My God, how long has it been? I'm so sorry for the immense delay of this chapter. Almost a bloody year! Damn you, writers block! I'll shut up now so y'all can enjoy the chapter.

"I'm telling you, Avery, this is going to be the best thing to ever happen to Halgrove!"

Avery didn't say anything but glanced at her friend, not cracking a smile when Linda's characteristically cheerful face beamed across the table at her. She looked back at the passersby on the street, who were hanging things up for the parade.

"Avery? Avery…"

Avery's gaze raked along the street, watching a pair of children run across the median chasing a ball. Her eyes narrowed as her gaze went unfocused. Images of people past and present and twenty four sum mat hours ago…

"Avery!"

Avery flinched, and then looked up at Linda. "What?"

"You were spacing out on me there. What's up?"

Avery leaned back and took a very long drink of her wine. She sat there very quietly for a few moments and then looked up at the food on her plate. "I was thinking of…I was thinking about my mother."

Linda started for a moment and then looked away. "You don't think about them a lot, do you?"

"Them? It's my mother I miss," Avery laughed, rather bitterly.

"What about your dad?" Linda asked.

"I…ah…don't think about him as much," Avery replied after a moment, a little reluctantly. "I prefer not to, if at all possible…"

"Why not?"

It was at that moment the waitress came by and picked up the check and Avery suddenly became engrossed with recounting the change and making sure it was correct.

"I'm sorry…what did you say?" Avery asked once she'd counted it three different times.

"…Never mind…"

Avery stared at her friend for a moment, almost a little suspiciously, and shrugged. "Okay. Anyway…what were you saying about the Commerce Chamber?"

"I was saying that they're expecting at least twenty thousand people to come through town - that's almost a fourth of the population of the world! Maxwell say's it's going to be the city's chance to establish itself as a commercial…"

Avery looked over at the man playing the piano in the corner. She'd never found Linda's job very interesting - but, apparently she made oodles more money than Avery did. Exactly why Linda got so much money for harassing people about debts Avery didn't know.

Nuremberg's.

Why in the hell did I tell him I worked at Nuremberg's? Avery thought bitterly. You stupid idiot. He can cross check that if he wants, and then you're fucked. You haven't worked there for three months.

"So, how've you been? I know I talk a lot, so here's your chance to tell me something."

"Not much…I'm still looking," Avery said. "Once I'm done with this one I'll get a new one."

"Ah…you think they'll…let you go after this? They…they don't just let people go."

Avery shrugged, almost defeatedly. "I'll manage."

"Avery…"

"I'll be fine," Avery insisted sharply. "It was never a permanent agreement."

Linda sighed. And now for the reason Avery had even called this meeting. She put the papers on the table. "Ok, here's the papers. Read them over," Linda instructed.

Avery was never good with legal proceedings, and she hated having to go over every bit of fine print.

"It's not like I own anything other than myself," she muttered angrily as Linda ran through the pages of cleanly printed documents.

"This provides for transference of David's legal guardianship to me upon your death, with all due haste and without undue legal proceedings."

"English, please?" Avery snapped, running impatient fingers through her hair.

"When you die - if you die, I take care of David and the courts can't challenge it," Linda said.

"Good."

Linda flipped a few pages around. "You don't keep up very well with your paperwork…"

"It's pointless to me," Avery said shortly. "I've never had it."

"Are you saying you never had paperwork or you used it for tinder?" Linda asked sardonically. The second option was actually quite likely. Avery still functioned as if the world were still living in fear of the androids - a period during which organization took a backseat to survival.

Things had been transient, and that was why a handshake and a promise were all that had ever really been needed. Things weren't so transient anymore, and legal documentation was required in most of the more 're-civilized' areas of the world.

Avery had never so much as owned an ID of any kind. There were, literally, three pictures of herself, no more or less, anywhere. One of when she was a baby, and two of when she was nine. She hated all three of them (thought they were hideous) but kept them if only because they were the only ones she had.

Linda sighed. "Look, Avery. Do you want to do this or not?"

"I wouldn't have asked you to come if I didn't," Avery replied dryly. "Let me sign the papers."

"I can't let you do that until you have documentation of who you are"

"Damn your 'documentation!'" Avery exclaimed. "You know who I am"

"Yeah, but the courts don't, anyone could waltz in there and claim to be an Avery Hawking!"

"David could identify me," Avery defended.

"I can't do this without some effort on your part, okay! To make this legal beagle I have to have a copy of at least some kind of photo ID. Even a driver's license would work! Got one of those!"

"I have never needed one!" Avery insisted.

"Well you need one now," Linda said bluntly. "And don't you dare go get a fake one. I know you know who to run to, or at least you could find out. I want proper papers out of you, Avery."

"Don't patronize me," Avery snarled. "I'll get you your damned 'picture ID,' Linda. Just one question."

"What?" Linda asked, slightly amazed Avery would go far enough out of her way for a little monster like David's welfare. It was a personal favor to Avery that Linda agreed to take David if Avery were to die.

"Where…would you get one of these 'driver's licenses'…"

Linda's mouth would have dropped open but the embarrassed flush that invaded Avery's pale face meant she really had no idea where to find such a place. And causing Avery humiliation would not end well for Linda's end of the argument.

"Here's the address, it's downtown," Linda said, writing it down on a scrap of paper and sliding it over to Avery.

"How long would it take?" Avery asked.

"Plan on being there a while - since I think you're like a lot of the people where you live, thought to have died at some point because of the androids since you never really reappeared in society - you might have to fill out extra paperwork."

"But I'd get the ID then, right?"

"Yes, they print them out in the back room, it's really cool, actually," Linda said. "They have this"

"Could I do it today?" Avery asked. "I've got a bad time limit."

"Well, I…guess so," Linda said.

"How long do you think it would take?"

"Oh, I dunno…maybe four or five hours? It should only take an hour for the regular process but you've got a lot of stuff to catch up on," Linda said. "Plus it depends on how long the line is."

"Line for what? People who've never had an ID before?" Avery said, humor wavering between the genuine and the mocking.

"Line for the pictures," Linda said. "Then you've got to wait to have the license order run through the printer in the back. That'd take a while if there's a lot of people. One time I met a woman who had been in there three and a half hours waiting for her license when the law was reinstated."

"…They reinstated a law?" Avery asked skeptically. Even if she lived where she did, she shouldn't have been oblivious to something like that.

"Well, started enforcing it again," Linda explained. "You couldn't drive cross continent without being arrested for driving without a license anymore. You only drive inside the city so nobody's ever bothered you about it before."

"…Hn…"

Avery stood up from the table.

"I'll call you from my apartment when I get back from this driver's license thing. I'll meet you wherever you are."

"…Okay," Linda replied. "The check?"

"The owner knows me, I'll pay him back later. Or if I'm dead in 24 hours, he can get the money from David. No, I'm paying! Put the card away."

Linda sighed vehemently.

"You can't just promise to pay back a two hundred zeni lunch. I'll pay now and if it bothers you that much, you can pay me back later."

"…Okay. Thanks, I'll get the money back to you as quick as I can," Avery said, rather bitterly. "I'll see you later."

"Bye!" Linda said, and shook her head as Avery walked away from the table, walking too quickly to turn around and fake that she wasn't nervous if Linda had called her on it.

In my memory I could not remember being so grateful it was the evening.

I looked over my shoulder, peering at the human in the darkness. It was almost nine thirty and the garage was closing for the night. Again. The bland repetitiveness that was my life now had grated on me severely today.

"What did you say?" I asked, flatly.

"A wampus kitty," Louis replied. He was grinning. "It means a loose woman."

I was sure I must have heard the human wrong, but it seems I hadn't. I had to quickly squash the urge to dissolve Louis' head in a ki blast.

"…Whatever. Have you locked the garage?"

"Yeah, twenty minutes ago. Oh, we ordered parts for the Mizera," Louis replied absently. "Twenty zeni says she bails on the bill."

I grunted in reply.

"Well, we won't give her car back if she does," Vincent said. "Will we?"

"See y'all tomorrow," Omar said, and trundled off slowly.

I nodded absently, and stood up to go.

"Where're you going?" Raymond asked.

"My apartment."

He nodded slightly. "See ya tomorrow. You going to that parade?"

I glared at him. "No."

"Suit yourself," Raymond said, and shrugged. "They're giving out free beer so we're all gonna get blitzed."

I stared at Raymond a little darkly.

You have no idea, I thought as I turned around, and walked away.

The back streets in this area of town were the kind that god-fearing suburbanites would roll up the windows and lock the doors for. I was never bothered by it, as no human posed a threat to me.

I decided against going to the bar tonight, as I was sick of humans. At least I could escape them until tomorrow, where I'd have to deal with them at work.

I stopped, and an almost sinister smile crawled over my face. It really was comical, you know. Me, the killer of millions - literally! - worrying about stupid, menial things like that.

An obviously well past toasted bum staggered out of the alley in front of me and tripped over his own feet, falling face first into the gutter. He didn't notice me standing over him while he puttered and lolled about, muttering incoherently even to my ears.

Worthless.

The urge rose up inside me to end this insect's worthless life, if only to laugh over his dead body and relive some of the 'good old days.' I knew nobody would miss him.

I think I would have talked myself into it, too, if someone hadn't walked up on me standing there.

"I'd've never thought you'd go for that type."

I was not entirely unaware of the presence, but it was the voice that surprised me. I glanced over my shoulder at Avery. Just the one I didn't want to see, I thought irritably. I had always loathed coincidences.

By this time the bum had stood up and was staggering off, singing a song that no longer had a tune.

"What's the matter? You're letting him get away," Avery said. "Don't let me stop you." Her voice sounded strange; not quite strained but definitely not natural.

"What do you want?" I snapped. "I warn you not to stalk me."

Avery stared a bit.

"What makes you think I'm stalking you?" she asked blankly.

"Then what are you doing here?" I hissed. I glared at her, and she paused awkwardly.

"I live here, don't I?" she replied. "It's a free country."

Any reply I made would have sounded like a spoilt child, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Is there something on my face?"

I blinked. "What?"

"You're staring at me," she replied.

"So are you," I countered irritably. "What do you want?"

Avery sighed, apparently conceding defeat.

"I don't want anything," she said shortly. "Bye."

Avery brushed past me, and took off running into the darkness, long coat whipping behind her.

Humans and their fucking mood swings, I thought blandly as I began to walk again. No, actually upon reflection it was a female thing. Juuhachi had acted much the same way at times, at the risk of comparing my sister to filthy parasites.

I stopped abruptly, and my head jerked up when the deafening roar of a gunshot tore into the nighttime silence.

Note f/ future reference: When in 1st person, it's Juunanagou speaking, and if it's any other tense, it's someone else's POV.

I took long enough in updating, didn't I? Wow. looks at the date OO; I've been meaning to continue this story, but extenuating circumstances and writer's block prevailed. It never would come out right. I didn't want to put something up just to say it was put up. Better late than have a badly written story, right? And lol, wouldn't you know it. When I got this chapter finished, the internet refused to work. So even this is a little delayed. There was phone lines down just 30 seconds from my house, which was apparently the problem.

Anyway, we're getting to the good parts. The next chapter will have actual action in it, complete with Juunana actually getting to kill people. Yay, don't ya know he'll be happy about that. ;;;;

Questions, comments, concerns, complaints? I'm well aware it takes us more than a few hours to get a drivers license - this isn't our world, remember… I thank all y'all that have thus forth reviewed. I'm thinking I should at least introduce Trunks so I don't have to go through that problem when he actually becomes important to the story.

Oh, and a 'wampus kitty' is not something I made up.