Finally, the story is coming to an end. It's about damn time and even though it took me a little while to figure out how I wanted to end it, I'm content with the final result.

Side Effects

Epilogue

After being checked out by the medics following the bust, Sasuke had driven Naruto and Hinata to Naruto's apartment and dropped them off. Neither of them wanted to be alone, needing each other for emotional support. Exhausted from the night's events, they took a shower together and cuddled in Naruto's bed. The blond wore a pair of black sweatpants, while Hinata borrowed one of his orange t-shirts. They were still shaken up by what had happened, the relief they felt made up for it.

"You look better in my clothes than I do, ya know," he quipped, his arm wrapped around her. Whatever had been in his system had completely worn off, but his memory of the last several hours was hazy. He couldn't quite remember what exactly had happened earlier, but for that he was grateful.

Hinata was experiencing the same feeling, which she felt was for the best. The less she remembered, the better. "I'd have to disagree with you on that," she said with a soft smile. Her eyes were closed, enjoying the warmth of Naruto's body against hers as she snuggled against him.

The following morning, Naruto and Hinata headed to the location that Sasuke had given them the address to. Rather than speak to them at the police station, Sasuke had requested that they meet at Itachi's firm. Naruto's car had been removed from the parking garage at the facility and returned to him earlier that morning. When the couple arrived, Sasuke and Neji were already there waiting for them. Upon seeing his cousin, Neji pulled Hinata into a hug, relieved that she was okay. Well, physically at least.

"Sorry to drag you all out here, but it's too noisy at the station," Sasuke explained as he led them into Itachi's office.

Itachi was seated at his desk and he offered a smile. "Thanks for coming, you two. I'm sure that after everything you've been through, this is the last thing you want to deal with."

Naruto returned a brief smile, taking a seat on the small sofa, with Hinata beside him. "No, it's fine. I just want to get this over with."

Hinata nodded in agreement, though she remained silent. She was slightly nervous, unsure of how this meeting would go. She felt Naruto grab her hand and give it a light, reassuring squeeze.

Sasuke sighed, running a hand through his hair. "There's quite a bit to go over, and you're not going to like it."

Naruto smirked. "Kind of figured. What happened to that piece of shit, Kabuto? Where is he?"

"He is currently at the hospital," Sasuke explained. "You beat him pretty hard."

The blond male snorted. "He's lucky that's all he got. If you hadn't pulled me away, I would've killed that bastard. I still want to."

"Understandable, but there's a bit of an issue. Kabuto was in critical condition last night, but they were able to stabilize him. That being said, he wound up with some permanent damage that he will not recover from," Sasuke informed them. "He's awake, but he's practically a vegetable. It's too soon to tell if anything will change, but as of now he can't speak or function on his own."

"Did I really hit him that hard?" Naruto questioned, unable to deny the sick satisfaction he felt.

"Well, in a way, but there's more to it," his friend replied. "Some tests were run on him at the hospital and the doctors discovered that he had a brain tumor. He most likely was unaware of this, as there are no records of him getting his head scanned."

It was true that Naruto and Hinata had noticed Kabuto experiencing some sort of pain. Between the wincing, irritability and constantly rubbing his temples, it began to make sense. Over the counter medications typically didn't work on such medical issues. Hinata felt a twinge of pity for him but Naruto felt none whatsoever.

"Anyway," Sasuke continued, "With the head trauma that he received as a result of you beating him, it led to some issues and he wound up with some bleeding on the brain. It caused him to have a stroke and left him with permanent damage. The doctors are working to remove the tumor but there's nothing that they can do about his current state. With that being said, I'm afraid that you'll have to appear in court, Naruto. You didn't realize he had a tumor and you obviously weren't in the right state of mind, but you'll still have to defend your case."

Hinata looked at Naruto with concern, worried that he was going to have to stand trial for this.

"I can provide a lawyer," Neji stated. "We're not going to let you get locked up over this. Any judge in their right mind would dismiss the case but either way, I'll make sure that your legal issues are taken care of."

"Thanks, Neji," Naruto replied with a grin. "I owe you one."

Neji gave a dismissive way. "I'll contact him now and have him meet us here in a little bit. He doesn't live far from here."

"There were some other concerning matters," Itachi spoke up, looking down at a document. "I'm not sure if you two aware, but it seems as though Kabuto tried to 'sell' you off to a couple of his clients."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Naruto asked in shocked disbelief.

Hinata had an equally stunned expression, speechless. Last night was a blur, so she couldn't remember many details.

"The American man and the German woman. Those two were the clients he had made a deal with. Apparently, the American paid Kabuto quite a bit of money to to abduct Hinata and bring her back home with him," Itachi told them.

"Wait, what!?" Naruto's anger flared. He then remembered when that bastard had tried to run off with Hinata during the chaos the previously night. "That piece of shit seriously tried to buy Hinata? He's lucky he got away with just a shattered jaw."

"The German woman did the same thing, intending to bring you home as well. Both of them are currently awaiting trial, along with the rest of the clients that were arrested," Sasuke said. "We had to make a few international calls, since they are out of our jurisdiction, but both of their houses were raided. The woman had a sex chamber of some sort, which isn't illegal or anything, but the man..."

Naruto frowned. "Sasuke...what the hell did they find in his house?"

"Four women were being kept there and...well, they claimed that they were his 'toys'. Basically, he bought them as sex slaves or something similar. They were in pretty rough shape from what I was told," he replied solemnly.

"And he was going to do the same thing to Hinata," the blond male mumbled in realization. To say he was pissed was understatement. "You're fucking kidding me..."

"I-it's okay, Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke up softly, gently holding onto his arm to keep him from freaking out.

Sasuke decided to change the subject before his friend got even angrier. "Moving on, Kabuto's assistant is being charged as an accessory to the crime, including withholding information. Mizuki confessed that he murdered Nakamo Seiya per Kabuto's orders. He was hired to kill him and make it look like a mugging gone wrong."

"There was a massive amount of videos in the research facility's possession," Itachi informed them. "Some candid, some showing experiments... There are several dozen people who were involved in the same situation as you. It's likely that all of you will be compensated for the pain and suffering you experienced while you were kept there. Obviously, Kabuto breached the contract, making it null and void. Since he was the head researcher, and no one can seem to figure out who really owns the building, the facility will be shut down. Kabuto is not fit to stand trial, but with the amount of money he had in his possession, it will likely be split up for each of the victims, including yourselves."

"Well, he does still owe us the other half," Naruto remarked with a dry laugh, trying to keep his anger at bay. He was still seething, and if it weren't for the fact that Hinata was clinging to his arm, he likely would've punched the nearest object. If it was up to him, he'd find that American bastard and skin him alive along with Kabuto.

Neji spoke up. "There is something that I'm curious about. Why would Kabuto risk his reputation like that? It seems unwise that he would go through so much trouble just to make money from his clients, or whatever he calls them," he added with disdain. "Did he really put his reputation on the line for something like that? Even if he did have the means to blackmail the participants, eventually things would've come to light sooner or later."

Sasuke pulled a folder from a briefcase that he'd brought with him. "This might make things a bit more clear."

"What's in there?" Naruto questioned.

"It seems that Kabuto didn't really care about the possibility of his reputation being tarnished since he had plans to leave the country next week," Sasuke explained. "I found all of this in a safe in his office. There are documents and cards in here that show he was going to take on a new identity. New name, birth certificate, everything that he would need to start a new life. He apparently took the money from his clients to purchase a house, as well as his own research facility in the UK. He had a plan ticket and everything, and it seems that none of his employees had any knowledge of this, including his assistant. Apparently he just planned to leave without informing anyone and in order to gain the necessary funds more quickly, he was willing to do whatever it took to get him what he wanted. So he didn't care about his reputation, seeing as he would've started a new life before it caught up to him."

"Are you serious?" Naruto was dumbfounded for a moment then gave snort of contempt. "That asshole really had everything planned out to the last detail, huh."

Itachi processed the information. "Even if he was the head researcher, he still had only a certain amount of authority, but if he had his own facility, he would have the freedom to do much more. It's strange because I had my guys look into who the actual owner is but so far they've found nothing. Even going through documents, the owner remained anonymous and the signatures he'd written for legal purposes are impossible to look into. They looked like scribbles so we don't have a name. But I did find one thing out," he added with a sigh. "I can't say that I'm surprised because the whole thing seemed sketchy to me. Sasuke... I found out who killed Shisui."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Who?"

"His name was Kimimaro," he replied. "Shisui was suspicious of the facility and tried to do some investigating. When he got too close to the truth, Kabuto hired that man to kill him and make it look like a mugging gone wrong. Just how Mizuki murdered Seiya, only Seiya was more of an annoyance that Kabuto wanted to shut up before things got out of hand. Kimimaro died last year of leukemia so we can't arrest him or anything. But it's closure, I guess..." That much was true. He was disappointed that his best friend's killer wouldn't be brought to justice, but at least he now had his answers.

"Yeah..." Sasuke was quiet for a moment, letting the information sink in. He hadn't been as close to Shisui as his brother had been, but his death had still been an unexpected blow. He turned his attention back to Naruto and Hinata, deciding to change the subject. "By the way, none of your names will be released to the public, so it's not as if the entire world is going to know what all of you went through. We wanted to protect everyone's identities and the videos are set to be destroyed."

Hinata let out a small sigh of relief. She had been worried that her father would find out what had happened, as she didn't want to go through that embarrassment. With any luck, that would remain a secret.

Neji's phone buzzed and he looked down at it. "The attorney has just arrived, and he'll be in shortly."

"Damn, that was quick," Naruto commented. "You weren't kidding when you said that he didn't live far away. Who is this lawyer anyway?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth when the office door burst open. "Naruto-kun! It's great to see you and I am more than happy to defend your case! It's good to see you too, Hinata!"

"Lee!?" The blond was in utter shock for a second, as was Hinata. "You're the lawyer that Neji hired?" Lee never struck him as the type to get into such a profession.

"Yes! It has always been a passion of mine to help people in their most difficult times!" Lee proclaimed. "I promise that I will clear your good name at all costs!"

Naruto was a bit taken aback by Lee's enthusiasm, but he smiled. "Thanks a lot, Lee. If Neji hired you, then it's obvious that you're good at what you do. I'm just a little surprised that you wound up being a lawyer. It must be difficult to argue for a living without crying," he joked.

"He does," Neji deadpanned. "Lee is...very passionate about his job. So it's not rare to see him cry..."

"They are tears of joy! There is no shame in a grown man crying!" Lee exclaimed with tears in his eyes.

Neji sighed. "Lee, calm down a bit."

"Here are the details of the case," Sasuke said, handing a folder to the overly-excited attorney.

Lee took a few moments to look through it, frowning a bit as he read it over. "This whole thing is pretty ugly, but I have utmost confidence that we can win this. I'm not sure which judge will be reviewing the case, but when I find out, I can plan accordingly. There are two possible judges that will most likely wind up dealing with it. The first and less preferable option is Shimura Danzo. He can be tough, and even with the trauma that you both endured, he's not just going to give you a free pass. Terumi Mei is a better bet, and she'll be more sympathetic about the situation. Regardless of who is assigned to the case, I will not rest until those charges are acquitted."

"Thanks," Naruto repeated his gratitude. "I understand that there will be some legal costs-"

"Naruto-kun, forgive me for interrupting, but I refuse to take any sort of payment from you. It may have been a few years since we've really seen each other, but I still consider you a friend," Lee told him. "Besides clearing your name, I know that you and Hinata are both entitled to quite a bit of compensation, as with the rest of the victims. Just sit back and let me do what needs to be done."

Itachi smiled briefly. "It's impressive that you've become a lawyer at such a young age."

"Thank you so much!" Lee yelled, bowing as everyone else sweat-dropped.

Twenty minutes later, the meeting had come to an end, and Naruto left the office with Hinata. They were both still a bit wary about the upcoming trial that Naruto would have to take part in, but Lee had helped to ease those worries. The two of them would have to appear in court regardless to testify about what had happened to them at the facility.

"Are you okay?" Naruto suddenly asked Hinata just as they got to his car.

The indigo-haired woman paused, a bit caught off guard by his question. "Well, I'm nervous about you having to stand on trial about Kabuto..."

"I'm not talking about that," he told her, his eyes locked onto hers. "That American guy...if he had taken you..." His hands clenched into fists, unable to finish the sentence.

"But he didn't," she calmly pointed out, then smiled gently. "So please stop worrying about it."

Naruto sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, I guess..." He unlocked the vehicle and the two of them got in, wanting to get out of the chilly weather. "So, what do you want to do right now? There's nothing we can do until Monday, so we might as well enjoy ourselves in the meantime."

Hinata was about to reply, but she heard the soft beep of her phone receiving a notification. "Excuse me, Naruto-kun," she apologized, pulling her phone out of her coat.

"Anything important?" he questioned, allowing her to check it.

"Wait a minute..." Hinata frowned slightly as she looked at the screen. "This is..."

Naruto had a confused expression on his face. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh...yes...it's just that..." she trailed off for a moment, making sure that she was seeing correctly. "Do you remember when I said that awhile ago, my bank account had been emptied? I closed that account, but it looks like that same bank opened it back up to reimburse me for the missing funds... It's all here."

"Really? They actually gave it back to you? That's great," he told her with a grin. "I'm just wondering why they did it all of a sudden. Didn't they claim that it wasn't their responsibility and that they wouldn't do anything about it?"

Before Hinata could respond, her phone received a call from an unfamiliar number. She hesitated briefly before answering it. "Hello?"

Naruto kept quiet, unable to hear who the caller was or what they were saying. He noticed how Hinata's eyes widened a bit, as if she was stunned. Who was it?

"I-I'm doing well. How are you?" She paused, making the blond male even more curious. "You want to see me? For what reason?" Another pause, this one longer. "I, um...I suppose I could meet with you." The suspense was killing Naruto. "Yes, that works for me. I'll see you then. Goodbye." Hinata ended the call, then looked over at Naruto. "Th-that was my father. He wants to meet with me on Tuesday."

"You dad? What does he want?" Naruto asked with a hint of annoyance. He was still pissed about what Hiashi had put her through before she couldn't take it anymore and left. What did he want with Hinata all of a sudden? "Wait, was he the one who had that money returned to you? You said that you thought he was the one who drained it from account."

Hinata sighed. "I was never able to prove it, but it's what I assumed had happened. He didn't mention anything about the money over the phone, but I don't think it's just a coincidence that he called me right after I found out I had been reimbursed." She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "He didn't go into details, but he wants to speak to me in person."

"What does he want to talk about? The fact that he was a jerk for trying to force you into something that you didn't want any part of? Or how he decided to screw you over when you refused?" Naruto couldn't help but be a little angry about the situation.

"He didn't get into things, but it almost seemed like he wanted to apologize," she told him. "He sounded pretty nervous, like he expected me to hang up on him. I'll admit that part of me wanted to, but I decided to hear him out at least. I'm not going to expect much from this visit, but it will give me a chance to see Hanabi, which is the main reason why I've decided to go."

Naruto nodded in understanding, knowing how much Hinata missed her younger sister. He certainly couldn't blame her for wanting that much, and even if her father had been a complete asshole, he was still her father. "What are you going to do if he actually does apologize?"

"I will accept it," she admitted. "But it's not going to erase everything that has happened between us. Our relationship is still going to be strained for awhile, and I don't know if it will ever be the same, but all I can do is take it one step at a time. If it doesn't go well, I have no obligation to remain in contact with him."

"Are you nervous?" he inquired.

Hinata shook her head. "Not really, no. I'm interested to know what he has to say to me. After everything that's happened, the aspect of speaking to my father isn't as daunting as it was before. Even if things take a turn for the worse, I can handle it."

Naruto smiled, reaching over to caress her hair. "Since he loves me so much, you should definitely bring me along with you," he teased playfully. "I wonder how he'll react when I tell him that I'm sleeping with his daughter."

"Naruto-kun," she squeaked out in embarrassment, her face turning bright red.

He laughed and leaned over to kiss her. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But if you need me there for moral support, I'm more than happy to go with you. Anyway, I remember that I promised to take you to get ramen a few weeks ago. We never got the chance to, so why don't we go now? Maybe it's still a little early, but Ichiraku's is open and I don't know about you, but I'm freaking starving."

Hinata smiled sweetly. "I would love to go with you."

Naruto grinned. "Good, because I've been going crazy for the past two weeks. I get pretty cranky when I'm denied my ramen."

Six months later

"N-Naruto-kun..."

"Hm?"

"We're...mmm...we're going to be late..."

"Tch, they won't notice if we're a few minutes late..."

Naruto continued to ravish Hinata, nipping at her neck lustfully. He rubbed himself against her, pinning her against the bed underneath him.

"You know that Sakura will," she pointed out with a giggle, letting out a small pleasured moan a moment later. "We can pick up where we left off tonight."

"But I don't wanna wait," he said with a pout. "Besides, I really don't feel like driving that far away..."

Hinata smiled, planting a kiss on his cheek. "They only live forty minutes away. I'll drive if you want. We promised Sasuke and Sakura that we'd have dinner with them and I don't want to cancel on them at the last second."

"Okay," Naruto sighed, reluctantly stopping what he was doing. He peered down at her, then gave her an impish smirk. "You're mine the second we get back."

"I won't stop you," she teased playfully.

Naruto got off of her and took hold of her hand, pulling her up off the bed. His gaze was fixated on her delicate hand, more specifically on the engagement ring she wore on her finger. The one that he had given to her just the night before. Some people might say that they were moving too fast, but he disagreed. He knew for a fact that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Hinata, especially after everything that they had been through together.

Naruto had been lucky when it was time for him to go on trial for the damage he had done to Kabuto. Not only was Lee one hell of a lawyer, but the case had been given to the more lenient judge, Mei. She didn't need much convincing to throw the case out, finding that Naruto hadn't been in the right state of mind when he had attacked Kabuto. Between the trauma that he and Hinata, along with the rest of the victims, had suffered, as well as the humiliation, degradation, and the fact that the researcher had attempted to 'sell' them, she felt that Naruto's motives were justified. Also, he couldn't have known about Kabuto's medical condition, as the researcher himself had not been aware of the severity of his symptoms. Kabuto had been too caught up in his scheme to care about getting himself checked out. No one had come forward to defend the man during the case, not even the owner of the facility, which had been shut down shortly after the bust. The tumor had been removed from the bastard's brain, but the damage had already been done. He would have to spend the rest of his life in a facility, unable to care for himself in any way. To Naruto, it seemed like a more satisfying result than a typical jail sentence. For someone like Kabuto, who valued his high intellect, being rendered in such a pathetic state would be sentence worse than death. He would have basically no function or control of his own body, not even able to wipe his own ass. Hidan had mentioned something about a friend of his whom had promised to 'take good care of him', which was the icing on the cake.

Mizuki had been sent to jail, and even Chiaki was required to serve some time for her part in the whole scheme. Several other employees of the research facility, as well as many of the wealthy clients, were also sentenced. Even money couldn't solve their problems, especially after going through all of the evidence. Only a handful of the workers had been unaware of what had really been going on, including the fitness instructors, so they were not charged in the matter. The American man who had attempted to take Hinata with him had been given one of the harshest sentences, especially after those four women were found locked in his mansion. The woman who had wanted to take Naruto to Germany with her had also been given jail time. Sasuke had sent both of them back to their home countries to be sentenced, as they were not under his jurisdiction.

Once the court hearings had finally come to an end, Naruto and Hinata could finally begin to move on with their lives. Hinata had moved into Naruto's apartment with him during that time, each of them receiving a hefty settlement from the case, along with the rest of the victims. After some consideration, they had opted to move out of the city, purchasing a house together in a much more quiet town. The two of them had gone to counseling, needing to speak with a professional after that nightmarish ordeal. The silver lining was that neither of them remembered much about the final night, right before Sasuke and the rest of the police force had come to their rescue. Regardless, the memories of everything else that had happened during those two weeks of captivity would take some time before fading. Hinata had been more affected than Naruto by those events, given her more sensitive nature. Even during those difficult times, Naruto had nothing but patience and support for her, slowly but surely helping her get past what they'd been through. Obviously, Hinata had felt pathetic for feeling such a way, given the fact that Naruto had gone through the exact same thing. Naruto, of course, as well as the counselor, had assured her that it was perfectly normal. Little by little, they were able to overcome the darkness that had turned their lives upside down, now able to build a new future together.

At first, Naruto had been careful not to make Hinata uncomfortable, figuring that she'd be afraid of intimacy after going through such hell. To his surprise, however, Hinata seemed to have no issues in that matter, returning his affections with the same eagerness. It was apparent that despite the sexual torment they'd been put through, she was just as willing to engage in those activities as he was. Some days they were content with just cuddling, while other days they had at least three rounds. Either way, Naruto never pressured her into anything that she wasn't up for, which wasn't much.

Hinata had met with her father upon his request, and although they still had a long way to go, the two of them were on their way to rebuild their strained relationship. The fact that his business partner had lost his only child had been a bit of an eye-opener for Hiashi. He had admitted that he had been wrong to try to force her into such a horrible situation, and he had expressed his regrets. Also, just as Hinata had suspected, he had been the one whom had drained her bank account, only to return it so that the bank could reimburse her. Hinata was still disappointed that he father had gone through such lengths to make her life difficult, but she also had to admit to the fact that if he hadn't put her in such a position, it's likely that she never would've reconnected with Naruto on that fateful day. As much as she wanted to be angry with her father, that little factor kept her from harboring a drawn-out resentment. Hiashi had quickly accepted her relationship with Naruto, though he wouldn't have had a choice either way. Hanabi, of course, was ecstatic to see her older sister again, just as Neji was relieved that she was no longer in danger. Hiashi was not aware of what Naruto and Hinata had gone through, thanks to the fact that their names had not been released to the public to protect their identities. For that, Hinata was grateful, as that was really not something that she wanted to get into with her father. It was awkward enough on its own without the added embarrassment.

They had enough money to hold them over for quite awhile, but they chose to find new jobs rather than wait around. After all, the money wouldn't last forever, as large of a sum as it was, and working gave them a new sensation of normalcy. Naruto had experience in several different fields, and he was able to find a good-paying job subcontracting with a small company. Hinata tended to the majority of the housework, but she had also picked up a part-time job in a bakery. Her last job had been an absolute nightmare, so the aspect of doing something she actually enjoyed had seemed like a foreign aspect. Compared to the city, there were a lot less rude customers to deal with, which made it even better.

"It's not too late for me to fake a stomachache, ya know," Naruto quipped as he grabbed his keys off the counter.

"I figured that you'd want to hang out with your friend," Hinata remarked.

He gave a small snort. "I saw him last week. But yeah, we've had this dinner planned for months now and are just getting around to it. In our defense, we've all been busy."

"Things have been pretty hectic," she agreed, shrugging on a light coat.

"That's an understatement." Naruto grabbed hold of her hand, his finger brushing over her ring, and leaned down to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. "Ready to go? This will be the first time I get to introduce you as my fiancee," he added with a grin. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces."

Hinata smiled up at him. "Then let's go. We wouldn't want to keep them waiting."

The blond smirked. "Well, maybe another minute won't hurt..." he murmured as his lips met hers.

And that concludes the story that took me forever to finish. I'm sorry if you didn't like how I ended or how I didn't get more in depth with certain parts (the counseling, moving, Hinata's relationship with her dad) but I didn't feel the need to. I also suck at writing court scenes so I opted not to write one out. Again, sorry if you were disappointed and felt as though I half-assed it, but it was not my intention to make it seem that way. I simply chose to go the route where an explanation is given and the loose ends are tied. My collaborator and I decided that it would be more satisfying to permanently disable Kabuto rather than throw him in jail. We felt that he deserved something worse than that and I'm also a sadistic horrible person.

Now that this story is over, I will begin my one-shot lemon compilation. They will all be Naruhina and everything is consensual, so if you were uncomfortable with how graphic story was, you'll probably like the compilation better. I'm going back to my comfort zone and not getting overly graphic with them. They will range from the canon story to some AU stories as well. Since they are one-shots, I won't feel so stressed about updating them if I don't have a lot of time. I've been working extra lately, so my time is more limited than I would like. Either way, the first one should be out within a week or so.

NOTE: The bonus scenes that were cut from the last chapter have been posted following the epilogue. I wasn't comfortable adding them in to the final cut and really didn't enjoy writing them. They are very graphic and if you don't like that stuff, I STRONGLY advise that you do not read them.

BONUS SCENES CONTAIN RAPE. Now that you know, read at your own risk and please don't get upset if you don't like them. They are strictly optional and will not make a difference if you choose not to read them.

Anyway, thanks for following and reading this crazy story, whether you liked it or despised it.