Chapter 19 Running in circles

"Come on, you need to watch this."

"Yeah. I got the gist of it. Another deception. Are you sure it wasn't Kid? Wouldn't be the first time and Kid is an expert disguise master, isn't he?"

Aoko groaned and pinched her nose in frustration with this girl sitting opposite of her. "That is the exact reason I can tell you that it was Kudou-kun and not some imposter, much less a deception. He changed right in front of me. How do you explain that?"

Ran looked up, with an eyebrow raised. "That's what I'd like to know. How do you explain that? Tell me, Aoko."

Now that made the archer angry. "Now listen here, you ignorant girl. I have no idea how that is physically possible and had it been you talking to him, you could have asked him. I'm a thousand percent sure he would have told you. Now though, as things stand, he knows I'm not you and he won't tell me a damn thing, for sure. What I can tell you though, is that it was not a trick. Absolutely not! And I can tell you I've seen tricks, alright?!"

"So, you're telling me that this was the real deal. Shinichi just transformed into a small boy, right in front of you. He changed his body. From a 17-year-old boy into a seven-year-old one."

Ran was calm, keeping her eyebrow raised, making Aoko look crazy – infuriating her so much more.

"Well, didn't you deduce it before? Well before I saw it with my two own eyes? But yes, he was damn stupid for deceiving you."

Ran crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Even if there was no trick involved, it doesn't change things."

Groaning again, Aoko felt like tearing her hair out. "It doesn't change our mission, ok, got it. It doesn't change your need to find those people and judge them. Ok. But it sure as hell should change something when it comes to this boy. At the very least, do me a favor and watch the whole thing. Damn, Ran! He loves you! He hurt you, I get it. I'm not saying just forgive him. All I want you to do is get this image out of your head that he's dead."

"Then how about you find out what happened? Solve the mystery how it is possible to transform. I mean, you can wear high shoes, you can kneel but you cannot actually lose half your height. Not like that. Reality doesn't work like that."

Aoko gritted her teeth. "He hates me, you do realize that, right? If he didn't have his high morales, he would kill me, I'm telling ya. Anyway, as Aoko I won't find out a single thing."

"Then find out as Ran."

As if that was that simple. Sure, she could try, she could act like Ran but then what? Lead him to believe Ran believed him, forgave him, loved him? No, acting was one thing, playing with someone's feelings was another. Aoko was no monster. And she refused to become one.

"No! You find out. I'm not going to pretend to feel something for him when it's all just a game, a ruse. He loves you and I refuse to become his downfall. Either you talk to him and find out how his changing trick works or we'll never know. I don't care either way, Ran. He's not the one I love."

Now Ran started frowning but Aoko wasn't finished yet. "Honestly, I think you're being incredibly unfair here. Do I impose my shitty situation with Kaito on you? I highly doubt it. You're not the only one with the problems here. And I'm really not trying to make you feel guilty. I just don't want you to regret something later when you realize you were wrong all along. Don't wait until it's too late. Is all I'm saying. Watch the thing, Ran. Listen to what Kudou-kun has to say. Go talk to him yourself. Explain what you need to tell him."

Ran relaxed, put her head into her hand leaning on the table and fixed Aoko with a penetrant gaze. "Well, then how about you clear things with Kuroba-kun first? Stop acting so high and mighty when you're not better than I."

Punching the table Aoko was sitting at in her anger, she scowled. "You're impossible. My argument with Kaito has nothing to do with this whole thing. It doesn't cloud my vision. I don't wrongfully believe him dead!"

Standing up abruptly and putting her things back into her bag, Aoko turned to leave. "Contact me when you found your sense of reason. Until then there's no sense in talking to you."

Aoko didn't get it. Well, maybe that was partly her fault, of course. She could have easily told her the truth but maybe she didn't want to acknowledge said truth herself.

Of course, she watched what transpired between Aoko and Shinichi. Of course, she couldn't just ignore it. She'd been watching it again and again the whole night. And of course, she didn't miss the feelings written on Shinichi's face. The pain, the hopelessness, the love. She saw it, she felt it.

She would have loved to be there.

But at the same time she thanked God she hasn't been.

As she tried to explain to Aoko, though admittedly explain seemed quite far-fetched, it still changed nothing. It didn't change the truth that she had confronted Shinichi about the same thing time and time again and what did he do? He lied and deceived and made her feel like an idiot. A crazy idiot about to lose her mind. Now he realized it was stupid. So what, did he expect her to just accept and forget it? To forgive him? Just because he finally suffered a bit of that pain she had been suffering all along?

Ran was glad it was Aoko Shinichi encountered and not herself, because if she were honest, she would have forgiven him the very instant he tried to kiss her. And when he changed back into Conan? It would have been there when all her doubts would have been shattered. She would have demanded an explanation, for sure, but she would have listened and forgiven him. And maybe with time she will anyway. But right now, Ran didn't see why she should make him feel any better.

He loved her, well, she loved him, too. But things were different now and not so easily mended anymore. He needed to understand that first before they could start moving past it and overcome their differences.

Anyway, even if Shinichi was not dead, it didn't change things. Obviously, those guys in black had something to do with his disappearance, his changing into a small boy – even if they didn't kill him, they took him away from her just the same and needed to be taken care of. It was the truth what she told Aoko. It didn't change anything.

Maybe she needed to talk to Aoko properly and explain things. She didn't need to have an argument with the girl, too. But first, she needed to get in touch with the administration guy.

So far, she'd been nothing but the rule abiding diligent part-timer, doing all the tasks she was required to do. It needed to change. She needed to move things along. She was no closer to finding out those people's identities than she was to figuring out their supposed bombing case. And from what she heard from Aoko, the girl wasn't any closer to figuring it out either.

They still had time but Ran was afraid they'd run out of it sooner then they'd like and she couldn't have that. This time she needed to move things along.

And in order to do that, she needed to be able to snoop around in the whole data base. But as a part-timer who was supposed to type files and reports, logically she shouldn't have any of those rights – which she didn't. And to change that circumstance, she needed to find the admin.

"Aoko-chan?"

Huh, Aoko was on a first name basis with police people?

"Ah, yes?"

Smiling friendly, she tried to hide the fact that she had no idea who that guy was – when he obviously knew quite well who she was.

'That's Nagaya-san. Nagaya Akiro – from our list. I haven't remembered him before because I actually just met him once but now that I saw his face, it came back to me.'

So much for talk to me when you found your sense of reason again.

Ran was still using the glasses – and they would prolong the use as much as they could – so that Aoko was able to follow what was going on on Ran's end.

"Ah, Nagaya-san. I'm sorry I was spaced out for a second there."

"Don't worry, don't worry, Aoko-chan. I knew there was no way you could ever forget about me. Haha. Anyway, I told you to just call me Akiro." He scratched his head and Ran wondered if it was due to nervousness or something else.

Nodding, she smiled coyly. "Alright, Akiro-kun."

'Oi! I just met him once! Be careful, Ran. He seems suspicious. Besides, I'm sure he hasn't told me to call him like that before.'

Ran agreed that the guy was worth being watched but Aoko had had to deal with bad things from guys, so she figured her extreme distrust must mostly stem from that.

"So, what made you apply as a part-timer here?"

He seemed friendly enough what with his never faltering wide smile.

"Ah, at school we have been discussing about our future plans and I realized I don't know what I want to do later. So, I thought it might be a good idea to see what police work fully entailed. And what exactly keeps Otou-san away from home all that time." Not that she'd see what it fully entailed, anyway.

"Oh I see, I see. A good decision, if you ask me. Then, why don't you start with me?"

"Start with you? What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm in the IT department. Head of user administration even. How about I show you what it all entails?"

'Jackpot.'

Yeah, that was true. If she could build up a good relationship with this guy, he could become their key to success. No, he would become their key of success. And since he seemed to be inclined to help Aoko so much, Ran would be stupid not to take him on that offer.

Smiling broadely, Ran nodded. "Yes please. Anything that's not another report that needs to be typed."

"Oh my is that all they have part-timers do nowadays? It must be boring beyond all hell."

Ran nodded and laughed. "Yes. Anything that is not that is a welcome distraction."

"Well then, follow me, young miss."

Ran followed the black-haired young-looking man who seemed a little bit too happy to have Aoko with him but that would only be to their advantage.

"Let me talk to Ran."

Damn that boy was persistent. And a small rage ball. It was nearly cute.

"Look. I tried. But Ran doesn't wan to talk to you and you'd be well advised to let her think things through at her own pace."

She was in Ran's room, going over notes Ran gave her considering her relationships with people close to her like Sonoko, her father and mother, when Conan came in and demanded impossible things.

"I'm not stupid, Aoko-neechan. If you are here, then that means Ran is disguising as you." He hoped, he thought because otherwise why was he wasting his time interrogating her? "I could easily go talk to her."

Aoko shrugged. "I don't see what's stopping you."

Also, Aoko was watching what was happening to Ran at the station. That Nagaya-guy? Too suspicious for her taste but then again, she was a burned child when it came to suspicious men. Anyway, Kudou better left her soon so she could get back to her work again.

"Ran is getting herself killed if she doesn't stop this craziness. Don't you realize you're in just as much danger?"

"What are you talking about?"

Turning around, Aoko watched him walk into the room, closing the door behind him and fixing her with a serious gaze. "If Ran thinks I'm dead she'll stick her nose where it doesn't belong. She doesn't know what kind of danger she's getting herself into. Or you. Or her whole family. Or even me."

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Aoko watched him carefully. "You seem to know an awfully lot about that danger though."

"I do."

"Well, then why don't you tell me about it?"

"Why don't you tell me about the case you initially came to discuss with me?"

Aoko smiled wickedly. "My, I really cannot underestimate you, huh? I think we're at an impasse here. I won't be the one giving out information first. And let me tell you, we're not dependend on your knowledge. You don't want to cooperate? It's fine. We'll figure out things on our own."

He scowled. "You idiot! What if you figure it out too late? Tell Ran to stop! You stop yourself! I don't care if Ran hates me as long as she is safe. I'm going to have your disguise ripped apart if this doesn't stop."

"I think you're in no position to be threatening me, tantei-kun. You think you're so high and mighty and honestly, I believe you when you say you'd even take her hate because doing what you've done you must have taken that into account all along. But I wonder – doesn't your being constantly near her, even living with her, endanger her far more than I could ever do? Or she herself even. I don't really know what's going on with you, why you can magically transform from a 17-year-old into a seven-year-old but I do know, if from nothing else but your own words, that you are very much in danger yourself. Now, the question is, if you are in danger and you're living with Ran, isn't she automatically too? I'm just wondering because I can't see how you could protect her with that body of yours, especially if that danger has anything to do with what I saw on New Years."

Conan's scowl intensified but Aoko wasn't finished yet. "Those guys? Come on, they killed before they even thought about asking questions. If those people have anything to do with your condition, then please explain to me how this whole situation doesn't endager her in any way or sense of that word. Come on. I'm curious to hear your explanation. I honestly want to know why you think letting her die in bliss is better than telling her what she might prepare herself to face and protect herself from."

Aoko must have hit a sensitive spot because he had his hands balled into angry fists and that scowl on his face didn't seem to vanish anymore.

"If she doesn't know she's safe. If Ran doesn't know she'll never be targeted."

"I beg to differ!" Aoko interfered with hitting a fist on the table. It seemed to rattle the boy a little at least. "If those guys are the same, and I guess I'll never know for sure because you are too arrogant to cooperate with anyone because you think you can do anything, then once they find out she's close to you, do you honestly believe they'll be interrogating her? And even if they did, do you honestly believe they'd believe her that she doesn't know anything? Please! Before she could utter even one single word, they'd have long killed her!"

"Shut up!" He stomped his foot. "You don't know anything! So, shut up!" Damn, she got under his skin, didn't she? "If Ran doesn't know what's going on, she doesn't worry! If Ran doesn't know, they won't run to her first thing if something goes wrong. If I'm here I can protect her! Don't you dare assume I am helpless. As long as I'm here, Ran will be nothing but safe."

"And if you're not? Damn, you know those reasons are holey at best! They are just excuses! I don't get why you need to keep her in the dark -" But she did. It was the same thing she once told Ran – if she were kidnapped and interrogated, she wouldn't intentionally kill anyone because she didn't know. But if she knew, she had a choice, an active choice she'd have to make and maybe kill someone – if no one else then her. Maybe Shinichi not telling her had also something to do with that. "but it's stupid." Well, partly anyway.

She was a hypocrite at best, herself. Too arrogant to tell someone? Well, wasn't she talking about herself? She wasn't too arrogant to tell Ran, she had wanted to tell someone. It was just fate that decided it to be Ran instead of Kudou and maybe she should tell him, there was still time. So, it was just arrogance, selfishness, her ego which didn't allow her to do that, wasn't it? Was she really talking about him?

But one valid point still stood. "But you're right with this. I don't know shit about you. What I do know though, is, if you wanted to keep her truly safe, then you should have left far far away. It would have hurt her, I understand, probably you too but don't you think that if there was no connection between you and her then she would have been the safest?"

It shut him up quite fast. It also washed the scowl from his face.

"If you had left her you wouldn't have had to deceive her, to lie to her – well, beyond one initial lie maybe. You could have come back once you solved this mess. What this whole thing comes down to is you have no right to command me or Ran to do anything. You deliberately decided to drag her into your mess without telling her and only your naiveity makes you believe you could truly protect her."

And if Aoko wasn't one thing, it was naïve. She knew what she was getting into – maybe not truly but she knew what in entailed. In worst case it meant her death. And she was dragging Ran with her. But both of them knew fully well it was a possibility. Knowing that they still decided to go on.

"You don't get it, Nakamori-san."

"What I don't get is why you tell some people about your mess but not the most important one."

Because that Hattori-guy? He must know. There was no way he'd just solve cases with a small child and never ask why.

"Because there is no need to drag Ran into the mess, too. Now though, since she knows some parts of the truth, I guess I did drag her into my mess, after all."

"You did the second you decided to live here."

"You should stop assuming things you have no ideas about, Nakamori-san. I'm saying it just one more time. Stop. This."

"Look at it like this, Kudou-san. I can't stop Ran from investigating and neither can you. But if things go wrong or if you make a mistake, and if whoever decides to kill Ran, you should be happy it's me and not her if we keep this masquerade up."

"Oi! Didn't I just tell you I won't let Ran get hurt?!"

"I'm just saying, is all. Don't ruin my disguise and she'll be even safer. Of course, tell her father if you want. Tell mine, I don't care. You'd make things more difficult for us, true, but not impossible. This is by far the safest route, though. If you can have secrets, let us have ours."

With that Aoko turned around and tried to focus on Ran's notes, ending the discussion.

"Tell me where she is. I need to speak to her. You have her phone, right?"

Sighing, Aoko was at her wit's end. "Look, Kudou-san –" Suddenly her phone started ringing, her number shining brightly on the display. Ran must have followed the conversation and decided to speak to him, after all.

"Yes?" She put the phone to her ear and listened intently.

"Let me talk to Shinichi."

Aoko turned back around to the boy watching her with the coldest glare someone ever directed towards her. "Ran."

He grabbed the phone out of her hand and put it hastily to his ear. "Ran! Where are you?!"

"I'm safe if that's what you want to know, Conan-kun."

"That's not- damn- Ran – I-" He stammered and Aoko had to look away because she couldn't watch him suffer the way he did.

"Aoko told me."

"Then – you understand, right? Ran?"

"I don't know, Shinichi. I honestly don't know. What is the truth, what is a lie? Things have become so difficult to distinguish."

"Can we talk?"

"We are talking right now."

"No, I mean – in person. I want to see you, Ran."

"Conan-kun. I don't know. I don't know what to believe anymore. I don't know if I want to see you anytime soon."

When Ran started crying, it nearly ripped Aoko apart. Damn this stupid girl for being so stupid! It hurt her to the point she couldn't hold it in anymore, but she was too stupid to actually meet the boy and talk things out with him? Of course, Aoko understood her reasons. Who would she meet? Her childhood friend or this boy she grew to love like her brother? And then, would he tell her another lie or tell her the truth. By now, did she even want to know the truth anymore?

Still, Aoko couldn't watch silently anymore and so started to scribble violently.

MEET HIM YOU IDIOT! she wrote on the notebook in front of her and furiously looked at it, not that Ran would be able to see her anger.

SAY YES! DAMN IT! I WILL TELL HIM YES FOR YOU IF YOU DON'T DO IT YOURSELF I SWEAR!

"Ran?"

She scribbled some more angry words when Ran didn't answer, making her only more and more angry until she couldn't take it anymore.

"She will meet you!" Aoko angrily shouted. "I will personally make sure she will meet you tomorrow evening! God damn this is unbearable!"

Standing up and hovering over Conan, Aoko watched him challengingly and ignored Ran's shocked protests. "Give me back my phone. She's stupid right now. But I swear I will drag her there tomorrow if I have to."

At least Conan seemed to lose some of his hostility when he gave her back the phone – which technically was Ran's but details.

"Why?"

"Because while I think you're stupid and reckless and have no good reasons why you were lying to Ran, I still see that honest love you feel for her. God damn am I not letting her ruin that without having her hear you out first."

Because they never did. Kudou told her and she didn't believe him. He tried explaining multiple times as Conan but Ran blocked every time. What they needed was an honest heart to heart. And both of them would have to respect what they decided after that.

"Until then, please don't kill me in my sleep. Otherwise, she might not turn up."

Shinichi snorted. "I'm no murderer even if you tempted me a few times."

If it was true or not, Aoko couldn't tell.

When Aoko started arguing with Conan-kun, Ran had excused herself and fled to the nearest bathroom, locking herself inside a stall.

She would have ignored the whole discussion but Nagaya-san had been thoroughly watching her and she couldn't take out the earpiece or put it on silent so she saw no other way than to flee. But when she had arrived in the bathroom the discussion had already escalated and Ran couldn't help but keep listening.

Aoko was bold to assume so many things she really didn't know about. She shouldn't have done that, aggravating Shinichi more was not to their advantage but then again.

Shinichi was alive, huh. It all came down to that. If Shinichi wasn't dead then there was no need for her to keep investigating those people, that was what he was trying to tell her anyway – or Aoko right now.

But Shinichi being alive – she wasn't ready to think about it when just a day ago she was so sure he wasn't. It hurt. One day it was one thing. The next day it was another. Whenever Shinichi was involved, nothing was constant anymore. Nothing was sure anymore.

She hadn't wanted to confront him, not until she knew what she was feeling herself, but with the way things escalated between Aoko and Shinichi, she couldn't run away any longer. She needed to confront the truth and subsequently Shinichi. He wouldn't stop asking her and she understood why he bothered asking Aoko all the time – of course Shinichi could simply find her at Aoko's place but if Ran didn't agree on seeing him then it defeated the whole purpose. She understood he was waiting for her approval to meeting him and yet he was being impatient.

She was loath meeting Shinichi but saw no other way, so she picked up the phone and called Aoko.

There was a part of her, a part of her heart that hurt hearing his voice, well, Conan's and another part didn't want to hear him at all. But there was still a small part that missed him. Maybe seeing him wasn't the worst idea and when Aoko made the decision for her, she felt betrayal towards the girl until she accepted that it might be a good idea to meet Shinichi face to face and talk things out – if that was possible anyway.

Mending things, she didn't know about that, but maybe she could at least end things with Shinichi properly or get some kind of closure. She highly doubted he'd up and tell her the whole truth, how he got so small, why he never told her the truth, who was behind it all and why there were people he trusted enough with the truth but not her. That was probably the one fact that hurt the most – one Aoko got right.

Sighing, Ran ended the call and put Aoko's mutterings on silent. She didn't end the camera connection as it might come in handy when dealing with the admin but Ran honestly didn't want to hear anything anymore.

It hurt.

She hurt.

Shinichi being dead but not really. Conan being Shinichi after all. Conan being so adamant about not telling her the truth but wanting to protect her at the same time. Protecting her from something – Ran was sure those people they met on New Years were behind Shinichi's disappearance but how – she had yet to find out. And she would. Either Shinichi told her, which she highly doubted, or she tracked them down and demanded an answer herself. Not that that was any more probable. Even if she found them, if she approached them, they'd kill her before she could even open her mouth, Ran was aware of that. That's why she came to the realization that just meeting them wouldn't get her anywhere – yes, she could fight them, beat them and then what? Knowing that Shinichi was alive, some of that rage dissipated and she felt more tired than angry.

Killing those guys – she had thought about it. She had. But Shinichi being Shinichi would throw her into jail himself and Ran was not ready to go there and who said she could actually go through with it anyway? She might hesitate and then get herself killed instead.

Sighing again, Ran stood up.

She could think about it later, now she had a job she needed to do. She got paid for doing something, not wallowing in despair in the bathroom.

"Ah, Aoko-chan. Is everything alright?"

Ran nodded and schooled her expression again. She had washed the tears away and hoped he wouldn't see through her. "Yes, I'm sorry. I must have eaten something bad. But I'm fine now."

He seemed suspicious, or maybe just worried, Ran wasn't sure, until he nodded and patted the chair next to him. "Alright. Come sit down. If you're not feeling well, you should just let someone know and go home."

"No, no, I'm fine now. Promise." Ran smiled politely and sat down next to the IT specialist.

"Ok. Now then let me show you what I'm doing all day long."

Ran had watched, patiently and carefully. She knew which systems to use to create new users, knew which rights she needed to allocate to herself and she knew his passwords. She had it all on tape, she just had to rewatch it in slow motion and get the correct letters. She also knew that she needed to log in when he was at work because their system tracked their logins. If she logged in at night or during his break, he'd know immediately that he was hacked, and he'd easily find her changed user rights – he'd know it was her. So, she needed to figure out how to tackle that problem.

Maybe she really should ask for Aoko's help in distracting him, to rope him into a chat so that he wouldn't know the exact time when he logged in the last time – best case was though that he forgot to log out altogether. Since his colleagues rarely were in the room, she had free reign once the boy was out of the room.

Or she could rope him into a chat herself when he was logging in in the morning so that he wouldn't acknowledge the text telling him he logged in when he wasn't in the office. But that bore a few risks and difficulties – first she needed to make sure she knew when he arrived and – second actually rope him into chatting with her while logging in.

One good thing seemed to be the fact that he was very infatuated with Aoko – Ran in disguise but that didn't matter. It was nearly scary with how much he wanted to show her. He went as far as offering her a position in the IT department. Ran had contemplated it for a second until she realizied that she'd be under constant scrutiny if she did that and so discarded that idea immediately. Aoko's father's office was her best bet to get things done, especially if she wanted to be secretive about it.

"Aoko! What are you doing here?!"

Weird as it was but trading those few words with Shinichi actually calmed her down a bit and cleared her mind. Not fully anyway but enough so that she felt compelled to check up on Aoko's father and Kid since there was a heist scheduled for that night. She knew that Aoko wanted to be there but couldn't because of her own father and Shinichi so she needed to go as a substitute if nothing else. And who knew? Maybe she ran into those men and then – she'd improvise, something.

"I just wanted to check up on you, Otou-san. You weren't in the office the whole day."

He frowned and shook his head. "Just don't get in the way."

Ran didn't know if Aoko ever got in the way before but either way, she didn't like it how her father brushed her away just like that. She needed to talk to him later and tell him that his behavior wasn't nice.

Ran would have gone home and put on a nice dress and still she'd be underdressed as Kid's next heist was supposed to be at a movie premiere where the main cast would receive a golden figure which Kid announced to steal. Maybe Nakamori-keibu didn't want her to be here because she dressed like a police officer when she wasn't one and most definitely didn't fit in with the audience.

Anyway, she didn't want to fit in either way and made her way up. There was no need to spend time with all these arrogant snobs who thought nothing of her.

The screening was in a very popular cinema with the main hall on the second floor. There were still six more floors to explore and maybe find Kid. Usually, Ran didn't indulge in things like solving mysteries or catching thieves but maybe if she tried, she'd find she actually enjoyed doing that. It was on the highest floor that she found something else entirely, though.

She wouldn't be able to forget those voices even if she tried. Ever.

"Where is that damn Vermouth?!"

"Calm down, aniki. I'm sure she'll be here any second now."

She found them much faster than anticipated.

And now – now she would get revenge. Even if she didn't know how that might look, it didn't matter. They hurt Shinichi and respectively her too and –

The door was right in front of her, only standing ajar.

She heard them, their voices. They were so close. She needed to do it, her fingers tingled with anticipation of the following fight. She just needed to push it open, surprise them, attack them. It would be over before they could even process what hit them.

Unfortunately, that one second that Ran hesitated in opening the door, a hand clamped around her mouth and something sweet wafted into her nose, immobilizing her immediately and falling back into whoever was behind her. She wanted to fight, but the knockout gas was too strong.

Well, this could have gone better was the last thing she thought before darkness took over.

Thanks for all the review guys! Because it made me so happy here's the new chapter even if not much happens haha ^^" and what an anticlimatic ending somehow ^^"

Next chapter will be some action, I hope ^^"

Anyway, please don't read this story if you don't like it. No one is forcing you to read something you don't enjoy and besides, this story is over 100k words, I won't change the plot anymore. This story is not about that prince with his white horse coming to rescue the incompetent princess. Here, the princesses will kick ass themselves. Otherweise, I could have ended this story after chapter 1.

With that, everyone who does enjoy this story, see you next chapter :) (I honestly need to start progressing the story more haha we are still in January when it's already over 100k words long holy shit XD and guys I typed up this chapter before Across the universe due to all your motivating reviews. They really got me going. Let's see which one I'll update next haha xD)