Another chapter so to prove that I'm serious this time, guys!
000TD000
"You trust them, don't you?" The comment came from what seemed as nowhere. Their first meeting behind them, Naruto had pinned Kaeya down as a harmless flirt. She validated as much as they made their way down the streets of Mondstadt. She held him close, her arms making a loose wrap around his own arm, a minx-like grin on her face. It all felt so comfortable. Too comfortable for people who'd known each other for a roundabout ten minutes. So as they neared away from heavy crowds, Naruto wasn't prepared for her to ask something like that. She spoke in such a cool tone, too cool for the girl who seemed so jovial moments before. They held a deeper meaning, insinuating secrets and truths. Secrets and truth that Naruto had no reference to understand.
"Shouldn't I?" Naruto was simple, as was his reply. He understood what people choose to show, and Albedo and Varka had shown themselves kind. Albedo's small deception – in monitoring his vitals as they first spoke – had set him off a bit. He reminded himself though, that he hadn't been some casual visitor to Mondstadt. He'd been a potential invader, crashing near one of their Knight's outposts without alert. That casual nature of Albedo set him off course. He viewed it as a casual talk amongst strangers. But thinking back to it, his talk with him and Rosaria was an interrogation. The T&I departments back home ran all sorts of tests beyond the preview of their respondent. Putting it in that context, two tests felt light.
"All seems a bit too convenient doesn't it?" She spoke as if she was offering but a thought, sounding so innocent and uninvolved. As if she weren't suggesting anything. Yet she was suggesting something, something deeper and more nefarious. "Albedo brings you into our HQ with no foreseen notice, yet our oh so busy Grandmaster is able to see you right away. Varka offers you aid at the cost of your time... and when you began to lean towards setting off anyway, he convinces you to stay. And once you are on the edge of agreement, Albedo swoops in for an offer to recruit you. Fixing all your hang-ups. All very convenient… isn't it?"
"Is that all you mean?" Naruto asked, his words seeming to throw her off balance. She might have been escaping a more visceral reply. She would get none from him though. But as she froze up, that gave him passage to yield a proper reply without abatement. "Varka said it himself. There ain't a free ride even in this city that upholds freedom. Wouldn't be anywhere else, I'm guessing. He got me on somebody's payroll. Doesn't matter if it's his or somebody else's. Unless somebody can point a direct finger to where I can find Kurama, I'll need money to fund my search. So, it doesn't matter if he baited me into his Order or if all spurred forth at that moment. Either way, I'm grateful."
"And are you grateful for the constant surveillance? You must suspect something of that open window, no? Varka's one of the most important men in Mondstadt, as are his business dealings. He only lets something like an open window slide when he wants someone to listen in… namely: me."
"Bullshit."
"Excuse you?"
"You tried to push too far and forget what chair I sat in." Naruto pointed out exactly where her lie failed. For Kaeya, she had to raise an eyebrow, confusion showing; she herself was unclear by what he could mean. "...I could see the rust on the hinges. It's been a while since those windows 've closed. So if he leaves them open for your sake, must mean he wants you to listen in on every conversation."
"That could be the case, you know?"
"And if so, then why bring it up in conversation. Why make a deal of your regular duty now?" As he looked down at her, the raise of his brow and the smirk on his face told her that the jig was up.
"Fine, it isn't some big conspiracy to it… or maybe there is. Who am I to say?"
"Well Cavalry Captain, you're pretty important, so I'm guessing you're to say?"
"… you're harder to rile up than your dumb face lets on."
"And you wanna be more conniving than your cute face lets on."
"You think I'm cute?"
"You don't need me telling you that."
"You're right, I don't… it's still nice to hear though." She pulled herself closer to him, certain parts of her mashing into him.
"W-what!" He turned away from her.
"Are you blushing!?"
"No!"
"What are you twelve?" Her teasing had a following of laughter. He noted the smooth treble of it, how he wouldn't mind hearing it more. Not at the expense of his pride, next time, but he would let it slide this once.
"Look alive." He turned up at Kaeya's call out, seeing that they were nearing upon a restaurant. It was a food stand more than a proper diner. Its upscale design and wafting of a myriad of delectable aromas said otherwise. On smell alone, it was superior to some classier affairs. And being a world-renowned hero had benefits of everyone wanting his service at their restaurants.
"Welcome to the Good Hunter!" The chipper voice of a ruby-eyed woman greeted them. Hazelnut hair, held back by a headdress, waved about as she looked back and forth between Naruto and Kaeya. "And who might this be?" The woman asked looking over at him with a sweet smile. Being in her presents felt nostalgic and it took him a while to figure out why, but as he thought on it, it occurred to him. Her presence reminded him of how Ayame was when they first meet. The Ichiraku waitress had grown closer to him over time. Felt as if more of an aunt than anything last he saw her. But this girl radiated the same warm, welcoming aura that she did. It gave this food stand a feel of almost as if coming home.
"A new hopeful is all. Though he's a bit more special than the rest…" For a split second, Naruto wondered how much she would reveal.
He wasn't trying to keep it secret, per se, but explaining his origins to every new person he would meet down the road felt... "… Albedo's cousin." And, never mind!
"Oh, a cousin!? Yea, I can see the similarities!"
'Really!?' Naruto thought, suppressing an urge to blurt as much out. While he and Albedo had similar builds, Naruto edged him out by a few inches. While the shades of their hair and eyes were closer than the next person, it only lay within the same realm. The colors were separate enough, that it'd take some folly to mistake them as the same. It had to be a matter of information bias. She heard that they're related. So she picked at every stray indicator as definitive proof of a familial link. That or she was bad at dealing with colors.
"But my name's Sara, I'll be your waitress today!" She gave a slight curtsy and Naruto made to return with a bow, dusted memories of courtesy rising in his mind.
"Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet ya." Naruto said, only to draw eyes back to Kaeya. He'd no sooner returned to standing, that she latched onto him again.
"Er."
"Problem?" She asked, rubbing her hand up his arm.
"I-I'm not gonna run away, ya know!?"
"Can never be too sure."
"Oh, does he know about the dangling nudist incident already?" Sara's question seemed innocent enough, but the look Kaeya sent her said otherwise. The two women seemed to hold an entire conversation with nothing except their eyes.
"Dangling… nudist?" Naruto asked, breaking off the women's staring contest.
"A story for later… much later," Kaeya said as she pulled Naruto over to one of the empty tables. "Also I prefer cunning."
What?" Naruto asked as he was finally allowed to break away from the woman. It was to sit across the table from her, but he did appreciate space being returned to him... even as a part of him missed the contact.
"Before, you called me conniving. That makes me seem so… villainous. I'd prefer cunning." Her toothy smile only made his eyes roll.
"I'll stick with conniving, either way, did ya miss the wannabe part? As in, how you're failing in such a miserable way."
"Oh, I've only begun."
"What do you gain out of trying to bait me?"
"Entertainment," Her reply was an upfront one. For that at least, Naruto would put a point in her corner. "But back on that topic: Why are you so trusting of Kaeya and Master Varka. Are you so fine pledging your loyalty to people you've known for not even a day?"
"I've pledged my loyalty to many things. Most of them before I was old enough to know what that word means. But when it comes to comrades, I've never regretted giving them my loyal. Albedo and Varka... both of them have sworn to help me, so they're comrades."
"And if the unimaginable happens and they betray your loyalty?"
"Don't say it like that," Naruto rubbed the nape of his neck. Sighing, he looked Kaeya in the eye. "It's not like it's impossible or 'unimaginable' in my mind as you put it. I've had comrades to betray me. In more ways than one, but that doesn't mean that I regret having been loyal to them."
Kaeya bared a coy smirk as she laid her cheek to her palm. "That doesn't answer my question."
"I guess, if they broke trust, I would turn away from the knights."
"That's a jailable offense. Only does of noble origins have enough clout to resign without just cause." It wasn't a threat, not a proper one. She was too casual to be intimidating.
"If Varka betrays me, the Knights would hound me down at his command regardless. If you're after me, what does it matter if it's for one thing or five things."
"The Ordo Favonius isn't so stringent on hierarchal command. We have some autonomy in how we follow directives. Our oaths are to Mondstadt and her people. Not the top brass of the Order. So becoming an enemy of Varka doesn't mean we're obligated to heed gainst you. Now if he made you out as an enemy of Mondstadt-"
"What is your problem with the old man? It's like you want us to go at it."
"Old man, huh? I'd like to see how he'd respond to that." Kaeya laughed. "But he's family, pretty much. So I don't have too much against him."
"Then why?"
"It's like you said. I want to see you go at it."
"You're plain trouble."
"… only for fools like you."
"Call me a fool, but you haven't fooled me once yet."
"Yet." She offered, accepting the menu from Sara with a nod and a smile. "I have at least a month to trap you. So it's only a matter of time."
"Pretty arrogant to tell me that it's coming."
"Arrogance only exists in places where skill and experience do not. Call it confidence, would you?"
"I'm only confident that I'm not gonna be yer toy."
"Now, who's the arrogant one? So sure that you can escape me. Are you a prophet? Can you read my future? Should I offer you a palm!?" She held out her palm as if he would take it.
"I'm no seer, but I can read intentions."
"Oh?"
"At first it was a sense for negative emotions, but over time... I got the hang of the whole spectrum. It's why I know to trust Albedo and Varka… and you as well, though you also reek of deceit. But you mean well... deep down... deep, deep down."
"Oh, so you do still have abilities!? What about them relying on your 'chakra'?"
"… this is different. It's something I gained from Kurama... it's more sage-based than anything..." As he explained more about his empathic sense, he began to realize how odd it was to still have it. Kurama'd explained that it was a passive ability. Nothing inherent to his Jinchūriki. Rather, it's a skill that all 'children' of the sage possessed. Allowing them to resonate with nature. Or more all creatures in nature, at the least. As he gained a greater hold on his Bijū's chakra, the ability passed on to him. More by happenstance than intention. But it brought to question, why would an ability linked to sagehood persist here. 'Could it be that nature energy is a part of the 'laws' of this reality?'
"Sage-based?"
"It's something that I need to test! Is there a training ground around here!? Even an open field would do!"
"Slow down!" Kaeya laughed hoisting her hands up in a 'stopping' motion. "I'll take you to the training grounds… after we eat."
By her queue that was when Sara returned to them, a large tray in her hand. As she sat it down, it revealed a large round sort of flatbread. All covered in cheese and topped with sliced mushrooms and bits of cabbage. "One mushroom pizza for two! Eat up!" She gave a dazzling smile, earning a delighted nod from Naruto and Kaeya both.
Eat up, they did.
000TD000
"Unhand me, girl!" The voice of Kurama roared, as a small fox wiggled in defiance. The Shrine maiden only smirk at the creature – even as it tried to nip at her hand. She showed no thoughts of placing the little vulpine done, rather she moved it about in her grip. Glancing over every part of it, uncaring for what indignation she wrought.
"My, you've lodged yourself in there good and to the core, haven't you?" Her pink lashes batted at him, a frown marring her face. "Do you have no regard for my humble vassal you so rudely subjugated?"
"Get off yer mourning! This soul's hardly sentient enough to describe as humble. A few breaths away from running on instinct alone."
"He was quite young; intelligence would've come to him over time. But that's no longer possible, you're presence has crushed what little mind was there."
"If it's my life versus anyone else's, I'll choose mine every time!" Kurama's thoughts drifted to a certain blond. A stray thought plagued him. His life for the blond's sake? Another day and he'd only partially discredit the notion. But considering that it was Naruto that all but put him into the hands of this pink-haired wretch... Well, the Uzumaki best hope that he not again grow big enough to swallow him whole.
"Do you have even a hint of remorse?"
"If I said I did, would you release me?"
"No."
"Then fuck off with that 'remorse' bullshit. I got a whiff of yer emotions and what you're feeling ain't sadness."
"I see, I need not masquerade then." She dropped him. "Sit to attention."
Kurama wanted to protest, but his mouth wouldn't move. Against his will, the body he'd taken pulled itself to attention. Hind legs folded-in, front legs straight, head centered.
"So your presence doesn't disrupt my commands. Good. Training an intelligent Kitsune to be a proper vassal. It'll be easier than working from scratch." She smiled a much too wicked smile. Kurama saw himself in that face and he did not like it at all.
'Naruto, wherever you are, you better not be prancing around!'
000TD000
"Here, we are!" Kaeya let her arms spread, the gesture towards a vast open space. It rested on a cliff overlooking a vast vineyard with a mansion at its center. Naruto also noted the massive statue visible in the distance. It gave off an ire presence, almost as if it were alive.
It'd been a long hike to get here, where they passed plenty of open enough fields. But the statue was close enough to be wary of damage. And that vineyard looked like its owners were wealthy enough to be a bother.
"Why here?" Naruto asked, unsatisfied with Kaeya's choice of locals.
"You worry too much," Kaeya admitted. It was rather dubious of her to say that. It was her promise to make problems for him that had him on edge with her every decision. So her cry to stop worrying could be only met with more suspicion. "That Statue of the Seven is older than anything in this Nation. It's endured more than what you could manage without that 'chakra' of yours. Even with it, it'd be a sight to see you do any real damage."
"And that vineyard?"
"Oh, that would be the reason I brought you here." She grinned. "That place is my property. This hillside is too. It's like you reminded me, I am the Calvary Captain. If you caused a rumble anywhere else in Mondstadt it might count as disturbing the peace."
"Okay..." Naruto didn't so much as trust her words alone as he did remember Varka mentioning this. On how Kaeya had 'rooms to spare at the Dawn Winery'. So this checked out… probably… maybe… hopefully?
"Well, with your heart put to peace, show me this Sage Mode you were on about."
"I said I needed to see if I could enter Sage Mode."
"Same deal."
"Fine... hold my jacket… don't stiff it!"
"Am I just some horny animal to you?" Kaeya accepted the jacket, holding it aloof as asked. Naruto didn't dine to answer, walking away from her. "That wasn't rhetorical!"
"Sorry, face too dumb to understand conniving lady's words!"
"It's pronounced cunning!" her words fell on deaf ears as Naruto made himself comfy with the grass. Legs crossed and hands brought together right above his lap, he fell into a deep state. Freeing himself from want and desires. Freeing himself from self and worldly tethers. He gave away to the world around him. Allowing nature to take hold, he entered a state of sacred marriage. Where he, the world below him, and the world the one above him became wholly intertwined. It became that there was no distinguishing between the elements and he. In spirit at least.
To Kaeya, it was as if he just sat there unmoving. But then everything began moving.
000TD000
Kaeya couldn't get a mark on him. Not from the moment she met him.
She'd been lounging outside of Varka's window, not to spy. It was a coincidence. She'd been on a break and that'd been the best place to rest undisturbed. She was the only person brave enough to use that place to take a reprieve. Varka was a softie alright, but the knights saw him as more. With their rose-tinted glasses, they saw the venerated warrior. The knight who'd fought for Mondstadt's sake longer than many of them had been alive. They didn't so much as fear him for how powerful he was. As they did fear the thought of looking disappointing in his presence. The Grand Master left his window open – not because he was just so carefree. He knew his knights would go to all ends to avoid looking as if they were slacking off within earshot. And if anyone outside of a knight tried to get close enough to that window that Varka could notice them. Well, a swarm of knights would fall on the interloper. Upstarts and veterans all looking to make a good impression in the eye-sight of the Grand Master.
She was one of the odd ones in that sense. She counted herself as one of four under Varka's command that didn't care for the man's opinion of them. Albedo, Lisa, and Klee rounded up their troupe rebels. Oh, she wished that she could get Jean to see reason. Jean tried to look perfect in front of everyone, though. So Varka wasn't exactly receiving special treatment from her.
For all the parading everyone did, Kaeya knew how Varka actually operated. He was as steady as the Geo Element he wielded. First impressions were all that mattered with him. The way he saw fit to treat someone on the first meeting was the groundwork for how he'd treat them for all time. This wasn't always a good thing though. She'd been a lost little girl when she first met Varka. Abandoned by her birth father and taken in by the Ragnvindr Clan – Varka was a friend to the Ragnvindr. She only heard tales of his exploits as a knight later still. The point was he still treated her as he did when they first meet in her foster father's study. He was coddling where he should be advising, speaking softly where he should be stern. It was all very infuriating.
It was why she took delight in using her feminine wiles on him. It made him flustered in the angriest sense of the word. He worked so hard to be a good 'uncle' for her, so trying to offset the balance was a berserk button that she could push all day. But, he always – always – returned to treating her like the fragile mess she'd been so long ago.
It worked in her favor when it came to getting ahold of this target though. She'd been active in offering to help, not needing the usual coercion. Varka would - of course - aid his 'little niece' in doing a good deed. There was nothing that Naruto or Albedo could have said to stop the inevitable.
It was foolish. Most people that understood her – for whom took one hand to count – would tell Varka as much. Trusting her with someone like Naruto was a grand mistake.
The death of her foster father had done much to the Ragnvindr Clan. For her brother, it had created a divide between him and everyone and everything.
For her though, it'd been lionizing. Regardless of how his life had ended. Regardless of the choices he'd made leading up to it, Crepus Ragnvindr had been a good man and a better father. He idolized knights and had they be as great as he believed he's still been alive.
But she realized in his passing that her short-coming had come from playing knight. Regardless of what titles she held then, now, or in the future, she'd never be an ideal knight, but she is the ideal soldier. Willing to do what's needed without complications. Pride, honor, and compassion - all worth discarding like any other garbage.
And she would be that ideal soldier for the order of knights her true father – Crepus – so admired. To honor his memory and to seek repentance for the lies she sent him to the grave believing. The same lies she was now forced to keep as long as she lived. Honesty had lost her a brother in Diluc. That was all the confirmation she needed to understand how overrated it was.
This all brings her back 'round to Naruto. Once she heard his tale she understood what she needed to do: do away with him. Varka was too noble to harm someone who just wanted help. Albedo saw him as too much of an intrigue. Rosaria was the closest other bet, but Albedo had put a stop to her. But it was clear that he couldn't wander as he pleased.
He was a soldier, like her. Trained in all manner of underhanded tactics from a world and culture too different. A total unknown by every definition of the phrase. Mondstadt had enough of those types already.
She'd figured that it'd be simple enough to bait him. A show of cleavage… a wink… a kind word… and he'd be putty in her hand.
Not so! He did well to resist her allure... mostly... he wasn't wholly immune, she could tell. Yet him unraveling her tricks was not in her plans. His pinning her down for her conniving ways was a wretched wrench in her goal to lead him to his doom. But his understanding of his coming downfall did nothing for helping him escape it.
So she rolled with it, let him think that she was out to get him. It would do nothing to actually stop her. Him trying to avoid one trap would allow her to get him with one she'd set on his path of avoidance.
That was how it was to go at least. But he was just so… so… so… and it frustrated her! He grasped at who she truly was without her giving nary a clue. And rather than run, he allowed her to continue to latch onto him. He hardly excused her behavior, yet he didn't too fiercely condemn her either. He put forth an honest effort to understand her. Not because he wanted something from her or because he wanted her. He was friendly for the sake of being friendly and honest for the sake of being honest. Doing so not because it served some ulterior goal, but because he saw it as the easiest way to live.
He was everything that she viewed as weakness wrapped into a dumb – cute – package. Yet he made it work for him. He was almost charming. But also a bit campy, a dork through and through. These were the sides of him that she could decipher over a single lunch and a long walk here. Yet she'd been so taken that she'd forgotten her way.
She'd intended to take him to any place else than here... to the gatherings of hilichurls at Dadaupa Gorge... or maybe into the arms of a Ruin Guard walking the length of Brightcrown Canyon... or passed that even... into the deeps of Stormterror's Lair so that he could make friends with the dreaded dragon himself.
Yet they walked and talked without care. It was too mindless, she told herself, even if it be a lie. Some buried part of her enjoy it, but she could not acknowledge it. But it was that part of her that lead them here. She ended up bringing him to the exact place he wanted to be: a training ground.
The grass had grown over any markings signifying as much. The equipment - long since moved to storage, but this place had been where Diluc and she trained in their youth. Where Crepus instructed them on how to use the blade in a way that he himself could not manage.
When he asked for the reason for being here - not understanding the meaning of this place - she'd whipped up a quick lie. She'd meant to bring him here. Nothing more to that.
'It's fine,' she told herself.
Even though it was not fine.
'I'll humor him for a bit longer.'
Even though it was she that wanted to be humored and for as long as he willed her presence.
'I can dispose of him whenever I please.'
He was the first new face in so very long that she did not wish to make quick work of.
'Right! If he turns out to be a real threat, I slip him poison in his sleep!'
The only thing that she'd slip to him in his sleep was- well, she wasn't that enamored with him… not yet at least.
She would do her duty as she told Varka she decided. That was to house him until he passes the trials. And if he showed an unflattering side of himself even once, she'd do her duty. She thought to rush his end, but there was no harm in waiting.
And in moments she'd be glad that she had waited.
As she made to watch him something rather outlandish happened.
As he sat there – as calm and still as stone – the wind from all sides grew silent… but only for a moment. It picked back up all at once, gales so potent to be visible emerging from all sides of them.
The earth beneath them began to rumble. Thumbing to the rhythm of an unseen drum.
Hidden flowers rose from the soil barring buds of ember and frost. The Flame and Mist Flowers took on a life that she'd not seen before. They practically erupted with pyro and cryo forces.
Electricity began to spark up around them as the moisture in the air congregated. Lightning and water - together - taking flight on the winds.
As this carried on, the play of the elements intensified. Elements of Ameno, Dendro, Geo, and Pyro just as well as those of Cyro, Hydro, and Electro taking the stage together. They made their presence truly known. This spectacle was unlike anything she'd seen before or may ever see again. Yet to say they were raging couldn't be further from the truth. The movements the elements made almost seemed like a dance. The noise their very presence creates was like a song.
Yet Naruto seemed unfazed and undeterred. He remained a diligent statue even as they closed upon them. At first, it looked almost like they were beckoning him to dance with them. But as one flame cut too close for her comfort, Kaeya felt so much drive to rush in. But the grips of a phantom existence held her back. "Get out of there!" She screamed much too late, the elements of the seven stopping their motion all at once. All crashing down on him as one. Consuming him.
Rather than a boom or smoke of an explosion, the epicenter of their union became to glow a startling white. a bell-like strumming emerging up and outwards from the impact. Its rhythm followed the pace of a beating heart. The light held for many moments, growing brighter and bigger and its tones louder. A dome formed up massively enough that it may be visible from Mondstadt's prized city.
Then it died down all at once. In its remains sat Naruto, not still as stone anymore. No, his skin, his hair, his dumb little – cute – face. They were all true stone now.
"You… you fool!" Kaeya took a cautious step forward and then another and another. She neared up on him, but just as she was upon him, cracks began to course their way through the stone. She had no time as light erupted from those cracks with her still in mid-step. Stone and light exploded out all at once and it was all she was to avoid the harsher pieces of shrapnel. But still, a mercifully blunt chunk of rock did catch her in the abdomen, launching her back and onto her ass.
She brushed off the pain and turned back to where Naruto'd been… as he stood up once more. He was no smaller or shorter, but he looked younger somehow. His complexion was peerless and ethereal. His blond locks had faded. His hair remained to be all over the place and an utter mess, but a bit longer now and more noticeably: colorless. Whiter than the sea of clouds over Liyue. A vibrant crimson traced the edges of his eyes and when those eyes did open she saw gold more brilliant than Mora. And she could swear that she saw something more there. Concussed, perhaps, but at that moment she would hold up that she was sprigs and sparks of every color in those orbs.
"So… er… did it work!?"
Kaeya knew then that slitting his throat earlier would have been the best route, she decided. Would've saved her from the trouble that she knew he would invite. henceforth.
000TD000
Author's Notes:
This chapter was a blast to write and every review I got just quickened my pace, lol. What can I say? When interest is shown, my interest in continuing increases.
So as promised, by the end of this chapter, you have gotten a glimpse of Naruto's new powers. As a mild spoiler, it's NOT the ability to manipulate all seven elements freely. You'll see more of it next chapter, but I would like to see y'all speculate in the reviews about what it could be. Who knows, you might guess correctly or you're speculation might inspire additions that I did not originally plan.
Also, as to the gender-bending: It was done simply because I wanted Kaeya to be in the harem, but also didn't want to do a mixed-gendered harem as the reception to this story would have been lessened, so I opted just to do a switcheroo. It might happen will other characters or Kaeya could end up being the only one. It sort of depends on my personal preference, the results of the poll, and the opinions of those in the reviews. You have a voice via the poll and reviewing so use it. Not just for the pairing, but to say anything you want me to hear from opinions on the chapter to things you'd like to see in the future.
Beyond that, if you have the free time, go read some stories by my good buddies: PlaguedAmbition and AngryOwl. They have gotten back into the swing of writing and any added encouragement via review will be welcomed(possibly).
Again, there's a poll on my profile for the harem, so vote so your voice is heard. The final decision will be up to me, but your weighing in will heavily skew my decision in the audience's favor.
And review!
Ja Ne~!