Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Restraints and Liberations ❯ Conversations ( Chapter 9 )

Warnings: slavery, abuse, rape, mpregs, kawaiiness, LEMON, angst...

Rating: NC17

Disclaimers: Sure, I own DBZ...I also have Inu Yasha on a leash at my feet, right now. That was sarcasm, for those out there who were thinking of suing me...I do however own Sage in most of his incarnations; Ryu Sage and Sage Rihs Rihayyidian are the property (mostly) of Herself. Or Dasia, whomever comes out on top. *cough* Mijuku and the Lady Herself are the sole property of my beloved tsuin, Dasia. Any alien species you recognize I do not own, any you do not are the creation of my depraved mind. In other words...MINE...hands off without permission.

For my tsuin/fiancé...whom I love and love.

And for my lovely, mushy danglemate and her rat who give me such delight, encouragement, Ai no Kusabi and beta'ing, and who take the original chibi brat off my hands from time to time.

And for a certain hybrid and tenshi...you know who you are. *smirks from the lemon tree*

Restraints and Liberations

By Talon

Chapter 8

Conversations

"Kakkarott? KAKKAROTT!!!" Turles sighed and wished he could reach through the view screen and smack his cousin around a bit. That fainting bullshit...as though he were some kind of damned weakling and not a fucking Super Saiyjin. "Kakkarott, you baka, wake UP," he all but shouted through clenched teeth. Sparing a quick glance over his shoulder, he sighed with relief he hadn't woken Sage. Turning back to the view screen, he waited as the spiky head stirred and blearily looked up at him.

"Turlll-us…" the baka slurred. A small shake and the clarity of consciousness returned to his obscure eyes. "Turles, was I talking to you? I dreamed…" his voice trailed off and he looked at Turles, his gaze pleading. "Tell me, tell me you said what you said...please, Turles."

"I did, `rotto. I found him. He's here, with me. We're on our way to Vegeta-sei. We're about four or five days out at this point, I'd have to check the sensors, but we're well on our way."

"I can't believe it...where is he, where was he, can I see him? Talk to him?"

"Calm down a minute, cousin. I think Vegeta ought to be here, don't you?"

Kakkarott inclined his head, and closed his eyes. "He is already on his way. Must have gotten worried when I passed out. He'll be here any..."

In the background, Turles could hear the door crashing open, and the sound of his Ouji's worried voice as he questioned his mate. The quiet murmuring of Kakkarott's voice, silence, then surprisingly a soft sob. Turles waited patiently for the prince to get himself under control, then jumped slightly as the Ouji's face filled the view screen.

"Where is my son?" Vegeta's voice was quiet, but the thread of steel running through it was unmistakable. Turles sighed. This was going to be difficult.

"Please, Ouji-sama, Kakkarott-sama, sit down and let me explain. When both faces had settled in front of the screen he took a deep breath and said, "You need to understand, he has been through...a lot." If that wasn't the understatement of the age..."He's not the same child you remember, but he is still Sage."

"Turles," interrupted Kakkarott, "Can we just see him? Talk to him?"

Turles smiled a bit sadly. "I was hoping you could, but he's sleeping."

"Well, wake him," came the impatient Ouji's voice. "Surely he would want..."

"Vegeta-sama, he's ill and in no condition to face either one of you just now." Turles' tone was firm.

The look of concern that crossed Vegeta's face erased nearly all the irritation from Turles' mind. "Ill? What's the matter with him?"

"He has a rather nasty strain of Cjudial flu. Please, if you would just let me explain from the beginning, it would be much easier. I will, of course, be happy to answer any questions you have..."

"Just a moment." Vegeta's voice was worried. "How do we know you have him? How do we know you're not just making this up to get the reward?"

While Turles was counting to ten, then twenty to restrain the upsurge of fury that simple, and to Vegeta's mind, perfectly logical question had evoked in him, Kakkarott thwacked his mate on the top of the head. "That is TURLES, you baka!!! He's FAMILY. He wouldn't do something like that!!!" *Thwackthwackthwack*

His frustration dissipated as the Ouji's flushed face came back into the view screen. "I'd still like proof," he muttered, ducking away from his mate's raised fist.

"That's fair," said Turles calmly. "But I warn you, this will be a shock." Turning, he keyed up the surveillance equipment and opened a folder he had compiled while Sage slept. It contained several pictures of the boy, starting with the one the scanning equipment had taken soon after he had boarded the ship with the unconscious cub. It was that picture he chose to send over the com.

He waited, then the gasps he knew would be coming floated into the cockpit. Vegeta was snarling, and Kakkarott had tears in his eyes, though those same eyes were blazing with the fury of a sebba wanting only to protect his offspring. His voice, when he spoke, was clipped and furious.

"What happened to our son, Turles?"

"Are you ready to listen? I mean, I don't mind stopping for questions, but this is going to take a much longer time if you're going to interrupt me every time I try and tell you something. So, just let me know when you're ready." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, gazing at the screen. He felt for them, he really, truly did, but he was getting irritated at being interrupted every other second. Thus far, they hadn't let him explain anything.

Kakkarott had an arm around his mate and was purring at him, apparently trying to soothe the seething Ouji. "We're ready. Please, Turles. Tell us about our son."

"All right then. First of all, he is alive, I promise you. And he ought to recover from everything he has been through. But the most important thing you need to know right now is he really is not the same Sage you remember. For the past three years, he has been a ki-restrained slave." He paused, letting that sink in, taking in the pair's expressions of horror. "If you look at the picture I sent, you'll notice the collar. This is what he looked like shortly after I found him. The fresh wound on his tail is from where he had an additional ki-cuff binding him. One of the first things I did was to have that removed. It's still healing, but healing well."

"He's so small," murmured Kakkarott. "I would have thought...he doesn't look much bigger than when he was Named."

Turles shook his head. "He's been continuously ki-restrained for the past three plus years, cousin. I believe, though I am no medic, the restraints have stunted his growth. If you'll look at the picture again, you should be able to see his brands." His voice softened. "One is the universal brand for a bought/sold slave, the double udre. The other is the mark of a slave who has had special... conditioning." He faltered over the words, berating himself for not just coming right out and saying it.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed at the picture, concentrating, trying to make out what the small, red mark on his son's bare hip was. He froze, all the blood draining from his face as he turned from the picture to look at Turles.

"No..." His voice was barely a whisper. "Turles, say that's not..."

Turles bowed his head. "I am sorry, my prince."

Vegeta's jaw trembled, and Kakkarott looked slightly confused. Then, as his mate caught his eyes, his own golden face paled for a moment, then flashed as his ki soared. Onyx spikes flamed the purest molten gold, black, bottomless eyes blazed bright teal as the aura around him pulsated in time with his rage.

"Kakkarott, power down. This will NOT help Sage." Vegeta as the voice of reason startled Turles slightly, though he hoped he had not let it show. "How did this come about?" the Ouji questioned.

"I only know how he came to be a slave," said Turles, slightly apologetic. "I don't know when or why he received his extra conditioning. He hasn't yet told me. But from what I do know, I would hazard a guess it happened very early on. Here, let me show you a picture of how he looked...oh, just before he got sick. We stopped as usual on this run at station Du'chvle and got him some proper clothes." Hitting the send key, the picture transmitted. Sage had been standing in his bare feet, looking out at space through the windows of the cockpit, shortly after they had left the station. He looked, quietly regal, though as Turles still thought, somewhat shaken and thoughtful. A hand was reaching out, as though he could touch whatever he was seeing, and the lights from the various instruments lit his face from below. The boy wasn't aware of any of the pictures, so they were all "natural", showing him as he truly was at any given moment. Turles had taken them from the security files, carefully selecting screen shots for various reasons; for example, one showed clearly how thin he was, one captured the haunted look in his eyes, more than one showed him sketching, etc.

The pair was silent, staring at the picture of their firstborn, and Turles slowly started talking, telling them where he had found Sage and all that had happened since he bought the boy and had taken him away. There were interruptions, explanations and many more pictures, and in the end, the pair looked cautiously happy. Their son and heir was alive, and in trustworthy hands, and on his way home. Both Turles and Kakkarott had talked Vegeta out of sending an armed escort. As Turles said, no one in their right mind would approach a gel transport, and beside that, Sage was very, very skittish. An armed escort might well do more harm than good to the boy.

"What happened to his hair?" asked Vegeta, finally asking what had been bothering him from almost the beginning.

"He said it was the first thing the slavers did...cut it off. Even before they...branded him, Ouji-sama. It threw me off initially; he just didn't look like the Sage I remembered. But it is growing; he said they cut it off very close when they did it."

"How much longer until you reach Vegeta-sei proper?" asked Kakkarott.

"Four days, by my calculations," replied Turles. "I know it seems like a long time, `rotto, but I can't go any faster with the gel on board." His voice was apologetic.

A look passed between the Saiyjin no Ouji and his chosen, and they turned back to the screen. "The boys will be back from their studies soon, so we should go," said Kakkarott, obviously somewhat distressed at severing the link he now had to his eldest cub.

Turles nodded, and had been about to say something resembling reassurance when Vegeta spoke. "Can we see him? I mean, not a picture, can we see him as he is...right now?" Vegeta's voice was steady, but the look in his coal-dusted eyes wasn't. Turles nodded.

"It will take a few minutes to route the cameras, give me a moment," he replied and set to work. Three and a half minutes later Sage's parents were watching him sleep for the first time in three years. Trying to see Sage through their eyes, Turles imagined what must be going through their minds, and hearts as they gazed upon their son. Sage's expression was peaceful, though his skin was flushed and his dark bangs drew a damp, jagged edge across an elegant forehead. He twitched slightly and Turles restrained the urge to go to him, instead waiting for the signal from Vegeta and Kakkarott to end the connection.

A sigh from the com signaled they were preparing to end the call and he returned to the vid screen.

"I didn't see a rash," said Kakkarott, his eyes misty. "Didn't you say he had Cjudial flu?"

"Yes," smiled Turles. "But the rash is mostly on his chest and arms, and it's fading."

Sage's sebba nodded, seemingly satisfied with the trivial information. He shook himself slightly and turned back to Turles.

"We have to go, the boys are on their way back to the suite, and we have quite a lot to explain to them. Cousin, words cannot express what is in my heart, knowing finally our son is alive, and on his way home. Please...accept my deepest, most soul-felt thanks for what you have done."

"And mine as well," interjected Vegeta.

Turles bowed his head. "No thanks are necessary. It has been my greatest honor to serve the Royal Family in this way. Please, do contact me whenever you feel you need to. I will be in touch."

The pair nodded, murmuring their thanks and farewells as the connection was severed.

Breathing deeply, Turles leaned back in his chair, eyes closed and tried, unsuccessfully to relax. He had stayed away from a few subjects, knowing the situation was going to be difficult enough for them to process. Hell, it was nearly impossible for him and he had been dealing with it for a week and a half, or there abouts. He hadn't mentioned the bond, or the situation at the space station, or the fact Sage hated himself and thought his father would hate him too.

I'm going to have to tell them before we get home, but damned if I want to. Turles shook his head and went to check on Sage.

~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~

Sage seemed a bit better the next day, his fever was going down steadily, but not with an abrupt break Turles had been hoping for. He managed to keep down some soup, and complained his rash was itching him.

Turles grinned at the grumpy cub. "The itching means it's going away," he informed Sage. "But I have some lotion that might help if you like." He got up to get it as Sage raked his fingers beneath his shirt in a vicious scratch with a scowl on his face that left no question who his sire was.

"Here now, stop that," instructed Turles. "You're going to be bleeding if you don't stop."

"But it ITCHES!!!" howled Sage in what was unmistakably a whine. Turles could barely contain his amusement. He knew Sage actually acting like a child wouldn't last, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy it while it did.

"Well, take your shirt off and we can do something about it, ne?"

Sage froze.

Guessing what was on his mind, Turles reassured him quietly. "Sage, it's just your shirt. You take your shirt off and I can put this lotion on your rash and you will stop itching for awhile. Nothing more. You know that."

Hesitantly, Sage nodded and slowly lifted the sleep shirt over his head, ruffling his already mussed mane.

"Good job." Turles' voice was soothing. "Now lie back and let me take a look at the rash."

Sage obeyed instantly, in the way that made Turles sigh internally. However, he chose to ignore it, adjusting the light so it shone clearly over the light purple blemishes dotting Sage's scarred chest and arms. It was fading, and going out with a final hurrah, judging by the welts left by Sage's nails digging into his skin. He squeezed a bit of the lotion out into his hand, warmed it slightly with his ki and smoothed it over the rash, smiling at the involuntary sigh of relief as Sage's itch abated.

As he gently massaged the boy, feeling him relax reluctantly under his fingers, he broke the news.

"I talked to your parents yesterday."

Sage's eyelids, which had been at half mast shot up and only Turles' hand on his chest kept him from bolting from the bed in an instinctual flight reaction.

"Relax, Sage, I told you I was going to."

"I...I...I...I know, Turles-sama...but..."

"It's ok. I didn't tell them everything...yet."

"W...what did you..."

"They know you were a slave and ki restrained, they know you were a pleasure slave. They know something of what's been going on for the past three years, the conditions I found you in, your tail, your illness. I have not told them about the incident at the space station, our bond, or that you are afraid of returning home because you hate yourself and are afraid your father will hate you as well."

He glanced down at Sage, smearing more lotion over his arms, expecting to see fear, apprehension, even tears. Confusion he had not expected.

"What is it, chukra?"

In a voice so small he wasn't certain Sage actually spoke, the single word flitted across Turles' ear. "Bond?"

"Yes, Sage, we have a fledgling bond. Can you not feel it, here?" And he tapped a forefinger to Sage's head. Sage frowned, concentrating. "I...I think so..." He swallowed. "It's almost like...the rest of them, but I haven't been able to hear them in so long...it's been so long...I didn't know...I'm sorry, Turles-sama," he cried out suddenly, bursting into tears.

Turles hid his bafflement and cradled the sobbing child in his arms. "Shhh, why are you sorry? This wasn't your doing, nor mine. Sometimes bonds like this just happen and that's all there is to it. And you should be able to hear your family again soon. Actually," he paused and drew back. "I wonder why you can't hear them now."

A low whisper. "I don't remember how."

Turles shook his head. "No, that's not the reason. It doesn't matter whether or not you remember, bonds are bonds, and family/pack bonds are very strong. It was one thing when you were…OH." He smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Baka, baka, baka me. I'm sorry, Sage, I forgot."

Sage looked completely mystified. "Forgot what?"

"Ki-restraint. I forgot I ki-restrained you."

Sage's eyes were wide, and Turles swore the darkness pooling in his eyes ate at the light surrounding them. "You...you...I don't understand." He choked off the sob growing in his chest as his fingers flew to his neck. Finding it bare of all but the nearly healed welts and bruises he stared in shock at Turles.

"I...I trusted you..."

Shit. He had been afraid of this, and now he'd have to do some fast talking to settle Sage down. "Chibi, what do you remember from when you were sick? I mean, sicker than you are now."

Sage frowned. "Not much. I remember being very hot, and floaty...I dunno. Why?"

"The reason I ki-restrained you, and the cuff is on your right ankle by the way, is because during one of your fever-induced hallucinations you nearly blew a hole in the hull. I didn't have a choice."

"Can't…can't you take it off now?" Sage's voice was pleading.

"Not yet, chibi, but soon. As soon as your fever breaks completely, I'll take it off. I didn't want to do it, please believe me."

Sage didn't answer for a moment. Then, "Where did you get it?"

Turles blinked. "From the medical storage cupboard. They're standard issue equipment."

"Then it's not…it's not from..." He was unable to finish the sentence, and Turles figured out what he was talking about as the tip of his tail waved slightly."

"No. Sage, I left that cuff at the shop where we had it removed. And I wasn't about to put that collar back on you."

"Oh." A shuddering breath, "Please, forgive me, Turles-sama."

"Nothing to forgive."

Sage shifted in the bed a little uncomfortably. He still felt lousy, but Turles-sama had been right, the lotion reduced the itch considerably. He frowned, thinking about what Turles had said.

"Um...Turles-sama, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." He screwed the cap back on the lotion bottle and stowed it in a nearby drawer so it would be close when Sage started itching again.

"Well, if the ki-restraint is what's keeping me from hearing my family, how come I can still feel you?"

Turles looked thoughtful. "It could be one of several reasons. But the most likely is the bond formed after you were removed from the traumatic situation you were in, and we are in close, even physical contact. Unless I'm mistaken, it wasn't only the restraints that closed off your connection to your family, was it, Sage?"

Wide eyed and startled, Sage gazed at him, off-balance and confused. "I...I don't know what you mean, Mas...Turles-sama."

Turles frowned. "Think about it, Sage. What happens when you or one of your brothers gets hurt? What about your father and sebba? What happens to the other family members if someone gets hurt?"

Sage was dead white, and Turles got the impression he was pushing him too far, too fast, but he needed to know whether the boy had done this intentionally or if it had just happened because of the circumstances.

"They…hurt...we hurt...till someday we learn not to...project..." Sage's jaw was trembling.

"But you don't learn that, not until your Awakening," supplied Turles. "It's that way for a reason, Sage, parents have to know when their cubs are hurt or in danger. Do you remember when you stopped "hearing" them?"

"A...after they collared me, I think it changed," said Sage hesitantly. "It got...I dunno, vague and echo-y. Yeah. Echo-y. I could kinda hear them, but only when it was directed at me. I'd hear things like Papa saying, `Stay strong, we'll find you", and Sebba telling me he loved me, but it felt almost...unreal. And I couldn't touch them at all; at least that's what it felt like."

"But you could still hear them," confirmed Turles.

Sage nodded.

"When did that stop?"

Sage dropped his eyes and drew his knees up to his chest. Turles could hear him swallowing, hard, his breathing erratic.

"Sage?" He put his hand in the cub's hair, to ground him a bit, and tried to tap their still forming bond. The child was trembling, no shaking...hard.

"They...sold me. After...after they did what they did. Cut my hair, collared me, branded me, made me renounce who and what I had been...but they hadn't done anything else to me except hurt me. Beating me with ki-whips, straps, rods, breaking the bones in my tail...it never occurred to me...when they sold me..." he stopped, gnawing hard on his lip to keep the tears and memory at bay, but after a moment, Turles got a flash of what he was trying to suppress.

//Standing outside, the wind was chilly...naked, why wouldn't they let me have any clothes? It was cold...faceless crowd, the scents of lust washing over me in a sickening wave, shouting, then silence as the trainer began speaking.

"Recently broken, virgin male slave, ten g-standard years old. Ki-restrained intact Saiyjin. Interesting coloring. Very minor scarring. Untrained, whomever buys him can mold him to suit his or her needs exactly. Very pretty, nice example of a prime piece of Saiyjin-brat flesh. Shall we start at...oh say...ten thousand?"

The shouts and bids continued, they hurt my ears. The bidding got more heated, so did the musky-lust scents cascading over me. Papa, please, help me!!! I want to go HOME!!! PLEASE!!//

Turles snapped out of the near trance at Sage's low moan. Shaking his head sharply, he reached out to the still shaking child and pulled him into his lap, twining his tail with Sage's. "Shhh, it's ok, come back, Sage, I'm sorry."

"No...not your fault. It...it wasn't that anyway." Sage gulped then pressed on, speaking fast, trying to get it all out before he lost his nerve.

"The one who bought me...I didn't know...he took me home, and...and..." He broke off, sobbing into his hands. "Papa and Sebba told me only adults did that, never children because it was wrong. Children aren't ready for that, and adults can't do that with them...like you said...and I had forgotten...child-scent. B...but…it didn't stop him...and he liked it...it hurt so much...he just kept...and..." His voice trailed off and Turles pressed his forehead into Sage's and again, in a flash he saw Sage's memories.

//Why...I don't know what he wants...he keeps touching me...don't touch me there...not supposed to contradict the Master, he owns me now...nobody owns me...I am a prince...you are a slave...you can't be a prince and be a slave...please...no...what are you doing...what...that HURTS!!!! NOOOOOO PLEASE NOPLEASE STOPITHURTSSSS!!! WHY???WHY??? STOP TAKE IT OUT...PLEASE, MASTER!!!!

Blood...there's so much blood...and his...hurts to move...why, Master? Have I displeased you that you punish me so? No? You're leaving...good...I'll just stay here...and bleed, I guess. Papa? Sebba? Please...help me. I promise to be good...//

Turles held the sobbing child, purring at him gently as he tried to calm him. Damnit, I shouldn't have pressed the issue. DAMN ME. He looked down as soft fingers found his jaw.

"Don't...it's not your fault, Turles-sama. It's just...that first time...after that I never heard them again. After awhile, I don't know how long, he took me back to the training centre, but to a different part of it. He just handed me over, said he wanted me to receive additional training, that I had proven to be worth putting some money into. He filled out some paperwork, handed it to the receptionist who glanced it over and said, I remember this distinctly, `I see you're being reasonable in your expectations given his race and age.' They talked for a bit, then he...kissed me, hard...I always hated it when he did that, told me to behave for the trainers and he'd see me soon." Sage shrugged helplessly. "That's how I got the second brand."

Turles was just barely keeping his fury in check, but he knew some of it was leaking to Sage, in his scent if nothing else, by the way the boy cringed away from him suddenly.

"No, no, Sage, I'm not angry at you, please. None of this is your fault. I'm angry at those who hurt you, chibi, those who did things to you that you shouldn't have had to deal with until your Awakening, when they could beautiful and pleasurable experiences."

Sage shuddered. "No offense, Turles-sama...don't think I'm ever gonna enjoy sex."

"It's nothing you have to think about now," Turles assured him, then watched curiously as Sage uncurled himself and reached to rub the bottoms of his feet. "Chibi, what…"

Sage flushed. "Sorry, Turles-sama...it's just...it got me remembering my time in the training centre for my extra conditioning...they disciplined differently there."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, pleasure slaves are supposed to be `pretty' so they don't hit you where people will see scarring. I had a couple from my initial conditioning, but even ki-restrained in the beginning, when I was still pretty strong I healed faster than most species."

Setting Sage back on the bed, Turles gently grasped one of his feet and lifted it to inspect the sole. His stomach turned over at the collage of old scars and built-up scar tissue decorating the foot. Setting it back down, he checked over the other foot, finding the same conditions there.

"You're sleepy, Sage, and still sick," he said, keeping his voice gentle and reassuring. "Here, put your shirt back on and lay down and get some rest, ne?"

Sage nodded and obeyed, settling down on the pillow as he watched Turles arranging things with frightened eyes. As the older Saiyjin stood and clicked the light off, a small hand reached out and grasped a fold of trouser.

"Please, stay with me...just until I fall asleep?" the tiny voice pleaded.

Turles twitched a small smile at his young charge. Gently untangling the fingers from the fabric of his pants, Turles crossed the short space to the table and brought back one of the chairs, which he placed beside the bed, settling himself in it as the small hand once again, sought him out. Grasping it warmly, he spoke quietly to the child, already drowsing off.

"Sleep, Sage, I will protect you."

And Sage drifted off, purring slightly, and feeling warm, comforted...safe.

To be continued...

Talon: *looks in surprise at Sage-muse and Mijuku-muse, both of whom are sporting identical smug -cat-in-the-cream-expressions* "Ok…so you were right...threats ARE a good way to get reviews...so do I have to threaten at the end of every fic or what?

Sage-muse: "YES!!!"

Mijuku-muse: "No, only if they forget the lesson." *small smile* "And you're lovely readers wouldn't do that, would they? Besides...I have a better idea for next time...if we don't get reviews, I'll cry and never run around mostly undressed again!!!"

*Disbelieving snorts from both Sage-muse and Talon*

Sage-muse: "The crying I believe, Miju...but when was the last time you were completely dressed?"

Mijuku-muse: "Shhh...I didn't say I wouldn't be mostly undressed, I only said I wouldn't RUN around...mostly undressed." *nods in satisfaction* "If that won't fetch reviews...well then I'm fresh out of ideas!!!"

Talon: *pained sigh* "How did I get stuck with you two as muses anyway?"

Both: "Just lucky I guess!!!"

Sage-muse: "Now, REVIEW damnit, don't make me come over there!!!" Makes a face at the mini-Sage neko mewing in Princess Emeraude's hair* "Is that...thing...sanctioned?"

Talon: "Oh hush you...it's cute and not hurting anybody. Now behave or else I'll have you over there cleaning it's litter box."

*Mijuku steps to the front, ignoring the fight behind him*

"The management here would like to thank everyone who took the time to review the last chapter of Restraints and Liberations, and to encourage you to do so again." *Ducks as an iron from Kami-only-knows-where flies through the air over his head*

*lowers his voice* "Just between you and me, minna-san, I don't think Talon ever had any intention of leaving this fic to its own devices...but review, just in case. Arigato!!! Ja ne!!!"