He opens his eyes and he sits up in bed. The clock reads far past noon. He's overslept.

Groaning, he runs fingers through tangled hair, hitting knots that pull painfully at his scalp. He throws his legs over the side of the bed and strides to the bathroom. He's almost out of water, but the mirror is clean enough without it. He brushes out the knots and ties his hair back, leaving not a single strand behind. Once that's done, he uses the little bit of water he has to it's fullest extent, washing his hands and his face and brushing his teeth. When he's done, he examines himself one more time in the mirror. He sees the same old face, clean and well shaven. The bags under his eyes are of no consequence. They're what he gets for staying up until 4 in the morning trying to settle another land dispute. Next time, he's just going to delegate someone else to take care of it.

He rubs his eyes and stretches tired muscles until he feels completely awake. Dressing only takes him a few minutes. Everything is set out for him, neatly folded on the chair by the closet. His strips off yesterday's clothes and puts on today's. He leaves the laundry on the bed. It'll be gone by the time he gets back.

He stops quickly in his office. There is nothing and no one waiting for him, which he appreciates. He's been leader for over three years now, and he's gotten used to the responsibilties, but he needs a day to himself every now and then. Today is going to be one of those days.

Because he had a dream again. It happens, sometimes frequently, and sometimes not, but they always come. He's learned to expect them. They are never anything concrete, nothing to be worried about. Just shadows and voices he doesn't recognized, but maybe if he thinks hard enough, they'll ring a bell somewhere down the line. Too bad he never does. It's not like he can either, he forgets most of it as soon as he's up and moving. Today is no different. There was a woman's voice, whispering words were familiar while he was entranced, but meant nothing to him when awake. Just a passing fancy from his youth perhaps.

They wouldn't matter to him at all, but he hated the way they made him feel when he woke up and didn't remember them. He didn't believe in dwelling on the past, only living in the present and looking to the future. That was the most important thing if one wanted to survive. Waking up on morning like this left him thinking maybe that wasn't true. Maybe there was warrant to remembering the past, all the people you may have known and loved and the life you may have lost. And that is like wind blowing through a hole in his chest that he can never close. He may be no expert, but that is the absolute worst feeling in the world as far as he's concerned. There is only one thing he can do to get rid of it.

He exits out the front door. His home is the biggest building on the block. Once upon a time, it was a courthouse. A fitting home for a leader, he supposed.

As soon as he's out in the open, all the men and women walking by, carrying out there work or just out for leisure, stop to greet him.

"Hello, Kaito-sama!"

"Afternoon, Kaito-sama!"

"I was wondering if we'd see you today, Kaito-sama. I hope you're doing well."

He smiles and nods at them all, offering a few polite words in return before going on his way. He's lucky to have such understanding people, who know how much he doesn't like chit chat and long conversations with no meaning. He walks a ways further and a pair of girls in their teens walk out of their home, speaking about something trivial until one catches sight of him and shushes the over. The two girls run to him, grinning wide stifling giggles.

"Good Afternoon, Kaito-sama," says the first one. "How are you today?"

Kaito inwardly sighs. He knows these girls. They do this every day. He smiles.

"Just fine, thank you for asking, Ladies."

He nods and walks away, while the now red faced girls give little squeals of joy.

"Did you see that? He smiled right at me!"

"No way, are you blind? He was looking at me."

"Why would he look at you, you didn't talk to him."

"Yeah, you wish he'd smile at you, don't be so pathetic.

"I'm pathetic?!"

He quickens his pace a bit, just to get away before he has to listen to more silly bickering.

He's halfway there when he's stopped yet again. This time, by a woman his age, her short brown hair pushed back by a headband so her softly pretty face is on full display. The basket on her arm is full of fresh fruit and looks heavy. He thinks about offering to help, but she's never accepted all the other times, why start now?

"Kaito-sama," she says when he passes. "I was hoping you'd join us for dinner tonight. Junko-chan would be thrilled."

"I'll see if I can make it," he answers. He think he probably will, so long as things go well where he's going. And he knows they will. "Thanks, Aina."

"You're not going to the Basement, are you?"

He stops short. Her disapproving tone makes him wince. She sounds so much like a mother, it would be a sin if she wasn't already one.

"I have important matters to attend to."

This is code for 'stop asking me.' He doesn't need to turn and look to know she's shaking her head. She does it so much, it's a perfectly clear image in his minds eye. He bids her goodbye one more time and they part ways. He might have to pass that dinner invite now. No way she's not going to try and lecture him about this tonight.

He makes it to the Basement, which is actually an aboveground little house at the edge of town, but it's dark and dank and starts to smell like dirty water if left alone for too long, earning it it's nickname. The door is about the only thing sturdy about it. The rest looks like it's going to fall about any second. He casts a glance at the rotting wooden roof. It doesn't look too bad yet, but they may have to think about changing locations soon.

Everything is in full swing when he steps inside. It's mostly men today, all crowded around a pair of brawlers. One is completely dominating over the other, who has resorted to a fetal postion to try and block his face from being hit. At least, that's what it looks like before the man shoots up and tackles his opponent to the ground. He sits on his stomach and lands several good punches before he's knocked off. From there, the fight is mostly even. Neither of these guys are prize fighters. Their moves are sloppy at best, but this is not a test of skill. This isn't about that.

The fight ends with a draw. While catching their breath, the two men trade high fives and share a quick hug. They've been best friends for as long as anyone can remember. They exit the ring and then today's referee, a lanky, balding man with a few teeth missing from a bad punch several months ago, stands in the center.

"Okay, who's next?"

And that's when he walks to the edge of the tarp that surrounds the ring and the whole room goes quiet. He steps over it and holds out his hand to the stunned referee, who needs a moment to come back to his senses before he takes it. Then he looks out at the crowd with an ear-splitting grin.

"We're going to need one more."

Another man shows up in the ring, he's one Kaito has never seen before, but he's big and tough looking and should prove to be a good match. The referee calls it, and his opponent charges.

Kaito leaves an hour later, his knuckles and cheek badly brusied. It'll take a lot to cover them up, but in his wake are three men out cold, along with all his anxieties and reseravations.

And he feels so very good right now.

By the time Hunny-senpai has calmed down, wiped all the tears from his and Mori-senpai's faces, the crowd has been shooed off by the guards. Haruhi has watched them work. They pushed her and the twins off to one side and left them alone from there. She's determined that the man with the megaphone is the one in charge of the operation. All the guards and the man with the bell look to him every now and then, as if expecting him to give them reassurance of something. The man with the megaphone is too busy pacing and muttering to himself.

He enters the ring. Hunny-senpai sees him over Mori-senpai's shoulder, and his eyes take on that same, dark look that is almost feral. Haruhi shivers.

"What do you want?" he demands.

The man with the megaphone stops short, mouth open in shock. The guards also begin to look uncomfortable, making Haruhi think this is the first time Hunny-senpai has ever spoken to them like this.

The man laughs nervously. "Well, this has all been very nice, but we do need to get going. How about you say goodbye to your friend and-"

"No."

The area seemed to go deathly still. All except Hunny and Mori, who got to their feet and stood in line with each other.

"What was that?" the man with the megaphone asks lightly.

Hunny-senpai smirks. "I'm not going anywhere with you, Togawa. Not anymore."

At this, Togawa's smile fades and his eyebrows knit in anger. If Haruhi wasn't so sure that he was no match for either of them, she'd be worried for their safety. Togawa isn't very tall or muscular, but he has a sharp, frigthening face and it only looks worse when he's snarling like this.

"I don't believe that's up to you, Mitsukuni."

"Don't you remember?" Hunny-senpai answers with relish. "That was our deal when you first found me. I fight for you, and if I ever lose, you let me go. I just lost. Now, we're leaving."

He turns and Mori-senpai follows. They jump out of the ring, leaving Togawa alone to fum. It seems like he was just going to let it go when Hunny and Mori get past his guards with no trouble, and Hunny-senpai looks their way with so much brightness and joy that Haruhi thinks any second now, he's going to explode into rainbows and bunnies and whatever else he has on his mind all the time. Haruhi can't shake the little feeling niggling at her, that this isn't going to be so easy. The way Togawa's eye bore into them doesn't help. Then, his face cracks into a smile.

He snaps his fingers.

The guards run to surround them.

By now, Hunny and Mori are close enough that Togawa must realize they are all together, and so Haruhi finds herself, Hikaru and Kaoru drawn into the fray as well. The twins stand tall, trying to look as threatening as possible for the group of large men who are now pulling an assortment of weaponry out from their jackets. They range from small knives to guns that look too big to be hidden like that, let alone in the hands of men like this.

"Sorry, Kid," Togawa says. Two men part a ways so he can enter the circle. With all his men around, he's acting a lot braver than Haruhi suspects he really is. "I'd love to keep my end of the deal, but I get quite a bit off of you and I can't afford to lose you right now. I'm sure you understand."

He nods to a man right beside him, one who remains unarmed, unlike his peers. He starts to reach into his jacket, and whatever he's about to pull out, it must be something serious. Hunny-senpai moves like lightning, sailing through the air and sinking a knee into the man's nose. He goes down, blood spurting out as he screams in pain. The rest of the men converge, but Mori-senpai is ready for them. What happens next is fast and hard and proves that they have not gotten rusty at all. They render all of Togawa's men unconscious. Togawa can only look on coldly, sweat pooling at his brow as things spiral further out of his control. Hunny-senpai finishes off the final man with a jab to the neck, then he signals to Mori-senpai, and the two run at Haruhi and the twins. When they get to them, they don't stop.

"Come on," Hunny-senpai shouts. "Move. Now."

Haruhi doesn't need telling twice, and neither does Hikaru, who hasn't let go of her hand in all this time and is pulling her along before Haruhi can take one step. Togawa shouts at their backs, and Haruhi at first thinks it's just ranting and raving. Then their five sets of footsteps are joined by an undiscernable number. Haruhi looks back, and it seems Togawa has more people working for him than she thought.

"Keep going," Hikaru urges her.

The gun she carries beats against her back to the point that it's uncomfortable, but it's presense reassures her, and also scares her a little. If they can't outrun these guys, there is always another way to slow them down. Haruhi just hopes she can really bring herself to do it. This is the first time she'd ever have to.

Something snaps and a high pitched whine follows. Whatever it is is getting louder and hurting her ears.

"Get down!" Hunny screams.

Haruhi trips over her own feet, pulling Hikaru with her and rolling on the ground. Kaoru drops to the ground beside them, but Mori-senpai appears to have lost his footing at the worst possible time. He is almost crushing Hunny-senpai, on his knees and grunting, reaching futilely for his back and the little brown, cigarette shaped projectile sticking out of his. Hunny-senpai pulls himself free and rips it out for him, throwing it to the ground and crushing it under his foot.

"No... you bastards," he hisses.

"Mitsukuni..." Mori-senpai says, though it comes out more like slurring. As the rest are pulling themselves back up and the adrenaline coursing through them makes them itch to start running, Mori-senpai is slumped over like a bag of bricks.

"What's wrong with him?" Haruhi asks, but a second later, she spots the crushed remains of the dart Hunny-senpai pulled out of Mori's back, and with growing horror, it dawns on her.

So that's how they kept him from escaping.

Without a word, Hikaru and Kaoru pull the larger man up. Even with the two of them, Mori-senpai is two heavy. They each take one arm over their shoulders, his feet are left to drag.

"Go, go!"

Haruhi breaks into a sprint. That's not saying much, since she's slow enough even when she doesn't have fear for her life to keep her moving. And now Hikaru and Kaoru are slowing down, the weight of Mori-senpai's limp body already too much for them. Hunny-senpai is the fastest, but that was true even before, small as he may be. He has to intentionally hold back so not to lose them. Haruhi miserably thinks he could have gotten away long ago if it wasn't for them.

"Faster... faster..." someone is saying. She can't even tell who anymore.

When someone jumps out from behind the bushes, she almost doesn't believe it's real. A brown coat takes up her vision for a split second. Her rifle is being jerked at, the strap tighting around her neck so she can't breathe. Haruhi yelps as best as she can and tries to fight off the now numerous pairs of hands all over her. Fingernails stratch at the base of her neck, finally gaining the leverage they need to relieve her of her sole source of defense. The hands remove themselves from her neck, and only now to Haruhi's cries become audible. Another person shouts, and then there's a hand on her wrist, pulling her violently to the side. She lands in a thorn bush, the sharp points piercing her skin at all angles, but the sensations are mild and fleeting, and Haruhi's heart abd mind are still running a mile a minute and that must be doing something for her pain tolerance.

She crawls backwards away from the bush, aided by the hands that haven't let go of her yet. Craning her neck back, Haruhi catches large brown eyes staring back at her. Hunny-senpai raises a finger to shush her, a meaningless act since he clamps a hand over her mouth as soon as Togawa starts shouting his name.

Haruhi struggles against him to sit up. Even if he won't let her go, she has to see for herself what is happening. She is still disoriented and barely understands how they got here in the first place. Her heart plummets into her stomach when she sees. Hikaru and Kaoru are on their feet, arms held behind their backs and long, jagged knives pressed against their throats. Mori-senpai is flat on his face, so still that Haruhi fears for a moment that they're already killed him. His occaisional twitches and the terribly slow rise and fall of his chest are only small reassurances. There is still the matter of the gun barrel aimed straight at his head by Togawa himself.

Her gun.

"I know you're out there, Mitsukuni. Come on, now!" Togawa pokes at Mori-senpai's head with the gun like he's a fresh kill. "You seemed to like this guy a lot, I doubt you want his brains in the dirt. So come quietly and I promise to let your friends here live and to forgive you. We have a deal?"

Hunny-senpai tenses up, squeezing down hard and making Haruhi wonder if he's forgotton that he's holding her. Angry tears spill down his face as he abruptly looks at her. Their eyes meet for the first time in ten years.

"I pulled you out," he whispers. His grip loosens, and his hand on her mouth slowly slips away. "You were the only one I could grab and- well, I don't think any of them know that you're a woman. The way they were touching you, they would have figured it out fast. You don't want to know what they'd do then."

Haruhi wants to respond, but nothing will come to her. She thinks Hunny-senpai's tears are contagious, but she can feel them welling up, hot and salty. He throws his arms around her without warning, but Haruhi eagerly accepts his hug.

"I am so, so happy to see you again, Haru-chan."

Haruhi grins, loving that childish nickname more than she ever thought possible. Hunny-senpai buries his face into her shoulder, and she rubs soothing circles on his back the way she'd seen Mori-senpai do before. His breath hitches.

"Hey Mitsukuni! Are you listening to me? The clock is ticking over here. I'm going to count to ten, and you'd better be out here by the time I reach ten or I'm starting with your jolly giant. One... two... three..."

Haruhi scrunches her eyes shut as Hunny-senpai goes still against her.

"Four... five..."

"We have to do something," she murmurs in his ear.

He nods.

"Six... seven..."

"I know," he says, resigned. Defeated.

"Eight..."

Right before it happens, Hunny-senpai shifts, pulling ever so slightly away from her. Haruhi doesn't know what he's doing, or what kind of plan he might have. Tamaki and Kyoya were always the ones who made plans. She hasn't the faintest idea what Hunny-senpai is going to do about all this. Not until he looks at her with his eyes dry, and with a gleam in them more mature than she ever thought possible.

"Nine..."

"But I won't let them take you too."

The side of his hand collides with the back of Haruhi's neck. There is a burst of pain and then nothing. Haruhi knows no more.

"Ten!"

Hunny flinches, but doesn't pause in his work for even a second. He knows Togawa and how he functions. He knows the man loves to bluff, even though he will go through with his threats if pushed far enough. He had to wait until Haruhi was completely out and limp in his arms. Pulling her up is too easy. She's as small as ever and maybe even lighter. He places her behind another bush, one without thorns, and covers her with some brush. Soon, she is invisible. None of Togawa's men will bother checking bushes and trees for a runaway with no association to them. Not so long as they have him.

"You hear that, Mitsukuni? I said ten! Now either you come out or your friends die. What's it going to be?"

Hunny-senpai clenches a fist. Someday, he's going to find a way out of this. They're going to make a mistake: not drug him enough, not lock the cage properly, forget to chain him up before the fights begin. When that day comes, Togawa is going to feel everything he's felt and so much more.

He walks out into the clearing. Togawa spots him first, with his hands in the air, and grins. He raises the gun away from Takashi's head and gestures at the forest with it.

"What happened to the other one?"

Hunny shrugs non-chalantly. "Ran off. I don't know where."

Togawa raises an eyebrow disbelievingly. Hunny keep the mask of stoicism up until one of Togawa's men gives a dismissive wave.

"Ah, let 'im go, boss. That guy was too puny to be of any use anyway."

A couple of others nod or grumble in agreement. Togawa purses his lips, stares back at Hunny for the longest time before turning and walking away.

"Whatever, so long as we have our star and a some fresh meat. Let's go, boys!"

Someone grabs Hunny from behind and makes him walk. Of course, it would be so easy for him to free himself, it was laughable. Togawa kept him complicant in the best way he knew. Hikaru and Kaoru marched with the knifes still at their jugulars. One wrong move and they would bleed out in seconds. Takashi was thrown over a larger henchmen's shoulder, Togawa lazily aiming the gun at him again and humming a tune.

Hikaru and Kaoru glance at him. The question in their eyes is clear, and Hunny nods.

'She's safe,' he mouths when no one is looking.

They collectively let out a breath, but any and all relief burns out when they are kicked into moving faster. Hunny looks straight ahead, watching Takashi's head loll from one side to the next. The pain in his heart is unbearable. Years, he spent dreaming that one day they would find each other again. In his wildest fantasies, all the others were with him when that day came. To have it come so close to being a reality, only for it to be ripped out from under him and stomped into the ground like this...

He sees his cage, new straw lining it makes for a soft and itchy bed. A henchmen hands Togawa another knock out dart. Of course they won't lowering any of their weapons from the others until he's no longer a threat. The needle pricks his skin in a familiar spot, and as his world fades, Hunny tries to be thankful, to hope beyond all hope.

Because he has Takashi back, and Hikaru and Kaoru. And because Haruhi won't suffer at their hands now, and because she's the smartest, most resourceful person he's ever known and she has to be alright in the end. They all do.

Because Togawa may be smart, but he's not that smart. He's given Hunny something he didn't have before, he's given him allies.

Hunny's act conscious act is to smile. The day he dreams of is coming...

Haruhi awakes to a dull throbing in her head. As awareness seeps into her, it becomes clear that this isn't entirely true. The pain is coming from the back of her neck and radiating upwards.

She rolls off her side, and her arm which is numb from laying on it too long. She shakes it out until she can feel it again to the tips of her fingers. She flexes them once or twice, using her good arm to try and massage the pain away so she can think clearly. This is what she gets for falling asleep outside in the woods.

That's when the memories of yesterday all come flooding back. Haruhi gasps and shoots to her feet. She runs without thinking about it back towards the town. Compared to yesterday, it's a ghost town. The few people walking around are calm and subdued and minding their own business, and stare at her like she's insane when she runs by.

She gets to the fighting grounds. They are both empty and covered in litter. The fence pieces have been removed, the caravan they came is gone, save some wheel marks that lead down the road and, from her vantage point, seem to go on forever. Haruhi forces herself to breathe slowly, in and out. In and out.

She turns and runs back to the heart of the little village, stopping the first person she saw, the fruit vendor from yesterday.

"Oh, hey there," he says, recognizing her immediately. "Going solo today?"

"Please," Haruhi says desperately. "What happened to those people? The ones who were here yesterday that we asked you about?"

"Huh? They left," the man answers like it's obvious. "That's what I told you yesterday. It was their last day. They started off late last night. They'll be miles away by now... are you alright?"

But Haruhi can't answer him. She's already halfway up the road and around the corner and she never stops once.

She spends two days in the forest. After leaving the town with what little food and water she had left, she followed the tracks the caravan left behind for miles. They lead her into a grassy field, where the trail disappears and there are one too many directions they could have gone in. This happens halfway through the first day, and it's only now that Haruhi has nothing left to hold it all in. Before, she kept her emotions and her thoughts at bay just by putting one foot in front of the other, even when she exhausted, and telling herself, 'keep going... keep going... keep going...'

Deep down, she always knew that this wouldn't work, that something would happen to stop the trail cold. Seeing it meant the end of her ability to deny it, to deny anything. Haruhi sinks to her knees, hands planted on the ground as teardrops slip down into blades of grass. She doesn't know if it's her, or if the temperature really is dropping, but she is so cold. Wrapping her arms around herself does nothing to help. Somehow, it only makes it worse.

She's never felt so alone before, so hopeless. It's been over a week since she was kidnapped, but it doesn't feel like so long now. Had she really had them back for so many days? Had they really stood in front of her and spoken to her and had she really touched them and felt them sleeping beside her every night? It's starting to feel like just a wonderful dream. The cold is biting at her skin.

She keeps moving, even after losing her lead. She picks a direction to walk in and from there, that's all she does. She just walks. The few times she tries to sleep, it won't come to her. She found a bush that grew non-poisonous berries and stored as many of them as she could in her deep pockets. She had thrown all her spare ammo in the lake. Not like she needed it anymore.

By nightfall on the second day, Haruhi's pockets are far lighter than they started out being. She pulls all the remaining berries out and counts them. 46 left, enough for a few more days at least if she's careful. She eats five of them right away to give herself a little more energy. She's running low, though. The lack of sleep is finally getting to her. She has to work just to keep her eyes open, and three times now, she's almost walked into a tree. The sky is unusually dark tonight, even worse than the night after she escaped her kidnappers. The night all of this started...

It had been a long time since she'd thought of her home. Normally, they crossed her mind several times a day, always spoiling whatever high mood she happened to be in. They probably believed her dead by now. If she ever got back, she expected to see a grave stone all set up for her, right next to Nekozawa's. Now who would go and visit them with Renge and the kids? For that matter, how would her father go on, believing her dead? That was the worst thought of all, and Haruhi could only tell herself that they rest of their friends would be there for him, and they would help him through it. They wouldn't let him slip over the edge.

Thinking about her friends was like thinking about her home now. Both made her feel like someone was repeatedly punching her in the stomach, and both stayed with her for hours on end and now, she had no good thoughts to combat them. She just kept telling her to keep going. Even if there was nothing left to go to, just keep going... keep going... keep going...

Haruhi stops to rest against a tree for a moment. That she even found one at all was a stroke of luck in this darkness. Was the sky really so cloudy tonight, or was it just a new moon? Even that wasn't a very good explanation because she seen over a hundred new moons over the years and they were never like this. It was almost like something was blocking it out.

Haruhi turns to the right, where the moon should be coming from at this time of night. There is nothing but an unnatural blackness, something that can't possibly be the sky now that she looks carefully.

"What is that...?" Haruhi askes herself under her breath. She heads towards, taking cautious steps so not to run into anything. What she wouldn't give for a flashlight right now. Hikaru had been carrying the only one.

Getting closer meant and increase in the darkness. Haruhi's eyes struggle to adjust and make out the funny black shapes in front of her. One of them looks vaguely rectangular and is down to the ground. Something silvery hangs off it at the middle. It almost looks like a padlock...

It is a padlock.

Haruhi's eyes widen as she looks all the way up. The farther she goes, the closer she gets to the stars that she can now finally see here, where the trees part.

'This is a wall?'

Someone jumps out behind her. Haruhi has no time to process it. There are hands grabbing her from behind and they are not Hikaru's or Kaoru's this time. The grip is loose enough that she gets a hand free and punches wildly, managing to get her attacker in the ear. He curses and let's go. Haruhi has nowhere else to go, and so she runs at the wall. Once she reaches it, she'll have to turn. There's no way this guy can see her without a light.

A light like the one currently blinding her. Haruhi really has to learn not to tempt fate like this. Another person, stronger than the last, has her now. She struggles and screams but the first man is back, covering her mouth. She fights hard against them, until fingers pinch at a nerve in her neck, and she becomes woozy.

'Not again...' she thinks, and then she's out.

The intruder calms down as they lose consciousness. The fighting stops and his partner pushes away from them. He mutters a few explicitives, walking around the area to look out for anyone else. With everything happening lately, the odds of this guy having accomplices is pretty good.

"I don't see anything," his partner says. "It's too dark. Let's just go back inside and put this guy in a cell. We'll look again when the sun comes out."

He nods and throws the young man over his shoulder. He's extremely light, almost like a woman. He was stronger than he looked, though. Just about got away from them there. His partner pulls out the gate key and fumbles with the lock for several moments. He's never been known for his patience and gives a loud sigh.

"Can we move it along?"

His partner turns around and may be glaring. It's hard to tell. "You want to try this then? Forgive me for being a little nervous right now. This is the second intruder we've had today. Do you have any idea how angry Kaito-sama is going to be when he finds out about this?"

He shakes his head and his partner gives him a 'forget you' wave, then goes back to work. He gets the key in and the door unlocks, and the two of them and their latest capture walk into the enormous town amid lights that illuminate the streets.

A/N: Okay guys! This is the final chapter before the big one. I am shaking, I'm so excited.

We are almost a third of the way through this story. It is something of a three-parter. Next chapter will be the end of Part 1, and Part 3 will start another 11 or so chapters later.

Some of you have been asking about Kaito's importances to the story, and a few others have made guesses. I can tell you that all your questions will be answered in the next chapter, which I should hopefully be posting at least by next week. I wouldn't make promises since I do not have a good track record for keeping them at all, but I am pretty damn motivated to write the next couple of chapters. I'll see you then!