Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively.

White Friend
by Melpomene and Shirodachi
Ich

The darkness coalesced with the scanty light, creating a vibrant sort of glow similar to that of the sunrise. Like some creature of mischief, the luminescence stealthily lurked about him, gradually prodded him awake, then disappeared back to the depths of dream where it came from. It was at that moment the creature succeeded. Yahiko became aware of that reddish radiance that blanketed his sight. With some effort, he opened his eyes to greet the new day.

It was morning already, and he had woken up late. Well, not really late, for the sun was still soft, further sieved of its intensity by the thin translucent paper of the door. He was wont to awaken earlier though, as he had been trained for the last few years.

Hands stretched lazily overhead, he kicked off the covers and rose from his futon. He changed his sleeping clothes for his usual everyday garments and looked around the tiny cubbyhole Sano left him. He fixed things here and there until he was finally satisfied by its neatness. Sighing, he exited from his apartment. Imagine how different it was when the bum resided there

"Che," muttered the twelve-year-old. "The busu's rubbing off on me. Speaking of which, I'm late."

So gravely he made his way to the old dojo, prepared to brave whatever punishment there was to meet him with the resigned air of one so experienced in such field.

Interestingly enough, the boy headed not for his old home but, as the old occupant of his current home was wont to, made a side trip to the trusty Akabeko. It wasn't really to bug Tae for breakfast; Kaoru detested cooking at the crack of dawn anyway. It just seemed like a good idea to visit that day. Not that he didn't go there daily.

"Ohayo," Yahiko-kun, greeted Tsubame, mildly startled. "You're so early today."

"Not really," said Yahiko coolly, yawning for effect. "I'm rather late today. I usually get at busu's at the crack of dawn."

"Ne, Yahiko-kun, but won't Kaoru-san get mad?"

"Nah. She likes it when I get late. Hides the fact she is too."

"I see."

There was an odd little silence. Tsubame, quite ignorant of what to do next, fidgeted a little, still standing at the doorway. Yahiko stood at the threshold before her with the same indecision, staring past her blankly. Finally, he sighed and grabbed the cup she was cradling.

"Yahiko-kun-" she protested.

But Yahiko slid past her and ventured into the kitchen.

"Really, I can manage on my own. They're quite heavy, so I'll just do it myself, ne?"

"Are you implying I'm too weak to carry a tray full of ceramics?" Yahiko paused in mid-stride to give her an indignant glare.

"N-no But…" She tugged at the tray in his hands furtively. "It's my job and…"

"It's not as if I'm stealing it." Yahiko rolled his eyes slightly. "I'm just trying to hel- Forget it. Just let go 'kay?" He turned briskly and continued to set the tables, deigning to hide his face.

Tsubame didn't bother. "Arigatou, Yahiko-kun," she murmured, trailing him timidly to help. "But really. Won't Kaoru-san get angry? After all, she left you in charge of all the students. Isn't that a big responsibility?"

"Yeah. Surprised me good when she gave me the job."

"So you ought to hurry and be early, ne?"

Yahiko quirked an eyebrow at her. "Are you really telling me to get lost?" he demanded.

Kowaii… Tsubame quaked inside but aloud she stuttered, shaking her head. "I-ie. Just um… advising."

… Tsubame quaked inside but aloud she stuttered, shaking her head. ". Just um… advising."

"I don't think she'll even be up yet this early," he replied shortly. "Besides, Kenshin won't let us start until she does get up. Students like it too." He shrugged.

"Oh. But she used to wake you up so early. Can't you-?"

"Try telling Kenshin that." Yahiko scowled mutinously.

Tsubame could not help but smile a little. "Kaoru-san is beautiful."

"Beautiful?" repeated Yahiko in incredulous disgust. "The busu's a killer whale from hell."

"But she used to wake up early. Even when the baby started to grow."

"Heh. Kenshin used to wake her up, but he stopped months ago. She's quite put out with him for doing so, but its not as if she can do anything about it. Well, she tries on her own, but she's not succeeding lately."

"And she gets mad at you?"

"It's that Kenshin's fault," he muttered, setting the last table. "And he goes about grinning like he's won a bout or something. I think he actually enjoys being hit by the busu. Well, I don't!"

"Is Kaoru-san always in a bad mood?"

"Actually she's pretty mellow these days."

"Compared to months ago?"

"Yeah."

Silence. Yahiko dropped the tray near the sink.

"Well," he said, wiping his hands dry on a towel. "That's done. I better go."

She nodded. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Yahiko-chan."

"Don't call me that!"

"Hello."

Yahiko jumped. A girl was smiling at him from the next house. What was strange was that he could have sworn no one was standing there a moment ago. He squinted for a better look; the sunlight was marring his sight.

Thin was the first thing that entered his mind to describe her. Her dark hair framed her ghostly face, and a faded kimono, worn by many years of use, covered her frail body.

"Hello," she repeated. He figured it was she-- no, she was talking to him. He looked away distractedly, searching for the comforting sight of the dojo close by.

"Uh-hi." Yahiko gave her a little smile. "I don't believe we've met."

The girl was still smiling but her eyes were cold. Yahiko shivered, thinking he was seeing things. "No, we haven't."

"My name's Myoujin Yahiko."

"Tokyo samurai," she supplied to his surprise, not even for a moment breaking her gaze. "I know. I was watching you."

"Watching me. Uh-huh. Okay, um…"

"I feel happy now that I have met you, Yahiko."

"Happy?" He had the urge to yell out, 'You freak me out, lady ', but something held his normally impulsive tongue back. "Listen. I think I better go." He turned and ran to the dojo, his forehead perspiring.

"Do come back, Yahiko," she called out imperceptibly. "Come back."

The old worn face of wrinkled brown was surprisingly a great relief as its giant form loomed before him in the young sunshine. Yahiko collapsed against it, breathless from his race. When his lungs were finally satisfied, he pounded on the door. Usually, he didn't need to, for Kenshin always anticipated his arrival and was therefore at the door the moment he arrived. Nonetheless, the door swung open immediately, and a face, like the sturdy wooden gates, scarred, greeted him.

"Yahiko what's wrong?" came in place of the customary ohayou or okaeri.

The boy stumbled in, signaling his well being to Kenshin. He flopped down on the dojo floor just as the master came out.

"Yahiko-dono," she said in a surprisingly good-natured manner. "Thy need not hie so. The class has been moved and shalt commence anon, dost thee not remember?"

"Eh?" he said, panting a little. "What's with the weird lines?"

"My dear husband's influence. Archaic."

Yahiko just nodded. He was a little too tired to sass and wasn't tempted to do so, anyway, since Kaoru didn't appear to be in a quarrelsome mood. He was rather glad she merely attributed his flushing face to exhaustion. In truth, the boy was quite embarrassed. What the hell was he thinking, running away from a girl like that?

Meanwhile, the great ex-assassin he should be afraid of was fussing over his wife like a fretful mother.

"Kaoru-dono," he said. "I thought you said you're eating breakfast already?"

"Well, I decided to wait for Yahiko and he's here."

"So why did you have to rush me so insistently a while ago?" he murmured.

"You were running late." She walked off briskly to the kitchen.

Yahiko lazily followed at a slower pace. "I don't understand why you ban her from training," he said. "She's as strong as an ox."

"That's right," piped up Kaoru.

"And as big as one."

"Hey!"

"You're right. You're not," he conceded. "You're a whale!"

WHACK!

"Itaii!"

"And you are also late. Hmph."

"Did you see that?" he demanded of the hapless husband. "She is NOT that weak little kitten you're imagining her to be I tell you, she can battle the Juppon Gatana by herself, no sweat. So stop irritating her already!"

A little later, the three concluded a scrumptious breakfast. Yahiko was glad more than ever that his young teacher had abandoned the idea of bossing the kitchen on mornings some time ago.

"So really, why were you rushing, Yahiko?" Kaoru started the conversation. "It's so un-you."

"Hello?" said Yahiko with his mouth full. "Do I like have to remind you of what you do to late people?"

"Ha-ha. Nothing doing. You're not that considerate."

Yahiko just rolled his eyes at her. Then suddenly, he found a way to ask the question he was dying to ask. "Anyway, have you met the new neighbor?"

"Neighbor?" repeated Kaoru in puzzlement. "What new neighbor?"

"At the old shack, near the woods. You know, near that old shortcut to the Akabeko."

"The old Iizuka place? Did somebody buy it?"

"Duh, busu. Don't ask me. Do tanuki hibernate or is it just you? You're losing synch with reality. You don't know?"

"But that place has been abandoned for years," she protested. "After the owner died and his heirs went away, it fell into disrepair and nobody would buy it."

"Besides," added Kenshin. "The house is empty, Yahiko. We've never seen anybody in it."

"Well, there was one a while ago," said the boy. "Some girl about my age. Freaky."

"At your age, all girls would seem freaky," said Kaoru sagely.

"And you're the freakiest!" a miffed Yahiko retorted. It was kind of true, what she said, but in no way was he going to admit it. Even Tsubame seemed strange at times. And scary.

"Well, she could have just been playing there," said Kenshin, carefully taking the bowl from his wife's clawed hands before she could bean it on the boy. "Or else, somebody did buy it recently and moved in just now."

"We should have noticed," mused Kaoru. "Besides, nobody wants that house. That's why it has been abandoned. And children don't play there either. Once or twice, some boys fooled around in there for a dare, but that was a long time ago. I was just a little girl then when they regarded it as a sort of a local haunted house."

"Really?" Yahiko frowned. "I've never heard of it."

"That's just it. It's not the type of place you'd easily notice. I mean, you see it everyday, but you don't really think about it. I'm surprised you raised the topic."

"I wouldn't have noticed it if it wasn't for that girl. And weren't you listening to me, Kenshin?She's not a little kid goofing off. I said she looked my age."

"Now, that's something different," teased Kaoru. "Yahiko's meeting strange girls in obscure places. I'm telling Tsubame!" She giggled.

"You and your stupid gossips!" Yahiko glared at her in disgust. "And what does she got to do with it?"

"Nothing." Kaoru smiled innocently. "Just that you have a new friend."

"She is not my friend."

"There's nothing wrong with having female friends, Yahiko," said Kenshin, just as innocently.

"Yeah," his wife agreed. "It's not as if you're two-timing Tsubame or something."

"Shut up," muttered Yahiko. "Dirty-minded tramps."

"What's so dirty-minded about that? You're the ecchi." Kaoru pealed with laughter again. "Ooooh… Yahiko-chan is growing up."

"Maa, maa, Kaoru-dono,"said Kenshin. "Don't call him 'chan'. You're embarrassing him badly, too."

"Really. Sano would think he was just fantasizing or something."

"I was not!" denied Yahiko hotly. "And I bet you two were too distracted to notice the neighbors Don't include me in your cheesy romancing, busu. I'm too innocent for that."

"Ya-ya-hiko!" sputtered Kaoru.

"Maa, maa," said Kenshin. "I really think we just didn't notice. There is a lot of things to do."

"You have lots of work," replied Yahiko. "Busu here is bumming 'round in her big butt all day long."

have lots of work," replied Yahiko. " here is bumming 'round in her big butt all day long."

"Why you-! That is so not true. Besides, it's Kenshin's fault I-"

"Oh right. He could also be working on you."

"YAHIKO Where did you learn--? Aurgh!!"

"Brats!"

Yahiko marched on the dirt road forcefully, raising clouds of dust on his wake. It was high summer; the earth was arid even at that late hour. At least, it wasn't so dark, but he was supposed to be at the Akabeko hours ago. Kaoru and her quirks could be really ill-timed.

"I'm supposed to like help out for pay," he buzzed under his breath, much like a mosquito. "What the heck would I find there when I arrive? Normal people don't eat for hours like that fat hag. It's stupid if I arrive there and all the work's already done… Sheesh. I hate that busu."

Himura Kaoru had one of her sentimentality attacks. Yahiko should have known it was one of those days when he arrived at the dojo late and yet was able to eat breakfast under his very teacher's eyes without being harmed. That in itself was an ill omen, add the fact that Kenshin neglected to beat him to the door, and of course that strange girl he met earlier. Sure enough, his foreboding materialized when Kaoru announced she was giving a little surprise party for her students.

It was a simple affair: tasty snacks, courtesy of the resident Hitokiri-turned-rurouni-turned-houseboy, and fun parlor games hosted by the senpai. Now, there really wasn't anything wrong about all that, except for one minor detail: the master didn't consider it imperative to inform trusty old Yahiko-chan about the plans. It was after all a surprise, and Yahiko, though a senpai to others, was still a pupil, wasn't he?

"That busu," he muttered, absentmindedly squashing the package of food he had brought along. "What the hell was she thinking? Che. I do have a schedule, too."

Slap, slap, went his sandals as he trod upon the packed soil. Soon enough, the slapping reduced to a faint rustling, for the forest floor was covered with dead needles. He was now in the coniferous forest bordering the Kamiya property, that piece of woodland jutting into their prefecture. He shivered as a rare gust of breeze shared the path he was taking.

It felt quite safe under that sudden canopy of dark green. A sleepy sort of quietness hung over the place, seldom broken by the normal noise of the local fauna. No wonder people rarely used that shortcut. Kaoru herself frequently chose the longer walk-- not because it was creepy or anything of that sort. Rather, it was too silent in there it almost made one sluggish and lazy, so lazy that one might sit down and lie there forever.

A tiny wisp of wind blew again at his direction. It should have been refreshing, a welcomed way to alleviate the prickly heat. But Yahiko felt oddly……… cold. Well, he was wearing rather thin clothes, just right for the weather. But still…

It's summer, for crying out loud he thought. What the heck's wrong with the weather?

he thought.

Nothing. Nothing was wrong with the weather. It was just him and his nerves and his recently slighted dignity. Nothing was wrong.

Oh, yes there is It's this whole freaky place.

Wait. Was that even a hint of an admission of cowardice coming from him, Tokyo samurai Myoujin Yahiko? That's unthinkable.

Still, he stopped in his tracks. His skin prickled; it felt the same way when he was cold, when the air around him stirred a while ago. However, the needles, both dead and alive, hung limp in their respective positions, and the secretive conifers stood still and silent like sentinels. There was no wind right then.

Slowly, he turned his head slightly to the left, carefully scanning his surroundings. There was nothing out there, just columns and columns of hard wood gradually disappearing in the growing darkness and distance, nothing but that rundown shack.

The shack Yes, he had already reached the shack but never noticed, so occupied was he with thinking up atrocities to avenge himself on his teacher. There was nothing in the shack, too, unless something lurked in its shadowy interior.

Yahiko then pivoted his head the other way to survey his right. There was also nothing there but the same monotonous sight of trees standing in attention like a platoon of soldiers.

But the feeling was still there. That feeling. He didn't need Kenshin's strong ability to detect ki. He knew that feeling. We all know that feeling…… that feeling of being watched……

Behind him, then. The person must be there, if there at all. It wasn't found in the three directions he had searched through, but it couldn't have sneaked up on him from his posterior.

Cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

Kuso. What's wrong with me?

That's right, Yahiko. What is wrong with you? He wouldn't move a muscle. He couldn't move a muscle. His throat was as dry as the earth underfoot, but he couldn't swallow to relieve that vexation. He was frozen on a sweltering evening of late June.

Frozen…

"Yahiko-kun."

That was like a bell that awoke him from his state. Yahiko suddenly found that he was able to swallow but wasn't able to answer the call.

"Yahiko-kun," repeated the voice.

"Yes?" he was finally able to answer. Yet his voice came out like a squeak of a mouse, and he kicked himself mentally in spite of himself. He turned about face and saw the girl he met earlier that morning.

"Yahiko-kun," she said in tones so soft it would have been impossible to hear without the silence that hung about them. "I'm glad that you have returned. This means we're friends, doesn't it?"

It was at that very moment the clouds chose to exhale deeply. The strong breath swept around them-- her. A moment ago, her inky hair limply flowed from her head and concealed her face; now, it billowed out unexpectedly, the lifeless strands waving about her like tentacles. Yahiko expected her face to become less gloomy with her hair drawn from it. The curtain revealed no surprise, but instead stressed her gauntness, her obscurity.

Yahiko gasped as his brown eyes met her cold stare, unimpeded by the shadow on her face. The sight of her visage inspired something unknown in him, something he couldn't understand: fear, pity, what? Still, her piercing gaze unnerved him, and he broke contact with her, having no wish to get lost into her cavernous eyes.

"Yahiko-kun…"

She reached out towards him; a tiny hand appeared from the coarse hem of her kimono. It was such a white hand, so white that it seemed to glow in the deepening twilight. Being nervous, he couldn't move, allowing their distance to gradually decrease.

"Let's be friends…. Friends…… Forever."

She smiled.

Such a cold smile. Her eyes were still empty.

Yahiko suddenly flinched. Snapping back to his senses, he lifted his head to look at her wildly.

"I'm sorry," he said hastily. "I'm late and I have to go. You look hungry. Here."

With that, he pushed past her, thrusting his package to her outstretched arm.

Yahiko practically ran down the path, barely registering the soft thud as his gift fell to the earth. Still, he spared her one last look before he turned and completely disappeared.

The smile was no longer on her face, and the emptiness in her eyes was replaced with something else…

But the boy ignored it. For the present, at least.

Always, the water ran clear and sparkling and was wonderfully cold on her tired hands. The night was hot, as usual, especially in the hectic chaos of the kitchen. Tsubame liked it better outside with the occasional night breeze fanning her from behind as she worked. Not even the surrounding darkness scared her for she was busy with the last of the evening's chores. Also, working in such conditions regularly for years was bound to make one used to it.

Looking up from the soapsuds that covered her arms, she glimpsed the troubled face of a close friend. Now, this face was familiar, and so was the scene itself. However, the disturbed expression painted on the visage was rare to appear, and never so palpably as it did that night. So, as intimidating as the thought seemed to be, Tsubame decided to prod it out of him even though he was never known to be eager in sharing any of his weaknesses. It was after all a friend's duty and was not strictly considered meddling. Or so Tae-san said.

"Yahiko-kun," Tsubame finally said, managing to gather enough guts to ask. "Is there anything wrong?"

That was probably not a great start. She expected Yahiko to express some sign of annoyance, a brusque reassurance in a miffed voice. Instead, he looked up at her quizzically.

"What was that?" he asked.

Years before, she would have probably been scared off by that kind of a reply. But as time flew by, she little by little crept out of her shell and developed some kind of closeness with her co-worker. He always accompanied her at night, when she still had dishes to wash, after he finished his work. Of course, he didn't just sit there in silence as she worked. He always started conversations until she, too, began to initiate them.

"I said, are you all right?" Tsubame repeated. "You're quite out of it tonight."

"Is that so?" he abstractedly answered in a very un-Yahiko manner.

The last of the plates being washed, Tsubame rinsed her hands and sat down beside him on the stone steps .

"Anou… is there something you want to talk about, Yahiko-kun?" she said, peering at him in concern. She rested her elbows on her knees, her face on her hands, and waited for him to answer.

"Anou… is there something you want to talk about, Yahiko-kun?"

Yahiko-kun…. She called him that, too. She with those eyes, those eyes that were so… disturbing. It strangely reminded him of Aoshi.

Aoshi? Yes… The coldness… the emptiness. And no. That was the Aoshi of the old, the Aoshi of bitterness, self-loathing, and twisted hatred. Always, Shinomori Aoshi hid all his emotion behind his façade of stone, even now as he struggled to swim his way up to the surface of the dark sea of his ambition. True, they were both glib and impenetrable, the Oniwabanshu Okashira and that girl. However, Aoshi's icy blue stare seemed to hold a little hope; after all, even a long winter ends with the coming of spring, heralded by the chirping of birds and weasels. But the darkness of the girl's eyes was almost terrifying. They held nothing but void, wanted nothing but nothingness…

No.

There was something in her eyes at that last moment. When he glanced back, he saw it clearly.

Sadness.

Loneliness.

It scared him.

What? That woods? That darkness? That girl?

"Yahiko-kun?"

This time, he really snapped out of it. He looked up at his companion in surprise, as if abruptly awakened from a dream.

"I'm sorry," Tsubame said with a sigh. "I didn't mean to intrude, I'm just…"

Always, those brown eyes. They looked at him with such concern. Purple eyes, blue eyes, more brown eyes. All full of warmth, of love…

Black.

Emptiness.

"Tsubame, I'm scared stiff," he blurted out.

Obviously, that was a shocking thing to say. Tsubame stared at him in disbelief, and rightfully so that she did. He never meant to say it, never in a million years. It was true that he confided things to Tsubame; the others might laugh, the others might sympathize, but she was one of his age. She'd understand. Still, he would never tell her--or anybody else, for that matter-- that he was afraid.

"Y-You?" stuttered Tsubame in disbelief. "Y-you're scared?"

"Aurgh! Forget I said anything!" said Yahiko hastily, stomping off to the kitchen as a last resort.

"Yahiko-kun!" protested Tsubame, picking up the dishes and following her friend. "I didn't mean it in a negative way. I was just surprised. That you told me, I mean."

"Fine. I said forget it. Drop it already, 'kay?"

"That's unfair," Tsubame stacked the plates on a counter and began drying them. "I get scared too."

Yahiko facefaulted. "I am not scared!" he denied hotly.

"Okay." Tsubame sighed. "I believe you."

"No, you don't," he muttered. "Anyway, did you taste the omoochi I brought? It's the first batch busu made that's actually edible."

"Omoochi?" Tsubame looked up from the plate in surprise. "You didn't bring anything with you, Yahiko-kun. Just the bokken."

?" Tsubame looked up from the plate in surprise. "You didn't bring anything with you, Yahiko-kun. Just the ."

"Oh right." He suddenly remembered what happened in the woods a while ago…

That…

Would I ever waste away like her…. Like… that?

"What is it, Yahiko?"

"Huh?" His eyes snapped up to her direction. "Uh- Nothing. I guess, I left it back ho--I mean, the dojo."

"That's okay, then. Tae-san said she might visit Kaoru-san tomorrow, anyway."

Yahiko blanched faintly, realizing belatedly that he had spontaneously fibbed.

"Actually, I dropped it on the way."

That's true. She let it drop.

"Oh, I see."

He sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to taste her perfect omoochi," he said absentmindedly.

Tsubame gazed at him thoughtfully for a long moment. She finished wiping the ceramics dry and carefully stacked them in their proper places. Then, she came to stand before him.

"Is that what you're really afraid of?" she said softly.

Yahiko mussed his hair in exasperation. "I told you, I'm not--"

"I don' think they'll just displace you like that."

"What?" He facefaulted again. "Tsubame, I was insulting Kaoru."

But she continued speaking without heed of his clarification. "We're still part of the family. It's just going to get bigger."

"I'm not worried about the baby or whatever," Yahiko asserted coolly. "I'm not some little kid with petty jealousies."

Tsubame said nothing in reply.

"All right," conceded her friend. "I guess, I am a little lonely these days. I mean Megumi's in Aizu. And Sano's…. somewhere. Where does that put me?"

"Kaoru-san and Kenshin-san are still here."

"Yes, but… they're married now. It was different then."

"It feels like they know of a wonderful secret that you can't partake in no matter how they try to include you. A part but apart."

"Yeah…" Yahiko's impatient façade melted into helpless confusion. "I guess so. Now that you mentioned it… That's how it feels. Sometimes, I get left out."

"You feel left out. Yahiko-kun, I hope you don't mind me asking, but do they treat you any different as they did before?"

Yahiko thought hard. "Well, the busu still abuses me so maybe… No. I guess not."

"See? Kaoru-san is like an older sister to you right?"

"Well…" Yahiko grudgingly agreed. "Yeah, I guess."

"Then you're family to her and Kenshin."

"Uh-uh. She's married. Make that extended family."

Tsubame couldn't help but giggle at that.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"Yahiko, I have several brothers and sisters. I assure you, my mother doesn't forget any of the family. I don't think remembering three or four people would be such a chore either."

"Fine. So it was dumb of me to think like that. Extended family. Che. We're all kinda short on immediate family as it is."

Tsubame smiled. "If it's any consolation, Yahiko-kun, there's no such thing as 'extended' friends."

Yahiko grinned back in spite of himself. "Speaking of extensions, I think the Akabeko has been open long enough. Tae-san would like to close now. And I better go. See ya."

"Bye."

She followed him as he made his way out the front door. There was where she halted, and left the following to her eyes. She stayed until the proud figure, with the bamboo sticking up his back, was utterly swallowed by the night.

"Oyasumi nasai, Yahiko-chan."

To be continued...

Edited: 122104, 16:44:08

reposted: 011105

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Old notes before reposting: we decided to change the title again ; Thanks to Sarah Yuy for the suggestion.