Wind
Disclaimer:I am in no way associated with Naruto. I am simply a fan taking her time to write out stories that seem right to her, with the characters that belong to Masashi Kishimoto. She also gains nothing from this, apart from entertainment and, hopefully, some love and readers.
Pairings: Sasuke/Sai; some other pairings on the side
Rating: M for later chapters and some swear words here and there.
Summary: It's our lives, dealing with life and death, something innocent that turns into things left unsaid, something to reach out to each other. The only rule is to trust each other.
Part One
"Waiting is wasting, for people like me."
Training is an activity he is very used to. In fact, training and Sasuke go from way back, back from the times he was still a child of five, training to surpass his brother, back from when he was tracing paths to kill his brother, back from his partnership with Madara, his search for ways to avenge his brother. Nevertheless, Sasuke not always trained for his brother, no. Sasuke trains to hone his skills, to know that he is still one of the most powerful shinobi from Konoha and, possibly, from the whole of the Ninja nations.
However, old this partnership may be, training was never so hard on Sasuke.
The training grounds are deserted, and so is the whole village of Konoha; this, by itself, is something pretty uncommon, as 'deserted' or even 'calm' are words never used to describe the village. In fact, Konoha always manages to stand lively and pulsating with life no matter the circumstances.
But, this is quickly explained by a short trip outside, and then it all becomes clearer: summer arrived to Konoha, the sun high in the sky burning the fresh leaves that give the city its name, threatening to kill them slowly and calmly. The only places where it is bearable to stand are indoors or in the shade of the treetops, and even there is questionable with the waves of boiling breezes coming from the desert, despite the freshness of the Country of Rivers in between the desert and the forest. (Actually, it seems that Suna has decided to engage war upon Konoha to the onlooker, which is very, very unlikely, giving the pleasant diplomatic relationships between the Kazekage and the present Hokage.)
And, underneath that clean blue sky, devoid of any passerby cloud, Sasuke trains (read, "Sasuke tries to train, to find no shade of success in his endeavor").
It isn't like he is the only one in the village to attempt to train under the hot, almost desert-like, sun. Naruto is one of the enthusiasts who always seem to take their time to train, and so is Rock Lee. Both Naruto and Lee, together, once invited Sasuke to train with them and, unaware of what he just had gotten into, the Uchiha accepted. Needless to say, he swore on the good name of his family he'd never attempt that again afterwards.
But this, this is his usual training, something he is very used to do, so his only companions are a couple birds in the background, chirping happily despite the agonizing temperature and all the shuriken and kunai knives spread around the area. However, Sasuke's intentions on progressing with his training are jeopardized by the unresponsiveness winning over his muscles, probably just another effect of the abusive sunlight hitting the back of his neck and his hair.
Feeling a drop of salty sweat traveling its way down his face, neck and chest, Sasuke actively ponders about taking a short break. Which he does, walking to the shade of the protective trees and seeks rest as his back comes in contact with the relatively fresh, but rough, skin of the tree. The Uchiha sighs internally as he lets himself slide limply down the surface of the tree, some rest for his overheated body.
However, desolate the village may be, shinobi still are forced to do their work, so it is with something akin to surprise that Sasuke is brought back to reality, to Konoha being scorched by the burning sun, by a familiar voice calling out to him, "Sasuke, I'm glad I have found you. Lord Hokage requests your presence at his office as soon as possible."
Sasuke identifies this voice as being Yamato's, and Sasuke does figure out that the Hokage must need him, to send out the Anbu captain to him. His head lazily follows the trail of Yamato's voice, to find him some meters away from him, wearing the standard Jounin uniform he wore whenever he wasn't in the process of a mission related to his functions as an Anbu Black-Op.
The Uchiha nods at Yamato, and the shinobi apparently acknowledges this, reminding him, "Don't take too long; this is an important matter."
And, as quick as the older ninja came, he left Sasuke alone with his kunai and the hints of his training. The young man sighs, and uses his hands on the grass as leverage to get up from the ground to meet up with the Hokage. He reaches out for his trusted sword, which kept him from damage many times, his most precious instrument, and looks around to see if he has forgotten about anything else. From the training grounds, the Uchiha can see the landmark of Konoha – the Hokage Mountain. And Sasuke looks at it, his eyes only for the relatively recently carved up face of what would be his old teacher.
And Sasuke wonders what exactly Kakashi is waiting from him.
Sasuke languidly lets his feet take him to the Hokage's office, sure that nothing good can come from Kakashi's call, be it a mission or having to teach something to some Genin team or such. Those are the things Sasuke usually does on his free will even if he isn't forced to, but still does in the name of his conscience still begging for absolution even though that has been given to him almost as soon as he returned to Konoha.
The raven haired man would rather have some time to fresh up, comb his hair and look presentable to be in Kakashi's office, but Yamato's words were clear: he should meet up as soon as possible. And Sasuke knows that Kakashi may be always late himself for any sort of meetings, but the others are expected to respect timetables (not by the Hokage himself, obviously, but by every other shinobi who works in the mansion).
Well, the positive side of it is that inside the buildings of the village, especially in the Hokage mansion, the atmosphere is much gentler and almost inviting with its freshness and abundant shade.
Sasuke stops for a short moment when he gets to the end of the hallway he was traveling until now, and he can already listen to a couple contained voices coming from the inside, and he can't quite take their meaning, muffled sounds as they are. So, Sasuke opens the door with a firm will, without even knocking on it, and steps into the office, closing the door behind him. Silence, it seems, is Sasuke's companion when he enters the room.
As expected, there is Kakashi sitting at the mess of his desk, covered in piles of papers and another pile composed of four books, which Sasuke knows the Copy-Nin prizes all too much. You see, the Icha-Icha series was supposed to be composed of three volumes only, but after Jiraiya's death Naruto found a draft for what was going to be the fourth installment, but that never managed to be a complete work. And, unexpectedly, there is Sai, standing with hands clenching the border of the table as he usually does when he discusses matters of high importance, staring back at Sasuke, his face void of any emotion but surprise, until his lips curl up into a smile (something Sasuke knows Sai is quite proud of, a heartfelt expression).
The Uchiha takes note that Sai still manages to wear black clothing even under the sun that is outside. However, this is a variant of his usual outfit, his shirt void of sleeves and considerably longer, revealing only a couple inches of Sai's white, firm hips before his skin dips back into the black of his tight pants.
"Ah, there you are, Sasuke," Kakashi smoothly greets while sporting his usual crinkled-eye smile, beckoning the younger male to get closer to him with a wave of his hand. Sasuke walks to Sai's side and looks at Kakashi, who in turn confides, "I was thinking Tenzou wasn't quite capable of finding you, but I'm glad he managed."
The Hokage clears his voice, changing his tone and the matter in hand. "Now that you are here, Sasuke, we can discuss why exactly I called the both of you," Kakashi says. "It seems that there has been some… suspicious activity in Suna, if you may, and the Kazekage has requested Konoha's assistance with dealing with it. Someone has been assassinating retired Suna Anbu soldiers, apparently in search of information on our – Suna, Konoha's, the whole Ninja Nations' — own soldiers."
A pause. And Kakashi gives a nod to the both of them before going on, "You'll be expected to help defend Suna its people in case of more attacks and work with Suna Anbu Black-Ops to find out who has been doing this and why. You may as well be called to participate in shared missions, since this is also a diplomatic role. So I ask of you, the both of you, to be careful with your actions."
There is a nod from Sai's part while Sasuke presses his lips until he decides he'd better comply as well.
However, Sasuke has the feeling this mission is more than Kakashi is asking, or it is sounding incredibly easier to him than it actually is, since the both of them aren't exactly called up to do just any mission.
"And Sai," Kakashi adds, "be careful with yourself. You know who you are, and you are far too important to suffer from this mission. Remember, first place is your security; and with you too, Sasuke. I don't want this mission to go wrong, you understand?" Kakashi asks with his usual smile as a comforting pillar to Sasuke.
Sai, from his place nods and reassures the Hokage with a firm, "I know, I will."
"You must leave until tomorrow dawn so you can be in Suna as soon as possible. There you will meet up with the Kazekage; he will be your boss while you are there. Sai, send me a message as soon as you arrive," Kakashi reminds.
Suddenly, Kakashi clasps his hands together and reaches out for the latest work of the late Jiraiya, opening it at about halfway. "Think you'll handle that? I trust the both of you. Now off you go."
Sasuke gapes his mouth open wide; he thinks this is far too sudden, having to leave next morning to Suna. The desert. Sasuke wonders that, if it is this hot in Konoha, Suna must be even worse, no, it will be no more and he and Sai will arrive there to see that there is no place in which to exert their mission. What then? It won't be Kakashi to play catch-me-if-you-can in the sand.
There is no point with protesting, Sasuke figures; Kakashi will always find a way to make Sasuke do as he orders. And besides, Sai has already accepted the mission.
The next day, Sasuke stands at the gates to Konoha, watching the slowly traveling shadows of the dawn, colored purple and tainted pink. It is relatively fresh at this hour; it always is. Konoha always has a nice ambiance during the beginning of the day, especially during the season; something Sasuke regretted seeing during the time he spent wandering, something he will regret seeing during his stay at Suna. The village isn't that active, either; there is only the usual shinobi setting off to their early missions, much like Sasuke and, of course, the usual pair of Kotetsu and Izumo standing guard by the massive gates. Everything around him is clothed in silence, except for a few chirping musical punctuations, the songs of the early morning birds.
The Uchiha huffs, adjusts his small pack, the standard possessions of a ninja: kunai knives, shuriken, scrolls, a basic medic-kit (courtesy of Sakura, who wouldn't let Sai and he leave the village without it) and all that equipment. Sasuke looks around again and dusts his white shorts, clearing them off of any kind of imaginary dirt they may have. His clothing keeps him at a comfortable temperature, and are robust enough to withstand the difficulties of the way to Suna, and his face is painted a very impatient tone.
And, finally, Sai arrives. Sasuke first hears the artist's footsteps echoing in the empty street, getting insultingly slowly closer to him. He takes a hand to his forehead to protect his eyes from the low sun to find Sai walking to him. Sasuke scowls in frustration and tightly crosses his arms over his chest.
And when the pale man gets to about a couple meters away from him, Sasuke snarls, "What could possibly take you this long? Have you any idea of the time I've been waiting for me?"
The artist's silky remark of, "Good morning to you too, Sasuke; it isn't my fault you have no sense of time. You see, I'm just on time," along with his bubbly smile (not fake anymore, but still annoying to Sasuke because of the situations it comes up) send Sasuke frowning and, inwardly and desperately, admitting defeat.
Sai is right, after all. Damn Sasuke and his thing for being at mission meetings far too early.
The Uchiha's reaction makes Sai smile, despite the adversities, and ask him, "Well, thanks for waiting for me for so long, in any way. Shall we go, then?"
"Yeah..."
Despite all the teasing and all the huffing and smiling, Sasuke and Sai do work together.
They are a fine team discovered by Kakashi some months before, after Sasuke's promotion to Anbu and the decision of the council to have him working for the Root division (even if not completely strictly; Sasuke was never exposed to half the horrors the Root agents had), as a way to seek absolution for having killing their previous leader (something not entirely needed as most of them accepted Danzou's death just fine and, as Sai once said it, "You freed us all, and that is something I'm grateful for."). Needless to say, the present Root is quite different than it was years before.
Years before, when another Ninja war was about to begin, Sasuke returned to the village, result of Naruto's effort and everyone else from their year, having the both of them needed to be treated by Sakura because of their stubbornness. It didn't matter, though, all was well, Sasuke would be coming back to Konoha. At first, the Uchiha was surprised at how all those people (save for Sai and Gaara and some other people who didn't like him all that much) still cared about him, for he had genuinely wished for their deaths, and we determined to make that wish a reality; but he was thankful for that kindness.
So, war was avoided and Madara dealt with.
The village now had to deal with the scars laid by Pain upon his invasion, the lack of Hokage (for Danzou had been a terrible, terrible mistake) and going back to normal.
The second was easy. Through recommendation of several elders of Konoha and the rest of the Kages (and the Kazekage was influent in that matter), Kakashi was nominated Hokage to rule the village and take the place now abandoned by the late Tsunade. Even so, Kakashi only accepted to do this with the promise that Naruto Uzumaki would be his successor.
Reconstructing Konoha took a major deal of time, since it was an expansive village; therefore, all cooperation from other nations was needed and thanked. Throughout those three years, Konoha was slowly built, piece by piece with help of everyone who could do anything to help, until it was restored to its old glory; and improved, even, since little tweaks were made in the places people figured needed improving. It wasn't exactly perfect, though, since Konoha was built based on the villagers' imperfect memory.
But still, under Kakashi's considerate eye, the village became a normal place once again.
However, there were problems at hand that still needed to be dealt. Having decided against the dismantling of Root, Kakashi recognized their importance at keeping order in Konoha and dealing with the darkest, most dangerous nightmares of the Leaf. Therefore, a new leader was needed, one that would not commit the same mistakes as Danzou did. And that is when Kakashi placed his trust on Sai, being he the first one in the Root to defy Danzou's orders at not killing Sasuke, and someone who managed to understand the Root and actually feel at the same time.
Thus, the new Root was born. Sai became the youngest leader of any sort of large faction to have graced Konoha, and so he was accepted with some reluctance from the council elders, who were so not used to this kind of leaders; on the other hand, the Anbu from the Root and the most of the villagers were quite supportive of Sai. The artist's actions consisted mainly in bringing a lighter side to the Root, no longer torturing, or forced silences. Many of the darkest rituals imposed by Danzou, such as the emotion suppressing training and others of the kind, were prohibited.
Even so, the Root was still the division of the Anbu Black-Ops which had the most effective assassins of Konoha and of the ninja nations, and Sai was very much aware of this.
Sai, however, was not the only one from their team to gain a new status: Sakura became the head of the medical-nin with Shizune's assistance and Naruto was training to become Hokage, to take Kakashi's seat. As for Sasuke, he wasn't immediately forgiven by Konoha and, despite all the actions and punishment he took in the name of repentance, he became an Anbu assassin.
Figuring that the young Root leader still seemed to take missions, even if more restrict than before; Kakashi nominated Sasuke to be Sai's partner. Having accepted that with some animosity, since Sai wasn't exactly too fond of him and Sasuke wasn't exactly sure about what to think about the artist, the Uchiha was quite surprised to find, after some time, that they worked incredibly well beyond all the little witty remarks from Sai and glares from Sasuke.
It was natural, though. They had many things in common: the prodigy, being somewhat unsure on how to behave around other people, being considered appealing by people who surrounded them, and even their appearance.
Now, it is quite weird for Sasuke to work without Sai, and he is sure the opposite happens as well.
If there is a path Sasuke is used to, that is the path to Suna. A strengthened alliance between the five hidden villages requires a lot of effort to be kept and contact between the heads of each village; and that is where fast travelers like Sasuke come in. In order to keep a contact of the latest issues threatening each village, the Kages send falcons carrying messages containing information to the other leaders, when the message isn't of great importance; however, when this message is a more important one, a shinobi who can travel fast and almost continuously is sent to deliver it. From Konoha, those usually are either Sasuke or Rock Lee.
Nonetheless, Sasuke doesn't do this on a frequent basis; nor for too long, since Naruto was always willing to go to Suna, probably because of his close friendship with the Kazekage. However, everyone knew that something no one knew led so some discomfort between the blond and the redhead despite their efforts of keeping it a secret.
Therefore, Sasuke knows the three days journey to Suna quite well.
The first day is spent traveling under the shade of the old trees of Konoha. It is a landscape the both of them are used to, so there is neither great surprise nor anything to get used to while traveling through the Fire Country. They don't speak much during the trip, instead, there is the rustling of the wind through the trees filling in the blanks for them; not that they need that. Silence is a fine way of speaking things that pass by words. Still, the heat is something of a nuisance while they run through the expanses of forest and they make several stops for drinking water and refreshing, still keeping in mind that they have a deadline to oblige.
Despite the rush and hurry shadowing their journey, it comes across to Sasuke as something relaxing. For once, he doesn't have the time to think about how the heat is annoying him or how to behave around the people of Konoha; no, he only has to worry about running and running fast so he is in Suna in time.
Sai, on the other hand, is a figure running in front of him. They don't speak much, but from time to time Sai turns back and asks Sasuke if he is feeling "quite alright", question to which Sasuke always replies with a nod, even if he isn't; after all, he doesn't want to have Sai worrying about him (something weird, since not long ago Sai didn't really care about anything at all). Other times, Sai slows down and lets Sasuke travel by his side.
When night comes they are already somewhere in the River Country, and its emerald filtered prairies are more to Sasuke's liking, with their freshness and enchant. If before silence spoke, now it is the water singing with the nymphs, a melody soaring through the air which seems to relieve the ache in his limbs, the tiredness in his feet. However, this time, instead of soothing him, the streams only work to increase his eagerness to get to Suna.
Nonetheless, the night is the time to rest, and the Uchiha knows this. A shinobi, for as trained as they may be, still can't make up for too many hours of sleep deprivation. The lack of sleep numbs his senses, and that is the very last thing Sasuke needs. So he makes his point across to Sai, who himself doesn't want to rest (much like every other time, although the other way around also happens one too many times), and they set a small camp under the gaze of the trees.
The both of them never carry too much luggage with them for these speed trips – they only work to slow them down. So they never carry more than one sleeping bag and a blanket, seeing that the both of them never sleep at the same time; besides, working together kills any sort of reservations when it comes to sharing a sleeping bag.
And when they sleep, there are the small proofs of partnership, such as Sasuke deciding to stretch his own vigilance turn for some minutes to let Sai sleep a little longer (and little does the Uchiha know that Sai does the same in his own watching time, so in the end they sleep what they initially should) or one giving up a blanket so the one who is awake can wrap it around himself. They don't really speak about them, but they do acknowledge and thank those little things.
Still, the night is never as long as forever, and the dawn comes. With it, Sai awakes Sasuke so they can resume their journey through the streams and swamps of the River Country.
On their last day of traveling, Sasuke once more finds himself hand in hand with the many reasons he needs to hate the heat.
They run through the sand that tells the Uchiha of nothing; sometimes he wonders if he is quite sure that he is going the right direction, since everything is the same in those vast expansions of orange sand. But then again, a glance would reveal the brown shadow of the growing village of Suna as their small party gets closer to it and yes, they are going the right way.
The lines of the city shaping in the horizon only work to tantalize him and hurry his step even if Suna isn't a place he likes; in fact the very village under the Kazekage's jurisdiction is a place he only loathes for no special reason, although it may be related to the ever present heat. However, the threatening walls of the city are much gentler than the stark sun hurting his back, drawing droplets of sweat from the depths of his skin that roll down the back of his neck.
But even though Sai and he travel at full speed, it still takes them that entire day to get to the steep crevice in the shell of the city (which always manages to remind the Sharingan user of the Kazekage's sand shield), and it is only when the sand is the spectrum of all colors red and purple that Sasuke's eyes can make up the steps of the walls and the distance grows noticeably shorter.
Nonetheless, Sasuke's loathing for Suna does no justice to how much the city has grown under the watchful rule of the fifth Kazekage, and that even the Uchiha acknowledges. The city has grown far more beautiful than it ever has, and with it the population (once, only a small group of scared, scarred people who lived in fear, a city that simply didn't grow) became a flourishing source of life, now completely shed of fear of walking around the streets of the exotic village.
Where once the sight of Gaara of the Desert was scarred with fear, and people did their best to look to the sandy ground below them and pass invisible to the blood-lustful eyes of the former Jinchuuriki in hopes of not angering the beast within, in hopes of managing to escape the sand demon with life (of course, the scars of the encounter would still be there), now the presence of the young Kazekage is an honor, and people are comforted by the fact that their ruler manages to spend some time beyond the heavy desk and the paperwork, some time to join them. Now, children, those who are unaware of the dark ghosts lingering in the town, clumsily run to the Kazekage and, even if he may not be that good with infants, he manages to gather some of the surrounding sand to make a small gift.
Now, Suna is owner of a much stronger ninja force, one that can ensure the people the safety they are worth without looking too much like a menacing figure. The alliances formed along time after Sasuke's return did do wonders for the village, in special a small gift from the seductive Mei Terumi, the Mizukage. The alliance with the Water Country provided the village with fresh water supplies, the biggest of luxuries in the desert, and an invaluable gift, even if still limited.
But still, that doesn't work to decrease Sasuke's dislike for Suna.
So, it is grimacing that Sasuke follows Sai as they approach the guards at the entry of the village under the setting sun. There are only a couple guards at the gate at that moment, being one of them the tall figure of Baki, who smiles as he sees them approaching him. Sai, on the other hand, keeps his duty as the leader of something, and greets him with a soft bow of his figure that only he manages to do. Sasuke, at his side, remains upright.
"Sai and Sasuke reporting to Suna as Konoha's official liaisons," Sai says, changing to a polite position.
Baki stares at them for a few seconds, taking in their tired bodies and Sasuke's scowl as he stretches his arms and changes his weight from one foot to the other, before he replies, "Welcome to Suna, we have been expecting the both of you. The Hokage sent us a message hawk announcing your departure." The deep, rough voice of the sand-nin pauses for a moment before moving on, "And the Kazekage apologizes for not meeting up in person. You see, you arrived a little earlier than expected."
The pale man nods, and offers a polite, calculated smile. "I understand."
From his spot, Sasuke clears his throat, which sounds a little more annoyed than it should and in a moment the Sand shinobi's eyes are on him, inquiring, so Sasuke takes this chance to add, "Thank you for the hospitality, although after a day spent in the River Country, this place feels like hell fire."
Baki nods, and sends a frown, and Sasuke notices a tugging at Sai's lips when he says this. "I will take the both of you to the Kazekage, then. You must be tired from the journey," he says after nodding something to the other Suna shinobi.
"And, as you may know, the Kazekage's personal quarters are down the hallway. Although, I would advise you against taking too many trips down there; the Kazekage doesn't like being interrupted," a female shinobi with a scar across the right cheek explains the both of them. "And these two," she points with a clumsy wave of her hand to the two doors they were standing in front of, "are your resting quarters."
The shinobi looks around and then points to the other end of the hallway, "Over there are the common showers, a measure needed to save water, as I am sure the both of you must understand."
Sai nods and Sasuke frowns. He isn't too fond of the idea of sharing his bathing space with anyone else.
"I will be leaving you now. If there is anything you need, please ask the guards downstairs or even myself, I'll be glad to help you out." She looks at them half-sternly, half-motherly, which is quite a self contradictory expression. She is in her late thirties, or early forties, the way Sasuke perceives her, somewhat old for a ninja still on active duty, but something in her brown eyes and in the scarred cheek tells Sasuke she is a capable shinobi.
The shinobi leaves them alone, and Sasuke lets out an exasperated sigh as he undoes the buckles keeping his pack where it is, so it falls on the floor with a muffled thud. Sai looks at him with a blank expression and some tiredness in his eyes before his mouth opens and he says, "I will send a bird to Kakashi saying we arrived."
The Uchiha nods, and replies only a groan.
Sai looks at him and comments, "You look tired, Sasuke, you should be getting some rest. It seems we are going to have some rough days here." And with that the artist turns around spinning on his heels and is walking down the hallway to where Sasuke remembers to be a small desk used by guards, next to a window.
"Well, don't forget to rest too," Sasuke replies as he opens the door to his room.
The pale young man looks at him from behind his shoulder with a smile. "I'll try."
End of part one.(15-04-2010)
Okay then… that's one less part to kill.
I apologize profusely for the prominent lack of Gaara in this chapter; he'll have his appearance when the time comes, though.
Wind was my brainchild for lots and lots of time before it even became a single story. Most of this story was thought up during night, when I listened to the song of the same name, by Akeboshi (which is also known as the song from the very first ending of the anime of Naruto); that song really soothes me into sleep when I have problems. However, it only got a name and became a story when I decided to compile lots of ideas I had for a single verse in canon, in which Sai became the leader of Root, into a single story.
I must say I am kind of proud of this story, even if it isn't completely written yet; it's something I've grown attached to.
Something else: in the verse I'm using for this story, Tsunade has died as a consequence of her efforts to protect the village in the midst of Pain's invasion so I apologize to you, Tsunade fans. So, Kakashi is Hokage now and Naruto is his young apprentice to Hokage, ascending through the ranks, since he still was a Genin when Sasuke came back (Naruto's a Jounin now).
Why Suna, you may ask? Well, this is for two reasons: the mission being in Suna gives out the impression of the nations being more united better than the mission being in Konoha itself, and our two Anbu are outside their area of expertise, so it's something somewhat new and exciting to them. The other reason: well, I love Suna and I love our little Kazekage Gaara, so I couldn't resist giving him that spotlight, besides, Suna is the equivalent to Arabia and such to the Ninja world and everyone knows how sultry those places are with harems and stuff.
On other note, second part won't be coming out until I've finished Crash Into Me. I want to put all my thought into this story. I have been figuring what ideas to put in the second part of Crash Into Me and whatnot while writing this. I can tell you it's going to be a monster, worse than any Boogeyman or Yeti or Bigfoot you can come up with. But I think those of you who read it will like it.
I do hope you enjoyed reading. As always, please review, I'd like to know what did you like and what I can improve. Stay well until next update, I'll be finishing Crash Into Me until then. (and boy, I have to stop writing author's notes this long)
I'm out.