Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.

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Trial By Light, Trial By Dark

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Kouichi felt a sickening sensation run through his stomach. He was tempted to ask Marise, but something told him otherwise. Instead, he calmly sipped his tea, eyes glued to the table.

"Is something wrong, Kouichi?"

The boy shook his head and gazed at the wall. There was a picture just above the table height on the wall. He had never noticed before; Kouichi guessed it was because of all the light colors used. It almost blended into the wall. "What's that...?" he asked, gazing at the picture with a sudden interest. No matter how close he leaned or how he squinted, Kouichi couldn't make out what it was.

A dazed smile overtook Marise. "One of Harumi's paintings. She was wonderful in everything. I'd constantly get sick, but get better the next day. I suppose without her, I'd still be sick," he commented with a small laugh. "She told me that I had to stop writing. I'd stay up day and night just to finish a chapter. 'You're killing yourself,' she told me, 'you aren't getting enough sleep.' She was probably right."

Getting married seems pretty depressing, Kouichi suddenly realized, gazing at the wall with a strange look on his face. Maybe I should just stick to dat-what am I saying? Shaking his head in a pathetic attempt to clear his head of all thoughts, Kouichi turned back to Marise. Suddenly, without warning, he stood up and blurted, "I think I should leave now, sir. Um...I'll see you Monday." Turning around, Kouichi dashed out the door, not bothering to wait for an answer.

The feeling he had felt before grew greater than before. Kouichi guessed what could be wrong. But he knew what was wrong and all he could do was hope he was in time.

He stopped before a large house. It looked old and broken down, much like a run down farm. But as they said, 'don't judge a book by its cover,' Kouichi wasn't so sure if it was so modest. Warily, he walked towards the house, carefully taking one step at a time.

He had read of this somewhere. Right, the boy realized, suddenly stopping in his tracks. In 'The Revenge of a Thief.' Kuwasagi does some hunting around to find out the real will. And then he-

There was no time to complete the thought. As Kouichi expected when he took another step forward, the ground collapsed, swallowing him into pure white.

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"There has to be some way out," Kako muttered, desperately looking around. She was beyond bored now, and she was sure Kanaye had left. What irked her most was she had nothing to pick a lock with, and even if she did, she wouldn't be successful due to lack of skill.

Angrily, she threw her shoe at the door and slumped down against the wall again. She was in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do. Even watching Rai and Hideki would be interesting, despite the fact that she guessed it was more of a PG-13. Then again, anything with Hideki she would deem R. Well I'd rather watch Bambi frolic through a field of daisies, she thought, shutting her eyes.

Sleep had been a great idea until Kanaye started checking every five minutes. She was getting too quiet, he told her, so he had to check up on her. This resulted in Kako throwing another racket, managing to get no sleep at all.

There was a soft thud that startled Kako back to her senses. "What is it?" she growled, getting up and storming to the door. Just as she picked up her shoe, a louder thud sounded. Kako whirled around just in time to see Kouichi fall to the floor. Shoe forgotten, she raced to his side and fell on her knees to get a better look at him.

Kouichi groaned, rolling over onto his back. The first thing other than white that he saw in the room was Kako's face. "Did I die? I didn't know all angels looked like Kako," he mumbled, shutting his eyes.

If he had them open, he would have seen Kako redden considerably. Her shoe was still in her hand. Swiftly, Kako brought her shoe down on Kouichi's stomach, causing him to yell in pain and roll onto his stomach, away from Kako. Kako sighed and snapped, "I'm not in the mood for stupid talk right now, Kouichi, so just digivolve and get us out of here, will you?" She rose to her feet, staring down at Kouichi. Her hands were placed on her hips and a look of discontent shadowed her face.

"Well I was serious," he replied, sitting up and rubbing his head. Kouichi picked up Kako's shoe and tossed it to her. "And Ma-I mean-" he started. How do I explain that her dad took away my D-Tector? Scratching his head, Kouichi did his best to look calm as he lied, "Hideki took it." Sorry, Hideki. You're the best scapegoat, the boy thought, eyes sliding shut as Kako fell back onto her knees, then onto her back. He opened his eyes and looked around the room, taking in his surroundings. He had fallen directly down with only a bump or two. There was no evidence of a hole in the ceiling, and there was a window opposite the door.

"I'm doomed," Kako moaned, shutting her eyes. "Do you at least have something I can kill myself with?"

Chuckling dryly, Kouichi responded sarcastically, "If you want a painful death by a wooden sword." He hadn't been serious, but when Kako sat up, staring at him, he wondered if she took him seriously. "Kako, sarcasm," he told her, edging away slightly.

"No, you say you have a sword?" she asked eagerly, crawling forward quickly until he was backed up against a wall. "Hurry up and give it to me!"

"My doctor recommends I don't give you anything sharp."

"Kouichi Kimura, if you don't, I'll tell everyone where you hid your poems and pictures and everything from fourth grade!" she threatened. After a pause, Kako added, "I'll also ask Rai to give you a book of math problems to do in a day!"

Rolling his eyes, Kouichi shrugged. "You forget, I'm not the one who hates math to death. Isn't that you?" He placed both hands on her shoulders and pushed her back.

Desperate, Kako pleaded, "Kouichi, please? I'll do anything! ANYTHING, OKAY? Just give me the sword and I'll owe you a favor!" She pushed his arms away and moved closer.

"You owe Duskmon a favor still, right?" Kouichi asked absentmindedly. "Anything, huh?" Kako nodded. "How about..." A dozen thoughts raced through Kouichi's head. He could ask her for anything, and yet although he wanted it to be different, he found himself declaring, "You have to go to Hawaii."

Kako hesitated, seeming to choke on the words that came out of her mouth. "Done," she rasped, turning away from him.

"Do you not want to go?"

"W-well...in truth? Going with Kouji is a bit weird..." Kako confessed, shivering slightly.

Kouichi cleared his throat. "About that. I...I think that we should think this through a bit." This way, I can get her to not think about the sword and still ask, he realized. He didn't want to give up the bokuto and he didn't want to know what Kako had planned.

"What?"

"Our relationship," Kouichi said, hastily edging against the wall in case Kako got angry. "Y-you see," he murmured, "I just think that...maybe...we can decide if we're going to do anything later? After Hawaii?"

Kako's eyes narrowed as she whirled to face him. "'do anything?'" she repeated. "What do you mean, 'do anything?'"

"NOT LIKE THAT!" Kouichi blurted, reddening to a bright shade of red.

Kako flushed a slight shade of pink. "Y-you pervert...I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!" she screamed, angrily standing up and hovering over him. "Why is it that all you boys think the same way? You're a bunch of perverted freaks!" Kako stormed to the other side of the room and sat down, glaring at him.

Exasperated, Kouichi let a hand fly to his forehead. "If boys are perverted, girls are just plain annoying," he muttered, mainly to himself.

Kako heard. Furiously, she retorted, "NOT TRUE! Besides, we're too cool to be annoying."

"Enough of that, okay! Where the heck are we, anyway?" Kouichi suddenly asked.

The long silence was filled with confusion. "...a room? That's white?" Kako offered, shrugging. "It doesn't matter. The first thing I do after I get out of here is beat u-"

She was interrupted halfway through. "-is ask Hideki if you can go to Hawaii," Kouichi corrected smoothly.

Folding her arms, Kako turned away, grumbling silently to herself. A crooked smile decorated Kouichi's face. "It's like Saito's books. I kind of wonder if he could see the future or something," he suddenly commented without warning. Noticing the strange look Kako sent his way, Kouichi allowed the smile to develop fully.

Without warning, Kako blushed and turned the other way, leaving Kouichi utterly confused. Before either of them could say another word, though, Tomoki and Shinya came crashing through the now opened door. Kouichi rose to his feet, barely stopping Tomoki as he stumbled forward. Shinya, he was unable to stop, and the young Kanbara fell to the floor a foot away from Kako's feet. Kako mercilessly kicked his arm before standing up as well and turning to the figure at the door.

"Wait till Naoko hears this, Fujita," she growled. I bet you anything that she'll murder you." She started towards Fujitaka only to be held back by Kouichi and Tomoki.

To finish her job, Shinya ran forward, ready to punch. Once more, he was repelled by an invisible force and sent flying back. Fujitaka burst out laughing. "You can't touch me, don't you get it? I'm practically invincible. Honestly, Kouichi, I ought to thank you. How about a quick death? Would that do?"

"FUJITA I'M REALLY TELLING NAOKO!" Kako screamed.

"IT'S FUJITAKA! ONLY NAOKO CAN CALL ME FUJITAKA!" Fujitaka screamed angrily.

"Whatever," Kako muttered. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Shinya get up and start again. "No, Shinya. Just leave him. He's pretty much outnumbered, anyway," she commented. A small smile appeared on her face when Kouichi pulled her back further. "Relax." Kako gave him a reassuring smile before walking right past Fujitaka. "See, although you're...somewhat...invincible, you wouldn't dare hit a girl, would you?"

"The book," Tomoki whispered. "He has it." He turned to Kouichi with a pleading look. "Please, we have to get it back! They're counting on me!"

Kouichi kept his eyes glued on Fujitaka. "So what do you say, then, Fujitaka," he murmured. "I break your little invincibility spell and you give us our book back." Calmly, he brought out the digivice. A second later, bokuto in hand, Kouichi assumed his stance.

At first, Fujitaka laughed. But when Kouichi pushed Tomoki out of the room and Shinya soon followed, he became serious. "Fine, and if I win, you all stay," he growled, glaring at Kouichi. "You won't get away with kissing Naoko."

Exasperated, Kouichi yelled, "It wasn't my fault!" He charged towards Fujitaka, bokuto raised.

Fujitaka snorted as Kouichi was flung back. "I know she's irresistible, but get your own girl!" he yelled.

The wooden blade nearly fell out of Kouichi's hand. Something wasn't right. He wasn't concentrating. Drawing a breath, he stood up. There was no invincibility anything on Fujitaka. It was merely his will to be an impenetrable force, magnified by the shadow system, Kouichi guessed. His digimon must be powerful, then, Kouichi realized, calmly gazing at the boy in front of him. What combo would Hideki use? Vortex...guard! Blade beam style-what am I thinking? I feel like Hideki. Disgusted, Kouichi jumped back from his parrying and pointed the blade at Fujitaka.

"I'm amazed you made it through," Fujitaka sneered. "Just wait until the boss gets here." He dodged easily as Kouichi slid forward.

Kouichi frowned. "Boss?" he asked in a confused voice. "Oh, you meant the oh-so-lowly Kanaye." Smirking, he kicked Fujitaka back, edging back himself from the impact. "So, where exactly are we, Fujitaka? Care to spill?" He swiftly moved forward, dodging a punch and managing to swipe at Fujitaka's arm.

Without warning, Kouichi was thrown back. Fujitaka stood there, as clueless as Kouichi. Scrambling to his feet, Kouichi's gaze went towards Kako and the others. "K-Kanaye!" he snapped furiously. "Let her go."

Kanaye was behind Kako, arms wrapped around her waist. Shinya and Tomoki were guarded by two upper classmen, Kouichi guessed. Smirking, Kanaye asked, "So would you drop out if something happened to her? You know, I think you're right-Kako is better than Ai."

Kouichi opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it and swallowed back a laugh. It took every ounce of self-control not to smile. He nearly choked.

Casually, Kanaye rested his chin on Kako's shoulder. The discontent on her face was obvious. "Kouichi, you can take your time," she growled, eyes narrowing on Kouichi.

In return, Kouichi just waved (the smile was making its way through), bringing out the digivice again. The wooden sword disappeared and he pocketed the device, slipping his hands into his pockets. One minute.

Kanaye chuckled and turned Kako around. "You don't seem to mind," he commented. "So if I kissed her-"

"By all means, go ahead," Kouichi replied. He tried so hard to maintain the serious look on his face. There was the tinge of amusement still twinkling in his eyes. "Put all the passion into it, Kanaye."

Regarding him with an eyebrow raised, Kanaye shrugged. He stood up straight and gazed Kouichi in the eye, still unable to understand the boy's strange cooperation. He shrugged and bent down towards Kako, murmuring, "Your loss."

Kako's eyes widened for two reasons. One, for the same reason as Kouichi. The second reason was quite obvious; Kanaye was dangerously close to her. Oh, if he goes through with this-

Halfway through her thought, Kanaye was pulled back by a very angry looking Ai. Kako pushed herself out of his arms, staggering back and falling into Kouichi. They both fell to the ground and waited breathlessly for Ai's reaction.

"So," Ai muttered. "She's better than me?" the girl asked venomously.

Kanaye had turned pale by now, cringing at the realization that Ai had listened to a great deal of what he had said. Stiffly, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "N-no, Ai...uh, you know...I'd...never...mean that," he stuttered, glaring at Kouichi.

In return, Kouichi gave him a thumbs up sign, turning to Fujitaka and holding his hand out. "I believe you owe us something."

"I don't have it," Fujitaka growled, "and I don't owe you anything."

"Oh just take it!" Ai growled. A book flew out of her hand and landed in front of Tomoki's face. Quickly, before anyone else could do anything, Tomoki picked the book up and held it to his chest, looking shaken. Kouichi frowned, noticing the familiar cover of the book. Angrily, Ai continued, "And here I was coming to ask what you wanted for dinner! I didn't expect to find you trying to kiss some other girl! I hate you, Kanaye! You...I hate you!" An angry shriek escaped the girl as Kanaye unsuccessfully tried to mollify her, chasing after her as she ran down the hall.

Kako turned around to face Kouichi. "We...owe her one, huh?" she murmured, blushing slightly.

Kouichi cleared his throat. He looked away and asked, "Could you...get off of me?" Squeaking, Kako jumped up. He smiled slightly. "Yeah," he murmured, "We do owe her, I guess. Anyway, later, Fujitaka. We won't tell Naoko." Standing up, Kouichi made for the door.

Angrily, Fujitaka called out, "We didn't finish our fight!"

"We'll continue later. It was kind of fun. I think I have the hang of it," Kouichi replied, raising a hand and turning his head slightly. "See you Monday." His hand dropped to his side, only rising to push away Kanaye's hired hands.

Successful with getting rid of the so-called guards without violence, Kouichi wondered exactly how they would get out.

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There was silence.

"Hello?"

Nothing.

"You know, Kouichi, I don't think we're getting anywhere," Kako commented, shivering and edging towards his side.

Sighing, Kouichi replied, "It could be because every time we've had you choose a direction to go, which has been every time, you've chosen right, and we've ended up going in a circle." He winced inwardly as Kako grabbed his arm.

Tomoki, who was ten times happier than he was originally, held onto the book tightly. There was a small smile on his face, one of relief. "Well, at least we have the book back," he whispered, eyes slipping shut.

"It won't do us much good if we get lost in here," Kouichi replied. "What is that, anyway?"

In response, Tomoki gave him a small smile.

Shrugging, Shinya declared, "But I'm bored! So either Kouichi gets us out or someone suffers!"

There was a snort. The boys turned to Kako, who had folded her arms and was currently glaring at Shinya. "That someone can be yourself, thank you. I think there's an unfair advantage, here. H-hey...STAY AWAY!" she suddenly yelled, racing behind Kouichi as Shinya held a finger out menacingly. "Pick on a boy!"

Hiding a smile, Kouichi winked at Shinya before facing Kako. "Right...she's outnumbered. And we wouldn't want there to be an unfair advantage like that," he commented.

"Exactly! I knew you'd understand, Kouichi!" Kako agreed with an affirmative nod.

Kouichi stepped closer, hands moving towards Kako's waist. Clearing his throat, he continued, "And...um, it wouldn't be very courteous either." He nodded towards Tomoki who moved to the side opposite Kako.

At this point, the girl had shut her eyes and continued to nod.

Shinya situated himself, finger positioned. Tomoki followed his example. Kouichi, unable to hide his grin, positioned both fingers on either side of Kako's waist before he commented, "And that's all the more reason why we ought to." As he said this, he poked her.

Kako let out a loud squeal before kicking her leg out and managing to hit both Shinya and Kouichi. Tomoki, who had smartly slid away after poking her, remained in tact. "What's your problem?" Kako screamed, arms stiffly sticking to her sides in an effort to protect them. "Personal bubble, please!"

Cringing, Kouichi stood up and rubbed his shoulder. He murmured in a weak voice, "I'll definitely remember that." Before he could move again, Kako poked his shoulder. Kouichi froze. "Y-You just shocked me!" he screamed, furiously rubbing his shoulder.

A mischievous smile formed on Kako's lips. Smiling, she stepped forward, continuously poking him. The first few had no effect on Kouichi, but very soon, every other poke had him yelping and grasping his shoulder.

"Where'd Kako get her super poking static shock powers?" asked Shinya, awed. "I want them!"

"Then take them," Kako muttered, poking Shinya's shoulder. "I'm getting kind of bored of them. I feel half the shocks Kouichi does, anyway."

Shinya let out a half scream and jumped back. "NO MORE!"

"Hey, you wanted them!"

The young boy's eyes widened as he saw Kako approach him with a finger held out. "N-no!" he begged, "it was Kouichi's idea!"

"WHAT?" Kouichi regarded Shinya with a look of pure fury. "Did I start poking her first? NO, you scared her back and then we collaborated!"

Kako turned to Kouichi and he jumped away. "AHA! So you all are against me!" she accused, pointing her finger at Kouichi.

Kouichi held up his hands and replied, "Yeah, yeah, just...get that thing away."

"IT'S A FINGER!"

"That shocks people!"

"You, anyway!"

Tomoki watched as Kako, Kouichi and Shinya engaged in a small scuffle, their only attacking tool being their index finger. It was somewhat amusing; for some reason they'd all get shocked. It was even more amusing when Shinya and Kako teamed up against Kouichi, until the three suddenly turned towards him.

Nervously, Tomoki backed against the wall, clutching the book tightly against his chest. "Wh-what are you-NO!" he screamed before they could even poke him. Frightened with the anticipation, Tomoki dropped to his knees and squeezed his eyes shut.

Rolling his eyes, Kouichi held out a hand to Tomoki. A sigh escaped him and he murmured, "Now that we're done with that, we can find the way out of here." Kouichi swiftly pulled Tomoki to his feet, realizing the boy didn't see his hand.

"Okay, killjoy," Kako muttered. "I mean, honestly. Couldn't you all be like Tomoki? He hasn't poked anyone!"

Kouichi and Shinya exchanged glances. "But he poked first, didn't he?" Shinya asked in a low whisper. Kouichi just shrugged, and the four continued down the corridor until they came to another split.

"We're going left," Kouichi growled, stepping to his left.

But Kako grabbed his arm. "No way! Left is the opposite of right!" she declared.

There was silence. Then, Kouichi asked, "What's your point?"

"Well, wrong is also the opposite of right! So left is wrong. Thus, we must go right!"

"Can't live without making mistakes," Kouichi replied with a shrug. "So we'll go left."

"Right!"

"I know I'm right."

"No! I mean we have to-oh I give up!" Kako screamed. "I'm going right! Who's coming with me?" She turned around, eyes flashing. To her shock, the other two were following Kouichi.

"Hey, did you two hear anything?" Kouichi asked Tomoki and Shinya as the two followed closely behind him.

Shinya shook his head. "Maybe there's a draft?" he suggested.

Tomoki laughed, "If there is, we can follow it and find the exit."

At this point, Kouichi snorted, "But it's coming from behind us. Hey, Kako, are you coming or what?" He turned around and stopped, waiting for Kako to come.

She never did. Instead, Kako stormed to the right, and, Kouichi guessed, continued to do so. Eventually, she ended up at the same place she had been five minutes ago. That didn't annoy her so much as the smug face on Kouichi's face. Finally, she admitted her defeat in a hiss: "Alright, let's just get out."

Triumphantly, Kouichi turned back towards the path and continued to walk, slowing down when he realized Kako was lagging behind. They stayed like that for a while, seemingly going nowhere. Eventually, the quartet ended up in a dead end. At this point, it was Kako who had a smug look on her face. Smirking, she sneered, "Told you we should have gone right."

Kouichi remained indifferent, much to her annoyance. Staring at the blank white wall in front of him, he returned, "It's no problem. We'll head back, take the right turn, then turn left the next chance we get."

"If you ever get a chance," came an annoyed growl.

Kako froze. "But Ai took care of you!" she screamed.

A lopsided grin formed on Kouichi's face as he asked, "Did you manage to calm her down after flirting with her for ten minutes?" He turned around to Kanaye, ready to counter verbally or with his sword; a hand was in his pocket, ready to pull out the digivice when needed.

Angrily, Kanaye snapped, "At least we don't argue about stupid things like picking which direction to go in!" His eyes were narrowed in a nasty glare, pointed towards Kouichi. There was a negative aura surrounding him, one that Kouichi realized made his next move incredibly unpredictable. Kanaye was in a nasty mood-whatever counter Kouichi planned would have to be executed swiftly and effectively. There was no time for hesitation.

I need time, he realized, stepping back. "We would have been saved the stupid argument if you had just told us where the exit is," countered the boy, slowly dragging his hand out of his pocket.

Kanaye suddenly burst out into laughter. It continued, loud, daunting, floating through the air. Kako shivered, unconsciously edging towards Kouichi. Mentally, Kouichi scowled at the action. Oh, now I'm okay to stand by, he thought grumpily.

The laughter eventually subsided. But even then, Kanaye occasionally chuckled. When at last he had collected himself, the boy snapped, "Tell you where the exit is? That would be ridiculous." There was a pause before he asked curiously, "How about a little game?"

Kouichi shrugged, but Kako shouted, "NO!" and tightened her grip on Kouichi. Astounded by her actions, the boy turned to her in askance. There was no reply, but a small shiver was shown.

Continuing as if Kako had never interrupted, the other boy raised a hand, freeing it from the restrictions of his sleeve. "One quick game is all it will take. I'll give you five minutes to get out of the enclosed space. If you fail, you hand over the book and that little device you intend to fight me with. If you win, you'll be provided with a way out," Kanaye informed them. A thick wall slid between him and the other four. Although obscured from view, Kanaye's voice pierced through. "I'll give you five minutes, starting...now."

Once the announcement was made, all was quiet.

"Hurry," Kouichi urged, beginning to tap on areas of the wall. "Shinya, you cover that side. Kako, that one...Tomoki-Tomoki! Now isn't the time for this! Be strong, please," the oldest boy begged, desperately running a hand over the wall.

Tomoki sat on the floor, shaken. The book was held tightly in his arms, and his eyes were nothing more than vacant orbs. He had agreed to protect the book, it was true, but he had never thought things would get so dangerous. It was one book-what would Kanaye want with it? Nothing it held would be of interest to him. Maybe...it's because it would help us and he doesn't want it to, Tomoki realized, standing up. The vacant expression still on his face, he walked to the wall Kouichi had instructed him to cover.

Something was there, something important. Upon closer inspection of the wall, Tomoki realized what it was. Such an important fact, so easily overlooked...

He brought up his hand, eyes glazed over. It brushed over the carve in the wall. For a moment, everything shone is a brilliant light. Tomoki wanted to cover his eyes, but for some reason, his hand wouldn't budge. It was stuck onto the wall, no matter how he pulled or yanked. The light grew brighter-he could have sworn he heard several yells, but couldn't be sure. It seemed to affect his ears, too. Everything around him swarmed in heat.

The next thing Tomoki knew, he was cooled down considerably. His eyes were shut, and he imagined himself in a swimming pool on a hot summer's day.

"Tomoki. Tomoki, wake up!"

Kouichi's voice snapped him out of his senses. Tomoki opened his eyes and winced. Everything looked dark compared to the light he had seen before. They were outside again, in a garden, he presumed. Things suddenly grew chilly. Hunching up and rubbing his arms, Tomoki's teeth chattered as he asked, "Why is it...s-so...cold?"

"Tomoki..."

"Yeah?" Tomoki frowned, gazing up at Kouichi. Something was wrong.

Grinning, Shinya said, "Well, on the bright side, we've got another digimon on the team!"

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A/N-

I've ranted enough. All I'll say is I apparently haven't been getting enough sleep, and it's weird-I want to sleep in, but I can't.

THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS (this chapter is totally dedicated to you)-

GemmaniGirl, Catwarrior, WithBrokenWings

Please review, or I won't update for a week, because that's the only way I can be sure that everyone who wanted to read it has read it. Also, my writing is…well, it seems to be…deproving, or something. I don't know, but it lacks something, and I'm not sure what. So constructive criticism would help. Because I know a lot of you all have plenty to say. Flames are good, too, so long as there's a point in it.

Review or PM or Flame.