As Heaven is Wide
(Warning: Don't eat while reading this chapter. It does become rather gory.)
Chapter 4: When Your Mother's a Psycho Don't Invite People Over….
With a worried sigh, the white haired woman scurried over to the phone booth, her green eyes scanning the gas station for any signs of danger before closing the door behind her. With a shaky hand, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a light green phone card, sliding it into the phone, biting her lip as she dialed in a number that she had hoped to never use. The phone rung once, twice, three times before a matured and silky voice answered, causing her to jump.
"Wei?"
"Lian?" The white haired woman whispered, "Is that you?" There was a gasp from the other side of the phone and instantly the speaker switched from Chinese to Japanese.
"What are you calling me for, Kaori? The line could be bugged. You do know that Tatsu has used the sword, and that means it's starting! " Lian hissed into the receiver of her phone, her own blue eyes darting around the darkened room, looking for her husband.
"I-I I think we should meet!" She stated insistently, then held her breath in anticipation of her response. There was a long pause that was starting to grate on the older woman's nerves.
"You sure that you want to risk it, Kaori? All that we have done, and put the girls through, you sure you want to risk that all for a meeting."
"We should meet…with them I mean. "
"WHAT!!" Kaori winced at the intensity of the remark, and all at once, regretted saying it. "MEET WITH THEM?! I LET MY BABY GET SENT TO JAPAN WHEN SHE WAS THREE AND BECOME WHAT SHE IS NOW TO KEEP HER SAFE AND NOW YOU JUST WANT ME TO SAY 'WHAT THE HELL! LETS GO VISIT'?!??" She dropped into a stream of Chinese curses that would make her daughter proud, and make poor Kaori's mind over load.
"Listen to me! They are already in danger, so I say that you and Yuu get over here as quickly as you can, because I am only ten miles out of town and I am going to see Miyuki. I'll be waiting for you!" Kaori hung up the phone with a determined clack. She stepped out of the phone booth, feeling much more courageous then when she had stepped in, her eyes focused on the city of Kyoto.
* * * * *
"Eh?"
Miyuki paused, her fingertips brushing a doorknob, body turning towards the path behind her, eyes staring up at the swaying trees. For a moment she stood in utter silence, listening only to the sound of the breeze pushing leaves against one another in an almost hypnotic sway. When the girl turned back towards her own front door, the feeling that someone was watching her would not leave.
"That's odd. I swore I heard someone a second ago."
Shaking her head at her own silly indiscretion, Miyuki stepped on to the doormat, once again pausing as her hand encased the tarnished doorknob. It had been several days since she and Tatsu had fallen in to the care of Kurama and Hiei. During that slightly short phase she had intently awaited a telephone call from her father. She feared how he would react to the state of their yard and jeep, as well as her own unexplained disappearance. Her father had never been a very even-tempered sort of fellow, so any anger he had would be well warranted if not highly frightening. However, even though she'd left a phone number for him to call and several messages on their answering machine, no reply had been made. That alone made her worry increasingly as each day past until the apprehension could no longer be ignored.
The young woman briefly massaged her temples, hating her own fear of facing her more then likely enraged, if not worried, father. She'd wanted to see him alone, being as bringing Hiei or Kurama would only anger him further, but at that moment she secretly wished that she'd brought someone with her. Something felt slightly amiss to her, as if danger awaited her behind the closed door that had nothing to do with a pissed off parent. Finally, holding her breath, Miyuki stepped inside.
It was quiet, almost to the point of being eerily quiet. Rather then call out for her father, Miyuki entered the threshold in silence, removing her boots and replacing them with her house slippers without uttering a word. Her footsteps barely resounded due to the soft cushion of her slippers, silence still filling the air about her. It smelled rather musty inside, which was odd in itself being as Mrs. Furikomu was rather much a neat freak, always insisting that all of her family members kept their abode tidy whilst she was away. Dismissing the stale scent of the air, Miyuki poked her head in to the kitchen, blinking once and then twice as she strode over to the counter beside the refrigerator, picking up the note she'd left for her father the night she and Tatsu had first encountered Marionette. It hadn't been moved at all. The girl opened the fridge, shivering slightly due to the chilled air, staring at the sight of the untouched dinner she'd left for her father.
Worry having taken over caution, Miyuki found herself rushing upstairs, calling out for her father in a shrill, frightened voice. It seemed like it took her forever to reach the end of the upstairs hallway, where her parent's bedroom awaited her. She threw open the door without bothering to knock as she usually did, the doorknob slamming against the wall as she stopped only two strides in to the room. The sight the greeted her was not at all pleasant.
Bed sheets and blankets were mangled and torn apart above a mattress tainted with blood, feathers clinging to the tattered blankets as they did to the ceiling where splatters of crimson fluid still dripped down. The walls, once cream colored, were now painted red, decorative knickknacks replaced with fragments of fleshy organs. The smell of rotted tissue suffocated Miyuki, making her feel as if she'd just stepped right in to a horror movie. Her breath hitched in her chest and for a moment she could hear nothing, but her own rapid heartbeat before her shocked control snapped, her feet carrying her in to her parent's bathroom.
Again she paused, eyes widening at the sight of intestinal tendrils hanging from the pole that once held a shower curtain, the bathtub filled to the brim with blood. The mirror was splotched with bloody handprints, the sink littered with ruby teeth and matted clumps of dark hair. Unable to hold it in any longer, uncaring of the bloody mess about her, Miyuki bent over at the waist and retched upon the already messy floor, walking on shaking legs out of the room once her stomach was again empty, falling to her knees in the clean hallway, taking in rapid breaths, willing herself to move; to get up and run.
And that was just what she did. Fear fueling her, Miyuki ran out of her house, pulling on her boots as she moved, slamming the front door closed behind her. She pushed through crowds without any care towards her rudeness, her feet bringing her quickly away from the nightmare that had once been her home. Her hands fumbled for a moment with the doorknob, the door swinging open once the obstacle was out of the young woman's way.
"Tatsu-san! Kurama-san!" she called out, rushing in to the living room of the house they all shared, eyes searching widely for one of the two individuals that she sought. "Tatsu-san!"
"Stop your screeching, human. She won't hear you."
Miyuki turned around, startled by the unexpected voice and presence of Hiei. The darkly clad fire demon eyed the young woman, one eyebrow arching visibly. Her hair was disheveled, falling out of the loose ponytail she'd pulled it in to, her breath hitching, and her cheeks flushed with exertion. What stood out to him most of all was her eyes. They were wide with fear that he had not yet seen expressed by the girl, not even when they had faced Marionette for the first time. He could also see that she was slightly uneasy with him, some visible mortification within her eyes, making it obvious that she did not want him to see her alarm. After they'd argued when Marionette's puppet attacked few words were shared between them, both too angry to speak with one another. Naturally she wouldn't want a 'jackass who doesn't know when he needs help' to be her only source of aid.
"Where is Tatsu-san?" she asked, her voice slightly hushed with fatigue.
"Kurama took that obnoxious human you address as a friend to buy clothing."
Hiei strode over to her, his crimson eyes boring in to her fearful emerald irises.
"Why are you so frightened, human?"
* * * * *
"Owowowowowowowowow!! FUCK!!" exclaimed the ever verbal Ryuuzaki Tatsu, unable to perform a typical reflexive action of grabbing her injured foot and hopping about on the opposite one.
Kurama, who at the time ran beside her, had to wonder just how the both of them had ended up in such a situation. He glanced at his supposed 'partner in crime' as she gritted her teeth against the pain of having rough gravel scrap against the defenseless bottoms of her bare feet, trying his best to ignore the fact that, not only were Tatsu's hands captured within the clutches of a now stray pair of handcuffs, but that they both had a decently large, angry cop to run away from.
"This is all yer fault, Kurama!!"
"My fault?!" the red-haired Kitsune asked, expression clearly shocked at the implication that their current toil was of his doing. "How is this my fault?!"
"If ya hadn't tried ta grope me, ya fuckin' letch, none of this woulda started!"
"Grope you?! I was trying to stop you from hitting the ground after you tripped!"
"I did not trip, ya damned horny bastard, and ya grabbed my ass!!"
"I DID NOT!!!!"
Face flaming due to the presumptuous remark, Kurama cast Tatsu a sideways glare, all the while telling himself that he was not at fault and that the girl was just trying to deny making an error as she always did. If she'd just allowed him to help her rather then scream and cause a scene then they would never have caught the attention of a police officer, he never would have been called 'a fat oinker who needs to pull up his bloody pants', and thus the current situation never would have never come about.
"Its yer damn fault that I lost my shoes!"
"My fault?! You're the one who kicked him in the face after he handcuffed you and then lost the other shoe trying to run away! "
And their argument resumed, both too occupied with the police officer lumbering after them to even think that something was amiss elsewhere.
* * * * *
Hiei did not like loud noises. He preferred quiet, tranquil places, areas that were so very different from the way he thought, the way he felt. He disliked human females who so often lost their composure, letting their fear get the best of them, allowing others to see their obvious weakness. Miyuki clung to him, her fright evident as he jumped from tall office building to tall office building, and time and time again she would make a soft noise, similar to a squeal, in the back of her throat. Her pale hair blew about the both of them and he could feel her warm breath fanning over the skin of his neck where her face was pressed, eyes clenched shut. Typically Hiei would not put up with such behavior in his company and he might have been tempted to let her fall, but he would not. She was, though he hated to admit it, his responsibility and in a way his path to freedom. They might have been at their destination by then, for he was incredibly fast, but at that moment he took a longer, slower route simply to hear the girl squeal. They sound bore down on his nerves, but it amused him to scare her a little, she who tried to hard to be brave. That aside, he did owe her a little payback for her senseless screaming at him for refusing her aid. Even he deserved some fun.
Miyuki screamed loudly as their bodies plunged down through the air, Hiei having leapt from one tall build to a shorter one, the wall unexpected and quite frightening to one who disliked heights. She gripped firmly on to him again and pulled her face away from his neck, glaring at him with a fire in her green eyes, her ire enough to frighten a normal man, which he was not.
"I swear your trying to scare me on purpose! I know damn well that we could have been there by now, but you're purposefully taking your time!"
"Hm. It appears that you aren't as idiotic as I first thought!" Hiei shouted back over the sound of rushing wind, smirking devilishly.
"You jerk! Ahhh!"
Miyuki's angry words were halted as their bodies jolted upward, Hiei holding back a laugh as he literally ran up the side of an office building. Workers inside stared in confusion at the black and white blur that rushed past the windows, wondering what on earth they had seen. Miyuki pressed her face against the soft white fabric of the fire demon's collar, closing her eyes again, willing herself not to scream and further amuse her almost rival. Hiei stared for a moment at the top of her head, still grinning, almost wanting to thank the girl for giving him a good laugh, which he'd not had in some time. That would further anger her too. He chose, however, not to further press the girl's rage, knowing fully well that more important matters lay at hand to be taken care of and he held on to Miyuki with one strong arm, quickening his flight.
The girl felt solid ground suddenly beneath her feet and she slowly drew back from Hiei as her feet supported her again, looking over her shoulder to see the open doorway of her home, leading in to darkness. The feeling of dread and fear washed over her again, followed by the memory of sickening, bloody images. She let go of Hiei and stood fully, towering a head or two above the short statured demon as ever she did, her anger fading in to caution, a fist clenching at her side. Hiei released her only moments afterward, striding in to the threshold without a sound, his footfalls ever strong. He paused in the doorway and looked over his shoulder at her, the look in his eyes obviously questioning whether or not she chose to follow or not. Miyuki gathered her courage and did indeed follow, brushing past him, her skin growing as cold as her heart felt then.
Her footfalls slowed slightly once the two of them reached the upstairs bedroom, coming to stop just before the doorway. Hiei paused along side her, looking over at the girl, clearly able to see that what lay behind the closed door was a sight that greatly disturbed her, one that had caused her eyes to hold such fear as he'd never before seen upon her. He understood her desire to stay back, her hesitation in opening the door, and quickly he looked away from her. The door opened against the pressure of his pushing hand and Miyuki wrapped her arms around herself, biting on to her bottom lip while the eyes of Hiei darkened to a deep ruby color, all because of the sight before them. Even he admitted that the display was gruesome, enough to make a grown man vomit, blood everywhere, covering everything he saw. It was disgusting and unnecessary in his opinion. Marionette certainly wanted to make a point that he was a force to be reckoned with and he showed so without any apparent remorse. Hiei stepped within the bedroom, scowling slightly as blood coated the bottoms of his black boots, his feet squishing against the bloody carpet. Behind him Miyuki leaned her back against the wooden pane of the doorway, biting her bottom lip until blood began to lightly come forth, a coppery taste in her mouth, and yet her eyes were dry, no more tears yet shed despite her growing sorrow. It was obvious to both she and Hiei. Furikomu Katsuhiro was dead.
Something caught the trained eyes of Hiei, drawing him to step towards the bed, where upon the mattress, painted in red letters, were words, perhaps of threat or warning.
Surprise…
Hiei clenched his teeth, baring fangs at the one word, and he drew his sword from the sheath at his hip, growling as his sliced the bed completely in half, rupturing the message. Eyes flaming he resheathed his blade, feeling that even he was disgusted by actions so severe. He turned around, looking back again at Miyuki, who at some point had ventured within the room and obviously had seen the message, for her eyes were burning beneath a furrowed brow, creased and glowing with uncaged anger. She turned away from him, facing a wall, her eyes watching as a few tiny rivers slide down the once white surface. Unable to contain herself any longer, Miyuki let out a shout of rage and her fist sailed forward, breaking clearly through the wall before her, knuckles then bloody due to the blow and the blood that had already been present.
"Baka yarou…Marionette…I swear I'll make him pay for this…"
Hiei watched her and almost felt remorse deep down in his heart, pity for the loss that she now felt, though he wouldn't show it, express it in any way. It was not how he normally acted, showing pity, showing concern for a simple weak human.
"Will you? If given the chance, could one such as you ever bring yourself to kill him?"
"I don't know…I've never taken a life…never thought of taking a life…but this…this makes me sick…Its unforgivable. If he had some reason to attack me then he could have done so…I don't care if he hurts me…My father had nothing to do with this…He never hurt anyone! He didn't deserve this!"
Miyuki rounded on Hiei and he could see unshed tears in her enraged eyes, knew that she held them back, tried to be brave. She didn't want to be weak, not simply because she didn't want him to feel superior, but because she didn't want to be a weakling, not after what had happened to her father, not if revenge was what she now had to obtain. Words were lost on him, words that were needed to be said to sooth her gone from Hiei's lips, for he wasn't one to comfort. He left such things to the devices of Kurama, who held strength in such matters of the heart. Instead of saying anything to comfort her, Hiei scooped the girl up off of her now shaking feet and took her home. Her new home at least. Miyuki said nothing, didn't question these actions, which almost seemed tender coming from the cold fire demon, and she let herself lean fully against his form as he carried her back, as if in defeat.
Hiei placed her upon the bed she shared with Tatsu and left her alone, closing the bedroom door behind him, leaving the girl to lay alone in the darkened room. The dam within her burst apart once she was alone and the tears came, Miyuki unable to contain them as she curled up in to a ball and cried. Hiei leaned against the door, listening to the sound of the almost fragile young woman's sorrow, his expression blank. He stood there for what felt akin to hours until the front door opened, revealing a very bedraggled Chinese girl and Kitsune, who'd suffered through events that could only be imagined. As soon as the two closed the door behind them, Tatsu griping colorfully to the red-haired Kurama, who ignored her typical complaints and set their many shopping bags down upon the threshold. The two fell in to silence, Tatsu more slowly, both looking upon the face of Hiei, seeing something more then just his typical stony expression. There was something dire, almost angry behind it. The short fire demon stepped towards the pair; turning his eyes upon Tatsu, gaze almost commanding.
"Your friend needs you. Her tears haven't stopped for some time now."
"Cryin'?! What th' hell did ya do ta Miyuki, ya little asshole?!" Tatsu bellowed, shaking her fist before his face.
"Her pain is no cause of my actions. Are you just going to stand there and uselessly threaten me or will you take care of your friend?"
"You'd better explain ta me what th' hell is goin' on later, Shortie!" Tatsu said behind one last growl before she quickly rushed in to the bedroom, intent on caring for the still sobbing Miyuki.
"What happened, Hiei?" Kurama asked, his eyes full of confused inquisition, sensing that something very bad had happened.
"Miyuki's father is dead. We found his remains at her home along with a message left by Marionette. The bastard certainly has a disgusting sense of humor."
"God…"
Kurama felt unable to say anymore, his expression almost horrified, and he could only imagine how the sight had affected Miyuki. Silence fell between the two demons, leaving both to wonder what Marionette had planned. Why kill Miyuki's father and Tatsu's aunt if they appeared to be after the girls? Kurama could only guess that their enemy wanted to draw the girls out by playing on their emotions, using their loved ones and sorrow against them. If his plan worked, it would be their downfall, but luckily they had two Rekai Tantei to protect them. Neither would allow any harm to come to them.
A knock sounded, unexpectedly, upon the front door. Kurama looked down at Hiei who in turn looked up at him. Neither had expected anyone to come by and thusly had no idea who would suddenly knock upon their door. They doubted that Koenma had sent Yusuke or Kuwabara to aid them and Kurama had not ordered out for bento of any kind, being as they had Miyuki to do the cooking, so no plausible ideas came to them. Their best guess was that it could be a possible threat and so, as Kurama strode towards the door and placed his hand upon the knob, Hiei let his hand fall to the hilt of his sword, waiting. The door then opened.
A woman stood there, one with bright blue eyes and pale white hair, pulled back in to a conservative ponytail at the base of her neck. Her clothing was casual and rather feminine, giving her an unthreatening guise. It was her expression that worried them, for her mouth was pulled back in to a firm frown and her eyes glared upon them icily, almost angrily.
"Where is Miyuki?" she asked, voice soft and somewhat cold.
"It depends on who wants to know," Kurama replied, just as coldly.
The odd woman stared long and hard at Kurama, her gaze boring in to him almost fiercely until an unanticipated smile worked its way in to position upon her face, demolishing her previous harsh demeanor. She looked sweeter that way, not at all threatening. What reason, though, did she have to smile after having seemed so cruel, so much like a possible enemy? Who was she?
"You're more cautious then I thought you would be. It's a relief to know that my girls have been in good hands. Now, I doubt you'll believe me, but I am on your side. I came here to see my daughter. Now will you step aside and let me see her?"
"Daughter?"
Kurama looked the woman over again and sure enough he saw the resemblance that she shared with Miyuki. Her personality as well matched that of the quiet young woman unless this woman was a good actor. There still existed a chance that she could be one of Marionette's puppets and so the two demons stood their ground, thus far refusing to give in. They would not expose Tatsu or Miyuki to any more possible harm.
"Now, I want to see my daughter. Will you let me get by?"
"I think not," Kurama told her, his voice soft and as cold as a winter breeze. Caution would not evade him.
"All right then. I'll just have to take drastic measures…" The woman paused and took a deep breath, her eyes closing amiably before… "…MIYUKI!!!"
Both Kurama and Hiei threw their hands over their ears, trying to block out the loud, shrill scream issuing from the once calm woman standing opposite them. Her plan appeared to work well enough, however, for just after her voice sounded the figures of an annoyed Tatsu and a tear-stained Miyuki appeared, confusion written amongst the other present emotions on their faces. Their appearance then marked the end of that shrill cry and the pale blue eyes of this strange woman locked on Miyuki, tears streaming emotionally down her cheeks.
"M-Mama?" Miyuki asked hesitantly, as if the wetness rimming her eyes might somehow be making her see a false vision of hope.
"Mi-Yu-Ki-CHAN!!!!" the revealed Mrs. Furikomu cried as she all but shoved poor Hiei and Kurama out of her path, embracing her daughter after she'd rushed over to her, sobbing happily. "Miyuki-chan! My sweet, beautiful Miyuki-chan is safe. But why? Why are you crying? What happened to my poor Miyuki-chan?!"
"M-Mother, please calm down. I'm all right," Miyuki said, her voice almost sounding urgent as her tears halted, an obvious indication that she'd had to calm her often hysterical mother many times before.
"Did someone hurt you, Miyuki-chan?! Did you get a bad score on a test?! No, my Miyuki never scores badly on a test! What happened!?!"
"Jeez. Calm down, Kaori-san!"
The woman now known as Kaori halted her tears in an instant, Tatsu's voice having seemed to strike a nerve of some sort. Hiei and Kurama watched the display, almost fearfully, as tick-by-tick Kaori's head turned towards the raven-haired girl, oh so slowly, stopping fully upon her with a loud DING noise.
"Taaaaatsuuuuu…."
"Eh? Oh shit…" Tatsu mumbled, expression actually scared for the first time either demon had ever seen before.
"TATSU-CHAN!! Tatsu-chan, how I missed you!! Has Miyuki-chan been taking good care of you?! How is Aunt Ami?! Have you taken a bath this week?! Poor, beautiful Tatsu-chan!!"
Kaori all, but strangled Tatsu in a 'warm' embrace of love, affection, and paranoia. The poor girl seemed to want to get away without hurting the obviously emotional woman's feelings and apparently she was fighting a losing battle. Hiei seemed to find the foul-mouthed teenager's plight amusing and thusly let out a snort of laughter, much to his later dismay. Kaori's head seemed to turn around completely as she glared flames at him, having well enough heard his noise of amusement. In the blink of an eye she was no longer embracing Tatsu, but holding the short demon's head between her hands, forcing his line of vision upon the rather disheveled young women.
"You laugh?! You don't think Tatsu-chan is beautiful?! Look at them! LOOOOOOOOK! They're gorgeous!" Kaori cried from behind him, one eye twitching insanely.
"Kurama…get this mad woman off of me…" Hiei said, a crazed look coming across his face as he held up his sword, which glinted dangerously. "I'm going to kill her."
Before Hiei could even think of really slaughtering the woman he found his face greeting the hard wooden floor, for Mrs. Furikomu had all, but plowed him down again in her rush to return to her daughter and friend.
"Now both of you please tell me what's been going on since I left. Miyuki-chan, your eyes and cheeks are red. Have you been crying, Sweetheart?"
Kaori suddenly returned to the previously calm, composed woman she'd been earlier, her voice soft and filled with concern as she wiped a stray tear from her daughter's eye with her thumb. Tatsu allowed mother and daughter to converse, though she worried how explanations would emotionally upset her friend and she pondered how a woman could change so drastically in personality over the span of a few short minutes. All seemed oblivious to the enraged fire demon who seemed to hover in the air, his legs and arms flapping as wildly as his sword slashed towards Kaori's back, his attack missing target thanks to Kurama, who held the back of his short comrades shirt, one hand pressed over his eyes.
"Miyuki-chan, what happened?" Kaori saw the pain written on her daughter's face and understood where it came from. "It was Marionette, wasn't it?"
All heads shot up at this remark and even Hiei calmed his ire enough to stare in shock at the white-haired woman. How was it that she knew of their enemy? Tatsu opened her mouth and then closed it, doing this at least three times before she realized, for perhaps the first time in her life, she didn't know what to say or what question to ask. The only person who seemed to have any idea of what to say or do was Miyuki, who solemnly nodded her head, one hand pressed against her heart. Her eyes were dark at the thought of the demon that had taken the life of Tatsu's aunt and viciously slain her father. How did her mother know of him?
"You're all confused. I can see that. I don't know why you've been crying Miyuki, but for now I want you to rest. All of you. It is getting late and I myself am tired from the long drive I've just taken. I'll explain everything that I know to all of you in the morning."
Tatsu, for once, did as she was told and placed her hands upon Miyuki's slumped shoulders, guiding the still emotionally distraught girl in to their bedroom, closing the door behind them. Kaori turned her attention to Kurama and asked for him to help her set up a bed on the couch where she might sleep. Hiei seemed to understand that he would receive no explaination that night and even then he didn't feel like forcing any knowledge out of the insane woman, so he took leave of the others and went to rest as comfortably as possibly upon the branch of the tree sitting outside the girl's bedroom window, sword clutched in his hand. Kurama could handle the odd woman then.
The darkly clothed fire demon glanced over his shoulder at the dark window, his view of the room blocked by drawn curtains. He saw no light filtering through the fabric and knew that the girls had indeed turned in. Unsure of why he felt the sudden need to do so, Hiei removed the cloth about his forehead, revealing the Jagen, his third eye. The pupil and iris seemed to glow as Hiei saw what he needed to see; Miyuki lying in her bed, curled in to a fetal position with blankets over her head, sobbing softly, tears streaming still down her cheeks. The image faded and Hiei made a noise of disgust with himself, wondering just why he cared for the human girl's pain. The bandana was replaced, the Jagen hidden, and the nightly watch began.
End of Chapter 4
To everyone who reads this story, we are incredibly sorry for the lack of updating. We will try to remedy such a horrid circumstance as well as we can.
Review Responses:
Kasey: Thank you for reading and reviewing As Heaven is Wide, Kazey-san.
Utena: *gives her hugs and cookies*
Sami: Hiei…and Tatsu? Uhm…we had planned on pairings, but Hiei and Tatsu….ehehehe…
Utena: ^^;;; Uhm….
Hiei and Tatsu: *GLARE at each other*
Kurama and Miyuki: *Heavy sighs*
Sami: No. Not Hiei and Tatsu. Sorry.
Utena: But Hiei-san will be paired with an OC character.
Hiei: Hmp. Like I'd have anything to do with that weak ningen baka…
Miyuki: *Twitches* Weak ningen baka…*TWITCH* Pardon me, everyone. *Bows to the readers before thusly attacking Hiei with his own katana*
TalieZ: worry not, Talie-san. We shall continue this mad and crazy adventure of fanfictional proportions!
Sami and Utena: *Cue dramatic/determined poses*
Lillian Claire: We updated, Lillian-san. Sorry for the incredibly long wait. Bet you're about read to kill us. *Nervous grins* Its nice to know that Miyuki and Tatsu aren't like Mary Sues. Yes, Tatsu's lovely tendency to swear every other word is what greatly amuses us. She's incredibly fun to work with. Hope this chapter was satisfactory.
Winter Peacecraft-Yuy: Here's the new chapter. Please, don't kill us. *Apologetic bows* We agree about Tatsu. She and Miyuki both just took their own personalities, as if all on their own. Tatsu makes us laugh until tears spring forth from our eyes. We kid you not. Uhm…Lemon…
Utena: *Blush* We'll we have written 'Special Secret Chapters', but they wouldn't take place until after the end of the story. We're not sure if we'd even post them.
Sami: Yeah. *Blush*
Kurama: *Slight blush as he coughs in to his hand*
Miyuki: *Looks down at her feet as she blushes uncomfortably*
Tatsu: *Face is a little red, but she is too busy laughing at Hiei to care much*
Hiei: *Sits on the floor, rubbing his bruised cheek, muttering to himself about 'two over emotional ningen women*
