Chapter eight: Confusion
Tsukiko hadn't noticed the rapid change in facial colour on Akimi, nor did she realize her absence. Akimi had been watching almost jealously at the two standing alone together, talking together. Halfway through the conversation, Akimi turned and walked back towards the school. Maybe it was a saving grace she hadn't told Tsukiko about her deep, dark secret. And after seeing those two so close. . .maybe it was better if she just gave up.
XxXxXxX
Kero flew through the opened door into the science room. He quickly spotted the smiling grey haired man behind his desk at the front of the classroom and flew over, landing gracefully on the pine wood desk.
Yukito looked up from his papers, shocked to see the tiny thing standing in front of him. "Keroberus-san?" His voice showed his surprise. "What are you doing here? Did anyone see you?"
Kero crossed his arms, "We have a small problem."
"Oh?"
"I need to speak to Yue," Kero stated matter-of-factly.
Yukito nodded understandingly and quickly walked over to his door. He closed and locked it before closing his eyes and let himself be taken in large, pure white wings. The feathered wings engulfed his figure much like the ones that changed Kero to his larger form, and cocooned him. The cocoon raised a few inches off the ground as a large, glowing magical circle appeared underneath him. A bright light struck through the air before the wings parted and revealed the elegant moon guardian, Yue.
Carefully, Yue tucked his large wings behind him and approached the desk where the tiny Kero still stood. Yue also crossed his arms and stared down at him with his usual, unemotional eyes. "What did you mess up this time?" He asked in his monotone voice.
"Why is it that you always assume I did something wrong!?" Kero asked, angrily gritting his teeth together. He continued before Yue had a chance to give him a sarcastic answer, "The kids are beginning to look into things. They're actually finding stuff out, too, not that they've realized it."
"What do you mean?" Yue asked seriously. "What have they found out?"
"They know about the Li Clan, and that he belongs to it," Kero answered gravely. "Also, they saw, er, certain names."
Yue nodded as if he understood. "Do they know. . ."
"Iie, they don't know that." Kero answered quickly.
"Or that they are. . ."
"Iie," Kero answered again. "They certainly don't know that."
"But they know about them?"
"I'm not sure," Kero answered truthfully. "I know they saw his name, but I'm not sure they saw hers. Not that they really know anything about that."
"They cannot figure it out by seeing names. And even if they did," Yue added, "they don't know anything else, ne?"
"Right!" Kero nodded. "So, I guess I'm just worrying too much."
"Perhaps," Yue agreed. "Still, we have to watch them carefully, and be more careful."
"I still don't understand why they don't want those kids to know," Kero admitted in a mumble. "Especially the boy, with all he's been through. They deserve to know. . ."
"Don't doubt them," Yue said dully. "I'm sure they have their reasons."
"I know, I know."
"And it is out duty to make sure their wishes happen, and that the young Mistress and young Master never find out no matter what we believe."
Kero didn't answer, but tightened up his crossed arms. He mumbled something not meant to be heard, making Yue raise an eyebrow slightly.
He didn't like this; Kero definitely did not like this one bit. He hated lying to Tsukiko, because she reminded him so much of her. But, he'd keep this up, to follow his friend's request. Not because he wanted to make his Mistress happy, but because he trusted her that this would all work out in the end.
For everyone.
XxXxXxX
"You two have to concentrate!" Kero ordered.
Both teens stood facing each other only a few meters away, both desperately demanding fresh oxygen into their lungs. Tsukiko turned to the golden lion with anger burned into her eyes.
"We are!" She gasped between gulps of air. "We've been at this for hours!"
"And still, you're not putting forceful attacks onto each other!" Kero yelled back at the girl.
"Of course not," Akatsuki cut in. "We aren't going to hurt each other."
"But if you don't," Yue tried to explain. "Neither of you will be able to put full force attacks on Li-san. If you do not practice the way you would use your magic, then you will not be able to use your magic that way."
"But—!" Both teens tried to cut in at the same time.
Kero groaned and turned towards the winged man standing close to him. "This isn't working, Yue. They won't attack each other because they don't mean it."
"Heck no!" Tsukiko called out forcefully. In return, she received a glare from Kero that told her to keep her mouth shut.
"They have to," Yue told Kero in his usual monotone voice, his arms crossed loosely. "Otherwise, they won't be strong enough against Li-san. You know that just as well as I do."
"Then explain it to those two! Kami!"
Tsukiko rolled her eyes and broke her obedience by walking across the way Kero and Yue had laid out for them. The guardians didn't notice as they continued to try and figure out how they were going to explain it to the two stubborn teens that they must attack each other. Tsukiko stopped in front of Akatsuki and rolled her eyes again in a playful manner, making the boy smile a bit.
"I'm tired of this," she pouted playfully like a small child. "Let's sneak away and never come back!"
Akatsuki's smile grew. "I feel the same way, but they're just trying to help."
The girl crossed her arms, "Taking their side now, ne?"
He chuckled, "Never."
Simultaneously, both looked over at the two guardians. The two were still sort of arguing, and Tsukiko could only catch tiny fragments of their conversation, and therefore wasn't able to really understand what they were talking about fully. Still, a small smile tugged at her lips. The two creatures were really only trying to help and protect them.
"I thought of something last night," the boy brought his voice low and whispered into Tsukiko's ear. The girl could feel his warm breath on the base of her neck, sending a small shiver along her spine.
Tsukiko turned to see his dark eyebrows hitching close together in his own thoughtful way. She figured he had brought his voice down low so that the guardians wouldn't be able to hear him. She followed his gaze towards them, and realized her guess was correct. She also peeked over at them to see them still slightly bickering. She turned to Akatsuki and also spoke in a smaller voice.
"Nan desu ka?"
"You said Li-san attacks you because of something you were caught up in, ne? But it wasn't directly your fault, ne? And it's the same for me. . ."
"Un, what about it?
He frowned and brought his voice down even lower, looking down at her with questioning eyes. "How is it possible for us to be caught up in something with him. . . if he's from China?"
Tsukiko also frowned and scrunched up her face as if she too, too, was confused, much the same way he did. She thought about it thoroughly, and shook her head after a few moments after coming to no conclusion. No, it didn't make any sense at all. She had lived in Japan all her life, let alone the same small town of Tomoeda. It just didn't make sense.
Seeing her head slowly shake, Akatsuki continued, "Do you know anyone from China? I don't. . ."
"Iie."
"How about your parents? Li-san said it wasn't directly your fault, ne? Maybe it has something to do with your family."
"I don't think so," she answered honestly while stealing another glance over to the two guardians. "How about yours?"
It hit Tsukiko about what she had said only after the words had left her mouth and saw his face fall the way it did. His chocolate bangs brushed in front of his face, concealing his eyes and hiding his emotions.
"G-gomen!" She apologized quickly. "Demo, wh-what about your adoptive parents? Maybe they know someone."
"I don't think this has anything to do with them," he answered sincerely. "Weird things like this have always happened to me, every since I can remember. It has something to do with my actual parents. . ."
He looked up to see her apologetic face. He forced a small smile and moved a wispy strain of hair away from in front of her eyes with his finger and continued to talk, "I can't ask my parents, but you—"
"KIDDOS!" Kero suddenly appeared between them in his small form, facing Tsukiko. Yue had thought he heard the end of the two teens conversation, and Kero had raced over to them in a panic, as you could clearly see it written in his face. "Yue and I decided that you two are done for today, There, ya' happy?"
Tsukiko frowned, "Demo, Iwakura-kun and I. . ." she looked over Kero just in time to see Akatsuki shaking his head, trying to signal her to stop. She quickly understood and left her sentence unfinished, making Kero even more confused.
"Nani?" He asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Oh. . .anou, nothing. I'm happy," she smiled at Kero.
The tiny guardian switched glances between the kids, receiving the exact same fake smile from each of them, indicating that both were hiding something. Probably the same thing.
"C'mon," he instructed gruffly to Tsukiko. "We're going home. Now."
"Demo—!"
Before the girl could really say anything, Kero had grabbed one of her fingers and began tugging her away from the others and towards the sidewalk.
"Matte! Kero-chan! Just wait a moment!" She begged, but her plea was left unanswered as he continued to pull her away. She turned desperately for Akatsuki, but he couldn't do anything. Yue had a hand resting firmly on his shoulder, which was telling him to stay put. Not that he usually listened, but he knew better than to displease the moon guardian.
Upon seeing her pleading gems, he smiled at her and cupped his hands over his mouth to make sure she heard him. "Remember! Ask!"
Tsukiko nodded towards him, a hint of determination newly found in her eyes, and turned back to Kero.
Akatsuki smiled, taking in their pride for being able to work around the guardians. His smile couldn't help but grow as he felt the sharp and icy gaze Yue was giving him fall upon the top of his head, knowing that he was only confused by the boy's secretive smile.
XxXxXxX
Tsukiko watched carefully as Kero flew up to the window of her bedroom. She waited until she knew he was safely inside her room and closed the curtains before opening the front door and let herself into the house.
"Tadaima!" She called out happily.
The woman with the midnight black hair stepped into the entrance hall momentarily and smiled upon seeing the guest. She held a tea towel in her hands as she tried them. "Okaeri nasai, how was the library?"
A pang of guilt washed over the girl; she had been lying to both her parents the same way she had been lying to her friends, and for the same reason. To keep them safe from Li. Not that she liked lying to them, she hated it, but she wanted to keep them safe from harm. And the only way she felt as though she could do that was to, unfortunely, keep them in the dark and continue to lie to them.
"Hai," she forced a smile. "It wasn't too crowded today."
The mother smiled and nodded in a way to beckon her daughter to follow. Tsukiko did, and followed the woman to the kitchen where she was preparing a late dinner for the family.
"I'm just going to make some udon and tempura, that sound alright?"
"Un! That sounds great!" Tsukiko began shuffling her feet as she began to think about Akatsuki's and her conversation. If she wanted to ask, she'd have to be careful with her words. "Okaa-san, do you. . .know anyone from China?"
"China, sweetheart?" The woman asked, confused.
"Er. . .un, China." Tsukiko looked over at her mother hopefully. Careful now, girl. You can't tell her anything. You can't spill anything.
"I don't think so."
Tsukiko frowned by the words. Another dead end. The woman turned to see her daughters fallen face and frowned as well, trying to think harder. Suddenly, something dawned on her.
"Well. . .I suppose so. At your fathers old job, before I had you, his boss was from China."
The girl's heart jumped. Not a dead end, more like turning a corner. One step closer to knowing the truth, whether Kero knew about it or not. "Really? Where'd he work? I always though chichi worked at the firm he works at now."
"Not always," the woman turned her attention back to the stove. "Just before you were born, he worked at this other place. It was some Chinese company that was trying to expand into Japan."
"Then what happened?"
"They had to close down, and moved back to China."
"Nani!?" Tsukiko asked, enraged. "They just left chichi without a job, while you were pregnant!? How dare they!"
"Iie," her mother sighed. "The man was very nice about it, and very sorry to say the least. He even helped your father find a new job before he moved back to China. Actually, your father admitted that he always felt respected there by his boss. He loved that job."
"Oh. . .gomen." Tsukiko apologized bashfully. "What was his boss's name?"
"Hmmm," the woman rested her hand on her hip as she continued to stir the pot of noodles with her free hand. "Honestly, I don't remember. I think it was Ri-san, or something along those lines. Something close to that, at least."
"Ri?" Tsukiko asked, half hoping she heard wrong. "Are you sure?"
"Iie, I'm not. Honestly, I can't remember too well. You can ask your father when he gets home."
"When will that be?"
"Soon," she turned and smiled towards her daughter. "He said he'd be home for dinner tonight."
Tsukiko nodded and walked away into the livingroom, and took a seat on the leather beige couch. She rested her bag down on the on the floor beside her and pulled out the red cell phone she had gotten for her birthday that year. A small beep erupted from it as she flipped it open.
You have one message from: Iwakura Akatsuki
She smiled, remembering the previous night. Here, he told her as he took her phone and punched something into it, in case we need to get a hold of each other. In case of an emergency.
Tsukiko opened the message, her smile quickly fading.
Akatsuki: have u talked to them yet?
She clicked the reply button and answered quickly and decided to lie; Tsukiko: Not yet
She'd have to answer him fully when she got an actual full answer from her father when he got home. For now, however, she turned off the mobile phone and tucked it back in her bag as she heard the front door creak open.
"Tadaima!" Her father's strong booming voice sang happily.
"Okaeri nasai!" Two female voices replied in return together.
A tall but lean man walked through the entranceway and into the livingroom. He gave a small smile towards the teen girl that sat on the couch and gave a small laugh at the scrunched up face she wore.
"What's with the face, sweetie?" He asked as he took a seat down beside her.
"What face?" Tsukiko asked honestly.
"That confused face you have on right now," he laughed slightly. "What's wrong?"
Before the girl could answer, her mother entered the room and snaked her arms around the man's neck and shoulders as she leaned down and kissed the top of his greying hair. Tsukiko smiled; even after years of marriage, her parents were still deeply in love and were always showing their affection to each other. She could only hope that she'd be able to find the same type of love someday. Her father turned his head and lightly kissed his wife's cheek.
"Anata," the woman began. "Remember that place you worked before we had Tsuki-san?"
"Hai, Li Corp. What about it?"
Tsukiko found her heart momentarily stop as did her breathing. Li. . .
"Tsuki-san was wondering about it. Weren't you, Tsuki-san?" Her mother asked Tsukiko as she began twirling the mans thick hair in her fingers.
Tsukiko forced out a small smile. "Hai!"
Her father smiled his warmest back at her. "Li-san, my boss, was a very nice man. He always respected his employees, no matter how low on the scale they were compared to him."
"Li-san?" Tsukiko asked carefully. "You said his name was 'Li'?"
"Hai, Li Syao. . .something," the man laughed slightly. "I don't remember his first name, gomen."
"Syao. . ? That doesn't sound Chinese though."
"Iie," her father smiled as his mind glazed over with old but fond memories. "He was young, but extremely kind and smart. Whenever he was in Japan, he would use his Japanese name. He was very kind, and always happy. Some people thought it was because of his wife, because apparently the rest of his family weren't as nice as he was."
"Wife?" Tsukiko tired to think of Li Xin and frowned; he didn't seem like a family guy. Trying to imagine Li with a wife and in love just didn't seem possible. The Li Clan was pretty big, though, so it was very possible this had nothing to do with the Li she knew. Still, she couldn't help but press on, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Hm," her father nodded. "A wife. What was her name?" He turned around slightly to face his wife who's hands rested gently on his shoulders. He grinned, "You met her, didn't you? I think she liked you."
Tsukiko turned in time to see her mother blushing slightly as she lowered her voice, "I only met her the once. At that staff Christmas party you brought me to."
"She still seemed to like you," the man beamed proudly. "What was he name again?"
"Li Sakura-san," the woman said quietly. "She was born and raised in Japan. When I met her at that party she was very pregnant."
"Very nice people. . ." her father repeated, sighing as he brought old memories back into his mind. "Very nice. I could easily say I never worked for anyone better or nicer than Li-san. But," he sighed heavily again, "it wasn't working out all that well for Li Corp here in Japan and Li-san said that the company had to retractback to China. I think the family moved back to Hong Kong? That's where Li-san told me he came from, at least."
Tsukiko looked over at her parents with adoring eyes. Her father had rested a hand lightly atop of her mothers, which remained resting on his shoulders. He gently ran his thumb across her hand as both their eyes looked into each others lovingly. Again, Tsukiko smiled, seeing her parents love for each other. Quickly, her smile sank as she began fumbling with her hands in her lap.
"So. . .anou. . .did you guys maybe owe Li-san? Maybe in dept with him or his family?"
"Dept?" Her father laughed slightly. "Owe Li-san money? Heavens, no! Li-san was very kind, and if someone needed money he'd just give it to them. It'd be great if he got the money back, but he never expected anything."
"Demo, did we ever borrow anything from them?" Tsukiko pushed on.
Her father frowned, "No. Never."
The woman lifted an eyebrow down at the girl. "Why the sudden interest? What's with all the questions?"
Tsukiko's face flushed as her mother looked down at her, almost suspiciously. She looked away from the ocean blue eyes and stood up, perhaps a bit too quickly. She grabbed her bag, which was still resting on the floor beside her, and began nervously playing with the ends of her hair.
"Anou. . .n-no reason. I better go do my homework, so please call me down when dinner's ready."
"Didn't you do it at the lib—!"
But before her mother could finish, Tsukiko had taken off and was halfway up the stairs. When they heard the distinctive sound of her bedroom door slamming shut, the two couldn't help but look at each other curiously.
The woman frowned as she moved around and took a seat next to her husband, "I'm worried about her. She's been acting strange lately, haven't you noticed? You don't think she's. . ."
"No, she doesn't know," the man put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him. He lightly kissed the top of her head as she rested it in the crook of his neck. "Don't you worry. It's just her age, I'm sure."
"But such odd questions?"
The man laughed slightly, "She always was a stubborn child."
XxXxXxX
Tsukiko ran upstairs and quickly opened the door, letting herself explode in. What was it with her mother's eyes that made it seem as though she could see right through her lies? See what was really going on? She clasped her hand over her mouth to stop a squeak from leaving when the door behind her slammed shut. She turned around to see Kero leaning against the door, quite amused with himself for scaring the girl.
"Mom was just trying to ask me about my day, that's all." She quickly lied.
Kero flew over to her, drool dripping from the corned of his mouth as he rubbed his hands together in a possessive way. Tsukiko frowned in disgust as the small droplets of drool dripped onto her clean floor.
"Is dinner ready then?" Kero asked greedily.
"You just ate my last box of Pocky!" Tsukiko accused, pointing towards the empty of box that laid on her bed. "How can you possibly be hungry!?"
"Is it?" Kero asked again, ignoring her.
Tsukiko rolled her eyes and went back towards the door. "It should be by now, I'll bring you back up some in a bit."
Tsukiko ignored the graveling and praises she was receiving and opened the door slightly. She paused, and swung her bag off her shoulder, extracting the phone from the pocket, then dropping it onto the floor close by. She left the room and took a few paces down the hall, then stopped and listened for her parents. They were talking in hushed voices downstairs, then he father laughed lightly. She smiled, and leaned up against the wall.
Tsukiko flipped open the phone and worked hurriedly to turn it back on. Quickly, trying to work as fast as possible, she pressed the button to send a message. She clicked the appropriate contact under her phonebook and typed fast;
Tsukiko: Talked 2 them. Tell u 2morrow.
XxXxXxX
"Iwakura-kun!" Tsukiko giggled slightly as he dragged her through the busy hallways.
She hadn't even made it into the school when Akatsuki had found her and Akimi walking. He quickly grabbed onto her hand and began pulling her along with him, weaving through the sea of students. Akimi had quickly lost sight of them while trying to keep up, much to her disappointment.
He continued to hold a tight grip on her, determined not to lose her, and began demanding an explanation about the night before. Thankfully, Kero was left at home. Strangely enough, Kero had stayed at home and when Tsukiko had left in the morning, he was found still asleep in an uncommon position; he was sleeping upright, floating in midair with an intense and unfamiliar force of magic surrounding him, one that Tsukiko had not felt before. Or at least, from him. She had tried to wake him before leaving for school, but failed and gave up after attempting for about half an hour. She didn't care, in all honesty though. Yue and Akatsuki were still at the school, so she felt safe and well protected.
Akatsuki stopped in from of a windowless janitors closet and began playing with the doorhandle until it opened for him. He rushed inside, pulling the girl with him and flicked on the lights. He then playfully crossed his arms and began tapping his foot.
"Nani?" Tsukiko smirked, very well knowing what was wrong with him.
"What happened?" He finally bursted out. "Did we get some answers or not!?"
Tsukiko leaned back against the shelves behind her and sighed, also crossing her arms. "My dad worked for a Li-san, but he doesn't sound like the Li-san we know. He sounded like a nice guy, and he had a family."
"The Li Clan is large though, ne? You told me that. . ." he paused and looked at her thoroughly. "What was his name?"
"My parents don't remember," she admitted while shaking her head slightly. "Syao-something. He used his Japanese name while here," she explained quickly then continued. "But, I'm sure he's part of the Li Clan. Li Corp is a huge company they own, I looked it up."
Akatsuki nodded, but didn't waste any time to continue. "So this Syao-something person. . .did your parents do anything to get on his bad side? Like a debt?"
"Iie!" Tsukiko told him. "I asked that, and my parents said he was a kind and respective man who never expected anything back. They said they never borrowed anything from him."
Akatsuki ran his fingers through his hair roughly. "So, we didn't find out anything. Another dead end, huh?" He gave a small, unemotional laugh. "So much for that."
A small intake of breath was heard not too far from him, causing the boys soft emerald eyes to look over at the girl across from him. His eyes softened even more as he watched a small but perfect tear form and roll down her cheek, whether she realized it or not. Tsukiko's eyes drifted down towards the ground, concealing her face from the boy.
"Hey," Akatsuki said softly, taking the few steps necessary to be close to her. "Hey. . .why are you crying?"
Tsukiko shook her head slightly, "I-I'm not. . ." she lifted her head slightly just as another tear rolled down the same cheek.
"Yes you are," he said softly. "What's wrong? Why are you upset?"
Tsukiko dropped her gaze again noticing that tears really were rolling down her face. The tear that had most recently been traveling down her cheek detoured and dripped off the tip of her nose and onto the cold, cement floor to the closet. Even her voice was small as she spoke, "We didn't find out anything. W-we're just as confused and lost as we were before. Li-san seems. . .seems to know so much about us, but we know nothing. Nothing. . ." she more so repeated to herself.
A gentle hand rested on the cheek her tears had decided to run down, carefully cradling it like a precious jewel. The thumb belonging to the hand began to gently caress the skin underneath it, then gracefully rubbed a new tear away, stopping it from its continued path down her cheek. The boy's soothing eyes looked down at her as a delicate matching smile spread across his lips.
"Don't cry," Akatsuki pleaded, using his thumb to keep soothing her cheek. "It'll be okay. We'll be okay. . .I promise."
Tsukiko opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself when she heard the distinctive sound of someone joggling the doorhandle, trying to open it. They held their breath as the door swung open, and the light from the outside added to the dull closets light.
"Finally! I found you guys! Come on, we're going to be late! How come you left m. . ." Akimi trailed off and looked from Tsukiko to Akatsuki. Her gaze landed on the boys hand resting comfortably on her friends face.
She stiffened, trying to conceal her true emotions. "Gomen, I'm interrupting, aren't I?" She quickly closed the door and left without a second thought.
Tsukiko had never seen Akimi look that way before; fallen and disappointed. Pulling away from Akatsuki's reassuring touch, she swung the door open and began to run after the girl.
"Akimi-chan!" Tsukiko wove around the sea of students. "Akimi-chan! Matte!"
She caught up to the upset girl and pulled her out of the crowded hallway, and into the close by girl's bathroom for some more privacy.
"What's the matter?" Tsukiko asked softly.
Akimi began shuffling her feet nervously and looked down at her feet, trying to hide her brightening blush. It didn't quiet work, as she soon realized. She took a small breath, "How do you think of Iwakura-kun?" She asked in a low voice.
Tsukiko was taken back, but quickly smiled. "Iwakura-kun is a very nice guy, and a good friend."
"Only friend?" Akimi found herself asking hopefully.
Tsukiko nodded, "Just friends. What you saw back there was only friendship. Iwakura-kun was only trying to comfort me, that's all."
Tsukiko continued to smile even though something very wrong was stabbing her mind. She had said it, just friends. But what was that feeling she felt? It was so confusing. She leaned forward and took Akimi's hands into her own; Akimi's hands were sweating nervously. The girl looked up, surprised by the knowledgeable glance over she was receiving from Tsukiko.
"Iwakura-kun is the boy you like, ne?" Tsukiko asked quietly.
Akimi's face burned as she slowly nodded. "U-un. . .I've liked him for a bit now."
Tsukiko nodded understandingly, "Then please understand; him and I are just friends."
"O-okay. . ." Akimi felt ashamed for jumping to conclusions. She hugged her best friend tight and whispered a thanks into her ear. "I'll ask him out, soon."
As Akimi said those words, Tsukiko couldn't help but feel an unfamiliar pang in her chest. She didn't understand the feeling nor could she make any sense of it. Jealously? Protectiveness? No, the pang didn't feel like that. But still, it hurt. And it would only continue to hurt.
XxXxXxX
A/N— haha...this almost didn't get done for this weekend. But, here it is!! TA-DAA! I know this chapter wasn't so eventful as the previous ones, because, and I'll admit it, this is really just a filler ; ) The next chapter will be MUCH better, I promise.
But, I may have to start making this a biweekly FF. It's crunch time at school right now, and I'm getting piles upon piles of homework they're forcing on us before exams. I'll see how next week goes, and go from there. I hope that no one will be upset if I do decide to go this way.
— Rai
