He laughed softly, waiting for the telltale click of an opened lock. "I know exactly what I'm doing, Kuro-ai. I promise, and have I ever broken a promise to you?"

His tails -- all nine of them, where back then he only had six -- waved in irritation and impatience. Despite the calm in his voice, he wanted in there and he wanted in there now, and he was frighteningly close to breaking down the door.

"How bad is it?" he asked, mentally preparing himself for the worst his imagination had conjured over the years.