Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin isn't mine, that it isn't.
Author's note: Sorry, late again. Last week of college, very busy, etc etc… I won't bother with all the detailed excuses. Anyway, the darkness that was the duel between the man in black and Soujiro is past, onwards on the pathway to reunion! Though not just yet of course…
What do you mean, why not? He's gotta fight Sano first, hasn't he?! *sigh* Sad but true. The course of true love never did run smooth though, did it? ^_^
Anyway, the usual warning of the inclusion of tweaking, syncing and Akari-fying, so be prepared. No flames now! Enjoy!
The Princess Bride: Kenshin StyleSeventeen
There were many hours yet to pass before dawn would grey the eastern sky. There were many hours of darkness yet ahead of the man in black before his hunt would be over, as he continued on his journey in pursuit of the Princess.
Despite the trials of the duel just fought, and despite the stinging pains of his still-raw wounds, the man in black ran with enduring speed, leaning slightly into the breeze created by his own swiftness, eyes focused forwards, always forwards. It was as if those glinting amber eyes could already see their prey, already envisage the moment of capture.
His wooden sandals struck the ground with a muted rustle, his steps hidden in the grass, his body but a passing moment in time to the landscape he flew over.
The man in black moved like a dart of lightning darker than the night, travelling low to the ground, as silent and relentless as death, a dark speeding shadow against the vast expanse of grassy earth.
"Damn!" Hoji ground his teeth in frustration. "He beat the Tenken… I can hardly believe it!"
Kaoru's head lifted to peer over Sanosuke's shoulder, her eyes wide and inquisitive. Her head cocked to one side as she looked at Hoji, who looked like he was going to start getting twitchy again.
"Soujiro lost?" she asked.
Hoji glared at her. "It doesn't make any difference to you! You'll die no matter what happens, Princess!"
Kaoru glanced at Sano, the pair of them exchanging nonchalant looks, before they both shrugged. Kaoru withdrew herself fully from the conversation as she leant back over Sano's shoulder again, a faintly tired expression on her face.
Hoji really needs to think of something new to talk about. 'You'll die' this and 'murder' that… Geez. Kaoru sighed. Doesn't he have a life at all?
Sanosuke's thoughts were along similar lines. I wish Hoji would stop talking about killing the Princess. I know that was what we signed on to do, but I really don't like the idea of killing a girl, especially one who seems kind of friendly and nice. Anyway… it wasn't like I did sign on for this. Hoji made the agreement and told Sou and me about it after.
Soujiro… Man, I hope he's okay…Sanosuke sent a wistful, anxious look over his shoulder, back the way they'd come. He couldn't help worrying about his smaller friend: they'd been through a fair bit together. He didn't like the idea of not seeing Soujiro again at all.
His brows came together with frustrated worry. If that guy had hurt Soujiro, he'd pay for it! No one killed his friends and got away with it!
So what if being able to beat Sou meant this guy had to be really skilful. So what? Sanosuke had fought lots of skilful people before. He had his strength: that was all he needed, no matter who he fought against!
Kaoru caught the look on Sano's face, and her eyes widened in surprise, the most typically clueless, innocent Kaoru look spreading over her face. Her wide blue eyes looked first at Sanosuke's troubled gaze, and then followed his line of sight to the horizon that concealed the Cliffs.
As her gaze landed on that spot, she began to feel some anxiety of her own. The man in black had beaten the boy… She didn't know how good a swordsman the Tenken was, but judging from Hoji and Sano's reactions, the victory can't have been any mean feat.
Kaoru's worry turned to strange, nervous butterflies that swarmed up from her stomach to her throat as her eyes caught a tiny, fleeting blur of black against the distant landscape.
The man in black was coming…
The dark landscape was nothing but a blur to the man in black's sharp gaze. All his eyes could see was the trail he followed, and the vision of what he sought. Icy calm, afire with determination, conflicted within him, lending even greater urgency to his step.
Suddenly his step faltered, before it rushed on again.
He had seen them, far up ahead, the three of them looking small amongst the vast, gently rolling meadowland. He took in the sight of the professional, bossy-looking one whom he presumed to be the leader of the group, and the tall, strong-looking one who was carrying…
…her…
Kaoru's eyes remained helplessly fixed on the man in black as a strange feeling rose within her, and prickles taunted the sensitive skin of the back of her neck. The man in black was watching her.
She felt it: regardless of the gloomy night air that separated them and the distance between them, she could sense his stare burning intensely into her. The butterflies in her throat suddenly vanished as the heat of his gaze created an answering fire somewhere inside her, somewhere far away, locked away, down deep inside.
Her throat clenched suddenly, and tears of something like fear threatened her tightly shut eyes.
She paid no mind to the conversation between Hoji and Sanosuke.
"I'll go ahead with the Princess. You stay here and finish him!"
"Finish him?"
"Kill him! Get rid of him! Any way you can!"
"Any way?"
An impatient sigh from Hoji.
"There are enough rocks around here to make use of: pick one up, wait for the man in black to come, and as he passes, hit him with the rock! That should kill him quickly enough!"
"Oh."
Kaoru was brought back to reality was she was lifted lightly back over Sanosuke's shoulder, and set carefully on the ground by his strong hands, which gripped her waist gently, moving her as if she weighed no more than a feather.
As her feet found the earth, she glanced up to see something she had never expected to see in her kidnapper's eyes: anxiety.
I don't want to send her off with Hoji. He's going to kill her. How can I know that he'll do it quickly and painlessly? It isn't right, killing someone so small and defenceless.
Kaoru, oblivious to Sano's thoughts, blinked and turned away.
Sano's hands fell away from her little waist, and dropped to his sides.
Hoji had already grabbed at Kaoru's arm, and was pulling her away. Her hands were still tied together, and Hoji knelt to quickly lengthen the ropes that tied her ankles together enough so that she could walk on her own.
"Catch up to us as soon as you can."
With that, Hoji was off, dragging a very reluctant Princess alongside him, ignoring the way her head was ever turning to look behind, to where the man in black had last been seen running towards them.
Sano, however, noticed the strange look in Kaoru's shining blue eyes. It was fear, yes: but the kind of fear a lover has, when they must ask forgiveness of their beloved for something terrible that they have done, not the fear seen in the eyes of one who knows they will soon die.
Sano shrugged the thought aside, and let the sounds of Hoji's departure slip away from his awareness.
It was time to fight now. Time to let all other thought subside.
Sanosuke let himself fall into the greatest state of concentration he had, closing his eyes for a few minutes as he gathered himself together, readying himself for the fight to come.
He subconsciously flexed the muscles in his shoulders, arms, hands, fingers. He was more than prepared for this battle: as prepared as he'd ever be, at least.
He looked around, eyeing the various stones and rocks lying about. He picked up one that looked about the size of the man in black's head, judging that to be about the right size to kill him, and stepped behind a large boulder in wait.
As he leant back against the boulder, the rock feeling unusually heavy in his grasp, he began to feel distinctly uneasy.
Hoji told me to kill this man, so I will. Besides, he'll kill me if I don't kill him: Sou certainly hasn't turned up since he stayed behind to stop the man in black. But…
Even though he's likely killed my friend, and will kill me…
Is it fair to ambush him like this? Not even give him a chance?
I don't like the idea of Hoji killing the Princess, 'cos she's defenceless. In fact, I'm pretty damn annoyed about it. So what does that make me, if I'm still willing to do the same thing to the man in black?
Sano's face darkened with thoughtful irritation. He didn't like this situation one bit.
It reminded him too much of things that hurt him.
Sanosuke had been born stronger than most children. Growing taller and more solidly built more quickly than other children in his village, he had inspired more than a little trepidation in the youngsters around him.
At first, they'd been too afraid to go near him. Sanosuke had been very lonely: whenever he tried to talk to any other children, they ran away from him. He tried to join in their games, but they would hide the ball behind their backs or stop dead short in their race, and stare at him as if waiting for him to do something bad. It seemed no matter what Sanosuke did, no one would be friends with him. When he lost his temper and stared angrily at them, it only made it worse.
However, after a while, the other children lost their outward fear of Sanosuke. This was because after a while, he stopped looking angry. He stopped reacting to their fear of him altogether. They gradually realised that he never did anything to them, even when their caution around him turned to disregard of his very existence, and then to nasty looks and cruel whispered words that they made sure he could hear. Even when they began to be very unkind to Sano, in the way bullying children did to those they were secretly afraid of, Sanosuke did nothing.
He would just look calm, like he was pushing back something inside him, and walk away.
He stopped trying to approach the other children before long.
Before much longer after that, the other children wouldn't stop approaching him.
They would laugh at him and his height and strength, they would call him names because the only friends he had were his parents. They would ask him if he had done the washing up yet, or if he was too tall to be able to reach the ground to pick up the ball when they threw it at his feet.
One day, the bullying went a step too far.
They had cornered Sano outside one of the children's home, quite a group of them that time, pushing a shoving and surrounding Sano with nasty smiles and horrible words.
But they didn't stop at words that time.
It started when Sanosuke tried to push his way out of the crowd, and one of them jabbed him savagely in the ribs with an elbow.
After that one movement, it descended into something like a gang brawl, with the crowd around Sano kicking and punching at him, and he just trying to shield his face and stomach, and trying to lash out in defence.
It ended when Sanosuke's father heard the noise and arrived with a yell, sending the other children running, crowing victoriously.
Sano's parents spoke to their son later that evening.
"Sanosuke, we think you should do something for yourself about this situation. You're twelve now: you need to start proving yourself, or those other kids will bully you for the rest of your life." Sano's father spoke seriously, his eyes concerned as he watched for a reaction on his boy's bruised face. There was a pause.
"I don't want to hurt anyone."
"What do you mean, son?" asked his mother anxiously, noting how closed-up and distant her son looked.
Sano sat still, his hands clenched in fists at his sides, gaze on the table in front of him, brow low over his rich brown eyes.
"Son?"
Sano's father waited, rather worried by his son's behaviour. It wasn't like him to clam up like this.
"I don't want to hurt anyone," said Sanosuke again.
"Why are you so worried, Sano? Has something happened?" asked his mother gently.
Sanosuke didn't want to tell them. He didn't want anyone to know that he'd killed an injured animal the year before.
He'd been walking in the forest, hoping to have some peace from the bullying children, when a whining sound had drawn his attention to a fox cub, lying half-concealed by a mass of brambles. It seemed to have been caught by the thorns, and it had nasty gashes all over its little body.
Sanosuke had knelt down next to it, but when he reached out to touch it, it had become afraid and snarled at him. When Sano tried to calm it down by touching its shaking back, it lashed out and sank its teeth into Sanosuke's arm.
"Ouch!" Sano had reflexively shaken his arm to get rid of the painful biting animal, but his shake had been so forceful, the fox cub had been flung against the thorns, and thudded heavily against the ground.
Sano had killed it.
Now, sat in front of his worried parents, the last thing he wanted to do was to tell them he was afraid of hurting a person the way he'd hurt that fox cub. They would probably be upset at what he'd done; or worse, they might not understand why it made him feel the way he did.
"I think the best solution is for you to get away from this, from these children and this village for a while."
Sano's father's suggestion surprised all of them.
"Really, I think that's the best thing."
"But how?" asked Sano's mother.
"We'll have my brother take him along on one of those journeys he's always on. Maybe spending some time with his uncle will show Sanosuke a new way of thinking, a new way of living. What do you think, Sano?"
"Go with Uncle Sagara?"
His father nodded. "He's planning to visit us soon. I'll ask him about it then, if you want."
Sanosuke had sat quietly for a moment.
Go with Uncle Sagara? He faintly remembered his young uncle from a few years before, the last time he'd really seen him. Sagara had been tall and strong, not the way Sano would be when he was grown up, but similar: he had the same colouring as Sano, too, with his dark hair and sparkling eyes. Sanosuke remembered admiring the way Sagara always looked so adventurous and strong, and the red bandanna he wore that made him look like a street fighter.
The red lengths of the bandanna had a way of flickering lazily in the breeze that made Sagara look like a hero out of a story.
Sanosuke wanted to look like that.
He nodded suddenly.
"I'll go with Uncle Sagara."
Sanosuke smiled as he remembered the start of his journey with his uncle. He'd grown to love that man so much: even more than his own father. He admired him as he'd admired no one else.
Would Sagara be impressed to see him now?
Before the answer that resounded in his heart could reach his brain, he scrunched up his face. "Chuh." That would be answer enough for now.
For now…
For now, all he had to think about was the man in black, and all he had to concentrate on was keeping watch for his enemy.
Sano glanced past the boulder, and caught a blur of black a hundred or so metres away.
A few more seconds…
Nearly…
There!
Sano's better judgement suddenly overcame him at the last moment.
The man in black leapt to one side a fraction of a second after a large rock flew just by his ear and struck the boulder behind him.
"Who's there?"
Sanosuke emerged from behind his boulder, another rock already in his hand.
The man in black had already drawn his sword.
"I could have hit you. I just didn't think that would be very sportsmanlike."
The man in black watched him a moment.
"I believe you," he said suddenly. "So. What now?" he asked.
Sanosuke already knew the answer.
"We settle this fairly: man to man. No weapons. Just strength against strength."
"So you'll put down the rock and I'll put down my sword, and we'll kill each other like reasonable people?"
Sanosuke nodded, his bandanna's trailing red lengths swinging against his back.
The man in black concluded the agreement by slowly lowering his sword to the ground, as Sano, in turn, lowered his rock.
Before long, they were stood facing each other, both empty-handed, both waiting for the other to make the first move.
At least Sagara would be proud now, thought Sano.
The moonlight danced faintly over his opponent's dark clothing as they faced each other. Sano's stance was relaxed: he knew exactly what he was doing. The man in black looked a little less at ease. A swordsman not used to fighting without his weapon, I suppose.
The man in black had already noticed the preoccupied look on Sano's face: before Sanosuke knew what was happening, before he'd lifted even a finger in defence, a small, darting black body had come up before him, and blows began to rain down on him.
Sanosuke hadn't expected this attack. It was all happening in the blink of an eye. Fists landed blow after blow on his chest and stomach.
Oh gods!
Author's note: I just wanna say- the fox cub part was there to explain why Sano would not loose his anger on the other children- let's face it, the Sano we all know and love does have a temper on him. So, while he's still very much Sano in the present day of the story, I needed something that would stop him from beating up all the other kids as a child. Hope that's okay! Oh, and I went with the name Sano's captain is best known for. ^_^
And I hope you liked it- took me a while. I seem to be in a state of constant writer's block, though sometimes not so bad and sometimes really bad… *sigh* It sucks. But I'll get over it. Probably just a bit of exam stress getting to me. Stoopid exams! Grr! Ah well. They'll be over in another few weeks! And then…
FREEDOM! Freedom to write fanfiction whenever I want! Freedom to watch anime ALL THE TIME! Freedom to eat chocolate day and night! Hurrah! *happy dance* Roll on summer!
Replies to reviewers (Woohoo! HUGE reply section today! Must be a sign of my guilty late-updating conscience… *apologetic*)
Wanderer (Well, I understand your point of view, and you had a fair opinion, but I stand by the choices I made for that chapter. I don't intend to change the characterization of the RK cast- at least not any more than necessary, and Sou is too important to me for me to change his past much. Yes that chapter was dark: so are many parts of the PB book, and the RK series. I enjoyed writing it: sorry you didn't enjoy reading it, but that's how it is and how it'll stay), MegumiFuu (And of course I know what you mean about Sou growing on you, cos he's my fave! *grin* He grew on me rapidly… I'm not sure when I stopped thinking of him as a bad guy. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I ever did… Weird. Anyhoo! Thanks for the review!), monkeysme (I hope you had a good weekend! I had a busy one… But still fun at times. ^_^ And I hope the exam wasn't too hard. Hope this chapter cheers you up too *glomp*), koishii (*offers a tissue* I always feel bad for Sou, but I love the part of the Kyoto arc where he comes in… *sigh* My fave part of the series…), incoherence (Why thank you, m'dear! The next chapter is the one you seek.. *sigh* Even I, the evil authoress, am tired of waiting for fluff! I miss it so much. But there WILL be fluff! There WILL! *entire RK cast runs away in fear* Er…), KittyKatt (Thanks for the pillow and the luck-wishing- I'll need it. And I can't wait to write the fluff myself! ^_^), Tevrah (Yep, next chapter shud bring us a reunion… *sigh of lovesick anticipation* I love that couple…), Gracey (Thank you very much! And anyway- sleep is overrated. *says the girl who keeps staying up til four* er.. *sweatdrop* ^_^), Califpinay3001 (^_^ Yeh I know *glad to know her writing is enjoyed* ^_^), Renmauza (Thanks! I will try!), silver-garcia (I'll try! *sweatdrop* The net is too great a temptation tho… Damn those downloads and fanfics that keep me up til four! Damn them all! … Wait, no, don't damn them! I love them so much! *grovels*), Momentum (Sorry I upset you *offers tissue and a cookie* Hope you liked this chapter better- it's more light-hearted than the last), CurlsofSerenity (*eyes the pillow with a destiny, secretly wondering if its destiny is to be her own pillow in times of shut-eye need* Hmm… *blinks* Oh, yes! Thanks for the review! ^_^ Glad you're enjoying the story!), DragonLass (If you call that babbling, I love your babbling! *grin* It made me smile my face off! I hope the dragon didn't do any permanent damage.. *checks DragonLass' ribs for breakage* Seems ok.. OH! No such thing as too much sugar! Blasphemy! *laugh* *offers a cookie with 'no 1 fan' on in pink icing as token of gratitude and general happiness* ^_^), Mewberries (Ah, I feel obliged not to say how much was from the series- I don't want to risk spoiling it for you. Hope that's ok by you. ^_^ Glad you enjoyed my rendition of events, anyway. ^_^ More battling of various kinds to come!), Mistress of time (I'm sorry! *offers a hanky with a specially-embroidered piccie of a chibi Kenshin on to cheer the Mistress up* Don't be upset! Soujiro will be okay! He's too sweet to leave unconscious! *glomp*), pretty Luthien (yeh it was pretty much straight from the anime- I wanted it that way, cos I wanted Sou's characterization to be exactly the same. He deserves it, he's such a great character! Hope that was okay. ^_^), Shadowfax (You know, I've thought about your rant a lot over the past week- applying it to chapter sixteen and being glad you thought I did a good job, and then when I saw Matrix Reloaded myself, two nights ago. You're right- anime has spoiled us. I felt a lot of the fighting was shallow and unnecessary, and meaningless compared to the so-well-built-up-to and incredibly involving battles in many animes I've seen. *is babbling/ranting herself now!* In other words: I concur.), AngelsExist (Thank you. I am really glad to know you're still around- I'm bad for reviewing sporadically myself, so no worries! Hope you continue to enjoy the story.), Corran Nackatori (*laughs at the quote* Yes, I'll have to watch out for that! Don't worry, I'll be fine. Especially once the exams are done- til then, it's all about revision, fanfiction and CHOCOLATE THERAPY! Hurrah! Thank you for your enthusiastic and ever-making-me-happy [great grammar or what? ^_^] reviews!), Alec Ikiiki (*head still a little fuzzy* Unh… *realises this is, in fcat, golden opportunity to lay blame at reviewer's door if latest chapter is not so good- rejoices in somewhat sleepy manner* *wink* I hope Heero wasn't too annoyed… *watches as Sano politely rises and leaves the room* Er… right…), WIERDkittyw/wingz (*holds fingers in warm water as she nods at a hankie on the desk for the crying kitty* Sorry to upset you- please have a cookie too, it'll cheer you up! And thanks for the support- writer's blocks are indeed death to any author. The humour is coming back, don't worry- with Kaoru and Sano and Hoji around, humour can't be far behind, ne? ^_^), Misao-chan (Gah! *hides in a closet and throws out chocolate bars at random intervals to placate the hyper Misao-chan* ^_^), TwinBakaNekos (Thank you! I'll do my best!), Inuyasha fan (Er, sorry, you had to wait til Monday it seems… *bows apologetically* I'll try not to do it again! Gomenasai!), Yuki (Twas indeed- hope you liked my rendition of it. There won't be much else as close to the RK as that in future, I don't think… that bit was important to me, that's all. ^_^ Reruns=blessing in TV format), Skipper (No worries" Glad you liked the fight! ^_^ Hope you're fic's chapter went well!), Vash-chan AKA Makoto Almasy (Thanks! Abd thanks for the support on everything. Means a lot, it really does. ^_^ I love the terminology- I think it's so cool the way Kenshin yells the names of his moves as he executes them! *starry-eyed* Er, I mean the man in black yelling, of course… ^_^), genocide ex-sync*in (K will meet K SOON! I can't wait any longer myself, though obviously this second duel had to be dealt with. My patience is all out! *grinds teeth* Must… write… FLUFF!), TenkunoMeiou (Thank you! Sorry I was late updating), EvilPrincessMelphis (Thank you both! Glad your mum is home- though I didn't know she was away! My mum went away for a couple of nights last week and life just wasn't right… *chibi grin* I'm such a mummy's girl sometimes!), Lady Kino (Yes, time to move on… I miss the fluff too. *cries* But I'm not allowed to cry cos I'm in charge so it's my fault in the first place! *accepts tissue from Sano* *sniff*), OrE (Oro? *puts hands on head as if to protect brain* ^_^ Kidding! Thanks for the compliment ^_^ Don't worry about Kaoru- she wouldn't be Kaoru if she couldn't hold her own, ne? *wink*), Mary (It is a great line! Though I agonized for ages over it cos it isn't quite in Kenshin's character, you know? Hope you liked the end result, anyway!), Demon Neko-Chan (*grin* Just nice to know you're there ^_^), Thunderstorm (Hmm… Yes, Kenshin is a strange mix at the mo… Wait and see, ne? ^_^ His battousai mode is indeed scary tho), NightRain (Thank you! *big smile*), Silver Eyes Bright (*high five* Yay for Kenshin!), Midnight Star (Til I;m ready for him? *quirks an eyebrow* Well now.. I do love Kenshin and Soujiro, but a tied-up Sano… *everyone nearby starts to edge away* Mwahahaha! …Right then, I'm off to seduce Sanosuke while he's still helpless! *skips off happily*), Rachel (Yum jello! ^_^ Thanks!), I won't tell (*grin* Never a bad thing! Glad you're enjoying it!), bittersweetKandy (*spanks Kenshin to get him moving* What's that? He was already moving? *naughty grin* Ah well.), animelover52843 (Yay! Hope you've been having fun on ff.net! Feel free to e-mail me for anything- happy reading!), dunkmoonX (Yes, the Sunday thing is a new development, in light of my exam-weighted time. Tho I haven't really kept to it yet… *sigh*), Zeh Wulf (Ah, lucky! To have claims to someone with hair anything like Kenshin's is enviable. And I know what you mean about Sou- somehow, it'd have to platonic, that's just how he is in a way. Though I wouldn't mind trying a chaste kiss! *starry-eyed* *Soujiro blushes and hides* Aww!), Jellybob 15 (Thank you thank you thank you! *huge grin* And for the support on the exam thing- man, it's good to have someone understand that. ^_^), Queen of Shadows (*grin* I need to find one of those… I have a thirst for Kenshin manga, the series isn't enough!!), awc (Yeh, they haven't met in AGES! Methinks there'll be some long-frustrated passion resulting in… FLUFF! Hurrah! ^_^), insert catchy name here (*in a low, distraught, scandalized voice* Nooooo! I'd never kill off Kenshin! Well, not yet… *laugh* Kidding, kidding! Glad you liked the chapter- thanks for the long review, it made me feel really encouraged you know!), can't-get-enough-anime (Well, the ending is a way's off yet- but I hope you enjoyed this chapter!), Celeste Rose (*glomp* Thank you! *glomp glomp glomp* You're so lovely! *glomp glomp glomp glomp* … *realises Celeste Rose is choking to death in Akari's over-enthusiastic glomping* Oh, sorry! *sweatdrop* But still, thank you! ^_^), Elf Fanatic Lark (Sorry I made you wait so long- I hope you liked it, nonetheless!), Bye Bye Birdie (*holds up a banner saying 'If I had my way, school would burn like a marshmallow that's been toasted too long'* Yay for sugar! *gobbles down all the sugar in sight* I like sugar best in my tea, truth be told. I'm a 'one lump or two? Make that five!' person. Bad for my teeth but good for my smile, you know!), Lil summoner yuna (Thank you! *puts on sunglasses, crunches on the sugar and settles down on the pillow for a kip* Much appreciat- *zonks out*), Lady E (Thank you so much! *glomp* Your review was so lovely! You made me feel so encouraged! ^_^ Thank you!), Kenshin-Kaoru-forever (Thanks- sorry the update came late) and Redhead Samurai (Thanks! Glad you like it, it's so encouraging! *happy dance* ^_^)!
Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement. It means a lot- I'll keep updating as soon as I can. I'll aim for Sunday like I promised. Apologies again for not updating when I said I would. I'll try harder.
Please leave your thoughts, make me smile! *happy dance*