A/N: We're back! Moving quickly along here, let's have Tsurugi do the disclaimer!

Tsurugi: Aki-san doesn't own Inuyasha. It is the rightful property of Takahashi Rumiko. All other things that she's alluded to, mentioned, referenced, drawn from, or incorporated into this story are the property of their owners. Attempting to accuse the author of plagiarism will be a foolish idea, as this here states that she owns nothing but the characters she created and the plot. Without further delay and this matter handled, I present Chapter Twenty-Nine.


Chapter Twenty-Nine: Stolen

"Nani?" Sesshoumaru questioned, coming to a stop, the others pausing mid-stride and standing beside him. "What did you just say?"

Zetsuei muttered a curse under his breath. It would be hard for him to explain his way out of this situation. Not without mentioning the mark. He sighed, meeting the taiyoukai's penetrating stare, hoping his expression didn't look too guilty.

"Your daughter is in danger," he said.

"How do you know this?"

"I…I just do. I had a feeling."

Sesshoumaru arched a brow curiously at the Torayoukai, still not convinced by his explanation. As if on cue, Kyo and Mei Lhi suddenly descended from the sky. The kaze ryuu reappeared in his human form, an ear cocked upward as if listening for something far away.

A breeze stirred the trees before suddenly coming to a stop. Kyo's eyes widened momentarily, turning to look at both Zetsuei and Sesshoumaru.

"He's right," he announced. "Something's happened in the West. We're too far away for me to determine exactly what, but I imagine we'll find out soon. Shippou and Rin are flying to the East to meet us."

The taiyoukai nodded, turning back to address the young Torayoukai. "You and I will speak later," he glanced around at the others. "We must keep moving. Mizumi is expecting us."

Then, everyone was running once again. The East was only another hour away. Sooner, if they could manage it. Trees flew past, their surrounding turning into a blur as they continued to run.

Within a matter of minutes, the gates of the Eastern Lands came into view: gleaming gold, emblazoned with the fiery image of a Nekoyoukai in its true form. Sesshoumaru slowed his pace, coming to a halt before the doors.

"State your business!" a guard shouted.

"We received a summons from your Taisho. We have come upon her invitation," the taiyoukai answered simply.

The gates began to open, a servant waiting on the other side to receive them.

"Mizumi-sama has been expecting you. Please, follow me."

x0x0x0x

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Mizumi said, rising from her throne to greet her guests. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting you all until tomorrow, but I suppose your early arrival works more in our favor. We have time, plenty of time, to plan things out."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "I must inform you, before we begin our preparations, my daughter and son-in-law will be joining us shortly. It seems during the journey here, my home was attacked. I suspect Noboru may have made his first move against me, and in doing so, has proved how foolish of a ruler he is when he is well-aware of what my reaction will be."

The Neko no Taisho gave a nod. "I see. I will inform my guards at the gate to let them in when they arrive," she paused. "Though, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Noboru has taken measures against you. I daresay he's taken more than enough against me."

"Has he made other attempts?"

"He's executed at least thirty young boys. I wake in the morning to find their heads at my door."

"What?" the others shouted in alarm.

"It's why I called you here. I cannot stand idly by while that bastard slaughters innocent children."

"He has to be stopped," Tsurugi agreed. "And he will be, now that we've got Zetsuei."

Mizumi blinked. "Oh?" She turned to look at the Torayoukai, peering at him curiously. "Oh!" she exclaimed, a flicker of recognition in her eyes. "I don't know why I never saw it before. You do look quite a bit like Zenjiro-sama. I've seen portraits in the Neko clan's archives."

The Torayoukai shrugged indifferently, barely listening to the conversation. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest, trying to ignore the feeling of his skin crawling. His instincts were telling him something was terribly wrong. Emotions ran rampant within him as he struggled to contain them all. He tried to go over the myriad of emotions he had felt through Tsukimisou's mark in his mind, hoping to gather some clues as to what might have happened.

He knew the West had been attacked. The first thing he had felt was anxiety. She had been nervous about something. Then there was anger, followed by panic and the desperation to survive. And finally, fear. And then…nothing. Her presence was subdued, but not gone. It was the only comfort Zetsuei had. It meant that she was still alive and hopefully, still alright.

"What are your thoughts on all this, Zetsuei? Seeing as this affects you the most," Mizumi asked suddenly.

The Torayoukai's head shot up at the sound of his name. He'd tuned out the others without even realizing it, too consumed by his own thoughts. There was no way he could pretend that he was coherent enough to entertain this conversation. His nerves were on frayed and on edge.

"I think," he started slowly. "I need some air."

Without another word, he left the Neko clan throne room, running through the halls until he reached the doors leading outside, taking deep lungfuls of the cold air, trying to calm himself down. He looked to the sky, dark now, and twinkling with stars, seeing a shadow against the moon.

A gust of an evening breeze brought the scent of blood, kitsune, and Inuyoukai. Shippou and Rin had arrived, riding on Aun's back, descending quickly. They touched down just outside the wall, entering through the gates. The kitsune was bleeding through a hastily-made bandage, Rin was beside him, her face bruised, holding onto her mate's uninjured arm.

"Stay here," Shippou told the small ryuuyoukai.

Aun bowed its heads and settled itself onto a soft patch of grass, lying down to sleep. The kitsune spotted the young Torayoukai standing outside, walking towards him.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Inside," Zetsuei answered simply. "Come."

The Torayoukai turned away, heading back in, Shippou and Rin's footsteps close behind him, along with the steady drip, drip of the kitsune's blood. The three of them retraced Zetsuei's previous steps, reentering the throne room, to many cries of alarm.

A simultaneous shout of "Shippou!" and "Rin!" rang out from Inuyasha, Kagome, Sesshoumaru, and Hana. The four approached them, each wearing expressions of various degrees of alarm and worry.

"What happened?" Sesshoumaru asked immediately.

"We were attacked, Chichiue," Rin answered. "Noboru's men."

"Torayoukai stealth forces, to be precise," Shippou added. "Which explains why we weren't able to detect them well after they were already inside the wall and several of the palace guards were dead."

"So it was Noboru's doing after all?"

Both nodded. Rin glanced at her father, biting her lip and trying to hold back tears. Sesshoumaru met her eyes, his brows narrowing minutely. The taiyoukai knew that look in her eyes better than anyone.

"What is it, Rin?" he asked. "What are you so afraid of telling me?"

"They…they took Tsuki-chan!" she cried out before the words suddenly began tumbling out of her in a rush. "We were all together in the hall, trying to fight them off, but there were so many! Shippou-kun was already fighting four of them and then he got hurt—they were going to kill him! I had to protect him! I had left Tsuki-chan by herself at the other end of the hall—she was doing fine on her own, using her miko powers to hold them off. I thought-I thought I'd be able to get back over to her in time, but then they got her! By the time we realized what they'd done, they were gone!"

'She's gone. I knew it. I knew something was wrong. God damn it!' Zetsuei thought furiously, using all of his self-control to keep himself from lashing out.

"Noboru's targets were Rin and Tsukimisou," Shippou said. "One of Torayoukai, the one who was in charge, Souzen, he said that he had orders from Noboru to capture them both."

"No, no," Hana whispered. "Not again…not my girls. My Tsuki-chan."

Sesshoumaru placed a comforting hand on his mate's shoulder, just barely in control of his own emotions. "We will find her, Hana-chan. I promise," he paused, drawing his free hand into a tightly clenched fist. "I assure you, if she has been harmed, Noboru will be made to pay for what he's done. There will not be enough words to describe the suffering I'll have him endure for this."

Nearby, Mizumi sighed. "I know this is a very difficult time for you all," she started. "But Noboru might as well have signed an official declaration of war. He invaded your homeland and took Tsukimisou captive. Speaking as Neko no Taisho, ally to the West, and friend to Tsukimisou, the Neko clan's peace with the Tora is over. We must prepare for battle immediately."

Slowly, everyone began to nod in agreement.

"But first, we should at least get Shippou and Rin some medical attention," the Neko no Taisho turned to look over her shoulder. "Mamoru-san! Some help, please?"

The royal physician entered the room from a hidden side door, approaching the kitsune and his mate, a large pack slung over his shoulder, filled with medical supplies.

"Treat Rin first," Shippou grunted. "I'm fine."

"Keh! You're bleeding half to death!" Inuyasha scoffed. "Were you bleeding the whole way?"

"Most of it, I think," the kitsune shrugged. "I wasn't really paying attention to be honest."

"Treat him first," the hanyou said to the physician. "Before he passes out."

"I said I'm fine!"

"No you aren't!" Rin snapped at him. "Inuyasha's right. I can wait. And you could've waited too, while I bandaged you up the first time. But you wanted to leave right away before I could finish it properly!"

Shippou sighed with resignation. "Fine. Me first."

Mamoru reached into his pack for a clay jar as Shippou shrugged out of his haori and inner robe, revealing a large oozing gash.

"You were very lucky, Shippou-sama," the royal physician commented. "You were stabbed with the blade flat, so the wound is horizontal. Had the blade been the right way up, it likely would have pierced your heart, and you would not be here."

"I learned how to use a sword from the best," the kitsune said slowly, as a smug Inuyasha prepared to gloat. "Sesshoumaru," he said, giving his father-in-law a gracious nod, ignoring his adoptive father spluttering in disbelief a few feet away. "I guess all that training you put me through finally paid off and saved my life."

Mamoru nodded. "Indeed. Regardless, the wound is deep and fairly serious," he uncorked the clay jar, pouring its contents onto Shippou's shoulder.

"Son of a bitch!" the kitsune yelled, flinching away. "The hell is that?"

Kagome shot a withering stare at her adopted son. "Language!" she scolded.

"Sorry," the kitsune mumbled. "It really did hurt!"

"Sake, to clean the wound, of course," the doctor stated matter-of-factly, unaware of the brief exchange between the miko and kitsune, as he re-corked the jar, placing it back in his pack and pulling out salve and bandages.

The royal physician began dressing the wound, making a kind of sling with spare bandages that effectively immobilized Shippou's arm.

"No activity with that arm I've just bound until the shoulder wound is healed, Shippou-sama, at least not for a few days, a week at most. Any sort of movement could aggravate the injury and only cause it to reopen. Understood?"

The kitsune sighed, nodding. The Nekoyoukai doctor then turned to Rin, looking her over.

"The bruising on your face should heal in a few hours," he said, probing her cheek gently with a fingertip.

"Ouch," she murmured.

"How hard were you hit, Rin-sama?"

"Anno…I was knocked down and dazed and confused for quite some time."

"Hmm. There may be small fractures, do be careful. The bones, if broken, will mend themselves in due time on their own with your youkai healing. In the meantime, I can put some salve on the defensive wounds on your arms and hands."

"Oh, arigatou."

"You're welcome, dear lady," Mamoru said, bowing low and leaving the throne room.

Mizumi looked around at everyone, seeming satisfied that her newest guests were well-tended to.

"Minna-san, let's move into the conference chamber, so we can begin preparations," she said quietly.

The others nodded, waiting for the Neko no Taisho to lead them. She exited through a side door, the others filing after her, entering a modest-sized room that consisted of a large low table and a dozen cushions to sit upon. One by one, each took a seat until the table was nearly full. Mizumi summoned one of her maids to serve food and drink for the guests, the table laden with various dishes minutes later.

"So, where shall we begin?" the Nekoyoukai asked after swallowing a mouthful of fresh tea, setting the small china cup onto the table.

"The ones I've brought to accompany me here were all generals in the recent battle that took place in Nagashino," Sesshoumaru began. "We will need a strong army to go up against the forces Noboru will amass against us."

"I agree," Kyo said.

"My armies can be ready at a moment's notice," Mizumi said, taking another sip of tea. "How long will it take for you to move troops over here?"

"That depends on exactly how large you wish my contribution of military forces to be," the taiyoukai replied.

The Neko no Taisho glanced over at Zetsuei. "How large is Noboru's army?"

"He keeps a standard regiment of two hundred," the Torayoukai answered after a moment, seemingly trying to repress a shudder completely unrelated to the subject matter of the conversation. "But if need be, he can have that number doubled with some 'volunteers.'"

"We'll need at least five hundred, just to be safe, then."

"We can give you half," Hana said. "And perhaps spare a little more, providing the number of casualties in the West aren't too impacting."

Shippou shook his head. "The invading Torayoukai weren't concerned with killing off as many of us as they could. They just wanted to make a clean, quick getaway. They killed only the ones in their path."

"The number of casualties is less than forty, perhaps even less than thirty. We didn't stay long enough for an exact figure." Rin added.

Mizumi nodded. "Then I'll take whatever you can give me. As for the rest of our forces, I can supply them. I have more than enough soldiers," she broke off, smirking. "It's amazing how many people will volunteer to join the army when someone else is elected Taisho. Hardly anyone wished to support my father when he was in charge of the clan."

"I guess they just like you better," Tsurugi commented.

"So it would seem."

Zetsuei tuned out the others once more, trying to battle back a crushing wave of panic that threatened to overwhelm him. He could feel Tsukimisou's emotions again; her presence was strong once more, no longer subdued as it had been earlier. She was scared but at the same time, trying to remain calm. Her fear became his own; his hands curled into fists, the knuckles turning white.

He had to be calm. He had to be strong for her. If he allowed himself to fear, she'd feel it too. And the last thing Tsukimisou needed, he knew, wasn't more terror. She needed his strength.

The Torayoukai took a deep breath, pressing his fingertips against the mark at the base of his neck. Tsukimisou sensed him immediately. He registered her momentary surprise, feeling as it faded into relief, joy, and comfort all at once.

'I'm here, Tsukimisou. I'm here for you, koishii.'

He knew there was no way for her to hear his thoughts, but somehow, deep down, the words had managed to reach her, as her presence was soothed. He sighed with relief. As long as he could do this much for her, he knew she would be alright.

Slowly, he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness, worn out from the emotional turmoil he had been enduring for most of the day and the long journey to Mizumi's palace from the West. The muted din of the voices of his companions became a dull drone, serving to only lull him further to sleep.

Tsukimisou's presence enveloped him, and then, he was lost.

x0x0x0x

The Torayoukai stealth forces had finally made it back to their homelands, thankful that their captive had not attempted to struggle when she finally awoke. The girl's purifying power packed quite a punch.

"Finally made it," one of the Torayoukai said.

"Thank Kami-sama," another murmured. "So, what's the plan, Souzen?"

"We deliver the girl to Noboru-sama," Souzen answered. "I'm sure she'll make a fine present for our lord."

The men laughed.

"Well, she is really pretty," the first started. "Think Noboru-sama will be generous and share?"

x0x0x0x

Tsukimisou was roughly thrown to the floor, a startled cry leaving her lips. A slow applause met her ears. Slowly, she righted herself raised her head, seeing Noboru seated on the throne raised several steps above the ground, an amused smirk curving his lips.

"Well done, Souzen," the pseudo-Taisho said, lowering his hands back onto the armrests of the throne.

"This bitch was a handful," Souzen responded, pulling off long dark gloves, exposing burned skin. "She has her mother's miko power."

"Oh? How interesting," he said, pausing a moment to think. "When I heard you had managed to catch only one, I was prepared to be disappointed," Noboru began. "But I must confess, I am pleasantly surprised. You managed to capture the more valuable of the two daughters, which I can see, was not at all a simple task."

Souzen shook his head. "It took four of us all at once to subdue her. She's very evasive, light on her feet, and packs one hell of a punch for such a tiny girl!"

Noboru grinned, glancing at his feet. "You were a dancer of some sort, weren't you Tsukimisou?"

The Taishou heiress glared at him but did not answer.

"I asked you a question, Tsukimisou. It's only proper manners to answer when one of your superiors addresses you."

Tsukimisou's expression lightened at the thought of the retort that just came to mind and smiled at the pseudo-Taisho. "When I see a superior, I will be sure to answer him."

The Tora no Taisho gave her a look of pure loathing and behind her, Souzen roared with outrage.

"How dare you disrespect Noboru-sama!"

"Bitch!" Noboru growled. "I am Taisho of these lands! This is my domain!"

"For now," the Inuyoukai girl said.

"What?"

"This land is yours and you are the one who bears the title of ruler here, for now," she clarified. "But that will soon change and you know it."

Much to Tsukimisou's surprise, Noboru started laughing. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, her expression a mixture of irritation and confusion.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"You really think that your father and Mizumi can overthrow me? Honestly, woman, why do you think I brought you here?" the pseudo-Taisho questioned, still laughing.

"I'm your bargaining chip, of course," the girl answered coldly. "I'm not stupid, just because I'm a woman. You wish to use me as leverage in order to manipulate my father's actions," she paused. "I must warn you, it won't work. My father knows full well what needs to be done. He also knows that if he cooperates with your wishes, once you've achieved your means to an end, I will be disposed of, for at that point, I would be of no value to you. The only way for him to get me back safely is to continue to oppose you. I'll see him again when his armies breach the Tora lands' walls and he comes to personally rip you apart."

"You have a lot of faith in your father."

"Of course I do. Because I know he'll win."

"That's what you think, dear girl. Your blind faith will be your undoing."

"As it will be yours. You believe that you'll always have dominion here, you'll always have power. But once you're defeated and Zetsuei takes the throne—"

Noboru rose from his throne incensed, moving faster than the blink of an eye, backhanding the Taisho heiress across the face forcefully, his expression enraged.

"—don't ever speak that name in my house!" he roared.

The blow had sent Tsukimisou back down to the floor. She had barely managed to catch herself with her hands, pushing herself back up again, glaring up at the pseudo-Taisho, a cold fury burning in her eyes.

Noboru towered above her, his eyes boring into hers. "You will learn to mind your attitude while in this house. That includes knowing when to hold your tongue. Failure to do so will result in consequences. Do we have an understanding?"

Tsukimisou continued to glare at him, biting her lip to resist making another retort.

The Tora no Taisho noticed her struggle, smirking. "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" he taunted. "You're learning already," he then turned to the head of his stealth forces. "Souzen, be sure that our guest is made comfortable, but not so comfortable that she'd be readily able to escape."

Souzen nodded. "Yes, milord."

The Torayoukai then reached down for Tsukimisou's arm, his hand holding her in an iron grip as he prepared to lead her away. Noboru continued to smirk at her, watching as she was being steered out of the room.

"Oh, and Tsukimisou?" he prompted, just as she was about to step out the door. "Enjoy your stay in the East."

She turned to growl at the Tora no Taisho, knowing that the next words she planned to say were unbefitting of a lady and would also fuel Noboru's rage. Whatever consequence she would endure for this, would be completely worth it. She met his eyes, the trademark coldness in her expression that so resembled her father's.

"Go fuck yourself."

Tsukimisou had all of one glorious second to smirk triumphantly at the stunned Noboru before she tasted blood in her mouth and everything went black.

x0x0x0x

Zetsuei's eyes snapped open, his hand withdrawing from the mark at his neck to massage his jaw, feeling Tsukimisou's pain as if it were his own. Her presence had faded again. Whatever Noboru had done to her knocked her unconscious.

He could feel her quite distinctly while asleep. From what he had managed to feel and sense through her, he knew that she was here, in the East, with Noboru. He also knew that his uncle had harmed her. The very thought that Tsukimisou was hurt and it was by Noboru's hand, infuriated him to no end.

Breathing deeply, he willed himself back into reluctant calm, consciously making an effort to focus on the others, still deep in conversation, in hopes of having a distraction from the rage threatening to claw its way out of him. He forced himself to listen, catching the tail end of a rather lengthy speech Sesshoumaru was making.

"—and when everything is prepared, where shall the final battle be staged?" the taiyoukai asked.

"There is a place twenty miles from here, a wide field that is an unclaimed land. No youkai clan has any ownership over it. It is situated between the outer borders of both Neko and Tora lands, a perfectly free zone for us to stage a confrontation that will give us a clear path further east so that we can get Zetsuei onto the throne," Mizumi answered.

"And the armies?" Hana inquired. "Where shall we send them, once they've been readied?"

"Have your forces march here. Our armies will go to the battlefield together and we'll set up a war camp there, once everything is prepared."

The miko-youkai nodded, looking to Shippou. "Will you be returning home with Rin tonight?"

"Hai," the kitsune replied. "We'll ready the armies in your stead and have them mobilized and heading here as soon as possible."

"Good."

"And Tsukimisou-chan?" Kagome asked tentatively.

"We'll put our best trackers on the trail—" Shippou started.

"—don't bother," Zetsuei hissed suddenly, unable to maintain his silence anymore.

The others all turned to look at him, several brows furrowing with confusion, waiting for him to go on.

"I know where she is," the Torayoukai said. "You don't need trackers."

"Where…?"

"With Noboru. He has her."

Sesshoumaru sighed, figuring out the Tora no Taisho's plan. "Sou ka," he murmured. "Noboru hopes to force my hand and coerce me into backing down for Tsukimisou's sake," he glanced up at everyone around the table, his golden eyes shifting from one face to the next, studying them all intently. "How shall we proceed?"

"Nee-chan is strong enough to hold her own," Tsurugi said. "And she knows that we won't give up on taking that bastard down. Hell, she wants Noboru off the Tora clan throne just as badly as any of us! We stick to the plan, end of story."

The taiyoukai nodded. "Does anyone object to going forward?"

Nobody said anything.

"Then we are in agreement to proceed?"

"Hai," all but Zetsuei answered.

Sesshoumaru noticed the Torayoukai's lack of response, eyeing him with interest. "Do you have an objection to make?"

The Torayoukai had his arms crossed tight over his chest again, his posture was tense, and barely-restrained anger burned in his eyes. He looked from face to face, each turned in his direction, waiting for him to speak.

"Not an objection," he said finally. "But a concern."

"Oh?"

"What about Tsukimisou's safety while she's held captive?"

"If she's meant to be leverage, Noboru won't hurt her until he either gets what he wants or he realizes that he won't get it through coercion," Mizumi said.

Zetsuei glared at her. "Shows how much you know," he growled. "You don't know him! You think he cares about Tsukimisou?"

The Neko no Taisho frowned. "You're being unusually defensive about all this."

"With damn good reason!"

Sesshoumaru blinked, comprehension alight in his eyes. "Hm."

The Torayoukai met the taiyoukai's eyes and could practically see the gears turning in his mind. Zetsuei muttered a curse under his breath; Sesshoumaru knew.

Everyone glanced between the two anxiously, trying to figure out what exactly was taking place in their staring match. Finally, Sesshoumaru shifted, setting each elbow on the table, interlacing his fingers.

"How long ago?" he asked.

"Three days," Zetsuei answered.

"Before or after you found out about your lineage?"

"Does it matter?"

"Answer the question."

"After."

"I see," he paused. "Has she been harmed?"

"Yes."

"To what extent?"

"She's unconscious. I imagine she looks a bit like her sister right now."

"How long do we have until Noboru decides to find other ways to amuse himself?"

"A week, normally. Sometimes less. But if these battle plans prove to be distraction enough, it might be possible to stretch it out to two."

"Then we mustn't waste any time."

"Will somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?" Inuyasha demanded with frustration evident in his voice, tired of the back and forth exchange between his half-brother and the Torayoukai.

Sesshoumaru turned to look at the hanyou, exhaling a barely unnoticeable sigh.

"Tsukimisou has less than two weeks to live."


A/N: The story's really picking up now, isn't it? I'm so excited I can't stop writing it, actually. My beta reader's probably going to kill me for the amount of chapters that are going to be coming into his inbox. So far, this makes number 2. And probably three once the weekend is over. So I don't know exactly when this chapter or the previous one (which I finished yesterday) will be posted, but today is January 6, 2012, so now you all know how long ago it was that I finished it. And now you also know that I finished this chapter in a day. (Actually, now I also know—I just checked my sent mail to see how long ago it was I mailed off Ch. 28 to my beta reader. I'M SHOCKED!) Good god, I'm ON FIRE. Well then, not wanting to lose my steam, let's keep the ball rolling and I'll keep cranking out chapters. Ja ne until next time! xD

Updated A/N (7.31.2012): Hi, it's July. Don't kill me, please! Ch. 30 is almost done, despite the fact that yesterday I more or less had 2 lines to go before I finished it on a separate computer, saved it to a USB drive, then when I reconnected it, discovered that the file was corrupt and unable to open. I managed to recover 85-90 percent of what I wrote yesterday, so at this point, I will take what I can get. Because I very nearly flew into a full-fledged youkai rage when the word document continued to give me error messages. Thank god for corrupt file recovery applications. Anyway, the minute I finish reformatting what the recovery app salvaged and rewriting the last couple paragraphs I lost, it's going off to the beta. I really do apologize for the delays, but hey, give me some credit here. It's only been a little over 4 months since the last update! Here's to hoping I get Ch. 30 posted before the end of this year. Thank you all for your patience, everyone. Rate, review, yell, flame, whatever you like. Okay, maybe not flame, but you get the idea. Ja, until next time!