Michiru and Emeralda decided to head up and change and think about what they wanted to do for the festival. Zelgadis, meanwhile, stepped outside to wait and to think himself, since he'd been interrupted earlier. Much to his surprise, though, after just a few minutes, the zombie idol Sakura stepped through the door and came to stand beside him.

"Can we talk, Zelgadis?" the undead redhead asked, her tone serious.

The chimera had hoped to be alone and even though he realized it was his own fault for not choosing to go to his room for that, he was still annoyed. It must have showed on his face because Sakura spoke again, this time sounding more contrite "I know I'm probably butting in but to be honest, I didn't just come to help Hina-chan out with the festival. I wanted to talk to you."

That admission was enough to drive off the sour cloud that hung over Zelgadis as he turned his head, a look of surprise on his face as he replied "You wanted to talk to me? What for? I don't think we've exchanged more than a few words together before now. No offense but I'm not sure what we could even talk about."

Sakura's face puffed out in cute annoyance at the rocky grump, annoyed he was making this harder than it had to be. On seeing the display, Zelgadis lightly remarked "Your not going to try and bite me or anything, are you? Trust me, it wouldn't work."

Sakura quickly turned and started comically punching the sour sorcerer "I'm not that kind of zombie, you jerk!"

"Right. Sorry, just…stop the tantum, it's embarrassing." Zelgadis quipped, unmoved by the zombie idol's assault.

"Not as embarrassing as the way you acted yesterday." Sakura shot back as she stopped her fists, able to land a blow much harder than anything her undead hands could muster.

That got Zelgadis' attention as he turned and glared down at the redhead. For her part, Sakura had a rather uncharacteristic smug smirk on her face as Zelgadis said, his voice laced with anger "So Jun told you, did he? Doesn't seem very professional to share that with someone who isn't a pro hero."

"You're not just a hero, Zelgadis, you're a lighter! And I know you haven't been around enough yet to realize it but that makes you a part of a family! Thats why…thats why I wanted to tell you how I died."

"How you died?" the sorcerer-swordsmen repeated. Thinking back on it, Zelgadis realized that although Sakura had mentioned she had died and been brought back as a zombie, she hadn't given any more detail than that. Was there some horrible secret to the tale? Or was it so traumatic that it hurt to even remember it? Whatever it was, it seemed that Zelgadis was about to find out.

"Yeah…" Saura answered, now much more apprehensive and nervous looking as she tried to meet the taller blue-skinned man's eyes. "The truth is, I didn't die saving a child or in a plane crash or at the hands of some madman. No, I had just gotten an acceptance letter to try out to be an idol and after getting ready, I was so excited, I just rushed out the door and into the street…"

Zelgadis' eyes widened in realization at the sad truth being revealed to him as he said "No…don't tell me…"

"Yeah, I was hit by a truck. That was it. Nothing special, no greater meaning to my life or my death. I made a stupid, careless mistake and paid the highest price anyone can." Sakura answered as she starred into the chimera's disbelieving eyes.

"When I was brought back like this, I couldn't really remember who I was, but when I did…and remembered how I died…it was very hard coming to terms with that. With having thrown my life away so...pointlessly." Sakura concluded.

As she finished, Sakura saw she had her companion's rap attention and suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm, pressing his hand against her ample chest. The unexpected action along with the compromising location caused the chimera to blush as he tried to pull away. The zombie girl was, surprisingly, strong enough to hold his hand there long enough to speak again, her tone forceful, "Can you feel that, Zelgadis! Of course not, because I'm still dead. My heart will never beat again!"

As Sakura spoke, Zelgadis stopped struggling and took the time to do as she said. It was true, there was no heartbeat, and the sorcerer was struck by just how cold Sakura's skin felt as his hand continued to press between her breasts. The red-haired zombie watched Zelgadis as he struggled with what she had said. Finally, the rock-encrusted chimera again gently tried to pull his hand away and Sakura did not fight him. As he pulled his hand back, Zelgadis spoke again, quietly "How…how did you do it? How even could you? You…your right. All the mistakes I've made. They've paled in comparison to that."

Sakura sighed in exacerbation before shaking her head as she said "Your missing the point, Zelgadis. I didn't tell you that story to trivialize your mistakes. I'm saying you can always come back from them. How you do that, that's up to you. Find something you love to do. Be with people you enjoy, whatever can make you happy! Because if you're happy, you can move forward. Looking back, chaining yourself to your mistakes, it's impossible to move forward and make yourself and the world around you better when you're stuck, unmoving. That's how you atone. And how you heal"

When Sakura finished speaking, Zelgadis didn't react for a long moment. Sakura began to think something was wrong and the steely facade she had adopted to drive home her point was beginning to break when finally, the chimera suddenly turned away and slammed him fist into the handrail he had been leaning against. The zombie idol did the best she could not to finch at the violent act and held herself still despite wanting to ask if he was ok, waiting for him to say something. The thought that Hitomi made this look easy may have crossed the red-head's mind in those silent moments as she waited.

"I don't deserve it." Zelgadis finally said, his voice trembling with self-loathing anger.

"You do." Came the zombie's swift and firm reply. However, Zelgadis said nothing, his only reaction to lower his head. "I know saying it alone won't convince you. You have to accept it yourself. You're the only one who can save you, Zelgadis." Sakura finished.

When no reaction came and an awkward silence settled between the two of them, Sakura broke the silence with a pout "You're such a meanie! Sanada-sensei told me all these stories of how you always had a mean thing to say in class, ready to argue with him on anything! I came prepared and everything for you to be all combative and instead you're moping instead. How am I supposed to deploy my best weapon if you don't give me a chance to use it?"

The chimera rolled his eyes, annoyed at the zombie girl's prattling on when he was trying to let her words sink in. Hoping to get her to stop, Zelgadis lifted himself off the railing and turned to face Sakura, an annoyed look on his face as he started "Look, I appreciate everyth…what the hell are you doing?"

Sakura stood there, looking up at the taller rock-encrusted lighter, hands tucked cutely below her chin, her legs pressed together and bent slightly at the knees as the zombie girl flashed the biggest, saddest puppy dog eyes she could muster. The undead girl seemed to radiate pathetic cuteness like a blinding light as her pleading face caused the grumpy sorcerer to turn away from the overbearing sight.

When her target flinched, the red-headed zombie broke her pose and triumphantly declared "Victory! There, I feel satisfied now. Thank you Zelgadis!"

Turning back to face the now beaming Sakura, Zelgadis met the girl with a scowl as he bitterly complained "That's a dangerous weapon! You can't just brandish that just because you didn't get to use it!"

The zombie girl's smile grew more smug as she answered "That's the guy I expected to see. Glad to see your feeling a little better, Zelgadis."

"Whatever. Get out of here. I'm sure you've got groupies or whatever waiting for you to do one of your little shows anyway.' Zelgadis scoffed as he made a dismissive gesture with his hands.

Offering a knowing smile in return, Sakura skipped forward until she was right in front of the surprised chimera before she gently bopped him on the nose and said cheerily "You've been so focused on getting home, you've missed what this world has to offer! Find something you enjoy, have fun with friends and before long, you'll see what I mean. I promise!"

With that, Sakura turned, and confidently walked down the steps and away from the lighter house. Zelgadis at first was left frozen by the zombie girl's absurd words and gestures but once he regained his composure and thought on what had been said he realized that the one thing he had enjoyed doing, reading with Terra, was lost to him now. More confused now than depressed, Zelgadis slumped forward once more, left unsure just what to do with himself.

(X)

"You think you'd like to help them, Emmy?"

"Sure! But…it won't be as much fun without you Michi."

Michiru and Emeralda walked the halls of UA, on their way to 1-A's room to wait for school to let out. Thinking it over, Michiru thought doing something with their brief classmates would be fun and something both Emeralda and Zelgadis needed, even if the grumpy chimera didn't know it yet. Zelgadis had stayed brooding in his room, prepping to head to the supplemental training with Katsuki and Minoru as punishment for his behavior during the raid.

With Shouta recovering from his own injury and keeping a watchful eye over Eri, Jun had stepped in as homeroom teacher for 1-A. The retired rescue hero directed the class to discuss what they would do for the school festival and mentioned the class may have some help.

Michiru thought that even though she wouldn't get to help for the event itself, she could at least get her friends working with the class and help however else she could before her own mission in the countryside of Japan.

Patting the now yong-looking girl's pale green hair, Michiru smiled ruefully as she said "That's sweet Emmy and I'll miss you too but their your friends too, so help them out the best you can, ok?"

Any sadness on the tan girl's face melted away as she beamed her own smile and nodded enthusiastically and replied "You bet!"

The two lighters got to the oversized door that was their goal just as the end bell rang. After hearing Tenya give the directive to bow, the two girls could hear the hustle and bustle of the various heroes-in-training gathering their belongings and making their way to the door.

It was little surprise that Mina, followed closely behind by Kyoka, was the first to the door, sliding it open as Michiru stood to the side, a suddenly shy Emeralda now hiding behind her. "Hey, Michiru! Sanada-sensei said you might be dropping by! Didn't expect you to be stalking the classroom though." Then the pink girl noticed Emeralda poking out from behind her tanuki friend and blurted out "OMG! Its true! You really have gotten younger, haven't you Emeralda? Your totally adorable!"

Kyoka quickly stepped out from behind her pink classmate and after getting a good look at the greenette now trying and failing to hide behind Michiru, said to Mina reproachfully "Mina, lay off, your scaring her, which I gotta say, is pretty weird to see. No offense."

The tanuki girl waved Kyoka off, dancing about to avoid being used as a shield as she spoke "Yeah, no, Emmy hasn't exactly been herself since it happened but she still wanted to help with whatever you guys decided to do for the festival."

"You won't be joining us, Kagemori?" Tenya asked as he exited the classroom.

"No, sorry Iida. I'll be out of town for awhile. So, what did you guys settle on?" Michiru answered, finally giving up and letting Emeralda hide behind her, the tan girl's face sunken into her scarf .

"That's the thing…" Eijiro said, embarrassment on his face, which caused several others to look the same.

"We were unable to come to a consensus." Momo explained as she, too, joined the gathering in the hallway.

We'll talk about it more this evening at our dorm. You're welcome to join us if you like you two." Tenya added.

It was kind of them to offer and Michiru found that even though she wouldn't be around for whatever they decided to do, she wanted to spend time with her friends. With the expectant eyes of so many from 1-A watching on, Michiru smiled wide and replied "That sounds like a great idea! What do you think, Emmy?"

As she finished speaking, the tanuki girl quickly stepped aside to reveal the cowering greenette girl. With all eyes now on her, Emeralda shrank in on herself even more. Mina, cheerful as ever, stepped forward and offered a pink hand, a cheeky grin oh er face as she said "Come on, girl! You're still our friend, no matter how young you look. We'd love to have you!"

Izuku, fresh off trying to convince Minoru that being stuck with Katsuki and Zelgadis for training wasn't the end of the world, stepped out into the hallway with Ochaco and Mashirao in tow just as Emeralda summoned her courage and reached out to take Mina's hand, causing cheers to go up among the students.

Michiru looked quite satisfied with herself as she stood by, arms crossed. Even if she hadn't really done much, knowing Emeralda was still able and willing to be with their friends relieved the tanuki girl greatly. Some of that self-satisfaction disappeared though when Michiru saw the tailed hero-in-training behind Izuku and the decidedly mixed emotions on his face when the boy saw the now younger Emeralda.

Whether Mashirao looked conflicted due purely to his possible loss of a sparing partner or something more, Michiru wasn't sure and she wouldn't get the chance to ask because it was then that her phone rang. A quick glance at the device told her it was from 1-A's usual homeroom teacher and even though Michiru didn't look forward to it, she knew she had to take the call. "Yes, Aizawa-sensei?"

Any conversations going on in the hall involving 1-A students died down immediately. After a long pause as the morphing lighter listened on she finally got the chance to reply "Yes, Aizawa-sensei, I have her here with me, Midoriya too. We'll be there as soon as we can. Thank you."

When she hung up, only the more distant sounds of other UA students on their way out of the building for the day could be heard by the beastman. Realizing the class knew who she had talked to and that they were waiting for her, Michiru sighed and said "Sorry guys, I didn't ask how Aizawa was doing but he sounded like his usual peppy self. He says that Eri has woken up and asked for us. That is, Midoriya, Emmy and I. Sorry to get your hopes up about the festival planning and bolting!"

No one seemed to begrudge the fur-covered girl though as Ochaco spoke, a supportive smile on her face "No worries! We're worried about little Eri-chan too! You guys go check on her, ok? We'll think of something, right guys?"

There was a chorus of agreement from the class that echoed down the now mostly empty hallway. Michiru couldn't help but feel her heart warm at how welcoming these kids had been and continued to be toward her, Emeralda and Zelgadis, Katsuki notwithstanding. Briefly, the tanuki girl wondered just how messy things were going to get between the fiery blonde and her rocky friend. Then, Michiru remembered that Minoru was also apart of the extra training and the tiny grape-haired pervert was just then slowly making his way down the hall looking very much like someone walking to their own execution.

The tanuki girl didn't spare any pity for the girl obsessed gnome however and turned to her fellow lighter "You ready to go talk to Eri, Emmy?"

Just a moment earlier, Emeralda's and Mashirao's eyes had met and though there was concern in the tailed boy's eyes, Mashirao couldn't help but think he saw shame in his sparring partner's eyes. The moment was broken when Michiru asked her question and the nanomachine girl turned quickly away and answered with an emphatic yes.

Despite how shy she had been acting, Emeralda waved, while offering a big smile as Michiru grabbed the greenette's arm. Michiru shifted her legs into a cheetah's and charged away, pulling the deceptively heavy Emeralda behind her like a doll. As the two passed Minoru, the tanuki girl called back playfully "Get the lead out, you don't want to miss your first remedial class, do you?"

The scene was enough to snap 1-A's resident pervert out of his funk enough for him to yell after the two girls "Leave me alone! Why couldn't one of the girls have failed too! This sucks!"

By the time he finished whining though, the two lighters were gone and all the grape boy was left with was the overwhelming pressure he felt from the glares leveled at him from every girl in the class. With a pathetic whimper, Minoru took off running as fast as his little legs could carry him.

With the grape-haired gnome gone, attention turned to Izuku and Denki asked "Midoriya, aren't you going too?"

The electricity-wielder need not of wasted his breath, Izuku was already at a full sprint to catch up to Michiru and Emeralda, slowly down only briefly to apologize to Minoru.

(X)

"What the hell are you doing here Rocky?"

Zelgadis rolled his eyes at the vitriol Katsuki had asked his question, having expected nothing less from the blonde bomber. It was as if the kid had one setting and couldn't act like anything other than an angry, pompous ass even if he wanted to. Still, the question likely meant that no one had informed Katsuki of the fact that Zelgadis would be joining him, let alone why.

The two of them waited for the bus to take them to the train station, the seething blonde glared at Zelgadis as he awaited an answer. After several long moments, the short, grape-haired Minoru appeared from around the corner covered in sweat from a mix of exertion and panic. As he came up, the perverted boy exclaimed in relief "I can't believe I made it! I totally would have been here sooner if those two lighter chicks hadn't of…"

Minoru trailed off as he picked up on the tension between the other two and then let out a terrified "eepp" when the two taller boys turned and leveled their judging gazes on him.

Properly cowed, Minoru ran and hid behind the bus station's bench where he cowered. With the distraction out of the way, Katsuki repeated his question "So, why are you here of all people, huh? Come to rub it in my face? Or did you want a rematch?"

Almost from the moment he had been told he was going to be taking the same remedial classes with Katsuki, Zelgadis had known he was going to have to explain why to the explosion-wielder. It just would have been nice to have at least made it to the classroom first. Instead, Zelgadis braced himself, closed his eyes briefly to center himself and spoke "I will be joining you in the same class as you two."

Katsuki looked offended, turning and facing Zelgadis with a jeering snarl "Huh? Are you trying to make fun of me? I know for a fact you scored near the top of the exam, so try again, blue man!"

Zelgadis refused to meet the blonde's gaze and vindicate his behavior, instead pointedly looking away as if anything else was more interesting as he said "I had a lapse in judgement while on my internship and I was told to join you two because of it."

"Oh…that's rich. The asshole who used some cheap trick on me because he felt sorry for pathetic De…Midoriya now has to come down from on high to get dirty huh? Well don't get in my way. You've weighted me down enough as it is, got it!" Katsuki answered, at first smirking before descending into simmering bravado once again.

Silence settled between them once more as the bus finally became visible in the distance. Then, still behind the bench, Minoru couldn't help but stand up and ask "So, you really fucked up so bad they stuck you with us, Zelgadis?"

In unison, both taller student's snapped "Shut the hell up Mineta!" before glaring at each other and turning away. Said grape-haired boy went back to cowering until the bus finally arrived. All three sat as far away from each other as they could the rest of the trip.

(X)

"Before you go in, a few ground rules. You are not, under any circumstances, to touch Eri. Please do not discuss what happened to Overhaul or mention her grandfather. We believe stress is a trigger for her quirk so we don't want to unduly worry her. That being said, we think seeing you three will do her a lot of good. Togata should be arriving soon as well but we didn't want to keep her waiting any longer." Shouta explained to Michiru, Emeralda and Izuku outside of Eri's hospital room door.

Michiru and Emeralda nodded as Izuku asked worriedly "But Eri's ok, right Aizawa-sensei?"

"She's on the way to recovery but still weak from using her power so much during the battle before healing Greywards and Togata but you'll see for yourself." Shouta answered as he moved to open the door.

Immediately, voices escaped the room as Michiru noticed the sound of someone talking. A moment later the door swung completely open to reveal that Sir Nighteye himself was at Eri's bedside reading from what looked like a child's storybook. A doctor stood off to the side of the bed closer to the door taking notes from Eri's vitals in her tablet.

Eri took no time noticing the new arrivals as the three UA residents stepped forward, prompting Mirai to stop reading, his features shifting from almost gentle to his usual stern visage. The mono-horned girl's face lit up with joy as she said "You came! I'm so happy to see you!"

Izuku was at least as pleased to see the young girl looking so happy and the smile he returned was warm and gentle as he came to stand as close as the doctor would allow before he said "Of course we came Eri. I…we just want to see you happy."

Michiru stepped up next, her own smile more of a cocky grin "Yeah…you're a tough little kid, Eri but we were still worried about you."

Eri giggled at the tanuki girl's words "I'm not tough! I was sleeping for so long after all. Besides…" she began as she saw Emeralda standing behind Michiru and Izuku "…I wanted to thank you all and to know how you were doing. You worked so hard to save me after all! And…and I was worried about…her."

As she finished speaking, Eri pointed at the green-haired girl trying and failing to avoid being noticed with her face mostly hidden under her scarf. The spotlight now on her, Emeralda pulled her scarf down and said "You mean me?"

Eri nodded, some of her positive energy appearing to fade "Yeah…since my quirk made you like that I…was afraid you were hurt or sad."

Izuku and Michiru stepped aside to allow Emeralda to address Eri directly, Michiru eying her friend very carefully. Emeralda knew the attention of the room was on her at this point and she idly fidgeted with part of her scarf as she replied "Well, I'm not in pain or anything. To be honest, Eri…the last time I looked like this I didn't exactly get the chance to have a normal childhood. So, I guess…this could be a good thing!"

That caused the adults in the room to react with various degrees of surprise, including Michiru. Sure, Michiru knew what Emeralda was but aside from that, the nanomachine girl had been pretty tight-lipped about pretty much anything else about herself. So to hear her friend say that made Michiru not just sad for the greenette but also drove her to want to ask why.

Eri, though, seemed to latch much more onto the positive portion of what Emeralda had said, asking cautiously "Really? Your glad I did this to you?"

When Emeralda nodded in affirmation, Eri's face crunched up, tears forming and then quickly streaming down the pale-haired girl's face. Mirai began to look concerned, as did Shouta and the doctor before the bi-speckled hero spoke, worry clear in his voice "Eri? What's wrong? Are you ok?"

Slowly, Eri nodded as she struggled to wipe the tears from her face, oblivious to the box of tissues Izuku had grabbed and placed on her bed. After another moment, the mono-horned girl regained enough composure to answer, sniffing as she did so "It's just that…just that before yesterday…my quirk had only ever been a bad thing. Everyone I loved went away because of it. Now *sniff* now I'm here. Granddaddy is awake because…because I helped…I actually did something right! I never thought…Daddy always said I was dangerous and cursed. So, thank you! It makes me *sniff* so happy to know I didn't hurt you Emeralda-san!"

Everyone in the room was moved by Eri's words, even if the more stoic among them didn't show it. Michiru was on the brink of tears herself. The little girl's words were so sweet and tragic that the tanuki girl was struggling to keep her composure. When she looked at Emeralda though, Michiru found herself surprised, however. Instead of seeing a similar reaction or perhaps something a bit more childish, Michiru was sure what she saw on her tan friend's face was…guilt?

Indeed, Emeralda almost looked pained to hear Eri speak. And yet, before Michiru could say anything, the nanomachine girl seemed to twist on a dime, her whole mood switching to a much more positive one before she spoke "No, of course you didn't hurt me! I'm having so much fun already and I even got some new clothes!" Emeralda finished by twisting around to show off her red blouse, partly hidden by her large scarf.

The bed-ridden girl giggled at the display, a smile brightening her face. After a moment, Eri responded "I hope I get to do that some time soon too! When I escaped Daddy last time, when I ran into Izuku, there were so many stores I'd love to visit!"

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea, actually." The low voice of Shouta cut in, drawing attention to him. "Once the doctors and I are satisfied, Eri would be allowed to go out, supervised, of course. It might not be a bad idea to have someone you know who at least appears close in age to spend time with."

"I'd like to help out too!" Izuku eagerly volunteered. "I don't know how much fun I'll be compared to Kasim-san but I'd love to show you around town, Eri!"

As he was speaking, the door opened and the blonde well-built form of Mirio stepped into the room, hand raised in greeting and not missing a beat, added "Don't forget about the UA festival! I think she'd have a blast!"

"Oh yeah! Why didn't I think of that!" Izuku replied as he turned back to Eri, who looked confused.

"What's a festival?" the sheltered girl asked innocently.

Michiru at once felt a pang of guilt and a sense of déjà vu as she added "Yeah, you and Emmy already have something in common…"

Eri continued to look confused as Izuku asked "Oh? And what would that be Michiru?"

Gently jabbing the shorter greenette Michiru answered "I just had to explain the concept to Emmy here. She's never been to one either!"

Emeralda gave her friend a dirty look but turned her attention back to Eri when the mono-horned girl spoke again "Yeah but…I still don't know what a festival is."

"Think of it like a big street party where people and groups set up little shops to sell food, run games or have performances! Trust me, you'll have a blast!" Mirio answered, offering a thumbs-up for effect.

Eri's eyes lit up at the description and she immediately began begging to go "Can I? That sounds like so much fun!"

"The festival isn't too far off. But if you show improvement and the doctor's are comfortable with it, I'll allow it." Shouta answered, arms crossed and head down, doing his best to hide how pleased he was to see the Eri in such high spirits.

"It's settled then! I don't know what my class is doing yet but I'm sure it'll be great! What about you, Midoriya?" Mirio asked.

"Oh, um, we haven't decided yet. We had a lot of ideas but nothing solid yet. Sorry." The freckled boy answered nervously.

"We're going to help with 1-A too, no matter what they come up with." Michiru added, Emeralda nodding in confirmation.

From there, the doctor said it was time for some tests and the students would have to leave for the time being. Everyone bid their good-byes to Eri and stepped outside to leave the adults to the recovering little girl.

AS they walked out of the building, Mirio asked "So I take it if you two are helping 1-A, it means the lighters won't be doing their own thing? No more Sakura concerts?"

"No, Sanada-sensei said the last one was a courtesy by the principal. Since she's not a student anymore, we have to do something else. And since I'll be away and Zel is off training as punishment, we don't have enough people to do anything really." Michiru answered.

Mirio took the tanuki girl's words in stride, saying "Fair enough. Still, it's a shame you guys didn't get to see one! They were always the highlight of the festival!"

Izuku, meantime, had remained quiet. The idea of doing something with music had been floated earlier in the day in his class and after hearing about those concerts, the freckled boy thought he should suggest it when he got back to the dorm.

(X)

Zelgadis stood, paralyzed in surprise at the challenge that lay before him as he uttered "You've got to be fucking kidding me…."

Zelgadis, Minoru and Katsuki had arrived at the training site without further incident as well as without so much as a word passing between them. The grape-haired boy thought he was going to die from the tension in the air alone sucking all the air out of the space between the other two boys. Now joined by the curvaceous light blonde Camie Utsushimi, who had been knocked out and replaced during the exam from Shiketsu High as well as others who had failed the second stage, all of the students were now being confronted by the worst that humanity had to offer: A class of entitled, uppity elementary school children.

"I'd almost prefer to still be impaled on a spike" Zelgadis added to as much to himself as anyone.

"I can arrange that, Rocky!" Katsuki snapped.

Minoru just curled in a ball on the ground and whimpered.

Yeah, this was going to go great…

(X)

Another month, another apologize for a chapter only half realized. I no doubt sound like a broken record at this point but I have once again been burdened with illness and the responsibilities of work and parenthood. I fear that part of the reason for my recurring illness is that I often reserve writing for after my family has retired for the night so I often stay up late to write. Combined with the stresses of the day and the germs my son brings home, I am likely more susceptible to getting sick.

On the plus side, being aware of it means I can make adjustments. I am, as ever, committed to seeing this story to completion, no matter how long it takes or how many people actually read it. Next month things will move along faster as Michiru sets out while Zelgadis and Emeralda try to settle into things with their new situations without their favorite tanuki girl.

No reviews this month (and if is to be believed, no views in 3 weeks but I know that's a bug, having tested it myself) so as always, thank you for reading, take care out there and I'll see you in a month!