Go

Yu awoke to the sound of yelling. He groaned in pain, slightly hungover from last night. He was woozy and the racket was not helping. He was surprised to find that the person who awoke him was Yosuke. The brunette was talking about how worried he and the others were and how they had called him practically a hundred times in an attempt to find him. When the new day came the Investigation Team had split up and scoured all over the city for their silver haired leader.

Yu struggled to lie his way out of the situation. His whole body ached and his head wasn't much better. He tried to tell Yosuke that nothing happened last night and that he had just gotten lost, but all he could do was give some half hearted apology. Eventually Yosuke stopped talking and helped Yu back to the hotel the gang was staying at so he could get some proper rest.

All Yu could do was follow along, his body moving without him really feeling or caring. He was a tiny pebble caught in a raging river and he accepted that. His body was on autopilot for the duration of the trip.

While the others tried to convince him to come eat with them at some restaurant, he lied and told them he had to study. In truth, all he did was lay on his bed in the dark. When they came back, Yosuke and the others suggested getting a gift for Nanako, but it fell on deaf ears. They found his stuff was already packed by the time they returned.

When he came home, he ignored his self-proclaimed 'little sis' and crawled up the stairs to his room. He kicked the door shut behind him and left his luggage strewn about his room before falling onto his bed and just... staying there.

He didn't have any snide remarks. He didn't have any jokes. Nothing. All of his masks were left shattered on the ground, destroyed by the boy he had foolishly fallen for. The only person smart enough to destroy them.

Funny how we end up loving the same thing that hurt us most.

Yu was sad that Naoto hated him. He was finally willing to admit that. Naoto hating him made him feel guilty, it made him feel wrong, like he had something good and it was taken away from him, but it was taken away because he didn't deserve it. He knew that. He understood how badly he had messed it all up.

He had found someone beautiful in body and sharp in mind. Naoto was special, he realized that now. The blue haired detective was strong willed, unbreakable, and his opposite in nearly every way. That was what drew Yu to him. They were magnets aimed at each other. Yu couldn't help but be attracted to his counterpart...

But all he accomplished was repelling Naoto away.

The first day of school since the field trip came and Yu dragged himself out of bed and off to school. His didn't bother fixing his hair, brushing his teeth, or even eating breakfast. He went to school with an empty gaze and some dried up drool clinging onto his cheek.

"Hey, Senpai! What's up?" A certain, beautiful idol giggled as she skipped beside the older boy. He didn't look at her, nor did he even seem to notice she was there. His eyes just kept their gaze forward, slowly blinking every few seconds. Despite this, Rise kept on smiling. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out after school today? We could go to Okina City and catch a movie! I-"

"No thanks." His voice sounded weak, like he had been barely using it lately. Rise's smile faltered as she looked closer. He had bags under his eyes and the usually bright, silver irises looked so much duller.

"But-"

Yu picked up speed and Rise watched him try to outpace her, only for him to barely stay ahead of her. His legs carried an obvious fatigue to them and she swore she saw him nearly fall over twice already.

"Yo, Yu!" Yosuke's turn. He ran past Rise and quickly tried striking up a conversation with his best friend. "Dude, you free today after school? Junes is understaffed right now and it'd be awesome if you could come over and help out! I promise to pay you back for your time! What do you say?" He grinned, placing a brotherly hand on the silverette's shoulder.

"No thanks." Yu yanked his shoulder away from the caramel-haired boy. Yosuke stayed behind as Yu once again tried to walk faster. He watched with frustration as his friend nearly tripped over his own two feet.

"He's been like this since the field trip," the young man sighed. He scratched at his brown locks with an exaggerated growl. "Damn! What the hell happened between him and Naoto?"

Rise didn't know how to answer. All she could do was watch the silverette trek towards their school. She simply let out an exasperated breath and tried to look positive. "Come on. Maybe Chie-senpai or Yukiko-senpai can get through to him."

But she already knew they wouldn't. She knew any attempt to talk to Yu would fall on deaf ears. He wouldn't let them in, and if he wouldn't let them in, how could any of them help him?

Tuesday started a lot like Monday for Yu Narukami and his friends. Rise and the others found their leader staggering towards school with that same glossy eyed look in his eyes. He didn't say anything to them, of course. He barely acknowledged them.

"S-so... Hey! Did you see the show on TV last night? Naoto-kun was on!" Chie commented.

This time, Yosuke was the one to elbow her. He glared at the girl, disapprovingly, silently scolding her for mentioning the detective around Yu.

"Ow! A-all I'm saying is that it was surprising! He doesn't seem like the type to go after the spotlight!" Chie grumbled, looking towards the asphalt surface as they walked. She lifted her head to look at the dejected silverette. "I'm sorry, Yu-kun..."

"..." The man just took in a slow breath and exhaled. "It's fine."

"Um... Guys?" Chie looked up and stopped as the others did the same. Yu was the only one to keep walking, mostly due to a lack of awareness of his surroundings. Rise grabbed his hand, forcing him to stop as Naoto stood before the group.

"Good morning," Naoto greeted, an air of professionalism and authority in her voice and posture. Unlike their fearless leader, Naoto seemed perfectly normal. If their confrontation had left the detective distant and crestfallen, he hid it well. "I've been waiting for you all. There's something I needed to discuss with you regarding the case."

Rise looked at Yu and found his face contorting slightly. It was the most real movement she had seen from his face since the field trip. He didn't look scared, but it was obvious to the idol that he hadn't expected to see Naoto again, at least not like this. This wasn't the shyness Kanji would usually experience when around Naoto. This looked like Yu was a mix of fright and fury, but not at Naoto. Someone else.

"Discuss? Dude, we'll be late if we talk too long," Yosuke responded, before he realized what Naoto was wearing, or rather, what he wasn't wearing. "Hey, where's your uniform?"

"Could you please indulge my current theory on the matter?" inquired Naoto, walking closer. Rise squeezed Yu's hand in an attempt to comfort her friend. His unnaturally cold hand remained as unresponsive as before. Neither noticed the detective's glare at their linked hands.

"What is it?" Yosuke asked, raising his brow.

Naoto turned away from the group, gazing into the distance as he began to speak. "First, as regards commonalities between the victims, all of them were kidnapped before they were murdered. The victims were all locals who had been the focus of recent media attention, becoming suddenly well-known. That is the most likely scenario. I don't believe there's anything intrinsically unique about the victims themselves." Naoto paused to turn towards the group and approach them again. "Haven't you all come to the same conclusion?" His eyes gazed over each of them.

Rise saw his gaze turn especially sharp when it landed on Yu. Not many people ever consider the kind of knowledge Rise had picked up in her time in the spotlight. No, she wasn't a scientist or a detective, but all of her time practicing acting had helped her catch certain emotional cues. Little things that people do when they're mad or happy. Rise had only studied it because her agent wanted her to start really getting into the big, dramatic shows. She never thought she'd be using it read a detective.

She had seen Naoto's cobalt eyes turn into a glare when he looked at Yui. She noticed the look of scorn behind that steely blue sight. Naoto wasn't just angry, he was pissed off. There was more to his rage than that stolen kiss, she just had no idea what...

"Um... M-maybe?" Yosuke retorted when no one else in the group did.

The anger was gone, as if it was never there. Rise realized it couldn't have lasted long, probably just a moment's breath. She silently wondered if her Persona helped make her more aware in the real world as Naoto continued.

"Then, allow me to state my point. Will you admit that a number of you fit these identical circumstances? There was a long interval between the second and third deaths in this case. But after I applied the aforementioned criteria, I discovered several similar disappearances had taken place. Yukiko Amagi. Kanji Tatsumi. Rise Kujikawa. All of you disappeared shortly after being shown on TV. Either you escaped death somehow, or you faked your own disappearances in order to divert attention from yourselves. Since some of you had ties to the victims, there came a point where I suspected one of you must be the culprit."

He was looking at all of them again, Rise noticed, but again there was just the tiniest hint of more. His gaze may have pierced through everyone there, but the last person he looked at was Yu. Naoto's eyes stayed on him again, if only for a moment longer. The tall silverette suddenly looked very small as he seemed to shirk away from the Detective Prince's glare.

"You thought one of us was the killer!? You can't be serious!" Chie argued. She and Yosuke seemed ready to chew the bluette out, but the younger boy maintained his calm disposition.

"This was a prior theory, since discarded." That seemed to calm down the offended teens. "Putting together everything I've learned until this moment, I believe exactly the opposite. You aren't the culprits. You may, in fact, be the only ones with the means to pursue the true perpetrator." Naoto shifted slightly in place, holding out a hand to motion towards everyone there. "Seen as a joining of forces between the rescued, everything falls into place."

Naoto turned away from the group again. This was starting to remind Rise of old school mystery films now. The brainiac detective, wearing a trenchcoat and a pipe in his mouth, was explaining to his sidekick, love interest, and the other suspects about what was happening, who did it, and why. Rise was gaining a new sympathy for those characters. As Naoto continued to monologue, she was just getting more confused.

"Of course, this is all speculation. There is in fact a flaw in the theory. It doesn't account for the third incident. Mr. Morooka's murder. He has never been broadcast on television, and neither did he ever disappear. We must also consider the condition of his corpse. The first two victims are still listed with an unknown cause of death. But Mr. Morooka died of an easily identifiable blunt force trauma to the occipital cranium. The police have not satisfactorily resolved this discrepancy, yet they are desperate to close the case. Further action will be necessary to obtain some sort of decisive evidence."

Yu seemed to actually react to what was being said, showing he was at least listening. Rise felt his hand twitch as he looked up, mumbling to himself. The idol leaned in closer, barely catching the words he said. "Occipital cranium? But that's..."

"Senpai?" Rise whispered, gently prodding his arm. It was too late. He closed up again and his gaze fell to the sidewalk beneath them.

No one else noticed. No one else was looking. Chie, Yosuke, and Yukiko were standing in front of the two, between them and Naoto. Chie tilted her head and spoke, ignorant of what was going on behind her. " Further action...? What do you mean?"

Naoto face the team and she looked directly at the five of them. "Well, whatever the outcome... the evidence should come to light." The stoic face Naoto wore changed for a half second. The others didn't catch it, but Rise did. Naoto looked... forlorn? Was that the word? He looked kinda sad, or he was missing something. Whatever the emotion was, it didn't last. "You said something interesting to me not long ago."

The Detective Prince began to walk forward, and the group parted aside for him. "Hey, where are you going?" Yosuke questioned.

"This is not a game for me either..." And without another word or a chance for the five to ask her what he meant, Naoto began walking away.

"Naoto-kun..." Yukiko whispered, obviously concerned for the young boy.

"... What was that about?" Yosuke turned to the others with a brow raised.

Chie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Man, he figured everything out though..."

"Do you think we should go after him?" Yukiko inquired.

"School's gonna start soon, so probably not. We'll just keep an ear out and see what we can find from there," the brunette male sighed.

As the three talked, Rise looked at Yu with an anxious frown. She waited for her Senpai to go after Naoto, or to at least say something. He didn't do anything though. He just stood there, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the world. Seeing the friend she cared about so much, seeing their usually steel faced leader so depressed, it tore Rise up inside. She couldn't let him stay like this.

Okay... Okay. I can do this. "Oh no!" She suddenly gasped, putting her acting lessons to a new use. The others turned to her with surprised faces. "My report on the field trip! I left it at home!"

"What?"

"Oh no!"

"Oh crap, do you have time to go get it, Rise-chan?"

"I hope so... Senpai, come with me!" She tugged on Yu's arm, pulling him forward. He lifted his head to look at her, tilting it slightly. He looked confused, as well as a little annoyed. "Pleas~e!" begged Rise, holding the last syllable. "You're faster than me! Please! Please!" The older boy just looked at her, staring into her desperate, pleading eyes. Rise wondered if he knew the real reason she was desperate.

"... Fine." Yu slowly nodded his head, now following the girl, forcing himself to run beside her.

"Awesome! We'll see you at school! Bye, everyone!" She chirped, waving goodbye to the others.

The two ran until Rise was sure Yosuke and the others couldn't see them. Once that was accomplished, she came to a stop, leaning her body against a tall tree and panting as Yu watched her. She wasn't much of a physical athlete so the short sprint left her rather winded. The older boy, on the other hand, seemed just fine. Well, as fine as a silent, depressed, near catatonic teenager could be.

He continued to stare at her, forcing Rise to speak first. "I didn't forget my homework."

"...?" Yu didn't really move, but at least she knew he was looking at her now.

"Senpai, what does occipital cranium mean? You said it earlier, what does it mean?"

He was silent for another few seconds, before replying. "Back of the head. It means King Moron got hit in the back of the head. He died from it," he muttered.

It was the most he'd said since the field trip, meaning Rise was making progress. She allowed herself to smile proudly, before she realized the implications of what she just heard. "Wait. So Mitsuo killed King Moron before...?" Yu nodded. "But... but that doesn't make sense. Why would-"

"He didn't kill them. He didn't kill Saki or Mayumi. He only killed King Moron." He blinked, as if surprised by his own revelation. Rise swore she saw that familiar glimmer in his eyes for a moment. She saw the shift difference between a dull grey and a shimmering silver in those orbs. "He took credit for their murders. The killer, the real one, is still out there, still out here..."

"Oh my God..." A tidal wave of dread and horror coursed through Rise's veins. It only got worse as she brought another fact to light. "N-Naoto-kun was on TV recently! He must have known the real killer would see it and- and... Oh God, Senpai's he's using himself as bait!" Rise cried, grabbing his arm and shaking him. "You have to go talk to him!"

"M-me...?" He blinked and then slowly moved his head side to side. "No. Not me. Not... not me."

Rise glared at Yu, her jaw clenching as she grabbed his shoulders. She shook him back and forth as she yelled, "Senpai, snap out of it! I know you like Naoto! You can't honestly tell me you'd rather Naoto die than get mad at you for talking to him!"

"You... you know?" He mumbled, his eyes widening slightly.

"I may not remember much from that night, but I know you don't kiss someone like you kissed Naoto without liking them a little bit!" Yu looked away, but the idol shook him again, forcing him to look at her. "I don't know what you and Naoto talked about that night, but I know that whatever he said really affected you. You don't want to tell us? Then fine... But what about him? He could die."

Yu was silent. He wanted to look away, but Rise held his head in her feminine hands and made him look at her.

"Go talk to him."

"..."

"Go. Talk to him." She released him and walked around, gently pushed against his back. He stumbled forward. "If you hurry, you can probably catch him. Now go!"

"Why... Why are you helping me?" He didn't turn around, but she could hear his confusion.

She just smiled at the back of his head. "You helped me, Senpai. Besides, how could I ever leave a friend to suffer?"

"I'm not who you think I am..."

"So? I'm not the girl all of Japan thinks I am." Rise shrugged. "Now go."

Yu stood there for a long moment, and the younger girl began to fear he'd never move. She was about to say something, when he suddenly took off in a rapid swift forward. She had a small grin on her soft lips as she whispered, "Good luck, Senpai..."

What just happened? Rise...? I'm going to have to figure that out later. Apparently she's a lot smarter than I thought she was. Guess she isn't as much of a bimbo as I thought... Focus. Naoto. Murderer. Gonna get himself killed! There!

Yu ran like the wind after the Detective Prince. He called out to him as soon as he spotted the blue of his synonymous hat, "Naoto!" He heard him, but he didn't stop walking. It looked like he was trying to do the silent treatment on him again. Not this time, beautiful. This time, I'm speaking plain and true and you will listen!

Yu Narukami had been feeling, for a lack of a better word, empty, lately. He had been feeling empty, void of any emotion, fake or otherwise. Rise had been able to shake him out of it, even for just a little bit. Now Yu felt something, deep in his gut. It was a simple emotion, one of the cornerstones of feeling. It was good ole anger.

"Are you fucking dumb?!" Yep. That got his attention... As well as several other bystanders. Whatever. Focus. "Naoto, I know what it is you're planning!" Yu came to a skidding stop, before he stood in front of Naoto, standing right in his way.

The detective was avoiding his gaze, tipping his hat slightly as he retorted, "I have nothing to say to you, Narukami." He tried to go around, only for Yu to move in his way.

"That's fine. Don't talk. Listen." The silverette leaned down slightly and he spoke with a harsh bluntness. Despite his bluntness, his words were sharp and articulate, and thankfully for the both of them, relatively quiet. "The killer is still out there. Point to you for being right. Before you start riding that high horse though, look where it is you're going. You think it's a brilliant idea, hooking yourself up and acting as bait?"

Naoto said nothing.

"You could die, Naoto. You could just be another body hanging in the air by the end of the week. Do you think that's what your parents would want?" The bluette finally looked up at him, and his eyes crackled with the fire of rage. That struck a nerve. "Don't do this Naoto. Don't put yourself at risk like this!"

"A detective's life is one of risk," he responded. His voice was calm, but Yu could hear a slight quiver to it. No doubt Naoto was angry at him confronting the younger boy over his half brained plan.

"There's a line in the sand called 'acceptable risk.' You're not even in the same country as that line. That's how far you've passed it!" Yu sighed and traced his hair with his fingers. "Naoto, don't do this. I'm begging you. Give up this crazy plan. You could die..." He shook his head side to side, struggling to put his feelings into the right words. "I don't want you to do this."

The look in Naoto's eyes told Yu he would not yield. "My parents never gave up on a case until it was solved. My grandparents never gave up until the guilty faced justice. My great-grandparents reached out to the truth, even when their lives were at risk. I will not quit, nor will I be bullied into submission by a liar."

"God damn, Naoto!" Yu grumbled, putting his hands to his head as he tried to control his temper. "You are so incredibly stubborn! The hell is wrong with you?!" The two stood there, glaring at one another for the next few moments. Yu's gaze didn't remain angry for long, though. His anger melted away. Maybe Naoto would have seen that if he wasn't blinded by his own anger and pride. "I don't want you to die, Naoto."

"I won't be killed. You..." He didn't finish the sentence, but both of them knew what he really meant. Narukami and his band of merry misfits were going to save Naoto.

This didn't go far in comforting the older man. "And what if we fail? The rescues? They're getting harder and harder. Not to mention, what if we die trying to save you? What if we fail? There could only be eight corpses strung up in one night!" He warned. He reached for Naoto's shoulder, only for the detective to step back.

"Your actions forced me to play this hand."

"It's my fault?" Yu repeated, his anger rising again. "I... You..." He stopped and let out a long, deep sigh. He was scared, yet a smile for forming on his lips as he shook his head. "D-damn it, Naoto. I... I just don't want you risking your life. If you died-"

"I will not. I know your 'team' will rescue me. Your ego wouldn't allow you to fail," Naoto commented, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Trust me, Naoto, when I say that I'm not doing this just for jerking off my own ego," Yu replied. He shook his head as he laughed bitterly. "This is so fucked..."

"If you're done bothering me Narukami, I-"

"Have a dumb plan to enact?! Go be bait?" Yu let out another exasperated and tired sigh. "Damn it, Naoto, I can't even begin to explain to you how bad of an idea this is!"

"You had your chance to explain."

"You had your chance to listen to me so I could explain!"

"What did you want me to do, Narukami?! Believe in an urban legend? Or believe in a self-proclaimed liar?"

"If that's the case, why even come to me at all?!"

"I wanted to give you a chance to explain yourself. Nothing more."

"But you weren't even there when I tried to explain it to you!"

"Enough!" Naoto shook his head, obviously irritated by the circle the two were running in. He tried to walk around the silverette, and this time Yu made no effort to stop him. "I am fulfilling my duty as a Shirogane by taking whatever means necessary to solving this case. You can't stop me. You won't."

"Naoto..." Yu turned to the boy as he began to walk away. He wore no masks this time. Not that they mattered. Naoto could always read him all too well. A melancholic smile formed on the silverette's lips as he watched the Detective Prince go. "Look, I really am a bad guy. I get that. I lie and manipulate and I hide behind masks to deal with people..."

His words were enough to at least make the bluette pause. He faced the older boy, eyebrow raised, obviously confused by the confession. Yu continued, looking at the detective's eyes with that same forlorn smile. "But then there's you, The Detective Prince. You see right through my bullshit and call me out on it. Damn, Naoto. I've never met anyone like you before..." To Naoto's surprise, he turned away and began to walk in the direction he came. "I wish you didn't do this, Naoto. I don't want you risking your life, but I won't stop you. We'll save you. I'll save you. Maybe it's your turn for a wake-up call..."

The Detective Prince watched the older boy walk away. He stood there for a few more moments, before turning towards the opposite direction and walking.

"You couldn't stop Naoto?" Rise asked. She let out a sigh, quietly eating her lunch as she and Yu-senpai sat on the roof of the school. "This is all my fault... I never should have accused him of treating this like a game. I-"

"Don't." Yu stood up from his place on the ground and looked to the sky. Beautiful day... Hadn't realized... "This is not your fault, I promise you that, Rise. Besides, this could be a blessing in disguise. Naoto is an ace detective. Having him join our folds could be beneficial to finding the true culprit."

"That's if we save him."

"We will. I know we will." We have to.

Rise watched him speak and she tilted her head slightly. He was acting off. Strange. It was like he was back to his same 'stoic leader' role, but it felt so unnatural and artificial this time. Maybe it was just weird after seeing him so depressed, or maybe... "Senpai?"

"Yes, Rise-chan?"

"Whatever happened between you two, I'm sure you can work it out."

Her words seemed to have had an effect on him. His stoic mask broke to reveal a smile on his lips. It was a loss and bittersweet smile, one that someone would wear after accepting a tragedy. Rise wondered what was going through his mind, but she didn't pry any deeper. "I hope so, Rise-chan."

"Are... are you going to talk to the others?"

"There's no need to concern them with it. Let's keep this between ourselves for now." Rise blinked, shocked by the answer. Yu looked at her and tried to give her one of his charming, charismatic smiles, but all he gave was a pale imitation.

"They're really worried about you, Senpai..."

"Hm. I'm fine."

Rise looked at her food, quietly playing with it as Yu stared into the distance. His eyes had their glimmer back, but he still seemed so lost. Senpai... I wish you talked to the others about what was wrong. I don't know how else to help...

As the two ate in silence, Yu's mind thought of his star-crossed lover. Naoto... You changed a lot of things in my life by showing up. I guess, in a way, I should thank you. I mean, I never thought I was a good person, but at least I thought I had some good qualities. Really, I just thought I was better than people. Heh.

But you, Naoto? I'm going to save you, Naoto. Not because I want you to feel like you owe your life to me, honestly, I don't know if you'll ever not hate me, but because I don't want to see you get hurt. This rescue is out of the goodness of my heart.

Unless that's just another lie I'm feeding myself. Heh. I don't know. I've been lying so long, I've started to buy my own material.

I promise... I promise, we'll save you. Then maybe you can solve this case and maybe, just maybe, you could love... Heh. Nah. That's just a pipe dream.

END

This chapter was actually hard for two reasons. The first part, I'm proud of solving. I didn't know how to write this chapter due to Yu being depressed throughout most of it. I got around this by focusing on his friends' reactions to his depressed state, specifically, Rise's. More on that in a moment. The second problem? I had a hard time with Yu and Naoto's confrontation. I couldn't go too far off the game's script, so Naoto still had to be kidnapped. In the end, I head the (still depressed) Yu Narukami give up on trying to save her there, but promising to save her next time.

In this chapter, Yu starts to fully realize how bad of a guy he is. For now, it is a depressed acceptance, but soon he'll be working to be a better man. Hopefully everyone liked his portrayal and are accepting of how he is acting.

Now... Rise Kujikawa. She had a big role in this chapter. I was actually worried about her coming off as too much of a plot device. Too much of a 'solve-everything' deus ex machina type. Her character will actually continue to play a major role, maybe the second most important member of the team in the context of this story. She can tell Yu is hiding stuff and lying, but she has no idea how deep the rabbit hole goes. She still thinks he really is the great hero everyone thinks he is. Hopefully she doesn't come off as too much of a quick-fix or anything.

Her character is a bit different from the canon portrayal, but that's because her relationship with Delinquent Narukami is a lot different from the canon Narukami. More on that in a few chapters...

Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter. I'm still a bit iffy on it, but I really wanted to land an update on this date. I hope you all have a wonderful day! Take care and thank you for reading.

There was a review recently by 'Bingus' who had a few critiques on this chapter. I would just like everyone to know that I am thankful of constructive criticism. I mean, it sucks I made the error in the first place, but that's okay. I'm man enough to understand I mess up and to go back and correct my mistakes. So I might do some light editing, change some details, focus on some stuff, such and such and hopefully the chapter will be better for it.

Since he's an anonymous reviewer (which is totally cool, no prob) I can't send a thanks to him/her in a PM. So I'll just put this here and hope he/she sees it. Thank you, Bingus, for pointing out what you felt were flaws and doing so in a very respectable manner. You rock.

Thank you to all of my wonderful readers, signed in or anonymous, for sticking with the story. I hope you all continue as we take this long journey onward.