Author's Note: Take a look at this post on my Tumblr ( post/649747369275097088/sideshow-readers-pick-1 ) (if you can't access the link, visit my Tumblr JJGrace42 to find the post) to look at the options/vote for what Sideshow I write next! You can leave you response directly on the post or as a comment on this chapter.

Fun Fact: I think the Nami Arc in canon doesn't do justice to Kakashi or Zabuza's strength, and that Zabuza's strength in canon was overall just not up to the standard it should have been for one of the Seven Swordsmen or just generally someone with his background. That's reflected in this chapter. (Also, what the heck is going on with his background because databooks and stuff says he's like Kakashi's age but things Kakashi says about him in the episode where he's introduced indicates that he's actually more like 19 there and honestly, Kishimoto, what the heck. Anyway, all of that to say that, in this world, Zabuza is roughly 19 at the time of the original Nami mission, and is therefore ~17 here.)

Chapter Thirty-Three - Asunder

[asunder—adverb, adjective 1: into separate parts; in or into pieces. 2: apart or widely separated]

"Where were you?"

I glanced over as I closed the door, barely able to see the figure perched on the edge of the couch in the dark room. "Sai? It's late. What are you still doing awake?"

"I didn't know where you were."

I moved to stand in front of him. Glancing down the hall, I asked, "Naruto and Sasuke?"

"They went to bed already."

"Okay." I cupped his chin, frowning. "You have a mission in the morning. You should be getting some rest."

"I tried."

I brushed his hair out of his face so I could get a proper look at him, squinting through the dark. Kurama rumbled something and pushed his chakra against mine. I dragged it up to my eyes, finally able to roughly focus in on Sai. He was pale. Paler than usual. "Are you nervous?" I murmured.

"I can't sleep."

"Okay." I ruffled his hair and pulled away. "I'm going to take a shower and get ready for bed, then I'll be back, okay?"

He frowned and gave me a nod.

I took a quick shower and got dressed for the night, keeping my focus on the way Sai's chakra was curled in on itself. When I finally returned to the living room, Sai straightened, and his chakra loosened. I stopped in front of him again. I offered him my hand, palm up. "Do you want to stay with me? Or do you want me to stay out here with you tonight?"

He stared at my hand for a long moment and then dropped his hand into mine. "Genma-sensei told me to rest up."

"With me it is, then." I pulled him to his feet and to my room. "Is it just nerves?" I pushed him ahead of me and turned off the light.

Sai didn't answer for a long time. By the time I'd settled down under the covers and pulled him to my side, he still hadn't said anything. I started running my fingers through his hair. "Hey," I murmured. "Don't force yourself. I won't make you talk if you don't want to. Do you want me to talk instead?"

I couldn't see him, but I could feel him nod.

"Okay. It's a C-rank, so it's not anything crazy or super difficult. And Genma will be there for you. You're going to do a great job."

"What if I don't?"

I paused. Sai froze in response. I resumed carding through his hair and brought my free hand around to hold one of his. "Then that's fine too. Everyone makes mistakes. The most important thing is that you come home safe."

Sai twisted his hand in mine for a moment before gripping back with a light, brittle hold. "Wouldn't Genma-sensei be disappointed in me?"

"Of course not. Especially for your first C-rank. Genma-nii isn't going to be disappointed in you." When Sai was still tense, when he didn't relax, I murmured, "I wouldn't be disappointed in you either."

"Are you going to fall in?"

I kicked my feet out over the cliff's edge and scooted forward so that I could consider the river running below us. "I don't plan on it."

"Good. Because if you did, I'd have to rescue you, and I don't particularly want to do that."

I looked to the side to find Sophie scowling up at the dark sky. "You'd do that? You'd save me?"

Sophie's lip curled as she scowled. "I don't want to. But I promised I'd be nice." She spat the last word out like it hurt to say. "Apparently I'm supposed to at least try to behave."

"I'd like that. I don't think you've ever been nice to me."

She scoffed and started picking at the grass. "I'm plenty nice." She found a pebble and snapped it down at the water, watching it disappear into the violent waves. "At least, when I have reason to be. And you just make me angry."

"I make a lot of people angry. I'm very good at that." I straightened and frowned at her. "Are you . . . are you upset with me because . . . because I'm alive and you're not?"

Her face twisted. "Not," she echoed. "That's a fun way to say I'm dead."

I eyed her pale skin, her bloodshot eyes, her hunched shoulders. "You definitely look it."

"You should take a look at yourself sometime. You don't exactly look alive yourself."

I looked back down at the water. Since when was water red? "I don't exactly feel it either."

"Maybe you aren't."

I snapped my head up to stare at her. "What? What does that mean?"

Sophie leaned in, eyes hooded. "If you don't feel alive, then how do you know you are?"

I surged up, gasping for air and reaching for a ghost that wasn't there. My hands closed around nothing, and my chest burned. I was still staring at pale skin and dark eyes, but these eyes weren't angry, and this skin wasn't sick. I froze. Then I forced a deep, long breath and lowered my hands. "Sai," I croaked. "Did I wake you up?"

His eyes were wide. He gave a single shaky nod.

I fell back with a sigh, dragging a hand down my face as I rasped out an apology. Sai didn't say anything to that, and I stared up at the dark ceiling in favor of starting the conversation. I didn't know how long it was, but it was long enough for me to become used to the silence. Long enough that I jumped in surprise when Sai settled back against me.

He flinched, stilling. "Sorry," he whispered. He started to shift away.

I looped my arm around him. "You just surprised me. That's all."

"I can stay?"

"Of course."

"Could I play a game with you?"

Shikamaru paused halfway through cleaning up after our match. He blinked at Sakura for a moment. "Me?"

"You play with Sai, Shino, and Mirai all the time," she pointed out. "You even played with Neji the other day."

"I did."

Sakura frowned. "Do you . . . not want to play with me?"

Shikamaru shrugged and started setting the pieces back out. "We only have time for one game before lunch break is over."

She lit up and moved forward, pushing at me. "Move it."

I snorted and shuffled around the board to sit by Shikamaru. "You're so demanding," I drawled, leaning back on the ground and tucking my hands behind my head. "You decided not to play Ninja with the others?"

"We played, my team won, and I wanted to play shogi instead of doing Ninja again."

I glanced off to the side where I could see the others at the far end of the yard, running around in what seemed to be a very intense game. Naruto's chakra was brighter than all the others, bubbly and excited. I smiled and closed my eyes, listening to the click of the pieces as Shikamaru and Sakura started their game. It would be so easy to just fall asleep. So easy to—

"How long is Sai going to be gone?"

I blinked. Then I sat up with a groan, squinting at Sakura. "Um, a little over a week."

"Are you going to miss him?" she asked, not looking up from the board.

"Yeah. Of course." I stretched, wincing a little at the crick in my neck. I suppressed a yawn as I worked the knot out with my fingers. Then I stared at the board. "I'm gonna fall asleep," I mumbled. "If I fall asleep, then I'm not gonna want to wake up to finish class."

Shikamaru glanced at me. "Don't fall asleep, then. Find something to do."

I huffed at him and tugged his ponytail out. Shikamaru made an annoyed sound, but he didn't protest as I combed his hair back and started twisting the pieces around each other. When I finished, I tied the braid off proudly. "There you go!"

Sakura looked up and grinned. "You look good with a braid, Shikamaru."

"Yeah, whatever," he muttered, moving a golden general. "Tsumi."

Sakura frowned at the board, and I smothered a laugh when I felt her chakra rising in frustration. "We have time for one more," she insisted, setting her pieces back out.

Shikamaru started to protest, but before I could pay any attention to what he was saying, Naruto's chakra burned and then curled in on itself. I was across the yard in a half-second, sliding out of my shunshin next to Naruto just in time to see a twelve-year-old get laid out flat with Ami standing over him in a blaze of fury. Naruto's chakra surged upwards again, thrilled, and I desperately tried to make sense of the scene in front of me.

"Ami-chan!" Naruto squealed, throwing himself forward and wrapping his arms around her. "You do care!"

Ami tensed but didn't push him away. "You're the worst."

Somehow, that statement just made Naruto grin up at her.

The older Academy student stumbled up from the ground, rubbing at his nose. The crooked discoloration starting there told me that not only would it be a nasty bruise but it was also probably broken. "What's you're problem?" he spat out, hand over his face.

Ami just curled her lip, tilting up her chin. "The only one allowed to be mean to Naruto is me. Got it?" she asked, as if the question wasn't following the most confusing statement I'd heard all day.

I looked around to see if anyone else could help me understand what was going on. The rest of the Study Group was starting to gather around, emerging from their hiding spots or hunts for the game. But no one offered up anything helpful.

The older student just glowered. "You're both asking for it, then," he said, dropping his hand from his face to curl it into a fist as he stepped forward.

I stepped between him and his targets, my back to Ami and Naruto. "One more step and you'll wish you'd never had feet in the first place."

He scowled, but then his stare flicked across my face and settled on the right side. He faltered, but the aggression didn't leave his eyes. "Who are you?"

I couldn't stop the growl rumbling in my throat. "If you have to ask that, then you're not very bright."

"Okay, what's going on here?"

I glanced to the side, making sure to keep the older student in eyesight, and saw Iruka approaching from the base of the stairs. I straightened. "Iruka-sensei."

He came to a stop, looking the boy over and then frowning at me. "Mirai-chan, you can't go around laying your hands on the other students."

I faltered. "Iruka-sensei—"

"It was me."

I whipped around to stare at Ami. She was actually confessing to hitting another student? I looked back at the boy only to find him slinking off. I scowled and snatched at his collar, planting my feet firmly with chakra so I wouldn't budge. He gave a squeak of surprise. "Going somewhere?" I asked. "Iruka-sensei is talking to us."

Iruka sighed heavily. "Let me take care of this, Mirai-chan. Ami, Naruto, Shota, inside. Wait in the front." He pointed at the door and watched as the three, after exchanging glances, moved off. Iruka looked at me. "Hokage-sama asked me to tell you to go to the council chambers right away."

I straightened. "The— Oh. Uh, I don't know when I'll be done, then. Or if class—"

"Don't worry about it. We're doing taijutsu and hand sign drills for most of the rest of the day. I know you don't need the practice there." He nodded to the building. "You shouldn't keep the Hokage waiting."

"Right. Thank you."

When I made it, Shibi was the only other person there. I took my seat, sitting up straight and drumming on the tabletop. "Any idea what this is about?"

"No. Given it wasn't scheduled, we can assume it's not a continuation of our last discussion."

I wrinkled my nose in distaste, garnering a subtle twitch of Shibi's lips in return. The last meeting had been over proposed changes and updates to the Academy curriculum. All minor suggestions that should have been dealt with easily, but Utatane had spoken over me at every opportunity, insisting that, as an Academy student myself, I was biased. "She doesn't like me."

Shibi didn't respond to that. I looked towards the door as chakra approached and offered up a wave to Inoichi when he entered.

"She's fond of stability. You have a tendency to stir things up."

I blinked, looking back towards Shibi. I tilted my head. "That's why she doesn't like me?"

"Part of it," he conceded. He nodded in greeting as more people arrived.

"Mirai-chan," Yosu said brightly, making a beeline for my chair instead of heading to his side of the table. He ruffled my hair with a grin. "I have— Oh, sorry." He shifted over so that Hiashi could take his seat. Hand still on my head, he asked, "I have a bit of an odd request."

"Odd request?"

"What would your Study Group think about doing a game or two of Ninja against my genin? It would be some good practice for both, and it'll be fun to see my cute little ones up against a group with such larger numbers. Would you be up for it?"

"I don't see why not. I'll just push what we're going over this weekend to the next. And we'll have to meet somewhere that has a good setup for Ninja."

"Training Ground 12 provides some good hide and seek space."

"Training Ground 12 it is, then. We'll head over right after the Academy Saturday."

He grinned.

"Good. You're all here."

Yosu snapped up straight and then hurried off for his seat without so much as a goodbye. I glanced at Hiruzen as he moved towards his chair, Jiraiya at his side. Then I looked around the table. My side of the room was full, but the two chairs to Yosu's left—Akimichi and Uchiha—and the two chairs to his right—Inuzuka and Hatake—were all empty. Not exactly a full house. We weren't going to be holding any kind of vote, then.

"Jiraiya, the pages, please," Hiruzen said, sitting down.

Jiraiya moved, walking around the table and setting down a stack of thick pages in front of each clan head. When he put a stack in front of me, I leaned forward to see what we would be talking about. Bingo book pages. And the top one started with the name Momochi Zabuza. I sat up straight and flicked to the next two pages. Hidzume Gozu and Hidzume Meizu. And all three sheets had the same note: Kirigakure nuke-nin.

"These will be updated when we know more. Jiraiya," —Hiruzen gestured to the Sannin that had returned to stand beside him— "will be leaving in the morning to gather more information directly. But this is what we do know: the Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, is dead."

Pain shot through my body, and Kurama roared. I flinched, my pages slipping from my fingers. I quickly straightened them, ignoring the curious glance I could see Hiashi giving me.

"Momochi Zabuza, accompanied by the Demon Brother and other associates, currently unconfirmed with the assumption of casualties, assassinated the Mizukage. The exact circumstances are, as of this moment, unclear."

As Hiruzen started detailing possible situations—Zabuza trying to take power, the group accepting funding from a third party, nationwide rebellion—I took the opportunity to hiss at Kurama. What the fuck was that!

The brat was a jinchuuriki.

I know that! But why— I caught my breath, glancing away from the Hokage so I could stare at Zabuza's picture. Isobu. So he's— I paused for just a second to listen to Hiruzen talking about the cancellation of the Kiri-hosted Chunin Exams, not wanting to get lost. I swallowed. I'm sorry.

Kurama didn't respond.

"I know I've only been around you for a few days, but you seem way quieter and less demanding than normal."

That shook me out of my daze, and I looked up at Jiraiya to find him offering me another stick of dango. "Oh, thank you," I murmured, taking it. "Just thinking. That's all." I cleared my throat. "How long will you be gone for Kiri?"

He shrugged. "You can't really know for sure with these things. But long enough that I'll have time to pick up some appeasement gifts for Naruto. You really think he'll be that upset to hear I'm leaving?"

"He'll be very upset," I confirmed. "You'll have to bring him a lot of gifts and spend a lot of time with him when you come back to make up for it." I polished off my dango and then cleared my throat. "You told me you would give me the bingo book page."

"Ah-ah, I said I would consider it."

I held out my hand, palm up. "Well, I've considered it, and I know that I want it."

He snickered, already turning away to get his bingo book out. "You're really something. You know that?" He opened the book and flicked through the pages until he found one with the familiar circles at the top. Jiraiya unclipped it and held it out to me.

I snatched it from him, looking it over. It was exactly the same as it had been the last time I'd seen it. I unsealed my bingo book and secured the page inside. "Thank you." I sealed the book back away and then hopped up, picking up the final dango stick. "We should go so you can see Naruto."

He dug out ryo to leave on the table. Chuckling, he asked, "You have somewhere to be?"

"I have to pay my respects."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "For . . . the Mizukage?"

I met his gaze evenly. "Yagura was a jinchuuriki. I have two people to mourn."

He furrowed his brow. "You're . . . an odd one."

"I know."

I didn't have a grave to visit for them, but the Uzumaki Temple had a monument. It was a tall, smooth stone just past a torii. It was old and weathered, and a crack marred the surfaced of the Uzumaki swirl carved into the top. It definitely wasn't as gorgeous as it obviously had once been.

But it was a monument.

I lit the incense and then bowed low, murmuring an Inari norito on Yagura and Isobu's behalf. I straightened, hands on my knees, and closed my eyes. Then I opened them again in my mindscape.

Kurama wasn't looking at me. He was curled up with his head on his paws and his eyes closed. If I didn't know better, I would think he was sleeping. But as it was, I knew him far too well to believe the act. I didn't say anything, didn't call him out on it. Instead, I slipped between the bars and moved to stand beside his right shoulder. He didn't respond, but I knew that he knew I was there.

I sank my hands into his fur and leaned my head forward to rest against him. I matched my breathing to his. But beyond that, I didn't move for a long time. I could still smell the incense. Distantly. Overlapped with the pressing heat of Kurama's chakra.

I could ask him to tell me what he needed, but I knew he wouldn't. I could ask if he wanted me to talk, to leave, to— He wasn't one for answering those types of questions. But he was some who had a history of making it very clear when he didn't like what I was doing. He had a talent for telling me off. I would have to rely on that. That and the fact that I knew him.

It took me only a moment to climb atop him, spreading out on the expanse of his upper back and still barely taking up any room in comparison to his overwhelming size. Kurama gave a rumble but didn't protest. I took a minute to settle in, threading my fingers throug his fur. Pressing my hands down firmly into him, I whispered, "We'll keep an eye out for Isobu. When he's back, we'll find him. Anyone that wants to hurt him or seal him again will have to go through us."

He didn't give a response to that.

I resumed running my hands through his fur, shifting to murmuring about the byakugan and our new need for a way to mask Shisui's chakra. As I spoke, I closed my eyes and rested my head down against him. Kurama shifted below me and occasionally gave a sound of agreement, but he never told me to leave.

Finally, I broke off from the planning and the strategy and curled my fingers against him. "I wonder what Yagura was like. Before the— Before the genjutsu. He deserved better."

"Another sin to place at Madara's feet," he said, the first words he'd spoken since the council meeting. "And all the more reason to tear his head off."

At first, I'd thought that maybe it was just because he'd gotten older. That maybe that was why Neji felt different after my year away. But Hanabi didn't. Hinata didn't. Hiashi didn't. Ko did. Natsu did.

And there was something new I could sense alongside Neji's chakra.

"Do you want more tea?"

I blinked, snapping out of my haze. "Oh, yes, please."

Neji rose from his seiza and picked up the kettle. He leaned across the low table to refill my cup. "Is something wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nothing's wrong." I shifted forward, listening carefully. "I'm just trying to figure out what I'm—" I paused. "Oh."

He set the kettle down and frowned. "Figure out what?"

I straightened and reached for him. "Can I— I think I've figured out what I'm sensing."

He nodded, squaring his shoulders. "What is it?"

I brushed my fingers over the bandages around his forehead. He froze, eyes blowing wide. I stilled, meeting his gaze. "Can I look at it?"

Neji licked his lips, looking at me and yet not looking at me at the same time. "Why?" he asked, voice cracking.

"Because I think I can feel it. And I want to see it to figure out if it really is what I'm sensing. But I won't make you. If you want, I won't mention it again."

He didn't move for a little bit. I lifted my fingers from the bandages but didn't pull back. And then Neji surged up, his hands knocking mine aside as he started pulling at the covering. I dropped my hand back to my knees. He unwound the bandages, rolling them around his left hand. Then it was just the green lines left behind, sharp against his pale skin. He lowered his hands and looked at me like he was waiting for something.

I stood and shuffled around the table. He turned to face me as I knelt back down. I reached up but didn't touch, giving him another moment to rethink. He swayed towards me, and I pressed my fingers against the green. Neji immediately snapped his eyes shut.

And I could feel it.

All I could see were the three symbols marring his forehead, but I could feel the twisting lines and kanji and—

"I'm sorry," I whispered. I smoothed my thumb over the crooked X. "I'd like to get rid of this for you, someday."

He jerked back, eyes snapping open. And then he leaned forward again, pressing back into my touch. "You can't do that," he croaked.

"Not yet," I admitted. "But rules and traditions can change. And I'm getting pretty good with seals."

"You'd . . . you'd do that?"

"For you? Of course." I finally pulled back and gave him as honest of a smile as I could. "I'm sorry I can't help you right now."

"Help," he repeated, confusion clouding his eyes. And then they widened. "You came here because you wanted my help with something. I'm sorry, Mirai-sama, I didn't mean to get distracted. What did you need?"

I took up his hand and undid the bandage. "I'm working on a seal that could help with the subtler side of things. I'm a sensor, and I know just how dangerous it could be for someone to try to infiltrate with someone like me around who can tell who they are even with a new look and history. Same for the byakugan. Chakra is distinctive that way."

"You want to . . . hide chakra? From the byakugan?" he asked, frowning.

"I want to distort it. So that if someone like me felt it, it would feel like it belonged to someone else." I started winding the bandages back around his forehead, keeping my movements slow and soft when I saw the tightening in his eyes. "But seals can be a little dangerous, and I'm not going to test it on someone else just so I can see if it changes my sensing. The best option is testing it on myself and having someone else watch my chakra."

"Testing it on . . . yourself? Is it going to hurt you?"

"I won't use it until I'm confident in it. I'm sure I'll be fine." I tucked the end of the bandage up under itself and smoothed my fingers over the cloth. "Would you be willing to watch my chakra for me once I'm ready?" I dropped my hands away.

He reached up and touched his forehead. "I would."

"Don't go to Kiri."

Shisui blinked at me, dropping his hand from where he'd just had it pressed against the wall so he could test the security of the room. "I—" He frowned. "I don't even get a hello?"

I huffed. "Hi. Don't go to Kiri." Despite repeating myself, I moved forward and wrapped my arms around him. I tucked my head against his chest. "Missed you."

"Missed you too," he said, sounding bewildered as he hugged me back. "Kiri is exactly where I should be, actually. If we don't get a handle what's going on—"

"One of the people that's fighting for power—or at least probably is, if she's going to end up Mizukage like she did originally—has a right-hand man that has a stolen byakugan. Ao. If he sees you, he'll recognize your chakra. He'll know you're alive."

Shisui tapped the top of my head until I looked up at him. He was frowning. "Ao? Sounds familiar."

"You've run into him before. Left an impression. He'll remember you."

"Ah." He looked conflicted. "That's . . . flattering? But we still need to do something with Kiri."

"Yeah, I'm working on it." I pulled away and turned towards my desk. I thumbed through the papers there before coming up with the right page. I moved it to the top, smoothing it out. "Neji is going to help me. Making sure that it will work against the byakugan and all. Neji's byakugan is advanced for his age, so it's the closest I'll get to testing it on a mature one. I doubt Hiashi would want to sit down and stare at my chakra for hours."

He frowned, moving forward to study my notes. "Don't you think it's dangerous to bring someone else in? I could just use my sharingan."

"And stay in Konoha for the months it might take me to figure it out? Shisui—"

"Yeah, I know." He started looking through my other notes. "What are all these for?"

"Just some other seals I'm working on. Most of them are pretty simple, actually. Like this one." I pointed at the one he'd picked up. "Just an info seal. So that when it's open, it can lay out a whole sheet of info over a previously blank page. That way one page can have five to ten times the amount of information." I shrugged. "It'll help cut down on bingo book sizes. They're a little . . . big. And still miss a lot of information. Which, uh, speaking of."

"Speaking of," he repeated, frowning and putting down the paper. "I don't like the way you said that."

"Jiraiya came around. Turns out that Hiruzen was holding back the letters he'd been sending us all my life. And messing with the gifts from him, too. He's off to Kiri now, but he was here for a few days."

"Oh." He sat down in my office chair, considering that. "He came back because he found out what the Hokage was doing?"

"Um, not exactly."

His eyes narrowed. "Wait, this had to do with bingo books."

"Jiraiya got a page from a firm in Kawa no Kuni. It's what made him come back here." I brushed my fingers over my arm, unsealing my bingo book. "We only found out about the letters after he was here." I flicked through the pages before finding my entry. I thrust the book at him.

Shisui took it slowly, eyes wide. "Is this . . . . That's you."

"Unless Danzo has another red-haired, violet-eyed kid running around in Root."

"Root is like ANBU," he murmured. "There shouldn't be a page about you at all."

"I think Danzo did it on purpose," I said, moving to take the bingo book back. Shisui didn't release it, gaze snapping up to mine. I sighed. "There's really only one person who could have submitted this information, and Not-Genma was pretty damn insistent that I let her get away even though it made no sense."

He looked back down at the page, sharingan activating and spinning for a moment. Then he finally let it go, and his eyes went black again. "You need to be careful."

"You too. So no Kiri until I finish the seal. Promise me."

"I promise," he murmured, watching me seal the bingo book back away. "How long do you think it will be?"

"I'm really not sure. I'll try to be quick with it, but it's something like a half-henge, half-genjutsu. I need to be careful to make sure it doesn't hurt you."

"Team 5 is the hunter-nin," I announced, passing out fourteen tags each to Mozuku, Yatogo, and Zaji. "Study Group is missing-nin. Yosu and I are refereeing."

"And me!" Konohamaru yelled. He looked up at me, cheeks puff in frustration. "Don't forget about me!"

I laughed and dropped a hand to his head, ruffling his hair. "I would never." I nodded to Yosu as he started passing out the Ninja shuriken. "Konohamaru-kun is also refereeing. Obviously, whichever team is the last one standing wins, but we want to put a little extra incentive in there. So we decided that we have a thirty minute time limit. If there isn't a winning team at the end of thirty minutes, no one wins. We'll do best of three. Any questions?"

Hinata's hand shot up. "Aren't you going to play with us, Mirai-chan?"

I shook my head. "I'm observing with Yosu so we can give you guys some good feedback. He's responsible for his team, and I'm responsible for you guys." I pointed towards the rocky outcropping at the bank of the pond. "If you're out, you'll come here. Either one team loses all their players or the timer runs out. Got it?"

I got loud agreement from my group. Loud enough that Yosu's genin side-eyed them before giving their own confirmation.

"Good." I pressed my thumb into my left wrist, prepping the timer there. "You have ten seconds to get spread out. Ten!"

They scattered, all of the genin grouping off to the left and my group breaking into groups of three or four and vanishing across the rest of the training ground.

"Nine!"

"They're hidden well," Yosu murmured over the next number.

I tilted my head, listening to their chakra. We'd been working on chakra shields, and I wasn't sure if this was proof that they needed more practice or that my sensing was unfair to match them against. "Six!" I announced. And then, "Your genin are splitting up. Five!"

He made a noise of acknowledgment at that. "Fourteen against three. They need to split up to have a chance."

"Three!" I shrugged. "My group has numbers. Yours has experience. Two!"

"You haven't gone easy on your group," he pointed out.

"Time starts now!" I yelled, pulsing out chakra through my thumb and watching as the timer seal started at thirty. I glanced at him. "Good luck to your team."

Yosu grinned. "And good luck to yours." He nodded off to the side. "I don't know that new one."

"Ami? Honestly, I'm surprised that she showed up today. She hasn't been around for a few weeks. Naruto brought her in while I was . . . gone, so I don't know her that well yet." I stared off to where I could feel the girl's chakra. "I'm willing to give her a try, though."

I felt the quiet chakra enter the Tower and was on my feet before I could really think through what I was doing.

Iruka paused mid-sentence, frowning at me. "Mirai-chan? Is something wrong?"

"I—" I snapped my mouth shut, hesitating. "Can I talk to you?" I asked carefully.

Iruka considered that and then motioned me forward. "Wait."

I nodded and moved to the front of the room to stand beside his desk. Iruka finished his explanation of the assignment—filling out an example D-rank mission report—before letting them know to ask him or Mizuki for help if needed. Then he turned to me and murmured, "What is it?"

"Sai just got back," I said quietly. "I wouldn't normally ask this, but it was his first C-rank. Could Naruto, Sasuke, and I go see him?"

He thought for a moment and then nodded. "Just this once. Get here early tomorrow morning to go over the report assignment." He motioned to my seat. "Get your things." As I moved to do so, he raised his voice to say, "Naruto, Sasuke, gather up your things and meet Mirai outside, please."

The boys glanced at each other. And then they scrambled up in a race to see who could do as they'd been told first. I stepped out into the hallway and they both barreled into me a moment later. As Iruka slid the door closed behind us, Sasuke and Naruto started arguing about who had won.

I tucked my hands into the pockets of my vest. "Sai's back."

The both whipped around to me. Naruto grinned. "Is he? Where?"

I tilted my head back to listen to the chakra source above us. "Reporting in to the Hokage. I think we should go wait for them. Get some dango to celebrate."

"Sai likes dango," Sasuke acknowledged, already grabbing my arm and trying to drag me down the hallway. "Dobe, c'mon, help!"

As Naruto latched onto my other arm, I gave them a sort of smile. Then I shrugged. "I'll meet you two outside." I shook off their holds and shunshined away.

I had already sat down on the bench by the time they made it outside. Sasuke huffed as he slumped down next to me. "I need to learn shunshin," he muttered.

I hummed, shifting so that I could card my fingers through his hair. "That would probably be helpful." I smiled when I felt Naruto's weight settle against my other side. "Do you want to get this cut?" I asked, twisting some of Sasuke's hair around my fingers. It honestly didn't look like he'd done more than maybe one or two trims the entire time I'd been gone, and it definitely hadn't been touched since I'd returned.

Sasuke frowned, twisting to look up at me. "I like it. Tenten said that if I get a little longer then I can put it up. Like this." He straightened and started combing at his hair with his fingers. I lowered my hand, watching as he pulled it all together into a ponytail high at the back of his head. Most of his hair was just too short to properly make it. "She said it needs to grow just a little bit more."

"I think that'll look nice," I mused. Then I resumed carding through his hair. "You should let someone even it out soon, though."

Sasuke nodded.

"I like my hair how it is," Naruto announced. "Are you gonna keep yours short, Rai?"

I felt my hair. It'd grown a little, but still had a long ways to go before Shisui could do anything at all with it again. "No. I think I'll keep it long from now on." I cleared my throat and straightened. "Here they come."

Naruto was on his feet the moment the door opened. "Sai!" he yelled, already throwing himself at the other boy.

Sai stiffened and didn't move as Naruto hugged him tightly. After a second, Genma reached out and hauled Naruto off of his student. But he didn't say anything, gaze flicking to me.

I got to my feet, dragging Sasuke up with me. "We thought we could all get dango to celebrate Sai's first C-rank."

Genma smiled, bringing his hands up. "GOOD IDEA." He nudged Sai, raising an eyebrow in question.

Sai nodded. "I'd like that."

"Great! Um, I was thinking—" I cleared my throat. "You boys can go on ahead. I figured Genma-nii and I could get Anko, since she'd probably be upset if we left her out of dango."

Genma straightened. "YOU SURE?"

I nodded. "Sai, why don't you lead the way?"

Sai's brow furrowed for a second. But then he nodded. "This way," he said, moving forward.

I shoved my hands back into my pockets and closed my eyes for just a second. There, way off in the distance. Way off. I looked up at Genma. "I think she's at the Jonin Station."

His eyes widened. "You—" He flinched and snapped his mouth shut. "YOU FEEL FAR?"

"I've gotten better," I murmured. "You can— I'll be okay."

He frowned.

I tapped my hand against my throat in the sign for voice. "I'll be okay," I said again.

His frown deepened and he glanced away. He nodded, jaw clenched, but didn't say anything.

I started walking, glancing at him briefly when he fell into step beside me. "Mission went well, then?"

Genma didn't answer for a long moment. When he did, all he managed was, "Yes." His voice cracked a little.

"How'd he do?"

Another stretch of silence. "Good. He was— He did well."

I looked up at him and managed a smile. "Glad to hear it. Um . . . . Study Group did a competition against Yosu's team."

His hands raised as if he was going to sign with them, but instead he asked, "Oh? How'd they do?"

"One win for my group, one win for his team, and one loss for both. Timer ran out."

We fell into silence then. I wanted to keep talking to him, but every time he spoke he seemed to just gain more and more tension in his shoulders. We'd just reached the Jonin Station when he murmured, "Thank you."

I looked up at him, and the smile came easy. "You don't have to thank me. I just— I miss you. I don't want to have to miss you anymore."

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but I felt Anko's chakra approaching. Quickly. Too quickly. I dove out of the way just as the door slammed open.

"Genma!" Anko squealed, throwing herself at him. "I missed you!"

"Anko," Genma said, catching her. He glanced towards me and tensed his jaw, not saying anything else.

Anko rose on her toes, arms around him. "C'mon, I don't even get a little kiss? A little make-out? A little—"

I cleared my throat.

Anko jumped, stare snapping to me. She just grinned, unashamed. "Red! What are you doing here?"

"We came to get you for dango," I said flatly, shifting my stare to her shoulder. I could feel . . . something there. Almost like Neji's seal. "The boys are already there."

"Oh! What are we waiting for, then?" She grabbed Genma's arm in one hand and my arm with the other. "Let's go!"

"Are you going to be able to take it off?" Sasuke asked, leaning in close to look at Sai's tongue.

Sai glanced at him but didn't move beyond that. I wrote down another note, murmuring, "Hopefully." Then I nodded to Naruto. "Get the water, please. We're done, Sai."

Sai nodded, closing his mouth and working his jaw for a moment. Naruto leaned across the bed for the bottle on the nightstand and then held it out to Sai. While Sai rehydrated, I shuffled back so I was leaning against the headboard, frowning down at my notebook.

"Is it— Do you need to look at it more?" Sai rasped.

"I— No." I looked up at him and shook my head. "I've gotten all the notes from it I can, now. I just need to work through what I have. I . . . understand it. But there's a difference between knowing how it works and knowing how to remove it safely." I paused at the tension in his eyes. Sitting up, I reached for him and pressed my thumb between his brows to smooth away the frown lines there. "But I'm going to try, okay? We'll figure this out. For now, you three should get some rest. I'm going to stay up just a little bit longer to go over this."

Sai nodded and slipped under the covers, laying back onto his pillow and closing his eyes. Sasuke snuggled up under the blanket he'd brought from his room, curling a hand into my shirt. It was one of Shisui's and so there was plenty of fabric to hold on to. Naruto, meanwhile, bounced up from the bed to turn the light off. He illuminated the path back to us with his own chakra light.

"Sai, move over," he said, shoving Sai closer to me so he had room. Then he settled down on his stomach with his face in his pillow, throwing an arm over Sai.

I glanced at them, not even trying to suppress a smile. As their chakra started to calm, I activated a chakra light with my left hand and continued my work.

I might not be able to remove the seal yet, but I definitely understood enough to be able to start making my own.

"Mirai-dono," Shibi greeted. "Shino is not here."

"Oh, I know. He's with the boys. I think they wanted to show Sai how to skip rocks at the lake today. I'm here about Torune, actually."

Shibi stilled. Between his high collar and glasses, I couldn't read too much of his expression. He stepped aside, still holding the door open. "Come in."

I stepped over the threshold. As I toed off my shoes, he moved down the hallway. By the time I followed, he had already entered a room. I hesitated in the doorway, glancing around what was clearly his home office. Shibi sat behind his desk and pointed to the chair against the wall.

I dragged the chair forward so I could sit across from him. Sitting down, I cleared my throat. But Shibi didn't give me a chance to start the conversation.

"Is he well?"

I straightened. "Yes. At least, he was last I saw him." I curled my hands against my knees. "I wish I could get him out. Really. But I think that, for now, I've burned all my bridges with Danzo."

"I . . . would prefer that you do not. Do not misunderstand. I do want Torune back and safe and with us. However," —Shibi's brow furrowed and he turned his head— "no matter how much I want him back, I will not trade Shino for him. I am the leader of my clan, yes. But I am also a father."

I frowned. I turned to track what he was looking at and found a picture of Shino sitting on one of his bookshelves. "Trading Shino?" I asked, confused. "Why would you have to trade Shino?"

This time, his frown was clear. "What do you know about Torune's circumstances?"

I tilted my head back towards him as I thought about that. "Not much. He's not that much older than me, and he can't have been with Danzo too long. He's an Aburame. That's it."

"He will be twelve, now," Shibi murmured. "He was supposed to be graduating this year, not . . . ." He sighed. "Danzo wanted Shino. Torune offered himself in place of my son. This was almost three years ago. Shortly after . . . well."

"Ah." I leaned forward a little. "Danzo doesn't have the option of Shino no matter what. That was part of our deal. I finished my half, and part of is half is that he's not allowed to so much as look at anyone in my Study Group for Root."

Shibi was silent for a long, long moment. Long enough that I starting biting my lip, wondering if maybe coming here to talk about Torune was crossing some kind of boundary. But then he asked, "Is there a list of those he is barred from specifically or is it anyone in your Study Group?"

I smiled. "Anyone I identify as being in my Study Group."

"Clever. And . . . ." He trailed off. Then Shibi stood suddenly, striding over to one of his bookcases and running a hand over the books there. "You say you wish you could get him out, correct?"

I straightened and squared my shoulders. "Yes. Of course."

"Good. That is enough to start with."

The blade in my gut was Itachi's, not Obito's, and I woke up with eyes that were dry but burning. I caught my breath, and stared up into the dark where I hoped—knew—the ceiling above me was wood and not concrete. I forced out a shuddering sigh, but the anxiety in my veins only continued to ramp up. I fumbled for my necklace. The weight against my left hip shifted, and I froze.

"Neechan?" Sasuke mumbled, trying to lift his head.

"Shh. Sorry for waking you," I gasped out, dropping a hand to his head. "Go back to sleep. I just— I need to get up, okay? So shift over a little."

Sasuke muttered, eyes shuttering closed again as he moved. I eased out from under the covers and used a shunshin to get off the bed without jostling the three of them. I'd barely made it out into the hallway, closing the door behind me, before I slumped against the wall and sank to the floor. I clawed for my coin again.

Are you okay?

I curled over myself, trying to breathe properly. Waiting for a response. I tried counting my heartbeats until his answer, but they were so fast and—

I hit seven hundred three, and Shisui still hadn't responded.

I forced back a sob and dropped the coin. He wasn't answering. He wasn't answering. He wasn't—

I pressed my hand into my right shoulder, digging my fingers into the mark and trying to focus on the cold there. Kakashi's chakra made it a little easier to breathe, a little easier to think. But the hallway was still so dark and so small and this was Shisui's house and Shisui wasn't here and he wasn't answering and—

I stumbled to my feet and had just enough presence of mind to think about the fact that Kakashi would probably be upset about me forgetting my shoes. It wouldn't really matter, I thought. Kakashi wasn't home anyway. He wasn't home, but he was going to be, and that alone made it safer than this house that Shisui wouldn't be coming back to.

Pakkun was the one than answered the door, staring up at me for a moment. Finally, he said, "You're crying."

I blinked and reached up. Huh. I was. "Sorry," I rasped, hugging my arms to myself. "Not having the greatest night."

"You're bleeding, too."

"What?"

He huffed. "Get inside."

"Oh." I stumbled in past him and closed the door with my foot. Bull was immediately at my side while the other ninken around the apartment started to stir. He nudged me forward, none-too-gently pushing me towards the bed. I gave in and sank down onto the edge of the mattress. "Thanks, Bull," I murmured, scratching at his ears.

"You're bleeding," Pakkun said again. He moved over to the dresser. "Fix yourself up." Then he busied himself within pulling out the bottom drawer with his teeth.

"What?" I asked again. I looked down to find he was right. There were half-moons cut into my skin from my nails, lined up along my Hatake mark. "Oh," I mumbled. The cuts were already mostly healed, but there was blood trickling down my arm. And blood soaked into the sleeve of Shisui's shirt. I stumbled back up to my feet and over to Kakashi's sink. With this—something to focus on and fix—I could breathe. It would be okay.

I'd just finished cleaning the blood from my skin and was frowning at the red staining the sleeve when Pakkun bumped against my leg. "Here. Put this on," he ordered.

I crouched down and picked up the fabric he'd dropped at my feet. One of Kakashi's baggy jonin shirts. I slipped off my current shirt and tugged Kakashi's on. It was huge on me. Even bigger than Shisui's. And it had long-sleeves, which added the bonus of the sleeve hems going quite a ways past my fingertips. "Thanks," I murmured.

I put Shisui's shirt in the sink and ran cold water over the sleeve to try to get the blood out. After scrubbing at it for a couple minutes, I felt a tug on my pant leg. "Yeah?" I asked, looking down.

"Get some sleep, kid. You look like you need it."

I nodded and blearily stumbled over to Kakashi's bed. It smelled like him, and that helped almost as much as feeling his chakra did. But my chest still felt empty and too heavy with the weight of the coin on it, and it was so hard to relax even as Kakashi's pack pressed in close around me. At Pakkun's grumble, I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to go to sleep. I was so tired. So tired. But I couldn't—

I'm okay.

I shot up, chest heaving. He was okay. Oh, kami, he was okay. I was crying again, but I couldn't really bring myself to care enough to stop.

Akino put his head along my collarbone and leaned all his weight into me until I laid down again. And this time, I went to sleep.

I woke up to the weight on my shoulder disappearing in a burst of chakra. I snapped up, gasping in surprise at the sudden feeling and trying to get my bearings. I was in Kakashi's apartment. Right. That was where I'd gone to sleep. I was at his place, Kakashi was on a mission, and his pack was with—

"Where's Pakkun?" I croaked, rubbing at my eyes and staring around at the ninken.

"He just got summoned," Uhei said, still draped over my knees with his eyes closed. "Kakashi probably just needed a tracker."

"Oh." I swallowed thickly and laid back down, staring up at the ceiling. "Kakashi's okay, right?"

"Of course. If he was in real trouble and needed help, he would have summoned all of us."

But despite Uhei's reassurance, I didn't go back to sleep. Pakkun wasn't a fighter, so if he'd been summoned then it probably was just tracking at the moment and not fighting, but still.

When Pakkun reappeared in the apartment in a puff of smoke an hour later, I surged upwards and to the end of the bed, staring at him. "Is Niisan okay?" I demanded.

"He's fine. Kidnapped kid is back and safe and everything. Do have orders from the boss, though. He wants you to stay here until he gets back." He turned and ambled for the door.

"What?" I frowned and scrambled up. "When is he supposed to be back? I have Academy."

"He's about a day out. And yeah, I'm supposed to go tell your sensei and stuff you won't make it today. He said you're supposed to stay here."

"But—"

"Stay," he snapped out.

I dropped back down to the bed, blinking at him.

Pakkun gave a satisfied huff. "Good girl." Then he left.

I heard the knock on the door while I was hanging out the window, pinning Shisui's shirt up on Kakashi's clothesline. I looked back at Pakkun, bracing myself with one foot hooked over the windowsill and the other planted firmly outside the building. "Um, is someone supposed to be coming by?"

Pakkun gave a sort-of shrug and moved over to the door. He pawed at the seal low on the doorframe, and the door popped open.

"Um, Mirai-chan?" someone called cautiously. And then, "Mirai-chan! What are you doing?"

I finished with the last clothespin and ducked back into the apartment, dropping to the bed. "Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here?"

"I, uh—" He glanced at the window and then to me again. "I came by to check on you. Took me a little while to find the place. Pakkun-san was, uh, not the clearest in giving me directions this morning."

"Oh, um." I hopped up off the bed. "Do you want . . . tea? I can make some tea."

"Probably best if you don't," he said, still standing awkwardly just past the threshold. "I, uh, I'm not sure if Hatake-san would appreciate it."

I wanted to argue, but he was probably right. So I moved for the door to join him outside. Shiba rose with a growl. I glanced at him. "I'm not leaving."

Shiba didn't do anything for a long moment. Then he settled back down, not looking away from me.

I stepped outside but left the door open. I doubted that Shiba would take it well if I cut off his line of sight. "I'm doing okay. You didn't have to come check up on me."

"I wanted to. I always get worried when a summon wakes me up at four in the morning to tell me that my student is in no condition to attend class. Or . . . ." He shrugged. "I was worried this time. It's never happened before, and let's hope it never happens again."

"Four in the—" My face burned. "Sorry. He really didn't need to wake up you to tell you."

"I got over it after I had some coffee." He dropped a hand to my head. "You're doing alright, though?"

I nodded and rubbed at my eye, forgetting for a second that I was still wearing Kakashi's shirt and ending up shoving a bunch of cloth into my face. I wrinkled my nose and shook my hand out. "Yeah, I'm doing a lot better, now. I just . . . didn't sleep well last night," I said carefully.

Iruka nodded as if he understood what I really meant. Chances were, he did. "Okay. Well, try your best to get plenty of good sleep tonight. You don't have to be there tomorrow if you're still not feeling well."

"I should be fine."

He frowned. "I'm not sure you have the best track record of deciding that for yourself." He hesitated and glanced past me at the apartment. "When is Hatake back?"

"Um, probably in the morning?"

"Okay, good." He nodded sharply once. "Leave it up to him, then. If he thinks you're okay to come back tomorrow, then you're cleared to come."

I was in what felt like the final stretch of creating my chakra storage seal—and no, I was not going to call it my 'quick high' seal no matter what Urushi suggested—when the door flew open, stopping just short of slamming into the wall. I flinched in surprise as cold chakra flooded my senses. "Niisan?" I asked. I looked at the clock. It wasn't even ten yet. "Wait, how are you—"

"You're okay?"

"Niisan—"

"Are you okay?"

I blinked and looked down. He'd surprised me enough that I'd accidentally marked right through the center of my seal matrix. I turned the page. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Oh, thank kami." He closed the door and slumped back against it. "Pakkun said you were crying and, and bleeding and—"

"Pakkun," I said, shooting him a look. "You didn't have to make it sound so bad. I had a nightmare. Scratched myself up a little, but nothing too bad." I looked back to Kakashi only to jump when he was much closer than before.

"Scratched yourself?" he murmured, cupping my chin. He brushed his thumb up and over my scar. "But you're not hurt now?"

"No. I'm feeling much better. The pack helped. And Iruka-sensei stopped by to check on me too."

"Okay." He let out a sigh. "Good. You really had me worried there."

I looked him over, taking how he was still in his ANBU armor and was almost dripping with sweat. "You weren't supposed to be able to be back until tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, well." He shrugged. "I rushed."

"I'm sure your team appreciated that."

"Eh, they'll survive." He pulled down his mask and pressed a kiss to my forehead. The intent behind the gesture overwhelmed how gross and sweaty it felt. He drew back, already wiping at my forehead with a frown. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I'm going to take a shower. You'll stay here?"

I nodded and lifted my notebook. "I have more work to get done anyway."

Satisfied, Kakashi disappeared into the bathroom. I started over with my seal, drawing out the entire matrix on a new page. I looked it over, grinning.

"Got it?" Akino asked from his spot against my hip.

"I think so." I ripped the page out and set it on the floor in front of me. "Just one way to figure it out."

He shifted and lifted his head. "Is that safe?"

"Usually," I said, sealing my notebook away. "You might want to back up, though. Just in case. Though I haven't had a seal explode for quite a while."

Akino gave a whine and scrambled up, moving to sit against the wall away from me.

I pressed my hand against the seal and took a deep breath. Then I pulsed enough chakra to open the seal. When I felt the seal shift in response, I poured in some chakra. Then I pulsed the seal again to close it. I sat back. "Well, it didn't explode." Then I pressed my hand against the seal and opened the release. I gasped as the stored chakra flooded back into my system. "Wow," I breathed, a little choked. It almost felt like what I got after a kage bunshin burst, but more intense. More direct. "It works."

"It's not going to explode?" Akino asked, slowly stepping back over.

I shook my head and started sketching out a silhouette shaping component into the seal. "It's safe." Once I'd finished that, I unsealed a brush and jar of ink and rolled my sleeve so that it was bunched up above my elbow.

I was almost done drawing the seal out below my timer when I was interrupted.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked, voice cracking.

I paused, lifting my brush to make sure I didn't put a line in the wrong place. I glanced up at him for just a second before refocusing. "I finished making a new seal, so I'm adding it on."

He moved forward and sat down in front of me. "Is it safe?"

"It didn't explode when she tested it," Akino put in.

"That was an option?" he asked, voice going high.

"What? No!" I shot Akino a look, and he didn't even have the decency to look ashamed. "That was really more of a joke. It's safe. I wouldn't be putting it on if it wasn't." I completed the last line and set the brush aside, looking over my work.

Satisfied, I nodded. I pressed my thumb against the edge of the matrix and activated the silhouette. The seal shifted, melting and molding into the kanji for power. I looked it over for a second. Then, confident that it had formed correctly, I pressed my thumb into it and opened the storage valve. Then I poured in a good chunk of my current chakra, draining it until I only had about half of my capacity left. I could add more once I was back up to full again. I closed off the seal and looked up.

Kakashi was watching my arm with both eyes wide, sharingan alight. "That's incredible," he murmured. "I haven't actually seen you do fuuinjutsu work before."

"You haven't? Huh. I'm pretty good at it."

"Apparently."

"I'm, uh, I've been trying to figure this one out," I said, tapping a storage seal. A tri-pronged kunai landed in my hands and I held it up. "Jiraiya was doing some fuuinjutsu lessons with me before he left. I've already made some more headway since."

"Hiraishin?" he breathed, taking the kunai from me to study it. "You should talk to Genma." He winced. "Or Raidou. You should talk to Raidou."

I frowned. "Raidou? Wait, why would they be able to help with this?"

"You don't know? Raidou, Genma, and Iwashi were part of Minato-sensei's guard, and so he taught them all how to use hiraishin. They can only do it with all three of them working together, but it would give you a place to start. Right?" He handed the kunai back to me.

"Huh." I sealed it away. "I'll talk to Genma, then."

Kakashi straightened. "Talk to Genma?"

I smiled. "I've made progress there, too." Then I rolled down my sleeve, shaking it out past my hand again. "Have you eaten? I'm hungry."

"Hungry?" He looked at the clock. It was almost eleven now. "Did you eat dinner?" he asked sharply.

"Of course I ate dinner. I'm just hungry again."

"Ah, okay." He softened and gave me a smile. "I'll make something. Why don't you stay here tonight, okay? It'll make me feel better."

I smiled, reaching over to pet Akino as he settled down against me again. "I'd be happy to."