Chapter 9


Noduka saw her son running towards her. He was glancing over his shoulder to see if he was being followed and was oblivious that he was on a direct collision course with her. In the narrow hallway, there was no room for Noduka to avoid being knocked down so she decided to make her presence known, Ranma, who are you running away from?


At the sound of his mothers voice, Ranma turned his head around to see where he was heading and noticed that if he didn't stop right now, he'd crash into his mother. "Huh? MOM!...Whoa!" Ranma yelled, franticly trying to slow his momentum, but he was going a little bit too fast, he tripped and started to fall, but he managed to turn his fall into a roll. When he stopped rolling, he was lying flat on his back right at his mother's feet. "Hi mom!" he said nervously when he saw her frowning slightly. Noduka repeated her question, "Ranma, I asked you who you were running from?"

"Ah, it's Akane mom...s-she's acting really weird. I went to get her and we found this big room and it had a statue in the middle of the room and...." Ranma babbled franticly as he tried to explain the events of the past twenty minutes.

"Slow down dear and tell me what has gotten you so excited," Noduka said as she helped him off the floor.

Ranma took a deep breath and explained in more detail what had happened to them when they were in the room. Noduka nodded appropriately then said, "Hmm, I remember reading about that statue in the book. But, I don't remember what it said. Never mind that for now, I'm glad that you've been getting to know Akane better since you don't have a lot of interference from those pretenders," Noduka said with a smile and a steely glint in her eye, denoting how serious she was about the situation..

Just as she was about to suggest to Ranma to get his fiancée, Akane came running around the corner and slammed into Ranma. "Oof!" she said as she collided with him. Feeling herself beginning to fall, Akane yelped, "Aaaa," as she frantically grabbed onto the nearest thing.

Ranma was very surprised when he felt her arms wrap around his waist. He froze, then he turned his head to gaze uncertainly into Akane's eyes, searching for anything out of the norm. When he found a devilish glint to her gaze and a grin on her lips, Ranma realized that she had been joking with him. "Hey Akane, back there in the room...were you just fooling me?" he asked her, helping her to stand up.

Akane grinned once more, this time it was visible. "Well...you look so cute when you're nervous that...I just couldn't resist teasing you!" Then lowering her voice into a whisper that only he could hear, "But I wouldn't have minded a little bit if you do it again." Back when they were in the room, she had really wanted to pull Ranma to the floor and have her way with him right then and there. But, being the good Japanese girl that she was, she decided to wait until they got married. "Besides," Akane thought to herself, "It really is a lot of fun to see how he reacts." Akane watched as Ranma grinned at her before he started to stalk her again like he had done back in his room. He had taken only a few steps when his mother cleared her throat, reminding them that she was there, "Ahem."

Seeing that she had their attention Noduka continued, "Ranma, Akane, I'm glad I've got both of you here with me now. As I said last night, I wanted to test you further. I believe now is a good time. Please follow me." Turning, she led them down the hallway towards the great hall. Once inside she motioned them to be seated. Now, comfortably situated, they ate a light breakfast before the testing began.


Noduka saw that they were finished and said, Now that you're done, we can continue where we left off last night. According to the book there is a way to test you two. It mentions that the test has something to do with calling your ki. I want the two of you to try this for me.

That's all? Heh, no problem mom, it's a piece of cake, Ranma boasted in his usual self-confident manner.

Akane rolled her eyes while his back was turned, Noduka noticed and smiled, she was quite used to her son's behavior and it seemed that Akane was as well. Akane muttered as she thought about how annoying his self-confident attitude was at times. Akane glanced at Noduka and smiled warmly as she replied, Sure Auntie, I'll give it a try.

Thank you, both of you. Now, she continued in a more brisk tone of voice. It says right here, that when you call your ki, you must hold it for a few minutes. Can you do that? Noduka asked them. Ranma and Akane nodded their heads and concentrated on calling forth their ki.

Ranma had no trouble calling his forth while Akane seemed to be having a difficult time of it. He decided to help her out a bit so he said a silent apology to her before he said, What's the matter Akane is calling your ki too much for a tomboy like you?

Akane growled as a huge ki aurora surrounded her body and her hand reached for her mallet. Ranma yelped and noted that his ploy worked with spectacular results. Maybe a bit too spectacular, he thought, getting up from the floor and rubbing his head where Akane had just hit him.

Noduka saw that their argument was quickly turning into one of their typical fights, so she decided to intervene before things got out of hand. "Very good you two! Now try holding it until I tell you to let it go, alright?"

Ranma and Akane snapped out of it when they heard Noduka's exclamation. Concentrating, Akane held her aurora for a good two minutes before she shook from exhaustion, balling her fist, she struggled to maintain it. Noduka could see how much of a strain it was on Akane; she was breathing heavily and sweating. Ranma, she could see, had no problems since he had a lot of practice but even he too started to feel the strain. Both of them glanced at Ranma's mother to see if it was time to release it.

Noduka noticed their pointed glances and turned towards Akane and said, "Akane, I want you to go to the other side of the room and then try to dissipate your aurora." Then, turning towards her son she told him to do the same. "Ranma, you go to the other side, please. Then, she watched as her son and his fiancée complied with her request. Noduka frowned when she noticed Akane and Ranma's grimace of pain. Suddenly both stopped and groaned.

Akane dropped to her knees moaning, one hand clutching at the mark while the other held tightly held against her stomach. Akane felt strange; the more distance she put between herself and Ranma the stronger the sensation became. Then she tried to turn her aurora off but something went wrong. "Aaaaa!" Akane exclaimed as her ki flared to twice her height. It refused to go out. "Auntie! It's not working. I can't turn it off!" Akane yelled before she dropped to her hands.

Noduka nodded grimly before she told Akane to continue to hold it before she turned to Ranma. "Ranma, try to dissipate yours." she told him.

Ranma nodded his head and concentrated. His ki flared brighter than Akane's and began pulsing. With each flare of his ki, Ranma grimaced, he was trying to turn it off but was having the same amount of success as Akane. "I...I can't," he said grimacing as a sharp pain suddenly hit. Then another, stronger pain followed quickly on the heels of the first one. Ranma grimaced, clutching both his stomach and the corresponding mark, he staggered and fell to his knees.

"Ranma! Akane! Are you all right? What's the matter?" Noduka asked as she glanced towards them. Both children had sweat glistening on their brow as they tried to control their ki. But they weren't having any success.

Ranma panted between each gut-wrenching spasm while trying to get enough strength to reply, when Akane spoke, "Auntie...it hurts. I...It didn't hurt when Ranma and I were standing close together, but now I can't..." she gasped as another spasm struck.

Noduka glanced at Ranma with a worried expression and asked, "Ranma, are you having the same problem?" She sighed when he nodded his head in confirmation to her question. Noduka thought for a few moments before she quickly came to a decision and said, "Please take a few steps away from each other and tell me it you are experiencing anymore pain. If you do, then I want you to stop and get closer to each other as that might ease the pain. Is that alright with you?"

Both Ranma and Akane nodded and started to crawl further away, only to stop short as an intense wave of pain hit them simultaneously. "Aaaaaa," they gasped, then quickly before another wave could hit, they crawled as fast as they could towards each other. With each inch of distance lessened, the pain began to fade as well as the intensely bright light emanating from their auroras. Finally when they were close enough to touch Ranma and Akane reached out and grasped each other's hand. As Ranma took a deep breath in relief he noticed that strange and alluring scent he had detected before coming from Akane. Gulping, he quickly suppressed the strange feelings it evoked. When he decided that he had himself under control Ranma breathed a sigh in relief.

Because Ranma was distracted, he didn't notice Akane's reaction to their touching hands. Akane slowly counted to fifty, as she liked her suddenly dry lips. Taking a deep breath she noticed a strange, but tantalizing mucky odor coming from directly in front of her. Glancing up quickly, Akane sniffed again, absently noticing that the smell was emanating from her fiancé. Thoughts of how handsome he was, ran rampant through her mind, as well as what her currently over active hormones wanted to do with him at the moment. Akane started to sweat as her face flushed with a strong arousal. Akane blinked when she became fully aware of what she had been doing and just as suddenly as she had became excited, Akane suppressed her emotions with the fierceness of one of her rages.


Noduka noticed that when they touched, their auroras winked out and they seemed to relax. Pleased with the results from her tests, Noduka quickly made her way over to consult the book. Quickly she began to read, pausing only at a few difficult passages then continuing on to the next. Finally, glancing up she said, "I have some good news and some bad news...which do you want to hear first?"


Ranma glanced in Akane's direction, silently asking her what she wanted to hear first. Akane thought for a moment before she said, "Um...the good news first."

"Alright," Noduka replied before pausing to gather her thoughts then continuing, "The good news is you both are the chosen ones and are destined to save our world from utter destruction."

Ranma listened to what his mother had said and sighed while thinking of the long list of things that always happened to him. If it wasn't Akane getting kidnapped or people attacking him then something else was sure to happen. "Great," he muttered sarcastically while rolling his eyes. "But, that still doesn't explain what just happened to me and Akane, mom," Ranma said, staring into his mothers eyes.

"Well, this is where the bad news comes in...you see...you may take it as bad news, " Noduka tried to stall while thinking up a way to tell her son what she thought was good news. "The book explains that when this event happens, the chosen must go through a ritual to stabilize or balance themselves. Since the chosen are considered two halves of one soul, they can't call up their ki properly before the ceremony if they get too far apart."

"What!" Akane yelled in astonishment. Turning, she pointed at Ranma and said, "Me...the other half of his soul? You're kidding right?"

"Hey! What do ya mean by that, Tomboy!" Ranma yelled, slightly hurt by her question.

"Don't call me tomboy, jerk!" Akane growled, taking a single step closer to Ranma as she raised her fist under his nose.

Noduka saw that this was quickly becoming one of their arguments and decided to step in before it got out of hand. "Children! Don't make me use this," she said softly as she fingered the hilt of her katana.

Both heard the underlying threat underneath her softly spoken words and decided that they had better shut up quickly. Turning, they nodded their heads in agreement before quietly making their way over to sit down. "We're sorry Auntie. Please continue," Akane replied meekly.

Noduka eyed them one more time before she continued, "Thank you...now as I was saying, the ceremony needs to be preformed to bring out your full potential with your new powers. However, the book tells of great danger if we do not follow it to the letter. You must go through a ritual cleansing of three days of contemplation; fasting and prayer before the ceremony can be performed.

Fasting? Is that like running around real quick or somthin? Ranma said slightly puzzled.

Akane sighed in exasperation and replied, No you idiot. It means that we don't eat.

What! Don't eat for three days! I'll starve to death before the third day! What the hell kind of ceremony is this? Ranma yelled, appalled.

Akane looked at him incredulously, Oh, so running around real quick' for three days until you drop is better? she said sarcastically.

Well, I he started to reply, but was interrupted by his mother.

Noduka spoke louder, interrupting them, It also states that the ritual has only been performed once and was an amazing feet of endurance for the chosen," Noduka paused in her explanation to consult the book one more time. "Hmm, now this is odd..." Noduka said then held up her hand to forestall any questions. "It says here that after the ceremony, the chosen are to go to the healing chamber to rest and recuperate. There is a map in the book, so we'll explore it later."

"But Auntie...do we have to go through with this? I really want to have a normal life and saving the world is not considered normal, you know," Akane sighed sadly as she thought of all the things she would miss if she were to go through with it.

"Akane, You know it's a martial artists duty to protect the weak. And besides, maybe we'll be able to finally get some peace after this is all over," Ranma said comfortingly as he gently rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I know that Ranma," Akane sighed again and continued, "but, I can always hope that we'll finally have some peace and quiet without all of the problems that come with living in Nerima.

"Akane, I..." Ranma started to reply but was interrupted by his mothers serious tone of voice.


"It must be performed or you two will die! Eventually, the unbalanced energy will become so unstable that you will literally explode like an atomic bomb," Noduka said grimly as she stared them directly in the face, a frown marring her lips. "You cannot choose to avoid this...and I...I refuse to loose you and my son when I have just gotten to know you two better. I'm sorry, but we will be performing the ceremony in five days, so prepare yourselves, the cleansing will begin the day after tomorrow," Noduka said sternly before she turned away. Stifling her sobs behind her hand, she quickly walked out of the room before she broke down.


Ranma watched as his mother left, he would have followed her if not for Akane's hand on his arm. "Yeah, what is it Akane?" he asked her.

Akane gathered her courage and replied, "Ranma...I...I'm scared."

"Of what?" Ranma asked turning to face her he continued, "It's just a ritual ceremony, there's nothin to be scared of."

"B...but what if something goes wrong?" Akane whispered, her voice quivering with suppressed emotion.

"Don't worry Akane, I won't let it. Do you trust me to make sure everything goes right?" he asked as he studied her features for any hint of doubt. Still not receiving any reply he asked again, "Well, do you?"

Akane gathered her flagging courage and stared him straight in the eyes as she replied, "Yes, Ranma, I trust you."

"That's my tomboy! Now let's go and spend some time with the rest of our family before we have to go through the cleansing," Ranma grinned at her as he pulled her towards the doors and out of the room.

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Deep within the earth, close to the pulsing core of molten lava, something stirred. Blacker than the blackest night, the shadow twisted and turned, struggling against the spell that held it. The spell weakened to the point of collapse but held, barely. Eyes, redder than crimson, snapped open to stare at its surroundings as blood started pumping from a heart that lay still for over one millennium, lungs that had laid still, started to breathe.

Magic had kept it imprisoned and now that magic had weakened allowing the regeneration of the prisoner. What was once dead tissue now became alive once more. Soon it would be free to conquer and devour the world. The shadow hissed its anger into the darkness thinking of how it had became imprisoned in this hellhole. "But now," the shadow thought as it sent out waves of energy trying to detect its jailers. "There is nothing that can stop me!" What had imprisoned it was now long dead and buried. It was now time to begin anew. Finally it had awakened from its forced slumber and is ready to feed its dark hunger once more. "When I have enough power from feeding on the flesh and souls of the humans...I will destroy the planet and move on to the next one to continue the cycle again!" Opening its mouth, the shadow roared, shaking the walls of its prison until a tiny crack appeared and a small dot of light, shown through.


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Akane and Ranma entered the great hall and noticed the expectant expressions of everyone's faces. They were about to ask why when they noticed Noduka sitting off to the side. Sighing, they resigned themselves to what was coming as two seconds later Akanes father Soun broke down crying "AKANE! My poor baby! Oh, to have to do something so dangerous when you're so young! Waaaaa! You won't leave you father alone will you...Waaaaa!"

Ranma and Akane growled in annoyance but this time they didn't bother to correct the Tendo patriarch. Akane tried to get her father to listen to reason,"Dad, please you have got to calm down. Everything is going to be fine," but failed.


"Soun! That's enough! You will behave as an adult in our ancestor's house!" Noduka yelled over the Tendo patriarch's wailing, finally getting him to shut up. He blinked a few times with some occasional sniffling in-between breaths before he managed to calm himself down enough. "Sorry, I just get so worried about my children since Kamiko died," Soun replied before he made his way over to a chair by the fire and sat down.

Noduka began explaining the ceremony that was to occur. "The ceremony will be in two days time. Ranma and Akane will have to perform a ritual cleansing before they enter the stone circle that sits in the courtyard," Noduka said before turning towards the Anything Goes heirs. "Ranma, Akane, You are to go to a special chamber to clear your minds and prepare yourselves. The ceremony requires you to fast for three days. You will be allowed to drink water, but nothing else. I have located the robes that are required during the fasting and after it." Noduka told them in a serious tone of voice. "Do you understand that you are not to leave the room until you are called at the end of your three day fasting period?"

Ranma was slightly puzzled as to why they had to fast for a few days but he accepted it none the less. "Yes, I understand, mother," he replied before falling silent once more. He withdrew deep within himself to contemplate the events of what was to come.

"Auntie, why do we have to fast for those days?" Akane asked curiously. She felt that she needed a good reason why she was being forced to miss some meals. Akane had never gone hungry in her life, so she knew that this would be very difficult for her to accomplish.

Noduka turned to face the youngest Tendo. Glancing at a particular page in the book, she read quietly for a few moments before replying, "According to the book, if you eat before the ceremony there will be extreme pain when the gift is given." The Saotome matriarch frowned in contemplation before turning her steely gaze towards Akane. "I for one don't want you children to be in pain. So, it is wise to follow the instructions of our ancestors." Akane caught the worry hidden deep within her words and nodded in agreement before taking a step back to watch the rest of the proceedings in silence.

Turning, Noduka faced the middle Tendo daughter and handed her a sheet of music, then began to explain Nabiki's role in the ceremony. "You are to play this music during the ritual. When it is time to summon your sister and Ranma you will have to strike this," Noduka reached behind herself and grabbed an instrument off of one of the tables and handed it to her. " I won't go into the details of it. But, if you stop playing...lets just say it would be very bad if you do stop."

Nabiki nodded her head as thoughts of what could happen to her little sister and Ranma ran through her mind, shuddering, she thought of one scenario in particular before dismissing it. "Don't worry Auntie, I won't let you down," Nabiki replied as she clutched the music sheet and instrument to her chest.

Noduka turned to each and every member of the Tendo and Saotome families, explaining their perspective roles in the ceremony. When she finished explaining all of the knowledge that the book held she noticed the doubting expressions on their faces. Smiling reassuringly at her son and Akane, she sighed quietly, turned and said, If you want your sister and my son to survive you all must go through with this or they will die!

"Oh my!" Kasumi said surprised and slightly horrified. Then, nodding her head in agreement she said, "Don't worry Auntie, we will all go through with it." Turning her gaze towards her father, Kasumi glared at him until he too agreed.

"Yes, I will make sure my baby doesn't die!" Soun exclaimed tearfully, but determined.

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After everyone had left the room, Akane signed in relief. "Thank kami they're gone. I don't have to listen to fathers crying now. But, I wonder what will happen to us during the fasting. I mean, we might see visions like in that room with the statue. Those were visions of the past...I think," Akane said to herself. "I'll have to think on them later since I want to take a bath before we're forced to stay locked up for three days."

Slowly, taking a step backwards she accidentally rammed her elbow into Ranma's stomach. "Oof!" he gasped in pain.

Akane jumped in surprise and took a deep breath to yell at Ranma, inadvertently catching that strange scent again. Sniffing once more trying to confirm that she had detected it earlier. "Yep, that's the same scent from before," Akane thought as she groaned quietly, feeling a spark of something deep within the pit of her stomach ignite and flare out of control when Ranma suddenly reached out and pulled her into his embrace.

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Ranma was lost deep thought, so he didn't notice Akane backing into him. He was jolted out of his musings when her elbow rammed into his stomach. "Oof!" he gasped, inadvertently taking a deeper whiff of that strange scent he had detected earlier. He froze as heat began to crawl through his body, a heat that he had felt before. He remembered the warmth he'd felt back in his room when Akane had come to wake him. But, this was more. Ranma remembered that he had felt it in the room with the statue only this was felt ten times more in its intensity. "I gotta get ahold of myself...I can't do that with the tomboy...but she's so...so kami!" he groaned as a certain part of his body made itself known. With each passing second the fires ragged higher. His control broke when he heard Akane moaning softly to herself.

Standing, he quickly grabbed Akane and pulled her into his arms. Bending his head towards her to get better access to her soft skin. Ranma brushed his lips over the back of her neck. Akane shivered and moaned as she felt his hot breath on her skin. Slowly her eyes started to close in pleasure as her instincts started to come to the surface. Akane leaned closer into his embrace and moaned again while tilting her head to the side, giving him better access. Struggling for control himself, Ranma suddenly growled when he felt Akane's reaction to his touch.

Akane shivered as the vibrations from Ranma's chest danced through her body. She struggled to form any coherent thought while her body remained in control. Their aurora's flared brightly, lighting the room and chasing away the remaining shadows in the great hall. The ghostly images that had appeared previously in Ranma's bedroom appeared once more, brighter than before but still to indistinct too recognize any shape.

Ranma wanted Akane to know how he felt about her but, with all of the crazy things that kept happening to them, he never got the chance. But all of those lost chances seemed like a dream when he was holding her in his arms. Ranma knew that if he pulled Akane any closer, she would have no doubts of how he was feeling now. Yes, he'd still denied it when anyone asked, but he knew that he liked Akane very much. "She definitely wasn't cute when she got mad, she's beautiful. And sure, I admire her determination when any obstacle is put in her path," Ranma thought while gently brushing his lips in the hollow behind Akane's ear.

"Oh, Ranma..a..a," Akane called his name in mindless abandon. Ranma responded by growling again, wordlessly answering, before continuing with his exploration further down towards her throat, his control, long gone. Some small part of reason in the back of his mind cried for him to stop. "But, she's MINE!" a long dormant part of his soul cried out as Ranma ran his fingers over Akane's stomach in a gentle caress. The images brightened until the whole room, in its entirety, was lit to the point where it could be mistaken for the light of day. It pulsed like a wild thing, completely separate and yet one with the two in the room.

Akane gasped at the sudden sensation as her stomach muscles contracted and the heat pooled lower, wetting her panties with moister. The scent and feel of her own arousal knocked her out of the aroused state of mind she was in. Akane's eyes snapped open, her arms lowered to grasp Ranma's wandering hand, holding it in place before it could go any further. "R...r, Akane swallowed, moistening her lips and tongue before she continued. R...ranma...sstop."

Ranma heard her words but it took a few moments for them to register in his passion-fogged mind. "W...wha? Akane, I...I," he swallowed hard and backed away before his mind cleared. The light winked out instantly, neither noticed. "What's going on? Ever since that dragon chamber, I haven't been myself. I can't seem to mphemph," he mumbled, turning his face away and utterly embarrassed by his lack of control of his body.

"What was that Ranma? I couldn't hear you," Akane asked between gasps as she tried to catch her own breath and calm her ragging hormones.


"I said, I can't seem to control myself!" he yelled, flinging his arms out in exasperation. Then he started pacing and working himself up, he started ranting, "Every time you come close enough for me to touch you, I catch the scent of that perfume you're wearing, then I loose it! Why me? I mean, how could I do something like that with a tomboy like you?"

Akane blinked in confusion as she tried to figure out what he was ranting about. She didn't know if she should be angry with him for what he had just been doing to her. But, then she grudgingly admitted it to herself, "I can't call him a pervert, not when I was responding to him like that."

Ranma passed directly in front of her ranting, "I can't believe I did that!" Ranma paused for a moment as he thought about Akane and how much he wanted to kiss her again, then he quickly denied it while a little voice in his mind shouted, "But, I liked it!"

"It felt so good when he touched me. I...I want to do it again." Akane thought to herself as she watched him pacing like a caged animal. She totally missed it when he called her a tomboy but focused on the part about her wearing perfume. Akane knew for a fact that she wasn't wearing anything that even remotely resembled perfume. "What are you talking bout, Ranma? I'm not wearing any perfume," she said while absently letting her eyes wander over his body, only to stop short on his muscular chest. Lurid thoughts started drifting across her mind before she could get control of herself.

Akane snapped out of it when she heard Ranma yelling, "What do you mean you're not wearing perfume!"

Akane bent forward at the waist in order to make her point. It's just that I'm not, ok!" she yelled back into his face before she realized that his eyes were starting to glaze over, due to their proximity to each other. "Eeep!" she squeaked backing away just as quickly as she had entered his personal space.

"Look," Ranma said taking a deep breath before continuing, "I think something happened to us when we went into that room with the statue. I've noticed the change within myself, and I'm sure that you have too," he said frustrated while trying not to loose his patients.

Akane thought for a moment before responding, "Yes, I have noticed that my sense of smell is stronger than it used to be. My hearing too, for that matter. I..." Akane paused, gathering her thoughts as she mustered her flagging courage, she whispered, "When you got close enough for me to detect your scent...I think it affected me in the same way it effected you."

Ranma blinked for a few moments as her words sunk in. Then, trying to gather his scrambled thoughts while fighting his raging hormones, he said the only thing he could think of that would make any sense of what he was feeling. "Akane, if you don't go to your room right now, I'm going to loose all of my control that I've managed to gather so far, and believe me, it's not much. I'll end up throwing you to the floor and doing what my body is demanding that I do to you. Please, go!"

"Ranma..." she whispered, torn between her own body's desires and the pleading deep within Ranma's eyes. Akane gulped audibly before whispering, "I want to stay...but...no...not here, not like this!"

Then, turning Akane ran out of the room, she failed to hear Ranma's groan of longing and him whispering her name, "Akane......"

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