Author's Note: I thought I was done with this story after making a big sob story of it a couple of months ago. But now that some time has passed, I realize that abandoning the story was just a result of the depression I was going through at the time. Well, I'm feeling better now and my interest in the story has slowly crept back in. It just won't stay away, no matter how objective I am about ever finishing it. I still don't see myself finishing the story within my lifetime at the rate I'm writing it, but futility is a part of life. So, as long as I'm alive and this story remains up on this site, then I'll keep writing regardless of how many decades it takes me to finish. Or at least until this site, along with the rest of the internet, gets zapped out of existence by an EMP detonation or a Coronal Mass Ejection that wrecks all of the world's electronics.

Still, it's going to be a while before I update a new chapter, and before that happens I'm going to put the rest of the story under heavy revisions. You may have noticed I took down the Hozukijo scenes in chapters 2 and 8; those are under revision and will be reincorporated when finished. Also, don't bother reviewing this chapter since I'll just take it down and replace it with a proper chapter 9 when it's done. Just PM me if you want to chat about the story.