"You see anything?" Sora asked, putting a gloved hand over his eyes to try and peer through the blinding water. He had his other arm around Ciel, in a feeble attempt to keep her a little drier.

Ciel was worse off than Sora. Her glasses didn't come with window wipers, and the rain was coming down so hard she couldn't see through them, no matter how hard she squinted. The teen had ripped them off in frustration only a few seconds earlier. The strap holding her Shooting Star staff was slipping around, making movement all the more harder for her.

"If I see anything, I'll call it a miracle." she replied, pushing her soaked brown hair out of her eyes. They continued through the tall grass for a bit longer, searching for some sign of civilization.

"Hey... There's some light over there!" Sora said, stopping momentarily. By now he was so drenched, even his gravity-defying hair was beginning to plaster to the sides of his head. "We've found people!"

Ciel smiled wearily. "Good... I was about ready to give up." she said, as the both of them trudged onwards.

The smoke came from several tepees, arranged in a circle around a burnt-out fire pit. The inhabitants had probably retreated to their tents, to make their own fires in places much less damp.

"Hello?" Sora called, stepping into the circle, his arm still wrapped around Ciel.

She looked around. There were 5... No, 6 tepees... or was it 5 after all? The girl fumbled for her glasses and put them on... but they didn't help. She felt a wave of dizziness crash over her, and she leaned onto Sora for support.

"Ciel? Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm... dizzy..." she said, clinging to his shoulder as darkness began to creep around the edges of her vision. Ciel groaned and sunk to her knees, releasing her grip.

"Ciel!" Sora exclaimed, grabbing her arm and helping her up. Unknown voices came from the tents around them. "Who there?" a deep one called.

"Uhh... A friend!" Sora replied, trying to get Ciel to stand up, to no avail. He felt the dizzy spell begin to take effect on him as well.

"What you doing in death rain! Get here!" the voice came again, and they both felt hands grab their arms, leading them into somewhere warm. Ciel passed out soon after that, and it wasn't long before Sora was gone as well.

-------

The next thing Ciel was aware of was flickering light, a dry, warm fabric around her, and the dull thudding of the continuing rain. She opened her eyes to stare up at a canvas. "Sora..." she whispered.

She heard muttering around her, and looked around to see several men and women standing above her. They all had long black hair, and very tanned skin. "Pale one awake?" An older woman with greyer hair said, leaning in slowly with a grim expression on her face. "Very strange. Death rains not often that kind."

"Sora..." Ciel sat up, still a little groggy. She was on a dirt floor of one of the tepees, her staff lying beside her. "Where's... Sora..."

She grunted to a group of people behind her. "Move. Girl want see pale man."

They parted, and Ciel's eyes widened in surprise. Sora was lying in blankets similar to hers. She crawled over and knelt beside him, feeling his face. His skin had lost most of its color, and felt very cold. "You lucky, pale one. Life is strong in you, for now." the woman paused as searching for the right words to say. "Life be strong in him too..." she tried to put on a hopeful tone, but Ciel could tell that it meant nothing.

"What happened to us?" she questioned.

The older woman sighed. "Anyone who go out in death rain, get sick. Death rains not come often, and when death rains come, we hide. Even animals hide in caves, away from here. No one go out in death rain. Get bad, and die. Death rain spirit might have forgotten you, and come back later to finish hunt."

Ciel swallowed, watching Sora's chest rise and fall. "No... No, h-he won't die. I can heal him." she tried to stand, but she was very shaky, so the girl settled for crawling back to her pile of blankets for her staff. She came back and waved it over Sora's body. "Cura." she muttered, and glowing green leaves sprinkled out of her staff, absorbing into his body. A little color came back, and Sora moaned, trying to wake up and Ciel smiled triumphantly. The woman, however, just shook her head solemnly. "Watch. Death spirit comes back."

Sora opened his eyes and looked around, settling on Ciel. He reached his hand up slowly. "Ciel..."

She grinned happily, but before she could respond, his hand had fallen again; the color dissipating from his face. "No!" she cried out, grabbing his hand and holding it firmly. He looked worse than before now, and his breath became slightly ragged. The woman sighed. "I warned you. Death spirits not like meddling heal spells."

"There's gotta be something!" Ciel said. The woman nodded. "Yes... there something. We make heal potion that send away death spirit."

Ciel stared, dumbfounded. "You could have mentioned it earlier."

The woman waved her hand, and a shirtless man handed her a bag, made from what looked like leather. "There is plant that heals death rain spell forever." She said, digging through the bag, "Plant plentiful, many moons ago. Death spirits not bother tribe. Now, not so good, not good at all. Scouts find one plant." she pulled out a single dried leaf and placed it in Ciel's hand. "I fear death spirit return soon, to finish hunt for souls. Stick in mouth, and spirit leave for good."

Ciel felt the woman's words ring true in her ears... already she began to feel the dizziness returning. She stared at Sora... his breath was getting shorter. She knew what she was going to do. Kneeling by Sora once more, she pried open his mouth with her fingers. The girl quickly stuck the leaf in, and closed his mouth. A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. "You said---"

The woman cut her off with a quick "Shhh..." kneeling beside her. "Watch. Pale boy lives."

She saw it. The color in his face was quickly returning... and she knew from glancing at the old woman that hers was leaving. Her vision darkened, but she felt comforted, knowing that Sora would live and continue on to save more worlds. Sora shifted and opened his eyes, the blue orbs scanning the tepee quickly. His eyebrows furrowed, noticing the strange taste in his mouth. He sat up, just as Ciel slumped over into the dirt. "Ciel!" she heard him say, but already his voice was distant. She closed her eyes and succumbed to her weariness.

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up, holding her close. "Ciel, wake up..." he pleaded, but she slept on.

The woman sighed. "Only one leaf. She gave leaf to you. You live, she die."

"No!"

She sighed again and stood. "Death spirit not merciful." The thudding of the rain began to slow. "She is pleased..." the woman looked up, her face the picture of grief. "She is taking captive souls back to home."

Ciel's breathing turned to gasping, and Sora felt his heart break, knowing that there was nothing he could do to save her.

Except... he had a thought. It was crazy, stupid even... but he had to at least try. Ciel wouldn't die without a fight. He held her head up with one hand and kissed her cold lips, trying to give what remained of the leaf's effect to her.

The woman watched in wonder as he stopped to see if it had worked. At first, nothing happened... but then, slowly... Ciel's face began to regain her color. Her breathing steadied, and he smiled in relief. She would be okay, she was going to make it.

Ciel opened her eyes and looked around, not sure of where she was. "What---". Sora put a finger over her mouth to silence her whisper. "Don't even ask." Ciel smiled and closed her eyes to fall back asleep. He panicked for half a second, thinking the leaf hadn't worked and the sickness had returned, but the woman placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "She only gets half leaf. Spirit takes time to leave. Pale girl live, worry none."

Sora smiled wearily, this whole ordeal had affected him greatly.

The grey-haired woman grinned and clapped her hands together. "You drove away death spirit! A celebration!"

Sora looked up at her hesitantly. "Err... if you don't mind... we should probably get out of here. No offense, but living in a place where you could die in a rainstorm doesn't sound too friendly."

The woman laughed. "We have celebration without you. Been many moons since last had great feast." The people that had remained in the tent nodded in agreement, several of them grinning happily.

The keywielder smiled in return as the old woman spun around and shooed the dawdlers out of the tent. "Alone! Pale ones need alone! Go get lotsa woods for fire!"

Sora nodded in thanks to the woman as she exited the tent as well. He turned back to Ciel and watched her sleep. "She was willing to die to save me." he thought, and a dark chill ran up his spine as he realized how close they had come to dying. "Wow."

It was a few hours before Ciel woke up again, by then the sun had risen and cleared away what was left of the storm clouds.

-------

Sora looked behind his shoulder and waved to those who had walked out to see them go. The smoke from the newly built fire created a pillar marking their campsite. Yells and chanting could be heard from the festivities.

"Sora..." she began as they began walking back to find the Gummi ship.

"Hm?" he replied after a few moments.

"Why am I still alive? What did you do to save me?"

"Eh... well you know, this and that..." he said, lifting his arms over his head, trying to avoid the subject.

"What do you mean? You couldn't have used the keyblade... Did you find another leaf?"
"Err... yeah! Another leaf. I ran out and got another one." He dove on the chance to worm out of the real explanation.

"But... the leaf would have had to be dried..."
"That's what fire spells are for!"

Ciel sighed. "Well... whatever you did..." she said, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek, "Thank you."

Sora blushed madly, and Ciel giggled. "That's what I thought. Now let's get back to the ship, before all this grass drives me insane."

He laughed and saluted her. "Yes ma'am."