Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto" or any characters related to the series
Chapter Twenty-nine
The outpost town was as busy as Karibi remembered it being.
She had visited the town through passing several times in her past. And just as they always were, the streets were filled with people going about their day, slumming around—trying to make a living and enjoying the shops and the food.
"Wow, what a weird place." Naruto hadn't traveled much. Save for the mission in the Land of Waves, Konoha had been the only major village he had ever known. Seeing the different people and the many stands and shops made his eyes sparkle with wonder. And it made Karibi smile wide.
For a few seconds, she forgot about the mission and the dangers ahead.
"Hey, let's stop for a quick bite. What'd you two say?" Karibi looked over at Jiraiya as he glanced around at the different restaurants. She contemplated the idea for a moment before nodding her head and looking down to the genin.
"Hungry?" He grinned in response.
§
If this was going to work, they needed to eliminate the obstacles. No unnecessary blood needed to be spilt. They just needed them out of the way long enough to finish what they had started.
To get their hands on the Nine-tailed fox.
A young woman stood on the other side of a bar, wiping down glasses that had been freshly washed. Chatter sounded over the busy day, laughter filling the air as three guests walked through the doorway of the tiny restaurant. The lone woman observed with keen intensity, her eyes lingering on the redhead behind the older man leading the way.
"Ah! Perfect! We'll get some food, look around and figure out our next step from here."
"When are we gonna get to the training?! You said you'd teach me a jutsu better than Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei's Chidori!"
"Patience, kid. You're not gonna become Hokage with that attitude of yours."
"Fine! I'll just have Ribi-chan teach me something even better than your jutsu!" The bartender watched as the redhead rolled her eyes, ignoring the two males of their small group while she took a seat on a bar stool. She paid no attention to the woman behind the counter, her nimble fingers reaching out for the menu and flipping through the pages.
"What can I help you with?" Karibi looked up as the bartender approached her and her companions with a friendly smile. The redhead let out a breath and skimmed through the menu before she looked over to Naruto.
"Can I get an order of rice balls and—you can either have vegetable dumplings or a vegetable dish." Now that they were away from Ichiraku, Naruto didn't have a choice but to eat other entrees.
The blond grumbled and pouted, glaring at his guardian. "Dumplings." Karibi smiled politely to the waitress.
"And an order of vegetable dumplings, please."
"Of course! Would you like anything to drink with that? Water, soda? We also serve sake."
"Don't mind if I do!" Jiraiya chimed in, his eyes roaming the waitress' body shamelessly; she didn't seem to pay much attention to it.
Her eyes were trained on Karibi.
"Ah, I'm fine for now." The keeper of the bar nodded, masking her expression of exasperation before she made her way into the kitchen to send in the order. Not long after that did she return to find the three bickering amongst themselves; the redhead and blond against the old man.
"I think we should keep going! I still have plenty of energy to walk!"
"I'm with Short-stuff. You said you wanted to find this inspiration of yours. I highly doubt she would be here. So then, we should waste less time and keep going."
"Listen, you two! If I had known the Uzumaki's would always be arguing with me, I would've just left you both behind! I—"
"The long traveling getting to you?" The three paused and looked up, the waitress tending to them giving each an easy-going smile. "My guess is you're not really from around here?" The redhead was first to answer, her response guarded and vague.
"You could say that. It's just been a long day, is all." The bartender chuckled, ducking underneath the counter and disappearing for a few seconds. When she popped back up, three tiny glasses were placed on the table top, a warmed bottle of sake placed before them.
"Here. On the house." Karibi blinked, Jiraiya's eyes bright while Naruto's face scrunched in disgust; he had tried Karibi's sake once, and he found that he did not enjoy it.
"And, a little something special for you, kiddo." Naruto began to grin as the bartender poured soda into his cup. With all the ramen that he ate, Karibi hardly kept any other junk food around the house. For him, this was like a miracle.
"Alright! Thanks!" he cheered, quickly reaching out for the cup like Jiraiya. Karibi was hesitant, the waitress waiting for her with a pressing gleam in her stare. Her eyes penetrated through the jonin's face, though the kunoichi didn't seem to notice. The woman's amethyst eyes merely gazed down at the cup warily before the waitress finally spoke.
"It's warm sake. Not cyanide." That made Karibi relax.
"Sorry. I suppose old habits die hard." Even when she reached for the cup, there was still apprehension in her eyes.
"Cheers!" Jiraiya let out a hearty laugh while he clinked his cup against Karibi's and Naruto's. The three threw their heads back and took generous swigs from their drinks. And all the while, the woman behind the bar watched Karibi with all of her concentration.
She didn't stop staring until every last drop was gone.
"Whew!" Karibi slammed her glass against the bar counter, wiping her lips with the back of her hand. "That is some strong stuff."
"It's the strong stuff that's the good stuff, Karibi," Jiraiya commented, the bartender smiling innocently and nodding her head.
"Yeah! He makes a great point."
§
"Ribi-chan! Come on! Jiraiya-pervert is gone, but at least we can train together, right?"
They had ultimately succumbed to the sanin's wishes, Karibi realizing that she was merely a guest on this quest; this operation was coming directly from Jiraiya. So, the three had settled for getting a hotel room and picking things up bright and early in the morning.
As they made their way from hotel to hotel in search of a decent place to rest, Karibi found a heaviness gradually settling over her limbs. Her vision began to blur and the world began to spin uncontrollably for a few seconds here and there. She blamed it on the early start and the stress of the last day or so, but there was an itch in the back of her mind; something was wrong.
After agreeing on a hotel, the oldest of the group signed them into a room, Karibi leaning lazily against the wall while Naruto pouted at the sanin's back. And just as he was about to argue with the man, a beautiful woman strolled by, pausing in the entryway of the hotel. The lone woman of the group paid her no attention, trying to shake the lethargy that was trying to consume her.
By the time she had realized Jiraiya had left the two of them to settle into the hotel room on their own, she had almost fallen asleep against the wall in the lobby.
Rubbing her eyes, Karibi forced herself to look over at Naruto—who quickly noticed the state that his guardian was in. There was a concerned glimmer in the boy's eyes as he stared up at the woman while she sat on one of the two queen sized beds. He frowned at the cloud of drowsiness that he could see in the redhead's eyes before he reached out and placed his hand on her cheek. "Ribi-chan, you feeling ok? You don't look good." Karibi forced herself to smile and nod, though in her delirious state, she leaned her head into Naruto's touch.
"I think the last few days are starting to catch up with me." A fuzzy chuckle fell from her lips, the woman sighing while she rubbed her face with both hands in order to fight off the sleepiness. Naruto frowned and watched the woman, realizing just how much she had been dealing with.
The rebuilding of the village, training with him, traveling with Jiraiya; sympathy swam through his veins.
"Ribi-chan, you can lay down for a little. When you wake up, we can train!" He was always so attentive to her.
"Maybe that's a—a good idea, Naruto." Stretching herself across the bed, the woman winced, a sharp pain running across her head from temple to temple.
"Shit," she muttered, letting her head plop heavily down on the pillow like a boulder to water. Naruto blinked at that; Karibi was out in seconds.
It had been within those seconds that Karibi had realized she had been drugged.
§
Karibi's eyes fluttered open to the sun beams from her window. She winced, a dull ache in her head causing her to slowly sit up. The woman was puzzled as to where she was or what she was doing—that is, until a voice called out to her.
"You're awake later than usual." The redhead blinked, looking up to the doorway of her room before she suddenly remembered herself. With a wide smile, the woman swung her legs out from under the comforter and planted the bottoms of her feet to the bamboo floor. Her smile widened as heavier steps sounded through the cozy bedroom, bouncing off the walls and reverberating through her entire body.
"Good morning, Curly Tail."
"Scarecrow." The 22-year-old laughed while the man wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, placing a feather-like kiss to the curve of her neck. Another followed quickly after the first, then another, and before she knew it, she was turned around and her mouth was being devoured whole.
After a few seconds of enjoying the other's taste, Karibi pulled away, smiling up at the unmasked man. "Feeling a little frisky?"
"When you're dressed like that? Yes." She was in nothing but a slip.
Letting out a laugh, the redhead span around the older jonin. She traipsed towards the bathroom, lingering in the doorway before she looked over her shoulder and shot a wink to the man; she could see the way it sent jolts down to his groin. Silence settled between them, the young woman venturing further into the bathroom, and Kakashi quickly following after her.
A good portion of their morning was spent in the shower.
Getting dressed after their exchange was easy; keeping their hands off one another had been the challenge. And after finally emerging out of their shared apartment in their usual attire, the two ninjas finally started their day.
"Ah! Kari-chan! Kakashi! Late start, I see!" The pair strolled down the street, Guy waving to them as they approached.
"Hey, Guy." Karibi smiled while Kakashi merely nodded, half of his attention on the book in his hand. "Back from your mission already?" The man in green nodded with a proud grin.
"That's right! With the Leaf's greatest warrior, who could expect less!" Kakashi glanced up from his book to make a remark, but the woman beside him was quick to elbow him in the side and stop him in his tracks.
"Glad to have you back."
"Oi, Kakashi. Why not another challenge! Seeing as you're free until Karibi's done with lunch, and I am free of missions until further notice, I think this is the perfect time to settle the score!" That had caught the 22-year-old's attention.
"Wait, lunch? With who?" Kakashi blinked, eyeing his companion with a confused gleam in his eye.
"Don't tell me you forgot? We're going to have to do something to keep your mind sharp." Still, the woman was at a loss.
"What are you talking about?"
"Kushina-san. You made plans to have lunch with Kushina-san." Kakashi's words went completely over Karibi's head; her baffled expression made Kakashi and Guy frown.
"Karibi, what's wrong?" Said woman shook her head, gawking at the masked man and her friend.
"What's wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you?!" She was appalled at their confusion, their puzzled expressions making her blood boil. "This is a cruel joke, Kakashi. I don't know what the hell is wrong with you! Kushina-san—Kushina-san is de—"
"Ah! Neko-chan!" Whatever doubt Karibi had completely vanished.
It was like someone had flipped a switch. As if her outburst had never occurred, the redhead turned on her heel and was greeted with pale navy eyes and bright red hair. The aged face made Karibi grin, the 36-year-old approaching her with a pleased smile. "Kakashi-san! Guy-san!"
"Ah, Kushina-sama!" That made the woman laugh as she stood beside Karibi.
"Guy, I'm not the actual Hokage. I'm just married to him." The jonin chortled sheepishly while Kakashi rolled his visible eye. And all the while, Karibi watched the scene unfold with a content gleam in her gaze.
But she couldn't seem to ignore the bubbling in her gut.
"I thought you two weren't meeting until later on," Kakashi pointed out curiously, Kushina giggling before she turned to Karibi.
"That was the plan. But Minato headed into the office a bit earlier than expected, so I thought I would see if you were alright with spending a little extra time with me. That is, if your sweetheart, here, doesn't mind." Karibi blinked while Kakashi blushed behind his mask, rubbing the back of his head with a bashful air around him.
"Ah, Kushina-san—" Said woman winked.
"I'm only teasing."
Karibi couldn't quite describe it. Although this felt real—although she knew this was truly happening, there was something amiss. As Kushina teased Kakashi a bit more and Guy laughed at her antics, Karibi couldn't hide the frown upon her lips. As wonderful as this was, it all seemed a bit...forced.
Like it was something she had dreamt of before.
"Karibi?" Said kunoichi tore herself from her wavering thoughts, Kakashi now standing before her with worry in his visible eye. "What is it?" His loyalty to her and his love wasn't any different; that much still felt the same.
"Nothing! Just hoping you won't suffer too much from loneliness if I go with Kushina-neechan." Kakashi scoffed, his shoulders relaxing. He turned his attention to Guy, who now gazed back at him with a hopeful shine in his eyes; much like a puppy yearning for attention from its owner.
"...I think I'll manage to find some way to cope with your absence."
And with that, the four had gone their separate ways; Guy and Kakashi in one direction and Kushina and Karibi in the other. As the two redheads strolled down the road, Karibi found herself hesitantly looking back at Kakashi and Guy. She eyed them closely, both moving with ease as they chatted to one another.
And just as she turned the corner with Kushina, the masked ninja looked back at her.
"You seem a little tense, lately." Karibi blinked, her full attention now on her guardian. "Is everything been going ok with all the planning?" The younger of the two women answered flawlessly.
"I think it's just a bit different for Kakashi and I. I don't think either of us ever thought we'd be able to live with someone we loved, let alone plan a wedding." Karibi blinked, abruptly startled; a silver band was suddenly sitting upon her left ring finger. "Most ninja don't get to enjoy such privileges like this. So, the fact that we do—I think it's just surprised us both." Kushina let an understanding smile spread across her face while she nodded.
"With what we do, it's...well, it's honestly terrifying to put our hearts in the hands of someone we could lose...but you two do a good job of relying on each other when things get hard instead of pushing each other away. You do a good job of taking your insecurities and fears and moving past them to keep things going." Karibi nodded, a fond smile now upon her lips.
"Yeah. I guess we do."
The two began to chat and gossip, Kushina talking about how the council had been urging Minato to start thinking about plans for the future chuunin exam, and Karibi telling Kushina about the woman who had tried to make a move on Kakashi even after she had realized they were to be married. They ate, and they laughed, and they enjoyed the warmth of each other's company.
But all the while, Karibi felt off.
"Wow, everything looks tidy! Minato-niichan must've been here earlier." Karibi's amethyst eyes roamed the home of her parents, Kushina chuckling at the younger woman's remark.
"As a matter of fact, he was. Although I resent the fact you don't think I'm capable of keeping this place clean myself!" Karibi smirked as she ventured through the sitting room of the apartment, the walls and the furniture all familiar to the woman.
It was the photos that threw her off.
"...Kushina-neechan, why don't you have any pictures of your kid?" The older Uzumaki blinked.
"...My kid?"
"Yeah! What's his name..." Karibi scowled; it was on the tip of her tongue. "What the hell is his name?"
"Karibi, we don't have any kids." The jonin shook her head with a decided expression, unwilling to accept that as an answer.
"No. He should be twelve right about now." Karibi began to shuffle around the room in search of all the pictures hanging on the wall and propped up on the furniture. Kushina watched with furrowed brows, leaning against the wall.
"Karibi. You must've had too much to drink yesterday night. Minato and I would definitely know if we had a son!"
"You do! His name is—"
KARIBI!
There it was. His voice. She couldn't miss his call. And as he shouted out to her, there was a sense of desperation and such terror that he thrust into her name that she couldn't ignore—Karibi was suddenly back to herself.
"Where the fuck am I?!"
"Karibi! What's wrong?" Kushina gawked at Karibi, the redhead glancing frantically around the room. "You're—"
"Shut the hell up!" the jonin barked with a new-found viciousness, her feet carrying her rapidly about the room.
"Naruto!" she shouted hurriedly, in hopes that he could somehow hear her. She grimaced at the silence, save for Kushina's unsteady breaths.
"Karibi, for the last—"
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?!" the woman yelled with aggression, glaring with an iciness at Kushina; never in her entire life would she have ever thought she'd give the woman such a look.
"...Genjutsu." It was beginning to all come back to Karibi.
The outpost town, the sake she had drank, and then passing out in the hotel room.
"Shit!" The woman felt a familiar energy around her, and her eyes immediately widened.
The Nine-tailed fox.
"Naruto!" she shrieked, her voice filled with fear and uncertainty. Thinking on her feet, she quickly sprinted towards the window of the apartment, but as she prepared to charge to leap through the glass, she screeched to a halt; in the reflection of the window was Kakashi.
"...This is goodbye, then?" Karibi stared at the man through the reflection, her lip trembling and her heart racing. There was a familiar sorrow in the 26-year-old's eyes that made the woman want to reach out and hold him. She had seen it in him all too many times before—the glimmer of losing someone close; she refrained from moving an inch.
"...You're not real."
"This is as real as you want it to be." Kakashi took a slow and cautious step forward, holding his hands up as a sign of peace. "If you wake up now—if you decide to return back to what you call reality, do you think you'll ever be this happy?" The woman stared at the man through the window, a spark of sadness coursing through her veins; his truthful words almost hurt more than anything else.
"We can live peacefully together here. The past you know doesn't exist here. Here, everyone lives and everyone gets what they deserve." Karibi's jaw clenched.
"What about Naruto?" Kakashi shook his head.
"You've given him plenty of time, tears, blood and dedication. It may not have been perfect, but you have done your absolute best to give him the love he needs. Don't you think you deserve the same?" The redheaded jonin said nothing in return, Kakashi taking one more step closer to her.
"...We will never be able to make this work when you wake up." Kakashi's visible eye softened. "Moving in together, getting married? That's a life for naive dreamers." Because their reality was filled with loss and death and blood.
Both of them were far too familiar with losing loved ones.
Karibi's eyes instantly hardened, her head turning so she could glare at the man over her shoulder. Kakashi raised a brow and watched her closely, the redhead's expression cold and unforgiving. "...The Kakashi that's waiting for—the real Kakashi—he'd never say that to me." The woman scoffed, shaking her head, while the man that stood before her narrowed his eye at her. "What you just said? That sounds like something I would say."
"Karibi—"
"Yes. This is goodbye." Without wasting another second, the woman was leaping out of the window.
§
A deep breath was the first thing Karibi took when she awoke. She winced, the persistent thrumming in her head making it hard to focus. Still, she did her best to sit up and ground herself. The woman blinked several times as she held her head with one hand, her double-vision slowly clearing. And just as she began to gather her composure, a voice outside of the room caught her full attention.
"Sorry, kid."
Kisame.
"My sword eats up chakra and completely devours it." Karibi forced herself to her feet, her legs trembling as she flinched; her chakra was depleted.
"We don't need the hassle of this kid whipping out any more jutsu." Amethyst eyes began to gleam with raw hatred and fury, an animosity awakening inside of the kunoichi. "Forget his legs. Maybe it's smarter to start with those arms of his." And that was it; that was the straw the broke her back.
"NO!" Like a hurricane, Karibi came bursting through the wall with a pool of chakra she didn't realize she had. Naruto's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets as he watched the scene, his guardian suddenly tackling Kisame through the opposite wall and his blade following with him.
She had completely passed out. And initially Naruto hadn't thought anything of it. Sure, he had been bored while the woman slept, but he had tried to remain patient and focus on harnessing his chakra; it was something his guardian and sensei suggested he do regularly. As time passed, the genin found himself wearing thin and his mind wandering. Soon enough, he was hopping over the Shadow Clones he had created and making his way over towards the redhead.
He had called her name once. And when she didn't respond, he called out to her again—this time, giving her arm a shake. His hand pressed against her skin made his eyes widen, she felt ice cold; it was then that he realized just how pale she was. With an unexpected amount of apprehension, the blond began to shake the woman with both of his hands, jerking her back and forth in hopes of reaching out to her; still, she remained dead to the world.
Not long after that, Itachi and Kisame appeared.
And then, Sasuke.
The jonin huffed as she stood with her shoulders slumped and her arms hanging limply at her side. Her heavy breaths bounced off the walls of the hallway, Kisame strewn about the empty room he had been tackled into. There was a dull ache in his body from the unpredictable attack the woman had sent his way; this woman was beginning to get on his last nerve.
"Bitch," he spat out from the floor, Karibi glaring at Kisame while she fought to catch her breath. The burning of her thighs went ignored, the woman keeping Itachi in her peripheral vision. It was only when she saw Sasuke lying in a ball of pain on the ground that she turned to face him.
"Sasuke?" Her eyes were wide with confusion and concern, the boy holding his broken arm and quivering from the agony. Immediately, her eyes drifted up towards the older Uchiha. "What the hell have you done?!"
"...You shouldn't have been able to break free from that." Naruto blinked, surprised by Itachi's words. "After all, the drug I gave you was created based off of your reaction and your abilities." That made Karibi's skin crawl.
She did her best to fend off her memories of Orochimaru.
"...This means you have only become stronger." Karibi didn't reply, eyeing the Uchiha around his lips and avoiding his gaze. "Fighting you would be a lost cause...however, in your current state, the outcome of this battle may be different than what I had first envisioned." The 22-year-old snarled at Itachi, who watched her every move closely; she was sloppy and slower than the first time they had fought.
She was struggling.
"...You'll have to kill me before you touch either of these boys again." Naruto was utterly awestruck, Sasuke cringing from the jolts of sharp pain rocketing up his arm. "And if you think just because I'm a little weaker right now that it'll be an easy battle, you're going to be proven wrong." The rogue Leaf shinobi nodded.
"Underestimating you is not in my nature."
"Itachi!" The opposing ninja looked to the hole in the wall Karibi had created, Kisame finally climbing out of it with a trail of blood dribbling down his chin. There was a feral smirk across his lips as his gaze trailed every move that Karibi made. "Leave her to me! This one is mine!"
"Ribi-chan—"
"Naruto, listen to me very carefully." Her voice was low—low enough that only Naruto could hear her instructions. "The second I engage with Kisame and Itachi, I want you to grab Sasuke and run. Don't look back, don't hesitate, don't ask questions. Just pick him up and get the hell out of here." The genin's blue eyes began to fill with apprehension and fear, astonishment gleaming brightly in them, as well.
"But—"
"Don't even bother looking for Jiraiya. By the time he realizes something's gone wrong, he'll realize you're already headed back to the village."
"Ri—Ribi-chan, I can't leave yo—"
"Do what I say!" the woman kept her back towards Naruto, but her words were sharp like a kunai. "...Naruto, you may not understand, but when you lose as many people as I have, it doesn't matter what the cost is." Karibi smiled softly, Naruto's jaw hanging ajar.
"...I vowed to keep you safe. I promised your parents that I would protect and love you." The woman took a deep breath, forcing her tired arms to do as she wanted them to; a kunai was held in each of her hands. "And I vowed to myself that I would never lose anyone dear to me again. So please. For me. Do what I'm telling you."
He couldn't just leave Karibi to fight the two alone. He knew they were strong. And he knew Karibi was strong. But she was haggard. He could easily see that she was not at her full potential of power, and that meant she would lose against the pair; fighting them would buy him and Sasuke enough time to escape, but it would surely kill her.
"...Ribi—" Before another word could be said, a sudden cloud of smoke erupted from between Karibi and the Akatsuki members. Everyone watched, a tall shadow standing between the fighters while another lumpier and shorter shadow accompanied the man.
"You two should have done your homework." Karibi blinked, Naruto gapping; Jiraiya emerged from the smoke with an unconscious woman over his shoulder. "Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, falls victim to no one."
Happy belated New Year!
Hopefully those who are here and reading this enjoyed themselves as 2020 came about! I had planned to try and update a little sooner than this, but with the holiday festivities and then other things piling up and happening, I didn't have a chance to get anything posted until now.
So, here we are! As i think about this time during "Naruto" I feel like this was sort of the the tip of the iceberg for the things that come after that. The next several chapters are going to be a lot of Naruto/Karibi moments and events that take place with some Jiraiya as well, so I felt like adding that minor fluff with Kakashi would be good. I'll admit, we won't be seeing much of him for a bit :( I also had fun throwing Kushina into this chapter! Now that things have come to this point, a lot of important things for Karibi are about to unravel...it's going to be some great fun LOL Hopefully whoever is reading will enjoy what is to come!
I appreciate the support, all! As inconsistent as I am with posts, I appreciate the patience you all give :3 I'm planning to definitely update soon, although not sure when soon will be...but soon! Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this!
Reviews:
bored411: We are getting into the thick of all of this now! And, honestly, I'm looking forward to getting to Tsunade XD It's going to be super interesting with having Karibi around too! I'm hoping you'll enjoy what I have planned and what ends up getting posted in the future! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!
WindyCitySlayer1: Not sure if that was how you expected things to go, but here we get to with Itachi and Kisame and Karibi! It's going to escalate here with all sorts of things, so get ready! Now that the holidays have passed, things are starting to settle, so I'm hoping that will call for more time to get more chapters up! But I appreciate you sticking through and waiting as I post! Thanks for leaving a review! I really appreciate it!
AeAe: Hi there! I have done that so many times, myself. When I find a good story and am engrossed with it, I end up getting so upset when I have to wait for the next chapter. Or even with a TV series! I take it as a true compliment when you say that, so thank you so very much! I've said this before, but I've genuinely put a lot of time into Karibi, as I think sometimes OC stories can be tedious to write. So it's really relieving to know that you've been able to connect with her and follow her through reading this! I will continue to work hard on her, as a character, and this story in general. So, thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that you will continue to read and enjoy what's to come!
FuckingBastard: Hello! First, love that guest name LOL Second, thank you for taking the time to read this and to review! I know it's not consistent, but I will continue and you will definitely get more chapters! So just hang in there with me! I can be difficult as far as a writer posting on here goes...LOL Thanks again for reading!