Author's Note(s): This is a slight crossover/combining certain animes/mangas between Peacemaker Kurogane and Samurai Champloo. Only one character appears in this fic from the latter anime/manga…so yeah. I'm sure that someone has attempted this already (crossing the two)... If not, I feel sort of odd doing it. ..; I am still confused about Samurai Champloo's time frame, but since it took me too long to write this, I just have to push forward. The title of this fic originated from a lovely song by the indie Japanese rock band, Deadman. Big ol' warning for OOC-ness. Comments and criticism are more than welcomed. Annnnd do enjoy!
Disclaimer: Peacemaker Kurogane does not belong to me but to the awesome Nanae Chrono. Annnd Samurai Champloo belongs to the…creators of Cowboy Bebop!
Sakura to ame
"I'll take that one too, please. Oh! And that one as well if you don't mind!"
The middle-aged salesman smiled as he reached inside of the glass case brimming with an assortment of candies. The young man before him was one of his few 'every other day' customers. Every other day, this long-haired youth would step into his shop, eyes wide, engulfed with a child-like curiosity, and lips were stretched in to an innocent smile. He could only watch as the young man bustled and buzzed about, no doubt peering at all of the candies restrained as well as displayed in glass cases. Sometimes, he had a companion or more tagging along with him, and even they couldn't catch up with his nimble frame as it rushed to and fro. Only one male in particular could settle him, reprimand him from moving around too fast or too much. Compared to the sun-shine glow that illuminated the younger man's face, the other man represented a dark, moonless night with the deep scowl that resided upon his features.
"Will this be all for you, young man?" He inquired softly, placing the chosen candies inside of a paper bag. This customer had already decided upon several other candies before these. He wasn't a picky candy-eater, thankfully.
"Ah, uuummm…" looking rather thoughtful as his eyes scanned the cases rather thoroughly, he couldn't help but to note how much he was splurging on sweets today. With his own money no less. Perhaps he'd convince Hijikata to purchase him more later on. Just for old time's sake.
"I'd like three bags of black candy too! That'll be all for today, Sanagatsu-san!"
Sanagatsu Aoi produced a highly amused laugh as he reached inside of the case and withdrew the indicated number of the specified candy. This boy's light, almost airy childish demeanor was quite infectious. It was like a rare yet sweet scent that one inhaled on a horridly awful day, and just from that one inhalation, everything seemed right within the world.
Placing the sweets inside of the bag, the older man then calculated the figures mentally. Today, the other had spent well over 1100 yen. He must have placed himself on a budget of some kind, or, considering how he was alone and wasn't accompanied by the tall and lurking man that frowned a good percentage of the time, he would probably wait until later to have him splurge upon his sweet tooth. "That'll be 1200 yen, young sir."
Beaming quite proudly, Okita Souji reached inside of his coin purse and silently thanked Kondo Isami for stealthily slipping him a few more yen or so in his stash. Hijikata had given him a firm lecture on spending and over-spending on sweets while giving him 1100 yen to spend. Fortunately, Kondo, fully knowing that that little bit of yen wouldn't cover much, decided to give the young male more. Of course he had checked his surroundings first before doing such a thing. Everyone knew that when Hijikata strictly enforced something upon Souji, it was a law, and it was to be abided by all, including Kondo.
Haplessly, the chief was a man who couldn't stand to see a pouting Souji. Such an expression had caused him to break the law within the same hour it had been forced.
…and Souji hoped that Hijikata had not been spying in on them during the exchange…
"Here you are!" Souji announced as he placed the exact amount of change in to the man's awaiting palm.
"Oh no, thank you young man," Aoi proclaimed with a wide smile of his own, handing the paper bag over to Souji. "You have a nice day, okay?"
Chuckling softly, the royal-purple eyed commander nodded, accepting his bag full of candies merrily. "Oh, I will. You too, sir."
Stepping away from the counter, Souji then turned on his heel and headed for the exit. He would be on duty in the next few hours, so he wanted to be sure to have a treat awaiting him when he returned to the Shinsengumi Head Quarters.
Poking his head out a bit, he peered up at the sky, somewhat surprised at how quickly the clouds had transitioned from being a pure white to a now dreadful gray.
Souji frowned. Was this a tiny punishment for him from accepting the few extra yen? It had been so lovely out, no one would have dared fathom that rain would sneak its way in at all.
"Young man?"
Sticking his head back in, he then whirled on his heel, facing the salesman with raised brows.
"Hai?"
"You do know that the rain season is fast approaching, don't you?"
"Ah! I forgot all about the rain season!" Souji confessed, now very much surprised by this new piece of information. The rain season usually meant a consecutive amount of days would be dreary and filled with rain all day and all night. It also meant that Hijikata would not, for the life of anyone, allow Souji outside of the head quarters until the ground was completely dry.
"Well, if you need an umbrella, I certainly wouldn't mind if you borrowed one of mine."
Lips curling in to another grin, Souji just nodded graciously. At least this would help keep Hijikata's persistent worries at bay.
"Thank you, Sanagatsu-san!"
The sheets of rain came down like a torrent of pellets, tapping the ground rhythmically. Such heavy droplets had caused many to rush to their places of residences, or to simply close up shop and retire to their beds. No one desired to be caught anywhere near this weather, for the fear of becoming thoroughly drenched and then receiving a devastating illness was more than just an idea, but a mere promise.
He, however, only watched as the town's people scurried home, resembling tiny vermin as they did so. They ran, uncovered in this hellish rain, almost as if the water would not touch them. How simplistic and ignorant to believe such a thing.
Yet, if one were to cease their rushing, they too would have witnessed the young man settled beneath the tree, staring. The only protection he obtained was his straw hat, which obviously did not help much. He felt that he may as well be standing out in the street, hat and all.
Nevertheless, he remained there, back against the bark of the tree. Eyes closed, he bowed his head, simply listening to the rain's melodic production. It was very rare that he received such an opportunity to reside in complete silence nowadays. It had been what? A few months since he had truly offered his appreciation to nature? Not that he paid much attention to the weather and Mother Earth's inhabitants, he just desired a moment's worth of silence.
…but ever since he met those two…
Luckily, he had escaped his so-called 'traveling companions' and wandered through town, possessing no destination in particular. The girl, she had meandered behind him before something had caught her eyes, and that obnoxious, overly annoying guy had, undoubtedly, ventured off in to the Red Light District for absolute pleasure. Or whatever that vagrant engaged himself in to.
So now it was just him, the rain, and his thoughts.
He deserved a much-needed rest.
"It's raining; why are you outside?"
"I should be asking you the same thing."
"Aha, but I'm the one with the umbrella though, Silly."
"And? You'll still catch cold."
"At least mine won't be as hideous as yours."
"You would say such a thing."
"Seriously, why are you still out here?"
"To clear my head, perhaps."
"Ne, sir? Sir?"
A soft but firm tug upon his sleeve, followed by a gentle voice.
"Sir? You shouldn't be outside in this weather ne. You'll catch a horrid cold!"
A slight frown fell upon his brows. Evidently, this person contained worries for others rather than themselves. Such unselfishness would have been greatly appreciated by one who gave an absolute damn.
Jin, however, wasn't one of those who gave a rat's ass at the moment. He was exhausted, not to mention hungry, and being broke beyond belief was not assuaging his predicament at all.
So having some stranger informing him that he could catch a cold out in this weather was a very trivial thing considering his situation. Oh yes, very much trivial.
Nevertheless, he figured, being nice might actually get him somewhere. Maybe a nice room, containing a warm bed. A small, hot meal would have been nice too…
Slowly, his eyelids drifted open, revealing dark, feral cobalts. His vision was some what clouded from the cat-nap he had received. Without his glasses, his vision would remain somewhat blurred until he could scrounge about for them.
"Aha, I see you're not accustomed to our rainy season, sir."
Jin blinked. A face was now developing before him. Now a low-tinted pair of royal purple irises, with a lighter shade of hair to complement them, almost perfectly. Pale skin, almost like his own…
At the moment, he could practically hear Mugen saying something shrewd, like "Damn, she's cute," or something much more crude and uncalled for. However, between his squinting and outright glaring, Jin couldn't quite place this person's sex. Yes, they contained a soft, childish voice, but it was too much of a child's tone for him to determine whether he was a boy, or she was a girl.
It was now Souji's turn to blink. Either this man was deaf or he was too sluggish to actually respond to him just yet. He wasn't quite sure. By gazing at him though, he shouldn't have been neither…
Kneeling down before him, Souji carefully held the umbrella up, assuring that it protected the both of them for the moment. There was something about this man that just screamed 'high-class' and stoicism. A certain firmness that made him seem unbearably strong…almost like…
"Your glasses slipped off while you were sleeping," Souji pointed out as he picked them up and offered them to Jin. "I just happened to be passing by when they fell."
"Thank you," Jin said rather blandly as he plucked the bifocals out of Souji's grasp. This one sounded like a boy. Or a teenager at least.
He tilted his head, as if Jin himself were a specimen of some kind. Yes, this one resembled Hijikata somewhat. Behavior-wise anyway. For one, he didn't seem like much of a conversationalist. Two, he kept staring at him as if he were attempting to figure something out.
"Ne, you're not from around here, are you?"
Jin's gaze, unwavered by the inquiry, shifted over Souji's face for a long moment, taking in the young features as much as his somewhat bleared sight would allow him to. Either the boy attained a firm knowledge when it came to reading people's faces, or he simply knew an unfamiliar face when he saw one.
"I am not," he finally answered. Peering down at his glasses, he then began to clean them off with his right sleeve, undaunted by the young man's devotion in keeping him from being anymore drenched than he already was.
Souji couldn't help but to smile at his confirmation. It wasn't often that he came across a stranger who was taciturn, stoic, and more importantly, not apart of the Choshuu. He could just tell that this one was a wandering samurai, a ronin, really. Perhaps the garments that he wore was what gave him away; Souji wasn't too sure.
"Most people tread quite far away from the capital during this time," he began softly, eyes witnessing the steady flow of rain as it pelted the ground mercilessly, "this season usually brings about long and horrid delays for traveling, which is why visitors tend to stray away from here." And how deserted and barren the capital did look during her rainy season. It was rather amazing whenever her citizens dared to step outside, with or without an umbrella. When it was time to patrol the streets, the task was usually brief and without any difficulties due to the mere fact that no one desired to cause any trouble in such horrendous weather.
Sliding his glasses back on, Jin then focused his eye-sight upon Souji, taking in his young, effeminate features clearly. Well, now, this one certainly didn't look all that masculine…at all. Perhaps he was a girl with a rather…interesting voice? Or maybe he was just one of those androgynous males…
Carefully, Jin then reached up and removed his glasses. Yes, this was a lot better .
"My companions and I came to the conclusion that this was the final day of the rainy season," the ebony haired man responded in his neutral tone. Someone had informed Mugen that once they entered the capital, the dreadful season would have ceased, thus bringing about tiny signs of spring. Unfortunately, whoever was Mugen's informer, had been horribly wrong.
A light, airy laugh escaped past Souji's lips at that. It was remarkable how he found light of such a situation, especially since he would be restricted from setting foot outside the head quarters from today on. "The final day? Sir, this isn't even the first hour!"
The amusement that had somehow slithered its way in to the matter had not quite bitten Jin. As a matter of fact, he hadn't even acknowledged the hilarity. Perhaps the youth had attained one of those inner jokes that he believed would be caught on by others.
"Well, what's the use of it being an inner joke?"
Ceasing his laughter, Souji continued to smile at his new acquaintance. He looked to be rather tall. Even the royal blue hakama that he wore seemed to add more to his height. His stark, pale flesh was a great contrast to the raven mane that was restrained in a ponytail. He found himself rather attracted to dark tresses as of late, considering how Hijikata was an everyday victim to his playful tugging.
"Na, shouldn't you be returning to your room sir? The rain's not going to be this lenient in the next couple of hours."
Jin gave that bit of information much due thought before his stomach seemed to have twisted and turned at a haphazard rate. Following these hectic motions was a low, queer growl that had erupted from the very pit of his stomach.
…he hoped that the rain's incessant beating was loud enough to cover the embarrassing noise. Here he was, a wandering samurai, hungrier than a village or more, but he wore the title of being absolutely broke like no other that he couldn't even consider investing in a half-assed meal or a cold room to rest in.
Souji's exuberant expression melted in to a concerned frown. "And sir, sitting here almost starved won't help you much if you catch a cold."
Tossing a small glare at the younger man, Jin then replied, almost heatedly, "I have you know, I would be in a rather comfortable state if I acquired the proper funding to be. However, seeing as though I do not, I'd prefer to sit here for a while, if that's okay with you?"
"Sitting here won't get you food or a room though," Souji pointed out amusedly.
Parting his lips to say something else, Jin's stomach returned a response to the commander of the first squadron of the Shinsengumi. A rather loud and awful response at that.
Souji, who was beyond the point of bursting from an onslaught of giggles, quietly and fortunately stifled the urge. Instead, he suppressed a cute, disarming grin at the ronin. "I see that my point has just been proven."
Jin gazed at the youth crossly before he exhausted a tired sigh. "Perhaps."
"There's an inn a good walk or so near the Red-Light District. I'm sure they'll find an odd but simple task for you to perform so that you'll be able to pay for your stay there."
Raising a delicate eyebrow at Souji, Jin then tilted his head to the side slightly, gaze somewhat condescending as he eyed him. Amazing. How long had they been acquainted again? "You mean to tell me that you're willing to assist a stranger who could be up to no good?"
"If the stranger knows what's best for him, he'd stay away from trouble for right now," Souji smoothly dead-panned, smile still in place.
It was at this point that Jin finally chose to examine Souji. That whole, merry aura that the man once possessed had blackened considerably. Not only that, but his stare…it was piercing, and hellishly dark. However, only his smile remained cheerful and sunny. It was as if the venom had not caressed his lips just yet.
A soft, low chuckle emitted from Jin. This one was truly unique, or so he thought. He had had his fair share of enemies who possessed such a nature, but they had not been this young, nor had they bothered to make themselves a proper acquaintance.
"Ah, so you're not a stone wall after all!"
Jin froze. "What?"
"Nothing!" Souji proclaimed, his sunshine-like demeanor having fully returned. "It's just that, you remind me of someone who is a stone wall."
"I'm sure that person has their reasons," he said with a slight shrug. Of course he certainly with held his own reasons for being silent, so he somewhat sympathized with that person.
"Hmm, perhaps," Souji said.
After a long moment of complete silence, they both stood, emerging almost in unison. It was quite clear that Jin would be the taller one, considering how he was nearly towering over Souji while he was sitting down. It was fine. The young commander was becoming more and more accustomed to others being taller than him nowadays.
Without warning, Souji then shoved a small paper bag in to Jin's abdomen, nearly taking the man by surprise.
"Here."
Looking skeptical, the ronin looked down at Souji's face, then, of course, the paper bag that was being gently pushed in to him.
"What's this?"
"Something to tide you over until you reach the inn."
"I can't accept this."
"Na! But I'm offering!"
Jin rolled his eyes, now deciding to slide his glasses back on. He was more than certain that whoever passed by would receive the wrong idea. As if they were trading something illegal, or detrimental to the capital's society.
"If he won't accept it, don't force it upon him."
The two men under the umbrella blinked before turning their attention to the strong, firm voice's source.
There, standing beneath his own umbrella, was a tall and somewhat peeved older man. Just like Jin, he too possessed long ebony hair, yet it was far longer. He also had a nice, fitting tan, which offset his intense gaze immensely. His expression wasn't one that belonged to a friendly, loveable individual, but rather an authoritative and impassive one, who, if even slightly provoked, would rupture and crush every bone inside of the provoker's very body.
"I see someone decided to wake up," Souji retorted a tad sourly, smile fading.
Hijikata Toshizou snorted haughtily at that, dark orbs then landing upon the man that the commander was standing so…close to…
"I would have remained asleep if it weren't for you wandering about in this awful weather," Hijikata pointed out gruffly, continuing to eye Jin blandly. "You're just going to make that cough of yours worse."
Souji stared at the vice-chief for a long moment, studying the older man in pure silence. This could have been considered a ritual for them. Whenever Souji dared to wander outside before or after his patrolling duties, Hijikata would actually rouse from whatever he was engaging in and then proceed to look about for him. The stoic man seemed to know of Souji's whereabouts, even when he didn't inform him of them. Hijikata just knew where the younger man was.
"Humph," the purple-eyed one responded, now quite irritated by the other's presence. He then returned his attention back to Jin, lips quickly spreading in to a full grin. "Just take it. I'm sure you'll find it very appetizing ne."
Jin never considered himself to be an instigator. He, for one, did not indulge in such indecency and looked down upon others who dared to even take on the role. It wasn't like him at all. He preferred to settle matters in a more manlier way. With his sword, no less.
However, his gaze had been shifting between the two men. They obviously knew each other, and the one he was somewhat acquainted with seemed rather agitated by the other.
Mugen's attitude was slowly beginning to poison him, so it was definitely time to depart.
"Thank you," Jin said, grasping the bag as he bowed his head deeply in appreciation. "Your generosity and kindness will not be overlooked."
"Ah, you're so welcome!" Souji exclaimed merrily, now shoving the umbrella in to his chest. "Take this too. So you won't catchnothing too horrendous."
"Your courtesy is just too much," the ronin complimented, also accepting the offered umbrella without hesitation.
"I'm so glad that someone thinks so," he said with a bright smile, but not without cutting his eyes in Hijikata's direction.
Hijikata simply glared at both of them.
"Perhaps I shall see you soon, and if not, it's been nice being acquainted with you," Jin supplied in a soft tone. "I can not thank you enough."
"It's fine," Souji easily dismissed it all with a slight wave of his hand, "I just hope that what's left inside of the bag will be enough to suffice."
"I'm more than certain that it will."
Hijikata watched the simple exchange between the two in sheer, heated quietness. All he had done was make himself known to the two and all Souji had done was gaze at him as if his presence were a bad seed. And it was rather plain and vivid that this stranger wasn't all that interesting. Hell, he barely looked like he was actually conversing with Souji until…
…he had shown up.
Swallowing whatever anger was evident, Hijikata began to approach the two, not at all concerned with whether or not Souji would voice his irritation. He would deal with that later.
"I shall take my leave now," Jin announced, feeling a sense of accomplishment arise within him. Bowing again, he then said, "Once more, I thank you."
"You're quite welcome," Souji also bowed in return, straightening himself just as quickly. "Have a safe journey ne!"
Stepping away from the younger Shinsengumi, Jin then noted the approaching vice-chief. It was rather clear that he was upset with the both of them, but it was all too plain who he was currently blaming, and it certainly wasn't the cheerful youth.
It was then that he realized that Hijikata had been full out glaring at him, eyeing him contemptuously. As if Jin had stolen something right under his nose and Hijikata was fully aware of it.
Aha, as if.
Without uttering a word, the ronin released a light cough before he adverted his gaze. He had gotten a rise out of plenty of people, but never quite like this. Whatever he had done, Jin was more than certain that it was a minimal doing.
…and the fact that this actually humored him…well, it truly presented how pathetic this matter truly was.
Subsequently, it was no surprise when Hijikata's cold stare hardened at the sight of Jin's eyes landing upon him, as well when he had slowly veered his stare upon something else. If he could have, he would have closed his umbrella, marched right up to him, and he would have promptly shoved the rain protector right up his--
"Ask before you leave, hm?"
Hijikata turned his attention to Souji, now thoroughly attempting to block the departing image of Jin. The man hadn't even muttered a damn word to him and he had already unnerved him.
"Ask what?"
"I found your note that you left for Kondo-san. You want me to ask before I leave the compound? How silly, Hijikata-san."
"It's for your own good, don't you think? Otherwise--"
"Otherwise what?" Souji countered with ease, squinting at the scenery displayed before him. In the next few hours, the rainfall would increase at an exceptional rate. Everyone who resided in the capital was aware of this, but here they were, standing outside and arguing.
Hijikata released an exhausted sigh. "You don't carry around any weapons whatsoever. I think I have every right to know when you're leaving."
He extended his arm forward, palm facing the dark, gray skies. The rain was coming down pretty hard, for its droplets seemed to pierce his very hand.
"I am not a child anymore, Hijikata-san. You should learn to accept that."
The ebony-haired man frowned. No matter how many times the first squadron commander pointed that out, he still could not help but to feel a little distressed by it. It wasn't even fresh news, but rather news that he desired to dismiss.
"Besides," Souji began, looking quite thoughtful, "don't you want me to not be a child?" There was a hint of something more within the inquiry, aside from amusement. It was almost a bait that he had reeled out, just to see if Hijikata would grab on to it and snag it while Souji reeled it back in.
"Of course, but it's rather difficult when you keep running off or eating candy by my ear constantly."
Now it was Souji's turn to relieve a soft, tired sigh. Perhaps today wasn't the best day to be offering implications. It seemed like never was ever a best time. Whenever his attempts appeared to be successful, Hijikata would utter one word that would spoil his entire ploy. He was considering just writing him and informing him of what was currently going on.
Mentally brushing that aside, Souji thenturned around and exclaimed, "Kondo-san eats candy too!"
"How childish," Hijikata thought to himself. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with the younger male. Probably nothing.
"Kondo's a different matter, Souji-kun."
Allowing his hand to fall to his side, the smaller warrior turned around, now facing the other. There was almost no need of debating with Hijikata, especially since the man's main focus was on his health. Whenever he brought it up, Souji batted the topic away. He believed it to be taboo to his nature. A fire that would burn the blockade he had built for himself some time ago.
So, like he so expertly did whenever the subject even seemed like it was about to present itself in to their conversation, Souji changed the topic.
"Ne, I gave my candy away, Hijikata-san," he announced in a light-hearted tone.
Hijikata blinked. He then blinked again. A damn near miracle. "Good. I'm proud of you."
Souji's smile widened, too innocently. "But I'd like more."
Certainly not the reaction he had been hoping for but at least he wasn't upset with him anymore, or so he thought. He had noticed that Souji's attitude was becoming more and more awkward lately though. Usually he was somewhat pleasant company to him whenever he wasn't on duty. Now, whenever they had retired in his room, Souji would not stay long. He'd bid his goodnights and then disappeared in to his own quarters until morning. This had been going on for almost three weeks now.
Such behavior made him question himself--something he had not done in a long, long while.
"Souji," he commenced firmly, glaring down at him, "we'll go buy more candy, but you'll have to remain inside for the remainder of the evening."
That…sounded fair. As much as he sometimes hated to admit it, there was a lot to invest your time in to inside. Like sparring with Tetsunosuke-kun, conversing with Tatsunosuke-kun or Yamanami-san, witnessing Shinpachi, Heisuke, and Sanosuke tease Tetsu…
…reading Hijikata's haikus…
Just the thought of that caused Souji to perk up considerably. He had already snatched it out of the vice-chief's hiding place earlier and had replaced it with one of his old sketch books. At least the evening looked to be eventful and filled with amusement later on.
"That's fine with me, Hijikata-saaan!" He supplied in a merry, sing-song voice. Such a tone usually meant mischief, but thankfully, no one had quite caught on to that just yet.
"Don't complain when your teeth fall out," Hijikata admonished, cold stare becoming more than lukewarm. "You'll have a reason to remain inside then."
"Na! But you'll still talk to me, right?" Souji nearly cried out in mock desperation, grabbing a hold of the other's arm, "even if I am toothless, I'll still be worthy of your attention, right?"
Hijikata's left eye seemed to twitch at that. "Absolutely not."
The first commander blinked before hurriedly burying his face in to the arm that he possessed a strong grasp upon. Of course he knew that Hijikata was simply teasing him. How he managed to complete such a thing with his everyday stern features always amazed him.
"You're so mean Hijikata-san! I would be completely miserable if I wasn't worthy of your attention!"
He smirked at that. "Then stop eating so much candy. Then you won't have to worry about such a thing."
Turning his head out of the fabric of the man's sleeve, a small, sad smile hovered upon Souji's lips. Their games always seemed to steer their way in to such a direction. For the past few weeks now he had been trying to avoid the hurt that seemed to reside at the base of his throat whenever Hijikata did not respond to his sentimental teases correctly. Either he was ignorant to these remarks brimming with hints of how he felt, or the man was a bit slow when it came to these situations.
He wanted to be mad, desired to be slap-angry at him, but Souji couldn't bring himself to be. Something was permitting him from being that way towards Hijikata. Something that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
The thing was that the truth was only released during their playful banter. It was the only time that he could seem to voice how he felt for the impassive vice-chief. It was like Hijikata's haikus, only through this could he express his passion for nature among other things. Through joking about, Souji could only seem to present his need and love for him.
Subsequently, the sad thing was that Hijikata Toshizou would probably never know how miserable Okita Souji would be with or without him.
To be continued
Closing Note(s): Let's see, the tiny conversation in italics? It's occurring in someone's mind...and if you know who that someone is, you'll receive a cookie:D Anywho, hope you enjoyed the first chapter!