A/N: A couple of people wanted to know about the 'condom'... I thought it was pretty obvious... safe sex is an absolute issue for everyone these days. Babies should not be having babies, so, someone has to be responsible enough to take the imitative and be prepared... and seeing as how Kenshin was not a stranger to sex, it was not a real reach in reality that he just might have a few squirreled away in his desk.
Another question was asked about how did the guys hear the girls scream through the noise of the dance? Well, if you remember, Sano said the dance was dead or something because it wasn't noisy enough... and they guys were right by the open door that Quii went out of, and she hadn't gone very far, and was right up against the side of the gym as well... besides, it was more interesting with them hearing. :) Thanks for reading everybody. And thanks for reviewing. Response to reviews after Chapter.
Haruko: Alright, blame it on me. I've been having the story lie in my comp. For eons before touching it. -sigh- Sorry, PMS-ing girl is never a good beta-reader.
Chapter Seventeen
Circles in The Pond of Time
All Hallow's Eve
1:17 a.m.
Kenshin and Soujiro's Dorm Room
"They are at the Lighthouse, dammit!" The voice was closer to a snarl than anything else as Kenshin paced his dorm room in ferocious agitation, the fiery curtain of his long red hair whipping behind him as his whirled to glare with tear filled amber eyes at the four other young men in the room. "We can't just set here and do nothing. We have to go... We have to get them back before... before..."
"Before what, Himura?" Ruakii was suddenly standing toe to toe with the raging volcano of Kenshin's fury, his own dark brown eyes filled with so many different emotions it was difficult to discern just what he was feeling. Anxiety? Remorse? Fury? ... Fear? "Before your Old Man turns them into his little play toys, or what? Huh? What? Just exactly what is that hot-headed crazy-man going to do with them? What?" He was yelling into Kenshin's face as his control began to slip, and before he knew what was happening to him, two very strong and very capable fists had grabbed him by the front of his rhinestone covered Elvis costume and nearly lifted him off the floor.
"Let's get one thing straight right now, Saitou." The red-haired, golden-eyed wolf growled menacingly into the stunned teenager's now pale face. "If it was only my crazy Old Man who had them, it wouldn't be such a tough problem to deal with, but it's not... we're dealing with something and someone so evil you can't possibly begin to understand, and HE is just using my asshole step-father to do his dirty work for him because he can't do it for himself. Now," Kenshin yanked Ruakii closer to him until their noses were nearly touching and he could almost smell the fear radiating off the other boy. "If you want to be useful to me at all, and you want to get your sister back alive and in one piece, you better start listening to me and doing exactly what I tell you because I'm through fucking around with you, jerk-wad. That asshole has my girl, and I'll be damned if I am going to stand here and just let him have her, so what is it gonna be, Saitou? You willing to play by my rules, or you gonna just keep giving me shit like always?"
"You know, Ruakii, if I was you... and I'm not saying I am, but if I was... I think I'd start playing it by his rules." Sano looked down at his dirty fingernails and blandly began to clean them as he leaned back on Soujiro's new bed. "It's just a suggestion, Buddy, but you might want to think about it."
"Indeed, I think Sanosuke has a valid point... for once in his life." Aoshi's drool voice hinted on a minuscule amount of humor though his face wore its usual bored and blank look. "It would probably behoove you to join his 'pack' instead of fighting against it. In my experience, you never have proven yourself to be much of a leader, my friend, whereas young Himura here, though aloof and distant from his classmates, does tend to exude the authority of a natural leader and would, therefore; have my vote and loyalty long before you ever would... no offense truly intended." Soujiro merely sat cross-legged on the bed with his arms folded across his chest a look of pure intent and absolute trust upon his face.
Kenshin was his brother, and Soujiro knew exactly what he was capable of. He would follow him into the very depths of hell if that was where they had to go... and it was starting to feel like that was where they were going to have to go to get the girls back. All he knew was if anyone was going to be able to do it successfully, it would be Kenshin, and he was going with him. He had to get Quii back, no matter what, he had to get her and if that meant facing his Father and whatever demon's from beyond stood with him, he would.
"What are we waiting for, Brother? Either this pansy-ass goes with us, or he doesn't it is as simple as that. Stop wasting your breath on him and let's make a plan to go get the girls... we've got four good men here without him, we don't need him dragging us down."
"Is that what you would do, Saitou? Drag us down?" Kenshin growled into Ruakii's swollen cow eyes as they filled with uncertainty. "Are you the pansy-ass my little brother says you are? Hmmm? Am I wasting my breath on you or is there something inside of you that is worth my time? Worth your sister's time? Isn't it about time you fucking started thinking about HER and stopped thinking about whether or not you're better than ME? What's more important to YOU? HER or your damn pride?" Tears spilled out of Kenshin's golden eyes and ran heedless down his furious face showing that beneath the anger, beneath the ferocity of his rage lay a heart filled with terror and pain, and a soul that was quacking in mindless fear that he may lose the one thing that he had come to treasure and cherish above all other things... beneath the fury of his Wolf the Angel within him cried out for the other half of his soul, it cried for Kaoru.
"I... I-I...sh-she is..." As the first tear since he was five years old slid down his face, Ruakii finally understood something about himself... something deep, dark, and harsh and he didn't like it. He was selfish, self-centered, and painfully self-serving. It had been more important to him to place the blame at the tortured red-head's feet than it had been to figure out a way to save his only sister, and the weight of that guilt crushed down upon his heart so heavy he suddenly felt smothered and closed in. "Q-Quii..." Her name was a prayer of forgiveness as it twisted its way free from the tightness of his throat, and to his astonishment he watched the fury within those terrifying molten gold eyes begin to soften just a bit.
"That's right, Saitou... Quii. It's all about HER... her and My Kao." Slowly, kindly Kenshin lowered the other teen to the floor and carefully disengaged his fists from the front of his shirt. "It's not about you or me or even my crazy old man. It's about those two scared little girls wondering whose going to come and get them out... who's coming to rescue them, and when, and who's going to make everything all right. That is what it's all about, my friend, not whose better or whose at fault or who needs to take the blame. All of that is bullshit... it doesn't matter to them, and it shouldn't matter to us. They are the only things that should matter to us."
"I-I know." Ruakii bent his head in shame as his guilt continued to consume him, but then he felt Kenshin's hand resting on his shoulder and he looked up into the steadfast golden gaze.
"So, will you help me... will you help US find a way to get them back? I... WE could really use a guy like you to help us out, and I know how much your little sister would love to see your face when we pull them outta there. What do you say, Ruakii? Will you help me?" Ruakii's eyes widened in astonishment for two reasons as he looked into the earnest face of the young man who had been his worst rival for over three years. First, he had actually called him by his first name without it sounding like an insult, and Second, he had asked him to help HIM... not all of them like he had at first, but He, Himself... Kenshin. He was asking Ruakii to help him. Ruakii felt like the wind had just been knocked out of him, and all he could do was stare and try to think of something to say.
"I-I... ahh..."
"Geez, he's flipped his pancake, man." Sano looked into the damp blank eyes and motioned at the working soundless mouth as he shook his head and traded glances with a bemused Aoshi. "Out to lunch for sure."
"Hmmmm, perhaps... give him a moment, Sanosuke. He has just suffered a tremendous shock, you know." Sano snorted and went back to cleaning his fingernails while Soujiro heaved a sigh of frustration. Sometimes Kenshin was just too... patient.
"Ruakii? You Ok, Buddie?" Kenshin reached out with his other hand and placed it on Ruakii's opposite shoulder in an attempt to offer the stunned youth some support as he began to sway a little.
"I-I'm fine... I just... I never th-thought I'd hear you talk to me like that."
"Yeah, well... don't get too used to it... I still don't like you much." Ruakii's head shot up and he met Kenshin's hard stare and understood. An alliance was one thing, a friendship had to be earned... just like trust.
"I got it... guess that makes us even. I still don't like you much either."
"Good. That'll keep us both sharp. So, what do you say? You coming?" The moment of polite asking was past, but the bridge was still open and Ruakii knew if he was going to join the 'pack' it was now or never, so the young 'wolf' reached out his hand toward the 'Leader' as he met the fierceness of the golden gaze.
"Yes, Sir... I'm coming." A dangerous smile curved half of Kenshin's mouth as he looked hard into Ruakii's clear eyes, and for once he saw nothing but truth and determination.
"Then welcome in, my friend." He reached out and the two old rivals clasped hands in a strong grip that had both of them white-knuckling it... though it was purely unintentional. "Now then, let's get down to business... time is wasting and we don't have all night."
"Isn't that the truth..." Soujiro muttered under his breath and then flinched slightly as he received a furious glare from his brother. "Sorry..."
"You're the one who said we need to plan." Kenshin bit out as his golden crystals raked across his brother's apologetic face.
"I know," He bit back as his own anger started to rise beneath the burn of those furious eyes. "I ALSO said we didn't need HIM."
"I beg to differ, Mr. I-Know-Everything, WE do need HIM. WE need him a great deal."
"What the hell for?" Soujiro hissed as he shoved himself off his bed and met his brother's angry glare with one of his own. "If it wasn't for him, the girl's would have never gone outside in the first place, and that maniac would have never grabbed them. If it wasn't for him and his selfish rotten attitude, Quii would still be here and we wouldn't have any plans to make. And if it wasn't for HIM..."
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Kenshin roared into the startled and shocked face of his brother who stumbled back away from him as his control on his anger slipped once more. "I said we were not going to stand here and throw the blame at each other... AND I MEANT IT!" Swinging around to include everyone in the whole room, he carefully locked eyes with each of his friends and they both nodded in agreement beneath his stare. Slowly he looked back at his brother who was eyeing him with angry respect. "No blame, Sou." He said in as gentle a voice as he could muster at the moment. "No blame and no arguing... not now. Quii needs Ruakii to be there no matter what you may feel toward him personally, SHE needs him, understand? He's her brother."
"I understand, but he better not get in my way."
"You're going to walk into God knows what kind of battle we may be facing with an attitude like that about one of your comrades? Are you out of your foolish little mind?"
"No, not really. I just don't want him to get too close to me, or else I may 'tell' him what I think of the way he treated Quii... and myself."
"So, it's personal, is that it? You're going to let one asshole opinion warp your better judgement just because it pissed you off?"
"That is NOT what I'm doing!"
"Isn't it? HE was worried about his little sister dancing too close with some guy he didn't know and he knew damn well SHE didn't know..."
"What does that have to do with what he did? He was brutal with her!"
"What would you have done if it were Cleo dancing with the brother of your worst rival? How would you have handled it, Genius? Tell me how you would have done it all so much better, tell me how you would have kept your cool and not made an ass of yourself or said a whole lot of things that you didn't really mean. Go on... tell me how you would have done it differently and not had it all blow up in your face, tell me that you're smarter than he is when it comes to OUR little sister."
"I am," His face had turned white during Kenshin's tirade as he had heard way too many variables to deal with, and way too many things that made him think maybe he would not have done any better of a job if he were put in the same position. "I would never... I... I would always... I couldn't.... I.... I... dammit, Kenshin. That's not a fair comparison. Cleo's not even old enough to date."
"She will be one day... what will you do then?"
"I don't know... I guess I'll try not to act like an asshole."
"I'm sure she would appreciate it. So would I." Soujiro looked up into his brother's face and found the fury once more contained, and in its place the hint of understanding for his feelings. "I know how much you care for Quii... already." Kenshin smirked and shook his head ruefully. "It seems to be a natural flaw we have, both you and I it would seem, to practically fall in love at first sight, and it only gets bigger and stronger the closer you get to her."
"Y-you and Kaoru?"
"Yes... me and Kao. I love her more than anything else in this world Sou. She's like the other half of my soul, and there is no way I can just stand here when I know HE'S got her out there. I just can't, she... she is too precious to my life, and I have to go." He turned and walked away from the four stunned and gapping mouths and moved to looked out the window into the night. "She's waiting for me to come. I know she is, and I have to do something because she is depending on me..because she trusts me... and because... because she loves me too."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get to the planning and go get them." Sano jumped up off the bed and moved to stand beside his friend. "We are all in agreement, Man... You're in charge here, so let's get moving already. Your Old Man can't have gotten them all the way to the lighthouse already, hell, it took us longer than this that one night, and we weren't packing a couple of unconscious girls. I bet if we left now, we could catch him on the beach and..."
"It isn't 'my old man' who has the girls, Sano." Kenshin cut of his friends excited string of thought as he turned to face the others again. "If it was just Hiko, it would be simple, but it's not."
"Huh, what are you talking about? What do you mean it's not him whose got the girls? We all saw him... even if it was only for a couple of seconds there was no denying who it was."
"I know who it looked like, Sano, but what we SAW was a means to an end, not the actual perpetrator who took the girls."
"I believe we are all thoroughly confused now, my friend. Just exactly what are you saying? If it was not the animal who 'calls' himself your, ahem, Father... then who exactly... or 'what' did we see?" Aoshi moved forward and locked his highly intelligent gaze with the golden lanterns glowering in his friends face, and the emotions he saw there sent warning alarms off in his bodies defense systems. This is very, very bad.
"Do you all remember the 'ghost story' surrounding the lighthouse?" Kenshin held Aoshi's gaze. "Do you remember all the talk about the Man who supposedly killed his Mistress 300 years ago by pushing her off the Lamproom catwalk?" He listened as everyone (except Soujiro) mumbled in assent. "Good... I'm glad you remember, now I suggest you all hang on to your asses because it's true."
"WHAT??" Soujiro, Ruakii, and Sano all chorused together as they exchanged disbelieving looks. "Have YOU lost your fucking mind, Himura?" Ruakii stepped forward staring at Kenshin as if he had just grown a third head, and without breaking his gaze with Aoshi, Kenshin replied in a very cryptic tone.
"Does the name, Daniel March, mean anything to you, Ruakii?"
The sound of constant dripping could be heard, and though it was far away, the monotony of it caused it to become louder and louder and louder as time inched by inside of the cold, damp, darkness. Darkness so heavy and foul with the passing of the ages that nothing could be discerned within its depths, not even a hand before one's face. The only sounds that managed to penetrate the thickness of the black were the rasping of mud beetles as they found their way through cracks in the mortar and age-old bricks to go scurrying across the damp muddy floor, the forlorn moaning of the tower as it eased and settled with the incessant pounding of the westerly winds, and the howling of those same winds as they screamed through the tower's funnel like the lost and dying souls of the long dead and forever suffering.
"Where are We?" It smells bad... musty... moldy... old.
"I... I'm not sure, but I think we are somewhere inside or beneath the old lighthouse."
"The lighthouse? You mean The Somberman out on Hackler's Point?"
"Uh-huh."
"H-how did we get out here? That is like way over the bluff and I don't remember how we got here."
"Me neither... exactly, but I think I know WHY we're here." God, I hope I'm wrong.
"Serious? Why? And wasn't that Himura's creep-Father that grabbed us? What was up with that?" My Dad is so gonna kill that creep when he finds out about this!
"It goes back to the night we all came out here the first time a couple of weeks ago. Do you remember? When everybody 'paired-up'? The night we all went in the lighthouse..."
"Yeah, I remember. Ruakki was his usually idiot self trying to scare everybody with that 'Daniel March' crap, but nobody else heard anything... except..." Quii paused in the darkness for a long moment and then began again. "What happened to you and Himura that night, Kaoru? Nobody ever really knew anything except that you got sick or something and passed out and Himura had to carry you home... Did you really get sick?"
"No, I... I didn't get sick, Quii... Something really bad happened to us, something we never told anybody else about." Kenshin? I can't feel you anymore... where are you?
"Why not?"
"Well, for one thing, we didn't think anybody would believe us, and for two... we just didn't want to talk about it... Misao knows." We didn't trust anybody else.
"Misao?? How does Misao know?" Trust the Weasel to know.
"I guess Kenshin told her after she helped him get me in my dorm room."
"Did she believe him?" Of course she did, stupid. She's Himura's new best friend.
"Don't know... we never talked about it... See, I don't remember everything that happened, most of it, but not everything, and Kenshin didn't tell me what happened at the last that made me pass out." Shudder... don't wanna know... don't wanna know... Kenshin??
"He didn't? Why not?"
"I... I don't know, but I guess he thought it was bad enough that he was afraid it would freak me out or something so he chose not to tell me." He was afraid... I could see it on his face when I woke up. He was afraid... I knew it was bad after that.
"Don't you want to know... I mean, doesn't it bug you not knowing what happened?"
"No... I don't want to know. What I saw and heard that night before the end... that was way more than enough, I don't need to know any more." He was afraid. I didn't need to know more than that.
"Just exactly WHAT did you guys see up here that night that was so bad you never wanted to talk about it? Was it really THAT bad?" I'm not sure I like the sound of this... It's starting to give me goosebumps and that means it's bad.
"Yes, it was THAT bad, Quii... How much do you know about the old ghost story that surrounds this place?"
"You mean the one about the Lighthouse Operator that murdered his girlfriend or mistress or whatever she was a long time ago and this place being haunted by the two of them? Do you mean that 'ghost story'?"
"Is there another one?" Kaoru sounded irritated. Geez...
"Well, no..."
"Then I suppose that is the one I mean, don't you think."
"Oh, well... right." Quii was embarrassed and she was glad Kaoru couldn't see her face because she was sure it was beet red. "Sorry." She mumbled.
"Fine," The older girl sighed in frustration, but continued. "Did you ever stop to consider that it might be true?"
"True? Are you kidding me?" Shit!
"Nooo, I am not kidding you." Do I sound like I'm kidding?
"Then what are you talking about?"
"Kenshin and I saw both of those ghosts that night... we saw them in the Lighthouse Tower, and not only did we see them, but we actually witnessed the occurrence of the murder itself."
"Bullshit!" Quii sounded incredulous. No way!! No freaking way!
"I'm serious, Quii. We really did. We watched Daniel March chase his Wife, Cassandra up the Tower stairs after he'd beaten the shit out of her, and then we followed them..."
"YOU WHAT??"
"Yeah, I know..." Kaoru shuddered in the dark as she remembered. "It was Kenshin's idea he wanted to see what would happen."
"What happened?"
"We watched that dirty rotten bastard pick her up and throw her over the catwalk railing and send her crashing into the rocks at the bottom of the cliff." Kaoru's voice trailed off into silence for a few seconds and then Quii heard her whisper in a sad tone. "We could hear her scream all the way down." It was like listening to doves die. I've never heard anything sound like that... Kenshin??
"You're kidding?" Quii's voice had dropped to a whisper as well as the full impact of the horror started to sink in. "He really and truly just threw her over... deliberately?" Oh God... oh...
"Yes... deliberately, and then he watched her fall all the way down." He just stood there... and watched... just watched...
"Oh my God... how horrible... that poor girl. How awful."
"That isn't the worst, Quii..."
"Are you saying there's more?" She sounded shocked as well as worried.
"Yes," Kaoru pushed herself up against the cold stone wall and closed her eyes as she remembered. "We followed him down the stairs, and then tried to leave, but... he wouldn't let us."
"He wouldn't let you? What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"He... talked to us."
"Talked... to you? You mean... to you?"
"Uh-huh. To us... like he was a real person. It was so scary and so creepy. He kept calling Kenshin 'Fetlock' and then kept saying he wasn't going to let him get his Wife again."
"What did that mean?"
"I... I look... I look just like her." We could be... twins... like a mirror, or a pond... I was her and she was me... I was scared... KENSHIN??
"Are you telling me he thinks you're..." His Wife??
"The ghost of Daniel March thinks I'm his wife reincarnated... he thinks I'm Cassandra, and he thinks Kenshin is someone named 'Fetlock' who I can only surmise must have been her lover..."
"OH MY GOD, KAORU!!" Quii cut Kaoru off as she cried out in exclamation and horror. "Oh my God, don't you see it? Don't you get it? Holy shit!!"
"What? What are you talking about? No, I don't get it... What?" Kaoru was totally confused by the other girls outburst and just a little bit perturbed by it as well. "What do you think you've discovered, Quii? Spit it out!" She demanded angrily.
"It's all right in front of you, dummy. The whole damn thing."
"What is? What 'damn' thing?"
"The story, the reason, everything." Open your eyes!!
"Well, I can't see it... tell me, dammit! What?"
"Do you believe in 'Reincarnation', Kaoru?"
"I... I don't know. I never thought about it before." This... this is bad..
"Well, think about this. Daniel March is married to a beautiful woman who hates him because he is abusive... maybe he's even an alcoholic, just like Himura's Father. Follow me?"
"I guess... go on." I just knew it... this is bad...
"She meets someone else and they fall in love and run away together to get away from him. Now 300 years ago during the Puritan times, there was no such thing as Divorce, if you cheated on your husband they put you in prison for the rest of your life. It didn't matter if he was an abusive asshole or not... of course, there were ways to get revenge."
"What do you mean?"
"A Wife could always embarrass her husband in public by announcing he was... er... unsatisfactory."
"That's low..." Kaoru's voice took on a note of vengeance as well as pity as she considered Quii's words. "But it would be fitting if he abused her as badly as Daniel abused Cassandra. You should have seen her face and all of the bruises and cuts he left on her. He was an animal... just like Hiko." You would have deserved whatever you got from her, Daniel. Deserved it...
"Well, would it not become his greatest obsession to get her back, and get his revenge on her and the man she loved more than him?" What a motive... just like in the movies.
"Oh my gosh! He wasn't the man they found in the lamp room... It was 'FETLOCK' Daniel killed them both!" I knew it was bad!
"Now your getting it. Remember, the story goes that the lighthouse operator killed his mistress..."
"That's right, and Cassandra was Daniel's Wife... Oh God. That's why he hated Kenshin so bad, that's why he kept calling him 'Fetlock' and saying he would never have Cassandra again... 'Fetlock' was her 'lover' and he looked just like Kenshin.... oh shit!" KENSHIN?? WHERE ARE YOU??
"Did Daniel look like Kenshin's step-father, Kaoru? Think hard... did he?" I bet...
"I... I don't know... he was so young when he died. He was only maybe 25 or 26 years old, and Hiko is over 40, but... the black hair, green eyes... maybe, maybe when Hiko was younger... if he were thinner... if his hair were longer... if... if..." Realization hit her like a 5,000 lb. ball-ping hammer and Kaoru knew the answer. It was Hiko. He was Daniel, just as she was Cassandra and Kenshin was Fetlock. Somehow, someway, the three of them had spiraled through time and finally wound up in the same century together, and in the same place, and in the same time, and history was trying to repeat itself.
"He's laying a trap for us..." She murmured through the thickness of the black that suddenly seemed to be surrounding only her. "He's using me as bait, and he's laying a trap for Kenshin."
"A trap? Why? Why would he want to bring Himura here? Why not keep you for himself? Isn't that what he wants? I don't understand. Kaoru?"
"No, he doesn't want me, Quii... He wants 'Her'. He wants Her soul to set him free so he can move on into the next world and the only way he can do that is if she forgives him... If she... if she loves him." Kenshin... find me. Find me before he finds you... Oh God, Kenshin... he wants to kill you... again.
"But how does bringing Himura here have anything to do with that?"
"He wants to prove once and for all who the best man is."
"I still don't get it."
"A duel, Quii. Daniel wants to have a duel with 'Fetlock' so he can prove to Cassandra that he is the better man, that he is worthy of her love, that he is worthy of her forgiveness, and that she should come back to him despite everything that has happened between them."
"He's insane. He wants to kill 'Fetlock' all over again."
"Yes, but this time, he wants to do it in a fair fight." Nooooo, I can't let this happen again... Kenshin... I love you...
"Totally insane."
"Quite." Kenshin... where are you?
Please Review… thanks
Rain anst: so sorry you got missed from my last chapter reviews… I had already sent the chapter off to my beta reader by the time your review came through. Please forgive. And thank you for reading and reviewing chapter 15. Hope you liked chapter 16 too… and I hope your still reading.
Kagura: Thanks for ALL of your reviews. You are the best! I'm glad that I have not appeared cliché…I hate that. I don't want to be mediocre either. I try hard not to be either. I like Ruakii. He is sort of patterned after an old school mate of mine from high school many, many years ago. Tough/and not so tough. Cool guy.
Lere; lere, my dearest love…you are my rock, my touchstone, and my warm place to go whenever I feel like I need a big hug. Brazilians give the best hugs in the whole world. Thanks for the uplifting words… glad you like the Limey :"}. wink
Ayah: Safe sex, dearling… safe sex. :"} And I love Soujiro too… he has always been one of my fav. Characters, he was just so innocent and sweet… even when he was bad he was sweet. Glad you liked the Lemon/Lime… can't always be totally fluffy… but Kenshin loves his tanuki, ne?
Paisita; smiles makes me happy to make you happy.
Lendra-chan: The element of surprise is half the fun of writing… doing the unexpected is where I have most of my fun. And you are most welcome for the reviews and small bits of advice on your story. It is going well for your first try. Keep up the practice and you will only get better. There will always be a spot for you on my website as long as you don't give up. Go get 'em Alendra!!
HaPPy BuNNy: I'm SeeING THingS AgaIN. LOL. The party wasn't that loud, sweetie… and they were already on their way out… and, I'm glad I gave you the 'creepies' I was trying too. Hope to see you around next time. :"}
MZ.AMbER EYES: Greetings, Mz. Amber. You sounded exceptionally upset… should I be sorry or should I just laugh wickedly and do my happy dance? XD Love ya girly.
Catti-dono: What a wonderful and pleasant surprise to see you here in this stories reviews…And how wonderful for me that YOU like it. WHEW! It is always a relief to an author when a fan who is used to reading one of her styles 'stumbles' onto something else she wrote in a totally different style… and loves it too. God Bless you, my friend. I love your reviews, and you too. Thanks you for all you say. And Thank you for 'Do You Want to Live Forever.' I still credit you with the whole idea. wink
InuLimbo; What just happened?? Weeeeelllll… Daniel/Hiko just kidnapped the girls and flew through the air back to the Lighthouse… (Hiko is possessed… at the moment, and it being Halloween, many things are possible-- hence Daniel being able to make him fly). Hope you like this chapter.
The Lone Lemon: Ahh, my dear friend… 'The Eternal Flame'? Great song… works for me. J Glad you liked the Lemon. Keep coming back. I love hearing from you.
Unknown beedee: Where is your update, young lady??? :"} I know, school sucks! LOL. So glad your still hanging around… why did they get taken away…. Cuz.
Shadow: I hope this chapter was soon enough too. J You know what they say… 'The Shadow knows…' wink Thanks for reading. Love to see you in my reviews.
BelleDayNight: So much has happened since you wrote this review, I'm not sure what to say… THANKS! You are now a good friend, and someone that I trust. I have also become one of YOUR fans, and I hope that we can keep our current relationship going for a long time. You are a treat to me… you make me smile, and you are just a joy to talk to on the computer. Thanks, me Belle. You're the Greatest.
Kaoru-890: Arigato, Miss Kaoru. Your welcome, your welcome, your, welcome. I'm glad to you love the story. Keep reading. I love that. J
Mishourou Mie: Great!!!
De Lazy Lime: Oh Ho! Miss Limey!! I was afraid I was going to miss you… or you had missed me. I am so glad to see you here again. You really should try to get more sleep. LOL. I am glad you Loved my Lemon/Lime considering how 'addicted/hooked' on the stuff you are. wink. Take care, Kiddo. GET SOME SLEEP!
Xia xue: Virgin eyes??? Ahem… winks I warned 'you' at the beginning of the chappie, Miss Xia… LOL. Just because you said in your last review you weren't sure you could read the lemon or not… LOL. 'Drama Queen', eh? I'll have to remember that… I did try to keep it toned way down you know, little queen. wink. Love you, girly. Take care.
Kenji25: Your E-mail address doesn't work. I tried to write you 3 different times and it just kept coming back to me. Anyway, this is what I was trying to say. I have every intention of finishing this story, it's my favorite out of all the ones I've written. I am humbled that you think I am so talented, it is always a boost to my confidence to hear that. As for your 'friend'. It bothered me that his/her life reflected parts of my story. There aren't many things in it that are very fun or very healthy for a kid, so do me a favor please… when you see your friend, give him/her a big hug for me and tell them that there are people in the world who won't abuse them. And that any kind of abuse is not their fault. It hurts my heart to hear about stuff like that.
Forbidden: Thank you. It's cool to be Awesome. J
liz: Thanks for reading. I am flattered that you liked it so much. I really appreciate the review. I hope you liked the new chappie too.
Midi Tenshi: WoW! A new Face!! that is sooo cool! Yes... it was an evil cliffy... I am really bad about doing that. I just can't seem to help myself. But I hope you enjoyed the plot anyway. winks. Hope to hear from you again.
JD Fielding: Ever my dearest friend and loyal reader. Your review didn't make it through... but I know you well enough that you wrote one. So, I say thank you irregardless to the screw-ups of FF.net and their neverending posting problems. God Bless my friend... BTW, I loved the last chappie of 'After The Fall'... hope my review made it on your list. Take care, dear one.