WARNING! Just like in the latest chapter of the original Mockingbird; this one too contains… AKITSU FLUFF! (With a bit citrus as a topping~)


Enjoy the chapter and please Follow, Favorite and leave a Review or I'll sic Karasuba on yeh! ;)

No seriously; Reviews are the only thing that keeps an Author motivated!

All mindless flames will duly be ignored (like all immature shits (Trolls) of the community should be), but constructive criticism is highly welcomed if it means I could potentially improve the quality of my story.


Disclaimer: I don't own Sekirei franchise it belongs to its respective owners.

I only own the SIOC.


Speech: "Hello"

Telepathic speech: "What"

Demonic & LOOOOOOUD NOICES!: "HELLO!"

Abilities/Norito: "Hello!"


MOCKINGBIRD GAIDEN


OPENING SONG:

THE BEGINNING by ONE OK ROCK


=CHAPTER 3=

=TEMPORARY LODGINGS=


-?-?-?-?-?-

Okay… I'm getting some serious Silent Hill vibes right now…

I took a nervous look at my surroundings… everywhere I looked was filled with thick curtains of fog…

Just what the hell is—

"Oh my…!" I admit I jumped a little, when another presence suddenly made itself known. "This certainly is a feeling I haven't felt in a long while..." And from the sound of it; the voice could only belong to a woman (someone in her mid-twenties I'd estimate?), considering its sultry undertone that'd make any man weak in the knees just from hearing it… Just like I was feeling now...

"Hmm? So you're the one… Color me intrigued. Never in my life would I have expected to experience Reaction again after all these years… You must be something very unique to be able to achieve where no one else did… pulling me in here, in the dream… Even HE never managed that..." She continued, her voice (filled with fascination) echoing all around me throughout this foggy realm...

I spun around trying to find the source of the voice, but to my avail I just couldn't locate her anywhere through the fog. I tried to call out for her, but nothing came out… for some reason my vocal cords wouldn't cooperate with me...

The sound was quiet for a moment till she spoke again, though this time there was a hint of sadness in her tone. "... You can't see me, can you…? That's bit of a downer, but I suppose I'm a little relieved by it as well." I heard her sigh. "I can feel it… you have a good heart, however this has just been so sudden... I need more time… I don't think I'm ready to become yours… not just yet..."

Eh? What is she on about?

"Tell you what... once you've become strong enough to see me within the dream, when that day finally comes… Come looking for me… come and find me…" The woman giggled. "I'll look forward to meeting you in a more… formal setting..."

"Until then… please take care… the winds will guide your way…"

Then she sensually whispered right into my ear.

"A-shi-ka-bi-kun~❤"


-Nerima, Reimei Hotel-
-7AM-

"Ngh..." I woke up with a soft grunt and brought a hand up to rub the bridge of my nose and clear my eyes from all the gathered crud around them.

My head feels all fuzzy… The hell was that dream?

Though after a moment of thought I decided to shrug it off. Especially since I seemingly could no longer recall any of it anymore...(1)

However as my eyes slowly fluttered open, I froze when I was met with an unfamiliar ceiling.

"What the...?" I murmured in a whisper, taking in my surroundings.

Okay, screw the ceiling! In fact could somebody bloody explain why the hell am I sleeping inside of a hotel room of some sorts (the bed did feel pretty nice though I admit), that's clearly Japanese in design!?

I glanced to my right, towards the lone window of the room, where the sole source of light was coming from; the window was closed with curtains, but judging by the lighting the sun gave through the fairly thin sheets; I'd estimate it was somewhere in-between 6 or 7 in the morning...

Though seriously where the hell is—!?

"Nnh..." I froze when I heard a feminine moan on my left and it was at this moment I finally noticed the additional weight on my left shoulder…

My head snapped towards the source and duly felt my lips form into "O" shape as the memories of last night came back with vengeance the second my sight fell on the person currently sleeping on top of me…

Akitsu...

Welp… Now I remember!

Got ROB'd, got shoved into new (animesque) body, dropped into Sekirei-verse, met Akitsu, encountered Mikogami, gave one last fuck you to Mikogami, Zoidberg'd the hell outta the scene and crashed a hotel for a night. Luckily the hotel was fairly cheap, so we managed to book ourselves a room with the cash I got on me with still plenty left for food and such. Though I admit, the procedure with the hotelkeeper had been a bit… awkward to say in least with Akitsu's half-naked state and all that...

Which sorta reminds me… Akitsu kinda ice aged the park didn't she? I certainly hope I won't be fined for it because I sure as hell ain't paying!

I shifted my gaze back down at the woman, who's still sound asleep on my naked chest (I still wore boxers, though sleeping with clothes on is often uncomfortable for me) and duly felt my lips crack into a silly grin as I witnessed the adorable image of drowsy Akitsu rubbing her cheek against my pec like an attention seeking kitten~.

"Nhh…m-master~"

Too much Kawaii-fucking-desu~!

Though as much as I'd like to stare at the sleeping beauty for all morning, like some creep; I was starting to feel the familiar prickling sensation down my groin...

Nature's calling!

However when I raised the blanket covering us, in my attempt to slip away from the bed to do my morning business (albeit carefully not to wake her up); I noticed two fairly important factors… one; for a woman her size, she had one heckuva grip, preventing my migration to the bathroom! And two… DEM TIDDIES! Translation: she's wearing her birthday suit!

… Which made a lot of sense, considering she literally has nothing to wear at the moment aside for the clothing I lend to her… and if I recall, Akitsu did mention that my undershirt felt really uncomfortable on her chest, especially around the nipples, when I tried to come up with something for her to wear for night just before we went to sleep?

Either way; the very same nipples were now quite exposed to the air and quite literally poking into my abdomen, and that of course was provoking certain reactions downstairs.

It is important to note boys and girls; for a guy, a hard-on isn't exactly helpful anomaly when you got a full bladder and believe me when I say Akitsu's luscious body is something that'd give even a celibate monk a stiffy in a heartbeat!

I didn't really want to bother her sleep, but my bladder demands release!

… Did I just rhyme that? Oh well, not important.

Ending my redundant musings, I placed my focus back to Akitsu and started shaking her shoulder with a hand.

"Psst, oiii~ Akitsu-chan~? Dear?" I called out in a soft voice. "Could you let go for a moment? I need to visit the bathroom..."

She shook her head in negative against my chest. So she was somewhat awake already… "Don wanna… warm~..."

My eye twitched, not out of ire, but from the strain for trying to prevent myself from squealing out loud… and for holding in my piss...

"P-please Akitsu? I reeeeally need to let my serpent of Akasha unwind itself!" Okay, I'm well aware I'm babbling utter nonsense here, but my bladder is literally going to burst at this rate!

"Nooo~... want snuggles..." She mumbled out, pressing herself even tighter against me.

Gaaaahhh! Can a girl get any cuter than this!?

"I- I promise Akitsu; you'll get all the snuggles in the world and more, if you please just let me go and perform my morning ritual!" I pleaded the woman, with anime tears running down my cheeks.

"Ah..." Luckily it seems my voice finally got through, if the way she seemingly perked up was any indication. She Akitsu then craned her neck upwards to meet my eyes with her steel-grey orbs. "... More snuggles?"

"ALL the snuggles..." I parroted my previous words with a heavy emphasis added.

Akitsu gained a pensive look for a moment, before she finally relented with a nod. "Ah… okay..." And with that she unwrapped her arms from me.

I sighed in relief and gave her grateful smile, however as I was about to step off the bed; Akitsu suddenly grasped onto my left hand, causing me to look back over my shoulder with a half-curious and half-exasperated eyebrow raised.

"Is something matter?" I asked my Sekirei.

Akitsu remained silent for good few seconds, until she finally spoke...

"...iss..."

"Hm? What was that? I didn't quite catch that..." I asked her, her voice was barely even audible just now.

In a bashful demeanor; the Sekirei of Ice gave me an upward glance, pretty blush smearing her pale cheeks. "C-can I have… a morning kiss, Master...?"

… I think I may have to start carrying around a bloody defibrillator with me at this rate, because this girl is seriously going to stop my heart from cuteness overload one of these days!

Honestly, how can anyone so sexy can be so damn cute at the same time!?

Though after hearing such innocent request; you'd have to be absolute monster (or Higa) to refuse it...

So with a warm smile on my face, I placed a hand on her cheek and leaned in, wordlessly capturing her lips with mine, which earned a pleased mewl from the woman as she closed her eyes and happily reciprocated the kiss.

"Mm~❤" And the moment our lips connected; bright astral wings of ice emerged out from the nape of her neck, lighting up the slightly dim room further. Though luckily no spontaneous climate changes this time around.

Boy, wouldn't that be interesting to explain to the hotelkeepers! And something was sorta telling me they wouldn't buy it if I said the air conditioner broke…

Unfortunately the kiss was kept moderately brief (about dozen seconds worth or so), so as we begrudgingly broke the liplock between us, her wings too dissipated into particles of light soon after.

I then leaned my forehead against hers and smiled down at her. "Will that do?"

Akitsu smiled at me in an almost dopey way, blushing prettily all the while. "Ah… One more..."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Hehe~ Aren't we needy this morning~" I teased her with a grin.

Though all I received was an intense stare…

"Jiiiii~~"

Geh!? Not again!

She's honestly reminding me of a Husky pup demanding for its belly rubs!

I rolled my eyes in good humor. "Okay, okay. One more, but the rest will have to come after I'm done with my bathroom business."

"Yay~" Akitsu cheered with a small fist bump in the air, before she shifted onto her knees on the bed to get more comfortable. Her cheer may have been done in a perfect monotone, packed with a half-aloof expression, but I can't help but adore her for it entirely~!

Then I kissed her again, however as I did so; I took a notice that her Wings didn't pop out this time around. Which made me wonder if there's some form of cooldown period to this phenomenon? As in, on contrary to my original beliefs, thinking the wings would sprout out each time a Sekirei is kissed by their Ashikabi; after the initial Winging; do they instead only emerge whenever Norito becomes active and won't appear again until Norito's effects has been either fully used up or has decayed from the lack of use after a period of time?

That's certainly a food for thought and something Akitsu and I should definitely experiment with at some point to see whether my theory proves true or not. And considering how this little (cue finger quote) experiment would involve a whole bunch of kissing with a very willing and very sexy alien ice mage? I have a strong reason to believe I'm up for a very enjoyable experience indeed!

Speaking of which…

"Mhmm~❤!" Oh! She's bringing the tongue out now!

I loathe to do this (my bladder even more so for basically blue balling me), but unfortunately ignoring your bladder often leads to more shameful results compared to the frustration you get from ignored libido… well… in most cases at least… I think?

So it was with those thoughts I broke the kiss for the second time.

"Noo~" Which also earned me insanely cute whine from my Sekirei.

I chuckled at her reaction, causing her to pout in return. "5 minutes, and we'll continue where we left off, okay?" To finish it off, I pecked her on the forehead (where her previous crest resided at) assuringly, which seemed to do the trick if her content smile and blush was of any judgement.

"Ah… yes, Master..."

I grinned at her brightly. "Good girl~" I cooed at her, whilst patting her head with affection.

"Ah… wan~(2)" Akitsu made playful cutesy bark (albeit in a deadpan tone) in response and she even pressed her hands against the sides of her breasts imitating paws, which both emphasized her act AND her breasts, giving me the perfect view of her large, perky assets with cute pink nipples… With absolutely zero fucks given about her own modesty...

I gulped rather loudly at the spectacle… and without my consent my eyes began to trail downwards unconsciously, below her navel… aaaaand, the view of her flower was once again teasingly obstructed by those (NOICE) thicc thighs of hers… the gentleman's part of me felt mild relief, but as for the rest; aka my red blooded and hormonal (perverted) male side, was at the brink of throwing a hissy fit!

Seriously, dafuq is it with these animesque censorships!?

Also; Fuck! Hidden or not; it was still more than enough for General Morningwood to make its comeback with vengeance! It's practically a miracle how Akitsu haven't taken notice of it yet!

To be quite frank here, if it were not for my traitorous morning bladder; I'd no doubt be all over her by now, busy motorboating those puppies… Or have my head buried and squished between those thick, juicy—

… I'm more of a degenerate than I've ever realized, aren't I…?

Gaaah! Fall back now for victory later!

"B-be back soon!" So with one last kiss across her brow, I hastily made my way towards the bathroom (in my boxers, not bothering to put anything else on yet) before any more obstacles comes up! Though in my haste I missed Akitsu raising a brow at my hunched over posture, mainly to cover my boner.

Although as I stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind me for some privacy, I saw movement in the corner of my eye. On reflex I turned to look at the source, only to see a medium sized mirror above a porcelain sink.

I blinked and raised a brow at my reflection. Now that I got a proper look of myself through an actual (clear) mirror, where my image wasn't distorted by the rippling waters or blurred out by bad lighting (and the look I got from my lousy ID had been brief at best); I realized I kinda looked like the male version of Gudao(3)… albeit one with long, blonde hair (which was currently free of its ponytail) and green eyes, the lone features of my past self...

Huh… that's pretty neat… Not to mention…

I stared down at my defined pecs and my honest to God abs! I used to have a very lanky body type with next to no muscles, but now I had the next best equivalent to a swimmer's build! Not overly bulky nor thin, but the perfect balance in-between.

"That's definitely a plus…" I mused to myself with a grin, as I flexed my right arm in front of the mirror.

But before I got distracted any further admiring my new body, I was then reminded of more dire matters, by the same stinging sensation I had over my groin.

Right, nature calls!

I rushed to the toilet and quickly raised the lid up. However before I could finally relieve myself from my raging bladder, I found myself with bit of a predicament as soon as I pulled my Junior out of its confines… With Akitsu's perfect, naked body and her bodacious tits still being fresh and upfront in my mind; my angry boner was understandably being very persistent to settle down!

I'm gonna piss all over the walls like this!

As I stood there holding onto my shaft, while glaring down at it; I could only let out an exasperated breath, before I threw my head back to stare at the roof blankly.

Now… How the hell will I cool this little fucker down?

*Shiing!*

… Is it just me or did it just get kinda chilly here? More specifically… down at my groin?

I slowly craned my neck, almost in a mechanical manner, to stare back down at my crotch… And as soon as I did; my mind went full blue screen on me...

Arata_Brain dot exe does not compute… ERROR! System shutdown immediate!

...

Commencing Reboot…

...

Rebooting…

...

System reboot successful...

...

Restarting Arata_Brain dot exe...

...

Commencing speech subroutine…

...

It took me about two minutes solid, but I think I finally found my voice, albeit a deadpan one…

"W-why is my cock sheathed in ice…?"


-Later-

I've never felt this humiliated before…

These were my lone thoughts as I sat there on the bed cross legged, doing my best attempts to try and have my face merge with my palm, while Akitsu was intently inspecting and at times even fingering my (sorta) unveiled groin with pensive, but very curious eyes… Meanwhile my boxers had been tossed aside to give her more room to work with, meaning I'm completely butt-ass naked this time…

I mean normally this would've been something to be excited about, however it was kinda ruined by the fact how my cock was literally put on ice! As in; mah dick is very, very literally frozen solid here (do notice the double entendre there)! There have been a few times I've been cock blocked in the past before, but this is a whole new level of being blue balled!

Oh, I can already see the joke here; "hey baby~, is that an icicle in your pocket or are you happy to see me?" and the response? YES.

And I STILL need to take that fucking piss!

"Ah… how...?" Akitsu inquired, the bafflement in her tone was palpable. Which coming from the woman with the best damn poker face of the series; should speak volumes just how damn absurd my current situation is!

I groaned in a pitiful manner. "That's what I'd want to know… b-but seriously can you please help me with this Akitsu? I literally feel like I'm about to burst!" And not in the good way! At this rate I think I'm gonna end up like Grampa Simpson!(4)

"Ah... ! Yes, please hold still for a moment, Master..." The Sekirei of ice placed her hands over my crotch, like one would do over a small bonfire (ironically enough), then she closed her eyes in concentration.

It took only a few seconds, but to my utter glee; Akitsu finally made the ice shatter away, turning it into snowy powder basically, freeing my junior from its frozen prison!

"Thank you, love!" I happily cried out, kissing my Sekirei quickly in the lips, before parting and dashed straight back into the toilet.

Few minutes later… I exited the bathroom with a loud bang and returned a new man~!

"Haahh… much better~~!" I exclaimed in great relief with wide, goofy smile plastering my face as I swaggered my way to the bed, before I spun around and let myself fall freely on top of the soft mattress with my arms spread wide with closed eyes.

Nothing could possibly—

*Poke~*

"Hiih!?" I let out a rather unmanly yelp, instantly snapping up in a upright position, when Akitsu poked my (now slackened) prick with a finger completely out of the blue. "Akitsu-san!?" I inquired in perplexed tone, adding even san honorific at the end to emphasize my feeling of incredulity at her brazen move.

"S-sorry... does it hurt?"

"W-well no, but why would—" That one made me blink. Now that she mentioned it… "I-it doesn't…?" I found myself responding her inquiry in a form of question... I mean, having your dick (or any body part to that matter) encased in a block of ice for prolonged periods, should leave you with a rather nasty frostbite, but instead… all I saw was perfectly healthy (albeit a little reddened) skin, which wasn't even irritating...

"I feel a bit chilled… down there, but otherwise I feel perfectly fine…" Something which definitely shouldn't be the only case here logically speaking...

"Ah... You're feeling cold down?" Akitsu then asked with a tilt of her head, looking down at my groin with contemplative look.

I raised a brow at her. "Well… I mean, kinda? It had been trapped in a block of ice not a minute ago…"

"Hmm..."

… I'll be completely honest with you… I was starting to feel a tad bit disturbed by the sheer intensity behind Akitsu's gaze right now as she leered down at my... Hold on… how long am I planning on flashing my Johnsson in front of a lady for!?

"A-ah!? S-sorry Akitsu! I d-didn't—" I was about to cover my taint away, however it seems Akitsu had different plans...

"Ey~"

*Boing~❤*

An awkward silence ensued between us… until I broke it a half-minute later… My voice perfectly calm, oddly enough...

"Akitsu...san?"

"...Yes?"

"Uhm… what… are you doing, exactly?"

"Ah… I'm warming Master's penis..."

...

"... By giving me paizuri(5)...?"

Yes, mah dick is currently engulfed by her rack!

"Ah… so that's what it was called..." The ice Sekirei muttered musingly as she experimentally pressed her tits further together with her hands, causing me to wince a little at the stimuli I felt on my shaft.

But then my brows jumped past my hairline, once I've registered her words. "Wait, you didn't even— W-where did you even learn of this…?" Sue me, I'm curious as hell!

"…The Chairman made us watch these… videos, during sex-ed sessions… And the woman in it did this to one of the males… he looked very pleased by it..."

Wat?

"... Minaka made you watch... porn for education?" Somehow… I wasn't even moderately surprised by this… And to be honest, I'm not sure whether I should be mad or throw praises at MBI's way right now… I mean, that will certainly clear out a few things and most of all spares me with the whole… Birds And Bees bullshit (I shivered at the mere thought)… Sure, there are plenty of guys out there who prefers to break in the pure and innocent types, but more often than not; people usually goes for a partner who at the very least knows what in actual hell they're doing during intercourse…

How do you think most affairs occur?

Akitsu then gave me a curious look. "Ah… porn?" And rolled the word with her tongue, like a curious child would do hearing a new word for the first time…

So they teach Sekirei how to fuck and prepare them for some kinky shit, but cannot bother with the context behind the act... What the fuck? No seriously what in the actual fuck?

Ah… Right, Minaka… Of-fucking-course...

Anyhow Akitsu seemed to be waiting for my response at the meaning of porn... "Err, it's basically content full of graphic sex..." I gave her the briefest depiction for the said industry...

"I see… porn is... intriguing..." She mused out loud, as she peeked down at her cleavage, where my slowly rising Bishop was firmly hidden in, with a pondering glint in her eyes...

I sniffed in a tear. Akitsu… y-you truly are a woman after my heart!

… Wait… when she mentioned the actors of the film; didn't she refer to a singular girl and plurally... with the dudes? Just what kind of porn did MBI make them watch!?

And how in the blue hell did Takami give a green light to that!?

Unbeknownst to me; the said person would be heard sneezing inside of her office at this very moment.

I was then brought out of my inner musings however by Akitsu's soft voice.

"Hmm… If I recall..."

"Hm? What was that, Aki—"

I was about to say, but at the very same moment, Akitsu once again pushed her breasts against each other with her arms and made her move...

"Eih~"

*Boing~❤*

"Hnnhgh!?" My eyes snapped open, wide as dinner plates, as I sat straighter than a bloody ruler the moment Akitsu began to rub her tits around my rod in a circular, pumping pattern.

Repeatedly...

Ohohohooohh!? T-this is—!?

"Ah… h-how is it Master, do you feel warm now?"

"A-aye! I-it's g-gud! It very gud!" I yelped out with a goofy grin.

Screw being warm; I'm getting fucking fired up here!

Akitsu smiled up at me happily. "… I'm glad… Ah!" She then suddenly exclaimed as she glanced back down at her cleavage, or more specifically, at the mushroom tip that finally made itself known as it peeked out to greet the lady responsible for the heavenly titty massage. "... Master's penis is peeking… It's cute~..." She cooed.

… I'm honestly not sure whether to feel bashful or insulted having my dick called cute…

*Smooch~*

"Ohoh~!?" A-Akitsu kissed the tip!?

N-nevermind! Call it cute all you wish, darling! Hell, I insist!

"Ah… It twitched..!" Akitsu cried out in surprise, though the highly intrigued glint in her eyes never left her.

"Y-yeah, that's the sign it feels good, Akitsu." I grunted with a shiver.

"Ah… I see… s-should I continue—?"

"Please do!" I pleaded her with utmost passion, unintentionally deepening my voice and I might've even pulled the Kenshiro face(6) to press my point...

"U-understood…" My Sekirei stuttered, a little startled at my admittedly loud entreat, however as she was going to proceed with her booblicious ministrations; she seemed to perk up about something.

"Neh... Master?"

"Hm?"

"Just wondering… How did your penis freeze, earlier?" Akitsu asked me as she proceeded with her ministrations on my shaft.

I blinked repeatedly at her very legit inquiry. I somehow completely forgot all about it! Though to be fair most things tend to often go straight to the backburner in situations like this! Besides is this really the type of conversation to be had during a boobjob...?

Oh well, I suppose "Business With Pleasure" is going to be my new official trend then, instead of the usual "Business Before Pleasure" one...

"I… honestly have no idea…*groan* O-one moment I was busy with certain… rigid issues… and the next… well, that happened..."

Akitsu paused with her boobjob for a moment, as she turned highly pensive. Then after a moment of debate she looked up and met my green orbs with her grey ones.

"… Did you... envision anything before it happened?" She asked with a tilt of her head, though the frown on her face was a bit unnerving with how intensively she stared at me...

Also; huh? Envision what?

I looked up in thought, scratching my cheek all the while. "N-nothing in particular…I- I think...?" Well the image of Akitsu's rocking body and the sensation of her soft skin rubbing against mine was pretty much all over my head that time (but that's normal, right!?), but other than that there was the frustrating issue with my bladder, followed by my desire to cool off the damn boner so I could at least—

*SHIING~~!*

...

Wut…?

"Ah… it froze..." Akitsu exclaimed in awed tone, blinking in disbelief as she stared down at the thick, 7 inch tall block of ice poking out of her bosom in place of my dick… which was trapped inside of it… for a second time...

"How… curious..." My Sekirei remarked in admission, while she experimentally flicked a finger at it on occasion… The curiosity in her steel grey orbs was quite palpable… Understandable considering the conjured ice was none of her doing…

I however… wasn't so amused by my situation… as could easily be seen by the erratic twitching of my eyes.

"WHYYYYYY~~!?"

.

.

TBC


AN - That's right! I just blue balled you lot (and in case of Arata quite literally)! HAHAHAHA!

And who could the mysterious Sekirei in the dream be!? Bah, who am I kidding, plenty of hints have been dropped there, so you'd literally have to be someone who never watched the franchise to not figure it out. :)

And before ye ask in case you noticed (to those who read the vanilla); yes, there are some lines copied from the original Mockingbird. Although most of them have been altered accordingly to match the situation.


Arata's Flock Status:

#07 - Akitsu

#02 - Matsu
(Poll winner! OC plans scrapped)

#? - Unknown (Reacting)

#Unknown

#Unknown

#Unknown

#Unknown

#Unknown

#Unknown

#Unknown


(1) Ya know when you wake up in the morning, knowing you had an awesome dream, but can't remember worth shit a minute later...

(2) Basically japanese cutesy way, imitating a dog's bark; Wan = Woof

(3) FGO Protagonist.

(4) Reference to the Simpsons episode "Kidney Trouble" where Grampa's kidneys literally explodes for holding in the bladder for too long.

(5) Paizuri = Boobjob

(6) Fist Of The Northern Star reference.