Warning: There are some memories that are not clearly marked but I think it is understood where they start and end. Just in case, keep an eye out for them.
Edited 02/06: One sentence changed.
Disclaimer: Gokusen isn't mine but this story is
Sneaking Out (age 9)
Yoshiro and Ojou had started walking together to and from school ever since that day she was bullied in second grade. As far as walking together from school, it was negotiable.
"I have something to do", was all he'd periodically say. He didn't elaborate and she didn't pry.
Walking together to school, however, was a non-negotiable standing appointment.
Thus, the first day Yoshiro was absent from school was in fact the first time the young heir walked to school by herself, an unprecedented deviation from the non-negotiable appointment.
So endemic had his presence become to her school-day morning routine that, when her grandfather informed her that Yoshiro was sick, the prospect of disrupting said routine made her slightly uneasy. Though she should have seen it coming.
The previous day (a Sunday) Yoshiro had been sniffling and coughing. Each cough was followed by young Ojou's reprimand over Yoshiro's failure to cover his mouth with his hand. Yoshiro's only response to Ojou's rebuke had been a smug 'Meh!' accompanied by a seemingly disinterested shrug. Of course, such disrespect was followed by Ojou running after Yoshiro who laughed between fits of coughs and sniffles as he fled from the little lesson Ojou was trying to deliver, mainly through use of her right fist (with a little help from the left one).
In any case, sick was sick and she knew he couldn't help it if he was sick. She thought, if anything, things would be back to normal the following day.
The second day of Yoshiro's absence she became concerned. Having a strong constitution, she was unfamiliar with someone being sick enough to have to miss two consecutive days of school.
She blindly fumbled in her backpack for her cell. Lost in thought, she cradled it for a few seconds debating whether she should call him or not. The lone trek to school hadn't been pleasant and even the trek back had taken forever. She didn't know how long she'd be able to deal with the uncertainty of the temporal nature of this new unwelcomed routine.
She hated uncertainty.
Her concern (taking a page from kumi behavior) manifested itself into one angry thought: 'He better be sick or I'll make him wish he was sick.' Driven by this thought, her thumb automatically pressed the numbers to his cell which, amazingly enough, was answered after just one ring. This confirmed the young Kuroda's suspicion.
"YOsHIrO! yOu BetTEr nOt Be pReteNDinG To bE sICk!" She said not knowing his mother was the one answering the call.
"Excuse me?" Ms. Kashu said a tad annoyed followed by young Kumiko's numerous apologies.
As annoyed as Ms. Kashu had been at the young heir's outburst, she recognized the sentiment with which it was made. And, she was touched by the young heir's concern... even if it was a rather loud concern...
She explained to the young heir that Yoshiro was indeed sick and not pretending. She also informed her that Yoshiro was too ill and needed rest. And remembering Ojou's tendency to blow things out of proportion with her overactive imagination, she made a point to mention that he had measles and wasn't allowed any visitors. She added that it might be a week or so of bedrest before he would be able to go back to school. This statement danced around in Ojou's mind but she dismissed it deciding she'd misheard her. A bit disappointed, Ojou thanked Yoshiro's mother and went about her homework.
By the third day of Yoshiro's absence, a ripple of worry seized the young Kuroda forcing to the foreground the statement she'd tried to ignore. 'A week or so of bedrest...' She rejected the possibility of Yoshiro and measles. If her time with the kumi had taught her anything it was that only three things could keep you in bed for that long: an extremely bad beating, slash wounds and gunshot wounds.
Her anger flared up at the thought of someone trying to hurt Yoshiro. Her fingers strummed into fists instinctively as she thought of payback to whoever had hurt her friend. And it was this one thought that drove her to investigate. In order to do that she'd need to talk to Yoshiro which meant (seeing as his parents won't put him on the phone) she'd have to pay him a visit after school. Of course, the problem with that was that his parents were not allowing anyone to visit him. In her 9 year old mind, this could only mean that he was in really bad shape, unconscious and possibly disfigured '...from really bad wounds', she concluded causing her worries to escalate.
When she came from school Kyou-san told her about an important meeting that would take place that evening, and he asked her to stay in her room during the meeting. This would complicate her efforts to see Yoshiro.
Her plan had originally been to play outside and when no one was looking to sneak out. She couldn't very well leave now. Kyou-san would probably check in on her periodically because of the meeting. Her only hope was that Kyou-san would be too busy with the meeting to check in on her; otherwise, she'd have to sneak out in the middle of the night. So, she waited for an opportunity to arise, and she watched as a few kumi started trickling in. Each kumi greeted the young Kuroda heir before they gathered in the living room.
Time ticked away as kumi after kumi filed in with no sign of the meeting coming to order. She was beginning to get impatient.
She tried to distract herself by doing her homework but she couldn't concentrate. Her mind was fragmented between homework and Yoshiro and the kumi-meeting.
She told Kyou-san she'd go upstairs to finish her homework. This way she'd be able to wait (without attracting attention) for a good opportunity to sneak out and Kyou-san (knowing she was upstairs) wouldn't look for her later.
When evening came two pairs of eyes watched from the stair landing the comings and goings of the kumi. One pair belonged to the young Kuroda heir who was crouching down peering through the railings. The other pair belonged to the tosa dog who stood faithfully beside his charge.
"Great! Fine time to be sneaking out of the house, Kumiko!" She whispered sardonically to herself. Fuji panted beside her. His foul breath rushed in her right ear causing wisps of hair to fly in the air as if trying to escape the stench. Young Ojou turned her head towards the tosa dog only to receive a full blast of Fuji's eau de toilet. She crinkled her nose and grimaced trying to get over the offensive odor without making a sound.
"Sit." She managed to say as authoritative as she could within a whisper. The tosa dog sat down tilting his head as he waited.
"Stay." She said in conjunction with the hand signal causing Fuji's ears to perk up facing forward, his whole attention focused on the young heir.
She crept slowly down each step keeping her weight on the balls of her feet.
Fuji (stuck on the stair landing by one single word) fidgetted as he watched her form recede. His front paws alternately patted the wooden floor as he waited for Ojou to release him from the command.
The young Kuroda heard Fuji's faint earnest padding cutting through the noise coming from the living room. She paused and turned to look at Fuji. Pointing at him (and in cautious tones) she repeated, "Stay". The tosa dog lay down in silent protest, his head hung over the step, shifty eyes avoiding the young heir in quiet submission. The young heir continued her descend.
Down in the living room, the kumi speculated over the reason behind the emergency meeting ordered by the Kuroda Boss.
Speculation gave way to paranoia turning buzz to din with Tsuji trying to calm down the ruffled kumi. The sheer number of kumi could have made sneaking out difficult but the state of confusion helped detract from the lurking 9 year old who at this point was at the bottom of the stairs waiting for a good opportunity to move towards the back door.
She took her chance when Kyou-san entered the room. With half the kumi's attention on Tsuji and the other half on Kyou-san, she surreptitiously reached the back door. Opening the door, she dove into the night's cold embrace. She grabbed the edges of her jacket and held them together in an involuntary reflex.
Breathing in the night air, she took a backward glance at the Kuroda house. This was the first time she sneaked out of the house and she felt a twinge of guilt for sneaking out, especially when it sounded like something big was going on in the yakuza.
When she was seven, her first year in the Kuroda house, Kyou-san used to keep her company whenever there were important yakuza meetings.
He played with her which explained her predilection for games of the... rougher nature. It was also how she'd learned the basics of gambling. Of course, the finer art of gambling came from Toru but that is another story all together.
The need of Kyou-san's presence in a few of these meetings forced them to instruct the child, halfway through that year, to stay in her room whenever there was an important yakuza meeting.
It was at the age of eight (last year) when they'd granted her free roam of the house during these meetings as long as she stayed away from the meeting area. The hide-and-seek incident had been unfortunate but understandable. Not understanding that yakuza meetings are not a common occurence in every Japanese household, the young heir knew enough to keep away from the room but not enough to understand the importance of keeping her friend away from it.
Now, at the age of nine, she had earned a place at some of the meetings. Her grandfather had originally been against having her present. There was always a chance that one of those inter-clan meetings would turn ugly. Though no one went to the lion's den to kill the lion, if they wanted to leave with their lives, but in the yakuza distrust was rampant and the wrong word, the wrong move, and even the wrong look could turn into flailing guns and katanas. Definitely not the best environment for a nine year old to be in.
Fear of katanas and guns being wielded in anger was minimal in the meetings that dealt exclusively with internal clan politics but he still didn't want his nine year old granddaughter to see the underbelly of their operation. He really wanted her to be a normal nine year old (or as normal as a nine year old could be with a yakuza Boss for a grandfather).
But the young heir had insisted so much that he ceded. He figured that she could attend the ones riddled with ceremony. The potential for complications on those was minimal.
He thought she'd get bored when she started seeing all the strict ceremony needed and quickly desist of this nonsense. Besides Ojou wasn't one to sit still for very long, no child is. And he would have been right had it not been for the low tolerance the kumi themselves have for sitting still, especially in closed spaces without many routes of escape. Thus, the young heir endured with as much aplomb as any of the kumi there. Kyou sat by her side, in the very back of the room, and explained proper etiquette in hushed tones.
So taken had she been by the ceremonies that the Boss eventually agreed to let her witness meetings that showcased more the art of diplomacy without a close look at the actual yakuza operation.
Now diplomacy, whether it be yakuza-style or government-coordinated, is usually peace sought by strategy (or necessity) rather than by desire. These diplomatic meetings tend to be fast moving cold fronts of power struggles which could turn to storms in a manner of minutes (particularly in the yakuza though definitely not unheard of in conventional government). For this reason the Kuroda Boss had instructed Kyou to sit in the back right by the door and make a hasty retreat (last Kuroda bloodline in tow) at the first inkling of... thunder.
The thing she found intriguing about these meetings was the differences in behavior inside and outside a meeting. Outside these meetings the kumi were all about posturing and baring teeth and fighting. Inside them, intimidation through passivity was the name of the game. "Honeyed words with an undertone of threat", her grandfather had said once. 'Sour candy', her young mind had translated. She found this figurative peeing for dominance fascinating which, of course, spoke volumes of her character.
This is how she knew something was wrong. Kyou-san would have asked her to attend or would have just told her to stay away from the conference room. He definitely wouldn't have asked her to stay in her room. After all, she wasn't seven anymore. But right now she had more important things to worry about than being seen as a baby. She needed to get information on Yoshiro's assailant and this was the only way she was going to get it. She'd worry about this yakuza meeting when she got back.
At the moment the most immediate problem was getting to Yoshiro's house without being spotted by either one of the townspeople from their territory or one of the kumi patrolling the area. Thankfully, her stealth skills were fitting for a yakuza heir (or a Mission Impossible movie) thus she passed surreptitiously among townspeople and kumi alike as she scurried from shadow to shadow. The gibbous moon silently followed the young heir as it coyly hid in and out of plumes of clouds in playful burlesque fashion.
Stopping outside Yoshiro's bedroom window, she prepared herself for the sight of an actually wounded Yoshiro (whether beaten, slashed or gunned) repeating to herself that at least he was still alive, not exactly the most comforting thought but it served its purpose. 'On the plus side, he'll probably just get a nice big scar.' She smiled at the thought.
Silently she sneaked through the window into Yoshiro's bedroom
"Yoshiro", she whispered. He was in bed and he looked miserable. She carefully studied the prone form. She didn't notice any obvious gunshot wounds or katana wounds. There were no bruises nor broken bones...
"Yoshiro", she repeated when she failed to get a response.
"Hn." He was barely able to grunt in acknowledgement. He forced his eyelids to flutter open and tried to focus on the voice that had just called his name.
"Wow, you look like death warmed over." She said in awe and shock while she poked him a few times just to make sure he'd move. 'He really is just plain sick... just measles.' She blinked a few times not believing her eyes while her finger continued the incessant poking.
"You always have a way of making me feel sooo much better." His attempt at sarcasm was watered down by the frailty of his voice. Still, Ojou got the sarcasm.
"And you..." She was about to volley with a sarcastic remark of her own but she couldn't. He looked so weak and helpless. She noticed the rash on his arms and the pained face. She had planned to barge in demanding to know who had hurt him. She hadn't expected this. His frailty scared her. It reminded her of her father.
She hadn't been allowed to visit him either. Her neighbor, Ms Mizuno, had taken her in. While Mizuno-san had been busy talking to a doctor she sneaked into her father's room. She could hardly tell it was her father. In her mind he'd always been bigger than life. But there, lying on that bed with tubes sprouting out of him like branches on a tree, he'd looked so small. The steady drone of the machines pumping and dripping and monitoring her father had been interrupted by a very agitated nurse who, after grabbing her hand, had dragged her out of the room all the while saying (more to herself than to the child) how she shouldn't have been there.
While she was being dragged, she saw Ms. Mizuno in the distance arguing with what seemed to be... a pillar. When she was close enough to hear, she heard Ms. Mizuno say "She's better off with me. You know they never would have agreed to let you keep her!"
She couldn't see the man behind the pillar but she heard him say, "There's really no legal action you can take." It was then Ms Mizuno became aware of Kumiko's approach. By the time Kumiko reached her, the man behind the pillar was gone leaving a nervous Mizuno-san.
On the drive home, Ms. Mizuno had tried to explain what a coma was and the chances of recovery her father had.
Three days he'd been in a coma, three days of hope and dread bound in common yoke, three days of uncertainty over his recovery.
She hated uncertainty.
At least Yoshiro was awake and responding.
"So, this is measles". She'd managed to say hoping he'd indirectly confirm he had not been in a car accident.
Yoshiro simply nodded unused to Ojou's reflective mood. The Kumichou he knew was brash, loud, impetuous, a bit uncultured, royally dense about girly things, and definitely in your face (with a mean right hook he might add). But one thing you could never say about Kumichou was that she was reflective. He wondered how high was his fever and unconsciously rubbed his forehead with the palm of his right hand as if to check.
She didn't know what to say. It wasn't until she noticed his hair that she ventured to speak. "You cut your hair!" She said forcing the darker thoughts out of her head. She took a few strands of hair in her hand and let them gently slip from her fingers. "It's still pretty long." She observed.
"Yeah" Not having the strength to sit up, he lay there and nervously combed his hair with his fingers.
"Why don't you cut it shorter?" In all the time she had known him, he'd never cut his hair much. Maybe an inch here and there but his hair was always long.
He gave her a weak shrug. He really didn't want to get into that, so he changed the subject. "So, you're not worried about catching this stuff?"
"Oh, you worry too much! I've never been seriously sick in my life. What's a little measles?" She waved a hand at him in dismissal.
"But this stuff is pretty contagious." Yoshiro insisted.
"I know. Your mother mentioned it when I called yesterday." She gestured for him to scoot over. As soon as he complied, she sat on the edge of the bed. "That was right before she told me not to come visit you. That's why I came through the window." She pointed to the window and gave Yoshiro a quizzical look as if he should know better. "Didn't you think it was strange I didn't use the door?"
"Coming from you?" He pretended to think for two seconds and managed to give a weak grin before saying, "Nope." He didn't elaborate, mostly because he wasn't even sure he was really talking to Kumichou. For all he knew he was still delirious from the high fever and he was in reality talking to a fever-induced figment of his own imagination.
She was still befuddled about the fact that a simple illness had managed to down a man (or in Yoshiro's case a boy).
She tried to look for a way to cheer him up but she really wasn't the cheering, comforting, soothing type. Her first inclination was to spar or at least playfully punch him but seeing how dead he looked it would not be a good idea. Playful nudging might still be uncomfortable for him. Telling him to buck up and stop being a sissy might cheer him up, she thought, but it won't be soothing.
Running out of ideas, she just lay down beside him, her arms folded across her stomach. With her gaze directed towards the ceiling, she proceded to cheer him up by going over, in excrutiating detail, everything he had missed these past few days.
In the distance they heard footsteps approaching. Most likely it was Yoshiro's mother coming to check on her son.
"Crap!" She sat up and looked around the room looking for a hiding place. He watched her amusedly.
"I've gotta go. Don't tell your mom I was here." And with that, she jumped out the window. The only evidence she had been there was the rustling bush which seemed to wave at him. Yoshiro looked at her exit perplexed.
'Definitely a hallucination.' Yoshiro thought.
-o-
When she sneaked back into the Kuroda household, the low voices of the meeting filled the air. She crept back in and saw Fuji faithfully waiting for her at the landing. He quickly sat up forcing the young Kuroda to direct a finger towards her lips as she uttered, sotto voce, "Shhh... Quiet".
The door to the conference room was ajar whether by accident or design, she didn't know. She crept up the stairs. The soft voices faded with each step.
She paused mid-step when she heard a familiar name, Lisa Ishimaru. Had she really heard the name? She wasn't sure. The voices were so faint she had to strain to even make sense of the susurrous rustle of several kumi in soft debate let alone make out a name. Curious, she crept down a few steps until the rustle became low distinguishable voices (barely a level louder than a whisper).
She sat down on one of the steps and peered through the stair railings at the door where the voices were coming from.
According to Dai, there were rumors that the Kataguri clan had deemed Lisa Ishimaru a person of interest. The reason for the sudden interest in the gaijin journalist was her insistent digging into Kataguri clan's business. The Mainichi Shimbun was eagerly buying several of her articles. So far, they dealt with living in Japan and minor transgressions from non-yakuza around the Kataguri territory. This was good PR for the clan seeing as they had been the ones taking care of the transgressors. And good PR for the yakuza was hard to come by especially in these changing times when the new generation of Japanese civilians do not appreciate all they do for the community. But after one talk with Ishimaru-san, they knew that she wasn't doing them any favors. It had been merely coincidental that her articles had featured them in such a positive light. They realized that if she found out anything that was directly or indirectly connected to clan business (good or bad), she wouldn't hesitate to write about it and they were going to have to persuade her that it was in her best interest to keep it to herself.
Now, any other time the Kuroda Boss would not interfere in other clans' business. And, in all honesty, he understood where the Kataguri clan stood on this particular point. However, Lisa Ishimaru (being Rini's mother) was someone the Kuroda Boss needed to protect. The problem with that was that Bunpei and Lisa Ishimaru lived in Kataguri territory. This sticky situation was one the Kuroda clan wasn't looking forward to. For one, if the Kuroda clan was found cruising Kataguri territory then they could be accused of doing business outside Kuroda territory. On the other hand, if the Kataguri clan knew Kuroda was trying to protect the gaijin journalist the Kuroda clan could be accused of trying to undermine Kataguri's authority in their own territory (quite a reasonable assumption). Either perception would converge into one sole conclusion as far as the Kataguri clan was concerned the Kuroda clan was trying to take over their territory. For this reason protecting the Ishimaru family would be a difficult task especially if they didn't want to start a yakuza war between the Kataguri clan and the Kuroda clan.
"Journalists are a tricky people to protect... especially gaijin journalists that don't know our ways."
Ojou didn't get to hear anymore as she saw Kyou-san step outside the conference room. Fearing she'd be spotted, she tried to move as quietly as she could.
"Come", she whispered to Fuji who followed his charge's silent steps. Their presence went unnoticed by Kyou-san who went to the kitchen to make some tea for the kumi in the meeting.
Back in her room, Ojou couldn't sleep. She spent the rest of the night mulling over what she had heard. Rini's mother was being watched by the Kataguri clan. She didn't quite understand why.
She spent most of the night thinking about Yoshiro's measles and the kumi-meeting. Of course, as soon as sleep found her she had to wake up to go to school.
So, the 4th day of Yoshiro's absence greeted her with only two hours of sleep. She woke up tired and with a sore throat and a runny nose. Her mind was in a fog but she attributed it to having stayed up late listening in on a conversation she wasn't meant to overhear.
"Hey, you look horrible", said Rini.
"I didn't sleep much last night." She considered asking Rini about her mother's involvement with the Kataguri clan but decided she needed more information before asking such a delicate question. Besides, if her grandfather was involved then he was protecting her. It would not be good to say something that might blow their cover. Nevertheless, she was going to keep a close eye on Rini from now on.
Rini watched Kumiko silently for some time before deciding to interrupt Kumiko's mental soliloquy.
"Why didn't you sleep much?" Before Kumiko could answer, the bell rang saving her from having to come up with an excuse.
The rest of the day the young heir spent it swallowing away her throat discomfort and sniffling all the while trying to steer the conversation away from the reason behind her getting an insufficient amount of sleep.
The 5th day of Yoshiro's absence, the sniffling continued. As the day wore on, she trudged around the school. Her mind was beginning to muddle due to the onset of fever. Ms. Ishikawa noticed her inattention. Her classmates noticed as well and they were abuzz about the reason for the young heir's behavior. Ms. Ishikawa was amazed at how much influence she had in the school. She still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Kumiko-chan could bully the whole school if she wanted to, and Ms. Ishikawa was alarmed when she found out that the young heir actually policed the grounds though only to protect her friends from being bullied. Still, now was the time to make sure she didn't take matters into her own hands and learn to rely on authority. Ishikawa-sensei had mentioned this to Kuroda-sama who replied,
"Protecting your friends is one of the noblest of things."
"Yes but there is a line of authority to follow. Children can't take matters into their own hands!" She tried to explain to the Kuroda Boss.
"I trust Ojou." The Kuroda Boss said seemingly unperturbed by Ms. Ishikawa's outburst. He knew she did it thinking of Ojou's well being and he appreciated that though another outburst and he might have to remind her who she was talking to.
"B-but she is only n-nine." She said almost defeated.
"Yes." He smiled condescendingly if a bit thankful that he didn't have to remind her he was a yakuza Boss. "Remember when she was seven?" Kuroda raised a pinky and smiled at his granddaughter's precocious nature. He continued explaining as if to a child, "She's not breaking anyone's fingers. Is she? She has more sense now, she has grown."
He liked Ms. Ishikawa. She saw Ojou like she saw all her other students. She saw a child that needed guidance and she tried to give her that despite Kuroda's chosen profession and because of Kuroda's chosen profession. Kyou had been the one to point this out to the Kuroda Boss. "She is a true teacher... a classy one at that", Kyou would often say after one of their many visits to the principal where Ms. Ishikawa seemed to be a walking contradiction as she tried to explain what Ojou had done wrong to the kumi (in words they could understand) and the reason for the need for a punishment while she tried to explain to Principal Takeda that what Ojou had done didn't deserve such harsh punishment (in effect getting Principal Takeda to look at what Ojou had done without the distraction of his personal prejudices and fears about the yakuza).
Seeing she wasn't getting anywhere with the Kuroda Boss, she decided to take Ooshima-san aside as he seemed to listen to her, besides it was obvious he loved Kumiko-chan as if she was his own. Ishikawa-sensei wasn't the only walking contradiction. In her eyes, Ooshima-san himself was one. There was a gentleness about him when he dealt with Kumiko-chan that was endearing and in diametrical opposition with his hardened kumi persona.
However, she shouldn't have been surprised by his response.
"She takes after the Boss", he had said proudly (almost misty eyed).
Honestly, the young heir's behavior could be worse considering her background. She worried that the taste of power would turn her into THE bully of the playground. Kumiko-chan needed to learn to tell an adult if she saw any reprehensible behavior. Of course, Ooshima-san looked horrified at the thought of a squealer for an Ojou. She had shaken her head in frustration and had smiled at the scarred kumi with a "Never mind" and a pat on the shoulder. Talking with the kumi always drained her.
The class stole glances at the young heir. Ojou's inattention was slowly disrupting the class.
Ms Ishikawa went to the child about to reprimand her when she realized she was lethargic. Putting a gentle hand on Ojou's shoulder, she noticed her high temperature. She instructed Ojou to go to the nurse's office. Ms. Ishikawa suspected it was measles. With Kumiko-chan, this would make 7 students with measles. It could turn into an epidemic considering the majority of the students were not vaccinated or had only gotten one of the vaccinations. They may have to close down the school. She left Tomiko in charge of the class while she went to wash her hands and talk to Principal Takeda about the serious possibility of closing down the school.
A/N:
1. Measles symptoms and treatment taken from http://body .aol. com/conditions/measles-rubeola/
2. Mainichi Shimbun (Mainichi Shinbun) - Taken from http://www .world-newspapers. com/japan. html among other websites. One of several Japanese newspapers. I don't know how conservative or left wing they might be and how feasible the idea of them buying articles from a freelance journalist would be so don't ask me. I almost started doing research on that but stopped when I realized I was doing way too much research on something I am not being paid for plus I wanted to upload this chapter ASAP. Just be happy it is a Japanese newspaper. Winks.
3. I don't know too much about freelance journalists except what I have read in a few blogs. Though the "living in Japan" article seems feasible, I am uncertain how much (or if at all) a freelance journalist delve in crime scenes. With that said, I need it to happen so I claim 'creative license' on the event that it is not possible in real life.
4. This was originally the first part of the chapter Measles but I thought it would be better to divide it as each part concentrates on a different point I want to make (and introduces different things for future chapters). If I was not self-restricted by my 5chap/age I would probably have this particular incident be 4 to 5 chapters in itself. As it is I had to cut a few things in order to move the story along to at most 2 chapters. I still haven't finished the second part but I hope it will be done within 2 wks time.