InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unbridled, Unvoiced Passions ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

Unbridled, Unvoiced Passions

A bittersweet love story

In the depths of a hidden room, a library aged with the written works and family trinkets of a long forgotten tale. Scrolls, held captive from the brutal maturity of paper, told the secrets of lost time, of forgotten battles, of legends and myths, but mostly of his unbridled, unvoiced passions.

The room, sealed by an ancient magic, is opened after nearly three centuries of dormancy. A girl's curiosity and utmost respect for all things lost to time discovers the secrets of the hidden chambers; a secret she was unknowingly a part of. However, opening the chamber just might have been the biggest mistake of her life.

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Chapter 12

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There was something so bittersweet about coming home after such a long journey. Though he knew that he wouldn't be resting much, his home was always a welcoming sight.

His senses raced out to find the one he had come home for. He could have wandered, kept walking, studied his lands longer, but he wanted to see her again.

It was hard for him to understand why, but he missed her when he was gone. Not only that, but being gone for so long with a woman that was creating more than just a stir inside him bothered his conscience more than he would like to admit.

He felt that somehow, being with Kagome was like betraying the one he came home to. It was foolish and crazy, absurd in its reality really, but that's just what it was…reality.

Sesshoumaru's head turned towards the rising sun and his body seemed to release a bit of its tension. She was there waiting for him. Though she was asleep and unaware of his presence as of yet, he knew that she was waiting for him; she always was and hopefully always would be.

The thought sparked that familiar something in him and he recognized it this time; it was the same thing Kagome made him feel. Knowing that, Sesshoumaru refused to acknowledge the emotion and cast it into the darkness with which he kept the rest of himself. He would not fall prey to these emotions, these women.

He was going to leave, just let her sleep and go on as though he had never come home, but he couldn't. The days had been so long without her; she was the only light he held up to his blackened heart.

Swift and silent footsteps brought him to the field of flowers she liked to call her futon. The treasured scents of the place wrapped around her and covered her in beautiful wisps of a fragrance that pleased him to no ends.

He stopped beside her and watched as dawn began to break across her pale skin. Her dark brown hair rushed across the ground in long, silky waves. When she stood, Sesshoumaru knew it would reach beyond the center of her back, where he had last seen its lengths; he had been gone so long that it was sure to reach the end of her back by now.

Her soft brown eyes would sparkle in happiness and he realized that he wanted to see them open, to see the display of happiness he sparked in her, but he would wait just a bit longer. She didn't rest much since her education and training had began nearly two years ago, so what little time she could find, he would offer.

She had grown so much since she first came to him and he couldn't help the awe he felt at the thought that he was the one that provided her life, that sustained that life, protected that life.

Long black lashes fluttered wearily against the soft whites of her silken cheeks, effectively pulling him from his thoughts; he was that tuned in to her. With barely a sound, she pushed herself up to her palms and yawned.

It was clear the moment she felt him; her body stiffened slightly and she turned. Earthen brown eyes met the gold's of his own and he couldn't help but smile at the child-like squeal that escaped her lips. Her powers were getting stronger, he noted.

~;~@ ~;~@

Standing quickly after a slight bow, the young woman smiled and welcomed him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, it is good to see you home again"

His answer was the same as it always was, but something in the tone of his voice had changed; she wondered what it was.

"Rin, I hope you have faired well."

She smiled knowingly and bowed her head slightly, as was customary with a superior.

"Yes, I am wonderful my lord"

She peeked through her thick bangs to see his eyes averted towards the rising sun. At first, she had thought he was watching it rise, but after a discreet glance in that direction, she realized he had to have been watching something else.

The sun, though not too high yet, had risen some time ago. Sesshoumaru never wasted a moment on anything and watching the sun break horizon for even one second after it had cleared the ground was quite obviously a second too long.

So the question of the day was…what had caught his interest?

~;~@ ~;~@

Darkness crashed around her in slashing waves of black and gray. Every swirl was a new pain, the darker the color, the worse the pain.

More and more gray's begun to fill the air around her as a more familiar pain made its grand entrance. The stale air of the old hut filled her senses and she could faintly hear the rustle of Kaede's rough cottoned clothing.

She could hear Kaede's movements, Shippou's calm breathing as he slept, and even the boiling of the water over the crackling fire. What she couldn't hear, however, was any indication of her reserved protector.

She sent her aura out; using a breathing technique, she had learned in yoga classes, Kagome was able to enhance the effects and searched. Again, Kaede and Shippou were the only occupants of the room beside herself.

Where was Sesshoumaru? Had he gone outside for a moment?

Kagome sent her aura out even further and searched harder for the absent male. All she could find were a few faint traces of his essence; they were like small tufts of smoke curling and fading on the ground outside the village.

That meant that he hadn't been there for at least a few days. He had left. But, why?

At that moment, something inside her began to throb painfully. That same familiar pain alerted her earlier to the fact that she was waking up. She knew what that meant; Kagome was scared.

What she was scared of she didn't know; or rather, she knew but refused to admit it. With him gone, there was no one to protect her.

That thought brought more fear out of her than she could have ever guessed. She felt utterly alone, terribly scared and she hated every bit of it.

~;~@ ~;~@

He had been sitting there for days now, his resolve no different from the day before, just like his options. Inuyasha had decided that no matter what happened Kagome would not die and neither would Kikyou.

How he was going to accomplish this was beyond him, but he was going to do it; he had to. He took a deep breath to help calm his frazzled nerves, but instead he tensed and sent his nerves into near shock.

Kagome was awake and that meant that he would have to explain why the two people she would want to see when she woke up were nowhere to be found. It wasn't exactly something he was looking forward to facing.

With a swift leap, Inuyasha landed before the bridge in front of the village. He could hear the small conversation she was having with Kaede and winced visibly when she asked about Sesshoumaru.

He couldn't wait any longer; she deserved to know the truth. With that, Inuyasha walked up to the hut and opened the flap to see Kagome staring at him.

What surprised him was not that she knew where he was, her senses had become that acute, but rather what he saw when he locked eyes with her. Kagome was crying.

~;~@ ~;~@

She was nearly hysterical; Kaede didn't know where Sesshoumaru had gone and it seemed that Kikyou had disappeared as well. Where did they go?

The flap at the entrance opened to reveal none other than Inuyasha, and though she wanted to talk to him too, he wasn't the one she was looking for. Tears instantly found their way to her eyes and she could not help but wonder why and hate the fact that she kept lying to herself; she knew perfectly well why she was crying.

Sure, she had wanted to see them, to talk to them, but she didn't miss them, did she? No, not Kikyou, she couldn't miss that bitch; but what about Sesshoumaru?

Well that wasn't so unnatural, he had been traveling with them for about two months now and he was always by her side. From the moment she woke until the moment she lay down to sleep, and more recently during the night, he was with her.

So she wasn't missing him, she was just missing his company. Kagome decided to ignore the splitting of that hair and chose instead to focus on Inuyasha; it was only now that she realized he was talking to her.

"How are you feeling?"

Kagome smiled through her tears, halting the traitorous drops instantly with the small act.

"I'll be fine"

Inuyasha scowled at her, causing her to tilt her head in curiosity. She watched him cross the hut and sit in front of her while mumbling.

"That's not what I asked, woman"

She watched him as he set his head against the wall of the hut and close his eyes. He was troubled about something and she had a feeling that she knew exactly what, or rather whom, that was.

"Inuyasha"

His eyes opened slowly to reveal his dirty gold eyes. They reminded her so much of Sesshoumaru's and yet…not.

Kagome let out a slight gasp as fresh tears formed by simply looking at his eyes, all because they were not the ones she wanted to see. It was wrong and so confusing.

"Where are they?"

She didn't need to say whom; he knew what she needed to know. The apprehension was expected, but when the flash of sadness crossed his features, Kagome did her best not to let him see her surprise.

"Kikyou left earlier…alone. She went to find…"

It looked difficult for him, maybe too difficult, so she saved him the agony.

"Another way to get the soul"

Inuyasha just nodded. What did she expect him to say anyhow? Kikyou is Inuyasha's mate and Kagome is his best friend; he was tearing up inside.

"And Sesshoumaru?"

At that, Inuyasha squirmed into a more comfortable position. His eyes were cast to the floor of the hut; he just looked so uncomfortable in front of her now. The hut seemed to close in on her then, pressing on her emotions like a bubble ready to burst.

She couldn't stand it; even Inuyasha couldn't face her? Why? Was she that pathetic?

It wasn't fair, but really, what did she expect? A warm hug? `Get a grip, Girl; this is Sesshoumaru we're talking about'. Still, he could have at least stayed to say…something.

Kagome didn't know what she was expecting when she woke up, but it surely wasn't this feeling of complete abandonment. She thought he would have been proud of her for her accomplishments earlier and for some forsaken reason she had actually wanted that. Maybe he thought she was weak because of the poison she couldn't purge from her body until now.

Whatever it was, it wasn't fair. Again, she had to remind herself that nothing in life was fair, especially not in her life. She was playing herself for a fool by letting him get so close. Perhaps then, it was best he had left her.

Still, it hurt and she didn't like that. The hut seemed to constrict even her breathing now; she had to get out of there.

Kagome raised herself from the futon and walked determinedly towards the bamboo flap. It took quite a bit of effort due to her rising fever and chilling pain, but she had to get out.

Inuyasha's voice called to her a few times, but she didn't want to turn back, afraid that he would see the tears threatening to take over her eyes. She knew he could smell them, but it didn't matter, not anymore.

She found the fresh air almost mitigating in a way; it took the edge off the fever as she had hoped and filled her lungs with a refreshing calm. There was something else she needed, though.

After lifting the excess fabric of her kimono, which she vaguely noted was new; Kagome began walking towards the cool springs just inside the cover of Inuyasha's forest. A nice bath always helped to soothe her frazzled emotions. She just hoped it would work this time, seeing as how her emotions were on high because she didn't recognize them anymore.

~;~@ ~;~@

He watched her walk from the futon and out of the hut. Calling out to her seemed to do no good, as she didn't want to answer. She probably just wanted some time alone and that was something he could give her.

Inuyasha rested his head against the hut and closed his eyes once more. Life was getting complicated, too complicated for his tastes actually.

He had always had one puzzle or another to work out, but now he was faced with three life-altering puzzles that he couldn't find the solutions to.

First, there was Kikyou and her battle for Kagome's soul. No matter what he did or said, he couldn't convince his mate to leave his best friend alone. For some reason, Inuyasha didn't feel that it was really his place to tell her that anyhow.

Then there was Sesshoumaru and Kagome. He had been thinking a lot about them since the appearance of Hakudoushi. There was something there between them and the two had obviously caught the gist of it, but they still didn't really know.

In one way that could be funny, but knowing what Kagome had been forced to endure with men, Inuyasha was more worried than amused. He hung his head in shame, knowing that he had been a large portion of the pain and that all she wanted was a true apology. That was something he had never given her, telling her instead to get over it.

He had been cruel and he regretted that even before he had said it, but he didn't know what else to say at the time; growing up was such a bitch sometimes. Then that other incident happened and now Kagome seemed lost to all affection. If only that other boy had left her alone, he would have been able to give his blessings for happiness with his brother.

That was a strange realization he had happened upon only yesterday. Kagome used to be a strong person when it came to being pushed around, but now she just pushed right back and locked herself away so no one could reach her.

It hurt to know that he was a piece of that problem. In a way, he had broken her spirit and that knowledge hurt more than any physical wound he had ever endured.

Sesshoumaru would prove to be a hard task for him, but he knew now that he had to help his brother to understand that only compassion and understanding would open the woman to him, not just loyalty and strength. It dawned on Inuyasha that Kagome had left behind the girlish fantasies of living a fairy tale life with her hero, whoever that might be.

Of course, then there was the third puzzle, Naraku. That bastard was someone that caused Inuyasha to feel shame for being a half-demon. He tainted the title with an eager malice and Inuyasha hated him for it.

There were so many mysteries surrounding him now that Inuyasha wasn't sure what to do. He used to just go off and wander the wilderness of Japan in search of the filth, but now he actually needed a plan. That was something he would work on later though.

With all of the raucous going on lately, Inuyasha had completely forgotten about asking Kikyou what the deal was with Kagura. Suddenly he realized what the problem might have been.

All those times she went off on her own, all of the strange looks her and Kagura would share, that had to have been it. Kagura and Kikyou had cut a deal to trade Kagome's soul for the Jewel. Nevertheless, he still couldn't figure out what was in it for Kagura. Unless, of course, Kikyou was only using the witch; it wouldn't surprise him.

~;~@ ~;~@

Kagome let out a bitter sigh and stormed out of the springs. She had tried to relax so that she could analyze her problems, but nothing was working; she had even attempted to meditate, but she was too disturbed to concentrate. It was ultimately frustrating and now she needed a new way to work out her stress.

With a wry smile, Kagome remembered her `strength training' and decided to search out Sango. Surely, the demon slayer would be able to help her now.

As she walked out of the forest, Kagome caught sight of Miroku walking into a hut near the edge of town and figured that would be a good place to start. Those two were never very far apart at all.

~;~@ ~;~@

"Thank you Mitsukai, have a nice day."

He bowed to the young seamstress and walked out of the hut, barely avoiding a collision with Kagome. At first, he was shocked to see her outside Kaede's hut, but then shook his head in mirth knowing the woman would never sit still no matter what you told her.

"Lady Kagome. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Her glare was half-playful, half-serious, so he decided to take up the comic stance. Placing a hand on his heart, he closed his eyes and let out a pained breath.

"Oh my, looks really can kill"

He'd heard her say something like that once and he remembered how much it made him laugh. Maybe it would work on her this time.

A small laugh escaped her lips and if he hadn't known better she was trying to hold it in. He shook his head at her antics and laughed with her.

"What can I do for you?"

"Do you know where Sango is?"

He eyed her curiously and pointed just behind her to a meat vendor that was doing his all time worst at trying to swindle the demon slayer.

"Come on, I need to speak with her as well"

Kagome just nodded and fell into step behind him. He was vaguely surprised that she didn't walk next to him but shrugged it off as part of her weariness; she probably didn't realize she was lowering her self into station as per society's standards. He would never have guessed how wrong he was; she knew exactly what she was doing.

"Lady Sango"

Sango looked up to him just as he and Kagome arrived and sent him a glare. What was it with these women and their hostile gazes today?

As if just noticing Kagome, Sango trotted around him and stood before the priestess. Miroku simply turned and watched in amusement; women were strange creatures, indeed.

"Kagome, how are you?"

Shippou appeared only seconds after Sango called out to Kagome; apparently, he was in town too.

"Kagome, there you are!"

~;~@ ~;~@

Kagome turned to the slightly squeaky voice of her little demon brother and smiled. She didn't realize he was here as well.

After hugging him, Kagome left her arm slung over Shippou's shoulder and turned back to her friend.

"Sango, I was wondering if you could help me"

Sango raised her brows at Kagome and tilted her head in curiosity. Kagome just smiled and waved a hand in front of her face.

"It's nothing serious; I just need someone to help me with my…strength training"

Of course, saying that it wasn't serious meant that it was, but she was sure Sango didn't know that. The woman before her seemed to be thinking over her request and Kagome was scared for a moment that she would actually turn her down. Soon enough, however, Sango returned a smile with a nod and began walking out of town.

"Where would you like to go?"

She hadn't really thought of that before. Every time she had practiced before, she had been in a wide-open field with…Sesshoumaru.

Memories flashed across her mind as she thought back to all the mornings she had spent with him.

Memory/Flashback

"Woman, you try my patience"

Kagome huffed in annoyance and brought her hand up to her forehead to clear the sweat that had gathered.

"Well excuse me if I'm human"

He raised his brow at her and she couldn't help the ire she felt at that one small motion.

"Demon, you try my patience"

His shock was only noticeable through a slight widening of his eyes. She had regarded him not as a superior, not as an equal, but as an inferior that was grating on her nerves.

She smiled at the shock and lifted her head in defiance of the obvious infraction in societal rights. Let him get pissed, she didn't care, he couldn't hurt her.

His hands were mere inches from her body when she finally realized she should move. With barely enough energy, Kagome saved her skin, but not her jacket. He tore it with the poisons of his inheritance.

When she noticed the scent of burning cotton, Kagome looked down to her sleeve and noticed with a growing panic that the damn fabric was still burning. With barely a thought, she wiggled out of her jacket and tossed it to the ground frantically before glaring up at Sesshoumaru.

She was going to berate him for ruining her last good jacket, but decided it would be better to get even instead. Crossing her arms over her chest, partly for warmth and partly from anger, she calmly demanded his attention.

"If you're so intent on destroying my clothing, then you can buy me a new one, seeing as how it was the last one I had"

She thought he would protest, or even laugh at her, as absurd as that sounded. What she didn't expect was to find her back pressed against the nearby tree with his body holding her in place.

"I will undress you as I please. If I wanted you to wear one of those constricting flimsies of fabric then I would have given you one."

She was suddenly cold and a bit disoriented, as he had completely removed himself from her. Why did he have to burn her jacket? Why did he have to burn her blood like that?

"You could have asked you know"

He just smirked at her and attacked again; jacket forgotten, the sparring continued again.

Memory/Flashback

Kagome jerked at the sudden push that sent her careening into a tree. With a confused glare, she stood and defiantly faced her opponent.

"What is wrong with you?"

How could she push her like that? What was her problem?

Kagome watched seething as Sango lowered her body into a battle stance and laughed. She was taken aback for a moment at the sudden change in her friend, but decided to ready herself for the next attack, just in case.

Sango began running at her, dipping low for a sweep-kick. She was testing her to see just how much she had learned. Well, with the formal training of both a future idiot and the Lord of the West, Kagome could see Sango's move long before she even crouched down.

Sango seemed a bit surprised when Kagome jumped up and flipped into a roll behind her. Apparently, the woman knew more than Sango had expected.

"You're moping"

"What?!"

Instead of answering, Sango attacked again. This time she went for a higher kick, but she decided to change position, rolling on the ball of her toes and turning backwards to catch Kagome by surprise. Again, she was rewarded with surprise when Kagome merely rolled to the side and stood in one fluid motion.

"Why are you so upset?"

"What are you talking about?"

Again, Sango refused to answer. She attacked and watched in amazement as Kagome once again dodged her attempts with a grace no human possessed. As Kagome worked through each motion, Sango asked another question.

She wasn't dense; what was going on between Kagome and Sesshoumaru seemed to only be missed by the parties in question. Therefore, she decided to make the woman answer her own questions and come up with the answer on her own; she just needed a push in the right mental direction is all.

"Why does it matter that he left?"

"You're crazy"

Again, Sango attacked and again Kagome dodged. This time, however, Kagome returned with a counterattack. Sango wasn't exactly expecting it, but then it meant that her sister was getting into the game of things, so she welcomed the change gladly.

After dodging Kagome's insanely quick feet, Sango stepped back to regard her friend.

"I thought he was the enemy"

"Sango, you know he hasn't been the enemy for a long time"

Kagome attacked first this time, not allowing Sango a chance to gain her bearings. It seems that she hit a nerve with that last comment. When the attack was complete, dodged and countered, Sango expected Kagome to step back as they had been doing. Therefore, when Kagome resumed her attacks immediately after evasion, Sango had to jump out of the way and sacrifice a bruise to her hip from a tree.

"What is really bothering you?"

"What do you mean?"

"He is his brother"

"That doesn't matter, Sango"

"Doesn't it?"

Sango kicked high and barely avoided Kagome's hand as it jabbed directly above her in an attempt to knock her leg away.

"It only matters that he left!"

Clearly, the girl was distraught over his departure and only recently realizing so; it would still be a while before Kagome figured out why it bothered her so much. Either way, she was getting the hint, which unfortunately meant their quick, exhausting, yet all too enticing spar was over.

Sango shrugged her shoulders lightly while avoiding a low kick and leapt over Kagome. As soon as she was on the ground, she made quick work to grab the woman from behind and hold her still. Her arms crossed over the younger woman's shoulders and her waist while pinning her arms to her sides and bringing Kagome's body flush against her own.

She leaned down to Kagome's ear and waited for her to quit struggling. When she did, Sango whispered the words she knew that would send her over the edge.

"If it matters so much, then what are you still doing here?"

Sango used every muscle in her body to move swiftly out of the clearing and ran back to the village. Kagome was shocked by her words, which gave her a start on the woman, but once she came to her senses, there either would be hell to pay or hugs to exchange. Either way, Sango had business to finish at the market.

~;~@ ~;~@

What did she mean, `what are you still doing here'? This is where she belongs!

Sango didn't mean that she was supposed to be out chasing after Sesshoumaru, did she? That was more than crazy, it was nearly suicidal; Sesshoumaru was anything but nice to humans.

It made no difference that he and she were getting along sometimes better than she would with Inuyasha at any given time in their relationship; the fact was that Sesshoumaru hated humans, ally or not. Kagome was not about to go chasing off after one of her deadlier adversaries turned allies; she liked her neck the way it was, whole!

With that decision made, as if there was a choice anyhow, Kagome turned to make her way back to the village. She hadn't realized it before, but she was right next to the clearing that housed the well and so she knew exactly how to get back.

Kagome could never have prepared herself for the events that played out next.

~;~@ ~;~@

The small sparring sessions they were having was intense; he didn't miss a single piece of it. It occurred to him then just how much the girl had been pushing away his brother's affections and not just his own.

Inuyasha wasn't sure what possessed him to do it, but as soon as he heard Sango's last words, he made a decision that he was sure would have his ancestor's turning over. He quickly looked to see Kagome switching her weight from one foot to the other with a faraway look in her honey eyes; he would have to be quick.

With a swift leap into the air, Inuyasha leapt back to the village and entered Kaede's hut. Not a second later, he was leaping back towards the old bone eaters well.

Just as he arrived back, he saw Kagome turn towards the path to the village, right where he was standing. He took that as his chance to tell her his decision and did so by tossing her the item he had retrieved from the hut.

~;~@ ~;~@

Kagome stood in silent wonder and watched as the object fell from the toss with a skid once it landed. It slid towards her, stopping just at her feet, and mocked her with his message.

The slightly faded and well-worn yellow of her trusty pack glared at her, its intentions clear even to her unsure eyes. It wanted an adventure and Inuyasha agreed that it should go.

The idea of Inuyasha telling her to go to his brother startled her beyond words. She didn't know how to question something like that, so instead she fixed him with startled eyes.

Apparently, he understood her silence for what it was, but chose to mock her for not understanding how to ask her own questions. It bothered her slightly when he crossed his arms with that arrogant smirk; she wanted to walk straight up to him and wipe it off.

"In denial, are we?"

Well that certainly wasn't something she was expecting from him and it must have shown. How was it that he was able to read her so clearly now? What had changed?

"Go, get out of here. You shouldn't be here right now."

His words would have hurt, had she not known that he had overheard her sparring words with Sango earlier. Still, she didn't understand why he would actually want her to go.

"It's been a long time since I could make you happy."

He didn't say any more, choosing rather to turn around and leap into the trees. She knew he was still watching her, but she chose to give him the space of not wanting to discuss the matter further; it was already deeper of a conversation than he was used to anyhow.

Deciding that her friends were all crazy and that she was going to have to face this alone, Kagome lifted her belongings and set out towards the west. There was no one to stop her now, no one to protect her now, and no one to tell her she couldn't do it on her own; she smiled at the thought and added a slight bounce to her step.

Sesshoumaru may not like her very much, but he had made her a promise, a deal, and his honor bound him to her; she refused to be left behind. She ducked her head and lifted her hand to her mouth, cupping it around her cherry lips while slowing her pace a bit. With a soft voice, she closed her eyes and spoke to Inuyasha, knowing he could hear her from his place in the trees.

"Thanks dog boy. Sit"

The satisfaction of his resounding thud caused her to smile as she once again picked up the pace. The last thing she saw was the fading rooftops of a few huts and the men that worked in the fields near by.

She decided that Sesshoumaru was running away, from what she was unsure, but she would show him that he had only hurt himself by doing so.

He was a demon of pride, being one that associated himself with strength and power; no lingering weaknesses brought him down. Did he not know that running was a weakness?

She would show him and then she would bring his high ass right back to fight by her side and to finish training her as he promised. He was not going to get out of his agreement that easily; she would even call him a coward for running while she was unconscious if that's what it took!

A small mewing noise brought her from her determined thoughts. Just as she was about to turn around, a small bundle landed on her shoulder.

"Sango must worry about me, ne Kirara?"

A soft giggle poured from her in melody with nature and sang to the forest.

"Let's go get our demon back"

With that, the two disappeared into the fading light of the countryside.

~;~@ ~;~@

Now, this might seem a bit -erm- off to you, but that's because I didn't check any of it. I know, I know, not really the right sort of writing `skills' I should exude, but I'm trying to get this up for you guys.

I'll go back this week and check it over for problems and then update the fixed version. Until then, here is the raw and unedited Chapter 12.

Review as always and thank you to everyone that reviewed last time. I'll be adding review responses to the updated version at the end of the week. Thanks for waiting.

~Mistress