Kagome lay silently in her twin sized bed, desperately wishing for her heart to stop racing. All she wanted was to go to sleep, to sleep without the dreams. She had already lived her fair share of horror stories and watched first hand as happy endings became stories that just hadn't finished yet, and the very last thing she ever wanted to do was hit the replay button on her life; yet that was what was happening.
Kagome silently slipped out of her sheets, careful not to wake the sleeping Shippo next to her. While placing her bare feet on the ground she smiled at the one pleasant memory this night was granting her with. How the little brat just wouldn't let go of her. No matter how hard she pulled, the little boy just refused to budge. She had originally tried to place him in his own bed but he clung to her like a desert man would a canteen of water.
Sighing, she stood up and walked over to her makeshift vanity that consisted of a half cracked mirror and a wooden table. Using her arms as support Kagome leaned over and stared at her reflection, but no matter what she told herself her dreams continued to plague her, unwilling to leave her mind alone.
Why did it have to happen the way it did? Why did Widow have to die? She didn't deserve death, she deserved life! Damit! That woman deserved more than what was handed to her by fate! Fate was just a cruel way to say that you've been screwed and will be continued to be screwed, by the universe or whatever demented gods there are out there, for the rest of your miserable life!
Kagome raised her fist, determined to shatter the already broken mirror in order to satisfy her own rage, but stopped herself mere seconds before her fist made contact with her reflection. She looked at herself as tears poured down her milky white face. The wooden vanity was already wet with puddles of water, the moon shining off the miniature pools of glass. Kagome unclenched her fist and slumped into the wooden chair behind her. No, fate didn't deal Widow anything, Widow chose her own fate. She knew what was waiting for her and she went anyway. Everything she did was of her own will, her own decision. So then why, why where all these emotions, everything she had already dealt with, resurfacing now?
Kagome let out a small but silent laugh. Well that was a stupid question, look at what she was facing, look at what she was doing. How could old feelings not creep up on her?
"Kagome?" came a weak and tired voice from behind her.
She immediately turned around to face a half awake Shippo rubbing is eyes, "Yes?"
He blinked a few times before answering her, seemingly to tired to fully comprehend what was going on. If it hadn't of been for his half opened eyes, Kagome would have said he was talking in his sleep. "Why aren't you smiling? I like it better when you smile," he whispered while yawning.
In an instant Kagome felt the weight that had been plaguing her for nearly a week lift from her chest. It was amazing how one little question could do so much. How it could remind her of all she had forgot. It was miraculous how one little kid could say the exact phrase she needed to hear. Kagome stood up and walked over to the bed, and more importantly she was walking towards the child laying there. With a slight smile on her face she reached over and pulled Shippo into a hug, "You know, when I was younger someone I loved dearly used to say that to me whenever I was sad."
Shippo yawned as Kagome pulled the covers over their bodies. "Who was that?" asked Shippo while Kagome kissed his forehead.
Kagome wiped away her last tear for the night and smiled, "My old teacher," was all she said before Shippo fell back asleep. Kagome looked outside at the crescent moon and smiled, "My old teacher used to say that to me all the time."
Kagome sat in the middle of the kitchen as Kaede ran back and forth between the kitchen's obstacles. She had to admit, it was incredibly amusing, and she had never pegged the old woman for a curser. She smiled to herself as she rocked back and forth on the kitchen stool; there was nothing else she could really do. Every time Kagome tried to get down Kaede would nearly trample her, and getting repeatedly slammed into by a 200 pound old woman gone mad was not something on Kagome's to do list.
Kagome looked down at the stool and sighed, you could only sit somewhere for so long. Even on missions she at least had the chance to whisper back and forth to Virus or Amazon on their headphones. She rocked onto the back right leg of the stool so the other three legs weren't touching the ground. She could cook something, but that would mean she would have to find a way over to the fridge without getting pulverized. Maybe there was already something by her that she had missed. Kagome twisted her head to see nothing on the counter, everything was spotless…damn.
Kagome rested her head on her palm as she switched the weight on the stool to the back left leg. Well, what else could she do? Couldn't play I-Spy because there was no one to play I-Spy with, and she really didn't feel like doing anything that required any sort of effort…now why couldn't Rin or Shippo randomly pop in like they always do? Now they would play a game with her for sure. Kagome switched the weight onto the front left leg of the stool so the other three were now slightly off of the ground.
What could she do? She looked over at the fridge, should she brave it? Kagome sat correctly on the stool so all for legs were back on the ground. She looked to her left, and then to right. Kaede seemed to be slowing down a bit. Combine her current speed multiplied by how many times she sporadically sprints across the kitchen divided by how many inches it takes to get to the fridge and back and she should have an 11.3 second window open right about…Kagome looked at the clock, then back at Kaede, then back at the clock…now! She jumped from the stool and sprinted over to the fridge. Without looking at what she was grabbing she opened the fridge and reached in, slammed the door shut and high tailed it back to her little stool. With a glance over at the clock she jumped onto the stool just as Kaede rushed past her, frantic as ever.
Kagome gave herself a mental pat on the back for her calculation skills. That would have been an awful collision with even the slightest miss calculation. With a smile, Kagome looked down at her prize only to scowl. Damit, why the hell did she have to grab a back of carrots? Why the hell couldn't she have picked something else? Stupid subconscious trying to tell her to eat healthier, couldn't it just be quiet for once?
Ayame sat on her computer trying not to be bored out of her mind. I mean, she had absolutely nothing to do. Sango and Kagome were both at the Mansion doing god knows what and she was stuck here alone with nothing to do but pull out her own hair, which she would never do because her hair is her pride and joy. And really, it's not like she could really call anybody since she was a Black Widow and all. You can't befriend civilians because they'll just ask too many questions and then end up getting shot, and you can't befriend any other assassins because they'll kill you in a heartbeat if they think they can get any money out of it.
Maybe she should go shopping, that always cheered her up, but would it really be any fun without Kagome and Sango? Half the fun was dragging Sango around.
Ayame closed her computer and looked outside of the hotel window, yes, she'd go shopping. It wasn't like she had anything else to do.
Kagome sat on her little brown stool as she bit into one of the carrots. Hell, she was far past desperate by now. Kagome frowned again as she swallowed, what, she couldn't grab any ranch either? This was so not her day.
Kagome took another bite as she scrunched up her feet to her chest while Kaede ran past her yet again. The woman was going to take off her toes of this continued, "Hey Kaede, you ready to tell me what's going on yet?"
Kaede stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around to face Kagome, "I am sorry child, I never did tell you did I? It's just," the woman took a long breath in, trying to catch her breath. Finally letting go of all pretenses Kaede let her emotions show, "Kikyo has been trying to get me fired for a long time now, she says that the boys can find someone better, and younger."
Kagome got down from her stool and walked over to Kaede. She placed a hand on the old woman's shoulder and pulled out a chair for her to sit on. Kaede sat down almost immediately, showing how worn out the old woman truly was.
"So what does this have to do with how frantic you are? You've been cooking and cleaning non-stop for almost three hours now," asked Kagome.
Kaede sighed and put her face in her palms, shaking her head slightly, "Those four, especially Inuyasha, just don't listen to this old woman anymore. If I don't do everything perfect when Kikyo comes over she will twist all I do as a reason for Inuyasha to get rid of me. Although they are not my own flesh and blood, they are still grandchildren in my eyes; I could not bare loosing them. I just wouldn't have a purpose without them to take care of."
Kagome clung to every syllable that made its way off of Kaede's lips. Kikyo was not only coming, but was planning on firing Kaede by any means necessary. Shit. This really wasn't her day was it? Kagome took another breath in and finally let it out, "Does any of the other staff know about this?"
Kaede tried to suppress a smirk but couldn't keep it in, "Are you kidding? Those mini skirts? They would probably be happy to see me leave."
Kagome moved so she could squat down in front of Kaede, "I don't mean those staff members, I mean everyone else. There are people here who aren't complete idiots with implants."
"I just don't know child, I cannot keep up this pace forever," said Kaede.
Kagome smiled reassuringly, "Just relax and do what you normally do, I'll take care of the rest okay?"
"But-" started Kaede but Kagome silenced her with one look.
"Don't worry about it, just tell me what needs to be done and I'll make sure that it's done," with that settled, Kagome stood up and moved over to the simmering soup, ready to finish adding in the various spices required.
Kagome gracefully walked through the downstairs halls, well, as gracefully as anybody can walk in those skimpy little outfits. I mean, if you swung your hips to much you looked like a striper, if you didn't swing at all you looked like a guy. Neither idea sounded very appealing to Kagome, good thing she knew how to adjust her walks accordingly. When you had people hunting you down, every little detail you do counts for something, even if that means changing your walk in the most minuscule way in order to slip by unnoticed.
Kagome stopped at the first door in front of her and ran her fingers through her hair. These were the servant's quarters and if she was going to pull tonight off she was going to need some help. Slowly Kagome lifted up her wrist and knocked on the door. She heard shuffling and then the door opened.
"Kagome?" asked a feminine voice while yawning. The woman was probably in her early 30's and had short blonde hair that stopped at her shoulders. Kagome had been wary of her at first, but that soon changed when she heard her whispering to herself about barely dressed woman and this being a prostitution training center. After that, they immediately clicked.
"Hey Ana, I was wondering, what is this Kikyo person like?" asked Kagome.
The girl, now identified as Ana, one of the maids from the second floor, scowled before she replied, "She's awful, even I don't like her. She is always trying to make us servants look bad and she acts like she is already Inuyasha's wife! Of course not when he is around, she's a little saint when Inuyasha's there. I'm telling you Kagome, she's worse than anyone we have working here…Why do you want to know?"
Kagome let out a sigh, "Umm…she's coming tonight and Kaede is going frantic. I think she's going to have a stroke if she continues at the pace she is going."
"Kikyo is coming here? Damit," Ana bit her bottom lip, "I'm going to have to re-polish the silverware again. I hate it when she comes."
Kagome blocked the doorway before Ana could start walking towards the kitchen, "Actually, it is probably best that you don't go in there right now. Even with my amazing persuasion skills I could only calm Kaede down a little. What I really wanted to talk to you about was Kaede…you like her right?"
Ana blinked a few times before she answered, "Yeah, of course. I mean, I really can't imagine anyone else doing her job, I don't know how she puts up with everyone around here."
"Good, because Kikyo has been trying to get her fired for a while now."
Ana's mouth almost dropped, "What?"
"Yeah, she say's Kaede is to old, so Kaede tries to keep up with everything Kikyo assigns her all on her own. The fact is, Kaede isn't as young as she used to be and can't continue at the pace she's going at. She needs help," finished Kagome.
Ana put her hand up in a mock stop sign manner, "Say no more Kagome, I'll help Kaede out. I'll talk to Yume, Yuki and Fuu too. I know they want to see her leave about as much as you and I do. Really, Kaede is what keeps this house running, and she has never done anything to the staff to make us want her gone either. She's like the loveable old grandmother to a lot of us around here. Hell, aside from you, she's the only one who can keep Inuyasha in line."
Kagome moved her hand from the doorframe so Ana could leave. Before she walked around the corner Ana turned around and gave Kagome a reassuring wink. Almost immediately after she turned back around to help find some new recruits.
Kagome sat in the kitchen on her self designated stool listening as Sango delegated out responsibilities to the surrounding employees. Kagome knew Kaede was important around here but even she never would have guessed that most of the staff would show up. She giggled when she thought about how everyone had tried to squeeze themselves in the kitchen. Sure, the kitchen was big, but not that big. Luckily, Fuu had wisely came up with the idea to fill everybody in on the plan throughout the day instead of all at once, so this way nothing looked conspicuous.
Right now they where on their third rotation, the children of the manor. Kagome giggled again; it was the cutest thing she had ever seen. Turns out, as much as the adults hated Kikyo, it was magnified tenfold by the children.
She laughed as Shippo shot his hand up in the air, so, like the good little babysitter she was turning out to be, Kagome called on him, "Yes Shippo?"
"Can I put worms in her sandwiches?" he asked pleadingly.
A round of laughter and 'please, can we?' came from the surrounding children. Now how in the world was she supposed to say no to that? I mean really, they had their cute little Mini Mouse voices on, with those big eyes that just screamed, 'I'm cute and I know it,'. And really, why on earth would she say no to something she wanted to do anyways? "Of course you c-" but she was cut off by Sango who tried to knock her off of the stool.
"Don't you dare say yes Kagome! We are not trying to break Inuyasha and Kikyo up, we are just trying to save Kaede's job!" yelled Sango.
Kagome stood up from where she had landed when she jumped off the stool and rubbed her backside, which she had landed on anyways despite her best efforts, "You didn't have to push me off the stool to tell me that."
Sango gave her a disapproving look, "We're you going to tell them they could do it?"
Kagome looked Sango strait in the eye's, then at the pleading kids before her, than back at Sango, "Um…no?"
"Kagome! We don't even know this Kikyo person; she might not even be all that bad. Now lets get back to helping Kaede shall we?" finished Sango.
Kagome frowned and mumbled under her breath, "She can't be all that great, I mean, look whose she's trying to get fired."
The kids around her snickered, Sango raised her right eyebrow, "What was that Kagome? I couldn't hear you."
Kagome stuck her tongue out at Sango before turning her attention back towards the children before her. In the sweetest voice she could muster Kagome began talking, "What do you say we just stay out of Kikyo's way kids, just so she doesn't try to eat you in the middle of the night or something. Didn't you know that they based the Hansel and Gretel story after her? Wouldn't want to be placed in an oven now would you. Now run along and help out your parents," said Kagome nonchalantly as she waved the kids off lovingly.
Before Shippo left she kissed the boy on the forehead and scooted him out the door, "You help out in the garden Shippo, alright?" Kagome turned around and smiled at the very pissed off Sango, "What? Did I do something wrong?"
Sango picked up one of the oranges sitting on the counter next her and threw it at Kagome, "You are worse than those kids! You haven't even met this woman yet, this does not sound like you Kagome. You never judge people, even after you meet them. Sure, you may not like them but you never judge them. What is going on?"
Kagome, who easily sidestepped the now smashed orange, just smiled, "Call it a hunch Sango, but something tells me I'm dead on in my assumption about this woman."
Sango rolled her eyes, but stopped mid roll. She smiled wickedly, "You sure you just don't like her because she's dating Inuyasha?"
Kagome's grin dropped into a menacing frown, "That is not even funny to joke about Sango." Kagome turned around and headed over to the fridge on the other side of the room.
If at all possible the grin and Sango's face grew, "Really? Because it nothing like you to judge someone, especially before you meet them. In fact, the only sound thing that we know about this woman is that she's dating Inuyasha, since you felt it would be time wasted researching her. Naturally, this has to be the basis for my conclusion."
Kagome grabbed a bowl from inside the fridge, "You are going to feel like such an idiot when she gets here, you just wait and see Sango. And maybe, if I'm in a really good mood, I'll only say 'I told you so' a couple hundred times, instead of a few thousand."
Sango smiled as Kagome mixed together the cake batter Kaede had started two hours ago. "Whatever Kag's," said Sango as she started to walk out to the gardens where the gardening staff was waiting for her, "whatever gets you though the day, but I'll be honest, I've never seen you become this involved on a mission, especially a panther mode. Further more, it may be true that you don't seek out Inuyasha like every other girl here, but whenever he happens to come across you, you don't try to leave Kagome. In fact, you seem to stick around longer."
Sango finally stepped out of the kitchen, leaving Kagome to her thoughts. As soon at the swinging door stopped swinging and Sango's heals could no longer be heard by her delicately trained hearing Kagome placed the bowl in her hands down. She looked over at the window, watching the blue jays outside bathe themselves in the granite stone birdbath, "I don't do that…do I?"
Shippo sat quietly in the middle of the grassy field contemplating his next move. You see, while Sango had decided that Kikyo and Inuyasha shouldn't be broken up, the children of the manor hadn't. She was just so mean all the time and nobody tries to make Kaede leave either. The question was, how where they going to make everything work?
A little girl with a two pigtails and a pink sun dress tapped his shoulder, "Think of anything yet?" she asked.
Shippo shook his head, "No."
The little girl, who was a year his senior took the double cherry Popsicle in her hand and broke it in half. She sat down on the grass next to him and without looking gave him the other half of the Popsicle. Shippo took it without hesitation and the two ate in silence together.
Fuu stared out the window in wonder at the two children sitting in the middle of the grassy field. If she didn't know any better she would say that she was watching a bar scene where two friends are sitting together drinking their beer's, desperately trying to fix each others lives.
It was rather surreal.
Fuu closed her eye's and shook her head. She didn't have time for this, she had work to do. There was no way she was going to let Kaede be fired.
Shippo looked up at the sky as he licked the cherry flavored stick. That Popsicle had really hit the spot, "Hey, do you think we need a bit more help?"
The girl with the pigtails looked at him skeptically. Her Popsicle was long gone and the stick rested by her hand, "What do you mean?"
"I think we are going at this all wrong. The only way this will work is if the grown ups help us break them up. What we need to do is convince them how mean Kikyo is. We can't do this on our own; we need somebody on the inside. Somebody that can really convince the grown ups to get rid of Kikyo."
Shippo and the little pigtailed girl looked at each other for a minute before simultaneously breaking out into cherry flavored smiles.
"Rin," was all the little girl said.
Rin sat in the dining room listening to her father yelling on the phone. Whoever he was talking to must have really bad hearing because she's never heard him yell that loud before. Whoever this 'incompetent' person was should really get one of those things that you stick in your ear to make you hear better. Maybe she should tell them that, or at least her daddy should.
Rin leaned across the table so she could pick up the red crayon in order to finish her drawing. Rin smiled as she signed her name with the crayon, all the while absolutely sure that her daddy would love it.
Rin slid out of her chair and grabbed the picture she had just finished, "Daddy! Look what Rin drew for you!" she yelled happily.
Sesshomaru turned around and placed his hand over the receiver, "That is very nice Rin," was all he said before he turned back around in order to finish his yelling.
"But Daddy, look, it's you and me! We're at the lake together," she held up the picture in front of her face, smiling as she spoke.
"Not now Rin, I'm busy, show me later," was all he said as he left the room, phone still in hand.
Rin's arm slowly dropped to her side, "But Daddy, you said we would spend the day together," came her defeated voice. Rin lifted her other hand in hopes of stopping any tears that might make themselves known. She just didn't understand, why didn't her Daddy want to spend any time with her anymore? She was good, wasn't she?
Rin unconsciously crumbled the picture she had drawn into a ripped up ball of now useless paper. She threw the crumpled piece of paper onto the ground and stomped off into the next room, hoping to find somebody in there who still liked her.
Kouga was furious. This by far was the most humiliating thing Inuyasha had ever had him do, yes, this even topped Rino. What, he couldn't have one of the maids do this? This is what he had them for! That fucking mutt was so getting his ass kicked when he got back to the manor.
"Do you have your ID with you sir?" asked the woman at the desk.
Kouga suppressed a growl. Oh, some bodies were defiantly going to be found in some abandoned stream tonight. Kouga, rather brutally, pulled out his wallet and yanked out his ID, throwing it at the innocent woman in front of him. So why again couldn't Inuyasha do this himself? She was after all his fucking girlfriend, if you could even call her that. Better yet, why couldn't Kikyo pick up her own lingerie?
"Thank you sir. Would you like to try these on before you leave?" asked the woman routinely.
Kouga burst, "Does it fucking look like I want to try them on?!"
The girl seemed to cower behind the desk, "S-sorry sir, w-we're ordered t-to ask everyone that. M-my deepest apologies," she stuttered out of fear.
Kouga, officially pissed off, grabbed the bag of lingerie and stomped out of the store, effectively knocking over two manikins and a bra stand that where stupidly in his way. Without watching where he was going he headed for the nearest exit.
He did not, under any circumstances, like shopping.
Damit, yelled Ayame to herself. Shopping just wasn't as fun without any one to bug. Maybe she should just go home, but no one was there either. At least here she was surrounded by people and not just computers.
Ayame sighed as she grabbed her bags, what the hell was she supposed to do for the rest of the day? Well, if anything she could finish looking for the sword, but she just wasn't making any headway yet, and that just wasn't like her at all. Every time she tried she would just get more and more depressed whenever she would hit a dead end. This was just so not her week.
Ayame slowly headed for the nearest exit, knowing that she had at least another two hours before the bus showed up. Rule one on a mission, don't have anything that could be traced back to you, eve a car. So here she was stuck waiting for the—Ompf.
That hurt.
Ayame looked up from the ground to see her newly acquired purchases scattered all around her. What the hell? And man did her forehead hurt.
"Why the hell didn't you get out of my way?" asked an irritated voice.
Ayame focused her attention forward instead of on her bags, and her mouth nearly dropped. No way in hell, of all the people she could run into at the mall it had to be Kouga. What was he doing here anyways? As far as she knew the man hated shopping, hell, he sent professionals out to pick out his own clothes. He didn't see them till they were safely tucked away in his closet. She looked over to his right to see a Victoria Secret bag surrounded by lace lingerie and she could help but snicker, amusement clearly in her facial features.
"What the hell are you finding so funny?" asked a pissed Kouga. This was exactly what he needed to make his day worse.
Ayame managed to turn her snickering into a scowl, but just barely, "Wow, your girlfriend must really have you whipped if she's having you pick up her underwear."
Kouga's face went pale, a ghostly white, as he tried to form a sentence. Did she just say what I think she said? Was all that was currently crossing his mind. Oh hell no, she did not just say I am whipped. I am not whipped! "I am not whipped and these are not for my girlfriend!" he snarled at her as she slowly picked up her newly distributed clothes.
"Oh, so they are for your mistress. Well, same thing. Whatever the case I have to congratulate her. Not only does she have you whipped but she's got you with your tail between your legs as well," she laughed as she placed a blue top back into one of her bags.
"You fucking bitch, these are for my roommate's girlfriend," he growled.
Ayame tried not to laugh, but it was just so hard. This guy was just way to easy to rile up, "Oh, I get it, so you're not whipped by a girl at all. It's your roommate whose got you on a leash, give him my congratulations some time alright whipped wonder with a cherry on top," she waved goodbye wickedly as she walked out the exit door.
As soon as Ayame managed to step outside she burst out into laughter. She wasn't normally one to taunt people but hell, that whole scenario just made the two hour wait for the bus worth it.
Poor Rin just didn't know what to do with herself. Everyone was busy and she couldn't find her Aunt Kagome, the one person who would always play with her. First her Daddy ignores her, then Uncle Inuyasha doesn't have time, and now Aunt Kagome was now where to be found. She just wanted to sit down in a corner and cry.
Rin was too caught up her in own self pity to hear the door creek open, or the small pitter patter of feet behind her. In fact, she didn't even turn around until she heard a loud, "Found her!"
Rin twisted around, completely caught off guard, as she tried to wipe her tears away. In front of her was a little boy who couldn't be older than three-years-old. He had short brown hair and his thumb was in his mouth. Before she could ask who he was or what he was doing in her Uncle's house three more children joined them. The one that stepped forward she remembered vividly from her time spent with her Aunt Kagome, his name was Shippo.
"Rin? You have to pinky promise that what we talk about in this room you don't tell anyone," said the boy with flaming red hair.
Rin didn't have a clue what was going on but she answered anyways, "Not even my Daddy?"
Shippo shook his head, "Not even your Daddy, or Kagome."
Rin gasped in disbelief, "But I tell Aunt Kagome everything!"
Shippo looked at her sternly, well as sternly as a little boy his age could look at someone, "No Rin, you have to pinky promise that you don't tell anyone."
Rin's eyes went even wider, "Ever?"
"Ever," said Shippo.
Rin looked around the room carefully. Should she agree to this? What if they were asking her to do something really serious like give up her desert or something? Because she wasn't sure she could do something like that. But nobody is that mean, well except for maybe Kikyo, but they were asking her to pinky promise, it had to be something big if she was making that kind of commitment. You don't go back on a pinky promise, no matter what, "Um…alright, Rin pinky promises."
She held out her pinky and Shippo did the same. The two connected fingers and then released their hold. A little girl with pigtails that was probably a year or two younger than Rin stepped forward. The girl looked around the room and nodded at her fellow friends. She looked back over at Rin, "How do you fell about Kikyo, the mean lady that your Uncle Inuyasha kisses sometimes?"
Rin instinctively made a face, "Rin doesn't like her."
The little boy with his thumb in his mouth smiled, "Good, because we don't like her either."
The little girl with the pigtails stepped forward after the boy put his thumb back in his mouth, "And we need your help to make her go away."
Rin smiled as the children told her about their plan.
Firevixen73- This didn't turn out the way I was hoping it would but it has been a while since I updated so I posted for you what I had. I really wanted to bring in one of my last key characters though, sorry, you'll just have to wait for that one. I have horrible writers block right now, and I just can't seem to get out anything half decent, but hopefully everyone liked this chapter. At least now you know what happened to Widow, I've gotten a few questions about that. Anything else and I'll see if I can answer, just ask. Please review, they really help keep me motivated and focused. Thank you!