Chapter seventeen! Whoo! Okay, so I have some kinda-sorta bittersweet news. Due to my school semester starting up again soon, I'm going to cut back to posting one chapter a week. No matter how many reviews we get, there'll only be one. I apologize, but I figure it'd be better if I continuously give you one chapter a week over dumping a whole pile over the next three weeks, then leaving you with nothing while I focus on school. I should have enough time to get more chapters done if we stretch it out like this.

Thanks for understanding!

As per usual, my thanks go out to FiringShootingStar, theforgottenpeople96, AnimeKiwi369, Mixer18, RobotFish, RunoandAkizafan, Rose-Aki, Rapis-Razuri, ProChampionDuelistA. K. A. Pyro, Seeker Heart, and Star-Rose Lover for their incredible reviews! Thanks, you guys!

And anons this week are LDC, ChibiX, Mariah, name, PDS, and one guest! LDC: Haha! I can't make any promises on marriage, but I think you'll like what I have planned for them :) ChibiX: Ah, yeah. I figured I owed you guys an explanation on that ^^; It took me long enough to get to it, though. Mariah: You're welcome! Here it is! name: Tee-hee! Thanks! PDS: –bows– Thank you! I aim to please!

And, as always, a shout-out to my incredibly awesome beta, RobotFish!

Sunset Horizon
Chapter 17 – Intermission

Kalin sat at his preferred desk farther from the door, flipping through his book of notes taken over the years. It was almost a journal, something of a log that he kept to track the dates of certain events in the Enforcers' 'career.' It had already been six weeks since they had broken into Sayer's home and killed him. Yliaster had yet to send a new governor to replace him and left the town under the control of Sheriff Trudge.

The man was a good enough law enforcer, but he had no idea how to lead an entire town. Kalin didn't have any hard feelings for the man. He was just trying to do his job. Ever since Sayer's defeat led to the temporary retirement of the Enforcers, he hadn't made any move to lock them away. He had a feeling Akiza's connections had something to do with that.

Now that she and Yusei were finally together, they couldn't seem to keep their hands away from each other. Kalin was happy for his friend, but it got a little nauseating sometimes with how touchy they could get. He tended to just close his eyes and chant that they deserved it after all they'd been through in his head.

He heaved a sigh, settling back into his chair as he flipped through the pages of his book. Already halfway through July. Just back at the beginning of April, Goodwin was still around. They'd come a long way in two and a half months. He sighed and leaned back with a contented smile on his lips, mumbling to the empty room, "Don't worry, Grandpa. You can rest easy now."

...

Yusei dropped back into the pillows, breathing heavily as Akiza fell to lie next to him. "Damn," he muttered, still trying to catch his breath. "That was by far the best birthday present ever."

She pulled the thin bedsheet over her form as she rolled to her side to face him, flashing her own bright smile. "Twenty-one, huh?"

He leaned back in the pillows, raising one arm to rest his head on it. "Yeah… Time flies when you're having fun, eh?"

She giggled as she moved closer to settle into his side. "It's only been two months since then, Yusei."

He craned his neck and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "And it feels like it hasn't even been a week."

She slapped his chest and rolled her eyes, mumbling, "No, it doesn't. You're just an idiot."

A chuckle fell from his lips as he shifted to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "Maybe, but you love me anyway, so I don't really have a problem with it."

She laughed and rolled to climb out of bed, bending down and picking his pants off the floor before throwing them at him. "Well, get up, Birthday Boy. Rumor has it that the guys wanted to get you drunk in celebration."

He sighed as he sat up and grabbed his pants, tugging them on as he asked, "And they let you in on this plan?"

She flashed a devilish smirk. "They needed a sponsor to provide liquor."

…

Jack sat back in his chair at the Dragon's Claw, sitting alone and nursing a drink. Kalin and Crow were off doing Crimson-knew-what, and Yusei was keeping himself busy behind the bar counter, hindering Akiza's ability to pour drinks by kissing her neck.

Jack sighed. He was happy his friend was finally moving on and getting some action in his life, but there was only so much public display he could take. That was another reason he tended to flit from woman to woman. Less mushy, for-her-honor stuff to worry about. He could just get right to the good part and that was it. What made it even better was that girls knew his reputation by now and knew not to approach him if they didn't want just one night.

His work was pretty much done for him.

Now that Goodwin was out of town, Sayer was dead, and the rest of the Underground hadn't shown up much, his job was pretty dull. He looked for girls as a way to pass the time. He sighed and leaned back further, wondering if he might someday see that thief again. All this time, it had been a girl. He had been shown up by a girl! Just who did that bitch think she was?

And where did she learn to move so quickly? Jack had a feeling there was more to her than met the eye, but he had only had a chance to mention it to Kalin. Yusei was barely even home anymore, always spending his time with Akiza as much as he could and only coming back when absolutely necessary. Over the past three months since Sayer's death, Jack could count on one hand the number of nights Yusei had spent at their place.

Crow had been sidetracked by his hobby, always sneaking off to the woods to sketch his days away. He didn't think the other Enforcers knew about his drawing, but they all did. They just stayed quiet about it because it was something that made him happy. Rather, Yusei and Kalin kept quiet because it made him happy, and they threatened Jack to keep his mouth shut. Odds were two to one, they said.

Kalin didn't have anything to really say about the thief girl. He had listened quietly to his concerns and offered a few theories, but nothing made any sense. Was she another psychic? Yusei's girl had shared information on psychics, saying that each one had different powers. Maybe this thief's inhuman speed was something like that.

He couldn't place it, but he sure didn't like the humored smile Kalin wore as he vented his frustration at him. That look meant one thing, and Crimson Dragon be damned, Jack Atlas was not obsessed with some petty thief girl. He wanted her to be caught and killed. Burned at the stake like a witch of old.

That would teach her.

...

Crow had spent the time of freedom doing one of two things. Either he would wander through the governor's passages in search of any trace of the Underground, or he would go out to his favorite spot by the stream and sketch. It didn't matter what time of day it was. If it was too hot, he would just sit up in the treetops and sketch. If it was cooler out, he would sit on the ground by the stream.

He always loved that place. It was his favorite spot to hang out as a kid. He would go there and play with Luna when they were children, and she would tell him about whatever story she read and he would tell her about his sketches. She had chosen to become a priestess when she was ten, less than a year after her parents died. She always kept her father's scripture book near, since it had been one of the few items that survived the fire that took her parents' lives.

He was glad for her, but he had missed her when she climbed aboard the wagon that would take her to the Capital. She was so proud that day, so happy to be leaving to find her place in a world that needed the help of a few caring hearts. And then she was back, if only for a short visit. But why didn't she tell him she was in town? He couldn't deny that he'd been hurt by her coldness.

Granted, he figured she was probably ignoring him because of what he did, but she didn't even know the truth behind it all. If she had just taken Akiza's word at the time, then it was no wonder she was avoiding him. No one had hated the Enforcers more than Akiza did.

To say the woman pulled a complete turn-around was an understatement.

Crow sighed, glancing down at his sketch. Whatever. All he cared about right now was Luna. Why was she so cold towards him? And why couldn't he get her out of his head? He didn't even like to draw people that much, but he found himself unable to draw anything but her for the last few weeks. She was in his head constantly, and though he'd thought about her after she left the first time, he was thinking about her nonstop now.

It was driving him crazy.

...

Akiza stood behind her bar, cleaning the surface with a damp cloth, watching while Yusei played cards across the room with his friends. Every now and then, he would glance in her direction and shoot a smile or a wink her way. She couldn't explain why things had changed so drastically between them, but she was happy that they had.

Life was funny. Yusei had lied to her and made her hate him in order to protect her, while she had hated him because of his pretend personality, even though she loved him underneath. It was ridiculous how they both had wanted the same thing but were too blind to see it. They had managed to laugh about it since the night they had bared their souls and shared their feelings kept secret.

She was happy that he wasn't the man he had pretended to be. He hadn't been that man since the night they killed Sayer and he had proven to be a much friendlier and caring person, even though some of his traits still showed through. He couldn't keep his hands off of her—not that she minded anymore—and still drank himself under the table when he was with his friends. The only difference now was that she let him sleep in the bar when he managed to pass out and had the sheriff's men leave him there.

What could she say? He was cute when he slept.

She would wake him before she would go up to bed and make him get up to join her. He had even proven to have a talent with kids and fell right into the role of a fellow guardian to Annie, Max, and Leo. He was somewhere between a big brother to them and a fatherly figure. It was adorable, she had to admit, when he would roughhouse with Leo and let him win the play fights they got into. With her permission, he had started to teach Leo and Annie a little about self-defense, showing them a few fighting methods to ward off an attacker while Max watched in curiosity.

He always made sure she didn't mind before he taught them something new. He had mentioned maybe taking Leo down to his forge and showing him how to smith like he so desperately wanted, but Akiza couldn't help but worry about the kid being around all the fire and heat. He had only laughed and muttered that he was eight when he started learning to smith. Leo would be fine, but, as he said, it was her decision in the end. She was his guardian, and he wouldn't do anything she didn't like.

She couldn't help but love this new side of him, and she was enjoying every second of learning more about him. Every day was an adventure, and she was learning to expect the unexpected with him. He still had moments that drove her insane, but she got him to stop pretty quickly when she threatened to not kiss him for so long. It was a good thing it worked, because she wasn't sure she could go that long without the feel of his lips on hers.

She was in love and, by Crimson, she couldn't imagine it any other way.

Okay, since this what-are-they-up-to-during-our-time-skip filler chapter was so short, I'll do one last late-week update. The first chapter of Act II will be posted either Thursday or Friday.

Yeah, so this was pretty much just a filler. Nothing more really to say on it ^^; I hope you enjoyed it!

Visit my Facebook! www. facebook. c-o-m /OCValkyrie (Remove spaces and hyphens) Admittedly, I haven't been all that active recently, but I'll think of something to post :)

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-Valk