Hey guys,

I know it's been forever, like over a month since I updated this thing, but I've just been both busy and lazy and I'm very sorry about not writing more during my Spring Break last month like I promised. But better late then never, right?

I've been through a lot lately, but a quick announcement might be that not only am I currently in a relationship, but I'm able to go to Prom next week because he asked me. And he asked in a pretty nerdy way, so that's both props to him and points in Kiha's book. But yes, so I hope to write another chapter this week, but I might find myself busy with Prom and it's stuff.

But anyways, being that this is chapter 48 (I don't count the intro chapter with the profile), we have one more chapter until a little fiftieth kick back with maybe some of your favorite ships advancing a bit in their relationships? And just maybe there will be a kiss or two shared! But who shall it be that really gets close? Setsuja? Kyoko? Alynn? I guess you'll just have to wait and find out!

Anyways, I love you all so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

xKiha

"So, you are allies with the other one now?"

Kimiko nodded as she took a sip of water, watching Kenja set his bento box to focus on his friend as she spoke to him. "Yes, I've taken to calling him T."

"Simple, but I'm sure it is fitting." Kenja chucked to himself. "But from what I've heard from Kyo before, he wasn't much of a talker. Has that changed?"

"Yeah, he really came out of his shell yesterday. And luckily for me, he was willing to form an alliance with me, mainly because he figured since he was nothing but an alternate personality, he had nothing to lose by working with me." She shrugged slightly, a smile lighting up her face. "I'm just glad he's willing to work with me instead of trying to burn the books of our friends."

Kenja nodded. "But, didn't you say you had Aislinn and Cheshire with you when this happened?"

"O-Oh...y-yes..."

"Is something wrong?" Kenja lifted an eyebrow. "You seemed reluctant to answer that question..."

"Well, something did happen." Kimiko muttered, gripping her water bottle tightly as Kenja nodded, his azure eyes slightly lit up with compassion and understanding. "Are you willing to talk about it, or should I leave it be?"

"N-No, it's okay. We can talk about it." Her hazel eyes meeting Kenja's, biting her lip with nervousness before forcing herself to smile. "I mean, if you want to know about it, of course."

"If you'd please." He nodded.

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"O-Oh my, have you spoken to either of them today?"

Kimiko's teeth severed her lip as she thought about the look in Cheshire's eyes right before she left the area with the calmed Tsumi. The shock, the realization that she had lost to the demon who she had always looked down upon, the child that she always figured she was stronger than no matter what. But in that moment, not only had she faced a loss where she could have been defeated with ease, but it had been at the hands of Tsumi. Well, technically T, but the specifics of it really didn't make the wound any better.

"No, I haven't gotten a chance." Kimiko sighed as she looked to the back of the classroom where Aislinn was eating alone, biting her lip. "Aislinn doesn't want to talk to me, I guess, because when I tried before she just ignored me."

"Well, you and your new demon friend have exceeding their expectations after all. It might leave them a bit confused and feeling demoted, since they're no longer able to stand above you with the full confidence of being completely better than you. You were the ones to defeat Xenolith and now you two have proved that you're capable of taking them out given the opportunity, I can't deny my finding you both intimidating now."

"K-Kenja..." Her face paled with surprise.

"Now, I'm not saying I'm afraid that you two are suddenly going to turn your backs on Kesai and I and burn our book. But, if you two truly wanted to destroy us, you'd have no trouble doing it." Kenja said simply. "It's simply part of the game and when you think about it, that is how it might end.

"W-What is that supposed to mean?!" Kimiko placing her water bottle down a little too harshly, causing drops to fly up and spill onto the table.

"Well, by the hypothetical chance that the alliance all make it through this game, that Kesai and I last until the final few with only friends like you, Michael and Kyo having their spellbooks still, there will be only one clear option left. That being that at some point we are all going to have to face one another."

"But it won't be like how it was with other fights..."

"It won't?" Kenja said, lifting light blond eyebrows. "No, Kimiko, I couldn't have that. I want Kesai to become king more than anything else and neither of us could accept you or anybody else going easy on us because we are friends. Nothing against anybody I've grown close with in these years, but it would be cruel to not put your everything into every fight that you end up in when you open that book. You should treat everything with a level of dignity and gratitude, savor every scenario and hope that it'll end in your favor thanks to you giving it everything that you held within you and your partner."

Kimiko's teeth severed her lip. "You make it sound like you'd want us to crush you under our foot."

"If you prove stronger when we reach that point, then yes, I couldn't imagine it ending any other way. However, I doubt I will continue to be at this level when that time comes. I have every intention of surpassing everybody I can." Kenja smiled, the look on his face causing Kimiko to smile as well, if only because of the good nature that burned in the back of them.

Sure, he was partially warning her about the consequences that came with deciding to form a group of demons and their bookreaders, but even so he still had a good natured intent in those azure eyes. He still seemed to care for her and everybody else he spoke about, just knowing that the harsh facts of this game would trump those friendships for a moment before they all fell back into a state of normalcy.

"You're so weird." Kimiko teased.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"You're smiling while talking about destroying me and everybody else. Who does that kind of stuff other than you, Kenja Sedai?"

"A harsh pessimist who understands the world a little bit too much.." He shrugged. "But you know full well you wouldn't have me any other way."

She stuck out her tongue. "You know how much I love you."

"The feeling is reciprocated, my love." Kenja laughed.

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By the end of class, Kimiko just couldn't sit back and say nothing anymore. She swallowed her pride, clenching her fists tightly and approaching Aislinn who was currently packing her bag to head home.

"Aislinn?" Kimiko found herself mumbling, clenching her hands into fists to reassure herself, not like that really worked since she was nervous as hell!

Aislinn wouldn't even look at her.

"Aislinn, please, I want to talk about everything that happened yesterday. I get it if you're mad, but it's not good to just be mad and not talk about it." Kimiko said, trying to put a bit more of a firm tone in her voice like Setsuna or Aislinn would do to make sure that they got the attention or reaction that they were wanting. It didn't sound all that normal coming out of the mouth of Kimiko Isahowa, being that her voice faltered and wavered a little bit as she spoke.

Aislinn sighed, placing a notebook forcefully on her desk, huffing as she glared at Nia. "What do you want?"

"I-I'm sorry about yesterday." Kimiko mumbled. "I just don't want you to be mad at me is all. I mean, I didn't know that was going to happen, I didn't know that T was going to do that, that things were going to get violent and scary."

"How did you do it?" Aislinn practically spat.

"What do you mean, how did I do it?" Kimiko was lost...

"I don't understand how suddenly, you two overpowered us." Aislinn said, shocking Kimiko with her ability to actually recollect the situation at hand. "You've been weaker than us since the beginning, we almost destroyed you the first time and we've been backing you up when you couldn't handle fights on your own. And then suddenly, you take on Xenolith all by yourself and come out the winners.

"And then after that, you two go off for a while, come back with a brand new spell and suddenly nothing can stop you. In fact, you're complaining because things become hard to handle because your demon has become too powerful to even handle himself. Isn't that a little ridiculous? You've become the strongest in our group and you're still pining for attention and acceptance!"

Kimiko took a step back. "A-Aislinn..."

"No, it just doesn't make sense! You're trying so hard to get my acceptance, to get my friendship right back where you thought you had it a while ago because you practically thrive on the attention I and the others give to you! It's pathetic, Kimiko, that now that you have everything, you're still more worried about what I am going to feel about you!"

Tears filled Kimiko's eyes as she bit her lip hard. Sure, that was completely hurtful, but the reason it hurt so much, the reason it left her with tears in her eyes, was because Aislinn was completely right. With T came power and with power, her place as leader became further cemented in the possibility of being the strongest in this group. She and her demon were in a place where they could have defeated Cheshire and Aislinn, who months ago stood there and planned on destroying them right where they stood.

"I-I'm sorry..." Kimiko stammered, her voice shaking with each word. "I-I am so sorry, for everything."

"If you're really sorry, if you really want to fix this, you'll grow up and start carrying yourself with pride." Aislinn said, placing the final things in her bag. "Nobody is going to feel bad for you now that you're in a position to win."

And with that, Aislinn Akihira left the classroom, both agitated and unable to stand even being near Kimiko anymore. Leaving the stunned brunette to stand there, shaking in undesirable emotions and wiping her eyes of whatever tears decided they wanted to fill up her eyes.

"Kimiko."

The girl jerked, turning to see Yukio had been sitting at his desk through the entire blow up. He drew in a breath, running a hand through his platinum blond hair. "What is happening between you two?"

She bit her lip, trying not to cry. "I mastered the sixth spell, Mister Kincad. I did what...what you said and I decided I couldn't run away anymore, that I had to face this."

"I see. Well, I'm very proud of you for doing something so brave."

Tears filled her eyes with a wet sniffle, a set of twin droplets beginning to run down her cheeks.

Brave.

She didn't know about that anymore.

"No, because in mastering it, I hurt my friends. Cheshire and Aislinn...they don't trust me anymore...because...because they came alone to help us, to help keep this sixth spell version of Tsumi calm. And instead, he nearly killed Cheshire. He hurt Cheshire, Mister Kincad!" She was sobbing now, unable to stop the mess of snot and tears from sliding down her face.

He stood up, walking over to his student and placing his hand on her shoulder, her reddening hazel eyes staring up at him with a sniffle of emotional weakness. "It's just a confusing spiral of dominance, huh?"

"W-What?"

"This game mostly relies on brute strength, Kimiko, and when you and this other Tsumi as you say, proved that you have just as much strength and power behind you as they do it probably left them both in a crisis. But when you think about it, this is probably how it's just going to go from now on. There might be a spell in Kyo's book that might make him and Amera the strongest in the group next, it's completely unpredictable."

"But...they're going to hate me." She sniffled.

"Because you're strong? Well, there isn't much you can do about being strong, Kimiko. You're going to need to hold onto your strength and spells, because they are what will help you achieve Tsumi's goal." He smiled gently. "I know, it's not a great feeling to be intimidating to those you care about, but it''s just how it's going to be in a fight like this. If Aislinn is a true friend, which I know she is, she'll come to terms with this and maybe work to become stronger herself.

"I know this isn't the best situation to handle with friends, but it'll all be okay, I know it."

She nodded, sniffling as she brought herself to smile. "You're right."

"I know I am." He chuckled. "I've been known for my wit and my helpfulness in these sorts of situations."

She rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Mister Kincad."

"Anytime, Kimiko."

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When she left the classroom, Kimiko would find Kenja standing outside of the room, a faint pink somewhat apparent on his always pale cheeks. "Were you...waiting for me?"

"E-Er..." Kenja jerked when he saw her, shaking his head slightly as if trying to get himself to focus. "I guess you could say I inadvertently was. But I could walk you home if you like."

"O-Oh, that'd be nice." Kimiko smiled, trying to make sure her eyes weren't too red, being that she didn't want to draw attention to herself. Although Kenja really wasn't one to pry when he knew he wasn't wanted to.

And the two headed out of the school, Kimiko biting her lip at the idea of finding Tsumi standing there waiting for her.

"I am not kidding! I've been hearing these rumors everywhere!"

Well, Kesai was here.

Sure enough, both the poison demon and the fire kitsune were standing in the courtyard waiting for their bookreaders to show up. Kesai having his arms folded across his chest, his ears flat against his head. "You don't have to believe me, Sumi, but I'm telling you the truth. There are rumors of a demon who can turn other demons to stone."

"And where have you heard that?" Kenja muttered, his demon turning to look at him as his ears perked up.

"I've just heard it around...It's got to be true."

"It is likely a rumor, Kesai. Would it truly be fair to have a demon that could turn her enemies into stone without a second thought?"

"Was Xenolith's ability fair?" He had a point there as both Kenja and Tsumi bit their lips and found they had no other argument. Fairness in a game like this didn't really count, which meant that they couldn't really count anything out in this.

"I told you! It's got to be true! Why would anybody lie about that!?"

Kimiko snickered as Kesai continued, the child suddenly jerking as he turned his attention to the brunette. "Hey! What are you laughing about!?"

"I just realized how much I love this game." She smiled through laughter. "And how even when it gets hard, I don't think I would give it up for anything."