Enigma Part III
Akahana spent more than a full week in the care of Tsunade at the hospital, before the female sannin finally deemed her fit enough. She was glad, when she was finally allowed to leave. She was used to being in the hospital, but she had rarely been there for longer than a few days. That she had spent more a week in the hospital was a sign that made her very uncomfortable. She knew, that she was close to death when Jiraiya found her, but that wasn't the first time. No, her unusual slow recuperation must have been a consequence of loosing the Kyubi. She still healed faster then normal humans, but without the demon and its powers she would have to live with many changes to her usual routines.
Akahana wasn't really surprised that it was Jiraiya who waited for her when she was finally allowed to leave. Though the Sandaime had not come to visit her again after the day she had woken up, she knew that he would want to see her as soon as she was able. That would be one awkward meeting for sure.
"Jiraiya-san, good morning." Akahana greeted the man with a friendly expression. She knew she would have to befriend the sannin, if she wished for their support. She needed both of them for now, else her chances at being allowed to remain in Konoha would be less then favorable. So she even willed herself to forget her low opinion of the Jiraiya from her time and gave the man here a chance, despite his less appreciated non shinobi activities.
"Good morning, Akahana. I see that your 'pet' still follows you around." Jiraiya said with a condescending smile towards Kurou. There was no love lost between those two; Jiraiya had been Akahana's most frequent visitor since Kushina had not been allowed to return. But the toad sannin and the fox kit could never really get along. Kurou knew of Akahana's apprehension towards the man and made it his personal mission to drive the offending man away. Jiraiya meanwhile had great fun in tormenting the noisy fox.
"Bite me, toad human." Kurou quipped up from the ground, but he was completely ignored by Jiraiya.
"Well Akahana, I am sure that you already expected this. My sensei wants to see you. Tsunade should have arranged for some clothes for you. The things you wore when we found you had been destroyed so we got rid of the remains."
"I see... looks like I need to go and buy new clothes soon. I don't feel comfortable in civilian clothing... it impairs my movement and fighting style too much. But what have you done with my katana?" Akahana asked with a searching look at Jiraiya.
"Ah well, sensei decided to keep that weapon away from you, at least until we are completely sure that you are not hostile. Sorry about that." Jiraiya replied with a sheepish look. He somehow doubted that she was less dangerous without that weapon.
Akahana smirked when she heard that and touched one of the seals that were on her arm. It was a tiny little seal on her wrist that looked like a fancy tattoo, but Jiraiya knew enough about seals to know that it was more then a fancy decoration. And just as expected the moment she had channeled Chakra into the seal there was a small puff of smoke before Jiraiya could only gape when she held her sword in her hands.
"A spare sword in a storage seal?" He asked with great interest.
"Not really. In my line of work it can be dangerous when an enemy gets hold of my weapon and tries to use it against me. Especially with such a rare wonder of craftsmanship like this katana. So I engraved a seal on the weapon that I had designed especially for the purpose of retrieving my sword." She still grinned as she held her sword close to her chest like it was her most beloved possession.
Jiraiya whistled slightly impressed by that seal. Something like that would be damn useful for all shinobi on missions. "You must hold this weapon dear when you go at such lengths to keep it safe."
"Yes... it was a gift... the first and only birthday gift I have ever received in my life..." Akahana said with a sad voice. "The man who gifted it to me was... he was the closest thing to a father I've ever had. He gave me the sword with the words, 'get stronger with it or die by it, the choice is yours'. It was his way to keep me from giving up. His way to ensure that I would become the best weapon in his arsenal... I was raised to be competitive and that was more or less a challenge to get stronger." She sighed deeply before she shook her head. "In the end I was not powerful enough. He died... everyone died. Even though I have avenged his death... I know now that revenge was not worth it... it does not bring those we've lost back to us. Being an avenger is an awful life."
Jiraiya scrutinized the girl with great interest as she gave away this particular part of her history. She did not divulge any information on who she had worked for or what had happened to her, but instead she revealed a much more personal side of herself and allowed the sannin to see a glimpse of her tortured soul.
"Did he also teach you sealing? Your mentor I mean."
"No... I learned that later when I tried to uncover more about my own roots. Learning Fuinjutsu was very easy for me, it was like an innate talent. Later I realized that it really was that... being an Uzumaki made it easy to learn all of this as it seemed. I used every source I could find for my self studies until I was proficient enough to use it even in battle." Akahana stated almost proudly. She could remember the day she had shown her new talent to her mentor. It was one of the few times she had heard him utter the words 'I'm proud of you'. To her that was one of the happiest days she could remember. Now she realized that her mentor merely said that to increase her loyalty. He knew exactly how to manipulate her...
"We should definitely take some time to talk about this topic. There are only few except the Uzumaki Clan, that truly know the value of seals in a battle. My student Minato is also greatly interested in learning this art. Who knows maybe you can show him something that even I don't know." Jiraiya said with a laugh. He was sure that he knew more about Fuinjutsu than Akahana, but the insight of another person was always welcome.
"That depends on what your Hokage plans to do with me." Akahana replied a bit coldly. "But please leave the room so I can dress. Surely your Hokage does not want to wait for too long so we should hurry." She then looked down to the fox that still glared holes into Jiraiya. "Kurou, go with him. Make sure that he does not peek."
"Aye, Akahana-hime." The fox barked happily. "Let's go, toad human. Move before I bite you."
Akahana merely shook her head with a smile as she watched the grumbling Jiraiya leave the room with the little fox in tow. She slowly left the hospital bed and stretched. She saw the clothing that Tsunade had brought her earlier and couldn't help but frown. Just why had that woman picked out civilian clothing...
The Sandaime Hokage was sighing in exasperation. He reread the reports that were on his desk carefully, just in case he had missed something... but the information remained the same. He wanted curse loudly, but restrained himself. It wouldn't look good to do that in front of one of his former students.
Across from the Hokage sat Orochimaru; the Snake sannin watched his former sensei curiously as the older man read his final report on his mission to Ame. His mission was not really a success, at least not the kind of success that the Hokage wanted. But the final outcome had sparked his interest in that Uzumaki girl even more. Oh yes, he would have to get a closer look on her... maybe he could even get a sample of her blood from the hospital, surely it could tell him some interesting things about the girl that had apparently occupied the Sandaime's mind for the last few days.
"And you are completely sure that this report is accurate, Orochimaru?" Sarutobi asked his former student with a frown.
"Yes, sensei. There wasn't even the slightest trace of the girl in Ame. Either that girl is very apt in hiding her trails or she has simply never been to that place." Orochimaru replied testily, miffed about being doubted by his sensei.
"This can't be... just where has that girl come from... With Inoichi's report and the girl's own testimony, Amegakure had been our only clue as to her whereabouts." He shook his in annoyance. "I don't like this situation. This girl has fought against someone powerful, she has fought in a war for all her life according to her memories, but we can't find out what has happened and when it has happened... There might be a danger for our village, lurking out there and this girl might be the only way to find out about it."
"Why not hand her over to the Torture and Interrogation Unit. I am quite confident that they could make her talk." Orochimaru stated offhandedly. "I would gladly offer my help to them, I've acquired some new drugs and poisons that might be tremendously helpful."
"We can't just have her put through that without a good reason... and since she is a Uzumaki it would have a very bad effect on our relations to Uzushio, should they find out that we have tortured a member of the Uzumaki Clan." Sarutobi stated with another sigh. "It doesn't really matter anyways. Jiraiya is bringing her here as we speak. I will use this as one last time to get her to confess everything we need to know..."
"And what if she remains silent?"
"Her fate has already been decided, so everything after this meeting is out of my hands for now." Sarutobi replied wearily. Orochimaru looked at his sensei with a questioning look, trying to understand what exactly the Hokage had decided to do with the girl. Hopefully he would not do something foolish before he had a chance to study this interesting specimen.
Meanwhile Akahana followed Jiraiya slowly through the village on their way from the hospital towards the Hokage Tower where she was supposed to be interrogated once more by the Hokage himself. Akahana knew that she should be a little more concerned with upcoming meeting, but she couldn't focus on the dreadful meeting when she walked through the lively streets of her home village. In her time the village had been destroyed and abandoned years ago; in fact she had not seen it this lively since the Akatsuki attack two years before her final fight with Tobi.
But to see the village now was a real wonder for the girl. Maybe, just maybe she would get a chance at redeeming herself. A chance to properly protect the village this time around. If the Hokage would allow her to stay and fight for Konoha, she knew that she would sooner die then see the village destroyed again.
Jiraiya noted the girl's fascination with the village with a smile of his own. He knew that Konoha was a sight to behold, especially for newcomers. But Akahana had this look in her eyes... her blue eyes held a longing as he looked at her. He resolved that her reaction must be a consequence of her harsh life so far. 'Maybe all she wanted was a peaceful place to live', he thought idly.
"Do you like Konoha so far, Akahana? There is a reason why we are known as the greatest of the hidden villages. It is not just our strength but also the tranquil beauty of our home." He laughed loudly before he continued. "And of course because of the countless beautiful women that live in this village."
His last words were met with a dangerous growl from Kurou. The little fox didn't like the man's word in the slightest, especially while said man was looking at his mistress. The fact that his Akahana-hime looked at the toad human with narrowed eyes only increased the little foxes anger.
"Eyes front, toad human!" Kurou barked at Jiraiya, but the sannin looked only condescendingly at the fox.
"You said something, midget?"
Kurou only growled in response before he jumped behind Jiraiya and bit the sannin into his behind. It all happened so fast that Jiraiya could hardly react before he already felt the pain. "Dammit, let go of me you stupid midget." Jiraiya exclaimed loudly.
Akahana could only facepalm as she watched the interaction between her familiar and a man she had once known as on of the most powerful shinobi of his generation. The fact that this entire situation attracted much unwanted attention only increased Akahana's current wish to just ditch both sannin and fox and continue her way to the Hokage on her own. But she knew that that might be a rather bad idea, the Hokage would not appreciate her walking around unsupervised... at least not at the moment. So all she could do was wait for the two knuckleheads to finish so they could continue.
But Akahana's wish to quickly leave the current scene was far out of her reach. Especially when the crowd around them suddenly parted and two men in Konoha Military police uniforms entered the scene. Akahana had to restrain herself from scowling when she looked at the men, the last thing she needed right now was two Uchiha butting into her business.
"What is going on here? This is a street and not a circus." One of the two Uchiha exclaimed angrily. "Jiraiya-san, stop this foolishness this instant. Just what are the foreign merchants that visit our village supposed to think when they see a student of the Hokage fooling around like some common idiot."
Jiraiya looked blankly at the Uchiha's before he just pointed at the fox that was still biting him relentlessly. The Uchiha that had spoken before motioned for his comrade to aid Jiraiya in getting rid of Kurou. But that was easier said then done. Jiraiya looked pleadingly at Akahana for help, but after his last comment she felt less inclined to help him. So Jiraiya and the Uchiha had to use quite some strength to finally rid Jiraiya of the furry pest.
The other Uchiha looked at the fox in contempt as Kurou struggled in the grip of the other man. "Whose pet is that? I should have put that pest down for assaulting a Konoha shinobi!"
"The fox is my familiar and believe me the little guy only acted in what he believed to be my best interest." Akahana said sternly. She glared at the Uchiha as the man approached her with an angry look of his own. Then he had a closer look at Akahana, seeing her in civilian clothing, but with a Katana strapped to her belt.
"Just what do you think you are doing? Civilians are not allowed to carry weapons within the walls of Konoha. You will hand over that sword this instant!" He ordered sternly before he made motion to grab the sword from her. But before he could reach for it his arm was stopped when Akahana tightly gripped his wrist.
"Just try to touch it, Uchiha, and you will see that I am not a mere civilian. Come on, just try to take it, I dare you to." Akahana spat at the man. She loathed this clan, all her life she had suffered because of Uchiha. That accursed clan and their Sharingan... all her suffering originated from that bloodline.
For some moments the entire street around them was eerily quiet. No one dared to speak as Akahana and the Uchiha stared each other down. It was the second Uchiha who finally ended the silent staring contest.
"Come one, brother, let's not be hasty. Maybe there is a good explanation for this." Said the man who still held Kurou in a safe distance from his body.
"That is right, she is a guest of the Hokage!" Jiraiya exclaimed suddenly. It was not necessarily the truth, but he was in no mood to have the entire scene escalate. He really did not want to have to explain to his sensei why Akahana had maimed two Uchihas on the short way from the hospital to the Hokage tower.
"See, brother. Everything is alright." He then looked at Akahana with a benevolent smile. "Just keep your... familiar in check so he does not bite any more people."
The other Uchiha yanked his hand free from Akahana's grip and turned away from her with one last contemptuous look at the girl. "Next time I won't go easy on you when you break the laws of this village." After that he quickly stalked away with one last shout. "Katsuo we are leaving!"
Katsuo remained for a few more moments as he scrutinized Akahana with great interest. Only when she glared openly at him he finally set Kurou down on the ground and left with a small wink towards the glaring redhead.
"Well that was a nice experience for a change." Jiraiya commented when the two Uchiha had finally disappeared. "Seems like you made a good first impression on the Uchiha clan heir. The one whose wrist you tried to break is Fugaku Uchiha, next in line as clan head for the entire Uchiha clan. The other guy was his younger brother Katsuo. Better be careful around those fellows, the Uchiha hate it when people don't respect them."
"Just keep the Uchiha away from me and nothing bad will happen." Was Akahana's curt answer to that. To Jiraiya it was obvious that the girl harbored deep resentment for the Uchiha clan. Was this some form of proof that the man who had beaten her so badly before they had found her was truly an Uchiha? "Okay let's not waste any more time. Sensei is waiting for you." Jiraiya said finally before he continued walking towards the Hokage tower. But he still rubbed the hurting spot on his behind every now and then, much to the amusement of the little fox that had retaken his place next to Akahana.
They arrived quickly at the Hokage tower since most people instinctively stepped out of their way when they the sour look on Akahana's face. Jiraiya found it almost amusing if not for the underlying worry why this girl harbored such resentment for one of the most prominent clans of Konoha. Sure the Uchiha were arrogant and stuck up, but that was still no reason for such feelings. Something was off, but he couldn't quite point his finger at it.
But Akahana's bad mood quickly vanished as she entered the Hokage tower. With every step that took her closer to the Hokage's office she felt more dread creeping up on her. Now that she was healed the Hokage would finally decide her fate. Depending on what she did and said during this meeting it could mean that she would be either allowed to stay... or they would sent her away.
She took a deep breath before she finally followed Jiraiya into the office, hopefully ready to stand her ground during the Hokage's interrogation. The office was still the same like she remembered it from her time. Nothing had changed in all those years...
But the first thing she noticed when she entered was not the office itself, but the fact that the Hokage was not alone. There, leaning against the wall in a dark corner of the room was the pale faced man that she never expected to see again. Orochimaru... one of the men that had made her life a living hell. She was tempted to draw her sword and end the threat of the Snake sannin before he would become too powerful... but she wouldn't even get near him at the moment. The Hokage and Jiraiya would stop her instantly. To them the snake bastard was still a loyal shinobi of the Leaf.
"Jiraiya, good that you finally got here. There were no unexpected... mishaps, I presume?" The Hokage asked with a cautious tone. But then he saw something that made him scowl. "Why does she have her weapon? I have ordered to not give her any weapons until I have made my final verdict." Sarutobi looked angrily at Jiraiya before his gaze wandered to Akahana. But she wouldn't allow herself to be intimidated by the Sandaime's glare, instead she stared right back without any outward sign of fear. But on the inside she could feel her dread rising again. It wouldn't be good for her to be at the receiving end of the Hokage's ire. Especially not with this younger and without a doubt much more powerful Sandaime Hokage.
"Ah... you see, it is quite impossible to keep that weapon away from her... She can summon the damn thing with a seal..." Jiraiya answered sheepishly.
"Do not worry about this, Hokage-sama. I won't use it unless I am attacked. As I have stated numerous times before, I am no threat to this village or its people." Akahana said truthfully. Sarutobi merely watched her with great suspicion, not sure if he should believe her just like that.
"Take a seat, both of you." Sarutobi ordered sternly.
Akahana complied immediately, but Jiraiya looked rather uncomfortable when he thought about sitting down. "I think I would rather stand..." Jiraiya replied cautiously while he stroked his hurting behind with one hand. Kurou watched the offending toad human with great satisfaction as the little wolf thought about the painful consequences of his earlier attack. Seeing this now gave the little fox a great feeling of accomplishment.
"Jiraiya, sit down now!"
"Yes, sensei..." Jiraiya mumbled, feeling a bit like he was a Genin again. He winced slightly in pain as he sat down, neither missing the smug look of the little fox or the amusement on Orochimaru's face at that moment.
After he gave Jiraiya one last stern glance, Sarutobi directed his attention back to Akahana. But once more she merely stared back, though her gaze was impassive whereas his was filled with suspicion and distrust at the moment.
"Akahana-san... I finally want answers from you, real answers, not that vague bullshit you have told us so far." Sarutobi said bluntly. "So far your own words and your memories have linked you Amegakure, but I highly doubt that you are connected to that village. You would have run the first moment you could if that was the case. No Ame shinobi would stay willingly in Konoha after the last war."
"I never claimed to be a kunoichi of that village. But your own words must mean that you sent someone, most likely a snake..." at that she looked towards Orochimaru "... to find out what the people there know about me. And I presume that his findings were less then satisfactory for you." Akahana replied evenly.
"You are quite perceptive."
"It was part of my job to be able to read between the lines." She replied.
"And who have you been working for?" Sarutobi asked, well rather demanded with an authoritative voice.
"A private organization. I served my master until the end like the weapon I was supposed to be. Neither the name of the organization nor the name of my master matter though... I am the only survivor." Again she couldn't keep the sadness out of her voice as she said that. How she hated that she had to repeat herself again and again.
"And who have you been fighting against? In your memories a war could be seen, when and where was that war?"
"I practically grew up on a battlefield, my entire life was one endless war, Hokage-sama. I fought whoever I was ordered to fight. In the end it was a fight against missing-nin, the fight that annihilated my organization and lead to me being here in Konoha."
"So your presence will possibly draw these missing-nin here?" Orochimaru asked with undisguised curiosity as he stepped out of the shadow.
"No." Akahana said firmly. "My last fight was against their leader, a man who called himself Tobi. I defeated him, there should be no immediate threat to the village." Akahana answered irritated. Giving away the name of the future Akatsuki leader was no problem for her. The man was a mystery even in her time, so the chances were minimal that anyone here would know him.
"Was this Tobi an Uchiha?"
"He had the Sharingan, whether it was his own or stolen from a Uchiha clan member I don't know." She nearly spat the word Uchiha, something she could only scold herself for. Of course it would raise suspicion if she harbored resentment against one of Konoha's biggest clans.
"You dislike the Uchiha, little girl." Orochimaru stated with interest.
"I despise their bloodline. These accursed eyes bring nothing but misery for all people." Akahana told the snake sannin with an angry snarl. Both the Hokage and Jiraiya looked worriedly at her when they heard these words. Orochimaru though only smirked before he returned into his dark corner to watch the rest of the interrogation in silence. But this girl... he was greatly interested in seeing what role she would play in Konoha's future. Who knows, she might even be useful to him one day.
Sarutobi meanwhile sighed in exasperation. Once more he tried and once more he failed to get more from the girl than just vague answers without specific information. He let his gaze wander over the documents on the table. The reports of every conversation this girl had with every person she had met in Konoha. Every word she had said so far. Everything he could find out about her. All of it was utterly useless... except one medical report he received from Tsunade several days ago.
"There are other things that we must talk about here. Maybe you will be more forthcoming with information about your family." The Hokage spoke calmly as he picked up the medical report.
"I already told you about that topic. I am an orphan. My mother died shortly after my birth, kami knows what has happened to my father. All I know is that I am at least partly Uzumaki." Akahana retorted.
"Uzumaki indeed. I just wonder if you are truthful about this topic. Maybe you were on your way through the land of fire for a more personal reason. A reason like finding a direct blood relative..." Sarutobi trailed off after that, watching Akahana's reaction closely.
But Akahana showed no outward reaction, though inwardly she was struck with fear. What did the old man know? Was it this easy to link her to her parents... how was she supposed to explain this? She was several years older then her parents in this time. They would call her insane once she started talking about time travel and Kyubi...
"What are you talking about?" She finally asked with trepidation.
"I am talking about your close blood relation to Kushina Uzumaki." The Hokage said sternly before he he threw the medical report directly in front of Akahana.
Akahana paled drastically when she heard the Hokage's words. She picked up the medical report with almost lifeless fingers as she started to read. Jiraiya looked even more surprised as he leaned over to see what was written in the report...
"Sister?" The toad sannin asked in astonishment.
"Can you explain to us why the test that my student has made yielded these results, Akahana-san? Tsunade did this test three times to be sure. The results only left us with one explanation. A close relation, most likely a sibling relation to Kushina Uzumaki."
Akahana only looked in disbelieve at the report. She then read a comment that Tsunade had written at the end of the report. 'The relation is very close, usually I would have assumed a mother-daughter relationship, but that is out of the question here. The next best explanation would be siblings, maybe half-siblings...'
"You believe that Kushina is my sister..." Akahana mumbled in shock. Her reaction of shock and disbelieve convinced the Hokage that she really did not know about this. It looked too genuine to be faked. And the shock was indeed real, but the reason was different. They believed that she was the older sister of the girl that would eventually become her mother? She was hard pressed to comprehend that.
"But this hardly changes anything about the situation you are in at the moment." The Hokage interjected sternly. "At least not for us. Based on all we could find out about you and your background there has already been a decision made about your fate." At this Akahana looked up at the Hokage. All she could do now was hope that she would be allowed to stay in Konoha.
"Akahana Uzumaki, you will leave Konoha in three days time. You will be escorted to Uzushiogakure by our Genin teams that go there for the upcoming Chunin exams. Once in Uzushio you will be handed over to the Uzumaki Clan-head. He will decided what to do with you from that point onward." Akahana's shoulders slumped, her face showing a crushed look as she heard the Hokage's decision.
"So I will expelled from this village and this country..." She said with great sadness.
Even Sarutobi could not help but show some sympathy for the girl when he saw her genuine emotions. She was really saddened, feeling nearly hopeless in this situation.
"Hey, don't take it to hard. I have seen outside how much you seemed to long for a peaceful life. And even though Uzushio isn't the most peaceful place on the continent at the moment I am still sure that you will find happiness there. You will be with your clan after all." Jiraiya said with a sympathetic smile as he placed a hand on her shoulder in a show of support.
"The decision about your fate was not mine to make, Akahana-san." The Hokage said calmly. "Once the Uzumaki Clan-head heard about you, a orphaned Uzumaki clan member that has grown up far away from the clan, he has demanded that we send you to him as soon as you are able. His demand was even firmer when we informed him about your familial relation to Kushina."
"I understand your decision, Hokage-sama. I have no choice but to accept your decision and comply." Akahana said with obvious sadness. "But..."
"Is there something else, Akahana-san?" Sarutobi asked with a much more friendly tone then before.
"May I replace my destroyed equipment in your shinobi stores? If I have to return to my clan I want to face them as the kunoichi that I was trained to be. I don't want to look worthless to them by showing up in civilian clothing..."
"You may do that. But keep in mind that someone will escort you to the shops and that you are only allowed to buy a very limited number of weapons." Sarutobi said benevolently. He could relate to her in a way. She would have to face her clan for the first time in her life and of course she intended to make a good expression. He would want to do the same.
"Thank you..." She replied meekly. "If that is all, then I would like to leave now... no need to further waste your time, Hokage-sama."
"Yes, you may leave." He then turned his attention to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, she will be in your care until you reach Uzushio. I am sure you know how to handle such a situation without causing any problems." He looked pointedly at his former student.
"Of course, sensei." Jiraiya replied nervously. It was clear that the problems his sensei was talking about would most likely be the same reasons that would cause Akahana's fox to bite him again. "Well, Akahana-san, let's go shopping..." He said quickly as he walked over to the door, closely followed by the girl.
Just as they were about to leave the door opened and another man entered the room with purposeful strides. Though he looked very different from the man she knew from her memory, Akahana immediately recognized the man. As he walked past her she inclined her head, nearly succumbing to the urge to kneel down before him like she was taught to. But she couldn't stop herself from mumbling a respectful "Danzo-sama" as the man was next to her.
Danzo stopped for a moment and looked surprised at the girl. He did not know who this girl was, he had only heard a few rumors through his own spies, but that she would show him this kind of respect... it was unexpected, but not unwelcome. He nodded towards her before he further approached the Hokage, while Akahana and Jiraiya left the office. Orochimaru, too, had already left the room, cursing inwardly that this interesting specimen would be lost to another village.
The Hokage had watched the short scene between Danzo and Akahana with a suspicious frown. Strangers rarely show this kind of respect to people like Danzo. Sure Danzo was a powerful and influential man, but he was in no way as famous as people like the sannin. He surely would have to have some words with his old friend about this topic.