The Dark Truth.
What if Anna and Kino lied about Anna being abandoned? The truth about Anna's past is darker than anyone ever imagined.... and it's coming back to haunt her... and everyone who is close to her.
Chapter three: Of Panic, Blood and Hospitalization.
Talking "Hi!"
Thinking "iHi/i!"
Emphasis: "bHi/b!"
b (((((((((((((((((((((((Story Time)))))))))))))))))))))))))) /b
He had been through fighting Jiang-si, skeletons, psycho family members, the X-Laws, and Hao. Although for some reason, this was somehow scaring him more than that. Yoh was behind him fighting that werewolf without a sword of any kind and Anna was in front of him. He had just run over to her and now he was looking her over. Anna had blood streaking down her left arm coming from her shoulder. Manta could only see a little of the wound since Anna was trying to apply pressure to stop the blood flow.
There were four lacerations on her abdomen from Tsuki's claws. They were cut open just enough to bleed slightly. She also had some scrapes on her arms, but Manta needed to do something about that shoulder. Now.
"Anna… how do you feel?"
Manta almost smacked himself for that. How does she feel? She felt like she had been clawed by a huge werewolf, duh!
"I think I'm losing too much blood…" Anna's voice sounded strained and tired.
Manta blinked… no sarcasm? Wait, why was he thinking about that? Anna is hurt; there is time to think about that later! Manta let out a yelp when Anna allowed herself to drop to her knees. It was taking far too much out of her to stand up. Manta saw Anna's left shoulder that was still gripped by her right hand. Blood was staining the fabric of her school uniform making the crisp white color turn a dark rose.
"Anna… if you keep bleeding like that…" Manta mumbled, not wanting to finish his sentence.
After thinking a second, Manta yanked off his jacket and went closer to Anna's left side. He had to stop the bleeding. Manta looked at Anna; her eyes were shut as she tried to will away the pain. As soon as his jacket touched her hand Anna's eyes shot open, and she leaned away from his touch. Manta almost died in shock. Anna bnever/b did something like that before, ever. It wasn't only the action of pulling away, but the look in Anna's eyes. Her eyes held mass confusion. Surely she didn't think he'd let her sit there and bleed? That look only lasted a second before Anna held a look that clearly said "What the bhell/b do you think you're doing?"
"Sorry… I just wanted to help stop the bleeding Anna…."
Anna blinked at Manta and frowned lightly as she removed her hand from her shoulder revealing about three jagged cuts. Manta cringed at the sight. It looked so wrong to see Anna like that. Carefully he pressed the jacket on her shoulder. He expected her to react to it, but she did nothing but close her eyes. Anna's hand returned to her shoulder and took place beside Manta's hand to assist with holding the wound that Manta's small hand could barely cover. Manta didn't like the silence that had fallen over them so he cleared his throat and thought of something to say.
"… I'm sorry if I hurt you…"
Crap, what a stupid thing to say. Anna opened her eyes to glance at Manta and closed her eyes once more.
"You didn't hurt me. Even if you did… it was to temporarily stop me from bleeding to death. So… thanks shorty."
Manta almost died, again, right then and there. First Anna said "temporarily" when referring to her life, not the most positive of outlooks. Then the kicker, she said bthanks/b. Anna Kyoyama: wielder of the Legendary Left, Anna Kyoyama: The Beater of Men and finally Anna Kyoyama: The Icy Cold Itako of Osorozan said thank you to bhim/b. What was going on?
With a deep breath, Manta said what first came to mind. "… Y-you're welcome Anna."
Suddenly Anna looked over at where Yoh was. Manta's gaze followed hers and he gasped at what he saw. Tsuki just jumped a good ten feet in the air at Yoh.
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b(((((((((((((((((((((((Yoh))))))))))))))))))))))))))/b
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Yoh glared up at Tsuki and jumped back, avoiding the werewolf's pounce. Tsuki landed with ease, his claws cutting into the ground. He let out another growl and rammed his claws into the earth. Yoh looked up at his floating friend. The samurai nodded, not even needing to hear what Yoh was planning. Without hesitation, Amidamaru changed into a small spirit ball that had two little swords hanging off of its sides. It also had little shoulder armor and Amidamaru's trademark hairstyle.
Yoh grabbed the flaming spirit ball and pushed it into his body as he yelled: "Amidamaru, integrate!"
Tsuki offered a sneer in response. Clearly, integration didn't impress him.
"Silly little shaman king. You should know better ways of defending yourself. This… this is just giving you an extra ten seconds. That's not even enough for Kyoyama-san and the short one to limp off to safety." He finished in a snarl.
Yoh frowned; he knew he wouldn't be able to stop Tsuki like this. However, this would buy time for the others to realize something was wrong or for some other miracle to happen. Yoh braced himself as he readied for Tsuki to attack. Yoh let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"iThings will work out, I'm sure of it/i."
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b (((((((((((((((((((((((At En Inn))))))))))))))))))))))))))/b
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"I don't like this, they should be home by now…" Ren murmured as he sat in front of the TV.
"So?" Horohoro spat, the swelling in his cheeks all but gone. "Maybe they missed the bus or something and had to walk the whole way? It would take a while for them to get here if that happened."
Ren glanced in the kitchen where Tamao was pacing back and forth teary eyed and Pirka was trying to calm the pink haired shaman down. Ren looked back at the show he was watching. His mouth was set in a frown.
"Horo…"
Horohoro blinked as he pulled his eyes from the TV to look at Ren, who seemed to be deep in thought.
"Yeah?"
Ren crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head slightly to the left.
"Why do you think Tamao is freaking out? Normally she'd be making dinner with Pirka."
Scratching his head, Horohoro looked back to see Tamao almost completely frantic and close to hyperventilating.
"Wow, maybe she is sick or something?"
Finally standing up, Ren stretched and walked into the kitchen. Upon doing this, Tamao ran to him and frantically started spelling out what was wrong on her Kokkuri board. Alas, she was even too upset to point to the words without zooming to another part. It was simply too fast for Ren to make it all out.
"She's been like this for the past two or three minutes." Pirka said with a frown. "We were chopping up veggies and all of a sudden she says something's wrong. So, she grabs her board and a few seconds later, she totally flips out. I've never seen her like this before."
Ren nodded as Pirka put a hand on Tamao's shoulder. Tamao put her hands to her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. Pirka glanced at Horohoro who made his way to the doorway. He had a frown on his face; he knew something was up now.
"Tamao." Ren began softly catching both girls' attention. "Is there something wrong with Yoh, Manta and Anna?"
Tamao nodded her head so quickly that if Cocolove were in the house, he'd make a joke about whiplash.
"I knew it." Ren mumbled. "I'll be outside, Horo; you get Harusame and make it snappy."
Horohoro glared at Ren before swiftly turning to go grab Harusame in Yoh's room. While Horohoro went to get the sword, Ren ran to the door and grabbed his own Bao Lei sword. He glanced down and grinned as the light shone off of the silver hilt. The sun gave the sword a golden hue. Ren looked up as an ominous wind blew making the yellow tassel that hung from the sword move with the wind.
"Do you think they're ok?" a soft voice asked.
Ren looked back and watched as Pirka walked up beside him, her eyes looking up at the sky. He could tell that she was worried.
"Of course they're ok. Even if they are in trouble, Horo and I will get them out of it. Whenever your stupid brother gets Harusame that is."
Pirka grinned lightly, but her grin faded almost as soon as it adorned her face.
"Yeah, you're right, but it's just that feeling in my gut. Like something is wrong. You know what I mean?"
Only a sigh escaped his lips as he nodded. Pirka didn't even bother to look over, knowing from his sigh that he knew what she meant. Ren looked over to Pirka to ask her something, but the pounding of Horohoro's feet made his question die in his throat. Shaking his head, Ren stepped off of the porch and glanced up at the Chinese warrior that appeared beside him.
"Let's go Bason."
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b (((((((((((((((((((((((Anna and Manta))))))))))))))))))))))))))/b
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Manta's free hand formed into a fist as he watched Yoh continuously dodge the werewolf's strong blows. It was a good thing that Amidamaru was used to fighting people much larger than he was.
"Manta…"
Hearing her weak voice, Manta spun around and saw Anna looking at him. She was still in a bad way. His jacket was now almost completely soaked in her blood. The mere sight made his stomach churn with worry.
"What Anna? Are you alright?"
Anna frowned at him, but chose not to come back a sarcastic remark. To be honest, she wasn't sure she had the strength to snap at him.
"… I want you to run." She took a pause to take a breath and ignored the thunderstruck look on Manta's face. "Go to the Inn… you'll be safe there."
Manta stood gaping at the wounded Itako. She was telling him to leave… so he'd be safe? Ok, who was this and what did it do with Anna? Manta glanced back at Yoh's futile struggle with Tsuki. Yoh was tired and pretty soon Tsuki would be landing hits… and the fight would be over shortly after as well as his and Anna's life. Manta returned his gaze to Anna's worn out frame. The blood loss was starting to make a strain on Anna's body. Soon, she would pass out, and death would come shortly after.
"No."
Anna raised an eyebrow as she forced her eyes to focus on Manta. Her head was spinning; soon she wouldn't be able to hold herself up.
"Anna, even if Yoh was going to lose… I still wouldn't leave you." Manta glanced around nervously not seeing the surprise in Anna's eyes. "Even though you like to use me as a weapon, or a chef, or a floor cleaner… I still think of you as a friend and I would never abandon a friend."
When Manta finally got the courage to look at Anna, he saw that she was looking down at the ground her hair making a veil around her eyes. He could see her hand gripping at his jacket and saw her left hand that was holding her up from the ground was twitching.
"… Not again…" Anna mumbled.
Taking a step forward in caution, Manta tried to get a better view of Anna's face. However, after a few more steps all he could see was how her jaw was clenched. Seeing that, Manta gulped down his fear in order to speak.
"Anna? What did you say?"
Anna tensed but allowed a sigh to escape her lips. She glanced up, some of her hair obscuring her right eye from view.
"I said… this is your last chance…"
Their eyes locked. She didn't need to say the rest; Manta knew what she was saying. Basically it was 'I'm gonna pass out soon stupid, run or die'. Instead of running, like his instinct said to do… he took a page from Yoh's book and just grinned. It was tired looking, but it held the 'don't worry it'll work out' feeling behind it.
"I don't have to go anywhere. Yoh will be ok, our friends will come, and you will be alright. You'll see."
Anna's eyes returned to the ground. Not believing what she was hearing.
"iWell what do you know… looks like you've rubbed off on Manta, Yoh, but… is that a good thing/i?"
Without warning, Anna's left arm gave way and she fell to her side with a hiss of pain. The last thing she heard before everything turned black was Manta's shriek.
"Anna!!"
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b (((((((((((((((((((((((Yoh))))))))))))))))))))))))))/b
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"Anna!!"
Upon hearing Manta's yell Yoh turned to see what was wrong. His eyes widened as he saw Anna laying on her side and Manta scrambling over to her to lay her on her back so he could keep pressure on her wound.
"iAnna! Please… hold on, just a little longer/i."
Yoh felt like his insides were on fire. He hurt and he wasn't sure how long he could last now… it felt like his heart was about to ice over because of the chill of fear ebbing into his heart, seeing Anna like that… it was almost too much.
"Only fools turn away from battle."
Before he could even register the danger, Yoh felt a large furry fist slam into his stomach. The sheer force of the blow threw him over ten feet before he came crashing down and slid a few more feet to a stop. Yoh sat up trying to resist the urge to throw up or cry about the newly acquired scrapes on his back… or both… at the same time. Tsuki stood grinning in triumph awaiting Yoh to stand so that he could knock him down again.
"Lord Yoh! Forgive me… I was shocked by Manta's yell and wasn't-"
"No, it was me." Yoh interrupted. "I took the wheel for a second and drove us into a pole. We have to hurry. Anna's out cold so we need to wrap this up and get her some help."
Allowing Amidamaru to resume control, they stood up shakily and glared over at Tsuki. Seeing that they were up, Tsuki howled in laughter.
"Aww, still able to stand? Ok, I think I'm going to finish you off now." Tsuki glanced over at Anna's still form and frowned. "Hmm, I was hoping she would see this… oh well. Say good bye Asakura Yoh."
Tsuki shot off like a rocket. His claws held out at his side so that he could bring them forward to slash Yoh apart. As he reached half way though…
"The only farewell Yoh will be saying is to you! Bason!"
As Tsuki screeched to a halt to look to his right, a large golden fist slammed into his right side. Tsuki let out a yelp as he felt his ribs crack, and he went flying into a tree. The werewolf groaned in pain as he pulled himself up and saw to his dismay that he was hit all the way across the park. Anna being on the other side and safe from him. Tsuki looked up and saw it was a huge Chinese warrior that had struck him. It looked almost robotic. Tsuki's right ear twitched in annoyance when he saw a purple haired shaman perched on top of the large robotic Chinese warrior smirking at him. Wait… why was he smirking?
"Aww, who's been a baaaad doggie?"
Tsuki's eyes widened, and he looked back. Before he could make it out, he was hit hard in the back by something cold but rock hard. He was launched ten feet from the force of the blow and landed on the soft grass of the park's clearing. Tsuki grunted as he made himself get into a kneeling position. He glared at the blue haired shaman that had a large icy fist. The werewolf let out a snarl of self disappointment. He had a few broken ribs, but he could still fight. However, there were now two more shamans, and he was sure that they had brought a sword for Yoh.
"iNo matter, I'll go recover and be back… and take care of them all/i."
Not saying a single word, Tsuki got on all fours and shot off towards the woods heading back to his master. Horohoro grinned and quickly ran over to Yoh who was trying to get up but was stopped by Ren.
"Damn it Yoh, stay down!" Ren croaked his hair twitching slightly.
"B-but Anna, she's hurt!"
Horohoro's eyebrow rose in confusion, and his eyes met with Ren's as a thought crossed both of their minds: "How hard did that thing hit Yoh?" They both looked back and their gaze fell on Anna. She was now on her back, and her left side was soaked in blood with poor little Manta focusing on keeping Anna's shoulder wound from killing her. She was out cold. Horohoro's mouth dropped in shock, and his snowboard dropped from his hand. Ren's eyes were widened slightly, but otherwise his face was impassive. Although on the inside, the sight did rattle him.
"Stay here and help Yoh!" Ren shouted to Horohoro as he ran over to Anna's still form.
Within a few seconds, Ren was by Anna's body. He frowned as he looked down at her. She was a mess. Ren kneeled down ignoring the blood that was starting to stain his pants.
"Manta, what happened?"
Manta glanced up at Ren for a second and then brought his attention back to Anna.
"I'll tell you after we get Anna to the hospital."
Ren nodded in agreement and pushed Manta aside making the boy look at Ren with an eyebrow raised. Ren said nothing as he easily lifted Anna's body. Manta realized what Ren was doing although calling an ambulance would be better. However upon looking around at the scarred ground that now had blood staining the dirt and remaining grass, maybe calling for help wasn't such a good idea.
"You stay with Yoh and Horo, Manta. Bason and I will take Anna to the hospital."
As Manta nodded, Bason appeared by Ren in his giant oversoul mode. Bason lowered his hand so Ren could get on without shaking Anna too much. Ren got on holding Anna close as not to drop her.
"Bason! Hurry!"
Bason nodded and with a mighty jump took off flying to the hospital. Manta quickly made his way to Yoh who was now standing with help from Horohoro. Manta looked up at his friend. He was oddly quiet and had an uncharacteristic worried frown on his face.
"Don't worry Yoh!" Horohoro began with a shaky grin. "Anna's a tough chick. She'll be alright."
Yoh brought his gaze from the sky and looked and Horohoro and gave him an unconvincing smile.
"Yeah, I know."
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b((((((((((((((((With Ren and an Unconscious Anna)))))))))))))))/b
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She was bossy, cruel and hopelessly strict, but she didn't deserve this. That was Ren's general thoughts on Anna as he flew through the air on Bason. Ren's eyes narrowed as he thought about the werewolf that had attacked Anna. Was it some sort of oversoul… or something else?
"Master Ren, we are near the hospital."
Ren snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Bason's deep voice. Without a sound, Ren disengaged his oversoul. You could just imagine the look on everyone's face as a purple-haired Chinese boy fell outta the sky holding a bloodied girl and walked into the ER without so much as a word. Needless to say, the man who just got released after having a psychopathic episode decided to go back to the ward for a couple more days. After Ren walked in a few feet in the hospital the nurse at the nurses' station ran over to him.
"Oh my goodness, what happened to this poor girl?!"
Ren blinked at the woman.
"Does it really matter?" Ren snapped.
The nurse ignored him and ran into a hallway and shouted to a few male nurses. They nodded and disappeared for a second and the nurse came back to Ren.
"How long has she been like this?"
Ren frowned and looked down at Anna.
"I'm not sure. It happened a few minutes after school… I think."
The nurse nodded as two male nurses pulled up a bed by Ren. Ren took the hint and put Anna down on the bed, and the two men took her down a hallway and through a door.
"Don't worry your sister will be alright."
Ren whipped around to face the nurse. His sister? Oh, she thought that Anna was his sister. Better than her saying something like 'girlfriend' Ren thought to himself.
"No, she's just a..." Ren trailed off unsure of what to say. Was she an acquaintance? Or a friend? Ren glanced down at himself seeing the blood smeared all over him. "She's a friend."
The nurse let out a small 'oh' before gently grabbing hold of Ren's wrist and pulling him over to the nurses' station. Ren growled in protest, but he made no attempt to make the old nurse let go. Leaving Ren at the front of the desk, the nurse traveled to the other side to a closet and pulled out a set of scrubs. She took her place behind the desk and handed them to Ren.
"There, so you won't have to be so bloody." She also gave him a clipboard with a few sheets of paper and a pen. "However, before you change, please fill that out. You can stand here and fill it out if you wish."
Ren nodded and started to fill out the form, but the nurse spoke up before he could even go past filling in Anna's name.
"I forgot, I need to ask you if-" The nurse glanced down at the paper to see the name. "-Kyoyama-san has any transferable diseases so we can take the necessary precautions."
Ren took the time to think, but he knew she was perfectly healthy. Otherwise that horrid grandmother of Yoh's would never allow Anna to marry him if she was sick in any way.
"No, as far as I know, she's completely healthy."
The nurse nodded, not really thinking a reply was necessary. Ren returned to the papers his eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He hardly knew anything about Anna. All he knew was her general age and her name. He wasn't even sure how tall she was. After filling out everything he knew, or could give a ball park guess at, he went to the bathroom to change.
Upon opening the door, he saw it was the single bathroom kind. Good, that would make it easier to change. He shut and locked the door, and he flicked on the light. Bason appeared and frowned as he watched his master remove the blood soaked clothes.
"Master Ren… do you think Lady Anna will be alright?"
After laying his bloodied pair of pants on the sink, he wasn't about to lay them on the floor, he took some of the cheap brown paper towels and started to wipe off the blood that had made its way through his pant legs.
"I'm not sure Bason… but I hope so. She is mean and she'll slap you if you piss her off, but she didn't do anything to deserve that."
Bason nodded in agreement as he looked down at the blood that was now on the floor of the bathroom. Ren had probably dripped blood in the waiting room as well Bason realized.
"Bason, I want you to go in the Emergency room and watch over Anna."
Bason nodded and flew through the door heading to the ER. Ren sighed as he threw away the now burgundy colored paper towels.
"iWhy would someone do that to Anna/i?"
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b ((((((((((((((((Enn Inn))))))))))))))) /b
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"bWHAT/b!?"
Tamao flinched as Pirka's yell echoed throughout the inn. Ryu sat by the quivering pink-haired shaman in the living room. Cocolove was on her other side and Faust was beside him. Hao hadn't returned and Jun was leaning against the wall her right hand was holding her chin in thought as she quietly watched Pirka's reactions with Bai-Long by her side out in the hallway.
"bWhat do mean a 'werewolf'?! /b"
Jun's eyes widened and Cocolove was gearing up for a joke when the next thing Pirka said stopped him cold.
"bAnna's in the hospital!? /b"
Ryu immediately jumped up and ran into the hall followed by everyone. Faust was the last to make it out into the hall.
"We'll be right there!" Pirka said, without screaming.
Pirka hung up the phone and looked at everyone. Poor Tamao looked like she was going to have a stroke and Ryu's bottom lip was starting to quiver. The front door creaked as it slid open and everyone turned to the door, each having their own look of dread and worry. Hao stood there and blinked awkwardly. He soon regained his bearings and smirked.
"Ok, who died?"
Needless to say, the reaction he got wasn't a good one.
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b ((((((((((((((((Yoh, Manta and Horohoro)))))))))))))))/b
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It was quiet as the three boys trudged to the hospital. Little Kororo frowned as she perched on Horohoro's shoulder and Amidamaru stayed almost glued to Yoh's side as he limped along his arm wrapped around Horo's neck. Both were as quiet as their living friends. Manta weaved through the crowd receiving odd looks because of the blood on his hands and knees. Manta looked up. They were almost there. Would Anna be ok?
Horohoro flinched as he bumped into another person because of his snowboard. He got a dirty look but nothing more. It was hard holding Yoh up and making sure his snowboard didn't ram into people. Horohoro pushed it out of his mind. He didn't care if a few people got a little upset. Yoh was his buddy and he wasn't gonna let him down.
As Yoh watched the sidewalk pass under his feet, he wondered what was going to happen to Anna. She had lost a lot of blood. Sure he had lost a lot more, but Anna was small compared to him. She couldn't afford to lose that much, right? What if she was dead? Yoh dismissed that, because Anna would have come right to him and haunted him for sure. So she had to be alive, but that last thought didn't make him feel any better.
"We're here." Manta muttered.
Yoh looked up. There it was; the hospital. Each took a deep breath and stepped forward making the sliding doors open and cool air rush over them as they walked in. Seeing Ren sitting in one of the chairs, Manta ran over to him.
"Have you heard anything?"
Ren blinked as he looked up from the floor.
"No nothing. It doesn't help that there was a five car pile-up a few minutes ago though, I'm sure."
Manta winced not noticing that Horohoro and Yoh walked up beside them. Horohoro ignored the last statement and smirked.
"Nice duds Ren."
Ren raised an eyebrow and glanced down at his purple scrubs that happened have a pink floral pattern. He frowned and glared up at Horohoro.
"They are the only kind they have left back there you stupid Ainu. Otherwise I'd be wearing something more… dignified." Ren said in a huff.
Ren glanced at Yoh and saw that he was clearly not amused. He was thinking about Anna for sure Ren figured.
"Anyway, I know Anna's alive at least. I sent Bason back there to watch out for her… he would have let me know if anything happened."
Yoh gave Ren a faint smile and took a seat next to him, Horohoro and Manta followed suit and sat down as well. Manta beside Yoh and Horohoro was on the other side of Ren. All were weighed down by their own thoughts and without knowing let out a heavy sigh. Each hoped their worries would float away with their collective breaths. Sadly they didn't and Manta kicked his legs in an attempt to busy himself. While Ren went back to counting the floor tiles, Horohoro picked up a magazine about sports from the table by his chair and Yoh just thought about the fight and for once, what the repercussions would be.
Little Kororo looked down at her master and his friends with a small sniffle as she wished she could help. She looked over at Amidamaru.
"Kkuru?" Kororo whispered softly.
Amidamaru looked over at her with curious eyes not understanding her. However, when he saw her expression, he filled in the blanks: "What do we do now?" was his guess. He crossed his arms as they hovered over the four boys.
"The only thing we can." He whispered back, as not to bother the others. "We wait."
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b((((((((((((((((End of Chapter three)))))))))))))))/b
