Me: Hello everyone, and welcome to chapter seven of Difference in Destiny.

Lloyd: What took you so long? You said you'd have a couple more chapters up before you went back to school.

Me: Let's see Lloyd, my comp got infected and every time I tried to upload this chappie, it restarted. But it's cleaned up now. And I was rarely home. What do you think?

Kratos: You should know that Lloyd. We're often here alone.

Lloyd: True.

Me: Oh, and I realized I never told you peoples what Anjin looks like. I'm just gonna tell you what he looks like now. He's got black hair and green eyes like his mother's. And his hair is pulled back in a small pony tail. His hakama pants and top are turquoise.

Lloyd: Appreintice owns nothing.

Me: Wow, I didn't have to tell you this time. I'm proud of you Lloyd.

Lloyd: Thanks.

Me: On with the story.

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Three years later

"Come on, you're not... done yet... are you?" Sheena panted. She stood straight up and adjusted her weight so that it was equal on both legs.

"No... Bring... it on!" Selean replied, panting as well. She grabbed the loose auburn locks that hung in her sweaty face and tucked them behind her ears. Selean charged forward toward, Sheena whom shifted her weight to her back leg and cocked her front leg. When Selean got within Sheena's range, she threw a side kick.

Selean weaved underneath Sheena's leg and jumped onto her piggy-back style. "G... good job... kid." Sheena congratulated. She grabbed Selean's forearms and pulled them forward to ease the pressure off her throat. "But don't do this... in a real battle. Unless you stick a dagger in their back while you're at it. Otherwise, you'll probably be killed."

"Okay." Selean chirped, smiling.

"Now let go so I can put you down." Sheena instructed.

"Naw, I like it up here." Selean replied as she rested her head on Sheena's shoulder.

"Fine then." Sheena said as she sat down.

Selean let go of Sheena and crossed her arms, looking away. "Meanie." She huffed.

"Don't be like that." Sheena said, turning to ruffle the small girl's hair before she got up.

"She's getting better Sheena." Lloyd commented from his spot under a tree and beside Anjin.

"Yeah, Anjin's coming along too. You think we should give them a few minutes to rest, then let them go a round?" Sheena asked.

"Sure, why not." Lloyd replied, shrugging.

"Yeah, come on Selean!" Anjin exclaimed as he jumped up.

"Whoa Anjin, hold up a minute. Selean just went a round. Give her a minute to rest. This isn't stamina training, you know." Sheena said.

"...Okay." Anjin pouted as he sat back down.

"Sheena! Sheena! Come quickly!" Everyone looked to where the voice came from to see Corrine running toward them as fast as he could.

"What's wrong Corrine?" Sheena asked.

"It's the chief! Come on! Come on!" Corrine yelled before he turned around and ran back towards the hut. Sheena's eyes widened before she tore off after him.

"Hey Sheena, wait up!" Lloyd yelled after her.

"I can't! Something's wrong with Granpa!" Sheena yelled back.

Lloyd hesitated for half a second before he took off after her. "Come on Selean. You too, Anjin, since Haato asked us to watch you." Lloyd called back over his shoulder. Selean and Anjin grinned at each other before they started running.

"I'm gonna beat you!" Selean exclaimed as she pulled ahead of Anjin.

"Not if I get there first!" Anjin responded, pouring on enough speed to pass Selean up. It didn't last long, however, as Anjin's hakama pant leg got caught on a root, toppling him over. His other leg caught the inside of Selean's calf, taking her down on top of him.

They both got up laughing. Selean took off again quickly, looking over her shoulder and sticking her tongue out. "I'm gonna wi~in!" She taunted. Anjin stood frozen in place for a moment before he realized what she meant.

"Hey, that's cheating!" He yelled as he started running again.

"M-mm! I just kept going, you cheater! You tripped me!" Selean yelled back. By the time they had arrived in the hut, Kitoushi had given a small pack to Sheena.

"Inside this are crafts called Rheairds. They were given to us to test by the Imperial Research Academy, so I don't know too much about them. All I know about them is they are flying crafts, and to make them go, you turn the handles forward. They're also guided by the handles. There's an expert doctor in Flanoir: that's east-northeast from here. Grab a cloak before you go, but bring the doctor back as quickly as you can." Kitoushi instructed.

"All right." Sheena said as she grabbed two cloaks from beside the door. She put them over the arm that held the wing pack and grabbed Lloyd's wrist with the other, running out the door.

"Where are they going?" Selean asked.

"To get a doctor from Flanoir for Chief Igaguri." Kitoushi answered.

"A doctor? Does he got a boo-boo? Can't you fix it? You fix mine." Selean said.

"He's got something wrong inside of him. Yours are outside of you. I can't heal what he has." Kitoushi explained.

"What does he got?" Anjin asked.

"I'm not sure exactly, but it has something to do with his circulatory system, I'm certain." Both kids gave her a confused look. "That has something to do with the heart. He's also running a fever. Anjin, does your mother know anything about medicine?"

"I dunno. I'll go get her." Anjin responded before he left.

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A While Later In Flanoir with Lloyd and Sheena

Sheena landed the Rheaird, bringing it to a skidding halt in the snow before she and Lloyd stumbled off the craft. Quickly, she put it back in the wing pack and took off. Lloyd shivered from underneath his cloak as he followed her. "Why is it so cold here Sheena? And what's this white stuff falling from the sky?" He asked.

Sheena stopped dead in her tracks, and unprepared for it, Lloyd ran into her. "It's snow, Lloyd. How do you not know what it is?" Sheena wondered as she started walking again.

"I don't remember anything from before you brought me to Mizuho." Lloyd replied simply.

"Oh yeah. I'm sorry. For some reason, it hasn't snowed in Mizuho for six years." Sheena said. She looked around at all the snow covered buildings. "Gah, they all look the same! Lloyd, where do you think the doctor would be?"

"I didn't even know what snow looked like before now. How am I supposed to know? Ask one of the villagers." Lloyd suggested.

"Why didn't I think of that? Come on." Sheena said. She spotted a woman beside the street and approached her. "Excuse me ma'am. Can you tell us where the doctor is?"

"Sure. Go down the stairs to the right of the town entrance and follow the path around to another set of stairs. It's the first building on the right. You can't miss it." The woman directed.

"Thank you very much." Lloyd said quickly before taking off after Sheena.

"Not a problem." The woman called after them.

As soon as they came to the building, Sheena burst in through the door, Lloyd right behind her. "Doctor! We need your help! Please come with us!" Sheena exclaimed.

"What's wrong, young lady?" The doctor asked, giving her a hard look for barging in suddenly.

"It's our village's leader. There's something wrong with him. We need you to come with us to the village and help him." Sheena explained hurriedly.

"So he's not here with you? It's going to cost you." The doctor sneered.

"We'll pay you later, just please hurry." Lloyd begged.

"Very well. Take me to your village then."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Back in Mizuho

Sheena quickly landed the Rheaird, much more smoothly this time, that she and Lloyd were on, the doctor doing the same right beside her. As soon as she returned the Rheairds to the wing pack, Sheena took off running again. "How do you expect me to look at your chief if you take off running?" The doctor asked.

Sheena stopped, waiting for the others to catch up with her. Once they did, she had to force herself to walk the rest of the way to the hut. Kitoushi, Selean, Anjin, and Haato looked up from the chief as Sheena, Lloyd and the doctor came in. "I assume that he is the patient. Everyone, leave." He commanded.

The ninja did as they were told and anxiously waited outside. A few tense hours later, the doctor emerged from the hut. "He is fine now. His heart rate is regular and the fever is gone." The older half of the group sighed in relief.

"Is this enough to cover the cost?" Kitoushi asked, taking a small coin bag out of her hakama pant pocket.

"Yes, I suppose that will do." The doctor said after counting the coins. The two adults sighed with relief before Kitoushi walked back into the hut. Haato remained where she was, looking at the doctor with a blank, far-off stare in her eyes.

A moment later, she closed her eyes, shaking her head before following her blonde friend. "Thank you so much for helping my granpa." Sheena said, her gratitude and relief beaming from her eyes. "I can take you back to your home now, if you like."

The doctor looked down at the girl for a minute, unable to stop the sincere smile that came onto his lips. A strange feeling bubbled up inside him, one that he hadn't felt often before. He untied the leather strap around the coin bag and retrieved a sum of coins from the bag.

"I'll stay here for tonight. I can tell you're tired. Here." The doctor said before handing Sheena the gald coins. Sheena looked at the doctor in disbelief before glancing at the objects in her hand.

"I can't—"

"This is payment for my board. I would have to pay it at any inn I stayed at." The doctor wasn't sure what prompted him to stay, but it felt right. The emotions were foreign for him.

Sheena hesitated a moment before she opened her mouth to speak again. "Alright. You three, go back into the hut. I'll be there in a minute." Sheena then handed the coins to Lloyd. "Give these back to Kitoushi."

"Can I give'em to Kip? Please?" Selean asked with her arms outstretched.

"Yeah, me too." Anjin said, doing the same. Lloyd sighed as he gave half of the coins to each kid. They immediately ran back inside, giddy with their 'purpose,' Lloyd following. Sheena showed the doctor to an empty hut reserved for guests, telling him to come get them if he needed anything before going back to her home, and more importantly, her now stable grandfather.

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Me: To be honest, this chapter was only because I forgot to bring the doctor to Mizuho. Hell, I wouldn't have if I hadn't wanted to see what Raine had to say in Flanoir and saw the doctor scene again. *sweat drop*

Lloyd: Hell, you're so forgetful you'd probably forget your hands if they weren't attached to your arms.

Me: Sad part is you're probably right.

Kratos: Yet you manage to get straight A's in school. I would like to know how.

Me: Pure dumb luck, Kratos. Just pure dumb luck.

Lloyd: I'll say.

Me: Anyways, back to the subject on hand. I'm going to find an anti-spyware to put on my comp so it won't prevent me from updating again 'cause I love you all.

Lloyd: Why didn't you do that before?

Me: I dunno. But I'm gonna be honest with you all, my readers. I probably could've had my comp fixed sooner, but I had a kickboxing match on a fight card the 19th. Which, if any of you are curious, I won. You can check my profile if you wanna see it.

Kratos: I'm going to end this before you tell them everything else that you did while waiting for your computer to be fixed. Please review.

Next chapter: Stranger

Edited: 5-20-16 A little consistency fixes were made, but mainly grammar edits for this chapter as well.