Kinomoto Sakura tossed and turned in her bed. She couldn't sleep. It was as if she forgot to do something, something important, like her math assignment. Yet this feeling was different, at the same time, more special. She couldn't figure it out, but she couldn't drop it either.

"You still awake?" Her stepsister opened her door and stepped in. She was in her favourite kitty pyjamas with red checkers. She was holding a pillow. Sakura sat up, and said without enthusiasm. "No Yuzuriha...I keep having this feeling that I forgot something." Yuzuriha bent over and asked. "You math homework?" Sakura shook her head slowly. "No...not that." Yuzuriha sat down beside her. "Than it's probably not important. Maybe it's Touya haunting you again." Sakura giggled. After her first brother went missing at the age of two, their parents felt they needed a child, so they adopted Yuzuriha from the orphan. Three years later, they gave birth to Sakura. They never heard news of Touya, their first born, so he was presumed dead for all these years. Still, Sakura thought. Even if we do find him, we won't recognize him. It's been fifteen years; we'll never know what happened to him now.

"You shouldn't say anything about me." Sakura looked at her sister. "What about you, don't you have a date tomorrow? It's your first date; you should look you best." Yuzuriha's face reddened and sacked her little sister with the pillow. "Don't you dare start! Kamui is a friend! I'm not going out with him." Sakura laughed, and blocked Yuzuriha's attacks. She stopped laughing and said. "But seriously! It's been almost two years since his girl friend died, you don't suppose he's not ready for another girl yet."

"You just shut up." Yuzuriha said. Kamui had been her best friend in the orphan and so had Kotori. Even after Yuzuriha left they still kept contact. The same family adopting Kamui and Kotori when they were five. It was only normal nature that they fell in love. But two years ago on a tragic night, Kotori died in a car accident along with her parents. Being alone again, Kamui fought through the roughest times with Yuzuriha's help. Even Yuzuriha did have a little feeling for him she managed to keep it to herself all these years.

A shadow appeared around the door, the girls looked and laughed. "See, Sakura. You woke Inuki up." Once it noticed that the girls saw it, it wagged its tail cheerfully, and jumped onto the bed with a loud bark. The girls shushed it. "You'll wake mom and dad!" Sakura giggled, picking the little pup up. Yuzuriha petted it, and suddenly wondered. "You know, it's been almost a year since we got this dog and there's no sign of it growing one bit." Sakura snuggled in the dog's fur. "Who cares? I like it the way it is anyway. Nice and cute!"

"What are you gals doing?" Their mother said from the hall. Sakura hurried back to her bed and rushed Inuki and Yuzuriha out. "Oh no! Busted! Come on, get back to your room!" The girls laughed and fell back to bed. Sakura glanced at the moon, and something told her something was out there, under the big bright moon.

The boy wandered in the street lifelessly. He knew he had to find the girl in his dream, but how? He didn't have the slightest clue where to begin. People walked past him without paying much attention. He felt helpless and tired.

As he left the urban area and enter the residential part of the city, he couldn't help but think everything looked all too familiar. Had he been here before? He couldn't tell. As he proceeded, a park with a penguin-shaped slide caught his attention. There were a few children of his age playing soccer around the field. Beside them were swings, now emptied. The boy thought it made him feel warm, so he went to the swing and sat on it, hoping it can trigger some memories.

It didn't help much. Everything was a blur to him. He swung back and forth weakly, giving his head a rest for a change.

The soccer ball rolled over and stopped at the tip of his toe. He looked up, and saw the children looking at him, waving. "Hey, can you pass that?" He didn't answer, but he stood up and kicked the ball anyway. It made a loud bang and flew towards the sky until it disappeared out of their sight. All the children stared at the vanished ball with disbeliefs. Then they turned and stared at the boy, who felt embarrassed for he knew he did something wrong. He didn't like the attention, so he jogged out of the park.

As he walked, he encountered an old man leaning on the wall. The boy hesitated; he looked around a few times, and slowly walked towards the old man. "Are you okay?" He asked. The old man breathed heavily, and answered. "Yes...I'm fine. It's just my old hip kicking in again." He rubbed his hip, and took a deep breath. The boy observed him, and knew he wasn't fine indeed. So he went ahead, and supported the old man to walk. "Where's you house?" The boy asked.

"Oh, it's around that corner." The old man pointed. "But it's okay, I can get to it fine." The boy didn't listen. He walked him back to his house, helping him walk along the way.

When they finally went into the old man's house, the boy sat him down on the sofa, and poured a glass of water for him. "Thank you son." He old man drank the water. "I feel a lot better now."

For the first time, the boy smiled. "That's good." As he began to leave, the old man stopped him. "Wait, sonny. Why don't you stay for a bit longer? I still have to repay you." The boy turned around, and said. "Ah...no need. It was no big deal." The old man stood up, "It sure was a big deal for me." He smiled. "I'm Mr. Masaki. What's your name, sonny?"

The boy lowered his head. "I..." He paused, then sighed. "I don't know."

"What?" Mr. Masaki found it a bit odd. He kept on questioning. "The what about your parents? Your family?"
The questions made the boy feel uneasy. He shook his head, and said. "I can't...remember."

Masaki sighed. "I see...do you have a place to live?" The boy shook his head again. Masaki smiled. "Okay. Then why don't you stay here with me for a while? I'll call someone to check for a lost child, and maybe they can find your family."

The boy looked up. "But...I'll cause you much trouble..." Masaki stopped him. "That's okay." He laughed, and went on. "You see, I used to have a great-grandson that looks a bit like you. Well except your eyes are a bit bigger, and your hair is brown." He laughed again. "But who knows, maybe he'd have grown up to be just like you." The boy slowly gazed up. "What happened to him?" He asked.
A clue of sadness flashed across the Masaki's face. "He disappeared twelve years ago. We never knew what happened to him. He was presumed dead, but you see, I still believe that he's alive. I think he'll return someday."

The boy lowered his head, and said. "I'm sorry." Masaki patted his shoulder, and said. "Don't be. You know, I'll be very glad if you stay here, at least until we find out something about you." The boy looked at him, and nodded.

"Wonderful!" Masaki clapped. "Now, first we need a name for you...hm..." He looked around for inspirations, and then he saw the magazines on the table. A few issues of the Nation Geographic were opened, and one of them had a shot of a wolf. Masaki took a closer look, and noticed the wolf's hair colour matches the boy's hair colour completely. Delighted, he turned around and said. "How about Wolfe? I know it's an odd name, but what do you think?"

"Wolfe..."The boy echoed. Then he smiled. "That sounds familiar. I like it."

"Great! Wolfe it is. And who knows, this could be your real name." He laughed.

Yatouji tabbed a few buttons. The screen glowed before her. As the program booted up, it showed a map of Tokyo and a shiny white dot. She moved her hand on the pat, and the pointer moved correspondingly towards the dot. She selected the dot to zoom in, one hundred percent, and then two hundred percent. Her lips curled up to a smile. "Bingo."
The door hissed, and she stepped out of her super computer. It was in a form of what seemed to be an alien with wires supporting it from all around. Kigai stepped up to greet her. "So?" he asked eagerly. "Where is he?"
"Keep in mind that it's your men that's going after him." She took out her glasses and put them on. "You get the credit, not me."
"Come on...it's not like your machine will help much in this situation. My men are the ones that have to get out and grab the kid, you know?"
"The 'machine' you referred to has a name." Yatouji took off her glasses. "It's called 'Beast', remember it well."
"Whatever, beast master." Kigai teased. "So where on earth is our target?"
Yatouji smiled victoriously. "He's in one of the residential area north of Tokyo." She tapped a few buttons on the panel. "I'll send you a copy of the map and his whereabouts to your team."

"Thanks woman!" Kigai waved. "I owe you one." Then he dashed off.

Yatouji leaned back and sighed. "He never does reply me for anything he owes." She played around with the screen. "But seriously...if the outside know that every bits of technology ACME sold is tapped to our main computer, they would be frustrated. From every phone to the greatest security system available on the market, everything that's got the ACME name on it will transfer the information to here..." She sighed again, and closed her eyes. "This is truly amazing. It would be very interesting when the public finds out."
"You're not going to tell on me now, are you?" A voice rang behind her. She spun around, and saw her boss there, smiling not so warmly. "Why, Mr. Monou, I was just kidding around." Yatouji said. Fuma Monou stepped forward, and said. "I really don't care if you do announce our corporation's secret, as long as you get me that boy."

"Is he that important to you?" Yatouji asked. "I understand he is the perfect specimen, but is he really worth it? What good does an android do to us? The world is not ready for a half mechanic life yet. How does it benefit us?"
Fuma showed smiled coldly. "If it all works out, I can retain something no one can ever buy with money."

1011101101000101110110

He woke up with a start. He wasn't sure what woke him; he just felt something, or someone was coming, coming to get him.

He proceeded downstairs; as he glanced at the clock, it read eleven twenty-two. About an hour ago, Mr. Masaki had told him to rest in his guestroom. He turned his attention back to the living room downstairs. The light startled him; it wasn't the normal light in the living room, but rather a flashlight. He knelt down and crawled down the stairs, hoping the handle can more or less keep him in the hidden. He took a few more steps and finally saw the invaders. They were four men, all dressed in black. The boy gasped, for they all have guns in their hands. They wore masked, and they seemed to be tying something.

Wolfe's heart skipped a beat; they were tying Mr. Masaki down on a chair. They use duct-tape to cover his mouth; he muffled under it. Wolfe's mind raced fast, thinking for possibilities to rescue him. Unless he can take out for men at once, or there was no way out.

As he concentrated, he wasn't aware of another black figure behind him, approaching him slowly and quietly. Wolfe saw him just seconds before the man tried to grab him. He dashed downstairs, but was quickly surrounded by all four men. "That's him." One of them said. The other one tried to knock him unconscious, but Wolfe dodged the attack, and elbowed the guy.

"Quick!" The same man said, he seemed to be the leader. "Use the sterilizer!"

One of the men took out his gun, and aimed at Wolfe. He was about to shot when something behind Wolfe's mind triggered.

Emergency situation acknowledged...

Sending command...

Selecting level...

Level 2 activated.

Wolfe ducked without even thinking. The sterilize needle hit the door behind him. The men were shocked by his speed. Before they had time to think, the boy was in front of them. Wolfe knocked them over with a few punches, and rushed over to Mr. Masaki. "Are you okay?" He tore off the duct-tape and helped him untie the ropes. Mr. Masaki looked up, and said. "Watch out!"

Wolfe spun, but he was too late. The man was on him, choking him from behind. Wolfe struggled, and elbowed the man as hard as he could. Mr. Masaki untied the rest of the ropes, and said. "Go! They want you, not me! They won't do anything to me, just go!"

Wolfe nodded, and dashed towards the door. But something caught him, like a bug caught in a spider-web. He turned and noticed the glowing red dots on the wall. He then noticed they were small devices that shot out the wires. The black men had planted them there; it was a trap!

The small device hissed, and launched themselves from the wall, spinning around Wolfe. With in a few loops, he was tied down. He hit the floor hard and struggled, but the harder he fought, the tighter the wires became. The black men walked towards him slowly, and knelt down beside him. "Finally." One of them said. "Let's bring this thing down." He reached into his pocket, and took out a small device that looks like a shocker.

Wolfe struggled harder, then once again, something behind his mind triggered.

Emergency situation acknowledged...

Sending command...

Selecting level...

Level 3 activated.

The last thing he remembered was snapping the wire and heading straight towards the black man.

101011010010101101010111011010

As he came to, blood was dripping from his face. One of the black men whimpered in front of him. He was shaking helplessly, and had backed himself up to the corner of the room. "Please..." He begged. "Please don't kill me..."

"What...?" Wolfe started, but then was taken buy the scenery around him. Blood was everywhere. The dark men now laid all over the floor; their dark clothing stained with blood. Wolfe couldn't tell whether or not they were still alive. He looked down at his hands. They, too, were stained with blood. Then he looked at the man before him, shaking and begging for mercy.

Did I....

Did I do this...?

"Mr. Masaki!" He turned to see the old man, shivering as he leaned on to the doorframe. "Are you okay?" Wolfe turned to see him, but Mr. Masaki halted him to a stop. "No! Don't come closer...you...monster..." He said with a shaky voice. "Go away...go away!"

Monster...? Me?

Wolfe looked down at his bloody hands, then looked back at Mr. Masaki. He closed his eyes, and made his hand into a fist. Suddenly, he stepped up, and took a bawl. "I'm so sorry!" With those words, he dashed out of the house.

Back in the penguin park, the boy washed his face in the water fountain. The water got most of the bloodstain out because they were fresh. But the smell remained. It disgusted him. He scrubbed, harder and harder. Then he finally gave up, and took home near a tree.

He felt ashamed. Ashamed for what he did and ashamed for what he is. "Wolfe"...he didn't live up to that name Mr. Masaki gave him. He was not a warrior who protected his love, but rather a beast that harmed the innocent. Once again, he decided, he'd be nameless.

The image of the girl's smile flashed in his mind again. But this time he wasn't all that glad to see it. If he were a monster that stained his hand with blood, then how could he see her? How could he put her life in danger? What if...these hands...hurt her too?

He buried his head into his arms. Till he found out the reason he lost control, he wasn't going to see that girl.

And who were the people that were after him?

He thought hard, trying to retrace his memories. He saw something familiar back there...but what? His mind raced through the men's faces, actions, weapons, uniforms...

Uniforms.

He rolled up his sleeves. There it was, a fresh tattoo. It was a logo of some sort; he tried to make out the letters. A...C...

ACME.

Acme, the woman back in the lab mentioned the name several times during his sleep. So those men back there...they were after him, they were trying to get him back to the lab. He didn't understand. Was he that important? What is he anyway?

His strength gave in. He closed his eyes, and slept uneasily.

Sakura twitched in her sleep. She got up lazily and closed her eyes under the bright sunlight. She heard noises downstairs, so she hurried down and found her parents all dressed up ready to leave. "Hoe~?" She exclaimed. "Where are you two going on a Sunday morning?"

Sakura's father Fujitaka slipped on his black leather shoes and replied. "It's an emergency we have to go to."

"What's the matter?" Sakura asked with concern. Sakura's mother Nadeshiko answered uneasily. "Your great-grandpa...something happened to him."

Sakura gasped. "Is he okay?" Nadeshiko nodded. "He's fine. But he's still in quite a bit of shock."

"What happened?" Sakura asked. Fujitaka took a deep breath, and said. "Well, we don't know for sure. All we know is some people broke into his house last night, and someone was with your great-grandfather. I'm not sure whether it's lucky or not, but the person your great-grandfather was with practically slaughtered the invaders. Your great-grandfather was freaked out."

Sakura gasped, unable to speak. Nadeshiko patted her daughter on the shoulder.

"Was...someone killed?" Sakura asked hesitantly once she gained back her voice. Nadeshiko replied softly. "No, as far as we know. The invaders were hurt badly, some of them are in bad conditions but no one was killed." She lowered her gaze. "But we heard there is blood everywhere, so I was hoping you wouldn't go."

Sakura nodded. "I understand." Her mother gave her a peck on the cheek then they went out.

Shaking her head, Sakura decided to put that terrible image behind her for a while. She was going to tell her sister the bad news when she remembered Yuzuriha was already out to meet Kamui. She made eggs for breakfast. As she put the plates of steaming eggs on the table Inuki came skipping in, attracted by the smell. Sakura smiled; she cut a little piece of egg and tossed it to the puppy. It caught the food in the air. Then Sakura remembered Inuki hadn't been out for almost a week. She picked up the dog, and said. "Today's your lucky day! I'm bringing you out for a walk!"

After tying the leash, Inuki flew out of the door with Sakura close behind it. "Slow down!" Sakura yelled from behind.

Within minutes, they were in the penguin park, following their normal routine for Inuki's walk. Inuki sniffed under the slide, and ran across the sand box. Sakura sighed. The little pup looked so happy and free of worries. She almost envied it for that. She, on the other case, couldn't get her mind off her great-grandpa's business. She hoped he was all right.

She looked around, make sure nobody was in the park, and then unhook the dog leash. "Run around a little." She told Inuki. The happy pup barked loudly in reply and ran around sniffing poles and trees.

Then suddenly, its ears perked up, and it looked around with alert. Sakura noticed its movement, and walked towards it. "What's wrong?" Then it started sniffing the ground, and barked happily. It dashed towards the bushes, and disappeared behind it. "Hey!" Sakura yelled, running after it.

As she pushed the bushes apart and arrived in the area behind them, she gasped. Behind the bushes were not only Inuki, but also a boy of her age. He slept peacefully, and breathed steadily. His charm almost made him shine under the tree's shadow and the semi-sunlight. Unaware, she blushed, and studied the boy. Slowly, she knelt down, but Inuki was ahead of her. It rushed up to his face and started licking. "Inuki~!" Sakura whined. The boy woke up with a start, and jumped back almost immediately. But as his eyes focused, he was shocked to see her face.

It's...her!

Sakura got up, and bawled. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you!" The she noticed his gaze. The amber hair matched the burning amber eyes. They were warm, and sad at the same time. He breathed heavily, and his face began to burn. For a moment, their eyes locked. Inuki barked happily and jumped at the boy, but neither of the paid attention to the puppy.

Slowly, Sakura reached out her hand. "Are you...okay?"

Like nightmares, the incident last night flood back to his memory, and he backed up. "Don't...come closer."

"What?" Sakura couldn't hear him properly. He shook his head, and yelled. "Stay away!" With that, he dashed out of the park, Inuki closed behind him. "Wait!" Sakura yelled. "Come back! No, don't go! Come back!" Then she added. "Both of you!"

He ran until he lost sight of her. Leaning on a tree, he panted for a minute. He almost had a heart attack when a creature jumped at his feet. He spun around, and saw the little puppy had follow him. "Go back to your owner." The boy pointed to the direction he came from and ordered. "Get out of here!" But Inuki tilted its head, and wagged its tail happily. The boy picked it up, and said. "Which part of 'go' don't you understand?" The dog took the chance to lick his face. Wolfe wiped the drool off his face with his sleeve, and put the dog back down. "Oh I give up."

He walked around town with the puppy close behind him.

"How're you lately?" Yuzuriha asked, as she sipped the fruit punch from her glass. She met up with Kamui in the central square of downtown and now they were talking in a coffee shop. Yuzuriha dressed up extra nice for the "casual get-together" today. She hoped Kamui would notice; yet at the same time she hoped he didn't. She wanted Kamui to see her as more than a friend, but she didn't want Kamui to know she had feelings for him. Even with Kotori now dead after two years, she still felt she was cheating on her best friend for even having these feelings. She rubbed her arms uneasily.

"Good." Kamui replied, taking a sip of his black coffee. He put it back down with a "cling". "I'm old enough to support myself with my job. I'm doing fine in school, too. It's hard to keep up with both things, but I learned to handle it."

"If you ever need anything..." Yuzuriha began. Kamui interrupted her. "I'll call you, I know, I know. But I swore to myself I won't rely on your family anymore. I caused you enough trouble when Kotori died two years ago. I lived there for almost half a year for Christ's sake. Don't worry, I can handle things myself."

Yuzuriha's gaze softened. "Okay, but don't stress yourself." Kamui smiled in return. "Thanks, you're a great friend."

Yuzuriha squeezed her hands. "Friend", that was all she was, a friend. "But..." She said. "You're more than a friend to me, Kamui, much more." Kamui looked at her with curiosity. It took her a moment to realize what she said. "What...what I mean is..." she tried to back-up. Her face was burning up. "You're like a family to me!" Her heart raced, hoping Kamui didn't get the wrong idea. "Right!" Kamui said, scratching his head. "Of course! I mean...you're like a family to me, too, Yuzuriha."

"Uh..." Yuzuriha nodded. She felt terrible. She looked out the window, and something caught her eyes. "Hey, is that Inuki?" Kamui followed her view. "...No, I don't think so. That dog is following a boy. I think it belongs to him. Must be a different dog."

"But..." Just when she was going to argue about that, she saw something else.

Men, wearing the same long jacket and hat, looking most unusual for a warm day like this. There were at least three of them; all follow the boy and Inuki at a fairly close distant. "What...are they?" Yuzuriha said. Kamui looked at her, and said. "You think we should tell someone?" Yuzuriha looked back. "But for what? They hadn't done anything."

"Yet." Kamui added. "But look at them. You know, the police do have the right to arrest any suspicious looking..." Gunfire interrupted his sentence. Instinctively, he leaped towards Yuzuriha, and pulled her down to the floor. "Duck!" He dropped on top of her and covered her body just in time when the window shattered into millions pieces of glass. They got up as the sound of gunshot stopped.

"Are you okay?" Yuzuriha asked. Kamui held up his bloody elbow. "Just a little scratch from the glass." Yuzuriha rushed up towards him, and used her handkerchief to wipe the blood around the wound. "We'll need to get this treated right away!"

"Don't mind me!" Kamui said, gesturing outside. "The boy!"

"Those men!" Yuzuriha stood up and looked out site. "They're all gone!"

Running further and further away from the crowd, the boy looked back at the men who were chasing him. He noticed them way back when he left the park. He tried the lure them away from the busy streets but they got suspicious and started firing. Now running with Inuki close behind him, he knew he was in deep trouble unless he thought of something fast.

He turned into a small alley between two tall buildings. The men made a signal, and one of the rounded to the other side of the building. They hoped they could make a pinch attack. They stopped right around the corner, and edged towards the wall. Then they turned into the alley holding the guns up. But all they saw were their own men right in front of them doing the same thing.

"Blast!" One of them cursed. "Did we loose him?" They heading out of the alley and started searching, putting their guns back into their pockets in the jacket. "Hurry up, or we'll have to ask Yatouji for the signal again."

Inside the alley, the boy stood on the staircase for fire escapes. He had jumped up there as soon as he entered the alley. In his arms, he held the little puppy, cupping his hand over its mouth. He thought of just leaving the dog down there, but it might bark at him and give him away. What he didn't understand was how did the men find him? It seemed no matter where he went those people could always somehow knew his whereabouts.

He thought hard, covering his face and letting the dog go. He remembered what the man said back there, something about signal. Was he bugged? But where?

Suddenly, he remembered the logo on the men's clothing. ACME. Hastily, he rolled up his sleeves, and looked down at his left arm. He knew it. There, he was tattooed with the same logo. It was only the size of his thumbnail, but as he looked closer, he saw it was to cover some sort of stitching underneath.

He knew what to do now.

"He should still be here!" The men said as they returned to the alley. "The radar on Yatouji's computer said he'd be here! Right here!" They looked around, but the didn't see anyone. One of them saw something on the dirty ground, and murmured. "Oh no..."

The boy was gone. The dog was gone. What was left was a piece of bloody tracer on the ground.

The siren of ambulances and police cars echoed in the busy streets. One of the paramedics helped Kamui bondage his injured elbow. Yuzuriha stayed aside and watched with concern. She was relieved to hear that it wasn't too bad, and he didn't have to go to the hospital for it.

"Yuzuriha!" A voice yelled from behind. Yuzuriha turned, and saw Sakura running towards her. "Sakura!?" She yelled as they met up. "What are you doing here?"

"Inuki...he's gone. I was trying to find him when I hear all the ambulances and police cars heading this way. I came to see what was wrong." She saw Kamui's wound. "Oh my! Are you okay?"

"Just a scratch. No big deal. But you said...Inuki was lost?"

"Yes. He ran away with this boy in the park." Sakura replied. She looked around, and still found neither the puppy nor the boy. Kamui turned to Yuzuriha. "So that was Inuki." Yuzuriha nodded. Sakura looked at them, confused. "What? What did you two see?" So they explained.

Sakura remembered the way the boy waking up. First she thought he was almost glad that she was there. Then his joy turned to worry and he fled away from her. Stay away! The words still rang in her ears. She looked around; that was why he ran away. He didn't want her to be around while he was being hunted down by...whoever they were.

"Shoo!" The boy waved. "Go!"

He was back to the outside of the coffee shop. After he practically torn out his flesh to get the tracer out, his arm was bleeding non-stop. He hoped the blood trail wouldn't give him away. He tried all he could to stop the blood, but nothing worked. With his right hand covering the wound, he could more or less keep the blood from dropping. He wanted to go back to the park, the only place he felt attached to. But as soon as he saw Sakura, he knew he had to give back the puppy. He hid behind a bush, and gestured the puppy to run along. Yet for some reason, the puppy wouldn't go. He pushed the puppy out of the bush, but it always came back, wagging its tail.

The boy was getting impatient. He gave the dog a hard shove, pushing the puppy more or less two meters away. Sakura and Yuzuriha finally saw the puppy. "Inuki!" They yelled together.

But Inuki didn't even hear them. It skipped right back to the boy behind the bushes. The boy realized the girls saw the dog already, if the dog was to follow him it'd lead them to him for sure. "Bad dog!" He said, and ran away. Inuki followed.

Sakura caught the shadow of the boy, and yelled. "It's that boy!" She ran after them, and the others followed.

They chased the dog all the way to a small piece of wood at the northern side of the city. Sakura was tired of running, and so was Yuzuriha. They didn't remember the last time they ran for so long. "Sis! We'll have a pinch attack! You go that way! And I'll to this way!" Yuzuriha nodded, too tired to talk, they took separate ways.

As the advanced deeper into the woods, there were no trails anymore, just trees and grasses. "Now!" Sakura yelled, and Yuzuriha turned in. They missed the boy just by two seconds, and hit on each other instead. "Ow!" They yelled in union. Then something furry hit them. This they weren't going to let go. "Gotcha!" They yelled as they held Inuki captive in their hands. The puppy was scared at first, but as soon as it recognized its owner, it was licking time.

"The boy!" Sakura looked off to the direction the boy dashed off to. Suddenly, Kamui caught up to them, and jumped over their heads. "I'll get him! You two stay here!"

Halfway into the woods, Kamui lost sight of him. He stopped and panted for a moment, then started to look around. Slowly, he brushed pass branches and stepped over weeds, trying to listen. Then he heard it, to the left, someone was breathing heavily. Cautiously, he proceeded ahead.

He found the boy, leaning against a big tree trunk. He looked like he was in pain. As Kamui walked closer, he saw the boy was clenching to his shoulder. It was blooding badly. The race must had got his heart to pound and his blood to circulate; he was loosing blood at a very fast rate.

"You need help!" Kamui stepped up. The boy was startled; he took a step back, Kamui yelled to keep him from going further. "No, stop! It's okay." His voice softened. "I won't hurt you."

The boy looked deep into his eyes. Afraid and confused, he didn't know what to do for a moment. Kamui slowly stretched out his hand, and the boy backed away from it. "It's okay." He said, looking deep into the boy's ember eyes. "I'm not going to do anything to you. But you're wounded. You need to see a paramedic. We'll go to the hospital."

Hospital. Images of the doctors back in the lab flashed through his mind like nightmares. He shook his head. "No! I'm not going there!" Kamui looked confused. "Why not?"

"They...they're there...I know it!" He took another step back. Kamui had the feeling he was going to run again, so he calmed him. "Okay! It's okay. We won't go to the hospital. We'll...go to some place so we can patch up that wound of yours. Okay? Sounds good?" He took a step closer. The boy looked up. His eyes were calmed now. Kamui walked closer, and patted his shoulder. "That's a good boy."

Suddenly, the boy felt relax. He sighed, and passed out. Kamui ran up and caught him in his arms. He looked at the boy's innocent face, and frowned with pity.

The girls waited impatiently outside the wood. They both turned to the noise as Kamui stepped out with the mysterious boy in his arms. The girls ran up, and gasped at the sight of blood along his arm. Kamui explained. "I think it was from the bullets, but I'm not sure. I already wrapped something around it to stop bleeding, but we'll need to treat it again properly."

"Then we need to get him to a doctor..." Yuzuriha began, but he interrupted. "He said he wouldn't go to the hospital. He said 'they', whoever that are hunting him down, would be there. And I suspect they would, too."

"What should we do?" Sakura said. Her eyes never left the boy. Kamui shrugged. "I suppose we need to bring him back to somewhere to rest and treat that wound."

"We'll take him back to our house." Yuzuriha said without second thoughts.

"You really don't need to come." Mr. Masaki said to Fujitaka. "I'm quite alright, just a bit scared."

"Don't worry about it." Fujitaka said. "About...that boy...who do you think he is?"

"I don't know for sure. He helped me out, so I brought him back to my house. Then he told me he lost his memories and had no place to turn to, so I offered him to stay here for a bit." He paused and sighed. "That poor boy, couldn't even remember his own name. Then at night, when the men broke in, he almost beaten them to death! It was like he lost control!"

"You really shouldn't bring a stranger in the house, grandpa." Nadeshiko protested.

"I know..." Mr. Masaki rubbed his head. "But that boy seemed so...innocent."

"You can't judge people by their looks."

"I know, I know. Still, come to think of it...he was really innocent. He did protect me from those intruders after all, and at some level...I guess...he was a good person." He sighed again; tears filled his eyes. "Oh, how much I regret letting him go. He must be helplessly alone out there. And by the look I gave him, I doubt he'd return. He must have felt guilty about it."

"Well, we can't do a thing about it now." Nadeshiko said. She glanced at her watch, and said to Fujitaka. "We better go." She turned to Mr. Masaki. "Now, if you need anything, just call us, okay?"

Kamui placed the boy on Sakura's bed and treated his wound. Throughout the process, the boy was asleep; he didn't even budged. "He must be exhausted." She brushed his hair. "The poor thing..."

"We can ask more questions after he wakes up." Yuzuriha said. "But the big question is, how are we going to explain this to mom and dad?" All three fell silent, and thought deeply.

It was not long before the sound of keys jingled by the door. They all rushed down to greet Nadeshiko and Fujitaka. Right away, the parents felt suspicious about the abnormally warm welcome. With no other options left, the kids told them whole truth.

Nadeshiko was frustrated. She told them how they shouldn't trust a stranger and what happened to grandpa when he did the same. Fujitaka on the other hand, walked upstairs to Sakura's room to see the mysterious boy. Sakura led the way, and turned on the desk light. Fujitaka gasped at the sight of the boy. "That...child..."

Fujitaka stared silently at the innocent child for a moment. Sakura walked up to him and asked. "Do you know him, dad?"

"Huh?" He snapped back to reality. "Uh...no, not really."

Sakura thought the reply was questionable, but she didn't push on it. Instead, she asked. "Can...can he stay, dad? You know, just till he heals?" Fujitaka patted on her shoulder and said. "It was a good deed that you brought him back. It was the right thing to do. I'm sure we can let him stay at least until he heals." Sakura face lid up, and went by the bed to sit beside the boy. Fujitaka smiled, and left the two alone.

"What are you doing?" Nadeshiko asked. "Haven't you learn anything from my grandfather's incident?"

"Honey, I can explain." He looked around, drew her close, and whispered in her ears. She frowned as he went on, then when he was finally finished. She gasped and covered her mouth.

He was walking in darkness, surrounded by damped fog. Where am I? He walked on, and saw something in front of him. It was the puppy he saw today. The one that kept following him; at least he thought it was. The puppy was running away from him. "Wait!" He yelled. "Wait for me!" He followed the dog.

Then suddenly, the ground was getting wet. Puddles appeared, and it began to rain. But the darkness still won't go away. He kept following the dog, and then finally caught up to him. "Gotcha!" He scooped it up. Suddenly, with a blasting sound, two bright lights appeared. The boy turned to see a car heading towards him.

He shut his eyes and held on to the puppy. Then everything was quiet. He opened his eyes slowly, and saw the car was gone, and so was the puppy. He felt sleepy, and his eyes could only open halfway. Through his blurry vision, she appeared again. The emerald eyes sparked and her laughter rang. He tried to reach her, but he had no strength to. It seemed that he could barely keep his eyes open.

Then he shut his eyes, and opened them again. This time, the girl's image was a lot clearer. She was sleeping peacefully. He blinked a few times, and realized he had been dreaming. So, was this a dream, too?

Slowly, her eyes opened, too. She looked at him with her dreamy eyes; then they awakened, and she almost jumped. "Oh good! You're up! I was so worried!"

He blushed furiously, and was unable to find words to say for a moment. "Ah...um...er..." He got up and backed up a little.

"You probably don't remember me. But we met in the park. My name is Sakura. What's yours?" Sakura pushed forwards. The boy felt even more awkward. "I...um..."

"So you're awake." Someone said at the door. They turned and saw Sakura's father at the door. "Sakura, he still needs rest, why don't you leave him alone. You can sleep in Yuzuriha's room with her tonight and ask the young man some more questions tomorrow." He insisted.

"Okay..." Sakura nodded obediently. She took one final glance at the mysterious boy and ran out.

"I'm Sakura's father, you can all me Mr. Kinomoto." Fujitaka said, sitting on the bed. "I'm sorry, but my daughter's a bit pushy."

The boy felt more comfortable, and replied with a simple nod and a blush. Fujitaka laughed, and patted his shoulder. "That's alright. She's a nice girl." The boy lowered his head, and said in a voice so quiet that it was almost like a whisper. "I know." Fujitaka looked down, trying to catch his eyes. "Now. Can you remember your name?" The boy shook his head.

"But what about afterwards? What did people call you?"

The boy shifted uneasily. "Back in the lab...I think they called me 'the specimen'. Then...an old man named me...Wolfe."

" 'Wolfe'?" Fujitaka said, rather startled. The boy nodded again.

"Okay." Fujitaka said, smiling again. "But you know...Wolfe is a last name." The boy looked up, rather curious. "Yes." Fujitaka reassured. "So...let's pick something else. Let's see, how about something close, like 'Syaoran'?"

The boy's head snapped up, as if to react to the sound of a bell. Fujitaka gave a little laugh. "You see, I'm a language teacher. Syaoran means 'little wolf' in Chinese. Why, do you not like it?" The boy shook his head again. "No...I like it. It sounds familiar." He hesitated, and then added. "As if...it is my real name."

Fujitaka smiled warmly, and said. "It is."

The boy looked up sharply again, dazed. What did he mean?

The man gave no answer, just another pat on the shoulder. "Anyway, so the name thing is done. We'll think more tomorrow. Why don't you get some rest?" He got up and left the room, leaving the confused boy in the room.

Syaoran...he let it sank in, and then repeated it a few times in his head. He had some many questions, so many things to ask, but he didn't stop Fujitaka from leaving. He knew he had time. It could wait, and soon, he'd get all his answers. He lied down, and drifted into sleep.

To be continued...