The categories are a bit vague as of the moment, but I'm working on tagging them properly (for my peace of mind, and for anyone else who happens to be curious about them.)

Series:

The Dolls/Mannequins ( Fantasy Au; ongoing)

I. Smitten
II. The Dolls
III. Trickles
IV. Tremors
V. Siblings
VI. Ordinary
VII. Nostalgia
VIII. Into the rabbit hole
IX. Beginnings I: Aiba
X: Beginnings II: An important day
XI: Beginnings III: Movement
XII: Beginnings IV: Premonitions
XIII Yuki's Diary
XIV. The Other side
XV.Flashback
XVI. Omens
XVII Faith
XVIII The End
XIX Transitions
XX Intersections
XXI.The Burden of Memory
XXII. A Reunion
XXIII. A Reunion- Part 2


The Hunter ( Werewolf-AU; SakuMoto, ongoing)

The Hunter
Under the Influence
The Morning After


Oneshots

Scent ( OhMiya drabble, g)
Sight (SakuMoto, r-nc-17)
Sacred Space (OhMiya Drabble, g)
Caramel (MatsuMiya, r)
Closer (MatsuMiya, nc-17)
Slip & Feline (Ohno/Jun, nc-17)
Caught on Tape (Ohmiya, pg)
Entwined (SakurAiba, g)
The Sunflower (Aiba/Nino, g)
Blue Bell (SakuMoto, g, drabble)

If only I had a camera right now...

Sho thought wistfully to himself, propping his head up on his elbow to get a better view of the man who lay beside him. Jun slept peacefully, his beautiful face serene and unguarded; Lush pink lips parting slightly to release the air as he exhaled softly through his mouth while his bare chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm to his deep and even breathing, unaware of how the muted silver rays slipping between translucent curtains made him glimmer like an ethereal creature at rest.

A few moments later, Jun stirred, his brow furrowed slightly and his lips contorted to a frown as his hand reached up and tried to grasp something in the air. Sho moved closer to Jun, gently taking the outstretched hand in his and giving it a comforting squeeze. Seemingly content with this, Jun's features softened once more as he slipped back to his quiet slumber, Sho's hand still in his, and a tiny smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Sho eased himself under the covers and slipped a steady arm around Jun's waist, gently pulling him closer to his chest, careful not to wake the sleeping boy, who instinctively wrapped his arms around Sho and burrowed his face at the crook of his neck.

"I love you" Sho whispered softly into Jun's ear as he ran his fingers through the tangled locks, sleep finally overtaking him as his eyes gently slid shut. In his sleep, Jun smiled and cooed obscurely into Sho's sloping shoulders as he tightened his embrace on the older man.

Sooo... Mondays suck. I think I say that every Monday, but it sucks even more today because I want to claw someone's eyes out. Some emo 'artiste' kid who won't do his job because he's depressed. I don't mind him being a lazy ass, and he can mope around all he wants if it didn't affect my job. He's in charge of splicing the audio files for the podcast recording, but so far he's come up with a dozen excuses, and the project's been delayed for over a month now.

go get fucking laid you stupid waste of time then do you job.

*sigh*

Anyways, to blow off steam, and have some fun, I'm doing this meme thing :) I got this from zukkoke_iero .  Here's  how it works:

Leave a comment in this post, telling me that you want to be interviewed and I'll reply to your comment with 5 questions, then post your answers in your lj  =)

Here are mine:

1. Mind to share your pic? Or describe your self? XD like your hair, eyes, and etc...

--err... I'm not really fond of taking pictures of myself (do you want to scare the rats away from your house? You can show them my picture XD hahaha ) Well, okay, my hair is black and short and it reaches my chin, I have bangs too.  I'm Asian-looking :P I have fair skin and brown eyes too... er, what else?  maaybe I'll post a picture of myself, but there are no guarantees XD

2. Mention the soundtrack of your life... And why?

Right now, since I'm in a bad mood it's Motion City Soundtrack's LGFUAD (let's get fucked up and die) it's mostly a punk band but I like their lyrics. Most of the time, I listen to Arashi, but I really have no idea what they're singing about since I can't speak Japanese XD hehehe. I like their songs though. Sometimes my life feels like nearly all of the songs from Avenue Q.

3. In the next life, wat do you want to be? Can be animals *wat animal* or plants or flowers or items and why?

I want to be an alien living in Mars :D Why? I dunno. It seems fun. Maybe I'll have green skin or something, and fly a spaceship. I'd also like to be a ninja, or well, I'd like to be either a Phoenix or a Dragon if I were to be an animal :)


4. If you were one of arashi members, who'd be you? Why?
I have no idea. ^_^


5. Tell me your weirdest dream... XD

Hmmm... It involved Ohno being taken away by gypsies, and then I think he joined the circus. There was also one where I was playing with my PSP while everyone else around me was playing with their DS, then for some reason, Nino threw his DS across the room, stole my PSP and he started playing with it O_o;

Can we go to Japan? Like, right now?



The Gundam. It's alive! (or there's a pilot in there somewhere...)

Anyways, ROBOTS! w00t! \m/

more from this page

"It might not be silly at all, you'll be surprised..." Nino replied.

Sho sat a little uncomfortably on the cushy armchair of Yuki's lounge; his eyes looking at his hands as he twiddled his thumbs, uncertain of where to begin. There was a pronounced heaviness in the air that Sho couldn't quite name, and he felt as though the veil was slowly being lifted, only to reveal more ominous things that he could never be fully prepared for. All eyes were on Sho while the whole room waited patiently for him to speak; the silence punctuated by the monotonous drone of the air conditioner, and animated chattering coming from the television as the programming switched from mid-afternoon soaps to children's cartoons.

Sho's mother placed a hand on his son's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze, and encouraging him to continue. Taking a deep breath, Sho lifted his head and began to speak.

"It began with a dream that I've had, even before I met you..." Sho started hesitantly, his voice low and quiet. "My first dream wasn't as vivid as the ones that came next, I don't really remember much, just a series of images... but somehow, it always involved you... and now that I think about it, the dolls." Sho paused, trying to still his mind to find the right words, "I-I'm not sure if it's related, but when I was a child, I had nightmares about fires and I used to very afraid of it. The therapist told me I had pyrophobia...Even a lit candle would be enough to scare me. It did wane eventually, but I was never completely able to get over it. It's one of the reasons why I couldn't even cook for myself." Sho rambled on, random thoughts spilling out from his lips as he tried to untangle the confusion that clouded his mind.

From their seats, Nino and Yuki inched forward, ever so slightly, in tense anticipation as they waited for Sho to continue...

"My dreams would always start out nicely" Sho resumed, his eyes straying towards Aiba's still form and looking at the doll, as though it would give him the answers, "there would be vast meadows and castles and we'd be sitting under trees... It was happy, peaceful...almost like a fairy tale, then it would skip, and the next thing I remember is the screaming, and the smell of blood, and fire... and smoke. Sometimes I'd wake up in a cold sweat, trying to catch my breath. It felt like I was choking. I stopped having that dream for some time, but it reappeared the night before I got that notice from my boss, telling me to do a feature on your store." Sho paused, looking at Yuki, who seemed as though she were restraining herself from saying something.

"What do you remember about the dolls?" Nino interrupted from his corner of the room, nearly jumping out of his seat...”I-I'm sorry, please continue."

Sho paused thoughtfully, looking at Nino whose eyes reflected a deep sense of urgency. "Only that they were alive... “Sho sighed, running his fingers through his hair, "this is really going to sound crazy, but in my dreams, we had these... special abilities. I'm not really sure what they were, I just knew we did." Sho's voice sounded distant, as though he were thinking aloud. "You...You were some sort of illusionist, and Yuki was your sister... she always had this staff... I also remember Aiba and this little squirrel he always had, perched on his shoulders." Nervous, laughter escaped from Sho as he struggled to come to grips with what he thought was his insanity. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm having these dreams, I mean, I just met you... It just doesn't make sense..."

"It's not crazy, I promise." Yuki cut in, her voice gentle but firm, her perceptive gray eyes gazing deeply into Sho's, ”you're making more sense than you think you are and to tell you the truth, I'm actually relieved that you had those dreams."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It'll be clearer after we've told our part of the story..."

"I see..."

"I would just like to know though... what else do you remember about Aiba?" Yuki managed a soft, playful smile despite her weakened state. She tucked a strand of Aiba's hair behind his ear and held his hand while she waited for Sho to reply.

"I... he..." Sho looked closely at Aiba and tried to gauge his feelings towards the doll, "I... love him." Sho gasped, surprised at this sudden epiphany. Sho scratched his head, his brows furrowed as he drowned deeper into his confusion. "How could I--"

"Well, Aiba, what do you know..." Yuki cooed at the doe-eyed doll, lightly pinching his nose. "You're one lucky guy!"

"Um... are he and I--"
 
"Ooh!" Mari suddenly exclaimed; her bright eyes looking at Aiba's expressionless face as its brown eyes stared blankly ahead.

"M-Mari? Do you know something?" Sho asked, more than a little baffled by the whole situation. Yuki talked to the doll, as though it were human, while Mari looked as though she had just realized something that Sho hadn't previously known. His mother, on the other hand looked just about as clueless as he did, but sat composed in her quiet acceptance of the situation, as she waited patiently for things to progress. From where he sat, Nino's weary eyes twinkled from wearing a smile that mirrored Yuki's. He pulled Ohno closer to himself, and cuddled the doll, as he rested his small chin on its shoulder.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." Mari continued, scratching her head in embarrassment, "It's just that, when Sho was telling us about his dreams last night, he talked about Aiba a lot... I mean, the way he described him... and now he says that he loves him. It makes sense that he loves Aiba... I still don't get the whole thing, but I'm happy for him. It's so romantic!" Mari smiled sheepishly.

"Aiba is a pretty... He's not a doll, is he? And he is a boy, am I correct? “Sho’s mother spoke as though she were confirming something rather than asking a question.

"Yes, he is." Yuki answered.

"I'm surprised you're taking this rather calmly, Mrs. Sakurai." Nino spoke "If it had been anyone else, I'm sure you would have thought we were all insane."

"Well... Sho's nightmares, when he was younger, had always been a mystery to me. The therapist told us that it was some sort of trauma, but I couldn't really think of anything traumatic happening to him before he reached the age of 4. He was always with us, we never let him out of our sight, and there would always be someone looking after him when we were away.  When he told me about his recent dreams... among other things, I just had a hunch that it was connected to his childhood nightmares and his pyrophobia. Sho... didn't learn to speak normally until he was around 3 years old. For a time, it seemed like he had his own language. I guess I'm also here to get answers. I want to know what happened too, and these... people," Sho's mother looked at the dolls once more, focusing on Aiba's face " are connected to him somehow, aren't they?"

"Yes. They are."

"So, Nino, isn't it? Who are these, um, people?" Mrs. Sakurai asked.

"Well, this wasn't the way it was supposed to go, but I guess it can't be helped." Nino sighed, scratching his head and looked at Sho, who seemed like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. "Before that, I would like to ask Sho this question first: Do you remember when you first met us?"

"Yes.  It was only 2 days ago, we were at the cafe and we talked over dinner." Sho replied, trying to repress the panic rising from his gut.

"Do you remember hearing other voices inside the room?" Nino prodded on

Sho remained silent, his heart pounding as the blood drained from his face.

"Sho, please be strong. We need you for this." Yuki turned an imploring glance at Sho. "Everything will make sense after this, I promise."

Sho silently nodded, forcing himself to remain calm while his mother gently squeezed his hand.

"Yes. I think I did..." Sho whispered

Nino nodded from where he sat, "Sho, I don't really know how else to put this but Ohno, Aiba and Jun... they're not really mannequins, as your mother guessed. It was their voices you heard while we were having dinner. I only told them to keep quiet because you looked scared and I was afraid you'd run off and never return."

"Of course I was scared! Who wouldn't be? A bunch of voices were speaking, and I thought they were in my head, or worse, ghosts! And I never even believed in ghosts before this! Weren't you scared of them too?!" Sho exploded "I've heard of talking dolls before, but this... they know what we're saying!"

"Sho, I told you... they're not just dolls."

"But--"

We're not dolls, Sho believe it or not...

I'm sorry you have to go through this.  I'm sure this wasn't what you and Nino had in mind...

I missed you and I'm really glad that you're here. I know that you can help us... and thanks, I love you too.

Sho fell silent as the dolls spoke; his breathing becoming fast and shallow as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Mari wrapped her arms around Sho in a tight hug, holding Sho down as her brother shivered.

Sho, please don't run...

"Dear, what is it?"

"Didn't you hear them?"

"No, we didn't hear anything."

"We're the only ones who can hear them, Sho. Not even Yuki can hear them."

"Why's that?" Sho asked.

Nino sighed, "It's something that you and I did, a long time ago... back when we still had those, 'special abilities' as you put it."

"Special abilities, huh?" Sho gently shook his head in disbelief.

Nino raised an eyebrow and gave Sho an enquiring glance before he continued. "Anyway, you're not insane. Phony as it sounds, I know how you feel. I've been there too."

"Ah."

"Would you like to continue with your story, or would you rather hear our side this time?" Nino offered.

Sho contemplated this for a while, “I don't know... I have a lot of questions that I'd really like to ask and it would probably make more sense if you told me your side of the story. I really haven't been through this sort of thing before" Sho exhaled, turning to Aiba and looking deeply into his eyes "Aiba...hello... I feel really silly doing this..." Sho began awkwardly, aware that he probably looked foolish, knowing that only he and Nino could hear them. "Um... I'm sorry I don't remember you yet. You too, Jun, Ohno... I really thought you were just dolls at first--"

Um yeah, Nino said the same thing when he first talked to us. He was panicking because we have no... What’s that? Solar batteries?

Batteries.

Or remote controls...

Or those things you plug in holes on the wall! The thing that makes the TV work!

"Electricity?"

  Right...oh!

"Uh, yes Aiba?" Nino replied, almost forgetting how talkative Aiba could be once he got going.

Jun loves Yuki. They're together now!

  Aiba!   Sho turned a curious glance towards Jun and Yuki (who was busy trying to guess what the conversation was about.)

They hug a lot

 Jun goes really quiet when she does that.

  They're... it's just so... soft...  Jun squeaked in his defense

"What do you mean "they"? Oi, Jun you big pervert!" Nino exclaimed.

...sorry

"Why is Jun a big pervert?" Yuki asked, looking at Jun's blank face. "Hey, fill us in, we're feeling a little left out here"

"I uh... can't tell you." Nino replied

"Not even you, Sho?"

"Er, best not to...I think..."

His earlier nervousness gone, Sho was now finding the situation only slightly less bizarre, much to his bemusement. Apart from him and Nino, everyone around them seemed to be guessing what was going on. He was quite surprised to find his mother was taking the whole thing rather seriously, while Mari... well, he could only guess what Mari thought of the whole affair, and he was quite sure it had something to do with aliens, if not faeries...

Well, if we're going to the loony bin, at least I won't be alone... Sho consoled himself with that thought.

Maybe if you stopped fighting it, you will remember us. You seem to know far more than Nino did when he first came here.

"What do you mean?"

Nino had no clue at all. No dreams. Nothing.

Speaking of Mari...

"Ohno, Mari's curious about you, and I think I heard Aiba greeting her too when we came in. Do you know her? Why is it that she can't hear you?"

"Oh yeah, who is she?" Nino was also eager to know, his jealousy threatening to rear its ugly head.

Oh, she's... she was my sister. I never really expected to find her here, I was very surprised to find that she's your sister now, but I'm relieved because I know that you're a good brother, Sho.

"Ah. I see..." Nino nodded, relieved.

"Thank you. I'm glad you think so" Sho replied

"Who's Ohno? What did he say?" Mari asked

"He said that he was your brother."

"Oh. Hi brother... from a past life... I think." Mari beamed at the doll and gave Ohno an awkward sort of wave. "He can hear me, right?"

"Yep." Nino replied, amused at the similarities between Mari and Aiba.

Ah, that's right; Nino and Yuki weren't allowed outside of the castle, so they don't know her. We used to visit Mari a lot, whenever we'd go out. She can be just as spacey as Ohno.

"Well, now that makes sense..."

She can also be just as strange... but she's a lot like Aiba if you ask me

"I can see that too." Nino nodded. "...you have a great family, Sho."

"Yes. Crazy at times, but definitely great...If it were me, I would've checked myself with the psychiatrist by now, but I'm glad they didn't" Sho replied, watching Mari attempt to make conversation with Ohno. "Mari doesn't really question things a lot, she goes with the flow most of the time, and she trusts her intuition more than anything else...Amazingly, most of her hunches are right."

"Well, now I can see the family resemblance." Yuki replied, amused.

"Anyway..." Mari interrupted "What's your side of the story?" She asked Nino.

"Aaah well, where do I begin?" Nino sighed. "At least you're already used to the weirdness of it all, so what I'm about to tell you shouldn't sound so unbelievable."

"At this rate, I really am prepared to believe anything." Sho replied.

"Where to start, then... "

"Maybe you can begin by telling me who we're supposed to be."

"Your dreams were right about a lot of things. They're more like memories, come to think of it...." Nino began, "I was a... prince... of all things, and Yuki was my sister. My special abilities had a lot to do with creating illusions. I could do a lot of other things too, but it was my specialty. Yuki could tap into memories, and she holds the key that could open doors to different dimensions, and even times. Ohno is a seer, and so is Mari, I'm guessing, since they come from the same family. Aiba has a special ability that allows him to talk to animals... and maybe some inanimate objects...and Jun is an empath."

"What's an empath?"

"He's like a mind reader, but he reads hearts; motives, emotions... all that jazz"

"Ah... “

"You could heal people."

Sho nearly jumped out of his skin, while Mari and his mother looked visibly startled.

"About that..." Sho began

"Yes?"

"There's something else I need to tell you."

"Okay."

"I could, well, I don't know how or why, but I think I could still heal people... "

Nino was shocked, unable to remember what he was about to say, and almost dropping Ohno from his lap.  From where she sat, Yuki spat out her drink and dropped the cup of tea she was drinking from.

  TBC...

Previous: A Reunion


\o/ Yay! a few more chapters to go. Sorry for the wait m(_ _)m life got in the way.

 

 

 

O_o hmm... seems like my lj's acting up again (or maybe it's lj in general that's wonky today)

Or maybe I'm just an idiot, and I'd really be happy if someone told me why my friend's posts are not appearing in order. (some posts dated June 26 appear under posts dated June 24... Is that common? )

Maybe I should do a little research first... at least no weird usernames have appeared out of nowhere. (then again, I'll never really know until this post gets published) *sigh*

Vox seems to be infested with Russian bots too, advertising porn, apparently. +___+ I hope it only happens to comms/groups.

m(_ _)m


My mom has a facebook account now. She joined it to play pet society and vampire wars, then got turned off by t he prospect of having to add more 'friends' and convince them to play the game in order to level up. heehee.
hmm... come to think of it, I'm only on facebook now for the games and I have added total strangers just to level up =P (they can only view my limited profile though, and I have no pics of me posted there. I'm kind of crazy about my privacy.)

Hmm... I have a lot of work left to do. I should probably get to that.

Because I miss Aimee Mann and her lyrics, among other things...




Today's the Day
(Aimee Mann)

Better pack your bags and run
Or stay until the job is done
Baby you could sit and hope
That providence will fray the rope
And sink like a stone
Or go it alone

And isn't it enough for you
Isn't it enough?
Isn't it enough for you
Isn't it enough?
For you...

So better pack your bags and run
Send it to oblivion
Where you don't look like anyone
That anyone would care about
And do what you do
Till it buries you

And isn't it enough for you
Isn't it enough
Isn't it enough for you
Isn't it enough

And baby isn't it enough?
Like Major Reno at the bluff
Wondering aloud if help is on the way

And baby isn't this your chance
To make a break with circumstance

Isn't it enough to prove today's the day?
Isn't it enough to prove today's the day?

Just wanted to share...

Hi

so... am just recovering from the massive cute in musosuru 's chibi Arashi picspam. I normally do not like kids, if there were a test for parenting I'm quite sure I'd fail it...

But JUN *sigh* where did the chubby cheeks go? I'd like to adopt chibi Nino, Jun and Aiba, even if it meant a LOT of trouble for me. >_<

Arashi just broke my brains and gave me maternal instincts. FTW


ANYWAYS....

I was about to say something. It's one of those crazy ideas that drift to my mind while I space out inside the jeep and I've been thinking about it for a while, so anyways, stop me if you've already heard this before. Or just tell me if you don't think it'll work.

Has anyone compiled something like a voice post of Arashi fans greeting a member on their birthday? I was thinking, (and let me know if you're game for this or if you have any other ideas) of compiling voice recordings of fans greeting them on their 10th Anniv. We don't really need to send them anything since we could make it available online through youtube, or maybe imeem and just give them the url for that.

I know a little about sound editing since I record podcasts for my company's website. I could tinker with Sony Soundforge, and I know a bit about Audacity... At least I know enough about splicing bits of audio files and putting them together, and some stuff on noise reduction. I still have to study the part about putting background music though...

hrmm... what else? If we want to send them the link maybe we could try spamming their email address? Even the ones they use on their radio shows :) Technically we're not sending them packages, so I see no reason why they'd not allow it.

I do need to know one thing though...Since I'm not really familiar with how radio stations work, I need to know if the stuff that the dj reads on air has been screened by the staff beforehand. I know that the  djs of most radio stations here get to pick what they want to read, but I don't know if it's the same for Arashi when they do their radio shows...


Soo... thoughts?

( The Sunflower )

The End =)


*** I don't really know how I came up with this, except that I think I wanted to write Aiba as a sunflower because of this funny pic of him wearing sunflower petals on his head and doing the hula... I'm not really sure how he ended up with Nino either, but there they are... Also, it's my first time to write this pair. Sorry if it sucked

Hey Friends!

I know these are a little old, but anyways...






Have fun!

After a lengthy talk with his mother and Mari, Sho was somehow able to manage a peaceful acceptance of his situation.

 After all their speculations, all he knew was that his dreams and visions were linked to the shop. Whether it was an idyllic scene of an outdoor picnic in the summer sun, or a terrifying nightmare of a death by fire, Nino and the doll's faces featured prominently in each of them.  His "dreams" although not necessarily linear, followed a coherent sequence that made sense to Sho, and it felt as though he was revisiting a memory, rather than having a dream. It was something he just knew, but was too afraid to confront. He still wasn't sure about his healing abilities, but his intuition tells him that it might be connected to them too.

Either way, the only thing he had left to do was to confront his fears and hope there will be answers to his questions.

***


Sho woke up to a tranquil Sunday morning wrapped in the fleecy, cream-colored sheets of his king-sized bed. He fell into a deep and even sleep, blissfully free of disturbing dreams about talking dolls, or nightmares of fire and blood. Sho stretched out his arms and rolled to his side, his eyes lingering briefly at the miniature panda plushie that Mari placed beside him. He then yawned and clutched a cushy white pillow to his chest while his sleepy mind slowly bloomed into awareness, idly mulling over the small and trivial details of his clean and spacious room.

His gaze wandered from the bookshelves filled with old hardcover volumes of childhood fairy tales written by his mom, and encyclopedias whose bindings were nearly coming off of its spines. Newer textbooks on print and broadcast journalism were eventually added to this collection during his years in the university, and earned their place alongside thick volumes of manga and photo books, collected during his teens. Boxes of CDs and LPs filled with music from classical to hip-hop, stood in a quiet, undisturbed pile next to his bookshelves, and the old posters of the musical artists he grew to love, framed between stiff layers of black illustration boards, still adorned the whitewashed walls of his old room, gathering dust beneath the slightly faded gloss of the magazine cutout.

Although he had been living on his own for a couple of years now, in many ways, the mansion was still his home. Much of the things he truly treasured remained in this room and he couldn't quite bear the thought of moving them out and bringing them into his small apartment. The power of his old home, filled with the warmth of his happy memories put his frantic heart at ease and convinced him that things would eventually work themselves out somehow. Sho turned to lie on his back and stretched out both legs, staring vacantly at the ceiling. It felt as though he had never left home at all, and it was in moments like these that Sho was grateful for his mom's sentimentalism and her insistence on leaving Sho's room exactly as it was, even though he rarely had time to visit because of his hectic schedule.

Three knocks on the door, followed by his mother's loud and cheerful voice calling him out for breakfast, broke through Sho's early morning musings. Sho started to get up, one limb at a time and pushed himself off his bed, making his way to the mirror where he combed his hair, trying to at least look a little human before joining his family for breakfast. Sho walked out of his bedroom dressed in his plaid, flannel pajamas and walked around in his tattered bunny slippers, given to him by Mari as a Christmas present...

"Morning, Sho!" Mari greeted her older brother, waving from her chair, forking a big slice of blueberry pancake into her mouth. "Did you sleep well?" she asked between mouthfuls, while a sticky a drop of maple syrup trickled down her small chin.

"Yes, I did. No nightmares this time." Sho smiled, pulling out a chair and taking his place beside Mari and motioning for her to wipe her chin. "Good Morning, mom."

"Good Morning! So, what time do we visit your friends?" Sho's mother asked, "I do like to see them, even the dolls you talked about."

"I think the shop opens at around 10 during weekends." Sho smiled weakly "Maybe we could drop by after lunch."

"Do you think we ought to call them, at least?" Asked Sho's mother between sips of coffee.

"Well, we could, but I wrote their phone number on a sticky note that I placed on my corkboard. I'm sorry, but I don't remember it."

"Well, that's okay. They ought to be there, it's their shop." Mari reasoned. "Consider it a surprise visit! And I'd like to meet Yuki too. She sounds like such a glamorous person... shame you don't have eyes for her!" Mari giggled.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh come on, apart from all the weird stuff, all you kept talking about was this blonde, doe-eyed Aiba doll. Is he really that pretty? I am curious about the Ohno doll though, I'm not sure why..." Mari tilted her head to the side, pausing for a moment before finishing off the last forkful of her pancake.

"Are you implying that I'm attracted to inanimate objects?"

"I didn't say anything," Mari replied, an eyebrow raised, "but if that's your thing, then..." Mari hid behind a sly smile, trying to contain her laughter.

"Mari~ you're such a child!" Sho whined, biting into his toast.

Finished with her breakfast, Mari got up from her chair, giving her brother a tight hug and a peck on the cheek. "And you're too serious. I know you're still a bit scared, but you're the one who insisted that we go today. Mom and I will be with you just in case you go crazy," she smirked.

"Thank you... I think" Sho replied, pouring himself some coffee.

“I also know that you're gaaaay~~!" Mari yelled as she skipped towards the bathroom, where she was about to brush her teeth.

"Mari!" Sho blushed and sputtered his coffee, unable to deny any of her allegations. He slowly turned to face his mom, unable to meet her eyes as he struggled to explain himself.

"Sho, sweetie, I've known since you were in high school." Mrs. Sakurai spoke, just as Sho was about to open his mouth, "We all knew, eventually, your dad had a rather hard time accepting it, but he eventually got around to it."

"...and Keiichi?" Sho gaped, clearly surprised.

"Oh, he knows and he's been trying to look for a suitable boyfriend for you, since you never brought home any. Shame you weren't always home when he was. He brought home lots of weird men! It would've been entertaining to have your brother set you up! We never approved of anyone he brought home though, that's why you never met them." Sho's mother smiled and laughed jovially as she buttered her toast. "Your dad wanted someone 'as good looking as you' and would 'treat you like the princess you are...' or something like that. Who knew he'd be so picky, huh?"

"Dad wanted...what...?!" Sho squeaked, unable to find the words to express his shock. This was turning out to be a very weird week.

"I know you've been through a lot the past few days...We were hoping you'd come home one day and come out to us with your new boyfriend. Mari's just a bit spacey these days, she didn't mean to let your secret out. Relax, Sho. We'll get through this." Mrs. Sakurai said comfortingly as she placed her cup down the table, and made her way towards Sho, placing a soft kiss on his head, and combing her fingers through his hair.

"Thank you, Mom. Thank you very much." Sho replied in a harsh whisper, overwhelmed with emotions. His shoulders slumped down in defeat as he finally gave in to the tears, burrowing his head on his mother's chest as he sobbed openly. Sho was truly grateful for his family, weird and crazy as they were, they gave him a solid support group whenever he needed it and they had never let him down.


***

It was 2 PM when Sho and his mother, driven (unfortunately) by Mari, arrived at Yuki's shop. Sho's heart skipped a beat as they neared the display window; Instead of three dolls, only one was peeking out of its small frame. Ohno sat alone on the park bench which he often used to share with Jun and Aiba. He wore a black beret on his head; one of his hands held a sharpened blue pencil, and on his lap was a blank sketchbook. Ohno looked serene as though he was calmly studying his subjects from where he sat, and was getting ready to sketch them.

Sho and his mother stepped out of the car while Mari tried to find a place to park. Sho felt panic rise with every step he took towards the shop. The 'Closed' sign was hung upon the door of the boutique, and the normally busy atmosphere of Marguerite's cafe was replaced by an empty silence, devoid of the usual boisterous crowd that frequented it. Sho took a deep breath, stopping at the door and mentally debating whether or not he should knock and wait for a response. Something was amiss, and he wasn't really sure he would like to find out.

"Sho... Nobody seems to be around. Do you think we ought to come back another time?" Mrs. Sakurai asked.

"No... Um, I think I'll try knocking first, someone might answer." Sho's voice quivered as he spoke, but he was determined to look past his fears and get this over with. Sho balled his hand into a fist and gave the door three sharp knocks, trying to contain his anxiety while waiting for a response.

If they're not here, then I can go home and try another day... Sho exhaled.

A few seconds after, the knob was turned, and Nino's face came into view, "Sorry, we're... Oh Sho, it's you!" Nino's eyes were lined with dark circles, and he looked just as tired as Sho felt.

"I know you're closed, but I..."

"It's okay, come in."

"This is my mother and..."

Mari,  you're here! Can you hear me? I missed you!

"Mari, let's go!" Sho called after his sister who stood in front of the display window, seemingly fascinated by the doll that sat alone on the bench.

"Um, yeah, okay..." Mari replied in a distant voice, wearing a perplexed expression on her face as she obediently followed Sho into the shop, her gaze still fixed on the doll.

"Who's that over there?"

"That's Ohno, I think..." Sho replied, looking curiously at Mari as they entered the shop. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, but it feels like I should know him somehow..."

Nino gave Mari an inquiring glance, trying to ignore the sudden pang of jealousy that nipped at his heart.

"My name is Nino. Pleased to meet you."

"My name Mari, I'm Sho's sister. Pleased to meet you too" Mari smiled shyly as she gave a short bow to introduce herself.

"This is my mother and as you already know this is my sister Mari."

"Good Afternoon, Mrs. Sakurai, Mari" Nino replied.

"Listen, I know you're closed for today, but I really need to tell you something..." Sho began.

"It's all right." Nino interrupted, "I need to tell you some things too. I'm actually glad that you dropped by. Yuki is in the lounge watching TV, follow me. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you too."

Sho, Mari, and his mother followed Nino into the lounge where they found Yuki sitting between Jun and Aiba, watching a mid-afternoon dorama on television, while digging into a bag of potato chips.

"We have some guests." Nino announced, pulling up an extra chair for Sho, and telling Pierre to bring in two more while Marguerite prepared to serve some snacks.

"Oh, hi! You're here!" Yuki exclaimed, looking surprised when she saw Nino enter the room followed by Sho and two other women.

"Good afternoon, Yuki." Sho greeted, looking a bit confused at the sight of two mannequins watching television with her. Yuki sat cross-legged on the couch, dressed casually in jeans and a loose t-shirt, looking a bit tired and weak, as though she's just recovered from some illness.

"Are you okay? You look a bit pale." Sho asked.

"It's just a little fever." Yuki smiled weakly,  "anyway, I'm sorry I couldn't be dressed better. If I had known you were coming I would've tried looking a little more decent. Make yourselves at home." Yuki replied, a little unbalanced as she stood up and reached for a paper towel to wipe her hands on. "My name is Yuki, I'm Nino's sis--- um, employer."  She went in front of Sho's family and gave a little bow.

"Hello, I'm Sho's mother, and this is his sister, Mari. I'm sorry for dropping by on such short notice." Sho's mother replied and sat down on one of the chairs. Like Sho, she found the whole situation rather peculiar, although she tried her best not to show it. Mari on the other hand, looked a little distracted and kept gazing at the dolls who sat on either side of Yuki.

"Good Afternoon, Mrs. Sakurai, Mari, please have a seat" Yuki motioned for them to sit as Nino went back to the lounge and sat himself down the armchair next to the couch.  Pierre followed Nino and brought in some extra chairs, while Marguerite brought in a tray of pastries and some tea for the guests...

Hey it's Mari! Hi Ma--

Shut up Aiba! Not yet!

Sho's head suddenly turned to the direction of the dolls. From across the room, Nino observed the whole exchange, nodding silently to himself.
 
So, he could hear them... Who's Mari, exactly? I don't remember her at all, and from the looks of it, neither could Yuki. But Jun and Aiba seem to know her...

"Oh! Before I forget..." Mari suddenly exclaimed, snapping out of her reverie as she turned to look at Yuki.

"Yes?"

"You really are pretty, just as I'd thought."

"Oh, um thank you."

"I brought these for you. I made them too. Sho told me that you were interested in consigning my stuff... but I know that we're not here to talk about that yet, anyway..." Mari dug into her bag and produced a pair of her hand-crafted chandelier earrings. Its tiny stones caught the faint sunlight that illuminated the room and glimmered nicely in her slender fingers. "Try them on. I know they'd look good on you." 

"Thank you very much!" said Yuki, "You said that you weren't here to talk about this... what exactly do you mean?"

"Well, I think it's best if I let Sho explain... Sorry for being a little random. I know I tend zone out sometimes." Mari smiled sheepishly, scratching her head in apology. "Do your dolls watch TV with you all the time?"

"I know someone who zones out even more than you do." Yuki replied, trying on the earrings. " I think we'd better get him here too... about the dolls, well, it's a little complicated, but I think both of us want to discuss the same thing."

" I see..."

"Well, I guess I'd better get Ohno here then," Nino stood up and headed towards the display window.

"So he's Ohno... The one on your right must be Aiba, then."

"You know them?"

"Sho told us. It's a long story..."

"I've been having dreams about them lately, among other things..."  Sho began as Nino entered the room with Ohno in tow, squeezing him in beside Jun at the edge of the couch.

"Well, seeing that we're all here. I guess we'd better start." Nino sat down on the armchair once more. "This might take a while, so I told Marguerite to make us some dinner if that's okay."

"That's perfectly fine. I think we'll need it." Said Yuki. "Well, Sho, since you're here, you get to go first..."

"Okay..." Sho looked at the dolls and exhaled nervously, "I don't really know where to begin and it might sound a little silly..."

"It might not be silly at all, you'll be surprised..." Nino replied.


TBC

Previous: The Burden of Memory   Next: A Reunion: Part 2


A/N

*__*   wheee... I think. The update took quite a while, sorry about that. I find it hard to shift from one storyline to another, especially if it's an ongoing multi-chapter thing, so the wolves will have to wait till I finish this.

Hope you enjoyed.

... and remind me not to underestimate instant coffee and put a heaping teaspoon into my mug. My fingers are shaking... +_____+

Here'swannatee_1984 's meme thingy:

Rules—
01. Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper at their LiveJournal.
02. Explain in five sentences why you're using that wallpaper!
03. Don't change your wallpaper before doing this! The point is to see what you had on!

Here's my current wallpaper:



5 sentences...
Um...
1. Jun is really hot.
2. Jun has pretty fingers.
3. I used Nino's calendar photo shoot last week as my wallpaper, and now it's Jun's turn ! :)
4. Err... peacock feathers?
5. I look at it when programs are running slow/ the website I'm browsing loads too slowly/ work annoys me, and then I feel happy. That's mostly the reason I have any member of Arashi on my desktop :3

I TAG YOU ALL!    hahahahaha.

Well, you can always choose not to do it... but then I'd throw a tantrum... not that you'd care XP j/k!

Hmm... what else?

Ohhh. Just got news that one of the universities here had to suspend classes for 2 weeks because one of their students was tested positive for the AH1N1 virus/ Swine Flu... ack. O_o  Thing is, there's been other news that an employee working in a company near the school was also tested positive, but since the guy works in one of those outsourced thingies, they're weren't willing to put all of their employees under quarantine. Bad for business, I guess.... Now I'm wondering what would happen if it got here. I'm pretty sure, the way things are going, that they'd adapt the same strategy as that company. *sigh* I mean, in a company that only rents a floor inside a 30-floor building, if one of their employees is tested positive, how many people should they put under quarantine/ stop from going to work? We share the same elevators +____+ some of us probably ride the same jeep/bus to work too.

Will try not to think about morbid things...

I wonder what would happen if Ohno taught art class?

"Today, we're going to try drawing animals"

*blinks... spaces out*

*draws*

"Okay, did everyone get that?"

*blinks*

*looks around*

"Where did everyone go?"

*looks outside*

"Why is it dark already?... I'm hungry."

*******

>____< ()

*sigh*

*random rant*

When I'm mentally exhausted, I really don't need people telling me about how they learned that they shouldn't watch sad movies in the morning because then, they'd be sad the whole day. I just couldn't get myself to sympathize/empathize/ respond appropriately. I can't watch movies in the morning because I'd be rushing to work, and really, I just want to flail and be aimless for a while. I don't want to think or be the shrink for the day. I'm not a repository for your little gems of wisdom or all those little inspirational hallmark moments of your life, at least not right now.



Okay, there, that's all. :)

For me, I would rather read a good book, from a contented author. I don't really care what it takes to produce that.

-Neil Gaiman

I linked to his whole blog post instead. 

I felt great after reading that, and I just wanted to share... just in case there are people out there who might be freaking out over fic deadlines, among other things...  

Jun tossed and turned restlessly on Sho's bed, his legs getting tangled up in its cream colored sheets. Droplets of sweat trailed down his small face, soaking the soft pillow that cradled his head.

The green numbers of the digital clock, precariously balanced on the bedside table, blinked 9:15. It was a warm and sticky summer morning and all alone in Sho's room, Jun was having a nightmare.

Jun wandered through a black and white forest. Small piles of dried leaves crunched beneath his feet as he walked barefoot on wet grass that yielded readily to the soft soil, left moist and muddy by the morning dew. Smells appeared as blobs and streaks of color, swirling about them in a powdery mist and providing a stark contrast to an otherwise eerie and monochromatic dream. Jun continued to move, padding closely behind a silver-gray wolf as it followed the  trail of red flecks, drifting slightly above its head. The wolf moved cautiously; its ears perked for the slightest noise, its amber eyes sharp and focused. Its black nose periodically sniffed the air, picking out the red from the other colors that floated about them.  Jun could sense the agitation in the wolf as he continued to follow it into the woods, dodging the thorny vines that hung low until they finally reached a part where the mist formed a faint, but definite trail. Without warning, the wolf broke into a run and followed the crimson streak. Jun tried to keep up, running as quickly as his legs would take him, the acrid smell of copper and earth growing stronger with each step as he followed the wolf, losing sight of its tail as it turned a corner and dove into a thicket.

In the blink of an eye, the scenery changed. Jun found himself standing in a landscape bathed in red, trying not to gag as the pervading stench of blood overwhelmed his senses. A few meters from where he stood, the silver wolf was whining mournfully, pacing back and forth in front of a black wolf that lay motionless, dying in a pool of its own blood. The black wolf stared straight at Jun with piercing gray eyes while it bravely tried to fight for its life. A sharp blade had been stabbed and was left in its ribcage and several bullets had been wedged inside its head. The silver wolf sat down, lifting its head to let out a low and baleful howl while the black wolf lifted its paw, keening softly as it reached out to its mate before it took its last breath and stopped moving.

 As he was watching this, Jun felt something wet and sticky steadily trickling down his face. Jun casually wiped it away with his hands, noting strangely that the viscous liquid hadn't stopped flowing... Jun looked down on his hands and saw that it was covered in blood...

What the hell....

NO! Stop this! Stop this, please! Stop!

Jun screamed, terrified. He looked down to see his white shirt soaked in blood and tried to wipe away the red stain that grew steadily with his already blood-soaked hands. Jun could feel himself getting lightheaded, his focus growing blurry as he fell down on his knees and lost consciousness. Before him, the silver wolf continued to voice its lament, filling his ears with its haunting, lonely cries...

***

Jun woke up in a cold sweat, his ears still ringing with the wolf's howls. He felt a bit nauseous and disoriented, his mouth tasted of the coppery tang of blood and his head was throbbing in pain. Jun's hands reached out to clutch at his chest and felt his heart drumming wildly inside his ribcage.

He sat up and caught his breath, taking in huge amounts of air. Hazy recollections of last night's coupling crept into his consciousness and mingled with the vividly disturbing images of his nightmare. Alone in an unfamiliar place, Jun trembled. He cradled his head in both hands, placing some mild pressure on his temples as he tried to ease the pain that intensified while he grew more awake.  Jun slowly lifted his head, taking in his surroundings and squinting at the glaring brightness that passed unfiltered through curtainless glass windows, illuminating the huge room and its black walls with its sickening yellow light.

Where am I? Jun tried to breathe evenly, willing his heart to slow down.

...

What's that smell?

Without a moment's pause, Jun swung both legs off the bed and bounded straight into the kitchen, running past three doors and making a right turn until he finally caught Sho, who at the moment, seemed to be doing battle with the stove and the frying pan.

"What are you doing?!" Jun demanded, breathless, his migraine temporarily forgotten.

"...Making us breakfast?" Sho replied, trying to shrink away from the burning oil that sputtered from the frying pan.

"Have you never fried an egg before?!" Jun spat out, incredulous, while Sho continued to stare at him in a weird way; the spatula frozen in his hand, while the egg went from an over fried sunny-side up to something burnt and stuck stubbornly to frying pans.

"Honestly." Jun sighed, "Give me that." Jun took the spatula from Sho's hands and dumped the greasy pan onto the kitchen sink, grabbing the apron that hung near the fridge and tying the strings around his waist.

"Can you please hand me another pan, two eggs and some cooking oil?"

"Er, sure... here" Sho squeaked as he handed Jun a new pan and the bottle of cooking oil before grabbing some eggs, watching in awe as Jun took charge of the kitchen--in nothing but his socks and a checkered pink apron

Sho stood back, leaning on the kitchen counter, crossing both arms over his chest and watching with barely concealed interest while Jun made breakfast from across the room. His eyes were drawn to the single bead of sweat that began its slow descent from Jun's unkempt hair, falling softly onto his nape and trailing down his back, stopping at the hollow dip where the flimsy pink strings blocked its flow. The tips of the knotted strings rested delicately on the soft rise of pert and rounded curves which fell down to a set of long and slender legs.

Though he enjoyed the view immensely, Sho was bit puzzled. Amidst the smells of breakfast, his sharp nose could pick out a fairly prominent hint of fear on Jun's body that mingled with both their scents. His ears could also hear the panicked beating of Jun's heart which had only begun to slow down as Jun channeled his energies to the task in front of him.

Sho was slightly worried and wondered about what had happened to Jun before he came rushing in to the kitchen.

"Jun...Are you okay?" Sho asked tentatively, approaching Jun and tucking a stray ringlet of hair behind his ear.

"Huh?" Jun looked up, mildly surprised by the rough fingers that grazed his cheek, "Yes... I'm... Oh god."

The thin metal spatula clattered onto the floor, breakfast forgotten as Jun stomped back to the general direction of the bedroom, only to stop as he approached a corner.

"It's the one three doors down to your left" Sho yelled all the way from the kitchen, uncertain of what to do about the eggs.

"Thanks." Jun mumbled, feeling his face heat up as he marched towards the bedroom and found his torn underwear wedged underneath the door. The black velvet strap that lay innocently on the stained white sheets greeted him as he entered the room; his black silk pants hung off of the armrest of a small wooden chair that was placed in front of a rather bare vanity table.

"Oh crap." Jun ran fingers through his damp hair as last night's events replayed unbidden in his head and tried to suppress the growing arousal that came as blood rushed down to his groin. Jun grabbed the silk slacks, slipping his legs through the only piece of clothing spared from last night's torrid affair. He then slumped down on the bed, panic threatening to flood his mind as he tried to recall where he left his mobile phone, his wallet and his spare cash.

To make things worse...

I slept, possibly, with my own boss...

Jun sat up and paced restlessly across the room, wondering how he could salvage what probably was, by now, a ruined reputation. He remembers the alcohol; the nicotine laced smells wafting through the seedy place and the lecherous men that groped him hungrily, while he sought temporary escape from another cold night, alone with his thoughts and an empty bed...

Then Sho came along... the brute force, the raw heat...

the slow, thorough sex and his complete lack of control as Sho took his pleasure with him...

Jun sighed.

Sho, as fate would have it, was a Sakurai...  Possibly, the Sakurai that his law firm works for, one of their biggest clients.

and I slept with him...

"Jun?" Sho's deep voice broke through Jun's worried musings, "Are you all right?"

"I, um..." Jun was at a loss for words, uncertain of where to begin, still pacing nervously on the wooden panels of Sho's bedroom.

"What's wrong?' Sho held his lover in a tight embrace, wrapping his arms around Jun protectively and placing his head at the crook of Jun's neck, in what he thought was a comforting gesture.

No no, this can't be happening...

Jun grew more agitated as he let himself get pulled in. His pulse raced, and his body shook while Sho continued to hold him, placing soft kisses on his neck.

"Sho... please let go" Jun uttered in a harsh whisper, his arms lying limply on his sides, unable to bring himself to return the embrace or to push him away.

Sho pulled back, reluctant to let go. Jun was trembling and his voice shook as he tried to form words to explain himself. Sho gently led Jun to the bed and sat him down.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

Jun raised his head, his eyes meeting Sho's.

"Who are you?" Jun asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"I am Sho. Sho Sakurai." Sho replied, ignoring the small pain that gnawed at his heart when he realized that his lover did not recognize him.

"The Sakurai? You own a whole television station?"

"Um. Yeah... Something like that."

Jun rubbed his temples in frustration. He knew he was in trouble but he didn't quite anticipate that it was going to be this big. All of a sudden, Jun stood up, pacing to and fro while rummaging through the sheets, hoping to find his mobile phone.

"I shouldn't be here. I should be going." Jun mumbled, letting out a frustrated groan as he tried pulling out the locked drawers of Sho's bedside table.

"Jun. Settle down, why shouldn't you be here?"

"You... I'm... I can't explain..." Jun replied, settling down on the wooden chair, looking very pale and shaken.

"If you're looking for your things, they're in the living room."

Jun stood up, turning to leave...

"--But you're not getting them until you settle down to have a pleasant breakfast with me, okay?"

Jun sat down once more, defeated. "I'm one of the lawyers working for your company... if they find out..."

"They won't. Even if they do, they won't even lay a finger on you."

"You're so sure..."

Sho smiled reassuringly. "I am. Besides, you can't really go out with just those pants. I can lend you some of my clothes once we've eaten and you can go home after that."

"Thank you. I'm sorry about this...This will be the last time though."

"I think not." Sho grinned "I'm quite sure we'll see each other again. Anyway, breakfast should be arriving in ten minutes."

"Arriving? What happened to the eggs?" Jun replied, letting himself be pulled down to the bed once more, as he took his place beside Sho, taking comfort in his warm, spicy smell.

"Um... Don't mind that," Sho scratched his head in embarrassment, "I was never really much of a cook. I just placed an order. They'll be delivering to this place."

"...Could I have a shower here too? If you don't mind..."

"Of course." Sho replied with a wry smile on his face. “The bathroom's the one to your left. There are clean towels in the closet, feel free to help yourself with those. You can also rummage through my closet if you want to borrow a shirt. I'll be waiting for you in the dining area once you're done."

"Thank you" Jun heaved a sigh of relief, and turned a puzzled glance at Sho. "Why do you feel so familiar? I'm sure I've never met you before..."

"Who knows? Maybe you do know me..." Sho beamed a warm smile at Jun, placing a soft kiss on his cheek before standing up to leave, "Don't take too long, okay?"

******
The hearty breakfast that was muffins, eggs and toast grew cold after Jun's 45-minute bath time. Jun would not be rushed and refused to skip any of his morning rituals, much to the dismay of Sho's rumbling stomach. Jun emerged from the bedroom smelling of soap, and raspberry scented shampoo. He wore the same black pants, a white shirt, which he had borrowed from Sho and a fresh pair of black socks. After some lighthearted conversation over an early lunch, Jun went home, hailing a cab from the gates of Sho's mansion, not quite reassured by the fact that they'll probably be seeing each other more often.

As soon as Jun had left the premises, Sho set out on cleaning up his room, picking up the remains of Jun's torn clothes, reluctant to wash the stained sheets soaked in Jun's smell. It had been more than a century since he had lost Jun to one of the slayers and it gave him nothing but joy to have found him again. As he removed the bedcovers from the mattress, melancholy thoughts began creeping into his consciousness. Jun was reborn as a mortal and had lost all prior memories of his life with Sho. He was torn between turning him back to what he once was, or leaving Jun free of the burden of duty to protect the humans, unaware of what lurked beneath their temples and their shrines. Jun was no longer a hound of god and he was free to do whatever he wished with his short mortal life as a human.

And I suppose it's better for him to live this way... Sho reflected, as he bundled the rumpled sheets in his hands, burying his nose and inhaling Jun's scent before reluctantly throwing it into the laundry hamper.

At least I get to see him more often...

***

TBC

**A/N: Er... sorry for disappointing you, but they aren't vampires <(^-^;) And um, no pictures today... Sorry, couldn't find one that'd fit this chapter, but if you'd like to suggest some, feel free and I'll put them in there, somewhere :D Anyhoo, I hope this isn't too much of a letdown from the previous (smut-filled) chapter. I'm determined to use all of the scans! I'll figure out something, I promise...I think...

Also: some elements borrowed from:  Werewolf:The Apocalypse, Blood and Chocolate, as well as some related myths on werewolves found in Wikipedia.


Previous: Under the Influence

Catcher in the Rye sequel published

No no no no no. =/

Not reading it even if it's brilliant or anything. Salinger didn't even give any permission to have a sequel written.

*****
Edits:

In other news: Archie Andrews has finally chosen....

From katmillia 

The problem with LiveJournal:
We all think we are so close, but really, we know nothing about each other. So I want you to ask me something you think you should know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away. Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don't know about you!

Okay, sorry for being paranoid

but this is just a test post to see if some other username will appear again


Don't mind me, I wrote this on my third mug of coffee XD

Hey friends/f-list/ people...

I dunno if it's just me, or if there's something wrong with my account. =|

There have been some entries on my friend's list that went missing, and  I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't seen katmillia 's fic on arashirabu , because I didn't see her writing journal updated on my friend's list... @_@ does that make any sense??

I also just found out that wannatee_1984 posted something on her personal lj that also didn't show up on my friend's list. It's f-locked, but I'm her mutual friend, so it's supposed to show up, right?

eljay, what is wrong with you??!

If it's not too much of a bother, can you please reply to this, just for my peace of mind?


Thanks!

*EDIT

OKAAAAAY.... Here's something a bit scary.

A username, augustbaby_27  suddenly appeared in my post, previously and I do not know this person, nor do I remember typing that username. This journal has possibly been hacked.  To make things worse, the journal is empty.


O crap in a box. How the hell did that happen????

Time for new account, maybe?

Maybe I should move to dreamwidth?? WTH?

Because I've gotten addicted to this track:

I want an album nao ^-^

okay, that's all.

Happy Friday!

*sigh*

you'll know that things are bad at work when you see something here (or if I place a comment somewhere) before 10 PM (Philippine time, that is)

To make a long story short, I'm burning out, running out of people to trust and people to run to when I want to crash... Seems like I have this thing for attracting people who kind of come to me because I'm quiet, mistaking it for shyness, then think that it's okay to dump all of their problems on me, but when it's my turn to gripe, they suddenly go deaf...
WTH.

I need these:




It's all pink and pretty and sweet... and their shop's in Barcelona X_X  soo far...




=(


anyhoo, if any of you out there (whoever happens to read this) want to co-mod a community with me, let me know. I think I'll be making one just for songfics, or something like that. I'll give you the details if you send me a message. Everything will be Arashi centered, of course.

There... back to work. =/