Morning rays peeked through the closed curtains and beamed directly at Sakura's closed eyes, stirring her from her slumber. With a soft, cute yawn, she sat up and slowly dragged herself out of bed. The weight of the day ahead pressed down on her shoulders, a heaviness she couldn't shake. Today marked the third week of Naruto's absence on that mission his new master had dragged him off to—a mission that seemed to stretch on endlessly.
Opening her closet, Sakura reached for one of the five copies of her genin outfit. Placing it carefully on her bed, she made her way to the bathroom connected to her room. As the warm water cascaded over her, Sakura found solace in the simple act of singing a solo, the notes echoing off the tiled walls. Stepping out of the shower, she dried herself off and dressed in her genin attire, a uniform that seemed to symbolize a time when everything was simpler. Clearer.
After a light breakfast that tasted like ash in her mouth, her mother's cooking wasn't always the best, Sakura set off for the training grounds where her team usually met. Arriving, she found Sasuke already waiting, his stoic expression was as attractive to her as ever.
During their usual waiting period before Kakashi arrived, Sakura would ask Sasuke if he wanted to go on a date with her.
But she had exhausted both of their patience. Today, Sakura would ask Sasuke what she really wanted to know.
Tentatively and with knots in her stomach, she asked Sasuke about the nature of their relationship, her voice laced with a vulnerability she rarely showed. "Sasuke," He turned to face her, causing her to hesitate, "...what do you actually think of me?" She needed to know now. Sakura had been mulling over her feelings and the two's relationship for most of their time since being assigned to Team 7. All she felt from Sasuke was that he thought of her as a pest. "Do you feel anything for me? Romantically? Like…" She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. "Like I do for you?"
His silence spoke volumes before he finally admitted what he felt. "I'm not interested in anyone, nor am I ready for anything romantic." He looked down at the ground as he kicked a pebble. "I first need to kill the one person that made my life a living hell. Until then, I can only focus on getting stronger."
The words hit Sakura like a physical blow, a knife plunged deep into her heart, leaving behind a gaping wound she struggled to conceal. Despite the pain that threatened to consume her, she forced a smile, a facade of composure that masked the devastation within. "Oh, alright then," she replied, her voice steady despite the turmoil raging inside her. Each word felt like a betrayal of her own feelings, a concession to a reality she had long feared. "I'll stop pestering you about dates then. Sorry for bothering you, Sasuke."
Sasuke's nod of agreement echoed in the hollow space between them, a confirmation of her worst fears realized. However, she missed the worried look Sasuke gave her for a brief moment. As he turned his attention back to waiting for Kakashi, Sakura was left adrift in a sea of emotions she could no longer contain. The ache in her chest grew with each passing moment, a void where her hopes and dreams once resided.
Alone in her thoughts, Sakura felt the weight of unrequited love settle around her like a shroud, suffocating the spark of hope that had flickered within her. The future she had envisioned crumbled before her eyes, leaving her adrift in a sea of uncertainty and longing. In that moment, as she stood in the shadow of rejection, Sakura realized that the path she had been walking had veered off course, leading her to a destination she never wanted to reach.
One where she was forced to walk alone.
She was left in a dazed state with a far-off look. After an hour of waiting, Kakashi finally showed up, giving one of his usual excuses. "Hey guys, sorry I was late. I was helping my neighbor install his new gutters."
Sasuke ignored the man's statement. "Kakashi, what are we doing for training today?"
"Hm?" Kakashi raised a hand to his face in a thinking pose. "I don't recall ever saying that we were going to train today."
"What?" Sasuke growled. "Then why did you tell us to meet up here?"
"Easy Sasuke. Calm down." Sasuke's growl quieted down and he was left glaring at the man. "Instead of training today, we're taking on a mission."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Without Naruto?"
"Well, he's on his own mission with his new master," Sakura didn't know how… but she definitely heard a bit of jealousy coming from her sensei's tone. "So why don't we go out on one of our own?"
As the two continued talking, Sakura's mind drowned out the voices as her thoughts had suddenly overwhelmed them. The vibrant colors of the surroundings dulled, the rustling leaves and chirping birds reduced to a distant hum as if the very elements of nature conspired to mirror Sakura's inner turmoil. The world around her seemed to blur and distort, as though reflecting the chaos that reigned within her.
Slowly, the physical realm faded away, leaving Sakura adrift in an ethereal realm of her own creation. All that remained was a soft, distant humming sound, a lullaby of her own making that enveloped her in a cocoon of introspection and emotional turbulence. In that moment, she was a solitary figure lost in the vast expanse of her own thoughts, the world outside was nothing but a fleeting mirage in the tapestry of her mind.
"...kura. Sakura."
"Hm?" She snapped out of her daze before she shook her head. "I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei, what did you say?"
Kakashi frowned with worry, although no one knew since his mask hid his mouth. "I said are you up for the mission."
"Oh yes!" Sakura quickly yelled out. "... What's the mission about again?" She asked with a small blush dusting her cheeks.
Kakashi let out a sigh before he repeated himself. "We have to clear out a bandit camp. According to the mission scroll I had read earlier, the highest-ranked bandit was a C-rank."
"So it's a C-rank mission?" Kakashi nodded. Taking on a C-rank mission without Naruto?
She was left with mixed feelings as she had learned from Sasuke that Naruto was the one who took out Haku and convinced Zabuza to turn over a new leaf.
Should they really take on a C-rank by themselves?
"I'll be there to protect the both of you if anything goes wrong. So are you up for it Sakura?"
"...yes." Sakura nodded. Whether Naruto was here or not, Sasuke and Kakashi were strong enough to handle anything thrown at them.
So she would be too.
Kakashi eye smiled. "Alright, let's go and accept the mission. Be prepared to pack for at least five days, just in case."
"Yes sensei!" Both genin chorused.
After getting their mission debrief from Homura and Koharu, Kakashi sent Sakura and Sasuke to go and pack for the mission. The two genin nodded their head and quickly left the Hokage's tower, even the two elders were nothing but grumpy old coots to the two genin. They could even tell their sensei was fed up with them by how much he disrespected them during the whole mission debriefing.
Thoughts of Sasuke's rejection rang throughout her head. She briefly felt the tips of her fingers grow cold until she spotted two people she knew well down the crowded street. She spotted shopping bags hanging off of their arms as she hurried up her pace to catch up to them. "Ino! Hinata!"
When the two girls turned around, Ino gained a smirk as she saw her best friend making her way over to them. "Oh, hey Forehead. Me and Hinata were just out shopping for our makeup and some other stuff to make us even more attractive. Sorry, you had to miss out on that." She emphasized by pulling down her cheek with her tongue poking out playfully.
Truthfully, during their whole shopping outing, Ino had felt herself grow more and more troubled. A knot had started to grow in her stomach, and it only got worse as Ino took her to get more makeup and more feminine products that would surely make her stand out more.
Ino had been hoping that another guy would come along to sweep Hinata off of her feet down the road…
But she didn't know why nor did she want to.
She had enough of making rivals for just loving someone. Ino had almost lost Sakura going down that path, she didn't want to come close to losing Hinata as her friend.
Sakura almost retorted playfully to Ino's earlier words, but honestly? She just wasn't feeling it today. Not after what Sasuke had told her earlier. The wind in her sails had disappeared on her and she honestly didn't know when or if they would return.
"Team 7 got a mission to go clear a high-level bandit camp." Ino's heart fluttered while her throat suddenly felt constricted. "Me and Sasuke are going to go with Kakashi-sensei." Her heart fell but she kept her appearance up, not letting herself show any emotion other than understanding. "I have to go pack. I'll see you guys later."
"Okay, be careful Forehead. Go kick some bandit butt." Ino smirked, trying to cheer up her friend.
Hinata wore her emotion on her sleeve and after letting out a disappointed sigh, she followed Ino's lead. "Yes, please be careful Sakura."
Sakura smiled as she nodded her head. She left the two behind and ran home, quickly making her way upstairs to her room. She began to pack and after stuffing her mission pack full of all the necessities, she stepped back and raised her hand to her chin. Tapping her lips in contemplation. Spare kunais, spare shurikens, spare clothes, spare explosive notes… Am I missing anything?
She glanced around her room before spotting her smoke bomb stash across the room, poking out of one of her room's foldable storage boxes. She made her way over and grabbed a handful, six total, and stuffed it in her mission pack. After zipping it up, she threw the straps over her shoulder and made her way downstairs. "Alright," She called over her shoulder, looking back at the living room where her parents were, "I'm heading out on a mission now! By guys, love you!"
"Okay! Love you too, be careful!" Her parents chorused.
She smiled before she slipped on her shinobi sandals and made her way out. She ran to the village's gates, eager to get this mission over with so she could…
Why was she so eager to get this mission over?
It's not like she'd be doing anything exciting when she got back.
Sasuke landed across from her. Ah. Now she knew why she was initially excited. Every time they got back from the mission, she would build up her courage and ask Sasuke out on a date.
No matter how many times he turned her down.
She would always hope that this time it would be different.
But it never was, and now she knew that it never would be.
Kakashi appeared in front of them after a body flicker jutsu. He gave them a questioning look and they responded with a nod of confirmation. The jonin eye smiled at them and walked up to the village's gate guards. "Team 7 minus Naruto leaving on a C-rank mission." He handed over the necessary paperwork, the one assigned to them by the village's elders. The guards looked over the paper before handing it back with a nod. "Alright guys, let's go." His chipper mood didn't mirror Sakura's wavering mood.
They leaped out the village's gates and began hopping from tree branch to tree branch. When the sun began to set, Kakashi decided that now was a good time to set up camp. The genin nodded and began to prepare a temporary resting spot. They set their tents and set up their sleeping bags, and Kakashi had finished setting up the campfire. Their sensei popped open one of his flak jacket's pockets and pulled out a scroll before quickly unsealing the meat sealed within.
After heating them over the fire, kabob style, each team member took a stick and began eating. "So Sakura, Sasuke. Anything new you guys want to learn?" Kakashi began, trying to make conversation.
Sasuke bit into his meat, taking a second to think over the topic as he chewed and swallowed his food. "Right now, I'm just trying to increase my chakra reserves. I want to make at least more than two chidoris before I'm spent with my chakra."
Sakura watched Kakashi nod as a piece of meat disappeared from Kakashi's stick without him moving. How in the- "That's a good goal for now. And since I'm thinking about teaching you and Naruto a new jutsu, that will only help with that. Maybe I can give you a few pointers in expanding your reserves." Sasuke nodded, Kakashi then turned to Sakura. "How about you Sakura? You want to learn any new jutsu?" Sasuke gave her his full attention, making her swallow the sudden lump that developed in her throat.
What could she learn that could be useful? A powerful ninjutsu? She doubts that she has the chakra level for that. Taijutsu training? She'd like that, but she held a small worry that she'd end up looking like a boy if she trained as hard as Sasuke or Naruto. Genjutsu?
She raised her hand to her chin in contemplation. Honestly, she didn't see any downside to learning the illusionary arts. Sasuke could cast genjutsu… but he preferred taking down his enemies with ninjutsu and taijutsu. As far as she knew, Sasuke hadn't even dabbled in genjutsu and she certainly knew that Naruto had never brushed that art. "I guess I wouldn't mind learning some genjutsu. I know you use it sensei, like that time against Zabuza, but Naruto nor Sasuke uses it so I think learning that could help our team be more rounded out."
Kakashi gave her an eye smile as wide as he could make it. "Excellent deductive reasoning Sakura. I'd be more than happy to teach you genjutsu. Maybe I can even blackmail- err, ask Kurenai for a favor in teaching you how to further develop genjutsu if you take a shining to it."
Sakura ignored the part of Kakashi blatantly admitting to blackmailing another jonin. If it made her more useful to the team, she couldn't muster enough reason to give a damn anymore. "Thanks Kakashi-sensei! I'd love that."
"Well, it's settled then." Kakashi finished off his kabob without his genin knowing how and stood up, making his way to his tent. "Sasuke, you take the first shift. Sakura, you second and I'll take the last shift."
"Yes sensei." Both genin chorused.
After Kakashi went to sleep, Sakura and Sasuke were left in silence as they finished their food. Sakura finished first and made her way to her tent. "Wake me up when it's my shift," Sakura told Sasuke, who only responded with a grunt of acknowledgment.
The next morning, they dismantled their camp and made their way to the bandit camp. They arrived shortly before the sun began to set. Kakashi sent Sasuke to take up the Northwest, Sakura in the Northeast, with himself taking up the Southern position. Their sensei had granted them permission to attack at their discretion as he would take care of anyone who tried to flee or he would just clean up the rest of the bandits in the southern position.
Bzzt! "Ready?" Bzzt!
Bzzt! "Ready on Raven's end." Bzzt!
Sakura took a deep breath, readying herself for combat. She would prove herself here and now. Bzzt! "Ready on Cherry Blossom's end." Bzzt!
Sakura looked over to Sasuke. Both nodded their head simultaneously before they jumped down and began to attack. Sakura drew out five kunai from her weapons pouch and threw them, each hitting a headshot on different opponents. She ran further ahead and had to jump to her right as someone threw a projectile. Sakura drew her arm back before launching her own projectile at the man, burying it within the man's skull before he dropped dead.
She had been trained for this.
The academy had trained her to take lives and Kakashi trained her to be more self-confident, more prepared.
Rapid movement caught Sakura's attention before she briefly glanced at Sasuke. He had flashed through the hand signs for his Great Fireball Jutsu.
"It's shinobi!" A bandit yelled, catching Sakura's attention. She pulled out a kunai and threw it at the man, ending his life. Sakura quickly reached down to her pack to count how many kunai she had left, only three remaining. She swooped down at the foes she cut down and retracted three kunai from the bandits she had cut down.
"Keep calm."
Sakura ran forward as she heard words that Kakashi had told her from one of her first training days.
"Keep your head clear and just focus on the mission objective."
He eye smiled while looking at her.
"I'm counting on you to be the voice of reason between you three. Sasuke and Naruto are more hot-headed but I know that you'd be able to calm them down to make them see the bigger picture."
She threw a glance at Sasuke's position.
There was more than enough space for her newly planned strategy as several bandits drew close to her position.
Sakura reached into her weapons pouch and drew two of her six smoke bombs. She threw them down on the ground ahead of her, blinding the bandits in the smoke. Sakura palmed two kunai, one in each hand held in a reverse grip. She sliced the back of each bandit's knees before she sliced their throats.
When they all dropped dead, she ran out of the smoke cloud.
Eyes widened at seeing a large club swing close to crushing her.
That was before she side-stepped the attack.
Sakura buried a kunai in the man's tricep, rendering that arm useless. She threw another glance at Sasuke's position and threw a kunai at a bandit drawing close to the boy from his blind spot. Hearing the sound of the bandit gripping his weapon tightly, she focused back on her own foe.
That particular bandit was pissed that his comrades were being cut down with what seemed like apparent ease. The Leaf Village headbands only added to his ire. He had run from his own Hidden Village, the Village Hidden in the Grass, and now Leaf shinobi came to cut him down? Not if he had any say in the matter!
He swung the large club in a side sweep, trying to take out the girl. But she merely jumped back before throwing a kunai towards his face. He watched it tear seamlessly through the air, drawing closer with each heartbeat. The bandit closed his eyes before he was cut down.
However, she wasn't done.
She glared at the dead man with suddenly hardened emerald eyes.
All of her emotions that had been hidden away and buried suddenly burst out.
Sakura leaped forward until she was in the man's face. With the rounded end of the kunai touching her palm, she buried the kunai deeper into the man's skull, burying it within the man's brain. Sakura quickly channeled chakra throughout her arm and into her hand before she harshly ripped the kunai out. She looked ahead, waiting for more bandits as they ran toward her.
But they weren't exactly running toward her.
They were running away from something.
They were swiftly cut down before Kakashi appeared on the bandit closest to her, dawning an eye smile aimed at her. She turned her head, glancing at Sasuke's position for the last time. He was sitting on a bandit's corpse as he watched her and their sensei. He gave her a smirk before nodding his head, silently telling her she had done a good job.
She couldn't help but smile back.
She turned back to Kakashi and gave him a nod of confirmation.
Their sensei glanced around them and after spotting and sensing no remaining bandits left, he turned back to face his two genin present. "Alright, guys, well done. All that's left is to take down their camp and burn it down. That way no other bandits think about setting up camp here."
"I'll burn everything." Sasuke offered, he had taken down his enemies with ease, and with Sakura's aide with one of the bandits coming up in his blindspot, he felt like he needed to even the score a bit. "Kakashi, you can start setting up camp since it's already late."
Their sensei rolled his eye as he waved him off. "Fine, but you're cooking our dinner for tonight Sasuke."
"Hn." The genin grunted in return.
Sakura kept a smile on her face as she began dismantling her end of the camp. Taking down the tents, placing them in a pile, and throwing the bodies of the bandits on top of the pile. She watched in slight fascination at the fire Sasuke had produced, the fire dancing lightly in her eyes. The warmth she felt from the fire had been one she desperately needed. Her smile dropped as she just closed her eyes and basked in the warmth of the fire.
"Sakura." She turned to face Sasuke as he stood next to her with his hands in his pockets. She turned to face her. "Good job today. Keep it up."
Her smile came back as she nodded. "Okay." After the fire died down, they made their way to the camp that Kakashi prepared. The genin set up their tents and Sakura stepped in after having their dinner. She desperately needed sleep to claim her after taking out the bandits. The girl had ignored her fatigue long enough. Just before she nodded off, a stray thought echoed in her mind.
She may not have a chance with him… but that doesn't mean that they couldn't be friends.
The next morning came and they quickly packed their camp before they made their way back home. They had only been gone for two and a half days but the second they saw the village gates, they saw a tall man with white spiky hair, a blonde woman with long hair tied into a ponytail, a black-haired woman with short hair, and…
"Naruto!"
Naruto turned around and his eyes widened as he saw his teammates and sensei coming up from behind him. "Sakura! Sasuke! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, "What are you guys doing out here?"
"We just finished our mission," Sasuke answered for them. "Are these two women the ones you guys were sent to bring back?"
Naruto cheekily smiled with his hands locked behind his head. "Yeah! That blonde lady is actually Jiraiya-sensei's teammate, and the new Hokage!"
Sasuke and Sakura raised an eyebrow before they turned to face the busty blonde. They turned back and gave him a blank look. "Seriously?"
Before Naruto could blow his top, Kakashi placed a hand on his two genin. "He's actually telling the truth." He glanced up at the woman and bowed, "Nice to meet you again Tsunade-sama."
It only took a second for the woman to recognize the man. "Oh, you were Sakumo's kid, weren't you? It's nice meeting you again. I hope you've been training these brats right."
He eye smiled before rubbing his head in embarrassment. "Well, I try to but I don't think I'm as good as Sarutobi-sama. He did train you two to become the Legendary Sannin after all."
Conversations continued between the group as they made their way to the Hokage's tower. After entering, Tsunade was immediately handed some paperwork that needed to be taken care of before her position as Hokage was cemented. Jiraiya helped her out as Tsunade demanded him to while the entirety of Team 7 was left waiting in the hallway outside the room.
"So Naruto, anything interesting happen on your mission?" Kakashi asked while flashing the boy an eye smile.
"You bet!" He grinned widely. He had been dying to tell his team what happened on his mission. "First, me and Jiraiya-sensei went to this village called the Hidden Rain Village. There, we met another Uzumaki called Nagato!"
This news caught everyone by surprise. "Woah woah!" Sakura blurted out. "Did you find your dad while on a mission!?"
Naruto chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head. "No. My dad came here from Konoha. My mom too. Nagato is… my cousin? I'm not sure how we're related but all I know is that I found another guy from my clan!" His smile came back full force that it threatened to split his face. "Can you believe it!? I have actual family out there!"
Sasuke nodded his head. He was still surprised that Naruto had found a clansman while on a mission, but so had he during his training period for the chunin exams. "I actually found out I have another clansman too." Sasuke interjected, surprising his two teammates. "Back during the training month for the chunin exams. He's actually the reason I showed up late."
Sasuke's interjection reminded Naruto of his talk with Itachi. He opened his mouth before he quickly closed it. Maybe it's not a good time to talk about it. I'll have to get Sasuke alone to talk about this. He slapped on a cheeky smile before he bumped his teammate's shoulder in a playful manner. Sasuke smirked softly before he nudged Naruto back, causing the blonde to laugh. "Okay, after that, Nagato taught me this jutsu." He held his hand out and created seven golden chain links that shot straight up. "He said I would be able to make as much as I want, but that I had to practice more on the jutsu."
He left all his other team members staring in disbelief after they saw the chain. Kakashi was the first to break out of his stupor and gave Naruto an eye smile. "Y'know. Your mother had the exact same jutsu and she could make countless chainlinks. I know that you'll be able to reach her level and even surpass it one day." He ruffled the blonde's hair in a playful manner, earning a cheeky laugh from the blonde.
"You bet Kakashi-sensei!"
Sasuke activated his sharingan to inspect the jutsu closer. "Woah, the chakra held within it is so dense." He raised his hand to touch it, and when just a finger brushed against the first chain link, Sasuke felt his chakra get drained. He ripped his hand away from the chain as he eyed his digit before eyeing the chain introspectively.
Sakura watched Naruto's eyebrows shot up before they took on a glossy look. A second later his gaze returned to normal before he eyed his chains up and down. "Woah. I didn't know they could drain chakra."
This caught Kakashi's attention as well. As far as he knew, Kushina's chains never did that.
Although it could explain why she was capable of holding back the full might of the Nine-Tails.
"Well, you learn something new every day." Kakashi's eye smile returned as he glanced down at his two male students.
"Oh, yeah! Before I learned this, Jiraiya started teaching me how to make the rasengan!" Naruto quickly shouted as he remembered that important detail. "I only finished the first stage before I had to stop some arsonists from burning down an entire town." He idly added with a thumb raised to his chin.
"Woah, what!?" Sakura exclaimed. "Naruto, are you serious?" She stopped her tirade midway before letting out a sigh. "What am I talking about? Of course, you did. You're always getting yourself into trouble."
"Hey!" Naruto rebuked. "It wasn't my fault that some assholes wanted to burn down a building! I just stopped them and saved the hostages they held in the burning building!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes before he focused on the jutsu that Naruto had talked about earlier. "You said you were learning rasengan? What's that?"
Naruto smiled widely before he held his hand out, preparing to make the jutsu.
But he was cut off by Kakashi grabbing his hand in a tight grip. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Why not sensei?"
"Because," the man started, "the unfinished jutsu is a bit… violent. Hold off on making it until you finish all three steps." He leaned in to whisper in Naruto's ears. "Your father taught me it and I made that same mistake. It ended up hurting him and my teammates."
Kakashi let go of his hand and Naruto dropped his held-out arm a second later. "Okay, sensei. Sorry Sasuke," He turned to face his teammate, "I'll show you when I finish the jutsu."
The Uchiha boy just shrugged his shoulders as a response.
They continued to talk, Naruto finishing his tale about his mission with Sasuke telling the blonde about their mission. Soon after that, they were granted entrance into the Hokage's room where they gave their mission debrief. Tsunade had been nice and dismissed them after jotting down everything she had been told.
Now back in her parent's house, Sakura picked out her casual clothes, a pink t-shirt and white shorts, before she turned on the shower. She walked back into her room, closed her curtains, and walked over to her CD collection. Her fingers brushed over her collection before she found one that seemed to mirror her current emotional turmoil. She pulled the CD out, placed it in her compact boombox, and hit play. She lightly cringed at the volume before she lowered it to a volume that she was comfortable with.
She grabbed a spare towel and brought it into the bathroom. She threw it over the shower rod before she stripped and stepped into the shower. As the warm water cascaded over her, Sakura let herself be enveloped by the music, letting the lyrics echo the unspoken words of her heart. Each drop of water that fell seemed to wash away a fragment of the pain she carried, yet the ache remained, a constant reminder of what could never be.
She turned off the water, stepped out, and wrapped a towel around her before she exited her bathroom. She dried herself and changed into her clothes before she laid on the bed. She stared at the ceiling as the tears she had been holding back finally poured out of the corner of her eyes.
Sakura smiled at the stupidity of her tears. Sasuke had rejected her a couple of days ago. She should have been over it. She had already decided that they could just be friends instead.
So why did she feel so sad now?
Her lips curled into her mouth slightly as she bit down on them, attempting to hold back her emotions. The smile she held just a second ago became strained as her lips began to quiver. She threw both hands over her eyes as she choked out a sob with the song's final lyrics played.
And I'm here without you, baby,
But you're still with me in my dreams.
This chapter was on the shorter side, but truthfully if I had added the next part that I had planned, it would only ruin Sakura's part. The lyrics came from Here Without You - 3 Doors Down, and I excluded the last two lines that came after the two that I put in since they didn't fit the story.