Silent. That was what it was but Konoka liked it. It was better than home where her uncle would be firing lightning whenever he got angry (which was a lot of the time), some of her sisters would be fighting and screaming with one another over who was the most beautiful and she'd hear one of her other uncles firing war cannons in the early hours of the afternoon. And her mother would bring home some boy every month who'd try to court her and win her heart. That never ended well especially when she told him that she didn't like him that way. Like that poor Negi boy. He hadn't wanted to do it but his mother had. It'd been even more awkward when he had said his mother was Konoka's uncle's daughter which made them distant relatives. It was good thing she wasn't related to him by blood. As she made her way down the corridor she passed a stain-glassed window that had a clear view of the forest at the back. Konoka gazed out at the forest, in awe. It was massive and stretched right into the horizon where she could see shapes, tiny mountains in the distance.
"Konoka?" A soft voice echoed across the air.
Konoka spun around guiltily. Moonlight poured through the window, casting rectangular ethereal pools of silver-blue over Setsuna and the floor. Setsuna was glowing, literally. Her skin was whiter than normal, a soft shine emanating from it. Her hair was silver-white. And she was looking at Konoka sleepily with baby blue eyes instead of dark brown.
"What are you doing up?" Setsuna blinked at her.
"I…why are you glowing and what happened to your eyes and hair?" Konoka said.
Setsuna looked confused for a moment then a light seemed to click on in her head. Running a hand through her hair distractedly she said, "Apparently I was blessed by the moon spirits when I was a baby. Not that they exist. I've only heard of them in legends and stories like the ones that Nodoka and Yue tell. So why are you wandering out here?"
"I thought I heard someone laughing," Konoka said.
"Oh," Setsuna rubbed her eyes. "That's probably Jack and Al talking about past times outside. They don't really sleep at night. Come on you shouldn't be up this late. It's dangerous to do that here."
She turned around and as she did Konoka thought she saw a pair of white feathered wings appear from her shoulders. Konoka gawked.
"Setsuna…your wings they're…" Konoka trailed off as Setsuna glanced over her shoulder at her questioningly, moving out of the moonlight.
The wings rippled away, her hair changed back to normal and the glow from her skin faded.
"Never mind," Konoka finished. She figured it was part of her being blessed.
Setsuna looked at Konoka strangely for a moment before continuing to walk again. Konoka stood there for a long moment, watching her before hurrying after her.
"I believe in moon spirits," Konoka said once she'd caught up to her, smiling.
It was dark so she couldn't see Setsuna properly but she sounded amused when she answered, "Really?"
"I've seen them," Konoka skipped ahead, getting excited. "They only come out at night-time when the moon replaces the sun and play and fool around in the rivers and streams out in the forest that are near the mountains."
"It was probably your imagination," Setsuna mused.
Pouting Konoka crossed her arms, "You're no fun. You're a gypsy aren't you where's your imagination?"
Setsuna looked at Konoka, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. The corners of her lips were lifting in a slight smile, "I'm not really a gypsy. I just learnt some basic abilities and skills from Al a long time ago that people who weren't born with innate gypsy magic can master."
Konoka deflated like a balloon. They walked like that for a while, in silence.
Then Konoka asked, "What were you before?"
"An ordinary bird demon," Setsuna replied.
She sounded resentful but before Konoka could think about it Setsuna said abruptly, "Do you want to see something?"
Surprised Konoka didn't say anything then she said brightly, "Sure."
Setsuna moved ahead of Konoka, stopping at a room on the left side with a wooden oak door with a bronze lion head handle and rapped briefly on the door twice.
"Nodoka, are you awake?" Setsuna called.
Before Konoka could ask who she was talking about the door opened revealing Nodoka. She had a plain white shirt with long billowing sleeves with lace and long cotton pants, the cuffs falling to the carpet.
"I was looking over the performance rosters for next week's opening show," Nodoka said sleepily rubbing her eyes.
"Hi," Konoka said.
"This is Konoka," Setsuna said. "You met her yesterday but you were pretty much asleep."
"I'm sorry Konoka," Nodoka murmured, "I was so tired."
"That's ok," Konoka beamed.
"I saved her a long time ago," Setsuna said.
"You told me you found her in the woods holding a book," Konoka frowned.
"She was running from a pack of wolves. She'd been cornered and she was protecting Yue," Setsuna said. "She's just like you."
Nodoka's eyes widened and suddenly she didn't look so sleepy anymore, "You mean…?"
"Yes well I didn't save her from wolves but from…" Setsuna paused, looking at Konoka puzzled, "From freak lightning?"
"Yep," Konoka nodded.
Nodoka's eyes flickered with an emotion Konoka couldn't place until it was gone. It was something of a mix of apprehension and caution. But that made no sense. Nodoka didn't have anything to be scared of. Her heart had beat just a little faster just then but in a few seconds it'd stopped and her face was relaxed again.
"It's nice to properly meet you Konoka. I'm a bard," Nodoka said shyly, "A story one."
"Nodoka's also in charge of the time-tabling," Setsuna told Konoka.
She waved her hand. The scrolls unfolded by themselves, the bottom hitting the floor. She snapped her fingers. The scrolls split apart as they did, with her other hand she waved it to the left side. The scrolls zoomed to the left in rhythm with her hand motion. Silver symbols appeared in a circle, looping around the scrolls and squeezed them into one pile. The symbols vanished into the first page which was blank. There was a flash of light and a leather-bound, silver book was floating in place where the scrolls had been with the title "The Uzoku Clan: Third Dynasty" on it.
Konoka looked furtively at Setsuna who smiled wryly at her, "Yes Konoka is there something you would like to ask?"
"The Uzoku clan are bird demons that live in the mountains up north. You said you were a bird demon so are they..." Konoka trailed off as Setsuna's eyes darkened.
"Setsuna was abandoned by the Uzoku tribe because of treason," Nodoka said quietly. "It's a sensitive topic."
"It's alright it happened a long time ago," Setsuna said.
Konoka caught sight of the date that was inscribed on the spine: 1900s.
"Setsuna, that says the 1900s. That's last century but you don't look…"
"I'm an immortal," Setsuna said curtly. "To cut a long story short Al saved me from execution and because of that I ended up with him taking care of this place."
Konoka hesitated. She wanted to ask why she was being executed in the first place but Setsuna's expression was closed, guarded.
"I take it you wanted to show the library?" Nodoka said, taking the book and glancing at Setsuna.
"If possible only for a short while," Setsuna nodded.
"Well only for half an hour," Nodoka said. "Yue wants to sleep then."
"Of course."
"Come inside then Konoka," Nodoka bowed her head to Konoka briefly and turned, heading back inside the room.
Konoka walked inside, Setsuna following and her jaw dropped. The room must have been magically enhanced because it was gigantic with a spiral stair-case that led to two upper floors and a bedroom on the right.
"This room's been enhanced by Al," Setsuna said, closing the door behind them. "It looks small on the outside but he found a spell that that made it bigger on the inside with a bedroom."
"Whoa," Konoka said in awe.
"You can read almost anything you like," Nodoka gestured. "But please don't touch the books with the gold tassels attached to them. They're sacred."
"Ok," Konoka said. She took Setsuna's hand and half-flinched. It was inhumanly cold.
"Sorry," Setsuna said, noticing and slipping her hand out of hers. "It gets cold whenever it absorbs the moon."
"It's ok…you really were blessed weren't you?" Konoka laughed.
Setsuna smiled slightly. "Yes…I suppose. You go I'll be here I need to talk about some things with Nodoka."
It was a book with a gold spine. The title read "The Fallen Prince" and it had an ink-drawn picture of a winged demon on the front striking a heroic pose with a big silver broadsword that tapered out at the top at the sides. The demon looked like Setsuna. Konoka sat down, opening it.
He was a handsome prince, a little shy but possessed a good heart and the strength, determination and resilience of a warrior that could not be matched by anyone. As the sole heir to the throne he was to be crowned officially as a Prince on his 18th birthday in a traditional ceremony. As Prince he would have to undertake more responsibility as he was to train the young males in the tribe to be capable, adept warriors with no fear. He would also inherit part of land that his father, the King, owned which was half the territory. The other half was owned by other bird demon tribes. At first the Prince enjoyed his newfound power, finding that he enjoyed training the younger demons and looking after his land to make sure that there would always be enough food for everyone. Then during the end of Winter a messenger from one of the bird tribes, the hawks, came to the tribe with an offer. The hawk tribe had a princess that they wanted to marry but the princess only had eyes for the prince and she refused to see anyone else or an eligible mate until she had seen him. The messenger told the King and Queen that the tribe was willing to offer the princess as a candidate for the prince's future mate. They were hesitant at first but the prince, thinking it would be rude to say no as the hawk tribe were one of their strongest clansmen, accepted the offer. He told his parents that even if it didn't work out it this arrangement would only strengthen the relationship between the two tribes and keep good terms with the hawk tribe if in the future they had any civil battles that arose from political or territorial conflicts. After some thought his parents agreed.
The first meeting with the princess was at the end of the year. They met on the peak of one of the mountains dressed formally. She had blonde hair that was almost white that felt like silk and shone like the sands of a beach underneath sunlight. Her smile was wide and she was cheerful and happy, brimming with life. She had elegant brown wings, streaked with lighter shades.
"Ah…" The prince thought. "She looks so pretty. I should have brought a gift."
He bowed to her, getting on one knee and lowering his head, closing his eyes and placed his arm across his chest.
"Hello," He said in a clear strong voice. "It's a pleasure to meet you. May I ask your name?"
The princess giggled, taking the sides of her cotton dress in both hands and curtsied inclining her head, "Such a handsome prince and polite too. My name is Tsukuyomi, daughter of Lord Eno and Lady Atrice."
As custom demanded the prince took out his sword from his sheath and laid it down in front of the princess and declared, "I lay down my sword Princess Tsukuyomi, to protect you as you are my honoured guest and as a symbol of peace between the two tribes."
The princess smiled at the prince happily and as tradition demanded, knelt down in front of him and took his face gently in both hands, kissing him on the forehead. She whispered, "Thank you. I'll treasure this moment well."
She let go, standing up and bowed to him once before turning and taking off into the skies. The prince watched her go until she disappeared into the distance. He stood up, sliding his sword back in the sheath. This was only the first meeting to introduce themselves to one another and the prince thought to himself after a moment that he liked the princess. Soon after this meeting the princess visited them more frequently every month. The rest of the tribe began to grow accustomed to her, especially the King and Queen. One night however, the prince's best friend Azuma, the captain of his strongest team of warriors, came to him while he was getting ready to meditate with a worried look on his face. Wondering what was wrong the prince asked and what his friend had to say shocked him.
"The princess…she's dangerous," Azuma said.
"What are you talking about? That's ridiculous," He scoffed, waving his hand dismissively.
"No, listen to me brother," Azuma took his friend by the shoulders. "I was training one of the younglings how to attack in offensive in midair when the princess came. She asked to see you so I went to get you. I was a short distance away and left the younglings with her. I was a short distance away from you when I heard one of them scream. I looked back and saw the princess twisting one of the boys' wings. When I confronted her about it she denied it and said she was just having fun."
The prince, after hearing these words, didn't believe it at first. After knowing the princess he thought his best captain had just been seeing things but he made up his mind to see the princess about what Azuma had seen when he saw the princess next.
However this was not meant to be for the princess did not meet with the prince for the next 140 moons and suns. The prince, suspicious, flew over to the hawk tribe with his best warrior, the captain in the morning on the 141st day to see what was wrong. Once he went past the guards he found the princess lying on a silk futon. The princess, as it turned out, was bed-ridden from a terrible virus she contracted during one of her meals. Her wings, once a healthy brown, were dull and the feathers unkempt and sparse, shedding. The prince, upon seeing her in such a sate, could not bring himself to ask her about what his friend had told her. Captain Azuma however, could. "Tell the prince what you did to that young warrior," He demanded.
The princess coughed and said slyly, "Nothing I don't know what you're talking about."
The Captain's anger flared. He had always been hot-tempered. Storming over to the princess, he grabbed her by the front of her kimono and growled, "Tell him!"
The princess put on a hurt expression and whined to the prince, "He's hurting me! Is this how you're going to treat your future mate?"
"Have you gone mad?" The prince crossed over to them, taking the captain's arm away and frowned at him disapprovingly, "She's sick."
"She's a damn psycho," The captain spat throwing the princess a dirty look.
"That's not very nice of you," The princess pouted. "Don't be so mean so a sick person!"
The prince, feeling sympathy for the princess, said to his friend, "Perhaps it would be better if you leave. I'll be back later this afternoon."
Azuma didn't want to go but on the prince's orders he left leaving the prince and princess alone. The prince spent the rest of the night at the princess's side tending and caring for her. The princess was secretly pleased for she had grown to love the prince and wanted to keep him all for herself. She had purposefully gotten sick in order to get the prince to come see her. When the prince collected wild berries from the surrounding forests for the princess to eat so that she could recover quickly the princess vowed to herself to win the prince's heart no matter what and began to think of what types of foods or magic she knew of that would enchant the prince and have him fall in love with her forever. When the prince returned from the forest with an armful of delicious berries she pretended to be asleep. The prince, suspecting nothing, sat down beside her and began to cut the berries into small slices using the edge of a small rock. He had made up his mind that Azuma had just been imagining things for he believed that the princess was sweet and kind.
The next morning he returned back to the tribe but not before making a promise with the princess that they would meet again in seven days underneath the skies where the constellations formed to create a centaur with an armed bow when the moon was full. He received a chaste kiss from her and that was when he felt the first fluttering of romance take flight in his prince vowed then and there that he would bring medicine for her to get better when they met in case she was still sick. Next morning the princess consulted the tribe's shaman while she was being cured of her virus by drinking herbal remedy brewed from juices from plants. Pretending that she was curious she tricked him into telling her what she would need to capture the prince's heart and make him hers forever. Starting from tonight she would need to collect the juice of saplings that grew from the willow trees near the mountain homes of the hawk tribe and for the next seven days, collect a handful of water on each night from the rivers at exactly the time when the moon had reached its peak. Each night she would have to mix the water with the juice and add it bit by bit until it filled the size of a hollow carved out bowl that would fit in the hand made from the bark of one of the trees. The princess followed the shaman's instructions and true to his word, when she met with the prince underneath the constellation of the armed centaur she gave him the liquid that she had mixed to drink telling him that it was a hawk tribe tradition. Being far too trusting and not wanting to offend her, the prince drank all of it. Under the influence of the potion the prince immediately fell in love with her and declared that he wanted to marry her in the following month and start a family with her. Elated the princess sent him back to his tribe and went back to hers to tell her tribe the good news. When the prince told his parents about his intentions they were baffled and amazed but they accepted their son's feelings without question. The captain though was not as quick to believe the prince's words and suspecting foul play but there was nothing he could do. In the next month in front of the two clans, underneath the skies the princess and prince exchanged marriage vows and bound their heart, their lives and clans to each other for eternity.
At first everything went well. The princess treated the prince's mother and father and the rest of the clan with respect and kindness then one night while they were with the rest of the warriors the boy whose wing the princess had hurt approached the prince. He pulled the prince aside away from the princess and told her what she had done to him. Instead of being concerned the prince grew angry at the boy for accusing the princess of doing something so cruel. When the boy persisted the prince grew angrier and picked him up, aiming his sword at the boy's chest. He warned him that if he ever said anything bad about the princess again the prince would have him locked up in one of the caves for one month. Terrified, the boy said nothing else. The prince let the boy go and turned but Azuma was standing there, looking at the prince in shock. Ignoring him the prince walked past him back to where the princess was.
Azuma rushed over to the boy and asked, "What happened?"
"I-I don't know," The boy stammered. "I just told him what the princess did to me and he hurt me. He said he'd lock me up if I ever said anything bad about her again."
After hearing what the boy said the captain was certain that the princess was evil or at least, had malicious intentions and he was equally certain that the prince was under an enchantment of some sort because of the way the prince had been behaving and the suddenness of the marriage. Azuma had known the prince ever since they were children and he knew that the prince was not the type to fall in love so easily and marry someone he had only known for a short amount of time. After some thought, Azuma resolved to cure the prince by knocking some sense into him. The eagle tribe had no shaman and time was running out. By bird demon tradition after the prince and princess married they would go make a family of their own in one of the surrounding mountains in another seven days. It was decided and preparations were planned. During that time the captain took the prince aside numerous times when he could to talk with him. The captain had decided that he would resort to physical means to cure the prince if talking didn't work. The prince would not listen to the captain though and insisted that the princess was kind and good and innocent.
"This is crazy she's killed someone and you're still protecting her?!" The captain roared.
"I love her," The prince said.
"She's insane. She's going to kill the tribe and you're going to just let her?" The captain stared at the prince, unable to believe his friend was behaving like this.
The prince paused, some of the captain's words seeming to penetrate the spell but the princess called, "Don't believe anything he says! He's just trying to get in our way!"
Shaking his head the prince pointed his sword at the captain, "She's right. Now desist at once or I'll have to hurt you."
"Then you leave me no choice," The captain said and lunged at the princess.
The prince darted in front of the princess, sword raised and swiped. A burst of white energy and lightning sprung forth from the sword at the captain who blocked just in time. Landing the captain charged again but the prince met him head-on, the sound of their blades clashing ringing through the air.
"I told you to stop this at once!" The prince snapped, pushing him.
"Wake up! You're under a spell can't you see?!" The captain grunted.
The prince shoved the captain back and said, "I won't let anyone hurt her, not even you!"
"Then I'm sorry."
The captain threw a branch at the prince, distracting him and rushed the princess sword raised ready to stab her. The prince was faster though and tackled the captain down, the impact as they hit the flat of the mountain making both of them drop their swords. They skidded towards the edge of the mountain, wrestling with one another in a flurry of limbs and flapping wings, their swords forgotten. They rolled, tumbling off and landed on a narrow ledge that jutted out from the mountain.
"Don't make me hurt you!" The prince snarled, trapping the captain's arms behind him.
The captain kicked the prince in the chest and being bigger than the prince, it hurt him. The pain was enough to make the prince let go.
"Snap out of it!" The captain held the front of the prince's shirt with one hand and punched him hoping that would cure him.
The prince just spat blood at the captain, his face twisting into a furious snarl, "It's a pity you can't see her like I do."
Without hesitation the prince reached inside the swathes of his pants and pulled out a dagger and vaulted forwards, plunging it into the captain's heart down to the hilt. Eyes widening the captain let go, staggering backwards and fumbled with the hilt of the dagger as blood spurted from the wound splashing over the craggy wall of the mountain behind the prince and over his clothes.
"You…" The captain whispered. He fell off the ledge, wings flapping weakly and plummeted into the forest dying.
It was this sight of seeing his best warrior and most of all, his best friend, fellow kinsman and blood brother fall to his death that made the princess's spell break. The prince, white-faced, fell back.
"What…what's going…?" The prince stuttered, horrified.
Cruel laughter echoed above him. The princess was peering over the edge, a look of delight on her face.
"Excellent! That was excellent!" She crowed.
The prince, filling with grief, only stared at his blood-spattered hands unable to believe what he had just done. He crawled to the edge, looking out over the forest canopy desperately for his friend. When he didn't his grief began to turn into rage. With a roar he spun around and flew upwards, pouncing on the princess and pinning her down, his hand wrapped around his throat. He grabbed his sword and plunged it at the princess's heart. The princess twisted, avoiding the blade and kicked the prince making him get off her.
"Thank you for killing him," She said, getting to her feet. "He would have been a problem later on."
The prince pointed his sword at her, shaking in hatred and rage and said, "What did you do to me? The last thing I remember is drinking that juice you gave me."
"I enchanted you, the drink was a love spell. It was so easy as well because you're so gullible and naïve," The princess laughed. "I played a sweet, lovable princess and you believed me. You believed me instead of your most trusted friend!"
She picked up the captain's sword which was lying nearby and grinned at the prince, her eyes turning demonic. The prince took a step back, horror coming over him. He had never seen anything like that before and he knew in that instant that the princess was evil.
"What are you?" He demanded.
The princess looked at the prince innocently, "I'm a hawk demon my prince. What else would I be?"
"Don't lie to me!" The prince raised his voice, getting angry.
"Oh alright," The princess frowned. "I'm a demon who possessed her when she was a fledgling. I was never the real princess. The real princess died a long time ago. Are you happy now?"
"I'll kill you," The prince said. "I'll kill you and burn you so you'll never harm another soul again."
"Such a pity I really was looking forward to our offspring," The princess sighed. "Oh well…"
With a grin she attacked the prince and for the next hour the skies were alive with the sounds of metal clashing against one another as the two fought each other in a deadly dance of metal and lightning. Finally the prince managed to gain the upper hand and had fought her to a standstill, kicking her sword out of her hands.
"You won't do it," The princess jeered. "And once I kill you, I'll have control over both tribes. You're not needed for the plan."
"Forgive me," The prince whispered and gathering his courage drove his sword through the princess's cold black heart.
The princess gasped, shock filling her face and stared at the prince with hurt eyes. She gripped the prince's arm in disbelief then the life faded from her eyes. She was dead. She slumped over in his arms.
"Tsukuyomi!"
The prince whirled around. The princess's parents along with the rest of the hawk tribe clan and her clan had seen what the prince had done.
"I…" The prince said.
"You killed her," The princess's father, Lord Eno said, staring at the prince. His face was already twisting in anger. "You killed my daughter!"
"Wait," The prince's mother said quickly. "Perhaps-"
"Your son killed my daughter! Her blood is on his sword!" Lord Eno roared.
"No please," The prince's mother flew over to him, taking his hand in hers and asked, "Son did your hand slip? Did you hit her by mistake?"
The prince, already overcome with grief, looked at his mother with wet eyes and shook his head. His mother's face fell for she tried to save him. If he had answered yes then he would have only been punished horribly but not killed as the rule decreed that anyone who intentionally killed the princess of the hawk tribe would be executed by the bird demon's tribe. The prince was to be executed in seven moons at sunrise by his warriors while the princess' tribe and his tribe looked on. The prince's tribe did not want this to happen and were secretly wishing that the pince would run and save himself, come back later and prove himself once more as their noble prince rather than face death. His mother, the Queen, thought desperately of a plan to save her son for the King was so filled with grief for the princess's death as he had liked her very much as a daughter in law that he could not look at his son as anything other than a murderer. His mother, having seen a clan of gypsies taking camp near the rocky terrain on the other side of the mountain, flew over to their camp on the night before the prince was to be executed under the cover of darkness when everyone else in the tribe was sleeping. The gypsies were nomads, wanderers who had been travelling past the mountains to a place where gypsy clans from all over the country met for a magical gathering that occurred on each year where they celebrated dance, music and their innate and learned magical powers as gypsies. Gypsies had always been friendly towards them and they were strange, mystical beings to the bird tribes and so the Queen, hoping they could help her son, approached one of them when he was by himself repairing a broken wooden lute. He had a pearl white cloak on with billowing long sleeves and his face was half covered by his hood but the Queen could see a smile on his face as she approached him, coming to a slow halt in the air. Even in the darkness the gypsy's cloak was so bright it reminded the Queen of freshly fallen snow shimmering underneath moonlight at night. The gypsy raised his head, looking at the Queen curiously.
"Hello there," He echoed.
"Hello I am the Queen of the Eagle Tribe to the north," The Queen said hesitantly.
"Pleasure to meet you my Queen. Is there something you require of me?" He said curtly.
"Yes," The Queen said. "I have a favour to ask you."
The gyspy looked at the lute thoughtfully, reflecting on her words and after a moment said, "What is it you ask?"
"We have always been kind to your people and you to us," The Queen said. "My son…I ask that you take him under your wing and raise him as one of you."
"Such a bold request," The gypsy mused. "What may I ask has propelled you to ask this of me, a mere gypsy?"
"My son is to be executed tomorrow morning at sundown for a murder he is not guilty of," The Queen said. She moved closer to the gypsy and took his hands in hers looking up into his face pleadingly, "Please, I beg of you help me. I do not wish to see him killed for a crime he didn't commit."
The gypsy, taking pity on the Queen, agreed. They formed a plan together. The gyspy would appear under a cover of flames just before the prince was to be executed and whisk him to safety far away. He would then be disguised as one of their own using a spell in case any of the bird tribe came looking for him among the gypsies if suspicion of the Queen working with the gypsy was aroused. He said he would come at sundown tomorrow and take the prince away with him from the tribe. The Queen told him that he must never tell him what had transpired until he was older and must believe that he has been banished from the clan. She made a promise with the gypsy that she and he would meet again at this very spot 22 years later with her son.
Konoka started to flip the next page when her elbow bumped into a nearby book making it fall to the floor with a noisy thud. Quickly checking to make sure Nodoka and Setsuna hadn't heard she bent, starting to pick it up and froze, staring. It was open on its spine and a purple-haired head had poked out of the middle of the pages.
It blinked looking up at her with clear purple eyes and said in a mildly surprised voice, "Oh hello there."
A.N: So this was going to be longer than I realized it was too long. And two mistakes I have to address in the previous chapter: The scene when Konoka leaves the room. She was meant to go to take a shower but due to editing I over-looked that and Nekane was not meant to be in there when Konoka was leaving at the ending scene. Hope that clears things up.
KeeperAki: Yep you can count on at least six more appearing in this fic and maybe a few more others depending on how the story plays out :). Yuuna, Makie and Kaede are some that I am planning on having. I'll leave it up to you to guess the rest :P.