Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Author Note: I would like to thank everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows as well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter.
"So that is what you did when Xanxus tried to do his coup d'état."
Naruto stared at the ice covering Xanxus' body before darting her eyes to Tsuna. The brown-haired boy clutched his bleeding arms, chest heaving and breaths coming in little pants as his orange eyes took in the frozen form of the black-haired man. Ino and the other members of Team Ten gawked and frowned while Timoteo bobbed his head at her.
Well even if he did get out, Haku and Lancia took care of his extra subordinates. The whiskered teen exhaled and poked her tongue against her cheeks as her eyes flickered to the bandaged Squalo. It still surprised her how the man was still alive despite being nearly bitten by a shark, but then again he wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for Dino and his desire to help Tsuna.
"Who told you about what happened?" Squalo swirled his head at her and the whiskered teen raised a single eyebrow at him. Did it really matter of how she knew about what happened? With what Ino had told her about Xanxus, it was rather quite easy for her to piece together of what exactly happened to the man.
This must be humiliating for him. Naruto allowed a little smile to grace her lips as her eyes took in the rage-filled eyes of Xanxus. His body might be frozen but his eyes could still show that he was very much aware of what was happening. This was definitely a nice sight for her to see, not better than what she imagined but well it was the second best thing if you asked her.
"I have my ways of knowing things," Naruto replied with a thin smile as Squalo scowled at her. She darted her eyes to Tsuna and pressed her lips into a thin line before glancing at the pink-haired women standing on the side. He is going to crash soon. Using that much Dying Will Flames must have caused a lot of strain to his body, which was bad because if he didn't connect those rings soon then they were stuck in this cage for a long time.
She darted her eyes to Timoteo, who had his eyes locked on the trembling body of Tsuna, and then to Iemitsu. Her distant relative stared at the brown-haired boy without any emotion but blood leaked out of the palm of his hand. He is really good in keeping his emotion in check. It must not be easy for him to witness those kind of injuries on his son.
"Naruto and her subordinates were able to figure out Xanxus and my little secret without going to Italy," Timoteo informed Squalo. The silver-haired man twisted his whole body around, eyes widening at this piece of information. The whiskered teen only offered a small yawn as her eyes darted to the screen that showed Yamamoto and Gokudera carrying Chrome away.
Everyone is safe now. She relaxed her shoulders and stared at the screen which revealed Hibari sitting down on the ground, arms and cheeks cut up because of Belphegor's attack. It had been too much for her to hope that all those times they fought, he would have been able to learn how to dodge but her partner hadn't been around to see what Belphegor could do.
Squalo darted his eyes at her. "And how did you figure out the little secret? What made you think that there was something wrong?"
"Besides the fact that no sane leader would change their mind after one year?" Naruto asked, raising a single eyebrow at Squalo. The silver-haired man scowled while Ken and Chiksa snickered at her words. The blonde threw a glare at the two males before looking back at the quiet man and then to Dino, who knitted his eyebrow together. "Why didn't he pick his son in the first place? Sawada over there believes bullshit, I don't believe it."
Iemitsu narrowed his eyes at her and the whiskered teen only rolled her eyes. Did he want her to pretend his son was the brightest bulb in the toolshed? Because that would be lying and she didn't do lying. Omitting the truth or excluding certain pieces of information was one thing but lying to them…well that was just a sin she couldn't commit.
"And so that was when you began to investigate," Squalo stated. Naruto bobbed her head and slid her hands into her pockets as her blue eyes took in the sweaty and bruised form of Tsuna. I probably wouldn't have cared if you haven't brought Kyoya into this. It became personal after that and then there was now the added fact that Xanxus was now going to be working with her and Tsuna.
She would probably need to figure out a way to make use of him and maybe have him tell her the history of those rings. If I can find a way to modify those rings then maybe I can work around the deal and if the worse comes to worse then I will need to figure out a way to draw up a contract that will probably kill them, if they take back their word. She hummed and darted her eyes at Tsuna's wobbly legs.
"Since Xanxus is now frozen, can I go out now?" Naruto let out a small yawn and inspected her trembling distant relative. "If we let Sawada do the rings then we are going to wait till tomorrow since he is going to pass out from exhaustion."
The Cervello women exchanged glances, looked at Tsuna and then back at her. "I'm afraid that we can't let—"
A kunai swirled past them, grazing their cheeks and the two women looked at her with narrowed eyes. I might have posed it as a question but that was a demand. She had a partner to talk to and a contract to rewrite as well as trying to make negotiation with an old man, who potentially wanted to cage her future child.
"Uzumaki will act as a proxy for Sawada Tsunayoshi," Timoteo informed the pink-haired women as they rubbed their cheeks. Their eyes widened and they opened their mouths to argue but one quick glare from the elderly man, made them shut their mouth. If I could act as a proxy this whole time then why didn't you let me fight Xanxus when Sawada got exhausted? It would have saved her the trouble. "Just like how there are two mist guardians, I will allow Uzumaki to be a substitute."
Squalo narrowed his eyes. "For her to be a substitute would mean she will have to be a relative to one of the Bosses and since most of them don't have bastard children and I doubt that she—"
"My father was a descendent of the Primo and looked similar to Sawada Tsunayoshi," Naruto retorted. The members of Team Ten alongside Dino and Squalo jerked their heads at this piece of information. Reborn only snorted and curled his lips into a smirk, looking pleased at the knowledge that she could get them out of this place sooner than later. "If you don't want to believe it then I'm more than happy to do a DNA test."
The silver-haired man pressed his lips into a thin line and then scowled while the Cervello women exchanged glances with each other. The whiskered teen stared at Tsuna, who dropped down to his knees and twisted his head at her. If you knew the whole time then why don't you take the blasted job? You will be better than me. That was what those brown eyes told her and the whiskered teen shrugged.
She would be better than him but she would never have the freedom that she so dearly desired.
"Due to the fact that the Ninth accepted your request, you may go out," The Cervello women said in unison. They offered a little scowl at her and one of them rubbed their cheeks as the laser, blocking them from the area, switched off. "But the rest will stay in there while you help Sawada Tsunayoshi finish the battle."
The whiskered teen only bobbed her head and walked through the tiny opening made by the Cervello women as the others exchanged glances. Tsuna stole one last glance at her and mouthed the words: thank you before collapsing down on the ground. Reborn needs to work on his stamina and have him get used to it. She should also have him paying her for being generous enough to reveal this piece of information to get what she wanted.
A sharp whizzing sound seemed to be piercing through the air and Naruto tilted her head to the side as a knife stabbed the wall right in front of her. She narrowed her eyes at the faint string that seemed to be attached on to the string. Oh? These people are so fucking loyal to their asshole of a leader. Honestly these people made no sense.
Why be loyal to a man who showed he wouldn't hesitate to wound them or even kill them for the smallest mistake?
"Shishishi, you dodged."
"Only because I know about your little trick and well you throw like a baby," Naruto drawled, picking up the fallen ring half from the ground and prying the other ring from Tsuna's hand. She shifted her body to the right as another knife flew towards her. Mammon did good in his word about not revealing the fact I'm a capable killer. Belphegor probably would have tried another way to kill her if he knew the truth about her.
A wave of killer intent washed over her and Naruto ducked as a fist flew towards her. I wounded his pride. She exhaled and crouched down before swinging her leg at the blond-haired boy. Yells and gasps pierced through the air as Belphegor flew straight towards the building ahead of her. He smashed into the wall and slabs of concrete began to crack before crashing down on him.
He was probably going to be knocked out for a day or two.
"I warned you that you shouldn't attack her. She is different from the guardians and the heir that the Ninth had originally picked." Naruto twisted her head around and stared at Mammon. The toddler gazed at the groaning Belphegor with blank eyes but the whiskered teen could see the little corners of Mammon's lips twitching into a smile.
He finds some amusement in seeing his fellow guardian being thrown to the wall like it was nothing.
"Voi Mammon, what the hell are you doing? You should be attacking her for the Boss!" Squalo yelled. His scream pierced through the air and the whiskered teen dropped the two halves on the ground as she slammed her hands against her ears. Bastard! Doesn't he know that there are certain people sensitive to noise? God, did she want to bring out her kunai and cut his tongue out but if they were going to work together in the future, then he needed that stupid tongue.
Mammon flickered his eyes at Squalo. "While I have loyalty to Xanxus, I have a greater loyalty to money."
"If you turned on me then I would never get you the money that you clearly desire," Naruto curled her lips into a thin smile as Squalo gawked at the Mist Acrobaleno. If anything I would have found a way to take that money for myself if he did anything to hinder Tsuna's chances of winning this match. She curled her lips into a smile and picked up the fallen halves of the ring. "I don't take betrayal well."
Squalo narrowed his eyes at them and the whiskered teen could only guess what was on his mind. How much money did you offer him to make him betray us? If only the swordsmen knew the pact made between her and Mammon but she didn't want Team Ten to know of her plans. They still had that stupid, naïve belief that their village could do no wrong.
"You betrayed us for money," Squalo growled. "I knew you were a greedy baby but this is too much even for you!"
Ah, he hasn't told them that he is a grown man stuck inside of a baby's body? Now that was interesting for her to know but well there was no point of her pointing this fact out to them. If the man wanted them to know then he would have told them by now. Beside, the only reason she connected the dots was because of what happened to his clan.
"Being loyal doesn't mean I have to be an idiot," Mammon retorted as Naruto slid the two halves of the ring together. A clear click sound echoed in the air and Squalo growled at them. "Uzumaki over here and her current subordinates are different from those guardians that Reborn picked. The chances of Xanxus defeating her is low and if he pisses off an Uzumaki…well, death is certain an end result."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "The other members of the Uzumaki clan are temperamental too?"
"Jiraiya never told you of what Tsunade would do to him whenever he acted like a pervert?" Mammon asked. The whiskered teen paused and then nodded. Yes, her godfather did inform her of the more extreme actions that the Fifth Hokage had done to him for his terrible habit, although he should have been grateful that the woman never sliced his balls off. "I learnt from that point of time that one should never disrespect a woman."
Squalo blinked. "Voi, so all those times you warned—"
"You have to pay me five times the S-rank mission price for me to answer that question," Mammon drawled as the Cervello Women glanced at the two of them. The silver-haired man scowled while the toddler glanced at her. "Now Uzumaki since you technically acted as Sawada proxy, would you please use the remaining of the rings to unfreeze him? This is the least you can do for our partnership in the future."
Naruto glanced at Timoteo and the old man bobbed his head at her.
I guess he wants to have a talk with Xanxus anyway.
It didn't matter to her anyway because the battle was over and Tsuna was the clear winner of the whole thing…even if he had her help.
"Little Fox, start talking."
Naruto stared at the curious, grey eyes of her partner and then looked at the window. Everything looked normal but that was the result of the illusion put in place by the Vongola and Varia mists. It had gotten ugly when Xanxus was released from that ice prison but she hadn't stuck around to see his temper tantrum. She had immediately came here in the hopes of getting the courage that she used to pride herself for.
I'm a hypocrite. She exhaled and smoothed her shirt as grey eyes continued to stare at her with curious eyes. It was fear that was allowing her to let Timoteo play her because of her desire to make money and a name for herself. Just like how Tsuna did not want to be the Tenth and kept whining about it, she was doing the same.
She disliked how the fear for her unknown child was causing her to stop being rational.
"I want to talk about our future," Naruto finally said. Kyoya barely blinked but the tilt of his head told her that her partner was deeply curious to know about what she wanted to talk. If I can't be rational because of my stupid emotions then he can be the rational one for me. He had never been the emotional one in their relationship so he could help her think of a good plan. "Specifically children."
"Cubs?" Naruto flushed a light shade of red and bobbed her head as Kyoya took a seat right beside her. His grey eyes searched her and the whiskered teen knew what was the question that was going through his mind. She took a deep breath and then blinked when Kyoya continued on. "Why?"
Why are we talking about something that is in the distant future now? What brought this on? That seemed to be what her partner was asking her with his single question and eyes. Her throat dried up like she ran a full-on marathon and the whiskered teen gulped. What could she tell him? What if this drove him away? And what if he thought she was being a herbivore because she allowed an old man to terrify her with the idea of caging her child?
She could think of plans when it came to dealing with the Varia and how to make Konoha burn in hell, but the moment her hypothetical child came to play…she becomes that same stupid girl from Konoha. The same, stupid girl who believed in the words of adults and believed that the Third Hokage loved her. She despised this aspect of herself.
"The Ninth came to me with proposition about the inheritance," Naruto explained. Kyoya nodded and continued to regard her with narrowed eyes while the whiskered teen undid her hair from her tight braid. Relief flooded her head and the whiskered teen relaxed her shoulders. "I informed him that I didn't want to take over if Sawada dies and well his offer was that I take over until I had a child. When that child grows up or when I deemed them ready…they will take over."
She tried to keep the resentment and fury from leaking out of her tone but it was a struggle. Every time she would recall that photo on their future living room and a part of her would die just a little, thinking of the freedom that might be taken away from him. She would also think of future Kyoya and how they wanted to have some moments alone because of their child, but that was a different story.
Her partner must have realized her feelings because he eyed her for the longest time before saying:
"Little Fox, bite the herbivore to death."
"Told you that it was a good choice but no you just have to decide out of nowhere to grow a heart," The Kyuubi retorted. Naruto exhaled and raised her shoulders before licking her dried lips. A heart? Did he think she was growing a heart? That was an insult to her but killing them when she needed that funding was wrong. Then again Tsuna would take over and I will have that funding. But it would mean dealing with him before he was ready for the dark side of the job.
She exhaled and licked her dried lips. "I need the funding."
"Bite them after you get the funding," Kyoya retorted. Naruto blinked and blinked before smacking her forehead against the palm of her hand as grey eyes glinted with amusement. Why the hell didn't she think of that? All she needed was the money. The moment she killed them, she could make it invalid and have another negotiation with Tsuna. He has a heart and he won't be selfish. As long as she gave him a sob story then he would do it.
She could kill the Ninth and Iemitsu once she received all the money that she needed to kick start her business. I could tell him in the event that he died, I will need to negotiate with Sawada because he might want his own child to inherit it. Anyone who knew Sawada would know he would be happy about what the Ninth had done, but she could manipulate him with the contract.
She would nurture that inherent kindness in Tsuna and get that freedom for her child.
"I can't believe it took me this long to think of that," Naruto grumbled. Kyoya snorted and the whiskered teen yelped when the older boy grabbed her waist and dropped her in his lap. Grey eyes stared at her for the longest time as if he was musing over whether or not to ask his next question. There seemed to be a lot of questions running through his mind but she couldn't exactly tell what was on his mind.
Did he want to know why she took so long to think of a plan? Or did he want to know why she wanted to talk about children with him? Maybe he didn't want children or maybe he did want them…but not with her. She didn't know but whatever he wanted to ask her then she would be willing to be honest with him.
"Little Fox, why did you think I will be the father of your cub?" Kyoya asked, pressing a kiss on her nape. Naruto shivered and bit back a whimper as grey eyes stared at her with molten curiosity and desire. She leaned back and shuddered when cold hands slipped underneath her black shirt. "Does the Little Fox want my cub in the future?"
Naruto gulped and closed her eyes as those hands continued to touch and caress her body. She should be honest with him and she had every intention of being honest but her mind was becoming blank again. It always did get blank from the cloud of pleasure brought by him. One touch from him could make it difficult for her to concentrate.
"I saw a future where we had a little cub," she admitted. A little groan escaped her lips when Kyoya began to kiss up her neck and up till her jawline again. She rubbed herself against him as a little bit of wetness began to creep up again. She twisted her whole body around until her blue eyes met his and their chests were now gazing each other. "And I liked that possible future I saw. Your future self and me seem to be trying to find ways of being alone because of that little cub."
Kyoya tilted her head up and leaned close to her. "Possible?"
The aromatic scent filled her nostrils as Kyoya placed his hands on top of her chest. Groans and mewls escaped from her lips as he groped her chest. Is he doing this to make me spill everything? Or because he likes the idea? She didn't know. What she did know was that she was practically drunk from his touch.
"Well I thought it would be our future until Future Lambo," Naruto groaned as Kyoya bit her neck and she rocked herself back and forth on his crotch. Her eyes darted to his shirt that only contained patches of dried blood and had cuts to reveal his healed-up torso. She was definitely going to pay Haku triple for healing her partner so well. "Told me that it was only a possible future and that the future I saw might not happen to us."
Kyoya removed his hands from her breast and the whiskered teen whimpered from the loss of his touch. She pouted and brought his hands back, only for him to smirk and snatched his hand away from her. Oh? If he wants to play this game then I will play his game. She leaned her body forward and pressed kisses on his neck, licking and biting it but only for Kyoya to push her away slightly.
"Little Fox, explain." Naruto blinked and her partner brought her closer to him. His grey eyes fixated on her and the whiskered teen blinked as her partner pressed his lips against her. His tongue slipped in and began toying with her own, bringing her whimper and groans alongside a growing heat between her legs. He pulled away from her and the whiskered teen stared up at him with dazed eyes. " Did the Little Fox actually see the future?"
Naruto stared at him for the longest time as she waited for the haze of pleasure to disappear from her mind. She should tell him the truth but she also wanted more of what he could give her. She was tired of holding back because she was uncertain about their relationship. She was exhausted with being cautious about their relationship.
"Will you kiss me and squeezed my breasts if I explain to you?" She whispered in his ear as her hand went down to the bulge that rested nicely between them. Kyoya groaned and the whiskered teen allowed her other hand to fondle herself. "Because I'm getting really turned on from the way you touched me. I wanted to have your finger inside of my cunt when you squeezed my breast earlier."
Kyoya moaned and the whiskered teen grinded and grounded herself against him. Grey eyes grew molten with desire and the whiskered teen knew if she wasn't careful with her words then her first time was probably going to be in his office. The coil inside of her tightened and Naruto found herself letting out a needy moan when Kyoya brought her in for another kiss.
That was all the answer that she needed.
"Lambo switched me with my future self last year," Naruto whimpered as Kyoya removed her shirt and began pressing kisses on her shoulder blade as his hand began to unclasped her bra. Mewls and whimpers exploded from her mouth as he began to flick and tease her nipples. "I met your older self and he kissed me before telling me that he was planning to bite my future self to death because I guess me…or she decided to test your limit since their cub wasn't there."
Kyoya stared at her for the longest time before smashing his lips against her. His hands squeezed and fondled her breast as his tongue played and massaged her. The haze returned and she groaned at the pleasure erupting from her. God, did she love it when he sucked her tongue. The wetness inside of her grew and there was a growing arousal inside of her.
There was a little trail of saliva connecting them as Kyoya removed his lips from her. Was he going to stop now? Because he stopped squeezing her chest and kissing her. Sparks of pleasure erupted when the older boy cupped one breast and began to kiss and suckle it. Her whole body began to heat up as he sucked and flicked his tongue against her nipple.
"Suck harder," she moaned as her hand cradled him. Kyoya smirked and sucked with an intensity that made her want to squirm even more. She began to writhe and squirm even more when his other hand massaged her other breast. She could feel her lower lips weeping from the intensity as he chewed on her nipple.
He detached from her nipple and the whiskered teen stared at the hungry eyes of her partner. Without a second thought, she unbuttoned his shirt and began to kiss him. More groans and moans came out between them as she chased after the sweet release that he could offer her. She wanted to be full and explore even more.
"Little Fox, do you like it when I suck your nipples?" Kyoya whispered into her ear before pulling her in for another kiss. She groaned and felt herself growing on fire as he pushed down onto the couch. He began a chain of kisses from her neck down to the underside of her breasts. He teased and sucked both of her nipples before going down to her stomach. He stopped at her pants and Naruto allowed her hand to touch herself.
His eyes darkened and Naruto felt her lips twitched when he unbuttoned her pants and pulled it away from her legs. She lifted her legs up slightly and giggled when the pants flew to the side of the room. She looked at her shirtless partner and leaned forward before pushing him down. "If I have no pants then it is only fair you go without one too."
With those words, she removed his pants and began to kiss him. His hand cradled and fondled one of her breast while another one touched her ass before snaking down to her lower lips. He was stretching her and it felt good but at the same time not enough. She bucked herself against his finger. Her moan escaped and it might have been loud but she didn't care.
"Little Fox, you are dripping," he breathed as he removed his finger from her lower lips. Naruto only whimpered and watched with darkened eyes as Kyoya sucked her essence from his finger. We should be careful but I know a jutsu and we have been together for a long time. She exhaled and placed her hand on either sides of her blue panties before tossing them away.
She felt her cheeks burned as she spread her legs slightly. "I have been wet since you kissed me."
Pleasure flooded her when the older boy dived in and began to kiss and suck on her lower lips. She shuddered as the coil inside of her tightened and her hand began to fondle and tease her breast. She wrapped her legs around him and pushed herself closer to him, trying to get that sweet release that she desperately needed.
Her eyes fixated on the prominent bulge and the whiskered teen leaned her body forward, body shuddering and groans erupting before pushing down his boxers. His dick spurn up as Kyoya licked and sucked on her cunt like it was his favorite meal and Naruto licked his tip. Pleasure erupted from inside of her as she kissed, stroked and licked his dick.
That spring inside of her snapped and her whole body began to shake as Kyoya continued to stimulate her. She didn't know how loud she was but judging from the way that Kyoya paused…it must have been loud. She wrapped her hands around his rod and stared down at the starving eyes of her partner.
She pushed herself away from him and began to crawl closer to his heated rod. Grey eyes widened slightly and he raised a single eyebrow at her. Are you sure you want to have our first time here? She only inhaled and placed her hands through a couple of hand seals before bobbing her head before allowing the hunger to leak out of her eyes. Kyoya groaned and reached out a hand down on the ground, picking up his pants and pulling out a condom from his pocket. He handed the condom to her.
"I want more," Naruto admitted as she tore opened the packet and placed the condom on his rod. She wrapped her hand around his girth and began pumping it. Kyoya groaned and the whiskered teen stared at the white substance leaking out of him. "I want your cock inside of me. I want to feel full and do what I should have done this morning. I want you to have your way with me."
"Little Fox, I am going to bring you back home after this," he moaned as she spread herself on his tip while the other hand was now wrapped up under his slick tip. She could see that she was leaking onto him and from the moan and groans coming out of her partner, she knew that he liked the sensation.
He lowered her and Naruto moaned as his tip pressed against her. She lost her grip as he continued to push his tip inside of her. This feels like a punishment. Kyoya was being slow for once and she knew it was because it would hurt for her, but the slow spread of her walls was making her go insane.
She wanted to close that gap between them and feel that pleasure that only he brought to her. If he is being thoughtful for once then I will change it. She dropped herself further down and felt a slight pain erupting before changing into pleasure. Wet sound grew and the whiskered teen felt a wave of pleasure washing over her.
"You feel so good inside of me," Naruto groaned as she clenched around him. She couldn't believe it and another moan erupted when Kyoya pulled out before slamming back inside of her. His eyes stared at her for the longest time before pulling her in for another heated kiss as his hands kneaded her buttocks.
"Little Fox, you are so tight," he grunted. "You have such a perfect little pussy that I like it so much."
Naruto moaned and felt herself growing even hotter between her legs at those words. She started to bounce and kissed him even harder as their groans and erupted between them. She was so close now and she wanted to snap. She could feel Kyoya twitching from inside of her as his heavy balls smacked her.
She wanted him to cum inside of her and the whiskered teen pulled her lips away from him. "I want to feel your cum inside of me."
"Touch yourself," Kyoya grunted in her ear. Naruto groaned and rubbed the nub as gasps of pleasure came out of her mouth as he continued to bring rivers of pleasure down on her. She felt the coil tightening and she screamed as her walls tightened around him. Kyoya smirked and chuckled as her breaths came out in short pants.
"I feel so full and I feel so tight," she whined. Kyoya moaned and sucked on her nipples as she rubbed the nub even harder. Her walls continued to spasm as he slammed in and out of her. The couch was probably a mess but Kyoya seemed to be getting even more excited as he disconnected from her nipples and pulled her in for another kiss.
In that moment, she came and she came hard as her legs spasmed from the pleasure. She felt him swell and pulse inside of her as something warm and sticky filled her. As long as I remember the jutsu then I'm fine. Kyoya shuddered before riding out his own climax. A smile played on her lips and it was not long before she kissed him.
"Do you want to go for round two?"
Kyoya eyed her and then chuckled.
"Little Fox, we have the whole night."
Naruto smiled.
Author Note: So that happened and while this chapter showed that Tsuna won, we also see Kyoya reminding Naruto of a perfectly reasonable option for her dealing with Timoteo. So the next chapter, you will see Tsuna asking Iemitsu and Timoteo about everything and Xanxus and Mammon interacting after what happened in this chapter and there will be another certain Acrobaleno making an appearance. This was also probably the first lemon that I have ever written so do tell me of your thoughts on this chapter.
