, the woman did not want to do things his way, but she admitted some ounce of relief from trying to take on an entire gang by herself.

She set the coat down on the bench behind her and reached into the back of the locker, standing on tip toe to try to reach the money purse. She stretched farther and grabbed onto the lockers with her free hand in order to reach. That was when the green haired female felt something sharp in the center of her back, just under the edge of her cropped halter top. "Damn it," She mumbled to herself, freezing in place, still on tip toe. Yona inhaled and lifted her hands in surrender, lowering herself until she was flatfooted on the floor.

A deep voice whispered behind her and she frowned, angry not scared. How the hell had she not noticed someone was in the room? Had he been there the whole time? How had he gotten to be so quiet? She swallowed and listened to the voice. "I'm afraid you have some unfinished business with us. Come along nice or I'll find a place between your vertebrae to stick my knife." Yona nodded once and turned towards the exit. She walked slowly, the sharp edge of the knife or dagger, or whatever it was, in the center of her back. Already, Yona was devising a plan, but this wasn't the best of situations to try to plan out of.

Wolfe watched as Yona tried her best to squeeze the water out of her towel with little success. He saw as she looked back at him and the tub before shaking her head and declining with something about keeping it “strictly business”.  Wolfe was about to say something bust she was already walking away talking about rinsing and drying off. Obviously she had gotten the wrong idea thought he must of intended something else by his offer and words, but in truth it was far from his intentions. He had only meant that it didn’t really matter if they were naked at that point and she should have stayed and enjoyed the bath a bit longer. Since he had met her only shortly ago he could already tell she didn’t know how to calm down and enjoy the moments. For what it was worth, he could understand her need to worry, but the safest place she could be at that moment was in that room with him at that second.

Wolfe closed his eyes as he let out a deep breath as he pondered on the situation. He wished she would just take a moment to settle down and just take a breath. He was already going to help her out and reguardless of what was going on with this gang he was sure she was going to be just fine. Wolfe was not a conceited person or mage, but he was pretty sure he was more than a match for anything that gang had to throw at them. However, either way she was already gone from the room and the chance to really sit back and enjoy the moment was dead. So Wolfe took one more deep breath and stood up, and in an almost instant flash of light he was gone from the tub and now standing in the men’s changing room.

Wolfe walked over to the shower and let the water rinse him off for a few seconds and then dried himself off. He then made his way over to his clothes and put them on in a hurry and walked out of the men’s changing room and into the main area to wait for her. He made his way to the corner of the room and stood in the corner as he waited for her, lets his mind wander just a little as he did.

When the green haired female suddenly stopped, she felt the blade dig and cut a small slice into her back. She grit her teeth quietly, but had the man wanted her dead right here, she knew he would just let his blade do the talking. Whatever the Knives wanted of her, it wasn't some back-of-the-room forgotten alley kind of killing. It was the money she had robbed of them, and likely an issue of respect. "Why did you stop moving, get on with-" Yona interrupted the male, snapping her head over her shoulder to look at him, "My coat. It's cold outside, and unless you want people staring at a shivering woman with a knife to her back, drawing all kinds of attention, you had best let me have it."

The man growled, deciding if it was a smart decision. He clearly hadn't thought this through, and even more still, the man was probably greener than a D rank mage when it came to working with the gang. Yona would bet her life that he had only dared to try an attack so stupid in so public a place out of the need and desire to impress his superiors. That was an angle she knew she could work. Finally, as predicted, the male relented. "Fine, your coat. But I'm going to tie your hands. You better make it look like you're just crossing your arms or something," He said, sounding surprisingly gruff. Yona looked fairly helpless, and in this situation she probably seemed so. She only had to encourage his power, encourage the idea that she could do nothing now that he had caught her, and then, Yona knew she would have him.

Yona nodded compliantly, her voice like honey, "Of course, the power is in your hands. I'm not that stupid." Still, he hesitated, and finally he left the knife pressed to her back but stretched his own self to the side, reaching to grab her coat from the bench behind him with his free left hand. Yona made her move quickly then, a smile on her face. She took one quick half step forward, placing her left hand behind her back to grab the wrist of his blade-hand before he could lunge or respond. She spun smoothly, snatching the moment of glory away from the man. Yona had her left hand on his wrist, stepping forward with her right foot into the spin, moving into a forward stance and bending that wrist backwards with the weight of her motion. She felt the bones start to pop and the man let out a loud howl. Her forearm was cut into by the swift motion of grabbing for his wrist without a full visual on it from behind, however Yona didn' stop to check on her own cut, not now.

"You whore!" He screamed, lifting his free hand to grab at her's, trying to pry it off  his injured wrist. He had hoped it would be enough of a distraction because he lifted his right leg to jab his knee into her stomach. Yona might have been new with magic, but she knew the basics of defending herself and a counter attack with his leg was both slow and expected. She simply pushed on him, her hand still tight on his wrist, her right hand on his shoulder, and let the weight of his own body pull him down. Foolish man, she thought, standing on one leg in the middle of a close brawl. By the time he hit the floor, he let out another loud cry, shouting for help, hoping someone would come and stop him from losing this fight. Whether or not anyone came to his cries did not sway Yona from what she saw as a necessary course of action, and unless someone did come in to stop her, Yona would proceed.

The man trying to set her up to look like the attacker only angered her more. "Such a baby," She mocked him, baring her teeth like an imp. Her intense green eyes met the man's brown hues for the first time just as she saw his life slip away. Her right hand had plucked the knife from his grasp and drove it deeply and at an angle in between his ribs and towards his chest. Yona had no idea if she hit his heart, but she really didn't care. It was all about self defense. Yona had climbed over him after he fell, straddling him on the tatami mats on the floor, but with her work complete she stood back up. The man tried to say something to her and she let his wrist go. His arm fell to the floor and no words managed to come out, the deep-claret of his lifeblood staining the tatami mats.

Wolfe was just waiting in the main room, his back against the wall, and his mind wandering to what exactly what to do with Yona. He was thinking of ways they could deal with the gang without just killing them all. Wolfe already had an idea on how to deal with the family, but it was still going to need to pull his weight as an Ace of a legal guild. However, he should still be able to take care of that issue, but the other thing he was wondering was what she was going to do after all of this. He could tell she was a mage of some sort, but he hadn’t seen anything to give away her magic, or the extent of her powers. All he knew was she was a newer mage.

Wolfe was lost in thought as he stood there until he finally came back to the real world and realized he had been standing there a little longer than he had expected and he started to wonder. Like clockwork, the moment he thought about what could be taking her so long he heard what sounded like a male voice scream from the women’s changing room. Based solely on the words used and the tone of the scream Wolfe could only assume that something had happened, and Yona had done something to hurt and or piss the male off. He could only assume what could have happened, but then the screams and yells for help instantly painted a picture for him.

Wolfe took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. He let a just deep sigh as he opened them and made his way towards the female changing room. It only took him a few seconds to get the entrance of the room and he made his way into the changing room. He was greeted by the scene of Yona standing above the body of a man on the on the ground with a knife stabbed into him and he was bleed out, and most likely dead if not super close. It painted the scene of some kind of struggle, but based on Yona’s words and attitude from earlier he could only imagine how the details of this little fight had gone down.

Wolfe took another deep breath as looked her up and down looking for an obvious wounds ”Well, at least from first glances you look like you’re ok, but now I have to ask if I really want to know what happened here. However, I get the impression I don’t want the details…” Wolfe figured this guy had attacked her, but he also had the idea that most likely Yona had gone out of her way to kill the guy when she could have just as easily just taken him down.

The green eyed woman's expression was malevolent at best, her eyes shifting from the dead man to Wolfe. In a heartbeat's time, her eyes softened and appeared defensive, hearty, even looking years younger. "It was self defense, he drew a knife on me," Yona explained. As much as she didn't feel the need to explain herself, already Yona was drawn into doing just that. She pointed to the still open locker door, her coat on the bench. She smiled at the coat; it was still nice and clean, untouched by the unfortunate situation which gave her cause to dirty her hands. It was an odd thing to notice, but her nonchalance gave away how little she cared about the life she had just taken.

Yona moved towards where a dry towel sat folded upon a stack of towels arranged on a stool in the corner. She only needed a few strides, her booted feet leaving blood tracks across the floor. Yona wrapped the towel around her left arm, turning to face and approach Wolfe once more. She wasn't hiding her injury, nor was she addressing it with him. "We should probably go. They are really going to want me after this, and I wouldn't be shocked if the Onsen-owner tried to pin this mess on me too! Really, though. They look at me, a lady, and think that he was the victim." She scoffed slightly as she reached with her right hand for her coat. Draping it over her shoulders, the female sighed softly to herself.

It really had been self defense. And in the end, the man had been taking her to what would have been an undeserved and agonizing death at the hands of the Knives' leader. As soon as he drew a blade and jumped her, Yona considered it a "me versus them" situation, in which only one could leave alive. And of course, she was going to make sure that she won that situation. Any rational person would have done the same thing. And as she tried to rationalize in her head, Yona realized she was trying to appear a good person in Wolfe's eyes. Somehow, subconsciously, she had decided that she wanted him to approve of her, she wanted him to respect her, and most disturbing, she wanted him to like her.

Wolfe took a second to glace over everything one more time as Yona defended herself. He figured she wasn’t lying and that is exactly what had happened. However, he also got the impression from her demeanor that she had no care what so ever that she had taken the man’s life, and as he had processed before he assumed she had made no attempt to resolve it without taking the man’s life. Either way, it was over now and he would take her word for now. He took a moment to glance over her and noticed a wound of some sort on her arm, but before he could ask if she was ok she had turned and was walking across the floor and grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her arm, covering her wound.

Wolfe looked at the dead man on the floor one last time before glancing at Yona to see if she was ok. As he looked her up and down for a second he noticed she was wounded, but before he could say anything she was already making her way across the room and was grabbing a towel. He watched as she wrapped it around her arm to cover the wound and picked up her coat and threw it over her shoulder. Wolfe looked down one last time at the body just as she spoke. As he listened to her he had to agree even if he didn’t like it. He couldn’t give details of what had happened, and that meant they would want to detain her and it would take time they didn’t have and put her out for them to try again.

Wolfe nodded in agreement as he spoke to her ”Yeah I agree…. I am not happy to just leave this mess, but it has to be done. Either way I will get us a room for the night on the other side of town so we can get some sleep. Tomorrow we can work out something and get this figured out…. So lets get going and head out quickly.” Wolfe waited for her to start to lead the way out of the room so they could leave ”Are you going to be ok? I saw you were wounded. So we will stop somewhere and get you something to fix that up.” Wolfe regardless of how he felt about the situation kept his word and he was going to help her, and in the meantime that meant getting her wound taken care of, and giving a chance to get some rest, as he could tell from the time he had spent with her so far, she was lacking greatly.

Yona didn't remark on his choice of getting a room in an Inn. At this point, she doubted she had much face left to save in Hosenka. The willow haired woman had made a make shift bandage out of the towel and was also glad that Wolfe had made no move to stop her what was technically a theft from the onsen. With her coat draped over her shoulders, but her arms not in the sleeves, the billowing jacket acted to hide her injured arm from outside attention. Yona led them out of the room, and out a side exit door. They saw no workers at the onsen, but an alert would not take much time to be put out once that dead man was found.

"I'd appreciate that much," Yona commented about his suggestion to stop and grab some sort of aid for her bleeding arm. She hadn't looked it over or cleaned it out so she had no idea if it was bad or not. Her adrenaline was just starting to fade out, her viridescent eyes turning back into the eyes Wolfe had first seen on her: docile, young, civilian eyes. Certainly not the kind of eyes you would expect on the woman who had close-handedly killed a man. She licked her lips and tasted the night air. It was cool, and she expected it might rain lightly overnight. It was another good thing, rain usually hindered the magic of mages who worked in the law.

Yona was fairly silent and at some point she shifted back, following the white haired male around the city. He knew where things were better than she did and she was getting more tired by the minute. The ache in her arm had turned into a throbbing pain. It was too dark to look at it now, outside, but she didn't doubt that she would need a couple stitches. She looked up at the sky and considered the Inn, dreading the idea of sleeping indoors. Though she had done it many times, Yona never slept quite right surrounded by walls, and the fear of fire usually prevented her from falling asleep most of those times. The woman was not about to admit her fears to the man she was with; something was more personal and intimate when it came to fear. It wasn't the stress of trying to survive, the concern of a gang chasing after her. Fear was inside your bones and forced your hand, controlling your mind and your beliefs until all you breathed was the pain of dread and all you desired was relief. No, fear was too personal to be telling a man she had just met.

Wolfe walked with Yona until she sort of let him take the lead. He led her to a local store and led her inside. He nodded for her to walk around and see if there was anything else she needed. Wolfe made his way to area near the back and grabbed everything he needed for first aid, and walked back to the counter. He then paid for everything and walked out with Yona right behind him.

Wolfe led Yona to the other side of Hosenka to one of the Midi style inns. Wolfe led the way in and waked up to the front desk. After a about a minute of talking to the person behind the desk, he nodded and turned to Yona and nodded for her to follow him. He then led her down a hall to some steps and up to the second floor. Once they were on the second floor he led her to a room just down the hall and slid open the door and motioned for her to walk in, and followed her into the room.

Wolfe slid the door shut behind them and made his way over to the table and laid all the medical supplies on the table and motioned for Yona to take a seat and put her arm on the table "Ok, lets take a look at that wound so i can get you patched up. We need to make sure it doesn't get infected." Wolfe waited for her to take her seat.

Upon entering the Inn, Yona kept her hood up. She had slid her arms into the sleeves carefully, hunching slightly so that the people in the Inn would not see her face. The female had shifted around carefully and then followed Wolfe up the second floor. The Inn was fairly nice, at least nicer than she expected. The wallpaper was old, what one might even call vintage. A cream color with small pink flowers. The stairs were covered by a new carpet, she could tell based on the brightness of the tan color. Everything else seemed to be made of polished oakwood, maybe maple. The color was similar but someone had touched it up recently, maybe even with magic. The whole place had a light scent of potpourri to it, subtle, not overbearing. It kind of impressed Yona that Wolfe had found a place off the beaten path but not a literal rabbit's-hole.

The room Wolfe had opened, using a small copper key, was medium sized, adorned much the same way as the lobby had been. Shades of cream and claret bouncing off each other, little pink flowers on the wall and on the bed covers, a golden weave of rope around the curtains keeping them open. Yona walked in, pulled the curtains shut tight, and then went back to the table where Wolfe was waiting. "Not a bad place, Wolfy," the female said, unceremoniously dubbing him with a less than original name.

The green eyed woman took a seat, sloughed off her jacket, and then she leaned her towel wrapped left arm on the table. She let out a breathy sigh, removing her red stained towel and revealing the slice in her arm for Wolfe's inspection. Her eyes were not on her own injury, they were on the supplies, checking the labels, looking over each piece he had managed to pick up at the store. It seemed he had everything he needed to treat her and again she was impressed by his foresight. Seemed like he didn't earn the title "Ace" due to popularity, but to competence, and that was a very good sign.

Wolfe sat and waited for a few before Yona made her way over to the chair and took a seat. Wolfe watched as she uncovered the wound and gave him a good chance to really look at it. It was bad, but not too bad that he wouldn’t be able to patch her up here. Wolfe grabbed the bottle of alcohol and also grabbed a good grip and her arm ”Ok, this is going to hurt a bit, so sit still as best as you can.” Wolfe knew she could take a little, and she hadn’t even complained about the wound so far, but then again he knew she had been working off the adrenalin from the moment. This time she didn’t have that, plus she had time to see this one coming and between the two, this was going to be a bit different.

Wolfe gave her a second to brace before pouring the alcohol on the wound and making sure to hold her arm tight to make sure she didn’t squirm too much. He then took a clean part of the towel and cleaned off the dried blood and got a better look at the wound. It was going to need a few stitches and some time to heal, but it otherwise looked ok. He didn’t waste any time as he cleaned up the wound and then picked up the needle and threaded it. He then looked up from the wound to Yona to let her know he was about to start, then looked back down and began to stitch up the cut.

It only took a few stitches before Wolfe had taken care of the wound to the best of his ability and gave it one more look over. He then cleaned off the wounded area one last time, and then covered it up with a bandage. Wolfe then stood up and turned around and took a few steps away from the table. Up to this point he had been calm and his demeanor had been kind and helpful, but that suddenly changed. Wolfe turned around with a stern look on his face as he suddenly dug into Yona ”Damn it Yona. We both know you didn’t need to kill him. I could tell the moment I walked in by the emotionless expression on your face and your nonchalant attitude you didn’t give two shits that you killed him… and it’s not even about right or wrong at that point. You are already in deep shit across the board, but to add a body in a public area. What part about that seemed like a great idea to you? Huh? Because if for some reason we hadn’t been able to get out before anyone had noticed, then there would be a city wide hunt for you and you would be detained and I wouldn’t be able to do shit for you. I can pull some weight about the child thing because YOU didn’t take them, and I am willing to help you with the knives… but that was just stupid…” Wolfe closed his eyes and began to slowly rub his face as he sighed. Despite his obvious anger there was a strong sense of worry too.

The green haired woman thought she had been ready. She had cleaned and cared for her own wounds for as long as she could recall, which was to say she really only had ever cared for herself. Nobody had patched up her wounds since the fire. But something about having someone else do it made it both easier and harder. It was easier because she knew Wolfe could see better, manipulate and move his hands better, and he had no difficulty with lighting or poor angles of sight to operate under. But for Yona, the expected motions were filled with some un-expectation, as was any act when done by another if usually done by one's self.

As the alcohol doused her skin, her lips puckered up. Her hand flexed, opening and closing, and Wolfe would be able to feel her muscles tensing in her arm where he held her still. She wasn't trying to move away from him, but away from the pain. Yona controlled her urges to fight and jerk back her arm, but the pain was enough so that she closed her eyes. Usually she doused herself with fresh water. Never had she used alcohol, unless she herself had partaken of the liquor first. She swallowed hard as he padded her skin dry, revealing the slice in her arm. True, it was at an angle, and it was a bad deep cut, but it didn't seem to have pierced any veins or arteries and it was a clean slice, meaning it was likely to heal naturally without problems. Yona made brief eye contact with Wolfe before he began sewing up her wound. She dug her right hand's nails into her own thigh, concentrating on a different pain to be sure that Wolfe could do the necessary stitches without her interference.

Yona looked back when he finished, her muscles slowing relaxing, though the pain still fairly fresh. Her brows knit together as she stayed speechless, focused on fighting the pain, not accepting it. Yona counted four stitches before the white haired man wrapped her forearm in a smooth layer of white fabric bandages. It was tight, but not too tight, and Yona took a moment's consideration glancing into Wolfe's face. Had he tended to many wounds in his time? Was he also a doctor? She admired the concentration and attention to detail, and resolved to feeling generally glad for his assistance in this matter. Maybe she wouldn't even have a scar.

"Thanks," She said to him, pulling her left arm towards her chest and turning it about, looking it over. Yona placed both hands in her lap and let out a short crisp sigh. Wolfe's standing up and abruptly moving away from the table caught her attention and her upturned face was angled towards his. She disagreed with some of his harsh words, but in hindsight, she was wrong to have killed the man. For the reasons he stated, giving herself a worse reputation in the eyes of the law. Even in self defense, she took it too far, and though she didn't regret it, not really, Yona could see how this would make it harder for Wolfe defend her. He was an Ace, an upholder of the law, and she had broken it several times now.

Her lips twitched as she finished, not feeling chided, but more so annoyed. The problem of letting other people help was listening to their opinions. Typically, she could have killed the guy, and later saw fit to judge herself on the action as a poor decision. But with him around, it was now a decision that was open for debate between the two. Yona was not about to relinquish her standpoint of the attacker deserving what he got even if it was an overall stupid move. Seeing his anger and worry, made her hesitate before speaking, thinking before opening her mouth. "Yeah, I killed him. Who cares? The lowlife deserved it for coming after me. I know how this all ails you, so here's about how we can fix this." Yona leaned towards him, still seated in her chair, "I'll admit what I did in front of the law, freeing you from the obligation of trying to defend me. I have no qualms about my actions and I have no fear of saying so either. You keep trying to help me without even knowing me."

She shook her head side to side, "First you help me get the Knives off my back. Then, I'll go with you and we can take care of the other mess. I don't want to get you in trouble. Besides, I don't mind taking credit for my unarmed takedown of a dangerous gang affiliated man." Yona offered a small smirk, trying to assuage his concerns.

Wolfe took a second and took a deep breath as he thought over what he had said. He hadn’t even touched the concept of morals or anything like that. This time had been about being stupid and making things harder. However, based solely on her expression and unchanged demeanor he figured she didn’t care much about he had to say. His suspicions were confirmed by her very first statement. Wolfe wasn’t happy to hear that, but before he could say anything she went on.

Wolfe listened to what she had to say and as she went on he was actually a little surprised to hear it. Wolfe then didn’t say anything for a few minutes as he turned around and walked over to the curtains and opened them. He then slid open the sliding wall and revealed a view that overlooked a good chunk of Hosenka. The warm night air hit Wolfe in his face and helped him to clear his head. He took a deep breath in before he turned around and looked at Yona ”You are right, and wrong in this case. Yes I am an Ace for a legal guild and as such law bound to a degree, but at the same time the rules of guild work outside the normal law. My issue is not that I want you to turn yourself in or anything of that matter. You have it wrong. My issue is your complete lack of care to the act itself. As I mentioned before I am not human, and for that reason I guess I value the idea of humanity more. Even more so based on the little I can find about who I once was… a monster. So to see you not care at all at the idea of just killing someone and not even giving a second thought to it bothers me. Do you wish so badly to become a monster, and slayer of men? Does this interest you that much?” Wolfe really didn’t understand the woman’s need to throw away her humanity so badly.

Wolfe hated where he was at this point in his existence. He knew almost nothing about who he used to be and from what he knew of his old ways he was the very thing he was trying to stop this woman Yona from becoming. This was personal to a degree, but he was trying to also keep it at arm’s length as to not get too passionate.

Yona stood up from the table shaking her head. She moved towards the bed in the room, sliding her coat off and tossing it onto the floor. In such a pretty, floral room, the green haired female throwing her coat on the ground seemed more than just out of place. She sat, perched on the edge of the bed and then shrugged. "Humans kill. Seems like I have nothing to lose. Any human, put into a life or death situation would kill to save their own head," She looked over her shoulder at Wolfe.

"I retain more of humanity by following that course of action, in fact. But the humanity aspect holds no interest for me. I kill when and how I choose to and for my own reasons," Yona insisted. She leaned back, bringing her legs onto the bed. She slid the covers up, pulling gently with her right arm until the covers were up to her waist. She wiggled in the bed some, sitting upright, making herself comfortable. "And I always have reasons." She paused and then tapped her hands on the blanket, over her lap. "This is really cozy. So," She glanced at the window, inhaling deeply.

The idea of sleeping in this room was significantly stressful for her. She preferred open air, under the sky, under the bright constellations. A building could be burned down. Yona cleared her throat, adding a tone of nonchalance to her voice, "Mind opening the window?"

Wolfe leaned against the window ledge as he listened to her retort about how all humans kill. The issue he had here was not that he disagreed with her, or even that she was wrong in her beliefs. The issue was beliefs like that were the very reason her life was in danger to begin with. Based on her beliefs, just because someone could and wanted to, they could and should take lives as they desired. There were people who functioned this way, but it didn’t make it right.

As she went on, Wolfe feelings about all of this only became more concrete. The idea that she justified her humanity in this way concerned Wolfe. He thought about everything she said but he kept coming to the same views on these topics.  Wolfe watched as she then made her herself comfortable on the bed and mentioned about how cozy it was and asked him to open the window. Wolfe walked to the other wall and slid it open too. Wolfe then turned back to Yona ”The other window is now open too…. And as far as your beliefs on what you said… That very concept is the reason you’re in the shit that you’re in. They have their own “reasons” and since they are stronger than you, they can force that same style of belief on you. Just because you are strong enough to take a life doesn’t mean you should. If you think that validates your humanity, than I would hate to see what you think strips you of it…” Wolfe didn’t want to think about this too much longer to be honest. He was getting the impression that he wouldn’t get through to her.

Yona blinked her lime green eyes at him and then yawned, lying her head on the pillow. She tried to hide her nervousness, grateful for two large open windows, giving her the sensation of being outside on a window evening. She shrugged down and pulled the covers up to her chest. With a small thump, Wolfe would hear that she had kicked her ankle boots off her feet and then nudged them to fall to the floor. She sighed with her eyes closed, "Yeah well best you let me worry about myself. You want to come up with a plan for the Knives?"

Yona yawned a second time, "I haven't slept in two days so you be my guest. Just you leave those windows open and we can talk in the morning. I'll be up at dawn." And it was true. As strange as it was, Yona was always awake at dawn, like a plant opening it's buds or shifting its leaves to face the rising of the hot sun, Yona would lift her head precisely when the sun did. The green haired woman would usually struggle to sleep. With Wolfe's presence, with being indoors, nothing was hardly as unnerving to her. But the lack of sleep for so long gave her little choice. Her body was about ready to pass out if she didn't give it a chance to rest. Her need for sleep overrode her fear and she fell asleep after speaking, regardless of Wolfe's answer.

Wolfe watched as she yawned and kicked her boots off as she got more comfortable on the bed. Wolfe could tell she was not long for this world as she covered herself with the covers and closed her eyes. Her remark about letting her take care of herself had fallen on deaf ears as that was the whole reason why she was in this mess. She then mentioned about waking up and dawn and in a few moments she was gone. It was obvious that she needed the sleep, and Wolfe had no intention on keeping it from her.

Wolfe made his way over to a chair next to the bed and looked down upon Yona. For the first time since he had met her that night she actually looked calm and peaceful. However, it seemed like this might be the only time she would actually be like this. She spent so much time trying to hide who she was behind all the different demeanors and personalities she used to get by that he wondered which parts were actually her. Either way he guessed he might ever know at this point as she was determined to fight him at every turn.

Wolfe took a seat on the chair and put his legs up on the edge of the bed as he sat there and began to think about the options open to them and what they could do. He placed his hand behind his head as he turned to look out of the window upon the scene of Hosenka in the middle of the night. The warm air swept through the room upon a light breeze giving more serenity to the evening. Te truth was that Wolfe very rarely got chances to enjoy moments like this since his return to Infinity Hydra. Between the dreams and visions, helping run the guild, and chasing any leads he could on his past he was always active and doing something. The few times he did have a free moment he was trying some new place to eat, but that was the extent of his “free time”. So Wolfe took some time to enjoy the peaceful night and really take it in. He didn’t sleep all night as he just sat in the chair and enjoyed the view.

…………
The next morning when Yona would raise her head Wolfe was nowhere to be found in the room. However, within moments of her getting a chance to look around Wolfe opened the door to the room and closed it in a hurry and locked it as he looked around quickly. It would be obvious instantly that he had something on his mind as he then strode across the room in a handful of strides and was quickly closing the window and locking them. He then closed the curtain and turned to look at Yona ”Well it looks like you’re going to get some of your wish granted…. I went to check out the area and maybe get us some food but when I got downstairs no one was there and the entire place is way too quiet… like in the dead of night quiet. I think they are here and coming for you. I would tell you to try and refrain yourself, but I have a good feeling you’re going to tell me to shove it and not listen anyways. Either way, you need to get up and take a second to clean yourself up.” Wolfe walked back over to the door and stood next to it with his back against the wall. He looked over towards Yona ”I know you will probably just tell me no and you can do whatever you want, but maybe when this is done I will make you two offers.” Wolfe would see how things went before he made the offers on his mind. He needed to know what really made her tick.

The streams of dawn brightened the room, just enough for Yona to awaken like clockwork. And like a sundial, she turned her head towards the open window, not seeing Wolfe anywhere, letting the shadows fall behind her. No sooner did her doubts about Wolfe's character and promises breach her freshly awakened mind, did Wolfe himself burst into the room, locking the door and closing the windows. That got her attention. Her mind switched to sudden alert and her ears picked up his every word, like a person decoding a hidden message over a radio stream.

She sat there still for a moment, processing. They were here. The place was empty and quiet. They were here. She should try to refrain herself. They. Were. Here. Yona threw back the covers, fixing her pants and grabbing her boots. She hunched over sliding them on her feet with haste, "What's the plan, then?" She asked him, letting him naturally take the lead. He knew more than she did on the situation at hand anyway. It might have been the greatest respect she had shown towards him, and the deference might just save her life. The woman ran her hands through her long hair, tying it into a long whip like tail with an elastic band she had once worn on her wrist. She made a face and grabbed her arm, having bumped it somehow and disturbed the injury. She paused and then got to her feet, moving towards the table.

Yona opened her small leather bag and slid her arm across the table, dumping the medical supplies inside the bag. They might have needed them later. The woman lifted her lime green eyes to Wolfe, listening as he no doubt walked her through what he intended to have them do. Her stomach grumbled for food, but she was used to skipping meals and it did not bother her.

Wolfe stood with his back against the wall next to the door as he watched Yona. He was impressed at how quickly she processed the situation and kept a clean head about her as she got up, ready and instantly gathered the supplies from the night before. Wolfe knew she had been around and obviously by her skills, and attitude, but he was still impressed at the quickness she adapted to what was going on. Maybe if she did actually end up impressing him, he could do something with her.  He already had a few options running through his head when she asked him what the plan was, but the question was which one was the best course of action.

Wolfe looked around one last time before he spoke to her in a very low tone ”Well, we have 3 ways out of here, but in truth I feel the obvious one out is actually the best. I intend on getting their attention in a way that forced them to expose themselves. Normally this wouldn’t have been an issue, but with you being hurt it does put you at a disadvantage. So I think the best thing for you to do is cover our backs and keep close to me. I plan on making a mess on the way out. If you get engaged with anyone, try not to kill them. Not for moral reasons, but because I want to make such a mess that they are forced to come out and meet us. This is just an attempt to both take you out and if that didn’t work, to leave you standing here with a pile of bodies to explain.” Wolfe then waited till she was ready before he would give her a nod to let her know he was ready to lead her right out the front door of the building.

Wolfe then pulled himself away from the wall and stood right in front of the door and took a step back. He then reached forward with his right hand and unlocked the door and opened it. The door opened revealing a man standing there with a large knife in his hand and without missing a beat the man let out a yell as he lunged forward and thrusted the knife right at Wolfe. Wolfe quickly and smoothly slid his right foot back slightly as he shifted his weight back a little and swung his left hand out. He used his left hand to hit the man’s knife hand in midair and easily knock it off it’s intended course. Wolfe had knocked the blade so it was now heading to his right side and as the man slightly lost his balance from the sudden change of direction of his blade, Wolfe continued the shifting of his weight as he swept his right foot slightly more back and pulled the right side of his body back slightly.

As the man continued moving forward from his lung he was open for attack and just as his extended arm with the knife missed Wolfe and his momentum brought him forward a little more so he was now almost moving past Wolfe, he made his move. Wolfe shifted his weight to his left a little and brought his right leg up and brought his knee up and into the man’s stomach with immense force. The man let out a loud grunt and his whole body was lifted off the floor for just a second from the impact. As he landed on his feet again he let go of the knife and it fell to the floor making a clanging sound. The man could barely stand as he had wind knocked out of him. However, before the man could fall to the floor Wolfe intended to finish the man and pulled his right leg back and then swung it forward again in the same motion, but this time Wolfe also pulled his right arm down catching the back of the man’s head and shoving it down right into his knee. There was a cracking sound upon impact as the man’s nose was broken. Wolfe then calmly and slowly lowered his knee and the man's body then went limp as he fell to the floor blood spurting from his nose. He coughed between gasp from still trying to recover from having the wind knocked out of him, but he was down for the count.

Wolfe turned to Yona as he nodded again ”Lets do this.” Wolfe then turned and started to step past the man and out the door into the hallway. Yona would have a second to really take in what she had just seen, and if she was ever going to have a reason to size up Wolfe, this was the moment/ Not because of what he did, but more because of what he didn’t do. Wolfe hadn’t flinched for even a sliver of a moment and his moves were precise and without hesitation. Even more than that was during the attack, Wolfe face and demeanor never faltered for even a second, as he was calm and collected. He could just as well have been picking flowers in a field as he was here being attacked by this man with a knife. It was almost a little unnerving.

Yona had never worked with a partner before, not a comrade, not an ally, not a civilian, not a mage. As far as combat was concerned, the willow haired nineteen year old felt fully capable of handling herself. The prospect of taking orders from Wolfe was a smart call though not pleasing, but the orders detailing her to be his backup was downright insulting. Was he a sexist? Was it because she was a woman? Did the way she handle herself in the onsen give him no evidence that she was self-sufficient? Or was he just eager to play the role of savior, encouraging the smaller, younger woman to take a back seat to his power? Yona hid the annoyance from her face because the rest of what Wolfe said had in fact made sense: even if the Knives failed in an attack so blatant as this, she would be held responsible under the law and not even Wolfe could have protected her from the consequences.

"Whatever you say, Wolfy," Yona returned, in a voice of reluctant obedience. It wasn't really the time or place for an argument. If he wanted to take most of the hits, whatever his reasoning, Yona was fine with allowing that, she decided. Let the white haired idiot underestimate her, get himself killed for all she cared. She would use him as a human shield and escape in either case; responsibility for his life would be in his own damn hands and she would feel no guilt for his stupid plan going wrong. Yona was confident that she belonged in the front but she was able to hide the emotions inside. Being so well rested, the leaf-shaded hues in her eyes would give Wolfe no indication of betrayal, doubt, insubordination, or displeasure. After such a good rest, Yona was back at the top of her game.

The door was thrown open, somewhat forecefully and Yona's brows knit, sensing as it opened already a problem. She wrapped the bag diagonally over her chest to free up her hands as a man with a dagger lunged inwards at Wolfe and her. Wolfe disarmed the attacker within a second or two, the blade clattering with a metal twang to the floor. Yona watched as Wolfe's knee came upwards with perfect synchronization to his grab. She watched as he smashed the attacker's face, rattling the man's brains and turning his nose into splinters of cartilage. Her eyes widened slightly, refraining from appearing impressed at large, but Yona took in the scene with admiration. She couldn't have done much better and when the opponent was dropped onto the floor, Yona ducked down to grab the man's fallen dagger. No sense in rearming him for later.

Yona considered slitting the downed man's throat, but she instead held the dagger in her own hands, wielding it with grace in her right hand. She was physically and mentally ready for whatever escaping this vintage Inn would cost her. After consideration, she knew Wolfe was right not to kill him, keeping the scene with as little life-loss as possible, helping Yona avoid the reputation like a mass-killer of some sort. She would not ruin a well moved take-down by callously killing the man on the floor. No, let the fool live knowing how easily he was foiled. Let him crawl back to his superiors a failure. The idea contented Yona's angry heart, and a new sense of calm filled her for the situation at hand. "All right, I'm with you," She said to Wolfe, releasing her doubts and prior frustrations with his orders. He wasn't as stupid as he seemed, she thought. He might have even been smart enough to get her out of this unharmed, though she didn't hope for such an ending.

Yona followed him into the hallway, brandishing her stolen blade, keeping her lime green eyes open and alert for dangers behind Wolfe and her's intended path, looking for ambushes and traps set out to thwart the pair.

Wolfe was glad to hear Yona agree with him without any added rebellion in her tone or words. He was going to get her out of here, but he expected her to give him a hard time the whole time.  However, knowing that she was going to actually go along with him without questioning him was going to make this a lot smoother and quicker. Knowing that she would actually listen to him now meant he could lead the way with little concern for her safety because he knew he would have no problem protecting someone that was actually working alongside him, and not against him.

Wolfe saw as she picked up the dagger and took her place next to him so she could follow him into the hallway. Taking a second to listen carefully for any sounds that might give away anyone else in the hallway, he led the way into the hallway. As he entered the hallway, he took a second to glance around and saw no one there, but he knew better. Wolfe slowly started to lead the way down the hallway towards the stairs. It was dead quiet, so Wolfe knew that something was coming. As they were just making their way to the net door it flung open and another guy with a knife came dashing out at Wolfe and Yona. However, it was instantly obvious that these guys were given instructions to take out Yona as the guys tried to dash past Wolfe to get to her.

Wolfe let out a little sigh just as the man was pushing his way past Wolfe and was almost at Yona when suddenly he sprang into action. The man was pushing past Wolfe’s right side, so he reached his left arm across his body and caught the caught the man by the back of his shirt. Wolfe then shifted his weight forward as he pulled the man back by his shift collar. The sudden jerk from Wolfe threw the man off balance as he was pulled back and his legs flew out from under him. Just as the man was rendered air born Wolfe started to crotch slightly and pulled his arm down and released the collar as he basically threw the man down to the ground. A moment later there was a loud thud as he landed on his back and he let out a grunt. Wolfe then straightened up as he lifted his right leg up and brought his foot down into the man’s stomach with so much force the wooden boards under the man gave way and broke. The man’s limbs instantly flailed and his knife went flying as his eyes shot open for a second. Then he went limp as his eyes closed and he was now just another limp body laying in the crater in the wooden floor.

Before the body even went limp there was a sound of another man running out of the room the other man had just run out of. Wolfe shifted his gaze up from the man on the floor to the new man and before the man could even get closer to both Wolfe and Yona, Wolfe was acting already. Before the man could even get close, Wolfe raised his foot from the man on floor’s stomach and slightly turned and raised his foot up in the air and kicked it forward landing it into the chest of the oncoming man. The sheer force of the kick sent the man flying back into the door. There was the sound of cracking, which could have only been the man’s rib breaking, and then a crash as he hit the door knocking it off the hinges and both the man and door crashed to the ground.

Wolfe lowered his leg and turned to Yona ”Well it looks like they really want you. So you better keep a good watch of our backs.” Wolfe then turned and started making his way further down the hallway as he passed by the man he had just kicked laying on the ground just inside of the room, with the door laying on top of him, knocked out.

The green haired female hardly looked up upon hearing another man rush attack Wolfe. She knew he was capable of taking care of himself and her, and she needed to watch the other end of the hall. She had followed behind him, back stepping into a continual front stance, switching feet as needed and making sure she was balanced with good posture. She needed to be prepared for an attack from nearly any direction; at one point, her green eyes lifted even to check the ceiling above. As they made their way over the cream colored hallway, she started to feel bad about the light colored carpet and the small vintage Inn. They had surely gotten bullied into this situation and few would want to return as customers to the place.

Yona heard the sound of splitting wood, and finally glanced over her shoulder to see a man lying on the floor in an array of cracked wooden floorboards. She turned back around no sooner than to hear the approach of another man, whom by the time she turned around Yona saw him lying next to a concave door, groaning loudly until the door completely collapsed behind him. Yona listened to Wolfe's comment with a half smile, closing her eyes. She blinked and shook her head side to side lightly, looking up at the tall man, "I can handle anything. But, what was it you were saying about how I do overkill, Wolfy?" A kick like that surely broke the males ribs. It made her antsy, making her want some of the action.

Wolfe was again making his way down the hallway as he led Yona out of the building. They were almost to the stairs when he heard Yona comment about overkill. Wolfe stopped for a second as he turned loo as her with as questionable look on his face ”Woah woah now. These two will survive. I said I was going to leave a trail, but I intend to make sure they are all still alive when I leave here. I want every one of them to regret the moment they thought joining that stupid gang was a good idea and regret every stupid choice they have ever made. It’s not like I am just killing people weaker than me.” Wolfe's face had shifted into an almost half joking smirk with that last part ”You know, kind of like that guy right there.” Just as Wolfe said that he nodded past Yona at the man that had just dashed out of a room behind them and was running right at Yona. This attacker was again brandishing a knife and looked like his only target was Yona, but Wolfe did nothing to interfere or intercept the attack. He had told her his intent, and she had said that not only would she follow Wolfe, but that she agreed to try and follow his request to not take any lives. He had watched her take the knife off the first attacker, and was wielding it now. So, now it was the moment of truth to see what she was made of and if there was really a reason to consider her for what he was thinking.

As the attacker closed the distance between himself and Yona Wolfe turned and continued to make his way further down and hall slightly. However, he didn’t get far before yet another one of the gang grunts had reached the top of the stairs just in front of Wolfe and was now making a mad dash at him. This one had a sword, but it wasn’t like he was a threat as hall left him with very limited attack options and just as Wolfe had predicted, the man raised the sword above his head to make a downward slice. Wolfe waited for just the right moment when the man started his downward slice to step forward with his left leg as he shifted the right side of his body backwards. As he shifted his body, he pulled his right leg back also and in perfect form he dodged the sword attack. Wolfe had side stepped the attack and watched as the blade came slicing down inches in front of him as well as watched the look of terror on the man’s face as he realized he had missed the only shot he was going to get.

Wolfe reached out his left arm and grabbed the man by his neck and before he could even make a sound Wolfe had stepped forward, lifted the man just slightly off the ground, and with immense force slammed the man into the wall. Wolfe let go of the man as he hit the wall and it gave way behind him as he was blasted through the wall, breaking and shattering all the wood, and sent into the room on the other side of the room where his body went limp after he tried to move once or twice to no avail and then passed out. The man’s sword was laying on the floor at Wolfe’s feet as he had dropped it at the moment of impact, but Wolfe just kicked it out of the way and turned to look at Yona and see if she was ok.

Yona shook her green-haired head at Wolfe as he spoke. He was being nit-picky. He had obliterated the doors, destroyed the carpets, and she would not be surprised if he broke or damaged anything else. She thought the Inn was beautiful, special, old but well furnished. So she had killed a man in self defense-- at least she didn't break the whole onsen and ruin it for the whole business. She looked over at the man running at her with a knife and upon getting closer, Yona noticed it was a female with short dark hair and a flat torso. The long lashes and pointed chin confirmed her supposed identity and Yona felt both pity and admiration for the bandit.

She loved seeing a woman in charge, but the this female was clumsy and disgraceful. Yona stretched up a lazy left arm, cautious of her injury, and then flicked her wrist at an angle. Seconds later, three sharp shoots of bamboo ruptured from the ground and skewered right through the females legs. The woman screamed in pain, the bamboo trapping her in place. Yona watched her interested for a moment, noting how the sharp plants had made it so the woman would probably never walk again. It didn't bother her much. Yona turned and walked towards Wolfe, not even bothering to check and see if her attacker still brandished a dagger. It just didn't seem to matter at this point.

When she approached Wolfe, the green eyed female shook her head, tsking disapprovingly, "And another thing broken. You know these people have a business to run. Who's going to pay for all this?" She asked him, prompting him with a hand gesture. Yona continued walking down the hall, finding the stairs down to the lobby area, her head looking backwards towards Wolfe as he let the weaker, crushed male, go down to the floor unconscious.

Wolfe turned just in time to watch Yona walking by him and then looked past her to see the woman who had fallen to the ground screaming and holding her leg. Wolfe though maybe tearing through the woman’s leg like that might have been overkill, but then as he glanced around at his own handy work he didn’t really have much to say. When he said he intended to leave a trail, he had meant something like this, but in truth it truly was just turning into a mess of broken bodies. He was happy it seemed she didn’t even try to take the thugs life, which is exactly what he had asked of her, so she was following his request. He was happy she falling in line so far, because a pile of dead bodies would be an issue.

Wolfe heard her comment as she passed him and he had already thought about that. He had every intention of making sure this place got the jewels needed to fix this place and more ”Don’t you worry about that. The Inn owners will get all the jewels they need to fix this place back up. I plan on taking it out of the Knives’ asses. So don’t worry your pretty little head off about that. So just continue to watch your back and try not to get hurt as we make our way out of here. Once this little ordeal is over, I expect we will have more fighting on our hands. I don’t expect the rest of the gang to come along quietly.” Wolfe had every reason to believe that the gang was not going to go for intended result of having them turn themselves in and stop what they were doing.

Wolfe turned and followed Yona to the top of the stairs and started down them as he looked around. However, it didn’t take long for Wolfe to find what he was looking for. As the two of them reached about halfway down the stairs they could see the main lobby of the Inn and standing in a large group waiting for them was a group of thugs wielding a collection of different weapons. There was seven of them in total, and they looked like they were ready to fight. However, they also seemed a little iffy, which Wolfe assumed was because Wolfe and Yona didn’t have a scratch on them and that meant they had already gone through five of their gang members with no issues at all. Wolfe wasn’t even slightly worried, but he did wonder what was going through Yona’s mind as she saw the group waiting for them near the bottom of the stairs.

She scoffed, thinking to herself, pretty little head? The Wolfe had nerve. Yona looked down the stairwell, dragging her right hand over the wall as she went. Her injured left arm was throbbing again, probably the muscles just angry with her exertion. She doubted that the stitches would come undone so easily. The woman felt the hilt of her Blade of Thorns in her hand, pulling it with a green glow from the wall. It was a nice, sharp scimitar, and dark forest green in color. It wasn't as long as a traditional katana, a nice four foot blade made of curved, hardened, and polished thorns. The blade too was curved, but there was not an inch on it that was not sharp as a freshly made weapon, except for the hilt in her hand.

Yona's lime green eyes caught sight of the group, seven people, five of them men of mostly large stature. That same smile appeared on her face. It was too soon for another spell of grandeur, but she had a quick little something she could whip up for the occasion. With Wolfe still behind her, she moved the hilt of the Blade of Thorns to her mouth, gripping it with her teeth. It was heavy, too heavy, but she could hold it for just the moment it would take. She lifted both hands as she got to the bottom of the stairs, then lowered them decisively, moving her fingers like drops of rain. And in that moment her Sundew Mire spell took hold of the whole room, a nice 15m of space. Sticky dew fell like rain, dropping the speeds and ruining the vision of the whole group. The spell of course, did not affect her sight or speed, though everything in the vicinity became quickly soaked with dew.

"Well, since you're covering damages, I thought why not?" She laughed out loud, glancing up at Wolfe, and moving to the side, pulling the blade from her mouth to speak. By moving to the side, she was granting him permission to get the first hit. The game was won now. The first two or three hits of all the people waiting for them in their ambush would miss, as the dew skewed their vision. And their speed was slowed, something which she knew Wolfe excelled at even without the extra debuff. Her laugh was sincere, Yona finding this part truly a joy and a game. A game she considered herself to be winning.