Chapter 58


"The world is a dangerous place. You can only do so much against it alone."


"Angry" did not do Hiashi's current mood justice. "Furious" failed to adequately portray the dark storm brewing inside him either.

No, Hyuuga Hiashi could not think of a single word to properly describe his current mood as he sat in the conference room with nearly all of Konoha's influential figures. At the moment he barely even cared about the fact that the Hokage, his advisors, other clan heads and even normal jounin were now privy to what should have been a private family matter.

"You threatened to seal her?" he hissed at Fumito, voice seething with carefully controlled murderous urges. His elderly uncle remained unfazed by the sheer malice he radiated, just regarding him with narrowed eyes.

"Your daughter had been acting shamefully for far too long," he said bluntly. "A full month had passed since the last time she even set foot in the compound. I could not allow her shameful behavior to become public knowledge and risk besmirching our clan's reputation further, so I told her to return immediately."

"By threatening her," Yamanaka Inoichi cut in coolly, his eyes narrowing. The normally jovial and soft-spoken man had a harsh look today, sporting a stern frown usually reserved for the bowels of T&I as he glared at Fumito. "Frankly, I don't know what you expected. Hinata is a very sensitive child, by threatening her you forced her into a situation where she'd crumble under intense pressure, no matter what she chose."

"And that sensitivity is unbecoming of a shinobi," Fumito countered, just as cool. "That child's entire demeanor is a disgrace to the Hyuuga clan. She was taking too long to return on her own, I simply took matters into my own hands."

Hiashi's jaw clenched as he listened to Fumito's calm rebuttal, his teeth grinding in carefully suppressed rage. Fumito spoke so easily, justifying his actions with "for the sake of the clan" just as he always did. He closed his eyes and counted to ten to cool his temper before speaking, but he didn't even reach three before another voice cut in.

"And you think you have no responsibility for that?" Kurenai growled. Hinata's jounin sensei looked ready to murder Fumito then and there, her scarlet-painted lips curled back in a half-snarl more fitting of an Inuzuka as she spoke. "When I met her, that girl thought she was completely useless! Almost all of our sessions involved trying to build up her confidence after being told for years she was a failure!"

"Kurenai, calm down," Asuma murmured beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Kurenai didn't respond, just kept glaring at Fumito with hateful red eyes that seemed to put even the Sharingan to shame.

"Forget that, you said you'd place the Caged Bird Seal on her if she didn't return?" Jiraiya piped up. "Using it as a threat doesn't help your clan's arguments about it being ethical." His words ignited a small ember in Hiashi's stomach, even as the others began murmuring, but not for the reasons they likely suspected.

"That was an empty threat," he declared through gritted teeth. The others in the room turned to look at him as one, but he kept his gaze focused on Fumito, uncaring of his break in stoicism as he spoke. "We place it on prepubescent children because our records show that it's only safe to apply it before a person's chakra coils have finished development. Placing it on someone Hinata's age is all but guaranteed to cause them permanent damage."

A sense of heavy discomfort fell over the room at his words, the others exchanging worried glances at this new information. The Hyuuga clan did not share much information about the Caged Bird Seal for security reasons, so this would be the first time any of them had heard about this fact. Even inside the clan, this particular fact rarely got mentioned. Fumito's eyes narrowed, his displeasure clear in them. "That is a clan secret," he noted coldly.

"I do not care," Hiashi replied bluntly. "I have allowed you and the other elders to get away with many things in the name of protecting our clan, I have even allowed you to kill my brother in my place. But this time I cannot turn a blind eye. I may be the head of the Hyuuga clan, but I am also a father. I've neglected that part of my duties far too long, and because of that I've failed my daughter entirely."

"You did not fail her. She failed herself—"

"No," he spat, his tone colder than ice and silencing the elder. "As her father, it is my duty to protect my daughter from harm. To that end, I gave Shibi my blessing to house her after the invasion, because I knew you and the other elders would be toxic influences to her and cause her nothing but harm." Stunned silence fell at that, the gathered occupants of the room alternating between staring at him and the still-silent Shibi in the corner.

Hyuuga Nobuko squinted at Hiashi, her wrinkled mouth setting in a line of firm disapproval. "You never mentioned that to us."

"I saw this information as unnecessary," Hiashi responded simply. "We had other more pressing concerns after the invasion, including a total of fourteen casualties and three shinobi who are still missing to this day. I knew if I told you, you would all spend your time demanding I order her return instead of focusing on more pertinent matters. I hoped her absence would allow to focus on what was truly 'best for our clan,' as you like to so often put it."

Hiashi paused ground his teeth once more, inhaling and exhaling through his nose to quell the growing storm inside him before he added, "Clearly, I was wrong."

Nobuko looked ready to argue, but before she could speak a stern voice cut in. "Enough." All eyes turned to look at Sarutobi Hiruzen, his face drawn and tired but his eyes sharp and cold. "Clearly, a good deal of this is a clan matter and should probably be handled in more private settings. However, with that said, this meeting must focus on the more pressing issue: Hyuuga Hinata is missing, and all signs point to her running away. We need to discuss how to address the situation immediately."

"Do we even know she's left Konoha?" Homura interjected. "The gate and border patrols reported no unusual activity last night, and the barrier team confirmed no traces of anyone crossing it. The ANBU found a few gaps in the barrier, but accessing those would require skills I doubt a genin would have."

"I dunno about all that, but her scent trail randomly went cold," Tsume piped up grimly. "I checked it out myself before coming here, along with my two best hounds. She left the street and went into the woods way out from town, and then her scent just vanished, no trace."

"Did you notice anything noteworthy about her route?" Shikaku questioned, and the Inuzuka matriarch shrugged.

"Not really. She took a roundabout route and tried to keep to quiet and empty streets until she got closer to the woods, probably trying to avoid attention. Two streets over she crossed paths with Uchiha Masaru though, but that's pretty much it."

"That matches up with Masaru's report," the Hokage commented, reading through a file on the table. "He said shortly before finding Naruto he saw Hinata and noted she looked distressed. He spoke to her to about her encounter with Hyuuga Fumito, but she deflected his questions and left. He did note she seemed distressed, but did not find it unusual given the circumstances, and did not connect her to Naruto's condition."

"Speaking of children who need mental help, that boy could probably use some therapy too," Jiraiya muttered under his breath. "Kid's still in total denial and evasion about what happened with his sister and Ryoko-chan."

"I'm surprised you still use that sort of honorific for her," Koharu sniffed, and he shot her a dark look.

"Sorry, she was only my last surviving student. It's hard to not get attached after knowing someone that long."

"Sorry to interrupt, but we should probably focus," Asuma suggested at this point, glancing at the Hokage. "We do have a meeting."

"Asuma is correct," his father concurred. "We can discuss the mental health of our youth later. I would prefer to avoid going on more tangents, if possible."

"Perhaps we need to approach this from a different angle," Danzou suggested next to him, and tense silence fell as everyone turned to look at the old war hawk. Hiashi knew his methodology had mixed reception among Konoha's shinobi populace, and he didn't miss the sheer distrust in many people's eyes as they gazed at him, his own included.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi questioned, speaking for the first time. He had taken up position in a more background type of area, leaning against the wall behind the war hawk and Hokage and surveying silently for the most part. Danzou did not bother looking at the wary jounin, his lone eye turned to face the room at large.

"Last night, someone broke into my private study and stole the Second Hokage's notes on the Edo Tensei."

Dead silence followed the declaration as the weight of his words set in. And then, an eruption of outraged cries.

"The Edo Tensei!?" "Isn't that the ability to raise the dead!?" "Why would you even have that!" "If that falls into the wrong hands, who knows what would happen!"

"Silence!" Hiruzen barked, and everyone immediately went quiet. The Hokage looked even more tired now, gazing at Danzou with sharp, probing eyes. "I believe it goes without saying that we had previously agreed to keep that matter strictly confidential. Since you've mentioned it, I suppose that means you suspect a connection."

"I do," Danzou confirmed briskly. "The timing of the two incidents seems too close to be coincidence. My study was guarded by complex seals only I can access, and they showed no signs of being disturbed. I cannot explain how someone managed to intrude there, and we already had a team confirmed there were no lingering scents, chakra residues or other physical traces of an intruder."

A sense of discomfort filled the room as the people gathered caught on to his meaning. "You think the culprit kidnapped her," Inoichi whispered, eyes widening with horror.

"I believe 'kidnapping' would be inaccurate here, since all signs point to her leaving willingly," Danzou replied primly. Hiashi felt his blood heat up briefly at the implied threat of his daughter committing treason before the war hawk continued, "However, that does not mean it was entirely her choice. The stresses of her present circumstances, combined with the threat she received, would have made her far more vulnerable to manipulation than normal. I suspect a third party took advantage of her insecurities to convince her that her safest option would be to leave, and then used her departure as a distraction so they could steal the Second Hokage's notes."

Hiashi's stomach lurched at his words, barely able to suppress his flinch. The idea of his daughter being tricked and led on by some unknown party, spurred on by an empty threat from their own family—he felt sick just imagining it. A glance around the room revealed similar looks of discomfort, and more than a few heated looks directed at Fumito.

"Shit," Tsume finally breathed, breaking the uneasy silence.

"As much as I hate to say it, that sounds like the most likely scenario," the Hokage agreed grimly. "Even if that turns out to be wrong though, the core issue remains the same: all evidence points to Hyuuga Hinata no longer being in the village. We cannot allow someone with an unsealed Byakugan to linger outside the village. No matter the circumstances, she is in danger."

And there was the crux of the issue: Hinata had unsealed eyes. Hiashi's mouth pressed into a firm line, his expression growing grim. Historically, the Byakugan had always been the most vulnerable to doujutsu thieves, not because of a desire for it its abilities but because it was the hardest to hide. All Hyuuga clan members had the distinct white eyes, and while not all of them would be able to activate the Byakugan, many had still been killed for it anyway.

People didn't realize that the Caged Bird Seal had been developed out of necessity. Even after its invention, it had taken a few generations for word to spread enough to stop the senseless killings. Until then, the clan had lived in near-perpetual fear of being betrayed on missions and having their eyes gouged out. Half the reason the Hyuuga clan agreed to join Konoha was because the Uchiha clan could sympathize with their plight and help ensure their security.

And now, his daughter had absolutely none of that protection.

Hiashi swallowed harshly, his hands balling into fists at his sides. He had failed Hinata in the worst ways possible as a father, but he would be damned if he stood by idly waiting for news of her safety or demise. He'd find her, no matter what.


"I'm leaving Konoha to train with Lady Tsunade."

The reaction to Sakura's words was instant. Sasuke recoiled in shock, his eyes wide, while Naruto flinched backwards away from her in surprise. "W-what?" he stammered, his face draining of color. "You're... you're leaving?" Sasuke nearly jumped to his feet, half-rising from the armchair while glaring her down.

"You're going with her!?" he spat. "What the hell, Sakura? Are you still idolizing that woman after everything she said?"

"It's not like that!" Sakura said defensively, her hands balling on her lap as she stubbornly met his gaze. "It's more complicated!"

"Just because she helped save you at the last minute doesn't change what she did before!"

"What are you even talking about!?" Naruto blurted, the epitome of confusion as he looked between his teammates. "Who's Tsunade? And what do you mean she saved Sakura? Wait, is this about that mission you guys were just on!?" Sasuke scowled as he redirected his glare to the blond.

"Look, dobe, it's a long story and I'm not going to waste time explaining it," he snapped. "And she didn't save Sakura, she just showed up at the last second." Of course his answer didn't satisfy Naruto, the blond matching Sasuke's scowl with one of his own.

"If it's a long story, then start telling it already! Or give me the short version, or something!"

"The mission doesn't matter! All you need to know is Sakura's being an idiot!" At that point Sakura sharply rose from the couch, her head bowed and her fists clenched at her sides.

"Enough," she said lowly, and her teammates instantly fell silent as they turned to her. Sasuke still had that furious scowl on his face and Naruto looked more heartbroken than anything, but she didn't let their expressions get to her, just stared steadily at her feet. "It has nothing to do with me idolizing her. I asked to train with her because I'm tired of being the weakest link."

That did it. Sasuke's face instantly gave way to surprise while Naruto frowned, a fiery determination flaring in his eyes. "What? You're not the weakest link! You're the smartest one here! You're the one who came up with all those plans back in Wave, and then during the Chuunin Exams we got the second scroll because of your traps—hell, you're the one who recognized that creepy snake-bastard and got help before he could kill Sasuke or whatever!"

Naruto's voice rang with firm conviction as he listed off her "achievements," his faith and trust in her clearer than ever. It made Sakura's heart pang with guilt, her teeth running over her lower lip as her head bowed further. "But what did I actually do?" she asked lowly, and the blond blinked, looking more confused than anything.

"Huh? Whaddaya mean? You came up with all those awesome plans—"

"Naruto," she cut in, not looking at him. "Everything you just said, I came up with the plans, but what else? Haven't you picked up on it? I've done barely anything."

For all her high aspirations to become an ANBU captain, at the end of the day Sakura knew she had so many flaws and weaknesses. On Team Seven she played support more than anything, able to contribute little more than her sharp mind. She had been the only one to fail the preliminary round of the Chuunin Exams—taken down by her own poisons no less. During the invasion she'd only punched Temari and provided chakra to fuel the seal array, while Naruto and Sasuke had to face off Gaara.

Even her greatest "accomplishment" to date, that plan to take on Zabuza, had depended on Naruto and Sasuke's skills instead of her own. The only skill Sakura could contribute was making a stupid wig for a shoddy disguise that didn't even work. When they faced down the Swordsman she'd been near useless, only able to stand protectively in front of Tazuna while her teammates struggled to hold their ground against Zabuza and his apprentice.

Frankly, Sakura was the weak link on the team, and she knew it. Somehow neither of her teammates had picked up on that fact yet, and it would only be a matter of time until they did, and—then what? Sasuke hated weakness, he would never respect her again and then she could kiss away her dreams of walking down that aisle in a pretty white dress. Naruto meanwhile would probably give some speech about protecting her and would coddle her endlessly, and

she

HATED

IT.

"I'm not like you guys," she said, shaking her head. "You guys are so strong and always ready to jump on the front lines, but meanwhile I'm just hanging back doing nothing but support."

"Being support isn't bad," Naruto muttered, but his voice sounded much weaker than before, far more uncertain. She knew the boy's personal definition of an ideal ninja fell no where near a support-type role, not like the one she played.

"It's not," Sasuke confirmed with more conviction than their teammate. "Not everyone's cut out for fighting on the front lines. Coming up with good strategies is just as important as being strong, even more if we're ever in a war. That's why the Nara clan is so respected. They're lazy but their plans ended up winning decisive battles even if they didn't actually fight."

"But that's not good enough for me," she countered, her voice thick and heavy with emotion. "I can't just wait in the background while watching you guys save the day without me. I thought maybe if I learned medical ninjutsu, I could at least feel more useful, but instead..." Her nails dug deep into her palms deep enough to draw blood, her breath hitching as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Her mother sat clasping her father's hand as he laid in the hospital bed, his face ashen and the white blanket flat, flat, flat around where his right leg should be. "There's nothing we could have done," the medic told her softly as she hovered in the doorway, her hands dangling limply at her side and her body feeling numb all over. "We had too many casualties, not enough medics."

"My dad almost died," she choked out, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. "He got hurt trying to save a bunch of civilians and his leg got crushed by falling rubble, and I was there but I couldn't do anything to help him, I couldn't even try to ease his pain. I can't even help my own father, and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of being useless and weak and not being able to do anything."

When she opened her eyes and looked up she saw her teammates looking at her with looks of shock, their will to argue gone in the face of her grief. For all their differences, she knew they understood her father's injury to be a sensitive point for her. Sakura didn't know if she even could have saved his leg as a fully-trained medic, but in the end it didn't matter.

She sucked in a deep, shuddery breath, rubbing her eyes before continuing. "Lady Tsunade isn't just a medic, she can use her chakra control to break boulders with just her little finger. Even though I've tried to branch out into poisons and projectiles, at the end of the day I'm still more comfortable with close-range combat. So I've been trying to emulate her techniques using the notes Masaru lent me from his mom, but it's not enough. I'll do so much better if I learn directly from her. Even Kakashi-sensei said so."

Even now Sakura remembered coming downstairs that morning to find her teacher sitting at the breakfast table with her parents, an expectant look on his face. The silver-haired man had clearly been briefed on what happened during the mission and informed about her decision to leave, but he'd still listened in silence and let her explain it anyway.

"Honestly, she'd be a much better teacher for you than I would," Kakashi had admitted once she finished explaining her reasoning. "The foundations for your fighting style is already shaping to be similar to hers, even without her specific techniques. I was planning to see if we could develop it further, but you would be much better off learning directly from her instead of some copycat imitation."

Hearing even Kakashi say it was the right decision had eliminated any remaining doubts Sakura had. Training with Tsunade would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and she still felt shocked she convinced the cynical woman to agree to it. While she still had some general discomfort with the idea of leaving Konoha, she only needed to remember that feeling of utter helplessness as she stared at the masked man in that dark warehouse, and her resolve hardened once more.

For his part, Naruto seemed more subdued now, no longer looking heartbroken but instead just a resigned sort of sad. "You're really leaving, then," he said, and seemed ready to say something else but then stopped. Sucking in a shaky breath, he asked, "When do you go?"

"I'm leaving in four days," Sakura replied quietly, growing a bit more somber. She knew leaving so soon after everything with Hinata would hurt Naruto so much, but she couldn't back down now. "Lady Tsunade and Shizune said they'd give me a week to get everything in order, and then I'd meet them in a town about five hours from here. The Hokage said he'll have a bunch of people escort me there."

"So you already cleared it with him?" Sasuke muttered. His anger had quieted somewhat but he still glowered at her, clearly displeased by the entire situation. "When did you even talk to her about this stuff?" She swallowed, turning to face him more fully.

"That last morning on the mission before we left, Shikamaru and I went to the restaurant where they usually have breakfast," she admitted reluctantly. "I told them what happened after they left, and asked Tsunade to train me."

"I can't do it anymore," she said, her voice low and heavy as she sat with her head bowed. "I can't just sit on the sidelines and wait for my teammates to save the day without me. I can't even heal them right now if they get hurt. I need to get stronger." Raising her head, she hardened her resolve as she continued, "And there's no better teacher than you."

"Sakura-chan..." Shizune sounded heartbroken, her face full of concern and sympathy. The female Sannin looked less sympathetic than her student, regarding Sakura with narrowed eyes.

"And why should I agree to train you?" she asked lowly, and Sakura sucked in a breath as she squared her shoulders, forcing herself to meet the woman's cool bronze eyes steadily.

"Because you're right. At this rate I won't survive long as a shinobi. This mission has taught me nothing if not that much. If that man had any serious intentions, I would be dead right now." Admitting it made her stomach clench painfully, the overwhelming fear and helplessness she'd felt during those long hours with him hitting her at once. Against literally anyone else, she would have been dead. She had survived only because he had seemed more interested in "educating" her than killing her, and she didn't even know why.

Shoving the feelings away before they could consume her, Sakura forced her mind to calm as she continued in a steady voice. "But I can't stop now. I have people I want to protect, and if I quit being a ninja I'll always be another helpless victim, and I'm sick of that. If I learn from the best, I'll at least have a chance, and that's better than nothing."

"How long will you be gone?" Naruto asked quietly, and Sakura turned to him with a small smile, weak and feeble but still genuine.

"I'm not totally sure," she replied honestly. "Lady Tsunade said she'd only train me until the next Chuunin Exams, so at least a few months, but I want to try to convince her to train me longer." Currently it was mid-September, and due to the international political upheaval regarding the invasion the winter exams would probably be pushed back to February or March instead. Five or six months wasn't nearly enough time to learn everything she wanted to know, but it was something.

And if all went well, she'd have even more once they all returned to Konoha.

Sakura didn't ask to train with Tsunade just to improve herself; she still wanted the woman to come back to Konoha, and a training trip would give her the perfect opportunity to convince her to return. While Sasuke might blame it on her blindly idolizing the woman—and to a point he'd be right—Sakura honestly knew Konoha needed Tsunade's skills now more than ever.

Even the Third Hokage knew it, because once she told him about her plans he'd given her the task to convince the female Sannin to return. Not an official mission, but it was still a request from her village's leader she could not deny.

More than that, though, she needed a teacher who could help her improve in ways and areas Kakashi couldn't. Sakura couldn't choose a better teacher than Tsunade, and if she could convince the woman to come back to Konoha, she wouldn't have to choose between training and her home ever again.

"It won't be forever," she said softly. "I'm not just doing this for me, I'm doing this for us. You guys might be fine with the status quo, but I'm not. Someday we're going to face even stronger enemies, and we're already struggling enough as it is. I don't want to just sit there while you two have to protect me. I'm a member of Team Seven too, and I want to fight by your sides, no matter what happens."

Because while Hinata had crumbled under the pressure and run, Sakura wanted to face it head on.


The Uchiha clan compound smelled of emptiness and old death.

Kiba couldn't think of a better way to describe it. He could tell the area had received minimal traffic over the past five years, dust thickly permeating the air and the buildings in varying states of disrepair. More than that though, he swore he could catch faint traces of corpses and blood as he walked through it. Maybe it was a psychological thing instead of actually there, because Akamaru didn't seem nearly as bothered as he felt, but it didn't change the fact he didn't like being there.

"Well, we're here," Masaru said dully next to him. They stopped in front of a traditional house, the only significant difference from the other houses simply the distance from the compound's entrance. "Last chance to back out." Kiba glanced at him from the corner of his eye, finding the other boy regarding him with an eerily blank expression. He took a breath and clenched his fists, forcing himself to shake his head.

"No going back now," he said firmly. Masaru regarded him in silence for a moment before finally nodding and walking to the door, Kiba trailing behind in silence.

The interior of the house was just as unremarkable as the outside. Paint and books defined the overall scent of the house, several paintings decorating the walls in the entry hall and hallways. Kiba didn't pay them much mind as he followed Masaru through the twisting halls, didn't even glance in the open doors they passed. He felt too high-strung to look around too hard, his stomach twisting painfully as cold sweat dripped down his neck.

Right now, Kiba's mind felt like it was running at a thousand miles a minute. In the past six hours since waking up his entire world had turned upside-down. Hinata was gone, no one knew where she went or if she was even okay, all the adults had been called into some giant meeting to discuss what happened, and people kept staring at him and whispering—it made his head spin, his thoughts going too fast for him to even follow.

The Inuzuka clan tended to be people of action, not words. Thinking too hard didn't fit them, and Kiba was an Inuzuka through and through. But even so, even with all those horrible thoughts and doubts, one thought kept coming to the forefront: He needed to know.

Masaru stopped in front of a door and hesitated briefly, casting a final glance at Kiba before sliding it open to reveal what had obviously once been a room for two children. A clear divide could be seen in the décor, each half of the room containing a futon, a dresser and a bookshelf. Stuffed animals and children's books lined the bookshelves, small pictures decorating the walls. A painting bridged the divide in the center of the room, depicting a pale yellow two-tailed cat and a small child with reddish hair and blue clothes sleeping together in a meadow.

Directly beneath the painting rested two futons with neatly folded comforters on top, one decorated with maple leaves and the other plum blossoms. Kiba found himself drawn to the latter, kneeling next to it and pressing a hand to the fabric as he closed his eyes. Inhaling through his nose only brought him the musty scent of dust and dirt, all traces of the room's inhabitants long since faded, but beyond that... A memory.

A ghostly scent of citrus, embedded only in his mind.

He sucked in a sharp breath, his chest tightening with sudden certainty. Behind him Akamaru suddenly gave a ferocious growl though and his eyes snapped open, spinning around to find Masaru standing directly behind him. The boy looked perfectly calm and nonthreatening, his posture relaxed with his hands in his pockets. But then Kiba looked at his face, and saw his eyes glowed red with the Sharingan.

Kiba's blood chilled as he watched the six tomoe swirl almost lazily, the Uchiha inclining his head to the side. At that moment he felt no where near a ferocious predator, but instead like cornered prey, waiting for the hunter to make its move.

"So," Masaru said, sounding perfectly conversational, but something about his tone rang hollow and flat, making Kiba's stomach lurch in dread. "Am I allowed to ask questions yet?"


Happy Fourth of July to all my fellow Americans! Also unpopular opinion time: the Caged Bird Seal is actually really logical when you take away the brain damage part. Seriously, it's WAY easier to hide an inactive Sharingan than the Byakugan. That is all.

Thanks to Elise142, xXSpades231Xx (I'm sorry? Also 1. Not really, it's pretty amusing. 2. Yep! Got my homework done with no worries.), I'm a guest (muahaha? And thanks), ManawaSasa, Beyogi, and Jossiemcg (Actually, I make up the quotes myself. Kinda sad I don't get more comments on them.)

Next week, one of the longest chapters to date.