Riz:

I had no intention of uploading this half-finished chapter, but the guilt of not having updated for so long was too strong to shove aside. And thus, here it is, the first half or one-third of the twenty third chapter.

Guess people are wondering just why it took me so long to update. Well, thing is, I'm trying to figure out just where each character would be by the end of the story. The first two Acts were pretty easy to write as there wasn't any plot to either and them being prelude to the third Act. I suppose they were nothing more than to show the multiple sides of the OC's personalities. This Act, however, is different. Being the last part of the story, I need to know just where each character's going. Will they live, will they die? Which life will Roviel decide to live out, this one or return to being Saiku? What will be of Yuki, will she die or be revived by some means? What would happen to her and Youko's relationship? Would Nigenkai be reverted back to normal or stay demon-infested? Where would Koroku and his obsession lead him? The only two people that I don't need to worry about in the whole story is Kuwabara and Hiei. Those two are so predictable and thus the easiest to write while staying IC.

Which comes to my next problem; ICness and the need to keep each character AS THEY ARE. There's no way in hell that I'll change one of their personality just to suit me needs. And because of my stubborness, the main problem pops up; Kurama and Roviel's relationship.

It's hard, very hard to accurately lable the two's relationship with each other. Although there's no doubt that each had a great impact upon the other's life, it's impossible to define just how they've effected the other. Unlike Yuki and Youko, which can be easily labled as love, the same simpleness just doesn't apply to Kurama and Roviel. Who are they to each other? Lovers is definitely out of the question, as neither has made any thought or move in that direction. It's quite hard to call them friends; aquantiences might be a better word for it. Enemies was perhaps too harsh a word to describe the pair, but their love to annoy each other and watch the loser fume in anger seems just a bit too sharp to be called friendly bantering. Both tolerate each other's presence and on few occasions enjoy the other's company, but the majority of times they would be happy if the other wasn't around. And yet, when their wish is fufilled and the other leaves, they would be left with a sense of plainess, of boredom and lack of life. Things become bland, tedious and trival. It's almost as if the lack of the other, their opposite and polar, takes all sense of interest in life with them.

I hope you see my delimemna; just how is one going to affect the other during the last Act and, ultimately, affect where the character stands at the ending? During my absense from I've more or less sorted out everyone's endings with the exception to the lovely couple that I mentioned above. Right now I have a love-hate relationship with Kurama and Roviel; I love the two's relationship for being so mysterious and androgynous and I absolutely hate their relationship for being so mysterious and androgynous. Arg! Now I'm starting to understand why 99.99 of all female OCs end up being in a love relationship with one of the Reikai Tentai; it's just so much simpler than what I got myself into... TT

But enough of my ranting; onto the story!

To Kitsune Chic: I'm so happy that you are still here despite my lack of updates. THANK YOU! BTW, what happened to your old account?

To Togurotheman: Thank you; that's exactly what I'm trying to do.

To Bara: It was worth it? Sniff I never knew that someone liked this story so much... Huggles

Chapter Twenty Three: Beloved of Lady Luck

Life was unfair at best. Lying there on the stairs, bruised and battered and staring up at ceiling from behind a pile of clothing, Hiei had truly come to realize that point. If the heavens was to give the fire apparition one single wish at that very moment he would desire but one single thing, that he'll never have the live the life of a woman ever again, in this life and the next and the next and the next…

The surprise attack did not work as well as he had expected. In the excitement of the attack Hiei forgot two important things. The first was that, in this world, he no longer possessed the startling speed and agility of Nigenkai. The second was much more unexpected. Not only was his body now female, but it also lacked the years of physical training that his former self had. Before he had planned jumping up at the stranger and knock them unconscious or at least send them flying through the wall. Instead, however, the fire apparition found himself tripping into the stranger's body and tumbling down the flight of stairs in the most painful manner. And that's how Hiei had found himself in the position he was now; sprayed awkwardly across the stairs and trying to figure out which way is up.

The door opened and Seritsu's head popped out. The woman took one glance at the scene before her and giggled. Trotting down the steps and pulling Hiei upright, she grinned down at the remaining groaning figure upon the ground. Hiei followed the woman's beaming gaze and glared down at the stranger who he was trying to attack. Now that the fire apparition had a good look at the intruder, he wondered just why he even bothered ambushing in the first place. One glance at the man's scholarly appearance and anyone with half a brain would realize that even a straight punch to the face would lay him flat, let alone a surprise attack. Seritsu grinned at Hiei, the smile widening as she took in his furious features.

"This, my dear, is the friend that I was talking about. His name is Naris."

Groaning and wincing in pain, Naris pulled himself up from the ground and nodded at Hiei.

"Zel nor nes arkira vos."

Hiei glowered at the man. Does no one here speak proper Japanese? And even then, the few who knows Japanese in this world have such strange pronunciations. It's more like singing rather than speaking. But… The short youkai frowned to himself. It reminded him of someone, someone… familiar. In another world and another time, he had also heard a person speaking Japanese in the same lyrical way as those in this world. Was it someone he knew? If he could just…

Smack.

Ruby eyes lit up at the offender who dared to hit him on the side of the head. Seritsu grinned widely, showing a mouthful of perfect teeth.

"Since everyone's here, let's go back to the room then. Well, ladies first."

As Hiei stalked past Seritsu, one wonders just how long it would take before the fire apparition burst a blood vessel to anger…

Naris limped up beside Seritsu and followed the woman's gaze towards Hiei's figure. He chuckled softly as Hiei disappeared up the stairs and slammed shut the door.

"So she's the one that you called me for? Doesn't look too intimidating… What do you want me for anyways? If you wanted confirmation, you could have gotten that for free and…"

Seritsu gave a good natured sigh. Humans will always be humans; curious to the point of throwing one's life away. Then again, wasn't she also one of those humans, someone who would risk their life just to stop that little nagging question in their minds? It's not healthy for one's life though; curiosity tends to reward its followers with bad luck. But… The woman grinned to herself as she hurried Naris up the stairs. What is life without a little excitement? Isn't that the reason I took this job?

Stepping into the room, Seritsu was happily surprised that her charge was not hacking the room into tiny bits, but sitting silently in a chair. She looked over at Naris.

"Shall we?"

"You do remember that I don't speak Palien, right?"

Seritsu waved a careless hand as the two strolled over to Hiei's seat.

"You don't need to ask; I'll translate. Ah, Hiei. We are about to start, so just sit there and don't move."

Strangely enough Hiei listened to her request, lounging in the chair and looking up at the two with his usual glare. The woman glanced at Naris. He smiled and nodded, shuffling a few steps to the left and positioning himself right in front of Hiei. The man looked down at Hiei's small figure as he spoke the Words necessary for this examination. Let's just hope that I won't be tumbling down the stairs again… This woman's looking awfully infuriated. Guess I better get moving then.

He spoke all the Words, checked and re-checked their order, pronunciation and over-all compatibility. Having made sure that everything was exactly how it's suppose to be, Naris drew in a deep breath.

"Alright. I'm going to ask you one question."

He waited for Seritsu to translate. Closing his eyes, Naris prepared for the onslaught of memories as he asked that magical question.

"Who are you?"

-

Hooded eyes glance down the opaque glass, occasionally lingering on one of the news titles before sweeping away onto another. Above, the constant roll of never-ending clouds had begun to turn from orange to gold. It was nearing noon and yet the amber gaze was still clouded with remnants of sleep.

It has a very interesting past few days. After her rejection of Areth's proposal, Roviel thought nothing more of the matter and left to re-familiarize with the country. She thought nothing more of the girl that she had obviously pissed of… Until a few hours later when she walked out of a store and the said pissed girl was standing right outside, glaring at Roviel with a very determined look on her face. Roviel sighed and grinned at Areth.

"Look, I'm sorry if I burst your bubble, but it's against my policy to do charity work. Why don't you go and look for someone else who can help you instead of glaring at me like that."

No response. Areth simply stood there as she continued to stare. Roviel heaved a loud breath; looked like her refusal had more impact upon the girl that she had thought. It was quite unsettling to have someone stare at you in unblinking silence. Well, there wasn't much she could do anyhow; it was nearly dinner-time and the woman was feeling hungry. And nothing can stand between her and her food… nothing. Swerving past the immobile Areth, Roviel prodded off in the direction of a nice restaurant that she saw earlier in the day.

After five minutes of walking Roviel had realized that she was being followed. A glance back showed that her pursuer was, indeed, Areth. At first Roviel took no notice of her presence, but as the night went on the woman began to wonder. Just why was she being followed? The girl did not make any move to approach her, but just followed her like a bur. It was later dinner, when Roviel was strolling back to her hotel, did she realize the reasons for Areth's strange actions.

So, they wanted to make sure that, if she was not to side with them, that she wouldn't side with anybody. Not only that, but by allowing Areth to so obviously show her presence clearly told the woman that they meant no harm. But perhaps the most obvious message was that, by having her openly followed, they are stating that they would not let her go so easily. A yawn escaped her lips as fingers raked through autumn-colored locks. The woman grinned to herself, a small twist of the lips which foretold the amusement that will come to pass. If they so wished to know and record down her every move, then let them. She suddenly turned, heading around a corner and away from her hotel. The woman was never the one to bow politely under the will of others, least when the matter of her freedom was questioned and touched upon. Oh she'll let Areth follow her alright, but for a bloody good price…

The first night was spent in a tera-nil, the equivalent of an earth pub or bar. Roviel took great pleasure in finding the cheapest, most rundown, ransacked place that held the greatest amount of drunks. She marched in there with confidence, but behind her, the woman's little tail halted in its movements. As Roviel seated herself down on the cleanest seat and called out for a drink, she was wondering just what Areth would do? The orders were obvious; follow Roviel and don't let her out of your sight. But how far was the girl willing to follow the command? Enough to make her come into this place?

Apparently Roviel underestimated her little bur. Seconds later the door swung open and Areth's stiff frame barge into the place. Roviel chuckled as she raised her glass of drink towards the girl; it was going to be a long night for the stubborn child.

The next few hours passed in a blur. Roviel didn't remember much from that night, aside from knowing that she drank like hell, threw up, bought another drink to wash the vomit out of her mouth, drank some more, passed out and woke up just as morning light touched the cloud's linings. She then proceeded to half stumble, half crawl her way back to the hotel, pull herself up to her room, fell onto the soft bed and snored away until late into the afternoon. Awaking with one horrid headache and a thirst to match, the woman decided that a nice long soak in the bath would ease her hang-over. By the time enough alcohol was decomposed from her system that she could move and talk without wincing at the pain from her head, it was dark into the night. Roviel decided that she'll torture Areth the next day and went back to sleep on an empty stomach.

Next morning, the growling stomach had been the reason for her early awakening. After an early breakfast Roviel wasted most of the day wandering into various shops and window browsed. Areth, of course, was still there. The only thing that's different this time was that the girl had a distinct look of blood-lust in her eyes every time she looked at her charge. Considering that there was no recollection of the night, Roviel could only guess that going into that tera-nil was one of the worst decisions in Areth's life. Oh well…

As the day once again drew to a close and night glided softly across the shifting sky, Roviel pondered on her dilemma. Where to go now? Her recent alcohol binge and its effects were still clear in the woman's mind, and she didn't want to repeat that again anytime soon. So what's another place that would be entertaining to her and yet be annoying enough to burst another blood vessel in Areth's body? The eyes lingered upon a passing couple, smoky emeralds hooded in thought as they followed the couple's progress. Just where…

Ah! Of course! Why didn't she think of that before?

She turned suddenly and faced Areth, the first definite sign that she acknowledged the girl's presence.

"How much money do you have to use?"

Areth was dumbstruck. Not only was her target suddenly facing and talking to her, but she was suddenly asked to reveal her wealth. That's… random, to say the least. The girl replied in a halting voice.

"Enough… Why?"

Roviel gave her customary shrug; one shoulder rolling back in a single lazy action. She grinned happily at Areth.

"No reason. I was just wondering if you have enough wealth to spare in order to follow where I'm going next."

-

The history of Leianthos was, as history standards goes, quite interesting. Before the time of the Intrusion and near-extinction of Valdorian race, one woman by the name of Denarive took it to her head to create a place where political and racial disagreements could not touch. The daughter of a powerful government official, the woman grew up in a family who knew of nothing but the political game and battle of the wits. She soon tired of this lifestyle, detesting it with a deep loathing. And she planned to do something about it.

It was quite fortunate that Denarive was, at that time, the head Kestora Academy. Even back then the place was known for its high standards and the students it produced. In a act of total genius (or stupidity, depending on how one saw it), the woman rounded up her student and declared that whoever comes up with the best idea which would fulfill her wish would have their life expenses paid for the next decade. It was a tempting offer and everyone went to work. Soon, the idea of buying a block of property and creating a business where one could stay and relax while leaving all their political problems at the door was put forward. The customer could stay for a maximum of a year and a day, at which time they are protected by the business. In essence, it's like leaving one's identity at the door, throwing away all problems that are linked with one's identity and simply relax for how-long they wished.

Of course, such protection would cost a nice amount of money…

And that's how Leianthos was founded. Denarive invested half of her wealth into the project, buying a large block of land and building something similar to a small town. She then let the word out to the general population and sent her students to work at the place for two years as a school project (And thus, no wages, of course.)

Thousands of years had passed since then, and Leianthos had changed to the time. Not only have the business expanded all over the worlds, located on all the main countries of all twelve levels aside from the three layers of Isa. What used to be small towns of single or multi-leveled houses have now turned into gigantic high-rises, large panes of glass clear against the steel structure of the multi-leveled building. An occasional beach-house or condo was registered under the business's name, but they are rarely used and only there for special requests. The rules and regulations for its customers have also altered; no longer do Leianthos harbor anyone who's wealthy enough to pay. Criminals are not allowed to stay, nor are those who owe debts or someone who have death-threats upon their tail. One could not form alliances or deals within Leianthos's walls, nor bring any grudges from the outside into the place. The staffs at Leianthos were no longer un-paid students of Kestora Academy, but those who graduate from the place would be assured that they can find a job in the school-maintained business.

The current headmaster of Kestora Academy was the infamous Inoseki Rulia. Under her control the business have been quite good, or perhaps that was due to the high level of political fights these decades. Either way, the increase in costumers has been sufficient enough for Inoseki to raise its price. There were a few grumblers, but that's only to be expected. Still, Leianthos remained to be one of the most exclusive form of holiday and entertainment there was on this world.

And that's exactly where Roviel was heading to this moment.

-

One never realizes just how much one saves if one could tend to flaunt one's money less. Wanting to keep a low profile until she had enough information, Roviel had spent her last few days in an ordinary hotel, eating inexpensive food and buying from normal priced shops. It wasn't what she originally planned when the woman withdrew money from her account. Thus, when Roviel checked her wallet, she was happily amazed at how little she's spent during the last few days. A quick count revealed that there was no need for the woman to revisit the bank; she had enough to spend a week or so in Leianthos.

Areth's mind didn't really comprehend just what Roviel's question meant or what it implied. It wasn't until the pair arrived right outside the sky-scraper's front doors that a gigantic wave of dread crashed over the girl. Staring up at the building, Areth felt like tearing her hair out. She had followed Roviel for the past two days, followed her relentlessly despite what it held in store. She had kept the woman in sight and never wavered upon her watch even as it looked impossible. She had followed Roviel when the woman crawled back home drunk, when she spent the next day sleeping and drooling over the pillow, followed her as she stuffed her face in food and found amusement in chasing birds. Hell, she's stuck by her job even when the world seemed to end. But this was it; there was nothing she could do. She was going to fail…

Springing up towards the revolving door, Roviel looked back and smiled at Areth.

"Well, aren't you coming?"

The girl said something… Or at least Roviel guessed that she had wanted to say something. The strangled scream of frustration sort of stopped the words from coming out in a legible sound. And as Roviel glided through the glass doors and into the gigantic, richly furnished, temperature-regulated hall that was the reception, the woman could not wipe the grin of triumph from her face.

Ah, it's good to be rich…

There's more to this chapter, which I hope to update within the week. I AM still quite curious as to which Word ability you, the reader, finds to be the most interesting. Yell it to me and I'll most likely be able to hear it. Now, before I go to sleep, a shamless plug:

- Engi no Jutsu, THE best Naruto Rp on the net. No other place have such a large array of archetypes, detailed jutsu and villages, variety of ranks, in-depth plotline and characters. Also, an added perk is that only those who have a good grasp of the English language would be able to Rp there. WARNING: Addiction to the site might result from visiting this link. Do not touch this site if you do not wish to diminish your social life by spending every waking moment on this forum.

- Slopeanime, my dearest anime site of all time. With free anime downloads, dedicated staff, friendly and helpful members and a cool HP/MP/EXP/Level thing that increases and decreases depending on how often you post, will give you the rank of a variety of online gaming jobs. My total MP is somewhat large than my total HP, but not by that much, which is why I'm the resident Sage/Alchemist.

Have a peek at the two sites if you have time. If you only have five minutes or so, try Slopeanime, cause once you touch Engi you'll never want to leave. It's seriously addictive, and not helped by the fact that it has such a good system. Damn...