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The Epic	By : kyochan Category: +S to Z > Spiral Views: 1747 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Spiral, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Title:� The Epic

Chapter:� 18/ many

Authors:� Kyo-chan and
Koko-chan

Genre:� Shounen-ai

Disclaimers and notes:�
We do not own the characters or the series.� They belong to Kyo Shirodaira and Eita
Mizuno.� This fanfiction is written by
fans purely for the enjoyment of fans.

Summary:� Hiyono the
mighty bullies her way into the rescue party!

~*~

�� Kousuke
laid his head on his folded arms, telling himself over and over again that
school was almost done for the day. He had gotten plenty of sleep, and was as
recovered as he was going to be, but he still felt raw inside, and he kept
fretting about the fact that he couldn't sense Ayumu anymore. He'd been nervous
about the Web when they first got it, but now that it was gone, he would have
given anything to have it back. And right now, he really wanted an aspirin and
a pass to just leave. And maybe another hour's sleep.

�� There was
still time before the class started, and the students around him were milling
about, swapping homework and silly stories. No one seemed to notice the blur
until it had whirled into the room, stopping before Kousuke's desk with a
triumphant, "AHA!!! THERE you are!" Sure enough, it was Hiyono.

�� "Gah!"
Kousuke yelped, startled out of his half-doze. "Antidistablismentarianism!
42! Istanbul! I
had nothing to do with that bus full of ducks and grape jelly! I didn't do it,
no one saw me do it, you can't prove anythi--huh?" He blinked at Hiyono,
finally back on this plane of reality. "Whuzza?"

�� She stood
over him with her hands on her hips. "It's about time I managed to find
you! I've been looking for you for the last two days!"

�� Kousuke
just...blinked at her. It was a remarkably feline movement, especially since he
also tilted his head just slightly, as if to say, "I have no idea what
you're talking about, silly human." Then he sighed and lay back down on
his desk, obviously thinking to ignore her.

�� "Where's
Ayumu?" she demanded, not about to let him go to sleep, not when he was
one of her only links to the other boy when he seemed to vanish.

�� "You
mean he's finally escaped your clutches?" he murmured drowsily, "I
congratulate him. Now Eyes and I can carry out our dastardly plans of seduction
involving silk scarves and caramel topping." Distraction was good. He
really needed to talk to Rio about her logic,
though. Looks like the gray-haired girl had a rather sizable hole. Instead of
Hiyono thinking Ayumu's disappearance had nothing to do with the Blade
Children, she'd just gone right for the source, and Kousuke would have been one
of the first to admit he had very little backbone with women. He could kill
them if they were Hunters, but otherwise, he was in hot water if he couldn't
distract Hiyono.

�� "We'll
see what Ayumu has to say about that! ...once you tell me where he is, of
course." She crossed her arms. "I don't buy into Madoka's story about
how he just had to get away and think, so yesterday, I stopped by just to be
sure, and she showed me the note." Reaching into her pocket, Hiyono pulled
out her little notebook, flipping a few pages and peering at something.
"According to my notes, his handwriting was just enough different than
normal that I realized that something was going on. Ayumu wouldn't just up and
leave, he'd be too afraid that it would look like the same kind of
disappearance as his brother. And since he's not with me, I can only reason
that he'd be off doing something with--" She lowered her voice, leaning
down so that she was looking right into Kousuke's face, snapping the little
notebook shut. "--the Blade Children."

�� Well,
crap. "He's not with us." he said, figuring using half-truths was
better than lying when it came to Hiyono. "And we haven't seen him
either." No, just felt every second of his agony as Kanone did something
that we can't figure out...

�� Hiyono
tilted her head at him, honey-dark eyes assessing him critically. "But you
know where he is, don't you?"

�� "Uh..."
Shit! Shitshitshitshit!

�� Smiling,
she seemed to look victorious. "I thought so! It's settled then! You'll
take me to see Eyes Rutherford immediately after school, so that I can get the
story in a much more comfortable setting." Reaching out, the blonde patted
Kousuke's spiky hair. "I knew you'd have the answers, Kousuke. You're so
helpful. See you after school!" With that, she bounded off to her next
class so that she'd make it before the bell rang.

�� "Wha?!
But--I--HEY!!!" Kousuke gaped after her, wondering once again how he kept
getting into these situations when girls were around. He groaned and buried his
face in his hands. Eyes was going to murder him...

~*~

�� Eyes sat on
the floor, an open atlas in his lap, slender finger tracing over the lines.
"Here..." he murmured. "Kanone is here." He tapped the
location gently, then glanced up at the rather scratchy image of Jhette.
"I would suggest landing somewhere very open and driving in the rest of
the way."

�� Riku looked
up over the monitor of the laptop at the pale man. "I just barely made it
into the air traffic network. Jhette should be able to download the data to
give us a clean flight."

�� "Rio, are we packed?"

�� Rio nodded. "As packed as we can be. Jhette only has
so much space in his hold, and really, how does one prepare for something like
this besides try to think of every opportunity and leave the rest to luck? All
we're waiting for now is Kousuke."

�� "Make
sure there are critical first aid supplies on board," Eyes said grimly,
forcing himself not to shiver. "Just in case."

�� Rio gave a grim smile. "Those were the first things
I got."

�� Jhette's
image blinked. "A question. Why carry along first aid when one of our
number has the potential to heal?"

�� A confused
shadow crossed over Eyes's face. His expressions had been a lot easier to come
by since he still hadn't quite recovered from what had happened the day before.
"I don't understand..."

�� The
mechanical Blade Child flickered, the brown eyes going blank as the functions
turned from accurate picture to data retrieval. "Reference file #593 of
Hunter Samantha, subject, Empathy. Main use, the projection and reception of
emotions, especially when felt strongly by empath or target. Secondary uses
include: Ability to spot a lie whenever spoken in an empath's presence, the
ability to know if another living person is within a limited physical range,
and the ability to take wounds of others onto oneself and then dispel them to
heal one that is hurt. However, the last is considered dangerous, because even
those with strong empathic gifts are drained quickly. Empathic healing is only
to be used as a last resort, or if Hunter Samantha wishes to dispose of Subject
Asazuki Kousuke for scientific data on empathic burnout."

�� The Blade
Child did shudder this time. "It's for that last reason alone that we are
bringing first aid supplies. Kousuke has been through quite enough without
burning him out from the inside as well."

�� "Besides,"
Rio said, calmly slipping as many knives and
miniature bombs onto her person as she could manage, "I don't think Kousuke
knows he can do any of that stuff yet. We certainly didn't."

�� Jhette
nodded. "A viable point. Do you wish that I make the data on various
mental and physical Gifts into a separate file for future study? There is also
one on something called 'shielding'."

�� "Yes,"
Eyes said the moment he heard that. "It would be greatly
appreciated."

�� Riku stood
up. "Coordinates ready for download, Jhette. All we need is for Kousuke to
come home, and then we're set."

�� Jhette's
image flickered again as he did a quick sweep of the building and outside
perimeter. "Subject Kousuke is currently within the entrance hall, heading
for the elevator. However, there is another person with him, one I do not
recognize. Female, about Riku's height, blonde and wearing the uniform for Kousuke's
high school. Kousuke seems in some distress."

�� With a
heavy sigh, Eyes got to his feet. "Something told me we wouldn't make it
out of the country without her knowing about it. Subject is Hiyono Yuizaki, a
schoolmate of Kousuke's and one of Ayumu's information sources. She is
permitted here."

�� Rio rubbed her forehead. "Baka," she muttered,
though whether it was to Kousuke for letting the girl bully him into bringing
her here or herself for not thinking of this possibility, one couldn't be sure.

�� "Understood.
Then I shall unlock the elevator for her before she...why is she hitting
the doors with a teddy bear? Is this some customary tradition?"

�� "For
her it is," Eyes answered. "Yes, go ahead and open it."

�� "Understood.
Doors open and Subjects Kousuke and Yuizaki are approaching top floor. Kousuke
still looks distressed."

�� "He's
probably worried we'll throttle him for not having a backbone around
women." Rio replied.

�� "Statement
unclear. Medical records showed that Subject Asazuki Kousuke did in fact have a
spine when--"

�� "Never
mind, Jhette."

�� "Is
this girl going to be a problem, Rio?"
Riku asked, looking quite ready to knock some heads together if she had to. One
thing was for sure, she would certainly enjoy trying to beat the hell out of
Kanone, especially since she'd held back the first time for Eyes.

�� Rio sighed. "I don't know. She's not an enemy, if
that's what you're worried about. Like Eyes said, she's a friend of Little
Narumi's. She's the head of the school newspaper, and seems to live and breathe
being a reporter. I'll give her this, though. Her information network is very
close to perfect. And she tends to just keep badgering until she gets her way,
if she doesn't just run right over you."

�� That made
the dark-haired girl smile. "You know, it's very possible that I could get
to like this girl."

�� Rio smiled back. "I rather like her too. For all
that she's annoyingly persistent, she is brave and loyal. She drives Kousuke
nuts, of course. But then, so does any strong-willed girl."

�� The
elevator dinged, the doors opening.

�� Riku was
snickering when the two of them walked in, and Eyes was checking over some last
few things before they got ready to go.

�� "You
should have told me you were bringing a girl home, Kousuke. I would have made
sure the place was tidied up a bit more," he said, closing the atlas and
setting it on the table.

�� Kousuke
scowled. He looked more than a little worn, since he had spent most of the walk
home arguing with the annoying chit, and then even attempting to run and lose
her in the crowd. That hadn't worked either, much to his disgust. "It
wasn't my idea!"

�� The grainy
image of Jhette approached, staring with interest at Hiyono. This was the first
normal human being he had ever seen, besides the Hunter and her assistants.
Narumi Ayumu didn't count, since he was so tightly wound in with the Blade
Children and Fate. He was understandably curious about this girl who walked so
boldly into their domain.

�� Hiyono
squeaked a little at the strange apparition before her, almost wondering if she
was looking straight at a real ghost. What a story that would have made! She
leaned in a little closer to stare back, reaching out as if to touch him. When
she didn't make contact, she pulled her hand back and put her hands on her
hips. "I didn't know that Blade Children could be ghosts..." She
tilted her head at Eyes and then waved. "Is that what he is?"

�� Eyes shook
his head. "It'll be a bit hard to explain..."

�� "Negative,"
Jhette replied in that computerized breathy soprano of his. "Program
Jhette is a computerized system created through the merging of a Blade Child
and technology. What you see is a hologram. The Blade Child known as Jhette no
longer truly exists."

�� Kousuke
rolled his eyes. "Yes you do. You're alive under all that hardware
downstairs. You just can't say it because it's against what that bitch
programmed you to say."

�� Jhette gave
the redhead a stern look. "That is incorrect. Program Jhette does
not--"

�� "Yeah,
yeah," Kousuke sighed, too tired to really argue. "Whatever. It's
nice to see you're operational again. Things getting fixed?"

�� "Marginally.
Due to the emergency status of the situation, I rushed the interactive software
and merely put a patch on the data that has no relevance to this set of events.
A more complete repair will commence later."

�� "Hooray
for our side. Hey, I don't suppose you'd be willing to toss a certain nosey
reporter out the window..."

�� "HEY!
I refuse to agree to defenestration! Not when none of you has told me what
happened to Ayumu!"

�� Eyes shot
Kousuke a look with a raised silver brow. He knew that the redhead had a
problem with willful women, but not being able to keep Hiyono off their case...
well, he supposed that wasn't too big a stretch. She was rather
persistent after all...

�� Kousuke
grimaced, his expression saying quite clearly that he knew he'd botched it, and
that he fully expected Eyes to smack him for it at the first opportunity.
"Look, I tried to get rid of her. I even tried ditching her in the
rush hour crowds!"

�� "A
ploy that was doomed to fail since your hair stands out quite well in a
crowd!" Hiyono pointed out proudly.

�� Riku
snickered behind her hand. "In more ways than one," she said,
deliberately poking fun at the wild spike of crimson.

�� Rio nodded. "That's true. And there's also the fact
that Kousuke can be a real wimp at times..."

�� The
nekojin's expression stated quite clearly that he felt he was being unfairly
ganged up upon.

�� Eyes went
over to him and slung an arm around his neck. "But we'll forgive him for
all of that. He's had a rough week. So, Miss Yuizaki, you're hunting for Little
Narumi? I'm afraid you won't find him here."

�� "Hmph.
That's unexpected... Kousuke looked fairly guilty when I mentioned that he
might have gotten mixed up with you guys again. I'm sure you know that he's
missing, don't you, Rutherford-san?"

�� Eyes nodded
his head, unable to lie, even to the face of one who would most likely insist
upon getting involved. "Yes, I do."

�� Kousuke
didn't feel all that much better with Eyes's comment, and started giving
serious thought to dyeing his hair black and getting a goddamn buzz cut or
something.

�� You'll
do no such thing, or I'll go completely bald...and then think of all my angry
fans...

�� Kousuke
actively cringed. You're evil!

�� Jhette was
still looking Hiyono over, obviously fascinated by her. Being mostly computer,
and one with several severe information gaps at that, he was recording just
about everything his sensors picked up, because it was all so new. A person who
had obviously not been trained to fight from an early age! What a
concept!

�� "Excuse
me...but why are you looking at me like that?" Hiyono questioned of Jhette,
peering at him again, momentarily forgetting that she was supposed to be
interrogating Eyes. "I know it's not because I'm a girl...there are
already two here!"

�� Jhette
looked up at her, those featureless brown slit eyes gazing at her in what might
have been wonder, if the picture was better and more detailed. "You are
not a Blade Child. You are a normal human being. I have never seen one
before." he said simply, and went back to studying her, the hologram
walking in circles around her, wanting to get readings from every angle.

�� Riku
laughed softly. She knew that he had to have seen a real person sometime before
Samantha had gotten him. Though his reaction to Hiyono was amusing, it did make
her want to find a way to help him get back to normal.

�� "So..."
Hiyono said, watching as Jhette circled her before turning back to the others.
"About Ayumu..."

�� Jhette
tilted his head. "You seem very concerned for Narumi Ayumu. Such concern
is unusual, according to my data banks. Are you family? Or perhaps...what was
the term...his woman?"

�� Kousuke
burst out laughing.� Riku did too,
doubling over as she did, she was laughing that hard.

�� That
brought a flush to Hiyono's cheeks, and even though she shook her head, the
look on her face was evident enough that she had thought about it at least
once. "No...I'm just.... a friend..." She almost sounded doubtful.
Even Hiyono wasn't sure what she was to the quiet brunette.

�� "Trust
me, Jhette," Kousuke gasped, "the only way she and Ayumu will end up
in the same bed is if he takes a complete leave of his senses or if he's
utterly drunk. Otherwise, there's no way he'd be that insane."

�� Rio made a point of moving out of blast range. That was not
something said to the face of a hopeful lady. Kousuke no baka...

�� Eyes
stepped back just in time to miss getting hit with a flying teddy bear.
Hiyono's idea of a rampage certainly was an interesting one. "Little
Narumi has been taken away for a ... visit with someone."

�� The
pummeling animals ceased at the sound of Ayumu's name. "Huh?"

�� Kousuke
could have just taken that respite as the opportunity to escape it was. He
could have just left well enough alone. But he couldn't help himself, because
while he may not stand up to women all that well outside life or death
situations, he couldn't stop teasing them, either. It was just the way his
personality was set up. "No wonder Ayumu never gives you a second glance.
How can anyone respect stuffed animals as punches?"

�� The next
hit nearly got the bear shoved down his throat. Hiyono was still paying
attention to Eyes, however... hadn't even looked as she landed the blow.

Riku took that into consideration. "You know, she'd be pretty dangerous
with the right training."

�� "Ow...don't
encourage her. She's psycho enough as it is." Kousuke growled. His nose
certainly respected Hiyono now, even if he personally didn't. Could that be the
evil little emotion called *gasp* jealousy? Naaaaah...

�� Jhette
tilted his head, obviously trying to gather what little information he
understood about the current situation. "The Hope is not here. He is out
of country, but not by choice. Supposedly, he is hurt."

�� "WHAT?!"
Hiyono's eyes were wide, her expression a cross between worry and annoyance
that no one had bothered to inform her of the situation.

�� "Jhette
is correct," Eyes added. "Little Narumi was taken out of the country
by a rather...resentful Blade Child. We are about to go and get him."

�� "Count
me in!"

�� "You
can't be serious, Miss Yuizaki."

�� "Request
unreasonable." Jhette agreed. "Subject Yuizaki is no fighter, and the
area we will enter is dangerous, full of hostile Blade Children. The chance of
you sustaining injury or even death is 76.994 percent."

�� Kousuke
nodded. "The people there don't like that there's someone who can combat Fate,
Hiyono. They have every reason to not want Ayumu rescued, and no reason at all
to keep from killing us if we try. They're not gonna take it easy on you just
because you're not one of us. You'll just slow us down."

�� The stuffed
animals were gone in a heartbeat, and she was staring at Kousuke looking like
she wanted to slap him and was holding back. "You know, I'll bet that's
what Ayumu first thought when he met me. You're telling me that there's a
chance he could be hurt, that there are people out there that might still hurt
him. I'm not going to just sit back and let you guys go off without me! What if
something does happen?! How do I find out? How will I be able to help
then, hm? Don't underestimate me!"

�� "How would
you be able to help, even if we took you?!" Kousuke shouted. He was tired,
irritated, and worried. He'd had a rotten last couple weeks, and there was a
good chance it was only going to get more so. His temper was understandably
short. "What can you do in a full battle, Yuizaki?! What you've
seen up until now were puzzles! Mind games! Yes, they were dangerous, but there
wasn't anything resembling combat! Now we're going somewhere where the least
that'll happen is that someone will get shot at! As for what else, that all
depends on the various talents of the Blade Children! And not even we
know what those are! Hells, I'm still learning about myself, and I
already know I'm capable of taking out more people than you can imagine if I
lose control! In a worst-case scenario, this could turn into a full-scale
bloodbath! People will die! What do you think you can do that's
of any use in something like that?! Interview corpses?! Once, just once,
you should keep your goddamn nose out of our problems!"

�� The
blonde's cheeks were stained dark red, fists clenched at her sides. For a
moment, it looked like she might turn and run, but she bristled and only stood
straighter. "Your problems are my problems because they involve
Ayumu! I know that you guys probably don't want to take me seriously, and I'd
be willing to believe that sometimes, even he doesn't take me seriously!
But Ayumu's the first person who didn't completely exclude me, even after I got
his story! Whether he actually cares about me or not, I care about him, and if
it's dangerous, I'm not going to let that get in the way of helping him! So I
might be useless in a fight, I'm not stupid! Let me come with you! I wouldn't
be able to stand waiting here wondering if anybody made it out alive or knowing
that I'd have no way of finding him if you guys failed! I'm afraid of what
might happen, but I'm afraid for Ayumu more! Please, let me come with
you!"

�� Kousuke
glared at her, his eyes dark with anger and something unnamable. "You are
so...RRRGH! Fine! If Eyes says you can go, so be it! Get yourself killed! See
if I care when Ayumu ends up hating us because we took his one normal
friend into danger! I'm done with you!" He turned and stormed off to his
room, muttering curses all the way.

�� Rio sighed. "Don't be too angry at him, Hiyono. He's
just as scared as you are."

�� Hiyono
sighed, the exhalation of breath more like a huff. "I...I'm not angry at
him... I'm just..." She shook her head. "I want to help Ayumu. And as
much hell as it looks like he and Rutherford-san have been through, I thought
that more help would be good. I suppose...he's right. I'm probably not going to
be much good, but I'll do what I can."

�� "You're
someone he trusts," Eyes spoke up. "I think that you need to be with
us. But that doesn't mean that you aren't responsible for this choice. My
permission being given for you to accompany us doesn't mean that I'm going to
be accountable if something happens to you. Is that understood, Miss Yuizaki?"

�� She nodded
her head emphatically. "I understand."

�� Nodding,
Eyes uncrossed his arms and headed after Kousuke. "Rio,
we're leaving in two hours. See that final preparations are made and that we accommodate
Miss Yuizaki--"

�� "Just
call me Hiyono already!"

�� ".........Hiyono
is ready to go when we are."

�� Jhette, who
had watched the whole thing with little to no comprehension, glanced at Rio. "Was that what is called a lover's spat?"

�� "Oh,
Jhette..." Rio sighed, then started
laughing helplessly.

~*~

�� Eyes lifted
silver hair off the back of his neck, tugging it into a ponytail and tying it
back. The whole time, his sapphire gaze was fixed on the wide landscape of the
manor that he had once shared with Kanone. After his mother had passed, they
had lived there together, and he'd eventually left it to Kanone while he
started touring. For all intents and purposes, this was his home, and he had
every right to come and go on the grounds as he pleased. That was why he was
going in first.

Some of the hair that wasn't long enough to reach the ponytail fell down to
frame his porcelain features, making them look more fragile than when it was
all down. He had told the others his plan, and he was sure it was the best one
they had. That way if Jhette couldn't pull off a distraction big enough to get
them all in, at least he would be inside and could find another way.

�� Kousuke
watched him, leaning against the hood of the dark green truck that comprised
Jhette's body. His eyes were dark with worry, but he knew there was nothing he
could do, no matter how much he disliked the idea of Eyes going in alone to
face Kanone. This was the best way, and the only one that didn't involve
massive amounts of body parts raining from the sky for weeks to come.

�� Eyes could
feel Kousuke's gaze on him, and he turned to face his lover. He'd dressed up
for Kanone, knowing exactly how much his image seemed to affect the other Blade
Child, and he wanted to go in with a full impression. His traditional leather
pants were topped by a black midriff, and his long, soft dark trench coat hid
the katana that was sheathed against his back. The hair tied back from his face
made him look indeed softer than normal, as if he'd dressed up in those clothes
just for the appearance of being tough. It was a mask over a mask, and Eyes
knew he couldn't fail.

�� Kousuke
took in the full effect, and while it was admittedly a very attractive image,
it made Eyes appear fragile. He knew that was done on purpose, but Kousuke
found himself hating it. He didn't like seeing Eyes look fragile, because it
reminded him of just how much he had to lose if something unexpected happened.
He looked up to meet Eyes's gaze again, his own green-gold orbs dark with
worry. "You're sure about this?" he asked quietly. He knew the
answer, of course, but he needed to actually hear it to remind himself that
behind the seeming fragility, Eyes had a will as strong as steel.

�� "Yes."
Eyes's voice didn't destroy that memory. Even though it was soft, there was
power behind it, like a blade gently blanketed by silk. He stepped up to
Kousuke and reached up to touch his face. "I must face Kanone. As much as
anyone else would like to take their shots at him, I have owed him this day for
years. I am very sure."

�� "I
know...it's just...I..." The words weren't coming out. He was the one who
had the most ease showing what he felt, and the words just would not come this
time. So he reached forward, taking hold of Eyes's arms and pulling him into a
fierce kiss. There was nothing of possession in it, because he knew that Eyes
belonged to no one but himself. Instead, the redhead put every ounce of love he
had into it, not caring that the others were there, watching, and could see it
as he laid his heart bare. He loved Eyes, truly loved him, and that was why he
was able to let Eyes have the freedom to do this, no matter how much he
personally hated it.

�� The kiss
was returned with the same amount of intensity, understanding that there was no
real possession behind it. He had nothing to fear of being owned from Kousuke.
Everything they shared was on equal ground, and for that, Eyes was incredibly
grateful. In return for the honest giving of emotions, the pianist gave back
all that he could as well. He wasn't free...not just yet. A little longer. I
promise..

�� It
was enough. It had always been enough. And that was what proved that Kousuke
truly did love him. He slowly pulled back, reaching up to stroke one pale cheek
with calloused but gentle fingers. "Be careful..." he whispered.

�� Eyes
covered that hand with his own for a moment. "As always." When he
pulled back, he looked at the rest of them. The girls had shown a surprising
amount of restraint, actually still serious at this point, regardless of what
they'd just seen. "Wait for me to give Kousuke the signal."

�� Rio nodded. "One of these days, when we actually
have a slow moment, you're going to have to explain in detail just what this
connection is between you two and Little Narumi. Just sitting on the outside,
it's like you're popping up with new abilities at random."

�� Kousuke
rolled his eyes. "Slow moment? Not possible."

�� Rio shrugged. "True. We'll be waiting, Eyes. And if
you get yourself hurt, I'll never forgive you. So be careful."

�� He nodded,
picking up the suitcase he'd packed with random clothes to make it look like
he'd come "home". There were weapons in there, too, just in case, but
that had been upon Riku's insistence. Never could be too careful, she had said.
With that, he headed down to the manor.
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The Epic