Chapter Twenty-Seven - A Date With Xenovia
Xenovia Quarta could scarcely believe that she was this excited, for a date of all things.
Perhaps it was a testament to her changing attitude, her newfound freedom; but she would have never considered herself someone who would've been so emotional over all this. A year ago, Xenovia Quarta would've never been entertaining emotions such as love-stuck jitters. All she would have been occupied by were her training, and her next mission.
Gazing in the mirror of the bathroom, as she ran a hand towel over her face, Xenovia met her own reflection's eyes… Eyes that were hardened, empty…
How empty had Xenovia Quarta's life truly been up until now?
She shook her head. That part of her life was in the past. Now, she could live, and do the things she'd always wanted to do. And going on her first-ever date, falling in love, finding happiness… Those were all things she could do now with a clear conscience.
Exiting the bathroom and trotting over into her room, Xenovia stretched her back, a satisfied groan muffled by her lips when the gratifying *pop* of her back reverberated throughout her body.
Hands clutching the handles of her wardrobe, Xenovia pulled the doors open. All she needed to do now was get ready for her date.
Was it a bit too early to get ready for her date? Sure, it wouldn't be until several hours from now, but Xenovia couldn't help herself. The least she could do, she thought, was get an outfit set aside.
Xenovia's eyes scanned over the rack of clothes on hangers.
School outfit, school outfit, school outfit, school outfit, tracksuit, tracksuit, loungewear, more loungewear, her bikini…
Eyes widening with panic, sweat on her brow, Xenovia slammed the doors of her wardrobe shut, and leaned her back against them.
"I have nothing to wear." Xenovia despaired. She had nothing. Not a single proper outfit. Sure, she could go out in her usual school uniform, but this was her first date. She needed something proper, something like the girls would wear in those dumb Disney Channel movies Irina would always force her to watch every time they had a 'girl's night'.
Xenovia rummaged through the options in her mind, before finally deciding on her best course of action.
It was time to make a call.
"Ara, ara, I almost didn't believe my ears when I heard you call me, Rias. Our newest knight's got a date tonight that she needs help getting ready for?"
Flanking either side of Xenovia while they walked down the street was Rias and Akeno. To be honest, when she called Rias for help, Xenovia wasn't expecting the accompaniment of the peerage's queen, but honestly, the company was welcome.
"Either way, I have to ask, who's the lucky guy, hm?"
Xenovia blushed, "Ah… It's Vin. You know, the guy I came here with?"
Akeno hummed, "Vin, that's right… He's not a half-bad looking guy. Not exactly my type, but certainly a catch. Don't worry, we'll get you something that'll set your boyfriend's mind on fire, fufufu~"
The newly-minted knight could feel her face heating up. Thankfully, Rias cut in.
"Akeno, stop teasing our poor knight," Rias looked over at Xenovia, "But she's right, trust us, we'll find you something nice."
"That's what I'm counting on," Xenovia nodded with a smile, "Thanks for helping me with this."
Rias grinned, "It's no problem, you're part of this family now. It also helps that I was due to pick up some more… costumes."
"Oh, we're here~!" Akeno cheered.
Looking up, Xenovia found herself out-front of a storefront of white-painted brick. Two large windows with curtains to make display booths on either side of a nice, nearly royal set of double doors to head inside.
Akeno gave a satisfied sigh, "Ah, Magnolia Éclair, the one place in town that has everything to fit your clothing needs. This place is like a candy shop. Now, shall we head inside?"
Rias stepped forward, and with all the confidence in the world, pushed open the double doors, and strode inside, Xenovia and Akeno on her heels.
As the trio stepped into the store, Xenovia took in the sights around her. The place was neatly organized, yet so densely packed with shelves, displays, racks, all filled with all manner of clothes. Even for someone with a fashion sense as limited as her wardrobe, Xenovia could tell that this was a utopia of fashion.
While Xenovia gazed around her surroundings, a head of speckled olive hair bobbed above the racks, before emerging to reveal that it was attached to an older man who looked to be in his early fifties, wearing a thin pair of wire-frame glasses on the rim of his nose. The man's silver eyes widened as they landed on the sight of the crimson princess.
"Rias? Oh, sweetie, it is you!" The man speed-walked over to their location, the man's arms flying wide for a hug, which Rias gracefully accepted, "It's so good to see you again."
"You too, Antoine. How have you been?"
As the man separated from Rias, he waved bashfully, "I've been just fine, thank you for asking. Akeno, how are you?"
Akeno smiled and bowed, "I'm great as always, Antoine."
Placing his hands on his hips, Antoine smiled, "Well that's wonderful. Oh, and who's this?"
Rias placed a gentle hand on Xenovia's shoulder, "This is Xenovia, my new knight. Xenovia, meet Antoine, the owner of Magnolia Éclair, and a devil who works in service of the House of Gremory. He's been my personal tailor since I was a baby."
"That's right, I'm practically her second mother! I can still remember when you were so little…" Antoine cooed, "Oh, you were just the most precious thing back then..."
"Anyway, Antoine," Rias cut off the eccentric tailor before he could continue gushing, "We need your help to find something for Xenovia. She's going on a date later today, and-"
Antoine's eyes positively lit up at the word 'date', "Say no more, darling. Now, Xenovia, may you step forward?"
Slowly, Xenovia complied. Not a second later, Antoine was all over her, pacing around, hand stroking his chin in thought, as he looked at her body, lifting her arms as he went.
"Hmmm, quite the build… Your hair's such a wonderful color, by the way. What's your secret?"
"Um… Shampoo..?" Xenovia mumbled.
Antoine nodded sagely, "Of course. Now, you have to tell me everything about this date… C'mon, I'll help you pick some things to try on. Rias, Akeno, is there anything I can help you two cuties with either?"
Rias' smile turned mischievous, "Well, now that you say it, there may be some more costumes that we'll need to buy."
A glint resounded in Antoine's eye, "Say no more, queen, say no more… I'll help you with something as soon as I'm done with this adorable little knight you've brought in."
And with that, Antoine whisked Xenovia off deeper into the store. The two passed by set after set of clothing, "Now, Xenovia, you have to tell me, but this is your first date, no? You seem so tense, so nervous! Relax, I won't hurt you."
"Um…" The tension in Xenovia's shoulder dropped as she took a deep breath, "Yes. This is my first date…"
Antoine cooed once again, "Oh~ You are just the cutest thing, sweetie! Alright, you have my word, we're going to find something that you and your little boyfriend are going to find stunning! Now, what is your view of sundresses?"
"I have no real opinions of them, I've never really worn them."
"Oh my," Antoine looked surprised, "Well then, I guess today will be one of a lot of firsts for you, huh darling? Come, I have just the idea for you."
6:00 pm
Vin stared down at the silver watch that Azazel had forced him to wear, since it apparently 'completed the outfit'. At first, Vin wasn't sure if Azazel was actually serious when he said he would help pick something out for him to wear, but to Vin's surprise, the Governor General had done a great job.
The only time Vin could recall wearing anything 'formal' or even semi-formal was at his elementary school graduation, and that didn't compare at all to how he cleaned up today. A simple pair of black dress-pants, and a nice sky blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
To be honest, Vin was… very nervous. He'd never done this before. Every minute that he sat out front of this restaurant waiting as the night sky grew more and more dim, the dark little part of him grew. The part of him that wanted nothing more than to cut his losses, go hole himself up in solitude.
"Vin!"
Instantly, that darker part of him died as Vin turned to look at his date. Only for him to nearly gape when he laid his eyes on Xenovia.
Nearly every time he'd seen her, Xenovia would be wearing simple clothes, or her exorcist uniform…
So the sight of her in a beautiful, white and orange-patterned sundress, left him stunned.
As his eyes made their way up to her face, Vin was taken aback as he soaked in the details. The light amount of lipstick that made Xenovia's lips twinkle, the mascara and eyeshadow that gave the corners of her eyes the most alluring points. It was all so much Xenovia, yet at the same time, it was such a far cry from her usual, casual look.
She was… nothing short of gorgeous.
Xenovia shifted awkwardly as she blushed, "Stop staring… It's embarrassing…"
Vin was quick to recover after that, "No, no, no, it's just that you… you look amazing."
Xenovia smiled, "Y-You do too."
Vin rubbed the back of his neck, "Thanks… Oh! S-Should we head inside? I got us a reservation."
"Right," Xenovia laughed pitifully, "Food. Dinner. Right."
Vin held open the door as Xenovia stepped inside, the restaurant was cozy, not an incredibly deluxe, high-end restaurant, but definitely a cut above a simple family joint. The warm lighting and the relative lack of patrons gave the place a very warm vibe to it.
As they walked up to the podium placed at the front of the restaurant, a well-dressed waitress came to greet them, "Hello you two, may I ask for a name on a reservation?"
"Um… It should be under… Vincenzo Corsetti," Vin replied.
"Hmm… Corsetti, Corsetti…" The waitress opened a book and ran her finger across the names listed on the pages, "Oh! There you are! We have a table for two waiting for you both, right this way."
As they walked to their table, Xenovia watched Vin's back, while her mind began to wander.
No matter how subtle he tried to make it, she picked up on the slight strain in his voice upon uttering his last name. A final reminder of his connection to his family. Perhaps he wasn't as over it as he liked to seem.
Regardless, perhaps that was a topic best saved for later. After all, this was going to be the first dinner she ever goes to with a boy; which, if any of Irina's dumb movies were anything to go by, was a big deal.
Frankly, there could be some humor derived from the fact that Xenovia was using childish movies as her baseline for romantic experiences… But hey, when you're raised in what Xenovia could say was a bit of a sheltered upbringing, you can take what you can get.
As the two sat down in their chairs across a small table from each other, a great window showing the sunset-showered streets outside, Xenovia glanced up at her date. Vin sat there, menu in hand, idly flipping through it in search of a meal to eat. His olive skin striking in the pinkish-orange hues of the light, his emerald eyes twinkled as they scanned the pages. A finger idly coming up to tuck away a stray lock of dark, chocolatey hair.
Xenovia's eyes continued to watch Vin's face, how he slightly scrunched his nose when he passed by something he didn't like, the little inquisitive shimmer of his eyes when his eyes made contact with a spot on the menu for a bit longer than usual. The ever-so-subtle times where he'd lose himself in his concentration, and he would gently bite his lower lip just the tiniest bit.
It was like it struck her true, all over again. The sight of her boyfriend? Yeah, boyfriend. The sight of her boyfriend struck her as nearly picturesque. Her cheeks heated up, he was… He was really hot.
Vin perked up, his eyes raising from the top of the menu to meet with Xenovia's own.
"Hm? What's the matter, do I have something on my face?"
Xenovia blushed in embarrassment, "No, no you don't, never mind."
Vin shrugged as he set down his menu. His gaze turned to glance out the large window.
"It feels so weird that we're able to do this…" Vin spoke, "These… These last few weeks have been a lot to handle."
"Yeah," Xenovia absent-mindedly sipped at the glass of water on her side of the table, "It really has…"
His gaze returning to the table, Vin smiled, "But tonight's special, right? So for the time being, how about we don't talk about all that?"
To be honest, Xenovia couldn't agree more. Perhaps they've had their fill of heavy subjects for the time being.
"So, you gotta tell me, how is it being a devil now?" Vin asked, his voice dropped to a near-whisper.
"Well…" Xenovia started, "It's been a transition, but overall, it's been nice. I can fly now, so that's really neat… Sleeping was hard for a bit, and I…"
"Oh? Sorry, I didn't catch that last bit."
"I may have… with my new strength…"
"I still can't hear you~"
Xenovia's embarrassed blush grew nuclear, "I… I crushed a doorknob because of my new strength. I actually broke a lot of things on my first day."
Vin's smile grew, before giggles began to spill out of his mouth uncontrollably.
Xenovia pouted, "It's not funny, Vin…"
Vin wiped a stray tear from his eyes as he slowly came down from his laughing fit, all the while taking a sip of water, "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you… You're just so cute, I couldn't-"
An imaginary puff of steam poofed out of the top of Xenovia's head.
C-Cute?
"Sorry, are you feeling okay?" Vin's smile faded, "If I upset you, then-"
"No, no, I'm fine," Xenovia reassured, "Moving on."
"Sure, sure. How are you getting along with the others in your new peerage? Made any new friends yet?"
Xenovia, ever thankful for the topic change, since it finally allowed her to breath, smiled.
"You were right, they're all great people. Rias, our king, she's very kind. She managed to grant me an apartment to sleep in the night I joined her, which was awfully generous."
"Really?" Vin raised a brow in intrigue, "She's hooking people up with apartments? Yeah, that's some hospitality."
"Quite. Asia's very nice…"
Xenovia paused, taking a sip of water, before looking down at the rippling surface while she cupped glass in her hands.
"Vin, do I deserve forgiveness after what I did to her?"
"What brought this on?" Vin raised a brow.
"I just… Yesterday, at the pool, I finally apologized to Asia, and she just… she accepted me back with no hesitation. I offered to let her hit me, but instead…" Xenovia paused, "Instead she comforted me. I just… I don't know if I really deserve that kindness."
"Xenovia," Vin cut in, "Once you owe up to your mistakes, and the other person forgives you, that's it. 'Deserving it' means nothing. She accepted your apology, and she obviously is putting it behind her. Why not do the same? If you really want to try and 'deserve' that forgiveness, just… be her friend."
Xenovia chuckled, "Funny, she said the exact same thing…"
"Well then, there you go," Vin nodded, "That's all you need. I told you, right, they're like a big family."
"Family…" Xenovia echoed, "Vin, could… Could you tell me more about your family? Like, before… before all of this happened?"
As Vin's eyes took on a wistful look, a burst of guilt flared up from the pit of Xenovia's stomach. She'd been careless and said the wrong thing again!
"I'm sorry, that was wrong of me-!" Xenovia tried to apologize, before she was cut off, as Vin gestured for her to calm down.
"It's fine, Xenovia," Vin smiled softly, one of the few vulnerable smiles that she'd seen Vin make over the nearly-full year she'd known him.
"Let's see, where to start… Well, you know that we weren't always living in Rome, right?"
"Really?"
Vin nodded, "Yep. My Dad's half-American, half-Italian. Great guy, with a great taste in music. He was the one who would pick every record and song that came on in our house. He was kind, and would always bend over backwards for either me or my sister. He was… Well, still is a loving father, and a great person. Someday, I wish that I can become even half the man he was."
Xenovia thought for a moment, before reaching across the table and gently grabbing hold of Vin's hand. As he looked up, she fixed him with a smile, while using her thumb to gently rub small circles on his hand.
"I may not have met him," Xenovia finally said, "But you are an exceptional person, Vin. I… I think he'd be proud of you."
Xenovia watched as Vin's eyes began to shimmer, the teenage boy muttering a curse as he swiped his tears away with his fingers.
"T-T-Thanks," Vin's voice cracked, "...I didn't know I needed to hear that up until now."
Vin reached down, and raised his glass of water to his lips, downing the entire contents, as he slowly composed himself.
"Alright, where was I? Was it my Mom? Yeah…"
"Now my Mom, she's fully Italian. She's a fashion designer, and during an extended trip to America, she fell in love with my Dad. My mom, she's great. Witty, a bit too eager to tease me, but overall, she wants nothing but the best for her kids. She's definitely like the spark of life in our household; she could brighten up any room."
"So after they fell in love, they lived in America for a while. That was around when I was born. I spent my first few years there, before my Grandfather on my Mom's side passed away. He left behind a house in Rome, and signed it over to my Mom in his will, so we packed our bags and moved."
"Shortly after that, my little sister was born. Lisa, she's a year younger than us, she's a little gremlin of a sister. Back when I used to just go to school every day, not really talk to anyone, and then hole myself up in my home in my free time, she was basically the one person near my age I consistently hung out with."
Xenovia hummed, as she took a sip of water.
"You know, if you used to ask me, I would've said I hated her, I really would've… But now… Now, I miss them. I miss them so much, Xenovia. But despite that, I still have all these memories that I can draw on, and you know what? If I had the option to, I would turn back time and do all of this again."
Xenovia raised a brow, "Despite everything that's happened to you recently? You would want to experience that all over again?
"Sure," Vin chuckled, "Because despite all that stuff, I got to meet you."
Xenovia's breath caught in her throat, as her heart skipped a beat.
A pair of footsteps approaching the two quelled their conversation, as a waitress at last reached their table in order to take their orders.
"Mhmmm…" Vin stretched out his back as the chill of the night blew against his exposed skin. The satisfying feeling of his belly full of a delicious dinner leaving him in bliss.
Although the subjects did get heavy at one point, by the time the two got their food, they had begun to swap around happy, funny memories of the past; taking turns making the other laugh.
"Thanks for waiting for me," Xenovia stepped out of the restaurant, and the two began to stroll down the streets of town, the early evening meaning a relative lack of people on the sidewalks as they continued down.
"That meal was really good," Xenovia groaned in satisfaction, "How did you manage to get a reservation at a place like that, anyway?"
With a strained smile, Vin laughed.
"Oh, you know, just some spare cash I made here or there."
Xenovia frowned, "Alright then…"
Should he let her know that he became a fallen angel? A part of him knew it was the right thing to do… But at the same time, there was another part of him, a part that was deathly afraid of telling her the truth.
Fallen angels had done so many things to them, horrible things, over the last few weeks, and Vin was truly afraid that this revelation could be the thing that broke them apart.
Still, he couldn't help himself, he knew… He knew too well that Xenovia… She deserved to know the truth. Still, he could keep the illusion drawn for just a little while longer, couldn't he? At least, until later tonight…
*Shudder*
"Vin? What's the matter?"
Vin froze in his tracks, when something of a sensation flared up within him. A sensation he'd grown somewhat accustomed to throughout his time being known as 'That lonely kid in the back of the classroom'. That cold, creeping reminder that could only mean one thing.
Someone was watching him.
Vin reasoned that it was probably just Azazel. His damn boss seemed way too invested in their date to not try and subtly watch it from afar. But still, if Vin was going to tell Xenovia the truth about becoming a fallen, then he'd rather do it on his own terms.
Emerald eyes scanning the environment of what was essentially Kuoh's 'culinary' division. He knew the Hatch Potch wasn't too far away from here either, about a block or two, so it was very possible Azazel came from there. Still, they needed to get out of sight somehow.
Vin's eyes landed on a location that was still open across the road. Perfect.
"Hey Xenovia," Vin pointed at the location, a white building called 'Soft-eez', "Still got some room for dessert?"
"Um… Sure?" Xenovia hesitantly replied, as Vin grabbed her hand, dragging her along into the ice cream parlor.
Although a nice cup of soft-serve ice cream was certainly a nice surprise treat, Xenovia couldn't fully enjoy the taste of the cool treat since her focus was dominated entirely by the fact that Vin had suddenly been acting so… shifty.
The boy in front of her had barely touched his food, instead picking at it while stealing glances out the large storefront window over and over again.
Seeing no way to reliably squeeze the truth out of her boyfriend, Xenovia resigned herself to eating her frozen delicacy.
After ten or so minutes, Xenovia had finished her treat, while Vin was barely through a fifth of his own. She was suddenly shocked when Vin stood up suddenly, ang gestured for her to follow.
"C'mon, I got an idea of a place we can visit."
At this point, Xenovia was close to demanding answers, but regardless, whatever got Vin to act so erratically, had to be something that she likely shouldn't mention in such a public space. So for the time being, she'd play along…
Turns out, Vin's plan involved flagging down the nearest taxi, shoving a large handful of bills in the driver's lap, and demanding to be driven towards… A place on the edge of Kuoh's neighborhood district?
Something else was bugging Xenovia at the same time… The fact that Vin was talking. Now, that sounded bad, but here's the thing. Vin couldn't speak Japanese, Xenovia knew that. And while her devil traits meant that everyone was speaking Italian to her, the fact alone that Vin was openly communicating with Japanese people with no hesitation meant one of two things.
One, Vin had managed to effectively communicate in Japanese in only around a week.
… Or two, Vin, like her, had gained some supernatural ability.
And if Occam's Razor was to be believed, it had to be the latter.
Sitting in silence, on the drive, Xenovia looked out the window. She would confront him about it as soon as they reached a stop, and they were out of earshot of this taxi driver.
Thankfully, that would come soon enough, as a few scant minutes later, the cab rolled to a stop, and Vin immediately went to unbuckle his seatbelt, and open the door. Following along, Xenovia quickly got out of the vehicle as well, going to stand on the sidewalk.
They had arrived at a small section of homes which backed a large hill of forest. Xenovia didn't exactly know why Vin opted to head out here of all places, but regardless, she had more pressing matters to discuss with the teenager.
"Keep the change," Vin called to the driver as he shut the door to the cab, which soon drove away into the night, leaving only Vin and Xenovia alone.
Slowly turning around, Vin was met with a disgruntled and frustrated Xenovia, who crossed her arms, and tapped her foot with great annoyance.
"Hey, Xenovia, I'm sorry for-"
"No, shut up," Xenovia snapped, stepping forward and pressing a finger to Vin's chest, "You've been acting super out-of-it since we've left the restaurant. I want answers, and I want them now. You got reincarnated, didn't you?"
Vin sweat, the gig was up, huh?
"I'm sorry," Vin began, "I'll explain everything, just… follow me, please?"
Xenovia huffed, and nodded, as Vin began to lead her past the houses, and up a path through the forest.
About halfway up the trail, Vin glanced around, sighed in relief, and finally turned around to face his girlfriend.
"Okay… I have to tell you the truth," Vin looked into Xenovia's eyes, as his pitch-black wings unfurled from his back, arching up to the sky, eclipsing the moon from Xenovia's view.
"You became a fallen," Xenovia half-whispered.
Vin closed his eyes, "I'm sorry, after everything that Kokabiel has put us through… I thought that if I told you I became a fallen angel, it would have been a spit in the face. I did this, because that was the choice I could make at the time, and Azazel had done nothing but help us."
"If you hate me, just tell me," Vin sniffed, "I'll understand…"
Vin's eyes opened wide, tears sparkling out of his eyelids as he felt himself being hugged. Looking down, Vin saw that Xenovia had not only wrapped her arms around him, but also clutched him tightly in an embrace with her leather devil wings that popped out from the small of her back.
Laying her forehead on his shoulder, Xenovia began to speak, "You fool… You really thought that this was going to make me hate you?"
"I may have had a narrow mindset not too long ago," Xenovia admitted, "But over these past few weeks, I've opened up more. I've seen that there are good and bad people in any race or faction. You changing into a fallen doesn't change the fact that you are you."
Vin chuckled through the tears in his throat as he returned the hug, "What did I do to deserve you?"
"Well, you fell off a ladder," Xenovia joked.
Vin barked out a laugh as they separated, "I guess so. Here, follow me. Believe it or not, there was a reason I brought you here."
Intrigued, Xenovia followed Vin up the last of the trail, eventually finding herself in a clearing near a cliff face, which overlooked the splashing waves of the sea below. The twinkling stars of the summer night glistened and sparkled in the sky and reflected off the water brilliantly. It was like a scene from a painting; one that left Xenovia awe struck.
"Where did you find this place?" Xenovia asked.
"Training with Azazel this morning. We needed to find a peaceful area out of the way so I could practice flying and using light spears," Vin answered as he came up behind Xenovia, "Man, it looks even better than I thought it would at night…"
Vin perked up, "I have an idea, which might be stupid, but also might be a lot of fun. How good would you say you are at flying?"
"Flying?" Xenovia echoed, "I'm alright at flying, why?"
Vin fished out his phone, scrolling through it, until a slow-paced song began to play out. Placing the phone in his shirt's front pocket, Vin reached out, and grabbed hold of Xenovia's hands.
Spreading their wings, the two slowly lifted from the ground, and down they descended, down until they were swooping above the very surface of the glistening ocean. There they waltzed, hand-in-hand, a fallen and devil in love, laughing and sweeping across the water's surface, carried by their wings.
"Xenovia?" Vin laughed as they swept across the water.
"Yeah?" Xenovia asked, a smile stretched across her face.
"I love you."
Xenovia's smile grew even more fond, "I love you too, Vin."
And as the song began to fade, the two flew up into the night and while illuminated by the moon; they embraced, and their lips met once more.
It's been a little bit, huh? Well, I'm back now, and I come bearing another chapter of fluffy, happy goodness so we can all detox after the angsty flow of the last arc. This will kinda be the last 'filler' chapter before we actually jump into some real build-up for the Peace Summit. This chapter took quite a bit of time to actually summon up the will two write, and I think during the time in between the last chapter and this one, I experienced a slight bit of burnout, but still, I'm here, and I'm determined to continue this fic, don't worry.
Truth be told, I'm having a few issues with the Peace Summit arc in terms of planning, so it's a bit of a slog to write, but don't confuse that for meaning I'm dropping this fic, quite the opposite, actually. As soon as I'm done with this arc, I'm going to be exploding with scenes, chapters, and full-on arcs that I want to write. So look forward to that, because I'm telling you all now, things are going to be getting pretty crazy in the future of this fic.
Last thing I'll mention is that it wasn't Azazel who was watching Vin in this chapter… I think some of you may have an idea of who it might have been if it wasn't everyone's favorite Governor General.
Anyway, if you enjoyed what you read, and want to show that, please do leave a follow, favorite, and especially review. I read every last one that gets sent to me, and honestly, those words that you all leave me are sometimes the things that motivate me to power through some writer's block, and get a chapter done in a day, as opposed to another three or four. Plus, it's the best way to tell me what you liked, didn't like, and are looking forward to in this fic.
This time, how about in addition to leaving your general impressions of the chapter, you all let me know who your favorite character in this fic has been so far and why. I would love to see your responses!
With all that said, I'm gonna get started on the more advanced planning stages for the next chapter. So until next time, rock on!
