Day Later
Uzumaki Mansion
Naruto sat in his living room, texting Anna who had taken Pearl to Richmond, to help her reintegrate with society as soon as she had got her out of the tomb, while Rebekah was upstairs trying on her new clothes, he had sent a clone to enroll her into school, and he planned on taking her necklace from Elena
He had got word that Sheila had died, doing the spell to break the barrier surrounding the tomb, his sun mark had reappeared on his palm, and when the witches arrived for her funeral, he would have to pass the sun, and moon marks onto the next pair of witches with the most potential, and search their minds to see if they were trust worthy. Bonnie was already getting the yang seal, all he needed was a candidate for the yin seal, then when he thought they were ready he would train them in chakra control.
He did feel a little guilty, since according to Bonnie it was Elena who convinced her to open the tomb, but Sheila refused to bring down the barrier, until Bonnie convinced her to, after Stefan got locked in, he knew that had he been there he would've put a stop to that, Sheila had been extending her life using the yang seal she exhausted herself dropping the barrier, and then putting it back up.
Naruto was knocked out of his thoughts, and put his phone away when Rebekah walked in wearing, a strapless black dress, that stopped mid thigh "Please, tell me that there is more to this dress." she said
"Sorry, but their isn't." Naruto said smiling
"So women of this century dress like prostitutes then?" Rebekah asked getting a smirk from Naruto
"Sexy sells, besides." Naruto grinned before he appeared in front of Rebekah, with his arms wrapped around her waist "You look, lovely."
Rebekah smiled before she kissed Naruto passionately, then she shoved him back, when he grabbed her ass "You left me daggered for 88 years, nice clothes, and jewelry don't even begin to cover that."
"What do you want me to do, Bekah, I couldn't find Niklaus, and when I wasn't killing Gemini witches, I was looking for you, then I was deaged to a toddler, and forgot everything I ever known, for a brief human existence."
"Getting me my necklace, will be a start, and one of those fancy automobiles, and when I think of some more stuff, I'll tell you." Rebekah said
"I'll get the necklace, don't worry about it. For now just relax, you once expressed your desire to go to school, you can do that next week." Naruto said caressing Rebekah's cheek
"Really?" Rebekah asked with a bright smile
"Yes, you have been enrolled in Mystic Falls High School." Naruto said
"Will you attend with me?" Rebekah asked
"I'm thinking of graduating early." Naruto said
"So don't. Please, for me." Rebekah said with a pout
"Fine. For you." Naruto said with rueful sigh
"Good, let me go slip out of this dress." Rebekah said turning around and walking away with a sway in her hips, before Naruto sped behind her and swept her up in a bridle carry
"I think I can help with that." Naruto then walked out of the room, with a giggling Rebekah
Later
Salvatore Boarding House
Naruto, stood across from Stefan, and Elena who was clutching her necklace "What do you mean you need her necklace?" Stefan asked his father who he hasn't spoken to, since he refused to help Elena, he had even stopped his extensive training, and restarted drinking animal blood.
"First it's not hers, it belongs to an extremely bad tempered 1,000 year old beauty who just woke up from an 88 year nap. That necklace is all she has left from her mother, and I'm positive that if she sees it around Elena's neck, well I don't think I need to explain the gruesome details to you." Naruto said
Stefan with a grimace looked to Elena "I'll get you another one, I promise." he said
"Stefan, I'm sure she can find another necklace." Elena said not wanting to give up the first present Stefan gave her
"Don't be a selfish brat Elena, give it up, it doesn't belong to you, seeing as Stefan had no right to give that necklace away." Naruto said with his hand out, before she reluctantly handed it over "Thank you." Naruto said before he walked away whistling a happy tune
Uzumaki Mansion
Naruto entered his home to see Rebekah feeding on the mailwoman "Aw your eating Paula?" Naruto said as Rebekah dropped her to the ground with a thud
"I got bored." Rebekah said liking a dribble of blood from her chin
"Well, we'll have to change that." Naruto said as Paula the mailwoman was sucked into a portal that opened beneath her
2 Days Later
Naruto spent the last couple of days with Rebekah, at Disney World, currently it was 8 pm, and he was in the woods with witches of the Bennett Family, and countless other covens who were present through astral projection, Sheila's body was laid next to him on a bed of flowers
"Sheila Bennett, was a very talented witch who only desired peace among her people. We are gathered here today to lay her body to rest." Naruto said looking among the crowd, before he knelt down beside Sheila's body, before a black orb appeared in his hands, every witch present relished in the feeling of nature energy that it produced, as he placed it into Sheila's hands, before stepping away and performing a ram seal, before rocks covered Sheila's body
"Sheila once expressed her dream to live amongst the stars, and watch over the witches of the world." Naruto said as he walked to the giant rock coffin, and picked it up, before he cocked back and launched it into the sky, leaving earths orbit, before a bright star was seen.
"On this day, witches with pure intentions, shall be able to draw power from Sheila's star." Naruto said as everyone bowed their heads for a moment paying their respects to Sheila, before they looked to Naruto
"Lord Shinju, what will happen with the sacred marks of power." an ancestral witch named Agnes asked
"They will be given to the next two with the most potential." Naruto said raising both hands so that everyone could see the yin and yang seals, that glowed before Bonnie hissed as she looked to the yang seal that just appeared on her palm, and a young 14 year old witch hissed also as the yin seal appeared on hers
"Well isn't that a surprise." Naruto said looking at the 14 year old witch before he walked over and knelt before her "And what is your name?"
"D-Davina Claire." Davina introduced
"A Claire witch huh?" Naruto thought "Nice to meet you Davina, I need you to listen to me ok." Davina nodded intently "That mark, will activate on your 17th birthday, until then it'll gradually boost your magic reserves, and once it activates I will come to train you."
Davina smiled excitedly "Thank you sir!"
"Call me Naruto." Naruto said before he extended his fist to her "Your new big brother."
Davina with a wide smile bumped fist with Naruto, as he smiled at her not seeing a reason to dwell into her mind,
Uzumaki Mansion
After sending a clone with Bonnie, who was going to her aunts house, Naruto arrived home, singing "Name another hitta hot I'm just honest Gold bottles on bottles, I'm just honest 100, 000 on watches I'm just honest Coupes all on coupes, I'm just honest (I tell the truthhhhhhhhhooooh) I keep a gang of bad bitches with me too And we ain't never going back to what we used to do I was gon' lie to you but I had to tell the truth I'm just being honest"
Naruto stopped when he entered the livingroom as he saw Rebekah, and Pearl feeding on Kelly Donovan "Well isn't this something, my mate, and my baby mama, feeding on a human lover of mine. It's the 15th century all over again." he said
Pearl, and Rebekah smiled while they feed, before they dropped Kelly who was still alive just unconscious "Where's Anna?"
"Said she had to meet with someone." Pearl said walking over to Naruto and hugging him tightly
Pulling away Naruto looked at her sadly "I am sorry, for what you went through, we thought you dead. I'm glad we were wrong." he said
"I don't blame you for anything, I blame that bastard Jonathan Gilbert. Anna told me he had descendants, I'm going to hunt them down, and make them pay, for their forefathers transgressions." Pearl said angry
"Well, he has three left, John, Jeremy, and the doppelganger Elena." Naruto said "And unfortunately, Stefan, and Damon has taken a liking to the girl. I would kill her but they would hate me, and I need them to be strong, they have a responsibility to take care of."
Pearl, and Rebekah shared a glance "Julian still draws breath?" Rebekah asked
"Unfortunately, He has been running, and he probably still has Oscar's cloaking ring, so I cant find him. It is Stefan's right to kill him, and he needs to be strong to do it."
"Why isn't he more motivated?" Pearl asked
"Because he doesn't know, that he could've been a father. He, and Damon haven't dealt with ancient vampies before, so that is a problem, as well they don't know what to expect." Naruto said with a rueful sigh, as a clone appeared and picked up Kelly, before taking her upstairs, to heal her "I have no leads on the Gemini coven, so Lily, Nora, Marie-Louis, and Valerie, along with Lily's distractions are stuck in the prison world. Cersei, and Scarlett are still searching, so I hope they find something soon."
"Everything will be alright, that bastard took away something precious from us all, when he attacked Valerie, we will end him." Rebekah said getting a nod from Naruto who looked at the both of them
"I'm glad you both are here, and while our family may not all be together, I know that they are all alright." he said standing up, and bringing the two into a hug
2 Hours Later
Kelly Donovan groaned as she awoke in a comfortable bed, looking around she saw that she was in Naruto's old room. Gasping she suddenly remembered how she had showed up to meet Naruto and was attacked by a blond teenager, and a asian woman both of them rushed her before biting her neck "Vampires." she whispered, before she slipped out if bed, and looked around before she walked over and grabbed Naruto's all black katana, and cautiously walked out the room, down the hallway, with the sword held in front of her protectively.
Kelly was able to hear moaning, so she followed the he came upon the master bedroom, to see the door was cracked open, peaking inside she saw Naruto thrusting into blonde from behind, while the asian kissed him, before Naruto lifted the blond up, who immediately started to kiss his neck as she ran her hands through his hair, before she, and the asain both bit into his neck, while Naruto grabbed a handful of her breasts, and the asains ass
Having seen enough Kelly bursted into the room "Let him go, now!" she ordered
"Aw the cougar has woken up." Rebekah said looking at Kelly her face still vamped out
"I said let him go! Now!" Kelly ordered
"Relax Kelly." Naruto said pulling out of Rebekah who moaned at the lost, as Naruto got off the bed and walked over to Kelly, who kept her eyes on Pearl, and Rebekah as the two smiled at her before they started kissing each other
"Let's get out of here." Kelly said, only for Naruto to grab her, and push her into the wall
"No you're going to stay here with us, and have fun, and when you leave here you'll remember nothing but the fun you had." Naruto said compelling Kelly who slowly dropped the sword
3 Days Later
Naruto smiled lightly, as he ate dinner with Rebekah, Anna, Pearl, and Kelly who was cleaning her freshly healed wrist as she had poured it into the 4 immortals glasses, as Rebekah, and Anna talked amongst themselves, Naruto looked to Pearl
"So what do you plan on doing Pearl?" Naruto asked
"I want to make Mystic Falls home again, I ran into another vampire from the tomb, she shares my sentiments, on getting revenge on the founding families." Pearl said lifting her glass
"You can kill them all for all I care, but the Forbes family is to remain unharmed." Naruto said getting a nod from Pearl "Out of all the humans in this town, they are the 2 I care about most."
"I understand." Pearl said
"Are you sure you can control them, when they get out of the tomb?" Naruto asked her, getting a nod "Ok, but I'm sure you know that if they target Stefan, or Damon, I'll kill them."
Pearl smirked, "If they do, I'll send you there heads." she said
"Pearl the decapitator. Always a blast to have you around." Rebekah said getting a smile from Pearl
"Your always welcome here, love. Although I'm sure Scarlett would love for you to join her, she's missed you terribly." Naruto said
"I'll get in touch with her when I can." Pearl said thinking of her sire
Month Later
It's been a peaceful time for Naruto he, and Rebekah have been attending school, and living a normal existence, minus the blood drinking. Stefan was still upset with him for his refusal to help Elena, and Damon was still upset about Katherine, but he was getting back into the groove of things, he had a run in with Pearl who gouged his eyes out because he was being disrespectful.
Rebekah was having a good time, she and Elena didn't get along, since Rebekah wore her necklace, and while Elena had a new vervain necklace she had grown attached to Rebekah's. Caroline was jealous of Rebekah who joined the cheer team, seeing that Rebekah was blond athletic, and involved with Naruto made her insecure, currently Rebekah was with Scarlett in New York City
Uzumaki Mansion
Naruto was texting Davina, when Damon, and Elena walked into his house "Ever hear of knocking?" Naruto asked
"We need your help." Damon said, before Naruto stood up, and walked to his decanter and poured himself a drink
"What is it?" Naruto asked
"The vampires that were in the tomb, have Stefan." Elena said
Naruto looked at Damon seriously "What happened?" he asked putting down his glass
Naruto listened as Damon told him the whole story "So let me get this straight, you were attacked yesterday by two vampires, Stefan killed one, but the other one got away, then your brother went out into the woods to get his strength back, went into the woods on a stormy day, was attacked, and captured by the tomb vampires, who compelled the owner of the house to never invite you in."
Damon nodded, before Naruto headed to the door "Let's go."
"Where?" Elena asked
"To get him back, Elena you really love him, right?"
"Of course I do." Elena replied
"Good, you rescue him, while Damon, and I kill them." Naruto said
"Are you insane?"
"She'll sneak into the house anyway, we'll just need to get her a weapon or something." Naruto said worried about his youngest son
Ms Gibbons House
The tomb vampires tied Stefan up in the basement with ropes that were soaked in vervain. "Vervain on the ropes." Frederick said
"Aah! Unh!" Stefan grunted
"That's gotta sting. Speaking of…" Frederick said before he used an eye dropper with vervain and put a few drops into Stefan's eye
"Aah!" Stefan screamed as Harper entered
"This isn't right!" Harper shouted getting their attention
"He killed Bethanne. One of us, Harper. And don't you think for a second he wouldn't kill you if he had the chance. Pearl says we're not here for revenge, right? I say that's exactly what we're here for. Starting with this." said Frederick before he dragged a knife across Stefan's chest.
"Aah! Aah!" Stefan screamed
"And then his brother. And anyone else that gets in our way." Frederick said as he moved to stab Stefan when Harper grabbed his arm
"This isn't right!" Harper said
"You're gonna want to let go of me!" Frederick shouted
"Miss Pearl will be home soon." Harper said
"Miss Pearl is no longer in charge. Tie him up! And then stake him down." Frederick ordered
Hours Later
It was night now, as Naruto looked at the house before he looked at Elena who had a syringe filled with Vervain, a stake, and another syringe filled with his venom "Stefan, is in the basement, go around, and get him, do not hesitate at all, as soon as you have him take him to the car."
Elena nodded before she snuck around, "How do we get inside?" Damon asked
"Like this." Naruto said holding up a hand, and in no time Samantha Gibbons slammed through the front door, into his hands, and Naruto immediately broke her neck
Naruto looked up at the tomb vampires, that were looking at him, and Damon enraged, as they vamped out "That's your back-up, one guy?" Frederick asked mockingly
"All of you were turned in the 1800s, and taken down by humans, how pathetic." Naruto said as he glanced to Damon who had vamped out as well, "Get in there, and find your brother."
"Got it." Damon said before, all the vampires rushed each other, as Damon ran into the house
With Elena
Elena snuck down to the basement, with the syringe full of venom, hearing a groan she turned the corner to run into a vampire, acting quickly she stuck him with the syringe, and immediately he started hacking up blood, as he stumbled back
"What did you do to me?" He asked in pain, as he was on the floor, before he desiccated as Elena looked shocked, at the dead vampire, before she screamed when Damon tapped her on the shoulder
"Let's move." Damon said before they entered a room to see Stefan hanging shirtless
"Stefan." Elena said rushing to Stefan who looked at her
"Elena...You shouldn't be here." Stefan said in pain
"Don't worry about it, pops is distracting, while we rescue." Damon said before he noticed Harper, and took Elena's stake, and got ready to stake Harper who tensed in fear
"No, no, not him." Stefan wheezed stopping Damon who sighed
"Whatever." Damon tossed the stake aside, and went around Stefan "Let's get you down."
"There's vervain on the ropes." Stefan said
"Elena, pull that." Damon said walking in front of Stefan and catching him as he fell forward "Alright let's go."
"Wait." Stefan said pulling out a stake from Harper's leg "The other one." Stefan told Elena who nodded
"Guys, we don't have time for this, let's go." Damon said as Elena pulled the other stake out and dropped it, before she helped Stefan out of the basement
"Get him to the car."
"What about you?" Elena asked
"You save, I'll help Naruto." Damon said running off
Outside
Naruto had just ripped Billy's heart out, before a female vampire jumped on him, and punched him in the face three times, before Naruto caught her hand, and bit her, letting her go, he threw her into the woods, as vains turned black around her bite wound, she was impaled on a wooden branch
"Young vampires, so predictable, you idiots had the chance to leave town and go on about your lives but you attacked my son, that is unforgivable." Naruto said as he vamped out and with speed they couldn't follow started laying waste to them, Naruto was snatching heads, ripping out hearts, spines. Frederick seeing that they were no match, immediately ran off.
Damon stood on the porch having just arrived to see if his dad needed help, but was in shock at how easily he was tearing the vampires to shreds.
With Elena & Stefan
Elena was carrying Stefan to Naruto's car. "Uhh." Stefan grunted
"Can you make it?" Elena asked
"Uhh! Unh." Stefan grunted again before they fell down and Elena cut herself on a rock. "Ohh. You ok?" Stefan asked
"Yeah. Come on, keep going. Come on." Elena said as she pulled Stefan up and they continued on to the car
Moments Later
Elena and Stefan arrived at the car "Come on, it's right over here." Elena said as she put Stefan in the car and rushed around to the driver's side, before she gasped when she saw that the keys were gone. "Stefan…" Elena started before Frederick burst the window on Stefan's side out and dragged him out, immediately he started punching Stefan, before he took a branch off a tree
"This is for Bethanne." Frederick said before he stabbed Stefan with the branch
"Aah!" Stefan grunted and groaned
"And this is for the tomb." Frederick said, stabbing Stefan right beside his heart
"No!" Elena shouted before she plunged the vervain syringe into Fredericks back.
"Ugh! Unh!" Frederick grunted before he fell
"Stefan…" Elena bending down next to Stefan who groaned as Elena pulled out the branch. "Stefan...Stefan... No, Stefan. Stefan, Stefan. Stefan! Stefan!" Elena called as Stefan stopped breathing
Ms Gibbons House
A blood covered Naruto was throwing all the bodies together, before he set them on fire "I was under the assumption that you both were training on your own, seems I was wrong."
"Yeah, sorry we've sorta been worried about other stuff."
"The wrong stuff." Naruto retorted "Your lives are in danger, you both need to be prepared."
Damon nodded, before he noticed Pearl, and Anna walk up "What happened?" Pearl asked
In The Woods
Elena was shaking Stefan, trying to get him up "Stefan, please. Stefan! Oh, Stefan, please get up. Get up, Stefan. Stefan." she heard someone groaned and looked over her shoulder to see Frederick getting up. She turned back to Stefan and franticly shook him when she noticed the cut on her hand and put it up to Stefan's mouth for him to drink. "Here." she said as Stefan finally moved and licked the blood of his lips
Shaking his head Stefan said "Elena, please run."
"No." Elena said
"Please." Stefan begged
"Stefan. My wrist. Here. Take my wrist. You need more blood." Elena said exposing her wrist and giving it to Stefan
"Go, Elena. Run. Run…" Stefan said not wanting to feed on Elena
"No. I trust you." Elena said as Stefan looked up to her before he bit into her wrist and started to drink her blood
Moments Later
Frederick regained his strength, and stood up, before he looked over to Stefan to see him laying down with Elena no where in sight, vamping out Frederick grabbed another branch and walked towards Stefan,
Only for Stefan to get up and grab Frederick by his neck and wrist with the branch his face transformed as well only his fangs looked longer than normal, using his vamp speed Stefan pinned Frederick to a tree. Elena looked from behind a tree as Stefan snatched the branch from Frederick and repeatedly stabbed him in the heart with a murderous expression, as he accidentally crushed Frederick's neck with his enhanced strength
Elena ran from behind the tree and shouted "Stefan. Stefan! He's dead!" as she grabbed Stefan's arm, Stefan turned to her still vamped out and growled at her. Elena backed away frightened by him as Stefan stopped horrified as he dropped the branch.
Later
Uzumaki Mansion
Naruto sighed as he, and Pearl sat across from each other drinking some bourbon "I'm sorry, for what they did to Stefan."
"It wasn't your fault, so don't beat yourself up." Naruto said getting a nod from Pearl "Rebekah will be returning soon, apparently she had a great trip. Anna will be coming home, maybe we can all watch a movie."
"Speaking of Anna, we may have a problem." Pearl said getting Naruto's complete attention "Anna. She is falling for Jeremy Gilbert, and he knows what she is." Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Getting involved with that boy, will only ruin her Naruto."
"I'll talk to her Pearl, but we have to trust her, she is 549 years old, and has made her own decisions for 145 years." Naruto said getting up, and sitting beside Pearl who sighed and laid her head on his shoulder
"I just don't want her to suffer from a broken heart." Pearl said
"Then she'll see that trust is supposed to be earned, not given." Naruto said running his hand through Pearl's hair "Besides if we try to stop her, she'll see him anyway."
"Why are all your children so stubborn?" Pearl asked with a heavy sigh getting a chuckle from Naruto
Salvatore Boarding House
Damon walked into Stefan's room, to see empty blood bags everywhere, before he saw Stefan sitting on the floor with another one, the brothers looked at eachother before Stefan went back to drinking the blood
Next Day
Few Days Later
Uzumaki Mansion
Naruto stood in the doorway of the weight room, looking at Stefan who was punching the heavybag "Are you alright?" he asked
"I'm fine." Stefan grunted still punching
"Hmm, I beg to differ." Naruto said walking into the room "Damon told me about your little snake."
"I slipped once, it'll be a minute before I'm back to normal." Stefan said
"That was when you were regular vampire Stefan. As an Sub-Original Vampire, your hunger will be immense, and the more you fight it the more danger you will be to humans." Naruto said
Stefan turned to Naruto "I can handle it."
"Can you?" Naruto said, as Rebekah walked in "Do you remember her Stefan?"
Stefan looked at Rebekah in shock
Flashback
1849, French Quarter, New Orleans
Mikaelson Compound
A 3 year old Stefan, was running with a large smile on his face, looking for a place to hide in the compound, he, and his dad were playing while Damon went out with big brother Klaus.
Running into the courtyard he saw Rebekah, and a African American man talking, running over he pulled on Rebekah's dress, getting their attention "Auntie, Marcel, help me hide from father!"
"They can't help you, now!" Naruto said on the balcony, as he jumped down speaking dramatically "I found you, and when I tag you I will eat you!"
Stefan ran around Rebekah, and Marcel but Naruto zipped in front of him "No fair! Your cheating no vampire speed!" Stefan yelled stomping his foot
"I'm above all rules!" Naruto said as he made to grab Stefan but Rebekah sped in, and picked the boy up herself
"Well then we'll just even the playing feild." Rebekah said as Stefan was on her back looking over her shoulder at his father
"Yeah, catch us now!" Stefan yelled before Rebekah sped off with him with the young boy laughing the whole way
End Flashback
"Aunt Rebekah." Stefan said nodding with a smile "Sorry it took so long for me to recognize you."
"Nonsense, the last time you saw me was when you were 3 years old after all." Rebekah said
"Rebekah is going to help you." Naruto said
"Help with what?" Stefan asked
"Teach you to survive on human blood, without you losing your head." Naruto said before Rebekah tossed a blood bag to Stefan
Stefan looked at Naruto and Rebekah before he shook his head "I'll be fine." he said
"No you won't, you can't live like this for eternity. Human blood is our livelihood, it gives us our strength. You need to learn how to control yourself on it." Rebekah said
"Last time someone tried to get me to control myself on human blood I wiped out an entire village." Stefan replied
"So. Me, and Bex here have wiped out entire kingdoms." Naruto replied
"You can't be afraid of who you are Stefan, your weakening yourself when you need to be at your strongest." Rebekah said
Naruto walked up to Stefan and placed his hand on his shoulder "Rebekah, Nik, Elijah, and Kol went through this. Cersei, she killed billions when she first turned. Scarlett, she ended the Spartan civilization, and slaughtered the Persians. Your mother has killed a lot of people as well. On blood or off of it, it doesn't matter, we are and always will be what we are, Predators."
"You mean monsters." Stefan said
"A monster shows no remorse, feels no guilt for it's victims." Naruto said taking off his shirt and before Stefan's eyes did little names appear on his skin "Each name on my skin, is the name of an innocent person I have killed, because they were in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Your brother Nik keeps their letters, Damon eats their favorite foods, you write their names on a wall, not only to relive the kill, but to beat yourself up about it. We all remember the innocent lives we take, we just accept that this is who we are and that this is what we do."
Stefan watched as the names faded away, before he looked to the blood bag "Take it with you, and you decide if you want to take a step in the right direction."
Stefan nodded before he started walking out but paused and spoke "Thank you."
"Anytime." Naruto said with a smile, before Stefan left and Naruto looked to Rebekah "And how has your day been?"
"It was great, it was a normal human existence, and you know what."
"What?" Naruto asked with a smile
"I want to compete in the Miss Mystic Falls Pagent." Rebekah said with a bright smile, immediately wiping the smile off of Naruto's face
"W-what?" Naruto asked
Finished
Next chapter will be up around 5 am, got to work
Review, and if you have a suggestion feel free to hmu
Not a really big fan of the Original Heretic fic, might just do the Vampire of Prophecy version, starting from Season 2