REVIEWER RESPONSE:
Brosephg: Thanks once again for all of the praise and hopefully this chapter at least answers some questions! Accelerator will be popping on by later.
whwsms: So many questions and yet not all are answered this chapter…
We're nearing the end of this arc! Just a chapter of two left! That's pretty exciting, so let's go!
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Prevarication and Subtlety [6] NEGATIVE ARC
"Do I know you…?" Osamu inquired with a straight face.
"Weren't you killed by NEGATIVE? I saw your body in that warehouse!" Touma exclaimed.
Osamu shifted in his seat and sighed internally.
"Uh sorry. I have no idea what you're talking about." Osamu boldly lied. "My only interaction with NEGATIVE was today. I don't know what 'warehouse' you're going on about."
Osamu wasn't really lying either. He had no recollection of being in any sort of warehouse but…
'This guy saw me dead? That's gonna really complicate things…'
"W-well…" Touma stuttered.
"Ape, are you sure that this is the man you saw at the warehouse? What did he look like?" Kuroko asked.
"H-he had black hair and-"
"Ah! So it was someone else then!" Kuroko interrupted.
"But they look exactly the same!" Touma insisted. "I wouldn't forget that face!"
The room went quiet. Osamu averted his eyes from the few stares he received.
"Is that important right now?" Konori asked coldly. "We have more important things to discuss than someone being here that's apparently dead."
"I suppose you're right…" Uiharu agreed reluctantly even though she didn't get involved in the discussion.
"If it helps, I don't ever recall seeing him in the dark side of the city." Awaki jumped in.
"Anyway," Kuroko interrupted, pretending to not have heard Awaki. "we learned some vital clues that help us pinpoint the true masterminds behind this Level Downer incident."
Kuroko walked towards a computer and gestured for Uiharu to open a file.
"Do you guys remember the thug we took in for questioning when the Quaint Café got attacked?"
"Yeah, whatever happened to that guy anyway?" Mikoto inquired.
"He's currently being detained but we did manage to get some useful information out of him."
Kuroko pointed to the screen which showed a list of notes.
"Firstly, he gave us the location of the abandoned factory where Osamu Yuki was being held. Apparently, all of the rouges knew of it."
Osamu stayed silent.
"Additionally, the thug and the female leader at the attack of the cafe weren't Espers."
"Wait… what? How does that even make sense?!" Touma exclaimed.
"It's actually not that mind boggling when you think about it, though it is still surprising." Kuroko started. "From what we know, any Esper hit with the Level Downer collapses, but those rogue NEGATIVE members didn't fall that day when the café was attacked. The only exceptions are those wearing those masks. Yet the thug and leader lacked those as well so the only obvious conclusion is that they weren't Espers in the first place."
"That just… doesn't make any sense though. Why would non-Espers even get involved?" Touma questioned in a baffled tone.
"…We still have no idea unfortunately."
"But wait, isn't that wrong though?" Konori intervened. "Didn't that Kamijou there guy not collapse when the Level Downer activated?" Konori pointed towards Touma.
"Oh, well I'm sort of a… special case." Touma remarked vaguely.
Konori raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.
"And besides, we heard them say that it's in its alpha phase or something like that." Mikoto contributed.
On one of the desks in the office was a plain white mask. It was of the variety that the rogues of NEGATIVE wore.
Mikoto grabbed the mask and examined it out of curiosity.
"I picked up one of those masks near the factory where Osamu Yuki was found. You shouldn't touch it with your bare hands Onee-sama. I found traces of some odd substance on it and washed my hands off afterwards." Kuroko warned.
Mikoto put the mask down as she tried her best to hide a vicious smile.
"But that isn't the only reason you called us here is it?" Tsuchimikado said sternly, his visage becoming oddly serious.
"N-no. We heard about what happened earlier today." Kuroko responded a little taken aback. "Did the two of you really manage to fight back against NEGATIVE on your own?"
"Well, we wouldn't have managed for long if Misaka and Awaki didn't show up." Touma admitted.
Mikoto blushed in spite of herself and Awaki tried to stay neutral.
"Right, but that's still rather impressive. Even though it's normally against our policy to involve civilians, we decided to ask for your help in this matter." Kuroko admitted reluctantly.
"Help how, exactly?" Tsuchimikado said.
"Help with the inevitable battle against the rogue members of NEGATIVE".
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Shiage Hamazura was facing some classic teenager trouble.
"Damn it! What the hell do I do?! I can't look at her face after that!" Hamazura basked in self pity in the apartment that was devoid of anybody else.
He sat on his bed and cried out with his face in his arms.
"Is my relationship with Takitsubo over?! No no it can't be! We can't break up after something like that right? Shit shit shit, I'm so screwed!" Hamazura stood up and shook his arms frantically.
"Wait! Why the hell am I panicking so much?! Boss should obviously know what to do since he's around girls all the time!"
Hamazura took his phone out and quickly dialed a number from his contacts.
After a few rings, the person on the other line answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey boss, I wanted to ask you something. What do you do if your girlfriend catches you jacking off?" Hamazura questioned seriously, his relationship status on the line.
"…What the fuck?"
"H-huh? Oh wait-no no-"
"This is what you call me for shitface? Give me a fucking break. And why the hell are you calling me boss?" Accelerator spout out vigorously over the other end of the phone.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to call you!" Hamazura insisted.
"Yeah whatever, just don't ever call me when I'm still sleeping." Accelerator said before he hung up.
"Oh crap, that was almost traumatizing."
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"So Kami-yan, what's your decision?"
Touma and Tsuchimikado were standing outside of their dorm after parting with the others.
"I'm going to help obviously. There's no way I'm backing out now."
"Heh, I knew you'd say that." Tsuchimikado grinned.
"But be warned Kami-yan I have a feeling that NEGATIVE still has some tricks up their sleeves." Tsuchimikado said ominously as he entered his dorm room.
"…He always has to make me uncomfortable doesn't he?" Touma muttered as he entered his room.
"Hey I'm back."
Touma walked in to find Itsuwa, Othinus and Index going about their usual business.
"Ah Touma, you're alright!" Index exclaimed in delight.
"So the human lives to see another day…" Othinus remarked cryptically.
"What were you taken in for Kamijou-kun?" Itsuwa inquired.
"Oh nothing much. They want me to help out with fighting against NEGATIVE."
"W-what?! And you accepted?" Itsuwa exclaimed.
"Well not yet but I plan to." Touma sat down and dug into the slightly late lunch that Itsuwa prepared.
"But why? Why put yourself through that much danger?"
Touma set his fork down.
"You should already know the answer to that Itsuwa. I just… I can't just turn my back on this problem especially since I'm already involved."
Itsuwa's gaze became more determined.
"I can help you though right? There's no reason for you to go in al-"
"Sorry Itsuwa but you already know the answer to that." Touma stated gravely. "This is a science-side problem so you should avoid it at all costs."
"But-"
"Besides, I'm not going in alone this time. My friends are helping me out on this one." Touma said reassuringly.
"If you say so…" Itsuwa's gaze turned melancholic as she turned her eyes away from Touma.
Index and Othinus looked a bit concerned but they didn't say anything.
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"So… this is the place huh? And I thought my life couldn't get any worse…" Osamu sighed in resignation as he stared at the building standing opposite of him.
"Of all the apartments Judgment found for me to live at, why did it had to be this one?! I mean, I know that my funds are deplorable but… why?" Osamu said the last part weakly and closed his eyes.
After everyone parted ways at Judgment, they were all left with the lingering question of whether they would help in the fight against NEGATIVE.
Osamu however, also faced the dilemma of having nowhere to live since his previous residency exploded. Thankfully though, Kuroko and Uiharu managed to find him a place to live. What made it better is that Judgment agreed to pay Osamu's bills for 3 months!
Now Osamu was reasonably stoked since not having to worry about funds for a quarter of a year is pretty nice. When he arrived at his new apartment though, his initial excitement was replaced by regret.
"I should've just lived in a dumpster somewhere…" Osamu muttered as he reluctantly walked towards the new dorm of where he would currently live.
The apartment was in an area that was relatively unexplored in Academy City. Lying in the far east reaches of the city where nobody lived, it was surrounded by a severe lack of civilization. Moreover, it was the only apartment for miles. The area held several abandoned buildings and unkept roads.
Osamu's hand grabbed the doorknob which… wouldn't open for some reason.
"Damn it! What the hell?!" Osamu's grip on the doorknob tightened and he pushed harder.
Unfortunately though, the resulting force broke the hinges of the already weakened door that hadn't been open for years.
The door fell over.
"Well… there goes my door." Osamu sighed heavily and walked in the dorm room.
When in, he took a quick glance around.
There was a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen and a bedroom.
The living room was unremarkable as it only held an unplugged T.V. with no outlets to be seen.
The bedroom had three beds and for some reason, the middle bed had a large gap underneath it.
The bathroom was excruciatingly small and it only housed a microwave and fridge. No cabinets or stove were to be seen.
"Who the hell can live like this?" Osamu asked mostly to himself.
"And then there's… this shitstain of a bathroom.
The bathroom was the size of a walk-in closet. It had a mini sink, a toilet seat that only seemed able to fit the butt of a child and a tiny showerhead.
"Let's test out the water…" Osamu pulled the handle for cold water.
Nothing came out.
"…" Osamu pulled the handle for hot water.
Warm water poured out.
"Well there's that at least."
Then, Osamu went to the showerhead and tried out the water there.
"Are you fucking kidding me?! Only the cold water works here?! And the kitchen has no sink so how the hell am I going to cook?!" Osamu screamed out in anguish.
"Let me… let me just leave for now. I can't sand looking at this atrocity."
Osamu left the apartment and just aimlessly walked around.
"I have no will, no computer to do my job, no life. Oh wait; I never had one to begin with." Osamu laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of his current predicament and leaned against the wall of the one of the buildings.
"I kind of regret dropping out of school…at least then I would have something to do…" Osamu muttered.
Minutes that felt like hours passed by and someone's voice broke through Osamu's veil of depression.
"Hey, you okay?" A male voice asked.
Osamu looked up and was greeted by a thuggish looking teenager.
"Who- who are you?" Osamu asked.
"Me? Oh I'm Hamazura. Just your everyday Level 0." Hamazura stated matter-of-factly.
"What do you want?" Osamu asked coldly.
"Well, no one lives around here anymore so it's kind of a shock to see someone just standing around." Hamazura answered.
"Is that so? Then why are you here?"
"I was just running a small errand for my uh… my job."
"Riiight." Osamu responded wearily.
"Anyway, you look miserable. Want to get something to eat? My treat." Hamazura offered.
"Huh? Uh, sure I guess." Osamu reluctantly accepted and followed Hamazura back into the heart of Academy City.
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"Hey Kami-yan, you there?" Tsuchimikado knocked loudly on Touma's door.
"Yeah yeah coming." Touma replied in frustration. He was helping Index and Othinus with some game while Itsuwa just watched.
"What is it Tsuchimikado? Didn't you just send me off with some cryptic warning a couple of hours ago?" Touma asked annoyed.
"Yeah so what? Can't I talk to my best friend whenever I want?" Tsuchimikado asked with smirk.
"Whatever." Touma shook his head.
"I wanted to ask if you're down with going to the Quaint Café."
"Wait, that cafe we went to a couple of days ago that got attacked?" Touma asked in confirmation.
"Yeah, it's fixed up now and Maika went in there for work today. Want to come with?" Tsuchimikado asked again.
"Uh…"
"Take us with you Touma!" Index's voice yelled out from behind.
"Huh? Why?" Touma turned around in confusion.
"We-we want food outside for a change!" Itsuwa answered quickly.
"Well… if you really want to come that badly then I guess you're free to tag along." Touma accepted much to the delight of the girls.
Even Othinus who instinctively hid behind Index couldn't help but smile.
"Give us a couple of minutes!" Index demanded as she pushed Touma outside of the room.
"Wow Kami-yan, you're raking in girls like cattle." Tsuchimikado remarked.
"Shut up, don't call them that."
"But it's true! Every time I see you, there's some girl drooling or blushing!"
"Yeah right…"
"Someday you'll learn Kami-yan. Someday."
"Anyway, how is Aogami doing since the suspension?" Touma asked in legitimate concern. "He seemed kind of upset when I last saw him."
"Well, I don't know. I haven't been able to get in contact with him lately." Tsuchimikado answered.
"That's a bit worrying don't you think?"
"Worrying? It's Aogami, what the hell's gonna happen to him?"
"I guess you're right…" Touma agreed reluctantly.
"I think Aogami is secretly glad about the suspension honestly." Tsuchimikado brought up.
"Glad? Why would he- Oh wait. I think of a couple of reasons…" Touma realized.
"Hentai. He has lots to catch up on." Tsuchimikado spelled it out.
"There's Aogami for you…
Suddenly the door opened and Itsuwa and Index were ready to go. Othinus hid in her usual place which was near the top of Index's habit.
"You ready to go?" Touma asked once more.
"Yep. I'm ready to eat out the whole restaurant!" Index declared loudly causing Touma to shake his head.
"You better not. I can only barely afford one meal."
Tsuchimikado merely grinned and walked behind everyone as they made their way to the Certain Quaint Café.
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"You know, I wonder how that Osamu Yuki kid is doing boss." One of Naki's subordinates inquired.
"I don't know. I just hope he's still alive after that fiasco…" Naki sat down and let out a heavy sigh.
"You shouldn't blame yourself boss. He made the choice to go to the MISFORTUNE factory didn't he?" The lone female member of the crew voiced.
"Yeah, I suppose. But even so, I still feel responsible."
"Boss-"
"That's it! I'm gonna check up on him. And you are all coming with me." Naki decided.
"Wait what?! Are you freaking stupid boss! Why wou-"
"Zack! Shut your mouth. What makes you think you have permission to speak?" Naki interrupted coldly.
"…" The NEGATIVE member called Zack shut his mouth and stood on the sidelines.
"Anyway, as I was saying, we're all going to check up on Osamu Yuki and I have just the plan to do it."
Naki grinned deviously causing the other members of NEGATIVE to shiver and slowly back away.
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"Um Hamazura, are you sure you can afford this place?" Osamu asked with raised eyebrows.
"S-sure I can! Don't you know how rich I am?!" Hamazura replied in false bravado.
"Well, don't blame me if you go broke." Osamu stated neutrally as he entered the Certain Quaint Café.
"God damn it. Screw me and my compassionate nature…" Hamazura cursed himself and entered as well.
"Woah! What the hell did I just walk into?" Hamazura exclaimed in a hushed tone.
Within the Certain Quaint Café, there was a little scuffle going on.
"What gives you the right to say that, you bitch?!" Mikoto shouted, getting to her feet.
"Isn't it obvious? How the hell could you lose to a bunch of Level 0's?" Meltdowner mocked.
"The Level Downer! Blame that not me!" Mikoto retorted.
"H-hey Osamu, we should get out here." Hamazura advised in an attempt to get out unnoticed.
"Yeah we sh-"
"Haaaaaah!" Mikoto shot out her Railgun without as much as a warning.
"What?!" Mugino grumbled as she quickly countered with a shot from Meltdowner.
The customers were frozen with fright and Touma and the others were appalled by Mikoto's obscene actions.
In the flash of a second, Touma jumped up front and swung his right hand forward in a reckless endeavor to negate the two ferocious attacks.
The sound of shattering glass was heard and all was safe.
Mugino and the rest of ITEM stared at Touma in pure awe.
No one said a word until Touma glanced upwards and saw two familiar faces.
"Oh Hamazura and Osamu? Wasn't expecting you two to be here."Touma remarked as if nothing shocking just happened.
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The Certain Quaint Café eventually shifted back to its initial calm atmosphere and everyone took a seat.
Mikoto, Saten Konori and Kuroko were seated at the table closest to the entrance.
Mugino, Takitsubo and Kinuhata were seated at the opposite end of the café.
Touma, Tsuchimikado, Index and Itsuwa were seated in between the two former's tables.
Hamazura and Osamu just stood there awkwardly.
'That was…odd. But wait! Isn't this the best time to ask boss for some advice on Takitsubo?!' Hamazura thought.
Clearly, he needs to set his priorities straight.
"Hey boss, come here! I've gotta ask you something!" Hamazura voiced louder than he initially intended, attracting some stares from ITEM.
Touma looked a bit confused but he left his table and walked towards Hamazura and Osamu who seemed somewhat uncomfortable.
Takitsubo continued to stare at Hamazura with concern readily apparent in her normally stoic eyes.
"So what's up?" Touma asked casually.
"I have a serious question boss." Hamazura started in a hushed tone.
"I got a bad feeling about this…" Touma sighed.
"Me and Takitsubo are in a relationship and um… the worst thing that could've happened…happened." Hamazura said gravely.
Osamu listened on in interest while Touma began to list off several possibilities.
"Did you cheat on her? No wait, did you accidentally impregnate her? Come on Hamazura, you know better than that. There's a reason that condoms exist y-"
"NO NO!" Hamazura screamed in protest, attracting more stares.
"Let's… leave for a little bit." Touma left the café and Hamazura followed from behind.
Osamu followed as well since he had no idea what to do.
Outside of the restaurant, Hamazura looked at Touma with a pleading gaze.
"So what the hell did you do that's so bad?" Touma asked with legitimate interest.
"…One week ago, I was sexually frustrated." Hamazura started.
"I can already see where this is going." Osamu said with lament.
"And me and Takitsubo aren't in that stage in our relationship where we do… that kind of thing you know?" Hamazura blushed.
"Come on Hamazura just say sex. We aren't 5." Touma reprimanded disdainfully.
"R-right. Anyway, I was scared to ask her so I decided to jack off."
"Okay? So, what's the problem then?" Touma asked once more.
"She walked in on me!" Hamazura shouted, his eyes almost beginning to water.
"Ah, so that's it." Touma said in a calm tone.
"Why are you so calm boss?! Don't you understand how jeopardizing this is to our relationship?!" Hamazura shouted again.
"Hey, you might want to quiet down." Osamu advised as he gestured to the onlookers passing on by.
Touma nodded while Hamazura tried to stop himself from crying.
"Listen Hamazura." Touma started, trying to find the right words. "I-I know that it must be incredibly awkward around her but don't you think it's a bit too soon to say that the relationship is over?"
"We can't even look at each other in the eyes!"
"But isn't that a good sign?" Osamu jumped into the tragic discussion.
"Huh?" Touma and Hamazura said at the same time.
"Think about it this way. Since she's having a hard time looking at you in the face, doesn't that contribute to the possibility that she finds you attractive and is just nervous about starting sexual relations? If she really wanted to end it with you, she would've done so already out of disgust." Osamu explained. "Well, that's what I think anyway."
Hamazura put his index finger and thumb on his chin and started to think.
"You know, I never thought of it that way. You might be right." Hamazura agreed.
"Yeah, I wasn't thinking of it like that." Touma praised.
"It's just from experience is all." Osamu insisted though he couldn't stop a smile from creeping onto his face.
"Hmm, I don't know for sure if that's truly the case but I'm willing to bet on it. Our relationship's screwed otherwise! Maybe tonight I'll ask her what's wrong." Hamazura planted his hand on Osamu's shoulder, giving him a hearty grin. "Now what do you say, we go back in there and eat some food!" Hamazura said encouragingly as he re-entered the Certain Quaint Café.
Osamu was about to go back inside too but Touma's voice stopped in.
"Hey. I think I have to apologize." Touma said with some uncertainty in his voice.
"Apologize?" Osamu turned around. "What for?"
"When we first met yesterday, I got the wrong impression of you. You seemed like a selfish and arrogant asshole honestly." Touma admitted with a light grin.
"Did I really come off like that? I didn't mean to."
"Uh sorry. It's no big deal now though right? You seem like a pretty cool guy so you mind being friends?"
Osamu's eyes widened.
'Huh, this is a first. I haven't had any friends for years.' Osamu thought.
"S-sure, why not?" Osamu accepted Touma's offer wholeheartedly.
"Alright!" Touma smiled. "Let's go back ins-"
Touma's sentence was interrupted however as the front door to the Certain Quaint Café opened once more.
Tsuchimikado and Hamazura came out with bated breath.
"G-guys?" Touma inquired cautiously, not liking the fact that they were breathing so hard.
"Osamu, we have to confirm something!" Tsuchimikado took out his smart phone and opened up his UTube app. He then navigated to a certain video and pointed the phone towards Osamu.
"This is you isn't it?! Aren't you the legendary Osman69?!" Tsuchimikado questioned with glee.
The video showed Osamu with black hair talking about some Hentai called 'A Certain Strange Orgasm'.
Hamazura also looked at Osamu excitedly while Touma formed a perplexed expression on his face.
"O-Osman69? Who is that?" Touma's question sparked fires of admiration in Tsuchimikado and Hamazura.
"What?! How do you not know who Osman69 is?!" Tsuchimikado spout out with scorn.
"Yeah boss, are you not a man?!" Hamazura spat out with pure disdain.
Touma slowly backed up in pure alarm from the reactions his friends gave him.
"S-sorry Touma. I didn't know that my identity would cause this much of a scene." Osamu apologized sincerely.
"Osamu?" Touma questioned.
"I planned to keep this a secret but I…I am actually the legendary Hentai reviewer Osamn69." Osamu revealed causing Hamazura and Tsuchimikado to squeal in delight.
"I knew it! I knew it!" Tsuchimikado cried.
"I can't believe we met the legend!" Hamazura screamed.
"Guys calm down." Touma warned since more and more people began to look at them.
"Sorry sorry." Tsuchimikado apologized profusely even though it was unbecoming of him. "But I can't believe that I actually got to meet the man, the myth, the legend!"
"Legend? He's just a Hentai reviewer. Is that so legendary?" Touma asked.
"He's the most famous Hentai reviewer in the world! He offers pure analytical and unbiased insight on all genres on Hentai. He doesn't discriminate!" Tsuchimikado explained.
"Yeah boss. He has 2 million subscribers!" Hamazura added.
"W-what?!" Touma recoiled as if he were physically taken aback. "2 m-million?! Is that even possible?!"
"Uh, it's not really that impressive guys." Osamu implored.
"Don't sell yourself short Osamu!" Hamazura insisted. "You're a pretty swell guy!"
The guys then talked amongst themselves as they entered the café. Their chipper mood confused the other customers.
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Osamu and Hamazura got their own little table since space was tight. The Certain Quaint Café fixed its pricing issue since its reconstruction so it attracted a lot more customers.
Touma's table got their food first and they dug in. However, a little while after that, Touma noticed that one of the girls on Mikoto's table was staring at him.
'That's Saten isn't it?' Touma noticed. He looked up to meet her eyes but she immediately looked away with a slight red tint on her face.
'That was odd.' Touma went back to eating.
'I have to ask though. Why did Misaka get so violent earlier? Pulling out her Railgun with no hesitation like that just isn't like her. At least she felt reluctant with that incident concerning Awaki in the hospital a couple of days ago. Maybe I should talk to her later.' Touma thought concerned.
"Hey Kami-yan." Tsuchimikado said.
"What?"
"Remember how back at the hospital the doctor said that your left arm got torn off? What was that about? I was just wondering." Tsuchimikado asked.
"HU-"
Touma blocked Index's mouth with her hand and Itsuwa's mouth was frozen in astonishment.
"It's kind of a funny story actually." Touma laughed. "After I faced that explosion at that abandoned warehouse, Aogami found me and dragged me off the road. And somehow, he tore off my left hand as he was dragging me." Touma answered.
"Really? That's-"
"Misfortunate? I know."
Index's gaze softened and Touma took his hand way from her mouth. Itsuwa looked downwards towards her food.
The table went awkwardly quiet after that. It was only when Kuroko's voice perked up that things got busy again.
"A-already?! You already traced the mask to its initial location? That was quick." Kuroko voiced loudly in alarm.
Soon after, Kuroko hung up and she walked towards Touma's table with a fierce gaze.
"It's time. We've most likely found the hideout for the rogue members of NEGATIVE."
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