Friends & Family   von dragonfighter
                           (The Clumsy & The Lonely)
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                       Kapitel 14: Step 14 - Being There
                       ---------------------------------


At the wedding, the bride and groom promise to be there for each other in good
and in bad days and as they promise this to each other, their friends, family,
the registrar and all the other guests are all witnesses to these words. You
promise it, but at that point in time you don't even know what these bad times
are even going to be. Maybe one struggles with depression or even trauma? Or the
other is going through a difficult time because they lost their job, or
something else like that, maybe even a person? You don't know at all what is
going to happen someday, but you still promise to be there.
 
The pink haired woman opens her eyes tiredly. Her eyelashes completely sticky
from the tears of the previous night and her vision also a little clouded. She
gently rubs her eyes with her hand and blinks at the dark blue shirt in front of
her. Two arms are wrapped around her body. A slight sad smile forms on her lips
while she gently caresses the chest of her husband, in whose arms she is laying.
Tears well up in her eyes again, but she quickly puts herself back into her
place. She has to be there for Sasuke. Not the other way around. Mikoto was his
mother and she is his wife, she must be strong for him now. Of course she can
cry and mourn too, but right now it is more important for her to be there for
him in this difficult time.
 
She sighs softly and studies his sleeping face. Quiet and peaceful. He can still
sleep peacefully, but she knows that, sadly, this won’t stay so for much
longer. The pinkette doesn't even know how they actually made it out of the
hospital. All she remembers is how she herself had only cried silently and
surrendered to the pain of loss. Not a single sound had come from her lips and
Sasuke was also silent for the rest of the evening. They had stood there in the
hospital corridor, he held her in his arms while they cried in silence. At some
point he led her back to Mikoto's room, where they were allowed to look at the
peaceful face of her late mother-in-law one last time, before she got covered.
In the evening, Sakura finally let her husband lead her to the car and they
drove home. Once there, she sat down on the couch in the living room and just
cried, over time she couldn't even suppress the sobs. Sasuke sat down next to
her in silence and just hugged her again. Neither of them needed to say a word,
as if they had known, they laid down on the couch in the living room. Neither of
them wanted to be alone that night, knowing that they would have felt lost in
the large double beds. So the Uchiha had pulled her down with him and fell
asleep on the couch.

She smiles slightly. Sakura should have been there for him and yet he was it for
her. Sakura carefully gets down from her husband and gets up silently, takes a
thin blanket and covers him with it, before she leaves the living room and goes
up to her bedroom to remove her make up. The eyes of the young Haruno wander
over the interior, as she walks through the room and back into the living room.
Her attention is drawn to the dark, gray clouds obscuring the sky and dropping
tons of water droplets to the ground. The storm is over. Only the rain remains.
Sighing softly, the young Haruno goes to the terrace door and opens it.
Immediately feeling the fresh and rain-washed, cool air on her skin. September
is showing itself in all its facets.
 
The pink haired woman slowly looks over her shoulder at Sasuke. Today will be a
difficult day. She knows that. She had to go through it herself many years ago.
It would be a lie to say that it’s ever going to be easy. Sighing silently,
Sakura looks at the watch by the television before walking towards the dark grey
eyed man. She gently takes his head from the pillow on which he laid himself
yesterday and places him on her lap instead. She gently brushes with her fingers
through his black hair. A few minutes pass before the black haired man begins to
move, finally opens his eyes and blinks tiredly at her. "Morning." Sakura
whispers with a slight smile. There is also a small smile on Sasuke's lips when
he replies. “Much better than any alarm clock. Can't you wake me up like this
every day?" he explores with a sigh and closes his eyes with relish, even if
only for a brief moment. She smiles gently at him. “Would you rather have some
tea or should I make you coffee. Maybe a cocoa?” She asks thoughtfully and
runs the back of her index over his cheek. “A cocoa sounds tempting. Will you
have a drink with me?” He smiles pleasantly. A little confused, she looks at
him and runs her fingers through his hair once more. "What are you doing there?"
She explores and smiles slightly amused. "Asking you out on a little date in the
house, disguised as simple cocoa." He answers silently, looking into her emerald
green eyes, through his own onyx grey ones. A sad smile settles on her lips as
she puts her hand on his head. "Sasuke, you shouldn't suppress it, that's not
good." She says and runs her thumb through his black hair. “I am not trying to
suppress it. I just... try to distract myself until the pain isn't so bad
anymore. I am a man and I am afraid that if I cry, I will not be able to
stop.” It is nothing more than a whisper that comes over his lips and fades
away softly. "Sasuke. The pain won’t get better. You only learn to deal with
it." She utters underneath her breath and in the next moment feels her husband's
hand on her cheek. "Have a cup of cocoa with me." He asks quietly, trying to end
the conversation about this never ending pain. Sakura smiles gently and nods in
understanding.

The black haired man sits up slowly and takes his wife’s hand into his own.
Gently running his thumb over the back of her hand, he gets up from the couch
and leads her into the kitchen, where he looks around briefly only to feel
completely lost. The kitchen always had been his mother's favorite place. She
even enjoyed cleaning the kitchen counter. The kitchen was her realm and no one
was ever allowed to argue or fight here. Only when he notices his wife passing
him, he emerges from his memories. He walks slowly up to her and takes the milk
from the refrigerator while Sakura fetches the cocoa powder, a small pot and
sugar from the boxes. He silently watches her preparing the cocoa before taking
two large cups from one of the cupboards. One red and one blue, with "Mr."
written on the blue one and "Mrs." on the red one. Sakura has to smile slightly
when she looks at the cups, before filling the cocoa into them and putting the
empty pot into the sink. Sasuke meanwhile takes the two cups and carries them to
the dining table, where he sets them down and sits down on one of the chairs.
His wife sitting down across from him in silence.
 
A few minutes pass while they sip their drinks in silence. "How long did it take
you to learn to deal with the pain?" Sasuke breaks the silence and looks at the
pinkette. The addressed woman sighs softly, as she looks at him. "Long. I can't
tell you how long it will take for you, since every person reacts and acts
differently and has their own pace, but back then I was quickly caught up with
life, stress and so on, because Ryosuke and I were still quite young and barely
of legal age. I didn’t really have much time to think about the loss and the
pain. Only at evenings, I often cried myself to sleep. Half a year later I was
able to think of my parents without breaking out in tears.” She explains in a
low voice while looking out the window. A sad glint in her emerald eyes.
Understanding, the Uchiha nods and puts his cup on the table for a moment, just
to run both hands over his face. Hopefully life will catch up to him and
distract him quickly. Of course he knows that the first days will be the
hardest, but he hopes to somehow get through them. "How did you survive the
first few days?" He then asks, drawing Sakura's attention back to himself. "I
don't know." She admits quietly and takes a sip from her cup.
 
“What time is it anyway?” It comes after a while over her lips and looks
around for a clock. Sighing quietly, Sasuke takes his smartphone out of his
pocket and presses the home button. The screen then lights up and shows him the
time. "Shortly after 12pm." He replies only briefly to her question, who nods
slowly. "Would you like something to eat? Should I cook something?” She
continues to ask, but he just shakes his head. "I'm not hungry." He whispers
softly. His gaze is on her. Actually, he expected her to hold it against him
again that he eats little and should really eat something, but it doesn't
happen. She just sits in front of him and slowly nods her head, accepting his
statement. "Neither do I." She breathes out softly and looks broken at her
already cold cocoa. He sighs silently and looks at her. She must have grown
really fond of his mother. Well, it doesn't really surprise him actually. After
all, they have spent a lot of time together during the wedding preparations and
did things that a mother normally does with her daughter and they also had a lot
of contact after the wedding too.
 
The sudden beeping of his smartphone, which he had put back in his pocket, pulls
him out of his thoughts. The two short beeps indicate that he has received a
message. Sighing softly, the black haired man takes the device back out of his
jeans pocket and unlocks the touchscreen, taps the message symbol and opens the
message. He reads the few lines in silence, then presses the home button and
looks up. "The wake begins at 6pm." He reports briefly to his wife, who examines
him questioningly and then slowly nods. "I'll call Neji, Tenten and Naruto and
let them know." The Uchiha then says, gets up and leaves the kitchen with his
phone in hand, to go upstairs to his office. When leaving the kitchen, he looks
back at his wife, looking like she is in a trance. He looks at her sadly before
continuing on his way to the office.
 
As he puts his hand on the doorknob of his office door, he looks down at his
smartphone and unlocks it. He dials his best friend's number from the call list
and closes the door behind him. He overcomes the few steps to his desk and turns
around to sit on the edge of the desk. "Hey Sasuke. Nice that you are calling.
What's up?“ The good humored voice of his blond best friend quickly sounds
through the line. The black haired man's voice fails and he stares at the floor
in front of him. “Sasuke? Everything okay? Hello. Sasuke?“ He hears Naruto
trying to get him to talk and hesitantly looks up. "My mother..." Sasuke begins,
only to fall silent again. The Uzumaki listens carefully without making a sound.
“She passed away yesterday afternoon. The wake is going to be today at 6:00
p.m. at my fathers house.“ The youngest Uchiha ends and immediately hears his
best friend swallow. “I-I’m sorry. O-Okay, I'll be there.“ It comes
depressed and shocked from his friend. "Thank you." Sasuke says before hanging
up.

He sighs once and immediately dials the number of the Hyugas, while he hopes
that Tenten is with him. "Sasuke. What gives me the honor?“, He hears the
voice of his long haired friend through the line. "Hey. Is Tenten with you right
now?“ The black haired man immediately asks a counter question. "Yes, she is,
why? Do you want to talk to her?” He hears the next question. "No, no. But I
think it's very good that you are with her now.” The Uchiha tries to reason.
"Mhm. And why?“ The Hyuga sounds kind of confused. “My mother died yesterday
afternoon. The wake takes place at my father's house at 6 pm.” Sasuke says
briefly. "Okay... I'll tell Tenten about it. I'm sorry Sasuke. How do you cope
with that.“ Neji's sad voice sounds from the device. The person addressed
smiles sadly. "Well, of course I have to somehow and besides, I have Sakura." He
finally says and looks at the door. He slowly pushes himself off his table and
approaches the door. "Okay. See you later.“ It comes from the Hyuga and Sasuke
hangs up. His legs carry him to and down the stairs.
 
In the entrance hall he looks around searchingly and finally enters the living
room, in which’s door he comes to a halt. With a sad look she looks at her
smartphone, on which she taps around and then holds it to her ear. Waiting for
the call to be answered, she looks through the glass of the terrace door, in
front of which she is standing, before standing sideways to the glass again.
Outside it’s still raining. "Hello Ryosuke." Sakura raises her voice after a
while and puts her left arm on her chest as if she wanted to cross it with her
right arm. “You are in Osaka? When will you be back?” It is almost only a
whisper from the emerald eyed woman while she looks sadly at the laminate floor
in front of her. "Yes." She breathes out and in the next moment a sound leaves
her lips that sounded like a suppressed sob. Sasuke can see how difficult it is
for her to pronounce the following words. "Mikoto passed away.” Tears
immediately fill her eyes as she utters those few words. “He's holding up
bravely. Yes. Today at 6 p.m. at Fugaku’s. Okay. Yes... See you later." The
pink haired woman takes a deep breath as she hangs up. Still unnoticed, Sasuke
leans in the door frame and watches her. She holds up bravely while telling her
friends and relatives about this painful event without breaking into tears but
looking so fragile in reality. Desperate, lonely, abandoned. He wouldn't be
surprised if he looks the same, even though not quite as fragile as her.
 
Sasuke walks up to her quietly. Standing next to her, he looks briefly out into
the garden. “Are you okay?” He asks quietly, which makes his wife look up.
"It has to." Sakura smiles pained as she lifts her cell phone to her ear once
more. "Hey I-" His wife begins but gets interrupted. "Hello?“ He can hear the
voice of a male, silently but clear enough. "Oh hi Kiba. Are you with Ino?“
She asks a bit surprised. "Yes, wait, I'll give her to you.“ She hears his
voice before it rustles briefly and they could hear her best friend at the other
end. "Hey, what's up?" The good humored voice of the Yamanaka sounds before she
giggles briefly, like a teenager. Sakura lets out a soft sighs, she really
doesn't want to destroy her best friend's good mood. "Ino." Sakura finally
speaks in a low tone. "What's the matter? You don't sound good at all. Did you
have a fight with Sasuke?” The blonde is immediately concerned and focused on
her friend. "No we have not. He's nice anyway. It's..." She begins and feels how
her eyes are slowly getting wet again. "Ino, it’s... something really bad
happened." The tears that come into her eyes also slowly cover her voice.
“What happened?“ It comes totally unsettled and worried from the blue eyed
woman at the other end of the line. "Mikoto died, Ino." Sakura says for the who
knows how maniest time today and this time she isn’t able to stop herself any
longer. She covers her mouth with her hand while tears stream from her eyes.
Sasuke silently pulls her to his chest, puts one hand on her head and caresses
her back with the other hand. "When... when is it...?” He can hear Ino utter
in a hushed voice. "Today at 6pm at Fugaku’s." Sakura replies with a
tear-choked voice. "O-Okay. I’m so sorry to hear this, Sakura. How... How are
you both handling it? Especially Sasuke?” The Yamanaka asks concerned, waiting
for Sakura to take some breathes. “Thank you, Ino. We are trying. Sasuke stays
brave.” A deep sigh sounds through the line before the blonds voice sounds
once more. “Okay, sweetie, I will see you later.” All Sakura could give in
response was a nod, even though she knew that Ino wouldn’t be able to see it,
before the line goes quiet and the well known tooting sounds.

Sasuke gently takes the smartphone from his wife's hand and puts it into his
other jeans pocket before he puts his arms around her and gives her a comforting
hug. His hand gently strokes up and down her back as he rocks her back and forth
lightly. His cheek is on her head, her arms are wrapped around his back and her
face presses against his chest. Fear has spread through her body. Afraid that if
she lets go of Sasuke she will fall. The Uchiha carefully loosens the hug to
lift her up on his arms and walk with her back to the couch, where they both
woke up in the morning. With her he sits down on the soft seat cushion and leans
back against the armrest so that she lies on him again. Just like they did an
hour ago. "Try to get some sleep." He whispers to her while he goes back to what
he was doing before and caresses her back soothingly. Sakura nods while the
tears are still running down her cheeks. She cuddles onto to her husband
carefully. A sad smile shows on his lips as he looks at her pink head and even
breathes a kiss on it. A relieved sigh comes over Sasuke’s lips when he can
hear his wife's regular breathing and he too can close his tired eyes a little.
 
When the hand of the analog clock has finally turned twice in circles, the
Uchiha wakes up again from his dozing and looks tiredly at the time display on
the television. "Hey." He whispers to his wife, who is still lying on his chest.
He gently caresses her back with his hand. He does this a few times until the
pink haired beauty starts to stir up. "It's about time we get ready.” He
speaks against her hair. A little tired she sits up and rubs her eyes. She gives
him a slight nod and then gets up so that Sasuke can get up too.
 
The couple silently climbs up the stairs to the first floor, to go to their
respective guest rooms and get ready. Both of them decide to take a shower to
wake up their spirits and wash the signs of sadness and fatigue from their faces
and bodies. While Sasuke rubs his hair dry in silence, Sakura fights the
moisture in her hair with the blow dryer. The pink haired woman looks at herself
in her mirror with a sad look, pulls her hair up in a braid and then picks it up
strictly in traditional Japanese way. Two black chopsticks peek out of her hair
and while she is thinking about which piece of clothing she should wear best,
she spreads some moisturizing cream around her eyes so that they don't look too
dry and dark. When she looks in the mirror again, she removes the chopsticks and
lets her hair fall open over her shoulders. She looks more like she is going out
on a normal workday, rather than to a wake.

Sasuke meanwhile has already chosen his suit, shirt and socks. Sighing, he lies
back in his bed and stares at the ceiling. Which words will Itachi choose? After
all, it is traditional at a Japanese wake for the eldest son to give a little
speech. But what will his brother say? Will he talk about fond memories?
Highlight happy moments? The dark grey eyed man puts his hands tiredly over his
eyes. This day came so fast, it practically overran him. He sighs again and sits
up after a few minutes that he had just laid there, to get dressed. As he was
buttoning his shirt, there was a soft knock on the door of his room. "Come in."
He utters softly, knowing that it can only be his wife. Slowly she opens the
door and looks at him. A brave little smile lies on her lips as she approaches
him. She takes the black tie from the bed and puts it on him after he has
fastened the last buttons. She looks at him carefully as she ties the tie.
 
"Ready?" The Uchiha explores quietly as Sakura gently strokes the tie down. "You
will never be ready for that.” She whispers softly. Sasuke gently clasps his
wife's hand and then leaves his room with her. As they have finished everything,
they silently go through the corridor that leads to the garage and lock the last
door behind them. With bowed heads and sad eyes, they get into his car, as
Sakura’s car is still standing in the company's underground parking lot.
 
During the drive to the Uchiha estate where Sasuke grew up, neither of them
speaks a word. They stare out of the windshield in silence and listen to the
rain dropping against it. After half an hour's drive, the youngest Uchiha brings
the car to a standstill. Several other cars are already parked in the parking
lot and in the driveway of the property. Sasuke's gaze is fixed on his steering
wheel, he swallows unnoticed and looks uncertainly at the front door. The hand
of the Haruno’s wraps around his, trying to get his attention. "I'm here." She
says encouragingly and smiles bravely. He nods silently and the two of them get
out of the car into the rain. The way from the car to the front door seems so
long, although it doesn’t even take a few minutes.
 
The moment they want to ring the doorbell, the door already opens and an
employee already asks them to get inside. Inside they can immediately hear a
mixture of soft voices that have gathered in the living room. Many guests have
not appeared yet, since there are still almost 30 minutes to the agreed time.
Cushions are laid out in rows on the floor, on the wall there is a large box
with many more of them if there are not enough.

Misuki lifts her head and looks around at the entrance where the young couple is
slowly approaching from. Immediately she starts moving and walks up to the
couple to greet them. Smiling sadly, she hugs Sakura and said girl realizes that
Misuki only looks half as bad as herself. Itachi appears immediately to greet
her. He too looks almost as bad as his brother. But she also notices that it is
difficult for him, of course, the death of a loved one is not easy for anyone.
"It's nice that you are here." The older of the Uchiha brothers greets the two
and gives them an encouraging smile, which he himself could only use all too
well. "Of course." The Haruno replies and gives him an encouraging smile, which
she just so manages. The wife of the youngest Uchiha looks around in silence
while Itachi turns to the newcomers. A large altar was established. Flowers and
candles adorn it and in the middle there is a photo of the smiling Mikoto,
placed in a black picture frame. There is also a bowl for incense sticks.
"Fugaku." Sakura smiles encouragingly when she sees her father-in-law
approaching. Like Sasuke, he is dressed black on black. "How are you?" She
inquires immediately while taking a step towards him and then finally hugging
him. Smiling sadly, Fugaku hugs the young woman and caresses her back like a
father. "It's okay. Thank you, Sakura.” He replies quietly before turning to
his son to greet him. Those two embrace for a moment too. Finally Fugaku breaks
the hug and then slowly starts to greet the guests again.
 
When Sakura sees the picture of her deceased mother-in-law, she takes a deep
breath and swallows the lump of grief, which is trying to form in her throat
again. She keeps telling herself that she has to be there for Sasuke. She looks
around to said man, watching him stare silently at the picture of his mother,
which shows how happy she was. "Sakura." It sounds next to the two and the black
haired man looks back to his right. Ryosuke and Honoka come up to them both, the
latter standing more in the background. The brown haired man takes his sister in
his arms and hugs her lovingly. A little shy, Honoka approaches Sasuke instead.
"My condolences." He hears her soft voice and pauses for a moment. "Thanks." He
replies just as quietly. They wait in silence until Ryosuke has let go of his
sister and turns away from her to give his girlfriend the opportunity to say
hello. "Sasuke." It comes from the brown haired Haruno and hits his hand before
they briefly give each other a friendly hug with the other arm. "How are you?"
Sasuke shrugs his shoulders at his question. "Depending on the circumstances.”
He just replies quietly. Ryosuke nods silently and looks at Sasuke, who is
watching his wife. “Will she handle it?” He finally asks and looks back at
his brother-in-law. “It is now primarily important to her that you come to
terms with it and is therefore backing away, although it is just as difficult
for her. After all, she has lost a mother for the second time. But since it was
your birth mother she plays the strong one. Still, being alone is the hardest
thing for her at the moment.” The Haruno explains with a sigh. "It’s the
same for me too." Sasuke says with a slight nod and then looks back at his
mother's picture.
 
"Sakura." The Uchiha then hears the slightly tearful voice of his wife’s best
friend. When he looks back at his wife, her best friend is already hugging her.
Kiba approaches him with a sad look and greets him and Ryosuke beforehand. "I'm
sorry." He says before Ino approaches them and greets the black haired man as
well. The two of them are immediately followed by Naruto and later even his
parents, who approach them with a sad expression. After all Naruto’s parents
were pretty close to him, like Mikoto had become a second mother for the Uzumaki
too. The group stands together and is silent. Ino sheds a few tears in silence
and Kiba tries to comfort her. Finally, Neji and Tenten come with Hinata. They
greet each other again and express their condolences before silently standing in
the circle.
 
Sasuke eyed the crowd in silence, noticing Naruto and Hinata still embarrassed
and awkward about what had happened a month ago and standing as far apart from
each other as possible. A few minutes pass. "I should say hello to the other
guests too.” It comes from the youngest Uchiha. His friends nod in
understanding while Sakura holds onto his arm. "I'll accompany you." She
whispers only briefly and goes with him. Together they do a round, greet the
guests, receive many condolences and say their thanks.
 
Some time later, they finally sit on the prepared seat cushions. In the first
row from the altar, next to Fugaku, Itachi and Misuki. Their friends have found
space in the rows behind them, while the rest of the Uchiha relatives are
sitting on the right side of the small empty passage between the cushions. The
Japanese funeral rite begins and Itachi, the eldest son, rises to say a few
words.

“Thank you for all of you to come to support us through this difficult time.
Everyone who has known my mother, knows what a wonderful, kind and loving person
she was. She was perfect..." Itachi takes a short break and swallows, one can
tell that he is fighting back his tears. “As a mother, wife, friend and
person. That's why this farewell is particularly difficult for all of us.” The
older one of the two brothers looks down at the floor for a moment. “My
mother's death came as a surprise, but again somehow not. What many do not know
is, that mother had been suffering from an illness for several years. Actually,
she had a maximum life expectancy of six months at the time of diagnosis, but
she made three wonderful years out of it. Lately she's been getting worse day by
day and in the end, death was just the salvation for her that we all would have
wished for.” He swallows once again and blinks away the tears, “It could
have happened any day. We had to expect it every day. She knew what was going to
happen. She said goodbye to us and her family individually and found a few last
beautiful words that we will carry in our hearts forever. Finally she fell
asleep peacefully. We can be grateful for the time we were able to spend with
her. For every minute, every second with her. Lastly we would like to play her
favorite songs, which have accompanied her through difficult times, given her
comfort and now maybe give us comfort as well.” With those words Itachi ends
his speech and returns to his seat.
 
Sasuke can see tears in the corners of his brother's eyes. It is also difficult
for him to resist the tears. But he somehow manages to stop them and looks into
his mother's smiling face. The last time he saw that smile, had been on his
wedding day. The music begins to play softly. When he hears the first lines of
the song, however, his self control fails and breaks completely. His mother's
favorite song can be heard from the speakers. He swallows hard and gets up
immediately, quickly walking down the hallway and leaves the room through the
door into the dining room. Sakura looks after him and then back at Fugaku, whose
hand she holds in an encouraging way. With a sad look his eyes are fixed on the
door in the back of the room before he fixes them on the picture of his wife and
finally on Sakura. He smiles slightly and loosens his hand. The emerald eyed
woman smiles too and finally gets up to follow Sasuke into the next room.
 
He is pacing restlessly back and forth, massages the bridge of his nose and in
the next moment runs both hands over his face. His breath shakes as he exhales
and looks around at the door where his wife is standing. She walks slowly
towards him, sees the dampness in his eyes. Her hands rest on his cheeks and
gently caress them, down to his shoulders and forearms. Her hands find their way
back up to his face, gently brushing over his cheek, to his hair and lingering
there. With gentle force she presses his head towards her and against her cheek.
As if by themselves, his arms find their way around her waist and press her
close to himself, hiding his face on her neck, her hands laying gently on his
back and his head, which she gently caresses.
 
And the way he hugs her... No, he doesn't hug her... He holds on to her as if he
were... She feels that he is threatening to sink and drown in the floods. The
floods of helplessness, despair, grief, hopelessness and loneliness.
 
He keeps sinking into the floods, and it tries to pull him deeper and deeper,
making him cling desperately to the trunk at the edge of the shore.

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