A/N: Well, you know this was actually supposed be done at ten chapters. We've still got a ways to go.

Jossi-31 - I have every intention of doing so! And I'm very glad that you're enjoying this so much.

It had only been two days since Amano and Yukari had shown up and Van and Ozuru found themselves competing for Hitomi's attention. Neither was being immature about it, but that didn't mean it was a friendly competition either. For Ozuru's part he's her adoring boyfriend and very understandably does not appreciate another man trying to take her away. In Van's case he's her Pairbond; it's not a pull that can be ignored. It's also a bond that is supposed to be treated as sacred. Ozuru didn't know any better and Van is an inherently nice person, so he let it slide. Any other man of the Dragon Clan would have (at best attacked) attacked him. They were called the Dragon Clan for a reason - and it wasn't arrogance or ego.

Because Hitomi's family had to leave soon (that afternoon), due to work, neither man expected things to get any less frosty between them. If anything they were worried that things might escalate, so when Hitomi's grandmother announced that she would be staying with Hitomi both men were relieved... Much to the old woman's amusement. With Rhum's permission Yukari and Amano were allowed to stay as well; they were worried about Hitomi and things were teetering on the edge of violence back in the city. With Yukari pregnant no one wanted the couple risking going back. As things stood the Kanzaki's were reluctant to return for the same reason, but they did anyway because they had responsibilities that they couldn't just ignore (however much they wanted to). Rhum gave them an open invitation to return anytime they wished. They intended to visit Hitomi whenever they could manage it, but were expecting there to be delays.

Hitomi watched them leave, worried about their safety. Hitomi's grandmother stood beside her watching as well as they left, worried that her husband - who was going with them out of xenophobia - was not going to be there when she returned home. Both of them sighed at the same time and shared a brief, amused smile at that before returned to watching their loved-ones' retreating forms.

Van wanted to wrap an arm around Hitomi's shoulders, but Ozuru had made certain to be the one standing next to her. When Ozuru shyly put his arm around her waist Van quashed the mental image of strangling the man. He reminded himself that all the Humans he had ever met who new about it saw Pairbonding as... Primitive, a leftover from earlier times when they needed it for survival. None of them seemed to realize that it was, in fact, the exact opposite. They less developed the race the weaker anything like a Pairbond will be, if only so that they'll continue to breed rather than wasting away after loosing their partner. The more developed a race is the stronger it will be simply because more developed races live longer and the longer one lives the more they need that devoted companionship. Loneliness can twist a person up into pieces within a Human lifespan, let alone what it could do to someone from a longer lived race.

Folken was a good example of this.

After Hitomi had left Van had gotten the chance more than once to think back on why his brother had gone mad over the ascension to the Dragon Clan throne. It was a little over three years ago that he finally realized his brother's behavior exactly fit what could roughly be translated as Desolation Madness. It happened when a man from the Dragon Clan was without companionship for too long. It was called that because the one experiencing it felt desolated inside. The Madness twisted the sufferer until they couldn't think right anymore and became violent and constantly angry. Morals tended to go out the mediphorical window at that point. Eventually they went completely insane and self-destruct. If they're like Folken than they do this on a... Grand scale. When the women of the Dragon Clan became that lonely suicidal depression would set in instead.

The next day Ozuru was well enough that he was able to return to his work site and although he didn't want to leave Hitomi alone - he could see the beginnings of depression overtaking her again - he needed to check in with them. Rhum had specifically asked him to act as liason for his people after learning what would be entailed with the mine's presence. Ozuru couldn't say no; to many other lives were going to be effected by that mine for him to ignore for selfish reasons.

So off he went and hoped that Lord Van didn't steal his girlfriend while he was gone.

It was later that day when Hitomi found herself sitting on the porch surrounding Van's house watching Meryl and her husband - Tyrone - play with their children and trying not to wish for some of her own. She still had another three days of recovery before Taro would let her do much of anything, so she was spending most of her time... Bored. The all-to-familiar melancholy of depression was settling over her again and although she tried to fight it off, Hitomi couldn't seem to quite win. But then that was normal; this was a battle she never won without medication and even then they only gave her a little ground.

Hitomi looked up in surprise as Van seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere and silently sat down next to her. Without her even noticing it the melancholy eased. When he turned to smile at her it melted away altogether and her subconscious started making wedding plans and designing a nursery... Which was what Meryl and Tyrone had been trying for when they decided to play with the children right where she could see them.

Ozuru returned the next day with an offer from his liberal-minded boss to meet with Rhum and discuss any concerns. Luckily, said boss is also very pro-be-environmentally-friendly. Oddly enough, that seemed to include any locals.. Whatever their reason it meant they were genuinely concerned about local rural communities and the surrounding environment.

It was why Ozuru liked working for them.

Rhum was pleased by this response and asked Hitomi if - in three days - she could act as translator for him. She readily agreed. When Ozuru relayed the response to his boss they were relieved that it was going to be in three days since there were problems at the head office that needed to be sorted out before they could proceed with any negotiations.

Until then Ozuru was spending all of his free time with Hitomi, explaining what was going on, telling her who was who and how to identify them... But also just talking about random things. Most of those random things were actually embarrassing anecdotes from his life because they made her laugh. He didn't mind making a fool of himself if it would make her feel better when she getting depressed again. It also helped that Ozuru could laugh at himself.

Van watched them as Hitomi laughed at something Ozuru was telling her. He felt... Jealous. It wasn't an emotion that he liked and, truthfully, he wished he didn't feel it. Yet he couldn't get rid of it, so he decided that he was going to find out what makes Hitomi laugh. He had a feeling that he was going to bungle it a few times before he got it right. Then he remembered that her two best friends and her grandmother were available to talk to... Well, her friends disapproved of his behavior, so, actually, they were out. Her grandmother, though, would understand.

He wondered where the old oracle had gone off to...

A/N: As always please, please review!