Medjay Stories: Tale of Two Kings

The competition was fierce. Both teams ripped, scratched and clawed but the end resulted in Jielko being victorious! The group’s heart was filled with joy as they were witnessing first hand the fruits of their hard work and team efforts. They’d leave the course to receive a briefing on what they’re allowed to do during the intermission period between now and the third part of the exams. As participants they weren’t allowed to go back home. They were to stay in housing and allowed to roam only in  the viscinity of the chuunin exam celebrations and the exam buildings. Still their hearts were happy, well almost happy.

Elias had been distracting himself with the exams, but now that they’re  getting a break all his troubles seem to be rushing back to him.  His body language was that of a child carrying a heavy burden. This is unlike the charismatic troublemaker who loves company and rarely lets things get to him.  But what was it about today that has gotten him so out of character?  He’d glide past his teammates with both hands in his pocket. Once a few feet away he’d look back at them then signal with a small head gesture to follow him. If they chose to follow him, he’d lead them to a food station. ”Yo, lemme get a medium cup of sexy ninja juice and an order of dat sweet beef and some rice please, thanks.” He’d order and then wait for his friends to place and receive their orders. Still not speaking a word to them.

Spoiler:

Kotone was getting better each day, even if they couldn't leave the area without being disqualified it didn't stop her from continuing her little bits of training. But ever since that written exam she had worried about Elias. She had attempted to talk with him about it but she had gotten the impression he wasn't ready. So since then she had made sure he knew all too well her door was always open to him. So the relief she felt as he seemed to finally be ready was such a weight off her shoulders.

She hurried after her oldest friend, staying close to him and leaving her own order, "Meat feast bowl please," A little something she didn't knew existed until the first night; a mix of many meats and rice that was just... perfect. Once her own order was made, she stepped aside for Jin to make his order, and stood besides Elias. "Pretty strong competition, right? Home field advantage didn't feel like it really gave us a leg up in that course, huh?" She was trying to make conversation, maybe make that easier to segue in to whatever was causing Elias problem. "But Jielko came through. Together." She smiled as comfortingly as she could. In any other situation she would have grabbed at both her friend's hands, but she didn't feel that was appropriate, instead just holding a hand up for Elias to take. She also held her other hand out towards Jin to take too.

After their victory and a few more trials, Jielko felt as if they were in a sweet spot for going all the way and finishing the chunin exams with a high score. Jin was happy that his team worked as hard as they did, even though he thought that he could still do a little better when it came to his own techniques and what he was capable of. He might have had a few tricks, but full control over his element was something that he still hasn't reached yet, it was something for him to work on in the future. Besides that, it was time to do a little meet up with his team, maybe there were some things they could work out before the next match?

"Oh, thanks Kotone. I could have paid for our food ya know? I'm team captain after all."


Ruffling his hair, Jinnouchi sat against a nearby wall with his two friends as he waited for the ramen to cool down.

"What happened Eli? You've been like this all day? Some trouble at home?"

Unlike Kotone, Jinnouchi preferred the direct approach.

"Is anyone messing with you, I'll take care of it as soon as we get home. I never liked bullies anyway. "

Elias took Kotone’s hand when she offered it and broke a smile. With all her big moves it’s easy to forget that Kotone is a small child . They waited until their orders were ready then made there way to a spot where they can be somewhat alone. It didn’t take long for Jin to bring up the issue for Elias to address. Truthfully, Elias just didn’t really know where to start. So maybe he’ll try it from the beginning. ”It’s important that what I say is never repeated. I finally started my training with my mom a few weeks back. I learned a lot about my heritage.”

Elias began to eat his food and remained quiet for a bit . He’d then look at them again trying to figure if they knew what that meant. But more than likely learning about your heritage isn’t a depressing thing.”So he’d continue, “So have y’all ever heard me being referred to as Son of Medjay ? Well I always figured that was a title referring to kids born within the Medjay culture. Turns out the title comes from a prophecy within a story known as The Tale of Two Kings . Have y’all ever heard of it?”

"Yeah but I'm the heir to the clan who settled the village. I might as well use up some of that sway," With a short giggle, Kotone had a brief shift to her Hydrification form just to grow herself up ever so slightly to ruffle Jin's hair too on the way out to eat.

Listening to Eli when they got outside, she gave a sharp little squeeze, an unspoken promise that whatever he said was not going to leave this place. She was happy just to keep him relaxed, not push him to speak until he was more than ready. And she was there to support him. Albeit with a little slurping on her lunch at the most inoptune moments, and muttering apologies. "The Tale of Two Kings? ... No, I've never heard of that before. I've heard," slurp, "Medjay. Mostly read it a couple of times in my grandmother's journals. A group that died out that... oh. It's..." she trailed off, looking between the two boys she was with. "It's where both your families are from. Right?" She didn't exactly want to just assume where this was going, but she also couldn't help where her mind was going.

"Never heard of it, maybe some old stories in New Mirstone City that I never paid attention to. Frankly, I thought that was all it was, simply stories. When you aren't necessarily born a ninja and have been a civilian for a while, it's had to getting used to the idea that there may be some truth to what people are saying. When I looked at Enzo Bakuhatsu's diary, I saw plenty of things that I found myself able to do and they wanted me to follow in the footsteps of being police like my dad. If i did."

Eating some of the Ramen noodles that Kotone bought for him, he would look up at Elias.

"What good is friendship without loyalty? I don't deserve to be your friend or leader if i break your trust. So whatever sensitive history you have, I promise I won't share it with anyone. "

He would also laugh a bit at Kotone, but not in a mocking way.

"Do we all have journals? Isn't it a bit of a one in a million chance that we found each other? Well maybe not for you two, I guess i was a bit more branched off."

Elias nods at Kotone’s question about where their families were from and continue eating while the others spoke. While they both confirmed that they have not heard of the story he’d take a big sip of his juice and shake his head. He’d finish the food in his mouth then speak on it,”It’s alright y’all I never even heard of it myself until before these exams. You see, my dad is a super straight forward guy. He’s been in charge of my training up until this point. But my mom is soo different. She’s not very forward at all and everything has a reason for her. She wanted me to learn seals before she could even tell me the story. Had I not picked up on seals in time, I would’ve been completely clueless going into these exams.”

He’d remain quiet for a bit then look around before taking another sip of juice and explain further. ” So, The Tale of Two Kings. The tale speaks of twins who were raised in poverty but later moved to a foreign land and created a mighty kingdom in which they both ruled as kings. The older king was beloved by the people because his heart was fair and he made them strong in his workings. The younger king was also loved by the people but for his art and forms of expressions. Together their kingdom was a place of rising power, artistic wonders and cultures that none have ever seen.  

Eventually the twins caught the attention  of a few good women , and produced sons.  In their later years, one of them lost his only son in a failed attempt to capture a mighty spirit, leading to the oldest twin losing his mind. It is recorded by elder healers that the older king came to the lands as a sick man then got better,but after the lost of a close friend, then his family member, he became schizophrenic .

It is noted throughout the story that the power and the lost has made him unwell and that he speaks to more voices than usual. The story also says that he’d often mention seeing and speaking to an imaginary boy with many faces. He’d journal about everything but the younger king wouldn’t allow his stories to reach the public because then they’d believe the older king had lost his wits and is unfit. So instead, the younger king turned his brother’s writings into ballads. Ballads that were sung by their people without context. This was said to be why today, the Medjay do not have many written history instead they have tons of songs which only few can put context to. During the final moments of the oldest king’s life it is noted that the younger king was there and was told to run but not before receiving information about his brother’s final vision.

 After telling his younger brother he then said ‘Yo dey got meh all de weh fucked up if dey thank i ain’t funna come fo dey heads’ last words said in old Medjay language, which no one seems to be able to decipher today.  But yea, that’s why the story is called the Tale of Two Kings because it’s one long historic tale told by two brothers who were supposedly kings. Although Medjay never had kings, so I guess it’s a parable maybe, I dunno. But from that story came the Vision Of A Mad King. Would you like to hear the song?”

"It's still real strange to me. I can put pin points everywhere my family has roots, because my clan runs so deep. We've hardly ever moved. Heck, we're technically the home of the clan now, but in actuality, we're maybe... 40%? We still have the big temple in Dipu, a lot of older generation families still live there. I bet if it wasn't my grandmother that helped build this village, we'd probably still be there too." That... that actually got Kotone thinking. About herself, and the other two. But that could come later. "Zakiyoshi blood runs clear from the source and treats across the world. One of our teachings. Keep us humble and ingrains the idea that our clan doesn't put up walls." she however didn't mention the ingrained feuds. That was a known element thanks to their particular sensei.

Kotone completely stopped eating as she became more than enraptured in her friend's tale. Or... tale of a tale she supposed. Stories were just kind of her whole deal, so of course she was interested in that alone. But clearly there was something rocking Elias about it all. And that was what was bugging her the most. So when he asked if they wanted to hear the song, "Yes! I wanna hear the song!" It also didn't help that she was literally a songstress too.

Jinnouchi listened rather intently with the problems that Elias was facing, mostly with his mom. He remembered that he still had his mom, or maybe they both did. All Jinnouchi had was his dad, so he wouldn't be able to connect too much in regards to the troubles that a dotting mother can bring, not really. However, he did understand that she was a secretive woman and used stories with hidden meanings in order to teach her lessons, and maybe there was a secret meaning within the story that was told. However, he had to know a little more about the legend from Elias before he could put up an assumption.

"What's the song? How does it go? And don't worry, this isn't grand ninja idol."

They both agreed to hear the song and although Elias wasn’t much of a singer this particular song wasn’t too vocally challenging. So he’d do his best to sing , Visions of A Mad King.


Have you not heard? Were you not told?
The Bachiatari are stories of old.
Their vengeance was paid in blood and bone.
So all will reap what they have sown.

[chorus]
Blood of mine but not my own.
You bring a terror no world has known.
You wear your many faces.
To live in different places.
[end chorus]

Betray the culture in which your born.
Break the oath in which you’ve sworn.
Woe are you, a fall from grace.
The son of Medjay will show your place.

[chorus]
Blood of mine but not my own.
You bring a terror no world has known.
You wear your many faces.
To live in different places.
[end chorus]

Shower you in hell’s embrace.
Welcome to your condemning place.
Aimlessly the lost will roam.
The Son of Medjay will take them home.

[final chorus]
Blood of mine but not my own.
You bring a terror no world has known.
[end song]



He’d then remain silent to see what his teammates thought of this.

Once Elias had gotten past the first chorus, Kotone had begun to pick up on the tune, at least enough to hum along to help him along. Even if it meant she went a little over at the end as the finale cut off earlier than she expected. Once done she was all smiles and giving a little applause, "That was really good. So good even." Once done, she scooted back over that little bit. "So... did your mum just tell you the song? Like... did she tell you the context to it too?" She spared a glance towards Jin too looking for his input. "... It sounds like maybe something went bad? Or someone."

"I think I figured it out. Don't mean to hijack your spotlight, but maybe it has to do with the original mirstone city. You see, ninja wasn't talked up too much, but superheroes were. My great ancestor was banished from the place he belonged and he also lost his rights to being the heir of the bakuhatsu clan. He lost everything and started over with the Medjay. His name was captain boomerang, the team leader and whatnot who let Enzo in. He had to hide his face and wear a hood...." Jin scratched his head, trying to see if he could pull out any more relevant information. "Either way, with how they treated it, being a superhero was just like being a ninja, protecting the peace of the village from bad people who wished to disrupt it. I know for sure that my family lost everything and even had nowhere to go. A place was made for me and my family in that city, well, the old and new mirstone city. "

But what does it mean to Elias?

"But this isn't about me, we need to figure out what the big deal was to teach you that part of the heritage before you learned anything else from her. First I thought, the madness and the creation in seals means that something was done to you and you don't even know it. Like there is a seal placed on you involving knowledge. But you might go mad from it, but I don't think your parents are cruel enough to do that, even if you are a prodigy."

He thought some more.

"Or maybe she wanted you to know that you're the ancestral child of a hero who sacrificed so much in what he believed in, but I thought you knew that?"

Jin began to think some more.

" Blood of mine, but not my own, can mean maybe two things. A child of the same clan, but not directly related to the person. Or blood is a figure of speech, maybe it doesn't't have to be a pure blood? Maybe, since anyone can be accepted and welcomed, they are considered blood and family once they do. So it could literally mean anyone, someone who was accepted by family, betrayed the trust of the family and destroyed everything. "

The two would hear his song and have similar concerns as he did about it. He’d answer Kotone with a nod, ” she told me the tale of two kings and then the song; I think she’s leaving it up to me to decipher. She also mentioned a trail that is to happen after the exams. I just don’t know what any of that means”. He’d year Jin’s take on it and then get sadden by His family history. In fact he would’ve been completely heartbroken for Jin had he not said Captain Boomerang. That just destroyed Elias’ attention span completely. How could jin say such a stupid hero name with a straight face.”Ha. Captain what?! Boomerang? That’s such a dumbass name,hahaha. Probably hands down the lamest super hero of his time. Definitely not my ancestor.” He still heard the rest of what Jinnouchi had to say it was just weird thinking of himself as a prodigy .

He must admit Jin made some very good assessments. Atleast they both figured that the ballad spoke about two different people.” It just doesn’t add up to me. I’m pretty sure that I’m not under the effects of any seal, so why would being adept with seals at Genin be so important to my mom?  And the ballade speaks of two people so if I’m the son of Medjay, who will I be facing with many faces? Or is that metaphoric for like nations or something? But then that doesn’t go to well with the tale of two kings context. Blood of mine but not my own. Maybe it’s what Jin said. And now there’s a trial coming and I’m supposed to judge. I’ve never put anyone on trail before.”

Kotone was truly at a loss for words. For a girl who loved to sing, she really wasn't very good at noticing things that weren't surface level. So having Jin and Eli have their little back and forth whilst thinking the meanings over, it did at least give her a little more to get in on. "... Superheroes? I guess that makes sense," She trailed off in a giggle. "Himiko's Genin Diary had this, like, half a page of scribbles of Blue Siren. I don't know if she was excited or annoyed by the nickname. But I guess if they were friends it would make sense. She did say her friend kept pulling her in to mischief. Guess some things never change, huh? I was just thinking though, history told through ballad, right? Maybe this 'many faces' is someone from that time? Like... an insider who betrayed them? Maybe she was just trying to tell you to be careful who you trust. I mean... obviously outside of us." There was another slurp as she finished the last of her bowl, and tossed it down by her feet to properly clean up later when they were done. "Well, any way. You're still not alone. Eli's troubles are equal to Jielko troubles. I'm with you every step of the way brother,"

"Putting someone on trial or being someone who judges them, that's a big responsibility. You would have to live with the result, regardless of whether you are satisfied with it or have some regrets down the way. It's a nasty business and there are no good or bad guys in the process. You are basically scaling your own morality towards what you think the person actually deserves. this also includes the reality that one day, the correct choice would be that we would have to take a life. That's part of the judicial process as well, whether we do or we don't. But you know, when I was determined to use my balloons to send you guys up to leave me behind you also made a judgment call for all three of us to end on the top together. That is also a call that you made, something you seem satisfied and content with. So in all honesty, I'm not worried. When the time comes, whatever choice you end up making, it's one that'll grow your character. "

He kept listening to Kotone as well, nodding his head. She did have some mentions about heroism and things of that nature. However, there was one thing that Jinnouchi had to trail back that.


"Including us......... be careful who you trust, including us. "

But why play devils advocates?

"Regardless of how much you have our loyalty and the bonds we have through our friendship that transcends generations, it's no excuse for ignorance. Who we are, or how much we change, or even if we become the brother and something inside of us mentally changes beyond our control. These are things that you need to be careful of. With the time that I spent with Kotone, I have no belief that she would turn, but people would use her closeness to you to get to you? Why? Something, petty maybe? Even jealousy? Everything doesn't have to be elaborate, sometimes they just want to hurt people."

Jin trailed off as soon as he finished his ramen.

" This might not be too relevant, but we somehow ended up as opponents. A test of your judgment, Elias, Kotone. Could you fight me or each other at full strength like we did as a team? Do you believe that our friendship is worth sacrificing how hard we worked to enter the chunin exams to pass? As a respect to how hard I know that you both worked, I would rather be crushed by your full strength with a smile on my face than get a free pass, I want to see your parents proud of you as you advance, that's my judgment call. And I won't feel betrayed because of my Ninja way."

Jin said this as he showed his kanji tattoo it the word gratitude on his back.

"A Tapir tradition, gratitude in all things in life."

Elias pretty much sat there eating and listening to all that Kotone and Jinnouchi had to say. He’d internalize it and just really try to commit their words to his understanding. Jinnouchi said a lot of very notable things and the last couple of things really resonated with Eli. He hadn’t thought of what he’d do if he was forced to face any one of these two. More than likely his instinct would be to quit. He’s really only here because of the fun of it, but what if huh? ” Well Jin I don’t imagine that they’d put us up against each other. What would be the point in that? But if they do for some reason then fine, no freebies.”

Elias spoke this not knowing for sure what he’d do in that situation but to use his full strength on his own team just doesn’t seem at all glorifying. So the Tapir huh? Tell me more about your family bro.”

Kotone hadn't thought about the prospect of fighting each other later in the exams. Himiko's Diary hadn't really spoken much of the specifics of her own, only her excitement at getting a win for her team solo, and the importance of the little things, with a particular comment towards recognising your own flame. Whatever that meant. But now it was there, it seemed pretty simple. "Of course. I don't ever, ever, want to fight either of my brothers. But I also won't hold back if we have to. It would be... wrong... cruel even. I wouldn't want either of you to hold back either. I want you to deck me in the face as hard as you can!" By this point her excitement had gotten her up and on to her feet. She followed up her outcry with a short giggle as she looked back. "Because I know you'll both offer me a hand right back up."

"He's right though Jin. I know a little because of Himiko's Diary, but those are just I guess before the incident. After that there was... well she felt pretty guilty. I don't think she wrote much on the subject after." She purposely left out just how much Himiko had gushed in her diaries about having students and her uncertainty over that prospect.

"My family? I never told you that? Not to say that I'm not a good storyteller and don't know how to hype it up. So I'll try to make it as straightforward as possible. I won't it to make it too morbid, I'll just explain what exactly happened."


Jin took a deep breath before he continued.

" The Burden of Enzo Bakuhatsu. He was a relatively strong genin that even managed to find a summoning scroll. The Tapir summons. things seemed well and he was one of the favored to pass the chuinin exams. However, he found a powerful curse, a weapon that had great power. The Areadbhar, if you didn't have a technique or the strength to handle it's pulling, it would indiscriminately kill anyone and everyone who isn't the user. He also can't necessarily let go of the spear because of that stipulation either. Imagine that, a child, burdened with the death of his aunt and his young cousin. Killed in cold blood, the ruin of a family."

He let that sink in before he continued.

"A man named armen that was a leader of an organization and the water priestess at the time, Himiko helped stayed his execution.  It was either death, exile, something called "Anbu" for the rest of his life. Or, the jail for prodigy students until his adult life and then he also forfeits his claim as the heir to the bakuhatsu clan.  Note, those options were only available because of "Armen" and "Himiko",  the options he had were way less. "

He thought some more.

"Everything that happened, well, the superhero thing and mirstone city. It wasn't always like that, they originally operated as the Bachiatari, which got it's name changed to the Medjay after settling in mirstone city.  He was finally having a chance at a good life as a superhero and vowed to reclaim his lost honor.  It didn't work out that way because a vagabond by the name of mage went and blew up the city.  The evacuation was hell on earth, and he for split up from the rest of the group. With only his skills and everything he had at his disposal, he had to protect the survivors all on his own, all up until they resettled. "

That was it for now.

"Everything else is history, My name is tapir because he no longer had a claim to being a bakuhatsu, and learned a few things from the summons that simply became second nature in our family. It never comes up so its nothing too impressive, it's only means that with a last name, we have somewhere to belong I guess. What does it mean to be a ninja? The thing that he thought he lost? I'm trying to find that out."

Elias was silenced by Jinnouchi’s family story. It was deeply rooted in sorrows and painful endeavors. His family motto is gratitude, but for what? Truly this explains a lot of how Jinnouchi became the boy that he is. ”Jin... that’s crazy bro. Your family is so strong” Elias was rendered near speechless but this only made him want to learn more. ”Armen..like Armenezra? I’ve been hearing a lot about him these days. It seems like our family lines have always been intertwined, it’s no wonder we were made a trio. Only surprise would be that we worked soo well. All credit to sensei Clio with the blueprint I suppose. Koto, can you tell us anything about Himiko and her relationship and contributions to the tapir family?”

Kotone just giggled along at times as her grandmother was mentioned in Jin's story. Everything was lining up pretty well, and she could fill in a lot of gaps on her own end for Himiko's side. But this wasn't her time, she held on to her thoughts, keeping them for later. And it seemed her idea worked right, as Elias wanted to know a little too. Perfect. "I mean... the first half of that I can kinda put together. Himiko didn't write details, but when her diary went from incredibly sappy 'oh I am utterly head over heels for this woman I've found my soulmate' then suddenly... so much fury," She had a little laugh at that. The difference was so drastic. "Now, might I also stress, we Zakiyoshi have a... peculiar approach to love. When we fall in love, like really in love, not even the shinigami itself can sever that. So to go from love to rage in not even a day... Himiko really cared for Enzo."

She paused a moment to take a sip of her drink, getting her thoughts together so as not to make mistakes and spoil the atmosphere. "So, obviously there's some things I don't know, because Himiko didn't write them, or they got lost, or even just because she couldn't tell them. A lot of the details on that trial don't exist because she couldn't. She... actually nearly defected too. Don't tell anybody else though, that's gotta be our little secret," Thinking of that, what could have been if Himiko had actually left. "But she was still a part of her team. Kotone, and the brothers, her words not mine, Doubleneedadamnnormalname." Such a bizarre thing, it really stuck in her mind. "So she stayed, resumed her goal, and founded Nazo. But she was also basically at Armenezra's call. There was a tale that she got reprimanded because she rushed out of the village to aid his group on something without authorization." She broke in to more giggles just thinking of that. She'd always looked up to Himiko, maybe not for the roles she took, but for the passion and just all around love. "She was the loudest voice in asking the other villages for aid in support after Mage attacked. Though the page after detailing that was just scribbled 'I put on the damn blue suit again!' but I don't know what that means. Any way, she filled out most of the village with refugees. But things get difficult because it's mostly thought diaries at that point, and she must have gotten really busy. Though there was the birth of her daughter, I'm named after her by the way, Kotone Decima, then her son, Armen Enzo. He was the one who first taught me swordsmanship, but he passed before I was in even the academy." She realised she'd been talking for a while, so thought it best to stop for now in case they had anything to add. "Oh, but there was a mention in the diary about my grandma Kotone." She cleared her throat. "This girl better not fall for Armless's kid. I won't tolerate basically incest," Then she burst in to laughter. It was nice sharing such a story, one that felt just as relevant even now.

For Kotone's side, it seemed like a lot of the blanks were easily filled in regards to the continuation of what happened everything occurred. It was sort of a sad story, but at the same time, it was still an amazing work of progress that told a lot about Jin's history. He nodded his head through most of the story, since it was something he didn't have information on. Hearing about Decimus again was something new to Enzo and he continued to hear a little more about it. The way that Himiko cared about Enzo was mostly appreciated. Jin wasn't even sure if he would have existed or came out the same if he had a chance to exist if they never met at all and Enzo was left to his fate.


"Seems to me that I'm in the presence of the ancestry of some amazing people. Wow, I really am a lucky guy."

Elias listened intently to Kotone's story. It was alot less cryptic or sappy as his and Jin's.  For Elias this made it that much more enjoyable. Kotone's history is so rich with love, wonders and passion. When she even commented on  the "double whats the name", Elias burst into laughter and responded immediately, " Heyyyyy, Doublestackums? that's my name , haha." he continued to listen while finishing his meal and leaving his drink in hand. He was very pleased with the story and with Jin's comment in the end, it seemed like a good place to end the stories for today. " Ya, i kno right? Hey lets go find sensei Clio and see what she up to." He'd stand and throw away his plate and just sip on his drink while waiting for the others to finish.

Kotone wasted little time in grabbing both her friends hands again with Jin's comment on being lucky. "I think we're all lucky. Our ancestors might have had their bonds, but we're also not them. I think that's what's more important." This only came on more as she joined Elias in his laughing over the name. "Yeah, exactly! And I still can't say it." She let go as the boys were beginning to pack up, and did much the same. "I hope Clio-Sensei is proud of what we've done so far. We all worked so hard, and we've still got more to do."

"Part of me feels like she didn't even show up to the main stands. If Clio sensei is even here, with the rest of the sensei's from the other teams that we have been facing, we might not be able to contact them due to the fear of a sensei showing us a little too much favoritism and sharing information that they shouldn't. We might just run into them at the very end, which is fine. The finals are coming." If his theory was correct, they would run into Clio soon. But right now, he didn't think so. "We can still try to look, but if we get lucky, it might be a brief conversation."