“Run, Princess! Run!” Syaoran cried to Sakura. Sakura just stood there, frozen in fear. A large wild beast came charging towards her. Its canine mouth flooding with drool and blood from one of the villagers that the wolfish creature had torn apart right in front of the princess. In this world of forests and woods where Mokona had brought them to, the village was forever in fear of the powerful half wolf and half man creatures which inhabited the forests that surrounded the villages that can only be named as: werewolves.

Normally they had no problems with the wolf-people, for they usually kept to their own territories just like the villagers stayed within their own lands. However; lately a lone-wolf has been running rampant all around the village for at least a month now, killing random people as well as livestock from the village. Before Syaoran and the gang decided to investigate the case, Sakura had actually wandered subconsciously into the forest and met the werewolf pack. With Sakura having the ability to speak with animals and spirits; she quickly found out from the Alpha werewolf that they had banished a wolf from their pack for taking livestock from the village, not too long ago. The Alpha told her that the wolf was of little threat to the village at first, but somehow the werewolf got stronger and more aggressive. It became so vicious that not even the entire pack dared to challenge it. Suspecting that the power of one of Sakura’s feathers was at work; Syaoran, Sakura and Kurogane led a band of the village hunters into the forest (with the permission of the pack of course) to search for the murderous werewolf, while Fai stayed in the village with Mokona to help tend to the victims that survived the wolf’s attacks. They found the werewolf, and now it was bounding straight for Sakura.

A villager threw a spear as its flank in attempt to pull its attention away from the princess. The werewolf howled in anger and lobbed the villager’s head clean off with its heavy club-like paw. Sakura screamed as the wolf turns on her once again. Syaoran quickly jumped at the beast and wrestled it to the ground, the wolf growled and took a snap at him, just catching Syaoran’s arm. As he and the wolf struggled and rolled along the ground, Kurogane grabbed his sword and drove it through its leg. Shrieking in shear agony the hefty monster released Syaoran only to turn on Kurogane instead and sank its fangs into his shoulder, then threw him to the earth. The mere impact of the hard rocky ground smacking against the back of his head knocked Kurogane out instantly. Sakura couldn’t just stand and stare at the brutal fight any longer. Her friends were in danger and nobody else would help them, they were too scared. She was too, but she didn’t care. My friends needs me. Her heart told her. Syaoran needs me.

Sakura grabbed a villager’s fire-torch and without thinking she charged at the werewolf, waving and thrashing her burning torch in the wolf’s face. The wolf backed away from Syaoran and Kurogane, and faced her. Sakura could sense people screaming and calling her name, but she couldn’t hear them, she wasn’t listening to them. In her mind there was only silence. The wolf snarled at her, its sickly luminous yellow eyes piercing hers. Staring back into the abomination’s gaze, a terrified Sakura was trying her very hardest not to wet herself. She honestly couldn’t believe what she was doing; the wolf was ten times her size, with even bigger muscles beneath its massive pelt that could easily crush her, yet she still held her ground. Sakura gulped then brandished her torch at it again threateningly, but the wolf could see the fear on her face. Sakura knew as well as the wolf did that it wasn’t going to ever give her the chance to use her weapon. With a hideous howl, the monster leapt at her. Sakura screamed as she went down under its weight, all but vanishing beneath it. Syaoran tried to run to her aid with all his might, but he was crippled by the pain of his arm. The werewolf’s bite burning his entire right side, his now stinging blind eye wasn’t helping either. Even if he could run he would only make it to her far too late, all he could do was scream. “SAKURA!!!”

Bang!

The single blood-curdling sound of a metal object penetrating flesh and breaking through bone, echoed through the empty air. It was the sound of a gunshot. The wolf didn’t move. Its face was blanked with shock. It just stood over the princess with its own blood frothing from its now sagging jaws; the werewolf started clawing weakly at its spurting throat. Sakura had just enough strength left to wriggle herself out from underneath the monster as it toppled over her. She had just barely managed to crawl away on her back from the dying beast before it could collapse on top of her. From where the animal laid it sounded like the wolf was snoring, just asleep. Gradually the noise died away to a gentle rattle of breath. Then all that could be heard was the villagers’ gasps, Syaoran’s gulps for air and Sakura’s quiet sobs. Sick with worry, Syaoran immediately limped to his trembling princess’ side while the villagers went to help Kurogane. The village hunters were curious about what exactly killed the wolf so they all crowded around the dead werewolf, including the now conscious Kurogane. They rolled the wolf’s corpse over onto its side and found a large gaping bullet wound in its throat, Kurogane dipped in his fingers and fumbled them about inside the open jugular, and pulled out a blood-coated silver bullet.

“Where did this come from?” Kurogane asked in his usual gruff voice. Syaoran looked at the bullet curiously then looked back at his princess who was still laid on her back exhausted. “Fai-san…didn’t want me, going with you…not unarmed, at least…so…I…” Sakura panted. She tiredly raised her left hand for Syaoran see. Sakura was holding a long, sleek, silver gun. Sakura had taken one of the hunter’s guns from the village’s weaponry hut before she went with the search party. Sakura had shot the werewolf.

Sakura slowly and steadily rose to her feet with a little help from Syaoran and walked over to the wolf’s body, and her hands instantly flew up to cover her mouth as she gasped in horror. The wolf was gone. In its place was a naked young man who would’ve looked just like Syaoran if not for his pure white skin and jet-black hair, his deep violet eyes were dulled and wide open, staring up at Sakura with sorrow, as if they were pleading to her for forgiveness. Sakura turned away from the awful sight and buried her face into Syaoran’s chest, crying. Syaoran blushed at this action but soon melted and held her as she cried into his chest. “He was a person. Wolf or not, he was still a person…I killed him!” She cried. Syaoran only hushed her sweetly as her rocked her slowly and gently, in attempt to calm her down. “I’m a murderer.” Sakura whimpered. Syaoran winced when he heard his princess say such a thing like that. “No you’re not. The werewolf went for you. It was self-defence, not murder.” Kurogane assured her. “Kurogane-san is right, princess. You didn’t mean to kill him.” Syaoran agreed. Sakura shook her shake in shame. “But I did. That man is dead because of me.”
“And we are alive because of you. If you hadn’t have used that torch to drive it away from us, then me and Kurogane-san probably wouldn’t be standing here with you now.”
Syaoran’s words had a strange effect on Sakura. She couldn’t bare the thought of her friends dying for her, especially not Syaoran dying.

“Oi, kid; you’d better take a look at this.” Kurogane called to Syaoran. Syaoran and Sakura walked over to dead boy that Kurogane was pointing to, and saw that his stomach was glowing. Kurogane kicked the wolf-man onto his back then used his sword to cut open the corpse’s belly, and what did they find glowing inside? Why, none other than Sakura’s feather. “That’s what must’ve provoked the werewolf. The feather must’ve been too powerful for the werewolf to handle.” Syaoran guessed. This didn’t make Sakura feel any better. The feather was hers, so in a way she was still responsible for this wolf-man’s death. Syaoran took the feather from the body, and then let it float over to meet the Princess' chest. As soon as she absorbed another one of her scattered memories, Sakura fell into a deep slumber just like she always does when a feather is returned to her. “Sweet dreams, Sakura.” Syaoran whispered to her as her caught her. “Yeah, sleep tight and don’t let the werewolves bite.” Kurogane grunted sarcastically. Syaoran didn’t seem to hear him. He was far too worried about what his princess had been through this night.

“Welcome back, guys!” Mokona greeted cheerily as it hopped over to meet Syaoran and Kurogane at the door as they walked in, but quickly halted when Mokona saw both Syaoran and Kurogane bleeding badly from their wounds. “You’re hurt!” The little furry creature squeaked. “I take it that you got the feather back?” Fai piped up from the lounge. “Yeah, I’ll tell you all about what happened tonight once I’ve taken the princess to bed.” Syaoran said as he carried Sakura upstairs. “Oohhohoho, like a man carrying his bride to their bed!” Mokona laughed. This comment made Syaoran blush heavily and made Fai laugh while Kurogane merely grunted just like he always does. Syaoran tried his best to open the door without dropping Sakura. Once he managed to open the door, Syaoran gently laid the princess down on the bed and covered her up with the quilt. “Goodnight Princess, I hope the memory in that feather was a nice one.” Syaoran whispered to her, in attempt not to wake her. Syaoran tip-toed out of her room and silently closed the door behind him. Sakura wriggled, squirmed, tossed and turned restlessly in her sleep; moaning, groaning, whining and whimpering in her deep slumber. Sakura shivered and trembled in the bed as the full moon’s light beamed upon her back like a theatre stage’s spot-light through the bedroom window. Little did Syaoran know; the power of the feather that was obtained this night, was anything BUT nice…