Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Standing In The Shadows ❯ Chapter 7

Standing In The Shadows 7

 

Disclaimer: As much as I may wish otherwise, I do not own any part of Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. They are owned by their respective authors. I only claim ownership of this twisted plot and the muses that created it.

 

Chapter Seven

 

The dragon turned to face Kuwabara, apparently having lost interest in Yukina for the moment. One of the heads perched on a long neck snaked towards the young man as the huge jaws opened wide in an attempt to snap up and crush this human who had so rudely managed to capture its attention. Shizuru gave a strangled scream, positive that she was about to see Kazuma's life ended before her eyes and started running towards him. Inuyasha's golden eyes snapped over from the scene he had been watching unfold before him to the running girl. He might not know who she was exactly but his honor would not allow him to allow her to throw her life so recklessly away like this. They could always fight the dragon another day if they lived through this encounter. Years of fighting Naraku had taught him that. He made a mighty leap and landed on top of Shizuru's back, bringing her crashing down to the ground beneath him. Yusuke lifted his hand, preparing to fire his spirit gun at the dragon. He wasn't sure what the effect would be on Hiei when the dragon took the blast but he didn't feel he had a choice, he had to take the chance. The dragon was too dangerous now that it was loose and no longer under Hiei's control. He just hoped that Hiei would understand.

 

There was a loud tearing sound and then a horrible grating following immediately after as teeth snapped shut against teeth The dragons jaws had just barely missed grabbing Kuwabara, it had grabbed his shirt instead and ripped the clothing off his back. The near miss should have been enough to warn Kuwabara of the peril that he was in but he chose to ignore it, still intent on reaching Yukina and pulling her to safety out of the beasts reach. He was trusting the others to be able keep the dragon at bay. With a loud roar of anger the dragon reached for him again. Suddenly Kuwabara found himself suspended in the air, hanging from the dragons mouth. The world spun dizzily around him as the dragon angrily shook him like a limp rag doll, his stomach threatening to empty it's contents as the dragons teeth closed tighter around his midsection. “Damn it Kuwabara get out of the way!” Yusuke growled in irritation as he sought to find some way to drive the dragon back but he couldn't get a clear shot around Kuwabara. If he aimed for a head he knew it wasn't likely to kill the damned creature. No, the only place that was likely to bring it down was a shot through the heart, assuming the beast even had one to begin with.

 

`Stop this foolishness this instant!' Amaterasu spoke directly into the dragons mind, stopping the beast in it's tracks. It didn't drop Kuwabara but it did stop shaking him as it looked at the Goddess who had commanded it. The sudden lack of motion combined with the height he found himself looking down at the ground from was too much for Kuwabara to handle. His stomach heaved once and he promptly lost it's contents. Yusuke barely had time to jump out of the way and avoid getting covered with the remnants of Kuwabara's breakfast. The Spirit Detective glared up at Kuwabara in disgust, surely after everything else, that hadn't really been necessary. He aimed his spirit gun getting ready to fire at the now strangely still dragon when Amaterasu spoke again “That is enough. Everyone just stop right now”

 

Satisfied when everyone stepped back she turned her complete attention to the beast that stood in front of her quietly appraising it with all of it's newfound power. Satisfied at last that the dragon was now under control she spoke once again `You will release the human now!' The dragon hesitated a moment as if considering whether that had been a request or a command. At the eyebrow that Amaterasu raised at the hesitation the dragon acquiesced, opening it's mouth and shaking it's head as if it had found the human distasteful anyway. Kuwabara crashed onto the ground and into the remnants of his breakfast that he had been hanging above only a few moments earlier. A rumble that sounded suspiciously like laughter seemed to come out of the shadows, causing everyone's attention to turn and look at Goshinboku while earning another raised eyebrow from Amaterasu. The laughter ended as suddenly as it had begun but the feeling of amusement remained. Inside of Kurama's head Youko gave a snort of smug amusement. Laughing at Kuwabara's current position would be exactly the kind of thing his old partner would have been known for. He was sure he knew who the bat demon was now but he was also positive that Kuronue was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

 

The dragon moved again, impatient under the control of the Goddess and wanting to be free to destroy these annoying beings that were surrounding it. Surely she didn't mean to hold it here forever, not when there was so much wonderful destruction just waiting to be wrought. Amaterasu raised her hand, a golden glow starting to surround it. The glow continued to grow and spread outward, as it did it encompassed the dragon as well forcing it into complacency. Black winds swirled once again and formed into a column of black flame, engulfing the dragon who screamed its protest at the actions. Lightning flashed across the air once again as the beast fought for control but Amaterasu would not be swayed in her decision The group ducked their heads as once again debris from the destroyed shrine rained through the air as if tossed about by unseen hands, hurtling against the edges of the barrier and shattering against the unseen wall with loud crashes as each piece connected and was destroyed. The howling vortex of wind suddenly came to an eerie end as the tattoo reformed on Hiei's arm, the dragon merging with it and then it was gone. The dragon was contained for the moment, but never again would it be under Hiei's complete control.

 

“What happened?” With the return of the dragon Hiei slowly swam back to consciousness. His strength was still abnormally weak, but at least he was awakening. It was with a great effort that he managed to pull himself up into a sitting position as his sister rushed towards him, ready to throw herself upon him. His body felt as if it had been badly beaten while he had been unconscious and his mind was feeling drugged but thinking back he could remember holding the new sword in his hand. The dragon had then decided that it had wanted control of all that power. Looking around his eyes grew wide as he took in the massive amount of destruction surrounding him, he hadn't lost control of the dragon had he? The very idea was disturbing and unthinkable. Then the wind shifted causing his nose to wrinkle in disgust as he was assailed by an obnoxious odor. He scrambled away as he looked beside himself to find Kuwabara getting gingerly to his feet, hands covering bleeding puncture wounds in his sides where the dragons teeth had ripped him open. “What the hell happened to you?”

 

Yukina looked up at Kuwabara, for the first time seeing the extent of his injuries. With a small cry she rushed over to tend to his injuries now that she knew her brother would be alright and recover without her aid. Her hands gently brought him back down into a sitting position to begin healing his wounds, then stilled as he spat out his angry words at Hiei “You almost killed Yukina! If it wasn't for me she would be dead right now!”

 

The stricken look on Hiei's face was too much for Yukina to bear. Kuwabara's words had not been true but there hadn't been a chance to tell anyone what had truly been going on yet, in fact no one had even bothered to ask her. Her hands slowly fell away from him, the look of hurt and anger on her face was cold enough to freeze the shrine grounds solid once again. Hiei couldn't know the truth of the matter, having been unconscious when it all had happened he would believe the words that Kuwabara had spoken even if it wasn't right. Yukina shook her head angrily, if she lost her brother because of this stupid misunderstanding she would return to her home on the Koorime Island. They had been separated for far too long and she had only just recently found him again. If she lost him a final time the pain would be too much. She would leave and then Kuwabara or any of the others for that matter would never have to worry about trying to save her again

 

Kagome had had enough of this, she saw the hurt that the words had caused and somehow she was able to feel the pain that both Hiei and Yukina were feeling at the moment. Angrily she pushed past a very surprised Yusuke marching over to stand in front of Kuwabara. Coming to a stop directly in front of him Kagome showed a habit that she had recently picked up from Keiko. She jabbed a finger into Kuwabara's chest as she yelled at him “ That wasn't Hiei that tried to kill Yukina! In fact no one at all tried to kill her! That was the dragon that was here, I can tell the difference even if you can't! It was examining her, there was no malice in it. Until you jumped in and pissed it off of course!” Inuyasha's ears pinned flat against his head. He didn't agree with Kagome's assessment of the situation but at the moment he wasn't going to call her on it. He had no desire to take the chance of getting sat, with the mood she was in, it wouldn't take much for her to think of it.

 

“Kagome, I'm sure that you believe what you just said but I think you are mistaken” Koenma looked around him and saw some slow small nods of agreement. “We all do. We know what we saw, Hiei obviously lost control of the dragon and it did try to kill Yukina” He looked down at the ground, concern warring with pain on his face. It was more then obvious that he was thinking about the dangers and the potential destruction that this new dragon would cause. `As if the dragon in it's old form wasn't bad enough' Next he looked back to Hiei, dreading the fire apparitions reaction to what he would have to say next. “I will give you a choice. You can choose to have the dragon sealed or you can choose to be forever banned into the Makai. Which will it be?”

 

The expression on Hiei's face clearly said you can't be serious but before he could open his mouth to answer Amaterasu spoke up and this time her voice was clearly angry. She spun Koenma around so that he had no choice but to face her wrath squarely. “How dare you doubt the words of my miko? My miko, even while we stand on my holy ground at the remains of my shrine. Who are you to say she is wrong? Any of you.” Amaterasu let her eyes travel over each member of the assembled group. “Now I dare any of you to tell me that I am wrong! I tell you now that Yukina was never in any danger. I will also remind you Koenma, I own Hiei's contract currently, you have no right to ban him to the Makai or anyone else” Koenma was doing a good job of looking like a fish out of water but wisely decided to keep his mouth closed against saying anything further. He had never seen his mother this angry before and had no further desire to test her patience. But she wasn't done yet, she turned and glared at Kuwabara “If I hear such a lie come out of your mouth again you shall become a mute and all of your spiritual awareness will be gone. Heed my warning!”

 

Now Amaterasu did take a deep sigh. “Hiei, there is no need for you to have to make a choice. The dragon will not be sealed and you will not be banned anywhere. I knew what the dragon and the sword were doing, while it is difficult, know that it does have my approval. What has come about must be for a reason.” She gave Hiei a slight smile, knowing that he needed to hear the words of reassurance. While he kept his emotions well hidden, it didn't mean that he did not have them. She had done what she could to give him some peace from the ugly lies that had been told, while he would not say so she knew that she had his thanks. “Now, since there is no longer a shrine to finish the artifacts choosing in I will leave the barrier in place until the final choice is made” She gave Kagome a strange look before turning her attention to the remaining artifact that was in her possession. “If you would all please make a circle around me, I would prefer to finish up this business rather quickly”

 

It was a very subdued group of demons and humans that gathered around her in a circle. Everyone was tired first from the battle with Naraku then from the encounter with the dragon, brief though it had been, and wanted nothing more then to have some quiet time to digest everything that had happened to them in such a short span of time. A vacation was sounding very good to all of them right about now but Amaterasu had other ideas. “You will all have to work on your stamina and training if you think this was a hard days work.” An elegant eyebrow quirked skyward as groans of disbelief filled the air “Surely you are not so tired as to wish for your beds already. The day is not even half gone after all. Lightweights, all of you.”

 

“This was supposed to be our day off, not fighting some stupid lightweight hanyou that wouldn't have lasted one round in the Dark Tournaments. It would have been better settled over some beer and a game of cards” Yusuke was grumbling to himself but he was making sure to say his words loud enough for everyone to hear and know that he was disgruntled. “I could have stayed home and slept in rather then putting up with this shit. The next time someone asks me to go visiting shrines I'm gonna say hell no!” He sent a glare over in Keiko's direction, unable to not feel resentful since he was here at her request and now she wasn't even standing next to him. What made matters worse in his mind was that she wasn't even having the common decency to look at him, in fact she seemed to be looking at everything but him! Later he would make sure that they would be having a long serious discussion about this and their possible future together.

 

Angry thoughts were interrupted by a soft verdant green glow that searched each member of the group out, wrapping them in comforting warmth and acting as a soothing balm to all of their tired minds and bodies. Sinking down into the glow was so tempting, there was nothing to worry about any longer. Voices whispered to each of them of peace, an end to the suffering and stresses of everyday life. Death no longer existed, they were floating, content to follow wherever the whispers chose to lead them. Sensuous feelings caressed their bodies, each of them experiencing something uniquely different yet each of them being affected in the same way. Dreams of their favorite fantasies played out in their minds, yet they were each living out their dream.

 

Hiei was living out being accepted, no longer having to live with the stigma of being the forbidden child. He had never been raised by thieves but by a loving mother whose arms surrounded him with love and acceptance. Even now he could feel her soft arms around him and her soft voice whispering words of love in his ears. He wasn't aware that Yukina was living out almost the same fantasy existence. Her brother had never been thrown off of the island, they laughed and played together as children, growing up as a happy family. Their mother smiled at their antics, never frowning in disapproval over anything that they had done.

 

Kuwabara dreamed that he was running up the steps of Genkai's temple where Yukina was waiting for him at the top. She was laughing and her beautiful blue hair was blowing in the breeze as she called out to him `I love you Kazuma' He twirled her off her feet, so happy that she had accepted his love and that it was returned. No longer would he have to worry about the future for Hiei had just given him the approval he needed to marry the little Koorime. Shizuru was living the dream that Kazuma was happily married and a successful businessman. She was now free to follow a hidden lifelong dream of hers to see the world, traveling to each of the different continents at least once.

 

Kagome was living the dream that all of her friends from the past and in the present were able to live together at the shrine, free from the dangers that they had all faced and never having experiences the loses that they had endured. Naraku had never existed, the Shikon had never been broken. Life was good for all of them and she laughed as a bird lighted upon her finger to sing a song before it flew away. Souta was dreaming that he was driving across the mountain roads in his brand new convertible. The top was down and he laughed as he watched the wind blow through the hair of the blue haired ferry girl that was in the passengers seat beside him. When they reached the summit, he pulled into a parking space and together they sat in comfortable silence watching the setting sun. As he turned to look into her beautiful eyes she gave him the first of many kisses he would receive from her over their lifetime together.

 

Botan was dreaming that she was no longer a ferry girl, she had been promoted to the position of being the proud bearer of all the souls into the nice new babies that were born everyday. She loved their new smell and the love and joy she saw on the faces of the new parents never ceased to amaze her every time she gazed upon it. She wasn't sure that she would want to go through the pain of giving birth personally, but the miracle of life that she was able to deliver more then made up for any loss she might have otherwise felt.

 

Koenma found himself caught up in a dream state as well. He walked into his office and found where there was previously stacks of paperwork there was none. It was all finished, having been dispatched by his staff in his absence with an amazing expediency. On his desk was a lone telegram from his father telling him to take a long needed vacation anywhere he wished and to make it a long one. The gram also admitted that his father had been wrong about the team that Koenma had put together, they were a magnificent working unit that Enma wished he had thought of.

 

Inuyasha leaned back against the trunk of the tree that he was currently occupying and yawned. It was a good day for a nap now that he was no longer required to fight. He truly hadn't enjoyed fighting, contrary to popular belief he actually preferred a settled quiet lifestyle. In the distance he could hear his mate making her heavy way home. Their pup would soon be born and that would make him one of the proudest papas alive. Yes, life was good and there was nothing that could ruin this tranquility for him.

 

Keiko stood smiling before the cheering crowd as she gave her valedictorian speech for her graduating class. She had never dreamed that she would graduate as the President of the Honor Society for the top University of the country but it had happened. Now she had been offered a job as a top researcher in her field after the graduation ceremonies, she would be leaving in the morning. Her future husband would also be accompanying her, they already had a posh apartment rented and awaiting their arrival complete with a full staff. Nothing would keep her down now, she was on her way.

 

Yusuke had just finished building a real life version of his favorite video game on his property in the Makai. “This is gonna be so cool!” He had set it up using technology he had learned in the Ningenkai, now he wouldn't know where all the surprise weapons that he had to acquire were hidden and the demons that he had to kill would appear from. He wasn't even positive what the final prize would be but he couldn't wait to try it out, taking off at a run inside the new castle.

 

“Minamino Shuichi, are you home?” Shiori's voice rang excitedly through the house and the sound of her running feet reached his ears. He looked up in surprise as his mother burst into his bedroom, excitedly waving a piece of paper in her hand. She hugged him tightly as tears of joy streamed down her face. “That ticket you bought last week! We have just won The All-Japan Lottery! Can you believe it? We will never have to want for anything again. Now you can go to the university and marry that nice girl too”

 

Kuronue flexed his wings as he mused which dimensions he and Youko wanted to go thieving in next. He had never known there was so many riches for the taking, the few traps he had run across had been pathetic in their attempts to stop him and Youko. The thrill of the hunt ran through his veins. There was none that could stop them, the best team of thieves any of the worlds had ever known. That their fame had spread across all the universes was proof enough of that. They would have to move to a new cave soon, this one was becoming much too crowded.

 

Amaterasu smiled as she looked at the calm peaceful faces of the group that was surrounding her. With the masks gone, she truly realized how young they all really were, not much more then children in truth and her heart hurt with the knowledge. They had all been through so much already in their short lives and would still go through a lot more. `Maybe when this is over, then they will be able to have the lives they should have had in the first place' But for now she was content to let them live in their dreams for a few minutes longer, it was the least she could do for them. With a few whispered words and another smile she reinforced the effect of the jewel in their minds. Now when they were relaxed they would be able to return to this state of being any time they chose.

 

Satisfied that the spell was now set, she pulled them all as a group out from under the effect of the jewel and back into the present. Various growls and mutterings of discontent were heard as each person realized what had happened but none regretted the experience. They all faced Amaterasu once again, a growing sense of anticipation in the air with the knowledge that the jewel would choose a carrier. It was the one artifact that none of them would mind having in their possession. The jewel was still glowing and once again to sent it searching tendrils. This time they reached for only one member of the team however. Everyone watched with wide eyes as the glow wrapped itself around Kurama, enveloping him into itself and then slowly sinking into his body. Amaterasu stepped over to a very startled Kurama and handed him the jewel with a smile. The artifacts had now all chosen their respective carriers, it would be up to each of them to learn how to use their new abilities. Amaterasu spoke to Kurama directly but she was speaking to the entire group. “I understand why the jewel chose you Kitsune. You have the power to use it but there is more. It is true that Hiei no longer has control of the dragon once it is loosed, but the jewel has the power to force it back into dormancy once the need to use the dragon has been eliminated. You and Hiei were partners before, you will both depend on each other even more now. Never forget this.” She stepped back and looked at Kagome, then the others.

 

“There is only one last thing that I need to accomplish while I am here. Once that is done, I will be taking my leave, I will not return unless the need should arise.” She chuckled as if at some private unknown joke. “Although, unless I miss my guess that may be sooner then any of you might expect. Shizuru suddenly gave a startled gasp as she felt a hand groping her from behind. She shoved an elbow backwards and to the side that the feel had come from. Her elbow landed solidly in Kurama's ribs, who staggered back a step, wincing in pain.

 

"And what pray tell did I do to deserve such treatment Shizuru?" Kurama's voice was strained and his face had blanched white from the force of the impact. Lifting his shirt, he began to examine the bruise that was already starting to form. “That will teach me never to stand next to you again.” He was about to say more but then his gaze went to Hiei. He saw that his partner wasn't even paying attention to what was going on, instead he was staring past the two of them with his hand resting lightly on his katana.

 

“That will teach you never to grab my ass again” Shizuru spun around to glare at him, wanting to be certain that her lesson would be taken to heart. “If you ever…” the words died on her lips as she caught sight of luminous violet blue eyes that were laughing at her anger and Kurama's discomfort. Long black hair framed a disturbingly handsome face and huge wings waved slowly back and forth on the tall demons back in amusement Shizuru tried again “Oh…” then fell silent once again her anger dying as quickly as it had been born when the unknown demon waggled his ears roguishly at her and Kurama almost fell over laughing.

 

There was no mistaking the feel of this particular demons ki now that he had chosen to unshield himself and resume his true demon form. “Kuronue you old bastard, I should have known that you would try something like that. But how are you still alive? I saw you impaled and unless you managed to keep one hell of a secret from me, resurrection was not one of the talents you had acquired. How'd this happen and why the hell didn't you tell me that you were still alive?” Kurama's eyes had turned a deep golden now as Youko tried to push forward and take control of the body to get the answers he wanted.

 

“He can answer whatever questions he wants to at a later time. I suppose I can allow him to have a leave of absence from his duties and training long enough for a reunion.” She gave the bat demon a stern warning “But don't force me to have to hunt you down or rescue you because of some foolish heist you decide to attempt.” Kuronue managed to look appropriately contrite but there was no mistaking the twinkle in his eyes as he looked at his old partner. “I'm being serious Kuronue, force this issue and you will remain in training for the next century, you won't have time to worry about socialization.”

 

Amaterasu turned her attention back to Kagome while she kept one eye on Kuronue. He wasn't supposed to have revealed himself like this but now that it was done she would worry about dealing with it another time. “Now that the jewel is whole once again it will continue to be in danger from those who wish to corrupt it's power. With the other artifacts in play as well, we need to start thinking of ways to protect them all.” She got slow nods of agreement from the entire group, they understood her point even if they weren't happy about it. Amaterasu continued “If anyone here has any ideas I will be more then happy to listen to them.” She looked expectantly at each member of the group, waiting to see what they would come up with.

 

Yusuke was the first to speak up “Hiei and Kurama are going to have to live together, they don't have a choice. If that jewel is the only thing that will control that dragon then I don't see any choice in the matter.” He looked sharply at Kurama who was standing there with a dumbfounded look on his face and Hiei whose face was now a mask of anger.

 

“Who do you think you are to tell me where I will live Spirit Detective?” Hiei's voice was low and dangerous, sending shivers down everyone's back. “For your information I will not leave Yukina's side now that she possesses that mirror. I will live at the temple if I must, but not because you say so!”

 

“I will take care of Kagome, I've been doing it for the past five years anyway.” Inuyasha saw his chance to jump into the fray. He stared at Yusuke, his posture one of challenge “So move away from her asshole and send her over here where she belongs!”

 

“Hiei can stay with Kurama, I'm taking Yukina home to live with me and Shizuru. We can protect her just fine, I the Great Kazuma will see to that!” He looked over to where Yukina was standing beside her brother, her expression one of sadness and disapproval at how Kazuma still seemed intent on separating her from her brother.

 

Yusuke and Hiei stood side by side facing both Kuwabara and Inuyasha. “If either of you thinks that you're making the decisions about where the girls go you've got another thing coming. Frankly I don't trust you dog boy and since I don't trust you I sure as hell ain't going to let you be the one to watch over Kagome. I'm sure Hiei would agree with me on that."

 

Yusuke looked over at the fire apparition who nodded his head. Black flames were starting to lick around his body at Kuwabara's boldness in staking a claim on Yukina. He didn't necessarily want to hurt the redhead but no one human or otherwise was going to remove his sister from his care. Kurama moved to stand beside his partner in a silent show of support. Kuwabara had no right to interfere, for better or worse this situation was governed by demon law. Yukina belonged with her brother until he said otherwise or she accepted a mate. Kuronue looked at Shizuru for a moment, his eyes speculative then he moved to stand beside his old partner. Finally Hiei trusted his voice to speak "Yukina remains with me so long as it's necessary and she so chooses. Until then you will respect the standing that you have been given in her life and you will not step beyond those boundaries."

 

“You would be acting the same way if this was Shizuru that was being talked about.” Kagome could see the hurt on Kuwabara's face at the hard words that Hiei had spoken and was trying to gently soften the blow if she could. While she was the newcomer to the group, she had understood the tension between the two males over the Koorime since the very beginning. Sometimes she had even wished that someone loved her with that much passion but now she was having second thoughts about that. Inuyasha and his jealousy had been more then enough to handle, Yukina had her sympathy as far as Kagome was concerned at the moment.

 

Kuwabara was about to start yelling when he looked over at Shizuru who was standing with her hands on her hips waiting to see what he was going to say. It made him pause as he watched different emotions race across her eyes. Kagome had been correct, he might not like it but he would be acting the exact same way if it was his sister being discussed. “Okay Hiei, I see your point. I don't like it but I will respect it. But if Yukina wants me there then nothing in the three realms will keep me from her side.”

 

Amaterasu sighed, thinking that this was going to be all very interesting to find out how it worked out in the end but for the moment, the original question remained. There needed to be a way to protect all of the items, not just one or another because someone's sister or friend happened to have been chosen as a carrier. Her eyes fell once again on Kagome who was now griping her necklace and looking very much as if she was thinking that she was somehow a burden once again. A single tear rolled down her cheek falling onto her hand and the Shikon jewel.

 

The Shikon began to glow from it's place on Kagome's necklace. Thin tendrils of energy spread out from it as if seeking something. Eyes grew large on everyone's face as similar tendrils of energy began to grow from out from the other artifacts. Even Amaterasu was looking impressed as she watched the different tendrils of energy wind their way over and around each other forming an energy net. With a single brilliant flash of light the energies merged and became one. The artifacts and the Shikon had decided to take matters into their own hands, all four of them and their carriers were now permanently linked into each other. The net disappeared from view as Kurama, Hiei, Kagome and Yukina started to cautiously explore the new sensations they were experiencing. Koenma was the one who put the question into words “What the hell just happened?”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Authors Note: LOL, don't be expecting updates this soon for all the chapters. I wanted to get the artifacts choosing done with so our favorite characters can finally get to doing other interesting things. I hope you have enjoyed this so far.

 

As always I want to say thank you to all my reviewers, both new and old. I love you all. And thank you to Ryu for being such a wonderful beta and putting up with my ranting when my muses decide to go difficult on me. You're the greatest.

 

If you enjoyed this chapter and this story please take a moment to leave a review.