Dude, has it really been over a year?
I thank my Beta AkumaKoronso for her continuing patience with me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, DNAngel, Vampire Game, Slayers, Naruto, Tales of Symphonia, Inuyasha, Eragon, Redwall, DBZ, Foamy, anything from Disney or Broadway, Ouran Host Club, Hetalia Axis Powers, Dragonlance, Alien 2, Legend of Zelda, Twilight, Hellsing, Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Fallout 3, Firestarter, or Nightwalker. Wow, that's quite a list.
The person who can find all the new references gets a cookie and a sneak peek at the next chapter. And by references, I mean not the obvious characters, the ones I only hint at, or just lines. Heck, just find Hetalia and the Alien 2 things, and you get the cookie!
Oh, and I apologize for Jasper. He's a sweet heart, but I couldn't help it.
CHAPTER NINE: RETURN TO TRAVERSE TOWN
"Air!" Dark gasped, sticking his head out of the ship door, Wiz knocked out on his shoulder. The ship was back in Traverse Town, after two weeks in space.
Two LONG weeks, in a small ship, with seven people, minimal water reserved for drinking only, and the rancid smell of unwashed wolf. While the others didn't have a choice, Daisuke and Dark had been switching back and worth to let each other have a break from the smell.
With gasps, the rest of the crew piled out of the ship, the twins piled on each other as they tried to breathe. Zelgadis was a little better off with his mask up, and Gourry only had a normal sense of smell. Poor Duzell though, had an exceptional nose, and the smell had overpowered him to the point that he'd lost control and collapsed into his cat-like form. Dark had the cat thrown over his shoulder.
Kouga smirked as he strolled out of the ship. He knew that he smell ripe, but the demon really didn't care. In fact, he thought their reactions were kinda funny. "This is Turabersu Townu?" he asked, pale eyes scanning their allies, and the diverse species and people that wandered up and down the streets in the fading sunlight.
Dark sighed as he surveyed the busy streets. "Yep. Don't know where your friends are, but the Ninja are in charge. They should know," he offered, giving a short wave to a pair of winged formed flying low in the air. Seeing them, the pair spiraled low and landed, revealing a pair of men, one in dark, purple tinted leather and the other in a cape and what seemed to be the regale of a noble man. The thief grinned as he walked over to the angelic pair, Duzell still draped over his spandex-clad shoulder. "Yo, Kratos, Yuan, how's the patrol going?" he asked.
The bluenette smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest, crystal wings dissolving as he relaxed a little. Kratos' wings dissolved as well as the other man flicked blue eyes up at the thief. "It's been rather quiet, just the normal Heartless that appear with newcomers."
"Newcomers? Like who?"
Kratos took up the thread, as he was the one who helped out the Ninja more than the anti-social Yuan did. "Animals for some reason. A talking mouse with a sword and armor named Martin, a floating cat, and a very opinionated squirrel. There are also a few more humans as well. A few gypsies, more of the Ninja from Yami-ou's world, some normal children, a Taijiya, a pair of mages, another vampire and a handful of people who claim to really be lions."
"Lions? Like the big kitties?" Gourry asked.
"Exactly. Most of their women are on patrol but the main pair is back at the inn," Yuan offered.
"And where are the two wolfs? Are they on patrol as well?"
"No, I think they're on break at the armory, helping Shido repair a few weapons," Kratos said.
The twins sighed as one, knowing what was about to happen. "Well, if you don't mind us, we're gonna go to the inn, get something to eat!" they chirped together, ignoring Gourry's questions of 'Food? Where?'
Duzell, who had recovered enough to transform into his black-haired form, rolled his eyes as he looked over at the twins. "If you insist on doing that twincest routine, at least try to charge for it. We could always use the money," he ordered, leaning back against the hull of the ship. "Gourry, I know you're hungry, go with them."
Dark grinned as the twins wandered off, Gourry and Zelgadis following like chicks, the swordsman drooling at the thought of Tsunade and Sakura's food. 'Dark, let me out, it's my turn!' Daisuke insisted. Sighing, Dark rolled his eyes before relinquishing control, their body flashing as he shrank into Daisuke's form. "Is the armory still over at the west end of town? I know that Piandao was planning to move the shop," he asked, red-eyes bright.
Kratos rolled his eyes as Yuan snickered. "No, the fire-bender had to move it to the southern end. SOMEONE burned down the building."
"And half of the rest of the district!" Yuan laughed, eyes bright.
'What the Hell happened?' Dark asked, Daisuke echoing him as they started towards the south end of the town. Kouga and Duzell trailed after them, Kouga snickering. After weeks together with Daisuke and Dark, he could tell when the pair were having the same thought.
Kratos sighed. "Link and a newcomer, an elf named Haldir got into a fight. Something about who is a true elf."
Yuan laughed. "Of course, if they knew Kratos and I are half-elves, they would probably band together to fight us!" he admitted.
"Most likely. During the fight, they ended up on the roofs, and Link used a fire arrow. He missed, and hit the armory. From there, it spread to the other shops, including the butchery, and the magic shop."
Seeing Dark and Duzell wince made the wolf curious. "What was wrong with it hitting the magic shop?" Kouga asked, tail waving as he leaned in closer to the mercenary.
"Quite a few of the potions and ingredients react negatively to heat and flame," Yuan offered. He grinned again, trying to hold in his laughter. "The fireworks were amazing!"
"Those 'fireworks' took out half of the shopping district!" Kratos insisted. "We were lucky to contain it. Some of the newcomers were able to help with that though."
Duzell shook his head, white hair flying at the movement. "I hope you were able to replace the stock in there while we were away."
Daisuke looked up at the half-elf as they turned down the street into the southern district. "You've mentioned the newcomers before. Were any of them from my list?" he asked. As the first from his world to land in Traverse Town, Daisuke had been asked to submit as many names as he could think of, in case someone showed up.
The red-headed elf smirked as he nodded, taking note of the figure of the figure of a young lady exiting one of the weapon shops. "Actually yes, one of your names was checked off."
"Really? Who is it?"
"NIWA-KUN!"
"Harad-aaaaghh!" Daisuke choked as the young girl jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and throwing them to the ground. Immediately, Risa released him, babbling apologies as she leaned back against his legs. The thief groaned as he rubbed his head, ignoring the angry grumblings from the spirit in the back of his mind. "Harada-san, how'd you get here? You weren't here when we left!" he asked. Behind the pair, two new figures turned the corner, wondering about the noise.
The young lady sat up straighter, obviously proud of herself. "I managed to convince Hatake-san to let me come over on the ship from the desert world!" she declared. "Have you seen anyone else? My sister? Our class?"
Daisuke shook his head sadly. "No, I haven't found anyone. I didn't know you were alive till just now!" he insisted, ignoring the quartet behind him. The 'angels' were smirking as they watched the young man flounder with the girl, and Duzell and Kouga were watching in interest. Before Risa could say anything, Yuan nodded to his partner as he moved on, going to finish their circuit.
"Well, how about Dark? I find it hard to believe that such a strong, noble man like him would die like that!" she insisted with stars in her eyes.
Before Daisuke could answer, there were twin howls from around the corner, only to be answered by Kouga as the wolf charged. Ginta and Hakkaku had heard the disturbance, and in coming to check it out, had found their old pack-leader. The trio descended into a growling yipping pile of fur, the two younger demons sobbing as they clung to the older Alpha. Growling, the older demon tried to pry the two betas off of him, but they could tell that it was a half-hearted attempt. The wolf had obviously missed his pack as much as they had missed him.
Sniffling, the older of the two straightened long enough to look at the young art thief. "Thank you for finding Kouga for us Dark!" he exclaimed before burying his spiky head into Kouga's shoulder again, much to the wolf's annoyance.
Risa's head shot up at this. "Dark? Where is he? Dark!" she called, standing up and shouting around.
Ginta raised an eyebrow at the girl as he looked up. "But he's right there," he said, pointing at Daisuke, who was trying to gesture for the younger wolf to stop.
"Daisuke?"
The young man sighed as he stood up, petting Wiz unconsciously as he gave the girl a sheepish look. "He's right here, Harada-san."
'Daisuke, don't do this!'
'Bit too late Dark.'
Where?"
"He's me."
"You? But you're not the Phantom Thief!"
Daisuke blinked as he allowed Dark to come forward, his eyes darkening from red-brown to purple. "He's been a part of my family for generations now. He's as much a part of me as I am a part of him."
"It's true," Duzell offered from behind the boy. "I've been traveling with Daisuke and Dark for months now. I've seen them both."
Risa looked at Daisuke in disbelief, and Daisuke sighed. With a breath, he allowed his body to shift, forcing the protesting Dark to the front. Sheepishly, the Phantom Thief rubbed the back of his head as the young girl stared at him in awe and disbelief. "Sorry you had to here about it like this my dear," he offered.
Before Risa could say anything, Yuan landed with a thud, panicking as he turned to Duzell. "We have trouble, you need to get to the inn!"
The vampire turned sharply as the rest of the group looked over at the 'angel,' wondering what was happening. "What's wrong?" the vampire asked as he marched up to the half-elf.
"We need you to put up shields. We have a young pyrokinetic with no training, and she just fell in and is panicking!"
"A pyroki-what?"
"A fire starter!"
As Duzell and Yuan raced off, Dark frowned as he turned to the wolves. "Ginta, Hakkaku, can you two get the Firebenders? I have a feeling they'll need to teach this one." As the pair raced off, Kouga following in order to learn the lay of the town. "I'm sorry Risa-chan," he offered, "But I need to go and help with this," he explained.
"Take me with you!" she ordered, grabbing his sleeve. "I've been taking care of the younger kids, maybe I can help with this one," she explained.
"No time to argue!" Dark said as he signaled Wiz to transform. "Hold on to my neck," he ordered as dark wings unfurled and he launched himself into the sky. The girl gave a small shriek, but clung to him tightly as the man held her to himself. Eyes were bright as she looked around, taking in the sight of Traverse Town from the air for the first time. Lights were starting to come on in the houses, and from the air, they gave the city a glow in the fading twilight. Dark chuckled a little at the sight of the girl in his arms, amused by her curiousity.
All too soon, the flight was over. Dark pinions folded back at the Thief landed in front of the inn, carefully letting the girl get to her feet. Even from outside the inn, they could hear the sound of crying, and they charged in as Duzell and Yuan came around the corner.
Inside, they could see why the girl was crying. Not only was she in a strange new world, but she was surrounded by strange people she didn't know, including Gackt, who had apparently discarded the cornrows, Sakura, and a pair of people who must have been the lions Yuan and Kratos had mentioned. They were wearing strange costumes, elaborately beaded, with rope tails and headdresses in the shape of lion heads, the male with a red mane coming from his. The sight of them was scary enough, with almost feral yellow eyes, and the purring growls that were issuing from their throats in an attempt to calm the child.
It was at this point that Dark noticed how hot the room was. The hair on the back of his neck went up as he pulled Risa behind him, a black feather materializing in his hand. His shields may not be as strong as Duzell's, but he hoped they were good enough to protect him from this child.
Purple eyes flicked to the door as Duzell and Yuan entered, the vampire mage in his secondary form, black hair and feminine body, to try and keep from scaring her any more. At once, he kneeled in front of her, holding her by the shoulders as he spoke softly. "I know you're scared little one, but you need to calm down!" he insisted.
"She doesn't understand Japanese," Gackt said. "She speaks English."
"Then translate for me!" the vampire insisted before turning back to the little blond. "Take a deep breath, calm down. You're about to hurt everyone in here!"
"I can't stop it!"
"Yes you can! Calm down, get your emotions under control!" Duzell insisted, voice soothing as Gackt chattered away, translating everything back and forth from English and Japanese. Dark was surprised to find that he understood everything the little girl was saying, and he figured it was because of the Keyblade again.
"I don't want to do the Bad Thing!"
"The fire? If you don't want that, then calm yourself, and it will go away."
The girl in the green blouse gasped for air as she lunged forward, holding onto the surprised vampire as she took a shuddering breath. Slowly, they could feel the room cooling as she visibly calmed down, pulling herself back in control. "Thank goodness," Risa breathed as the little girl collapsed against the vampire, shivering in fear of her own abilities.
"I thank Kami-sama every day for Gackto-san," Sakura said as she sidled up to the Thief. "Without him, we wouldn't understand half of the people here. Not only that, but he's helping to teach everyone English and Japanese, including the lions. THEY fell into here speaking a mix of English and Swahili, and he's using that as a basis to teach them Japanese."
"I can't believe she wasn't trained to control herself before this. Didn't anyone on her world help her?" Dark asked, lowering his hand as he relaxed.
"We shall have to ask her when we take over." Dark turned around at the sound of the new voice to see the wolves leading Piandao and Zuko into the inn. Piandao smiled at the little girl as she looked up at them, and Zuko rubbed his mouth to try and hide a smile of his own. Dark could see why; she really was an adorable little thing.
"I agree though, she should have taught self-control as soon as she started showing signs of talent in this field," the younger firebender said. "It's common practice to do so with such a volatile element."
Risa gave the older boy a curious look. "She can't be older than eight! When do your children start showing signs?" she asked.
Zuko shook his head. "Much younger. I did as a toddler, and my sister practically from the cradle."
"We can always ask when she started. Gackt, care to help us out here?"
The rock star nodded as he turned to the little girl, blue eyes soft as he chattered away in English. After a few seconds, the girl blinked as she looked up at him, offering a few sentences. "She says her name is Charlie, and she's been able to make fire since she was baby."
The fire nation men blinked at this. It was very rare on their world for a child to start showing signs of Bending that young. As Zuko had said, the last child to do so had been Azula and maybe Aang, the young Avatar had never stated. Piandao gave the young Firebender an apprehensive look. "Maybe we can get Sapphira and Link to help out. Link knows a few fire spells, and as a dragon, Sapphira should know a few things about this."
"And Eragon has shown talent in fire magic, he'll be helpful as well."
Smiling, Dark shook his head at the two, knowing they'd figure it out, as he kneeled next to Charlie, smiling as he signaled Wiz to relax back into his rabbit form. Squeeing, the girl snatched the rabbit up in a hug, much to Wiz's annoyance. Blinking, the thief noticed a spot of red on her throat. "Charlie, when did you get hurt?" he asked, gently lifting her chin.
The girl sniffled into Wiz's fur, but kept herself under control as Sakura examined the small wound. "The bad men found Daddy and me again. Something sharp stuck me there," she offered. "I felt sleepy, and then I saw the dark ones, and then I woke up here."
Sakura hummed as she healed the small hole, listening as Dark repeated what the girl had told him. "Looks like a tranquilizer dart wound. She said the bad men found her and her father? Maybe she hasn't been trained because there was no one to train her in her world. She may be the first of her kind back home."
"Sir?" Dark turned to look at the girl as she stared up at him and Duzell, who was still holding her loosely. "Where is Daddy? Have you seen him?" Dark bit his lip, knowing that they hadn't seen anyone else yet, but the girl beat him to the punch. "Then will you tell me as soon as you find him?"
The Thief startled at this; was she telepathic too? But he nodded as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "As soon as we find him, we'll bring him here. There are other worlds he could have fallen into, including a Desert world Harada-san here," he gestured to Risa, who looked up as she heard her name, "just came from. In fact, she's offered to take care of you until we find your dad. Is that ok?"
Charlie stared at Risa for a moment, and Dark and the others got the distinct impression that the little girl was looking beyond Risa, at something only she could see, before nodding. "Will she teach me to speak the way you all are?" she asked.
"Of course she will!" Dark smiled, parroting Daisuke's words in his head. "Risa is one of the smartest in her class, she'll have you speaking in no time!" Risa blushed at the praise from the Phantom Thief, but nodded as she offered her hand to the little girl.
As the two girls started to get to know each other, Risa with her faltering English, Dark turned to Yuan, who had been wisely staying in the background during the entire episode with the little tinder box. "Has the bank been set up yet?"
The bluenette nodded as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Yes we have. Until someone used to the work falls into Traverse Town, the Ninja have said that they will take care of running it. I believe one of the Hyuuga is there now." He pointed out the door. "It's over in the West section, right outside the Southern Shopping district." He smirked as he flicked blue eyes up at the thief. "It was one of the building that was erected right after the fire."
With a thanks to the half-elf, Dark slipped out the door, allowing Daisuke to come back to the front. Taking in a deep breath, the youngster smiled as he started walking towards the west, watching as the last of the sun disappeared over the horizon, bringing in true evening.
The bank was one of the few buildings made from stone. It made sense though, as Traverse Town hadn't come up with a true currency yet, everyone traded and bartered. The bank was mostly to protect valuables, such as magic items or jewelry or just sentimental items. The young boy grinned as he entered the tall oak doors, summoning the Keyblade. In his case, it was a magical item he needed to store.
The young woman at the desk looked up at the soft sound of footsteps, pale eyes all but glowing as she smiled at the boy. "D-Daisuke, do you need some help?" Hinata asked.
The young thief pulled a certain pale yellow summon stone from the Keyblade, unwraveling the wire from around it as he placed it on the counter. "I need to store this. He's too unpredictable for me to handle," he said.
"What is it?" she asked as she delicately picked the stone up.
"It's a summon. It called up a very large Tanuki named Shukaku."
The girl startled at this, dropping the stone as she backed away. "Shukaku! As in Ichibi no Shukaku!"
"Oh, so you know him?"
"He was from our world, but I thought he'd been destroyed." Hinata shook her head as she turned around, opening a small drawer in the wall. "W-we reserved this o-one for you, in case you needed it." she offered as she picked up the summon with her fingertips, very reluctant to touch anything that had to do with one of the more insane Bijuu.
"Just make sure none of the mages get their hands on it, ok?" Daisuke asked, coiling the wire back up, just in case he came across another stone.
Hinata blinked before looking back at the young thief. "A-are you collecting these stones?"
"Kinda. They seem to be creatures of pure magic or Chakra."
"Well, Neji-niisan found something similar to this one." She opened another drawer and pulled out a small orange stone. She passed it to the young man, smiling nervously as she offered it to the young thief. "C-can you tell what it is?"
The young man took a deep breath as he cradled the stone in his palms, gently enveloping it with a tendril of his magic. He had learned how to do this by practicing with the Phoenix Summon on the space ship. While the fire bird was all warm, fire, and protective healing, this one was righteous anger, blood lust, and power. Despite the unsettling sensation of life's blood spraying hot over his face-a side effect of 'looking' at the stone this way-he didn't sense any true evil from the summon. "Vampire," he blurted out, retracting his magic as he reflectively wiped his face.
"A v-vampire? Like Duzell and Jasper?"
"I don't know who Jasper is, but yeah, she seems like Duzell," Daisuke chirped as he pulled out the wire again, twisting it into a keychain. He placed the Keyblade on the counter in order to steady it as he attached it to the hilt. He paused, brow furrowing as he looked up at the young woman. "Who IS Jasper anyway?"
The Kunoichi blushed faintly as she poked her fingers together. "He's a new vampire. He's an empath, so Tsunade-sama pull him on the council."
"An empath? So he senses emotion?"
"A-and projects them too. That's why Tsunade-sama wants him on the council." She giggled a little as she looked down. "He sparkles."
"Sparkles?"
"In the sunlight."
".......ok."
~......~.....~.....~
'He must be gay.'
'Dark!'
'What? She said he sparkles! I'm just calling it as I see it!'
'We don't know if he's gay! He may have had a wife before his world was destroyed.'
'Married to what? A Seer?'
"Lay off Dark! We don't even know this guy!"
A nearby pair of men raised an eyebrow at the young thief as they worked to close his food stand. Seeing him, the boy blushed a little. Those two were weird, but it was still embarrassing to be caught talking out loud, even if just by a pair of supposed Nations. Shaking his blond head, the older man tossed the boy an apple before ducking into his shop, closed for the night, the red-head a few steps behind him, whining about pasta."Thanks!" he called out before jogging off. He needed to get back to the inn, because the Heartless mostly came out at night.
Mostly.
Seemed that by thinking about them he had accidentally summoned them, because just outside the Inn, a trio of Heartless oozed out of the ground, attacking the boy before he could call up the Keyblade. Almost at once, they vanished in a poof of shadow and magic, Duzell frowning as he stepped out of the inn. "You're getting sloppy Daisuke."
"You seem to be a hero even here, Niwa-kun."
A hitched breath. An apple falling from a limp hand. Daisuke froze. 'It can't be...'
"What's wrong Niwa-kun? Surprised to see me?" Blue eyes all but glowed as the young blond stepped out of the shadows, normally stoic features relaxed as he grinned at the sight of his friend and rival, a wing-like sword tied to his back. "You have no clue how long I've searched for you."
"Satoshi!" Happily, the boy raced up to the blond, only to pause and purse his lips for a second. Much to Duzell's amusement and Satoshi's annoyance, he grabbed the boy's face and pulled on his cheeks. "Are you really real?"
"Hey, cut it out!" Satoshi snapped, batting the boy's hands away from his face.
He was cut off by the boy throwing his arms around him, face buried in his shoulder as he held back choking sobs. "I'm so glad you're ok..." he fianlly said. He lifted his face, hands on Satoshi's shoulders as he looked him in the eye. "When our world was destroyed, I thought you had been killed by the Heartless!"
The young man grinned as he pulled away from the boy. "Well, you and Dark aren't the only ones who are special you know," he joked, tapping the side of his head.
"I can't wait you you to meet my friends! We found Risa already. And then there's Gourry and Duzell and the Ninja!" Daisuke babbled. "Have you seen Riku? We haven't found her yet."
"No, I haven't." The young man huffed as he turned away for a second before grinning again. "I'm sure she's ok. If her twin survived, then there's no way she succumbed to the Darkness. Just stick with me Niwa-kun, we'll find her. I know th-"
He was cut off by the sound of a Heartless being cut in twain by a blade, and he turned around in time to see Daisuke heft the Keyblade over his shoulders. "You and Krad aren't the only ones who are special you know," he poked, grinning widely as Gourry came bumbling out of the inn.
"Daisuke, who is this guy?"
Wary eyes flicked up at Gourry as Satoshi backed up a step from the chirpy blond swordsman. "I should be asking that myself."
Daisuke grinned as he turned to his friends. "They've been helping me look for you! These are Duzell and Gourry!" The grin widened as he turned back to the young man. "You'll get to know them as well as I do while we look for Riku together!"
"He's not coming with us!"
Daisuke frowned as he turned to the vampire. "Why not? We have room in the ship!"
The vampire frowned as he looked at the young man. Something in his instincts told him not to trust the blond. "I refuse to let him!"
"What use is being the Keyblade Master if I can't even bring my friend with me?" He turned back to the blond in order to assure him that he was coming, only to stop. The young man was gone.
Gourry placed a hand on the young thief's shoulder as he frowned. "At least you know he's ok," he offered.
The young man sighed, but smiled as he looked up at the swordsman. "Yeah, and at least this gives me hope for seeing Riku and everyone else again."
~....~....~....~
"You see?It is just as I told you."
Satoshi stood frozen as he watched Daisuke from the inn's window as he joked with his new 'friends' and the assorted ninja and other inhabitants of Traverse Town. The red-head was laughing as two of the ninja wrestled, the dark-haired man trying to snatch a tomato from the blond.
The man behind Satoshi smirked from behind the monkey skull, the white pelt glowing in the darkness. "While you struggled to find your friend, he simply replaced you with, new companions." The demon placed a hand on Satoshi's shoulder as he leaned over to speak into his ear. "Forget them, and come with me. I will help you find what you're truly searching for, if you're willing to work for me..."
From inside the inn, Daisuke paused and turned to look outside, but all that greeted him were shadows...
WORLDS THAT WILL NEVER BE
FALLOUT 3 (Thank you little sister)
"Do it again!"
"Dark, that's disgusting, stop it now!"
'I agree, stop telling Gourry to cut our arm off!'
"But it's so frickin' useful! Come on Gourry, I want to see if I can grow it back again!"
OMAKE 2: BONDING OVER FRUIT (Yes, I went there)
"Sasuke-kun, how can you stand this guy?"
"I have to agree Teme, he's just as bad as I am!"
The Uchiha smirked as he drapped am arm around the red-head's small shoulders. "Italy may be annoying, but it's impossible to hate someone else who love tomatoes."
OMAKE 3: NAMES
"So you're from Paris originally?"
"Oui. I'm worried for my family, only a few other Gypsies fell through with me."
Daisuke smiled as he picked up a quill. The natives had yet to find a source of graphite and lead for pencils. "Just give me some names and descriptions, and we'll keep an eye out!" he chirped.
Esmerelda smiled in relief. "My cousin Isa and my brother Lea. Isa just colored his hair blue, while Lea is a brunette like I. Blue eyes, and Lea with green."
"Anything else?"
"Isa tells fortunes with the stars, and Lea is a fire eater?"