Ranma, Tenjho Tenge 1. Chapter 1 What is Hidden

I have heard it said that Ranma and Tenjou Tenge are a good fit. While it is true that they are both basically fighting stories, Ranma is a semi romantic comedy while the other is more of a dark drama.

In Tenjou Tenge there is an undertone of plotting and manipulation that leaves the main characters as little more then pawns to the ambitions of their families. Unfortunately trying to change this would undo the plot.

Instead let us see what darkness is obscured by the humor in Ranma.

Disclaimer - Nope don't own either of these series but hope to show respect for the characters and stories.

Chapter 1 - What is Hidden

"Clearly the wedding can not proceed under these conditions." The tendo patriarch says with a sigh as he prepares to light a cigarette. "As is proper, lingering relationships should be settled before a couple can be married. We can all see that you have plenty of those."

The dark gi clad man takes a long drag before finishing, blowing out the smoke with his last words. "So we have arranged for the wedding to be delayed, until you can sort out your affairs."

"Pay attention! All this mostly applies to you Ranma." The dark blue haired girl snots out to her finance.

Sweat dropping the named boy turns to face her, and try not to roll his eyes at his pandafied father playing with a ball. "It was just as much your fault, Akane."

"Both of you have much to consider in this." Ranma's mother says quietly. Pointedly looking away from where her husband is lying on the floor. "I do however agree that any considerations of marriage should be postponed until other relationships are adequately resolved." Ranma nods to Nodoka as solemnly as he can, Akane only sniffs earning a quickly masked glare from the woman.

Akane marches up to her room and slams the door. Ranma stretches the kinks out of his shoulders as he stands, and makes his way back out the open shoji doors to continue working on cleanup in the dojo. Nodoka sighs and places the Saotome family blade against the wall and heads outside to assist Kasumi with hanging the laundry.

"Saotome old friend." Soun says after another drag on his cigarette. "I don't know about you, but I could definitely use a drink. Unfortunately all the household supply was destroyed along with the wedding feast" The panda quickly rolls to its feet and heads to the kitchen.

Moments later a large man wearing a dingy white gi and equally worn bandana on his balding head returns to the room. "I agree fully Tendo." The two men proceed to leave the house and the ward in search of leaving their troubles behind. Unknown to them a pair of angry brown eyes follow them on their journey.

Hours later the pair only vaguely realized they had somehow made it to Shinjuku ward as they stumbled onto the platform in Iidabashi station to try and get home. Their follower decided now was the time to strike while neither man was thinking straight.

"So Jackass." The brown haired young woman snarled as she pushed the tipsy Genma. "You are postponing Ran-chan and Akane's wedding until other relationships can be resolved. How exactly do you plan to resolve my claim?"

As he stumbled back, Genma was distracted from attempting to answer as he bumped into a dark skinned kogal holding a tray of takoyaki. The man turned to the young woman to make an attempt at apologizing only to find her face hidden by her long blond hair studying the stain the food had left on her sweater.

As He tried to stammer out something intelligible the woman looked up only long enough to slap him, sending him backwards again, before she stalked away. Attempting to turn with the blow Genma stumbled over his own feet and fell bodily on top of Ukyo.

The girl's shriek of indignation was almost drown out by the sound of the train pulling into the station. Ukyo saw only red as she kicked Genma off of her and off the platform into the path of the oncoming train. Her shriek turned to screams, from herself and others on the platform, as the world really was colored red.

"I am sorry for your loss Saotome-san."A dark suited detective said sadly to Nodoka inside a non-descript office barely large enough for his desk and two chairs. "I thank you for being willing to come down here so quickly at this late hour."

"It is my duty to my son and husband." Wiping her eyes, she bows her head. "Your certain that Kuonji-san did this detective Sato?" The newly widowed woman asks quietly. "She seemed such a sweet girl."

"Unfortunately the argument and the result was observed by almost everyone on the platform." The older man coughed into his hand. "Given the situation, it will likely be ruled an accident."

"But that does not absolve her of guilt." Nodoka finished quietly.

"That is the case." He agreed sadly.

"If you will excuse me Sato-san." The kimono lady said with a bow. "I must leave to consider how I will break this news to my son and his fiancee." With a small wince, at the thought she finishes. "Will you be able to make sure Tendo-san makes it home safely after he wakes up? I fear that the shock along with his apparent state was too much for him."

"We will have no difficulty with that Saotome-san." The man agrees as Nodoka bows and makes her way from his small office.

"Now if only we did not find this report that the girl had caused the man harm in the past, and threatened the son as well." The detective said sadly.

Hours later Nodoka sat in front of a camp fire wearing a sleeveless blouse and lose pants. Her skin a pale red from scrubbing the areas that had been hidden by her kimono. "It is a pity Ukyo-chan, you never had the subtlety to survive in my world." The woman says with a chuckle as she tosses a long skewer into the fire where the wood quickly burns away, along with a blond wig and tacky sweater, to reveal the red glowing needle hidden within.

Taking a folder from a backpack she tosses sheets of reports, with a chinese phoenix letterhead, onto the fire until it flares brightly. Once all the pages are gone she stares into the fire with a grin until only ash remains.

Still smiling she takes out a cell phone and calmly dials a number. "Kon bon wa Takayanagi-dono."

Nodoka grins at whatever is said by the other party. "Oh yes I would be very pleased to rejoin my clan and return to working at the hospital." The woman nods as her grin broadens. "I believe if you can have the amazons removed from the country there should be nothing to prevent Ranma from attending Todo."

She chuckles as she hangs up the phone. "Ah Mutsuomi-kun watching you betray your father was a wonderful start."

The next morning the nearly comatose acting Soun is helped home by the police and Nodoka gathers all of his daughters and Ranma in the common room. "Children I must inform you of terrible news." She starts slowly. "Last night Genma was killed accidentally as the result of an altercation with miss Kuonji. I fear Soun witnessed this, but the police are unsure how much he will or does remember of the event."

This announcement creates quite a bit off shock in the small group, which the maternal figure waits patiently for it to die down. "I know this is a shock to us all. I am afraid with the condition that our family home is left in, I have no choice but to return to my family and sell the property in order to pay off the debts that Genma left behind. This of course includes funds to help with psychological counseling for your father, and recent damages to the dojo." The woman carefully hides her smirk at the middle daughter's greedy look.

She turns to her son and continues quietly. "Given the current climate, I think it is best you come with me and attend a school closer to where we will live."

"I understand." The young man nods, and quietly turns to go upstairs to the room he had shared with his father.

The trip passed for the young man almost as a blur. Even when his mother lead him into a room with a western style bed and told him to see about putting away his things he hardly noticed. Simply tossing his large pack into the closet he laid down on the bed and simply closed his eyes.

Coming awake Ranma blinked at the strange room and sighed. "So I guess it was not a dream." The room was simply appointed with a closet, bookcases, bed, and a desk with rolling chair. It was not a large room, perhaps three meters by three meters, but it seemed barren and empty at the moment.

The smell of his mother cooking dinner was a small consolation to him, but the growling of his stomach soon pulled him from the room to find his mother in the modest two bedroom apartment`s kitchen. "How are you feeling Ranma?"

"Numb." The young man looks up at his mother and sighs. "You never said what we were going to do, but I guess we have a place to live and food."

"I will be going to work at the hospital my family operates Ranma-kun." Nodoka says mildly.

"Hospital? as a nurse or somethin'?" Ranma says in surprise.

"No my family practices a mixture of acupuncture and shiatsu. I mastered it in my teens before I married your father, and have been invited to put my skills to use again."

"So you know medicine like Tofu-sensei? Why didn' ya use it before." He asks with his eyes wide in surprise.

"No the techniques the Kuzunoha family practices are ones Tofu-san would likely sell his soul to learn, but my family guards them jealously." Nodoka says with a smile. "Other then teaching my older brother's daughter several years ago I was not allowed to continue practicing once I left the clan."

"So could ya teach me?" Ranma asks quietly.

"Only if you are willing to leave your father's clan behind." Nodoka says solemnly, she easily keeps the grin off her face at his eager, and enthusiastic, agreement. "Once we are able to get you officially entered into the clan, I can spend the time until the new term starts teaching you. I hope that will make up for having to probably restart your second year?"

The mother`s grin at her child's eagerness to learn was beautiful.

The winter passed with Nodoka teaching Ranma her family's techniques and teaching Ranma better social skills. To her child's horror this included learning skills she would need to know to fit into society better.

"What happened to wanting me to be manly?" Ranma asked with more then a trace of annoyance as she and her mother walked to a shrine for the new years festival wearing matching yukatas.

Nodoka's first response was to giggle. "I had my reasons for being with your father Ranma, but when I first invited him to go out on a date with me it was the only complimentary thing I could think of to say about him." She sighed as she shrugged her shoulders. "From that point on he believed manliness was something I felt was a requirement. The only thing I have ever desired from, or for, you Ranma is that you be happy. Having better social skills in both forms will help with that."

The older woman gently hugged her daughters shoulders. "I know you don't like it very much, but even with my family's help we have been unable to locate anything likely enough to cure your curse that I would risk your life on it."

"What about the cask of Naniichuan at the wedding?" The girl looks up with questioning sky blue eyes at her mother`s dark blue.

"Please forgive me Ranma, but I was the one who told Happosai it was the ceremonial sake to get rid of it." Nodoka says with a frown. "The call Soun received seemed too suspicious to me, I called in some favors and found out it was sent by the friends you made at mount phoenix. Somehow I doubt they would want to thank you."

"You don't plan to make me go to school as a girl do you?" Ranma asks suspiciously.

"Would that make you happy?" Nodoka asks with comically feigned surprise. "No Ranma I don't. I have been able to get a supply of longer lasting waterproof soap for you to use. That should keep you safe from the average splash during the day, but swimming you will still have to do as a girl." Nodoka grins at her child wickedly. "Now after we say our prayers for the new year how about I teach you some better techniques to get free food from the vendors at the festival."

This last Nodoka punctuates by gently tugging on her top to distract a man walking by them and send him stumbling into a pole erected to hold lantern in the air. The resulting crash causes both women to start giggling.

Several months later Ranma found himself tugging at the tight collar of his school uniform, his mother insisted he wear it to the opening ceremony. At least he was happy the school seemed interested in the martial arts. leaving the ceremony he sighed in relief as he discovered he was not the only one unbuttoning his coat while walking down the path lined with sakura trees between the large enclosed arena and the school buildings.

"Now to see if any of the clubs sound interesting." He started whistling happily as he started looking through the list of clubs in the orientation folder he had been given.

By the time he reached the school, he had stopped whistling. By the time he reached his second year classroom he had already dropped the folder into his new school bag and sat down depressed at his desk. "Not a single club listed that goes for mixed martial arts."

"You don't like practicing a single style?" A young man with brown hair and eyes said from a nearby desk.

"I have practiced several styles." Ranma replied with a shrug. "Seems to be a trade off in how flexible you can be by sticking entirely to one."

"Well the club I am in does not go for just one style." The other student offers. "Maybe you should check it out this afternoon."

"Maybe I will." The pigtailed martial artist replies with a grin. "I am Kuzunoha Ranma. Care to tell me yours and the name of the club?"

"Ah, yah I am Takayanagi Masataka." The young man says with a bow. "It would be really good if you liked the Juken Club, we could use more members."

notes:

As always, I work off the assumption that somewhere around 18 months passed during the course of the manga. Meaning realistically if Ranma arrived in late spring at the Tendo Dojo the wedding would have been in the late fall or winter.

If you desire to read the rant I had thought up to go along with this story feel free to check out my blog. In the mean time, I would love to hear your thoughts, and check out the poll on my profile.


	2. Chapter 2 The First Meeting

Nothing like the end of the semester coming up and finding out the paper your graduation hangs on needs major edits, and only a few weeks are left, to kill your creativity. Fortunately I was able to get that resolved and have completed my degree. Now for job hunting.

I could say the muses abandoned me on writing for a while, but the truth is they found other things to inspire me in. Feel free to check out the results on my deviant art account. Including a new picture I made of the Natsume girls to celebrate finishing this chapter.

Disclaimer - I still don't own either of these series but hope to show respect for the characters and stories.

Chapter 2 - The First Meeting

Ranma found himself amazed as he struggled to keep up with Masataka as he raced out of the home room towards the Juken club dojo. He lost sight of the boy when he turned a fast corner at the end of a hall, coming around the corner Ranma was only greeted by the sight of the door to the exit stairs banging closed. 'Damn this guy is fast.'

Coming out the door to the top of the outside stairs Ranma heard a young girl's voice. "Late, Takayanagi!"

Leaning over the side he is shocked to find Masataka bent over panting in front of a grade school girl with long pale hair, dressed in a red and blue kimono of all things, carrying a shinai. "I'm sorry....my...homeroom is just so stinking far from here!"

The pigtailed martial artist shrugged off the strangeness of the kid being captain, nothing new for him really, and leaped lightly over the rail and landed behind the pair. "So how many people are in this club?"

The girl turned around and blinked at Ranma standing behind her. "Who are you that I should tell you?"

"Ah sorry captain." the brown haired young man said quickly, while hastily looking back from the stairs in surprise. "Ranma-san said he was curious about our club, and might want to become a member."

At her expectant stare the boy blanched, and tried to compose himself. "Captain Maya I present to you a new second year student Kuzunoha Ranma." Remembering some of the manners Nodoka had drilled into him Ranma bowed. Maya raised a eyebrow slightly at the name, but allowed Masataka to continue. "Ranma-san this is the captain of the Juken club, third year student Natsume Maya."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Ranma-san, I am a little surprised to hear a member of your clan taking up martial arts, but if you are any good you would be welcome." Maya grins at both boys impishly. "To answer your question, with the addition of our newest member there are presently five members in the club."

"New member!" the other boy interjected. "So the long awaited new member, your little sister is here."

Ranma and Maya both rolled their eyes at his enthusiasm. When Masataka picked Maya up and placed her on his shoulders Ranma chuckled under his breath. "For a while now." The girl replied as they turned towards the dojo entrance.

"I am really looking forward to meeting her. What is she like?" Ranma was hopeful the strong breeze carrying sakura petals past them into the dojo was not carrying his snickers to their ears as well. "Is she strong like you?" The boy continued.

"Mmmh.." The girl looked down at the boy's hopeful eyes. "Compared to me she has a ways to go."

Ranma looked past the pair to find a girl standing on her toes in the center of the dojo with a sheathed katana held loosely across her back with the hilt at her right shoulder. In a blur of motion, she brought the sword down along her right side, and used her right hand hand to release the sword from the scabbard. The draw flowed into a dance through the room where holding the sword only in her left hand she neatly bisected all of the cherry tree petals floating on the air.

The dance ended with the girl posed in a crouch, Ranma just reached the top step when the velvet hiss of the sword sliding back into the scabbard whispered through the air. Ranma laced the fingers of his hands together behind his head and did his best to hold in a sigh, after seeing how the other boy had been instantly mesmerized by the girl's eyes when she looked in their direction.

Taking a seat on the open veranda, Ranma waited for the other two to rejoin him. The captain sat down next to him. "You don't seem overly impressed."

"She is very good, but I spent my childhood traveling around and watching experienced masters." Ranma smirks. "I also know a girl who could likely do the same feat with a giant spatula."

"I see," Maya gives him an almost comical look of disbelief, especially on her small face, before shrugging. "So you have training in the martial arts, as well as your families healing techniques."

"I'm the best." Ranma says with a grin. "The healing techniques are new, but give me a while."

"Would you like to put that claim to the test?" Maya asks with an equal grin. "Maybe spar with Masataka for a while?"

"Are you sure about that captain?" The young man asks as he sits down beside Ranma. "Face it compared to other clubs our ranks are pretty thin. We would not want to drive a potential member away."

Maya was about to respond to his question, when they were interrupted by the appearance of two fairly well battered boys. "There she is!"

"Sorry to interrupt you during club business captain," One of the boys said addressing Maya. "but we were hoping you would come with us."

"Our buts are being handed to us in a big way." The other finished.

Out of curiosity Ranma followed along as Maya was carried off at a trot, on Masataka's shoulders, after the retreating pair.

"Good afternoon Nodoka-chan." The named woman called on years of self-control to keep from screaming as the man's voice seemed to slither across her.

"Konitiwa Dogen-san." She replied with a carefully composed smile as she turned from the wares of the grocer she was visiting in a shopping arcade near the hospital. "I was not expecting to meet with you."

"A pity." The mostly bald man with glasses replied mildly. "I was so hoping to be introduced to your daughter...Ranko was it?"

"I do not believe you will have that pleasure." Nodoka said with a small bow as she turned and walked off without a further word. The man sighed and walked to the street to hail a cab.

Dogen shivered and stiffened. "Did you enjoy torturing me with those reports of what that monster did to my child for all those years?" Nodoka's voice whispered in his ear. "Did you take pleasure in what you forced me to let my child suffer just to get the schools that fat fool inherited from his family."

"I had ten long years to master what that bastard left behind." Unable to move more then his eyes, Dogen could not turn to see the woman, but he doubted anyone else could see her. "I could end your life here and now, all I would have to do is wait for the next large truck to come by, and no one would be the wiser."

"Yet you don't." he whispered.

"Just because you are not the most evil being I know of does not mean you are not on my list." Nodoka's disembodied voice replied. "Leave my child alone! I will not have you even attempt what you and my father laughed about should I have had a daughter. A daughter of the thief clan would not be good enough for a wife right!" The woman snarled. "Wasn't that the punch line?"

"You have my word." Dogen said quietly. "I would not attempt to make your child bear children for Mutsuomi, even if I were in a position to do so."

The man breathed a sigh of relief as the needles were extracted from his back and he felt certain she had left. slipping his hat on he looked down at the ground causing light to reflect of the lenses of his glasses on his shadow cloaked face. "Nodoka-chan to fight monsters you must first create them." His manic grin would have chilled a mother's heart. "Why would I bother with a broken vessel?"

Ranma walked easily along after the pair, whistling with his hands laced behind his head, as they examined the hallways littered with broken students. "Jeeze I can't believe those two guys did all this." Masataka groaned at the two apparent brawlers taking all comers down the hallway.

"Such spirited boys." Maya chortled as she jumped down from his shoulder with a grin. "Make way, make way."

"Oh Natsume!." one of the rubberneckers called out as she brushed his leg out of the way.

"Well my lads you certainly are hearty, but its time to rein yourselves in." Maya called out as she approached the blond haired young man and the dark skinned foreigner. "Otherwise your next sparring partner will be me, and believe me boys I am quite strong."

"Bob, what do you make of the little kid who talks like an old fart, and wants to pick a fight? Is she fair game or what?" Ranma held in a snicker at the blonds response, interested in seeing what she would do.

"Don't ask me." The boy Ranma assumed was Bob grunted out as he blocked a punch.

"Despite my appearance, I am seventeen." The sometimes male martial artist chortled as he saw Maya sweat drop. Ranma grinned as the air around the girl started to crackle. "Very well, If my apparent looks are holding you back...I shall change my form to one more befitting battle."

Maya started chanting a technique name. Ranma groaned as he missed what she said because of the clapping and wolf whistles from the rest of the peanut gallery. "Yeah here she comes." Ranma merely blinked as Maya underwent a almost familiar transformation to the form of a girl in her late teens. 'No I am not jealous.' He mentally berated himself as the blond thug stared at the changed girl's impressive rack.

"Well then." The young woman stated as she crouched in a ready stance with her bokken. "I am third year student, and initiate of the Natsume Goshin school of martial arts. My name is Natsume Maya. Pleased to meet you."

Ranma again missed whatever conversation passed between the two companions because of the overload of hormones around him. 'Nope can't kill them, not worth it.'

"Forgive me, but to welcome our new member we're going to go sing karaoke." Ranma looked at Masataka, who only shrugged at the girl's statement. "So I am going to have to cut this short."

Ranma watched as the girl flowed forward, faster then her sister had by a fair margin, to catch the stunned blond with a hip level forward slash with her bokken knocking him out the window on the other side of the classroom at the end of the hall. landing in a crouch in the middle of said room with her sword posed at her side. 'Well at least for a kendo-ka she does not grandstand near as much as Kuno.' Ranma chortled as he heard her call out the window to her fallen opponent.

"let's put it on pause for a sec." Ranma heard Bob say to his current opponent, negligently tapping him on the head with a thumb. The tall young man with dread locks walked up behind Maya staring out the window with concern showing in her posture. "You don't have to worry 'bout Nagi, a fall from this height ain't enough to snuff a resilient dude like him."

Maya practically snarled at him before jumping out the window shouting her sister's name.

"Captain!" Masataka called out from the window.

"Stay where you are Takayanagi! Finish the other trouble maker off!" Ranma is only slightly surprised to hear Maya's child voice call out from the ground. Masataka only stares at the other brawler for a moment before swiftly turning and dashing from the room.

"Huh..." The last remaining combatant says with a sigh. "Between the girl and that Takayanagi guy...Looks like Nagi and me're gonna have a tougher time takin' over this joint then we thought."

Finally giving into curiosity Ranma walks towards the shattered window. "Why ya wanna take over anyway." He offers casually.

Bob starts at finally noticing the pigtailed martial artist. "Cause it proves we're the best."

Ranma finally can't contain himself anymore and breaks down laughing. After several minutes he finally is able to stop and wipe the tears form his eyes, just in time to to dodge the punch Bob throws at him by dancing barely to the side. "You think beating up on these weaklings proves anything?" Ranma grinned as he easily snaked around the series of punches the taller boy threw at him, all without even moving his feet. Hopping over a leg sweep he chuckled as he flipped over the other fighter. "I am the best."

The dreadlocked fighter snarled as he turned to punch where Ranma should have landed. Only to find the space empty. He felt two thunks on his head and looked down to find Ranma's shoes falling to the floor. Looking up he found Ranma crouched, clinging to an overhead pipe with his feet. "Sorry chum time for lights out." Ranma said casually. The taller boy never even saw the multiple strikes coming to his temple before the world went dark.

Ranma made his way down to the dojo slowly, wanting to avoid getting too involved with this new group until he had a better feel for them. He was almost bowled over by the still damp blond running out of the dojo like the hounds of hell were at his heels.

"Should I ask what happened?" Ranma asked an wide eyed and open mouthed Masataka.

His answer came from the childlike captain. "Nothing for you to worry about Ranma-san." Maya rolled her eyes at the happy singing coming from the changing room behind her.

"So I take your sister is alright, and from how fast he was able to move the blond was too." Ranma said with mirth. "What was that about Karaoke earlier?"

"Does that mean you want to join?" The girl asked mildly.

"Is there a chance I can learn about that Ki manipulation technique of yours?" Ranma asked with feigned disinterest.

"Perhaps." Maya replied with a smile. "You did not seem too surprised by it either. Care to make it a even trade?"

"I have seen a similar technique." Ranma said glibly.

"Really now."

"How unlucky can you get?" Masataka said after Ranma was somehow the only person to get splashed of their group of four by a passing truck as they walked along to the shopping arcade.

"Just seems to be my luck." Ranma said with a slight groan in his damp clothes. "Listen I need to cut out." Only slightly hopeful about being spared having to tag along when the younger Natsume was going on and on about her chosen one. 'She is almost sounding like Kodachi.' Ranma thought with a shiver.

"Well it would be a shame if you did not join us in our first club activity of the term as a new member." Maya said with a grin, Ranma could almost feel her sadistic delight in the boys' discomfort around her glowing sister.

"I need to go home to change clothes." Ranma pointed out much more calmly then he felt.

"Well where do you live?" Maya stated simply, closing off his last hope of escape.

'What I will go through for the chance to learn new techniques.' Ranma thought to himself before leading the group to his, and his mother's, apartment.

"So you mentioned earlier that you had not learned many of your family's bone shiatsu techniques?" Ranma sighed at her leading question.

"'Ka-san married outside the clan." Ranma stated simply. He was nearly dumbfounded when the girl just shrugged as though that was an acceptable explanation for everything. As they came in sight of the hospital Ranma remembered that his mother had told him all of the students at Todo use this particular hospital run by her, now his, clan. 'Maybe it is.'

Coming into the apartment he sighed as he saw a package his mother had left on the table. He knew she felt like she needed to make up not being part of his life for so long now that she was his only parent, but he really wished she would not think that buying clothes for both his forms was a good way to go about it. The pink labeling on the box told him all he wanted to know about where his mother had been too.

"So you live here with your mother?" Maya said with a smirk at the box, Ranma realized the label was for store popular with teenage girls.

"I have a sister a bit younger then me as well." He said with practiced ease thanks to Nodoka's coaching.

"Can we meet her." Aya piped in quickly, much to Ranma's annoyance.

"She is not in right now." Ranma said a casually as he could.

"Well if she is as new to the area as you are.." Maya offered helpfully. "I am sure we could show her around."

Ranma held back a groan but only just.

notes:

Sorry for the long wait folks. I think I am getting back into the swing of things.


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