Hi! Thanks for the reviews! Sorry I haven't updated for a while—work's kept me busy. We're still in the flashbacks here. Shehure's editor makes her cameo here—she hasn't changed much.

Disclaimer: FB belongs to Natsuki Takaya, and anything else you recognize doesn't belong to me either.

Chapter 28

The next round of visions began with a departure from the Dzuni. It was still warm, the "good half" of autumn as Hothans said. The "bad half" would follow shortly thereafter, serving as a rude awakening to winter's imminent arrival. During the "good half," Hothans traditionally initiated a flurry of outdoor activities, a desperate attempt to store the memories of sun, warmth and green grass before the onslaught of wind, ice, and treacherous snowdrifts.

The two teenage girls, sitting with Lhoru on a worn red blanket spread on the side of a grassy knoll, were no exception. The one with long blonde hair lay stretched full length on the ground, having tied up her school blouse to get sun on her stomach. After a moment of thinking, Haku recognized the girls as Zhula and Hanadzima, Lhoru's two best friends. He'd not seen either since the visions of Lhoru's mother.

"Let's see," he mused, "what was the vision I had before that? Oh, yeah, when Nharu watched Hathori erase his mother's memory. But that event happened pretty far back in the past. I think it was just for personal background…" By this juncture, Haku had divided the visions into two categories: character development and plot. Ordering the visions enabled him to fix them in relative position and chronology in his mind; otherwise he only got headaches from being confused. It wasn't a foolproof method. The visions often didn't fit into one category neatly. However, Haku could safely deduce that the most recent set fell into character development, since they provided in-depth looks at the shadows lurking in each cursed Dzuni's psyche. Presumably, Faran-Zhuku would commence with "plot" visions, to reveal the breaking of the old curse.

"Too bad the weather's going to get so freakin' shitty soon," remarked Zhula, turning her face to the sun.

"You really are a summer person, Zhula," murmured Hanadzima, dressed in an all-black dress. "Gogotha would suit you better. Living in the jungle, sweating all day and batting off enormous mosquitoes."

"And southern Hoth would suit you perfectly, Hana," Zhula threw back. "How can you wear all black on a sunny day like this?"

A demure smile played about Hanadzima's mouth. "Well, after all, I do have a…reputation to maintain."

"I made some cookies!" Lhoru unknotted a tan plastic bag. "Our favorites!"

"Oh, Lhoru, you shouldn't have," mumbled Zhula, already chomping on a chocolate cookie.

"Mmm. Sugar cookies." Hana took a well-mannered bite. "With extra sugar."

"Umm…" hesitated Lhoru.

"Yeah?" Crumbs sprayed from Zhula's mouth.

"How uncouth," noted Hanadzima.

"There's something I need to tell you." Lhoru squirmed nervously. "Please forgive me for not telling you earlier, but I needed to get permission first."

"What? What? 'Permission?'" Zhula snapped into a sitting position, immediately concerned. Hanadzima stopped eating her cookie and rested it in her lap.

"Tell me, your grandfather's treating you well, isn't he?" Zhula still thought Lhoru was living with her grandfather. "Are one of Huki's fangirls bothering you? If they are, just tell me who and I'll deal with them!"

"I could always zap them, Lhoru," Hanadzima said in utter seriousness.

"Oh, no, it's not that," denied Lhoru emphatically. "I'm now living with Shoma Huki, Shoma Lhadoman, and their guardian."

Zhula's mouth dropped open, whereas Hanadzima's eyes merely widened.

Lhoru babbled on. "You s-see,..I was living in a tent because my aunt's family came to live with my grandfather, and the house was getting remodeled, and my grandfather asked me if I could stay somewhere else…and I couldn't burden the two of you, Zhula, you live in a small apartment, and you live with four other people, Hana…So with my money I bought a tent and set it up in a forest, but I didn't know it belonged to the Shomas, and one day I met Huki and Shehure, that's his guardian. That same night I got sick and they helped me, but then my tent was buried in a mudslide. They agreed to take me in in exchange for my housework. They are very kind people, really, I don't know what I can do to pay them back, I'm sorry, I hope you aren't angry, but it was sensitive and I had to ask Shehure…" The words trailed off as the last ounce of air was squeezed out of Lhoru's lungs.

Hanadzima merely replied, "I see."

Zhula nodded her head. "I wondered why you were spending so much time with Huki and Orange-Head. Now I know."

"Of course, Lhoru," spoke Hanadzima, "you do realize this means we'll have to come to the Shoma house to make sure it is an appropriate living environment for you."

"Yes!" seconded Zhula. "Let's go over there tonight." It was the weekend.

"Let's wait," Hanadzima shook her head. "If we go now, they might not have enough sweet things prepared. We shall come tomorrow. Is that all right, Lhoru?"

"Oh, yes!" Lhoru beamed, relieved her friends weren't angry. "I'll tell you how to get there."

The next afternoon, Lhoru stood between Zhula and Hanadzima, and the three male Shomas. Zhula trained a fierce look upon all three, while Hanadzima regarded them with a cool and steady gaze. Huki smiled cautiously, and Lhadoman appeared on guard. Only Shehure seemed genuinely happy to meet the girls.

Oblivious to the tension sparkling in the air, Lhoru introduced her friends. "This is Kirisun Zhula and Shatha Hanadzima. Hana and Zhula, this is Shoma Shehure, the owner of the house. Lhadoman and Huki you know from school."

"Charmed. It's so good to have more young blood here." Shehure only bowed slightly as befit his status as the elder of the group.

"Shehure," hissed Huki warningly. He would have to keep an eye on the lecher while these girls were here. Initially, Shehure seemed nervous when Lhadoman told him that Lhoru's best friends were an ex-gangster and a witch. "But of course he'd get over his fears if it meant seeing more high school girls," thought Huki.

Meanwhile, Hanadzima was busy taking stock of the men's vibes. When she first met Lhadoman and Huki at school, they had immediately aroused her curiosity. Normal human vibes contained nuances of everyday thoughts and emotions—the next meal, homework, bills, love, fear, anger. A foreign element pervaded the vibes of Huki and Lhadoman, as though they weren't entirely human. The presence of the wild was so strong that Hanadzima could almost pick up a scent of sun-warmed fur and a fresh outdoor fragrance from Lhadoman. While probing Shehure's vibes, an image of a dark, thick forest at midnight, the ominous atmosphere heightened by the howling of a single wolf. When she looked at Huki, she seemed to hear the skittering of thousands of tiny claws, in secret, unseen niches.

Huki particularly worried Hanadzima. It was normal for everybody to have a certain amount of darkness and heaviness in their vibes. Huki had a great deal more than average. So did Lhadoman and Shehure for that matter. But Hanadzima felt a closer affinity to Huki, as someone she could sympathize with, albeit only on a mysteriously animalistic level. No one made her feel that way before.

Most oddly, however, she sensed vibes from Lhadoman's red-and-white bead bracelet. She'd not noticed it before, at school. Never had an inanimate (or perhaps not) object given off anything to Hanadzima. Each bead possessed its own voice, furiously bashing against the shells that imprisoned them, desperately screaming for help. One voice drowned out the rest in its raging, incoherent, and deathly timbre. It reminded her of tormented spirits being whirled away effortlessly on the stream of the haríthe, or burning in slow agony in a fire…

"Hana, are you all right?" Blinking, Hanadzima realized that she'd been staring at the men, and Lhoru was shaking her shoulder.

"How many beads are on that bracelet, Lhadoman?" abruptly asked Hana.

"Ah…14 beads."

"Thank you."

Weirdo, what the hell was that, wondered Lhadoman.

I hope she doesn't figure out what we really are, worried Huki.

It didn't sound like only 14 voices to me, Hanadzima remarked to herself.

Hanadzima and Huki might make a good pair, thought Shehure. She's perceptive enough to tell what's really going on underneath Huki's exterior. She's certainly eyeing him a lot, anyway. Ah, young romantic love. Brings back memories.

"So, you're Shehure, right?" Zhula spoke up, to defuse the strange atmosphere. "What do you do for a living?"

"Me? I am a novelist," announced Shehure proudly.

"Reallly?" asked Lhoru, amazed. "Wow! I didn't know I was living with a novelist!"

"Shut up, Lhoru, you're making Shehure's perverted head blow up," groaned Lhadoman.

"You never asked Shehure, did you?" Hanadzima turned back to Shehure. "May I see some of your books?" The dog exuberantly ran into his private study, and returned carrying two books.

"I dabble in a variety of genres, but these are two of my more serious works," explained Shehure, handing the books to Hanadzima.

"One Day in Lhose," read Hanadzima, "and this other one…my, how interesting." Her elegant eyebrows arched.

Blushing, Shehure snatched the book away. "Whoops! Made a little mistake there!"

"Give me that!" bellowed Lhadoman. "The Hot Summer Night! What kind of crap is this, Shehure?" Huki glared at the author as Lhadoman hurled the book across the room, onto the front porch.

"My baby!" whined Shehure, feigning deep hurt and cradling both cheeks in a parody of agony.

"Oh, no, Shehure, I'm sure the book will be all right—"

"Ha, ha, Lhoru, don't worry," laughed Shehure, waving a hand to cut short Lhoru's panicked attempt at reconciliation. "My books always survive well. They have to in this house, right, Huki and Lhado? Now if you kiddies would excuse me, I have some work to attend to. Have fun!" He smiled and headed back to his study.

The phone rang insistingly. Shehure cringed instinctively as the phone emitted another shrill trill. I must remember to turn down the volume on that thing, thought Shehure. My sensitive ears can't take it much longer.

"Hello? Shoma Shehure speaking."

"SHEHURE! THE DEADLINE WAS TWO DAYS AG—" The desperate wail was abruptly terminated as Shehure gingerly replaced the phone on its hook. Oh, good. He hadn't had a chance to torture his editor Mhita in a long time. Naturally, the writing for the deadline in question had been accomplished three weeks ago. He'd wait just a little more, then call her back and calmly inform her that his next romance novel was, in fact, all ready and waiting for her.

But first things first. Before Mhita had another chance to dial, Shehure lifted the phone and began dialing.

"Shoma Hathori." The grouchy tone hinted at a recent period of overwork for the doctor.

"Now, Hari, is that any way to treat one of your oldest, dearest friends?"

"Shut up, Shehure. Just tell me what you want."

"You really should get more sleep, Hathori. Practice what you preach…I only wished to chat with my dear friend for a little while and catch up."

Hathori heaved a deep sigh. "You're right—we haven't talked in a while, but gods, this cold epidemic going round the family, and Asheno going through an especially sickly period on top of that…I haven't slept for more than three hours at a time the past week."

"And you lecture me about my sleeping habits? My poor Hari, you could use a girlfriend to take your mind off work. Have a little excitement once in a while!"

"No. I'm fine without one."

Smiling sadly, Shehure thought, as he had countless times before, how hard it was for a Dzuni to have a relationship. It was so easy for things to go wrong, horribly wrong. But finding the strength to conquer the fear of love formed an essential part of overcoming the curse, he believed. For now, he'd back off Hathori, but he wouldn't give up.

"Shehure," spoke Hathori, "really, you shouldn't find me a girlfriend." The dog could hear the doctor smile in spite of the lecturing tone he used. "I'm not one of your pawns." Then he became serious again, and added, "And neither are Lhoru, Lhado and Huki."

"What are you talking about? Why would you accuse me of such heinous treachery?" Shehure adopted a mock-hurt voice.

"I know you, Shehure, as well as most people could hope for. Since you told us that dream fifteen years ago, I've always suspected you'd be willing to go to great lengths to beat this curse."

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Lhoru is part of your plan to break the curse, isn't she? You were able to convince Asheno to let her stay with you because you thought she could break the curse."

"It's not that simple, Hathori." The doctor had hit upon part of the truth, but not entirely.

"Please. Just tell me: are you going to do anything to her, or force her to do anything harmful?"

"Hathori, you make it sound like I'm scheming to sacrifice her under a full moon. I'm not planning anything to do with her," insisted Shehure, "and breaking the curse is not why I convinced Asheno to let her stay. I wanted her to stay because she helps Huki and Lhadoman live more peacefully with each other, and she teaches them how to interact with real people, not just demented Shomas. Why, today she's brought over her two best friends for a sleepover, and they're playing cards with the boys right now." Shehure could hear a lively argument ("Orangey, you're cheating!" "Am not!" "Yes, you are, dammit!"). "That never happened for Huki and Lhado before. Her compassion naturally brings out the best in everyone she meets."

A period of silence ensued. Finally Hathori said, "Look, Shehure, I want out of the curse just as badly as every other Dzuni. I do. I don't approve of your games but…I will always be your friend."

"Thanks, Hathori. I appreciate that I really do."

"Remember, though, that eventually someone is going make your plans implode. It could be Asheno, Lhadoman, or even Lhoru. Be careful."

"Don't worry, Hathori, I'm the dog—a survivor!"

"Goodbye."

"Bye! And get some sleep!"

It wasn't until after he hung up the phone that Shehure realized he'd been sweating. Glistening beads of sweat appeared on his hand when he wiped his forehead. Hathori was the one person Shehure could never quite successfully pull off lies with—well, that had also been true of the former family head, Ekhuze, but only because Ekhuze scared one so badly as to render one incapable of rational thought. Perhaps Hathori had gotten his ability to discern the truth from Ekhuze…Shehure quickly erased the repulsive idea from his memory. I can't believe I still recall Ekhuze so well after twenty years, thought Shehure. And Hathori is definitely nothing like Ekhuze.

Memories of Hathori's and his abuse by Ekhuze reminded Shehure why it'd been necessary to lie to Hathori. If Asheno found out about Shehure's plan, he would mercilessly punish everyone involved. One thing was certain: Asheno did not want the curse to be broken. He'd become too entrenched in the idea of his death, and breaking the curse would allow him to live longer and rob him of being the Dzuni god. At the age of twenty, Asheno well fulfilled the prophecy of madness that had plagued every one of his predecessors.

But unlike Ekhuze, who had merely been extremely violent, Asheno possessed a hyperactive jealousy. He didn't mind what his Dzuni did as long as they did not fall in love with someone. Actually, that wasn't strictly true. One reason Asheno allowed the Dzuni to go to school and work outside of the main estate was the hope that they'd see they had no chance of normal relationships outside the family, and turn back to their loving God. No coincidence, the history of Dzuni marrying each other.

Asheno took things a step further, however. Having a lover or spouse, even a fellow Dzuni, by Asheno's reasoning, meant less devotion to their God in turn. Therefore, anyone who dared fall in love with one of his Dzuni had to be severely punished, thus the harsh fate Hathori's fiancée Hana suffered. Shehure, Ahame, and Hathori had all had to keep their dating a secret. And Shehure worried about his little brother, Hatsuharu, having a close relationship with Rin the horse. Frankly, thought Shehure, that was the biggest danger Lhoru faced, because it seemed likely she would develop a relationship with Huki or Lhado. Could she, even with all her compassion, survive the inevitable, possibly fatal, retaliation from Asheno?

If she didn't, all of Shehure's plans would be ruined, Huki and Lhado would be hurt, not to mention Lhoru. The girl could definitely win over the Dzuni, but Asheno was the greatest barrier. Shehure's plan for the family's liberation from the curse was based on an old manuscript he found under Asheno's bed, of all places. He'd been fourteen at the time, and was playing hide-and-seek with the young Asheno, then seven. While scrambling under the bed, Shehure's hand accidentally flipped over a loose floorboard. Lying in the dust of the hole was a ripped-up piece of paper, containing spidery, extremely faded handwriting. Later at home in the privacy of his own room, Shehure made out the one enigmatic line written on the paper: "To break the curse someone outside of the Shoma must overcome with compassion the monster residing in the Dzuni."

The scrap of paper, which resided in a small box in a deep corner of his desk, represented the fruit of Shehure's extensive search for the cure. It was too vague for his taste, especially the second half of the sentence, and its authenticity uncertain. However, it was the closest thing to a real cure he'd ever found. So he had gone over all the possible meanings for the second part. What was the "monster"? Could it be Lhadoman's true form? Asheno? Or maybe the dark side of each Dzuni's psyche? Every member of the Dzuni had his and her own hang-ups. The idea that the monster was something entirely different and unknown hung in the back of Shehure's mind, like an unwelcome guest. No matter how hard he tried, he could never force it to leave permanently.

In any case, he felt fairly confident Lhoru could help each Dzuni open up and interact with normal people. She was already succeeding with Huki and Lhado, and others would soon meet her. Shehure had taken care that word of Lhoru reached all the Dzuni. So far, a few definitely wanted to see her—after all, an outsider who could accept their "condition" with no reservations was a true rarity. Others were more or less not paying attention to her presence; Shehure would worry about them later. Small steps first. Once the Dzuni had been conquered, Asheno would have to be won over. And Shehure would have to convince Khazuma to unleash Lhado's true form once the martial arts master returned from his training in the mountains.

He felt a slight pang of guilt at manipulating Lhoru and his family, but he reasoned it was best for everyone in the end. The exhortation of Mihoshi, the old sheep who had now been dead for twenty years, to break the godforsaken curse still burned in words of fire inside Shehure's consciousness.

What next, after the curse was broken? The dog figured, leave that until it is actually broken. He didn't dare dwell on its never being broken.

Later that night, Huki found Hanadzima sitting in a comfy chair, leafing through Shehure's romance novel, the one he had tossed out onto the porch.

"Really, you don't need to read that," Huki said, surprised at the feeling of mortification that arose within him. Shehure's perversion always embarrassed him, but this was different. It was more personal, somehow.

Hanadzima shook her head. "I find it interesting." She never looked up from the book. Her eyes only appeared to be scanning the page. Hanadzima was not reading the words; instead, she concentrated on the bizarre waves emanating from Huki.

"I hope you don't mind Mileshi Lhoru staying with us," Huki spoke nervously, "don't let Shehure give you the wrong impression…"

"No, no, you, Lhado, and Mr. Shoma are all basically good people. That does not concern me." Hanadzima finally set the book down on the chair's oversized arm. "I am only sorry Lhoru felt she could not rely on me or Zhula for help when she needed it."

"I'm sure Lhoru doesn't think that way. She's not the pessimistic kind," responded Huki, meeting Hanadzima's steady look. She gazed at him thoughtfully for a long time, then rose from the spacious chair.

"Huki, you should not withdraw from people so much." The statement took the rat by surprise. "At school you have a reputation for being mysterious, but you really are a kind person. Don't push others away. There are those who would like to know you better." Hanadzima gave him a small smile. "I look forward to talking with you more often." She walked towards the staircase, but turned and faced Huki from the foot of the steps. "And I will be checking on Lhoru frequently, to make sure you boys are treating her properly. Good night, Huki." She disappeared up the dark stairway.

"What a strange girl," murmured Huki, shoulders still tense from the conversation. Meanwhile, behind the closed living room door, Shehure smiled. Lhoru's magic was well on its way in his house.