STANDARD DICLAIMERS APPLY: What a commonplace, clichéd, banal and drearily platitudinous thing it is for a fanfiction author to post a disclaimer…
Quick little message from author: Okay, here goes: this chapter has been written, re-written, re re-written, torn to shreds, written from scratch yet again and finally it has been, after me passing through all the phases of loathing that I can possibly muster for something I write then crossing that thin line between love and hate anew, uploaded and delicately placed in your hands. May you be the ones to judge if it was worth the wait or not; may I be the one to bash my head against the computer screen for taking so damned long.
To all of you readers, thank you for your patience and for your consistency, so unlike my own.
P.S: Did anyone else notice how cute Jude Law was in "Cold Mountain"? It's a pretty average movie, but that man is oh so dreamy… ^___^
Also, songs that I worked with for this chapter: "All along the Watchtower" - Jimi Hendrix, "Little Wing" – Jimi Hendrix, "Case of You" – Joni Mitchell, "Roads" – Portishead and too many others to count.
Chapter 13: Being Chopped Liver – A House Special.
It was confusing, to say the least. There he was, going off about progressions and logarithms, and she wasn't even snuggling against the table or remotely fazed by her eyes collecting 'beachfuls' of the sandman's magic dust powder.
True to her nature, she wasn't exactly concentrating or paying mathematics any heed, although focused, alert and very much awake, she indeed was…
"The way his bangs frame his face and cover his somewhat exotic eyes -I wonder if 'exotic' could be the correct term for… gosh, I can't even bring myself to describe them!- is so…so…just is in such an all encompassing sense of that very verb.
Christ! What am I thinking?!! Some writer I'm going to turn out to be if I can't even think up a proper account of some stupid boy's stupid eyes!
Although…Come to think of it, he is anything but stupid. It never occurred to me that a guy spouting formulas could strike me as sexy… WHOA!!! Did I just consider Kenshin Himura 'sexy'???
Actually…How come it took me so long to assess potential sensuousness when in the presence of sizzling hot? WHOA!!! Did I just use the words 'sensuousness', 'sizzling' and 'hot' in the same sentence???
I sincerely try my best to emulate Simone de Beauvoir and Charlotte Brontë, but for some unfathomable reason, my thoughts keep taking a distinct Danielle Steele and Judith Krantz U-turn; V.C. Andrews might be a commendable authoress in her own right and genre, but I'd much rather my love stories hold, if only a pale resemblance to a Jane Austen novel.
WHOA!!! And, just for good measure: double whoa!!! How, when, where and why did Mr. Tangent over here become related to the terminology 'love story' in this seriously warped brain of mine??? Groan…
Why do I get the feeling that I have myself another Charlie Brown conundrum in my hands? And why exactly is it that I know that, just as Lucy will predictably withdraw the football right before kick-off, I won't know what hit me when all's said and done???
Groan…"
Kenshin stole a glimpse of her upturned face from the corner of his eye and decided that calling it quits for the day would probably, and much to his appeasement, wipe the frustrated frown she was sporting off her face in no time.
"So, in fact, the tangent of an obtuse angle is… more than enough information for us to call it a day, or am I mistaken?" he stated good-naturedly. And sure enough, there was that smile that he was coming to appreciate more and more by the minute…
"If I say that you couldn't be further away from the truth, will you hold me to it?" she teased affably.
"Unless you promise that splendorous smile of relief is solely reserved for the end of a study session and not for getting rid of me..." he mock-threatened, going along with the cordial, polite tone of their quaint little exchange.
"That could quite well be the easiest deal I've ever had to cut in my life!" she said, all spring showers and 'read between my lines' batting of eyelashes.
"Am I to assume that negotiation is not one of your favorite activities?" Kenshin hinted at a well known fact, considering the girl's 'my way or the highway' attitude.
"I'm seventeen: I leave negotiation up to the stiffs in suits."
"Not a big fan of lawyers, I take it."
"There are so many jokes that could serve as valid follow-ups to that sentence that I refrain from making further comments."
Both tutor and mentor laughed heartily at the expense of the judiciary system and the elder of the two had to recognize that the last thing he ever wanted her to do was close herself off and 'refrain from making further comments'.
It was odd, but it had been a while now since he had last felt such a great need to know what someone else thought about anything and everything.
They had been going at it for some time: plus signs and square roots interrupted by a few spaced out intervals of good-humored chit-chat. Her company proved to be quite enjoyable, but considering their little stroll at the beginning of the week, that should not have come as a surprise, and thus, he found himself falling victim to the time-old adage "thy own words will come back to haunt thee or, even worse, bite thee in the arse": why hadn't he asked her out on a real date? Why wouldn't he and why couldn't he?
Well, Sano's smug grin and 'I told you so' did sound like valid enough reasons, but somehow, he knew her smile could easily override every one and all of his defenses; no one had just ever thought to invent a Kaoru-proof vest and that was very unfortunate for those who wished to keep their distance from the world, as was his case.
It was inevitable though: she was so alive and witty and real… She was the light that would draw all moths, fireflies and butterflies to its flame, where they would be bound to give in to the heat and eventually consume themselves; she had a magnetic pull far to reminiscent of… no. No, that wasn't at all true, they were both completely different: Tomoe had never kindled such a warm hearth in her eyes, had never been such a breath of fresh air. Tomoe had never been as carefree, had never been as pure; Tomoe had never been that much unlike himself…
Now he remembered –he remembered all too clearly as it was- why dating Kaoru wasn't a possibility: years were not the only thing to keep them apart…
"So… you really do consider silence to be one of the world's greatest treasures, don't you?" the teenager asked after a prolonged bout of silence took over, a period wherein the redhead seemed to be a thousand light years from ground control.
"And you really have it in for lawyers." he amended all too quickly, pretending to not have ever zoned out or come into close contact with harsh truths.
Kaoru arched an eyebrow and grimaced: who did he think he was kidding? If only she could get a glimpse of that which went through that pretty little head of his and wipe it clear of the thoughts that, quite obviously, troubled him! He seriously was a disturbed individual and she had to wonder: what was it that she saw in him, again?
"Evasiveness is not a good color on you Kenshin, but I'm willing to let this one slide… for now." she supplied, sighing at his blank, wide-eyed, assumingly innocent stare, and decided that it really would be best to leave this type of constructive criticism pile up until the oncoming holidays when she could make certain suggestions for someone's list of New Year's resolutions. "Actually, at some point of my life, I considered becoming a tailor suited Ally Mcbeal, only… things change."
"I believe Darwin referred to it as evolution Kaoru." he punned, winking an eye at her to ease the airs of superiority right out of that sentence.
The reward he obtained in exchange for his quick wit was a suddenly all too shy young lady, chewing on her pencil, bravely fighting off the urge to melt into a puddle of mush at his feet.
Averting her eyes to an unexpectedly fascinating book cover, Kaoru gathered that maybe it didn't come down to what she had seen in him, but rather what she had heard from him: her name on the tip of his tongue was right up there with an aria of 'The Magical Flute'! Not that she had ever heard one note of Mozart's masterpiece before, but everyone seemed to think it was sound worthy of any gods' ears.
Not that she was polytheist, but sayings like that one usually dealt with the almighty Zeus and the rest of the inhabitants of Mount Olympus.
Not that she was all that well-versed in ancient Greek lore to know what kind of music would have been popular or heavenly enough for deities to begin with. Not that…
Her mind was in a jumble and she wasn't managing to sort through its entirely useless trivia and bring herself back to the real world, the one where conversations between two people sitting by themselves in a room should not be lost in translation, or a lack of telepathic abilities, for that matter.
Truth be told, it was rather a blessing in disguise that the man beside her couldn't read her thoughts, otherwise he would be made quite well aware of just how nervous he was making her.
Why did this virtual stranger have such a hold on her??? Just what exactly was going on?!!
"Kaoru?"
What was going on? Was he that boring? He knew he wasn't a very funny person, but he hadn't thought he was that bad at cracking a joke either! Her reaction, however, was beginning to make him wonder…
"Kaoru?"
"I don't know anything about you…"she muttered to herself, not really expecting him to pick up on her unconscious slip of the tongue.
"Sure you do!" he spoke up reassuringly, uncomfortably fidgeting in his seat: these situations rarely concluded on a light note, least of all with a happy ending…
"Not really," she said, vehemently shaking her head, wisps and tendrils of her silky hair coming loose from her ponytail at the sudden action, "I think I know more about Sanosuke than I do you: don't you find that strange?"
"He is more talkative than I am and what he doesn't want people to know, his girlfriend ends up making sure they find out." he justified, poker faced and unreadable.
"You make a good point: are you certain you never considered becoming an attorney?"
"When I was little I wanted to be either the ice-cream man or a fireman, but I think it's safe to say that, aside from that, an architect is pretty much all that I've always wanted to be."
"Well that's one mystery solved and now it all makes sense!"
"What makes sense?"
"The uncanny ability with numbers, for one. That, and all the weird cubic, circular and generally perfectly geometrically shaped whatchamacallits on your drawing table. Everything has finally come full circle!"
"My drawing table?" Kenshin was confused: how did she even know that he owned one? After all, they were sitting in the living area, and his good, old, reliable drawing table was in his… Oh right: Miss Kamiya's little ethyl induced sleepover! "That's right: I forgot you have been in my room before. I hope it wasn't too messy when you saw it."
Gawping and likewise sweat dropping, she had to ask herself: was he for real???
"Are you kidding me? I had to sneak a peek at the contents of your closet to figure out it wasn't a girl's room: you're tidier than my obsessive compulsive clean-freak of a mother!"
"I'm positive that's not-"
"Kenshin, you didn't have one single article of clothing or anything else lying around on the floor! There wasn't even a pair of shoes in sight, your books are systematically stacked from largest to smallest and you happen to own a houseplant which, I'm completely confident, Sano has seen time and again, but is likely unaware of its existence. This apartment is cleaner than the whole of my house, you cook, you study archi- architect- architecture…" Eyes widening, she stuttered and trailed off, mentally going over the list of things she had said and drawing disturbing conclusions. Let's see: what else did she know about her one and only bodyguard?
"You own at least one pair of Dockers, Sano and Megumi assume that breaking up with your girlfriend is what has you down, you… umh… you get creepily sentimental on park benches: Kenshin, is there something you're not telling me?"
By this point, the guy in question wasn't sure which was more appropriate, to be insulted or amused. To be fair, this was an eerily ironic turn of events: the dangerously attractive tutee that had him assuaging wave after wave of hormonal want was… doubting his virility.
If he were honest with himself, he would follow through on the impulse to kiss that misconception right out of her. Of course, if he were to be true to his self he would finally stop being the screwed up victim of Sod's Law that he was and he needn't be adding an identity crisis to an already decidedly perplexing set of circumstances or, rather, unvoiced allegations.
"I am clean. I'm organized. I am not a homosexual." he recited briskly, years of patience and learning to ignore his best friend's teasing the only things keeping him from growling in exasperation: maybe he should cut his hair off or something; if he wasn't being mistaken for a girl, he was being taken for the next Sir Elton John in an extravagant wig.
But he did so like his hair the way it was…
Relief and horror clashed within cerulean orbs: he was straight! He was straight and available and he liked girls, he liked 'LIKED' girls… and she had implied otherwise to his face. He was heterosexual and she was elated and… embarrassed as embarrassed can be.
"Oh really? Well… um… that's good to know! Not that if you had been it would have been an issue or anything! Of course, if you had been, I wouldn't be feeling like such a first-class idiot right now, given that my supposition would have been clearly justified and getting something like that out in the open would have helped us solidify our friendship and build up some sort of trust, but hey… looks like in the here and now, it really wasn't all that appropriate now, was it?
I'm sorry about that, I sincerely didn't mean to offend you or embarrass myself in the process; I may be many things, but masochist is not one of them and it is not, contrary to popular belief, my life's purpose to be rude and impudent, it just more often than not seems that way: I guess the foot in mouth syndrome tends to get the best of me, wouldn't you agree?
Kenshin, I truly am sorry: I know most straight guys have a weird thing against being wrongly taken for gay, but note that I had only the best of intentions at heart and that it never crossed my mind to offend you and that it would make me ever so happy if you decided to jump in at any point of my little soliloquy and assure me that you, in fact, don't hate me because I am devastatingly aware that I screwed up when things were going so well and we were acting so civil towards one another and I wasn't even on the brink of death and you weren't trading your regular clothes for anything spandex and a cape in a phone booth somewhere and really, at any moment that you feel like cutting in and stopping me, feel free to do so! I would have no qualms in that respect, considering that I'm like a train wreck when I get like this, and I should warn you that it doesn't get any better than this, it goes downhill and only grows worse with every passing word, every breath, every moronic thought, every-"
"Granted I didn't much care for your mix up and when you ramble it's difficult to make out what you mean to say, but, if it makes you feel any better, you wouldn't be the first person to suggest something of the sort and I'm fairly certain you won't be the last, so no, you didn't muck up as badly as you believe.
Besides, it's rather endearing, the way you start running out of breath but ignore it in favor of spouting more gibberish as a means of apology." Kenshin mercifully decided to 'jump in' and 'cut her off' as she had, at some point or another, wisely suggested.
Processing and digesting the politely, diplomatically laid out information wasn't that easy a feat and Kaoru could only assume that he had accepted her apology, complimented and insulted her, all in the space of two intelligent, condensed sentences.
Physical manifestation of these realizations: blink, blink.
Verbal exteriorization in accord with the aforementioned somatic reflex: "I'm… flattered?"
"And I am starting to get hungry: perhaps dinner would be in order?" he asked, lightening the mood.
"You've already done so much for me today that I'm not about to let you slave over a stove on my account! I could cook, although you would just probably end up with food poisoning…"
"Fine, then I propose we eat out."
"Oh… yeah… listen, this is a tad embarrassing but, do you remember the whole party thing and how I got grounded because of it?" Two little index fingers made contact as a sheepish expression overtook the planes of her face.
"I vaguely seem to recall…"
"Weeeell… funny thing: my allowance kind of got temporarily cut off and due to, mainly that and an unhealthy addiction to overpriced CD's, I am… relatively broke. So… as trying to my pride as coughing up the truth is, my wallet's collecting lint and keeping my mouth shut about it won't make a money tree sprout out and shoot up in my backyard like a magic beanstalk we have all heard of countless times. I really wish I could, but I can't accept your offer: no dough means no dough, both in the figurative and literal sense."
"Don't worry Kaoru: I wasn't going to let you pay all the same."
Now, did he really expect to have that sit well with our 21st century maiden?
"Oh. In that case… Hey, wait a sec! How come? We're friends and students who, believe it or not, don't get paid to learn stuff: Dutch's the only way to go!"
"How about we do it your way next time and settle for it being my treat this time around? You have no money, both our stomachs are growling, we're overworked and what kind of a gentleman would I be if, after extending a dinner invitation, I didn't pick up the check?"
Kenshin could not get over the fact that he had deemed himself overworked!
"Sano or any random guy at my school?"
Kaoru could not stop going over just the thought of a guy willingly paying a meal for two without any ulterior motives and a booty call being the predominant reasons for such a magnanimous act- even Kaz mooched off of her!
"Pack up your things while I leave a note for Sano on the fridge, 'kay?" he kindly beseeched, flashing her a warm smile before disappearing behind the kitchen counter.
Nice thing about lofts: unless your host slips off to his bedroom or rummages through the lower kitchen compartments for a short while, he is always within your line of sight and, to be honest, with certain people, you just don't want to miss a thing.
This Kenshin Himura, he truly was a piece of work: upstanding scholar, not the worst dresser she'd ever met, weirdly obsessed with hygiene, sometimes a human shield; what was there not to like? Oh, if she started counting, she would run out of fingers. Although…
Apparently having found what he was searching for, which seemed to be a yellow pad of post-its, the boy caught under her scrutinizing glare looked up from his hastily jotted message and locked eyes with her: for the space of a heartbeat, her little list of pros and cons was lost in the ebbing tide of a lilac ocean. Gracing Kaoru with a wink, he turned around and stuck the piece of paper on the refrigerator's cool surface.
Hoping against hope that she wasn't developing asthma, the girl struggled to catch her breath while waiting for a sudden bout of arrhythmia to pass.
Intent on regaining her composure, she was so inclined to stash her school material away when the phone rang and she absently craned her head towards the source.
Kenshin picked up the phone and paced towards his room, uttering a 'hello' that she barely made out. Her eyes silently followed his retreat, drinking up every aspect of him, the bunching of every muscle, every crease in his shirt, and every lock of his hair.
"I know next to nothing about you, but I feel…I feel dizzy and lightheaded around you. I don't really know you, but I can't stop thinking about you: is that okay?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Timing had never been his strong suit. Luck had rarely been on his side. Why should today, of all days, have been any different? Why should he have been spared when he, ultimately, didn't deserve it? So much for dinner…
It took Kenshin a few minutes to recover, minutes wherein he attempted to figure out what he would say once he stepped out of his room, wherein he uselessly sought out to rearrange his life and ponder over how exactly he could have done things differently.
Statistically speaking, every four out of five days he disliked his life; every one out of five days, he detested it beyond all reason.
"Tomoe, why now?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"How could I ask him? How could I tell him not to go after her? Do I own him? Do I even have a say in this? As a matter of fact, is it any of my business?
I hate having so many questions. I hate the bubbles in a champagne glass. I feel much more comfortable with exclamation points rather than with question marks. I refuse to be a question mark!
Don't look at me with those pleading eyes Kenshin! Don't look at me as if red traffic lights were flickering on and off in my eyes: I'm not a complete imbecile; I know what you have to do. Just please… don't ask me to say it, don't beg me to 'okay' it: I'm a girl for crying out loud! Don't you know anything about women? We need well-founded reasons to bicker and complain in the future; if I agree, how will I ever be able to hold this over your head? Why do you have to be so clueless?
Besides, we aren't dating, we haven't even kissed; heck, I don't belong to you and you most definitely don't belong to me: blessed with suffocating freedom are we!
After all, I just happened to bump into you one day on the street, wake up inexplicably in your bed with the worst hangover of all time and get rescued from a nasty hit-and-run incident before it came to pass thanks to your fantastic spider-man senses… or something.
The point is, fate seems to keep pushing us together in the most unlikely of circumstances… but who believes in destiny anyway?
Oh, stop being so silent already! Don't give me that look! I know this is something you have to do; I know you still aren't over her: so go already!
Do you really think I can stop you? What makes either one of us think that I would even want to?!! Ridiculous! Preposterous! Insulting!
*Sigh* He's still waiting for the green light, isn't he? …Alright already!"
"So… what are you waiting for?" Kaoru finally spoke up.
"Oro? What do you mean?"
"Well, she just called you from the airport; the least you could do is go pick her up."
"Really? The least I can do is… go pick her up? What about dinner though? You… are hungry… aren't you?" Kenshin stuttered doubtfully: he was standing her up to head off and meet up with his ex-girlfriend and she was taking it…well? Somehow, this new-found knowledge did not make him feel as good as it ought.
"Inward VERY LOUD groan: never met a denser guy, that's for sure! I guess there's no way I'm ever going to be able to use this against him… not that I ever had a choice to begin with, especially since Tomoe's back in the picture and… oh well: hope come goes, hope goes.
Now: for the fake, broad, cheery grin!"
"Of course it is! Don't mind me: there actually is food in my house, however odd that might sound. Go fetch her with a clear conscience: let it not be said that you let me starve to death."
"Excellent! Remind me to offer Misao free acting lessons any day!"
"I guess… it makes sense. We did break up solely because of her opportunity overseas, not because we grew to hate each other or anything, and I don't have a girlfriend that would be upset with me for volunteering to go get her, do I?" he rationalized, taking in sidelong glances of the high school senior that carried herself as if someone had just told her she was getting a new puppy instead of being abandoned in a swamp of oozing, confusing, unresolved emotional whatnots. Was she really okay with all of this?
"None that I know of!"
"Wow! For a minute there, I swear I almost had me fooled! Whatever… It's not like I care if he sees her again. It's not like if I ever thought we stood a chance.
Oh, so there's a 'we' now? Good one Kaoru: way to bury yourself deeper into that pint of Häagen Dazs tonight!"
Kenshin cleared his throat, still slightly unsure about all of this: from what he knew about girls and their ways, she was meant to be throwing a fit right about now, not acting all demure and happy for him.
Well, not that she shouldn't be happy because, really, they weren't even proper friends yet, let alone anything that would require going past that barrier of amiability. Still, he wished he felt half as happy as her smile proclaimed her to be…
"Well, if you really don't mind, then I suppose I could take a rain check for tonight…" he drawled suspiciously.
Had it only been his imagination, or had she practically face-faulted just then? No, she was still standing firmly before him, a lopsided smile spread taut across her face.
Maybe he should consider making an appointment with his ophthalmologist, as a preventive measure and what have you.
"Rain check it is then!"
"Okay then, though I insist that you let me drop you off at your house before I make ways for the airport."
"Actually… could we stop by the 7-Eleven?"
"Uh… sure. Is there anything in particular that you have to buy right now though, if you don't mind my asking…?"
"Oh, no, nothing in particular really, I just had a sudden craving for ice-cream and remembered that we're out of it at home."
The soon-to-be architect dug his car keys into his corduroy's back pocket and opened the apartment door to let the both of them out.
"You have quite a sweet-tooth, don't you?" he remarked innocently, giving her one of those rare, disarming smiles of his that made her feel all corny and sappy inside.
Kaoru giggled nervously and inconspicuously wiped the sweat off her brow.
"You could say that…"
Forget 'Strawberry Cheesecake'; moving on to a more hardcore flavor of ice-cream like 'Belgian Chocolate' was, officially, a must!
Goodbye Kenshin. Goodbye uneasiness. Hello depression. Hello giant mouthfuls of sugar. Hello endorphins!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Everything was such a mess. What was he supposed to say? Was there a proper greeting for this kind of thing?
Oh well, 'proper' had never been his way anyways; that said, 'proper' would just have to go right out the window.
He rang the doorbell and waited… impatiently, but he waited nonetheless: the guy deserved at least some credit.
The door flew open and he couldn't help but smirk: it felt so good to be right, even if the situation was entirely wrong to begin with…
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Everything was such a mess. What was he supposed to say? Was he meant to say anything at all?
Of all the things that could have come to pass, of all the things he could have endured, he wasn't sure that this he could handle.
The wheels were in motion, he was finally adapting or, at best, trying to adapt, but this new development was bound to put a whole shitload of things on hold and he wasn't necessarily feeling the love or coming round to appreciate this likelihood.
His feelings on this were not something he could guarantee: at the moment he felt all over the place and hesitant, perhaps even iffy.
She had always meant so much to him; she always would. Only…
Only for some undisclosed reason, there was a face he could not erase from his mind's eye, not right now. There was this strange, misfit of a girl that plagued his thoughts and turned his life upside-down in a cinch. There was this down-to-earth, open and very real girl that should not be but, for better or worse, was.
"Tomoe…" he whispered as he saw those haunting eyes and her slim figure drawing ever closer.
There was this woman, a tragically beautiful one that meant so much to him; that would always mean so much to him.
Everything was such a mess. What was he supposed to say? Where were the words?
"Kenshin…"
There was this girl, but in that split second there was only enough breath in his lungs for one woman.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The biggest question of all regarding human nature and affection would have to be: how many times shall the red string of fate be ignored?
As Oliver Wendell Holmes put it: "What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us".
Reviewer Responses:
To no time to waste: I'm sorry that on my last 'reviewer responses' segment I skipped you! It is only know that I noticed and I just wanted to make sure that you knew how valuable your reviews and words of encouragement are for me. Writer's block can be a major turn-off but a good review does away with that kind of thinking ASAP! Also, sorry for not updating as frequently as I should: it stresses me out as well.
To Nigihayami Haruko: Hey! No fair, really short review! ^_~ Just kidding! Every single little word is dearly appreciated and spices up my zest for cooking up a mean story. What is it with me and food analogies lately? @_@ Ah well, thanks for your review and till next time!
To Jade Dragon: Now you know who the mystery person is: I bet you're not too pleased about it either. ^_~ Okay, the deal is I'm not American so, where I come from and in all the different places I've studied, in high school they give us a science overload and, believe you me, it 'aint pretty: makes me glad that part of my life is over and I'm an university gal now! Thanks loads for your review, I'm happy to hear you're digging my story and I hope that you stay tuned, even if I've been wrongly taking a gazillion years to update lately. Bye!
To DownTheBlockFromFred: My loyal fan? Aaaaaaaaawwwww! That is so sweet! It makes me so happy and thrilled to hear someone say that! I hope you become a loyal reviewer too!!! I really am truly, very sorry about updating, but I think I've come to realize that sometimes I can be a really slow writer; I know that that is not a good thing and that it isn't fair to the wonderful people like you out there for me to write at a pace that could rival "Granny's mad drivin' skillz" but… I'll try to work on it really hard, 'kay? I hope you liked this chapter and know that the way to my heart lies in offering me cookies and saying that my writing is neat (which means you've already eased your way in). Thankies!!!
To Kakiyaku Mai: No sweat! I'm just a relatively –more like borderline- paranoid person and since I can be pretty sarcastic when I feel up to it, I tend to make the wrong assumptions a lot. Your French wasn't that bad: where did you learn it? My best friend only knows how to say "je suis unique, magnifique et fantastique": yes, she's conceited, but I still love her for it, or rather in spite of it! I hope you continue to review in spite of my misunderstanding, bye now!
To Aryanne: I think you will readily agree with me if I say that K + K made total idiots of themselves in this chapter. See: just the way you like it! ^_~ Let me just say that it is an honor for me to have you reviewing my story, simply because "Silver Cross" is one of my favorites on this site. I find that your writing style flows incredibly well and that your plotline is amazing. I know you weren't looking forward to having Tomoe making an appearance (I know most people weren't) but have no fear, for it is not what you think! Or at least I think it isn't… Anyhow, update your story soon and I'll work on trying to make my update spurts more regular. Thanks loads and keep on reviewing me!
To Misato-Katsuragi2: Be confuzzled no more, for the mystery character has at last been revealed!!! Tell me, did you see it coming? Some people did, most didn't. Personally, I didn't want to see it happen, but being the omniscient narrator and writer of this tale and all, I am somewhat to blame for… this mix-up that is going to come about and screw over our favorite couple's life! Stay tuned, ne? Thank you for always supporting me in my writing ventures, it means so much!
To VanyD: Your reviews can never EVER be too long! Can my chapters ever be too long (especially taking into account how long I take to update)? I doubt most of the readers would agree with that! Hahaha. I'm glad you think my story is funny: enjoy it while it lasts, because I plan on taking an angsty plunge although, knowing me, it will probably be a joy ride. I intend to keep this as lighthearted as I can, although some more serious themes will be explored in the future. Thank you for reviewing, keep telling me what you like and don't like about my story. I love that you called me on sometimes taking it too far: for me, honesty is always the best policy! Till the next update! ^_~
To missaw: Well… Tomoe was on the plane: how do you like THAT for a plot twist?!! Am I evil or what??? Okay, sorry I took so long to update and I apologize for turning this into a habit. I don't smoke, but I update very, very sporadically: I don't know if I took up smoking which would be the bigger crime; I'm guessing it would be somewhere near a tie. Thank you for your constant encouragement; it's my light at the end of the tunnel. Bye bye!
To EnjeruJoshin: You should have bet money because you would be a millionaire since you guessed right: everyone, say hello to Tomoe! I can picture it now: everyone hunting me down for adding in one of the most misunderstood characters of anime into the mix. Oh well kiddoes, that's the way the cookie crumbles! I hope I can make her addition into something that ends up being enjoyable for all, lord knows I have only the best of intentions in mind! Or so I say… *snickers evilly*. You know, your reviews never fail to touch me. It is incredibly humbling and beautiful for me to hear that something I write can put someone else in considerably long lasting good mood! You are one of the bestest reviewers in the whole wide world!!! With those words, I do take my leave.
Show's over peeps… for now anyway! Tune in next time to find out what happens now that a certain 'someone' has come back to haunt us all… Tchauzinho!