InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Fool's Redemption ❯ The Trouble With Forgiveness ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7 - The Trouble with Forgiveness

For three days, Inuyasha refused to emerge from his apartment for anything other than work. He had been excused from his birthday party with the explanation that he wasn't feeling well, so that's the ruse he stuck with. He spent the daytime hours at his job with his construction team building the new greenhouse, and his nights sulking in his loft high at the top of the tower. His mood was obviously worse than normal, so most people wisely kept their distance and didn't bother him unnecessarily. Even his assistant seemed to give him more space than normal, and thankfully didn't try to pry into what was bothering him.

After the third night, he finally got tired of hiding in his apartment and began reemerging in the evenings once again, but did so very cautiously, constantly on the lookout for Kagome. He despised the thought of running into her again, and gave specific instructions to the attendant who stood at the bottom of the stairs leading up to his balcony to keep on the lookout for her and turn her away if she tried to come up. His assistant evidentially overheard the instructions and gave him a questioning look as they headed up the stairs.

“Aren't you being a bit paranoid?” the young man asked.

“Mind your own business,” Inuyasha snapped, and that was the end of that.

He didn't like having to be so guarded all the time, but there was just no helping it. Despite Kagome's uncle's warning to him, he told himself that the old man was wrong and that things were fine the way they were. His life quickly returned to normal.

*****

Kagome was starting to get frustrated. Once she had heard that Inuyasha was coming back out in the evenings again, she had swallowed her pride and attempted to go up to his terrace to talk with him, but had immediately been turned away by the guard at the bottom of the stairs. Each time she tried, the man had told her dismissively that Inuyasha wasn't accepting any more guests for the evening. But when she stood back and watched from a distance, he permitted everyone else who came along without any trouble. She realized that Inuyasha must have guessed that she would try to approach him, and had instructed the guard to keep her away. That not only pissed her off, but made her even more determined to find some way to confront him, if only for the satisfaction of ruining his effort to avoid her.

But the guard remained extremely vigilant, refusing her each time. A week went by and her frustration continued to grow. She finally gave up, knowing that if she was going to confront Inuyasha, she would need to find some other way to do it. She considered trying to catch him one evening on his way to and from his terrace, but after seeing the crowd he tended to attract along the way, she realized approaching him that way would only cause a scene, and that certainly wouldn't help the situation. So she finally decided to back off for a while, hoping an opportunity would present itself. And so, for Kagome as well, things went right back to the way they had been.

Two more weeks went by, and the days passed uneventfully. She found her job working in the greenhouses provided a welcome distraction from her problems, at least for the first half of the day. One morning, nearly a month after her confrontation with Inuyasha, she was on her way back into the small lab she shared with her coworkers when the door suddenly flew open, nearly knocking her over her in the process. She managed to jump back in time to avoid being hit as her two coworkers bounded out, talking excitedly between themselves. One of them, the blonde with bouncing curls, noticed Kagome and stopped abruptly, grabbing her hand.

“There you are!” she exclaimed. “We were waiting for you!”

“Come on!” the other girl insisted. “We'll miss it if we don't hurry.”

Not wasting time on explanations, the girls started off again, down through the conservatory with a confused Kagome in tow. “What's going on?” she asked.

The blonde only smiled back at her. “It's a surprise!”

They headed quickly into the last greenhouse, the one used to grow grains and sugar, and rushed down the long isle that ran through the rows of wheat and corn. Reaching the back of the building, they turned into the forest of towering sugar cane, taking a small beaten path that led to the far side of the building.

“I don't want to be caught staring,” the blonde giggled.

The other girl nodded and they stopped right at the edge of the sugar cane, where the vegetation stopped just before the glass wall of the greenhouse.

“What are we doing?” Kagome asked, now thoroughly confused by the other women's actions.

The blonde pointed through the glass, and Kagome followed with her eyes. Outside to their right stood the far end of the skeletal frame of the new greenhouse—still under construction. Further out, the ground was barren and rocky, littered with construction debris. Just beyond that, several large rocks stood scattered about in the middle of a field. Here and there, people wandered around them, carrying tools that looked like jackhammers, and a few were hard at work breaking the large stones into smaller, more manageable pieces.

“They pull those out of the ground during construction,” the blonde explained to Kagome. “The ground around here is really rocky, so they have to get those boulders out before they can build. Once they get them out, they break them up so that the stone can be used for other things.” She paused and joined her coworker in scanning the field for something. “I don't see him. Did we miss it?” she asked worriedly.

“God, I hope not. I'll be so— Ah! There he is!” The other girl pointed straight ahead excitedly, and Kagome and the blonde looked in the direction she was pointing. There, off to the far left of the rock field, was a large boulder that looked as if it had already been smashed into a few smaller pieces. Suddenly, one of the pieces appeared to explode. The girls next to Kagome let out excited squeals.

“What are we looking—” Kagome started, but stopped suddenly as the dust around the broken rock settled to reveal the form of a man she recognized immediately. Inuyasha stood there, waving the dust from his face and kicking the smaller pieces from around his feet. Even at that distance, Kagome could see the scowl on his face.

“That's so cool!” the blonde raved as a few others emerged from the sugar cane and joined them at the window.

“Have you ever seen this before, Kagome?” the other girl asked, and Kagome shook her head, staring out as he headed toward another small boulder.

“He can smash the rocks with his bare fists,” she explained. “Evidentially, he was raised in some science lab where they did a bunch of experiments on him, and now he has this insane strength. He normally just helps with the construction, but every once in a while he'll do this. Everyone always rushes to watch him when he does.” She giggled and stared out the glass. “They say he only does it when he's upset about something, though.”

“Well, he has been in a pretty bad mood lately,” the blonde said.

The other girl nodded. “I wonder what set him off this time.”

Kagome said nothing, staring out through the glass with a sad expression. She knew all too well where he had gotten his strength. So this is where he works during the day, she thought. As the others carried on excitedly around her, she watched as he moved from boulder to boulder, reducing each one to a pile of small stones before moving on to the next. Eventually, he stopped and sat down on one he hadn't yet destroyed, his back to the city.

She finally lowered her eyes and stepped back into the sugar cane. “I should get back. I still have a few things I need to do.”

The other two gave her strange looks, but shrugged. “We'll be there in a little while,” the blonde said, returning her attention to the window.

Kagome wound her way out of the sugar cane and headed back toward the lab, running her hand along the feathery tops of the wheat as she walked. Her coworker's words echoed in her head. They say he only does it when he's upset about something, though.

“What should I do?” she wondered aloud.

“Kagome?” she heard a man's voice call, and she looked up to find her uncle walking down the isle toward her. “Don't tell me you were out here watching the show with the rest of them.”

She smiled sheepishly. “My coworkers pulled me out here without telling me what it was for.”

He laughed. “Inuyasha hates it when everyone watches him do that. I heard over the radio that a crowd was forming out here, so I came to scare them off before he noticed and it put him into a worse mood.” The older man cocked his head at her perceptively. “What's wrong? You look like something's bothering you.”

She opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again and looked away. She never had told him about her encounter with Inuyasha. She hadn't wanted to bother him with it, knowing it would only cause him worry.

Her uncle sighed. “I already know you two ran into each other. I'd like to know what happened,” he prodded gently.

Kagome blinked in surprise, wondering how he had found out, then nodded and gave him the short version of events, including her recent attempts to speak with Inuyasha. The older man stood there, listening quietly, and once she was finished, he frowned thoughtfully.

“Stubborn boy,” he muttered. He looked directly at Kagome. “Will you accept my help now?” When she made a move to protest, he held up a hand to quiet her. “Indirectly, of course. He won't even know I had anything to do with it. Probably.” The older man smiled at her reassuringly. “I don't like seeing either one of you like this, and I know you want to do this on your own, but I also know how stubborn he can be. Let me help you at least get around his little road block.”

She stared up at her uncle, still feeling unsure about accepting his help, but realizing that she had no other choice at this point. So she nodded. “Alright,” she said, and smiled. “Thank you.” Despite her unease, she was grateful for his help.

“Come up to my terrace tonight. I'll have something worked out by then. Right now, I'm going to go scare away the hens,” he said with a wink, and then continued on his way toward the back of the greenhouse. She watched him go, wondering nervously what exactly he had planned.

She didn't have long to wait. The rest of the day passed quickly, and before she knew it, she was climbing the stairs leading up to her uncle's terrace high above the dance floor in the underground hall. At the top, her uncle greeted her warmly, and then called over another man, tall and tattooed, who she had often seen accompanying the older man through the city. Her uncle introduced the man as his personal bodyguard. “But bodyguards aren't really needed here, so he's more of an assistant,” he explained with a smile. “His name is Noah. Just leave everything to him. Stay back and out of sight until you see him motion to you.”

Kagome nodded, not really knowing what they were plotting, but she sensed that her uncle was eager to get things started, so she didn't bother to ask. The older man seemed almost giddy, as if he was enjoying the chance to sabotage Inuyasha's efforts to keep her away. She knew her uncle well enough to understand that it was just his mischievous streak emerging. Everything he did was always in good spirit, and she knew there was no ill intention on his part. He was interfering not only because he wanted to help, but also because he found it amusing to cause a bit of trouble.

Her uncle sent the two of them on their way, back down the stairs. Noah looked down at her as they descended. “I think he's enjoying this way more than he should,” he said with a wry little grin.

Kagome laughed, knowing what the man must have had to put up with working for her uncle everyday. The older man could be unrelenting with his pranks.

She followed Noah to one of the smaller side bars where he casually purchased a drink, then moved into a crowd gathered in the middle of the room. “Like your uncle said, just stand back where you won't be seen and wait for me to signal you. You may not have much time, so make sure you're watching,” he instructed, stopping just at the edge of the crowd. Kagome nodded and watched as he stepped away and headed toward the guard standing at the bottom the stairs leading up to Inuyasha's terrace. The guard was slouched against the railing, a bored expression on his face, until the other man approached him.

They stood there talking for a moment before Noah offered the other man the drink and pointed off to the sitting area under the black prince's terrace. The guard raised an eyebrow in surprise, and then downed the drink eagerly. They stood there talking for a couple minutes, but Kagome was too far away to hear what they were talking about. After a while, the guard began to look around uneasily, as if something was suddenly bothering him. She watched as he leaned over and whispered something to her uncle's bodyguard. Noah nodded and the guard rushed off toward the back of the hall.

As the guard left, Noah smiled and took his place at the entrance to the stairs, then found Kagome in the crowd and motioned to her with his head. She quickly broke away from the crowd and walked up to him.

“Hurry. I don't know how long he'll be gone,” he said in a low voice.

“What did you do?” she asked, but he only smiled down at her. She had a feeling he was enjoying this more than he let on. She quickly slipped past him and headed up the stairs, her heart racing suddenly. Her footsteps on the iron staircase felt sluggish even though she was ascending it quickly. As she neared the top, she swallowed the nervousness that had risen in her throat, and took a deep breath as she covered the last few steps.

At the very top, she found herself on a small landing, a large arched doorway framed in colorful stained glass standing before her, its doors swung wide open. With a final surge of determination, she took the last few steps and passed through the doorway.

But even after steadying herself, she still wasn't prepared for the wanton scene that greeted her on the other side. In front of her, a long, low couch ran along the terrace's edge, with people engaged in all manner of intimate activity scattered along its length. One couple was busy dancing suggestively in the middle of the terrace, while a few others were off carousing along the railing. Caught off guard by the spectacle, Kagome stood there in shock for a moment, until she reminded herself that it wasn't any different from what went on downstairs. She just hadn't been expecting to see it first thing through the door.

She was vaguely aware of a small voice addressing her, but her heart was beating so loudly in her ears that she disregarded it as her eyes darted around the terrace, looking for Inuyasha. After all this effort, she would feel foolish if he wasn't even up here. The terrace was darker toward the back, shaded beneath a canopy of fabric, and Kagome peered into the shadows, until movement in the far corner caught her eye.

“Excuse me…” the voice said to her again.

She ignored it, continuing to stare, until she suddenly realized with a start what it was she was looking at. Bodies—several of them, sprawled across a large, rounded bed, writhing against each other, pale forms against the near darkness. And there, spilling out from underneath them, was a wash of white hair.

She felt her heart stop for a moment, and fought back the sudden urge to turn around and flee back down the stairs. This wasn't at all what she had expected to find!

“Miss? Are you ok?” the voice asked, and this time she looked over to find a young man with blond hair standing next to her. He looked at her with a concerned expression. “Was Inuyasha expecting you?”

“I… no, I…” she stuttered, not knowing what she should say to him. He seemed to be some kind of an attendant. She vaguely remembered noticing him standing next to the door as she entered. But before she had a chance to respond, a bellowing shout from behind met her ears. She spun to find the guard who had turned her away so many times rushing up the stairs, straight toward her. Out of time! Fear swept through her and, in a panic, she grabbed the doors and slammed them shut, grateful to find the knob of a deadbolt on the inside. With a snap of the lock she sealed out the guard, who began pounding on the doors and shouting from the other side, demanding that she open them immediately.

“Um…” came the small voice next to her, and she suddenly remembered all the other people there with her. She spun around, her back against the rattling doors, and looked around. All activity on the terrace had come to a dead stop, and everyone was staring at her with wide, questioning eyes. Hesitantly she looked toward the bed in the far corner. Inuyasha was lying there, propped up on an elbow, staring at her in disbelief.

“What… the fuck is this!?” he yelled.

Standing there dumbly, it suddenly struck Kagome that she had been so busy trying to find a way to get past Inuyasha's guard that she hadn't even thought of what she would do once she actually got up to the terrace. Her mind was still struggling to gather its scattered wits, so she opened her mouth and said the first thing that came to mind.

“I demand to speak with the red prince. I'm not leaving until he agrees to speak with me.”

The others on the terrace stared at her for a moment, then looked to Inuyasha, thoroughly perplexed by what was going on.

In a fit of cursing, Inuyasha untangled himself from the pile on the bed and, pulling the sheet with him and wrapping it around his waist to cover his nudity, headed straight toward Kagome. Seeing his furious expression, she tried to take a step back, but was already pressed almost flat against the doors. He walked up to her, and raised a hand. Thinking he might strike her, she flinched, but instead he shoved her away, unlocked the doors and swung them wide, revealing the guard on the other side. The man, who had been busy fumbling with his keys, suddenly looked up.

“Ah—,” he started, but was abruptly cut off as Inuyasha leaned out the doorway to thrust his face menacingly close to the guard's.

“Hey,” Inuyasha said flatly, his expression deadpan. “She got past you.”

“N-not past me, sir! I had to use the bathroom, and Noah offered to take my place. It was only for a minute! He didn't know she wasn't allowed…”

He must have put something in the drink, Kagome realized, remembering the drink her uncle's bodyguard had given the man. She fought back a smile.

Inuyasha turned his head slowly to give her a suspicious glare, then turned away from the door.

“Well, the evening's ruined. I'm done. Everyone get out!” he declared angrily.

A groan of dissonance went up from the others on the terrace, but Inuyasha crossed his arms defiantly. One by one, they began collecting themselves and filing out the door, each one giving Kagome an irritated look as they passed.

She tried to avoid their eyes by glancing up at Inuyasha, but his irate expression caused her heart to sink. There's no way he's going to speak with me now. He's too angry, she thought. Sighing heavily, she moved to follow the others, but was stopped as Inuyasha grabbed her arm tightly.

“Oh, no you don't. You stay right here,” he growled at her in a low voice. “I want to know just what the fuck is so important that you feel the need to charge up here and ruin my whole night.”

“I didn't mean—” she started.

“Shut up. Stay here and don't move until I come back,” he snapped as the last person shuffled past. “Emory! Shut the doors and make sure she doesn't leave.”

The young man with the blond hair had been standing next to the door with a perturbed expression the entire time, but now seemed to snap back to attention, quickly closing the doors. As Inuyasha disappeared into the shadows on the far side of the terrace, the young man turned to Kagome with wide eyes, seemingly at a loss for words. “Um… can I get you something to drink?” he offered.

“No!” came a shout from the darkness. “No drink! She's not a welcome guest. Don't be nice to her!” The sound of a door slamming followed, then silence.

The young man turned back to her with an exasperated look, but Kagome didn't think his annoyance was directed at her. He offered an apologetic smile and directed her to the closest end of the long couch. “He'll be back out shortly. I think.”

Left with no other choice, Kagome sat and waited patiently, grateful at the very least for the fact that she hadn't been thrown out with everyone else. As she waited, she gazed around at the lavish terrace. It took the shape of a large half-circle, and was entirely open air. It was very much like the sitting areas downstairs, with the same kind of low, dark colored furniture.

Elegant lanterns crafted from stained glass similar to the kind that framed the entryway hung from sconces along the wall and curved poles along the railing, bathing the terrace in a dim but warm, almost festive, light. The only exception was the back area along the wall, which was left dark from the shadow of the canopy suspended above. Set into a wall running along the right edge of the terrace was a small, unmanned bar. Like the sitting areas below, the music seemed to be suppressed somehow, so that one could carry on a normal conversation but still hear the music.

Inuyasha emerged sometime later, dressed in a loose bathrobe and toweling his hair roughly. From his appearance, she assumed he had been taking a shower. She stood as he approached, but he paid her no attention as he threw himself down onto the couch, bending forward to wring his wet hair in the towel. “Emory, get me a drink. I don't care what, just make it strong,” he called to the young man who hadn't left his spot next to the door since he had shown Kagome to her seat. The blond nodded and headed back toward the small bar. “And I forgot my comb!” Inuyasha shouted after him.

Kagome remained standing as Inuyasha continued to ignore her, wringing the last of the water from his hair. After a minute, the young man returned, a glass filled with some dark liquid in one hand and a comb in the other. He handed both to Inuyasha and then dutifully returned to his spot next to the door. Kagome watched all of this in awkward silence, deciding to be patient and allow Inuyasha to have his fun ignoring her for a while longer.

He downed the drink and ran the comb through his hair a few times. Setting the comb next to the empty glass on a low table resting in front of him, he turned a bit in his seat and reached an arm over the back of the couch, staring out across the hall. “So. What the hell do you want?” he asked without looking at her.

“I…” she started, then froze as he turned to glare coldly at her.

“Don't choke now,” he said mockingly. “Not after you've gone to so much trouble to bother me.”

“That wasn't my intention!” she protested, suddenly finding her voice again. “You didn't leave me much of a choice!”

“Noah, huh?” Inuyasha said, ignoring her comment. “That's the old man's bodyguard. So this was all his doing?”

Kagome bit back a sigh. She hadn't come here for idle bickering. “It doesn't matter if it was or not. I'm the one whose been trying to get to you. If you're going to get mad at anyone for this, get mad at me.”

“Done,” Inuyasha declared, turning his eyes out over the hall once again. “Is that all?”

“No, it's not,” Kagome said, steeling herself. “I wanted to apologize to you, for what I did. I realize you still hate me, and you have every right to. The things I helped do to you were unforgivable. And I know there's probably nothing I can say or do to make up for it. I have no right to ask for your forgiveness—”

He snorted.

“But I wanted to at least try. Even if you choose not to forgive me, the least I can do is give you an honest apology. That's why I came here. To tell you that I am truly sorry and to beg for your forgiveness.” She bowed low, shutting her eyes in anticipation of the angry tirade she expected to follow. But it didn't come. She remained bowed for some time, until she felt her back begin to complain.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he repeated, “Is that all?”

She straightened her body and looked down at him. He was still staring off across the hall, refusing to look at her. “Yes,” she replied.

He sat quietly for a while longer, then turned his eyes up to her. They were soft for an instant, almost thoughtful, but then turned hard once again. “Forgive you? Why the hell should I? Because you asked nicely with pretty words? You haven't done anything to earn it! You think I'd just give you what you need to make yourself feel better about what you did? Idiot!” he spat.

There it is, she thought, but she refused to back down now. “If I have to earn it, then tell me how,” she said boldly.

Inuyasha glared at her for a moment, then his eyes narrowed and he gave her a taunting little sneer. He spread his legs and pointed to his lap. “Suck me off and I'll consider it.”

“No,” Kagome replied flatly, without hesitation. She had almost been expecting that response. “I don't care if you want to humiliate me, but find some other way to do it.”

Inuyasha gave a derisive little snort and shrugged. “Didn't think so. That awful look on your face would have ruined it anyways.” He paused once again, and then his eyes shot toward the door, as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him. “Emory!”

“Yes, sir?” the young man asked as he approached them once again.

“Introduce yourself and tell her what you do.”

The young man turned to Kagome and gave a small, friendly bow. “I'm Emory. I work for Inuyasha as his attendant.”

“Attendant?”

“Yeah, or assistant. Whichever you want to call it. I look after him and do stuff for him. Kinda like a nanny.”

Inuyasha's foot suddenly shot out, striking the young man in his shin. The blond yelped and grinned teasingly.

“Thank you for that colorful job description, Emory,” Inuyasha growled up at him, then turned back to Kagome. He considered her for a moment, and then said, “He's going to be taking some time off. You can work for me in his place. For as long as I want, until I get tired of you.”

Kagome blinked. “What?”

“Really?” Emory asked quickly, his eyes wide.

Inuyasha ignored the young man and pointed a finger up at Kagome. “You heard me. You take his place and work for me.”

“For as long as you want?” she asked nervously.

“Those are your choices. Either take the fast, easy way out,” he motioned to his lap, “or the long, difficult way. Of course, there's always the option of just leaving me the hell alone and accepting the fact that I hate you,” he jeered.

“But… even if I agree, I don't want to take his job…” Kagome said, looking over at the young man beside her.

“No! It's alright!” the blond said hastily, putting up his hands in a compliant gesture. “Really!”

Kagome turned back to Inuyasha, her mouth agape. She was at a loss. She absolutely would not allow herself to be degraded doing the first option he'd given her, and she certainly wasn't just going to accept defeat and let him hate her forever. She had come this far after all…

She leveled her eyes at him and clenched her fists. There was no helping it. If the only way to earn his forgiveness was to become his subordinate, then that's what she would do. There was no guarantee it would work, and it might even make things worse between them, but she had no other choice.

“Alright. I'll work for you,” she agreed.

A faint look of surprise passed across Inuyasha's face. “For as long as I want, until I get tired of you,” he reiterated, and when she nodded, he blinked once, then smirked. “You really aren't very smart, are you?” He hadn't meant it as a question, and he didn't wait for an answer. “It's an oath then. You'll start tomorrow. What shift is your other job?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes. What shift is your other job?” he repeated, ignoring her shocked stare.

“First,” she answered uneasily.

“Good. That will work out perfectly then. You'll still keep that job, but when you're not there, you'll be working for me.” He turned his eyes to Emory. “You still have your other place?”

The young man nodded.

Inuyasha motioned back to Kagome. “You'll take his place in my loft. I'll have everything set up for you. Just pack all your stuff and bring it with you. Be at my apartment at six… no, seven tomorrow evening so we can go make the oath. Room 1963, on the top floor.”

“Wait. Take his place? He lives with you?” she asked incredulously. Now she would be working for him and living with him?

Inuyasha waved a dismissive hand. “You'll see tomorrow. Emory will stick around for a while to show you the ropes. Is that alright with you?” he asked the younger man.

Emory nodded eagerly, and Kagome stared at him for a moment as a sudden sinking feeling swept over her. He looked absolutely… overjoyed at this sudden change. Was his job with Inuyasha that bad?

“Good. It's settled. Now go away,” Inuyasha said, leaning his head back to stare up at the expanse of stars above them.

The final tone of his voice told Kagome that the conversation was over. She stood there for a few seconds, still wanting to clarify things, and not at all pleased with what had just happened. She had the distinct feeling that she had been duped. He had rushed the entire conversation without giving her any details or fully explaining anything. She fought back the urge to stay right where she was and demand some answers from him. But one look at his suddenly aloof expression told her that, even if she did try to continue, she would just be wasting her breath. The conversation wouldn't go any further. She sighed inwardly, silently conceding temporary defeat, and bowed once again. “Thank you,” she said softly.

As she straightened, she noticed him scowl in annoyance. “So damn formal,” he grumbled.

With a nod to Emory, she excused herself and began to make her way back down to the bottom floor of the underground hall. As she took the iron stairs one by one, the young man's elated expression passed through her mind once again. He hadn't fought for his job at all. Was he so miserable in his position that he didn't mind giving it away just like that? And if that was the case, just what kind of a mess had she managed to get herself into now?

Continued in Chapter 8 - Crossing the Rubicon

A/N: And there you have it, a real meeting ;) We're now (roughly) a third of the way through! Thank you again for awesome reviews! They really encourage me, and make getting these updates out a lot easier and faster. Nothing like a nice review coming through just as writer's block/fatigue kicks in to get you going again!

I seem to get A LOT of formatting issues when I upload these chapters, and often times the only way to fix the issues is to delete the chapter and reupload it. Just wanted to say sorry if I have to do this again in the future and it causes more than one notification message to go out.

Influential music for this chapter:

Requiem ~ Inori - Trinity Blood OST

Dress - Abingdon Boy's School, Parade ~Respective Tracks of Buck-Tick~