Penelo: -Yawns- Boy, how many chapters are we in now?
Fuu: This will be our twelfth!
Vaan: Twelve chapters? We're not even half way through and nothing really happened!
Fini: That's your complaint…
Fuu: He can't hear you, Fini.
Vaan: Why are you talking to yourself, Fuu?
Fuu: I'm not talking to myself, stubborn jerkness!
-Bickering continues-
Penelo: Er…I'll guess I'll say this time's disclaimer then. Well, Fuu doesn't own Final Fantasy XII, including its characters, settings, and plots. However, she owns herself, Yuko, and these two other girls named Fini and Misa.
Fuu: Oh, yeah, there's also a special singing part in this chappy! I won't name the song now, but I sure hope you like 80's music.
Fini: I am officially afraid now…
Fuu: Well, enjoy this—
Vaan: New, updated chapter!
Fuu: GRRRR! LET ME SAY MY LINE AGAIN!!!
Chapter Twelve:
A "Journey" to Remember
We were heading to the village of Jahara, where the Garif people lived. We were also walking through tons of rainy weather, and we didn't feel very drenched, and it didn't affect my hair at all! Ivalice was the perfect place…your hair stayed the same! I folded my arms and continued walking in the front of the pack, right next to all the older people in the group, like Fran, Ashe, Basch, and Balthier. Penelo and Vaan kept an eye on Yuko while I acted mature and had great posture while walking around like an older member of the group.
"So, my friends, let's use some big words in our vocabulary to fulfill our sentences of communication, conversing, and chatting! Shall we?" I exclaimed contentedly. They all stared at me puzzled and continued their conversation…without me. I sighed. "I will always suck at fitting in, huh?" I went back to the rear of the pack and held Yuko's hand, as usual.
"Wow, this place isn't much exciting when it's all rainy." Vaan sighed.
"Agreed, agreed." Penelo, well, agreed.
"Hey! I know what to do to amuse us for the time being! Let's play 'never have I ever'!" I said excitedly. Everyone, even the two game guardians, stared at me.
"Is that a game?" Penelo asked me.
"Uh-huh, the rules are simple. Hold up five of your fingers and say something that you've never done, and if the other competitors DID do the thing you said sometime in their life, they have to put a finger down. If they didn't do that something, they gain one finger. Whoever has the most fingers remaining wins!" I explained to the group of friends. They all nodded and put five fingers up. (I first played this game at band camp! It's so much fun! You readers should try it with your group of friends sometime, too, you know!)
"You start, Fuu." Vaan said to me. I nodded my head up and down.
"Okay. Never have I ever stolen something!" I said. Vaan muttered a cuss word as he put one finger down. Penelo put one finger up, same with Yuko. It was Yuko's turn now.
"Here it goes! Never have I ever kissed someone!" Yuko stated. I gained a finger as well as Vaan, who looked at me with a rather shocked expression.
"Fuu? YOU'VE NEVER BEEN KISSED BEFORE?" He asked me rather loudly with a shocked tone. I raised my eyebrows and playfully rolled my eyes.
"And that's a big concern to you because?" I asked him, playing with my fingernails, slightly embarrassed about the topic. It's true, no kiss, and no luck for me.
"Well…I thought you were the type to…uh…let yourself go." He stuttered some words. I gave him a demonic stare as Fini and Misa almost pissed themselves in laughter in my backpack. Yuko, being at her young, innocent age, didn't know what that meant and didn't understand the joke Vaan had said. Penelo lightly slapped him in the back of the head.
"Let's continue this, please, Vaan." She exhaled. She put down one finger. Our eyes grew quite wide by putting a finger down.
"Penelo, you kissed someone before?" I asked her, surprised. She blushed; slightly embarrassed by the subject she was speaking of.
"Well…it was a dare about a year ago…with Kytes." She said. Vaan threw his head back in shock.
"Kytes? KYTES? That wimp?" Vaan asked in shock. Penelo giggled.
"It's not like I like him that way, Vaan! Besides, it was for about two to three seconds!" Penelo playfully snapped back at him. I grinned.
"Your turn, Vaan." I said. He nodded his head and put up his five fingers.
"Never have I ever…uh…touched another girl's boobs." He said. We all didn't put our fingers down, obviously. I then saw Balthier and Basch walk up to our small little line where we were playing the fun game.
"What is this?" Basch asked me.
"Never have I ever! Wanna play?" I asked them. Basch and Balthier looked at each other. Balthier shrugged his shoulders and began walking next to me.
"Here, let's let Balthier have a try." Penelo said, giving her turn to him. He raised an eyebrow and put his finger to his chin. After a few seconds, he removed his finger.
"Never have I ever tripped on my own two feet." He then looked at me and smiled. I rolled my eyes and gave him a smirk as I put my finger down, while everyone else had their fingers up. Penelo's turn was next…
"Okay, never have I ever had impure thoughts of somebody!" Penelo exclaimed. I put down my finger; because of all the sensual thoughts of Balthier that I had before I even came into Ivalice…and some other people, like some guys at my school and celebrities like Johnny Depp and stuff… Basch, shockingly, put down his finger; Yuko didn't put down hers, because she was a good child. Then Balthier put his finger down. I glanced at him.
"You dirty man." I smiled at him slyly. He raised an eyebrow and smiled back at me, staring straight into my eyes.
"Speak for yourself. You put your finger down." He grinned my favorite smile at me. I gave him a signature look of mine, sort of a combo of rolling my eyes with a smile. I had fun playing the game, but Yuko ended up being the winner, Basch coming in second place. Of course, I was rather unlucky to waste all of my fingers away, confessing some rather embarrassing secrets. The rain wouldn't stop and we had to pretty much run to get out of the way for fiends chasing us 24/7. We reached a save crystal, replenishing ourselves, and we decided to rest for a little while before we continued marching ahead. Besides, it was getting pretty dark already. We set up a little tent near this monster-less area and decided to get a good night's rest. Tomorrow we probably would've made it to the Ozmone Plains and where the Garif people were located.
Unfortunately, though, the rain was pounding so hard on my tent that I couldn't even shut my eyes without being intruded by it. I sat up in my seat and was about to grab my iPod…
"You." I heard a voice behind me. I turned around and saw Balthier.
"What's up?" I asked him, slightly disappointed of getting the title 'you'.
"I just want to show you this." Balthier took out a map. I arranged my seating so I could get a better look at it. I grabbed my cell phone and used it as a light to see certain words on the map. It wasn't in my language, but I recognized the places easily.
"We're about here," Balthier pointed to a spot on the map. "If we travel downwards a bit longer, we'll reach the Ozmone Plain. We travel around there until we find the Garif people." I nodded my head. I acted like I just processed this information for the very first time, although I knew exactly where to go.
"Okay. When should we wake up tomorrow?" I asked him.
"I'll be sure to wake you." He said to me. I nodded my head again. I then glanced over at Yuko, who was more successful in falling asleep than I was. She looked like a little China doll when she had her eyes closed like that. The cuteness could barely be contained inside. I was going to look at the map again until I felt Balthier touch my shoulder. Soon, he pulled me in closer to him. I blinked a few times before glancing up to see his chin rest on my head.
"Balthier, what are you doing?" I asked quietly.
"I just feel like you're the only person that I know that makes me feel…glad." He responded. I blushed at this comment.
"M-me? I'm just a soon-to-be ninth grader that's totally obsessed with this game." I exclaimed. He suddenly pulled me in tighter. I leaned onto his chest…and felt a heartbeat. It wasn't fast or slow, it was the perfect beat.
"I never realized how a young girl like you would accompany us on such a journey like this." He stated to me. I had to agree with him.
"Me either. I was just sitting on my couch at home, playing this game, eating a pop tart. I wasn't expecting to get zapped into the game itself." I said. "It's really a lot more amazing when you start thinking about it more. I don't think stuff like this happens every single day." He pulled me in tighter. I began to feel my cheeks burn up like crazy now.
"Not only that, but I believe you were destined to do this," He said. "You are the Legend after all, my dear."
"That's also something unbelievable." I exclaimed, a small chuckle coming up between the words I had said. This moment felt weird, almost to a moment in 'Twilight', between Edward and Bella. I'm not the biggest Twilight geek out there, but, I liked reading the books and watching the film (enough Twilight talk now, I don't want to start up random conversations about the book now).
"May I see your back?" He suddenly asked me. I blinked. I then remembered what happened a few nights ago back at Bhujerba. But, I didn't want to ruin the moment, so I nodded. I took off my black zip-up hoodie and turned around to show my back. He had to lift up some of my white camisole to see what he needed to see. "It's there." I heard him say. Good thing there was a mirror in this tent. I saw my back…markings of yellow in a strange, circular pattern. It looked like a glow-in-the-dark tattoo. It was all bright yellow, except one little circular orangey-red swirl on one of the corners the marking.
"I get it now," I exclaimed softly. "This represents the Espers I receive." Balthier nodded.
"Legends control Espers like pets. This is the sign that the Espers belong to you and only you." Balthier exclaimed. I took another good look at my back…but Balthier wasn't lifting my camisole down.
"Uh…Balthier?" I hinted him to leave my cami alone.
"Oh." He mumbled, pulling down the camisole and handing me my hoodie. I put it back on, blushing madly once more. He then looked into my eyes. His almond-colored eyes were tantalizing and gorgeous, as I did nothing but stare in awe and slight bewilderment.
"Do be careful, my young lady." He said to me before he stood up and left. He went to his own tent as I sat there, confused at what just happened.
………………………………………………………
I felt someone shaking me. I then remembered how Balthier said he would wake me up. Unaware of drool slowly dripping from the side of my mouth, I glanced up and smiled.
"Hi, baby." I mumbled happily to the one I loved, like they did in the movies.
"Hello…baby?" A voice that wasn't Balthier's awoke me completely. My eyes blinked, I wiped away the droll from my mouth, and I saw Vaan look down at me.
The slap on his face must've been painful.
We all get ready for more walking on this bright and sunny day (No more rain!).
"To the Ozmone Plain!" Yuko said as Basch carried her on his shoulders. I smiled and looked at my group of friends from behind. Fran with her bunny-ness and point feet, Balthier with his sexy strides, Basch carrying Yuko, Vaan limping from beating him up this morning (oops!), Penelo and her weird jumpsuit outfit, and Ashe with her mind always pondering with her life problems. Then there was Fini floating above Ashe, not a soul but Yuko and myself seeing her. Misa was gliding swiftly through the air right beside Fran. Then there was I; a young 14-year old girl with strawberry blonde hair, shorter than shoulder-length, with a rib-length black zip-up hoodie, blue jeans, white tennis shoes, and a crazy-ass personality.
We probably had a really funny looking group.
We continued walking through the rest of the Giza Plains, which took a few more hours. I listened to my iPod. I happily put it on shuffle, where "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey began playing. That sparked an idea. I immediately clicked a button on my iPod that contained the lyrics to the song, and gathered everyone around.
"Everyone, we're gonna sing a little bit to unwind!" I exclaimed.
"Sing what?" Ashe asked, annoyed by this whole concept.
"Don't Stop Believin'! Possibly the best song in the 80's besides Livin' on a Prayer! Now, here are the lyrics, and just sing along!" Everyone glanced at each other, but after an hour of practicing, they got it down perfectly…
Don't Stop Believin'
By: Journey
Fuu: "Just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world. She took the midnight train goin anywhere"
Yuko: "Just a city boy, born and raised in south detroit. He took the midnight train goin anywhere"
-Awesome pause with some electric guitar-ness!-
Balthier: "A singer in a smokey room. A smell of wine and cheap perfume. For a smile they can share the night. It goes on and on and on and on"
Vaan: "Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard. Their shadows searching in the night"
Penelo: "Streetlight people, living just to find emotion. Hiding, somewhere in the night"
Basch: "Working hard to get my fill, Everybody wants a thrill. Payin anything to roll the dice, Just one more time"
Ashe: "Some will win, some will lose. Some were born to sing the blues. Oh, the movie never ends It goes on and on and on and on."
Fran: "Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard. Their shadows searching in the night. Streetlight people, living just to find emotion. Hiding, somewhere in the night."
-An even better electric guitar part!-
Everyone (Even Fini and Misa): "Dont stop believin! Hold on to the feelin! Streetlight people! Dont stop believin! Hold on! Streetlight people! Dont stop believin! Hold on to the feelin! Streetlight people!"
"This is why I truly love you all." I said after the success of singing the song.
"What was that supposed to do again?" Penelo asked.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Fran said, walking away. Basch, Balthier, and Ashe agreed with her as they walked away as well. Vaan and Penelo shrugged their shoulders and followed them to get out of the Giza Plains. I stared down at Yuko.
"Really, Fuu, did that really help us at all?" Yuko asked me.
"It did! It brought up the mental success of how far we've come! OH! We should also sing 'How Far We've Come' by Matchbox Twenty next!" I exclaimed. Misa rolled her eyes.
"I've wasted enough time." She said as she flew away.
"Wait for me, Misa!" Yuko said, chasing after her game guardian.
"W-w-wait!" I said, reaching out my arm. "Maybe not How Far We've Come, maybe some Reefer Madness! Yeah! We could so sing 'Tell 'Em The Truth' from Reefer Madness! That'll be wicked awesome!" I said.
"Fuu, stop wasting our time. We need to get to Jahara for Raithwall's sake." Fini sighed, flying after the group of friends. I just stood there.
"They don't know what motivation truly is, do they?" I mumbled to myself angrily, whistling Don't Stop Believin' while I followed the group of friends out of the Giza Plains.
…………………………
We made it to the Ozmone Plain! The grass was green, the skies were blue, and monsters were prowling everywhere you looked! Goodie…not!
"Jahara is closeby." Ashe said.
"We just need to get through these guys." Vaan stated.
"Remember everyone!" I jumped out and striked a pose. "Don't Stop Believin'!" There was a long pause before everyone groaned.
"Fuu, just be quiet with that for twenty minutes, please." I heard Basch say.
"That's pathetic." Ashe stated.
"I'm sick of that." Fran mumbled.
"Jesus…" I muttered, being at the back of the pack again.
The monsters were tougher than I thought, but with a little help from my friends and my ninja sword, we took them down in a flash! We walked through, found some items, until we saw…a Garif tribe member! He was hunting for some food (and found something he hunted, a rather nasty looking bird thing) and spotted us following him to Jahara. He looked like he didn't notice us at all, but he kept looking back, probably scared shitless. We saw the entrance to Jahara, with Garif people, a moogle selling chocobos, a save crystal, and more Garif people. We made it!
"Who are you? This is Garif land. No place for Hume-children to play games." A Garif warrior said to us.
"They are only wayfarers," A voice said. "They don't bring harm." It was the Garif guy that we followed. War-Chief Supinelu. "They are great warriors. They crossed the Ozmone Plain and fought down any fiend in their path."
"They…" The other Garif began to say. "They fought down fiends? And you were out there, too, chief?" Supinelu ignored the Garif and turned to us.
"What business do you have with the Garif people?" He asked us.
"Well…" Basch began explaining. Supinelu nodded his head.
"Let them pass. Responsibility shall be mine." Supinelu exclaimed to the other Garif.
"Are you certain, war-chief?" the Garif asked him. Supinelu nodded his head slowly. The Garif opened up the entrance into the village and our funny looking group entered. The village was so similar to an Indian tribe village that I almost felt like I was somewhat back home, maybe in some sort of museum place or something. But, it felt like the United States to me. We explained more information to Supinelu as he took us to where the High chief was. And that was High-chief Zayalu.
"More Humes?" Was the first thing Zayalu said to us "They're a little bigger this time, but, no matter. You need not to tell me anything. I already know. You have come to our village to learn about the stones…the Nethicite."
Smart old geezer, I thought. I was also thinking about the other Hume that was here…and what did he mean by 'bigger'? In height, or just a sexual innuendo…?
"We Garif have knowledge of this, passed down from father to son, mother to daughter. Some of it remains; some has been lost in history's sands… I know nothing of the stones. You must speak to the Great-Chief. He alone holds the great knowledge of these things. He alone remembers all the tellings. Cross the bridge to the north, and there you will find him. There are watchers at the bridge, so I think it best to speak with War-Chief Supinelu." Zayalu continued. "Oh, and a favor to ask of you. Can you give this to Supinelu for me?" He held up a wooden stick with little carvings in them. For some reason, he handed it to me. I blinked and noticed how heavy the pole-stick thingy was.
"A Jaya stick." Fini said to me.
"You don't have to rush to give it to him," Zayalu said to us. "Just give it to him when you see him next." I nodded my head.
"Thanks dude." I said.
"May you find all the answers you seek." He said to us. We left to find Supinelu again.
"Fuu, is something wrong?" Misa asked me.
"It's nothing, but," I began. "I just realized how far I am from home. I never put any thought into it. My parents could be worried sick about me; I'm missing my marching band performances and practices. I'm missing a lot of things back on Earth." I stated. It was true. I was in the middle of a game, on some unknown planet, away from my house. I never felt so alone before. Ever.
"What made you think of it?" Fini asked me.
"I…I honestly don't know why." I replied. As we were walking around the village of Jahara, we finally found Supinelu. I handed him the Jaya stick.
"This is a Jaya stick." He said, although he didn't mean to review it to us. "The High-Chief has given this…to me? I shall receive it. I thank you for bringing it to me. Now, did you learn what you wished? No, do not tell me. It is written clear upon your face. So, even the High Chief could not help. Then, you must meet with the Great-Chief."
How many chiefs were in this flippin' village?
"I would like to meet with him." Vaan said to Supinelu.
"He will know something to aid you. But, arranging with him might be difficult…" Supinelu exclaimed. This whole situation of going from one person to the next reminded me of the Spaghetti Dinner. The Spaghetti Dinner was something that the band boosters did for the band and choir at our school to help raise money for them and trips to Chicago and Virginia Beach stuff. The trips were fun, but the Spaghetti Dinner was a pain in the ass. You went around all over the school cafeteria, serving little crying kids and slow old ladies and their grumpy old husbands. It was torturous and just plain confusing.
We went back to the High Chief to arrange the meeting with the Great Chief. Ashe begged him to arrange it, telling him about her relations with Raithwall and all that crap. After a short while, Zayalu let us through to the Great Chief.
Ashe handed him the Nethicite and he was glancing at it with full seriousness.
"You have used it." He said to us.
"It was not I who used it." Ashe stated to him.
"Long ago, the gods gave us these stones to use. But we failed to use it for good power. The gods were displeased with our failures and took them back, and instead, they gave them to Hume-king Raithwall. He brought peace in troubled times, and spoke of many stories of this Legend through the stones powers." He stated. He then looked at me. I glanced around the room, then back at the Great Chief.
"Yeah…me." I said, knowing exactly what I was.
"The Legend and even ones with Raithwall's blood running through their veins cannot use the power of Nethicite." Great Chief said.
"Cannot use it?" Ashe asked, appalled. "So, you can't tell me HOW to use it?"
"Although you are in relation to Raithwall himself, I am afraid that I cannot help you." He sighed. He handed the Nethicite back to a very disappointed Ashe (besides, she was the one who wouldn't shut up about how to use the stone in the first place. Now, we're gonna hear her not shut up about how she can't use it for sure now.)
"The Mists are gone in the stone," Great chief continued. "As well as the stone's power. It will be your posterity to wield it in ages yet to come." Ashe looked down at the ground and said nothing. "Although the stone is empty, it longs for power. It thirsts for it. A longing to drink the world dry."
That thought made me shiver a bit.
Then, out of nowhere, we heard footsteps behind us. Every one of us turned around and saw a person we least expected to see.
"Larsa?" Penelo said in shock.
Indeed, it was Larsa. I looked down at Yuko, who was holding my hand, and I felt her hand clamp around mine tighter than before.
…………………………………………
We were going to stay in the Jahara village for the night, and it was getting pretty dark. The Garif people showed us little huts to stay in, and there was one to share with Yuko, Penelo, Ashe, and Fran. I wasn't too tired, so I decided to walk around the village a bit. Torches were light, so I saw paths so I wouldn't get too lost. Yuko, Fini, and Misa (as always) were by my side, although, for the first time, we didn't say a word to each other. It felt really strange…and extremely awkward. While the silence was presuming, I thought about how long I had been in Ivalice.
The first day was when I met up with Vaan (who I startled a lot that day) and Fran and Balthier. That was also the day where we wound up in the Garamsythe waterway and met up with Ashe, who disguised her name as Amalia. We were then captured by Vayne and taken to prison. That was one day. The second day was in prison, where we escaped and met up with Basch. We got out and stayed in Rabanastre, where I first met Yuko in the Sandsea. We then headed up to Bhujerba to rescue Penelo, and we went through the Lhusu mines, met Larsa, ran away from Ba'Gamnan and his cronies, Vaan and I disguised ourselves as Ronsenburgs, we were taken to Ondore, and arrested again. A lot happened that second day. The third day was getting out of that airship, meeting up with Vossler, Ashe and Penelo, beating up Ghis with my Legend-y powers. We came back to Bhujerba, revisited Ondore, and stayed in his place for a couple of hours before sneaking out with Ashe. The fourth day was spent mostly in the Estersand. We met up with Vossler again, went to Raithwall's temple place, beat up Garuda, beat up the demon walls, obtained Belias the Esper, found out I was the Legend fo sho, got out of the place, were arrested AGAIN, Fran went ballistic, Vossey went boom, and we went back to Rabanastre. I learned Yuko's secret, Ashe gave up her wedding ring from Rasler, and we started to go through the Giza Plains. We took a rest at night to sleep. We awoke today, sang some Journey, went past the Ozmone Plains, met with Supinelu, Zayalu and the Great Chief in Jahara, and now I'm here. It was the fifth day in Ivalice, and tomorrow would be the sixth day.
"Holy shit." I heard myself say, with a big tone of surprise in my voice. Fini, Misa, and Yuko looked up at me. "We've been here, I mean Ivalice, for five days, soon to be six, actually! Everything went by so…slowly yet quickly!" I stated in even more shock.
"It is to a certain extent a surprising truth." Yuko nodded her head and smiled. Around then is when I realized that Ashe and Larsa were talking in private. We intruded their conversation. Yuko's smile faded away when she spotted Larsa. Larsa was looking directly at her.
"Legend, you are looking in good health for your young age." Larsa smiled at me.
He should be talking about himself! How old is that guy, anyway? I was thinking.
"Er…yeah." I really said. Yuko tugged onto my cami, which was a sign to not talk to Larsa and just get the hell out of the area.
"Little Yuko, I must say the same to you." Larsa gave a grin to Yuko. She said nothing, looking in a whole other direction. Ashe seemed by the entire thing, and just walked away to the bridge. I was walking, making a hand gesture for the game guardians and Yuko to follow my lead, but Larsa stood up. "Yuko, may we talk?" She froze dead in her tracks, her face similar to a deer in headlights.
"What is there to talk about, Larsa?" Yuko asked.
"A lot, actually." He responded. Yuko sighed softly and turned around to face Larsa.
"Fuu, please leave." She said to me. I nodded my head and walked away. Fini and Misa were following, but it wasn't long before Misa turned around and hid behind a large boulder.
"Misa? Don't sneak around into Yuko's business!" Fini hissed.
"I just want to know what's going on!" Misa hissed back. Fini looked at me.
"Fuu, what should we do?" Fini asked me. I put my hand to my face. I was literally waiting for a little option menu, like in the games, to appear and say: "Stay and listen" or "Walk Away".
"It could be useful information about Yuko-chan." I heard myself say, and I crouched behind the boulder, right beside Misa. Fini sighed and flew over, also hiding behind the boulder. The conversation was just beginning between the two siblings.
"Yuko…" Larsa said.
"I know, I know, I'm alive!" Yuko shouted.
"But, I could've sworn you were dead ever since I found you in the gardens! You were lying in that pool of blood, eyes wide open, pulse undetectable! Did I miss something important? Something dire? Why are you alive and at full health?" Larsa had so many questions going through his head, the poor kid. I didn't blame him. If I found that my five-year old sister was dead and you suddenly see her walking around on two feet like nothing happened, I would be pretty darn confused as well.
"It's a lot to explain, brother," Yuko exclaimed. "But, you cannot trust Vayne!"
"It is agreeable," Larsa said sadly. "The brother I once knew is now hard to even look into the eyes."
"It was always difficult for me, too…" Yuko sighed. "But, listen to me, Larsa. You CANNOT tell brother Vayne that I am still alive! He will only try to kill me all over again, just like the day of my death all over again!"
"I won't tell him." Larsa said to her. He was so kind to her, just like a true brother. I peeked and saw Yuko…with tears streaming down her cheeks. It was the first time I had seen Yuko cry. She hugged Larsa, tight. He hugged back, of course.
"It's just so great to see you, brother." Yuko said through sobs. They weren't sobs of sadness though; they were sobs of joy and wonder.
Joy and wonder: exactly what Yuko-chan has brought to my life.
To be continued…