A/N:Some of you may recall from the last AN a comment I had (well, the first AN for Ch9) made about 'no more projects being added'... that's unfortunate, because I just had a brainwave of a harem parody for Naruto... but it's on the VERY bottom of my 'to do list' for fanfiction. Promise. More OH and TROLL coming, soon, I hope. Blame Pokemans, Work, Work, More Work, and Lack of Sleep for delays... but I am still writing. Promise!

And Merry Christmas / Christumahannukwaanzika (if you prefer). :)

Chap. 10 On the Road Again / (H)El(l)emental Training

"So, Kakashi-sensei, you said you were gonna train me in an awesome new technique during this mission?"

His Jonin sensei nodded slightly, and replied with a casual, "Yep."

Ten minutes and a few miles later, Naruto inwardly cursed what Mighto Gai called his sensei's "Hip Attitude".
Largely because said attitude made it nearly impossible for Naruto to wheedle out any information on the new technique mentioned above, much less any actual training on it.

"C'mon, Kakashi-sensei! How come you won't tell me anything?! You said you'd teach me on the way there!"

His white-haired Jonin leader shrugged, "Did I? I don't really remember..."
"Gah! Kakashi-sensei! Don't lie to me, damn it!"

"Heh, heh... Sorry, Naruto," Kakashi smiled behind his mask, though jumping through the trees as they were, with Kakashi in the lead, there was no way Naruto could have seen it. "It's just a bit too easy still, even three years later. Besides, I still have to pay you back for those kicks, you know. I can't believe Jiraiya-sama taught you that style..."

The last was, of course, muttered under his breath. There may or may not have been a slight hint of jealousy involved.

"Come on! It's not my fault he picked me! I mean, he's amazing an' all, but Ero-Sennin is the laziest sensei I've ever met! And considering you, that's saying something!"

"I'm hurt, Naruto!" Kakashi shot back, holding one hand over his heart in mock-pain, "Me, lazy? Me, who promised the Great Toad Sage himself that I'd complete your training on your most powerful technique? Ouch!"

For just a moment, Naruto's forward progress halted, before he dashed forward and caught up to leap alongside his teacher. "What? What? Perfect the Rasengan? How're you gonna do that? You don't know it, right? But how can I- Oh, the clone thing. I can't seem to get past that stage, so if you can show me how to do it one-handed, that'd be awesome, Kakashi-sensei! Teach me, teach me!"

Kakashi just chuckled while his student continued to beg and plead.

Sometimes, it was fun to be in charge.

(O)(O)(O)

They were at the border of Hi no Kuni, heading west to and through Ishi no Kuni, the Land of Stones (Tentative ally and occasional enemy on par with Konoha's most watched rival, Iwagakure's home nation of Tsuchi no Kuni, the Land of Earth), en route to... Kakashi still refused to tell Naruto. In fact, he hadn't yet told him anything, but he could tell his teacher's resolve was finally starting to waver. It had been four days, after all, of fairly leisurely travel, with Naruto working on him the whole while.

"All right, Naruto," Kakashi said around noon that day, "We can stop here for the day, we're making decent time. We didn't have a specific time to arrive at our destination. Or at least, no specific date of arrival. And since we're basically in the middle of nowhere, I thought this would be a good place to work on your 'secret training'."

"Ma? Secret? Why's it have to be secret? Everybody in Konoha already knows I can do the Rasengan. Hell, half the people in the Nations probably know, since I finally made the Bingo Book! Did I tell you I was only the third Genin in history to do that, Sensei? Only Momochi Zabuza and that one guy from Kumo beat me!"

In a kind mood for once, Hatake Kakashi chose not to remind his student that he was also the last of his class' ninja to be promoted. It wasn't entirely his fault, anyway. Besides, it would be more fun to rub it in later. Especially if he figured it out again himself. "Well, Naruto," he finally answered, slipping his travel pack- all two kilograms of scrolls he carried for long-term missions- onto the ground, and with a few simple jutsu, digging a fire pit and lighting a few pieces of wood laying around before casually throwing the already-burning logs into the pit. Where, to Naruto's consternation, they landed perfectly in a pyramid.
"Damn Show-off Sensei," he groused, while eagerly listening for actual tidbits of help.
"Well, Naruto," Kakashi answered, while slipping his favorite orange-covered book out with one hand, and holding the other palm-up in between them, "As you can see..."

Chakra began to swirl, and a few seconds later, a brightly-glowing, furiously spinning sphere began to take shape in Kakashi's hand. "This is as far as Minato-sensei- The Yondaime Hokage to you- got with the technique. You've seen it in action, you've even used your bastardized version pretty well, from what I've heard. You know how destructive it can be."

Naruto stared, entranced, and the sphere. It was as stable as anything he'd ever created, though perhaps not quite as smooth as one of Jiraiya's, and not quite as bright blue as either of theirs, but it was unmistakeably the same technique. Even the quiet hiss as the sphere's rotation began to stir the surrounding air was the same. "Yeah... so, you gonna show me how to do it one-handed, then? 'Cause it'd be so cool to be able to do two of them!"

Behind his mask, Kakashi paled. "Uh, no. Well, yes, but no. Under no circumstances, on pain of death, are you to form two Rasengans at once. Until I or Jiraiya-sama say otherwise. Is that clear?"

"Uh, sure. But why?"

Kakashi shook his head, clapping the book closed and slipping it back in it's reinforced pouch, clasping it closed tightly- lest Naruto get prank-happy- before gesturing toward the sphere of chakra "Look at it this way. See, now that I'm focusing on the Rasengan alone, it's more smooth, right? More stable?"

Naruto nodded. It was a slight difference, but it was there. Now, he would be hard pressed to tell if his or Kakashi's was better formed.

"That's because the Rasengan is the absolute pinnacle of Shape Manipulation. It's a very high-level technique that requires a great deal of concentration and control to use. You understand, right? You should, because it took you a long time to master it, when you normally don't struggle too much with high-powered jutsu."

Naruto nodded again. That week had been torturous, not to mention the weeks on the road before that, just struggling to pop one ball, and then trying not to pop balloons! "Yeah, but what's Shape Manipulation?"

Kakashi sighed, letting the Rasengan release harmlessly in the air. "You know about Chakra Manipulation. You build up and form Chakra, which is a perfectly balanced mix of spiritual and physical energy, to power jutsu, amongst other things. Shape Manipulation is a part of that. It is primarily Shape Manipulation that determines the area of a technique, for example. An example..."
Kakashi performed a few seals too fast for Naruto to follow, before pointing his right hand toward a tree on the far side of the clearing, "Suiton: Mizurappa!"

A torrent of water appeared from the palm of his hand, jetting forward in a wave, clearing debris (and incidentally dousing the newly-made fire) from the clearing, knocking over a few smaller trees, and even making the giant he'd aimed toward sway dangerously.
"That's the Water Breakthrough technique. Nothing special, though it can be pretty potent. But watch this."
More slowly, Kakashi performed the same set of seals for his now-entranced student, then pointed a single finger at the large tree, "Suiton: Mizurappa!"

This time, though, a tightly-coiled lance of water no wider than four inches across drilled through the space between Kakashi's finger and the tree, then pierced through it, and four more behind it, before expending itself.
After the attack faded, Naruto silently moved over to the tree, and looked, dumbfounded, through the hole, which was nearly clean-cut straight through. He could make out, quite clearly, the next tree, cut nearly in half, and the hole behind that one, before the last faded into the shadows of the forest.
"But... but that was the same technique! How did you do it differently?"

Kakashi shrugged, "I didn't. Both are the Water Breakthrough technique. But the first one is the default 'setting', how the technique is designed to work. The second time, I applied Shape Manipulation to do it differently. Same power, same amount of water, but in this case I focused that same water into a much smaller shape, which gave it more pressure, and thus more penetrating power. With me?"

Slowly, Naruto nodded once more. "So how come you can't do that with every technique?"

Kakashi, unwilling to hide that the rapid-fire techniques had actually caused him to expend a fair bit of energy, moved over to the dry half of the clearing and sat on a large log before replying, "The right answer is, you can. The less accurate but more useful answer is, because it takes too much effort. The shape of most techniques is built into the seals. You can override it if you know what you're doing, as I just did, but it takes a lot more effort. It's like performing a technique without seals at all, it takes a whole new level of focus and energy."

"Oh, I got it. That makes sense."

Kakashi smiled, holding out an empty palm again before slowly forming another Rasengan, "This is the next step. A Rasengan is forming the shape of the chakra, using a fair bit of chakra as well, and compressing it, spinning it, and so on to basically be raw, destructive force. The reason it shapes into a sphere should be pretty obvious to you."

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, wiggling one hand over his empty palm as he walked over as well, "If it's not a sphere, it's unstable and doesn't spin right, and you can't control it."

"Exactly! Good job, Naruto. The fact that you understand that tells me you should get this next part. Now, you don't need a seal to perform a Rasengan, you just need to use your hand- or your clones' hands- to guide the chakra, to shape it. That's Shape Manipulation. But is that all it takes to use a technique?"

Slowly, Naruto shook his head, but frowned and said nothing.

"Come on, what else is there?"

Idly, the blonde gestured toward the wet half of the clearing, "The type, isn't it? Water, Fire, Air, Earth, Lightning?"

His grin widening, the Jonin patted his student on the head, "Yep. That's not all, we don't need to go into Shadow natures, like the Nara use, or things like that. Most Ninjutsu- the vast majority- use those five elemental natures. That's the other side of the coin. Shape Manipulation... and Nature Manipulation."

"Nature... so you can, I guess, use Water Breakthrough and change it to Fire Breakthrough if you try hard enough?"

To Naruto's surprise, Kakashi shook his head. "In theory yes, but not really in practice. If Shape Manipulation is difficult to use on the fly, Nature Manipulation is five times harder. Jiraiya-sama or one of the Hokage could, maybe, use a few D-rank jutsu that way. But I can't, I haven't even tried in years. I know my limits. Maybe with your chakra, if you had better control, you could do it for C- and maybe B-ranks that don't take too much power. But don't try it anytime soon, okay?"

"Aww..."

"But this will cheer you up," Kakashi continued, ignoring Naruto's crestfallen expression, "Minato-sensei never finished the Rasengan. It's only half-complete. Jiraiya and I, as far as I know the only two people besides yourself to have mastered it, can't really finish it either, for various reasons. But you might just be able to do it."

Despite being only just noon-thirty or so, the shadows in the clearing made Naruto's cerulean eyes almost comical in their wide-eyed stare. "R- Really? Something you and Ero-Sennin, even Yondaime-sama, couldn't do?"

"Indeed, Naruto," Kakashi said seriously, wishing, and not for the first time, he could reveal the truth of Naruto's parentage, "I don't have the chakra to develop it any further. Maybe I could copy a more advanced version. Maybe. But even though I copied the jutsu, it still took me more than a year to get the jutsu right so I could perform it myself safely. Jiraiya-sama has the chakra, but he's too impatient. Yondaime-sama didn't have time to complete it himself. You know why."

Naruto nodded, staring down at the ground suddenly, "The Fox."

"Yes. But you might just be able to do it. You are also impatient, but you have a training tool Jiraiya and I, and Minato-sensei, never had."

Silence fell over the clearing while the sun sank slowly lower.
It was just over the horizon when Naruto spoke next, disturbing Kakashi from a light doze. "The Shadow Clones?"

"Yes. You know about their memory transfer effect, yes?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "For... training?"

"Yeah, for training. But no practicing tonight. Just plan for a tiring day tomorrow, because we have to make good time and practice then."

"Yes! I'm going to bed, so tomorrow comes sooner!"

(O)(O)(O)

Far, far to the north(ish) from Naruto and Kakashi's campsite, a rather eclectic group of ninja rested in rather more comfort, and considerably more style.

"Isn't this great, Shikamaru?" the chubbiest of the lot asked quietly.

His tall, lanky, tanned (from lazing in the sun, certainly not working in the sun!) best friend sighed in contentment, "Yeah... good thing Naruto's nowhere near to ruin it."

From the other side of the wooden wall behind the two young men, Sakura's voice called, "Don't jinx it, Shikamaru!"

Across the pool from Choji and the quiet Nara, were a pair of shinobi largely hidden by the darkness and steam rising from the hot water of the onsen. The taller of the two was thin and pale, with short-cut, dark black hair. He said nothing, merely watched the other three of the trio with an apathetic, yet alert gaze.

The final member was the oldest, an olive-skinned jonin with a Konoha hitai-ate and a metal facemask that only protected his cheekbones that he wore even in the bath. "You guys should really be grateful he's not here. Can you imagine a kid like that in a covert mission? I mean, I respect the kid, but he'd get us all killed or caught right off."

In another world, this Jonin might have had to resort to fear and intimidation to get his way- that way being cooperation from the disparate teams and random members- but he and the other Jonin of the group, the leader of the cell the other two ninja sitting across from him were members of, were more than capable of becoming friends.

In fact, if an astute observer- Shikamaru, for instance- were to pay attention, they might notice that this "Yamato" and their own Jonin leader/sensei, Sarutobi Asuma, were at the very least acquainted on a proffesional level.
They might even be called 'distant friends'.

"It's just the calm before the storm, though, you guys," the Jonin, Yamato, spoke up again a few seconds later, "We'll be on the Kusa border tomorrow midmorning, and the Tenchi bridge by midafternoon. We'll have the night to rest up and plan for our meeting with this contact of Sasori of the Red Sand's, but we have to assume that it's hostile territory, even a half day ahead of schedule. They could very well be thinking the same thing, after all."

It was a sobering thought, and one that every one of the ninja present, two kunoichi and four shinobi, took to heart.

(O)(O)(O)

In the office of the Hokage, Konohagakure, a statuesque yet voluptuous 'young' woman of fifty-something frowned and turned to stare out the window.
A few seconds later, her assistant, Shizune, looked up from the papers she was rubber stamping on the Hokage's behalf. "What is it, Lady Tsunade?"

The blonde just shrugged nonchalantly, but her assistant was not fooled.

"Something's bothering you. I can tell."

Tsunade shook her head, and turned back to the large stacks of paperwork with a frown. A few pages later, though, she muttered, "It's those damned kids and their missions. Both are vital, and you know it. But I couldn't have sent anyone else. Splitting the teams up... I don't know. Maybe I'm just rambling. But I have a bad feeling about this."

Unfortunately, Shizune had nothing to say about that. She did as well, after all.

(O)(O)(O)

"But Sensei!"

"I'm sorry, Tenten," her former Jonin Sensei, and now squad leader, Gai, shook his head but replied sternly, "Lady Shizune was most clear. You and Lee were most admirable in your zeal to train harder than anyone else, but he needs a little time to heal, and you need a break, too. Besides, she's a med-nin, and their word is final. You know that."
"But Sensei," she tried again, cajoling now instead of outright pleading, "An entire month of nothing but rest? Our- our skills! We'll waste away!"

For a brief moment, it looked like Gai would put his foot down, but that brief sentence filtered through quickly. "That would be most unyouthful... very well! I will speak to Miss Shizune personally, and see if we can get you up to one hour's training per day and one D-rank per week! Just to keep your skills up!"

Gai was already running out of the hospital room she- somehow- had landed herself in with Lee and Neji, and appeared not to hear her sudden renewal of begging, "Wait, Sensei! That's not what I meant! Please don't-"

Neji's forlorn sigh and quiet, "Drop it, he's already gone..." did little to assauge Tenten's frustration at being stuck with her boring teammates for an entire month, without even training or real missions to liven things up.

Lee, swiftly coming out of his sedation after his bone-marrow test (a regular, if infrequent, follow-up to his surgery a few years back), groggily murmured, "Gai-sensei! More... traiinnnn..." before drifting back to sleep.

(O)(O)(O)

"Not good!" Hatake Kakashi dodged a fourth consecutive swipe of the orange-red chakra tails, already panting and that after only two minutes. Naruto...

Was it really even Naruto, in there?

The chakra cloak was intense, far more than it probably had been at the Valley of the End, the last place he was aware it had been activated. The denser, darker shape inside was still mostly humanoid, but then, the Fox had been a humanoid-ish fox shape, as well. Not quite anthropomorphic, but it was definitely more humanoid than your average vulpine. This Naruto was somewhere between human and the Fox's shape, but with blistering chakra engulfing it, almost like the Fox itself had been.

"Mah, it's a good thing I decided to do this training in the middle of nowhere... even if I just didn't want anyone prying!" he found the energy to quip, mostly to keep his spirits up. Expert as he was, Kakashi knew morale was important in a battle for your life... even if you had to keep it up yourself.

The beast-man a few dozen yards away roared to the sky once more, clawed chakra-hands flexing upwards as it did so, before the monster blurred toward him.

Were it not for his already-uncovered Sharingan, Kakashi doubted that, even with all his experience, innate talent, and practiced reflexes, he would have been able to escape the blindingly-fast strike.
As it was, the four claws literally whined as they flew through the air, seemingly cutting molecules themselves apart.
"Mah, Naruto..." he panted after coming to rest again a few yards away, "Maybe you should calm down a bit? It's just training..."

The comment only seemed to incite the chakra-cloaked, four-tailed vulpine form further, because it crouched low and opened it's mouth into a silent roar, facing him. That was normal enough, in the few minutes Kakashi had seen since the third and fourth tails had appeared at the base of his student's spine, but the bright red and blue spheres of chakra gathering in front of it's gaping mouth was less so.

Fortunately for Kakashi, he recognized the technique from long ago, and was grateful this version of Naruto wasn't nearly as fast as the Fox had been at forming this particular technique.

Unfortunately for a single fisherman out on a lake six miles away that neither of the ninja ever even heard about, the Bijū Dama was just too fast and too devastating to dodge... if he'd even seen it coming, absorbed as he was with wrangling in the biggest catch of his life.

But the fisherman was the absolute least of Kakasih's worries at that moment, catastrophic damage to the environment aside. It had almost hit him!
"Yare, yare... I guess I have no choice. I hope I can pull this off with one try, though, because I don't think he'll let me have another. Mangekyo Sharingan!"

(O)(O)(O)

"Neh, Naruto... calm down, okay?"

The world had changed. No longer a dense, deep forest between mountains and hills and desert, they were in... a sewer, of all things. Great! Of course his favorite student- no matter how he acted- had to have his mind not just in the gutter, but several feet below it. With a pair of instructors like him and Jiraiya-sama, how could he not?
But the smell!

"Ka- Kakashi-sensei? What are you... what are you doing in here?"

The Jonin looked up from the book that had materialized in his hand (in perfect detail, if he'd bothered to check) at the very thought of Icha Icha's author, to see the student whose mind he was currently visiting laying in a puddle of sewage and what looked, in the dim light, like his own blood.
That was bad enough, even for a seasoned ninja.
But the fact that his student, while recognizable from his hair, eyes, and bright teeth, had no skin, that was a little more disturbing. "Well, Naruto, I came to get you out. So if you'll just step aside..."

"Wait! You can't go back there!" Naruto interrupted, jumping to his feet and holding his arms across the wide hallway, "The- the- my, um- the-"

Kakashi nodded, but rested moved a calm hand up to rest on Naruto's shoulder, only to pull it back without touching the bare muscle. It probably would have hurt, anyway. "Relax, Naruto. I already know what I'll see, I've known for years. But what you don't know is one of the many reasons I was selected- and volunteered- to be your Sensei. It's not perfect, but with some effort I should be able to bring you out of this mess you're creating. So just relax and let me handle this, alright?"

Reluctantly, the skinless form stepped aside, with obvious apprehension darkening his blue eyes, and followed his Sensei around the final end to stand before the great gate at the core of his, Naruto's, chakra network.
"So, this is the great Nine-Tailed Fox..."

"That Eye... that accursed Eye..." the beast rumbled from deep in the shadows of the cell, "But you aren't one of that damnable line, are you? A thief, then, to steal eyes from thieves. Fitting, and ironic."

If Kakashi was surprised to actually be conversing with what, the last time he'd seen it, was a ravening monster bent on annihilation, he didn't show it. "A gift from an old friend, actually, so you're wrong on both counts. But that's alright, you probably don't remember me from back then, but I remember you. And I may not be perfect at it, but I have enough control over the eye to shut you down. So pull back on the chakra and leave Naruto alone before I suppress you myself."

Naruto was appalled. How did Kakashi even dare? Only the Yondaime had ever successfully stood up to the Fox, and he'd died doing it! But...

But the Nine-Tailed Fox, most feared of Tailed Beasts, was... was retreating!

"Mark me, Humans... there will come a day you will regret me being sealed... and all those with the Accursed Eyes!"

After the Fox was gone, hidden in the furthest depths of cell, Naruto continued to stare in wide-eyed wonder for several minutes at his Sensei. If he were more astute, he might have noted Kakashi's left eye bleeding slightly, or his knees and hands trembling.

But he'd done it. He'd won.
"Come, Naruto," Kakashi said, holding out one hand without looking, "Let's get back to the real world."

(O)(O)(O)

The blonde looked around, this time, in wide-eyed horror. All around, for nearly a quarter mile in every direction, was black, scorched earth, charred stumps that were once mighty, ancient fir and pines, and a great, echoing silence. The only noise was from their own breathing, the very air itself seemed to be holding its breath, as if fearing the coming of a monster.

"Ka- Kakashi-sensei... what... what happened?"

The silver-haired Jonin sighed, and put a hand on his student's shoulder while the other lowered his headband back over his burning, inflamed left eye, "Well, it's a long story... but I'll tell you. It seems I overestimated your ability to control your frustration, for one thing. For another, I underestimated how quickly that frustration could be turned into anger. Again, I made a mistake in thinking I alone would be able to easily subdue you if the worst happened. But at least it happened out here, with no one around for miles and miles."

Naruto's eyes widened further still, taking on an even darker caste as they did so. "I... I did this?"

Kakashi gave a half-shrug, "Not really... think back to the Great Naruto Bridge, on the mission to Wave. You remember the power, the orange chakra you said you felt?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, but-"

"And when you fought Neji in the Chunin Exams?"

There was another quick nod, "Yes, but-"

"And other times, like when you gave Jiraiya-sama that most impressive scar on his chest, when you lost control of the Fox?"

Naruto nodded, more slowly this time, his voice suddenly tremulous, "Y- Y-yes...?"

Kakashi gave a little smile behind his mask, "Well, this isn't like those times. No one got hurt! At least, not very badly. ...Unless you're counting about a thousand squirrels. But I'm not. Optimism, right?"

The out of character joviality was enough to make Naruto snort in amusement, but it didn't last long. "So... So I was the one that..."

"Listen, Naruto," Kakashi said, using his less-burned hand (fortunately, he wore gloves, and Naruto wouldn't see the damage) to steer his student toward Oni no Kuni once again, "This is and was beyond your control. And we won't be training like this again without measures involved to keep it under control. But it's not your fault. Okay? It's mine, and mine alone, for poor planning if nothing else. So keep working on it, daily, but no more than five clones at a time. Okay? If you happen to make more, keep them working on basic chakra control excercises. Kami knows you can always use more of that."

With a long-suffering, but still depressed sigh, Naruto nodded once more. "So, what's this mission in Oni about, anyway?"

Figuring they were long outside the range of prying eyes, given the devastation in the area, Kakashi thought he may as well answer this time. "Well, I heard there's this beautiful Priestess, a Seeress, actually, who has fortold a great evil coming forth in Oni. She has a daughter, too, who's a Seeress as well, equally beautiful, I'm told. So I thought we'd go help out."

"Cool! Save the Priestess, Save the World, right? Just the sort of mission for a hero like me!"

"Yes, exactly! You see why I requested you, right?"

"... You just brought me along, hoping my track record with pretty women held true and that'd earn you points with the Priestess, didn't it?"

Kakashi stumbled slightly, the veneer of his 'hip attitude' cracking for a moment. "Wh- What ever gave you that idea? I'd never!"

Naruto coughed into his fist in response, a cough that sounded suspiciously like, "Kazehana," followed closely by, "Haruna," and then a more severe one, "Toki!"

This time, the Jonin actually tripped, falling flat on his face. Sure, he'd only come in at the end of the last two, for mop-up, but...
Naruto promised himself he would keep that memory forever. He'd pass it on to his children, if he could. And Gai? He would be told as soon as humanly possible.

A/N2:
As always, enjoy... not much to say this time, except that it hopefully won't be so long before the next update. I may start (I hope not) posting new stories soon, but as most of what I could post is not-near-completion other fics, I'd rather wait until they did fit in that category.

Till next time, enjoy, don't do anything or anybody I wouldn't d- wait... never mind, I'm sure some of you have lower standards than me. Maybe not many, but some. Do whatever, I guess. :)

And thanks, as always, to Mouse, the beta for some stuff, including this fic!

...Though he hasn't gotten it back to me yet, so this version is unedited. Please forgive any errors, most at least should be cleared up in the next day or so.

Also, thanks to LordTicky for some editor's input. Though not a beta, he did have some valuable insight about some of my decisions. I have seen some/all of the error of my ways, and they are mostly corrected in this chapter- some will have to wait till next. :)