Inverted
Chapter 1
Bad Ending in the Shattered Shaft?
"Can you hear me, Ichigo?"
Ichigo, sitting on a sideways building, turned around and saw a man in a flowing black cloak.
"Who…Are you?"
"'Who am I?' What are you talking about? It's me _."
"Huh?"
"You still can't hear me? That's sad. How many times do I have to repeat it so that you'll hear me?"
The man stepped to the side of his pole.
"And here I was thinking nobody in this world knows me better than you.
"What're you talkin' about? Sorry but I don't know anyone so gloomy like-!"
Ichigo realized how the man was defying gravity.
"How did you do that?!"
"I'm so surprised; how can you sit in a place like that?"
Ichigo then noticed he was sitting on a building's window and started falling with a scream.
"Ha! You can still scream, ain't that somethin'?"
This voice was higher pitched and came from nowhere and everywhere at once.
Upon hearing the voice, the old man frowned.
"Soul reapers control death, you have no reason to be afraid, Ichigo."
"I'm not a soul reaper right now!" Ichigo screamed.
"If you can control the spirits that are flying around and fix them under your feet, you may stand on them. Hurry and remember, Ichigo. When you were a Soul Reaper, there must have been some time when you stopped in the air unknowingly."
It hit Ichigo that he *had* done such a thing before.
"Try to feel it; in order to destroy Byakuya Kuchiki's Zanpakto… the only way to do that is to use the power you've attained from Rukia Kuchiki!"
"What?"
"Of course he only aimed for that when he attacked you; he thought that if he destroyed that power, everything would be resolved. He was careless."
"He didn't know ya had yer' own Soul Reaper power, partner!"
The voice again, this time followed by a somewhat hysterical laugh.
"My own…? Who are you?"
"I am who I am, Partner. Your power was just woken up by Rukia's; you had yer own power way before Byakuya attacked ya! Ain't that right, Old Man?"
The old man nodded reluctantly, unhappy to agree with the other voice.
"Find it, Ichigo. This world is beginning to decay; now is the time!"
Boxes fell around them, the buildings transforming into them more and more.
"One of these boxes contains your Soul Reaper power. Go and find it!"
"Clocks tickin' partner!"
"You're talking nonsense! There's no way I can-!"
"Shut up and get to it! Ya don't have th' time to sit here whinin' partner!"
"He is correct; time is of the essence."
Ichigo fell into blackness with a loud "splash".
'What should I do? I've always lacked a sense to notice spiritual pressure. I think Uryuu said that before… Wait… Uryuu… That guy who asked me why I became a Soul Reaper… There's an easy way to find the power of a Soul Reaper I think… That guy boasted about something… what was it?'
Ichigo forced himself to think hard until he came up with the answer.
"That's it!"
With a thought ribbons appeared from the boxes, and Ichigo did his best to try and find one with a red ribbon.
He eventually succeeded and pulled it; the box opened to reveal a sword's hilt.
"You found it. Now I can let you know my name."
"Our name," corrected the second voice with a growl.
The old man frowned.
"Both of you are…?"
Ichigo paused to ponder this thought; two swords? Was that even possible?
"What are you doing?! Pull the sword out! The world is collaps-!"
The man vanished and everything went dark.
However, Ichigo still had a hand on the hilt.
"Too slow, partner. Y'know yer' lucky."
A white version of him with oddly colored eyes approached in the darkness, walking on what seemed to be air.
"Who are you?"
"I am who I am, partner. For the sake of discussion, I'm half of yer power. Well… Half is an understatement now."
The being grabbed Ichigo's arm and firmly pulled, dragging the sword out the rest of the way.
"You're a hollow, but yer' not at the same time. Let's just say I'm…Special. Get back out there. And don't die; if you die then I'll have t' become the King of this world."
Ichigo woke up and found himself bound in all sorts of strange bindings. He growled and forced against them, tearing them apart before leaping out of the pit in a burst of power.
He landed nearby in a cloud of dust.
"Oi! Kid, is it you?" yelled Jinta. "Hurry up and answer!"
Two bright yellow diamonds glowed in the smoke.
"If you're still alive, then answer me-!"
When the smoke cleared a strange being stood before them.
It appeared as a hollow with orange hair that went down to its shoulders with white skin and gray tufts of fur on its wrists and ankles with clawed hands and three toed talons for feet along with a large tail and a mask with three red stripes on the top left portion. However there were a couple of odd things about it.
First of all, it wore the uniform of a Soul Reaper, albeit larger in size and a white color with a black undershirt and tie around the waist instead of a standard coloration. Second was a loop around the torso with a large sheathe with a hilt and guard sticking out of the top end; a Zanpakto.
"It looks like a hollow but… It's got a uniform that's sorta like a soul reaper's and a sword!"
Ichigo drew his blade and the kids readied themselves for a fight. However, Ichigo just looked at the damaged stump of a sword.
Urahara stepped forward, sword drawn.
"Ichigo, is that you?"
There was a long moment of silence before he got a reply.
"Yeah. I think so."
"You think? Can you explain why you look like a hollow?"
"According to one of the guys in my head I am… and I'm not."
'One of the guys in his…? Could he have TWO sword spirits? If that's the case, where's his second blade?'
"Did they tell you their names, Ichigo?"
"They said they have the same name, but when one of them tried to tell me the name, I couldn't hear it. He seemed disappointed that I couldn't; one was an old man in a black cloak and the other was a white version of me with weird eyes. The man in black vanished though when the white guy came and told me I'd become a hollow and hadn't at the same time."
Ichigo looked down at his clawed hands. It was… odd, but his overall appearance didn't feel that different. He noticed a protrusion on his lower back and looked over his shoulder, spotting his tail.
'That's different.'
"An extra limb to fight with, partner. Bein' a hollow confers ya with plenty of cool advantages, and I'll teach em' all to ya eventually, when y' need em and can prove yerself worthy. But first thin's first; ya gotta know our name. Can ya hear me? It's _"
'Sorry…I can't yet.'
"Damn. Yer gonna eventually. When ya do we'll be ready to fight like we should!"
'Good. I'll need everything I can get to save Rukia. That's what matters right now.'
"I see…"
Urahara pondered this for a second.
'This has to be…'
Realizing what this meant, he sheathed his blade and opened his fan.
"You're still a soul reaper in some senses, more than hollow at least in terms of power, so you get a pass!"
Ichigo growled and whacked Urahara in the face with the bottom of the hilt of the broken blade.
"Shut up! Since I came back alive in one way or another you'll be dead! I'm gonna kill you! It's probably cause of somethin' you did that I turned out like this instead of just being one or the other!"
"Oh? That's okay. With your attitude at the moment we can go right to the third test. There's no time limits; use your sword to knock off my hat and you win!"
Ichigo dashed forward and brought the blade down, leaving a small cut in Urahara's hat.
"Not bad for having a broken blade," Urahara said. 'And for being primarily a hollow.'
He didn't dare say that second part.
"Even a broken sword has that much power."
"When I get serious it'll be even better!" declared Ichigo. "I'll only need 5 minutes to win this!"
"Is that so?" Urahara brandished his blade again. "I'll give you five minutes then. Good luck."
Urahara went at Ichigo, who backed away to dodge several strikes.
"You're pretty good with that tiny-ass sword," noted Ichigo.
"Thanks for the compliment! I feel embarrassed. However I will not go easy on you because of that!"
It turned into a full on chase, with Ichigo running at full speed.
'Hang on a minute, the only way to kill hollows OR soul reapers is to use Zanpakto! That sword came out of his cane, so there's no way that's a Zanpakto! If that's the case, nothing will happen if I'm hit by-!'
A small portion of the top left corner of his mask went flying and Ichigo's head started to bleed.
The mask slowly repaired itself (although Ichigo didn't even realize this).
"You seem too relaxed," said Urahara. "'He's not a Soul Reaper so he can't have a Zanpakto. He can't hit me.' That's what you thought, right? You are so naive."
He raised his blade.
"Scream, Benihime."
The blade changed shape instantly.
"This is a real Zanpakto."
"Zanpakto's…names…"
"Yep, every Zanpakto has its own name. This is Benihime."
Urahara let loose a blast of red energy and Ichigo jumped back.
Urahara then charged and Ichigo blocked with his blade.
"Yer still fightin' like a Soul Reaper, partner. Don't forget that ain't all ya are."
'A little busy right-!"
"You blocked with that broken sword instead of running; you've got guts kid. However… in that state, there's no way that stump of a blade can block mine."
Ichigo's blade was cut and he swiftly moved to the side and twisted to dodge a slice.
'This is bad…'
Ichigo turned tail and ran.
'How could he just cut my sword like it was nothing?!'
"You don't get it do you? Your strength is only a little bit greater. You power didn't solidify, only bloated up into the shape of a blade. That's why I can break it so easily."
With one stroke the handle was all that was left of the blade in Ichigo's hands.
"Now you're sword's gone. What're you gonna do Ichigo? You still gonna use it to beat me? You just gotta knock off my hat; can you do it with just the hilt?"
Urahara frowned.
"If you try to fight me with that, I'll have to kill you."
Ichigo turned and ran.
'Shit, I'm really going to die!'
Urahara appeared in a blur and Ichigo barely dodged a strike.
'This is pathetic.'
Ichigo turned and ran.
'Why am I running?'
Urahara grabbed the back of his uniform's collar and pulled.
'Is this all I have?'
Ichigo tumbled to the ground and just barely managed to roll to dodge a blow, almost losing his tail in the process.
'I'm pathetic.'
Ichigo got up and scampered away.
'Pathetic…'
He tripped.
'PATHETIC!'
Suddenly the white "him" appeared in front of him.
"Hey there, partner."
"You…"
"Why'd you run away, partner? Why haven't you called my name yet?"
The being smirked.
"Look forward partner. You should be able to hear me now. The thing that covered up yer ears was fear, partner. There's only one o' him and one a' you. What're ya scared of? Forget your fear, look forward. Walk forward and never stop. If you run you will grow old, if you fear you're gonna die! Say my name, ICHIGO! MY NAME IS…!"
Ichigo stopped running and grabbed the hilt of the sword, slamming the broken end into the palm of his other hand and building up power.
"ZANGETSU!"
Power exploded outward, kicking up more dust.
When it settled, Ichigo stood with a large blade that resembled a knife, tip in the ground and crouching next to it.
Ichigo stood and looked at the new blade.
"Since you've gotten your Zanpakto, let's officially start test three!" exclaimed Urahara joyfully.
"Urahara, you might want to dodge this."
"Huh?"
"I can't control this power yet!"
The leftover seal burst off of Ichigo's shoulder.
He raised the blade.
"Cry, Benihime!"
Ichigo brought the blade down and a wave of power flew towards Urahara.
The hat lost a large portion of itself and went flying.
"If I hadn't have used my Blood Mist Shield I would have lost an arm," commented Urahara.
He walked over and picked up his hat, dusting it off.
"I do believe you've killed my hat. I honestly didn't expect one swing to be that strong. You're pretty scary, Ichigo. Congrats, you've passed test 3!"
Through some miracle Ichigo was able to renter his body without any sort of trouble.
Some time passed before Zangetsu spoke to him again.
"Partner, we need t' talk. Seein' as yer' mostly hollow ya gotta focus on getting' stronger there along with yer sword. Leave yer body with kon; we're goin to get stronger fer a week before we leave t' rescue yer friend."
'How do I do that? Is there some sort of special training I need?'
"You could say that."
'Special training my ass! You're trying to get me killed, aren't you Zangetsu?!'
"This is how hollows evolve, Ichigo! They eat one another until they evolve and become stronger! If you reach Adhudjas stage you could definitely take Byakuya down! You want to save Rukia, right partner?"
Ichigo growled as he avoided another blow from the hollow he was fighting. He'd learned after a couple of mishaps where he'd tried to kill them with his sword that he'd have to kill them as a hollow, not a soul reaper, and feast on their remains to gain their power. Zangetsu had explained that unlike a normal hollow, who would have to contend with the souls he'd devoured, Ichigo had the benefit of having someone else in his head to quell the voices and hasten the evolution by skipping the portion where he would normally have to forcibly silence the voices all on his own lest he lose himself to them.
Zangetsu had explained about Hollow Evolution, how they started as normal hollow then some evolved into Menos like the one he'd seen back in Karakura, which were known as Gillian. Then after they ate enough of their fellow Gillian, they became Adhudjas, where they regained a less titanic body and usually more intelligence (but that Ichigo wouldn't have to worry about becoming a big dumb oaf again because of Zangetsu), and then finally Vasto Lordes, the most powerful type of hollow, who were very human-like and the smallest but most powerful of all hollow, but very few Adhudjas lived long enough to reach that level or simply could not, as Ichigo had learned from his couple of days in this place, this "Hueco Mundo".
Zangetsu had also given him lessons in focusing his Spiritual Pressure so that he wasn't spewing it everywhere all of the time and even on the sensing of said pressure. It had saved his life more than once in this hellhole. Knowing where the enemy was and them not being able to tell where you were was a huge advantage he'd found.
Ichigo managed to dodge a strike from the hollow he was fighting and pin it down, biting into it and gagging on the acidic taste. The being disintegrated into nothing.
'So Zangetsu, how do you know so much about hollows?'
"I don't know. It's just instinct I suppose. I'm your true instinct, Ichigo. Never forget that. Don't stop to analyze every battle; if you've noticed your responses here have been more instinctual than trained."
'So this WAS training!'
"Glad you worked that out. Don't think that means you can start overanalyzing your fights again though! That'll just get you killed, and if you go I go, and I don't want to die just yet partner."
Ichigo nodded. He could feel the power coursing through him.
"Okay partner, it's gonna get dangerous, but I figure you're tough enough stuff to handle it, and if you ain't then just slay them with your sword. You're goin' to kill a Gillian."
Ichigo swallowed but nodded; his sword had yet to lead him wrong.
He focused and sensed immense power beneath him and to the North (he assumed, it was impossible to tell in Hueco Mundo).
"Down? How…?"
"Trust yer senses partner, yer instincts."
Ichigo ran off and eventually came across what appeared to be a large forest.
"What're ya waitin' for? Jump in there partner!"
Ichigo steeled himself and hopped in, leaping from branch to branch until he reached the bottom.
However, Ichigo was met not by a hollow but by a soul reaper with fur and a hollow's mask over his face.
Ichigo swiftly drew his own blade and blocked.
"A hollow with a Zanpakto and Soul Reaper uniform, albeit discolored. Did you get that from a Soul Reaper you killed, Menos?"
"Menos? I don't think I'm a Menos yet. And this isn't something I stole, I'd never do something like that, idiot! I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, and this is my sword, Zangetsu!"
He pushed back and sent the mysterious masked soul reaper flying backwards.
"How can that be?"
"I don't know. My Zanpakto Spirit told me that I'm both a hollow and not a hollow. I'm trying to save my friend who's in danger, but I need more power to do it. I'm taking advantage of some time I have to power up my Hollow powers and evolve into an Adhudjas or somethin' like that so I'll be strong enough to beat the guy I need to beat."
"Is your friend also a hollow?"
"No. She's a Soul Reaper. She gave me my soul reaper powers originally, or at least that's what I thought."
Ichigo explained his situation to the man.
"I see. Come with me."
The two headed to a small cave.
"Now that we're safe, it is only fair I tell you of my past."
The man, who revealed himself to be Kano Ashido, explained how he'd gotten stuck in Hueco Mundo and why he'd stayed.
"That's horrible. I'm sorry to hear you're stuck here, Kano."
"I'll be fine. I was unaware such happenings were commonplace in the Soul Society now; I am somewhat glad that I am here. Politics are always a hassle regardless. Good luck in rescuing your friend, Ichigo Kurosaki."
Ichigo took his leave and charged a Gillian
"I underestimated you partner! That was 4 Gillian class hollow! Y'know you should be about ready to evolve I think… wonder why you haven't?"
'Think it's cause I'm still a Soul Reaper?'
"Nah. Well maybe, I dunno Partner. I think we should find an Adhudjas. Which means we go back up."
Ichigo let out an exasperated sigh, annoyed, but leapt up and up.
"Ya need faster movement, partner. Time for me t' teach you your first hollow technique; Sonido. To use it ya focus yer spiritual pressure into yer feet and then push it out under you and move in th' direction ya wanna go. Instant speed boost!"
Ichigo did as instructed and instantly bolted upward.
"WOAH!"
Ichigo used this new power to reach the surface and dart across the desert.
He soon sensed a presence that was nearly as strong as he was.
"Seems like a newly evolved Adhudjas," Zangetsu commented. "Go get im' partner!"
Ichigo sped off and saw the hollow, tackling the beast with full force and biting into its neck before it even knew what hit it.
Suddenly Ichigo felt a huge rush of power, then pain as his skin began to crack all over. He let out a roar of agony as his Evolution commenced.
When it was all over he stood a bit taller instead of being so hunched over. His tail was gone, and the fur on his wrists and ankles was a vivid red. His hair was down to his mid back now, and his mask had created a dome over his head. He had spikes coming from his shoulders that jutted through his uniform, and his mask now had several red stripes along the left half instead of just the 3 from before. Other than that nothing had changed.
"Incredible…"
"You've got your power now. You should probably get back t' yer friends; it's about time fer ya t' head to Soul Society with em'."
'How do you know that?'
"I've been keepin' track of time."
'If you say-!'
Suddenly he felt an immense power nearby, one that actually made him struggle to breathe properly.
It was quickly getting closer.
Ichigo tried to move but the power was getting denser.
"What's… going on?!"
"Whatever that is, its spiritual pressure is way over our head partner. It's pinning us, crushing us!"
"What do I do, Zangetsu?!"
"Hope whatever it is ain't here to eat you."
"Sounds unlikely."
Before long he spotted the figure, who stopped on a dune next to him.
It had the lower body of some sort of hooved animal, with 4 legs in a centaur-like appearance. Its upper body was unmistakably female, with two large mounds on the chest, covered with a fur similar to the lower body, with a large tuft over the chest. It wore a large mask with two long horns and eyeholes that showed two surprisingly human eyes. There were also bony plates on the shoulders and forearms.
"What are you doing trespassing in my territory, Adhudjas?"
"Tresspassing? Your territory? Sorry, I didn't know…"
She noticed the blade on his back.
"Why do you have a Soul Reaper's weapon?!"
She raised a hand and started charging a Cero.
"Tell her the truth, partner. She doesn't seem like she wants to kill us to kill us; she must be a Vasto Lorde, which means she no longer needs to feed and has finished her evolution, and she's not just some mindless beast."
"It's…Complicated. Do you have some time?"
The hollow nodded, but didn't move her hand.
Ichigo explained his situation to the hollow, who he was, and expressing the urgency required of him at the moment as well.
The hollow lowered her arm and dissipated the Cero.
"I see. You must have just evolved right? It's dangerous; come with me, Ichigo."
Ichigo did as instructed, and soon the two arrived at some form of rocky area, and entered a cave.
"Is this your home?"
The hollow nodded.
"It is. I've secluded myself rather well for a number of reasons; first and foremost is that female hollows tend to get attacked more than males. Being alone, I risk being attacked by multiple hollows at once. I'm strong, but against a group of enemies I'm likely to be killed. Second, I don't enjoy fighting. I'd rather just be left alone."
Ichigo thought for a moment.
"Why don't you come back to the World of The Living with me then? I know a guy who might be able to give you a place to stay. You don't need to eat hollows anymore, right?"
"That would never work; soul Society would try to hunt me down."
"Hm…" He thought for a moment. "What if you took off your mask? Would you be more passable for a human or soul reaper then?"
The hollow was jarred by the comment.
"What?"
"I could never do that; do you know what a hollow's mask does? It protects our memories, who we used to be. A hollow without its mask…"
"Oh… Sorry… I didn't mean to upset you… Wait, I never got your name, what is it if you don't mind me asking?"
"Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. And it's fine, you didn't know any better."
"My sword spirit once told me something though: If you fear you're going to die. You seem alright, not like all the other Hollows I've encountered; I don't really want you to die, even though I've just met you."
Nelliel grabbed her right arm with her left hand uneasily, the prospect of losing her mask somewhat scary to her.
"Sorry again…"
"Maybe you're right."
"Huh?"
"I don't think I want to be here any longer. I'll try it."
Ichigo nodded.
Nelliel took a deep breath and reached up to her mask, starting at the lower left corner, and pulled hard, the mask cracking and part of it shattering.
She let out a pained cry and a surge of energy flowed out of her, kicking up dust and making a vortex around her.
Ichigo covered his eyes.
When the smoke cleared what appeared to be a very human female with a bony mask fragment on her head and a sword in front of her was left.
She was also naked.
Ichigo panicked and covered his eyes, flustered.
Nelliel groaned and looked up at him.
"What's wrong? Did… What happened to me? Is it how I look?"
"Y-y-you're NAKED!"
"Naked…?"
She looked down at her new form and blushed, experiencing the emotion of embarrassment for the first time since she became a hollow.
She quickly tried to find something, anything to cover herself and managed to dig up some rags she'd had lying around for some reason and create makeshift clothing out of them.
"Th-there, that's much better."
She picked up her sword and looked at it, unsheathing it and admiring the blade and handguard.
Ichigo let out a sigh of relief but then became curious.
"What happened? Why do you look like a normal human? Where'd that sword come from?"
"I…Don't know. Its name is… Gamuza."
"Wait… it has a name? Is that a Zanpakto?!"
"Hold on a… She's not a normal human, she's a soul reaper! She's part soul reaper!"
'How!?'
"No idea, Partner, but y'gotta admit she's not sore on the eyes!"
Zangetsu let out a loud and maniacal laugh.
Ichigo looked away and frowned under his mask, slightly blushing. His hollow wasn't wrong, she did have some level of attractiveness to her, but it was physical and Ichigo wasn't about to give in to those thoughts, especially when he needed to go save Rukia. No time for those kinds of thoughts.
"Let's go then, Nelliel. I'll drop you off at Urahara's and he'll take care of you from there."
Ichigo turned and tapped the air, opening a Gargantua.
Nel sheathed her sword and nodded, and the two headed through and eventually wound up in Urahara's basement.
"Oh Ichigo, you're back! And you've gotten stronger! And you look different!"
He noted Nel's presence.
"And you have a beautiful woman with you! Ichigo you sly dog!"
Urahara started laughing before Ichigo went over and hit him in the face.
"Shut up! We met in Las Noches and I convinced her to remove her mask and she became this! I wanted to help her since she didn't like fighting! I want you to take care of her, sorta give her somewhere to stay I guess."
"Why doesn't she just stay in your closet like Ru-!"
Ichigo grabbed Urahara by the throat.
"Don't even joke about that. Understand? It may have been weird, it may have been annoying, but it was part of our friendship, something special we had, do you understand?"
He released Urahara, who rubbed his neck.
"I got you. Sorry, Ichigo, didn't mean to strike a nerve. I'll see what I can do."
"Wait," Nel said.
"What is it?" asked Ichigo.
"Let me come with you to save your friend. It's the least I can do after you helped me."
"You sure? We're going to Soul Society. You're a hollow. It's dangerous for you."
"I can handle myself, don't worry about me," Nel reassured.
"If you say so."
Ichigo turned back to Urahara.
"Hat n' clogs, when's everyone else going to be here?"
Ichigo noticed a large bandaged frame.
"And what's that thing?"
"That's how you and your friends are gonna get to Soul Society. They should be here just about…"
Ichigo sensed them.
'Crap, they don't know about…this.'
"Explain it to them. The Quincy might not be happy with it but as long as they know you're still you there shouldn't be an issue."
'I hope you're right Zangetsu.'
"I'll go fetch them now~!"
Urahara went upstairs and soon returned with the group.
They froze when they saw Ichigo and Nelliel.
"Kurosaki…?" Uryuu asked.
"Yeah. It's a long story. Will you guys listen?"
The three hesitantly nodded.
Ichigo sighed and explained everything up to that point to them.
"So you're saying that this person is a hollow who removed her own mask?" Uryuu questioned.
"Yeah. She's got a Zanpakto too. Weird, right?"
Uryuu mumbled something and Orihime went over to make conversation with Nel, the two both seeming to actually hit it off well after a bit of hesitancy from Orihime.
"This doesn't change anything, right Ichigo?" asked Chad.
"No, not a thing. We go in, get Rukia, and get out. With this power it should be easy."
Ichigo flexed a hand, noting red flame-like stripes on his arms and the black claws on his fingertips.
'It had better be.'
A/N: Seeing as I value at least some canon consistency, I'm waiting to update Unholy Perfection until the Manga progresses more. In the meantime, I intend to work on this. If you've read this chapter, then you can tell what this is I think. If not, you can keep reading and find out. This is something I figured I'd dabble in since every other story I've seen with something similar has either been too short or simply not to my liking. No, Ichigo isn't an Arrancar. No, he isn't going to join Aizen. Will there be pairings? Potentially, we'll see. Anyways, I'm not going to waste any more of your time, read and review or don't, up to you.