*WARNING**WARNING* STORYLINE CONTINUITY DISLOCATION DETECTED *WARNING**WARNING*

"What do you have against me?" Ryoga pants as Akiri tends to his new wounds from training.

"Oh, are you actually considering that you might have done something?" The small girl asks sarcastically.

"It has occurred to me that I might have offended you." Ryoga says tiredly.

"The great faultless Hibiki Ryoga actually has considered he might have done something to someone else." Akiri puts her hands to her face in wide eyed surprise. "He might be able to learn. This a major news story."

"You don't have to be so dramatic about it." Ryoga grumbles. "Since you're seeming to be somewhat reasonable, can you tell me what it was."

"You really don't know?" Akiri narrows her eyes at the young man still stretched out on the ground in front of her. "What kind of guest is cold and condescending to his host?"

"She lied to me about what she..." Ryoga cuts off at Hukiba growling off to the side.

"She was completely honest with you about her intentions and what she could try to help you with." Akiri says with a sigh. "You decided what she was and would only see what you wanted to. You have no concept of how much your pet name hurt."

"But..." He trails of looking at her face. "I only wanted to show my appreciation for someone wanting to help me."

"Tenshi-chan." Akiri says with a smirk. "Kari-mama is not an angel, she does not want to play the role of the pristine and demure young woman. 'My little Angel' that may not be how you meant it, but that is what she heard." She continues over his protests. "Then when she refuses to play the role you want to a tee you turn cold and try to ignore her. Just like Kari-mama's father."

"He never called her by name. She was always his little angel, his property. If she did not play the dutiful daughter and obey his every whim he ignored her very existence until she did." Ryoga just stares at her, amazed as the little girl starts to cry. "Even after Obaa-san took Kari-mama away and put her with someone who cared for her, he would not be denied his property and tried to sell Kari-mama to get what he wanted."

Akiri turns her tear filled eyes on Ryoga. "I have heard about your life. About how your parents are almost never around, but they apparently tried to show their caring for you. You accused Kari-mama of becoming a enchantress for power, your right she did. She gave up her life as a human to be free of her father's plan, but she has been more caring and compassionate, more humane, in her treatment of you then you have ever been to anyone else."

Ryoga can only lay on the ground and stare at the sky, as Akiri walks away and disappears from the valley again.

*WARNING**WARNING* STORYLINE CONTINUITY DISLO####SSSDSDSSDSDSDSDDS

Well I finally posted it. The last coherent scene I had written for this story all the way back in April of 2009.

At this point I have to declare this version of the story dead.

I just can't continue the story as it is. Trying to revise chapters to take into account things that occurred in the active manga series since I last wrote anything for it, I have come to realize that I just overextended myself.

Just before I stopped writing, I was involved as a beta reader in another person's project where I watched them take borrowed characters and simply mangle them to where the only similarity they had to the originals were names.

Worse, I realized I was being hypocritical in calling them on it.

I think, or at least hope, that I did a better job in blending series in this story and keeping character's behavior loyal to their cannon behavior, but I have come to realize that in using such a large cast of characters I could do little more then parody them from their series rather then bring them to life in new situations.

I am working on revising this story. What I would like to know from the readers here is if you would like me to post the new version of the story here on FF for you to read as a new thread.

In the meantime if you want to see how the progress of story revision is going or see the artwork I created based on something in the chapter feel free to check out my account on deviantART under the same username.