Kyle knew it was going to be hard but he didn't think it was going to be this hard.

Right now, he was holding tightly onto Sayuri, to prevent her from rushing forward … and saving 'his' life.

He had brought her along for this, as he felt he needed the back-up should there be several people to follow. He wanted to tail the main perpetrator, but he was worried that there would be others that needed some tailing as well.

He could have called MIB stationed at Country Tz, but he didn't trust them enough to have the proper skills to do so without being caught.

MIB was good, but they were ordinary people. They would do well with advance meticulous planning.

This particular mission, however, required one with extra stealth. There could not be any prior plans since Kyle himself did not know what was going to happen. Even if they stalked the location, they would not get anything.

After all, the location was Kylie's house while the ones who attacked came out of nowhere. They weren't there to stop the incident, but only observe and follow.

Actually, if push comes to shove, he could have found some people capable enough but somehow, Sayuri was the one that came to his mind first. She was, undoubtedly, more skilled than any MIB agent he had and would be able to move in the dark better than any of them.

He would rather put his trust in her, rather than risk it with an MIB agent.

However, he did not expect this sort of reaction from her.

She was, after all, a ninja and is capable of silently observing and not interfering in anything at all if that was the purpose.

In hindsight, he should have known better and warned her, at least.

After all, Sayuri did meet Kylie and was already close to his kids. How could she stand watching their mother being killed right in front of her eyes and yet, do nothing?

Kyle had been thinking so much about this death day that he had actually missed this crucial part.

He had been nervous and agitated.

Arriving on location, and seeing everything unfold …

The pain hit him so deeply, to see how she had been ambushed inside the sanctity of her own home. Through the large bay windows in the living room, they could clearly see the sort of torture Kylie was going through.

Right now, Kyle had to focus on the scene in front of him.

Before, he had not known anything other than being attacked, and in pain. Now, seeing it from the perspective of an outsider, he could see the sort of skill the man had.

He had been so engrossed in studying everything that he had forgotten about Sayuri and what she would do. He had told her that they were here to observe, and for the life of him, he didn't know why it never occurred to him that she would try to save Kylie.

Luckily, Kyle's reaction had been quick and he had managed to grab onto her as she slipped beside him. He immediately put her into a few combination moves to maximize the hold yet not cause her any pain.

He twisted her arms and held them back while his legs wrapped itself around her legs, in a body scissors move. They tumbled to the ground and Kyle flipped over, taking her along with him as he then held her waist and covered her mouth.

His arms were positioned in such a way that he also trapped her arms by her side. His hand may be on the waist, but the arm held her right arm down. It was the same with the other hand that covered her mouth, but the arm held her left arm down.

Kyle couldn't talk as yet, for he had to continue observing.

He could feel her body shake and then, the hand that was covering her mouth got wet.

He gripped her tighter, holding her onto him as she cried, his heart being affected far more than he thought possible.

He, too, was feeling pain at having to watch himself die but he found that he was much calmer when he was holding Sayuri in his arms. Even though it was not exactly a 'hug', just the feel of her body pressed to him and her unique vanilla smell was soothing.

"I'm sorry, Sayuri," Kyle said hoarsely in her ear, "I should have told you. We can't save her."

She continued her silent sobbing as they watched how Kylie did one last desperate attempt at retaliation as she bit the despicable man's ear.

They flinched when they saw how the man started kicking her face and chest, like some rag doll, breaking her head and face, causing blood and brain matter to splatter.

"I will explain everything later, but please, Sayuri. I beg you," Kyle said, hugging her tightly, "I need your help. Please, please, don't do anything to them. I need you to just follow the men and see what they do."

"Can you do that for me? Please?" Kyle asked desperately, waiting for her answer.

Sayuri took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and slowly nodded.

Kyle released his hold on her and apologized again, "I'm sorry."

Sayuri didn't say a word but continued to watch the scene in front of them silently, her body tensed.

The house was soon ablaze, while the men who did it watched.

"I'll follow the killer," Kyle said softly.

Sayuri nodded, then turned to Kyle. She stared at him for one brief second and then punched him hard, hissing before disappearing into the night, "You owe me."

Kyle rubbed his jaw.

'Man, she sure has one mean hook,' Kyle thought to himself, smiling a bit despite the pain.

He deserved it, though.

He sighed audibly, knowing that he had a lot of explaining to do, and a whole lot of begging for forgiveness later on.