25. This is a spill over from the last chapter, but it was too tagged on, so I cut it. You all might get this chapter a bit earlier : ) Starting on the 23 of June, 2017, hopefully in time for a double June update. Main inspiration: Embody's Lost and Found
Dear Kumikocr (Ninja cough Guest),
Hello again! Nice to hear from you, though I will have to apologise again. Senpai isn't going to un-senpai anytime soon, and I have things planned. Well… Everyone dies, Orochimaru won't be the death of him though. Read on and see, hope to hear from you again ~
The hospital is packed – mostly civilians that got hit by falling debris.
Few ninjas are majorly hurt, her chains spread out, healing and then gently pushing the villagers out.
This is the outer ward anyway.
Senpai motions for her, so her chains fade discreetly, tidying up after they are done.
She's patient with the children who cry over scrapes, less so with the adults who complain about bruises.
He pulls her through the ward doors into the inner level, passing her case notes.
"We amputated the arms and regrew the physical flesh. Please regrow his chakra pathways, Sakura."
Something, pleading in his eyes that she doesn't get.
Senpai then taps the wall twice, and an ANBU melts out.
The wall shudders, revealing that it was a genjutsu and Sakura did not feel it.
Stepping through and her lips quirk into a smile.
Naruto attacks her with a hug, "Sakura-chan, you can heal Jiji right? If you don't heal him, I'll never get a hug again!"
She's tempted to ask if her hugs don't count, but those dark eyes watching her curiously belong to the same old man who had been willing to kill her back then.
Tying her sleeves back with the same cord that they used to find Hinata, motioning for Senpai to clear.
He dutifully hustles the ANBU and chakra sources away.
"Hokage-sama, I need you to channel your chakra towards your left hand slowly. Tell me what you feel."
Her chains are in his 'not' hand, feeling what his chakra feels.
Nerves and chakra pathways are linked, but right now, his hand is void of both.
"There's a block here, like a wall."
She hums.
"We will open a pathway. Senpai, tenketsu diagram?"
Blue, thick lines spilling across the page.
"Following this textbook diagram, I will make a channel for your chakra. Using your chakra, fill the gap I make, convince your hand that your chakra belongs."
Maybe, because he is the Professor, he knows subconsciously what she means.
Her chain cuts, but without nerves or chakra paths he cannot feel.
She's burning holes in a plastic sheet to let the rain through.
Connecting the main stream to the tenketsu in the middle of his palm.
"Before this, were you able to direct chakra independently to your fingertips?"
Throwing away formality, bending his fingers this way and that and she hums, "Very good."
He managed to open multiple channels by forcing his chakra in.
"Try to adjust your 'hand' to your chakra first. Once we regrow your nerves, it will hurt if you force the chakra in, like it would have before this."
They repeat for the next hand, and Senpai takes over.
"Senpai, watch out for the tenketsu. Otherwise, all clear."
All clear, therefore if you don't say I won't either.
"Understood. Do you need to check anything else?"
She shakes her head, "I will do a final run once you're done. In the meantime, I have more patients to see."
Bowing once for the Hokage is a petty formality, her leaving is a rebuke.
Naruto hurries after her, chattering.
On Sannin and Invasions, fake outs and not-Gaara's-dad-after all.
"It was the nice snake guy, and apparently he's Jiji's old student, and he was really angry at Jiji for things. They talked a lot, and snake guy didn't really put his heart in to attacking Jiji, even Gaara could tell. But Jiji summoned the Shinigami and tried to kill his student. I mean, can you imagine that? It's like Kaka-sensei summoning a god to kill one of us!"
Hearing the on-goings of the village puts a spin on her perspective given she spent her day chasing after Kumo nin.
"I'm sure there's a good reason. Snake guy must not be that good, after all. If your Jiji can do something like that to him, he must have done something really bad, don't you think?"
Naruto pauses here, as if thinking over her words.
Then he pipes up, "You should convince yourself first, Sakura-chan."
A smile tugs at her lips.
Naruto knows, you see and Sakura never tried to hide it.
"What do you think of snake guy, Sakura-chan?"
She hums as her hands glow green. Her chains are attending to the people in the other beds, medics are scarce as always.
"Do you mean the snake guy we met, or the one in our textbooks?"
Naruto is a dear, helping by bringing burn cream and salves to the patients who can do their own first aid.
Sakura doesn't kid herself in thinking that the Konoha-nin in their room aren't listening to their conversation.
"Well, aren't they the same person?"
She shakes her head.
"Kaka-sensei killed Shiore-san."
Invoking their teacher's name, and the ninja of the ward cast off their suspicions.
She bows once, "Everyone in this room is free to check yourselves out. Please refrain from strenuous work today and tomorrow."
Out in the corridor, Naruto is freer to speak, Sakura answers more simply.
"Shiore-san, if he was really the Sannin, could easily have killed Senpai and done all the rest of us in the night."
It's the story she will stick to, speaking not of the caustic chakra that the host's body fought, nor of the lack of recognition she faced when speaking to the dying Shiore-san.
"What do you think textbook snake guy wanted, then?"
She pushes open the door.
"There are three Sannin. One is Jiraiya,"
"Oh, I met him. He's a huge perv. Stay away from him, Sakura-chan."
There are more people in this ward, all sleeping this time.
Flipping through medical charts, benzodiazepines, of varying dosages.
She calls out.
"ANBU? Are there ANBU on duty in this room?"
None reveal themselves, but Naruto points.
"There's probably one in that corner. The ANBU on duty like corners near windows or plants. It makes for quick substitutions."
She stretches a chain cautiously to the corner, surprised when she feels something.
Like light refracting upon entering water, a change but she's not sure what kind.
"ANBU-san, these patients are all under drugged sleep. If you are here to take watch over the Clan members, I ask that you find a doctor once any of them wakes, please."
She receives the sensation of a hand squeezing her chain once.
Yes.
She gives the sleeping ninjas a scan over, pleased that these have no physical wounds, just varying states of exhaustion.
"You were talking about Sannin Jiraiya-san?"
"Oh yeah. He's a total pervert. I found him peeping at the hot springs."
Sakura finds herself less than repulsed.
"He's also the one who writes Sensei's Icha Icha, isn't he? It's better that he be a pervert and a writer than a violent rapist, no?"
Because certainly, there must be people like that in this world as well.
"He's also the one who wrote Tale of a Gutsy Ninja. You know, the book that Kaka-sensei gave me for that birthday?"
She's shaken from questionable thoughts, and she smiles.
"The Hero's name was Naruto, wasn't it? I imagine that your parents were fans of that book. Either that, or they must have really liked ramen."
The next room has an attending medic, as does the next, and the one following it.
She writes in the signature book – it pulses and accepts her chakra signature.
Haruno, signing for guest, she gestures for Naruto to write his name,
Naruto.
Then, she pulls him a tag.
"Who are we visiting up here, Sakura-chan?"
She gives him half a look, tapping her hand to the seal by the glass doors.
"Clan heads and their closest associates. Basically the VIPs."
Stepping through the door on the right and a change in personality, Naruto watches the tension drain out of her frame, her smile, and her open arms.
"Ah Hirai-kun. Have you been good?"
Naruto is stuck by the resemblance and his eyes ask even as the child jumps into his teammate's arms.
"I have, Sakura-neechan!"
"He has indeed, Lady Haruno, as if he was never hurt in the first place."
She inclines her head at the man who looks out the window, yearning as strong as the first day he arrived.
"We will bring you good news to repay your kindness soon, Lady Haruno."
"Ah, Lord Tsubaki, I am simply glad that the goods were delivered without fault. That was work on your end, convincing your Mizukage to allow our convoy in."
Stroking the hair of the child who requests to be carried, "I am thankful still, Lady Haruno that you sent us Konoha nin to escort us. Had it been Kiri-nin, I would have feared that Mizukage-sama order our deaths."
She laughs softly.
"Then you will have to thank Hirai-kun for letting you find him."
The man does just that, pressing a kiss to the snowy white forehead.
Sakura nods, smiling at Naruto.
If not brother, at least a relative.
"When Kiri sends a team to escort me back, I will request for the ninja you told me about. Haku, did you say was his name?"
Sakura does a quick scan of both, they're healthy.
"Yes. Looks like Hirai's bout of pneumonia has subsided. I will write back to apologise to the Mizukage for keeping one of his most important merchant heads. However, I think the sunny weather here will be better for the kid. Once I am sure his immune system is up to par, we'll vaccinate him. One more week after that, and I will send you off, Lord Tsubaki."
She signals for Naruto to guard the door, and she steps closer.
The man places the dark-haired child down on the bed.
In a low murmur, she enquires and he replies.
"The Resistance will attack tomorrow if nothing goes wrong. The final shipment was due this morning, and it went well. Tomorrow, Lady Terumi will with her ninja, storm the Mizukage's tower. Latest next week, the rebels should have taken over. However the concerning thing they found –"
She steps away to pat Hirai on his head as Naruto signals frantically.
Tsubaki Hiren is aware, acutely so, that his fellow Clan Head is not a loyal Konoha pawn.
The door opens.
And as it turned out, the Hokage-to-be, might not be either.
"Medic Haruno?"
Another of those doctors, peeping their head in, falling over themselves in bowing to Lord Tsubaki.
"Yes?"
"Shikamaru-sama is looking for you."
Naruto pops his head out and Sakura bids her fellow merchant Head a goodbye.
"I will come by to check on Hirai again."
"Shikamaru was hurt?"
She summons her chains, but the Shikamaru chain looks pristine.
"Ah yes, the young lord complained about a long-lasting headache. We wanted to give him a general pain killer but he requested chakra healing."
Sakura frowns.
Senpai doesn't look lightly upon ninja attempting to bully them medics.
"Did you check with Head Yakushi?"
"He's still attending to Hokage-sama… Personally I do think that the young lord would benefit from chakra healing. He complained earlier about numbness, I believe it may be a chakra problem."
Naruto finds the room first, bursting in with a cheery, "Shikamaru!"
Only to have to apologise sheepishly because of the sheer number of occupants.
Lightly teasing, Sakura closes the door, sending the other doctor away, "Medic Haruno reporting."
Shikamaru perks up, scrambling out of the bed, checking her over hastily, "Sakura-nee, you're all right?"
She looks curiously over at Nara-sama who shakes his head.
"Yeah, I am, Shika-chan. What made you think otherwise?"
He murmurs lowly, "Tou-san won't tell me, but I felt you being electrocuted."
She frowns, electrocuted?
She summons her chains and he instinctively catches hold of his.
"I felt numb almost immediately after, but I was sure… I was sure that you got electrocuted."
Sakura attempts to settle her racing heart.
If he could feel that, then –
"Shikaku-sama, may I speak to you outside?"
Patting Shikamaru's spiky bob, she assures him that she wasn't electrocuted.
She forgot.
Extending her hands and he complies.
"It's not bad," he says and she frowns harder.
"I won't use his chain anymore. Not if he can feel it."
She heals the short gash on his side.
"What I don't understand is, why can Shikamaru feel it?"
Sakura doesn't know, she really doesn't.
"The chain represents him. The same way I knew Hinata was hurt. The same way I should have known you got hurt."
He brushes imaginary dirt off his shirt – there's no tear in the shirt.
"But I didn't get hurt. My chain did?"
She presses a hand to her head.
"It must have been when Sekiei-san first attacked me."
She can't remember things like that – she doesn't pay attention to exactly which chains go where.
They move past it quickly.
"Does your team know, Sakura?"
"They don't feel it. Only I can feel them."
She shakes off his most pressing concern, "No one will die because of my chains."
Shikaku-sama grabs hold of her wrist as she turns, "What happens if someone dies?"
Sakura thinks back.
At least things like that, she can remember.
The clenching sensation, someone grabbing hold of her heart and squeezing (oh)
She smiles.
"I'll live."
With that, opening the door and bowling over both Shikamaru and Naruto who were attempting to eavesdrop.
"We've decided, Shika-chan, that you're free to go home. But if there's anything else, you have to come right back."
Her chains do one final round of infusing healing chakra in, erasing any lingering numbness.
Continuing to Chouza-sama who hurt his hands grappling with a snake, and Inoichi-sama who has a headache from straining his mind.
"I would tell you not to strain your mind too much, but I'll leave that to Ino-chan."
The blonde girl nods in affirmation.
"That means going to sleep, tou-chan."
Sakura gives the girl a smile, "If you need it, you can request the short term sleeping aids from any of the nurses."
She does have to say, of the three, Chouza-sama is the easiest to deal with.
He's a straight forward kind of person, and his wife does take good care of him.
She heals the flesh wound and advises him to rest more.
"Please try not to expand your hands while they're healing," and she knows he'll listen.
His wife will look after him – good food and lots of bed rest.
He nods, a jovial smile spreading across his face, "I will, Sakura-chan. In turn, please get us more of the Mist's miso paste."
She tugs a notebook out of her pocket, pulling a Sharpie from the bed pocket.
"Everything for a price, Chouza-sama."
He's a straight forward person, but they see few people like that, let alone straightforward businessmen.
She leaves Naruto in the Sand siblings' room, excusing herself from their cheery reunion.
Naturally, they were already attended to by other medics on hand.
Diplomatic prisoners, you could call them. They were there to stay until their Jonin-sensei worked out what Sand would do next, given that their Kazekage was dead.
She knocks on the wall, and the ANBU melts out, assessing her coolly.
She arches an eyebrow, the markings on the mask of this ANBU are different from the one earlier.
"Did you swap shifts, ANBU-san?"
The crackling, distorted voice replies, "Yes. Please enter quickly if you intend to."
It's a weird time to swap shifts.
"Senpai, are you done...?"
Her voice trailing off and she bows slightly.
"Sorry, visitors are currently not allowed. Hokage-sama is resting, Mister. I will ask that you leave."
Sakura matches the squinting eye fairly, looking over the intrusion.
Half a bandaged face, covering an eye, eye transplant?, mottled hands leant over a walking stick.
But those hands, free from markings, only discolourations from genetics?
Worn and war-weary, his body clashing with that mind hidden by an eye that is near shut – hunger, tell me child, what is your worth?
"ANBU-san. Please escort the gentleman out. In the future, unless Hokage-sama is awake to allow it, please minimise foreign chakra entering the room."
"Is Hiruzen chakra-sensitive now?"
She shakes her head, "It is too early to say. We wish to monitor his condition without additional interference that could mess up the healing."
Left hand leaning on the walking stick, right hand rubbing the x-shaped scar on his chin.
"I see. Please do your best, Medic-san."
The ANBU holds the door with an emotion akin to reverence and then, the ANBU leaves with the aged man.
She rushes over to the Hokage's side, waking him from a chakra lull, asking "ANBU-san, where is Yakushi-senpai?"
The Hokage wakes as if he had not been sleeping, and the man chuckles.
"No need to be so concerned, Haruno-chan. Councilman Danzo is a friend of mine. I sent Yakushi-kun away so we could chat."
She clears the foreign chakra from his right hand.
"If you keep exposing yourself to chakras that cannot stop expansionist tendencies, your hand will not be fully yours to control, Hokage-sama."
He flexes his fingers, summoning his chakra so his fingertips burn blue, he smiles, "No worries, I understand," then the flame sputters.
He blinks, before trying again, and her chains reach a diagnosis.
"Hokage-sama, your chakra is killing your own hand."
The old man looks at his hand like its foreign, and she further questions, "Are you scared of your own chakra?"
Senpai comes through the door, looking frazzled, "What's wrong, kouhai?"
But the Hokage smiles simply, "Nothing is wrong, Medic Yakushi. She's just doing some final checks."
Like them, just the three of them.
"ANBU? Secure the premises for a moment." Politely, telling them to get out of the room.
The Hokage activates a final seal.
"It is terminal in the end, after all?"
"If you don't use chakra we can slow it. As the corruption spreads, we can amputate and regrow like we just did."
He magics out a pipe and begins puffing.
Sakura doesn't stop him, even though it's an enclosed room.
"No need for that. I'm long past retirement anyway. I was always prepared for this price, since I invoked the Shinigami…"
"And you say my name again, taunting me that I have not gained your soul, mortal?"
The otherworldly presence that fills the room, past the seals and the Hokage gasps, trying to breathe.
Senpai's eyes wide as he sinks slowly to the floor, and Sakura snarls, chains lashing out protectively, "Return when it is truly time for him to die. Rather than taunting and espousing on your own weakness, return when it is time for someone to die."
A deep chuckle. Wishful words, but wise. I will give you a month, Sarutobi Hiruzen. In a month's time… I will come and collect you.
When the presence is gone, Sakura shivers lightly – pumping healing chakra into the Hokage's lungs.
"You have cancer of the lungs, Hokage-sama."
The man coughs.
"Ah, I always knew the pipe would be the death of me."
Kabuto-senpai, curiously wondering, "Why did you have to summon a Shinigami of all things, may I ask?"
The Hokage looks down at his hands.
"Humans can kill other humans. But it takes a monster to kill another."
Carelessly, she follows that train of thought, "So was the monster killed? And who created that monster in the first place? Shouldn't the creator be punished?"
The man smiles, almost tearful, "Then this is my punishment. My punishment for not seeing the monster."
"Your student, Hokage-sama?"
A man drowning in his own memories and self-pity.
"He was a genius of the highest calibre, but without morals. And I was too soft to cut him down when we first realised."
Sakura adjusts his pillows.
"I don't doubt that experimentation on children is morally wrong, Hokage-sama. But if a village can seal a demon into a baby and abuse that baby for years, only to use it as a weapon; If that can be called the good of the village, Sannin Orochimaru-san probably thought the same way, don't you think?"
He watches her with curious eyes – she wonders if she'll see tomorrow's light – senpai tugging the back of her yukata.
"He probably thought his experiments could help the village, and protect the next generation of children."
Sakura smiles almost forlornly, helping to ease the Hokage into a laid down position.
"But Hokage-sama, you, as a figure head, cannot allow personal feelings to sway you, right? Even if it is the student you cherish dearly, doing things that will horrify the village but not you – you must throw your heart aside and persecute him. That is the last action of protection you can give him."
The voice replying once in a one-sided conversation, grief-struck regrets of a dying man.
"His experiments were wrong, but he was once my student. The hatred of a village cannot be so accurately harnessed, despite sending him away no doubt there are many who wished him dead either way."
"Naruto-kun, I want you to go with Jiraiya-kun to find my student, Tsunade Senju. Can you do that for me? I'm sure Jiraiya-kun has much to teach you."
The blond whom he has grown to love like a grandson nods an 'okay', "Ne, Jiji. You don't suppose that the Pervy dude knows my parents?"
Maybe he's worn, from the chat he had with his medics earlier, but Naruto is a regret of his.
Hiruzen is scared, scared of losing Naruto.
"There's no harm asking, right, Naruto-kun? And if he asks, you can tell him, "Your sensei said so.""
The child lights up, "Okay, then I'll go find him now! We're bringing Tsunade-san back so she'll take your hat, right?"
He stretches his weakened hand out to ruffle the spiky hair.
"On point, Naruto-kun. Why did you think so, though?"
"Cause Pervy dude might end up decreeing that bikinis become standard uniform."
The elderly Hokage hands Naruto a small scroll.
"Just mission instructions for your newest sensei."
Her hands are folded behind her back, allowing senpai to lead her out of the hospital.
Thinking back on what Tsubaki-san wanted to tell her – senpai waves a hand in front of her face.
"You feel strongly about it, don't you, kouhai?"
She sets the direction they walk in.
"About what, senpai?"
"Just now, when you and Hokage-sama were talking."
He picks the lane they enter.
"Ah. Well, it's being honest. Being a leader makes you change a lot of things. Just because you're a leader, doesn't mean that you get to choose. Certain answers are labelled 'right', some are labelled 'wrong'."
"Naruto-kun wants to be Hokage, right?"
She walks closer to the dessert half of the street.
Okonomiyaki, takoyaki, ramen, hot pot, BBQ on the left.
"When Naruto-chan becomes Hokage, he will be strong enough to change the world."
"Hokage-sama isn't?"
Anpan, daifuku, their tea house, dango, taiyaki on the right.
"He let a genius go because the village cannot accept things. Instead of imprisoning the genius and putting him through reconditioning and utilising that genius for an acceptable, good of the village."
They walk into the Dango-ya, taking a booth near the back.
"You think the Sannin Orochimaru was a genius?"
"I don't think anyone can dispute that he was strong, and highly intelligent, Senpai."
"But you can't call him sane either, kid."
She interrupts their conversation, the purple-haired examiner sounding far quieter than either of them are used to.
"Geniuses are generally not sane, Anko-san. Konoha has a record of geniuses gone nuts in some form of coping mechanism. Lady Tsunade even wrote a treatise on it."
The lady bites viciously into her last stick of dango, Senpai places their order.
Sakura raises her hand, the waiter bows.
"Another plate for the pretty lady, sir," gesturing at Anko-san.
She smiles politely at the lady diagonally opposite her, "My treat, for Suzuki-sensei's friend."
"He was my sensei, you know, Haruno-chan."
Kabuto-senpai has those odd eyes again.
"Would you rather he left with you, Mitarashi-san?"
She snorts.
"I guess back then I was too caught up in my hero worship of him. He… he always protected me on the field, as if I wasn't strong enough. He didn't trust me to be on my own."
The lady side steps the question.
Her tone hints at a, 'Yes', but Kabuto knows better.
She leaves after finishing her dango, ruffling Sakura's hair in a 'goodbye' fashion.
Kabuto bites off the pink dango, before passing Sakura the stick with the white and green one.
She smiles, even as he sighs.
"So picky, kouhai."
"But you're the one indulging me, Kabuto-senpai."
Without her needing to prompt him, "No. Her answer was always no, kouhai. The moment she heard about the experiments, she lost her fragile faith in him. It was destroyed in a fell swoop."
He eats the pink and white ones of the next stick, passing her the green.
They move on to the soy-covered Mitarashi dango.
"Are you in danger, senpai?"
He reaches for his stick of dango, "No more than you are, kouhai."
Tea arrives last.
She remarks, absentmindedly.
"Shiore-san's chakra changed."
Kabuto drinks his tea.
"I have heard that Orochimaru is capable of possessing bodies."
Sakura considers the tea, her reflection on the rippled surface – "Someone who has spent too much time out of his own skin eventually will no longer be comfortable even in his own. At that point, the skin is no longer his."
Her senpai proposes an alternative.
"Someone who never had a place to belong to, someone who was never accepted, never had a skin of his own in the first place."
She raises her hand, gesturing for the tab.
There's still dango on the table, but it's like a mutual understanding.
They're both full.
"Maybe, if we met Shiore-san again, I should ask Naruto to give him a hug."
Imagine Kabuto's surprise when he returns to his Lord's side and reviews the name list of the dead.
"Shiore was killed, Orochimaru-sama?"
His master arches a fine eyebrow, looking mildly surprised – "Your precious kouhai and Sharingan Kakashi killed him."
He should be shocked – but he knows Sakura wouldn't out him like that.
She's curious for personal reasons, and none meant to hurt him.
"Did you say that your kouhai was interested in me?"
"No," his answer is too quick and the Sannin laughs.
"No, she just had a conversation with the Lord Hokage. – I have a recording, if it would please you to hear it."
In the privacy of his lab, so close to his homeland yet so far, the village's lights are too far out of reach.
He allows himself the reprieve of getting angry again, smirking bitterly.
Sensei, I should have killed you then.
But I guess, you know why I didn't kill you?
"Orochimaru-sama? Would you like some dango? Kouhai and I bought in excess."
"Leave it by the door."
The dumplings are cold and half-hard, but the taste is familiar.
He vaguely remembers eating them with his student – a spitfire with purple hair.
"Sensei! I'm sure you'll like these!"
He doesn't need to eat, nor need to taste – he's not human.
But he supposes Sasori is correct in the end.
The heart remains human, more so than the heart, the mind.
Orochimaru sets the stick down.
Now, which fire jutsu would be the best to warm dango with?
I know, I'm a lot earlier than expected, but I wanted to write it out as the ideas came fresh.
I guess you've probably assumed then, that I might not update next month at all?
Honestly, I'm not sure when I can update next. Rather than prewrite and give steady updates, since I've written this, I feel obliged to give it to you all. I hope you all enjoyed it.
My classes restart tomorrow, I'll have to get to writing the last 4 essays I have yet to do, and begin preparations for some national exams in the second week.
Won't bore you all too much with my life (oops) but I really should go and study, pull up my non-existent grades. Any exam tips for me?
I guess that's it for humanisation of Orochimaru thus far. Next chapter will be Tsunade + Jiraiya + Naruto, Sasuke + Kakashi, Sakura + Shikamaru. Not trying to be overly ambitious, but we should be able to see Itachi. I'm not sure if I'll stick to Kisame, since I have more things planned.
See you all in August? I hope I'll have enough time to get my life on track first. I don't want to promise too much of anything, but if I really get buried next week, I'll put an update on my profile.
As usual, review and talk to me, all ninjas!
Other than that, wanted to take the chance to thank you all again, it really does make me happy to get alerts in my email box.
Kayo.