Consciousness was a fleeting thing. My only constant was the pain and cold, intertwining like ribbons, digging deep into my bones.

The anger was more familiar. I floated in it, a fury and hatred only years of helplessness could bring. Hatred at my fate. Hatred at the people who forced me to endure it. It was an anger that haunted me, every night I dreamed of a full moon and a suffocating sky; every day I walked down the streets under the eyes of an apathetic world.

In and out of the black. In and out, helpless, raging.


Something familiar—embers from a warm fire.

Was that Naruto's voice?


The heat was a weight that pinned my arms to my sides. I thrashed, trying to free myself from the trap. Panicked murmurs casted a spell over me, forming strong hands to hold me down. I cried out, gazing into a dark expanse. Empty. Uncaring.

Blurry shapes entered my vision. I had been here before. Like an old, forgotten nightmare—small, weak, helpless. Rough hands wielded by giants. Lifting me, washing me, then dropping me back onto a nest made of rags, and leaving me in the dark. Leaving us in the dark. Always in the dark. Small, weak, unable to even lift a finger to help myself. Alone, save for him. He-who-was-familiar-but-wasn't.

He was all that I had.

"Naruto… Naruto! Naruto!"

My throat burned. Something pierced the shadows, stinging my bicep. My fear surged against the heaviness pouring into my limbs.

I was alone, I couldn't move, I was alone and it was dark and I was being squeezed through a pulsating, burning tunnel, unable to breathe unable to see it's dark and the sky is red and I'm scared, so scared, please, please!

Don't leave me alone!


Someone was singing.

A lullaby?


When I woke at last, it was day. I squinted against the bright, fluorescent lights. Automatically, my hand patted the space at my side, every sense reaching for that familiar warmth.

My hand grasped cloth, then empty air.

I took a deep breath. My fingers curled into the streets. I clenched my jaw, trying to fight the irrational spike of panic at the vacant space beside me.

Maybe, maybe he was just in the room? I turned my head, but the chair next to me was empty. There were flowers on the bedside table, matched by a merry honeybee on a folded card. A pitcher of water glistened beside an empty glass. On my other side was a blank wall with a metal hook, the hanging saline drip attached to my hand.

I cracked open my jaw. "Na… Naruto?" I tried, working past the dirt-ash taste in my mouth. "Naru… Naruto!"

No answer. My pulse skyrocketed. I squeezed my eyes shut. There was no reason to panic. No reason. I just needed to take deep breaths, and calm down. Never mind that I'd never woken up alone before. Never mind that I could be alone for class or for groceries, but I always knew where I was going and I always knew where he was. I wasn't—I was fine. There had to be an explanation. I just needed to wait. I just needed to wait.

"Naruto?" I cried, struggling to push myself upright. My arms trembled with the effort. "Naruto!"

The door slammed open. I jumped, a scream catching on my dry throat. Warm arms enveloped me, bringing with them the scent of green tea, soy sauce, and the faintest, faintest hint of lavender.

"Shh, shh. It's okay, Minako-chan. You're not alone. It's okay. I'm here."

The relief at hearing Mikoto's voice sent me bursting into tears. My weak, sweaty fingers scrabbled at her kimono, trying to hold on to something living, warm, solid. Real.

"Naruto," I said. "I need—I need Naruto. Where's Naruto?"

"He's safe. Don't worry. He's been staying with us at the compound while you're here." She tried to soothe me, wiping my cheeks with her sleeve. But I couldn't stop sobbing. That haunting terror, the fear of losing the one thing that was safe and familiar in this new world—it clung to my skin, shivered in my bones. It would not let me go.

"It's alright. Hush now. Let me call them. They'll be here in a few minutes." She ran her fingers through my hair, letting me cry into her stomach. "Would that be alright? Can you calm down and wait that long, Minako-chan?"

My grip on her tightened. "Don't leave me," I begged.

"I won't, I won't. Look." She pushed me back, until I was forced to lie down again. Keeping my hand in hers, she leaned over and opened the window above my head. "Karatenko-kun?"

A rush of wings, and a black bird the size of a hawk landed on her outstretched arm. "Mikoto-sama," it said, in a deep voice. "Am I to inform Itachi-sama that the child is awake?"

"Yes, please. Tell him to bring Naruto-kun here, as soon as possible."

"As you wish." The giant crow tipped its head towards her, then—surprisingly—me, before disappearing in a torrent of feathers.

"There, see? They'll be here in no time." Mikoto pulled her chair over and sat. The talking bird—summons, it could only be a summons—was shocking enough to distract me from the fear.

It was more unnerving to see an animal talk than I thought it would be. Not in the squawking mannerisms of a parrot, but an honest to goodness human voice, with only a slight rasp to differentiate it from any other person.

I didn't even notice the nurse until he moved closer. "Good morning, Uzumaki-san."

Only Mikoto's firm grip kept me from jumping out of my skin. "This is Ken-san," she said, as cool and as unflappable as ever. It settled my nerves a little. "He'll just check your vitals, okay, Minako-chan?"

"Okay." I eyed him warily, but all he did was check the sheet of paper wrapped like a cuff around my wrist. (How did I not notice that?) Curious in spite of myself, I let him turn my hand this way and that. Something in the mix of kanji, Konohan letters, and indecipherable scribbles must have made sense to him, because he dropped it with a mild smile in my direction.

"Heart rate's a little high, but temperature's still normal. Chakra flow is even." He helped crank up the bed so I was mostly vertical, then handed me a glass of water. "Now that you're awake, you should be able to go home by this afternoon."

My eyebrows rose. That was fast. Wouldn't they monitor me for a day, at least? Maybe ninja hospitals were quicker to kick out people who didn't need to stay.

Still, getting out of here faster meant being with Naruto sooner.

Something must have changed on my face, because Mikoto said, "Thank you, Ken-san. We can discuss that later."

"Of course." He bowed, withdrawing from the room. "I shall inform the Hokage she's awake."

"That would be helpful, thank you."

The door clicked shut, leaving me with nothing but the white walls and silence to focus on. I swallowed hard.

"Where am I?" I asked. It was pretty obvious from the dextrose alone, but I needed a distraction, or I would be right back where I started.

Mikoto humored me. "You're in Konoha General." She took the glass back, setting it on the bedside table. "It's January fifteen, 10:40 AM."

My heart leapt into my throat. Nope. This wasn't making me feel better at all. "I've been out three days?"

"Yes. You got very sick after they found you." She brushed my hair back, smoothing down my metaphorical hackles. "Thankfully, your fever didn't last long. It broke sometime near midnight, last night."

"After they found me?" I parroted. The last thing I remembered was waking up in the middle of the night, and then…

I pressed my free hand against the corner of my eye, grimacing. My head throbbed with the remains of a headache.

"Do you not remember?"

I shook my head. Her brow furrowed.

"You went missing on the night of the twelfth. Naruto-kun came running to the compound when he couldn't find you. ANBU found you in the afternoon of the thirteenth, near the Naka falls. Whoever took you is still at large, I'm afraid."

The polished steel in her voice said plenty about who she was afraid for, and it wasn't for me.

"What about Shisui?" The memories began to trickle in as she explained. Shisui had knocked on our window for an emergency, and then… what?

I gripped my sheets with my free hand. "Is he okay?"

Mikoto gave me a strange look. "Minako-chan, Shisui-kun is—"

An imperceptible flick of her lashes. Her lips pursed. She turned towards the door, moments before I heard, "Idiot! Slow down!"

The door slammed open. Naruto stood in the doorway, panting, arms akimbo. His blond hair was plastered to his forehead, his blue eyes wide.

My heart leapt into my throat.

"Minako!"

"Naruto!"

He launched himself at the bed. A whoosh of air, and Mikoto was standing between us, catching him mid-leap. "No, Naruto-kun," she said firmly. "You're going to hurt your sister."

A wounded noise escaped my lips. I fought the sheets tucked around me, arms straining to reach him. He twisted in her grip, not even listening, just crying and trying to reach back.

"Lemme go! Lemme go—Minako!"

"Please," I gasped. "Please, please, Naruto, please—"

Carefully, Mikoto lowered him to my bed. We ignored her. She was a nonentity, insignificant in our scramble to throw every limb over the other first. I lost, if only because the blanket was in the way of my legs.

"You're here, you're here, you're here," I chanted, my arms around his waist. He wriggled his own around my neck, one leg pinning the rest of me down.

"I was so scared!" he wailed into my hair. "I woke up, and you weren't there! I waited, and waited, but you didn't show up, and I didn't know what to do…"

I buried my face in his collar, letting his relentless voice wash over me. This was our laundry detergent, our cheap shampoo, our pencil lead and borrowed weapons oil. This was a cool breeze on a bright summer day. This was Naruto.

The terror seeped away, leaving only tears of relief.

Naruto was here. Everything was going to be fine.

Long fingers dragged through my hair. I stiffened, tightening my grip on my brother.

But it was only Mikoto, who withdrew her hand at my reaction. The reminder of a world outside the two of us brought me out of my haze. I blinked the tears away, and raised my head.

Sasuke peeked over the edge of the bed, dark eyes flickering between Naruto's back and me. There was a frown on his face, confusion and concern that I'd never seen before. Itachi put a hand on his shoulder, stepping closer to the bed. His stress lines had gone back to full prominence, but the small tilt to his lips was sincere.

"It's good to see you well," he said.

Naruto hiccuped. I pressed my cheek to his shoulder. It took a few more seconds to remember why seeing the two of them made my worry spike.

"Where's Shisui?" I croaked.

A finger poked the back of my head. "Right here."

Rolling over without letting go of Naruto was a challenge. The dextrose kept getting in the way. It took some wriggling, but I managed to lie back on my back while he lay on top of me.

Shisui leaned on the other side of the bed, his hip against the edge. His shirt hung, wrinkled and loose, on his sagging shoulders. He was pale with exhaustion, but still managed a smile for me. "Hey, pretty girl. Welcome back."

I reached out to him. He took my hand, careful not to aggravate the needle.

Little flames, lapping at my skin, as I breathed in the scent of charcoal and freshly laundered cotton.

I sighed in relief. "You're okay."

His fingers twitched. "You should be more worried about yourself, Minako-chan," he said, voice strained.

"Don't be an idiot." I was too tired for the insult to bite. "What happened?"

"You went missing," he said, before I cut him off.

"Yeah, I know." I shook his hand a little. "Mikoto-baa-san told me. But what happened to you? I remember you visiting, then…"

His expression switched to a focus so sharp I jumped in Naruto's grip. "What do you mean, I was visiting?"

I quailed under his stare. Gone was the cheery Shisui I knew, shut behind an intensity that screamed at my animal brain to freeze. hide. be small.

Why? What did I say?

Naruto raised his head and glared at Shisui. It broke the sudden tension in the room. With a crooked, apologetic smile, Shisui patted my hand. "Sorry. Go on."

"I—" Deep breaths. I tried to will the nerves away, running my hand along Naruto's back. "But you were there, weren't you? You woke me up, and you said…" My voice lowered and lowered, until it trailed off.

Itachi stepped closer, his eyes a flinty obsidian in the hospital's unforgiving light. "What did Shisui say?"

"Yes, Minako-kun. What did Shisui say?"

My grip on Naruto tightened into iron clamps, forcing out a yelp. Heads whipped towards the door, as the Hokage closed it shut beside him. And it was the Hokage, not the 'Jiji' Naruto had so affectionately named. His face was as old and worn as the mountain that bore it above us, and just as unreadable. Those sharp eyes sent lightning shooting down my spine. Flanking him on either side was an ANBU agent, with masks I didn't recognize.

"Hokage-sama," Mikoto greeted, her voice so, so even.

"Mikoto-san." He dipped his head, his ever-present hat shielding his face for a split second. I shuddered at the slight reprieve. "Now, why don't you continue your story, Minako-kun? Or better yet, start at the beginning. So we can all be sure we're on the same page."

My gaze skittered around the room. Mikoto had gone as pale and expressionless as porcelain. Itachi was staring at some point over my head, his hand firm on Sasuke's shoulder.

Pieces of a puzzle settled in my gut like a leadened weight, their answer lying just beyond my fingertips. Never before had my words felt like blades, ready to draw blood at the slightest misstep.

Callused fingers patted my hand again. "Minako-chan?"

Shisui's eyes blazed with grim determination. It braced the cracks in my rattling composure. My grip on his hand tightened. I looked at him, and only at him as I spoke.

"I woke up in the middle of the night. You were at our window—not the kitchen window, like usual. The one to our bedroom."

He nodded encouragingly.

"You said—you said you had something important to show me." The words slowed, as I drew on my memories. "So I got up, and opened the window."

Itachi huffed. It was a small puff of air, little more than a breath. In the silence of the room, it might as well have been a pin clattering against the ground.

"I opened the window," I repeated. "You showed me your hand. And I saw… I saw…"

Unwittingly, I glanced at Shisui's free hand, braced against the bed. Noticing my gaze, he turned it over.

I flinched. Nothing happened. It was an ordinary hand, with faint, bluish veins slipping around yellow calluses. He tried to pull away, but I hung on, shaking my head.

My heart thudded in my ears. Pieces of a puzzle, outstretched fingers. A sense of wrongness, denial. Like acid burning my throat.

"What did you see, Minako-kun?" the Hokage prompted.

Words were a weapon. And I didn't want to wield these.

"Minako-kun."

"A Sharingan," I choked out. "I saw a Sharingan."

No one spoke or moved. Sweat trickled down the side of my neck. All I could see was Shisui's hand in mine, and the other, clenched into a white-knuckled fist on my sheets.

"Shisui-kun," the Hokage said. "If you wouldn't mind accompanying Suzume-san outside? I would like to have a word with you."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." His hands slipped away. He stepped back.

"Wait, no!" I yanked my arm out from under Naruto, struggling to sit up straight. Naruto sat up as well, wide-eyed with alarm. "Don't! It's not what you think! That guy—he wasn't Shisui!"

"Minako-chan," Shisui said, voice low and wary and—scared? Was he scared? Was that slightest tremor at the end of my name fear?

"No, listen!" How to say it? How to explain something I knew deep in my bones, a surety I could only describe with metaphor and allegory?

"Whoever that person was—they looked like Shisui. Sounded like Shisui. So I opened the window. But they didn't smell like Shisui, and the genjutsu—"

I glanced around for confirmation. The Hokage was frowning. Mikoto stared at me, her eyes wider by a fraction of their usual size. It was Itachi who tipped his head in a small nod, his lips pressed into a thin line. I swallowed.

"I know what Shisui's genjutsu feels like. And it didn't feel like his at all. So it couldn't have been him, dattebana!"

"You've cast a genjutsu on her before?" the Hokage asked.

"On their birthday," Shisui replied. The bruises under his eyes were even more prominent on his bloodless skin. His gaze rested just shy of the Hokage's shoulder. "I disguised the twins so they could attend the Festival of the Yellow Flash."

No, no. This was all going wrong. It was supposed to help, not—not make things worse!

"Shisui would never hurt me. It couldn't have been him." I wrung the sheets in my clammy hands. "The Sharingan was probably part of the genjutsu, or something, just to make things extra suspicious—"

"Then explain this to me," the Hokage said, sounding almost… curious. "Why were you found under a genjutsu that could have only been cast by a Sharingan?"

My jaw snapped shut under the old man's piercing gaze. There was something in those wizened brown eyes, an attention he'd never laid on me before.

What could I say to that? A Sharingan user's genjutsu necessitated a Sharingan. But I knew it wasn't Shisui. So if not him, then who?

My head swam. I swayed. The stress and fatigue of recent recovery dragged at my limbs.

No. I couldn't—I couldn't give up!

"But that doesn't make any sense! Why would Shisui even—"

"Minako-chan." This time, it was Itachi who stopped me. I shrank from the gentleness in his face.

I turned to Shisui, pleading, but he had already turned away. Vaguely, I heard Mikoto step forward, as Sparrow escorted Shisui to the door.

"Hokage-sama, if I may…"

Itachi had pulled Sasuke into his arms, answering his questions at a whisper. Naruto tugged on my clenched hands.

"Minako? What's wrong? Where's Shisui going?"

The ANBU turned the knob, then stepped aside, letting Shisui go first.

He didn't even look back.

"No! Wait! Shisui!"

I scrambled for the edge of the bed. A glimpse—his head turning, his horrified face—then the blanket tightened around my legs. The world tipped sideways.

"Minako!"

Strong arms caught me before I smashed my head on the floor. I clung to the familiar, safe warmth of Shisui's shoulders, gasping with relief.

Then froze.

Two bone white masks loomed over us. Angry red paint lined Sparrow's eyes and beak, while black covered half of Bat's face. The scent of metal and weapons oil tainted my tongue, bitter as bile.

Shisui stayed very, very still.

I locked my arms around Shisui's neck. Fear made my breath hitch. My body trembled. But if they were going to hurt Shisui, they were damn well going to have to pry me off first.

"Hokage-sama," Mikoto said, low, furious.

A moment passed, unbreathing. Then a flicker under my skin, like a snap of a finger, and the ANBU agents stepped back.

Shisui's quiet sigh brushed the top of my head.

"I'm going to put you back on the bed now, okay?" He waited for me to nod before moving. "See, Naruto? This is why you gotta hold on tight to your sister. Who knows what she'll fall out of next?"

Naruto jerked his head up and down, eyes wide. He wrapped his arms around my waist, while Shisui gently, but firmly, pried my hands out of his shirt. "And you! What kind of shinobi are you, losing your head at every little thing? If someone's trying to frame me, the Hokage definitely needs to ask me some questions, so we can figure out how they did it. No need to panic."

He turned to the Hokage.

The old man's eyes softened. "Shisui-kun is right," he said. "There are a lot of strange things about this incident. Anything he could give us will be of help."

"See? It'll be alright, Minako-chan."

"Then why won't you look at me?" I whispered.

He paused.

My heart hammered out the seconds.

Then he straightened his shoulders, took a deep breath, and turned me around.

I squeaked, bouncing on the mattress. Now my back was to the rest of the room, while he knelt at the side of the bed, looking up at me.

"No faith in me whatsoever." His sunny smile burned through my fear. "Come on. I'll be back before you know it."

I scowled at him. With my blotchy face and overworked nerves, it was about as effective as a wet kitten's. He laughed and ruffled my hair.

"If you're not careful, your face will freeze like that," he said, rising to his feet.

Naruto got a hair ruffle too, even as I sputtered. "That's a lie!"

"Oh yeah? Let's see you prove it," he teased, stepping away. "Hokage-sama, I'm ready."

The Hokage nodded. "Suzume."

This time, Sparrow stalked Shisui's heels as they headed outside. I bit my lip, wishing I could run after, or even run back, back to after I woke up and slap my big mouth shut. Scrub out the memory of the swirly evil eye of doom. Take one look at not-Shisui and run out the door with Naruto, screaming.

"Minako-kun." Reluctantly, I turned my gaze to the Hokage. He didn't look quite so impassive then. The slightest hint of fatigue peeked from the shadows of his crow's feet. "Rest assured that we are doing everything we can to investigate what happened. Shisui-kun is in good hands."

His words meant fuck all to me and my nerves, but sure. Okay. You couldn't just talk away the terror when every cell in my body screamed, wrong wrong wrong wrong!

I jerked my head up and down, for everyone's benefit. Pretty sure it convinced exactly no one.

The Hokage took one last look at me, before nodding to everyone in the room and leaving with his escort. The remaining Uchihas bowed to his receding back.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Mikoto whirled into motion. "Itachi, I'll leave you to watch the children. Check Minako-chan out of the hospital when the time comes," she ordered. "I need to talk to your father. Minako-chan—" She pressed a firm kiss to my forehead, then pinched my arm. I yelped.

"Thank you." Her dark eyes were alight with a fire that mirrored Shisui's determination. "But never, ever argue with the Hokage like that, ever again. Do you understand?"

I squirmed. She cupped my cheek, forcing me to meet her gaze.

"Hai," I mumbled. She took that in the spirit it was meant and sighed. With no more time to lose, she gave Naruto and Sasuke their own kisses, Itachi a hand on his shoulder, then left, the door swinging shut behind her.

I immediately turned to Itachi. "What just happened? What did I miss?" My voice trembled. "They just took him away like… like…"

Red and black ANBU masks, looming over Shisui's back. Over me. I shook the memory away.

"After the ANBU found you under the genjutsu, the clan was placed under investigation," Itachi said quietly. I couldn't read his face. "Movement in and out of the compound was heavily monitored, and all Uchiha missions were put on hold. We were waiting for you to wake, in hopes of getting more definitive evidence on the culprit."

Horror dripped down my spine, cold as ice. "And I just told them it was Shisui."

He nodded.

My lungs seized. I couldn't breathe. "But Shisui would never do that!" I choked out. "We have to do something! There has to be an impostor, or, or…"

Itachi helped Sasuke clamber up the bed to join us. "We will," he said. "There are still a lot of questions that still need to be answered, so we needn't worry about Shisui just yet. Otou-san will make sure he's well cared for, at the very least."

I opened my mouth to protest further, only for Itachi to shoot the boys a pointed look. I couldn't see Naruto's face, but Sasuke's eyes were wide and watery.

"Is Shisui gonna be okay?" he asked.

Naruto hooked his chin over my shoulder. "Jiji said it's okay, so he'll be okay!" he said, though even his usual optimism was tainted with doubt.

Itachi and I stared at each other. He shook his head. I pressed my lips together.

The stress of the past hour, so soon after waking, dragged at the little energy I had left. By some miracle, I ended up drowsing against the boys' warm, wriggly bodies. Naruto woke me by the simple act of trying to pull away. I growled, tensing instinctively against a newcomer, but it was just Ken again, handing some documents for Itachi to sign. They both ignored me.

The nap had invigorated me enough to walk out of the hospital on my own two feet, but not much further. Itachi had to carry me on his back the rest of the way home. Sasuke, to my surprise, didn't protest, just fumbled around my leg so he could snag his fingers into his brother's shirt. Naruto walked in front, leading the way.

They didn't drop us off so much as literally drop me on my bed. I was forced to endure being tucked in by Itachi, with Naruto running to turn on the heater and Sasuke still in the kitchen, ogling our (comparatively) tiny space.

Itachi smoothed over the blanket on my chest, then paused. "Earlier… you said you could feel the difference between Shisui and the impostor."

"Wha—yeah," I said, startled out of my struggle with my uncooperative limbs. Naruto had dumped Oogama-chan on me too, which didn't help at all. "Yeah, I can. I swear, I'm not making it up!"

His expression softened. "I believe you," he said. "Can you describe it to me?"

My shoulders rose, tensing in spite of myself. The easiest response would be a gut feeling, but it was also the worst response, because what kind of evidence was that?

"I dunno. I just." My free fingers plucked at the blanket. "It sounds stupid," I warned him.

He placed a hand on mine. "Just do your best."

One last breath. Then…

"He feels like fire." I gripped Itachi's hand, needing the reassurance. "Shisui. Like… like little flames, dancing. You know? Not that I've ever put my hand in a fire, but. It's the closest thing I can think of."

A little frown marred Itachi's brow, but he didn't seem skeptical. Just deep in thought. "And the impostor?"

The ghostly remnants of the experience still made me shudder. "You know those really thick thorns? The ones with bark on them? Like that. Like they were digging under my skin." I rolled over, as if curling up could chase away the sensation. "…It hurt."

He gave my hand a light squeeze. "And me?"

Surprise pulled me from the clinging memories. But his hand was already in mine, so it was easy enough to say, "Sparks. From a campfire? But the kind that could start a forest fire, if someone's not careful."

The last part was hastily tacked on, a last-minute addition that just rolled off the tongue. It felt right.

"It's easier coz you're so close," I explained to his raised eyebrows.

He glanced at our clasped hands, then nodded. "I see. Thank you."

"Will that help?" I held on, my own desperation keeping him from walking away.

His other hand came up, wrapping mine with the warmth of his palms. The smile on his face was faint and grim. "I hope so."

Then he was out of sight, calling to Sasuke so they could hurry home. I melted into my pillow with a sigh, all the adrenaline draining out of me.

It was out of my hands now. Itachi and Mikoto… they would take care of it. They'd make sure Shisui came home.


Naruto was all for skipping school the next day too, but at that point, the Uzumaki stamina had finally kicked in. I wasn't bouncing off the walls, mind, but I could walk to school and slump over my desk. The clan kids must've heard some version of what happened, because Shikamaru's stare was drilling into my back all morning, and Shino joined Team Naruto in fussing over me. Even Ino dropped by, dragging along a pink-haired girl I was too distracted to pay much attention to.

Because Sasuke was nowhere to be found.


A/N: Fun fact I didn't even know Shisui existed when I started this fic, and now he's one of my favorite characters wtf wtf.

Also, my second Word of God ever: Kotoamatsukami? Doesn't exist. Yeet that OP BS back to canon where it belongs. Shisui here doesn't have the Mangekyo, so small comfort...?

Gonna update weekly now, because my backlog count jumped a little higher than I expected. For more notes on this chapter, check out my writing blog!