Firefighter Kurogane

by Scarlet Heaven

Hello everyone! It really did take me a while and I apologize for that, but chapter 3 is here! I have been really busy with schoolwork because I am lazy and get distracted easily, but I somehow still managed to get this chapter in in spite of it. I really appreciate your reviews and am very glad you seem to be enjoying it so far.

Also, I will soon get to work on the Spanish translation of the second chapter. The title of the translation is Bombero Kurogane in case anyone would like to try reading it.

Thank you very much! :3

Chapter 3: Stargazing

After arriving at the out-of-town copy store only to find that it, too was closed for the day, Kurogane headed home with renewed frustration. Tomorrow he was going to have to go to the local copy store with Tomoyo and listen to her complaining and bickering again. The sun had been setting earlier and earlier every day. The sky was a pale and dark gray color, mostly covered in thick stratus clouds that blocked the setting sun from view. The atmosphere was heavy and depressing.

Kurogane, however was not affected by the bad weather. The shade from the heavy clouds cooled down his frustration from earlier and he allowed himself to appreciate how the cold wind whipped through his clothing and into his helmet as he drove forty miles per hour. He was going very fast, but the last time he checked, it was just under the speed limit.

Kurogane felt like looking at the stars. He didn't know why he should feel that way but he did. Maybe it was the weather or maybe he was just tired. He just felt that the thing he wanted to do the most tonight was to go and watch the stars.

He knew a place in the city where the streetlamps were burnt out but no one bothered to replace them. An empty lot enclosed by tall towering buildings and surrounded by a oriental style fence that must have once surrounded the building inside. Now it was missing boards in places and the wood had corroded to the point where, if you ran your hand along it, it would be completely covered with splinters.

From this small, dark and empty lot, it was possible to see the sky clearly without any interference from the lights of the city. Even though it was only possible to see a small fraction of the sky, the view was breathtaking. Kurogane went there once in a while when he was out of town or if something was troubling him. Watching the stars always brought him a sense of peace and meaning.

Not many people came there because not many people knew of the place. Kurogane was thankful for that. Once, he had come there only to find a kid about seventeen and his girlfriend doing drugs there. He immediately got their attention and told them he would call the police if they didn't leave and they ran off rambling insanely. Kurogane was disgusted. He went straight home after that without even setting foot past the fence.

When he was almost there, he reduced speed so that he wouldn't run into anything in the dark. He parked his motorcycle outside of the fence but in a position where he would be able to see it easily from the inside.

The moment he cut the engine, silence enveloped the area. The only sounds were those of the soft breeze and the chirping of a lone insect somewhere in the grass. He walked past the fence and looked up towards the sky. The thick stratus clouds he had seen earlier had coated the dark sky like a pale curtain. It blocked out the light of the stars and only the soft silver light of the crescent moon was visible.

At this, Kurogane was deeply disappointed. The daily weather report had promised clear skies by the afternoon but the prediction was clearly inaccurate. By the way the clouds were moving, however, it appeared that it would clear up soon enough. Kurogane decided to wait it out, not wanting to have gone all the way there for nothing.

He began walking towards the center of the lot. As he walked, he stared up at the night sky trying to remember something someone had mentioned to him the other day. He couldn't remember what it was or who had said it, but he did remember that it had sounded like poetry. Suddenly, as he was pondering this, something happened that nearly made his heart stop.

He stepped on something soft and bumpy on the ground. It moved when he stepped on it and cried out sharply, causing him to fall over in shock. He quickly got up off the ground into a defensive crouch. His heart was racing but his features were sound and composed.

"Who's there?" he shouted a little more harshly than necessary. There was only a pained groan in response. The voice was male and it seemed to indicate the man was somewhere in his twenties. "Who the hell are you?" repeated Kurogane. There was a shuffling sound in the grass that sounded like the man was sitting up.

"Owww, that hurt!" said the man. "I'm sorry for scaring you, sir, but you do know that was my face you stepped on, right?" he asked, jokingly. The man's voice and tone were all too familiar.

"You! You're that suicidal psychopath from the burning building!" shouted Kurogane, suddenly very angry.

"Hm? You wouldn't happen to be that Mr Black that saved me back there, would you? Your name eludes me." asked the blond man, audibly trying to suppress a yawn.

"Goddammit, it's Kurogane! Not Mr Black or whatever!" shouted Kurogane.

"Oh." said the man softly. There was a pause that allowed the silence to seep back in. Kurogane could still not see the man's face, but he could make out a dark shape laid out on the ground about two meters away from him.

"Alright then, Kuro-tan, what brings you here?" the man asked, finally.

"Why are you here? And call me by my name!" Kurogane added. Something disturbing suddenly occurred to him. "You're not getting high or doing drugs, are you?" he asked the man.

"What makes you think that?" asked the man. Kurogane could see the silhouette of the man tilt his head curiously.

"Only the obvious reasons." replied Kurogane. "Your house mysteriously burns down and you suddenly end up here in an empty abandoned lot by yourself at night." he explained.

"Well, just out of curiosity, how does that make me suicidal?" asked the man.

"You went into a burning building after acting all damn happy and smiley like you actually wanted it to burn down." said Kurogane.

"Ahh, I was cooking dinner and must have left something on the stove that caught fire." the man answered. "Also, I'm not insane. It's kind of mean to people with mental disabilities to go around calling random people who act out of the ordinary "psychopaths"." he explained, seemingly enjoying himself.

Kuogane was frustrated. How was he supposed to reason with someone like this?

"Okay, so why are you here, then?" he asked, practically fuming.

"Well, the house I was staying in was a friend's who isn't living here at the moment, but now that I can't stay there, I'm going to be staying here. It's actually not that bad once you get used to it." he explained.

"So, what? Now you're going to live here like a bum until your friend comes back? Why not get a job?" Kurogane inquired.

"I can't really keep a job because of my ankle. I'll be fine without one, though. I have enough money to keep me going for a while." explained the man.

"How the hell do you expect to stay alive without a home, a job, or money?" asked Kurogane.

"I do have money, only I'd rather spend it on food. That's what I went to get when I went back into the house." the man replied.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Kurogane grumbled at him, loudly.

The man didn't reply. Even though he was still unable to see in the dark, Kurogane would have sworn the blond man was still smiling.

"If you're ankle is so badly hurt, you should go to the doctor. You at least have enough money for that, don't you?" he asked.

"Oh, it's not that bad. It should heal up by itself soon." the man said in reply. "Besides, I can't really afford that if I want to eat." he added.

Kurogane was at a loss. This man, although he seemed to be perfectly fine, had actually just lost most of everything he had in a single day and was just barely living off of the little he had left. He knew he shouldn't care what happened to this person, and he normally wouldn't, but something about the man's situation jogged his memory and made him consider.

He remembered his mother and how he wasn't able to save her. The second time when he had hesitated to save her, was the greatest mistake of his life. He hadn't saved this man's life once just to let him die on the streets afterwards. He was going to help this man.

"Hey, can you stand okay?" he asked the man, almost reluctantly.

"Yes, I can. Why?" asked the man.

"Because you're coming with me." he answered. "You can't just live out here. You have no idea what could happen to you if you stay out on the streets. You're coming to my place for the night and in the morning you're going to see a doctor." He explained gruffly, standing up.

The man was silent for a few seconds before replying.

"I can't pay you, you know." he said, sounding slightly confused.

"You can pay me once you get a job. Until then, you're staying with me." Kurogane stated.

There was a longer pause before the man spoke again.

"It wasn't my intention to make it seem as if I needed help, so I'm sorry if that's how I came across. Thanks for the offer, though." he told Kurogane apologetically.

"That wasn't an offer, idiot. You're coming with me." Kurogane told him, gruffly, making his way over to where the man was sitting.

The blond's form seemed to shrink back from Kurogane as he approached.

"I'm not going to sell myself if that's what you're after." he said slowly, misunderstanding.

Kurogane stopped. "Sell your...? What do you mean? You're a guy, aren't you?" Kurogane asked.

There was a moment of silence as the blond's words sunk in.

"What the hell?! That's disgusting! Why would I...? You...!" he sputtered, turning red with embarrassment.

The blond seemed to understand Kurogane's intentions through his embarrassment. "Aha, I see. Only after girls, then?" he joked, pushing Kurogane further into embarrassment.

"I'm not some disgusting pervert, you bastard!" Kurogane shouted down at him, his face turning even redder. The blond laughed, as Kurogane stood over him, fuming.

The man seemed to find extreme pleasure in annoying Kurogane. This idiot was going to make Kurogane's decision all the harder, but although he knew it wasn't going to be easy, Kurogane was not going back on his words. Kurogane grumbled out a few choice curse-words before speaking again.

"Get up and take whatever you have with you. We're leaving now." he said, harshly.

"Wait, can I bring Sakura kitty? I can't leave her here." asked the man.

"Damn it! Do you really have to bring that thing?" Kurogane asked.

"Yes." the man replied shortly and matter-of-factly.

Now above everything, he was going to be subjected to taking care of a kitten as well? He might as well just be shot.

"Fine! Get it and bring it here." he grumbled.

"Is it okay if I bring Mr. Puppy, too?" asked the blond. This time his voice left a little more room for leniency.

"What's 'Mr. Puppy'?" asked Kurogane, reluctantly.

"I found a puppy hiding here and he seems to get along well with Sakura kitty." he explained.

Kurogane hesitated for a second, seemingly trying to decide, but in reality, only postponing the inevitable.

"Fine. Get them both and let's go. " he said, giving in.

The man got up onto his feet and, not without difficulty, walked to the corner of the lot, presumably to gather Sakura kitty and the Mr. Puppy. Kurogane stood where he was, waiting. The man spoke something softly to the ground and gathered something in his arms before turning around and approaching Kurogane.

The man had almost reached Kurogane when he suddenly lurched forwards. His foot must have caught on something and tripped him because he started to fall, but the clearest thing that could be heard was an eerily loud snapping noise. The man gave a sharp intake of breath as he fell, but there was no scream. He hit the ground and the animals in his arms yelped in protest. The man was silent.

Kurogane raced to the man, fearful of what had happened. The blond laid on his side on the ground, his whole body tensed up. Kurogane grabbed the man's shoulder and rolled him onto his back.

"Hey! What happened? Are you okay?" he near shouted.

The man took a few shaky breaths before replying. "I think something happened to my ankle." he said. His voice lacked it's usual serenity.

"Damn it. You probably compounded the fracture!" exclaimed Kurogane. He thought over the situation and decided.

"I'm taking you to see the doctor in the morning." he told him. "Are you still holding those animals?" he asked.

The man nodded. Though his visibility was still low in the darkness, Kurogane was still able to recognize the man's small gesture.

He reached under the man and picked him up off the ground bridal style. The blond's body tensed up when his foot swung off the ground but he slowly tried to relax as he was carried out of the lot. Kurogane reached the outside of the fence and set the man down gently up against the wall.

He took the small kitten and puppy out of the man's arms and placed them in the cushioned basket at the back of his motorcycle that he used to transport groceries, and closed the lid halfway; Then he went back over to where the man was sitting.

"Have you ever been on a motorcycle before?" he asked.

The man shook his head.

Kurogane groaned. "You're going to sit behind me, okay? Just try to follow my movements. When I lean left, you lean left. When I lean right, you lean right. Got it?" he asked.

The man nodded.

Kurogane picked the man back up and carried him over to the vehicle. He set him down on the seat and, still holding him to keep him from falling, got out his keys. "Try not to put any weight on your foot." He said, sitting down on the front part of the seat and starting the engine.

The roar of the machine dispelled the silence that Kurogane had forgotten was even present. The man wrapped his arms tightly around Kurogane's waist as if in fear. Kurogane finally kicked off and started driving back towards his apartment.

The blond was unexpectedly good at following Kurogane's directions. He followed the curves of the road as the bike tore past almost like a natural. At least that was one thing that made Kurogane's decision easier, if only a little.

By the time they had arrived at Kurogane's apartment, the clouds had passed leaving the sky clear. Kurogane had decided to park his motorcycle in front of the apartment building so that he could get the man and his pets up to his apartment without having to walk the distance from the parking lot.

The blond man had been hanging on tightly to Kurogane the entire time and had not loosened his grip, but when Kurogane cut the engine, he could feel the man shivering against him. He turned around to talk to him and realized he had his head buried in his back.

"Oi, you can let go now. We're here." he said, monotonously. The man raised his head to look at him and smiled.

"Kuro-tan drove really fast! That was fun!" he said, releasing his grip and sitting back. His voice was shaking.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Kurogane. "Well I don't think I can walk, if that's what you mean." the blond replied. Kurogane unmounted the bike while making sure to keep the man from falling over.

"You're shaking." he stated.

The man looked confused for a second and he drew his hand up so he could see it. It was trembling in cold and his skin was pale and dry like paper.

"It must be really cold. I can't feel much." he said, flexing his fingers with some stiffness.

"Damn it, you're hardly wearing anything but that skinny sweater an it's under thirty degrees. On top of all of this you're going to freeze to death on me?" Kurogane complained.

"Um, I don't mean to be rude but you offered to help me. Why are you doing this if you're so annoyed by it?" the man asked.

"Shut up!" was the only reply Kurogane gave. "I'm going to carry you to my apartment. Don't move too much or I might drop you." he said, briskly. He bent over and hoisted the smaller man over his shoulder with ease.

The man was unexpectedly light.

"You're pretty strong, mister Kuro-sama!" commented the blond as he was carried towards the building.

"Keep up those weird names and I might actually drop you on purpose!" He grumbled loudly. He carried the man inside the building and up to his apartment door. He had to struggle a little to get his keys but made it inside soon enough.

Once he was inside, he dropped the man onto the couch, not paying attention to the man's gasp of pain as his foot was dropped. He threw a blanket that was lying somewhere over him to keep him warm. "I'll be right back. Don't move, don't make any noise and don't touch anything." he told him as he left.

He made his way back to his motorcycle and opened the basket that held the kitten and puppy. Both animals were curled up together sharing warmth and comfort. When Kurogane opened the lid, the puppy started and got to its feet.

Kurogane was taken aback with surprise. "Little... Doggy?" he murmured. The small brown puppy only whined happily at seeing it's owner.

"That guy's got a hell of a lot of explaining to do." Kurogane grumbled in undertones as he picked up Little Puppy and Sakura Kitty into his arms. He carried the animals up to his apartment and set them down on the floor when he got in.

He looked up to see the man lying down exactly where he had left him on the couch wrapped up in the blanket Kurogane had thrown at him.

"Sakura Kitty!" the man shouted when he saw the kitten Kurogane was carrying.

The animal recognized her owner's voice and padded over to him, mewling happily. He picked the kitten up and placed her onto his chest where she curled up contentedly.

"Thank you Kuropii." he said, looking gratefully towards Kurogane.

The red eyed man only stood glaring at the blond with his arms crossed angrily. The man's grin faded slightly as he stared back at Kurogane. They didn't speak for a while as the taller man tried to untangle his thoughts.

Finally he spoke.

"Why the hell do you have Little Doggy?" he asked.

The man looked confused. "Little Doggy? You mean Mr. Puppy? I just found him with Sakura Kitty when I woke up after the fire yesterday. They seemed really friendly with each other so I took him along with us." he explained.

"Didn't it occur to you that he belonged to somebody?" asked Kurogane.

The blond's eyes lit up in realization. "He's yours? Wow, I wouldn't have imagined that the famous 'Kitty Man' is actually a dog person!" he exclaimed.

Kurogane exploded. "Just how many people read that read that fucking insane newspaper?!" he shouted.

The blond laughed bemusedly at the taller man's distress.

"Stop laughing, goddamn it!" Kurogane shouted angrily, pointing at the man's face in indignation.

The blond apparently decided to play it safe and stopped, but didn't remove the amused grin from his face. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself." he apologized.

"Um, do you think I could have something for my foot? It's starting to ache." he asked, making a strange face and stroking Sakura Kitty.

"Yeah. We should bandage it and put some ice on it to reduce the swelling. I'll see if I can find something we can use as a splint." replied Kurogane, walking off into the kitchen. He soon came back with a bag of ice and some bandages.

"I couldn't find anything to use for a splint, but this should do well enough overnight." he said, holding up the items. "Now let me see your foot." he ordered, putting down the things and crouching down in front of the couch.

The man leaned forwards and began removing his sneaker, but flinched away when he pulled a little too hard. He started again, but Kurogane stopped him, grabbing his wrist.

"If it's hurting you so much, let me do it. I don't want this to take all night." he offered. The man gave him a relieved smile and leaned back. Kurogane took off the shoe as gently as he could but the man still stiffened when the shoe pulled at his heel. When Kurogane pulled down the man's sock, he frowned in worry.

There was a very large swollen area on the man's ankle that was deep red-purplish color circled by less recent fading yellow and green bruises. The man had obviously broken his ankle and had been using it too often while it was still healing and just now he had re-broken it.

"Damn, this is worse than I thought." he murmured. He looked the man in the eyes. "But I'm still not going to be able to get you to the doctor until morning. Do you want to take a painkiller?" he asked.

The man smiled and said "No, thanks." and Kurogane got to work wrapping the ankle. The man constantly twitched and flinched as his foot was wrapped firmly with bandages.

"Do you think you could do that a little more loosely?" he asked, his voice strained.

"No." replied Kurogane without looking up. "It needs to stay tight so that the bone doesn't shift any more than it already has." he explained.

"Ah, I see." replied the blond, obviously not at all convinced.

Once Kurogane was finished, he elevated the man's foot by laying his leg over the arm of the couch and placed the bag of ice over it.

"You're really good at this." commented the blond cheerily now that the torture was over. He examined his now bandaged ankle. It looked deformed because of the swelling, but it was impossible to tell whether the bone had shifted.

"I had to learn first aid before becoming a firefighter. It's part of the job." he said, distractedly, as he collected the leftover bandages. Suddenly, he realized what he had just said and glared defensively at the blond. "I'm not going to talk about my old job so don't ask." he warned, solemnly. The blond nodded, understanding. "I get it. There are some things that people just can't talk about. I won't bother you about it." he promised.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have some foundation around here, would you?" he asked, suddenly.

"No. What makes you think I'd have foundation? Makeup is for girls." replied Kurogane, critically.

The blonde looked at him strangely. "You're really gender biased, aren't you?" he asked.

"It's not 'gendar biased' it's called not being a fag. Why would you want that stuff anyway?" retorted Kurogane. The man shook his head, laughing. "You really should stop cursing like that. It's not good for you." He had completely ignored Kurogane's question.

"Shut up. It's a free country." Kurogane replied. "And stop laughing!"

"I can laugh if I want. It's a free country." he said, imitating Kurogane's tone of voice. Kurogane glared at him shortly, then got up. "Not in my house it isn't." he countered.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes, very. Do you have something to eat?"

"No. I'm ordering pizza. Any allergies?"

"Nope, but I won't eat anything raw."

"I guess you've never had sushi, then?"

"Of course not. I can't understand why so many people consider raw fish on rice to be a delicacy."

"Tch, wuss."

Kurogane walked into the kitchen and ordered a pizza from his favorite pizzeria. When he was finished, he walked back to the living room to sit cross legged on the floor in front of the couch.

"Now, you're going to have to tell me about yourself so I can bring you to the doctor. He's not going to treat you with no information. Besides, I'm not going to let some random stranger live with me without knowing anything about him first." He told the man sternly.

"So what do you want to know?" asked the blond. His lips tightened.

"Well for starters, what's your name?" asked Kurogane.

The man paused for only a second, but Kurogane took note of his hesitation. "I'm Fye." he said with a wide grin. "Fye D Fluorite. Nice to meet you!" he extended his hand towards the dark haired man politely.

"Sure." replied Kurogane, ignoring the man's hand. "That's a really unusual name." he remarked.

"Well your name isn't so normal either if you hadn't noticed. Really, what kind of a name is Kuro-poo?" Fye replied, jokingly.

"It's KUROGANE, dammit!" he shouted, hitting the floor with a fist for emphasis.

Fye only giggled. "You know, I'm not staying in some random stranger's house without knowing anything about him either." he said, his grinning face becoming more composed and lightly amused. "For every question I answer, you have to give your own answer."

Kurogane sighed. It was only fair. "Fine. I'm Kurogane Suwa. Though you already knew my first name."

"Okay, Kuro-pyon!" chirped Fye.

"Next question." Kurogane said, gruffly. Ignoring the misuse of his name in order not to waste time. "If that was a friend's house you were staying in, where did you live before?" he asked.
"Well, I've been living in Italy until a few years ago. Although I was born in France."

"Hmph. I could tell you must have spent some time there. You have a bit of an accent."

"Most people don't notice it. Your very observant."

"Yeah. I lived in Japan until I was five, then I moved here."

"Really? I always wanted to learn Japanese."

"Next question. How much schooling have you had?"

"Hmmm. Well I've gone to college and have a doctorate in chemistry and a bachelor's in culinary art but that's about it."

"The fuck?! Are you serious? Why aren't you employed?"

"That's not one of the questions, is it?"

"No."

Kurogane was baffled as to why this airhead of a man didn't have a job or as to how he was able to get that high of a degree in the first place, but it would have to wait.

"Okay, next-"

Kurogane was about to continue the interrogation, when there was a knock at the door. Kurogane got up to answer it, leaving Fye on the couch.

He opened the door to a friendly looking man with short black hair who was holding up a cushioned box of pizza in one hand.

"Heya Kurogane! Howdy do?" he asked, removing two steaming boxes of pizza from the container and handing them over. He had a heavy southern accent and spoke to Kurogane with familiarity.

"Fine, Sorata." Kurogane replied. "How much?" he asked.

"Jus' the usual." replied Sorata, accepting the money Kurogane had retrieved from his wallet.

Suddenly, Fye called out from the couch.

"Hey Kuro-rin! Hurry up, I'm hungry!"

"Shut up, idiot!" Kurogane called back.

Sorata looked around the pizza wielding man to see the scrawny blond lying on the couch.

"Hello there!" he called.

He turned to Kurogane. "Who's that? Yer new gal-friend?" he asked, shoving his elbow into the man's side.

Kurogane blanched. "HELL NO! How do you mistake that idiot for a girl?! That's disgusting!" he roared.

Sorata was taken aback. "Ya know, ya never struck me as the kinda guy ter go fer otha guys, but don't be so hard on ter girls, ya scallawag!" he threatened.

Kurogane didn't really understand what was going on but he was sure it wouldn't end well.

"I'm not fucking g-!" he tried.

"Just wait 'till I tell my honey on yew!" Sorata interrupted, running off towards the exit.

"Wait, dammit!" Kurogane shouted, starting to run after the deranged pizza man but deciding the better of it.

He returned to the apartment, slamming the door closed behind him. He set down the pizzas on a nearby table and turned to face Fye.

"This is all your fault. Now he's going to go around gossiping to everyone in the city. If you weren't injured right now, I'd kill you!" he warned, placing a palm to his forehead.

"I'm sorry." replied Fye. "I didn't mean to inconvenience you by calling out like that." he apologized.

"Whatever." Kurogane replied.

He went into the kitchen and got two plates from the cupboard, handing one to Fye and keeping the other for himself. He moved the pizza to a low standing table in front of the couch and opened it so that Fye could get some. He then went back to the kitchen and grabbed two glasses, filled them with water, and brought them back to the couch.

When he returned with the water, he found that Fye had loaded his plate with three slices of pizza and was eating very hungrily.

"What are you doing?" Kurogane asked.

Fye finished chewing, swallowed, and looked up. "Eating." he replied simply.

He then proceeded to take another bite out of his pizza like he couldn't get enough of it.

"Just how long has it been since you last ate?" asked Kurogane. He watched Fye inhale his pizza as he got a slice of his own.

Fye took a moment to consider while he chewed.

"The day before yesterday, I think." he decided before taking another bite.

Kurogane humphed and dug in to the pizza. They both ate in silence until the food was gone. Kurogane trashed the box and brought the glasses to the sink to wash them. When he was finished, he tossed Fye another blanket, informing him that the temperature would go down during the night and that he would be woken at seven in the morning to visit the doctor.

Fye thanked him for his hospitality and went to sleep. Kurogane retired to his own room and settled down for the night but found himself unable to sleep. How could he considering there was a stranger sleeping in his living room. Especially one that acted so strangely.

He stared out the window for a while until remembering a thought from before. He remembered pondering something someone had said to him. Looking at the view from his window again and thinking about Fye, he was able to remember.

"People are always saying how beautiful the sky is during the day, but I think it looks best at night, don't you? All the stars are like jewels set in black velvet. It's astounding, don't you think?" the blond prattled weakly, his voice sounding strange through the oxygen mask.

The sky that night was clouded and polluted by the city lights. It would have been impossible to see any stars.
Kurogane didn't get any sleep the whole night.

a/n: Ahhh, it's so nice to be done with another chapter! As long as there is even one person out there reviewing my story, I will continue writing!

I had a bit of trouble with Sorata's Southern accent so I hope it didn't turn out sounding too strange.

Thank you for reading! We hope you've enjoyed today's chapter. Please remember to review on your way out. ^-^