Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles
Author's Note: I have to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter. Also start of the Wave Country Arc Woo-hoo!
Episode 6: The Journey Begins! A Vow Made In Blood!
The forest was silent, an odd occurrence especially for this time of day. Suddenly it was filled with screeched of crows as they flew from the ground in terror, seemingly fleeing something demonic. Four shadowy figures swiftly ran through the forest, making hardly making a sound.
The newly formed team B, consisting of Gaara Sabaku, Fu Nagare, Naruto Uzumaki, and led by Killer Bee, each hid their presence behind the trees; their target completely unaware. Naruto was quite against the idea, saying that the name made it seem like they were second best. He suggested team A, but that was shot down when Killer Bee said they might run into some legal problem with his brother. The three preteen students dashed closer to their target, its back having been turned to them. Gaara put a hand to his ear, talking into his com.
"This is Gaara, arrived at point B, target 10 meters away." Gaara said into his radio receiver.
"This is Fu, arrived at point C, target 7 meters away." Fu answered shortly after.
There was a pause.
"This is Naruto, arrived at point A, target 5 meters away."
"You're gettin' slow, Naruto." Killer Bee heard Naruto grumble over the radio. "Our target is in sight, so you all better get steady. We'll make our move as soon as you're ready."
"I'm ready to go." Naruto answered seriously.
"I am as well." Gaara responded monotonously.
"Same here." Fu nodded.
"Alright, the enemy's in sight." Killer Bee rapped. "Let's get out there and show them our might!"
The three shinobi sprang from their hiding spot with the intent of capturing their target. The sudden noise created the noise they created made their enemies head swing towards them surprise evident on his face, either caused by the sudden appearance of three ninja or the angry battle cry of the one clade in orange. The target started to bolt, but before he could make an escape, Naruto wrapped his arms around its waist, effectively crushing his chance for freedom. The knuckle head ninja grumbled in discontent as he held the objective as far away as possible.
'The demon cat from hell' Naruto dubbed it.
This was the fourth time the same satanic cat had escaped from its master's clutches, and the fourth time team B had to retrieve him. A small part of Gaara had to admire the feline's determination for freedom, even as it proceeded to tear into their team's resident clone specialist's face. The feline and the fox vessel shared a pure unadulterated disdain for each other. Well, the cat had a disdain for all of them, but Naruto was the easiest target therefore he suffered the brunt of the feline's hatred.
The cat seemed to actively make it so that Naruto would never leave these missions without his face intact. Of course, his teammates weren't helping anything. Fu was on the sidelines, laughing her mint green head off while Gaara reported back to their Jonin teacher.
"Does the target have a ribbon on its right ear?" Killer Bee questioned. "Are we finally in the clear?"
"It's the same cat." Gaara deadpanned though it was hard to tell since he always spoke in a monotone. "It's always the same god damned cat."
"You're a team that can't be beat." Killer Bee complemented. "Looks our mission is finally complete."
"Why the hell are we stuck with these crappy missions?" Naruto screamed over the radio. The effect of the outburst not only knocked Killer Bee off his feet, but temporarily stunned Gaara and knocked out Fu. "When are we going to do something exciting?"
Twenty minutes, seven bandages, and a tetanus shot later and team B arrived at Konoha Academy to give in their final report. As standard procedure, the Hokage oversaw the assignment of all missions given within his village. However, Kakashi apparently wasn't given the memo seeing as he was taking more of an interest in his book the latest issue of Icha Icha Paridise.
There to do his job for him was Iruka, irritating everyone in the room except for the women sitting next to the leader. The woman had light brown, pupil-less eyes with soft-violet tied back into a spiky ponytail. Her attire consisted of a tan over coat, a thinly-shaped mesh shirt, a dark-orange mini-skirt wrapped by a dark-blue belt, a pair of steel shin guards, blue sandals, and a thick cord necklace with what appeared to be a snake fang. Like many Kunoichi, she wore the Konoha forehead protector around her head.
Even Naruto was smart enough to recognize Konoha's famous blood sadist and according to rumors Kakashi's girlfriends: Anko Mitarashi. The orange-clad Uzumaki had too many close encounters with her that he wished to forget.
Speaking of which, he and his teammates had completed the mission with the cat relatively unharmed, though in Naruto's case, not for lack of trying. Naruto handed the feline over to the absurdly large wife of the Daimyo's, sending him back to his unending hell of dress up parties and afternoon tea times. The moment her precious cat had been returned to her possession, the Daimyo's wife was literally hugging the life out of the poor cat Naruto snickered under his breath.
"Hah, thank you karma." Naruto smirked
"Holy cow, it's a wonder it hasn't been killed yet." Fu said shuddering at the thought of being in its position.
"That poor cat." Gaara said uncharacteristically. Naruto and Fu both looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. He glared back causing them to turn away and act as if they hadn't heard him.
"Nice work, boys." Anko smiled nonchalantly, stressing the word 'boys'. She knew that Fu hated people pointing out her…lacking assets, which served as good entertainment for the sadist. "And you managed to catch it in less than three hours this time. That's a new record. Now about your next assignment." She ruffled through the papers presented to her, looking down the list. "Let's see…babysitting a noble's son, grocery shopping at a neighboring village, helping dig out potatoes in…"
"Hell no!" shouted a fed up Naruto. "You are not sticking us with any more of these lame missions! Find a better one!"
"I agree" Gaara said, though gave no indication that he actually cared.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Naruto has a point." Fu said, her mouth suddenly feeling funny. "I've had enough of this crap! Catching cats, laundry delivery, cleaning attics! Why does a ninja need to do any of this?"
"Here we go." Killer Bee sighed expectantly.
"Baka!" Iruka exclaimed with authority; Kakashi wasn't paying attention. "You're still just novice ninja! Everyone needs to start with easy missions to gain experience!"
"What kind of experience does catching cats gi- AHH!" Naruto was knocked to the floor by his own teacher. "Bee-Sensei…"
"Cut it out, fool." Killer Bee warned.
"I like this gaki." Anko chuckled. "But I don't think you taught him enough about how the ninja system works around here, Iruka."
"Not for lack of trying!" Iruka defended. "Fine, you give it a shot."
"Gladly." Anko grinned, leaning back on two chair legs. "Listen up, Gaki, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. Mission assignments are a complicated system and are the basis of Shinobi villages. A lot of clients come to Konoha every day. They request missions from babysitting to assassination. On the request list, a variety of missions are listed out in terms of A, B, C, and D depending on the level of difficulty. In some cases, we receive an occasional S-Rank mission."
"S-Rank?" Fu repeated unknowingly.
"That's not important right now." Anko stated, leaning further back into her chair. "Shinobi are also ranked Jonin, Chunin, and Genin depending on their level of abilities. The higher officials assign missions to ninjas with the appropriate abilities. And if we complete a mission, we receive a fee from the client. Since the three of you only became Genin recently, D-Rank missions are more suited for you."
"I had pork ramen yesterday." Naruto told to his teammates, who seemed more interest in the boy's food choice than mission explanation. Anko fell backwards out of her chair. "So I'm gonna have miso ramen today."
"Pay attention, motherf-ers!" Anko screeched.
"Oh sorry." Killer Bee apologized sheepishly.
"Ah, don't lecture me, Hebi-Chan." Naruto frowned. "I'm not the same kid you used to catch pulling pranks anymore."
"I'm gonna get scolded for this." Killer Bee sighed.
Anko's natural response was to stab a kunai up the disrespectful party's ass, which has had varying degrees of effectiveness, but she had to stop herself for two reasons. One: she would get a lecture from Kakashi later and she hadn't perfected her pouty face yet. Two: Naruto had a point. In the last month Naruto has proven a lot of people's expectations of him wrong.
Naruto had proven his strength but graduating from the Academy, and learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu so well that it surpassed anyone else's. He also proved his worth as a ninja by being a part of one of the only teams in history to pass the bell test. She was finally starting to understand what Iruka was talking about the boy was growing up.
Without warning, a sudden snap caused Anko and Iruka to jump out of their seats in surprise. Kakashi had quite amazingly closed his treasured book, focusing on the resented prankster of Konoha.
Anko was, in simple terms, pissed. Usually she could only get his attention after hours of seduction or torture, or both, and this gaki throws a tantrum and he gives him his undivided attention. Oh, he was going to get such a talking too, well after a little fun, of course. Kakashi, oblivious to the fact that his girlfriend was running through a list of her 'toys' to use on him, addressed Naruto.
"If you feel so strongly about it," Kakashi smiled under his mask, "then I guess I have no choice but to assign you a C-Rank mission. Your assignment is to escort a very important client."
"Really?" Naruto asked excitedly.
"Really?" repeated Iruka.
"Who? Who? Is it a Daimyo? Or a princess?" Naruto guessed; his imagination running away with him.
"Don't be so hasty." Kakashi said patiently. "I'll introduce him. Can you please come in now?"
To say Naruto's expectations were crushed would be an understatement. Their client was a grey-haired bespectacled man with a moustache that wore a sleeveless v-neck shirt with an obi, matching pants and a pair of sandals. The old geezer was swaying at the threshold of the door, carrying a bottle of what was clearly alcohol – the guy was drunk.
"What? They're just kids." The old man slurred, downing another pint of liquor. "Hey, is the smallest one with the stupid face really a ninja?"
"Hee Hee! Who's the smallest one with the stupid face?" Naruto laughed.
His teammates sweat dropped before standing to either side of Naruto. From what could be seen, Gaara, even thou being born prematurely, was still barely a centimeter taller than Naruto, while Fu tower over them both by an inch. She was tall for her age; a fact that she was very proud of. At least until someone pointed out that she was still under developed in other areas. After Naruto had caught on, he attempted to deck the man, but was stopped by his rapping sensei.
"I'll kill you!" Naruto screamed.
"Ya don't kill the guy you escort." Killer Bee stated bluntly, lifting the boy off his feet. "It's not our fault you're so short."
"I really like this gaki." Anko grinned deviously.
"I am Tazuna, the bridge building expert." Old Man Tazuna introduced himself. "Once I have returned to my country, I will have all of you protecting my life while I complete the bridge. I hope I can depend on you, especially the boy in the skirt. He seems like a weird one."
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Fu screeched.
"What did I just say, brat?" Killer Bee shouted.
The team all departed towards their respective apartments to prepare for the journey ahead. All except Gaara, who felt that he only needed the sand on his back.
The team and Tazuna departed for the wave country at noon. Having traveled from their own countries to Fire Country, Gaara and Fu were treating this mission like any other. However, Naruto was overflowing with excitement due to this being the first time he'd been anywhere away from the Land of Fire, causing his teammates to give him strange looks.
"All right! Let's go!" Naruto cheered.
"What are you so excited about?" Fu questioned exasperatedly
"Because I've never been outside the village before." Naruto grinned from ear-to-ear, looking around the forest as if expecting anything different.
Fu sighed, though even as she did, she knew that she shouldn't be complaining. After all, she had acted the same way not three weeks ago after she had left Takigakure.
"Hey, will a kid like that really be capable of this mission?" Tazuna asked uncertainly, ignorant to the throbbing vein on the blond's head.
"I'm a Jonin, no need to worry." Killer Bee answered placating the old bridge builder. "Now let's get goin'; we're in a hurry."
"This geezer is the worst client ever." Naruto glared at the old man. "You better listen up you, old fart." Naruto spun around and pointed a finger to the bored client. "Ninjas are strong, and I'm the strongest ninja there is! I'm the ninja who'll one day become Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village! The name is Naruto Uzumaki! Remember it!"
"Here we go again." Fu said rubbing her temples. "I'm gonna need more aspirin."
Gaara resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his teammates antics. He always managed to bring up that topic not matter what they were discussing.
"Hokage is the village's top ninja, right?" Tazuna asked with a lazy expression. "I don't think a guy like you could be one."
"Shut up!" Naruto growled. "I'm willing to go through any hardship to become Hokage! If I become Hokage, you'll have to notice me!"
"I doubt it, kid." Tazuna scoffed. "Even if you somehow become Hokage."
"You…" Naruto snarled.
"Naruto." The blond stiffened, halting under Gaara's commanding tone. "That's enough. Let it go."
The blond Uzumaki was about to do anything but let it go. He silently plotted his revenge even as Bee ordered him to fall back along with Fu probably due to the fact that they would assault the client given the chance. Which… was true, but they still felt insulted by the accusation. Gaara stood in front of the front to act as a first line of defense against any attacks, though from the way he was walking, a person would assume he was off guard. Killer Bee walked behind him, eyes vigilantly searching the trees and bushes for enemies. If he were to be frank, he's been getting antsy; training the kids hasn't given him much of a challenge. Unfortunately, it looked like there wasn't going to be much action as they approached the Land of Fire's border.
"Hey, Tazuna-San." Fu said respectfully, despite her obvious glare. "You said your home was the Wave Country, right?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Tazuna asked irritably.
"It's just that I've never heard of it before." Fu proclaimed, tapping her chin in thought. "Does your country have a small ninja village? Hoshigakure was a minor village until recently, so maybe that's the case."
"There are no ninja in the land of waves anymore." Bee said with melancholic certainty. "The Village Hidden in the Whirlpools stopped anyone at their door. Their power rivaled the leaf. Anyone who fought them met defeat."
"The whirlpool?" Naruto asked interested.
"The whirlpool was destroyed." Bee said speaking as if this was personal. "But their people were coy. Uzugakure and Konohagakure were close friends; they helped each other out till the very end. They escaped to other villages to save what remained, so their efforts weren't in vain. The islands of wave are hard to control. The nations can't move between them without a toll." He clapped his hand on his female student's head. "Don't need to worry 'cause this is C-Rank mission. We could relax and maybe even go fishin'."
"Aw, I hate fish!" Fu whined.
Killer Bee chuckled as his student puffed out checks in irritation. But Gaara was more concerned over the sudden change in demeanor of their client. Ever since they had crossed the border, he had taken a sudden interest in their surroundings. Gaara had seen enough liars to know that he was hiding something. By the time the team had entered the Land of Waves, Naruto had begun to come down from the excitement he felt about leaving his country. He had thought being in a different country would be different, not the same old boring tree and dirt.
'Come on!' Naruto thought. 'I'm going to be Hokage for Pete's sake. I can't do that if I am just going to walk around all day.'
Naruto's plea would soon be heard as Killer Bee subtly spotted a small puddle of water on the side of the road. The others noticed this as well, but only Gaara understood what this meant and prepared accordingly. The sand in his gourd shifted eagerly.
Shortly after they had passed it, two figures suddenly sprung forth from the puddle despite its small size. Both ninja wore black cloak and masks with enlarged gauntlet on opposite hands connected by a chain that seemed to be made of shuriken. The four wavy lines scratched into the forehead protectors exposed them as ninja from Kirigakure, the Hidden Mist Village.
Their targets seemed to be caught unaware with their backs turned. The two ninja rushed forward, their chain stretched out between them. The team only heard them when they got within five feet, but by then it was already too late. Before the escort team knew what had occurred, the Kiri ninja were standing on opposite ends of the road with their chain constricted around Killer Bee's throat.
"Huh?" Killer Bee said confused.
"First one!" The older Kiri ninja exclaimed.
The Kiri duo ripped back their gauntlets, pulling the chain with extreme force. Fu's hands quickly found their way to her mouth while witnessing her beloved, yet annoying, sensei being decapitated in an instant. It took all her will not to scream out when the headless corpse dropped at her feet.
"B-Bee-Sensei!" Naruto stammered fearfully.
"Second one."
Naruto's body froze up. For the first time in his life he felt true fear. Not the fear of failure, but the fear of losing one's life. Before he knew what was happening, the Kiri-nin was behind him, their shuriken chain already circling him. But before it could cause his certain demise, the chain suddenly froze in midair almost as if stopped by the hand of fate. But the real answer was much simpler than that.
Upon closer examination, the shinobi present saw that the chain was coated in clusters of sand preventing them from skewering the orange wearing knuckle head. Gaara had made his move; the advantage was his. Sending two columns of spiked sand at the enemy, they had no choice but to ditch their weapons and dodge. Once Naruto was no longer in danger, he released the chain, letting it fall to the ground with a clatter.
'Gaara…' Naruto thought amazingly. 'Was he always this strong?'
"Watch out for the Suna kid!" The older of the duo shouted. "He's a dangerous one!"
"I know that!" The younger of the two shouted back. "Go after the bridge builder! I'll take care of the others!"
With their plan set, the younger Kiri-nin rushed toward Naruto, who was still paralyzed in awe at his teammate's power. He attempted to slash his claw across Naruto's face. Naruto only barely was able to stop his strike by raising his hand to block causing it to slash the back of his hand. While this was happening, the other Kiri brother weaved between the blasts of sand coming his way, getting closer to the old bridge builder. Fu took action and stood in front of Tazuna and activated her exoskeleton. But she soon found this pointless as the hitman's head was suddenly slammed by Killer Bee, who had in an instant incapacitated both brothers.
"Yo." Killer Bee smiled nonchalantly to his students.
"Bee-Sensei! You're alive!" Naruto exclaimed from his place on the ground.
"I thought so." Gaara said, his sand flowing back into his gourd. His ringed eyes had noticed the supposed corpse turn into a split log a few moments after Bee-sensei had supposedly died. "He saw the puddle on the side of the road despite the fact that it hasn't rained in two weeks. He used the Body Replacement Jutsu. The same one he used on Naruto a couple weeks ago. He hid his presence and waited for the enemy to strike so he could catch them off guard."
"Sorry for not helpin' ya a while ago." Killer Bee apologized, more to Naruto than the others. "But I didn't think ya would be scared, Naruto. But ya really should have been more alert 'cause now it looks like you're hurt." He turned to the remainder of his students. "You two were good in combat. Even you, ya little brat."
"Like you would know!" Fu growled while deactivating her exeskeleton. "I didn't even get a chance to show off!"
'I…couldn't do anything.' Naruto thought angrily. 'But Gaara and Fu were able to handle them like it was nothing. They weren't afraid at all. They acted like real ninja while I was stuck whimpering on my knees. It's not fair!'
Gaara stared at Naruto and then at his hand. His eyes soften, but only a bit.
"Naruto… you should go home. We don't need you getting hurt." To people who knew Gaara, that would have been the closest thing he'd shown to concern in years. But Naruto, who had only known the red haired genin for three weeks, considered it an insult.
"Gaara…" Naruto scowled.
"Naruto!" Killer Bee shouted, causing the boy to stumble. "I don't mean to rush, but there's poison in that gush. The poison's in your hand so we better hurry, unless you want your vision blurry."
"What?" Naruto flinched.
"We have to open up your wound and leech the poisoned blood." Fu explained seriously. "I have some skill in medical ninjutsu, but only on how to close the wound. We'll need to find a professional doctor so he can extract the poison. Try not to move so much or the blood will dig deeper into your systems."
"That in mind." Killer Bee was seriously, breaking off his musical tone. "Tazuna, we've got somethin' to talk about."
"W-what is it?" Tazuna stammered nervously.
"These guys aren't just random ninja." Killer Bee stated, referring the Shinobi assassins as he tied their unconscious forms to a nearby tree. "They're Gozu and Meizu, the Demon Brothers of Kirigakure. They're Chunin that abandoned their village six years ago and became acting mercenaries for the highest bidder."
"If you knew that…" Tazuna questioned. "Why did you let the kids fight?"
"If I was up to it, I could have killed them in the blink of an eye." Killer Bee explained. "But I needed to know who their target was."
"What do you mean?" Tazuna asked worried.
"What I mean is this…" Killer Bee said crossing his arms. "Those two went for you specially, meaning that they were hired to take you out. In your mission request, you said that we would only be facing thieves and bandits." Tazuna hung his head in shame. "A mission with other shinobi dictates at least a B-rank, maybe even an A-rank. I know you must have your reasons but we can't complete a mission without all the details."
"This mission is out of our league." Fu nodded. "We should quit while we have a chance. Since Kirigakure is closer, we should stop by and get a doctor to remove the poisoned blood in Naruto's hand. The Mizukage could pass the mission on to a more capable group of ninja."
"Hmm." Killer Bee hummed, looking over his blond student. "It's a bit out of the way, but we don't have a choice. Let's head to Kiri."
Naruto was more than a little upset about today. He was upset that they had a crappy client, he was upset about the fact that he was about to fail his first C-rank mission, but most of all he was upset with himself. The second he had encountered real danger, he had frozen up and been a burden to Gaara and Fu. And now the mission was about to be stopped because of him.
'Damn it! Why am I so weak?' He looked at his hand and was reminded of all the times he had come in dead last of every test, every person, and every trial that had told him he was a failure. 'I won't stand for it anymore!'
Moving too suddenly for his team to stop, Naruto whipped out a kunai and plunged it deep into his wounded hand. Fu put her hand to her mouth, Tazuna looked at him like he had lost his mind, while Gaara felt his respect for the blond raise a couple notches.
"Why am I so different…?" Naruto moaned. "Why am I always…Damn it!"
"Naruto, what are you doing?" Fu scolded.
"I should be stronger." Naruto spoke with a constricted tone. "I've accomplished lots of missions and practiced techniques every day. I'm never going to do something that requires someone to help me. I'm never going to be frightened and try to back out of things. I'm not going to lose again." He raised his bleeding hand for all to see. "I vow to this pain in my left hand. I'm going to protect the old man with my power!" He flashed a brave smile to the group. "I never go back on my word. That's my Nindo – my ninja way!"
"Hmm." Gaara hummed absently.
"That kid." Tazuna thought admirably.
"Naruto…" Fu was awestruck feeling as if she had witnessed something important; her copper-tan checks tinted with red.
"Naruto, it's nice that you took out the poison so spiritually." Killer Bee rapped. "But if you lose any more blood, you'll die. Seriously."
The scene froze as if someone had stopped the clock to prolong this moment and, almost comically, a small wind blew through as though it wanted to witness this event. Naruto and Team B were silently staring at one another; the blond was sweating a waterfall. None too surprisingly, the Uzumaki children started running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
"AH! I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Naruto screamed shrilly.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Fu exclaimed angrily. "First you act tough, and then you turn into a loser! I can't believe I actually thought you were cool!"
"I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Naruto cried.
"Get over here and let me heal you, baka!" Fu commanded.
"This is going to be a long trip." Gaara sighed.
In the heart of the water country was a forest always filled with mist so thick that it is said it can even hid you from the eyes of the gods. Back when the Hidden Mist Village was still called the Bloody Mist, they threw their genin in here to see if their senses were honed enough to survive. Some say that there are still genin wandering the forest in search for a way home.
Within the canopy of the trees was a large structure so big that one could wonder how the trees supported it. Within one of the many spacious rooms, a short little man in a wealthy business suit was escorted by a pair of formidable looking samurai. The runty man looked very displeased, baring his teeth to the young man lounging on the couch across the room.
His opposition was a thin young man barely in his teens with pure-white hair that held a blue-ish tint, deep-amethyst eyes, and a row of pointed teeth. His attire was a rich-purple, sleeveless shirt, a pair of grey cargo pants, a pair of brown sandals, and a black belt holding various water bottles around his waist.
The teenaged warrior yawned in boredom, having listened to the shrimp for a half-hour now.
"So explain to me again…" The business man glared; trying to look intimidating… it didn't work. "…why I spent a good fortune on a supposedly elite team of ninjas when they can't even kill an old fool of a bridge builder?"
"Stop complaining." The teen waved uncaringly. "I'll let Zabuza-Senpai know what happened and he'll just kill the old man in no time."
"You seem confident." The business man said suspiciously. "I heard that the bridge builder hired some really strong ninja for protection. And since the Demon Brothers failed in their assassination, they'll be more cautious now. It won't be easy."
"Have you forgotten who you're talking about?" The teen flashed his sharpened teeth. "Zabuza-Senpai was called the Demon of the Hidden Mist for a reason. He'll get the job done or my name isn't Suigetsu Hozuki."
Next Time on Naruto: Jinchuuriki Chronicles
"If they attack, they'll send a Jonin instead of a Chunin this time."
"Are you really a ninja? I thought Konoha Shinobi were supposed to be the best. Their reputation is a little exaggerated."
"I didn't expect to see you here."
"Uh…What's a Jinchuriki?"
Next time: Sink or Swim! The Demons in the Mist!
"I'm going to be Hokage! Believe it!"
Closing Author's Notes: I'm sorry this took longer than last chapter but hey it's out fast than the chapter before. Anyway, as always all reviews are welcome and encouraged. By the way, was anyone surprised to find out that Fu was exactly how Zero the Leech made her? If you haven't seen the latest episode of Naruto, go and be surprised with us. See ya.