A/N: Well damn. 10k views with two chapters. I honestly wasn't expecting this much interest in my story, so thanks a lot to everyone reading. Sorry I'm a bit late too. The spring semester is awful for students, especially since track has started back up. Comments will be addressed at the bottom.
On with the story!
Shirou would consider himself a good judger of character, even at a glance of the other person. It stemmed from using structural grasping for a multitude of years, as he was able to pick out little inflections in speech patterns and slight movements. How they hold themselves and their eye movements could also be used to determine what kind of person they are.
But when he gazed upon the blonde nun, he could immediately tell what kind of person she was.
After all, her eyes were of the most vibrant green.
Innocent, untainted, uncorrupted, pure, kind, and absolutely willing to do anything to help others.
She was the opposite of everyone else that he had known and practically an embodiment of the dream he had cast aside.
Sakura was defiled. Experimented on, violated, and used as a vessel for Angra Mainyu.
Kiritsugu was empty. Weighing lives on a scale and determining who would live and who would die.
Archer had given up. Pursing a doomed dream given by his adopted father, until it broke him after death.
Saber was regretful. Witnessing the fall of everything that she had worked for, everything that she had sacrificed for.
Illya was vengeful. Directed at those that tried or did take the things that she loved away from her.
Taiga was lonely. Raised as the granddaughter of the main yakuza in Fuyuki, anyone that she had gotten close to fled, for fear of attracting her family's wrath.
Rin was prideful. Pursuing the goal that had killed so many of her ancestors, her father included, she had to be the one true victor.
Kotomine was…Kotomine. There were so many things wrong with him that he didn't even know where to start.
And this girl standing in front of him had none of those characteristics. Granted most of them were rather specific, but still.
Due to his interactions with Kotomine and Archer's fragmented memories of the militant branch of the Church, he hadn't had the highest opinion about the acting hand of God's will. But while Kotomine had been an old, vindicative, human piece of waste, this nun was anything but.
So why? Why did she seem so sad?
She was going a good job acting fine, but the façade was slowly breaking. She was trembling, and since it was a warm night, it wasn't because of the temperature. Her fists were clenched and her arms were ever so slightly shaking. Her hair was disheveled and the ends were frayed. And the sclera of her pure, green eyes was slightly tinted red. She was lost. No place to go and nowhere to call home.
Shirou sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and asked a relatively simple question. "Do you need any help?"
It was such a simple phrase, merely offering your assistance, and yet it could also have a much deeper effect. It shows someone that other people cared and that others are willing to help. It turns the assister into the assisted and the savior into the saved. If the hero saved everyone, then who would be left to save them?
He knew how hard it was to ask for help, after all, he was someone that had decided to struggle through life by himself, and he had seen how well that turned out. Sakura was also a victim of this mentality. He didn't know about her situation for far too long, and when she collapsed under the emotional strain of years of abuse, she nearly reincarnated All the World's Evils.
He had thrown his dream of becoming a hero of justice away for Sakura, but it didn't mean that he would neglect someone in need. He was still the altruistic idiot that he had always been, but now he had someone to dedicate his selfless behaviors to. He wouldn't sacrifice his life for others anymore, but he would still lend them a hand. And this nun in front of him definitely needed assistance.
Yet he hadn't expected this reaction.
She turned tail and sprinted away from him, yelling "This is my punishment! It is by God's will that I'm cast away from society! Don't stop my true calling of living in the woods!"
It took a few moments for Shirou to process that first, she did not want to be helped. Second, she was willingly punishing herself. And finally, she was getting away surprisingly fast.
"Wait! Why don't you want my help?"
She gradually slowed down to a halt and looked back with a sad smile on her face. "It is not that I don't want your help. It would be greatly appreciated."
"Then why?"
"It's because I don't deserve it! I have done something that went against God's wishes, against the teachings of the Church, and against everything that I had ever been taught! I've been excommunicated and stripped of my title. I can never go back. I'll never be able to go back to who I once was."
…Wow. If she had been excommunicated from the church, which had committed more than a few atrocities over the centuries, then she must have done something pretty significant. "What on Earth did you do?"
"I saved an enemy in need."
The main enemies of the Church were Dead Apostles, most of which had committed some truly heinous crimes. But to be excommunicated, one must commit a truly egregious act for them. She had to have either saved an Apostle Ancestor from death, assisted in its mass slaughter, or interfered in a hunt causing immense casualties. But she did not seem like one to do the latter two, so it probably was the former.
"Why would you help a Dead Apostle?"
"What's a Dead Apostle?"
Shirou paused and blinked. "Are you from the Holy Church or the Catholic Church? If you're from the Catholic Church, it would make sense since you're not actively hunting them, but how can you not have heard of one of your main adversaries?"
"You mean the Devils or the Fallen?"
"No, I'm talking about Vampires. And by Devils do you mean Daemons or Demons? And who are the 'Fallen'?"
Now it was the blonde's turn to blink. "No, I meant Devils. I've never heard someone refer to them as Daemons or Demons. They're the ones with spiky tails and bat-like wings that tempt humans into sin. As for the Fallen, they're Angles that fell from His grace, losing their halo and turning their wings black. And while vampires occasionally do make some form of commotion, I wouldn't consider them to be one of our main enemies."
"Wait, hold on a minute. Do angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels exist? Does God exist? Do other pantheons also exist?"
"Uh…Yes, yes, and yes. The branches of the Bible are the most prevalent religion in the world, but other pantheons, like the Greeks and the Norse, still exist."
So, the Age of the Gods has not ended yet. No wonder the magical energy was so dense, and he could replenish his stores so quickly. But even then, he needed proof that the ancient deities were still alive. He knew he was in the modern era since he had seen a plane flying by overhead earlier, but it would be hard to imagine that the gods haven't already caused human society to collapse in on itself. The sheer amount of craziness and divine intervention would have raised hell upon Earth. Literally.
"I'm going to need some more evidence on their existence."
The blonde nodded her head. "I understand. It's difficult accepting that the Gods of myths still exist and still…"
Something was wrong. The crickets stopped chirping. The wind stopped blowing. The leaves stopped shaking. Her face was paling, and she was looking at something behind him. He felt exposed.
A sultry voice spoke up over his shoulder "The proofs right here."
Shirou spun around, Kanshou and Bakuya forming in his hands, but he was too late.
Asia watched as the Fallen thrust a spear of light his lower left ribs and out the other side, puncturing his stomach, liver, and a handful of other organs. Completely skewering his body and lifting him off of his feet.
The sickly-sweet voice spoke up again. "Aww, why did you turn? Those were some pretty nice reflexes, but I would have pierced through your spine. You would have died a much less painful death. Painful, nonetheless, but you've just prolonged your suffering. These are some pretty nice blades though. Didn't see you pull them from anywhere so perhaps you have dimensional storage or item teleportation spell? Oh well, dead men tell no tales." She let go of the spear piercing his body and dismissed it.
The red-haired boy staggard and collapsed to his knees, his legs unable to support his weight. He clutched the hole in his stomach and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
All Asia could do was stand there in shock. Throughout her life, she had been usually kept from fighting. She only saw the injured people, not how they were injured. But this time, it had all happened right in front of her eyes and so quickly too. Not even eight seconds had passed from when she noticed the Fallen to the kind man kneeling on the ground bleeding out.
"F-fallen. Why?" She barely croaked out.
"Why? Wasn't this insect assaulting you with meaningless and inane questions? Was it not to alleviate your suffering that you would have to experience keeping up with such stupidity?"
"N-no. All he wanted to do was help me. He offered me his assistance with no strings attached. And you killed him!"
"Oh, my apologies then. I had not expected his useless human to give something when he had nothing himself. He wouldn't have been able to offer you anything of value anyways. Even a hundred of his lives would be insufficient to your one, as you are, or were, the Church's Holy Priestess, helping almost thousands of people and saving their lives.
"I, on the other hand, have much more to give you. My name is Raynare, a Fallen and a member of the Grigori. We have the resources of the world at our disposal. We number hundreds of thousands and we are led by some of the most powerful beings in existence. We are collecting powerful sacred gear wielders, and you, my dear, have one of the most powerful versions of Twilight Healing that has ever been graced upon this Earth.
"Asia Argento, those fools at the Church never should have thrown out a diamond such as you with the finesse as one would coal. You are meant for great things, and you can only go up from here. Right now, you can only heal individuals with flesh wounds through direct contact. But what if you could do more. What if you could heal diseases and viruses, cancer, and perhaps even genetic diseases? What if you could heal from distances and large groups of people at the same time? What if you could prevent people from being hurt in the first place? Imagine walking into a crowded hospital, and merely, by your will and power, everyone in there is healed. From cuts and bruises to deteriorating mental capabilities and those on their deathbed. All ailments and diseases are powerless before you.
"Come with me, and the Grigori will give you whatever you wish. We can realize your greatest dreams. We can make you a legend. You could show the pernicious and abhorrent leaders of the Church how wrong the…oh, the little," she glanced at Asia, "human is still alive. Perhaps I should have ended his suffering a bit sooner."
"How can you say that! All life is precious. I can still save him. It's just an open wound."
"My body is made out of swords."
Raynare tsked as the boy that she had previously skewered stood back up. She waved her arm and another spear of light rocketed towards the boy, only for it to get knocked parried by the white sword.
"So, the cornered mouse has a little bit of fight in him. Come little mouse, let's see how much fight you have left in you!"
Shirou watched as the Fallen approached the blonde going off on a tangent about something, but he was not paying too much attention. Avalon was not nearly as effective without Saber, but in this much more mana-saturated world, he could supply it with much more power. There was the added bonus of his body stitching itself together with swords, but that was much slower and much more painful compared to the EX-ranked Noble Phantasm.
And so, he waited. Waited for his body to repair itself. For the Fallen, now known to be called Raynare, to forget about him. For the right time to strike.
Unfortunately, he had underestimated the Fallen. She had not sensed Avalon's build-up of magical energy, but she had definitely felt something when it had faded. But this time, he was prepared. He was ready. Compared to the onslaught of servants, Raynare was considerably weak. She just had enhanced speed, strength, and those spears of light.
And he could deal with that.
The spears of light were given to the denizens of Heaven in order to fight against the darkness encroaching on the world. They were only supposed to be used to defend, never to attack. The more powerful the Angel, the brighter and purer and plentiful their spears were. The Fallen, even though they were cast from the light, were still born from the light, and were creatures of the light. While their falling diminishes its shine, they still retain His power.
"How can you still stand! I skewered your body!"
She had started launching two violet spears, but that seemed to be her maximum. If it was three, then he might have had some trouble keeping up with them with just Kanshou and Bakuya, but he could handle two. It was a disappointing performance for a phantasmal species, especially one that hailed from the most widespread religion on Earth.
Unfortunately, he couldn't trace her spears, as they were divine in nature and required a mass amount of prana to create. They were such a waste of magical energy too, just dumping mass amounts of it to create a vague spear-ish shape without a set form or blueprint in mind. Merely forcing the prana to their will instead of molding it to their desire.
But the Married Blades didn't pale in comparison to the weapons of light. In fact, they could match them, perhaps even surpass them. After batting aside dozens of spears, they only had a handful of cracks in them. Much better than the rapid creating and discarding he had seen his other use a multitude of times. Though if they were to clash head-on, they would probably last a few more exchanges before he would have to recreate them.
"You mangy rat! Die!"
The Fallen was getting frustrated. That was good. The angrier she got, the wilder and more aggressive her attacks would be. That would leave larger holes in her defense. Ones that he would be able to exploit.
She was also predictable, falling into a pattern of launching the spears as soon as they were fully materialized, all aiming for his heart. A simple strategy, and one easy to counter and avoid. Parry, divert, sidestep, advance. He couldn't outright block the spears, as he was unsure how his blades and his strength would hold against a divine weapon, even if it was adulterated light. But he could deflect them.
"Why!? You're supposed to be weak! A nobody! How can you stand against me!?"
He wanted to say it. He really wanted to say it. He was going to say it.
"You're the weak one."
He should not have said it.
She froze, her mouth agape at the audacity of what he had just said. Out of the corner of his eye, he could also see Asia's eyes widen at his brazen statement.
"You insolent, little RAT! DIE!"
Summoning two spears into her hands, she bolted directly at Shirou, murderous intent in her eyes. She was fast, he'd grant her that, but she wasn't that fast. He could easily keep up with her while reinforcing his strength. Additionally, it was a fairly stupid idea as a ranged fighter, which he assumed she was, to charge a melee fighter without knowing the full extent of their strength. He had shown enough skill to be able to defend against her lacking onslaught The sheer amount of arrogance and ineptitude at fighting one-on-one would be her downfall.
Unsurprisingly, she was also fairly inept and dual-wielding. He realized that he didn't need to create holes in her guard since there was practically no guard to begin with. The best defense is a good offense. Only provided you can keep the pressure on them with overwhelming attacks. Otherwise, it leaves weaknesses for your opponents to exploit.
And exploit them, he did.
Much to Raynare's disarray, she was the only one receiving wounds as their exchange went on. Whenever she would attack, she found herself overextended and unable to completely block the blow. If she managed to block one blow, then the other sword would come from a different direction to strike. And when she blocked both of them, they were already sliding into her guard. As a spiritual being, Angels, both fallen and pure, don't bleed. They leak their magical power. At first, the wounds were mere cuts and scrapes. Things that she could afford to ignore. But the wounds started to pile up. It didn't make sense.
"How can a mangy nobody hiding in the middle of the woods stand up to me!?"
She was an Angel. Created by God himself. A being incomparable to humans. One that survived for thousands of years. And yet, she was losing. This nothing. This nobody. Just a human that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She could barely sense the amount of magical power in his body. And yet…he had the upper hand. But that didn't mean she couldn't win. After all, a battle is whatever means necessary to secure their advantage.
"Asia! Use your sacred gear to heal me! My offer still stands! Should you join us, you'll receive everything that you need, want, or wish for. You could become more powerful than you…"
"Has anyone told you not to take your eyes off your opponent?"
Raynare screamed as she felt the cool steel enter her body under her navel, its anti-monster capabilities wreaking havoc on her internal system. Then warm magical energy gushed out of the wound and dissipated into the air around her. Finally, a burning pain flooded her internal system as it came into contact with the ambient magical energy around her.
A mistake, a fatal mistake. She didn't expect this rat to have weapons that could match her spears, let alone one that had anti-magic properties. No wonder it was able to piece her magical protection and directly harm her. And no wonder why the shallow cuts were so painful.
"You insolent rat! How dare you! Asia please! I'll do anything for you!"
"I-I-I'm sorry, but I-I-I can't. H-he offered to help me."
"Then you will die with him!" Raynare snarled, flying towards Asia, using her wings to accelerate even faster. She readied a third spear, summoning the dregs of her magical energy in a last-ditch attempt to get revenge. It was all of the remaining energy she could muster. It was her only hope. It was her only choice. She was going to die. She had failed as soon as she failed to kill the boy. What in hell was someone like him hiding in the middle of the woods? Perhaps he was part of the Hero Faction that's gotten Azazel's panties in a twist. That would make sense as to why such a powerful human was in the middle of the woods in Italy.
"Another important rule of battle: never show your back to your opponent."
Raynare screamed again as the white sword was stabbed hilt-deep into the middle of her back, right where her wings connected. She lost control of her flight and stumbled, only for an unfortunately located root to strike her foot and cause her view to go spinning, as dirt and leaves were stuffed into her mouth. She crashed straight into Asia, barely managing to grab her outfit by the scruff of her neck. Using her as an anchor, she slowed down enough to avoid hitting a tree, only to find the black sword pinning her left arm to the ground.
"How how how how how? Impossible. Inconceivable. This can't be happening! I refuse. I refuse. I was so close. So so so close. Why why why why? WHY ARE YOU HERE! If you weren't here, I would have succeeded. I would have become so much more powerful! You humans always ruin everything! You caused me to fall! You caused my failure! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!"
She changed her appearance into a significantly younger version of herself, around a high school age, which she assumed to be around the same age as the red-haired rat. It was her last-ditch effort, as changing into that form did not take magical power, but her divinity and her life force. Perhaps she could appeal to his bleeding heart and convince him that she was being coerced? Maybe? He seemed like the kind of person to forgive her.
"P-please help me. I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this. I was forced to. They forced me to fall. They forced me to recruit Asia. Please, you have to believe me. All I ever wanted was to be free."
The red-haired rat looked over and sighed. After a few moments, the swords piercing her body disappeared.
"Alright, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Asia, I don't know what you can do but please try and heal her."
Asia looked at the rat incredulously as Raynare did too. She honestly did not think that begging as a young girl would actually work. It dealt an immense blow to her pride, but her pride would live. She wouldn't. She honestly didn't think that he would be this naïve. To forgive an enemy just because she looked helpless and claimed they were being coerced. He would have a rude awakening when he met the more manipulative magical species if he even survived that long. She would either stab him in the back as soon as she had the opportunity or run if she couldn't. Thank G…that was close. She had almost thanked her authoritarian bastard of a father.
Asia struggled to her feet and brushed off the leaves and dirt covering her clothes. She meandered over to Raynare and summoned Twilight Healing. "Are you sure you want me to heal her? After she tried to kill both of us?"
"Yea, I'm positive. She holds no threat against either of us in that state. Plus, I'm a little bit intrigued as to what you can do and why she wanted to recruit you so badly."
It didn't make sense. It didn't make any sense. He was a capable fighter, and yet he couldn't see through her lies? She thought he was with the Hero Faction, but he didn't know what Asia could do? He had swords with anti-monster properties and yet didn't know that Angels, Devils, and Fallen existed. She had never met such an enigma before. Forget stabbing him in the back again, she would have to report this to Kokabiel.
"If it's fine with you."
She started with the most egregious wounds and placed her hand over the wound on Raynare's arm, the rat watching over her shoulder. An ethereal green glow surrounded her hand, emanating from the physical manifestation of her gift from God. The wound started to close, but it wasn't like it accelerated the healing process. The wound didn't scab over and scar, but instead, it was stitching itself together, leaving no trace that she had been stabbed. Once she was done with her arm, she moved her hand right above Raynare's navel to heal the wound on her back. Once that was done, she collapsed to the side, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
"That's all I'll be able to do. Healing beings with an evil orientation takes significantly more magical power than those that align themselves with justice. She will live though."
"Who on Earth are you?" She barely managed to grumble out.
The insolent rat had the audacity to smile at her. "I'm Emiya Shirou, just a faker and an ordinary third-rate magus."
"Bullshit."
"I assure you; I'm telling the truth."
She knew that he was telling the truth. After all, all Angels, even Fallen, had the innate ability to discern when someone else was lying. And he wasn't. It may have been a partial truth, but it was still the truth. But she had never heard of a magus before. And if he was a mere third rate, then the others must be truly powerful. And if so, how come she had never heard any mention of them before? Forget just Kokabiel, she would have to inform Azazel too. Even though she despised that womanizer, she understood that he had the greatest authority when it came to dealing with the Grigori as a whole and threats concerning it.
The rat turned to Asia and held out his hand. "Now that I have received sufficient proof that phantasmal beings exist, my offer still stands. Do you want my help?"
Raynare almost spoke up again to dissuade Asia from taking his hand, but she knew that it would amount to nothing. If anything, it would just paint another target over her head and would lead to the rat's ire. And so, she kept her mouth shut and watched as Asia took the offered hand.
Mission failed, but she would get her next time. If she wasn't killed for failing the mission, that is
Comments! As per before, sorry guests, but I won't reply to you.
The embodiment of Weirdness- Long story short, I'm not planning on Shirou getting into a relationship with anyone yet. As of now, I have a rough idea of where I want this story to go, but as of right now, he's not getting into any other relationships. Though other people might want to get into a relationship with him. This is DxD after all.
The Loud Person- While the delivery was rather aggressive, they did raise a decent point about Sakura.
Zeryo-While that may be true, in the Nasuverse, the Age of Gods ended around the beginning of common era, and Arthurian Legend usually is around the late 5th and early 6th centuries. Therefore, the magical power has considerably decreased and there was limited contact with the phantasmal species. However, in DxD, they are still in the Age of Gods, with significantly greater ambient prana and even divine prana. So, Avalon is going to be weakened due to there being no presence of Saber, but is strengthened to due to massive amounts of magical energy.
Stormbringer080302- Thank you for your interest and time. There's not going to be a reincarnation system for anyone but the Devils, so Azazel isn't going to make a system. As for Shirou's opinion of the Church, I feel like Kotomine and EMIYA's memories forever ruined his views on the Church, but I also want him to reconcile with it.
CAD270895- Much appreciated. As for characters romantically pairing with Shirou, there's going to be some that have feelings for him, but he's not going to reciprocate it, as he still loves Sakura. But as for who they are, I have a rough idea, but I'm not entirely sure. But he's not going to be Angra Mainyu's vessel, as it was just a curse that was meant to kill him. As for Medusa, probably. I still haven't completely figured out how I'm going to incorporate Sakura into the story.
Alnistiona- Honestly, I am an anime only DxD guy, but I did look into the wiki to see the timeline. It's fine at the beginning, but it does get a little bit darker as it goes on.
albarran85- (Using google translate) You're very much welcome.
Crimson green flame- I'm glad you loved it. As for Avalon becoming a pseudo sacred gear, I was instead going to use his tracing and projection as a significantly more powerful version of Blade Blacksmith.
Keybladelight- If you're talking about the end of chapter 2, it was supposed to be his thought processes, linking things that are connected together. As for the Excalibur Fragment Arc, well, you'll have to wait and see.
a crashclown- Honestly, I can see why people are annoyed at me removing the Brave System, but I also want to explore the politics of the Three Factions. Its cannon that Azazel doesn't mind if the Fallen die out, but as long as Angels exist, the Fallen must too. Besides the Angels were done dirty. I could barely find any information on Uriel and Raphael, as they were sealed without much story light.
FaraamKnight- No problem and I'm sorry about the delay.
The Loud Person- Well yea, but don't forget people can the pissy about a lot of things. And the lore and plot of DxD is pretty interesting. It's just that the other "plot" takes the limelight.
Zathol- Perhaps.
ToriSenkiTan- While I'm not planning on making him OP Shirou, as other stories make him out to be, I'm still going to let him curb stomp some people.
Literally useless- Much thanks?
LoverOfArtemis- I haven't, but I might check it out. Also, I found a story with nearly the exact same title and the same crossover written three years ago. So, loser-582 if you're reading this, I didn't mean to take your title.
Alexander Lawliet- For when this fic is set, I'm guessing that you can figure it out after reading this chapter. And for your second question, I am going to follow DxD at the beginning up until the Excalibur Shard Arc, and then I might change some things.
Apostlelord- Glad you like them.
Xrein0001- Those are some interesting concepts. I like it. As for my plan, you act as if I have one.
JawsOnYou67- I'm sorry, but Illya's gone.
Look2022- Hmm. I don't think I have read not only the most popular DxD and Fate crossover fic, but the most popular Fate crossover fic. (I have and I liked it. Though I might reread it again.)
A/N change:
I have decided to keep Teodoro as a miracle child as a result of an error from God's system. He will be the only one though.
I also changed a bit more justification as to why Angels can't reproduce:
After all, to have sex is to reproduce, and to reproduce is to reject the authority of their Father. However, after His death, the system has produced a single error in regards to that.
And a bit later on in regards to the Fallen:
As they had rejected God, they could freely repopulate among themselves, even if their birth rates were low. But low birthrates do not really matter to an immortal species.
Haveagoodday557- For miracle children see changes above. As for the dimensional room, its not going to be created since Irina is not going to become an Angel since the Brave Hearts system is not going to exist. I'm glad you thought it was nice.
Shadowuser0112- You're wish is my command.
Fanfiction fan- To be fair, DxD is about the Devils, but I feel like Shirous is more inclined to support Heaven than the Underworld.
Jmechan24- Wait and see.
Archangel Xireon Chaos God- Unfortunately, Asia is not going to kick some ass for now. I feel like its too aggressive and too against her character, but I may include it in the future.
Guest-Questioner- EMIYA IS NOT GOING TO REPLACE ISSEI IN HIS HAREM! (Just in case anyone who skips the comments, they can see that at least) There's going to be changes to Issei's harem, but Shirou is not going to replace it and is going to stay a human.
I don't think you can apply human anatomy to an Angel, but I can see where you're coming from. But honestly, I think that Angels fall because they no longer want to be confined by God's rules.
Dimihd- Thanks.
Cross69- I agree. HF Shirou is my favorite Shirou.
Catnaplap- I'm glad you're interested and I'll try not to make it uninteresting.
Prietar- Much thanks.
Geek-God of Speed- no
And we're done!
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