Seeing double sometimes came with more annoyance than actual help. There was a definite advantage with seeing, hearing and smelling from two different places, but sometimes it became a little disorienting. It never impaired me enough to make a difference in a fight. Something I attributed to some aspect of the power itself. However, in idle reconnaissance, I was always forced to either listen to one side or the other if I wanted to pay full attention to something. I was lucky that my physical body, along with a very chattery Sasuke, was currently safe. Well, as safe as one could be while walking around a village in the midst of a civil war. Or rather, why hadn't we found someone yet? I know that the civilians were moved to the knock-off mount rushmore with the previous Hokage's faces, but shouldn't we have run into a Shinobi at some point? It struck me as odd that we had avoided patrols of some sort. Though, it also struck me as equally odd that there could be a possibility of no patrols. In essence, Sasuke and I were on a rather boring journey. Which, while concerning for some reasons, was rather good for myself. It let me focus most of my attention on the specter that was following Inoichi into what should have been the original Naruto's place of worship. Ichiraku's was just a small shop on the side of the road. A building that didn't even have a door to bar the entrance, much less a place to hide some super secret organization. Flitting through the walls, I was given a look at the interior of it. The first thing that was apparent was that the place was small. A singular booth cut the room in half, separating the tiny kitchen and the row of seats for customers. Probably due to the current state of Konoha, there was no utensils nor bowls. There was also a startling lack of people for the amount of Chakra scents I was being bombarded with. Even the suspicious Inoichi had disappeared, and only the thing I had saying he had been here was the fact that his sharp, ozone-clouded Chakra drifted about the room. It shifted slowly as if the man had shuffled about the entire shop looking for something only to stop at the counter before disappearing completely. I hadn't had much practice following the scents of Chakra. There was only so much training I could cram into my small sessions in the night, but at the same time, I felt like I was on the verge of something. My Byakugan blazed in its ethereal glory, peering through the walls and fixtures like they weren't even there. It was a sort of omniperception that made me feel all knowing, and I normally would have lost myself a little in the sheer difference compared to my powerless past life, but this wasn't the time to lose myself. I focused my improved senses through the shop, looking, snooping and sleuthing in a way that I had slowly grown accustomed to. The first thing that brightened to my sight was the fact that the counter that separated the customers from the kitchen was completely hollow. There was the weird looking mechanism built into a small portion of it right next to the stove. Something that was easily missed if you were just glancing around with an all-powerful eye that let you see through objects, and the fact that it was probably built with that exact reason in mind stuck out to me like a blazing signal fire. Using the Byakugan had taught me something that it had let you see through everything, and when I said everything then I meant that there hadn't been something that had specifically blocked my sight yet. However, that didn't come to factor the literal village the wielder of said eyes lived in. Or the fact that said blocker was in a ramen shop of all places. If there ever was a way to block the all-seeing Byakugan's vision, then Konoha probably had it. They had to at least have a way to hide themselves from the clear cheat that was the Hyūga Bloodline. Knowing this, all I did then was look through the floor. Those with the Byakugan normally could see through floors, but most of the time they decided not to as the feeling of simply staring into the empty space below was a little nerve-wracking even for hardened Shinobi. My specter was exempt from this natural fear -being the phantasmal creature that it was. Looking into the floor was child's play to me. However, despite my rightful suspicions, the floor didn't seem to be hollow like I had suspected. It was just more slabs of solid ground that sat below the wooden boards, unmoving and untouched. I was quite annoyed at the revelation, embarrassment waging its own war on my small physical body in the form of a blush. Sasuke was too preoccupied with talking about his experiences in the Academy to really see me, but I hid it anyways. There was no way I would let a five year old call me out on the fact that I was blushing from embarrassment. Still, I didn't want to give up on the second lead I had on finding out what was going on. My specter fell through the supposedly endless floor in what I could only describe as my sheer stubborn desire to find something worth my trouble. The reasoning that Inoichi could have been a decoy for someone else, and had left to somewhere else, was the last thing on my mind as I tried to reason that there had to be something here. And when the floor disappeared to a small hallway covered in black scribbles, I smiled devilishly on both of my bodies. Excitement and curiosity surged through me as I found Inoichi's scent once more. Then dread came. Another scent filtered in alongside the others. One that I had been familiar with for the past year or so. A earthy smell that reminded me of a a muddy pile of caked dirt; something that brought me a small sense of comfort and selfish calm. My specter shot down the hallway with a new sense of purpose. I paid no attention to the many doors and scents that I passed on the way, and even felt like I had missed a slow moving Inoichi. Fear poured into my veins as thousands of scenarios of why itsuki was here came together in a mismatch of stomach-crawling scenes. Was he captured? Being tortured for information? There was so much that could have been wrong that when my specter burst into the room, I abruptly froze at the scene playing before. Five men surrounded a table, smoke and laughs tickled the air. There was a pile of cards in the middle of the table that was constantly being updated by one of the men that surrounded it. Bottles and cups of what I hoped were water were being merrily drunk by the various men. One of them I knew very well; a tall, one-armed, pale skinned and eyes full of the sea man. He was smiling and laughing at another Shinobi wearing a Konoha headband. Something was amiss, I knew it had to be. I didn't really know the rest of the Shinobi in the room save one, but I could tell that they were all quite comfortable with Itsuki, a supposedly dangerous missing-nin, within their secret lair. And considering that it took me literally charging straight through a floor to find, that had to mean something. Some part of me found that of course Itsuki would be the one who would find the secret organization hidden underneath a ramen shop. Another -more reasonable- part of me thought of materializing in there, and punching him for not even looking for me. The only thing that saved him, I decided in my head, was the fact that I didn't want to leave Sasuke in the middle of the village. As for the fact that I found someone else along with Itsuki, laughing and slapping the wounded man on the back with a face full of smiles. Long, spiky white hair that trailed all the way down to his lower back stood out first. Aged features framed by a pair of red lines that trailed down his dark eyes were what hit me next, and his familiar beige outfit seemed to be strike out from my memories. The large headband that seemed to flare out into two makeshift horns at the temples, and had the kanji for 'oil' painted in the middle of the metal was what finished it for me. Jiraiya. The man who would train the original Naruto to use a giant toad. An odd description for someone I didn't know, but it was all I could put together from the man with my previous memories. Other than being present with Hiruzen at the hospitals sometimes, there really wasn't much information I knew about him. And the fact that he was currently getting along with Itsuki was something that made me slightly more curious about the white-haired man. The two of them seemed to be talking quite a bit, and I felt that there was a sort of comraderie being built up between the Shinobi of the leaf and the missing-nin. "So he's doing fine then?" Jiraiya mused as I found myself at the tail end of whatever they were talking about. Itsuki made a face that I couldn't quite read from where I was. "Not... fine exactly. More like the kid's basically running himself ragged when he needs to take the time to be a kid, you know? He's been through a lot, and well… that changes you." "Right… I forgot." The white-haired Shinobi paused, and I felt a little confused. There was enough information for me to put that the whole thing seemed a little like they were talking about me. Which was odd. The only interaction that Jiraiya and I had was when I couldn't even crawl without help. That didn't really lend itself to building a strong bond between the two of us unless there was some other factor at play here. And as that thought passed, my suspicions about Jiraiya's relationship with one of my parents soared. It might have been a little presumptuous to start pointing fingers, but I felt like I knew enough about this world that someone looking after others out of the goodness of their heart was seldom an occurrence. Still, it begged the question of where exactly Jiraiya had been before and after I had been kidnapped. "Sorry, sometimes I forget about these things. Being desensitized to most things is something that makes me think otherwise on quite a few topics." Jiraiya stated evenly before his face melted from all pretense of seriousness, a grin that I could only describe as sleazy taking up the once grim continence. "Of course, there are things that don't get old no matter how many times I see them. Hehehe…" Itsuki scoffed, showing as much disdain as I felt at the moment for a Shinobi I had slightly respected until now. The fact being that Jiraiya was currently staring at the bouncing chest of a well endowed, red-eyed woman who walked into the room alongside a teen with a familiar shock of silver hair who wore an equally familiar mask. "You do realize that I'm a married man, Jiraiya-sama?" Itsuki sighed, waving to the ramrod straight Kakashi. The masked Anbu looked like he was trying to find the best scowl that could show through his mask as he glared at the lackasidisal missing-nin. "Yo, how are you doing, Kakashi? How's the boyfriend?" "Where's Naruto?" Kakashi shot back, not sparing a glance at the odd look the red-eyed woman next to him gave, nor did he question the fact that Jiraiya had take a couple steps away from the silver-haired man. Itsuki shrugged, giving a blandest look he could probably muster. "The kid's his own man; I ain't going to watch over him if he knows what he's doing." "He's five…" Kakashi shot back with a very valid point. "Wait," The red-eyed woman cut in, pressing down her unruly, black locks and fixing what I assumed was a new Jōnin vest. She seemed to be slightly conscious about the fact that Jiraiya and Kakashi turned to her when she spoke out. "Sorry for bothering you… three, but by Naruto do you mean Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki? Is he here?" The woman looked around a bit as if frightened I might appear at any moment before flinching at the stare Itsuki gave her. "I mean, what happens if Danzō gets another pawn?" I felt myself frowning at the mention of that weird old man again. How he had gained so much following in the time that Hiruzen was in office was something that evaded me, but the sheer trepidation in her words was something I didn't really expect when talking about the seemingly crippled man. Of course, there could be the fact that they have information that I didn't. And there was also the odd phantom that I saw hovering over the man's right side. "Naruto is many things -an idiot being one of them," I really wanted to punch Itsuki for that. "But, and this is a pretty large but, I think that Naruto won't do anything too rash. Something stupid, for sure, but I think we'll be safe from his turning sides." Kakashi dragged a hand down his face. "So, in essence, you have no idea where he is, and we can safely assume he'll try to do something?" "Exactly that." Itsuki nodded as if he were an all-knowing sage. I decided then and there that I would punch the man as soon as we met each other again. Jiraiya laughed beside the two of them arguing. "Well, if everything goes as planned, and Naruto is as skilled as you have said he was, we can deal with Danzō just fine. Besides, this is why I have an informant within his supposed group, after all." As if on cue, Inoichi shambled slightly off balance into the small room, trailed by a tall man who held the hand of someone who had to be a kid. The crying and sniffling could only be from a kid. And as the three of them entered the room, I felt my breath catch inside my lungs. The older of the duo behind Inoichi was basically an older, male Hinata. Silky, black hair that trailed a little lower than the man's shoulder blades was tied into a neat ponytail that rested over his shoulder. His features were strong yet graceful, and he had a very sharp nose pointing out from his face. He had a very specific walk to him. As if he was constantly trying to stand on a tightrope that swayed a little with each step. It was a little intimidating to watch as the entire walk seemed to scream that he was strong and he knew it. Something that many Shinobi did the opposite of. The child holding onto his hand had to be his son. Very similar hair draped over the boy's back, tied into a ponytail to copy his father. His face was chubby and round, cutely displaying that even though he was a year older than me he still had traces of his baby fat. Or he was just that well fed. Both of them wore a white, long-sleeved kimonos that appeared to mirror each other in every way except for size. Purple sashes held together the expensive outfits, tied into intricate knots on both their persons -even if the younger of the two's had a slightly messy knot. The most eye-catching thing on the clothes were the gathering bloodstains that covered most of them. Though, I think everyone guessed where the blood came from as they stared at the slashes that scored across each of the Hyūga's eyes. Bloody gashes that carved a horizontal line across their face from temple to temple. I think the only reason no one was actually freaking out was because of the smudged, green tattoo on the older one's forehead, and the fact that the younger of the two was trying to smile through the tears he was shedding. The tattoo on his forehead seemed to be trying to glow. Only there was nothing else happening besides that. "Hizashi, you dumbass!" The red-eyed woman shouted, kneeling down and cupping the crying boy's face. "Did you have to destroy his eyes so soon?!" "It- its okay!" The boy stammered, tears still burning their salty paths down his cheeks. "Dad- daddy says I'm st- strong!" The Hyūga man did something that I never expected for a clan raised to be the perfect little nobles: he laughed awkwardly and blushed in embarrassment. A cute gesture that was ruined by the fact that he had his eyes gored via knife. "My apologies, I may have overreacted when I heard that Hiruzen had kidnapped Hinata-sama. Neji wanted to be like me when he saw what I did to escape the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, so-" "Well, you answer my question to if all the Hyūga are crazy…" Itsuki murmured. "Ah, apologies, Itsuki-san, it is just that being freed from what was a form of slavery is something that I cannot describe. Euphoric, maybe." Hizashi smiled, happily reminiscing as Jiraiya sighed and made his way over to the crying Neji. The white-haired Shinobi sighed once more as he looked over the wounds on Neji's face. "You know, if you had given me a bit more time, I probably could have destroyed the Seal without having to do this convoluted method of destroying the Byakugan to get rid of it." "I mean no disrespect, Jiraiya-sama," Hizashi scoffed, pressing a hand on his son's trembling shoulders. "But the specifics of the Cursed Seal made it such that the Seal would kill the user if an attempt to remove it was made. Your skills in Fūinjutsu are renowned, however, forgive me as I don't exactly trust my child's life on a probably." The red-eyed woman peered over at the calmly working Jiraiya as the older man took out a few scrolls and a brush. I wanted to watch the man work. Fūinjutsu was something that had intrigued me ever since I had first seen it, and there really wasn't someone who I could really watch and learn from to actually iron out what exactly it was. Jiraiya seemed to be drawing symbols as well as writing in beautiful calligraphy to create a sort of art that weaved into… something. I didn't actually know what it was. There was Chakra being inserted into the ink, running along the lines that connected like a circuit in motion. All I could gather was that the lines and orientation were what input what the actual thing did while the Chakra ran inside it like electricity. Except, it seemed so much more than that. I couldn't quite explain it, but something in me was telling me that I had only part of it. And the fact that something had stumped me so long annoyed me. Learning how to control Chakra was something that I learned easily when finally given the instruction. Fighting was something that I felt like I was slowly getting an odd handle on, and even my skills at using my phantom self were improving. Now, the fact that I could see Fūinjutsu, yet not understand it was something that irked me. Everyone watched as Jiraiya carefully placed the inked paper over the little Neji's head. The boy trembled slightly, but the quick glance and reassuring squeeze on the hand he had was all it took for the boy to nod quickly. Just like Sasuke, he was someone who I didn't really recognize. Like he had the name I knew, and a face that seemed correct, but he was different in the end. Just one more thing that settled the idea that this place was a world of its own. "Um, pardon me for asking, but will this be okay?" The red-eyed woman spoke up again, her features scrunched in concern. "You did say that any attempt at removal meant that it would kill the one bearing the Seal, right? I'm just wondering why you had to… destroy your son's eyes." Hizashi spared a brief glance away from the working Jiraiya. "Kurenai-san, was it?" The woman nodded as the Hyūga smiled faintly. "Many Seals made by my clan have loopholes that can sadly be exploited. One that is most known amongst the Branch members, like myself, is that we can bypass the fatal part of the Caged Bird Cursed Seal by directly destroying the Byakugan that ties completely into the Seal itself. This is because of the fact that the Seal first tries to destroy the eyes before killing the user, but since our eyes are already gone, the Seal just keeps looping back to try and find the eyes to destroy effectively stopping itself from killing the user till its task is complete." "That's… I can't even begin to understand clan politics… They're just so barbaric." Kurenai shivered. Hizashi hummed quietly, eyeless frame carefully shifting his son in case the young Neji needed comfort. "They weren't too bad, I assure you. Though, I do admit to having spent quite a bit of my time trying to escape the bondage that held my son and I rather than pay attention to what the clan elders were saying." "Still, you have a shitty family." Itsuki remarked, frowning as he watched. "It was not the best, indeed." Hizashi said. "But, they were family." "Done." Jiraiya said, wiping with the paper in his hand, and revealing a smudged green tattoo on Neji's small forehead. "You should be fine, kid." The small, black-haired boy turned to his father -or as close as he could get, and smiled, forgetting that his father could only see as well as him. Nonetheless, everyone else in the room saw how happy and elated the young boy was. "Is- is it gone, daddy? Am I free? Un- uncle won't hurt me anymore, right?" "No," Hizashi's response was quick and full of love. "No, he will not." "This is great and all, but can we get back to the point that there is a megalomaniac currently trying -and partially succeeding- in taking control of one of the most powerful village in the Elemental Nations?" Itsuki cut in. "Not to be rude or anything, though. Your father and son combo is so cute, by the way. However, I think we need to look at the bigger picture here." Kakashi sighed. I could tell that he wasn't really in the mood for Itsuki's playful remarks. "As much as a hate to say it, Itsuki-san has a point." "Your words cut me deep, Kakashi." Itsuki drawled. "Yeah, sorry Hizashi, but as my insensitive friend says, we really need to focus on this issue." Jiraiya added. Hizashi nodded, pulling Neji with him. "There is no harm in your words. I will notify all the other members here to get ready. I do not believe that Neji should listen to the rest here, so apologies, but we must take our leave." As the two of them left the room, trailing to the hallway with all the doors I passed by, the three other silent Shinobi in the room dispersed as well. They bowed silently to Jiraiya on their way out, and suddenly there was only Jiraiya, Itsuki, Kakashi, Kurenai and Inoichi in the room. Everyone except for Jiraiya stared at the haggard man, expecting something from him. Though, now that I finally took a look at the man, I could see that something was seriously wrong with the man. Bags darkened under his almost bloodshot eyes, and even his Chakra smelt erratic. It was disconcerting. I had never really paid attention to anything other than the exact scent of the Chakra, but now that I knew that something was amiss, I could only continually see things wrong with the blonde-haired man. His eyes were darting around the room as if expecting someone to jump out of thin air the next second. Clumped strands of hair covered his face, and I was certain that I would have been smelling a different tune had I been there in person. The oddest thing, however, was the fact that he kept mumbling something about forgetting her name. Except, he never really elaborated on who 'her' was, nor why he had forgotten her. "Inoichi… san?" Kurenai faltered, staring into his broken blue eyes. She turned to Jiraiya with an expression that looked on the verge of a breakdown. "What happened to him?" Jiraiya shrugged, forgetting to stare at her breasts for a second. "Nothing. Well, not really nothing; just nothing I can find." He tapped the side of his head. "I'm guessing it's a Genjutsu or something, but quite frankly, I'm as confused as you are. He came to me one day asking to help him, and has been my source for quite a few of inner workings on this so called 'Root.'" "My memory blocks…" Inoichi stated, drawing our attention. "They were tripped several times without me figuring out why. I… I tried to Mindwalk as well as consult others of my clan, but it was… weird. Almost as if someone went through my memories, plucked out the things they didn't like and put the things they wanted in them…" He visibly wilted as he spoke, and it hurt watching a grown man tremble as he did. "I even… I even forgot my daughter's name. Her face, her smile, her laugh and personality, I can only remember bits and pieces, but they're blurry and I can barely make sense of them… What kind of father am I to forget that?" Jiraiya patted the man, consoling the shivering Inoichi as he began to mumble about his daughter again. I felt my heart break a little even as the the white-haired man's face fell into the sternest of frowns, his piercing, dark eyes locking onto Kurenai. "Could it be a Genjutsu that affects memories?" "Impossible." She shot back instantly, find a bit of embarrassment at the vehemence in her accusation. "Or it should be impossible… Genjutsu works by invading another's Chakra system with your own, but it never gets further than affecting a few nerves. Doing something as complex as rewriting memories… That's just not possible." Itsuki scoffed. "Not possible for you, sure." He waved a hand towards Inoichi, a vicious scowl staining his features, and I felt that he was hit the hardest about Inoichi's revelation. After all, all he had of his family were his memories. "He's proof that someone has a Jutsu that can do it. And I don't know about you guys, but fighting someone who can basically turn us against each other is something that I don't trust our odds in." "Is he safe?" Kakashi pointed to Inoichi, drawing a completely different view of everyone else there. Jiraiya sighed. "Yes, Kakashi, Inoichi is fine. I made sure to use a proxy for every exchange before now, and that's only because of the fact that whole farse is coming to a close very soon." "There's a limit." Inoichi stated again, jumping back to the issue before the tangent went further after recollecting himself. "It was on and off after I… first noticed it. They were testing me. My reactions, my findings, they know them all. I… I think that they were testing their own ability through me. My memory blocks always seemed to be tripped these days." "Well that's…" Itsuki swallowed. "Reassuring, in a terrifying sort of way I mean." "Itsuki." Kakashi warned. "What? Come on, Kakashi, you know I have to do this or else I'll worry about-" Before I could listen to the rest of Itsuki's excuses, I was drawn back to the loud noises that were coming from where my physical body was at. I half expected the worst. My heart thumped in my chest, pulsing with unease as I centered myself back to my smaller self. The whole thing was as abrupt as it could be, and I couldn't help but to flinch as I blinked back to my body. There was a certain tension that rightfully filled me "Sasuke!" However, I had to ease rapidly as instead of a fight, I found the young Sasuke running over to a man and woman who were sprinting over to us with an equal exuberance. I could trace the resemblance between them to a tee. Sasuke took after his mother the most. Her eyes were the same coal as the rest of the Uchiha I had seen, soft and expressive with arched eyebrows. An angular chin that fit just a little ways from the small nose in the middle of their face. The father, on the other hand, was probably where Itachi took his traits from. A firm, square chin and larger nose grabbed the attention of those looking, and his smaller pupils only seemed to be staring hard at everything that dared to step in front of him. While I couldn't quite place it, he definitely shared the same tired air as the older of the two siblings. "Oh, who is this?" Sasuke's mother turned towards me, continually crushing the young boy closer to her chest. After a fair bit of struggling on his part, Sasuke managed to wriggle his way from his mother arms. "He's-" "H- hello, m- my name is Na- Naruto…" I forced myself to stutter, completely cutting off whatever Sasuke had to say. Something instinctual told me that there was something wrong with the Uchihas. Perhaps it was the whole situation still confusing me, or maybe it was the words of some mastermind who was manipulating other people's memories, but I certainly was knowledgeable enough that I shouldn't trust everyone I saw. Now was an especially good time to emphasize the fact trusting too much could get you killed. Of course, there was the possibility of the chatterbox outing me to the his parents, but appearing nervous was much better than appearing like I was older than I actually was. The woman glanced just briefly at her husband that it could've been anything, but the act set me on edge nonetheless. I had seen a fake smile enough times to know that hers was definitely subterfuge. "Hello, Naruto-kun, were you traveling with my son earlier?" The nod I made was meek and subdued. Sasuke was reaching out to me from his mother's embrace, whispering something that I ignored. Thoughts more important than whatever Sasuke had to say swirled around the back of my head, crashing and ebbing in constant scenarios that could end in my demise. What was their game? Were they brainwashed like Inoichi? Was Sasuke in danger? My instincts were screaming at me to get out of there. She and her husband were definitely bad news, and I didn't really owe Sasuke that big of favors to risk my life for his. However, I couldn't find it in me to actually go through with it. After all, these were probably Sasuke's parents. He hadn't lost his like I had mine, and he most certainly hadn't been through the shit I had, so there was no way he could have seen the small glances and frowns the two made just inches away from him. And I hated myself more for following the trio when they asked me to come along. The only thing that really made me move was the fact that I absolutely hated to see innocent Sasuke's smile ruined by his own parents. If they turned out to be evil, then I wasn't going to let someone destroy his perceptions. I had already failed with Hinata, after all. However, just because I decided to walk with them didn't mean that I neglected the necessity of an escape route. Plans pooled in my head as Sasuke's mom and dad stood protectively beside their son while I trailed a little behind them. The mother would turn my way every so often, sending me another fake smile before facing back again. My specter was loitering around Jiraiya's little hideout, catching the brief conversations around the place. There was a couple people that seemed to be talking about hostages and jail cells, and after I had focused a little more on them, I found a clue on where I might find Hinata. It only took a small moment of hesitation to send my specter to the jail cells near the Interrogation building, and while I half focused on making sure I got there correctly, the Uchihas I was following suddenly stopped in front of a ruined Uchiha business. The front half was in splinters, a gaping hole with blackened edges where the entrance probably had been. We were led through a small, smoke-stained corridor that finished at a locked door. Sasuke's dad just reached on the floor a little ways before the doors, and pulled it open to reveal a descending staircase. A part of me rolled my eyes at having seen yet another secret room that was hidden underground. I mean, they were ninja, and the best idea they had to hide was in the ground. However, I held all my snide comments about the odd predictability of their paranoia when a familiar face popped up at the bottom of the stairs. A man with his entire right side bandaged and covered, and a splintery, wooden cane gripped languidly in his other hand. An 'x' shaped scar writhed on his chin as he looked at me. "Ah, Naruto Uzumaki, what a surprise to see you here." His words were said so innocently. Not even a trace of deceit could be found in them even under the most powerful of microscopes. Perhaps it was the soothing way he said it that the Uchihas in front of me relaxed just slightly from their tense postures, but even I felt a sort of calming tone in his voice. And yet, I couldn't stop myself from shivering.