This invitation is already a pleasant surprise enough on its own to Yuta. (Both in that it's Muramasa leaving the forge of his own volition and that he's asking Yuta along.) Naturally, he feels inclined to come along to be of assistance when Muramasa is currently missing an arm, but also because a week away from everything here sounds... nice. Going to Africa had done wonders for him in the wake of losing Rika and his status as a Special Grade. Maybe this can mend what's broken if only a little bit this time, too? ]
a pilgrimage? that sounds interesting. if you'll have me, i'd love to accompany you.
I'm not sure where, exactly, but I know we need to go to Izumo.
[ He feels it in his bones. That's where the snake was slain, Ibuki be damned. That's where the sword was found. That's stronger than that hollowed out feeling of the Gion Shrine, abandoned for years and diluted by centuries of Gozu Tennō's worship. This is a matter of storms, not pestilence. ]
To be honest, Yuta, I'll need your help at the end of it.
Tohsaka did some digging, and she thinks there might be interference from the other parts of my core keeping me from filling in the missing part with just Muramasa, which is why I need to make the trip. And without the bounded field on my forge to pull energy from a ley line, I need to get it from person.
[ Rin will cover keeping him alive for the trip. But it's the material for repairing his spiritual foundation that is the most important, and rather than... put that fraught relationship on thinner ice than it already is, or risk the same solution as last time, he'd prefer another way. And Yuta, with his tears and shadowed joy, deserves a chance to feel like he's doing good rather than harm, even though Muramasa had forgiven him long before they found Ereshkigal. ]
Your healing stuff would work, I think, but it'll be a lot. Is that okay?
[ Texting is so nice.
It gives him time and space to talk. To think about what he says and then to wait for an answer. ]
[ A journey without a clear destination? Well, that's fine. That's what running around Africa in a wild goose chase for more Black Rope had been like, so that sounds kind of nostalgic in a way. But before he can comment on it there comes the next text that tightens the snaring of Yuta's attention all the more. He waits patiently for the rest, taking every piece of the puzzle offered and putting it neatly in its place. It doesn't exactly take a genius to figure out what this is about, what Muramasa is avoiding saying directly.
It makes all of this rather bittersweet, but it does not lessen the warmth in his heart at the invitation, at being asked for help and relied upon. It's why he became a sorcerer; all he's ever wanted. If he can help set right the wrong he inflicted, all the better. ]
of course it is. that's what my healing gift is for. (˶◜ᵕ◝˶)
[ And Muramasa will know the significance of what follows when Yuta tends to suppress his nosiness in favor of his polite demeanor. ]
will you tell me more along the way? about all the parts of you.
[ He wants to learn, to get to know Muramasa better. And maybe by asking something in return, it will be clear he's not just going along out of guilty obligation, but a genuine desire. ]
Muramasa, who doesn't want to be caught giving gifts directly, but answers questions about his work with a patience that borders on enlightened. This is something near and dear to his heart — he doesn't tell lies, but he doesn't freely share what he feels, either.
But, Yuta deserves it. ]
It's not that complicated, really. I could tell you now, if you want.
it's my pleasure. ˙ᵕ˙ thank you for inviting me and letting me help.
[ So disgustingly sincere and heartfelt as always.
But boy, that long pause sure does make him think he might have pushed too much. He's trying not to fuss and take it back, to resist the urge to throw out reassurances that Muramasa doesn't have to oblige if he doesn't feel like it. It's just a silly request from a nosy teen. At least Yuta manages to sit on his hands for long enough to get a response first. ]
sure, if you want to. but i understand if you'd rather not talk about it at all.
[ He knows, that the way he does things usually isn't comfortable for Yuta. And even though he's still using the oculars instead of talking face to face as its own form of (tsundere-ass) obsfucation, he's made up his mind. Might as well ride the impulse out to the end. ]
Nah, I owe you for agreeing to help. You should know what we're getting into.
When I was summoned originally, two other Divine Spirits got stuck in with Muramasa to make it so I could kill gods. [ Its the first skill listed about him in his data profile, if anyone cares to check. And he'd said something to that effect, when his fury had gone cold, and he'd settled on "work" to serve as the focal point of his corruption. ] One's a Norse war god, the blind one who landed the blow that caused Ragnarok.
[ ...... Mmmmrrrgh, fuck it fuck it, fuck it. All or nothing. No regrets in this life. ]
The other's a godkiller too — Susanoo-no-Mikoto. And he keeps my Tsumukari from killing me outright if I use it.
[ Maybe Yuta remembers. That other sword he'd made in the Underworld. The chant, the way flames had licked around him and he had suddenly disappeared from sight in as the world around him was condensed, overwritten by a blacksmith's reality. The steel made his blood run hot, like the iron in it had turned molten and run through every vein, burning all impurity out as he wielded an edge that sought to sever fate, resentment, karma. Maybe Yuta recalls the explosion of heat that bloomed in the aftermath, as Muramasa finished his strike and Yuta dove in to make his own attack.
Wait, he said something kind of concerning, didn't he? He did, didn't he. Uh. Fuck. Uh. ]
Normally — normally, I can get three off before there's consequences, but that's an issue from LILITH's summon. For the record.
[ ... not the missing arm. so, so don't count the way Rika had to scoop him up, burning hot to the touch and exhausted, as anyone's fault but his own. ]
[ People have tried to tell Yuta about his ancestors before — the great Sugawara no Michizane and the powerful Fujiwara clan — and he had not cared one bit, has never bothered looking into his auspicious heritage at all, because he simply cannot care about himself, but this? This is different. This is about Muramasa and Yuta takes in every piece of information given like it is a precious gift. Because it is.
It helps to make sense of a fair bit; what is in his data file, references made here and there Yuta had no context for, Muramasa's attack that had seemed so like a Domain Expansion. He hadn't been overly surprised at the burn-out in the wake of it when Domain Expansion can take a similar toll, but getting to know how close Muramasa might have actually knowingly put himself at death's door with it? That definitely has him frowning until the explanation assuages it somewhat. He'll know what to look out for now, at least.
But he's grateful to be told this much, even in this more indirect way. ]
i see. thank you for entrusting me with all of that. then you want to go to shrines dedicated to susanoo? do they have something that can help or is it more about being somewhere with a connection that will allow you to communicate better with that part of your core?
[ He sure is taking that whole being multiple divine spirits crammed into one vessel in stride, huh. Almost like... he's familiar with the concept... ]
Yeah. I tried going to Gion Shrine [ read: yasaka shrine ] but I think its been abandoned for too long and, well. I'm no Gozu Tennō.
A man becomes a Heroic Spirit for his deeds in life, or for the tales he leaves behind after. But a Divine Spirit gets built up from the start by human worship and legend. I think, if I can find the right shrine, and assuming it's still standing, I think I can tap into that.
that makes sense. but ah, that makes things difficult with the norse god, doesn't it? will just susanoo be enough? (•᷄- •᷅ ;) if not, then maybe we can ask if LILITH has any contacts in scandinavia.
Nah, I get a double dosage of renown right now because Japan's my homeland for most of me. I'm stronger here, and we would lose that if we left. I just can't fix it with Muramasa alone 'cause —
Well, you know.
[ its getting hard to talk around the fact that it was his own work that did the disarming, but... that has a lot to do with it. ]
[ .... Oh. It takes him a small moment, but Yuta's clever and it makes perfect, awful sense given his wakizashi's double function. Of course. ]
then i'll look into what the quickest way to izumo is. if there's still public transport going that way, a train ride should take about 5 hours. but maybe they have another way what with it being the future and all.
Yeah? It's the surest way of getting where you want to go, isn't it? No worrying about if the machines work or not. It only takes like a week, from the capital.
You travel a lot, Yuta? You're good at figuring this shit out.
[ His methods of navigation are apparently: just wander around until something happens ]
I don't have a Riding skill, though, so I don't know how. And what if the bicycle breaks? Walking is more economical and peaceful. If I have to chose between getting my brain rattled out of my skull in the back of a wagon pulled by an insane fairy horse with something to prove and walking the length of Britain, I'll choose walking every time.
[ ... how specific. ]
Damn, Africa's a big ass continent. This should be easy for you, then. Home turf advantage for the both of us!
i could always teach you? it's not that difficult and bicycles are far easier to fix than a car. i don't think there are any wagons pulled by insane fairy horses here. [ You know, just saying. ] most transport nowadays is pretty smooth.
it'll definitely be easier to travel when i can read the signs and speak the language. leave it to me! ✧ദ്ദി( ˶^ᗜ^˶ )
Hm... I guess you can hit someone with it if you're desperate, too... Maybe. We'll see. Arm first.
How soon can you be ready to go? I have a few things I need to get, but after that... Actually—
[ Here, Yuta. He's just wired, uh. 300,000 krypto directly. Once again he is either vastly overestimating the budget or just doesn't care what happens to the change. ]
There. We gotta pay for trains and lodging and stuff, right? I'll leave navigating that to you.
Edited (save the emoji for manipulating teenagers ) 2025-07-08 03:11 (UTC)
Σ(°ロ°) that's your first thought?? it might be easier to fix, but that's no way to treat a bicycle...
[ Says the boy who used a car as a projectile before. ]
i can be ready pretty soon. i just have to go tell the team at the med bay i'll be gone for a while and go grab my stuff.
[ What does it say that Yuta barely even gawks at the money thrown his way anymore? Muramasa is bad at handling his money (or just too generous), news at 11. Yuta's already resolving to budget carefully and just transfer whatever's left at the end of their trip right back to him. This is fine. ]
[ its supposed to be s shrug. he picked it out from the keyboard himself. ]
No point in trying to teach an old dog new tricks. Look, if I can't walk, I'll run. I ain't a fast Servant by any means, but I can go for a while. Hell, I could probably carry you, if missy wanted a break. You're such a beanpole, though, it might get awkward, hah.
[ In Muramasa's defense, nothing costs what he thinks it should, having lived in a time where the value of things were measured in the amount rice of rice it took to feed a man. Things are cheap, it feels like, except when they're not. A sword is worth nine times what he would have chaged for it in life, but steel is so cheap that it's used in buildings and left to corrode like its wood, and not precious metal. It's easier not to bother. He trusts Yuta, knows the desperate breadth of the boy's loyalty, and its easy to lean on him, for things like this. Just like their first meeting, an offering of swordsmithing for a modern boy's skills navigating. They haven't changed much, have they? ]
Let's set out tomorrow morning, first light. I don't know if they've got train things in the capital yet, so I'll come meet you in the... I guess its the old base, for most people?
[ Oh, what's this?? Rare kaomoji use spotted!! Does Yuta entirely understand what Muramasa is trying to convey with it? No, but he's getting a kick out of it anyway. Still totally worth the wait. Just know that wherever he is, he's smiling like an idiot. ]
you're never too old to learn! ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ and i could probably keep up just fine, but thanks?
[ If he's using cursed energy, that is. And then it depends on how long he has to book it for until he runs out. (Which unfortunately, is a lot faster now that there's a limit on what he can tap into.) But really, there's no need for any of that with the wonders of modern (future?) day technology and Yuta's determined to prove it. That had been their original deal, hadn't it? Yuta always keeps his word. ]
okay, i'll make sure to be ready then. it'll take double the time if we leave from neo tokyo though. i know things are pretty rundown here in kyoto, but the train system in japan is pretty robust and since the trains here don't require personnel, we might have some luck finding something a bit closer by.
... It's just, Atsuta Shrine would technically be on the way from Tokyo, right? This is a pilgrimage. We don't have to stop at just one or two places, if it'll only take ten hours to travel total.
[ .... and the kusanagi is in atsuta............. or it was. he's pretty sure it was. maybe its been lost, but still... if the shrine is still there... ]
[ Oh my god, if you wanna go through Neo Tokyo, just say so, old man!!!! ]
... fine, we'll make it a proper pilgrimage and go through tokyo first then. i guess we can make some smaller stops along the way to make the journey more bearable too. ten hours is a lot of time to be stuck on a train.
We're making the most of our home turf advantage, Yuta! And this way, Kuwana will be an easy stop too, so we can go get some material.
Then we can make it back in time for that usual summoning our employer does at the start of next month, and get to work. I wanna start you on some proper foundational basics soon.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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This invitation is already a pleasant surprise enough on its own to Yuta. (Both in that it's Muramasa leaving the forge of his own volition and that he's asking Yuta along.) Naturally, he feels inclined to come along to be of assistance when Muramasa is currently missing an arm, but also because a week away from everything here sounds... nice. Going to Africa had done wonders for him in the wake of losing Rika and his status as a Special Grade. Maybe this can mend what's broken if only a little bit this time, too? ]
a pilgrimage?
that sounds interesting.
if you'll have me, i'd love to accompany you.
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[ He feels it in his bones. That's where the snake was slain, Ibuki be damned. That's where the sword was found. That's stronger than that hollowed out feeling of the Gion Shrine, abandoned for years and diluted by centuries of Gozu Tennō's worship. This is a matter of storms, not pestilence. ]
To be honest, Yuta, I'll need your help at the end of it.
Tohsaka did some digging, and she thinks there might be interference from the other parts of my core keeping me from filling in the missing part with just Muramasa, which is why I need to make the trip. And without the bounded field on my forge to pull energy from a ley line, I need to get it from person.
[ Rin will cover keeping him alive for the trip. But it's the material for repairing his spiritual foundation that is the most important, and rather than... put that fraught relationship on thinner ice than it already is, or risk the same solution as last time, he'd prefer another way. And Yuta, with his tears and shadowed joy, deserves a chance to feel like he's doing good rather than harm, even though Muramasa had forgiven him long before they found Ereshkigal. ]
Your healing stuff would work, I think, but it'll be a lot. Is that okay?
[ Texting is so nice.
It gives him time and space to talk. To think about what he says and then to wait for an answer. ]
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It makes all of this rather bittersweet, but it does not lessen the warmth in his heart at the invitation, at being asked for help and relied upon. It's why he became a sorcerer; all he's ever wanted. If he can help set right the wrong he inflicted, all the better. ]
of course it is.
that's what my healing gift is for. (˶◜ᵕ◝˶)
[ And Muramasa will know the significance of what follows when Yuta tends to suppress his nosiness in favor of his polite demeanor. ]
will you tell me more along the way?
about all the parts of you.
[ He wants to learn, to get to know Muramasa better. And maybe by asking something in return, it will be clear he's not just going along out of guilty obligation, but a genuine desire. ]
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[ And then there's a long pause on the other end.
Muramasa, who doesn't want to be caught giving gifts directly, but answers questions about his work with a patience that borders on enlightened. This is something near and dear to his heart — he doesn't tell lies, but he doesn't freely share what he feels, either.
But, Yuta deserves it. ]
It's not that complicated, really. I could tell you now, if you want.
[ Please understand he is trying. So Hard. ]
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thank you for inviting me and letting me help.
[ So disgustingly sincere and heartfelt as always.
But boy, that long pause sure does make him think he might have pushed too much. He's trying not to fuss and take it back, to resist the urge to throw out reassurances that Muramasa doesn't have to oblige if he doesn't feel like it. It's just a silly request from a nosy teen. At least Yuta manages to sit on his hands for long enough to get a response first. ]
sure, if you want to.
but i understand if you'd rather not talk about it at all.
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Nah, I owe you for agreeing to help. You should know what we're getting into.
When I was summoned originally, two other Divine Spirits got stuck in with Muramasa to make it so I could kill gods. [ Its the first skill listed about him in his data profile, if anyone cares to check. And he'd said something to that effect, when his fury had gone cold, and he'd settled on "work" to serve as the focal point of his corruption. ] One's a Norse war god, the blind one who landed the blow that caused Ragnarok.
[ ...... Mmmmrrrgh, fuck it fuck it, fuck it. All or nothing. No regrets in this life. ]
The other's a godkiller too — Susanoo-no-Mikoto. And he keeps my Tsumukari from killing me outright if I use it.
[ Maybe Yuta remembers. That other sword he'd made in the Underworld. The chant, the way flames had licked around him and he had suddenly disappeared from sight in as the world around him was condensed, overwritten by a blacksmith's reality. The steel made his blood run hot, like the iron in it had turned molten and run through every vein, burning all impurity out as he wielded an edge that sought to sever fate, resentment, karma. Maybe Yuta recalls the explosion of heat that bloomed in the aftermath, as Muramasa finished his strike and Yuta dove in to make his own attack.
Wait, he said something kind of concerning, didn't he? He did, didn't he. Uh. Fuck. Uh. ]
Normally — normally, I can get three off before there's consequences, but that's an issue from LILITH's summon. For the record.
[ ... not the missing arm. so, so don't count the way Rika had to scoop him up, burning hot to the touch and exhausted, as anyone's fault but his own. ]
That's why we gotta go to Izumo.
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It helps to make sense of a fair bit; what is in his data file, references made here and there Yuta had no context for, Muramasa's attack that had seemed so like a Domain Expansion. He hadn't been overly surprised at the burn-out in the wake of it when Domain Expansion can take a similar toll, but getting to know how close Muramasa might have actually knowingly put himself at death's door with it? That definitely has him frowning until the explanation assuages it somewhat. He'll know what to look out for now, at least.
But he's grateful to be told this much, even in this more indirect way. ]
i see.
thank you for entrusting me with all of that.
then you want to go to shrines dedicated to susanoo?
do they have something that can help or is it more about being somewhere with a connection that will allow you to communicate better with that part of your core?
[ He sure is taking that whole being multiple divine spirits crammed into one vessel in stride, huh. Almost like... he's familiar with the concept... ]
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A man becomes a Heroic Spirit for his deeds in life, or for the tales he leaves behind after. But a Divine Spirit gets built up from the start by human worship and legend. I think, if I can find the right shrine, and assuming it's still standing, I think I can tap into that.
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but ah, that makes things difficult with the norse god, doesn't it?
will just susanoo be enough? (•᷄- •᷅ ;)
if not, then maybe we can ask if LILITH has any contacts in scandinavia.
[ Immediate fussing is a go. ]
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Well, you know.
[ its getting hard to talk around the fact that it was his own work that did the disarming, but... that has a lot to do with it. ]
Nobody worships Höðr anyway.
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then i'll look into what the quickest way to izumo is.
if there's still public transport going that way, a train ride should take about 5 hours.
but maybe they have another way what with it being the future and all.
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[ ... peepaw were you planning on walking. ]
If we can save that much time, we could stop in Kuwana too, right? I want to get some materials there, for Aventurine's sword.
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[ PEEPAW PLEASE. ]
i guess if we take a big detour on the way back, we could.
and we should be passing through matsue as well so we can check out the shrines there too.
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You travel a lot, Yuta? You're good at figuring this shit out.
[ His methods of navigation are apparently: just wander around until something happens ]
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there are so many better ways to travel...
even using a bicycle would be faster than walking.
[ You're in the future, please act like it!! ]
i didn't used to, but some time after i became a sorcerer i went abroad and traveled all over africa for months.
so i've gotten a lot more used to it.
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[ ... how specific. ]
Damn, Africa's a big ass continent. This should be easy for you, then. Home turf advantage for the both of us!
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i don't think there are any wagons pulled by insane fairy horses here. [ You know, just saying. ]
most transport nowadays is pretty smooth.
it'll definitely be easier to travel when i can read the signs and speak the language.
leave it to me! ✧ദ്ദി( ˶^ᗜ^˶ )
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How soon can you be ready to go? I have a few things I need to get, but after that... Actually—
[ Here, Yuta. He's just wired, uh. 300,000 krypto directly. Once again he is either vastly overestimating the budget or just doesn't care what happens to the change. ]
There. We gotta pay for trains and lodging and stuff, right? I'll leave navigating that to you.
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that's your first thought?? it might be easier to fix, but that's no way to treat a bicycle...
[ Says the boy who used a car as a projectile before. ]
i can be ready pretty soon.
i just have to go tell the team at the med bay i'll be gone for a while and go grab my stuff.
[ What does it say that Yuta barely even gawks at the money thrown his way anymore? Muramasa is bad at handling his money (or just too generous), news at 11. Yuta's already resolving to budget carefully and just transfer whatever's left at the end of their trip right back to him. This is fine. ]
alright, i'll take care of it.
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\•-•/
[ its supposed to be s shrug. he picked it out from the keyboard himself. ]
No point in trying to teach an old dog new tricks. Look, if I can't walk, I'll run. I ain't a fast Servant by any means, but I can go for a while. Hell, I could probably carry you, if missy wanted a break. You're such a beanpole, though, it might get awkward, hah.
[ In Muramasa's defense, nothing costs what he thinks it should, having lived in a time where the value of things were measured in the amount rice of rice it took to feed a man. Things are cheap, it feels like, except when they're not. A sword is worth nine times what he would have chaged for it in life, but steel is so cheap that it's used in buildings and left to corrode like its wood, and not precious metal. It's easier not to bother. He trusts Yuta, knows the desperate breadth of the boy's loyalty, and its easy to lean on him, for things like this. Just like their first meeting, an offering of swordsmithing for a modern boy's skills navigating. They haven't changed much, have they? ]
Let's set out tomorrow morning, first light. I don't know if they've got train things in the capital yet, so I'll come meet you in the... I guess its the old base, for most people?
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you're never too old to learn! ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ
and i could probably keep up just fine, but thanks?
[ If he's using cursed energy, that is. And then it depends on how long he has to book it for until he runs out. (Which unfortunately, is a lot faster now that there's a limit on what he can tap into.) But really, there's no need for any of that with the wonders of modern (future?) day technology and Yuta's determined to prove it. That had been their original deal, hadn't it? Yuta always keeps his word. ]
okay, i'll make sure to be ready then.
it'll take double the time if we leave from neo tokyo though.
i know things are pretty rundown here in kyoto, but the train system in japan is pretty robust and since the trains here don't require personnel, we might have some luck finding something a bit closer by.
1/2.
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... It's just, Atsuta Shrine would technically be on the way from Tokyo, right? This is a pilgrimage. We don't have to stop at just one or two places, if it'll only take ten hours to travel total.
[ .... and the kusanagi is in atsuta............. or it was. he's pretty sure it was. maybe its been lost, but still... if the shrine is still there... ]
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... fine, we'll make it a proper pilgrimage and go through tokyo first then.
i guess we can make some smaller stops along the way to make the journey more bearable too.
ten hours is a lot of time to be stuck on a train.
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We're making the most of our home turf advantage, Yuta! And this way, Kuwana will be an easy stop too, so we can go get some material.
Then we can make it back in time for that usual summoning our employer does at the start of next month, and get to work. I wanna start you on some proper foundational basics soon.
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