InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Rulers of Four Directions ❯ Far from Heaven ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters in this fan fiction are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The original characters and plot are the property of Chiaztolite, who is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary of Previous Chapter: Sakki came to the eastern palace to collect Rin's soul. She fought Sesshoumaru, who had full intention to kill her. But eventually, Rin crossed over from the realm of dream to realm of death. Sakki declared Rin was dead.

SPECIAL NOTE: The opinions of characters in this story are by no means the opinions of the author. All things written are for fictional purposes only.

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Rulers of Four Directions

Chapter 10: Far from Heaven

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She was limping along the uneven path.

 

The palm of her right hand was pressing the slashed wound across her throat. A futile effort, as blood kept leaking from the gap between her fingers. Her energy was drained and she fell. More of her blood gushed out of the deep slit on her throat, wetting the ground.

 

“...one is not dead yet...” Faintly, she heard a voice spoke. “This one is not dead yet.”

 

She was too weak to lift her head and searched for the owner of the voice. She laid there on the pool of her own blood as her body started to surrender to the coldness of death.

 

“Hakuou-sama,” The mysterious voice spoke again. She vaguely felt a touch on her head. “This girl is alive still...”

 

“But not for long.” She heard another voice, spoken so close to her.

 

She lifted her eyes, trying to capture a sight of her witnesses. Two ruby orbs danced in the darkness before they stilled and turned into a pair of eyes belonging to a young boy with a peculiar smile on his fair face.

 

“Your time will come very soon, little one.” He simply told her, before turning around on his heel to leave.

 

The last bit of strength she did not know she possessed moved her arm. Trembling, blood-soaked fingers reached into the darkness.

 

“...don't...”

 

Was that her own voice, croaky and dry like dead leaves?

 

“...I don't want to die...”She hoarsely whispered.

 

Her fingers curled around his ankle, forcing him to delay his departure. He looked down upon her from the corner of his eye. Her grip was stronger than what he would have expected from a dying creature.

 

“It would be better if you die.” He dryly said. Those ruby eyes held no compassion she sought.

 

Her grip tightened.

 

“I don't want to die...”

 

==========

 

“…Rin?”

 

The little girl, who had been sleeping for three days, fluttered her eyelashes. Slowly, she opened her eyes. She flinched when the bright rays of sun blinded her vision, and again she was forced to keep her eyes shut for a moment longer. Shielding her face with one hand, she propped her upper body with her elbow. Her face was filled with puzzlement as she tried to recognize where she was. Rin's gaze stopped at the young woman kneeling down next to her. The long, curled tendrils of her jet black hair framed her beautiful yet curiously pale face. Her eyes were in the most mesmerizing shade of purple, sparkling like two violet gems. Her garb was as black as her hair, and she had a thin strip of black cloth encircling her throat. A strange looking tattoo was underneath her right collarbone.

 

`Who is she?' Rin questioned inwardly.

 

“You're awake, Rin.” The woman said to her.

 

Rin was amazed that this strange woman knew her name, although she was certain they had never met before. She felt disoriented, as if she had been sleeping for a long, long time. She scanned her surrounding, and found herself lying on thick green grass on a meadow filled with flowers as far as her eyes could see. She felt a sense of vague familiarity, as if she had been to this meadow before. Why did everything look so familiar?

 

“Do you know where you are, Rin?” The woman with the purple eyes asked her.

 

“This is…” Rin started to speak as pieces of the puzzle started to come together. “This is the meadow where I often wait for Sesshoumaru-sama…”

 

She looked around again, admiring the lush green grass and the colourful flowers that filled her view. Yes, she recognized this place now. She had been here before, many times in fact. This was where Sesshoumaru-sama would leave her if he needed to travel somewhere without his wards. In this meadow she would wait patiently while staring at the funny shaped clouds, counting stars, making garlands out of flowers, chasing butterflies until her Sesshoumaru-sama returned. She looked back at the woman.

 

“Where is Sesshoumaru-sama?” She asked.

 

“... He is not here.” The woman answered after a long pause.

 

“Where are Jaken-sama, Ah Un, and Kohaku?” She asked again.

 

“... They are not here as well.” The woman replied, after another pause.

 

Rin looked around, trying to locate another creature in their surroundings. Yet, not a single being was in sight. She gazed at the unfamiliar woman, meeting those purple eyes.

 

“So who are you, then?” The young human girl asked.

 

“My name is Sakki.” The woman told her. The name was as unfamiliar as the face. “I am the one who picked you up.”

 

Rin tilted her head sideways. A small frown appeared on her previously smooth forehead when she heard the woman's answer.

 

“Did you bring me here?” She asked.

 

Her question caused a small, aloof smile to appear on the woman's crimson lips.

 

“No, Rin.” She said softly. “You brought yourself here.”

 

==========

 

It was an unusual time of the year to have a rainy weather. Yet that morning, the eastern lands were wet with rain.

 

A female inu stood at the edge of a veranda in the eastern palace, her golden eyes stared at the expansive garden sprawled before her. The usually mild spring air had turned chilly, causing her to embrace her shoulders as an effort to keep herself warm. She inhaled the moist air, filling her senses with the earthy scents of wet soil and damp leaves. Though the rain had curtained her view, her superior vision still allowed her to see clearly far into the garden.

 

She found their recent visitor, the Lord of the Western Lands, standing before a small roofed pavilion deep in the garden. Under the roof of the pavilion was a stone platform where they had placed the body of the little girl, Rin. The girl passed away a few hours before dawn and despite their tradition of burying the dead soon after they departed, the Western Lord had personally asked to delay the burial. Her grandfather, in view of everything that had happened, naturally granted the simple wish.

 

She continued watching him. It had been raining since dawn; the sun did not even rise to chase away the dark clouds. He had been standing there ever since they placed the girl's body in the small pavilion. Rain poured over him yet he did not seem to care. He remained standing there after his other two vassals returned to the palace long ago.

 

The Lord of the Western Lands did not say much when his ward's death was confirmed. Her grandfather had tediously checked for the girl's life force, and even inserted his own youki into the girl's body to search for her soul sphere, no matter how dim it was. But all the effort was proven unfruitful. When the news of her death was relayed, her master's answer was silence. His face remained impassive, but his posture sagged with something that could only be deciphered as sorrow. He simply requested to linger by her side just a little longer, and refused to say a word regarding the event that just passed.

 

The inu princess blinked when she felt someone dropped a heavy cloth on her, covering most of her head. She raised her hand to reach the rim of the cloth, lifting it off her head. It was a lined wool robe, thick enough to keep one warm through the winter. She raised her gaze and saw her brother, Yuusou, standing next to her.

 

“You're cold, aren't you?” He asked her gently.

 

She only answered by wrapping the robe around her shoulder, though a small smile appeared on her lips to show her gratitude for his care. She shifted her gaze back to the male standing in the rain and for a moment, they both stood in silence.

 

“He seems genuinely sad...” She said quietly.

 

Yuusou followed her gaze until he found the object of her attention. His eyes softened when he saw his cousin, standing before the pavilion despite the pouring rain.

 

“Yes, he does.” He softly replied.

 

“Heartbroken, even.” She said again.

 

Yuusou almost could not hold back his smile. Judging from her unmoving gaze, he knew she was deeply interested in the mourning yokai lord. Was this subconscious attraction caused by her ability to sense their bond of blood? And there was their physical resemblance as well, which was much too uncanny to be ignored. He had expected her to ask questions, many questions, and was quite surprised when she had not inquired a thing.

 

“Yes, that's right.” He eventually answered.

 

The conversation reached a pause as the two focused on their own thoughts.

 

“Are you interested in him?” He suddenly asked.

 

“Is it not natural to be interested in him?” She answered him with a question of her own. Her tone was indifferent though there was a slight, yet undeniable waver in her voice. “After all, he is our cousin.”

 

“Indeed.” He replied, smiling secretly.

 

He continued observing her without drawing too much of her attention. She seemed unusually fidgety. The two of them, along with Zoichi, had been raised as siblings for a few hundred years, and he had prided himself as the one who knew her the best. Thus at that moment, he could tell the source of her discomfort.

 

“Why don't you just go?” He asked, ending her mental battle.

 

Sharply, she turned her head to stare at him with surprise. She wondered how he could precisely read her mind.

 

“I am certain our cousin would appreciate your concern.” He told her gently.

 

Sighing deeply, she picked up a lacquered bamboo umbrella that lay by the pebbled path in the garden. She pushed the umbrella open to shield herself from the rain, her eyes were glued to her destination. Though it was with a nervous heart, she trod the slippery trail towards the pavilion. The male stood at the end of the path with his back to her view. He was so deeply lost in thought that he did not even hear her footsteps, or sense her presence. Only when she was one step behind him, she stopped.

 

Now what?

 

Staring at his back, she noticed he was completely soaked from the rain. The roof of the pavilion did not extend so far as to cover his head. Even so, he did not seem to notice that he was drenched with water from head to toe. As long as she had known him, although it was only for a brief time, he had always carried himself with pride, power, and confidence befitting for a yokai lord. But now as she watched him from the rear, his broad shoulders appeared slouched. There was loneliness in his stance and for some unknown reasons, she felt an ache deep in her chest.

 

She tightened her fingers, balling her right hand into a fist, contemplating what to do now that she stood so close to him. She had come without any particular purpose. Her legs were moved by his determination to stay by the little girl's side. Though he was a stranger to her, she found it painful to see him remain there solitarily.

 

Slowly, she raised her right hand to touch his shoulder, yet she hesitated and her movement was stopped mid-air. Again, she balled her fingers into a loose fist and pulled her arm away from his back. She was puzzled like a lost pup, not knowing what to do.

 

She sensed something within her, a kindness one would not normally feel towards a stranger. A stranger he was, and yet she seemed incapable of leaving him alone. The feeling slowly turned into a thought; her mind gently coaxed her own body to act on the quiet notion.

 

Slowly, her left arm inched the umbrella towards him, sheltering him from the pouring rain.

 

==========

 

“I brought myself here?” Rin repeated Sakki's words. Her expression was an obvious display of confusion. “What do you mean?”

 

“Rin,” Sakki called her gently. “Do you remember what happened?”

 

“I…” Rin wiped her face with the palm of her hand. Chewing her lower lip as she straightened her spine, she searched her memory. How did she even get there? Her memory was a haze and she could not recall much of it. All she could remember was…

 

Her eyes widened with realization. Yes… She was searching for herbs on the meadow with Kagome-sama. And what was the last thing she did before everything went dark? Her mind was clouded and she seemed unable to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

 

“I'm…” She muttered weakly. “I'm not sure…”

 

“You were sleeping for three days, Rin.” Sakki told her gently. “You ate a sleeping root and fell asleep.”

 

The girl seemed puzzled. She did not remember much of this although she did feel slightly lightheaded, as if she had been in a dream for a long time.

 

“What… What happened after?” She asked. Almost immediately, her eyes widened with sudden realization.

 

“… Did I die?”

 

Sakki looked at her quietly for a long time. Finally, she parted her lips and uttered the simple answer,

 

“Yes.”

 

Again, the human girl tilted her head sideways. Her face, though frowning slightly, held no astonishment or anger, but interest. This was certainly an unexpected reaction from someone who had just learned that she was no longer alive. Recovering quite quickly, she scanned her surrounding once more to take in the green grass, the flowers, and all that was familiar to her.

 

“Onee-san,”

 

Sakki frowned when she heard Rin calling her `older sister'. The frown grew even deeper when the little girl asked her next question,

 

“Is this heaven?” Rin asked her with those big, black eyes staring up at her.

 

“Heaven?” Sakki repeated, as if the word was completely foreign for her.

 

“Since it's so beautiful in here, this can't be hell, right?” Rin said as she stood up and spread both of her arms, almost twirling in the process. Her eyes were widened in what one would call excitement; her gaze was bold yet innocent. She continued with a voice full of conviction, “Hell is hot and scary, full of ugly demons with horns on their forehead, stewing humans in pots of boiling water day and night.”

 

Sakki listened to the girl's chatter quietly. She could sense the twitching of the corners of her lips, a very rare occurrence. How could a girl so young say something so amusing? After pursing her lips to remove any trace of smile from her face, she said,

 

“... There is no such thing, Rin.” She paused to examine the girl's reaction. “The mortal's version of `heaven' and `hell'... I'm sorry to say, is quite skewed.”

 

The little girl, looking interested, sat down before her and waited for her to continue. Sakki sighed inwardly as her mind worked to find an easy way to explain the concept of the afterlife to such a young creature. She could not help but wonder if this girl even understood what death was.

 

“In the afterlife, one creates his or her own `heaven' or `hell'.” She finally uttered the one truth she knew about her realm. “After a mortal dies, he would live in a world of his own creation within the realm of the dead. Whether it is a `heaven' or a `hell', it is up to the creature to decide. This is why I told you that you brought yourself here, Rin. It is because you have created this meadow as your world in the afterlife.”

 

There was a long pause as Rin soaked up the answer to her question, trying to comprehend the idea of such life after death. She inched closer to the strange woman, her eyes were still filled with curiosity.

 

“So... Am I in heaven?” She asked.

 

“I don't know.” Sakki replied almost immediately. “Are you?”

 

Again, Rin looked around to examine her surroundings. The meadow appeared so colourful and beautiful, with enough flowers for her to make garlands for a long, long time. It was hard to believe that the place was not heaven.

 

“How do I know if this is heaven?” The girl asked.

 

The corners of Sakki's lips curved just slightly when she heard the latest question.

 

“Rin,” She said patiently. “Heaven takes shape as the place you cherish the most.”

 

For a moment, Rin stared at her without a word. And for a moment, Sakki thought the little girl had finally understood the situation she was in.

 

“But it's impossible!” Rin suddenly cried out, earning a strange look from the impassive, raven-haired female. “The place I cherished most is beside Sesshoumaru-sama. This cannot be my heaven!”

 

Sakki found the little outburst quite unexpected, yet interesting at the same time. Now it became clear to her that this little girl was so attached to the dog demon, though the reasons for the unnatural attachment were beyond her. Weren't humans supposed to fear demons?

 

“I don't know what to tell you, Rin.” She eventually said. “But you are dead, and your Sesshoumaru-sama is still alive. At the moment, you don't belong in the same world as his. It is not possible for you to be with him.”

 

“But Sesshoumaru-sama is coming to get me...” The girl said after a brief pause. There was confidence in her voice. “I know he will.”

 

Sakki was silent. She noticed the stubbornness in Rin's face and realized there was nothing she could say to change her conviction. The girl truly believed her master would come to pick her up and bring her back to the realm of living. And yet, as a being of the afterlife, Sakki knew it quite impossible for a mortal to travel so deep into the realm of the dead unless he was already dead. But even she could not foretell a mortal's time of death; that ability was solely reserved for the Death God himself.

 

Sakki decided Rin would eventually come to her senses and realized that no one would come to fetch and bring her back to the realm of the living. It was not uncommon for newcomers to be in denial about their own deaths; this girl was no exception, she thought as she rose to her feet. It was time for her to leave the girl's realm. But before she left, Rin's voice reached her ears.

 

“Onee-san,” The girl called. “What's hell like?”

 

==========

 

The yokai lord cared not that the rain had drenched him from head to toe. He could barely feel drops of water on him. He felt drained, empty. The feeling was alien and yet familiar. Yes, did he not feel this way the last time she died? He forgot the sense of time and was completely oblivious to how long he had remained there. But finally, he realized the rain had stopped.

 

Had it really stopped?

 

Raising his eyesight, he saw the rim of an umbrella that had sheltered him from the rain, preventing the cool beads of water from drenching him further. He turned around, his gaze immediately collided with the golden eyes of the female inu standing behind him. She appeared more surprised than he was, as he kept his façade impassive as he regarded her. Her waist-length hair was neatly weaved to form one long braid, casually flung over her left shoulder. His gaze shifted to her left hand that was clutching the stem of the umbrella hovering above his head. How long had she been standing there, shielding him from the rain?

 

“Taisho-sama…” She addressed him with the title she deemed most appropriate: “Honourable Lord”. She noted his refusal to answer and instead, he stared at her with his impassive gaze. His face was wet with rain, she noticed, and those long silver tresses were limp and matted against his head. She spotted tiny beads of water sticking to his long eyelashes.

 

`Were they tears or rain?' She questioned inwardly. A ridiculous musing indeed, she decided almost immediately, as the yokai lord did not seem to be capable of shedding even one drop of tears.

 

Regardless of her greeting, he still stared at her with unreadable golden eyes, waiting for her to speak. She returned his stare and kept her mouth shut like a mute. She was at a complete loss as to what to say, yet she knew she had to say something. Anything. The air around them felt heavier as moments of silence passed.

 

“...It's...” She finally opened her mouth to utter a word. “...raining.”

 

“Oh really?” He replied. A hint of sarcasm carelessly seeped into his voice. “I had not noticed.”

 

He watched her face fell at the sound of his words which, although benign, did not fail to discourage her. Immediately after seeing her dismayed face, a wave of remorse struck him.

 

Upon hearing the scorn in his voice, she felt awfully stupid for stating such idiotic comment. The rain was so obvious that the remark seemed like an insult to his intelligence. She felt the heat of her embarrassment quickly crept up to her cheeks under his blank, unreadable gaze. Resisting the urge to hit herself in the head, she opened her mouth in an attempt to recover.

 

“I'm sorry... I did not mean to disturb your mourning.” She was so nervous that she almost stuttered. Her eyes kept shifting from one place to another until she could bear the tension no more and decided to fix her gaze to her feet.

 

Sesshoumaru watched the female inu lowering her head to stare at the ground. He gave her umbrella another quick glance before he returned his gaze to the drooped silver head. Even without her explanation, he understood her completely; it was a simple, honest gesture of kindness, a consolation spoken without words. The yokai lord wasn't one to beg for sympathy. Even if he was given some, it would be highly unlikely that he would accept it gracefully. Yet, viewing the source of the gesture was his closest kin, whose innocence and blatant show of clumsiness by far exceeded any other pure-blooded yokai he had ever known, he could not help but to feel comforted even if it was just slightly.

 

She could feel his eyes on her, causing the rose colour on her cheeks grew darker. Feeling more awkward than ever, she said faintly,

 

“If my presence displeases you, I shall...”

 

“Your presence is not unpleasant.” He suddenly said, cutting her words short. “... You and your umbrella may stay if you wish.”

 

His words, spoken without the menace that seemed to be a part of his characters, caused her head to jerk up. The scorn too had disappeared from his voice, replaced by his usual indifference she never thought she would be glad to hear. Her eyes widened in surprise and for a moment, she found it difficult to respond. But finally, as a tender smile bloomed on those rosy lips of hers, she nodded.

 

Unbeknown to the two inuyokai, a lurking pair of purple eyes was observing them. Sakki had been quietly watching their exchange, her existence was completely concealed by the cluster of tall bamboo plants not far from the pavilion. Who the female inu was, she could not be sure. But judging from the resemblance between the two, she could guess that they were somehow blood related.

 

Sakki had surprised herself by returning to the eastern palace. Why she was so intrigued by this one dog demon, she could not comprehend it. Like a moth to a flame, she seemed incapable of leaving him alone. Why? Was it because he was one of the very few mortal creatures who were able to see her? Was it because of the courage he showed when they battled, and this full resolve to kill her even if it meant angering the Death God? Was it because of the tremendous devotion for the deceased girl he displayed by lingering there for so long? That in itself was a very curious thing. A yokai lord who deeply mourned the death of a human child was unheard of, until now.

 

“Reap that girl's soul and leave them as soon as you have performed your duty.” The Death God's words suddenly resounded in her mind, causing her to take one step further away from the pavilion. “Do not involve yourself with him any further.”

Certainly, now that she had completed what she was asked to do, there was no reason to interfere in the inuyokai's life anymore. She allowed herself to remain there for a moment longer with her amethyst eyes still glued to the two oblivious creatures. And, as silently as she had always been, she closed her eyes and disappeared.

==========

 

Lord Shogo stood in his library, surrounded by mountains of books and scrolls that had been meticulously collected and preserved either by himself, or his predecessors. The pages of those books and scrolls contained the long history of the inu, as well as some of the other demon clans. Written throughout the years by the hands of prominent leaders of their clan, they were extremely precious documents. Some of them were so old he had to be very careful when he handled them.

 

The mind of the old and wise yokai lord was bothered, as indicated by the deep frown on his forehead. His encounter with one of the Death God's minions deeply troubled him. That face, those eyes… He felt as if he had seen them before. She looked vaguely familiar, and yet he could not place her in his memory. He did not notice the sense of familiarity at first. Yet it grew stronger until it was etched in his mind and he was unable to ignore the resounding question.

 

Who was she?

 

She had claimed to be named Sakki, `The Killing Intention'. An ominous name indeed, but perhaps most suitable for one whose duty was to bring death. He mouthed the name silently, alas it did not ring any bell. He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a tinge of frustration. Had his memory finally failed him?

 

He looked around at those books and scrolls scattered and piled high around him. Their pages provided no answer to his queries, no clues whatsoever. He paced around his library as let himself delve even further in musings; an old habit that wouldn't die even after 3000 years. Could it be that he mistook her with someone else? No, it could not be, for the inkling was too strong to be a mistake.

 

But by all Gods, he could not remember.

 

==========

 

After Shouri left with the umbrella, Yuusou continued watching his cousins from the veranda. With his arms folded neatly across his chest, he leaned his body against a nearby wooden pillar in his usual relaxed stance. His lips curled in small, almost unnoticeable smile when he saw Shouri shielding the supposedly cold daiyokai with her umbrella.

 

The light sound of approaching footsteps reached his ears and he turned his head to the side to regard his visitor. Zoichi was standing not far from him with eyes fixed on the two inuyokai in the distance.

 

“He still lingers by the pavilion?” Zoichi asked.

 

“Yes.” Yuusou sighed. “From the moment we put the girl's body there...”

 

“His devotion is quite incomprehensible.” The southern inu commented dryly.

 

With a soft chuckle, Yuusou shifted his left hand to prop his chin. His full attention was still on the two inu siblings standing together in the rain.

 

“You are not alone in this matter.” He lightly said.

 

Zoichi placed both hands on top of the wood railing that separated the veranda and the garden. Shifting his body weight forward, he leaned against the low barrier, keeping his silence for a moment longer.

 

“Yuusou,” He called, earning a glance from the other inu. “The invisible creature he fought earlier... was a soul reaper, wasn't it?”

 

“...That is what Grandfather said.” Yuusou answered after a brief moment of pause.

 

“How come Grandfather and the Western Lord were the only ones able to see it?”

 

Yuusou's face twisted slightly in a faint grimace at the sound of that question. A certain warning, spoken long ago in the past, resounded in his mind.

 

`This secret will remain between us...'

 

He gritted his teeth and answered, striving to maintain the usual calm and composure in his voice.

 

“I don't know.”

 

To his relief, Zoichi did not delve further into the matter. The southern male inu seemed deeply interested in the interaction between Shouri and the Western Lord, as he did not let his eyes leave them even for a mere second.

 

“The timing of his sudden appearance is quite intriguing.” Zoichi murmured. “To think he would appear just when Grandfather is to announce the heir to the eastern lands...” He paused to throw a sharp glance towards the first grandson of Lord Shogo. “Yuusou, do you think it is a mere coincidence?”

 

“Who knows?” Yuusou sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. “But seeing the sincerity of his grief, I highly doubt he orchestrated this whole thing and planned for his own ward to die.”

 

Scoffing softly, Zoichi started to walk away from their conversation. But before he left, he threw one more glance at Sesshoumaru and Shouri.

 

“So now you have to vie with him not only for the position of Shouri's brother,” He said as he continued his departure. “But also for the position of the heir to the eastern lands...”

 

Yuusou kept his eyes on Zoichi's back until the southern inu made a turn at the end of the passageway and disappear. Only then did he return his gaze to the pavilion, eyeing the two inu standing underneath the same umbrella.

 

“... The heir to the eastern lands, huh?” He muttered. The corners of his lips slowly curled to form a smile only he could decipher. “... Interesting.”

 

-To be continued-

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Thank you for patiently waiting for me to post this chapter. I certainly underestimated the process of writing this chapter. Originally I thought it would be a piece of cake. But after I started, I realized how difficult it actually is. There aren't many actions going on, but it's filled with interactions between characters and some emotional stuff. I don't know about you, but this chapter is probably my favourite one so far. Here are a few of the reasons:

1. Rin finally has a line (or a few more) after 9 chapters. Geez.

2. We start to get to know Sakki a little more.

3. Sesshoumaru finally has a non-hostile interaction with his sister. How will their relationship develop?

4. This chapter marks the start of a deeper plot. It's not just about whether Rin lives or dies anymore. I can already feel the wheels of the plots turning inside my head. It's quite exciting.

 

I certainly hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, please review and let me know what your thoughts are. Just a warning, it might take me a little longer to post the next chapter since I am moving to a new home at the end of this month, and I'm also trying to update my other fic: The Story of Higurashi Seirin. I will, however, try my best to update as soon as possible.

 

-Chiaztolite-