Disclaimer – "Default Chapter" saids it all ^^*

Characters' thoughts/thought voices in BOLD n.n

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Swaying as they both got to their feet once again, they spared no time no charging at each other, glowing in their auras as they moved in for the kill, both of them knowing that one more direct contact with either sword or claw—with no one there to stop or that is able to stop either of them—it would be the end to the both of them.

Suddenly, a bright pink flashed on the glass roof, its magic filling every corner of the dark castle, save for the dragons' respective auras, and a feminine voice screamed out.

"STOP IT!"

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~*~ The Day the Dream Ended ~*~

Chapter 15 ~ Resolution: Part 2

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Miraculously, they both stopped in their tracks, one with a raised sword and the other with outstretched claws, both ready to strike and merely inches from the girl who had so bravely and foolishly come between them.

Time seemed to freeze but for the splattering of the relentless rain on the glass rooftop.  The strong winds blew its cold breath on the lone girl, so brave yet so fragile looking, standing right in the line of fire of the dragons in their battle of destiny.  Panting to catch his breath from his physical strains and how close his beloved girl had come to her doom, White-Haku noticed that the bright pink aura was not the only thing that shimmered before him—her back to him, Haku could only see glistening tears fall from his beloved girl's face onto the cold glass roof, the girl too upset to notice them herself.

She's crying… the silver dragon thought as he continued his stare at the girl before him, her shoulder shaking with effort to hold in her sobs.  But why…

The commotion was not left unnoticed by the other dragon on the roof, who stood just as motionless as his original, and stared at the girl with the same confusion and wonderment in his eyes.  Her face towards him, arms spread out around her as if to shield White-Haku with her life, the black dragon could see clearly that tears were falling out of her eyes in a steady, silent flow.  For a moment, the crimson that has filled his eyes seemed to falter, weaken, at the sight of the pink-auraed girl.  His mind was screaming a thousand things at him, his hatred and anger demanding to be set loose once again.  However, something stopped him—something in that girl's eyes stayed his hand as his claws froze at their position near her face, the moment she had appeared before them.

What…what's wrong with me?  The black dragon thought wildly as he kept his gaze on the girl before him, finding that he could not look away from her.  I…I promised myself I wouldn't be tricked by her and her lies again!  And yet…

There's something in that girl's eyes…the sorrow she hold in them…

The way her tears are falling out of her eyes, unbidden…

Black-Haku let his arms drop to his side the same moment his other self dropped his sword. 

He could not bring any harm to her—could not stand the thought of hurting her.

But why…

"Please…" a soft whisper came from trembling lips, the strongest sound the girl could muster.  "Please…don't fight any more…don't hurt each other anymore.  Can't you see it?  Can't you see how wrong this is, fighting yourself when you were of one and the same mind?  The same emotions?"

Unable to control her tears, the girl sank onto the glass roof, her face hidden behind the mask created by her hands, muffling her sobs.  The only evidence of her emotional turmoil came from the way the delicate form's shoulders shook as she tried to keep her sobs from being heard.

Silence took over then, neither Hakus moved a muscle or made a comment.  They both stood there, arms and weapons forgotten on their sides, as they kept their gazes on the girl who had stopped them from delivering the killing blow to one another.  It was Black-Haku who spoke first, disturbing the silence.

"You are unhurt," he said bluntly, his voice surprisingly gentle, "there is no evidence of a wound on you, or anything that would inflict pain on you…yet you…look…pained.  Why?"

Chihiro… White-Haku thought, finding himself unable to speak.  Why…why place yourself in such danger?  I'm supposed to protect you, not let you endanger yourself!  And yet…somehow…by trying to protect you…it seems I had let you get hurt after all…

"I am unhurt…physically." the gentle whisper once again came from the girl, wrapped in a cloak of her warm pink aura.  "But seeing the two of you hurt yourselves like this…it hurts…me…  It hurts unbearably so.  Can't you see?"  Her head snapped up suddenly, her tear-stained face meeting that of both dragons' surprised ones.  "To see the two of you like this, separate and fighting…when I…care…so much for you…both of you…it hurts me, inside."

Standing up and walking towards Black-Haku, Chihiro reached out a hand to touch his cheek, making him flinch at the warm contact but unable to move away.  Staring into the girl's eyes, Black-Haku felt something he had never felt before…the things that his other self had described for him during their air-borne battle.  His fangs disappeared, his hair lightened, stopping only when it was back to their normal steel-gray.  His hands began to shake uncontrollably, almost as if they were afraid of the boldness of her contact. 

"I know that you can fight the darkness within you.  I know you can win against its evil, and be freed from its grasp."

"Why are you so sure of this…?" the black dragon whispered in reply, unable to look away from the girl's warm honey-colored eyes that seemed to draw him in.  She smiled at him, like the rays of the summer sun peeking out from beneath layers of the thick dark clouds in his life.

"I know you can do this," Chihiro said, smiling, "you must be able to do this—because you are Haku."  Taking both his clawed hands in both of hers, Chihiro continued to smile at the astonished demon who had tried to take her life.  "I believe in you…I believe you can overcome the evil that came to control you, because I can tell—your heart is still pure."

Behind her, White-Haku closed his eyes as he suddenly became aware of his own heartbeat.  Yes, the silver dragon thought, smiling, she's right—he's a part of me…a part which I had gotten rid of by rejecting it and forgetting it, instead of purifying it within myself.  That creature…that evil…is me: it is who I once was.  I cannot defeat it through bloodshed…I must not defeat it through any use of force…because then, when this is all over, the evil will still continue to live on through my blood-tainted work to ensnare someone else into their grasp. 

Looking over to his still shocked-looking demonic-self, Haku realized that in order to put an end to all this madness that he himself had initially, though unintentionally, created…he must be able to become one with himself again, whole and new. 

And when I do…I must….

"Evil exists in everything…it is part of the substance that makes us who we are."  Chihiro had continued to speak, surprising the silver dragon with the solemnity, wisdom and understanding that was in the girl's voice.  "We can not more deny it as a part of us than we can deny ourselves limbs that are attached to us, because they are all a part of who we are—our physical definition, just as evil is a part of our emotional definition.  While we cannot rid ourselves of it—we can control it, contain it—and bend it under our will so that it will never surface to take advantage of us."

With that, she turned to White-Haku and smiled, still holding onto the black dragon's hands.  Her eyes, which had glowed with the pink of her magic, faded to their normal appearance; her naturally warm honey orbs taking in the sight of her beloved dragon slowly, as if memorizing his every detail. 

A half-scream, half-roar came from the black dragon, breaking up the moment.  Snatching his clawed hands from Chihiro—and scratching deep gorges into the girl's hands in the process—Black-Haku held his claws to his head, shrieking in pain from his inner turmoil of his demonic nature and the part that wailed for the glimpse of warmth the girl had delivered to him.  Chihiro stepped back, afraid for Black-Haku's safety and for the sudden madness that had overtaken him.  The silver dragon stepped up from behind her, steadying the girl as she stumbled over a clump of molten glass. 

Together, river spirit and human girl watched as the demon within Haku's other self rose up in rebellion to the new emotions the boy had just contacted, wanting to control the black dragon once again.  White-Haku released Chihiro and stepped out before his agonizing self, his silver blade nowhere in sight—his obviously intention not to fight shown in his unarmed state.

He stopped, merely an arm's length from his other self, and stared at him straight in the eye.  Much of the crimson had disappeared during his talk with Chihiro, and now the streaks of red within his eyes were fighting to dominate his natural sky-blue colors once again.  Surprised by the sudden pause of movement before him, Black-Haku controlled his thrashing and met White-Haku's look eye for eye. 

Both dragons stood there, unmoving, as the silver dragon gazed unwaveringly at his other form, and the black dragon looked back at what could've been his mirror image with a questioning and somewhat desperate gaze.  The two of them did not look away from one another even as long moments passed; did not blink even though the relentless rain had showered upon them great waters that were dripping into their eyes—their minds were locked together as one as they conferred within the depths of their soul, the two halves understanding one another for the first time since they were split apart.  Nodding, just once, the black dragon placed his outspread palms into White-Haku's waiting ones, biting his battered lips even deeper as several lines of blood ran down his mouth, doing his best to fight the demon demanding to rise up once again within him and control him.  Before their palms contacted, the boy who had intended to kill Chihiro looked over to the girl and smiled—a small, bittersweet smile, before the two dragons' hands touch and a brilliant emerald and silver light enveloped them both, blinding out everything and illuminating the pitch black sky with its radiance.

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As she met the gaze of her beloved Haku's demonic self, Chihiro gasped, too shocked at what she saw within his eyes and too afraid of the helplessness she felt at not knowing what they were about to do—or of its results.  The magical clash and explosion of light forced the girl to cover her eyes to shield herself from being blinded by it. 

His eyes… the girl thought as the brilliant lights illuminated the skies.  His eyes were…they weren't crimson, or that sky-blue they were when I first met him—they were the same moss green as Haku's own eyes…  Just as gentle…and just as caring…

Daring to open her eyes just a crack to steal a glance at the spot where the two dragons had disappeared into the magical light, Chihiro prayed—prayed hard—that whoever that had watched over the dragon spirits thus far would protect them again. 

Somehow…somehow…the thought of losing either of them…of seeing either of them hurt…it hurts me too, on the inside.  How can it not hurt me, when I'm in love with one half him and they are one and the same person?

Chihiro closed her eyes once more.  Unnoticed by her, a strand of brightly burning pink streaked towards the ball of light that continued to illuminated the black skies, circling it as if to protect it with its magic.

Please, Haku…please be all right.  You promised me, remember?

You promised that you would see me again, on that bridge where I had been forced to leave you, seven years ago…you have to meet me there once again…so…

Please…make it out of this unharmed…because…

I don't know what I'd do without you.

Taking deep breath, the girl decided that she couldn't take the slow and agonizing wait any longer, just standing there and doing nothing when the one she loved was in potential danger.  She opened her eyes to see for herself what was happening, regardless of the thought of what the bright light before her could do to her vision. 

Instead of the burn of the bright magical light she had expected, the skies were pitch black again, and all that lit the barely intact glass roof were a pink and emerald aura, wrapped around their respective masters.

There, in the light of his magic, a form that looked vaguely like Haku stood, most of his shape shrouded by the light of his magic, smiling at the bewildered girl.  Instead of the pure white outfit outlined in emerald green he had worn when the girl first saw him when he had burst onto the rooftop of the invisible castle they stood on, the Haku that stood before her wore dark clothing, the cloth dark as the black skies that surrounded them, still outlined with that same emerald green that seemed to shimmer on the boy.  A little hesitant and afraid of what—or who—she might see, Chihiro gathered her courage and looked up—and into the stranger's eyes.  What met her gaze, however, was the familiar and gentle face of her beloved silver dragon, from his tender moss green eyes right down to the light gray of his hair, getting darker as he was once again drenched in the magical thunderstorm.  The years that they had spend apart did not make the girl feel like she was looking at a stranger, someone she had just been reunited with and barely know.  But rather, the Haku she saw was exactly the way she had expected him to be…the same Haku that had never left her heart since she had left the Majou no Sekai years ago, although she had never fully realized or acknowledged that fact so truthfully until now, face to face with him again.

All Chihiro could do was to stand there and stare into his eyes, for the first time in that day realizing how close he was to her—how close they stood after being apart, separated in two different worlds for seven mortal years.

Silence took its reign over the young couple as they continued to stand there in the open rain, careless of their current situation as the reality of their physical closeness set in.

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They had watched, from the distance the barrier of the invisible castle has kept them at, when the clash of the magic of crimson-hatred and silvery-emerald had been at their climax, and then completely die down.  They watched in silence and fear as the crimson magic had momentarily taken over the air which covered the entire castle, engulfing it and its inhabitants in its hungry flames.  They had seen together as first the warm and somehow familiar pink aura calmed the roaring crimson magic, then when the emerald-silver one had confronted it, causing an explosion of bright silver light so strong that none could look at it and ever see again. 

They had waited…and waited…as the silver light illuminated the black skies covered by the magical thick clouds that had spelled the doom for the Majou no Sekai, and now still they wait as the brightness of the glory fade back into nothingness, leaving behind only a pink and an emerald aura, the rain falling too hard for them to make out the details of the confrontation of the two lone sorcerers who wielded those auras of magic.

The only thing they had been able to accomplish by flying up here to the glass castle was to sit and wait.  Wait for the fate of their world and the humans' world be determined by a human girl and a river spirit who had lost his home—and there was nothing they could've done to help either of them.

And now, as they squint to catch a better glimpse of the two remaining figures with their eyes and magics…they realize that even now all they could do is wait.

And perhaps…to believe…  Believe that they could live to see tomorrow.

Yu-Baaba sighed.  There was too much disturbance in the magic which rained down around them for her to detect which exactly it was that still stood on that glass rooftop.  Looking from her husband to her sister, she could tell that they could do no better either. 

So that meant they really have no choice but to wait till the end.

One particular individual from the circle of light made by the combined magics of the twin witches, spider and forest spirit, a no-name monster and Rin fidgeted as much as she could without breaking contact with the others.  It's too bad Rin had never been a very patient person.

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For the first time since he met with her again face to face, after seven long years, Haku finally noticed that he had expected Chihiro to look like this—the warm, slender and graceful girl that stood before was not a stranger to him, but rather, someone he felt he has known all his life…someone that he found his mind to be familiar and perfectly at ease with—very much the same way the girl had also found him to be.

The silver dragon couldn't take the silence between them any longer.  Crossing the distance between himself and his beloved girl quicker than she had even noticed he'd moved, Haku took Chihiro into his arms, holding her tightly against himself as if to never let her go.  Impulsively, her arms went up to loop themselves around his neck, pressing herself against him equally tightly.  Chihiro felt fresh tear swarm their way from her eyes, wetting his shoulder.  She'd missed him so much!  They stood there like that for several long moments, just holding onto each other, the time lost between them and the distance which had separated them forgotten.

Knowing what he must do after just reunited with the girl whom he cared so much for, the river spirit tightened his arms around her and swallowed hard as his throat suddenly became painfully tight with emotion.

"It's been so long." The silver dragon whispered into her hair, breathing in the soothing smell of her fragrance.  "You've grown…and changed, too…so much.  I'm sorry…that I can't be here to share it with you—that I can't stay to get to know you for the rest of our lives…the way I feel I do now."

Lifting her chin gently, and looking into her tear-reddened quizzical eyes, Haku leaned down to brush her lips gently and sweetly for the first time, his kiss lingering for but a full breath.  Unwilling to let her go, he pulled back just enough to whisper softly on her lips.

"I love you, Chihiro.  I always have…I always will."

And with that, silver-emerald fire enveloped the river spirit, and when the light cleared, the silver dragon had gone.

Gasping at she stepped back to find that the silver dragon had gone, Chihiro searched frantically on the rooftop and in the dark sky for her beloved.  Her eyes caught a spark of silvery-emerald light, high and far above her—Haku, wrapped with the light of his magic and the magic of the dragon sword, his silvery wings spread out far apart as he raised the sword high above his head, as if challenging the very sky itself.

In a flash, she suddenly knew what he was going to do.

"NO!!!!!!!!" someone screamed, their voice cracking as it rose from a scream to a shriek.  Her throat felt odd; Chihiro it was her own voice that she was hearing, screaming for Haku to stop what he was doing before…before… 

Before it's too late. 

The only thing the girl knew—the only thing on her mind—was to get to the dragon and stop him from going through with such a crazy idea.  Knowing that she could not fly to reach him, the girl closed her eyes in pain helplessly, her heart and mind filled with her thoughts and love for the lone silver dragon, who was about to kill himself.  Bright pink fire boomed around the girl, light pink feathers of an angel scattered around the girl as her wings spread and readied to take flight for the first time.  Not taking the time to wonder about this newest development, Chihiro immediately took flight, not caring if this was the first time she's ever flown before.  Flapping her wings urgently, her feathers falling away to rain upon the glass roof, Chihiro hovered before Haku, directly in front of the boy.

"But why, Haku?" Chihiro whispered desperately at the silver dragon, unable to raise her voice to a louder volume than it was.  The river spirit had stopped mid-strike, his sword-point pointing at his own chest, when he heard the girl below him scream.  Now he looked at her with pain in his eyes, matching that in her own.

"Because it is the only way to save both our worlds." The silver dragon whispered back to her gently, speaking just as softly as she had.  Around them, the raging winds of the magical storm howled, getting stronger by the moment.  "He and I…we were one to being with.  When we became one again…"  Shaking his head, and smiling sadly and still with that pained expression on his face.  Haku gripped the sword hilt a little tighter, his knuckles turning white in the effort. 

"I have to take responsibility for his—my—action.  This storm is bound to him—to us.  And so…as long as I remain, so will the storm whose intention is to wipe out the Majou no Sekai, and then swallow up your world.  I can't let that happen.  I can't let a mistake that I had made hurt countless people, in both our worlds."  He reached out with his magic to form a phantom hand which cupped her face.  "I can't let it hurt you, or destroy the world you love…the world you live in, with people whom you care for.

"This is the last thing I can do for you, Chihiro.  I wish that I could stay with you forever…I wish that I could become part of your happiness—be your happiness.  But since that cannot happen unless this storm and its spells are destroyed…then at least let me protect your happiness.

"Allow me to protect your future…to protect you…the one I love."

Before the stunned and pained-looking girl before him could say anything else to stay his hand, Haku brought his sword down hard, to be buried in his chest.  Red blood flowed out freely as Chihiro screamed and sped towards him, catching him and cradling him with her own blood-stained arms when he was about to fall.  With the last bit of his strength, the silver dragon reached out a hand to meet hers halfway and smiled—and closed his eyes in death.

Chihiro… his voice was soft and tender in her mind, so warm and comforting.  Chihiro…I kept my promise of meeting you again, even after all these years, didn't I?  I will make that same promise to you once more…that we will meet again.  No matter what world you're in; no matter what stands between us—I will come back, and I will find you again.  I promise you, my beloved one.

His cold, limp hand slipped from her equally limp grasp; his scaled wings and body disappearing in a flutter of a thousand silver feathers that caught the wind and blew away, as if they had never existed.

The cries of the girl who wielded the pink aura were heard in every corner of the Majou no Sekai and the humans' world, her cries reflecting the grief and hurt she felt as deep as if she herself had died.

The skies cleared as if no clouds had ever crossed its surface; the invisible glass castle crumbled and split into a billion little pieces, each turning into a beautiful butterfly that flew past the winged girl in the middle of the big clear blue sky, hovering in the empty air.  The mercilessness of the water which had come down at the magical bidding gentled, settling into the rivers or turning into a million little water fairies, all of them heading towards the human world to nourish the greenery there.

The girl stayed in the same position she had been when she rushed to the dying dragon, cradling that one hand which had last held Haku's.  Her tears flowed steadily down her face, to fall as sparkles down unto the damaged land of the Majou no Sekai, the girl unable to do anything to control them.

"Sen…" Rin ventured quietly, not wanting to further her little friend.  The girl did not move an inch; did not appear to have heard the arrival of her friends at all, nor did she acknowledge them.  She just stayed the way she was, staring at her cradled hand, looking lost and hurt, as if someone had ripped her heart out mercilessly and wouldn't return it to her.

The members who had managed at least to travel to the girl's side looked at each other worriedly. They had seen too, when their little friend had tried to stop Haku from taking his own life…and they watched, helpless, as the girl has failed and the silver dragon had killed himself in order to preserve the lives of those whom he had learned to care for.  Rin tried again to call to her young friend, to offer her comfort.

But no words could ease the pain that Chihiro felt as she saw her beloved stab himself and bled to death; no words could describe the pain and the…emptiness…the girl feels right then, as her beloved's body had been taken from her in the form of silver feathers, forever flying away from her.

Forever…from her life.

Zeniiba, looking worn and tired beyond her years from the emotional toll they were all going through, decided to speak up, disrupting the silence that had followed Rin's futile efforts to get Chihiro's attention.

"Look below you, child."  Gently, the witch who had helped in awakening Chihiro's magic took the girl's hands and guided her gaze to the lands below them.  On the earth, which had been tattered and left in shards by the unyielding storm and stripped bare of all signs of life, were little tiny emerald sprouts, carpeting the entire ugly brown land with its beautiful life.  Wherever Chihiro's tear lands, a new sprout appears, gracing the land with its presence.  The girl watched all this emotionlessly, in a trance. 

"It all returns to the Earth." Chihiro whispered suddenly, startling everyone around her. "It all returns to create a new beginning…"

Chihiro turned her head in the direction Haku's silver features had flown off, and saw that there too, the lands were once again filled with the sprouts of green grass and miniature trees, with yet-to-bloomed new flowers buds surrounding them.

Closing her eyes, Chihiro could see an intertwined pink and emerald aura in every bit of sprouts and in every inch of land, all of which drew their energy on her and Haku's combined magics. 

He's here… the girl thought with tears in her eyes as she allowed Rin to embrace her tightly.  He's in everything…helping them grow, nourishing them.  He gave his all for us to have another chance…at living…at creating a new life.

"We…we must help him." the girl stammered as Rin released her from her tight hug, "we mustn't let his sacrifice go to waste…we must help him create a new world—one where hatred doesn't exist.  After all," Chihiro smiled through her tears, looking like the same strong and caring ten-year-old girl that they had all come to love.  "When Haku looks to check on us…we should be able to show him we did something good with the world he had revived for us, right?"

The tears continued their silent and steady flow down the girl's cheeks, the mouth and eyes the portrait of a bittersweet smile.

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It was a tearful farewell for all of them, although Chihiro promised to return to visit often.  With the tunnel and the gates which had connected the two worlds destroyed, the girl had taken to the sky with her light-pink feathered wings to go through a warp in the sky, opened by her magic. 

She came out the other side in a dark, small cave-like structure made of rocks, which was home to a small creek made by a tiny mountain stream.  She stepped out in her world, calling her wings away, and saw that she was in the middle of the forest where the tunnel that led to the Majou no Sekai had once been.  Walking stiffly on tired legs, physically and emotionally exhausted, the girl neared the tunnel—now merely a pile of old rubble—and realized that she was not alone in the forest.  Two undistinguishable voices were calling something on the human side of the rubble.  As she neared, her tired mind registered the voices had sounded…familiar, somehow…and extremely worried.  Curious, the girl stepped out from behind a tree and almost fell straight into the waiting arms of her mother.

"Chihiro!  Thank goodness, we've found you!" the woman cried with tears of joy as she hugged her daughter close to her heart, regardless of what her once-indifferent daughter might say to her afterwards.  To Ogino Yuuko's surprise, her daughter buried her face in the woman's chest as her mother held her tight, rocking her back and forth like she had when Chihiro was a small child.  Feeling a strange comfort within the circle of her mother's arms, Chihiro could only manage to mutter a few words to her mother and her panting father as she drifted off to sleep.

"I'm sorry, okaa-san, otou-san…I miss you both so mu…"

A single tear escaped Chihiro's tear-stained cheek as she fell into the blackness of a dreamless sleep, mind and body longing for rest.

"Poor thing must be exhausted," panted Ogino Akio softly, having to come running to his wife and daughter.  Gently, he lifted his daughter out of his wife's arms and carried her sleeping form back to their waiting car.  "Let's go home, Chihiro." He murmured softly.

Above the thick green forest that guarded the Majou no Sekai, the sky over the human world was blue and clear, just as it was in the land of the spirits.

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Ladies and gentlemen…this is it—the end of The Day the Dream Ended.  Thanks for reading~! ^^

*rolling credits wiv sappy music in the background*

Hehehe…JUST KIDDING!  Did you think I'd leave a stupid cliff hanger-like thing (well…not really a cliffy…but not much of a conclusion to what happened after, either, ne?? n.n) as an ending to this ficcy??    I'd be mad, if I was reading the ficcy…so I can't risk you guys getting mad at me…not after all those hours of writing this ficcy~!!

Sooo…next week, the last update on The Day the Dream EndedDDE Epilogue: Eternity.  The battle is over, the worlds are safe—but did their peace and existence came at a price too great?  Will those who are left grieved by the great and little-known battle be able to go on living…or will they choose too to follow with the one they love…?

(Wow…I never did one of those before!  Why did I start this time??  I'll never know…O_o  But be sure to come and read the last chapter of my ficcy~!!)

As usual…crits, comments…and more comments much welcomed~!!  Pls send them all here…cuz this is my second last chance at hearing what you guys think of the ficcy~!! :P

~Aqua Sunshine ^^*