Advent against Time

Written By Matdeception

AN: ...

Disclaimer: Insert Alehphesis here.

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Chapter 3: He gets bored, she gets married; Life sucks.

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She hissed as she pressed the swab against the wound, alcohol absorbed by the cotton transferring to the open cut above her eye, stinging, burning and cleaning it of infection. The coppery taste of blood caused her to wince; she had bit her lip to block out the pain and had only injured herself in the process. Kurenai sighed, dropping the bloody swab into the sink as she stared at herself in the reflective mirror. Her white porcelain skin marred with dried blood, a broken nose she set herself, and a darkening bruise around her left eye. That child had so much strength, too much strength for some one his age if you were to ask her.

The red-eyed kunoichi grimaced at that. She knew he had all but devoted himself to training, to getting stronger since she had... abused him. 'Abused? I tortured him.' her mind rebelled, and she accepted that truth. She had accepted it a long time ago; it still didn't make it any easier to think about.

She wiped her face, taking some comfort in the warm water as it soothed and comforted her abused skin. Dropping the towel on the floor and flipping off the light, she left and ducked into her bedroom.

The room was dark; it had been late when she got home from that catastrophe of a first meeting with Naruto-kun. She didn't pay that much attention as she knelt down beside her bed and pulled out a small engraved wooden box. Delicately she traced her fingers over the Kanji, eyes becoming unfocused for a time as she drifted off into remembrance of better times. Of times with her annoying brother, her strong father and loving mother, when they would be gathered around the table for dinner. Of her brother sticking his tongue at her... her father laughing about something or another, and her mother sighing that exasperated sigh of hers...

Kurenai winced, burying those pleasant thoughts away. They weren't hers to enjoy, not now, not until she earned his forgiveness. "Forgiveness..." she mumbled even as she opened the box. Within were little mementos, a broken kunai where she had first tried to kill her perverted team mates one morning, a lock of hair from her first boy friend, numerous other mementos marking first times and fun moments. And then there was a large piece of paper, folded in half and tucked carefully into a brown envelope.

She grabbed that, setting the box down to her side as she held her prize. She stared for a long time, her mind amidst a sea of thoughts, before she pulled out the piece of paper, unfolding it with extreme care less she damage it in some way. It was a pencil drawing, it contained a park, a bench and chirping birds crafted so carefully they looked ready to fly off the paper into the real world and take flight. Hey eyes fell to the bench, where a boy sat, his back turned to her. He held in his hands a sketch book, flipped open and blank, a canvas ready to be imprinted on.

Delicately she traced her fingers over the boy, eyes softening as she watched him, imagined him sitting there with a smile as he did what he loved to do, to draw, to capture the essence of a moment and imprint it forever using nothing more then paper and pencil.

The pleasant thoughts faded as her eyes traveled to the forefront, a girl stood there, such a silly little girl with dark wavy hair, fair complexion, and startling fierce eyes that looked back at you as if she knew you were watching her. Where the picture was warm and inviting, then woman was not. Her eyes, beautiful in their own right, felt like a void had been opened up and threatened to draw all things happy and pleasant deep within them.

She knew those eyes very well; she had seen them in the mirror for years after the Kyuubi assault. The artist had drawn a picture of her that was, captured the essence of her hatred for him, and he did it with a smile.

A tear drop rolled off her cheek and splashed against the sketch, followed by another, and another. Kurenai cried as she threw the sketch to the side and hugged herself. 'That's not me, not anymore... dear Kami... that's not me.' she whimpered miserably, lost in thoughts of the past and how far she had fallen.

That's not me.

-0-0-0-

'Yuuhi Kurenai!' Naruto raged even as he slammed the door shut to his apartment with a loud clang. Not that he cared, no one else would 'dare' live near the Demon spawn, so it wasn't like he had neighbors to worry about.

"Out of all the fucking bitches in the world, how could I have forgotten about that whore?" he all but roared, using Ita's sheathed ANBU kodachi as a bat, sweeping strikes against his counter tops that crushed boxes, shattered glass, broke appliances. He reared back and threw the blade angrily against the wall with enough force that the handle became embedded.

Growling, Naruto slammed his fists against the counter top with enough force to shatter its thick blocky surface. Again and again he attacked the counter top as he mentally berated himself for forgetting some one as obvious as the Genjutsu mistress, the woman that bared him children in the Demon Infested World, the second woman he realized he had come to love after his first body jump and the brain damage he had suffered at the onset of the Demon invasion had been wiped clean.

"God damn it!" he viciously kicked his refrigerator over before twirling around and slumping tiredly against the wall. Bad enough that he had been mentally ass raped as a child, bad enough that it was Kurenai of all people that had fucking done it, he had to go and forget she even existed. He was old, he knew that, and it reasoned after nearly six hundred years of body jumping he would forget some things. But never a woman he had loved, never that. He could still clearly remember Sakura-chan, his Sakura-chan that had died saving his life when Konoha fell to the Demonic Army of the eighth circle. Temari when she broke down at the thought of Gaara's death during the destruction of the second and third gate, Tayuya when she finally gave up on trying to assassinate him, and so many others. How... how could he forget about Kurenai?

He sighed, taking deep gasping breaths as he tried to calm down. It didn't really help all that much, but it at least got his mind off what that venomous snake had done to him with her blasted genjutsu. 'Damn it.. just, damn it, what am I going to do?' he couldn't help but wonder now that he knew who had hurt this body as a child.

Kill her? Naruto sneered at that thought. Such a fate would be merciful by his standards. Torture? Oh yes, there were so many interesting ways you could hurt a person with out risking their death. But how? He supposed if he didn't care about going missing-nin he could come up with something now, but he was a little too young for something like that. I mean, honestly, so what if he could melt a village into slag if he went all out; No one in this world would take a kid seriously, especially one that looked as, and he hated the fact, adorable as he did.

Yet then there was Ita, he realized tiredly. She really was his only friend in this village, and the thought of leaving her to fend off her family whenever they tried to get her to lay on her back and pump out babies again left a sour taste in his mouth. If only there was something he could do for the girl that didn't involve genocide, but what? He wasn't much of a thinker, he accepted that ages ago, so coming up with a plan to some how help Ita, destroy Kurenai, and escape the village in such a way that didn't require him to blow the whole fucking village to kingdom come was a little beyond him at the moment.

'Bah! Too much thinking. I need to work on something to get my mind off of this shit.' Naruto scowled as he climbed to his feet and retrieved Ita's sword from the wall, yanking so hard the small hole the sword had created when it got embedded widened considerably. He spared the damages he had caused in his juvenile little tiff a glance, before shrugging.

The loud BAMF of multiple shadow clones popped into existence, and all of them were glaring at him with hatred evident. He couldn't help but grin, "Yeah, get to work. I'll be in 'The Shop' if you need." he paused near the door, "Don't need me."

"Fuck you!" they screamed, flipped him the bird, and then they sighed as one.

Naruto shook his head as he shut the door. Crazy Kage Bunshin.

-0-0-0-

Ita squeezed the remains of her ANBU sword tightly, the broken blade returned to it's sheath to hide her disgrace. Mouko Takabisha, her sword, the extension of her soul broken into two by a bastard of a twerp desperate to beat her in a juvenile pissing contest. She had been so furious, so angry she had beaten the bastard to within an inch of his life and left him for dead on that training ground.

Away from him, walking the peaceful streets of the Uchiha district in a haze, she began to realize what the loss of her sword truly meant for her. ANBU would dismiss her from service; return her to life of a Special Jounin, which would in turn give her bastard father all the excuse he needed to force her out of service and into the life of a house whore to pump out the next generation of red eyed bastards. She didn't want that, she would rather die then submit to the expectations of her damn clan.

As she neared her home she asked herself, 'What can I do?' And what could she, honestly? She was Uchiha Ita, first daughter of the Head family, she knew such an 'honor' would come with responsibilities, but until recently she never imagined such responsibilities would require her to give up her career as a Shinobi, or spread her legs for any man her 'beloved' father deemed acceptable.

'Shishui' the Uchiha girl's face twisted into a snarl. The bastard had gotten what he deserved, but she wasn't ignorant of what had encouraged her one time friend to try his luck. The situation had her father's finger prints all over it, but damn if she could actually do anything about it.

Distracted with such thoughts, she mechanically entered her home and moved to her roam, only to pause as she entered the dining room. Three sets of eyes turned to her in tandem, the air thick with restrained anger and aggravation. The warm eyes of her mother, neutral eyes of her brother, and the stern angry eyes of her father bored into her where she stood. She quickly cataloged what she saw; They were sitting at the table, six sets of dishes had been set out, two were empty but the drink glasses were partly filled; Guests she realized.

She frowned inwardly even as she remained impassive outwardly. "Apologies, I did not realize we were entertaining guests." she bowed low.

"Sit down, girl." her father sneered, "You've already caused enough damage for one night, worthless child!"

She did so, falling to her knees next to her brother, head held low. "Forgive me, father. I did not realize we were to entertain guests tonight." Sasuke risked her a glance, his eyes said everything they had too; Something was wrong, incredibly wrong, and it wasn't just about missing a wonderfully boring night of entertaining some noble no bodies either.

"Hmph." her father snorted. He looked ready to explode, the way the veins on his forehead pulsed, but her ever dutiful mother softly placed a hand on his knee. The act seemed to calm him considerably. "As you realize, we had guests' tonight." her father began evenly, "Special guests concerning your future, so I'll ask this once. Why weren't you present?"

The dark haired ANBU girl looked on impassively, even if deep down her mind was swirling. 'My future? No, he couldn't possibly be planning what I think he's planning. Not so soon after Shishui, he wouldn't, he couldn't...'

"Answer me Uchiha Ita..." her father snarled, "... why weren't you present to meet your fianc ?"

'He would.' Ita sighed inwardly, 'And he did.' The bastard. He dares this even after what had happened with her ex-best friend Shishui? "Father, I am not engaged."

Fukagu snarled, slamming his first against the table hard enough to knock down the glasses, "Stupid girl! I've entertained your pathetic delusions long enough! You're engaged when I say you're engaged." he glared fiercely, "I'm the clan head, if I tell you you're trash, then that's what you are. If I tell you you're a shinobi, then that's what you are. If I tell you you're engaged, the by Kami YOU. ARE. ENGAGED! Do you understand me daughter?"

Ita wheeled back mentally at that. Her father had never used such words before, had never been so base in his demands. "But father, the Shinobi-Clan charter clearly states...

"To hell with the charter!" He slammed his fist against the table again, "As Clan Head I'm telling you, you are engaged. Tomorrow you will resign your commission, you will quit the service, and you will do what your clan demands of you, do you understand?"

Ita looked for support from her mother, but Mikoto said nothing and remained impassive, as was expected of a Housewife. She looked to Sasuke, but he avoided her gaze entirely. She was alone in this; There was nothing left to save her from the expectations of her family.

Tired, defeated, Ita nodded softly. "Perfectly, Uchiha-sama."

-0-0-0-

'The Shop' as Naruto called it was a work of art. He thought it a pity, and major waste of space, that his building was all but abandoned. He didn't particularly care to have neighbors either, but some times the stillness and silence got annoying. It was why he, with permission from the Hokage who seemed to own the whole bloody place, decided it was time to make a place where he could have fun. Where he could put on his Mad Scientist hat and just go nuts.

Thus came to life 'The Shop', a joining of four separate apartments through knocked down walls, ladders, and all manner of things. The windows had been bricked in to avoid anyone spying on his precious shop, and each room contained a Seal array large enough to electrocute any unwanted guests that had not been keyed into the master ward hidden at the heart of the 'The Shop', where he kept his tools and notes tucked safely away. Or to blow the whole building, and the surrounding block, sky high. Bah, who cared? The blond jinchuriiki didn't.

Naruto unsheathed Ita's sword and admired the blade, paying close attention to the carefully, oh so carefully etched name along the base. Mouko Takabisha, or Fierce Tiger Domineering as it were. A beautiful name for a beautiful sword that complimented a beautiful bitch of a girl like Ita, he supposed. He placed the sword carefully on his table, the edge pointing upward, before tightening the clamps to hold them in place.

'I must be insane.' he decided even as he received a shoddy box from under the desk. He opened the box and picked up a simply sharpening stone, simple if not for the fact its surface seemed to shimmer ever so slightly. 'Elemental Sharpening stone; Wind based.' he stared for a moment, before putting to stone down and grabbing another, this one shimmering red every few moments as he stared into the rock.

'Fire based.' he grunted. As clich as it sounded, even to him, the Uchiha were tempered in fire; He had never met a family so pre-disposed to the element in all his life times. Fire was in their blood, in their hearts, in their souls. It was only fitting, really, that their Elemental affinities primarily live within the flame they were oh so enraptured by. He turned his gaze to the sword; the standard chakra sword created for all ANBU and marveled at it. Most ANBU tended to ignore their sword, fearful of destroying the strong weapon and getting drummed out of the core. Not that Naruto put stock in that load of horse shit, but that seemed to be the general fear when it came to losing ones ANBU sword.

It was a shame, honestly. ANBU swords were like an unfinished painting, purposely left that way by the crafter to allow their owners to customize it, to build upon their simple perfection until the weapon truly became an extension of their soul. As far as he knew, only one Shinobi had ever taken his ANBU sword and improved upon it, truly crafted the weapon he had been given into one of supreme power and almost legendary status - White Fang, the weapon once belonged to Hatake Sakumo before he took his own life, now broken by the hands of his inept spawn.

Naruto snorted even as he pressed the stone against the edge of the blade, allowing brief wisps of chakra to run through his hand and into the stone. immediately the blade reacted to the mixed chakra of stone and the demonic energies within, the edge glowing red, then blazing white as he ran the stone along its edge.

It was time for another Sword of Legend to be born, Naruto decided. Besides, it would certainly keep his mind off that traitorous bitch, at least for a time.

'Wonder how grateful, and pissed off Ita is going to be when she see's what I've done?' he chuckled at the thought of a raging Ita kissing him before trying to drown him entered his mind. Ah well, what's life with out risks, right?

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It was silent through out the house, night had long since fallen, her father, mother, and brother long since deep asleep. She sat in her room, staring but unseeing as her mind drifted to what her father was forcing her to do, to what her clan expected of her. Ita didn't think sleep would come easily for her, or at all for that matter, not with the knowledge that tomorrow she would have to resign, give up her dreams as a shinobi, become little more then piece of live stock expected to spread her legs whenever her dear husband desired.

She cried, small crystalline tears rolling down her smooth cheeks. She was scared, far more scared then she had ever been, even during the war with Iwa. She liked the life of a shinobi, the intoxicating danger, the camaraderie with her fellows on the field and at home. What was to become of her now? Was she to lay down and accept this?

"The hells are you crying about now?"

Ita startled, twisted to the side and grabbed a Kunai from under her bed and launched the weapon at the owner of the voice. She was rewarded with the disgusting sound of metal piercing flesh, followed by a tired "Of course." and a BAMF as smoke billowed through out her room.

Her mind caught up to her and she recognized just who the voice had belonged too, "Naruto?"

"... Heh, Ita... please don't kill me." she saw him, or another him as she was fairly sure she had killed a clone back there, lying on her bed hugging her pillow to his chest tightly, "Mercy!"

"What are you doing here?" Ita frowned then, "And how did you sneak into my bedroom?"

"Heheh.." Naruto gulped, "You... you carried us in here!"

Ita raised an eyebrow, the clone nervously pointed to where her broken sword should have been, but was no longer. "My sword? But... what does that...?" she trailed off, eyes wide.

The scared clone risked a grin, chuckled nervously, "Ah, you didn't think boss woulda destroyed your precious sword now, do ya?"

"I... suppose not." the dark haired girl conceded as a wave of relief washed over her; Her sword was fine, Naruto did not destroy it. One less dishonor she would have to bear tomorrow when she resigned. A curious thought popped up though, "... Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Heh... heh..." Naruto chuckled nervously, "... after watchin ya kick the boss's ass, we were... scared." he finished lamely.

Ita felt he cheeks tinge pink as she remembered how... brutal she had been. "Ah... I apologize. I did over react, I suppose."

Naruto shrugged, "No worries here. Better you kick his ass, then kill us adorably innocent clones, right?" he waggled his eye brows comically at that.

Ita groaned. Naruto's Kage Bunshin were weird, very much so. She didn't know how the boy managed to make them act so silly, but some times they took the cake with their differing personalities. She still couldn't get over the clone that insisted she wasn't suppose to exist, that she was really a he and should have murdered her entire clan by now. As if she could do that... well... Ita shook her head, dispelling such pleasing, if blood thirsty thoughts.

"So Ita, what'cha cryin about?" the clone bravely asked. "I mean, if you feel like talking to whittle ole me, that is."

Ita sighed, lighting a candle to illuminate her darkened room. She supposed it couldn't hurt to tell Naruto's clone, and by default Naruto himself when the clone canceled or ran out of Chakra, about her troubles. It would certainly make her feel better. "Father has taken it upon himself to decide my future for me." she said simply.

And really, that was all that was needed. Naruto's clone grunted as his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "So soon after that Shishui bull shit eh? Man, he's a piece of work."

"Yes." Ita sighed tiredly, "I'm to resign my commission tomorrow, as ordered by the..." she spit the words out, "...Clan head."

"Ah man, that's rough." the clone leaned back as if he owned her bed, "Kami, I remember how I use to wish to belong to a clan, y'know, to have a family and people to love me." he snorted, "No thanks, I'm happy being a clan of one."

"Clan of one?" Ita blinked, "I thought you were a ward of the state, Naruto-kun."

"Yeah, well, shows what you know." the blond clone smirked, "Few years back some fine political back stabbing took place, some loop holes were found, exploited, and then BAM! Hokage had no choice but to release me." he chuckled, "Not that he didn't get the last laugh, mind you. That hippy council were shitting bricks for months afterward."

"Oh?" Ita urged him to continue even as she closed her eyes to think.

"Yeah." the blond shrugged, "Right after the state released me, Hokage drew up a bonafide clan Charter for the Uzumaki clan. Using his own loop holes and no doubt some political savvy, he managed to get the charter approved and BAM! The Uzumaki Clan consisting of yours truly was born." he chuckled, "Not just a family charter mind you, but a Clan charter equal in political power to the likes of the Nara, or Yamanaka. So guess what the Council realized when they found out?"

'This should be amusing.' Ita thought, but nodded for him to continue.

"When I come of age and get married..." Like that will ever happen again, the clone thought with a snort, "... I get a seat on the council! HAH! Man they were soooo pissed." he chuckled

"When you get... married?" Ita blinked weirdly. "Clan registrar..." she mumbled even as her eyes widened in shocked surprise.

"Huh?" Naruto shivered. He didn't like that look, it meant nothing but trouble could come of this. "Uh... what the heck are you thinking?"

Ita looked at him.

Naruto whimpered.

"I need to see you in the morning, at the Hokage tower." Ita declared after an awkward silence had descended between them. "Do not be late, or I swear I will destroy you Uzumaki Naruto."

"... kay." the clone shivered, "... Look, you scare the shit out of me Ita. I'm just going to cancel myself now, okay?"

Ita ignored the clone as he BAMF'ed away. She couldn't believe she was actually considering this, but it really could be the answer to her prayers. She couldn't out right disown the Clan, which would be nothing more then a Death sentence given Clan Laws developed within Konoha to protect the bloodlines. No, disowning them wouldn't do, but joining another Clan... ah yes. Ita grinned nastily, 'Let's see you counter this, father.'

-0-0-0-

Naruto set the stone down, admiring the white glow of the sword as it finished absorbing the chakra he had given to it. He felt that special something he had been hoping take place, a spike of chakra so intense and focused he was glad he had taken the time to seal 'The Shop' as thoroughly as he had.

He couldn't help but grin as he put the chakra stones away, careful not to touch the blade itself now that it began generating it's own unique chakra signature, a sign that yes he had done what he had set out to do, mold the blade into a chakra weapon of potentially unstoppable power, and give to it that which so many swords lacked.

Sentience. A mind of it's own. It helped, he supposed, that his chakra was so loaded with Demonic energy that actually infusing the weapon with the amount of chakra required to give it it's own, well, life so to speak, was entirely possible. Easy, no, but possible yes.

Some people wrote books, other people read them and giggled insanely in order to escape their problems. Naruto? He created weaponry, deadly unique weaponry that any shinobi the world over would murder entire cities for a chance at.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Sleep babe, rest." he cooed to the sword even as the steel began to cool from blazing white to fiery red, "You'll wake up soon enough, and man oh man, you're going to be special."

He rubbed his shoulders tiredly as he walked back through The Shop. The sword would need time to settle, the consciousness time to assert itself, and then it would be ready. He'd have to bring Ita down here to claim the weapon if the Sentience was going to accept her. Naruto frowned at that. 'Shit, I'll have to actually explain what the fuck this place is to her!' he groaned, rubbing his forehead tiredly. That was one discussion he wasn't going to enjoy. Bah.

'Speaking of Ita...' Naruto rubbed his chin tiredly. He vaguely remembered absorbing a clones memories last night while he was working, something about meeting her in the morning? Wonder what that could be about.

-0-0-0-

Ita ignored the stares, of the curious, of the lustful, of the morning workers heading into the Hokage tower who decided to stop stare at how she was dressed. She wore a simple black dress that was entirely too short, her long hair normally held in a pony tail let loose and glimmering off the morning light, with make up she had once sworn never to wear highlighting her eyes, and her thin ruby lips.

She was beautiful, like a morning Goddess that had deigned to grace the pathetic mortals with her presence. Many a young man gawked at the beauty only to be punched by their respective women for their rude behavior.

Ita ignored all that, staring instead down the main road as she irritably tapped her foot. 'He's late, I swear. I'm going to kill that twerp!'

As if summoned by divine comedy the target of her ire slowly meandered up the street. He hadn't changed, still covered in the dirty blood stained clothes she had seen him in yesterday, with a tired near exhausted look about him. His eyes were sunken, if only slightly, from lack of sleep. His hands covered by soot, or something like it, as if he had been working with charcoal or something all night. He didn't even realize who she was as he glanced her over and kept heading on into the Hokage office.

Ita didn't know whether to be pleased by that, or annoyed. She stalked after him and grabbed him by his collar, "Little pest! I told you not to be late!"

Naruto blinkblinked and stared, dumb struck. "Uh... huh?"

"No time." she snapped, ignoring the curious stares the Office-nin were giving her as she dragged the boy along the way. "Hokage-sama is being very generous agreeing to see me with out an appointment, let's not keep him waiting."

"Uh... huh." Naruto shook his head to straighten his thoughts, "Whoa, what the hell? Why are we goin to see the old man?"

The black haired ANBU sighed, pulled Naruto down an empty hall way, and cupped his cheeks. "Look, I don't have time to explain. Just trust me on this, follow my lead, everything will be fine."

For his part, the blond haired jinchuriiki didn't even blush at such an intimate touch. "Uh huh... fine." he shrugged.

Ita smiled. 'Perfect!' she quickly dragged the blond along, much to the amusement of the Office-nin below.

-0-0-0-

Sarutobi yawned tiredly as he searched the floor for his hat. Another all nighter spent on endless paper work, inane requests, and outright ludicrous budget demands. 'Ah!' the old man grinned, picking up the red symbol of his office and putting it back where it belonged. He slid into his seat and, after carefully looking over the room, swirled himself around a few times before coming to a stop with an amused grin plastered on his lips.

He hummed to himself as he picked up a report and reviewed the information. 'Huh... request for aid? Iwa War front outpost?' he blinked, quickly checking the date. It was over fifteen years old. He frowned, lips pressed into a thin line. He quickly shoved the file back to the bottom of the pile, 'I'll deal with this later.'

There was a knock at the door, and for a moment the Hokage wondered why he had scheduled an appointment so early in the morning. 'Oh, that's right. Uchiha-san urgently requested my attention.' he sighed, "Enter."

The door swung open, the beautiful Kunoichi walked in confidently, dragging along a dirty scamp Sarutobi instantly recognized. The old man blinked, "Naruto?"

The blond boy yawned, waving slightly at the older man and pointing to the older girl. Obvious to Sarutobi this was her show. "Ah, Uchiha-san... to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" the old man groused jovially.

Ita smiled brightly, which instantly set the old man on edge. Uchiha do NOT smile. Ever. It was hardwired into their genes as far as he knew. If an Uchiha ever DID smile, it meant shit was about to hit the fan. Hard.

"Hokage-sama, we've come to humbly request you oversee our wedding vows."

Naruto's eyes bugged out.

Surprisingly, it was Sarutobi who voiced what was on the young boys mind, "Lady, what kind of crack have YOU been smoking?"

-0-0-0-

TBC