Chapter 25

After three years, Hatake Kakashi had definitely changed.

He looked much more mature than the last time she'd seen him, taller and more muscular rather than a scrawny teenager. He still didn't wear the jounin uniform she'd grown used to from canon, instead wearing black shinobi pants and a sleeveless top with his famous mask attached to the collar. He didn't even have a hitai-ate, instead just keeping his implanted eye closed by sheer will. Components of the Leaf ANBU uniform? The thought sent a shudder down her spine even as she stared him down.

Night had fallen since she'd fallen asleep, the shadows of the forest making it hard to see many features even without the dark mask obscuring his lower face, but even so she recognized how his shoulders tensed with pain. "Ringo Sute," he forced out, his teeth audibly clenched behind his mask. Yep, definitely in pain.

Her gaze darted to the long gash across his chest left by her bokken, a thin line of red spanning the exposed flesh, before returning to meet his one open eye as she forced her expression to harden. Leaf ninja almost never worked alone, so it would be best to make her edge known now.

"This bokken is laced with a powerful poison made with mamushi venom," she informed him bluntly. "In five minutes it will begin circulating through your body and the wound will begin festering, and within the hour you'll be completely incapacitated. I have the antidote, but if you or any of your allies make any sudden or hostile moves, I can guarantee you'll never get it. If you have any allies here, I suggest they come out in the open."

Kakashi stiffened at the threat, his open eye narrowing. Moments later two figures materialized next to him, apparently deciding not to wait for his input. Unlike Kakashi, the taller of the two wore no traces of the ANBU uniform, dressed in civvies with a bandana tied over his shaggy hair. The smaller one, however, drew her attention more, recognizing him instantly. It was the same kid she'd seen at the café that morning, still dressed in the civilian shirt and shinobi-grade pants and sandals, though he had since added plated arm braces to his forearms.

Sute only had time to look at him for a second before the other man raised his hands in a placating manner, drawing her attention towards him. "Calm down, we don't really want a fight right now," he drawled. "How about we just talk peacefully?"

Her eyes narrowed, shifting her stance slightly to angle towards him just a little more. Something about his face and the way he spoke sparked a note of familiarity in her brain, but she couldn't place it at the moment. She pushed it aside for the time being, coolly demanding, "What is your business here?"

"We're looking for some Leaf ninja that went missing," the man responded surprisingly easily. Sute might have suspected him to be lying given how easily he gave that away, but judging the way the boy tensed and Kakashi shot him a harsh glare, she decided he was likely telling the truth. The man calmly shrugged at their silent rebukes, meeting the one-eyed glower with cool indifference. "Don't look at me like that. We don't really have much time to waste on drawn-out confrontations right now."

"I need more details than that," Sute interjected, arching her eyebrows, and the man glanced back to her with a nod.

"We got notice a dangerous fugitive was sighted in this area. One of our teams happened to be in the area and they didn't report back, so we were ordered to find them and check if they'd been attacked. So far, no dice though." He spoke smoothly and without hesitation, his stance purposely relaxed as he held her gaze. "Like I just said, we don't have time for a drawn-out confrontation right now. Every second counts, even without taking your poison into consideration."

Sute eyed him a moment longer, weighing his words against his body language and expression. Years of living with a serial killer for a father had made her exceptionally talented at picking up on small visual tells of deceit, and now that she was living in a world that operated on deception that skill had only grown further. Right now, she saw none of the usual signs that accompanied lying, his entire demeanor radiating honesty.

Still, she couldn't take a chance, so she decided to throw a curve ball of her own to test the waters. "By any chance, is this fugitive able to use hot water jutsu?" she asked.

Immediately all three reacted, Kakashi and the brown-haired man's eyes narrowing while the boy visibly stiffened. This time Kakashi spoke, his voice a low growl as he stepped forward. "What do you know about him?" he demanded shortly, and the flash of red as his other eye opened was all she needed to confirm the sincerity of their story.

She averted her gaze from his eye to focus on the other man, deeming it safer to deal with the non-hostile man than look at the Sharingan. "Someone with a hot water jutsu attacked and massacred the rest of my team," she said, and saw the group stiffen at the admission. "I didn't see him myself. I was away when the attack happened, and only heard about it second-hand from my sole surviving teammate. Along with being partially boiled alive, he's currently in critical condition because of an unknown poison."

The man's eyes narrowed at the story, clearly calculating. "Poison, huh? In that case, you probably need the antidote, don't you?" She could sense where he was trying to steer the conversation, and felt a small smirk play across her face as she nodded once.

"I do. If I want to save him, I need to find the attacker and retrieve either the antidote, or at the very least the poison so I can produce one."

"I see, I see," he hummed, smirking as the others side-eyed him.

"Genma," Kakashi said in a warning tone, and the newly identified Genma glanced at him with a shrug.

"What?" he asked innocently. "I'm just saying, it looks like our interests align right now."

"He's right," Sute interjected with a nod, and that seemed to startle Kakashi more than anything, those mismatched eyes snapping to her sharply. "Don't act so surprised. Just because I'm from the 'Bloody Mist' doesn't mean I'll launch headfirst into fights with every random shinobi I meet for kicks. In case you don't know I'm a medical ninja, which means I need to be a bit more careful with my life than others."

"And fighting us would be totally unnecessary," Genma added with a smirk. "We're all after the same guy and it's not like our objectives clash, so wouldn't it be smarter to combine forces instead of compete to find him? Especially now that you've been poisoned." He nodded at the cut across Kakashi's chest. With her eyes increasingly adjusting to the darkness Sute could faintly see the skin around it starting to discolor, and she knew it probably tingled right now, a telltale sign of poisoning.

Kakashi's hands clenched at his sides, clearly still on the fence about the idea about working together. "Working with a Mist ninja?" the youngest of the trio murmured, sounding almost confused by the notion. Humming, Sute twirled her bokken and the trio tensed in anticipation of an attack. Rather than move forward she let it slide through her grip so the tip rested on the ground harmlessly, resting the hilt against her largely open palm.

"I'm not opposed to it," she said with a shrug. "Beats fighting four people instead of one. As long as I get the antidote, I care about literally nothing else." She reached into the pouch on her hip and pulled out a glass injector vial with an amber-colored liquid, setting it on the ground and nudging it with her foot to roll towards them. "That's the antidote for my poison, I recommend you use it now. I'd apologize for the rude welcoming, but given the aftermath of the other late-night ambush I saw, I think I'm justified in being careful."

That particular remark seemed to grabbed their attention, their eyes snapping up from the antidote. "Other ambush?" Kakashi repeated, and she nodded.

"Yeah. Inject it and I'll explain on the way, it will be quicker if we talk while we move." She paused, inclining her head as she met his mismatched gaze evenly. "And if you still have any doubts about that being the antidote, just keep in mind, that poison in your system is already lethal. I have nothing to gain by poisoning you further."

She saw his eyes narrow at the remark but Kakashi said nothing, and the seconds ticked by slowly as they stared each other down evenly. In her peripheral vision she could see the boy standing perfectly rigid and looking uncertain how to react, while Genma seemed relaxed and ready to accept either outcome.

Finally, the silver-haired man broke eye contact to bend down to swipe the vial from the ground, pressing it against his arm and pushing the button to inject its contents into his veins. A pleased smile spread across Sute's lips at the compliance, nodding as she pulled up her bokken and started towards the trees. "Come on, I'll take lead."

With that she stepped away from the cave's entrance and gave them a wide berth as she headed towards the trees, intentionally turning her back to them. A carefully calculated display of vulnerability, to ease any misgivings or concerns of her attacking first. A few moments later she could hear them follow her, filling her with a surge of satisfaction. She was glad they couldn't see her face as she suppressed a giddy grin, her chest fluttering with excitement.

First a legitimate mystery, and now a chance to work with one of her favorite characters from the show. Could have done without her colleagues being massacred, but otherwise, this was looking to be a very good night.

Five minutes later found the group running through the forest, Sute taking lead while the three Leaf ninja followed behind. She could feel Kakashi eying her back warily, moving just slightly ahead of the other two. He clearly didn't trust her despite their current alliance, and she didn't blame him. Trust was a risky business for shinobi after all, and Sute had proven herself to be dangerous on more than one occasion.

She didn't bother commenting on it, instead listening as Genma—who she still found familiar, but couldn't place his face or name—filled her in on their target. "We're after a fugitive by the name of Amagiri," he began bluntly. "We're not sure where he's from, but he's been on Konoha's radar for the last three months. He has some kind of secret technique or kekkei genkai that lets him produce scalding water, but he's skilled with suiton in general. He's incredibly skilled and dangerous, even without that technique, and has wiped out three teams of veteran chuunin and two jounin. An A-rank threat at least—S-class at worst."

"And yet no one knows where he came from?" she asked as she paused next to a tree to look around and orient herself, suitably skeptical. Powerful shinobi didn't pop up from no where after all. People only reached that level with proper training and combat experience, and it made no sense that absolutely no one would notice the guy until now.

"He wears a disguise," Kakashi said gruffly. "A blue oni mask and black clothes. Amagiri is just the name he gave himself." Sute hummed, nodding in understanding and acceptance as she resumed her run, altering the course slightly.

"So could be a defector, or a false-positive who just trained this technique secretly."

"False-positive?" the youngest of the Leaf trio repeated quietly, and she made a thoughtful noise.

"Ah, right, guess that's not really a term Leaf-nin would need. We use that to refer to people who fake their own deaths to defect."

"Is that really that common?" he asked, sounding rather surprised, and Sute tossed a grin over shoulder that made the boy stumble slightly. Despite the fact she hadn't filed her teeth into points like the Swordsmen, her smile still looked just as sharp and dangerous as the woman who raised her.

"We have a branch of ANBU dedicated to chasing down defectors for a reason, kid." She turned back in time to smoothly sidestep a tree, continuing in a casual tone that was at distinct odds with the subject matter. "The Land of Water's history can best be described as 'never-ending civil war.' People have been faking their deaths to get out of Kiri since the last Shinobi War. Hell, I probably could've gotten away with it back then after my last deployment ended with the rest of my platoon dead, and I was only, like, ten."

She threw out the last comment thoughtlessly, only remembering Kakashi's presence after she said it. She didn't know if he'd make the connection, since he wouldn't know about her platoon's slaughter prior to their encounter, but considering everyone else who'd been chasing them had been just... decimated, she wouldn't be surprised. The memory of Kakashi's arm penetrating Rin's chest made her mood a bit somber, her amused smile fading.

If Kakashi did make the connection, he didn't say as much. "That's the most likely scenario," Genma agreed. "Guy's too well-trained to just have spent his life wandering. Like I said earlier, the three of us happened to be in Hot Water on unrelated missions when we got notice from Konoha he'd been sighted here. Given some previous patterns, there was concern he'd target a team assigned to the area, so we got sent to check for them."

She noted he kept the wording vague, not detailing what previous patterns existed or why he'd target the team specifically. Not that it bothered her. That sort of detail could expose a bit more about their own weaknesses, they had to keep some secrets. "Now that we've briefed you on Amagiri's profile, where are you leading us?" Kakashi questioned. "You said you'd explain what you meant by 'other ambush' after we started moving."

"Of course," she agreed. "If you'll recall, I said I was away from my team when this 'Amagiri' character attacked. That's because I was sent to investigate a campsite belonging to a team of Leaf ninja."

That got their attention, and even without looking she could feel their gazes intensifying on her back. "Where is it?" the youngest asked, sounding almost eager. Sute came to a stop and turned to face them, a smug grin on her face.

"Right here," she said with a theatrical wave of her arms to indicate the space around them. The trio stopped and looked around, clearly surprised and suspicious. She could see the moment Kakashi saw the outlines of the two bodies partially buried beneath the fallen foliage, his Sharingan-eye squinting narrowly. A few seconds later a sharp intake of breath told her the other two noticed as well.

"That was... conveniently close," Genma commented even as he walked over to inspect the body.

"Coincidence," Sute responded with a shrug. The river happened to run southwest, and her clones had likely used the mental map from her initial search for the clearing to find the cave. Kakashi turned to regard her, leaving the initial inspection to Genma for the moment.

"How did you find this place?" he demanded, and she shrugged, leaning against a tree casually.

"A couple of my teammates reported noticing it while en route to the rendezvous point. Said it looked destroyed."

"And since you're a medic, they sent you to investigate," Genma surmised from where he knelt next to the body, and she nodded, flashing another sharp grin.

"Yep. By the way, since you're already there, is the skin red or loose at all?" she asked, turning to look at him curiously. "When someone's boiled alive it loosens the skin. Try poking the body and seeing if it slides off." Genma flinched at the explanation, shooting her a grimace while Kakashi just looked at her blandly.

"That is incredibly specific," he noted dryly.

"I am a medical ninja in a village predominantly geared towards water-based jutsu," Sute replied flatly. "Sometimes we get idiots who think using a geyser or hot spring as a water source in a spar is a brilliant idea." The deadpan remark earned a small snort from the youngest member of the group, who quickly flinched when Kakashi shot him an unimpressed look.

Soon enough Genma made an audible noise of disgust. "Fuck, it did slide off," he groaned, and Sute perked up instantly, craning her head to look.

"Really? So they were boiled alive? Guess it's Amagiri after all."

"If you inspected this place earlier, why didn't you check the bodies then?" Kakashi asked, turning back to her.

"Because I got a signal that my teammates were being attacked." She left it at that, knowing he wouldn't press for specifics, and her expression smoothed to something more thoughtful as her head tipped back to stare at the trees above them. "Ah, right, since it's on my mind. Whoever did this probably ambushed the camp at night, since they targeted the lookout first. Body's up there, I'd just found it when I got the signal."

She gestured to the branch with her head, the pale hand hanging over the edge just barely visible in the darkness. Kakashi followed the movement before slanting a glance towards the youngest and nodding subtly. The boy immediately vanished as he leapt upwards, presumably jumping up to inspect the tree, and a few moments later he reappeared with a grave expression. "One body, male in his thirties. Slit throat."

"Slit throat?" Kakashi echoed thoughtfully.

"'Sawed' might be more accurate," Sute interjected, thinking back to her earlier observations. "Head was barely attached. I figure your fugitive attacked him first, and saved the flashier stuff for the guys who were still sleeping down here. Like I said, didn't get a chance to examine the other two bodies before I got the signal. So I have no idea where the fourth member is."

The off-hand remark made all three Leaf ninja freeze, Genma and the boy slowly turning to look at her while Kakashi's gaze hardened. "How do you know there's a fourth person?" he demanded sharply, and she rolled her shoulders in a light shrug, undisturbed by the harsh scrutiny.

"The guy burnt the tent, but didn't try to dispose of the bodies and just buried and hid them with the foliage. Burning a body takes time, and creates a more notable odor. It could be strong enough to cover up their tracks from trackers," she mused as she tipped her chin back, "but it would also attract their attention in the first place. The best reason I can conceive for him to hide the bodies instead is that he felt rushed and wanted as much of a head start as possible."

She straightened her head to meet Kakashi's suspicious gaze dead on, fearlessly gazing into his Sharingan as she finished, "And the most logical reason for that would be if he'd captured someone, and needed to move them as quickly as possible."

Silence followed her proclamation, the group stewing over her words grimly. Externally, Sute remained cool and aloof as she awaited their responses. Internally, she was squealing with delight that her deduction had been correct. Sute loved detective novels after all, and getting a chance to share her deductions brought back warm memories of staying up late to watch Case Closed with her dad as a kid.

In retrospect, probably weird her dad let her watch a show about solving gruesome murder cases before her age was even in the double-digits. Even weirder that he'd compliment the realism of it, and bought a few volumes of the Detective Conan manga (in the original Japanese, no less) to read in his spare time.

She pushed the thought away as Kakashi visibly exhaled a silent breath as if to compose himself. "You're right," he confirmed reluctantly, voice calm and level, and Sute perked up. "This team was a four-man unit. We have strong reason to suspect Amagiri would target the fourth member." Revealing this information to an enemy must have gone against every instinct he had, and he looked rather frustrated confirming it, but she didn't care. She was too busy just cheering in her head.

"So I was right," she mused to herself with a small smile, the only sign of her sheer internal glee she allowed to show. Her silent congratulatory cheering soon ended though as Kakashi slammed a hand on the ground, a puff of smoke appearing. Her smile faded as the smoke cleared to reveal three small canines in blue jackets, standing a bit straighter. Ninken?

"Hey, Boss," the pug—was that Pakkun?—greeted gruffly. "Whatcha need this time?"

"Someone attacked this site and kidnapped a fellow Leaf ninja," Kakashi said bluntly. "I need you, Bisuke and Urushi to find his scent and track it."

"Got it," the pug—and yes, that was Pakkun—said with a nod, the other two canines already moving to start scenting the area. Pakkun remained seated for a moment though, glancing over at Sute. "Any reason she's here?"

"Temporary truce," Kakashi replied, and Sute would have made some remark if not for her current shock and awe. Dogs. There were three dogs right in front of her. Sute hadn't seen a dog aside from Inuzuka ninken since being reincarnated into this world. While she loved her snakes, part of her missed being able to pet something soft and fluffy. The only soft and fluffy animals she got to interact with on a regular basis were rabbits and boar she had to skin for meals on missions.

Suddenly it occurred to her she'd probably been silent a little too long, as she noticed Kakashi sending her an almost incredulous stare in her peripheral vision. She blinked and shook her head, schooling her face to something more professional. "Ignore my scent," she told Pakkun. "I was here earlier, but they were already dead by that point. Also, at least one of my comrades came by looking for mushrooms, so it's safe to ignore his scent too."

"Brat, we can tell how fresh a scent is," Pakkun informed her dryly. "We'll just look for the ones that aren't older than the bodies." Sute paused, and slowly nodded.

"Oh. I see. I'll just be quiet now." She backed away, shooting curious looks at the other two ninken as they searched. Part of her wanted to ask to pet them, or take a page from Pakkun's book and ask to touch his paw like he'd offered during the invasion arc, but she kept her mouth firmly shut. Even she could tell it would be weird, and Kakashi was already eying her suspiciously enough.

Fortunately they soon picked up a scent, and then the group was chasing after them in silence. By this point, she suspected twenty-four hours had already passed, and in other circumstances that would make her weary of finding him. Considering he'd attacked her teammates a few hours prior though, she held onto hope that he'd still be in the general area. Hopefully the scent would at least lead to his base where he'd stowed his prisoner, and from there they'd have a fresher trail to follow even if he'd left.

About a kilometer out the dogs came to a stop in a large clearing though, one's pointed ears flattening against his head while the other hound snorted. "Scent's run cold," Pakkun reported grimly, making the group glance at each other.

"Did they cover it up or jump into the trees instead?" Genma muttered with a frown, but Pakkun shook his head.

"No, it vanished dead-center here. Don't think they could just jump to a tree from this distance, either," he added, nodding at the beagle-like hound who had taken to sniffing a nearby tree. He shook his head, confirming no scents remained.

"Did they just... teleport?" the still-unknown boy asked, looking around uneasily. "Is that a thing people can do?"

"Yes," all three other shinobi responded without hesitation, and Genma and Kakashi both paused to glance at Sute almost suspiciously. She just held up her hands and said, "Hey, the Yellow Flash was your leader. Kid should know this."

"Well, the chances of it are low anyway," Genma commented after a few seconds. "The Fourth took years to recreate the Hiraishin, and he had access to notes about the Second's research thanks to his connections. I don't think just anyone could figure out how to recreate it, so doubt we're dealing with teleportation here."

Unless Tobi's involved, Sute thought, thinking to the orange-masked man. He had been her first thought when teleportation was mentioned, even before recalling her first encounter with the Yellow Flash. Come to think of it, the Akatsuki did have other members before the final lineup. Orochimaru for one, and aside from him it was mentioned that Kakuzu had a habit of killing his assigned partners before Hidan. Amagiri could be a prospective member Tobi wanted to personally monitor.

Sute had to suppress a visible grimace at the thought of him lurking around. She still wasn't sure if he was actually Uchiha Madara, or if the fan theories about him being Obito were right, but it didn't matter. The man was dangerous, pure and simple, and she'd rather avoid meeting him anytime soon. Hopefully he had nothing to do with it, and they'd find another explanation for the disappearing scents.

The gentle rush of air from above was the only warning they received.

Kakashi whipped his head up in the corner of her eye, and visibly stiffened at whatever he saw. "Get down!" he yelled, and everyone dove to the side just in time to avoid the swoop of a large creature. She felt wind ripple across her back as the creature glided right over them, briefly glimpsing the glint of sharp talons. When she rolled onto her back and sprung to her feet she saw the creature soaring into the air, wings beating silently as it did.

No way.

"Is that an owl?" the boy called, echoing the question in her mind as he jumped to his feet.

An owl.

A giant, man-sized owl was currently climbing the sky above them.

"It's gotta be a summons," Genma said, holding several senbon between his fingers as he stared up at it. "No other way it would be that big!"

"Is there a contract for every animal?" Sute asked in exasperation. The man-sized owl spun to face them, its large, golden eyes glinting in the minimal light as it prepared to dive again. A chorus of curses rose as they dodged out of its path again, Genma throwing a volley of senbon at it as they did. The needles deflected off its feathers though, the glitter of the metal falling to the ground the only evidence of their descent.

He cursed as the owl swooped upwards once more. "Shit, I think its feathers are enhanced with chakra or something!" he warned. No sooner had he spoken than several feathers came flying down towards them in the owl's wake, Kakashi hissing as one grazed his arm. Sute's eyes narrowed as she saw blood bubble along the line left by its path, the trail dark against his pale skin.

"I'm guessing their feathers aren't soft and harmless," she called.

"It felt more like a kunai than a feather," Kakashi confirmed gravely. As the owl reached the peak of its arcing ascent it released a loud, shrill shriek, making him wince and nearly cover his ears. By unspoken consensus the group quickly turned and ran for the cover of the trees before it could descend again, another shrill shriek sounding just as she dove behind the trunk.

Solid thunks echoed around the clearing as projectiles lodged into wood, and when Sute peered out she saw the owl ascending once more. Her heart hammered as she watched it, its dark silhouette nearly invisible against the night sky.

Okay, so to recap, a giant, man-sized owl was attacking them with razor-sharp feathers. Under other circumstances Sute might have found it laughable, but right now she felt paralyzed as she pressed against the tree, transfixed on its large, yellow eyes as it circled above the clearing. An instinctive chill ran down her spine, recognizing the glare of a predator.

From what she could tell she had run in the opposite direction from the Leaf ninja, able to see them peering out from behind the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. The only good news was that the owl seemed focused on them, its sharp feathers peppering their trees rather than the ones she hid behind. Her pulse quickened as she watched it, wincing and snapping her head back out of sight as it released another high-pitched shriek.

Flying opponents were far beyond her area of expertise. Her preferred fighting style was more suited for close combat, and while she had a slew of long-range suiton jutsu at her disposal, they still worked best with an external water source. Mokuton was also out with three Leaf ninja nearby, she couldn't pass off trees coming to life as anything else.

She frowned, gripping her bokken tighter and reaching into her pouch for a poisoned kunai. Aim for the eye, she decided. Penetrating its feathers with senbon or kunai didn't seem too likely given how the other guy's attempt had gone, but the eyes had no such protection. The owl was focused on the others rather than her, and she peeked around the trunk to watch as it circled once more, waiting for an opening.

"Ringo Sute?" She stiffened at the voice, whirling around to see a blue demon mask mere feet away from her. Amagiri.

Immediately her reflexes kicked in, jerking the kunai upwards to slash at him. The man side-stepped it and caught her wrist, twisting it easily and making her drop the kunai. Her brief hiss of pain was drowned out by another shriek from the owl, and as the sound died away the man spoke, voice smooth and calm as he maintained his grip on her wrist. "Please, there's no need for hostility. I'd like to make a proposition."

Sorry for another slightly long delay! My sleep schedule has been really screwy lately, so it's been messing with my writing ability (and... everything else, too) and I wanted to get a bit ahead in the draft. I wasn't 100% happy with this chapter either, the pacing feels a bit fast for my liking. Might have to do with the fact that originally the middle scene was from Kakashi's POV. But switching from Sute, to Kakashi, then back to Sute felt weird to me. It also feels kind of cheap ending two chapters in a row with a cliffhanger like this. But you've all waited long enough, and I'm happy with the setup.

It's been fun reading everyone's theories! A few people suspected Han to be the culprit, but nope, just an OC. An OC with owls. Also, we get to see Sute freak out over dogs! We don't get to see more mundane aspects of her first life since her abnormal upbringing has a much more active impact on her life, but honestly aside from the serial-killer-father thing, she overall had a pretty nice life. Keep in mind, Sute lived in upper-class USA. That means she got to see a LOT more dogs than in this life, and definitely had a few as pets. She might like snakes, but humans and dogs have a unique connection that just can't be matched.

Final note: after thinking it over, I think it's best if I stick to an every other week schedule. My sleep schedule is just REALLY screwed up right now, which cuts in my motivation for... pretty much everything, really. Having an extra week to work on stuff will help me make sure I can produce quality content.

Thanks for reading!