Please remember that this story is NOT cannon-compliant.

Chapter Eight

Kakashi pulled his arm from the ribcage of Zabuza's young accomplice and rushed forward to catch his blood-soaked student as she collapsed.

His eyes frantically ran over the length of her wound, but the rapid pounding of his heart slowed as he took in the scope of the damage. The blow was not as life-threatening as initially feared, as the sword had hit her as she was already moving to avoid it.

"Hurts." The croaked sound of Sakura's voice was barely audible and her eyes were glassy with pain.

He gently smoothed a hand over her tangled braid.

"I know Sakura-chan. Sensei's here now, just stay awake and the boys and I'll take care the rest, 'kay?"

She gave a tired nod, teeth digging into her bottom lip as she struggled to keep her composure. He was already pulling out bundles of bandaging and began quickly wrapping them around her leg, hip, and back.

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and let out sharp gasp. The tears she had been holding back spilled softly down her cheeks.

"S-sensei?"

Kakashi glanced up, not faltering in his movements.

Naruto's eyes were wide as he stared down at the tiny form of his teammate, his usually so expressive face a pale, blank mask.

Kakashi's fingers began to tremble, though he picked up a second roll and started to wind it around Sakura's shoulder.

Minato-sensei, is that how I looked when you brought home Rin and Obito's bodies? Her chest gaping wide open… His body half-crushed…

Like I'd never forgive you for failing to protect us as you'd promised?

"…Kakashi-sensei… Is she going to-?" The strangled question from his normally confident, dark hair student knocked him out of his downward spiral.

He shook his head to dispel thoughts of the past. Here and now, Kakashi. These kids need you. Focus.

His glanced over Naruto's shoulder and locked gazes with Sasuke - and had to suppress a wince. Brilliant red eyes were fixed on him, single black tome was spinning in their depths.

Oh that's just icing on the cake of this fuck-fest. He's unlocked the goddamn Sharingan.

Kakashi let out a long, tired sigh. "Sakura-chan's not going to die, you guys. But she is loosing a lot of blood and we need to get her back to Tazuna's home so her wound can be properly treated."

"'m not gonna 'ie…?" Sakura's muffled words made his lips twitch up at the corner.

"Did I not tell you sensei would take care of everything?" He chided gently, digging in his hip pouch to take out a small bag. Kakashi extracted three pills and reached down to offer them to her.

"Here, open up. Chew and swallow."

She obediently followed his order, but grimaced at the taste as she ground them down.

"What are those?" Naruto's face had regained a bit of life and he crouched and picked up Sakura's hand to smooth his thumb over her knuckles, uncaring of the blood smeared in the process. He received a weak squeeze in return.

"A solider pill and two blood-replenishing pills. They'll keep her stable for now."

"Boss, I hate to interrupt the tender moment…" Pakkun drawled at his side. "But we've got more company."

The pack had bristled and was snarling at the group of thugs that had gathered on the bridge - a short, fat man at the head.

"Fucking hell, you just can't pay enough for competent mercenaries these days." The man sneered, pausing to spit in disgust. "Zabuza was charging me an arm and leg and the asshole couldn't even finish the job."

"I take it you're Gato." Kakashi said, rising from his crouch and casually brushing the dust from his pants. "The scum responsible for the trouble plaguing this town."

"Don't forget he was also the one to let Zabuza off his leash," Sasuke said, eyes glowing menacingly in the rapidly-fading mist around them.

"Bastard!" Naruto snarled, whiskers prominent on his cheeks and a feral light in his eyes "Don't expect to leave here alive after what you've done to our teammate!"

Wrathful chakra buffered Kakashi on both sides from his seething students, but he held up a hand to keep the impulsive males from rushing forward. "Now, now boys. We are Konoha shinobi. And the Hokage has stipulated that all civilian opponents faced directly on a battlefield are to be given the chance to yield."

He turned his piercing, mismatched gaze onto the businessman, a mocking smile twisting his mask. "So, Gato-san… I will offer only once. Surrender yourself into our custody and order your men to stand down and your life will be spared. Well, at least by us - I give no guarantee that the townspeople won't have you drawn and quartered."

Gato barked out a harsh laugh, spreading his silk-encased arms wide to gesture around them. "I don't think you quite understand the situation, Hatake. This is my town," he bared his teeth, cracking his cane against the bridge's surface, "and if you think I'm the one going to die here today you've lost your goddamn fucking mind."

With a wave of his fleshy hand, the two dozen or so thugs behind him rushed forward, smiles splitting their faces and whoops of rabid excitement filling the air.

Kakashi sighed heavily. They really never learn. He rolled his head to the side to evaluate his students. The boys stood at the ready, muscles trembling with anticipation. Sakura had shuffled into a unsteady crouch, heavily favoring her injured side and watching the approaching enemies with narrowed eyes.

"Naruto. Sasuke. The pack and I will take the lead. I want you two following no less than a three meters behind us to take care of anyone that slips through. Sakura isn't in a great state and we still need to guard Tazuna, so I'm counting on you guys."

He received tight nods in reply.

"Remember, these aren't formally trained shinobi. They're street thugs or genin drop-outs at best - as such I expect you'll have little trouble, but don't make stupid mistakes."

"Hai, sensei." The three of them said in unison.

"Good."

With a causal flick of his fingers, the pack speed forward eagerly to intercept the incoming group, Kakashi only a fraction of a second behind them.

As he ducked under the swing of a nail-studded baseball bat and sank his kunai into his first opponent's temple, he couldn't help releasing a snarl of suppressed rage.

You dare to threaten my students?!

Kakashi had previously been keeping his chakra under control as to not rile up the genin, but in the heat of battle he let his fury flow out. The thugs closest to him stumbled in their charge and gapped with wide, terror filled eyes as they realized the grievous error they had made.

A burning, bitter satisfaction filled his belly as fool after fool fell screaming under his blades and the teeth of his ninken.

You shouldn't have rushing into battle without pausing to calculate your odds. He thought coldly. Now you'll die for a ungrateful master that will join you shortly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi spotted a pair of Gato's men slip by Bull as he was crushing one of their comrade's heads between his powerful jaws. Their path towards Tazuna was quickly blocked by Naruto and Sasuke, both with kunai drawn.

Kakashi's sight was momentarily blocked as a man with a crazed expression swung a rusted sword at his head. The jonin parred the blade with the kunai in his left hand and dug the one in his right between the man's ribs and up into his heart. The body dropped limply to the ground as he turned back to check on his students.

The boys were panting and splattered with blood, but their opponents' unmoving forms lay at their feet, either dead or firmly unconscious. Judging by Sasuke's shaking hands and wide, blank stare, he was unfortunately guessing the former.

Dammit all to hell. Their first mission out of the village and all three of them are going to end up making their first kill. He mentally cursed.

Kakashi picked up his pace, slashing mercilessly, determined to keep the majority of blood off of his student's hands. He had nearly finished cutting his way through the crowd and was closing in on Gato's cowering form, when a shout halted his forward momentum.

"Sakura!"

Kakashi's head whipped around to see Sasuke and Naruto were struggling to simultaneously fend off a group of five and get to their teammate who was being charged by a trio that had slid past while the pair were occupied.

Fucking cowards, aiming for an already-injured genin. Come on Sakura! Kakashi mentally shouted. Show the bastards that a Konoha kunoichi is not to be taken lightly.

Her lips had pulled back to bare sharp, blood-stained teeth and the hand not supporting her weight filled with senbon. She flung the needles and they lodged themselves into the eye sockets of her nearest opponent and he went down screaming, but Sakura was forced to scramble back as the second thug swung a chipped, dull katana at her.

A spasm of intense pain rolled across her features and she stumbled onto her backside, her hands reaching out and grasping desperately for the closest weapon available.

When her small, bloodstained fingers closed around Zabuza's sword's handle, Kakashi's heart clenched.

No, anything but that! Kubikiribōchō is a sword of the Seven! It won't obey someone who isn't-

His thoughts stuttered to a halt as she wrapped her hands around the hilt, squeezed her eyes shut, lunged forward, and swung the massive blade.

The severed heads of her two remaining opponents thudded wetly against the concrete and rolled, their bodies crumpling where they had previously stood.

Sakura stood on shaking legs, gasping for breath, and peeled her lids back to stare down at the weapon in her hands. The dark metal of the blade slowly bled red starting from the handle and creeping down the length until even the tip was a deep vermillion.

Fucking hell, He thought numbly. The blade's reacting to her chakra.

She was only able to remain standing for a few more seconds before she dropped the sword and crashed to her knees, crying out in the process. As soon as it left her grasp, the blade darkened back to it's original steely gray.

The boys had finally ended their fight and Sasuke hurried to catch her limp form, Naruto not far behind him.

Kakashi left his students to support one another and redoubled his efforts in cutting down the remaining gang members. Anyone that was fortunate enough to have escaped him was quickly caught by the pack and torn to shreds. It wasn't long before they all were dead or least in the process of bleeding out, and Kakashi stalked forward to loom over Gato's solitary figure.

The greedy tycoon was even fatter up close, the well-manicured nails of his hands and the sheen of his unwrinkled, silken suit a testament to his soft and lavish lifestyle. His pupils were blown wide behind his tinted glasses and the leather soles of his shoes scuffed against the rough pavement as he stumbled back in fear.

"W-wait! Surely we talk this out?!" He pleaded.

"Hmm? Now you want to talk, after I so generously gave you a chance to surrender?" Kakashi's voice rang out soft and calm in the still air around them. "I think not."

A bead of sweat trickled down Gato's face and he started to babble as Kakashi reached for his weapons pouch. "No, no, please-! You don't-!" His words were cut off and he gargled on blood as the jonin impassively slit his throat.

Kakashi watched as Gato's hands fumbled uselessly to try and stop the stream flowing from his neck. His eyes bulged and blood dribbled from his lips as he soundlessly attempted to beg one last time for his life. Unfortunately for him, Kakashi had long ago grown accustomed to watching people die.

After a few moments of floundering, the light faded from Gato's eyes and he slumped forward to land face-first in a puddle of his own blood.

Kakashi wiped his kunai clean on his pant leg and turned to the pack that was waiting patiently for orders. A quick flick of his fingers had them darting off to complete a familiar task.

"Bull, with me."

The massive bulldog huffed in acknowledgement and turned to follow, red-tinted slobber trailing from his muzzle. Kakashi made his way over to his clustered students. Sakura's eyes were half-closed and she was propped against Naruto's shoulder, his obnoxiously orange jacket draped around her. They were all three watching him closely, faces bare of emotion.

Kakashi mentally winced. They weren't supposed to see any of this yet. Most genin don't have their rose colored glasses ripped off so soon. And they certainly didn't need to see their virtuous sensei executing someone so calmly, no matter how much the rat bastard deserved what was coming to him.

Out loud, he sighed. "The pack is gathering the bodies for disposal. Anyone still alive will be restrained and handed over to the townspeople to deal with."

Sasuke was the first to stagger to his feet. "What do you need from us?"

"I will stay here for a short while to clear up the mess, but Sakura-chan and Tazuna need to be taken to his home. Naruto?"

A pair of grim, blue eyes met his own. "I need you to escort them. Bull here will carry Sakura-chan and act as your back-up if you encounter any trouble."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but Kakashi was quick to cut her off. "No, you've done enough Sakura-chan. Let us take care of things for now." She eyed him mulishly, but didn't utter any objections.

"Sasuke, I need you to stay with me and help coordinate the clean up."

A gruff, affirmative "hn" was received and Kakashi tiredly rubbed at his jaw as the Uchiha started towards where the pack was piling the corpses.

The Hokage is going to have a stroke when he hears about this.

. _ . _ . _ .

Sakura struggled to unclench her jaw as Bull finally stopped to let her down in front of Tazuna's house. Though she knew he had done his best to make the ride smooth, it had taken every ounce of her power to keep from screaming each time her wound was jostled and sent a bolt of fire down her back.

She had barely enough sense to notice that a small group of village men were clustered on the house's front porch, apparently arguing about what to do with a trio of tied-up thugs at their feet.

Huh. I had wondered how Sasuke knew we would need help. She thought dazedly.

Yes, yes, pretty-boy Uchiha rubbed enough of his testosterone-ruled brain cells together to figure out that an organized crime unit was likely to try the good old divide-and-concur routine. Inner snarked. Now, can we please try to focus on getting off this horse-dog and not passing the fuck out?

Trying in vain to ignore the shocked gasps and burning stares drilling into her, she dragged in a slow, deep breath.

We can do this. Come on. Three… two… one!

Sakura let out a low hiss as she slowly eased her legs off of Bull's back and slid down his flank until her feet hit the ground. Her vision swam and she resolved to remain leaning against the oversized ninken's form until Naruto, carrying Tazuna's adult-sized bulk, caught up to them. Best to do as Inner suggested and not make a fool of herself by trying to walk without support.

The clattering of shoes on wood had Sakura slowly raising her head to regard Tazuna's daughter, who - thankfully - appeared unharmed.

"Sakura-chan?!" Tsunami gasped in horror, rushing forward.

Yeah, I'm sure we're a fucking sight to behold.

She blinked stupidly at the beautiful young mother, unable to gather the energy to even try to begin to explain.

But her silence only caused Tsunami's expression to tighten and she nodded firmly, stooping down to Sakura's hight to wrap an arm her waist.

Sharp, dark eyes darted up to glare fiercely at the men standing, gaping at the scene. "What do you idiots think you're doing?" Tsunami snapped. "Get those ass-hats up and out of here! I don't give a damn what you do with them, but I have more important things to tend to."

Sakura couldn't help gazing up at the woman in gratitude as the villagers scrabbled to obey the order and their attention was turned away from her injured state. But her focus was only momentary, and as the pair shuffled up the steps, Sakura's head spun and she lost all but the vaguest consciousness of her surroundings.

By the time they stopped and she was lowered down to rest her good hip on a stool, Sakura was panting in pain and made no effort to slow the continuous stream of tears flowing down her cheeks. Through her blurred vision, she spotted Inari's small, pale face peaking around the tiled wall of what she belated realized was the bathroom. His mouth was trembling as he tried to hold back tears of his own.

Well, fuck. Kakashi said we'd live, but the brat's expression has got me second guessing that.

"Tsunami-san?" Naruto's bright hair glinted in the harsh light of the artificial bulbs as he brushed in past Inari, having finally arrived. "What can I do?"

"Here, keep her steady while I go gather supplies." Sakura refrained from complaining about being passed around like a sack of potatoes, if only because it would take energy that she just couldn't be bothered to muster.

Her head flopped forward into the increasingly-familiar hollow of Naruto's shoulder and she took in his spicy smell in long, slow breaths as she tried to concentrate on something other than the pain pulsing though her body.

"S'alright Sakura-chan. We're gonna get you taken care of." Naruto muttered softly.

She groaned quietly in response.

"Naruto," Tsunami said tightly as she returned, arms full. "Where is Kakashi-san?" She asked, setting down a large glass bottle, a pair of scissors, and a small wooden box.

"He and Sasuke were taking care of the bodies on the bridge. They shouldn't be far behind us."

Tsunami wavered at the casual mention of casualties, but nodded in understanding.

"Alright. I'm going to need you to go wait in the kitchen. There is a small first-aide kit I've set out for you to tend to any minor injuries and Otosan should be able to help. When your sensei returns, please send him this way."

Naruto's brows furrowed as he seemed to be contemplating arguing, but Sakura patted his forearm in reassurance, lifting her head and shifting her weight off of him, his brief embrace enough to help her regain her dignity.

He frowned, obviously still uncertain, but left without causing any trouble.

"Now then Sakura-chan." Tsunami smiled tightly once the door was firmly closed. "Let's get those clothes off of you so we can get a better look at that wound."

Sakura sealed herself and gripped onto the edge of the bathtub as Tsunami set to work first removing her weapon pouches carefully and then cutting through Kakashi's hasty bandage job.

Starting at her knee and working up Sakura's back, Tsunami used a small ladle and a bucket of water to dampen her bandages and peel away the layers of blood-soaked cotton. She muttered apologies under her breath as Sakura's sucked in sharp breaths through her teeth, jaw threatening to shatter under the pressure of keeping silent.

Once the task was complete, the rest of her clothing could be quickly sliced off and thrown to the side. Somewhere in the back of her muddled brain, Sakura marveled that she wasn't cringing in embarrassment at being naked in front of a woman she had met a week ago.

It is nice not to be covered in blood. Inner said bitterly. Ours, batshit-crazy-Zabuza's, those nameless underlings of Gato's…

Sakura's gazed trailed down to the drain, where rust colored water swirled.

Four people… I killed four people today. She thought in sudden shock.

Well, three for sure. Senbon-to-the-eyeballs might still be kicking.

Her fingernails dug into the soft wood of the bath and her harsh breathing started to have less to do with the - admittedly still agonizing - pain of her wound and more to do with her impending mental breakdown.

A knock on the door startled her out of her stupor and Sakura cursed her addled senses.

The door slid open and Kakashi's lean form slipped into the small room. His lone gray eye clinically swept over her pathetically hunched form, the Sharingan once again covered by his hitaiate.

"Mmm…" he hummed, gaze sliding over the supplies gathered. "Thank you for you help Tsunami-san, but would you mind stepping out for this next bit? I have it handled from here."

Tsunami nodded. "Of course, Kakashi-san." She rose from her position at Sakura's side and gave her a small smile as she closed the door behind her.

Sakura watched vacantly as Kakashi removed his gloves, pushed up his sleeves, and proceeded to scrub the filth from his hands.

Once cleansed, he sighed deeply, turning the water off and reaching for the glass bottle that Tsunami had previously deposited on the floor.

"I'm not going to bother asking how your doing." He said softly as he opened the small box - a sewing kit - and extracted a curved needle and a length of thread.

She blinked, pulling her gaze up to meet his. The wrinkling of his mask made her think he was frowning, though she couldn't really trust her slowly-fading field of vision.

"If I had know this is how our mission would turn out, I wouldn't have taken you a single step outside of the village." He said grimly, dousing his tools in with the bottle of sake she had previously failed to identify. The fumes burned her nose and her hair stood on end as she realized what he was going to do.

Blood loss is really doing wonders for your IQ. Inner sighed. What the fuck did you think he was going to do - glue you back together?

Kakashi pulled a short length of leather out of his hip pouch. "Bite down on this. Don't be afraid to scream, because I'll tell you right now that this is going to hurt like a bitch."

She eyed the strap, already stamped with numerous crescent imprints and worn in way that spoke of frequent use. Sakura shuddered but took it between her teeth without comment and squeezed her eyes shut as he once again reached for the bottle of sake.

Maybe that means he's got lots of experience sewing people up? Inner suggested hopefully.

Or he's the one always being sewn up. I wonder if he does it himself? She mused.

Sakura's mental debate with Inner was cut short as he poured the liquor over her shoulder and down her back, buttocks, and leg, igniting her nerves instantaneously. She bowed over the bathtub and screamed hoarsely through her clenched teeth. Only Kakashi's strong grip kept her from thrashing about in anguish.

Hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts, Kami-sama please make it stop!

Once her scream had trailed off into harsh sobs Kakashi eased his hold. He murmured soft, soothing sounds as he switched to the needle and thread and began quickly stitching her up, starting from her knee. The pinch and pull was much less intense than the fire that had just ravaged her body and Sakura's sobs slowly trailed off into quiet hiccups. Frequent shivers racked her small frame as the evaporating alcohol quickly chilled her.

"We're almost done, Sakura-chan." He reassured her, finishing off the long trail of stitches at her shoulder. "We still need to tend to your face, but let's get you dried off and into bed at least."

She nodded weakly, but didn't have any energy to do anything more. Sakura felt very small and weak as Kakashi scooped her up into a towel and crossed from the bathroom into the large shared room that the team had been housed in for the duration of their stay. He gently laid her onto a soft futon that had been laid out and covered her with several thick blankets.

She started unseeingly up at the ceiling as he disappeared back into the bathroom. He returned, settling crosslegged at her head with a fresh length of thread, the needle, and a small scrap of fabric in hand. "Try to stay very still Sakura-chan. I'm going to try and keep the stitches as neat as possible to hopefully reduce the scarring. You've got too cute of a face for that." His eye crinkled down teasingly down at her, though his voice was serious.

Sakura hummed in acknowledgement and winced only when he pressed an alcohol soaked cloth to the side of her face. It stung fiercely, though much less than her back and leg had, and her body was so exhausted that she didn't utter a sound.

True to his word, Kakashi was extra careful as he stitched her face and she tried her best to make his task easier by remaining motionless, even when the needle gleamed in her peripheral vision as he worked.

Through the now-familiar pinch and pull of the suturing, her eyes slowly closed and Sakura finally found herself succumbing to her exhaustion and falling into the deep darkness of sleep.

Total Word Count: 4,314

Look who's back! Yay! XD

I'm so sorry guys, there's no valid excuse except that I just lost my motivation to write for a long while there. However, this story has never been far from my mind and I *am* determined to finish it, so please stick with me!

I hope to get another chapter out by the end of this month, but if not, I want to wish you all a very happy Yule, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and New Year!

Much love,

Mistress-Kakashi

lovecrazyhedgehog - Ah! I'm sorry to hear that. :( Was it the cliff drop-off that bothered you? Or the actual storyline? Thank you again for another kind review!

Guest #6 - You're very welcome! Thank you for the review!

Guest #5 - Sakura fan - Yay! Another victim has been dragged into the abyss that is this fic! ^_^ I'm more than happy to rectify the mistake that was made in the cannon of pushing our favorite pink-haired genin to be a wall-flower. You'll only find a bad-ass baby-ninja in this story! XD Scars are… something I'm still fighting myself over. Please stay tuned for answers to your questions! I have to keep some things close to the chest, can't be giving out too many spoilers, LOL. Thank you very much for the lovely review!

Guest #4 - hmm23 - Bookworms have equal - or greater - potential to be bad-ass ninja, so I'm glad you agree! And yes, with her extreme chakra control and ability to catch up and arguable surpass a *sannin* in approximately two to five years made her relegation to the sidelines all the more disappointing. Tactical pairings - ANBU or otherwise - will come to light eventually, so stay tuned! Thank you for the review!

Angie2002-01 - Glad to see you found these updates! And I'm so very happy you're still enjoying! ^_^ As for scars… hmmm… we'll see. XD Thank you for another lovely review(s)!

Guest #3 - Yay for bing-reading! I'm glad to have dragged you down into the abyss, please stay for a while, I'm trying to figure out a way to distribute virtual-cookies, LOL! Okay, so far that's two solid votes for ItaSaku, we'll see if your predictions pan out! Thank you for the lovely review!

lyndyloowho - I'm actually thrilled that you didn't see it coming, as I was really trying to channel the element of surprise! I maybe-sorta failed, as some of your fellow reviews seemed to have caught on early... ^_^" Oh well, I'll just assume I surprised everyone with the way fight progressed, even if the end result was more obvious than I intended. Thank you so much for another lovely review!

Cruisegirl86 - Yay! More smiles! ^_^ LOL, it's fine, I'm going to be touching more on her chakra nature in future chapters, so it'll remind you or anyone else who forgot. I know the struggle of keeping fics straight in your head, especially when they're still in-progress! I think - though feel free to correct me if I'm wrong - that mine may be the first to have her kill Zabuza, so yay for originality! Thank you for another lovely review!

nedrag94 - Yay! Glad you liked it! Thank you for the review!

Ducky Devilry - LOL! I wondered if I was giving too much away when I wrote that little scene… oh well! ^_^" Yay! I'm so very happy you liked it! Thank you for the review!

Suzululu4moe - Thank you! I'm really trying to keep this work unique, and the Zabuza-kill will be the first in a series of dominos likely to drive Kakashi to alcoholism, so stay tuned! Yes, I do kinda feel bad that Haku probably brings up bad memories for our favorite pervy-sensei, but considering he has, according to the anime, over 1000 jutsu memorized with the help of the Sharingan, I'd say it's his own fault for relying on the Chidori. Thank you for another lovely review!

Alexiessan - LOL! Yep! Had to get her hands dirty now, or the story won't progress the way I have it designed to. And the Zabuza-kill part is important too. Kakashi is this close to keeling over from a heart attack, as you may have guessed, poor old man. XD All of your other questions will be answered in due-time, so stay tuned! ^_^ Thank you for another lovely review!

Guest #2 - A Slightly Sakura Fanboy - Yay for intense! I've been trying to spend more and more time researching ways to really drag you guys in and get your hearts pounding! Hopefully it's been successful! ^_^ And not to worry, the Chunin Exams are coming up and much ass-kicking will ensue! I'm really trying to keep our favorite trio balanced, while still allowing room for individual paces of progression, so please let me know if I start veering off the mark. I just can't bring myself to watch more of Boruto, so I'll take your word for it that it improves from absolute garbage. ^_^'' Thank you for another lovely review!

Guest #1 - So glad you like it so far! Updates will hopefully continue to be regular, provided my muse doesn't go on strike. She's a needy bitch that demands a regular supply of vanilla lattes, chocolate, and reviews, so please keep them coming! ^_^ Thank you for the review!