Sorry about the late update. I took my family on vacation last month and thought I would have time at night to get some writing done, but I underestimated what time we would be returning to the hotel each night. I would like to thank everyone who has taken an interest in my writing and I will do my best to update on a quicker basis. I took this chapter to look into the past between Fianna and Kamito, I hope you enjoy.
Kamito gazed down fondly as the now sleeping Est faded into her resting sword form before gently placing her into the scabbard on his side. 'You did good, Est. Thank you.' Kamito could feel a sense of happiness and contentment come from the sleeping sword spirit.
Turning serious, Kamito sent a warning glare at Lily and Muir as he went to check on Restia, Who was still in her waffe state on the ground next to Jio's severed arm. Lily was cautiously watching Kamito, her mind obviously preoccupied with what had just transpired while Muir was excitedly watching the young man she considered her older brother with stars in her eyes.
Iseria was keeping a close eye on the two female assassins. It had not escaped her attention the the Elfim girl had considered attacking Kamito during the fight. Watching as Kamito tenderly picked Restia's waffe, she could not help but feel a pang of jealousy. She knew Kamito cared greatly for her, but it was still difficult seeing him so close to someone she considered a rival for his affections.
Kamito carefully picked Restia from where she lay on the ground and could feel that she was still under the control of the spirit that Jio had used on her. Pumping divine power into Restia's contract seal on his left hand, Kamito winced slightly as he forcefully freed Restia from Nebuchadnezzar's control.
The black sword phased out of sight to be replaced by Restia in her human form. Her dusk colored eyes opened slowly, looking upon the face is her contractor. "Kamito…" Restia said softly as she cupped Kamito's cheek. Suddenly restia's eyes hardened. Leaping from his arms, Restia demanded. "Where is that son of a bitch, Jio?!" Noticing the mutilated form of the former assassin, Restia stormed over and spit on the corpse before kicking the body, sending it skidding into the far wall.
Restia dropped her knees, tears of frustration in her eyes, how could she have dropped her guard so much as to allow herself to become possessed as she did. She was the embodiment of Ren Ashdoll, the Elemental Lord of Darkness. Jio had caught her completely off guard, she didn't consider him to be a threat, and that cost her dearly.
Kamito knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself before standing with Kamito's assistance, nodding silently to let him know she was alright.
Giving Restia a minute to collect herself, Kamito approached his former colleagues from the instructional school. He glanced over at the girls from the academy and knew he had a lot of explaining to do before this was all said and done. This was getting troublesome.
Getting to where Muir and Lily were standing, Kamito noted that Muir was almost bouncing with excitement. Lily had a much more guarded expression. "So, where do we go from here?" Kamito asked with his arms crossed. "I would really prefer not fighting either of you, but I cannot allow you to awaken that spirit."
"You were so awesome Nii-sama!" Muir exclaimed. "Will you play with me? I've gotten stronger too, wanna see?"
Kamito couldn't help but smile a bit. "Not right now, Muir. Maybe another time." Kamito said, rubbing the of her head.
"Okay Nii-sama!" Muir giggled. Lily watched their interaction with a calculated eye.
"And you, Lily? What are your intentions?" Kamito queried.
Lily considered what she knew, and what she had observed. Yes, Kamito was powerful, more powerful that she thought should be possible for a mortal, but he was not consumed by that power. He still showed consideration for his comrades, even former comrades and those he considered enemies. Even after killing Jio, he did not show any signs of succumbing to the power he wielded. "Our mission is complete, we will withdraw."
"Wah! But I want to stay with Nii-sama." Muir whined.
"I'm sorry, Muir, but for now I need you to stay where you are." Kamito said with his hand on her head.
"Ahhh..but why?" Muir asked looking up at Kamito with puppy dog eyes.
"Because I need you to do something for me, but first…" Kamito looked to Lily "I need to know where your loyalties lay."
Lily placed her arm across her chest and bowed her head. "What are your orders, Master Kamito?"
Kamito's hard expression softened a bit. "Okay, good. Here is what I need from the two of you. I want updates as to the status the blade dance teams, as well as any information you can get me about the current conditions in the Alphas Theocracy. I was also wondering if you had any information about the person who is calling themself Ren Ashbell?"
Lily bit her lip and cast a quick glance at Claire before looking away quickly. Looking over his shoulder, Kamito could see that the girls were trying too appear that they were not listening fire possible information about their idol. Catching Fianna's gaze, Kamito felt a small shiver of apprehension at the mischievous twinkle in her eye and knowing smirk.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have any information I can give you at this time." Kamito chuckled lightly at the groan of disappointment from the girls.
"You know, I happen to be well acquainted with Ren Ashbell." Kamito heard Fianna whisper conspiratorially. Kamito sent a scathing glare at Fianna who just smiled innocently back. "Why don't we all meet up at my room when we get back to the academy? I'm sure Kamito won't mind." Fianna suck her tongue out at Kamito once all the girls' attention was directed toward him.
Turning back to Fianna, Claire asked "Why would it matter if Kamito minded?"
"Because I am staying in the spare room of his suite." Fianna answered simply. "He is serving as my bodyguard, so it only makes sense for me to be close to him." She explained before any of the girls could ask.
Fianna felt smug satisfaction at the jealous looks from the other girls and Kamito just rolled his eyes at the young princess's antics.
Restia, having finally collected herself, walked up to Kamito. "You've been holding out on me. I knew you were hiding your power before, but I wasn't able to tell just how much you were holding back. Maybe next time I can show you another use for that power." Restia said seductively, tracing Kamito's jawline with her finger. Smirking at Iseria, Restia leaned in and planted a kiss on Kamito's lips that staggered the young man and left the girls all blushing. As the kiss ended, Restia slowly vanished in a cloud of feathers.
"Kamito…." Kamito was still recovering from Restia's kiss when a clearly annoyed Iseria wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and pulled him in for an even more intense kiss. This time as the kiss ended, the young Demon King's knees gave out and he collapsed to the floor of the shrine.
*Thud* Everyone looked over to see that Muir had fainted, a small trickle of blood leaking from her nose.
Iseria blushed at how bold she had just been, but she was satisfied with the effect that the kiss had on the young man that had taken her heart. Kamito blinked several times as he regained his composure. Taking several deep breaths he focused on sealing away a majority of power, returning to his normal level. The girls sighed a breath of relief when they felt his power recede. Getting to his feet, Kamito stretched a few times to get reaccustomed to his restrained self.
"Fianna, go ahead and reinforce the seal, then we can all head back." Kamito instructed.
"Yes, Kamito." Fianna acknowledged.
Lily had just assisted Muir back to her feet. "Kamito, I do have one bit of information for you." Kamito looked as her and waited for her to continue. "Vivian Melosa is somewhere in the academy town under orders of Sjora Kahn. I'm not sure what her objective is, so watch your back."
"I was wondering why she was in the area...Thank you Lily." Kamito nodded in acknowledgement.
Kamito watched as Lily summoned Titania, her contracted spirit, and commanded it to gather Jio's body. A vine extended from the plant spirit to retrieve Jio's severed arm. "We will be taking our leave now, we need to report in soon. Take care, Master Kamito." Lily announced, climbing onto an open flower blossom.
"Wah!" Muir cried out, glomping onto Kamito. "Nii-sama, do I really have to go?"
"Just for now, Muir. I promise we will see each other again soon, okay?" Kamito assured the young girl.
"Okay, Nii-sama. I'll be waiting for you." While still hugging Kamito, Muir turned her attention to the girls from the academy. "If you onee-sans try anything with Nii-sama" Muir's voice suddenly turned cold as ice "I'll kill you. Owwie Owwie!" Muir rubbed the top of her head where Kamito just chopped her.
"Muir, behave. They are my comrades as well." Kamito scolded.
Muir turned away and crossed her arms over her flat chest, pouting. "Fine. Stupid onee-sans aren't worth my time anyway." She mumbled. Kamito chuckled lightly and scrubbed his hands through her hair. Muir hugged him one more time before joining Lily on another open blossom. She waved goodbye as the petals obscured her and the plant sank into the ground.
"Kamito," Ellis said cautiously. "Are you sure it's wise to let them go?"
Kamito turned to see three nervous faces looking back at him. Kamito let out a long sigh. He wondered how they would react to learning more about his past. He could still remember Fianna's reaction barely a year after the blade dance.
Flashback
Fianna was riding in a carriage on her way to meet a potential suitor that her family had arranged. Ever since she lost her ability to summon her contract spirit, her family had been looking for a way to marry her off. Even without the ability to summon her spirit, she still had political value as a member of the royal family. Having just turned fourteen, she still had the luxury of being able to turn down any offers that were presented to her, but even she knew that was only temporary. Eventually, she figured she had about two more years, she would be married off to the family that presented the greatest political leverage, regardless of her feelings.
A loud crash alerted the princess that something wasn't right. The carriage she was in came to an abrupt halt, throwing her to the floor. She listened in horror as the driver and her chaperone screamed just before they were silenced forever. Fianna screamed as a large hands literally erupted the carriage door off its hinges. An older man with grey streaks in his hair appeared in the doorway.
"I'm sorry princess, but your date with the Prince of Baltistan has been cancelled." The man sneered as he grabbed Fianna by the hair and dragged her out of the carriage. Once she was outside, Fianna could see that there were about twenty people. There were a few men with various weapons, but the majority were female, obviously elementalists from the scattering of spirits that were around. A couple of animal like spirits were currently squabbling over the remains of the carriage driver, an elder man who had always treated her kindly. Fianna couldn't help but burst into tears at the sight.
"Shut the fuck up bitch!" The leader of the gang yelled, backhanding Fianna across the cheek. She could taste blood in her mouth from a split lip. "Don't worry, we're not going to kill you, the ransom you are going to bring us is incentive enough to keep you alive."
"But that doesn't mean that we won't sample the goods though." Another bandit laughed.
"Yeah, after we're done with you, you won't have to worry about not being able to summon spirits anymore." One of the females added. Scared and desperate, Fianna drew a dagger that she had hidden in her blouse and attempted to slash her captors.
The dagger was stripped from her hand before she even realized it. "That was naughty. Let's see what else you are hiding in here." One of the men said ripping the top of her dress open, exposing her developing breasts. Fianna cringed as rough hands groped her young flesh.
"You know, there are few things in this world that truly piss me off, and mistreating a lady is near the top of the list." A new voice called out angrily. Everyone's attention was drawn to a young man with a beautiful young woman with blue hair.
"Who in the fuck are you?" A bandit spat, drawing his sword.
"I'm your worst nightmare." The young man growled before seeming to vanish. A wet cough came from the leader of the group who was still holding Fianna by the hair. Looking down, the man discovered the boy's arm buried to his elbow in his chest. Fianna's hair was released as the man fell over dead.
"What the.." The second man's exclamation was cut short as the boy chopped him in the adams apple, crushing his windpipe.
"K-Kamito?" Fianna asked wide eyed. This could not be the same boy that had saved her last year. Then, he had at least appeared remorseful after defeating the Dryad that was attacking her. This young man seemed completely emotionless at having taken two men's lives right in front of her.
"Get the bastard!" "He's dead!" "He won't get away with this!" Were among the shouts from the group of bandits as they brandished their assorted weapons.
"Weapon works: Twin Fangs!" Kamito shouted as two kodachi short swords glowed into existence in his hands. Blood quickly coated both blades as well as the ground as Kamito charged the on coming bandits. Fianna was shivering in fear watching the display. It reminded her of the feeling when Rubia betrayed the Fire Elemental Lord and burnt down the shrine. Movement caught Fianna's eye as an elementalist bandit tried to flank Kamito's blind side with a wicked looking spear waffe.
"Kamito! Behind you!" Fianna called in warning. Kamito ducked under the spear thrust and slashed the girl across the belly, spilling her insides onto the ground. Fianna was determined not to let the fear she felt overwhelm her again. A strong sensation radiated from her chest and looking down, Fianna could see a glow coming from the pact seal in her bosom. With renewed determination, Fianna recited the incantation to summon her contract spirit.
"Thou, servant of the king of the child of man, knight and master swordsman! By the contract of the old blood, become the sword that protects me, come forth and do my bidding!" The seal on Fianna's chest glowed even brighter as, for the first time since the Calamity Queen incident, the holy knight Georgios appeared before his master, awaiting her orders.
"What the fuck!" One of the female bandits exclaimed. "She was supposed to have lost her spirit!"
"That doesn't matter now, we can take down that walking tin can." Another chimed in. The two elementalists closed in on Fianna and Georgios, one carrying a large scythe and the other controlling a large cat like spirit that resembled a panther. Georgios used his shield to bat away the panther and blocked the scythe with his sword, using his superior strength to overwhelm the scythe's user. Quickly recovering, the scythe user swung her weapon, launching a dark wave like blast at the knight. The blast was intercepted by Georgios's shield as the panther leapt onto his back. Georgios stabbed his sword into the ground to free a hand to grab the panther. He slammed the panther to the ground and quickly retrieved his sword, stabbing through the panther, sending it back to Astral Zero.
"That was for Jeane!" Fianna yelled.
"You bitch!" The panther's elementalist screamed pulling a kris dagger from behind her back. Before she could attack the princess, a blade pierced through her chest. The elementalist watched as the blade slowly slid out of her chest before her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she collapsed in a heap. The scythe wielder looked around and noticed she was the only member of hey party still alive.
Pulling an ancient looking ring from a pouch on her back, she screamed "Let's see how you handle this….Colossus!" The artifact drained all the divine power from the female bandit before exploding in a shower of spirit particles. The bandit was crushed under a massive foot as the Colossus was released. Kamito instantly recognized it as a battle class militarized spirit, probably bought on the black market, even though they didn't have enough elementalists to properly control it.
Exchanging a look with his companion, who had stayed out of the fighting so far, Kamito dispelled his swords and closed his eyes.
"Mistress of the tempest seas, protector of waters near and far! Now is the time to abide the contact made in blood, become my blades to purify the world!" Fianna watched in wonder as the blue haired girl evaporated from sight and a dual bladed sword formed in Kamito's hands.
'That girl was a spirit!' Fianna instantly realized, but this one was far different than the one Kamito used at the blade dance as Ren Ashbell. 'Where it's his darkness spirit?' Deciding that was a better question for the future, Fianna watched the battle before her, and hoped she would be able to be of some assistance to the young man that was fighting for their survival.
Standing just over thirty meters, around 100 feet tall, the spirit dwarfed the two teens. Fianna did not hear Kamito mutter 'I am the Demon King' releasing his full power, but she was suddenly drowning in divine power. She had never felt such power, and although it terrified her, she resolved to not let the fear control her. She watched as the boy, no, man she corrected herself, who was saving her for the second time in as many years, became wreathed in dark translucent flames and prepared to attack the massive spirit.
"Absolute Blade Arts, Destructive Form: Bursting Water Blossom Spiral Blade Dance!" Kamito leapt into the air the dual bladed weapon separating into two separate swords, the blades turning blue and shimmering as though they were made of water. Starting at a moderate pace, the speed and intensity of the strikes increased type the point that Kamito was nothing but a blur. The combination of the speed and power of the hits along with the added impact of high pressure water bursts caused the giant spirit to stumble and fall. Kamito kicked off the falling spirit, launching himself high into the air. Fianna watched as Kamito reached the zenith of his jump as the colossus landed on its back.
"Absolute Blade Arts, Second Form: Meteor!" Kamito vanished in a flash, intercepting the spirit on its rebound, separating its head from the rest of the body. As the colossus dispersed into spirit particles, Kamito could be seen breathing heavily down on one knee. Weary of potential unseen threats, Fianna rushed to check on Kamito with Georgios following respectfully behind.
Kamito had used a large amount of divine power defeating the militarized spirit, and was concentrating on returning to his previous form when Fianna reached him. His swords vanished and resumed human form, blocking Fianna's path. Fianna felt like fainting when she recognized Kamito's companion as being the Water Elemental Lord, Iseria Seaward.
"L-Lady Iseria!" Fianna squeaked as she dropped to a knee and bowed her head deeply.
"Hello Princess Fianna, you may rise. I trust you have been well." Iseria offered the young princess maiden a hand up. Kamito had finished composing himself and was now standing at Iseria's side smirking.
"We're really should stop meeting like this. This is the second time I've come to your rescue. I sure hope this is not how our relationship is always going to be like." Kamito said with a smile.
"R-re-re-relation…" Fianna turned bright red and promptly fainted.
"Hey! What was that for?" Kamito rubbed his arm where Iseria had just hit him..
"You knew that you were going to cause a misunderstanding wording it like that." Iseria grumbled.
"Yes, but it took her mind of the attack, didn't it?" Iseria just rolled her eyes. Kamito carefully lifted Fianna and laid her down on the bench seat of the carriage. A few minutes later she slowly came to.
"Ugh...what happened?" Fianna said rubbing her head, then suddenly it all came back to her and she blushed at Kamito's words again. It was then that she noticed she wasn't alone. Iseria was watching her with an amused expression. Shortly after she woke up, Kamito poked his head into the carriage.
Remembering something important, Fianna rushed out of the carriage to an empty area of the glen. Spreading her arms wide and tilting her head back, Fianna recited "Thou, servant of the king of the child of man, knight and master swordsman! By the contract of the old blood, become the sword that protects me, come forth and do my bidding!"
The seal on her chest glowed brightly and when she opened her eyes, Fianna was straight at her contracted spirit, Georgios. Her eyes filled with tears "It, it wasn't a dream. You're back! My Georgios, you're really back!" Fianna dropped to her knees crying joyful sobs. "Thank the Lords, you're back. I thought I would never see you again." suddenly remembering her present company, Fianna quickly dried her eyes and looked to see Kamito and Iseria watching her with understanding smiles.
Standing up, Fianna bowed deeply at the waist "Thank you. Thank you for helping me recover my connection to Georgios." Fianna said happily.
"No need to thank us." Kamito said looking away, a light blush tinting his cheeks.
"Kamito's right. It was your determination that allowed you to overcome your fears and regain your connection." Iseria smiled gently.
"Umm...Kamito, do you mind if I ask you something?" Fianna asked nervously.
Kamito hesitated a few moments before nodding. "Sure Fianna, what is it?"
"Well..um..I was wondering about your power. It has a different feel to it than the last time you saved me. It's darker, and much stronger. Georgios is telling me not to trust you, that you have an evil presence to you. But you saved me, twice, so you can't be evil, right?" Fianna asked warily.
Kamito sighed. He knew that this would eventually come up, but he was still worried about how she would take it. Being a queen candidate, of course she would see the darkness of his aura. "Fianna, I need you to promise not to reveal what I am about to tell you, please."
Fianna felt uneasy about his request, but she felt she owed it to him for saving her life once again. "Okay Kamito, I promise."
Kamito closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Fianna, I am the Demon King. My powers awakened shortly after I met you in that forest during the last blade dance. I almost lost myself," Kamito reached over and took Iseria's hand and exchanged a look with her. This was not lost on Fianna, who felt a pang of sadness seeing how close the two were. "But it was thanks to Iseria that I was able to regain control and stay myself."
"So that is why you broke your promise to meet me after the blade dance had finished." Fianna commented after a long pause to soak in what she had just been told.
"Yes, I'm sorry about that, but I had to recover after what had happened." Kamito answered
"What happened?" Fianna asked worried. After Kamito, posing as Ren Ashbell, had won the blade dance, he was taken before the Elemental Lords to have a wish granted. That had been the last time anyone had seen Ren Ashbell. Had something happened with the Lords?
"Kamito saved me." Iseria said quietly. "But it cost him much pain."
'Kamito saved the Water Elemental Lord? From what? Where was his darkness spirit?' Fianna's mind was spinning. "What do you mean he saved you?" Fianna asked.
"Fianna, have you noticed anything strange about the Elemental Lords? Any strange happenings or unexplainable occurrences?" Kamito asked.
Fianna thought hard. She thought it was slightly odd how the Lords did not seem to try and ease the people's problems, but instead seemed to be more the cause of them. They were apt to fits of rage and could only be calmed by young princess maidens performing dances and other rituals for them. But that was how they had always been, so is that truly out of sorts?
"The truth is that the Elemental Lords are being controlled." Kamito informed her much the Fianna's shock.
"What? How can this be? The Lords are all powerful!" Fianna exclaimed disbelievingly.
"It's true." Iseria confirmed. "We, the Elemental Lords, were taken off guard because we believed ourselves to be all powerful. This entity, this otherworldly darkness was able to overpower us one by one until only one of us was left. Unfortunately, my memories of that time are very scattered, so I am not sure what exactly happened." Iseria admitted sadly.
"After the last blade dance, I was able to free Iseria, but…" Kamito trailed off with a far away look in his eye.
"But Restia, his contract spirit, sacrificed herself to allow Kamito and myself to escape." Iseria finished for him, squeezing his hand lightly.
Steeling himself, Kamito continued. "I know that she is still alive." Kamito made a fist with his left hand. "I will find Restia, and then we will free the Elemental Lords from the darkness so there can truly be peace in the world."
Fianna was shocked to hear the Demon King talk about peace through freeing the Elemental Lords instead of through conquest, but somehow she knew that she could trust the young man, and him having an Elemental Lord by his side didn't hurt.
"What can I do to help." Fianna offered.
"The biggest assistance you can offer us is information about the Queens and the Divine Ritual Institute. Also any information that you can uncover about the next blade dance would be very helpful." Kamito stated. "And please keep anything you learned here today a secret. Nobody knows Iseria's true identity at the moment, she is going by the name Atlantae."
"Okay, Kamito, but how do I contact you?". Fianna asked.
Kamito handed her a clear spirit crystal. "Just channel some divine power into this crystal and I will contact you." The sound of horses could be heard charging up the road. "We must be going now. Take care hime." Iseria spread her arms and she and Kamito were enveloped in a blue bubble that faded from view just as a group of spirit knights rounded the bend.
Fianna gripped the crystal in her hand tightly for a moment before hiding it and exiting the destroyed carriage. The leader of the knights dismounted and approached Fianna.
"Princess Fianna, are you harmed?" The knight captain asked, looking the young woman over.
"I'm fine, Mina. I just want to go home." Fianna responded.
"Of course, Princess. What happened here?"
"I'm not sure." Fianna lied. "We were attacked and I blacked out. I just came to a few moments ago."
Mina nodded. "Princess, let's get you home."
Flashback end
"Girls, I know you have many questions, but we should head back to the academy. I will try to answer your questions after we get back." Kamito suggested.
"Fine, but I expect answers." Claire stated firmly, receiving a nod of agreement from the other girls. Kamito sighed, this was going to be troublesome, he just knew it.
The ride back to the academy was quiet and tense. Arriving back on the campus, everyone went their separate ways after agreeing to meet at Kamito's room later after everyone has a chance to rest and refresh themselves.
About four hours later found everyone in Kamito's room, and he was rubbing his temples to ease the headache that started when the girls discovered the decor of his room. He would definitely need to get back at Greyworth for this.
Kamito had everyone sit down while Est and Iseria served refreshments. Once everyone was settled, with Iseria and Est sitting on either side of Kamito, he started explaining his past and his powers to the girls. He left out some facts, such as him being Ren Ashbell. After he finished, he allowed the girls some questions.
The girls asked for a few minutes to digest what they just learned. Kamito agreed and went to the kitchen to prepare a quick snack. He had just finished a small sandwich when he was alerted that the girls were ready for him. He was relieved to see that while the girls seemed a bit wary, they had accepted who he was.
Claire was the first to break the silence. "I'll keep your identity secret, but in exchange. I want you to be on my blade dance team."
Rinslet added. "Mine as well." The girls glared at each other for a few moments, but Kamito spoke up before any arguing could break out.
"I agree to allow you both to join my team." Kamito emphasized my. "On the condition that you recognize I am the leader." Both girls quickly agreed.
Ellis looked slightly disappointed, but covered it up quickly. "Ellis, there is still one open spot on my team. It's yours if you want." Kamito offered.
Ellis gave Kamito a sad smile. "I'm already on a team with a few other knights. As much as I appreciate the offer, I could not in good conscience break my promise to my fellow knights." Kamito nodded in understanding. "But I do have a favor I would like to ask; please join the Sylphid Knights. Even having you as an auxiliary member would be helpful. We are a little short handed considering the upcoming festival. "
"As long as you don't believe my presence will cause to many problems, I can accept your offer." Kamito agreed.
As the group wound down and got ready to call it a day. A stern looking blonde entered the headmistress's office. "Headmistress, here is my report concerning my mission. I am ready for my next assignment." The blonde stood at attention, the armor of her uniform polished to a brilliant shine.
Greyworth didn't even bother to look at the report. "Good work, Velsaria. Your next assignment is…"
Once again, sorry about the tardiness of this chapter. Now Kamito has four members for his team. Next chapter is the Valentia Holy Festival, and the fun that comes with that.