An odd discovery

A blond-haired boy sat on a dirty swing tied to a tree, right hand dangling off its seat while the back of his left supported his forehead resting against the thin rope. He drifted back and forth slightly as wind swept through the courtyard, a gentle, almost polite breeze picking up leaves and dust in its light, nuzzling wake. Normally the placid afternoon gust would have been supportive to him in a strange way, a way that he could never find the right words to explain. But the feeling from it was gone. Instead he felt cold and alone, just like every other day of his life.

He had failed the Genin exam... again.

Already he had proven that he was the 'dead-last' of his class, but failing the test again for the third time just seemed too much for him. The physical side of things was fine for him. His taijutsu was passable but not brilliant, his skill with the Kawarimi, the Body Replacement, was average and his henge was decent. The written exam was difficult but he managed to get an acceptable grade, a great triumph for the blond-haired Genin hopeful. But where his basic skills faltered was the Bunshin no Jutsu, the Clone Technique. No matter how much he focussed, no matter how much of his chakra – the life source of all things and the energy that gave him the ability to form ninjutsu – he pushed into its final Tiger seal and not matter how many times he tried in quick succession, he could never form a passable clone. Every single time, it appeared as a sickly apparition of himself that merely collapsed into a slight dust cloud when it dispelled after a few seconds.

Three times now, the Bunshin no Jutsu had been his downfall, three times now the clones he had attempted to produce failed him and three times now he had failed the one test he needed so desperately to pass so he could prove, not only to his classmates, not only to the entire village that looked down at him, spat at him, over charged him for the basic necessities of life , threatened him with death and generally treated him like a blight upon their very existence in the world, but to himself, that he was not a complete failure.

He simply sat on the swing outside Konoha's Shinobi Academy, looking at the ground and wallowing in his own misery as newly graduated students... genin were congratulated by their parents and the Academy's chuunin instructors. All he could do was watch as the things he so desperately wanted... needed to have shirked just out of his grasp. And there was nothing he could do about it.

"Hey Naruto, I'm sorry you didn't pass the test this time."

The boy, hearing his name, turned his head upwards towards the sound. A relatively tall man with blue-white hair and a shinobi flak jacket looked down on him kindly.

"Oh hey Mizuki-sensei," Naruto said simply. There wasn't much reason for him to say anything else, not to one of the two instructors who had failed him, who had prevented him from becoming a ninja.

"Come with me for a second, I think I can show you something you'll like," the chuunin smiled at him sympathetically. Naruto didn't see any reason not to follow him, not like he had anything to lose.

A minute later, the orange jumpsuit-clad boy and his white-haired sensei sat on the balcony of an apartment block looking down on a village.

"Mizuki-sensei, I don't really get why Iruka-sensei is so hard on me... it just seems kind of unnecessary when I really think about it," Naruto digressed to his teacher.

"I know it's tough, not having parents, being alone for so long. Iruka's just like you in that regard, you know? His parents died when the fox attacked the village. He was only a kid when it happened. He's tough on you because he want you to be the best you can be. That's all there is to it kid," Mizuki answered quietly.

"That still doesn't let me become a genin..." Naruto moped, his head hanging slightly.

"You really want to pass Naruto, and that's the kind of spirit we need out of Konoha's shinobi, so it seems I'm going to have to let you in on a little secret, a little extra-credit assignment that'll let you pass."

"Huh?"

"You heard me right," Mizuki answered the kid's confusion. "You see Naruto, it's a fairly old and little known practice among some of the ninja villages that when a prospective genin fails the exam a number of times while maintaining a high standard of enthusiasm and work ethic that they are allowed to become a genin under the condition that they complete a difficult test mission within the village. So, if you do this, you not only prove that you have what it takes to be a genin but also the importance of secrecy on missions for the village. No one can know that I told you about this."

That clinched it for the blond genin-hopeful. He was being allowed a chance to become a genin in a super secret way that hardly anyone knew about and he was going to do a mission inside the village.

"Alright, I'm in, sensei! What do I have to do?" Naruto asked eagerly, practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Well it's pretty simple, Naruto, but remember that it's not going to be easy. What you have to do is-

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"Hokage-sama, the Scroll of Sealing has been stolen!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, was woken just before dawn by a motley group of chuunin and low-ranking jounin with bad news. The Professor was not pleased.

"Then what are you still doing here? FIND THAT SCROLL!" Sarutobi thundered at the still standing group of green-clad ninja. They scattered quickly into the surroundings, leaving the aged Kage in his rescinding frustration. He took a few deep breaths before heading back into the Hokage Mansion to find his crystal ball and look for the one responsible. Though the old man had the unshakable feeling he knew the perpetrator quite well...

"Okay, I think I got this! Yeah this is going to be kick-ass!" A boy's excited voice exclaimed quietly.

Naruto was excited, and with good reason. He had retrieved the objective, a large and somewhat cumbersome old scroll, from inside the Hokage's Mansion without being seen by anyone and the next step of his extra credit mission from Mizuki was almost complete.

The blond had found the perfect jutsu to learn: the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. It was a kind of clone that had its own physical mass formed from chakra and could actually fight, retrieve information, be henged into different weapons and a bunch of other really versatile uses. It was exciting to think that his worst ninjutsu, a clone jutsu, was about to become his best by a long way.

"Naruto what are you doing with that scroll?!"

"Hey Iruka-sensei, I just finished with the extra-credit assignment Mizuki-sensei gave me so I could graduate without having to do that stupid Bunshin test of yours," Naruto beamed at him. It was so awesome. He got an amazing high-rank jutsu and he got to graduate as well. This is going to be AMAYZAH!

"Naruto, do you even know what the scroll is?!" Iruka looked furious, the scarred chuunin instructor's left eye twitching madly. Naruto just shook his head quizzically. "That's the Sacred Scroll of Sealing made by the Shodai Hokage. That scroll holds the village's entire collection of kinjutsu!"

"But Mizuki-sensei said that-"

"-you should hand the scroll over to me," a new voice interrupted as a green-clad shadow landed on the rundown shack on the far side of the dark forested clearing Naruto and Iruka stood in. Mizuki, with two over-sized and deadly Fuuma shuriken strapped to his back and his hitai-ate strapped to a dark blue bandana covering the top of his head.

"Mizuki, you traitorous bastard! What reason could you have to betray the village like this?" Iruka yelled angrily.

"Because I'm sick of Konoha keeping that demon alive for so many years, and now I've finally taken enough of their shit! Now it's time for me to take what's rightfully mine, what I should've taken a long time ago, Iruka!"

"What are you talking about Mizuki?" Iruka was shocked. He had no idea how is childhood friend and teammate had had gotten this way. What had turned his friend into the vindictive and twisted shinobi before him?

"I'm talking about the thing standing right there, that thing that has ruined so many lives!" Mizuki roared at him, jabbing a finger at the stunned form of Naruto standing with the Scroll of Sealing dangling loosely at his side.

With a flash of movement, Mizuki suddenly tossed at least a dozen kunai towards Iruka, and though he dodged away, a single blade stabbed into his leg, stopping him from moving. The chuunin groaned and slumped to the ground slightly, clutching at the weapon lodged in his thigh.

"Something has been hidden from you Naruto; something has been hidden from your entire generation!" Mizuki shouted. "Have you ever wondered why you have always been looked down upon, spat at, beaten almost to death by the villagers on your birthday? Well you're about to find out!"

"No Mizuki, stop!" Iruka yelled at his treacherous comrade, a pained groaning sounding beneath his voice. "You'll have to be killed if you speak anymore."

"I don't care anymore Iruka; this has gone on too long!" Mizuki spat back at him from a distance.

"Thirteen years ago, when the Kyuubi no Youko attacked the village, it was not killed by the Yondaime Hokage! No, it is impossible to kill a beast of such immense power, such immense chakra...so instead it was sealed away by the Hokage at the cost of his life... into you Naruto! YOU ARE THE KYUUBI REINCARNATE!"

The blond boy looked to the ground, silent as the grave, scroll dropping to the ground. The words didn't register in his head for a few seconds. It all made sense in that disjointed instant. All the abuse, the angry glares, the interruptions in his learning, the lack of help he received during his years at the Academy, even why he failed the final test and why Mizuki had tried to trick him by using his desperation to become a shinobi to manipulate him into helping him betray the village: He had slaughtered them.

"Now, I will finally finish the Yondaime's work! (He is the yondaime's lagecy you idiot) DIE, DEMON!" Mizuki bellowed at the young teenager, unfurling one of the Fuuma shuriken off of his back and flinging it at insanely high speeds towards the unmoving and shocked form of Naruto. Iruka lunged forward, trying, desperately, to stop the shuriken from cleaving his beloved student into pieces. But it wasn't good enough. It was too close, and he was too far away. The blade Mizuki had tossed was doing its work; his legs were failing him and he was failing Naruto. Something he could have prevented, if had just been slightly faster, slightly more skilled, slightly less rusty in his shinobi training and he could've saved him. But it was too late...

A dark blur moved in front of his eyesight, just faster than his pained eyes could follow. Whatever it was, it batted away the massive shuriken spiraling towards Naruto into the trees, the bladed star cut through branches and tree limbs and headed off far into the distance. The darkness around the blur faded and revealed-

"Wait a second...Koan? What are you doing here?" Iruka questioned the student.

His other student had appeared out of nowhere, just flashing into their midst and saving Naruto's life like it was nothing. The dark-haired teenager stood motionless, hands at his side.

He was wearing his usual gear, consisting of dark pants, black shinobi sandals, and a dark tee shirt partially covered by a black hooded jacket with a white zipper. His new and still perfectly reflective hitai-ate was tied around his forehead, a fast nod to tradition. His appearance was relatively unchanged, but the look on his face was twisted with murderous intent. The concise message relayed through his vividly murky brown eyes told Iruka all he needed to know: Koan was not happy. The dark skinned teenager flexed his right hand before clenching it tightly into a fist. Fury was building in the air, and anger-filled chakra began to spread out into the clearing.

"Doing what needs to be done Iruka-sensei...that is what I am doing," the genin muttered to his sensei. He glanced at Naruto for a second.

"Don't let him twist your thoughts. You are not the Kyuubi, because you are the one who keeps it at bay from the village every single day. It is your will alone that keeps them safe. You should've been a hero, but you were made a pariah... that will be corrected one day..." Koan murmured near-inaudibly. A faint smile passed quickly over his features before he looked back, his expression hardening.

"You son of a bitch..." Koan whispered as he looked directly at the ninja standing atop the roof of the rundown shack, the quiet suddenly pierced by the shaking rage behind his deepening voice. "Mizuki...we trusted you...all of us."

His tone of voice began to rise, pitch increasing as the ground around him began to crack under his feet. "We trusted you... you fucking... Kami-damned... traitorous... PIECE OF SHIT! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TREAT MY KIND AS BENEATH YOU FOR ANY LONGER! THIS ENDS NOW!"

And with his roar, Koan shot forward to Mizuki, anger powering his movements and unnaturally powerful killing intent flowing like a river out of the boy. The teenager leapt up to Mizuki in a distorted blur, kicking out with force while Mizuki leapt into a nearby tree. His foot missed by mere centimetres and the entire tree shook violently from the brute force behind it. The place where the sole of his sandal had hit had dug into the tree viciously, cutting through nearly half of the trunk in a single strike. It was a terrifyingly powerful blow and Iruka could visibly see the amount of force placed behind it. Koan recovered almost instantly from his exertion and dashed after Mizuki's fleeing form, bounding from tree to tree with practiced ease.

Iruka shook the confusion out of his head and looked back to Naruto. He had to get the boy and the scroll out of here desperately, but he couldn't leave Koan to face off against Mizuki on his own. A freshly-minted genin, no matter what the level of power they held, couldn't hold out forever against an experienced chuunin. Despite Koan's skill, he wouldn't be able to take down his traitorous ex-teammate on his own.

"Naruto," Iruka barked, "Get the scroll out of here. I'll go fight Mizuki and get Koan out of danger!"

"No, sensei," Naruto said quietly, still facing towards the ground. "You're not going to help Koan... we are going to help Koan together. That's a promise!"

Iruka was slightly taken aback by Naruto's brazen mindset in the face of danger. If this is how he handles danger, then he should become a ninja no matter what, Iruka though absently. But then again the scroll was still at risk if it remained with them, but they couldn't very well leave it behind. "Okay Naruto," he agreed, "We do this together, but if we get overwhelmed by Mizuki, you need to get away with the scroll, and that's an order."

"Got it sensei," the solid reply came as Naruto swung the bulky cylinder onto his back via the strap of its container.

The two set out in the direction that Koan had forced Mizuki into, following a trail of destroyed tree branches, randomly scattered weapons and the occasional patch of still smoldering ground; a telltale sign of Katon jutsu. It wasn't long before the sounds of battle began to clash in the near distance. They were closing in rapidly.

Iruka leaped up to the next tree branch in absolute silence, gazing out into the clearing as Naruto settled alongside him gently, holding the scroll steady by its strap. A fierce battle raged below in the next clearing.

Koan settled into his next taijutsu stance, moving in and around Mizuki's strike with practiced ease. He simply watched which muscle group tightened before he stepped forward into his former sensei's guard and brought a heavy-handed fist up into Mizuki's jaw, knocking him to his feet. The traitor recovered quickly, ready and able to receive another battering series of kicks and punches from Koan before he could even try to counterattack.

It was insane. The kid, who was only scarcely shorter than the former chuunin instructor, just kept coming at him with taijutsu that was equal or perhaps even beyond his own, moving with fluidity and ease that he had never been able to achieve. It was all he could do to stay conscious. There was no chance for him to attack or flee, as the genin simply rushed him again and again, each time coming at the traitor with more and more resolve. Each time the teenager struck out with a well-aimed fist or expertly-timed spinning kick, it was done with a slightly more refined movement or with slightly better placement and speed than the one before it. The longer the fight went on, the stronger the gaki got and the weaker he became. It was time to pull out all the stops in his arsenal.

Mizuki blocked and parried the kid's onslaught as best he could, as he waited for the inevitable opening that would present itself. Koan's fists moved about at high speeds, coming at him left and right before changing to an entirely differently angle of approach and increasing in strength with each successive hit. Mizuki found that Koan had a slight rhythm to his attacks; when the kid moved forward with an attack, he often led with one side of his body while forcing the other half back, reducing his overall profile and negating the general effectiveness of a direct counter after a block. As soon as he found one of the boy's subtle strengths, the traitor knew he could turn it into a weakness.

Koan turned sightly as he brought his arm around for a sharp right hook to Mizuki's then exposed lower torso, but suddenly found his target leaping away and the sizzling noise of an explosive tag whizzing by his ear as he leant out of a kunai's way the instant before it reached him. Mizuki simply smirked.

The noise exploded in his ears and his hearing turned to ringing static as the concussive tore up the left side of his back, sharp heat pushing into soft flesh. Koan fell to the dirt with a heavy thud and a groaning snarl. Searing pain shot up his back as he attempted to move a split-second after he was knocked to the ground.

"Time to put you in the ground, you troublesome little prick," Mizuki chuckled as he approached, a malicious grin widening with each step. Koan squirmed as he struggled to raise himself from the ground, the pain keeping him nose-first in the dirt. He could feel his organs protesting under the pain, and something told him he wouldn't last much longer without help.

Mizuki stood above him, kunai held in a reverse grip and a vicious smile curving along his face. The twisted expression expanded slightly, sickening grin widening as he raised the sharp weapon and prepared to deliver the killing blow to the boy's jugular.

The movement was quick, a slicing movement running up the side of the boy's neck; one that would have him bleed in out in mere minutes. No matter what happened to him, the genin would die without immediate medical attention and there was no way a trained medic-nin could be brought in time for him to survive. Mizuki grinned cruelly as he gazed upon his bloody handiwork, though it shifted into a heavyset frown the moment Koan burst into a light puff of smoke evaporating into the air. Kage Bunshin, he thought angrily.

"You're not getting away with this, Mizuki!" Iruka yelled at him the moment the other chuunin landed in the clearing with Naruto at his side, still carrying the scroll on his back. "Naruto, do it!"

"I'm on it, Iruka-sensei." Naruto made the cross handed seal required for the technique and shaped his chakra in a shaped blast, blue energy whirling around him as he called out the name of his technique, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The entire clearing was covered in a cloud of sudden smoke accompanied with hundreds of individual puffing noises. The smoke cleared and Naruto was suddenly everywhere at once. Or rather hundreds of different copies of himself were everywhere around the clearing; standing along the ground in basic taijutsu crouches, sitting on the branches of trees and a few even hanging upside down by their legs out of the dark green canopy above. Naruto was everywhere, and the difference was that every single copy of him had a tangible and physical mass. They could interact with the world the same way he himself could, which means that Naruto had just literally become a one-man army.

The clones started taunting at the sight of the shocked Mizuki as he stumbled back on his hands, suddenly very, very afraid for his life. The cat calling stopped when the call came from the army's commander: "Sic him boys!"

Mizuki's sight line became clouded by orange as a wall of Naruto launched itself at him, an all encompassing wave of feet and fists. It only took seconds for Mizuki to find himself pounded roughly into the ground by dozens of impacting punches and kicks, and only few more seconds to find himself beaten within an inch of his life. His entire body was effectively broken; the bones in his legs along with his arms were practically hammered into dust and nearly every square centimeter was covered in bruises. His rib cage was little more than tissue paper and several organs had ruptured quite neatly at the point when Naruto's clones dispersed at the beckon of their commander.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he looked over to his sensei. "I might've over done it a little, eh, sensei?"

"I guess so Naruto," Iruka answered absent-mindedly. He still couldn't quite get over how many shadow clones Naruto could produce and remain standing. The Kage Bunshin jutsu was notorious among the experienced shinobi of Konoha for the huge amount of chakra that needed to be expended in order to use the technique to begin with. A regular genin would barely be able to handle the production of a single clone while remaining conscious, while Naruto had managed to perform a feat not even a Kage-level ninja would be able to perform without great difficulty. The technique alone made Naruto capable of fighting a war all by himself. It sure said a huge deal about the boy's chakra capacity. That explains why he can't produce a single regular Bunshin. It's not that he doesn't enough chakra; it's that he has too much chakra. It certainly explains his horrible chakra control, Iruka thought tentatively. He just hated himself that he hadn't noticed it before

He then understood the boy's true capacity, and he knew it would be a great sin not to reward it deserving. "Hey, Naruto, close your eyes for a second."

"Huh, why should I do that, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked hurriedly.

Iruka sighed tiredly. Some things truly never changed, even after a life-altering experience. "Just do it, Naruto!"

"Okay, okay, no need to shout, geez," he muttered while he complied with his sensei's command. Naruto felt a cloth carrying something weighted brush against his forehead before it remained settled lightly into his tanned skin after a tying motion was felt at the back of his head. He knew exactly what Iruka had done and why he had done it.

Still playing the dumb card, Naruto asked after opening his eyes, "Hey Iruka-sensei, where'd your hitai-ate go?" He just wanted to hear the words from his sensei; all he wanted was confirmation of his actions, his existence.

"It's yours now Naruto, you've earned it." Iruka paused for a second, considering something. "Uzumaki Naruto, you are hereby inducted into the service of the military forces of Konohagakure no Sato as a shinobi of Genin-rank. Serve your village willingly, obey your Hokage without question...and may your Will of Fire burn brightly," Iruka added kindly.

Tears shone in Naruto's eyes, deep cerulean reflecting brightly in the light of the rising sun. It seemed way too convenient that the sun had already begun shining, but there it was, and there was no denying it.

The sounds of shinobi nearby meant the chuunin were coming to collect Mizuki and hand him over to Ibiki. Iruka shuddered slightly at the thought of Konoha's top interrogator and his unnerving assistant, Anko, dealing with the traitor. The chuunin instructor turned back to the newly minted genin standing in front of him with a massive grin on his face.

"Head home and rest for now Naruto; I need to go grab Koan and explain the situation to Hokage-sama, though I have a feeling he already knows. You've more than earned a good sleep after this. But remember we're announcing the Genin teams at noon tomorrow so don't oversleep," Iruka said gently, almost like he was talking to his own son.

"Hai, sensei," Naruto saluted teasingly before he walked off back to the village.

Iruka rushed back to where he had left Koan, slumped against the base of a tree and groaning in pain. It wasn't ideal but it was the best they could manage when Naruto hastily made a Kage Bunshin which Iruka used a Kawarimi in conjunction with a Henge on. That rushed but effective manoeuvre bought them just enough time to keep Koan alive while Naruto took down Mizuki with the Tajuu variant of his new favourite jutsu.

Leaping through the tree branches, Iruka nearly slipped from his perch when he saw where he had left Koan. The boy was gone. There wasn't a trace of him left, other than the blood that had dried into the thick roots they had laid him against. But that wasn't the most intriguing part of what he saw. Scrawled roughly into the dirt with a finger were the kanji for 4.

Naruto whistled a happy tune to himself as he walked back up to his apartment. He didn't bother to climb into through his window, as no one would usually bother him at seven in the morning. If someone was going to trouble him, it would was usually late at night or around midday that they came after him. Passing the graffiti sprayed along his building's interior walls, Naruto passed abandoned apartment after abandoned apartment as he made his way to his own little dwelling.

His thoughts began to wonder as his feet began to as well. I have the Kyuubi sealed inside of me huh? Well that certainly explains why I'm so damn hated in this village. But it doesn't make me want to give up my dream of becoming Hokage. It makes me change why I want to become Hokage. I'm not going to make them acknowledge me; I'm going to show them that the kunai is not the scroll it is held in. I'm going to show them I'm not the Kyuubi, but that I'm the one who saves them from it.

He reached the door, plunged his key into the hole, twisted sharply and quickly whirled inside in a swift and practiced movement. His normal routine for entering through the building itself rather than the window he usually left open and unlocked was suddenly broken. Leaning against his wall was someone he, like so many other people, barely knew of. The enigma before him just looked directly at him, no smile and no real recognition other than the fact that he was standing there; nothing more and nothing less. But there was something else in the gloomy watch he received; he could feel a sense of belonging, some kind of vague camaraderie trapped in a soulless stare.

Naruto finally spoke up after staring at the one opposite him. "I wondered where you went, but what are you doing here?"

"Simple," the answer came from behind a stony glare, "I needed to let you know that you are not alone in this world."

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"Iruka, I hope this is important if you have to interrupt my only break today," The Sandaime Hokage said tiredly. The paperwork piled on his desk really did seem endless on that particular day. He wasn't sure if he could take another year of the constant writing without arthritis setting in. A shinobi's hands were not meant to be handling pens for years on end.

"I assure you, Hokage-sama, this is extremely important." The chuunin instructor sitting opposite the Professor slid a photograph across the desk to the aged Kage.

The wizened shinobi picked up the image tentatively, studying it for a moment before his eyes widened almost unnoticeable. "Where did you get this?" His tone became deadly serious as the Hokage gently placed the photograph face down on his desk.

"It was taken by me, on the night of Mizuki's betrayal," Iruka said carefully. "I would like to ask, is Koan one of the-"

"Iruka," the Hokage interrupted, the authority that came with years of wisdom and experience overriding the chuunin's voice. "Allow me a moment."

Sarutobi made several hand seals before he motioned for the teacher to continue.

"As I was saying, Hokage-sama, I believe Koan is one of the Aasuhi clan."

"What would make you think that, Iruka-kun?" The old Kage said, humouring Iruka's line of thought.

Iruka sat still for a short while, considering his next words carefully.

"A few things, Hokage-sama," Iruka admitted, "The first being something he displayed on the night of Mizuki's betrayal. When he chased after Mizuki, Koan hit the tree Mizuki was standing in when he was aiming for the traitor. He nearly felled the tree with a single blow. A genin with raw strength like that isn't anything we have in this village."

Iruka continued quickly. "The second was the fact that, during Naruto's and my pursuit of Mizuki after Koan went after him, was several patches of lava melting into the ground. Once again, we don't have any Youton users, at least that I know of, in Konoha."

The Academy instructor took in a deep breath before he made his final point. "The final thing was that photograph I showed you, the kanji for 4 scrawled into the dirt. I know it was Koan who wrote it from the fact it was left in his place after I had gone to check on Naruto. If what I suspect is true, I couldn't let the ANBU find that kanji."

The Hokage nodded. "You are right on the account of the ANBU, Iruka-kun, but Koan's heritage is not the only thing you suspect, is it?"

"No, Hokage-sama," Iruka confessed, "I also think Konoha unknowingly has a second jinchuuriki." but i guess you know it very well