Yep, I'm slow, I know. I really should've had this up like...two days ago, but whatever. It's a little shorter in word count than the previous one, but it still came out to the same number of pages. And I've come to notice that most of the beginning of my story is having an angst-fest. Huh. Well, I guess the beginning is bound to be like that. I tried to lighten it up at the end. It'll get better from now on, I promise. Until then though, for those of you angst lovers, here is a present for you.
Oh, and yes, Momo is in this story. Many aren't going to be happy with this, and many probably won't like my version of her. However, this is how I preceive the situation in the future as something that could possibly-but probably not-happen. She can be not psycho if she put her mind to it, I think. The story isn't based on her anyway, although she will be in it. This is mostly Shunsui x Nanao.
Oh my goodness. Nobody knows how much I look up. Holy cow. Between the manga and anime, I did use some phrases. Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them. Woo, with that, I'm done rambling. Read on, my friends.
Oh, one more thing, to Satsuki, since I couldn't respond personally: Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing from you.
Good, not good? Let me know.
-KG--
Epic Two: Old And New Wounds
Momo was almost to the Tenth Division when she lost the spring in her step, frowning in thought. Coming here always puzzled her, so lately she hadn't visited at all. It didn't used to be like that, and she frowned deeper knowing the reason behind it all. It wouldn't be so bad or so different, but she didn't know how she was supposed to act anymore.
She wasn't dumb enough to not see that they were wary around her. She knew that they had every right to be, judging from her actions in the past, but it didn't stop the feeling from hurting just a little bit. Still, it bothered her that they acted like she would have a nervous breakdown if they so much as mentioned his name.
She also knew that they had some of a right to think this too. Once upon a time she did exactly that, but it was before everyone realized what was going on. She was different now.
The wound was still sore, true, but she wasn't going to lose it now that she finally got some of her composure back. She owed her Division that much, if nothing else.
She slowed her steps further as she reached the door to the office, still stuck on the question in her mind. She didn't think she could act like nothing happened. Going back to the way things were didn't seem like a pliable option from the present, but one could always hope. She thought that eventually they might be able to go back that way, once everything was finally over. For now though, she would have to find something else that worked.
She stopped feet from the room she needed to enter, a sense of nervousness coming over her. She always started to feel self-conscious around all of her old friends now. She wanted to talk to them like she used to, when she could tell them anything and trust that it wouldn't go any farther than that. These were friends that she knew for years on end, back when she had just started out as a soul reaper. Those days were gone though, and in their place was a dark world of gloom.
One that I helped inflict.
It wasn't all her fault, she knew. She wouldn't have been able to stop her captain and the others if she tried. She knew that. This current state of things between her and her friends, however, was her fault. She always wanted to say something, but whenever the opportunity arose, she could never bring herself to say anything. She wanted to say she was sorry for everything. She figured that words couldn't describe everything she felt anyway, but she wanted to try sooner or later.
It was the least she could do.
She hadn't completely come to terms. She didn't think that she would totally be alright with the whole situation for a long time. She did face the facts though, when she was alone. She had struggled with it, and she still struggled occasionally, but she did it. No one needed to know though. She doubted much would change if they did. The mistrust would still be there, and she didn't blame anyone for it.
That was one of the reasons why she had tried to work so hard lately. It was easier to put aside some things if you were extremely busy. She faintly wondered if that's why her childhood friend always worked so hard. She knew that he probably had a lot on his mind as well.
The topic of work brought her mind back on task, remembering why she came here in the first place. It saddened her a little knowing that this was now the only reason why any of them interacted with each other. Straightening up some, she promised to herself that one day she would try to make it up to them.
She raised a shaking hand up to the door to knock softly twice. She waited for a few moments before she heard a shuffling of papers and a voice carrying to the door.
"Enter."
She recognized his voice immediately. It sounded strained, so she told herself that she wouldn't take up any more time than was necessary so she could leave him in peace. Now that she thought about it, it seemed that there was a colder aura around the office. If he wasn't in a good mood, it was all the more reason for her to hurry so she wouldn't be bothering him.
She slid the door open as quietly as she could and stepped inside, moving into a slight bow before she began to speak.
"Good morning, Captain Hitsugaya. I have some paperwork for you today." Her voice was soft and almost sullen, nothing like the cheery mood she had shown Nanao earlier. She rose up as she finished speaking, meeting his turquoise gaze as she did so.
"Momo?"
She wasn't sure what he was asking, but she supposed it might be a whole lot of things rolled into one. It could be, 'what are you doing here so early', a surprised 'what did you call me', or even an 'I hardly recognize you'. Instead of asking him about it, she plastered the best smile she could on her face, attempting to upset whatever feeling had drifted over the office. It was fake, but it would have to do. She just hoped that he wouldn't be able to tell.
"I'll just leave this here for you and let you get back to work."
She stepped closer to set the stack of papers on the edge of his desk before stepping back a few steps. She bowed again slightly before advancing towards the door. She was uncomfortable as she'd ever been, and it struck a cord within her that she didn't know how to act around her own friends. Things had changed in them without her noticing, and she was a bit ashamed she missed out on it.
She didn't get far before his voice brought her back, and she had to scold herself from the shiver that it sent through her. She did not want to think about that right now.
"Momo."
She stopped when she heard the soft tenor of his voice. It made him seem much older than he was, or maybe that he knew much beyond his years. She supposed he did, despite the fact that he was younger than all the other captains. He had been through his fair share of hardships. She had been through some of the same ones too.
She looked back at him and caught the glimpse of the feeling in his eyes. His face remained stoic like usual, but she caught the emotion within the troubled aquamarine.
"Is everything alright?"
It was soft, and it was hard for her not to think of the memories it brought up. The same smooth tone was used when they were littler, although his voice had been slightly different back then. Still, it held the same soothing quality. It was just like the times when she would wake up from a terrible nightmare and he was the only one to console her.
She smiled a little at him, hoping to reassure him. He could probably tell it was sad, but she couldn't help it when those memories seemed so far out. It was something that she could never have again.
"Everything's fine, Shiro."
She turned then, traveling from the office without looking back. She didn't stay to see the look on his face, but she hoped that use of an old nickname helped to ease his mind a little bit. She saw all she needed to see anyway.
He wore the same face as when he thought about the traitors. The only difference now was that she was the one on his mind.
-Secrets Of The Scorned-
Nanao opened the door to a still and darkened office. She peered around carefully, searching for any traces of slumbering pink in the shadows. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary and no added objects, she thought herself safe to assume that her captain was able to get himself home after drinking last night. She could recall the many days where she arrived to discover the clump of pink curled up on the couch. Those many times were nights he didn't go home.
The task usually fell upon herself, but she had some errands to run the previous evening and finished up early. Captain Kyouraku had wanted to accompany her of course, spouting something about chivalry and defenseless maidens to which she snorted. She had put a damper on that idea by telling him she would go nowhere with him so long as he was inebriated.
He had whined so much after that she ended up having to promise to bring him along next time. Only then did he get that stupid grin on his face and stop badgering her, returning to his late night indulgence.
She sighed out loud at the recollection. Sometimes that man was impossible. How the simplest of things contented him she would never know.
She slid the door shut quietly behind her and traveled to her desk, spying the neat stack of papers sitting on the corner of it. She didn't know how early the deliverers got up, but they always beat her here. She thought that perhaps they did it during the night, but there had been far too many nights where she had stayed later than anyone ever should. She never ran into any messengers at that time of night or wee hours of the morning.
She chuckled a little bit. It's not like anyone could hear her anyway. She once thought to ask her captain but remember that he was clearly passed out by then and wouldn't recall anyone coming into the office while in his deep slumber.
She picked up the top sheet of the stack and began to read as she rounded her desk. Scanning over the items as she sat down, she mentally groaned at some of the reminders on the sheet. Morning announcements usually happened once a week, and today was just her lucky day.
Division Inspection soon.
She groaned again. This task was always a pain. There was always so much to be done when putting the Division into order enough for inspection. They weren't very lenient at all. It didn't help that her Division was one well-known for their partying habits either. Sometimes she thought that that fact always scored them negative points. It wasn't her fault that she was usually the only one that got their paperwork done. Captain Kyouraku wouldn't do it despite all her pestering, and she could harp all she wanted at all the members and still get no results.
They also never mentioned the specific date they would be coming around. They loved to surprise everyone. It gave the Divisions all the more reason to stay on their toes.
The Eighth Division has hollow duty with the Second Division this week.
Soul Reapers are to be reminded that the Division Barracks are not suitable areas to stage sparring matches. Please do so in the designated areas.
A Corp squad has been absent for longer than expected. Contact Captain Soi Fon if you have any information.
The Eleventh Squad is reminded that if they are to host drinking parties, they are to do them within their own quarters and not in the streets blocking the Fourth's nightly sweeping.
She smiled a little. She wondered how many of these would be applied directly to the Eleventh. They were always doing something.
She made a mental note to refigure some of the squad formations for this week. She had already known that it was their turn at the last meeting they attended, but she hadn't had time to rearrange since then. They were going to shuffle out different squads than the last time. While reading, she realized that it was her turn to go out this time. She didn't really mind. It was about time that she got out of this office and did something productive other than paperwork.
Gates to the Rukongai will be closed off to all soul reapers from the hours of ten p.m. to 5 a.m. Please take care of any business there before those hours or you may not be permitted back into Seireitei until the following day.
Hell butterflies are not to be used for personal messages. They are Gotei 13 based only. Thank you.
She smiled again. She had known Rangiku to break the last one a little. The Rukongai thing was new though. She silently hoped that this meant her own captain wouldn't feel the need to go drinking there like he did on occasion. Knowing that he might end up staying out there, not that it would bother him that much, might deter him. At least if he drank within Seireitei she could keep an eye on him.
She wondered if this new rule had anything to do with the increased hollow activity. She supposed it did, although there was nothing wrong with having a few extra soul reapers out in Rukongai at night. Maybe they just didn't want to attract them any more than what was happening. After all, a hollow did prefer one of their souls over a regular one.
Putting down the notice, she brought the rest of the stack towards her. She might as well start working on them now. She probably couldn't expect her captain before noon, and it wasn't like he would help out anyway. She was glad that soon she would be able to go out into the real world. She didn't want to think about how much paperwork would stack up in her absence, but it was nice to know that she had a break of sorts coming up. It would be good to vent out some of her frustration on a few hollows.
Reading and signing a few documents, she didn't get very far in her pile before she sensed someone nearing the office. She stopped all movement for a minute to determine who it was, and her forehead creased in confusion. Maybe her head still wasn't clear enough from this morning's grogginess. It felt like Rangiku.
Of course, this was ridiculous. There was no way that she would be up even close to this early. She knew that Captain Hitsugaya usually let her sleep when he came in to discover her still in the office. She knew that Rangiku was drinking last night, and not because she did it so often, but because she had invited Nanao to join her. She refused, but that was no reason for Rangiku not to enjoy her own company.
She rose from her seat warily and approached the door. If it was indeed Rangiku, which she was certain it just couldn't be, then she hoped that nothing was wrong for her to be up and about at this hour.
She slid the door open before the approaching presence had a chance to do so themselves. In front of Nanao sat a surprised looking Rangiku, as if she wasn't supposed to be in the office or something. She supposed that she was mirroring the look, for she was just as surprised to see the taller woman standing here at this hour.
She didn't have much time to dwell on it though because Nanao suddenly found herself with an armful of Rangiku.
She blinked once, then blinked again before responding rather slowly. She didn't know exactly what to do in a situation like this where she came upon her so suddenly. She was used to comforting her friend sometimes, when the world ate away at her too much, but she didn't know if that was the case here. Usually they had some sort of discussion prior.
She strained her ears for a second and thought she picked up a slight sniffling sound. That confounded her. In all their years together, she had never seen Rangiku cry. Not even once. She supposed that the taller woman did but guessed she did it away from prying eyes. She couldn't think of a reason why she would start breaking down now.
Well, she took that back. She could think of plenty of things, she supposed, it was just that none of them seemed to unnerve her as much before.
Nanao leaned back a little, set on finding out what was going on. She heard another sniffle, convinced now that she wasn't just imagining it. She tried to take a step back, but the busty woman wouldn't seem to let go of her. It was like she was afraid she was going somewhere or something. Time to try a different tactic.
"Rangiku, what's wrong?" A questioning tone would hopefully shed some light on the subject.
Her voice seemed to snap Rangiku out of whatever reverie she seemed to be in. She quickly straightened up and tried to inconspicuously rub at her eyes. If she looked hard enough, she thought she saw the faint glimmer of light reflecting off water.
"Are you crying?"
Nanao had her eyebrow raised in question. Her previous question had gone unanswered, but she wanted to catch her in the act while she had the chance to. She expected that the window of opportunity wouldn't be open for very long.
Rangiku just laughed nervously while rubbing the back of her head. "Of course not! Why would I be doing that? Nothing's wrong at all!"
Nanao looked at her skeptically, knowing that Rangiku could understand the look she was giving her. If it were anybody else, saver her captain, Rangiku might've gotten away with it. Unfortunately for her, those closest to her knew how to read her too well for her own good. The look was a silent command to explain.
"I was just happy to see you, that's all! It's been a long time. I wanted to see if you were okay!"
"You saw me last night." She deadpanned. It had been what, at the most nine hours since they last talked?
Not to be discovered, Rangiku jumped right in to defend her thinking. She really could think things out when she wanted to. Or maybe that was just her ability to come up with excuses at the last minute. She got enough practice in with Captain Hitsugaya and paperwork, after all.
"Oh, but that was so long ago!" She laughed again.
Nanao sighed. She wasn't going to get anything more out of the woman. Instead, she decided to drop it.
"Would you like some tea? It might offset the sickly symptoms that you must be feeling right now."
She knew that when Rangiku set out to drink, it was usually until she passed out. Judging from the time of day it was, she figured that the woman probably hadn't done much to cure the hangover she could possibly have. Maybe then, she would be able to get something else out of her. Rangiku had a tendency to blab sometimes.
"Oh, no no. That's quite alright. Actually, I think my captain wanted me to start working today. I'll catch you later though. Bye!"
Nanao watched slightly puzzled again as her friend made herself scarce. What was that all about? First it seemed like she couldn't be happier just to see her, the next instant she was running away. She sighed again. Maybe she would never understand people. They were just too complicated. When she finally thought she could read them, they went and did something else to surprise her and throw off all previous information. Like her captain did frequently.
She shook her head slightly and allowed a little smile to come to her face as she closed the office door once again. At least Rangiku was in a cheery mood, even if it could've been fake. It was better than the depressed version any day.
-Secrets Of The Scorned-
She signed her name on the document again, losing count after the first fifty papers. Momo put down her pen and stretched her arms above her. As much as she would like to stop, there was still much more where that came from.
The whole Division had been a mess after he had left. The Division itself had been in an uproar. First they lose the captain himself, and if that's not bad enough, they find that he faked his death in order to betray all of them.
Yes, betrayed. Her captain betrayed all of them. He betrayed her. He was a traitor.
All three captains were at fault for their own actions. They were all working of their own free will. Sometimes she had to repeat it as a mantra in order for her to grasp it. It was hard for a time, and she supposed that there would be other hard times in the future. Still, she couldn't deny what happened any longer. It took her a long, long time to acknowledge this fact.
Too long.
"It was YOU!!"
Still, at the time, it was just so easy to blame Ichimaru for everything. He had just stood there while she was screaming, smiling all the while. Just thinking about it made her fists clench subconsciously. Everything made sense at the time, although now she knew that she acted completely out of her mind.
What was she thinking? Going up against a captain at her level? It was insane. None of that mattered then though. She was grief ridden and confused. Nothing made sense except for Aizen.
"Snap, Tobiume!!"
In her rage she had even attacked Izuru, a good friend of hers. It had taken Toshiro to break them apart. To think that they were planning on killing each other. She had been arrested, and only after everything had been revealed did she realize how foolish she was.
What would Rangiku have done if it were Toshiro instead? Sometimes she thought that something similar might have happened, although Rangiku wouldn't have lost it like she did. She would have found another way to fix things instead of attacking in a blind rage.
Would she have done the same thing for Toshiro? She softly smiled. She knew the answer without even thinking about it.
Yes.
But he didn't know that. Nobody knew that. It was always thought that Captain Aizen held the first spot in her heart. She supposed that he had a major part, but there was always a spot that he wouldn't be able to fill. A spot that Toshiro had. But the snowy haired captain always thought that he was in the shadow of the man she admired more than anything.
"But that's what the letter said! It was Captain Aizen's handwriting! I didn't want to believe it either!"
Through tears and pain she had drawn her sword against her childhood friend, shattering the strongest bond between them. It shamed her now that she listened to false words on a document over the words of her closest friend. There was nothing to be done about it now.
The memories brought small tears to the corners of her eyes, but she wiped them away hastily. She was done crying over it. She couldn't take it back, no matter how much she wanted to. Things would not just go back to the way they were before. Life just didn't work that way.
It still hurt, no matter which way she looked at it. All of it. It hurt that someone she deeply admired had cast everything she gave away and acted like she meant nothing. It hurt that he had tried to kill her, when she was only glad to see him alive. It hurt that she was fooled in the first place, that she couldn't see through his deception because she was so wrapped up in his fake honor. Even though everyone else had been fooled as well, it didn't matter. She should've been the first one to notice that something was wrong.
It hurt that she let herself be deceived, and that was unacceptable.
As a soul reaper, a duty she swore she was going to uphold no matter what, she failed. She was thinking selfishly when she should've been thinking about everyone. She wasn't the only one that lost something that day. There were many things she wished that she wouldn't have done, but it was too late to be thinking of that now. The only thing she could do was keep moving onward. Hopefully with time the wound would close up a little more every day.
When it was all over, maybe then she could be at peace.
She picked up her pen again, determined to do better than the days before. She needed to get this work done, especially before Inspection came up. She wasn't stupid, she knew that if they took one look at how the Division was currently, they would be disappointed. She knew she faced demotion if things didn't start to pick up.
No one wanted someone in charge who was unstable, who was untrustworthy, who was undeserving. When she took a look at the other Divisions that had lost their captains, she felt even more inadequate than others saw her. Shuuhei had taken up the duty of running the Ninth with pride. He wasn't officially captain, but at least things were mostly normal over there thanks to his dedication. In Third too, things were looking up for Izuru. There was even a new captain on the way.
All the Divisions were looking up but hers. That was also unacceptable.
She wanted to show them that she could do just as well as them, that she wasn't useless. That's how she felt whenever they looked at her and frowned, so she needed to improve. She wanted them to stop. Even though she had maybe became a soul reaper for the wrong reasons starting out, fulfilling her duty had brought new meanings with it. She enjoyed what she did, and she wanted to do something worth mentioning in this life that she had been given.
She was more or less in charge now, even though the Third, Fifth, and Ninth got help from other Divisions. She was the highest ranking officer available. People looked up to her for guidance just because of that. She couldn't be wasting away when others needed her, even if that was all she wanted to do for a time. She had to be strong for others and show them that she could be reliable. Maybe some of the strength she showed them would rub off on herself. She wanted to be strong all the time.
Rangiku was strong. She always looked strong on the outside, even though Momo knew that she was troubled on the inside. Rangiku's story was just as sad as her own, now that she thought about it. Gin had been her friend since Rukongai days, just like her and Toshiro. Sometimes Momo wondered how Rangiku could hold up like she was. She wished that she could be more like her.
She had lost someone she loved, for all that it was worth, even if no one knew if it was reciprocated or not. Momo didn't quite understand what they had between them, but she supposed it didn't matter. All she knew was that he had meant a lot to her, and now she was hurting. She hardly ever showed it, but she knew it was there. Those thoughts brought on a new wave of guilt.
She had made things worse by trying to tell everyone that Gin was the reason behind Aizen's treachery. She hated to think how many of those words Rangiku took to heart. The two lieutenants had been close friends before the whole incident. Now she could barely say that they were acquaintances.
How far had she pushed them apart with her foolishness again? She was pushing everyone away, and she didn't know how much longer she could take it.
Paperwork or not, she wanted to know how the strawberry-blonde was doing. Momo noticed that she wasn't in the Tenth office earlier. Standing up, she made sure that everything was in place before going to the door. Taking once last glance, she slid the door shut, off to find Rangiku.
Maybe some bridges could be rebuilt.
-Secrets Of The Scorned-
Nanao was still working when the sun descended to the top of the sky. She stretched out her hand for a minute before she reached for another sheet. She could almost hear the real world calling for her.
It was true that she was good at what she did, but that didn't mean she had to enjoy it. It had to be done, and there was no getting around that. If she didn't do it then it probably wouldn't get done. She couldn't imagine the captain commander being very pleased about that.
She could almost feel the soft breeze through her hair and the moon on her skin. If she got lucky they would give her a day shift, but she doubted they would waste the time unless a hollow appeared. She wondered what happened to just one shinigami being deployed per area, but she supposed that they could no longer task the risk in case an arrancar or some form of menos showed up.
It would be nice to finally get out of the stuffy office after so long. She didn't sit in here all day, of course, but the real world was different than chasing around lazy captains for signatures or running to meetings. She always had to come back here after those tasks, and she was starting to dread it. Well, at least Captain Kyouraku provided some entertainment.
Speaking of the devil, she felt a very familiar reiatsu growing near. One that could only belong to one person. She faintly wondered what he would do this time. It didn't matter though, because she would always be ready. She eyed her heavy tome within her reach to the side, and she paused in her ministrations for a moment, just long enough to witness the rapid opening of the door.
"Nanao-chan!"
He had his arms opened up wide, as if she would let him engulf her in an embrace. She wasted no time with her next move, even though she knew how useless it actually was.
"Bakudo 1, First Restraint Obstruction!"
She didn't look up as he fell to the floor like a stiff board, paralysis taking over. She had to refrain from rolling her eyes at his antics. She knew that in reality she would never be able to hold him with such a weak kido spell. If he was fully paying attention, she probably wouldn't be able to hit him with anything, despite her excellence in the arts. She wondered why he played along with it, but she was glad he did at any rate.
"There are a small pile of forms on your desk that you need to complete, as well as this week's agenda."
She continued along with her work as if nothing had just transpired in the office. Her captain drew himself up from the floor moments later, like she knew he would. It didn't take much on his part to break the spell, especially since she wasn't trying very hard. It was just the point of the matter.
"No good morning from my Nanao-chan?"
He ignored her statement, also like she knew he would. That was okay. It would be brought up again later anyway. She allowed herself a small smirk as she worked on.
"It is afternoon, Sir, not morning, so good afternoon." He grinned a little, but the gesture fell from his face as he spotted the papers intended for him.
"Yare, that's a mountain, not a 'small pile'. I couldn't possibly go through that many papers in one day. Unless, of course, I was writing poetry for my lovely Nanao-chan."
This time she did roll her eyes, although he couldn't see it.
"Anyway, it appears that I have a problem." He looked over at her to find her still writing.
"Oh?" She schooled her features to remain indifferent as she stopped what she was doing and looked up at him, a brow raised in question.
"It seems that a few bottles are missing from my stash. You wouldn't happen to know what happened to them, would you?"
She held his gaze for a moment before returning to her work, trying to keep her voice as businesslike as it usually was. "There is a pile of forms on your desk that need to be completed. The agenda for the week is there also."
She repeated her earlier statement with slightly different words, hoping he would understand the situation. She knew he was a bright man, despite what others thought. He really was a quick thinker, he just used his talents for other purposes. She wondered how quickly he was going to piece this one together.
"Ahh, clever girl." Not long at all, it seems.
"It is a requirement when working with you, Sir."
He smiled at her even though she wasn't looking. Oh how the days would be dull without her. "I'm surprised you knew about that particular stash, that's all."
"I know where all your stashes are, I just don't tell you."
He raised a brow. "Oh really?"
"Really. Which is why you'll find that the lock on your bottom left drawer at your desk is now changed, and the bottles that were under that loose floorboard in the corner have been removed. Also, I have personally contacted Captain Ukitake and asked him not to give you any of the jugs you stashed in his Division until you've finished those documents. I didn't have time to clear out every spot, but I will if I have to."
He paled a bit after she finished. So it seemed that she was much smarter than she let on. He knew this though, so it didn't really surprise him too much. Still, threatening his sake all for the sake of paperwork was very devious indeed. He was proud.
"Yare, my Nanao-chan is so cruel." He thought he would put in a pout for good measure, but he was shut down when she didn't look up.
"So I've been told." She didn't stop working, and he took it as a silent reminder for him to do the same.
He took one look at the stack again and internally shuddered. Not before he had a drink. With a melodramatic sigh, he shuffled over to the couch in the corner, opposite of his ex-hiding place, trying to look as dejected as possible. He flopped down and slid his hat a little farther down on his head.
Maybe, this was just all a bad dream, and he would wake up in a few hours with his Nanao-chan curled up at his side. With those thoughts he drifted off to sleep.
He could always hope.
-Part Two Complete