A/N: Hiko get's his.... Oh yes, Oh yes, Oh yes.... ha ha ho ho he he... If any of you are old star trek fans maybe you will understand this quote... it's from the second Star Trek Movie... The Wrath Of Khan...

"Revenge is a dish best served cold... it is very cold in space."

Does anyone know WHO said it FIRST before Khan? Not necessarily a person... Just wondering...

Haruko: Finally! This wonderful fic can have its italics and bold words! Aren't you happy? I know I am, and I'm going to use it as much as it fits the story! Yea!! Rejoice with me! ^_^ Anyhow, do read and review, because beyond the new formatting, we all know that this fic still retains that wonderful zest and brilliant portrayal that we can never get enough of!

Chapter Thirteen: Stand-off

As soon as they reentered the school, Kaoru rushed to Kenshin's side and wrapped worried arms around his waist even as she pressed the warmth of her pale cheek against the cold rosiness of his. "Are you Ok?" It was a quiet whisper meant for his ears only as she pulled back and searched the anxiety ridden violet pools that regarded her from his frozen face.

"I.... I don't know." Her hand reached up to touch his cheek and his eyes closed as he leaned into her touch seeking out the comfort she represented to him. Then he locked gazes with her searching blue eyes and grasped her hand in his. "I'm scared, Kao... I'm really scared." The voice that oozed from his mouth was small and she had to strain to hear it. It disturbed her to see him like this... vulnerable and at the mercy of so many adults who did not seem to understand who he really was, but she was not going to give him up without a fight.

None of them were.

If the Police were going to try and take Kenshin away, they were going to have to go through Kaoru, the rest of his friends, his brother, his Mom... and even the Saitous. And Hiko could be damned.

"Don't worry, Baby... we aren't giving in without a fight this time."

"We? What are you talking about, Kao? Who is We?"

"All of us, Sweetie. All of us... in case you hadn't noticed it, tough guy, you aren't alone anymore." Kaoru tugged on his hand and pulled him over to the right, and as Kenshin turned, he sucked in a breath of pure astonishment.They were all there.Sano and Megumi (looked like she had forgiven him for being such a clutz and a jerk), Misao and Aoshi, Master Saitou and Coach Takagi, and....

"Mom? Soujiro?" The catch in his voice make Kaoru turn to look at him and she found him staring with wide disbelieving eyes at the scene in front of him. "I don't understand... Kao?" He sounded like a small lost child trying to find his way home after being lost for such a long time, and it broke her heart to hear that tone coming from someone who was such a fierce personality.

"Yes, Kenshin... they are both over there, and they are standing together against your step-father... She is standing up to him for you, Kenshin. Your Mother is standing up for you."

"It can't be..." His head was shaking almost as much as his voice was quivering as the

denial roared through his bloodstream. "She's never..."

"I know, but she is now... give her credit for that... try to give her credit for that." Her hand gripped his arm making him look at her. "She told him no... to his face, Kenshin... She told that rotten animal 'no' when he told her to leave everyone and come stand by him. She said 'no'."

"She-she did? My Mother stood up to Hiko Seijuro and said... no?"

"Yes."

"I... I don't know what to say." Bewilderment crushed his features as he struggled to come to terms with something that had never happened before. His mother standing up to the 'Beast' and defying his authority on behalf of 'her' son. It had always been his place to stand between Hiko and his Mother... never the other way around, and the thought of this unforseen turn of events staggered him.

"Kenshin?" Cleo raised her head up off his shoulder and cupped his face in her little hand turning it so he looked at her. "Mamma always loved you... she cried a lot when Papa isn't home. I've seen her. I've seen her hold your pictures and cry so I know she loves you and she misses you a lot too." Kenshin's eyes blinked as he fought more tears. He could not remember a time in his life when he had cried so much, and he was determined not to anymore. "Don't you think you could try and love her back again?"

"Ah shit." He muttered under his breath as he rubbed his forehead against hers. "I'll try, Ok... I'll try."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Looking over the top of her brilliant crimson head, Kenshin once more sought out the comforting gaze of the raven haired blue-eyed girl who was becoming the other focal point of his world, and finding the warmth of her blue eyes enveloping him and his sister, he felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth. Shrugging non-commitally, he gently lowered Cleo to the floor but kept a tight grip on her small hand. As he did so, he noticed a burly looking man with fierce lime-green eyes watching him intently. "That must be Sergeant Thomas."

"It is, are you ready to go talk to him?" Kenshin turned and looked into the patient face of the policewoman who had initially question Cleo in his room, and the reassurance reflected in her gentle hazel eyes helped to bolster his wavering courage.

"I can't make him wait forever, can I?" Lexie grinned at the wistful tone in the younger man's voice, and then shook her head.

"No, I am afraid you can't, Kenshin. The Sergeant would come to you if you tried, and, to tell you the truth... it would be to your advantage to go to him first."

"Impatient Man... I remember." Kaoru's hand squeezed his as she stepped up closer to his side, and as Kenshin looked over at her, he let his gaze slide affectionately over the curves and contours of her face. "You coming?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Her voice was gently chiding as she rubbed her nose against the smoothness of his cheek while her free hand came to rest over his heart.

"I guess not." When she looked up into his eyes, Kenshin gently pressed his lips into the softness of her waiting ones, and they shared a tender and meaningful joining of their souls albeit a short one. "Thank-you, Takuni."

"Your Welcome... Kodora." A chuckle rumbled through him at the sound of his middle name sliding off her tongue in that endearing tone, and he found himself nuzzling the hair on top of her head. Maybe everything would be all right... time would tell.

"Come on... before that behemoth comes looking for me... as if things could get any worse than they already are."

"Kenshin... you are supposed to try and think positive."

"I am?"

"Yes. Now, think positive... you are not the one at fault here. It's that... that... that uncouth beast from Hell over there that is." When she waved in Hiko's general direction, Cleo began to giggle wickedly.

"If Papa heard you say that, he'd be so mad. I bed he'd scream and yell and throw a royal fit." A half frightened glance was shot in the direction of the sulking furious man who stood glowering at the small group as they walked past him, and she moved closer to her brother while quickly averting her eyes. But even if she was a little scared, she still could not help but laugh at the thought of what her Papa would do if he had heard what Kenshin's girl-friend had said. ....giggle "... a hairy-cow..." giggle giggle "... that's it..." gigglegiggle.

"What did you say?" Kenshin leaned down and grinned into Cleo's giggling personage.

"A-a..." giggle ".... hairy-cow..." gigglegiggle. She managed before dissolving into

uncontrollable laughter causing all of the bystanders within earshot to look that way.

"A 'hairy-cow'? Ummmm, Poppet... what's a 'hairy-cow'?"

"Wh-what Papa's gonna h-have if he ever h-hears what K-kao said a-about him b-being a cooth beast from hel..."

"CLEO!" Slapping his hand over her mouth, Kenshin shot a shocked laughter filled look in Kaoru's direction and found her in the same boat he was in. They both burst out laughing. Lexie, who had not heard the exchange, was completely baffled. "Honey, I know it's funny... but that is a really bad word... don't say it anymore, Ok?" Kenshin knelt down in front of the confused little girl trying very hard to keep a straight face and failing miserably.

"But... but Kao said..."

"I know Kao said it... I even say it, but we're older, and that makes it different."

"That isn't fair..."

"Ummm, it's a grown-up word, Poppet."

"You're not a grown-up yet." She began to pout and little sparks of anger began snapping in her dark blue eyes as she glared at her brother. "Can I at least say 'hairy-cow'? Is that Ok??"

"Yes." Laughter bubbled in his voice despite his valiant effort to quell it in the face of her 4 year old anger. "You can say 'hairy-cow'."

"Fine." Spinning on the heel of her black shoes (and leaving a skid mark on the floor), Cleo turned around to face the direction they had all be going initially. "Are you coming or not... you old 'hairy-cow'?" At that point Kenshin, Kaoru, and finally Lexie all gave up the battle with their mirth and just laughed. It was just damned hard not too.

"I've seen enough." The loud brusque voice brought them all out of their laughter torture chamber and Kenshin rose abruptly to his feet facing the source. His eyes grew round with nervous apprehension, his heart began to beat a ferocious tattoo against his ribs, and suddenly it was very difficult to breath as he watched the angry looking Sergeant approach him. A tiny squeak of fear sounded somewhere down around his waist and he felt Cleo dodge behind him and wrap her arms around one of his legs. Her terror was a tangible entity clinging to his soul, and the first fingers of his own fear began to snake up his spine but then Kaoru was beside him again lacing her fingers through his and holding on tight.

"It's Ok, Baby." She said into his ear as she pressed up against his side. "Just don't pull the 'tough guy' act on this man... it would not be a good idea. Ok?"

"Yeah." Was that raspy squelching sound his voice?

"You must be tha young Kenshin Himura." The Policeman walked up to the obviously wary red-haired young man and looked him directly in the eye. To his credit, the boy did not so much as bat an eye let alone flinch.

"Yes Sir. I am Kenshin Himura."

"I thought so. I've been waiting to meet you."

"You have? May I ask why?" Stupid question, Himura. Fucking stupid question.

"I wanted to see what kind of a kid it took to sack a 6'4" bag of charging bullshit in one punch... I have to say that I'm even more surprised than I thought I would be."

"E-excuse me, Sir?" What the... did he just say....

"Ben said the kids told him you were sort of a scrawny guy, but your down right thin, boy. How in the hell did you do it? How in the hell did meet 250 pounds of blind rage charging at you and not turn and run like hell? Why didn't you run?"

"Because."

"What?" Randy looked hard at the stoic bland features of the strangest teenager he had ever met trying to figure out what made a kid like him tick. "Because why?"

"I don't run." That's why. You only run if you think you are going to lose.

"You don't run." Scratching his head, he let that simple statement wash through his brain for a couple of minutes before looking into the boys face again. He saw no disguises, no guile, no deceit. He saw nothing but the cold, harsh, and simple truth. "You don't run."

"No Sir. I don't run."

"Why?"

"If you run, it means you are weak and you will eventually die in shame. I would rather die fighting for what I think is right than die running from my own fear." It has always been that way.

"Did he beat you when you lived at home?"

"Does that really have any bearing on what happened today, Sergeant?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact it does. Answer the question."

"Yes."

"A lot?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I wouldn't back down when he thought I should or when he told me too."

"Are those the only reasons... because you had a problem with his authority over you?"

"No." I don't want to talk about this. Please, don't make me talk about this... not in front of everyone.

"What were the other reasons?"

"Sergeant, wouldn't it be better to have this discussion away from so many ears?" Kenshin motioned toward Cleo, Kaoru, and the rest of their unwilling yet captive audience.

"No, I don't think so, Kenshin. I think this is something that has probably been kept hidden for too long already. Now answer the question. What were the other reasons he beat you?"

"I refused to allow him to punish my brother the same way he punished me."

"Are you telling me you took your brother's beatings?"

"Yes Sir."

"Jesus.... Why? Why in the bloody hell would you do that?" Randy raked his gaze over the solemn seemingly composed form of the red head in front of him. "You strike me as having more than average intelligence, so you are no fool. Why would you allow yourself to be beaten so much? You must have know how much danger you put yourself in?"

"Yes, I suppose I did, but that was not the point."

"Then what was?"

"Keeping my family safe."

"Keeping them safe.... you were a child, it was not your responsibility."

"I beg to differ, Sergeant. Before my real Father died, he taught me that a man is forever responsible for those who are entrusted to care by the All Father's, and he is bound by that trust to keep them safe no matter the cost to himself. After he died, it was my job to take care of my Mother, and after she got married again and Soujiro came, I was responsible for him as well. It was always my place to protect them."

"He could have killed you."

"He could have... but he didn't." Not because he didn't try.

"Did you know that every single kid in this hallway has given a statement supporting the fact that your step-father attacked you... twice... seemingly unprovoked, and that you acted completely out of self-defense?"

"What?" Violet eyes grew huge with shock as Kenshin stared at the Policeman who was nodding his head in silent affirmation.

"Every one of them, and they have all said they would testify in court to that effect if he tries to put you jail as well."

"Th-they did?"

"Yup. Looks like you win this time, Kid." A gritty half smile pursed Randy's lips as he reached out and gripped Kenshin's slender shoulder. "You aren't as alone as you thought you were... are you?"

"I... I guess not." An odd look passed over the stoic bland features, and then he was

lowering his face and looking at the policeman's shoes. "I... what is going to happen? I did actually strike him, and that is a violation of my parole." The forthright violet gaze rose to lock with the steady lime-green of the Sergeant's. "I should be arrested for that."

"Should you?"A dark brown eyebrow lifted in mock consideration as the Officer thought about the honesty of that admission. "Well, you are probably right on that particular account, but considering the magnitude of everything that happened prior to, and leading up to the said 'striking of his person', I think my personal judgement is good enough to let you off with a little warning."

"A warning, Sir?" Kenshin looked quickly at Kaoru and then back at the Sergeant

confusion evident across his face. "What kind of a warning?"

"The kind that says, 'That little girl needs you just as much as you need her, maybe more so you keep hugging her close to your heart. That is where she belongs. And I want you to remember that this pretty thing standing next to you walked into the Lion's mouth with you for better or worse which, in my book, makes her a keeper. Keep your brother close to your side and your heart because I think you'll be the best friends either of you will ever have, and, for God's sake, go hold your Mother and tell her you still love her before she has a coronary or a stroke.' That is the kind of warning I'm giving you, Kenshin Himura. You said you're here to protect your family, I say, Ok... but you gotta let them inside so they can help you too. Now go do what I told you to, boy." And Randy gave Kenshin a mild shove in his Mother's direction. That was when he realized she was

huddled in Soujiro's arms sobbing brokenly as if her whole world has suddenly turned to ashes and disintegrated around her. The agony in her heart and soul was so painfully evident that Kenshin did not even feel his feet carry him over to her it just seemed one moment he was standing beside Kaoru and the Sergeant with Cleo wrapped around his leg, and the next he was gently pealing his Mother's trembling arms away from his brother's neck.

"Mom," gentle hands grasped the slightness of her shoulders and turned her around so that she faced him, and then Kenshin let the all the tenderness and love he had ever felt for her fill his eyes as he laid the palm on one hand along the line of her scarred cheek. With the softest of touches he carefully wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb and then tucked her fiery locks behind her ear. "I missed you, Mom, I missed you so much... and I-I'm sorry."

"S-sorry?" Her hands rose to cover his where they cupped her face and she gazed in agony into the gentle depths of his beautiful eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for, my Darling. It is I who betrayed you... I who abandoned you... I... Oh God, Kenshin...." Dharma broke down and began to sob harshly as her guilt poured out into her son's hands. "I th-thought I was d-doing the right th-thing... I thought I-I was s-saving you f-from him... He said h-he w-would put you i-in a real prison if I-I didn't agree t-to send you a-away and c-cut you out o-of our lives... I c-c-couldn't l-let you go t-to a p-place like that... Ken... I couldn't let h-him put m-my baby in a p-place like that... I let him take y-you away fore-ver, so he wouldn't p-put you in a real p-pri-son... I aband-oned you... I-I let you th-think I didn't c-care all this t-time s-so he wouldn't h-hit me any m-more... Oh God Oh God..." She was trying to pull away from him but he would not let her. All of the questions he had asked himself for over three years were finally being answered and he was not about to let her go... not now, not now that she was finally telling him that she had not really meant to leave him... that it had been Hiko's fault that she had agreed to all of this... that she had done it to save him from prison. She had broken both of their hearts to save him from the horrors of that unspeakable world. They had both been sacrificial lambs upon Hiko's alter of everlasting sorrow, and now Kenshin was truly going to make him pay.

"Let m-me go, Ken-shin... please, let me go."

"No... I-I can't." His arms had ached for so long to hold her, but his anger and his feelings of betrayal and rejection had been so great, he had hardly even allowed her so much as a kiss on the cheek. Cold. Aloof. Distant. She may as well as come to visit one of the trees on the campus as come to see him, and she had known it which is why the visits had never lasted very long. No one was ever very glad to see anyone. Except He and Soujiro. When his brother came, it was a different story, but today... now... everything had changed, and Kenshin wanted his Mother. He wanted her touch, he wanted to feel her hair under his cheek like he when he was little, he wanted to listen to her heart beating beneath his ear, he wanted to feel her kiss on his brow and his face... he wanted her to hold him and tell him she loved him and that he was still her... .

"Am I still your small tiger?" The pain in his voice made Dharma choke on her own breath as she finally let herself meet his gaze again, and found it filled with the innocent longing and uncertainty of a child... her child.

"Kenshin...." Her trembling hands rose and cupped his pale face and she pulled him down to her, for although he was not a large man, Dharma was even smaller than he. "You are always my small tiger, dear heart... always." A ragged breath filled her lungs as she watched tears spill over his lashes and run unchecked down his cheeks. "How could I have ever left you behind... I'm s-so sorry, Honey... so v-very sor-ry, can you ever f-forgive me? Ever?"

"M-mom..." He burrowed his forehead against hers as his hands fell from her face and

dropped to her slim shoulders. "D-d-did you ever m-miss m-me? Did y-you?"

"Oh G-god, Baby!" A sob tore its way free from her tiny frame as she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her ravaged face into the curve of his neck. "Every d-day... E-every sing-gle day... I d-died without y-you." A great cry of pure grief wrack through Kenshin as his arm finally stole around his weeping Mother and crushed her into his heaving chest. All those years... all the wasted time... all the needless pain and heartache... for what? Why?

He knew why, and as the hatred swelled within his soul a passage from the Bible flashed through his mind.

'Vengeance is Mine, sayth the Lord.'

'Not this time,' Kenshin vowed as he pressed his tear wet face tightly against his Mother's shoulder. 'Not this time. This time Vengeance is Mine... and He will pay, I swear it... He will pay for every bruise... every broken bone and lost tooth... every curse... every cruel word.... every lie... he will pay, that he will.'

"Mr. Seijuro," Hiko's bewildered and outraged attention was caught by the smug and

irritating voice of the smirking Police Sergeant as he sauntered over toward him. "It would appear to me that you no longer have a proverbial foot to stand on concerning this... er, incident with your 'son'."

"I beg to differ, Sarg...."

"Shut-up, Mr. Seijuro before I forget my Mother raised me to be polite to strangers... even the ones who are flaming asshole's like yourself." This statement caused Hiko to rear back in offended outrage, but he was intelligent enough not to push the issue any further. By the look on the Sergeant's face, he would not get anywhere even if he did... at least not at the moment. "Now then, I believe the best thing for you to do at this point in time is to put your rather expensive suited ass back into your expensive car and get the hell out of Evermore."

"I think that is a perfect idea, Sergeant, if you will just allow me to collect my family..."

"And, ah... just what 'family' would that be, Mr. Seijuro?"

"Excuse me?" The look on Hiko's face was honest shock and confusion. "Why my wife, my son, and my daughter of course... who else would it be?"

"Wellll, I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Mr. Seijuro."

"You WHAT?"

"I can't let you do that. You see, there is a strong enough suspicion against you in regards to family abuse according to what your boy said, and while we've been standing here, Officer Monk has been good enough to give me a run-down on what your sweet little angel girl told her about your, ah... homelife habits... so, suffice it to say, you will be going home alone today, Mr. Seijuro, and your family will be staying here in Evermore at the family shelter or wherever we decide to put them... as long as it isn't with you. Kapish?"

"I do not believe you have the authority to do that, Sergeant." Hiko pulled himself up to his full 6'5" height and stared down at the stocky Policeman. "You need a court order to keep me away from my family... unless you practice law in a different manner 'out here in the boonies'."

"You want a court order, Fancy Pants? I'll get you a court order, and while I'm at it, I'll

just get Child Protective Services and Social Services over here to evaluate what your kids are telling me... not to mention what all these kids standing around here in the hallway say happened... Then we'll talk about what I can and can't do, Ok?"

"Why you little fuck..."

"You wanna go to jail, Mr. Big City Cooperate Attorney? You call me one more foul, off-color name and you get an all expense paid overnight vacation in my gray-bar Motel... My treat."

"You can't be serious?"

"Try me..." Lime-green eyes hard as glass clashed with glittering emerald as the two men squared off like prize fighters, but Hiko knew he was outmatched this time. The stubby policeman had him over a barrel and the little cretin knew it. He had no other choice than to leave without his family, but they had not heard the last of him yet. Not by a long shot they had not.

"Fine... I'm going. But I will be back with a court order for the return of my family and a summons for you."

"Personally?"

"Absolutely."

"Ahhh, I feel special..." Randy gave the arrogant dark haired man a sardonic one sided

smile that told him in no uncertain terms to 'go to hell'. "I'm real scared, can you see me shakin' here? Now why don't you get your sorry excuse for a Father's ass out of here and leave the rest of these descent people alone... besides that, these kids got a dance to get ready for, and you're fucking up the mood."

*************************************************

As he sped along the highway out of town, a seething rage was boiling inside of Hiko's soul the likes of which he had not felt for years. They had all treated him like a fool, but he was no ones fool... least of all that fucking red-haired brat's. He almost could not believe it, but even after all this time of the kid being more or less gone, he still had the ability to drive Hiko into a blinding blood-red fury that only the sensation of the brat's bones cracking beneath his fingers would satiate.

"I should have killed him a long time ago when I had the chance..." He muttered to himself as he negotiated a turn into the road to fast causing the tires on his Towne Car to screech in protest while the car slued dangerously close to fishtailing in the damp layer of snow. "Shit! I better be more careful if I don't want to end up wrapped around a phone pole."

After that, he tried to concentrate more on his driving and less on his step-son although it was hard, and then something off to the left caught his eye and he slowed down and pulled off to the side of the road and stopped. Getting out of the car, he flipped up the collar of his tan trench coat and started to cross the road.

"Hmmmm..." He was mumbling to himself as he shaded his vision with his right hand and gazed off into the distance. "I never noticed that before." Jutting upward out of the whitewash of the light snowstorm's background was the outline of an old lighthouse tower. "It must be setting way out there on the point or something... strange, I never saw it there before." Shrugging, he turned around and made his way back to his car and got in. Carefully maneuvering back onto the wet road, he drove for several miles until he saw an old unkept dirt and gravel road that disappeared off toward the bluffs. Stopping, he looked at it indecisively for a moment and then on a strange sort of an impulse, he turned the big car onto it and slowly drove toward the ocean waiting to see where the old road would lead.

Not too surprising to him, it eventually led to an old smoothed out lot of sorts where he could park his car. Once he had turned off the engine and locked the doors, Hiko began to look around noticing that the road had led him out to the bluff where it came into contact with the granite cliffs that surrounded the bay. The area was covered with a fine layer of fog so he knew he had better watch his step if he didn't want to fall off and become a Halloween statistic.

"They'd all just love that, wouldn't they." He smirked to himself and he looked out across what looked like a barren landscape, but he knew better because he could hear the rolling roar of the ocean as it crashed against the nearby cliffs. He began to wander about with care as to where he set his feet when suddenly he realized that there was an old bridge stretching out away from the lot where he had parked. As far as he could tell, it was leading outward across the water toward 'something', but what? He really didn't know, but for whatever reason, he had an urge to find out so he gingerly began to pick his way across.

The wood the bridge was made out of was very old, and much of it was rotted away or

nearly so and he found himself on the verge of almost falling through to the waves far below more than once. However, he kept going...

"I must be a freaking imbecile..." He muttered under his breath as he hugged the old

wooden rail and searched the boards ahead of him with his toe. Finding one that felt solid, he timidly inched his way forward and sighed in relief when it held his weight and let him make even a few feet of progress. It went this way for the better part of an hour before he finally found himself on the other side, and with a 'whoop' of personal pride in his accomplishment, Hiko leapt off the offensive bridge and did a little victory jig in the muddy dirt. "HAHAHA! I did it! I beat you, you rotten bastard! I made it across in one piece... and you're still as big of a piece of shit as you were when I started, but I made it. YEAH!" But as he danced around he suddenly noticed that the sky was starting to get a little grayer and the light a little less as the sunlight began to fade behind the snow laden clouds. "Hmmmm... that may not be a good thing."

He was just thinking about going back when something very strange happened to him. The coldest shiver he had ever felt in his life shuddered through his whole body to the point he thought he was going to chatter his teeth loose from his head, and then he had the most uncanny sensation that someone was standing right behind him. Whirling around Hiko sucked in his breath in one great gasping sound of shock as disbelief, horror, and confusion filled his mind all at the same time.

"'ello, there me, boy. I've been waiting for you. What the 'ell took you so fucking long?"

A/N: I know, I know.... another cliff hanger... Gomen nasi (Not.... ~_*) Please Review.... Tsuki-san

You no review==I no write.... hehehehehe I be wicked... yes yes yes