A HERO'S RETURN

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

Link, Jewel, and Paula were currently in the boutiques catching up on what was missed during Link's absence. Right now, the one thing that they were missing is the people that use to cook for them when they were still an army. Right now, they were taking this opportunity to catch up on what's new in Razril. They've already discussed about what Tal, Keneth, Katarina and Konrad are currently doing.

"So has the town forgiven Snowe yet?" Link asked about his old friend, while taking a drink of his water.

"Yeah, even though we explained it to them that Snowe fought as one of us, it still took him awhile to regain their trust again. Even though his time as a Crusader was short, I think a bunch of us have rubbed off on him, for the better at least." Jewel answered.

Paula continued, "When it was told that Snowe would have to start from the bottom up this time, I believe he was pleased because he was no longer under his father's or Gaien's shadows anymore, the last time we saw him, he was slowly starting to make his own place among the people, even though I believe he still feels guilty about what he has done to you after that one mission that changed everything."

"At least he's living his life in his own way, that's all that matters." Link said.

"We're approaching Iluya! Everyone get ready to dock." Nico's voice rang out through out the ship.

"Time to see how happy Nataly is for being aloud to do windows again." Link said, causing the two girls to give a small giggle.

* * *

Iluya Island was starting to come to life again, especially with the rain long gone, and the Kooluk post completely dismantled. With the help of the INF, they were able to rebuild as many homes and businesses as possible to help bring the place back to life.

Right now Kevin and his wife Pam were busy as ever since they reopened their café again since their last one was destroyed due to the Kooluk's heartless approach on testing out their new weapons on other people.

Right now, Kevin was busy wiping down the counter while Pam was in the back, baking some of her buns and cakes to replace the ones they ran out of. When the bell at the entrance rang out, he didn't bother looking up while asking the customer "May I help you?"

"Yeah, how about some strawberry cake and a nice glass of milk to help wash it down with." The customer answered.

"Coming right up." Kevin said still not interested in looking at the customer, "Pam, we'll need a slice of strawberry cake."

"Coming right up." Pam yelled out.

* * *

In the town square, Izak was looking at the memorial built for those who lost their lives from that day when the Kooluk decided to use their island as a target to try out a devastating weapon. There is also flowers growing around it where Izak planted those seeds from the time he left to join the Crusaders.

"It's hard to believe it has been about seven months already." He turned around to be greeted by Lino, "Nowadays, I can't help but wonder if that whole experience has been nothing more then a bad dream."

"I know what you mean. One day you're enjoying life, nothing out of the ordinary, and the next, you come back to find what looks a war zone instead of the home you lived in." Izak said, "And the one thing that would never change is how many people would always shows gratitude towards the one that brought people hope in times of darkness."

Lino nodded at this, while trying to keep a straight face. He wasn't sure what to do next until he was greeted by a familiar person, "Hello Izak. Hello your majesty."

"Hey Nataly." "Hello Nataly." Both greeted the young window girl.

"I'm going down to the café to grab a little treat, care to join me?" She asked.

"Of course we would." Izak said.

"Yes, we would love to escort a lovely young lady such as yourself to your destination." Lino said, while doing a little bow.

Nataly gave a small giggle at this, "Okay, let us be get going before it gets busy again." She said, while remember those times on the Dauntless, where even though there were very few windows on that ship, everyone was there to support the other, although the jury was still out when it came to Maxine.

* * *

Link is currently having a nice little chat with Kevin, while Pam had to rush back into the kitchen to keep their goods from becoming well done. When they finally noticed who arrive, they were frozen in place for a while until the glass that Kevin have been holding slipped out of his hand and shattered, which was followed by a few choice words from Kevin when he went to get the mop to clean the mess he made.

"So besides letting people know that you're still alive and kicking, what else is new?" Kevin asked, while Link was cutting into his cake.

"I'm bringing the gang back together for a little reunion, and Iluya was the next place to check." Link said, before taking a drink out of his milk. When he placed the glass back on the counter, he opened his mouth to say something else, unfortunately, he was tackled from behind, causing his face to crash into his cake.

When Lino, Izak, and Nataly came into the café, two of them were a little shocked, while the other knew what was coming next. The next thing to happen can be nothing more than hilarious when Nataly charged towards Link, who was busy talking to Kevin, and hugged him on the back.

When Link slowly got his head off of used to be a good piece of cake, the only thing that came out of his mouth was "Is this going to happen to me every time we visit an island?"

Lino was laughing a little hard, forgetting one little detail *splat!* Link was armed this time, "Can I get another slice of strawberry cake please?"

"And I'll have a slice of one of your mincemeat pies." Izak said, "What will you have Nataly?"

Nataly gave a slight blush, since some more people will get to now her little weakness, "I'll have a slice of your triple chocolate delight." She ordered.

"I'll have a piece of cherry pie, thank you." Lino said, after wiping the cake off of his face.

Everyone stayed around and have a nice little conversation, especially when Pam came in with a try full of goodies.

By the next day, they had some new additions to their little reunion trip.

Here is the latest chapter, so enjoy. Read and Review.