InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Problem ❯ The Proverbial Apple ( Chapter 4 )

Down to the earth - I fell with dripping wings - Heavy things won't fly - And the sky might catch on fire - And burn the axis of the world that's why - I prefer a sunless sky - To the glittering and stinging in my eyes - And I feel so light - This is all I want to feel tonight
Gleaming in the dark sea - I'm as light as air floating there breathlessly - When the dream dissolves - I open up my eyes - I realize that - Everything is shore-less sea - A weightlessness is passing over me - And I feel so light - This is all I want to feel tonight
Everything is waves and stars - The universe is resting in my arms - I feel so light - This is all I want to feel tonight

~ Nina Gordon

 

Me no own Inuyasha!

 

Chapter 4:

 

 

Okay, I was frustrated. I mean really frustrated. It had been a good two hours since we'd left my friends behind and with no Shippo present to keep in mind, I had no motivation to understate the situation. But even so, I was fully intent upon keeping my silence if just to spite Sesshoumaru. If he was not going to talk or be polite, then neither was I. The only problem with that plan was that, far from spiting him, it seemed to be exactly what Sesshoumaru wanted though it left me feeling lonely and bored. He walked on serenely in front of me, all his previous tenseness seemingly gone in subsequence to our hours of silence. God, what wouldn't I have given to have him struck by lightning right there and then in front of me! Oh the satisfaction of it! But, somehow, God didn't seem to be in the mood to humour me.

God I wish he came with an instruction manual. Even if it was super long, like the one that came with my laptop, it'd still be worth reading if it managed to shed some light on how to properly annoy him. Not even that. I would even be fine with finding out how to make him talk or to just be able to interpret his blank silences. Sigh….what am I going to do for the whole week? I'll be surprised if I come out of it sane. Of course, presently, I wouldn't exactly say that I am sane, but whatever.

…Are you beginning to see why I was so frustrated?

You know though, maybe I should like start a manual of my own, jotting down what each expression means and all possible dangers that accompany it. But then again, the whole thing would probably consist of only one chapter which could only be titled “The Blank Stare”, which would then have as many interpretations as the number of hairs on that mulish head of his. And that doesn't really get us anywhere now does it? Sigh…still, it would be entertaining to try and see how it ends up. Plus, it would give me something to do during this week, which I'm sure, is going to be as boring as hell. Argh, honestly, how am I supposed to get through this without a little bit of fun here and there. Maybe it would just be best if I tried to talk to him? …Nah!

With such thoughts running through my mind, alternatively entertaining and aggravating me, I followed behind Sesshoumaru for so long that I soon began to lose track of time. Minutes passed, soon turning into hours, and the sun rose higher and higher into the air, and then eventually began its descent. I was hungry now, and tired, though not so cold due to the exercise. Sure, I knew this was Sesshoumaru and not Inuyasha, but still. He should know that I was human, which I'm sure he did from all those times that he'd rubbed it in my face before. And as a human, he should have known that I was going to need to rest eventually and eat. Didn't he travel with a little girl? Or had she, after years of travelling with him, morphed into this super human that had the ability to ignore all human desires? What was her name anyway…Rin? In any case…

A little after three, when it became almost embarrassingly impossible to ignore the rumblings of my stomach, I decided to take matters into my own hands and without so much as a heads-up, I plucked myself down away from the shadow of a large pine tree and dug in my backpack for some food. Maybe it was because he was already so close to the edge of his twenty yard berth, or maybe he was that aware of my having stopped, but it took Sesshoumaru a few short seconds to also stop. Surprisingly, there was a lack of comments and/or even violence which I found to be very suspicious if not relieving. In fact all he did was to predictably lean against a nearby tree where he had stopped, his eyes steadfastly placed on me as I continued to rummage through my bag. It's true, my back was turned to him, but who could not notice when a pair of eyes were practically piercing holes in your back.

With a triumphant `ah-ha', I soon pulled my hands - and basically my upper torso - out of my bag, happily holding one of the many pre-wrapped lunches that my saint of a mother had provided for me. I sent her a silent thank you as I looked at the delectable assortment of foods and snacks packed in the little box, wondering how on Earth my mother knew just exactly everything that I loved to eat. With my chopsticks ready for a full-on attack, I was just about to dig in when a thought occurred to me. My mother had packed me my lunch, and with her in my mind, despite however resentful I may have been feeling towards the old stick in the mud, I couldn't ignore my upbringing. Plus, it still felt more than uncomfortable to eat when there was someone else so close by, just watching me eat.

Reluctantly, I turned my head to look at Sesshoumaru, his face too far away for me to discern the expression on it…if there was any. I quickly calculated in my head, coming to the conclusion that this was at least the third day that he'd been going without food, that is unless he found something to eat while we slept. Even for a youkai that could not be healthy. A guilty feeling rose in me, reminding me that I hadn't really tried to make it seem as though I wanted to share my food with him. But at the same time, my logic told me that no matter how persistently I may have offered him, he wouldn't have accepted an offer from a human.

I turned my head away from him so that now I was looking forward, trying to quickly come up with a solution. It didn't help that I didn't really have my heart in it, but rules were rules, and eating my lunch without even trying would've kept me from enjoying it. I made a mental note to myself to remember that the next time I saw my mother to pick a bone with her for being so strict with my upbringing.

After a few minutes of contemplation, I came up with an idea, though definitely not a brilliant one. If I were to offer him he would unquestionably ignore it. That was a dead-end if there ever was one. So, I guess, I was left with one option…which was to forgo all pleasantries…much like him.

With a silent prayer to God almighty, I reached back into my backpack and quickly found a nice, green apple and brought it out. It wasn't much so he couldn't accuse me of anything.

“Hey, Sesshoumaru,” I called, happy that I managed to keep most of the bitterness out of my tone. Sure that I had his attention and without further ado, I tossed him the apple.

Silently, his hand reached out and plucked the apple from the air, almost as though from instinct. He spent a few seconds staring at the apple making me wonder if he was trying to freeze it and that perhaps the reason he had been turning all food down so far had been because he preferred frozen food. But as soon as he turned those intense, golden eyes of his onto me, I quickly lost all nerve and returned to my thus far untouched food, allowing my hair to curtain over my face so as to hide behind it.

When I was finished and ready to head on, I repacked the remainders of my lunch and got to my feet, a silent cue for him to start leading the way. The cue was just as silently taken. As I passed by where he had been standing I quickly scanned the area and smiled a little proud smile as I spotted an apple core at the base of the tree.

After that, it was safe to say that I was less frustrated than I had been in the morning. Though the victory was small, it was nonetheless a victory, giving me just a tiny little bit of hope. But I knew not to go overboard with my observation, so I refrained from asking all the questions in my head, knowing that they were going to be ignored.

Bored as I was with my situation, I tried to take it in the best light as possible. And even when the day began to lose all light (a lot sooner than I would have preferred) and I started to stumble more and more frequently over hidden tree roots and rocks, I simply reached into my backpack for my flashlight and continued on my way. I could tell that his curiosity was aroused by the sudden appearance of the artificial light from behind him. As soon as I had turned on the light, he came to a sudden stop, turning a quick cursory glance behind him. I waited patiently for him to either ask me about it or just silently accept it as he was more apt to do and continue on. Deciding to take the latter of the two alternatives, Sesshoumaru turned on his heels and lead on.

I forced myself to stifle my giggles, knowing that nothing good could arise from them. I spent most of my time contemplating just how long it would be before it would be advisable to ask him where exactly it was that we were going and other such questions. While it was a victory for me when he accepted to eat my apple, it was by no means an open invitation to start bombarding him with questions. After his performance last night, I was willing to bet that he was probably more stubborn than me and by all means, a hell of a lot slyer than he passed on. With him I had to tread carefully if I actually wanted results. I began to wish that it was Inuyasha that I was dealing with for with him all that really was needed was the threat of being sat. And I began to also more earnestly wonder how Jaken or that little girl got on with him. Was it even possible?

So enwrapped I was in my thoughts that I completely failed to notice that we had reached what seemed to be a hot spring and that Sesshoumaru had come to a stop. In fact it wasn't until I had come up close and personal with his back, my nose hitting the back of his armour rather more forcefully than I would have wished that my brain decided to catch up with where I was. I took a few hurried steps backwards, rubbing my stinging nose, ready to allow anger to shoot across my body. But that too came to a sudden stop as I took a good look at Sesshoumaru.

He had turned to glare at me when I bumped into him, no doubt wondering at the stupidity of humans…or their blindness. But that didn't keep him from what his hands were busy doing which was to steadily untie the tie of his sash. With one last cold look in my direction, he turned his face back to the spring, allowing both sash and armour to fall easily to the ground where both of his swords had already been placed. And it didn't stop there. The sash and armour were quickly followed by the boa like pelt over his shoulder and, to my extreme horror, his shirt. I felt my mouth gape open, taking in his back, somehow or other having the audacity to take in its lean form, any words of anger having completely escaped my mind at the site before me. Without missing a beat, his striped hands moved to the hip of his pants and my sadly addled brain realized what was about to take place next not a second too soon.

“Stop!” I squeaked with horror, retreating even further. I did not remember signing up for any R-rated exhibitions.

And he did, his thumbs behind the fabric of his pants. Oh gods!

With a deliberate pace, Sesshoumaru turned his neck so that he was looking at me over his shoulder, a completely unaffected look on his face. Then, just as slowly, he raised one silver brow.

I think my face must have turned ten different shades of red in those few seconds. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to speak. “W-what do y-you think you're doing?”

He continued to look at me in that imperturbable way of his. Then with a slow blink he turned to fully face me…something that I really wished he hadn't done. I fought hard to keep my jaw from plunging back down, putting all my will into concentrating on his face. “Preparing to bathe.” How could he sound so calm about this? Was he purposely trying to provoke me?

Again I swallowed hard, squinting my eyes shut to allow the blush to pass over me. With a deep breath, I gathered the courage I needed to open my eyes again. “Yeah, but you're undressing,” I pointed out in a shaky voice.

Once more that abominable eyebrow of his was high on his forehead. “I am not adept in bathing with my clothes on.”

…

I hung back for a few minutes, totally speechless. Of course he was right. I mean who took a bath with clothes on? Sure…I wore a swimsuit, but I couldn't expect him to even own one, let alone use it for bathing. With this realisation, I was hit over with a fresh onslaught of a blush. I hung my head quickly to hide it and decided to speak up in a sad attempt to defend myself. “Well…uh…you should, maybe, at least give me a warning or something…”

I swallowed hard, hating how my voice sounded so weak. Honestly, I don't know why I was having such a huge reaction. I mean all I had seen was his upper body. And granted, that could come as a shock to any girl, but wasn't he the enemy?

“I see,” his voice was calm and though I did not dare look at his face, I knew that it would be just as collected. Then I heard a slight ruffling of leaves that made me go against every instinct in my body as my head snapped back up. He had turned back to face the spring, and he was calmly stepping out of his shoes. Had he not heard a word I had just said?!

As though in response to my thoughts, he spoke up. “Then turn if you must.”

That's it, it's official. I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!

I couldn't believe he was serious. But as his pants started to come off, I was left with no options as I quickly spun around with a squeak; after all, it was best not to risk it. Apparently…there was no reasoning with him.

The nerve of this guy! He had qualms over accepting my food and sharing it with me. But when it came to undressing and taking a bath, he couldn't care less whether I was there or not? Did he even make sense in his own mind?

With a fair share of indignation and grumbling, I decided that it would be best to just ignore the spring and pretend that its direction didn't even exist. I didn't know how long he wanted to take with his bath and frankly I didn't care. It was dark and cold and I wanted to rest for the night. So I set about gathering some wood to make a fire with, purposefully walking far into one direction until I would hear a slight splashing in the non-existent spring that was definitely not behind me. Then I would relent and take another path and repeat the same ritual in that direction. I did this maybe a few times until it occurred to me that if I angered him enough, he might just up and leave the spring to come kill me naked as the day he was born. After this thought, I quickly decided that I had gathered enough fire wood and returned to where I had dumped my backpack some ten yards from the spring.

Once I had a nice fire going and had a pot of ramen boiling gently over it, I pulled out a book to read while I waited. Sometime during this time, Sesshoumaru left the spring and came to sit across the fire where a large rock was waiting for him. I don't know when exactly he came out or when he dressed as his actions caused no noise or at least not enough noise (I was busy reading after all). I did a pretty good job of ignoring him. It wasn't intentional…not really. It's just one of those things with me…there could be an all-out war going on right beside me and I would totally miss it if I was engaged in a really good book…that's an exaggeration of course. Perhaps not an all-out war. Just a small squabble. Whatever…

I ate my dinner in peace (I had already set aside another apple beside the rock, intuition telling me that it was the most likely place for him to rest) and was soon curling up in my sleeping bag to go to sleep. He never once spoke to me and I found myself wondering whether he thought it that insulting to be stuck with me. But he'd endured me this long, hadn't he? And he had even run with me last night. He can't possibly hate me as much as he let on. Then again, it was more likely that I was fooling myself.

---

 

According to my watch it was well past four in the morning. I had been rudely jolted awake by an exceptionally loud pop from the fire beside me, momentarily robbing me of my sleep. But even though I had been in a satisfyingly deep sleep, I found myself reluctant to fall back into it, preferring to watch the late autumn night about me for a few minutes before I did.

It was still dark and would continue to be so for at least another three hours. But that only meant that with the night's clear sky, I was given one of those proverbial views of the moon and the stars, shining majestically down on me. My breath rose in a misty cloud before me as I stared up into the space, watching the almost full moon as it hung brightly in the air. Where we had camped, since it was so close to the spring and the heat that it offered, there were far fewer trees so that the moon's bright light was not obscured about me. It was bright and ethereal, almost as though in a dream. There was nothing like it in my time and I took this moment to fully enjoy it.

My eyes randomly searched and spotted Orion's belt in the sky, soon landing on the dippers and other astrological signs. I didn't know all their names but could recognize them from my earlier science text books. I found it a bit sad that I would never be able to do this in my time unless I went to the countryside. Even though on the coldest and clearest of the winter nights the moon and stars appeared to be brighter than usual, it paled to what I was a witness to at the moment. To put it simply…it was beautiful. One day, I will bring my cam-corder and film as much of this as I can.

I'm not sure just how much time I spent watching the stars, I was too mesmerised to even bother looking at my watch. But it was with another loud pop from the fire that I was pulled back to reality. I almost jumped out of my sleeping bag from its suddenness but was held back from actually doing so by said bag. After taking a minute to calm myself and letting out a slow sigh, I turned to look at the fire noticing that it had dimmed considerably down. At this rate, it would have gone out before morning, and god knows, I loathed waking up to a cold morning.

With a sigh, I pushed out of my sleeping bag, clenching my jaws against the sudden cold. I glared at the fire for a moment, hoping to bully it into coming back to life. But I'm sure we could all have safely guessed that the fire was in no mood to listen to me. So with one final glare, I rose to my feet, moving silently so that I did not disturb a certain youkai that I had been ignoring as I stared up at the skies. I had just about collected a couple of twigs to stoke the fire with when my eyes landed on a sizable pile of timber placed just a bit away from the fire. Trying to remember how I had ended up with so much extra wood from my earlier bout of wood hunting, I did my best to rekindle the fire. It was a struggle as my whole frame was constantly shivering under the cold and well, to be honest…I was feeling a bit distracted.

There was an odd feeling about the air again, a feeling quite like the one I had felt yesterday morning during my bath. I felt that creepy crawly feeling that told me I was being watched. Last time, I had guessed that it wasn't Sesshoumaru and had felt I was correct in assuming so. Now, as Sesshoumaru was the only constant in both situations, I turned suspiciously to look at him.

His eyes were closed though the feeling remained, still undecipherable in its inscrutability. Okay, so it was definitely not from Sesshoumaru. I began to feel actually nervous, wondering what the heck could be out there. It was just strong enough to flirt with my miko senses but nothing more, making me raise my hackles…figuratively speaking that is. I began to wish I was better trained so that when such situations arose I would be able to handle it.

After putting a few more twigs into the fire and a larger branch for good measure, I glanced again at Sesshoumaru. His eyes were still closed but only just. There was just a hint of a frown on his brow and his breathing was far too shallow to fool me. He was definitely not asleep. Did he sense it too? I remembered how angry he had seemed yesterday with Inuyasha. He had sensed it then and had even seemed able to spot its location.

I concentrated as best as I could; wanting desperately to figure out what was out there. I closed my eyes and searched outward with what little control I had over my gift. There was definitely something out there, though neither malignant nor benign. It eluded me as to what its true nature was so that I almost doubted whether it was even real. But that didn't explain away Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's earlier behaviour. So with a deeper frown, I searched further. It was to no avail; it was quickly disappearing, that feeling, and I began to search more frantically. My eyes opened with a snap, my brain telling me to act before it was too late. This was too creepy to let go.

I didn't go back to my sleeping bag despite my earlier plans, feeling far too on edge to allow myself to sleep. Instead, I reached into my backpack and pulled back out my flash light hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever or whatever it was that was out there. Since, strictly speaking, there was no such thing as a flashlight in feudal Japan, perhaps I could catch them off guard.

Sadly, I had no such luck. I flashed the artificial light in every which way that I could think of but found nothing, though I was mindful of the fact that after the first direction my onlooker would be wary of the light. But I continued to search for at least a minute after I had completely lost track of the feeling. Perplexed as I was, I sat down with a huff. This wasn't going well.

Okay, time for Plan B.

“Sesshoumaru?” My hopes weren't high but I had to try; either he would tell me, or he wouldn't.

For maybe a split second his frown deepened but was quickly smoothed out. He didn't bother to open his eyes though. “I assume you were able to sense something as well despite your feeble abilities.”

“…something like that,” I said calmly enough, allowing the insult to roll off my back. “Do you—,”

“And you want me to tell you what it was,” he interrupted me, quite rudely I may mention, before I could even form the question. But fine, the point was across.

“Pretty much…unless you don't know what it is either,” I couldn't help but add, “despite your colossal abilities.”

His eyes flashed open, their golden orbs instantly landing on me. I saw the annoyance in them and rejoiced inwardly. I waited for his answer with one eyebrow raised and both hands unwaveringly folded across my chest.

Then he blinked, and when his eyelids lifted to reveal his golden eyes, it was clear that he had pushed aside his emotions once more. They shone with an exaggerated orange hue to them due to the fire, a huge contrast to the silver and blue hues that had originally entertained me when I had first awakened. I am ashamed to say it, but at that moment, they seemed to be at their most breathtaking. I forced the thought out of my mind, trying to remind myself of my original objective. The mysterious atmosphere …right.

He seemed to be contemplating whether he should actually answer me, and I sincerely hoped that he did. So I rearranged my features to look polite and endearing, hoping to goad him into answering me. But for all I know, he may have not even noticed any difference.

God! What was taking him so long to answer?! It seemed as though hours had passed and he was just staring at me, his eyes calculating and shrewd while I grew more and more uncomfortable and frustrated under his gaze. Finally I snapped, deciding to speak up again. “Are you going to answer me?” I sounded cold and angry, more or less what I was going for.

Once more his eyebrow was high on his forehead. “You are impatient,” he chided, his voice and face so unbearably devoid of emotion that I felt my anger mount up instantly. It didn't help either that the odd presence had left me more than a little freaked out. “Perhaps I do not know what you are referring -,”

The moment he opened his mouth and started his sentence, I knew where he was going and I had no patience for it so I quickly interrupted him. “I saw you frowning before.” In most cases, that wouldn't be saying much, but with him, even he knew that his slip was about as atypical as when others started to yell and rant over whatever was bothering them. Clearly, I had a point.

He was silent for a few more minutes, his eyes probing in their calculating manner. Then, very casually he turned his eyes onto the fire and answered with, “It was nothing of great consequence.”

My hands gripped ever more tightly on the sleeves of my shirt as I attempted to answer calmly. I was pissed off with him and his games, and though I was sure to regret my boldness later, I was determined not to allow him to play anymore of them. “It's the same feeling as yesterday morning.”

“I am unaware of as to what you are -,”

“I also saw your reaction then.”

His eyes had sprang back to mine as I interrupted him, clearly displeased with my persistence. But I didn't care. Cranky, annoyed, and scared Kagome isn't often too logical.

He tilted his head only slightly to the side as he responded. “That is not of your concern.”

“Huh! Funny! Cause I think it is my concern!” And now my voice had lost most of its calmness, slowly rising in pitch as I lost more and more control over my anger. “I don't know what you think, but contrary to popular belief, I'm not half as stupid as people seem to think. Both you and Inuyasha, never mind me and Sango, were threatened by it.”

“I was not threatened by any -,”

“Oh please,” again I interrupted, “like I wouldn't notice. You looked about ready to jump out of your mind with anger.”

Again, he was silent for a few minutes. When he spoke next, his voice held the same tone as before, but the ring of anger behind it was impossible to miss. I revelled at having aroused a reaction. “I will not say this again. You are not to interrupt me, human. Mind your rank and watch your tongue.”

“Not until you acknowledge me and my rights,” I said slowly and deliberately, looking back at him with genuine determination. I was not going to back down.

We stared at each other, a battle of wits and wills silently taking place between us. He was the first to break the silence, what he said doing little to calm me.

“What little rights that you may have,” he said calmly, his eyes goading, “have been met with. You are still alive.”

I resisted the urge to growl at him, preferring to say what was on my mind while we were at it. “Well woopedy-doo! Lucky me! Who woulda thought?” The sarcasm was rich in my voice and I relied on it to get the message across even if he were unable to understand my twenty first century expressions. “You realise that that doesn't cut it, right?” And now I could see different things stirring behind his golden eyes, though I couldn't even hope to be able to decipher them. “I'm not going to give up. I'm not going to follow whatever you say. I will find out eventually what was out there before, what the spell is about and anything else that you keep refusing to tell me, even though it's my right to know. I am not going to let you push me around.”

Once more silence stretched out between us. I was slightly panting mainly due to pent up emotions. Sesshoumaru kept his gaze on me, his eyes slightly wider than usual so that he came off looking taken aback, though only slightly. I don't think he actually expected me to have the nerve to say all that, and to be honest, had I not been so blinded by my anger, I wouldn't have. At least not in so many words.

“I believe what you feel is the presence of the person who cast the spell.”

I nearly jumped when he spoke, barely even noting what he said. Once I did though, I did a double-back, my eyes wide with disbelief at the information that he had just passed on.

“But,” he continued, “That is only speculation.”

I felt numb momentarily, completely unsure of what to do. I dropped my gaze to the ground, quietly thinking on what he had said. Almost detachedly, I was aware of his eyes remaining on me, but was too disconcerted to react. That presence, it had been neither friendly nor hostile. Then…was the spell cast by a friend or a foe? Once more I felt myself lost by the mystery of it all. Then another thought occurred to me: he was only guessing.

I looked back up at him, my body now slack compared to before. I dared to question further. “I'm guessing you don't know the caster per say since you're not sure it was them.”

He stared almost begrudgingly at me, though not a bit less intensely. Then, very minutely, he nodded his head just once.

“I see…” I pondered out loud. I let my breath out in a slow gush of air that then rose in another misty cloud in the early morning air. I was thankful that he had told me this much. But though I wanted more answers, I knew with a sixth - seventh if you count my miko senses - that I would be pushing the limits more than I had already done. So I decided against digging dipper just then. “Just one more question please,” I said anyway. I could tell his full attention was on me and I squirmed under its intensity. “Just what are the conditions of the spell?”

There was no change in his countenance. But, irrationally, I could feel a change in the atmosphere about our campfire. His stare had become less calculating, less intense, but had more meaning that I could ever account for. There was an odd gleam in his eyes that just barely echoed what was really going on in his head. As always, it eluded my understanding. Then he answered.

“Perhaps, in time, I shall tell you.”

It wasn't a direct dismissal; it spoke of a possibility for the future. For the moment, that was all I could expect from him. Plus, I had the feeling that he knew full well that I was not about to give up. So I let up for the night, said a curt `goodnight', and went back to my sleeping bag.

I hissed as I slipped back under the covers. All the warmth that had accumulated during the night had left them, and I shivered endlessly till either my body or the sleeping bag adjusted to the temperature. When I looked back up at the sky, most of the stars had faded out and the moon was no longer shining ethereally. There was just barely the hint of dawn at the corners of the sky. Knowing that I had less than two, at most three hours of sleep left, I tried to force myself to sleep.

It was a feat hard to accomplish with all that I had running through my mind. The fact that I could feel a pair of golden eyes staring at my back long after I had bid him goodnight did not help the matter.

 

xxx

 

 

Woa! Long time no see. Glad to be back and with you. Even gladder to say that my finals are over and done with and I had two whole weeks to kick back and write freely. Hope you guys liked that chapter.

Now…normally, as you all may know I don't respond to reviews…but this time, I feel that I should since I had been planning on saying this anyway (only I forgot to…). I don't remember the name of the reviewer, but the question was whether or not I was aware of the fact that there was a story called “Chained to you” which, as the name would suggest, has quite a lot in common with my story. The answer is, yes, I am aware of it. I saw it after I had posted my second chapter and I was checking to see if it was actually up (I do that when I'm over excited about stuff). Now, I haven't managed to actually read much into the other story, but judging from what I have read, I have to say that though the two stories share some principal ideas, they are, overall, not the same. In fact, if you continue to read, you'll see that my story has a slight twist that makes all the difference. Of course, this isn't a fact since I haven't actually fully read “Chained to you”. But I can safely say there will be no angry fairies that cast spells in my story.

Next on the agenda, okay, I've recently learned that I can actually directly respond to reviews. But I still don't know how to do that. If anyone does know, I'll be forever grateful if you could please pass on the wisdom.

Okay, I believe that's all. So, for those of you in school, have fun getting back out there and to those who aren't well…have fun anyway. I know I will. If all goes well, I should have a new chapter out sooner than you may think.