There was blood on the floor, a quiet splat drawing his attention. Another drip, and he blinked.

"Fuck."

Toushiro reeled back, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. It smeared red, and he grimaced, grabbing a wad of toilet paper off the side of the counter. Holding it fast to his nose, he dipped his head back, eyes glazing over as he stared at the ceiling, unfocused on the light. He heard the front door open with a screech and close with a thud, followed by a shuffle in the hallway and the sound of Karin's voice, not calling out to him but instead speaking steady and casual over the phone. Her presence split through the apartment, reverberating in his chest, and he grinned.

"Aren't you going a little overboard?" Karin said as she passed by the bathroom door, growing quieter as she entered the bedroom. Toushiro craned his neck, inspecting his nose in the mirror. "I know it's our birthday, Yu," he heard her say with slight exasperation, her sigh certain, the roll of her eyes likely, "But it's a month away. And turning twenty-four just feels lame."

The bleeding had stopped. With the tissue only half soiled, he wiped up the blood from the floor, tossing it in the toilet and slapping the flush. Next he cleaned the residue off the makeup mirror he'd turned flat, meticulous as he returned it to its original state in the corner of the vanity.

"I really don't think – Yes, I'll ask him. Later."

Toushiro scrubbed his hands in haste, bending at the hip to rinse his face. He caught his eyes in the mirror as he straightened up, his irises bleary, pupils wide. Karin's voice faded into incoherence, easily losing his attention as he shoved his face in a towel, rough and careless as he rubbed it against his skin.

Karin passed the bathroom door again while Toushiro returned the towel to its hook on the wall, silent save for the wisps of her socks along the wood floor. He ran a hand through his hair, fixing it into a proper mess. He glanced at the bag of cocaine on the counter, inhaling quick through his nose. The bag had been full a few days ago, nearly half last night. Now, it had maybe three hits left, bestowing a twinge of panic in his stomach. At the back of his mind, his conscience yelled.

It's getting worse.

Shaking his head, he shoved the bag in his pocket and left the bathroom. Karin was in the kitchen, phone still held to her ear as she scoured the shelves in one of the cupboards.

"Yeah, I did," she said flatly, drawing a package of instant pasta from the cupboard. She inspected it briefly, tossing it back on the shelf with a grimace. Toushiro cast her a lingering look as she whacked the cupboard door shut and swivelled around. She greeted him with a silent wave, her smile just a twitch. "Yeah," she said again, dropping her gaze to the counter, shuffling things around distractedly. "No. I mean, I don't know… He was acting weird."

Toushiro continued on towards the sofa, his back to her as he picked up his jacket, drawing out his carton of smokes and a lighter. He let his coat fall in a heap on the sofa cushion, opting instead for a pullover.

"Yeah, I guess…" Karin sighed. "It's just weird that he hasn't texted or called. He wouldn't stop before."

Toushiro looked at her as she said this, catching her troubled frown. He stuck a cigarette between his lips, tossing the carton lazily so it hit the sofa with a tap and a bounce. He merely quirked a brow when she met his eyes, just for a second before flicking away.

"I will later," she said, fiddling with a lock of her hair, twisting split ends around her fingers. Even without context, he knew she'd lied. "Anyway, I've got to get ahold of some food. I'll talk to you later." Pause. "Love you, too. Bye."

Placing her phone down on the counter, Karin let out a sigh, massaging her forehead with her fingertips. As Toushiro proceeded to pass her by, she granted him her focus again.

"Hey."

He nodded, fixing his hat over his head. "Hey."

"You hungry?"

"Um…" Toushiro hesitated. He knew full well that he wasn't. "Sure, yeah. I could eat."

"Up for Thai food? I'm sick of instant pasta."

He shrugged. "Sure, whatever."

"Cool." Karin beamed, always pleased by the prospect of Thai food. She rounded the counter, slipping her phone into her back pocket. "Give me a sec to change and we'll go."

Toushiro pivoted on his heel, both hands snapping her a thumbs up. He stuck his cigarette behind his ear, returning to his personal nook in the living room to bundle up to go out. Meanwhile, Karin went to her bedroom, throwing a large sweater over her button up and switching to a thicker pair of socks. Spring had supposedly begun, but winter was holding its ground, and it was freezing.

At the back of her sock drawer was a small tea can, which she grabbed along with her large wool socks. Uncapping the can, she pulled out a wad of cash – her savings from the past several months. Only, to her immense confusion, she found just a fraction of what she expected. Her savings weren't grand, but they far exceeded twenty-thousand yen. Or, at least, they did.

"The hell…?" She inspected both the money and the tea can, as though she were going blind. A soft knock at the door made her jump.

"I'm postponing nicotine for you, y'know," Toushiro drawled, his lidded scowl burning through the wood. "Hurry up."

Karin frowned, regarding the items in her hands once more and looking back at the door. Toushiro's lazy footsteps clunked away like a string of heavy breaths, resting somewhere past the kitchen. When the silence hit she blinked, shaking her head and willing her mind to go blank. I'm jumping to conclusions, she told herself, shoving the remainder of her savings into her jeans' pocket. She returned the tea can to its spot behind her slew of socks and closed the drawer, leaving the room in a muddled daze.

She barely spoke two words to Toushiro the entire way to the restaurant, their trip downtown via subway spent in silence. Toushiro sat slouched in his seat, looking half asleep with his neck craned back, eyes fixed on the ceiling, half-heartedly reading the advertisements lining the car. Karin felt cold beside him, huddled into herself uncomfortably, staring ahead at their reflections in the window and going numb. Her mind was muddled, what she initially deemed irrational thoughts becoming harder and harder to shake. It was making her nauseas, the motion of the subway car coiling in her stomach, snaking up through her skull and leaving an ache. Despite this, however, Karin dreaded getting off. She didn't want to continue, to escalate or deal, preferring to just stay on the train for eternity until they were as ghostly as their reflections.

Willing the void, she completely lost track of reality, only coming to on the third shake of her shoulder by none other than Toushiro, looking down at her with a concerned expression. She brushed him off silently, shooting up from her seat as though injected with espresso.

Ten minutes later they were seated at the restaurant, and once they'd each ordered their usual hottest-as-can-be red curry, he asked if she was okay.

"I'm fine," she insisted, immediately curt. He quirked a brow.

"Are you sure?" he pressed. "You've been acting weird since we left."

"I'm just hungry," she muttered, refusing to look at him. She scanned the restaurant aimlessly, resting her chin in her palm, her mind screaming. Over and over again, the notion of him stealing from her rang through her head, becoming more and more plausible each time. How else would over half of her savings go missing? She supposed she dipped into them occasionally, but she couldn't have lost track of it that badly. And even if she had, she couldn't shake the bad feeling she'd stirred up. She could be wrong, but now she needed to know. And more so, if she was right, she wondered what he was even using the money for. She already gave him money every week for his fucking cigarettes.

Turning her focus slowly back around, Karin fixed her gaze on Toushiro. His own eyes were wandering, lips parted and dry, his nails digging absently into his collarbone. It was then that she truly looked at him, rose-coloured glasses shattered, seeing his features in a light vastly clearer than she'd allowed in weeks. He looked strung out.

"Why did you do drugs?"

His face snapped, granting her a mixture of shock and anxiety.

"What?"

"Like, before," she reiterated, as if she hadn't worded it like that on purpose. "Why'd you start doing drugs?"

"Er...why do you want to know?"

She shrugged. "Just curious."

"Uh…" He drifted, dropping his hands to his lap. The waitress came by then, placing their meals down on the table and giving Toushiro a chance to shift in his seat. He pulled his sleeves down over his knuckles, shooting the waitress a short smile and proceeding to fiddle with his chopsticks. "To be honest," he started, detached at the tone, "We were pretty young getting into the industry, and like everyone else, we experimented from time to time. It's just how it goes. When my sister died, drugs just made everything easier."

"By destroying your life, you mean?" Karin couldn't keep the judgement from her voice, not that she really tried. Toushiro didn't look at her, a shadow splitting his face as he stared off to the side.

"Numbed me to the fact," he muttered, so low she barely caught it.

Karin stayed quiet for a minute, spooning her curry over rice. The desire to eat had evaded her, and she frowned at her plate. "Do you think you're different now?"

"Well, my organs are shit, if that's what you're asking."

"I mean as a person," she said, annoyed. "Have you changed?"

"I hope so," he said candidly. A smirk fixed his face, slight and humorless. Karin furrowed her brow. "I'd hate to think I was always this awful."

She opened her mouth to argue, to reject his self-deprecation as she so often did, but the words fizzled on her tongue.

"I'll be right back," he said abruptly, sliding out of his seat and heading in the direction of the bathrooms. Karin watched him go, heart rate skipping as he disappeared, planting an idea in her head.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Karin slipped out of the booth and crept over to his side, huddling down as she grabbed his jacket from where it had been crumpled in the corner. She patted it down, rifling through each pocket like a madwoman.

In one she found the spare key to her apartment, in another she found a carton of cigarettes and a lighter. He didn't have a wallet, just an expired driver's license and a passport held together with an elastic band. Between them, a neatly folded pack of cash had been tucked. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make her sick with the notion that it was hers, and leave her anxious at the thought of where all the rest had been going. Though, even before she searched the other pockets and found his little bag of pills and empty ones with white residue, she knew.

She returned to her seat quickly, gooseflesh running up her arms, reverberating down her spine. A glance at her food made her want to vomit.

"This place is really nice," Toushiro said, announcing his return and setting her skin on fire. He sat down opposite her once more, a dopey grin on his face. "Granite countertops in the bathroom. And the hallway is like a legit art gallery. Fancy."

Karin just stared at him, lips parted dumbly. He gave her an odd look, bloodshot eyes searing into her like a knife.

"You okay?"

"Why do you keep asking me that?"

His grin twisted awkwardly, forehead creasing. "Um, sorry for caring?"

Karin gulped, looking down at her plate. Her eyes stung, and she strained not to blink, tears just beginning to well up. Her throat closed up, sealing her lips shut while her eyes began to openly water, the strong heat emanating from her curry only making matters worse. She sniffed once and loud, squeezing her eyes shut tight and allowing the tears to spill down her cheeks, unable to stand it any longer.

She could feel Toushiro staring at her, and it took all she had not to give in, avoiding his eyes like the plague. She wiped her face dry, looking around the restaurant and signalling her waitress with a raise of her hand. The woman came right over, a flicker crossing over her gentle aged face as she regarded Karins, causing the young girl to flush with embarrassment.

"Is everything alright, dear?"

"Yeah," Karin croaked. She sighed inwardly, clearing her throat. "I'm just not feeling that well all of a sudden. Could we get some take out containers?"

"Of course, dear, right away." The waitress hurried off, but not without shooting an accusing scowl at Toushiro. Karin glanced at him by accident, long enough to catch his frown, the affronted look in his eye. Her cheeks blazed, and she longed to be locked away in her bedroom, her feet kicking to run.

The waitress returned quickly with their containers as well as the bill, which Karin paid right away in cash, tipping more than she could afford solely out of humiliation. The woman bid her goodnight with a warm smile and went on her way, and Karin and Toushiro packed their food up in tense silence. She took his containers from him wordlessly and put them in her backpack alongside her own, leading the way out of the restaurant with an advanced few steps.

The walk back to the station felt like an hour as opposed to ten minutes. Toushiro strolled beside her, smoking leisurely. Karin was still aching to disappear, trembling with the adrenaline of flight. But they were going to the same place, and she couldn't handle the added awkwardness of storming ahead, the added lack of explanation he was bound to want. A part of her told her to fuck it and him and run off and never speak to the lying bastard again, but another part of her silently raged, needing time to think.

Think about what, though? She honestly couldn't answer that. She couldn't think. Her body had shut down, simply going through the motions as she walked along down familiar streets, the air around her clogged with the familiar stench of nicotine, the ambiguous presence of which it hailed still doing the trick to cloud her senses.

"Karin?"

She fought against him, looking the other way. She pretended she hadn't heard him, but felt his eyes like an earthquake in her chest. She noticed him stop, but was unable to predict that he'd grab her arm and yank her back towards him. She stopped just inches from the burning ash of his cigarette, encompassed in his glare, and again, her face burned. He yanked the cigarette from his lips, blowing smoke to the side, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

"Mind telling me what's up?" He ground it out, a huff to his voice. Irritation came off him in waves, and she was reminded of his recent mood swings.

"Nothing."

"Bullshit," he snapped. Her jaw went slack. "I can tell when you're upset, Karin. You were acting weird on the way down and all of the sudden feel too sick to eat Thai food after barely an hour? I call that bullshit."

"Well that's not really your call," she told him, thick with resentment. "You don't know how I feel any more than I know how you or anyone else feels, so how about you back off and mind your own business. I'm sad, big fucking deal."

She stormed off, continuing on towards the metro station at a rushed pace, the bottoms of her boots slapping harshly against the slushy concrete of the sidewalk. It didn't take long for Toushiro to catch up with her, although at a more exhausted rate.

"What are you sad about?"

She scoffed. "You want a list?"

"Hey." He hopped in front of her, stalling her escape once again. He put his hands up as if issuing peace. "Just talk to me, please? What happened? Did I do something?"

She could have laughed in his face; she was on the verge of hysterical. How could he act so innocent? Look at her with such concern, like they were the best of friends, as if the trust he'd gained from her wasn't rotting right before his eyes.

"There's a lot going on is all. Can you just drop it?"

"No."

Karin groaned, pushing past him. She heard him sigh, his presence persisting after her.

"Okay, fine. Don't talk to me," he grumbled. She rolled her eyes. "But at least give me the chance to cheer you up."

She shot him a look, quirking a brow. "Oh? How do you plan to do that?"

"By revealing top secret information," he replied grandly, an impish grin turning the corner of his mouth. She slowed to a stop, slightly intrigued. "I wasn't going to say anything for a couple more days, but whatever… I have a few songs ready to demo. They still need some work, but I think I'm ready for some studio time."

Karin stood quite still, heat biting down her spine. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yep," he assured. "I feel bad for taking so long with it. It took a while to get inspired."

"Wow," she breathed, caught completely off guard.

"The keyboard really helped," he added, sparking a light in her chest.

She knew she'd begun to smile, even though she couldn't quite feel it deep down. She allowed herself to be cheered up, allowed him to think he fixed everything. This was what they'd been working towards, afterall.

Everything else could wait, couldn't it?

"Whenever you're ready, Hitsugaya," Shinji said intently, past the point of impatient. He lifted his finger off the 'talk over' button once again, his face screwed up into an ugly scowl. He threw a look over his shoulder at Karin, gritting his teeth. "What the hell is his deal?"

"I...um, I don't know," she responded lamely, on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Her heart thumped in slow motion, what felt like a cloud of smoke swelling in her chest and making her lightheaded. She stole another look at Toushiro in the next room, that too common sickness covering his face, draining his cheeks of all colour, and while she was worried, she was tired of having to be.

She understood Shinji's anger. When she told him earlier in the week that Toushiro was ready to record, he offered to come in on a Saturday for a special session, solely to get them in as soon as possible. His eyes had lit up excitedly, his previous skepticism replaced with confidence once more. Now, he was checking his watch angrily, counting nearly ten minutes since Toushiro entered the recording booth; ten minutes of absolutely nothing. Karin had chewed her lip to the point of bleeding, her bones rigid and numbing. This was the very last stunt she could take.

"Go in there and find out what's wrong," Shinji snapped, plopping back down in his chair. Karin snapped into motion with a start, arms shooting down to her sides. "Perhaps you could remind him that studio time costs money. Usually."

She merely nodded as she fumbled towards the door, not bothering to speak lest she stutter. Taking a deep unsteady breath, she crossed over into the recording booth, letting the door close behind her.

"Toushiro?" She approached him slowly, feeling supervised and awkward. Toushiro sat on a stool in the center of the room, guitar hanging limp and forgotten in his lap. She wrung her hands in front of her, never a fan of his silent spells, the quiet gloom that chilled her bones. It reminded her too much of her brother, of growing up in that house. "Toushiro… You okay?"

Her voice was barely a blip on his radar, her presence unregistered. Toushiro was finding it hard to breathe, his lungs stalled, pumping empty air and clogging up his throat. His hands trembled lightly, fingers twitching with a lack of feeling. He hadn't had a chance to sneak a fix that morning before Karin dragged him off to the train station, leaving nothing in his system to numb the unease. He couldn't think straight, his mind muddled, head filled with ghosts. Their voices drifted through the static, the chatter of two, the scolding of another, so visceral and clear it was as if they were there with him, fiddling with their instruments like always, counting off with him as though nothing had changed. Checking over his shoulder and all around, he discovered nothing but lone instruments.

The control room lacked a particular face, bright and encouraging, his anchor to sanity stationed behind the glass. He stared ahead, willing her to appear but finding only a disgruntled Hirako Shinji glaring back at him. It all came crashing then, all that he'd tried so terribly to remain ignorant of, to pretend didn't bother him, to pretend wasn't happening – hadn't happened. It punctured his chest, the desolation, dragging his heart into the pit of his stomach.

Karin was at his side, her hand pushing against his shoulder, begging attention. Tears welled in his eyes, scattering across his sunken cheeks as he blinked. Her expression was unbearable, panicked and nervous and wanting an explanation he couldn't even begin to give.

He stared at her for just a second, watching her eyes grow darker as he spoke. "I can't."

Resentment replaced her confusion, drawing her face tight. He averted his eyes, staggering to his feet and passing her by. He slapped his guitar into its case carelessly, slinging it over his shoulder as he left the room. He paid no mind to Shinji or his oddly unbothered reaction, nor to Karin calling after him. He burst into the hallway, gasping for air, heartbeat in his ears. He couldn't walk fast enough, tripping over his feet as he pushed his body past its limit, desperately searching his coat pockets.

"Toushiro, wait!"

He didn't stop, stumbling around like a madman with as much awareness to his surroundings as an infant. Karin sprinted after him, her shoes pounding along the hardwood floor and echoing down the empty corridor. She caught up to him in a matter of seconds, grabbing a fistful of his coat and yanking him back.

"What the hell, Toushiro?!" she fumed. "You can't just walk out like that!"

"I can't be here right now," he muttered, refusing to look at her. He cursed under his breath, raiding his pockets with shaky hands.

"What do you mean you can't be here? This was your idea! You said you were ready–'

"I was wrong!" he snapped, causing her to flinch. He sucked in a flustered breath, covering his face with his hands and rubbing his eyes. "I can't fucking think," he groaned, running his hands up through his hair. "They won't get out of my head."

Karin's brow creased. "Who? What are you even talking about?"

He sighed, shaking his head. "Nothing."

The air was thick between them, Toushiro ready to run while Karin searched the cracks in the floor for guidance. She combed her hair back behind her ears, inhaling slowly. "You just need to relax," she said, attempting confidence in her voice as she looked him in the eyes. "Just take a minute to calm down, and we can go back in and try again."

He stared at her incredulously, going from confused to angry within two seconds. "Have you not heard a word I've said?" he questioned irately. "I'm not going back in there, ever, okay? It's done."

At that, Karin finally snapped. Everything from earlier that week struck her hard, all the pent up frustration and strain of the last several months too much to bear. She was fed up with this farce.

"So, what, you're just giving up? One little anxiety attack and you're just done?"

"Fuck you."

"No, I think you're fucked me over enough."

He scoffed. "Really, come on. I got you in line for this promotion, didn't I?"

"Yeah, and I'm about as close to getting it as you are to finishing an album. Or, staying sober. Keeping any of your promises, really. Most notably not being an asshole."

His glare nearly rivalled her own, nearly. She was just about shaking with anger, her face sharp with a sneer.

"The hell are you going on about?"

"I found your drugs," she told him, her voice surprisingly even. His glare receded, the entirety of his person going slack, inside and out. The trembling in her chest only heightened. "Right after I found the money you stole from me," she added. "What was left, that is. Tell me, how much cocaine and pills can one buy with almost thirty-thousand yen? I'm curious."

Toushiro had gone completely blank. She could see his consciousness swaying in his eyes. "Karin–'

"Did you think I would just never notice?"

"I was going to pay you back," he claimed, desperate. "I was going to pay it all back."

"Pay me back? How? With royalties from songs you're never going to finish?!"

Toushiro sighed heavily, bringing a hand to his forehead. "I don't know, okay? I'll figure something out."

She glowered, stiff with rage. "You know what? Don't bother." She stepped back, hands raised as though surrendering to war. "I'm not doing this anymore."

Toushiro stood aghast, his eyes bulging to their full size. "What? Wait, Karin–'

He tried to grab her arm, but she yanked herself away, recoiling from him. The look she gave him struck his soul cold.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I should've listened to my brother when he said that you'd do this. That you would let me down." Her voice had finally begun to crack, and Toushiro only sunk further, his heart clenching in his chest. "It's what addicts do, right? It's what you've already done to everyone who cared about you. And now me, just another idiot who decided to trust you."

"Wait, Karin, you don't understand." He pleaded with her aimlessly, blanking on what to say, so desperate to fix things but with no clear vision of how. He kept his distance, but wanted nothing more than to latch onto her for dear life. And still, she got further and further away from him. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean… Can we just… I-I don't have anywhere else to go."

"That's not my problem, Toushiro!" she all but screamed, tears springing from her eyes. She could barely look at him, a sharp pang striking her chest everytime she met his eyes. "I can't make that my problem."

"But–'

She shook her head, turning away from him. "Please, just be gone when I get home."

She left him then, walking as fast as she possibly could back down the hallway, refusing to look back. When she turned the corner, she heaved a shaky sigh, about ready to just give in and cry.

However, Shinji was lingering in the doorway of the recording studio, jacket on and phone in hand. They shared a long gaze, hers stinging and red, his cold and entirely too telling. He didn't even have to speak to let her know he'd heard everything. Instead, he simply sighed, swiping his phone open briefly whilst he passed her by. They weren't friends right now, the air tense with disappointment, pure business.

"We'll talk about this on Monday."

Karin remained quiet, unmoving. She waited until he was gone, his footsteps echoing in the adjacent hallway, quieter and quieter until they no longer pounded in her skull, and let herself collapse on the floor. She ran her hands through her hair, holding her head tightly, digging her nails into her skull.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't let it out. The tears welled slowly, excruciatingly so, while her entire body just boiled, refusing to burst.

Karin had hid out in the office for most of the day, filing stacks of paperwork in advance, trying her best to distract herself. There was something oddly comforting about being at work alone, the still quiet like a dream, easier to drift off into.

It was beginning to get dark when she finally headed home, dragging herself slowly. She was in no rush, preferring to get lost in the city, play a faceless role in life and forget about everything for a while. She took the long way around to the station, despite being exhausted and borderline starving.

The bars around the corner from her building had already managed to be full and boisterous, spilling onto the streets. Karin bumped into a few straying drunks on her way across the street, putting her patience in the negative. It was then she was finally in a rush to get home, the illusion shattered and bringing her back to reality. Getting into her apartment, she shut the door behind her with a resounding sigh, relishing the quiet darkness for a moment before continuing on, snapping on the kitchen light first.

The first thing she saw was a key on the counter. Her spare key. Small and singular, almost looking sad in its abandonment.

Only then did it really hit her. She looked around, her nerves seizing once again. In the living room she found no trace of Toushiro, all his stuff packed up and gone.

It was just like she'd asked. Gone by the time she got home, just like she'd wanted. But now, as she stood within the realness of it, felt his lack, a troubling sensation trickled through her veins, her chest becoming heavy.

Without more than a moments thought, Karin was back in her hallway, grabbing her coat and scarf on her way back out the door. She locked her apartment quickly, her heart thumping loud, pulse thrashing in her ears. She hurried down the hallway as she dug out her phone, hitting 'call' on her most unsuspecting contact.

A/N: Sorry AGAIN for taking so fucking long. Lots has happened since the last update, not to mention that this chapter got really hard to write. Not exactly sure why, but I have a hunch it's because it's the first in a group of three chapters that make up the 'climax' of the story. It's when everything hits the fan. So the next two chapters will be really fun, as well as really hard to write. The next chapter has been planned from the beginning, the driving point to writing it in the first place being one of the scenes in it, so I'm excited to finally be getting to it. I'm hoping the next update won't take too long, but it's Christmas time and I'm working two jobs and knitting my fingers to death, so I can't promise anytime soon. But who knows!

But yes, I've kind of worked out the rest of the story, with chaps 10, 11 and 12 serving as a somewhat climax (technically early in terms of story structure but whatever I don't give a FUCK) and then like somewhere between 5-10 chapters afterwards. Hard to say but I like my fanfics to rest around 20 chaps.

SO, any guesses to who Karin is calling? There's a number of people that fall under 'unsuspecting' contacts given that Karin talks to NO ONE lmao. But I'd like to see if anyone guesses right :D

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to more! I'm determined to finish this story ASAP mostly for my own sake and sanity because I fucking love it.

'til next time~