Thanks for....how'd I get here? [Event|NDE|CLOSED]

[Hitora Ryunobu (Uchiha)]

Hitora didn’t even notice the shift at first. He went from yelling at the strange pale Jashin girl who had been threatening the village and its people to standing in a clearing full of trees and small fuzzy animals, thankfully all of his stuff was still with him. Hitora looked around, slowly removing his mask from his face as he continued to scan the area, his onyx eyes slowly travelling over the landscape. There wasn’t a stream anymore, thank god for that he’d had enough of that thanks to the Jashin worshipping whore.

He sighed softly as he sat down on the stump of a long dead tree, wearing his usual black leather outfit, with black gloves and black greaves attached to his black boots. Across the chest and back of his leather outfit was a blue bird symbol stretching from shoulder to shoulder on both sides, it was his usual attire for leaving the village when doing anything unknown and today was a very unknown kind of day, including having random items just appearing out of thin air.

[Lady Jaz]

Strollin’ //Enter The forest was damp and cool this time of year. Trees were continuously dripping wet from the ever-raining weather. The sun was peeking through a small window of clouds high up while a light wind continued to scatter droplets into the air. It felt muggy despite the chill and the mist hovering around the forest floor gave it an eerie feeling. A black timber wolf moved slowly through the thick brush, ducking beneath large leaves and nudging trunks and other sections of the forest floor with his snout. A few whiffs and the wolf raised his head and glanced in my direction. Tora was nearby. His scent was draped over the landscape as if he had rolled around in it. A warm smile crossed my cherry pink lips as I twirled the long rope of scarlet hair around my wrist and began twisting it into a bun on top of my crown. After securing it with a small stick I found on the ground, I patted my blue kimono down gently and readjusted my shield (heavy) upon my back. The kimono was short, revealing long shapely legs, however a pair of black skin-tight short shorts covered what needed to be covered. I had my butt bag strapped to my right side, all ten kunai, seven fragmentation grenades and none blood clot pills jiggled inside gently with each stride I took. I was walking with purpose, 50 centimetres away from Yoko as he scouted through the forest in search for Hitora. Not long now before we find him, and believe me Yoko will find him.

[👺 Usiel]

Okuda

Huh, it's 20 tag sized bits of paper on the ground, something seems kind of special about it, though... Might as well pick it up and prevent litter, maybe they'll be useful later.

Tag: Vivre Card (Overview) x20
Rank: "S"
Type: Secondary, 80 per Slot, Gadget, Survival, Tag
Effect: A specialized card that monitors the life force of a person.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Paper that is 2 inches by 6 inches in size and 0.039" (1 mil) thick. The paper of life. A special form of paper. A Vivre Card is made from part of a piece of a person's Chakra which is then made into paper. It is completely waterproof, and fireproof. If a Vivre Card begins to burn on its own, that means that the life of the person who gave the Vivre Card is vanishing. The burning will not remove the Card, nor reduce the size of the card. The burning is also non-harmful to anyone who touches the card. When the life of the person expires completely, the Vivre Card reduces to ash.
Limit: These items may be bought inside any Gadget Shop.
Cost: 40,000 Ryo per Slot, or 500 Ryo Each.

Natsumi

A man approaches and hands you a voucher to add a room to your house. "If you build it... they will come." He informs you before walking off.

Smithy, Superior
Rank: "S"
Type: Main, Room, 2 Stronghold Space, Craftsman Room
Effect: A Crafting Room dedicated for all kinds of Blacksmithing/Metalworking.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Similar to the basic smithy, this area features a polished stone floor and marble-encased forge of the highest quality. Working in this smithy gives a character a +20 circumstance bonus on any Craft pertaining to Blacksmithing/Metalworking (Armour, Blacksmithing/Metalworking, etc.) checks. This area requires the services of a smith. There may be up to 4 people working in this area.
Limit: Must be created by a Construction Crafter.
Cost: 40,000 Ryo

[Hitora Ryunobu (Uchiha)]

Picking up the twenty strange pieces of paper, Hitora couldn’t help but shrug at the symbol on them as he heard what sounded like an animal or perhaps a person walking through the woods. Standing up he began to look around when he spotted that crimson hair, the most unique thing he could think about her. Then he noticed her shapely form, and he smiled, finally a person he would be happy to see. Placing his mask in one of his utility belt pouches Hitora and walked towards her.

“JASMINE!” He then began to jog towards her his arms outstretched “Its been too long since I last saw you!” He would then move to pull her into an embrace, following which he would rub Yoko’s head, assuming he would allow Hitora to pet him.

[Lady Jaz]

Timely Matter Just as Hitora’s tall frame came into view some metres away, a man suddenly appeared from behind a tree and handed me a voucher before muttering something about building and someone coming. I stare at the guy as he walks away without another word. Hearing my name being yelled out, I turn toward Hitora and smiled. “Hello darling, why are you in this area?” I ask, concern filling my voice as I wrap my arms around him. Yoko nudged himself between the pair of us and nudged Hitora’s stomach with his nose. His way of greeting was always to get in the middle of things. My head turned back toward the direction where that guy had gone into before staring down at the voucher in my hands. “Thinking about building a house, sweetie?” I ask, flashing the voucher with the Smithy written upon it in large bold letters. In the distance the sound of rainfall resuming filled the forest. Yoko gave out a little whine and moved to stand beside Hitora’s left side, his black head looking up into the tree tops. Gained:

[👺 Usiel]

Natsumi

You trip over a corpse, seems the poor guy couldn't take it anymore and slit his wrists... Well, their loss your gain of 6 knives.

Knife (Overview) x6
Rank: "C" Rank
Type: Secondary, 2 per Slot, Piercing/Slashing, Knife
Effect: An instrument composed of a blade fixed into a handle, used for cutting or as a weapon.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A Light Weapon. These weapons do +4 Amour Points of Damage. The Range Increment of this weapon is 5 meters. A knife has a blade that is about less than 1 foot in length. The user gains a +10 bonus on Sleight of Hand Skill to conceal a knife on their body.
Limit: These items may be bought inside any Weapon Shop.
Cost: 1,000 Ryo per Slot, or 500 Ryo Each.

Okuda

Hey look, it's not much but it's 3,000 Ryo just laying there on the ground. Yours now.

[Hitora Ryunobu (Uchiha)]

Smiling as he continued to hug Jasmine and pet Yoko he listened to her as she asked why he was in this area and he frowned a bit, in confusion though not anger or any such thing, “I’m…not sure why I’m in this forest, one moment I was having a rather heated argument with this crazy half-naked Jashin worshipping bitch and the next I am here…in this forest not a clue how I got here.” Hitora then kissed Jasmine on her neck softly as she held up the coupon she had just gotten.

When she asked her question he couldn’t help but stifle a sudden choking of his own saliva as he looked at her and said “and when did you become a mind reader? I’ve got a few of these coupon things that I got last year, another couple this year and was thinking of using them as well as just outright paying for additional things to get us a real home, instead of living in separate apartments, perhaps something big enough that Yoko could run around in and get regular exercise…he’s been lookin’ kinda flabby lately after all.” The last bit was said in a joking, conspiratorial whisper to Jasmine.

[Lady Jaz]

Whores and Houses As Hitora returned my hug, I stumbled forward slightly and felt something hard hit my feet. Pulling back, I glance down and find a dead guy laying in the brush between us. Crouching down, I immediately spot the blood and the knife marks and six knives littered around him. Scooping up the knives and shoving them into my butt bag, I gingerly check the guy for a pulse – better be safe than sorry – and when I find there is none, I raise. “Any idea who he was?” I ask, then frowned when bits and pieces of Hitora’s words floated around in my head. “Wait, a half-naked what? Since when were you hanging around half-naked women?” I ask, my tone snippy as I place both my hands upon my hips. As Hitora moved forward to kiss me, I raise both my hands and place them upon his chest to shove him away. “Oh no you don’t. You tell me what you were doing with some half naked woman!” I snapped, having completely forgotten about the dead guy at our feet. Yoko, sensing my change of mood lowered his gaze and began growling at the dark haired shinobi. Gained:

[Solus]

Natsumi:

Have you always wanted to be a Healer? Well now you can pretend to be with this book of Restoration Rituals!

Ritual Book 200 pages
Rank: "C"
Type: Main, Book, Reference Book
Effect: A book intended to be consulted for information on specific matters rather than read from beginning to end.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A reference work is a book or serial publication to which one can refer for confirmed facts. The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Reference works are usually referred to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end. The writing style used in these works is informative; the authors avoid use of the first person, and emphasize facts. Many reference works are compiled by a team of contributors whose work is coordinated by one or more editors rather than by an individual author. Indexes are commonly provided in many types of reference work.
Limit: These items may be bought inside any Book Shop.
Cost: 3,000 Ryo

Extended Vitality
Rank: "C"
Type: Restoration Ritual
Effect: User may convert Temporary Armour Points into actual healing capabilities.
Special: To perform: 10 minutes; Duration: 1 hour
Drawback: ---
Description: Turning rage, courage, and perseverance into healing energies, user is able to close wounds using nothing more than high morale. This ritual focuses their excitement and morale into physical form, closing their wounds as their courage grows. While this ritual is active, user converts all Temporary Armour Points into Healing Points, but only at half the original value. User cannot benefit from Temporary Armour Points while this ritual is active. If the healing is not needed (User is in full health) then the Temporary Armour Points are wasted.
Limit: Must be a Ritualist for Restoration Rituals.
Cost: Market Price: 12,000 Ryo Performing Price: 9,000 Ryo

Heal
Rank: "A"
Type: Restoration Ritual
Effect: The green healing energies flow through the body in front of the user, and the user watches as every wound closes up in a few moments.
Special: To perform: 1 hour; Duration: Instantaneous
Drawback: ---
Description: The Heal ritual allows the target to spend a single Healing Hands (Moderate) worth of Chakra to heal by 4 Healing Hands (Moderate). If the target has no Chakra to spend, user may spend their own Chakra in its stead.
Limit: Must be a Ritualist for Restoration Rituals.
Cost: Market Price: 35,000 Ryo Performing Price: 26,000 Ryo

Cure Blight
Rank: "S"
Type: Restoration Ritual
Effect: Where there was pestilence, famine, and despair; the user brings health, abundance, and hope.
Special: To perform: 8 hours; Duration: Special
Drawback: ---
Description: Crops bloom, livestock thrives, and the peasants are happy in the wake of the user's work. Drawing forth disease, drought, hunger, and misery, this ritual improves the quality of life for those in the affected area. In a 2 mile radius, fields are fertile, rains plentiful, and the people happy. Creatures in this area gain a +10 bonus to First Aid: Healing, and Agriculture checks and a +2 bonus to Death Saves for the duration of the ritual as long as they remain in the affected area. Any crops or livestock will be especially productive and profitable for the time the ritual is active. This Ritual will negate a Storm of Insects ritual if performed in the same area. The duration of the Ritual depends on the user's Mastery of Restoration Rituals Lore.
Average: 1 day
Advanced: 1 week
Expert: 1 month
Master: 1 year

Limit: Must be a Ritualist for Restoration Rituals.
Cost: Market Price: 48,000 Ryo Performing Price: 36,000 Ryo


Okuda:

I've heard about this awesome badass called Wolverine who has these awesome claws, just like those ones over there on that stump. Take them and you can be just like him too.

Claw (Overview) x2
Rank: "C"
Type: Main, Piercing/Slashing, Claw
Effect: Claws attached to Gauntlets to add slashing or piercing damage.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A Light Weapon. These weapons do +4 Amour Points of Damage. A weapon that either gives claws to a gauntlet, or a blade(s) are attached to a horizontal handle that projects out from the fist when held. These weapons allow the wielder to hold things in their hand while using a Clawed weapon, however the user cannot use the claw and a weapon in the same hand at the same time to attack. Since these weapons are basically variants of Gauntlets they cannot be disarmed unless they are removed from the user's hand. Examples of Claw Weapons: Bagh nah, Katara, Pata, Push Dagger, Roman Scissors, Tekko, Claws, and Tekagi-shuko.
Limit: These items may be bought inside any Weapon Shop.
Cost: 3,000 Ryo each

[Hitora Ryunobu (Uchiha)]

Hitora looked a bit taken aback by her sudden reaction to his statement regarding the crazy woman, ignoring her question about the dead man he smiled innocently and a bit fearfully at her and said “Yeah, earlier there was this crazy bitch who talked about coming to the village and killing everyone, worshipped that murder god Jashin and at one point she stripped down to her underwear to wash her hair, not that I cared nor looked ‘cause I have you and you’re all I need, I promise.”

He then closed his eyes as he smiled a bit more at her, trying to make amends somehow, not sure what he did wrong since he didn’t care about the crazy murderous bitch. He then gently grabbed her hands and kissed the backs of both of her hands “I promise you, I didn’t look or leer at her, I was more trying to think of ways to kill her so she couldn’t come to the village and murder children, elderly and more like she had claimed she was, unfortunately I couldn’t think up a way before I found myself here….do you believe me?” slowly opening his eyes he made mental note of those claws, another set had appeared just to the side of him in the stump he’d been on earlier.

[Lady Jaz]

Misunderstanding While I stood there waiting for Hitora’s response, a dark object suddenly appeared at my feet, knocking against my bare feet. Looking down, I spotted a book which had the words Ritual Book written on its cover. I bend down to pick it up and hugged it to my chest for a few moments as Hitora began explaining what he meant about a half-naked woman he met prior to running into me. Should I believe him? The story did sound really odd. But today a lot of odd things were happening, like this book and the man in the forest with housing vouchers. I put the book in my butt bag and allow Hitora to take my hands. “I believe you. A lot of weird things have been happening today. But I don’t think you would make up something like that for kicks.” I said, tugging on his hands gently and giving him a small smile. “But where is all this stuff coming from? Strange men in the forest, textbooks falling out of the sky and dead people in the forest..” I trail off for a moment. “Scratch the dead people bit that always happens out in the middle of nowhere.” I said, shrugging. Gained:

[Solus]

Natsumi:

Happy Thanksgiving! You've just been handed a check for 1,500,000 Ryo! Wait, there's a decimal point in there, it's really only 15,000 Ryo... Still, free money.

Okuda:

Dude, is that Banryu!? Wait, no, it's just a cheap imitation, still a free Fullblade though.

Sword, Fullblade (Masterwork) {Increase Weapon's Size Damage}
Rank: "B"
Type: Main, Slashing, Sword
Effect: A very large sword, made for hurting things, badly.
Special: ---
Drawback: Due to the weapon's size each technique performed while wielding this weapon takes up 3 movements.
Description: A Two-Handed Weapon. These weapons do +16 Amour Points of Damage. A fullblade is 18 inches longer than a greatsword and is too large for a Medium-size creature to use with 2-hands correctly. A large creature could use a fullblade with two hands and will not suffer any drawbacks while wielding the weapon. A creature may learn Weapon Specialization: Speed Training to remove the drawbacks of Movement restrictions. If the user learns Wield Oversized Weapon the user is able to wield the weapon 1-handed.
Limit: These items may be bought inside any Weapon Shop.
Cost: 16,000 Ryo

[Shai]

//enter

Shai looked around cautiously, he had an umbrella up above his head while he wore his blue shirt and trousers with the black leather shoes. He had his pouch projector on his wrist with an ice pouch in it ready as normal, the rest of his pouches; goo, lightning, ice, explosive and incendiary were all within the slots in his cloak. In his ears his mothers earings, the little blue studs matched his fathers necklace around his neck while his hair held it's dual tonal colours and classic shape. While walking around the land of rain Shai would keep his eyes down, he didn't want to draw attention but more than that he was quite scared. It wasn't often he left alone let alone to go to another land. The nervous twitches he had were portraying quite heavily but ahead of him there were a pair of individuals with what looked like a few items. Keeping his head down he pulled his hood up and umbrella tight to him as he walked past but while doing so he slipped over falling on his face into a muddy puddle as he walked past them splashing dirty water up and over them.

Quickly he got out of the puddle turned and flinched away as he begged for forgiveness, the sound of fear of what to come was rife and blatant. He was petrified. sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry

[Hitora Ryunobu (Uchiha)]

“I haven’t the foggiest idea where all this stuff is coming from…perhaps someone is testing out some new flying machine and it went horribly awry…well, if that’s true their loss is our gain I suppose.” Hitora chuckled slightly to show that it was merely supposed to be a bit of dark humor what he said, but as he was in the middle of his chuckle a large sword fell just to his left side, within inches of slicing off his arm.

Looking at the sword, slightly bewildered he’d take a step to the right, putting him at an angle with Jasmine unless she moved with him, still holding her hands. “….well…I don’t think whatever deity controls this day wants to punish me for that comment!” it was with a chuckle that Hitora just barely noticed the young boy suddenly appearing, scrambling to place the mask over his face, he looked at the boy as he managed to just barely get between the muddy water and Jasmine.

“Its quite alright, you didn’t mean any harm by it I can tell, just be more careful in the future. Whats your name by the way? I suppose it’s the least you can tell us for you covering me in the mud as you’ve done.” Hitora then offered a warm smile to the boy as he brushed some of the mud off the blue bird symbol on his chest, his eyes covered in the black mask.

[Lady Jaz]

And Three Makes More Company The rain grew harder now, the sound almost like a roar. Although the trees surrounding us did provide us with enough shelter, some droplets were still leaking through the tops. I was just going to have to accept the fact that I was going to get wet, one way or the other. My scarlet hair had come out of its bun-like formation and the stick I had used as a hair pin fell to the forest floor with a soft thud sound. Now that my hair was a fiery red mass, blanketing my shoulders and cascading down my back, my shield covered most of it. “I’ll say..” I replied, jumping as a sword suddenly dropped out from the sky in between the gap in the trees. I let out a little yelp and pulled Hitora closer to me in hopes of moving him away from the sharp blade. First it was raining books, now it’s raining swords?! I glare up at the tree tops as Yoko scuttled around to position himself in between Hitora, myself and the new comer. Staring wide-eyed at the young fellow, I hear Hitora say something gently and I issue a confused smile. “Um.. where did you come from?” I ask, moving closer to Hitora. However, as I took a step toward him, a bag suddenly dropped from the sky and landed on my head. The rustling of coins told me exactly what was inside the bag. Money?! Picking up the bag, I stuff it into my butt bag to look at later before staring at Hitora. “As you said, their loss our gain.” I muttered with a sly grin. Gained:

[Solus]

Ko:

Hey, a circle drawn in the ground with a bunch of marbles left in it, up for a game?

Marbles (Small) (Overview) x25
Rank: "B" Rank
Type: Secondary, 50 per Slot, Bludgeoning, Ball
Effect: A small ball of colored glass or similar material used as a toy.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A Light Weapon. These weapons do +2 Amour Points of Damage. The Range Increment of this weapon is 10 meters. Sphere weapons. Normally made from glass however they could be made out of harder materials such as steel. Commonly used as a toy, but also useful for checking slopes, or as a nondamaging alternative to caltrops. One Slot covers a 2 meter square area. Creatures moving through or fighting in the area could fall and remain prone for the rest of the round. Normally 1 inch (2.54 cm) in diameter.
Limit: These items may be bought inside any Weapon Shop.
Cost: 5,000 Ryo per Slot, or 100 Ryo Each.

Okuda:

Hm? What's that thing poking through the crack in that wall? A Handheld Inspection Tool? Where's it looking? The mixed bath, eh? Just a quick peek.... Oh god, they're all so old! Oh god the wrinkles and sagging, try not to puke.

Handheld Inspection Tool
Rank: "B"
Type: Secondary, 1 per Slot, Gadget, Surveillance, Optics
Effect: An optics system used to peer through cracks of doors and in windows without being compromised of their location.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Picture The Handheld Inspection Tool is a lightweight, highly portable inspection tool that puts an extremely low light black and white camera into a system that is perfect for inspecting containers and rooms or looking around barriers. The Handheld Inspection Tool allows the operator to view the picture in the attached eye-piece or transmit to 1 or more monitors. The Handheld Inspection Tool comes in two pieces, an extendable tube that is 1/2 inch wide 8 inches long that extends to 16 inches, and the main system that is 2 by 2 by 8 inches. The tube may be attached to the main system by screwing it in. User is able to look through an opening found in the main system and see through the tube as well.
Limit: These items may be bought inside any Gadget Shop.
Cost: 5,000 Ryo Each



Natsumi:

Hey look, it's not much but it's 3,000 Ryo just laying there on the ground. Yours now.

[Shai]

Shai lifted his head and opened up his body language a little more, the fear of the situation subsiding in him a little, he turned and looked at what he slipped over to find a load of marbles which he quickly hid within his cloak. His face flushed red as the embarrassment and shyness came over him some more S...s..s..shai... from Kon..Konoha he managed to stammer out as he lifted his hood to show his face. I'm so sorry... please don't hurt me. Although his body had opened up a little bit it was clear he was still on the defensive and awaiting some form of beating.

---

Small Marbles x 25

[Hitora Ryunobu (Uchiha)]

Hitora noticed the strange broken wall, walking up to it he pulled the tool from it not bothering to look on the other side. Walking back to Jasmine’s side he heard the boy stammer out his name and where he was from. Placing his left hand on his chin, cupping it between his fingers slightly, Hitora thought for a moment, more or less analyzing the boy. Hitora then smiled gently at the boy, chuckling as he asked them not to hurt him.

“Shai, don’t worry we won’t hurt you as far as I can tell you’re not even a threat to us, heck you seem too afraid to be from Konoha.” Hitora was basing this assessment almost solely off how the boy held himself, the words he picked and so forth, plus having once lived in Konoha he couldn’t believe that there would be anyone so cowardly coming from the village.

[Solus]

Ko:

That is a sweet fucking bow over there. Oh you taking it? Who do you think you are, freaking Legolas? Nerd.

Bow, Composite - 110 lb. Draw (Overview)
Rank: "B"
Type: Main, Piercing, Bow
Effect: A short bow made of more than one material.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A Tier 3 Bow. A Two-Handed Weapon. These weapons do +8 Amour Points of Weapon Damage. These weapons do an additional +3 Armour Points of Damage. The Range Increment of this weapon is 25 meters. May bypass 5 hardness. May be used in Mounted Combat. A composite bow is made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the back of the wooden core. When the bow is drawn, the sinew (stretched on the outside) and horn (compressed on the inside) store more energy than wood for the same length of bow. Composite bow emphasizes power, which requires more strength than standard bows. However, its range is shorter making it unfit for sniping.
Limit: These items may be bought inside any Hunting Shop.
Cost: 40,000 Ryo


Okuda:

Huh, it's 20 tag sized bits of paper on the ground, something seems kind of special about it, though... Might as well pick it up and prevent litter, maybe they'll be useful later.

Tag: Vivre Card (Overview) x20
Rank: "S"
Type: Secondary, 80 per Slot, Gadget, Survival, Tag
Effect: A specialized card that monitors the life force of a person.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Paper that is 2 inches by 6 inches in size and 0.039" (1 mil) thick. The paper of life. A special form of paper. A Vivre Card is made from part of a piece of a person's Chakra which is then made into paper. It is completely waterproof, and fireproof. If a Vivre Card begins to burn on its own, that means that the life of the person who gave the Vivre Card is vanishing. The burning will not remove the Card, nor reduce the size of the card. The burning is also non-harmful to anyone who touches the card. When the life of the person expires completely, the Vivre Card reduces to ash.
Limit: These items may be bought inside any Gadget Shop.
Cost: 40,000 Ryo per Slot, or 500 Ryo Each.

[Lady Jaz]

Wasn’t Konoha Enemies? As the young man spoke, my gaze roamed over him. It was clear that I was the shortest person out of the three, but this guy didn’t look all that old either. Maybe in his mid to late teens? He was reasonably handsome for a younger guy too. “No need to worry about getting hurt, kid. Tora and I have no reason to harm you.” I said, my tone neutral yet my smile was genuine. I actually really liked his hair, not too bad at all. “I’m Jasmine, and this is Yoko.” I say crouching down to wrap one arm around my wolf. After a few moments I raise to my full height and cross my arms across my chest. “Say, is your hair natural or dyed? I really like the style and colour.” I said, glancing toward Hitora and gently weaving my fingers through his. “And why are you so far away from your village?” I ask, frowning slightly. Wasn’t Amegakure not on good terms with Konohagakure? I knew they didn’t like Yukigakure, but Konohagakure? Gained: