A/N:

Another chapter for you! I worked hard on this one you guys! I have never been great at writing fight scenes, but I tried extra hard for you all. :)

Before we start the chap, can I just say how awesome all you reviewers are? I have gotten some great feedback. I really appreciate it so much. It's a great vote of confidence when someone likes your stuff. Even the criticism has been awesome, and it's enabled me to improve as a writer. So thank you!

Please enjoy!

A light knock at the door made her straighten up and look away from her small meal.

Tenten looked at Shino and raised an eyebrow. "Who could that be?"

"Akane," Shino answered without hesitation, calmly returning to his food. She stared at him for a second, dumbfounded, before she remembered that he almost always had kikkai posted outside.

So he thinks he's smart, she thought with a crooked smile as she stood up to answer the door. Sure enough, it was exactly who Shino had said it would be.

"Hello, Akane-chan!" Tenten greeted, trying to act surprised.

"Good afternoon, Nanami-san," Akane said with a smile and a bow.

"And to you, too," she said politely. "What brings you here?"

"I'm just delivering a gift from the hotel," she replied, holding out a small, white envelope. Tenten took it and turned it over in her hands to examine it.

"A gift?"

"Yes, we're so sorry that housekeeping didn't get to your room yesterday morning," Akane apologized with another bow. "It's a coupon for a beauty treatment at the bathhouse. Please accept our token of gratitude for choosing to stay here."

"Oh, thank you," Tenten said uncertainly. She tucked the parcel into the folds of her kimono.

"I'll see you around, Nanami-san," the young girl said cheerfully. "Have a great day!"

"You too," she replied, waving as she bounded away. She shut the door and turned to Shino, who was looking at her with puzzled expression.

"Housekeeping did not miss this room yesterday morning," he said.

"I know," she agreed, walking back to her place across from him quickly and pulling the letter out. Instead of a coupon, one small scrap of paper rested in the envelope. Tenten turned it over to read it:

Nanami, meet me alone in the East atrium at 8:00 tonight

Tenten blinked a few times before absorbing what it really meant. Finally, she looked up at Shino, who, despite his patience, was obviously curious about what the note said.

She handed it to him before jumping up and running back to the door in the hopes that Akane was still close-by.

"She's gone," she said, disappointed that she hadn't had the foresight to ask her more about who it was from. She turned to her partner, who was silently analyzing the note. "Who do you think it's from?" she asked, her heart pounding with anticipation. Even if they didn't know who had sent the letter or why… it meant that they had finally somehow come across a new lead in their investigation!

The minutes after that had seemed to tick by so slowly; every hour after that brought more apprehension as they discussed who could have possibly sent the message.

By eight o'clock, the light from the sun was almost completely gone and the air was growing cold. Tenten walked quietly toward her destination—the East Atrium. Whoever had sent the message had picked a good time to talk, she thought. A huge party was going on in the town square, and it felt like almost everyone had gone outside to join in the festivities. If anyone was still lingering inside, they were either sleeping in their rooms or working in the kitchen to provide food for the celebration.

Any excuse to party, she thought cynically as her footsteps echoed through the halls.

She was feeling nervous. There were so many risks involved in what she was doing right now—so many things that could go wrong. She was all too aware of the danger she could be walking into, but the knowledge didn't ease her worries.

Although she had assured him that she'd be fine, Shino had almost told her to stand down right before she'd left. In fact, he hadn't wanted to take the risk at all, but she'd convinced him that it was a worthwhile lead. She was eager for new information, anything that could help them solve their case and go home. Although it was unsafe, they finally had a chance to gain some valuable data.

"Safety is your number one priority," he'd told her, "do not forget that. If you feel that you need back-up, just say so. My kikkai will hear you and I will be there."

She could sort of feel his presence right now through the bug that was positioned somewhere on her body. It was kind of weird, but it was also a huge comfort—he would be able to see and hear everything that was happening. If she got into trouble, he would be there to help her.

Speaking of Shino… she wondered exactly where he was. When she'd left, he was still in the hotel room, but she guessed that he'd be a few hallways away from her by now. In order to avoid spooking their possible asset, he wasn't going to be anywhere too close. Instead, he'd be watching and listening through his kikkai, and if she was attacked, a flood of bugs would likely assail her opponent.

She stopped in front of a glass door—this was it. The East Atrium.

She glanced around to make sure that no one was watching her before delicately turning the handle and entering. She closed the door behind her but made sure it was unlocked, just in case she really was walking into a trap and needed to make a run for it.

The room was dark, lit only by the moonlight that trickled in through glass windows. The atrium, much like the garden, was a work of art; flowers and plants bloomed throughout the room in a jubilee of colors and shapes. The room was large, enough to accommodate several exotic trees, with vines covering the walls and hanging from the ceiling. A light floral fragrance wafted through the room, and the floor was even heated.

It was gorgeous in here, gorgeous enough to make Tenten wish that she could have visited this place while not on a mission. It was a shame that she didn't have the time to fully appreciate the beauty of the room.

She glanced around the room with sharp eyes, looking for something; a shadow, a hint of movement. It was eerily quiet here, and she wondered if her caller was late - or worse, getting ready to attack. She placed a hand near the knot of her obi where a sheathed kunai hid.

"Hello?" she called, her senses heightened from anticipation. She received no answer and chill ran down her spine. On second thought, this room wasn't exactly beautiful—it was actually pretty creepy in the dark.

She waited for a few tense moments, her ears picking up the slightest hint of movement coming from right in front of her. She couldn't be sure if it was a person, or just the building settling. Either way, it only made her trepidation worse.

She almost wished that someone would attack. Anything would have been better than the tension that was wound up tight in her gut.

"Be quiet and listen." A voice echoed through the large atrium, and it took a considerable amount of self control not to jump. Tenten's eyes strained for the source of the sound.

Out from the shadow of a willow stepped a figure clad in a dark kimono with flowers decorating the edges. Dark hair was tied up into an elaborate do, and her lips were painted dark red. In her hands she carried something, although she couldn't tell what it was yet due to the dark.

Suki.

Tenten kept her mouth shut, for now willing to obey the woman's request for silence. Her mind was racing—why in the world would Suki of all people ask her to meet in secret? So many possibilities entered her mind at once: was Jin nearby? Was she going to be attacked? Was Suki going to give her information?

Dare she hope that her plan to turn Suki was rooted in reality? Maybe Tenten didn't have to reach out to her at all, and she was coming to her on her own. But did that mean that Suki had made her and Shino?

There was no telling until she heard what Suki had to say.

Shino watched Tenten move through the hallways silently, felt the air move around her as if he was actually with her. In reality, he was occupying one of the empty rooms near her destination; not too close, not too far away.

The number of kikkai he'd had out on reconnaissance had been drastically reduced since this morning. Before, he'd assigned bugs to watch over areas of the whole entire hotel: places like the kitchens, the employee's dorms, and the outside of their room. But now he was focused solely on Tenten's safety, which meant that his kikkai were able to see and hear everything very clearly.

This was the way he preferred to do things. It was easier to focus on one or two of his kikkai than it was to pay attention to fifty.

However, there was a specific reason that he had narrowed his focus onto his partner. He had a bad feeling about this meeting.

She had assured him that she would be fine, and the only reason he'd let her go to meet with the sender of the letter was because he trusted her judgment. She'd proven time and time again during this mission that she knew what she was doing. After all, what reason did he truly have to avoid this meeting? Tenten was extremely capable.

Would he tell her not to go because it was the wrong move, or because he wanted her as far away from danger as possible for his own personal reasons?

So he'd ignored his private misgivings and given her the go-ahead, making a silent vow to observe her very closely and ensure her safety. If she encountered any danger, he would be able to intervene.

He could hear her steady heartbeat through his kikkai, who had perched itself near the collar of her yukata. From there he could see and hear everything; he could be there without really being there.

"Hello?" Her voice filtered through the bug and it took a look around the room.

After a few moments, another voice: "Be quiet and listen." Instinctively, the insect leaned forward in search of the source of the sound—its eyes could perceive everything easily in the dark. But just before he could identify the owner of the voice, his own senses alerted him to another presence close by.

Shino opened his eyes, brought suddenly back to his own space in the empty room. He could feel a presence on the other side of the door, footsteps creaking alarmingly close to where he was. Gripping a kunai, he slipped into the shadows. Most likely it was just someone passing by, but if an unsuspecting guest decided to enter, they wouldn't be able to see him. He could make a quick escape through the window.

He strained his ears, and he considered sending one kikkai to scuttle under the door to see who had stopped there. Before he could, however—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

His body tensed. Why would someone knock on the door of an unoccupied room?

Knock. Knock. Knock.

He could see light from the hallway creep under the door, and the shadow of feet move.

Knock. Knock.

The handle twisted, but the door was locked. He felt his bugs practically rumble beneath his skin in anticipation.

"Let's just open this door, shall we?" a voice called out from the other side.

Shino didn't answer. He hadn't heard Jin's voice very many times before, but the deep tenor of his voice was unmistakable. He could hear the light jingling of keys and the gears of the lock. He knew that for a few moments he would be hidden, and in that time he would need to decide whether or not to set his kikkai the man on the other side of the door. He would only have a few seconds to gain the upper hand if Jin indeed intended to attack him.

The door opened, and from the shadows Shino watched Jin enter the room. The man's dark eyes flitted around the room and found him within seconds.

"You couldn't have just saved me the trouble, could you?" he asked.

Shino moved quickly.

A swarm of kikkai burst forth from his body as a distraction as he launched himself out of the corner and toward the hotel manager, but the man had already disappeared. The image of his body flickered for a second, an afterimage of what had once stood there, as he appeared behind Shino.

The Aburame swirled around, having almost expected the change in position. There was a loud, metallic clanging, the meeting of two kunai, and with a measure of regret Shino confirmed to himself that Jin was, in fact, some kind of shinobi.

He had been so reluctant to make assumptions, but all doubt was erased from his mind. He pushed back on his feet to create some distance from his opponent, keeping his keen eyes on the target. For an instance, Shino was taken aback—was the other man baring his teeth at him? Or was it a manic grin?

"Ah, so you aren't the run-of-the-mill bodyguard, I take it?" Jin asked, the dim light glinting off his teeth.

Shino once again declined to answer. With a wordless command, his insects once again swarmed, this time in Jin's direction. The man stood unmoving as the kikkai crawled all over his body, covering and devouring every ounce of chakra they could. Jin's chest heaved with great, hyperventilating breaths and his huge smile never ceased.

The bug-user narrowed his eyes. When they'd first arrived he'd observed Jin's distinct lack of chakra reserves, and now they seemed endless. What justu could suppress chakra output that effectively?

He had no time to ponder the question however, when Jin began to laugh. The sound sent chills down his spine and even his obedient kikkai began to hesitate in their attacks. He willed them to continue to absorb as much chakra as possible, but after a few seconds he realized that it wasn't working. Energy seemed to be coming off the other man in intense waves of heat and the insects began peeling off his body in an attempt to stay alive.

"Not an ordinary bodyguard indeed," Jin's deep voice rang through his ears.

"No," Shino answered, withdrawing his bugs in order to come up with another tactical approach. He'd already decided that it was no coincidence that he and Tenten were separated in this moment, and he needed to end this fight so he could get to her. There was no telling what kind of situation she was in right now. For the moment, he ordered a few extra kikkai to slip out of his body and go to her; if she was in trouble then she would at least have a small measure of help. The rest he called back to wait beneath his skin.

"What is a man with a bloodline limit doing as a bodyguard?" Jin asked with a sneer, his body almost aglow with the intense light of invisible chakra.

Shino wasn't sure where Jin was getting his bodyguard theory, but at the moment he did not care. "Work is hard to find," he played along.

He smirked and shook his head. "Perhaps I was wrong all this time. So what is it? Are you a shinobi down on his luck? Another missing nin?"

Another missing nin. That statement alone shattered many of the theories that he and Tenten had dreamed up over the course of the past few weeks. They had guessed that Jin may have had something to do with the notorious missing shinobi; perhaps he had helped him pass through Kurohara unnoticed (or maybe he was the missing nin). But from the way he was speaking now, Shino suspected that he may have actually brought the criminal to harm.

"You've come across more before me?" Shino asked, knowing full well that Jin would likely not divulge any more information.

"I've come across many before you," he replied, his voice darkening. The smile fell from his face and was replaced with an angry snarl. In the blink of an eye he was up close to the Aburame, his hands and body moving with astonishing speed as he wielded a kunai.

Shino kept up, blocking every blow with equal velocity. He was normally a long-range fighter, but he was well-versed in close-range combat as well. His yukata wasn't designed for fighting in but he moved quickly and gracefully nonetheless, matching every strike, avoiding every hit.

Jin's fist flew out toward him with incredible force and he ducked, responding with a roundhouse kick that his enemy avoided easily.

Damn! he thought, clenching his teeth and avoiding another hit. They were equally matched, and for some reason his kikkai were ineffective. He needed an advantage, some weakness to exploit so he could gain the upper hand.

Suddenly, Jin leapt back and held his kunai at his side, watching him with an intense gaze. Shino didn't follow, choosing instead to take a defensive stance and analyze his rival. He looked relaxed, actually, which made him nervous—what did Jin know that he didn't?

"You're good, better than some I've met," Jin said, not once taking his eyes off Shino. "That's most likely due to your bloodline limit. May I ask what family you're from?"

"You may not," the spiky-haired shinobi replied.

Jin gave a short chuckle. "Of course not, what was I thinking? Please forgive me, Souza-san… if that is your real name."

Shino tightened his grip on his weapon. He had no response.

"There's no point in fighting any longer, Souza-san, so save yourself the trouble and put down your kunai."

"You'll understand if I choose not to," he replied calmly.

"By all means, hold onto that last bit of hope," Jin sneered. "But soon you won't be able to hold onto anything."

"Explain," Shino said, narrowing his eyes.

"I may not have been born with a bloodline limit, but my family had something similar. A craft passed down from generation to generation—poison."

Shino was suddenly vaguely aware of a dull thud and he looked down to see that his hand had loosened its hold on the kunai, just as Jin had predicted. A thread of fear wound itself around his spine as he looked down at his numbing body and fell to one knee.

How had this happened? He hadn't even felt a blade penetrate or slice his skin; there was nowhere that poison could have been injected.

"Once it touches your skin, it's absorbed into the bloodstream. It may be a little complicated for you to grasp," the other man explained, walking toward him. He leaned forward and fell onto his hands. He couldn't even feel the floor. "But you only need to know one thing: you are going to die soon."

Shino's body slumped to the floor face-down, but Jin turned him over so that he was lying on his back. He couldn't feel anything, not the cool ground, not the slight nudge that Jin gave his ribs. Worst of all, he couldn't feel his kikkai.

He was so used to the swirling and pulsing of his constant companions, that the absence of those sensations caused him a deeper fear than he'd ever felt.

"You're probably wondering why the poison doesn't affect me," Jin sighed. Shino could hardly hear a word through the blood rushing in his ears. "It used to hurt me, you see, but not anymore. Isn't that strange?"

Jin's face was the last thing Shino saw before his vision went black.

Suki approached Tenten with purpose, her face set with grim determination. The kunoichi stayed quiet, knife ready in case she tried anything.

But instead of drawing for a weapon, or signaling some hidden enemy to attack, she shoved a bag into her hands.

"There isn't much time," she said. "But if you leave now you might make it. There's a group of people leaving the village by carriage in ten minutes, and they're willing to take another passenger. They aren't headed to Hiroshi, so once they get to the base of the mountain, you're on your own."

Tenten stood shock still as Suki placed a scarf around her shoulders. She had been prepared for many scenarios, but this was not one of them. "Excuse me?"

Suki frowned and spoke clearly, as if she were addressing a small child. "You need to get out of here. This is your only chance to leave and you need to take it now. I'm sorry about your friend, but he's not going to make it." That statement set off alarm bells in Tenten's head, and the anticipation that had once taken residence in her belly turned to dread. Was she… talking about Shino?

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tenten stepped away, eyeing her companion in the dark. "What do you mean my friend isn't going to make it?"

"Look, there isn't time for this," the other woman said, growing exasperated. "We know who you are, okay? So it's time to get the hell out of Kurohara, do you understand?"

Tenten took that as her cue to drop the bag and draw her kunai. Her mind was suddenly racing—was their cover blown? More importantly: where was Shino?

"Look, that kunai doesn't do anything but make you look tough, and it won't do you any good once he gets here!" Suki said harshly, her voice just above a whisper. "You need to leave right now!"

She felt a surge of irritation and moved herself into a defensive position. "Who do you think I am?" she asked, dropping her air-headed act completely. Nanami was finally, gone, and it felt good to be Tenten again, even if it meant that she was in danger. Besides, she needed to know if she and Suki were on the same page—if they weren't, she was going to rectify that as soon as possible. She had a feeling that her life—and Shino's life—depended on it.

"What do you think you're doing with that sharp knife, little girl?" Suki asked with a condescending sneer, her hand moving to reach into the folds of her clothes. As soon as she saw the movement, Tenten pounced, pushing the other woman hard into a tree and pressing her sharp kunai against Suki's throat.

"Now you listen," she warned, moving the kunai a little so that it would shine in the light, "make one wrong move and I'll cut you open, do you understand?"

Suki relaxed a little in response, and the weapon's mistress thanked her lucky stars that she was at least cooperating a little. She continued pinning her to the tree as she frisked her.

"Copping a feel?" Suki ground out as her hand reached into the folds of her kimono. Tenten scoffed and pulled a knife out of the other woman's bindings and chucked it away into a bush. She continued her search and found more weapons: a kunai and some shuriken.

"Explain these," she said, holding out one of the throwing stars.

"A girl's gotta protect herself in this business," Suki said.

Tenten nearly stabbed her right then and there. A nagging, curious thought took form in her mind as she weighed Suki's weapons in her hand. These were not toys, she realized, but ninja-issued weaponry. She would know, after all—she was the weapons expert. She hated to think it, but… she had a theory.

There was a part of her that didn't want to believe it, but she needed to ask:

"I'm going to ask you a question, and Kami help me if you don't tell the truth," she said, feeling sick to her stomach. She knew the answer deep down. "Are you a kunoichi, too?"

The silence that followed the question told her all she needed to know.

"Where are you from?" Tenten asked. As predicted, Suki said nothing, answering instead with a fierce glare. One last question: "Are you from Suna?"

This elicited a surprised answer: "What?" Suki asked, tensing up once again. "Who are you?"

Tenten immediately loosened her grip and lowered her weapon. She stared at the call girl, shocked. As much as she wished it wasn't true, she had to face it.

Suki was one of the missing team. But the only female on the team was named Sachi Fujioka, and they looked nothing alike. Still…

"Are you Sachi Fujioka?" she asked, knowing the answer but desperately not wanting it to be true. If she and Shino had spent all this time in Kurohara without realizing that she had been there all along, right under their noses, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

"How… how did you…" Suki's—or rather Sachi's—eyes widened.

"We're your recovery team, you idiot!" she ground out. She could have screamed. How could this have happened? How could something like this have totally escaped their notice?

"Recovery team?" Suki's voice quivered and tears filled her eyes. Tenten could relate, she wanted to cry, too.

"Your Kazekage borrowed us from Konoha," she said, feeling sick. "Drop your henge," she ordered. Normally she would have been more diplomatic, but she was so angry at herself—how could they have missed this? Then again, Suki hadn't seemed to posses enough chakra to maintain a constant transformation jutsu.

"I can't," Suki said. "It isn't my jutsu."

Tenten furrowed her brow. "What—it isn't yours? Then whose is it?"

"It's Satoshi's—or Jin's…"

"Satoshi, he's the other jounin that was with you?" she asked.

So, Jin was actually Satoshi, another one of the missing team. It was hard to get used to the idea, but time was of the essence and Tenten needed to get it together fast. Suki nodded in confirmation.

"How can his jutsu make you look different?"

"It's hard to explain, but I can't remove it. My chakra's almost always drained, I can hardly even form a henge myself anymore," she admitted. "It's a long story, and I barely even understand it. All I know is that he… ran into something."

That didn't explain much, but Tenten planned on figuring it all out later. For now she just needed the bare-bones of the story. "What happened to the chunin that was with you?"

Suki didn't answer, but the silence told her more than words could have. It was clear that he was long gone, most likely dead. She would be able to get the details later, but she was really concerned something far more pressing.

Shino.

"Shino, are you there?" she asked aloud, hoping that his kikkai would be able to hear her. Suki looked at her like she was crazy, but at this moment she didn't really care. Tenten realized that if Suki was right, he was probably in serious trouble, and she needed to find him and help him right away.

The gravity of the situation finally hit her full-force.

Their cover was blown. They were separated. And Shino was most certainly in danger.

She turned to Suki. "Where's my partner?" she asked, shifting her full focus on recovering Shino.

"I wasn't lying when I said that this was your only chance to leave," Suki replied, bending over to pick up her discarded shuriken. "You have to go before he gets here. I'm sorry, but your partner is probably dead."

Tenten could not take that for an answer. She'd be damned before she left a teammate behind to save herself, especially when there was a chance she could help him. "That answer isn't going to work," she replied, hitching up the skirt of her yukata in preparation for running.

"I don't know exactly where he is. The plan was to separate you, and after he's done with your partner he's coming for you. I thought I could… could say you got away from me or something," the other woman said, her eyes shining.

"Are you talking about Jin?"

"Yes," she nodded, her voice low. Tenten couldn't help but feel a stab of pity for her—what had happened to her team? It had completely fallen apart.

"Why save me?"

Suki let out a breath, and Tenten finally saw how very hopeless and isolated she looked. "I was just so tired of people dying," she sighed. "I didn't think either of you deserved it, but you were the only one I could get away. I thought… I thought—"

Tenten placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "It's okay. Thank you," she whispered, her anger slowly dissipating and being replaced by determination. There would be time to figure everything out later, but now she had to find Shino and complete their mission.

"Do you have any idea where Jin would take Shino?" she asked calmly, ready to take off and find him.

"No," Suki replied. "Maybe in your room? Where did you leave him?"

Tenten knew that Shino had followed her, but where he was she couldn't say. Suddenly she felt a tickling on her neck. She scratched lightly and then remembered his kikkai.

His kikkai!

"Shino," she murmured. "Can you hear me? Where are you?" she asked, knowing that he couldn't answer her, but desperate to try anything. She felt more tickling, but this time on her hands. She looked down to see a few black bugs crawling on her fingers and skimming her wrists, almost as if they were vying for her attention. Just as soon as they'd started, they stopped—and they flew off without any warning.

She didn't know what they were doing, but she was sure that whatever path they took, it would lead to their master.

"I know where to go," she said, turning to follow the kikkai.

Tenten ran, eyes straining to keep the kikkai in sight in the dark. They moved fast and they were tiny, so the task was difficult—but she kept up anyway. She ditched her shoes and socks for more traction, and when she looked back she saw that Suki had done the same.

They sped through hallways and down the stairs until they reached the hallway that led to Jin's office, and Tenten stopped abruptly to watch as the insects disappeared underneath the door.

Suki's face had paled.

"You know what he's doing?" Tenten whispered.

"I know where he is," she whispered back. "Listen, Nanami—whoever you are. Whatever we find there, you have to understand… he isn't himself."

"I really don't care," the Leaf kunoichi said honestly, her concerns lying more with Shino's safety than with the sanity of the former Sand-nin. "But you're helping me. Got it?"

Suki gave a short nod and they pressed forward, creeping as quietly as they could toward the door of the office. Carefully, Tenten placed one hand on the doorknob and gripped her kunai in the other. She turned it gently, surprised to learn that it was unlocked, and let it swing open.

The room was empty.

An inaudible breath escaped her lips. On one hand, she was relieved that she didn't have to blaze into the room and take on an unpredictable enemy. On the other hand…

Where in the hell had Shino's bugs gone?

She glanced at Suki, who hadn't skipped a beat. She moved further into the room and behind the desk, where she ducked down and placed her hands on the floor, as if she were feeling for something. Tenten watched her, perplexed—why were they wasting time here? But before she could ask, Suki had somehow popped open part of the floor to reveal a staircase.

How did we miss that? Tenten thought with surprise. Then again, we missed a lot of things, didn't we?

Suki pressed a finger to her lips and pointed down the stairs, telling her without words that Jin was most likely down there. Tenten's eyebrows creased. There was a dim light shining at the bottom of the stairs, but it was so very quiet. She wondered if anyone could really be down there.

Until a voice called up to them: "Don't wait for an invitation. Come down and see me, Suki. Don't forget to bring your guest."

Both women tensed, although by the look on Suki's face Tenten could tell that she was somehow used to the dread that suddenly manifested in the room. The feeling of fear, the loss of warmth and safety. The feeling that she'd experienced once at the shrine.

She tried to ignore her apprehension. Her partner was down there somewhere, and she needed to find him and get him out of here.

A/N:

Ta-da! Cliffhanger! *dodges arrows*

I hope you enjoyed! I promise to update ASAP, especially since I kind of left you off on a suspenseful note.

In the meantime, review? :)