I recommend you read "I'll Wait For As Long As It Takes Kirito" first, because this is a sequel, so you may not understand a lot of the references and the majority of the plot line if you don't read the first one first :P

New Memories And Resolve

It was almost deathly silent between the pair of partners as Kirito waited patiently for Asuna to come out of her inn room. It was nearing eleven now, and Kirito hadn't seen Asuna at all that morning, she had disappeared to her room at some point and hadn't come out yet. Not that he blamed her. After everything else that had happened yesterday and what was going to happen today, he would be surprised if Asuna even wanted to be near him at this point. Yesterday had been a nightmare,

"Why do you care so much about me?! It's not like I'm going to go run off and get myself killed while you lead a guild-"

"Because I love you! I love you too much to leave…"

And he had shaken Asuna to the core with his rejection, which was incredibly painful for him too, and that had lead to her asking him to promise that he felt something for her and wasn't just leading her to believe a lie. He hadn't seen Asuna since he had eventually fallen sleep after she was timidly asked if she could stay there in his room and had him promise, and he was getting a little worried about her. Did she run off to get away from me? Kirito wondered with a start and hastily knocked on the door in front of him. "Hey, Asuna? You in there? We're going to miss Heathcliff if we don't leave soon…" His voice trailed off when Asuna pulled the door open, brushing the heel of her palm over her eyes and brushing tears away from her amber eyes.

"Sorry," Asuna muttered quietly as an apology, "I'm ready now, let's go." She was visibly tired and Kirito could tell how emotionally taxed she was by the way she was standing and in her expressive amber eyes.

Kirito hesitated, did he really want to have her leave when she was feeling like this? Sure it had to be done today, but they could always go to the guild headquarters if they missed Heathcliff's daily requests. Oh, what the heck. He reached over and a little clumsily grasped the hand at her side with one of his own. "Come on, we have all afternoon, let's go do something."

Asuna looked at him in a tired fashion and let her other arm drop to her side, "why drag out the inevitable?"

Kirito was temporarily stumped and his thought process halted. She was right, why was he dragging this out? After a moment of thinking it hit him and he moved to be standing next to her before he gently grasped her hand in his own. "Because… Because I don't want you to leave yet. Not like this."

Asuna's amber eyes seemed to brighten a little, even as she jumped in surprise when Kirito grasped her hand. However, besides that, she didn't seem to have that much of reaction to his words. "Why?" She said quietly and didn't turn her head to look at him, continuing to face forward.

Kirito hesitated before he gathered his scattered courage, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. The contact was fleeting and short, his lips barely brushed her skin. "Because I care about you," he said low enough that only she could hear what he said, managing to keep from stuttering even at his embarrassed awkwardness.

Asuna's cheeks were pink when he moved back, and Kirito's ears were rather warm with embarrassment; however, the tentative smile Asuna gave him, the way her amber eyes twinkled, and how she briefly squeezed his hand made it worth the embarrassment.

Kirito was sure players were looking at him and Asuna funny as they walked along the streets of the second floor of Aincrad where not that many players resided. However, the ones who did undoubtedly knew who they were and were probably looking at them oddly. Why would the two most well-known solo players, Kirito the Black Swordsman, and Asuna the Aincrad Princess, be down in the second floor of all places strolling at a casually slow pace as they walked. The fact that they were holding hands didn't help all that much in making their appearance seem more normal.

Not that Kirito cared anyway, most of the players either hated, feared, or could barely stand him so being abnormal wasn't a weird thing. Plus… He glanced at Asuna, who was looking around with a nostalgic smile pulling on her lips, amber eyes twinkling in the sunlight. He wanted to make sure she was happy, even for just a day. She's so brave… He mused quietly, onyx-colored eyes silently roaming over Asuna's face, quietly studying her soft features that hid a powerful fencer behind the beauty that caused her to be the center of attention whenever she entered a room. Much braver than I am, Kirito sighed to himself, I'm a coward. I can't even tell her what I feel. I'm such a wimp...

As per usual Asuna seemed to read his mind, "you're not a coward," Asuna told him without having to look at his face, "you're just…" she hesitated a moment before she finished, "you're just making a sacrifice. For everyone else, like you always do."

Kirito guessed that was true, "you're right, like usual." He gave a half exasperated sigh at the end of his sentence and smiled when Asuna lightly shook her head and gave her trademark response to half the things that came out of his mouth.

"You're unbelievable." Then she continued with half amusement, "would it kill you to just be nice to me?"

I'm going to miss hearing that… Kirito looked at her and gave a purposely goofy grin before he displayed how much of a nerd he really was and did a half bow, "your wish is my command, Princess!" His voice was extremely cheeky, and he didn't resist when she tugged on his wrist to make him straighten up, rather pleased with himself at the slight smile on Asuna's face.

"Get up already dummy," Asuna rolled her eyes, her cheeks going a little pink in the process, "everyone's staring at us…" She tilted her head down slightly, finding the sidewalk interesting.

Kirito looked at her, his expression sincere and rather affectionate. "Who cares? Let them all speculate about how the Black Swordsman is wrapped around your pinkie finger all they want. Today is your day, I'm not letting Heathcliff have you without giving you a proper send-off."

Asuna blushed at his first sentence and giggled slightly at the second one, "oh so I'm a gameobject now?" She kept her tone falsely angry, and almost started laughing at Kirito's startled expression at her tone of voice.

"N-no…" That was before he saw the mischievous twinkle in her eyes when she looked at him and Kirito relaxed and smirked, "if you were a gameobject I'd have you all to myself and I'd never let Heathcliff get his grubby hands on something as amazing as you are." He was struggling a little keeping up with the banter, trying to make his tongue say the words he wanted to say. He was trying to lock all of his socially awkward tendencies to be able to banter like this with her with the massive storm cloud above their heads.

"I love you too much to leave…"

He could still hear Asuna say those words from yesterday and knew that despite her light-hearted actions she was just as scared and miserable as she had been last night, possibly even more. However, he was going to make sure she knew he was going to stick to his promise like glue and that he would be her guardian dressed in black. I may not be standing next to you after today, he mused inwardly to keep Asuna from knowing just yet and gave her small hand a brief squeeze as they headed toward a small secluded restaurant. But I'm always there with you. I'm not like my father and or the other Beta Testers, I'll come running whenever you need me. No matter what.

Asuna looked at him a little curiously but seemed to relax at the expression on his face and the soft reassurance. So she stayed quiet and instead of speaking, she changed the way they were holding hands by threading their fingers together and resting her palm against his. She looked much more relaxed and had no traces of the earlier tear ridden state she had been in this morning.

For that, Kirito was glad. His whole idea behind everything today was taking her mind off of the looming situation, making her happy, and giving himself another happy memory. Of which all started with the restaurant now in front of them. He stopped walking and grinned at Asuna, "remember this place?"

Asuna's amber eyes sparkled at the memory of the goofy contest, the short-cake inside, and just being there with him again. "Of course I do, the Tremble Shortcake is still the best dessert in Aincrad right now. Although to honest…" She adopted a cheeky expression, "I'm surprised you even remember this place with a memory like yours."

Kirito's jaw hung open for a second at the clear playful diss before he huffed, tilted his chin up, and pulled her along into the restaurant. "Whatever…"

Only after he ordered the two shortcakes, did he lean back against the backrest of the bench he was sitting at, his arm brushing against Asuna's, and call Argo out on her hiding skill. "I know you're there Argo."

Asuna looked confused for a moment before she blushed and rolled her eyes, of course, Argo would be following them. Asuna subconsciously played with Kirito's fingers threaded through hers, finding the table in front of her rather interesting.

Kirito vaguely noticed Asuna's subconscious actions but it felt new and natural so he didn't bother to think about it all that much, now occupied by the player who with a swish of her brown cloak became visible sitting across from them at the table. He felt Asuna jump a little at Argo's appearance, still unused to her appearing out of nowhere despite having had her tag along with her and Kirito on multiple occasions over the past year and a half. However, he just gave the Rat a cheeky grin, "you done gathering gossip?"

Argo looked a little insulted, "'scuse you Kii-bou, I'm gatherin' info, not gossip. I ain't some gossip girl you know, I saved your sorry butt more than once."

"And got me into a fight with a bull obsessed with the color red," Asuna muttered, her tone rather grouchy despite the faint half smirk tugging at her lips.

"Details," Argo waved it off and leaned on her elbows on the table, scrutinizing the pair of solo players. "So, I heard rumors that you two are more than just partners," she let her voice trail off, raising her eyebrows instead. "What 'bout that Kii-bou?"

Kirito gave Argo a flat look, "just because I take Asuna somewhere doesn't mean we're in some kind of relationship. It's not like we don't go places a lot in general."

Asuna chose not to say anything and instead, she looked out at the actual restaurant, searching for the NPC, still playing with Kirito's fingers without noticing.

Argo directed her intelligent gaze down at where she knew their entwined hands were, "yer holding hands and 'ave been since you left the twentieth floor. Wanna tell me why?"

Asuna's cheeks reddened, however, she pretended she wasn't paying any attention at all to Argo and Kirito's conversation. She did, however, move to release his hand, only to have Kirito tighten his grip around her smaller hand. So she tried to relax, trying hard to ignore Argo and keep her mind distracted from what she knew was going to happen today. She subconsciously tightened her own grip around Kirito's hand at the abrupt reminder and swallowed hard, feeling her hands tremble a little before she forced them steady and blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't going to cry.

Kirito could tell Asuna's mood had dropped like a stone, and he looked over at her for a moment, making sure that she was relatively okay before he talked to Argo. He could tell that she was unhappy, but also knew that she wouldn't want him to worry about her in front of Argo who was still an info broker despite being their friend.

Argo kindly dropped the subject, leaving the pair of them alone about the particular topic. "A'right, a'right, I get it, it aint any of my business. The main t'ing I wanted to have answered is this, I heard a lil rumor about Asuna goin' to join the KoB, didja hear about it?"

"Yeah, I have," Kirito responded with a shrugged to Argo's words and looked up briefly at the NPC who put the two plates down in front of him and Asuna. "And it's true," he pushed one of the plates over to Argo and leaned back in his chair, succumbing to the idea that Asuna would probably hit him if he shared hers. It wasn't like he was going to keep the second one away from Argo, the Rat practically lived for this stuff and selling information. "What's everyone saying about it?"

Argo took a fork, looked at the massive cake, shrugged, cut a large piece from it, and managed to stuff the entire piece into her mouth. She seemed to mull over what she was going to say while she licked the cream from her lips and poked the cake with a look of delight hidden in her mischievous hazel eyes. "Hmm… Since ya bought me one of 'ese I'll tell ya." She took a smaller piece of cake in front of her and brought it next to her mouth, "alot of players are pretty relieved since yer a beater Kii-bou, but a lot of them are relieved for a different reason." She stuck her cake on her fork into her mouth and continued, her words now hard to understand. "'Ey 'lieved 'ause yoo two ain't a 'ouple."

Kirito blinked in confusion, what in the world had she just said?

"You didn't make any sense Argo," Asuna spoke quietly and Kirito looked startled when he found the Tremble shortcake pushed toward him so that it was sitting between him and Asuna on the table. She said nothing, but pushed her fork down into the large cake and put the forkful rather gracefully into her mouth.

Kirito tentatively picked up the fork Asuna had placed next to the cake and stuck it into the cake on his side, half cautiously watching Asuna in case she smacked him or used a Linear sword skill on her silverware. He had seen her do it before when they were farming back about five floors and were ambushed with nothing but a butter knife to defend themselves due to the system trapping them and siphoning their inventories temporarily. (Potential One-shot?) Asuna didn't even blink at Kirito's actions, instead, she continued eating while waiting for Argo to take a break from her cake and talk properly.

Argo managed to properly swallow her third massive forkful of Tremble Shortcake without choking on it, miraculously and repeated herself. "They're relieved 'cause you two ain't a couple, meanin' to the other guys in the game tha' A-chan's single."

Asuna looked a little uncomfortable at the reminder that she couldn't go anywhere without donning a different cloak every day in a town or she would be surrounded by people. Many of them were guys looking for her attention.

Kirito felt Asuna glance at him out of the corner of her eye and could tell what she was thinking, and it wasn't something Kirito was very happy with either. "Are you serious?" He complained even though on the inside his insides were churning with an anger directed at the other male players, "what am I to all of them? Asuna's bodyguard?" He lightly squeezed Asuna's hand to let her know that he didn't mean to hurt her with the words and that he knew he was more than her bodyguard. "Asuna's twice as fast as I am, it's not like she needs the protection." And she's mine, Kirito grunted inwardly behind the rather dense front he was putting up. "Plus Asuna has better things to do than sit around and go around with all of them."

Argo smirked at him over her cake, "overprotective boyfriend Kirito?"

Kirito's ears turned a little pink in embarrassment but he scowled, "we're not a couple." He felt Asuna discreetly flinch and felt bad, could this conversation get any worse for Asuna? "Okay whatever. Are you done now Argo? We've got things to do and places to be."

Argo's hazel eyes were focused on Asuna for a few moments, ignoring Kirito as she looked at Asuna with a rather gentle gaze.

Asuna avoided Argo's eyes and continued to quietly eat the Tremble Shortcake with Kirito, saying nothing.

Argo then pulled her gaze away from Asuna, promptly ate the rest of her cake so fast it looked like she had inhaled it, and walked over to Kirito, leaning over next to him and speaking in his ear. "Send her off with a kiss will you?" The Rat spoke softly in a whisper, "Asu's doing this for you, so show her you care Kii-bou."

"I am," Kirito replied just as quietly even though his ears flushed a bright pink and he couldn't help but stutter a little. The idea of actually kissing a girl was nerve-wracking for the fifteen-year-old boy, even though he felt so much older than when he had first gotten stuck in the game, especially as pretty of a girl as Asuna was. Even more so was the fact that he had zero experience and he didn't want to ruin it for Asuna. "A-and… Maybe I will."

"Even if you can't tell her outright, give her a hint or two and she'll get it. She's a smart girl." With that, Argo vanished from sight, shimmering from her cloak activating before she sank into the shadows and completely disappeared.

Kirito gently squeezed Asuna's hand and playfully poked her shoulder with his fork to get her attention. His heart squeezed when she reluctantly looked over at him, tears shimmering in her amber eyes. "Hey, it's okay," he released her hand to a little clumsily to put an arm around her shoulders and pull her toward him to hug her a little. "This won't be the last time I see you, I promise."
Asuna nodded a little, her soft caramel hair brushing against his cheek from where he was partially resting his cheek on her head, and took another small bite of the Tremble cake, staying quiet for the most part.

Kirito ate the cake with her, silently savoring the taste and Asuna's warm presence next to him, rather lost in his thoughts and worries about today. He felt the occasional tear drip onto his hand and arm from Asuna, but didn't do anything but hug her a little closer, knowing it would make her feel better if she didn't hold it all in.

Asuna was hiding, from Kirito, other players, and most of Aincrad as a whole. The red hooded solo player was hiding in a large tree, it's thick branches and leaves hiding the girl from the rest of the world. She was angry, angry at herself for being too weak. Why was she so torn up about this? It wasn't like she wasn't ever going to see Kirito again, they were both still going to be on the front lines and she could always find him on her friend list if she needed to and he disappeared. So why was she having so many problems? She knew why in the back of mind, but the answer frustrated her even more. She depended on Kirito, she had learned to depend on the Black Swordsman as a partner, a companion, a friend, and beyond that, and for that she was a little ashamed. Her parents had raised Asuna to believe that the only person she could really depend on was herself, even her parents wouldn't help her in times like this, and so the part of her that remembered the real world was ashamed and guilty for depending on Kirito. However, the bigger part of her, the part that always slipped up and saw Aincrad as her home now, was happy. Happy that she had found him, happy that he had dragged her out of that dungeon a year and a half ago, and happy that he had taught her what it was like to really live in this world.

Asuna pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them, squeezing her eyes shut and circling her arms around her legs, trying to stay strong and just forget about everything for right now. It hurt, even now, to think about what he had said, and what she was going to go through. If she was honest, Kirito's rejection did more than sting to the sixteen-year-old girl.

"If I told you... you would never leave…"

Asuna reflected silently on Kirito's words and grudgingly saw the logic in them once again, but she wished she didn't have to have it happen to her. It didn't feel fair after everything that had happened so far. She would never give up the chance to meet Kirito here in SAO, but she wanted a break, a break from pretending she was so much stronger than she actually was, a break from pretending her heart wasn't breaking into a million pieces after yesterday, and most of all, a break from all the pressure dragging down her thin shoulders. She wasn't invincible despite how everyone else in SAO seemed to think she was, and this great potential Kirito thought she had made her feel like she was never going to make it under the pressure.

Asuna's shoulders trembled and she fought to keep from crying, pushing her head further into her knees and trembling harder. Stop being so weak, she told herself firmly, it's not like he's leaving forever. You're just joining a guild, not leaving SAO so get a grip! No matter how hard she tried to tell herself to stop the tears and quit acting like a pathetic girl that wouldn't make it in a world like this, she couldn't do it. Her heart wasn't strong enough.

Asuna gave in, letting a heart-wrenching whimper slip through her lips and succumbing to her emotions. Finally giving in instead of fighting for nothing other than her pride and dignity. Just once, she quietly told herself, the thoughts muddled by everything else currently going through her head, I can cry this once.

Unknown to Asuna, Kirito was watching the small red figure half hidden up in the large tree, sitting leaning against the tree's trunk and watching her with a growing lump in his throat, onyx-colored eyes growing rather misty himself. Asuna...

Dread was the main emotion Kirito was feeling as he quietly led the way to the guild hall of the KoB, holding Asuna's left hand and half tugging her along with him at a leisurely pace behind Heathcliff. They were almost there, close to the castle-like guild hall with a massive sprawling walkway to their separation. We're almost there, Kirito sighed to himself and glanced of at Asuna, lightly squeezing her hand and reassuring her that it was going to be okay. Stay strong Asuna… He tried to convey the message, suddenly feeling like he was abandoning her. Leaving her behind to fend for herself and for the benefit of the other players besides herself. He stopped in his tracks, causing Asuna to keep walking till she abruptly stopped as well, pulled back by Kirito's hand in her own.

Asuna turned back to look at him, confusion showing brightly on her face behind the tired resignation she seemed to have developed over the past day and a half, but Kirito had never thought he had seen her more beautiful. She wasn't hiding anything on her face, rather, she was letting him see everything. How tired and reluctant she was, how brave she was for doing this, and half buried under her exhaustion, the twinkle he now recognized as the love she felt for him. Even after what he was currently doing to her with this situation.

Kirito pulled Asuna away from Heathcliff and behind him, fighting with himself with furrowed eyebrows and conflict visible in his eyes.

"Kirito?" Asuna murmured quietly in confusion, placing her free hand on his back behind his sword sheath as she looked at him in a puzzled fashion.

Kirito didn't respond, his eyes fixed on the KoB leader in front of him with his free hand hovering over the hilt of his sheathed sword. He didn't want to give Asuna up, he didn't want her to go. But he couldn't get the words out. She's mine Heathcliff…

Heathcliff turned around to face him and the mighty leader waited patiently, his gray gaze firm and steady, but it also wasn't cold like he knew what was going on in Kirito's head.

Kirito wanted to keep Asuna with him, close enough that he could hug and kiss, close enough to trust her that she always had his back no matter what. Asuna's mine! You can't take her from me!

"Kirito?" Asuna quietly repeated his name, "you can't change your mind now," she pointed out quietly in a tone that suggested she had already thought about this. "I already said yes."

Kirito struggled, wishing for the first time in his life that he could be selfish, be selfish and keep Asuna with him instead of giving her away to Heathcliff. But I love you too… His voice wasn't working. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the words out. Don't leave me…

"She's in good hands Kirito," Heathcliff said in his typical authoritative voice, "you know that."

Kirito clenched his jaw, She's not in good hands unless she's in mine! Asuna's mine you selfish jerk! But he couldn't get the words out. Nothing came out no matter how much he opened and closed his mouth, nothing came out.

Light fingers gently turned him around toward Asuna, who released his hands and looked at him, her hands resting on his shoulders with an understanding expression. "I'll be okay," she murmured quietly, "and if not you'll come and save me, right?"

Kirito felt the lump in his throat from earlier return and get bigger at Asuna's quiet and truthful words. She truly believed what she had said, he could always go and check on her, even if she was too busy with her new responsibilities he could always watch over her and find her again. Send her off with a kiss Kii-boi...Asu's doing this for you. Argo's earlier words rang in his ears for a moment before he heeded Argo's words, grasped both of Asuna's hands, and pulled her toward him.

"Mmph!" Asuna gave a muffled squeak and Kirito felt her entire body tense up like a rock before she relaxed, relaxing rather into Kirito's sudden kiss, but before she could actively respond, Kirito had already moved back.

Kirito looked at her for a few moments, studying Asuna's surprised expression and how her amber eyes were half closed and opening now. He ignored Heathcliff for a few more moments and suddenly hugged Asuna to him, holding her close for a few moments before he let her go and stood to her right, leaving her a path to Heathcliff. His onyx colored eyes hid most of what he was feeling, but he knew Asuna could read him like a book, able to depict everything he was thinking. Even then, he was careful to hide his reaction to the kiss, knowing he would probably look like an idiot from how stunned and tingly his face and hands were at the current moment. "I'll be your guardian dressed in black," he managed to say, his voice hoarse and quiet, "don't hesitate to ask for help Asuna."

"I won't," Asuna smiled weakly and with that, she tugged her hands from Kirito's grasp and moved toward Heathcliff.

She paused a moment later when Kirito caught her hand, and leaned toward her ear, speaking quietly and in a barely audible voice. "I care for you more than you'll ever know Asuna, never doubt that I care about you just as much as you do for me."

Asuna's eyes widened, and she fought down the urge to break down and cry or throw her arms around his neck. Instead, she kept walking, catching his gaze for a few precious moments before she hurried after Heathcliff, his hand slipping from her own as she went. Going toward the potential Kirito wanted her to have.

I can do this, Asuna thought as she proudly lifted her chin and walked through the large halls of the guild hall of the Knights of The Blood Oath that evening. Now wearing her new uniform and armed with her new rapier made by Liz with metals from her previous sword and a new metal, Kirito's parting gift. For myself, everyone else in the game, and most of all, her amber eyes glowed with a determined fire that nothing could put out, for Kirito. I may not want to go back right now, but Kirito does so I'll beat this from my side while he does it from his. I love you Kirito, and I'm going to beat this game for you, I promise.

"Council, please welcome the Lightning Flash Asuna as a member of the Knights of The Blood Oath."

Asuna lifted her chin a little more confidently, "thank you for the invitation to join your guild Heathcliff, Council, I appreciate the opportunity to add my skills and work for this guild. My main goal is to beat the game, and to get everyone back to their families and loved ones." I may never find Kirito again after we return to the real world, but as long as he's happy I'll be okay. I'll do this, for him and all the other players, I'll beat this game.

The words Kirito had breathed in her ear as she passed him to follow Heathcliff strengthened her resolve. "I care for you more than you'll ever know…"

And there we go! I finally finished the sequel! XD I hope you all enjoyed it, I may write a few other connected moments like that butter knife reference, that one's a for sure, and the changes in the rest of the plot line with these changes, but it's a maybe. Anyway, let me know what you guys think of this sequel and if it needs another piece or two!

Other SAO Stories

I'll wait for as long as it takes Kirito ~ Kirito has decided after being in a party with her for a year, that Asuna's potential is limitless. So she needs to be with a guild, the new third guild called the KoB. But to get her there he may have to push her away to get her to leave him and join the guild. However, one sentence stops him in his tracks 'Because I love you! I love you much to leave...' (Kirisuna) (COMPLETED) (Sequel Completed)

New Memories And Resolve ~ Numbed by rejection and heartbreak, Asuna is at a loss of what to do. So she makes the hard decision to follow Kirito's wishes and join the KoB, purely for his sake. However, Kirito wants one more day with her, one last day of making new memories and giving her the strength to go on."I care for you more than you'll ever know Asuna…" (Sequel to I'll wait as long as it Takes Kirito) (Kirisuna) (Completed)

The Hacker's Role ~ I unknowingly helped make the game unhackable from the outside, and now I'm going to make up for my mistakes. I wasn't originally trapped in the game, but now? Now I'm the mystery that keeps players alive. I was a Beta Tester alongside my childhood friend 'the Rat,' and now I'm nicknamed "the Hacker" or "AI." Why? Because in other players eyes, I can't be killed, so I will beat this game. (Collection centered around Caylee's involvement in SAO.) (In Progress)

Little Moments ~ "I belong in our little cabin in the woods with you and Yui, Kirito." Little moments in the world of SAO, ALO, and in real life with Kirito and Asuna as the main characters. Asuna and Kirito have gone through so much, but behind the scenes, they've gone through even more than what meets the eye. (In Progress)