Kyoko returned to working on the choreography with Seiji. But since Ruriko wasn't there and Kyoko already knew the whole choreography of the original, there wasn't much for her to do. Seiji gave her a few tips to better control her magic, but that was it.

"It's a shame really," he said. "This would all be so much easier if we just handed it over to you. But politicians can't afford to lose face now can they?"

It was true. Ruriko was a duchess, and truthfully, more than just her reputation was on the line. With as little Kyoko knew about politics, she knew this much at least: if Kyoko took over, it would be an huge source of embarrassment for Ruriko's whole family. Her father would seem weak, future deals and relationships could be hampered all from this one performance. And Ruriko was still sulking, and not taking things seriously!

With nothing to do, Kyoko headed back to the concubine's quarters, intending to take a nap. She was not used to using so much magic, and felt tired. The sight of a little girl crouched behind the arched entry of the harem quarters made her stop. The girl – her name was Maria right? - had her head turned towards the entrance so she didn't see or hear Kyoko approach.

"What are you doing?" said Kyoko

The girl turned, looking up in surprise, then she smiled and put a finger to her lips shushing her with one hand, and motioned Kyoko to come to her with the other.

Curious, Kyoko joined her behind the pillar. As she did, she noticed a long thin string in Maria's hand. It ran up the side of the archway and stopped at the top where a basket hung from above of the arch.

"What's in the-" started Kyoko, but she was shushed again.

"Wait for it." said Maria, "They're about to come out."

At that moment, several concubines exited a nearby room in the hallway. They began walking towards them, right under the archway.

Maria pulled on the string. The basket tipped, sending an assortment of snakes and scorpions toppling down on the heads of the concubines.

The women screamed, frantically batting the creatures form their hair and scurrying away. And from within the center of the group, one person yelled "MARIA!"

Yumi was hopping up and down away from the creatures, a mixture of anger and fear on her face. This was obviously not the first time Maria had pulled a trick like this, and Yumi knew exactly who was behind it.

"Let's get out of here!" said Maria, grabbing Kyoko's hand and pulling them away, cackling the whole time. Kyoko let her, if only in the hope that she wasn't seen and therefore not implemented in the prank. After a minuet, they stopped to catch their breath.

"That was awesome!" said Maria, punching the air. "Did you see the look on their faces? Priceless. I'm so glad I learned that spell last week."

"Why did you do that?" said Kyoko, standing before Maria, ticked. "I just made friends with most of the concubines. I don't need to give them a reason to hate me after working so hard to make them like me."

"What's the big deal?" said Maria, unfazed by her anger. "They didn't see you, so it's fine. And it's not like they're such great people anyway. You don't need them as friends."

Kyoko hesitated. "That's not for you to decide. I want to be friends with them."

"Oh?" The girl had seen Kyoko hesitate. "Don't lie. I know that they've been rude to you ever since you entered the harem, and then you show a little talent and they all start begging for you forgiveness."

Kyoko frowned. How was this girl so well informed?

"How do you know what's been going on?" asked Kyoko.

"You don't know?" said Maria. "The drama produced by the harem is a popular gossip topic. Probably everyone knows you were bullied by the girls and then what happened at the arena the other day."

"Really?" Kyoko was surprised, though when she thought about it she shouldn't be. She herself had overheard some gossip regarding all sorts of people while working in the clinic, the other concubines included.

"Regardless," said Kyoko "I want to be friends with them. They really are lovely people once you get to know them." Maria gave her a look that said she didn't believe her. "Alright so some of them are just plain jerks, but anyway, you shouldn't be pulling pranks like that. It will hurt you in the end if you don't stop."

"Sure, sure..." Maria waved Kyoko's warnings away, walking over to a bench and sitting down. "Besides, I've been wanting to talk to you Kyoko."

Kyoko frowned. "You have?" And how did she know her name. oh right. Rumors. First concubine in two years. Not hard to put two and two together. "Who are you anyway?" asked Kyoko. Maria was obviously someone rich and important. Only a select few were allowed to come near the harem quarters, and even fewer were probably allowed to reign terror on the girls like Maria did.

"Oh yeah." The girl jumped off the bench and extended a hand to Kyoko. "My name is Maria Takarada. Nice to meet you."

"Takarada?" said Kyoko. "As in Duke Takarada? Lory Takarada?"

"He's my Grandpa!"

Kyoko was in shock. "Does your grandpa know what your doing? Or better yet, do your parents know what you're doing?"

Maria grimaced. "Yeah, and it doesn't matter." she said. "They don't really care enough to actually stop me, and those girls deserve it for putting their hands all over my Kuon."

Kyoko sighed. Who in this castle wasn't in love with Kuon? Then she thought for a moment. Maria's comment about her parents not caring bothered her.

"Maria" said Kyoko. "How would you like to hear a story?"

"I love stories!" said Maria excited. They sat down on a bench near by, and Kyoko began her tale.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful woman, and this woman had a man she loved very much and she eventually married him."

Maria's eyes brightened, obviously thinking it was a story about her and Kuon.

"Life couldn't get any better as she lived with the man she loved. At least, only at first. Her husband had a child from his previous wife. It was a little girl and the wife began to notice just how much her husband loved the child and soon became envious. There was a tie between the two she couldn't interfere with, and it drove her mad with jealousy."

Maria was scowling at this point, obviously imagining her own jealousy towards the other women in the harem.

"One day," Kyoko continued. "that jealousy drove her to act, and she poisoned the food of the daughter. The girl was close to death, and soon her husband's attention would be all hers. But the husband made a deal with a wizard and transferred the poison to himself. The girl survived, while the man the wife loved, died."

"Overcome with grief at her own actions, the wife died of a broken heart."

Maria frowned.

"That's a really depressing story." said Maria "It has a lot of heavy topics. What kind of story are you trying to tell a little girl like me."

"Don't give me that innocent act." said Kyoko. "Besides, some of these topics should be familiar to you shouldn't they?"

Maria fell silent, thinking.

Kyoko had taken the story Ren had told her and told it from the mother's perspective. Not that she wanted Maria to be the villain, but they did share a lot of the same characteristics. Love for a man that turned to jealousy. And Jealousy that turned to hate, which turned to action. Actions that could one day hurt Maria by hurting the one she loved most.

"So basically." said Maria. "If you're going to get revenge, don't use poison."

"Wrong." said Kyoko, karate chopping the top of Maria's head. "If you're going to get a moral from a story make it a good one."

"Then what is the moral of the story?" said Maria, rubbing the top of her head.

"Well.." said Kyoko. "There are lots of things you could learn. It depends on the person listening to the story. I may get something completely different from you."

Maria gave her a blank stare.

"That was probably the most unhelpful answer you could give me." said Maria.

"You won't learn from it unless you get come up with the moral yourself." said Kyoko, folding her arms. "Besides, I guess I identify more with the real heroine of the tale. I only told you a part of the story."

"Well It's no wonder I can't find the moral of the story." said Maria "You didn't give me the full thing."

"Well..." she hesitated. A part of Kyoko felt like the story just belonged to just her and Ren, and that sharing it was like letting Maria in on a little part of her past. She had never in her life let anyone in on the past that involved Ren. It was too special. It was a silly thing to hesitate over, really. Hadn't Ren helped her with it? Maybe she could emulate him by using it to help someone like he had helped her.

"Alright." siad Kyoko. "I'll tell you the full story. But I'm letting you know. This story is very special to me."

Kyoko told the story of the daughter and her father. Maria listened, her expression blank as she pretended to not care. But Kyoko could see Maria's emotions through her eyes. When the mother poisoned the daughter, her eyes grew dark in anger. And when the father exchanged his life for his daughter, her eyes were shining with suppressed tears. Finally, after the flower bloomed and the daughter learned the secret of the flower, Maria's face was no longer expressionless. Her face was a mixture of awe, hopeful, and sad. Kyoko herself had to blink her eyes firmly to stop herself from crying. The story was still so precious to her that it almost made her cry.

"Well." said Kyoko. "what do you think?"

"Can.." said Maria, looking down. She chewed on the bottom of her lip, then glanced up at Kyoko from beneath her eyelashes "Do you think. Mommies can look through crystal asters as well?"

Kyoko blinked.

That… was not the answer I was expecting. Thought Kyoko.

"I would think so." said Kyoko. "If the mother and daughter truly loved each other. Though this is a story between a father and daughter. I'm sure it's truly a tale of love between a parent and child."

"Really!" said Maria with so much enthusiasm that Kyoko stared.

Could it be?... Had Maria lost her mother?

"Really." said Kyoko, unable to deny the hope in the child's eyes. "I'm sure that any parent who loves their child watches over them through the crystal asters."

"Can I see one!" said Maria, practically hopping into Kyoko's lap. "Do you know where I can find one?"

Kyoko couldn't help smiling. The girl was very cute when she wasn't plotting tricks.

"Sure." said Kyoko. "I have one in my room if you want to see it."

"Of course!"

Maria jumped down and almost ran skipped and hopped to the concubine's quarters. Kyoko had to take long stride to keep up without running outright. When they got to arched entrance, she saw a few women and guards still picking up the snakes and scorpions. Kyoko noticed Aya grabbing one of the scorpions and quickly throwing it into the basket with a squeak. The other two concubines noticed them approach and pointed Maria out to their friend.

Aya heard them and waved at them.

"Maria." she said, walking over. "I can't believe you're still pulling pranks like this. It's not nice."

Maria only paused long enough to give Aya a dark look before stalking through the concubine's doors. Kyoko apologized to Aya, and followed Maria down the hall. She noticed several other concubines staring at them as they passed open rooms, but Maria didn't seem to care about the whispers behind her back. Kyoko couldn't help admiring the girl as she held her head high through the corridors of those she enjoyed tormenting.

They made it to her room and Kyoko opened the door.

"Wait here." said Kyoko and walked into the room. She grabbed the vase and brought it back out to show Maria.

"Here it is." said Kyoko holding out the flower to Maria.

Maria took the vase, staring at the crystal petals that rested within it. Then her lips began to tremble.

"Is... do you think my mom wants to see me?" said Maria. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, desperately trying not to cry.

Kyoko knelt down, patting Maria's head affectionately.

"I can't answer that for you." said Kyoko. "I don't know anything about your mother."

Maria gulped and looked down, obviously put out.

"But if you like," said Kyoko. "You can keep the flower until you feel brave enough to say something to her." She could get a new one from Goro anyway

"You'll let me keep it?" said Maria, hope radiating from her.

Kyoko smiled. "It's yours"

The next day, Kuon lay on the ground of the practice room, his head spinning. He had decided to use the two hour break to train his light magic. He hadn't had much time to practice recently. Despite every hint and every recommendation, he had read, he couldn't control his magic. The sword would keep its shape for a few minutes, given he gave it his complete attention. But the second he imagined actually fighting against someone with the sword, the beam of light would become distorted and eventually vanishing with some degree of violent backlash.

He groaned as his now perpetual headache began to grow. It was a good thing his councilor wasn't here. He would have made Kuon cancel the rest of his appointments for the day, and they didn't have the time for that.

Careful to move slowly, Kuon stood up and began making his way to the palace clinic, slipping the sword hilt into his belt. He would have to get some more medicine from Lory.

When he reached the Duke's office, he wasn't there.

Maybe he was somewhere else in the clinic.

A voice called to him in the hallway.

"Ah, Prince Kuon. Are you looking for The Duke?"

The prince turned to see Sawara Takenori walking down the hall way towards him, holding a few scrolls. Beside him was Kyoko, her own bundle of parchment in her hands. She gave him a polite smile and curtsied in greeting.

"Yes. Have you seen him?" said Kuon.

"He left this morning." said Sawara. "I'm not sure where he was going, but he said he wouldn't be home for a few days at least. You know how he is. Probably chasing some ghost story."

"That does sound like him" said Kuon, hoping they wouldn't notice how hard it was for him to fake amusement at the moment. His vision was starting to get blurry. "Well, do you think you could give me some headache medicine? I need something to take off the edge."

"Do you know what Lory has been giving you for your headaches?" said Sawara, concerned. Apparently he knew about Kuon's frequent visits to the clinic for medicine.

Kuon started to shake his head, then stopped when it made everything spin.

"Hmm." Sawara thought for a moment. "Lory should have your medical records in his office. You could check that and use whatever drug he gave you last time. I'm actually busy at the moment so I can't help you get what you need. Do you think you could help him out Kyoko?"

"But, don't you need help as well?" said Kyoko.

"You've helped me enough, at this point I can do the rest." said Sawara, taking the stack of papers form her hands. "Once you're done helping the prince you can go home. I'd rather not push you when you've still recovering from your foot and spending hours practicing magic."

"Alright then."

Sawara walked down the hall, leaving the two of them in the hall. Kuon glanced at Kyoko and noticed she was fidgeting. Was she nervous?

Kyoko entered Lory's office feeling a little odd. It was partially due to walking into the room without the Duke there. The other reason was the person that accompanied her. It had been a shock to be thrown together with him before she was mentally ready. She might have yelled at him when they first met, but with the mixture of his height, countenance and handsome face, he was intimidating.

He was also sick, that much was obvious.

"Please sit here your highness." said Kyoko, grabbing his hand and leading him to a bed at the side of the room. He needed very little coaxing and nearly stumbled as he sat down, his face ashen.

Kyoko began searching for his health history, riffling through the mess. Where had Lory put that binder?

"Well this is ironic." said Kuon. "Looks like we're meeting a little earlier than expected."

"I guess." said Kyoko, still riffling through Lory's things. Then she found a little black book, the pages bound by rings of string. She opened it, looking through his recent medications. The whole last page was filled with dates from the beginning of the month, showing he had come to the clinic almost daily for a while.

"Kyoko?"

Kyoko looked up, glaring at the prince. He paused, confused by her glare. What was he doing acting so innocent?

She strode to him, then held out the bound book, showing him the pages within.

"Look." she said, angrily.

He did as she told and looked at the pages of the book. Then he looked back at her.

"And what am I supposed to be looking at?" he said.

"Your medical history."

"Yes that's what this is."

"Then do you not see what you've been taking!"

He stared at her, not understanding. Kyoko was livid. How was he so apathetic towards his own health?

"These are very strong analgesics." said Kyoko, pointing at the pages. "Do you realize how many side effects these things have? There's a reason why we regulate them. Nausea, rash, hallucinations, addiction, and who knows what else could be an effect of taking these drugs." Some of the combinations she didn't even recognize.

"I think I only understood about half of those." said Kuon, with a small smile.

"This is no laughing matter!" she said. "Medication are a very dangerous thing to mess with. Even with all the experiments we do, we still don't know the exact effect of some of these drugs. Especially taken long term. As a prince you should be more careful with your body."

"So what are you saying I should do?" he said, his voice starting to indicate his annoyance. "Just suffer through the headache? Let it cripple me for the day while I lay in bed until it goes away? I don't have time for that luxury."

Stubborn fool thought Kyoko. That's exactly what he should be doing. She could tell he was suffering. His face was still pale, his body shaking. Did he not realize how sick he looked? He should be in bed, not looking for a 'cure all' to his headache.

"There are other solutions to a simple headache your highness." said Kyoko. Folding her arms.

"Whatever you're going to mention, I've tried it before." said Kuon. "Herbal teas, massages, enchantments. This is not a normal headache, and normal medicine is not going to help. So just give me whatever it was that Lory wrote down and we can be on our way."

Kyoko hesitated, then hid the book behind her back.

"No." she said.

He glared at her.

"look Kyoko. " he growled. "In case you haven't noticed. I'm in a lot of pain and I'd like to not be in pain."

She shook her head, backing up

"No." she repeated. "At least... not until you let me try something."

She could see him considering snatching the book from her. But she was sure that even if he tried, she could get away. He was swaying slightly just sitting down. He's probably fall if he tried to stand at this point.

Eventually he sighed, putting his face in his hands.

"Do what you want." he said.

Kyoko grinned.

"What smell is soothing to you?" she said.

Taken aback by the question, he thought for a moment before replying. "I'm not sure."

"Alright."

Kyoko walked to the side of the room and took a box off the shelf, moving a plant off it. It was Lory's stash of perfumed oils. She walked to Kuon, and setting the box on a table. She took out one of the small vials and unstopped the top. She held it before him, wafting the smell towards Kuon.

"Do you like this one?" she asked.

After a moment, he said "no." and Kyoko took out another bottle. After about five tries, he found one he liked.

"That one." he said.

"Good choice." said Kyoko, "It's one of my favorite perfumes. Reminds me of the oasis back home." The one where she had met Ren ten years ago.

She put the rest of the bottles and box away, taking out the one Kuon had liked. She rubbed the oil on her hands.

"Now just sit tight." said Kyoko, hands held out, standing before the prince. He gave her a weird look.

"You're going to give me a scalp massage?" he said, giving her a look that said, I already said that didn't work.

"You promised to let me try anything." She reminded him. "And it's not just a massage. I'm going to combine aroma therapy and my magic as well. I had a lot of loyal customers in Nembu that would come by the clinic just to have me relieve their headaches." She thought about those people with a tinge of regret. Some of them had suffered from severe migraines that could only be fixed with either her massages, or very expensive medicines. She hoped they were okay. "Now, close your eyes."

He gave her a look that said he still doubted her, but did as he was told.

Kyoko reached forward, hands hovering beside his temples. She slowly reached for her essence, letting the magic fill her hands.

The moment she pressed her fingers to his temples, she felt a shock go up her arms.

She and the prince both flinched, Kyoko pulling her hands back.

"Well that was soothing." he said, rubbing his eyes with a hand.

"Sorry." said Kyoko. She didn't like it when she caused someone pain. "But you're blocking me out. I can't use my pulse magic if your aura is rejecting mine."

"I'm not trying to." he said.

Kyoko gave a sigh. "Do you trust me?"

The moment the words left her mouth, she wished them back. Why did she say that? Of course he didn't. And if he didn't trust her, he couldn't open up his spirit to her magic. Thought ti wasn't like he needed to trust her explicitly. Just as a physician.

Kuon studied her for a few seconds, brow furrowed in thought. Then he opened his mouth

"I'm sorry." he said. "I trust you."

Seriously? He trusted her? Kyoko didn't let her surprise or glee show on her face. Instead, she frowned at him.

"Then concentrate on that feeling." she said. "Close your eyes, and when my magic interacts with you, it shouldn't hurt."

He obliged, closing his eyes. But Kyoko could tell he wasn't relaxing. His guard was still up, jaw tight and hands clenched in his lap.

She placed her hands on either side of his head, but didn't use her magic yet.

"Relax" she said, her voice smooth and low. "Concentrate on letting your energy flow from your head, through your body and to the ground. Imagine it spreading all the way from your arms out through your fingertips. Then from your stomach, through your legs and out from the bottom of your feet."

His lips twitched, obviously amused at her instructions. But she could see him relaxing, the tension leaving his shoulders.

Then, very softly, she began initiating the pulse magic in her hands.

This time his spirit didn't resist. Her pulses were soft vibrations, meant to sooth and asses both body and spirit. She concentrated on his body for now, placing her finger tips on his temples. Then she slowly began to massage his face.

Her touch was light at first, concentrating on warming the muscles before massaging them. She started at his temples, then spread her fingers out under this eyes and around his jaw. Once the muscle of the face was warm, she began pressing slightly harder, concentrating on the larger muscle of the face. She pressed against the muscles surrounding his eyes, cheeks and jaw. He was holding tension everywhere!

Her next destination was the scalp. Smoothly, she ran her fingers through his hair, pulling out the band that kept it up. He could tie it up again afterward, but for now it would be in the way. She continued her constant stream of pulse magic as she massaged his scalp, smoothing back his hair.

He looks so calm. She thought, idly drawing a finger through his hair. The tension around his face and eyes was gone at this point, smoothed out by her therapy. Compared to the tension filled poker face he wore 24/7, this calm defenseless expression felt more natural.

Kyoko blinked, then realized her fingers no longer had any purpose. They were idly drawing the outlines of his face. Suppressing a blush, she refocused, concentrating on the next part. While soothing the body was important, it was even more expedient to address the tension of the soul. People had a tendency to carry negative feelings within themselves. Anger, sadness, jealousy, etc, could get lodged in a person's soul. During the physical part of her massage, some of these emotions would surface. If she pressed her magic softly against it, she could dislodge and remove them from their soul. It would sometimes cure the headache indefinitely, as the headache could be a symptom of negative emotions.

Kyoko took a breath, then changed the consistency of her magic.

What greeted her made her stomach churn.

It was a complete mass of dark energy.

He's cursed! She thought, so shocked she almost lost hold of her magic. Kyoko had seen curses on individuals before but this... this was on a whole other level.

The darkness engulfed his whole soul, sucking light from his essence, only a small pinprick of light was shining though. It was flickering, like it could go out any second. The more she studied it, the more she felt sick. There was so much raw negative energy pulsing within him. It was a wonder how anyone could smile with so much filth inside them.

"Kyoko, what's wrong?"

"Eh?" Kyoko opened her eyes. Face to face with a concerned Kuon. "What is it?"

"You blanked out for a second there." he said. "Is everything alright."

"Oh, no everything's fine." said Kyoko. He probably didn't know she had seen his curse. Honestly it was buried so deep that she would have never even noticed it if she hadn't been touching him, or if he hadn't dropped his barriers. She wasn't that great at sensing magic or souls to begin with. "Close your eyes so I can finish. Almost done."

For a second, his eyes had flashed in recognition, and she thought he knew she was lying. But then he closed his eyes.

She pressed her hands against his head, again assessing his soul. The darkness returned, churning around Kuon's soul. Slowly, she began soothing the negative emotions away. She couldn't remove the curse, but she could weaken it by releasing some of the dark energy.

She felt a shiver through the surface, the darkness rippling as something resonated within Kuon. He had probably felt what she was doing with her magic. She expected him to ask what she was happening, but he didn't. Instead, his soul remained still as she smoothed out the surface.

She did as much as she could. She prepared to removed herself, but hesitated. She could tell there was still a lot of negativity below the surface. A part of her wanted to keep going until she smoothed everything out, but she couldn't tell how much was left inside him. His soul was like looking thought a fogged window with blinds over it. Besides, she shouldn't pry into a person's soul. The surface was fine. But anything else was just plain invasive.

"Alright." she said, removing her hands for the last time. "I'm done."

He didn't move for a moment, eyes still closed. Then he slowly opened them.

"My headaches gone." he said, disbelief in his voice. "Incredible..."

Kyoko smiled, delight swelling within her.

"I'm glad it worked." said Kyoko. "Now, you have to promise me that next time you have a headache, you will contact me if you can. I don't want you getting sick from using all those heavy medications."

"Thank you." he said. "I'll be sure to do that." He thought for a moment. "Actually. Can I ask one more thing of you?"

"Of course." said Kyoko.

He reached out to her, and Kyoko stiffened. Her body remembering the heat his touch brought.

But his hand fell before it touched her face.

"Your lap." he said, then sheepishly gestured to the bed. "Lory forgot to put a pillow in his office. And I would like to take a quick nap."

"Oh." she said, putting her thoughts back together. "S-sure." Just what did she think he was going to ask?

Kuon lay with his head in Kyoko's lap, very much awake. He kept his eyes closed, his outward appearance relaxed in an imitation of sleep. But on the inside he was mentally berating himself.

He was glad he had stopped when he had reached for her, quickly making up some other request. It was a good thing she was so ready to believe his made up lie. But he couldn't help grimacing when remembering her stiff expression. She had obviously been terrified of being touched by him, and he could guess why.

After her hands had paused during the massage, he had gotten curious and peaked at her. Kyoko's face had been white, her eyes focused on something far away. There was only one thing that could have produced that sort of response.

She had seen it. The darkness resting within his soul.

He had buried it deep. Spent many hours using every spell and charm he could to make it completely undetectable, but she had at least brushed against it, and that would have been enough.

He gave an involuntary shiver.

The darkness stirred within him, responding to the negative path his mind had wondered. It soaked up his inner turmoil, pulling him deeper inside his self-loathing.

He was a monster. She was just another person that feared him. As she should.

A soft pressure touched his forehead.

"That's good." said a kind voice. "He doesn't have a fever. I'm glad."

Kuon couldn't move. He was paralyzed, his mind working so fast it was blank. The dark that had been swallowing him paused.

Then he felt something even more miraculous. Something that almost made his eyes fly open in shock. The soft touch of her fingers brushing through his hair.

"It's really not fair." he could hear her muttering to herself. "He has such soft hair even though he's a guy. How does he even keep it this nice despite its length?"

She's... not scared of me?

Despite all the anger she had seen from him. Despite her glimpse into his dark soul, she still wasn't pulling away from him in disgust?

The dark uncertainty that had been threatening to engulf him began to fade, each stroke of her hand dispelling the fog, until it was completely gone.

Kuon relaxed. This time truly relaxed. Feeling lighter than he had in a long time, he couldn't help smiling, the soothing sensation of her hand through his hair lulling him to sleep.

Awwww. Isn't it cute? Ahhh the sap. Stahp. My sister is making fun of me. But I am unabashedly loving this. Ohmygorsh they are just so cute. (Is it sad I fan girl about my own story? Granted a lot of it is taken from the original.)

Also, I would like to give everyone a failing grade. I told ya'll to stop me, but instead you tell me to keep adding stuff and write. DO you ever know what you are saying!? 0.o haha. Alright, this is never going to end. It's not my fault. Blame the kind people that tell me they like my story. (it will end one day I'm totally kidding)

Guest: "Yumi is seriously annoying...Kyoko helped her too yet she is not grateful at all. Why didn't Setsuko change after that too?!"

-All questions related to character actions will be revealed, slowly but surely. But as for Setsuko, it's mostly because she already knows Kyoko personality and how she got there and didn't want to have anything to do with her in the first place.

kreasihakpen: I'm a little curious about Risa stories, I kinda like her attitude. :D will you write about her to?

-Honestly... not 100% sure.

And now a word from our beta reader/editor:

(BWAhahaha I am the sister of blush weaver, also known as... I don't actually have a pen name, so just call me Imotou. Hope you like the chapter. Blushweaver says I have to be nice to you, so I guess I'll end my note there. (:

get ready for kya's and the like fufufufu's.)

Once again I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing/liking /being patient with the updates. Love love LOVE everyone's comments! Yall are awesome!

-Blushweaver

(Side note. I think I might die waiting for chapter 224 of Skip Beat to come out next month. omgosh!)