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writingpaperghost · 2 years ago

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Without You (Chapter 7)

Chapter 7: Mystery Belt, What is its Power?

There's something about the Demons Driver that doesn't seem right.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43371954/chapters/111352570

Hana was a bit restless, mostly because she had no clue how her family would behave around Sakura, and she was horrified they’d do something to embarrass her. And should she introduce Sakura as just her friend? As her girlfriend?

“What, are you worried about what Mama and Papa will think of her?” Makoto asked, watching as Hana paced back and forth.

She paused, answering, “I’m just- it’s- it’s different than Hikaru.”

“You have been spending a lot of time with Sakura,” Makoto reminded, “Honestly, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think she’s usurped Hikaru as your best friend.”

“No, no, that’s not it,” Hana insisted, “it’s more- well she- I-“ Quickly she turned on her heel so she was no longer facing Makoto in an attempt to hide her blush. She wasn’t even entirely sure how she should refer to Sakura, they hadn’t exactly talked about it, at least not in regard to Hana’s family. She’s saved by Sakura’s arrival, prompting Hana to spin around again to face her, “Hi! Sakura!” Maybe she’s still a bit filled with nervous energy.

With a smile, Sakura walked towards her, “Hana, you look so pretty today,” her compliment only caused Hana to blush more – though she’d been becoming used to Sakura’s adoring words, they still caused her to blush some.

Elsewhere in the house, Hana can hear movement, probably Tamaki and Genta, if she had to guess, given Yukimi was still cooking. “Thank you, Sakura, but I’m really not dressed any different than usual.” Well, she was wearing some of the clothes that Sakura had gifted her – and surely Sakura had noticed that – but she thought they were nice and had begun wearing them more anyway.

Sakura takes Hana’s face into her hands and leans down, kissing her. Hana hadn’t expected that – not in front of her family! Not that she minded, but she hadn’t really talked to them about her love life.

Judging by the growl from Tamaki, he and Genta had arrived in time to see the kiss. When Sakura pulls away, she smiled – seeming proud of the blush on Hana’s face. Genta coughed, to draw their attention.

Facing them with an awkward smile, Hana said, “Um, this is Sakura-“

“You didn’t mention that she was your girlfriend,” Makoto noted, something of an amused expression on his face.

“Well it- we only started dating recently and-“ Hana stumbled her response, unsure why she was so flustered. Was it Sakura’s kiss? Or the fact her family was present for said kiss?

Waving his hand, Makoto laughed, “Relax, Hana. It’s fine, right Papa, Tamaki?”

Tamaki was still frowning, looking not terribly pleased with the sight he’d seen. Genta had a surprised expression on his face, before it morphed an overdramatic, sad, expression, “Our little Hana’s growing up so fast!”

“Really Papa?”

Sakura finished her introduction as Genta quieted down, “I’m Sakura Akaishi, it’s wonderful to meet you.”

The frown on Tamaki’s face is replaced with surprise, “Akaishi?”

“You’re Tamaki, right?” Sakura takes a step towards him, “You work with my brother, Daiji, at Fenix, I believe.”

“Oh, you’re Captain Akaishi’s younger sister…”

From there, dinner seemed to go well, at least. Genta and Yukimi seemed to like Sakura well enough, to Hana’s relief, but Tamaki and Makoto were proving to be a tougher crowd. Especially Tamaki, but he didn’t seem to like Sakura much from the get-go. Makoto, meanwhile, seemed more like he was just putting on a scary older brother appearance, for the sake of keeping Hana “safe” and fulfilling his role as older brother.

Though, in Hana’s opinion, Sakura’s brothers were much scarier.

Watching Sakura carefully, Tamaki asked, “So how’d you two meet, anyway?”

“My brother, Ikki, brought me here and Hana had been working the desk, at the time. I took one look at her and thought that I’d never seen anyone more beautiful.” Sakura recounted, smiling and taking Hana’s hand. Hana did her best to reign in her blush.

Yukimi perked in recognition, smiling at the mention of Ikki, “Oh, Ikki’s your older brother? He’s talked about you a lot.”

A strange look came over Sakura’s face, overriding the pleasant expression she’d adopted. “Yeah, I guess Ikki comes here a lot. Says he really likes it, or something.” There’s something about her tone that doesn’t feel right.

“Yes, for years and years, he’s a good kid.” Yukimi smiled.

At that, Sakura laughed – not a real laugh, there was no amusement. It was dry, almost bitter. “Father,” she began, tone wry, “would not agree with you.”

“Your father sounds like an asshole,” Hana said before she could even think about what she was saying, let alone stop herself.

The atmosphere at the table seemed to shift, Hana thinks she really shouldn’t have said anything. Then Sakura looked away, “You’re not the first person to think that I’m sure,” drumming her fingers against the table, she changed the subject. “Regardless, I suppose Ikki is… he means well, at least, and he does his best to help.”

The conversation continues on some track or other, Hana wasn’t paying very good attention. Not for the first time, she finds herself wondering about Sakura and her brothers’ father. She’d heard of him, of course, but she knew little. He was the director of Fenix – and that’s strange, isn’t it? The father of the leaders of the Deadmans was also the director of Fenix, talk about a conflict of interests. Despite hearing so much about him, though, Hana had yet to meet him herself. The more she heard about him, the more she didn’t think she wanted to meet him.

Once, Sakura had mentioned that they didn’t see him often, so that at least gave Hana hope that she would never have to meet him, or at least not that often. It wasn’t something that she and Sakura had spoken about, yet, but she thinks that they maybe should, soon.

---

One thing Tamaki noticed a lot while in George’s lab, was this one belt, locked away in a case. To be fair, there were two of those – this blue and pinkish one that he knew George had been working on prior to switching to the Libra Drivers that Makoto and Aguilera had, and a red, grey, and black Driver. The latter one was the one that bothered Tamaki, had since day one. It had been there and complete, as far as Tamaki knew, since Tamaki had first met George.

George had said it had been an invention of his father’s, and that alone made Tamaki both more curious and more hesitant to ask further. Because even Tamaki knew that George was finishing his father’s work, but he also knew that George’s father was a bit of a touchy subject. Tamaki could at least understand that, he knew Hana too had complicated feelings about her parents – though she’d never known them – and Makoto had once admitted to being unsure how to feel about his mother – he never elaborated as to why, though.

The belt itself just… gave Tamaki this bad feeling. Even through the material of the case it was in, there was something about it that just felt… wrong. Tamaki really couldn’t quite place it, and he was hesitant to say something to George about it. He kept telling himself that he was imagining things, and even if he wasn’t, George probably wouldn’t take him very seriously. If George wasn’t worried about it, which he didn’t seem to be, then what did Tamaki know?

Makoto once, even, had mentioned how strange the belt seemed to him. He hadn’t said it while George was within earshot, Makoto was too smart to do that, but he’d said it when they were alone.

Just like Captain Akaishi, Makoto had said.

As much as Tamaki hated to admit it, he had to agree with Makoto’s observation. Though his first proper meeting with Captain Akaishi had been at a time he was very distracted, his ears had just come in and everything was very loud. By the time he could focus, Captain Akaishi had long left to go about his business. After that, though he’d certainly seemed strange to Tamaki, again in a way he really couldn’t explain, Tamaki tried rather desperately to ignore it. Captain Akaishi was his superior, and someone that he'd say he admired, even.

But there was something strange about him, and something strange about the Demons Driver. The question was: what? What could those two have in common – no, not even those two. Tamaki was certain that Sakura was had whatever was strange about Captain Akaishi too, possibly even Ikki, though Tamaki hadn’t paid much attention before. Still, he hadn’t a clue what it could be.

Maybe he was thinking too much about it, given how long he’s been practically glaring at the Driver. And given the strange look George gave him. “What got you like that?” George asked, playful but almost absentminded as he tinkered away at the Libra Driver on his desk. “You’re growling.”

“I am?” Tamaki gained the habit of growling as early as when he gained his fur and tail, so at this point he was rarely aware when he was doing it. Makoto said it was how they always knew he was angry, because he’d start growling. This didn’t help Tamaki much, given he was rarely aware when he was growling, and often if he noticed, it was only afterwards because he’d done it so much his throat had become a bit sore.

“You are, something bothering you?” He was surprised that George was asking at all. Sure, he must have been curious as to what was making Tamaki growl, but the fact it was asked in a manner that sounded almost like he was concerned was strange. Tamaki knew better than to assume that George was actually concerned, he was probably just teasing, making fun as he so often did.

Tamaki rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, sure, you totally want to know,” then, thinking better of pretty much back talking his boss, he added, “it’s nothing, anyway.”

George stalls in whatever it is he’s doing to the Libra Driver – Tamaki really can’t tell and wouldn’t know even if he could – like he’s unsure how he wants to respond. He mulls over his options, before he went back to work and asked, in a somewhat cheeky tone, “Do you normally growl over nothing?”

“I mean it’s not something you should worry about,” Tamaki huffed, even though his words weren’t entirely true. Because the Demons Driver felt like it was something George should worry about, and the fact he didn’t was… well it wasn’t being used, at least. And Tamaki wasn’t entirely convinced he wasn’t being paranoid. As a matter of fact, he probably was.

Besides, who would even be convinced to use a Driver like that? The name itself seemed worrisome enough, but the fact that it had just been lying around and existing like that, being all weird and off putting, should have been deterrent enough. Except he and Makoto are the only ones who find it weird and off putting, he wasn’t sure if that said more about them or about everyone else.

Not being so lost in his thoughts as he had been before his conversation with George, Tamaki doesn’t miss the footsteps that stall outside the door to George’s lab and isn’t surprised when the door opens. George, who is, for once, not quite so lost in his work, actually looks up, the same as Tamaki.

The one entering the room was a surprise – not Captain Kadota or Captain Akaishi like usual. Instead, it was a far less common sight – Commander Wakabayashi. Tamaki thinks he’s only seen the man a few times, maybe once about the base, another when George was just finishing the belt Makoto had, and then during the ceremony the Deadmans crashed. Seeing him here meant that something had occurred that needed major addressing, and he didn’t want to go through Captain Kadota and Captain Akaishi to do so.

George, the playful man he was, smiled an amused smile and said, “What a delight to get a visit from you, Commander Wakabayashi,”

Just like the last time Commander Wakabayashi had visited George’s lab, Tamaki kept quiet. It wasn’t like this was really his conversation, anyway, but he doesn’t have half the courage to be involved in a conversation the commander was in. It was strange to see Commander Wakabayashi here regardless, and George clearly picked up on that too.

“How goes your progress on your next Driver, Karizaki?” Commander Wakabayashi asked, quick to the point.

Pushing his chair back from his desk, George grinned, gesturing to the half-completed Driver on the desk, “I’d say it’ll take a few more days. Some of the components can be pretty picky about how they’re done.”

Commander Wakabayashi was a serious man, that much was clear from just one look at him, something like a frown always present on his face (Captain Kadota had mentioned, once, that he’d seen Commander Wakabayashi smile a few times, but never elaborated. It was obvious that Captain Kadota had a fondness for Commander Wakabayashi, even if Tamaki was unclear as to in what way). But that ever-present frown fell into even more of one as he listened to George’s words. “As it is, Makoto Igarashi alone isn’t enough to combat the Deadmans, particularly now that they’ve gotten ahold of one of the Drivers.” If Tamaki were being honest, he hadn’t been all that sure that Makoto was enough even before Aguilera appeared.

“Well, as soon as this is done, we’ll have Tamaki here to fight, too. Then I can begin work on making a new Driver for a regular human,” George was still grinning, and gestured towards Tamaki when he mentioned him. Tamaki wished he hadn’t, he doesn’t like the feeling of attention it brought, even when it was just Commander Wakabayashi and George himself.

He feels Commander Wakabayashi’s eyes on him, before they quickly return to George, to Tamaki’s relief. George was far less phased at any kind of attention, be it from his superiors or otherwise. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the attention.

“It’s likely we’ll need another Rider before that, Karizaki.” Commander Wakabayashi said, “You have two completed Drivers at current that are unused.”

“One,” George is quick to reply, “is unusable to anyone at Fenix. I hadn’t realized how specific of parameters it needed until it was already completed.” There was something strange about how quickly George had responded, and Tamaki had to wonder just what would happen if someone did try to use that Driver. What was so special about it?

Commander Wakabayashi’s gaze falls to the Demons Driver, that cursed belt in its box. “And what of the other Driver?”

Shrugging, George followed Commander Wakabayashi’s gaze, “That was left to me, a creation of my daddy. I can’t really say what it does, or what it’ll do if someone tries to use it.”

There’s a silence, before Commander Wakabayashi sighed, “Look into it and finding someone who might be able to use it.”

“No,” The word comes out of George’s mouth quickly, “That would take too long, at least while I’m trying to finish this Driver.” Tamaki thinks it’s bold of George to argue with the commander, before remembering that regardless of what George’s rank was, in relation to Commander Wakabayashi – and Tamaki really wasn’t sure – George was far too important to Fenix to just be fired. That was likely the reason George always acted the way he did, because there was little, if anything, he couldn’t get away with.

After a few moments of contemplation, Commander Wakabayashi nodded, “Very well, then. But this push for another Rider, right now, doesn’t end with me. I understand it is a push from the director, so this is unlikely to be the last you’ll hear of it.”

The whole conversation, George’s previous grin had slowly collapsed, and now it had settled firmly in a frown. “The director can tell me it himself, if he wants it so badly.”

“I’m just giving you that warning, Karizaki,” Commander Wakabayashi sighed, “This isn’t likely to be the last you’ll hear of it, even if it isn’t from me.” With that, the commander leaves, and Tamaki is left with an impression that he was beginning to understand why Captain Kadota liked Commander Wakabayashi so much. He was, at least, rather understanding.

---

It wasn’t the first time that Hana had found herself underneath Sakura, in some capacity. Sakura was very good at knocking her to the ground, during their training sessions, and at least a few of those times would result in Sakura on top of her. This time, though, as the Bee Vistamp clattered on the ground beside her and Sakura just hovered over Hana, a knowing smile on her face as she saw how red Hana’s face was. Part of that redness was from exertion, but the other part was certainly a blush.

“I love to watch you fight,” Sakura said, her smile strangely gentle. “It’s so different from how my brothers or myself fight. It’s so…”

Partially out of breath, Hana offered between her attempts to recover, “Clumsy?”

“Not at all,” The response was quick, “I was going to say something more like… hmm…” She reached under Hana and pulled her, rolling so they were both lying on the ground, on their sides.

“More like…?”

Sakura rests Hana’s chin on her shoulder, pulling her close despite how hot they both were. Hana squirmed a little at the touch and the heat. “Beautiful? Or do I call you that too much?”

“No, but I… I don’t know about that assessment.” Hana rolls back onto her back, putting a little more room between herself and Sakura, to relieve some of the heat. She was sore, as she always was with this training. But it would be worth it.

Rolling on her back in suit, and sitting up, Sakura frowned, “Why aren’t you?” She helps Hana sit up, not taking her hands off her even once Hana’s reached a sitting position. Her hands settled themselves on Hana’s shoulders. “You’ve been improving a lot. Using your Vistamp is beginning to become second nature to you, I can tell.”

That much was true, at least. That Hana was finding stamping herself with her Vistamp was becoming more and more natural. It felt more and more like it was the right way to fight, when she did it. Like it was a part of her she’d finally found. There wasn’t any fear of her Vistamp, anymore.

But Hana wasn’t sure how to explain her feelings here. How weak she felt, even after all this training. That it felt like she wasn’t improving in the slightest, despite how hard she was trying to get better. “I… I don’t know.” She mumbles, “forget I said anything.”

Standing, Sakura tugs Hana up, “Come on, let’s clean up and get something to eat.”

“I can’t stay for lunch,” Hana said, “Hikaru and I are meeting for a bit.”

The light smile that Sakura had previously had – half genuine and half that pleasant but fake smile she wore around people – faded, falling into a frown. “Oh, him,” she huffed, “I don’t see why you still spend time with him.”

Hana frowned, “He’s my friend.”

“He’s not like us, he’s weak.”

“But he’s my friend,” she insisted, “He’s the only one I’ve had, he was nice to Tamaki and I. I lo- he means a lot to me, and I haven’t been spending time with him lately. It’s hurt him, I feel bad about it.”

With a heavy sigh, followed by a strange, almost knowing look, Sakura said, “Then let’s get you cleaned up and we’ll find something nice for you to wear.”

Hana couldn’t help but laugh, “Come on, something nice? He did karate with me, you think he cares what I look like?”

“What, you don’t want to look nice for your best friend?” Sakura laughed too, more of a teasing tone. That caused Hana to blush, which seemed to amuse Sakura further.

Huffing, though not entirely annoyed, Hana responded, “I guess it couldn’t hurt…”

---

Hikaru waited on Hana – it wasn’t that she was late, he was just early, hurried out of the house by his mother. Since he hadn’t seen so much of Hana recently, he wasn’t entirely sure what she’d been up to. Which made his parents less than thrilled, since it meant it was harder to keep an eye on the Igarashis. But at least he’d be getting to spend some time with Hana, today.

He still didn’t like how much of her time that Sakura took up, but he was beginning to think it was less because Sakura was actually dangerous or something and more likely that he was just… jealous. Really, it was his fault for not trying to act on his feelings sooner, but Hana’s social life had always been very limited, and she’d never shown a huge interest in romance, so he’d thought he’d have more time to gather his courage. He couldn’t have expected that Sakura would swoop in like she did.

And really, he wasn’t going to act on his feelings while he was still stuck with Weekend. That would be… a bit dishonest of him. The only reason they’d become friends, or at least that he really tried to be her friend, was because that’s what he was told to do. Though he’s never been fond of Weekend, at that time especially he wasn’t so brave as to try to go against them.

Then he realized how much he loved Hana, more than just as her friend.

Now he was trying desperately to ignore his jealously at Sakura, for getting Hana in a way that Hikaru was beginning to think he never could. When he sees Hana approaching, dressed in what he’s certain were clothes given to her by Sakura, he pushes the thought out of his mind.

She waved at him, “Hey! Hikaru!”

Smiling, he waved back, “Hey, Hana.”

“I hope you weren’t waiting too long…”

“Nope, nope, I just… got here early. That’s all.” She gave him a hug, bringing a blush to his face that he hoped desperately she wouldn’t notice. There was just something about the hug, about how warm Hana was and how tightly she held him. “Had to get out of the house, you know?”

Hana laughed, “Yeah, I get it. Come on, let’s get something to eat.”

For the next few hours, it felt like before Sakura. Just him and Hana and things were fun and wonderful. At least for that time. He can see her, see the smile on her face unlike ever before.

The worst part about it all is that he can see that she’s different, now that she has Sakura. Whether it was because she had a girlfriend now, or because she had Sakura, he wasn’t sure. There was something about Hana that just didn’t quiet feel right, and he wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. He didn’t dislike it, certainly, but since he couldn’t really place what had changed…

And then he’s reminded that this wonderful, blissful slice of time with Hana was only temporary, when she gets a text on her phone and smiles. She reads it, and then looks at him, “Hey, I gotta go. I’ve got something I’m helping Sakura with.”

That caused the smile that had previously on Hikaru’s face to fall. “Oh,”

“Sorry,” Hana did seem apologetic, “But I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Hikaru nodded, “It was good to hang out, I’ll… see you.”

With a smile, Hana waves him off, hurrying off. Which left Hikaru on his own again. At least she was happy, he tells himself. At least Hana was happy, and she’d stay that way so long as Sakura was by her side – that much he was certain of.

---

Tamaki was hurrying to where the Deadmans were, Makoto certainly already on his way. He’d meet him there and do his best to aid him. Upon arriving, Makoto was just behind, ditching his bicycle on the ground. Across from them was Aguilera, already transformed, joined by Evil, who looked disinterested.

“Olteca and his brother, it’s about time,” Evil sighed, “I was about to ask Aguilera to start making a ruckus to see if that was going to encourage you to get here faster.”

This was the first time they’d seen Evil, outside of when all three of the generals crashed the ceremony. Aguilera seemed less at ease with him than she did Jeanne, though maybe that wasn’t strange. Tamaki growled at his words.

Seeming amused, Evil instructed Aguilera, “Aguilera, why don’t you prove to me that training’s doing some good, and you can deal with Olteca. The wolf can deal with our demon.” Though Tamaki can’t see Aguilera’s face, he gets an impression by her movements, as she moves closer towards Makoto, that she’s rolling her eyes.

Makoto transformed as Aguilera sets her sights on him, as Evil ordered. A demon appeared, Evil or Aguilera must have stamped someone before they got here, and Tamaki pulled out his Vistamp, prepared to fight it. He hadn’t actually fought one before – the previous two times he’d stamped himself had been against Jeanne, or Aguilera. But really, could it be much harder? Well, he knew better than to think that, but still.

Of course, because the world likes to make things hard for Tamaki, he immediately determines that he really shouldn’t have thought that it wouldn’t be terribly hard. The demon wasn’t as strong as Jeanne or Aguilera, yes, but it was still a degree of strong, probably at least evenly matched with Tamaki. It takes most of his attention, that was sure.

But it didn’t take so much of his attention that he didn’t notice Captain Kadota’s arrival, nor that he missed seeing he had something in his hands. Unable to make out what it was, though, Tamaki couldn’t give it too much attention.

At least until he managed to shove the demon away, giving him another chance to glance over at Captain Kadota. Then he recognized what was in Captain Kadota’s hands – the damned Demons Driver and a Vistamp. He doesn’t get why Captain Kadota has it, though, George had been pretty insistent it not be used…

The demon doesn’t give him much time to think about it, he has to focus on fighting it, and it was taking too much of his attention. He’ll just have to trust that the belt is safe enough, since George was letting it be used at all.

Evil too seems to take notice of the belt that Captain Kadota was now placing on his waist. Holding the Vistamp up, Captain Kadota activates it, then stamps the Driver, resulting in a spider coming down from nowhere and his armor appearing. At that sight, Evil scowled, taking a step into the battle for the first time since it started.

“So Karizaki’s pulled out his father’s invention to try to deal with us?” Evil flicked his finger, resting the elbow of that arm on the back of his other hand. “I’m surprised. Well, I suppose that I will have to be your opponent.”

He rushed at Captain Kadota, who easily blocked his attack, though did seem a bit surprised that Evil would join the fight. “I’ll protect anyone from your schemes.”

“Schemes?” Evil practically mocked, huffing and probably rolling his eyes behind his glasses. “Oh, that’s ridiculous. As if we’re the one’s scheming.” He attacked Captain Kadota once more.

“Then what are you doing? Attacking innocent people?”

Grabbing Captain Kadota’s wrist to block his punch, Evil growled, “No one we’ve stamped has been unwillingly. Perhaps you shouldn’t be so quick to listen to what Fenix has to say about us.” He knocks Captain Kadota to the side, “And maybe you should be more hesitant about using that belt.”

“I have no reason to believe you,” Before Captain Kadota can say or do much more, Makoto is flung into him by Aguilera.

She lands from her jump beside Evil in an elegant manner. Evil sighs, “You really enjoy throwing Olteca far too much.”

Aguilera looks proud of herself, almost seeming to laugh, even.

And Tamaki’s still preoccupied with the demon, as Makoto rolled off of Captain Kadota. Out of breath, Makoto mumbled, “Sorry,”

Looking between the three, Evil seemed proud, “Well, I suppose you did well enough, Aguilera. I think we let Fenix’s little spider deal with our demon, now.”

In response, Aguilera only crossed her arms and shrugged, casting a glance over to where Tamaki and the demon fought. Taking that as answer enough, she and Evil disappear, leaving the three with just the demon.

Tamaki is promptly flung back by the impact of the demon’s next attack, tumbling on the ground. Well, it was at least a better way to get flung then Makoto being thrown by Aguilera, again. That did mean it was up to Captain Kadota to deal with the demon, though – since Makoto was untransformed now anyway, he’d have to at least finish the demon even if Tamaki hadn’t gotten knocked to the ground. One of the Drivers could separate a demon from their host – and truthfully Tamaki didn’t even know if that was actually something the Demons Driver could do.

If Captain Kadota is concerned about that, he doesn’t show it as he approached the demon, visibly prepared to fight. With his more experience in fighting over Makoto, he dealt with the demon much more quickly and efficiently than Makoto had thus far, and soon enough it was defeated.

Though Tamaki still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling the Demons Driver gave him, even as it was being used by Captain Kadota.

#kamen rider revice #kamen rider #my writing #without you

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