Mikau: Hello everyone! I'm back! As usual, I've been extremely overworked. I'm buried in homework, reports, and tests, and I don't see anyway out of any of it. LOLOLOL! As you can see, I'm going insane. Anyway, I have Free today, so I got this finished. I really like this chapter. Well, the first part. It's been awhile since I've been this pleased with my work. I'm definitely a lot more peppy lately. I'm finally getting better! (I've been pretty sick lately.) Anyway, here's the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King.
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Ivy
I couldn't sleep. It was three o'clock in the morning, and I couldn't sleep. I laid there for the longest time with my eyes closed praying that I would fall asleep out of sheer boredom of seeing nothing but black. Unfortunately, Lady Luck seemed to be cheating on me, and I couldn't get to sleep. I rolled over on my side to watch the woman sleeping next to me.
I let my hand gently caress her soft face. 'My woman…' She was mine and only mine. 'And pregnant,' A pleased smirk spread over my face. 'with my children.' My hand slipped under Ivy's silk nightshirt to run lightly over her rounding stomach.
She hated when I did that. She'd say: "Since when did my stomach become public property! I mean, come on! Perfect strangers come up to me and start feeling my stomach! What the hell!"
She HATED it; yet, I LOVED it. I loved feeling them kick and move around. I loved knowing that there was something growing inside of her, and that they were half mine. Just the words "Ivy's pregnant." were enough to make me break out into a huge grin. Sure she was getting more irritable, and she threatened to kill me on more than a few occasions. She yelled a lot and we averaged a few big fights a week, but I never fought back. I took her yelling, and throwing things, and screaming, and shrieking that she hated me for doing this to her. When she was done attacking me, I simply kissed her on the cheek, told her I loved her, and then slept on the couch.
Ah yes, the couch. We got to be good friends over those months. I practically set up camp in the living room because Ivy wouldn't let me anywhere near the bedroom during her seventh month. I went a whole month without se…well…you know. Needless to say, that might have been one of the worst months of my life. That's the worst part of when they're pregnant: when they decide it's your fault that they're miserable, and they make you pay dearly for what you've done. She treated me like a criminal for the entire month. I think that was the month that I started drinking again, but of course I stopped when she let me back in the bedroom.
My other favorite part of Ivy's pregnancy: hot flashes. I think my fingers are still frost bitten. She turned the AC on full blast, so I had to sleep in a parka to keep warm while she slept beside me practically naked (not that I minded that part), and still complained about being hot. The morning sickness was also fun. I came to hate the person who thought up the name "morning" sickness. It's not just in the morning people, it can last all day! It was enough to make me want to throw up.
Another thing that made me sick: how much, and what she ate. God could she eat! And some of that foreign stuff that she made Bill cook for her—like French fries—was disgusting! I still can't believe that some Americans would actually eat that! Who wants to eat shredded potatoes boiled in animal fat and fried in grease! But it was pretty funny when she almost killed me over the last octopus ball. Well, it wasn't exactly funny when it was happening, I can honestly say that I was scared for my life, but it was funny afterwards. Anyway, no matter what she did to me, I always loved her, and I tried to be understanding. After all, I was the one who got her pregnant. I suppose I would be pretty insane if my hormones were all going crazy. She did apologize, and MAN did she know how to apologize…if you know what I mean (insert suggestive look and perverted smile here).
Other than all the little difficulties, I'd have to say the first nine months went well. Anyway, back to the story:
I ran my hand smoothly over her rounding stomach and smiled down at my wife. I couldn't help but smile when I thought about her. Her stomach was getting bigger, but that only seemed to add to her beauty. My thoughts wandered. 'What have I done to you? The great Poison Ivy pregnant? I still can't believe I finally got you. And man I knocked you up good. Triplets…Man I'm good.'
"You're doing it again." A voice hissed in the darkness.
Needless to say I jumped. I hadn't known she was awake. "Doing what?" I tried my best not to sound nervous, but the surprise and anxiousness came out anyway.
Ivy slid one eye slowly open, and then the other. "You know perfectly well what you did. You always do this!" my wife looked childishly up at me and whined.
"I swear, I don't know what you're talking about, Ivy." My heart sped up when she looked up at me tiredly.
"Ooooooooh…Of course you don't." She moaned. I could feel my throat dry as a perverted thought entered my mind.
"You're the one who's doing something. You're pushing my buttons." I placed my hands on either side of her shoulders to hold my weight as I loomed over her.
"Am not…" She tossed her head to the side, practically asking me to attack her exposed neck with my lips. Stretching, she arched her back, knowing full well what I would automatically think of. I could hardly control myself when her fingertips lightly touched the inside of my thigh. "Okay, so maybe now I am."
"Ivy…" I whispered throatily into her ear, undoing the drawstring on my pants at the same time.
"What? What do you want Hao?" She teased me.
"You know what I want. What do you say?"
"Go back to sleep Hao; it's 3:00 in the morning." Ivy lay back down and closed her eyes.
I could feel my ego shatter. 'Did she just turn me down? Can she do that? She can't do that! She's my wife! She's carrying my children! She can't just turn me down so easily like she might any other guy!'
"Oh, but Ivy. I'm much too awake to try and sleep now. Maybe some strenuous physical activity would make me tired enough to sleep?" I casually flipped a stray piece of hair out of her face.
"I am so out of here!" Hane got up from the end of the bed and rushed out of the room. "I'll be in Opacho's room, so come and get me when you're done. I so don't need to see this!"
Ivy sat up in bed and laughed at the little Jack Russell. I could only look at her and smile at her beauty. For a second our eyes met, and she stopped laughing long enough to kiss me. "Sorry for teasing you."
"It's all right. Now, can we stop the teasing and get down to the action? OWWW! God you hit hard! What was that for!" I rubbed my right cheek as it burned bright red in the darkness.
"What am I to you, some form of entertainment when you get bored?" Ivy glared viciously at me as she got out of bed.
"Wait. What! I didn't say anything like that!" I scurried out of bed after her and followed her as she made her way to the door.
"But you were thinking it! That's all I am, isn't it! Something to do when you're bored! Well I'm sick of it!" She pulled a suitcase out of the closet and started packing clothes.
"Ivy! Wait! Please! I really didn't mean anything like that! I love you, I swear!" She glared at me when I tried to kiss her cheek.
"Save Hao. I've heard it before."
"But Ivy! Really, don't you think you're being a little hasty? This isn't something that you would normally do!" 'Actually, this is something she's always done. She's leaving me again…running away…' "Look Ivy, I understand that your hormones are really messed up right now, and that you're not feeling like yourself, but please don't do this to me. I can't stand to lose you again! Don't go!" Got down on my knees and attached myself to her legs.
She was still for a moment, and that made me look up at her to see if maybe she had regained her senses. This happened a lot. She couldn't control it, so I wasn't going to hold it against her. I smiled slightly up at my wife, hoping that she was feeling like herself again.
A blank look adorned her face, and she shoved the suitcase into my arms. "Are you kidding! I'm pregnant! I'm in no condition to travel. I'm not going anywhere."
"Ivy?" I asked hopefully, not sure if she was really my Ivy again. I slowly got to my feet and looked questioningly at her, suitcase still in my hands.
"Get out! I never want to see you again Hao Asakura as long as I live, and after I die too!" She practically shoved me through the doorway.
I understood. She had been packing my clothes… "Ivy…"
"Shut up and get out!" I looked into her eyes and saw hell staring back at me.
"Mistress Ivy?" A small sob came from just outside the doorway. Ivy froze as she looked down at a teary-eyed Opacho. "Why are Master Hao and Ivy fighting again? Hao-sama isn't really gonna l-leave, is he?"
My wife drew in a quick breath and stared horrified at what she was doing. "H-hao!" She broke down in sobs in my arms.
"Shhh…It's okay…I'm right here." I held her as tightly as I could without hurting her. Tears were rolling out of my eyes too.
"Oh my God…Hao! I am soooo sorry! I didn't mean a word of it! I swear I didn't! I don't know what came over me…"
"Hey, it's all right. It's sort of my fault anyway." I kissed her on the forehead and ran a hand over her stomach again.
"You're right; it is your fault I'm like this." Ivy broke away from me and walked back to our bed. "Now I don't feel so badly. Want to sleep in here Opacho?"
"Mmhmm!" Opacho raced for the bed and snuggled up close against Ivy as she lay back down in bed, having no trouble getting back to sleep.
"Hey! Aren't you going to apologize!" I whined, lying down on the other side of Opacho.
"Shh…Not now. Opacho is right here." Ivy shushed me.
"But still! Can't we go to a different room to—"
"Nope. And I'm not apologizing for that until you apologize for this." Ivy ran her hand over her inflating stomach, and I could do naught, but glare at her.
"Good night Ivy. I love you."
"Good night Hao. I love you more." She took my hand in her palm and kissed the tips of my knuckles before placing my palm on her stomach to feel the life inside. I couldn't help but smile proudly knowing that I had something to do with that. I was quite pleased that it was 'my fault'.
As suddenly as the scene had come, it faded, and I was transported into another memory. One of the best and worst days of my life: December 25 of that year; my daughters' birthday.
I stood in the doorway of the hospital room, a baby in each arm. Ivy was standing by the window, looking out, but seeming so forlorn. A small sigh escaped her lips as she held herself tightly, trying to fight back tears. She didn't know I was watching her. As the sun came up, flooding the room with different colored lights, it illuminated her pale skin, and she gave off a sort of glow. She didn't seem to be seeing anything that she was looking at. She was already too detached from the world to notice.
I managed to sneak up right behind her without her noticing, and I saw the look in her eyes, or lack there of. Her normally bright orbs were dull and void. She looked so…dead.
"I-vy?" I stuttered not knowing if she would answer me.
She jumped at the closeness of my voice. "Hmm?" She blinked several times before actually seeing me, but when she realized it was me, she immediately came back to life. "Oh! So sorry, I was just spacing there for a minute!" A soft chuckle escaped her throat. She looked down at the bundles in my arms. "Hello…"
I set them down in their respective bassinettes so that she could look at them better. "Hoshi…and Thorn." I indicated each one as I set them down gently.
Ivy smiled softly down as she lightly ran her fingers over their little ones. "I still can't believe it…I'm a mother. Kind of scary…but they're so beautiful…" She was crying again. I instinctively put an arm around her and held her close. I tried not to jump at the iciness of her touch, but I couldn't help it. "Sorry." She moved away, back to the window.
"No…It's my fault." I pulled her into a gentle kiss.
"No, it's not. I'm sorry, but this is so awkward." She pulled away again, a dead look over taking her for a second time.
"Ivy, are you feeling all right?" She didn't answer. It was almost like she didn't hear me. "Ivy?"
"I'm sorry; what?"
I patiently repeated my question, but even though she was looking at me, she didn't answer. "Ivy!" I placed hand on her cheek and desperately searched her eyes for a sign of life.
She blinked again, and her eyes brightened, but they took a lot longer to focus than last time. A few tears slipped from my eyes. I was slowly losing her. "I'm sorry. I heard you, I just…didn't…answer…immediately." Her speech pattern slowed and her eyes seemed to wander away from mine. "I really am okay though." She suddenly jerked back to me.
I knew what I had to do, but it would be hard: especially on me. "Ivy…don't feel like you have to stay."
"What! Why would I not stay! I have to! I…I…why Hao?" She slowly slipped into my embrace.
"You're not doing well here. Maybe you should talk to Michael, or Raphael, or maybe even Gabriel? I'm pretty sure that they will know what to do. It's okay if…you…have to l-leave." I held her tighter and ignored the chills down my spine.
"I feel so…distant, I guess. I really want to stay, but…everything is getting duller by the second. I'm scared that it will all dissolve into black and white if I keep looking. I want to stay with you and our daughters, but…" She stopped and seemed to get lost in her thoughts. "Hao? Do babies' souls get into Heaven?" Suddenly I knew what she had been thinking about before when she was looking out the window.
"Ivy…It's not your fault. There was nothing anyone could do." I tried to comfort her.
"Please answer the question." She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in my chest.
"I'm sure they do." I sighed, giving in to her request.
"Excuse me, Mr. Asakura?" A redheaded nurse stepped hesitantly into the room.
"Yes?"
"We need a name to put on the death certificate. I'm terribly sorry to bother you." She walked slowly toward me, as if she were frightened of what I might do to her.
"Yes, thank you."
"Akeno." Ivy sighed clearly depressed at naming the child. "I've always liked that name."
"Akeno?" I repeated. "Yes…I like that name. Akeno."
"A-K-E-N-O?" The nurse asked as she scribbled.
Ivy nodded. "Yes." I answered for my wife.
"Thank you Mr. Asakura. And again, I'm so very sorry." The nurse bowed her head politely, but scurried out of the room as fast as she could.
"So what now?" Ivy hugged me tighter.
"Do whatever you think is best for yourself." I whispered. It was the hardest thing to do: tell her to do something for herself. It was difficult to not be selfish and ask her to stay for me.
"But what about you?" She completely ignored my selflessness and thought of me anyway.
"I'll just have to learn to adjust. It's not like we'll never see each other again. Someday we'll…I mean we have to, don't we?" I held her close and ignored the cold feel of her.
"Well, of course we'll see each other. I couldn't live without you…thought that's sort of weird for me to say giving my current condition…I need you. I don't want to go anywhere." Ivy subconsciously played with a strand of my hair, twirling it around her fingers.
"It'll be fine. We just both have to learn to get over it…we have to move on…" My voice shook at the words. I didn't want to 'move on', but if she knew that, she would be less likely to do the right thing for herself and leave.
"You are so full of it, you know." I looked down at her as she smiled and cried at the same time. "You don't want me to go, and I don't want to go either. I'd like to stay with you and our daughters, but I really can't do that now can I?" I was about to answer her, but she placed a finger over my lips silencing me.
"Hush…I'm not done. I know that you don't want me to go, but you want what's best for me. It's only been a couple of hours, and I'm already falling apart…what will a couple of years do to me? I'm best off going to Mike, Raph, and Gabe and asking them what to do, but I know what they're going to say. They can't help me anymore than they already have. Another place I could go for help would be to Lucifer, but we all know what he'll try to do. I suppose the best thing to do would just be to go. I'm no use to you or the girls now, anyway. I'll be back though; whenever I find a way, I'll come back to you." Ivy smiled bravely up at me through her tears.
"I'll hold you to that." I kissed her one last time, dreading letting her go.
"You had better." She hugged me tight, thinking along the same lines as I was. "I don't want this to be the last time that you ever hold me like this."
"I promise it won't be. I love you Ivy."
"I love you too Hao." And she was gone.
My entire body hurt. It felt like little knives had pushed their way into my every pore. It burned; I was being burnt alive. I couldn't move, couldn't scream, and couldn't make the pain go away. It hurt. I could feel myself waking up, but that only made the pain in my head increase. It felt like a time bomb had exploded in my brain. My eyes slowly opened but I couldn't see anything. Everything was out of focus.
I blinked a few times, and the room came into view. "Uhhhhh…" I moaned, finally able to stretch a little, but most of my body refused to respond. Being unable to move, I took in my surroundings: Opacho was stationed asleep on the seat under the window, and Luca was on the floor in the corner next to him. Luca was covered in comfy looking blankets and pillows. Also on the floor, at the foot of my bed, Mari and Macchi were snuggling together for warmth. Yoh and Anna were sharing and armchair pushed up against the wall to the right side of my bed. She lay with her head on his chest, and his arms wrapped securely around her, keeping her warm. They reminded me of Ivy and myself. Across the room, a couple of feet away from Mari and Macchi, there were two more armchairs sort of pushed together. In one, Thorn and Hana slept in a rather compromising position because of their close proximity. It was a good thing he was her cousin, or else I would have severe objections. Hoshi, on the other hand, was on top of some strange, gothicly dressed, pointy-violet-blue-haired boy that looked shockingly like Yoh's old buddy Ren. I would later learn that this boy was Akira, Ren's son, and that that had been his first night staying in the room. Akira's head and one of his hands rested on top of Thorn in the chair next to him.
On the foot of my bed was a small Jack Russell Terrier puppy. Hane was sound asleep. Next to me, sleeping in a chair, but with most of her upper body on the bed, was Valerie. She had re-dyed her hair silver, but it seemed to have grown quite a bit. It now looked like it would go down to her upper thighs. The woman looked like she wasn't sleeping well. She moaned softly, and squirmed listlessly, repositioning herself. 'No wonder I can't move my arm. She's using it as a pillow.' I thought to myself as I tried to wake my sleeping arm.
"Mm Hao…" The silver-haired angel sighed in her sleep.
'Well, well, well…What are you dreaming about me? Funny the way you refuse me, and then have such dreams about me.' I smirked mentally, since I was unable to do it physically.
"…you are such an idiot…" She finished.
I would have fallen over anime-style, but, as I've already stated, I was unable to move. I mentally pouted. 'Maybe I'm losing my touch with the ladies? Impossible! I'll have to take a survey later with the Hanagumi.' I tried to get up, but my muscles were too stiff, so they gave out on me.
My slight movement was enough to disturb the sleep of the woman next to me. "Uhh…" She groaned, dreading the coming of consciousness. She sat up, finally removing the weight from my arm. She stretched a little, and then her eyes fell upon me. I had closed my eyes and pretended to still be asleep. "Hao? Can you hear me?" She leaned in close and whispered in my ear. "I know you can. Do you know who I am? Do you remember my voice? It's been so long…"
For a moment she sounded exactly like Ivy. Valerie had a deeper voice than Ivy, but now as Valerie whispered into my ear, she used Ivy's voice.
"Please wake up. We're all so worried, and we miss you…I miss you. I've missed you for years. Why don't you recognize me? Can't you see through my colorful disguise? My heart is breaking Hao, and I'm just about ready to give up. Maybe…I should just leave now. It would be less painful for the both of us. Why can't I just tell you? Maybe I'm scared…maybe I'm afraid you won't want me anymore when you find out…I don't know why I can't just say what I want to say. I want to tell you who I really am, but Thorn wouldn't like it, and Hoshi would be mad at me for lying, and you…well, I don't know what you would think. I just want you to love me again…"
I didn't understand what she was talking about, but I knew that I wasn't intended to hear what she was saying. I lay still and pretended to be asleep. 'She sounds so much like her…could it be that she's really…No. She can't be…'
Warm tears fell from her face onto mine. It slivered down my face until it came to rest upon my lips. It started to rain outside.
'Ivy…maybe…maybe I'm just crazy like Faust for Eliza. Maybe I'm just imagining this whole thing.' A cold hand gently brushed at my cheeks. My eyes snapped open, startling her.
"H-Hao!" A panicked whisper met my ears. "When did you wake up!"
"Right at the part where you confessed your secret desires to sleep with me." I mustered up enough energy to wink teasingly at her.
She looked like she wanted to slap me, but something kept her from carrying out that plan of action. "I can't believe you have the strength to makes such comments." She glowered.
"Sorry, but comments are all I can give you at the moment. I'm too exhausted to move very much, so I'm afraid I wouldn't be much fun in bed at the moment." I smirked back at her, regaining more and more strength by the second.
"Perverted bastard." She reverted to her old pet name for me.
"Oh, come on. Haven't you come up with anything better to insult me with in the past sixteen years?"
"W-what? Did you say?" Her voice shook as she looked deeply in my eyes. She looked confused and a little scared.
Then I realized what I had done. 'Hao, get over it; she's not Ivy.' "I'm sorry. My wife used to call me that all the time, and now I…I'm sorry, I think I'm still half-asleep."
"Oh." Small tears returned to her eyes, but a smile lit up her face. "I see…well, I'm glad you're alive to be a perverted bastard." She placed a short kiss on my cheek.
"And why would that be?" I tried to sit up since I felt strong enough. "What happened to me?"
"Hao, you're in the hospital…for alcohol poisoning. Do you remember anything?" Valerie stared somberly into my eyes, gently caressing my cheek.
My hand rested on top of hers, and I cursed lightly under my breath. "Damn it! God, I am such an idiot…"
"Shhh…don't beat yourself up about it. The only thing you can do about it now is to give up drinking." She advised.
"How the hell am I suppose to do that? It's what I do when I'm depressed." I looked skeptically at the chemist. I had tried to stop so many times before, but as soon as I felt badly, I would become incoherently drunk.
"I bet Anna could make you stop." Valerie giggled lightly and looked away as if she were remembering something.
"Oh really? Why do you say that?"
"She made me stop my bad habits." Valerie smiled encouragingly.
I looked skeptically at her. "And what 'bad habits' did you have?"
"Cutting." She replied levelly, easily admitting to it.
I looked dazed at her, unable to believe my ears. "You?" She nodded with a smile. "Why?"
"Because. I was partially out of my mind with grief, so it didn't seem to matter…I don't bleed easily, and it didn't hurt…It was a way to relieve stress. I'd usually cut my thighs. I've never liked my thighs, and it was a place I could easily hide from others. I usually wore boots anyway, so no one noticed. Sometimes I would cut the upper part of my arms and wear long-sleeved shirts. God, I must sound awful…Sorry." She laughed it off and looked away.
"No, actually…you didn't really say why you were depressed." I lifted my hand to her cheek and brushed away the silent tears that had been falling.
"I left my husband. After my son died… I was convinced that there was something I could have done, but…I don't know…I don't want to talk about it." Valerie turned away from me.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I lost a son too." 'Akeno…' Ivy had been a complete wreck…I could easily see Valerie acting the same way.
"I'm sorry…" Valerie sighed and looked back at me. "Anyway, enough about that. I'm really in no mood…" A kinky grin returned to the girl's face.
"Then how did you stop?" I returned to the previous topic of conversation.
"Hmm? Oh! Yes, cutting…Anna found out. I'm not really sure how she did, but Anna just seems to know these things. She sort of beat it out of me. Tough love, you know? Now when I'm depressed or just a little down in the dumps I go down to the lab and blow something up. Not a huge explosion, but just something small. Some metals spontaneously burst into flames when they're exposed to air. Others react really violently with water. Just a few drops of the wrong element mixed with something else, and KABOOM! It's really quite fun, and great stress relief. I find other things to do instead of hurting myself."
"So you're suggesting I blow things up for fun? Man, it's been awhile since I've done that. Now I really want to go light something on fire." I smiled maniacally at the woman next to me.
"Hey, don't go all pyro on me." She teased.
"Too late."
"Maybe you should try chewing gum instead. I've heard that that works for smoking." Valerie offered.
"Or I could start smoking." I muttered.
I winced as she smacked me lightly. "No."
"Just kidding. God you still hit hard."
"What!" The green-eyed woman scrunched her brow at me.
"Uh…I said you hit hard." I covered.
"You said 'still'." She left the question unasked: 'What did you mean?'
"Did I?"
"If you didn't, then I'm hearing things." Two confused looking dark green eyes burnt holes into mine.
"You have really beautiful eyes, you know. Did you have another lab explosion?" I tried to avert her attention.
"As a matter of fact, I did. I was mixing some highly reactive chemicals when Thorn called me to say that you were dying of alcohol poisoning. I accidentally poured the whole bottle of fluorine into the concoction instead of just a few drops. It dyed my hair back to silver and my eyes dark green."
"Dying?" A slow whisper barely escaped my throat.
"Yes, Hao. DYING. If Faust and I had gotten there even a few minutes later…Hao, you stopped breathing, and you were turning blue. Your skin was freezing—even colder than mine! You needed a new liver, a new pancreas, and some other organs. The lining of your esophagus was damaged pretty badly along with the lining of your stomach. There wasn't enough time to find a donor, so I had to clone new organs from Yoh's. I added some chemicals to make them grow faster, but they just barely made it in time. There wasn't really time to do an actual surgery, so Faust had to do what he did to Manta when Yoh and he had first met Faust. It was a little messy, but it seems to have worked. Oh God, I'm just glad you're okay!" Valerie buried her face into my chest, sobbing her heart out.
"All this because I had a little too much to drink?" I held her close as she cuddled up next to me on the bed. I let her rest her head on my chest, and we lay there with our arms around each other. "I promise you, I'm quitting. I swear that I'm never going to drink again."
"That's really sweet, but sweet doesn't mean anything if you go back on your promise and die for it." Her words cut me deeply.
"You don't think I can do it?" I raised an eyebrow.
"No, I think you're more than capable of stopping, but the question is, will you?" More tears fell silently from her eyes.
"I can make him stop." A foreign voice entered our conversation, causing us to jump.
I tried to act cool as I replied. "Well, hello Anna. What are you doing here on such a fine night?"
"Cut the crap Hao. You really scared everyone, and as you may have guessed, sleeping like this for three nights is very uncomfortable."
"Actually, you look pretty cozy sleeping on top of my otouto like that." I smirked evilly.
"Hao…" Valerie's eyes begged me to let Anna speak.
I sighed dramatically before giving in. "All right Anna, let's hear it. How are you going to make me give up drinking?"
"As soon as they let you out of here, you'll be moving in to Funbari Onsen until you break your drinking habits. It's as simple as that." My sister-in-law smiled a teasing grin.
"What! You mean you want him to move in with us!" Valerie looked panicky at her cousin.
"Yep. He can bring along the girls if he wants, but I'm not taking no for an answer. I never have before, so I'm not starting to now. What do you say Hao?" Anna wasn't one to be messed with, so I had no choice.
"Fine. The three of us will move in with you as soon as I get out of here." That seemed to satisfy her, and she went back to sleep.
"I guess we'll be seeing quite a lot of each other from now on." Valerie looked nervously at me.
"Is that a problem?" I smoothed her hair.
"No…It'll be fun living with you and the girls." Valerie smiled reassuringly, though I think it was more for her benefit than mine.
"Good…Hey, just how long have I been here anyway?" I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.
"Well, it's about three thirty on Wednesday morning, and they brought you in about twelve noon on Sunday, so you've been unconscious for nearly three days." She too tried to get some sleep.
My eyes snapped open. 'THREE DAYS!' "I guess I missed our date." I answered coolly.
"Yeah, you did." She giggled warmly.
"Can I make it up to you?"
Valerie tried to contain her laughter. "Maaaaaybe."
"If they let me out of here today, do you want to go somewhere tonight?" I closed my eyes and whispered huskily in her ear.
"Wednesday night? I don't think I'm doing anything. I'd love to."
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Mikau: So? What do you think? Did everyone get that Hao was dreaming (again) for the first two parts? Yeah, I couldn't help but put that in there. Maybe that will shed a few shreds of light on the various puzzles of this story. Actually I had Anna read Torn By Thorns, and she told me her theories of the many puzzles of TBT, and I was really surprised at how far off from the truth she was. When I told her what I had really intended for the plot twists and the plot line in general, she said she hadn't even thought of that. Now I can't help but think that I'm seriously misleading you with Ivy's motives and stuff…I seem to have a lot of explaining to do in up coming chapters. Well, one last thing: I really love the name Akeno. Isn't so cute! Ahem…yeah. Sorry for the babbling. .o
Thanks To: yo wuz up, ChibiKitsune, ChibiAzn3, KaZuYA MiNeKuRa, glitter galz, Hemila-Rose, haoxivy 4 eva, y0ur-w0rstnightmARee, megumi13, HAO-Addictive, Firebane5, Kiva Kyoyama, MaiValentinefan, DarkPisces33, and yeke.
To DarkPisces33: My brother hates Yoh, so he always bashes Yoh. I get really mad because I like Hao and Yoh equally (even if I did pair Ivy with Hao. You know, before I started writing I,SR I had intended to pair Ivy with Yoh. I actually decided to pair her with Hao after I wrote the first chapter.), and I really hate when Jordan trashes my Yoh-koi. It would be cool to have so many pets, but I only have my dogs and my crabs. Actually, I have an unofficial cat named Sugary Ginger Snaps. She comes to my house once a month and I feed her. She's a street cat that doesn't really 'belong' belong to me. My favorite singer at the moment is wither Megumi Hayashibara, Yuuko Satou, or Ayumi Hamasaki. (Megumi played Anna in the Japanese SK, and Yuuko played Yoh. Ayumi is just really good, but she doesn't really have anything to do with SK.) Those are my favorite Japanese singers. My fav American groups are the Killers, The Goo Goo Dolls, and 3 Doors Down. My favorite food is…hmm what is my favorite food? I really like white rice, California rolls (it's sushi), and ramen, but I also love jello. Come to think of it, I'm obsessed with Pocky, but I haven't had any in a loooong time. I could live off of peanut butter too…well, as long as I had some celery. Okay, now I'm really hungry. I'm going to post this and go get some food from the cafeteria.
PLEASE REVIEW!