Without You
By: SilverLunarStar
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Disclaimer: I, in no way, own Inuyasha and Co. I just came up with the idea with a little influence from Evanescence's My Immortal, which I, obviously, don't own either. I hope ya'll enjoy!
Author's Note: I've been wanting to upload this one for a while. Finally, it's done! It's rated T for Inuyasha's potty mouth, violence, and a mild attempted rape scene.
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"Inuyasha, watch out!" Higurashi Kagome called out.
Inuyasha turned around just in time to see one of her purifying arrows pass him by, hitting their abhorrent enemy, Naraku, in the arm, disintegrating it.
Naraku glared. "You will pay for that!" He nodded, grinning oddly.
'Wha-?' she thought. She screamed as someone grabbed her from behind and lifted her into the air.
"Kagome!" the hanyo yelled. He ran and leapt into the air, drawing Tetsusaiga out, but withdrew after a second thought. 'I could hurt Kagome…'
"Kukuku, what will you do now Inuyasha? Your precious mate is now gone."
"NARAKU, YOU BASTARD!" he shouted. Seeing where the wind met, he yelled, "KAZE NO KIZU!"
Pieces of Naraku floated around.
"Defeating me won't get her back. But don't worry, I'll give her back to you in due time; as soon as I have my fun…" With that, he was gone.
"BASTARD!" He sheathed his sword, rested a knee on the ground, and pounded the earth. His ears twitched. "Kirara?"
The transformed hi-neko growled again, turning her head to one side, gesturing to her fallen master and two other friends.
"Miroku, Sango, Shippo!" In his despair, he had forgotten they had taken a few moderate hits. "Come Kirara, we have to take them to Kaede."
With that, the two companions got to work.
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Up on Kagura's feather, Kagome shivered. "What do you want with me?"
"I don't want anything. It's Naraku. He seems to have taken a liking to you."
"Wh-what's he…?"
"I-it's best not to know…" Kagura turned to see the girl, looking at her, her eyes showing sympathy. "I'm sorry; I don't want to do this. I hate Naraku as much as you do, but I can't do anything, for he holds my heart and my sister's soul."
"O-oh…"
They stayed silent for the rest of the trip.
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Arriving at Naraku's new hideaway, Kagura led Kagome to a small bedroom.
Kagome didn't try to run away, knowing it would be in vain.
Kagura would not let her flee; it would only be a matter of time until she caught her again. It's not that she wished the young miko harm, but Naraku wouldn't take kindly to his new toy getting away from the wind sorceress. "He will be here shortly; I suggest you take the time to come up with something." With that, she promptly left.
As soon as Kagura locked the door, Kagome made her way to the only window. Staring outside, she contemplated her chances of survival if she tried to get away through it. She knew they're slim to none, so all she could do was wait. It's the waiting she hated most. She'd gotten kidnapped numerous times during her travels with Inuyasha and the rest of her friends. She hated how she always ended up being the damsel in distress. She's more of a burden than anything; the only thing she could do was detect the shards, and even then…
Hearing a creak, she turned around to come face-to-face with the devil himself.
"What do you want?" she spit out.
"Very blunt, aren't you?" he sneered. "Perhaps just a bit suicidal? I mean you must be, traveling with that mismatched pack of yours for so long. Don't you get tired of traveling in those conditions? Going on without food, without rest? And with that brute of an Inu-hanyo? You could do so much better." He tried to enthrall her, but she knew better.
"What gets tedious," she replied, "is the likes of you trying to kill us every second of the day. And what's more pathetic is that you choose to send your youkai minions to do your own dirty work."
"You insolent wench." He slapped her. "It's a no wonder the dog prefers Kikyo over you." Knowing he had hit a soft spot, he continued. "But you know, you could always work for me. I'd never require you to overexert yourself. All you would need to do is simply locate the shards for me and I would send my, as you put it, youkai minions, to get them." While he was speaking, he'd been running his filthy hands all over her, her hands trapped in one of his vice grips.
Kagome shuddered in pure revulsion. "Never."
Glaring, he forced her mouth open, by gripping her chin, and thrust his tongue in.
Nausea overwhelmed the girl's entire being. As soon as she felt his appendage touch hers, she snapped her jaw to bite his tongue.
He drew away.
Kagome dodged underneath his arms, her bruised jaw aching, as well as her wrists.
"You bitch!" He grabbed her from her neck, cutting off her oxygen flow.
She tried her best to break out and clawed at his arms.
Angrily, he threw her to the other side of the room.
Gasping for breath, she touched her tender neck. More bruises were definitely going to be apparent in a couple of hours.
"Don't you get tired of being the weakest link? Even the other humans in your group can defend themselves better than you. I'm sure if the Demon Exterminator would be in your place, she would have been able to escape by now. In fact, why do you think she's never come unwilling? I had to trick her, in order for her to work for me; that's how I manipulated her. You? I caught you easier than a whore." Nearing her cornered figure, he gripped her forearms to lift her up and slammed her against the wall, banging her head.
A bile of blood rose in her throat, overflowed her mouth, and trickled down through the corners of her lips.
A growl echoed throughout the room.
Opening her eyes, she expected to see a sneer, but instead, she saw…nothing.
His head had been severed.
Unintentionally gasping, she choked on her blood as more flowed down.
The malevolent hanyo's body limped sideways while she slide down, coughing.
Hands grasped her forearms again. She didn't need to look down to see they're a completely different set of hands. She could feel it by the way they cradled her. She did look up, however, when she felt sharper-than-average claws scrape her skin. "Inuyasha?" Taking a good look at his face, she noticed his Youkai marks. "Inuyasha?" she repeated.
He growled lowly. Swiftly, he picked her up into his arms and jumped out the window.
From above the structure, Kagura looked on.
Inuyasha ran, ran, and ran. Once they're near Kaede's residence, rather than Naraku's, he sniffed out a solitary hot spring. He needed to address her wounds, which hopefully were not as bad as the scent of blood deemed them to be. Also, the stench of that bastard was overwhelming her being; he held back a harsh growl. Reaching the spring, he hesitated, back to his hanyo state. He didn't quite know how to go about this. Carefully, he took her shoes and socks off, before dipping her feet into the hot water.
The semi-conscious miko stirred, waking up fully. Noticing they're at a hot spring she started unbuttoning her ragged school blouse and unzipped her pleated green skirt.
Deciding she's aware enough to be comfortable, he took off his haori and yukata, leaving his hakama on, as he brought her into the spring with him. Using her skirt, he drenched the cloth to wipe her wounds. Like a medical practitioner, he inspected every inch of her body, from bottom to top. Once he reached her head, he felt her wince. He parted her hair in two, bringing it over her shoulders.
Kagome knew what Inuyasha wanted her to do, so she turned her back to him.
He held back another harsh growl as he examined the serious bump she had. Adding a small amount of pressure onto her shoulders, she dunked but rose quickly, hissing in pain.
Rubbing her forearms apologetically, his fingers skimmed around the area. 'This is bad. Head wounds are no joke, especially for a human.' But what…? 'She's going to have to go to her era and have this checked out,' he realized. His whole being rejected the idea and he gave himself a mental shake. 'I can't be selfish, not this time.' "Kagome," he murmured.
The miko of the future turned around, her chocolate eyes clashing with his amber. Nodding slightly, she let him carry her out the water and smiled when he silently handed her his haori before turning around, allowing her a moment of privacy. As quickly as possible, she removed her wet underclothes and slipped on the large, red haori. Gathering the scraps of clothing, she felt Inuyasha's eyes on her and blushed when she felt his heated gaze. Approval for wearing an article of his clothing shined in those pools of amber.
'Not now.' He shook his head before bringing her into his arms once again as he dashed off, heading for the well. He did his best to go at a moderate speed so he wouldn't agitate her delicate state. As soon as they reached the well, he jumped in, then back out as they made it to her era. Arriving at the main house, he's surprised when Higurashi-sama opened the door just as he made it to the porch.
One look at her daughter and she answered the hanyo's silent question. "A mother's intuition is never wrong."
A quick flash of a memory when his mother once said that came to mind, but it left just as quickly as it came.
"Onegai, take her to her room and sit her on her bed."
He nodded and followed orders.
"Ask Souta to help you with some clothes that we bought you. We tried to make them as comfortable as possible. While you're changing, I'll help Kagome change and we can then take her to the hospital." Without waiting to see if he's exited, Higurashi-sama started untying the haori to put some more modern clothes on her daughter.
Inuyasha hesitated for a second, until he saw a peek of her pale, bruised skin from the opening gap. Sniffing out her ototo, he found him in his room.
The young boy looked at his role model, worry radiating. "Inu-nii-san, is onee-chan going to be okay?"
The silver haired man froze. He looked into the boy's eyes. Kneeling to be at eye level, he ruffled his hair, speaking more words than he'd spoken in the last few hours, since Kagome's kidnapping. "Of course she will, Souta; your sister is one of the strongest women I know. She just has a minor bump on her head, that's all. As soon as she gets to the hospital and has a doctor look at it, she'll be just fine." His words sounded more hopeful than reassuring to him, but seeing the boy's smile brighten; he believed he did a pretty decent job. 'Now, if only I could believe myself just as easily. Of course she'll be okay from the bump, what with all the treatments nowadays. But…but will she be able to get through whatever that bastard did to her?' His mind wandered back to what he told Souta: 'Your sister's one of the strongest women I know.' That's the only truth he'd probably uttered; no matter the obstacles, Kagome always found a way to get through them. Soon, he joined Kagome and her mom in the car. They rarely used it because they felt it's better to walk or ride their bikes. However, this was an obvious emergency.
On their way, Higurashi-sama asked Inuyasha to tell her exactly what happened. "I need to explain to the doctor and I'm going to have to come up with a revised version."
Ears plastered on top of his head, he informed her of Kagome's recent kidnap. He finished just as they entered the emergency room, her daughter filling in the blanks.
"Okay, you two go sit down while I fill out some paperwork." 'It looks like it's going to be the cliché 'fell down the stairs' excuse.'
Now, under the bright fluorescent lights of the hospital, Kagome could see the worry lines marring her hanyo's forehead. "Inuyasha? Daijoubu desu ka?"
His head snapped up to look at her, shocked. "Nani? How can you be asking me that? I should be asking you, but then, of course you must feel awful, what with that bump on your head and then Naraku…" He trailed off, clenching his hands into fists.
Kagome placed a gentle hand on his tense ones. "Inuyasha, there was nothing you could have done. It was my fault for not being fast enough with my arrows."
"Demo-"
"I don't want to hear anymore guilt trips, got it?" She glared pointedly.
Before he could even open his mouth to disagree, Higurashi-sama came over. "Come on Inuyasha, Kagome. It turns out that our family doctor was here, so he'll see us right away."
"Hai," they answered.
Heading to the sixth floor, the nurse at the front desk sent them to room 603.
Inuyasha let the two females enter first. A nurse came in to take Kagome's temperature and such. As soon as she's done, she turned to the silver haired man. "I'm sorry, but only immediate family is allowed once the doctor comes in."
Inuyasha's amber eyes flickered from the petite nurse to the dark haired women. He decided it was best to go out now. Grunting, he pushed off the wall on which he was leaning on and stepped outside, leaning on the wall directly across the room.
A few minutes later, a tall, black haired man with a white coat appeared down the hallway. He gave Inuyasha a puzzled look before entering the room, where he instantly greeted the Higurashi females.
Ten minutes later, he stepped outside in order to let Kagome change into a hospital gown. He wanted to inspect the rest of her body for bruises and then take x-rays for any broken bones. Some people thought that a simple trip down the stairs was no big deal and it couldn't lead to anything worse than a concussion, but there could be serious results later. He glanced at Inuyasha. Bruises that look like fingerprints like the ones he saw peek from under Kagome's shirt sleeve definitely don't form from falling down the stairs.
Murakami-sensei frowned. The boy the Higurashis brought with them was obviously older than Kagome, probably a junior in college. He's seen plenty of cases of abusive boyfriends in his career, but he never thought Higurashi Kagome would ever be in such a situation. The girl was very independent and too headstrong to be manipulated by such a masochistic male. He couldn't believe that Higurashi-sama was swallowing the obvious lie. Well, maybe not a total lie. Higurashi-sama told the nurse that she came home; supposedly, minutes after this boy had already arrived to their home, and was on the verge of calling for an ambulance. However, it seemed as if he was there way before she got home…
Higurashi-sama opened the door. "She's ready Murakami-sensei." Turning to Inuyasha, she asked, "Daijoubu desu ka Inuyasha-kun?"
Inuyasha looked from beneath his bangs. "Daijoubu desu."
"Ano, if you want, you can head home and-"
"I'd rather stay until I know for sure Kagome will be okay."
She smiled gently. "Hai."
The doctor frowned. 'This boy's probably got them both brainwashed.' Entering the room once again, he inspected her arms and, sure enough, there are five bruises each on both arms, in addition to eight punctures that look as if claws embedded her; he almost gasped when he saw bruises beginning to form on her neck. He really couldn't stand to be silent much longer. After a thorough examination, he called the nurse to take the x-rays. Before Higurashi-sama could join her daughter, he asked to speak with her.
The nurse took Kagome into another room, gesturing to Inuyasha to stay where he was.
Trying his best not to whine, he did as he's told. A corner glance let him know the door to 603 was cracked open which allowed him hear bits and pieces of the ongoing conversation.
"Abusive boyfriend-"
"Violent-" "Anger-" "Jealousy-" "Common-"
Then the voice of Higurashi-sama continued. "Rage-" "Violate-" "Didn't say-" "Wasn't sure-"
As soon as he heard the word "Violate," his world came crashing down. 'Kagome could have been raped by Naraku. She almost was. If I had come a minute later…' It's more than he could bear. Pushing off the wall, he ran to the stairwell, never slowing down as he reached the lobby. 'She's in danger; she'll always been in danger while helping us hunt for the Shikon no Kakera.' When he got to the Higurashi household, all was silent. He stealthy stole his clothes from Souta's room. "Take care kid," he mumbled before jumping into the well.
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Murakami-sensei started feeling guilty as Higurashi-sama explained that what really happened to Kagome was that she almost was raped, but not by her boyfriend. No, she was almost raped by an enemy that her boyfriend, Inuyasha, had in college. The silver haired adolescent found his girlfriend before it was too late, but the other man escaped.
'What is going on with the world today?' The doctor shook his head.
Higurashi-sama didn't tell the nurse downstairs the truth because she didn't know if Murakami-sensei was here or not.
"I understand Higurashi-san and it's best to not mention any of the past events to Kagome-san until she's settled. Thank Kami nothing worse happened and that her boyfriend was there on time."
Speaking of which…
"Inuyasha?"
The two adults look up, startled.
At the doorway was Kagome, first looking confused, then worried as she quickly scanned the small room. "Okaa-san, where's Inuyasha?"
"Nani?"
"I told him to stay put, that I'd be right back when I went to get my x-rays, demo he's not here anymore…" She trailed off as she saw her mother's concerned look.
'He said he'd stay until-' Not wanting to antagonize her daughter, she simply answered, "Maybe he decided to head home after all, you know how…hospitals make him anxious." That was to say, anything of the future.
"Hai," Kagome replied uncertainly.
"Is there any way you can contact your boyfriend?" the doctor interrupted.
She shook her head. "Iie." She sighed. "I guess I'll just wait until we get home…then I'll call him from there."
Half an hour later, nothing revealed the bump on her head to be anything more than a bump on her head.
Relieved, Higurashi-sama drove them home, Kagome fidgeting the whole way.
"Calm down Kagome; you're worrying me."
"Something just doesn't seem right. I can't sense Inuyasha or the Shikon no Kakera I brought with me at all!"
At this, even her mother couldn't find any words of comfort.
Ten minutes later, Kagome started her trek up the long set of stairs. Never, not since she was a child, had they looked so infinite and treacherous. 'Inuyasha, onegai.' What she's pleading for, she's not quite sure. Reaching the top at last, she dashed to the house. First, she looked in the kitchen and living room, knowing he wouldn't be there, but looking for some sort of sign nonetheless. Finding none, she made her way to her bedroom; this was usually where Inuyasha resided. "Inuyasha?" she called out, despite the sinking realization that took place before she arrived home. With low spirits, she quietly entered her brother's room. A sliver of light illuminated his desk where the modern clothes Inuyasha had been wearing were haphazardly strewn. She closed the door and headed back to her room, eyes filled with tears, only to bump into her mother.
"Kagome-chan?"
Looking at her mother, tears spilt. "He's gone mom, he's gone!" She suppressed a heart-wrenching sob.
"Daijoubu desu Kagome-chan. You can go back tomorrow after you've had some rest." For once, she's not sure what to do or say. She hugged her daughter close. Why had the disappearance of the inu-hanyo thrown her into such hysterics? The woman had a flash of anger. After what happened, almost happened, the Youkai has the audacity to abandon her! However, it's a quick flash. 'No, there must be some sort of explanation.'
"Iie, you don't understand! I left the Shikon no Kakera in his hakama and he took it with him! There's no way I can go back."
She tried to reassure the young girl by telling her that he'd be back soon, but she paused. 'Why does that feel like a lie?' Instead, she led her to her room, told her to get changed, and went downstairs to make some tea.
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'How can I face her? It's because of me that she's always in peril. I just never realized in how much danger or in what type, she was in. Of course I always feared for her life, but I knew I'd always be there to protect her and she's not exactly defenseless either. Or so I thought. I let my guard down for one moment and I almost lost her. Kami I…' The silver haired hanyo's thoughts continued on this trek of self-berating. Finally, he made up his mind. 'I can't go back and face her, not until I'm ready. Or, when- if, she comes back…but why would she?' At this time, he didn't realize the Shikon no Kakera was safely tucked into one of the many folds of his hakama.
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Kagome had passed through the days monotonously. She went to school, had lunch with her friends, dinner with family, studied, and went to bed. That's it, that's all she's been doing. She was sick and tired of this daily routine, of this-this normality. She had been so used to always being alert in Feudal Japan that many thing made her jump up, alerted. She was always restless; anytime she saw someone wearing an oversized red jacket that would remind her of her hanyo's haori, her heart would speed up until she realized it was just a normal coat. She'd berate herself for it each time and slowly realized that the last bit of sanity she may have had was leaving her.
A month without word from Feudal Japan and she tried to convince herself to resign. 'He's never coming back for me. Even after-even after his promise.' The bump on her head had disappeared a week ago and she finally stopped wearing turtle-necks, but the sense of abandonment never left her.
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'Two months, two damn fucking months! What's taking her so long?' Even though he'd decided she was safer in her time, he had no solid proof of that. This was the longest time apart in the two years since he'd met her. Everywhere he turned, he found something that reminded him of her. He wondered if she still had the bump on her head or if it had already disappeared. He thought of all the times they had fought with one another; he had always admired her spirit and now that she was no longer with them, with him, it discouraged him to no end. She was in all his dreams; even her voice, which he had engrained to his memory so long ago was always haunting him; it was driving him to the point of insanity.
'Didn't even have the courtesy to inform us that she's leaving indefinitely.' But why would she? She didn't owe them anything. In fact, they owed her their very lives. Without Kagome, none of them would be where they were today. 'I'd still be pinned to a tree, Shippo would have joined his father, Miroku would still be a lecherous – wait, still so, and Sango dead, or worse, a mindless minion of Naraku's.' Because of Kagome's presence in Feudal Japan, all their lives had changed for the better. Her friendship had united them all. She's the alpha and the pack. 'And it's time she comes home.' Before thinking twice, he rushed off to the well and jumped into it as soon as he reached the clearing.
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It's Sunday and the young miko was where she's usually found at 6AM…in bed. Restless, but asleep nonetheless. Even in her dreams, she couldn't escape reality and the tears she didn't allow to spill while she's conscious leaked out from underneath her eyelids.
Inuyasha entered her bedroom stealthily as the scent of a fresh batch of tears hit him. Approaching her bed, he allowed himself room to take in her rumpled form: her disheveled hair, her frown, and a pair of tear streaks; his heart broke once again (the first time being when he left her). Hesitating for only a moment, he finally kneeled next to her bedside, trailing a finger over her tears to wipe them away, ever mindful of his claws. "Kagome," he whispered, the pain for crumbling this stubborn human girl consumed him. Not just any human girl, but his human girl, a miko of the future, born over five hundred years after his time, a strong-willed girl who he hurt constantly with words or mindless actions. His intended mate. He remembered his vow over a little more than half a year ago and swore to never let anything stand between them, Naraku be damned or not. (Even though it'd preferable he was…)
Caressing the other trail, he felt her stir before hearing an almost inaudible, "Inuyasha." Joy overwhelmed his being all of a sudden, an emotion the complete opposite of what he'd been feeling for a while. Fingertips skimmed over her lips as he craved to hear his name from them once again. "Gomen nasai, Kagome."
Unexpectedly, her eyes fluttered open. Gasping as she took in the unearthly image before her, not an angel, but a silver haired hanyo; she instinctively threw her arms around him and embraced him with all she had.
Inuyasha tightened the grip and buried his face in the crock of her neck, inhaling her intoxicating scent, even though it's muddled with passed traces of sadness.
"What took you so long?" she mumbled into his hair.
His ears twitched. Is she so stubborn that she'd decided not to come back until he came for her? Didn't she miss him as much as he did her? He leaned away slightly to look into her eyes. If it were possible, he'd say she missed him more than he did her, but since it's really the other way around, he assured himself that she missed him just as much. Then why…?
"Inuyasha, why did it take you so long to come back for me?" she asked again, misinterpreting his silence. 'Do I really want to know?'
"What do you mean? Why didn't you come back?" He didn't want to argue with her, but he couldn't help that his tone came out a bit aggressive.
She stared at him, confused for a moment. Suddenly, it dawned on her. 'Didn't he…?' Impulsively, she slipped her hands into his haori.
Inuyasha blushed, but before he could question her motives, she took out her hands, along with a dim, broken stone.
As soon as it came in contact with Kagome's pure aura, the stone clarified, revealing an incomplete, but still precious, gem.
"Dare-?"
"I left it in an inner pocket of your haori after…after I cleaned up."
He stared for a second. Before she had time to react, he had his arms around her again. "Gomen nasai Kagome-chan. I'm such a baka. I didn't even notice. I just thought that, after everything that happened, you were avoiding me. I know I wasn't able to protect you and I thought you finally realized I wasn't worth it, demo I had to come back one more time, just to make sure-"
"Inuyasha, you are a baka," she said fondly, breaking his tirade. "I'll always want you and you're more than worth it. No matter what happens, I'll always love you."
Inuyasha seemed to have run out of words to say. He thought to all the trials they'd been through together, all the times he had saved her from being injured from Youkai that were after the Shikon no Tama. Every time she screamed for help, he was always by her side, ready to defend her. It had crushed him when he had been unable to do anything when Kagura took her; he'd never felt as helpless as he did then. Even though he had thought it would be in her best interest if she stayed here, with her family, where she belonged, he realized he was too selfish to do that.
He abruptly took her bridal style and jumped out her window. He thanked Kami it's a warm morning as he set her down under the Goshinboku. "I swear on my life that after we get rid of Naraku, I will take you as my mate, my wife, for all of our days. You are and always will be my best friend, my confidant, the person I have trusted most, and I'll make sure to never doubt you again; I can't, will not, live without you." With that, he ended his confirmation with a simple kiss, a kiss with the promise of more to come.
Neither Kagome nor Inuyasha can live without the other. They are bound by the very essence of their souls. No one and nothing, not Naraku or time can ever change the love that will continue to foster between them, for all of time.
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Yay! Another thought-of-once-long-ago-when-I-was-still-in-high-school-and-barely-managed-to-finish fanfic completed! I have such a list to go through, no joke. I'm currently working on another Inuyasha fic that was inspired by Backstreet Boys' Back to Your Heart and I feel like it's taking me forever. I'm hesitant about that one because it seems pretty rushed and I jump around a lot, but that's because where I do, there's not much going on.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this fanfic!
Look for Back to You, coming soon. Hopefully…
Arigato minna-san!
Review onegai!
~*Eli