Good Day Readers! Obviously, I do not own anything connected to the Persona series in general or Persona 5 specifically, I DO own Chiba Natsumi and Anais Ouvrard, along with Natsumi's immediate family members and the original Personas that will be showing up on occasion.
Regarding a certain bit in Makoto's section, it's basically me playing with the fact that Featherman is an echo of the Super Sentai franchise, but with a different source material.
I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy
Chapter 71: - Strength, High Priestess, Emperor
Theodore wondered what the plausible connection between the disappearance of the Velvet Room and the encroaching darkness in Tokyo could be; because there truly had to be something that linked them. Elizabeth had checked the Great Seal, confirming it was still intact with no sign of any cracks which meant the terror of oncoming death was not going to be descending upon them.
In an attempt to get some more information, Theodore had attempted to reach out to the Kirijō Group in order to locate where Sakuya and the rest of his allies could be, but that immediately caused a rather large problem. For some implausible reason, the Kirijō Group was missing and without them there was no way to find the Shadow Operatives which concerned Theodore; because surely, they would be concerned about the events going on in Tokyo even if it wasn't connected to their previous enemy.
Their lack of presence or interest in these dark incidents was deeply concerning to Theodore and as equally suspicious as the disappearance of the Velvet Room. He knew that he and his sisters needed to do something, but the real question was what they could possibly do about any of their rather confusing situation. Well, beyond relying upon the young Betwixt who was running up towards them in the early light.
"We need to talk, like right now," Natsumi insisted. She seemed quite worried about something that caused both of his sisters and Theodore to exchange worried looks. They quickly moved away from the more open area around the train station to somewhere that was a little more private; although Margaret had wanted to not meet up this early again, Natsumi had been very insistent on meeting soon and her current anxious energy was only adding more concern to Theodore's mind.
"Natsumi, what is worrying you so much?" Theodore wondered. Someone really needed to ask the question since it seemed that Natsumi was wound rather tightly, as if some great issue was lying upon her mind that she could not share with anyone else. Frankly, that was starting to cause some unease within both of his elder sisters and if it was making them uneasy then that further unsettled Theodore.
"Someone is definitely causing the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. We faced down a Ruler yesterday and he pretty much told us that someone was abusing the Metaverse to cause these events for… whatever this person's reason is," Natsumi revealed. Well, that would certainly explain why she was so insistent on meeting up with them so soon, this information was quite worrying.
"This is unfortunately something that had happened before," Theodore stated. Natsumi's gaze was quite intense as she zeroed in on Theodore, silently demanding answers from him. "Others in possession of Personas have previously appeared in opposition to those trying to combat the dangers that are caused by the world of the mind. It's quite possible that this individual is a Persona User who is acting in direct contrast to your own goals," Theodore explained. But it seemed this information did not settle Natsumi as she covered her face with her hands and groaned loudly.
"How likely is it that I end up running into this person at some point?" Natsumi asked. The three of them proceeded to look at each other concerned about how to answer Natsumi; because the two previous groups they knew of had encountered the enemy Persona Users and been forced to fight them. While Margaret's Wildcard had been able to somewhat redeem his enemies, Elizabeth's Wildcard had been forced to fight them and they eventually died except one, who was still putting her memories back together.
"Inevitable," All three of them answered. They were unable to know exactly who was going to cross Natsumi's path, but there was no doubt that Natsumi would come across these Persona Users because of the way the Personas acted; they drew each other together ensuring they would repeatedly cross paths as if something – perhaps Lord Philemon – was drawing them together, for whatever the purpose of meeting each other could be.
"According to this Ruler, that would be dangerous to us," Natsumi claimed. That wasn't exactly unusual, as each of the enemies faced did present some form of danger; but to know that one of the enemies that Natsumi was facing happened to know of the capabilities of this person was more than a little unsettling in Theodore's mind. None of the others who were faced ever knew the other enemies, but the ones this time around were considerably different to the ones previous faced.
"Just because one twisted individual claims there is danger, does not mean it will be true," Margaret spoke up. That was a fair point to make, since this Ruler could just be exaggerating in order to scare Natsumi and her allies into being worried. "Even if there is actual credit to this warning, you simply need to grow stronger," Margaret stated. Natsumi seemed invigorated by those words as her shoulders moved back and she sharply nodded her head with a steely look in her eyes.
"There's also the fact that these other Persona Users have never truly worked together. They don't seem to have the same capacity for teamwork that those who surround themselves with the Wildcard for some reason. But that doesn't mean they can't, my Wildcard had to face enemies who could work together but that was not often," Elizabeth admitted. However, there was a look upon Natsumi's face that was rather concerning due to how it looked like she was extremely worried about something that they had said.
"Users. As in plural?" Natsumi asked. They nodded in confirmation. "Oh gods," Natsumi groaned. Clearly something about this prospect was clearly unsettling her. "You know what, let's just go to the next site, see if you guys can learn anything about it that might help us," Natsumi decided. She then abruptly walked away from the trio which forced them to quickly jog to catch up to her.
They followed after Natsumi to the most recent site; the trio had split apart in the days following their visit to the Wild-Duck site and visited the older ones to glean some new information. It was the same source that hung over some sites, but others were markedly different which did seem to imply there were at least two different sources which was all they had agreed on. Whether it was two different people is still debatable but that possibility was most likely given previous experience with opposing Personas.
"Well, this confirms it unfortunately, these incidents are caused by two different sources of energy," Margaret openly confirmed. Which made things all the more difficult for them in Theodore's mind, they'd have to find out exactly what differentiated the two methods and figure out if there was anything that connected either of the two to the manner in which the Velvet Room disappeared.
"Does that mean that there are two Users?" Natsumi asked. A fair question to ask, especially when the events of the past were taken into account, those in Tatsumi Port Island had three Persona Users opposing them – even if one changed sides, eventually – while the ones in Inaba had faced off against two with that power.
"It's a high possibility," Theodore responded. They couldn't really know if things would play out exactly the same as last time but there was a very high chance that there were multiple enemies; it always seemed there was someone out there who would oppose the Wildcard and their actions even if the people hadn't ever met. The true enemies always seemed to enjoy setting up a battle to obscure the truth of their objective.
"However, just because there are two different methods, does not mean there are two different enemies," Elizabeth spoke up. Everyone turned to face her and Theodore took notice of the stern look on his usually… air-headed, for lack of a better word, sister. "It might just be that there is only one, who happens to be using two different methods," Elizabeth added on. A small hum escaped from Natsumi who seemed to be taking the information on board.
"I suppose we can't discount anything," Natsumi agreed. It seemed that she was being especially cautious about anything that she was taking on board. "But is any of this leading us to the Velvet Room?" Natsumi asked. Theodore proceeded to look at his sisters, wondering if either of them had an answer since they were more experienced with fluctuating magical energies due to their experience tending to Wildcards.
"No," Margaret admitted. Her expression fell into one that showed how pained she was by the admission and it caused Theodore to immediately look at Elizabeth who had a saddened expression on her face but not away where near as painful as the one on Margaret's face. "Nothing about this investigation has led us any step closer to finding out master or sister," Margaret mourned. Which was something Margaret couldn't seem to tolerate.
"I've been having dreams lately, sporadic and odd, but in them I'm fighting in what looks like the Velvet Room," Natsumi spoke up. That got them to focus upon Natsumi, Theodore understood what the young girl was referring to even if he had never got involved in the battles that had been waged against the Wildcards of the past.
"Not uncommon, I and my sister did challenge our Wildcard to face us down to test their strength. To their comrades it was a faint dream, but the Betwixt always remembered," Elizabeth admitted. Natsumi furrowed her eyebrows in response to those words which caused something ominous to rise within Theodore; there should have been no reason for them to have confused her as Natsumi had already encountered Lavenza.
"But we're not facing Lavenza, it's two other girls instead," Natsumi revealed. A worried look was immediately cast between the three former attendants, because how could it not be Lavenza? She was the one who had completed the preparations necessary to become the next attendant ahead of the rest of their siblings and Master Igor would never suddenly change attendants when he had been preparing.
"That… this doesn't make any sense," Margaret breathed. None of this was making any sense and if Theodore was right then they were unlikely to ever to start making sense any time soon; a sudden change in attendant, the Velvet Room missing, ominous energy readings that called to mind the events of Tatsumi Port Island and Inaba, such strange and worrying turns of events that just kept piling up and up without any rhyme or reason. At least, none that Theodore could see.
"Alright. Given everything, I think we need to take an extreme measure," Natsumi decided. They focused on her and saw the concern within her expression as she looked at them. "With your permission, I'd like to take you guys down into Mementos," Natsumi admitted.
*Persona 5 Royal*
Makoto wasn't entirely sure what to expect now that her and Natsumi had successfully renewed their friendship. It had always been a sore spot for Makoto that she had allowed her childhood friend to slip through her fingers so easily. While at first Makoto had tried to learn where her friend had disappeared off to so suddenly one day after the accident, the day her own father had perished had put that to the wayside and Makoto just… never took it up again until she saw Natsumi in the hallway one day.
The way Natsumi had changed had actually scared Makoto, the previously bright, energetic, bubbly girl had been replaced by someone so cold, distant and strict; about the only thing that had remained the same was how studious both version of her friend was. It was clear that the girl from the past would never fully come back, Makoto wouldn't fool herself with hopes like that, but Makoto hoped this rekindled friendship would let more of the real Natsumi come out.
A knock came on the door and Makoto quickly moved over to it, already knowing that it was her friend, opening the door so that Natsumi could step into the apartment. They had needed to move as well after their father's passing, which meant this was the first time that Natsumi had ever been around to the new house that they lived in. Natsumi slipped her shoes off and began to look around, but only briefly before turning back to look at Makoto.
"I'm guessing Sae-kun is out," Natsumi acknowledged. Makoto nodded her head to confirm this and truthfully, Makoto was grateful for that because she still recalled the way that Sae had exploded at her, the harsh words that had been flung at her; it still stung to know that Sae viewed her in such a dark manner. Makoto didn't want to drag her sister down, she loved her, but to know that Sae held such a negative view of Makoto was a looming and haunting presence.
"Why don't we go into my room," Makoto suggested. It would at least be a little more comfortable and private than sitting in the dining room, which was a bit more formal, even sitting on the couches didn't seem like the best place; Makoto had no real clue what she wanted to talk about with her friend, but at least she could make sure that nothing was going to get in the way. Or that was what Makoto believed as she pushed the door to her bedroom opened.
"Oh you-pff!" Natsumi spoke. Makoto turned around in time to see Natsumi had covered her hand with her mouth, but it did nothing to hide the jumping of her shoulders and it eventually became too much. The hand fell away so that Natsumi could wrap her arms around her torso as her laughter spilled out, full and bright.
"What exactly is so funny?" Makoto wondered. While she was rather happy to see Natsumi laughing in a manner that Makoto was certain that she hadn't in a very long time, it was a little concerning as to why she had decided to start laughing just because Makoto had opened her room's door, it was very strange to the student council president that she didn't know what to make of the sudden sound.
"How about the fact that your room is still full of Buchimaru merchandise," Natsumi pointed out. She managed to raise one hand, despite it shaking slightly to point at one of Makoto's shelves, Makoto turned to look at it her room and could acknowledge that it was rather full of her Buchimaru-kun collection; but it wasn't like Natsumi could talk!
"And like you probably don't have a few Sailor Suzaku things hanging around in your room," Makoto accused. Makoto still recalled how Natsumi had been smitten with the magical girl anime, especially the fiery warrior priestess, Makoto expected her room to still be filled with such things like her own room. However, Natsumi's laughter sobered up almost immediately which caused Makoto to furrow her eyebrows in response to that rather odd response.
"Nope. All gone," Natsumi answered. She strode over to the bed and collapsed onto it with her gaze staring straight into the ceiling, seemingly ignorant of how that admission had shaken Makoto; the brown haired girl turned to stare at her friend as she desperately tried to process exactly what those words could mean despite already knowing what they meant.
"Gone?" Makoto breathed. Makoto could feel her body shaking slightly, as if any strength her body might have possessed had decided to desert her all of a sudden; Makoto all but stumbled over to the computer chair she had and slumped into it, while keeping her gaze on Natsumi. Said girl proceeded to swing herself into a sitting position as if completely ignorant of the way Makoto felt her world was being constantly shaken.
"Yeah, they got thrown out along with a lot of other things when I was forced to move house," Natsumi revealed. Her tone made it sound like it was inconsequential and that was the truly unnerving thing to Makoto, even if Makoto could understand needing to dispose of certain items when moving as her and Sae had done so, this didn't make any sense. Why would Natsumi have allowed someone to take something that was clearly important to her without fighting?
"Why on earth would someone force you to get rid of your family's possessions?" Makoto questioned. Her mind was in a whirl trying to understand what was going on in Natsumi's mind, she seemed completely unconcerned by the fact that something like this had happened; nothing about this was making any sense to Makoto and she could almost feel a headache forming while trying to understand what was happening.
"My uncle," Natsumi spat. The utter venom contained in those words was enough to snap Makoto out of her reverie and when she saw the look upon Natsumi's face, the phrase if looks could kill didn't seem a good enough descriptor. "He didn't want me to cry over their deaths and likely figured any reminders would just cause me to do that," Natsumi revealed.
"That's…," Makoto spoke. Not that she could actually think of anything to say, it felt completely like she had frozen all over as she realised that things were a lot worse for Natsumi than she had realised, but the real question was who this uncle was? Makoto hadn't known that Natsumi's parents had any siblings to speak off, unless uncle was just a term and not any actual blood relation to the Chiba family.
"Yeah, I only managed to save a few things, but that was all stuff that was important to the others. Anything of mine I ended up abandoning to save those things," Natsumi calmly added on. How could she be so calm about this?! Makoto could practically feel herself panicking at the mere image that these words were creating within her mind; yet Natsumi seemed as calm as still water.
"Natsu-chan, that's horrible!" Makoto exclaimed. Makoto couldn't stop herself from saying those words after hearing all of this terrible information, it was just took much. "He had no right to do such a thing!" Makoto carried on. Truthfully Makoto didn't know of any way he could be punished by the law since he was technically Natsumi's guardian, didn't mean that Makoto wasn't already imaging giving him a punch straight to his face, whoever he may be.
"That's not the worst of it," Natsumi monotonously informed. Makoto was really starting to get afraid right now, because all of the other stuff she had learned was bad enough, how could anything be worse than that? It was really starting to unsettle Makoto to know how much her friend had suffered. "I can't remember their faces. None of them. I've forgotten what they look like," Natsumi revealed.
Makoto could say nothing to those words, it felt like everything in the world froze in that moment when she realised just how damaged Natsumi was. Saying nothing, Makoto stood from the chair and moved over to sit beside Natsumi and pull her into a hug, Makoto wondered if Natsumi had ever been hugged in those three years from how stiff she went. But soon enough Natsumi relaxed and even leaned into the hug with a large sigh rushing from the younger girl.
There were no words that could be spoken, no platitudes that would undo the pain Natsumi had suffered, all Makoto could really do was hold onto Natsumi in this moment and let the girl know there was someone in this world that cared. Makoto knew she needed to speak to the other Phantoms about this, especially Ren, if they didn't know then someone needed to say something and if Makoto was the only one who knew then she would do what was necessary for her friend.
Natsumi eventually got her strength back and bit Makoto farewell, they'd have to try talking properly on another day although a plan was already forming in Makoto's mind as to what might be able to help Natsumi. As she put the puzzle pieces together, Makoto busied herself through the rest of the evening and eventually she heard the door swing open which could only be one person… huh, it must have been very late then.
"Hey Sis," Makoto called. Sae looked up, a perplexed look on her face since for the last few nights Makoto had been in bed before Sae got home, but Makoto felt too filled with energy to do that and needed to know something important. "Do you happen to know if we have any old pictures anywhere?" Makoto asked. That just caused the confusion to increase on Sae's face, but Makoto was on a mission and nothing would stop her.
"I think they're in the boxes under my bed," Sae answered. Without asking for permission, Makoto turned and practically ran for Sae's room, immediately pushing the door open and dropping to her knees beside the bed. "Why?" Sae's voice asked. Makoto did have to wonder what kind of image she was projecting to her sister with how she was acting, but Makoto couldn't care about such a thing at the moment; this was much too important to wait.
"There's something important I need to find, for Natsu-chan," Makoto admitted. Makoto could only hope that Sae had enough compassion in her heart to let Makoto do this search without interference; Makoto spotted a box in reach and wriggled underneath to try and reach it, she barely grasped one edge when another hand appeared on the one parallel to it and together the two hands pulled it out. Makoto looked at her sister – the owner of the hand, but that had been obvious – with confusion plain on her face.
"It'll go faster with the two of us," Sae insisted. Makoto grinned at her elder sister and they proceeded to open the box, hopefully Makoto would be able to find what she needed; for Natsumi's sake.
*Personal 5 Royal*
Yusuke was angry. Too angry to truly express, as the empty shallow words of those inferior minded commoners and that man. No emotion! No elegance! Painted on a whim! Mediocre at best! The fury that churned within Yusuke's heart had him seeking out Natsumi instead of moving towards his dorm room after the exhibition he needed to do something to put this fury out of his chest instead of just sitting with it.
Thankfully Natsumi had been in her home which allowed Yusuke to swiftly enter and move for the katana he had taken to use during their practice sessions; Yusuke felt a presence hanging near him and he turned to see Natsumi there with an unreadable look upon her face as she scrutinised him intently. But Yusuke didn't feel anything urging him to stop and instead he took up the katana and set himself to begin moving through one of his exercises.
He only made a few moves before someone intercept his next. A false blade caught on his own and threw his weapon to the side. Yusuke chanced a brief glance up, despite already knowing who his attacker was. Natsumi's gaze was unyielding, just like their first spar but this time Yusuke was better trained. Yusuke moved quickly to intercept the following strike with his weapon. He would be no easy fight this time.
So then why!? Why was Natsumi able to pierce through his guards with such ease? How did she move her naginata fast enough to strike before he could block properly? Why did it feel like every move was sharper and more focused from her? Why were her eyes so darkened with anger? These questioned pounded through Yusuke's mind, as he was swiftly disarmed and he was knocked to the ground; the tip of Natsumi's naginata positioned beneath his chin.
"What's wrong with you?" Natsumi coldly asked. Yusuke looked up, completely confused as to why she had asked such a question so suddenly. "You're not focused! There's a weight to each move! You're sluggish and weak! Your grip is too tight!" Natsumi ranted. Yusuke's eyes widened as he realised that Natsumi wasn't angry, she was concerned, enough that she crouched down and set her weapon aside to grip his shoulders. "Why Yusuke? What happened?" Natsumi calmly asked. As she spoke, she even gave him a small shake of the shoulders.
Yusuke hadn't even realised that he had been so burdened by the events at the exhibition. For it to have impacted his fighting capabilities in such a manner, it felt most shameful to have acted such a way in front of the woman who had taught him how to wield his sword in the first place. He had dishonoured Natsumi by acting in such a manner and she deserved the truth of what was infecting his mind so much.
"I did as you suggested, speaking to Ren about my issues and I even managed to paint something. A painting depicting desire, inspired after visiting Mementos," Yusuke explained. Natsumi nodded her head in understanding, but Yusuke noticed that she seemed a little off put by the fact that he had used Mementos. "I submitted that painting to a public art exhibition. But, at the exhibition… people, they didn't understand it," Yusuke explained. Natsumi pulled back and sat on the floor with her legs crossed.
"Well, everyone's sensibilities are different… and Mementos is, a difficult thing to comprehend. Even for someone like us who had been there," Natsumi pointed out. Yusuke wasn't entirely sure what Natsumi was trying to get at with her words, she was giving him a look; perhaps she knew that he was holding something back, it wasn't like Yusuke wanted to keep it a secret. But the memory of those words, how he had fallen apart upon realising how true those words were about the painting he had poured himself into.
"I'm aware, but… it was one man in particular," Yusuke admitted. Natsumi's focused gaze did not waver as she continued to look at him, waiting patiently for the rest of the words that were to follow. "He said… he said my work was empty," Yusuke admitted. It had been so soul shaking to know that the painting meant to break him free of the slump he had become stuck in, had in fact done nothing but show how badly he was trapped to others.
"Oh Yusuke," Natsumi breathed. She shifted her position so that she now sat beside him and wrapped an arm around him; Yusuke could not help but lean into Natsumi, it was so strange since she was shorter than him and that they were the same age, but there was a feeling of safety that Natsumi emanated; likely because Yusuke knew she was capable of protecting herself from most enemies.
"It is more than that, when I took a closer look at my painting, I felt like I had not truly captured desire like I had intended to, instead it was merely what I thought desire was," Yusuke admitted. His mouth tasted like it was full of ash when he said those words; no matter how true it might be, it was still terrible to admit such a truth, even though he had already done so… there was just so much disgust at the thought of admitting Natsumi's attempts to help hadn't done much of the sort.
"Ah," Natsumi sounded. Yusuke pulled back from the girl so that he could look at her properly, seeing the uncertain expression upon her face as she scratched gently at her cheek with an expression of discomfort upon her face. "You do realise that emotions are different for every individual and so is a person's concept of them?" Natsumi asked.
"What are you getting at?" Yusuke responded. Because there seemed to be something more in those words, more than the words she had said were meant to imply; which honestly confused Yusuke. Natsumi moved to rub the side of her neck as she looked away from him, as if weighing something within her mind before turning back to face him with a heavy expression on her face that caused Yusuke to tense up.
"I'm just saying that you can't capture an emotion, because no one will feel the exact same way as you. You painted something about desire from Mementos, but I see corruption when I look at Mementos, desire taken to its' worst and most twisted aspect, therefore corruption," Natsumi explained. Yusuke's eyes widened when she said those words; a polarised view almost to what Yusuke himself thought.
"That's… quite the differing point of view," Yusuke acknowledged. Yusuke had believed desire to be a dark and tainted emotion thus why he had believed Mementos was such a perfect representation of what that emotion was meant to expression; but to know that there was someone else who had seen the same scenery as he had yet taken away a different message from its' appearance was quite something.
"But it's why we're surrounded by different people," Natsumi claimed. Yusuke looked at her, hoping that she was going somewhere with the words she was saying. "No singer sings a song in the same way. No warrior swings a weapon in the same way. It's impossible for that to happen because everyone has unique idiosyncrasies that affect how they walk and talk, everyone thinks differently," Natsumi explained. Yusuke looked down at the flooring underneath him as he contemplated Natsumi's words.
Yusuke could not deny how truthful Natsumi's words were, he had noticed such things when he lived with the others in Madarame's studio. No matter how much one of them tried to copy the others work – not for plagiarism but as practice, to broaden their skills in weaker capabilities – or even drew the same subject, it never worked. Each of their own styles managed to shine through in some way or another, it made Yusuke wonder just how he could hope to convey the desire he wished to show, when everyone viewed desire differently.
"I'm going to keep painting, Ren encouraged me to do so, but what do you think I should do?" Yusuke wondered. Natsumi had taken him to other places, places that showed just how beautiful things could be; beautiful in the way a master weapon wielder moved, beautiful in the way a young maiko could show off the manner in which she had been trained, beautiful in the way certain songs roused emotions to life even if he initially hated their source.
"There's the saying Art imitates Life, so maybe the best way to break your slump is to keep living. Go to different places like we've already been doing, places that might inspire you. Perhaps you'll find something that can help grow your view of the world," Natsumi suggested. She proceeded to stand up, taking the two weapons which had been discarded during their conversation. "Madarame's shack trapped you in body and mind. You're free in one way, now you need to shake the chains that remain upon you. Broaden your mind and open your heart to things you might not expect to see or hear," Natsumi encouraged.
Yusuke nodded his head, certainly there was merit to her words, he could hopefully find inspiration in some location he had yet to visit, Yusuke knew he needed to start compiling information on what would be good places to draw. Perhaps he could speak to Tōgō-san, she might be aware of places that would be good for a sense of serenity that Yusuke knew he would need, in order to focus on getting a sense for whatever he found there.
"Thank you Natsumi," Yusuke stated. She had helped him out, clearing his rage that had almost seemed overwhelming to him and darkened his thoughts, how that it was gone, Yusuke allowed himself to see that he could follow Natsumi's advice and find some locations that would hopefully guide him in how to express what he wanted to show in his paintings
"Of course, Yusuke," Natsumi agreed. Yusuke proceeded to head for the door, now that the anger was gone, he could return to his dorm and rest then get to work. "By the way Yusuke," Natsumi voice called. Yusuke paused and then turned to face Natsumi, seeing that the weapon's master was giving him a hard look. "Don't ever let your anger get the better of you in a fight again. You could get yourself or us killed if this happened in Mementos or a Palace," Natsumi warned.
"Of course, Natsumi," Yusuke agreed. She was right, it wasn't good for him to have been so wrapped up in his emotions in such critical times; with a short bow Yusuke took his leave from the house, feeling much better and more focused.