Rescue Me
By Jet Set Yoyo
Summary: Nineteen year old Kakashi wasn't exactly a happy person, not after everything he had been through, but he could at least say he was content with where he was in life at the moment. When a foreign Shinobi infiltrates Konoha in the dead of night Kakashi finds himself in an interesting position and everything in his life turns upside down. Bit of an AU but not quite.
A/N: Over 2600 views~ Woo! Thank you so much everyone! Apologies for the prolonged wait on this chapter; the Metal Gear Survive beta came out for just the weekend so my time was spent binge playing the crap out of it. Now that the beta period is over I can resume this with my full attention.
Tora led Rin and Tenzo down some underground hallways below the Hokage Tower. They connected all of the most important places around Konoha for ANBU use; keeping their activities away from the general population as much as possible. Fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling illuminated the otherwise darkened corridors but also blinding both of their sensitive eyes. Somehow, these tunnels weren't as creepy and ominous as the ones they were previously in. They were both nervous but the ten-year-old was more so; he wasn't familiar with these people at all.
"U-um… Tora-san," Rin squeaked, unsure whether or not she was supposed to stay quiet or not. All of the ANBU seemed so serious hidden behind their masks. When the ANBU-masked man turned his head towards her she figured he would've said something if not. "What's going to happen to Tenzo?"
"Same thing that happened to you on your first night," the man replied after a moment as if mulling over whether he was authorized to tell the child. It wouldn't hurt he decided. It might even serve to stop the boy from jumping right out of his skin. The little silver-haired girl sent him a thoughtful look as they traveled, saying nothing else.
"So then, if Rin-san already was here why is she here again? How come she doesn't get to go home with Kakashi-san and Naruto-san," it was Tenzo's turn to question the man. His voice was so quiet and careful that if Tora hadn't trained his ears to pick up faint sounds he might not have even heard the boy.
"That's classified," came the quick reply. That kind of information he couldn't give up, especially not to two foreigners; children or not. Tenzo paled, ducking his head to avert his gaze from the man.
Tenzo fell quiet, glancing at Rin who only flashed him a soft smile in return. After a while they arrived at a metal door, Tora rapped on it in an intricate pattern and the door slid open rather quickly. Rin recognized the man that had been there on her first night but couldn't quite remember his name. He had been nice to her, even if the scarred man afterwards hadn't been.
"This is your stop kid. Yamanaka-san, I'll leave him with you."
"Thank you Tora-san. Hello Rin-chan, doing well?"
"Yes sir," she chirped back as Tenzo tentatively entered the bright room beyond the door. He looked back and Rin felt bad. "Be nice to Tenzo-kun, he's scared!"
"R-Rin-san!"
Rin grinned cheekily, happy with the slightly flustered look on Tenzo's face. He didn't seem as nervous now, the sudden embarrassment taking the forefront of his emotions. Tora let out a sigh and herded the lanky child along, letting the metal door close between them and Tenzo. At least he could be thankful the girl wasn't like little Naruto; a few occasions had him bringing the rambunctious trouble-maker to the Hokage and that one was quite the chatterbox. Rin was, thankfully, mostly quiet. When she wasn't, at least she wasn't screeching loudly either. It really did save him from starting another massive migraine.
"So where am I going? Are they going to fix me?"
"Special division of medical; since Yamanaka-san was unsuccessful in working his way into your mind last time."
"Oh," Rin faltered, suddenly feeling worried. Would that mean she had to stay here until they did fix it? Would she not be allowed to see Naruto-kun or Kakashi-san? Biting her lip, she almost asked Tora but thought better of it. He was just taking her there. She decided to ask the people at this special medical division instead.
They passed a few more mysterious metal doors on the way. Nothing notable indicated where they were passing or what might have been behind any of them; she was curious. Finally they stopped, Tora-san knocking a rhythmic code to whoever was behind this particular door. It slid open to reveal another brightly lit room. It was to be expected but she didn't recognize the woman on the other side of the door. She had mint green hair pulled up into a plain ponytail and distinct chocolate brown eyes; definitely someone that would be remembered.
"Ah, Rin-chan right? Come on then, we've got work to do," the woman trilled, leading her in by her shoulders into what looked like a waiting room of some sort. It was littered with chairs and end tables but otherwise devoid of much else. "Thank you Tora-san."
"So you're going to fix me, right," Rin jumped in, figuring she would either get an answer or not. She glanced over at Tora in the doorway until the door slid shut between them and then shifted to look the woman in the eyes.
"Ah, well, we have to figure out what's wrong so to speak. Then we can work on doing something about what's inside you," the woman explained, frowning thoughtfully. "Oh! I'm Higuru Tomone. Rin-chan, I know you're probably anxious to get back home but this might take a while. However you're not a prisoner; the Hokage was very specific about that. We'll have someone go with you if you want to visit anywhere but you'll be sleeping here for now. Speaking of which, you must have had such a long day. Let's get you to bed, yeah?"
Rin blinked, soaking in the words Tomone was telling her. She felt relief wash over her combined with a giddy sort of happiness. It must have shown quite clearly across her face because Tomone laughed and pulled her along by her hand into another hallway then finally towards another room. It was small, yet cozy. There was a bed in one corner and a small nightstand beside it, atop it was a lamp and a clock. A bookshelf and a desk also occupied the room but nothing more; it was fairly plain but not at all disconcerting to the young girl.
"Here sweetie," the woman practically bubbled, handing her a folded set of light green pajamas complete with fresh undergarments. She wasn't very ninja-like, Rin noted, liking the lack of seriousness. "There's a bathroom right over there so you can change and get washed up if you like. There's a little buzzer by the door; right there, see? Looks like a doorbell. If you need me at all you can ring it. Before you get into bed, I'm going to attach these little chakra monitors to the sides of your head. You won't feel a thing, promise. They'll let us know if anything strange starts happening so we can come help you, ok?"
Rin was nearly reeling from all the information and the kindness Tomone gave her without a second thought. It wasn't as if anyone else was explicitly mean but she noticed her kinship with Naruto made many of the villagers distant. Having someone go out of their way to explain everything and act so motherly towards her welled up a warm fuzzy feeling in her chest. Kakashi was nice, still distant, but nice all the same. Tomone was something entirely different.
"Rin-chan? Are you ok?"
Rin hadn't realized she was standing there awkwardly in the middle of the room, staring straight at the mint-haired woman. Snapping back to attention, the girl flashed her new caretaker a warm smile, "No Tomone-san, I'm just happy. I'll go take a shower and change now. Thank you!"
Meanwhile, Kakashi and Naruto trekked back towards the Hatake compound. Naruto didn't quite make it, nearly falling asleep on his feet. The silver-haired teen ended up carrying him more than half of the way. He couldn't blame the boy; the night had been rough and it was already the wee hours of the morning. In fact, the sun would start peeking over the horizon soon enough. At least he could sleep in knowing Naruto would likely as well. Slipping off his sandals in the entrance, he used his free hand to gingerly remove the little blond's as well before setting them quietly on the floor. It wasn't likely Naruto would wake at this point no matter what kind of noise he made but he figured it was best not to push his luck. Kakashi drifted sleepily down the hall, depositing the small boy into his bed and then heading towards his own. He hadn't even changed into pajamas, just let himself drop onto the bed and sink under the covers before he was asleep much like the snoring child in the other room.
Rin emerged from the shower smelling of fruity soap instead of sweat and dirt, clad in the pajamas she had been giving. Her short silver hair stood more wildly on end than it normally did despite the moisture that should have weighed it down. Tomone chuckled, motioning for the girl to come over and sit beside her on the bed.
"I'll brush your hair for you sweetie, then we can attach the chakra monitors and I'll let you sleep," Tomone offered sweetly, brush already in hand. Rin didn't have to be told twice, though tired she scampered over to the bed and wriggled her way up beside the woman. No one had ever brushed her hair for her, not that she could remember. In fact, she never brushed her own hair either if her always wild hair was any evidence. Once her locks were mostly tamed, some blatantly refused to lie flat despite Tomone's gentle coaxing, the woman grabbed a pair of small patches off of the nightstand. "These will just stick to the side of your head. They'll monitor your chakra and alert us if anything strange happens such as a spike or sudden drop. Nothing to worry about at all, ok?"
The sleepy child nodded, eyes already beginning to droop. She hadn't had a decent rest at all that night and the few previous nights had been strained. Tomone wasted no time in peeling off the paper backing to reveal a sticky underside to the contraptions. She brushed some of Rin's hair away and placed one on each temple, running her finger across the edges to ensure they were properly affixed.
"Sleep now sweetie, I'll be here when you wake up," she whispered, guiding the child's head back onto the pillow as she lifted the comforter over Rin's small frame. The command was unneeded; Rin was already fast asleep and Tomone left briskly to get in some sleep of her own.
Rin didn't wake until just after noon time. When she did she panicked briefly, having forgotten where she was. The previous night was a blur; so much had happened and it baffled the small child. No longer sleep deprived and anxious, she took the chance to mull over yesterday's events trying hard to decipher what was memory and what was a dream. Guilt wracked her once more when she remembered that she had hurt Kakashi but it was overshadowed by the fact that she supposedly came from that underground facility. At least she did if the voice in her head was telling the truth. There was no way of knowing for sure and she thought it odd the beast hadn't bothered her yet. Perhaps she had fulfilled the promise by returning to the facility? She certainly wasn't going to initiate conversation and ask the voice herself. The silence in her head was more than welcome. Scooting off the bed, Rin went to the bathroom and by the time she emerged Tomone was already in the room.
"Morning sweetie, I had your clothes washed so you can wear them today. Are you hungry? It's more lunchtime than breakfast but I can get you whatever you'd like to eat before we start running some test and getting more information," Tomone greeted, patting the light blue tunic, black shorts, and undergarments Rin had been wearing the previous day that were set upon the bed. Tomone had made the bed as well while Rin was in the bathroom.
"Uhm, yes please. Can I just have some miso soup and rice?"
"Right away, I'll be back in a second then we'll head off and we can meet the rest of the team. They're excited to see you," Tomone chirped, sending the girl a wink before disappearing from the room again. The woman reappeared no more than ten minutes later, hot steaming soup and rice in hand. "See, didn't take long right? Go ahead eat up. We've got a big day ahead of us."
Rin wolfed down the food like she hadn't eaten in days but despite Tomone's immediate inquiry for seconds she declined, claiming to be full with a sweet smile. Tomone gave an exasperated huff but let the child off the hook, instead motioning for the girl to follow her. The mint-haired woman led the way down the hall, going nearly to the end and opened a walnut wooden door. Inside were a small handful of people who all turned to stare at the newcomer.
"Is this Rin-chan," one of the older men sitting at a desk in the corner piped up. He had short chestnut hair and dark eyes. By the look of the slight wrinkles on his face and the speckles of grey hairs mixed in, Rin could only guess he was in his forties or fifties.
"Oh she's a cutie," squealed a younger woman who bounced away from the machine she was near; her pony-tailed ash brown hair swaying into her face when she halted in front of them. "Hello Rin-chan, ready for some tests? I just finished calibrating our scanner, so we can start there. Higuru-senpai, shall we start?"
Tomone snuck a glance towards Rin who looked rather calm before nodding at the woman, "Go ahead Nanami-san."
That was all it took for the woman called Nanami to snag Rin gently by the wrist and lead her towards the large contraption. Tomone was glad in that moment Rin was so calm and compliant; Nanami could be rather brash at times. Rin settled herself into the tube-like machine, peering around her at the whirring parts and blinking lights with awe. She was so distracted she missed the beginning of Nanami's instruction.
"-then you'll go inside for a little while and it will take a scan of your whole body. Ready?"
Rin blinked, feeling sheepish that she hadn't been paying attention. Finally she nodded and Nanami told her to lay back before starting up the machine. If Rin had thought the whirring was loud now, as she slid on the table into the bowels of the machine the whirring only got louder. Her hearing was above average already and she winced uncomfortably at the noise assaulting her ears. Since she hadn't been listening, she had no idea how long she was going to be in there but the sudden feeling of panic started to creep it's way into her head.
Despite the late hour he had gone to bed, Kakashi still managed to wake around mid-morning. Loud snoring from the other room told him right away that Naruto was still sound asleep. With a stretch the teen peered around the room, his eyes lingering just a little too long on that spot on the floor before he forcefully directed them to the window. Not now, he gritted his teeth willing away the flash of his younger self standing over his father's body behind his eyes. He focused harder on the window. The weather was better today; Naruto would be happy. Then again Rin wasn't there to enjoy it with him so the boy could very well end up sulking indoors anyway. He rose from his bed, peeling away the shuriken-patterned blanket and headed to the bathroom in desperate need of a shower. He hadn't bothered after last night and he felt grimy from the dried sweat.
Kakashi reached through the shower curtain for a towel before stepping out while simultaneously drying his hair only to meet with a half asleep Naruto just finishing up using the toilet. He cocked an eyebrow at the child who hadn't even bothered to look over before going to wash his hands, completely unperturbed by the invasion of privacy.
"Ne...Kakashi-san?" Naruto piped up, although his voice wasn't as loud and chipper as usual. Kakashi was already in the midst of getting dressed, his mask already quickly slipped over his face, and hummed his response. Naruto finished washing his hands and looked over at the teen. "Is Rin-chan coming back to us? What if they keep her?"
"They're just going to find out what's inside her Naruto," Kakashi assured the boy, and amused smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Yeah but… what if they keep her," Naruto insisted, furrowing his brow and pouting as he practically barricaded the doorway. With all the seriousness a five-year-old could muster, he still looked rather silly. Kakashi wondered briefly if he seemed as ridiculous when he was that young; more mature definitely, but it was difficult to take a pocket sized person seriously.
"They're not going to keep her Naruto, you know the Hokage wouldn't do that." Kakashi slipped past the young boy and exited the bathroom, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately as he left.
"Mm… fine. But I'm gonna rescue her if they do," Naruto concluded determinedly, shadowing the teen into the kitchen. "Ne, can we have ramen?"
"Not for breakfast."
"But it's already eleven o' clock!"
"No."
Minutes felt like hours to Rin as she laid in the machine. The noise was grating on her already frayed nerves; the confined space was making her more and more anxious by the second. Something about this felt familiar but like all of her other memories, sans the ones that flashed briefly before her eyes in the underground laboratory, she couldn't place what exactly was so familiar about it. Had she been in a machine like this before? Was she just remembering a small confined space? Was it just the loud noise making her brain ache? She wiggled around slightly, unable to keep still as her panic grew overbearingly larger the longer she waited.
"Idiots, what kind of foolish contraption is this?"
Rin nearly jumped through the top of the machine from the surprise and that sent her panic bubbling over the edge. She began to hyperventilate, the sound of her own breathing drowning out that confounded whirring noise. Outside Tomone and Nanami exchanged worried glances while the other handful of technicians monitored the machine, looking over occasionally.
"Should we stop it," Nanami wondered out loud, biting her lower lip. The scan was almost done but if Rin couldn't get a hold of herself before then it wouldn't be responsible of them at all.
Tomone sent her an incredulous glare, already moving to pull the young girl out. As soon as she reached for the little girl, Rin let out a petrified screech and slapped her away. Her breathing only became more ragged and heavy. The mint-haired woman pulled back quickly, her head still bowed to get a look inside the long tube of the machine. Rin clutched at her chest, eyes squeezed shut in a mixture of pain and terror.
"Rin-chan! Rin-chan it's just me, Tomone-san! Rin-chan, what happened? Calm down," she half shouted over the noisy contraption to the little girl inside who was already curling in on herself. "Rin-chan! Breathe slowly, it's alright. We're going to take you out now."
"But the scan was almost done," Nanami sighed.
"Not now Nanami-san!"
"Let me out," Rin whispered, only half hearing Tomone's words. She choked on her voice, tearing running down her cheeks now before she started to cry out, "Let me out! Let me out! I'll be good, I promise! Let me out!"
The other technicians had already begun powering down the machine, the whirring softened to the low hum it had been before and the table Rin had been laying on slid along the track back out of the tube. As soon as she was close enough, Tomone gathered the shaking girl up in her arms and held her close.
"Shh, you're ok. You're safe Rin-chan. You're safe," she spoke soothingly, running her hand gently through the child's hair. "It's alright Rin-chan, just breathe."
Minutes ticked by as Rin continued to wheeze and gasp, breathing desperate ragged breaths from her mouth as she strangled on the air that was filling her lungs. Her eyes stung from the tears, even though she still kept them squeezed tightly shut. Tomone's voice was far away and muffled by the sound of her own beating heart in her ears. Eventually her lungs began to function and her breathing slowed, returning to normal along with her heartbeat. The young girl sniffled, cracking open her eyes to find the entire team huddled around them while she was cradled in the woman's arms.
"Better now, Rin-chan? You gave us a scare sweetie," Tomone asked softly, still running her hand through the wild and now sweaty silver hair of the small child. Rin nodded weakly, still sniffling. "What happened in there?"
"I-I don't know. I just felt scared. I thought I remembered something but I can't remember what I was remembering," Rin replied in confusion at the absurdity of her statement but Tomone and the rest of them didn't seem bothered at all. She felt fresh tears at the notion of them not being angry with her. "Did I mess up the scanning thingy?"
"Good news, Rin-chan," piped up the older male technician with a gentle smile. "It wasn't a complete scan but we've gotten enough information out of what we did complete that you won't have to go back in. You did great."
"Let's take a break Rin-chan," Tomone offered, allowing the girl to get up out of her lap and stand on her own two feet. "The other tests we need to do aren't anything like that but I'm sure you need some time before we start the others. Would you like to go for a walk with me, or you can go back to your room if you like?"
"I want to take a walk please."
"Ne, Kakashi-san… I'm bored. Can we go visit Rin-chan," Naruto whined, sprawled on his stomach on the floor in the sitting room. Kakashi looked over the rim of his book at the boy and his assortment of drawings spread out in front of him.
"Probably not. Why don't you go outside and find something to do? It's nice today, why stay inside?"
"It's not the same without Rin-chan anymore. Besides no one else will play with me."
Kakashi shrugged, returning to his book. Entertaining children was still a skill beyond his comprehension; he never remembered having a difficult time keeping himself occupied as a child. Then again he had been following his father's shadow of a legacy since before he could remember; everyone expected the son of the great White Fang of Konoha to become an exceptional shinobi. It didn't help that he had a natural talent for it either. Once his father passed, he no longer played with the other children his age instead burying himself in his training and soon after his missions so he could forget everything else existed. Naruto huffed in frustration, getting up off the floor and trudging into his bedroom to finally change out of his pajamas.
"Pick up your stuff before you go," Kakashi called after him, never taking his eyes off the page.
Naruto emerged after a few minutes and a couple of loud thumps that could only mean he fell over while putting on his clothes. He swiped the papers and colored pencils off the floor and brought them to his room.
"I'm gonna go out."
"Ah, have fun," Kakashi drawled, waving lazily from behind his book.
Tomone and Rin traveled leisurely down the road, with no destination apparent, in relative silence at first. The small girl was still trying to gather her bearings after her episode. The older woman, however, was feeling the strain of silence but fought not to fill it with useless chatter; not yet at least. When Rin didn't speak up after a while, she let out a sigh.
"Rin-chan, whenever you remember something you should tell us. No matter how insignificant you think it might be, it could help us. Especially if what you're remembering scares you," Tomone told her quietly, pondering over the little girl who seemed so far away at the moment. "Is the voice talking to you again?"
The silver-haired girl only shook her head. She felt tired, almost as tired as before she got such a good night's rest last night. Opening her mouth to speak, she snapped it back shut again and frowned. Tomone watched her patiently, hoping not to have to urge her to speak. Finally Rin said quietly, "It talked to me in the machine, just once. But that's not why that happened. It felt like I had been in a place like that before, not the machine, just a tiny space. I think it was where I was put when I was bad. I knew I wasn't going to be hurt but I just felt so scared I was going to have to stay in there forever that I couldn't help it."
Tomone's face fell, feeling sympathy for the girl. Whatever she had gone through, even if she couldn't fully remember it, must have been a nightmare. She almost hoped the poor thing would forget it completely and never remember. Unfortunately, they needed to know where she came from and how she ended up with a being inside of her; Bijuu or not. It wasn't exactly optional at this point, she had heard through the grapevine that some of the council members pushing for her incarceration after the previous night's fiasco.
"I'm so sorry Rin-chan. I'll do my best to help you, I promise. So you can go back to Kakashi-san and Naruto-kun as soon as possible and you won't have to worry about that voice ever again. Just remember to talk to me, anything and everything. I promise that I won't ever get mad at you. Or, if there's someone else you would rather talk to about something then let me know. I'll get them for you," Tomone flash a genuine, warm smile down at the girl as they walked through a crowd of people.
Rin didn't smile back but she felt a lot less tense. The air around her lifted somewhat and the girl was no longer dragging her feet as she walked. Up ahead a small mop of blond weaved through the sea of people. The little blue-eyed boy stopped short as he caught sight of Rin walking ahead of him. She hadn't noticed him, and she looked kind of sad. He took off sprinting, knocking into a few people as he went who promptly turned to shout obscenities back at him.
"Rin-chaaaan!"
Rin's head snapped up, her green-eyes locked with Naruto's and her lips tugged into a small smile. She ran, meeting the boy in the midst of the crowd as she left Tomone behind. "Naruto-kun! What are you doing here?"
"I got bored, Kakashi-san is being dumb and reading again. So I was going to come find you but I had no idea where to start. I just kind of was walking. How come you're here? Aren't you s'posed to be getting fixed or something? Did they fix that monster voice?"
Rin shook her head sadly, though the smile didn't waver. Tomone found her way through the crowd and approached the pair. She scrutinized the little boy, having never met the Jinchuuriki before but had heard plenty of nasty things spread around by most of the others. Unlike most, she hadn't lost a friend or loved one to the Kyuubi attack. In front of her was a small, happy child with the unfortunate fate of housing a deadly monster. Naruto caught her staring at him and scrunched up his nose.
"Rin-chan, who's that?"
"I'm Higuru Tomone but Rin-chan just calls me Tomone-san. It's good to meet you Naruto-kun, would you like to join us on our walk? Rin-chan needed a break."
Naruto blinked, staring up at the woman. She was smiling at him, not a fake one either. He couldn't find any hatred behind her eyes, not like the rest of the villagers. It threw him off guard but a tiny piece of him felt a surge of happiness. Finally he grinned up at her.
"Okay!"
"Um, Tomone-san? What did the scan thingy find out? Can you fix me?"
"We still have some more tests to do to find that out. The CRI machine uses chakra to make a map of the inside of your body. It's similar but far less powerful than the Byakugan or the Sharingan and it's not mobile either. It also would reveal any hidden seals on your body. If we could inspect the seal used to put the being inside of you we could determine whether or not we can undo it safely," the woman explained. Rin listened intently, hoping for more than just that while Naruto squinted in confusion. All that information went right over the young blond's head. "Either way the rest of the team is looking over the scan to see what they can find out. I'm sure they'll tell us when we head back."
"Ne, ne Onee-san? When can Rin-chan come home?"
"Not until we've figured out what we can do for her, Naruto-kun. We wouldn't want you or Kakashi-san, or anyone else to get hurt in the meantime."
"What if," Rin started, pausing a moment before her voice went quieter. "What if you can't fix me?"
"We'll figure that out if we come to it. There's no need to worry Rin-chan, you'll be alright. I promise."
The trio kept walking, Rin was in higher spirits now with Naruto along, until it was time to head back. They had been out for almost two hours and if they wanted to finish more tests before the day ended they would need to hurry back. Naruto pouted, insisting he come along to watch. At first Tomone was tempted to let him but thought better of it, apologizing to the both of them. Rin had looked so hopeful too. She would have to take it up with the Hokage, whether or not he could be allowed in the future. At the building, which was otherwise inconspicuous from the outside, they parted ways with Naruto and headed back inside.
"Alright Rin-chan, let's ease back into this slowly. We'll start with a basic check-up, just like you would get at the doctor's," Tomone explained, sliding open the door to the team's room. The rest of them seemed to be waiting, keeping busy with menial tasks in the meantime. The team perked up, noting Rin's better condition.
"Right-O, that means I'm up then," spoke a woman in her late twenties. Her hair was short and her face rather pointed. Off the bat Rin almost thought she was a young man until hearing her voice. She looked rather serious as well. "Come on then Rin-chan, we've got an exam to complete. Nothing crazy, don't worry. It'll be over in a flash. Let's go to a more private room."
I think I'm starting to really like Miss Tomone. I thought her up on the fly since I couldn't find a canon character to play the role needed and after writing this chapter she's already grown on me. Aside from interactions with Rin, she won't play much of an important role though. Not to worry. I based the machine Rin was in on an MRI machine. Haha Kakashi dodged a bullet, if Naruto had been paying attention he might've seen Kakashi's face~ Ever notice how little kids just don't care when the bathroom is occupied? I speak from experience. Thank you all so much for reading!