5/15/20 editing again because emotional continuity is hard

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4. Escalating Tensions

Sakura had arrived at the restaurant well before Ino with the express purpose of pre-gaming. It had been a damn long week, and given that Sakura had enforced an information diet of late (the only kind Ino didn't like), she anticipated a clash. As expected, the blonde had been trying to pull answers out of her like teeth, and now Sakura was weak from the combination of metaphorical pliers and friend guilt.

Ino chewed on her straw with extreme irritation. "You know how ecstatic I was that you finally came to me for help?"

Sakura's shoulders slumped as she sank in her seat. "I tried. I gave each of them a fair chance."

"You didn't try shit."

"I went to dinner with both of them! And for the record, your quote unquote sure thing was actual slime."

Ino sloshed her margarita in admonishment. "What about Kyouya? There's no way he was anything less than a gentleman."

Sakura looked at Ino with dead eyes. "He was too much a gentleman. And boring. Spent the whole meal talking about himself and his job. Did you know that being an administrative director for the council means you get to pick which weight of paper gets stocked? Because I sure do."

"Alright, so he's boring," Ino said, rolling her eyes at Sakura's critique, as if boredom was something unavoidable when dealing with men (which went a long way in explaining Ino's own commitment issues). "He's hot. If he wants to wag his tongue, sit on his face. Talking issue solved."

Sakura stirred her frozen sangria, the third she'd ordered since sitting down an hour ago. "I would've been happy to do so if he hadn't declared his intentions with astonishing directness when he walked me home." She paused to suck up a big gulp, then sighed morosely. "If I stick with him, I'll get some steamy handholding action by Date 3 for sure, but he 'could be persuaded to bump up the timeline if I play my cards right'. His exact words. Unfortunately, I'm scheduled to throw myself off a bridge before our next dinner. Not sure how he got past your screening."

"You like the well-mannered ones, and he really looked like he could get it done! Dude has a lot of nerve being genuinely dull and wearing pants that tight…" Ino shook her head, stunned at this unprecedented failure of her dick radar. Then her brows crinkled together and she puffed up again. "But if you wanted quick results, Yuuichi was the one-way express ticket to Cock City, so what gives?"

"What gives is I actually have self-respect," Sakura growled, slamming her glass down. "That skeeze had the waitress sit us on the same side of the booth, spoke strictly in innuendo, made sure I 'accidentally' sat on his hand two different times, and molested a perfectly innocent strawberry at dessert. If I never hear the phrase 'child-bearing hips' again, it'll be too soon."

Ino pursed her lips, unwilling to concede the point. "I'll admit I pulled him in off secondhand intel, so I'm sorry about the creep factor, but I needed a ringer." She pointed a pastel purple nail at Sakura. "That rec was purely about the schlong, and you squandered it."

Sakura threw up her hands. "I tried. The thought of letting his tentacle fingers any closer to my panties than he'd already managed made me physically ill. And keep in mind I cleaned burst spleen out of somebody a few hours prior, no sweat."

"Well geez, guess you'll just have to go back to your regular methods of man attainment," Ino huffed, looking put out as she poked at her margarita with her mangled straw. Then her expression slanted meddlesome as she fixed her baby blues back on Sakura. "What changed, anyway? You never want me to set you up, so why now?"

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, hoping Ino didn't notice her sudden onslaught of flop sweat. She tipped her head down to her drink, taking a slow sip, avoiding her friend's gaze. She hadn't told Ino about her more recent interaction with Kiba, that it was his teasing, his grin, his body that had sent her into a horny tailspin.

They were just friends. They'd never come close to having sex, and again, that kiss when they were seventeen was a write-off, so Sakura couldn't fathom why her control was shaken this badly by a little shirtless flirting. In light of her two most recent dates, however, the uncertain option Kiba presented twinkled at her like a beacon through the fog of disappointment. Why she was fighting with this so much? Sakura gnawed on her lip. Was it the friend thing? The idea of having sex with a friend did feel a little too close to the precipice of feelings, closer than she dared. But out of all the people she considered friends, Kiba was also probably the best choice to have casual sex with, since it was a regular occurrence for him. Wouldn't that make it easier for her to divest herself of any emotions that might try and drag her under?

Emotions were a tricky subject for Sakura. As she'd matured, she'd discovered the sweet burn of physical desire and followed it to its shuddering conclusion many times with various men. The occasional consequence of developing feelings alongside this desire, however, was something she'd taken stringent measures to avoid. Sakura felt that her feelings frequently got in the way of accomplishment in her life. Her Sasuke years had been a highly effective demonstration of this, all that love poured out and nothing to show for it. Sasuke may have been a member of her ride-or-die family now, but back then he'd almost killed her multiple times and she'd still taken a few years to stop fantasizing about their wedding. Talk about pathetic. Luckily she'd beaten him up enough times by now that it wasn't embarrassing anymore.

So Sakura made sure to keep her nose to the grindstone and her lovers at arm's length. Some had tried to entice her further, but her heart was strictly business, solicitors shot on sight. This meant that on paper, Sakura's approach to dating was remarkably similar to Ino's, except Ino chewed up man hearts like some kind of romance werewolf. Sakura preferred to tell her more amorous paramours she was busy, then immerse herself in medical texts on a Saturday night and pretend she was having so much more fun learning. But where her old lovers had been tolerably beguiling, Kiba was developing into an overwhelming temptation and they weren't even dating each other.

Her mind strayed back to the examination room. She brushed past the hot focus on his attractive frame and pictured his grin instead, his warm eyes intent on hers, easy-going and lively. Kiba was probably a whole lot of fun in bed. Had she ever had sex that was just plain fun? Maybe she was denying herself a seriously good time on the basis of semantics.

Abruptly the image shifted, releasing a few years of cares and battles, and she saw him standing next to Naruto at the ramen stand at seventeen, hip cocked, posture easy. She called to them, heart a quivering thing in her chest, the imprint of his lips fresh and electrifying. Naruto launched into his regular glee. Kiba put up a hand and smiled at her like nothing had happened. The quivering stilled.

Sakura mentally slapped herself and shoved that little spark of hurt into the darkest corner she could reach. She didn't need it. Kiba was her friend and he was a sexy idiot, and also she hated him and he could shove all his dumb flirting up his sexy ass. She massaged her face roughly, exhaling. She didn't have an answer to Ino's questions, at least not one that Ino wouldn't see straight through, and Sakura didn't feel up to the interrogation that would trigger. Sometimes it sucked having a best friend who could practically read minds even without her stupid memory scanning jutsu.

An irritated sigh wafted over the table at her, and she looked up. Ino was shaking her head slowly. "You know I'll get it out of you eventually, you may as well just spill. It's not like I don't already know every embarrassing thing about you." The blonde cocked an eyebrow. "What, have you got the hots for one of the junior doctors you're training? Ooh, did he come to your office with a question and, like, give you the stare-down while you explained it to him, get you all hot and bothered? OOOOH, did you have illicit teacher-student sex on your desk?!"

Sakura snorted, face grim. "Obviously not. Wouldn't need to come to you if I was already boinking one of the interns."

Ino sat back, disappointed. "I suppose that's true."

"Look, it doesn't matter. I'm going to channel all my frustrations into a mission," Sakura said. "I asked about being put back on active duty. Tsunade-sama was surprisingly agreeable."

Ino's eyes widened. "Ohhhh, so that's why my schedule shifted. You're taking my spot on the Kusagakure mission. That's cool, I've been meaning to get more involved at the hospital anyway. And imagine that, Tsunade-sama adjusted your busy schedule without issue, almost like you're her favorite or something." Ino raised her eyebrows and cocked her head a little.

Sakura gave a dismissive wave. "Eh, I think it's more that when I'm not around, she gets more time to yell at newer staff members. And older staff members. And patients that piss her off."

"Well, enjoy your trip. If you get some leisure time, there's a new bath house that's supposed to have a fantastic spa, and you are under strict orders to check it out. Do not fail me, I'll expect a full report, soldier." Ino eyed her sternly, slurping her margarita with authority.

Sakura saluted with her glass. "Aye aye, cap'n."

It was technically morning, but still dark. Kiba was busy putting his considerable shinobi talents to task liberating some clothes and ninja tools from the treacherous stronghold of his own house.

When Kiba finished his noiseless packing, he stripped out of his civvies and slid into the black canvas pants of his tactical uniform. He belted the heavy fabric from knee to ankle, slipping armor plates between layers of dark leather straps for shin protection. Next came the sleeveless black turtleneck over his head. He snugged black arm warmers halfway up on his biceps, affixed metal arm guards to his forearms. Next was the grey flak jacket strapped securely over his shoulders, then his armored gloves. He attached his ninja pouches to the back of his waistband with silent fingers, slid his sword into its diagonal resting position across his back, grabbed his shoes, and slipped out the window to join the rest of the shadows. He leaned against a tree to jam his feet into the special-issue spiked sandals, and secured his porcelain mask to his face before moving stealthily into the branches.

For the last week, Kiba had been crashing on Shino's couch. Also, he'd stayed true to his word and spilled some guts about feelings. Shino had done a creditable job listening with only a mild salting of wise-ass commentary, but had no real advice. The truth was there was no advice that could help anyway because at the end of the day, the choices were pretty straightforward: continue being a pussy or fuckin' sack up. Kiba reserved the right to take as long as he needed to mull these options over. After all, he'd gone this long without braving the potentially deadly climb over the friendship fence between him and Sakura, and it's not like anyone was pressuring him to make a decision. Besides, he loved pussy. It's not like that was a bad thing to be.

He put on some speed, wanting to get to the gate well before their departure time of 0600 hours. Kiba was one of two ANBU escorting a delegate to the newly-declared Land of Hills, and he was looking forward to the quiet journey assured by black ops protocols, dictating that operatives only speak as necessary. This mission could not have come at a better time. Getting out of the village was fantastic for clearing his head.

This conveyance was one of a series of small olive branches the Hokage had been extending to the fledgling country, paltry back pats sanctioned by Fire Country's own daimyo. Good faith and diplomacy cloaked the reality: they were inspecting the underbelly of the tentative peace agreed upon after the Fourth Shinobi War. It was a surveillance op in the guise of an honor guard. Konoha remained strong enough to trust, but Konoha was also smart enough to quadruple check that shit. Needs must, hindsight could be a real bag of assholes.

The gate loomed up ahead in the flat pre-dawn light, and Kiba landed with a cool fifteen minutes spare. Neji was already there, long hair tied in a neat tail, distinct Hyuuga features hidden by a mask swirled over with thin lines of paint indicating his codename Hawk. Kiba's own mask denoted his codename of Boar, so bestowed because the Hokage had thought a wolf or dog too much of a giveaway. Kiba felt like it was still a big hint at his identity, as the sweeping strokes of tusks mimicked his natural fangs and clan tattoos in a similar bold red. Still, he couldn't argue with the woman's point that the designation was more about his pigheaded personality.

Neji turned his way, tilting his head in subtle greeting. "Feeling good?"

Kiba intertwined his fingers and pushed his arms forward, pulling the kinks out of his shoulders. He grinned behind his mask. "Feelin' scrappy as fuck."

Neji let out a low chuckle and crouched to give his hamstrings a stretch. Kiba hadn't worked with Neji much until he joined the stealth unit, but they made a compelling team. The pair warmed up in companionable silence until they felt approaching chakra, then stood to attention, and an invisible hand clamped around Kiba's throat.

Tsunade did not seem to be having a good morning, but she rarely did. She was grumbling about something, gesturing with controlled ferocity to the woman walking beside her, whose drab standard jounin clothes contrasted the shade of her hair, that sunrise pink still sleeping on the other side of the horizon.

Sometimes the fates were dicks. Wily insidious dicks.

"All right, listen up," Tsunade said, coming to a stop in front of them and planting hands on hips, "Your mission objectives stand as they were originally outlined, but I'm replacing Yamanaka Ino with Haruno Sakura. One skilled medic nin is as good as another in this case, and any idiot can be a diplomat. I'm sure the new daimyo doesn't care either way. Still, keep your eyes open. Stabilization processes make people antsy." She shared a look with her apprentice.

Sakura gave a curt nod, then addressed Neji. "Nice to work with you again, Hawk."

The taller man bowed his head in acknowledgment. Kiba shifted his stance without meaning to, tension thrilling in his limbs, and her eyes pinned him. "And nice to meet you, uh…"

"Boar." Kiba's voice came out hoarse. He licked his lips. The sudden onset of nerves did a passable job disguising his voice, if he needed a silver lining to cling to.

Sakura squinted her pretty eyes, scanning his painted features, then smiled. "I can see it now. Well met, Boar."

Neji turned for the gate, and Sakura fell into step behind him. Kiba followed along, senses rioting. Maybe he didn't have much to think about after all. Maybe it was simply do or die.

They moved into the trees after Sakura assured them she wanted to make good time. Neji took point, as he tended to, and Kiba tried to stay upwind of Sakura because it made it easier to focus on smelling for people who might be trying to kill them. After a while, he found himself falling back to move parallel with her. He casually glanced her way every so often on the pretense of getting a visual on their surroundings, never mind that Neji had that 110% handled with his all-seeing eyes. Sakura didn't seem to notice.

When Neji signaled they were stopping for the night, they landed in a small clearing and Sakura immediately got to work clearing a spot for a small fire. The Hyuuga signed that he'd take first watch. Kiba walked into the trees to gather some wood as Neji headed out to check the perimeter.

Then it occurred to him that he was alone with Sakura until watch change. Of course, she didn't know who he was, and he wasn't supposed to be talking anyway, but he was still going to be having a hard time with his goddamn nose. She was all sweaty from running, and he'd already been slapped with a whiff of that when the wind changed once (indecently good). Oh yes, he was going to be having a very hard time, wink wink, fuck everything.

She smiled up at him when he brought her his bundle of wood. He bit his tongue trying to get his other wood to mind its own business. Sakura whipped up a fire. Kiba sat down with his back against a tree, arms around his bent knees. The fire highlighted Sakura's features like a Renaissance painter, and Kiba swallowed roughly. It was gonna be a long night.

"This is simply amazing, Haruno." Sougen's voice was soft. "Amazing."

The man was sitting on a stool in front of her, stretching his torso without pain for the first time in years. Sakura kept her face schooled and professional, but inside she was doing a victory dance. Tsunade may not have been concerned about the diplomatic cover, but her personal goal had been to leave the Grass ninjas starry-eyed with gratitude. She seemed to be succeeding in this with her skillful undoing of an old war wound. The brand new daimyo of this territory, Juutoku Sougen, was formerly a jounin commander for the Hidden Grass who'd distinguished himself during the war. He'd also taken a deep kunai to the lower back, but dealt with it like most shinobi, meaning he'd ignored it until it started causing problems that couldn't also be ignored. After Sakura had healed the deep gnarl of scar tissue, it had still taken a few days to break up the resulting fascial rigidity that was twisting his entire back to the left. It was a slow and painful process, but Sougen tolerated it well and was rather charming in spite of his discomfort.

While Sougen was young for a daimyo and had no political bent, the citizens of Kusagakure had almost unanimously elected him. He'd joked with her that his lack of political interest was exactly what got him the job, but Sakura could see why the population (mostly shinobi) would choose a war general to be their political leader. The Land of Hills was previously a nameless battlefield for the bigger countries surrounding it, occupied only by the Hidden Grass and a few leery civilian villages. Sougen would have deeper insight into alliances than a career politician, but Sakura lacked knowledge to comment on his budget sense or possible bias regarding agendas for his hidden village. Military leaders tended to favor funding military endeavors.

Sakura mentally shook herself. The ANBU were taking care of the investigating part. She was here to heal.

Sougen was still mumbling quiet praise to himself. Sakura put a hand on his left shoulder and pushed gently, easing him further into the stretch as she ran her hand down the strong plane of his back, chakra skimming through the tissue. His muscle tone was already starting to even out, and the minor amount of re-adhesion was proof that he'd been doing the exercises she'd ordered. This boded well for him getting full strength and flexibility back. Sakura hummed her pleasure. She loved when patients listened. She moved her chakra hand up to his neck, smoothing her energy into the clenched muscles there. "Remember to extend the stretch along your neck too. Don't want you developing a different horrible kink in your spine."

His laugh was genial and attractive. "That would be bad. We'd have to put you on retainer."

Sakura smiled, lightly tapping his shoulder. He centered his torso, and she kneaded her thumbs up between his shoulder blades. "I'd certainly be happy to come back for a few follow-up appointments."

He groaned in response. Sakura had noticed he seemed to appreciate her grip. She stepped closer to reach over his shoulders, pressing her fingers into his pectorals. She dragged her fingertips across them as she pulled his shoulders into proper posture, then worked her thumbs down over his shoulder blades. Sakura was used to the intimacy of bodywork at this point in her healing career, but she'd actually been enjoying her time working on Sougen. Once he'd gotten comfortable with her being all up in his space, he loosened up like he'd been coming to her for years. He was a good conversationalist, and she'd been laughing more than she usually did on a job. Plus it didn't suck that he was easy on the eyes. Tall, dark, and handsome would get you every time.

"Do I only get massages if my back is still screwed up when you come back?" His tone was warm, teasing.

Sakura flushed a little, glad she was standing behind him. "You'll get something, but I promise you won't like it." She dug her fingers into his flesh for emphasis, and he chuckled.

"Oh, I don't know. You know how shinobi are," he said, tilting his head back to look at her with a grin. "We like it rough."

Sakura laughed. "Is that a challenge I hear? Careful now, these hands can bring down mountains."

"I'd risk property damage for more of your hands." His grin widened, softening the underlying intensity of his words. Sakura laughed more, pushing her thumbs down either side of his spine. His head dropped forward again and he hissed in gratification. She completed this final pass and brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders again, prodding the sides of his neck as she coaxed his head upright then smoothed her fingers back down, trickling calm energy into his system. She stepped back then. Her work was more than complete. Sougen had definitely benefitted from her need to work through her aggravation. She observed him as he stood and took a few steps forward, still adjusting to the feeling of standing straight again. Then he circled back around towards her. His expression was full of satisfaction and something else that made her stomach tighten a little.

"Excellent work."

"I aim to please." Sakura turned, feeling a little shy under his intense regard. She grabbed the straps of her pack and slipped it on. "Keep doing your exercises and give your body a few weeks to adjust. Let me know when you need me to come back."

"I'll do that." Sakura let the implications in his tone wash over her. She smiled at him and moved towards the door. Sougen fell into step beside her. She found herself very aware of his warm presence at her side as they made their way down and out of the building, and wondered smugly if her focus on Kiba had been a simple matter of proximity. Who needed that attractive piece of shit? Maybe it was time for her to see if the Hidden Grass really was greener...

Sougen pushed open one of the double front doors for her, his gaze on her face as she brushed by him. The ANBU were waiting, and turned at their approach. Sakura stopped, extending her hand to Sougen with a coy smile. "Thank you for your hospitality, Juutoku-sama."

He clasped her hand warmly, holding more than shaking goodbye. "I told you, the formality is unnecessary. Sougen is fine." His eyes crinkled at her.

Sakura let her tone turn silky. "Then I expect you to call me Sakura. I like to keep things even."

"Ah, then thank you for the healing, Sakura." His voice deepened as he said her name. Sakura's stomach tightened up again and she knew she was blushing.

Chakra flared like a sudden firework, and both of them turned to blink at her escorts. Boar's eyes were hidden behind the slits in his mask, but every line of his body radiated intensity as he angled his head toward her. Hawk remained motionless, save for sudden tension stiffening his shoulders. Sougen let go of her hand, saying, "Your guards are impatient for home it seems."

"Yes…" Sakura murmured, confused. What was that?

"I won't delay you any longer. Again, thank you. Safe journey until we meet again." She looked back, returning Sougen's warm smile as she began to walk away. The ANBU immediately began walking as well, leading the way to the village gate.

Sakura stared at Boar's back uncertainly, a few strides in front. It was still rigid.

What was that?...

Kiba was pissed.

By virtue of their different roles on the mission, he'd been able to steer clear of Sakura once they'd arrived in Kusagakure. Though the distance was what he'd been hoping for in the first place, he found that it didn't help. Kusagakure was devoid of any shady bullshit to investigate, so Kiba had been left to sneak around aimlessly without any real distraction. He'd been plagued with thoughts and dreams, pink tresses drifting in his peripheral vision like phantoms. And then that cocksucker had come out with his hands all over her, his smell all over her, and she'd smiled about it.

Okay, it made sense that Sakura would have had to touch the fuckin' guy during the healing process. And maybe Kiba had only seen him touch her hands. His nose had no real way of distinguishing the intentions underlying the scent, but body language was universal, and that fuckstick's whole posture was screaming that he wanted to pull her back to his office and bend her over the desk. Kiba hadn't been able to stop himself. He'd reacted. Sakura's scrutiny had seared him. And that motherfucker'd had the nerve to look at him like he'd just coughed to interrupt them, with the unhurried pace of a man secure in his strength, god damn him. And Kiba had been powerless to do anything more about it, hampered by the mask and the mission and goddamned cocksucking diplomacy.

Now they were closing in on the border between Hills and Fire, and his emotions were in uproar. He was running parallel with Sakura again and trying not to glance at her too obviously. He was too keyed up to tell if she was returning his looks.

The tall Hawk was leading the way through the branches again, long legs eating up the distance. Sakura's calves were burning, but she was finding herself more distracted by her thoughts than by the lactic acid build-up. Sougen's attraction had stirred her. He was a powerful man in many respects, and he'd been far more subtle than Kiba. She felt there was a good chance Sougen would escalate things the next time he saw her. The idea pleased her. Kiba who?

She kicked off from a branch at the same time as Boar, who was keeping pace to her right. Sakura peeked at him, mind wandering to his odd behavior from earlier. Had he been reacting to Sougen? She'd been right next to the man, she would have noticed if he'd done anything questionable. It was worth mentioning in her report, that was weird for an ANB—

Her senses caught a flash of presence as an iron vise clamped around her waist, yanking her backwards. Something exploded on the right. She felt the sting of jagged metal tearing across her arm. A moment later, she was on the ground, dazed.

She looked up, caught a glimpse of Boar's mask before he whipped around. His sword was a flicker of silver, finding a temporary sheath in the body of the attacker flying after them. The man grunted, eyes wide and surprised, but Boar gave him no time to react further. His sword traced a gleaming arc in the penumbra of the forest as he spun and slit the man's throat before launching back into the trees.

A drop of blood hit her cheek. This broke the spell and she surged to her feet, channeling chakra to her fists by rote, but the fight was over almost as soon as it had begun. Another body thudded to the ground a few meters away, followed by her masked savior in a silent crouch.

"Third one ran. Hawk in pursuit." His voice had a strained quality, and as he slowly got to his feet, Sakura saw why.

A chunk of metal had found the seam between the armor plates on the left side of his flak jacket. Sakura sucked in a breath and ran to him. Closer, she could see that the chunk had entered at a diagonal, such that it pierced him through and was pushing at his armor from the inside. She could smell the blood now as it soaked his clothes a darker shade of black.

"Woah there," she said, "Why don't you crouch down again for me." Years of battlefield training kept her hands steady on his shoulders as she inched him back down. His breathing was shallow. Sakura placed one hand on his side around the shard, and slipped the other under his shirt, immediately infusing his torso with chakra. The shard had shredded through his intestines. She needed to work in stages.

"I need you to breathe for me, okay? I can fix you up, just hold on." She glanced up at his face, catching a tiny nod of the mask as she moved her hands to the hem of his jacket and used a light burst of chakra strength to tear the heavy fabric, trying not to tweak the shard. Then Sakura chanted reassurance, hold on, breathe, as she started to pull the shard out.

Little by little, she knitted organs back together, cleaned gut mess, and he breathed for her.

(hold on)

She wasn't aware how much time was passing. She only registered Hawk's return when he crouched behind Boar to brace him when he started to sway from blood loss.

(breathe)

When Sakura at last eased the point from his side, Boar stiffened for a moment before pitching forward with a big exhale, but she was right there and let him slump over the top of her, patching the last of the damage. Her work wasn't perfect, but would hold until they got him to the hospital. She tipped him back into Hawk's arms as gently as she could, plucking at straps and pulling his flak jacket over his head so she could pull his shirt up to make sure she wasn't missing anything.

His skin was hot under her fingers, revealing only a snarl of old scar, and her throat clenched. She'd seen that exact scar on her exam table less than two weeks ago.

Fuck. Inuzuka Kiba had just saved her goddamn life.

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Kiba's on edge and Sakura is rapidly joining him. Could there be any more tension?

The answer is yes.

Also, if anyone is concerned about Sakura not getting her chance to throw down, no worries. It's coming.

Land of Hills = me playing off of the Hidden Grass being in an unnamed country. Juutoku Sougen is my creation.