CHAPTER 78

I do not own Skip Beat! Yoshiki Nakamura does.

First trip and its wonders: part two.

It was Kyoko who drove the last hour once they disembarked in Hokkaido Prefecture while Ren guided her to the place they were staying in with his friends.

She was glad he had thought to put snow tyres as their surroundings were vastly different from before taking the ferry. The once clean roads were now covered with a thick white layer. Snow had been beaten down by incessant cars passing by, turning the fluffy powder into hardened dense thickness slowly itching its way to shifting into ice. She had been suddenly so grateful it wasn't her first time driving in this sort of weather because it would have freaked the hell out of her otherwise. It was only mildly slippery thankfully but she was still being extra cautious. Something that didn't seem to bother her companion in the least if his propositions to slow the cadence was any telling. But she would have bet her pinky it had more to do with being able to enjoy the scenery than any hypothetical fear about her driving.

Yet, she couldn't blame Ren, their lesser pace had significant pros, and she found herself following his suggestion, pulling back her foot from the gas a little more.

It was the first time she was going to Hokkaido, and while knowing what she should expect, she was in awe nonetheless.

She had gone with Kayla to an artificial slope in the past, briefly trying out a few things on a weekend some time in the past but she had never actually taken a trip into the mountains. With Kayla, it had been in a specialized infrastructure, made for it, but without the imposing large wild. She was only realizing how much it had lacked the real thing. As they drove leisurely, pine trees appeared to parade every metre all around, sporting their frostiest attire with an elegant glamour. Every branch of every tree holding its own heavy bundle of fluffy bright powder with daring strength. But not satisfied with making the forest carry those heavy cold habits, Winter had also decided to paint white the bark of the trunks with a thin coat of frozen crispy snow. And from the highest branches of some trees, some stalactites had hung themselves and dipped down in an enchanting sight, natural translucent spike crystals catching the sun at times and twinkling the light back.

The fluffy cold mantle recovering every centimetre of the ground miles away, and showing it sprinkled sparks when rays hit the surface of the snow.

And further ahead, standing out as the uniqueness of Japan, the endless hilly landscapes passed, embraced around by the higher peaks of the mountains they were driving to.

In the silence of the car and in the stillness of this frozen scenery, Kyoko watched as the Mount Fuji seemed to get closer, gloriously infinite.

An uncountable amount of time passed as they drove and stayed silent, reverently silent as they watched until Ren whispered in a low voice.

"We suddenly feel so little, right?"

"Yes…"

She smiled at him, feeling bewitched, and still in wonder, turned back to observe the woods, noticing other kinds of trees between the huge frozen pines.

It looked so otherworldly and magical, she would have bet there were fairies in such a place. She suddenly felt like talking a stroll in the woods and her concerns toward the thickness of her clothes came back.

" … hmm – … we could go for a walk in the forest during our stay," Ren told her and she glanced at him, wondering if he had read her thoughts once more, and making a questioning face at the bright amusement in his eyes. Yet, she could not help herself, and felt all too charmed by the idea of spending a moment with him in the woods. Just like old times.

"I would love that." She chirped merrily and he chuckled in his corner.

"What?" She inquired, holding back a grumble at the distinct impression he was mocking her.

"Do you think we will cross paths with fairies?" He asked in oh-so-fake neutrality.

She huffed. She hadn't imagined it. He was making fun of her. But she wouldn't bite in the way he hoped.

"Naturally," She said in an almighty tone and chin pointed, "You are here anyway, so there will be at least one."

He laughed heartily.

She felt a light brush on her cheek, and had to focus on the road very hard when she realized he had just pecked it.

"You are too adorable."

She lost control of the colour of her face, and gruffed out. She didn't want to know what face he was making. For their safety, she could not.

"Alright Mr playboy, stop teasing me or we are going to have an accident, and tell me if I turn left or right at next cross, would you?"

He chuckled some more and told her to turn right. They drove down the hillside they had been on and soon entered the valley where town's station started. Now they just had to find the entry of the mountain pass and drive up to the proper ski station and to the chalets situated at medium altitude from the slopes.

That's where they would reside. Though, if you asked her opinion, the town's houses and buildings looked very much like the advertised lodgings they were supposed to have, and she couldn't help but marvel at it. She was used to traditional housing since she had lived nearly all her life in an inn, yet, this managed to be different. Maybe because the facilities needed to be adapted to the rougher weather? She could only guess. But a lot of homes and shops were made in wood. Some in thinner wood, some in logs. There were some concrete buildings and houses too but it was not the majority of it. But the funniest side was that part of those either big or small cabins were designed with a traditional Japanese architecture in mind with their emblematic temple-like roofs while others were – by far – more generic or occidental, depending on how you saw it. And both styles mingled happily, oddly not fighting against each other.

They finally found the mountain pass road and carefully started the ascension, both grateful this road had been snow-cleared. As they climbed, Kyoko noticed that the only structures still looking like buildings were resorts hotels and that cabins became even more numerous. They continued to drive up and up, enchaining turns and curves without sign of it ever ending, and she felt numb by the constant focus she had to maintain. She was also surprised when her ears seemed blocked and then popped a few times in an annoying sore way. She could remember experiencing this very lightly when she had done rock-climbing but it was without common measure with this. Ren told her it was the pressure as they rose in altitude and that it would pass. He proposed her to switch as he could understand the concentration to take the sharp turns were important but she knew they were almost there and the narrow road wouldn't have permitted them to park easily. Him being who he was, he asked twice more and she compromised to go even slower for the last quarter of the pass as long as he wouldn't mind a snail pace.

When they reached the top, Kyoko let out a breath of relief while Ren gave her indication to shift to a path going a few hundreds metres away, and offset from the centre of the station where a couple of chalets stood.

They parked in front of a huge cabin presenting three big levels, and topped with a thick layer of snow-covered log roof. Cute carved wood balconies accompanied the windows of each floor and wood covered terrace appeared to serve as the porch. She turned off the motor in front of the wood flight of stairs cascading down into the snow, and stretching out on a good half of the terrace. She heaved out the tension from her neck in the sudden calm, and rubbed her ears some, trying to ease the remnant pressure she felt in them.

Her water bottle appeared in her sight and she took it gratefully as she saw Ren pulling at his limbs as he could in the remote confine of the car, then he grabbed his vest. He donned it in one swift move before reaching for his own bottle, and emptied it in two gulps.

"You good?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Just a little stiff."She added when she saw him glance at her, demanding more of an answer.

"You should rest, I'll go warn the others we are here." He said but paused as he grabbed the passenger handle and turned back to her. "Thank you, and – ," He told her and his expression shifted to a commanding one, "You are forbidden to help with the luggage."

Her protestation only met deaf ears as he got out and frigid air greeted her, making her shudder; suddenly the prospect of staying a few more minutes in the warm car seemed very tempting. But before the car's door had finished shutting behind Ren, she had time to hear somewhat familiar voices, and she looked up through the windscreen to see his friends coming out from the cabin to meet them.

She drowned out her last drop of water, grabbed for her coat, and got outside. Stinging air hit her the second she was out, and she gasped, regretting the car's insides instantly. Frost permeating through to her skin like nothing, she felt as if she had got out in a bikini.

"Look who is here!" She heard Kaï say but she was too busy rubbing her arms to initiate some warmth and didn't reply instantly. She heard other voices as she idly wondered if she was so cold because she was tired after so many hours of driving or if it was as freezing as it felt.

"Wow, it's Kyoko-san who was driving." Someone said and she thought she recognized Saki-san's voice but didn't see her yet. She padded her way to where everyone was, slowed down when she noticed her boots weren't dented enough and it was still slippery under her feet.

"Seriously?" It was Kijima, this time she was sure. "No way, I'm so jealous Ren let her drive his car."

"You didn't tell her to take thick clothes?" Koga asked and she finally was able to greet everyone as she had reached the porch. "She looked totally frosted here."

"He did." She replied in his stead but Ren still dropped a spare coat that scented like him he had brought out of somewhere, and she noticed he had already finished unloading the car. "I underestimate the mountain weather," She explained sheepishly, "I will need some advice, I think, and go buy a few warmer ones."

"First time in mountains?" Confirmed more than asked Jin as him and Ken came out of the cabin too. She replied by the affirmative.

"There are some mountain equipment stores in the station," said Taku as he got outside too, "I'm glad you could make it and accepted to come with us."

She smiled as she replied.

"I'm happy to be here, thank you again for inviting me, even if we don't know each other very well." She said with a light bow.

"Yet." Added Saki-san with a smile and she smiled back.

"Plus, you assured us Ren won't be grumpy." Kijima slid making everyone laugh at that while Ren shook his head. She shot a glance at Kijima in question.

"He would have missed you and we would have had to check he'd eat all the time." Kijima soberly explained in grant natural with a shrug she just knew from whom he had picked it up.

She heard Ren grumbled he was not dumb enough to not eat while in mountains before he picked up their luggage with the help of Taku, removing from her trunk and shoulder bag she had grabbed back and was planning to carry upstairs – as she had been told the rooms were there – , with a grin.

They unpacked in their respective room in the following hour and took a nap, too aghast to do something else before resting comfortably for a bit.

Ren's friends had told them, one of the meals of their days were included in their location, and that it could be breakfast or supper but had to be by bundle of three days without change, for organizational purposes. They had picked supper for the first three days, which they informed right away so that both knew they would have to be up for seven p.m. at most, and that breakfast would be let to their own device next three mornings.

Kyoko remembered having listened vaguely to that but being in some sort of haze that made her nod without really considering it before dropping for a two hours straight on the comfy bed of a bedroom she had barely taken a glimpse of before dozing off.

They both took their nap and woke up just in time to go to the huge cabin that served both as a restaurant and a buffet for the surrounding chalets, everyone settling in the comfortable area as they took their meal. Kyoko took this opportunity and listened eagerly as his friends discussed with Ren, enjoying to see him relaxed and enjoying learning even more about his friends.

The following hours passed without a care in the world as recalled some memories after she had dared to ask how Ren had met them. Kaï took great pleasure sharing the tale of his first encounter with him, explaining they were at a runaway, and that he had messed up big time. Some of his clothes had been damaged during an incident, and he had begged Ren to share some of his. They had been portraying for the same brand, and it would not have been too complicated to arrange the clothes to look like they fitted him, even if they would still have been a bit ample. Ren hadn't been against it until Kaï robbed the very shirt he had on from him and pushed him to run the carpet with just trousers and shoes on. Ren hadn't been happy with him and had been very lenient with him, knowing he would still have been short on clothes from that brand to show. As the outfit Ren had had on was one of the last.

And that's how they met. After that, Kaï tried to make up for the troubles he had been to him, despite Ren best efforts is in communicating it was unnecessary. It had turned into friendships before they knew it.

Some of his other friends retold their own meeting with him, though it was less epic than this. Since a video had actually been taken of the shirtless Ren runaway moment, making it priceless, with him looking actually puzzled at the start of his walk.

When they left after supper, they all walked past some ski stores, and seeing those were still open, Kyoko said she would make a stop here, admitting what she packed was clearly unadapted to the weather and conditions.

But once in front of the stores, she was at a loss about what to look for, what was good and what was useless. She was about to call it off for tonight, and waited until she would have asked some advice before coming back but noticed Ren was rejoining her with a knowing smile.

He pushed her to one discreet store with authority, and that's how she found herself trying all kinds of stuff. Technical vest with an inside layer that could be removed or keep on with a zip and had so many inside pockets she wanted to make it her daily coat, and lowkey made her think of her biker vest in less cushioned. Weatherproof gloves. Two pairs. Same with a triplet of heavy thick pants. A dozen of socket pairs, dense and very elastic but also the tightest sorts she had ever put on. Three polar pullovers, especially made for mountains conditions. Three pairs of smooth underpants made in microfibres, and glove fitting. The only comparison she could come with, was that it looked a bit like those wetsuits for diving undersea. In a different material and slightly more supple than the rigidness of those. Those pairs were accompanied with black undershirt turtlenecks made of the same material that were as warm and snug as the underpants felt.

Then came the question of what she was planning to do as Ren inquired if she had already chosen if it would be ski or snowboard. She decided to stick to snowboard as she had already had a try at it in the past, though she knew it wouldn't be enough and she would need lessons too. Based on that, they rent a pair of snowboard boots that would go in the straps binding of the plank. Then, Ren made her choose a special pair of padded gloves as a lot of support would be from the hands but also pads for the knees and for the backside.

A thick polar neck scarf followed, that she would be able to turn into a small hoodie if she was cold around the head. And finally, the helmet and the plank.

They had to try a lot of things, and give a caution for the material they would be rented.

Ren made her pick some energy bars, as you always had to have some substantial food on you in case you were to feel low, and it was handiest. She wondered if it was the reason of the existence of so many pockets in her mountain vest. He then proposed she'd take some isotherm water bottle. One of the smallest and lightest ones that could barely handle 300 ml at most. He knew she had a bigger one but since she was a beginner, he wouldn't advise her to carry a backpack until she was more at ease, though he informed her that the most experienced ones of their group would carry some bigger amount.

In the meantime, of those tries one and explanations, she asked him when he had learned to ski, and apparently to snowboard, as he rented some material for himself too. He told her it had been with his parents he had learned, and while he had always been more comfortable with skiing, he had also learned how to snowboard after a while, if only out of sheer curiosity.

The cashier gathered every article they had chosen on one side, and the rented material on another side, and started to pack what could be into bags as she began to fish out her card.

She was not fast enough, though, and in the mere minute it took, Ren had surreptitiously passed his phone screen on the side of the card machine, and it was already over.

She looked at him with outrage and asked the cashier for the bill, before telling Ren she would refund every cent he just paid, included his own material for the treacherous move. The cashier apologized as he replied the mister had already pocked it.

She contained a growl, and they gathered everything to bring back to the cabin. Or rather, Ren took everything, the two snowboard planks on one of his shoulders, and four bags in his other hand but one. The only thing she ended carrying. She threatened him all the way back with unnameable things if he didn't tell her the price but to no avail. When they reached the cabin, she even had to fight to carry her own stuff in her bedroom, though she won without too much difficulty. And the reason to that was soon very clear when she came back and found him outside, having apparently put everything in his own room but his skis, and busy with a match.

It took her a second too much to realize what he was doing, which sealed the fate of that paper as the damn sneaky bastard finished to burn to a crisp the receipt of the store. She swore. Twice.

"Damn it, Ren." She grumbled. "You're mad. That's it. You're mad and completely irresponsible with your money." She stated and took a stance as she glared at the unapologetic man, barely holding back his satisfaction. "I'm not letting you pay for anything for me for the rest of the stay."

He frowned before looking back at her as his stare morphed to puppy eyes. She turned around, set on being firm and not wanting to lose again because of this expression of his.

" … and I will do my upmost into finding occasions to pay for you," She added, with a daring finish. She went back inside, hearing his friends snickers that it had definitively backfired at him. She thought she heard Kaï say it was a sweet sort of backfire but she might have misheard that.

The first two days went on without a bump. They all went to buy their ski passes for the ones that hadn't acquired them yet, and Kyoko registered herself for some snowboard lessons. She wouldn't have been able to ski with the others right away, she was just too inexperienced for that. The ski instructor told her it was always easier to catch on with snowboarding as you only had to care about one plank moving, not two, that possibly could go in different directions. At least, that's the experience he had from it. But nonetheless, that didn't mean it wouldn't take a few days to be able to go with Ren and the others. He told her that what most people went for, was lessons with an instructor in the morning, from nine a.m. to twelve, to be able to be with their families and friends in the afternoon. But it warned her that it worked better when it wasn't your first time. Or if you did something else that being on the courses in the afternoon. She could understand those people, they didn't want to wait days to be able to be their families on the trails. But on the other hand, she was sure to drag them down and slow if she just had a few hours and went off with Ren and his friends just after.

Ren told her that at least the first two or even three days would be spent reacquainting themselves with the practice. As some hadn't skied in a long time, and it wasn't a sport you could just pick back up like on a bicycle. At least not for the ones that either weren't professional or/and that hadn't known ski since they were young. And it was more taxing. With the altitude, your body consumed far more energy breathing in mountain as you had less oxygen than down.

Yet, considering it all, she picked the latter option that the teacher proposed her. She would have more lessons by day. She thought it was the best choice as she had good endurance. So, instead of just the morning, she would also have three hours in the afternoon, from one p.m. to four. It meant it would be more exhausting for her and that she wouldn't have much time with the others the first two days. But it also meant that after two days and a half, though slow, she would normally be skilled enough to handle herself on courses without having to be babysat, and could join the others. And since even for the others, the two first days would be more tiring and spent getting back into it, she thought time-wise, it was the best option.

So that's how she spent her first two days, learning the right angle to bend the knees to stay standing and balancing herself on the plank in opposition to the incline of the slope. Accepting the default position was on her butt. The instructors repeating each time that if she thought she lost control or that it was going too fast, to let her drop on her backside. She didn't even remember how many times she thanked the cushion pads during those moments. Because it still hurt, especially when the snow was very hard or when it was ice.

She was taught how to support herself and angle her position on the back cutting edge of the snowboard length and how to shift her weight from the back to the side front, how to fall on her back and front without hurting herself, and how to transfer her stand from back to middle front to turn and curve. She learned how to change her stance when she turned or switched sides from facing down to facing the slope. And by the end of the second day, she had even learned how to make tiny landing jump that helped if you weren't sure of the angle or wanted a quick changing position.

During the first day, everyone was mostly spent and didn't do much after coming back to the cabin but eat a quick meal and chill some before going straight to bed.

She understood better why Ren said it was a depleting sport. The added layers of clothes weight on her. Not instantly. But after several hours when you finally removed the extra ski clothes, there was such a relief and lightness. And she felt positively ravenous, she ate double of what she usually consumed. And even Ren ate more. It would even have looked normal if it had not been for the fact they all knew he was eating only that after an extensive and intensive day of exercising in mountains, and with everyone still eating much more than him.

When came the end of her second day, she felt weary but confident that she could now manage by her own on slopes. Not on the hardest ones, but from easy to mild difficult, it would do. But for safety purpose, she kept her last morning of lesson of the next day. She would start properly skiing with others next afternoon.

However, what it still permitted was to do the last descent of the day with them as she met them after her lesson ended. She slid down, mindful of what she learned. She felt still slow, compared to them but she wouldn't hold them back either. Her pace was steady and stable, just not the fastest.

Yet, when she saw Ren had stopped to watch her slide, she couldn't help want to pull her tongue as she noticed his wary look saying it all. His dead worried she-will-fall-next-quarter-of-the-slope look. Feeling a little annoyed he was going overboard in worry, she did pull her tongue at him with a shake of her head, when she passed him. He caught up to her with an apologetic smile, and she observed his form as he gracefully glided down the few metres left.

The first descent with all of them was over and it went so blissfully light and free that she projected herself into how the whole rest of their stay would be, and was shocked when the semblance of peacefulness came to an abrupt stop in the afternoon of the third day.

They had eaten together at noon after her last lessons and she did a couple of slopes with them, maybe five, but decided to call it a day earlier because she felt too weary to push it. Her instructor had made do some more jumps, since snowboards, really, were used a lot for that, and she felt sore all over. It had tired her muscles more than she expected, especially the landing. And she had had her first bad falls during those last lessons. So, she wished a good skiing to the others and decided to go rest for the afternoon. Ren proposed her to go back with her but she convinced him to have fun. He had talked about this new slope full of bumps to jump from earlier, and she didn't want to spoil that for him.

Kijima went back with her, saying he wanted to explore the area and do something else, though she suspected he was a bit sore too. They had already started to explore some harder slopes yesterday, and she thoughts the perspectives of the jumps finished to convince him to give it a rest for today.

She came back to the cabin and stretched and washed, planning to read a script or a good book, and hoping she might go for some training at the gym but kind of persuaded she wouldn't go and would simply chill out.

As Kyoko had thought, she had fallen asleep after some reading, and only woke up because she heard some arguing from downstairs. The chalet wasn't fully soundproof. It was between rooms but they could sometimes hear what came from down as sounds travelled well in highs and the grounds were less isolated than walls.

She padded down to find Ken and Airi-san in the kitchen.

" …-have to understand what I'm saying," was saying Airi-san with an annoyed look. "After all, she is always gaslighting and exaggerating everything." She insisted, and Kyoko who hadn't been noticed yet hesitate to announce her presence. She thought about just turning around, it was something private, and she had no business intervening but then she saw Ken-san and stopped in her tracks. He looked ghostly pale and was starting to shake.

"I don't understand, Ken. You are always calm and collected; nearly mousy in your reactions I would even say – she got a growl from him at that judgment but continued as if he hadn't said a word – why are you making such a big deal of this?" She asked again. "Kilù, she is always bragging, making stuff up and creating drama … you can't seriously think she really got assaulted, now?!" Airi-san stated with her own irritation seeping into a growl too but mixed with enormous disbelief.

" … you're the one…" Mumbled Ken-san as he trembled with barely contained fury, as he stood back to glower at her.

"What did you say? You will have to speak louder, I can't understand." She said, and Kyoko thought Ken-san was going to make her explode with his rage.

"I said, you are the one who doesn't understand anything!" He shouted at her. "The question should never be about if they are making it up!"He growled out. "She didn't say it jokingly! She looked serious." He fumed in silence for half a minute, and that's how Airi-san finally saw Kyoko was with them. But Airi-san could say anything, Ken-san pursued. "And even if it were a lie, benefit of doubt should be a given if there is a potential victim!"

"I don't care about her personality. Hell, I don't even care about it being true or not right now!" He continued to venom out at Airi-san. "What upset me is your attitude! You should have given her your full support, even if you had doubts.

"And what? Believe her blindly when we know she is known for speaking bullshit?!" She protested crudely.

"YES!" He screamed. "Yes, you should have."

"You are so naïve, Ken." She scoffed with a shrug.

"And you are such a prick ignorant, Ai-ri." He scoffed, mocking the same gesture she did. "I'm not trying to be the better person, here, so get off your throne and listen to me." He demanded angrily, rubbing his palms against each other and turning away from her to face the sink. He emitted strong vibes of emotion, nerves and horror, and Kyoko was worried he was going to go into an attack. But she thought it might be important for him to get his point across, so she waited. "Do you have any idea how many times true victims were ignored or laughed off? Because of people like you! People that didn't believe them. People that were supposed to be their friends or family sometimes. Police officers often, if the person finally had the courage to pass the threshold of a station. Do you have any idea what your attitude transmits as a message?!" He hissed as he hit his fist against the sink's edge, and for the first time, Airi-san seemed to start to assimilate his words. "Even if Kilù is speaking bullshit, it doesn't matter. Show you support her, believe her. First, it might make her realize how serious of a matter it is in the luckiest option. And there is always much more chance it's the truth. So, if you support her, it would always be one more person…"

"I understand, please calm down." Airi-san said. "I still think you are making it too much of a deal, it's Kilù we are talking about after all, but I see your point."

No, you don't understand thought Kyoko.

Ken-san bent in two, hugging his sides as he squatted down and dropped his head against the anthracite cupboard door under the sink, finally having the attack Kyoko feared was coming as she saw the convulsions overtaking him. His greeny-grey complexion was turning even more contrasting with the dark tiles of the kitchen or furniture, and she walked to him in slow steady steps. She stopped as she reached right behind his back, and carefully landed firm hands on his shoulders. Gently to not scare him with the sudden touch but stable to provide an anchor to latch on. She crouched down too then.

"Breathe. Breathe, Ken-san." If he recognized her voice, he didn't say but he tried to do as she said. "Easy and slow. In and out. In …-and out." She repeated it those words again and again until his thoracic cage stopped rising so drastically. She knew he would be fine when he opened his lids to stare back at her.

"Thank you."

Airi-san looked shocked but when she saw Ken-san calming, she found her voice. "I can't believe you just got an attack over this? What's gotten into you? Kyoko-san, do you agree with him? Don't you think he is making a full drama of everything, right now?"

Kyoko felt Ken-san tensed under her hands, and his respiration started to worsen again, spoiling all Kyoko's attempts in helping him. She glared at Airi-san that took a step back at her look. She held back just enough by respect to Ren, when in reality she wanted to throttle the oblivious woman.

She held her gaze as she coldly replied her.

"No, I don't think he is making a drama of things. In fact, I'm in full agreement with him on this matter." She stated hardly. "It's even just a matter of being responsible socially. No matter the case, you should always listen to someone saying they had been harmed. And with only the meagre few percents of people having their aggressions recognized, believing no matter what unless proven otherwise could be considered societal service."

"Now, since you seem incapable to understand right now, would you excuse us?"

Airi-san didn't reply and Kyoko with command in her voice.

"And not a word of any of what just occurred unless you have the express authorization from Ken-san, am I clear?"

Airi-san nodded numbly, and Kyoko turned back to Ken-san without a care anymore for the woman.

"Come with me?" She proposed and he nodded with relief in his eyes before standing with as much dignity he had and leaving without a spared glance to the shell-shocked looking at them.

PS: Lord, it has been long. I apologize for that. For a long while, life was a mess, and my creativity got killed with everything that was happening. Fortunately, It came back. So, here is the new chapter. Not a very funny one, granted, but a necessary one. I hope you will still enjoy it. See you soon, hopefully^^. A lot of hugs to everyone around the world during those difficult times. Let's try to continue feeling joy and love around, even if i know it's far from easy. But it's important to stay alive in your hearts, even when the world is in chaos.

Kisses to everyone. I wish you the best you could possibly have.

Love.

Mimagfan.

AUTHOR OUT.