::sniffles:: Everyone's probably given up looking for updates on this by now. ::wails:: I'M SOO SOOORRRYYYY, MINNA-SAAAAANN!!!! ::cries some more:: A lot of stuff happened this summer, and I was away from home more often than not, and then I got sick, and I know it all sounds like a load of BS for excuses, but it's TRUUEEE, and too much happened, and I couldn't finish this chapter until now. GOMEN NASAI!!!!

I swear everything will come out a lot faster now, because the school year's started and during the school year I choose to slack off schoolwork and write fanfiction, and during the summer I have nothing to slack off of and … and … there was Hikaru no Go to be watched! … ::sniffles:: G – gomen n-ne …

(and then at that moment the Plot Angels which until now have been harassing me mercilessly abruptly up and left me to my own devices, so I've had to laboriously outline the rest of everything because I can't rely on inspiration, and that killed me for almost a month on plot … so writer's block had to hit and hit hard too … ::sobs::)

And now, without much more whining from yours truly,

The Minstrel's Son

--

Chapter Five

--

"Yes! Freedom!" Takuya threw his arms up into the air and gave a shout of triumph before dropping his arms quickly to his side. "Ow. Forgot about that particular patch of sore muscle …" He groused, massaging his neck. A fat pouch of silver jingled at his waist, attached to him with a long length of rope wrapped around and around his hips.

Sweet freedom from Izumi and Asbard and of course the Elf Lord, the three people that managed to make Takuya vaguely uncomfortable- albeit in different ways.

Especially the latter, with his intense eyes that seemed to bore into his very soul ... Somehow, Takuya always felt as if each time Lord Kouji looked at him the Elf was seeing something that he himself didn't notice.

"Oh well," He said aloud. It wasn't normal or healthy to fixate on Lord Kouji like this, he told himself, "Time for distraction!"

'Distraction' consisted of the artisan's street, with its many stalls and small stores full of cheap handmade goods. He was casting about for a gift, something pretty and hopefully not to expensive to give to Mistress Dobblin, when his eye came to rest on something.

The moment he saw it, he wanted it, inexplicably and powerfully.

It was a simple brooch of delicately wrought silver, not particularly special, but almost magnetic to him. Set within the curls of the metal were two stones, fitted perfectly together as if they had been made that way.

One half was obsidian, arrestingly dark and polished to a high reflective sheen.

The other was pearl, smoothed to a flat texture rarely seen with the material.

The workmanship was undoubtedly superior, yet the ornament was somewhat understated. It wasn't something to draw attention, and there were probably hundreds of others of the same quality elsewhere in the market, but Takuya simply wanted this one.

"How much?" He found himself asking the merchant, a serious-looking young man with strikingly blue eyes as piercing but not as dark as Lord Kouji's.

"For which?" The merchant replied, gesturing at the mass of jewelry spread all over the table. Dark hair fell into his eyes, which he impatiently shook out of the way.

"This one." Takuya held up the brooch. The merchant's expression changed subtly, but Takuya was unable to read it. He was certain it contained surprise and some measure of apprehension.

"Ah." He said. "I don't know the price of that one. You'll have to ask the maker." And with that the man took Takuya's arm in an almost painfully strong grip and steered him forcefully into the building behind the stall.

"What is it?"

"This young man wants to know the price of this." Said the merchant, and held up the hand in which Takuya was holding the brooch. Once again, Takuya saw that slight look of apprehension and surprise, only this time it fell over a heart-shaped face framed with long brown bangs.

"I see. Come here, boy." Takuya obeyed, irritation creeping into his mind. All he'd done was ask the price of a brooch, so what was creating this atmosphere of tension? And that aside, he was getting really tired of being called 'boy'.

"Why do you want this one?"

Takuya was so startled by the question that he didn't notice the blue-eyed man leaving. "Why?"

The other nodded and walked forward into the light. His eyes were a startling violet and one long braid trailed down his back, tied with a white and black ribbon. Something in the back of Takuya's mind twitched, something about white and black and Wanderer's colors, all in Asbard's voice, but he couldn't quite piece it together and he gave up to answer the question.

"Well, I'm not really sure. I just like it, that's all." He wasn't terribly fond of the defensive note in his voice, but he supposed that wasn't to be helped. He was too used to having done something wrong to prevent it.

"Just like it?" Asked the other, raising his eyebrows, and then chuckling. "I guess that's as good as any. Sit down." He gestured to a chair by the door. Uneasily, Takuya shifted into the chair and watched the other in trepidation. He guessed that the young man was perhaps four or five years older than Takuya himself, which was hardly enough to warrant the blatant ordering about he was receiving.

"What did I do?" He blurted out, unable to hold it in any longer. His fingers curled reflexively around the silvery brooch, his right hand with its lyre-string calluses just brushing the surface of the ivory.

Violet eyes blinked, looking slightly startled. "Do? You didn't do anything. Hold still a second," He continued, stepped forward, and with absolutely no regard towards the concept of 'personal space', brushed aside the brown hair and rested two fingers on Takuya forehead. "Let's see then …"

Takuya tried very hard to breathe quietly and not to bolt, as all his instincts screamed. The only thing that did hold him from running from the stall, still clutching the brooch, was the feeling that something was going on that he should best not interrupt. He cursed Mistress Dobblin's whacking-spoon-enforced lessons on politeness and rudeness.

Funny that when Lord Kouji had come this close to him, he hadn't really minded at all, and yet this man, who was hardly difficult to look at, caused such an uncomfortable reaction.

"Oh." Said the young man in apparent surprise. "So you've already met him, then. The light."

"Huh?" Said Takuya, showing off his brilliant conversational skills.

"Hmm." Said the other coherently. Takuya grew annoyed again, and was about to ask what in Her'lin was going on when the man drew back abruptly.

"I see." A grin lit up the heart-shaped face, and Takuya mentally revised the age of the man in front of him. There was no way he was more than a year or two older than Takuya. "I suppose you want to know what's going on, and why my socially-challenged friend out front dragged you in here so unceremoniously?"

"Yes, please." Said Takuya fervently, drawing another laugh.

"And I can't even tell you too much, can I …" The other mused, settling into another chair. "Well then. I'm a Wanderer, which basically means I can tap into people's lifelines and read most things I want about them. I read your past and I've picked up on some of your future, and it would seem that you are the prophesied after all, and that I can make detectors if I want to."

"I'm the what?"

The bright eyes sharpened into Takuya's focus. Violet eyes … "You're the one prophesied about in - "

and no one was around, why was he alone, and he was wailing and crying and no one was there his mother was gone and it was too hot, too hot, and everything was so bright, and suddenly the door burst open and there was this set of blue eyes tinged reddish-purple by the flames

Takuya clutched the seat of his chair convulsively, breathing hard. There, again. It had happened last time, just after he had treated Lord Kouji, and he had passed out then because he'd had no energy left. What was it? The Wanderer's eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth, expression questioning.

"What - "

"Boy." The blue-eyed man had suddenly reappeared in the doorway. "Someone's out there asking for you. Are you done?" This last was directed at the Wanderer, who frowned.

"Not really. Can it wait?"

"It's the Elf Lord." The man said, with almost sarcastic emphasis on 'Elf Lord'.

"Oh, Oracle's damnation." Takuya's mind noted, Kynian1 accent.

At which point Lord Kouji came storming into the room, looking as if he was in a fine temper and highly stressed. Evidently, not everyone had had the chance Takuya had to relax and take a break. "Takuya!" He said sharply. "I need to talk to you."

Somewhere in Takuya's very confused mind he registered that the Elf Lord had called him by name again. This realization was followed by an entirely involuntary mental Yay! Takuya flushed slightly.

'Shut up, mind, shut up!'

"Ah. My Lord." Said the Wanderer, standing smoothly and bowing slightly. Lord Kouji caught sight of the black and white tie and looked vaguely startled before returning the bow with a curt nod of the head. The Wanderer turned to Takuya and smiled again. "Since you must be gone, I'll just tell you now – that brooch will protect you provided something is added to it."

"What?" Takuya asked, but was ignored, whether because the Wanderer was hurrying, or because it came out oddly shaped due to the fact that the Elf Lord was now bodily dragging Takuya from the room. Randomly and quite inappropriately, Takuya thought that Mistress Dobblin and her spoon should come and teach Lord Kouji etiquette.

"And remember that you must choose either light or dark, and that the world of tomorrow is yours to decide - "

"Wait! What about the brooch - " Takuya tried. In return for his efforts, he got a faint laugh and what sounded like a "Have it for free" before he found himself plunked upon a horse and following an extremely irritated Lord Kouji out of the marketplace. In the back of his mind, he registered how the townspeople moved out of their way in an almost bored fashion, as if two people charging through a crowded square on horseback was common occurrence in Astaria. Then again, with his knowledge of the city, it might well be.

Meanwhile, the two youths watched the two figures charge down the street.

"Hn. Not exactly socially adept, is the young Lord?" The dark-haired one asked.

"Look who's talking," The Wanderer laughed. "Now get back into that stall and work, boy."

"What am I, your slave now?" Grumbled his companion. The heart-shaped face broke into another grin and the young man leaned over and bit the ear half-hidden by dark bangs.

"Yes, and that's your brand. Now go work!"

--

A/N: Yes, that was a Gundam Wing cameo. It exists partly because I wanted it to, and partly because I couldn't find another Digimon character(!) that I hadn't already placed. 1x2x1 rocks!

--

"What was that for?" Takuya yelled up to the Elf Lord. They were still thundering madly through the streets, although since they had turned into a lesser populated area Takuya was less distracted by the necessity of steering the horse around sluggishly moving shoppers.

"I said I needed to talk to you!" Lord Kouji's words reached him much more easily than the other way around, as he was in front and his words were whipped back by the wind to Takuya.

"Then what was with the dragging thing?" Takuya hollered.

There was a pause, and then Lord Kouji called back, "It's been a stressful day!" Takuya glared at the black-clad back before him.

'Surely it wasn't stressful enough to require literally dragging me from the middle of a public store and then riding through throngs of innocent bystanders?' He thought grumpily. Up ahead, Lord Kouji was muttering to himself, and apparently leading them into a dead end. 'What the heck?'

Unexpectedly, the Lord disappeared. Through the brick wall. Takuya gaped, and in that moment of laxity forgot to rein in his horse. He winced as the wall rushed closer and closer and -

Fwoosh.

With a not entirely unpleasant feeling of emerging from lukewarm water, Takuya and the horse popped out of the other side of the wall, and into verdant forest. Takuya stared blankly.

"O … kay … that's, well, different." He remarked, still not entirely registering what was going on. Calmly, he sat and waited for his mind to catch up with his body. There was definitely some sort of reaction he was supposed to have to running through a solid wall without any ill effects. "What just happened?!"

Ah, there it was.

Lord Kouji reined in and turned sharply. "Good, the wards are up. I'll have to remember to up Joe's pay."

Takuya blinked. "Wait, you mean those weren't assured of operation?!" He sputtered. This – this – this madman had just led him into a wall and hadn't even known if it was working! And that aside, walls weren't supposed to do anything beyond exist in a properly wall-like fashion, and thinking in italics was a very, very bad thing, and everything was Lord Kouji's fault!

The Lord Kouji in question simply shrugged at Takuya's indignation. "Even if they hadn't worked, nothing much would have happened. You'd be surprised at how little injury is incurred whilst riding into walls."

Takuya floundered speechlessly for a few moments, and finally just gave up on the insane Elf. "What was it, anyway?" He asked tiredly. Maybe the Elf Lord would stop surprising – or shocking, rather – him someday. Until then, he supposed he would have to deal with it.

"That was a wall-ward." Lord Kouji said. "It's an illusion set on certain parts of the city, and it's there to protect the Council building here in Astaria."

Takuya's ears perked. The Council building was notoriously magically protected and difficult to find. If the rumors ran true, then there hadn't been anything resembling a robbery in the Astarian Council for twenty-five years.

"Basically, we enchant the wall so it appears normal, but becomes a portal which takes you to a certain spot in the Council area. Those that are required to go to the actual Council buildings are informed of the locations, and they simply go to whichever one takes them closest to where they want to go. Of course, there is a pesky issue of commoners wandering in by mistake, but we've pretty much prevented that by putting them in areas most people don't go."

Takuya slowly absorbed the information as they rode slowly through the trees. Lord Kouji graciously allowed him the time to catch up with his thought. Remembering something, Takuya asked, "Why were you so eager to get out of the marketplace?"

'I thought he'd be the type to enjoy lots of attention from the 'common mob'.'

"Do you have any idea what they all want to say to me? All anyone has is complaints about how the city or the realm is being run." Lord Kouji said in a distinctly disgruntled sort of tone.

A gap in the trees appeared, and Takuya saw a flash of a white edge just beyond it. Excitement grew in him – it was rare that commoners got to see the Council buildings, and minstrels virtually never ever got near them. Those that traveled a great deal, such as and especially musicians, were in danger of revealing secrets that probably should not be shared amongst foreigners.

Meanwhile, Lord Kouji was still doing something rather closely related to grumbling, although no matter how hard he tried, Takuya could not quite associate the word 'grumbling' with 'Lord Kouji'.

"… and the shoppers find the bakers' and butchers' prices too high, and the bakers and butchers find the farmer's prices too high, and the mills find the mill prices too low, and the farmers find the mill prices too high, the butchers' prices too low, and the cost of seeds and stock exorbitant, and they all seem to think they're the only ones in the world with an grievance of this magnitude. As if the government controlled prices and markets or something."

"Don't you?" Takuya asked, surprised.

"Of course not." Lord Kouji snapped. "Market prices and currency fluctuations are purely responses to the buying and selling habits of the common people. It isn't as though we in the Council can wave our hands and say, 'let there be inflation!' and lo and behold, there be inflation."

Takuya failed to suppress a snicker at the mental image of a Council of grave, old, and serious fat men (and Lord Kouji, who was neither old nor fat, and was in fact quite slender and pretty, and Takuya did not just think that), waving their arms in unison and chanting the phrase 'let there be inflation!' and a giant balloon with a huge Ronis2 sign on it blowing up slowly.

Takuya could have sworn Lord Kouji's mouth quirked just now, but it was gone so quickly that he could very well have imagined it.

"Well, the government sets up things like tariffs and trade regulations, doesn't it?" Takuya argued. "It can't just say, 'do this', and then let the people off to their own devices."

"Tariffs and trade regulations are caused more often than not by border arguments and skirmishes between the angry farmers on the one side of the River Ryoun3 and the angry farmers on the other side. It makes it difficult to perpetrate friendly relations."

"The people aren't stopping the government from having friendly relations with the other realms. Shouldn't the government be responsible for settling the issues at the border?"

"Despite the treaty of peace, the people of each realm still despise each other for no apparent reason. Settling each and every little village war would take far too much time and resources for it to be worth anything."

Unfortunately, just as Takuya was warming up to a lively debate over the responsibilities of the government versus the responsibilities of the people, a rhythmic thudding was heard from the nearing gap and a voice cried out, rather breathlessly, "Halt, who goes there?"

Takuya swore mentally. Just when he had gotten into a vaguely serious conversation with the Elf Lord, something just had to interrupt.

"It's me." Lord Kouji said. "Kouji. Who else would it be?"

His brow furrowed slightly as his face, which had shown something akin to anger and a sort of fierce joy in arguing, faded into the pale, impassive mask of usual. Takuya realized suddenly that there was another, entirely likeable Lord Kouji under the façade, and then felt stupid for not seeing it before. How could he not have noticed? This Lord Kouji was all too easy to fall for.

Not that he was falling for anyone or anything, fluttery floating happiness be damned.

"My Lord!" The voice seemed startled, and then a horse appeared. More importantly, there was upon the horse a hassled-looking young Elf girl, with startlingly violet eyes and reddish-orange hair, streaked liberally with dark gold. "I wasn't expecting you from this entrance. And who's this?" She asked, eyeing Takuya suspiciously. Takuya took this moment to note that she happened to carry a long sharp sword by her side.

"I did say I wasn't planning on using the front entrance, Ruki." Takuya looked at the Elf Lord again. Although it had not returned to its slightly more emotional state of previously, he seemed more relaxed than usual. Perhaps this Ruki was a friend of his?

"Ah. Apologies, my Lord."

"Kouji," Lord Kouji said. "You are from an Elfish family of proud lineage, are you not?"

"But I'm still lower class than you, and I am merely your bodyguard." Ruki said stiffly, looking as if this was a subject she would rather not touch. "If you will please, my Lord, I will refrain from breaking the standards of courtesy so well upheld by the fine people of this Council." Takuya tried hard, but could not prove the feeling that she was being sarcastic beyond some sort of natural intuition. Her inflection held no clues. Were all Elves like this?

Lord Kouji grunted in a vague sort of disagreement. "Fine. Do as you will. Has the Centris delegate arrived yet?"

Takuya's ears perked. Wanting to rejoin the conversation, he asked, "Has Lord Junpei not arrived yet? We heard that he left some days before us, and we are here already."

The word had the desired effect. Perhaps a touch too much. Both the Elf Lord and – Ruki, he remembered – wheeled on him.

"You've heard of the Centris delegate?" Ruki demanded. "Where is he? When was he supposed to arrive? What route was he taking?"

"I -" Takuya stammered. "I really don't know. We didn't follow him that closely."

Lord Kouji made a face. "The Centris delegate was expected several days earlier," He informed Takuya. "As of now, we have neither received him nor heard word of him. We fear that he may have been attacked, and after the attack upon our own party, that concern seems even more viable." At the mention of the attack, Ruki muttered something that may have been, 'incompetent blondes that can't protect one Elf Lord', and Lord Kouji's lip twitched.

Takuya was not jealous in the least. Of course not.

"Were there border troubles?" Lord Kouji suddenly inquired.

"Beyond you?" Takuya was startled into saying, without much thinking. Ruki looked threatening, but Lord Kouji merely looked amused. "Well, no. The actual Centris-Kananth border was just fine. We got through with no problems."

"I see." Lord Kouji appeared to be undergoing some important deliberation. "The Council meeting begins in barely half and hour. There is still no word of the Centris delegate, intrepid young Lord Junpei -" Which Takuya thought was rich, since the Elf Lord could hardly be much older than Takuya himself, and Lord Junpei was, well, older – "And if he does not show up, the delicate balances of our cheerful and lovely delegates will be dead."

Ruki snorted. "Stupid politicians," She stated rather than commented, ignoring the fact that the one she was protecting was in fact a politician as well.

"However, we do have someone from Centris present." Lord Kouji paused, possibly for effect.

"Who?" Takuya asked, rather ruining the effect. "None of the other Elf Lords left Centris to our knowledge, and the minstrel's information network is extensive, to say the least."

Ruki blinked. "You are jesting, my Lord?"

"Not at all."

"… You do realize Joe will likely suffer premature death from extensive heart and lung failure."

"That is unfortunate. We may need to contact his family. Put him on that, will you? He is the secretary."

"… are you quite mad, My Lord?"

"Quite probably. We have no alternative."

Takuya watched this exchange in a bemused manner. "Er, sorry to interrupt and all, but what's going on? Who's going to take Lord Junpei's place at the Council?"

Lord Kouji smirked rather grimly, and still managed to look handsome. In fact, the determined and almost cruel look on his face simply rendered the delicately cut features even more devastating than usual. Takuya blinked.

"You."

--

Takuya thought in a dazed sort of way, 'Joe's not the one that's going to have a heart attack. I am. What does the Lord want me to say in front of a bunch of politicians? I'm a minstrel, for Der'nath's sake! I sing better than I talk!'

He tugged uncomfortably at the neck and sleeves of his robes. They were of a very fine material, and looked horrifically expensive. This meant that Takuya's skin, which was used to rough, cheap fabrics, felt oddly naked with the smooth cloth sliding silkily against it. He felt indecent. Whenever the Elf Lord talked to him, he jumped, blushed, and felt even more indecent.

"Lady Miyako is the main delegate from Sarin. She'll talk a lot, because she is from Sarin, and she'll probably be furious that the official Centris delegate isn't present and call it disrespect of the Council and try to declare war on Centris. Sarin is a manufacturing country; a war would be good for their currently faltering economy. Whatever you do, don't say anything resembling 'ugly woman' in front of her, because she takes it as a personal insult. When the refreshments are passed around, make sure she gets hers first before you try to take any for yourself, or you'll be subjected to a long lecture about why and how women should be served first."

Takuya tried to carve this into his head, and mostly failed because he was trying to note down the Kumentongue words in figured bass, which didn't particularly work. "Er."

"Lord Kazu and Lord Kenta are from Kynia. Kynia is currently suffering severe flooding and their main crop of featherwheat is mostly destroyed this year. They're trying to blame it on Kyo'nis irregularities and failing, and they declare that they have the Oracle's backing. Don't mention anything about the migratory flow to Centris and Sarin from Kynia; Kynians are touchy on that subject right now. Oh, and don't mention food to those two, because then they can't concentrate on anything productive until their jaws are clamped around it. I'm obviously the delegate from Kananth, and you're going to tell us everything you know and have heard about Centris in your minstrel network."

"Er."

"Don't raise your hand or wave it or anything, if you have something to say wait until whoever's speaking is finished and touch the bell, so everyone can look at you. This prevents mass chaos. Don't take too much of the refreshments, that happens surreptitiously after the official meeting. Don't tug on your collar like that."

"Er. Oh." Takuya hastily removed his hands from his collar and stuck them into his wide sleeves. The material was silky and a rich, dark red embroidered with gold dragons, which in his opinion looked awful on him, but the maid had declared made him look wonderful (something about contrast and matching and bringing out the reddish tint in his eyes), and Lord Kouji appeared to have approved, at any rate.

Speaking of Lord Kouji, he had stopped before a door and was about to open it when he seemed to finally notice Takuya for the first time. He sighed.

So maybe he hadn't been approved after all.

"Red," He muttered, and Takuya couldn't entirely tell if he was pleased with the choice or not. The Lord was wearing robes of a similar cut, flowing to the ground and well-fitting, but his were a deep blue that almost matched his eyes, with delicate designs hinting at canines delicately picked out in silvery-blue thread.

Lord Kouji was looking him critically up and down, and Takuya had thought he had the blushing thing down.

"Repeat what I said." Lord Kouji said sharply, all of a sudden.

"Er," Takuya stammered for a second, trying to decipher the figured bass markings in his head. "Lady Miyako from Sarin. Don't take food from her and don't call her ugly. Lord Kazu and – and Kenta from Kynia. Don't give food to them." Takuya blinked, waiting for another line to translate, and breaking into Mistress Dobblin's Spoon Etiquette lessons as a backup, "Er, don't talk unless talken – er, spoken to, don't raise my hand and wave, don't take too much food until after the meeting – er – I – ah – the bell -"

The reason for this sudden break in coherence was due to the fact that Lord Kouji was hurriedly straightening clothes, refolding folds, and adjusting hair. More importantly, adjusting Takuya's clothes and hair. Delicate, pale fingers ghosted across his skin where they accidentally touched and every time he felt the cool sensation a tingle ran down his spine. When finally Lord Kouji rested his hands gently on the minstrel's jaw and tilted his face back and forth, examining his head for unruliness, it felt as though his entire body was being pricked with pins.

Not exactly unpleasant, that.

Except he was blushing like he was going to explode any minute.

"You'll do." Lord Kouji said, and unexpectedly smirked in a satisfied sort of way. "Hold your head higher. Don't blink so much. Don't look down, as a representative of your realm you must show all the pride of your country and stand up for its best interests."

"Wait, isn't it the best interests of Shinsu?" Takuya asked, perhaps naively.

"Shinsu?" Lord Kouji's eyebrow arched elegantly, and Takuya blushed for no apparent reason. "I haven't heard that word from a delegate since – hmm. Ever. Shinsu is outside of the deal, Takuya, and if you want Centris to get anything, you'll think only for it and nothing and no one else."

"Oh," Said Takuya, thinking along the lines of, 'He said my name again, yay!' Lord Kouji looked worn for a second.

"It's all corruption and grab what you can get." He said softly. "Nothing like the peace treaty and the Council was meant to be."

Takuya wanted Lord Kouji to laugh. He didn't know why, but he needed Lord Kouji to laugh. Something about the unexpected calmness was almost heartbreakingly sad, and if he had had his lute with him he would have suffered the irresistible urge to strike a g minor chord. As he did not have his lute at the moment, he could only wish he did, and make feeble puns.

"Maybe we need some good counsel," He said hopefully. After a moment of Lord Kouji's blank stare, Takuya could only wish that the word 'pun' had never been introduced into his vocabulary.

Except the corner of the Elf Lord's mouth quirked a touch before his eyes iced over and he pushed open the door to the room. He spoke, voice commanding and arresting:

"Kouji of Ii'chii present at Council. I speak for my realm, Kananth, and enter with naught but Shinsu in my heart, mind, and hands. Presented to you herewith, Takuya of Cadnum. He speaks for his realm, Centris, and enters with naught but Shinsu in his heart, mind, and hands."

Takuya felt like he ought to say something, but had absolutely no clue what to say. When the other Councilors – an Elf with long purplish hair surrounded by a swathe of servants, two Elves who broke off their greedy eyeing of the food table long enough to take notice of Takuya, and numerous other intimidating personages – all nodded in their general direction (some smiled; most didn't), he nodded furiously back.

The only difference between this exchange of greetings was that the Councilors were nodding "Hello, we were here already and you are late but we tolerate this because you are locals," Lord Kouji was nodding "I am the Elf Lord here and I shall determine what is late and what is early and if I say I am two days early you will do nothing but agree," and Takuya was nodding "I don't know what's going on, and the etiquette of nodding was not in Mistress Dobblin's repertoire."

It looked to be a Council with a rather difficult-to-surmount language barrier.

Thus, they all settled in for a long, long, session.

--

A/N: Oh m'god I am so dead right now. Dead tired. Yes. So I'm going to say "Screw the Council!" and if you have complaints, I'll do my best to put that up some other time, but right now I'm just trying to get on with the plot already. Sincere apologies - Loko

--

Takuya crunched cheerfully on a biscuit purloined from the Council and merrily bounced a few steps ahead of Lord Kouji. They exited the Council land the same way they entered, albeit without the entire riding-at-breakneck-speeds thing. He hadn't expected everything to be quite so simple. All he'd really had to do was say "Yes," "No," and "What about Centris?" The other Councilors had pretty much done his job for him.

There had been one interruption, but it was only a message for Lord Kouji and not Takuya's fault, which meant that Takuya had pretty much forgotten about its existence.

"That was better than I had hoped," He said, turning around to face the Elf Lord. The smooth meeting had done much to raise his spirits, and he was even willing to be friendly to the surly Elf Lord. Said surly Elf Lord was looking distinctly surlier than usual, though, for reasons beyond Takuya's comprehension. "What's with the horse face?"

Lord Kouji looked appalled. Takuya smothered a giggle.

"It's a Centris saying." He explained. "It means you have a sort of annoyed expression. You know, where all your features are pulling down." He made a vague gesture before his own face. Lord Kouji raised an eyebrow.

"What would it matter to you that I have a 'horse face', as you so elegantly put it?"

"Well, for one thing, your horse-facedness is a bad sign for innocent passerby. For another, you don't look half as good when you're pulling a long face." Well, that slipped out in an unexpected sort of way. Takuya felt his face flame and quickly turned around on the pretext of actually watching where he was stepping. Sadly, even though he could not see the Elf Lord's face (although he was sure that damned raised eyebrow was there), he could hear the amused tone in his voice when he spoke.

Takuya wondered how it was that in the less than three days he'd known Lord Kouji, he'd already come to recognize the tones and nuances of his voice and expression.

"It was a good meeting, I suppose. No one jumped anyone else," The Elf mused. "And Lady Miyako kept her tongue under leash. But then there is this missive, and I really don't want to think about why there is a message from Kulodis. Those meddling Elves always want to stick their age-old, fine-white hands into the entire delicately balanced political mess of Shinsu."

Takuya blinked. "Aren't you from Kulodis?" He asked. "I mean, pure-bloods don't usually come from anywhere else these days, and a Zenith Elf ruling Astaria would have a very hard time."

Lord Kouji snorted. "I have a hard enough time as it is, even coming from Kulodis. And coming from Kulodis, I know exactly how those Elves work and exactly why not to follow their 'advice'. Just because one comes from a place does not mean one must always show loyalty to that place."

"Ah." Said Takuya. They had turned into yet another deserted alleyway. In the hasty ride to the Council, Takuya hadn't noticed how abandoned certain parts of Astaria had become as people had begun to move out of the overcrowded and aging capitol into smaller, flourishing cities. A fine mist of rain began, and ominous rumbles above hinted at a heavier shower in a matter of minutes.

Lord Kouji was eyeing the derelict buildings about them with distaste. "People move out of Astaria with no regard as to what they or we are going to do with their leftover trash." He muttered. "What are we supposed to do about these abandoned buildings? Make a giant bonfire and dance around it for the winter solstice? They could at least make arrangements for their destruction or refurbishment."

Takuya shrugged. "It's a lot of effort to move from one place to another. They're probably too caught up with moving themselves to worry about the buildings they leave behind. Once you leave a place, it's just a house, not a home, and they have no reason to take care of it."

The Elf Lord looked surprised for a second. "You have a point." He said. Takuya grinned as the rain began to fall in earnest.

"Want to run?" He said, feeling the sensation of recklessness rise up in him the way being out in a thunderstorm always did. Lord Kouji looked bemused. "Through the rain," Takuya elaborated. "So we get soaking wet and look like drunkards running amok in the streets. We can dance."

Lord Kouji looked torn between being righteously scandalized and thoroughly amused. Much to Takuya's astonishment, the Elf settled for the latter. He really was terribly handsome when he smiled.

"I'll run if you run," The Elf Lord said, grinning a little madly. Takuya swallowed. The Elf Lord had perhaps had too much to drink and was going mad. If so, then Elves really went insane quite beautifully. "Or shall I race you?"

"I'll win." Takuya countered. "Sure you want to try it?"

"You? Win?" Lord Kouji said, looking indignant. "I'd beat you any day, Half-Elf."

"I have more physical experience than you." Takuya smirked. Of this he was sure. The Elf Lord looked very nearly malnourished, and Takuya was fit and in fighting spirits after having been fed well and exercised for all his sixteen years.

Lord Kouji raised his eyebrow, still with that entirely too jumpable expression of slight crossness on his face. "You're on. What are you betting?"

"If I win," Takuya thought for a second. "I get to call you 'Kouji' without the honorific."

The Elf looked horrified, but then seemed to remember that it was unlikely Takuya would win. He said, "If I win, you have to become my servant for the week."

"Pfft," Takuya said dismissively. "How childish. Sure, whatever."

Lord Kouji looked unbelievably stunning when he was angry like that. "I'm starting," He said suddenly with no warning, and took off. Takuya stared blankly for a moment before his senses caught up with him and he was racing like mad as well.

"I'm gaining on you!" He bellowed at the rapidly nearing cloak of the Elf Lord. Lord Kouji took a look behind him and smirked.

"That's what you think," He said cheerfully, and put on an extra burst of speed. Takuya grinned and raised his own pace a notch, slowly but surely leveling with the slight figure of the Elf Lord. Lord Kouji looked behind him and had enough time to manage a startled expression before Takuya jumped, tackling the Elf Lord to the ground and grinning. Lord Kouji made an unexpectedly sexy sound of shock as he hit the ground, and Takuya had to force down all his instincts that screamed 'What would Izumi do?! Well, do it!'

"I'm gaining on you," He hissed into the Elf Lord's pointed ear. "And you can't catch up if you're on the ground."

The rain pelted their clothes and made the dirt and Lady-knows-what sort of filth stick to them, but both Takuya and the Elf Lord were grinning maniacally as Takuya leapt up – the contact with pulsing, warm, and most importantly wet Elf Lord was doing decidedly unhealthy things to his constitution – and ran ahead towards the opening at the end of the alleyway.

Lord Kouji jumped from where he had been lying in the mud and tried in vain to catch Takuya, but Takuya had gotten a head start and was sprinting as fast as his legs would allow (which was quite fast; he had participated in the yearly races in Cadnum and won a fair many of them). The Elf growled as it became apparent that he would lose, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Well, he could probably cheat, but that was terribly uncouth. What could he do but protest weakly as a beaming Takuya bore down on him from the end of the alley, shouting about his win?

"I win, Kouji." Takuya said smugly. "Thought you had it in the bag, didn't you?"

"You jumped me!"

"When did you say I couldn't?"

"I – well, it's against all rules!"

"What rules? I thought we were having a no-holds-barred race!"

"When did we say that?"

"When did we say we weren't, Kouji?"

Takuya was imagining things and the Elf Lord was only red from the energetic running and the cold of the rain.

"I can't believe you," Kouji finally said. "What is the public going to do when they discover a lowly minstrel is calling me by my name for some foolish bet I made?"

"They'll probably relate to you more." Takuya said with a wide smile. Kouji's apparent lack of inhibition – or at least the lessening of the Elf's prudishness and the show of sudden youth – had inspired Takuya's own loss of decorum. "We'll all looooooove you …" He began to mockingly croon an awful song popular in Centris nearly a decade ago. Much to his surprise, Kouji shook his head as if giving up all pretense of propriety and joined in.

"You'll be famous in all the world …" The Elf's voice was low and just resonant enough to send shivers down Takuya's spine. They continued, Takuya breaking into harmony as Kouji continued the melody line:

"We'll all looooooooove you,

You'll be famous in all the world,

If you looooooooove me!

I'll help you rule the world,

Nothing would tear me from your side,

Life would be just perfect,

If you love me with all your heart!"

Somewhere in the line of 'I'll help you rule the world' Takuya grabbed the Elf Lord's hands, which were slender and smooth and unbelievably pale, and they began to spin madly in the pouring rain. The fine silken robes Kouji wore became plastered to the contours of his body, and Takuya tried very hard to ignore the fine sharp lines of thin torso and the smooth tapering of a well-shaped thigh. To distract himself, he began to bawl the chorus again:

"We'll all looooooooove you!"

"Um … my Lord?"

Kouji froze and snatched his hands back from Takuya's grasp, looking equal parts embarrassed and furious at having been caught in such a questionable situation. When the voice turned out to belong to Ruki, followed by Lieutenant Yamato, he calmed down somewhat. Only somewhat.

"What is it?" He snapped. Obviously, when humiliated the Elf Lord resorted to being even more crabby than usual. Takuya resisted the urge to smirk at the display.

'So he's not all ice and holier-than-thou … I like this. It'll be fun to get to know him …'

"The messengers have come. They have news of Lord Junpei," Ruki said.

"I see." Kouji was immediately businesslike as he strode out of the alley to meet two cloaked figures that had hesitantly made their way in. "Forgive the commotion previous. My – friend here was rather excited."

"Me?" Takuya blurted, but was stopped by three threatening glares and at least one motion towards sword in his direction. He nodded grudgingly. The taller of the two Elves smirked, but wisely refrained from comment.

"What do you know of Lord Junpei? Why was he unable to attend the Council?" Kouji queried, every inch the Elf Lord, even caked with mud.

The shorter of the strangers stepped forward tentatively. "My Lord, they were stopped by a patrol of Elves from Kulodis mountain."

Disbelief followed immediately by anger flashed in Kouji's eyes. "Kulodis sent a patrol to detain the representative? What do you mean? Explain yourself immediately!"

The messenger cowered against the wrath of the Elf Lord, voice trembling. Takuya watched, torn between pity for the boy and laughter at Kouji's anger. "Please, my Lord, that's what the message was from their leader. The Elves of Kulodis Mountain sent a detachment to prevent the proper representative from Centris from entering Kananth and Astaria." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a tightly rolled piece of paper. "And also this. I was told to give it to Lord Kouji of Ii'chi personally, and no one else."

Kouji accepted it suspiciously. "What's Kulodis up to?" He muttered. "Your name, messenger?"

"Takato, my Lord." He said nervously. "From Sarin."

Lord Kouji's head snapped up. "What's a Sarin messenger doing delivering messages for Kulodis Elves? Hasn't Zenith declared estrangement from Kulodis?"

"Well, it revoked that about a week ago." Another voice spoke up, and everyone looked up to notice the other messenger. "We were originally sent to deliver that message but we were re-routed, as one might say, and told to bring this one instead, so here we are." Scrutinizing brown eyes looked the wet Kouji up and down. Takuya felt irrationally annoyed. "So you're the famous Lord Kouji. Don't look much like reputation suggests, no?"

Ruki and Yamato stepped forward, half-unsheathing swords. "Mind how you speak to the Lord, stranger." Ruki said evenly. To Takuya's surprise, however, Lord Kouji waved both away and looked straight at the man standing there.

"Your reputation is as over-flowered as mine, Lord Ryo of Zenarik."4

Lord Ryo snorted, and the tension melted. A friendly smile flowed over his face, which transformed immediately from mistrustful to cheerful. "Over-flowered my foot. How go you, Astaria?"

"Passably. And you, Zenarik?" Kouji replied. Takuya realized the marks of old acquaintances and felt jealous. It was ridiculous, really. What did he have to be jealous about? Not the Elf Lord's attention, certainly. Of course not.

"Well, well, as well as one can go with an Elf Mountain breathing down one's back. But you'd know all about that, right, Astaria?" Lord Ryo grinned dangerously. At this point, an unusually large raindrop decided to make itself known by splashing itself onto Kouji's nose, and the Elf Lord jumped. Takuya resisted the urge to squeal 'Oh, how cute like some infatuated town girl.

"Perhaps we should get out of the rain," Lieutenant Yamato suggested delicately. "My Lords are soaking wet, and I believe the rest of us are rather the same way." The unstated but understood message was, 'Lord Kouji needs to change into something not mud-splattered so he can be presentable for a foreign Elf Lord.'


"But of course," Said Lord Ryo graciously. "I apologize for not thinking of that straightaway. It has been some time since last we met, Astaria, and I declare that we do need to catch up on some politics."

"Please, no." Kouji said, his lip curling in distaste. "I've had my fill of greedy politicians. If, however, you feel greedy for some nourishment, Ii'chi produces tolerable cuisine."

"Oh, please, Astaria. You dishonor your cooks and your own taste in food by saying so." Takuya managed to pinpoint the feeling of vague unease he had held from the beginning as he realized that not only were Kouji and the other Elf Lord old acquaintances, but to an extent old rivals on friendly relations, albeit tentative and delicate ones.

"Well, shall we proceed?" Lieutenant Yamato asked, stepping forward to illustrate his point. Ruki followed, shooting a poorly disguised glare at Lord Ryo who merely grinned back.

"Onward to Ii'chi, then."

Takuya shrugged and decided to follow along. Not because he wanted to follow Kouji, of course. Because his clothes and stuff were there. Of course. Asbard. He had no reason whatsoever to be following the Elf Lord … Takuya sighed and gave up trying to justify himself. Damn Izumi.

--

"I see," Said Izumi, looking skeptical. "You fell in the mud and got no more than your knees and arms muddied?"

"Yes." Takuya ground out for the fifth or sixth time. "I tripped."

"Right." Izumi said, still unbelieving. Takuya groaned and threw a dirty shirt at her, which was avoided with ease.

"What are you doing here anyway?" He demanded. "Why are you in my room while I'm changing? And where's Asbard?"

"He left."

"Oh," Said Takuya, not quite absorbing the information. "When will he be back?"

"He left for Cadnum."

"I see," Said Takuya, who didn't really see at all. He finished changing into dry clothes and came out from behind a screen, toweling his hair roughly so it stood up in uneven spikes at the top and slightly curly at the bottom. "When was that?"

"Early today. He got a message and left just after you disappeared."

"… I see." Takuya sat down at the desk, noting the piece of paper sitting on it, scrawled over in Asbard's clear, rough hand. A moment later, though – "What? He just up and left? Without me? Without even waiting to tell me?"

"That's what I've been trying to say," Izumi started patiently.

"What kind of pathetic guardian is he? Leaving his charge behind in a huge city I've never been to and have been lost in twice today, a psychotic Elf-girl and a split personality Elf Lord?"

"A good one," Izumi smirked. "He seems to have found out exactly why you want to stay."

"What? What?"

A few moments later, when Takuya's voice had dropped down a few notches and Lord Ryo and Kouji couldn't hear him from the other end of the estate anymore, Izumi attempted to explain again.

"He said he had an urgent message and had to return to Cadnum immediately. He sends his regrets that he couldn't take you sightseeing, if that helps any." Izumi said, settling comfortably onto the floor, slender legs crossed neatly. Her blonde hair shone prettily in the dusky light, yet Takuya couldn't help but compare the bright halo of whitish light to the way Kouji's hair seemed to absorb light for its own and emanate it back out towards the world. Much like the eyes that pulled Takuya into their depths, drowning …

Takuya blinked, hard. Thinking of the Elf Lord as 'Kouji' brought the aloof personality ten times closer, and subsequently Takuya seemed to have Elf on his mind. Repeatedly. Constantly. All the time. In not entirely platonic ways.

'Bad mind. Bad!'

"Takuya, are you listening?" Izumi's voice rudely intruded on his scolding of his own mind.

"No," He said defensively. Disagreeing, he had discovered, was the best way to respond to something one had not been paying attention to. It kept him out of all sorts of awful things like doing massive piles of laundry and mucking out the stables. The Elf sighed.

"I was asking you why he had to leave so quickly," She said.

"How should I know?" Takuya said indignantly. "You're the one he seemed to want to speak to the most!"

"It's on the paper on the table," Izumi said in a tone usually reserved for children under the age of six and people in mental institutions. "See the letter? See how it's addressed 'to Takuya'? That generally means that it is a letter written to you, Takuya."

"Shut up." Takuya muttered. "I'm distracted."

"Yes, you certainly are!" Izumi said cheerily. "Now read the letter already!"

Takuya grumbled incoherently and picked up the letter, which consisted of a few uneven lines and a quick signoff designating the writer as, indeed, his guardian. He read aloud, "Takuya – The mistress is sick, I found a new medicine which is supposed to cure the trouble so I'm cutting back to Cadnum. Be back soon as I can, but you can go ahead anywhere I you want, just leave word somewhere. Sorry I had to leave so quickly, but then you're probably happy about that, eh? – Asbard."

"Eh," Said Takuya nonchalantly. Now that the news had been absorbed, he had settled into that sense of 'there's nothing I can do about it' and decided to go with deliberately casual acceptance. Plus it meant he was free to spend the pile of money Asbard was sure to have forgotten in some corner of their room. "Gullible man. Mistress Dobblin's never any sicker than she needs to be to get you to do something for her."

Izumi giggled. "Like you."

Takuya flushed, retorting, "As if! I've never faked sickness, thank you very much!"

"Except when you didn't want to go to school."

"Well, besides that. And that was only once or twice, anyway."

"And when you didn't want to help out with the farmers."

"And that. Still not much."

"When there was carrying to be done at festivals."

"Yes, well …"

"And work to be done at school, sweeping for the town hall, reading to the sick people …"

"I get your point!" Takuya glared unsuccessfully.

"Quite the slacker, aren't we?" Another voice, entirely unexpected, intruded on the proceedings. Takuya jumped.

"Kouji!" Izumi tried to kick him but found him just out of reach.

"Takuya!" She scolded, scandalized. "Show some respect!"

"It's all right, Izumi," The Elf said tiredly. "I lost a bet. Just don't let it spread about the Guard."

"Of – of course not." Izumi eyed Takuya both accusingly and questioningly, and he tried his best to look innocent. "What's the matter, my Lord? You look concerned, if you pardon my personal observation."

"Pfft." The Lord made a dismissive noise and waved his hand indifferently. Takuya suffered déjà vu. "I'm not the one should be concerned." He turned to stare Takuya straight in the eye, causing the boy to squirm uncomfortably and resist the urge to start tugging on the end of his shirt, a nervous habit acquired years ago when he had to recite in school.

"What did I do?" He asked apprehensively.

"That's what I'd like to know." The eyebrow was raised, and Takuya frowned. Before he could speak, though, Kouji continued. "You've been summoned by Kulodis. This would mean they want you to do something for them, they have seen fit to punish you for some great, horrific crime you've committed whilst in my jurisdiction, or they want to train you. The latter is an honor. The others are not. Sadly, I have to accompany you. They seem to want me as well."

Takuya blinked.

Izumi blinked.

Kouji waited patiently for everyone to gather this information, interpret it, and stop blinking.

"Wait, Kulodis?" Izumi managed, at the same time Takuya said, "Why?"

Kouji shrugged. "I have no idea. I do know, however, that we are leaving tomorrow. I'd best begin packing if I were you, Takuya. And you, Izumi. Yamato is, of course, insisting that the entire Elf Guard tag along, although what need I have of Elven guards on an Elf Mountain is beyond me … And now, I have other things to attend to, so I must take my leave."

"Of course," Izumi said automatically. Takuya gaped.

When the door shut behind the Elf Lord, Takuya stared blankly at the window.

"Kulodis …" He moaned. "I'm so, so, so, so, so, so, so dead. So dead. What did I do … ?"

--

words: 8867

5:50 PM

14-10-04

lokogato enterprises ltd.

--

TBC

--

These are the footnotes, or the proof that I officially have no life. I should reuse this world idea (by the way, I named the world. It's called Shinsu, but you probably won't hear this name used much because of chronic disunity amongst the realms).

1 Kynia – one of the countries in Shinsu. It's further from Astaria than Sarin, and does not border Kananth at all.

Shinsu basically looks like a seven-pointed star, with the easternmost point (points are all triangle-shaped) Kananth (capitol Astaria), the southernmost point Kynia (capitol Oracle), the one between Kynia and Kananth Sarin (capitol Zenarik). The center, which is seven-sided, is Centris (capital Sutasi).

The northernmost point and the final country to appear (two chapters on, if all goes as planned) is Hun'rye. Hun'rye is the only country to border Kyo'nis (see second chapter), and is disorganized, with no central government, and basically constant tribal warfare. There will be important characters from Hun'rye, so stay tuned for its mention!

The remaining three points are beyond Kyo'nis. Basically, nothing is known about them – yet.

3 River Ryoun - There is an extensive water system too, but I'm too lazy to explicate it. One day I might get off my lazy bum and draw the map and post it somewhere everyone can find it (I'll probably just bug Em-chan for use of your site). Yeah. Yeah!

4 Zenarik – capitol of Sarin.

2 Ronis – the currency. It works kind of like pounds or dollars, except everything is in coins – the Ronis is the basic unit of coin, and you have one Ronis coins, which are copper, and strings of twenty, forty, and fifty Ronis coppers, and then there are single and twenty silver Ronis strings, which are worth as much as fifty Ronis coppers, and then single and ten gold Ronis strings, which are worth one hundred Ronis coppers or forty Ronis silvers. The coins are shaped as circles with seven-sided holes through the centers to hold strings.

Elfish gold is worth about 1.5 times as much as normal gold, and all the Elf gold is stamped with the symbol of the Mountain of their manufacturing, a high, heavily wooded mountain for Kulodis and a less steep, rocky one for Zenith. Not much difference, really.

The Ronis sign is a large R with another line through it; actually, it looks kind of like the sign for 'Real Numbers' that my geometry teach drew last year.

If that was confusing, this is the Lovely Chart I Made in Five Minutes of Slacking Off of Math Homework:

Basic unit copper Ronis, used on price tags in most shops; the really fancy shops might use silver or gold tags, which have a fancy script S or G to represent silver and gold Ronis respectively. This is why some shops may be referred to as 'Esgee' shops, because of their expensive wares.

Ronis type-----------Single value in terms of single copper------------------Strings---------------------String value by single copper

Copper ……………………………… 1 copper …………………………………………………… 20, 40, 50 ………………… 2020 coppers, 4040 coppers, 5050 coppers

Silver ………………………………… 2.5 coppers …………………………………………………… 20 ……………………………………………… 50 coppers

Gold …………………………………… 10 coppers …………………………………………………… 10 ……………………………………………… 100 coppers

Elf gold ……………………………… 15 coppers …………………………………………………… 10 ……………………………………………… 150 coppers

That is why Takuya has all those coins at the beginning of this chapter. It's basically an excuse for hip-pouches/moneybags, because I like them. :3

Gah.

Onward!

Replies to Reviews

Yay, minna, I got reviewed still! I just hope everyone hasn't given up on this story for the late update TTTT ::sniffles::

MilliKilo – The submit review button may have died in a corner, or got caught in that wall-ward around the Council building. I'm sure people get caught in those … Thanks for reviewing, and I hope this is updated soon enough for you to still be reading …

Anonymous – I'm glad you like it! Hope you keep reading!

blackyitramon – Yay, you think it's cute. Takuya thinks far too much about Kouji for his own good ::evil snickers heard in background::. And now you see what Takuya has to do without Asbard as an excuse to go elsewhere. Poor guy.

atimeforone – Thank you so much for reviewing all four chapters! ::sparkly eyes:: and I'm glad you liked it enough to quote in your reviews XD. Chapter four was squishy? ::confused:: Kouji behaves in a much more mature fashion than Takuya for the reasons you've mentioned, and a few more regarding actual age as well. Elf-dom is cool. And the age creates friction too, but we'll see that most of it is more façade than anything else …

Chatay – You really think the plot is good? Thank you so so so much. I'm afraid I can't outline and put together plots nearly as well as some of the writers out there, but I do my best. ::sniffles::

j – Glazed eyes! The sign that I'm really entertaining someone. I'm sorry it took so long for the continuation! ::cries::

Zoleth – Oh, the original Chinese name! ::bows:: Arigatou gozaimasu! And thanks for the URL tip :). Glad you liked Chapter 4, hope this doesn't disappoint you after it …

aishiteru ayu – yay, continued reviewers! If possible, I think this chapter is even longer ::cries:: I'm so freaking wordy … I keep fearing that my readers will get bored with everything and just leave … But they -will- kiss! I promise! And ::looks at outlines:: looks like it might be fairly soon too. So keep reading!!!

Ryo-chan - ::sniff: Thank you for your continued support of this fic … I don't know what I'd do without you. I'm sorry I haven't finished with the Inu-yasha fic yet, but sadly I've been writing and in between this and homework there isn't much time. I swear you'll get it at the latest by Christmas, though. Really!

inu400 – a lot of people seem to think it's cute! I meant it to be interesting, but cute is good too! And I'm sorry I updated so late. Hopefully you haven't given up on me yet!

Saikisu – I liked writing the fourth chapter. I didn't originally intend for Takuya to get all touchy, but he's sneaky like that I guess. :D And it all turned out for the best! Kouji is all nice to him now. Nicer, anyway. Which isn't really saying much but … er … yeah. Moving on!

Dragi – hope this chapter didn't come out too slowly! And I hope you're still reading and checking up on this ;; If I lose my first reviewer I'll end up in the pits of depression … but since school's started, I'll have more work ethic and be able to update more! Yeah! Somehow that made sense when I thought it. And thanks for emailing me about this fic. Nothing makes me feel more loved than being emailed about a fic. You inspired me! Thanks for offering to help, but I cleared my writer's problems and this is the result. Thanks again, though! ::bows::

Earth Magician – I do tests and quizzes too nn but mine always show that I'm a fire-type and dark-spell-caster type … I'd love to have earth as a strength though … And I really really really hope the late update hasn't turned you off the fic! I swear the updates'll be more regular from now on! I thought I'd have more time over the summer, but then life happened at me …

takuya – so glad you liked Chapter 4. Chapter 5, in my opinion, is slightly more important plot-wise, but Takuya's little scene was important relationship-wise.

Splash – Lemons in independent study? Doesn't anyone (teacher, friends) ever read over your shoulder? I was reading Cardcaptors slashy fluff one day and my friend looked over my shoulder and just went, "oh." … Her face was so funny … Is Fullmetal Alchemist good? I bought the series in China, but I haven't had much in the way of recommendations … (bought SEED too, just because I was too elated at the return to good old angst instead of, say, Gundam SD D That season scared me. I kept seeing parallels between it and Wing …)

evilchick – hey, thanks for thinking it's great. I didn't technically stop writing it. I just stopped updating. I continuously write this fic in my head, but I never get actual time to type it … TTTT

Everyone:

I love you all for reading and reviewing, and sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter and will continue to read this fic. I swear I will update more regularly during the school year, if only because I have more access to my computer during the school months … And because then I work more diligently on it. I don't know why I don't in summer, but it may just be the lack of general pressure brings out the lazy in me, and all the traveling I been doing.

Whoa, I just broke into ghetto grammar. I been busy, man! lol

Also, writer's block can seriously go die in a pit.

(China was fun! Camp was just as fun! And I bought so much anime ::drools:: But I couldn't find the fourth season of Digimon! I now have the first three (UNCUT, YES!!!!) But I couldn't find IV!!! So I'll have to get my beloved Kouji the next time I get back. ::grins evilly::)

Kouichi: Because we've forgotten disclaimers, Lokogato-sama doesn't own Digimon or any of its characters, nor Duo and Heero who cameo-ed in a fit of extreme copyright infringement in this fic. Please don't sue her, she needs her 56 cents to start scrimping for the $260 worth of manga she has to buy to catch up on all her series after months of not being able to shop Waldenbooks. Thank you.

::huggles Kouichi:: ARIGATO, MINNA-SAN!

REVIEW!!! REVIEW! Please ::sniffle:: I need support to keep writing … gah. I'm so reviewer-dependent. I love you all for reviewing … TTTT REVIEW, ONEGAI---!!!

Lokogato-sama