I don't own Ranma ½
Normalcy is a bias which changes from person to person. Thanks to this Kodachi was able to claim that she had lived a perfectly normal life. True she had lost her parents at an early age, one to death and the other to Hawaii, but many other people had managed to overcome similar setbacks, and since such things were beyond her control she tried to never pay too much attention to the absences. This harsh view was likely due to the fact that Kodachi's memories of her mother where vague fuzzy things, more memories of feelings than of an actual person.
When Kodachi had been much younger and much more prone to emotional outburst she had on occasion, late at night, tried her hardest to remember her mother, her face, her voice, anything. However as the years passed and Kodachi grew harder she eventually stopped engaging in such pointless pursuits, in the end even her half remembered feelings for her mother drifted away.
Of course the memories she had of her father before he left were equally as hazy as those she had for her mother, but since he was still living, Kodachi was less willing to let him go. While she had let her mother drift into the abstract, Kodachi often spent hours imagining what her father was like. Because he was the father of not only her but Tatewaki as well he would have to be tall and handsome, strong and fearless, smart and perfect.
While Kodachi was growing up she held this image of the perfect father in her mind, and every accomplishment, every victory was dedicated to him, a reaffirmation that she was worthy of being his daughter. When she had first learned of her father's return, Kodachi had been quite anxious to meet him and have her beliefs validated.
Of course when she did finally meet her father Kodachi learned that he was a raving lunatic and someone to shun and avoid rather than make proud. Almost immediately she dismissed him out of hand as being her real father. She tolerated the man and even in someways liked the buffoon. She had even felt something close to sadness when he had died. But deep in her heart Kodachi knew that her real father was still alive somewhere in the world, and as long as she continued to do her best and win he would be proud of her.
Kodachi's formative years, bereft of her parents, had taught her some of the most important lessons that a person needs to learn in life. When she had been very young, she had first depended upon her brother to provide her the stability and support a child needs. But while Tatewaki sometimes tried to be a good brother and give Kodachi the love and attention she needed, he was only slightly older than she, and often the responsibility of another person was too much for him. He did love Kodachi, but Tatewaki's affection was too unpredictable and insufficient to sustain a young girl.
Tatewaki would spend whole days or weekends showering his sister with affection then go for weeks or months without hardly pausing to speak to her. So as much as Kodachi needed him, she had been forced to regard her brother not as a much needed and loved family member, but as a nice distant relative whose life only occasionally intersected her own.
Thus with her brother proving inadequate to help raiser her, Kodachi next unconsciously turned to the Kuno servants for the affection and attention that she needed. But even this last bastion failed her due to the high turnover of the Kuno staff. In the end Kodachi faced a cold reality which she eventually turned into a guideline for the rest of her life. Ultimately no matter how nice other people are, the only person that one could depend upon is oneself.
Therefore for the most part Kodachi was a product of her own creation. Whenever she took an interest in something, she was indulged but not encouraged. When she no longer found something interesting, no one noticed. And so Kodachi stumbled through her early years alone with only the spectre of an imagined ideal man to keep her company. Eventually she grew used to being alone, and then grew to depend upon it. Large gatherings of people quickly tired her out so she cultivated solitary pursuits which others where happy to leave her too.
Kodachi revived the Kuno family's greenhouse which had been left to go fallow several decades earlier, she began to practice a little known and eccentric martial arts style. Eventually she began to view her isolation not as a hated state which had been forced upon her by other people, but as a natural and preferred state of being for a person as superior as she was. In her mind the world had not ostracized her, she had ostracized the world.
In recent years, shortly before her father's death, Kodachi's adversarial mood had mellowed. At times she had even found herself depressed for no apparent reason, at other times she inexplicably wanted to be near someone who knew and understood her. For these reasons she had repaired the long distant relationship with her brother and spent whole hours in the same room as him. She tending to her bonsai collection, he practicing his kendo forms usually. Tatewaki had at first believed that the presence of his sister indicated that she wished to talk about something, but he had quickly learned that while she would tolerate his presence, she rarely enjoyed his conversation. So for health reasons whenever his sister silently entered his practice hall and began to tend to her potted plants he did his best to ignore her.
Following the death of their father Kodachi had noticed a change in Tatewaki. For years he had been innocently delusional in his strict following of the Bushido code, often doing his best to stay out of her way after having been on the receiving end of her wrath once too often. However as of late she had noticed a few disturbing changes in Tatewaki.
More and more often Tatewaki was acting less like his old self and more like some stranger that had taken his form. It had started soon after their father's death, he had placed restrictions both upon her actions and her finances. Shortly thereafter Kodachi noticed a change in Tatewaki's wardrobe. It was very seldom that he now wore his kendoist practice outfit, chiefly only when he was practicing kendo, which was strange for him. Instead the majority of the time Tatewaki wore what he had informed her was "business casual." At first the outfits did not suit him at all, either the cut being slightly wrong or the color being just a shade off.
In the past fortnight however Tatewaki's clothing had undergone another change, this one more subtle. They seemed to be made of finer material and tailored to fit him perfectly. Or perhaps the change was with Tatewaki himself, as if he had been tailored to fit the clothes. Gone was the mostly harmless brother who only entered Kodachi's life under duress and was quickly gone again after spouting some meaningless nonsense. The brother she had known as a scared coward who hid this behind a false exterior of insane bravado.
In his place was a confident stranger, suave where he had been annoying, confident instead of arrogant, determined instead of quixotic. All these and a thousand other minor changes Kodachi noticed and began to fear. Even her beloved home was beginning to transform, it was now open, warm, and inviting. Kodachi could hardly stand it. In a short amount of time without anyone consulting her, Kodachi's entire life was in danger of changing, shifting away from the safety of the known into the uncharted waters of something different.
The death of their father could perhaps account for a few of the changes in Tatewaki, and thus the changes in the rest of her life, but such an event could not be the cause for all of them. No, Kodachi knew the real catalyst of change, the driving engine behind Tatewaki's transformation, Nabiki Tendo. For the past month Kodachi had stumbled across the Tendo girl more and more frequently in the Kuno mansion.
Tatewaki had told Kodachi that the Tendo's presence was merely part of a business arrangement, but Kodachi knew better. In an effort to better understand the perfect man who was destined to be her husband, Ranma Saotome, she had investigated all those closest to him. Kodachi knew exactly how mercenary the Tendo was, and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that all the changes that she was forcing upon Tatewaki were part of some type of scheme to somehow part Tatewaki from his fortune.
When Kodachi had first found the Tendo girl in the Kuno household, she had been in the same room as Tatewaki, and was discussing some rather trivial and boring things with him. However Kodachi had noticed that as the weeks passed, the Tendo's presence occurred more and more often, and with each passing day the distance between the Tendo and her brother decreased. Faced with the alarming prospect of her brother becoming enamored of the Tendo and acting upon her merest whim, Kodachi resolved that she needed to take steps to insure that the interloping girl was removed so that Tatewaki and the Kuno household could return to its previous ways.
During the past month Tatewaki was only vaguely aware of any changes in his behavior. The differences noticed by Kodachi were of no importance to him. Really the only indicator of change that he noticed was that for the first time in a long time he was ... happy.
He wasn't sure why, maybe it was because he was finally over his depression, but the joy he felt far surpassed any happiness he could remember having experienced previously. Compared to what he was currently feeling, the emotions he had experienced during the school year, perhaps his whole life, were pale shadows. Whatever the cause or reason for his happiness, Tatewaki knew that he wanted it to last as long as possible.
The rest of the Kuno mansion reflected Tatewaki's happiness, for the first time in recent memory the Kuno's had been able to retain their staff for more than three weeks. They were quickly becoming around the estate was well as the local town. All it had required was for Tatewaki to slightly adjust the way in which he ran the household, removing the deadly booby traps and curtailing Sasuke's actions for a start.
Thanks to the new dedicated staff the Kuno estate returned to a semblance of its past glory. That particular day Tatewaki was enjoying the newly revitalized study that once belonged to his grandfather. Thanks not only to the new cleaning staff, but to the team of contractors Nabiki had convinced him to invest in, the study, as well as most of the rest of the house, had been modernized in a subtle manner.
While the walls were still occupied from floor to ceiling with old and heavy books of knowledge, instead of being buried under years of dust, they were clean and ready to be opened at a moment notice. Their well worn covers softly reflected the sunlight that now flooded the room. Tatewaki had felt that the original window in the wall behind the desk had been inadequate, so he had the entire wall replaced with doors opening out to a newly made porch which was the segue to the new koi pond that Nabiki had felt would be a nice addition to the garden outside the office.
Tatewaki lounged in the chair behind his desk, he had not only turned the desk around so that he could enjoy the scene outside as well as the occasional breeze that wafted through the open doors, but he had replaced the chair to the desk as well. Gone was his grandfather's heavy and imposing leather chair, in its place Tatewaki had chosen a much more moderate rolling chair made mostly of oak, with leather protecting the seat and the arm rests. The contractors had found it while running new wires through the attic, near several old boxes of what appeared to be the briefs and other legal documents from when Tatewaki's grandfather had been a law student.
Tatewaki truly enjoyed the new appearance of the study, it was both simpler and more usable he felt. The only part of the new look that he did not particularly like was sitting on top of the solid desk, humming away quietly.
Nabiki had been quite adamant in convincing Tatewaki that the best method of keeping track of finances was a computer. So after the contractors had run new wiring for the telephone and electricity to offer more outlets, Tatewaki had purchased the computer that Nabiki had recommended. It now sat in front of him, quietly taunting him.
The thing was ugly and ... beige. It was much too large and took up too much of the desk space in Tatewaki's opinion. Added to its list of defects was the fact that Tatewaki did not know the first thing about using a computer. He knew that somehow one used the keyboard and the thing, the ... mouse, to input things into the computer and then the computer would display them on the small screen attached to it. But it seemed a rather temperamental beast, shortly after Tatewaki had purchased the computer, Nabiki had tried to teach him a few of the features and commands for it. However whatever Tatewaki had entered into the computer had caused it to act quite strangely and Nabiki had spent the next few hours trying to undo whatever he had done.
Despite Tatewaki's aversion to the new computer and his belief that if he looked at it improperly it would somehow take offense, he thoroughly enjoyed the study and had begun to spend several hours in it every day. Some of them were spent in silent contemplation of the koi pond, this one stocked with actual koi and not man eating reptiles, others quietly perusing the books the past generations of Kunos had left behind.
While Nabiki's success in educating him in the ways of finance were minimal at best, Tatewaki had found that the law books were very interesting. Each case was like a little story, and he would often find himself spending whole hours in trying to figure out the reason behind why a particular law was passed. Trying to decipher the possible scenario that had happened to cause people to see a need for such a law. It was vastly entertaining, almost as much as kendo had been.
Of course the part of the day that was quickly becoming Tatewaki's favorite was when Nabiki would stop by. Somehow the occurrence had turned into something rare and unexpected into an almost daily occurrence which brought a welcome reprieve. A reprieve from what Tatewaki wasn't entirely sure, but he just knew that for some reason he never was as happy without Nabiki as he was with her.
Tatewaki was meditating on this while enjoying the peace and tranquility of the scene outside his office, when he heard the soft tread of his new butler approaching the door. Tatewaki had been surprised to learn that his butler's name actually was Sebastian, since he had long thought that was merely a mythical stereotype perpetuated by the entertainment industry. To actually have a butler which proved the stereotype was amusing.
Alongside the steps of Sebastian, Tatewaki recognized the now familiar tread of Nabiki. A few weeks ago Tatewaki had left a standing order that whenever Nabiki arrived, she should be immediately escorted to him, or to wherever on the estate she so desired. After all she had been the one who had overseen the contractors and their renovation of the Kuno estate the most closely. It had happened more than once that Tatewaki was wandering the halls, cataloging the changes in his home, and had come across Nabiki bent over a blueprint, explaining exactly what was wanted to the general contractor who led the others.
Tatewaki quietly smiled while reflecting on how unalike he and Nabiki were. While he was usually more than willing to pay whatever someone asked and leave the details of the project up to them, she wanted to make sure that every yen was spent well, and that she received exactly what she wanted, not what someone else thought she needed.
Tatewaki was interrupted from his thoughts by a soft knocking on his study's door, followed quickly by it opening and Sebastian leaning in. "Miss Tendo to see you sir." He said in his most detached butler tone of voice, though Tatewaki thought that he could detect a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.
Vacating his chair and standing up, Tatewaki smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt as he replied, "Very good Sebastian, please show her in."
The butler opened the door wider and moving to one side indicated for the girl behind him to enter. Tatewaki was unaware of the large smile that came to his face, but Nabiki was fully aware of it as she stepped into the room.
Remembering himself for a moment, Tatewaki turned towards Sebastian again, "If you would be so kind, please bring some refreshments for Ms. Tendo and myself." Sebastian nodded and then quietly closed the door, leaving Nabiki and Tatewaki alone.
Tatewaki turned back towards the desk and found Nabiki had already usurped his seat and was in the process of removing some books and reams of paper from a bag that she had brought with her.
Taking a seat on one of the vacant love seats that had been rearranged near the desk, Tatewaki stole a moment to quietly regard Nabiki as she went about working, first working on the computer, then opening one of her ledgers to look something up, then back to the computer. Soon she was completely involved in her work, and Tatewaki's considering gaze went unnoticed.
Once she became totally engrossed in something, and allowed her usual mask of indifference to drop, Nabiki was quite beautiful, Tatewaki reflected to himself as he leaned over and rested his arm upon the side of the love seat and his head upon his fist in order to better appreciate the view. His reflection and her concentration were interrupted a few moments later when there was a soft knock on the door, followed immediately thereafter by Sebastian opening it and appearing with a western tea service.
"Your tea is ready sir." Sebastian said while holding the seemingly weighty silver service rock steady in his gloved hands.
"Yes, yes, very good. Please set it down on that table over there and that will be all thank you." Tatewaki said while straightening himself and waving his hand at a low table situated between the desk and the open patio door.
Sebastian carefully set the platter down on the table and then with a small bow in Tatewaki's direction, he made his way out of the room and shut the door, all without making even the slightest of sounds.
"Well then shall we take a break and have some tea?" Tatewaki asked Nabiki as he stood up.
Nabiki turned around in her chair and looked up to regard Tatewaki. She cocked an eyebrow, "Take a break? We haven't even started yet. Don't you think perhaps we should start working before we stop working?"
Tatewaki blushed lightly at her reprimand, but truthfully trying to understand the mystic and arcane methods of accountancy sounded unpalatable at that point in time. "Ah but Nabiki you've already worked so hard today, that I feel fatigued just watching you. Please humor me, if not as your friend, then as your employer."
Tatewaki smiled as he walked past the desk towards the tea set, while Nabiki watched him with a small slightly confused frown. Lately Tatewaki had slipped into the habit of calling her by her first name only, also he had begun to convince her more and more to slack off, until for the past few days it had seemed as if they had spent more time just sitting in each other's company talking about whatever topic piqued their interest, than they did trying to untangle the Kuno finances. The most troubling part of these developments however was that they were not that unwelcome to Nabiki. Tatewaki was quickly becoming one of the few people that Nabiki felt she could be comfortable around, and she wasn't sure how to react to that.
While Nabiki continued to frown slightly at his back, Tatewaki went ahead and poured two cups of tea, preparing them just the way that Nabiki liked. Before Nabiki's frequent visits Tatewaki had for the most part only partaken of eastern teas, but Nabiki had convinced him that a little variety was good and had quickly introduced him to a wide variety of other teas available. Darjeeling happened to be a particular favorite of Nabiki, and Tatewaki had grown to enjoy it almost as much as she did.
Carefully picking up the two cups by their saucers, Tatewaki turned towards Nabiki who was still seated at the desk. However with an apparent change of heart Nabiki smiled and bounced out of the chair. "Well since we aren't going to be working right now anyway, lets enjoy the outdoor scenery, its a beautiful day out today." She said as she breezed by Tatewaki.
Tatewaki was surprised by Nabiki's sudden movements, and as she passed by him, he jumped slightly, almost losing control of the tea cups. However with a few deft maneuvers he was able to bring the tea back under control and he slowly turned and made his way out to the veranda where he found Nabiki already lounging in one of the comfortable chairs situated to take full advantage of the tranquil koi pond.
Tatewaki set the tea down on the small table that separated Nabiki's chair from another. He then sat down in the unoccupied chair and as he leaned back he reached over to take the cup that was left unclaimed after Nabiki had made her choice while he was distracted.
For a moment the two let the sounds of the day drift over them as they sampled their tea, the breeze as it sighed through the trees lining the perimeter of the garden, the occasional ripple from the pond as a koi surfaced in the hopes of finding food, and in the distance the sound of the occasional motor as a car passed by in the distance.
After taking a small sip Tatewaki glanced at his reflection in the tea cup, and gathering his courage, he began. "Nabiki," he said, "I don't really think that you trying to teach me the finer points of finance is really working out. I fear that I simply lack the aptitude to fully appreciate what you are trying to teach. Perhaps we should face the futility of the exercise and give up and move on."
Nabiki allowed herself a few moments to collect her thoughts by taking in the calming scenery before replying. "To be completely honest, I have noticed that you lack the necessary attitude to fully understand finance. You simply don't value money the way it should be. Probably due to the fact that you never really had to work for any of your money growing up."
Tatewaki sharply looked toward Nabiki, but she continued. "Of course not everyone can have the genius and true appreciation when it comes to money that I have, which is a good thing since it means that it's easier for me to take advantage of them." Nabiki laughed at her own joke while Tatewaki rolled his eyes.
Rapidly though Nabiki became serious again. "So if we are giving up on me trying to enlighten you in the ways of the real world, then where would we move on to?" She asked before bringing her cup up to taste the tea again. Tatewaki really knew just the proper way to prepare it she mused.
"Well just because we're not going to try and pack my head with useless information doesn't mean we have to stop seeing one another. I mean we are friends now after all, and that's what friends do right, sit around and enjoy each other's company?" Tatewaki said with a slight wave of his hand.
Nabiki glanced over at him, taking a slight offense to the way he had described her passion, then she pondered the rest of his statement and to her surprise, found it to be true.
Somehow, someway she and Tatewaki had become friends. She had actually come to enjoy the time they spent together. Thinking back upon how their relationship had been a year ago, even a few months ago, Nabiki was shocked at the differences. The changes had happened so gradually that it was difficult even now to pinpoint them specifically. Probably the biggest and most obvious of course was that Tatewaki had begun to act like a sane, rational person. Mostly.
Turning back to watch the tree branches wave in the breeze Nabiki replied, "Well I suppose I could be persuaded to sacrifice my valuable time if I were suitably compensated. Because you are a friend, I suppose I could offer a discount of accepting a few extra manga volumes added to literary collection." She then set down her tea cup and leaned against the back of the chair and closed her eyes while crossing her legs, the very image of peaceful relaxation.
Tatewaki smiled slightly at Nabiki. "With such a bargain before me, what could I possibly do but accept your terms?"
Nabiki smirked without opening her eyes, "I knew that you would see things my way."
Tatewaki chuckled lightly, then became somewhat thoughtful. A silence passed between the two that lasted for a few minutes, a silence abruptly broken by Tatewaki. "Do you believe in destiny? That who we are and what we do is determined long before we are born, or do you think that everything is random and left to chance?"
Nabiki cracked open one of her eyes and glanced over at Tatewaki, clearly puzzled by the strange question.
Realizing her confusion Tatewaki tried to make himself clear. "I mean I think about who I was, as well as who I am. Then I can't help but wonder about who I will become. I don't like who I was, and I fear that I will waste my future as I have wasted my past. And then I wonder if I do change, what will I change into? Deep down I want to believe that I will become a good person, but I'm not sure that I can."
Nabiki opened both eyes and sat up straighter. This was no mere meaningless hypothetical question, but a wish to be reassured that nightmares are really only things of fantasy.
Nabiki's attention went unnoticed by Tatewaki, he was staring at something in the distance, or perhaps nothing. He held this teacup in his fingertips by the rim, absently twisting it one way then the other.
Feeling the need to reassure Tatewaki, but lacking any time to fully put her thoughts in order, Nabiki replied, "Well I think that it's a bit of both don't you?"
Tatewaki turned his head and his eyes full of hope and wariness focused on Nabiki.
"What I mean is that who we are is in many ways usually determined by who we were when we were children, when we were at our most impressionable. And who we were I think is largely dependent upon who our family and friends were."
Seeing Tatewaki's gaze turn questioning Nabiki tried to clarify her point. "For example, say two school teachers who loved to teach have a child, don't you think that the child in turn will probably become a teacher as well? After all children love their parents and look up to them on how to behave and how to live life. So I guess that we are somewhat destined to be the people who our parents modeled."
At this point Tatewaki turned from Nabiki and a frown darkened his features. After all according to Nabiki's reasoning he was destined to become a suicidal lunatic.
Nabiki could tell just how much Tatewaki was absorbing what she was saying, based upon how extreme his reaction was. So she pressed on. "But while most of us do have a sort of destiny, I think that if we try hard enough we can break free from it and become whomever we want."
Once again Nabiki had Tatewaki's undivided attention. She held his gaze as she continued. "I think that if you try hard to become a better person, if you forget what is in the past, and move on, you will become a good man."
She watched as hope and gratitude wared for dominance on Tatewaki's face. "Of course you probably won't be a great man," she continued with a slight smile, "but possibly a decent one."
Tatewaki warmly smiled as he replied, "At this point I think that I'll settle for being a sane one."
His smile grew larger as he set his cold teacup down on its saucer and quickly stood up. "I've been siting around all day. Lets go for a walk around the grounds, I hear that they're wonderful this time of year." So saying he reached down and offered his hand to Nabiki.
She rolled her eyes before taking his hand and allowing him to help her stand up as she replied, "Just so long as we stay well clear of the parts containing booby traps, man eating reptiles, or flesh dissolving plants."
Tatewaki frowned in mock contemplation. "Well I'm afraid that rules out the vast majority of the grounds, but I believe that there are a few picturesque portions of the driveway that should be relatively harmless enough to fit your tastes."
Nabiki smiled and replied, "Well then lead on McDuff."
"I'd be careful with the Shakespeare if I were you. If you go around quoting too much of it, people might begin to think that you're strange."
The both smiled as they fell into step beside each other, following a small gravel path that curved around the Koi pond and made a very circuitous route around the house.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the warm sun, the cool breeze, and each other's company before Tatewaki again broke the moment of meditation as they passed by a large tree. "So, you mentioned earlier that in order for me to continue to bask in your presence I needed to tempt you with a few volumes of manga. Might I ask which ones you had in mind?"
Nabiki looked away from Tatewaki and pretended to be interested in two butterflies playing in the distance as she replied, "I'm afraid that if I simply told you, you'd probably get the wrong ones. So I think that we shall have to go together to buy them."
Tatewaki was on the verge of replying when their solitude was intruded upon by Kodachi's voice. "Perhaps if you were to make a list we could have one of the servants retrieve them for you. After all that would be better than forcing 'Lord' Kuno to do something so below his station." She said as she silently appeared from the other side of the large tree.
Nabiki and Tatewaki both jumped slightly, Tatewaki recovering slightly faster than Nabiki. "Dearest sister, " he said, "I didn't know that you were outside, if I had then I would have invited you to take tea with us."
Kodachi regarded the two through half-lidded eyes as she replied, "There are a great many things about me that you fail to notice dear brother. However I'm sure the fault is not entirely your own." She focused her attention on Nabiki and narrowed her eyes further.
Nabiki somewhat frightened by the open hostility in Kodachi's eyes, and remembering what had happened when Kodachi had learned of her temporary engagement to Ranma, decided that discretion was the better part of valor.
"I think maybe that I should go." Nabiki stated. "I forgot that there were some things at home that I needed to do today."
Tatewaki turned to look at her. "Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yes I'm afraid I must be leaving now." So saying she turned and began to retrace the path back to the study where she had left her belongings.
Tatewaki began to follow her, but was halted by his sister. "Dearest brother, I think perhaps you've been spending far too much time with Ms. Tendo."
The turned back to face Kodachi. "Whom I associate with is none of your concern."
Kodachi coldly replied, "Oh but it is, dear brother. You are the self proclaimed head of the Kuno clan. If someone of a lower class has tempted you, ensnared you, for their own gain, then it is my business to ... remove the snare."
Tatewaki coolly regarded his sister. "I've not been so fortunate in life as you, to be able to pick and choose who my friends are. Nabiki is someone special to me, so leave her alone. Understand?"
Taking her silence for agreement, Tatewaki turned to hurry after Nabiki. Kodachi watched him go with a frown on her face and her hands gripped into fists so tight that blood was seeping from the holes in her palm her fingernails had dug.
"Dear brother, I do believe that I shall be forced to save you from yourself. Of course if in doing so happens to pain you, then I'm afraid you will have to be hurt." She whispered to herself as she watched Tatewaki disappear behind the house. She then began to smirk, and soon broke out in mirthless, merciless laughter.
More to come.
Author's Note:
Thanks for all the reviews. Sadly there will only be one more chapter after this, but then depending upon how much you will want to kill me after the next chapter, there will be a sequel. Of course if I do alienate all of the people who read this story, I will be sad to see you go, all ten of you.
On a completely unrelated note, when exactly did Ms. replace Miss? In the past I used Miss, but over the years I have been corrected so much that I now naturally use Ms. Oh well, perhaps I'll just try to work on putting it back into use.