“Ok, we’re here,” said Narias after they have reached the campus shop. “We don’t have much time, so let’s be quick.”
“I will go this way,” Growly turned towards the meat section.
“Thanks Growly. I’ll go get some fruit and vegetable snacks and drinks.” Narias turned the other way.
“I would like to help too,” Ileena, who was quiet for most of the walk added.
“Right. Can you get some of those tightly sealed rations you’ve mentioned the other day, Ileena? I’ve picked up a few of those the other day, but I think having some extra would help,” he asked her.
“Sure,” she agreed.
“Great. We’ll meet at the checkouts,” Narias smiled at her.
After a quick run through the store, Narias, Growly and Ileena met up at the checkouts, paid for their shopping and were on their way. The boys still needed to pick up their backpacks. Narias thought Ileena would go back to attend her classes, but she wanted to accompany Narias to his dorm.
“Are you sure? You’ll be late for your classes.” Narias was worried.
“It’s fine,” was all she said.
“Ok then,” he had no time to waste.
All three of them picked up the pace to reach the dorms faster. Once they’ve reached Narias’ dorm building Growly said he’ll go pick up his stuff and head straight to the Magic Dungeon. Narias agreed to do the same. Him and Ileena went to Narias room, so he could get his stuff as well.
“You have your backpack already packed? Hmm… of course you would,” at first, Ileena was slightly surprised, but then smiled to herself.
“Yeah. I just hope the extra food I bought will fit in,” he started to unpack his purchases.
“I’m sure they will,” Ileena stood on the side, not wanting to get in his way.
“Almost… done. Phew…” Narias managed to close his backpack somehow after he stuffed it with the extra food. “Right, time to- Huh?”
Narias turned to go, but was instantly hugged by Ileena instead.
“I… Ileena?” all he was thinking all this time was to be quick and rush to the Magic Dungeon, so her hug came as a surprise.
“Are… are you sure… you want to get to the second-floor boss monster?” Ileena’s voice trembled.
“Of course. That’s the only way to get more points than any other team. Besides, it shouldn’t be too…” he answered in his usual manner, but then felt a tighter squeeze from her.
“You…” Ileena whispered.
Huh? What? Is she… crying? Narias finally grasped what was going on.
“Ileena?” he slowly pulled her back to see her face. She had tears in her eyes. “Wha… why?”
“What do you mean ‘why’?” she almost shouted at him. “You suddenly announce you’ll be going to the second floor of the Magic Dungeon and expect me not to worry about you?”
“I…” it was the first time for him to see Ileena look so distressed. Or any other girl for that matter.
“You… you need to promise me that you’ll be careful,” Ileena said, still not wanting to let Narias go.
“Of course,” he said, with a warm smile on his face, which his girlfriend couldn’t see.
“Sigh… I’m sorry, I…” Ileena finally let him go. “I know you’re not the type of person who’d act foolish, but…”
“It’s ok. Actually, you made me really happy just now,” he said with a smile.
“H… happy?” Ileena looked at him.
“Yeah. It makes me happy to know you care about me so much.” Narias told her, hugging her around her waist.
“Oh… I,” that was enough to make Ileena’s cheeks burn hot. “Of course I care about you. After all, I…”
She wanted to say something, but became too embarrassed all of a sudden.
“I promise I will be careful. And if I see it is becoming too dangerous, we will turn around and leave.” Narias made a promise.
“I…” Ileena wanted to say something in response, but then kissed him instead.
They didn’t want to let go of each other. Narias could feel Ileena’s body pressed close to his, and she could feel his body too. At first, Narias thought that Ileena wanted to give him a goodbye or good luck kiss, but it didn’t look like his girlfriend wanted to let him go just yet. Both of them were still kissing, with Narias becoming more and more excited.
Wait, wait, wait. That’s… Is she… I need to… Narias’ mind was jumping from thought to thought in the meantime.
“I… Ileena?” he managed to ask during the brief moment when their lips weren’t touching each other.
“I’m sorry, I…” Ileena quickly hid her flushed face away by hugging him tighter and placing her head on his shoulder so he couldn’t see. “N… Narias…”
“Yes?” he asked, waiting for his girlfriend to gather her thoughts.
“When you come back, do you mind if… do you mind if I spend… some time with you… just the two of us?” Ileena asked with a hint of a subtle embarrassment in her voice.
“Of course not. Would you like to go somewhere? To El’Roonst maybe?” Narias wanted to pull away to see her face, but Ileena wouldn’t let go for whatever reason.
“No, I meant to spend… to spend the night with you… here in your room,” she pressed herself tighter to Narias.
Huuuh? What? Narias’ heart sank and then jumped back up with such intensity, he thought he was lifted up in the air.
“I… Yes…” was all he could muster.
“Hmm…” only then Ileena pulled away then fixed her glasses, more so to keep her racing heart in check. “You better not keep me waiting for too long.”
Wha… Is she implying what I think she’s implying? Narias mind just punched him below the waist.
In all honesty, Narias could understand that Ileena was worried about him. And Ileena knew that Narias wasn’t someone who’d do something reckless and throw himself into danger without thinking. Maybe she was implying something extra, or maybe it was just a tease to give Narias an extra push to return sooner rather than later. Whichever it was, now he had something exciting to look forward to after he comes back from the Magic Dungeon.
“Uhm… I think you need to go soon.” Ileena said, but still didn’t want to let Narias go.
“Aah… yeah,” it’s not like he was against being hugged by her.
After a few more moments, Ileena finally composed herself to how she usually was and unwrapped her arms from Narias. Not before giving him another passionate kiss, of course.
“I’ll wait for you here,” she said after releasing him.
“Ok,” he was about to turn to pick up his backpack, but then turned back to face Ileena again. “Wait… here?”
“Huh? Oh… I mean… I’ll wait for you to come back,” Ileena brushed her dark brown hair to the side, with the orange color hair strands giving away an unusual glow.
“Right,” Narias’ smile couldn’t hide his awkward embarrassment.
Maaan, I wish we were going to the dungeon tomorrow. Narias sighed right before picking up his backpack.
They left Narias’ room, with Narias carrying a, what it looked like, an oversized and overstuffed backpack on his back. Once they were outside of the building, Narias turned to the side to see if Growly was coming, but then remembered that his furry friend said he’ll go directly to the Magic Dungeon.
Oh, right. I need to get going. Narias reminded himself.
“Good luck and… be careful, Narias.” Ileena wished him, standing just two steps away from him.
“Yes, thank… you…” Narias turned to her and was dumbstruck to see how absolutely charming and beautiful she looked.
Has she ever looked so beautiful? He couldn’t even blink.
Seeing Narias’ reaction Ileena smiled victoriously. Before going though, Narias couldn’t but hug and kiss his girlfriend again. Neither him, nor Ileena said anything. Narias simply turned away and walked off, afraid that if he were to turn around again, he’d be delayed even longer.
{at the Magic Dungeon entrance}
“Hey Growly, where’s Narias?” Flavia asked when the chubby bear-boy finally showed up.
“He… not here?” Growly was surprised to hear the question.
“No. I thought both of you will come together,” the bunny girl looked behind Growly to see if Narias was coming. “Where is he?”
“Narias said he’ll come here after he picks up his backpack,” the furry boy said.
“But he’s not here,” Flavia frowned.
“Maybe… something happened to Ileena?” Growly wondered.
“Ileena?” that got the bunny girl’s attention.
“Yes. She helped us buy food. Then… she said she’ll help Narias pack,” the bear looking beast-boy added after a short pause.
“Wait, Ileena went with you?” Flavia was surprised to hear that. “And then she went together with Narias to his… Hey!”
“Huh?” Growly puffed giving her a strange stare, then took off his backpack and sat down right there to have some rest.
“What’s wrong, Flavia?” Emilia came over to check with her.
“It’s Ileena,” the bunny girl answered.
“Ileena?” Emilia was puzzled.
“Yes. Growly said that Ileena went together with Narias to his room and now he’s late,” Flavia frowned, as well as crossed her arms in front of her.
“Ileena went to Narias’ dorm and now he’s… Huh? Oh…” suddenly, Emilia covered her mouth with one hand, catching a red sparkle on her cheeks.
“We bought extra food. Ileena went to help him pack,” Growly commented.
“Oh, ok,” the girl with the snow-white hair acknowledged what Growly had said, but for some reason, Emilia and Flavia had strange looks in their eyes.
“Well? Is everyone here?” they were suddenly greeted by someone.
“Miss Salroze?” Lilna saw her first. “Oh, I’m sorry. Hello, Miss Salroze.”
“Hello, greetings,” the others greeted the teacher as well.
“What are you doing here, Miss Salroze?” Flavia wondered.
“What do you mean? You won’t be allowed to enter Magic Dungeon without a guide. Don’t tell me you have forgotten that already?” Belinda threw her a mild frown.
“Oh, that’s right. Haha,” the bunny girl laughed.
“Well then, are you ready?” the teacher asked.
“Aaah, no, not yet. We still need…” Flavia was trying to come up with something.
“I’m sorry, Miss Salroze, but Narias isn’t here yet.” Emilia told her.
“Really?” Belinda only then realized he was missing. “Heh, who could’ve thought?”
“We still have… some time left, right? He should be here any minute,” the bunny girl tiptoed on her feet.
“Do we?” the purple haired teacher checked the time.
“Huff, puff… Nooo… oof… I’m so… gonna be late… Oops…” Narias was running to reach the meeting point and almost tripped when he made a sharp turn around the corner. “Heeey! I… I’m here… huff…”
He waved his hand for extra attention.
“Hey, here he is.” Flavia’s face lit up.
“I’m sorry… oof… I’m late…” Narias was trying to catch his breath.
“Well…” Belinda Salroze checked the time again. “You’re not.”
“Phew… That’s a relief…” he had to sit down.
“Ok then. Since everyone is here now, let’s not waste any more time. Huh?” The teacher turned to go, but then noticed the oversized and overstuffed Narias’ backpack. “What… do you have in your bag?”
“Oh, that’s just… some extra supplies I’ve picked up at the shop before coming here,” he told her without going into further details.
“Extra supplies? Well, no matter,” the teacher didn’t ask for an additional explanation.
“Wait, does that mean you’ll be our guide for our dungeon exploration, Miss Salroze?” Narias suddenly realized she was the only teacher present.
“I AM your guide for your team’s dungeon exploration,” she emphasized the word while answering his question. “Or are you not happy with me being your guide?”
She crossed her arms in front of her.
“No, no. Not at all.” Narias waved his hands in front of him, feeling the teacher’s intense stare. “I just thought it would be someone else since when I asked in the morning today you… Ah, eeer… Oh, everything is great. I’m glad you’ll be, I mean, you are our guide, Miss Salroze. Haha.”
“Hmph…” the teacher lowered her head with a sigh. “Ok, let’s go.”
There was no time for Narias to rest. Everyone picked up their backpacks and followed Belinda Salroze towards the Magic Dungeon entrance.
“Psst, psst. Narias,” Flavia walked closer to him.
“Huh? Yes?” he turned to her as they walked.
“What… did you and Ileena do in your room?” the bunny girl asked, without directly looking at him.
“Me and… huh?” suddenly, Narias’ face turned red. “Well, she helped me pack the extra food we have bought.”
I know Ileena and Flavia are my girlfriends, but… He was too embarrassed to tell the full story.
“Hmph…” Flavia frowned at him, which made her look cute instead of angry. “When we come back… I want to invite you to my room… dorm… aaah… place. Ghee.” She finished her sentence with a grin.
“Huh? What?” Narias’ ears became on fire.
“I mean I… I will cook some food for you, so we can… celebrate…” the charming, gold-haired bunny girl was trying to choose the right words she wanted to say.
“Oh, to celebrate. Yeah, sure,” he agreed.
“~ whisper ~ And then you could stay for the night… ~ whisper ~ Uhm…” Flavia added in half whisper.
“Huh? Sorry, what was that?” but Narias couldn’t fully hear her.
“Ah, nothing…” she jumped a step away from him. “I mean I… I will tell you during the dinner… when you come over.”
“Oh, ok.” Narias added, but wasn’t sure if she heard him, because the energetic bunny girl sprinted forward without waiting for his answer.
Huh? Why is she..? he was puzzled about Flavia’s awkwardness since she usually was very upfront with how she acted.
━━━━━━━━━
Thank you for reading. Leave a comment and favorite the chapter if you enjoyed it.
Read 10+ extra chapters on my Patreon – Extra Chapters on Patreon
━━━━━━━━━
Extra thanks to nonomo4 and Lynderyn for their support and help.
Niuniax P. S. Ok then... Who's rooting for who? :D
“Ok, we’re here,” said Narias after they have reached the campus shop. “We don’t have much time, so let’s be quick.”
“I will go this way,” Growly turned towards the meat section.
“Thanks Growly. I’ll go get some fruit and vegetable snacks and drinks.” Narias turned the other way.
“I would like to help too,” Ileena, who was quiet for most of the walk added.
“Right. Can you get some of those tightly sealed rations you’ve mentioned the other day, Ileena? I’ve picked up a few of those the other day, but I think having some extra would help,” he asked her.
“Sure,” she agreed.
“Great. We’ll meet at the checkouts,” Narias smiled at her.
After a quick run through the store, Narias, Growly and Ileena met up at the checkouts, paid for their shopping and were on their way. The boys still needed to pick up their backpacks. Narias thought Ileena would go back to attend her classes, but she wanted to accompany Narias to his dorm.
“Are you sure? You’ll be late for your classes.” Narias was worried.
“It’s fine,” was all she said.
“Ok then,” he had no time to waste.
All three of them picked up the pace to reach the dorms faster. Once they’ve reached Narias’ dorm building Growly said he’ll go pick up his stuff and head straight to the Magic Dungeon. Narias agreed to do the same. Him and Ileena went to Narias room, so he could get his stuff as well.
“You have your backpack already packed? Hmm… of course you would,” at first, Ileena was slightly surprised, but then smiled to herself.
“Yeah. I just hope the extra food I bought will fit in,” he started to unpack his purchases.
“I’m sure they will,” Ileena stood on the side, not wanting to get in his way.
“Almost… done. Phew…” Narias managed to close his backpack somehow after he stuffed it with the extra food. “Right, time to- Huh?”
Narias turned to go, but was instantly hugged by Ileena instead.
“I… Ileena?” all he was thinking all this time was to be quick and rush to the Magic Dungeon, so her hug came as a surprise.
“Are… are you sure… you want to get to the second-floor boss monster?” Ileena’s voice trembled.
“Of course. That’s the only way to get more points than any other team. Besides, it shouldn’t be too…” he answered in his usual manner, but then felt a tighter squeeze from her.
“You…” Ileena whispered.
Huh? What? Is she… crying? Narias finally grasped what was going on.
“Ileena?” he slowly pulled her back to see her face. She had tears in her eyes. “Wha… why?”
“What do you mean ‘why’?” she almost shouted at him. “You suddenly announce you’ll be going to the second floor of the Magic Dungeon and expect me not to worry about you?”
“I…” it was the first time for him to see Ileena look so distressed. Or any other girl for that matter.
“You… you need to promise me that you’ll be careful,” Ileena said, still not wanting to let Narias go.
“Of course,” he said, with a warm smile on his face, which his girlfriend couldn’t see.
“Sigh… I’m sorry, I…” Ileena finally let him go. “I know you’re not the type of person who’d act foolish, but…”
“It’s ok. Actually, you made me really happy just now,” he said with a smile.
“H… happy?” Ileena looked at him.
“Yeah. It makes me happy to know you care about me so much.” Narias told her, hugging her around her waist.
“Oh… I,” that was enough to make Ileena’s cheeks burn hot. “Of course I care about you. After all, I…”
She wanted to say something, but became too embarrassed all of a sudden.
“I promise I will be careful. And if I see it is becoming too dangerous, we will turn around and leave.” Narias made a promise.
“I…” Ileena wanted to say something in response, but then kissed him instead.
They didn’t want to let go of each other. Narias could feel Ileena’s body pressed close to his, and she could feel his body too. At first, Narias thought that Ileena wanted to give him a goodbye or good luck kiss, but it didn’t look like his girlfriend wanted to let him go just yet. Both of them were still kissing, with Narias becoming more and more excited.
Wait, wait, wait. That’s… Is she… I need to… Narias’ mind was jumping from thought to thought in the meantime.
“I… Ileena?” he managed to ask during the brief moment when their lips weren’t touching each other.
“I’m sorry, I…” Ileena quickly hid her flushed face away by hugging him tighter and placing her head on his shoulder so he couldn’t see. “N… Narias…”
“Yes?” he asked, waiting for his girlfriend to gather her thoughts.
“When you come back, do you mind if… do you mind if I spend… some time with you… just the two of us?” Ileena asked with a hint of a subtle embarrassment in her voice.
“Of course not. Would you like to go somewhere? To El’Roonst maybe?” Narias wanted to pull away to see her face, but Ileena wouldn’t let go for whatever reason.
“No, I meant to spend… to spend the night with you… here in your room,” she pressed herself tighter to Narias.
Huuuh? What? Narias’ heart sank and then jumped back up with such intensity, he thought he was lifted up in the air.
“I… Yes…” was all he could muster.
“Hmm…” only then Ileena pulled away then fixed her glasses, more so to keep her racing heart in check. “You better not keep me waiting for too long.”
Wha… Is she implying what I think she’s implying? Narias mind just punched him below the waist.
In all honesty, Narias could understand that Ileena was worried about him. And Ileena knew that Narias wasn’t someone who’d do something reckless and throw himself into danger without thinking. Maybe she was implying something extra, or maybe it was just a tease to give Narias an extra push to return sooner rather than later. Whichever it was, now he had something exciting to look forward to after he comes back from the Magic Dungeon.
“Uhm… I think you need to go soon.” Ileena said, but still didn’t want to let Narias go.
“Aah… yeah,” it’s not like he was against being hugged by her.
After a few more moments, Ileena finally composed herself to how she usually was and unwrapped her arms from Narias. Not before giving him another passionate kiss, of course.
“I’ll wait for you here,” she said after releasing him.
“Ok,” he was about to turn to pick up his backpack, but then turned back to face Ileena again. “Wait… here?”
“Huh? Oh… I mean… I’ll wait for you to come back,” Ileena brushed her dark brown hair to the side, with the orange color hair strands giving away an unusual glow.
“Right,” Narias’ smile couldn’t hide his awkward embarrassment.
Maaan, I wish we were going to the dungeon tomorrow. Narias sighed right before picking up his backpack.
They left Narias’ room, with Narias carrying a, what it looked like, an oversized and overstuffed backpack on his back. Once they were outside of the building, Narias turned to the side to see if Growly was coming, but then remembered that his furry friend said he’ll go directly to the Magic Dungeon.
Oh, right. I need to get going. Narias reminded himself.
“Good luck and… be careful, Narias.” Ileena wished him, standing just two steps away from him.
“Yes, thank… you…” Narias turned to her and was dumbstruck to see how absolutely charming and beautiful she looked.
Has she ever looked so beautiful? He couldn’t even blink.
Seeing Narias’ reaction Ileena smiled victoriously. Before going though, Narias couldn’t but hug and kiss his girlfriend again. Neither him, nor Ileena said anything. Narias simply turned away and walked off, afraid that if he were to turn around again, he’d be delayed even longer.
{at the Magic Dungeon entrance}
“Hey Growly, where’s Narias?” Flavia asked when the chubby bear-boy finally showed up.
“He… not here?” Growly was surprised to hear the question.
“No. I thought both of you will come together,” the bunny girl looked behind Growly to see if Narias was coming. “Where is he?”
“Narias said he’ll come here after he picks up his backpack,” the furry boy said.
“But he’s not here,” Flavia frowned.
“Maybe… something happened to Ileena?” Growly wondered.
“Ileena?” that got the bunny girl’s attention.
“Yes. She helped us buy food. Then… she said she’ll help Narias pack,” the bear looking beast-boy added after a short pause.
“Wait, Ileena went with you?” Flavia was surprised to hear that. “And then she went together with Narias to his… Hey!”
“Huh?” Growly puffed giving her a strange stare, then took off his backpack and sat down right there to have some rest.
“What’s wrong, Flavia?” Emilia came over to check with her.
“It’s Ileena,” the bunny girl answered.
“Ileena?” Emilia was puzzled.
“Yes. Growly said that Ileena went together with Narias to his room and now he’s late,” Flavia frowned, as well as crossed her arms in front of her.
“Ileena went to Narias’ dorm and now he’s… Huh? Oh…” suddenly, Emilia covered her mouth with one hand, catching a red sparkle on her cheeks.
“We bought extra food. Ileena went to help him pack,” Growly commented.
“Oh, ok,” the girl with the snow-white hair acknowledged what Growly had said, but for some reason, Emilia and Flavia had strange looks in their eyes.
“Well? Is everyone here?” they were suddenly greeted by someone.
“Miss Salroze?” Lilna saw her first. “Oh, I’m sorry. Hello, Miss Salroze.”
“Hello, greetings,” the others greeted the teacher as well.
“What are you doing here, Miss Salroze?” Flavia wondered.
“What do you mean? You won’t be allowed to enter Magic Dungeon without a guide. Don’t tell me you have forgotten that already?” Belinda threw her a mild frown.
“Oh, that’s right. Haha,” the bunny girl laughed.
“Well then, are you ready?” the teacher asked.
“Aaah, no, not yet. We still need…” Flavia was trying to come up with something.
“I’m sorry, Miss Salroze, but Narias isn’t here yet.” Emilia told her.
“Really?” Belinda only then realized he was missing. “Heh, who could’ve thought?”
“We still have… some time left, right? He should be here any minute,” the bunny girl tiptoed on her feet.
“Do we?” the purple haired teacher checked the time.
“Huff, puff… Nooo… oof… I’m so… gonna be late… Oops…” Narias was running to reach the meeting point and almost tripped when he made a sharp turn around the corner. “Heeey! I… I’m here… huff…”
He waved his hand for extra attention.
“Hey, here he is.” Flavia’s face lit up.
“I’m sorry… oof… I’m late…” Narias was trying to catch his breath.
“Well…” Belinda Salroze checked the time again. “You’re not.”
“Phew… That’s a relief…” he had to sit down.
“Ok then. Since everyone is here now, let’s not waste any more time. Huh?” The teacher turned to go, but then noticed the oversized and overstuffed Narias’ backpack. “What… do you have in your bag?”
“Oh, that’s just… some extra supplies I’ve picked up at the shop before coming here,” he told her without going into further details.
“Extra supplies? Well, no matter,” the teacher didn’t ask for an additional explanation.
“Wait, does that mean you’ll be our guide for our dungeon exploration, Miss Salroze?” Narias suddenly realized she was the only teacher present.
“I AM your guide for your team’s dungeon exploration,” she emphasized the word while answering his question. “Or are you not happy with me being your guide?”
She crossed her arms in front of her.
“No, no. Not at all.” Narias waved his hands in front of him, feeling the teacher’s intense stare. “I just thought it would be someone else since when I asked in the morning today you… Ah, eeer… Oh, everything is great. I’m glad you’ll be, I mean, you are our guide, Miss Salroze. Haha.”
“Hmph…” the teacher lowered her head with a sigh. “Ok, let’s go.”
There was no time for Narias to rest. Everyone picked up their backpacks and followed Belinda Salroze towards the Magic Dungeon entrance.
“Psst, psst. Narias,” Flavia walked closer to him.
“Huh? Yes?” he turned to her as they walked.
“What… did you and Ileena do in your room?” the bunny girl asked, without directly looking at him.
“Me and… huh?” suddenly, Narias’ face turned red. “Well, she helped me pack the extra food we have bought.”
I know Ileena and Flavia are my girlfriends, but… He was too embarrassed to tell the full story.
“Hmph…” Flavia frowned at him, which made her look cute instead of angry. “When we come back… I want to invite you to my room… dorm… aaah… place. Ghee.” She finished her sentence with a grin.
“Huh? What?” Narias’ ears became on fire.
“I mean I… I will cook some food for you, so we can… celebrate…” the charming, gold-haired bunny girl was trying to choose the right words she wanted to say.
“Oh, to celebrate. Yeah, sure,” he agreed.
“~ whisper ~ And then you could stay for the night… ~ whisper ~ Uhm…” Flavia added in half whisper.
“Huh? Sorry, what was that?” but Narias couldn’t fully hear her.
“Ah, nothing…” she jumped a step away from him. “I mean I… I will tell you during the dinner… when you come over.”
“Oh, ok.” Narias added, but wasn’t sure if she heard him, because the energetic bunny girl sprinted forward without waiting for his answer.
Huh? Why is she..? he was puzzled about Flavia’s awkwardness since she usually was very upfront with how she acted.
━━━━━━━━━
Thank you for reading. Leave a comment and favorite the chapter if you enjoyed it.
Read 10+ extra chapters on my Patreon – Extra Chapters on Patreon
━━━━━━━━━
Extra thanks to nonomo4 and Lynderyn for their support and help.
Niuniax P. S. Ok then... Who's rooting for who? :D
