Insert Self Here
Chapter Sixteen
Family Matters
X X XRyonami looked over at the two girls following her. "You didn't have to come along," she said. Though she did appreciate the company, they didn't need to ditch club as well.
Kari shrugged. "I had nothing better to do." The atmosphere back at the go club had been too somber, anyway. Well, of course it would be, with them losing out on their chance to go to a tournament. She felt bad enough about being the cause; seeing everybody that bummed out only made it worse for her. She wanted to feel better, and she just couldn't do that there.
"And I'm sticking with her," Sayuri said, jerking her thumb at the younger girl. She had tagged along with Kari to her go club again, this time simply to watch the girl's club. She was supposed to have gone out shopping with Yuka, but the other girl had been forced to bail on those plans because of a sudden case of a stomach illness. Sayuri had warned her against eating that food at lunch...
The oldest girl sighed. "Well, I guess I'm glad for the company." She paused when they reached a street. They were in a busier shopping district, so car and pedestrian traffic were heavy. They needed to wait for a signal to cross.
"So what are you looking for, again?" Kari asked. "An English book?"
"A Japanese to English dictionary, yeah," the girl replied. "Second year English is a pain." And what a pain it was, too. Ryonami liked to consider herself a good student, but learning all of those new words was a pain. Why couldn't everybody just speak Japanese? That'd make things so much simpler.
"You know," Kari began, "if you have any problems in English, you can just ask me. I can speak it pretty fluently." That was an understatement; it was her first language, after all. And she had been somewhat of an English buff on top of that. She wouldn't mind tutoring a friend... might even help take her mind off of things.
"She is pretty good," Sayuri added. As far as she saw, Kari never had any trouble whatsoever in their English class. Of course, theirs was a first year class, so it was probably easier than Ryonami's.
Ryonami nodded. "Thanks for the offer," she said genuinely. "I'll take you up on that some time."
Kari gave a faint smile. "All right." The shorthaired girl noted that the crossing signal was green, so she and her two friends made their way across the street. She had never been in this area before, so she had no idea where the bookstore was. As they finished crossing, she asked, "So where's this bookstore we're going to?"
"Down the street a little more," Ryonami replied. "We're almost there."
"Don't think I've ever been to that one," Sayuri said.
Nabiki's flunky shrugged. "I don't see why not. It's a good store." She looked over at Sayuri. "They have this club thing, where if you join, you'll get a thousand yen in store credit for every ten books you buy. It's a pretty good deal."
"I could get two manga with that," Kari noted. She considered it...
"Yeah," Sayuri replied, "but only if you buy ten books."
Kari sighed. "Yeah, yeah." She didn't have enough money to spend like that. Her own wallet was mostly empty. She was just thankful Mr. Tendo didn't charge her or Ryoga for staying with them, or she'd be in some amount of trouble. It was more than a girl like her deserved.
Ryonami looked over at a store as they approached it. "Here it is," she said, motioning towards the store. She walked inside.
The youngest girl looked around as she entered. A large glass storefront, aisles of books, many customers, and a small café in the back all gave the impression that this bookstore was one that was both popular and well off. She wondered if they had any good manga... then shook that thought off. Of course they would, but she couldn't afford it. Didn't deserve it.
"Where are the reference books...?" Ryonami wondered aloud. "Back here?" She began to trek towards the back of the store.
Kari and Sayuri followed. They didn't have anything else to do in the store, after all. They were just tagalongs.
The girl quickly found what she was looking for. It was an out-of-the-way aisle, to be sure, though two others, a couple by the looks of them, were currently looking over the books in it. Kari was a bit jealous of the happy-looking couple.
"Naota," the woman said, handing the man the textbook she had been reading, "you should probably use this one."
Naota took the offered book. He was a lean, tall teenager, by the look of him, with a healthy growth of stubble. Looking it over, he asked, "Is that your professional opinion, Kazumi?" His face had a small grin.
"Of course!" the woman said, feigning shock. "What other opinion would I give?" In a huff, she said, "I am an English teacher, you know."
"Ah!" Hearing that, Ryonami turned towards the woman. "You're an English teacher?"
Kazumi turned. "Erm, yes?" Looking Ryonami over, she asked, "How can I help you?"
"Well, I'm looking for a good Japanese to English dictionary," Ryonami explained, "for my second year English class."
Kazumi turned to the shelf she was standing next to. Plucking off two books, she handed them to Ryonami. "Use these," she suggested. "One's a comprehensive dictionary, and the other is a useful guide to English grammar." She smiled.
"Thank you," Ryonami said with a bow. "You're a life saver."
"No problem," the teacher replied with a smile.
"You're so helpful," Naota said next to her, punching her playfully in the arm.
The woman looked over. "Oh, shush."
Ryonami bowed once more and left the aisle, Kari and Sayuri following along.
As they were heading towards the desk, something caught Kari's eye. "Oo, go!" She quickly wandered over to an aisle selling books about her new passtime. There were books with records of famous go matches, books to explain parts of the game, and books with various problems to work out. Kari yanked one of the go problem books from the shelf and began leafing through it. "White's turn, kill black..." She got absorbed in the problem, forgetting about her own for a bit.
"Um, Kari..." Sayuri tapped the younger girl on her shoulder.
Kari shushed her friend. "Shh, I'm trying to kill black!" She went back to looking over the book.
Ryonami, however, wasn't going to be held up, it seemed. She walked over and snatched the book from Kari's hands.
"Ack!" the ninja cried as her book was pilfered. "I was reading that!"
The older girl ignored Kari's protests and walked over to the counter. "I'm buying these three," she said, handing her two English books and Kari's go book to the cashier.
"Eh?" Kari walked over. "You don't need to..."
"That'll be five thousand yen," the cashier said, ringing up the items.
Ryonami looked over at her fellow club member. "Too late," she stated simply.
Kari was silent for a moment. "Thanks." She gave Ryonami a sheepish smile.
As Ryonami finished her purchase, she handed Kari back the book. "No problem."
X X X
"So this is Japan's capital," Ranran said as she, her sister Amazon, and the matriarch entered Tokyo. She was speaking Japanese. Also surprisingly fluent Japanese; she had studied it with her sister a long time ago. She also had the idiotic boy who fawned over Shampoo help her brush up on it before her trip over. She figured that it would be useful.
"Lots of buildings," Shampoo noted in choppier Japanese.
"Yeah," Ranran agreed, looking around. She shook her head, letting her teal hair swoosh around. No, she couldn't be impressed by these barbarians! Still... it was a shame her sister Linlin couldn't be there to see this.
Shampoo didn't seem to mind being impressed. "Very big."
The matriarch shook her head. "You need to practice your Japanese," she said to her great granddaughter. "You'll need to speak it fluently to get by here."
"Shampoo know enough," the girl replied in a huff.
Her great grandmother sighed. Should she admonish the child? No, no, she'd let it slide this time. She continued hopping along on her staff.
Shampoo looked around. Those stupid Japanese men were gawking at her. She turned up her nose. If they weren't in such a hurry, she'd give each and every one of them a lesson.
Ranran noted the men looking at her sister Amazon... she felt kind of jealous. Nobody ever paid any attention to her like that. Shampoo didn't know how good she had it. She shook such thoughts off, though. No, she had only one purpose. She fingered the tiger fork she kept on her back. She couldn't wait for her chance to use this... to get that girl back.
X X X
Kari peeked her head in the door. "Hello?"
Dr. Tofu greeted the girl with a wave. "Hello, Kari. Come on in."
The ninja quietly made her way into the doctor's office. Trailing behind her was Sayuri. The two had left Ryonami to give the doctor's office a visit. Once inside, Kari looked around. Spotting what she was looking for, she said, "Hey, Yuka."
Yuka gave her two friends a smile. "Hey, guys."
"Here to see your friend?" Dr. Tofu guessed, adjusting his glasses.
"Yeah," was Sayuri's response. She and her younger friend made their way over to Yuka.
"You were right," Yuka said as Kari and Sayuri took a seat on the edge of the bed she was resting on. "It was the food." She smiled sheepishly.
"I warned you," Sayuri said. "You shouldn't have tried the Chinese food."
Kari looked over at Sayuri. "I happen to like Chinese food, thank you very much." She had eaten a lot of it while she was in China. It was really good. She especially liked all the varieties of chicken. The rice they had was pretty good, too. Better than the bland stuff she ate with Japanese meals, anyway. She preferred her meals with flavor. Just not as much flavor as curry...
"Akane cooked it," Sayuri explained.
Kari's eyes widened in realization. "Oh!" That explained everything. She thought a moment. "Is that why Ranma went to eat on the roof today?" She had eaten alone, but she had noticed Ranma slipping up the stairs. In any case, though, she felt really bad for Yuka. No normal person should eat Akane's cooking.
"You should be careful," Dr. Tofu warned the girls. "If food looks bad, it's better to be safe than sorry and not eat it." Now if only Akane understood that... then the casualty rates from the girl's cooking might drop.
Kari nodded. "Yeah..." Looking the doctor in the eyes, she asked, "So... how's Yuka? She okay now?"
"She's staying here for a few hours until the medicine I gives her goes through," he replied. "Then she should be perfectly fine."
There was a knock and then the door opened again, the door shaking the attached bells as it opened. A familiar pigtailed boy entered, looking around nervously. "Akane isn't here, is she?" he asked.
Kari looked at the boy as he entered, giving him a small glare. She turned aside after a moment, though.
"Good afternoon, Ranma," the young doctor greeted the boy. "No, your fiancé isn't here."
"Good." Ranma entered and looked over toward Yuka. "Hey," he said, walking over. "I came to check up on you. See how you're doing..." He looked around. "I heard you ate some of Akane's cooking."
Yuka groaned. "I didn't think it would be that bad!"
The martial artist nodded solemnly. "She made me a bento a week or so ago," he said. "I've never been sicker in my entire life."
"She made me some cupcakes for my birthday last year," Sayuri said. "I didn't eat them at the party, but I had one the next day... I had to go to the emergency room and get my stomach pumped."
"You could have told me that!" Yuka shot at her friend. She sobbed. "It would have saved me a lot of pain!"
"I tried warning you," her friend said.
Kari sighed. She had, thankfully, avoided any instance of Akane's cooking, and she was ever so grateful she had managed to get away with it. She didn't want to ever hurt Akane's feelings... she just didn't want to die, either. She used to think the manga or anime had overplayed Akane's lack of cooking skill, but she had caught a whiff of Ranma's bento when Akane had made it for him. As a ninja, she had a knowledge of poisons and had caught the scent of no less than five.
Dr. Tofu seemed to have gone back to filling out some paperwork at his desk. "Feel free to hang around," he said. "Also, you're free to have tea or cookies, I have both in the back."
"Thank you, doctor," Sayuri said.
Yuka seemed quite excited. "I can have cookies?"
Dr. Tofu spared her a glance. "You? No."
The girl bit off a curse.
The young doctor chuckled. "Your stomach is still recovering. Tea should be fine, but cookies are a definite no."
"Sucks to be you," Ranma said, getting up. "I'm gonna grab myself some." He left, heading into the back room.
Kari considered something a moment before calling after Ranma. "Grab me a cup of tea!" she cried.
Sayuri, too, felt the need for a drink. "Me too!"
Neither girl knew if Ranma paid them any mind, because he closed the door to the back area behind him. Oh, well. If he didn't come back with their tea, they could just beat him up. Well, that was Kari's logic, anyway.
While he was gone, Sayuri and Yuka began a bit of small talk while Kari listened listlessly. It was interrupted after a minute or so, however, as the door to the doctor's office opened once again.
This time it wasn't anybody the group of girls recognized. The entire doorway was taken up by a huge... family shrine, it looked like. And there was a tiny old lady carrying it. She waltzed in with the huge shrine over her back like it was completely normal. "Hello, sonny!" she called as she entered, dropping the huge wooden structure on her back onto the ground.
"M-Mother?" Dr. Tofu seemed taken aback.
"This is Dr. Tofu's mom?" Yuka asked.
The old woman looked over. "Oh, look at these two fine young ladies!" She walked over to the bed Yuka was lying on. "Such beauties..."
"Th-Thank you?" Sayuri said, unsure. She suddenly shrieked when the old woman ran her hands over her legs.
"Oo! Nice hips!" she noted. "Good for bearing children." She nodded. "Very good."
The young doctor seemed irritated. "Mom!"
"Oh, my son, you make your mother proud," the old woman said. "To think, two wonderful ladies!" She looked at Yuka, then to Sayuri, and then back to her son. "You've become such a stud!"
Kari noted how she wasn't even in the equation. "What am I?" she asked, irritated. "Chopped liver?"
"I don't think they're his girlfriends, auntie." Somebody else entered the door to the doctor's office. He had wild black hair that just reached his shoulders. Like Dr. Tofu, he had it pulled back into a short ponytail, though his ponytail and bangs were far wilder than the young doctor's. He closed the door behind him. "They're probably patients."
Kari looked the boy over. He looked about Ranma's age. He was wearing a bright red vest over a long-sleeved black shirt and a pair of black denim shorts. An earring adorned each of his ears. He looked kind of familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She decided it must have been because he was related to Dr. Tofu; after all, he had called Dr. Tofu's mother "auntie." In any case, she responded to his statement. "Yeah, we're just here because our friend, Yuka, got a bit sick." Kari gestured toward the patient.
Yuka stuck her tongue out. "Food poisoning."
Dr. Tofu's mother seemed disappointed. "Oh..." Turning to her son, she asked, "But you do have a girlfriend, right?"
Dr. Tofu sighed. He just knew it would come to this. It always did when his mother was around. Shaking his head, he responded, "No, I don't."
His mother sobbed. She opened the shrine and lit the candles in front of the picture of her deceased husband. "Do you hear that, dear?" she asked, addressing the man in the picture. "He still refuses to settle down and give me grandchildren!"
"I'm not refusing anything!" Dr. Tofu cried. He looked at his mother, then turned to the three girls and gave them a pleading look. "Save me," his look was saying.
The boy in red stepped forward. "Look, auntie, enough of the theatrics."
"Theatrics!" the old woman shouted back, dropping the noose she had been tying. "Theatrics! If only these feelings were theatrics!" With a sob, she continued, "Oh, but my heart aches every time I think that my one and only son denies me any grandchildren!" She sobbed into a handkerchief she pulled from her pocket.
The boy didn't seem amused. "Yes," he deadpanned, "those are theatrics."
"Maybe we should go?" Sayuri suggested quietly. She felt decidedly out of place.
"Would you rather leave Yuka here alone?" Kari whispered back.
Yuka hissed, "If you do, I'll kill both of you!"
Dr. Tofu seemed very interested in getting his mother to stop thinking about him, a girlfriend, and possible future grandchildren. "Oh, Katsuharu!" he said, turning toward the boy. "I heard you were living with my mother. How do you like it so far?"
The boy in question looked over to his older relative. "It sucks," the boy replied honestly. "I liked it with my parents a lot more."
"Then why don't you live with them?" Kari spoke up.
"They moved to America," the boy replied. Turning towards the girl, he said, "I'm a martial artist. The only place I can train is Japan. If I went to America, I'd grow weak." Flexing an arm, he said, "I need to get stronger! Stronger and stronger, so that one day I can match my idol."
"He's yet another martial artist," Sayuri noted. "Do they just flock here?"
"I think they do," Kari replied.
Dr. Tofu's mother looked over at Katsuharu. "Oh, you're so unappreciative," she said, looking at him with a troubled expression. "Such a troublesome boy. Nothing like your cousin." Turning to Dr. Tofu, she said, "Right dear?"
Dr. Tofu coughed into his hand. "Erm, yes." Because he had been the picture-perfect child, after all. "But, can I ask what brings you all the way here?" He had no idea his mother would be dropping by today... or visiting any time, to be honest. If he had known, he would have been prepared for her visit... which means he either would have hired a fake girlfriend or fled the city for a few weeks.
"You know, you should take one of these young girls out on a date," Tofu's mother said, looking over at the bed where the three girls were sitting. After all, they were there, her son was single... it was like fate, wasn't it?
"No thank you," Kari said, raising her hand.
That comment sparked realization. "...You're a girl?" Dr. Tofu's mother walked over and gave Kari a closer inspection. "I thought for sure you were a boy, with that short hair and flat chest."
Kari wondered if it was okay to hit old people when they were really, really annoying.
"It doesn't matter," the old woman said. "Your hips aren't built for bearing children at all!"
The girl was glad. "Good!" she spat. She didn't want to bear children. Ever. The very thought of it chilled her to her very bone... and the thought of what it takes to make children... Kari shuddered.
"Stop tormenting the poor girls, auntie." Katsuharu looked over at his aunt and gave a sigh. Why did she always pull that kind of stuff? It was annoying. She had to know it was, too. How could anybody not know that kind of stuff would be an annoyance?
Kari was seriously considering abandoning Yuka and running away. No, scratch that, she was already planning on it. The only thing she was considering was whether or not to try and save Sayuri and Ranma or take off by herself. The plan, however, was cut short when Ranma walked out of the back, holding a plate of cookies and two cups of tea.
"I brought your stupid tea," he said, "so you'd better not yell at... where the hell did that shrine come from?" The pigtailed martial artist looked over the room. Who was the old lady and this new kid? Patients?
Kari appeared next to Ranma. "Oh, Ranma!" she said happily. "You brought my tea! Thank you!" She took both cups of tea. "Oh, Sayuri, we should probably go drink these in the back so that-"
"Ranma?" Katsuharu stepped forward. "Ranma Saotome?"
Kari stopped as Ranma turned to look, plate of cookies still in hand. "Huh?" he asked. "How'd you know my last name? Y'know me or something?"
Katsuharu laughed. He just laughed. "I can't believe it!" He pointed. "It's Ranma! It's really you! And here, of all places, in my cousin's house!"
"Office," Dr. Tofu corrected. Looking over the two teens, he said, "Now, do you two know each other?"
"Yeah!" Katsuharu replied enthusiastically.
The pigtailed martial artist looked confused as he walked over to Sayuri and Yuka, handing the patient the plate he was carrying. "And who are you, exactly?"
"Katsuharu!" the boy said. "Katsuharu Ono!" Seeing Ranma's blank expression, he added, "You know, we fought in a tournament once?" Seeing Ranma's blank stare continued, he added again, "At Akimachi?"
Ranma groaned. "Not another one!" First Ryo and Nanashi, now this guy. He could kind of remember it, too. The boy had looked a bit more... punk-like, back then. Earrings and noserings aplenty. A leather vest and no shirt. But he did remember fighting him. "Are you after revenge, too?"
"Revenge?" Katsuharu looked shocked. "What? No!" He walked over to Ranma, who took a step back. He sighed. "Your fight back then... it opened my eyes. Back then, I learned to fight so I could beat people up better. But fighting you made me realize just how far you could take martial arts. It made me want to take martial arts seriously, and become stronger!"
"Don't tell me..." Yuka looked over to Ranma, "...that Ranma is the idol you mentioned?"
"Yeah," Katsuharu admitted. "He's the one who made me take my training seriously. I completely reevaluated everything because of our fight."
Ranma didn't know how to take that. "Eh heh, right." He scratched the back of his head. "Well, um, I'm glad you figured that out 'cause of me."
"So," Dr. Tofu's mother said, "the reason you can't leave Japan is so you can be like him?" She looked over at Ranma.
Katsuharu nodded, unashamed. "Yeah." Looking over at Ranma, he stated, "You're my goal."
Kari looked at Katsuharu, then back to Ranma. This was kind of weird.
The vest-clad boy stepped forward. "Ranma! Will you spar with me? I want you to tell me if I've improved!"
The pigtailed boy stepped back. "Um, sorry, but I have to get going. I told Akane I'd be back right away. You, um, know how girls can be." He beat a hasty retreat out of the clinic, rushing past the boy and the old woman.
Kari ran after him. "Ranma, wait!" Well, wait for her, anyway. She didn't want to be stuck with that old woman. She grabbed Sayuri's hand as she took off after Ranma, yanking the girl with her. Thankfully, Sayuri had set the plate of cookies down on the bed before they made a frantic dash out of the clinic.
They caught up to Ranma quickly enough; he hadn't kept running at the same pace once he was out of eyesight of the clinic.
"I can't believe that guy," he said as he, Kari, and Sayuri made their way down the street, toward the Tendo home. Ranma was used to being treated many ways; he'd been treated with scorn, contempt, hatred, and with a desire for vengeance. But that was the first time he'd been... looked up to? Hero worshipped? Whatever.
He felt kind of bad running away, though. He'd even turned down a sparring match. But, well, like he'd even remember how strong the kid was two years ago. All he remembered was that he was stronger.
"You think he was bad?" Kari asked. "Dr. Tofu's mom is way scarier." Much, much scarier. She hoped to never meet that woman again. Bearing children? Ew...
"I hope Yuka's not mad we abandoned her," Sayuri piped up as she took her hand out of Kari's. "We kind of left her there."
"I'm sure she'll be fine," Kari said, a bit embarrassed that she had forgotten to let go of Sayuri's hand. Well, at least Sayuri didn't seem to think anything of it.
Sayuri looked over at her friend. Looks like she was feeling a bit better. The freaky old woman must have taken the girl's mind off of whatever was keeping her down.
"I'm kind of sad, though," Ranma said. "I had to leave those cookies behind."
"Yeah." Kari looked down. "And I left my tea, too." Oh, well. Ranma had probably messed up when making it anyway. She doubted he could make a decent cup of tea.
The martial artist shrugged. "I guess I'll go back home and see if we got any there."
"Good idea," Kari said. She could probably get Kasumi to make her a nice cup of tea. "You want to come, Sayuri?"
"Sure," the girl replied. Then she could tell Akane all about Dr. Tofu's family. It was sure to garner some sort of reaction, though exactly what it would be, Sayuri didn't know.
It didn't take long for the trio to arrive back at the Tendo home plus dojo. "We're home!" Kari announced loudly as she opened the door, taking her shoes off in the entryway. She heard the sounds of... some sort of commotion. She wondered if anybody had even heard her.
Apparently, somebody had. As Ranma and Sayuri were taking off their shoes, Akane approached. "Ah, hello!" She smiled brightly. "You guys are just in time!"
"Just in time... for what?" Ranma noted with a fair amount of dread that Akane was wearing an apron. He might have found it cute on the tomboy, if it weren't for the connotations of her wearing it.
Sayuri stopped dead in her tracks. "Ah, h-hello Akane." Her plan of relaying Dr. Tofu's weird family was halted before it even began.
"Hello, Sayuri." Akane smiled brightly at her friend. "Are you going to be joining us for dinner? I made enough for one more, I'm sure."
The girl was staring at the youngest Tendo in obvious fear. "I-I... I just remembered that my dad's expecting home soon. I gotta go." She quickly donned the shoes she had just taken off and fled.
Akane frowned. "I was hoping she'd stick around longer."
Ranma nodded. "I know, Akane. I mean, you spent so much time cooking and..." He suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh, man! And I promised that guy I met that I'd spar him! Silly me!"
"Then why'd you come back?" Akane asked. "And take off your shoes?"
The pigtailed boy began to sweat. How'd she see through his lie? It was so clever! Almost the truth. "U-Um... I forgot?"
"Then you forgot in time to eat," Akane replied. "Come on, the food's not going to wait all day."
"...The food's waiting for us?" Ranma said, his voice and face showing explicit terror.
Kari fingered a kunai hidden in her sleeve. She wasn't going to go without a fight. She was stopped from doing anything distracted, though, by the smell of... smoke? "Is something burning?" she asked.
"Oh my god!" Akane cried. "I completely forgot to take the soup out of the oven!" She quickly ran to the kitchen.
Kari was silent for a moment. "...Soup?"
"...Oven?" Ranma finished.
The two, curiosity overriding fear, ventured into the kitchen. Akane was holding the fire extinguisher and the oven was covered in white foam. "I... I put out the fire," she gasped.
"Is your dinner ruined?" Kari asked, hopeful.
"Yeah." The Tendo girl seemed really glum about it, too.
"Cheer up," Ranma said, putting a hand on Akane's shoulder. "At least we don't have to pay any medical bills." And that was something to be happy about.
Kari elbowed Ranma before Akane could get to it. Honestly, how insensitive could he get? Even if it was true, you didn't have to say it.
Akane forced a smile on her face. She needed to look strong in front of her young roommate. Plus she didn't want Ranma to make fun of her. "All right," she said, "we should probably clean this up."
"We?" Ranma seemed confused.
"Yes," Kari replied, "meaning the two of us will help her." She pulled free a kunai. "You were planning on helping, right?"
Ranma huffed. Jeez, Kari was so violent. He was going to help! "Yeah!" he said. Honestly, she didn't need to threaten him.
"Good." Kari looked around. "Now... where are the paper towels?"
"Oh, I used them in the oven," Akane said, "since I didn't have a cookie sheet."
Kari honestly didn't know how to respond to that one.
X X X
End Chapter Sixteen
To be continued...
X X X
Author's Notes: Sorry, this chapter was used mainly to introduce some elements into the story but didn't seem very fast-paced.
Next chapter will have... um... more stuff. But it'll be good, I promise. Look forward to it.
On a side note, I now have a backlog of chapters. Yay!