And I'm back again! Yay! Hope the chappie is forthcoming enough for you all. Again with the lack of beta-ing, but oh well X3 Please enjoy it. Next might be out in a week or so... But I've got a good four chapters ready in case of writers block! Woo! And I'm sorry if it's somewhat short. The next few should be at least a little longer.

Reviews-

Jessy-Baka ~ Jess, I luff you. Everyone go read her review! It's chock full of information y'all need to know! ^_^ And you're not whiney at all, dove, you've got reason to be how you are ^ ^

Innocence Within ~ Oh, don't worry, he's got reason for it. It'll all become clear soon! The main reason she was able to gain his trust is because she comes across as so honest to him and really doesn't ask any questions. It's something she's got in common with someone else, ne? ^ ~ Don't worry, I won't let her take control of any other chappies like this. Well... she will, but it won't be too terrible. And she's just one of those people...well, I'll let Malik explain that in future chappies. ^^ Don't worry, the story isn't going to end with this paring... it's too easy. I'd probably hang myself.

Angel ~ it's up, it's up! XD

kaehimi ~ There's SHEEP? O_O Oh my god, I require sheep... Have you read Megatokyo? Vibrating sheep of death!

Dark-necrophhia666 ~ I think "Malik" is a common last name. It does, after all, mean "king" or something similar. It's nearly impossible to find pictures of him because of it! (Malik: *Grumblebitchmoan*)

Evil Chibi Malik ~ Luff you ECM-chan. You give me joy. And YAY Malik plushie -^^-

Queen Ali B ~ (Chappie 7 review:) I'll probably send you more of those update letters. And yus, the teachers are from hell. Don't worry, I'm jinxed too!

(Chappie 8 review:) I've seen some Yami no Malik x Isis pictures, actually... they perturb me a bit. And I've got a Malik x Isis picture in one of my binders (he was so pretty in it ;-;) I've got Yami no Yuugi's pants! ^_^ Black leather yum! But my Malik-esque pants are too light and have paint on them! *cries*

rikus-angel ~ (Chappie 7 review:) Metric system is much easier than inches and stuff. I like it better, actually. Easier to use. And what does this Malik at your school look like? XD (Malik: You've got a girlfriend, don't go looking for clones of me!) And yay for undying love for highlighters!

Jay Kamiya ~ And we're reading, and we're reading... ^ ^

Lynseyax Heparedds ~ Mansex is a pain in the ass to write (believe me, people keep telling me so). I'm glad you're willing to put up with it! Your outlook is a lot better than that of a lot of people's I know. And yay for not having lost you! I wouldn't be surprised if I lose a few readers soon... Got some trauma for little Malik-chan in the works. (Malik: I hate you.)

(Chappie 8 review:) Lookie, I'm continuing! ^ ^

And as for warnings and disclaimers, we've got Satoshi and Pikachuu! Yay for Pokemon grooves!

Satoshi(Ash): Uh, Meggie doesn't own this. She doesn't own the Laramie Project, which is by Moisés Kaufman and the Members of Tectonic Theatre Project. Yuugiou is Kizuki Takahashi-sensei's.

Pikachuu: Pikapiii...

Satoshi: Oh yeah! ^_^; and she's broke. Still. She got jipped babysitting last night, so she's still broke. Suing won't do much good...

Shigeru: *pops in* And homophobes beware; there's a crapload of stuff in this. Please don't bitch at her about it, because then she cries...

That said, do enjoy the story! ^ ^ Reviews are tasty--twelve in one chapter! I love you all!

~*~ Tuesday, November 18th; Rolling Hills of Wyoming Angst ~*~

Went to see a nearby school's production of The Laramie Project, a really depressing play about real people. What they really said. It made me cry--which is something I just do not do. For those of you who don't know, The Laramie Project is a play about... well, it's a collection of bits and pieces of interviews, news bits, and journal entries done by a cast of actors that went through Laramie, Wyoming after Matthew Shepard was killed. Now then, it wasn't really all that well known here in Japan, but Megami required that I see it. There was a small group producing it in English, and I went with Ryou and Yuugi. Had to explain to them what was going on, though. It was so sad...

Right. The actual story... In 1998, October... 7th, I believe, a young college freshman named Matthew Shepard was at a bar. Two guys came to him and offered to give him a ride home. They say that they planned to mug him, but... Well, it didn't turn out that way.

The two guys took him out to the prairie and tied him to a wooden fence and beat him with a rifle butt, then kept abusing him until he stopped begging them to stop. Then they left him there.

Eighteen hours later, a guy found him... He was rushed to the hospital, went into a coma, and died on October 12th around midnight. All of America was watching it on television--it was a really big deal. Anyone care to find out why?

Because he was gay.

Not pretty.

The whole bleedin' nation was in an uproar. It went international, but--well, hell, I didn't hear about it. I was only eleven. Still in Egypt.

Anyway--That up there was the back story. The play is, like I said, a bunch of interviews. It tells the story of what the people in Laramie feel after the fact... Starting four months after it happened and over the next two years. I'm not doing much of a job describing it, but the play is amazing. Yami no Bakura looked affected by it too, and that's really saying something. Anai didn't get to come, but... I don't think I'd really want to have her see me crying. Just one of those things.

Ryou, Yuugi and I had a sobfest of sorts afterwards. And yes, I'm man enough to admit that. We went out during intermission and privately cried outside where it was cold. No one saw us. We went back in and cried throughout the second and third acts, then cried with everyone. The actors came out to do their bows and one of the girls was crying. The whole audience gave them a standing ovation. I don't think I've ever seen a school play get that sort of response. Certainly not any we've done at Domino.

Talked to the actress that was crying during play and talked to her for a little bit. She said that she couldn't help it, even after two months of practicing for the play, and hearing the lines over and over. It's just one of those things. I'd have to say I agree. I'm inclined to go read "Angels in America" now, too. I recommend it!

I called Megami about it (yay for flat-rate cellphones) and she completely spazzed out. She started ranting about how it was such a sad play, and how it made her cry, how she loved watching her wife(?) play all of his parts, and all this... It was kind of amazing, actually. She went on for a long time. Girl loves babbling.

Although, I guess I'm one to talk. After all, I told her about Anai when she finally shut up and probably talked twice as long as she did. She laughed at me when I finished ranting, and told me that I was entirely too infatuated for my own good. Kept telling me how cute it was that I was so obsessed with someone so much like Ryou...

Really don't see the connection between the two of them, but oh well.

Oh. Also... Meh, Yuugi and Ryou read the journal again. That's not so bad, but now they know about my crush on Anai...as does Yami no Bakura. Not tasty! That's not good! He's going to harass me until I die about this...

He and I made a promise of sorts, I suppose (probably when we were drunk), never to fall in love. Sad, ne? And he wants to hold me to that. There's a loophole, naturally--I said "I will never fall in love with a woman". So maybe I can weasel out of it...

Either way, I've gotten more feedback from Yuugi and Ryou. I finally got my own e-mail. And for any of you who wants to know, it's Cursed_Thousand_Tears@yahoo.com. Not original, but who cares? Easy to remember.

Anywho. Yuugi and Ryou e-mailed me. Yuugi was congratulating me on having found a love interest and was glad that I was adjusting to life so well. He's sweet like that. I've got to admit, I'm really rather fond of him--he's just really great. I'm not at all surprised that he's gotten Kaiba to hang out with us anymore now that I've gotten to know him. (Ack, must not call Kaiba 'Seto'. Damnit, 'neesan, you're going to rub off on me!) The kid's got a magnetic charm like you wouldn't believe. He even got Yami no Bakura to behave. That's hard to do.

Ryou's e-mail was similar to his last one--I won't post it either. They're kind of personal. But in essence, he said that he was glad for me too, and once again insisted that the arm thing was no big deal. I don't see how it's anything but a big deal, but I'm being repetitive. He also said, quote; "Malik-kun, if you keep blaming yourself for this, I'm going to let Tori-chan nest in your hair. And I know you won't like that!" Heh. He's so cute. Love ya, Ryou. (Not like that, Meg. Hush.)

Okay, well, 'neesan requires that I go eat my vegetarian soup. Fear it, it's sexy.

~*~

Oh my god, we've got authors' notes. Loads of them.

First off--

The Laramie Project - Oh my god, this is the most depressing piece of literature known to Meggie. It's sad. Everyone must read it! It's a real eye-opener. The facts in the entry are all true. Go read it.

Wife - Love him. Just do it. He's the "Truthful Beaver" ^ ^ Go read his flames!

Cursed_Thousand_Tears@Yahoo.com - Yes, we've claimed this e-mail. If you want to talk to Malik, e-mail me there! ^_^

Seto - Yeah, Isis calls him Seto in the manga. Makes me rather ill... love Isis-san dearly, but she doesn't have any right to be so close to him. *cough* Shutting up now.

Veggie soup - Yup. Vegetarian. Isn't that CUTE? ^_^

That's all for this chappie-- I hope you enjoy it. More Anai in the next one, and some man fluff for those of you who are open to it! ^ ~ Please the masses! Feed me reviews!