Finally arriving at the oval building June told them about, the two girls briefly stopped to look at it. The clouds continued to roll through the sky, as warm rays brushed up against Hanami's cheek while they made their way to the shade of a nearby tree. Letting out a sigh, Hanami brought the bendy straw of her drink up between her puckered lips. She nibbled on the tip while taking small sips. This brief moment served them well after the twelve minute walk full of sightseeing and chit-chat. Standing there, the two cocked their heads back in awe, gazing up at the massive oval shaped building before them.
"It's like a chicken laid a huge egg!"
"They had to have gotten a giant chicken to lay that, but from where?!" A slew of ideas crossed Minami's head.
"And someone turned it into a full extravaganza. Look at all those windows! Are those all rooms for students? I don't think we'll ever have that many injured all at once…"
"Better safe than sorry, it's possible. Like if there were a natural disaster or-"
"They're just crazy and love wasting money," Hanami interrupted, adding a frown that made Minami laugh to herself. "I have to admit, it's still really awesome," she added, sliding the tip of the straw into her mouth. She realized there wasn't any more of the smoothie to sip. Shaking it around, she only heard the ice cubes rattling and thus, turned her head in search of a trash bin. Spotting one, she ran over to a robotic trash bin that screamed "FILL. ME. MOOOOOORE!!! GIVE ME MORE!!!" right after Hanami slipped the cup into the flap on top of its head. Minami went over and slid her cup into it, only to quickly step away before it had a chance to grab her. "That thing's malfunctioning," Hanami noticed, as Minami added, "Let's go before someone thinks we did something to it."
The two returned to the front of the building, only to stop at the top step. For some odd reason, the two briefly got a bad vibe. Neither spoke up about this though. Rather, they brushed it off. Hanami continued to stare at the monumental structure, observing the decorations strung up on the building while Minami pressed her palm against the pad that'd open the entrance door.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go in already!" Minami turned around, becoming surprised. "The look on your face right now is so priceless!" Minami aimed the camera on her phone and snapped a shot of Hanami causing the girl to hear the sound and run over.
"There wasn't anything like this back home… I have to stop making it so obvious that I'm not from around here." Hanami giggled to herself as she took a look at the photo Minami had taken of her.
The door in front of them slid across smoothly, allowing both girls to step onto the turquoise rug that covered the lobby's floor. A sweet scent filled the room. "Mmm, roasted cashews," Minami commented, to which Hanami asked her, "What are cashews?" Minami told her, ���They're tasty nuts typically sold in movie theaters as a snack. I'll take you to one some time, if you want."
Hanami happily agreed. "I've never been to a movie theater before, even though I did read up on the history of theatre. I can't wait!" she exclaimed as they went in further.
"Well, this place is like a movie theater, the lobby at least. Look at those seats! I know that decoration anywhere! Seline Decor!!!" Minami thought aloud as she took Hanami's forearm and stepped inside, mesmerized with what they saw.
Hanami ran her hand along the helm of the coach. She too recognized the texture. "You're familiar with the brand?"
"It's one of the best in France after all! How could I not know?! It's right up there with Le-Chen Cour."
"You've got a point! Their products are amazing, but the pricing is outlandishly high. I only got a few dresses from them," Hanami muttered. She tapped her chin in thought of her room and the fact that she'd have to set it up herself, since the maids wouldn't be able to figure out how she liked her belongings arranged.
"For a school building, it sure has pretty calligraphy, too." Minami skimmed through their surroundings, enjoying how the room came together. "They must have gotten a really popular artist to make all of this.'
The girls' chatter came to an end, as a chilly breeze blew past them. Their hair blew side to side for a few seconds until Hanami's crimson hair swung forward. She caught sight of two very tall fellows. They were the only ones there besides the girls. One had dark pink hair that stuck out and the other had smooth black hair. "Seniors," Minami said in a low voice.
"Seniors? How do you know?" Hanami asked, taking in their attire.
"Their blazers… it's in the school's pamphlet for dress code," Minami whispered back. Hanami took note of the individual with black hair first. He had a basketball between his elbow and his hip. The other male had a weight in one hand, lifting it in a repetitive motion. They were both huge. Minami was only a mere 5'5 and Hanami was an even lower 5'4. Both males walked by the girls, not paying the slightest attention to them, absorbed in their own conversation. Hanami got an odd vibe from the black-haired male.
She stood there for a moment confused as to why she froze up with chills running down her spine. Minami raised a brow, tugging her shoulder. "Haruna?" she said in a very low voice as to not attract the attention of the two. Minami didn't feel right about the fact that it seemed to be only them and those two in the lobby at that moment. "Earth to Haruna." Hanami stood still and listened in on the males' conversation.
"Let's hope we can get some good first years on the team before the Intercity. I'd hate to lose to Seirei in the semi-finals again. We're supposed to be the top prestigious school, Katsuya. You get that, ah?"
"I do."
"We were so close last year, but damn man, if it weren't for those lousy starters and…" The male with dark pink hair paused, briefly thinking back to the rejected dunk and humiliation he experienced at the hands of a certain individual on the team he talked about.
"It's fine. It was a great learning experience. We've practiced enough over the break with Lala's help."
"Yeah, but we lost our manpo-"
"With the loss of the seniors, our power and defense has gone down, but I hear that Taro's little brother will be in Hirazawa soon. If he's as good as that monster, we'll have our work cut out for us, Ebisu." Katsuya smirked after cutting him off.
"Don't remind me of that monster man. You're being counterproductive! Though I'm almost glad he left."
"He slipped right out of our fingers, but hey… you're planning on going to uni overseas?"
"That's the plan, brotha."
"No worries, I'll replace you with twenty other people," Katsuya joked.
Both laughed and Ebisu added, "Ah, and about those two from last year, Yuuichi and Bentei… they're sophomores now. We have to hold our own little ceremony now." Katsuya nodded without saying anything.
"Think Yuu and Bentei deserve to be on the roster this time again?" Ebisu laughed nervously.
"Not until Yuu learns about teamwork. We lost because he got ahead of himself in that last game," Katsuya let out a sigh, preferring to not recall the Winter Cup.
"You've gotta admit, for their first year, both did great. Yuu just has to become more patient is all." Talking about the two sophomores fueled Ebisu with the urge to play and get stronger, knowing of the skilled players overseas, but it also scared him. He flexed the weight faster just thinking about it.
Katsuya shook his head and tightened his bandaged fist. "Anyway, it's not up to us. There are still other freshmen who may show those sophomores up. We have to wait and see. For now, it's fine if we miss the entrance ceremony. It isn't too serious and we're already seniors, ahahah-"
"Yeah, but what about Sana bro? She'll be pretty pissed if she found out you were skipping. That's out of character for you."
"Nah, she knows of my responsibilities as captain."
The two chatted back and forth. Their conversation could be heard echoing in the silent lobby along with the sound of their footsteps. Hanami was too distraught to notice that Katsuya mentioned "Hachi." Her breathing grew harder, as though the air of the place was being sucked out.
"Haruna!" Minami said louder and shook her shoulder harder to knock her out of the sudden dazed state. Hanami turned around and glanced over to Katsuya's arm, the source of the odd vibe. It was bandaged and she felt drawn to it, but shook it off and continued towards the elevator with Minami, who felt 1a bit concerned for her new friend.
Both males stopped in front of the door, looking back briefly to the girls when Minami had called out to Hanami. Seeing the girls quickly make their way to the elevator, Ebisu pressed on the pad and the pair exited. Both were headed towards the basketball courts that were at the center of the campus, near the park where the Entrance Ceremony was being held.
"Those seniors back there…"
"What was that about?" Hanami mumbled, taking in a breath of relief after holding it in for so long. She pressed the final button at the bottom of the elevator.
"Freaked out by two seniors? After the earlier incident with those thugs, I can't blame you. I'm being cautious myself." Minami pressed down on one of the buttons.
As the doors closed, Hanami looked at the silver metallic door, her reflection gazing back at her. She turned to Minami and gave her a smile, responding to what she asked. "I noticed that guy's arm is all. He must have gone to the infirmary for it. I wonder what happened to him."
Minami nodded, thinking of an answer. "Maybe he broke it playing basketball? He did have a ball. Or maybe a pup bit him? Hehe."
Hanami raised a brow. "Basketball? What's that?"
Minami was taken aback by the question, but answered, "Well, you basically have to shoot a ball into a net to get points. It's a team sport that's evolved over the last fifty years. There are athletes that are even nine feet tall in the big leagues."
"Humans that tall?" Hanami's eyes widened.
"Some aren't human, but get by as humans from what I was told. I'm not really into sports, but I knew someone who was," Minami explained as Hanami thought of something else.
Hanami commented, "I guess it was a puppy bite then."
"No, it's really true!" Minami responded before speaking up so the elevator would know where they were headed.
"We're going to the floor that the main infirmary is on." At her voice, the elevator sped up from the left side and descended down to ground level zero.
The girls stepped out and looked around. For a basement, it seemed very cozy and neat. Over to their left, there was a sign that read "Infirmary Room B-4." It floated beside a shiny door.
"Oh, it's over there. Come on!" Minami led the way. Arriving at the door, Minami knocked a few times and assuming there was no one inside, she pressed her palm on the pad, causing the door to slide open.
A male laid back with his knees in the air in his undergarments. The male had brown dreadlocks and a peachy skin. Between his legs, there seemed to be someone with orange hair, wearing a long purple robe that reached her knees and a black skirt that reached her ankles. On the side of her head, she had lab goggles that served as a bow to her. At the sound of the girls' gasping, the doctor turned around.
"Ohhh my, more patients on the first day of school? Goodie!" the doctor said in a Russian accent. The woman glanced down at the ointment she had in her hand and then back to the male who had his legs spread out on the bed.
"Hello, I'm Doctor Galahan, but you can call me Gala or Dr. G." The doctor tried to introduce herself, even giving them a wink, as Minami had already covered Hanami's eyes.
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"Yeah, you girls are just high schoolers, alright," she thought to herself as she rose up. "I was in the process of treating his rashes. They're really bad, purple and icky! If I don't get them all, it'll continue to spread to the rest of his body. You two walked in right on time, I could use the hel-"
Minami quickly pulled Hanami out of the room and slapped her palm against the pad three times before holding it against the pad so the door would close. Inside, the male freaked out, letting out a frightful shriek that sounded more feminine than masculine. A nose bleed followed as he thought of the fact that two high school girls saw him at such a time. "What happened?" Hanami asked.
"The sheriff would've killed me if he found out what Hanami was about to see!" Minami thought to herself, before breathing a sigh of relief. "Let's go somewhere else for a bit!" When she took a step forward with Hanami in tow, the doctor stepped out and grabbed the back of Hanami's burned forearm. Hanami felt a stinging sensation sprawl all over her forearm when Dr. Galahan applied force, and it brought her to her knees. She winced as the lady waved her finger.
"Atatata, you thought I didn't see this? You have to take very good care of yourself. I'll have you patched up in no time! Sorry if I scared you girls earlier there. That'll stay between us, even though you had the wrong idea."
The "between us" made Minami's eyes nearly pop out as Dr. Galahan told them, "Please wait for me in this room. I'll be right over, as soon as I finish up." She pointed to the room across the one they had momentarily gone into. Both Minami and Hanami gave her a nod and entered the dark room as it became a dimly lit room when they walked inside.
Soon after they went inside, Dr. Galahan made her way over to and slid away the white curtains that surrounded the beds at the corner of the room. The girls stood there confused as Hanami wondered where a light switch could be. She went over, tapping the walls and felt a squishy orb rub up against her palm, leading her to step away.
"That was fast," commented Minami. "I thought you had to treat him."
"I did, now onto you." The doctor stepped in as the door closed behind her.
"You can sit there if you'd like. Make yourselves comfortable," the doctor said whilst searching for an antibiotic ointment that was somewhere in the cabinet beside the bed.
Hanami kept her bag strapped to her back as her eyes wandered around the room. "This place is like a baby nursery, except ocean themed. It's so serene." Bubbles floated around, gently pressing up against the walls in the form of squishy glowing orbs that changed to soft colors.
"That's to ease patients and bring out the positive energy within their brains, since it aids in the healing process."
"It helps? The healing process?" Both girls turned to each other, then back to Dr. Galahan.
"Yes, it does. Do you feel better?"
"I do, now that you mention it. I think my burns have gotten smaller." Hanami raised her forearms, noting how much smaller they've gotten.
"It's all thanks to the creator, Dr. Wilhelm Reich," Dr. Galahan informed the two. ���Well, not entirely the creator, as there are civilizations from which such 'creators' draw their work from… but long ago, he started the research. The room is one of the first ones made here with this capability. The other rooms are undergoing renovations."
"More are being made?! It must cost a heck of a lot!" Minami wondered aloud.
"Mhm. This room alone costs roughly 28 million holo coins. The Hachi Group partnered with the Togata's corporation to fund it, and amongst a number of others. Do you girls know anything about their partnership? I mean, you are attending this school after all."
Minami gave a nod. "On my way here earlier, I saw numerous hospitals owned by Togata actually. I am aware the Hachi have invested in that organization. I've even been to one back home."
"They're all over Japan. This stuff's just being tested here for productivity first," the doctor informed them.
Minami went down and took a seat on top of a floating orange octopus that floated slowly around the room. The room's walls slowly shifted into different soft colors when she did this, startling the two girls. A number of gooey orbs formed out of the walls, emitting those colors as they floated about in the room.
"Is the light show required?" Hanami asked, a tad irked.
"Is it bothering you?"
"No, it's soft on my eyes, but it's making me really drowsy," Hanami noted as her eyelids felt heavy. She softly let out a yawn, slipping the back of her hand over her mouth.
"Oh, that's a natural indicator that it's working," Dr. Galahan responded, folding her hands. "Those lights pass through and hit the receptors in your brain, which triggers an influx of Retsu to be absorbed by your body as you relax. In other words, the pleasure hormones that you put out targets the damaged area."
"This seems like a perfect place to nap. I bet you're going to have plenty of slackers in here," Minami joked as the doctor bent over, continuing her search. "It should be around here, I placed them here last time… aha, here it is!"
She got the ointment in one hand and gently applied it along Hanami's forearm. The girl sighed, taking a moment to enjoy the cool sensation that came with it. The burns on her arms were practically gone by the time she looked down. "For safety, put the bandages on anyway. You can take them off in an hour or so. There are some drawbacks, since you are in a hurry."
"Uh… am I going to blow up or melt?" Hanami smiled uneasily.
"No, nothing like that. Don't be silly, baby doll! As soon as you leave the room, some of the wounds will come back if you feel negative emotions before you've been fully healed. Now, hold out your arm," the woman instructed Hanami. "You're in luck, the bandages match with your shoes." Dr. Galahan glanced down to Hanami's shoes as she tapped them together, laughing lightly.
"I guess they do."
"Are you into French clothing brands?"
"I like the designs and they're great to wear, but so expensive. I got these a while back," Hanami commented on her shoes.
The woman listened as she applied the tip of the bandage at Hanami's wrist and slowly scaled it up her arm, making sure to wrap it tight enough. "Be careful now, I don't want to see you back here too soon. May I ask your names before you go?" Dr. Galahan asked after finishing up and stepping aside.
As the three exited the room, the crimson-haired girl notified the doctor, "I'm Haruna and she's Minami. We're first years."
"I'll keep your names in mind. Stop by again from time to time. I'd love to continue conversing with you two. It makes me connect with my feminine charm and those days of my youth that have long passed." Dr. Galahan slapped her palms together and rubbed them up against her cheeks, reminiscing as Hanami and Minami both bowed and excused themselves.
Hanami looked up at the clock in the hallway, worried that they might have killed too much time. "11:05. Mmm, 20 minutes left. Let's go." She took off for the elevator with Minami close behind. Both girls soon exited the building, on their way to the auditorium.
"Finally we're here…" Takumi let out a sigh of relief, pressing the back of his head against the headrest of his seat.
"We would have gotten here faster if we had found out about that shortcut earlier though. Note to self, get those lemon cakes on the way back," Yoshigawa snickered, stopping the hovering car just in front of the massive gate.
"If you didn't stop to talk to that chick when we were waiting for the lights to change, maybe we would have." Takumi leaned forward in his seat and tapped the window beside him with his index finger. "Roll down." He paused, as nothing happened.
"Baby! Don't forget to call her 'baby', Tai! She won't listen unless you say her name!" Yoshigawa corrected him, turning his face towards Takumi, who raised his elbow raised against Yoshi's cheek, preventing him from getting any closer.
"Bro, why did you even name it that? Actually, don't answer," Takumi grumbled beneath his breath.
"Roll down, ba…by," he said, maintaining his frown.
Yoshigawa slapped his palm up against his mouth and gripped his jawline in an attempt to suppress the urge to laugh. He looked at Takumi doing his best to keep a straight face. The car responded to Takumi by rolling down the window and saying, "Yes big daaaad-dy."
"BAAHHGAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!" Yoshigawa flailed his head through the window, smacking the side of his car repeatedly with his palm. Tears formed, running down his cheek in loads that dripped onto the road they passed over.
Takumi squinted. "I'm never riding with this clown again…" he mumbled to himself as Yoshigawa continued to die of laughter.
"SHUT IT, and get your pin out," Takumi snapped. Arriving at the closed gate, Yoshigawa unlatched his pin from his jersey and raised it out of the passenger window side.
A camera zoomed in, releasing a green laser that passed over the two teens' PIN numbers. It analyzed the code and ran it through the system of about three hundred students. "Takumi Hachi, Yoshigawa Fukushima," a robotic voice said their names through the intercom and asked, "What is your designated location?"
Yoshigawa swiped the dried tears from his right eye and responded, "The basketball courts." The robot released a larger camera that shot a bigger beam of green light towards the hood of the car. This beam had the information on how to get there. Takumi hooked up his phone to the car and downloaded the map that'd lead them there. Both boys set their pins down in the cupboard. After about ten seconds of the information downloading, the robot bade farewell and opened the gates that pulled back, brushing over some tree branches that had stumbled onto the road the night before. With the gates wide open, Yoshigawa focused back on the road and hovered through. Takumi tucked his chin down on his right palm, quietly waiting in anticipation for Yoshigawa to park the car. His purple Setsu eyes began to glow momentarily as he spaced out.
"I didn't see any challengers on the registers list for the Basketball Ceremony."
"We're the only ones?"
"Seems so."
"Jeez, this ought to be a cake walk then."
"No. That's bad news."
"Damn wro, you stay killing vibes. Why do you say that?"
"Because the ones we're taking on… are supposedly two players from the Hirazawa Basketball team. If no one bothered to take the challenge, that tells me there's a good reason. Not that it'll stop us from taking it, but it does make me curious." Takumi glanced at the treelines along the road. Everything he looked at for that moment seemed pinkish. He turned his head towards the tree lines they passed by, taking note of how much white Retsu the dozens of trees gave off. It all twinkled up disappearing into the sky. His Setsu eyes stopped glowing and shifted back to the normal array of colors he could see. Takumi continued to distract himself, shifting his sights to the rearview mirror where leaves were being blown back and fluttered around as the car passed over them.
"Pull up, behind that station." Takumi unbuckled his seat belt, preparing to step out.
"Nah, you know I don't want to attract attention. You also don't have to fake, you know. We're going to ace that first test."
Yoshigawa nodded reassuringly and opened his mouth wide. "Ohhh, that's right, I forgot you're Mr. 'I'm too cool to socialize with new people.' Fiiine, let's park here."
Takumi rolled his eyes ignoring Yoshigawa's comment and said, "Open the door… b-baby." He clenched his fist, controlling the intense urge to smash the window to pieces as the car responded, "OK daddy, opening up!"
Yoshigawa turned away and laughed into his shoulder hysterically as Takumi swung the door open after the locks unhinged and stepped out. Rather than let it go, Takumi smashed his fist through the window, sending glass flying onto Yoshigawa's lap. "WROOO, MY BABE! THAT'S ABUSE, TAKUMI!"
"Not as much abuse as having to listen to such shameless innuendos. I'll pay for repairs later, so stop your crying, Shima." Takumi turned away, getting onto the wet grass. Up ahead, there was music blasting and students in different costumes and uniforms walking around while adults and children strolled. It all resembled one huge park. Three golden dogs bolted across the field headed towards a lake, chasing after a red frisbee.
"Darn, I forgot my umbrella," he thought to himself, but shrugged his shoulders. The sun wasn't really going to do much to him, but if he could reduce the heat for himself, it'd help.
"Tai, you got the ball?" Yoshigawa asked, turning the car off and closing his door. Though still pissed, he kept it to a bare minimum, letting it go as he understood his friend's feelings.
Takumi tossed Yoshigawa's bag over the car towards him. "Yeah, let me get it from the trunk," Takumi responded and closed his door, turning over to the trunk. Yoshigawa slid from the side of the trunk and opened it up as Takumi took out the basketball and closed the trunk. A gentle breeze danced around them as both stared towards the dark green leaves that swayed back and forth on the tree branches that covered the blue sky.
"Alright, let's get to balling- OHHHH FUKUSHIMA WITH THE STEALLLLL!!!" Yoshigawa swiped the ball out of Takumi's hands and bounced it on the ground, dribbling with his right hand and ran ahead of some metallic poles, and pretended to shoot it from behind his shoulder. The ball rose up twenty feet, tapping a lamp post and came back down towards him, but just as it did, Takumi lunged over Yoshigawa and caught it, before dribbling past two girls.
"AYYY, I DIDN'T SAY RUN! CHECK THAT BALL, WROOOO!!!" Yoshigawa called out to Takumi. Takumi laughed faintly under his breath and spiked the ball between his legs over to Yoshigawa just as some cyclists who were most likely seniors passed by, noticing the pair. Yoshigawa pointed over to gigantic trees that brushed against huge fences far off in the distance.
"Past those fences, huh?" Takumi turned his head up, taking a deep breath. It was finally time for what Takumi had been waiting for. The first step to his goal of becoming not only the MVP of high school basketball, but the best professional basketballer of his era. He felt the desire to play burning his palms. Yoshigawa ran back to Takumi and patted his shoulder.
"What are you daydreaming for?! It's time to ball wro!"
Right then and there, Takumi slapped the ball out of Yoshi's hands and took off. "I'm crushing this." He was dying to shoot. His body demanded movement. His chance to play high school basketball was right in front of him, but he'd have to get through the Basketball Ceremony first. "Doesn't matter who it is, bring it!" Takumi abruptly stopped, forcing Yoshigawa to nearly trip over due to him following close behind. The breeze that came from Takumi's previous movements, whipped away some of the green leaves.
Yoshigawa smirked, having never recalled a moment when Takumi acted suddenly the way he did. "If only Luu, Sanosuke, and Rei were here to see this," he thought to himself, raising his hand up. In a full swing down, Yoshigawa gave his bro a thumbs up.
Takumi watched Yoshigawa's confident smirk turn into a cheesy monkey grin that he knew for far too long. Yoshigawa chuckled loudy, scaring an individual who sat on a nearby bench. "Shima, you're crazy and I like your enthusiasm, but the court's not going anywhere," Takumi muttered, shaking his head. Yoshigawa continued grinning like an idiot and pointed at Takumi, excitement oozing out of him in the form of somersaults.
"And you're grouchy Tai, BRING THAT ENERGY OUT!!! You're not going anywhere with that, PASS THE ROCK BRO!!! The faster we get there, the faster we can start this show!" Yoshigawa shouted, imagining waves of girls calling to him. "WE'RE TEARING THROUGH THAT TEST LIKE I TEAR THROUGH THE P-"
"Don't say it," Takumi grumbled in agony, watching Yoshigawa fling his arms around. Yoshigawa swiftly turned away for a second, thought about it, and then turned around, giving Takumi a thumbs up with a sparkling smile.
Just then, Yoshigawa saw odd movement in the corner of his eye. He glanced back, as did Takumi, and the pair witnessed a muscular figure frontroll behind a skinny pole that didn't help conceal him at all. He peered from behind it, staring at them intently. Naturally, Takumi and Yoshigawa took off, realizing they were being tailed. They ran faster until they seemingly lost him and found themselves hiding behind bushes. "Yo who the heck was that?!"
"You should know, probably a watchdog Miyumi sent…" Right as Takumi said that, a shadow spread over them. Takumi facepalmed himself while Yoshigawa looked back, snickering, though a sweat drop rolled down the side of his face. The two suddenly rolled aside as two monstrous palms slammed down on the grass the two had been on seconds prior.
"It'd be awesome if it were a cute girl stalking us… can't get that lucky on a Monday, I guess. Looks like we gotta teach a guy manners before we go to the courts." Yoshigawa slapped his fist up against his palm as he landed back down on his feet. Takumi gave him a single nod, seeing as there weren't any witnesses. Whipping his arms aside, Takumi took off first. The pair moved swiftly, ruffling through the grass, and lunged towards the muscular being.