Chapter 32

Sakura felt a chill in the pit of her stomach. Naruto was looking down at her, sternly and fiercely, and the look was so animalistic that she had to swallow twice to settle her nerves.

"Sasuke," She began slowly, pulling her arms away from him and climbing out of his lap. "He went after Kou, Naruto. Kakashi-sensei and Shikamaru went with him."

Naruto inhaled slowly, his voice thick with irritation. "He shouldn't have done that. He should have waited for me." Naruto pushed his bloodied hair away from his face before heaving himself to his feet with a groan. His entire body screamed in protest as he forced himself to stand up straight.

Sakura jumped to her feet, supporting his arm tentatively. "Naruto, what the hell are you talking about? You can't go after him now - you almost died! How much help can you be?" Her grip on his arm tightened possessively, a gesture that would have been more effective if her small hands completely encompassed Naruto's arms. She satisfied herself with digging her nails into his skin, desperate to convey her conviction in making him stay put. Although his muscles flexed against the slight discomfort, the blond determinedly ignored her.

Instead, Naruto looked around at his comrades, their familiar faces returning his gaze earnestly. He saw their exhaustion, their wounds, and their worry. A pang of emotion pinched at Naruto's heart as his desire to protect these people struck him with force. He could not fail. Finally, he looked down at Sakura.

"I don't have a choice, Sakura. I have to go and help them."

The kunoichi frowned deeply, desperation in her eyes. "Naruto, please! Sasuke can handle this; he has his chakra back now! Please Naruto, just stay here with us."

Claws of pain tore at Naruto's chest as he pulled his arm away from her, stepping back. "Sakura-chan, please, don't make this harder than it has to be."

She bristled with anger, steeling herself to argue her case. But as she looked up into Naruto's eyes, the words faded. His eyes burned golden, fluid and molten, shifting under her gaze like clouds churning in the glow of sunset. But within them, beneath the rage and the determination, Sakura saw the reflection of grief in Naruto's eyes. He wasn't giving her a look of defiance: he was pleading.

Sakura's face crumpled as she fought back the tears trying to escape from her eyes, but her voice was steady when she asked, "What would you like us to do?"

For a moment, Naruto simply stared at her, the mountain breeze rustling his hair and blowing his bangs back onto his face. He swept them away quickly. When he spoke now, it was without a hint of uncertainty. "I need you guys to gather the bodies and get them, and yourselves, behind the strongest chakra barriers you can muster."

Nobody moved. Silence hovered among the gathered ninja until, quite unexpectedly, Hinata spoke. "Can't we go with you, Naruto-kun?"

Feeling a rush of affection towards the kunoichi, Naruto smiled. "I'm sorry, Hinata. I need you to make sure there aren't any bodies for Kou to jump into. You guys will be helping me from here."

Her face fell, lavender eyes turning towards the ground. "Yes, Naruto-kun."

The shinobi all moved at once then, heading off in teams to gather the fallen. Only Sakura remained, her eyes never leaving him. "Are you going to tell me to stay here too?"

The wind rushed between them, smelling of blood and rain. Naruto sighed, nodding slowly. "I wish I could ask you to come with me, Sakura-chan, but only because I'm selfish. I can't drag you into this mess. Besides, if the worst happens, you'll be in charge."

Sakura wanted to protest, to tell him that she was already involved, but the injuries from her encounter with Kou still burned painfully. So she clenched her fists instead and shakily replied, "The worst will not happen, Naruto Uzumaki. Do you hear me? You go get Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei and Shikamaru, and you bring them home. You come back home to us Naruto, do you understand?"

Naruto's eyes smarted as he nodded, whispering, "Yes, ma'am."

And then, without warning, he stepped forward and scooped Sakura up into a bear hug. Unable to breath, and overwhelmed by his warmth and the scent of blood, Sakura could only return his embrace helplessly. After a moment, she realized that she could feel his heartbeat against her chest and through his bare skin. It was surprisingly steady and reassuring under her fingertips, and she felt a strange peace settle over her mind.

When Naruto finally released her, she stepped away slowly. Without a word, she stooped down and picked up a bloody bundle of material that lay amongst the rocks and handed it to him. Naruto breathed slowly to steady himself as he unrolled the fabric, revealing the bloodied and tattered remains of his cloak. He glanced up at Sakura, who nodded, before pulling the cloak over his shoulders.

"There, now you're ready for battle." Sakura said with feigned confidence. "Now go, Sasuke is waiting for you."

Naruto nodded, orange markings appearing around his golden eyes as he entered his Sage mode. As he turned to leave, Naruto glanced over his shoulder, and in his husky voice whispered, "I love you, you know, Sakura-chan."

And in a flash of yellow he was gone. Sakura fell to her knees, finally giving in to her exhaustion and overwhelming emotions, covering her face as she rocked herself back and forth. She barely even noticed the sounds of Hinata and Ino rushing to her side, barely felt their warm arms around her. In that moment, all she was focused on was a single prayer, which she repeated over and over again: "Please, Gods, please bring them home to me."

Kakashi took a few hurried steps back until he was standing beside Sasuke, the green light reflected in his fair hair and gleaming sharingan.

"Well, this is a drag." Shikamaru muttered. "Do we have a plan?"

"Aren't you the plan guy?" Sasuke hissed, his eyes intent on Kou, who was thrashing around in his tank. "Anytime you come up with something brilliant, you just let me know."

The genius muttered under his breath, but no plan came to him. As they all watched in abject horror, the still-smiling Kou fumbled blindly around the glass walls of his tank, pulled at his hair, pressed his hands against the tanks black lid.

"I still vote that we destroy the other tanks before he busts out," Sasuke offered.

"Good idea." Kakashi said.

Without further ado, both he and Sasuke reached into their reserves of chakra, feelings bolts of energy through their veins as chidori appeared in their hands. Shikamaru stood back as the former teacher and student nodded to one another, directing their energy in unison towards the tank containing Lila. With a deafening crack it exploded, unknown liquid spraying the room as Lila slipped onto the stone floor. Without hesitating, they again focused their energy, this time on the tank containing Kou's wife. Again there was a loud crack, and Shikamaru found himself fighting down bile as he watched the pale, lifeless body slither onto the floor.

Their task completed, they turned their attention back to Kou, who had stopped his thrashing. Bobbing up and down in his tank, he stared expressionlessly at the bodies of his wife and daughter, pale and cold on the floor. Their long black hair was wrapped around their bodies, thick and wavy like seaweed. The dark veins under their pale skin stood out in stark contrast, like pathways carved through deep snow. Shikamaru found himself unable to tear his eyes away, transfixed by the knowledge that he had seen the daughter of Kou alive a few short days ago. He'd been amazed by her beauty, mesmerized by her confidence: and slightly upset when he saw her dead at Naruto's feet.

As Shikamaru stared at Lila, disturbed and nauseated, slight movement caught his attention.

For the briefest moment - Shikamaru was sure – Lila's skeletal fingers moved.

But before he could react to this, several things happened all at once. With a sound like a spear being slowly withdrawn from a chest wound, a deep squelching of liquid and weapon, the lid began to rise up from Kou's tank. At the same moment, a sudden chakra came to life at the edge of their senses, flame-bright and powerful, before vanishing. And then, before the three Konoha shinobi who stood immobile in shock, a pillar of gold appeared.

A flood of heat washed over them. Sasuke could feel his face flushing; his pulse racing in his throat as the ball of condensed chakra arranged itself into a familiar shape. Sasuke stared, hungrily, as a Naruto clone completely made of golden light shimmered before him. Only his head and a strip of his chest and shoulders were visible, his golden hair dancing around his face in wisps of flame. He returned Sasuke's gaze directly, and Sasuke couldn't help but feel like he was staring into a vat of melted gold and copper, churning and bubbling in the heat. And then, the flame clone opened its mouth, a single sentence bursting forth in a hoarse whisper that floated away as quickly as smoke.

"I'm coming."

With a sound like a candle going out, the clone vanished. He had appeared and vanished again so quickly, Kou didn't seem to have noticed. Sasuke blinked, idly noticing how staring into those chakra flames felt a lot like staring into the sun: his eyes smarted and spots appeared in his vision. When he opened his eyes, he returned his focus to Kou with newfound determination. Naruto was coming to help them. Kou would be helpless against the four of them. Sasuke almost felt the urge to smirk.

But then, the lid that had been slowly lifting, seemingly of its own accord, fell to the ground. And before the echoes of the loud crash this created faded, a deep, guttural groaning resonated from the stone walls of the mountain. Sasuke's eyes flew open wide, his knees almost buckling under the weight of a chakra so powerful; it was making the ground shake. He glanced over at Shikamaru, who stared back at him in apparent disbelief, shouting the words "No fucking way" over the roar of the chakra.

Fluid sloshed onto the floor as Kou suddenly flew upwards, the tubes connected to his body and mask snapping. He flipped gracefully midair, his hair spraying droplets that sparkled in the light, and landed soundlessly on the stone floor. He straightened up slowly, white-green eyes blinking owlishly as he looked down at his wrinkled hands, turning them over slowly. Kou looked down at the rest of his sickly pale body, tutting unhappily at his bony, starved frame. And then, apparently deciding that he didn't care that he was naked, he looked up at his audience.

"I don't suppose any of you know how to braid hair?" He asked with a smirk, lifting a handful of his hair and holding it out to them.

The question was so unexpected that Shikamaru almost laughed. Sasuke heard an exasperated wheeze puff out from under Kakashi's mask. Not even remotely amused, and still feeling compressed by Kou's enormous chakra, Sasuke simply narrowed his eyes in silence. He took a deep, measured breath, trying to steady his hammering pulse as he drew his focus inward. During their month of training – a time so short and full of happiness, it seemed more like a dream now – the only task that Sasuke had struggled with was the meditation Naruto assigned to him. How did Naruto expect him to focus on nothing when the stupid blond was sitting right there, close enough to touch and yet so untouchable?

Sasuke shook his head once. "Focus." He scolded himself, reapplying himself to his task. He took another deep breath; thinking back to the lessons Naruto had taught him about controlling his chakra. The Sage had told him to imagine his chakra, not as a series of veins and pressure points, but as a living thing inside him: something that grew and pulsed like a flame. As if on cue, something flared up in Sasuke's consciousness, a flickering ribbon of blue. Feeling triumphant with his success, Sasuke imagined that he was feeding the flame, allowing it to grow. Within seconds, he felt the familiar electric jolt of his chakra coursing over his skin. But instead of channeling it into a single point, like he did when using chidori or his lightning blade, he pushed it outwards forcefully.

Immediately, Kakashi and Shikamaru straightened, the weight of Kou's chakra suddenly lifted from their shoulders. While Kakashi looked over at Sasuke silently, Shikamaru was tensed with confusion, a very rare look on the genius indeed.

"Oi, Sasuke, is that you?" His usually docile tones snapped out in a low hiss, lines of stress on his forehead.

Sasuke inclined his head slightly. "I'm countering his chakra with my own." He whispered back, his voice strained. "We can't fight him if his chakra makes it so that we can barely move."

"A surprisingly wise observation, considering whom is making it." Kou cut in, his arrogant tone echoing in the rocky chamber. "But I wonder, Uchiha brat, if you can fight and keep up this bravado of strength at the same time?"

Kou vanished with speed, reappearing milliseconds later an inch away from Sasuke's face. Time seemed to slow to a halt. Out of the corner of his eyes, Sasuke could see Shikamaru and Kakashi hastening to react, their hands coming together to form hand signs. Kou's fist was careening towards his face, spider-thin and slimy looking. Sasuke could have counted the scars on his knuckles, the tiny hairs on his fingers - the freckles. But instead, he smirked, and feeling as if he had all the time in the world, dodged the blow.

An explosion of energy and air hit the rock behind Sasuke's head, the mountain groaning again as a huge crack split the wall. Kou had put all his strength into that one hit, and now he was off balance, his eyes wide with shock and loathing as he stared into Sasuke's blazing sharingan. The prodigious Uchiha darted forward, his strong hand clasping firmly around Kou's extended arm. The air gushed out of Sasuke's lungs as his body tensed, power coursing through his veins as he lifted Kou off his feet, throwing him violently towards the tanks, still standing despite being partially shattered.

Kou smashed through the centre one, pieces of broken glass spraying the room and dancing across the floor. For a moment, the Clan leader lay quite still amongst the shards, his hair wrapped around him like a strange, slippery cloak. Sasuke could feel his companions staring at him in alarm, but he didn't care; the thrill of adrenaline, of revenge, was singing in his veins. His chakra blazed even stronger as he advanced on Kou, his cold voice piercing the silence.

"My strength is not bravado." He hissed, red eyes flashing. "I have defeated thousands of opponents. I have fought and held my own against the man you consider to be a deity. Oh, and I have already killed you a several times today."

At that, Kou stirred, pushing himself up with his hands. Ribbons of blood ran down his back, but he ignored his injury, glaring at Sasuke from beneath the fall of his hair. He opened his mouth, but instead of replying to Sasuke's taunts, he barked something in a language none of the Konoha shinobi had ever heard before. It reverberated around the room, rattling their bones with its power.

As the last echoing peals faded, a sudden glow caught Sasuke's attention. He glanced down at the bodies of the two women – only to stumble backwards in instinctual fear. Marks were appearing on the corpses, glowing white at first and then fading to black. For a moment Sasuke thought they were simple seal markings, but as he examined them closer, his stomach churned with sudden recognition. He jumped back, landing between Kakashi and Shikamaru with the colour drained from his face.

"What are those markings?" Shikamaru demanded, clearly stressed by his lack of plan or knowledge about what was happening.

Sasuke replied with a single word that tasted like acid in his mouth. "Demonic."

In unison, the three ninja stepped back, their eyes fixed on the women. At Kakashi's sharp intake of breath, Sasuke knew he too was seeing the cursed markings taking effect, sending sickly jolts of dark energy into the bodies of their hosts. Shikamaru flinched as the women suddenly began to twitch and convulse, as if they were being electrocuted.

Once again swallowing bile, Shikamaru whispered. "I don't understand. We studied his jutsu, Sasuke. It all made sense. I specifically said that it didn't involve any demon shit!"

Kou was on his feet now, a grinning specter with his sheets of black hair framing his body. And as he rose the women rose with him, dripping wet and cold, their eyes black holes in their beautiful faces. They stood crookedly, as if they were slightly off-balance, their small feet getting sliced by the shards of glass that littered the ground. But if they felt any pain from this, they gave no indication of it on their blank faces.

Sasuke felt himself shudder. Aside from the times he had fought a Kyuubi-controlled Naruto, he had never come into contact with anyone whose power was truly demonic before. Forbidden jutsu's were one thing, but this – it felt as if the warmth was being sucked from the room, the oxygen replaced by an acidic stench. It was nothing like Naruto and Kurama's power, which, although still terrifying, felt pure.

"Kou," Kakashi said, his voice shaking with disbelief. "This is not the kind of stuff you mess with. This isn't the kind of curse you cast upon your own family."

Smiling softly, Kou stood between the bodies of his wife and daughter, stroking the hair away from their faces affectionately. "My bloodline has been tainted by dark powers for hundreds of years." He replied, voice sickeningly sweet. "Most people, curiously enough, believe in many gods yet refuse to believe in the demons who lurk in their shadows. They live in a world were jutsu gives men the power of gods, and yet they laugh at the idea of divine evil. I simply sought out that power. Now I am one with the divine."

Kakashi once again spoke, his voice pleading. "Kou, think about what this has done to the souls of you family members. Do you realize how much they must have suffered?"

Sasuke spoke then, his tone glacial. "How could you do this to your own family. They loved you. They were all you had."

A flash of emotion coloured Kou's features, madness in his green eyes. "Love is not guaranteed in life, Sasuke Uchiha." Kou said, and for the first time, the shadow of humanity darkened his voice. "Not for men like us. They were experiments, pawns, characters in my lifelong play to achieve my true goal. I have the blood of the demon in my veins, and now-" Here he paused to inhale shakily, raising his hands towards the sky with a look of undulating glee, "Now that I have spilt the blood of the avenging angel, my transformation will be completed!"

"You're insane." Shikamaru moaned, disbelief colouring his voice.

Sasuke felt a chill in his stomach. So it was true, he thought. All along, this whole plot was to capture Naruto. His Naruto. He clenched his fists so tightly that blood welled under his fingernails. Bristling with rage, he stepped forward – and suddenly Luka and Lila's mother was flying towards him, a shrill shriek blasting his eardrums as her clawed fingers scrambled towards his throat. He cried out in alarm, fending off her grabbing fingers and sending her flying back with a kick to her naked stomach.

She righted herself quickly, a feral snarl tearing up her throat. Crouching down, as if she was ready to pounce, her form seemed to ripple as whatever thing that controlled her began to change her shape. The shinobi stood in horror as both Lila and her mothers features began to contort, their spines rippling, fingers lengthening sickeningly, black eyes growing larger in their white faces. Sasuke felt himself backing away in alarm, and his movement once again caught the attention of Kou's wife. Her jaw unhinged as she opened her mouth wide, a roar louder than a lions rattling through her frame.

But before she could attack, there was a sound like an explosion and a blast of heat. Naruto slammed down onto the carved stone floor with such force that enormous cracks appeared around his feet. Flames licked along his spine as he bent down, his face inches from the Kou woman's, and using Kurama's voice, retuned her roar tenfold. Sasuke screamed in pain as he covered his ears, trying to block the intense, angry, protective sound of Naruto's roar.

Kou stumbled backwards in alarm, fear momentarily showing on his face. Both his wife and Lila slunk down, the lesser demons inside them cowering in fear, like two weaker wolves groveling before the Alpha.

"No," Kou muttered, shaking his head. "I killed you. I killed you, Naruto Uzumaki."

Rage seemed to radiate from Naruto in waves of heat; his shoulders tense as chakra flames danced around him. "Yeah, you did." Naruto growled, his voice dripping with venomous hatred. "But I came back."

As Kou spluttered over his words, Naruto turned fluidly, seeming quite comfortable leaving his back exposed to the demonic women, who continued to cower in fear of him. He looked at his comrades, his face surprisingly calm and expressionless. "Shikamaru, use your shadow stitching to hold those two down. They probably can't be killed by normal means, so try to think of a way to get rid of them. Kakashi-sensei, I need you to distract Kou for a little while."

Once the two men had nodded in silent understanding, Naruto turned his gaze to Sasuke, who stared at him breathlessly. When he spoke now, his voice was soft, familiar. "I need to talk to Sasuke."

None of them moved immediately, but when Kakashi stepped towards Kou confidently, the rest of them sprang into action. Shikamaru knelt down, ready to perform his signature jutsu. But whatever happened next, Sasuke didn't see it. He found himself moving, cool air rushing past, until he came to a stop on the rocky plateau outside the cave.

He stood there, breathless and shaking in Naruto's arms. His mind completely blank, all Sasuke could do was reach out and carefully examine Naruto's body with his fingertips, gently stroking the scars where less than an hour ago, swords had impaled the soft skin. Inhaling softly, Naruto retracted his intense chakra, allowing the flames to fade away so that Sasuke could see him – really see him.

Naruto's hair was filthy, matted with sweat and blood. His face and neck were frighteningly pale, the skin around his eyes ashen. Dried blood clung to his body, which would have been naked from the waist up except for the torn remains of Naruto's Sage cloak. Since Sakura had focused her energy on the larger wounds, Naruto's skin was still covered in cuts and bruises, some of them seeming to grown larger and darker by the second. He looked terrible – sick and exhausted and in a huge amount of pain.

Sasuke blanched at the sight of him. He felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped down his spine. "Naruto," He whispered, voice breaking.

Naruto pulled him closer, trying to smile as he said, "I'm fine."

Sasuke could only stare at him in helpless disbelief. He stared, astounded and concerned, because even in his current state, Sasuke was struck by his attraction to Naruto. When you love someone, it is difficult not to be astounded by their beauty; by how utterly and terrifyingly perfect they are in your eyes. Sasuke felt a jolt of electricity go up his spine as Naruto reached up, cradling Sasuke's cheek in his hand as he put their foreheads together.

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered, the huskiness of his voice making Sasuke ache. "Do you love me?"

Feeling himself tensing, Sasuke inhaled sharply in alarm. Even though he did love Naruto, intensely, he had never said it out loud before. And Naruto had never asked him to. Swallowing a sense of dread at the timing, Sasuke nodded slightly before he softly replied, "Of course I do, dobe."

Naruto smiled fleetingly. "That's good." He said, "Because I fucking love you. More than anything else in the world."

Hearing the sadness in Naruto's voice when he said those words made Sasuke's stomach turn. He reached up, gripping the hair at the back of Naruto's neck. Not knowing what else to say, Sasuke asked, "Why did it take you so long to get here? I thought that, after the messenger clone…"

His voice trailed off. Naruto, sensing his worry, brushed the hair away from his face in a soothing gesture. "I had to stop and collect myself for a few minutes. You know, make sure Kurama was okay, collect some natural chakra, that kind of stuff." He looked into Sasuke's eyes intently, seeing himself reflected against the blazing red. "Sasuke, I know what I have to do."

"To defeat Kou?" Sasuke asked sharply. "He's using demonic power, Naruto."

"I know," Naruto said with a slight frown. "Kurama could sense it. But that doesn't change anything. I can still beat him."

"What do you plan to do?"

Naruto hesitated, examining Sasuke's face carefully. He began talking slowly. "I think…I've known for a while what I would have to do to kill this bastard. And now I know for sure. I really did die for a minute down there, Sasuke, but while I was hovering there I met Luka, and he told me what I had to do."

Sasuke nodded slightly, frowning. He didn't like to hear that Naruto had been standing right at the edge of death: the news sent a fresh wave of pain shooting through his stomach. But he put it aside, knowing that Shikamaru and Kakashi were still in the cave, trying to buy them some time. "So, what's the plan then?"

The blond inhaled deeply. "It's impossible to kill Kou on this plane, especially if he has demonic power." He explained. "I'm going to have to fight him in the veil, in the world between worlds. The only problem is, normal chakra doesn't work there. Kou will still have power, thanks to the whole demon thing, and it's not like I can bring weapons there, so I had to find another way."

Sasuke waited patiently for Naruto to continue, nerves rattling around in his chest.

"In order for me to fight and win in an astral plane, I need to have an anchor in the real world and a source of power to use as a weapon in the veil. The part of me that stays here will be safe, assuming I don't get killed of course. It's the part of me that I fight with that will be in danger." Naruto swallowed hard, his voice shaking as he continued. "The two strongest parts of me, the sources that make me the most powerful, are my connection with Kurama, and my love. My love for you, Sasuke. Kurama is going to take control of my physical body and help you guys fight here, while I fight Kou – using my heart as my weapon."

Sasuke trembled with emotion. "No. No fucking way."

Naruto's eyes widened in alarm. "What, what's wrong?"

"You just said that the part of you most likely to get damaged is the part you fight with. Your soul. Your heart." Sasuke yelled, face flushed with anger. "What happens if you manage to kill Kou, but then when you get back to your body, your heart is so damaged that you…that you…"

"That I what?" Naruto demanded, impatiently.

"That you don't love me anymore." Sasuke whispered, looking down to avoid Naruto's gaze. "What if you're so damaged that you don't even know me, or Sakura?"

Naruto felt like his heart was going to explode, or crumple, as he tucked his hand under Sasuke's chin. "If that happens," He whispered, his voice hoarse with pending tears, "Then I'll count myself lucky. Know why?"

Sasuke shook his head, staring into Naruto's blue eyes searchingly.

He smiled. "Because, Sasuke, I'll be able to fall in love with you all over again."

White-hot, searing pain tore through Sasuke. With desperation, he tightened his grip on Naruto's filthy hair and pulled his down forcefully into a kiss. Naruto, taken by surprise, tensed up for a moment. But then he melted, pulling Sasuke against his chest. Sasuke held him as tightly as he could, breathing in his scent and tasting him hungrily. Naruto had always been something so solid, so warm, and now he was going somewhere that Sasuke couldn't follow. This thought sent another shot of pain through Sasuke, and with renewed vigor he deepened the kiss.

When finally they broke apart, Sasuke went up on his toes so that he could whisper in Naruto's ear. "I love you. I love you. I love you."

In a thousand worlds, Sasuke thought, in a thousand lifetimes. I would find you, and love you, Naruto.

Naruto's face twisted in pain, but his hand was steady as he gently touched Sasuke's cheek. He seemed at a loss for words, his blue eyes gleaming with emotion. Shaking his head sadly, Naruto simply kissed Sasuke's forehead and said, "I love you, too."

And then he stepped away. Within seconds, he seemed to shift, and Sasuke could sense that Naruto had already left his body. When the blond looked up again, his eyes were bloody red and flames started to dance around him once more. Sasuke steeled himself, putting his emotions aside so he could focus on the fight ahead.

"Let's go tear this bastard to shreds, Kurama."

A/N: Let's all hold hands and cry.