Gomenasai, minnasan! "Tomorrow" turned into "next week." It was for good reasons, though ( hopefully :) ). Anyhow, let me finish up this chapter.
Johannes runs towards Yuda's scream and finds her hanging from a tree with a rope around her pinning her arms to her sides. She is wearing Johannes's jacket and the hood is covering her head. She is caught in a trap used by the people of Johannes' country. Yuda looks pitiful and is sobbing as she asks Johannes to release her from the trap. Johannes is tickled, laughs and then says, "You look like a monk!" Johannes laughs himself until it hurts and Yuda who is clearly embarrassed swings and manages to kick Johannes in the face. Later, Yuda is shown released and pouting on a rock while thinking, "I knew it! Johannes is not kind! I hate him!!" Johannes tries to apologize for his earlier reaction but Yuda isn't hearing him. He then says he'll roast the fish he caught earlier so they can eat. Yuda, now defiant says she doesn't want any because she's not hungry as her loudly rumbling stomach betrays her. Johannes tells her it's ok if she has no willpower and offers her a tasty fish. Yuda eats and Johannes warns her to be careful of the bones. Yuda is surprised and smiles broadly as she eats the fish. She tells Johannes that the fish is delicious and that it's her first time having fish prepared this way. "Finally a smile" Johannes notes and warmly returns a smile to Yuda. Yuda, overwhelmed, turns her head not see it. "Why?" she thinks, "I don't understand but, when Johannes smiles and is nice, my heart pounds faster. Johannes said it was love but ... I have others like family and employees -- lots of people I love. So why is it only Johannes who makes my heart pound?"
Yuda is in deep thought as they sit under a tree. A leaf falls onto her hair and Johannes moves to remove it. "Why?" she's still thinking when she notices that Johannes is in motion. She slaps him away with a twig and asks him what he's doing so suddenly. And off Yuda goes, running, with Johannes in pursuit.
Johannes: Why'd you hit me over the head with a twig!?
Yuda: Because my heart is pounding and I hate it!
Johannes: That's because you're in love!
Yuda: Lies! Because Johannes-sama never loses composure!!
Johannes finally catches up with her and grabs her by the shoulder to stop the chase. He's blushing and asks Yuda, "When I have I been calm?" Now they are both blushing and Yuda has turned to face him. Johannes is looking her in the eyes. He reaches out his hand to stroke her cheek and leans in for a kiss. Yuda is wide-eyed as she is kissed on the cheek. Johannes is holding her hand ... when a gunshot goes off. The bullet grazes Johannes' scarf.
A car accident has happened and three men in military uniforms are tied together. "What a dangerous place. Geez ..." says one military guys walking around. He's accompanied by a guy who looks like he's from Yuda's country and another guy from Johannes'. "You two can come out, it's safe!" says the other and Yuda's two handmaidens pop out from behind the bushes. The military guys tell them that there is one more terrorist left to catch. The handmaidens worry for the safety of their princess and the military guys says they must hurry.
From behind another bush, "Just when things are going well, somebody has to come out of nowhere and interfere. Whoever it is wants to die!!" Johannes mutters with great irritation. Yuda urges him to calm down and then another bullet whizzes by. Yuda asks where the gunshots are coming from. Johannes wonders that himself, but it's clear to him that he is the target. He tells Yuda to stay hidden as he runs off to investigate. Yuda thinks Johannes is being reckless as she hides. Even though Johannes is very strong he probably doesn't know where the gunshots are coming from and she doesn't know what he's going to do about the situation. Meanwhile Johannes is sprinting through the woods. He turns ... and Yuda hears another gunshot. Yuda springs to her feet and runs towards the sound. She only has Johannes' safety on her mind. On the ground she sees drops of blood and she freezes. Close behind a bush is a military guy and he is pulling up a blood covered shirt. Yuda thinks it's the worst case scenario and runs and grabs onto the man's arm. "Stop!" she yells. "Let go of him!" She pulls the military man's arm and continues, "Johannes-sama run!!" and then again her foot lands on a trip rope for another trap and up she goes again. Meanwhile, the military guy is suddenly down and someone is behind him with a knife. Suddenly, Yuda is cut down and ... lands in Johannes' shirtless arms. "Why were you trapped again? I told you to hide, but again you are in danger!!" he lectures. Yuda, still only thinking of Johannes, says, "but blood ... but you're bleeding ..." Johannes calms her, "I bled to lure him. But look, the bleeding has already stopped" (at least, I think that's what he's saying). He continues, "And you? Are you hurt?" Yuda lets loose and cries loudly on Johannes' chest. She's bawling and snotting and holding him very tightly. Johannes assures her that everything is alright and then says that she's hugging too tightly and it hurts. He reaches down to touch her face while still assuring her that everything this alright. He whispers in her ear, again, that everything is alright and holds her face in his hands. He then looks her in the eyes and strokes her bottom lip with his thumb. Yuda thinks, "as usual my heart is pounding, but I hear Johannes-sama's heart and it's beating quickly too -- the same as mine. If our hearts are beating the same together, then maybe this feeling ..." Johannes is leaning in for a kiss, his eyes are closed and Yuda is softening and begins to close her eyes to accept the kiss. They are EVER so close! And then from behind the bushes, one of their bodyguards and Yuda's handmaidens pop up. "Johannes-sama! Yuda-sama! Are you okay!?" they yell. The mood is broken and the almost-loving couple is in shock. Johannes is HELLA pissed and Yuda is embarrasses and looks like she is trying to come up with an excuse for the situation. "YOU BASTARDS!!! 30% OFF EVERYONE'S BONUS!!!" Johannes yells, finger pointing at the bodyguard while the handmaidens ask Yuda what was going on just now.
Narration: I would have thought the pounding of my heart was a dangerous experience, but in a moment, my confused thoughts were cleared. (or something like that -- okay, I like it this way even if my translation of this final narration is wrong -- hopefully, it's close enough though -- the words are there, but they are in a weird order as written literally in Japanese. It makes sense in English when I reorder the words as I have written.)
