Disclaimer: See Chapter One

Chapter Fifteen

There's somethin' in your way, and now someone has gotta pay

And if you can't get what you want, well, it's all because of me

-The Offspring, "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid"

xxx

"You!" Zoro reached instinctively for his swords, only to find that they weren't by his side.

Shanks was barely containing his laughter, and even Smoker had a smile on his normal perpetually frowning face. Mihawk, for his part, looked rather smug. "I assure you that I am not here to fight you, Roronoa."

"Then why are you here? It's not like you know Sanji!" The pause the greeted his words made him stop for a moment before he hesitantly asked, "Do you?"

"We've met."

"Sanji!" Zoro turned to the blonde, who was rapidly approaching the bar with Ace in tow. "You never told me you met Hawk-eye!"

"I haven't known him for very long," Sanji sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "He was there on Thursday when Lucci told me the news."

Zoro still looked suspicious, and his glare at Mihawk said as much, but he let the subject drop as he commandeered a barstool and patted his lap.

"No. Way."

"Aw, c'mon, cook. It's not like it's a secret."

"I'm not sitting on your knee like some sort of virginal maiden!" Sanji hissed, really wishing that Smoker wasn't there so he could do permanent damage to Shanks, who was by this point practically howling with laughter.

"Besides, I don't think Blackleg's the virgin here," Smoker growled around his unlit cigar. "And I think Portgas can back me up on that one."

"Gladly," Ace smirked.

"Oi, don't go around making assumptions," Zoro grumbled, and Sanji rolled his eyes at the green-haired man and settled himself on his lap, grinning as Zoro held him around the waist.

"So what did you want to talk about, Shanks?" Sanji asked, leaning back into Zoro's embrace.

"I just wanted to give you a bit of helpful advice in case Krieg's men ever figure out where you and Zoro live. I'm guessing that you wouldn't go to any of your friends' places for fear of putting them in danger, but you definitely need a place to hole up in case something happens," he said, all traces of mirth gone from his face now as he addressed them. "I'd offer the club, but unfortunately I'm just the co-owner and it's not like I could shut it down to ensure the two of you have a private hideout."

"I've got an idea," Zoro said after a moment. "It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing. And as long as we wouldn't have to spend any length of time there I think it'll work."

"Where?" Sanji half-turned so he could look at Zoro.

"The gym."

"Hmm," Sanji thought about it. "What about classes, though? Don't they teach martial arts and stuff?"

"They do, but not past about six at night, and not before ten in the morning. There's showers there and everything, and I'm sure we could scrounge up enough food to hold us until we got to the university or the Baratie or wherever we're headed," Zoro offered, somewhat surprised to see that Sanji didn't seem at all happy with the news. In fact, he slumped back in Zoro's arms in a rather dejected way, and the swordsman gave him a quick, concerned look. "What's wrong?"

"This," he gestured vaguely with his hand. "All of this. I feel bad enough that all of you have to look out for me, you know that, but…you could be driven out of your home because of me, and…" he paused, clenching his long fingers into a fist and closing his eyes before glancing to look at Shanks. "Maybe it's better if I move somewhere else."

The unmistakeable vibrations of Zoro chuckling against his back made him blink, because whatever reaction he was expecting, it certainly wasn't this one. "Stupid cook," Zoro muttered. "Like I'd ever abandon you like that. We're all in this together, remember? What kind of friend would I be if I up and ran away just because of a little danger?"

"Friends, are we?" Sanji couldn't resist the jibe.

"Oh, that's right, we went over that," Zoro rolled his eyes. "Regardless, cook, I'm not going anywhere."

"You really don't have to do that for me."

"I want to."

"Nobody wants to be a fugitive, Zoro."

"Eh, I've got nothing I care about in that old apartment anyway. As long as I have my swords, I'm fine," Zoro did his best to sound reassuring, because he could feel how tense Sanji still was. "Really. And if I hear you say one more word about it, I'm turning the pigeon on you."

"Oh, not the pigeon!" Sanji gasped in mock-horror before finally letting a laugh slip by his lips as his body relaxed. "Anything but that!"

"BROO-HOO!"

"Ack!" Sanji flailed as he was brutally assaulted (at least, in his opinion) by a rather irate bird fluttering around his head and batting at him with its wings. "It was Zoro who brought it up! Zoro! Attack him!" But Hattori had apparently had enough and he flew away to land back on Lucci's shoulder. "Stupid bird!"

"I tell you, Blackleg, you have the most screwed up friends," Smoker grunted.

"Hardly friends if they're my personal guards," Sanji rolled his eyes. "I'm stuck with them whether I like it or not."

"Aw, it's not so bad, kid. You could do worse than Rob Lucci and his band of misfits," the ex-commodore told him truthfully.

"Back on topic," Shanks tapped the countertop and they all turned to look at him. "How much do you know about Don Krieg, Sanji?"

"Not a whole lot, besides that he's a gang leader," Sanji admitted.

"I'll give you some important facts, then," Shanks informed him. "Smoker can correct me if I get anything wrong, but I think I know what I'm talking about. The most important thing about coming face-to-face with Krieg is that the man is a walking weapon. He's got guns strapped to every part of his body and body armour to boot, but his most dangerous weapon is a spear."

"A spear? Like a javelin?"

"Nobody knows where he got it, but he obviously has dealings on the black market. The police have records of him buying pure snake venom that he coats the spear with, so even a single hit can be deadly," Shanks had a dangerous glint in his eyes as he talked. "Whatever you do, stay clear of it."

"Got it," Sanji visibly swallowed. "A-anything else?"

"You know their sign?"

"No."

"It's a skull with an hourglass on either side," Mihawk said simply.

"What does it mean, though?" Ace asked, his own eyes wide.

"When you see the hourglasses, it means your time is up."

Maybe it was the tone of his voice, or maybe it was the words themselves, but whatever it was, Sanji couldn't repress the shiver that coursed through his body.

"Dracule, don't scare him," Shanks admonished the man. "They used to travel around in this huge armoured van, too, but word has it that it got wrecked beyond repair a couple of weeks ago."

"Retaliation for waking me up. I was having a lovely nap," Mihawk deadpanned. "Regardless, you only got off easy because the police have been trying to confiscate that van for months," Smoker pointed out.

Mihawk didn't reply to the comment and so Smoker started grumbling, muttering something vague about swords and oversized hats.

"Is there anything else we should know?" Ace finally broke the silence as Smoker continued to glare at Mihawk while the dark-haired man sipped at a glass of wine.

"That's all I can think of," Shanks admitted, cringing as he saw Luffy making his way back to them. "The food'll be here around eight, so I'll try to hold the kid off until then."

"Better you than me," Zoro grunted. "Oi, can we get refills before he gets here? I have a feeling that you'll be pretty busy after."

"Of course," Shanks got them new drinks and Sanji slid off of Zoro's lap.

"Thanks a lot," he said to the red-haired man, who gave him a kind smile.

"We all just want you to be safe, Sanji. It's the least I can do." He held out his hand and Sanji shook it before moving off to the table where Usopp, Kaya and Chopper were seated.

"Hello, Sanji," Kaya smiled at him as he dropped down beside Usopp and slung an arm over his shoulders.

"Ah, my darling Kaya. It's wonderful to be able to sit in your presence," he took her hand across the table and kissed it softly as she giggled. "And how's school going, Chopper?"

"Great," the boy beamed. "My principle talked to the people down at the General Hospital and they say that I can come in for an internship this summer. They're even letting me get credits for work experience even though it's not technically a tradesperson position."

"That's amazing, kid," Sanji returned his smile. He hadn't had the opportunity to see a lot of Chopper's work, but the boy had given them exactly what they needed to keep Nami's temperature down the night they had to rush her to the hospital. Plus from what Zoro said in regard to his scar, it was obvious that the school would have to be insane not to notice his talent. "Got any scholarship offers yet, kid?"

"And university ones," Chopper nodded. "I can go pretty much anywhere I want, but I think I'll stay close to here. I need to help Mom with her patients," he added, a blush covering his face.

"Aw, you're so sweet, Chopper," Kaya ruffled his brown hair while his blush deepened.

"I should thank you for those hangovers pills you gave, Zoro, too," Sanji added. "They came in real handy."

"Don't thank me, you idiot! That won't make me happy at all!"

"By the way, Sanji," Usopp turned to him. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," Sanji replied truthfully. "I mean, I technically don't start getting fully shadowed until tomorrow, but I'm pretty used to having someone else there by now. Even if I appreciate being alone at times."

"You know if you need anything, or just somewhere to go, you can come to my place. It's close," Usopp added unnecessarily.

"Thanks, long-nose," Sanji said with another smile.

"Oh, and Sanji, I want you to have this," Chopped handed him a small piece of paper that he apparently had been keeping inside his overlarge pink hat. "It's my mom's number that we only give out to special patients in case of emergencies. But I figured that, with these guys chasing you, if anything happens you won't want to go to the hospital because they'd know where to find you."

"You're sure she won't mind?"

Chopper shook his head. "She'll pretend like she does, but she really likes helping people."

"Chopper, your foster mom scares me," Usopp admitted. "She always looks like she's going to main her patients."

"She's always looked like that!" Chopper grinned. "But she knows what she's doing; she's taught me a lot. And besides, Sanji, she already knows you from the time with Nami."

"That's true," Sanji had not-so-fond memories of the old doctor…mainly ones of her unconventional methods of trying to put his back into place. He'd never tell Chopper that, of course, but the memory still caused a slight twinge of pain at the base of his spine. "Thanks a lot, kid."

Chopper wiggled a bit in his seat but refrained from saying anything even as he turned red one more and attempted to pull his hat down over his eyes. Sanji grinned at the young would-be doctor's antics and glanced around the bar, happy that everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Shanks had managed to placate Luffy with a bowl of chips and peanuts, and the young man was ravenously devouring it, much to the chagrin of the others seated at the counter.

It looked like, for once, they were going to have a relatively peaceful evening.

At least, until eight o'clock rolled around and the catering company rolled in.

"FOOOOOODDDDD!!!!!"

"Luffy! You will wait for the rest of us before you even…"

Sanji sighed under the sound of his swan's voice and resigned himself to the fact that it was now going to get a lot louder in the little bar. At least it looked like he was going to get home early.

000

"You've never told me about your past."

"You've never told me about your swords," Sanji countered, stretching his leg over his head.

"You've never asked."

"Neither have you."

"I'm asking."

"So am I. Can we spar first?" Sanji glanced up, blowing his bangs out of his face so he could see more clearly. Luckily the party on Sunday had wrapped up by about midnight so the essay got done, although he didn't think the quality was that great. Monday had been fairly uneventful (except for his 'shadows,' of course) and now that school was over they were finally getting down to the promised training session.

Zoro grunted and took his three katanaout, not failing to notice that Sanji gave them an admiring glance while he snapped their cases back up and stored them at the side of the gym. The blonde continued to observe him while he placed the hilt of the white one in his mouth and gave the other two an experimental swing. "Tell you what, cook," he said as Sanji tried not to look too awed at the fact that he was speaking around a sword, "The loser of this little match gets to go first."

"You have an unfair advantage," Sanji pointed out, tapping the toe of his shoe against the ground. "I'm not used to wearing shoes."

"Tough. You wear them if I'm going to use my swords. I'm not letting you tear your feet up," Zoro growled, and Sanji finally nodded. He had known all along that Zoro used Santoryuu…three-sword style…but the closest he'd come to seeing it was that day in the cafeteria back in high school when Luffy had decided to imitate the swordsman using plastic butter knives.

"So, what is it?" Sanji finally asked, grabbing the arch of one foot with his hands and leaning forward to bring it up behind his head.

"What's what?"

"That," he gestured with his head. "How is your voice so clear?"

"Just a muscle trick, really," Zoro shrugged, setting one of his katanadown and removing the white one from his mouth. "Your tongue's used to having a lot of room to move around when you talk, so you just have to train it to do the same thing in a smaller space."

"Hmm," Sanji had a sultry smirk on his face as he dropped his foot, letting his hand slide down his torso until he could knead the front of his training pants. "I'd like to see what else you could do with that tongue of yours."

Zoro visibly gulped at the sight of Sanji nearly teasing himself, but he glared at the blonde a moment later. "Stop screwing around, cook. If you're that afraid to fight me…"

"Who said anything about being afraid?" Sanji very maturely stuck his tongue out. "Let's get this over with, Marimo."

"As you wish, princess."

000

"So, I think we can call that a win for me."

"In your dreams, love-cook."

"Funny, because the last time I checked I was the one straddling you."

"Che," Zoro scoffed, wrapping his legs around Sanji's and tugging so that their positions were reversed. "Now who's on top."

"Unfair," Sanji tried to get his legs free but Zoro had them pinned, and eventually he stopped struggling and let out a sigh. "Okay. Okay, you win."

"Good," Zoro set his katanadown gently and removed the one from his mouth. "So, spill."

Sanji stretched his back and gave Zoro an admiring glance. Of course he had anticipated the swordsman to be good, but he was exceptional. Sanji rarely met anyone that was a match for him when it came to sparring, and he had a feeling that both he and Zoro weren't even going all out. "Join me?" he sat on one of the mats and patted the spot beside him as Zoro put his katanacarefully back into their carrying cases before slouching over, Sanji directing him to lay down so that he could settle himself comfortably on top of him. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," Zoro rucked the blonde's shirt up and let his fingers rest on Sanji's back as he tilted his head up for a kiss. Sanji obliged him, their mouths moving slowly and with a rather restrained passion against each other as a small moan slipped from his throat. "Tell me everything."

"Where do I start?"

"Saturday morning, when you said you'd never known what a mother was…"

"Oh, yeah. When I was teasing Kaku about it…okay," Sanji took a deep breath. "My parents died when I was three. I don't remember them at all, but they said it was a car crash. I was sent to live with my uncle, but he really didn't want a kid, so he tried to get rid of me any way he could. Turned out an old neighbour of his owned a little deli downtown and lived above it. His wife had died a few years before without having any kids, so he was happy to look after me, and after school started I was really only home in the evenings anyway. When I turned eight or nine, he let me come down to the kitchen and prep rooms and showed me how things were done, and that's when I started to get interested in cooking. I helped clean up and made a few sandwiches now and then, and even though I wasn't really part of a family, I was happy enough.

"Then one night, when I was ten, one of our ovens malfunctioned and caught on fire. I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn't see a thing except smoke, but I could hear somebody calling me. I made my way over to the window and saw a man on the fire escape and he helped me to the ground, but by the time the fire department showed up it was too late for the shop and for the man who'd looked after me," he paused, his head resting on Zoro's chest as Zoro began to stroke his hair.

"The man who rescued me used to be a fisherman, but one day his boat was caught in a storm and sank, trapping his foot in one of the fishing lines. He managed to grab hold of a knife and cut his own foot off just to get away, and the Coast Guard found him soon afterward. He was also a cook of sorts, and when he came back into the harbour every night he would sell fish and chips off of his boat; it was how he made his living. But the boat was a wretched old thing and he had no insurance, so his livelihood was gone and he was out on the street. It was only luck that brought him by the shop when it caught fire, but I was glad for it."

"Zeff," Zoro realized.

"Yeah. Smoker was the one who rescued him, so that's how they know each other," Sanji's voice was impassive, but Zoro knew that the supposed indifference was really his way of trying to bottle up his emotions. "After that, we lived on the street. Out on East Hastings, and you know what kind of neighbourhood that is: drug dealers, criminals, prostitutes and worse. It was summertime, so I didn't have school to go to…and even if I did, I couldn't afford the materials fee. We scrounged up whatever money we could…at least some people were more willing to give when they saw a kid, and stayed in shelters when there was room, but…" he paused and bit his lip, and Zoro knew why he was so reluctant to talk about this in the first place. It couldn't have been an easy thing to remember.

Taking a breath, he continued. "Eighty-five days after he'd found me, one of the shelter officials gave him a letter. Turns out some old matriarch of the family in France had died and he was the only living relative, so he got whatever money was in her will. It was a lot; enough to build the Baratie. He told me that it was always his dream to own a really nice restaurant, and after what the two of us went through he swore that he would never turn away anyone just because they didn't have money, because we knew what it was like to be hungry. And you know the rest," Sanji finished quickly, seemingly unwilling to divulge any more detail about the horrific three month period he had spent in the slums. Not that Zoro blamed him, of course.

"I…Sanji, I had no idea that…"

"Nobody does," Sanji shook his head. "It's not something that I like to talk about if I can avoid it. And sometimes it's better for me to just forget that any of it happened."

"I can understand that," Zoro said softly, his fingers continuing to card through Sanji's hair. "It's just weird, you know? You're one of the trendiest and most fashion-conscious people I know, and you had nothing for the longest time."

"I've always dreamed," Sanji sighed. "My parents were quite rich, apparently, but they hadn't written any wills yet and whoever was left of my family pretty much stole all of their assets. I don't even know if any of them are alive anymore," he added thoughtfully.

"But why didn't Zeff give you to child services or something? I mean, he's a cranky old geezer, but letting a kid starve on the streets?"

"I didn't want to go, for one thing," Sanji replied truthfully. "You know how those foster things work anyway; half the time they send you into an over-crowded house in a neighbourhood far away. I liked my school, even if I didn't have that many friends, and as soon as Zeff heard that I wanted to be a chef…that pretty much sealed the deal. Having an heir makes things a lot easier on him."

"Guess so," Zoro grunted. "That it?"

"That's all you're getting. Now talk, Marimo."

"You have to move, first," Zoro chuckled. "I need to grab my swords, because that's pretty much my story."

Sanji grumbled but levered himself off of Zoro's chest as the younger man got up and grabbed his katanacases, bringing them over and opening one while Sanji sat cross-legged on the ground. "I guess I'll start from the end and go to the beginning. This is Shuusui," he took the thin sword out of its saya and held it up, Sanji admiring the odd coloring on the blade, which was black with a strange red wavy pattern running along the length of it. "It was given to me at a tournament a little while ago. One of the guys there was this old swordsman who used to be good in his day, and he was looking for somebody to give this to. He challenged me afterward and I beat him, so he told me that I was the one who should look after his sword."

"And he just gave it to you?" Sanji looked incredulous.

"Older swordsmen have a strange honor code, I guess. His name was Ryuuma or something so I think he was descended from actual samurai warriors, but he just kind of disappeared and I haven't heard from him since. It's a good blade, but really heavy, so it's taken me a while to get used to its weight." He replaced the katanaand opened the next case, and Sanji was surprised to feel his spine crawl as Zoro removed it. Brushing it off as mere paranoia, he nonetheless kept a careful eye on the blade. "You feel it, don't you?"

Sanji glanced up and met Zoro's eyes in surprise. "It feels…"

"Evil. It's cursed."

"Zoro, don't tell me you believe whatever…"

"It's true, Sanji," Zoro hefted the blade and let his hand slide along the brown bindings on the hilt. "And I don't believe it just because the man who sold it to me said so."

"So what's the curse?"

"The way the old shopkeeper said it, the blade had to test any human that wanted to master it. They had to throw it in the air, and if the blade cut them on the way down, they would never be able to tame it. He told me stories of people getting their hands cut off, but I'm pretty sure those were just elaborations on the truth, but there's a whole family of these swords and for some reason horrible things keep happening to the owners. Regardless, I had to do the test anyway," Zoro shrugged.

"You passed, I take it," Sanji leant back on his hands.

"The old man was pretty impressed," Zoro grinned. "It's a good blade, even if there are some times I can feel it almost…pulling my hand. And it hums," he kept a firm grip on the blade and passed the handle to Sanji, and the blonde placed his fingers over it carefully, eyes widening at the vibrations coming through the thin steel. "One day I'm going to master it and it's not going to question me anymore, but until them I have to be careful. Especially fighting in training matches."

"Do you tell your opponents?" Sanji still couldn't get over the fact that it was almost as if something inside the blade were alive, even as his fingers left the cool metal.

"I don't use it that often," Zoro admitted. "And rarely if I'm trying to actually win against somebody."

"You used it against me," Sanji pointed out.

"I was being careful. And I know you weren't going all out, either. I've been hit with real capoeira moves…that darn square-nosed freak cracked a couple of my ribs once when I taunted him it not being a real sport," he grimaced, putting the cursed sword back away.

"What's its name?"

"Sandai Kitetsu," Zoro replied before pulling the last case over.

"That's the white one?"

"That's the white one," Zoro affirmed with a nod. "And this is the one that has the most history."

"Do tell," Sanji shifted again, propping his elbow on his knee and his chin on his hand.

"Okay," Zoro lay the sword across his lap. "I guess I should start right back at the very beginning. My parents didn't want children," he began. "Both of them thought they'd make horrible parents and did everything they could to prevent conception. For whatever reason, it didn't work and I was born. They took good care of me, but it was obvious that what they really wanted was freedom to travel the world, which was impossible with a child. Our neighbour was a man whose wife had passed away, and he ran a small dojo with his daughter. They taught kendou and other basic martial arts, and we were up in North Van so there was a lot of open wooded areas and a lot of space to train in. I'd known him most of my life, and when I was about six he agreed to let me train with him and let me live with him so that my parents could go off and see the world."

"Ouch," Sanji grimaced. "No love from mommy and daddy, then?"

"They stop in every few years. I don't really resent them for it," Zoro admitted truthfully. "After all, if they thought they were gonna do a bad job, isn't it better to get somebody else?" Sanji shrugged in a non-committal way so he pressed on. "Anyway, this man's daughter was an amazing swordfighter…in all the years I lived there I could never beat her, and I tried almost every day. Sometimes more than once," he added. "She wanted to be the best, but she knew it would never happen because no matter how hard she trained she would never be able to beat a man in upper body strength. Of course, being young, I made a promise with her that even if she wouldn't be able to do it, we'd do all we could to make sure one of us became the greatest swordsman in the world."

"What was her name?" Sanji asked softly, not wanting to break Zoro out of the almost-trance he was in.

"Kuina," he replied vaguely. "Skinny little thing; short hair; tall and a little awkward. I guess…this was about ten years ago, now. I asked her to get her sword one night, and on the way back down the stairs to the garden…I don't know if it was raining, or…" Zoro took a breath. "She…" he gulped. "She fell, and…" he pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes as Sanji watched him in concern. He'd never, ever seen the swordsman this close to tears before, and he had a pretty good idea of what had happened to the girl based on his reaction.

"Zoro…" he moved forward, cupping the green-haired man's face and forcing him to meet his eyes. "It's okay. You don't have to…"

"No, I need to tell this," Zoro sounded angry now, but he let Sanji climb into his lap and held him close. "Nobody could do anything. I swore I would become the best for her. Her father was heartbroken, but he let me stay there because I was basically like his son. I asked for her sword. He…he agreed to let me keep it." Zoro was speaking in clipped sentences as if trying to downplay the grief he had felt, even as a child.

"That sword?" Sanji picked up the blade and held it between them.

"Yes," Zoro nodded. "Wadou Ichimonji."

"It's beautiful," Sanji drew it slowly out of its saya and held it gently, glancing at Zoro to make sure he was allowed to. When the swordsman only nodded, Sanji smiled and examined the shining blade.

"I trained as hard as I could throughout junior high, but I never really made any friends. I didn't have time for them," he smiled somewhat ruefully. "When I was about fifteen two punks showed up on my doorstep, wanting me to train them because they'd heard in local tournaments that I was the best. Nobody else would take them because they were pretty lacking in discipline, but I agreed. I think Kuina's father was happy I finally found friends, and I even took time off from my schedule to do things with them on weekends. They stuck around for a couple of years before deciding to drop out of school and do what they really wanted to, which was bounty hunting or some other strange fantasy," Zoro chuckled. "Went to the states to try and catch people from America's Most Wanted, I guess. They drop in every few months, somehow managing to make enough money to feed themselves, but they're great guys and the best friends you could ask for. After that it was easier for me to relate to others, and when Luffy nearly mowed me down in the hallway that day…that was it," he finished with a grin.

"I never knew you had other friends," Sanji looked somewhat petulant.

"You don't need to know everything about me. Besides, Johnny and Yosaku would drive you crazy."

"If they're anything like you, they would," Sanji finally grinned, glad that talking about these guys had lightened Zoro's mood. "So that's it? The story of the master swordsman?"

"Hardly. I've got a long way to go," Zoro returned the smile. "I'm glad I told you."

"I'm glad I told you," Sanji countered. "It…feels good to get it out there, you know?"

"Yeah," Zoro replied truthfully. "I think I do."

"So," Sanji wanted to stop talking about it before the mood darkened again, and he gave Zoro a light kiss on his nose and stood up. "Rematch, or are you too tired?"

"Bring it on, cook."

Notes:

1. Nothing much to say this time, actually :P. I'm enjoying my time off of work, and since the wireless Internet seems to be working here, I can post!!! Next week will probably be about the same story because I get home late, but the post should be within about a day of its normal time, if all goes well.

2. Some of you have been asking about their pasts (which I hinted at in like Chapter One) so I hope this clears it up!

3. That's…really it. Hope everyone enjoyed, and drop me a review!