Hi, guys! :) Wow… Four days ago was the day I joined two years ago. Sometimes it feels like it's been a long time, and others a short time. But it most certainly has been a wonderful time. :) There's a lot that I wanted to say... But I can't remember any of it. XD I've had this thing ready to go since the 16th, but so much happened between now and those four days that I forgot it all. That and I've been stressed out like you wouldn't believe. D: I'll deal with it, though. For now, review replies! :D

Prince of Tennis' Shaman: Don't worry; I'm fine now. (Holiday Cheer was a lifesaver, An; I still can't thank you enough for it. Though I sent you a message about it, I still promise to do a proper review ASAP.) Very stressed, but overall fine. :) Thank you~! :D (It's important, Jiro. :P After all, don't you count the time since you met Shu and Kluke?) (Jiro: Well, of course I do, but- Hey! Don't change the subject like that!) It was wonderful, wasn't it (and still is)? :D *blushes* Aw, An... (Jiro: Oh, boy. Here we go.) (I can't help it. XP An is sweet. :)) I'm still not all that happy with said certain fic, but I think I'm getting to the point where when I read it I don't cringe- well... Actually, maybe that's a bit of a stretch. XD But I've managed to become at least a little happy with the final chapters of it. *blushes again* I'm glad it helped; that's always been my hope. :D Mm. :) Yes, that's true... I think I'm in a partial one right now. XP (Beyond and Yami no Himitsu... Writing movement and such in between the action should not be this hard. D:) (Don't give An a hard time, Jiro. XP) I'm glad it wasn't just me; it made me think I was strange for being happy-but-not-exactly-happy about it. XD (Jiro: You are... very strange.) (I kind of take that as a compliment. :D) Same here, although now I'm starting to like Andropov x Kluke much less than I did back then... I still sort of like it, but it's just not the same as what it was. :P (Somehow, though, I still manage to find a way to write about it, though. XD) I suppose I feel the same way. XD (An's right, Jiro. :D) (Jiro: That's what worries me...) (What do you mean? :D *oblivious*) (Jiro: ...) I know I'm paranoid (just not only about Jiro); really, super paranoid. XD XD XD I know! I saw it, too! :D Oh... Don't worry about the translating, An. :) I know you've been busy, and I've been doing a bit on my own... Plus, you probably already know by now, but Corona started subbing season one (picking up for poor Star Fansubs) and a new translation has begun for Tenkai. (YAY~!) You're welcome. :D Can you believe we've hit six pages already...? I know; it's fantastic. (Gah, I want to find out what happens so bad... But take your time; write whenever you have the chance.) Thank you. :D (That thing was so hard to write...) A-aw, An... *blushes... again...* I know. XD Thanks. :) And thanks again; I went ahead and changed it now. I think I've updated a few times since then, but I definitely want to update Beyond sometime soon; I've been planning what's in Chapter 18 since practically the beginning. ;) Futari Kiri I'm having trouble with for reasons unknown to me... But I kind of have the first part sort of done, and when I can finally finish piecing it together, it'll eventually be uploaded (I have no idea when this will be). Third season...? Oh, Fierruneru no Unmei! (Great; now I'm forgetting my own stories. XD) While the final parts of it are doing well, the beginning has been very rocky; I'm having a lot of trouble with it - the most pressing problem is getting from "here" to "there" XP – so I'm really not sure when I'll be able to update it, though I'm certainly going to try. The Plus adaptation, Remnants of the Ancients, has finally been uploaded, and I'm quite pleased with how it's going so far – very unusual for me. XD I don't know when the next part will be done, since I have yet to start it, but I'm eager to get to work on it. The next chapter of Maple Leaf will be very enjoyable to write, I think, though I haven't really started it; the next two chapters are really what I think of as the "origin" of the series, and I've wanted to polish up the prototype chapter I have of it for a long time now. Aw... Thank you, An! :D I'll try to; I'll try to do that, too; and I won't. :) And you take care, too. :)

WindGoddess Rune: Ah, it had been four months, but it certainly felt like a year... *sweatdrops* I don't know how to say this, Rune, but... I lost them! *wails loudly* I don't know why, but the site got rid of almost all my PMs! D: I think I still have one from you, but my inbox got severely gutted. I'm so sorry... :( It's my fault; I should've tried harder to make the time to reply. I never expected them to do anything like that, though... Anyway. In the future, I'll try to write back to you sooner. :(

And replies are done! :) This next one is probably the happiest I've been with this series for a while... But instead of spoiling it, I'll just let you read it now. XD

6. Lands Far and Wide

Five years ago...

The wind tousled her hair, blowing the strands from the side of her head in front of her eyes; impatient, the little girl pushed it back. They were coming close to the top of the cliff, and after walking so long, she was eager to see the view.

The two small children at last reached the top. Upon doing so, her two-minutes-younger companion - her best friend for almost all of her seven years - turned to see what it looked like and took a quick intake of breath at the sight. After a few seconds, she heard him murmur, "It's amazing..."

"It is." She agreed, near breathless. They had never walked so far in the village outskirts before, nor gone so high, and thus had never gotten to see so much.

It was astounding.

Miles of forest stretched in front of them; the tops of the ruins stood out like a white ship in a sea of green. Neither child, of course, had ever seen an actual ship on water, but the drawings they'd peeked at gave them the gist of the idea. The two had always wondered how such a large forest managed to thrive in the desert, but as it offered them something new to explore, as opposed to long stretches of sand, they'd never questioned it. (Besides, maybe they'd learn the answer in school one day.) Beyond that, they could see the village; the houses were small, only visible by their clay or red-paneled roofs. The church, though, being so tremendously tall, was easy to spot. (Kluke involuntarily flinched, remembering that she had practice tomorrow. She disliked singing in the choir; while she enjoyed singing in itself, she was also relatively shy, and couldn't stand to sing in front of anyone who wasn't Shu or their younger friends.) There was a small gap of desert, ringing around the village. And past that were blue-gray-tinted mountains, enticing the girl and boy with all of the many places and sights that lay beyond them.

Places we'll probably never get to see. The boy sighed, unable to smother a hint of longing. "Kluke... Have you ever thought about leaving Talta?"

She shot him a slightly perplexed look. "What do you mean, Shu?"

"Not to leave for good," he said quickly; while he got bored doing the same things over and over again, not even he could stand to be away from Talta Village forever. The thought of it was simply unthinkable. "Just to, you know..." He struggled to find the words. "To... To go on an adventure!"

"An... adventure?"

"Yeah!" He nodded enthusiastically. "Like in the books. To see things we've never seen before... Plains, fields, marshes, big cities, castles... Oh, and the ocean!" His grin widened at the last one.

"The ocean..." Kluke said it dreamily. She'd always wondered what it would be like to see so much water - a whole expanse of it, even. And to ride in a boat...!

"It would be great to travel like that..." Shu let out another wistful sigh.

A sudden, inexplicable fear gripped Kluke. What if... What if he did try to go explore the world someday? Shu was always daydreaming of going on grand adventures, just like in the stories. To do great things and see amazing places...

Would there be any room for her in his plans?

Involuntarily, she spoke her concern. "What... What about me?"

Shu shot her a confused look. "What do you mean 'what about you'?"

Kluke swallowed; too late now. She'd already spoken, so there was really no believable way she could back out or say she'd meant something different. She could only tell him the honest truth. "In a lot of the stories we've read, it's often only one person... So... Would you take me, too, if you went somewhere?"

Shu blinked at her a few times, then laughed lightly. "Of course I would! Why do you even need to ask? I would never even think of leaving you behind!" He reached over and clasped hands with her; Kluke promptly blushed, unable to hide it. "We're best friends, Kluke! We'll always be together. And even the times that we're somehow separated, we'll still be with each other, in here," he gestured to his heart, then retook Kluke's hand. "And if we are apart, we'll find our way back to each other someday. I promise."

Kluke smiled bashfully, nodding. "Okay. I promise, too."

Two years ago...

There were about five separate pebbles poking him in different parts of his back. It was, without a doubt, the most uncomfortable he could remember being in all ten years of his life.

It did nothing to douse his excitement.

"Psst. Kluke." A two second-long pause. "Kluke, are you awake?" He said it purely for courtesy's sake. He'd been listening to Kluke sleep for years, albeit sometimes in a different room - absentmindedly, he was grateful they'd stopped sleeping in the same bed after they turned five, since she tended to kick about halfway through the night, though she was always sure to tell him he wasn't any better - and he was well aware that Kluke wasn't anywhere close to being asleep.

"... Yes." She waited a little while, then said, "What's wrong, Shu?"

"... We're here."

"Huh?" She rolled onto her side, trying to search his face for an explanation. She'd been around him for years, and more often than not, Shu didn't make sense at the best of times, let alone the middle of the night.

"We're out of Talta. We're finally going on our adventure!"

"... Oh." Kluke said after a moment, at first a little stunned, but then starting to feel rather gleeful. "You're right."

"We'll go to castles and big cities. And we'll see the ocean."

"Yeah!"

"First rule about traveling, you two," a voice belonging to one no older than them, mixed with annoyance and dryness, spoke up, eliciting a yelp from both Shu and Kluke. "Go to sleep when it's time for bed, or you'll be dead on your feet in the morning."

"Right." Kluke flushed embarrassedly. "Sorry, Jiro."

"Yeah, yeah..." Shu muttered, irritated.

Silence stretched for about a minute. Then, the camp's stillness was permeated by the excited giggles of two ten-year-olds. The second boy let out an annoyed sigh, and rolled over partly to sleep - and partly to hide a threatening grin that was only barely held back.

Present.

She glances at the blue-tinted peaks topped with snow, feeling nostalgic and smiling in the same manner.

Well. She's seen the other side of them now, hasn't she?

But she's no longer on an adventure, and while she's seen many of the things she wanted to, she has seen much that she's had no desire to look upon, and what feels like not nearly enough of what she did want.

And Shu isn't with her.

That's... really, that's her fault. She couldn't tell him "yes", though. There is much beauty in the world, but there are many things that are also terrible. And she's had enough of seeing terrible things, and had enough of no longer seeing people. She wants no more of it.

And for that, her price to pay was him.

She lifts her hand for a second, stops. Then she presses it tightly over her heart, looking towards the mountains. "Wait for me..."

Many, many leagues away, a twelve-year-old boy stops walking and turns around. He stares at gray-tinted mountains and wonders if he's hearing things.

He decides that he isn't.

His three companions ask him about the sudden, soft smile that graces his face, and why he has a hand over his heart. He just shakes his head, smile deepening, and to their continued confusion, tells them he's waiting for someone.

… And it's done! :D This one reminds me a bit of For Every Year… Just a whole lot shorter, and with Kluke instead of Jiro (and this could possibly hint at Shu x Kluke, while For Every Year is friendship). All and all, I'm pretty happy with how it came out. :) Oh, and An and Kat(95): I finally managed to get Jiro into this thing. :D

So, if you can, please review and let me know what you think! Updating is still up in the air; I was going to resume my updating style from before, but I have more stories than I did before and need to make note of the new ones on my profile… Even so, I may not go back to doing it that way (though I think that at some point, I will eventually resume the poll). Editing my profile will be the next step, though. Anyway, that's all for now. See you soon! :)