A/N: GREETINGS!!!!!!!!!! - yes, me again! THE AUTHOR'S NOTE IS IMPORTANT,
THAT IS CORRECT, IMPORTANT THIS TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't have much to say... until after the story's written. -.- I know I scared everyone... and you know it too.
Everyone: Well, actually-
I KNOW I SCARED YOU. --
So, I guess it's read on! . :D I've just drunk my cappuccino and I get twitchy even if I just smell it... XD so I might have some spelling mistakes... just warning you.... arm spasms oh, yeah, and uhh... (hee hee hee) ... I couldn't tell you before! It would have ruined it. pouts I don't mind flames, but uhh.... Try to keep the caps lock off... it's annoying. - oh, yeah, and don't worry, Gaara will be back soon. :D and Hinata does NOT end up with .... It was more of a friendship type a thing.... I think.... XD we'll just have to see.
-----
Hinata yawned, blinking a little as she woke. Gaara was awake, finishing the remnants of his Miso ramen. Looking around, she propped her head on her hand, her elbow digging into the futon.
"Good... err... evening?" Hinata looked confused. Gaara shook his head.
"Afternoon."
"Really?" Hinata smiled at Gaara. Gaara turned and lifted up the window slightly, and Hinata blinked, then shrugged.
"I had a strange dream," Gaara said absently, spacing out. Hinata looked at him, slightly worried by the look on his face.
"Really? What was it about?" Hinata asked curiously.
"..." Gaara looked away, and Hinata felt slightly uneasy. What would make Gaara quiet?
He finally spoke, so soft she could barely hear him.
"I... I died..." He said, looking down at his hands. Hinata frowned. Was he making too much of it? She broke out in a cold sweat, swallowing.
"A-and?" She prodded gently, sitting up and facing him, giving him her full attention.
"... it felt so real... please don't ever leave me alone," He begged, fearing her answer.
Hinata smiled, standing up and moving over to his bed. She gave him a hug, tight and warm.
"I'm not going anywhere," She said reassuringly.
For the first time in his life, Gaara felt secure. Her arms wrapped around him, his arms around her. If someone tipped them over, they wouldn't let go in time to catch themselves.
"Did I come at a bad time?" Kakashi smiled at the blushing couple. "You should think about closing the door, you know," He teased. "I have some food for you, Hinata."
Hinata smiled, ducking behind her hair. "Arigato, Sensei." Gaara only nodded. Kakashi backed out with Gaara's empty tray, winking at them.
"Don't worry, I'm not saying anything." He laughed and walked away, closing the door. Gaara played with Hinata's hair, inhaling her scent as she was buried in his chest.
"It felt like... it felt like the moon being torn from the stars, when I died. The... the look on your face..." Gaara swallowed thickly, laying down. Hinata kissed him, her slightly limp body resting on his rather tired one.
"Gaara... It was just a dream... it's okay," Hinata said softly, her warm cheek resting against his cold one. (A/N: No, not those ones. XD)
Gaara nodded slightly, but was still unsure. What if that had happened? Who would take care of Hinata...
Kakashi burst in, a serious look on his face. Hinata and Gaara looked at him.
"Err... We have to go," Kakashi said quickly, staring at the position they were in.
Hinata climbed off of Gaara, blushing slightly.
"Why?" Gaara asked.
"Because we have to go and fight. Uchiha Itachi is back. Along with his friends," Kakashi said. "and he's coming our way. Let's go!"
Sensing the urgency, they stood and exited, swiftly going outside.
To see the famous missing-nin of Hidden Leaf standing with a vague look on his face. He immediately looked at them, and smiled.
Swallowing, Hinata felt some strange familiarity with him. She frowned, knowing she'd seen him somewhere.
"Aww, has Ta-chan found a friend?" Itachi smirked, his red eyes staring at Gaara standing in front of Hinata, his cold look playing on his face.
"... wait...." Hinata frowned, thinking hard. Chi-chan...?
Gulping, Hinata started shaking. "C-chi-chan?" She asked timidly, afraid that she was right. Her only child hood friend. What had happened? Why weren't they dead?
Gaara said nothing, but looked at Hinata with a confused look.
"I knew you'd remember me," Itachi beamed, a curious look for him.
"Your fight is with me," Sasuke intoned coldly, glaring at Itachi with hatred. He stood between them, having leapt from the tree he hid in.
"Ah, Ke-chan!" Itachi grinned, making Sasuke twitch slightly.
"What are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded.
"Well, I thought since I was already in town, that I'd come see you! How's everyone?" He asked cheerfully. Sasuke stared at him, sweat dropping with everyone else.
"Who are you?" Sasuke snarled, flicking out three shuriken from his sleeve.
"Eh? Who are you? You sure aren't the cute little chibi from my childhood," Itachi said, a teasing note in his voice.
Sasuke's cheek twitched ever so slightly, and he asked the question that had been haunting him since he was a child. "Why did you kill them?"
"Er, who?" Itachi blinked, bending down to look Sasuke in the eye. Putting a hand on his forehead, Itachi frowned.
"You don't seem to have a fever... Hey, where's okassan? Outassan is probably out training, right?" His eyes were wide with excitement.
Hinata cleared her throat, nervously moving forward.
"Y... you killed them all... except for Sasuke..." Hinata said softly. Itachi blinked.
"What day is it?" he asked.
"Wednesday." She answered, starting to get confused. Gaara reached for his gourd. He froze as there was nothing there. He must have left it in his room. He tried to keep the panic away.
What if it doesn't come again?
Swallowing, Gaara felt extremely vulnerable. What if Hinata was hurt? He'd have no way of protecting her.
"Eh? Ta-chan, are you alright? It's Thursday!" He frowned at her.
Hinata shook her head. "Chi-chan, it's Wednesday," Hinata said, wondering if he was unstable.
"Nuh-uh! Monday, I went through the forest, then I found a field. I camped there, and then it was Tuesday. I went to a small village, and ate a little. They gave me some weird looks so I left. Then... oh... okay, maybe it is Wednesday, but..." His face fell slightly.
"Oh, fine, you win," Itachi muttered, scowling. Hinata sighed slightly. Why was he acting like such a child?
A thought struck her. Memory loss? It seemed sort of stupid, the thing that defeated a ninja who killed an entire clan aside from his brother.
"Ah... It- er... Chi-chan, when is your birthday?"
He snorted, than thought, frowning more and more.
"Uhh... I..." Sasuke seemed to have caught on.
"You don't remember anything? What you did?" He demanded, narrowing his eyes. If this was a ploy, it wasn't the best.
Kisame jumped neatly in between them.
"Itachi, what are you doing?" He sighed, moving out of the way, dragging Itachi a few feet away.
After a whispered conversation, Kisame shook his head slightly, frowning.
"Minna-san, Itachi has frequent memory losses... it's from a wound dealt from his Clan while they tried to murder him, so he went insane. Sorry." He shrugged, his rather strange face grimacing.
Hinata swallowed. What..?
"What happened?" Gaara asked, staring at the bruise on Itachi's left temple.
"Well, Itachi was somewhat a kind of... uhh... experiment. Every one in the Clan channeled their chakra into him. That's why he's so powerful. And due to his rather, er, explosive temper, they decided it was simply too dangerous. So, they tried to kill him. Of course, they didn't know he built up all the chakra inside him, every time he got mad. Hey, Sasuke, don't you remember the fits he had?"
"... hai...." His parents had dragged him away every time, and he only saw bits of it. Nearly the entire clan was gathered outside, and Sasuke had to stay in the room that he and Itachi shared. And his older brother would come back in, late at night. Of course Sasuke would have stayed up, waiting.
And when he came, Itachi was always so exhausted, his wrists tied together behind him. It wasn't the most comfortable way to sleep.
Sasuke swallowed. But it can't be...
That's lovely. The only family I have is insane, because of my family.... Sasuke turned, and walked resolutely back to his house.
No, he corrected bitterly, OUR house.
Sitting in his old room, he stared across the room at the old, unused futon.
But now it would not be vacant anymore. Staring at the bed, he supposed that Itachi wouldn't like the memories brought on by his childhood bed, but he remembered it was unlikely that he'd remember it at all.
Sitting down on his bed, he silently closed his eyes.
"Nice, innit?" Itachi's voice interrupted the warm, soothing , familiar calm.
"..."
"Listen, where is e-" he froze, as he spotted the bed, his eyes wide with fear and recognition.
He slowly inhaled, then exhaled, his eyes red with the three black dots.
Sasuke felt a sinking feeling inside.
Another fit... with no one but me to control him with.... Kuso...
"...that's... that's the bed..." he said, gulping. Sasuke stared.
"That's.... no..." Itachi backed out, his eyes wide.
"..." Sasuke said nothing, just looked down.
"... and you knew?" his sad, pitiful voice made Sasuke look up.
"You... you knew that happened... and you stayed in here?" He asked quietly, and the unanswered question hung in the air as he walked out, quietly closing the door. Slow, deliberate, thinking footsteps followed.
Sasuke felt sick.
He should not have done that... and now, the only living family he had left, would probably have to stay outside and be killed or eaten.
That was just lovely. With a sigh, Sasuke walked out, gently closing the door, and glanced into the rooms to make sure he didn't go outside.
He had.
Or at least, he wasn't inside.
Stepping outside, he searched the woods, carefully aware of his surroundings. It wouldn't do to be killed by some wayward animal or person.
Checking up and down, Sasuke jumped from tree to tree. Looking around, he spotted a bundle of black on the forest floor. Leaping down, he approached him. His brown hair was visible, against the metallic gleam of metal. The leaf symbol stood out, and Sasuke sighed.
"Itachi, I'm sorry. Will you come back? It's dangerous out here," he said glumly.
"I know you don't want me in there. I don't want to stay here," Itachi said softly, looking away.
"How?"
"Because you don't call me Onii-chan anymore." He whispered.
"..." Sasuke couldn't find anything to say.
"Go back. You'll get a cold," He said simply, closing his eyes.
"Not without you. You are coming back. I don't care where in the house you stay, but you're staying there," he said stubbornly.
Itachi shrugged simply. "You'll go." He said, as if knowing he would.
As clouds passed the moon, Sasuke stood simply, his arms folded and Itachi watched quietly.
A few minutes later, Sasuke shook his head. "I'm not just going to leave you here."
"Yes, you are." Itachi said, unmoving.
Sasuke glared at Itachi, and Itachi smirked.
"Fine. Stay here and rot." Sasuke turned, and walked away. The cold air bit at him, turning his skin cold.
"Ha, ha." Itachi said, and Sasuke continued back.
You'll be fine... he'll be fine...he can take care of himself.
Can't he?
With a sigh, Sasuke turned back again and walked towards him, muttering.
"How can he be my brother? So annoying..."
As he walked back, Itachi had not moved.
"You know, you are coming-" a small snore from Itachi interrupted Sasuke.
Extremely vexed, Sasuke stormed over and pulled him up. Tossing him over his back, Sasuke stalked back, sweating and irritated.
"You're extremely... heavy," Sasuke sulked, as he entered the house.
"I know," Itachi answered happily.
"NANI!??!" Sasuke shouted, dropping him.
Smiling coyly up at him, Itachi said, "Thanks for the ride. Now, where shall I stay? Oh! Let's see... the living room is good." Nearly skipping, Itachi went to the living room, tossing a smirk back at the seething Sasuke.
"Good night," Itachi said cheerily, closing the door.
Grumbling under his breath, Sasuke scowled at the door and went to his room, going to sleep.
The sun glanced off Sasuke's face. He frowned.
The window was over Itachi's bed. His eyes opened, and he closed them tightly, scowling.
"What are you doing?"
"Waking you up!" Itachi said cheerfully. The sun reflected onto the mirror. Even behind the lids, it was orange and red.
"Go... away..." Sasuke said calmly.
"Not until you get up. Hinata's waiting," Itachi said in a sing song voice.
Opening his eyes, Sasuke glared and Itachi set the mirror down.
"Come on, let's go. It's nine."
"What?"
"It's nine." Itachi got up, walking out.
With a groan, Sasuke stood up, the room spinning slightly. Sitting back down, Sasuke closed his eyes.
Great.
And now, just like Itachi had said, he had caught a cold.
Sneezing, Sasuke scowled darkly.
Itachi's head popped back in, and he smiled sweetly.
"Aww, I knew it. A cold." Itachi walked in, Hinata following along with Gaara.
Sasuke fell back down, turning to his side so he wasn't facing them and went to sleep.
Neji leaned on the door, waiting.
A/N: Well, that was fun! It's still TUESDAY! I made it!.... eh... at least it's not a cliffie... right...? -
This chapter isn't very important, I know, but that's okay... I think...
I don't have much to say... until after the story's written. -.- I know I scared everyone... and you know it too.
Everyone: Well, actually-
I KNOW I SCARED YOU. --
So, I guess it's read on! . :D I've just drunk my cappuccino and I get twitchy even if I just smell it... XD so I might have some spelling mistakes... just warning you.... arm spasms oh, yeah, and uhh... (hee hee hee) ... I couldn't tell you before! It would have ruined it. pouts I don't mind flames, but uhh.... Try to keep the caps lock off... it's annoying. - oh, yeah, and don't worry, Gaara will be back soon. :D and Hinata does NOT end up with .... It was more of a friendship type a thing.... I think.... XD we'll just have to see.
-----
Hinata yawned, blinking a little as she woke. Gaara was awake, finishing the remnants of his Miso ramen. Looking around, she propped her head on her hand, her elbow digging into the futon.
"Good... err... evening?" Hinata looked confused. Gaara shook his head.
"Afternoon."
"Really?" Hinata smiled at Gaara. Gaara turned and lifted up the window slightly, and Hinata blinked, then shrugged.
"I had a strange dream," Gaara said absently, spacing out. Hinata looked at him, slightly worried by the look on his face.
"Really? What was it about?" Hinata asked curiously.
"..." Gaara looked away, and Hinata felt slightly uneasy. What would make Gaara quiet?
He finally spoke, so soft she could barely hear him.
"I... I died..." He said, looking down at his hands. Hinata frowned. Was he making too much of it? She broke out in a cold sweat, swallowing.
"A-and?" She prodded gently, sitting up and facing him, giving him her full attention.
"... it felt so real... please don't ever leave me alone," He begged, fearing her answer.
Hinata smiled, standing up and moving over to his bed. She gave him a hug, tight and warm.
"I'm not going anywhere," She said reassuringly.
For the first time in his life, Gaara felt secure. Her arms wrapped around him, his arms around her. If someone tipped them over, they wouldn't let go in time to catch themselves.
"Did I come at a bad time?" Kakashi smiled at the blushing couple. "You should think about closing the door, you know," He teased. "I have some food for you, Hinata."
Hinata smiled, ducking behind her hair. "Arigato, Sensei." Gaara only nodded. Kakashi backed out with Gaara's empty tray, winking at them.
"Don't worry, I'm not saying anything." He laughed and walked away, closing the door. Gaara played with Hinata's hair, inhaling her scent as she was buried in his chest.
"It felt like... it felt like the moon being torn from the stars, when I died. The... the look on your face..." Gaara swallowed thickly, laying down. Hinata kissed him, her slightly limp body resting on his rather tired one.
"Gaara... It was just a dream... it's okay," Hinata said softly, her warm cheek resting against his cold one. (A/N: No, not those ones. XD)
Gaara nodded slightly, but was still unsure. What if that had happened? Who would take care of Hinata...
Kakashi burst in, a serious look on his face. Hinata and Gaara looked at him.
"Err... We have to go," Kakashi said quickly, staring at the position they were in.
Hinata climbed off of Gaara, blushing slightly.
"Why?" Gaara asked.
"Because we have to go and fight. Uchiha Itachi is back. Along with his friends," Kakashi said. "and he's coming our way. Let's go!"
Sensing the urgency, they stood and exited, swiftly going outside.
To see the famous missing-nin of Hidden Leaf standing with a vague look on his face. He immediately looked at them, and smiled.
Swallowing, Hinata felt some strange familiarity with him. She frowned, knowing she'd seen him somewhere.
"Aww, has Ta-chan found a friend?" Itachi smirked, his red eyes staring at Gaara standing in front of Hinata, his cold look playing on his face.
"... wait...." Hinata frowned, thinking hard. Chi-chan...?
Gulping, Hinata started shaking. "C-chi-chan?" She asked timidly, afraid that she was right. Her only child hood friend. What had happened? Why weren't they dead?
Gaara said nothing, but looked at Hinata with a confused look.
"I knew you'd remember me," Itachi beamed, a curious look for him.
"Your fight is with me," Sasuke intoned coldly, glaring at Itachi with hatred. He stood between them, having leapt from the tree he hid in.
"Ah, Ke-chan!" Itachi grinned, making Sasuke twitch slightly.
"What are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded.
"Well, I thought since I was already in town, that I'd come see you! How's everyone?" He asked cheerfully. Sasuke stared at him, sweat dropping with everyone else.
"Who are you?" Sasuke snarled, flicking out three shuriken from his sleeve.
"Eh? Who are you? You sure aren't the cute little chibi from my childhood," Itachi said, a teasing note in his voice.
Sasuke's cheek twitched ever so slightly, and he asked the question that had been haunting him since he was a child. "Why did you kill them?"
"Er, who?" Itachi blinked, bending down to look Sasuke in the eye. Putting a hand on his forehead, Itachi frowned.
"You don't seem to have a fever... Hey, where's okassan? Outassan is probably out training, right?" His eyes were wide with excitement.
Hinata cleared her throat, nervously moving forward.
"Y... you killed them all... except for Sasuke..." Hinata said softly. Itachi blinked.
"What day is it?" he asked.
"Wednesday." She answered, starting to get confused. Gaara reached for his gourd. He froze as there was nothing there. He must have left it in his room. He tried to keep the panic away.
What if it doesn't come again?
Swallowing, Gaara felt extremely vulnerable. What if Hinata was hurt? He'd have no way of protecting her.
"Eh? Ta-chan, are you alright? It's Thursday!" He frowned at her.
Hinata shook her head. "Chi-chan, it's Wednesday," Hinata said, wondering if he was unstable.
"Nuh-uh! Monday, I went through the forest, then I found a field. I camped there, and then it was Tuesday. I went to a small village, and ate a little. They gave me some weird looks so I left. Then... oh... okay, maybe it is Wednesday, but..." His face fell slightly.
"Oh, fine, you win," Itachi muttered, scowling. Hinata sighed slightly. Why was he acting like such a child?
A thought struck her. Memory loss? It seemed sort of stupid, the thing that defeated a ninja who killed an entire clan aside from his brother.
"Ah... It- er... Chi-chan, when is your birthday?"
He snorted, than thought, frowning more and more.
"Uhh... I..." Sasuke seemed to have caught on.
"You don't remember anything? What you did?" He demanded, narrowing his eyes. If this was a ploy, it wasn't the best.
Kisame jumped neatly in between them.
"Itachi, what are you doing?" He sighed, moving out of the way, dragging Itachi a few feet away.
After a whispered conversation, Kisame shook his head slightly, frowning.
"Minna-san, Itachi has frequent memory losses... it's from a wound dealt from his Clan while they tried to murder him, so he went insane. Sorry." He shrugged, his rather strange face grimacing.
Hinata swallowed. What..?
"What happened?" Gaara asked, staring at the bruise on Itachi's left temple.
"Well, Itachi was somewhat a kind of... uhh... experiment. Every one in the Clan channeled their chakra into him. That's why he's so powerful. And due to his rather, er, explosive temper, they decided it was simply too dangerous. So, they tried to kill him. Of course, they didn't know he built up all the chakra inside him, every time he got mad. Hey, Sasuke, don't you remember the fits he had?"
"... hai...." His parents had dragged him away every time, and he only saw bits of it. Nearly the entire clan was gathered outside, and Sasuke had to stay in the room that he and Itachi shared. And his older brother would come back in, late at night. Of course Sasuke would have stayed up, waiting.
And when he came, Itachi was always so exhausted, his wrists tied together behind him. It wasn't the most comfortable way to sleep.
Sasuke swallowed. But it can't be...
That's lovely. The only family I have is insane, because of my family.... Sasuke turned, and walked resolutely back to his house.
No, he corrected bitterly, OUR house.
Sitting in his old room, he stared across the room at the old, unused futon.
But now it would not be vacant anymore. Staring at the bed, he supposed that Itachi wouldn't like the memories brought on by his childhood bed, but he remembered it was unlikely that he'd remember it at all.
Sitting down on his bed, he silently closed his eyes.
"Nice, innit?" Itachi's voice interrupted the warm, soothing , familiar calm.
"..."
"Listen, where is e-" he froze, as he spotted the bed, his eyes wide with fear and recognition.
He slowly inhaled, then exhaled, his eyes red with the three black dots.
Sasuke felt a sinking feeling inside.
Another fit... with no one but me to control him with.... Kuso...
"...that's... that's the bed..." he said, gulping. Sasuke stared.
"That's.... no..." Itachi backed out, his eyes wide.
"..." Sasuke said nothing, just looked down.
"... and you knew?" his sad, pitiful voice made Sasuke look up.
"You... you knew that happened... and you stayed in here?" He asked quietly, and the unanswered question hung in the air as he walked out, quietly closing the door. Slow, deliberate, thinking footsteps followed.
Sasuke felt sick.
He should not have done that... and now, the only living family he had left, would probably have to stay outside and be killed or eaten.
That was just lovely. With a sigh, Sasuke walked out, gently closing the door, and glanced into the rooms to make sure he didn't go outside.
He had.
Or at least, he wasn't inside.
Stepping outside, he searched the woods, carefully aware of his surroundings. It wouldn't do to be killed by some wayward animal or person.
Checking up and down, Sasuke jumped from tree to tree. Looking around, he spotted a bundle of black on the forest floor. Leaping down, he approached him. His brown hair was visible, against the metallic gleam of metal. The leaf symbol stood out, and Sasuke sighed.
"Itachi, I'm sorry. Will you come back? It's dangerous out here," he said glumly.
"I know you don't want me in there. I don't want to stay here," Itachi said softly, looking away.
"How?"
"Because you don't call me Onii-chan anymore." He whispered.
"..." Sasuke couldn't find anything to say.
"Go back. You'll get a cold," He said simply, closing his eyes.
"Not without you. You are coming back. I don't care where in the house you stay, but you're staying there," he said stubbornly.
Itachi shrugged simply. "You'll go." He said, as if knowing he would.
As clouds passed the moon, Sasuke stood simply, his arms folded and Itachi watched quietly.
A few minutes later, Sasuke shook his head. "I'm not just going to leave you here."
"Yes, you are." Itachi said, unmoving.
Sasuke glared at Itachi, and Itachi smirked.
"Fine. Stay here and rot." Sasuke turned, and walked away. The cold air bit at him, turning his skin cold.
"Ha, ha." Itachi said, and Sasuke continued back.
You'll be fine... he'll be fine...he can take care of himself.
Can't he?
With a sigh, Sasuke turned back again and walked towards him, muttering.
"How can he be my brother? So annoying..."
As he walked back, Itachi had not moved.
"You know, you are coming-" a small snore from Itachi interrupted Sasuke.
Extremely vexed, Sasuke stormed over and pulled him up. Tossing him over his back, Sasuke stalked back, sweating and irritated.
"You're extremely... heavy," Sasuke sulked, as he entered the house.
"I know," Itachi answered happily.
"NANI!??!" Sasuke shouted, dropping him.
Smiling coyly up at him, Itachi said, "Thanks for the ride. Now, where shall I stay? Oh! Let's see... the living room is good." Nearly skipping, Itachi went to the living room, tossing a smirk back at the seething Sasuke.
"Good night," Itachi said cheerily, closing the door.
Grumbling under his breath, Sasuke scowled at the door and went to his room, going to sleep.
The sun glanced off Sasuke's face. He frowned.
The window was over Itachi's bed. His eyes opened, and he closed them tightly, scowling.
"What are you doing?"
"Waking you up!" Itachi said cheerfully. The sun reflected onto the mirror. Even behind the lids, it was orange and red.
"Go... away..." Sasuke said calmly.
"Not until you get up. Hinata's waiting," Itachi said in a sing song voice.
Opening his eyes, Sasuke glared and Itachi set the mirror down.
"Come on, let's go. It's nine."
"What?"
"It's nine." Itachi got up, walking out.
With a groan, Sasuke stood up, the room spinning slightly. Sitting back down, Sasuke closed his eyes.
Great.
And now, just like Itachi had said, he had caught a cold.
Sneezing, Sasuke scowled darkly.
Itachi's head popped back in, and he smiled sweetly.
"Aww, I knew it. A cold." Itachi walked in, Hinata following along with Gaara.
Sasuke fell back down, turning to his side so he wasn't facing them and went to sleep.
Neji leaned on the door, waiting.
A/N: Well, that was fun! It's still TUESDAY! I made it!.... eh... at least it's not a cliffie... right...? -
This chapter isn't very important, I know, but that's okay... I think...