"I don't want you to go to work..." pouted a certain blonde while interfering with his husband's getting ready. Ciel was trying to tie his tie, but Alois hugged him from behind and nuzzled his shoulder, distracting him. "You just got done with work! Cieeeellll… baaaaaabyyy… Pay attention to meeee…."

"I will, darling." the bluenette chuckled, still carrying on about his business. "After I get back, though. I'm sorry. You know how it goes."

"I do, but it still sucks and not in a good way."

"Jim..."

"It's not fair, though!" Alois playfully lamented. "You just got off work and now you have to do more work! I'm being deprived! How will I go on?"

"You'll find something to do. Don't you have work?" the bluenette questioned, finally shooing his spouse's head off of his shoulder so that he could flip his shirt collar down.

"Yeah, but I'm taking a break today. Not for you, but because I worked through the weekend and as much as I really wanna help everybody, I also want to sit."

"Well, enjoy sitting." Ciel laughed, turning his head so that he could kiss his husband's cheek. The other man met him halfway so that he could reach, but still pouted. "Chin up. Everything will be tickety-boo and I'll be back this evening."

"Don't you use your charming 1940's speak on me, you infidel." the menace faux-scolded despite releasing the other man long enough for him to turn around and wrap his arms around the blonde.

"You love it." the bluenette accused, pecking Alois' other cheek. "You know I love you." He continued before pecking the other man's lips. "Jimmy-darling. I'll be back before you know it and from then on until I work next, I'm yours."

"Gimme a real tight squeeze before you go." instructed the menace, prompting the other to tighten his grip and hold the blonde flush against himself with a small grunt. "Yeah, that's good shit."

"Agreed." Ciel replied, enjoying the bear hug, himself.

"It might just be nice enough to let it slide that you called me 'Jimmy-darling.'"

"Don't act like you hate it when you obviously like it."

"I know I like it. I just hate that I like it."

"I knew it." the bluenette laughed.

"Just like I know that you like it when I call you 'my cutie with the nice booty.'"

"Okay, that's a bit silly." Ciel said, finally releasing his husband. "Flattering, though."

"It is truth." Alois informed. With a sigh, he added: "I know you have to work. I know it's important. I know all that stuff, but I still don't like it."

"Have I been neglectful?"

"Not intentionally. I just want to spend some time with you because I love you and enjoy your company. We should go do something together when you're free! I was gonna ask, but Lizzie got to you first."

"I'm sorry." Ciel apologised. "I promise, when I get back, I'll do whatever you want. Within reason. I might be tired."

"We could break out those fancy bathbombs I got the other day and take a bath together."

"Oh? That sounds like an idea."

"It's a plan, then. No take-backsies." The menace smiled as he watched the bluenette put on his suit jacket. It was the final piece of his ridiculous ensemble. It was the one that he never wore unless he was playing a very specific part.

"What do you think?" the Watchdog questioned. "Do I look as ridiculous as I feel?"

"No. Slightly less ridiculous, but still ridiculous."

"Thank you for your vote of confidence."

"You asked." Alois reminded. "It suits your alter ego's looks, though, and that's what really matters."

"Right." the bluenette said, changing his hair colour from blue to red and shifting his face so that he resembled an older man with a longer face. "How is this?"

"Your hair is wrong." immediately informed the menace. "Cornelius Wainwright would never go out in public with his hair down like that. He cares about his appearance too much."

"How do you gather that?"

"You're wearing a white suit, a black tie, and a light blue shirt. He's rather flamboyant, isn't he?"

"What? So, do you think I should camp it up or something?"

"I don't know. What I do know is that you need to do your hair..." Reaching up, the blonde put crimson locks back out of "Cornelius'" face, following Ciel's usual part to move it all to the side. While doing this, his face twisted as he tried not to snicker, having realised he felt rather awkward by doing this.

"This isn't right." he said. "It feels like I'm playing with some rando's hair."

"Am I at least a handsome rando?" Ciel questioned, but Alois simply shrugged.

"Bit old for me, if I'm honest. How old is 'Cornelius?' Twenty-seven? Thirty? Even if you made him more youthful, I sort of prefer shy guys who dress in darker colours."

"Are you saying that you don't enjoy my new, fun persona?"

"I'm saying my husband is more attractive." the menace stated. "I'm a total sucker for that blue hair."

"I'm glad you like it. My grandfather on my mother's side had red hair, though, so it could have been possible..."

"Hmm… Fair point… I guess I could still find a way to love you somehow, but it be an effort." Alois teased, prompting the other man to roll his visible eye. "You didn't much care for it when I had dark hair during the whole 'BlackJack' incident!"

"No, I did. It was interesting. I like your natural blonde hair better, but if you changed it, I don't think I'd mind terribly."

"Aw… babe..." Alois cooed. "I'd kiss you but it would feel weird since it's not your normal face."

"Well, you can thank Elizabeth for that." Ciel replied. "Honestly, I'm not terribly sure as to why she chose me for this mission instead of one of her own spies, but here we are..."

"Maybe she thinks it'll be easier if you just bewitch the information out of people?"

"That's the plan." Pausing, the Watchdog added: "I should probably get on it, now..."

"Fine, fine. Go forth! Interrogate some people. Get some information. Come home to your loving husband."

"It's easier to just say 'I love you.'" Ciel pointed out.

"Face is still weird, though." grinned the blonde. "I do love you, though." After kissing his fingers, he pressed them against Ciel's cheek. "Bye, darling."

Blushing, the other Phantomhive blinked for a second before saying: "That was really cute..."

"Begone, Wainwright!" instructed a now flustered menace, prompting his beau to laugh.

"I love you, too, Jimmy."

With that, Ciel backed out the door with a wave and then left, leaving his husband at home. While Alois understood the importance of Ciel's mission, he still wanted to spend the day with him. He enjoyed Ciel's company and had missed being able to just decide to go do things randomly with him on any given day while the other man was at bootcamp. So, even though the menace had decided this would be the day that he did nothing work-related, he now needed to find something to do. It was times like this when he understood why Ciel chose to work so much.

Fortunately, there were things that he could do, although he wasn't quite sure how to start them. Putting on his hiking boots and a sweater was a good start, however. Then, he made his way downstairs and to the entertainment room. He was looking for his youngest brother, who he found in accordance to his usual habit of watching cartoons on Saturday.

Luka was lounging quite comfortably, although his expression was obviously bored. He didn't have school and his friends weren't nearby, so it wasn't as though he could go play with them. While living out in "the country" was nice and pleasant when you didn't want to be bothered, it was sort of isolating. Then there was the simple fact that Luka hadn't been feeling well lately.

He was still worried about Nigel and how he was fairing. Every once in a while, Luka would call up Mister Irons for an update, but Nigel was still in hospital, although he was stable and no longer in much danger. The Macken boy was still angry at the people who did this and wanted to know more about the situation, but his brother and brother-in-law didn't seem to know much, since they weren't heading up that investigation. He wanted them to be caught and he wanted them to pay.

"Luka~!" called the menace's voice from behind the sofa before the blonde bent over it so that he was in Luka's view. "Wanna go shoot some guns?"

"Sure." the lad answered immediately, getting up with enthusiasm. "Are you gonna teach me how to shoot without looking?"

"We'll see where you're at, first." Alois said. "Then we'll talk about cool tricks."

"I need to get my coat!" Luka told him. "Wait for me!"

"Okay. I'll meet you out back, alright?"

Before Alois could get his answer, the lad was already gone. Apparently, he was just itching for something to do. Or maybe he just wanted to shoot really badly. Either one was likely.

The menace put on a dark brown leather jacket and gathered up all the weapons he thought might be useful for Luka to know how to shoot. From short range to long range weapons. He wasn't really concerned with how big they were, since Luka was a demon and could probably handle the recoil of most guns, but he didn't go crazy with them or anything. No machine guns or extremely high-caliber weapons.

When the thirteen-year-old finally did make it outside, he traveled down past the garden, out into the area that was used for shooting and sparring. He could see on a table, there were weapons, but his brother was even further out, setting up some targets. As tempting as immediately picking up a gun was, the younger of the two controlled himself and instead went over to where his sibling was, instead.

"Need any help?" he asked, watching as the menace tried to roll out posters of standard faceless targets with the vital points circled or black and white pictures of men standing threateningly with weapons of their own.

"Yeah, can you hold this for me?" the menace questioned, moving slightly to the side so Luka could hold the poster in place so that Alois could staple it to the wooden frame. "Thanks. You wanna staple the next one?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, then." Leading Luka over to the next frame, he handed the lad the staple gun in his hand and rolled out the poster. "Staple the corners."

"'Kay." Pressing down, the brunet attached one corner, then two, and then three. "So, why did you ask me if I wanted to shoot?"

"I've never shot with you before and you wanted to learn, didn't you?"

"I've shot with Sebastian while hunting before."

"I mean targets. Have you ever aimed at something that looks like a person?"

"Sebastian said never to do that."

"It's okay as long as they're targets or if they're trying to kill you."

"You still don't think I'm ready to work with you guys, do you?" Luka asked, finishing with the staple gun before handing it back to Alois. His tone was a little disappointed, but Alois could oddly understand him.

"If I'm being honest? I don't know how you'd actually do. I just don't want you to." Alois confessed. "I know that Ciel and I started going on missions and stuff around your age, but we did it because we didn't have a choice. It was either that or die. You have the option to not have to go on terrible missions and I want you to take it."

"Don't you normally want people to be able to do whatever they want so they can be happy?"

"Not when it involves neglecting your childhood so you can… I dunno… Punch murderous demons with poisoned fingernails in the face or something.

"What are some downsides?" Luka asked, surprising the blonde somewhat as they walked across the open field back to the gun table. "I mean, apart from maybe getting shot?"

"Possibly dying?" the menace immediately answered. "Constantly being called out of school so you can go on missions is a pain, too. You won't be able to hang out with your friends as much and it'll be harder to relate to them because they don't go on missions and stuff."

"Do you have troubles relating to your friends?"

"Sometimes. It's a lot better now that we're all grownups and they've seen my work. I mean, it's awful that they did and I wish they didn't, but they understand a bit better now. When Ciel and I were younger, it was harder because it was this big secret. With you, it would just be the more subtle shit, I guess, like… Ciel and I apparently have this sense of humour that only assassins get? Like, we can casually joke about killing people, now. That's not normal and most people don't find that okay."

"Why do you joke around like that, then?"

"Because Ciel and I are assassins and find it funny. Then we go out in public and have to remember not to be morbid."

"Huh… So you want me to be able to relate to my friends better?"

"And spend time with them. It might not seem like a lot, but juggling missions and school is really hard. I had to drop out of college because of it, remember?"

"Oh, yeah..." the boy pondered. "I guess I thought it sounded like fun."

"Ooooh no. No, no, no, no, no… It's not fun. Killing people isn't fun. It's just a job. If it were fun, it would be grounds for concern. Like, serial killer, 'I'm gonna skin the neighbourhood cats and turn their fur into a cloak' weird."

"I mean the adventure, part. It seems like something on TV."

"Kind off. Just less exciting and with more near-death experiences. I don't recommend it." Alois shook his head. "Listen, you only get to be a kid once, okay? You have literally all the time in the world to get good at missions if that's what you wanna do when you're older. When you're a grownup, I can't stop you. But for now? Just focus on being a kid and have a happy rest-of-your-childhood. It's… This is gonna sound really shitty and tacky, but it's what I've always wanted for you. Just…" The man paused to make some odd gesture with his hand. "...Have fun? Don't worry about the atrocities out there for a while. Just eat good, play hard, and take your time. For you? The bad guys can wait."

Luka thought for a moment as they finally reached the table with all of the guns on it. He wanted to pick one up, but he also wanted to talk. "Did you want that when we both were little?"

"Yeah. Well… More for you than for me. I didn't think I stood much of a chance of adjusting to it. In a way, I still haven't. Some shit just sticks."

"Really? Like what?"

"Well…" Alois thought for a moment. "Ciel thinks this is kind of annoying: Whenever I get my own snacks, I won't share them with him, but I also won't eat them myself because I'm saving them. I never do get around to it either, so they just go stale! It's like I'm still expecting there to be no food, so I just hoard it and never do anything with it. I can't even starve to death anymore, but old habits die hard, I guess."

"I don't know if I still do stuff like that..." Luka replied. "Hey, remember that log that we used to hide candy and stuff in?"

"Yeah? Remember when ants got into it?" the blonde grinned.

"Not as bad as the time a raccoon got into all of it. That was after weeks of restocking the first batch!"

"I know! And we lost all of it again! I was so pissed off."

"Yeah, you threw a rock at it and we had to run away."

"I'm not afraid of no raccoons anymore." the menace declared before gesturing to the weapons on the table. "I've moved on from rocks."

"Which one can I shoot?" the lad questioned before pointing to a rifle. "That's the one I normally use."

It wasn't a particularly powerful or good rifle, but it got the job done and was a good first weapon. After looking at it for a moment, Alois reached over to a box of bullets before gently setting them down on the table in front of Luka, positioning them so that they wouldn't roll away. "Let's start with this one. I wanna see what you can do with a weapon you're comfortable with, first."

"Okay… Can I load it?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Picking up the gun in one hand, the boy began picking up bullets with the other and carefully put them inside. They were just plain ones. There wasn't any need to break out the expensive anti-freak ones in practise. After everything was in place, he kept it pointed at the ground away from both himself and his brother until the menace indicated for him to take aim and take off the safety. Alois leaned close and helped him line up the shot.

"Aim for the head or the heart." the blonde said. "Most regenerating supernaturals will die if you hit them there. Only exception is revenants."

"Alright." Luka replied, having lined up the shot.

"Okay. Take a deep breath and steady your aim. Then, put your finger in the trigger guard and fire when you're ready."

Very carefully, Luka lined up the shot. Once he was satisfied, he fired, prompting Alois to pick up the binoculars on the table to see where it hit. Keeping them up to his eyes, the told the younger Macken: "Raise your aim a bit and try again."

"Got it." Doing just that, Luka once again fired and the result prompted a grin on his brother's face.

"Nice! That's a kill!" the blonde declared, lowering the binoculars again. "Remember, the further away your target is, the more of an arch you'll need to hit it."

"How do you do it when you're not looking?"

"Same way. I just calculate it based on what I'm sensing instead. It'll be hard for me to do it on that thing, actually, because it's stationary. It's easier to sense things that are moving. Since the actual target is on a picture, I don't know if I'll even come close."

"You could try." Luka said, offering his brother the rifle. When the man took it, he held it in the correct position, then shifted with it uncomfortably.

"It's been a while since I used a rifle." Alois said while his brother picked up the binoculars. Closing his eyes, he pulled the trigger.

"Right in the heart!" the boy shouted enthusiastically. "Dead center!"

"Yeah, but it could be a fluke. I lined it up before closing my eyes. Lemme try again."

Then, he turned to the side and aimed the weapon, holding it in one hand, earning a confused look from his brother. "That's not how you're supposed to hold it."

"I know." Turning his head, Alois looked in the direction opposite to the targets while holding the rifle outstretched like it was a pistol. With his brute strength, the demon could support both the weight and the recoil. He took a moment to sense it and then pulled the trigger. He lowered the gun when he heard his brother suck air through his teeth.

"It's off. You hit the paper, though. Just not the guy."

"Ah, well. That's why it's best to start with basics. The cool tricks don't always work." Setting down the rifle, Alois picked up a pistol. "Wanna try a short-ranged weapon?"

"Sure! When are we gonna try the shotgun?"

"You want to try the shotgun?" the blonde asked. "It's a short ranged weapon, too, so we'll need to get closer." Handing the open and obviously empty gun to his brother, the man picked up some shells and gestured for his brother to come with him as he started walking.

"So the thing about these is: These shells? They're full of little metal pellets that are shot out in a random pattern and because of the way they're travelin', they fan out the further out they go. So, that's why this is a short-range weapon. The further away something is, more likely it is that none of the pellets will hit anything. Now, guess what happens when you're really close?"

"All the balls hit in one area?"

"Yup. Shoot someone in the face with this thing and they won't have any face left!"

"Gross..." Despite saying that, the brunet smiled as he said it, having a bit of a morbid sense of humour to him as well. "Is it really powerful?"

"Pretty powerful. If you hold it wrong, the recoil could dislocate your shoulder." Pausing, the older demon handed his brother two shells. "Here. Put those in there… Now, you close it like this… And you do this so you only shoot out of one barrel instead of both at once. If you wanna do it the other way, though, you do it like this, but that means you get twice the recoil as the first."

"So, do I hold it like this?"

"Almost." The older of the pair adjusted the position of the gun on Luka's shoulder really quickly before turning him loose. "Alright. Go for it."

The blast was loud and violent and the kick the gun gave Luka made his eyes widen. He didn't drop the weapon at least, and his shoulder was uninjured. His surprise made his brother laugh, as he made sure neither he nor the gun would fall.

Somehow, the situation made Alois' chest swell with pride as he saw his younger brother handle such a heavy weapon. Luka was growing fast. It was so fast that in the blink of an eye, Alois had no idea how on earth the boy was suddenly thirteen years old. While it meant that the lad was going to start wanting to do his own thing and pursue his own interests and happiness without Alois' input and even though the beginning of that loss made the menace sad, he also felt happy. He felt so, so happy that Luka was becoming more independent and while he was afraid of whatever came next, he was also eager to see it at the same time.

"Nice shot." Alois laughed. "You blew the target to smithereens. Maybe hold a bit steadier next time, though, yeah?"

"I didn't expect it to be that much! And it's so loud!" the boy observed. "What the hell is that?! It looks like I shot that thing a million times!"

"That's what I was talking about when I was talking about those pellets..."

"I know, but it's different seeing it!" Luka declared. "I don't think I'm ready to switch to shotguns yet..."

"We can switch to pistols, then." the older demon said, taking the gun from his sibling and taking out the shells. "Or we can do something else, if you're done already."

"Well… You also said you were gonna teach me how to fight sometime, right?" reminded the brunet. "How do you knock someone out?"

"Psh, there's a million different ways to do that." scoffed the blonde as an immediate reaction, having not thought about how that came across. "I mean, you can hit them really hard in the head or you can strangle them. It really depends on what the situation calls for." Holding the gun up, Alois rested the unloaded weapon on his shoulder. "Fighting isn't just about knowing cool tricks and moves."

"So are you gonna teach me today?"

"Sure, but I'll need to change, first. I don't wanna mess up my sweater."

"Why? Scared I'll rough you up?" jokingly asked the lad before throwing a playful punch. His brother responded by swatting his fist out of the way before hooking his arm around the boy's neck and pulling him close so that Luka's back was against his chest. Try as he might, the brunet couldn't escape the one-handed lock around his neck that Alois had on him.

"Sure. Let's go with that." the Phantomhive smiled. With that, he began dragging his sibling off toward the gun table. "Let's pick everything up and then come back and spar a little bit." It was in that moment that Luka felt regret for asking.

The boy hadn't yet found out what it meant to be an active member of the Phantomhive household. He didn't know what it meant to be in discussions about what would happen in the family and he didn't know just what it meant to protect the family. Those walls were built with blood and ash and even in the best of times, the shadows of that were present still.

Step by step, after changing and returning to practise with the blonde, he began that transition. Alois knew that it was only a matter of time and that he couldn't stop it, but despite how proud he was to be teaching his younger brother the ways of their shared family, it was still bittersweet. Alois was proud to be teaching him and proud that he was learning, but still never wanted him to be in a situation where he would have to use what he learned. Step by step, swing by swing, blow by blow, the older sibling slowly began to teach the younger one, gently walking him through steps and techniques. They smiled and they laughed as they roughhoused like old times, but deep down, Alois knew better. He deeply feared moving much further. He lost his brother once. He never wanted to lose him again.

The world of the Phantomhives, the Hellsings, and the Mackens was surrounded by danger. The threat of suffering was around almost any corner and the only thing standing between one and the unimaginable was chance. A small mistake or being in the wrong place at the wrong time was all it took. Even Nigel, Luka's favourite pen pal, was a victim of chance. Oliver Midford was, too. They knew the risks and accepted them, however. Luka, on the other hand, has yet to understand.

Or, perhaps there was just enough darkness in him as well to help him handle the burden. After all, there was not a single person in that house who had never experienced hardship. While learning to fight was a rite of passage within itself, everyone in that house knew that Luka already had blood on his hands.

All of them were shady, as much as they enjoyed the domestic life- the family life where they smiled, laughed, played, and joked around together. They loved family events like the annual Christmas party that was started at Phantomhive house amoung Britain's trinity of shady families and they loved the mundaneness of everyday life. Still, there were times where they had to step away from all of that and back into the shadows. Just like the head of the household, Ciel Phantomhive, was doing right at that very moment under the guise of Cornelius Wainwright.

He had arrived at the location where he would be interrogating his target. It was a pleasant home of decent size and of surprising grandeur on a plot of land that was probably inherited rather than bought, judging by the family crest over the doorway. The door itself was heavy and had a deep sound when Ciel knocked on it.

When it opened, the Phantomhive saw a man who wasn't his target and could only be assumed to be a flunkie. He wasn't dressed up in any type of servant's uniform, however. It was a red and white striped dress shirt and khaki pants. The man looked very confused indeed to see a stranger at the door.

"Can I help you?" asked the man at the door with an arched eyebrow. Then, he made the mistake of trying to stare directly into Ciel's uncovered eye in order to avoid seeming rude by focusing on the eyepatch. The man's eyebrows raised as Ciel's eye glowed red and that same red was reflected back at him as the poor man wound up underneath the demon's spell.

"You want to let me in." the demon stated. "And you don't want to put up any sort of fuss while you take me to your master."

Completely entranced, the man at the door stared vacantly as he slowly shuffled to one side and gestured for the Phantomhive to step inside. "Yes… Of course..." he answered, starting to walk further into the house, leaving Ciel to close and lock the door behind him. Silently, Ciel followed down the hallway that lead from the main entrance into the living area. Already, the Watchdog was not looking forward to this, but looking at the images that hung in the hallway made him all the less enthused.

Framed portraits of handsome men hung on the walls, oftentimes without shirts or with their shirts open. As he progressed, their poses seemed to become less and less dignified. Perhaps it was Ciel's own mind looking too far into things. Perhaps it was more Freudian than suspicious, but anything Freudian was inherently suspicious. Either way, Ciel was on his guard. As he walked into the living room, his frown deepened as it took everything in him not to immediately turn around and go back the way he came.

Seated on the sofa watching some programme on the television was a young man in his early to mid-twenties that Ciel actually recognised. He better have, seeing as Caesar Merritt was indeed his target. He seemed so casual and relaxed, but that wasn't what bothered the Phantomhive. What bothered him was the fact that he was using a partially clothed man positioned on his hands and knees as a footrest. The whole time, Caeser hadn't seemed to even acknowledge him, all the while turning his attention to the Watchdog.

"Who's this?" he asked the other man who led the Watchdog in, only for said man to realise that he hadn't the foggiest idea.

"This is… uh..." he began, only for the Phantomhive to interject.

"Cornelius Wainwright. I'm the journalist from Chieftain Magazine." Ciel lied without missing a beat. As much as he didn't want to, he stepped forward to shake Caesar's hand- a gesture that the head of the house confusedly accepted. "I'm here for the article? I spoke to someone on the phone and they said that your schedule is free now?"

"I don't remember approving that..." Merritt answered before looking at the man and the striped shirt and then to the man at his feet before looking back again. "Which one of you answered the phone?"

"I, uh..." began the man in the striped shirt. "I guess it was me, but… I don't remember that..."

"Lying won't get you anywhere." Caesar told him quite sternly. "Go to your room. I'll deal with you later."

Despite the man in the striped shirt seeming older than Merritt, he obeyed him. Somehow, he even seemed a bit eager about it, but Ciel did his best to ignore any hint of it. With that, however, Caesar's attention turned back to the Watchdog, appearing to be sizing him up for a moment.

"Sorry about that." Merritt said. "I don't know how this happened. What is the article about?"

"Well, we're a lifestyle magazine that aims to depict the… idiosyncrasies of Britain's elite. We try to showcase all sorts, but out readers are always particularly interested in the lives of the aristocracy in particular." the Watchdog fibbed, trying to spin a believable story. He even did his best to sprinkle in some flattery wherever he could, as he knew how nobles enjoyed being spoken to. "An eccentric Baron such as yourself, My Lord, is practically a goldmine of intrigue!" He even did the fake laugh that the upper class liked to do so much, earning a smile on the other man's face.

"Alright, then." the baron replied. "As you can see, I have nothing to hide."


A/N: I'm gonna add on more characters for ya in case the ones from last time were too easy to manage... The only one you need to remember is Caesar. The other two are disposable. And for the record, he isn't related by blood to any of the others, so there is no explanation for that, either. Naturally, more will be explained next time, so you don't really need to worry about remembering much about him, other than he showed up at the Philosipher's meeting before and was kind of a smartass who claimed to have having a laugh and his name keeps popping up every once in a while. That's literally all I've revealed about him thus far, so don't worry if you don't remember him.

I can't even find the chapter he first showed up in tbh.

The reason why I cut this short, though, is literally so I wouldn't have a 20-something page chapter. I got all the way through brotherly bonding time and realised that it was already ten pages! I'm out of school at the moment, though, so hopefully, I can get the next on out quickly, though!

Also, thanks for your feedback! I really appreciate it. Like, honestly. I always worry about how the audience is taking this in or if everything is making some sense and all that good shit, so it's really hard to keep going with plot stuff when I don't know what's going on on the other end of things.

If something isn't making sense, you can tell me and I'll write it in, or you can ask about it and I'll be more than happy to answer it either here or on my tumblr. Whatever's clever.

This feels like a shameless promo... Honestly, I'm just confused and trying my best. I have a billion plot points to keep track of rn and I actually know the plot and all those details. I can't imagine what it must be like going into this without any further information!

It'll work out...

Hopefully...

Maybe...

We'll see...

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!