All I Want is You.
"Stop yelling at me!" Ryoko cried, sitting up in her bed. It was a Saturday morning, and she was awoken to the sound of her cell phone ringing. When she had picked up, it was Kotori, and he imediately started yelling at her. "Now, what's up? And be calm this time."
"What's going on with you and Trunks?" Ryoko blinked a few times, trying to think of what to say.
"What do you mean? We're friends."
"Oh really? Seems like you've been getting closer and closer." Ryoko got up and rubbed her eyes, stretched, then walked into the kitchen to get a drink while continuing to argue with Kotori.
"So what? We're only friends."
"Yeah but you always used to talk to me about stuff! Now it's always him!"
"What do you mean?!"
"Do you like him, now?!"
"No, I don't! And what does that matter to you?! It's not like you ever cared about me as more than friend, so what would it matter if I liked someone else?!"
"...He's... he's taking my place! He's replacing me!"
"He's not replacing you! No one could ever replace you, Kotori! I've known you for almost five years, now! There's never been anyone but you! Sure, I've had crushes on other people, but after they ended, I always went back to you! Why can't you see that?! Why can't you just accept the fact that I love you and stop making things complicated?! You know, you're such a difficult person to love. You really are. You can be such an amazing person, then turn around and be so selfish and not understand anything at all!" After that, it was silent. All Ryoko heard was Kotori breathing heavily, then she said quietly, "you know what, Kotori, I'm through with you. For once in these past five years, I'm giving up on you. I'm done. I'm tired of waiting for you. Maybe we'll still be friends, maybe not.
And with that, Ryoko ended the call and put the phone on the counter. She put her hands on the sink and sighed, closing her eyes. She was the one breathing heavily, now. She closed her eyes, and she knew that she still had some feelings for Kotori, but not nearly as much as she had before. She listened for the sound of her phone ringing again; she said she didn't want to talk to Kotori again, but of course she wanted to. She was hoping that he would call and apologize...
But the call didn't come.
She turned around, then blinked a few times when she saw Gohan and Trunks sitting at the table with wide eyes, some of their homework on the table in front of them.
"Oh... hey guys."
"Hey Ryo..." Gohan said, smiling a bit. "Today's Mai's birthday party, right?" Ryoko's eye size doubled.
"Oh, yeah! I totally forgot! I need to go get her a present!"
"So do I." Gohan said with a nod. "Let's just get her one together."
"I'll take you to the mall to get one." Trunks offered, then smirked. "And... can we sign my name to it, too? I kinda forgot to get a gift, also."
"Yeah! That's great!" Ryoko ran back into her room then took a shower and got ready to go. Then they went to the mall and after shopping a bit, they ended up buying her a few fragrences, lotions, and body washes. They just drove around for a while, then ended up leaving for Mai's house when the party started, Ryoko saying that they couldn't be right on time. Trunks and Gohan didn't see why they should be late, but didn't feel like arguing.
There were a lot of people there that Gohan and Trunks knew, and there were quite a few that Ryoko didn't know. Kotori wasn't there, Ryoko noticed. Most people stayed in groups, one of them being just Gohan, Trunks, and Ryoko. Mai went to each group and talked a bit, never staying with just one group.
"This is so boring!" Ryoko whispered to Gohan as she took a seat next to him. He and Trunks smiled and nodded slightly. "We should go somewhere else."
"We can't do that, Ryoko." Gohan started, "Mai is your best friend, and one of our good friends. We can't ditch her birthday party, it's not nice. Think of how mad she would be at you." Ryoko sighed and nodded, looking discontent.
"I'm gonna go out into the back yard to get a drink, I'll be right back." She got up and went into the backyard, and after giving a nervous glance to a winking and smiling Gohan, Trunks followed her.
"Ryoko!" Trunks cried, walking up to her. She turned her gaze from the cup that she had just grabbed to Trunks, and smiled sweetly. "I... uh... You... Er." He blushed lightly and Ryoko giggled a little, looking slightly confused. Trunks took in a deep sigh, then placed his hand on Ryokos cheek and kissed her.
After a few awkward moments, Trunks pulled away, and Ryoko looked at him with wide eyes, both of them blushing, now. If Ryoko had been turned around, she would have seen what Trunks saw: Kotori cassually walking into the backyard, scoping the crowd. His eyes landed on them right when Trunks kissed her, and Kotori looked shocked and angered when he turned around and ran.
Ryoko's Heart
Now it was Ryoko's time to stutter; "I... I... Trunks..." Trunks bit his lip, smiled, then turned his back and when he was away from eye sight of the people, he flew away.
Ryoko didn't move for a few minutes. She didn't know what to think, how she felt. She was shocked... Yet pleased. Did Trunks like her? It kind of seemed like he did, and there were a few rumors that he did.
The more important question was... did she like him? She was sure for the first time in years that she was over Kotori, and she thought she might have a slight crush on Trunks. After all, he was an amazing guy.
The rest of the party went by quite slowly. Ryoko talked to her friends, didn't really see Gohan, she wondered if he had gone after Trunks. When she got home, Gohan was sitting on the couch watching tv. Chichi was cleaning, Goku was sleeping, and Goten was with Chibi Trunks next door. Ryoko sat on the couch next to Gohan. He turned off the tv, and they sat in silence for a few moments.
"Where were you?" Ryoko asked quietly.
"I went to talk to Trunks."
"Oh..."
Another awkward silence...
"You know, Ryoko," he started, turning to her, "you need to talk to him. He feels like an idiot right now, since you didn't go after him. He thinks you hate him, that that kiss disgusted you."
"No! No, that's not it at all! It's just... I..."
"You what?"
"I don't know how I feel about him... I think he likes me, but I'm not sure. I want a little time to think about it..."
"I'm going to bed." Gohan said, standing and going to his room. Ryoko sighed, and soon went to bed herself.
During the night, she had another dream. No, these were more like nightmares. In this one, she had been sitting in the corner of her parents room, Goku kneeling next to her. She had been staring at him, her mouth slightly open, watching him cut various parts of her body with a dagger. She didn't even scream, or try and stop him, she just watched, a few tears running down her cheeks. It ended with Goku laughing maniacly.
She awoke to her father standing over her with a goofy grin, and she jumped up with a yelp, hitting her head on his head, forgetting that the dream had been a mere dream. He seemed a little concered at first, and she told him she had just awoken from a nightmare, and he didn't ask questions. He told her to get dressed, cause him, her, and her brothers were going training for the day. She looked at the clock, and realizing how early it was, she moaned and complained a bit, but Goku just laughed and left the room, closing the door behind him.
It took her quite a few minutes, but she ended up getting dressed and heading out with her brothers and father. Goku carried her while he and the two boys flew to the mountains near the old Son house. She was taught how to fly, and by the end of the day, she had mastered chi blasts. She was exhausted by then, so Goku had to carry her home, too.
When she woke in the morning, she realized it was a school day, and quickly got out of bed and got ready. She and her brothers made it just on time for the bus stop.
Trunks wasn't at the bus stop.
He ended up coming in late, during second period, History. He took his usual seat, and was unussually quiet at the end of the class. Ryoko avoided eye contact with him, and she kept getting glances from Gohan.
Lunch came soon, and Trunks sat at the end of Ryokos table, eating in silence. Kotori, who had been eating lunch at another table, came over and sat across from Ryoko.
"Ryoko," he began, "I'm sorry." She didn't reply. "...I'm sorry, Ryoko. I have no reason to be jealous all the time... I'm sorry for being such a jerk."
She just looked at him, sighed in disgust, then got up and left the cafeteria. That's how she felt about him, now. Disgusted. When she thought of him, or saw him, her stomach turned. She felt like she needed to throw up to dispose of all of her horrid feelings. She guessed that these were normal feelings when you were letting go of someone, finally accepting the fact that it was not meant to be.
As she was walking away, someone grabbed her wrist. Assuming it was Kotori, she spun around and glared right into the boys eyes. But it wasn't Kotori, it was Trunks, looking back at her with his deep, thoughtfull blue eyes. Her expression softened, and she smiled.
"Trunks... I've been meaning to talk to you. I..." She couldn't think of what to say.
"I've been meaning to talk to you, too.. I wanted to tell you that... I like you. I like you a lot, Ryoko Son..."
She smiled, dropping her eyes to his hand that still held her wrist. She grabbed both of his hands, "look, Trunks," she started, looking back into his eyes, "I don't think I'm ready for a relationship right now. I'm just letting go of Kotori, and I think I need some time. You're definitely one of my best friends, and I care about you so much. I don't ever want to hurt you like Kotori hurt me, so I don't want to jump into a relationship... I think I do like you a little, too, but it's not enough to form a relationship right now... I think maybe things could work out in the future, but definitely not right now, I'm just not ready." Now Trunks looked away, but also smiled, then looked back at her eyes.
"Okay." They hugged, then Ryoko walked away, Trunks staring after her.
Blood of the Innocent.
A week after, Trunks and Ryoko had been spending a lot more time together. They sparred together a few times, went shopping, and sometimes just sat random places and talked for hours. A month later, the last day of school had came and went, and Trunks and Ryoko were closer than ever. They weren't a couple yet, but they did things like holding hands and such frequently.
In mid July, the whole gang was at Roshi's to celebrate Ryoko and Gohan's birthday. They got mostly fighting equiptment from everyone, but Bulma and Bra bought Ryoko a very pretty charm bracelet, and Trunks got her a ring with her birth stone(ruby), and a few diamonds in it.
They day was coming to an end, and Ryoko, Videl, and Mai(Mai and Ryoko were starting to get much closer to Videl, although it was very obvious that Mai was jealous of Videl and Gohans relationship) had fairly bad sunburns from being in the water mostly all day. Everyone was gathered in the TV room, now, watching the news. A reporter came on, saying that a city had been attacked by an unknown person or persons, which caught everyones attention.
"I'm here in Barleytown, and you would not believe what has just happened merely a few hours ago here. Everyone who lived in tiny Barleytown has been slaughtered, women, children and all. There were about two thousand people living here, and all of them have come to a grotesque end. People are starting to call this the Barleytown Massacre Who has done this is still unknown, more news at eleven."
"Think we should check it out?" Gohan asked, turning to his father. Goku blinked a few times, then nodded.
"Yes, but not we." He stood. "I'll go. You all stay here. I mean it, no one follow me." And with that, he trasnported to Barleytown.
"Why doesn't he want anyone to follow him?" Gohan now turned to his mother.
"I don't know, but he'd better be back soon!" She replied, crossing her arms with a pout.
Later that night, Ryoko woke around three in the morning. Videl and Mai had slept over, so she was careful not to wake them up as she left the room. Her father had come home a few hours ago, and Chichi was yelling at him, demanding to know why only he could go and what happened. Goku wouldn't tell her anything, saying he was hungry and tried. Chichi gave in and made him a sandwhich, stubbornly said that that was all he got since he ran out on Ryoko and Gohans party, then they went to bed.
She crept out of the house, then flew off toward Barleytown. She wanted to know why her father didn't want anyone else going. Her curiosity always seemed to get the best of her.
"Curiosity killed the cat..." She mumbled to herself. "Yeah, but satisfaction brought him back," with that, she sped up.
When she got to Barleytown, a terrible stench struck her nose. She covered her nose with her hand and winced, looking around. She guessed that the smell was coming from all the bodies that seemed to be beginning to rot. She wondered why they had not been cleaned up yet.
She walked through the town, starting to think it was a bad idea to come. She had never seen a dead body before, and these definitely weren't good bodies to see for the first time, each one made her feel like she needed to vomit. Each body was drenched in its own(and possibly others) blood, and was terribly mangled or dissfigured. Even the small children were murdered.
After only a few minutes, Ryoko had tears in her eyes and felt as if she needed to leave right away. The scene was horrible. The last thing she saw before she turned around was a mother clutching to an infant.
She jumped into the air, ready to fly as fast as she could, but a figure appeared in front of her, also standing in mid-air. If she hadn't been so perturbed, she would have screamed, but she felt as if her throat was closed, and her shreak was stuck in her chest. She instantly though of this man as the murderer as he smirked.
"Hello, Ryoko." He said. Strangely, the voice sounded so familiar. She couldn't make out his face, but by his outline, she could see that he was very tall and buff, was wearing a cape, and had... horns?
Another familiar voice shouted, "Ryoko!" She knew the voice. It was her father. But her eyes were locked with the mans eyes, which were slowly starting to show. They were yellow, with slits for pupils, like cat eyes. His eyes seemed to let out a blinding light. All she could see was white, then black.
Authors Note: Yes yes... I know it was short... But I felt like updating. I hope you like it so far, please review! :)
"Stop yelling at me!" Ryoko cried, sitting up in her bed. It was a Saturday morning, and she was awoken to the sound of her cell phone ringing. When she had picked up, it was Kotori, and he imediately started yelling at her. "Now, what's up? And be calm this time."
"What's going on with you and Trunks?" Ryoko blinked a few times, trying to think of what to say.
"What do you mean? We're friends."
"Oh really? Seems like you've been getting closer and closer." Ryoko got up and rubbed her eyes, stretched, then walked into the kitchen to get a drink while continuing to argue with Kotori.
"So what? We're only friends."
"Yeah but you always used to talk to me about stuff! Now it's always him!"
"What do you mean?!"
"Do you like him, now?!"
"No, I don't! And what does that matter to you?! It's not like you ever cared about me as more than friend, so what would it matter if I liked someone else?!"
"...He's... he's taking my place! He's replacing me!"
"He's not replacing you! No one could ever replace you, Kotori! I've known you for almost five years, now! There's never been anyone but you! Sure, I've had crushes on other people, but after they ended, I always went back to you! Why can't you see that?! Why can't you just accept the fact that I love you and stop making things complicated?! You know, you're such a difficult person to love. You really are. You can be such an amazing person, then turn around and be so selfish and not understand anything at all!" After that, it was silent. All Ryoko heard was Kotori breathing heavily, then she said quietly, "you know what, Kotori, I'm through with you. For once in these past five years, I'm giving up on you. I'm done. I'm tired of waiting for you. Maybe we'll still be friends, maybe not.
And with that, Ryoko ended the call and put the phone on the counter. She put her hands on the sink and sighed, closing her eyes. She was the one breathing heavily, now. She closed her eyes, and she knew that she still had some feelings for Kotori, but not nearly as much as she had before. She listened for the sound of her phone ringing again; she said she didn't want to talk to Kotori again, but of course she wanted to. She was hoping that he would call and apologize...
But the call didn't come.
She turned around, then blinked a few times when she saw Gohan and Trunks sitting at the table with wide eyes, some of their homework on the table in front of them.
"Oh... hey guys."
"Hey Ryo..." Gohan said, smiling a bit. "Today's Mai's birthday party, right?" Ryoko's eye size doubled.
"Oh, yeah! I totally forgot! I need to go get her a present!"
"So do I." Gohan said with a nod. "Let's just get her one together."
"I'll take you to the mall to get one." Trunks offered, then smirked. "And... can we sign my name to it, too? I kinda forgot to get a gift, also."
"Yeah! That's great!" Ryoko ran back into her room then took a shower and got ready to go. Then they went to the mall and after shopping a bit, they ended up buying her a few fragrences, lotions, and body washes. They just drove around for a while, then ended up leaving for Mai's house when the party started, Ryoko saying that they couldn't be right on time. Trunks and Gohan didn't see why they should be late, but didn't feel like arguing.
There were a lot of people there that Gohan and Trunks knew, and there were quite a few that Ryoko didn't know. Kotori wasn't there, Ryoko noticed. Most people stayed in groups, one of them being just Gohan, Trunks, and Ryoko. Mai went to each group and talked a bit, never staying with just one group.
"This is so boring!" Ryoko whispered to Gohan as she took a seat next to him. He and Trunks smiled and nodded slightly. "We should go somewhere else."
"We can't do that, Ryoko." Gohan started, "Mai is your best friend, and one of our good friends. We can't ditch her birthday party, it's not nice. Think of how mad she would be at you." Ryoko sighed and nodded, looking discontent.
"I'm gonna go out into the back yard to get a drink, I'll be right back." She got up and went into the backyard, and after giving a nervous glance to a winking and smiling Gohan, Trunks followed her.
"Ryoko!" Trunks cried, walking up to her. She turned her gaze from the cup that she had just grabbed to Trunks, and smiled sweetly. "I... uh... You... Er." He blushed lightly and Ryoko giggled a little, looking slightly confused. Trunks took in a deep sigh, then placed his hand on Ryokos cheek and kissed her.
After a few awkward moments, Trunks pulled away, and Ryoko looked at him with wide eyes, both of them blushing, now. If Ryoko had been turned around, she would have seen what Trunks saw: Kotori cassually walking into the backyard, scoping the crowd. His eyes landed on them right when Trunks kissed her, and Kotori looked shocked and angered when he turned around and ran.
Ryoko's Heart
Now it was Ryoko's time to stutter; "I... I... Trunks..." Trunks bit his lip, smiled, then turned his back and when he was away from eye sight of the people, he flew away.
Ryoko didn't move for a few minutes. She didn't know what to think, how she felt. She was shocked... Yet pleased. Did Trunks like her? It kind of seemed like he did, and there were a few rumors that he did.
The more important question was... did she like him? She was sure for the first time in years that she was over Kotori, and she thought she might have a slight crush on Trunks. After all, he was an amazing guy.
The rest of the party went by quite slowly. Ryoko talked to her friends, didn't really see Gohan, she wondered if he had gone after Trunks. When she got home, Gohan was sitting on the couch watching tv. Chichi was cleaning, Goku was sleeping, and Goten was with Chibi Trunks next door. Ryoko sat on the couch next to Gohan. He turned off the tv, and they sat in silence for a few moments.
"Where were you?" Ryoko asked quietly.
"I went to talk to Trunks."
"Oh..."
Another awkward silence...
"You know, Ryoko," he started, turning to her, "you need to talk to him. He feels like an idiot right now, since you didn't go after him. He thinks you hate him, that that kiss disgusted you."
"No! No, that's not it at all! It's just... I..."
"You what?"
"I don't know how I feel about him... I think he likes me, but I'm not sure. I want a little time to think about it..."
"I'm going to bed." Gohan said, standing and going to his room. Ryoko sighed, and soon went to bed herself.
During the night, she had another dream. No, these were more like nightmares. In this one, she had been sitting in the corner of her parents room, Goku kneeling next to her. She had been staring at him, her mouth slightly open, watching him cut various parts of her body with a dagger. She didn't even scream, or try and stop him, she just watched, a few tears running down her cheeks. It ended with Goku laughing maniacly.
She awoke to her father standing over her with a goofy grin, and she jumped up with a yelp, hitting her head on his head, forgetting that the dream had been a mere dream. He seemed a little concered at first, and she told him she had just awoken from a nightmare, and he didn't ask questions. He told her to get dressed, cause him, her, and her brothers were going training for the day. She looked at the clock, and realizing how early it was, she moaned and complained a bit, but Goku just laughed and left the room, closing the door behind him.
It took her quite a few minutes, but she ended up getting dressed and heading out with her brothers and father. Goku carried her while he and the two boys flew to the mountains near the old Son house. She was taught how to fly, and by the end of the day, she had mastered chi blasts. She was exhausted by then, so Goku had to carry her home, too.
When she woke in the morning, she realized it was a school day, and quickly got out of bed and got ready. She and her brothers made it just on time for the bus stop.
Trunks wasn't at the bus stop.
He ended up coming in late, during second period, History. He took his usual seat, and was unussually quiet at the end of the class. Ryoko avoided eye contact with him, and she kept getting glances from Gohan.
Lunch came soon, and Trunks sat at the end of Ryokos table, eating in silence. Kotori, who had been eating lunch at another table, came over and sat across from Ryoko.
"Ryoko," he began, "I'm sorry." She didn't reply. "...I'm sorry, Ryoko. I have no reason to be jealous all the time... I'm sorry for being such a jerk."
She just looked at him, sighed in disgust, then got up and left the cafeteria. That's how she felt about him, now. Disgusted. When she thought of him, or saw him, her stomach turned. She felt like she needed to throw up to dispose of all of her horrid feelings. She guessed that these were normal feelings when you were letting go of someone, finally accepting the fact that it was not meant to be.
As she was walking away, someone grabbed her wrist. Assuming it was Kotori, she spun around and glared right into the boys eyes. But it wasn't Kotori, it was Trunks, looking back at her with his deep, thoughtfull blue eyes. Her expression softened, and she smiled.
"Trunks... I've been meaning to talk to you. I..." She couldn't think of what to say.
"I've been meaning to talk to you, too.. I wanted to tell you that... I like you. I like you a lot, Ryoko Son..."
She smiled, dropping her eyes to his hand that still held her wrist. She grabbed both of his hands, "look, Trunks," she started, looking back into his eyes, "I don't think I'm ready for a relationship right now. I'm just letting go of Kotori, and I think I need some time. You're definitely one of my best friends, and I care about you so much. I don't ever want to hurt you like Kotori hurt me, so I don't want to jump into a relationship... I think I do like you a little, too, but it's not enough to form a relationship right now... I think maybe things could work out in the future, but definitely not right now, I'm just not ready." Now Trunks looked away, but also smiled, then looked back at her eyes.
"Okay." They hugged, then Ryoko walked away, Trunks staring after her.
Blood of the Innocent.
A week after, Trunks and Ryoko had been spending a lot more time together. They sparred together a few times, went shopping, and sometimes just sat random places and talked for hours. A month later, the last day of school had came and went, and Trunks and Ryoko were closer than ever. They weren't a couple yet, but they did things like holding hands and such frequently.
In mid July, the whole gang was at Roshi's to celebrate Ryoko and Gohan's birthday. They got mostly fighting equiptment from everyone, but Bulma and Bra bought Ryoko a very pretty charm bracelet, and Trunks got her a ring with her birth stone(ruby), and a few diamonds in it.
They day was coming to an end, and Ryoko, Videl, and Mai(Mai and Ryoko were starting to get much closer to Videl, although it was very obvious that Mai was jealous of Videl and Gohans relationship) had fairly bad sunburns from being in the water mostly all day. Everyone was gathered in the TV room, now, watching the news. A reporter came on, saying that a city had been attacked by an unknown person or persons, which caught everyones attention.
"I'm here in Barleytown, and you would not believe what has just happened merely a few hours ago here. Everyone who lived in tiny Barleytown has been slaughtered, women, children and all. There were about two thousand people living here, and all of them have come to a grotesque end. People are starting to call this the Barleytown Massacre Who has done this is still unknown, more news at eleven."
"Think we should check it out?" Gohan asked, turning to his father. Goku blinked a few times, then nodded.
"Yes, but not we." He stood. "I'll go. You all stay here. I mean it, no one follow me." And with that, he trasnported to Barleytown.
"Why doesn't he want anyone to follow him?" Gohan now turned to his mother.
"I don't know, but he'd better be back soon!" She replied, crossing her arms with a pout.
Later that night, Ryoko woke around three in the morning. Videl and Mai had slept over, so she was careful not to wake them up as she left the room. Her father had come home a few hours ago, and Chichi was yelling at him, demanding to know why only he could go and what happened. Goku wouldn't tell her anything, saying he was hungry and tried. Chichi gave in and made him a sandwhich, stubbornly said that that was all he got since he ran out on Ryoko and Gohans party, then they went to bed.
She crept out of the house, then flew off toward Barleytown. She wanted to know why her father didn't want anyone else going. Her curiosity always seemed to get the best of her.
"Curiosity killed the cat..." She mumbled to herself. "Yeah, but satisfaction brought him back," with that, she sped up.
When she got to Barleytown, a terrible stench struck her nose. She covered her nose with her hand and winced, looking around. She guessed that the smell was coming from all the bodies that seemed to be beginning to rot. She wondered why they had not been cleaned up yet.
She walked through the town, starting to think it was a bad idea to come. She had never seen a dead body before, and these definitely weren't good bodies to see for the first time, each one made her feel like she needed to vomit. Each body was drenched in its own(and possibly others) blood, and was terribly mangled or dissfigured. Even the small children were murdered.
After only a few minutes, Ryoko had tears in her eyes and felt as if she needed to leave right away. The scene was horrible. The last thing she saw before she turned around was a mother clutching to an infant.
She jumped into the air, ready to fly as fast as she could, but a figure appeared in front of her, also standing in mid-air. If she hadn't been so perturbed, she would have screamed, but she felt as if her throat was closed, and her shreak was stuck in her chest. She instantly though of this man as the murderer as he smirked.
"Hello, Ryoko." He said. Strangely, the voice sounded so familiar. She couldn't make out his face, but by his outline, she could see that he was very tall and buff, was wearing a cape, and had... horns?
Another familiar voice shouted, "Ryoko!" She knew the voice. It was her father. But her eyes were locked with the mans eyes, which were slowly starting to show. They were yellow, with slits for pupils, like cat eyes. His eyes seemed to let out a blinding light. All she could see was white, then black.
Authors Note: Yes yes... I know it was short... But I felt like updating. I hope you like it so far, please review! :)