Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Seasons of Sorrow ❯ Memories of Spring = One Fine Day ( Chapter 20 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

DISCLAIMER: I am not a crook…I am not a crook… So said Nixon when asked about the Watergate scandal. That said, I don't own Furuba…I really don't! The agony…

Memories of Spring
— One Fine Day —

“This stuff smells,” complained Kyo.

“I agree,” conceded Haru nonchalantly.

“It smells funny,” commented Momiji.

“I'm gonna gag,” remarked Uo.

“The smell is unique,” replied Hana.

“It is rather difficult to breathe in,” added Tohru.

“What is this called again, Kagura?” asked Yuki as he eyed with doubt at the liquidy, smelly substance before them.

Today was the day they had all decided to gather at Shigure's place to create their masks for their Class Dance. Since this will be based on the Zodiac theme, they all decided that it was best to help each other out with creating their particular masks. To make things go smoother, Tohru called in Kagura for her expert advice. Kisa also came over with Hiro in case they needed more help (Hiro not so willing, but where Kisa goes, he goes).

The order of masks is as follows (taken from Shigure's personal notes—he was inspired to write a story on this event):

Zodiac Mask - Person to wear it

MOUSE - Yuki (duh!)

COW - Haru (had nothing better to do so will play Yuki's bodyguard)

RABBIT - Momiji (plans to PARTY!)

SHEEP - Hana (creepy…)

BIRD - Uo (shocker…)

MONKEY - Kagura (she's not going but wants to make it)

DOG - Tohru (she did promise…)

CAT - Kyo (no surprise there…)

Setting all the strips of paper of different colors and such next to the bowl with the watery substance, Kagura smiled widely. “This is called papier-mâché. I'll show you how to use this so you can form the mask, ears, nose, even the eyes. I also laid out the colored markers, paint, and brushes to go with them. I think that about covers it. Let's start.”

“Can't you do something about the smell?” asked Kyo as he rubbed his nose in hopes of ridding the smell from his senses.

“Nope,” replied Kagura cheerfully. “You'll get used to it. And besides, we have all the doors open so that the air can circulate from outside.”

“Not good enough,” grumbled Kyo with arms crossed pouting.

“Can you do anything that's not whining?” asked Uo annoyed.

“Shut up, Yankee! This is MY house, so I can say what I want!” replied Kyo loudly.

“What? Are you finally paying the bills in this house?” questioned Hiro from his place in front of the TV (watching a reality program). “If not, then you can't tell other people to shut up. (`Wait a sec…' Kyo yells.) Unless you can prove that you put in money into this house each month to keep it up, then you have no right to tell other people to shut up. (`How can I…' Kyo yells.) That's imposing on their liberty to speak when they want and how they want. (`She talks…' Kyo yells.) That can even be considered verbal harassment the way you talk to her. (`Harassment! …' Kyo yells.) And there are plenty of witnesses, too—you won't stand a chance in a court of law.”

As Kyo tried to pick up his jaw from the floor at being sidelined by this `rational' speech, Kisa asks Tohru, “Onee-chan, do you want to start on the ears or nose first on your mask?”

“Hm, what do you think, Kagura-san?” asked Tohru curiously.

“It's better that we start off with the actual mask itself since it'll take the longest time to put together and dry out. This is how you start it out,” began Kagura as she started grabbing a thick sheet of paper and folding it a certain way to start making the mask. After several more steps, she called out, “Okay, now you guys try it!”

All took their time following Kagura's instructions. Some were progressing well (Yuki, Momiji, Hana), while the others were having minor difficulties (Tohru, Uo, Haru). Kyo's endeavors were met with obstinate strips of paper that somehow touched the glue, so his paperwork was sticking to the table, his arms, fingers, lap…

“Damn, I hate this crap…it sticks to everything!” exclaimed Kyo as he tried waving his hand in the air in hopes of freeing his hand from the sticky paper.

“Hold still…you'll mess up the layout on the table,” called out Kagura as she went over to help Kyo. Wiping his hand down with a damp rag, she instructed Kyo to start over again with fresh paper. After Kyo finally managed to catch up, Kagura decided to continue with her lessons. It was a little hard, but everyone was determined to get their masks done properly and in time…they were already pushing it with doing it this late right before their big night.

When they finally reached the glue part, Kagura rapped on the table for everyone's attention. “All right, now we begin the fun part. Dip whatever paper (colored or non-colored) into this liquidy substance. Don't drench it—otherwise it'll break apart. Then take the paper to your mask and plaster it over the mask. Now let me repeat.”

Kagura then showed them how to actually do it. Finally, she instructed them to do the same. The reactions to sticking their fingers into this substance varied…

“It's sticky and it still smells,” whined Kyo as pieces of his glued paper were sticking once again to his hands, fingers, face…

“Hm…this feels weird,” commented Haru.

“Look, mine is starting to look like a real mask!” exclaimed Momiji joyously.

“This doesn't seem too bad,” added Uo.

“Indeed,” agreed Hana.

“Oops, my paper fell in,” said Tohru worriedly as she dug into the bowl of gluey substance in search of her paper.

`This stuff is getting under my nails,' thought Yuki a little annoyed. Turning to Kagura, he asked, “So, Kagura, did you learn to do this in your arts craft class at school?”

“Yep,” responded Kagura from her place at the table. “You won't believe the different ways to create art crafts, Yun-chan. I had lots of fun making backpacks, even quilts. But learning how to papier-mâché was quite a mess at first. It worked out well in the end!”

“Let's hope we can do the craft justice,” replied Yuki, still eyeing his mask doubtfully.

“You are all doing well,” assured Kagura, yet eyed Kyo with a narrow gaze. “Except for Mister I-can-jump-ahead-of-the-group over there. Kyo-kun, you're supposed to be following the rest of us”

“You're too slow,” growled Kyo as he hastily made the exterior parts of the mask (ears, nose) and paste them to the mask.

“My Okaa-san would sometimes mention how impatient she would get with my Otou-san,” giggled Tohru at this memory. “She would say how absent-minded he would sometimes get, and she would try so hard not to pull her hair out.”

Uo and Hana smiled softly with her, also recalling the instances in which Kyoko would talk about Tohru's dad. Hiro turned to Tohru and asked curiously (but bashfully), “Did your Mom ever do arts craft projects for her school, too?”

Knowing how much effort it took for Hiro to speak kindly to her each time (not to mention to ask more about her mother), Tohru smiled gratefully at the Sheep of the Zodiac. “Well, actually, no, she never did this sort of thing. She was not that well adept at this sort of thing. But she would make me different things at home, like paper hats or animals using origami methods. It was lots of fun. Thank you for asking, Hiro-san.”

“Don't read into it that much,” grumbled Hiro lowly as he returned his attention to the TV. Kisa also smiled widely in his direction, knowing as well how much he tries to be civil to her `onee-chan'.

“What sort of origami animals did she make for you? Was it hard to make?” were Yuki's questions while putting his mask together.

“It wasn't too hard to make, last I remembered,” pondered Tohru. Her face then brightened as she recalled the memory, “Oh, but the animals were of all sorts of different shapes and sizes. Like birds, giraffes, swans…”

“HAH!” cried out Kyo joyously as he presented his mask in all its glory. Actually, it was quite wet and pieces of the papier-mâché were falling apart from his mask. Sticking it into Yuki's face, he called out loudly, “TAKE THAT, NEZUMI! I finished FIRST, and it's the best one there is.”

Rather annoyed at this smelly mask being shoved in his face, plus the fact that Kyo's mask was falling apart on his own mask, Yuki's eyebrow twitched. Knowing that earlier in the morning he woke up late and was running around trying to help in his own way with getting things ready for their visitors, Yuki had skipped breakfast (shh, don't tell anyone—he had somehow managed to hide it from the others). Of course, this didn't help him now since he's been fighting a growl in his stomach and an ache in his head (the glue substance really can give you a headache). To have the all too dependable `cat' ruin his mask was just the `icing on the cake'.

(SMACK!)

Thus was Yuki's reaction to Kyo's prize…a good fist punch right through the mask into Kyo's face. Kyo was caught off guard (no shock there), and he was sent flying back to the floor where he landed on his back with one busted nose. As he laid bleeding there, arms and hands twitching (signs of life), Yuki turned back to Tohru with a satisfied grin.

“Now, you were saying?” asked Yuki serenely as he cleaned up the mess Kyo made on his mask.

“Um, that is…well…are you sure Kyo-kun is okay?” asked Tohru nervously.

“Is he dead?” asked Kisa innocently.

“Bulls-eye! Nice shot, Prince!” congratulated Uo from her spot at the table.

“Ewww, his nose is bleeding,” grimaced Momiji as he eyed Kyo's face closely. Momiji then jumped back as said individual revived himself and launched himself back to his feet.

“DAMMIT RAT BOY…YOU RUINED MY MASK!” yelled the bleeding neko to the nezumi.

“You were saying that your mother used to make animal origami?” prodded Yuki to Tohru, oblivious to the neko's fuming presence at the other side of the table.

“Well, yes of course, all sorts of wild animals…and domesticated kinds, too,” nervously replied Tohru as she sensed Kyo's anger gauge go up another notch at being ignored by Yuki.

All Kyo could do in such a state at being completely ignored is gape long and hard at Yuki (remember, the minor order of `no fighting'…yeah). He screamed in his mind in frustration as he pulled his hair and stomped back and forth in the small space left in the living room. He would have dented every wall in the room if Shigure hadn't told him months ago that he'd fine Kyo high and dry if he kept it up. So every so often, he'd go up to Yuki's face and point a finger to him, gawking at him with no words coming out of his mouth. He always tried to form the words (mainly words like `DIE, rat' or `I'll fight you'), but nothing came forth from his lips. As he tried once more the same routine and stood open-mouthed to Yuki's face, Yuki had just about enough of this tantrum.

Trusting his leeks to do the trick, he pulled some from out of nowhere (yep, he still keeps them hidden on him), and stuck the offensive produce (to Kyo anyway) right into Kyo's mouth. Kyo could only turn as green as the leeks, and promptly passed out in the same position as before when he was knocked out.

“You make me waste perfectly good leeks on you, baka neko,” replied Yuki annoyed as he sat back down. Sighing in satisfaction at the silence left in the air, he once again gazed at Tohru with a serene smile. “So, what other things did your mom make for you?”

As Tohru continued to stare wide-eyed at the knocked out kitty, Uo was all smiles. “That's was perfectly done, Sohma. You gotta show me that trick again!” remarked Uo happily.

Momiji once again faced the twitching neko, wondering how long he'll stay knocked out this time. “Oh, gross, now he's drooling!” cried out Momiji. It was then that another presence joined the room.

“Oi, it's rather quiet in here. Where's Kyo-kun?” asked Shigure lowly.

Looking over at him with disdain, Yuki coldly replied, “You're dodging your editor again, aren't you?”

Yeah, the editor with woes of her own (and a therapist because of it) had come over at dawn to hunt Shigure down. It was only now that the inu decided to emerge from whatever new hiding place he managed to come up with this time.

“SSHHH!” hushed Shigure while clamping one hand to Yuki's mouth. Eyeing everywhere around him, he whispered, “I finally lost her in the woods, but she's got ears like a hawk.”

Finally seeing the unconscious Kyo on the floor, Shigure went over with curiosity written all over him. “Hm, I see our little Kyo-kun is out for the count…who should I thank?”

“Yuki's leeks!” replied Momiji cheerily.

“Ah, yes…hit him where it hurts the most. Well, let not an opportune moment pass you by,” remarked Shigure mischievously as he eyed the passed out youth.

Noting all the craft materials on the table, Shigure took a few of each, and then joined Momiji on the other side of Kyo. With an evil smirk, he turned to Momiji and looked at him squarely, conveying a silent message to the placid usagi. Getting the idea, Momiji lit up like a light bulb and grabbed some of the markers and paint from Shigure's hands. Both immediately set to work to `improve' Kyo's image as he was still out cold. The others minded their own business as they continued working on their masks, but Uo saw exactly what their plan was. Not being able to resist this moment, she ran over with some of her own supplies and joined them.

“Move over boys, this is too good to pass up!” remarked Uo with a snicker as she also set to work on the oblivious youth. All three were snickering and talking lowly the whole time and were rather amazed that Kyo was unconscious through it all. Incredible what a little produce can do to the indomitable Kyo Sohma…

The others still couldn't see what they were up to, although their curiosity was getting the better of them. Still, Yuki kept asking Tohru idle questions, but kept an eye on the other rogue group. Tohru answered all his questions happily, and silently wondered (along with Kisa) what they were also doing. Haru, Hana, and Kagura were blissfully ignorant as they continued working on their masks without letup.

As Kyo remained knocked out (that must have been some potent leek—Yuki did use the very best a grocer could offer), Uo, Momiji, and Shigure finished their work on Kyo. Seeing signs of life coming back to Kyo and hearing one loud groan from the youth, they all went back to their places at the table, Shigure back to his place against the doorway, innocent as doves.

“Ugh, I feel sick. Damn you, nezumi, you didn't have to shove those damn greens down my throat,” mumbled Kyo disoriented as he sat up and glared at Yuki.

Yuki was resolute in ignoring his irate cousin, but the small gasp from Tohru and Kisa forced him to look at them. They were completely dumbfounded and had their mouths wide open as they stared. Impatiently sighing, he remarked to Kyo without looking, “Baka neko, you're keeping us from finishing our ma…”

Yep, he finally saw him. He stared wide-eyed as well…who wouldn't? Kyo saw that Yuki reacted the same way as the girls. It was only Uo and Momiji that never looked up from their masks…they were practically buried in their work. Hana stared at him, too, but emotionlessly as always, and he finally noticed that Shigure was at the doorway behind a large newspaper that practically engulfed his form (`weird, the newspaper was shaking…no matter').

Kagura did manage to finally glance up from her work (when she's on a roll, she stops for nothing), and stared at Kyo quizzically. She then reprimanded him, “Kyo-kun, would you stop messing around with the art supplies? There's barely enough as it is to cover all these masks.”

“What the hell are you talking about? I haven't touched the stuff since Yuki stuck me with his damn leeks!” replied Kyo annoyed.

Haru glanced up briefly and also saw Kyo. Grinning from ear to ear, he shook his head and remarked, “Well, I think it's an improvement.”

With that remark, Hiro turned from the TV and stared at Kyo as well. Only, he didn't bother hiding his reaction.

(LOUD SNICKER) “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA…what the hell…HAHAHAHA! Why did you do that to yourself? (More laughing) Trying to save from having to make a mask?” cried out Hiro as he laughed harder and harder, so much that he clutched his sides.

“What the HELL are you…” was Kyo's irate response when he heard the snickers from the table and from behind a certain newspaper. He glared at the inhabitants at the table—Yuki looked like he was having a migraine and had both hands to his head; Tohru and Kisa both stared down at the masks and had one hand over their mouths; Kagura looked at him with reprimand; Hana still stared at him deadpan. That's when he noticed the other's reactions…yep, Uo, Momiji, and it seems like Shigure were all shaking…shaking…and …wait, was that a snicker from Uo?

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,” busted out laughing the little artists in disguise.

Kyo could only stare in disbelief as well as in rising rage. As he was about to demand what they were laughing at, he started to smell something peculiar; he also felt weird and so reached up with his hand to his head…wait, what is that?

Eyes widening into saucers, he rushed to the bathroom downstairs with even louder laughter coming from the living room. Flicking the lights on in the restroom, he saw their work of art, and what a masterpiece they did on him. He had papier-mâché ears on top of his head (looked rabbit in nature), and he had black whiskers painted on his cheeks with his nose painted white and dotted black on the tip. He also had a `Cheshire Cat' smile painted around his mouth. Peering at his eyes, he saw that they had painted them to look like yellow cat eyes.

Amazing what 3 people can do to an unconscious person in less than 2 minutes. Uo, Momiji, and Shigure were actually quite impressed with their quick makeup work, however Kyo was nowhere near impressed. Leaving the bathroom with a tide of rage on his side, Kyo stood at the entrance of the living room, eyeing the culprits who were laughing so hard, they didn't notice him there.

Shigure finally sensed imminent danger to his well-being (not to mention to his home). Glancing up from his place on the floor (he had been literally rolling on the ground laughing), Shigure saw the dark aura of death surrounding Kyo. Eyes gleaming and teeth all but snarling at him, Shigure stilled in his laughing and looked at Kyo with feigned innocence.

“Kyo-kun, really—Kagu-chan is right! You shouldn't be running around using up the art supplies for your own pranks…” replied the inu serenely, but lost out to laughter in the end. He immediately dodged one swing from a rabid neko, and he promptly ran off for dear life along with Momiji, laughing and pleading all the way.

“COME BACK HERE YOU (beep, beep)!” screamed Kyo at both Shigure and Momiji. Crashes were heard throughout the house as Kyo either chucked unidentifiable projectiles at them, or he managed to damage the house itself in his pursuit of the duo.

“Hehehehehe…such language, Kyo-kun! (Huff, huff) You look upset…hehehehe! Don't you like your new do? (HAHAHAHAHA)” remarked Shigure with glee as he continued to run around the house with Momiji.

“Please…(huff, huff)…stop, Shii-chan! He's about to kill us! Tohru! Stop Kyo!” cried out Momiji.

“DON'T CALL OUT TO HER BAAAAKKKKKKAAAAA!” yelled Kyo from behind with unbeatable rage.

Incredibly, Kyo never glanced over to Uo. He was too mad with Shigure and Momiji to give her much notice… “Oi, do you think he'll notice that I helped them with his makeover?” gasped Uo as she tried soothing her aching sides from all the laughter.

“Sooner or later…likely later, the baka,” remarked Haru nonchalantly as he continued on his mask along with Hana and Kagura.

Tohru was beside herself in her usual panic mode, hoping to soothe the wild neko, however this time, it just wasn't meant to be. Kyo ran after Shigure and Momiji with death written all over him—he was not paying any attention to anyone at the moment. The screams from the trio were heard throughout the house, some were pleading for mercy while other screams promised death in some painful form.

Seeing Tohru with her look of worry, Yuki consoled her, “Don't worry about them, Tohru-san. Shigure will just get some nasty bruises, cuts, scrapes…maybe even a concussion (`if only'). (Tohru, `EEP!') Momiji is too fast for Kyo to catch anyway, and Kyo will tire out in the end. (Tohru, `Whew!') So just let them have their `fun'.”

Seeing Yuki so sure of himself on that account (and calm), Tohru relaxed somewhat, straining to hear any yelling and screaming from the inu and usagi to be sure that they were alive and well, sort of. Just as she was about to call out to Kyo (she can't help but try), the trio burst into the living room. Sure enough, Shigure was slightly `damaged'; Momiji was just plain tired; Kyo was really tired.

“Dammit…(huff, huff)…stay still you two!”cried out Kyo with less energy than before. Only this time, since Kyo was fatigued, he was slow to chase them down. And as he bumped the table a little, he was too slow to react before stumbling onto Kagura.

“Kyo-kun, look what you did! My mask was practically done, and YOU RUINED IT!” cried out Kagura as she tried salvaging parts of her mask that she smashed when Kyo ran into her.

“Well…what the hell were you doing in my way! I'm trying to beat the hell out of those damn fools and you got in the way!” yelled back Kyo.

“Oh, my poor little monkey mask,” remarked Kagura sadly. “It can't ever shine like it did before.”

“I can help you Kagura-san…” consoled Tohru.

“It's just a mask, so don't get bent out of shape!” interjected Kyo.

“My mask is bent out of shape, thanks to you! And it was supposed to be for Ri-chan, too,” replied Kagura dejectedly.

Kyo replied with a roll of the eyes, “Oh, Ritsu…that weirdo won't care any how it's shaped…”

(SMACK!)

Thus was Kyo's third time on the floor on this fine day. Kyo's aura of death from earlier pales in comparison to Kagura's fine disposition at the moment. And it wasn't over yet.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?” called out Kagura eerily to the bleeding youth. The look she gave the neko was a far cry from anything remotely human…

“Oh, dear. And here I thought Kyo-kun was smarter than to insult Kagu-chan's beloved,” replied Shigure with a shake of his head.

“YOU BAKA!” yelled Shigure's editor from behind the inu.

Cringing at the loud remark, Shigure turned slowly to face the wrath of another woman in his home. Strangely, this particular woman had her skirt torn, shirt not tucked in, and scratches all over. She also seethed of perspiration…this could prove to be useful for one of Shigure's other novels…

“Mii-chan, what a surprise to have your presence grace my humble home…GULP!” croaked out Shigure as he tried breathing through his editor's stranglehold on him.

Strangling Shigure, she screamed, “I WAS LOST IN THE DEEP FOREST and CHASED BY WOLVES FROM ALL OVER BECAUSE OF YOU! BBBBBAAAAKKKKKKAAAAA!”

Hearing the commotion, Kyo snapped out of his unconscious state, and he started to glare at Kagura when he saw how mad Kagura actually was. Now fearing the wild boar in her, he got up and promptly ran out of the house. Unfortunately, he didn't get too far out of reach from Kagura. She tackled him down and started using her training techniques on him. One could clearly see that she'd come out of the tournament with a trophy.

“STTTOOOOPPP IIIITTTT!” yelled Kyo as he was swung through the air.

“Damn, that little girl is beating the crap out of him! You go girl!” called out Uo with a wide smile as she watched with joy at the fighting duo, laughing even more.

“She certainly has stronger waves when she's in this mood,” remarked Hana with interest.

“Kyo sure can fly high! I want my turn to fly, too, Kagura!” called out Momiji.

“Kagura-san…um, Mii-san! Eehh, umm…” worriedly called out Tohru, wondering which of the two Sohma men should she try to save.

With a heavy sigh, Yuki placed the finishing touches to his mask and set it aside. Feeling dizzy with all the commotion around them, plus the smell from the gluey substance was making it harder on him to breathe easily, Yuki got up from the table.

“It'll be okay, Tohru-san, they'll survive on their own. Please excuse me,” he replied quietly as he turned around and headed out.

“Yuki-kun, daijoubu?” called out Tohru with concern. At that, Haru looked up to Yuki.

“Nothing is the matter,” remarked Yuki with a soft smile. “I just need a little fresh air. I'll be back in a little bit.”

“Oh, all right, Yuki-kun. I'll keep an eye on your mask,” replied Tohru as she watched Yuki dodge the inu and editor and exit through the back door. To Haru, she replied with slight concern, “You think he's okay, Hatsuharu-san?”

With a smile, he handed her his mask and got up. “Don't worry. Here, take my mask and keep an eye on it. I'll go check on him, okay?”

“Yes, of course. Arigatou, Hatsuharu-san,” replied Tohru with some relief, then with bewilderment as she watched Haru leave through the front where Kagura and Kyo were having it out. `Hmm, I guess he didn't want to go around Shigure-san and Mii-san.'

“You know, Tohru, you sure can throw one mean get-together,” remarked Uo with a smirk as she draped one arm around her close friend.

“Any get-together that ends with Kyo getting his butt kicked by Kagura-nee-chan is a good one,” replied Hiro with a bored air as he continued to watch the TV.

With screaming coming from all corners of the house and from outside, Tohru could only sweat-drop at the compliment. “Eeehh…”

“Our get-togethers are always happy ones, right Onee-chan?” remarked Kisa with an innocence.

“Eeehhh…ummm…hai,” remarked Tohru as she sweat-dropped even more.

~*~

Edited by: Seiren-no-Kaze 02-23-07

~*~

Author's Quips (12-21-04)

All right, I hope you enjoyed this chapter…we all needed a moment to relax after the last one! Not sure how funny this turned out for you, but I thought it turned out all right.Hmmm, hunger pains… That usually gets me in a really moody mood, not a pretty sight. I can sympathize with Yuki on fighting a growl when you're hungry—only stands to reason that tempers will flare!

Really this was just a fru-fru chapter for my readers…fru-fru meaning its meaningless but informative (is that an oxymoron—oh well). Kind of like the movie with the same name (I found it funny!). Anyway, much more intrigue will come your way in the next chapter!

Musical moments were anything that made me feel happy! I have plenty here for that!

Time to reply to the reviews!

Rjunkie: Yep, you know my thoughts…we are connected as one…in the twilight zone… Heheheheh, I'm still happy you liked this chappie! Thanks and hugs to you!

S.B. Kisses: Thanks again for kindly reviewing! Yes, Aya's cell phone problems are just too common! I was relieved that you found this little humorous moment perfect for the occasion…I wasn't too sure how my readers would react to it after all the angst. Thanks so much!

Blu-rain: I'm glad it's proving suspenseful enough for you! If anyone is out to get Yuki, they answer to me! (Author pulls out her weapons of choice. Hehehehe!) Thanks for the review!

AnimeFreakVee52: Thank you! Rin's interactions with Yuki were never pretty in the manga (I can only remember one though…hmmm), so I endeavor to be as close to the real thing as possible. There is a hitch to this depiction in the fic versus the manga, which I'll address real quickly with Ina-chan's comments below.

Alcapacien: I'm glad it was explained well for you—I hope others find the info helpful, too. Kyo's father is a real creep, to put it mildly. Would be nice if the guy gets his butt kicked by anyone! Ayame is a breath of fresh air, sort of, for the angst here…glad it was well received!

Ina-chan: Hey there again! Oh, how I would LOVE to tell all on some points here, but nope, no can do! Remember to just take everything at face value for now…it'll be easier on the senses! I will reveal bit by bit what the heck is going on with Kyo's dreams…all in good time, of course! Rin and Yuki…hm, now that's quite a pair. You are correct, of course, of how they would normally interact with each other. Rjunkie also agrees that he's too `meek' on this one, considering how he reacted last time when Rin threatened him. Both were hostile back then…this time around, that wasn't the case. I used Yuki's secret visitations with Akito as a cause to his distress, but yes, there is more to it than meets the eye. There is a reason to why he reacted the way he did…even Rin will make a minor appearance again in the next chappie. I will highlight all of this in the next chapter…there, now no more cookies for you to chew on until next time! Thanks and hugs to you, too!

AnimeGurl14: There is so much in store for everyone, especially Yuki…stay tuned! Shigure is such a mystery even to me…he's got his plans in motion and he's not about to let anyone get in the way of them. What could this mean!

Whew! That was great! I loved my reviews…truly an inspiration, and they also serve as reminders of details that need to be stressed. Thanks again to all my readers and reviewers for sticking with me on my crazy attempts to make this fic enjoyable for all!

Bless me with your support as you see fit! Read, review, all is good…thanks so very much. `Til next time! Ja!