The Blooming Norm
Chapter 4: The Amber Knight
By AnimayWriteY0
It took a few more minutes for the blonde to realize that behind the other end of the call is actually Hiharu, the girl who happened to pay for her clothes and brought it back to her when she was still deeply depressed of having to deal with more prejudice by a group of toxic girls. Totally unaware on how the red head have managed to straight up call her with the phone she was given. Reina finally spoke. "Hello, this is Reina...are you that girl who I met back at Norimu?" The moment she asked, the bubbly red head answers with high enthusiasm.
"Mhm! I was worried that I may have called by the wrong number! But I'm glad that wasn't the case. How are you doing Kujima San?" Reina slowly separates herself from the cell phone totally confused as her eye narrowed at this strange mechanism, along with how she's having a conversation to someone she just met. But the way she talked to her almost felt as if they are somewhat known friends. Noticing that Hiharu is calling out on the phone to see if anyone is still there Reina then sighs and proceeds to listen in on this conversation. "Oh, there you are I thought the reception must have been on the fritz a second there." Hiharu rolls around on her bed and twirls her hair. "Uh...sorry I just find this weird that I ended up getting a phone and you calling me the moment I used it..." Reina twitches her eyes feeling that there's something going on here. That is until her curiosity allows her to ask her acquaintance if she's responsible of giving her the cell phone. "Umm Tsunomori San...was it you who bought me this phone?" The red head laughs nervously and proceeds to answer with the upmost honesty. "Well, it's thanks to my dad, he used one of his old phones and decided to reactivate it and give it to you."
That causes Reina to widen her eyes to the offer and she begins to feel a bit annoyed at the thought of being given things she feels she doesn't deserve. "Tsunomori San…you really don't have to do that for me, especially for a stranger..." Reina could hear the red head giggle as she insisted. "No, no but I want to...after what happened at the store, I couldn't help but want you to gain some sort of distant communication for your people while you were away to do errands." After hearing that, she could already tell where Hiharu's coming from and made a valid point. She stuck out like a sore thumb from the crowd of people in Ishigaki so it's no surprise to her that she'll at least notify the caretaker if anything goes wrong.
"Well, um...to be honest what can I do with this thing? I don't usually pick up the calls unless it's important." Hiharu gave her blonde friend a few ideas, so she can make good use of it. "You could call your village if you ever want to let them know what they want. Or you could call me so we can chat without having to meet in person!" Reina then looks at Asami and asks if she has a phone. "I do but it's just a home phone, so I may rarely be there to pick it up, but you can give me a call with it." Asami informs Reina which gives the blonde a small smile while she turns back to her caller. "Alright I'll definitely use this cell phone, but just for us to chat and call for emergencies, will that be, okay?" Reina asks. "Of course! Thank you for accepting this gift, Kujima San! I can't wait to talk with you again!" That is until Reina finally brought up the most important thing. "W-Wait whose paying for the phone plan?..."
Hihari answered. "My father will, he doesn't mind having to pay a measly 3,000 yen for the monthly plan." That is the one thing Reina absolutely cannot take. As the blonde begins to turn her head down with her hair covering her eyes while she begins to sniff in guilt. The villagers immediately took notice and tries to comfort Reina. Asami then places her arms around her. "Reina what's the matter dear!?…"
Again…that same feeling she had when she was young slowly begins to bite her from within as she felt that unnecessary privilege. Reina stares at Asami and then back down to where she stares at the sand. "Why do I feel like I've been treated so nicely and being given things...in which I haven't earned..." Asami whispers. "Oh Reina...I believe there is a reason behind it." She cuts in. "Yeah, but I didn't ask for this nor do I want anyone to pay anything for me...it's just not fair for them!..."After the long pause Reina had totally forgot that Hiharu is still on the line. Once Asami have given Reina her space the blonde quickly says something to not let the red head assume she's ignoring her. "I'm so sorry I almost forgot that you're still here..." Hiharu sighs in relief as she responds. "Oh, don't apologize this is after all our first greeting on the phone." Reina lets Hiharu know about her feelings. "Tsunomori please don't take this the wrong way, but I felt like it's unnecessary for your dad to pay the phone plan for me...it's just not right for him to give me that privilege, I just want to make it fair. You know…I can totally pay for the plan..."
After learning of her worry for having her dad pay for her friend's bill, she lets her know that it will only be for this month. That instantly gave Reina a sigh of relief. "Good, but I would most definitely have to pay him back for this phone and the first phone bill." With that taken care of Reina is about ready to say goodbye until once again she's stopped by Hiharu with one more request. "Hmm what is it?" Reina stops before she hung up. "I like for us to hang out today at the afternoon if that's alright with you Kujima San." That brought the blonde to blush profusely as she lost her grip of the phone and began to flail around to catch it. Once she does, she asks if that's alright with her dad and Hiharu with an uplifting tone from her voice answers. "That's fine and besides he wants to meet you in person sometimes! Alright I got to get ready for this hang out, bye Kujima San!" With that she hung up the phone while Reina just stood there totally unsure on how to process this.
Sujo came to Reina staring up at his tall sister figure. "Reina Nee-Chan will you be, okay?" Though flustered at the thought of having to spend time with someone other than her people in the village she turns to Sujo and pats him on the head while she nods. "I'll be fine Sujo, don't get all sappy like that you little rascal." Sujo laughs and raises his arms at her playfully. "Let me know how your day is, okay?!" Reina slowly holds both his hands and goes down to his height level and hugs him lightly. "Thank you Sujo. I'll definitely will let you know how it went." After that, Reina checks up on her phone to see what time it is. "10:36 am, hmm that's pretty much enough time for me to travel." Reina grabs her usual towel and goes towards the Umichi Springs to wash up. After a good 15-minute bath, Reina dries herself up and uses the towel to remove any moisture that are still present around her body. After that she puts on her dark black skinny jeans, her usual gray t-shirt, and a short sleeve brown jacket.
Once she felt it's time to go and meet Hiharu the blonde motions to check up on the cell phone looking into the call history. For a minute she finally sees a number with the name of Hiharu on top of it. Reina presses the contact, and the phone soon starts to ring while Reina waits. After the 4th chime she can hear noises and is greeted with a simple "Hello?" Reina asks if the person behind the phone is Hiharu and addresses it's herself calling.
"Kujima San! Hi! I just got out of the house and already on my way to our meet up spot." Reina in an obviously flustered manner tries to ask her where they will be meeting as she's currently walking her way through the greenery towards the destination of their meeting spot. "Where are we going to meet Tsunomori San I basically forgot to ask during our first conversation." Hiharu then addresses the location. "It'll have to be on Maezato Street. There should be plenty of shopping plaza's there, you'll find me right by a supermarket called San-A Ishigaki." Reina nods and knows that place being only 6 miles away from Sugano. "I'll be there in about a few minutes then." Reina finishes as she hung up the call and continuing her usual route towards the mentioned location.
After Reina came out of the small forest she traveled through, she could see one of the taxi drivers waving at her. "Hi Kujima San! How are you doing?" She approaches her old friend. "Well, I'm surviving, hey Toma San can you take me to this address?" She showed him the text on her new cell phone and gave him a fare ticket. "No problem! Please have a seat Kujima San!" Toma opens the rear door for her as the blonde goes in and puts on her seat belt. For a few minutes of awkward silence Toma finally spoke up about Reina's plan for today. "So Kujima San what's the special occasion of going to Ishigaki? Clothes, food, or just another pick up errand?" Reina places her arm on the arm rest while having her hand on her chin looking out at the window aimlessly.
"Well, not really. I'm going to hang out with someone." Reina nonchalantly states while she sighs. Toma is quite surprised at the fact that Reina is putting her time with someone. As the taxi driver stops on a long red light, he glances at the rear-view mirror and asks. "That is quite the change in pace Kujima San. I didn't expect you to go out just to hang out with someone outside of the village." Reina sighed again. "You're not the only one who notice that...I'm just caught off guard with this request of spending time with a city girl." The Taxi Driver proceeds to drive after the light turns green and continues his curiosity. "Do you know the girl?" Reina subtly answers. "Not really...I just met her yesterday."
It's kinda weird but looking back from that meeting she begins to tense up but shook that feelingoff while she insists Toma that this is just a simple hang out. "Right, well looks like we're here, have fun Kujima San." After she got off of her friends Taxi, she waves her goodbye to him as he drives off to pick up his next client. Reina now in the middle of Maezato began her search for her companion. As she continues to walk around, she could feel that tenseness from her surroundings, though uncomfortable Reina pushes on through without any care in the world. A couple more minutes have passed and still no sign of Hiharu. After passing through a few more blocks, she could see the supermarket ahead of her. Coming ever so closer to the big shopping building she could hear her last name being called from her left at a further distance.
Reina focuses her sights to her left and saw a girl waving at her. "Hmmm that must be her." Reina continues to move forward as the other girl approach closer to her direction as well. Again, the two girls have met the second time but this time they'll be spending the day together. After taking a look at the red head, Reina can't help but to have her cheeks turn bright pink at the sight of her apparel. Hiharu is wearing a one-piece white dress with black flower patterns, along with a bright tan long sleeve sweater, as for her legs, she wears white stockings with black Makayla Boots. Reina still entranced at the sight of her friend, Hiharu then giggles as she returns a compliment on Reina's look. "You look quite stunning Kujima San!" Reina snaps out of her stupor and replies bashfully.
"I-I uhhh t-thanks...you look gorgeous Tsunomori." After that comment Hiharu blushes slightly while giving off a small smile. "Oh man...why does she have to wear something so cute like this…come on Reina you gotta keep your cool...this is just a simple hangout." After her thought, she finally decides to ask where they plan to go and do? "Let's check out Shimamura Yaeyama Fashion Center, it's down south from where we are!" With that Reina nods and follows Hiharu.
When the two walk side by side, Hiharu seems to be quite pleased to be able to spend time with her new friend. As for Reina, she just couldn't seem to keep her cool every time she's with Hiharu, this however gained the red heads attention. "Hmm what's wrong Kujima San?" Reina shrugs off her obvious bright red blushes and tries her best not to act so shyly. "I-Its nothin' don't worry about it..."
Instead of gaining some distance between them, Hiharu closes in on her, rather curious about the blushing blonde. "Kujima San, is this your first time being with someone outside of your village?" Reina gave a quick glance while she raises an eyebrow but gave some thought about that.
She did spend time with a few people but that was when she's still with her father until that one fateful match her father attended that changed everything especially for Reina's life. "I used to hang out with a few friends back when I started freshman year at Kenritsu Yaeyamashoko High School, but now I'm just on my own..." Hiharu could see the loneliness within Reina's eyes obviously figuring out that she must have been through some intense hardships by the people here in town but of course Hiharu doesn't know exactly what Reina's life was like so she couldn't stand beside her to understand.
That is until she steps up and places her hand onto Reina's. This causes the blonde to widen her eyes as she blushes intensely out of Hiharu's sudden touch of her warm hand interlocking hers. She looks away trying to not let her softer side be shown to Hiharu. "Ohhh no… I can't be seen like this, Hiharu what on earth are you trying to do..." Reina stated within her mind. "Kujima San, if that is the case then let me help you by becoming your friend!" The blushing blonde turns her head to look at Hiharu. "Friends? Well, I guess we can be friends..." That is until she stares down on both their hands and begins to tense up as the bashful blonde's heart pounds ever so loudly. "C-Crap what is this feeling...damn it! Ughhh who am I kidding, friends?! It almost felt like we're a couple holding hands like this!"
Reina stated the obvious in her head. Before she can try to cool down, she notices Hiharu pulling Reina at a faster pace. "Kujima San we're here!" Hiharu points out at the clothing store Fashion Center Shimamura Yaeyama. "Come on let's try out some of their clothes!" Reina doing her best to keep up with her red head companion. "Hey slowdown will ya!" As soon as the two entered Reina is quite surprised at the sight of the clothing store. Unlike the one she went previous to her lack of yen. This one has lots of regular casual wear, what's more there are price tags on all clothing. "Sweet, I can totally shop around here." Hiharu hearing Reina, she instantly smiles insisting her friend to look for some clothes that she likes, and if she's interested enough maybe she can buy some. With that the two girls separate themselves to check out different sections to try these clothes out.
Twenty minutes in as Hiharu and Reina reunited by the changing room. Looking at their choice of clothing both girls decided to check each other out once they tried on their chosen attire. Reina came out with the black t-shirt and dark black short shorts. As for Hiharu she came out with a cute bluish white summer dress with a matching summer hat as both begin to blush at one another. Reina broke the silence. "I guess that the both of us are looking forward to summer I see..." Though Reina states with calmness she can't help but feel nervous at the sight of Hiharu's cute features in that dress. While Hiharu felt the same of having to see Reina showing off more skin from her attire as she nods hesitantly. And again, there is another unnecessary awkwardness between the two until both of them went back into their respective changing spot.
After that they're back out with their regular wear. The two are currently waiting in line to purchase their chosen clothes as Hiharu asks Reina. "Kujima San how much are those clothes?" Reina took a glance at the price tag and simply states. "The shirt and shorts together basically cost about2,800 yen, how about yours?" Hiharu immediately answers. "It would be 3,500 yen put together." The two smiles especially for Reina as she's more confident of spending her own money on the things she likes and it's more rewarding to have done this with someone by her side chatting about it. Reina paid for hers with a 5,000 yen bill as she has 2,200 yen left to spend. Hiharu spent it all without any issue, and so the two are off to look for their next stop to hang out. While the two walk side by side Reina became more comfortable of having both hers and Hiharu's hands interlocking. Despite the fact that more people are staring at them Reina doesn't even blink feeling secured for the first time. The two continue to go south of Maezato street, for a while the two girls seemingly stayed quiet for the majority of their get together, but it's assumed that its due to them being quiet close despite them only knowing each other since yesterday. As soon as they reach the intersection of Maezato and Tokuzawa Reina took notice from her left staring at a small building with spiraling colorful lights. "Wanna play some arcade games Kujima San?" Hiharu asks the moment her blonde friend took interest. "Hmm? Oh, uh sure sounds like a plan."
Having spent a good hour, Reina and Hiharu played some of the ticket games in order to get something from the prize counter. Other than that, Reina fancies herself to play the virtual games mainly the shooting ones. After playing a good run-on Time Rush 3 she scored a high number that puts her in the top 20, this also impresses Hiharu as she clapped and cheered for her outstanding performance. Lastly the two would join together to do some physical play from a dancing-based game called Move Move Accelerate. Though Reina played well, her dancing partner struggled to keep up until Reina gave her some gaming tips as the clumsy red head began to move elegantly with the game pads. Little did they knew that this brought a small crowd to watch them go at it. Reina and Hiharu playing on the co-op dance off with their computer adversary have managed to beat it with a high score over 3 million, the crowd erupts and cheered for the female duos. This however causes Reina to scurry herself away from their spectators as Hiharu follows by. Hiharu checks the bag full of tickets and inserts them in the ticket machine to have it count the amount, it rang up and delivers the receipt. 1,256 tickets all together. Reina looked at this and proceeds to go to the prize counter.
After deliberating, Reina chose a stuffed chibi tiger doll worth 1,200 tickets and hands it to Hiharu. This surprises the red head as she looks directly at her. "A-Are you sure Kujima San?! I mean you earned those tickets from your money so you should keep it!" Reina simply shook her head and gave her a valid reason. "Remember the phone you gave me...I know it won't make things even for us but it's the least I can do for ya...besides I put a lot of effort to get those tickets for that cute doll." Slowly and gently Hiharu places the tiny Tora around her arms and nods. "I understand Kujima San, thank you so much! And you're right he's so cute!" Reina once again showed her genuine smile, the same one after Sujo gave her the pearl bracelet.
The two went out of the arcade building where they're back outside, Hiharu could hear Reina's stomach growling. The blonde chuckles nervously as she rubs her tummy out of embarrassment. "S-sorry I totally forgot to eat before our meet up..." Hiharu giggles as she already found a good place to eat where Reina would enjoy. "I believe there is a burger shop that we just walked past; it's called Mos Burger." After hearing the thought of eating one of her favorite foods she instantly becomes excited. "Oh really?! Show me the way Miss Tsunomori I'm so down for a burger right now!" Hiharu felt as though her friend Reina is finally feeling like herself now, and she's enjoying the happiness coming from the happy blonde unlike the way the other girls treated her from the boutique store.
Reina and Hiharu arrives at the burger shop and enters. Once inside Reina could see that the place is mildly packed but that didn't stop them from waiting in line for their turn to order. After a few minutes, it's their turn to order their food. Hiharu being first, she decides to go with combo number 3 that consist of one quarter pound burger, a side of fries, and a medium drink. Reina chose combo number 1 resembling the most common choice of the Mos Burger, side of sushi, and a medium drink. Reina barely paying her food off with just 50 yen to spare, Hiharu used her debit card to pay for hers. With that the pair found a two-person table by the entrance and sat together waiting for their call. Though quiet, Reina finally decided to be the first to start the conversation which brought Hiharu to a surprised glance. "So, Tsunomori San how did you know of my favorite food?"
She blinks for a second and answers with the upmost honesty. "Well, I believe it's something that you can afford, and it packs enough calories for you during your days..." Hiharu believing that statement she used to answer her question could potentially offend her, but it soon become the opposite as she could hear Reina chuckle. "Yeah...you are totally right on the money. I simply buy this stuff whenever I need a little pick me up during my errand runs but it's usually a McDonald or one of those fast-food burger places, unlike this one it's pretty middle class for me." She chats while sipping her drink. "So, about the hand holding you did..." Just before the blonde could finish her sentence their number has been called out as Hiharu immediately goes to get the food. This confuses Reina as she watches her friend hurrying herself to get the food as if she's totally trying to avoid her intended question. Then again it didn't matter to her.
Hiharu came back with the food on a big tray. "Alright! Dig in Kujima San while it's hot!" Reina smirks. "Don't mind if I do!" After unwrapping her burger, she took a deep bite into it. "Ohhh that hits the spot. I love the sauce in this thing, and the meat patty is so juicy!" Hiharu giggles while she helps herself with her own food. She proceeds to critique her food as well after her first bite. "I find mine to be simple and a little charred but that doesn't matter as the sauce helps soften the patty." Reina and Hiharu laughs at the thought of actually talking about food in a deeper meaning.
That is until Reina once again asks Hiharu about her holding her hand like that during their walk. Hiharu stayed quiet and looks away while she begins to blush. Reina having seen her friend act up like that she assumes that she must have been uncomfortable being pressed on like that until Hiharu answers her but in a vague way. "It's a secret..." Reina tilts her head in confusion and soon realize that her friend begins to feel gloom. With that Reina decided to shut herself up for her sake of happiness. Reina may be a tough girl, but she knows better than to hurt someone's feelings especially for an acquaintance or friend. The two girls finish up their meal and threw any leftover garbage's into the trash container. Having a good meal Reina stretches as she glances at her phone. "Hmmm it's 4:50 pm I believe it's time for us to part ways Tsunomori San." Hiharu nodded smiling. "This hangout was quite exhilarating, and I thank you for coming Kujima San."
Before she could go, she asks if Hiharu is okay to go on her own. Hiharu answers believing that she has been around the town of Ishigaki for a while and is confident that she'll be fine. "I'll be going up north to Hirae Road, it's a short cut street close to one of the taxi services." Reina wonders due to the familiarity of the surrounding area but soon decides that it's time to go. "Well thank you for inviting me to this hang out Tsunomori San. See ya" Reina turned to the other direction and proceeded to travel back to Sugano Village. Hiharu after saying her goodbyes too went her own path home.
Hiharu having walked a good mile she begins to notice that the majority of the building around her looked pretty beaten down and the atmosphere of such an area is quite barren. Though the people walking by looked normal, but she definitely didn't expect this part of the town to be so rural. Little did she know is that she had come across the town's lower part of its section. On her way to her destination, she hears a distress cry from her left as a man who looked to be homeless is calling out to anyone to assist him in helping his cat down. Hiharu being the one to help others has no problem lending a hand and this is no exception. With that the red head and the homeless man went further into the alleyway.
Meanwhile as Reina continues her travel back home, the blonde can't help but feel something's off about what Hiharu mentioning about the location she's going. She checks up on her phone and searches the street called Hirae Road and to her shock it's the same road where it has the most criminal activity and is dangerous to go alone. With that Reina hastily turned back in search for Hiharu. "Oh no, damn it all! Why there of all places! I hope I'm not too late!"
Moments later Hiharu is met with three street thugs surrounding her as the frightened red head is pinned to the wall by one of the thugs performed a kabedon. "Well, well, well you're one helluva cutie ain't ya...I didn't expect a girl like you hanging around in a place like this." The young punk teases as he tries to get a feel for the red heads legs until she swipes it away with her hand.
"Ohh you're a feisty one, I like a gal with claws. How about you and us boys go to a hotel and have a good time." Hiharu in complete terror could do nothing but stand back regretting her decision to follow one of the thugs into a trap. "Oh no...what have I done...I should have known this was a trap but my will to help others have put me into this situation..." Hiharu thought to herself as she doesn't speak to the young punks. "What's the matter, it ain't gonna be that bad come on!" And just like that he snatched her right arm as Hiharu tries to scream but to no avail when the thug covers her mouth. "Shut your damn mouth bitch! You're coming with us whether you like it or not!" Hiharu close to tearing up believes this could very well be the end of her until she felt the grip from her captive being forced off her. She turned and saw Reina giving a harsh haymaker right at the punk's cheekbone.
The hooligan fell right on his rear while rubbing his cheeks and saw the person responsible for that punch. "Reina?! What the fuck are you doing here?!" The glaring blonde now has Hiharu behind her glancing at the other two surrounding them. Reina growls "You three bozo's picked the wrong time to be messing with me." The second thug scoffs. "Oh yeah and what exactly can you do against the three of us?!" Reina cuts off. "To kick all your asses that's what!" She then turns to Hiharu. "I need you to book it out of here Hiharu…I'll try to keep them off your tail..." Hiharu objects. "B-But what about you Reina!?" Reina orders. "I got this covered just go!..." With that the scared Hiharu does as she's told, the red head dashes out of the alleyway. One of the punks tries to grab a hold of her until Reina came between him and Hiharu as she delivers a thrust kick to the creep's stomach. "Braghhh!" The third punk fell onto his knees as he coughs violently from that hard kick.
"You fucking bitch!" The second ran at her as he is about to cock his fist back to deliver the blonde a straight punch to the face. Fortunately, Reina saw this coming, and grab hold of his arm and twisted him down following up with a sweep kick to his legs dropping the punk down hard on the concrete floor. "Please I heard worse than that..." Little did she realize is the fact that she has been caught into a full nelson by the first punk as she struggles to let loose. "Hah got you Reina...you think you can get away by acting a hard ass on me and my boys?" She growls and begins to elbow him hard to the chest. "Get off of me ass wipe!" The first punk continues to hold her tight but with each hit to the chest has caused him to loosen his grip. "Come on guys! Get her while I still have her pinned!" With that the overweight thug gets up and tries to hit Reina to the gut but the enraged blonde turned herself around along with the punk holding her which the punch landed hard right on the dudes back. Finally free from the grip Reina rushes in at the two with a shoulder tackle thus planting them down. Having them lying flat on the ground she delivers both of them a savage downward punch right at their faces, leaving them totally unconscious. Still in a fit of anger she turns her full attention to the only thug still conscious. The hate filled blonde slowly stalks her only enemy as he tries to find a way through her but is caught into the very corner of the alleyway. Knowing full well he is no match for this wrathful blonde he goes onto his knees and begins to beg for mercy. "I-Im sorry!…I'm sorry Reina! Please forgiv-" Before he could say anymore, he's met with a hard impact kick to his face as the last punk falls over on his back hard while his legs go up in the air and back down to the ground laying there silent. "And that is why you shouldn't mess with any of my friends...pieces of shits."
Reina slowly took a breather and can hear police sirens, before she can act, she's suddenly being dragged by someone. That someone is Hiharu as she begins to run to a different area with Reina following sit but still quite exhausted from the fight she just had. The two hid behind a narrow opening between two buildings, seeing that the close is clear both girls took deep breathes. Little did they know is that Hiharu is leaning on Reina while Reina unknowingly has her arms around her. With this the two separated each other while their cheeks are still visibly red.
Making things more awkward Hiharu points out at the fact that they called one another by their first names. This instantly causes the blushing blonde to look away. Hiharu giggles. "Are you okay? Nothing hurting right?" Reina's concern for her red-haired friend really got her attention as Hiharu shook her head confirming she's okay. "I'm fine Reina..." Again, she's calling her by the first name. "W-well I guess I'll call Toma to take you back home...he's a good friend of mine so you can trust him on my behalf." Hiharu nods slowly until she delivers her final gift to Reina before she gets picked up. Reina looking a tad confused as she instantly felt a gentle press from her right cheek and soon realize that Hiharu had just given her a kiss on the cheeks. Hiharu blushes intensely as well until she backs away. "Thank you...for saving me Reina."
To Be Continued.