Dispel

By: Teno Hikari
email: teno_hikari@yahoo.com / tenohikari@cs.com
Last Revised: April 29, 2002 - 11:35PM

* Disclaimers: All fictional characters belong to me ... I mean the ones I made up of course. All the YnM characters belong to .... um .... think brain, think!

* Summary: Based on the 'Two Daddies' Story Arc - Muraki Ruka's peaceful world is suddenly torn apart and she must journey to the past to save her present.

* Warning: violence ... not to gory but not for minors, and yaoi (m/m) pairings ... of course

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"I woke-and chid my fingers ... the gem was gone in my hands ... and now,
an Amethyst remembrance is all I own ..."

Byakko turned his head from where he lay on the bed watching television, towards Ruka who emerged out of the bathroom. The girl smiled and whirled around, showing off her new sleeveless lavender dress that exposed a little to much of her bare back. Byakko blushed slightly and wondered what the Muraki Kazutaka in their time would think if he saw his only daughter wear something like that.

"What do you think?" Ruka asked as she combed her hair, pinning locks in place with matching lavender barrettes.

"I think you should have bought a sweater," said the Tiger God. "It's going to be chilly tonight."

"If I need one," she said and sat down on the side of the bed and began to apply a little make up. Closing her compact, she smiled and looked back at him. "Now, what do you think?"

"I still think you should buy a sweater..."

"Bya-chan..."

"That song you were singing," Byakko sat up in bed and switched off the television. "It's been awhile since I last heard you sing it."

"Well, it is an old song," she said, checking her reflection in the hotel mirror. "But still my favorite. You know both my parents knew the singer."

"Of course," the young man held up the mission reports. "She is the vampire killer that Asato and Hisoka are hunting now."

"I wish I could meet her," Ruka sighed sadly. "That poor woman ... I'm just glad we can go see her in concert tonight."

"Remember to keep your distance," warned Byakko. "She's still being controlled by Muraki."

"I know ... maybe after the concert it would be all right," smiled the violet-eyed girl. "I can't see the harm in it ... after all, she does return back to the land of the dead tonight."

Byakko looked away as he stood up and put his long coat on, "If that's what you want, Ru-chan."

The teenager blinked as she watched him put his boots on, "What's with the sad tone?"

He shook his head, "Nothing."

"Bya-chan?"

"I just don't want to see you get hurt," said the Shikigami as he met her amethyst gaze. "How will you react when you have to say good-bye?"

Ruka gave him a small smile as slipped her bare feet into white sandals. "So, that's what you're worried about? Then don't ... Maria is already dead ... and I'll be happy she can finally rest. I just want to meet her ... tell her sorry I am ... because of what dad did to her."

"I understand," he said softly after he finished dressing and held the door open for her. "Ready to go?"

"Mmmm-hmm," the girl murmured as she picked up Veronica and placed the doll inside her new bag. "We're ready!"

"You're taking it with us?" asked the young man, starring at the doll's head from the top of the bag. The doll, of course, was wearing a matching sun dress to the one Ruka had on.

"'Her'," Ruka corrected. "And 'her; name is Veronica ... or Ronnie, and yes I want to take her sightseeing with us. Besides, she'll be lonely by herself."

"Ru-chan," Byakko blinked. "It ... She's a doll."

"Dolls have feelings," the girl pointed out to him. "Just because they don't express emotions, doesn't mean they don't feel them."

"Uh...," the tiger God looked nervously at the antique doll before nodding. "If you say so, Ru-chan."

"I do," she nodded before looping her arm around his. "Now let's go!"


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Chapter Three: Duet

--------------------------


The Tiger God starred warily as his mistress was happily prancing around Nagasaki, pointing and taking pictures of famous land marks. Laughing and smiling the whole time, as if nearly being murdered by her own father the other night had never happened. As if her parents' deaths and being ripped away from the world she had once known, never took place. No, there was no sorrow nor grief in her eyes. It was always that cheerfully happy smile she had inherited from Tsuzuki Asato, along with those violet orbs.

Byakko just hoped that living in the past would not crush the girl's dreams for the future. He personally did not like Muraki Kazutaka because of the man he had once been, but had come to respect him as they lived together. The tiger prayed the killer now wouldn't try to harm his future daughter further ... the physical injuries Ruka could heal from, but the mental ones were another story.

'And if he does try to harm her again ... what can I do to stop him?' he frowned. 'Other than kill him.'

Not good. He couldn't kill the doctor because he would be killing Ruka ... and he would no sooner rip his own heart out. So, his only option was to keep the girl away from both the Shinigami and the homicidal maniac with the MD. How ironic ... protecting her from the people whom she loved the most. The two men who loved her dearly in their time could destroy her if they new the truth.

"Bya-chan!" Ruka waved to him as she neared an ice cream stand. "How many scoops?"

He held up three out of the five fingers on his hand and watched as she paid for the desserts and headed back over to him, licking at her ice cream cone. He took the cone in his hand and carefully balanced it as he ate ... at least he could hold one now, in his other form it had been impossible. Smiling as he finished the first scoop, he was having trouble with the other two since they were now melting and dripping down his arm.

Ruka laughed as she handed him a napkin then continued eating her own. It reminded him of the old days ... this time of year, sitting outside in the back by the large pool while eating ice cream. The girl was always happy when she was eating sweets, even happier when it was with the ones she loved. Her 'dad' and 'daddy', her best friend 'Bya-chan', and that doll in her lap.

'Ru-chan ... for your happiness ... I ...'

"Ne?"

"Hmmm?" He turned his head and met her questioning stare towards his hand. Looking over to his ice cream cone ... which no longer two scoops, his eyes followed the wet trail that ran down his arm and into his lap. Byakko decided he didn't like eating ice cream by cone anymore.

"You look tired," she said, handing him more napkins. "I forgot you didn't get any sleep last night."

"It's all right," he yawned. "Besides, you wanted to go out."

"Why don't you go back to the hotel and take a nap?" suggested the violet-eyed girl. "I just want to look around some more."

"Absolutely not!" he shouted, catching the curious gazes of some passerbyers.

"Not after what happened last night," Byakko said as he plucked the melting ice cream scoops off his coat and tossed them into the trash. "No way am I leaving you alone."

"Don't worry," she said. "Besides, they're not meeting today ... and I don't think I'll run into either of them in women's clothing stores. So I'll be fine!"

She had a point but Byakko was still skeptical until she pulled out something from her bag and handed it to him. A paper crane summoning charm ... complete with the neatly written calligraphy on the wings ... it must have took hours to make. Blinking, he took it into is his hands and starred back at her.

"When did you ...?"

"While you were watching television and I was waiting for my hair to dry," she answered. "Go take a nap, and I'll be back at the hotel before the concert, okay?"

Sighing, he took the charm and placed it into his coat pocket as he stood up. Turning around to face the girl he gave her a stern look, "If something does happen, summon immediately, understand?"

"Yes, sir!" she saluted and giggled when he turned around and mumbled something about 'sleeping in the bathtub'.

Still smiling even when he was out of sight, she pulled Veronica into her arms as she headed for one of the shopping centers. "Well, it's just us girls, Ronnie."

Placing Veronica back in her bag, she also made sure she had her new wards neatly stacked and tied together. Ruka reminded herself to replenish her supplies before they began the Queen Camellia mission which she barely read to. How would they be able to sneak on board?

Walking around the crowded shopping mall, the girl felt a twinge of longing as she past by stores that had items she wanted to by. Items like cute stuffed animals, pretty stationary, and music CDs; but, all these items were useless to their mission as Tatsumi shaking his head in disapproval came to mind.

But that didn't mean she couldn't try stuff on! A smile forming on her face again, earning misty-eyed gazes from passing teenaged boys as Ruka headed towards the escalator to the second floor. The second floor of the mall had a lot more clothing stores and a lot less people, much to her liking. She spent a couple minutes in each store, she had to suppress her giggles when she saw the 'new' fashion designs ... the only time she clothes like these before were on old TV shows.

There was one store she walked into that had elegant dresses and only a few customers ... well mainly one, since the other woman was sitting on store's Victorian sofa while sipping some ice tea.

"Mother, what do you think of this one?" asked the young woman who wear some dark sunglasses and had a shawl over her head and around her neck.

"It's lovely, please hurry up," said the older woman in a bored tone. "We're due for lunch soon."

"Yes, mother," said her daughter as she took the selected dress into the fitting room.

"Honestly," the older woman mumbled. "With that dress she looks even more like a slut."

Ruka turned her head away to hide the horror on her face. How could a mother say such a thing about her daughter?! Shaking her head, she was very thankful to have two fathers if that was what a mother acted like. She looked around the store and found a lovely sleeveless Qi Pao, a traditional Chinese women's dress, made of lavender silk and satin with embroidered white lilies. The dress screamed 'try me on!' and Ruka obeyed.


***


Byakko yawned as he curled up on the bed. But he wasn't napping like he should be. The tiger was torn between taking a nap and watching the charm that was flying around in circles above him. He wondered whether he should try sleeping with one eye open, but doubted he could.

'Ru-chan will be all right,' he told himself as his eye lids began to feel heavy. 'She's a strong girl raised by men ... a Shinigami and a warlock, so she knows how to take care of herself. Remember all those weekends to her God parents taught her martial arts and sword training ... so you don't have to worry about her against muggers ...'

'What about people like Muraki?' said another voice in his head. 'She doesn't have all her strongest wards to use nor all the materials to make them ... she doesn't have any other weapon on her ... and what if Ruka runs into someone who is a higher level in magic than she ... someone like, Muraki?'

"Bloody hell," he moaned as he opened his eyes again. "Damn you, brain, and all your good points."

'Then again ... what are the odds of her meeting Muraki? According to the mission logs, he is currently using Maria Wong to kill for him. So the doctor's past evil self is probably to occupied right now ... he probably forgot about Ruka already.'

Byakko sighed and nodded as he closed his eyes once more. A few minutes of comfortable silence goes by as the tiger slowly falls asleep.

'Then again ...'

"ARGHHH!" he groaned, grabbing a pillow and bringing it over his head.


***

Ruka hummed softly as she slipped the dress on before starring at herself in the full length mirror. The dress was beautiful, it reminded her of one of the dresses she had worn on a trip to Hong Kong. But now that dress including everything that had been in her bedroom ... her house ... had burned to the ground. They were ashes now ...

"I woke-and chid my fingers ... the gem was gone in my hands ... and now,
an Amethyst remembrance is all I own ..."

She wasn't aware that she was singing until she saw her open mouth in the mirror. Blushing, Ruka remembered that there was someone else in the large dressing room and immediately shut up. She turned her attention back to the dress and twirled around in it, watching the lavender silk move with her. Catching the bare flesh of her leg, she slowly brought her hand to touch the nonexistent scratch Muraki's monster had given her.

Ruka was grateful for her daddy's genes as she starred back at her reflection and caught smiling violet eyes. 'Maybe I will buy this dress...' she thought as she spun around in it one more time. 'I can always pay him back.'

Nodding to herself, Ruka slipped out of the dress and placed her other one back on. Picking up her bag with one hand with the dress draped over her arm, she opened the door and forgot to breathe. The young woman who had walked into the dressing room before her now had the sun glasses off, revealing the beautiful face of Maria Wong.

The singer smiled while clapping softly, "You have a beautiful voice."

Ruka blinked ... Maria Wong just complemented her. "Th-Thank you ..."

Maria then looked at her oddly, "Have we met? I have a strange feeling that I've seen you somewhere before ..."

"Well," Ruka smiled. "I am a huge fan of yours."

The dead woman's smile returned, "Thank you, I'm so lucky to have so many wonderful fans."

"I love all your songs! Amethyst Remembrance is my favorite," the violet-eyed girl's smile widened, forgetting that the singer was Muraki's puppet. "I hope you sing it at the concert tonight. I ... I love your songs because of the way you sing them ... for yourself ... and for the happiness of other people."

Maria's brown eyes darkened slightly before brightening as she held out her hand, "Thank you. I probably will sing that song ... I haven't sung it since I ..."

'Since you died,' Ruka gave her a sympathetic look.

"Since I left home," the singer finished. "Pleased to meet you ..."

"Ruka," the girl answered, as she shook hands with the beautiful brunette. "Murasaki Ruka."

"Pleased to meet you, Ruka," the older woman released her hand. "If you don't mind the center stage attention, maybe you would like to sing a duet with me tonight?"

The pretty silver-haired girl blinked as she starred at the singer blankly. Slowly the words sunk in as her puppy ears popped into view, "I can?! Really?!"

Maria laughed, finding her puppy form to adorable. "I don't see why not, you have a very beautiful voice and I ..."

"Maria!" the singer's stepmother snapped as she entered the dressing room. "What are you doing?! We have a lunch to get to and our company is waiting!"

"Yes, of course," Maria bowed her head, brown eyes filled with sorrow. "I apologize mother."

"Don't bother, just come on," the woman then stalked out of the room.

The brunette then turned and bowed slightly to Ruka, "It was nice meeting you, Ruka. I'll look for you in the crowd."

"I'm honored to have met you, Maria," Ruka bowed back politely. "I hope you find peace and happiness soon ..."

'Dammit,' she wished she hadn't said that.

The singer blinked, looking confused before nodding. Ruka watched as Maria walked out the dressing room before turning to get her bag. Turning again to leave the dressing room ... Ruka flinched as she met the mismatched gaze of Maria and her mother's 'company' ...

Muraki Kazutaka.

***


When Byakko opened his eyes once more, he yawned lazily and groaned. He had only slept for ten minutes and found himself wanting to get up. Sitting up bed, he brushed fingers through his spikes before he heard his stomach rumble. Sighing, the young man stood up and stretched his limbs before heading towards the table of the hotel room, sitting himself down to eat some left over Chinese food. He was on his second helping of fried prawns when Byakko heard the sound of flapping in his ear. Crimson eyes met the messenger bird and narrowed when it sank it's talon feet into his ear lobe.

"Ittai!" he growled and grabbed the bird out of the air. "If she's in trouble, why didn't you say so?!"

The messenger gave him a beady-eyed stare that said, 'I was trying too!'

Growling again, he released the messenger and placed his boots on. "Let's go then."



***

Ruka wished she could turn invisible right now as the doctor's attention left Maria's and to her. Heart pounding in her chest, Ruka averted his stare as she headed over to the sales clerk to pay for the dress and leave. Mixed feelings swam through her head. First, there was longing ... longing to see her father in this man. The second, was fear ... she was afraid of him now since the other night ... she didn't want to be, but she was. One way or another, the doctor by day and warlock by night could kill her. Kill her easily without a second thought.

"Why don't you ladies go on ahead," the doctor said behind her to Maria and her mother. "I would be happy to take care of your purchases."

"Thank you, doctor."

'No, no, no, no!' Ruka wanted to scream as she waited for the sales clerk to finish packing up her dress while Maria and her mother left. A shadow loomed over her tense body and she wanted to nothing more than to crawl away. Quickly scribbling her signature down, she was handed back the credit card and Ruka was free to go. Well, not really, since Muraki was right behind her, blocking the girl from leaving.

The sales clerk remembered Maria had ordered shoes to match her outfit and said she would be right back. Alone with a killer, Ruka shivered and the pale man smiled at her nervousness.

"What a coincidence meeting you here," said the doctor. "Murasaki Ruka."

"You remembered my name," she noted.

"Of course," Muraki then starred into her eyes, making her flinch. "It's amazing ... your violet eyes remind me of someone else ..."

'Yes, I know who you're thinking about,' Ruka swallowed.

"Just curious," the pale man tapped his chin, looking thoughtful. "Your full name wouldn't be Tsuzuki Ruka, would it?"

"No, it wouldn't," she shook her head calmly. How did he know about the aunt she never met already? How much did he know about Tsuzuki Asato's past? "I really have to get going now."

"Yes, I assume you Shinigami are here more than to shop and eat desserts," the doctor chuckled.

Her violet eyes narrowed, "I'm not a Shinigami."

"Oh? Not many humans can summon a Shikigami Gods," said the doctor.

Ruka flinched again.

"Especially the White Tiger God of the West," he said, bringing up a hand to push his glass back up the bridge of his nose. "How is Byakko doing?"

"Just fine," came a new voice. "Thanks for asking."

Their heads turned to see a spiky white-haired young man dressed in black clothes, minus his jacket, standing at the store entrance. His sun glasses were off to reveal narrowed crimson catlike eyes. Ruka blinked and saw the ofuda that she gave him, clenched tightly in his hand. Odd ... she didn't remember summoning him.

"Bya-chan," she whispered, moving away from the doctor.

"You're Byakko?" Muraki looked surprised. "The same Tiger God from last night?"

"Yes," Byakko bared his fangs. "And I still have three-headed-monster-bird bits stuck between my teeth to prove it."

Ruka thought she was going to lose her lunch but Muraki only smiled. The sales clerk returned and both Ruka and Byakko left the store, without a second glance at the doctor, to return to the hotel. Ruka was both surprised and relieved that Byakko didn't scold her. Instead as soon as they got into their room, the first thing he did was curl up in bed then promptly fell asleep.


***

By the time she changed into her new dress and fixed her hair style, the sky outside was beginning to get dark. Humming to herself, she finished placing her lipstick on before exiting the bathroom to see Byakko snoring softly. Upon hearing his mistress clear her throat, the Tiger God sat up and yawned loudly. He looked at her in the new dress and stared.

"You like?" she asked. "As soon as we return home, I'll be getting a job to pay Uncle Tatsumi back for it."

"You look ...," Byakko searched his vocabulary for words. Unfortunately, all the big words couldn't be found so he settled for something simple. "Really nice."

She smiled as she reached out to brush Veronica's locks, "Sorry we have to leave you alone again, Ronnie. Ready to go, Bya-chan?"

"Ah," Byakko nodded as he got up and put on a clean jacket and then his boots. As he turned around to face her, she was holding up a small dental floss dispenser.

"For monster bits stuck in your teeth," she giggled. "By the way, how could you eat after that?"

"I don't have ...," he began only to stop and see her laugh. 'She is really beautiful when she smiles ...'

Silently he took the floss and headed for the bathroom before his master could see a blush forming on her guardian's face.

They left for the concert and got there rather early in order to get front row seats. There was slight delay that both time-travelers had been expecting. As they waited, both knew that the Shinigami pair was taking care of both the vampire-turned Maria Wong and a confrontation of the dead woman's stepmother.

Ruka found herself frowning as she remembered what she read on this case. How could a parent do such a thing? Using her stepdaughter for money only to the point where Maria committed suicide ... and then it got worse. The evil woman had enlisted the aid of a necromancer so she could continue to leech off Maria even in death. It was disgusting how humans could sink so low.

Her thoughts about the now closed case quickly dispelled as Maria Wong, dressed in a blue silk Chinese dress, stepped up on stage. The audience cheered and the concert began as Maria sang her songs. The singer's voice sounded livelier than Ruka had ever heard it ... and she smiled. All her Maria Wong CDs might have burned to ash, but at least she had this memory of attending the singer's last concert.

Maria Wong was free from both her stepmother and the doctor's grasp, and Ruka was happy for her. She then noticed her guardian wasn't paying attention to the concert and was looking over his shoulder from time to time. Following his gaze, she made out two figures in the far back of the outdoor concert and smiled. She didn't have to see their faces to know who they were.

The audience clapped as Maria finished her song and the singer smiled and bowed. "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to sing a duet with a friend of mine in the audience. Ruka, I hope you're here tonight."

Byakko turned his Shinigami-watching eyes over to the girl blushing girl next to him. Maria's beautiful brown eyes scanned the crowd and found Ruka's scarlet face, blushing red like beacon.

"Ah, there you are," the singer pointed out to her. "Come on up, please don't be shy."

Slowly rising to her feet, several pairs of eyes watched the lovely silver-haired girl as she made her way to the stage. Swallowing hard and now smiling nervously, Ruka stepped up on stage next to Maria. The way the stage lights were shining down on them, she felt like an ant underneath a magnifying glass out on a hot sunny day.

A microphone was handed to her, which she took with nervous fingers. Ruka swallowed hard as the background music began to play and the crowd grew silent again. Looking forward to the far back, she could still see the two figures standing there ... also wondering if there was another who was listening. 'Dad ... daddy ... in a way, you're here with me...'

She loosened up a little and pretended to be back in the dressing room, singing to no one but herself. It worked and she could feel her feverish blush and trembling fingers go away. From the audience, Byakko was smiling at her.


"I held a Jewel in my fingers
And went to sleep
The day was warm,
Ah winds, winds were prosy
I said , I said "Twill keep" ..."


[ "Daddy," wide and innocent eyes gazed up at him. "Can we listen to the song again? Pretty please?"

Asato smiled as he held out the remote to restart the CD player, "All right, Ru-chan, one more time. Then it's off to bed you go!"

"Yay!" the little girl giggled, happily bouncing on her dad's lap.

The doctor sighed as he tried to make his sugar-crazed daughter to settle down, "And you say I spoil her ..." ]



"I woke-and chid my fingers,
The Gem was gone in my hands
And now,
an Amethyst remembrance
Is all I own ..."


[ Ruka starred with wide eyes as she took in the smoldering flames of her home. Her school bag fell from limp fingers as fires burned the place she grew up in. With agonizing slowness, she slowly stepped towards the burning house. It wasn't long before she broke off into a run pass the open door way and into the firestorm itself.

"Dad!" she screamed over the roaring flames. "Daddy! Where are you?!"

No response was given and she quickly avoided the scalding heat as she headed towards the living room. Her eyes went wide again as she her parents.

Bloody lifeless bodies were slowly being charred in the flames. Her parents ... were dead ... dead ...

"Dad?" she whispered, looking from one corpse to the other. "Daddy?"

A tall shadow loomed over the girl and Ruka shivered when a cold hand caressed her face. A warm breath touched her ear as the hand slipped to her bare throat, causing goose bumps to rise. She winced as the grip on her throat pulled her back against a lean body.

"Welcome home." ]


"Go from me!
Yet I feel that I shall stand
Henceforward in thy shadow,
God From Me!"


[ Bruised and bleeding, she clung tightly to Byakko's fur as her guardian took her far away from the fire. Far away from those flames that consumed everything she held close to her. A pocket watch was clenched tightly in her hand and as she wanted desperately to go back and help Tatsumi, Watari, and the other Shinigami. She wanted to go back, but then again she wanted to get as far away from the horrible truth as possible.

Clouds parted to expose the full moon and both Ruka and the Tiger God faded into the light. ]

The song was finally over and the sound of roaring applause pierced through her clouded mind. Before she knew it, Maria had taken her hand the both of them bowed deeply then walked off behind stage together. The roar of applause still ringing in her ears, Maria turned to face her and smiled.

"Thanks for singing with me tonight, Ruka," said the brunette who also gave her a polite bow. "I will always remember it ... and your kind words earlier today."

"I meant them," said the violet-eyed girl. "The spell is going to end soon, isn't it?"

Brown eyes widened in shock, "You ... you know? How ...?"

Ruka's sparking-lavender lip-glossed lips twisted into a grin, "A nice little Shinigami told me."

Maria blinked then nodded in understanding, "I see ... please tell them how eternally grateful I am the next time you see them."

"I will," Ruka mentally added: 'Back in my own time'. "It was an honor to sing with you tonight, Maria."

The singer blushed slightly before she looked up at the moon and shivered, "The moon is red and full tonight ... just like it was that night ..."

"Do you hate him?" Ruka asked hesitantly. "The one who brought you back?"

"I do ...," Maria whispered. "But I am greatful I could sing one more time."

"I know he regrets what he's done," the girl told her. "Not now, but he will."

"I believe you."

The silver-haired girl turned to look at the moon and shivered herself. Her parents would be enemies tomorrow morning ... and she didn't know if she wanted to see them fight. She didn't want to see them bleeding again. A cool night breeze made her shiver once more and the violet-eyed teenager turned to find the singer gone, or returned to the world of the dead.

Ruka smiled sadly as she walked off stage and met Byakko who was silently waiting for her. The Tiger God peeled off his coat and draped it over his master's trembling shoulders. Before he knew it, she was crying in his embrace, tears soaking through the dark fabric of his turtle neck.

"Ru-chan ..." he whispered helplessly. "You knew this was going to happen."

"I know," she whispered as the tears ran down her cheeks. "I just ... I just ..."

"Sshhhhh," he murmured, as he swept his mistress off her feet and into his arms, they then headed back. "It's okay ... it's okay."

Ruka continued to cry quietly as the misty clouds covered the moon again. The moon's light was gone and now there was only darkness. The song was over and now there was only silence. Darkness and silence ... seemed to be all that was left of her world.


[ "The Gem was gone in my hands
And now,
an Amethyst remembrance
Is all I own ..." ]


[ Author's Note ]

Gosh, this was a long chapter, hope you readers haven't found it boring. Go review and tell me what you think ^_^