Steam.

Heat.

Bitterness.

And just like that, life was worth living again. Yosuke Shirai, the Luminous Hero, also known as Wavelength, but mostly not known to much of anyone... was beginning to hate the frigid December surrounding him slightly less. Wrapping himself a little deeper into his battered brown duster jacket, the young white-haired man pulled just a tiny fraction of the small cafe's ambient light into his false eye, kindling a flickering, cherry red ember of bound infrared light into it. It couldn't help his half-frozen feet and hands very much, but it did wonders for his wind beaten face. Patrolling was such an incredible pain in the ass when it was 18 degrees and blasting wintry winds outside. "At least there's not much going on right n-"

Before Yosuke could rescind the challenge to fate he'd inadvertently made, a pair of large, angry men burst into the cafe, yelling... something or other. Yosuke couldn't be bothered to pay attention, his ears were still frosty. At first, they were arguing with each other, but when the barista gestured to the duo, asking them to calm down, the brutes decided to cancel whatever heist or other nefarious malfeasance they'd no doubt carefully crafted, in favor of just stealing the register and roughing up anyone in their way. Yosuke didn't move much, didn't even glance in their direction. As the thugs reached for the barista, who was now beginning to realize the situation she'd inadvertently gotten herself into, Yosuke began stirring his coffee, with a curious sweeping motion added to the usual sort of stir. Patrons started screaming and running for the exit, and a few frantically began pressing emergency buttons on their phones. The overhead lights flickered and dimmed, but no one really noticed or cared.

The two quirk users, one of whom seemed to be sporting a finely crafted series of bestial tattoos currently coming to life and leaping off his broad shoulders, the other of whom seemed to be dislocating his jaw and preparing to eat the cash register, very much did notice when the water inside their well-muscled bodies began to sizzle and boil. The pain vanished as suddenly as it came, but the villainous pair looked like they'd been hit with a truck, frantically looking around the room in confusion. Another pulse of microwaves came, and another. Then a longer one, a solid five seconds of blood-searing agony which brought them to their knees. As the shell-shocked men sobbed on the floor, a patrolling hero with a couple of work study students by her side rushed into the room and cuffed them both.

Yosuke spent the next few minutes finishing his fifty cents worth of black coffee, tipped the barista a dollar he could ill-afford to yield, smiled at her from the corner of his jacket, and quietly returned to the swirling hell outside.

================================================================================================

It had been a long day. A long, long day. Yosuke reclined on the ratty, threadbare couch in his apartment and sighed in relief. A quick burst of laser light into the fireplace, and a roaring fire commenced warming the small, well-worn room. Even with his hero salary and a considerable number of captures to his name, Yosuke's salary was still being garnished by Kawakabura Medical Center. Fifteen years of payments hadn't sufficed to break free of the debt he'd incurred as a UA student. His hand drifted up to the hollow metal container embedded where his right eye used to be, as it often did when Yosuke felt melancholic. A simple mistake. Every child wants to do their best, don't they? But... you fly too close to the sun, you get burned. As true today as it was in ancient tales.

Shaking off the last of the cold, Yosuke began preparing his "favorite" dish, a hearty platter of corned beef hash and some canned mixed vegetables. Today was a good day though, he'd helped an old woman fend off some robbers hoping to steal the metal and wiring from her backyard greenhouse, and for his trouble Yosuke had reaped an entire basket of fresh tomatoes, dripping with richly flavored juice. He didn't even waste time cutting one, opting to savor its texture by biting into it like an apple. As he finished the last of his unexpectedly nourishing meal, a knock came at the door. Immediately, the glow began building in his false eye. Not many people knew who he was, much less where he lived. A quick chirp of radiation, flashing up and down the electromagnetic spectrum from visible to X-ray and back, gave Yosuke assurance that indeed only one person was at his apartment. A tough trick, wrapping his own beams back to his eye and dropping the power before he irradiated his own head, but a clever one. Whoever was outside wasn't a large person, but... Wavelength knew better than to assume anything about a villain's build. Still, he was a hero. And heroes didn't shoot first.

Opening the door, Yosuke found himself face to face with a massive pile of clothing, lumpy piles of fleece and faux-fur bound up in spectacularly colorful polyester, sealed tight against the cold. He barely had a chance to mutter a question before the rainbow riot shoved its way into his room, shaking and shuddering. "May I HELP you?" Yosuke closed the door to shut out winter's chill once more. As the walking fabric store peeled off its outer layers, Yosuke was confronted with a surprisingly small, but somewhat familiar figure. None other than Heartbeat, the young musical prodigy from Class 3-B he'd "taught" at UA, Madoka Mikan! She gratefully gasped for air, panting and sweaty despite the cold. Did she walk here? In THIS weather? Yosuke helped Madoka shed her heavy outerwear, gave her a cup of water, and waited until she'd caught her breath.

Her eyes sparkled brightly as she enthusiastically greeted him. "Yosuke-sensei! Thanks for letting me in! I had no idea you lived all the way in the eighth ward of town, it took forever to get here from the bus stop!" Yosuke looked down at his one time student. "Yeah, this part of town is, uh... not very well patrolled, so I took the posting. Hazard pay and all that, you know." Madoka's face lit up. "Oooohhhh, tell me, tell me, tell me! You have a lot of adventures over here? That sounds awesome!" Yosuke held up his hands, begging for calm. "Not the kind of adventures I'd like to be having, but I suppose life's rarely dull over here. But before any of that, you need to tell me what on earth you're doing over he-" A loud banging outside interrupted Yosuke, and with an irritated look on his face he leaned out the window, yelled a series of almost R-rated words (children being present and all) at someone apparently named "Klepto Karl" busily attempting to rip down one of the few remaining streetlights outside, fired off a quick laser blast, and sent Klepto Karl yelping off into the howling frost. Slamming the window shut, Yosuke finished his thought. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here? For one thing, you're a student, for another thing, it's almost 6 pm, and to top it all off, you're alone and unlicensed in a rough part of town. Why on god's green earth are you in my apartment?" Yosuke didn't mean to shout, but despite himself his voice dialed up a few decibels, filling the small room with anger, and no small amount of concern. Madoka fearfully shrank back into the couch a few inches, and Yosuke stopped himself short. "Apologies, miss. I didn't mean to yell."

Madoka recollected herself, putting a hand to her chest and slowing down her startled pulse with a quick breathing exercise. "It's okay, sensei. I know I'm not what you expected this evening. I... I need your help with something. Or maybe I should say someONE. The hero administration isn't suited for small problems like mine, and the police... don't have a good track record with apprehending this sort of person. And if I went to anyone in an official sense..." Madoka's face scrunched up and little tears began pooling in the corners of her eyes. "I can't get my family tied up in this, in my problems. They wouldn't understand, and it could really hurt their public image." She looked Yosuke directly in the eyes, with a surprisingly serious glare. "And worst of all, if mom and dad knew I was struggling with this, they'd NEVER let me leave the house again, much less become a hero." The blond haired girl looked down at the floor. "I can't let that happen. But I also can't handle this by myself. Will you take a look at this?" Madoka pulled a large sheaf of crumpled papers from her jacket pocket, proffering it to Yosuke. Confused, concerned... but also unwilling to ignore Madoka's distress, Yosuke began to read. At first written in neat, razor-precise handwriting, with calm and measured tones, the notes became more and more unhinged and sloppy as Yosuke flipped through them.

"Greetings, Miss Madoka! I wish I could introduce myself properly, but I'm your number one fan! I read every thread on your forums, upvote every social media post you make, and I talk about you all the time with my friends! "

"Miss Madoka, I was at your concert on the fourth! It was amazing, I've never seen anyone sing so brightly! You've got to tell me who set up your pyrotechnics, they're a genius! Although, they really cut it close with that last number, your hair almost got singed!"

"Miss Madoka, your interview with Flashbang Records was spectacular! You were so proud of getting your first song on an album, and I heard you'll be headed to high school soon! I'm so happy for you, but why did your mom look upset? Nobody else noticed, but I'm your top fan! Nothing gets past me, not even that slightly clenched jaw when she spoke about your future prospects."

"Miss Madoka, I heard through the grapevine from IdolWarri0r37 on your fan forums, there's some missing data from your profile! He's claiming there's something that's been omitted, but that can't be right, can it? No one as open and beautiful as you would ever do such a thing! But as your number one fan, please let me know, I'll make sure to set the record straight!"

"Madoka, I heard the big news. I wish you'd told me yourself, but that's okay. I know you're very busy. You're going to UA, how impressive! But... are you sure it's a good idea? That place is brutal, and you'd have to cut back on your career so much! I can't be your top fan if there's nothing to be a fan about, haha!"

"Madoka, I got a piece of news you should really see. The fail rate of UA is higher than what they let people know publicly! Kraz33EYES gave me the scoop, he dug up some old interview questions several teachers had given a couple years back, and cross referencing that plus the known graduates, plus everyone we can confirm as flunking out... Something isn't right about that place. Don't let them trick you, Madoka! They thought they were so clever, but I got them dead to rights! How could your best fan do anything less!"

"Madoka, you have to listen to me! I know your Quirk is wonderful, but I got ahold of your doctor. He didn't want to tell me, but I'm not about to let him hide the truth about your powers! If you exert yourself too much... you could die! You can't let them do this to you, Madoka! You CAN'T!"

"I don't know what the problem is, Madoka. I've tried everything I can think of. I told the world about your quirk, so no one could lie to you. I made sure everyone knew about UA's half-assed teaching style. I managed to confirm the real facts about hero death rates in the field, the raw numbers, not the fudged graphs and edited charts they make public. And yet... And yet you keep moving forward. You walked through the UA doors a few weeks ago. Is someone forcing you to? Have they threatened your family? Do you want to commit suicide? This doesn't make any SENSE!"

"Who's keeping me from you, Madoka? I found some of my letters... in the trash. Outside your studio. Who is it? WHO THE FUCK IS IT? I know YOU aren't reading this, Madoka-chan. That much is obvious. Whoever you are. Whoever IS reading these. Whoever's filthy, murdering, lying GODDAMNED hands are intercepting me... You get one chance. One more chance. I know you're scared, bastard. I understand. It's okay. All will be forgiven. Probably looped into whatever conspiracy all this is. Just look the other way, manager-san. That's all I ask. Look the other way, and let me get through. If you don't... I will make a way through you myself."

"Madoka. My precious Madoka. I'm sorry to scare you. There was no other way. This one I'm leaving in your room, so you'll be sure to see it. Your manager made the right call. Smart man. He really shouldn't try to keep me from you. I mean how could HE possibly protect you? He can't even figure out how to keep me away from his own family. Don't worry about HIM, he won't make a peep if he wants to remain a father. UA will kill you just as surely. Your bright light, the only light worth seeing in all the world... will be gone. Please... turn back. I couldn't bear it if you were gone. Do... do I have to stop you? I'd never hurt a single hair on your head, Madoka. But if UA is determined to swallow you whole, I'll force them to spit you back out. Never fear, your number one fan is here."

By the time Yosuke finished silently reading the papers, Madoka was sobbing quietly into her hands. "I didn't know... I didn't know anything until my manager finally let this person put a note in my bed. He... he was in my HOUSE. He could have hurt my family... done anything he liked. I don't know who he is, I'm afraid. I feel so useless. Please help me, sensei!" Yosuke thought for a long, slow moment. "Madoka... eehhhh... Damn. I hate to say it, but this is also part of being a hero sometimes. Female heroes, and a surprisingly large number of male heroes, tend to attract types like these. Heroes are public figures, usually youthful, with well-trained bodies and minds. People fixate on them."

Madoka looked up at Yosuke, openly sobbing now. "Y-you mean... you mean it's always going to be like this? There's nothing I can do? I... I... uwaahhhhh..." Madoka's voice was tiny, almost lost in the air between them. "I can pay you... I have money... Please... Please don't... he's... I... Yosuke reached down, wiping her tears. The smile tearing its way across his face was... predatory. "Time for your second hero lesson, Madoka."

"Heroes have plenty of experience hunting the hunters."

================================================================================================

Winter break, and everyone was out of school. Yosuke sat in the nearly empty cafe, nursing a half-forgotten cup of jet-black brew. An online video was playing on his small-screened, much worn cell phone. Madoka was singing her heart out, blazing through one of her best, catchiest performances ever. Singing, dancing, energizing the crowd, her every movement razor sharp and brilliantly choreographed. As the final encore dwindled away, she gave the gathered masses a special treat. "Everyone! Thank you all for coming and showing your support! It means so much to my family and I! This was our best festival yet, so I want to give my personal congratulations for all your help! And I want to reward you for your efforts!" Madoka's face fell theatrically for a moment. "I know there's too many of you for me to thank in person, but I STILL want to do my best if I can." She brightened up, giving the crowd her winningest smile. "So I cooked up a plan with my manager! He suggested... I should at least meet my very MOST dedicated fan! We'll have a contest, with trivia, social media interaction, games and puzzles, all kinds of fun activities! Everyone can enter, and whoever scores the most points, I'll have a special dinner with them. I'm sure they'll have so many interesting things to talk about!"

Yosuke closed the video. It had already exploded across the internet, and dozens of fans were in the main peloton ahead of the teeming lesser masses, savagely fighting for the honor of eating alongside their idol. He thought to himself, contemplating. "But one of them... Only one of them is flawless. Every trivia question, no matter how obscure. Every Mikan Family-themed puzzle, no matter how complex. Every level in Kawaii Super Idol Simulator, cleared with SSS+ rank. I expected him to cheat, but... damned if this stalker isn't walking the walk. It'd be admirable if it wasn't psychotic. They'll win, and it won't be close." Sitting in the cafe, looking at no one in particular, Yosuke steepled his hands, holding them together in front of his mouth as he leaned his elbows on the table. His false eye glowed, the temptation too delicious to resist.

"Just according to plan."

The barista rolled her eyes.

================================================================================================

The appointed day arrived. Madoka's family was elsewhere, pleased that their daughter had been focusing so hard on her non-hero activities. It had been trivially easy for Madoka to divert them. There were no police visible anywhere. No radio traffic. No covert signals, no unexpected activity. Nothing that could be intercepted. It would be disastrous if this stalker turned out to have a quirk that could spring the trap before its time. Yosuke would have the police and several other heroes on speed dial in case of emergency, but only as a last resort. Tonight, a four-star chef had been procured, and his wait staff was already setting the table. The clean shaven, ramrod straight, white haired waiter looked eager and ready to serve. Madoka was a little shocked at just how tall Yosuke was when he wasn't slouching.

A knock at the door, and Yosuke opened it with a dramatic flourish. "Welcome, welcome, to the number one fan of miss Madoka Mikan! She's eager to meet you, let me take your coat... uhm..." A young woman with steel-grey eyes shed her heavy winter jacket. She seemed a few years older than Madoka, a stunning beauty marred by a long healed, massive injury. Her lower jaw was completely artificial, and most of her neck below it was brutally scarred, perhaps burnt. A metallic voice rang out from a speaker embedded where her voice box should have been, in clear, crisp tones. "Sayaka Nakai, here to meet with miss Madoka Mikan. I am the contest winner." She bowed respectfully. "Please, I am eager to meet her." Yosuke gestured with his right arm, desperately trying to contain his surprise without betraying the mission. "Of course, madam. Right this way! The chef has worked his magic tonight, and will be starting you off with a wonderful appetizer, seared scallops with butternut squash puree. The saltiness of the seafood against the light and creamy sweetness of the squash is a delightful contrast. I'm sure both of you will enjoy it!" Sayaka merely looked at Yosuke coolly. "I'm looking forward to it."

Madoka was waiting in the great hall to greet her "guest", and while she managed plenty of enthusiasm, she couldn't help but betray some surprise when she saw her contest winner. Covering her shock with a little curtsy of apology, Madoka chirped out her best welcome as Yosuke introduced Sayaka. "Hello, hello, hello! It's wonderful to meet you, miss Nakai! When my manager told me about your super high score in the contest, I was stunned! You probably know more about my family and I than... than I do!" Both girls sat down, and began munching on their appetizers. Sayaka nodded, her speaker humming slightly. "Yes, miss Madoka. I hope it's not too startling to you. I... have had a lot of time to learn all about the Mikan family." Sayaka touched her damaged throat. "For a number of years, I was bed-bound in a hospital. A brawl between heroes and villains got out of control when I was younger, and as you can plainly see... I got caught in between. I couldn't move much, lest I reopen the wounds. So I spent all my time on the internet. I found one of your videos, I think it was your second performance ever. You were so tiny, but... you weren't afraid of anything. I watched you fill the stage with light and joy. My hospital bed... didn't seem so confining. From that moment on, I did everything I could to follow your light, even from a sealed room."

The main course arrived, a beautiful array of poached lobster tail with cauliflower and butter sauce. The scent of garlic wafted around the two girls in delightful contrast to the strained atmosphere. Madoka spoke up. "I... I'm happy... no... I'm joyful. To know that I could help you in such a way. I've... always wanted to help people. Even beyond my music and singing." Yosuke noticed Sayaka's hand clenching a little more tightly around her cutlery as Madoka continued speaking. "I'm lucky to have so many dedicated fans. Hey, hey. Can I tell you something? As my number one fan, you of all people should hear it. It's not public knowledge, but... my parents are against me attending UA. They act fine with it in the media, but I had to really fight to get in." Sayaka hid it well, but with a carefully concealed lens of bent light bringing magnified images directly to his remaining eye as he walked through the kitchen, Yosuke could see the mystery woman's shock. Something even she didn't know.

Madoka continued speaking, letting some of her internal stress creep into her voice for added effect. "I've learned so much at school. It hasn't been easy, but I'm stronger. Smarter. Better than I was before. I can do so much more than I ever thought I could." Sayaka interrupted. "You're not... worried? Heroes... Heroes get hurt. Heroes hurt other people. Death follows them. I'm living proof of that. Alive when I should be dead, thanks to reckless heroes pursuing battles as they please, just to raise their score." Madoka shook her head. "It's scary sometimes. I don't have big muscles or bulletproof skin like some of the others. But... I can't just stay on stage, you know? When I'm singing, people are happy. But when they go home... they're scared again. I want to brighten that part of their lives too. To be a he-" Sayaka bashed her fist against the table, causing the dishes to jump and wobble. Her eyes were filled with rage and pain, and Madoka recoiled in fear.

"Cut the BULLSHIT. I've seen your medical records. I know how to work a hospital. Your quirk WILL kill you. As sure as the sun rises, yours will set. And then... then there won't be light for ANYBODY. Maybe even YOU don't recognize how bright you shine, how much people... how much I depend on you, but... I can't let your light go out. I won't. I may not be a hero, but... I can recognize a suicide attempt when I fucking see it! Maybe the idol life has been too much for you, maybe your parents are overworking you, whatever it is, I'LL HELP! DON'T TURN ME AWAY!" Sayaka turned her head slightly towards the kitchen, glaring at the door as it rattled and swung. "Whoever's hiding back there, you damn well ought to stay behind that door if you know what's good for Madoka." She stood, slapping her plate aside as she advanced toward the trembling Madoka. "You think I didn't know this was a trap? I admit, I went too far with some of my notes, sure. I don't care. It was the only way I could get through." Sayaka yelled out to the empty room, her synthesized voice cold as ice. "Whoever's listening, I haven't hurt anyone, YET. I have weapons. I have friends. Either Madoka resigns from UA here and now, or I'll take her myself. Don't make me escalate this." A male voice came from the kitchen. "Some fan YOU are."

Sayaka glared, literal daggers shooting from her eyes. The kitchen door splintered and shattered, falling away under a hail of sharpened steel to reveal Yosuke standing behind it. Holding a dagger in his hand, he tossed it aside. "My, my, what a mess. Raising your hand against someone you care about? How cruel." Sayaka crept closer to Madoka, inch by inch, clutching a hastily created dagger in her hand. "So, you're the bodyguard? The trap? I'm not surprised. The butler always does it after all, and a waiter is close enough. What's your name, hero?" Yosuke sighed. "Yosuke Shirai. Today though, I'm not here as a hero, I'm here as Madoka's friend. You've got her scared to death. Especially chucking knives haphazardly around the room like an untrained amateur." Sayaka spat. "No. Exactly the opposite, in fact. I'm here to scare her AWAY from death, bastard. You don't know ANYTHING about her, no one does. I've learned EVERYTHING, just to keep Madoka safe and alive. I may be an amateur with my quirk, but I'm a PROFESSIONAL when it comes to HER."

Yosuke pointed behind Sayaka. "Well then... it doesn't seem to be working, does it?" As Sayaka turned, she shrieked in mortal terror. Madoka was clutching her chest, frozen in a rigid posture as cold sweat rolled down her forehead, her eyes bulging as a massive heart attack tore its way through her body. The scarred woman lunged for her idol, frantic beyond all rational thought. The light was going out.

Or more accurately, the light was going leftways. And backwards. Madoka disappeared.

Sayaka crashed into an empty chair, the room whirling and twisting around her in madly disorienting bends and coils. Up was down, left was right, her arms were spirals and her eyes stared in two different directions. Sayaka stared daggers in all directions, hurling razor blades everywhere she could, but Yosuke merely walked forward calmly, unfazed. "Well that was enlightening, if you'll pardon the pun. But I wouldn't try any more violence, madam. Altering your field of view and projecting false images is one thing, but if you're really determined to abduct or harm Madoka... I can apply much more force, rest assured."

Sayaka vomited, unable to keep the vertigo from her system. "Fuck you, hero. All you bastards, so concerned about what's right and deciding what's wrong, you just spout flowery bullshit to cover over the stink of the bodies you leave behind! MADOKA DOESN'T DESERVE THAT LIFE! SHE IS GOOD! NOBLE! SHE IS A HERO, BUT YOUR MEAT GRINDER WILL MAKE SURE SHE GOES DOWN INTO DARKNESS WITH THE REST OF YOU! STUDENTS GO INTO UA, BUT SOLDIERS COME OUT! AND... And..."

Sayaka stumbled and fell, sobbing helplessly as tears ran down her face. "Fine. You win. I... I had to try. Even knowing this was a trick. I had to try. Just... Just don't let them hurt Madoka. Hurt me all you like. Send me to the deepest jail cell. Don't take her song from me though. Nothing could be worse than losing her." But nothing came. Yosuke walked over, and calmly sat down beside Sayaka. Carefully, he cleaned the mess from her face, delicately removing the filth from her mechanical jaw and speaker. "How can you know so much about her, but so little of her? You really missed the forest for the trees, super fan. I apologize for showing you those images of Madoka. Turns out in addition to being a great singer and dancer, she's a pretty good actor too. I just brought her image in from another room to provoke you. As soon as you entered, I made you see her where she wasn't. But she was listening. She did eat with you. Even though she was terrified... She faced her fear. Like a hero."

"To try and save you."

Sayaka was too choked up to speak, her voice box only sputtering and glitching. Yosuke helped her sit up. "Madoka's going to be a wonderful hero someday. She's not satisfied with being a passive observer. Even though it's risky, even though she could get hurt, she's determined to stand up and do whatever she can. Protecting her... don't make me laugh. You want to kill Madoka? Lock her in a cage. She's fought like the devil to make her parents recognize that she needs to fly. I know you know that. You of all people, who's researched every detail of their lives."

Sayaka finally found her voice, trembling and soft. "But... but I just... I can't... She's my whole world... She's my everything... I can't live without her..."

A small hand came to rest on Sayaka's shoulder. "Then don't." Sayaka turned, unable to even breathe, even dare think. Madoka was... here. With her.

"You've done some bad things, Sayaka-chan. And you'll have to apologize for them. But... I can't hate you. I can't let you tear yourself apart like this, just like you don't want to let me die. So I have an idea. You've worked so hard. Be my fan. My number one fan. My true fan. Be the fan who sees me as I am, not just the me on stage... I'm going to graduate. And I'm going to reach for my dream. I... I could use a friend, though. Someone who's looking out for me, thinking ahead for me, watching my back and working behind the scenes so I can be the best hero I can be. Every hero needs someone like that, right? So I'll make you a deal, Sayaka. Take that passion and fight for me, not against me. And I promise I'll always be your hero." Madoka's eyes blazed with almost unbearable sincerity.

"Will you help me live, Sayaka?"

Yosuke smiled, as the two girls collapsed into sobbing heaps together, clutching one another tightly as the stress finally bled away. "God help the villain that tries to get past Sayaka.", he thought. "They'll never find the bodies." Tapping his phone, Yosuke sent an all-clear message to the police. There would still be questions, certainly. Interrogations. Possibly some jail time if the manager pressed charges. Mere details. Madoka had turned a deadly wildfire into a cheerful fireplace flame. "What's the old line? I destroy my enemies, when I make them my friends?"

Smiling, the tall, white haired "busboy" put on his duster, set the tightly wrapped packet of money Madoka had given him on the wooden seat beneath the coat rack at the door, and walked out into the frigid night.

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Pub: 02 Dec 2023 04:12 UTC
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