The sound of squeaking shoes echoed throughout the gym.
The familiar smell of hardwood and sweat filled the air.
The bright lights overhead perfectly lit up the court.
Everyone was grinding and hustling as we did our drills.
It was pure magic.
As usual, we had a small audience in the stands.
People liked watching our scrimmages when they had nothing to do since we were one of the best teams in the prefecture.
And we were gearing up for a big inter-school tournament now that the summer holidays had come and gone.
For the first time in what felt like forever…
Things were normal.
No beach trips.
No shopping malls.
No accidental dates.
Just basketball.
The way the gods intended.
Coach called everyone to gather around.
“This will be the last scrimmage for the day. Let’s go to 21.”
Coach tossed the ball toward midcourt.
Immediately the gym came alive.
Sneakers squeaked.
Voices echoed.
The familiar rhythm of basketball taking over once more.
I decided to run a quick iso for our first play.
Just to get into a nice rhythm.
Normally I like to share the wealth but I felt I needed to start things off with a quick bucket.
I dribbled toward the top of the key.
One crossover.
The defense was lax.
A step inside the paint.
Pull-up jumper.
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
We managed to get a stop on the next possession and we set up our half court offense.
I settled into position at the top of the key once more.
Across from me stood Tadashi.
Already grinning.
I hated that grin.
Especially when we’re in the middle of playing.
“Ready to lose?” He said with a smirk.
I dribbled once.
“Ready to guard somebody for once?” I knew he was an excellent defender but might as well talk some trash on what I know he can do best.
“Ouch.” He feigned being hurt.
“Truth hurts.”
Tadashi rolled his eyes.
He stayed on me.
I managed to get to the elbow and kicked it out to the wing.
Kobayashi, our small forward, took the shot.
It was a good look but it clanged off the front of the rim.
Our center, Tanaka, managed to grab the offensive rebound and just barely managed to pass it out as the defense smothered him.
The ball swung around the perimeter.
I caught it.
Tadashi immediately closed out.
Too aggressive.
Exactly what I wanted.
One hard dribble left.
He cut me off.
I spun back right.
Our center stepped up.
Screen.
Perfect angle.
Tadashi clipped the screen.
Just enough.
I stepped back and pulled up from three.
Splash.
The net barely moved.
“3-0,” I said with a look of obvious glee on my face.
I pointed toward Tadashi.
“You should probably guard me.”
Tadashi grabbed the ball.
“That’s cute.”
The next possession belonged entirely to him.
He caught the ball on the wing after passing it back and forth between him and the point guard.
One jab step.
Another.
The defense bit.
Then Tadashi exploded toward the basket.
Our help defender rotated.
Too late.
Tadashi hung in the air.
Double clutched.
Finished through contact.
The entire gym reacted.
“AND ONE!” Tadashi said with a massive smile on his face.
“There wasn’t a foul,” I called out.
“There was emotionally.”
“That’s not how basketball works.”
“It should.”
A few possessions later, the score was tied.
Ten to ten.
Tadashi had three buckets.
I had two assists and a three which was technically a two pointer in this case.
Which meant… I was winning.
Even if the scoreboard disagreed.
Okay, okay the score is tied.
But I think our team is playing pretty well so far and I’m doing a solid job running the point.
I brought the ball up.
Pointed toward our power forward, Kimura, and held up my fist.
The screen came immediately.
Tadashi groaned.
“No.”
“Oh yes.”
Tadashi went under the screen.
Foolish.
Can’t believe he gave me that much space.
I turned the corner.
The help defender stepped up.
Exactly as planned.
Bounce pass to our cutting shooting guard, Ishikawa.
Open layup.
All too easy.
The next possession started with Tadashi bringing the ball up.
Which was already a bad sign.
Because whenever Tadashi decided to play point guard… something stupid happened.
He motioned for a screen.
Drove baseline.
Spun.
Stepped through traffic.
Then somehow kicked the ball to the corner without looking.
Maeda took the shot.
Clean look from three.
Well two since we’re playing 21.
That was actually a good pass.
I hated that.
“Nice assist for once, Tadashi.”
He smirked.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
The score climbed.
The trash talk got worse.
It wasn’t just us.
The whole team was getting in on it.
Heard some of the best insults that have graced my ears in a while.
All in good fun of course.
Things were also heating up between Tadashi and me.
He always insisted on guarding me.
He was very much like Kobe, always wanting to guard the best player on the opposing team.
I stole one of his passes.
He stole one of mine.
I hit another three.
He answered with back to back pull up jumpers from the elbow.
Neither of us was willing to give an inch.
Which was exactly why Coach loved putting us on opposite teams.
The score was tied at 20 a piece.
Game point.
The entire gym stopped what it was doing.
Everybody knew how this was ending.
The ball found me at the top of the arc.
I motioned for the iso.
Tadashi crouched in front of me.
“Hero ball?”
“Maybe.”
“Terrible idea.”
“We’ll see.”
I attacked left.
He cut me off.
I crossed right.
He stayed with me.
Good defense.
As is tradition.
Unfortunately for him… I’d seen it for years.
I knew exactly how he moved.
I drove toward the free throw line.
The help defender stepped up.
Tadashi relaxed.
Just a little.
Big mistake.
Without looking, I fired a pass toward the corner.
Ishikawa caught it.
I had placed the pass perfectly into his shooting hand.
Wide open.
Nothing but the bottom of the net.
Game.
Tadashi stared at me.
I stared back.
Then he pointed.
“See?”
“What?”
“You’re addicted.”
“To what?”
“Passing.”
I shrugged.
“I’m the point guard you ass. It’s literally my job. Plus, it worked.”
“It wasn’t cool.”
“It was very cool.”
“It wasn’t.”
“It literally won the scrimmage.”
“It lacked aura.”
I laughed.
“Nobody says aura.”
“You say aura.”
“Only ironically.”
“Still counts.”
Coach blew his whistle.
“Good work everyone.”
The game ended.
Everyone headed toward the bleachers.
Exhausted.
Sweaty.
Barely alive but somehow feeling good.
Tadashi dropped down beside me.
Still breathing heavily.
Still talking.
“You know.”
I already didn’t like that tone.
“What?”
“I’ve got a question.”
“No.”
“I haven’t asked it yet.”
“I know where this is going.”
A grin slowly spread across his face.
The same grin I’d been dealing with since middle school.
“How was shopping?”
I sighed.
“There it is. I’d been wondering when you were going to ask me about it.”
Tadashi grinned.
“I’ve been waiting to ask for ages.”
“You texted me during the shopping trip.”
“I wanted updates.”
“You got updates.”
“I wanted better updates.”
I grabbed my water bottle and took a large gulp.
I wanted to throw my bottle at Tadashi but thirst and reason won over petty feelings.
Tadashi looked me straight in the eye.
“So?”
“So what?”
“How was it?”
“It was shopping.”
“With Miya. Must have been a cute date.”
“It was just shopping.”
“Kaito…”
“What?”
“That’s not an answer.”
I took another drink.
I paused for a bit.
Then finally, I reluctantly spoke.
“It wasn’t bad.”
“Oh?”
“It was actually kind of fun.”
Tadashi looked at me like he was about to spout something profound.
But I knew better.
“There.”
“What?”
“That’s how it starts.”
“What starts?”
“The downfall.”
“There is no downfall.”
“There is always a downfall. Especially when you’re dealing with a girl like Miya. You gotta step up your game on such a date.”
I rolled my eyes.
Then leaned back against the bleachers.
“It wasn’t a date.”
“I know.”
I blinked.
That got my attention.
“You know?”
“Obviously.”
I frowned.
“Then why do you keep calling it one?”
“Because it annoys you. Therefore, it’s funny.”
“Asshole. You always know how to grind my gears.”
“Thank you. I’m a man of many talents.”
For a few moments we sat there.
Then Tadashi nudged my shoulder.
“So how was Miya?”
That question hit differently.
Not, how was shopping?
Not, how was the date?
It definitely caught me off guard.
I thought about it.
Longer than I expected.
“She’s… weird.”
Tadashi immediately nodded.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” He laughed.
“Everything has to be perfect with her.”
“I’ve noticed that too.”
“She overthinks everything.”
“Correct.”
“Shopping with her felt like helping somebody prepare for an exam.”
“Sounds about right.”
I laughed, despite myself.
Then I looked out toward the court.
Watching one of the underclassmen put up jump shots.
I took another drink and then looked at Tadashi.
“She worries too much.”
Tadashi glanced over.
That got his attention.
“What do you mean?”
I shrugged.
“Everything.”
I thought back to the mall.
To the dressing room.
To the conversation we’d had.
“She kept trying to find the right answer.”
“The right answer?”
“To everything. Everything had to be perfect. Just right.”
I shook my head.
“It was just clothes.”
Tadashi nodded slowly.
Understanding immediately.
“Ah.”
“What?”
“I know people like that. Besides, this is a female you’re dealing with. Of course they’re going to take clothes seriously. Even if they say otherwise.”
I nodded in agreement.
He’d finally said something that made a modicum of sense.
For a little while neither of us spoke.
Then Tadashi finally broke the silence.
“What about Akane?”
I looked over.
“What about her?”
Tadashi shrugged.
“You spent all day with her at the animal shelter.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Who told you that?”
“Kiyomi.”
“Of course she did.”
“She talks a lot.”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
I paused.
“I actually had fun at the animal shelter.”
Tadashi raised an eyebrow.
“Oh? This is getting spicy.”
“Forget I said anything.”
“No, we’re talking about this. Heard you two went out for dinner.”
“It was nothing. Akane took me out to get some food to thank me for helping her out.”
He shook his head.
“Kaito, Kaito, Kaito. These things are never nothing. For such a smart dude, you can be incredibly stupid sometimes.”
I wanted to say something but held my tongue.
We sat there in complete silence once more.
We kept watching some of the younger players shooting behind the arc.
Tadashi finally spoke.
“What about Hikari?”
“What about her?”
“She seems to be acting differently around you.”
“She’s just being weird.”
Tadashi shook his head.
“You still have much to learn.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Maybe you’ll figure it out when you’re older.”
I rolled my eyes.
Tadashi sighed.
Then for the first time all conversation… his voice got a little more serious.
“You know what I think?”
“No.”
“I think you’ve spent so long trying to treat Hikari and Akane the exact same way…”
He paused.
“…that you’ve stopped being honest about how you actually see them as people.”
The gym suddenly felt quieter.
I looked at him.
He looked back.
A completely serious look plastered on his face.
I was flabbergasted.
“What does that mean?”
Tadashi shrugged.
“It means every time something gets complicated…”
He pointed toward me.
“…you retreat to neutral.”
I didn’t answer.
Because that one landed.
Harder than I wanted to admit.
Thankfully, Tadashi immediately ruined the moment.
“Anyways… Akane’s still winning.”
“Oh my god. You just never quit do you?”
Tadashi shook his head emphatically.
“Or maybe Hikari is. She’s been making a strong push.”
“Stop.”
“Miya’s a dark horse candidate. Potential MVP.”
“Stop it. You’re embarrassing yourself.”
He grinned.
Then pointed at my Lakers shirt.
“Still not as embarrassing as that. It’s a cute shirt. Do they make it for men?”
Okay, that one got me.
Hate when you get roasted and you can’t even say anything back because it was funny as hell.
I immediately pointed at him.
“You’re a jackass. Besides, you root for the Celtics. You guys wear puke green.”
“Eighteen banners.”
“Half of those happened before color television.”
“A banner is a banner.”
“A fossil is a fossil.”
“Whatever, just jealous because we have more.”
“You have just ONE more. Besides, you were only alive for two of them.”
“I’m eighteen.”
“Exactly. You’ll probably have to wait until you’re 40 for another one.”
Tadashi looked offended.
“You’re just upset we’ve got better players.”
“What? An all-time Lakers team would crush the Celtics.”
“Bird.”
“Magic.”
“Russell.”
“Kareem.”
“Tatum.”
I stared.
Then I started laughing.
“Tatum doesn’t belong in that conversation.”
“HE ABSOLUTELY DOES.”
“Not yet.”
“He will.”
“No.”
“He will.”
“No.”
“He will.”
“No.”
Coach’s voice echoed throughout the gym.
“ALRIGHT WE”RE DONE FOR THE DAY.
NOW GET OUT.”
Neither of us moved.
“NOW.”
Tadashi stood up.
Still grinning.
“See you tomorrow.”
I grabbed my bag.
“Unfortunately.”
He nodded.
“Don’t lie. I know you’ll miss me. You’ll probably think of me as you’re drifting off to sleep…”
I chucked my basketball at him.
The sun was beginning to set by the time I left the gym.
The sky had transformed into a mixture of orange, pink, and gold.
Long shadows stretched across the sidewalk.
The evening air was cooler than it had been earlier.
Honestly?
It felt nice.
Summer was finally giving way to Autumn.
For a while I just walked.
My backpack slung over my shoulder.
Practice was over.
I had no homework.
No Kiyomi madness today, thankfully.
No chaos from the girls for once.
Just me.
And unfortunately… my thoughts.
Tadashi’s voice replayed in my head.
For what felt like the hundredth time.
“You’ve spent so long trying to treat Hikari and Akane the exact same way…”
I immediately frowned.
“…that you’ve stopped being honest about how you actually see them as people.”
I frowned harder.
I muttered to myself.
“Dumbass.”
A nearby elderly woman walking her dog gave me a strange look.
I immediately pretended I hadn’t said anything.
Because obviously Tadashi was wrong.
Right?
I kicked a loose pebble down the sidewalk.
Watching it bounce ahead of me.
Treating people differently wasn’t exactly easy.
Seeing them differently wasn’t either.
Especially when you’d known them forever.
Especially when those people were Hikari and Akane.
I sighed.
The pebble bounced off a curb.
Then disappeared into a storm drain.
My phone vibrated.
Saving me from my own thoughts.
I pulled it out.
Expecting Kiyomi.
A disaster.
Or more specifically, Kiyomi causing a disaster.
She had been getting increasingly adept at that recently.
Instead, my screen displayed a different name.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then opened the message.
Miya:
Thank you again for helping me.
I stared at the screen.
A few seconds later another message appeared.
I wore the outfit today.
That was it.
No explanation.
No context.
No follow up.
Just, I wore the outfit today.
I stopped walking.
Standing in the middle of the sidewalk.
Completely bewildered.
Why did she tell me that?
Because that seemed like a weird thing to update somebody on.
Right?
I stared at the messages.
Trying to come up with a response.
Then my phone vibrated again.
Another text.
I sighed.
There she is.
Kiyomi:
She texted you first?
👀
I nearly dropped my phone.
How?
I immediately typed back.
How do you know?
The response arrived almost instantly.
I know everything.
I shook my head.
That’s not an answer.
She replied instantly.
Correct.
I was getting frustrated.
Are you stalking me?
Once again her response was almost instantaneous.
Define stalking.
I let out a sigh.
You know exactly what I mean.
Her message popped up a second later.
Then yes.
I buried my face in my hands.
Right there on the sidewalk.
In public.
Somewhere in the distance… I could practically hear her laughing.
My phone vibrated again.
Anyway,
Don’t mess this up.
I stared at the screen.
Finally I responded.
Mess what up?
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Goodnight, Onii-chan ❤️
And just like that, she vanished.
Leaving me with absolutely no answers.
In fact, more questions than answers.
Because apparently Kiyomi had a better intelligence network than the Mossad.
I looked back at Miya’s messages.
Then toward the sunset.
The sky was somehow even brighter than before.
The cool evening breeze gently massaged my face as I continued to walk towards home.
For a moment… I considered responding immediately.
Then I shook my head.
Knowing Miya… she’d probably overanalyze the response.
And knowing me… I’d probably overanalyze the response to the response.
Which sounded exhausting.
A small smile finding its way onto my face.
I gave in to my inner demons and started typing.
Glad you liked it.
Simple.
Safe.
Normal.
Probably.
Though I was slowly losing my grasp on what normal is supposed to be.
A few seconds later my phone buzzed again.
Miya:
I did.
I stared at the message.
For a moment longer than I probably should have.
Another smile adorned my face.
Then slipped my phone back into my pocket.
And continued walking home beneath the fading evening sky.
By the time I reached the convenience store near my house, the sun had just disappeared below the horizon.
The sky outside had shifted into deeper shades of orange and purple.
I decided to stop by since it called to me like a siren song.
The air conditioning immediately hit me as I stepped inside.
Honestly?
Best feeling I’d experienced all day.
Practice had been brutal.
Coach had apparently decided suffering built character.
Which probably explained a lot about him.
I was mostly here for a sports drink and whatever unhealthy snack or two happened to catch my attention.
A simple mission.
A peaceful mission.
Naturally, the universe disagreed.
I grabbed a basket in case I decided to pick up a few more things and headed toward the drinks section.
Then spotted two familiar faces.
Hikari and Akane.
Hikari was still wearing her basketball practice gear.
The ponytail she wore for practice looked slightly messier than usual.
A towel hung around her neck.
Akane stood beside her.
Holding a basket.
“I’m serious. It happened~”
Hikari pointed at a bag of chips.
“No it didn’t.”
Akane shook her head.
“It totally happened. I’m telling you it happened~”
“It didn’t.”
“It did~”
“It absolutely did not.”
I slowed down.
Not because I intended to eavesdrop.
Okay I absolutely intended to eavesdrop.
Curiosity had gotten the better of me.
“What happened?” Hikari demanded.
Akane immediately pointed at her.
“Purple umbrella~”
For half a second, nothing happened.
Then both girls immediately burst out laughing.
Actual tears.
The kind of laughter people only reach when they’ve unlocked a memory nobody else understands.
“What does that even mean?” Hikari asked between laughs.
“You know exactly what it means~” Akane shot back.
“I hate you.”
“You started it~”
“I did not.”
“You totally did~”
I stared at them dumbfounded.
I walked up to them and finally verbalized my thoughts.
“What the hell is purple umbrella?”
Both girls looked over.
Apparently just now noticing I existed.
“Oh, Kaito.” Hikari blinked.
“When did you get here?”
“I’ve been standing here for like thirty seconds.”
Akane immediately pointed at me.
“Purple umbrella~”
Hikari lost it again.
I looked between them.
“I hate both of you.”
“Oh please. You love us~” Akane said with a smile.
“That’s true. He’s still an idiot though.” Hikari agreed.
Neither explained anything.
Which somehow made it worse.
I grabbed a sports drink.
Still watching them.
“You two have gotten weird.”
“Rude much?” Hikari said with narrowed eyes.
“You can’t just say that to two lovely maidens, Kaito~” Akane added.
I shook my head in disbelief.
The conversation shifted back toward snacks.
Akane picked up a chocolate bar.
Hikari immediately made a face.
“No.”
“What~?”
“You bought those last time. You know I think they’re awful. You just want them all to yourself…”
“Teehee~” Akane gave Hikari a devious smile.
“Put those back. We both need to agree.”
Hikari pointed toward a bag of chips.
Akane shook her head.
“Nope. They changed the seasoning~”
Hikari looked horrified.
“Again?”
“Again~”
“Criminals.”
“Actual criminals~”
I frowned.
The part of the conversation from earlier was still grating at me.
“Okay seriously. What the hell is purple umbrella?”
Both girls looked at me.
Then exchanged a glance.
Then simultaneously answered.
“You had to be there.”
I sighed.
The worst phrase in human history.
Okay, there’s definitely worse ones but that one’s gotta be up there.
Like top 100.
The three of us continued wandering through the store.
Mostly led by Hikari and Akane.
I found myself quietly watching them.
Not because anything dramatic was happening.
Actually, quite the opposite.
Everything felt normal.
Comfortably normal.
Or at least as normal as it got with these two.
The two of them arguing over snacks.
Bickering about practice.
Making references nobody else understood.
At some point…
Without me noticing…
They’d gotten a lot closer.
Not that they weren’t friends before.
They absolutely were.
Even if they said otherwise.
But now…
It felt different.
Like they’d developed their own rhythm.
Their own inside jokes.
Their own stories.
And honestly?
It was kind of nice.
I was happy for them.
We got to the checkout counter after finishing the shopping excursion.
Thankfully this didn’t take several hours like my previous shopping trip with the girls.
Hikari suddenly pointed at a package near the register.
Akane froze.
“No~”
Hikari nodded with a smirk.
“Oh yes. You know it does.”
I immediately knew I was about to regret asking.
“What?”
Hikari pointed at a small stuffed keychain that sat on the display rack.
A tiny duck.
Wearing sunglasses.
Akane covered her face.
“It does not~!”
Hikari immediately looked at me.
“Kaito…”
The tone alone terrified me.
“What?”
“Tell her.”
“Tell her what?”
“That it looks exactly like her.”
I looked at the duck.
Then at Akane.
Then back at the duck.
“Honestly?”
Akane pointed at me.
“Traitor~”
I nodded.
“It’s not my fault the duck looks like you.”
Hikari nearly collapsed laughing.
And for some reason, standing in a convenience store while my two friends argued over a duck keychain…
That felt like the most normal thing in the world.
It had been a while since I just got to goof off with them like this.
The past couple of weeks have felt so tense that I had almost forgotten what this feeling was.
It felt just right.
I thought of Tadashi’s words again and I thought he was dead wrong.
That’s what I told myself anyway.
I treat Hikari and Akane like my friends because they are.
And hopefully, they always will be.
All three of us walked home together since we lived fairly close to one another.
Plus it was nighttime and I wasn’t about to let two girls walk home alone.
Not that either of them actually needed my protection.
Hikari could probably beat up most of the neighborhood.
Akane was carrying snacks.
Hikari was carrying enough food to survive a nuclear winter.
I just had a sports drink and a handful of snacks I had purchased.
We were bathed in the light of nearby streetlights as we walked.
The whole scene looked surreal to me.
For the first time in a while, I honestly felt at ease.
Akane sighed.
“I still need to deal with THAT tomorrow~”
“Deal with what?” I responded.
Akane shrugged.
“Just some stuff for the student council. Paperwork mostly~”
Hikari groaned.
“…Tch. I hate dealing with them.”
I had never had to deal with the student council other than for school festivals so I was unsure what the big deal was.
I finally spoke up.
“Why? What’s so wrong with them?”
Hikari turned her head away.
“Because the student council is terrifying…”
That shocked me.
Apart from spiders, I couldn’t think of anything that Hikari was afraid of.
Akane chimed in.
“That’s not true~”
Hikari gave out a huff.
“That’s absolutely true.”
“They’re not terrifying~”
“You got yelled at for using the wrong form.”
“It was the wrong form. It wasted everyone’s time~”
“You cried.”
Akane turned red and tried to hide her face.
“I DID NOT~”
Hikari tried to contain her laughter.
“Also, the president notices EVERYTHING.”
“That’s literally her job~”
I didn’t know who the president of the student council was.
I never really paid much attention to school elections and stuff since it really didn’t seem relevant.
Maybe if I was our team captain I’d have to deal with them but thankfully I was not.
So I just listened in as the girls talked.
I was getting more curious by the second.
“It’s weird, Akane.”
“It’s not weird~”
“She knew I skipped practice once.”
“You posted about it online~”
“THAT’S NOT THE POINT.”
I burst out laughing.
I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Hikari kicked me hard on my side.
I sensed it coming and was thankfully able to absorb most of the blow.
See?
I’m learning.
Only took me like a decade.
You’d think I was dropped often as a baby but my grades were too good for that to be the case.
“SHUT UP. IT’S NOT FUNNY.”
Hikari crossed her arms and huffed.
“…Tch. Idiot.”
Akane could barely contain her smile at this exchange.
We walked down the main road until we got to the intersection that led down to our neighborhood.
As we were waiting for the light to turn, Akane looked at someone on the opposite side of the street.
She seemed to tense up.
“Oh~”
Hikari also tensed up.
“Oh no.”
I looked at the girl they were staring at.
“Who’s that?” I asked both of them.
They both stayed uncharacteristically quiet.
The light turned blue and we walked into the intersection.
The girl walked past us in the opposite direction.
She was absolutely beautiful.
Long blonde ringlets framed her face and she carried herself with an elegance that felt almost out of place.
She didn’t look much older than us.
But somehow she felt older, more mature.
Both Hikari and Akane looked like they were about to slap me for glancing at her.
It was hard not to.
She had the air of a noblewoman from an isekai anime.
I immediately noticed the way she walked.
She carried herself like she belonged exactly where she was.
The girl smiled at me and gave me a simple nod.
My spine tingled.
I could already sense that this one was going to be trouble…
The worst part?
I had absolutely no idea why.
The fact that Hikari and Akane looked more nervous than I felt wasn’t helping.
The universe is about to screw with me again, isn’t it?
Announcement on Older Chapters Will also split older chapters in future.
TY to all my readers!