catriana_fiction

Title: A Stack of Leters (rewrite)
Series: Naruto
Pairing: SasuNeji
Genre: Romance
Chapters: We'll see.
Rating: NC-17
Summary: The rewrite of the original. I had never really liked how the pacing of the story had gone, I had always felt that it could have been expanded on and made better. So here we go.
Notes: If you've read the original, you will notice some familiar things in it...but it wasn't just straight copypasta. I went through and tweaked things so don't let it fool you! I will not be putting a limit to this like I did initially, so I don't know how long it'll end up being.

xxxxx

“Aniki!” the little boy sobbed loudly in the forest, his little fists wiping at his eyes which did little to stop the fat tears rolling down his dirty cheeks. “Aniki answer me!” hiccups followed as he continued to cry.

He was sitting at a strange angle and his right ankle was swollen and red. There were little twigs along with grass and dirt stains all over his once crisp looking uniform. His short dark hair was a mess and he had little scrapes and scratches all over his pale body. His knees especially looked skinned, dirty, and raw.

“Aniki! Aniki please answer me! I’m sorry, I won’t play in the forest again so...” he had no idea how long he sat on the forest floor, crying his eyes out and wishing his big brother would come and take him home. His brother had told him not to play around too deep in the forest and he would have listened but he had wanted to catch the cute brown bunny that had hopped inside. He had just wanted to give the bunny a hug; it looked like the one from his favorite cartoon show.

Maybe his brother was mad and would leave him out here for the rest of the day. This made him cry even harder, because his ankle hurt really bad and he wanted to go home. He cried so hard that when someone finally did approach he hadn’t heard them until they spoke.

“Someone’s out here?” the voice sounded very young but was definitely belonged to a boy. It wasn’t very far but it seemed like it was coming from the hill that he had slipped from. “Hello?”

He immediately went silent, sniffling but afraid. Who was that? That wasn’t his aniki and he didn’t know anyone here; they had just moved in the other day. Little arms wrapped around a tiny body as he ducked down, hoping whoever it was wouldn’t see him.

“Huh? Oh, I see you now.” There was some rustling and then he watched as a boy close to his age but a little taller slid down the slope with obvious skill. Landing, the other boy tilted his head curiously, white eyes blinking. He was wearing the same uniform as he and his brown hair was long and tied at the ends.

“W-who are you?” he wanted to scoot back and away from the newcomer but even the slightest movement hurt so he refrained. “Um...” he took in the boy’s white eyes, frowning thoughtfully “A-are you blind?”

Stopping, the white eyed boy looked confused at the question before shaking his head “No.” he started walking again “Are you new here? I’ve never seen you before.” The injured child didn’t answer him, only looked up with tear filled, red rimmed black eyes. He looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling thinly “My name is Neji, what’s yours?”

Surprisingly, this made him feel less fearful of the other. “S-Sasu...Sasuke.”

Neji looked up at the sky and then at him “It’s going to rain. Do you live near here, Sasuke?” then he blinked and the thin smile became more genuine “I remember now! You’re the family that’s moved next door.” Sharp eyes took in the boy’s messy uniform and the awkward way he was sitting and nodded when he noticed the injured ankle. “Alright then.” Walking in front of Sasuke he turned his back and knelt down “Come on, I’ll carry you.”

Clearly this confused the little boy “What?” he looked a little fretful but Neji didn’t become annoyed or irritated. Instead he turned to him a bit, smiling.

“It must hurt.” He observed “And there’s no one around, so I’ll carry you back.” A small frown emerged “Your ankle might get jarred a bit so it might hurt but I promise not to drop you or anything.”

There was a long pause, for little Sasuke was still a bit unsure, but this boy was nice and hadn’t called him a crybaby yet like the other kids in his old neighborhood would. A warm feeling filled his chest and he slowly nodded, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

He whimpered and tears spilled when Neji adjusted him on his back but he didn’t complain. Instead, he buried his face in the boy’s back to hide his tears from the pain.

Neji was nice; Sasuke liked him a lot already. He wasn’t yelling at him and didn’t get upset with him for crying. Had he been thinking it, he might have noticed that his face wasn’t just red from crying anymore. “Neji?” he asked as they headed out of the forest “Will you...will you be my friend?” he didn’t have any friends yet but he really, really wanted the long haired boy to be.

“Okay.” He turned his head slightly and smiled “I like you, so we can be friends.”

He likes me... Sasuke buried his face a little more and smiled, closing his eyes “I like you too, Neji.” He was going to be his new best friend, he had already decided. Once his okaasan came home she’d put a band-aid on his injury like she always did and then they could go and play outside.

The worst day of his life became one of the best.

“Sasuke!” His brother ran out of the house upon seeing the two boys. The ten year old looked a mixture of worried and relieved.

Seeing his big brother made him start crying all over again and he reached out for him “Aniki!”

Neji helped Sasuke switch over to his brother’s back, that ever present thin smile on his face “I heard him out in the forest; I think his ankle’s twisted though. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to –“

The older boy shook his head “No, please don’t apologize.” He smiled “Thank you for bringing him here safely.” he blinked curiously.

“Oh, my name is Neji.” He looked around “Well, I suppose I better go...”

“I’m Itachi.” A pause and then he frowned. “Do you have to? Our parents aren’t in but mother would be upset if we didn’t thank you somehow. We don’t have much besides snacks and juice.”

Wrapping his arms tighter around his brother’s neck he pulled forward “Please, Neji? Just for a little while?”

White eyes blinked owlishly at the two before nodding, pink lightly dusting his cheeks “Alright. I told my father I’d be playing so I guess I could come inside for a little while.”

Both brothers smiled warmly at him and Neji turned his gaze away, a little embarrassed. His embarrassment turned to surprise when Itachi turned and Sasuke held out his hand.

“We’ll be friends forever, okay?”

He took Sasuke’s hand and smiled “Okay.”

xxxxx

Having a degree in Computer Science and being head of the IT department does not make me some brilliant hacker like in the goddamn movies. Uchiha Sasuke mentally grumbled as he sat in his father’s office, fingers flying along the keys as dark eyes took in the information his father had instructed to delete.

The request had piqued his curiosity as he’d had a feeling for a while that something messed up was going on in the company. So now here was here, late at night, hacking into the company’s private database to figure out just why his father wanted such important documents to no longer exist. His eyes widened when he found it.

“Is he serious?” Sasuke stared at the computer screen with barely concealed shock “Does he know how illegal this shit is? I am not going to jail for his ass.” his eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, scowling. “What else are you hiding?”

Stunned and frustrated, he clicked off the monitor once he had gotten what he had needed on disk and then reached under his father’s desk, feeling for – and finding – the key to his safe. He wanted to know everything his father was doing, needed to know the amount of shit his father had almost tried to drag him into.

What he found was not what he had been expecting.

There were five boxes in the very back of the decently sized safe. They were ordinary, inauspicious brown boxes the size of a shoe box and, knowing his father, he immediately pulled those out. The first box held nothing but pictures and upon taking a good look, he put them all back, disgusted. Well, that had confirmed that long standing suspicion about...

“What. The fuck.” He had just opened one of the other boxes and what he saw stunned him in a way nothing else could have. He quickly flipped through the stack of sealed envelopes before going to the other four boxes. All of them held letters. His letters. Letters that he had thought had been discarded or tossed to the side when the person he had written them had never returned the favor.

Now he knew why; he had never gotten them.

How could his father do that to him? For so long he had thought that his friend had forgotten all about him because he had moved away. It had hurt for years until he had finally accepted things as they were and had tried to move on. Expression blank, he pulled out the last letter he had sent to his friend.

Neji,

I don’t really know what I want to say, because...well I don’t know. All I know is that if you haven’t replied to me by now, you’re not going to, so I guess I’ll just try and move on too. Was it because I had moved? I mean, I promised to come back when I turned eighteen and I meant it. I meant...everything I said – especially the stuff I said about how I feel about you.

Was that it? Are you mad at me because we’re both guys or something? I mean, I guess it is weird; everyone told me it was but I never really cared what other people thought anyway. I mean, I want to be with you so screw those guys. I don’t care if you don’t feel the same way, you’re still my best friend, you know? I just...wish I knew why you won’t write back. I didn’t really want to believe it but I guess you really did get tired of me.

You’re already in middle school but I’ll be going this year and aniki says I can’t keep hanging on to something when I’m the only one reaching and I guess he’s right. When you get this...I don’t care if you just write me back to say ‘fuck off’, but I think I at least deserve something. I love you.

He put a hand over his face. Gods, he had been such a damn sap as a kid; but he had already confessed when he had moved so he had continued to express how he had felt back then. His fingers brushed along his twelve-year-old crappy handwriting as the memories and feelings of his past returned to hit him.

All these years. Neji must have thought he had given up on him when he had never received a letter, just as he had. How different things would things have been if they had kept in contact? At the time, he truly had felt that he had been in love with his best friend – although now he wasn’t entirely sure what he felt since sixteen years had passed since he had last seen him.

He had to see Neji. Since he had thought that Neji had stopped liking him he had never returned but this changed everything. If nothing else, perhaps they could be friends again. He didn’t feel that he was too terribly different from when he had been a child so maybe Neji had remained somewhat the same as well.

Damn. Was he married with kids? Single? Was he...

Irritated, he grabbed the boxes with his letters and put the rest back. Tonight, he had discovered an absurd amount of bullshit his father had been committing – and still was – and he was done. The illegal stuff he might have ignored and then told his dad to go screw himself and find someone else but this...this raised too many questions and considering how he had felt back then he couldn’t forgive it.

Sasuke had no idea how he was going to feel once he met Neji again, but he was going to meet him at least once and explain the truth. Decided, he stuffed the boxes into his bookbag that he had carried with him in and flipped open his cell phone as he walked out.

“Sakon?” bag slung over one shoulder he looked at his watch. It was a little after midnight. “Yeah, I know it’s late but I need to know if the Hyuuga are hiring. Yeah, I’m quitting, just found out some bullshit about my dad; thought it’d be funny to work for them instead.” He tossed his bag in his car and got in “Serious? You know for a fact they need an IT guy? E-mail me the specifics...thanks.” hanging up, he spared a glance at his bag, frowning.

Nerves began to fill him as he thought about what he was about to do. How would he feel? How would Neji feel? Would they be able to be friends again? Did he still...have feelings for him?

Only one way to find out.

xxxxx

“Hey, hey Neji,” a black haired boy was shaking his sleepy friend. Frowning, pale silver eyes opened and their owner sat up, yawning. Just in case he was mistaken about his whereabouts he looked around. Yup, definitely his room.

“Sasu…” the eleven year old rubbed at his eye. He wasn’t really a morning person “What time is it? Why are you in my room?”

He didn’t even flinch when he felt the weight of the other boy as he jumped on his bed and sat on his sleepy friend’s legs. White met onyx and there was something in those eyes that showed that whatever he was over here for was serious. With another yawn Neji forced himself to fully awaken.

“What’s wrong?” there was definitely something pensive in his best friend’s posture so he put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a rather thin smile “I won’t get mad or anything Sasu but it’s…” he looked over at his clock “Seven in the morning and –“

“We’re moving.” The other boy blurted out and now he had the Hyuuga boy’s full attention. Moving? Why? They had known each other since they were five and now he was moving?

Neji was a realist even at eleven so he looked down slightly. Sasu was his best friend, his only friend really. He really didn’t want him to go away but he also understood that there was very little he could do about it.

“I’ll write you!” his friend says determinedly, wanting him to understand that he wasn’t going to just forget about him “And m-maybe if we’re allowed to come visit uncle I’ll…” he looked away and the two boys were silent for a long moment, understanding that they probably would never see each other again.

Forcing a smile that he didn’t feel, Neji shook his friend’s shoulder slightly, getting his attention “It’ll be okay; maybe when we grow up you can come back to stay. You’re ten and I’m eleven now; legally you’re considered an adult at eighteen so…that’s not really that far away when you think about it.”

His best friend wasn’t looking at him and he looked very sad “Yeah…I guess…”

What a way to start out the morning, learning that the person you’ve been playing with everyday for as long as you could remember was leaving forever. Sasu looked as if he wanted to cry and he felt the same way. It wasn’t fair. “When are you leaving?”

The frown deepened “This afternoon.”

That fast? The child blinked back tears, it wouldn’t really help his friend, it would just make things worse. “Oh.” Was all he could manage to say.

Dark eyes blinked a few times as if remembering something. He looked up at his friend, smiling slightly, pale face tinted with red “Hey, Neji, close your eyes for a second.”

“Huh?” Neji tilted his head at the other boy in confusion “Why?”

The question earned him a scowl “Just do it okay?” he had that snappish tone he took on whenever he wanted his way. “You’re always asking questions.”

“That’s how you learn!” he almost pushed his friend except that after today they wouldn’t see each other again and these little arguments would cease. Neji had always thought them to be annoying but now… “Fine.” He gave his friend a look for a second and then did as instructed.

Briefly, he felt Sasu move forward; then something soft and warm brushed along his lips, slowly adding pressure. Jerking back, the boy stared at his friend wide eyed, red dusting his cheeks “W-what…what are you doing?”

The raven haired boy frowned at him “I saw my brother do this and he said that it was because he was saying goodbye to the person who meant the most to him and you’re my best friend so…”

Now he felt bad, his friend had just been trying to say goodbye. It was a really weird method but he hadn’t minded it. It had felt…nice. “Sorry. Do it again, I won’t move away this time okay?”

It was different the second time, Sasu had put his hands on his shoulders and he had done the same although his friend’s grip was a little uncomfortable. The light brush became hard pressure and he stiffened for a moment before he let out a little sigh, tilting his head and leaning forward. They did this a few more times, each one making him feel warm and something else. His face was bright red when Sasu’s arms wrapped around him and his hands rested on the younger boy’s chest.

It felt so nice and a part of him knew even then that this was more than a goodbye between friends. It felt right, however, because Sasu meant a lot to him and he saw him as more than just a friend. He was his best friend and they had promised to remain friends forever.

They pulled away, both of their faces red. Reaching down, his friend grabbed his hands.

“I’m…going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too.”

“…Neji?”

“Yeah?”

He hesitated, looking unsure before flickering his dark eyes back to white. “I…I love you. That’s what my brother said to that person and…it sounds right to say it to you.”

There was a pause and then the boy smiled “Okay then. I love you too.”

It wouldn’t be until a few years later that he realized what had truly transpired between them and Neji never regretted it. Although they never saw each other again, that day was one of his most treasured memories.

xxxxx

What…what the hell is that noise?

Hyuuga Neji was exhausted, he had ended up working another late night at the factory and he had really wanted that extra hour of sleep he had been given before going in to work at the office. It sounded as if something was going on at the empty apartment next to his. New neighbor?

Well, I’m awake, might as well go see what’s going on.

Combing fingers through his long hair he tied back the end, keeping it from going all over the place. He was thinking about cutting a few inches, it was coming down past his hips now and people mistook him for a female enough as it was. Throwing on some drawstring pants he groggily opened the door and almost collided into a shoulder.

“Sorry.” The voice came from a rather large box that was being held and as he walked past Neji frowned at the man’s retreating back. Where had he seen that hairstyle before?

Probably one of the movers. He mused and then sighed, closing his door. Since he was up he might as well go get ready for work. Dark mutterings could be heard as the Hyuuga shuffled around his apartment; the years had not blessed him with the ability to enjoy mornings. He still hated them, especially when he was awake.

There must not have been many items because when the Hyuuga finally left his apartment an hour later there was no moving truck and the door to the apartment was closed. Mentally shrugging it off he adjusted his tie and grabbed his bag and suitcase, heading for his car.

He hadn’t thought about his childhood friend in a very long time. He remembered how inseparable they had been and how he had felt after Sasu had moved and he realized that their feelings had become more than friendly.

Perhaps that was why he never wrote him?

Neji had been so crushed as a kid when he finally realized that Sasu wasn’t going to write him as he had promised. When he had told his friend he had loved him he hadn’t really been thinking in a romantic manner. When he realized the truth, he had been a little excited and giddy, knowing that when they were both eighteen they could meet again and maybe even be together. Obvious Sasu had felt the same way and it seemed only natural that the two of them be together even in that manner.

Eventually, he got over it although every now and then he’d think back on it and wonder. Perhaps Sasu had freaked out when he realized that he had held feelings for another boy, even if it had been his best friend. He occasionally wondered how the other male was doing. Did he marry? Did he grow up to be handsome? He had always thought him to be cute, although he had never given it any real romantic thought until later.

You’re feeling nostalgic, he’s probably a completely different person now. You’d probably even hate him.

How disappointing that would be. With a sigh, he forced himself to stop thinking about it as he neared his family’s building; focusing on the amount of work he’d have to do today. Maybe if he was lucky he’d get a cat nap. Probably not.

xxxxx

Confusion danced in pale silver eyes as he opened the door to his father’s office. He had been called in five minutes ago and Neji had absolutely no idea what the vice president of Byakugan International could possibly want with him. They were father and son but neither got along with each other at the moment and all discussions and transactions between them were painfully formal and business-like.

“You wanted to see me Hizashi-sama?” the young man entered the room to find that his father was not alone. The twin brother of Hyuuga Hiashi was standing with a rather strange smile on his face, as if he was forcing it, and motioned towards the man standing at his desk. The newcomer was tall with short black hair, dark eyes and looked very familiar to him although he couldn’t place it. Their gazes met briefly and then he turned to his father.

“This is Uchiha Sasuke,” Hizashi introduced and Neji blinked a few times in obvious surprise. An Uchiha working here? Wasn’t there some secret rule or law against that sort of thing? The Hyuuga and Uchiha corporations did not get along. It hadn’t always been that way, but it certainly was now.

Wait...Sasuke? Why does that name sound familiar?

“He’s going to be in the IT department.” His father cut into his thoughts. Neji just stared at him. Hizashi knew good and well that his son was the head of the Engineering department, what could he possibly want him to do with this guy? Why not have someone from IT deal with this?

At least he’s not unattractive. He glanced back over and saw that the other male was giving him a rather strange look. It was intense and piercing and a bit uncomfortable. Why was he staring at him like that? Confused, he was about to say something when his father cut in.

“I want you to show him around,” Neji’s father explained “He’s a valuable employee and so it only makes sense to have a Hyuuga show him where everything is. Uchiha has just moved into the area so help him out a bit.”

Translation: Babysit the Uchiha so he doesn’t go crying to his parents about how mean we are.

Skillfully hiding his irritation – did his father not realize he did actual work for this company? – Neji gave the man a polite bow which is returned. “Uchiha-san, welcome to the company. If you’ll follow me…”

Despite the suit it was obvious that the raven haired male was well built and they were roughly the same height. He was very handsome, short black hair, pale skin, dark piercing eyes that – now that he thought about it – were enchanting. Intense. Nice gait, nice legs, nice ass – very nice ass – just nice all around. Well, he supposed he couldn’t complain too much about showing him around, considering.

Hm. Taking him in at first glance, he’s more than likely – and unfortunately – straight. Oh well, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t or couldn’t look. It wasn’t often that he found himself looking but it truly was difficult not to look at a man like him.

“This floor is the executive floor, as you’re aware,” The Hyuuga began as they walked towards the elevators “the IT department is down on the sixth floor and if you ever get curious, the software development team is on the fifth. Administration is on the second floor. To save yourself some headache for later, please avoid the pink-haired girl and her blonde friend.” With a sigh he pinched the bridge of his nose as they walked inside the elevator “They’re nice but they tend to be very flirty with new faces. Or good looking men in general.”

There was a small pause and then he felt dark eyes on him “Are you trying to say I’m good looking?” it was said flatly.

What did he just ask me? “Excuse me?” he frowned at the new employee. The man’s face was blank for a moment before he shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to offend.”

Now Neji was confused and a bit off balanced. He was very good at reading people and yet he wasn’t so sure about his first impression any longer. The Uchiha seemed to be a blank slate and it was a little disarming.

Walking out of the elevator the men took a few steps before Neji spotted familiar dark purple hair. “Excuse me for just a moment.” He tells the man and walks over to his cousin who was making copies.

“Hinata?” Pale eyes identical to his except with a tint of lavender flicker to his face and she gives him a warm smile “Why are you on the sixth floor?”

“O-oh…” she let out a small, exasperated sigh “The copy machines upstairs are broken again.” His cousin tilted her head and looked behind him “Neji-niisan, who is this?”

Before he could open his mouth the man in question stepped forward “Uchiha Sasuke,” he said and she took a step back when he suddenly leaned in near her face. After a moment he straightened and looked at Neji “You two siblings or something? She’s got your eyes, except hers is lavender and yours is…silver I guess.”

Hinata, who was very red, moved back to the copier, pretending to situate her papers and ignoring the fact that some stranger had been inches away from kissing her he’d been that close.

“We’re cousins.” Neji answered, ignoring his slight embarrassment. He hadn’t been aware the other male had been looking at his eyes so intensely. It wasn’t something either Hyuuga was unused to, many people tended to act strange when they saw white eyes. “But we’ve lived in the same house since we were born so we’re more like siblings, I suppose.”

“Hn.” Tilting his head he noticed the ring on her finger “Married?”

Well, I am about sixty percent sure that this man is straight at this point. Good, that meant his skills weren’t getting rusty after all. He’d been worried there for a moment.

Blushing even more Hinata raised some papers, hiding her smile behind them “I’m engaged.” She says with her soft voice “Um, he…works at another corporation though…”

Neji snorted “He’s the president of the corporation, do not let Hinata fool you. I don’t even know why he still lets you work here, it is not like you really have to anymore.”

His cousin wrinkled her nose at him “I…I want to.” Her tone held a bit of a stubborn note to it so Neji decided to stop teasing her for the moment; he wasn’t trying to upset her.

“Anyway, we will let you get back to your work Hinata, I’m just showing him around since he will be working on this floor.”

“Oh!” she looks up at the Uchiha and flashes him a bright smile “Welcome to the company.”

He returns her smile slightly, the first time the Hyuuga male has seen the man smile. It looked…good on him. “Thanks. I’m liking it here already.”

Okay, eighty percent at least.

Hizashi must have called down to the department ahead of time because the team was all grouped up as if in a meeting. The department head was standing in front, looking a little nervous. When he saw the two men round the corner he adjusted his glasses and smiled.

“Ah,” walking up the man gives Sasuke a small bow “you must be my replacement, yes?”

…Wait, what?

The Uchiha returned the bow “Yeah.” Hands still in his pockets he looked over the group and then put a hand behind his head “Since you’re all sitting here I guess I better say something.” He shrugged.

“Oh yes,” the department head looked beside himself, Neji wondered what the guy was so antsy about. “Just a few words about yourself?”

“My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I’m twenty five and I’ve been officially doing IT work for the past seven years. I got all of my certs and creds so you’re not dealing with an idiot. I just moved in today so I won’t be coming in for actual work until tomorrow. I’ll be watching for the first two weeks for turnover purposes but I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions.”

Head of the IT Department? Hizashi had conveniently left that part out. ‘Working in’ indeed. Well, the Uchiha was probably good if that was the case, his family didn’t hire idiots. Well, not for their higher positions anyway.

A few hands raised; all of which were female and two rather effeminate males. Sasuke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose “Since I know what you’re going to ask, yes I am single, no I am not going to date anyone within my own department, please put your hands down.”

Neji inwardly smirked when all of the hands dropped and some disappointed moans sounded in the back. He was glad he worked in engineering; there weren’t a lot of females so he didn’t have to worry about being hit on.

“Come on, Uchiha,” Neji motioned for another set of elevators “I’ll take you down to admin.”

They spent only five minutes in Administration due to Sasuke all but getting raped by Sakura, Ino, and Karin. He had forgotten to tell Sasuke about the redhead.

“Is that going to happen every time I go in there?” The Uchiha sounded horrified. Laughing slightly Neji shook his head.

“Just give them a week or so to get used to your face and you should be fine. I went through the same thing, they’ll become disinterested soon enough.”

He didn’t look convinced but didn’t say anything. Looking at his watch, the Hyuuga realized it was almost noon. “Well, this is probably as good of a time as any to grab something to eat. You just moved here so I am guessing you do not know the area too well.” When Uchiha shrugged he gave a small nod “Do you like sushi?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty good.”

“Well, it is a bit out of the way but there is a sushi place about fifteen minutes away by car that I go to from time to time. They have the best sushi for their prices in my opinion. I’ll pay for it, don’t worry.”

He gave Neji one of those strange looks again, the one that kept throwing him off and making him feel uncomfortable. “Sure, sounds good.”

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