NOTE: Again, I'm sorry about that last chapter…if you can CALL it that…. Hope you enjoy this one though!

Oh my gosh, I'm SOOO sorry for the SUPER-SEVEN-MONTH-LATE update! AHHHH. Really, I am! This makes me feel AWFUL. But I just haven't had the urge at ALL to write this! But lo! Now, I'm going to get it done and over with! I hope you enjoy it…. That may be the only thing that keeps me going. Enjoy! (PS: -This note was back from…well, seven months from the time I updated and actually thought I'd finish. This is the most recent note right here, this PS thing. Check out the ending note for a more recent update.) Still, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 24:

The Cruise Begins!

July 22

"Today's the day; today's the day!" Serenity happily chanted to herself as she pranced down the steps with her luggage at exactly six o' clock in the morning. Her face radiated happiness, reflected by the bright smile on her face, and she was peppier than she had been since she and her friends had left for their vacation.

Serenity looked about the lounge, finding something terribly wrong. …Where is everybody?

The silence of the first floor was almost deafening. She slowly climbed back up the stairs and peered down towards both ends of the hallway. The cracks under the doors signified that every room was dark.

Is no one even up yet?

Serenity sighed heavily. They had to be at the docks by nine o' clock! Three hours to go, and they needed at least forty-five minutes to get there!

There was only one thing to do at a time like this.

She was going to take a leaf out of her eighth grade teacher's book. The leaf that had been used on the class trip to Kyoto….

Seto jolted out of bed and barely caught himself before he fell to the floor. In a mess of covers, he desperately tried to untangle himself from them without falling over the side of the bed. Once accomplished, he stomped over to his door, wrenched it open and cried out, "Who in the BLAZES is playing that crap so loudly?!"

Obviously, he was not the only one with this thought in mind.

Nearly every door down the hallway was open, and all occupants had jutted their heads out.

Serenity paused the heavy-metal rock music on the blaring stereo and picked up the megaphone she had found lying around. "Rise and shine people!" she all but screamed into it. "We have approximately two hours before we need to leave! Chop chop! …That will be all." She clicked off the microphone and turned off the stereo.

Joey groaned and yelled at her as she passed, "Sis! It's flippen six AM! Why didja wake us up so gosh darn early?"

"Like I said: we have to get moving!"

Ryou opened up his door and exited, carrying his luggage to the stairs. He was fully dressed and rearing to go. "I heard your wake up call, Ren. Nice touch," he laughed.

Serenity smiled back. Tea walked out of the bathroom at the end of the hall, drying her hair. "Well, glad I'm not the only one up and ready."

"How do you people not understand the concept of sleeping in?" Mai groaned, leaning against the door and closing her eyes.

"Take a nap in the car on the way to the docks," Serenity answered, flipping her hair. She walked past Mai with an uncaring look on her face. "I will not be late for my own prize."

Mai shook her head, "I think I might have influenced her just a little too much."

"Alright, are we all here then?" Serenity bounced about the group, counting heads. "…Eight…nine…. …Where's Ten?"

"I have a name, ya know!" Joey staggered as he kicked open the front door to the beach house and hopped on one foot outside. He held bags upon bags of all his junk, which threatened to spill over his arms as he wobbled on one leg. He kept the door open as he hopped backwards. "Almost der…just another step I think…."

"Joey, watch out!" Mai shouted, starting to run for him. Joey leaped back once and suddenly toppled off the concrete step. He twisted around as he tried to steady himself, but the shift in weight just caused him to fall faster. He swerved and landed on the sand right next to the concrete. He lay there for a moment, tightly clutching his suitcase and breathing hard. Dat…was…a close one. He tapped his left foot on the concrete. He had just barely missed breaking his nose and scraping most of the skin off his face.

"Joey! Oh my God, are you okay?" Mai clucked kneeling down by him. Tristan came over and pried the suitcase from Joey's arms. "Can you stand up?" his girlfriend asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Joey answered. "O' course. Whaddya take me fo-OW!" he shouted as he applied pressure to his right foot. He sagged immediately and Tristan and Ryou each jumped over to pull him back up. They put one of his arms over their shoulders and held him up. "Aw God," Joey hissed. "Sumthin's wrong wit' my ankle."

Yugi knelt down and examined it. He grimaced. "Serenity, go get some ice. It's swelling up badly. Sorry Joey, but I think you sprained your ankle."

"No way! Just when we were about to leave too!" Joey hung his head. "Aw man. Guess I won't be going aft'a all…."

"Umm…don't mind me, but wouldn't it be easy to just get him to a doctor and have him wrap it up? He ought to be fine after that. Sprains aren't the end of the world," Mokuba put forth. "Now breaking it would be another story…."

"Lucky for you, it's only a sprain," Dr. Masu explained as he tightly wrapped Joey's ankle. "And it's a good thing you came here immediately." Joey winced as the man handled his torn appendage.

"Will I be able ta go on a cruise?"

"I don't see why not," the doctor answered. "You'll be sitting around most of the time, right? It's not like you'll be hiking or anything. I'd say you're fine." He clipped on the bandage and handing the blonde a large icepack. "There. I'll give you three of them to keep with you. You've got some good friends there, Joey. I can see they care about you a lot. I'll go grab a couple to help you out of here, okay?"

"Thanks, Doc." The doctor nodded and began to head out. Suddenly, Joey thought of something. "Oh hey, wait! …How much is dis little visit gonna cost?" I hope I can afford dis….

Dr. Masu smiled. "It's already been taken care of, Mr. Wheeler."

"Say wha'?!"

"As I said, you've got some great friends there, Joe. Now hold on just a second."

Joey stared at his ankle as the doctor went to fetch two comrades.

"Who paid for my visit?!" Joey exclaimed, jumping up in the car.

"Joey, sit down!" Duke scolded, pulling him back into his seat. Joey rubbed his neck where the seat beat had dug into it.

"Kaiba did," Yugi explained as he drove along. "We were all going to pitch in for it, but he just whipped out his credit card and thought we were all stupid for trying to "divide up such a meager amount of money." Honestly, it was a very kind gesture, but he didn't have to be so snotty about it," Yugi frowned.

Joey put his head in his hands. "Ah! My life is ruined! I'm in debt to my arch enemy!"

"Oh come on," Tristan laughed, patting Joey's head like he would a dog. "How can you say he's your arch enemy? You're almost family now."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Joey snapped. "His broth'a and my sist'a are ONLY dating. ONLY. God forbid dey do anythin' else, lest I rip dem apart wit' my own two hands!" He stopped and suddenly found great interest in Tristan's face. Tristan frowned.

"What? Do I have an unsightly zit or something?"

"Nah…. I'm just wonderin'. It always seemed like you were really ont'a my sis. What happened? You're…okay wit' dis relationship?"

Tristan shrugged. "I've learned to live with it. I've seen how much they like…love…each other. I know I'd be no match then. I respect her choice, and I've decided to move on with my life. After all, there are plenty of other fish in the sea."

"Like that Miho Nosaka girl," Duke muttered to himself. "Hmm…I'll have to see if she's busy at all once we get back.

"You keep your filthy hands off her, Devlin! She's mine!"

"Says who?"

"Says me! I knew her first!"

"So? Who says she likes you better?"

"Are you kidding? She's practically expressed her love to me on a number of occasions!"

"Oh yeah? When? Prove it!"

Yugi sighed, glancing into the rear view mirror at Joey. Joey gave a sympathetic nod. The next ten minutes of the drive would be anything but peaceful.

"I'm so sorry we're late!" Serenity bowed repeatedly to the chief of the entire contest.

"Again, it's quite alright! We understand. Your brother needed a doctor. Completely acceptable. Don't worry, we still have plenty of time. We asked you here so early so that we could allow for some lay time, just to make sure. Now, if you could direct your friends to put all your luggage over there, I'll have my men take care of it. And if you would just bring them this way, we need to get all of your pictures taken. For identification and the press, you know."

"Oh. Alright, of course." Serenity ran back to her friends and did as she was instructed. She led them over to where the executive had directed them.

The chief stood behind a counter which had eleven slips of paper laid out upon it. "Now then. I need you all to fill out these forms. Liability claims and all, you understand. And once you're finished, if you would come into this back room, we'll take your photo. I'll be waiting in the anteroom off that to explain the situation to you. See you there." He left quickly. Another executive came in to take his place as the receiver of the paper forms.

Seto was the first one complete. He signaled the man over to his end of the counter and handed the slip of paper to him. The executive looked it over. Seto frowned. The man looked as if he had just swallowed something living, and it was flipping around in his stomach.

"M-Mr. Kaiba? Well, what a p-pleasure it is to h-have you here. If you would j-just step this way please, and get your picture taken." He put on a twitching smile.

Seto narrowed his eyes at the man, but ignored him. He was probably just surprised that he was one of the ones who was coming along on this venture.

He entered the photo room and took his seat on the stool that sat in the center under a couple lights. The photographer was fixing up his equipment.

"I'll need to see some identification if you're over fifteen," he announced casually. Seto rolled his eyes but took out his license. The man glanced at the picture, then turned up to look at his face. He nodded, seeming pleased. "Sit down then, sir. We'll have this done in all of two seconds." Seto sat down, highly used to portraits.

"Smile," the man sighed tiredly. He clicked the flash button. "Thank you. You can go." Seto left the room immediately for the next. The photographer looked at the picture on screen. "Yeah. I didn't think he'd smile."

Seto walked into a room lit only by a large, white screen. "Take a seat, Mr. Kaiba. Any will do. It shouldn't be long until your friends arrive." Seto didn't bother to take the time to point out that the other were most certainly not his friends. Nevertheless, he sat down and relaxed. The chairs were certainly fashioned interestingly. The headrests curved to make a U, blocking out his peripheral vision. The seat leaned back somewhat alarmingly, but he was still comfortable and able to see the screen. Well, he figured he almost liked these chairs. They were oddly relaxed, but also somewhat familiar.

Within five minutes, the other ten had arrived and seated themselves within the room. The chief closed the door and walked to the front of the room. "Welcome, esteemed guests. I'm Mike Mehon, chief executive of this contest. I'm glad you all could be here, and I know you're just itching to start your cruise around the Pacific. However, I must first show you this quick video concerning safety and evacuation procedures, in the event that something devastating occurs. Just relax. The lights will go off for about thirty seconds before the film begins. Just sit tight." He left and walked to the back of the room and out a back door. Immediately, the screen went dark. Seto waited, thoroughly enjoying the bit or relaxation he was getting. There was little chance he would get any rest on the cruise. He was still around the geeks, wasn't he?

Seto's head snapped up. That was strange. It almost felt like he had dosed off. Weird. He hadn't felt that tired. Ah, no biggie. What was he missing anyway?

Then, he screen came on again, portraying the contest title and the cruise ship in the background.

"Now, before we begin on this extravagant cruise, there are some rules that must be laid out and some precautions that must be taken." Seto sighed. Hadn't they been over this type of video since sixth grade? Honestly, it was degrading.

Rebekah groaned as her head further slumped down onto a pillow on the Muto's small sofa. Her finger lazily pressed the channel up button on the remote that sat on the side of her hip. Her eyes glossed over as she lay there, watching meaningless channels flick past. So much for after-dinner television.

"I am soo bored," she sighed. "Why couldn't I go on vacation with dear Yugi and the others? I'm wasting my entire vacation here! …And darn it, there's nothing on television!" She let her hand fall limply from where it had been resting on her side. She leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling. In the background, the channel she had landed on continued to play.

"The all new reality show, Survival of the Fittest is up next. Stay tuned." Rebekah closed her eyes. Great. Another meaningless reality show. What's the point? It'll get down to the hottest chick or guy as everyone else is voted off the island, and bam. There you go. It should be survival of the Prettiest. That's how rigged these things are.

Pulling her head back up, she picked up the remote, ready to switch off the TV and head off to wallow in Yugi's room.

Her hand suddenly froze.

"MR. MUTO! GET A RECORDING TAPE – QUICKLY!!"

"Rebekah!" Professor Hawkins ran into the room, startled by her yelling. "What's wrong?"

"Where's Mr. Muto? We need a tape or a DVD or something! TiVO – anything! We just need to record this!"

"Why, darling?"

Mr. Muto suddenly skidded in, holding the requested tape. "You called, Rebekah?"

"Gimme that!" Rebekah vaulted over the couch, snatching it rudely from the elder's hands.

"Rebekah!" the professor scolded. "Apologize this instant!"

"Sorry, Mr. Muto. But just look!" She shoved in the tape and pressed the record button immediately. "Look, look, look!" she pointed stubbornly at the screen.

"Oh my heavens!" Professor Hawkins gaped. "What's going on?" He looked over at his colleague.

Solomon Muto was scratching his head. "Heck if I know."

"Ah, this is the life," Tristan smiled languidly as he slid onto a bar stool next to Duke, who was busy sipping sparkling grape juice. "Just us having fun."

"My turn?" Duke inquired, taking the billiard stick from Tristan. The brunette just nodded and let his head hang back as Duke went to take his shot.

"You two seem like good friends," the bartender stated in a Filipino accent, cleaning a glass.

"I s'ppose," Tristan answered. "But he's always getting in my way. 'Specially with the ladies."

"Oh? You have a special girl in mind?" he continued nonchalantly.

Tristan shrugged. "In all truth, we were chasing the red-head over there," he pointed to one of the tables, indicating Serenity, "but she's gone and hooked herself up with him," Tristan answered, pointing now to Mokuba.

"I see. And you are hurt by this?"

"I think I'm getting over it." Why was he spilling out his guts to some random bartender? Ah, what did it matter? He was a nice guy. He wouldn't even see the man again after the cruise, so who cared?

"Gettin' ov'a what?" Joey suddenly plopped down on the seat next to Tristan. Mai slid in the seat next to him.

"None of your business," Tristan put his nose in the air.

"Serenity," Mai whispered in her boyfriend's ear. He nodded, happy. Of course, Tristan's getting over Serenity still didn't make up for her going out with Mokuba Kaiba (of all people!), but it helped to mollify the pain in Joey's heart.

Tristan just glared at Mai, unhappy with her tattling ways. "Why don't you tell the whole world why you're at it?"

"Tristan, your feelings are as plain as day," Mai retorted hotly. "Besides, you seem to be getting over her quite nicely. I'm pretty sure I overheard you and Dice-boy over there talking about some Miho character?"

"Miho?" Joey sat up from his slouched position immediately. He spun around to face his so-called best friend. "Miho? The Nosaka girl? What's this? Ya think ya can dump your feelin's for ma sista' dat quick? Outrageous! If you had had any real feelin's fer Ren, den you'd be cryin' in a corna' – not plannin' your next move on innocent little Miho! Why I outta-…how dare ya play wit' Ren's feelin's like dat!"

"Playing with her feelings?" Tristan sat up. "She was toying with mine! Making all those friendly advances when really she was crushing on Mokuba the whole time!"

"What friendly advances?!"

"Are dey like this all de time?" the Filipino leaned over the bar and whispered to Mai.

"You know it. It just shows how much they care for each other. No other pair could fight as they do and still be friends. It's insane…in a cool kinda way." The man just nodded silently.

Mai listened to the two bicker for a couple more minutes, just sipping on her drink and snickering sometimes when funny comments were passed. She let her eyes linger over the scene in the party room. Duke was still standing with Ryou and Yugi at the billiard table. Mokuba, Serenity, and Noa were enjoying a quick meal at a table in the corner. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, looking for the two she really wanted to spy on.

Mai snapped. "Shucks. What are they doing, sitting on opposite sides of the room?"

"Who now?" the bartender asked.

Mai pointed to Téa and Seto each. "Them. That's Kaiba, as I'm sure you're deduced. Always got his nose in a book. I swear, the guy doesn't know how to enjoy a beach vacation. Or a cruise for that matter. And then there's Téa. She likes to keep to herself sometimes and is the most modest person I know. Honestly, it can be sickening sometimes. In truth," she lowered her voice, "Serenity and I have been trying to get them together. We think there may be some possible chemistry there." The bartender nodded his head knowingly. "But that hush-hush, okay?"

"Here you are miss. One sweetened lemonade." A cute little waitress brought over a glass of pink beverage to Téa, who looked up from the billiard game in surprise. "What? But I didn't order anything."

"Oh, that's right. This was a compliment."

Téa furrowed her brows in confusion. "From whom?"

The waitress smiled and put her hands behind her back. "I'm not supposed to tell."

"Oh, please?"

The bouncy girl put a finger to her chin and said, "Well…if you tell me some stuff about all your friends here, I'll tell you, okay?"

"What kind of stuff?" Téa inquired, confused thoroughly.

The waitress slid into the opposite site, pigtails bouncing excitedly. "Oh, I'm a typical girl. Give me the juicy romance details! Please? Even though it may be kinda private…life is just so boring on boats! All I do all day is serve drinks and food. I want to know that, even if my life isn't spiced up, maybe some other peoples' are! You know?"

"I suppose," Téa replied. "Well, what can I say? Umm…the blondes over there are going out."

"Are they serious about each other?"

"Super-serious, I'd say," Téa grinned. "They've been known to have some…hot encounters." The other girl squealed excitedly.

"See? This is exactly what I was talking about!"

Téa could not help the laugh that escaped her. "And let's see…Mokuba and Serenity are going out – they're over there. It was a huge shock to their brothers to find out. Joey was in hysterics, because he's so overprotective and absolutely hates Mokuba's brother, Seto. And the feeling is mutual."

"I see. And what about the little green-haired boy?"

"Noa? Ah, I really don't think he's too interested in anyone. Same as his brother, for that matter." Téa rolled her eyes. The waitress gave her a sidelong look.

"And what about the billiard boys?"

"Well, Duke and Tristan were trying to each hook up with Serenity before she was taken. They're always fighting with each other over something or other. I bet they'll fight over their next girl too. Yugi, well…I don't know. Sometimes I wonder – this may be a bit presumptuous, but sometimes it seems like he kind of likes me…but I try not to ponder too much on that."

"Why not?" the girl replied, astonished.

Téa shrugged. "He's not for me."

"Then who is?" the brunette girl smirked. "Perhaps the white-haired hottie over there?"

"Ryou?"

"Or how 'bout sexy Kaiba on the other side of the room?"

"Okay, this is going too far," Téa frowned. "I'm not talking about this." The girl smiled.

"Jackpot," she whispered. "Well, thanks so much for brightening my day." She stood up, beaming a little too brightly. "Lovely chat. And I'll hold up my end of the bargain. Sunshine over there sent you the drink. And yes, I'm positive it was him. Asked for the sugar sweetener and everything, since he said you liked that best. Seems Seto Kaiba knows you more than you think," she giggled, winking. And she was promptly off back to the kitchens.

Téa just blinked and looked over in Seto's direction. She gasped as their eyes met over the top of his book before he resumed his read. Téa turned away quickly and took a sip of the lemonade.

That had by far been the weirdest chat she had had in…well, days.

"Mmm…gigantic doughnut! Mine…mine…mine…mi-HYA!" Joey flailed as he broke through the barrio of consciousness and woke up to find himself soaring through the air. With a giant thud, he face-planted on the wooden floor of the bedroom of his cruise suite.

"Joey, doll, you okay?" Mai leaned over the bed edge.

"Ow…yeah…I'll be fine," Joey hissed, rubbing his nose. He hissed as be brought his twisted ankle out from underneath him. "What was dat?"

"The boat just lurched terribly," Mai explained, getting out of bed and turning on a light. She ran over to her suitcase and put on her robe. "What's going on I wonder?" She went over to the door that led to the deck of the ship and pressed down on the handle. It flung back and Mai fell backwards onto the hard floor.

"Mai!" Joey called out, rushing over to her. He slipped suddenly on the slick floor as rain pelted in through the doorway and wet everything.

"What the heck is going on?" Mai shouted above the roaring wind.

Joey grunted as he heaved himself up and pulled himself out the doorway. He braced himself against the wind and rain and staggered out onto the deck.

"Joey, don't! Get back inside!" Mai shouted at him. "JOEY!"

But Joey didn't listen. He went to the railing of the deck and peered out across the sea. By what he could see from the storm lanterns, the sea was a frothing mass of churning water. Dark waves crashed against the ship, threatening to topple it any second. Lightning flashed through the sky and thunder rumbled constantly, almost like a continuous drumbeat.

Joey had seen enough. He turned around, letting go of the railing to head back to the room.

Suddenly, from the other side of the boat, a great torrent of water pounded against the side of the cruise liner, sending it tilting over dangerously.

Joey felt his bare feet slip from the safety of the deck and fall away. He felt the bars of the railing hit his back and leave bruises as he flipped right over them.

"Joey, NO!" Mai screamed as she saw him fall away. She let go of the doorframe and slid across the floor, hitting the bars just as the ship righted itself. "JOEY, NO!! Oh my GOD!! Somebody help! Joey went overboard! HELP!" Mai ran across the deck, tripping over her feet and skidding across the water. "HELP!" A door suddenly flew open and a head of spiky hair came rushing out.

"Yugi! Joey's gone overboard!" Mai screamed frantically.

"Don't worry! I'll get him!"

"Yugi, no!"

"I've done this before!" Yugi shouted against the wind, jumping form the railing and into the sea.

"YUGI!" Mai cried out, leaning over the railing. "NO! THIS ISN'T DUELIST KINGDOM! YOU'LL BE KILLED!"

Not that her shouting could help him now anyway.

"Mai what's wrong?" Serenity's voice cut through the wind.

Mai turned around. "Serenity-" Mai abruptly screamed as she saw the young girl fly towards her and smack right into her. The ship decided to lean at that second, just a bit, but with Serenity's extra force, the two toppled over the side and flew through the air, crashing into the chilly sea below.

"Lifeboats! Somebody get the lifeboats! We have people overboard!" Téa ran along the hallways, trying to find someone who would help the friends she saw fall off the ship. "Somebody, please help!" Where is everybody? She reached the captain's quarters and pounded on the door. "Captain! Men overboard! Captain!" She pounded for half a minute, but no one answered.

"Téa?" Ryou suddenly appeared, running down the hallway. "What's all this about someone overboard?"

"Help me Ryou! We have to find the lifeboats fast and send them down! Mai and Serenity fell overboard!"

"Good God!" Ryou cried out. "This way then! I remember seeing them around here!" He led her to the double doors which brought them to the lower deck of the ship. They slipped across the slick floors to a patch of dark shadows. "This is it!" Ryou cried out. "Now how do we get them down?"

"How should I know?"

"Help me with these levers. Or are you just gonna stand there all day?"

"Kaiba?"

"Hurry up!"

Ryou and Téa overcame their surprise and quickly got to work figuring out how they were to lower the lifeboat.

"I'll get in and see if I can find them," Ryou offered, climbing into the boat.

"But Ryou-" Téa started.

"You may need help," Seto grunted, climbing in. "You can handle the lever, Téa. Just crank it and put once we're out far enough."

"Alright," she gasped, running over to the levers. She pushed against them with all her might, trying to make them budge. The crank turned just a bit, sending the two boys out a little further over the edge of the ship.

"Just a bit further, Téa!" Ryou called out. Téa shoved harder, straining her muscles more than she had ever done.

"Perfect!"

Téa immediately threw herself against the release lever, trying to release it. Again, the cruise ship lurched, sending her full weight against it. She slid off the lever and into the boat, mercifully landing atop her friends. A rush of water rose over the decks, washing across them. The surge hit barrels and boxes and flew off the other end of the ship, soaking the three in the tiny boat. The power behind the wave gave the lever the last push it needed, and the brakes unlatched, sending the small lifeboat hurdling toward the sea. Téa screamed, and felt someone wrap their arms around her to protect her.

The next thing she felt was the rush of water that came up to claim her as the floor of the boat cracked in two and she slid down between the halves. The arms were still around her, and she kicked and swam her hardest to resurface, just as he was.

But the drop had been too great, and Téa had not had enough time to take a large enough breath after screaming.

Her eyes closed and she felt a choking sensation on her throat.

A coldness suddenly hit her face, and she fell unconscious.

Alright, so I have a MAJOR apology coming this way. Over a YEAR since I last updated. That is just pathetic. Yes, I know. And I really have no excuse except for my utter lack of inspiration and laziness. And some busy school work, yes, but still. My gosh. This is awful. It makes me feel awful! And I didn't even give you guys a great chapter after such a long wait. I've had the pre-cruise part of this chapter done for the longest time. The cruise was just too difficult. But the next part shouldn't be as hard. I hope. It should actually be more fun.

And sorry I was too lazy to give more accounts of the storm, besides just a little over half the gang's views. Honestly, who wants to hear how many times people fell off the side of the boat? Whatever.

So, I'm not going to promise anything, but I HOPE to have this out WAY before another year! Again, I am SOOO sorry for the wait! As I said, it's pathetic. But I hope you'll still PLEASE REVIEW! You know they make me happy and make me want to update more. :-D

PSS: Just a bit of propaganda here. Um, I understand that people will read what they will and that I'm so slow now that barely anyone pays attention to me anymore…but if ANY of you like Naruto and have not happened to read my latest Naruto one-shot (Deceitful Lies, Truthful Eyes), could you maybe please read it? Honestly, I was kind of disappointed with the amount of responses it received. It was a bit of a bummer. Or feel free to ignore this note. Either way. I won't beg. I don't like begging.

PSSS: This might/could/would have been up a day ago, if my internet hadn't been screwy and I hadn't been lazy. Sorry again for the MAJOR delay! Much love to those who are still reading this!